HoopsVibe's Quick Call: It's here.
After a multiple day wait, game one of the NBA Finals between the Boston Celtics and Los Angeles Lakers is finally here. To celebrate HoopsVibe News has a video preview to get you hyped (originally found on dimemag.com). Watch the clip and get at us with thoughts in the comment box below.
Kobe Byrant may be better than Michael Jordan, but the public may not ever let him believe it. The unfortunate truth for Kobe is he can never be Michael because he isn't thought of as likable as Jordan, also the greatest commercial pitchman ever for an athlete. ... "Let's say he does get two more rings," Tim Legler, the former player and now an ESPN analyst, said recently in a telephone interview. "Even if he doesn't win any more MVP awards, he will probably approach Kareem Abdul-Jabbar's all-time scoring record. You absolutely can make a valid argument for Kobe being the greatest ever when that happens. "But he will never be revered like Michael Jordan will be revered," Legler added.
HoopsVibe's Very Quick Call: Michael Jordan was a hero. Kobe Bryant is the anti-hero.
Jordan was one of a kind; an athlete who appealed to men and women, and transcended the NBA. He parlayed that appeal and likeability into a multi-million dollar fortune from sponsors.
Bryant is also unique. Fair or not, he's the villian. He's the 'bad guy' at the end of the movie, a select few cheer for, but most cheer against.
It's always been this way with Bryant. His fate was sealed at seventeen when he declared himself NBA ready at a press conference, where he donned Bono-esque shades on top of his dome. Months later, he made headlines by ditching his longtime girlfriend to take Moesha/Brandy to the prom.
Of course, we've all made mistakes and exercised poor judgement. Problem is, Bryant being in the public eye made himself a target. And by developing into the game's greatest player, he's become its greatest villain, too.
Is Bryant the NBA's anti-hero or villain? Get at us with thoughts in the comment box below.
HoopsVibe's Quick Call: Why do we love having the Lakers and Celtics in the NBA Finals?
Well, these two arch rivals have produced many epic moments. For instance, take game 4 of the 1987 NBA Finals. The great Magic Johnson won the match for the purple-and-gold with a last skyhook over Kevin McHale.
In the post game press conference, Hall of Famer Larry Bird conceded 'Magic was the greatest player he'd ever seen'.
Watch Magic's skyhook and let us know your favourite moment between the Lakers and Celtics?
Ron Artest beat the buzzer with a wild bank shot after rebounding Kobe Bryant's miss, and the Los Angeles Lakers beat the Phoenix Suns 103-101 on Thursday night to take a 3-2 lead in the Western Conference finals.
Bryant had 30 points, 11 rebounds and nine assists for the Lakers, but Artest was the improbable hero with just his second basket of the night.
HoopsVibe's Very Quick Call: Only in Los Angeles can Ron Artest go from goat to hero in mere moments.
With a minute left and the Lakers up three, Artest could have run time off the clock, but took and missed a deep jump shot.
Phoenix rebounded his miss and Jason Richardson tied the game with three seconds remaining on a desperation, bank shot three-pointer. The lockdown swing, however, redeemed himself by grabbing Bryant's miss, sinking a basket as time expired, and winning game five for the Lakers.
Artest's heroics position the purple-and-gold to advance to the NBA Finals, as they hold home court advantage.
Meanwhile, the Suns return to Phoenix knowing they missed a chance to steal a road game and close out the Western Conference Finals by winning game six at home.
During a post game interview, Artest had TNT broadcaster Craig Sager shout out his home of Queensbridge.Goats can't get away with such antics, but heroes, like Artest, can.
Got thoughts on Artest, the Lakers, and the Western Conference Finals? Come back to HoopsVibe News on Friday for more on L.A. and Phoenix.
"Chris Bosh's agent has told the Toronto Raptors that he's narrowed his list of preferred teams to five, two sources told ESPN.com's Chad Ford at the NBA draft camp.
Before he left Staples Center, Andrew Bynum stopped to chat with a locker room attendant, eager to describe what he witnessed from his spot on the bench late in Game 2 of the Western Conference finals.
“Man, I have never seen anyone ever dominated a guy for six straight minutes like Pau did tonight,” Bynum said. “I mean, never. It was incredible.”
HoopsVibe Call: As Andrew Bynum noted, there's nothing Pau Gasol can't do when healthy and focused.
The Spanish post missed the early portion of the year with a leg injury and even went public with his frustration over touches and shots.
However, as his game two performance showed, Gasol is hitting his stride at exactly the right time. And his fine play puts the Los Angeles Lakers on track to repeat as world champions.
Are the Lakers unbeatable when Gasol brings his A-game? Get at us in the comment box below with thoughts.
Paul Pierce scored 28 points, Rajon Rondo had 25 and the Boston Celtics again avoided a late collapse to take a commanding lead in the Eastern Conference finals with a 95-92 victory over the Orlando Magic on Tuesday night.
Boston bullied and bruised its way to a 2-0 series lead on the road against a Magic team that had won 14 straight until this series. The Celtics held the Magic to 39 percent shooting.
HoopsVibe's Quick Call: The Boston Celtics - the team most 'experts' pronounced dead at mid season - are two wins from advancing to the NBA Finals because of defense.
The green-and-white's ability to get-stops at home and, most importantly, on the road gives them a chance in every game. And great teams, world champions, have to be able to grind out wins in the other team's barn.
The Celtics, with a 2-0 lead in the Eastern Conference Finals, have done exactly that against the Magic. And there's no reason they couldn't do the same against either the Los Angeles Lakers or Phoenix Suns.
Boston, with a still relevant Big Three and rapidly developing Rajon Rondo, could very well raise their eighteenth championship banner this June. Not bad for a supposedly dead team.
Could the Boston Celtics really win it all this year? Get at HoopsVibe News with thoughts in Comment box below.
"Even though he missed, that totally gets a "wowee we wa" from this guy. The miss was so good that people immediately started calling it the best missed dunk of all-time. You be the judge. Either way, I'd offer up that this missed dunk provided some of the most amazing pictures in the history of dunking."
(Ball Don’t Lie)
HoopsVibe’s Call: It made you stand, shake your head, and curse in amazement.
Last night, in the final frame of the Los Angeles Lakers' blow-out win against the Phoenix Suns, Shannon Brown wowed the crowd with a missed dunk.
Yes, a blown facial is making headlines after a disappointing game one. Some, like Ball Don’t Lie, proclaimed it The Greatest Missed Dunk of All Time.
While HoopsVibe News was amazed, impressed, and stunned with Brown’s attempt, we weren’t quite ready to hand over G.O.A.T status.
Instead we’ll pit Brown against Vince Carter's body of work and let you decide who had the greatest missed dunk ever?
(Brown’s blown jam.)
(Carter's career best misses.)
Who has the greatest botched dunk of all time: Brown or Carter? Let us know in the comment box below.
Can Lamar Odom's 19 points and 19 rebounds in the Los Angeles Lakers' 128-107 win in Game 1 of the Western Conference finals be attributed to something as trivial as his uniform number, lucky No. 7?
Phoenix's Amar'e Stoudemire seems to think so.
Odom barely batted an eyelash when told about Stoudemire's claim after the Lakers finished practice.
"So be it," Odom said. "Hopefully I can have another lucky one."
HoopsVibe's Call: The game behind the game is in full effect.
Instead of Los Angeles Lakers coach Phil Jackson making random references about the cowbells of Sacramento or the state of Arizona's immigrations laws, the Phoenix Suns' Amar'e Stoudemire surprisingly took a swipe at forward Lamar Odom.
The reason: Stoudemire knows Odom, specifically his length, presents problems for the Suns, so he's trying to gain any possible edge against the man, Odom, who made cameos in Jadakiss videos and Entourage episodes.
We'll see if STAT's strategy pays dividends in game two on Wednesday evening.
Got thoughts on Stoudemire calling out Odom? Get at us in the comment box below.
HoopsVibe's Thoughts: Seven Seconds Or Less is getting defensive.
Literally.
Word is the Phoenix Suns are planning to start physical post Robin Lopez against the Los Angeles Lakers and finesse-four Pau Gasol in the Western Conference Finals.
Lopez, who is on the mend from injury, provides the Suns with their most physical presence since Raja Bell. Of course, a few years back, Bell made his bones against Kobe Bryant and the Lakers in the Western Conference playoffs.
Will Lopez, an equally spirited player, get under the skin of the purple-and-gold like Bell?
Get at HoopsVibe News with thoughts in the comment box below.
The 36-year-old Nash is averaging 17.8 points and 9.0 assists per game in the postseason after averaging 13.8 points and 9.0 assists in four regular-season games against L.A.
After a thoroughly unpleasant evening of basketball, Carlos Boozer must have been fairly keen to climb into his ride and get home quickly. Sadly, that wasn't an option for him last night after his Jazz were eliminated from the playoffs by the Lakers in a sweep. Before he could make it to the parking lot from his post-game obligations, this tweet from the LAL media guy showed up:
And the driver of the media bus just backed into one of the Jazz's Escalades... doin' damage on our way out of SLC!! - @tynowell
Shortly thereafter, this tweet followed:
And.... it's Carlos Boozer's Escalade. That's an even more unfortunate ending to his evening. - @tynowell
Ugh. Sorry, Carlos.
"It looked nasty," Bryant said. "My form's more like Chris Mullin ... I would have called a timeout [if my shooting elbow was hurting me]."
The first Tweet read: "So many media tried to blow up the comments. Lol Me and Phil are it's just healthier being direct to me rather than media first." He posted several other times before wrapping up his thoughts on the subject with a two-part Tweet.
"I'm always surprised when he's not on it," Odom said. "He should be put on it every year. He's one guy you should kind of stamp down for that. I don't know who plays better defense, especially at the forward position. ... I wish the players picked."
Could it be any plainer? Bosh is a technologically savvy fellow whose gift for self-promotion and attention-grabbing on the web has been as deliberate and well-orchestrated as his rise in basketball. Short of offering to wax Bryant’s Bentley with a balled-up Raptors jersey, it looks like a dead giveaway.
"I enjoy the challenge," Bryant said of checking Westbrook. "He's been playing sensational, and if we're going to be eliminated I don't want to go into the summer thinking I could've done something about it, so i accepted the challenge."
Yikes. I saw something similar when I tore a ligament in my ankle, only the purple-and-black cloud eventually ended up eclipsing two-thirds of my foot, with the upper extremity of the bruise creeping out of my sock. The discolouration itself wasn't painful to the touch, but it was still disconcerting to see that my ankle looked like an eggplant. Still, the fact that it dissipated quite quickly encouraged me during the early stages of my rehab, and it should do the same for Machine. Credit to Lakers.com for the image of Sasha Vujacic's unsightly ankle after his recent injury.
"We're all kind of fighting to try get our position or move up and nobody is giving any ground to anybody else," he said.
"I tell our guys, 'You want to be great?' That's how you become great," Gentry said.
"Jellybean's" coaching career took him all over....from an assistant at his alma mater, Lasalle University to head coach of the WNBA’s L.A. sparks.
