The Pick 'n Roll

All I Want for Christmas is the Curry Family Jumper

2008-12-09T03:40:00.007-05:00

Everyone been known about Steph Curry, but his kid brother Seth leads all NCAA freshmen in scoring at 21.4 ppg game. Therefore, the first thing on my Christmas list (yes, I'm 21 and I still make a legit Christmas list) is the Curry family jumper, because it is smoother than a new Akon track (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LsSLQWbq_RY).

Nasty Nate's X-Mas List:
1. A 20, 20, 10 game from Dwight Howard (and not just because he is on my fantasy team)

2. A promise from Bron Bron to stay in Cleveland

3. Video of Pau Gasol, Luke Walton, and Kobe sharing Christmas dinner

4. A picture on Stephen Jackson-Claus' lap (Jackson-Claus' pictured above)

5. Gunnin' For that #1 Spot (http://www.gunninmovie.com/)

6. A beard to match my buddy Baron
----------------------------
More importantly, it is time to get the plans down for the 1st annual PnR Christmas dinner. What follows is a guest list that features something each person is bringing to the party.

Josh Howard RSVP'd but ended up having to cancel because of a date with Mary Jane, so he sadly won't be able to bring the greens. Luckily, Josh Heytvelt is taking his place and bringing a mushroom platter.

My man Bassy Telfair called and let me know that he'll be hooking up with NFL star Plaxico Burress in order to provide security.

WNBA Star (is there such a thing?) Becky Hammon is bringing two gorgeous Christmas hams in the form of her luscious ass.

MSU Coach Tom Izzo is bringing his wife's egg nog. Clearly, after what happened against UNC, the only way to coach the Spartans is by getting hammered drunk.

Zags, Top 25, and the NBA in the Burgh???

2008-11-30T23:39:00.007-05:00

Mike Miller, the future king of Pittsburgh?

Before we get into a hypothetical Pittsburgh basketball franchise, I feel that it is important to drop some college hoops knowledge on you kids. Feel free to enjoy a beverage with this post (I know I am).

Da Zags

Mark Few has simply built a dynasty over the past few years out in Spokane, but many are wondering if this is the best team he has ever put together. The older teams were built on great guard play and an offensive system that allowed the Zags to play with the big boys. Great shooting was an important element of those teams and execution was especially important as they lacked the natural ability of their big time opponents. The Adam Morrison teams had one of college basketball's elite players, but those teams relied too much on Morrison and got away from the system that had made them so successful. Some things were good; Morrison getting paid and the team remaining in the national spotlight, as well as improved recruiting. Other elements were not as great; no postseason improvement, a year of my college career spent with long hair and a dirty crust-stache.

Regardless of the past, this current team includes the best group of athletes and basketball players ever to suit up for Mark Few. Bouldin and Pargo were top 100 recruits and Micah Downs was a McDonald's All American. Josh Heytvelt provides a great inside presence when he is healthy and not shrooming. More importantly, he provides some much needed comic relief on the the college basketball scene. I haven't even mentioned Austin Daye, a likely lottery pick (and subsequent bust IMO, but that is a story for another day).

It is clear that this is the most talented team that Few has ever had. Outside of UNC, they have as good of a chance as anyone to win the whole damn thing, but they still have a ton of question marks. The bench remains an issue, and despite being a veteran team, they looked very sloppy while holding onto a lead against Tennessee tonight. That being said, I did pick the Zags as the team not named UNC who was most likely to win it all on a college basketball preview on a Wednesday Edition of the WPTS Sports Journal (http://www.wpts.pitt.edu/ , 4:30-5 on Wednesdays and Thursdays). I might have been drunk, or maybe I was just in love with the Josh Heytvelt era, but either way I said it.

I guess the bottom line is that it is too early to tell how good this team is, but they are without a doubt Few's most talented team. Will they end up being his best team?

Harden Stays Flossin

Much like his Brother Walde from http://www.falsefloss.blogspot.com/ , James Harden of ASU stays flossin. Harden went for 40 and 8 tonight against UTEP. For the year, the preseason PnR All-American is averaging 27 points, 4 assists, and 6.8 rebounds per game. Kids, it is OK to have a man-crush.... I sure do. ASU sits at 5-1 on the year and will likely remain in the top 20.

Elsewhere in college hoops, Syracuse is looking to burst into the top 25 after winning the CBE Classic. Cuse is 6-0 and has recently knocked off Florida, Kansas, and UVA in tight games. I had my doubts early on, but Johnny Flynn and Eric "8 mile" Devendorf have me believing.

