Whiteside Going Sideways?

Miami Heat center Hassan Whiteside burst back onto the NBA scene in January after spending two years away in China, Lebanon, and the D-League. In the face of mounting injuries, specifically to the Heat frontline, Whiteside has been a godsend and he’s delivered starter-level production for a team just on the outside of the playoff picture.

Lately, however, it seems like something’s been up with Hassan. While you always want your big men to be aggressive, lately it’s been a bit much.

First there was his incident last week in a chippy game against the Suns when he tackled Phoenix’s Alex Len after dunking on him. That was followed yesterday by Whiteside straight trucking Boston’s Kelly Olynyk. Naturally, he was ejected in both instances.

So, like, what’s his deal?

As I said above, I don’t mind a little chippiness, but these displays have been blatant and excessive. For a guy that seemed more humble when he came back into the league, I can’t help but wonder what the catalyst has been recently that has made him so aggro.

Whatever the answer is, Whiteside needs to get it together before he finds himself back out of the league. He has been an extraordinary blocker and rebounder, but I’m sure general managers would much rather have a guy that puts up slightly less outrageous numbers if it means they won’t be out on the court using moves better suited for football or wrestling.

One person that’s already annoyed with the antics is Heat star Dwyane Wade. He aired his grievances during the post-game interview of their eventual loss to the Celtics.

I don’t believe Heat GM Pat Riley is going to drop Hassan this season solely based off of these two incidents. But keep in mind that while Whiteside is signed through next year, that year is not guaranteed. If he continues to be a problem now, it’s going to be harder to justify keeping him when McRoberts and Bosh come back next season.

Deng Extension Talks Cool, What It Means For the Bulls

Luol Deng going in for a lay-up during the 2013 Playoffs

Wednesday will be the new day for my editorial columns, which were previously supposed to be on Tuesdays. This Wednesday, however, I've got nothing. While there are a few subjects I'm interested in, I didn't really do any deep research on those topics. And I wouldn't want to give you a bland, un-researched column. Who do you think I am!? [Insert sports columnist you don't like]!?

So instead, I'll link to a column about a topic that I do enjoy and would've considered writing about. Here, Blog-a-Bull's Rickey O'Donnell discusses the breakdown in talks between the Chicago Bulls and forward Luol Deng. They couldn't come to an agreement on a contract extension for Luol, and Rickey brings up the ramifications for the Bulls for this year as well as heading into the 2014 offseason. A very interesting read, especially if you are a Chicago Bulls fan.

Game of the Week: Nets vs. Spurs 6/15/03

Ten years ago tomorrow...

The Spurs were in the Finals, Jason Kidd was the floor general for the Nets, and ESPN/ABC was wrapping up its first season airing the NBA and the lowest-rated Finals ever (though that would be topped four years later).

Nowadays, the Spurs are in the Finals, Jason Kidd has become the bench general for the Nets, and ESPN/ABC is still airing NBA games, though the ratings and coverage seem to have gotten better. Funny how some things change and others stay the same after a decade......

Today's video brings up Game 6 of the 2003 NBA Finals between the New Jersey Nets and the San Antonio Spurs. The Spurs lead the series 3 games to 2 after a 93-83 victory in East Rutherford two days prior. San Antonio manages to close out Jersey in the game 88-77, winning their second ever NBA title. The Boxscore can be found HERE.

For San Antonio, a then-young Tim Duncan messed around and almost got a quadruple-double. However, the Finals MVP had to "settle" for a triple-double, netting 21 points, 20 rebounds, 10 assists, and 8 blocks. In what was his final NBA game, teammate and twin tower David Robinson put in 13 points and 17 rebounds. Stephen Jackson had 17 points.

For New Jersey, Jason Kidd lead the team (of course he did) with 21 points and 7 assists. Kerry Kittles was behind him with 16 points, while a then-spry-and-athletic Richard Jefferson added 13. 

The 2003 Finals would wrap up ESPN/ABC's first season airing NBA games (and ABC's first since 1972-73), taking the reins over from NBC. The 2003 NBA Finals would set a record low in ratings, with a 6.5 average rating share for the series. It was the first single-digit rating share since the 1981 Finals between the Rockets and Celtics (6.7). As bad as that was, the record would be bested (or worsted?) by the 2007 Finals between the Spurs and LeBron's Cavaliers (6.2). You could look at a myriad of reasons for the series' low ratings: bad play (the Nets' offense was deplorable), lack of star power, too much going on in the coverage department (such as having Joel Siegel on the halftime show reviewing summer movies). But since this series, the NBA on ESPN/ABC has seen better days.

