The NBA is Dead!

Okay, the NBA isn't dead, but the second worst thing has happened. David Stern announced he will be retiring as NBA Commissioner on Feb. 1, 2014.

You can read the full news release here.

Stern started his career as commish in 1984. Choosing to step aside on Feb. 1, 2014 will mean that his 30 years as head of the NBA will make him the longest tenured professional sports commissioner ever.

I've always liked Stern, even during the most recent lockout where it was rumoured that he was shaking his finger at Dwyane Wade during negotiations like Wade was a petulant child. Even when some players subtly (and not so subtly) alleged that Stern may be racist during those negotiations, I still put my faith behind him. Does that mean I'm racist? I hope not. I even liked him during the controversial Chris Paul trade veto, which wreaked of conflict of interest.

I like Stern because he's smart. He hasn't been perfect as commish, but when you compare him to the other commissioners of the North American pro sports leagues, it's evident that NBA fans have the smartest one.

Goodell is embroiled in the controversy over his hypocrisy of claiming to care for the safety of his players, despite lobbying for an 18 game season. Selig battled against the steroid epidemic in baseball during the late 90s and 00s after turning a blind eye to the issue for a long time (they were hitting more home runs, weren't they?). And Bettman is the only commissioner who is deliberately trying to get himself fired by sabotaging his own league (okay, maybe that's not what he's doing but wouldn't we respect him more if at his retirement announcement he just smiled and said, "I can't believe I put the NHL through three lockouts and still stepped down on my own terms," dropped the mic then strode out of the press conference while Public Enemy - Harder than you think played him out?)

Stern is also the most self aware out all the commissioners. During this year's draft, he came out to announce every pick with a big smile on his face, loving the boos by the fans. He even cupped his ear Hulk Hogan style during the opening segment. How awesome is that?

I highly doubt we'll ever see one of the other commissioners doing something that displays their own self awareness; unless we see Goodell lighting a cigar with a wad of burning $100 bills.

Although some may not agree with me, I'll miss David Stern and wish him nothing but the best while he sits on a lawn chair on his Florida lawn and fans himself with money, or whatever rich retired guys do.

How Seattle (kind of) Got its Groove Back

Seattle Arena Deal

 Seattle fans are that much closer to getting back an NBA team.

Seattle Mayor Mike McGinn and King County Executive Dow Constantine signed legislation on Oct. 16 on a new arena deal in an effort to bring an NBA team back to their city. The investor group led by Chris Hansen and the city of Seattle will finance the construction of the arena.

There are some specific details to the legislation, which I won't get into. Check out the news release here if you want more information.

Congratulations to Seattle. As entertaining as the Thunder are to watch, I think I speak for everyone when I say we want those  Supersonics' jerseys back. Not to mention that Seattle fans are absolutely nuts.

More Preseason.

Here's an informative fact for all of you reading: Preseason basketball isn't exciting to watch.

The only guys really trying are the players fighting for roster spots. Starters get limited minutes and no one really cares how their team fairs in these exhibition games. For instance, the Lakers are 0-4 this preseason and last in their division. Do you think Lakers' fans are worried about their team, that has Howard, Kobe, Nash, Gasol, and the always dangerous Metta World Peace, will get slapped around during the regular season? Hell no.

In contrast, Sacramento is tops in that same division at 2-0. Even if Demarcus Cousins somehow changes his entire attitude and starts playing like the dominant big man he can be, Sacramento still won't make the playoffs this season.

Speaking of this season (check out that segue), in an effort to speed up its games, the NBA has implemented a new 90 second rule. Starting immediately after player introductions, 90 seconds will be placed on the clock. After those 90 seconds the ref will throw the jump ball. The new time limit after player introductions will cut down on the pregame player routines like the impromptu photoshoots and these other weird to hilarious things. Good job NBA. If there's one way to speed up games it's by cracking down on these short and entertaining player idiosyncrasies. If removing those gives more time for commercial breaks during the multiple timeouts called at the end of every close game, I'm all for it.

Science and Carmelo Anthony

Here's Carmelo Anthony as a very realistic science student in an ad for some product. Carmelo says he's all about the science but really, I think we know he's all about the person in his portrait that he drew.

Real Madrid vs. Toronto Raptors Running Diary

Preseason Matchup: Real Madrid vs. Raptors

Since this is the game that kicks off the Raptors' 2012-13 season I thought I would write a running diary. I can't be held responsible for what I say if the Raptors start to play badly.

