Long overdue apologies to the loyal readership. The FTB crew has been doing way too much, as the kids sometimes say. Actually, adults say that. But to the kids, we were simply “on one.” So it is. Life intervenes.
And, of course, it would be easy enough to cover off on something at least lightweight important, like (say) the Warriors’ recent draft of a certain son of onetime NBA sixth man of the year Dell Curry. But no. That’s been covered to death. And frankly, I’m not sure I can still quite see Nellie’s vision for a lineup with four three-point specialists on the floor together at the same time any longer. I’m sure I’ll start to sniff the brandy around August when the summer league stats roll in and light that familiar fire under my ass to go out in the waning light and shoot dozens of 37-foot three pointers in an empty gym, but until then I’m going to take a more gentle approach to re-entry blogging.
Some trick shots. Sure, it could look fake if you wanted it to. I don’t think it is. Edited? Sure. But he’s making these, at least. And supposedly the dude has accepted a Twitter challenge from the newly renamed Big Cavaleezy, Shaquille O’Neal. To a game of horse. For a thousand bucks.
Basically, it all comes down to whether or not dunking is allowed. But Bruce Manley. Remember that name. He’s going to be all up in some YouTubelage with Shaq in a few days.
Turman
PS. Patty Mills falls to number 55 in the draft? Supreme injustice. However, he did end up with the Blazers. I’m betting that he’s competing for serious minutes by midseason. He’ll be this year’s Monta. Anyone still reading this blog? Wanna chat about it?
This week might kind of suck. Just a little heads up. I could see it coming though. Friday, I took a call from a certain columnist from the LA Times. He was calling about Baron Davis. And what he meant to the Golden State Warriors. And how this season had unfolded for both. As it turned out I didn’t burn any of my 15 minutes of fame in his column, but he did an admirable job of correctly capturing the disappointment that binds us still.
Then came the Suns.
Jason Richardson returned to Golden State to score a season-high 31. Matt Barnes was back too. He had 20 points and a season-high 11 assists. One was the signature play of the game, on an alley-oop to JR. This, on the way to the Phoenix Suns scoring 154 points. As they coasted to victory.
But no. That’s not enough. More pain.
The utter meltdown of the Warriors. It was almost enough to turn me off of my tortilla soup. Captain Jack went back into “Crazy Eyez” mode and got thrown out. And since he’s now over the league-mandated limit for technical fouls, he’s probably gonna have to sit out on Tuesday when the Clippers are in town. And finally, there’s Don Nelson. “Crazy” has been his signature in a good way for decades. Tonight, he was also tossed. And with his manic “opt out or face a trade” conversation with a mostly-silent Jamal Crawford making news all week, his crazy is starting to get a little grating too.
But okay, that game is now in the past. Just another shotgun-blasted mile marker on the lonesome highway of the 2008-2009 season. But then there’s Tuesday. The long-awaited (at least in this corner of the Internet) return of the swagger that got away: Baron Davis. Tonight, he mustered precisely the sort of leadership that we all remember so fondly in an improbable Clippers win over New Jersey. The win was so improbable that I had actually switched off NBA League Pass for traditional television after Vince Carter drained what seemed to be a dagger three. As it turned out, Boom calmly hit two free throws and then cracked off the dime for the winning three after an intentional foul.
Guess what? He wants to prove something. Read More »
I stayed clear of Twitter for a solid couple years after I found out about it. Of course, back then, I can’t say that my life was all that interesting - certainly not worth blogging about, not even “micro-blogging” about. My life wasn’t even “micro-interesting.”
However, NBA Players such as Steve Nash, Chris Bosh and Baron Davis have more follower-worthy lives than most of us, so I guess once I finally arrived on Twitter, I shouldn’t have been surprised to find these dudes on there. After all, these are the most social media, tech savvy, fan-connected players in the league. But for all the rest of you NBA Players out there who are not yet breaking off some tweats, I’ve listed Five good reasons why you need to get down with Twitter.
Five good reasons why NBA players should Twitter:
1. Damage Control: What better way to quickly squash a rumor or let your girl know that obviously you weren’t out with nobody else because you Twittered from the airport at exactly 1:38 AM.
2. Shameless Self Promotion: Needs no explanation.
3. Vegas Baby Vegas: It’s nice every once in a while to give a little real-time, locker room heads-up to your friends in Sin City.
4. Do It For The Kids: The kids are going crazy for this Twittle thing!
5. 140 Characters Is All You Need: Ballers are busy people. Have you ever tried to fit two radio interviews into a day of going to practice then um, you know, doing stuff, and then playing a game that night? Well, it’s not easy. So, being short and sweet is the best way to stay connected to your fans.
With the trade deadline approaching, it is now fairly certain that the Warriors spent some time during that recent home and away back to back with the Suns talking trade. Namely, the Dubs are said to be coveting the increasingly disgruntled Amar’e Stoudemire. While he of the recently added apostrophe is one of the few bigs who is proven to be comfortable and effective in a Nellieball-esque, uptempo system, apparently the cost would be steep. Namely, either Monta Ellis or Andris Biedrins (but not both) and at least one promising young player with some upside. With Anthony Randolph having recently fired agent B.J. Armstrong in favor of someone/anyone who can help get him more playing time, he is on the short list of prospects that fit the bill. At least according to Tim Kawakami.
