What's That Ish You Smoking? - Bitter NBA Owner Edition

Waldini:

I don't why I send out so many Detroit Free Press articles. Maybe cuz they give the funniest articles. Some hilarious nuggets from Bill Davidson.

Q: Which of your teams, in your view, underachieved the most? Which was most frustrating?

A: Well, the worst loss was out in L.A. (in 1988) when I was in the room with David Stern getting ready to accept the trophy, and they call a foul on Bill Laimbeer against Kareem. Bill pulled down a clean rebound, and Hugh Evans calls a foul. You know that he was set up, and you know ... I don't say he had a bet on the game, but that was ... that was unconscionable! And that cost us a championship, which we should have had. Which we had.

Q: What others?

A: The other bad one was the steal in Boston, when we had that game (and Larry Bird stole the ball). So the Bad Boys had two championships, which -- one was legitimately taken away and the other was illegitimately taken away -- and they still won two. So they basically should have had four.

Q: How about Larry Brown's second year, when you lost in the Finals to San Antonio? Many thought you were the better team.

A: We were the better team, but Larry Brown was not the right coach. Now that you can say.

Da Realist:

Nice article, but he needs to get over 1987.

first of all, Larry DID steal the ball. yes they were close, but they made a mistake they couldn't get over. every championship team needs to go through heartbreak to solidify.

Secondly, that steal happened in game 5. the pistons had another chance in game 7 and lost.

Lastly, I don't think they would have beaten the 87 Lakers team.

Waldini:

He's making a lot of assumptions. Agree with you on '87, I think that Pistons team would have lost in 5 :-). As for the other years, he's forgetting the '89 squad beat a injury riddled Lakers squad. Or the '86 laker team that lost on a lucky Sampson roll. But hey it's why we love sports, the great debate on what if...

I just liked it b/c he was clowning on Larry Brown. It's funny that in June 2004 he was lauded as the greatest teacher of basketball. But in August 2004 he was known as the whiner and so his downfall started. It's crazy that if it wasn't for winning the title, Davidson was gonna fire him.

What he does to recognize is that this current Pistons team got LUCKY in 2004. Billups got hot at the right time, Prince defended Kobe like no other, and the Lakers didn't adjust at all. Read more!

Old School Wednesday - '89 Finals Of Suck

Da Realist:

I'm posting the 1989 Finals on my Youtube Page.



Gangsta D:

Oh joy. Can't wait to check out that debacle. Thanks for running the guys ragged Riles.

Waldini:

For a Laker fan, has a series ever been this painful yet ended so quickly? Showtime cruised through the Western playoffs, only to have key stars get hurt at the wrong time.

Da Realist:

Well, i just went through the 88 and 89 Bulls-Pistons series. Can't say that was easy, but it's cool to think about what i was doing and what i was thinking 19-20 years ago. And to see just how much i forgot about these games.

Gangsta D:

I was thinking, "Holy fucking shit. I can't believe we're gonna get swept by the Pistons!" Read more!

Not Really That Surprising

Gangsta D:

Flip out as Pistons coach.

Is Avery polishing up his resume? Or is some hotshot assistant waiting in the wings? Will this roster even look remotely similar? Can we go ahead and call the '04 title a fluke now?

Waldini:

Lots of questions gets lots of answers :-)

Avery? Naw, I don't see it. He works better coaching young players based on his style

HotShot assistant? I've heard Michael Curry's name mentioned as well as Tom Thibodeau for assistants that are ready to coach

Current roster? I heard they were thinking of making Rip and 'Sheed available. No sense in letting Rip go but Rasheed's act (as always) has worn thin. Regardless, they need to make changes. Prince is the only starter under 30 on that squad

Fluke? Let's just call it what it was. Billups got hot in the Finals coupled with the Lakers playing lazy and overconfident. I'm still wondering how this team lost to a very pitiful Cavs team with homecourt last year. It's making their '04 title look more and more as one of the greatest NBA upsets ever.

