Bullying the NBA's Big Man For Failing to Win the Big One

Posted written by the newest Le Basketbawl writer, Olivier Gibbons.

Newly minted NBA champion Kevin Garnett shrieked uncontrollably following his Celtics' clinching victory over the Lakers.

And with good reason. The 11-time All-Star who never previously played in the finals, is now crowned champion. And his face will soon adorn a special edition Wheaties Box honoring the Boston Celtics. Never mind the Big Ticket has appeared on two Wheaties boxes before, now he can truly take his place among The Breakfast of Champions.

"You're sort of, kind of shook, because you know what, you just knocked the bully out and you don't know how he's going to come back," a highly charged Garnett told reporters.

The career-long bully Garnett finally got off his back is winning the NBA Championship. It is the same bully that tormented NBA greats Charles Barkley, Patrick Ewing, and Karl Malone right into retirement. Despite its best efforts to win, the trio of big men always fell a little short of a title, mostly due to the brilliance of Michael Jordan.

Fair or not, Garnett is now in a different class than his predecessors. Never again will he have to explain why he failed to win a championship. Those questions continue to dogg Barkley, Ewing and Malone.

Yet a closer look, reveals that, maybe, big men are unfairly signaled out for coming up small when it matters most. Consider the case of Malone, an MVP and part of that dynamic duo of John Stockton to Malone. If the latter is generally regarded as the best power forward to ever play, Stockton is one of the best point guards of all time. In fact, Stockton holds the record for most assists and steals in a career. But while Stockton is lauded for being an expert passer and tough little guy, Malone gets the label of playoff choker, who was undeserving of his MVP.

Want other examples of big men getting all the criticism compared with their brethren of smaller superstars? Take Ewing and Reggie Miller, whose teams engaged in legendary Eastern Conference battles. While Ewing brought much of the criticism onto himself by guaranteeing a title, when's the last time you heard anyone say "Reggie's a great player but he never won a championship."?

Miller hit as many clutch shots as almost anyone in NBA history. But if you're going to blame Ewing for not delivering the Knicks a championship, Miller's got to take some responsibility for not leading Indiana to the Promised Land.

And why does two-time MVP Steve Nash get a free pass for coming up short year after year? His teams are among the most talented in the league yet he's never even played in The Finals. Meanwhile, his former Dallas Mavericks teammate and buddy Dirk Nowitzki, who has at least played in The Finals since Nash signed with Phoenix, is gaining a reputation for playing soft and timid in the playoffs.

Allen Iverson, one of the best little men to play the game, is criticized for a lot of things but never for his inability to win a championship. Not that he ever had a good supporting cast as a 76er, but he now plays in Denver, alongside Carmelo Anthony and Marcus Camby. Though Iverson's been in the league for 12 seasons, he's escaped the brunt of criticism seemingly reserved for the NBA behemoths.

So while many observers commend Garnett for finally winning a title, the next time you hear about an NBA Big Man who can't win the big one, keep in mind he just might be playing with a future Hall of Fame point guard who isn't getting it done either.

An Attempt at Recognizing Paul Pierce as the MVP

The overly obvious and predictable happened last night. Paul Pierce walked away with the NBA Finals MVP trophy. Of course many of you know my pick for the MVP (*Cough* Ray Allen), but also to many of you, my pick seemed completely unreasonable and bias. Hmm. Well here is my attempt to understand why Paul Pierce took home the gold after the Celtics won their 17th NBA Championship. (These will all be followed by question marks because I still need some answers.)

• He has played his entire career in a Boston uniform?
  

• He won 24 hours of ESPN time by using the greatest prop in recent history, a wheel chair?


• He scored 38 points in…in a losing effort?


• He shot 43% from the field while my pick shot 51%, but that’s ok because he must have been playing really solid defense?


• He went 2-14 in a game 3 loss, but that also doesn’t matter when your knee is probably hurting from game 1 and a long flight?


• Setting records for 3 pointers made in the NBA Finals is a meaningless stat?