At 5-1 St.Mary's and Patrick Mills are close to being ranked, but a loss to Cal State Fullerton means that the Gaels will have to win a few in a row before voters will respect them again.

Speaking of respect, Louisville had none for Western Kentucky. #3 UofL fell to WKU 68-54 tonight. That means that the Pitt Panthers, fresh off of winning the Legends Classic in Newark, should be the third ranked team in the country tomorrow. At this point, I see no reason to doubt the Panthers as a legit Final Four team.

Pro Basketball in the Burgh n' at

First, let me say that I highly doubt this ever becomes a reality. The only chance of this happening is Mark Cuban getting banned from the NBA for 5 years. Upon being allowed to return to the NBA as an owner, Cuban would get really drunk on the Southside and then have a Primanti's n'at. At this point, he would decide to start a basketball franchise in Pittsburgh. That being said, I will assemble the roster as if the franchise started playing tomorrow. As for a team name and logo, I'll let yinz readers decide on your own.

Much like the mindset of the Steelers and their fans, the Pittsburgh basketball franchise would strive to build a tough team. Also, being one of the 7 most racist cities in the world (just a guess), Pittsburgh would look for a legit white player. In this instance, the man for the job is none other than Mike Miller. The 6'8 shooter would be like a native son of Pittsburgh. I can actually picture him getting a swinging bachelor pad with Big Ben and throwing massive parties that end with numerous embarrassing/awesome pictures on the internet. We need to make this happen!!!

Now, this is where it gets tricky... If Cuban owns the team, then it would bring in a bunch of high profile guys and win the bidding war for Chris Bosh in 2010. If Cuban is not in the picture, the team would sign Steve Francis, jumpstart the NBA career of former Pitt star (I mean player... not star) Antonio Graves, and trade for Aaron Gray. Now I will give you a 9 man rotation for the 2010-2011 season (the first year after the summer of LeBron, Wade, and Bosh) under both scenarios.

Sans Cuban
PG- Randy Foye
SG- Scotty Hopson (2010 Lottery Pick)
SF- Mike Miller

PF- Blake Griffin (2009 Lottery Pick)

C- Aaron Gray
-----
Bench G- Kyle Lowry
Bench F- Sean May
Bench G- Antonio Graves

Bench G- Steve Francis (well mostly his corpse and his mo-ped.... yes he has a mo-ped)

With Cuban
PG- Raymond Felton (2009 Restricted Free Agent)

SG- Raja Bell (2010 Free Agent)

SF- Hedo Turkoglu (2009 Free Agent)
PF- Blake Griffin (2009 Lottery Pick)
C- Chris Bosh (2010 Free Agent/Undersized Center because he is really a girlie PF)
-----
Bench G- Scotty Hopson (2010 Lottery Pick)

Bench F- Mike Miller
Bench C- Aaron Gray
Bench G- Mike Bibby (2009 Free Agent/Dying of Old Age)

Clearly, one of these teams is good and one is bad. Also, the numbers in terms of contracts have not been run, so it is likely that none of this could even be possible. That being said, if there is ever an NBA team in Pittsburgh, a former Pitt Panther will be on the roster.

Don't Sleep on Thad Matta

2008-11-25T12:34:00.002-05:00

I promised to preview Ohio State today as my sleeper for the Big 10 title and a possible deep run in March. It is very likely that that deep run in March could come in the NIT as this team has not looked very good through two games, but nevertheless I am sticking with Thad and the boys for now. One quick note, a few years ago at the Pittsburgh Jam Fest AAU event I was hammered drunk in the bathroom of the Fitzgerald Fieldhouse. Thad Matta bumps into me in the bathroom and says, "they got them real old pissers in here". He was right, the urinals/pissers were real old, circa any arena/stadium built before 1996. Anyways, your 2008-2009 Big Ten Champions..... The Ohio State Buckeyes!!!!

Guards
Ohio State is stocked with athletic wing/combo guys, but they have a huge problem at the point. Right now Jeremie Simmons is the man running the show for Coach Matta, but I suspect that Anthony Crater will take more minutes as the year goes on, because who in the hell is Jeremie Simmons? Exactly, he's Jeremie F'n Simmons. Crater is a former 5 star prospect who lost a lot of his luster and eventually ended up as a fringe top 120 guy based on the fact that he committed early and stopped growing at 6'1. Regardless of who plays the minutes at the point, the production will need to be better.

