Ray Allen comes through once again; Spurs and Lakers both fall.
Break out the Mase, Spurs fans. Tim Duncan’s back: 16 points, 13 rebounds, 2 blocks and a Red Bull-like revitalized body and mind. San Antonio’s cruising. Tony Allen’s in foul trouble. Lionel Hollins is using a rotation looser than the girls in a Busta Rhymes video (no, seriously, Greivis Vasquez is playing). Life is good. We don’t need Manu. Tony Parker’s so hot right now.
Wait. What’s that? The remix featuring Zach Randolph and Marc Gasol? Turn that down. It’s ruining everything. No, seriously. It’s really loud. I don’t like it. Where’s the music director?
Music director: There’s nothing I can do. Z-Bo and Marc are ballin’. 25-14 and 24-9. They’re shooting 69% inside of 9 feet.
Tiago Splitter: Dammit. When am I getting some burn?
Gregg Popovich: Get back in your hole, Splitter. Wait, did Tony Allen just miss two free throws? That’s funny. Give the ball to the red-headed guy. (1 minute, 37 seconds, and two Matt Bonner threes later.) Wait, did Tony Allen just hit both of his free throws?
Tony Allen: Yeah I did, old man. That’s game.
Pop: Grumble, grumble, grumble. Give it to Manu. What? Oh, yeah. Okay. Nice suit. See you clowns in Game 2.
Mike Conley: Don’t forget I got 15 and 10.
Zach Randolph: That’s cool, boy. I just got paid.
Chris Wallace: And as I was saying, it’s all about timing…
Media #1: Yeah, whatever. Any of those Caesar wraps left? (Under breath to colleague: “Seriously? $188 million to Randolph, Gay and Conley?”)
End scene. —Patrick Crawley (@BasketballFiend)
This one is quickly living up to its billing, as Ray Allen drew first blood with a game winning three to propel the Celtics to an 87-85 victory. The basket highlighted an aggressive night from Sugar Ray who finished with a team high 24 points on 9 of 14 shooting. Allen, who hadn’t been much of a factor in the C’s offense for the better part of a month, came up big with tough drives to the hoop and his trademark jumpers from long range to pace the Boston attack.
The Knicks had one last chance, but Melo’s three bricked off the front of the iron. The misfire from Melo highlighted a forgettable second half for Brooklyn’s favorite son who shot 1 for 11 in the final half and was whistled for an offensive foul with 21 seconds left. The questionable whistle gave the Celtics possession and set up Allen’s big shot off of a feed from Pierce and a screen by Garnett.
For New York, Amar’e put the Knicks on his back with a 28-point, 11-rebound performance. STAT went hard for his, connecting on jumpers, tough drives, and an explosive dunk on JO and Garnett. His work on both ends of the court kept the Knicks in the game throughout the second half.
Allen’s heroics erase an underwhelming first half for Boston who couldn’t get into an offensive rhythm and found themselves down 12 at the half. Rondo’s effort was big for Boston in their comeback as he flirted with a triple double, finishing with 10 points, 9 boards and 9 dimes. The other bright spot for the C’s was Jermaine O’Neal, whose 12-point, 4-block effort made everyone momentarily forget about Perkins. —Jonathan Evans
New Orleans 109, L.A. Lakers 100
If you’re looking for reasons why the Lakers lost yesterday, you can tell this from the box score: Kobe showed up for the Lakers and no one else did. So, yes, New Orleans stunned Los Angeles in Game 1, winning 109-100.
But if you watched it with your very own eyeballs, you’d know this: It wouldn’t have mattered if Kobe’s teammates were MJ, the Joker at the 40-minute mark of a Batman movie, Dan Majerle in NBA Jam while on easy and on fire, and a couple of guys walking around with pipes, clubbing every stray Hornet not named Chris Paul.
Because as long as Chris Paul was on the floor yesterday, the New Orleans Hornets would’ve won 109-100.
He had 33, 14, and 7, but he was better than that. Immeasurably better than that. He got under Derek Fisher’s skin, so Derek Fisher turned into the Derek Fisher of seven years ago, but that didn’t seem to work. He’d just blow by him on isos.
Then the Lakers started doubling Paul on pick-and-rolls, and this immediately turned Aaron Gray into Wilt Chamberlain. He had to leave the game with 1:02 left to go have sex with 1,000 women. (He also might have shattered his ankle into many little pieces.) Aaron Gray—Aaron Gray—was 5-for-5 for 12 points and was +25 from the field.
