nbaculture

Allen Iverson passes Charles Barkley on the all time scoring list, with 23,759, to put him over Barkley’s 23,757.  Allen Iverson is now 16th all time, and has the 2nd highest career totals for any active player, Shaquille O’neal being first on that list.

After a messy break-up, Phil Jackson, Kobe Bryant, and Shaquille O’neal are set to join forces once again on Valentines day weekend.  It became official, when coaches around the league couldn’t resist voting in Shaq as a reserve.  Sure he resurrected his career averaging 18 points and 9 boards, but to choose him over Al Jefferson seems to me like someone is stirring up the old drama pot.  Either way, Shaq has made himself relevant once again, and you’ll be sure that Phil will have Kobe and Shaq hook up at least once during the game.

West Reserves:

Shaquille O’neal, Pau Gasol, David West, Dirk Nowitzki, Tony Parker, Brandon Roy, and Chauncey Billups.

East Reserves:

Paul Pierce, Jameer Nelson, Rashard Lewis, Danny Granger, Joe Johnson, Devin Harris, and Chris Bosh.

Notable players who did not make the cut:

Ray Allen, Kevin Durant, Mo Williams, Rajon Rondo, and Al Jefferson.

In the ongoing Eddy Curry soap opera, we last left off when police found Curry’s ex-girlfriend murdered in her apartment.  Police also found her dead 9-month old daughter, and Curry’s 3 year old son who was found alive.  Turns out after tests have been conducted that 9-month old Ava was also Curry’s child.

The league will review the flagrant foul on Gerald Wallace to see if any disciplinary action should be taken.  The final word was that Wallace had 30-40% of his left lung collapse, and a broken rib.  He is reported to be fine, and will stay at the hospital for a 48-hour observation.

Ok, so it’s not for sure yet what happened to Gerald Wallace, but last night was a hell of a game.  Trevor Ariza leaves the game during the second quarter with a concussion, and Gerald Wallace gets leveled by Bynum in the fourth and leaves the game with a possible broken rib or collapsed lung.  Charlotte misses 7 freethrows at the end of the 4th, and Kobe sets up Fisher for an overtime forcing 3 pointer.  The Lakers go up quick by six in overtime, and Kobe, who rallied them at the end of regulation and to start the overtime fouls out on a questionable call.  Sure, it was a definitely a foul, but the refs have been letting the players be very physical with each other.  I don’t care if you call the wrong call, just be consistent please.

Well, the lakers pretty much fall apart without Kobe to close it for them, and Charlotte beats LA in a thrilling double OT bout.  As a side note, Phil Jackson calls out Pau Gasol with what he described to be Gasol’s worst game as a Laker.  Quite a game.

Shaquile O’neal has “revitalized” his career, but I’m skeptical enough to know differently.  Sure, he’s been playing amazing considering his last 3 years in the league, but there’s no defense and he can only play spot minutes.  Here’s a Steve Nash quote that best summarizes the entire team:

“Everyone other than Shaq plays that system, that style better… It’s great to go into Shaq. We love his advantage. But if we’re going to be great, we need to have a balance. He can’t do it alone. And he doesn’t want to. We’ve got more than enough guys that are capable. But we can’t just stand and watch. Guys lose their rhythm. We lose our connectivity with one another. It’s important for us to find the balance of both.”

It’s a point I’ve iterated and reiterated: defense is down, offense is down, fast breaks are down, morale is down.  The trade deadline is creeping upon us, and don’t be surprised to see some major changes in Phoenix.  Rumors are floating that the only person exempt from trade on the Phoenix roster is Nash.

Furthermore:

“A lot of mouths to feed,” he said. “I’m willing to just feed and feed. But then they get mad at me because they want me to be aggressive. They want me to make big shots down the stretch, so they need me to shoot periodically during the game.

I sure hope so, and not because I want to see Boston’s downfall (which would happen should Marbury land there), I just see Boston as one of the most unlikely fits for Marbury.  Every since KG got there, they have built a culture of TEAM defense, and making the extra pass on offense.  Marbury commands the ball, dribbles way too much, and will disrupt their entire set up.

Ok, so Marbury is a point guard, he’s not going to start.  He might play 2nd string if Sam is feeling old, and because Cassell fits the scheme a little better he might have to settle for 3rd string.  It’s not happening, I don’t think Marbury has even heard those words directed towards him in his life.  Alright, well Marbury can be used as ashooting guard as well.  He’s not starting ahead of Ray Allen, and Eddie House has been pretty solid.  3rd string again?  Doubt it.

All hell would break loose if Marbury came to Boston, which is why I’d love to see it happen.  People say some of the same things about Allen Iverson, but here is the key difference: AI wants to win, and will accomplish everything in his power to do so.

Actually, I take back what I said about wanting Marbury in Boston.  Although I’d love to see my team’s fated rivals dramatic spiral into hell, I’m not that sadistic.  That’s like asking to see Mike Tyson in the ring again, it’ll be funny for about 1 round and then you start to feel sorry for everyone involved.

Josh Smith had a monstrous dunk of Nash last night.. and here it is for your viewing pleasure:

and just for fun.. you can compare that to these:

You’re welcome.

“I’m deeply disappointed but everything in life happens for a reason and this is God’s plan for me…” said Redd in a statement.  I know this is a little late, but it’s now official, Michael Redd will be out for the rest of the season.  Bad if you own him in your fantasy team, not too devestating if you’re a Milwaukee fan.  Let’s face it, you guys weren’t going to the playoffs, and now you can really see how pathetically horrible your team is (aside from Richard Jefferson and sometimes Andrew Bogut, and possibly Ramon Sessions).  Your team has no chemistry, they are inconsistent, and do not complement each other very well.  It’s time to make some trades, or make more intelligent acquisitions.  Riot in your living rooms, let your voice be heard and force administration to make changes.  It’s a shame that an All-Star and Olympic Gold Medal winner such as Redd will be in basketball limbo his entire career, take advantage of his gifts!