This is a special feature from guest blogger Christopher Sells.

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar isn’t bitter about Robert Horry breaking his record for most playoff games played. This is refreshing because so many older players seem to forget that records are made to be broken and that the record they hold was once held by someone else.

While Kareem isn’t upset, he does want you to know that Horry has had a slight advantage.

“When I started playing, the playoffs were another round shorter. It was fewer games. But that’s just an incredible performance (by Horry), in terms of being on winning teams and helping them to go as far as they go.”

There is talk that Horry has just been in the right place at the right time each year, allowing him to play each year of his 16-year career for a team that advanced past the first round of the playoffs and to pick up seven rings along the way.
 

I’d listen to that argument more if Horry hadn’t been a solid contributor for his entire career and hit more big shots than I can even list. Let the man have his record. Even if he is passed over for the Hall of Fame, which some say is a certainty, at least his name will remain written in the record books.

Until someone comes along and breaks said record, anyway.

[image:http://farm1.static.flickr.com/15/21175973_2b151b359d_m.jpg]

This is a special feature from guest blogger Christopher Sells.

2007-08 NBA ALL-ROOKIE FIRST TEAM

2007-08 NBA ALL-ROOKIE SECOND TEAM

The NBA announced its All-Rookie teams yesterday, as voted on by the head coaches. Coaches were not permitted to vote for their own players, because they’d probably all pick their own players.

I might have elevated Moon over Thornton or Green for being a starter on a playoff team, but after the first three players, it’s really a crapshoot.

Horford was the only unanimous selection to the first team. Someone honestly thought that there were five rookies who had a better season than Durant. Two coaches didn’t even include Scola on their ballot, another cast him as a second teamer. Ridiculous to me, but who know what those individuals were thinking.

[image:http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2021/2109004142_6fe03acf09_m.jpg]

This is a special feature from guest blogger Christopher Sells.

Being a fan of the Rockets, I’ve had to learn how to watch playoff basketball objectively. This is because my team will probably not be in the second round. This has been true for the last ten years. As such, I’ve had a lot of practice watching without picking sides.

With that being said, I really want the San Antonio Spurs to lose.

To be clear, I actually don’t mind the team itself. I appreciate Tim Duncan’s so-called “boring,” but incredibly efficient game. I really admire Tony Parker’s ability to get to the rim almost at will and to push the ball up the court at breakneck speed and create for his teammates. While Manu Ginobili flops too much for my tastes, he’s crafty with the ball, hits big shots and gives all-out effort any time he’s on the floor. Also, despite everyone in the building knowing that he is going to go left, he still is able to go left. I like the team’s defense, their ball movement and their selflessness.

But I can’t stand their fans. And the sooner the Spurs lose, the sooner I can be spared their fans’ incessant fellating of the team.

Quick geography lesson: I live in Austin, which is about an hour north of San Antonio. Being so close to the city, everyone seems to adore the Spurs. They have insignias on their rear windows, flags on their cars, T-shirts, jerseys, hats, you name it, all declaring their undying love for the team. This is not the problem. I admire their loyalty, actually. It’s nice to see fans get behind their team like that, win or lose.

The problem is that these fans lack any sort of rational objectivity. It’s a peeve of mine that I’ve addressed in past writings. In the eyes of their fans, the Spurs can do no wrong. If you ask one of them, the team has never committed a foul, doesn’t whine, gets cheated by the league, doesn’t travel, is never outplayed, etc. It’s infuriating.

Guess what Spurs fan? Manu, Bruce Bowen and Fabricio Oberto flop. A lot. Bowen is probably a dirty player. There’s enough video floating around YouTube to make a strong argument. Your team whines way too much. Are we to believe that the Spurs have somehow achieved perfection and are justified in their complaints every time the whistle blows against them? Parker is not fouled every time he drives to the basket. Sometimes he’s out of control or he jumps into other players. And that three that Duncan hit to tie the game against the Suns in the first round? He traveled. Watch the video. That is a lesson in how not to set your feet. 

