adidas Originals Nizza Hi "Zip"

Adidas is coming correct with this recreation of the classic Nizza. I'm really feeling the solid colors, and the accents are a nice touch on the beige and black pairs. I think the red looks good with the black, but the navy pair could have used some red or burgundy on the tongue and interior. If you don't like dealing with laces, these are for you, as a zipper is used on the heel from the sole to the collar. And for you vegetarians and vegans who avoid leather and suede, I believe these are made entirely of synthetic materials.

For more photos, visit Nice Kicks. By the way, the Nice Kicks store had it's grand opening last night in Austin, TX.

Veteran Move

Drawing contact has long been considered a veteran move in the NBA. For instance, doing a shot fake to get the defender in the air and jumping into them while shooting to get to the line, or pulling up for a shot to draw contact when a defender is playing close. But leave it to the veteran of all veterans in the NBA, Jason Kidd, to draw contact on a coach.

Down the stretch of the Mavericks/Hawks game on Friday night, Dallas was trailing and needed points to get back into the game. Kidd was bringing the ball down the court and noticed that the Hawks' coach Mike Woodson was on the floor giving defensive instructions. Being the savvy veteran that he is, Kidd darted towards Woodson with the ball and initiated contact with him before he was able to get back on the sideline.

After words were exchanged between Kidd and Woodson, the officials determined that Woodson's presence on the court was a technical foul. Dirk Nowitzki would hit the free throw and the Mavericks would make an improbable comeback to tie the game and send it to overtime after having trailed by 13 in the 4th. Kidd made several other key shots and plays to help the Mavs rally back. Dallas would go onto easily win the game in overtime 111-103.

Well played, Kidd.

Oh, and did I mention that Kidd had his 104th career triple double with 19 points, 16 rebounds, and 17 assists? Dude's still got it.

What happened to the Heat's Carlos Arroyo?

Miami Heat point guard Carlos Arroyo was pulled over Friday morning on his way to practice for driving at a slow enough speed to slow traffic. Police claim that he refused to get out of his vehicle several times before cooperating. He has been charged with driving slow enough to block traffic, failure to obey a lawful order and resisting arrest without violence.

From the look of his mug shot, you have to wonder if there was an altercation involved during the arrest. According to USA Today, Arroyo has released a statement saying that he was headed towards practice with the Heat and that the matter will be resolved in his favor when the facts come out in court. Something doesn't seem right about this.

All Good Things Come to an End

One by one, the Thunder's streaks have both been stopped. On Tuesday, their 9-game winning streak was brought to an end at the hands of the Suns (without Steve Nash) after a last second floater by Jason Richardson. Jeff Green nearly hit a desparation three with under a second remaining, but it just missed.

And last night, Kevin Durant's streak of scoring at least 25 points or more was ended at 29 games in a 95-87 loss to the Spurs. Durant appeared to be on track to keep his streak alive as he finished the half with 17 points, but in the second half the Spurs held him to just 4 points.

Despite not reaching 30 games of 25 points or more, KD's streak puts him in good company. Allen Iverson (ok, maybe A.I.'s not the best of company) had a streak of 27 games with 25 points or more, while Jordan managed two 40 game streaks in his career.

I have a feeling KD's name will end up near the top of that list again.

To add insult to injury, with just under three minutes left and the Spurs up by one, Manu Ginobli somehow managed to do this:

Thursday Throwback Posterization: Young Penny in College

For this week's Thursday Throwback Posterization, we have a young Anfernee "Penny" Hardaway from his college days at Memphis dunking over a dude on the U.A.B. (University of Alabama at Birmingham) Blazers. It appears that the game is being played at the Chicago Stadium AKA the Madhouse on Madison, which is where the Bulls played before the United Center was built. Penny looks a bit hesitant at first, as he nearly double dribbles and bobbles the ball around. But it doesn't take him long to get his eyes on the rim and take off from both feet. The way he lifts off and extends for the dunk makes for a truly memorable posterization.

Penny Hardaway remains the epitome of an NBA superstar who's career was derailed by injuries. Some superstar players who struggled with injuries have managed to come back, like Grant Hill, who's now a productive member of the Phoenix Suns. Penny tried to make it work in 2007 with Miami, but the Heat's season quickly went south with Dwyane Wade injured and Hardaway was waived a couple of months into the season. Had he remained healthy, I'm sure he would have eventually been inducted into the Hall of Fame. At least his legacy has lived on in the sneaker world with his immensely popular signature Nike shoes.

Just how good was Penny? Check out this article from Basketball-Reference.

Jamison Dunks on David West

Off the LeBron assist, Antawn Jamison gets downright dirty with the dunk on David West.

The Cavs Length Issues

The Cavs have had to deal with a couple of transitions since the trade deadline. The Antawn Jamison for Zydrunas Ilgauskus swap is the most obvious one, but the return of Mo Williams and Delonte West in the backcourt is almost as meaningful.

Before their return, the Cavs rotation was heavy on forwards. Mike Brown would often go to a lineup of Daniel Gibson, Lebron, Jawad Williams, Anderson Varejao, and Shaq or Z at center. Heavy on forwards, this lineup provides extraordinary length on the perimeter and really strong rebounding. Delonte and Mo coming back takes away from that length. Jamison instead of Z in the rotation is also a minus in length.

I hate to say it, but I think playing Mo less would help. Mike Brown tried to play Delonte West at shooting guard last year, even having him guard Hedo Turkoglu in the east finals, and it didn't work. I think Delonte is an excellent defensive point guard, which he showed with two key blocks tonight, but he is not a very good shooting guard defender. He just isn't tall enough to hang with most NBA 2 guards. The more Mo Williams plays, the more Delonte is the second shortest guy, thus he would guard the 2.

It's tough to call for less Mo Williams minutes as a Cavs fan, but I think they would just work better defensively with Delonte at the point. Not that I think they should be playing Jawad Williams 25 minutes a game or something, but they need more perimeter defense now that they are getting more scoring from the power forward position with Antawn Jamison.

Finally The Ocho Does Something Else Dank Game Worthy

At long last! The king of the NFL circus returns with something interesting. In this case it's not particularly interesting, but it did allow me to do some ridiculous Photoshopping, so I won't complain.

As I noted in an earlier post, Chad Ochocinco has been lobbying his team to get pending free agent wide receiver Terrell Owens to Cincinnati next season. This went as far as TO "promising" to change his name to Ocho Uno if he winds up a Bengal since he wears number 81. It sounded like mostly a joke, so the story pretty much left the minds of the media.

But perhaps you're forgetting that now that he has a Twitter account, Ochocinco thinks he is a member of the media as the OCNN. And he was not going to let the issue die, as much as the Bengals front office probably wishes it would.

And then ESPN NFL insider Adam Schefter entered the ring with his own Twitter account. Schefter tweeted that "OCNN missed on T.O. to Bengals. Not Happening. Hey, get in line, Ocho. It has happened to all of us." Schefter was probably kind in actually implying OCNN was a media network and not a way for a player to try to force his hand, but the Ocho considered it a slam nonetheless.

