The Washington Wizards are hurting real bad in a way that only losing teams with talent can hurt.

Oklahoma City 127 Washington Wizards 108

The Wizards are not just losing, but looking very disoriented while they do it. It is every man for themselves in a constant free agent tryout. This situation has Coach Flip Saunders boiling.

Wizards coach Flip Saunders said changes in the lineup can be expected when the team plays its next game at home Tuesday against Philadelphia. The team is off Sunday and has a practice scheduled Monday.

“We have guys that are frustrated that they’re not playing and I’m sure they are sitting there wanting opportunities,” Saunders said. “And guys will get opportunities starting Monday because we’re not getting it done as it is right now.”
source

The only real threat a NBA coach can bring to the table is the threat of playing time and even that is weak, because if the coach loses he will have to take the blame. That is the way it works in the NBA.

The Washington Wizards hit new lows with a loss to Oklahoma City. The defense for the Wizards completely disappeared.

In the final 15 minutes, the Thunder outscored the Wizards 45-27.

Kevin Durant led the Thunder with 35 points, while Russell Westbrook added 26 and James Harden recorded 25 points. Caron Butler led the Wizards with 24 points, Gilbert Arenas had 23, and Antawn Jamison posted 22 points and 12 assists. Brendan Haywood had 16 rebounds and 14 points.
source

No one doubts the talents of Gilbert Arenas

The accusations are flying now with Gilbert Arenas claiming players are playing for themselves and not the team. Yes, Gilbert Arenas said that and yes that is pretty funny.

Gilbert Arenas said players on the team had “hidden agendas,” noting that eight players on the team are free agents following the season.

“I guess when you start losing everyone wants to start pointing fingers everywhere else,” Arenas said. “I converted my game to try to get people involved, but at the end of the day, to be honest, this is the same team since three years ago. We added a couple of pieces, but everybody else is basically the same player.

“I’m sitting here thinking ‘Do I have to go in attack mode like I was two years ago to get us over this hump?’ I hope not. I hope we’re strong enough mentally that we can get over this.”

Arenas leads the team in total points and assists. But heading into Saturday’s game he had taken 55 more shots than the next player.

source

That only served to set off Brendan Heywood, who claimed that some players need to check their egos at the door in reference that a certain Agent Zero might just be playing for his points and not for his team.

Will the Wizards pull out of this downward spiral and establish some team chemistry? It seems highly unlikely, but at the same time they may start winning with all the offensive talent on this squad and winning can go a long ways in bringing a team back together.

Image: Zuma Press

As always, any NBA Basketball related comments are welcome.

More blogs about basketball.

As always, any NBA Basketball related comments are welcome.

More blogs about basketball.

Post from: NBA Obsessed

It was the major battle of the losers with the Knicks facing off against the Nets. The Knicks needed to defeat the winless Nets to maintain dominion over the New York area.

New York Knicks 98 New Jersey Nets 91

You don’t really need to have attended this game and you do have to wonder why anyone actually did attend this game, but let’s set the scene for what kind of atmosphere was prevailing.

There were sloppy passes and errant shots, but at least it was fun for the kids, who got to see Dora the Explorer come on the court a few times and a half-deflated Elmo balloon hover over it during much of the second quarter.

And there were plenty of items tossed into the stands during giveaways — not counting Chandler’s pass that landed in the fourth row.

Sure it was messy, but these teams expected a tough go of it this season while building for the future.

During a second-quarter timeout, YES Network showed next summer’s projections for available salary cap space, where the Nets are expected to slightly edge the Knicks with around $24 million.

But the plan to save money to be aggressive in free agency leaves neither team with much hope of being competitive now. The worst start in franchise history had the Knicks considering Allen Iverson before ruling it out Friday.
source

NBAObsessed wrote about the Allen Iverson possible signing before.

——Iverson to Knicks, but Brandon Jennings not——

It really got ugly just before the half when Nate Robinson did the most unthinkable thing of all. He shot the ball into the wrong basket from 30 feet on purpose. Yes, on purpose!

So there you have it, two teams going nowhere thinking with extra manufactured cap space they kind sign all kinds of players and go somewhere. They better hope their strategy works.

Now stops and think about this for a minute. Who do the Knicks and Nets want the most? Ahh, that is right, LeBron James. The Knicks and Nets have to realize that their ineptitude in both playing and managing the teams will drive stars like LeBron away. They do realize that, don’t they?

