L.O.N.

As seen on SLAMOnline:

Line Of The Night:

Dwyane Wade — 28 points, 11 assists,  6 boards, 5 steals, 1 All-Star MVP award

In a game usually defined by offense, it was the defense of D-Wade and Bron that made them the stars of the game, mostly because of the offense to which it led.  The two racked up 9 total steals which led to about 9 (or more?  ANYTHIING is possible in an All-Star game) amazing break-away dunks.  The two had very similar games — easily the most highlightest of the highlighters — but Wade just barely edged out The King statistically, not to mention he completed the All-Star game staple “off glass to your self oop dunk”, to take down the MVP award.  Do not worry, LeBron fans, he will be in contention for the MVP award year-after-year.  His game — and more importantly his personality — is tailor made for this event.  He balls out and has a lot of fun doing it — see his “taunting” of Melo, his back-and-forth with Jason Kidd, and becoming the official “King Of The Two-Handed Reverse Dunk”.

Game Of The Night AKA The Long Arm Of Stan Van Gundy Of The Night:

East 141, West 139

What a game!  The ultimate NBA showcase ended up including just about everything for which a fan could hope.  There was the absolute spectacle of Cowboy Stadium, amazing plays from amazing stars, and a competitive game amongst the world’s greatest athletes.

However, it got off to a very unfamiliar start.  The typical script looks like this — wild and somewhat out-of-control running and gunning for the first half or so, then if the game is still close, settling in to more half-court ball to determine a winner.  But not this year.  Maybe it was the Stan Van Gundy factor (who must have set a record for most timeouts called in an All-Star game) or maybe it was the “wonderment” factor with players entranced by their epic surroundings, or maybe he was all the first-time All-Stars, but right away this was a hard fought game.  There were set plays.  There were lots of fouls called.  There was a back-and-forth battle in the post between Dwight Howard and Pau Gasol.  It was probably not until the 3rd quarter until things really opened up.

That is not to say there was not a lot of fun.  There were a ton of spectacular alley oops (best oop passer for the game?  Rondo.  Best finisher?  Probably Dwight Howard on a spectacular reach-back one-handed finish in the third quarter), and surprisingly few failed alley oops.  And of course, there were just plain fun individual sequences:  Dwight Howard shooting (and making 1) a couple 3’s after which we were half-surprised Van Gundy did not stop the game and yank him!,  Howard grabbing a rebound and going coast-to-coast for the slam,  LeBron’s previously detailed shenanigans, D-Wade’s own aerial show, and CHRIS KAMAN IN THE HOUSE!!!

In the final quarter, it looked like maybe the West was falling into the same trap the Sophomores did on Friday night with their size becoming an obstacle in keeping up with the speed of the East, but then Chauncey Billups decided it was not over.  He shot them right back into it, and we had a “barn barner” (word to Charles Barkley) on our hands.

The end game?  Well, let’s just say it was disappointing.  Several bonehead fouls (just how long did you party on Saturday night, Deron?) and poor execution rounded the game out before hometown hero Chris Bosh iced it for the East with two free throws.  All-in-all, though, it was a great show.

Other game notes:  Hopefully this was the first of many All-Star appearances for Rajon Rondo.  He might have had the highest excitement-per-minute ratio of anyone…  Sorry, but David Lee was exposed.  He is not All-Star caliber, no matter what kind of D’Antoni-inflated stats he can put up…  It is weird, we know, but wasn’t it hard to tell the difference between Chris Kaman and Jason Kidd when they were on the court at the same time?… Derrick Rose definitely did not wilt under the big lights.  He did not find much success, but he was definitely not shy out there… If LeBron was holding a personal try out in the last two minutes to find his next big man teammate, Chris Bosh probably failed by botching an easy oop, and Amar’e might have one himself a spot by locking LeBron up on D… Come on George Karl.  You promise us the 4 point guard lineup, and you don’t deliver?…

Beast Of The Night:

DeJuan Blair — 23 boards, 22 points, 4 assists, 1 unofficial Rookie Challenge MVP award

Tyreke Evans officially won the MVP award but in the face of arena-wide “M-V-P!” chants for Blair, he graciously shared the award with his big fella.  Only a Spur would and could dirty-work his way to stealing the show in an All-Star game.  He did manage to add a little glitz to the show, though.  At one point, right on the heels of the announcers discussing his missing his ACLs, he pulled off a couple classic All-Star moves.  First, he executed a sick breakaway self-pass-off-the-backboard dunk, and then immediately followed that with the always fun “big man clanged 3-pointer”.

The quartet of Evans, Blair, Brandon Jennings and James Harden led the Rookies to a win, marking the first time since 2002 that the Sophomores lost.  Russell Westbrook — who went for a game-high 40, 6 points shy of his teammate Kevin Durant’s record of 46 in this game — seemed like he was leading the Sophs to a second half comeback, but they never figured out how to stop the smaller and quicker (AKA more All-Star ready) Rooks.

Worst Of The Night:

How do you get a trainwreck going in the right direction?  Try this:  1)  Setup a cow-roping game as a gimmick, court-side at an NBA All-Star event.  2)  Have the first participant be Chris Paul… on crutches!?!?!?  What????  3)  Have the first celebrity introduced be… oh?  what’s that?  You have no celebrities in the Celebrity Game?  Check.  Train officially wrecked.

This thing is brutal.  While it’s always been ridiculous, an event like this does have slight potential to be entertaining, and actually used to be — remember when Chris Brown dunked on Bow Wow (okay, not quite, but that’s how myths grow)?  ESPN has taken this event and absolutely run it into the ground.  Bad celebs, bad basketball, bad announcing (Mark Jones quotes:  1) “Common’s one of the best R&B acts going” 2)  “Terrence J, one of the top video jocks in the country” — could you sound any more out of touch?  And that’s your “hip” announcer”?), bad jokes, rigged MVP award.  A-W-F-U-L.