And as your subject title said, no one is really surprised by this. Flip is like that chick you dated for a longtime but realized she wasn't wife (championship) material. Flip's got plenty of teams that want him to be their girlfriend but they won't marry him

Gangsta D:

Where does Flip go now? Suns? NBDL? Broadcast booth? Can't see any of them. He might as well wait for Seattle/OKC/Long Beach to fire PJ, and take the Sonics job.

Waldini:

The Suns and Flip would be the perfect marriage. Neither has yet to shed the label of bridesmaids and if they did hook up, that label prbly wouldn't change Read more!

Old School Friday - When Birds Attack

Realist is in the process of uploading his entire NBA Classics library to Youtube. We have our differences [Kobe MVP!!!!!] but we can both agree that the NBA in the 80's was ridiculously entertaining. Take a gander at the following clip, from the '87 ECF, that he sent us this week. The fun starts at the :45 mark.



You know what? I'm glad Stern stomped out white on white violence in the NBA. That shit had potential to get ugly. At any rate, a few observations:

1. Can you imagine Bron throwing the ball at KG after a foul like that? Yeah, me neither. Bird was a G, like Bugs Bunny.

2. Notice how Rodman acted like he wanted to get into with Bird, but then pulled back and gave him a half hearted headlock. He was probably thinking, "If I hit Bird in the face, Stern is gonna give me 25 years in the electric chair." Pulling back was a good move.

3. Surprise! Surprise! Pistons fans were throwing objects at ejected players, as they leave the court, way back in '87. Some things never change. Thank you deranged, irrational, alcoholic Piston fan. Read more!

Old School Friday - An Ode To Zeke

We all know that the Knicks are a mess. We know that Isiah is in the eye of that storm. We know his tenure as Knicks GM/Coach has largely been a failure. We also know that he will be fired at some point between now and 15 minutes from now15 minutes ago. But one thing we often forget is how GREAT of a player Zeke was. When he was on, he was unstoppable. Just ask the Blazers. Eighteen years later, Terry Porter is still finding pieces of shrapnel on his person because of Isiah's explosions. So, today we're pay some respect to a great player who couldn't transition into the front office.


1988 Playoffs - Bulls vs Pistons Game 4

After the Bulls cut the lead to five, Isiah goes apeshit and scores nine straight points, punctuated by a step back 3, to ice the game. BTW, I wanna file charges against Doug Collins' perm. That thing was an abomination.




1988 Playoffs - Bulls vs Pistons Game 3

Zeke buries a jumper from behind the glass, as Hubie and Verne wax poetic.




Fresh Prince Of Bel-Air

Unfortunately, it wasn't all good for Zeke. In this clip he gets BEASTED by Will Smith. If the NBDL was around in '91, Will would've got a try out, no? lol




The Smiling Assassin

This motherfucker was cold on the basketball court.

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Who Ya Got?: NBA Playoffs Edition (Eastern Conference)

Boston vs Atlanta

Gangsta D: If Josh Smith...if Joe Johnson...if Mike Bibby...play out of their collective minds, they might force Game 5. Otherwise it's pretty much a wrap, and this series could turn BRUTAL real quick. C's sweep.

Waldini: I'm mad you gave this a paragraph :-). Celtics in 4

Da Realist: [Both teams suck]*


Detrois vs Philly

Gangsta D: Very intriguing matchup. Philly came out of nowhere to become a decent team, while the Pistons did their usual regular season coasting. The difference now, is that they actually have a decent bench. Whether Flip uses them is a different story. I think the Pistons sleepwalk through this one, and let the 6'ers hang around a little. Detrois in 6.

Waldini: The Sixers have quietly been doing their thing for the past 3 months. I still don't think the new Philly AI is a max franchise player but he is fun to watch in the open court. They played Detroit tough in the regular season. But this is the postseason and I hope for the first time since the '04 playoffs, the Pistons actually beatdown lesser opponents like they are supposed to. Pistons in 5

Da Realist: [Neither team is worth a squirt of piss in a bucket]


Orlando vs Toronto

Gangsta D: I don't know much about either team, other than the Magic LOVE to shoot 3's and no one in the Canadian Army[do they have one?] can stop Dwight Howard. The Raps have faded down the stretch, so momentum is not on their side. Magic in 6.

