Around the Rim - Playoff Edition

Aaaaand heeeeeeeeeerrrrrrrrrre's Treeeeebor......


Here’s the last regular season post/playoff predictions… haven’t been paying too much attention 1st round hockey always grabs my attention until somewhere around June, then….meh. Anyways,

Yao Ming has been taking part in some Chinese experiments so that he can play in the Olympics…. Now there’s nothing to measure against in this photo but if his head is the only part of his body still the same size who’s going to be able to guard a 15 ft man ???



















(Ed. Note - There may have been some analysis of the Houston/Utah series here that got lost in the Internets. However, all that remains now is Trebor's prediction.)
UTAH in 6

Denver has a scary team… they got 2 players who can score 30-40 points each, any given night. They do also have good role players… problem may be getting Carmelo to the game... who cares if he’s drunk … what happens if the police are busy with actually police work and can't give him a ride
Lakers in 5.

The best series will be the Suns and Spurs… after last years terrible outcome, that caused lots of debate, and a ref scandal came out of it too, this year may not be able to live up to all of that, but an entertaining series nonetheless. The Suns went and got Shaq for this reason… Shaq vs Duncan... it’s like 2002 all over again. The only things I’m not looking forward to is, soon to be 6th man of the year Ginobli, take a run at big disel, hit him and then flop around on the floor for 2 mins. Kind of like the Oberto hit, though with Manu the hit wouldn’t need to take place for the same results
Phoenix in 6

Dallas and New Orleans??? Last night Kidd owned Paul and that may not be the case with the series but Dallas did catch a break playing against this young team. I really don’t know which way to go on this and I have no clips or news either.
Dallas in 6


The East

I’ll start by pointing out that Golden State - who are going fishing - have a better record than 5 of the teams in the eastern playoffs. Some people say that’s argument for the best 16 teams make the playoffs. I don’t like this idea and I doubt it will ever get addressed by Stern, with Boston beefing up this year, soon other Eastern teams will do the same and the shift might go to the East.

Atlanta, some months ago I said they had a shot at like #6 in the East - and they did but came up short, so now you face the Celtics, hope you enjoy your week in the playoffs.
Boston in 4

Cleveland clinched 4th with this play… it’s a long video but suck it up. The thing I hated seeing was Lebron's drive to the hoop. His head is down he picks the ball up at the 3-point line and goes towards the basket with his head down. What can a defender do?? One may say stand there and take the charge, but if you think that on a last second play Bron Bron is going to get a offensive foul called on him… please give me whatever it is your taking. On the upcoming series Barkley has come out after some comments by the Wizards and said this “"I think the Washington Wizards have got to be the dumbest team in the history of civilization." That’s coming from Charles, so you know that’s not a good sign.
Washington in 7 - I can only hope. They did split the series 2-2 during the season and that was without Agent Zero.

If the above call never happened, Philly probably gets the #6, however they fall to #7 and get to play the Pistons - who once again have been overlooked by almost everyone the entire season, they are too vanilla, not sexy enough… There’s no feel good story no controversy just a team that goes out and wins. Once playoffs start the media starts to realize again that the Pistons should be seen as the top team in the East. Though the series was split 2-2, as Chauncy says the real season starts now.
Detroit in 5

I can't complain too much because with the Philly loss the Raptors get the 6th spot and get to play Orlando instead of Detroit. Of any of the top 4 teams Orlando is the one I think the Raptors match up with and have a shot at beating. It’s a slim shot and I don’t think it will happen but there’s a chance that Mitchell will think when we had Calderon starting we were winning… we now are starting Ford and are a sub .500 team… and make the right call on the starting 5.

However, here are some quotes that will show where T.O is headed:

“Facing a Toronto team trying to lock up the Eastern Conference’s sixth seed, the Pistons pulled away down the stretch for a 91-84 victory Sunday, even though all five starters were resting comfortably on the bench.”