Only two things happened that gave this redeeming value:  1)  Seeing Jon Barry STEAMING after taking a bucket of water to the face.  If he would just let it go and take Mike Breen out… let’s just say there would be no complaints from L.O.N. if both of those guys were never on TV again.  2)  Common, delayed by weather, entering the game ala Derek Fisher and balling.  He was the obvious MVP, but Remi won it as part of some lame promotional storyline ESPN was trying to play up.
H.O.R.S.E. Of The Night:

Kevin Durant successfully defended his title — this time actually receiving a LEGIT trophy — in a contest that is still going through some growing pains.  On the positive side, at least this thing was moved onto a real court, and given more of an overall sense of legitimacy.  The main problem though, is that the TNT guys seemed to be the stars of the show, when it should be about the players.  We need some personalities in this thing — either guys already familiar with each other, or guys with out-sized personalities.  So next year, maybe bring in Russell Westbrook and Brandon Jennings to challenge KD?  Also, the guys need to do at least a little prep work and thought about their shots.  Creativity was a little low.  We did like the fan-submitted shot, so maybe there is potential to integrate that more.  Finally, the end-game was a complete debacle.  So you are telling us that in order to save time, you are going to have PROFESSIONAL SHOOTERS repeatedly fire from the same spot, shot after shot?  That being said, it was still surprising how well Rondo shot.  Now the Ray Allen trade rumors make more sense, as it seems Danny Ainge has somehow stolen Allen’s soul and noetically infused it into Rondo’s body… so teams will actually be receiving Zombie Allen, should they complete a trade.  All-in-all it was a good show, though, and should only get better with a few tweaks.

Other notes:  Now if Omri Casspi had required the other two to duplicate his shooting form on each shot, he might have run away with the thing… Barley was sweating like a H.O.R.S.E. up in there… Can’t believe KD let the ref talk about his momma like that:  “Okay, behind your mom”…

All-Star Saturday Night — The Opening Acts Of The Night:

We are self-admitted All-Star junkies.  We LOVE the Skills Challenge.  We LOVE the Shooting Stars.  Yes, we have never met anyone that shares these feelings with us… so we can’t even join a support group!  Skills Challenge Anonymous, are you out there?

The best part about Shooting Stars this year?  No Derek Fisher.  He’s the L.O.N. anti-christ and we take a definite less-is-more attitude with him.  We did not like the idea of mixing — and even completely fudging (a current NY Liberty playing on team Sacto?) –  teams to complete the squads this year though.  Clippers and Lakers working together for the good of mankind?  Rockets and Mavs and Silver Stars all on the same squad (although the more Becky Hammon, the better)?  It worked out from a competitive standpoint though, as supersquads were created.  The LA and Texas squads were beasts.  LA’s slight weak link — Pau Gasol from 3 — was eventually exposed, as the Texas team took down the title behind the shooting of Dirk, Kenny Smith and Hammon.

Wow, looks like there is more to say about the Shooting Stars than the Skills Challenge?  Basically Steve Nash, almost effortlessly, showed the young fellas how to do this thing, with a couple near-perfect runs.  Deron Williams gave him a run for his money, but had a major hiccup at one of the passing stations to derail his hopes.   In the first round, Brandon Jennings had a similar performance, looking like he was about to set the record, before getting murdered at the long-range pass station.  If he locks that one down, the title may be his next year.

Here is all you need to know about the 3-Point Contest — Darrell Dawkins’ silk Japanese kimono-style suit coat!  Okay, not really, but that thing had to get some L.O.N. shine.  This thing turned out to be a pretty good battle, but the announcers had everyone confused by saying Paul Pierce and Chauncey Billups were in a shootout to reach 2nd round, when in actuality, Pierce, Billups and Stephen Curry were all advanced to the 2nd round.  So when Peezy started wildly celebrating with KG, we thought it was strange that he was doing that before his final shooting round.  Then we figured out he won the thing… then were equally confused when he declared himself “one of the greatest shooters ever”.  Dazed by the suit coat, confused by the events thereafter.

All-Star Saturday Night — The Main Event Of The Night:

Ya’ll can dwell on the wackness if you want, but we will just focus on the dopeness.  Word to Jonathan Levine.  In our opinion, DeMar Derozan was robbed… or maybe he robbed himself?  His first three dunks were pretty sick — especially the off the side of the backboard joint — but his last dunk was weak — a non-challenging running windmill.  Basically, if he had ended on a higher note, he probably takes down the title.  And he promised a Michael Jackson Thriller tribute… where did that go?  That could have provided some much needed theater.  Either way, we hope DeMar is back next year.  Nate Robinson’s dunks were nice when viewed in and of themselves, but his problem was his past theatrics.  He simply did not live up to them.  If this had been the first time we saw the little guy throw them thangs down?  NASTY.  But he has done better in the past.  Congrats to the 3-time champ, though.

So everyone calm down.  Sure, it was a down year, but this thing will be back.  It’s all about finding the right person, at the right time, so a little bit of luck will always be involved.  Maybe it will be the inclusion of some hungry-ass D-Leaguer or college guy, or maybe even a current NBAer we are not even thinking about.

Chuckisms Of The Night:

“Why don’t we put a deer in the dunk contest, then?”

Responding to Kenny Smith’s repeated declaration that athletes win dunk contests.  And this whole time, we thought day laborers won dunk contests.

“When one of your friends shows up white when he’s a black, I mean you gotta take that personally, don’t you?”

Speaking on Sammy Sosa.  Hilarious.

While Cheryl MIller was announcing the winner of the Dunk In, in, let’s just say, a very exuberant manner, Barkley started to talk, not realizing he was on the mic.  He did not finish his thought, but we are pretty sure he was about to clown Cheryl.  The Chuckster’s Manifest Destiny was almost complete.

Finally, during the All-Star game pre-game show, he let Ernie, Mark Cuban and David Stern for talking so much about the upcoming labor negotiations.  Tell ‘em why you mad, Chuck!

Eat Your Breakfast Of The Night:

Hey Gallo, so you liked that Israeli Salad I served you up a few days ago?  Well, how about some labneh, borekas and a halvah sampler this time?  EAT YOUR BREAKFAST AND PAY FOR THE SINS OF MUSSOLINI!

Announce-In Of The Night:

Forget the boooorrrrrrr-iinng Dunk-In during the Rookie Challange, how about the “Announce-In” betwen Dwight Howard, Nate Robinson and Pau Gasol — all guest announcers during the game.  Howard started off as a seeming natural — he has announcer-talk down pat, and provides comic relief with his impersonations (he did Stan Van Gundy and Barkley) and nicknames (calling James Harden Mose and describing one of his made 3’s as “parting the net”).  However, he ended up sounding like a video game announcer with VERY limited recorded phrases, repeating the same things over and over and over and over again.  Then Robinson (our winner) got on the M-I-C and really brought the players perspective with some good Xs-and-Os talk and specific insight on players.  Pau was good too though, especially describing the specifics of day-to-day life playing as a European pro and the differences in high school level ball and players.

