Throwback Posterization: Pippen Absolutely Destroys Ewing

In honor of Scottie Pippen's induction to the Hall of Fame, this week's Throwback Posterizaation features one of the most famous posterizations of all time. This is from the second round of the 1994 NBA Playoffs, which was the Bulls' only playoff run without Michael Jordan between his first retirement and comeback. The third-seeded Bulls would fall to the second-seeded Knicks in seven games, and the Knicks would ultimately fall to the Rockets in the Finals in seven games. Game three of this series featured one of Pippen's most infamous moments in his career, when he refused to return to the game because Phil Jackson drew up the last shot for Toni Kukoc. Kukoc would hit the winning shot, but there wasn't much celebration due to the drama. It was a blemish on Pippen's otherwise stellar career.

Ok, onto the dunk. Horace Grant blocks a layup attempt by Derek Harper (I think) which sparks a fastbreak led by B.J. Armstrong. Armstrong sends a bounce pass across court to Pete Meyers, who immediately bounces it to Pippen. Pippen catches the pass and elevates over Ewing to throw down a vicious dunk. As Ewing falls to the floor, Pippen swipes at him as he comes down from the dunk. This would cost him a technical foul. After landing, Pippen defiantly walks over Ewing and stares him down. Pete Meyers tries to give Pippen a high five, but Scottie's just too fired up to bother. This dunk serves as a reminder of the physicality and intensity of '90s Playoff basketball.

Appreciate This Moment, Folks

Tonight's the night, Dank Gamers! Since October, everything has been building towards this moment. Appreciate it, because it's not often that the Finals come down to a game 7 with two evenly matched opponents. Who knows what's going to happen.

The outcome of this game is huge for so many reasons. If the Lakers win, it will vault Kobe Bryant into a realm that few others have. He will, without a doubt, be one of the greatest ever to step on the hardwood. Also, if the Lakers win, Pau Gasol will shed the label that he is "soft" once and for all. And if Derek Fisher hits a big shot at some point down the stretch, he will come to be regarded as the new Robert Horry. For Phil Jackson, it will just be another year, another ring.

If the Celtics win, the big four will cement their legacies as true Celtic greats. Paul Pierce has probably already left his mark as a Boston legend, so this game weighs more on the legacies of Kevin Garnett and Ray Allen. If they lose, Allen and Garnett could be remembered somewhat less favorably assuming this is their last shot at a title with Boston. Don't get me wrong, both are future Hall of Famers who will be remembered as champions, but a win tonight will greatly impact their legacies for the better. As for Rondo, he's got plenty of time to shape his own legacy, but a second championship in his fourth year in the league certainly wouldn't hurt.

Anyhow, there's nothing I can tell you that hasn't already been said, so just sit back and enjoy the biggest game in basketball to happen in years. I would make a prediction, but I truly have absolutely no idea what to expect.

At Least There Really Are Irish People in Boston

Here's the thing; I hate both the BostonCeltics and the Lakers. I actually can't think of any two NBA teams I dislike more. I hate them both like I hate the New York Yankees. The only championship match-up in all of sports that I could detest more would be the Dallas Cowboys vs. the Pittsburgh Steelers.

BUT - If I'm going to keep this interesting, I'd better disagree with SlipperyMcFaggot (I'm totally out of clever ones, so these will probably just get increasingly vulgar).

That's right - teenage_mustache is officially picking the Boston Celtics as 2010 NBA champions. In five.

Here's another contributing factor: How many rings do I need to see Kobe Bryant and Phil Jackson win? Well, I've seen more than enough already. And I don't give a damn about the fact that the first three-peat was with Shack and now this is really Kobe's team. If I remember correctly Kobe was still a starting player back then.

Now for Artest. I'll be damned if he gets a ring before Chad Ochocinco! I rooted for Barkley as a kid. How many rings did he get? Patrick Ewing? You get the idea.

OK, so there was really no point to post this. But now you know where I stand. Go team that's not the Lakers!

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.

Ron Artest's Mustache Smothers Durant/Thunder

After a convincing 110-89 game 4 victory in Oklahoma City on Saturday, the Thunder appeared overwhelmed by the Lakers last night in Los Angeles. What made the difference in the Lakers' 111-87 win? While many people are crediting Kobe's defense on Russell Westbrook, the real difference was Ron Artest's mustache.

"When Ron had the fucked up dyed hair in games 3 and 4 in Oklahoma City, I was able to get into a good rhythm. His shit just look so botched that I got into a mindset like, 'Can't nobody with fucked up hair like that stop me,' and I was able to just take it to him," said Kevin Durant in his post-game interview.

"Tonight though, I guess I just wasn't prepared for the mustache and bald head. That shit was mad intimidating. I'm just going to have to watch some tape with coach and figure out how to overcome it. He might come out with a totally new look though, so I have to be prepared for anything."

Ron Artest also gave credit to his mustache for getting into Durant's mind.

"I could tell that the dyed hair was losing its power after games 1 and 2, so I knew that I had to come back into LA with a new look that would throw Durant off his game," said Artest.

"As soon as I finished shaving my head and getting my mustache right, I looked into the mirror and said to my mustache, 'You're going to be the X-factor tonight, 'stache. Can't nobody get by you.' From that moment on, I just knew we were going to take them out. As great as my mustache was, I think my bald head deserves a lot of credit for this win too."

While Artest's 'stache proved to make the difference last night, can it continue to slow down the Thunder on their home court? Lakers' coach Phil Jackson is already planning what Artest's next look will be for game 6.

"Now that Ron is bald, we're starting to run out of options as far as what to do with his appearance," said Jackson, "but we've been tossing around some ideas on how he can come into Oklahoma City with a new, and even more intimidating look. Our first idea was to bring in a professional make up artist to make Ron look like one of the zombies from Michael Jackson's 'Thriller' music video, but that little bitch David Stern caught wind of that and threatened to fine me again. It's a real shame too, because we a had whole dance routine in the works for the announcing of the starting line-ups. At least we have Pau who basically looks straight out of the 'Thriller' video."

Because he's a big fan of mustaches and the Thunder, I tried to get a comment from Dank Game's Teenage Mustache regarding Ron's 'stache and the Thunder's loss last night. Thus far he hasn't answered his phone or responded to e-mails. I suspect that he's jealous of Ron's mustache and embarrassed by how much crazier Artest has proven to be than the Cincinnati Bengal's Chad Ochocinco.

Mr. Big Shot

Chauncey Billups is a dog, man. He hit 9 of 13 three pointers on his way to 39 points as the Nuggets trumped the Lakers 126-113 last night. I think Chauncey is one guy who Phil Jackson does not want to see again in the playoffs. Chauncey learned from the best, Larry Brown. The 2004 NBA Champion Pistons beat arguably the most stacked Lakers team, with Shaq, Kobe, Gary Payton, and Karl Malone. No one gave the Pistons a chance, yet Larry Brown got the best out of Chauncey and Rasheed Wallace. That series was where he earned his nickname, Mr. Big Shot, as he won the Finals MVP. I'd love to see another Lakers-Nuggets Western Conference finals. It would be an old rematch of sorts for Kenyon Martin too; he was on the Nets team that lost to the Lakers in 2002. I'm interested to see if George Karl could get them to the finals. I mean he couldn't do it last year, but I think Chauncey is figuring out how to lead this team better. A lot of people have been saying that the Nuggets are the team with the best chance to beat the Lakers. I'm not so sure about that though because of the beast in the east, Lebron James--You got to know I'm a say that.