There's a reason why that lucky number 13 jersey still hides in my closet instead of being thrown to the masses on ebay. There's a reason I followed man behind that number from Dallas to Phoenix. All along I assumed my fascination was with the brilliant court vision, sick no-look passing, run-and-gun style, pull up to drain a three kind of guy. But no. It isn't. At least not entirely.
Steve Nash is looking to filmmaking as a his next step after the nba. This Arizona Central article gives a behind the scenes look at his first piece--a nike commercial that he wrote, pitched, and produced. Check it out:
Yep, I think the two of us may be cosmic twins, separated at birth (even though we were born 13 years apart) to do wonderful things across this magnificent planet. It all makes sense now. I mean, how else could you explain the physical (and I mean, agonizing) pain I felt in games 1 and 4 against the Spurs last year.
Of course, if any of this had a shred of truth to it, it certainly would resemble the plot line of Twins, where Nash gets to be the governator and I get to be Danny DeVito. But that's not so bad, right? I mean sure, he got all the looks, talent, charisma, pure awesomeness... but at the end of the day, Steve Nash is still my twin. Everyone wins.
(I case you're confused about my fascination/love of Steve Nash, this entry should clear things up)
***
Few quick thoughts on the Hornets win over the Rockets Wednesday:
1. Despite his 25 points (20 in the fourth quarter alone), apparently Bonzi Wells does not attribute Wednesday's sudden spike in playing ability to the fact that the Hornet's were facing his ex-squad, although he did admit that knowing their style might have helped. Now, if only we can figure out what really sets him off like that...
2. David West made a beautiful return from an ankle injury with 23 points, 11 rebounds, a block, 2 steals, and Rafer Alston's pride.
3. If you didn't get that last reference in number 2, here were Alston's words (on TNT) before the game: We beat New Orleans and people say they were without David West... Well David West isn't a superstar. He may be a star to their team, but he's not a superstar like Yao Ming.
4. CP3's response: Tracy McGrady is a great player. If I was Rafer Alston, I'd probably ride his coattails too.
5. Julian Wright is a godsend. His defense on Tracy McGrady led to an anemic second half performance by the Rocket's leading scorer (1 for 7). Actually the whole team had trouble in the final two quarters, only scoring 25 points.
6. 69 is the lowest point total in a game for the Rockets all season
7. Chrisette Michele was everything her album promised and more. If you have the means, you should loot and plunder for a ticket to see her live. If this is impossible, you can settle for her debut album I Am and sit anxiously until her next release arrives.
Peace.
Showing posts with label Houston. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Houston. Show all posts
Friday, March 21, 2008
Saturday, February 23, 2008
Holy Yao, the Rockets are on fire!
Houston 100 | New Orleans 80
[league standings]
The big victory over Dallas marked the beginning of a virtually insane schedule for the next few weeks. Consider this: after the All-Star break (but before March) we play six straight playoff-bound teams. Dallas, Houston, San Antonio, Washington, Phoenix, Utah. Boom. (Ouch is a better descriptor). The good news? If the Hornets continue playing as well as they have all season, they have a legit chance of sweeping (or almost sweeping) that set. The only problem is that we can't afford an off night. Actually, at this point, no team in the West can afford one. Regardless, the win against the "revamped" Mavs was a strong statement that would hopefully provide some steam to keep the ball rolling through the hellish eleven days that laid ahead. Even though we were on a four game winning streak heading into the break, the bulk of those were fairly ugly wins against sub-par teams.
I'm not trying to sound all gloom and doom because I know we have a great squad, but the truth is we had been playing sloppily before the break. Now, the league has given us an opportunity to make up for that stretch and prove our worth with a difficult lineup.
So what happened in the Houston game? Well, not much by most counts. We appeared to be sleeping as they coasted to their 11th straight. Despite being our third sellout (that Yao sure can draw a crowd), the Hornets faired poorly and lost by a much larger margin than they're used to. Where did it all go wrong. For starters, Houston shot the lights out, draining 50% of their shots to our 40%. We had a remarkable inability to rebound anything and finished with 38 to their 55. The real problem here is that none of our jump shooters showed up. Peja and Mo were MIA (Mo's been like that lately). And Pargo couldn't pick up any slack. Usually when Pargo struggles, Byron shifts control to Bobby Jackson; however Bobby's absence (and the fact that Wells and James showed up, but weren't dressed) forced Byron to try other (futile) tactics.