Shooting guard/wing is a much better area for tOSU because of guys like Jon Diebler, Evan Turner, David Lighty, and 5 star Frosh William Buford. Diebler is an Ohio school boy legend and can shoot the lights out. He came up big in a tight game against Bowling Green. The reason I fell in love with this OSU team weeks ago was because I expected some big time improvement from JR. David "righty tighty, lefty" Lighty, but through 2 games Lighty is statistically the same player he was last year. Lighty is a smart player with elite level athletic ability, but it is time for him to shit or get off of the pot. Buford is a fantastic talent who will come off of the bench to get buckets. As a matter of fact, his only job will be to get baskets and wink at cheerleaders as he runs down the court. Evan Turner is similar in terms of build (6'7) and athleticism, but the kid only shot 6 times against Bowling Green. Thad Matta will have to get Turner to realize his ability and shoot the rock more.

Bigs
OSU has basically been going with a 4 guard look as Lighty has technically been playing "power forward", but he is a power forward in name only. Dallas Lauderdale has played PF/C for Thad Matta and has actually done a pretty good job. Lauderdale was a big time recruit for a majority of his high school career but eventually dropped in ranking because of a subpar senior year.

B.J. Mullens was perhaps the highest rated player in the country, but the 7'0 footer is off to a slow start. Mullens hasn't even played as well as Kosta Koufos, let alone Greg Oden. However, I expect Mullens to come around eventually.

Coaching
Thad Matta is a straight up P-I-M-P and this team will only get better under his watch.

The Final Word
This team will need to improve a ton in order to be a sleeper rather than just asleep. They struggled against a weak Bowling Green team and really need to improve quickly with game against Miami and Notre Dame coming up soon. If Mullens starts to come around and David Lighty and Evan Turner realize how good they can be then this team will really take off. However, if they have to rely on shitty PG play and Jon Diebler shooting 20 times a game then Coach Matta will stab someone. I'll stand by my pick and say that this team will shock a lot of people and maybe even finish ahead of MSU in the Big Ten standings. Afterall, they got them new pissers at Ohio State.

Your 2008-2009 Memphis Tigers- The Texas Longhorns

2008-11-24T20:55:00.004-05:00

The PnR loved themselves some Coach Cal and his boys last year. Unfortunately, Slamanna ain't cheering for no team headlined by Lord Tyreke. So I gave myself a self-evaluation concerning who my favorite team in America is this year. Based on talent and potential of winning, I picked my front-running team, the Texas Longhorns.

You may say, "Slamanna, how do you turn your back on all the good times with CDR, Dorsey and Rose?" I say, "But I have also turned my back on KD, DJ, and PJ." I would like to compare and contrast their starting line-ups and coming years recruiting class:

PG- Derrick Rose v. Justin Mason. Winner by KO: Derrick Rose
-Derrick Rose had a flair for the dramatic. The banked threes, the clutch plays, and the rim rattling dunks. Justin Mason is a natural 2 man splitting duties with AJ Abrams who, much like big bro (maybe illegitimate child?) Desmond, only likes to dunk.

SG- Antonio Anderson v. AJ Abrams. Winner by Decision: AJ Abrams
-Abrams wears an Iverson arm band. He looks like Steph Curry, but doesn't quite play like him. He has sick range on his automatic jumper. Antonio Anderson has a well-rounded game and could be a rotation player in the NBA at the 1,2 or 3 positions. He does nothing absolutely terrific. Abrams is a 2-guard and does exactly what he should do: dial it from long distance and do it well.

SF- CDR v. Damion James. Split Decision.
-While CDR was much more productive and an All-American, Damion James has some qualities to be admired. He is like CDR with muscles and explosion. CDR had old man tricks, James has power moves with finesse. Their jumpers are probably a draw. Handle and playmaking goes to CDR. Dunking and rebounding to James. The main thing to remember is they both wear tight Under Armour under their jerseys and play like men.

PF- Robert Dozier v. Connor Atchley. Winner by TKO: Atchley
-I'm drinking Crow for putting him on the "I Can't Believe I Have NBA Potential" team. After watching him today at the Maui, I realized he is an unselfish big man with a vast variety of skills. The most impressive thing is that he focused on baseball in high school. He really helps this team with his shooting abilities and skills. Dozier didn't get to show much last year. This year he will carry more of the load. He was a very capable player, but I was so shocked by Atchley he wins.

C- Joey Dorsey v. Dexter Pittman. Joey Dorsey by choke out.
- Dexter Pittman is an agile 6-10, 290 pound guy who can finish. Very solid college player with size and touch to get a look at the next level. Joey Dorsey was more of an NFL prospect last year. Anytime you're that shredded and the play they run for you is to throw the ball at the rim, you win. Side note: Dexter Pittman lost by choke out after seeing Dorsey, running for 10 seconds and having a heart attack.

