Sixers Suffer Worst Home Loss Ever

So to follow up winning 8 of their last 10 games (they did, in fact, lose to the Hawks) and being a hot team in the NBA for the last couple of weeks- the Sixers registered their worst home loss ever in their 58 year history. The Houston Rockets came into Philly and stomped on the Sixers- beating them by 50 POINTS! Yao Ming, who had 24 points and 10 rebounds, and Tracy MacGrady, who had 21 points and 8 assists, sat out for the whole fourth quarter. Andre Iguodala was benched for the entire fourth quarter, finishing with a pitiful 6 points and 4 turnovers. Kyle Korver led the team in scoring with 17 points. I don't know if I have much to say about this ball club other than the fact that they are a young club that desparately needs some type of go-to superstar.

Sixers Get Hot, Win 7th Straight Game!

In a remarkable second half turnaround, Maurice Cheeks has the Sixers looking like a competitive young ball club. The Sixers had a 6 game home stand that they managed to run the table on. And this homestand hosted 5 west coast competitors including the Lakers and Suns. The Sixers rebounded the ball and played good defense. Sammy Dalembert pulled down double digit rebounds in all but one game of the win streak.
Andre Iguodala has been playing the role of superstar on the team averaging 25 points a game and grabbing his third triple double of the season against Seattle. He is complimented very well by the experience and passing skills of Andre Miller. Miller has been averaging 7.8 Assists and 13 Points per game during the winning streak.
Their latest win comes on the second night of a back to back, where they played Kobe and the Lakers in Philadelphia last night, and then had to play the Pacers in Indianapolis on tonight. Neither of those teams are piece of shit teams, either one can be dangerous on any given night. The Sixers outplayed both ball clubs and came out on top (although the Pacers were playing without Jermaine O'Neal and Jamaal Tinsley, which I'm sure improved the Sixers chances of keeping the streak alive). I'm also impressed that the Sixers managed to maintain the streak as the went on the road, until tonight in Indiana- all their games were at home.
Their next game is Tuesday in Atlanta. I think with a couple days rest, this red-hot Sixers team can really pull one out against the Hawks. But there is always a chance that the old ghosts of the inexperienced Sixers will come back to haunt them and break their beautiful streak against such a lameduck opponent as the Atlanta Hawks. I say go Sixers! Keep the streak Alive! 8 in a row baby!

Denver Nuggets Flying High, Yet Full of Smoke

Ok, as I watch the Denver Nuggets get blown out by the San Antonio Spurs on a TNT nationalized telvised game Tuesday night, I thought I would comment on how awful the Nuggets look.

Good GOD!

I thought that if you wanted to compete to win a championship, especially in the West, you had to at least play some defense.

I mean the Suns really are an exception to that rule, but then again they have two-time (and soon to be three-time) MVP Steve Nash to drive their ship - however the Suns have yet to go to the Finals.

But the Nuggets lack anything of the sort.
As Charles Barkley said on TNT- The Nuggets defense is horrible. The Nuggets have the two leading scorers in the league, but the have no players doing the dirty work. No guys who don't really want to score, but will play defense and rebound and hustle. And he loves Allen Iverson, but Iverson pounds the ball too much. David Aldridge mentioned Eduardo Najera as a gritty player, but Barkley said Najera's not a good enough player.
They lack any confidence in their defensive play. And the Spurs just picked them apart like the veterans they are, while Reggie Miller proclaimed that "this" is why the Nuggets are not being considered to go far in the playoffs. They don't have the ability to compete on a higher level with those elite teams of the West. The Spurs weren't even playing that complex a defense, but their excellent execution managed to hold the Nuggets to 49 points through three quarters. The Nuggets recorded their lowest scoring quarter of the season with only 10 points in the third, as they crawled into the fourth quarter with a 31 point defecit.

It was ugly.

Iverson and Melo have only played 7 games together and they are 2-5.

You do the Math. At number 7 in the West- it is not looking good.

John Amaechi declares “I’m Gay” to the World…. The World replies, “Who the hell is John Amaechi?”

