Since the day Vincent Kennedy Mcmahon blew open the world of sports entertainment, men all over the world have followed his lead by dedicating a good percentage of their lives to the ultimate male soap opera. Our wishes were granted as we were all handed a testosterizing version of secretly watched shows such as the bold and the beautiful, the young and the restless, and so forth. In the last two and a half decades, there has been no doubt that wrestling has become a major contributor to our growth as couch rotting, T.V. lusting men. However, as this is strictly a basketball site, I shall express my love for wrestling under the umbrella of the National Basketball association.
The one thing that has kept us drawn into the wrestling world has been the crazy, colourful characters that we have witnessed over time. We've seen deadmen walking, immortals, warriors, Kings, men of the army, men of the police, men from prison, repo men gothic blood-seekers, monsters, earthquakes, typhoons, brahma bulls, rattle snakes, rabid wolverines, giants, midgets, and an array of high flying gravity-defying thrill seekers. The NBA is no different. We have been fortunate enough to witness fan-killers, haymakers, bear-huggers, ball-squeezers, sheriffs, gamblers, alleged rapists, wife beaters, brides, nipple-rings, one-named brazilians, and even a couple of athletic white men.
This writer shall attempt to formulate resemblances between pro-wrestlers and their respective NBA counterparts. Participants could be players, managers/coaches, divas/wives, GM's, or bosses.
Ø Michael Jordan & Bret Hart
Excellence of execution. Best there is, best there was, and best there ever will be.
Ring any bells?
Ø Sir Charles and The Rock
To the greatest Mic handlers of our time.
Ø John Amaechi & Goldust
Sorry, I cannot explain why.
Ø The Great Khali & Shawn Bradley
They both suck as hell.
Ø Booker T and Troy Hudson
Faces that only a mother could love.
Ø Taker and Kane & Jason and Jaron Collins
Brothers of destruction!!!
Or not...
Ø Ron Artest & Stone Cold Steve Austin
Arrive.
Raise hell.
Leave.
Ø Eddy Curry and The Blue Meanie
Fat.
Ø Mike Bibby and Mini me
Sorry, this needed to be said.
Ø Anderson Varejao and Carlito
Flopping? That’s cool.
Ø Kobe Bryant and Edge.
The rated RRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR superstar!!!
Ø Raja Bell and JBL
Clothesline from hell!! Clothesline from hell!!!!!!
Ø Nate Robinson and Hornswaggle
Both little bastards.
Ø Shane Battier and John Cena
GI JOEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE
GO JOE!!!!
Ø Lebron James and every Shawn Michaels fight
Nailbiters.
Ø Kevin Garnett and The Ultimate Warrior
Picture KG running full speed into the target center like an idiot with the Warrior’s entrance music followed by him grabbing both nets over and over like a caged beast.
Yup, this fits.
Ø Allen Iverson and Rey Mysterio
1 MVP. 1 Good year.
1 title reign. 1 Good run.
Rest of the time, O-V-E-R-R-A-T-E-D.
Ø David Stern, Vince Mcmahon, Joseph Stalin, guy from Mars attacks
WORLD DOMINATION!
And Finally….
Ø Phil Jackson and Mr. Fuji
Picture the Lakers playing the Heat in the NBA finals…
Shaq dives toward the Laker bench to save the ball from falling out of bounds…
Phil throws salt in his eyes!! Salt to the eyes!! The big man has been blinded!! My God NO!!!!
Friday, July 13, 2007
Wednesday, June 06, 2007
New Setup
To our readers, NBAsians wishes to announce that from now on Gov and I will be posting separately. I will be posting under "ikenc" while Gov will post under a soon-to-be-announced pseudonym. Or not. Our joint posts will be under "nbasians". Hope you find this to be a better way to organize the blog. Thank you for your support and love!
Wednesday, April 04, 2007
In Defense of The Black Mamba
4 games. 225 points. 54% from the field. 52% from three. 56 of 60 from the line. 4 wins.
And yet we complain.
And yet we bitch.
And yet we baselessly compare.
Kobe Bryant has accomplished one of the most remarkable scoring feats in basketball history whilst single-handedly digging his team out of a seven game hole as he steered them back toward that decisive playoff run.
However, as with his three championship rings, Herculean scoring prowess, and one unforgettable 81-point juggernaut that some may have forgotten, Kobe’s string of half centuries has been thrown straight into his own personal “Hall of Shame”. The world of sports’ most polarizing figure has done it again. He has managed to throw in another unimaginable historic feat only to be scrutinized, criticized, and magnified onto his notable off-court hoopla.
