- The Akron Beacon-Journal's Brian Windhorst says the Cavaliers celebrated their 50th win of the season by cheering for the New Jersey Nets: "The players were openly cheering for the Nets, especially LeBron 'It doesn't matter who we play' James. He was antsy and acting as if he was on the Jersey bench. When Ben Wallace made a layup he chirped: 'You gotta foul that guy, man!' When Ben Gordon was backing down Vince Carter he pleaded: 'Stay home, Vince, stay home baby!' The best was when Bostjan Nachbar drilled two 3-pointers, LeBron was like: 'Buh, buh, buh, Bostjan!' and 'That was an eyeball sammich.'"
- Magnificent Maverick bloopers. I'm sure we all think it's great, but Dirk Nowitzki thinks it's the dumbest thing ever.
- Rod Thorn is such a stud. The former owner of the Sixers says that Thorn, then GM in Chicago, killed a deal that both teams owners were open to, that would have sent Julius Erving to Chicago for the pick that became Michael Jordan.
- Mike Seely of Seattle Weekly with a scary theory about the SuperSonics' future: "In the likely event that the Legislature refuses to act, smart money's on Bennett taking his ball, going home, and letting the Supes play one more lame duck season in the Key before attempting to break the team's lease with the city. Here's my question: If you're going to break the lease anyway, why not do it right now? Think about it. The NBA's Board of Governors meeting will convene today, wherein Bennett could conceivably ask to be granted fast-track relocation permission. The Hornets just concluded their final season in Bennett's native Oklahoma City and will play in New Orleans next season. If the Sonics play in the Key next year, fan support will reach an historical nadir, and the team will hemorrhage money. Relocate to Oklahoma City, and you sell out every home game before the season starts. Seems like a no-brainer to me, although I sure hope I'm wrong." For what it's worth, I don't see it happening: it would make the NBA a vagabond's league. Seely's not the only one with this worry, though.
- Bill Bradley compares and contrasts basketball and politics, and indulges in something that I think about all the time: judging someone's character by how they play basketball. If you hit the open man, pick and move to get your teammates good looks, and play hard D, can you really be a jerk? Or if you take bad shots, don't work hard at either end, and bitch at your teammates night after night, can you really have a good heart off the court? I guess the answer to both is really "probably," but it's hard for me to believe.
- STATS! Since 1983-84 #1 seeds are 44-2 vs #8 seeds, #2 seeds are 42-4 vs #7 seeds, #3 seeds are 33-13 vs #6 seeds, and #4 seeds are 22-24 vs #5 seeds. See tha? #4 seeds have a losing record! Also, the teams with the most playoff experience are Detroit, Miami , San Antonio, Dallas, Phoenix, New Jersey, and Cleveland (Eric Snow is propping up those numbers.)
- Adam Hoff of WhatIfSports explains the difference between resting your starters for the playoffs and tanking: "It comes down to providing a service for paying customers. That's the bottom line. People are paying a lot of money to go watch NBA games and when they show up to the arena, they are getting a watered down version filled with bench warmers and D-Leaguers. How can you justify to a Milwaukee fan that you are rolling out a starting lineup featuring Earl Boykins, Lynn Greer, Ruben Patterson, Charlie Bell, and Dan Gadzuric? I mean, that is embarrassing. A Pistons fan isn't going to complain about seeing Detroit go to an "exhibition season rotation" now that they've clinched the top seed in the East. The reason for this is simple: they get to watch their team in the playoffs."
- Blazer fans, you need a little pick-me-up. And this. You're welcome.
- MyBasketballDepartment updates the lottery odds, and there are all kind of interesting things, especially related to Eddy Curry's tip-in last night my emphasis: That basket significantly changed the odds of getting to Oden/Durant territory for FIVE teams. While four of them benefitted, CHI's pick took a serious hit. The Knicks' win cut MORE THAN HALF of Bulls' chances of getting a top-2 pick. And of all players, it was Eddy Curry!! The 'Blazers can still feel the lingering effects of their huge win against the 'Sonics. Had they lost that game, their chances of landing a top-3 pick would have been 29.1% instead of the current 18.3%. And their chance of getting a top-6 pick would have been 91.2% instead of the current 40.3% ... I always got the feeling that the Celtics have been the most desperate team for landing Oden or Durant. Maybe it's because of their history or maybe it's just me reading too much Bill Simmons. Anyway, it should be pointed out that the chance of that happening is less than 40% (i.e. less likely than Ben Wallace making a free-throw) and their most likely position to pick is 4th.
- You should go to Golden State of Mind today. It's a happy, happy place, and I'm thrilled for them. My only thought is: can you say happy to be there? Come on Golden State fans, WAKE UP! You're not going to beat the Dallas Mavericks with charm. Get gritty already. Hand out the awards when the season is over.
- Pat Riley plans to coach three more seasons, or until his hair stops being so amazingly obedient.
- Amir Johnson: gold in garbage time.
- SI.com's Kelly Dwyer calls Dirk Nowitzki the best player in the NBA, but read this about his runner-up, Tim Duncan: "The groundswell of support behind Duncan's Defensive Player of the Year candidacy is legit; he's probably been as good a choice as any over the last five years (even over more flamboyant types like Ron Artest or Ben Wallace), only to be hamstrung by minutes per game and/or injury issues. But this season feels different. With no obvious pivotman to share time with in the Spurs' frontcourt, Duncan's defensive accomplishments have never seemed more ... obvious. Good thing, because he's among the best interior defenders in NBA history, and his 20.1 points, 10.6 rebounds, 2.4 blocks and 3.4 assists (in only 34.3 minutes per game, mind you) hardly denote a defensive specialist." Add to that the reality that the Spurs might be outperforming the Mavericks at the moment, but are totally mediocre without Duncan, and you have more or less the reasoning why Tim Duncan is my choice (not that I vote) for MVP.
- Winds of change blowing in Indiana.
- Why so little Tyrus Thomas last night?
- I wrote, and somehow lost, a longish post about which series are sexiest. Here's the short version: Golden State vs. Dallas, Toronto vs. New Jersey, and Phoenix vs. Lakers top my list, with honorable mention to Chicago vs. Miami and Utah vs. Houston.
- Oprah has a bunch of rap figures on the show to follow up on the word "ho." Very interesting.
- The Heat would have preferred to face the Cavaliers.
- Lots of predictions out there. These ones look pretty good to me (UPDATE: not that great, actually -- he confused the East matchups in the second round) at this stage, although I think it's a lot more fun and useful to predict series by series. Stay tuned.
- Calvin Booth, dressed up like a Wizard. And Wizard bobblehead voodoo.
- Remember this season in Sacramento for Kevin Martin's evolution, and that Ronnie Price dunk.
- Hawks players go home looking sad and bored.
- UPDATE:Timberwolves reportedly boot anti-McHale fans. The Blazers reportedly did something like that a few years ago, and I think it's fair to say it was not good for team PR in the long run.
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