When They Were President: One Liners

Baron Davis would certainly have a great presidency.

A recap and an extension of the one liners presented in the 18th Paints in the Point podcast.

The Collapse of Immortality

Going into this season, there were at least four and possibly five teams that were seen as head and Dwight Howard’s shoulders above the rest of the league. Those four/five teams were, in no particular order: the Los Angeles Lakers, Boston Celtics, Orlando Magic, Cleveland Cavaliers, and possibly the San Antonio Spurs. These teams had the right combination of talent, coaching, and offseason moves to move them into the pantheon of championship contenders for at least this season. Well, something has changed, at least a little bit.

Hip-Hop Breeds Contempt

Aim here Gilbert

As the Gilbert Arenas saga evolves from comedy to tragedy, a familiar topic is once again linked to the NBA. The ever present Hip-Hop culture once again surfaces as a catch all for the actions of Arenas and teammate Javaris Crittenton. Somewhere along the line David Stern and other league executives decided to marry the NBA to hip-hop and, but clearly they didn’t know what they were getting themselves into.

Given recent player actions, it seems as though the dark side of hip-hop has also managed to infiltrate the league. With its “bling-bling” gaudiness and “I gotta get paid” ruthlessness, this culture isn’t exactly synonymous with the average NBA fan. To the NBA’s credit, welcoming the music of Will Smith and L.L Cool J is a terrific marketing move, one certain to help the league resonate with younger fans. However, when welcoming the mainstream side of hip-hop, the NBA also opened the door for violence, drug-abuse, gang related sub-culture, and other misnomers of traditional thug life personified by players such as Allen Iverson. When he entered the league, Iverson was the poster boy for this thug life ruthlessness; he was a walking middle finger pointed directly at David Stern and his efforts to improve the image of the league.

Best Dunks of the Decade

As mentioned in Podcast #15, here are the best dunks of the decade, organized by person.

The Champ’s Best Dunks of the Decade:

#5:

#4:

#3:

#2:

#1:

Observations on the Orlando/Atlanta Game

Yeah, we’re back.

The Champ sits here in his home writing this in anticipation of tonight’s game. The Octagon is now here, good to see him. We’re still waiting on the arrival of The Franchise, and The Custodian is MIA.

Champ’s Power Rankings: Week 3

the kid can play

1. Denver Nuggets: The Nuggets keep winning, in the West. Carmelo looks like he’s playing with more determination than ever, second in the league in scoring, the team is winning on the road, and J.R. Smith has had a hot return off of his seven game suspension, possibly due to his desire to be called by his real first name: Earl. The Nuggets’ ascent is surely helped by the Lakers’ current slump, but for now the Nuggets are enjoying their time as the Western Conference’s best team.

2. Atlanta Hawks: The Ivy Leaguer is a prophet, the Hawks have raced to an early 8-2 record. They have beaten both the Boston Celtics and the Orlando Magic, does a win over the Cleveland Cavaliers earn them a spot in the Eastern Conference elite?

3. Phoenix Suns: The Suns sit at the three position this week. With a very respectable record of 9-2, with losses coming to the Orlando Magic and the Los Angeles Lakers (last year’s NBA Finals) both played on the second game of back-to-back series, the Suns still impress the Champ.

Lessons Learned

Okay, so it’s been a while. I have been inundated with schoolwork and in fact I should be working on it right now. However, you, the people, require near daily basketball interpretation and/or cool/funny pictures. So, hopefully I will provide a little of both.

Champ’s Power Rankings: Week 2

 

 

Week Two showed the Beast in Chris Paul, however the Hornets still struggled.

 

1. Los Angeles Lakers: The Lakers played without Bynum and Gasol last night and still resulted in victory. The Lakers are the top dogs in the league right now. No questions about it. Lamar Odum also translated well into his role on Keeping up with the Kardashians.

2. Boston Celtics: A slip up against the now formidable Phoenix Suns lost some credibility as well as the near win over the lowly Minnesota Timberwolves cost the C’s to slip to #2 in my rankings. However, they still head their own conference and very well could earn homecourt advantage, minus any major injuries.

3. Phoenix Suns: Surprised? Maybe a little but the Suns are the hot team in the league for now. You forget this team has Steve Nash, Amare Stoudamire, and Jason Richardson. As well as a rejuivenated Grant Hill and an up-and-coming Channing Frye. Will they stay at three? Probably not, but this is Week Two.

Champ’s Power Rankings: Week One

The 2009-2010 season has been one of immense scoring, and tremendous excitement.