Key Bench Players: Shawn Taggart v. Gary Johnson. Winner Gary Johnson for being undersized, powerful, and really long.

Future considerations: Texas wins. They are expecting Jordan Hamilton and Avery Bradley next year. Two stud 5-star wing players. Memphis will be pulling in Xavier Henry, who will be a star. I think 2 is better than 1.

Hook Em' Horns

-Slamanna

Denver-Detroit 21 Days Later... Other Hoops Thoughts

2008-11-24T15:17:00.002-05:00

Biff asked about the trade so I felt it was necessary to address what happened between the Nuggets and the Pistons. First, I must let it be known that I will always have a special place in my heart for AI, and that before the year I basically thought Chauncey was dead. After coming back from his injury last year he simply wasn't the same player. That being said, Denver is 8-2 since the trade and Detroit is 6-5.

My first reaction was that the trade made sense for both teams (talk about beating around the bush). Denver had to trade Iverson or else the season would have ended with a three way steel cage death match between George Karl, AI, and Melo. For the record, Iverson would have won as Karl's fat ass would have passed out and Melo would have given up in order to smoke some of Josh Howard's finest kush. The Pistons had to move Billups as they had given it their best shot with their core group of guys and knew that they had essentially maxed out and had no chance of getting another title. The Mr. Big Shot era had to come to an end.

I also completely understand that Detroit is trying to make cap space for 2010 (paging Chris Bosh, because we know Bron Bron isn't going to that shit hole). However, I really don't like that they are placing the whole future of the franchise on the shoulders of Rodney Stuckey. Stuckey is a good player and may develop into a stud, but I just don't see a franchise point guard when I look at him. The biggest problem with Joe Dumars is that he has placed so much faith in guys like Stuckey and Amir Johnson.

Perhaps the best way to look at the deal is that it was right for both teams and could probably make both teams better, but it has not improved either team enough to contend for a title.

NBA Draft Stock Report
Stock Up
Patty Mills-Soph. 6'0 PG-- It is hard to believe that Mills stock could rise any higher than it was to start the season because of his great work in the Olympics, but the Canberra Cannon has looked sharp thus far for the Gaels. Mills has an improved shot and shows perfect form on his pull-up jumper. I don't think anyone on this planet can stay infront of the kid.

Blake Griffin-Soph. 6'10 PF-- Griffin was already considered a top 5 pick, but his stock has improved because of his great start this year. He has actually surpassed the considerable hype. Griffin has improved his outside game and is really one of the most explosive guys in the country. Runs the floor like he is 6'6 not 6'10.

The Memphis Bigs- 6'9 and 6'10 PFs-- Robert Dozier (6'9 SR) and Shawn Taggart (6'10 JR) have looked much better this year with increased roles because of the loss of Joey Dorsey. Even with a recent loss to Xavier both guys have shown flashes of stellar play. Dozier had an impressive 18 point 4 block game against UMass and Taggart is getting 9.4 ppg and 9.4 rpg. Neither guy is a first round type player, but that doesn't mean that they can't find a spot in the league.

Stock Down
Tyreke Evans-FR. 6'5 G-- Evans numbers may look good, but anyone who has seen him play realizes that he is gunner and has not improved on any of the problems he had in high school. Lord Tyreke has to get most of his points around the basket and has yet to show good shot selection or an ability to get his fellow Tigers involved.

Chase Budinger-JR. 6'7 G/F-- C-Bud has certainly improved his defense and overall effort, but two facts are going to continue to kill this kid; he is on an Arizona team that is going to be down again without a real coach, and he really doesn't want to play basketball. He is like a less talented Vince Carter in terms of desire.

-Nasty Nate

CAP WATCH 2010: NEW YORK KNICKS

2008-11-23T16:02:00.004-05:00

Greetings. After actually looking at comments below from the video posted in August, the PnR has realized we haven't been fulfilling our civic duties. I think we need to go over what could be the shittiest story line in the NBA for the next 2 seasons: getting under the cap.

