Stay Regular
The ring ceremony in Miami was all well and good last night. I say show off that 10 K ring a typical “bride-to-be” would salivate over. Miami hasn’t seen much playoff success, and even though most of the supposed “best fans in the world” were gone by half time, they deserved a night of celebration (even if the championship banner didn’t hang perfectly straight). But let’s keep these things to a minimum.
I propose there should be no banner hanging, number retiring, award giving, or any other type of ceremony during the playoffs. Regular season? Team executives and marketing gurus, you do what you gotta do. Although, when my buddies reminded me that the only number the Heat have ever retired is Michael Jordan’s 23, I found it odd, yet refreshing. Either way, these ceremonies give the home team an unfair advantage and this shouldn’t happen when the games become real important.
How would you like if your squad was playing a pivotal playoff game in a team’s barn and they had to go through this hoopla. Let’s use the Cavaliers as an example. Your team is at ‘The Q’ in Cleveland and before the game David Stern presents LeBron James with the MVP trophy. There’s a video montage of the King’s season, some fireworks go off, yada, yada, yada. James takes the mic and addresses the fans. The crowd goes bonkers. The whole thing takes 10 minutes. The Cleveland faithful haven’t sat down and won’t take a seat until the end of the 1st quarter. They are jacked. There is no way they are going to let their team lose this game, and because of the NBA’s assist, they probably won’t.
Is this just another form of home court advantage? I say no. No other professional sports league in North America hands out their hardware in pre-game ceremonies. A player may be given his kudos before a game during the following regular season, but only in the NBA does it happen come playoff time. There is no reason to give it out then, and there is no reason any ceremony needs to take place during the post season.
Comments (1)Got Milk? Hells Yeah We Do!
Ok, so our writing skills are that of a sixth-grader. Whateva! *makes ‘W’ with two fingers* At least we’re considered a pretty fuckin’ cool sixth-grader! (Starter cap, Hypercolor t-shirt, jeans!)
Yeah, Chris at End of the Bench handed out some All-NBA Blog Awards the other day and well — lookie-lookie now — guess who just took home the coveted “Rookie of the Year” hardwa– US! Check it:
Rookie of the Year: The Basketball Jones
These guys have stepped it up of late. Podcasting twice a week in the playoffs is not easy, especially when you have a life. They do great work, and they help out bloggers gain exposure by having them on the show. They also have a solid blog, in case you just subscribe through iTunes. Why are they Rookie of the Year? Because they’re new to the scene (well, Skeets isn’t, but his blog is) and they have done great work. I’m sure they’ll keep it up.
So there you have it folks:
The Basketball Jones… Like A Retarded Chris Paul!
All-NBA Blog Awards [End of the Bench]
You’re With Us, Sixth-Graders! [The Basketball Jones]
Most Valuable Emoticon…
Late last night, Tas and I got on MSN to hand out some NBA hardware. (Yeah, how very FreeDarko of us, eh?) Anyway, here’s how it went down:
Skeets: Yo! Lemme just get some instant Chicken Noodle in me. 3 mins.
Tas: Word.
Skeets: These Cup-a-Soup things are brilliant.
Tas: They are pretty satisfying, yes.
Skeets: How was ball?
Tas: Pretty good… some lazy D out there, some hogging of the ball, definitely average ball, but fun most of the time.
Skeets: You win or did you grab that home-court, 6th seed?.
Tas: We won 5 of 6 pick-up games I think… my energy was great, rebounding, poor shooting, but I drove to the hoop all right.
Tas: I can’t believe that Memphis game, I should have gone with my 1st instinct in Miami.
Skeets: Yeah, Clips just played hard in the 2nd half so Stern wouldn’t shit himself.
Skeets: Wow, so you were like Varejao out there, eh?
Tas: That’s all I got brother.
Skeets: Hey, don’t kid yourself… strong role players are rare.
Skeets: And oh, by the way, we’ve started already.
Tas: F that noise, no we haven’t.
Skeets: “F that noise”? Jeesh. Is your Mom behind you? Go ahead and drop the f-bomb T. China ain’t watching…
Tas: I’ll do as I please Skeets. I’m the Dwight Howard of this blog.
Skeets: Amen brother. Ah-fuckin’-men…
Skeets: Ok, let’s go… (Patrick) R.O.Y.?
Tas: What do you want me to say here? You want me to pull a Jose Calderon from my pocket? It’s the man who should have been an All-Star, Chris Paul.