Now yes, the Pistons have a deep bench but to prove that you have problems here’s a quote after the Miami heat game

“Facing a team of relative unknowns, Toronto rallied from behind at halftime”

Rallied from behind!!!… The Heat starters are no good, can't imagine these unknowns being that good, one of the players didn’t even have a jersey he used tape for his number on a plain t-shirt. And it’s not as if these games didn’t mean anything, T.O is still jockeying for position. Some more tid bits of info, they are 9-17 in the past 26 games… not the kind of momentum you want heading into the playoffs. And another: since the All-Star break they have only beat 2 teams over .500
Magic in 6

Here are some fun clips that didn't make the posts before.

Milwaukee’s Bogut. Poor guy, maybe it’s a running joke, maybe no one likes him ??? I don’t know but it’s funny

Here’s something even funnier. You know how we're always making fun of Americans for not knowing their geography - well laugh no more, instead stop thinking like it’s 1990.

Corey Brewer – This one just makes me laugh.

There hasn’t been much to do with cheerleading but, here’s a little something.

Around The Rim

There’s lots happening, but between work, weeding planning and house hunting not much time to see much of the sports world.

Chris Paul gets Bowen'd ... I’ve never liked Bowen. If he played for the Raptors though it would be a different story. He’s aggressive and a shut down defensive player, however every once and awhile he goes a bit too far and does something uncalled for. This was the first site that popped up and it was a Spurs fan who posted since the title was Paul punches Bowen, I’m sure there’s more sites up now that have the title correct.

I’ve wanted to post something about the Raptors other than their big trade but have never found the time. I’m still optimistic that when Bosh returns and maybe even Garabajosa (reports is he’s doing light stuff) that the team will hit stride at the right time. However, being a realist..... Toronto is going fishin' after the first round. If they play Cleveland, or Orlando they’ll lose. Maybe if they make it to the 3 seed they have a chance but that idea is quickly fading.

They don’t come out with that drive or emotion to win and find themselves almost always playing comeback. Also to have any chance they better not play on a Friday. Is there some must go to club in Toronto where they hang out on Thursday nights, or is that they are thinking about the night while they should be playing. Prediction - Friday against Denver they lose.

They’ve lost 6 of 8. 7 of those, yes, were without Chris Bosh. However, Indiana and Charlotte aren’t good teams and they have to find a way to win. The team is struggling on defence - guards are destroying them. They don’t have the quickness to guard and they lack an inside presence. Brezec... seems like a good guy and may develop but he’s not there yet. Against L.A they decided to lock down the middle so Kobe couldn’t drive and what happened... LA took a record number of 3’s and walked away with the W. It was a decent plan but didn’t work out.

The other thing that’s always bothered me is TJ Ford.... he’s quick, good skills and can shoot. The problem I find is that he’s a shoot first, pass second guard. The other night, yes, he led the rally against the Warriors, but in the first part of the 4th he took almost all the shots (8 of the first 12 ...) and it’s not as if he was on fire, he finished the night 8-18. Many of the shots were forced as he dribbled the ball and ran around, while the rest of the Raptors might as well have sat down and enjoyed the Ford show.

Maybe I’m being too hard on him but I think Calderon is the better choice for the Raptors on a go forward basis, but until they get someone to compliment Bosh it won’t matter too much. If Barnagni doesn’t show the potential to be a go to guy I think they’re going to have to try a different route.

Oh yeah as I’m sure everyone knows, the Rockets have won 20 straight (Ed. Note: Trebor sent this two days ago - I believe the Rockets have now won 22 straight.) even without Yao and how have they done it.... through this guy, who they now impersonate. I actually thought this guy was dead or retired, he’s gotta be in his 40’s but that wag of the finger ...classic.

more drunk cheerleaders. What else to say about this.

There is also this college tourney, I really don’t know much about it, I‘ll watch the score or something to figure out what’s going on and which #6 seed is going to be upset.

The one thing I do know I learned from this sign . For those who don’t know who she is......

Around The Rim

Trebor's Around the Rim returns...


My computer is broken and there’s only so much that can be done at work, so this has been awhile coming and things may have changed…..

