Chris ‘The Birdman’ Andersen has the Nuggets Flying
It’s indisputable that the Denver Nuggets are currently the biggest threat to the LA Lakers in the Western Conference. Everywhere I look on the blogosphere and in mainstream media reports, analysts are attributing the Nuggets overwhelming success in the post-season thus far to Chauncey’s leadership, ‘Melo and JR’s scoring, and Kenyon Martin and Nene’s domination in the paint.
I would never question those factors as some of the keys to the Nuggets domination of the Hornets in Round 1. But there was one other important player that should be getting mentioned in the same breath. Chris ‘The Birdman’ Andersen. He has been all over the court. He’s a madman. You either love him or hate him, but you can’t deny he’s playing some great basketball. I wish there was more stats tracked by the NBA for retrieval of looseballs and securing possession for your team on those multiple plays a game where the possession could go one way or the other. I have a feeling Andersen would be a league leader in that area so far in the post-season. Add to that the blocked shots, rebounds on both ends, offensive put back dunks, steals.
It’s almost as if his time off away from the game due to his indefinite suspension for breaking the NBA’s substance abuse policy a couple of years ago, has worked to his advantage. That time away from the game may have renewed his focus, given him more time to train, and put his head and heart in the right place for playing ball. Now don’t get me wrong, i’m not suggesting players take a couple of years off basketball, or start smoking drugs to get themselves banned. Just to say it’s a pleasant surprise to see the Birdman playing so great for Denver.
Most people have a tough time seeing past Andersen’s tattoo covered upperbody or his crazy mohawk hairdo’s, for the saavy veteran that he has become. If you watch Andersen closely on the court you will get an idea of how much he uses his head when he’s playing the game. He’s always in the right spot, he has that innate ability to always find the open space, and he’s got a nose for the ball on the glass. He does all those intangible things for the Nuggets that make the difference between a team being a winner or a loser in tight games. All of which have made him a favorite of Nuggets Coach George Karl, and a fan favorite to boot.
Not a bad two year transformation to go from being a player banned for substance abuse, to being a key player on a team with championship hopes, all the while being a role model to the young ballers of Denver. Let’s just hope they mimic his playing style and not his hairstyle…
Ron Artest Thinks Brandon Roy is Better than Kobe Bryant
I like Brandon Roy’s game as much as the next guy. But better than Kobe Bryant? C’mon now Ron, you’re not that crazy! Or maybe you are…
Ron Artest has done and said some crazy things over his career in the NBA, but this one might just take the cake. After seeing the following video interview between Ron Artest and Craig Sager, my initial reaction was to pick up the phone and call the looney bin. My guess is, Ron Artest needs some serious professional help.
In the interview Ron Artest says that Brandon Roy is the best shooting guard he’s ever played against, and ever had to defend. When Sager asks if that means Ron thinks he’s better than Kobe Bryant, Artest responds without hesitation: “Roy is the best i’ve played against”.
Some players will often compliment their opponents during the NBA playoffs instead of insulting them to avoid lighting a fire under their opponent. But this is going too far Ron, way too far. I think you missed the nuances and intent of complimenting your opponent. Especially considering Kobe will likely see this interview, and if the Rockets do infact beat the Blazers, Round 2 of the playoffs will pit Ron Artest’s Houston Rockets against Kobe Bryant’s LA Lakers. Ohhhh the drama….thanks for making life interesting Ron:
(H/T to YouBeenBlinded where we saw this video first)
Charles Barkley Drunk Dials Kevin Garnett
If you like to laugh, and who the hell doesn’t, then you’ll love the videos produced by the Global Sports Fraternity. They refer to themselves as ‘the home for sports comedy on the internet’ and i’ve got to agree completely. These guys are damn funny, and always are coming out with a fresh stream of sports content that makes light of current issues in sports.
Since The Hoop Doctors is strictly a hoops site, when we see a video from the Global Sports Fraternity that we think you’ll get a kick out of, we’ll feature it for your viewing pleasure. This week Charles Barkley Drunk Dials Kevin Garnett to ask him if he plans to lace ‘em up during the playoffs at any point. Let us know what you think….