The Bitching:
#1 “Kobe Bryant decided to stop facilitating and start Kobe-ing.”
Response: For those that have chosen to conveniently forget, the Lakers were 26-13 through the first half of the regular season, a record good enough for 4th best out of 30 teams as they defeated elites such as Utah, Dallas, Phoenix, Miami, and the Rockets and Spurs twice respectively. They ran the triangle to perfection. Kobe’s shot attempts dipped from 27 to 20, his FG% and assists shot up, while maintaining a more than healthy 29 PPG. . Can someone say M-V-P?
Lamar goes down. Luke goes down. Kwame goes down. Mo goes down. Cookie goes down (thankfully). Mihm’s been down since the cold war ended. And to top it all, Vladrad went back in time to the Nagano Olympics. This has to be among the most catastrophic collections of injuries that any basketball team has endured through its regular season.
For those casual/idiot fans that look through results, stats, standings, but don’t actually watch basketball, the Lakers’ triangle offense is among the toughest offensive sets in basketball. Thus, only a thumbful of teams has used it through the 60 years that the NBA has existed. The offense requires nothing less than a one year learning curve and a group of basketball players that thoroughly understand the game. And as with any well-oiled machine, the triangle offense fails as soon as it loses its most essential cogs. For the Lakers, this meant succumbing in 12 of their next 19 games.
So what did Phil Jackson do once he got his full roster back? He asked Kobe Bryant to temporarily dump the system and make most of a fairly easy week by winning a few games by himself in order bring back that positive air around the Laker organization.
I repeat…
4 games. 225 points. 54% from the field. 52% from three. 56 of 60 from the line. 4 wins.
And for good measure, a “subpar” 43 point game that led to their 5th consecutive win. The Lakers were winning again. They’re happy. I’m happy. That’s all that matters.
Bottomline: Kobe was not kobe-ing. Grow up, critic.
#2 “Kobe Bryant is superior to Michael Jordan”
To the Homers (Kobe fanatics/morons):
Sorry to burst your bubble, but this “debate” must end right now. Kobe Bryant is not FUNDAMENTALLY better than Michael Jordan. Here’s why:
*Michael Jordan won 10 scoring titles in the toughest and most competitive of all basketball eras, the late 80’s and 90’s. He played with the likes of the Bad Boy Pistons, Riley’s Knicks, The Glove’s Sonics, shared a division with the rough and tough Cavalier and Hawk teams, Barkley’s suns, Drexler’s Blazers, Admiral’s Spurs, Stockton and Malone’s Jazz, and Hakeem’s Rockets. Need I say more?
*Michael Jordan won his scoring titles when hand checking still existed and Steve Nash couldn’t get a job. Imagine defenders such as Gary Payton, Mookie Blaylock, and Joe Dumars checking as you try to make your way to the basket? Not fun. Thus, when we talk of overall scoring ability, Jordan easily takes it. The only area that Kobe would have an edge is three point shooting.
*With regard to playing off the ball, Kobe is nowhere near MJ. Jordan’s basketball IQ and game management/overall efficiency thumps that of Kobe. With reference to rebounding, Michael was comparatively better as Kobe hasn’t shown consistency when it comes to his performance and effort on the offensive glass. MJ’s boxing out fundamentals were royally underrated. Passing? The degrees of difficulty on some of Jordan’s passes were at a level that Kobe could never even imagine. Kobe is without a doubt a good passer. However, he has yet to achieve that balance between scoring and passing within a game. He is unable to facilitate in a game unless he makes that conscious choice beforehand.
*With regard to defense, Michael Jordan wins hands down. Besides being the amazing scorer that he was, MJ was one of the most tenacious defenders the NBA has ever seen. Similarly, Kobe has been regarded through his career as one of the best defenders in the league. However, he is limited to simple man to man defense. His team defense, help defense, and off the ball defense is no more than good.
*With regard to leadership, MJ once again takes the cake. However, we must take into context that Kobe has been the first option on his team for a mere two and a half seasons. Many may not recall that MJ won his first title at 28. Kobe is now 28.
*Lastly, with regard to competitive drive and clutch play (To be hanged for saying this), I rank them the equally.
#3 “Kobe Bryant may score 50 every game, but he is no Michael Jordan”
To the Haters (baseless demonizers/idiots):
With all due respect to his airness, only two players have scored four consecutive half-centuries and neither is named Michael Jordan.