So the NBA has been busy, they could have more interest in it now than ever. I didn’t watch any of the NBA All Star stuff, well the end of the dunk competition I did see from across the room at Habanos but that doesn’t really count. Everyone has seen the impressive dunks, so no point putting them up. However, reading some of the stories over the weekend I came across this, last time I said Deron Williams could be the best point guard in the game and well he showed it at the skills comp.

So after a successful All Star game... no one killed… they continued with the active trading. It’s almost an anything you can do I can do better situation. The Lakers get big man Gasol for nothing (I have to agree with Popiwich that maybe a trade review is needed), so then Phoenix goes and gets big man Shaq, this is followed by the Spurs acquiring Kurt Thomas. Those 3 are directly related.

The other contenders weren’t just going to sit by - Dallas pulled off the Kidd trade and well, they may have taken themselves out of contention. Kidd is having a horrible scoring season and they gave up a lot. Harris is an up and coming point guard so to trade him for Kidd who has only a couple years left… it’s a big risk and we’ll see how it works out for Cuban.

Utah had already made their trade for Korver and right now it’s probably the 2nd or 3rd best move, behind Gasol and Thomas. The Hornets who still had the best record and were atop the West didn’t do anything to help their starting 5, but picking up Mike James and Bonzi Wells will definitely help their bench and they could make a Conference Finals appearance.

Houston also did something but it really didn’t make sense to me off the bat so I’ve forgotten about it already. [yesterday heard that Yao is out for season and billions wept as their hero may not make the Olympics]

The teams at the bottom??? The Kings got rid of Bibby... who cares and Seattle apparently is playing for the 2011 championship. After trading away Ray Allen and Rashard Lewis last year, they continued the trend with trading Wally and Kurt Thomas. Leaving them with Durant….. and 3 1st round picks this year and 13 picks over the next 3 years. I guess they think it’s going to be a deep draft, but without March Madness I don’t know what’s happening.

The East well… what can you say, I’m reminded of when me and my friends went to the high school dances… got all dressed up and went to the dance but realized all the gals wanted to dance with the cool kids, so we just sat at the sides watching. They are watching on the sidelines while the West improves their teams. The East is just ??? I don’t want to say bad, but the ninth place team in the West if there were crossovers like the CFL would be 3rd in the East.

Atlanta picking up Bibby I thought was a good move since they didn’t have a point guard, and their shooting % was low, so Bibby was supposed to help. Then I saw parts of a game and realized Bibby heaving up those 3’s isn’t helping. At first I thought this takes Atlanta from the 8-10 spot to 5-6 spot in the east, now… they should still make the playoffs.

Cleveland made the biggest moves. They apparently got King James some help… Wally shooting 3’s, Big Ben in there for Def. And Joe Smith for ?? Experience ?? I wont lie, I don’t like Cleveland. I don’t like James, and when I saw this the first thing I thought was why are you giving up Hughes… you only have two PG’s why trade your starter away ??

All the analysts like this trade, because Wally is one of the pure shooter types who can get 20/game and Ben can get 20 blocks a game…. Maybe not that much, but a few. King James will do the rest and that might be enough, but I don’t like the trade and hope it causes them to drop out of 4th place… so then the Raptors can get in there. I’m counting on the inconsistency that has followed Wally around in the past 4 years with 3 teams to help with their downfall.

The Raptors made a last second trade that only Raptor and Piston fans will know about. Juan Dixon, a benchwarmer got sent to the Motor City for Brezec?? I knew they needed a big man but I would have liked them get one with a bit more experience, he was a benchwarmer the first 2 years of his career. If Kurt was available that would have been nice to see him in Raptors red (what happened to the purple??), someone to guard Big Z, Howard, KG.

So now we sit back and see how the trades go, in about a month the playoff hunt will begin and we can start looking at potential match-ups. Until then maybe there will just be stories like these.

