nbaculture

The Lakers are the first team to reach 50 wins, but the engines aren’t running so smoothly without Andrew Bynum.  Sure, they’re still winning far more than they’re losing, yes; but look at the toll it’s taking.  Lamar Odom had to play to near god-mode grabbing 17,18,19, and 20 rebounds on consecutive nights (in that order, as if he’s toying with the stat keeper).  Now that Odom has returned to earth, we see that Pau Gasol and Kobe Bryant have averaged a hundred minutes a game, and generally everyone works harder to achieve the same results with Bynum in the lineup.  For all those people questioning Bynum’s worth, you gotta look at the big picture.

Denver, who has been hot and not lately fall to a scorching Utah Jazz, winning their 10th consecutive.  Denver slowly falling down the standings, while Utah wins 10 in a row.  Houston and New Orleans are starting to make a push as well, both winning 8 of their last 10 games.

Boston beats handily Cleveland without Garnett, sending a strong statement to the rest of the league.   If they take down Orlando coming up, people will take notice.  No teams in the east really surging, but Detroit has won 4 straight without AI.  Have you seen their games?  The spacing is better, they communicate better on defense, and don’t seem as confused about their identity.  That being said, AI could help them if only the two could find some mix of chemistry that is comfortable for the team as a whole.  Also, Charlotte has won their last 5, but seriously, we won’t be seeing them in the playoffs.  And if we do, you might see Michael Jordan with a stupid expression on his face, such as this:

High?  Yes, High on Life.

With more information surfacing on the whole Stan Van Gundy Shaquille O’neal thing , more hype is arousing between the Big Diesel and Dwight Howard.  Both donning the Superman moniker, both played for Van Gundy, both played in Orlando, both premiere big men, blah blah blah; just watch the video.

Supermen Comparison:  I gotta say, at the end of the day, I gotta agree with these guys on who’s better.

The Cleveland Cavaliers are the first team to clinch a playoff spot with their win over the Bucks last night.  But, it’s not enough for some selfish people: “We got one goal… That’s to win an NBA championship.” Lebron James stated.  He went on to say: “We knew we were going to make the playoffs…  If we didn’t make the playoffs, that would be a disaster for us.”

Dwight got into some trouble last night in the first half, getting 3 fouls with little to show but stepped it up in the 2nd to save face in his much anticipated battle versus a rolling Shaquille O’neal.  Their individual stats are pretty even, but Orlando’s shooters got the V for Dwight, but the biggest thing he’ll ever get to brag about during this game is that he made Shaq flop.  Shaq.  Flop.  Let me repeat that.  Shaquille O’neal, the big cactus… big diesel… big every dumb name concievable flopped against Dwight Howard.  Shaq, you are better than that.  Well, if you watch the video though it appears as if Dwight Howard traveled in his confusion.

D-Will pulled the ol’ shake and bake in consecutive moves on Marco Belinelli when Utah visited Goldenstate.  It’s definately a pretty move, but like my old coach used to say, if you aren’t going anywhere with the ball don’t dribble it.  Of course he literally and physically got from point A to point B, but for what?  To set up a teammate behind the backboard?  The move wasn’t that good to begin with, Marco sticks right with him the whole time despite giving up precious ground; after his spin he had full access to the basket for an easy lay in.  The move is excessive for the results he got, he could have gotten there in 2 moves with his level of skill.  Still, its the kind of move you might see on the playground which is always fun to watch.

Another day, another impressive Pistons victory.  Chauncey Billups got a warm reception at the Palace, but the Pistons came out on top over Denver 100-95.  No disrespect to Iverson, but the Pistons are 3-0 recently without him beating the likes of Orlando, Boston, and Denver.  Of course this doesn’t mean that they are a better team without him, but their chemistry and focus seem to be different with him out of the lineup.  They can play their usual Piston ball, but are not the same beast they have been in years past without Chauncey in their with them. That being said, when Iverson comes back they better get it together quick or their season will not end pleasantly.

There was a pair of 40’s during yesterday’s Cleveland Miami game.  I’m not exactly talking about a hearty game of Edward 40 hands, but rather a game in which Lebron James and Dwyane Wade both topped the 40 mark at 42 and 41 respectively.  This isn’t all that big, but what sticks out in my mind are the other stats that they’ve compiled along with their points.

Lebron got 42 points, 8 boards, 4 assists, 1 steal, 1 block shot, and 6 turnovers; and he went 6-7 from the arc.  Wade flirts with a dubious pentuple double tallying 41 points, 7 boards, 9 assists, 7 steals, and 8 turnovers.

Sure, Wade’s stats are a little better, but the deciding factor was their supporting casts.  Mo Will goes for 30 7 and 7, and Big Z gets his 12 points and 15 boards (6 offensive).  Miami only had 6 players who actually scored, with Jermaine O’neal going for 16 and 8 (5 offensive).

Still, the story of the game, as you can imagine, was the great showdown between superstars and Olympic teammates.  If you haven’t checked out the highlights, take some time off, grab a 40, and play the Lebron and Dwyane drinking game.

Denver suspended Carmelo Anthony for one game.  The reason being an “in-game transgression” during the game against Indiana on Sunday.  The specifics have yet to come to light, and so far I’ve got no guesses.  Until then, ciao.

Couple waives to note…

Drew Gooden was waived by the Kings to save them a cool 2 mill, and could be headed for a playoff-bound team, as Gooden can do some damage on the boards and points columns.

The Thunder waive Joe Smith, who teams have been waiting for for quite some time now.  Rumors are that he could be headed to Cleveland (especially after that whole Ben Wallace thing).

Jason Kidd knotched 15 assists last night to become the 4th play in NBA history to tally 10,000 assists in their careers.  He’s got 10,002, and can pass Magic Johnson by the end of the season (10,141).  By next season, he should pass Marc Jackson to become 2nd overall (10,334), but passing John Stockton for 1st should prove to be difficult (15,806).