David was about the only person who matched his averages. CP3 was close to his nightly contributions, but the presence of Yao in the lane thwarted his typical drives to the bucket. You could tell he was hesitating at thought of tossing one of his signature shots over a guy who dwarfs Tyson (dwarf is a strong word as only 6 inches separate the two, but still Tyson soaking wet might equal half of Yao's weight). Interestingly enough, Byron put JuJu in with seven minutes to play, and he promptly dropped 10 points. Granted, he was playing against mostly scrubs towards the end, but some of those came against TMac.
You win some, you lose some. We were outplayed and that's the bottom line. We couldn't have hit sand if we'd fallen from a camel. But am I worried? No. We still have a very talented squad and I sincerely believe that the new members of the team will make a positive impact... even if it's an expensive one. There are good things in store for this team... and I couldn't be more excited about it.
***
Before the game, I had the opportunity to meet none other than Melvin Ely. Admit it, you are all jealous. He's a man of few words, but he does have a sense of humor... or maybe he just laughed at my jokes because he wanted to get out of there quicker... hmmm...
Melvin and Lee say, "Drink 7up... forever."
***
One final thought before I leave you. I was going through some old podcasts and found a PTI one from February 8 where they did their "5 Good Minutes" segment with CP3. He is quite mature for his age. He didn't boast and he was very thoughtful in his answers. He's very aware of his role and what he can affect and control. This is a good thing. He also thinks the post-blockbuster Suns might be a bigger challenge than the post-grand-theft-Spaniard Lakers. Only time will tell.
[league standings]
The big victory over Dallas marked the beginning of a virtually insane schedule for the next few weeks. Consider this: after the All-Star break (but before March) we play six straight playoff-bound teams. Dallas, Houston, San Antonio, Washington, Phoenix, Utah. Boom. (Ouch is a better descriptor). The good news? If the Hornets continue playing as well as they have all season, they have a legit chance of sweeping (or almost sweeping) that set. The only problem is that we can't afford an off night. Actually, at this point, no team in the West can afford one. Regardless, the win against the "revamped" Mavs was a strong statement that would hopefully provide some steam to keep the ball rolling through the hellish eleven days that laid ahead. Even though we were on a four game winning streak heading into the break, the bulk of those were fairly ugly wins against sub-par teams.
I'm not trying to sound all gloom and doom because I know we have a great squad, but the truth is we had been playing sloppily before the break. Now, the league has given us an opportunity to make up for that stretch and prove our worth with a difficult lineup.
So what happened in the Houston game? Well, not much by most counts. We appeared to be sleeping as they coasted to their 11th straight. Despite being our third sellout (that Yao sure can draw a crowd), the Hornets faired poorly and lost by a much larger margin than they're used to. Where did it all go wrong. For starters, Houston shot the lights out, draining 50% of their shots to our 40%. We had a remarkable inability to rebound anything and finished with 38 to their 55. The real problem here is that none of our jump shooters showed up. Peja and Mo were MIA (Mo's been like that lately). And Pargo couldn't pick up any slack. Usually when Pargo struggles, Byron shifts control to Bobby Jackson; however Bobby's absence (and the fact that Wells and James showed up, but weren't dressed) forced Byron to try other (futile) tactics.
David was about the only person who matched his averages. CP3 was close to his nightly contributions, but the presence of Yao in the lane thwarted his typical drives to the bucket. You could tell he was hesitating at thought of tossing one of his signature shots over a guy who dwarfs Tyson (dwarf is a strong word as only 6 inches separate the two, but still Tyson soaking wet might equal half of Yao's weight). Interestingly enough, Byron put JuJu in with seven minutes to play, and he promptly dropped 10 points. Granted, he was playing against mostly scrubs towards the end, but some of those came against TMac.
You win some, you lose some. We were outplayed and that's the bottom line. We couldn't have hit sand if we'd fallen from a camel. But am I worried? No. We still have a very talented squad and I sincerely believe that the new members of the team will make a positive impact... even if it's an expensive one. There are good things in store for this team... and I couldn't be more excited about it.
***
Before the game, I had the opportunity to meet none other than Melvin Ely. Admit it, you are all jealous. He's a man of few words, but he does have a sense of humor... or maybe he just laughed at my jokes because he wanted to get out of there quicker... hmmm...