Footage is from ABC with Brad Nessler, Bill Walton, and Tom Tolbert on the call; Michelle Tafoya and Stuart Scott on the sidelines.

Danny and Gary Took Over, and LeBron Just Watched

To those that aren't into sports, Gary Neal and Danny Green are names that would not seem mean much. But last night in San Antonio, those were names of two men that essentially set The World on fire and gave their team, the Spurs, a two to one lead in the NBA Finals.

The Spurs hit a Finals-record 16 threes, with Gary and Danny accounting for thirteen of them. This lead them to the third-largest margin of victory in Finals history, with the 36-point drubbing falling just behind Game 7 of the 2008 Finals and Game 3 of the 1998 Finals.

I was in awe of this performance by the Spurs, and more specifically by Danny Green. In these first three games, he just hasn't missed. Of the 30 shots he has attempted in this series, 23 of them have been threes, and he's made 16 of those threes. That new hotness has allowed Danny Green to become this series's leader in scoring with 56 points.

Now, Danny Green being really good at hitting threes isn't new, but it's always fun to see a given player get hot from outside. That is what has happened to Mr. Green, and you better believe I was going crazy last night by the third made three. The following four had me over the edge. At the end of the night I was shocked he only went 7 for 9, as I honestly thought he went 107 for 109.

Now, to the Heat. That performance was so sorry they should apologize to their fans, the city of Miami, and their family for it. Erik Spoelstra was rightfully disgusted (I like that he left the Big Three in the game for a little longer then you usually leave starters in a blowout), but the players also said the right things. "It's just one game, no matter how many points it's by", said LeBron. He's right. To say that this game is an automatic indictment on how the next game will go would be a false statement.

But, boy, did they look bad in this game. As a team, the Heat shot 40.8% from the field. But while the offense was down, the defense was really bad. Besides the obvious fact that they gave up 113 points, it just seemed like they weren't challenging shots or getting those key boards to give themselves the upper hand. Whenever a Spur put up a shot, Miami players wouldn't even close out on them, they would already start heading down the court. And the team was housed in rebounding 52 to 36.

With the team's lack of size, the ability to drive the lane cut out by the Spurs D, and the struggles of the Big Three, that small-ball is being heavily exposed. While essentially playing 4 on 5 worked against the Thunder, it won't fly with a veteran team like the Spurs.

Lastly, I live in a city where the hate for LeBron runs deep. Honestly, a good amount of the NBA Finals's ratings out of the Chicago market is mostly from people wanting to see the Heat lose. This dislike can lead many Chicagoan to spout untrue generalizations about him as a player and a person. And then in comes me, who looks at stats a lot, to seem like a LeBron caper (a person that defends, or "saves" a person. Like a superhero, who would wear a cape) by comparison.

But in this game, Game 3 of the 2013 NBA Finals, I think all the hate he gets is justified. LeBron James is the best active player in the NBA (don't argue, just accept it), and there was no reason for him to be as passive as he was in this game. The 7 for 21 he shot and the 15 points he scored that show up on the box score does not tell the story of how ineffective he was for this team.

I get that he wants to facilitate and get teammates involved in the game. But at some point, when your teammates aren't coming through, you as a great player need to take things into your own hands. Realistically, most players can't turn on that switch. If an opponents' defense shuts you down, then you're just going to have a bad game. But LeBron isn't most players, and we've seen him activate Beast Mode time and again. Why he doesn't do it more, and why he didn't do it in this game, baffled and annoyed me. I feel like the Heat would be better served if (they got a capable center in the offseason and) LeBron was just a little more selfish when the chips are down.

But we'll see what happens in Game 4 on Thursday. Will the Heat make the necessary adjustments? Or will the Anonymous Dynasty continue to reign on and rain threes?

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.

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.

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.

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!

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.

"New Face of the NBA" (1971)

A really cool video I came across on YouTube called "New Face of the NBA" from the 1971-72 season. It's always cool to take a look back and compare the look of the film with the videos of today. More importantly, it's cool to see what they say about the players in this film and compare it to how their careers shake out. Nothing like a blast from the past!

Jeremy Evans Runs in From Two States Over to Catch Alley-Oop

Circled is Utah Jazz forward Jeremy Evans, moments before he catches an alley-oop from guard Jamaal Tinsley. Can we all just take a moment to look at this. Look at this. Jeremy is in Wichita when Tinsley throws the oop, yet, as you will see in the video below, he is able to catch it without missing a beat. Amazing.

