Tyreke Evans From Way Downtown...

What I Meant To Say Was...

So over the holiday weekend, I read where LeBron said he is pretty much all for contraction in the NBA.  Contraction is where the league would step in and eliminate some of the lower tier teams such as Minnesota T-Wolves and the New Jersey Nets.  LeBron on the topic of contraction:

"Imagine if you could take Kevin Love off Minnesota and add him to another team and you shrink the [league]. Looking at some of the teams that aren't that great, you take Brook Lopez or you take Devin Harris off these teams that aren't that good right now and you add him to a team that could be really good.  

"I'm not saying let's take New Jersey and let's take Minnesota out of the league. But hey, you guys are not stupid, I'm not stupid, it would be great for the league."

LeBron today said he never wanted contraction.  He clarified his comments after practice by saying:

"That's crazy, because I had no idea what the word 'contraction' meant before I saw it on the Internet. I never even mentioned that. That word never even came out of my mouth. I was just saying how the league was back in the '80s and how it could be good again. I never said, 'Let's take some of the teams out.'"

Uh....Last time I checked, that's the same thing LeBron.  This reminds me of a famous quote from the late Rick James.

"I never just did things to do them.  C'mon now. What am I going to do?  Just jump up and grind my feet in somebody's couch like it's something to do?  I gotta little more sense than that."

One second later....
 
 "Yeah, I remember grinding my feet in Eddie Murphy's couch."

I know that "cocaine is a helluva drug", but LeBron isn't on it.  I do know for a fact that education is VERY IMPORTANT.  At this point LeBron desperately needs a publicist.

Source: Yahoo Sports, ESPN

Are You Serious???

Baron Back in Charlotte???

With the head coaching change this week Michael Jordan, owner of the Charlotte Bobcats, isn't done making changes.  A source tells Yahoo Sports that Jordan is contemplating sending D.J. Augustin, DeSagana Diop, and Matt Carroll to the Los Angeles Clippers in exchange for Baron Davis.  Baron Davis played for interim head coach Paul Silas back in the Charlotte Hornets days.  Also it has been learned that former New York Knick and Cleveland's own Charles Oakley will join Paul Silas' staff.  Oakley told friends that he plans on toughening up the Bobcats' front line.  There's no better guy than Oak to show these young guys how to lay the wood to an opponent.

Source: Yahoo Sports

Brown Out, Silas In

After a 9-19 start this season, Larry Brown steps down as the head coach of the Charlotte Bobcats.  The organization announced Wednesday that former Charlotte Hornets coach Paul Silas would take over.  In a early afternoon press release owner Michael Jordan explained the reason of Brown's departure.

"I met with Coach Brown two weeks ago about the team's performance and what we could do to improve it," Jordan said. "We met again this morning after practice. The team has clearly not lived up to either of our expectations and we both agreed that a change was necessary."

The Hall of Fame coach was only in his third season with the Bobcats and led them to the playoffs as the 8th seed last year.  This was his 13th head coaching job of both professional and college basketball.  Larry Brown is still the only coach to ever win both a NBA and NCAA championship.

Source: ESPN

Shaquille O'Neal Conducts The Boston Pops

2010's Human Highlight Film

The Streak Is Finally Over

Superstition tells us that the number 13 is unlucky.  Tonight it can hold true.  The 12-game winning streak of the Miami Heat was done in by the visiting Dallas Mavericks 98-96.  It was truly a game of scoring runs.  Dallas came out to start on a 14-2 run to lead the game.  Miami answered back with their own 17-0 run led by Dwyane Wade who finished the game with 22 points.  LeBron James, due to foul trouble, only played 12 minutes in the first half. Dallas started the third quarter with another scoring run, 12-4.  The Heat answered back with a 13-0 run which was sparked by LeBron's first points of the game.  LeBron and Chris Bosh both had 19 points at game's end.   Jason Terry of the Dallas Mavericks making key shots in the fourth quarter made the difference.  He finished with 19 points off the bench. When Heat head coach Erik Spolestra was asked about both teams' scoring runs, he said:

"Two good teams playing and going back and forth the entire game. Really, nobody could pull away. ... Bottom line is they made bigger plays down the stretch more consistently than we did."

The Heat tries to start a new streak against Steve Nash and the revamped Phoenix Suns on Thursday at 10:30pm on TNT.


Source: ESPN

Condolences For The Green Family

Sad news today as New Orleans Hornets' Willie Green found that his sister and cousin were involved in a fatal accident following his game Sunday night against the Detroit Pistons.  Many of his family members were in attendance that night.  Willie Green is a native of Detroit.  His sister, Tamara Green and cousin, Ben Green stopped to get a bite to eat after the game.  When leaving the restaurant, they proceeded to head on I-75 where Ben lost control of the SUV.  The vehicle flipped and crashed into a tree.  Both died at the scene.  Tamara was only 30 years of age.  Ben was 27.  Willie missed tonight's game against the Pacers to grieve with the rest of the family.  My heart and prayers go out to him and his family.  