Melvin and Lee say, "Drink 7up... forever."***
One final thought before I leave you. I was going through some old podcasts and found a PTI one from February 8 where they did their "5 Good Minutes" segment with CP3. He is quite mature for his age. He didn't boast and he was very thoughtful in his answers. He's very aware of his role and what he can affect and control. This is a good thing. He also thinks the post-blockbuster Suns might be a bigger challenge than the post-grand-theft-Spaniard Lakers. Only time will tell.
Thursday, February 21, 2008
Trade Deadline & the Return of J. Kidd to the Wild West
New Orleans 104 | Dallas 93
Wednesday night in the Hive hosted the arrival of Dallas' Golden Calf: Jason Kidd. Supposedly, Cuban has been after Kidd since the Mavs went rigor mortis (the first time) and lost to the Heat in the 05-06 finals. Well Mr. Cuban, your prize has arrived. You traded your only defensive player worth anything in the post and an up-and-coming star at the point for it, but I'm sure it was worth it. Actually, that last statement highlights the lows and highs of this deal. Devin Harris, as good as he was (or could be), was not among the elite in the West, and while he does an excellent job on the fast-play-makers ( CP3 and Tony Parker), he has trouble running an offense that develops slowly and revolves mostly around isolations. He's a great player, but it's hard to play like a true point guard in that system. Also, the move to the East should help his development since he'll be among the upper tier of point guards with Billups and... well, Billups for sure. Calderon can come, too. So... Jason Kidd adds excellent passing ability (to a team totally devoid of it) and an intangible known as experience. Acquiring Kidd for Harris was good. Losing Diop in the process will hurt them because Dampier is washed up and the lack of imposing big men will force Dirk to play harder and more like the seven-footer he is... of course, Dirk hates this idea (not that he could play harder if he wanted to). So, Dallas becomes a small team. They got a little faster in the process, but ultimately, I don't think this is the solution to the present (and certainly not to the future).
So, the game. CP3 played out of his mind (I'll repeat his stats because they bear repeating: 31 points, 11 assists, 5 rebounds, and 9 steals). He set the franchise record for steals in a half (7) and was only 2 shy of the NBA record of 11. Every time he touched the ball in the fourth quarter a MVP chant would break out. They started out low, but eventually the whole stadium was belting it out at the top of their lungs (unintentional comedy moment: the moment these chants reached their loudest was after a offensive rebound and put-back by Paul... but Uncle Bowen had been fouled on the first shot... so, as the roof is about to fly off due the chanting, we have Ryan Bowen trying to take free-throws... I would have loved for Sir Charles to walk in at that moment [thinking the chants were for Bowen] just to hear his reaction).
The Mavs actually played pretty sloppy for most of the night. You could tell Kidd wasn't quite in sync with them yet: he passed out of bounds a lot and managed to facilitate most of CP3's steals. Nevertheless, he put up an 8,5,6 night with 3 steals so Mavs fans should take solace in knowing he hustled and that those first three numbers are only going to increase. In fact, by trading Diop, Cuban may have accidentally ensured that Kidd continues his triple-double reign.
Additionally, Peja and D. West contributed 18 a piece, Bobby Jackson knocked down 17 from the bench.Actually, he shot from the court, but... I'm not even going to finish that joke. All in all, we had a solid night against a slightly off-kilter team, who happens to be a major contender from our division. Sweetness.
***
Welcome to the show, Jeff Bower. About midday, the Hornets released a statement verifying the rumors that had been flying all morning about a three-way trade with Houston and Memphis. The trade looks something like this:
HOU to NO: Mike Jackson (2 years, $13 million), Bonzi Wells (expiring, $2.3 million)
HOU to MEM: Draft rights to Malik Badiane, cash considerations
NO to HOU: Bobby Jackson (1 year, $6.1 million)
NO to MEM: Marcus Vinicius (expiring, $700,000)
MEM to HOU: Draft rights to Sergei Lishchuk
So, what does this mean for the Hornets? Well, for starters, it means adding to veteran scorers who should provide a pretty good boost from the bench (alongside Pargo, Ely, and Armstrong). Jackson has fallen off the map lately (and that contract seems unnecessarily large), but hopefully Byron can reign him in. Speaking of reigning in players, Bonzi Wells is certainly the Wild Card in this equation. Byron and Paul are stern enough in their resolve to win; if they can get Bonzi to learn and accept his role, we should be golden. Wells will also clear a little more cap space for us this summer when we re-sign Paul. It isn't much (because he'll no doubt pull a max deal), but every little bit helps. Honestly, we won't have any clue until we see them play in our system. Oddly enough, the first time we'll have the chance to see that will be Friday's hosting of... the Rockets. Strange.