Well, the Knicks just gave up all hopes of making their fans happy for at least two seasons. Here are their moves over the current week:

Knicks acquire:

F Al Harrington

Warriors acquire:

G Jamaal Crawford

Winner (at least this year): Warriors. They needed a quick fix until Monta Ellis returns in about a month and Jamaal Crawford will be a fine replacement. If he cant be exponentially better than DeMarcus Nelson I will shit my pants. I like a line-up of Crawford, Jack, Jay Cutler Maggette, Anthony Randolph/Brandon Wright and Biedrins. Wright and Randolph are showing a lot of skills recently which made Harrington and his bad attitude dispensable. It will be interesting when Monta returns how Crawford enjoys being the sixth man. They just gave Monta, Maggette, and Jackson a lot of money and years so we'll see. In the long run, the Knicks have enough cash to potentially sign one of the following: LeBron, Bosh, Wade, STAT, etc UNTIL

Knicks acquire:

G Cuttino Mobley and his 3000 sweat bands
F Tim Thomas

Clippers acquire:

G Mardy Collins
F Zach Randolph and stock in McDonald's

Winner: THE KNICKS!!!!!! Not because of talent, but because they are so dedicated to losing and sucking that they welcome Tim Thomas with open arms. Never in NBA history has there been anyone with so much talent yet such a commitment to being a pussy and sucking. Not to mention all of the cap room that they can sign 2 big names!!! Imagine this line-up playing for NY in 2010-2011:

G Chris Duhon
G Xavier Henry (Projected 2010 2nd Pick)
F LeBron James
F Blake Griffin (Projected 2009 1st Pick)
C Amare Stoudemire

The NBA!!!!! Love IT!!!!!

Team Unfuckwithable

2008-11-18T23:34:00.003-05:00

Alright, apparently they NBA didn't get me rolling on bball. But holy crap I love the ESPN Midnight Madness thing. Here's a couple teams I would like to compile (some are nice, some aren't). Here we go!!!!

First Team All PnR (note Slamanna wrote this, so excuse the white men):

PG- Steph "Don't Ever Under Any Circumstances Call Me Cinderella" Curry-- 6'1/155/Davidson
SG- Robert "Dark Vader" Vaden-- 6'5/215/UAB
SF- James "Bitch I'm Hard" Harden-- 6'4/220/ASU
PF- Blake "Way Better Than Eddie" Griffin-- 6'10/230/Oklahoma
C- Tyler "Don't Hate" Hansbrough-- 6'9/240/UNC

Second Team All PnR:

PG: Levance "I'm a Leader and I Hit Huge Shots" Fields-- 5'11/190/Pitt
SG: Jack "Get Head Like Bill Clinton" McClinton-- 6'1/190/The U Got Swag
SF: Tyler "F U...I'M SECOND TEAM PnR? I THOUGHT WE WAS FAM?" Smith-- 6'7/220/TENN
PF: Luke "Nobody Likes Me But I'm on the List Because I Put Up Stats" Harangody-- 6'8/250/ND
PF: DeJuan "Man Crush" Blair-- 6'5 (but he has a the length to make Jay Bilas Blush)/255/Pitt

Third Team All PnR:

PG: Patty "I'm Faster/Better Than Tywon Lawson" Mills-- 6/180/St. Mary's
SG: Lester "25-7-7" Hudson-- 6'1/210/Tenn-Martin
SF: Sam "I Got Something For Your Face/Forget Proactive" Young--6'6/210/Pitt
PF: Damion "I Averaged 12 Boards Last Year and No One Cared" James--6'7/230/Texas
PF: Deon "Justice" Thompson-- 6'8/230/UNC

Honorable Mention:
-The whole Memphis squad sans Lord Tyreke
- Jerome Jordan, C, Tulsa
- Air Bud, F, Zona
- Earl Clark, F, Lville
- Kyle Singler, F, Duke
- Patrick Christopher, G, Cali
- Dionte Christmas, G, Temple
- David Lighty, G, tOSU
- Eric Maynor, G, VCU
- Derrick Brown, F, Xavier

All-Fresh:

G- Jrue Holiday-UCLA
G- Willie Warren- Oklahoma
F- Wesley Witherspoon- Memphis
F- Nasir........ I can't be a homer.......Delvon Roe-Michigan State
C- Tyler Zeller- UNC
C*- Samardo Samuels- Ville

I apologize if I missed any really nasty freshman. I refuse to put any of those one and done guys because they should be on the NBA Rookie team (minus Reke)

The How The F*CK Are You An NBA Prospect Team:

G- Tyreke Evans (All he can do is shoot terrible shots, and that's within Memphis' offense!!!!)
G- Gerald Henderson (Singler is WAAYYYY better)
F- Wayne Ellington (It must be an Episcopal Academy thing)
F- Al-Faraq Aminu (I'm not a believer, he reminds me of Ndubi Ebi.......Google the name see how the NBA worked out for him)
F- Connor Atchley (Since when does: a) being white, b) having a nice jumper and decent athleticism, and c) Averaging 10 and 6 translate to first round status?)