Trade Of The Night:

Dallas gets:

Caron Butler
Brendan Haywood
DeShawn Stevenson
Cash

Washington gets:

Josh Howard
Drew Gooden
Quinton Ross
James Singleton

Pretty easy to break this down.  Dallas gets tougher and deeper for the stretch run, and the Wizards start their second firesale of the past 10 years.  We do not know if this is enough to position the Mavs as a clear challenger to the Lake Show, but it sure looks nice on paper.  Haywood gives you outstanding interior D, as well as the ol’ Carolina championship good luck charm that so many NBA teams have utilized in the past.  Tough Juice gives you another clutch player that can create their own shot.

Terry Lewis and Jimmy Jam ARE All-Star Weekend… Rick Fox and Nancy Lieberman = unstoppable tandem…  DRIZZY!  ESPN put him on the track, but didn’t let him sing the hook!  Use your stars, ESPN!… Terrence J should be banned from life…  Just when you thought it was not possible, Craig Sager next-leveled it during the Rookie Challenge with that carpet/curtain/upholstery/wallpaper combo suit…  Ricky Rubio’s name came up during the Rookie game, and damn — regardless of how good he is night in and night out, he is going to be INSANE in the Rookie Game… Chris Kaman IS All-Star Weekend!… Brandon Jennings brings back the Gumby, and shockingly, Kevin McHale had never heard the term.  Robert Parish wasn’t rocking that back in the day?…  Why exactly was there a random guy at the Rookie Game, court-side, wearing a horned Viking helmet?…  Dang, Brook Lopez is even angry in All-Star games!… Dwight Howard makes the Guinness Book Of World Records for “Longest Seated Shot” — He made one sitting down from 3/4 court!… As annoying as Reggie Miller is, DAMN he tries hard.  You cannot say he doesn’t get into it.  We could not help but think it was hilarious how obsessed he was with JerryVision… Want to buy some DVDs?   Aaaeeeeeeeeee!…  If anything, Usher needs to give his PANTS more.  What’s up with all his Capris?  Leather Capris?  Really?… Was Will Ferrell in the Canadian Tenors?…  It was hilarious to us, for some reason, when the camera panned to Tim Duncan during “O Canada”, following the obvious Nash and Bosh shots… We think Kevin McHale gets some sort of residuals every time he utters the phrase “Bully ball”…

As seen on SLAMOnline.com.

It’s the questions, whuuuuut?  The questions, whuuuuut?  The questions!

What, tigga, what, tigga, what, tigga, WHAAAAAT!

As we do every year, let’s get ready for another glorious season with actual questions from actual readers… and actual questions from some not-so-actual readers!

1)  As we head into the season, what is the L.O.N. League Pass Team Ranking?

Official L.O.N. League Pass Pre-Season Top 9:

#1  Denver — J. R. Smith.  Basketball debauchery in the flesh.  And they bring out the debauchery in their opponents, as well, creating 48 minutes of beautiful mayhem.  We will miss the Eduardo Najera 3’s, though.
#2  Portland — Greg Oden is our most-anticipated rookie to see, probably followed closely by Rudy Fernandez.  Throw in Revolutionary Travis Outlaw, and it’s a wrap.
#3  San Antonio — Odd years on, even years off — like a metronome.  And with Manu out for awhile to start the season, it’s gonna be The French Pastry Show in San Anton.
#4  Houston — Ron Artest makes defense exciting.
#5  Clip Joint — That’s a wild mix.  Exciting and entertaining, maybe.  But can that roster win games consistently?
#6  Cleveland — Mo Williams may finally be the piece that cements LeBron in this list.  This could be a special season, ya’ll.
#7  Detroit Pistons — Amir Johnson and Rodney “Yo, ma, I’m 50 Cent”.
#8  Philly Snakes –  Are they ready to take that next step up to the East’s elite?  We hate having the co-founder of Brand and Boozer’s Backstabbin’ and Beguilin’ Band Of Brothers on this list, but the Other A.I., Louis Williams and Thaddeous Young must be witnessed.
#9  Boston Ceatles — We still have love for K.G. and Paul Peezy, and check this field report from L.O.N.’s Resident Scientist:  “I dont think I said anything about this yet, but a couple weeks ago, when Bill Walker had that really good dunk over someone, the pure elation, joy, and madness that ensued on the Celtics bench was an amazing thing to see.  The fact that they all acted like that, during a pre-season game, means they are a team and they really like each other.  Repeat.”  Love.

Bottom Four:

#1 Milwaukee — Scott.  Skiles.
#2 Oklahoma City Thunder — Sorry, KD.  The Earl Watson Experience meets boring uniforms meets a despicable franchise move.  Count us out.
#3 New York Knicks — You’re gonna have to prove it first, D’Antoni.  Duhon != Nash.
#4 L.A. Lakers — Word-for-word from last year’s preview:  “Two words: Joel Meyers. And L.O.N. doesn’t exactly love Mr. Cryant. Sorry, L-Eezy.”
2)  Any new tattoos/haircuts/looks in the off season?

Greg Popovich’s pre-season beard got way outta hand, making us all wonder if the Spurs’ style would take a similar wild turn this season.  Who knows?  Pop is clearly feeling the need to express himself, and that may lead to any type of on-court madness.  You know, crazy stuff like a 9-man rotation vs. an 8-man, or maybe Powerade on the bench instead of Gatorade.  Anything can happen.  Word to Wyclef.

Although we are sure more guys will surprise as the season unfolds, that’s all we caught on the personal style tip during the pre-season.  Several teams are breaking out new gear, though, and pretty much all to underwhelming response (at least from us).  The Orlando Magic came with the most drastic (we use that word loosely) of the changes, introducing diverging silver pinstripes to the NBA scene, and going with the #1 entry on the L.O.N.’s Most-Hated Neckline list.  We have never understood, liked, or approved of that.  Worst Of The Night.

The Seattle… err, Oklahoma City Thunder kept it real, real lazy.  What is that?  Looks like they came up with a disco-hell mix (word to Ced the Entertainer) of the simplest aspects of the Knicks’, Bobcats’ and Hawks’ unis.  While they are at it, maybe they should try to combine rosters with those squads.  Even if their jerseys stilled looked like they belonged in rec league for 10-12 year-olds, they might actually finish above 10th-12th in their conference.

The Milwaukee Bucks are introducing a new alternate jersey, inspired by their 1971 joints.  We tend to like simple uniforms (think Celtics or Spurs), but homage or not, these are simple in a boring kind of way.  And is that Big E on the end an homage to the Big Yi they lost this off-season?