So naturally he responded via a tweet. Directed at Schefter, Ocho believes the two "can settle this all ESPN analyst to all OCNN analyst in PAINTBALL WAR." The image featured depicts what I believe this would look like.

His arms probably wouldn't be white, but I got a little lazy about it. The ridiculous looking helmet was part of the original image.

Jared Allen's mullet

With Ochocinco doing nothing of particular interest and JaMarcus Russell mostly staying out of the spotlight, I bring you one of Jared Allen's funniest recent comments.

Each year a new Madden NFL video game comes out, and each year it features a new player on the cover. It is believed by some that appearing on the cover is a curse, causing that player to have either a bad season or bad injury. This prophecy was most recently fulfilled by Steeler's safety Troy Polamalu, who missed the vast majority of the 2009 season with a knee injury after co-gracing the Madden cover with Cardinals receiver Larry Fitzgerald.

Well don't count Allen among those who believe in the curse. According to ProFootballTalk.com, the Vikings defensive end is rallying his fans to push him to the top of the voting.

Here's why you should vote for him over Colts wide receiver Reggie Wayne and Saints quarterback Drew Brees: Allen has made a promise to show of his trademark mullet as much as possible for the cover. In his own words, "If I make the cover, I'm going to straighten out my mullet and make it as trashy as possible. You have to highlight the tools that got you there."

So there you have it kids. Mullets make you better football players. For more on Jared Allen's mullet, please click here.

Happy 60th to Dr. J

In my mind, the coolest to ever step foot on the hardwood.

Steve Nash would've led Canada past the US

The US beat Canada in hockey. I think North America is going to explode.

Things I Learned Watching Basketball on Sunday

The Superman "feud" is stupid, but the match-up is great

I'm totally sick of the talk about whether Shaq or Dwight Howard is the real Superman, but I have to admit that it makes the match-up between the two that much more entertaining on the court. It's such a fun battle to watch: a declining legendary big man against a young monster who's just beginning to realize his potential. They both looked like they had something to prove, so I've got to give some credit to Shaq's jackassery for thickening the plot. Dwight ultimately won the battle showing great confidence in the post, but Shaq kept it interesting by going 9-10 for 20 points despite foul trouble.

Orlando is deep

It's taken them a while to put it together, but the Magic seem to be figuring things out at the right time of the season. Orlando just has so many weapons on offense. After relying on Dwight in the post in the first half, the Magic were able to hold the Cavs off in the end thanks to Jameer Nelson and Vince Carter's offense. Mickael Pietrus AKA Air France also stepped up with his play on both sides of the court. I've enjoyed watching him since his days in Golden State. He's a talented athlete, with three-point range, and great perimeter D.

LeBron James can shoot the Cavs out of games

LeBron can make his presence known on the court unlike anyone else, but he has a tendency to take bad shots that hurt Cleveland. Take away his five missed three-pointers, and he would have been shooting well above 50%. The Cavs might have won the game, too. With that said, I've seen plenty of games where LeBron will sink a few threes in a row that initially seemed like bad shots.

I really, really love me some two-handed blocks

The Nuggets are for real

Denver made it to the Western Conference Finals last season pushing the Lakers to six games, and they're capable of making even more noise this year. The Nuggs have been impressive throughout most of this season, even when Melo's been out. Billups' emergence as a true leader has instilled a culture of winning that just wasn't there during the Allen Iverson years. In addition to this, Melo has expanded his game and stepped up his his once suspect defense. Denver's frontline is still one of my favorites in the NBA, with Birdman's energy and K-Mart and Nene's consistency. When J.R. Smith gets his head in the game, which he did in the 4th quarter against the Celtics on Sunday, the Nuggets are a very scary team. Rookie Ty Lawson also gives them an added dimension in the backcourt that they lacked last season when the aging Anthony Carter was the primary back-up at point guard.

Stephen Curry is really good

Not but a week ago, I was arguing with one of my friends that there was no chance that Stephen Curry could win the Rookie of the Year award over Sacramento's Tyreke Evans. While I still think Evans will win it, Curry's performance against the Hawks on Sunday has shaken my confidence a bit. After the Hawks had been leading by 18 in the 3rd quarter, Curry got Golden State back in it and took the game over. Although he had 4 assists to 5 turnovers against Atlanta, Curry has shown an ability to run the point as of late. His assists included a couple of perfectly placed cross-court passes that got the Oracle Arena crowd into it and really changed the game. I just love to watch Golden State pull off upset wins.

James Harden's Beard

Look at it. Appreciate it.

Let it look you in the eye.

James Harden isn't being interviewed,

His beard is being interviewed.

And it's loving every second of it.

Baron Davis used to have a beard,

And then James Harden's beard showed up.

Kevin Durant's season is being overshadowed,

By a beard.

It is a beard that takes heed to no warning.

A beard that knows no boundaries.

It covers Harden's face,

Like the Thunder's D smothers their opponents.

It grows stronger as time goes on,

Also kinda like the Thunder's D.

It is a fortress. Resilient and bountiful,

Prominent and proud.

It is a promise,

A promise to the people of Oklahoma City.

A promise that one day a Championship will come.

Oklahoma City hasn't seen a beard the likes of this.

The world hasn't seen a beard the likes of this.

Teenage Mustache hasn't either,

Because he's a teenager,

Who can hardly grow a mustache.

Take notice of James Harden's beard, 'Stache.

One day it will lead you to your wildest dreams.

Your wildest dreams being the Thunder,

Winning the NBA Championship.

That is what your wildest dreams are, right?

Thursday Throwback Posterization: KJ elevates over Hakeem

With all of the NBA trade deadline madness today, I nearly forgot to post a Thursday Throwback Posterization again.

This week's video features 6'1" point guard and current mayor of Sacramento Kevin Johnson going up and over 7-foot Hall of Famer Hakeem Olajuwon from the 1994 Western Conference Semi-Finals. After missing a three-pointer and getting the ball back from Danny Ainge, KJ burns Kenny Smith and seriously gets up on the dunk over Olajuwon. KJ times it perfectly, taking off before Hakeem has time to contest the dunk. The commentator amuses me when he says, "look at the determination and intensity in this man's [pause] soul."

The Rockets would go on to win the series 4-3 on their way to beating the New York Knicks in the Finals. Oh, and later in the series Olajuwon would get back at KJ by doing this:



This video has KJ's recollection of the dunk, which includes a hilarious impersonation of Hakeem:

The Clippers and Wizards' motives in the Jamison trade

You asked for it 'Stache, so I'm giving it to you.