First Quarter

Calderon, Derozan, Fields, Bargs, and Gray start. No Jonas or Lowry tonight. Both sitting out with injuries.

Rudy Fernandez isn't playing in the NBA anymore? Uh, okay. He's starting for Real Madrid.

Demar Derozan attacking the rim in his first few possessions. Same with Bargs - fouled on a dunk attempt. That's right, a dunk attempt.

Raps down 11-8. Three mins in.

Raps just got blocked three times in a row. Derozan, Fields then Bargs. Madrid comes down the floor and Fernandez finished an alley oop. Raps call timeout, down 14-8.

Raps come out of a timeout with a post up for Bargs. And-one hook shot.... Misses free throw. Nice.

Announcers gushing about Arvydas Sabonis in his prime. Any viewers under the age of 20 probably have no idea who they're talking about.

Rudy just passed the ball through Grey's legs. Why is he not in the NBA! Oh right, because it was Aaron Gray.

Derozan misses a WIDE OPEN layup in transition.

Raps can't get a bucket. Down 18-10. Bargs gets shook guarding LLull, point guard for Real Madrid. 20-10.

Derozan decides to "wisely" take a jump shot since his layups aren't dropping. And-one. Derozan becomes much more ineffective when he stops attacking the rim and settles for jumpers instead

Amir and Kleiza check into the game. Amir finishes a pick and roll with Calderon. The next time down Amir returns the favour and hits a cutting Calderon for a bucket. Is Amir the x-factor on the court right now? Is that the first and last time I will ever think that? Raps cut the lead to 20-18 with a Bargs mid-range jumper. Time out Real Madrid.

Graphic coming back from the break showed that the most games played by any Raptor player was by Morris Peterson. I love Mo-Pete but come on, can we finally get a franchise player that wants to stay in Toronto?

All subs in the game now. Lucas, Ross, Kleiza, Amir and Davis.

Kleiza with a 15 foot hook shot. I hate Kleiza.

Davis working in the post with something that resembles a post game. I'm somewhat impressed. The fact that I'm impressed with "something that resembles a post game" from Davis reflects how poor his offensive game was last season.

Raps are running! Lucas with a nice outlet to Ross, then Ross with a pass to Amir for what should have been an and-one dunk. I really hope that Derozan finally makes that jump to a next level type of player. If he doesn't, at least we have Ross to hope for until he disappoints us.

Amir misses both free throws but Raps hustle on the boards, get the rebound, and feed Amir on a pick and roll for an and-one dunk. Hits the free throw this time.

This second unit for the Raps has been shutting Real Madrid down. They haven't score since the subs came in. Raps haven't really either. It's 21-20 Raps.

It feels like the Raps are missing a lot of free throws. Davis just missed two in a row. Lucas is doing a good job pushing the ball. Cans a three ball.

Amir steals an inbound pass and assaults the rim! I'm terrified. 27-22 Raps. This second unit is bringing energy. I like em - except for Kleiza.

Kleiza with a nice one on one bucket. I still don't like him. 19-2 run for the second unit.

End of the first quarter. 29-22 Raps.

Raps shot 44 per cent from the floor. Held Real Madrid to 39 per cent shooting. Raps shot 6/13 from the FT line. Ouch. +6 rebound margin for the Raps. I know this is only a Euroleague team but it's nice to see the Raptors outrebounding an opponent.

Second Quarter

Quick clip of the team fishing during a boat ride in Halifax (where they held their training camp). I think there's a reason that most basketball players never have fishing as a hobby. None of the guys shown looked like they knew what they were doing.
 
New line up in. Lucas, Ross, Davis, Amir and Dominic McGuire. I can honestly say I have no idea who McGuire is. Usually I would Google players I don't know, but what's the point? He won't be on the team come the start of the season.

Three fouls in the first 40 seconds of the quarter on the Raps.

Ross with a silky smooth jumper from just above the elbow.

Sergio Rodriguez is drawing fouls on the Raps on what seems like every time down the floor. He's quick and crafty.

Sherman Hamilton: "One thing that became evident in training camp was that John Lucas is one of the best shooters on this team." No kidding. Has he seen the type of shooters we have on this team?