Waldini: Two young stars in Howard and Bosh, very little or no playoff experience for both teams, one team has better guard play (Toronto), the other has better frontcourt play (Orlando). I would give you an X factor player but I can't name more than 6 players total on both teams. Magic in 6

Da Realist: [I'd rather clean gutters than watch these two teams]


Cavs vs Wiz

Gangsta D: Gil appears to be healthy. Bron is probably not. DeShawn has been talking smack. Bron doesn't really have to. But he will have to carry this team on his spasmodic back, which will be difficult. The Wiz have revenge in their eyes, and not a trace of fear in their hearts. The Cavs have looked horrible at times since The Trade, and will rely on Bron getting 35/10/10 to advance. He can do it, but it still may not be enough. This should be the most entertaining EC series, by far. Wiz in 7.

Waldini: Aw, the Eastern Conference 1st round series I want to see. Agent Zero and DeShawn have indeed been stirring the hornets' nest in Cle. You're right, that trade was horrible when it was announced and the past few weeks didn't change that. Sasha's their best perimeter defender and he's out until further notice. Bron's ailing back isn't helping either and he's gotta go da eff in EVERY game for Cle to win. He could prove me wrong. Wizards in 6

Da Realist: [I don't have a bag big enough to contain the amount of suck inherent in this series]

*Realist feels the NBA...lacks quality this season.

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Apparently Zeke Has Never Seen A Bus He Couldn't Throw Someone Under

Da Realist:

This is SO INTERESTING. I don't know what to say about the guy...

Flashback interview from 94 part 1

* So you think his retiring and your hitting him were a coincidence?

"Laimbeer had been contemplating retirement, as you know, for the last four years. And every single year he had to be talked out of it. This is a kind of egotistical thing to say, but I think what happened was by me missing five, six games (with the broken hand), I was the only friend he had on that team. And he goes to practice for two weeks straight and I'm not there. Who's he talking to? He doesn't know any of these guys."

Flashback interview from 94 part 2

* You mean Joe Dumars?

"Yeah. They got to be friends, so Jordan got to get inside our inner workings and find out who was who and what made this guy tick. When you look back on it, you see the games that he played in the media, and how he moved that guy and moved that guy. . . . It was masterful."

* You're saying his friendship with Dumars was a strategy?

"In my opinion, yes."

Gangsta D:

Pretty good pieces. He's definitely a complicated man.

Da Realist:

He basically threw the whole team under the bus. You can't trust that guy at all.

Laimbeer and Dumars? i can't believe he threw them under the bus like that.

Waldini:

Laimbeer, Dumars, Dantley, Magic, Vinnie Johnson, Earl Cureton, the man just went for the gusto and put everybody's business out there. Normally, I'd give him the benefit of the doubt since Albom wrote this but his post playing track record basically provides more ammo in addition to this article.

Good read.

And Dantley still hasnt forgiven him.

Da Realist:

The thing is...Isiah made some sense when talking about the Dantley trade, but it's all a lie. Dantley wasn't traded due to his basketball shortcomings, he was traded because Isiah didn't like him. Isiah denied it for years.

And if you're Dantley, wouldn't it still piss you off? He was traded from a team destined to win championships. He was sent to Dallas and he was so hurt he didn't even show up for a few days. Then to watch them win the title?

I remember the next year someone started a movement to allow Dantley to receive a ring anyway but Stern nixed it. Read more!

Apparently, Old Wounds Take A While To Heal

Gangsta D:

Setting the Bulls/Pistons rivalry straight? Oh boy, I can't wait to hear the reaction from a certain resident of virginia. I can practically see the flames rising from his head right now:)

The masses, for some reason, felt sympathy for the supremely-talented player in Jordan with the charman-tissue teammates instead of the gritty, from-the-dirt squad that relied upon using its brain, like the legendary Chuck D’s flows. And like Carlton Douglas, the Bad Boys were Public Enemy number one.