NBA Photo Fun: You Don’t Mess With The Rajon!
NBA Suspends Magic’s Dwight Howard for Game 6
For the past two years the NBA has been talking about taking the rough stuff out of games, especially come playoff time. They want to let the offense flow and the entertainment be the ooh’s and awww’s of a sweet crossover or a nasty dunk, vs. a hard nosed defender laying wood on a guy taking it to the cup. I like the dunks and high octane offense like the next guy. But as a baller myself, come playoff time I want to see guys digging in. I want to see the players doing anything they can to win. Whatever it takes. It’s a battle, it’s a streetfight, it’s no holds barred.
The NBA today announced that Dwight Howard the star center for the Orlando Magic will be suspended for Game 6 of the first round series between the Orlando Magic and the Philadelphia 76ers. The series is currently 3-2 in favor of the Magic. Howard has been suspended for the elbow he dropped on Samuel Dalembert, the center for the Philly Sixers.
Without Howard the Magic are going to have a tough time on the boards and defending the paint. It will be a feeding frenzy for slashers like star Sixer Andre Iguodala. Can the Magic contend without Howard, I doubt it. He’s the heart and soul of the team, and that’s not taking into account the psychological effect his absence will have on his teammates. My guess is this series will be a Game 7 decision in Orlando.
Either way, take a look at the elbow that caused Howard to get suspended and let us know if you think he deserved the one game suspension or possibly if you think he should have gotten even more than one game?
Pierce and Gordon had Swagger Last Night
Let’s be perfectly frank here, no one was expecting this first round series between the Boston Celtics and the Chicago Bulls to be this damn close, nor were they expecting it to be this damn entertaining. I don’t recall the last time a series has been so close, so emotional, or so filled with drama. It’s overtime after overtime, buzzer beater after buzzer beater, and dagger after dagger.
Last night with the series tied 2-2, Game 5 of the series was no exception. Up until this point the late game heroics for both teams have been reserved for Ben Gordon of the Bulls and Ray Allen of the Celtics. But last night, Paul Pierce had enough. He didn’t play particularly amazing in the first half, but in the fourth quarter and in overtime Paul Pierce was once again ‘The Truth’. It was the Ben Gordon vs. Paul Pierce show in the late game moments.
If you missed the game, here is the final 20 seconds of the fourth quarter:
And so another overtime ensued. Both teams must be completely exhausted at this point, as game after game is a physical and emotional battle with many overtimes having been played. As the time was winding down in the overtime Paul Pierce just refused to lose. The trouble with trying to guard Paul Pierce in these late game situations is he is a great mid range jump shooter, but he’s probably even better at taking the ball to the cup and drawing fouls. Probably the best in the business at the latter. So you’ve got to give him a little room or he’ll blow by you for an easy two. He’s just that good. So Chicago gave him a very slight bit of daylight. And on cue Pierce pulled up for the mid range J, and sunk the dagger.
The Bulls still had a few seconds to try and tie the game again at the end of OT, but Brad Miller was dealt a knockout punch by little Rondo, who surprisingly drew blood on Miller. It probably should have been called a flagrant, but given the timing of the foul, there are probably not too many refs in the league that would call a flagrant in that spot unless Miller got wheeled out on a stretcher. Miller missed the free throws, and the game was done.
So after Game 5 we know a few things: Paul Pierce is still the truth, Ben Gordon is still “Mr. Clutch”, and according to some Kevin Garnett still has no class. Here is the video of the Pierce dagger:
(H/T to NBA.com for supplying The Hoop Doctors with the Videos)
Even the Referee Can’t Stop Kobe Bryant
Everyone in the league would agree that Kobe Bryant of the LA Lakers is probably one of the hardest guys to defend. He just has too many offensive weapons to think you can stop him. There have been many players come through this league that claimed to be “Kobe Stoppers” or at least say they could control his output. Over and over again those making such claims have failed, and often to the detriment of their image. Kobe is the only one who can stop Kobe. When he’s mentally focused and on top of his game, forget it. Just duck and run.