• Hurting his knee is more of a feel good story than my pick’s child’s diabetes diagnosis?


• He has a really neat nickname that Commissioners can use to gain respect back after being booed?
  

And the last reason I can think of…

• Obviously Jesus has won enough praise and didn’t need an NBA Finals MVP trophy?

"Michelle you look great tonight girl!"

I love Kevin Garnett but he officially scared the hell out of me tonight! Did you see Michelle Tafoya trying to interview him right after the buzzer sounded at half court? He went off on some crazy rant, looked at the camera with evil eyes, told Michelle she "looked great" and then screamed really loud in to the air. It was freakin' amazing! I just about hid under my blanket in fear while laughing hysterically.



And did you notice the tape delay on the game? ABC/ESPN clearly understood that KG has the filthiest mouth on the planet and also knew there would be way too many mics surrounding him. When the 3 stars for Boston went to the bench with 5+ minutes to go, the cameras kept panning over to the bench to get as many shot as possible of Ray, Paul and Kevin. Not such a good idea I would say.

The announcers would be in mid-sentence with the cameras on KG when the sound would just cut out for 10 seconds at a time and all you could see was Garnett's mouth running 100 MPH giving us some of the rowdiest lip-reading you could ask for.

Then the game ended and the 3 met at half court for another solid 10 second silent performance. It just kept happening and kept happening and I just kept laughing my ass off. Good work on the delay ESPN. Did I mention that KG scares me?

If anyone has video of this, I'd love to have it!

More adjustable in-ground basketball goals!

And thank you Alex of Basketball Notes by Alex (NBATipoff.com) for the video this morning!

The NBA Finals...Flickr'd

I love Flickr and all the craziness that people feel the need to put up and make public on it. We took some time to see what kinds of crazy pictures its users threw up from their Finals experiences and stumbled across some whacky stuff, that's for sure.

Of course we had to throw in some commentary to go with these; enjoy.

Another chip for another Boston sports team?

"Hide!" "Where?!?" "Behind the giant trophy of course!"

Game 1 and a magical picture.

Where's your wheel chair Pauly?

What a hot-mess.

Lester gettin' some much deserved, cancer free love!

A little premature?

Who doesn't love some constructive fan activities?

So right. They should have added in "weak".

Front page of Digg-worthy?

Tough to "Rondo" anyone from the bench isn't it?

Hollywood!

It's good to be JT isn't it?

Who's the guy with him? Can't bum $15 from Key for a new haistyle?

The Incredible Hulk did open and appears to be as big of a bore...

Game 6! Tiger should have been the cover.

Lakers have "Koombayah Meeting" with a "Peace Pipe"

Kobe was fun, airy and sarcastic about a peace pipe during an interview yesterday, but still said "this thing is far from over." I'm not sure I completely agree with him, but I'm hoping he or the refs can at least extend it out a couple more games.

I will say, as I watched this interview, this doesn't seem like the Kobe we grew accustomed to all season long. This one has become a little goofy and also seems to be lacking the killer instinct that resurrected an entire franchise. I've been bagging on the role players all series long, but when do I start holding the MVP accountable? Now.

It's time Kobe! How many posts have I written in the last week predicting you to blow up and score 40, 50, or 60+? I wanted something to remember from this NBA Finals, I wanted the comparisons of Jordan to continue because it really pisses people off, I wanted people to debate whether or not you were in the top 5 of all-time NBA players because I love controversy, and I just wanted more damn basketball. If you don't come out, distribute, score and squirm your face like you mean it I'm going to...cry.

Maybe you should come out tonight in the old no. 8 jersey? Maybe you should put on the short throwback shorts? Maybe you should pull out a newspaper clipping of the Colorado incident? At this point, you just need to do something, Kobe, that will give you some of that fire back. I don't want the joking, fun, and sarcastic Kobe that is down 3 games to 1. I want the Mamba.

Ray Allen says "Hello Finals MVP!"