1. Boston Celtics: I am no fool. The Celtics are legit, at this point in time the C’s are  the best team in the league. Their offense is clicking, Rasheed Wallace looks more like a contestant for the All Star Weekend NBA 3 Point Contest, rather than the Sixth Man of the Year. Rondo got his extension, a safe move to protect young talent on an aging team. Things are working out in Boston, and as of week one, no team can touch them.

2. Orlando Magic: Just ask The Octagon, the Magic are very potent. The depth of this Magic Team is simply incredible. Their scoring recalls the glory days of the Phoenix Suns under Mike D’Antoni. Just think with J.J. (Get me a record deal!) Reddick scoring 27 points in the absence of Vince Carter, as well as Rashard Lewis’ suspension and Pietrus’ injury the Orlando Magic offense firing on all cylinders is truly scary.

3. Los Angeles Lakers: I can’t bring myself to rank the Lakers any lower than third, they are: 1. still the best team substantially in the Western Conference 2. temporarily lacking the frontcourt depth that Pau Gasol brings and 3. they are the Los Angeles Lakers, the same Lakers that have won 15 NBA titles, brought in guys like Gasol and Ron Artest, and will continue to do anything to win Kobe another ring.

Season Preview: Orlando Magic

I am transfixed. I wrote previously of my lack of identity as an NBA fan as a wanderer with no favorite team, but these Magic, oh my G-d, these Magic. I, along with everyone else in America, felt that Dwight Howard was robbed a few years ago when his sticker dunk lost to Nate Robinson’s shortness and Gerald Green’s cupcake in the 2007 dunk contest.

Paints in the Fantasy Draft

So the teams have been drafted for the 2009-2010 Fantasy Draft and here are the rosters.

Season Preview: New Jersey Nets

Pulling up to the IZOD Center in a garden variety Honda, waiting and anticipating the debut of one of the most exciting teams in basketball, the New Jersey Nets, I began to think to myself…

Oh, wait, the Nets are definitely not one of the most exciting teams in Basketball. The Nets suck, they’re from New Jersey.

This is Jay-Z’s team though, and you don’t question the Roc.

Season Preview: Toronto Raptors

Note to future NBA franchise owners: don't listen to nerds.

History:

The Toronto Raptors are one of the younger franchises in the NBA, but they have had some success, namely drafting Vince Carter in the 1998 Draft. Of their fourteen seasons, they have had five winning seasons, which doesn’t sound like a lot, but they are just two shy of matching the Clippers’ number of winning seasons, who have been around for thirty nine seasons.

The Toronto Terriers: not remotely terrifying.

The Raptors were a unique addition to the NBA: they, along with the Vancouver Grizzlies, were the first Canadian teams and Toronto was the first to be buoyed by a bunch of nerds. Allow me to explain that last part. Many people wonder about the origin of the Raptors’ team nickname, but very few know the true story. As most new franchises decide to enter the league, they usually hold a naming contest to help generate excitement for the new team and ease pressure on the marketing executives to pick a good team name. Toronto was no exception, receiving over 2,000 different entries. A shortlist of the ten “best” ideas were released to the public: Beavers, Bobcats, Dragons, Grizzlies, Hogs, Raptors, Scorpions, T-Rex, Tarantulas, and Terriers. If only our exclusive “Inside the Name” series had been released many years ago to aid their decision, they would have eliminated lame names like the Beavers, Hogs (apparently, one of Toronto’s nicknames is “Hogtown”), and Terriers, but even without our groundbreaking series, they seemed to be heading in the right direction with the slew of terrifying nicknames at their disposal.

Alas, the “Raptors” moniker was chosen for the popularity of the Jurassic Park movie, which was released in 1993, which nerds embraced with open arms. In the seven months that followed the team name announcement in 1994, the Raptors were seventh in merchandise sales, despite the fact that they had not even played a single game. My suggestion to future NBA franchises: while this was a success story (largely because “the Raptors” is such a badass team nickname), don’t listen to nerds, or else we’ll end up with terrible, terrible names, like the Vancouver Vampires or the Honolulu Harry Potters.

Don't let this guy be the face of your franchise.

Vinterruptingkanyesanity

Everyone, by now, has heard of Kanye West’s interruption at the VMAs. If you haven’t, Google it. You’ll be sure to find it.

(Not so) surprisingly, this is not the first time Kanye has interrupted a major performance. Hardcore basketball fans know that West attended the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney, Australia and disrupted a USA-France match:

J-Rich

Jason Richardson-n. 1) A generic version of Vince Carter. 2) A style of basketball too reliant on dunks instead of teamwork and/or passing. 3) A faux exciting player whose micro-celebrity came as a result of him being a knock-off of Vince Carter, the one and true best dunker of his generation. 4) A player who’s potential and achievement are vastly different despite teams’ desire to acquire him (Bobcats, Suns). See also: Gerald Green.