Wish You Were Back Team :( -
G- Anthony Randolph
G- Jerryd Bayless
F- CDR
F- B-Easy
C- Joey Dorsey

Every Dog Has It's Day

2008-09-04T14:08:00.002-04:00

So, I'm just checking out slamonline.com today and I see a very inspirational video link for any small white person. It was a video of LeBron James facing off against some warehouse worker in a promotional game of HORSE. LeBron loses 2/3 from the guy! To see the video, click here.

I'M BACK!!!!

2008-08-25T11:54:00.004-04:00

Well, I'm back at school and that means I have the internet again. It's great to have the ability to read some of my other sites (youtube clips, slamonline.com, scout.com, nbadraft.net, etc). Here are some of my summer thoughts:

1. The Muzik Man did a great job holding it down. I know Jesus Stanecsworth is hating, but when I saw a post about B-Easy and it had a tag named "Gunners", I knew this is where I wanted to be.

2. NBA Free Agency this summer has been pretty good.
-The Clippers got their PG (Sorry, Shuan). I hope he enjoys dumping it down to Paul Fucking Davis. Haha, money talks just ask Elton.
- The Sixers should've went after J-Smoove because he plays their style. Instead they fucked him over and now he is playing for a lot less than he is worth.
- James Posey to the Hornets is legit as hell.
- D-Miles to the Celtics doesn't make sense.
- Bill Walker to the Celtics rules.

3. NBA trades
- The one that stands out is Houston acquiring Ron Artest. Rumors are that he'll be playing the 4 spot for them (even though they are kinda loaded with Scola and Landry). I love small ball.

4. USA Basketball
- The commercial with Marvin Gaye singing the National Anthem might be the blackest/coolest thing I have ever seen. I thought LeBron was the most unstoppable guy in the world because of sheer size and skill. D Wade is back and gonna beat the shit out of guys this year. Kobe was Kobe. Chris Paul is hands down the freshest PG in the league.

Alright this post was real shitty, I'll try to do better next time.

-ML

Free Agency with a Lil Twist

2008-07-09T16:05:00.005-04:00

I have been trying to figure out what has been the biggest disappointment of the week. There are many choices, ranging from Derrick Rose's sub par play, to the fact that I left two open beers out of the refrigerator last night. However, one incident sticks out..... Former NBA player Nick Anderson didn't know what "The Carter 3" was. I was shocked.....I may have cried. For what it's worth, the fact that I start work tomorrow has been the second biggest disappointment of the week. Anyway, in an effort to educate Mr. Anderson on the man that is Lil Wayne, today's blog is a special Lil Wayne edition.

We Takin Over- Perhaps one of the finest collaborations in rap history, and one of my favorite Lil Wayne verses of all time.... We Takin Over can be used to describe the signing of Elton Brand by Philly. Philly thinks that they can pass the Pistons and the Cavs in the East. I have a few problems with this signing. As I mentioned yesterday, I think that Josh Smith would have been a better addition due to his age (22 compared to 29) and because Philly found success last year by playing fast. Brand will be good because he gives them a dominant low post scorer who will command double teams. As of right now though, nothing will come from those double teams because Philly has no one that can shoot the basketball.

Sky's The Limit- After two days of basketball at the Orlando Summer League, this song title can be used to describe the play of Russell Westbrook. Both literally and figuratively, the sky is the limit for Westbrook. Russell has averaged 18.5 over the first two games, and he is the sole reason that I am still tuning into the Summer League.

World of Fantasy- World of Fantasy is one of Wayne's finest mixtape songs. In my opinion, the Warriors are living in a world of fantasy if they think that Corey Maggette will help them get into the playoffs. First and foremost, Maggette has been a career loser and carries a bad attitude. Secondly, isn't Stephen Jackson the leader of the team? Don't Jackson and Maggette play the same position? Does Golden State even have a player on their roster that isn't considered a wing? On top of the Maggette deal, the Warriors over payed for Ronny Turiaf. Don't get me wrong, Ronny is a PnR favorite, but his 6.6 ppg, 3.9 rpg, and endless amounts of energy straight up aren't even close to being worth 17 million dollars.

