Le Basketbawl

New York Vinnie took Glen “Big Baby” Davis to task on Thursday for allowing a heckler at the Palace of Auburn Hills to get the better of him Wednesday night as the Boston Celtics lost to the Detroit Pistons. The Boston big man allowed  “The Moment To Master Him” Wednesday night as the Celtics lost their third straight game to the Detroit Pistons by a final of 92-86. According to the report one of the Piston fans at Palace Of Auburn Hills a man by the name of Scott Zack started to heckle Davis during the game. Zack who sounds to New York Vinnie like he is a total Frickin Class Act allegedly called the Celtics big man “fat boy” and “chubs” repeatedly through out the game.

Davis was getting increasingly frustrated through out the game and he finally reached his Frickin melting point and allowed “The Moment To Master Him.” “Big Baby” cursed the guy out; and even worse did it within range of the TV and radio microphones for the entire planet to hear. The Frickin PUD fan then complained to the Arena security so now this Frickin Douche looks like the victim. Thursday NBA Executive Vice President fined Davis $25,000 for his outburst.

Friday before the Celtics took on the Portland Trail Blazers Davis spoke with “ESPN The Magazine” and admitted he was wrong to react how he did. The big man said “I shouldn’t say those kind of words. Even though a fan says anything to me, I shouldn’t say that. I’ve got to understand who’s watching out there for the kids and the parents. It’s just a bad thing to say. You’re frustrated. You’re mad. That’s not what you’re suppose to say. You’re just supposed to play the game of basketball and don’t worry about the fans; that’s what they are there for. When a fan talks personal about you in an emotional game, you know, it kind of gets to you, but you can’t let it get to you. That’s what (fans are) there for, to get you unfocused and frustrated.”

Let’s see if this proves to be a lesson learned for Davis. As New York Vinnie wrote on Thursday you can never let the PUDS see you sweat!

“NBA.com” has reported that  NBA Executive Vice President Stu Jackson has fined Boston Celtics big man Glen “Big Baby” Davis $25,000 for swearing at a Detroit Pistons fan Wednesday night as Boston lost at the Palace of Auburn Hills 92-86.  One of the Piston fans at Palace Of Auburn Hills a man by the name of Scott Zack started to heckle Davis during the game. Zack allegedly called the Celtics big man “fat boy” and “chubs” repeatedly through out the game.

Davis was getting increasingly frustrated through out the game and he finally reached his melting point and cursed the guy out; and even worse did it within range of the TV and radio microphones for the entire planet to hear. Boston head coach Doc Rivers was very disappointed in his player for allowing his emotions to get the best of him.

The coach told reporters “Then shame on Glen. To the victors go the spoils. I tell our guys that when you lose a game, they have every right to yell and say whatever they want. You’ve got to be strong enough to walk away, and that’s not the fan’s fault, no matter what he said. We know about it, we have to walk off the floor, so shame on Glen Davis. I’m upset that we lost, and people call me names walking off the floor. It’s part of the game. Win the game, and you get a lot of people quiet.”

A very wise man told this to New York Vinnie last summer; and ever since I keep it uppermost in my mind. The man said that “Winners Master The Moment; Losers Allow The Moment To Master Them!” It is not an easy thing to do; especially if you are someone like New York Vinnie who has a terrible Frickin temper if I allow it to get out of control. However if you allow your emotions to over rule your brain then you are  up the Frickin creek without a Frickin paddle. You have lost and you have allowed the other party to get the best of you.

Boston Celtics reserve big man Glen “Big Baby” Davis according to the “Boston Herald” on Thursday allowed  “The Moment To Master Him” Wednesday night as the Celtics lost their third straight game to the Detroit Pistons by a final of 92-86. According to the report one of the Piston fans at Palace Of Auburn Hills a man by the name of Scott Zack started to heckle Davis during the game. Zack who sounds to New York Vinnie like he is a total Frickin Class Act allegedly called the Celtics big man “fat boy” and “chubs” repeatedly through out the game.

Davis was getting increasingly frustrated through out the game and he finally reached his Frickin melting point and allowed “The Moment To Master Him.” “Big Baby” cursed the guy out; and even worse did it within range of the TV and radio microphones for the entire planet to hear. The Frickin PUD fan then complained to the Arena security so now this Frickin Douche looks like the victim. And Davis could very well be subject to a fine or a suspension by the NBA Front Office.