Da Realist:

this is a rambling mess. he sounds like a schoolgirl that lost her boyfriend to a rival. if he could get over his emotions, he could actually make a few points.

the pistons ARE the most disrespected champion i've ever seen. chicago's 6 rings were directly related to their struggles with the pistons. the pistons taught them to be champions, to fight through anything, to not let anything (physical, emotional, mental) alter your focus on the ring. once we felt like we could beat detroit, we could beat anybody.

the rest of this whining mess doesn't make sense -- with most of it unverified. why didn't he mention that isiah has a gay son living in new york? because it had nothing to do with his argument. the fact that he brings up other player's personal lives belittles his argument.

in fact, what IS his argument? what's the focus? he says it's about the bad boys, but he's talking about the 2004 detroit pistons. is he defending the city of detroit? rationalizing the "walk-off"? is it about isiah and his snub from the olympic team? is it about chicago's success starting in 1991?

let me know his beef, and i can do a better job answering it.

Gangsta D:

I have no horse in this race, but I thought it was an entertaining read. I knew the ire would be raised and you didn't disappoint:)

Waldini:

Wow, I'm actually speechless on this....Hope he doesnt dig any dirt on the 80s Lakers :-)

Gangsta D:

I didn't know that about the Celtics. All you ever see is mcHale giving dap and saying "Go beat LA." But you never see Bird in that shot, apparently because he was already in the locker room sucking on a Miller. Very interesting. The media never brings that up. Read more!

Musings From The Great Waldini

Waldini:

- Do you realize the Southeast division (Heat, Wiz, Magic) went 0-12 in the playoffs? It's the first time in playoff history that's happened from one division

- Do you realize Shaq & Kobe led teams went a combined 1-8 in the playoffs? Are we sure they don't miss and/or need each other? And does anyone not think both teams will be blown up over the summer?

- Did you know that Riley's last two championship teams ('88 Lakers, '06 Heat) both were swept out the playoffs?

- Should Carmelo be worried that his team continue to get put out in the first round? And what's scarier is that each year his teams get better but yet the same result (out in 4 or 5 games)?

- Does the Pistons/Bulls have the same aura as the old Pistons/Bulls series from the 80s/90s?

Just a few thoughts....

Gangsta D:

Bulls/Pistons won't have the same verve unless there's a fight or two. Nocioni predicted a Bulls win in 7 games, so that gets things started.

Carmelo is starting to look like McGrady. It's not gonna get any easier in the west unless Duncan and/or Nash retire/get injured. I wonder what they'll do to that team this summer.

The Lakers and Heat will definitely both be blown up. I just hope Kupchak makes smart decisions. He really hasn't made horrible decisions, they just haven't been great. I think there will be a firesale in Miami. Riles is gonna COMPLETELY overhaul that roster. Don't think for a moment that Shaq is safe. I'm not saying he will get traded, but Riles would be stupid not to listen to offers. Read more!

Bron Bron, The '89 Finals, and Bitch Made Wade

Da Realist:

funny article about lebron james. i guess d-wade is a star because he is already getting hate.

Waldini:

I find this "hate" on Lebron amusing. If you recall before the 2005-06 season, the Cavs acquired Larry Hughes, Donyell Marshall, Damon Jones, and resigned Z-train. The initial comments were he's got a great sidekick in Hughes, two good shooters in Marshall and Jones, and a steady presence in the middle with Ilgauskas. A year and a half later, all of these are so called bad moves and Bron bron isnt helping the cause....

Amazing how one team can be built up so quick just to be picked apart just as quick

Gangsta D:

That happens all the time. The media builds players up to be things they aren't. Like when the Knicks signed jared jeffries, people were all "this guys is a defensive stopped." Really? based on what? If you say something enough, people will start to believe it. Damon Jones is John Starks without the lisp. He can hit shots, but he's streaky as hell. Larry had ONE good season in the pros. That doesn't mean he's gonna be Robin. But no matter what, it falls on Bron. He's got to elevate his game. The longer he goes without a championship, the louder the critics will get.