Without even getting into the whole “is this a good idea” thing, what we also can surmise from the rumors is that Phoenix wants at least one hefty expiring contract to come along for the ride. And other than GM Chris Mullin himself, this does not appear to be something that the Warriors can supply. Additionally, after fooling around with the ESPN Trade Machine for a while, Stoudemire’s gargantuan contract is a bit tough for the Warriors to match up with, even with a Biedrins or an Ellis, but not both. As a consequence, some people think the daunting numbers and lack of an expiring deal make the possibility pretty slim.
But let’s forget about this and suspend reality for a minute. Understand that any deal not involving a third team would likely involve another high-priced player like (say) Corey Maggette, or a whole roster full of other folks. Forget this for a minute. Should the Warriors try and do this? And if so, who should be the marquee name headed from the Dubs to the desert. Polls are open. Oh, and I should probably mention that Stoudemire isn’t that far from free agency. I’m just sayin’.
It’s unfortunate that this nugget of wisdom didn’t get to Turman tonight before going to the Orlando Game. I’m pretty sure he would have had a great time out if it had. For most of us, getting roofied and waking up naked in a dumpster would be a much better time out than watching Crawford and Jackson combine for 9 of 371 shooting, but trust me, there are ways to make this fun. Read on padawan:
I went to the Warriors v. Rockets game on Friday night. My girl’s dad was visiting from out of town, so I thought it would be fun to take him to a game, and y’know what? It wasn’t just fun. It was a great time out. Mission accomplished Robert Rowell. No, I wasn’t looking for anything as transcendent or as inspirational as “We Believe,” just a thumbs up, a nod and a “Great Time Out.” It’s clear that the team isn’t having any fun, nor is Don Nelson, and he’s already said as much, but that’s alright. These guys are getting paid millions of dollars. Who says that they’re supposed to have fun on top of it? I think if I was one of the Warriors right now, I’d probably rather be getting a half-time lecture on the art of the McHale Rebound by Kevin McHale himself than be in the Dubs’ locker room. But it’s not about the team. It’s about me and I had a great time on Friday night.
The key to my personal victory of actually enjoying a Warriors game was that I went with someone who doesn’t follow basketball, and certainly doesn’t care about the Warriors. Maybe that’s what Robert Rowell and Chris Cohan have been trying to tell us all along, and we just haven’t gotten the message - if you don’t care about this team, and if you come to a game, you will, most likely, have a great time out.
Now, let me tell you how you too can have a great time at your next Warriors game. First, if you don’t have your own future NASCAR Dad-in-law to bring to a game, just imagine you’re rolling with E.T. or an unfrozen caveman, or at the very least, someone who doesn’t know the difference between bad basketball and good basketball. That’s a start. Next, imagine that your tickets were free. I know that must be hard for the season ticket holders out there, but give it a shot. Just pretend like you spent that money to see guys on Wheelies chucking pizzas or on the privilege to buy one of those battery-powered, plastic Warriors cups that lights up on the bottom, but the tickets to the game were actually free. Next, stop caring about any of the players (this shouldn’t be too hard to do since your favorite players are now probably on The Suns or The Clippers anyway), and finally, drink two 32 0Z. Coronas and two shots of Patron, followed by a margarita in one of those cups that light up, and there you have it- a recipe for a Great F-ing Time Out! I’m not even going to tell you how much fun you’ll have watching the Warriors Girls and the pizza throwing dudes after you go through all of these steps.
I miss Matt Barnes. And as a matter of fact his fiancee just gave birth to twins right here in the Bay Area. Crazier still, FTB reader “GSW Girl” had a sister giving birth down the hall. But with all of those good vibes gone come game time, apparently the “red mist” descended for Barnes in the Phoenix/Houston game earlier tonight. While I was indulging my newly registered NBA League Pass on the Clips/Kings matchup, Barnes decided to take some of the skip out of Rafer. This ignited some fireworks that even Nasty Nash put his crooked nose into the middle of. Not surprisingly, a couple of rather hefty shoves from Sheriff Shaqtus and some quick moves from the coaching staffs of both teams kept things from escalating further.
In either of the two games that I’ve watched recently, I’d bet that either the Dubs or Clips would have liked one of Barnes’ elbows to find its match with Mikki Moore’s annoying mug. At least the Dubs prevailed. In the case of the Clips, they faded down the stretch after riding their three (!) Davises to considerable comeback effect. While FTB ponders an epic road trip for a Saturday matinee between sub-500 teams that we have a divided interest in, let’s raise a late-night glass to a departed Warrior, one who certainly hasn’t lost his Warrior spirit: Matt Barnes we salute thee. Maybe it was a cheap shot, sure. But if I wasn’t watching the right game tonight, at least I can assume that Skip was inappropriate first, right? Sure.
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