The Clippers got involved in the Jamison trade to dump salaries and position themselves as major players in the big 2010 free agent market. The Clippers know they aren't going anywhere this season, so they've been making moves to clear cap space. They recently sent Marcus Camby and his expiring contract (who they wouldn't have resigned) to Portland for point guard Steve Blake, injured small forward Travis Outlaw, and $3 million. Both Blake and Outlaw have expiring contracts and it is unclear if L.A. will resign either of them or let their money come off the books. Outlaw is a quality small forward, which L.A. will need next season so there's a chance that he will be resigned.

With the Jamison trade, the Clippers ridded themselves of both Al Thornton's $2.8 million salary and Sebastian Telfair's expiring contract, which had a player option of $2.7 million for next season. Losing Telfair's contract is huge for L.A., because that's $2.7 million less that they probably would have had to pay. This leaves the Clippers with just four players under contract next season with Baron Davis at PG, Eric Gordon at SG, injured #1 pick Blake Griffin at PF, and center Chris Kaman, who just made his first All-Star appearance replacing the injured Brandon Roy. This could be an appealing roster for a big free agent like LeBron James or Dwyane Wade, but let's face it, the Clippers aren't getting either of them. The Grizzlies' Rudy Gay might fit in well though, as small forward is the one position they lack in. Regardless, they have a solid foundation and a great deal of flexibility.

Drew Gooden (who's played on just about every NBA team in the past few years) will probably be bought out by L.A. and wind up on yet another team.

As for the Wizards, Gilbert Arenas' season-long suspension for bringing guns in the locker room has forced them to break the team up and start fresh. It will probably be a long rebuilding process, but it had to be done. It started with trading Caron Butler, Brendan Haywood, and DeShawn Stevenson to Dallas for Josh Howard, Drew Gooden, James Singleton, and Quinton Ross.

Sending the 33 year-old Antawn Jamison to the Cavs was basically a favor to Jamison, who was a consistent contributor and stand-up guy during his time with Washington. There's a good chance Big Z will end up being bought out and resigned by the Cavs, so the Wizards should have tried to get more than just Al Thornton, Josh Howard, and change for everything they gave up. But they had to move on. They will now have enough cap space to sign a free agent to a max contract, but I doubt anyone is eager to head to Washington right now.

Thornton has shown upside but seems like he isn't much of a game changer. Josh Howard was an All-Star not but a few years ago, but he has become inconsistent as of late. He has also had off-court issues that made him fall out of favor with the Mavs, such as admitting he smoked weed in the offseason and making a comment on video about not celebrating the Star-Spangled Banner because he's black.

Now the Wizards biggest priority is trying to void Gilbert Arenas' absurdly huge contract. If Arenas is sentenced to prison time it might help them get it done, but a team has never voided a contract so it remains a long shot.

There's definitely a lot more to it than all of this, but I've already been writing posts that are too long for Dank Game's half-assed standards. Writing about trades is too much work.

Does that help, 'Stache?

Ferry Lands Jamison

Danny Ferry you sly dog, making us all think Amare Stoudemire was your target, then swooping in on Antawn Jamison. I can't believe he got Jamison without giving up Hickson. Make no mistake, Jamison will make the Cavs a better team. The Cavs biggest weakness before the trade was the fact that their only consistent scorer was Lebron. Shaq could only give you half a game (by the way, Jamison averages 38.9 MPG) and no one else created their own shot. I thought that was their biggest problem in the playoffs last year, Lebron just couldn't be the only scorer.

Jamison is a legit NBA scorer, shooting 45% and getting to the line 5.3 times per game. He can do some heavy lifting on offense and he gets 8.8 rebounds per game too. He is not a great defender, it's true. The Cavs have a plethora of good defensive forwards, especially with Leon Powe coming back. And it's not like Amare Stoudemire would be much different from a defensive standpoint; he'd still be a liability.

It will be interesting to see how Jamison will integrate once they get on the court. Hopefully it will go something like the 03-04 Pistons after they acquired another former UNC Tar Heel, Rasheed Wallace, right before the trade deadline and went on to win the title against the Lakers.

The Start of a Bengal's 2010 Crime Spree?

Rey Maualuga was arrested for DUI in Covington, KY in January 2010, the first Bengal arrested in the 2010 offseason. It was also the first Bengal brush with the law since Leon Hall's DUI in the 2009 offseason. This was an isolated incident for a team which had mostly been on good behavior since the end of the dreadful 2006 campaign. I'm getting a different vibe about this offseason though.

Following Maualuga's arrest he enrolled in the Betty Ford clinic. Let's hope he recovers, and maybe that could be the end of Cincinnati's legal troubles in 2010. But then the Bengals signed Matt Jones and kicked the tires of Pacman Jones. I don't necessarily like where this is going. I've looked the other way many times on questionable character signings, but after the Maualuga incident, I'm more worried than normal.

Well, I'm probably drawing too much into this, but Keith Rivers - teammate with Maualuga at USC and now in Cincinnati - tweeted today that he's "been driving fast lately[;] 140 on the dial!!! keep that on the low though[,] not exactly street legal."

Let me state that I like Rivers. He's typically a do-his-job, keep quiet kind of guy. He doesn't get in trouble with the law, and he doesn't do ridiculous celebrations or demand to be on camera all the time. He apparently doesn't understand that a public Twitter account isn't exactly "on the low," but I'll forgive him of that.

However, the fact of the matter is that he is a black man with a lot of money (via being the 9th overall pick in the 2008 draft) living in Los Angeles. And this makes him vulnerable to the notoriously crooked LA police. I assume based on the speed of the vehicle and the payday that he is driving something nicer than a 2003 Pontiac Sunfire. If he gets pulled over going well north of 100, you can practically see dirty LAPD planting bags of Cocaine in his ride.

Long story short, then Cincinnati would be without two of starting linebackers opening day!

Again, I'm probably drawing way too much into this. It could even just be an inside joke. But I am worried about this team. And the offseason boredom has already got to me, to the point where I'm playing "who's next?"

If Amare goes to Cleveland, how will it affect 2010? (UPDATE)

With the NBA trade deadline quickly approaching, rumor has it that the Cavs could be on the verge of trading J.J. Hickson and Zydrunas Ilgauskas to Phoenix for Amare Stoudemire. The Suns have been actively shopping Amare in fear of losing him for nothing in free agency. If the trade goes through, Big Z would likely be bought out by the Suns, probably because he'd be unable to keep up with their run and gun offense. Then again, Shaq somehow managed to keep up. Once Z is waived, he would likely be resigned by the Cavs. These types of moves have always seemed fishy to me, but the NBA allows it.

The Cavs have also been linked to trade rumors with Washington for Antawn Jamison and Indiana for Troy Murphy AKA Big Ugly (props to my homeboy Ryan Hubbard for coming up with that nickname). It has been reported that LeBron prefers Stoudemire, so there's a good chance that these trade talks have died. After all, keeping LeBron happy so that he'll resign in 2010 is Cleveland's biggest priority outside of winning a championship.

