Ron Artest is the fucking man. I almost want to just blog on Ron from now on. I'm a free agent, you know? I love how Dank Game is all free agents; being from Cincinnati we got no natural team. I stuck with Cleveland jus cause it's Ohio, but we are natural rivals. I mean when I was a kid no one gave a damn about Pittsburgh--they sucked--it was about Cleveland and Bernie Kosar v. Munoz and Boomer.
Its amazing how strong Ron looked in that series. That steal in the first half of game 7 was sick. He played so good in that game, but I think his most brilliant move was drawing Pierce into that double tech in game one. I mean, whats Pierce going to do after that? They both had a tech so they'd be kicked out with another one. Ron just manned up in that series.
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.
You have to hand it to Dwight Howard. Playing like it was a closeout game, going off for 32 points and 16 rebounds, he controlled the glass when it mattered in the overtime period. The Celtics missed their chance to win the game at the end of regulation with Paul Peirce's errant dribble. It looked like they were trying to play hero ball. They didn't seem like they were trying to make plays for each other on the last several possessions of regulation.
Normally, for Throwback Posterizations, I like to find videos of dunks from at least ten years ago. Hence the name Throwback Posterization. But this week I'm making an exception and using a dunk from just two years ago.
With the internet going nuts over LeBron's miserable outing two nights ago, I figured it'd be appropriate to show a video of what LeBron should have been doing in game 5 at the Q. This is from game 4 of the 2008 Eastern Conference Semifinals, which the Cavs would win to even the series at two games a piece. The Celtics would go on to win the series en route to their 17th championship in franchise history.
LeBron has Pierce guarding him at the top of the key and loses him by dribbling around a pick by Joe Smith. James Posey comes out to help Pierce, so LeBron does a quick fake as if he's going to crossover into the paint. Posey bites on LeBron's fake forcing Garnett to come off of Varejao to help, but LeBron is just too quick in elevating to the rack.
Despite this being a memorable dunk in and of itself, Marv Albert proclaiming that LeBron has "no regard for human life" makes it that much more of a classic.
Last night, in a game that should have been approached as a must-win game 7, the Cavaliers came out on their home court and played like it was a scrimmage. Hell, I'd expect a team to show more intensity in an off-season charity game. The Cavs were outperformed in nearly every aspect of the game as Boston dismantled Cleveland in a 120-88 blowout, good for the Cavs' worst home playoff loss ever.
If you're a Cavs fan, you'd like to credit Paul Pierce and the Boston defense for holding James to 15 points on 3-14 shooting, but the fact of the matter is that LeBron's poor performance falls largely on his own shoulders. He started the game getting his teammates involved with 4 assists in the first quarter, which is all well and good, but he should have started attacking the rim sooner than he did. James just couldn't hit a shot in the first half, and when he did start to take it to the hoop in the second quarter, Boston smartly made him earn it at the line to prevent him from getting in rhythm.
The second quarter was possibly some of the ugliest basketball I've seen during these playoffs outside of the Hawks pitiful performance against the Magic. The Cavs were stuck at 29 points for nearly 6 minutes, turning the ball over and missing shot after shot as they basically invited the Celtics to take the lead into the half. Garnett was having his way with Jamison, Pierce got into a rhythm for the first time this series, and Mo couldn't keep up with Ray Allen as he moved without the ball and knocked down jumpers. Keep in mind that a lot of this was going down without Rondo on the floor.
Kevin Garnett has been suspended one game by the NBA for what the league has described as "punk ass behavior." Towards the end of the Celtics victory over the Heat in game one, Paul Pierce was on the ground nursing a presumably fake injury and Garnett came over to check on him. Miami's Quentin Richardson started talking trash because he believed Pierce was dramatizing his injury (he would later call both Pierce and Garnett "actresses") and wanted to get on with the game. Garnett turned on his trademark intensity and shoved Richardson aside with his elbow. Some jawing ensued and before long an altercation broke out with Udonis Haslem, Big Baby, and others getting involved. In the midst of this skirmish, Garnett threw an elbow which caught Richardson in the face. Garnett immediately ran away after he threw the elbow.