Sweetest Girl- Arguably the most popular song of the past year, Sweetest Girl saw Lil Weezy team up with Haitian Wyclef Jean. Mickael Pietrus is from France, and since neither France nor Haiti is in America, I felt like this was the proper way to mention that he has signed with Orlando. I feel like this is a good place for Pietrus, and his defense will be welcomed by the Magic. Also worth mentioning that Courtney Lee (a PnR college favorite) has been playing well for the Magic in Summer League.

Grown Man- In Grown Man, we get to hear Lil Wayne's softer sensitive side. Weezy proclaims numerous times that he is a grown man. For years, the West has been considered the far better conference, but perhaps the East is growing up. For example, KG and the Celtics got their "grown man on" on their way to winning the NBA title. Washington has resigned Jamison and Arenas to keep together the East's "near big 3". Detroit has one foot in the grave, but they still have talent. LeBron still plays for Cleveland, and he has already carried Ben Wallace's corpse into the playoffs. Atlanta could be good, and Philly has made a big move in getting Brand. The West is still better, but the East is no longer the NBDL.

"I've been lonely, I've been waiting for you" is the opening to Wayne's Something You Forgot. The line does a great job of describing how I feel about my beer. Therefore, this blog is over, but I'll be back later today with another update.

-PnR

Uncle Russy, Kevin Durant, and Philly

2008-07-08T18:03:00.006-04:00

Uncle Russy and KD

Russell Westbrook continues to impress in day 2 of the Orlando Magic Summer League. Sporting a uniform that simply says Oklahoma City, Russell is leading the way at halftime unofficially with 15 points. Jeff Green and KD have 13 points each. In a shocking movie, Kevin Durant decided to play today, apparently he wanted Russy to have a running mate. Westbrook has looked like the Monta Ellis/Leandro Barbosa type player that many think he can be. However, the question still remains if he can run a team as a true point guard.

On the other end of things, Kevin Kruger has played a stellar game for Orlando. Lon's son had 8 assists in the first half, but he probably has no chance of making the actual roster. Big man Marcin Gortat has looked good as well. Gortat actually played in more playoff games than regular season games last year. How the hell does that happen? However, Gortat moves slower than my liver after a hard week of drinking. By the way, my liver and kidneys are currently not working for shit after an unreal drinking binge.

Side note, the past two days I have done nothing but watched these summer league games online while I drinking massive amounts of alcohol. Is that a good thing or a bad thing? As of now I'm going with good.

I feel like Oklahoma City had KD play just to make sure Jeff Green didn't shoot 55 times like yesterday.

Philly-Free Agency

http://www.nba.com//news/sixers_wolves_080708.html

Many sources are reporting that Philly has dealt Rodney Carney and a future #1 pick to the Wolves for a 2.8 million dollar trade exception in order to get some more cap space to make a huge offer to Elton Brand.
Personally, I would go after Josh Smith harder than Elton Brand.

Beasley

Lil' Mike finished 1-13 for about 9 points.... really a rough day for him.

Lil' Mike, NBA Summer League, and Free Agency

2008-07-08T15:32:00.003-04:00

Where We Been??
Well, I would like to say that PnR should finally be back on track after a rough start to the summer. Lamanna really doesn't have internet access, so he hasn't been able to contribute to the blog, and until this week, I had been living without internet or cable. Now with the Orlando Summer League I feel that it is important to update.

Summer League (Michael and Friends)
First thing is first, Lil' Mike Beasley had a strong showing in the first game of his NBA career. From the official stats, Mike had 28 and 9, but by my unofficial count, Beasley had at least 12 boards. The funny thing is, the kid hardly played. He did all of his damage in about 25 minutes of court time. Today, against Sean Williams and New Jersey he is having a bad day, but more on that later.

I'd first like to talk about some trouble that Beasley may have in the league. After all, we all know about his strengths. For comparison, Mike Beasley shot roughly 17.5 times a game in college. The player who is most similar to Beasley is Kevin Durant. In college, Durant shot roughly 18.5 times per game, which is obviously 1 more time a game than Beasley. Last year for Seattle/Oklahoma City, Durant shot 17 times a game. Keep in mind that Kevin Durant was joined by 3 WNBA players, a guy in a wheel chair, and Nick Collison (who somehow just missed averaging a double double for the year). Therefore, Durant got to shoot a ton. Beasley will be joined in Miami by DWade..... Last season, in 51 games Wade shot about 18.5 times per game. If Durant has a reputation for being a gunner, then Wade has a reputation for being a shotgun. On top of Wade, Miami has some other possible guns in their lineup. You may be asking what the hell does this mean for Beasley? What it means is, how will Lil' Mike respond to a game where he only gets 10-12 shots? For example, against Rider, Mike had 13 points on 11 shots, and against Xavier he had 5 points on 6 shots. No offense to Sean Miller and his Xavier squad, but the post players in the Eastern Conference should be a bit better defensively.

