City of Cleveland to ‘Thank’ Cavaliers
… for a lucky playoff schedule and being slaughtered in the NBA Finals. I tell ya, they’ll make a card for just about anything nowadays. From WEWS in Cleveland:
The city announced plans Tuesday to celebrate the winning season.
Cleveland Mayor Frank Jackson said a “Thank You Cavs!” event will be held this Thursday at 1:30 p.m. Thursday.
The public is invited to attend the rally at Mall B, west of the Cleveland Convention Center on Lakeside Avenue.
No word on how many Cavs are expected to attend, but you can probably pencil in Hughes as a ‘no-show.’
Cavs ‘Thank You’ Rally Planned For Thursday [WEWS Cleveland]
Comments (3)LeBroNeo is ‘The One’ — Cavs in Seven!
With apologies to Shoals & Co., check this copy and paste job that I grabbed from an anonymous commenter:
If the NBA gods want to make LeBron our new savior, wouldn’t he have to be down 3-0 first? We couldn’t really be headed for a Red Sox situation, could we?
To even suggest it is kind of stupid, isn’t it? And yet, I find myself drawn to the idea, “LeBron would HAVE to be down 3-0 for his first trip to the Finals.” It’s just how that story SHOULD be written, right?
I’m not a real Cavs fan; to be quite honest I’m a Southwest Division fan, but if LeBron is, “the ONE” doesn’t it NEED to be this way?
I mean, this is some real Neo/Matrix shit right here…
Holy f-bomb! Anon. — um, Morpheus? — is right! Down 3-0 to the San Antonio Machines, television ratings at an all-time low, the NBA fan on the brink of extinction … this is EXACTLY how it’s supposed to be.
LeBron James is ‘The One.’ We’ve prophesied it for years. He WILL save us!
So go ahead and replicate yourself, Agent Bowen. It doesn’t matter. Cavaliers in seven, people! Whoa…
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Thanks to Photoshopguru Howie for the visual magic.
Comments (11)Shackled Smurfs and Thoughts
In case you hadn’t figured it out yet, no podcast this morning. (Cue: Dwyer’s “bogus” line.) Sorry. JD’s got deadlines to make and mouths to feed. We should be back up on the ol’ Skype horse tomorrow. Yee-haw! Get your comments and questions in now, partner.
In the meantime, Tas has a few things he wants to get off his playoff-bearded chest. Behold!
– Stephen Jackson likes to mix it up. Sometimes he’s: Stephen Jackson, the above average ball player. Other times he’s: Stephen Jackson, the team killer. Last night, Jackson played selfish. He forced everything when absolutely nothing was working for him. He bitched and complained to the refs on almost every possession. On that one play, he did his best Paris Hilton impression, laying down and trying to get attention. As he reclined out of bounds, looking for some love from the referees, his teammates were trying to score a very important basket only a few feet away. Some people praise him for the raw energy he plays with but that reckless abandon style only works for so long before his mind goes AWOL. See: New Jersey (00-01), SAS (01-03), ATL (03-04), IND (04-07).
– In years past, a loss like the one in game 3 would rattle the Suns, but this team is different. Phoenix continually shot themselves in the foot with turnovers, felt like they were short-changed by the refs for the umpteenth time this postseason and were beaten thoroughly. I agree with the theory that Suns’ teams of the past lacked the mental toughness to get over a loss like game 3, but something tells me this squad has grown up. Is it a little more focus? Are past playoff defeats going to help them bounce back in game 4? Will it help that they were spanked in game 3? The Spurs played great in that last game but the Suns played pretty damn poorly. Look for Phoenix to come back with a far better effort Monday night that should result in a win.
Comments (10)Suns’ Fans: ‘If Nash Bleeds, We Bleed’
In case your Internet’s down — and someone has been kind enough to print this off and fax it to you — the Suns and Spurs continue their series tonight at 10:30 p.m. EST on TNT.
A must win game for ball fans everywhere, Steve Nash and his All-Star hemophilia are expected to play. But just in case he can’t, 20,000 doppelgangers are ready to go:
Apparently in a show of support for Steve Nash, there’s been a grassroots effort to get fans to wear bandages across their nose tonight when the Suns host the Spurs in Game 2 of the NBA Western Conference semifinals.
Nash was hurt late in Game 1 when he collided with the Spurs’ Tony Parker. Nash needed six stitches to close up the cut and he will be playing tonight.
Um, I’m not so sure this is such a great idea. Didn’t anyone see how poorly those stupid BandAids (TM!) stayed put? They didn’t! And it basically cost the Suns the game.
Which is why I suggest everyone — Nash and his teammates included — show up tonight dressed like the dude/dudette above. Not only would the excessive gauze fend of Tony P. and his razorblade eyebrows, it would also look a hell of a lot cooler. And isn’t that what’s really important here?