Not only can Ray Allen claim the honor that comes with placing on our pretty boy list, but he’ll soon be able to call himself the NBA Finals MVP. What the hell would the Celtics do without Ray Ray? Did anyone actually see that reverse baseline lay-up last night in the clutch? That biz was Dr. J’ish and I’m still not sure how he hung long enough to skip that off the backboard. (Time to go see if Odenized posted this clip…)



And then he waves off KG with the game on the line to take Lakers Dancer, Sasha Headbandcich to the hole with a simple stutter step and a left handed kiss. Is it really possible to beat a guy in the NBA Finals by 3 full steps when you start your move at the free throw line? Jesus can!

There is one thing that annoyed me about last night though, and that was the obvious infatuation ESPN has with Paul Pierce. Ray Allen was clearly the hero last night and instead of Tafoya talking to him, they went straight to Pierce at the end of the game. How many un-earned interviews can a guy do in one series? He hit a couple of free throws down the stretch and did some nice cheering and arm pumping every time Posey or Allen was finishing off LA, but that was it. My life would be just fine if I never had to see his shabby pre-pubescent beard again in HD. I know beards were big this year, but wow….give KG and Paul Pierce the award for worst duo beards.

They’ll probably hand Pierce the MVP just because he’s been Mr. Celtic for so long, when Allen has been the best player on the court the entire series. Show some love to my boy Ray Allen!

Lakers Choke. Boston Laughs.

24 point lead. Best player on the planet. Best coach on the planet. “Becks”, Sharapova, JT, and Spiderman in attendance. Home court. Boston down 2 players. KG worthless. Paul Pierce banged up. Gasol’s hair.

There is your list of reasons why the Lakers should have won last night to tie this series up at 2 games a piece. Were those 12 reasons enough? Absolutely not! This series is OVER. Welcome that title back to Boston! Or should we say, welcome another title to the most dominant sports city on the freakin’ planet. What can’t they win these days?

Anyway, the Lakers looked as pathetic last night as they have during every other game of this series down the stretch. They may have won game 3, but this series easily could have been a sweep by the Celtics. All those role players that led the Lakers to the Western Conference title have completely disappeared. How’s that Gasol trade looking these days? How’s Lamar Odom coming along?

Kobe has been forced to do it all and against a team with 3 hall-of-famers, it just can’t be done. Gasol was supposed to be his #2 and Odom as one of the best #3’s in the league and neither has decided to show up. Give credit to KG, Perkins and PJ Brown because this thing was over before the Lakers ever stepped on the floor. I bought into the Gasol hype and man did it bite me in the ass. I ran my match-up prediction post right before the Finals and had the Lakers in 6…ouch.

The Lakers could come out and take game 5 with it being at home, but unless Kobe has the game of his life and at least one role players steps it up, this thing could be over. Sasha Annoyinchich is the only other player besides Kobe to have a decent game and that just happens to be the game they won. So what could happen if Gasol or Odom pulled their head out? I guess we’ll never know. If it goes back to Boston, (a lot of stress on that “if”) then you might as well start planning that parade!

Congrats Boston on another title in another sport.

Lakers make it 2-2! Wow, Premature again?

Just because the NBA is under fire for this Donaghy thing, I expect this series to be evened up so the annoying basement dwellers can continue with the "rigged" chatter! I'm also going to expect Kobe to put up another monstrous game; possibly even bigger than the last.

Boston has had some time to relax and take in the sunny rays which they never see in stuffy ol' bean town, so KG and Pierce should come ready to play. The Lakers however, have also had this rest and are at home, sleeping with Vanessa. Ummm. Nevermind.

This will definitely be the game of the series and we may finally get a little extra physical play. I'm talking to you Farmar! I wanted that damn tackle on PJ the other night (Go Yahoo Answers!)and you completely disappointed me. Charlie Ward thinks you're pathetic.

Really though, you should all be ready for the best basketball we've seen yet from either team with all the stars on their top level game. The really sad thing, is that with a game as good as this one should be, it'll probably come down to a couple of last minute calls which I'm sure is the last thing any of the suits in the NBA can handle. Will David Stern be in attendance? Is Bavetta calling this game?

