Results tagged “nba” from The Daily Nugget

The Lakers were knocked out of the playoffs last night by the Suns. Warriors still in it.

The NBA season starts tonight with a TNT double-header. The first game will be the Chicago Bulls vs. Miami Heat and the second game will be Phoenix Suns vs. Los Angeles Lakers. I am looking forward to see if the Lakers have what it takes to make it all the way this year.

NBA Commissioner David Stern urged his players to leave their firearms at home when they leave their homes. He continued, "It’s a pretty, I think, widely accepted statistic that if you carry a gun, your chances of being shot by one increase dramatically." Damn, how bad are things when your boss feels that he has to have a press conference to tell you to "leave your gun at home?"

NBA Rookies is a six-part documentary made in a collaboration between NBA Entertainment and Spike TV. The show chronicles the roller coaster world of NBA rookies and shows that it's more than bling-bling and supermodels, it's hard work.

It's interesting to see how the rookies deal with stress. With the pressure to perform some rookies lose sight of what's important. In the episode I saw, titled Road Trip, one rookie said he would trade a thirty-point game for getting on the highlight reel! Others rise to the occasion to become key role players in their teams. Through it all the cameras follow.

Great narration, by a guy that sounds like Ice-T, and omnipresent cameras by the NBA Entertainment crew make this show feel more like reality TV than a documentary. It's a good show that nobody is watching. If you are interested, check it out on Spike TV.

Unless you've been under a rock by now you've heard about the melee that erupted at the end of the Indiana Pacers and Detroit Pistons basketball game on Friday night. Spectators began hurling chairs, drinks, and ice at the Pacers in one of the most violent exchanges between players and fans in U.S. sports history.

Ron Artest (pictured here) was suspended for the season for going into the stands and fighting with fans after being shoved by Ben Wallace in the final seconds of the game. Other suspensions include Stephen Jackson, 30 games, Jemaine O'Neal, 25 games, and Ben Wallace, who started this whole thing, with 6 games. Overall, the NBA issued some of the harshest penalties in its history by banning 9 players for more than 140 games.

What the hell is the world coming to!? Damn, you can't even go to a basketball game anymore without fear of getting hit by someone and it may even be one of the players. Stern came down on these guys hard for a reason, the sacred line between the players and the fans should not be crossed. If the fans do it, shame on them, let's arrest them and kick them out of the game. If the players do it, fuck 'em they're done for the season. Maybe this will stop the insanity.

The Lakers played an emotionless game and at one point trailed by over 20 points in their loss to the Pistons. It seemed almost inevitable after the Pistons took a 3-1 lead in the series. Sadly, no rings for Karl Malone and Gary Payton. However, on an upbeat note, Larry Brown became the first NBA coach to win an NBA title after winning an NCAA championship. A great achievement in an already notable Hall of Fame career. Big ups to Larry Brown and the Pistons and see y'all next year. We'll see what happens to the Lakers during the off-season.

The biggest story of the Lakers series with the Timberwolves, except for the Derek Fisher buzzer-beater of course, was that Darrick Martin stepped up in Sam Cassell's absence to run the floor at the point for the Twolves. Why!?

I went to St. Anthony High School in Long Beach at the same time that Darrick Martin was becoming a star basketball player, he was a year ahead of me. He even went on to get a full ride at UCLA for his basketball skills. What's amazing to me is that Martin, who was a dominating force in high school, was only an average player in the NBA.

In fact, it's amazing that he got to the NBA at all since he wasn't even drafted. His hustle allowed him to get into the league by signing a couple of 10-day contracts in 1995, after three years in the CBA. He continued on to play for four NBA teams in eight years. Then, a couple of years ago, he left the league again, played a year in the CBA, played for the Harlem Globetrotters for a while, and then came back to the league again with another set of 10-day contracts thanks to Flip Saunders. An on-again off-again nine-year NBA career--all hustle.

Darrick Martin did an amazing job with the Timberwolves and came very close to getting to the NBA finals. During game 5, it was awesome to hear Marv Albert and Doug Collins reading his bio on the air--that's huge. Big ups to Darrick!

There will be two game sevens, or is it games seven, today in the first round of the NBA Playoffs. The first game will be between the Detroit Pistons and the Orlando Magic. The Pistons are proving to the world why they are the number one seed in the East and may be culminating a comeback from a 3-1 deficit to take the series from the Magic.

More amazingly, the Portland Trailblazers are meeting the Dallas Mavericks with a chance to make NBA history. If the Blazers win it will be the first time that any team has comeback from a 3-0 deficit to win a best-of-seven game series. Jeez, that would probably make Mark Cuban's head explode. Although I am not a fan of the Blazers, I will be rooting for Rasheed and the boys today in their quest for the record.

The Lakers have to be the strongest 5th seeded team in NBA Playoffs history. The force is strong with them. I believe they will win this series against Kevin Garnett and the Timberwolves, and every subsequent series on their way to a fourth straight championship. Today, the Lakers led throughout the entire first game in an awesome display of talent, strength, and poise--I predict a quick first round. Bottom line, don't bet against the purple and gold.

Stephon Marbury banked a three-pointer at the buzzer in overtime to rob Tim Duncan and the Spurs of a win today in the opening game of the Suns-Spurs playoffs series. After getting the rebound off a missed free throw with just 5.1 seconds left, Marbury drove the ball to his three-point line, jumped, and shot the ball with .2 seconds left on the clock--amazing. Tim Duncan take note, you are a choker and Marbury is a baller--deal with it. The Phoenix Suns are not your average 8th seeded team. I think that they have a good shot of knocking off the 1st place Spurs.

Another NBA season is starting in 15 days. After much speculation, Michael Jordan will return to the Wizards, the Rockets scored what they think is a Shaq Killer, and (according to Shaq) the Kings are still the "queens" of the league. After talking all kinds of smack last year and saying I would never do it again--I broke down and signed up for Fantasy Hoops again this year. Looking forward to a Lakers four-peat.