Lakers Sign Shannon Brown & Ron Artest

The Lakers signed guard Shannon Brown for two more years today, while a few days ago they secured Ron Artest for three years at the mid-level exception.

I can’t say I’m unhappy with those two actions. Shannon Brown obviously contributed plenty to the Lakers’ season last year and with a shaky Jordan Farmar and aging Derek Fisher around, it was important for him to stick around. However, now we have a 3 point guards situation which is never good on any NBA team. I think with Fisher playing less and less minutes, it might actually work out, but I’m shaky on this topic.

Elsewhere, Ariza chose the money and wasn’t happy with the mid-level 5.8 million per year offer. Can’t blame him I guess. The guy shut his mouth all year to put up with Kobe, won a ring, and is 24. Of course he’s going to go for more money elsewhere. And trust me, a lot of people will ask for him! The addition of Artest in his spot is an interesting one. I think Ron is still a good player, but on the other hand, he’s still Ron Artest. Will Kobe and Phil Jackson be enough to control him and keep his head in the game? The thought of Ron Artest & Lamar Odom on the same team would have scared me to death a few years ago. I’m not so sure now… I think in the long term it’s a good deal. We’re going for an older guy (Ron) vs. a younger guy (Ariza) to save money and add more experience to the team. In a couple of years, we’re obviously going into full rebuild mode once Kobe calls it quits. In the long term however, the right move was to keep Ariza. I guess money is tight these days, and one has to do what one has to do…

The Diary: Eddie’s Latest One-Liners

My name is Stan Van Gundy and I’m Ron Jeremy’s stunt double. I learned how to play Rashard Lewis with Pietrus and Hedo, and it helped me win a big game for once. I’m no Jeff.

My name is LeBron James and I shouldn’t take nine days off ever again. I also finally got to play a half-decent team in the Playoffs, and they were able to expose our offense, which consists of three plays.

My name is JJ Reddick. Sometimes I have bad shooting nights because I don’t go out to practice my three; instead before a big game I sit in the locker room next to Hedo — who’s eating pizza — and work on my hairdo with a bottle of gel and a comb.

My name is Kobe Bryant, and I miss being 25, where no matter who you were, I would have taken your ass to the rim for a dunk or two guaranteed free throws.

My name is George Karl and I simply can’t get it done. Nor can I get a suit that fits perfectly and doesn’t make me look like Koko the Clown. In Game 7 in Los Angeles, when the Lakers are up by 1 and we have the ball with 6 seconds left on the clock in the fourth quarter, I’ll once again have Anthony Carter — the shortest player on my team — take the ball out of bounds where he’s met by Lamar Odom — a near 7-footer who played street ball in New York. I will have him pass to Chauncey, a guy who walks so slow to get the pass, telegraphing it to the entire court, that we’re bound to give them a steal and a win in a game we probably should have won.

My name is Kenyon Martin and I just fouled Kobe Bryant 30 feet from the basket in the biggest game of the last 20 years in our franchise’s history by reaching in for some reason while three people were defending him.

My name is Carmelo Anthony and I need to be traded to a team where my potential will grow into a championship, and not a team where my teammate feuds with Mark Cuban, uses double negatives in every sentence, and where the number of tats on our team combined is greater than the number of dumb decisions our coach has made this season. Either way, I’m set on showing everyone I’m that damn good and MJ knew something when he gave me that Nike deal.

My name is J.R. Smith and I really don’t give a damn if we beat the Lakers or not. Why should I care if my club’s owner doesn’t believe in us and would rather watch RAW?

My name is Blake Griffin and David Stern’s ping pong balls screwed me for life.

Can’t you just picture a depressed-looking Baron Davis bouncing off Marcus Camby and Zach Randolph during timeouts as Eric Gordon and Blake Griffin cry aloud? The NBA – Where Mike Dunleavy Happens.