As always, any NBA Basketball related comments are welcome.

More blogs about basketball.

Post from: NBA Obsessed

And now for the untold story of what happened and what may happen to the New York Knicks. It appears that the New York Knicks in their infinite wisdom, oops, make that finite wisdom, passed on Brandon Jennings after several workouts, even though they could see the obvious talent of a young point guard that could shoot from the outside.

Recently NBAObsessed wrote about the 55 point effort by Brandon Jennings.

The Knicks wasted their pick on Jordan Hill, who in spite of the Jordan in his name, is spending most of his time on the bench instead of playing on the court.

These are the same Knicks that have tried to get rid of every player on their team in order to clear salary cap for the great LeBron sweepstakes. Now personally NBAObsessed would love to see LeBron playing for the Knicks, because then he would not be torturing the division where my favorite team, the Detroit Pistons, happen to reside.

What has happened to the once proud New York Knicks franchise? You would think the Garden would be a fabulous place to show off the talents of LeBron James and maybe, just maybe, having a young hot guard like Brandon Jennings would have went a long ways in getting James.

Allen Iverson courted by the Knicks

Allen Iverson

So what are the Knicks attempting to do? They are going to plan B or more like plan D or E and attempting to pick up Allen Iverson. But he is a Grizzlie you say?

Now the Knicks are considering signing Allen Iverson after he cleared waivers on Thursday. It’s the surest sign of desperation in the NBA. There’s nothing left with Iverson, just fading hype and a sure-bet soap opera to come.

Yet, that’s what Donnie Walsh’s front office has become – potentially picking through the Memphis Grizzlies’ scrap heap in search of a pulse of excitement to fool the fans.

So this is how you show LeBron you’re a viable destination? This is how you demonstrate you have the shrewd basketball minds capable of building a winner around him?

Contemplating Allen Iverson?

source

NBAObsessed recently wrote about the troubles of Allen Iverson.

New York “the city” and New York “the team that has such importance to the NBA” has so many intangibles to be used to recruit LeBron James, but New York “the team” seems to be working to drive LeBron away.
Image: Zuma Press

As always, any NBA Basketball related comments are welcome.

More blogs about basketball.

As always, any NBA Basketball related comments are welcome.

More blogs about basketball.

Post from: NBA Obsessed

Sometimes we see players and forget that they are a legend in the making, a special player that has done it so well for so long that we take it for granted that it is just the way it is done, that it is nothing special at all. There are a handful of players in the league that present such a present even though we will remember and remark about them in the future. Kobe Bryant, Kevin Garnett, Tim Duncan, Steve Nash, Shaq, and yes, even Allen Iverson.

Kobe went off for 40 points against my Pistons and no it did not hurt your intrepid author, because it is common knowledge that my Pistons play very little defense this year. Ben Wallace is too old and Tayshaun Prince cannot guard everyone. That does not diminish the feat of Kobe Bryant due to the fact that the Pistons are not allowing every team to have a 40 point scorer and most NBA players could not score 40 points in a game no matter what.

Think about it, 100 games of 40 points or more is a whole season plus playoffs of 40+ scoring games. That is truly remarkable and something we will remember and tell our grandsons.

One play in the game epitomizes the constant pressure that Kobe puts on teams. Oh, and a little bit of luck was involved too. Kobe had the ball and Ben Gordon was bodying up on him to discourage him from shooting. Kobe twisted and found himself guarded by Kwame Brown.

Suddenly, inexplicably, he turned his back to avoid the pressure of Detroit’s Kwame Brown and flipped the ball over his head. The ball rose in an arc and then fell through the basket as a sellout crowd of 18,997 roared its approval.

Bryant’s twisting, turning, no-look layup was the most improbable of all the 40 points he scored in the Lakers’ 106-93 victory over the Pistons. It certainly didn’t decide the game, but it was symbolic of his grit while playing with a nagging groin injury.

He simply refused to be denied while recording his 100th career game of 40 or more points. He also would not allow anyone or anything to prevent the Lakers from ending their two-game losing streak.

“It was a lucky shot,” he said
source

One of my favorite moves by Kobe is when he jumps over the car. The video is faked, but it is hard to spot. Leave me a comment if you know how he did it, because NBAObsessed is sworn to secrecy.

Watch this YouTube.