New Orleans tweaked their outfits and logo ever so slightly, with the most important change being the re-introduction of the old Charlotte-style pinstripes.  Word to Dell Curry!  And Glenn Rice’s (former? ex?) wife.  And Muggsy.

Meanwhile, Minnesota also tinkered with the details of their unis.  At least they will look slightly different while losing 50+ games again.

3)  What big ticket players will be heading to new teams this year?  Odom?  Billups?  Randolph?
4)  Who will be the first player traded after the start of the regular season?

Don’t forget about Rasheed Wallace, who is in the last year of his contract, and playing for a GM, in Joe Dumars, that has been trying to shake things up since the end of last season.  Shawn Marion in Motown?  Seems intriguing.

5)  Which lottery pick will have the biggest impact on his team this year?  What about someone outside of the lottery?

This season we are presented with the rare situation of two #1 overall picks making their debuts, in Greg Oden and Derrick Rose.  Rose is a point’s point, but does not quite have the supporting cast that Oden can claim.  With the pivot spot sured up, Portland is looking to make post-season noise.  We are not convinced the Bulls can make that same leap.  Statistically, Michael Beasley will factor into this argument, but a Crazy Convention could break out with he and Shawn Marion both in South Beach.  And actually, after that weird Star Jones period D-Wade went through last year, maybe he’s the Chairman of Crazy, down there.

Non-lottery?  Watch out for another Blazer, Nicolas Batum, who is penciled in as the starting small forward in Rip City.  That smells like a Royal Ivey, 7-minutes-a-game-in-Atlanta starting scenario, though, so we’ll go with the Suns’ Robin Lopez.  With Steve Kerr’s emphasis on defense and The Diesel’s propensity to miss “unhealthy” chunks of the regular season, the wilder of the Lopez Twins is set to do damage.  And you gotta love the unintentional comedy/entertainment factor whenever the Lopez Twins are on the scene.  We need a reality show.

6)  Who will be the biggest bust from this year’s rookie class?

Joe Alexander.  Unless, like we have said before, he joins the professional beach volleyball circuit.  Or becomes one of those trampoline dunkers.

7)  Who will be the Jerry Sloan “Surprise Player Of The Year”?

Jerry Sloan dropped this gem after Kyrylo Fesenko dropped a 10/10 double-double on Portland this pre-season:  “That’s the best I’ve ever seen him play since he’s been alive.”

So who will have the best season they have ever had since being alive?  We don’t know, but that might be the best quote we hear while we’re alive.

8)  Can you explain some comments that were heard over the Summer regarding LeBron James being the most over-rated player in the NBA?  Who could even think such a thing?

Absurd.  Outlandish.  Flabbergasting.  The term is more over-used than a McCain/Maverick reference, but this is the definition of “hater”.  Only someone with a genuine personal issue with The King could utter such words.

9)  To the MRSV — Who are the leading Heartthrobs heading into the season?

The Mailroom Supervisor’s Official H.O.N. Top 5:

#1 Baron Davis
#2 Gilbert Arenas
#3 Tony Parker
#4 LeBron James
#5 D Wade

Dang, the MRSV went the pure big tymer route on us this year.  Dollar signs in her eyes, we think!
10)  Will the Pistons new coach and young up-and-comers return Motown to glory?

We’ll let the Mailroom Supervisor answer this one.  MRSV:  “What do you mean by return?  They are working on their 5th straight title this year.  What a run!”
11)  Can the “Boston Three Party” repeat this season?

“No, but the Pistons can.”  AAARRGGHHHH!!!!!  Get those crazy Pistons fans out of the control room!

12)  Seriously…  How are the Pistons going to do this year? Who is your favorite Piston?

No doubt about, ‘Sheed Wallace, yet and still.  Come on.  Ball don’t lie.  Sneaking up on ‘Sheed though, and ready to take the mantle, is Young Amir Johnson.  He is on the cusp of Revolutionary status, and in the starting lineup this year.  We like the Pistons’ chances as a team, as well.  They have managed to keep the old guard around, while infusing the rotation with young talent, in Rodney Stuckey, Johnson, Jason Maxiell and Arron Afflalo.  Tayshaun Prince still has not fully harnessed his talent, and Kwame Brown might even be a nice piece on a team like this.  We may have just talked ourselves out of the ‘Sheed trade, and into a Pistons Finals run.  Hmm… keep reading while we sort this out.

13)  With Sam-I-Am’s post-retirement coaching plans, who wins in a coaches’ “talking battle” - Sam Cassell or Avery Johnson?

If these two were to ever lead their teams against each other in a Playoff Series, the most-entertaining aspect of the series would the amazing press conferences.  Sam mumbling some obscure alien-like analogy with Avery slamming his hand on the table and using that one-of-a-kind voice to express his dismay.  Absolutely awesome.

14)  How many basketballs will the NBA use this year?
15)  How many jerseys will be purchased this year?
16)  Which franchise will make the most money?
17)  How many hot dogs will be sold at NBA games this year?
These must have come from the resident L.O.N. Salesman… all he cares about is the bottom line.  If you are ever around someone asking questions like this and saying your first name a lot, hide your wallet and run!  We’ll break it down, though:  1233, 2.89 million, Los Angeles Lakers, 14.33 million.

18)  Will Greg Oden come out and be an absolute beast? 

Good question.  He will be fighting a tough knee-injury recovery, adjusting to playing against the best athletes in the world, facing Breakfast Bounties and of course dealing with all the issues of being a 40+ year-old rookie.  We do not see Dwight Howard-like beastness, but he’ll give it to a large majority of the leagues pivots.  Still, that microfracture recovery is nothing to blink at, so do not expect the world, THIS year.

19)  Will Michael Jordan once again come out of retirement to play in the newly incorporated Space Basketball League (SBL)?

No, but he is the player/coach for Earth’s basketball team entry into the Space Olympics.

20)  Any powerhouse teams that will take a nosedive this year?

You heard it here first — the situation in Dallas is scary.  You have Rick Carlisle, known for defense and a controlled-offense, heading a team that screams for run-and-gun O with optional D.  Avery Johnson coaxed some nice defensive performances out of roughly the same team, but damn near the whole team hated him by the end of his run.  The individual talent on the roster is still obvious, but if they do not figure out a signature personality quickly, there could another, um, Cuban Missile Crisis on the horizon.

21)  Will LeBron tip his hand in regards to his impending departure to a New York team by the end of the year?
22)  Does L.O.N. support the King leaving Cleveland?