NBA Playoffs Round 1 Thoughts

Now that Round 1 of the Playoffs is over, it’s time to reflect. There was quite a lot going on this year, and we ended up with a much better-than-expected Round 1 in my opinion. While it was largely due to probably the best Round 1 Playoff Series in history (Celtics-Bulls), there were some other scenarios that developed which should be discussed:

1) It was the end of an era…
Sorry Spurs fans. It’s over. It just is. Duncan is old and while he’s far from being done with basketball, it’s obvious that he’s now on borrowed time. He’s still a great player, but he’s not the Timmy you are all used to and need to win a championship. These next two summers in Texas will be decision-time as far as the future of the team goes. Manu’s constant injuries pretty much cancel out the great ability he has, while Parker is someone you can build around in a Point Guard-driven NBA these days. Lots to think about.

2) It was the beginning of an era…
OK, really — This wouldn’t have been such a good Playoffs’ Round 1 if it wasn’t for the Bulls-Celtics Series, and the Bulls’ arrival to the scene. Most importantly, Derrick Rose is here. You will remember this series for a long time, and when one day Rose is on the LeBron level, chasing a title, we’ll say “Remember the series with the Bulls in ‘09? He’s been there, and he wants it even more.” As good as this series was, I think people fail to realize how important it was for future great series! I can’t wait! I loved this Bulls team. A rookie coach combined with young players gave the defending champions the ride of their life. And I loved every second of it. A KG-less C’s team matched up perfectly with an arriving Bulls team. I like the Bulls for next season. Let’s see if they sign Gordon to a deal this summer and how things work out once Deng comes back. There’s excitement in Chi-town again!

3) It was the question of an era…
Can the Lakers hold a lead? Do they really want to win a championship? We thought that last season was over. There were a few convenient excuses for the Lakers’ performance last year. Kobe was injured; Gasol was new; Bynum and Ariza weren’t around; Odom was shaky. Despite all of these issues, the Lakers almost won the championship. So it was hard to disagree that when the 2008/2009 season started, they were the favorites. Fast-forward 82 games to the Playoffs. The situation is completely different… right?! Kobe’s injury is all but forgotten. Gasol has played the most minutes on the team this season. Bynum and Ariza are back, playing key roles in the Playoffs. Odom is the player everyone wanted him to be. The one thing that hasn’t changed? The Lakers. They seemingly fixed all of these issues, but in reality nothing has changed. They drop big leads. They don’t seem to have the passion to go all out for 48 minutes, play defense, make the key hustle plays, and have the passion of a champion. The Utah series wasn’t easy to watch, and the Houston one will be even harder. I truly hope the Zen Master has a few words of encouragement for his team.

4) It was the disappointment of an era…
There’s no excuse. What the New Orleans Hornets did to their fans is just inexcusable and low. To lose at home in a Playoff game is one thing. But to get blown out by almost a double margin is just embarrassing. Forget the fact that I felt like an idiot picking the Hornets in that series. Forget the fact that Tyson Chandler seemed more confused on the court than a soccer player watching an NFL game. Hell, even forget the fact that this team quit on Byron Scott a long time ago. What you can’t forgive nor forget is the fact that they quit on their fans. They just decided “F THIS! AND F YOU PEOPLE!” That’s inexcusable. No NBA team — I repeat, NO NBA TEAM!!! — would quit on its fans the way New Orleans quit at home in their blowout loss. I was disgusted! Denver deserves to play in the next round. The Hornets don’t deserve to be in the NBA.

Other Notable Events:
– Orlando entertains me. This is a team with no shot whatsoever, but with all the right ingredients of an entertaining team. They have a porn star look-a-like for a coach, who will say anything anywhere at any given time. How haven’t we gotten a reality show out of SVG is beyond me. The sad part is the Magic might make the finals out East because I don’t know how much gas the C’s have left in the tank.

– Portland. Very disappointing. It’s a proven fact that you can beat Houston if you play a certain way. The Blazers, much like everyone in the NBA, knows this. However, they chose not to do it and instead continue using the same strategy that never worked. They are so much better than this!