Skeets: Yeah, I know, just need to get the easy ones out of the way. Quick question though: Who’s your favorite Chris Paul? I like Scoop’s CP3 — he looks more ’street’.
Tas: That is absolutely hilarious. Now I see where you’ve been getting your picks from.
Skeets: Getting my picks from? What? Come on…
Tas: I kid, I kid. That link’s a great find. But seriously, that kid is gonna be something real special. The way he runs a team 1st year out of school…
Skeets: I can’t deny that… fuckin’ Hawks… SIGH…
Tas: Don’t forget those stinkin’ Blazers who traded down for Martel Webster.
Skeets: Where is Webster? Does he even play? Is he hiding in the clock?
Skeets: MA’AM!
Tas: I think I see Webster once a week walking down the street. He’s got such a common face.
Skeets: Ok, Most Improved. Who you like?
Tas: This one is so wide open, but I can’t deny my man Boris Diaw finding his niche in Phoenix. He looks like the 2nd point guard out there; he just knows how to play.
Skeets: See, problem with this cat for me. Do you give it to someone who goes from ass to good, or from good to great?
Skeets: What’s MORE of an improvement? ‘Cuz if you go with the latter version then you gotta look hard at ‘Melo, Dwight or The Black Kirilenko, right?
Skeets: And oh, this soup is great. I just hit some nice surprise noodles at the bottom of the cup.
Tas: But everyone EXPECTS those type of players to improve. That means they’re improvement isn’t surprising and should be recognized less.
Skeets: Another problem with the Diaw choice is, did he really IMPROVE or was it just D’Antoni’s offense and ultimately circumstance that he got better? (See: Amare’s knee.)
Skeets: And um, David West gets my vote. This guy came outta nowhere and I still don’t know who the hell he is!
Tas: Yes, his situation has changed but he’s just showing the type of baller he is. The man’s getting double digit rebounds, points and assists fairly regularly because he has skills. If you watch him play, it’s more the talent than the system.
Skeets: Speaking of talent — can we pick it up here, champ? You’re like the freakin’ Memphis Grizzlies of MSN.
Tas: I know you need your 10 hour beauty sleep princess. But I just wanted to note Diaw also gets my vote cause I like to vote for a player whose name most sounds like an animal’s noise.
Tas: HEE-HAW! DI-AW!
Skeets: You took 2 minutes and that’s the best you could come up with? Ok, moving on…
Tas: My mom spell checks.
Skeets: D-FENCE! (Clap, clap) D-FENCE (Clap, clap)… Winner is…
Skeets: And scratch G-Wallace and Camby ‘cuz of injuries, right?
Tas: I think so, but they wouldn’t have got my vote anyways.
Tas: I think the award should go to the player you’d least like to see awaiting your arrival as you dribble down the court.
Skeets: Benjamin?
Tas: Bang on. For me Big Ben still changes the game like no other.
Skeets: That’d be his 4th DPY. That’s huge.
Skeets: Hey, why’s Marion get no love in this cat? He’s top 5 steals and boards, top 20 blocks… is it because of Phoenix’s game?
Tas: That’s exactly why. The system really pads his stats, but I wouldn’t call him a great defensive player by any means. He can’t stop very good players 1-on-1.
Skeets: What about Bruce then? He can stop time, remember…
Tas: He is amazing, but he doesn’t have the effect on a game Ben does. Bruce loses points in my mind because he doesn’t block shots.
Tas: Kirilenko must get a mention here - if he was healthy for an entire year, he’d have to get serious consideration.
Skeets: Bowen’s good, but AK47’s a tailor… he alters everything… I’d actually give this award to Mourning if he started. That guy’s a freak on D (even if he is a dick).
Skeets: With that said, Big Benny’s my pick too.
Skeets: And hey, if he’s the last person you want to see coming down the lane … who’s first?
Tas: Great question. It’s gotta be ‘Big Hoffa’.
Skeets: Hahaha… mine’s Antoine Walker…
Skeets: I’d float a teardrop while I dropkicked him in the groin.
Skeets: Next: 6th Man? Candidates: Mike Miller, Zo, Gordon, Stack, maybe McDyess?
Skeets: And woah, we forgot Mike James Bitch for M.I.P. He played like Bahamas this year!
Tas: That should stand for Most Improved Paycheck. That man’s gettin’ paid…
Tas: Bitch!