Boston head coach Doc Rivers was Frickin disgusted by the way his player handled the situation. The coach told reporters “Then shame on Glen. To the victors go the spoils. I tell our guys that when you lose a game, they have every right to yell and say whatever they want. You’ve got to be strong enough to walk away, and that’s not the fan’s fault, no matter what he said. We know about it, we have to walk off the floor, so shame on Glen Davis. I’m upset that we lost, and people call me names walking off the floor. It’s part of the game. Win the game, and you get a lot of people quiet.”

New York Vinnie has a Frickin TON of respect for Celtics coach Doc Rivers. As a point guard he was not the most talented player on the floor but he was a Frickin smart player. He knew the right time and the right place to dish off or shoot; and he has been even better as a head coach. Rivers got a raw Frickin deal by the Orlando Magic a team that was devastated by injuries and he got the gate. But he has vindicated himself in Boston winning the NBA Title in 2008.

Davis lowered himself down to the level of the PUD; and by doing that he allowed the PUD to win. We know this Frickin crowd who goes to Pistons game at the Palace are nothing but trouble; just ask Frickin Ron Artest! But “Big Baby” failed the test and because of that he will now be punished.

New York Vinnie is not a fan of Hecklers; most of them are nothing but Frickin losers in real life and this is their Frickin payback their Frickin moment in the Sun. Last week the Cleveland Cavaliers played the Los Angeles Clippers at the Staples Center. A Clippers fan started heckling Delonte West at the charity stripe with the old “You Ugly” chant.  You know what Delonte did? He had a big Frickin smile on his face and started clapping his hands to the beat of the chant! Now that is the way to handle it!

Now if a fans starts saying Frickin racist things; that fan should be ejected from the Arena as far as New York Vinnie is concerned. But short of that you paid for the ticket and if you want to act the fool that is your right. The players have to be strong enough to never let the fans see them sweat!

Go take a look at the NBA Draft for 2003 and New York Vinnie guarantees that your Frickin jaw will drop in Frickin amazement of all the talent that entered the NBA that year! Here is a great example; All-Star forward David West was taken with pick number 17 by the New Orleans Hornets. Dwyane Wade  who is on just about every body’s top five list as the one of the NBA greats was taken number 5 by the Miami Heat.

You want to talk about a Frickin Treasure Chest  this was the year! It was really tough to mess up that year; however one team did and they may have set the Frickin wheels in motion that made a young man’s time in the NBA seem like a Frickin nightmare. And unfortunately this player has been so badly burned by his experience that he will leave the NBA and head back to Europe at the end of this season.

Out of the top six players picked in the 2003 NBA Draft; four have already been named to NBA  All-Star Teams and in New York Vinnie’s opinion a fifth player Chris Kaman should make it this year. But what about that sixth player? Why  has he not been as successful as LeBron James, Carmelo Anthony, Chris Bosh or D-Wade? Quite possibly because the team that picked him took him with far too high a selection and then allowed him to rot on the bench.

If you have not figured out by now New York Vinnie is referring to current New York Knicks forward Darko Milicic who was taken with the second pick by the Detroit Pistons.  He then spent the next two and a half years collecting splinters on the bench as he was used in limited games and given incredibly limited minutes. You know the old saying;  “Use It Or Lose It.” If you are not playing your skills will Frickin decline and even more importantly your confidence will suffer.

“Mlive.com” spoke with the player now in his seventh season in the NBA and asked him if he thought that the Pistons had lied to him during his time with the team. Milicic responded “Yes, they did. “They lie to everybody. It’s the NBA. The NBA, all around the league, same (stuff). ‘Your chance is going to come.’ All that kind of (stuff). (Forget) that! I’ve got enough of that kind of stuff, so I decided I’m going to Europe. I don’t know why they took me with the second pick if you’re not going to play me. I never understood that, you know. I was happy being the second pick and all that kind of stuff, but I never knew what I got myself into. I never knew I was coming here not to play. Nobody was telling me anything.”

Darko told reporters he was now looking at his situation realistically. He said “I’ve got to be real. There is no team in the league that is going to give me the chance that I’m looking for. My only chance is back in Europe. I’m going to do that. I want to be happy. I want to play.”

A couple of weeks ago when Milicic told the press he was going back to Europe New York Vinnie was pretty Frickin hard on Darko. New York Vinnie called him a quitter and a baby and I was wrong! This young man was sold a Frickin bill of goods with every team he went to. He wants to play so he is heading back home to do that rather than just sit on the bench for an NBA team and take their money! New York Vinnie has nothing but respect for that!