Celtics vs. Bulls: LIVE From The United Center

On Tuesday, I was able to see the Bulls play the Celtics. I was excited about the opportunity because of my love for the NBA and the sheer awesomeness of seeing it live. I was originally concerned about the Bulls' chances on this night as they had lost the previous night in Memphis. But I would soon see that the Bulls would do just fine at dispatching the struggling Celtics

I got to the arena right at tip-off. Upon taking my seats in the 300 level, I realized that I had forgotten how big the United Center. While I knew that the UC seats over 21,000 people, and I had been to a few Bulls games and several other events before, it was still a shock to see just how spacious the building was. Even after 18 years, the United Center is still one of the best arenas in the country.

I had come into the game worrying about how the Bulls would do against the Celtics. The Bulls just played the night before on the road and lost. That 80-71 decision against the Memphis Grizzlies was the lowest point total for Chicago in about six years. There was also the fact that the Bulls had lost to the Celtics at the UC earlier in the season. I figured it was going to be all bad.

However, I had not taken into account that the Celtics had lost the first two games of their three game road trip by an average decision of 102-89. The Celtics as a whole have been struggling so far this season, and I had the privilege to witness those struggles in realtime. Any fears I had of the Bulls losing went away when Chicago went on a modest run in the middle of the second quarter.

Coming into the game, all of the previews I came across (on NBA.com and on ESPN Radio 1000) highlighted the fact that the Bulls needed to stop Rondo. The Bulls did not do that, as he went on to lead all scorers with 26 points and 8 assists. However, he was one of the few bright spots for Boston. I noticed that Rondo would occasionally break out a behind-the-back pass, even when it didn't seem necessary. I guess he just did it because he could. Hey, why not?

The Bulls did quite a few things right to get this win: 1) the beat Boston in the post and 2) they were effective on offense. In terms of 1), Boston was out-rebounded 43-35, and out-rebounded defensively 31-24. The Bulls also out-blocked the Celtics 10-2. In terms of 2), six players were in double-figures for Chicago, including 21 for both Carlos Boozer and Luol Deng. Boozer had a double-double (21/10) and Joakim Noah had a triple-double (11/13/10). I didn't realize Noah had a triple-double until midway through the 4th quarter when he went to the bench for a little bit. I had only been noticing his negative aspects throughout the game; is issues with footwork at times, stagnating the offense when he would just stand there when he got the ball, and his three turnovers. However, when I saw he had a triple-double, his better moments began popping up in my mind. He was definitely a huge part of the team effort that lead to this Bulls win.

Another key part to the win was Nate Robinson, who came off the bench and scored 18 points. The way he was playing, however, I figured he had scored 50 before I saw the final box score. He made all five of the Bulls' threes and attempted all but two of their nine threes. He was all over the place out on the court and he was not afraid to shoot the basketball. That's exactly what the Bulls got him for.

The crowd was cool. For the most part, it was more subdued than I expected, but there were plenty of moments where people were excited and up on their feet. The loudest I heard everyone was during a timeout late in the game when they had the Donut Race. This is when they would have three different virtual Dunkin Donuts products race on the UC scoreboard and the product that won would earn a free prize for any fans that had them on a ticket that was handed to them at the front gate. Of course, there was free stuff on the line. Of course people got excited.

And speaking of free stuff, everyone in the arena earned free Big Macs because the Bulls reached 100 points.

Needless to say, I had a great time at the game, and the win made it even sweeter. I hope to get out to another game sooner rather than later, and hopefully the Bulls can keep up the winning momentum as they continue Life Without Derrick.

The Miami Heat Won Because the Refs Cheated

On the night of June 21st, the Miami Heat were crowned the 2012 NBA World Champions after defeating the Oklahoma City Thunder 4 games to 1. For the next day or so, talking heads will give out all sorts of reason and analysis as to why the series turned out the way it did. But when it comes down to it, none of that matters because we all know the real reason why the Heat came out on top.

It's because the referees and the league screwed over Oklahoma City and gave Miami all the breaks in a sort of Yellow Brick Road to their second championship in franchise history.

Of course.

No, it isn't because the Miami Heat just happened to be the superior team in this series. No, that would be absurd. It wasn't because of LeBron James leading what became his team by being consistently dominant throughout the playoffs. It's not because a man that plays like Magic but is built like Malone took charge and put up performances that associate him with the greats.

LeBron? The guy that is only the 8th player in NBA history (Like, the whole history. All 66 years of it.) to have 3 or more Regular Season MVPs and now a championship? LeBron? The guy that came through each time his team fell behind in a series? The one that racked up 40, 18, and 9 when they trailed the Pacers 1-2?  The one that put up 45, 15, and 5 when they trailed the Celtics 2-3 (a performance only bested by Wilt Chamberlain only 47 years ago)? The one that lead the charge when his team started the Finals 0-1, finishing the series with a triple-double in the clincher (a feat only done by Duncan, Bird, Worthy, and Magic twice)? Nah, it's not him.

