A great human, holding a great basketball, on a great day for the world.
Well, okay, that headline is untrue, sadly. We just wanted an excuse to run a photo of our favourite man, on this beautiful day.
Having said that, Rod Benson was nice enough to leave him a few free tickets to a D-League match in Utah, just in case he had a few holes in his schedule during the past week:
Over a week ago, when we were in Utah, our assistant coach was asking us who needed tickets. In Utah, nobody has friends or relatives, girlfriends or ex-coaches, so the list was basically empty. We each get two tickets for every game (more if other guys don’t use theirs), so there were nearly 20 tickets that were going unused.
I don’t know what compelled me to do this, but right before he took the short list to the ticket people, I asked for the pen and the paper. First, I wrote my name, and then I wrote “Barack Obama plus four.” The list was then taken away with nobody having seen who I left tickets for.
Rob at NBA Mate — who’ve really fired up a two-horse race, with The Sport Count the other participant, by proclaiming themselves ‘probably Australia’s best NBA blog’ — takes a look at the recent LeBron versus Kobe showdown. Highlights include an explanation of ‘the Danny Glover role’ and a description of noted stathead John Hollinger really efficiently crying.
Erick at Baller Blogger breaks down the Memphis Grizzlies, one of the most entertaining — albeit often terrible — teams in the league. They’re a little messy now, but they’ve got a great future:
O.J. Mayo is a talented if selfish scorer who hasn’t differentiated between good shots and bad shots. He forced at least a half dozen shots and penetrations in the fourth quarter alone causing the team’s offense to fizzle out. Also, all his shot attempts are self-made, though that’s understandable considering how rudimentary Memphis’ drive-and-kick offense has to be with so many kids.
Vinny Del Negro says Derrick Rose is a lock for the Rookie Of The Year gong: ‘Mayo’s having a great year, and Beasley is an incredibly talented player and is playing well. But no one’s played at the level Derrick’s played from the start to this point. Not even close in my opinion.’ The really interesting angle is why we should care when The League’s Worst Coach — even an interim empty suit like Jay Triano can’t compete for the title — compliments one of his players.
A breakdown of the talked-up Jermaine-for-Matrix swap from Kelly at Ball Don’t Lie. With a bonus photo of Pat Riley looking like a coke dealer:
The word has died down a bit, Pat Riley helped to throw a little baking powder on that grease fire the other day, but it’s worth briefly reminding you that any trade that would send Shawn Marion and his expiring contract to Toronto for Jermaine O’Neal could not be counted on as anything less than an absolute steal for the Raptors.
Posted By: Anton