Kobe is his own animal. He possesses his own achievements, his own accolades, his own criminal record, and he will have his own legacy. As I mentioned in point #5, Kobe is at the age where MJ was still considered a selfish prick that couldn’t lead a team to a championship.
In other words, let us all just allow ourselves to enjoy basketball at its highest quality and stop bitching like Adrian in Rocky IV. Thus, after all is said and done, we are left with a couple of defining questions:
Will Kobe evolve into the consummate team player that will lead his squad to numerous championships? Or will he remain content as an outstanding scorer on a bad team?
I don’t know, but I sure as hell can’t wait to find out.
Wednesday, November 29, 2006
Pointless Conversation
Gov: Looks like T-mac's going back to his Toronto averages.
Ken: No man, he's just the ultimate team player!
Gov: That's Kobe now!
Ken: Reluctant passer!
Gov: He passes with love!
Ken: No way, he loves the ball too much.
Gov: Yeah, enough to rape it.
Ken: I wouldn't be surprised if he did..
Ken: No man, he's just the ultimate team player!
Gov: That's Kobe now!
Ken: Reluctant passer!
Gov: He passes with love!
Ken: No way, he loves the ball too much.
Gov: Yeah, enough to rape it.
Ken: I wouldn't be surprised if he did..
Friday, November 03, 2006
Opening night: A toast to Tinseltown
123 days, 19 hours, and 30 minutes. Offseason. The absolute worst time of year.
As I worked to Assimilate into my role as taxpayer and integral part of the labour force, this offseason was particularly memorable. My usual offseason birthday saw me turn well into my 20's and for For the first time in my young life, I thought about finally taking myself seriously. I thought of my health and well-being. I thought of my spiritual self. I thought of poverty, drought, and struggle. I thought of my future. A wife and 6 lil Laker fans. I thought about the betterment of my fellowman. It was about that time. The crossroads... Tiptoeing on the iceberg that separated my childhood and my life as a bonafide adult, and I was slowly falling onto the latter. Then November 1 came... Lamar drops 33 points! 13 boards! 7 assists! King Bynum dominates in his first start and the Mamba-less Los Angeles Lakers thump the title-contending suns!
Then, I thought again. God bless the NBA.
L.A. 110 - Phoenix 103
The Los Angeles Lakers. My immortal lover. How good did they look on opening night? I won't let you decide. (For most of you who don't know, this site is not, in any way, impartial)
The Good:
No Kobe, no problem. - Although my heading may sound catchy, #24 is still, and will always be, the only man that can take this Laker team to the promised land. However, The Black Mamba's absence may have worked well for Lamar and the rest of the supporting cast. If Kobe had played opening night, it might have destroyed an entire pre-season of struggling toward productive teamwork within the rest of the Laker squad. Fortunately for us, they succeeded.
The first three quarters of the 2005-2006 regular season revolved around good execution from the Lakers, perfecting the triangle, and scoring slack was happily picked up by Bryant. The last 25%, however, involved Kobe dropping his scoring average, FGAs, upping his assists, Kwame learning to catch interior passes, Lamar thriving, Mihm dying, Smush crying, and the overall flourishing of the triangle. The Lakers dominated that portion of the season and was a Tim Thomas HGH steroid scandal (which I still believe is true) away from unseating the speedy Suns.
The Bad:
Hole in the middle!
The Lakers have holes.
Andrew Bynum is a great young big man. He will become an all-star, possibly even a superstar. However, My Lakers are playing for the now. If you don't believe me, ask Mitch why he used his mid-level on the Radman (Who will play better once his shooting hand heals and stops trying to look like the Passion of the Christ). Bynum will have his 20s and 10s, but he will also have his 2 point nights, his 1 attempt outings, and the almost inevitable rookie wall. We cannot have a 19 year old starting center in a conference dominated by bigs. We will not survive.
Chris Mihm is out for the season. Ouch.
Thus, the only man that can save us is Mr. Brown. Yes, I said it. Kwame needs to continue from the momentum he finished with last year and thrive in his role as the Lakers starting center. If this can be done together with Bynum's daily Kareem filled improvement as he comes off the bench, we will be fine.
X Factor: Ronnie Turiaf is not, by any means, another Mark Madsen. This man can play, wait and see.
The Ugly:
Smush Parker is ugly. He puts the F, in fugly. If I was him, I'd be ugly. In other words, this man takes ugly to whole new level.