That’s probably why you’re here, because you’re not believing that box score from yesterday. Aaron Gray and Jarrett Jack outplayed Pau Gasol and Lamar Odom, Kobe dropped 34 even though his team didn’t have a lead at any point after the end of the first quarter, and the Hornets have home court advantage against the favorites in the Western Conference after Game 1.
Total disbelief at this sheet of paper, probably. That’s the emotion you’re experiencing. And that’s probably the same thing Chris Paul has been feeling when he picks up all of those expert MVP ballots and he’s not on it. —Ben Collins
Kevin Durant scored a career-high 41 points as the Oklahoma City Thunder won 107-103 in a pulsating Game 1 against the Denver Nuggets at the Ford Center on Sunday.
Durant and Russell Westbrook scored 72 of the Thunder’s 107 points as both players led a resurging Thunder that was down at the half but had to crawl back to win Game 1.
Westbrook dropped 31 points and 7 assists while Eric Maynor came off the bench and added 12 points for Oklahoma City.
A crucial part of the game was when Kendrick Perkins tipped in a Westbrook missed jumper in the fourth quarter with 1:05 left in the game. The call should have been basketball interference and the basket waved off since the ball was still in the cylinder but unfortunately for Denver, the call stood and Oklahoma City had the lead 102-101 which they never lost again.
“Obviously, it was goaltending,” George Karl said of the no call. “We had our chances. The guys did everything we asked them to do. Durant and Westbrook make 72 points against us, I think we can make some adjustments there.”
Nene led all Nuggets scorers with 22 points on 9-of-11 shooting. He also finished with eight rebounds but he was out of the game for almost eight minutes when he knocked knees with Perkins in the third quarter with 11:02 left. Danilo Gallinari chipped in 18 points while Raymond Felton who missed a potential three pointer to tie the game down the stretch finished with 12 points off the bench.
Denver started the first quarter with a great lead but the Thunder relied heavily on their two superstars Durant and Westbrook all night long even in the first quarter. Nene was hot for Denver, scoring 10 of his 22 points in the first quarter alone. Denver led the game 33-24 after the first and stunned the Thunder and everyone watching at the Ford Center.
But Oklahoma City would not be denied. The second quarter started with Eric Maynor and James Harden cutting into Denver’s lead with their efforts off the bench.
Even with Westbrook scoring 10 points in the second quarter—and Oklahoma City’s 35-27 second quarter performance—the Nuggets still had a one-point lead going into the half.
Denver relied on their guard combo of Felton and Ty Lawson to keep their lead. Lawson had a crucial steal off an inbound pass by Serge Ibaka with 3:49 left in the half.
At halftime, Denver led the game 60-59, but was shooting 50 percent from the free throw line (8-for-16) while Oklahoma City only missed four of their 20 attempts from the charity stripe.
Though Westbrook was leading all scorers with 21 points at the break Durant’s numbers were stacking up as he took over the second half for Oklahoma City. He scored 14 points in the third quarter alone as the Thunder wrestled the lead away from the Nuggets. Though there were a numerous lead changes in the third quarter, Durant’s shooting kept his team in it.
Durant hit back-to-back three point shots and got an assist to Maynor who nailed another three to finish the third as Oklahoma City had a slim lead 86-82 to finish the third. —Sulaiman Folarin
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Chris Paul says thanks for keeping his seat warm Derrick Rose. I told y’all putting Rose above CP3 and DWillw as premature. Them two boys still got it, even if Rose is nipping at their heels.
Melo shot too many three pointers. What is his problem? And Amare is feeling frisky, which gives the Knicks a shot if he keeps attacking the rim. There is nothing Big Baby can do to stop him.
The Thunder run isos and pick and rolls the entire game. They should still beat Denver, but I don’t know about the Lakers or Dallas.
Man, if the NBA was a drug, I would have overdosed this weekend. I love it.
Melo needs to take a backseat for a while because STAT has a bigger match-up advantage over KG than he does over PP.
Also why didn’t he make that pass to a wide open TDouglas during that last second shot? Rondo was basically begging him to pass it to the open guy but I guess being the hero is more important than making the correct basketball play.
That might have been the best inbounds play I’ve ever seen in decades of watching basketball.
The way they had the action with Garnett and Pierce both moving to the free throw line, then both cutting to the rim. Only, there is a back screen on Turiaf, while Pierce goes and sets a screen on the help defender so nobody can roll to defend the rim.
That was just beautiful basketball man. Doc Rivers draws the best inbounds plays in the league, easy.