Source: Yahoo Sports

Heat Still Streaking

The Big Three of the Miami Heat scored 72 of the team's 95 points last night to extend their winning streak to 12 against the Arenas-less Washington Wizards.  The Wizards couldn't shut the door on the Heat when up four with 17 seconds to go in the 4th quarter.  When asked about the big, jubilant celebration afterwords, LeBron said:

"It was a celebration of, 'We found a way to win. Being down like that, being down five with 30 seconds to go ... and just willing a victory like that. Wins like that, you don't just walk off the court. You feel good about those wins, because those don't come very much in the NBA season."  

Kirk Heinrich of the Wizards had a chance to be a hero with a winning layup.  There was definitely contact but no call was made by the officials.  Looked like Heinrich was looking for a foul instead of actually making the shot.  Here's the recap of last night's tough road win via ESPN

Magic & Wizards Discuss Package For Arenas

Orlando Magic aren't done with their roster overhaul.  Magic president Otis Smith admitted he's been in serious talks with the Washington Wizards about acquiring Arenas.  Chances are Rashard Lewis would be piece involved in the deal to land the Wizards' guard.  Otis Smith is very familiar with Gilbert Arenas.  Smith was in the front office of the Golden State Warriors and also was a mentor to Arenas early in his career in Oakland.  More on this story here at Yahoo Sports

Phoenix/Orlando Multiplayer Trade

According to ESPN's Chris Broussard, the Orlando Magic have agreed in principle to send Vince Carter, Marcin Gortat, Mickael Pietrus and a 2011 first-round pick with cash to Phoenix in exchange for Hedo Turkoglu, Jason Richardson, and Earl Clark.  More on the trade here at ESPN

One Word......Insane

The King's Return to the Big Apple

Next stop on the Miami Heat's hate tour, Madison Square Garden.  A place where LeBron James was beloved as a Cleveland Cavalier. Knick fans adored him by making signs, having custom made New York Knicks jerseys in his name, trying to convince him to bring his talents to Broadway.  Instead in the Summer of LeBron, he eventually chose South Beach.  Fans of the Knicks were just as disappointed as fans in Cleveland.  So needless to say, he will be heckled just as much in MSG as he was in his return to Cleveland for the first time as a member of the Heat. How will he respond?  Will he have another magical performance under the big lights?  Heat vs. Knicks at 7pm tonight on ESPN.  More on where the Knicks were on LeBron's list prior to "The Decision" here at ESPN

Joakim Noah Out

Joakim Noah, center of the Chicago Bulls, will be out 8-10 weeks recovering from surgery to repair a torn ligament in his right thumb.  He injured the thumb back on Nov. 27th and played through the pain.  Bulls general manager Gar Forman will be looking for a trade or picking up a free agent in order to fill the roster spot temporarily.  More on the Bulls' situation here at ESPN

How Much Do We Love Cuban

BCS, this face is for you.  Our favorite billionaire and owner of Dallas Mavericks, Mark Cuban, hates the BCS (Bowl Championship Series) as much as we do.  Cuban wants to use his money to develop a much needed playoff format in college football.  Having a computer system dictate who plays for the National Championship is beyond ridiculous.  More on Cuban's playoff plan here at ESPN

This is a TRAVEL

Is Yao Ming Done???

Sure looks like it.  Doctors found a stress fracture in his left ankle and they are not sure when he'll be ready for action.  The Houston Rockets' center had sat out for more than a year due to foot and ankle problems before coming back this year.  Five games into this season, he was injured again with an ankle sprain.  Looks like Yao will be reevaluating his career.  More on his story here at ESPN

Early MVP Candidate???

When the New York Knicks acquired Amare Stoudemire this past summer in free agency, everyone believed that it was a consolation prize for not landing LeBron James.  They weren't going to be good right away.  It would take a few years for them to make the playoffs.  Don't look now, New York Knicks basketball is relevant again. *Currently imagining Spike Lee doing the Dougie in happiness*  But seriously, who knew?  Amare has extended his 30+ points scoring streak Wednesday night against the Celtics in a losing cause.  Besides the scoring, he has matured into a great leader.  Early in his career, we couldn't say that.  He was straight out of high school.  A raw talent.  But now, he's a seasoned veteran who now understands his role.  We can't forget about the emergence of rookie Landry Fields, great point guard play of Raymond Felton, combined sharpshooting of Wilson Chandler and Danilo Gallinari, who have chipped in for the early Knick success.  If I had to vote for the NBA MVP today, I would have to give it to Mr. Stoudemire.  Recap of the thrilling Knicks/Celtics game here at ESPN