This would be a great time for Kobe to do something remarkable and take everyone's mind off of the scandals. Give us 65 tonight Mr. Bryant and we'll all have a great night.

Poll Results: You really want Kobe to have another ring?

Our most recent poll has closed and it was successful enough to call on a post!

We asked our readers to pick "Which player they would like to see win a ring this year?" And the results are...

• Kobe Bryant: 54% (64 votes)
• Kevin Garnett: 28% (35 votes)
• Paul Pierce: 6% (8 votes)
• Ray Allen: 6% (8 votes)
• Derek Fisher: 3% (4 votes)
• Sam Cassell: 1% (2 votes)

Overwhelmingly Kobe huh? It's interesting after everything this guy has been through, he still demands such a following. Number one in jersey sales (remember he did switch numbers though), huge Nike deal, tons of commercials, an MVP, and more Jordan comparisons than ever. It was just a couple of years ago that Kobe was hated on a national and possibly global level (aside from China). It was also just last year that this guy was demanding things like a spoiled child, yet the LA fans can't help but chant "M-V-P" every chance they get.

I'll admit that he's been growing on me as a basketball player, but the rest of the baggage that comes with him still has me baffled.

Your thoughts? Why did you vote for Kobe? Are you ready for someone to surpass Jordan as the best ever? Do you just hate KG? Shout it!

Lakers Make it 2-1! Premature?

Yeah, that is basically me putting it all on the line with a prediction that the Lakers are a sure bet to win tonight at home! (Back to our patented “feel test” for this one.) Don’t you just get that feeling that Kobe drops 40 or 50+ tonight? That Ray Allen and Paul Pierce won’t be on fire? And Rondo won’t dish out 16 dimes or whatever the hell it was the other night? That KG won’t pound his chest 20+ times, instead it will be like 10? That Lamar Odom won’t yell at the ref after each uncontested lay-up he makes? And Leon Powe will actually shoot less free throws than actual minutes played?

It does “feel” like a different day for the Lakeshow and my prediction of Lakers in 6 will still be alive! Just hope for Kobe licking lips, tonguing his cheek, and side smirking all night long if you are a Lakers fan. Hope that Lamar Odom shows up (for once). Hope that Gasol learns to move his feet on “D” (for once). Hope that Sasha isn’t taking last possession 3’s with Paul Pierce in his grill. Hope that Radmanovic isn’t looking for Sasha on those same last possessions and moving the ball away from the best player on the planet. Hope that Vanessa Bryant doesn't cuss out another reporter in front of her kids.

Keep this series alive Lakers! I’m not ready for the season to be over and for me to attempt to find enough blogging material during my first off season as a blogger!

Whoa Bill Russell, Calm Down Big Guy.

Did anyone else notice that obnoxious laughing cackle-ness streaming from their stereo speakers during yesterday’s pre-game show? I was trying not to watch the pre-game because I didn’t want to hear the 10 different takes on Paul Pierce’s comic knee issue and instead I was treated to one, Bill Russell laughing uncontrollably for who knows what reason.

At some point these big networks need to realize that having former players participate on their pre-game shows is not always the best idea. Russell seems genuinely like a nice guy, and I understand all the history that involves him, but the guy has no place on a TV set. Just because he won 9 or 11 championships with the Celtics doesn’t necessarily transpire to “TV personality genius” here people. How many 74 year olds do you know that would highlight a championship sporting event?

I guess there really is always one positive thing you can take from something negative though! His snarling laugh was so hideous that I’m not even sure what the pre-game discussions were. So in that light, I’m sort of glad he was there whaling away during Stu Scott’s rambling, clichéd, non-humorous rants and trendy chatter.

Thanks, but really, no thanks Bill.

Sunday Pre-Game 2 NBA Finals Love

Ball Don't Lie Asks...."Why hasn't Paul Pierce had an MRI yet?"