He won’t tip his hand this year, as dude actually has 2 more years in Cleveland.  That’s what a lot of people do not realize.  This issue is going to reach Brett Favre retirement level of media hype before it is all said and done.  But he’s not going to do anything to mess up his current situation; he is too savvy of a business man.  Do we support the departure?  Only if it’s to the BROOKLYN Nets, and only if Jay-Z is still involved.  The possibilities with those two cats together are endless, and we love all of them.

23) Could the Other Gasol (Marc) out-stat his brother, Pau?

It could happen.  Throw in the potential decline on Pau’s side due to further suppressing his own output for the good of the Lakers and the Andrew Bynum influence, with Marc’s potential output as the starting center on the run-and-gun Grizzlies, and these two’s stats may look more similar than you might think.  Marc looked good in the Olympics, but he would not be the first Euro to bust in the NBA.  He at least should make last year’s trade look slightly more even than the outright collusion it appeared to be at the time.

24)  What’s the top selling jersey in the NBA this year?

LeBron has got to claim this title eventually, right?  This is the year.  Mark it down.  If not him, it will probably be J.R. Smith (if L.O.N. comes into a trillion dollars and executes the “Jersey In Every Pot” plan).

25)  Are the Spurs too old?  Are the Spurs just dried up old raisins at this point?  Do we really need to discuss them still?  I don’t see their relevancy.

Seriously?  This comes through literally every year.  Check the League Pass ratings for your answer:  more relevant than ever.  Honestly, even if they falter on the court, The French Pastry keeps them relevant on the pop culture tip alone.  Dude is everywhere — NBA Live cover, Windows commercials, the tabloids with Eva, etc.  Los Spurs, holmes.

26)  Who is going to win the dunk contest?  With what kind of dunk?

We are not sure Dwight Howard will be defending his title, as the bona fide star in the dunk contest is a thing of the past.  We gotta put Gerald Green as the odds on favorite, going into the season, now that he is back on a roster, with the Mavs.  Green had the creativity and ability last year, and Superman cape or not, the cupcake dunk is still our favorite ish from last year’s contest.  Only Pac can judge what he might break out this year.

27)  How do you feel about Josh Howard’s off the court issues this Summer?

L.O.N. has lassez faire weed stance — let the people smoke.  But of course, Howard needs to know not to show the seams on national radio.  Same thing with the national anthem hulla baloo.  The man is allowed to speak his mind… but he might want to find a better forum.  The ugliest part of the situation ended up being the despicable emails and internet posts so many people out there anonymously leveled at Howard.  Come on.  In the words of the great Jay Hova, “I thought this was America people?”.  Even if the populace had expressed themselves a little more eloquently, they are contradicting themselves.  This would not be America if we were not allowed to speak our minds!  That being said, if you do not think J.R. Smith is the second coming of Basketball Jesus, ya’ll need to leave the country immediately.

28)  Will anything happen this season to further the belief that the NBA is rigged, like the WWE?

You mean, other than Zach Randolph and Eddy Curry only leaving Dantoni’s bench to perform actual WWE-style wrestling events at all Knicks home games?

29)  How many basketball games are you going to watch this year?

773.

30)  How many live basketball games are you going to watch?

Dang, is the Salesman back?   7?

31)  Please break down the Los Angeles Clippers - is it going to be as fun as it could be?  Baron, Ricky, young Al Thornton and the Twin Towers?

Fun is a good word, unless half the team ends up injured on the bench.  This is Boom Dizzle and Marcus Camby we are dealing with, after all.  Another phrase that might be used is “interesting mix”.  The Caveman and the Camby Man may actually work out well, since Camby likes to launch those 20 foot j’s more than bang on offense, and don’t even think about coming in the paint when they are on D.  But can they deal with smaller lineups?  What will Dunleavy get out of the notoriously mercurial Ricky Davis and Tim Thomas?  Are there too many Davis’ in one place at one time (Baron, Paul and Ricky)?  Will DeAndre Jordan make GMs across the league throw up in their mouths for passing over the one time projected lottery pick?  The people demand answers.

32)  What player is going to become a star this year?

If you don’t know the answer to this, you haven’t been reading.  Think the opposite of Emmitt Rider.


33)  Who is going to be the MVP?

LeBron James.  LeBron James again?  Awwww yeah, again and again.  The time is now.  Give him the jersey sales, the trophies, the triple-double season average… everything except the title.  It’s not quite time, yet.

34)  Overall predictions?

LeBron’s singular talent still will not quite be enough… the Ceatles will not be quite as hungry and will miss James Posey… no one in the Southeast is ready… neither is Philly… Pistons over Cavs in the Eastern Conference Finals.

Chris Paul’s singular talent will not quite be enough… Denver is Denver… the Lakers still do not quite feel quite right… Carlos Boozer’s surprisingly tentative/soft performance against the Lakers last year scares us…Dallas is done… Phoenix is rickety… Spurs over Rockets in Western Conference Finals.

Spurs over Pistons in 7.  Classic ish.

35)  What else do I need to know about?

Vinny The Black, coaching the Bulls.  Realize and recognize… We miss Agent Zero.  Get your knee right, playa!… All you DYYEEEE, is this part right here, BOOM!… If there is a God, please, please, please make Sasha Vujacic go back to the short hair… With all the focus on rookies, do not forget about 2nd year guys that could break out.  Keep your eyes on guys like Julian Wright and Thaddeous Young, this year… Kenny and Chuck are back!…

Line Of The Night AKA Dunk Contest Blow-By-Blow Of The Night:

It’s all about the dunk contest, ya’ll.  This year’s edition was one of the most overall entertaining contests ever.  Every contestant brought something nice to the competition, and Dwight Howard and Gerald Green had truly unforgettable performances.  Almost all of the dunks deserve discussion, and discussion they’ll get.  Here’s a blow-by-blow recap.

Jamario Moon, 1st Attempt, 46, L.O.N. score — 9:

Moon went with the self-toss alley-oop, and it is nasty.  After the bounce, he 360s (only about 180 in the air), reaches waaaaaay back with one arm, and finishes it strong.  It is not as good as when Fred Jones did the same thing a few years back, but it is impressive.  He needed to do something to get the crowd involved more, though.  It’s like everybody was still asleep.  Overall a strong start from Moon.

Rudy Gay, 1st Attempt, 37, 7:

Gay came baseline, did a two-handed cradle into a left-handed dunk.  Nice dunk?  Sure.  But we’ve seen it before, and he does nothing to build any excitement.  A lot of the talking heads stated that Gay is more of “game dunker” and he might have trouble in this contest.  Looks like they were right.