There is also word that the Heat have been actively pursuing Stoudemire, but it seems that the Suns have no interest in Miami's players. Because of this, I'm assuming the Heat haven't offered Michael Beasley, unless his off court issues have made the Suns weary.

So how might these potential deals affect the much hyped 2010 free agent market? I have my own theory, however it is highly wrought in hypotheticals. But hear me out.

If Cleveland does pull the trigger to bring Amare to Cleveland, I think Chris Bosh will realize the Raptors don't have what it takes to be true contenders, especially with Hedo Turkoglu making big money past his prime. In realizing this, Bosh will look to sign elsewhere in the offseason, with South Beach being his most likely destination. If Bosh signs with Miami and Pat Riley is able to put together a quality roster around Bosh and Wade (assuming he resigns), the Heat and Cavs would both be contenders for years to come.

UPDATE: Cleveland has acquired power forward Antawn Jamison in a three-team, six player trade. Zydrunas Ilgauskas is headed to the Washington Wizards along with a first-round draft pick and the draft rights to Emil Preldzic (whoever that is). Washington will also get Brian Skinner and Al Thornton from the Los Angeles Clippers. Cleveland will also get point guard Sebastian Telflair from L.A. and the Wizards will send Drew Gooden to the Clippers.

So, um, yeah. You can kinda disregard most of this post now.

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.

The Year of the Tiger!

Yesterday was the official beginning of a new year for the Chinese Zodiac calendar. It is now the Year of the Tiger!

Who Dey!

Coming off an AFC-North winning Year of the Ox, I see a great season in the stars for the Cincinnati Bengals. Unfortunately, The Year of the Tiger yields to the Year of the Rabbit a few days before Superbowl XLV (side note: shouldn't that be VL?) But since their are no Rabbit-mascoted NFL teams, I do not foresee this being a problem.

Historically, this will be the fourth Year of the Tiger for the Bengals franchise. The first came in 1974, when they finished 7-7 despite defending a division title. Oops. Must just be an aberration.

The second came in 1986, when the Bengals went 10-6. Just like 2009, not bad. Oh, but they failed to make it to the playoffs. Damn.

The third and most recent Year of the Tiger came in the 1990s, so let's not expect much. Not even destiny could break Mike Brown's cold streak. Alas, the 1998 Bengals went 3-13, tied for their worst season of the 1990s.

Guys, it will totally be different this time! You see, in 1974 we had a "Wood" Tiger. 1986 was a "Fire" Tiger, and 1998 was an "Earth" Tiger. I have no idea what any of this means, but the "Fire" Tiger is clearly the coolest sounding and unsurprisingly the best of the three teams.

2010 is a "metal" tiger. What will this mean for the team? I hope it means an enormous appetite for Steel. Who Dey!

Rookie Challenge

I saw this tweet from Brandon Jennings today,"And Im not hating on tryeke because he got MVP! he played great. i just thought blair should have got it to." I don't think the game was marred by the decision to give the MVP to Tyreke Evans alone. Brandon Jennings is right though because of the way that DeJaun Blair closed the game. He went after the ball with such tenacity, throwing his body on the floor for a few more rebounds, and getting that last put back as time expired. With that kind of effort, I thought he deserved co-MVP. I think even Tyreke agreed; it seemed like he wanted to share it with Blair when they introduced him as MVP.

Lamest Dunk Contest Ever

From the look of the above video, the D-League's Dunk Contest from All-Star Weekend seems like it was actually worth watching. That's a nasty dunk by Dar Tucker going over 7-footer Brian Butch and the crowd looks way into it. Throughout most of the NBA's contest, you heard more sighs of disappointment than cheers from the crowd. The NBA might as well air the D-League Slam Dunk Contest next year. It would at least give the D-League some exposure and the players would be grateful to have a little bit of the spotlight.

Last night's Sprite Slam Dunk Contest was a total bust. To Nate Robinson's credit, he actually showed up and did some nice dunks. But if Nate Robinson won it for the third time, it should tell you something about the sorry state of the Dunk Contest. DeMar Derozan had his moments too, but he basically gave up in the finals with his two-handed windmill from about 4 feet in front of the foul line. Shannon Brown and Gerald Wallace? They might as well have not even showed up. Pathetic.

LeBron, where you at?

Video via Hardwood Paroxysm

Thunder Beat the Celtics . . .

. . . at h.o.r.s.e.

So it's not an actual game.  Hell, it's not even an exhibition game.  But I'll celebrate nonetheless.  Kevin Durant bested the Boston Celtic's Rajon Rondo in a last minute shootout.  It is his second consecutive NBA H.o.r.s.e. victory.

Durant and Rondo also easily handled Sacramento Kings rookie Omri Casspi.  Casspi was unfortunately "coached" by Charles Barkley, who I'm pretty sure called him Omar at least once.  Barkley also jumped rope shortly before the event started.

It's really too bad that Durant has won more H.o.r.s.e. titles than trips to the playoffs.  That's going to change this year though.  Well, I guess next year since even if the Thunder do make it to postseason basketball he'll still have won h.o.r.s.e. more times.  And even if the Thunder make the playoffs in consecutive years, it's always possible he'll continue winning the H.o.r.s.e. challenge.

Well at any rate, I'm really glad I accidently started rooting for this guy when I arbitrarily decided to root for the Thunder.

Where-Da-Party-At Now?

In a move that probably won't shock any Bengals fans, Local 12 reports that Shayne "Where-da-party-at?" Graham will not be resigned for the 2010 football season.  I'm pretty sure Cincinnati would have revolted if he had been resigned.

Graham notoriously missed two easy field goals in their playoff loss to the Jets.  Had either of these kicks gone through the uprights the Bengals could certainly have secured a tie and forced overtime in the game.

Despite being the most accurate overall kicker in Bengals history, Graham had developed a reputation for missing clutch kicks.   One easy miss at the end of a game in week 17 of the 2006 season memorably kept them out of the playoffs that year.

The problem really is that Shayne was being paid a lot.  Almost $2.5 million last year actually.  So even if Cincinnati's next kicker is statistically worse, here's hoping he can make them when they really count.  And that the money Mike Brown saves can be spent on a quality skill position player.

So the next time Dank Game asks "Where-da-party-at?" let's hope is answer is Buffalo, Oakland or some other NFL hellhole.

So close to Kentucky

So that's it! That's what's wrong with the Bengal's front office. With the rolling hills of Kentucky so close to Paul Brown Stadium - literally right across the Ohio River PBS is so proudly perched - they must have given into temptation.

Mike Brown & co. has been drinking the moonshine.

How else can you explain yesterday's signing of Wide Receiver Matt Jones, memorably nicknamed "Moonshine" by ProFootballTalk.com's Mike Florio? Are they sitting around drunk on power and moonshine, joking that it would be funny to have a player named moonshine?

Furthermore, this explains why they have recently worked out cornerback Adam "Pacman" Jones. Perhaps they have an old Pacman machine in the bowels of the stadium that they play after downing their sweet Kentucky swill?

