And then Kobe & Co. ruined the undefeated home efforts of LeBron and the Cavs. Never thought the day would come where my mind would produce this equation: H8 LeBron > H8 Kobe — but here we are (I feel like I’ve relayed this information before).
First of all, I’d like to thank all who participated in this the 5th round of NBA blogger MVP/ROY voting, the first of 2009. I’m honored to have been the host. Second, the esteemed panel:
Well, I thought I had evidence to the contrary, but leave it to the guys at Didn’t Draw Iron, to prove me wrong. The proof is actually in the pudding crab bisque, just check out the video below.
Well, there you go…..keep doing what you’re doing Bron-Bron. It’s your world and everyone else is just witness to your powder tossing ways.
It’s the classic schoolyard gripe of a kid saying, “But Johnny was doing it too!” while neglecting to first and foremost admit his own responsibility in whatever the transgression may be.
What am I talking about?
A blog post by a member of the Cleveland main stream media of course….specifically, Branson Wright of the Cleveland Plain Dealer [via True Hoop].
In a post aptly titled, “LeBron James Travel? What About These?,” Wright shows that he is more than adept at YouTube research. He embeds his top 5 NBA travel clips and asks, “If James did travel, why didn’t the refs blow their whistles…..[for these other travels]?”
I never thought I’d dislike LeBron James more than Kobe Bryant, boy have times changed. I don’t even mind Kobe that much anymore….I’ll never be a fan of his, but that story is for another time.
This LeBron James, he’s quite the character. At first it was his crying that got under my skin like a parasite. Sure Michael Jordan bitched and argued about calls, but never to the extent of LeBaby with his mouth holding, knee crawling, elementary school playground politicking ways.
Now it’s James’ sense of entitlement that irks me to no end. He conducts himself like the game owes him and not the other way around.
The travel call at the end of Sunday’s game has already been talked up to the level of epic lore in the saga that is the rivalry between these two NBA franchises from Cleveland and Washington, DC (and yes it is a rivalry despite Cleveland’s playoff domination — in my opinion, wins and losses don’t make a rivalry, rather it’s the spirit, intensity, and nature of the competition….granted that two teams are not already a geographic rivalry).
But afterward, there was no slices of humble pie from LeBron. No, “both teams played hard.” No, “the call could have gone either way.”
LeBron James, once again, on his knees and holding his mouth — right after a charge was called on him which led to his daddy, Mike Brown, getting kicked out of yesterday’s game.
Sure, it was a questionable call. Mike James of the Wizards had position, but I saw the replay, he turned his shoulder at the last second.
Regardless, is there really a need for all the dramatics? I think not.
Every couple of weeks in the 2008-2009 season, bloggers from ’round the NBA blogosphere will participate in a poll ranking the top 10 MVP candidates and the top five Rookie of the Year candidates. The idea was hatched by the guys at Brew Hoop and a different blog site will host each installment of the rankings. The first installment was hosted by Ryan McNeill of Hoops Addict. You can find the second hosted by Rob Mahoney of Upside and Motor.
#1 Lebron James (2) – I previously had D-Wade ranked #1, but I must give LeBron his due. The Cavs are winning games by a double-digit average and LeBron is making his teammates better. Cleveland is shooting over 48% from the field, holding opponents to just above 42%, and have the 2nd best rebounding % in the league.
#2 Kobe Bryant (6) – The Lakers are the better team, Kobe plays the bridesmaid in the MVP race because he has the better supporting cast.
NBA.com has a series of GM surveys posted, and Eddie Jordan received 8% of the votes on the question: ‘what head-coach makes the best in-game adjustments?’. That puts him behind Popovich, Larry Brown, and Carlisle, and tied with three others for 4th.
A couple other Wizards were recognized:
Caron Butler
An ‘other receiving votes’ in best at moving without the ball – Rip Hamilton was first, Ray Allen was second….Kobe, Manu, and Paul Pierce were among the others.
LeBron James’ words to his mother:“Sit yo ass down.” Sure, she didn’t have to be as involved in a LeBron-Paul Pierce off-the-court, wrap-up-foul scrum. And of course LeBron was in the heat of the moment. Still, he barked at Gloria with the command of a bread-winner. The thing is, any mom might have been concerned and up in the mix, but not any son would tell her to sit her ass down (perhaps moms was simply under the influence). Even K.G. was like, “Hey man, you can’t be talkin’ yo mama like that.”
big-ups as always to Odenized on point with the clips
Back to the baby who needs to be put in the corner.
To ironically quote a Jay-Z song title….”What More Can I Say?” — meaning, the way Jake put it on Bullets Forever, “the rivalry just keeps getting weirder and weirder,” would be an understatement.
