- The new name of the home of the Orlando Magic is Amway Arena. Take some Amway advice from me: if you meet some potential new friends, and they come over to dinner packing an easel, some catalogs, and the idea that they want to talk to you about "an exciting business opportunity"--send them home immediately. They don't want to be your friends. They want to sell you crap, and even better they want to make a percentage when you sell your friends crap. It might be good for business, but it's not good for friendships.
- Basketbawful: "Did I mention that the Fast Break guys think Artest should, in fact, be the focus of the team's offense? And these guys are experts? Forget about the numbers. As a fan of both the Bulls and the Pacers, I've seem a lot more of Artest than I ever would have wanted. Believe me, he's an above average scorer, but he's not a franchise-type scorer. His jump shot is terribly inconsistent, even given the general inconsistency of most jump shooters, and his post game relies on a lot of pushing and jostling around the basket. He's best suited as a second or third option, not as the first. But he'll never, ever, ever consent to be used that way."
- Ron Hitley of Hornets 247: "Lamar Odom had 20 points and 7 rebounds, but also finished with 7 turnovers, including an amazingly dumbass play late in the game where he dribbled the ball on to the court instead of inbounding like a normal person. That happened with about five minutes left and the Lakers trailing just 93-87. Said Lakers' chief Phil Jackson afterwards... 'I've seen (that) once before in a junior high game.' A guy I used to ball with did that before too. We don't ball with him anymore."
- Maurice Taylor has violated the league's drug policy (for those of you keeping score at home, he's a King now, not that you'd notice) and has been suspended five games. The CBA stipulates a five game suspension for a third positive marijuana test. As in, if that's indeed what happened here, Taylor had two positive tests, was on notice, and still, with an NBA career ultimately at stake if he can't start pissing clean, couldn't swing a clean test that he knew was coming sooner or later. This is his third substance abuse suspension--he also had one at the beginning of the 2002 season (based on a 2001 test) and another in late 2003. In the big picture, I don't really care if responsible adults smoke a little ganja once in a while in the privacy of their well-ventilated homes, so long as they don't operate motor vehicles, heavy machinery, or cable access TV shows. But what's becoming obvious, and I suspect going clean would help this: Maurice Taylor is a complete idiot.
- Dave D'Alessandro wonders if it's time for Lawrence Frank to turn up the heat on his stars a little bit, who so far have had the coach's unwavering support.
- 7-9 Sun Ming Ming is back on the court after a second surgery to correct his acromegaly.
- This headline could have been written better.
- Wizznutzz weighs in with "the real truth" about what happuned when DC Sports Bog's Dan Steinberg, With Leather's Matt, and "a former Wizznutzz intern" met up at the Agent Zero shoe launch: "Steinz and I laugh because we are both wearing XXL Rasheed Wallace Bullets jerseys but he also has pants. We are all hungry after the trip so Steinz says he heard a rumor at the paper that because new york just announced ban on Trans Fats that Outback Steakhouse flagship store in NYC has to go thorugh 3 years supply of cooking oils by next spring and so bloomin onions are going 5 for a buck! and not only that but now everything on the menu is "bloomin" now they even have Bloomin Pumpkins! But this turns out not true, so I say to guys, followe me to an old friend! and i take them to 51st and West 9th where Tyrone Nesby is still running his popular hot dog cart!" That's only a tiny fraction of the brilliance.
- A close look at one of my favorite basketball books, The Last Shot.
- Jarrett Jack:30 points on 22 shots, 10 assists, two turnovers. Portland lost, though.
- Walt Frazier faces tough blogger questions about neck beards.
Sort comments by: Most Recent | First Posted
Comments that include profanity, or personal attacks, or antisocial behavior such as "spamming" or "trolling," or other inappropriate comments or material will be removed from the site. We will take steps to block users who violate any of our terms of use. You are fully responsible for the content that you post.
TRUEHOOP CONTRIBUTORS
Henry AbbottTrueHoop ESPN Archive |
J.A. AdandeTrueHoop ESPN Archive |
Kevin ArnovitzTrueHoop ESPN Archive |
Chris BroussardTrueHoop ESPN Archive |
Chad FordTrueHoop ESPN Archive |
John HollingerTrueHoop ESPN Archive |
Chris SheridanTrueHoop ESPN Archive |
Marc SteinTrueHoop ESPN Archive |
