The Black Mamba Strikes Again

Kobe showed off his closing ability and truly looked like the black mamba of old. He broke down Wesley Matthews in the post several times in the fourth quarter, getting to the foul line with impunity. On the day Lebron was awarded the MVP it was crazy to see Kobe going to the line with the MVP chants rocking at Staples Center. Lebron got 116 out of 123 votes so I'm sure Kobe wanted to show that the vote shouldn't have been that one sided.

All schoolyard MVP talk aside, the Lakers looked really good defensively in this game. Odom and Gasol wouldn't let Milsap or Boozer get up many easy shots. The Lakers are finally starting to look like the team everyone was talking about at the beginning of the year with their versatile defenders. They even put Ron Artest on Deron Williams for some of the game. Phil Jackson may need to do that more going forward because about all Derek Fisher can do is foul Deron Williams. Williams torched them for 17 points in the first quarter.

I can't wait for game 2 because, despite the way the Lakers played, the Jazz had a chance to win at the end of the game. They were actually up 4 late in the fourth before Kobe took over the game.

Thunder F*cked!

After the Thunder beat Boston last week, Kevin Garnett said that he "thought [the Celtics] were playing Michael fucking Jordan" with the way Kevin Durant was getting the whistle. This week, Durant got no call after being fouled in overtime by C.J. Miles on a potential game winning three-pointer against the Jazz. Normally KD is a pretty laid back, easy going guy, but after the no-call he was absolutely livid.

The NBA announced today that Durant was in fact fouled on the play by Miles, robbing the Thunder of a game that very much could have been theirs.

Needless to say, Teenage Mustache is busy writing an angry letter to David Stern.

Even though the officiating was less than ideal, this was still an instant classic. With a final score of 140-139, it was the most points scored in a game this season. Deron Williams and Kevin Durant both took their game to another level, with Williams finishing with a career-high 42 points and Durant finishing with a season-high 45 points.

After the Jazz seemed to have pulled away in the fourth, Durant went off for 12 points in the final three minutes. Jeff Green also made some key plays down the stretch, including a game-tying three-pointer to knot the game at 129 with 8.3 seconds left in regulation. In the end, Deron Williams would make the game winning shot with 1.1 seconds left off of a Boozer hand-off and screen. After watching this amazing game, I'm praying for a Thunder vs. Jazz matchup in the first round.

D-Wade lights up Dallas... Again

In last night's NBA All-Star Game at Cowboys Stadium, Dwyane Wade turned in his second most impressive performance to receive an MVP award in Dallas. The last time he did it was 2006, when the Miami Heat came back from a 2-0 deficit in the NBA Finals to win the championship on the Mavericks' home court. Of course the stakes weren't nearly as high this time around, but I'm sure seeing Wade's face on the world's biggest JumboTron left the hundreds of thousands of Mavericks fans in attendance with a bad taste in their mouths. A bad taste that they've been trying to get rid of by eating Texas shaped sirloin steaks smothered in A1 sauce for the past three and a half years.

Although I haven't watched that many All-Star Games, last night's was by far the best I've ever seen. Typically there are a lot of highlight worthy plays, but it often ends up in a blowout, usually at the hands of the West. Last night had the usual amazing plays, but it was actually close throughout the whole game and competitive down the stretch. The ending could have been more spectacular, as last second fouls caused both teams to try to win it at the line. And Melo's potential game winner lacked suspense, as you could tell it was a brick the moment it left his hands.

Despite some great plays by several players on both teams, Wade and LeBron clearly stole the show. In addition to an alley-oop to himself off the glass, Wade had some jaw-dropping assists for LeBron who made Wade's set-ups look even better with spectacular finishes. Wade also found Dwight on a fast break for an unreal oop. Dallas native Chris Bosh and Deron Williams, who grew up near Dallas, both turned in entertaining performances as well.

Even the half-time show was worth watching. I can't really handle Shakira's overly produced (read Timbaland produced) peculiar pop music, but, y'know, she's easy on the eyes. As for Alicia Keys, she's both easy on the eyes and an incredible musician, singer, and performer. Her spoken word stuff at the beginning was sorta weird, but she killed it otherwise.

Lastly, take a moment to watch last night's Top 10 Plays. They don't get much better than these.

Rick Rubio Report

I found this scouting report on Ricky Rubio today-- http://thepaintedarea.blogspot.com/2010/01/checking-in-on-ricky-rubio.html --thanks to the Painted Area. I am really excited to see Ricky play in the NBA. There is a lot of skepticism about his NBA prospects, perhaps somewhat deserved. I think Ricky will be a great NBA player though. He matched up all right with Chris Paul, Jason Kidd, and Deron Williams in the Olympics, which is what he'll have to do night after night in the NBA. By the way, it's worth noting that Ricky is playing with a UC alum on Regal FC Barcelona, none other than Pete Mickael. I always thought Pete could have made it in the NBA. He scores off some nice Rubio feeds in the video clip on Painted Area.

SUNDIATA GAINES!!!!

Sorry Cavs fans, but I can't help myself from taking tremendous pleasure in seeing a player called up from the D-League's Idaho Stampede (yes, there's actually a sports team called the Idaho Stampede) hit a game winning shot to beat Cleveland. What a great story amidst a season that has been overshadowed by some idiot who brought guns into the locker room.

To give you some background, watch this video:



Now, back to last night's game. Deron Williams left the game in the 4th quarter after re-injuring his wrist, which set up an opportunity for the Jazz's D-League call-up Sundiata Gains, or Yatta, as his new teammates call him. The Jazz and Cavs would exchange runs in an absolutely insane 4th quarter. The highlights are worth watching, by the way. With the Jazz up thirteen with under five minutes to play, LeBron started to catch fire as he launched three-pointers that seemed like awful shots but somehow the ball found the basket time and time again. It appeared the Cavs were going to run away with it, but missed free throws down the stretch kept the Jazz's hopes alive. With seven seconds left, Utah's Kyle Korver hit a crazy Larry Bird-esque behind-the-basket shot to bring the Jazz within one. The Jazz would immediately foul Big Z, who hit one of two free throws. And then this happened:



This is some real hoop dreams come true type shit, and it just makes me feel so good inside. In the words of the great Charles Barkley, "That was awesome."

T-Wolves spoil Deron Williams' big night

After big wins last week against the Spurs, Lakers, and Magic, the Jazz fell to the Timberwolves for the second time this season. Despite the loss, Deron Williams posted a career high in points with 38 and he also dropped 13 dimes with only 1 turnover. He just couldn't manage to knock down the potential game winner.

I mainly wanted to do this post because of the slick move Deron pulls at the 0:16 mark on the above video. On a 2-on-2 fast break, Williams does a behind-the-back pass fake that Corey Brewer bites on just enough to give Williams room for a beautiful finger roll finish. Williams really doesn't get enough credit outside of true hoop fans. He's yet to make an All Star team, which is downright shameful. If he were in the East, I'm sure he'd have made multiple All Star teams by now. Unfortunately, the presence of point guards in the West like Chris Paul and Steve Nash could likely keep him from making it yet again this year.

Williams is also one of the best players in the league at the crossover. His lateral quickness is off the charts. Check these two videos from a recent game against the Lakers. You can find tons of more videos on youtube of Deron breaking ankles. I love them green throwback unis, by the way.