It Was a Great Ride While It Lasted

All's quiet on the Dank Game front.  I assume everyone is simply bummed out about the Cavs burning out.  I had a weird feeling before the game last night that it would be LeBron James' last game in a Cavaliers uniform.  Obviously it's too early to make any strong predictions on impending free agency, but the feeling lingers.

Dwyane Wade might leave Miami.  James might leave Cleveland.  But Kevin Durant will not be leaving the Thunder.  Nor will Russell Westbrook or even Serge "The Congolese Squeeze" Ibaka.  The Thunder are the only Dank Game approved team on the way up.

So now is the time Dank Game.  Get on board the Thunder train.  The Flaming Lips are from Oklahoma City - it can't be that bad.

And in the meantime you might as well root for the Suns or even the Magic.  I will not tolerate another Lakers-Celtics Finals.

What Role Will LeBron Play Tonight?

Tonight LeBron James and his Cavaliers will hit the road, putting their season on the line in Boston. What role will LeBron play tonight against the Celtics? Can he channel his inner Mel Gibson and come out of the visitor's locker room of TD Banknorth Garden as a road warrior? Or...

Thursday Throwback Posterization: LeBron Over KG

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.

Season In Balance

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.

An Open Letter to Lebron

Come on big dawg, you could eat this team, lock them in your jaws. It's your time, take it. Be great. ESPN has already sentenced you to death, are they right? You and Shaq are the strongest guys on the court. Pick and roll, get to the rim, and use that strength.

Could Science Explain Rapistberger's Actions?

I suppose you could mark this one under the Dank Game conspiracy files. As you are undoubtedly aware, I have not shied from Steeler-related conspiracies in the past.

Well, here's some background if you need it:

The starting quarterback of the Pittsburgh Steelers, Ben Roethlisberger, keeps going around raping women, crashing motorcycles and generally acting like an asshole. Even after winning two Superbowls with the team, even the often incompetent Pittsburgh citizenry is getting tired of Ben's antics. Ultimately, Ben has been suspended for the first six games of the 2010 season.

I'll cut to a quick Steel Legends (one of Pittsburgh's finest) to explain what this means for the Steelers:

The most interesting thing about Rapistberger-Gate isn't so much how much of terrible of a person Ben really is. What's fascinating is that people are trying to hard to figure out WHY he's such a turd. After his 2006 motorcycle accident and multiple on-field concussions some think that head trauma is at least in part responsible for his more sociopathic actions.

Spurs Swept! Suns On The Rise!

Wow. I did not see that coming. I've said time and time again this season that the Suns couldn't go any further than the second round. Well, not only did they prove me wrong, but they did so in convincing fashion as they swept the Spurs en route to their first appearance in the conference finals since 2006. After having been eliminated by San Antonio four times in the playoffs since 2003, with Nash on three of those four teams, the Suns have finally overcome the Spurs.

Although they completed the sweep, they didn't leave San Antonio unscathed. Halfway through the 3rd quarter with the Suns up 64-57, Steve Nash caught an inadvertent elbow above his right eye from Tim Duncan who was pulling up for a shot. Nash returned after having six stitches, with the Spurs taking the lead at one point during his absence. The Suns recaptured the lead though, heading into the fourth up 72-71.

Upon his return, Nash's eye was swollen shut and it took on a shade of purple darker than the Suns' jerseys. It looked disgusting to say the least. Despite only being able to see through his left eye, Nash showed incredible poise as the Suns continued to outclass San Antonio. He scored 10 of his 20 points in the decisive fourth quarter, including a huge three-pointer on a fast break that gave the Suns an 80-77 lead. Nash also dished five of his nine assists in the fourth as well. The Spurs had no answer for Nash and Stoudemire's pick and roll offense, as Amare hit a few long jumpers to help seal the win.

The Spurs nearly made a game of it in the final two minutes, as they overcame a 10-point deficit. George Hill was fouled by Amare on a converted three-pointer with under 30 seconds left, and he would hit the free throw to bring the score to 103-101. But the Suns would hang on to win after two Grant Hill free throws, a missed Ginobili three-pointer, and two more free throws from Jason Richardson.