Momma There Goes That Man

Because of NBA League Pass, we’re able to watch more games from out of market teams than ever before. Because of this, some of us get hooked on to watching other teams more often than others. This trend has been dominated by the young, up-and-coming teams like the Thunder and the Grizzlies – or teams that play a faster pace like the Suns and Warriors. But for me, it’s been the Milwaukee Bucks. Yeah, I like Jennings, and yes, I like Andrew Bogut’s play and his Squad 6 idea, but most of all, I think I love John Salmons.

For the second straight year, he was traded at the deadline, and he’s become a main component in helping an otherwise hopeless team get to the postseason. When he was traded to the Bulls last season, they were five games under .500 and ended up finishing with the 7th spot in the Eastern Conference, winning 7 of 11 games against teams that made the playoffs. This year, he’s upped the ante and currently has the Bucks 8 games over .500 and in the 5th spot in the East. They’ve been 15-3 since Salmons has arrived and, more importantly, 7-1 against teams who, if the post season started today, would be playoff teams. This includes wins over Cleveland, Boston, Atlanta, Denver and Utah. That’s wins over three of the top four teams in the East, and two of the top four in the West.

For all intents and purposes, I’m just going to come out and say that no playoff team has a player whose value to his team is more underrated than Salmon’s value is to the Bucks. Since he’s arrived to Milwaukee, he’s averaged 20.5 points per game, 3.2 boards and 3.2 assists. He’s shooting nearly 47 percent from the field and getting to the line 5.6 times per game, knocking down more than 87 percent of those freebies. What has stood out even more is how well he’s played against those playoff teams.

In the eight games that he’s played against teams who are playoff bound, his scoring, rebounding and assists averages have gone up to 22.4, 4, and 3.8 respectively. He shoots 50 percent from the field, 44 percent from three-point range and 90 percent from the line. Against playoff teams, he’s been apart of the 50-40-90 club, not to mention that his PER is 20.8 in those games.

On top of that, he’s actually a decent defender. I honestly don’t understand why this guy doesn’t get more love. When he was in Sacramento, he gave Kobe problems four times a year. He can score in a multitude of ways: getting to the paint on pick-and-rolls, running floaters, step backs, can shoot coming off of the screen going both left and right, can shoot the three, can post up – and even has two or three serviceable post moves, frequently gets to the free throw line, and knocks them down when he does. On top of all of that, dude has a freakish beard. What’s not to love?

When I watched the replay of the Milwaukee-Atlanta game from a few night’s ago, I said I’d lose my mind if Salmons isn’t an all-star next year, and my mind isn’t changing. Dude is a certified hooper in the league right now. It’s time for us to start giving him his due.

All stats gathered from HoopStats.com

-P. Barnett

Being the phenomenal team that they are, the Boston Celtics proved yesterday that they are capable of playing at the caliber that their roster indicates. Yeah, I’m well aware they were KMart-less and headcoach-less but Boston showed what can happen to their opponents if they sleep on them. I’ve said it all along, don’t sleep on the C’s, it’s pure ignorance if you do. Some fans suspected they were playing possum but what we really got going on here is a team more concerned with the big picture rather than the mundane details. My only concern is them landing in that undesired 4th seed but with 12 games or so left, Boston can make a nice push to the number 3 spot just in time. I can see why the Celtics are somewhat laid back and relaxing. They seem to have no shame in displaying their boredom with the regular season and its opposition. But why? Well…….. they’ve got their ring and have proven their championship capabilities, so perhaps their hunger has gone. The pressure is on Cleveland and LeBron to win and that suits Boston fine. With no pressure on their shoulders, a proven squad, championship experience, and an uncanny ability to pick up wins easier on the road than at home, Boston is sitting back comfortable resting their aged legs and waiting for April to come.