– Speaking of Houston, my favorite shot of the Playoffs was that of Tracy McGrady on the Rockets’ bench. Yes, Tracy. The Rockets are FINALLY out of the first round, and it probably has a lot to do with the fact that you are on the bench. You should get traded to the Hornets.

– D-Wade. You tried. The Hawks have a 23-point lead in the fourth quarter of Game 7 as I’m typing this. The bottom line is that no matter how great a player you have (and Wade was a great player this season), with absolutely no supporting cast, you’re not going anywhere. I felt bad for #3. He played his heart out, and got nowhere because his supporting cast was so poor. We can’t be mad at them. Can we?

Round 2 awaits!

NBA Playoffs Chess

It seems that every year the NBA does a tremendous job with its advertising campaign before the Playoffs and Finals. This year has been no different. The “Where Amazing Happens” campaign continued with slow-mo dramatic-music moments of older Playoffs footage that really manage to capture the spirit of the post-season. Think Kobe’s buzzer-beater against the Suns a few years ago, or Duncan’s shocking three-pointer (again against the poor Suns) last year. They show these moments in black and white, add the dramatic music, and play them in slow-mo, and all you can think about by the end of the ad is “when is the next game on.”

However, the newest piece of advertisement that comes out of the NBA is the best I’ve seen in 2009. It’s over two minutes long and compares basketball to chess. As a concept that sounds a bit out there, but when you watch the video, you get the point. Another key part is that it also features the first tease of Kobe vs. LeBron for the Finals, pinning the two guys on opposing sides of the chess board. Enjoy!

The College Basketball Debate

I’ve been really busy lately, so I’ve had to rely on entertaining the millions and millions of readers of my blog (HA!) with some entertaining YouTube video, but don’t think for one second that I post any YouTube video. I try to still make them entertaining and worth your while, so hopefully you’ve enjoyed them.

Anyway, by being so busy these past two weeks, and having to attend a conference on Saturday, I was a bit sad that I’m going to be missing NCAA action, especially my Bruins playing Villanova. This has been a tough year for us. With Westbrook, Love, and Mbah a Moute leaving for the NBA, the team had a weird chemistry of people to work with. On one hand you had the (shaky) leadership of Darren Collison and Josh Shipp in their last year at UCLA, mixed with secondary guys from last year’s squad getting a chance, and some new faces with Holiday making a quick impact. It’s a work in progress, and this obviously wasn’t our year.

I thought we’d have trouble getting past VCU in Round 1, but we managed. After all, UCLA is UCLA when it comes to college basketball, and the guys weren’t going to choke that badly. The media jumped on the possibility and a poor Pac-10 Tournament performance added to the hype. We beat VCU (barely, yes), and then it was on to Villanova. I had us losing by 10, calling it a tournament, and creating a new squad next year with 2009’s core in place. Never mind that we got crushed by a superior team (Villanova was tremendous!) in a game we never lead in. You see, this is college basketball. You always hope for next year…

This is where the college basketball debate enters the picture. If you think about it, how silly is it to support a college basketball team nowadays, other than your school’s squad? With the NBA rules set in stone, players are coming in and leaving on the fly. You see by the bargaining agreement signed in 2005, you have to be 19 years of age to enter the NBA, and you must be 1 year removed from high school. I’m not sure why. What’s the point of this rule? If you’re destined to be a mega-star out of high school, what does this one year of college do for you? Would Kobe Bryant, LeBron James, or Kevin Garrnett gotten any better if they went to college for one year? They’re three of the top six players in the league today in my opinion, with James and Bryant the top two. You should either let high school stars get into the NBA right away if they’re that good (and on the rare occasions it happens, it’s definitely the way to go as history has shown for the most part). If they’re not and you’re sending them to college, you might as well force them to graduate or at least reach the age of 21 before they move onto the NBA.