Here's video of the altercation:
The NBA has released the following statement about the incident:
"The league has reviewed the incident that occurred during the Miami Heat and Boston Celtics game on Saturday, and has decided to suspend Kevin Garnett for acting like a little bitch. Although his elbow that connected with Quentin Richardson was enough to warrant a suspension, the NBA would like to stress that Garnett's punk ass behavior is equally punishable. The league empathizes with Quentin Richardson for reacting to Pierce's lame attempt to fake another injury, but as a matter of policy, the NBA is obligated to fine him $25,000 for playing a role in inciting the altercation."
In an unprecedented move by the NBA, the league has cited the following fan-made YouTube video to emphasize similarly punishable "bitch moves" made by Garnett in the past.
This season's Miami Heat team has been a huge flirt. They start the season out strong at 6-1, and before you know it they fall back into a middling team struggling to remain above .500. Then they have those games when they look poised to turn a corner, only to be put in their place by a buzzer beating freak shot by the best finisher in the game. Then they come out and get embarrassed by the Grizzlies on their home court. Less than a week after that, they blow out Dwight Howard and the Orlando Magic at home.
And then there's games like last night, when they trade runs with the KG-less Celtics and let a sizable lead in the 4th quarter disappear, putting the game up for grabs in the waning moments. And then, when Wade seemingly has the game sealed after a an improbable steal and dunk putting them up by 2 with .6 seconds remaining, Paul Pierce executes a perfect mid-court inbounds alley oop to Rajon Rondo for a tip-in that would tie the game and send it to overtime. And of course, the Heat collapse in overtime. What makes this even more heartbreaking is that the game should have ended after Wade's dunk. The time keepers mistakenly stopped and restarted the clock after a Celtics turnover with about 8 seconds left, as they anticipated the Heat to call timeout. I don't know how much more of this I can take, and when you factor in the Bengals' gut wrenching season, I'll probably be going grey by the time the NBA Playoffs roll around... but I digress.
Dwyane Wade seemed livid after this loss, and you can't blame him. Dude posted a season high 44 points and basically had the game won only to see it go to waste because Mario Chalmers couldn't keep up with Rajon Rondo on that final play in regulation. In a season that's been all about assessing the Heat's youth, you have to wonder if this single play has made Chalmers' future with the Heat all the more questionable. While Chalmers did have a few big plays (mostly steals), he shot poorly from the field and crumbled on defense when it mattered most. Is this really the type of running mate Wade is hoping to spend the rest of his career with? Can Chalmers really contribute to a championship team? The answer to those questions is seeming more and more like a resounding "no."
As for the rest of the Heat's youth movement, Dayton's Daequan Cook has basically been banished from the rotation as he still struggles to find his shooting stroke, which he lost all the way back at last year's All Star break. Dorell Wright has been pretty solid this year, but it's doubtful Heat management will resign him unless he's willing to settle for a meager contract. Michael Beasley still looks to be an All Star in the making, but you have to wonder if he can maintain consistency in the playoffs if the Heat do retain Wade and become contenders with a big free agent signing this summer. I even have my doubts that Beasley has what it takes to contribute throughout a single playoff series, although I'd like to think otherwise. If only coach Spoelstra would give Beasley minutes when the games matter most so we could have a better idea. Lord knows his offense could've been used last night in overtime. With that said, you can't blame Spo for sticking with Haslem last night as Udonis had the hot hand in the second half, nailing baseline jumper after baseline jumper to finish with 19 points.
And so Dank Gamers, I'll end this long overdue Miami Heat rant with more or less no conclusion, because it's hard to make any sense of this team thus far. Maybe the inevitable return of Rafer Alston (who's contract was bought out by the lowly Nets) to South Beach can bring some perspective to this motley cast of characters, or maybe he'll make the roster all the more confounding. I just hope Pat Riley has a better idea of where this team is headed than the rest of us Heat fans.
