Larry Brown Sports » Basketball

Hawks Screw Up Zaza Pachulia’s Jersey, Spell it Pcahulia

Larry Brown — Sat, 20 Mar 2010 12:14:44 +0000

The Washington Natinals have been supplanted for the latest jersey misspelling in professional sports. The Atlanta Hawks screwed up the spelling of backup center Zaza Pachulia’s last name on his jersey by placing they “C” in front of the “A” to produce Pcahulia. I’m not sure how they messed that up so badly because it just looks wrong:

It’s bad enough that Pachulia’s only playing 13 minutes a game. Now he has to deal with the equipment manager making fun of him? Poor guy. At least leaving out the “o” for the Nationals was much more understandable.

Sources:
Zaza Pcachuia [bball 'n' more]

Michael Jordan Confuses Charlotte with Chicago in Press Conference

Erin Redmond — Fri, 19 Mar 2010 18:03:48 +0000

Basketball legend Michael Jordan officially became the majority owner of the Charlotte Bobcats on Thursday. During his press conference, he expressed his excitement to be back where he started. He said it was amazing that he had come “full circle” by having the chance to buy a team in the state where he grew up. But I think all the excitement got M.J. a little flustered.

While explaining his goals and hopes for the Bobcats, I think M.J. may have been envisioning a different scenario. Maybe one where he was being introduced as the Chicago Bulls new owner. Check out Michael Jordan’s slip-up at his press conference:

“The thing I want to get out this, I want to have fun. I want to provide entertainment to the public and the city of Chicago…I mean to the city of Charlotte. Or Chicago too. I want to provide entertainment to everybody.”

Oops, there it is. It seems as though someone was thinking about Chicago while talking to Charlotte. That’s like getting with your special someone and saying your ex’s name. M.J was also asked if he would be moving full time to Charlotte, and he didn’t exactly say yes. He said that his kids are still in Chicago but he does have a home in Charlotte. And that means …? Oh, M.J. it’s understandable why you can’t let go of Chicago — Chicago can’t let you go either. But for your new team’s sake … let’s try to be a little more discreet about it. At least this was much different from your Hall of Fame speech.

Sources:
Chicago still on Jordan’s mind [Daily Herald]
Photo Credit [Charlotte Observer]

Watch Out for Steve Nash’s Balls

Larry Brown — Wed, 17 Mar 2010 03:20:14 +0000

Steve Nash is beginning to rival Chris Bosh with his humorous YouTube videos. Not long ago, Nash released a video of teammate Leandro Barbosa dressed up as an avatar character on the team’s flight. This time around, as the Vegas-bound Jimmy Traina of Hot Clicks pointed out, Nash made a video goofing on his apparent predilection for sticking his balls in everyone’s face. It’s similar to the close talker episode from Seinfeld, only with male packages. Enjoy the Steve Nash balls video:

Why is it that Robin Lopez is always getting picked on in these videos? Is it because he’s the most gullible or is it because he’s the best actor? The world may never find out!

Sources:
Balls Talk [Steve Nash's YouTube]
Tuesday PM Hot Clicks: Beautiful Brackets [SI Extra Mustard Hot Clicks]

Shaunie O’Neal: Skanks in Miami Reason for Divorce from Shaq

Larry Brown — Sat, 13 Mar 2010 13:13:03 +0000

Shaunie O’Neal filed for divorce from Shaq back in November, shortly after rumors emerged that Shaq was messing around with Gilbert Arenas’ fiance. Just this week reports said Shaq and Shaunie reached a divorce settlement so there’s no doubt now that the two are done. We can never be certain regarding the reason for divorce, but we do know it has to do with Shaq fooling around with other women. Take what Shaunie told Essence Magazine for example:

Miami is a great city. It just wasn’t a great city for our marriage. I know they say L.A. has its groupies, but Miami has a different mentality. Even going to the games, the whole environment is so different. Girls are practically sitting in their bra and panties in the arena. When you’re trying to keep your husband, that’s a lot to take. It was a whole new lifestyle I wasn’t ready for. Apparently we didn’t have a strong enough foundation for Shaq to withstand that type of temptation,

From what I remember about Kobe’s comments to the police in Eagle, Colorado, Shaq’s been paying off chicks since his LA days. Yeah, that would render Shaunie’s comments pretty inaccurate, but who am I to talk? After all, Shaq blamed Kobe for his marriage problems before telling Kobe to taste his tuchus. Shaunie may be complaining about the Miami crowds but at least they were drawing fans when Shaq on the team. Guarantee you Micky Arison wishes they had those days back.