Taking a rewind, I tried my best to keep away from this internet thing for the past 24ish hours….for no particular reason as I did get a 10 minute check yesterday afternoon. I took in a pitiful Nats loss against the Cubbies, did some drinking, which unfortunately involved tequila shots, and justifiably found myself with a mini-hangover this morning. The usual antidote would be the tragically tasty grease of McDonald’s. Since one is not convenient to my Mt. Pleasant/Columbia Heights location, the next best bet was the Marx Cafe on Mt. Pleasant Street. You usually don’t have to deal with Sunday morning crowds, the food hits the spot and the service has all the international neighborhoody friendliness one could want. [by the way, for you're a Redskins fan, I stumbled across this City Paper article about Vinny Cerrato...interesting suggested reading]
Feeling slightly better, perhaps not 100% as I opted not to chase the hair of the dog (that bit me) I came back to do some reading on what I thought would be the life and times of Gilbert’s knee injury……NoPE!
As I’m sure you are aware, allofthis happened instead. What unprecedented craziness…..leading to columns and rhyme droppings from the distinguished Mike Wise and nationwide ABC mentions of nightclub fodder by Stuart Scott and Mike Tirico.
I’ve never been to the Park and I’ve only been to Love once when one of my boys from college, an ex-Harlem Globetrotter, was in town (name-dropping without name-dropping, huh?) — I really hadn’t had the desire to go back since, as I would call Love the LeBron James of clubs…..Over, Rated. So yea, why not join the boycott?
This is not so much a game 3 preview as it is a festival of related links and the best words from them. I’ve read them all and can vouch for each and every one. Enjoy.
My Prediction? A big game from the Silent Assassin.
flickr/wizardsdotcom
Good Words to Start >> “We have to channel all of our aggressiveness, all of our excitement and all of our bravado into being organized within the team framework.” [Eddie Jordan via WashingtonWizardsBlog] >> “Discipline first is self control. Discipline second is The Enforcer. If you can’t control yourself, The Enforcer must control it, and that’s me.” [Eddie Jordan via DC Sports Bog] – Oh yea, same link….Caron Butler shaved a message in the back of his head.Advocating to use Roger Mason Junior as the “enforcer” because of his “super human strength.” [Basketbawful]
>> “Caron seems to be farely healthy, Gil’s far from behing Gil. And we know that. But look, they don’t have Sasha Pavlovic and they’ve got some guys banged up. LeBron’s got a bad back. So, you know, we can’t use that as an excuse but, Gil’s flat out not healthy. He’s not nearly the Gil we’re going to see in October.” [Eddie Jordan via Wizards Insider] >> “The Cavaliers, meaning Mike Brown and James, have successfully created the perception that the Wizards are playing dirty basketball and are out to hurt one of the game’s biggest stars. The Wizards maintain that they simply want to play clean, hard basketball and not give James easy layups, dunks and three-point plays. [Ivan Carter, Wizards Insider]
Put yourself in this all too familiar situation: You see a player on the team you root for commit a foul on an opposing player going for a shot…..but the foul isn’t strong enough. Actually, the foul is rather clement as the opposing player brushes it off and scores the basket, And 1. What do you say to yourself? “If you’re going to foul the guy, don’t let him get a shot off!”
My truthful opinion: Brendan Haywood’s foul on LeBron James deserved a flagrant 1 and not a flagrant 2.
But…..I understand why the referees felt the need to toss Haywood from the game. And don’t worry, I’m not pulling the “Superstar Call/David Stern Conspiracy” card. At that point in the 3rd quarter, the refs had to do something, as they were well aware of the situation….. from the war of words off the court to the blade cutting tension on it. A message needed to be sent to both teams: crossing the line beyond ‘physical play’ will not be tolerated. Do I like being on the losing end of that message, and the game? Of course not.
I will contend that the act of Brendan Haywood’s foul was no worse that Anderson Varejao’s arm swipe at Andray Blatche’s head.
However, the subsequent result of Haywood’s foul appeared much worse, especially in the surroundings of an impassioned crowd and an emphatic protectionist coach. I blame neither Mike Brown nor Cleveland fans for their emotion, as many of us in Wizards Nation should admit that we would have reacted in a similar fashion.
Remembering history? Doomed to repeat it? Well, let’s hope these react quotes reverse karma in the direction of the Washington Wizards. Oh yea, a muzzle on Gil and DeShawn wouldn’t hurt either……..especially because I really don’t feel like putting together an ‘Egg on Our Face’ photoshop in the future.
“Last night, Washington decided to value physicality over skill, and in the process managed to lose the ability to do either effectively. [JakeTheSnake, Bullets Forever]
“For the second straight game, the Wizards lacked the offensive punch needed to overcome LeBron James, who added to his mastery of Washington with 30 points, 12 assists and 9 rebounds before taking a seat with the Cavaliers comfortably ahead by 24 points in the fourth quarter. [Ivan Carter, Washington Post]