Despite their shortcomings—and every team has them, by the way—the Spurs have proven themselves to be very involved in their community, doing lots of positive things in San Antonio and even in Austin. Their performance on the court cannot be questioned, evidenced by their four titles in nine years. I read all the time about the family atmosphere the team employs and the unselfishness that has enabled them to build their dynasty.

I actually want this to make its way to some Spurs fans because I want to test a theory. Despite me saying that I respect the team and the way they play, I’ll get called a Spurs hater. Because any time you’re not praising the team, you’re apparently wrong. So let’s hear it, Spurs Fan. I’m ready for it.

In fact, let me say this in closing: GO HORNETS GO. And thanks for Luis Scola.

[image:http://farm1.static.flickr.com/220/523199144_5e029ad8ab_m.jpg]

This is a special feature from guest blogger Christopher Sells.

I am pretty sure I’ve never cursed at my mom. There have been a few times that I may have been feeding her a direct quote from someone else that required me to give out a word, but I just can’t fathom saying some things to her.

Clearly, LeBron James and I have different views on this subject.

In case you’ve missed it—and I have a hard time believing that you have—James had some choice words for his mom during a dust-up in the second quarter of last night’s game. You can watch that below. Even if you’re not an expert lip-reader, it’s pretty clear what’s being said. And he says it at least twice.

Gloria James has always been front and center at her son’s games. Her fandom (fanhood?) is probably rivaled only by Ann Iverson. Like many parents these days, she may possibly have been a bit more into the game than she should have been. I can imagine that the line “Let go of my baby” or some variant of was screamed during the incident. To preserve a bit of his dignity, and maybe to keep her out of trouble with men who are much larger than she, LeBron probably had to tell her that she should take her seat. Forcefully.

[image: http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2050/1878681171_8dbff600f1_m.jpg]

This is a special feature from guest blogger Christopher Sells.

This is a special feature from guest blogger Christopher Sells.

This took a little longer than I thought it would, but it’s here. Playoff guarantee time!

This year’s contestant is Jameer Nelson. After Orlando gave one away Saturday to the Pistons, Nelson told the press, “I’m not being arrogant or cocky or anything like that… We’re going to win this game in Detroit.”

Alright, Magic. Time to make good on that prediction. Otherwise, people will point out that they said it and couldn’t do it. Sure, they’ll be on the road. Yes, Chauncey Billups might play. But you’ve got to have confidence, even if there’s a good chance you’re wrong.

I, unlike a lot of people, don’t have any issue with someone telling the press that they are going to win their next game. I don’t think it gives the other team any sort of fuel or extra motivation, it’s just you saying out loud what you say in the locker room. If players were walking around telling everyone that they’d lose, what kind of message would that be sending?

And, for the record, I don’t think Orlando stands that good of a chance. Missed opportunities come back to haunt you in the playoffs. You really should take advantage of the chances you get, because there’s a good chance you won’t get them in an elimination game on the road.

[image:http://farm1.static.flickr.com/221/465327287_fddef9eac6_m.jpg]

This is a special feature from guest blogger Christopher Sells.

Road wins seem to be hard to come by this round.

Since the conference semifinals began, only one team, Detroit yesterday by one point, has managed a road win. There have been close calls, but the home team has won with irregular regularity.

It’s been said that a series never truly begins until a team wins on the road. If that’s the case, only one series has started. Even after each series ended up with the home team up 2-0, it appears that the weekend might end with all but one series tied. All of those murmurs about how a series was over because of how the home team dominated now seem silly and premature.

So as we head down the stretch, there are questions to be answered. Will Boston ever win a road game? Can Utah take some of their home success on the road to Los Angeles? Will San Antonio squander a large second quarter lead to allow the Hornets to take a stranglehold on the series?

Stay tuned.

This is a special feature from guest blogger Christopher Sells.

Well, that didn’t take long.