A Player To Watch

Keith Benson (above right), is definitely a player you need to watch out for.  He's a 6-11 Senior of the Oakland Golden Grizzlies from Rochester, MI.  He's the reigning Summit League player of the year.  I wouldn't be surprised if he wins it again this year.  He finished with 26 points along with 10 rebounds to lead the Grizzlies to an upset win last night against No. 7 ranked Tennessee Volunteers in Knoxville 89-82.  They nearly beat No. 8 ranked Michigan State last Saturday losing 77-76.  That game he finished with 17 points and 12 rebounds along with three blocked shots.  This guy is a real talent.  He can be physical inside and while knocking down the 15-20 ft. jumper outside.  Something the NBA scouts are definitely looking for. A recap of last night's upset win via ESPN

Round Two

In Round One of Miami Heat vs. Cleveland Cavaliers, you heard a chorus of boos and chants of "Akron Hates You" amongst others all night long.  But it didn't matter as the Heat "mollywhopped" the Cavs by 28, 118-90.  LeBron finished with an impressive 38 points along with eight assists.  During the first meeting, LeBron, as seen above, talked with Cavaliers all night.  As if he were telling them, "Watch what I'm about to do to y'all next."    Funny thing is that Miami since, haven't lost a game.  Cleveland hasn't won a game since that meeting.  Now for Round Two.  The Cavs head down to Miami to try to end an eight game skid while ending the Heat's nine game winning streak.  When asked if he will have anything to say to his old team this time around he simply answered, "I'll probably be talking to them ... again." Hopefully this time, the Cavs will man up and redeem themselves.  More on Round Two of Cavs vs. Heat here at ESPN

Three Way Deal

Billy King, General Manager of the New Jersey Nets, pulled the trigger faster than I expected.  According to ESPN, sources say that the Nets agreed to trade F Terrence Williams (top) to the Houston Rockets and in return will receive Lakers G Sasha Vujacic (middle) along with a couple of first-round draft picks.  The Los Angeles Lakers will receive 15-year veteran F Joe Smith (bottom) from New Jersey.  This deal can't be complete until Wednesday due to league rules. More on the trade here at ESPN

A Rewards Program???

I've heard of debit/credit card rewards program where you are rewarded points toward gifts when swiping your plastic.  But I think this is a first where I've heard a coach give free reign to his players when swiping a rebound.  Miami Heat head coach Erik Spoelstra has recently instituted a system to where if the Heat gets stops on defense, they can do whatever they want on the offensive end.  From the Miami Herald: 

If Dwyane Wade grabs a rebound, he has the green light to do whatever he wants offensively.  If LeBron James makes a defensive stop, he controls his own game on the other end of the court.

This new "program" may attest to the current Heat winning streak which stands at nine.  LeBron James went on to say, "Our job is to defend and then we get rewarded with what we want to do on offense." This may work against the Detroit's & Golden State's of the league, but when it comes down to playoff time it may be a different story.  Especially in the closing seconds when someone has to take the last shot.

Looking to Wheel & Deal

The New Jersey soon to be Brooklyn Nets are dead last in the Eastern Conference standings and currently on a seven-game losing streak.  We all remember how last year turned out.  12-70 for the season.  Making NBA history by having the longest losing streak.  Billy King GM of the New Jersey Nets, shown above, is trying to prevent another catastrophic season from developing.  King believes that the organization will make multiple moves before the NBA trade deadline in Feb.  Moves that may involve landing Denver Nuggets' star Carmelo Anthony.  "We'll probably do some deals before the deadline, I'm pretty sure.  When you have your record like we are, you've got to do some things to get better."  Some believe that New Jersey will have to give up Derrick Favors, New Jersey top draft pick of 2010, along with other pieces to have a run at Carmelo.  Quotes via New York Post

Superman Has Left The Building

The man who brought life back into the dunk contest of NBA's All Star Weekend is calling it quits.  Dwight Howard of the Orlando Magic told Fanhouse.com on Monday that he's "retired for life".  He won the contest back in 2008 with his famous Superman dunk shown above.  Good for him.  He was a great ambassador for the contest for a few years.  Now, someone else can take the reins.  I wonder if his dunk contest arch nemesis and 3-time dunk champion Nate Robinson aka "Krypto-Nate" will hang it up too.  I actually thought that Nate should have gave it up after trying to attempt a dunk seventeen times before finally completing the task at All Star Weekend back in Houston (2006).  More from Dwight's interview here at NBA Fanhouse

Hate If You Want

What The What???

Donald Sterling (top) is the owner of the NBA's Los Angeles Clippers. Most say he's the worst owner in all of professional sports.  This story may support that theory.  Sources tell Yahoo Sports that he heckles Clippers' star point guard Baron Davis (bottom) constantly as of late.  Yelling to Davis, "Why are you in the game?"  Along with, "You're out of shape!", to name a few.  I personally don't know what Baron Davis did to deserve this.  He has missed quite a few games this season due to injury.  The Clips have struggled a bit this season.  But it can't be all Davis' fault right?  Now I've heckled my fair share of players at a game, but I wouldn't heckle the player that's on my team that I own.  More from Marc Spears of Yahoo Sports concerning this story here.