Oh and this regular season, The Truth proved he had loads of bounce left.
After messing up the Nuggets last 4 possessions, i shall now call him “Beefy”.
He had Gasol so confused that boy couldn’t even get his hands up to challenge the shot.
And I know we complain about Kobe jacking shots, but yesterday was a prime example of Gasol and Bynum deciding they didn’t want to dominate inferior competition and forcing Kobe to try to take over. Which leads to him doing the same thing in the wrong circumstances. The rest of the Lakers deserve some blame for creating the monster that is Kobe.
Again, has anybody noticed that the Thunder don’t actually run an offense, only a neverending series of isolations and pick and rolls? Is anybody else bored and disturbed by this?
Didn’t help that the refs ignored a blatant basket interference during a critical moment of the game.
i loved when he straight played pau at the free throw line, just toyed with him.
OKC really squeaked it out last night, got a few lucky calls and bounces, i honestly believe nuggets can “upset” in that series, especially if nene is playing how he did last night.
I’ve always been a fan of teams running actual offensive sets but it seems like way too many teams run the same PnR action all game long. There’s a reason why teams that run offensive sets like the lakers and celts are champs and Iso and PnR heavy teams like the 09/10 cavs flamed out.
I just don’t like it because it seems like lazy basketball sometimes from a coaching standpoint. I like sets because they give everybody a purpose, and encourage ball movement. It’s amazing when a player gets hot and can’t be stopped, but I hate when coaches figure that’s what they should count on every game.
T-Money
The quickness disparity between the two is amazing, in my opinion. Dwill is like normal human speed, Chris Paul is on some mutant speed level when he’s healthy. And then it’s not just end to end speed, it’s lateral quickness and shiftiness. But, Dwil is shifty too, just not like Paul
Dwill has all right hops, but not great. Paul gets up too, he’s just shorter. And he’s quite strong for a little dude. Actually, up close, he’s not that little.
I think Paul has the physical edge. And he has the edge, slightly, as far as how he sees the game. But, that edge is smaller than the physical edge to me. If Deron Williams had a little more footspeed, he’d be such a monster.
Where’s Allball when u need him?
Oh, and I have been telling you all season… Was that the best opening round play-off game in recent history? How far do you have to go back to find a game that complete, against the defending champs, on the road, with your 2nd best player out for the year.
In my opinion, Williams has been the best point guard in the league for the past two years. This year, and the one before it.
Now, Paul’s injury is obviously a factor, and before the injury, I had him better than Williams.
I know it’s popular to say that the gap between the two is massive, particularly when you compare the advanced stats and what not. I’ve always felt that while those stats are important, and buttress the arguments that Paul is outstanding, they overstate the gap. Watching the two play, Williams is just a smidge beneath Paul on average, and there have been many nights when he’s exceeded Paul. And while people like to throw out the head-to-head matchups because Paul had the “inferior” talent, I think Williams’ ability to more than hold his own when going against Paul, regardless of who got the win, is proof of how close they are. When the gap is wide, it shows and it shows quickly.
Anyway, props to CP3 for a vintage performance. I only wish Dwill was still hooping.
That’s cool.
I said he was the consensus. I just said the gap wasn’t that large.
You and Bill Simmons disagree. Cool.
I’m surprised coaches that run strictly isos and pnr get a free pass from the media and fans, like you said it’s a sign of laziness and a lack of preparation on the coach’s part.
CP knows that the Lakers are gonna come out with energy, so they will match that.
J Dilla, your hating. Rose has had ONE amazing regular season, and your saying he’s better than Paul. Fans are so driven by the media these days its ridiculous.
If the Chi guys came to their conclusions after watching CP all year too, it would be different.
I have watched them both all year, Rose is the most athletic PG ever, and may be the best scoring PG ever when he is done, but he cannot dictate a game like CP. The only thing he can do better than CP is score.
If you don’t see the difference between the two games then we cant really debate any more. It was plainly obvious to any one with two eyes. Only Bulls fans are trying to under state how phenomenal CP was last night.
what a performance by cp3:the best pg in the league
derrick is the man, we all know that , and he’s killing it and i wouldn’t dare trade him for cp3 or anyone else right now.
but as far as point guards go, its still cp3.
Paul is better than Rose at EVERY aspect of the game besides scoring. EVERY aspect.
rose is bigger, faster, stronger. i’d take him on boards too. and i’ll even go as far as saying he might be more clutch.
Now, he is very clutch.
I know I was not the 1st one to bring Rose and Williams into it. Sure, I ran with it, CP is peerless in terms of play-off production for a PG.