As always, any NBA Basketball related comments are welcome.

More blogs about basketball.

Post from: NBA Obsessed

Paul Allen was high school buddies with Bill Gates and the quiet Microsoft co-founder. He is now worth about 11.5 billion dollars and owns several businesses, and a few sports teams.

He formed Vulcan in the mid-1980s to invest in media and communications companies, including America Online, DreamWorks Animation and cable operator Charter Communications Inc. He also co-founded a Silicon Valley research lab that he then shuttered after investing more than $100 million.

Beyond technology, Allen has used his Microsoft earnings to take his interests to an extreme.

A longtime sports fan, Allen bought football’s Seattle Seahawks and basketball’s Portland Trail Blazers, and he is part owner of the Seattle Sounders FC, a major league soccer team. Allen has been present at Seahawks games this season, chatting in the locker room with players.

He has a band and a recording studio, and built the Experience Music Project, a museum about rock music in Seattle.

source

This is a very difficult post to write and really hits home for your intrepid author of NBAObsessed. You see, Paul Allen and NBAObsessed both have something in common. As much as it would be great that the thing in common was a great big fat wallet, it is not. The thing we have in common is non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma, the big C.

According to the memo, Paul Allen has diffuse large B-cell lymphoma, a relatively common form of lymphoma.

Allen battled another form of immune system cancer, Hodgkin’s lymphoma, more than 20 years ago and survived. The CEO wrote that Allen “is optimistic he can beat this, too.”

“Paul is feeling OK and remains upbeat,” she added. “He continues to work and he has no plans to change his role at Vulcan.”

source

My cancer has been gone for a year and a half and that seems amazing to me. My oncologist tells me my odds of cancer returning is 60 – 40, which is probably better than the Detroit Pistons odds. With each day my chances of survival increase and so do the chances of Paul Allen survival.

Just like me, Paul Allen owns a boat. His is bigger.

Cancer is a marathon, a disease to be endured, that is fought by poisoning your system to kill the cancer and hopefully not to kill you.

Let me tell you something very important for Paul Allen and this is not a secret or something that was just discovered. Anything you can do for Paul will help him. Anything. If you pray, then pray. If not, think a positive thought, send a card, e-mail, even a smile in his direction. It makes for a better world, a world that Paul will want to continue to live in. It makes all the difference in the world. NBAObsessed knows this for a fact!
Image: Zuma Press

As always, any NBA Basketball related comments are welcome.

More blogs about basketball.

As always, any NBA Basketball related comments are welcome.

More blogs about basketball.

Post from: NBA Obsessed

Wait, shouldn’t the title read “Stephen Jackson brings sanity to the Bobcats”?

You have obviously not been paying attention to the Stephen Jackson story. Golden State was more than happy to get rid of a team chemistry problem. Why Larry Brown at his age would want to take on Stephen Jackson is beyond me, but you know the NBA, if you can put the ball in the hoop with any regularity then some team owner will pay you millions of dollars no matter how you act in public.

So it is time for a quick review. Why would Charlotte take a chance on Stephen Jackson after the owner publically stated he would not embarrass Charlotteans which are not to be confused with Alanteans or any other Teans?

Jackson brings two qualities the Bobcats need – proven scoring ability and the versatility to play multiple positions. But he also brings a history of bad behavior that seems to conflict with majority owner Bob Johnson’s promise at the franchise’s outset.
source

Why the Bobcats took Stephen Jackson

Now for the pop quiz. Why did they do it? We just went over this, because Stephen Jackson can put the ball in the hole and the Bobcats suffer from a disease called “can’t put the ball in the hole”. It is that simple.

Stephen Jackson wanted out of Golden State

You would think the Malice in the Palace and the gun shooting thing and various other sundry items would make Stephen Jackson untouchable, but such is not the case.

Now here is the reply you have all been waiting for, why do it, for real? You are the Bobcats! Look in the mirror and realize that the playoffs are a long ways off and there is no reason to rush into a contract with a player that is going to cause problems. Why do it? You had an expiring contract with Bell, the survivor to play in Golden State, and now you have a long term contract with problems.

Ahh, but they never learn. Gotta go, that is Allen Iverson on the phone and he is looking for another team.

Image: Zuma Press

As always, any NBA Basketball related comments are welcome.

More blogs about basketball.

As always, any NBA Basketball related comments are welcome.

More blogs about basketball.