Shout outs to Nate Robinson and Michael Finley for stepping up and doing EXACTLY what they were brought there to do. <cough> Sheed <cough>

Dave E. Gold

(theg0at)

There are some people who have known me long enough to know that my favorite dunk of all time was Baron Davis over AK47 in the 2006 playoffs. It’s one of the best moments of my lifetime. Not just because of the dunk, but because of everything that went along with it. Boom Dizzle un-tucking his jersey, Stephen Jackson brushing off his shoulders, Mikael Pietrus looking like he had never seen anyone getting dunked on before, the 26,000 Oakland getting hyphy while Adonal Foyle giving the basketball world his best thizz face. That dunk, at the time, was seemingly harboring in a new culture of basketball, and I was more than ready for it (that was the saddest break up of any team ever PoundSadFace). But most importantly, that dunk, for the first time ever in my lifetime, sent a playoff game into commercial. What else was there left to do? They couldn’t just shoot the free-throws right then. We needed to savor that moment for as long as possible. Even when ESPN came back in from that commercial break, Boom was still walking around, nodding his head and slapping high fives. Unprecedented classic shit.

Fast forward to earlier this week, Amar’e Stoudemire got loose on a fastbreak and absolutely demolished the same Anthony Tolliver who I was giving my props to on an earlier post. The dunk was raw, but it wasn’t a great dunk until STAT started tugging on his jersey for the fans, until Jason Richardson started walking around like he was the one who dunked (he was there for the Boom dunk, too – he knows how these things are supposed to work), and not until it went into commercial. I heard a lot about the dunk, but I didn’t love it until it passed the commercial test. We got to see them come back from the break with STAT walking around, fans still in disbelief, goggles rested on his dome. Again, classic shit.

When I showed the dunk to my lady, @GuaranteedWin, she noticed some crowd reactions that made the dunk even better:

Just watch this guy here the whole time. He never stops smiling and he has a perfect clap.

The Asian dude and Devean George are both STUNNED.

And finally, the black woman has obviously seen enough and the kid on the right hasn’t found enough gold.

Go check out The No Look Pass for more of the best dunks from this season and Tr3yBall’s Court for Amar’e Stoudemire’s Hitlist (notice how all of these dunks come off of a Steve Nash pass in the P&R, read your scouting report or you will get dunked on).

-Phillip Barnett

Eh. Maybe I should rephrase that.

But once I get through this brief list with you, perhaps you’ll get a better understanding where I’m coming from and why New Jersey has a glimmer of hope on the horizon.

And in case you haven’t caught on, I’m a huge fan of Top 10 and 5 lists. It makes for an easy read and an even easier response.

5. The Worst Is Almost Over:

Well, they gotta win 3 of their next 13 to not capture the coveted ‘Worst Record of All Time’ title. Truth is though, it doesn’t really matter to the masses whether they avoid or break that record, the year was an embarrassment altogether. What does matter, is how they regather themselves next year and keep the past behind them.

4. Mikhail Prokhorov:

Who?

Yeah, back in September, Jersey drafted the 40th Richest Man In The World to their team as a principal owner and investor. Earlier this month, Prokhorov, lost $53 million in a deposit he had made on a home in the French Riviera. Then soon after he  gave us reason to question Mark Cuban’s devotion to his team and his love for sports in general; when asked about the loss, Prokhorov was more concerned with how his country had performed in the Winter Olympics rather than discussing “financial matters”. To think I freak out over losing a 20 spot.

3. Brooklyn:

Birthplace of

• Sub Sandwiches
• The Notorious B.I.G.

and now the

• Brooklyn Nets

Barclays Center 2012, look out for it.

A fresh new location is just what the Nets could use. Fresh arena, fresh owners, fresh fans…….ahhhhhhhhhh.

2. Shawn Carter

Who better to market and co-own your favorite basketball team other than Jay Z? Seriously, the business mogul has the media constantly all over him and everything he does. His endorsement and exposure will definitely put the BROOKLYN Nets in a new light.

1. John Wall

After he wins the NCAA Tournament (yeah I said it) John Wall will be the final piece of the puzzle for Nets’ fresh start. Like a shot of B-12, Wall will lift the Nets from depths of the NBA to the mediocracy of slightly under .500

C’mon now, Courtney Lee, Devin Harris, and Brook Lopez aren’t THAT bad.

Dave E. Gold

(theg0at)