If it was Rose having a game THAT good you would have had the 1st comment…
airs, I mean on court production. It enables him to score easier, sure. With that being true he still cant defend or rebound as well as Paul.
and im not sure who you’re referring to jtaylor. it is true, you do like to complain. a lot.
I believe you have confused my screenname with AllBall’s
The first three letters are the same, but that’s it.
Dude averaged 11 points on 40% from the field the last month of the season, AllBall’s quiter than a mouse, then he has one monster game in the playoffs and suddenly it’s “f*ck Rose! CP3!”
Damn.
Who y’all really trying to convince? Us or yourselves?
Guys like KG, JO and the past few years Perks, are the biggest reasons why PP looks like an all-nba defender. How many times last night did Melo blow by PP like he had cement shoes on only to have KG/JO stop him at the rim? Come on son, PP is a decent defender but let’s not get carried away think he shutdown LeBron and Melo.
Come on now.
One playoff game trumps 82 regular season games.
What was I thinking?
So the f*ck what if Paul had a better game than Rose or if Paul’s the better player?
Who’s team is gonna be playing longer? That’s all I’m concerned with at this point.
Where the hell is Kevin Spacey when you need him?
________________________________________________JTaylor21 Posted: Apr.18 at 9:44 am
CP hands down still is the best PG in the L, no ifs ands or buts about it. It seems like people forgot what he could do with all the hype Rose and Westbrook are getting but when he’s on his game, there’s no one better.
________________________________________________
Allenp Posted: Apr.18 at 9:48 am
Chris Paul says thanks for keeping his seat warm Derrick Rose. I told y’all putting Rose above CP3 and DWillw as premature. Them two boys still got it, even if Rose is nipping at their heels.
________________________________________________
Eboy Posted: Apr.18 at 10:03 am
Derrick Rose had to “carry” his team over a 37 win team….a 37 win team that shouldn’t even be in the playoffs (according to various bloggers and writers that suckle on Bull balls). CP3 beat the 2 time defending champs, 3 in a row NBA Finalist and according to the same miscreant writers and bloggers, the favorites to win and destroy all in their path in the West. I think CP3 wins Round 1 here with a knockout.
________________________________________________
This was BEFORE any Bulls fans even posted on here, so how the hell are WE the ones sh*tting on Paul and not everyone else sh*tting on Rose?
I ain’t arguing that.
I’m just not feeling the Rose hate-fest.
And IAMORANGE4EVER, my comments weren’t showing up this weekend so I’m a little late on this…
But you calling Melo a “WINNER” and then knocking Rose for never making it out the first round was one of the funniest sh*ts I ever read on here, considering how many years it took Melo to make it to round 2.
bottom line for me is, i’d take derrick all day every day over cp3.
but the fact is, cp3 runs the point better, by “traditional” standards.
I did not mention Rose until “tha windy” did. I mentioned D Will.
Did my comment really seem like an insult to Rose? I thought saying he was keepig the seat warm was alluding to the fact that quite a few people had him as the best in the league, and Paul’s game last night was like him saying “Sorry, that’s my spot.”
Well, since I’ve long said that I firmly believe Paul and Williams are better than Rose, it’s not like I jumped on a chance to down him. Now, I can see you issue with JTaylor or AllBall, both of whom take the attention Rose receives as personal slights, but I thought my comment was in line with all my comments.
Rose is number three behind the two vets. Once his floor game and defense improve some more, he should be able to pass them.
My bad, y’all for getting a lil too hyped this morning.
Dealing with some real, non-SLAMOnline related sh*t.
Forgot to check that sh*t at the door.
They did not play that bad, CP was that good. Kobe got it going for a while, and was more efficient than he might be again all play-offs. Yeah Chris Paul ripped Gasols heart out, but its not like that could not happen again. Monty should use Mbenga and his six fouls on Gasol.
None of these players truly care what we think. They are not worried about this as they go about doing the awesome work they do. Hell, barring a lockout, I expect Deron to come back angry and focused next year since everybody is pretty much putting him at third on the list these days, and I know he won’t like that since he was BEASTING before the team turmoil, trade and injuries.
Anyway, I love Rose. I’m always bragging on dude to my homeboy who is a staunch Dwill fan. But, I still think Dwill and Paul are better, for now.
Nah, Gasol played like a BUM, and they Lakers weren’t even trying on defense.