It also could have a lot to do with their supposed interest in former Browns wide receiver Dante Stallworth. What do these three men have in common by the way? All three did not play football in 2009 due to legal ramifications!

On the more serious now (but not totally serious), Mike Brown's tendency to find talent in the NFL's scrap heap has been well documented. Is he just goofing now, showing interest in some of the NFL's biggest fuck ups? Pacman played college ball at West Virginia with our dearly departed Chris Henry. He is often credited as the guy that taught Slim how to get arrested.

Donte Stallworth isn't nearly as big a dumbass as Pacman, but he simply isn't that great of a receiver. And he DUI killed a guy in 2009. Just stay away, it's amazing he's even out of jail already.

Matt Jones actually might not be the worst idea ever. I think TO might be a better fit, but he comes with a much larger price tag ($6 million for one season last year in Buffalo). Dude is 6' 6" and pretty quick. Although he never lived up to his potential in Jacksonville, pairing him with Ochocinco is an interesting line up, and could very well open up the passing game.

So let's just hope that whatever sociopaths Mike Brown signs this offseason limit the Bengals' arrests to hopefully just that unfortunate Maualuga DUI.

Lady Lakers to fill in for missing NBA All-Stars

It has been reported from several super trust worthy news sources that the Lady Lakers of, uh, Michigan will replace the NBA players who will sit out this Sunday night for the NBA All-Star Game in Dallas at 7 PM EST on TNT. Commissioner David Stern attempted to find NBA players to replace the All-Stars who will miss Sunday's game, but apparently every player he contacted had already planned a vacation and/or told him to "get the fuck out [they] face with that All-Star Weekend bullshit." Stern had hoped to have the following players to replace these All-Stars:

Denver's Chauncey Billups for New Orleans' Chris Paul (injured knee)

The Clippers' Chris Kaman for Portland's Brandon Roy (injured hamstring)

New York's David Lee for Philadelphia's Allen Iverson (attending to sick daughter)

Dallas Maverick/New Beginnings Retirement Home resident Jason Kidd for the Lakers' Kobe Bryant (injured ankle, broken finger, back spasms, obsessive work ethic, delusions of grandeur, unhealthy Michael Jordan fetish, etc.)

The Lady Lakers seem poised to take the court at Cowboys Stadium in front of the largest crowd assembled in basketball history with more than 90,000 expected. When reporters asked if they were ready to perform against the NBA's elite in front of a record breaking crowd, they responded in unison with a resounding "Duh!"

Thursday Throwback Posterization: Kemp embarrasses Alston Lister

It has taken me all week to sift through the thousands of e-mails from Dank Game readers expressing their shock and disgust that I forgot to post a Thursday Throwback Posterization last week. Look guys, I'm sorry. I didn't mean for it to happen, and now I'm back on it. So let's just forget that it ever happened and move on.

For this week's classic posterization, I give you the "Reign Man" Shawn Kemp dunking on Alston Lister. After reading 'Stache's recent post claiming that the Supersonics would be forgotten in a matter of two years, I felt obligated to remind everyone just how sweet the Sonics were during the Kemp and Gary Payton heydays. Although I was a loyal Heat fan during my preteen years, the Sonics were my team in the West. I even had one of the ugly mid-90s forest green and maroon Kemp jerseys. I was glued to the television during the Sonics' run to the Finals, which of course ended in disappointment as they fell to MJ and the Bulls.

Now onto that dunk. As Chris Mullin indecisively attempted to man the paint and keep his defensive cover in sight, Kemp took advantage as he drove past one defender to create the open lane. As Kemp approached him, Mullin decided to get out of his way in hopes that one of his fellow Warriors had his back with the help defense. Alston Lister did try to help by attempting to draw a charge, but well... I think you can figure out the rest. I love the way Kemp cradles the ball as he drives to the hoop, and the finish with the legs spread makes it one of the most memorable posterizations of all time. Of course, the post-dunk "you just got dunked on!" taunt has helped seal this slam's legacy, but even without that I still think this one would've been remembered. In my opinion, this is the best taunt in NBA history. It's just so comical. Unfortunately, David Stern won't allow that nowadays. What a lame.

To make up for missing out on last week's Thursday Throwback Posterization, here's Kemp's Top 10 Dunks. There's just some absolutely ridiculous dunks on here including one of the best oops of all time courtesy of Gary Payton.

"The Dayton Kid" Daequan Cook leads the Heat past the Hawks

And a new Dank Game nickname is born! Arising from the abyss of a poor shooting season that has put him out of the Heat's rotation, "The Dayton Kid" Daequan Cook is officially back!

Maybe it was Dwyane Wade's recent comments that coach Erik Spoelstra needs to "mix it up" on offense, maybe it was an opportunity allowed by point guard Mario Chalmers' absence, or maybe it was encouragement for Daequan to represent Miami with pride in the Three-Point Contest. Whatever it was, Spoelstra let Daequan play and the Dayton Kid responded.

Cook was instrumental in opening up the Heat's lead in the fourth quarter while Dwyane Wade rested. The Dayton Kid hit back to back three-pointers to take the Heat up 77-71. Cook would continue to strive throughout the fourth as the Heat closed the game out in convincing fashion. He finished the game going 7-12 from the field and 3-5 from distance for 17 points.

Equally instrumental in Miami's win was center Jermaine O'Neal and power forward Udonis Haslem. Jermaine made big plays down the stretch, finishing the night 9-13 for 19 points with 10 rebounds, while Haslem also helped keep the Hawks at bay going 7-9 for 14 points with 12 rebounds. A great night for the Heat's front court, despite Beasley having an off night. No matter how much Heat fans (myself included) question coach Spoelstra's use of Haslem over Beasley in fourth quarters, you can't deny Haslem's consistency in rebounding, defending, and shooting the ball. The guy is committed to this team, and I'd hate to ever see him leave.

Dorell Wright continued to make a case for the starting small forward position, as he hit 4 of 5 shots for 10 points and dished out two assists. Quentin Richardson's decline from his impressive start to the season continues, as he shot poorly from the field and finished with just 2 points.

Dwyane Wade was unable to score 20 points for the second night in the row, scoring 18 on 7 of 15 shooting. But who cares if other players can pick up the slack. Despite being held in check most of the first half, Wade did help seal the deal down the stretch while also contributing a double-double with 11 assists.

What a great win for the Heat heading into the All-Star Break. For the first time in a while, I feel relatively proud to be a Heat fan. They held the Hawks to 37.5 percent shooting while shooting over 50 percent. They also held Atlanta's marquee player Joe Johnson to 16 points on 7-21 shooting, with the Dayton Kid guarding Johnson for many stretches. What stood out most was that the Heat bench outscored the Hawks 48 to 8. In Atlanta's defense, they were without Sixth Man of the Year favorite and notorious Heat killer Jamal Crawford, but a win's a win.