Sources:
Shaq’s Soon-To-Be Ex-Wife Blames Miami for Divorce [Miami New Times]
Shaq and Shaunie Done for Real This Time [You Been Blinded]

Matt Barnes Wants to Put a Used Diaper in Lamar Odom’s Mouth

Larry Brown — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 22:27:47 +0000

Although Lamar Kardashian should have felt embarrassment for getting stuffed by the rim on a dunk attempt and watching his team lose to the Magic on Sunday, Lamar’s been doing a lot of talking. After the game, Odom mocked Matt Barnes’ defensive efforts, comparing Barnes to pro wrestler Ric Flair. Odom added onto that comment after the Lakers’ win Tuesday night, saying “That [expletive] that Matt Barnes pulled, that ain’t never going to happen again.” Barnes must have been alerted to that comment because he wrote the following response on his twitter (minor bad language):

Morning yall up early w/ the babies watchn Dora. Seems Lamar can’t keep my name out his mouth maby I need 2 put my sons shitty diaper n it

That tweet was definitely Vince McMahon approved. As much as the hype has built up over the Lakers and Cavs meeting in the finals, count me as someone who would love to see a Lakers/Magic rematch. Is there anything better than teams that dislike each other and players that seem to hate each other? That’s what I’m looking for!

Sources:
Matt Barnes fires back at Lamar Odom with diaper tweet [Orlando Sentinel]
Matt Barnes’ Twitter [Twitter]
Matt Barnes on Rotoworld [Rotoworld]
A bittersweet game winner [ESPN]

Review Suggests Darren Collison’s 20 Assist Night was B.S.

Larry Brown — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 12:58:43 +0000

If Chris Paul is an MVP candidate who needed two years before posting stats that really started blowing people away, how is it that late-first round draft pick Darren Collison could put up numbers that mirrored the great CP3, all in his rookie season? It’s a very plausible question, one that’s been asked the past few weeks as Collison’s filled in admirably for the injured All-Star. As a starter, Collison has averaged 8.8 assists per game, to go along with 18.9 ppg, 1.6 spg, and a 48% FG% — all superb numbers across the board by any means. His stats were boosted by the eye-popping 20 assist mark posted on Monday night against the Warriors. While the stat line does come with the caveat that it was produced against the Warriors where defense is optional and career nights are had, it was nonetheless highly impressive. But would 16 assists have stood out quite as much as the 20 for which Collison received credit? Probably not as much.

Much like Deadspin’s story suggested last year, scorekeepers can take certain liberties with their judgment calls. The website Hardwood Paroxysm decided to review the entire Warriors/Hornets game‘ to see how legitimate Collison’s assist total was. Their findings were quite telling, so I urge you to read it on your own. I don’t think it would be unfair to say the New Orleans scorekeepers are generous in doling out assists for their point guards and that that is the reason Collison had 20 assists instead of say 16 against Golden State. Collison may have been lucky enough to be drafted onto the perfect team for his skill set and he is definitely seizing his opportunity, but he’s also getting some help. And maybe it’s not much of a coincidence that Chris Paul has averaged an extra assist per game at home than on the road for his career.

Sources:
Assisting Darren Collison’s Assists [Hardwood Paroxysm]
A Closer Look at Darren Collison’s Alleged 20-Assist Night [FanHouse]
An Assist For Nick Van Exel: How An NBA Scorekeeper Cooked The Books [Deadspin]

Ron Artest Shaves His Head but the Purple Dye Remains

Larry Brown — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 00:23:47 +0000

The blonde hair look was short-lived for Ron Artest. As we posted on Saturday night, Artest showed up to the Lakers game in Orlando Sunday with his hair bleached blonde and the word “defense” written in his hair in purple, spelled out in three different languages. Either Artest wasn’t feeling the blonde/purple look or was remorseful of all the attention his hair drew, or he just felt it needed to go since the team lost to the Magic. As of Monday, Artest had shaved his head, eliminating all the blonde. The only problem is the purple dye stuck in his scalp so it still fittingly reads “defense” in three languages on his head. Here’s Artest explaining why he shaved his head and a look at the purple dye stuck in his scalp:

I wouldn’t be surprised if guys like Kobe and Phil gave him crap after the loss and made comments like “we have guys more concerned with their hair than the game.” All I know is that was a waste of five hours on Saturday.

Sources:
Lakers are a team on edge, with Kobe Bryant setting the tone [LA Times]
Lakers forward Ron Artest on shaving his head [LA Times on YouTube]
Ron Artest Dyes His Hair Blonde [previously at LBS]
Ron Artest Defense Haircut in Hebrew, Japanese and Hindi Explained [You Been Blinded]

Joe Johnson Knows: Knicks Need Two Free Agent Stars, Not One

Larry Brown — Tue, 09 Mar 2010 02:48:44 +0000

The Knicks have done everything possible to position themselves for improvement beginning next year. They acquired Tracy McGrady from the Rockets — not for his random DNPs due to knee problems — but for his expiring contract. With around just $18 million in salaries committed for next season, they’re in position to load up on free agents this summer. While Donnie Walsh may have thought that clearing cap space was the biggest obstacle for the Knicks, he may have discovered that convincing free agents to play in the Big Apple is their biggest challenge. Take what Hawks star guard and upcoming free agent Joe Johnson said prior to his Monday night game in New York:

“I don’t think one guy can turn the whole franchise around…I think two guys would be more attractive … I can’t backtrack. I can’t go into a situation where when I first got here to Atlanta.”