Mike D’Antoni has reportedly chosen the money and will be the next coach of the New York Knicks. The good news is that he can’t do any worse than Isiah Thomas. The bad news is that the team he will have at his disposal is hardly capable of executing his game plan.

 
D’Antoni will go from Steve Nash to Stephon Marbury. From Shaquille O’Neal to Eddy Curry. From Amare Stoudemire to Zach Randolph. And, probably, from 55 wins to maybe 30, if the season is a success. But at least he’ll be getting paid handsomely to do it. The numbers that are being thrown around will make him the league third-highest paid coach, behind championship machines Phil Jackson and Gregg Popovich.

 
If you’re a Knick fan, you should certainly be happy. D’Antoni was probably the best coach on the market. However, the team’s payroll and the players attached to it will make it difficult to do any sort of maneuvering right away.

 
Well, Knick fans, how do you feel? Is this the right move? Was there someone better?

[image:http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3028/2454839124_7e37d6d5a7_m.jpg]

This is a special feature from guest blogger Christopher Sells.

It’s nice to be wanted.

The New York Knicks have offered Mike D’Antoni a four-year contract worth $24 million, according to ESPN. The Bulls want him for their coaching job as well, but reportedly can’t offer him the type of money that the Knicks can.

Even though both teams missed the playoffs last year, the Bulls were not even close to matching the circus that was the Knicks last year. A fired coach, a midseason trade, some disputes between players and players and players and coaches, players who turned down contract extensions… All of this still doesn’t compete with a coach found guilty of sexual harassment leading (or not leading, depending on your perspective) the team to a mere 23 wins before being allowed to stay with the franchise as a consultant who isn’t allowed to have contact with the team’s players.

So if you’re D’Antoni, you get to decide whether you want to take the money or go with the team that would give you a better chance to win sooner. Of course, if winning were an issue, why leave Phoenix? Yes, the Shaq trade was questionable, but you still won 50+ games. Surely a summer used to get some free agents and a training camp with the team together would only improve things.

While Chicago and New York are the teams at the forefront of all of this, there are rumors that other teams like Toronto also could vie for D’Antoni’s services. Apparently a coach that hasn’t won anything in the postseason but puts fans in the seats with his run and gun philosophy can command the market like this.

We’ll just have to wait and see what D’Antoni wants to do.

[image: http://www.flickr.com/photos/joshua_schlag/]

This is a special feature from guest blogger Christopher Sells.

According to many, including a pretty good number of former NBA players, the league has gone soft. Players today are accused of not being tough and shying away from the contact that made basketball what it was in the late 80s and in the 90s.

The NBA used to have enforcers. It wasn’t stated that these guys were on the roster just to muscle guys around, but it wasn’t said that they weren’t. You knew that if you were messing with Isiah Thomas, James Edwards, Bill Laimbeer and John Salley would be out to greet you shortly. You knew that if you drove the lane on the Knicks that Charles Oakley would be there to help reacquaint you with the floor. It was just the way it was. Playoff basketball was a different story altogether. You hear commentators and analysts referring to “good, hard playoff fouls” on TV now, but things are tame compared to what they used to be.

By my count, there have been 14 flagrant foul calls in this year’s playoffs. We’re midway through the second round, before the games really start to ramp up in importance, and referees are making it very clear that if you want to foul someone, you’d better be nice about it.

"I know Michael Jordan is sitting at home right now pouting because they didn’t protect him,” he said. “There wasn’t no bigger star than him, and he took some banging. But he got through it. That’s why he got considered the best player to pick up a basketball."

Cassell is right. The Pistons did things to Jordan and his teammates that would get you arrested if you did them on the street. And the Bulls would just fight right back.

Maybe not, but it has also never been this soft.

[For evidence of what Chris is talking about, check out the clip below and see if you don’t agree that things were different back in the day. - CYE]

[image:http://farm1.static.flickr.com/17/20039330_aabc965f1c_m.jpg]