The Heat are now just a game below .500 (which sucks, but it could be worse), lead the season series against the Hawks at 2-1, and now hold the 7th seed in the East after the Bulls fell to the Magic tonight.

I just want to point out the Hawks' "every guy" names: Joe Johnson, Josh Smith and Joe Smith.

Changing of the Guards

The 2009 NBA Draft class has been largely dominated by guards, many of which are point guards or combo guards. With several of the league's elite point guards on the backside of their careers (Steve Nash, Chauncy Billups, Jason Kidd) there seems to be plenty of rookies poised to battle with the young elite, such as Chris Paul, Deron Williams, Rajon Rondo, and Derrick Rose.

Clearly ahead of the pack is the Sacramento Kings' Tyreke Evans. If Evans continues to play at the rate he has this season, he's a virtual lock for Rookie of the Year. With his size and strength, he's able to slash to the basket with ease. He also has tremendous speed, lateral movement, and the ability to find the open lane, which makes him that much more deadly. Many questioned his ability to run the point but he seems to be doing a decent job, averaging just over 5 assists. Most importantly, Evans has the look of a true leader. Last night Evans led the Kings to an overtime win against the Knicks after having trailed by 15 in the fourth quarter. He scored 12 points in the quarter, and forced overtime by drawing a double team and finding Jason Thompson for a dunk. This isn't the first time he's led the Kings back from a big deficit for a win, as they beat the Bulls earlier this season after trailing by 35.

Here's an example of how Evans can terrorize defenses, this time against Kobe and the Lakers:

Brandon Jennings is another young point guard who has turned heads throughout the league, not only due to his play but also his sweet hairdos, like this House Party-esque flattop. Nicolas Perkins has had a thing or two to say about Jennings, and with good reason. He's capable of going off at any moment, as evidenced by his 55-point explosion earlier this year. In addition to this, he's averaging 6.3 assists to 2.5 turnovers, good for 11th in the league in assists and 20th in assist to turnover ratio, which leads all rookies. Though his scoring has dropped off a bit, he's still averaging just over 17 points a game, which is very good for a rookie. Like Evans, Jennings also recently had a big game against New York (whom he had hoped would draft him) scoring 22 points and dropping 8 dimes in a win. I bet the Knicks wished they had made Jennings dream of playing in New York come true, as Jordan Hill (who was drafted before Jennings) seems to be nothing more than a project at this point.

Son of former NBA sharpshooter Del Curry, Stephen Curry is another rookie guard who has been impressive. Although he does play some at the point, Curry is the definition of a pure shooter. He leads all rookies in three-point percentage at 42.3 percent, good for 11th overall in the NBA. Curry seems to be a player with great character, which is too bad that he's mired in the mess that is the 2009-10 Golden State Warriors. Apparently when he found out he would be participating in the Three-Point Contest this coming weekend, he talked to the league about his teammate and fellow sharpshooter Anthony Morrow taking his place in the contest. Curry's main weakness is that he looks about 8-years old.

The Hornets happened to round up two promising rookie guards in Darren Collison and second-rounder Marcus Thornton. Having to fill in for the injured Chris Paul, Collison has performed beyond expectations. Despite losing 4 of 6 games since he has started, Collison has averaged 18.3 points and 9.6 assists. Unfortunately, he's also averaging 4.0 turnovers. Thornton has also shined in CP3's absence, averaging 18.7 points and shooting 43.2 percent from three in his last seven games. Collison's only problem is that he is destined to be a back-up behind Chris Paul for years to come, despite being a capable starting point guard. There's a good chance that he'll eventually wind up elsewhere. At least he has the best in the league showing him the ropes.

Denver's Ty Lawson finds himself in a different position than Collison, as he's being groomed to eventually take over the point once Chauncey Billups starts to decline. Lawson's ridiculous speed makes him capable of singlehandedly creating fast breaks off of inbound passes. Although his speed is his greatest asset, he's also a good three-point shooter.

Although I haven't watched him much, Minnesota's Jonny Flynn has also been an excellent rookie point guard. Who knows what will happen with Flynn if Spanish point guard Ricky Rubio actually comes to the NBA and plays for the Timberwolves, who he apparently doesn't want to play for.

Honorable Mentions: Terrence Williams seems to be a promising player, but he's rotting away with the New Jersey Nets. The Hawks' Jeff Teague also has potential, but hardly gets into the rotation playing for a contender. The Sixers Jrue Holiday could develop into a good point guard, but he's stuck behind Allen Iverson and he's apparently pretty raw. Eric Maynor, who was drafted by the Jazz but traded to the Thunder for salary cap relief, seems to be a solid point guard.

Turn the Heat around

Get the title? It's a play on that Gloria Estefan song, "Turn the Beat Around." I know, it's terrible. But that's mostly what we do here at Dank Game: make terrible titles for posts that are marginally less terrible. If I got that song stuck in your head, my bad.

Now, onto the Heat, turning it around.

The Heat had lost five straight coming into last night's game against the injury ridden Rockets (Trevor Ariza and Kyle Lowry both out), and they came out and took care of business at home by embarrassing Houston 99-66. The Heat played some of their best team basketball of the season, with six players in double figures and 27 assists on 41 field goals. Wade only posted 17 points and the Heat still won by 33. Usually this season Wade has to be nearing 30 for the Heat to even be close to getting a win. Even Daequan Cook got involved, scoring 10 points. Maybe Erik Spoelstra just wanted to remind everyone that he's still in the league before he defends his Three-Point Shooting crown during All-Star Weekend.

The first half was all Miami, with the Heat up 56 to 31. With Quentin Richardson picking up two quick fouls trying to guard the bulkier Carl Landry in the post, Dorell Wright came into the game and helped sparked the Heat to its big lead. Wright was aggressive in driving to the hoop and finding the open man. He closed the half with seven assists, but didn't get anymore in the second half. Udonis Haslem was also a big part of the Heat pulling away early, as he drilled 18-foot jump shots over and over again. He was 7 of 8 from the field to start the game.

The Rockets came out in the second half hitting multiple three-pointers which got the lead down into the teens, but the Heat pushed it back into the twenties by the end of the third quarter. From there on out, the Rockets seemed to accept the loss as they just went through the motions.

Typically, the Heat have trouble matching up with other team's height, but with the Rockets missing Yao Ming for the season, they're one of few teams Miami actually has a height advantage against. The Heat used this advantage, as Joel Anthony blocked 5 shots and JO blocked 2. I think this weakness will keep Houston out of the playoffs, as they have 6'9" Luis Scola and the big bodied 6'6" Chuck Hayes taking turns at center. 6-footer Aaron Brooks, who's a high volume scorer, couldn't seem to get to the hoop all night without meeting one of Miami's big men. He struggled to get anything going, finishing the game with only one assist and 3-16 shooting for 10 points. This attempted fast-break more or less summed up the game for Brooks:

I love me some two-handed blocks.

