Game of the Week: Nuggets vs. Clippers 11/27/92

It's an early season tussle at the LA Sports Arena from the 1992-93 season, the last year the Nuggets would wear those awesome rainbow unis.

This front-end of a home-and-home went down to the wire, with the Nuggets pulling out the victory 109-106.  I'll let you watch the ending to see how that final score came about.

But while the ending is crazy, I suggest you check out the whole video. There's a lot of good highlights in here, including impressive throwdowns by Lil' Robert Pack and a young LaPhonso Ellis -just three weeks into his NBA career- and some nifty passes by Mark Jackson.

For Denver, Chris Jackson (he wouldn't become Mahmoud Abdul-Rauf for another year) and Marcus Liberty co-lead the team with 19 points. LaPhonso Ellis had 16 points and 11 rebounds. For the Clippers, Ron Harper lead with 20 points and 4 steals, while Mark Jackson had 17 along with 8 assists. The full boxscore can be found HERE.

Footage is from KWGN, with Al Albert (Marv's brother) and Walter Davis on the call.

Random NBA Player of the Week: Allen Leavell

Allen Leavell was a 6'1" point guard from Muncie, Indiana. He played college ball at Oklahoma City University and was drafted in the 5th Round of the 1979 NBA Draft by the Houston Rockets. Allen would go on to spend his entire career with the team. He was a bench presence, averaging 23.2 minutes, 9.5 points, and 4.8 assists a game in his career. He made two NBA Finals appearances in 1981 and 1986, with his team falling to the Boston Celtics both times. Upon leaving the Rockets in '89, he went on to play two seasons in the CBA -taking a break in 1990-91-  before retiring in 1992.

Game of the Week: Jazz vs. Hornets 3/3/00

Another one from the archives, here's a late season match-up between the Utah Jazz and the Charlotte Hornets. I chose a Hornets game in the wake of the news that the Bobcats are looking to take back the Hornets name from the now-New Orleans Pelicans. The Boxscore for this game can be found HERE.

The Jazz eeked out a close one 89-87. For Charlotte, Eddie Jones went off for 31 points. John Stockton led the way for the Jazz with 22 points and 7 assists while Karl Malone followed him with 19 points and 13 rebounds.

Footage courtesy of TNT, with Marv Albert and Mike Fratello on the call. The theme music TNT used during this era is some of my favorite.

Random NBA Player of the Week: Ira Newble

Ira Newble is a Detroit-bred (Southfield HS '93) forward that played his college ball at Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College and Miami University in Ohio. He went undrafted in 1997 and played in the IBA, CBA, and in Cyprus (where he won a championship) over the course of three seasons. In August 2000 he signed with the Spurs, a team that he had tried out for during the 1999 preseason before being waived. 

He played one season with San Antonio, averaging 2 points and 1.3 rebounds a game in 27 appearances and six starts. After a year with the Spurs he moved on to the Atlanta Hawks, where he spent two seasons and averaged 7.8 points and 4.3 rebounds in 115 games. In 2003 he signed with the Cleveland Cavaliers, where he spent four-and-a-half seasons. His time on the team included two playoff appearances, including the Cavaliers lone appearance in the NBA Finals.

During the 2007-2008 season Ira was part of a three-team trade deadline deal involving the Cavaliers, Sonics, and Bulls, with Newble going to Seattle. He played two games in the Northwest before being cut. Ira then signed a ten-day contract with the Lakers. He finished out the season with the team, playing six games, making one playoff appearance, but mostly riding the pine as LA made their trek to the NBA Finals, where they fell to the Celtics in six.

Newble would go on to play two more seasons internationally, with stops in Israel, Cyprus (returning to the team he won a 'ship with nine years prior), and Spain. After a year off, Ira became an assistant coach with the Canton Charge, a Cleveland Cavaliers affiliate in the NBA D-League.

Bye Bye, Vinny

A whiteboard in his hand, but no clue what to do with it...

News came out today that the Los Angeles Clippers will not retain head coach Vinny Del Negro. I received the news through a friend on Twitter @-ing me with the message "And vinny is outta there".

In response, I had to let out a few Ric Flair woos.

I was happy for the Clippers, as it seems like they are actually taking the steps to be a consistent contender for the first time in franchise history. Considering the track record of owner Donald Sterling, I figured he was going to keep Vinny on just because he was cheap and the team was winning. But check out Donald, trying to be a competent owner and whatnot. He's still an awful person though......

Vinny Del Negro, while by all accounts a great guy, really had zero actual coaching a ability. He could roll out the basketballs to his players and let them play, but he couldn't tell them which way to move to get the best shot. While the former part may be great for team morale and getting regular season wins, the latter part is necessary once you get into the final five minutes of close games and the playoffs. Vinny had the charisma part down, but not the tactician part.

It was this inability to coach that made me dislike him. I looked at him like "Why are you even here? What's your purpose? How are you a head coach and yet you can't coach?". Admittedly, I didn't notice these deficiencies when he roamed the sidelines here in Chicago. It wasn't until his first year in LA that I noticed people pointing out the fact that he couldn't coach. Then I slowly noticed which each nationally televised Clipper game I saw. Sure, the lobs were flying and the alley-oops were entertaining, but it had nada to do with any X's or O's Coach Vinny was drawing.

I think Del Negro, at this point in his career, is best served being an assistant on an experienced coach's bench. That way, he could still work with players while also learning plays and sets that he can use the next time his name comes up in coaching vacancy talks. Again, from the accounts I've come across, he has the charisma part down. At this juncture, he'd probably make a hell of a motivational speaker. But if he wants to be a coach in the NBA, he needs to have at least a few late game plays in his back pocket when things get sticky.