Seriously, they got outrebounded by like 18 by the freaking Hornets and the imposing front line of Jason Smith, Aaron Gray, Carl Landry and Okafor. None of those cats are great rebounders and there is no way the Lakers should get trounced on the glass by them the way they have annihalated other teams on the glass.
The Lakers played very poorly, but hey, that ain’t the Hornets fault.
Enigmatic, that’s a real comic character. True story.
Migraines are just some of the sh*t I happen to be dealing with too.
That dude is a f*cking beast for even trying to play through that, though.
I owe you an apology too, Allen.
I wasn’t trying to throw you under the bus, just stating the obvious. You have made it your mission to combat all praise for Derrick Rose. I know this position because I once occupied it when it came to Steve Nash. While I occasionally dip my toe in those waters these days, I’ve learned to refrain from taking a long swim.
AllBall
Lakers came out playing like disinterested punks. You saw the clips of them trotting back on defense. Pau, the second best player on the team, and the one player the Hornets have NO answer for, played like he had a dinner date. Seriously, the last time the Lakers caught the Hornets, with West healthy, Pau put up one of the easiest 35 point games I’ve ever seen. Last night, he wasn’t even trying.
There is no way the Hornet outrebound the CLakers by 18 if the Lakers are actually trying. No way.
A wrist injury isn’t a real injury?
Oh, I see. Despite the fact that point guards use their wrists more than any player on the court with all the dribbling, passing and shooting they do, have TWO bad wrists isn’t a “real” injury…
Paul blew out his knee. It was terrible. Doesn’t make it more real. That’s an asinine comment.
You can say he’s been the best player this year, or could argue that he’s the best point guard, or the MVP.
You may or may not agree with that, but the point is it’s debatable.
But “best PG since Magic” or “has surpassed Kobe and LeBron as the best player in the league” is taking it too far.
Makes me wonder if those in the media that are Rose supporters are just trying to yell over the voices of those that are not (like Hollinger and Bayless’ b*tch a**es).
JTaylor, you do like to take shots at Rose, and then back off with statements like “but I love Rose!”
AllBall, first time I had one I was scared as hell cause it looked like a damn bolt of lighting kept flashing in my left eye!
LOL I told my co-worker “I think I’m going blind!”
LMAO
Why you argue with me about this kind of thing related to Deron is beyond me. You think he is almost as good as Paul, I think its not close. Him being vastly over rated by people makes me under rate him.
Now, if you are asking me which injury is more “real”, the blown out knee with out doubt. Come on now, there is a chance he may never be as quick and explosive as he was.
Call me stupid but I think the hornets can really beat the lakers if CP continues his stellar play. I understand that Gasol isn’t going to struggle like that every game and that Odom will step his game up but who do the lakers have to slow down CP? As long as CP stays aggressive and doesn’t revert back to his late season form of passing up shots, NO has a good chance at pulling the upset.
Now would I bet my house on it? Hell no but that’s beyond the point.
hell, we didn’t say he was the next magic or better than any of those guys, ESPN did.
…well maybe bull22 might’ve pulled something along those lines but still.
Next year whoever the MVP is will be “the best player since Michael Jordan” or whatever.
Not following…
See, AllBall, you did turn this into a “F Rose” thing after all.
But I’m past it now.
Ok, so using just this season, which is post injury, in which Deron played only 65 games and was traded mid way through the season, and is not in the play-offs, they are even?
How can you possibly brush off a whole career because of injury. He looked pretty great last night right? His play-off stats (which surely you will brush off) are the best ever for a PG!
Fix up bk.
CP didn’t seem too hampered last night btw.
Wall is fast and the more time he has in this league he will learn how to use his speed to his advantage. Rose is fast and quick which gives him the edge over Wall and everybody else. Not everyone has both. You see the speed going frm end to end. You see the qucikness when he just runs pass his defenders like their feet are in sand.
The f*ck???
Let’s remember that he pushed a very good Spurs to a GM 7 doing the exact same thing.
It is clearly useless debating you. You began today saying that Paul had leapfrogged him and could do whatever he wants. Now they are about even.
So this argument should be easy to settle.
Who has the highest PER?
There.
Just messing with y’all…
CP3 might be the better pg. But Rose>CP3. Like Ray Allen is a better SG than Kobe but Kobe>Ray. bOO THIS MAN! BOOOOOOOOO!!!!