Dwight Howard, 1st Attempt, 50, 10!!!:

Uh-oh.  He’s going to the other end… what’s happening?  What’s he gonna do?  He’s walking around… he’s inspecting… the anticipation is building.  OHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!  From out-of-bounds, behind the backboard, he throws it off the board, keeps his head behind, and windmills it in?  ARE YOU SERIOUS?!?!?!?!!!  Creativity and an unmatched combination of jumping ability and height.  Ya’ll (Gay, Moon, Green) are in trouble!

Gerald Green, 1st Attempt, 46, 10!!!!!!!!:

Green announced prior to the show that his first dunk would be the “Birthday Cake”.  Another smart move, building anticipation.  He’s got his teammate Rashad McCants up on a ladder, with a birthday cake… what in the world?  Rashad’s lighting a candle on the cake!  He’s gonna blow it out!  McCants bounces the ball to him… he grabs the ball two-handed… OHHHHH!!!!!  HE BLEW IT OUT!!!  HE BLEW OUT THE CANDLE THEN DUNKED TWO-HANDED!!  THAT’S THE HOTTEST DUNK EVER!!!!!   The judges only give him a 46?

You gotta see the instant replay to fully appreciate this one.  TNT has a camera right behind the board which clearly shows  Green blowing out the candle before slamming it home.  That is awesome.  But without replay, the judges don’t really get it.  This is like last year, when Howard’s “sticker dunk” was not fully appreciated live.  It’s time to give the judges monitors.  Cats these days are capable of stuff that cannot be fully comprehended by the naked eye alone.

Rudy Gay, 2nd Attempt, 48, 9:

Why is Rudy going?  Isn’t it Jamario’s turn?  He’s got teammate Kyle Lowry (uh-oh… showing preference over Mike Conley?  Tabloid drama!) out there to help.  A practice toss against the back stanchion… these things are great for anticipation.  Lowry bounces it off the stanchion and Gay windmills it.  Nice.  Way better than his first dunk, but a bit derivative compared to D-Ho’s dunk.  He is just a victim of bad timing.  It probably would have been more well received had he done this first.  But he still manages a 48 for the second best score so far!

Jamario Moon, 2nd Attempt, 44, 8:

Hmm… Moon is putting down a tape marker, two feet behind the free throw line.  If he can complete this… oh my.  He has teammate Jason Kapono out there as well, so it must be an oop.  Nah, after the first failed attempt it appears this ain’t gonna work.  Kapono is bouncing it too him, so there’s a whole lot of timing that has be perfect.  Well he got it, but he stepped WAY inside the line.  He completed it one-handed off the bounce.  Magic Johnson is right — he should not have set expectations so high by putting down the tape.

Gerald Green, 2nd Attempt, 45, 9:

What in the world… Green is back with the ladder, but this time it is pulled out further on the court.  McCants is back out there as well, and is climbing up to the top.  He does NOT look comfortable up there and he even is doing the sign of the cross!  Comedy.  He is holding the ball out with one hand… he lofts it straight up above the basket… Green takes off, catches, and a NASTY windmill!  That dude is SO high!  No exaggeration when we say his head is above the rim.  He is the official windmill king of the world at this point.

Dwight Howard, 2nd Attempt, 50, 9:

Dwight is coming out on the court with teammate Jameer Nelson.  He’s putting tape down… a Magic dancer brings out something red.. Nelson grabs it… is it a cape?  It is!  Did the L.O.N. Unpaid Intern get in his ear?  He had been raving about capes in dunk contests, earlier this weekend.  D-Ho takes his jersey off to reveal a Superman costume!  Nelson puts the cape on him!  The crowd goes wild!  This is gonna win it off principal.  Jameer throws it from behind the board, Howard takes off from what appears to be the planet Krypton… he grabs it… he’s flying!!!!  He throws it down!!!  Kenny Smith has absolutely lost his damn mind!!!!!  They are playing the Superman music in the background!!!  Absolutely amazing!

Wow.  On the replay though, it shows that he did not really dunk it.  His hand ended up a foot away from the basket, and he had to throw the ball in.  So it’s not even really a dunk.  But the way he captured the imagination of everyone in the arena, no one even cares.  Now this is a situation where replay might have hurt his score.  Although it is absurd to see him flying through the air like that.  The slept on part of this dunk is Nelson’s pass from BEHIND THE BACKBOARD.  Perhaps the key to this hole thing is that he nailed it on the first attempt.

Gerald Green, Final Round, 1st Attempt, 9:

At this point, Dwight Howard has complete control of the crowd.  Green is going to have to do something extremely special to pull this out.  There is no more court side judging, as the fans will pick the winner from here.  He pulled his pants up way high, so maybe he’s doing “The Nerd Dunk”?  McCants is out there again too… do these guys do anything separately?  Seems like the two of them together, off the court, is a recipe for trouble!  Looks like he’s attempting a pass over the backboard, catch off the bounce, between the legs… that’s a whole lotta stuff going on.  DAMN, that is nice!  Like Kenny said, though, a lot of people have gone through the legs.  Green added a new twist to it though, off the pass… and he is so high!

Dwight Howard, Final Round, 1st Attempt, 10:

No props, just Howard this time.  He’s throwing the self-oop… he catches off the ground… what the hell did he just do?  OHHHHHHHH!!!!!!  Off the bounce, he tapped it off the board with his left hand, then RE-CAUGHT IT with this right, THEN dunked it home!  So sick.  So, so sick.  Now THAT was his best dunk.  No gimmicks, no pass from another guy, just raw creativity using the ball and the basket.  And he made it look so easy!  That is hard as hell to do.  The competition is his.

Gerald Green, Final Round, 2nd Attempt, 9:

He pretty much cannot win at this point, but let’s see what he’s got.  Ha, he just took his shoes off, autographed them, and put them on the judges’ table!  Comedy.  He goes up for the bare-footed, through the legs windmill.  Nice, but he just can’t touch Howard’s showmanship.  As Dr. J notes later, people underestimate the difficulty of dunking without shoes.  We agree, but he probably needed to pick a different type of dunk, since he had already done that one.  It’s interesting that last year, when Green won, people did not quite understand Howard’s dunks.  Maybe that situation is reversed this year.