Skeets: K, Six-Shooter, who’s your pick? This is a tough (or is it just stupid) award…
Tas: It’s not stupid, Zo has made the biggest impact coming off the bench. He’s my vote hands down.
Skeets: Isn’t it hands up in Zo’s case? Like, pointed to the sky? But wow, I didn’t see that coming from you. Really?
Skeets: Man, personally, I WOULDN’T even want to win this award: Rodney Rogers? John Starks? Aaron McKie? No thanks, I’ll pass…
Skeets: ROY TARPLEY! My Lord…
Tas: What’s Zo got to live for anyway? He’s gonna have this award and a 1 donated kidney to his name. Just give it to him.
Tas: This is the end of his career, this is seriously an accomplishment for someone who’s best days are long behind him.
Skeets: Oh, how touching. Fine. I’m giving mine to Stack and I’d rather not have to explain why.
Tas: All right. But let me ask, do the tights have anything to do with it?
Skeets: No, but they sure keep his groin together.
Skeets: K, two left. Coach and MVP. Let’s go Coach. Who’s your leader?
Tas: Toss up for me. Coach D’Antoni, Coach Scott, maybe even the Zen master. They have done amazing things with very average rosters.
Skeets: Well then? What do you want to do, cut it up, give a piece to all three?
Skeets: “Here, you take the bench Phil. Mike, you get the little man there. And oh, umm, Scott, looks like you get the wood base. Sorry.”
Tas: I’ve decided I go with Italian Mike because he’s had to deal with a totally over made roster, too many injuries, and still been able to grab the 2nd seed.
Skeets: FYI: No Coach has ever won this b-2-b…
Skeets: That’s why I’m going with high-pitched Avery. No one had the Mavs set for 60 and they’ve had their injuries as well.
Tas: I don’t buy that one. The fact that they’ve won 50+ for 5 years running, and Avery comes in and gets a couple more wins? The foundation was already built for him while D’Antoni did all the work himself this year.
Skeets: Taking a team from 50 to 60 wins is WAY more difficult than taking a team from 30-40 or some shit like that…
Skeets: It’s levels man, crazy strata-type-shit…. you wouldn’t understand…
Tas: Stoudemire, Thomas, Grant all out. 3 out of 5 new starters. A new bench. And don’t go all META on me, all right?
Skeets: Sorry.
Skeets: Ok, last one: M.V.P.
Tas: I’m gonna go with Mike James’ vote - Allen Iverson.
Skeets: No!
Tas: I’m kidding. Geez.
Skeets: Fuck. I’ve got a Jonathan Lipnicki emoticon here Tas… don’t make me use it!
Tas: I will dwarf your emoticons. Try me.
Tas: The most valuable member to his team has been Steve Nash. Put him on any team; watch the team riiiiiiise to the top. ‘Horse and Carriage, see my love is for hire’ - thanks Cam.
Skeets: I have that CD.
Tas: Are you going to 82games.com to get backup for you bandwagon LeBron pick?
Tas: And um, I’ll borrow that disc, if that’s cool?
Skeets: Yeah, go nuts. I’ll throw in a Sporty Thievz “No Pigeons” single as well…
Skeets: And no, fuck the stats! LBJ is the King and you know it.
Skeets: Talk about putting a guy on any team, my God! Wait till LBJ gets his ‘Pippen’. It’s going to be ridiculous!
Tas: I’m not saying he won’t be the best player in this league, but he wasn’t this year. There’s no doubt about that. March-April? Maybe. November-February? Not even close.
Skeets: And where was Nash for March-April? Huh? HUH?
Skeets: Maybe we should just squash this beef (no, not Kobe) and give it to Dirk…
Tas: Dirk’s great. But Nash is better.
Tas: Nash has taken his new teammates and given them career years: Bell, House, Diaw, Marion, Barbosa.
Skeets: Meh, Nash won’t win it. I guarantee that. It’ll be Kobe or LBJ.
Skeets: Or Hoffa.
Tas: You can’t give it to a guy whose team finished 7th. Even 4th is a bit of a stretch, come on Skeets!
Skeets: The Raps finished 7th? Sweet!
Skeets: All right, I’m done.
Tas: Ya, we could go all night about the MVP. Actually, I’d like to see Dirk win. I think Nash would take him out on a serious night on the town to celebrate. Love those pics.
Skeets: Yeah, I’ve got them framed. They’re hanging in my hallway.
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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