Suns Fans to Don Purple Bandages to Support Nash [KTAR.com]
Comments (2)In Lieu Of Sweet, Dulcet Sounds
Writing out loud while we await Jamison’s fifty, T-Mac to grow his demon wings and Manu’s scary back scar…
– Like everyone else and their grandma (B-Diddy’s included), I, too, am officially wrapped up in the whole “We Believe” drama going down in Oaktown. How can you not be? It’s invigorating. And though I’m definitely rooting for Full Metal Baron and his boys to slap history in the mouth, I’m still not fully convinced this thing is over. I mean, sure, the G-Men are up 3-1 — comfortably lounging on the chaise lounges and ottomans up in Avery and Dirk’s domes — but let’s not forget that the roles of alpha/under dog in this series have been switched. As in, is it not the Mavs turn to now play the old “nothing to lose” card? And how will the Warriors (and more importantly, their fans) come out as the ones on the left side of the car? Golden State has to win in this six. Has to. –JE
– This whole Pat Riley legacy sort of has me confused. Over the past two seasons he’s been the shit disturber of several events in Miami. Last season, he pushed aside Stan Van Gundy to take control of the team and lead them to a Dwyane-Wade-special type of NBA Championship. This past January, he took off for hip surgery while his team was in the dumps; some, including Skeets, thought he was using the coaching shakeup simply as a motivational tool. Then, he allows his team to stumble in to the 4 seed (without home court advantage) and get swept by the Bulls. Only 6 teams have been swept the following season after winning the title - 3 have been coached by Riley. Which leads me to wonder: Is he simply a motivator that flames out pretty freakin’ fast? Is he the type of coach that needs a real talented squad to accomplish anything? That being said, is he a poor man’s Phil Jackson? Should we expect him on Miami’s bench next year? I just can’t see it happening. –Tas
– My blogosphere surfing has been a little non-existent as of late, but I can’t remember seeing/hearing a single thing about a “Get Dikembe a Ring” movement. Seriously, why is no one preaching this? Shouldn’t this be JVG’s job? Or is he too X and O, with not enough MO… tivation? (Sorry.) Perhaps the idea of this Rockets team going deep enough to make any ‘chip noise is just too far-fetched. You tell me. –JE
– DA BULLS! With Chicago swiffering those Miamians out of the 1st round, it shows that teams need to go through the bumps and bruises of some playoff defeats before they can taste some of that postseason Kool-Aid. The “Baby Bulls” were bounced in the 1st round two years in a row before this season’s triumph. See the Toronto Raptors being pounded by the Nets for further verification. And, I don’t care about the past performance of New Jersey’s Big 3. The Raps were by far the better team this year during the regular season, but performing under the playoff lights is totally different. Isn’t it, Chris Bosh? –Tas
– In Denver, all the talk has been about ‘Melo and AI coming together, and we’ve even heard some Marcus Camby chatter (who definitely shouldn’t have been awarded DPOY in my opinion). But what has been more astonishing is the “Brazilian Beast”. Nene is lean, he’s motivated and he’s doing whatever he wants without the most polished of offensive repertoires. Maybe he was worth that $60 million he got after all. Forget what I just said. The real reason Nene’s worth the money is ‘cause one day, along with his other Brazilian brethren, he’ll produce enough excitement to get a franchise in Rio de Janeiro. Then, we’ll see the most beautiful dance squad ever assembled in the NBA. Now, that, will be worth $60 million bucks. –Tas
– Last night’s Nets-Raps was by far the most depressing game of basketball I ever saw. We had about six or seven friends over to watch it on the big screen — even though it was on HDTSN, the ONE HD sports channel we don’t get with our package — and well, I had to leave the room when Toronto fell about, oh, 35 fuckin’ points back. Honestly, I couldn’t take it anymore. I was embarrassed. So I kicked a bag of chips, muttered something about “turnovers” and stormed out the room to go lie down … in my room! I am 27 years old! 27! C’mon Raptors! PLEASE! –JE
– And finally, because I know you love the Dick…
Comments (5)And Then We’ll Race Around the World in 80 Days…
This morning, I woke up. Feeling brand new, I jumped up. Feeling my highs, and my lows — huh? — I decided to check my e-mail. This ‘lil guy was nestled in my inbox:
Professor Skeets, I noticed you lacked a Nets correspondence for your playoff series previews. I don’t know if you are planning on doing it again for the second round, but if you are I would like to volunteer either myself or the lovely Becky (a well-known Nets blogger). Or better yet, knowing how you like the wagering…
I would like to make the following bet with you: If the Nets win this series (beat the Raps) you have to put either SML or Becky on your interview; if the Raps pull it off (and they just might, given Kidd’s bad knees… he is the soul of the team), then, well… name your price. It doesn’t matter, anyway, because the Nets are winning…
What do you think, Professor?
-Stop Mike Lupica
What do I think? WHAT DO I THINK!? I think it’s a goddamn crying shame that scientists, innovators, have yet to create a magnetic soap holder that somehow levitates a bar of soap so that it’s not touching our tub or shower surfaces. I mean, we can spawn fucking sheeps and have scoreboards shoot crazy ass flames, but we can’t eradicate fucking soap scum? Why? Tell me why? Seriously.
Oh, I’m also thinking, “a hells yes,” SML. Why you’d actually WANT to come on the Jones podcast is beyond me, but well, shit, I do love me a good bet… you’re on. (And um, yeah, you too, “lovely Becky.”)
So here we go: if the Nets win, we have to have either you and/or Becky on the show. Deal. Not gonna happen, but deal. When the Raps win? Hmmm…
You and/or the “sexy Beckster” have to go back and transcribe every single introductory line we’ve ever verbally spewed on The Basketball Jones podcast. Yeah, all those stupid, pointless lyric and movie quotes I burp up five times a week. We want that shit cataloged, son! And in reverse chronological order! Uh!
So… what you say, SML/Becky? Virtual shake?
Comments (11)Resentful Playoff Fashions, Pt. 1
It’s funny because it’s true . . .
Atlantic Rivals Meet in Round 1 [NBA.com]
(Update: We’re bustin’ ass trying to get a couple of these made in time for Saturday’s game. I’ll keep you posted.)
Comments (6)About
The Basketball Jones is a NBA blog and podcast, written and recorded five times a week by J.E. Skeets, Tas Melas and Jason Doyle. Comments, questions and cold hard cash are always welcome and much appreciated. Contact us.
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