But in last night’s series clinching win for Los Angeles against the Utah Jazz, another person thought they could stop Kobe from scoring. Surprisingly it wasn’t a Utah Jazz player, in fact it wasn’t a player at all! As you will see in the following video the ref in last night’s game tripped Kobe as he was running up the sidelines on a fast break. Kobe still managed to pick himself up, dart up the floor, and score a layup, all before most of the defenders were able to catch up to play some ‘D’.
Silly Ref…Kobe is unstoppable, didn’t you get the memo?
(H/T to NBA.com for sending us the video, double click video to watch in full screen)
Nuggets Tie NBA Record For Biggest Margin of Victory at 58
In Games 1 and 2 of the Denver Nuggets-New Orleans Hornets Playoff Series, the Nuggets showed just how dominant they can be on both ends of the floor when they are really rolling. Although Game 3 was a tight one, with the Hornets coming out on top, no one would have expected what was to come in Game 4.
The Nuggets tonight put the hurt on Chris Paul and the New Orleans Hornets. Russell Peters said it best with “Somebody gonna get a hurt reaaaaaaal baaaad”, and tonight that somebody was the New Orleans Hornets. The Denver Nuggets tied an all-time NBA record for the largest margin of victory in a playoff game at 58 points. The final score was 121-63 in favor of the Nuggets. The record they tied has been standing since 1956 without anyone coming all that close.
And to top it off, the Nuggets pulled off the feat on the road, playing the game in New Orleans. At one point during this game the announcers started cheering “Defense, Defense” for the Nuggets in hopes that they would be part of a record setting performance. Video replay of the closing moments where Rick Kamla discusses the lowest franchise output for New Orleans, and the matching of the all-time margin of victory record below:
Thoughts on the game? Series? Is it over for the Hornets?
Derek Fisher Being Stalked by 40 year old Woman from Los Angeles
News is breaking that Derek Fisher, the starting point guard for the Los Angeles Lakers, has recently had to request a restraining order against a 40-year old woman from Los Angeles who has been stalking him. Apparently the woman may have a case of the crazies, as she has been pretending to be Fisher’s wife, and has accounts on Twitter, MySpace, and Facebook where she makes these claims. She has even listed herself as “The Real Mrs. Fisher” on these social media sites.
The woman, known online as “Symone Fisher” has apparently not stopped at just sending letters, emails, and phone calls, but has also gone right to Fisher’s house on multiple occasions. Her actions have apparently scared his wife and kids to the point of having to file for a restraining order.
TMZ is reporting that the woman has gone as far as changing her last name legally to ‘Fisher’ in order to further her charade of being Derek Fisher’s wife. Symone Fisher is also claiming to be the ‘real’ mother of his children.
In Derek’s declaration, he says Symone:
“has repeatedly expressed anger and hostility towards me and my family.” He adds, “Given this harassing and stalking behavior, I believe that any sort of further escalation at this point would put me and my family in danger.”
Fisher’s Security Guy has declared:
Symone “began sending unsolicited and unwanted packages of compact discs of love songs to Mr. Fisher at the [Lakers] practice facility.”
I love it when you call me Ben “Jordan”…
This clutch shooting battle between Ray Allen and Ben Gordon in the final moments of each game in the Chicago Bulls/Boston Celtics Round 1 Series is getting ridiculous. Let’s be honest here, did anyone actually predict that this series would be the most exciting and toughest battles of all the first round match-ups? Of course not. If anything I expected the Nuggets-Hornets to be closer than it has seemed so far, or possibly the Heat-Hawks to be the tight games wire to wire.
So I text messaged one of my close friends Dhanesh after the Ben Gordon fadeaway three pointer in the first overtime to tie the game and said: “this Bulls/Celts game is unreal, huh?”. He replied “I love it when they call me Ben Jordan”. That one single text message from Dhanesh was so clever and witty and had soo many meanings, from Notorious BIG, to Michael Jordan, to clutch shooting, to looming Gordon free agency, I just had to use it as the title to this video recap of Ben Gordon’s biggest shot of the night.
I also wanted to point out that while Kobe Bryant and Sam Cassell may have Big Balls after a clutch shot, I suppose Ben Gordon has Big….’Ahem’…..Check the :40 mark of the video for reference:
