| 02 December 2008
Perhaps you're relatively new to the website and you're wondering why there is a special "Thanksgiving Weekend Edition" of some article called, "NBA Happenings." Perhaps you're about to start looking for previous editions of this so-called NBA Happenings article because you think that you've been missing out on a regular thing. Look no further. This is something that was started last season and only updated once or twice. Is it a regular thing? Not really. Should it be? Possibly. Will it be? Depends on how lazy I am.
The reason for this article is to keep up with stuff that we've missed mentioning within the past week or two. With the Thanksgiving Weekend, we decided to take a couple of days off from the daily grind and recharge our battery. In doing so, we missed covering one of the most entertaining stretches of NBA world that we've seen in a long time. So without anymore delay and back-peddling for our laziness, here are the recent NBA happenings:
New York Knicks Explode and then Implode
On Saturday night, the Knicks and the Warriors hooked up for what looked to be an entertaining game when you just consider the offensive and defensive numbers. The Knicks and the Warriors are second and third in the league in scoring, respectively. New York and Golden State are first and third in the NBA in field goals attempted per game and 29th and 30th in field goals attempted by their opponents, all respectively of course. The Knicks and the Warriors also give up 108.8 and 109.1 points per game, respectively, which is damn near historic. So when you saw this on the schedule for the weekend, it looked like it should be an entertaining game.
The final score was 138-124. In four quarters. They combined for 262 points in 48 minutes. They each took at least 100 shots and combined for 206 attempts in the ball game. And in such a frantic game at such a break-neck pace, they only combined for 32 turnovers. The Knicks had 82 points at half and 116 after three quarters. To say that it was entertaining is as big of an understatement as saying that It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia is a pretty good show. Not only did the Knicks put up 138 points and shoot 51% from the field, they had two individual career-best games that set fantasy basketball on fire. Chris Duhon only scored 12 points but managed to dish out 22 assists. David Lee was the recipient of seven of those assists and finished with an Elgin Baylor-like 37 points and 21 rebounds. And the crazy thing is that they did all of this with just seven players thanks to Stephon Marbury's refusal to be a functioning member of basketball society.
That lead to Quentin Richardson roasting Marbury over the coals with a post-game statement that went something like this:
The way the situation is, I don't consider him my teammate. He hasn't played with us all year. He doesn't want to play with us. This is the second time. I don't look at him as a teammate. Teammates don't do that, regardless what's going on with the coach. You don't do that to teammates. We were basically left out there.
I seen him always saying I haven't done anything personal to us. Regardless of whoever he's trying to stick it to, at the end of the day, we're being left out there. We're shorthanded, we're hurt and people are still playing banged up pretty bad. He's the furthest thing from my mind now.
Oh, speaking of Stephon Marbury...
Stephon Marbury Is Talking Again
Marbury lashed back out at the Knicks, Quentin Richardson and the decision to not play him and then suspend him when he didn't want to join his teammates against the Warriors. Let's get his comments out of the way. This is from the NY Post:
I sat there for three weeks and didn't say one word. Why isn't Stephon Marbury playing? This is a good system for him, even to play with the second unit and bring more firepower.
When things got bad and then worse, guys like Quentin Richardson say, `I don't consider him a teammate. He let his teammates out to dry.' He didn't care I was his teammate when I was banished. They left me out for dead. It's like we're in a foxhole and I'm facing the other way. If I got shot in the head, at least you want to get shot by the enemy. I got shot in the head by my own guys in my foxhole. And they didn't even give me an honorable death.
Mike had no intentions of me playing basketball here. He gave me straight disrespect. It was beyond disrespect. He put in (Danilo) Gallinari, whose back is messed up and (who) didn't participate at all in training camp ahead of me (in the season opener). ... That's saying, `I'm letting you have it right now.' He was sticking it to me.
He (D'Antoni) knew I was in my contract year and did everything they asked me to do. He's not trying to help me. He's trying to hurt me.
Now, I'm not an expert with military tactics and I'm certainly not a history buff when it comes to World Wars but I've played enough Call of Duty to know that you simply don't face the wrong way in a foxhole if you're any kind of competent soldier. If you're faced backwards in a foxhole then you're most likely sitting in a lounging position while your fellow soldiers (teammates) are taking the brunt of the assault.
As for Steph, it feels like he's beginning to get the Ray Pruitt treatment from his team. As many of you remember, Ray Pruitt was unfairly outcast and down-trodden on Beverly Hills 90210 after he did what 98% of their viewers wanted someone to do, which was push Tori Spelling down a flight of stairs. Marbury did a similar thing, which was help tear down the Isiah Thomas era in New York so that they could get rid of the figure head and move on in a positive direction. He did what the fans wanted and yet he's being treated like he's a big a-hole for doing so. Now, Marbury just wants his team and his coach to give him a chance to play and show that he still belongs in the elite of the NBA. He just wants a fair chance to let his NBA version of How Do You Talk to an Angel hit the charts and be a success.
So what's next for Stephon? I think they'll come to an agreement and release him from the Knicks with the stipulations that he can't sign with most Eastern Conference defenders. Personally, I'd make him sit the entire year, earn his paycheck, and go sign with a team next season. I wouldn't allow him the privilege of playing in the NBA this year. But then again, I hated Jamie Walters' show The Heights and I hate Stephon Marbury.
Devin Harris Deserves to Start the All-Star Game
I don't know how many guesses it would take you to figure out who is fourth in the NBA in scoring but it took me roughly 20 before I gave up and checked the numbers online. And coming in at a blistering 25.3 points per game is the New Jersey Nets' point guard, Devin Harris. I even tried to make a case for Ronny Turiaf before I got to the Nets newest phenom. Not only has Harris made the Mavericks move for Jason Kidd look like one of the most one-sided deals in NBA history but he's also looking like a Top 5 point guard in the NBA right now. In fact, you could easily argue that other than Chris Paul nobody has played the point guard position better than Devin Harris this season.
So will voters notice his incredible play and give him a starting spot in the All-Star game in Phoenix this February? Unfortunately, it probably won't happen. For a long time, I've had a huge problem with the All-Star balloting system because it rarely gives you two starting fives that are worthy and deserving of starting the All-Star game. Vince Carter has started way more times than his effort would mandate. Yao Ming started the game well before he ever deserved to go. Hell, even Kobe Bryant benefited from being a fan favorite at a young age when he certainly didn't deserve to play along the best in the NBA. Devin Harris will definitely make the All-Star team in the East. But he'll most likely lose out to someone like Joe Johnson, Vince Carter, or even Allen Iverson. And that shows fans should not be trusted with something so pivotal/trivial.
Detroit Pistons Are Tom Pettying Themselves
The Pistons are flat out free falling right now, out into playoff-limbo. They are no longer a legit power in the Eastern Conference and certainly can't fool anybody outside of Motown that they can win a championship. This may seem extreme considering they're still 8-6 since the Iverson trade and they are still tied for fourth in the Eastern Conference in terms of record but their play is so inconsistent that it's hard to take them seriously as a title contender.
They've won in Toronto and then been blown out by Boston at home. They've won the first three games of a four-game road trip, including the Lakers only loss on the season, and then followed that up by being blown out by the Suns. They've beaten the Cavs at home and on the next night looked like a lottery team on the Celtics' floor. They've been blown out by a terrible Wolves team and then followed up that up by knocking off a hot Knicks team.
So why are they so hit or miss? They don't have the point guard they feed off of and they have no one to properly lead this team on offense. Richard Hamilton looks like Ian Zeiring trying to carry BH 90210 without Jason Priestley on staff (I can't guarantee that this will be the last 90210 reference but I'll try to try not to use another one). He's completely lost on the court and is one more poor job of A.I. getting him the ball in a position to score from trying to decapitate his new teammate with his mask. Now, Tayshaun Prince has come out and expressed his displeasure with having to be the point guard on offense. If this team can't figure out an identity soon, we might see Rasheed Wallace kill Michael Curry during a 20-second timeout.
San Antonio Spurs Are Back to Full Strength
Okay, the teams of the NBA really screwed themselves over by letting Tim Duncan, some guy named Roger Mason, Jr., and Matt Bonner carry an overly-injured Spurs team through the first month of the season with an above-.500 record. The Spurs have endured with a roster that didn't have Manu Ginobili for almost an entire month and a rotation that didn't have Tony Longoria or Manu available for their arsenal for a an extended period of time. And all the Spurs did was rebound from a terrible start, maintain their competitiveness enough to win some ball games that they probably shouldn't have, and keep treading water until their star backcourt returned.
Now that Mr. Longoria and his Argentinean counterpart are completely healthy, the Spurs bench all of a sudden doesn't look so pathetic and thin. They now have one of the 10 best players in the league coming off the pine to team with one of the five best point guards in the league. They've gotten the annual "Are the Spurs too old" articles out of the way early and look ready to make a push towards the upper tier of the Western Conference. Why do these teams keep letting these guys fly under the radar? Why are they allowed to coast for months until the playoffs start approaching? We're all going to look pretty dumb if they veteranize the league and win the title this year against improbable odds.
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