We will never know what would have happened if Darko was taken with a team he could have played for. What we do know is this young man was given a Frickin bum ride for seven Frickin years and he wants to go home!

The Toronto Raptors shot 33-63 from the floor on Sunday and Raptors forward Chris Bosh had a double-double as the Raptors defeated the Detroit Pistons by a final of 102-95. The Raptors now have their last four games the longest winning streak they have had all season. Detroit’s season is going in the other direction; namely down the sewer as the club has now lost seven straight. Pistons forward returned to the starting line-up as he was activated from the injured list but he was not much of a factor in the game.

Bosh was the game’s leading scorer as he had 25 points while Richard Hamilton and Ben Gordon coming off the bench each had 15 in the loss for Detroit. The Pistons last victory was over 2 weeks ago when they defeated the Golden State Warriors on December 12 by a score of 104-95. That game would be Detroit’s fifth straight win; and that is one the team’s problems is their lack of consistency from game to game.

The first half looked like it was going to be a blow-out for the Raptors but Detroit would climb back into the game in the third quarter. Toronto would be on top at the end of the first with the score 29-22. In the second the Pistons looked like they were extras from “Dawn Of The Living Dead” and the Raptors hit half-time leading 60-41.

Somebody must lit a fire under their bench in the third as Detroit looked like a whole different team and got themselves back into a game at the end of the quarter as Toronto’s lead was down to 74-69. The Pistons had one more run left in them and cut the Raptors lead to a single point at 85-84 with 5:47 left in the game as Tayshaun Prince put the rock in the hole from 7 feet away. However they could get no closer and Toronto would  pull away and hang on for the victory.

Chris Bosh had a double-double as he put 25 points on the scoreboard while grabbing 15 rebounds off the backboard, he would also have 3 blocks and 1 assist. Jarrett Jack  scored 17 points while Andrea Bargnani had 16 points and  Hedo Turkoglu added 14 in the win.

Richard Hamilton and Ben Gordon both would led the Pistons as each player knocked down 15 points.   Jonas Jerebko and Rodney Stuckey would score 14 points apiece while Ben Wallace added 10 points in the loss. Toronto sees their record improve to 15-17 and will have the Charlotte Bobcats in town on Wednesday. Detroit is now 11-19 and will be at MSG Tuesday night as they take on the New York Knicks.

Just because you can be a good assistant coach does not automatically mean that you can be a good head coach. Some men were born to be Generals while others were only meant to be Majors. Every body has their own role; their own little niche if you catch New York Vinnie’s drift. As long as people stay in that role they are safe; but we are human beings; we have emotions and aspirations. So sometimes we try to stretch the boundaries and reach for the stars. Sometimes we see our dreams come true and other times we fall flat right on our Frickin faces.

It takes a lot of something extra to be a successful head coach in the NBA. Just because you know the game does not mean you will be a great head coach. You can diagram a play 13 Frickin ways until Sunday and that does not translate into being a good head coach. Subsequently you may not be able to draw up a Frickin play to save your Frickin life and still be very effective as a head coach.

Look at Larry Bird when he was coaching the Indiana Pacers; he delegated all the play calling to his assistants. Bird had Rick Carlisle, in charge of the offense, and Dick Harter, who coached the defense.

However there was no doubt about who ran that team.  It was Bird who set the tone Bird was the guy who dealt with the media and when it came right down to it was Bird’s behind that was on the line. In the 1999-2000 season his third as head coach he took the Pacers to  their only appearance in the NBA Finals which they lost to the Los Angeles Lakers. And after the series was over he just walked away from coaching; been there done that. They don’t make too many that classy in Sports these days.

Back in July after months of speculation Detroit Pistons President Of Basketball Operations Joe Dumars fired rookie head coach Michael Curry with Dumars stating that he wanted to get a more experienced man being the head honcho during games.

The candidates were said to include Doug Collins and former Dallas Mavericks head coach Avery Johnson. The experienced man he ended up hiring was John Kuester a career assistant-coach. Dumars said he wanted to bring in a veteran; but a veteran is somebody who has done something before. The Pistons hired another rookie head coach.

Just like anybody else who is training on the job Kuester has made his share of mistakes; but the one he made on Friday night was a huge Frickin blunder. The Pistons had lost their third straight game  to  the Oklahoma City Thunder by a score of 109-98.

One of the few bright spots on the team this season has been the play of starting point guard Rodney Stuckey and the guard had a great game as he knocked down 31 points, 5 rebounds and 3 assists in the loss. A reporter asked Kuester in the Post Game press conference according to the “Detroit Free Press.”  The Pistons bench boss replied “He scored points.”