A college graduate entering the NBA makes sense to me. Not only do guys mature more when they enter the league, but they also get four years of college ball. Four years of learning the game, and becoming better at it. Face it, if they’re that good, then they’ll come in from high school! Just a thought…

Stoudemire Likely to Miss Rest of Season

Living in Los Angeles and being a big Laker fan makes you feel a certain way about the Phoenix Suns. They have been our main division nemesis in the last few years. The Mike D’Antoni coached Suns were quite the team, and every time they faced the Lakers it was dramatic. The games were always good. The match-ups were loads of fun, as Rajah Bell and Kobe Bryant started their weird feud, while Shawn Marion and Lamar Odom tried to out-hustle each other every game. Heck, even Phil Jackson and Mike D’Antoni went at it a few times. Steve Nash was at his peak, and the Suns’ Seven-Seconds-Or-Less strategy was one of the hottest topics in the NBA.

It’s hard to feel bad about your division rival, but today I truly feel bad for the Suns. News broke that Amare Stoudemire will most likely miss the rest of the season (out at least 8 weeks) after an eye injury he suffered on Wednesday night at Staples Center, against the Clippers. You know what’s weird? I went to that game on Wednesday. I saw Amare get hit in the first quarter, and nobody made a deal out of it because he seemed to be fine.

When you go to a Clippers game, you’re bound to be depressed, especially if you’re a Clips fan. The franchise is just one big joke at this point in time. From the moment you arrive at Staples, the lines are minimal, and you get in after 10 minutes because there aren’t that many people going to the games. Once you’re inside, you get a feel of everything that’s wrong with the Clippers. I don’t know what it will take for this team to fire their coach and GM Mike Dunleavy. The players can’t stand him. The audience can’t stand him. The owner refuses to fire him because he has to pay him a large amount of money (due to a release clause in his contract). He might as well pay it because he’s losing money running this franchise!

Thus going to a Clippers game consists of few highlights. Other than the “Fire Dunleavy!” chants the audience starts, the sad picture of Baron Davis, one of the best fast-ball point guards in the league, playing half-sets jogging on the court in disgust, and getting booed when he shoots an air ball, there really isn’t a whole lot going on. On Wednesday, Al Thornton turned it on, playing a decent game, shooting 14-27 for his 33 points. But that wasn’t the highlight either. It also wasn’t the fast-break play that the Suns (who are now back to run-and-gun style basketball) got into at one point in time where Shaq played point guard (this was awesome!). No. The highlight of the game was Amare. The guy who apparently played with a partially detached retina and scored 42 points, going 15-20 from the field and 12-13 from the free throw line.

You see, for the first time in the Steve Kurr era, the Suns were motivated again. There was no drama. There was no misunderstandings or confusion in their play. It’s the style of basketball they were used to playing, and loved playing, thus did great. They scored 30, 37, 36, and 39 points in four quarters for a grand total of 142. They had scored 144 on the Clips the night before in Phoenix. Granted the Clips don’t play defense, it’s not something to go crazy about, but it was a sign. A sign that they were returning to their old form. I can’t describe to you how happy Nash was to be running again. Shaq was sweating like crazy, but wanted in. (By the way, if you get the opportunity to see Shaq live, you really should. Words can’t describe how big he is!) The Suns were that team again.

And it all came crashing down today. There were the talks of trading Amare. Then they fired Terry Porter (good move!), and refused to move Amare. They tried to move Shaq because they knew they’re going back to D’Antoni’s game, and Shaq tries his best, but at this time in his career, it’s not for him. It didn’t happen, but the Suns didn’t get discouraged. They kept playing. Even though I’m a fan of their rivals, I was happy to see all this. A strong Phoenix team makes our division that much better, and our conference that much better. You need good competition to be a solid team. Thus the news of Amare’s injury is a huge blow to all Suns fans, and to me, an NBA fan in general. I hope he gets through this!