So with Vinny gone, the Clippers can now focus on maybe, just maybe, becoming a consistent threat in the Western Conference. The new coach will probably be the best man for the job at the cheapest price possible. A Kevin Arnovitz article over at ESPN.com suggested that Alvin Gentry may be a prime candidate for the job, as he seems to be the crossroads of those two criterion. Honestly, anybody (unless they hire Scott Brooks) would be an improvement over motivational speaker Vinny Del Negro.

Podcast SC 2

Today I talk about my new Playstation 3, Grizzlies-Spurs Game 1, and the Red Wings-Blackhawks series

Game of the Week: Pistons vs. Lakers 1/18/97

For the next couple of weeks, I'm going to be reaching into the Bag of YouTube Archives and seeing what I pull out. This week, it's a mid-season matchup between the Detroit Pistons and the Los Angeles Lakers from the 1996-97 season at the Great Western Forum in Inglewood, California. You can see the box score HERE.

The Pistons pulled out a Double-OT thriller 100-97. Grant Hill messed around and got a triple double, finishing with 34 points, 15 rebounds, and 14 assists. Otis Thorpe was right behind him with 22 points and 11 rebounds while eventually fouling out. For LA, Shaquille O'Neal had 18 points and 19 rebounds, but it was Kobe Bryant coming off the bench with 21. 

Footage courtesy of Fox Sports West, with the late, legendary Chick Hearn on the call alongside Stu Lantz. A good game to watch for sure. Enjoy!

Random NBA Player of the Week: Paul McPherson

 

Paul McPherson was a 6'4" shooting guard from Chicago. He had a nomadic college basketball career, playing at Tallahassee Community College, Kennedy-King College, and finally DePaul University. He went undrafted in the 2000 NBA Draft and eventually signed with the Phoenix Suns a couple of months later. While with the Suns, he put up 20 points in a win over the Toronto Raptors (the first NBA game I had ever been to live). 

In January 2001 he was traded with Corie Blount and Ruben Garces to the Golden State Warriors for Vinny Del Negro. In 22 games with the Warriors he hit double-digits six times, including a 22-point performance against Portland and a career-high 26-point performance at Seattle.

After the 2000-2001 season Paul was not re-signed, and would sign a training camp deal with the Nuggets before getting waived during the preseason. McPherson has not played in the NBA since.

Coliseum TV Episode 1

Editing this was a mess. iMovie and Final Cut Pro are very difficult programs, I tell ya. Anyways, in this inaugural episode of Coliseum TV, I discuss where I think the Sacramento Kings will end up and what other NBA teams need to be on the lookout for the moving trucks.

Seeing Red, Seeing the End

Dammit, they're just too good.

Last night, Miami Heat trounced the Chicago Bulls 88-65 to take a 3 games to 1 lead in this Eastern Conference Semifinals series.

This is what I feared would happen; the Heat would hit their stride and take off with this series. I applaud the effort of these undermanned Bulls, but I think Miami is going to put a bow on this thing on Wednesday night at home.

As a Bulls fan, talk like this would have me labeled by other Bulls fans as a traitor. Honestly, I see myself as a realist. I also doubt I'm on an island among Bulls fandom in the belief that the Heat with finish out tomorrow, rather they openly admit it or not.

Like every Bulls playoff series since 2009 (with the exception of 2010, where it was a foregone conclusion that LeBron and the Cavs would advance), this has been a wild and fun ride. During most of the runs, there's always a chance for the Bulls to pull through and get the win. Heck, in the Brooklyn series, I had no problem with Joakim's guarantee that they would win Game 7 and fully believed that the job would get done.

At the same time, you just have to take a step back and know when to fold. In the 2010 First Round against Cleveland that was the case. The same can be said here about this series, as a depleted Bulls roster faces elimination on the road against arguably the best team in the league.

Now, that isn't to say I don't want the scrappy Bulls (or what's left of them) to win. I hope they find a way to win Game 5, or maybe even pull out the rest of the series. That would be epic. But still, I'm just trying to be honest with myself. Whenever they meet their demise, I think the team and fans should go out with their heads held. Considering the circumstances.

Not only did the team pull off 45 wins without the team's best playing, but they were even able to win a playoff series despite being hit by some sort of bizarre voodoo injury plague. I think the 2012-13 Bulls' season is just a testament to how resilient this squad is, regardless of who wear's the jersey.

Sure it's disappointing that Derrick Rose didn't (and most likely will not) come back this season. Putting up his injury against other people with similar injuries (or even people who had his same injury on the same day: Iman Shumpert), you can't help but yearn for the return of the squad's unquestioned leader. But I've come to realize no huffing or puffing I do on this site, or my Twitter, or in public, is going to bring him back. All I can hope for is that he'll be back and better than ever in 2013-14.

And at this point, that's all you can do as a rational Bulls fan: look towards the future to keep from crying. There are a lot of questions that need answering: How explosive will Rose be? Will the Bulls finally sign or draft the second scorer they need? Who will be the 2014 Bench Mob? Will Nate be back? Will they (please, PLEASE) amnesty Boozer? Those are all fun speculative questions that could be asked to distract one's self from the seemingly dire situation.

Game 5 looks like the end for the Bulls, but as a fan I still hope for a sliver of a chance that the upset will happen. However, realistically I don't see it happening. That doesn't mean that I can't look on this season or this summer with my head held high.

Podcast SC 1

Hello all! School's out, so it's another summer here at Simms Coliseum. My plan is to have something for you every weekday. On Monday, it's a podcast! Podcast SC will be a weekly podcast by me talking a whole lotta sports. This week's podcast is basically an introductory podcast letting you know what else I have in store over the next few months.