Dwight Howard, Final Round, 2nd Attempt, 10:

Let’s finish it up nice, big fella.  He’s bringing out the props again… and here comes that ladder!  The NBA missed out on a sponsorship opportunity with the latter.  Jameer has a mini-hoop, and he’s putting it on the board.  Is he gonna dunk two balls, one small, one big?  Is he putting it up at twelve feet since they wouldn’t let him raise the rim?  No… the mini-hoop is down on the corner of the board, and a real ball has been placed ON TOP of it.   OHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!  He grabs it off the one hoop, and windmills it in!  That dude is sick.  Wow.  The combo of physicality and athleticism is unbelievable.  Congratulations, Dwight.  You captured the crowd right from the beginning and put on an unforgettable show.  Lovely.

Worst Of The Night:

Rod Benson, D-League All-Star, straight outta North Dakota, received the ball on the break, with nothing at all between him and All-Star glory, and maybe even a 10-day NBA contract.  He sizes up the rim, takes two steps and… ugh.  He tried the impossible task of dunking while BELOW the rim!  The rim wins every time.  Uh-oh… you don’t want to go out like that in the All-Star game!

Guinness Book Of World Records Of The Night:

The Guinness Records are doing their best to get their name back out there in the public spotlight.  After being featured in an episode of Rob & Big, Guinness made it’s next move at the All-Star game.  During Saturday’s open practices, several players tried to hit as many half court shots as possible in one minute.  The East’s practice was first, with LeBron and Jason Kidd setting the record at 3 in a minute.  The amazing part about Kidd’s shots, though, were that he shot most with one hand, under-handed, like a bowler!  And they were right at the rim.  Ay-yo, that Kidd is niiiiiiiice.  Because his form did not get him out of position, he also was able to get off considerably more attempts.  Kidd maybe should win on level of difficulty merits, but at the end of the day, following the West’s practice, Chris Paul was the holder of the record, with 4 in a minute.  Gotta love All-Star practice!

Fashion Review Of The Night:

Last night we were feeling LeBron’s outfit, but he lost us Saturday night.  He had on some sort of half-trench coat, with extra collar, looking like a spy.  Our man Russ Bengston saw the same thing, calling him Inspector Gadget!  At least he kept it interesting.  His serious MVP competition, Kobe, was pure boring, with a black shirt/gray coat combo.  Joining these guys on the worst list was another guy at the top of his respective field, Mark Cuban.  Cuban, albeit dressed up from his usual t-shirt, was looking as raggedy as ever in a frat boy-esque collared, but not button-up, shirt.  You know, one of those Abercrombie-type joints, where the collar stays wrinkled?  He should have just stayed true in a tee.  And he had on a headset… not sure what he was broadcasting (turns out he was on some sort of German All-Star broadcast).

The flashiest cats of the night — and you’re not going to believe this — were Damon Jones and Terrell Owens.  Of course.  Jones had the Mohawk and a burgundy velour suit, while T.O. had the extra-Hollywood, black t with silver shine, accompanied by the sleek black sunglasses, and a bunch of other shine, seemingly coming from everywhere.  That little girl on the tv would tell you, “It’s the mirrors”.

We had two favorites, each coming with vastly different styles.  First, was Amare Stoudemire, who went with the new age, Hipster/Hip-Hop/Hollywood/Rock Star/Disco/Hell mix.  He had a military-type coat with rhinestones, accompanied by the super-thick dookie gold chain!  Awesome.  On the complete other end of the spectrum was Caron Butler.  Tough Juice kept it smooth, opting for a peachy/tan suit with a red pocket handkerchief for a nice contrast.  But where was the obligatory McDonald’s straw?

We also liked what the always well-dressed Dwyane Wade had going, especially the Mailroom Supervisor…

The MRSV’s H.O.N.nie Of The Night:

D-Wade for: “looking hot in the green leather jacket” and “taking his shirt off for the ladies’ enjoyment before shooting his Guinness half court shots.”

At first glance, we thought we were seeing the Black Fonz, as Wade went with a simple leather jacket, white tee and jeans combo.  But then we realized he had updated the flavor a little, with the green jacket.  And no comment about the second aspect of this.

Three-Point Shootout Of The Night:

Coming in, this field looked absolutely stacked.  However, disappointingly, despite a great individual performance, as a group, this was far from a memorable showing.  Perhaps we should have been aware of impending doom right away, when we saw Rip Hamilton come out with a flaming fire elbow sleeve.  Corny!  It definitely did not help, as Rip could not even stay behind the line and ended up with a low score.  That set the tone for much of the first round, as Steve Nash could not even break double-digits and hometown hero Peja Stojakovic put up a surprisingly bad performance.  Even Dirk barely skated into the 2nd round, shooting with cartoonish arc on his shot.  Boobie Gibson tried to keep his hot rookie shooting display, and was also able to make it past round 1, but in the end, it was a one-man show.  Yes, ladies and gentlemen, the man, the myth, the legend, Jason Kapono, was untouchable on the night.  He had the high score in each round, and tied Craig Hodges’ all-time single round record of 25.  En fuego.

Probably the highlight of this competition came from the announcing table. First, Kevin Harlan asked Charles and Kenny if they saw Boobie Gibson in the Rookie Game… and they were CALLING that game!  They got him good for that mis-step.  Then, Reggie Miller referred to something on the court as the “titty”, and all hell broke loose, with Charles saying all types of stuff that must’ve had TNT execs cringing.

Shooting Stars Of The Night:

We make no apologies.  We like any and all competitions held on All-Star Weekend, including the much-maligned Shooting Stars.  You can hate us now… but we won’t stop now.

The defending champs, the Detroit team featuring Chauncey, Swin and Laimbeer, looked smug from the get green, and it showed in their debacle of a performance.  Swin couldn’t hit, and then Bill Laimbeer killed a fan when he missed the entire world with his half court shot.  NASA is still tracking that, um, bad boy.  Immediately after, no joke, rumors broke that Swin Cash is being traded to the Seattle Storm!  Yikes.  The WNBA mos def takes this seriously.  The Phoenix team was so awful, all we remember is Eddie Johnson shooting out of turn and Reggie Miller yelling nonsensically about it.

The Bulls team came out with some possible controversy.  Native Louisianan Chris Duhon was looking salty as hell during introductions, while teammates B.J. Armstrong AKA The Original Boobie Gibson and Candice Dupree were looking downright cozy.  Hmm… love triangle of Dawson/Pacey/Joey proportions?  Or are we talking Lucas/Brooke/Peyton/  Anyway… as far as the competition goes, it looked like they had a good number going, but they absolutely fell apart when it came to the half court shot.