William 'Smush' Parker is terrible. Decision making? No can do. Defense? This man can't guard a dying snail. 'Nuff said.
We all know that Phil doesn't rely heavily on his floor generals, but come on, we need a smarter pg. Derek Fisher, Ron Harper, MAGIC JOHNSON, and now Smush?? NO CAN DO. Our offense is among the most structured in the NBA. With a point man of Smush's IQ, we cannot get past teams such as the Spurs, Mavs, and Suns.
As I worked to Assimilate into my role as taxpayer and integral part of the labour force, this offseason was particularly memorable. My usual offseason birthday saw me turn well into my 20's and for For the first time in my young life, I thought about finally taking myself seriously. I thought of my health and well-being. I thought of my spiritual self. I thought of poverty, drought, and struggle. I thought of my future. A wife and 6 lil Laker fans. I thought about the betterment of my fellowman. It was about that time. The crossroads... Tiptoeing on the iceberg that separated my childhood and my life as a bonafide adult, and I was slowly falling onto the latter. Then November 1 came... Lamar drops 33 points! 13 boards! 7 assists! King Bynum dominates in his first start and the Mamba-less Los Angeles Lakers thump the title-contending suns!
Then, I thought again. God bless the NBA.
L.A. 110 - Phoenix 103
The Los Angeles Lakers. My immortal lover. How good did they look on opening night? I won't let you decide. (For most of you who don't know, this site is not, in any way, impartial)
The Good:
No Kobe, no problem. - Although my heading may sound catchy, #24 is still, and will always be, the only man that can take this Laker team to the promised land. However, The Black Mamba's absence may have worked well for Lamar and the rest of the supporting cast. If Kobe had played opening night, it might have destroyed an entire pre-season of struggling toward productive teamwork within the rest of the Laker squad. Fortunately for us, they succeeded.
The first three quarters of the 2005-2006 regular season revolved around good execution from the Lakers, perfecting the triangle, and scoring slack was happily picked up by Bryant. The last 25%, however, involved Kobe dropping his scoring average, FGAs, upping his assists, Kwame learning to catch interior passes, Lamar thriving, Mihm dying, Smush crying, and the overall flourishing of the triangle. The Lakers dominated that portion of the season and was a Tim Thomas HGH steroid scandal (which I still believe is true) away from unseating the speedy Suns.
The Bad:
Hole in the middle!
The Lakers have holes.
Andrew Bynum is a great young big man. He will become an all-star, possibly even a superstar. However, My Lakers are playing for the now. If you don't believe me, ask Mitch why he used his mid-level on the Radman (Who will play better once his shooting hand heals and stops trying to look like the Passion of the Christ). Bynum will have his 20s and 10s, but he will also have his 2 point nights, his 1 attempt outings, and the almost inevitable rookie wall. We cannot have a 19 year old starting center in a conference dominated by bigs. We will not survive.
Chris Mihm is out for the season. Ouch.
Thus, the only man that can save us is Mr. Brown. Yes, I said it. Kwame needs to continue from the momentum he finished with last year and thrive in his role as the Lakers starting center. If this can be done together with Bynum's daily Kareem filled improvement as he comes off the bench, we will be fine.
X Factor: Ronnie Turiaf is not, by any means, another Mark Madsen. This man can play, wait and see.
The Ugly:
Smush Parker is ugly. He puts the F, in fugly. If I was him, I'd be ugly. In other words, this man takes ugly to whole new level.
William 'Smush' Parker is terrible. Decision making? No can do. Defense? This man can't guard a dying snail. 'Nuff said.
We all know that Phil doesn't rely heavily on his floor generals, but come on, we need a smarter pg. Derek Fisher, Ron Harper, MAGIC JOHNSON, and now Smush?? NO CAN DO. Our offense is among the most structured in the NBA. With a point man of Smush's IQ, we cannot get past teams such as the Spurs, Mavs, and Suns.
We need to trade up by the All Star Break. Nothing less.
X Factor: Jordan Farmar can play!!! However, like Bynum, the Lakers cannot contend with a 19 year old starting point guard. If Phil can slowly assimilate him into the system and give him more second half playing time, it might just work.
The Results:
Regular season: 52-30
Playoff performance?: Another article.
Championship contenders?: A whole other article.
For now.... Go Lakers!!!
Wednesday, November 01, 2006
Opening Night in the NBA
Random thoughts of the day:
- Everyone thought the Bulls would be a contender this season, but blowing out the defending champs on opening night by 42 points? 42 points?!?