My memory is in full swing today, this story makes me think back to grade 7 basketball. In the 2nd or 3rd game we had a game where the score was like 20-4, it may have been higher but yeah everyone sucked. The first basket scored by our team…. off the tip off, buddy gets the ball drives to the lane and gets the easy lay-up…. One problem, it was on the wrong basket… and no it wasn’t me. Anyway back to the story… they are in high school so it’s ok to laugh, so what does the coach say…“this feeling right now that you guys are having about being pathetic and such, don’t worry there’s no where to go but up…. You couldn’t possibly do any worse..”

Or there’s this crushing story: With time running out in the game Sosa takes the ball to the rack, decides to reverse it and POW takes a knee to the groin. Now we all laugh when we see it all tv and all guys seem to tense up just a little when seeing it no matter how funny, but this truly was like the ultimate football in the groin. This guy stays in the game and ends up hitting the game winning shot. Later he notices something is not right down below and realizes that he may have a problem . So now people are saying that it sure took a lot of balls for him to come back…. yeah I don’t know if I can go on….. fractured…..really ???? you can do that ?? maybe our EMT guy can confirm this.

If you’re a fan of terrible TV as I am then you’ll be excited to hear about this. Apparently now they are looking to get franchises and an actual sport not TV show… maybe they will expand into Canada one day and I can show off my mad trampoline skillz.

Then keeping with hopefully a tradition here, I’ve found some more news about the girls behind the scenes… the wizzard girls aren’t so much about the stripping and such, they seem more like drink till you pass out girls… Dear diary… Jackpot…. I’m going to end it there.

Around the Rim

So this weekend is the NBA All-Star Game and if it wasn’t for Jamario Moon being in the dunk competition I probably wouldn’t care. These are the guys in the competition:

Rudy Gay, Dwight Howard, Gerald Green, Jamario Moon.

The Dwight Howard dunk from last year was something else. I’m not sure if anyone else can do that but since it’s the first and only time I’ve seen it, I’m assuming not. I watch that and think of the Carter dunk… where he hung from his elbow… the crowd hushed first reaction is: that’s it... then you realize what just happened. That was one of the last times I watched the dunk competition, years past has kind of been… meh, until someone does a 720 who cares.

If I were to watch it would be for the distant hope that jamario wins... and then he turns to the camera and says ‘itsa me Jamario, ima make you a spicy pizza”… just cause. I think Rudy Gay is going to come away with it though not sure why but yeah Gay’s my man, I wonder if Brady Quinn could say such… that’s another topic. As far as the rest of the competitions go ??? who cares, but this guy was really trying to get in and it would be nice to see him get MVP.

So the other thing that’s big news right now is trades. The trade deadline is fast approaching and I think there will be some movement at the end.

We’ve seen Pau Gasol go to the Lakers and make them a favorite. We’ve all heard that Big Daddy Diesel is going to Phoenix, and still not sure about the impact. The other notable move was Utah picking up Kyle Korver, so now the Boodozer can kick it out. Deron Williams could be one of the best point guards but getting a pure shooter will put them in contention this year. Oh yeah I forgot to mention the Warriors picked up Chris Webber and I’m not seeing a big upside for them on this but hey what do I know.

So the West has done everything thus far… and I think the other teams will have to as well. San Antonio has pretty much the same squad (they signed Mighty Mouse last week) as last year. Though they won, who knows… if Horry doesn’t hip check Nash then maybe they don’t even make it out of the 2nd round.

I don’t know what they could do though, Duncan is the Franchise and Parker is the future, maybe Manu… no probably not. Not much else for supporting cast so they may stay the same for another year

Dallas is the next top team and they need help. Dirk has yet to prove himself in the playoffs and they need someone with some toughness. I could see them getting rid of one of their young guards and a F/C, move Howard to small forward and bring in a point guard.

That point guard is Jason Kidd. Mark Cuban has come out and said it’s not going to happen unless there’s a 3rd team involved. But, I don’t know who else is out there that can help them though and with the other teams making moves surely Cuban can see he needs to do something.

Here’s the other thing - apparently Kidd’s agent has now told the Nets that if they send him to a lottery team, he will direct his clients away from New Jersey. I really hope that the media just made this up cause if not... for shame, you go to whoever is paying you. You think Shawn Marion was happy about going to Miami? Well the girls are probably better in Miami, but Phoenix has a shot…But speaking of girls…this has nothing to do with bball but I feel it’s a good read.