“Yet Deron is sitting at home right now, and CP just put up one of the best opening games ever. It should be clear to everyone Paul is better, and it does not need to be a wide margin for it to be clear. Although it is wide enough” – SO your one of those people that judges a player based on where they are when the season ends? not even caring that Utah had a better record then New Orleans when Williams got traded. Or that he only played TWELVE (12) TWELVE games in a New Jersey Uniform. smh
BUT, let me guess, you know more than the NBA guys, just like you no more than Westbrook, and your knowledge is comparable to Pop and the Van Gundys etc.
Magic Johnson is clearly a better pg in the play-offs than Chris Paul, when did i say different. I said statistically. Chris Paul has not gone further than the WC Semis. Magic is, too me, the best PG ever, and I have been studying feverishly lately. Isiah is not miles behind, how ever.
Refreshing.
Jtaylor, I don’t think it is a big gap, but I think Magic could do more and was more effective because of his height.
Anyway, nbk, I am done with this for today. Although you are annoying, and a know it all, I respect your opinion, although I disagree.
You don’t agree?
Also, when you have a 35 year old point guard who has been past his prime for a while now defending a future Hall of Famer who is just entering his prime, things can appear to be exaggerated.
Not saying that Paul isn’t the best pg in The League, (even though he isn’t this year) but remember;
Derek Fisher is guarding him, my brethren.
Derek Fisher.
It’ll be more like Heat fans vs. Heat haters and Bulls fans vs. Bulls haters.
Though most Heat fans are Bulls haters and vice versa, so I suppose you do have a point. lol
I think the Nuggets have to play Felton and Chandler more than they already are–I like Lawson but Felton’s a little more savvy at running the offense than he is at this point.
The refs f*cked Denver over last night.
The Magic lost.
I think Derrick Rose going the hell off cost Indiana the game.
The referees in the Hornet game were bad at one point, seemingly sending the Lakers to the line on every possession near the end of the 3rd quarter.
It was not a great week end in terms of officiating, but we can all agree it was a phenomenal weekend of basketball.
I don’t understand why people always think the free throw attempts should be somewhat equal between both teams. The Bulls aren’t a great outside shooting team so they score a lot of their points in the paint or driving to the hoop. Indiana is a 3 point & jump shooting team. Even their bigs are shooting jumpers. Of course the fouls won’t be equal.
You have Evan Turner playing 1 v 1 with a ball boy, and Darius Songiala doing wind sprints. I didn’t know he was on an NBA roster.
Also, while most Bulls fans hate it, I’m loving the Chicago/Indiana start time.
It starts at 5:30 over here, instead of at 3 or 4 like normal when I’m still at work.
Magic
Oscar
Isiah
Stockton
Frazier
ARchibald
Kidd
Payton
Nash
I am forgetting someone really good, but I can’t think who.
Right now
Paul
Deron
Rose
Westbrook
Rondo
Billups
Nash
the rest
Two things proved out yesterday Chris Paul is the clear cut #1
Nice.
I remember I won four tickets to a Bulls game one time from bulls.com
I was hyped as hell…but was stationed on Okinawa at the time.
LOL so I had them send the tickets to my older brother, and he, his fiance, my baby bro and my brother-in-law got to watch Ben Gordon hit a game winner (this was in like 2004) in overtime what was probably the best Bulls game of that season.
Also George Karl…have the team shoot free throws in practice today while you try and draw up the first good inbounds play of your career.
I despise Zeke too much. Despite him being from Chicago.
Can’t wait till the Knicks are bounced.
Another week or two.
Hey, enjoy it while it lasts though!
im going to the blackhawks game tomorrow….!!!
probably gonna lose, but hey, free rally towel right?
Whatever though, let’s just enjoy game 2!!
It didn’t matter if he could not guard people. It didn’t matter that he didn’t have a 40″ vertical leap.
The thing is, before him, the only player who could do with the ball what Earvin could do was Bob Cousy. Now, most guys we see 7’0″ think that they can break guys off the dribble, pass like… MAGIC, and do everything else that a big man is supposed to do at the same time.
Only Earvin combined all of those things, along with the renowned body control…
There may be players who are as good as Johnson, but there are none better. And, this is taking away all the achievements, the accolades. This is basketball skill for basketball skill.
At his size. Unprecedented until the following generation grew up.
IMO the Bulls are highly overrated as a team. Nobody aside from Derrick Rose is stepping up. Well, except Korver in the final minute, but yeah.
I left Cousy off on purpose. He shot sub-40 percent for his entire career despite taking 18 shots per game. Think about that. People are mad at Derrick Rose for shooting 43 percent on 20 shots and Cousy was shooting 38 percent on 18 shots.
And Rose is better than Westbrook. I’ve said that for three years.
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