We'll try to get off of this "conspiracy" thing but it's just too much fun to talk about, especially with game 2 just minutes away. At this point, my mind is made up to turn the game on exactly at game time so I don't have to hear 10 different takes on Paul Pierce and how his knee is, if he'll play, how effective he'll be, and what it means for the Celtics. Lets just play the game and watch Kobe drop 50+!


Greg Oden is workin' out people!

This video has been everywhere lately, but as a Portland guy, I had to throw it up. Greg Oden looks like he's actually having some solid workouts which is a major plus for Blazer fans. I still have some concerns but to see him working out that hard with resistance makes you think he'll be ready by the start of the season. And Rudy Fernandez is coming!


Terry Porter will reportedly be the next Phoenix Suns coach.

Is this the right move? I guess we'll know about 20 games into the season! He was horrible in Milwaukee but would anyone have been good there? Look at Doc Rivers and the blunders of the Celtics before they had 3 potential hall of famers?


NBA Finals tickets yet?

Barry's Tickets has got you covered! A great place to pick up tickets for all events including your Western Conference champion Lakers' NBA Finals games. With the series returning to Los Angeles for 3 games, you might want to see what Barry's Tickets has to offer. And don't forget that next season will be here quicker than you may realize!

The NBA Final-scars and Kobe: Cocked, Locked and...Jammed?

Come on Boston.

Not being at home for the 3rd quarter makes me extremely happy right now after hearing about the Paul Pierce Oscar-worthy performance. The guy jacks his knee, gets carried off the court, wheel chair’d to the locker room, and then comes out pumpin’ his fist like Ali only to drop 15 points and jump the Celtics out to a lead they would hold on to the rest of the game? Bleh…glad I went out for that turkey burger! Give this guy his award now!

Let’s just break this down and move on. Enough Willis Reed comparisons, it’s pathetic. The guy is good; we all know that. His knee obviously wasn’t as bad as he played it. Sure it hurts initially, but give me a break. I just hope you can come back Sunday so we don’t have to hear the excuses.


O Kobe, O Kobe, wherefore art thou 4th quarter performance?

Yeah, my only chance in history to quote me some Shakespeare comes straight from your bleh-worthy 4th quarter performance, Mamba. You start off with a bank “J” and I lean over to my better half and say, “It’s Kobe time…time to dominate” and then you go absolutely cold and start jacking up junk. You’ve got to give a ton of credit to Boston’s defense but I’m also going to hack on the Lakers for their lack of any sort of offense. There was no movement, no fluidity and a ton of horrible passes. Again, maybe we should just be giving all the credit to Boston’s defense…

Either way, I’m guessing that Kobe won’t go 9-26 (or whatever it was) on Sunday and if he does you better expect 70+ in game 3. I guess we should just let him, be him.

NBA Finals Prediction: The Match-up Game!

There are some people out there waiting for my NBA Finals prediction and seeing as the series starts tomorrow, I better do it right? I’ll approach this from a player to player match-up standpoint as I believe that key match-ups are one of the best ways to breakdown a series especially once you get to the NBA Finals. The number of superstars and other talent between these two teams is truly remarkable, so by breaking this down through match-ups, this should give you a pretty good idea of where this series will go.

Rather than looking at every single match-up possibility (including bench players), we’ll take the starting fives from each team and bring it straight!


Matchup 1: Gasol vs. Perkins

Advantage? Lakers. The Celtics may have to throw Garnett on Gasol if Perkins can’t handle the load but that will only open things up for our next match-up. Perkins may be an underrated defensive player, but Gasol is the far superior offensive talent and will dominate this pairing. With Kobe running wild and various Celtics chasing, Gasol should find tons of open space and freedom in the key. On the other end of the floor the advantage is still with the Lakers seeing as Perkins is absolutely atrocious on offense.


Matchup 2: Odom vs. Garnett

Advantage? Celtics. Odom has been one of the most overrated players in recent history and if I hear another commentator talk about his “potential” I think I’ll probably punch something. Garnett will have torn him a new *bleep* hole when this series is through. The guy finally gets to an NBA Finals (most likely his last) and you don’t think he’ll bring his A+ game? I’d back down now Mr. Odom or this could get real ugly.