Amir just did his patented completely-wild-it-looks-like-I-have-no-idea-what-I'm-doing drive. Gets his own rebound and scores. Real Madrid finishes an alley-oop going the other way. 36-32 Raps.

Starting lineup back in with McGuire at the three. Time to lose the lead.

Sherman Hamilton: "Duncan McGuire is a vet. Solid pick up for the Raptors." He must be solid, you didn't even get his name right.

Derozan with a sweet spin move to split a double and score.  He has 10 points. 40-36 Raps. Fernandez cuts the lead to one with a three. Raps timeout.

Fields in for McGuire. Turns the ball over then commits a foul. Did I mention the Raps signed him to a 3 year, 19 million dollar contract this offseason?

Real Madrid hits a 3. 44-40 RM.

Bargs misses a deep three. He's not playing too well. Derozan recovers the Fields' blocked shot and hits a nice layup. He's really hustling today for rebounds and on D. If he's not going to be the prolific player that we all want him to be, it's nice to see that he's at least busting his ass.

Fields' dunk in transition after a steal where Bargnani was literally standing straight up guarding his man on the wing and the ball was deflected to him. The typical Bargnani defense is back! 46-45 Raps.

Fields beats his man and loses the ball out of bounds. Have I mentioned the Raps signed him to a 3 year, 19 million dollar contract this offseason?

End of first half. Raps lead 50-48.

Raps shooting 42 per cent for the game. Still holding Real Madrid to 37 per cent shooting. Raps didn't shoot a single FT in that quarter. Real Madrid is shooting 16/20 so far from the line. +8 rebound margin for the Raps.

Third Quarter

Jose, Bargs, Amir, Derozan and Fields start the game and are immediately scored on by a sick over the head touch pass by a cutting Fernandez. Tie game. 50-50.

Jose hits a three and just got Bruce Bowen'd (foot under the shooter as he's coming down)! He's infuriated at the refs that it wasn't called. Replay doesn't look nearly as bad as Calderon made it out to be. He's running around fine now. False Bowen'd alarm.

Raps playing pretty good D right now. Real Madrid have only scored two points in two and a half minutes. 59-52 Raps.

Fields knocks down a three. Have a I mentioned that the Raps got him for a steal at 3 years, for 19 million dollars? Fields turns it over. This is a rollercoaster of emotion.

Derozan has missed a few chippies tonight. He has 14 points. He should have at least 20.

Euroleague veteran Allen Anderson checks in for the Raps. Nice.

Kleiza checks in for Fields. I don't know who's worse.

65-65 game.

Loose ball foul on Amir. This game has lost any exciting pace it once had. Foul after foul is being called. Nothing worse than watching a bunch of dudes shoot free throws.

Lucas check in for Calderon! I'm way too excited about that.

Third loose ball foul for the Raps in the last minute. This sucks.

Matt Devlin:" Kleiza saves it! Then throws it away." Yep, I dislike Kleiza more than I dislike Fields.

Lucas hits a jumper in transition. 69-68 Raps.

McGuire plows through a screen while his man nails a three. And-one. How did he get back in the game?

Breaking News: John Lucas is really fast. Nice floater in the lane.

Raps continue to foul Real Madrid at will. 73-73 game.

Lucas with an off balance jumper to put the Raps up by 2 before the quarter ends. 12 points off the bench. 5/7 from the floor. Solid game off the bench from him. Reassuring to know that we may have a reliable third string point guard if Lowry or Calderon get injured.

Raps shooting 41 per cent through three quarters. Real Madrid shooting 38 per cent. Real Madrid have shot 36 free throws through three quarters to the Raps' 23 attempts. Absolutely bonkers. Raps are outrebounding Real Madrid 44-31.

Fourth Quarter

Lucas, Ross, Kleiza, Davis, and Anderson start the fourth.

Anderson with the and-one baseline drive. He's been beating his man with a baseline pivot all night. 80-78 Raps.

Ross hits an open three. When was the last time we had a two guard that could knock down threes? The 2008-09 season with Anthony Parker? 83-79 Raps.
 
Ross takes a charge a couple plays later. I like this kid. Hits another three! Fouls his man on a jumper the next play down the floor. Can't ask for too much. He's just a rookie, after all. 86-81 Raps.

Lucas hits a long two with the shot clock running down. Shooting 6/8 for 14 points. He's outplaying Jose.