It's not because the Heat made the necessary adjustments throughout the series, such as starting Bosh, or putting LeBron on Durant, or having Battier bother OKC's big man. Naw, it wasn't that. It wasn't because Oklahoma City didn't seem to make the right adjustments in the series. Not because they didn't utilize their interior presence of Perkins and Ibaka to impose their will, and ended up getting swallowed up by a small lineup. It's not because Durant found himself in foul trouble in multiple games during the playoffs.

It's not because Miami's role players came through in the series to aid a Big Three that was at the top of its game throughout. What would make you think contributions from guys like Chalmers (12 in Game 1, 25 in Game 4, 10 in Game 5) , Battier (17 each in Games 1 & 2, 11 in Game 5), and Mike Miller (23 in Game 5) would have any bearing on the outcome of the series? To think that Oklahoma City lacking a third scoring option in three of their four Finals losses (Harden struggling in Game 3 & 4, Westbrook in Game 5) would be one of the possible reasons for the series' outcome is so outrageous.

It's not because the Heat came into the series with memories of last year deep in there mind. Not because they took those mistakes from last year and applied them to how they carried themselves this time around. Naw.

Not because Oklahoma City, while being a young and athletic squad, faced this motivated buzzsaw and found themselves slightly in over their heads. It wasn't because this incredibly young team making their first appearance on this stage simply fell into a long line of young franchises that had their parades rained on due to a lack of a veteran or veterans that could contribute greatly to the cause. The Thunder had Derek Fisher off the bench and Kendrick Perkins starting while most teams in recent history that won in their first trip to the Finals had more dominant vets than that, like the '94 Rockets with Hakeem, the '99 Spurs with David Robinson, the 2000 Lakers with Shaq and Ron Harper, the 2004 Pistons with four of their five starters, the 2006 Heat with Shaq (again) and Alonzo and Antoine and Payton, and the 2008 Celtics with Pierce, Garnett, and Allen. But still, that can't be a reason behind their loss.

No, the Heat won the NBA Finals because the National Basketball Association and the referees they hired  played the part of puppeteers from headquarters in New York City and from their three positions on the court, respectively.

It's clearly because the referees were screwing over, not screwing up. What do you mean refereeing is a difficult job? What do you mean it's humans making subjective calls based off of what they see in the heat of the moment from a vantage point on the court that is not always ideal? Naw, screw that. Those refs are getting paid. They love LeBron and the Heatles so much that they decided to give them all the calls. All of them. All. Of. Them. Any mistake made by the ref was the result of compensation, not because they just did a bad job.

Everyone in the league office is getting paid. Duh. Clearly the league is rigging games in favor of one team for reasons that are unclear. They denied LeBron a championship on two occaisions, but this time they decided to give him one because ????. Can't you see? The league picks the winners every year. One owner is pre-determined to win it all, while the other 29 owners sit back, say nothing, and watch all the money that most of the teams aren't making roll in.

It's all a conspiracy, and it unfolded right before your eyes.

If it isn't clear by now, I make all of the above statements with the utmost sarcasm. Personally, I feel that things turned out the way it did because one great team beat out another great team in a short, but entertaining, series. There are numerous reasons at play as to why the series turned out the way it did, including many I didn't even mention. I strongly, strongly, believe that cheating is not one of them. Assuming this championship is tainted or that there is foulplay involved in the series' outcome is, in my opinion, disrespectful to the hard work that these teams and their players and staff put in on a daily basis. Trying to peg the outcome of these finals or any other games on refereeing or league involvement is akin to losing a video game that you aren't good at and saying the computer is cheating. It's trying to find a go-to reason for something that is complex and essentially random in nature.

My point is not to make LeBron critics like him or the Heat. It's okay to want them to lose. Even for me, as a Bulls fan, I'm hoping for their downfall every time Miami and Chicago face off. However, I reached my boiling point about all the LeBron hate because people were so busy talking out of the side of their neck just to disparage anything that he or his team had done. All I want is perspective. If one wants to criticize LeBron, or anyone else for that matter, at least have facts to back it up.

That's all.

Lastly, instead of trying to find conspiracies where there aren't, why not just enjoy the game for what it is? We are in the midst of a new era of exciting basketball. To think that what you see from the stands or on your TV screen is not organic is only doing a disservice to yourself.