Matchup 3: Radmanovic vs. Pierce

Advantage? Celtics. Paul Pierce has bled green for almost 10 years now and has dreamt of the moment he got to face the Lakers for an NBA Championship. You think Vlad Radmanovic, the snowboarding pro, is going to handle his hunger? Pierce has carried Boston the entire Playoffs and I expect him to do the same during this series. If Radmanovic can’t handle it, you may see some Mamba shutting down Pierce. (If that happens, I’d be afraid Celtics fans.)


Matchup 4: Bryant vs. Allen

Advantage? Lakers. Do we really need to cover this one? Ray Allen is by far one of my top 5 favorites of all-time, but with his vaginal shooting slump and poor individual defense, I expect Kobe to be putting up record numbers. Kobe is poised to set himself apart from some of the greats and the only way he can do that now is by rackin’ up NBA Chips. If Allen somehow gets off and that sweet stroke finds its chocolate then this match-up could get interesting. As for now, Bryant should be able to relax on “D” and focus on terrorizing the Celtics like he’s done all season long.


Matchup 5: Fisher vs. Rondo

Advantage? Lakers. My favorite match-up of the series! Rondo has been thrown to the wolves all season long and Fisher is the cagey “vet” who’s seen it all before. I still expect Fisher to man-handle the poor young one. Fisher is a physical beast and defensively will lock down Rondo which will force the Boston offense to be at a standstill. Without Rondo acting as a true point, Allen has been off, Pierce has worked way too hard, and KG has been forced to do everything else other than score. Fisher is my #1 key and if he can stay out of foul trouble and suffocate the hell out of Rondo, this could be over with quickly.


Through those 5 match-ups we’ve got a 3-2 edge leaning towards the Lakers. Now here we come with the magic scoring system to breakdown where this series will end up and my final prediction!

Take 3-2 and look at that like a series score. (Lakers 3, Celtics 2) If this is the case, and assuming the series goes on a 2-3-2 schedule, the Celtics would have game 6 at home. But you also have to look at Bryant and Fisher taking games 4 and 5 which would put the Lakers on quite the tear leading into game 6. To put them over the top, we’ve got to look at the other key match-up that we almost left out; the coaches.

Matchup 6: Jackson vs. Rivers

Advantage? Lakers. Phil is Zen. He has a vacation home in Montana. I’m from Montana. My Dad had a beer at some random brewery last summer on Flathead Lake (in Montana) and sat right next to him and managed to call me to brag about it, so this is where Phil takes the cake. Oh, and he has 9 NBA Championships to Doc’s…um….you get the point.


There you have it! Lakers in 6! (Stop sounding excited…we hate the Lakers.)

Ah...the NBA Finals!

Our first NBA Finals as a blogger! Celebrate it with us!

The NBA has its dream ratings series, we are fortunate enough to not have to watch either the Pistons or Spurs, and our boy Ray Allen finally gets his chance at greatness. This really will be a showdown for the ages...at least until it happens again next year!

Since the NBA takes a week off leading up to the Finals, we get that sort of SuperBowl, overwhelming, make-me-want-to-puke coverage that will probably drive us all a little nutty. This year will probably be even worse while ESPN Classic is throwing up every single Lakers-Celtics matchup from the past 50 years along with a Bird-Magic series to give modern day porn-mops a smile. (I just wish that one year we would have an unpredictable media.)

As we said in the beginning, this is our first NBA Finals as a blogger and we're not really sure the approach we'll take yet. Fortunately for us, we've made a few contacts over the past 5 months and hope to do some interesting collaborations while continuing to bring you that signature Le Basketbawl style!

We'll try not to make too many Kobe-MJ comparisons and also try not to bring up Kareem or Russell, but we will poke a ton of fun at their arses! I think our goal is also to pay some special attention to a few aspects of the game not normally covered. We'll see what we come up with, but this should be an entertaining journey to say the least.