When Joe Johnson signed with Atlanta, they were coming off a 13-69 season. It took three years before they made the playoffs (with a 37-45 record), and it wasn’t until Johnson’s fourth and fifth years with the club that they started winning. Johnson’s comments are reflective of most players’ sentiments: they want to go somewhere with an opportunity to win. The Knicks don’t present that opportunity at the moment and they wouldn’t even be more than a good playoff team if they added LeBron. They need two of the following combination to be a potential title team: LeBron, Wade, Bosh, Amare, Johnson or Dirk. They really need LeBron and Wade but that would be quite a task to pull off. Losing by 20 at home to the Nets and going 0-for-18 on three pointers doesn’t help your effort either.

Sources:
Alan Hahn’s twitter via Rotoworld

Kevin Garnett’s Trash Talk Claims Another Victim in Andray Blatche

Larry Brown — Tue, 09 Mar 2010 00:57:35 +0000

Kevin Garnett’s a notorious trash-talker in the NBA and he has the game to back it up. It’s this mental edge that probably has helped him become such a ferocious rebounder and stellar defender throughout his career. Sometimes KG has used his edge to fire up teammates (or make them cry), while other times he has used it to get under the skin of opponents. On Sunday against the Wizards, The Big Ticket decided to get inside the head of Wizards youngster, Andray Blatche, who had been lighting up Boston’s front court most of the game:

Blatche was noticeably upset and appeared to hold back tears as he explained his encounter with Garnett, which nearly got heated when Garnett approached Blatche and tried to wrestle the ball away from him. Blatche appeared to throw an elbow as Garnett continued to taunt him. Blatche later flung Garnett into a cameraman and sent him to the foul line for two free throws. Garnett smiled as he was helped off the ground. Reserve forward James Singleton said Garnett used his “veteran senses” to needle Blatche and get under his skin.

Blatche has been killing it (24ppg, 10.6rpb last 10 games) ever since he started getting regular minutes after the Wizards disbanded their team. He and JaVale McGee were having their way with the Celtics and Garnett up until the end when they blew their 11-point lead with six minutes left in the game. Garnett was actually held field-goal less but he kept Blatche from scoring in the final six minutes as the Celtics pulled it out. The Wizards easily had that game in hand but gave it away. Blatche also learned the hard way that he can’t get sucked into veteran head games — it costs the Wizards this time.

Celtics run past Wizards at end, 86-83 [The Washington Post]
Garnett got way in Blatche’s head [Pro Basketball Talk]
Photo by Elsa/Getty Images

Lamar Odom: Matt Barnes Is Ric Flair

Larry Brown — Mon, 08 Mar 2010 12:12:10 +0000

Kobe Bryant and Matt Barnes were all over each other the entire second half in Orlando Sunday. Barnes isn’t the first player to try and make a name for himself by attempting to psyche out Kobe, but he definitely was the latest. The two constantly elbowed, jostled, and talked trash to each other, to the point that they got a double technical. Although Matt Barnes and the Magic scored a victory on the scoreboard (96-94), it was the Lakers and Kobe who got the minor wins.

Lamar Odom got off this great line on Barnes: “(Barnes) got the crowd into it. Ric Flair does the same thing. He had all the wrestling regalia today. All he needed was a cape and some tights.” Odom was just bitter from getting hung at the rim on a missed dunk and the Lakers loss, but that was still pretty funny. The other small victory for the Lakers was Kobe’s ice cold reaction to Matt Barnes who faked throwing the ball in Kobe’s face on an inbounds pass. Here’s a video compilation of their skirmishes with the Kobe fake pass flinching part at 2:15. It’s priceless:

By the way, Pau Gasol is right on when he says the Lakers need to spread the ball around more and work it inside more frequently. Gasol is a multi-talented player who can pass out of the post as well as score. Not only should he get more opportunities at the expense of Kobe’s 30 shots, but also at Derek Fisher’s 13 shots and Ron Artest’s 3-19 performance the past two games.

Larry Brown Sports » Basketball

Hawks Screw Up Zaza Pachulia’s Jersey, Spell it Pcahulia

Michael Jordan Confuses Charlotte with Chicago in Press Conference

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