- Honestly, how many of you even entertained the thought of the Bulls slicing and dicing the Heat the way they did?
- Like what I've been telling everyone since the Heat won the championship last June: It ain't happening again. Face it, the Heat looked old today and that's how they will be this season.
- The Bulls must be feeling giddy about Hinrich. A couple of days after signing him to an extension, Captain Kirk comes out and leads them to a dominating win. Not like Kirk ever seemed to have Bryant Reeves Syndrome.
- How about the Lakers huh? They played well - moving the ball, hustled and rebounded like it's the playoffs, playing inspired ball. Did it make sense? Of course it did, Kobe didn't play! I bet they win their next game too with Kobe set to stay home while they go on a road trip to face the Warriors.
- And may I just say, what a pick-up Lamar Odom was for my fantasy team! 34, 13, and 6!
- Andrew Bynum came up huge in his first career start. Will he be able to sustain that level of performance for the whole season? My guess is that he is still a year away from consistent production night in and night out. But it will be fun to see him grow this year and be one of the up-and-coming big men in the league.
- Go Rockets!
Tuesday, October 31, 2006
Last Minute Changes
Mike Bibby is supposed to miss at least 2 weeks which leaves me no choice but to drop him in the meantime for one of my favorite players in the league - Shaun Livingston!
I actually forgot about Shaun because he wasn't ranked high in any fantasy rankings. However, he is entering his 3rd year, packed on 15 pounds of muscle, and appears ready to reclaim his spot as the best player in his draft class. Add the fact that Sam I Am is nursing some injuries and isn't 100% at the start of the season and I think I've got one of the sleepers of the season!
I actually forgot about Shaun because he wasn't ranked high in any fantasy rankings. However, he is entering his 3rd year, packed on 15 pounds of muscle, and appears ready to reclaim his spot as the best player in his draft class. Add the fact that Sam I Am is nursing some injuries and isn't 100% at the start of the season and I think I've got one of the sleepers of the season!
Saturday, October 28, 2006
Fantasy NBA 10/28/06
My fantasy league conducted its Live Draft today and I'm quite pleased with the players I got. I was able to draft the players I wanted (T-Mac!), but was unable to draft other players that I coveted (Darko!). Overall, I am excited at the potential of my team to compete in a head-to-head set-up and give me a championship in my first foray into the fantasy world of the NBA.
Here is my complete roster:
PG - Mike Bibby
PG - Jason Terry
PG/SG - Brandon Roy
SG - Larry Hughes
SG/SF - Tracy McGrady
SG/SF - Luol Deng
SF/PF - Shawn Marion
SF/PF - Andrei Kirilenko
SF/PF - Lamar Odom
SF/PF - Marvin Williams
PF/C - Boris Diaw
PF/C - Andrew Bogut
PF/C - Chris Wilcox
Some notes:
Here is my complete roster:
PG - Mike Bibby
PG - Jason Terry
PG/SG - Brandon Roy
SG - Larry Hughes
SG/SF - Tracy McGrady
SG/SF - Luol Deng
SF/PF - Shawn Marion
SF/PF - Andrei Kirilenko
SF/PF - Lamar Odom
SF/PF - Marvin Williams
PF/C - Boris Diaw
PF/C - Andrew Bogut
PF/C - Chris Wilcox
Some notes:
- Going into the Draft, I was focused on getting players with multiple position eligibility. I think this is key in terms of having the flexibility to assign players in different positions on any given game day.
- The position I struggled drafting for is the point guard position. Given my draft position (6 out of 8), I initially targeted Kirk Hinrich to be my first point guard pick. However, another manager valued him higher than the round I was planning on picking him. My next target was Baron Davis, given that I think all signs point to him having a bounce-back season. Again another team manager picked him just before my pick. Thus, I was left with JT and Bibby as my point guards.
- Also got pissed when someone picked up Darko in round 8! Although, I can't say I'm overly disappointed with the player I replaced him with - Chris Wilcox! Here's hoping he duplicates his numbers after he got traded to Seattle last year.
- Lastly, I took a chance with Brandon Roy and Marvin Williams for my last two picks. I like Brandon's chances of making an impact fantasy-wise because even as a rookie, he already is more mature than the other backcourt players of the Blazers. On the other hand, despite the setback of an injury, I still believe Marv is scheduled for a breakout year and I'll be content in keeping him on the bench for now until the right time comes.
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