Post from: NBA Obsessed

There are some fans out there, along with many writers and coaches, that believe that Blake Griffin already has the ROY trophy sitting above his fireplace on the mantle proving what everyone thinks about him being a type of Patrick Ewing of the new age of the NBA.

Brandon Jennings is here to serve notice that he is one rookie that is just not going to lay down and allow Blake to walk off with the trophy.

Milwaukee Bucks 129 Golden State Warriors 125

Brandon Jennings just missed Wilt Chamberlains all time rookie single game record of 58 with a Buck Rookie high of 55.

Abdul-Jabbar, then known as Lew Alcindor and who became the highest-scorer in
NBA history, held the franchise record for points in a game by a rookie with
51, which he scored on February 21, 1970.

But Jennings, who didn’t even score in the first quarter, lifted his name
among the greats with a virtuoso performance, sinking 21-of-34 shots,
including 7-of-8 from three-point range.

He scored 29 in the third and fell just two points shy of Michael Redd’s
franchise record for points in a game. Jennings was also just three points off
the NBA record for points in a game by a rookie, as Wilt Chamberlain scored 58
points twice in his first year.
source

Watch some of the action in this YouTube.

Brandon Jennings is coached by Scott Skiles and Skiles is a man that knows a little something about scoring as he put up 25 a game as a senior with Michigan State University, before the 3 point shot was available. He has complete confidence in Brandon’s game and allows him to stay on the court and make mistakes that other coaches would pull him out of the game for doing. This has really elevated the confidence of Brandon in his own game.

The 55 points by Brandon reminded Coach Skiles of a game with Michael Jordon when he got hot.

“I was in a game when Michael had over 60 once. I don’t know exactly what to say,” Skiles said immediately after the victory. “(Jennings) felt we needed to be picked up and we went to our pick-and-roll game and spread the floor and he got hot again.”

Center Andrew Bogut wasn’t so sure.

“I don’t think we were working the roll game, I think we were just working the pick game,” Bogut said. “He was doing a hell of a job shooting the ball.”

source

As always, any NBA Basketball related comments are welcome.

More blogs about basketball.

Post from: NBA Obsessed

Carmelo for MVP

There are rumblings of Carmelo Anthony being in the bid for the NBA league MVP. To his credit, Carmelo has tried to keep the rumblings down and let nature take its course. For Carmelo to win the MVP of the NBA there would first be Carmelo taking care of business against Kobe Bryant and the L.A. Lakers come playoff time. Carmelo is off to a good start in that department.

Denver Nuggets 105 L.A. Lakers 79

The Nuggets exploded in the third quarter to take down Kobe and the Pau Gasol-less Lakers in a solid beat down that let out some of the frustrations from last year’s playoff ouster by the purple and gold.

Up just two points at halftime, the Nuggets outscored the defending champion Lakers 29-8 in the third, breezing to a 105-79 victory at the Pepsi Center.

“I think it was the best quarter I’ve seen our team play against a special team, maybe since I’ve been in Denver,” said Karl. “It was intense, focused,

source

Carmelo Anthony shot 11- 20 for 25 points in a brilliant offensive performance. Kobe Bryant on the other hand did not fare so well and just plain ran out of gas in the second half.

Bryant, the NBA’s leading scorer, finished with a pedestrian 19 points in 32 minutes, shooting just 7-for-17 from the field. He didn’t score in the second half.

Denver needed this game, needed to win big and show the Lakers that the Nuggets will be here to stay, but the Lakers openly admitted that the Nuggets beat them soundly, but it was the second game of a back to back and they were without Pau Gasol.

There will be some great Carmelo Anthony vs. Kobe Bryant battles this year and years to come

Kobe Bryant and the Lakers

The Lakers were coming off of a convincing victory over red hot Phoenix and in rolled a determined Denver.

One night after running the Suns off the court during a resounding 121-102 victory, the Lakers went back to work against another hyperkinetic team with something to prove to the defending champs and the rest of the league.

The tempo was just as high Friday as it was Thursday. Maybe higher.

The Lakers raced to an 8-0 lead, but it didn’t take long to realize this was not going to be a second consecutive runaway victory for the Lakers, who set season highs by scoring 121 points with 36 assists against the Suns.

The difference between the Suns and the Nuggets was evident in the game’s first few minutes Friday. Unlike the Suns, the Nuggets are willing to crash bodies and hack and whack the opposition while still pushing the ball down the court.