Another thing worth noting is that the Heat had plenty of fast break points against Houston. According to TeamRankings.com, the Heat rank second to last in the league in fast break points, averaging only 9.6 a game. I wish the Heat would get out and run more off of turnovers and defensive stops, as it makes for more exciting basketball as well as easier buckets, like this one from last night:



It was a great rebound game for the Heat, yet it can't be overstated. With the way things have gone this season, I expect them to get blown out or lose at the last second tonight in Atlanta. A win against the Hawks tonight would be huge, as the Heat would go into the All-Star break just a game below .500. Plus, if Chicago loses to Orlando and Charlotte loses to Minnesota, the Heat could find themselves with the sixth seed in the East. Although Chicago losing to Orlando is highly probable, I wouldn't put money on the latter.

Thunder Weathering the Storm

Step 1:  Kevin Durant wins NBA scoring title the same year he becomes old enough to drink

Step 2:  Oklahoma City goes to playoffs for first time since relocation from Seattle

Step 3:  Team finally gets decent looking uniforms

If all three happen, I may have to start coming up with less cliched post titles.  But seriously, Durant is scoring just about 30 points every game.  This has led to a six game winning streak.  The Thunder are now back in playoff position, rallying all the way to the 6-seed with number 5 just a game ahead.

Give it two more years and no one will even remember who the Supersonics were

2011 NFL Gambling Guide

What is the steal of the 2010 Gambling season?

Bodog Sports, a Vegas sports gambling outlet, is giving the Cincinnati Bengals 30/1 odds of winning the next Superbowl!  Can you even imagine the payoff when the Bengals cross the NFL finish line in first place.  Guys, you could turn $100 into $3,000 or $100,000 into $3,000,000.

Take it from me, and my surprisingly slightly-more-than-half right 2009 NFL predictions.  Let's review!

First I picked the playoff teams for the AFC teams.  And oh boy did I nail four of the six playoff teams!  I missed the Colts as the top seed - I thought the loss of Tony Dungy and some of the rest of their coaching staff might actually disrupt the continuity Peyton Manning has enjoyed since coming into the league.  My theory finally paid off when the Colts lost the Superbowl . . .

I thought the Titans would would have a great in place of the Colts.  And they did, but only after losing the first 6 games and replacing their starting quarterback.  I feel I should get a mulligan on that one.  Same with the Texans, one of my wildcard picks, who came damn to close to the post season.  They posted the same record as the 5th seed Ravens and 6th seed Jets, but lost in tiebreakers.

So let's talk about the Ravens.  I totally had both them and the Bengals in postseason, but I flip-flopped the division winner and wildcard team.  Being only a game off, I feel pretty justified here.

Lastly, I had the Chargers and Patriots winning their divisions.  Like everyone else.

I did nearly as well in the NFC playoff predictions.  The Vikings unsurprisingly cruised to a second straight division title.  I expected the Bears to best the Packers for a wildcard spot, but I failed to realize how poor Chicago's coaches were.  And now they're mostly fired.

I picked the Eagles for a much better season than they had, but the did make the playoffs.  I'm still not sure how the Cowboys managed to be a playoff team and beat Philadelphia three times in one season.

Elsewhere I picked the 49ers and Panthers for big seasons.  Although neither did horrendously, they did miss the playoffs.  At least San Francisco kept the NFC-West interesting.

Most happily of all though, I had the Saints making the playoffs and going on a long postseason run from the beginning.  Geaux Saints!

So take it from me gambling aficionados.  A guy who's right 58% of the time

Geaux Saints

So Superbowl coverage has been non-stop for two weeks now. Every injury, one-on-one matchup and gambling topic has been talked into the ground. Every analyst has already picked their winner (usually the Colts) and practically every star player has given their two cents on air. And the afternoon of the big game I'm writing Dank Game's first Superbowl post.

Welcome outlandish predictions: Carson Palmer once suggested that someone would eventually die on a pro football field. Well, it's going happen tonight. My best guess is Colts running back Joseph Addai.

I definitely think a drunken fan will find a way to run on the field (someone did at the NCAA championship bowl game this year). Saints quarterback Drew Brees will manage to hit him or her for a 70 yard gain.

A record 48 points will be scored in the first quarter, including TDs on 4 consecutive plays.

While attempting to leap over defenders, Saints running back Pierre Thomas will be hit in the feet. After doing not one, not two, but three flips he'll land on his feet in stride for a 60+ yard TD run.

Colts quarterback Peyton Manning will go all Tonya Harding on Saints safety Darren Sharper's knee.

When asked what he plans on doing after having won the Superbowl, Drew Brees will respond "I'm going to Busch Gardens. In Virginia. When it's warmer and the park reopens."

All in all, a final score of 132-78 with the Saints on top. After all, who dat say dey gonna beat dem Saints?

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.

The Super Bowl is gay

Here's a video to tide you over as we wait on 'Stache to share his thoughts on Super Bowl XLIV. Enjoy being gay on Sunday night, everybody.

Can't think of a pun with T.O. in it

Straight from Superbowl week in Miami (Chad Ochocinco's home town): Jay Glazer reported via a tweet that Ochocinco believes that Terrel Owens might be headed to Cincinnati for the 2010 season.

TO was once a top five receiver, but is now in the twillight of his career. He played on a one year deal last season in Buffalo putting up mediocre numbers for the first time since his rookie season. Then again, his quarterbacks were Trent Edwards and Ryan "Crazylegs" Fitzpatrick, so that may have been part of the problem.

This is not the first time Ochocinco has linked himself with TO. In 2008, when Chad was trying to get himself traded out of Cincinnati, he suggested going to Dallas, then TO's team. I don't feel like looking up the exact quote, but he implied that it would be extremely entertaining.

However, a trade to Dallas never looked likely. The Bengals simply weren't willing to trade Chad, and I doubt the Cowboys were interested. This time around, the move seems much much more plausible. The Ocho went as far as to say that "he's sure of it," according to Glazer. Chad even posted a picture of himself and TO in Miami on his Twitter account.

As I wrote a few weeks ago, the Bengals need another solid threat at wide receiver. Although I didn't consider TO at the time, he is still a serviceable WR, especially paired with 85. The biggest drawback is TO's reputation of being a poison in the locker room. However, no serious reports came out of Buffalo depicting him in the negative. Also, it's impossible to believe that Bengals owner Mike Brown would worry about this anyway.

So we may just get Terrell Owens in stripes next season. Take if for what it's worth.

Update:

Chad tweeted this morning, directed at Owens, "bruh pack yo bags and head to cincy damit, see you in training camp, one goal in mind superbowl."

Dank Game Showdown Tonight! Heat vs. Cavs on TNT

That's right Dank Gamers, my Heat and Perkins' Cavs square off tonight at the county seat of Cuyahoga County. The Heat are coming off a tough loss to the Celtics for the second game of a back to back, while the well-rested Cavs currently hold the best record in the league as well as the longest winning streak at nine games. Will the Heat bring the energy after last night's taxing game to push their record back to .500? Or will Cleveland continue their dominance to elevate their winning streak into double digits and sweep the season series against Miami?

Only one way to find out. Tune into tonight at 8:00 on TNT.

Don't worry, it will be a lot less homoerotic than the picture suggests. Then again, Wade and 'Bron are kinda butt buddies.

Icy Heat: Can Miami heat up on the road?

The pattern for the Miami Heat this season has been something like this: blow out the shitty teams, get blown out by the mediocre teams, and either squeeze out wins or come heartbreakingly close against the elite teams. And where does this find the Heat as we near the All-Star break? Playing .500 ball, tied with the Bulls for the 7th seed in the East, with the Bucks just two and a half games behind.

Ok, so I could be in a worse position. I could be a Wizards fan who bought into their preseason championship hype, and then watched them disappoint even prior to the whole guns-in-the-locker-room thing. Or I could be a Pistons fan who stood by as Joe Dumars transformed the team from a perennial playoff threat to a disjointed bottom feeder. And I could be a Nets fan, just hoping that my team doesn't post the worst record of all time.

It could be worse, I know. But it isn't good. And more often than not, it isn't pretty to watch. Of course, Dwyane Wade will provide at least a couple highlight reel plays every game, but is that really worth watching the excruciatingly painful lack of ball movement that has come to be expected this season? Further, is it worth watching Dwyane's awful T-Mobile ads with Charles Barkley every fucking commercial break?

It's even become difficult to appreciate the games that they blow their opponents out because it's often flat out boring and I can already sense that they'll be blown out in their following game. A little consistency would be nice as their next 8 of 9 games will be on the road. The first two are back to back in Boston and Cleveland, with both nationally televised on ESPN and TNT, respectively. They've played these two teams well throughout the season, but have come up short twice against both teams.

Here's to hoping the Heat can start playing some inspired basketball and give the free agent class of 2010 a reason to consider South Florida. Chris Bosh, I'm looking at you.

Hot Grizzlies Ground Down by Cavs

The Cavs mopped the floor with the Grizzlies tonight, beating them 105-89. They held Zach Randolph to only 8 points and 4 rebounds, forcing him into 5 turnovers. The Cavs played OJ Mayo extremely well too. All night they forced him into the shot blockers, with Shaq blocking two and Lebron getting a chase down block, which he swatted off the glass. The Grizzlies are one of the better fast breaking teams in the league, but the Cavs held them on the break. Rudy Gay was the only guy who could score on the Cavs in the first half and they held him to just 3 points in the second half. Just an all around show of defensive prowess by the Cavs. Lebron even sounded like KG out there screaming at his bigs to force Zach Randolph, who likes to go left, to his right.

With 15 assists Lebron hit his career high with only 4 turnovers. He was setting people up with ease, hitting Varejao for a couple easy baskets in the lane and getting Shaq the ball with very deep position. Lebron didn't need to score much and he took advantage of the Memphis zone with his distribution skills. One thing I did like about his scoring tonight was how he took smaller defenders in the post. He got single coverage from Mike Conley Jr., backed him down in the post and hit a baby hook over him. He did the same on OJ Mayo and got even deeper position for another hook. It was positively Carmelo Anthony-esque the way he took the small guys on his back down low. I hope he continues to do this throughout the year as it only adds to his offensive efficiency.

Memphis is a great rebounding team, with the number one rebounding differetial in the league at 4.7 a game. The Cavs are one of the best too, with a 4.5 differential, and were able to out rebound the Grizzlies by 3. That is a testament to their work ethic as a team on the block. They kept one guy on Randolph the whole game and wouldn't let him control the glass. Varejao did some pesky blocking out on Randolph and frustrated him all night.

This was a real strong win for the Cavs and it puts them a game and a half up on the Lakers for the best record in the league. They also have the longest win streak in the league at 9 games. They are looking strong going into the allstar break.

I expected a better game from the Grizzlies after they beat the Lakers at home, but the Cavs won easy in a blowout. Cavs coach Mike Brown said this week that he wanted some games that weren't so easy so the team could learn to execute in a close game. It didn't happen tonight as Lebron sat for the last 5 minutes of the game. I am a little worried about his lack of 4th quarter minutes because it looked like he got worn down late in games last year in the playoffs. I hope Mike Brown adjusts his minutes as the year goes on so he can be used to playing a full 48 minutes despite the blowouts.

Is there anyone in the NBA crazier than Artest?

As I read Teenage Mustache's most recent post mulling over potential NFL lunatics to replace the recently more sane Ochocinco, I began to wonder if I would have to find a replacement for Artest. Artest did mysteriously suffer a concussion after the Christmas day loss to Cleveland, and the story remains unclear. At first it was reported he tripped over a box and fell down some stairs, then instead of tripping over a box he was holding one, and then Artest claimed stairs had nothing to do with it and that it was "really the concrete." My guess is "the concrete" was an open hand slap from his wife. Apparently Artest said "I can't remember" fifteen times during a 10-minute halftime press conference regarding the concussion, so we'll probably never know what really went down. Other than this, Artest has been relatively subdued as of late. So I started to wonder who Artest's replacement might be if he continued to keep his nose clean throughout the season.

The first player that came to mind was Stephen Jackson AKA Captain Jack. Jackson was one of Artest's fellow Indiana Pacer teammates that joined him in the stands during the infamous brawl at the Palace of Auburn Hills, so he seemed a worthy candidate. In October of 2006, he continued to show signs of insanity as he fired several gunshots outside of a strip club in Indianapolis after having been punched and hit by a car.

Despite these promising signs of lunacy, Jackson hasn't made much noise since then. He did get this amazing tattoo of a pair of hands simultaneously praying and holding a handgun, which is pretty sweet. However, the meaning of the tattoo is that he prays his faith will keep him from ever having to fire a gun again... or something like that. So that doesn't really help me in finding a replacement for Artest.

This November, Jackson was traded to the Charlotte Bobcats where he seems to have found a new home. The Bobcats have been one of the better teams in 2010 with Jackson and first-time Charlotte Bobcat All-Star Gerald Wallace leading the team into the Eastern Conference playoff picture. Long story short, Jackson just isn't quite crazy enough... at least not anymore. Despite his controversy in the past, he also has a reputation around the league as an extremely genuine person and great teammate. This also doesn't help my cause.

Rasheed Wallace was another that came to mind, but he plays for the Celtics now so I can't even fuck with that.

Just when I thought I may have run out of maniacs to cover in the NBA, I decided to give Artest another chance and checked his Twitter account. Although I was hoping for something a bit more insane, it seems that Artest has continued to indulge in his fetish of organizing photo shoots with scantily clad women. His most recent photo shoot is with model Kim Lee, who I believe is the asian one on the far right. So I guess I'm sticking with Artest. He's bound to do something crazy again, right? If only Dennis Rodman would come out of retirement.