Who am I kidding I didn’t read a word. The site has got me feeling guilty about opening it up at work. To stay on topic or something... brain no work properly... I have a new reason to follow the Sacramento Kings, well I still wont but knowing this is out there, well it’s not that shocking… only the fact that the other one isn’t doing that herself. I will make no comment on the opening pic cause I know the other readers are far more witty and I expect something clever…

Anyway back to Dallas needing a point guard. Maybe Sam “I am” Cassell. Recently it came out that he wants the Clippers to buy him out so he can go play with the Celtics. There’s probably a few players out there saying the same thing Sam and this isn’t going to help your cause. Maybe his thought process was If I take out the Celtics point guard they will have to look around to fill the spot… whack

In the East I don’t expect much. Boston, Detroit are at the top and the other teams are more than a few pieces away from competing. The Raptors... I’d like to see them get a center. Andrea is tall, but he plays on the perimeter and they need an inside presence on defense and a rebounder. Could have Calderon handling the rock, Bosh at small forward, andrea at power forward and then have Delfino for scoring or Parker for def.

Marcus Camby is out there, though he already came and left Toronto, but with Denver possibly looking to keep pace with the West, they need someone who can play defence so who knows.

Ed. Note: It appears that Jason Kidd has now been traded to the Dallas Mavericks: http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/news/story?id=3244102

Around the Rim

Your intrepid editor has been down with a cold the last few days, and as a result hasn't been able to put two coherent sentences together - not that that's any different than usual. But here's Trebor to save the day with Around the Rim. However, I do have a link for you this morning. You Chris Berman apologists out there might not want to watch, as it will ruin him for you. However, people like me think it's hilarious. So here's Berman flipping his comb-over (there is some strong language in the clip - so if you're at work, make sure you turn the volume way, way up).


So last time I got some flack for saying Noah’s hair is like a known Patty-Mayo. It was much deserved, cause it really wasn’t close - but this week how about this guy. He could be out for the season, so his early season hold-out for more money could be good for him - in the sense that he gets paid for sitting around. Though what are the chances of Cleveland keeping him around now ???

So sticking with the Patty-Mayo. How’s about OJ Mayo... not the best name for someone living in California but hey he is the best player out there period. I mean look at the 1:25 mark he has literally grabbed the sun in the palm of his hands and transformed into a basketball. Either that or ESPN thinks that people need help following the ball. Bright yellow for a shot, blue for a pass. Then at the 3:30 mark after watching all the clips of how great he is I’m reminded of Michael Jordan... maybe OJ is the next one.

I’m really not sure if he's better than Lebron but playing to bigger highschool crowds than Bron Bron does help though. However, the NBA went and changed the rules and now you have to attend 1 year of college, so we have to wait.

OJ signed with USC this past fall and I saw the article about a week ago but now with all the news I can't find it. Apparently he just got caught accepting tickets to a Nuggets game from Carmelo. And with the Reggie Bush thing still hanging over their head, USC might come down on this poor guy. So now Google gives 60 pages on this incident but the one I wanted is lost… the article talked about USC was his choice, he recruited himself. He wanted to play for Tim Floyd but also says he is going to resurrect the PAC-10 and turn USC into a powerhouse. The other reason he wanted to play there was to be in the spotlight and what better place than LA. Though he is eligible for the draft this year, so could be a quick stint with the Trojans

The reason you might remember this guy is because of this little incident. Now the ref clearly got lessons from Ginobili, but this guy’s attitude could be interesting to watch once he reaches the bigtime.

