All-Star Weekend

Well here were my favorite moments from this year's All-Star Weekend in Phoenix, AZ.

Runner Ups: Daquean Cook upset in 3PT competition, Derrick Rose winning skills challenge, BDL had some hilarious videos.

5. Nate Robinson's Lex Luthor - I missed the dunk live, but boy when I saw it, it was spectacular. Loved the idea, the look, and everything. Moreover, using Dwight (Superman) as the prop was hilarious and fantastic. (It helped that D-Howard was cooperative). Boy, that little guy has hops



4. Kevin Durant's miraculous G-E-I-C-O comeback - He was down to OJ Mayo early on...but talk about clutch. His half court shot from behind the tables was INSANE. Here's a clip...Mayo also had a ridiculous shot from the stands.

Mayo and Durant are upcoming superstars no question.

3. Kevin Durant's 46 point performance Rookie/Soph. game - He's a slow starter, but when he starts he's unstoppable. His size and agility give him a great advantage over most players at his position. Forcing defenders to step out on to the arch opens up inside shots for other players. Anyways, Durant just made everything. When it rains, it pours. I love Kevin (and Jeff Green too!). OKC does have a future.

2. Shaq/Kobe Co-MVP's - During the interview with Craig Sager (the guy's suits are ridiculous) Shaq said something like Kobe and I are biffles. We never really had a rough patch in our friendship etc. Bull****. More like it would have been awkward to say you still hate the guy who's sitting right next to you. Anyways, good to see these two have recovered some sort of friendship. Both had eggcelent games last night. Congrats.

1. Shaq's Dance with Jabawockeez - Classic. Truly Classic Shaq

Lakers vs. Celtics Part 2

Here we go again.
Painful as it was for me, I applaud the Lakers performance. Even though Kobe was anti-clutch, his teammates picked up during the end of the 4th and OT to lead them to victory. He did knock the ball out of Pierce's hands during regulation forcing House to chuck up an ugly three that burned my eyes. Anyways, a couple notes on the game. Celtics played with Garnett in the lineup after his brief recovery period. Lakers were Bynum-less...you would think it would be a repeat of last year's finals. Think again..LA proved their toughness as they were down for a majority of the game. They have gained something this year that they lacked previously - willpower. Oh, and the Lakers have stopped both of the longest winning streaks in the NBA (Celtics 19 game streak and 12 game streak).

Check out the Basketball Jones w/ JE Skeets and Tas Melas - love those guys.

Midseason Recap

It's a little past halfway of this year's NBA season...and I want to point out some surprises so far.

First of all, the East has emerged as a dominant force (it is now stronger than the West). For the last four, five years, the West has consistently produced stellar teams including the Spurs, Suns, Jazz, Lakers, Houston, Dallas, and New Orleans. The Spurs and Suns can't see any bright spots in their future. Suns will never learn how to play defense, and the Spurs are just getting too old. However, as long as Duncan is with San Antonio, they'll make it into the playoffs every year (I mean the guy is just amazing).  The only teams that I see as viable candidates to make the finals are the Lakers and New Orleans. Rockets came into this season with high expectations, but they have underperformed. What do you expect with T-Mac on the team... (but not playing - the poor soul is a cripple).  Denver deserves honorable mention - Billups in quite an underrated PG. Without Anthony, Billups was able to lead the Nuggets to a solid 7-3 in their last 10. 

Anyways, the West has several decent team, but the East has all the true powerhouses. Celtics, Cavs, and Magic. The Magic are extremely surprising...their defense is pretty solid and they have a set of amazing shooters - J.N., Hedo, and Rashard. Then Superman to beast up the boards. Cavs, well LeBron - my midseason MVP handsdown. He singlehandedly leads his team every night, and they are one of the top title contenders. Unlike Kobe and MJ, LeBron does not really have a second solid player to support him -- which aggrandizes his accomplishments (in a good sense of course).
 

Here you go: 

Top MVP Choices
1. LeBron James
2. Kobe Bryant
3. Dwight Howard
4. Chris Paul
5. KG or Tim Duncan

Most of teams are able to play together and win games - no single player is the absolute superstar save Cavs, Lakers, Hornets, and the Magic.

Top Title Contenders
1. Celtics
2. Lakers
3. Cavs
4. Magic
5. Hornets

What do you guys think?

Lakers and More

Well, most of you watched this high-intensity game.

The Magic pulled off a major upset and stopped history from repeating itself by finally beating LA at Staples. Down the stretch (especially in the fourth quarter), I noticed the Lakers not able to keep up with the sharpshooting of Jameer Nelson. Nelson, who hit 3 key 3 pointers over the course of the 4th quarter, ultimately kept his team in the game. On the other hand, Bryant struggled continuously during the 4th going 3-11 and missing 2 crucial jumpers (strange, eh?). They are on a two game losing streak! Next up: The Cavs. Who's going to stop LBJ's overpowering body?

It's not looking so bright for the Lakers right now, but I'm sure they'll get back on track. Just a note: In their last 9 games, the Lakers have allowed 8 of their opponents to score above 100 points. Defense is something they need to work on if they want to get back into shape.

Celtics have won four straight (even though they played mediocre teams) it is just what they need to get back on track. Rondo had a stellar game with 8 points, 9 rebounds, 14 assists, and 2 steals. Out of the Big-3, Allen was on target with 25 points (8-12 shooting)...with 0 assists and 1 rebound. He should plan on being more aggressive in and around the net. During his days in Seattle, he average 5 boards and 5 dishes, more or less. Now it's more like 3 rebounds and 2 assists per game. Anyways, keep shooting Sugar Ray, you'll always be good at that.

Some other surprises...OKC defeated the Pistons! Blasphemy! No not blasphemy. Durant and Green led the Thunder to a horrifying defeat over the Detroit Pistons. Both teams shot terribly, but in the end, OKC had about 12 more FT attempts, 17 more rebounds, and 9 more assists. Teamwork my friends, teamwork.

Philly's win over the Spurs was solid. Don't have much to say about the game though.

Top 10 Plays