I’m sorry, but I don’t really care about John Amaechi. It’s not that I’m insensitive toward gay people; it’s that I’m insensitive toward mediocre ball players.

A lot of sportscasters have been saying the same thing: it will be real interesting when an active NBA player comes out publicly.

To that end, let me know when Vince Carter holds his press conference (zing!)

(Come on, this dunk was clearly just an excuse to get close with Frederic Weis)

Cuban, Dirk and Wade get ugly

So Dirk Nowitzki says that the Dallas Mavericks gave the Miami Heat the NBA Championship last year. He’s arguably right: The Mavs were up two games to zero on Miami in last year’s finals and they ended up losing the series.

Still, you don’t say that sort of thing publicly because it implies that they other team didn’t do anything to deserve the championship. It’s one thing to say that you should have won; it’s another to say that you gave it away.

So naturally, Wade is insulted and fires back at Dirk. Wade called out Dirk, saying:

“He’s the reason they lost the championship, because he wasn't the leader that he's supposed to be in the closing moments. That's because of great defense by us, but also he wasn't assertive enough as a leader's supposed to be.”

Wade is arguably right too. It’s not the classiest comment in the world, but he’s not completely off-base.

Now, enter Mark Cuban to add some more drama and his trademark cutting remarks:

“You are an amazing player, Dwayne. I love watching you shoot free throws.”

This is clearly a shot at both Wade and the NBA’s Referees. If you can’t read between the lines, Cuban is saying that Wade gets preferential treatment from the league’s officials. Guess what? He’s arguably right too!

One things for sure, we have a bona fide rivalry on our hands. The question remains: does anyone care?

Arenas Opens Mouth, Inserts Foot

I really like watching Gilbert Arenas play and I think he’s one of the best players in the NBA right now, but the guy has just proven to the world that he clearly doesn’t get it.

Scoring is great. You score more points than the other team and you win, right?

But when your only aim is to score, and you don’t, there’s not much that you’re contributing, now is there?

How immature do you have to be to have a vendetta against assistant coaches who had nothing to do with making decisions that made you feel slighted?

How disrespectful do you have to be to insult a pro team by saying how many points you’re going to score against them before the game?

How unfocused do you have to be to worry about how many points you (personally) score when the object of the game is to win?

How good are you if you cannot backup your selfishly bold prediction against one of the worst teams in the league?

What does it say that your head coach says that there’s no leadership on your team?

Gil just went from Golden Child to Goat.

Oh yeah, and stop playing fucking Online Poker at halftime! Jeez.

Francis and Isiah in the Showcase Showdown!!

Everyone has seen that "Franbury" backcourt (Steve Francis and Stephon Marbury) has not succeeded according to plan. This has been so apparent that the newspapers have continually reported rumors that the Knicks were discussing a buyout with Francis's agent.

Plagued with injuries this season and stuck in an unclear role on the team, it is apparent Francis is not the player he used to be. Worse yet, Steve Francis's trade value is at an all time low and this makes it even more difficult for the Knicks to effect a change.

So what do you do? SHOWCASE, SHOWCASE, SHOWCASE! You give him a bigger role and talk about how great he is, of course!!

Take one look at the title of the article on Francis in today's New York Post: "FRANCIS RETURN (AND BIGGER ROLE) AT HAND."

Pay close attention to the quotes from Thomas littered throughout the article:

• "He looks good to me."

• "He gives you some veteran savvy in the backcourt"

• "When [Stephon] Marbury goes out, or if he goes down, at least you've got some savvy back there, someone who understands the position and is still the same kind of threat offensively, can get to the basket, can get to the foul line and is an excellent rebounder.

• "He definitely brings another level of savviness to your team."

Is Thomas his agent? Is Thomas his mother? What's the deal with this unbridled positivity?

Thomas clearly understands that a buyout will not help the Knicks. He also understands that Francis does not fit with this roster. His only choice is to build Francis up, make him look good (in the hope that this will increase his trade value) and then ship him off at the deadline for something or someone that the Knicks could use.

Let's not forget the other elephant in the living room. Thomas's complements about Francis's game are clearly indictments of Nate Robinson's game.