A reporter then asked Kuester for any further thoughts on Stuckey. Kuester said “Rodney has had a wonderful start but we need him to lead. … He’s a very gifted offensive player, but we have to generate things with being shorthanded from everybody, not just Rodney. Everybody has to take ownership. Even if you don’t make the right play, your body language tells you whether you’re ready to react the way that we want you to and that’s all I’m asking.”

The statement you just read was the biggest problem with on the job training as an NBA coach. Kuester was frustrated; his team had just lost its third straight game. He has probably made similar statements after lots of NBA games when he was an assistant. The difference though is in those he would say those things to other assistants; Friday night he said it to a bunch of reporters.

Kuester apparently got “Sissy-Slapped” after opening his mouth about Stuckey because he addressed the issue with reporters before the team played the Lakers on Sunday. Kuester this time could not say enough positives about his point guard; and he wanted to clarify he has nothing but the highest regard for his starter.

The Detroit head coach said “He has done so many wonderful things for our team this year. He has at times played at an All-Star level. “He has had to handle a lot on his plate with things having not gone this season the way we had hoped in certain situations, but Rodney Stuckey has done a wonderful job! And don’t lose sight of how important he is to this team.”

New York Vinnie is sure that you won’t forget as long as you are employed by the Pistons. You must have gotten quite a butt chewing to do that kind of about face in just two days John! As New York Vinnie wrote at the top just because you can be a good assistant coach does not automatically mean that you can be a good head coach.

In the Summer of 2003 the number one selection in the NBA Draft was a lead pipe cinch but there was a lot of discussion who would be selected at number two. The hapless Cleveland Cavaliers won the number one selection in the Draft Lottery and they would take the young man who is arguably one of the two best players in the NBA today reigning NBA MVP LeBron James. However the team with the second pick in that Draft the Detroit Pistons were hesitant to make up their minds.

Most NBA observers thought that Detroit should select forward Carmelo Anthony who played one year at Syracuse and led that team to an NCAA Championship. However there was another intriguing player out there that had piqued many folks interest. The young man was from Eastern Europe very young and unpolished but said to have a tremendous upside. His name was Darko Milicic he was 7′1″ tall and allegedly had the ball handling abilities of a small forward.

What little was known from him was from scouting reports and film and nobody could really be sure if his skill-set would transfer over to the NBA. However the Pistons Brain-Trust at the time Team President Joe Dumars and head coach Larry Brown decided to roll the dice. They passed on Anthony who was taken with the third pick by the Denver Nuggets and chose the Euro-Player Milicic; they would soon regret the choice.

New York Vinnie certainly does not have to relate the success that James has had with Cleveland or that ‘Melo has had with the Nuggets. As for Milicic the word that comes most quickly to New Yorrk Vinnie’s mind is Disaster; make that an Utter Frickin Disaster especially after Darko revealed his plans for next year to the “New York Post.”

To say that Milicic is a disappointment does not even begin to scratch the surface of how bad this young man has been. You could use the word bust but even that might be far too kind. Because it turns out that not only does Darko Milicic lack the talent to play in the NBA; even more embarrassing he lacks the “Frickin Stones” to play in the NBA. Despite the fact that Darko is 7′1″ tall he is a” little Wussy”; a crybaby who has decided the NBA is too tough for him so he is going to run home to Europe next season. He will head back home a failure with his Frickin tail between his legs!

Milicic told the paper “Whatever happens, I’m going back next year. It’s 100-percent certain. I have to be real and not lie. I’m not going to get it done in the NBA. I’m not going to get another opportunity and there’s nothing wrong with going back to Europe. I don’t want to create a bad atmosphere here, but it’s not working in the NBA.”

Yo Darko; New York Vinnie has two words for you “Good Riddance!” The NBA is a league for men which you are obviously not one of. You see Darko “Real Men” don’t just take their ball and go home. “Real Men” make the situation work or die trying. Little spoiled babies and “Wussies” run home when the going gets too tough! You just showed your true nature.

Here is another question for you Darko; why would you make the announcement in December? Do you somehow believe that some NBA executive is going to say to themselves that they will make it their mission to get you on their team next season? Because if you do that fantasy will never play out anywhere but in your head. Your career totals stink and with this announcement the entire NBA know that your attitude stinks too!

So enjoy your last few months in the States Darko! New York Vinnie would suggest you take a lot of pictures so when you go back to your drab life in your drab little homeland at least you will have proof you were “Almost Somebody Once!”