How Did I Miss This???

Gilbert Arenas aka Mr. Stay Strapped aka Yosemite Sam aka....Okay, you get the picture.  Well, he wore these $395 Dolce & Gabbana kicks during the Lakers/Wizards game back on December 7th.  Because of him bringing guns in the locker room last season, Arenas lost his endorsement with Adidas.  So now, he can play in whatever shoe he likes.  I've seen him in Jordans, Air Penny's, and other kicks so far this season.  Maybe I'll see him push the envelope and play in some Gucci loafers next.

Blake Griffin aka Shawn Kemp 2.0

Damn, J.J. Hickson

Empire State of Mind

Carmelo Anthony and the Denver Nuggets went to Madison Square Garden to play the New York Knicks in a Sunday matinee yesterday where they fell to the Knicks, 129-125.  With that win, the Knicks have won eight straight.  The Knicks haven't won eight straight since the '94-95 season.  With that, you think that was the bigger story Sunday afternoon in the Garden.  Nope.  According to ESPN's NBA insider Chris Sheridan, sources close to Melo have said the Nuggets' star has finally told his organization that he will not sign the $65M extension unless he's traded to the New York Knicks.  So the Denver Nuggets organization never realized that he wasn't coming back?  I mean, this $65M extension has been sitting on Melo's desk since the summer.  It's now snowing outside.  Santa Claus is packing up his sleigh. That's like Dan Gilbert, owner of the Cleveland Cavaliers, thinking LeBron was going to stay in Cleveland.  Oh, he did.  My bad.  But anyways, sounds like Melo has his sight on joining up with Amare' Stoudamire to take over the Big Apple.  But for Knick fans, at what cost will it take for Melo to be in their team's uniform? Only time will tell.  More on this story here.

LeBron's New Palace

I think it's possible to say that LeBron has settled in nicely since taking his talents to South Beach.  The self proclaimed king has a nice mansion off the water.  Beats having to deal with blizzards in Northeast Ohio I suppose.  More pics via Kelly Dwyer of Yahoo Sports here.

Baron Davis aka B-Diddy With The Alley-oop to Blake Griffin

Melo To The Bobcats???

At least that is what Michael Jordan wants.  According to ESPN's Chris Sheridan, the Bobcats' majority owner is trying to land Carmelo Anthony of the Denver Nuggets to save the Bobcats' season.  Melo is apart of the Team Jordan brand so Jordan has a personal relationship with him.  But I'm pretty sure Melo wouldn't want to be in North Carolina.  Can you see his wife Lala kicking it around Charlotte?  I don't.  That's why the Knicks in my opinion are still a top on Melo's wish list.  More on this story here.

Oh Snap!

"Hey Bron, have you seen your hairline?  Man, you just need to just chop it all off."  My wife and I were watching this postgame press conference and it had us dying.  What funny caption can you come up with?

They Are Who We Thought They Were

Well, at least I didn't.  Being a loyal Cavs fan I thought they would at least be a seventh or eighth seed in the Eastern Conference in the first year of the post-LeBron era this season, right?  New head coach Byron Scott will make a huge difference right?  Uh yeah, that's looking more and more bleak these days.  Losing to Houston 110-95 on Saturday night they drop to 7-16 with a seven game skid.  Earlier in the week, head coach Byron Scott fined a few players because they were late getting to the arena due to bad weather.  If you ask me, he should have fined the whole team due to bad play.  Don't be surprised if teams come calling around the trade deadline.

Remember This Guy?

Yeah, you remember him.  That dude that blew $110 million in a 12-year baskeball career.  You might have heard he was engaged to Evelyn Lozada of VH1's Basketball Wives.  Either way Antoine Walker, 34, is making a comeback. He made his NBA D-League debut with the Idaho Stampede on Wednesday.  Didn't do quite bad I might add.  13 points off 5-for-11 shooting in 26 minutes off the bench.  Good luck Antoine.  Maybe we can see you do the shimmy shake back into the league.  More on his comeback debut here.

The Heat Are Scorching Right Now

Thought the Heat couldn't find out how to play with each other?  Wrong. *insert pause* WRONG.  They won their seventh in a row last night at Golden State.  How are they doing it you ask?  Easy.  Fast break points.  Instead of walking the ball up, they sprint.  During this seven game winning streak, they are beating teams by double digits. Funny that when LeBron was a Cav, I believed the Cavs should have played like this all time.  Oh well.  The Christmas matchup between the Lake Show and Heat is shaping up very nicely.  Full game recap of Miami's win over G.S. here.