When the third quarter began, the Lakers simply wilted under the pressure.

source

So maybe it was not an earth shattering victory, but at least the Nuggets and Carmelo Anthony served word that they are to be reckoned with this year!

Image: Zuma Press

As always, any NBA Basketball related comments are welcome.

More blogs about basketball.

As always, any NBA Basketball related comments are welcome.

More blogs about basketball.

Post from: NBA Obsessed

Chris Paul is the present for the New Orleans Hornets and the future for Jeff Bower the new coach. Without a buy in from Chris Paul, the New Orleans Hornets are going nowhere and Jeff Bower is going somewhere else. Right now Chris Paul is very unhappy over the firing of Byron Scott.

For Paul, this wasn’t so much professional as it was personal. He takes things hard and feels them deeply. Truth be told, Paul is livid. C.J. Paul posted an apparent dig at Weber on his Twitter account: “I can’t stand when [people] that don’t know basketball make major basketball decisions. It turns out to be a disaster.”

source

NBAObsessed discussed the change in regimes earlier.

—–Byron Scott is out at New Orleans—-

How could a once on the right track franchise go so far off course. In a matter of hours they have fired the once steady voice of Coach Byron Scott and alienated their best player, the small speedy superstar Chris Paul.

Chris Paul has a lot of concerns

The hiring of former GM Jeff Bower to be the head coach smacks of interim at the best. There was just nobody internally to nominate for the job. Bower’s is not a great coach or X and O’s type guy, hence the hiring of Tim Floyd to put some pizzazz into the team.

Still the team’s fortunes rest on the shoulders of Chris Paul and if he is not brought back into the fold, the team will suffer.

Yes, Chris Paul hates change, and the firing of Byron Scott is the most dramatic of his professional career. Eventually, Paul will come to understand that Scott had chances to save himself. When the Hornets were young and restless, bouncing between New Orleans and Oklahoma City, the franchise valued Scott’s evenness. He always makes you believe everything will be all right, but that eventually evaporated. They needed something more tangible, something they could touch, and Scott struggled to deliver it.

Things can change fast in the NBA and now is the time for change in New Orleans. The real problem now is deciding whether the change is positive or negative.

Image: Zuma Press

As always, any NBA Basketball related comments are welcome.

More blogs about basketball.

As always, any NBA Basketball related comments are welcome.

More blogs about basketball.

Post from: NBA Obsessed

NBAObsessed has mentioned it before many times, it is the “what have you done for me lately” NBA. One day you are great and the next day they want to get rid of you. The latest to feel the sting of the NBA, if we can use a Hornet metaphor, is Byron Scott. One time coach of the year and toast of New Orleans turned into just toast.

The Hornets were off to a slow start and management decided to act, so they fired Byron Scott.

The Hornets are 3-6 this season. Scott was in the last year of his contract. Scott could not be reached for comment.

Scott had a 203-216 record in five-plus seasons in New Orleans, winning coach of the year honors in 2007-08 when he guided the Hornets to a franchise-record 56 wins and a first-ever division title in the NBA”s Southwest Division.
source

The Hornets General Manager Jeff Bower has taken over the team and hired Tim Floyd as his assistant coach. David West spoke out on Floyd claiming the team won’t be as predictable any more.

“We’re not going to be as predictable as we have been in the past. I know that, having played for Tim before,” said West, a sixth-year veteran. “That’s something I’m looking forward to, in terms of style of play.”
source

West also blamed Byron Scott’s pride for the Hornet’s downfall.

Will Tim Floyd be good for the play of Chris Paul?

Tim Floyd has been successful at every coaching stop except for his stint with the Chicago Bulls, where he unfortunately arrived after most of the last championship team left.

This past year he lost to Michigan State University in the NCAA’s then watched as 3 of his players declared for the NBA draft and the school underwent an NCAA investigation for illegal payments involving the handlers of O.J. Mayo. Tim resigned.

Was Byron the problem at New Orleans or like with a lot of demanding coaches, did his message finally fall on deaf ears? We may never know!

To see how Chris Paul feels about the firing of Coach Byron Scott read this

—-Chris Paul feels the Sting of Hornets firing—

Photo source Newscom

As always, any NBA Basketball related comments are welcome.

More blogs about basketball.

Post from: NBA Obsessed