Well, here's to hoping that Bower knows what he's doing... (I think he does, in case anyone cares).
Wednesday night in the Hive hosted the arrival of Dallas' Golden Calf: Jason Kidd. Supposedly, Cuban has been after Kidd since the Mavs went rigor mortis (the first time) and lost to the Heat in the 05-06 finals. Well Mr. Cuban, your prize has arrived. You traded your only defensive player worth anything in the post and an up-and-coming star at the point for it, but I'm sure it was worth it. Actually, that last statement highlights the lows and highs of this deal. Devin Harris, as good as he was (or could be), was not among the elite in the West, and while he does an excellent job on the fast-play-makers ( CP3 and Tony Parker), he has trouble running an offense that develops slowly and revolves mostly around isolations. He's a great player, but it's hard to play like a true point guard in that system. Also, the move to the East should help his development since he'll be among the upper tier of point guards with Billups and... well, Billups for sure. Calderon can come, too. So... Jason Kidd adds excellent passing ability (to a team totally devoid of it) and an intangible known as experience. Acquiring Kidd for Harris was good. Losing Diop in the process will hurt them because Dampier is washed up and the lack of imposing big men will force Dirk to play harder and more like the seven-footer he is... of course, Dirk hates this idea (not that he could play harder if he wanted to). So, Dallas becomes a small team. They got a little faster in the process, but ultimately, I don't think this is the solution to the present (and certainly not to the future).
So, the game. CP3 played out of his mind (I'll repeat his stats because they bear repeating: 31 points, 11 assists, 5 rebounds, and 9 steals). He set the franchise record for steals in a half (7) and was only 2 shy of the NBA record of 11. Every time he touched the ball in the fourth quarter a MVP chant would break out. They started out low, but eventually the whole stadium was belting it out at the top of their lungs (unintentional comedy moment: the moment these chants reached their loudest was after a offensive rebound and put-back by Paul... but Uncle Bowen had been fouled on the first shot... so, as the roof is about to fly off due the chanting, we have Ryan Bowen trying to take free-throws... I would have loved for Sir Charles to walk in at that moment [thinking the chants were for Bowen] just to hear his reaction).
The Mavs actually played pretty sloppy for most of the night. You could tell Kidd wasn't quite in sync with them yet: he passed out of bounds a lot and managed to facilitate most of CP3's steals. Nevertheless, he put up an 8,5,6 night with 3 steals so Mavs fans should take solace in knowing he hustled and that those first three numbers are only going to increase. In fact, by trading Diop, Cuban may have accidentally ensured that Kidd continues his triple-double reign.
Additionally, Peja and D. West contributed 18 a piece, Bobby Jackson knocked down 17 from the bench.Actually, he shot from the court, but... I'm not even going to finish that joke. All in all, we had a solid night against a slightly off-kilter team, who happens to be a major contender from our division. Sweetness.
***
Welcome to the show, Jeff Bower. About midday, the Hornets released a statement verifying the rumors that had been flying all morning about a three-way trade with Houston and Memphis. The trade looks something like this:
HOU to NO: Mike Jackson (2 years, $13 million), Bonzi Wells (expiring, $2.3 million)
HOU to MEM: Draft rights to Malik Badiane, cash considerations
NO to HOU: Bobby Jackson (1 year, $6.1 million)
NO to MEM: Marcus Vinicius (expiring, $700,000)
MEM to HOU: Draft rights to Sergei Lishchuk
So, what does this mean for the Hornets? Well, for starters, it means adding to veteran scorers who should provide a pretty good boost from the bench (alongside Pargo, Ely, and Armstrong). Jackson has fallen off the map lately (and that contract seems unnecessarily large), but hopefully Byron can reign him in. Speaking of reigning in players, Bonzi Wells is certainly the Wild Card in this equation. Byron and Paul are stern enough in their resolve to win; if they can get Bonzi to learn and accept his role, we should be golden. Wells will also clear a little more cap space for us this summer when we re-sign Paul. It isn't much (because he'll no doubt pull a max deal), but every little bit helps. Honestly, we won't have any clue until we see them play in our system. Oddly enough, the first time we'll have the chance to see that will be Friday's hosting of... the Rockets. Strange.
Well, here's to hoping that Bower knows what he's doing... (I think he does, in case anyone cares).
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