Keeping with college, it is just too funny to let this slide by. I don’t see the problem with making a player suck his thumb, he shouldn’t have been acting like a baby. In my day coach would have made me wear diapers, thrown a bonnet on my head and… I can't continue, the memories are to harsh…

So there is some news, the Grizzlies have released Damon Stoudamire. I wasn’t aware that he was still playing. Anyway, some of you might be saying who? But when I first heard this I was like, Mighty Mouse in on the way …to Boston that is. Check out the 38 sec mark… I thought they only built bridges like that in Quebec. Anyway, Damon was the first ever pick for the Toronto Raptors. He went on to win Rookie of the year and because of his short staus (5’10”) and the tat on his arm, he got the name Mighty Mouse.

Well he got too big for T.O and left to go ???... become the most hated Raptor ever. However, Vince Carter soon followed in the footsteps and took the title. I remember a cheese stick commercial that was done. I’m sure it’s out there and not just a memory in the head. But Youtube could not help me on this one, maybe some readers could help with this.

And because the Mighty Mouse song got stuck in my head and led me astray to numerous clips, here you go. If you do enough searching you can find a great impersonation of Johnny Cash.

Around the Rim

Ed Note: I neglected to give Trebor credit for this new feature when I posted it this morning.


Football is now dead to me after the Cowboys lost*. No more stories about Jessica killing the Texas dream, making it 12 years since they won a post season football game. I could start watching hockey but… that’s not going to happen. American Gladiators is only on once a week... so basketball it is. *I will still follow football, the chance of seeing Favre beat the Patriots for his last game…

So I was thinking of doing a link-style page for those who want to have some idea of what’s happening but don’t want to watch highlights. There will be college, pro, women's (you may consider that pro but…)

Start off with something for the ladies. Last week Oregon State vs Arizona. Now I know better than to put a clip of women's b-ball up cause no one even watches it, but the story behind it is good. How the game was so close really is the intriguing part, did the coach even bother playing zone or just triple the girl with the ball and double the other one. The smallest bench I’ve seen is 8 and I believe that was Riley with the Miami Heat???

Speaking of the two, the Heat are in the news of late. Yes Shaq is hurt, no surprise there though with all his icy/hot pads you think his back would be better… or maybe it’s the fast acting pads that caused the problem. Wade is injured, don’t know what injury it is now but he’s hurt and with no reason to try anymore... who cares.

The big news is that they will be playing a quick pick up game against the Hawks. 52 seconds… How do you coach that? Okay guys we just have to go out there for 52 seconds, just try to play through the pain???

I think the game should be played after they play a full game cause that would be more realistic. What happens if Shaq isn’t available to play, he is the reason why they are playing again, or maybe the Hawks are out a couple of starters??? Maybe there is a reason this hasn’t been done since 1982.

52 sec may seem like a life time if you're Joakim Noah. How much would this suck if your team, who is probably the biggest disappointment this year, said no, we don’t want you to play. Maybe they weren’t joking about his job being to get the doughnuts. Almost feel sorry for the Gator and his "Patty Mayo" hairstyle… almost.

If you feel sorry for Noah how about this guy. Apparently no one told him it was kids night and the whole gangster buffalo didn’t really go over well. Really, I would have never guessed. Maybe if it was in New york or LA then things would be ok. Hell the kids have probably seen him on the street before selling ‘blue magic’, but in wholesome Colorado. Here is a rendering of what he may have looked like.

Who not to feel sorry for… AK-47 better known as Adrei Kirlenko (plays with Utah). That’s a pic from his New Year's Eve party. The interesting part is apparently his wife says that as long as he tells her when he’s sleeping with groupies that’s okay. Her reasoning is: if I say no, he can’t sleep with other women then it’s like telling a kid he cant have pizza… they want it even more. You turn your back and the kid is eating pizza. I wonder if I can use that logic… hmmmm ... no better not - I do enjoy having my testicles attached to my body.

Since it started with Jessica I’ll end with Jessica. -- "Don’t worry J-SI, everyone hated me at first too and now they love…me. What was that? They don’t love me, they just put up with me cause the Spurs are winning and for half the game the Jumbotron is on me? Well at least they are still looking at me. I guess I better stop wearing that ugly Spurs hat and just go with something simple.”

*note - this last part was very tough, looking through all the Eva pictures and trying to decide which one to post….phew…tough work, but somehow I managed.