Da Realist:

i wrote out this elaborate rant about how the nba sucks and the quality isn't where it should be. then i figured i'd let you guys watch in peace without my "old fogey-ism".

i would like to say this. i've been watching the 1989 playoffs (from the bulls perspective, of course). anyway, during some of the games, they would mention the lakers because the lakers were usually the second of the double-header. all i keep thinking about is how we as fans were robbed that year. magic and byron going down DESTROYED the finals. the lakers went 57-25 and were 11-0 in playoffs. the pistons went 63-19 that year and were 11-2 heading into that matchup. i've always considered the 1988 finals to be the best finals matchup i've ever seen. 1989 had the potential to top it.

Gangsta D:

The thing is, the series was still pretty good, as far as sweeps go. The Lakers led games 2-4 going into the fourth quarter, WITHOUT they're starting backcourt. I have no doubts it would've been a great series. F**king Riles worked them to death, even though they destroyed Portland, Seattle, and Phoenix. First Byron goes out, then Magic. As soon as magic's hamstring popped, Showtime was wrapped.

Da Realist:

i've always been torn by the pat riley charge. did he work them too hard or was it just an unfortunate turn of events?

the lakers wrapped up the phoenix series before the bulls/pistons played game 4. that game was on may 27, which means the lakers wrapped up phoenix on may 26. the finals didn't start until june 4 that year. that's a long time to run soft drills and expect to play an angry, physical detroit piston team bent on revenge. i don't know...

Waldini:

That's a good question. All I know is a team that goes 11-0 then "suddenly" loses 4 straight, something had to be wrong. People forget how good that '89 team was....Of course the '90 team goes out in shocking fashion to a Phx team that sees KJ goes bananas on Magic.

Da Realist:

i already know how you guys think, but at the time i didn't think anyone was going to beat that piston team -- especially y'all after the year before. now that may just be my (sometimes) pessimistic side talking because i was rooting heavily for the lakers that year. but the pistons went 25-1 before taking their foot off the gas late in the year and the only 2 games they lost were to michael jordan. i know the pistons barely won games 2-4 but that's how they played. they never ran over anyone. they wore teams down. they were the basketball version of andre agassi. you're in every set, but you lose 6-7 5-7 4-6. for what it's worth, i've met more people that believe the pistons were closer to the 3-pete ('88, '89, '90) than the lakers ('87, '88, '89).

but i will concede that the lakers never got an honest chance to defend their championship or go for the 3-pete. and that's the tragedy of it all. we don't know either way.

Gangsta D:

There's running hard practices, then there's acting like Mussolini. Supposedly Riles was a slave driver during those practices because he didn't want the team to lose their edge. Instead, they lost their STARTING backcourt. I will admit it's a lot easier to take shots at Riles now after the heat fiasco of the past four years. this team sucks-I don't wanna coach, oh wait we're good-I wanna coach, etc. What's the over/under on the number of games it takes for his hip to flare up if Wade opts for surgery? And can I say, no way do you get in a wheelchair when you have a shoulder injury! What was that about?!?

Da Realist:

damn you're harsh! now had that been kobe...

Gangsta D:

That's cause Kobe wouldn't have gone off in a wheelchair! "D-Wade is so tough. He's so tough!" Pfft I say....

Waldini:

I'm not one to defend the Heat but it is a dislocated shoulder. You aint about to just step back onto the court immediately whether you have surgery or not.

Speaking of the Heat, do you find this decade starting to mirror the 70s somewhat. You have two teams that dominated the early half (Spurs and Lakers vs Knicks and Lakers in 70s) and then a bunch of one timers (Pistons, Heat vs Warriors, Sonics, Bullets, Blazers) that rounded out the rest of the decade. The way it looks now, the Mavs will win it all but I dont see them as a dynasty type team. You're right realist, the NBA is truly down. People can hate on the Shaq-Kobe lakers all they want but in their prime, they would have MOPPED the floor with these pretenders including everybody's favorites in dallas and phx...

Gangsta D:

Sure you don't go back on the court, but do you need a wheelchair to get to the locker room? That's all I'm saying.

What are you talking about? Phoenix is as good as Showtime:)

Waldini:

Ok, I see you on that point. I thought you were talking about him playing through pain.

Yea every team is good as Showtime....when I am playing as them on my PS2
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