The half court shot was the least of San Antone and David Robinson’s worries.  Despite his body looking like he was just on a 3 day break from the season like the rest of the fellas, he took a katrillion shots for him to hit the first lay-up type shot!  Damn awkward lefty.  He nailed the half court shot right away, though, keeping San Antonio in it.

The final round, featuring The Chi vs. Remember The, came down to pretty much the same story.  The Bulls put up a nice number, but then completely fell apart from half court, allowing the Twin Towers + Becky Hammon to triumph.  That’s what champs do.

Skills Challenge Of The Night:

This year’s point guard Skills Challenge featured 3 young guns — Chris Paul, Deron Williams and Dwyane Wade — and an old head, in Jason Kidd.  Kidd screwed up on the jump shot — the graveyard of many a Skills Challenge competitor — while defending champ D-Wade blew it even earlier than that.  He dribbled off his foot into the crowd, almost before the whistle even blew.  Then, he couldn’t hit the J either, and in fact, just threw up quick hopeless shots, just to get by that area.  To complete the microcosm of his Heat squad’s season, he couldn’t even hit the layup at the end!

It came down to the two point guards that are continuously linked, Williams and Paul.  They had the course almost perfected, and in the second round, Williams DID perfect it, setting the all-time record.  It must have been all that PS3 practice he got in earlier that morning.  Paul noticeably picked up his pace in an effort to re-set it, but a missed J got him.  Advantage Williams, in the “best young point” argument.  Is there any more definitive evidence than this?

D-League All-Star Game Of The Night:

L.O.N. saw this game live last year, and when in attendance, it felt like some sort of rec league game in a random gym in Anywere, U.S.A.  Seeing it broadcast live on NBA TV, with Ian Eagle handling play-by-play duties, definitely made it feel much more official.  Not sure if the attendees would agree, though.  This game is also has the least exhibition feel of the all the weekend’s events.  These cats want to make the L, and scouts are in attendance.  It’s a mix of prospects (the Spurs have a good one in Frenchman Ian Mahinmi), sure things just warming up (Morris Almond), niche players just biding their time (Andre Barrett and Eddie Gill) and old heads that just can’t give up their love for the game (Randy Livingston).  So aside from a couple EMPHATIC Kaniel Dickens finishes, and a Mahinmi alley-oop early, there was a lot of solid, fundamental basketball played.  It’s probably a good thing the game generally stayed vanilla, because the few times players tried to show-out a little, the results were not pleasant.

D-League MVP Of The Night:

Jeremy Richardson — 22 points, 4 boards, 1 steal

Other than All-Star teammate and 1st round pick Morris Almond, Richardson might be the best NBA prospect-type out there.  Dude is a scorer.  His J looked good in spurts — a streak shooter for sure — but he has the athleticism to get to the rack.  Probably needs to work on that handle and those muscles, though, if he wants a permanent NBA spot.

It’s Only A Matter Of Time Of The Night:

Morris Almond — 20 points on 8-10 shooting, 3 boards, 1 steal

The jumper is so pure.  When the Jazz do decide to bring him up, he certainly won’t lack confidence.  He’s dropped 53 in a D-League game this year, and now scored 20 against the league’s best.  When you think about how similar his game is to J.J. Redick’s, it’s interesting to consider their divergent paths.  Redick has been forced to languish on the Orlando Magic’s bench, while Almond has received serious run in the minors.  Time will tell if one way works better than the other.

Other D-League Highlights Of The Night:

We’ve always loved Randy Livingston, and he’s serving as a consummate pro and mentor in the D-League.  The reason he can’t play in the NBA at this point, though, was obvious, when 6′10″ Jelani McCoy was able to lock him up on the perimeter!  The knees just can’t get it done, at this point… A few solid big men that could see a future NBA roster:  Lance Allred, winner of the H.O.R.S.E. competition (which seemed maybe a little too boring to ever make the big show) and Elton Brown, an under-sized beast in the post… Sean Banks showed some decent moves out there and we have firsthand knowledge that he also has some nice moves on the poker table.  If you see him at Hollywood Park, watch out.  He just wants to get a 10-day NBA contract so he can get in some of those NBA poker games!… Billy Thomas does a weird, quick, hand-jerk-back after everything — shots, passes, steal attempts — bizarre… Andre Barret just jitter-buggin’ out there… It wouldn’t be a D-League All-Star squad without a Powell.  Word to Kasib and Carlos…

Trade Of The Night:

Atlanta gets:

Mike Bibby, PG

Sacramento gets:

Anthony Johnson, PG
Tyronn Lue, PG
Shelden Williams, PF
Lorenzen Wright, C
2008 2nd Round Pick

Atlanta was forced by League Offices to complete this trade while everyone was paying attention to the All-Star festivities, otherwise people around the globe would have suffered instant heart attacks and/or strokes!  The Hawks as contenders?  Making moves?  They are supposed to be the team taking BACK the future picks and contracts.  It’s a new day.  And they FINALLY have a point guard… possibly the first since Spud Webb and Doc Rivers roamed the city.  This gives them a sick lineup, including one of the best back courts anywhere, and they don’t give up much, as far as current contributors.  Johnson and Lue played before this deal, but would not have been necessary with Bibby around.  This should all but cement a playoff spot for the ATLiens.  Oh yeah… and it’s phenomenal that they managed to recover something legit from one of the worst top 5 picks in history — Shelden Williams.

Sacramento is just trying to restructure and rebuild.  They get rid of Bibby’s large deal, and gain flexibility in 3 expiring contracts.  Besides, they were probably playing better this year before Bibby came back from injury, and Beno Udrih was running things.  This might not be the last you hear out of Sactown in the coming week, as Ron Artest’s name has also been mentioned in possible deals.

The Vernon Maxwell rumor is wild.  The 42 year-old, who has not played since 2001, never had his rights renounced by the Mavs, and has been mentioned as a possibility in the potential Jason Kidd deal!  Madness… T.J. Kidd exploding back on the scene!  God save us…  It’s looking like Gerald Green may need to join Drew Gooden’s All-Airhead Team…  We did not love it, but the NBA at least improved a little in their music selection, going with the New Orleans jazz theme.  Usually they are completely clueless, but Broussard had us jamming… By the end of the night, we were feeling the CGI-ed woman things TNT was using as graphics… Stay classy, Dr. J… Darrell Dawkins is a wild boy… Brent Petway wins the D-League dunk contest.  Air Georgia!!!