Bargs checks in for Kleiza giving the Raps a slightly different, but still ugly defensive look.
Anderson scores a bucket. "He refused to give up on the play," said Hamilton. What Sherm really means is that Anderson brutally forced the play but got lucky and managed to still score. 90-81 Raps.

Lucas hits another 2. Raps up by 11. Seems like they're pulling away. Just when I type that LLull does a nasty spin move that leads to an easy bucket for a Slaughter, a Real Madrid big.

LLull and Slaughter hook up again for a pretty alleyoop. Amir and Jose answer back with an alleyoop of their own. 96-85 Raps.

Derozan stays aggressive and converts a layup. 100-90 Raps after Llull splits a double and finds an open Fernandez. Llull finishes an easy layup to cut their deficit to 8 points. He's played well tonight and has had some real flashy plays. Llull hits a meaningless three to bring the score to 102-95 for the Raps.

The Raptors shot 44 per cent while Real Madrid shot 42 per cent. Raps were imposing on the boards tonight, outrebounding Real Madrid 51-39 and grabbing 16 offensive rebounds to Real Madrid's five.

Game Recap

The Raps played pretty well tonight but they turned the ball over too often and committed too many fouls. The foul problem should resolve itself once players get into better shape. As for turnovers, the Raps were right around their average from last season at 16. Still too high, but with Lowry and Jose handling the ball, the turnovers should be manageables thanks to their high assist-turnover ratios.

Despite missing a few easy layups, Derozan played pretty well. He finished with 18 points, six rebounds, three steals, and a block. If he can continue to put up numbers like that, he's got my vote as starter.

Bargnani had one of his wait-is-Bargnani-playing? games. Bargs played 30 minutes, scored 14 points and had four rebounds. Can you rebound the damn ball?

Lucas had a great game. He probably won't get too much playing time once Lowry is healthy though.

I'm still excited to see the full roster when everyone is healthy. I've yet to see the Lithuanian Lug play and I thought Lowry was entertaining when he played for the Rockets.

Valanciunus is scheduled to play against the Pistons on Wednesday, Oct 10, but Lowry is still out.

I won't be writing running diaries very often as writing notes down for every game will become a major pain in the ass. See you guys and girls next week.

Rasheed Wallace is Back. Another Celtic is Willing to Commit Murder

Sheed Back in the League!

Sources say that Rasheed Wallace will be coming out of retirement to sign with the New York Knicks to back up Amare Stoudamire.

Yep, that's right, the Knicks, who already have Marcus Camby, 38; Jason Kidd, 39; Kurt Thomas, 39; and 35 year old rookie Pablo Prigioni, are looking to sign 38 year old Rasheed Wallace. The Rasheed Wallace who constantly argued with referees? The Rasheed Wallace who hasn't been an effective NBA player since he played with the Pistons? The Rasheed Wallace who showed up overweight and out of shape in his final year with the Celtics? You got it, that Rasheed Wallace!  

While this signing may not help the Knicks out too much, every NBA fan should feel comforted knowing that Sheed is back in the league. No longer will careless NBA refs get away with calling dubious fouls. Not on Sheed's watch.

Has his constant arguing to the refs ever been successful in overturning one? No. But has Sheed ever stopped arguing with officials because of it? No. That, ladies and gentlement, is called perseverance. I love guys that don't quit (quitting on teams not included).

And if it wasn't for Sheed I would never have the perfect axiom to yell out every time I play pick up basketball and disagree with an opponent's foul call. As the great man has said himself, countless times, "Ball don't lie."

Another Potential Murderer on the Celtics

Jason Terry is not the only Celtic who is out for blood this season. Second overall pick in the 2003 draft and bust, Darko Milicic, said he's tired of trying to prove his worth and is ready to do whatever he has to for the Celtics to succeed. Including murder, as reported by Comcast Sportsnet.

“I’ll do whatever it takes, whatever I need to do to help this team. So now, if I have to go kill someone on the court, I’ll kill someone on the court.”

Combine this new killer instinct with his usual ineffectual post game and we could be witnessing Milicic emerging as the new Danny Fortson of the league. Not the promising young player version of Fortson but the older barely-does-anything-but-foul version of him.

Watch out, NBA.


I'm ending my post this week with what might be one of the most impressive flat top fades that I've seen since Fresh Prince Will Smith circa early 90s. He's got nothing on Will Smith's rapping though.