Want proof that NBA players are better than those guys from Xavier? In one half of play so far today, Sean Williams has held Beasley to 4 points on 0-9 shooting. Williams has also sent two of Beasley's shots to the shitter with massive blocks. Even worse? Mike has 5 fouls and 5 turnovers.

On the other hand, Super Mario Chalmers has been a stud through two days. Yesterday he basically shit on Derrick Rose. Chalmers, who went 34th in the draft scored, took care of the ball, and hounded Rose on the defensive end. We all know that Super Mario is going to play great defense and hit open jumpers. If he proves that he can take care of the ball and run an NBA team, he has a very good chance to start this year for the Heat. Chalmers is a guy who should have went in the top 25 of the draft, and for some reason he fell. I mean really, is he that much worse than D.J. Augustin?

Other summer league news, Uncle Russy (Russell Westbrook) looked like a stud. Westbrook had 18 points, 5 assists, and 4 rebounds. Russy is a freak athlete, and if he proves that he can take care of the ball he can be a star. The Oklahoma City team played the Pacers, and Westbrook got to the hoop at will. Pair him with KD, and Jeff Green on the break, and things could be pretty exciting for the former Sonics. I'm not saying it will translate into wins (it won't), but at least it will keep the fans from falling asleep.

I'll be checking back in later with some more summer league news and a dip into free agency.

-PnR

Lovin me some Delonte, here come 10 (or so) thoughts....

2008-05-11T02:34:00.004-04:00

These blogs keep getting harder to type because I am currently in Pittsburgh without a solid internet connection. I get as much online-time as I can by stealing a wireless connection from "Nicola and Kelly". I'm pretty sure those ladies read this, so I'm begging them to make sure they never password protect that shit. Also, if they are hott I would gladly accept naked food deliveries from them. I'm in 305 ladies!!! It is hard to type these cuz I haven't watched as much hoops as I should be watching. I decided to go old school hood rich and not even get cable for the summer in an effort to save money. That being said, I did get a chance to watch some 2nd round action recently. Here are some thoughts (in a numbered fashion). Damn I love numbers for some reason.

1. I'll start with the Cavs-Celts game from tonight:
A. The Cavs intro is one of the greatest in sports. Really, the marketing/video people in Cleveland need an A for effort. During the intro for the Celts, the "Darth Vader" music from Star Wars was blasting. Then, all of a sudden, the lights went out and we were graced with the presence of the pride of Eleanor Roosevelt High School (and the D.C. area's 55th best NBA player), Delonte West. Quick aside, really hard to believe that West and Pat Calathes attended the same institution of higher learning, but I digress. West asked the fans to, "Rise Up", in what was one of the most hood events I have ever seen. Then, the Cavs' starting lineup was introduced, only noone knew if Ben Wallace was playing (more on this in a few). This led to Big Ben being announced, as Anderson Varejao danced out and high-fived the whole team. A few Cavs were laughing.... it was a great moment.

B. Big Ben did play in the game, as a matter of fact, he actually started and played really well. Ben had an inner ear infection that almost led to him dying during game 2 in Boston. Seriously, if you haven't seen the video you really need to check it out, the man almost collapsed.

C. Big Z got them old man tricks. Like straight out of the YMCA old man tricks.

D. Speaking of Big Z, there is a feud brewing with him and KG over the English Premier League. Z is a big fan of Manchester United, and apparently KG loves him some Chelsea. However, Big Z has called KG out and questioned his fanhood. Now, I understand why Big Z would think that KG doesn't care for futbol, but really, does someone who is a frontrunner fan have any room to question someone else? Jesus Z, do you root for the Yankees and Duke too?

E. Remember when Sasha Pavlovic held out for more than 13 million and eventually got paid? Too bad he is essentially worthless and has played about 15 total minutes in the playoffs. Granted, he has a bum ankle, but still... at the end of the day he is Sasha Pavlovic.

F. I'm just going to throw this out there, and you can toss it right back if you don't agree, but doesn't Joe Smith look more and more like a crack-head everyday?

G. The best part of the game was Doc Rivers getting a "t" early on and being held back by his players. It was almost like the assistants were thinking, "man, maybe he will do something crazy and get thrown out of the league.... then we would all get promoted and maybe have a chance to win this whole thing.... that would be great".

H. The Cavs are temporarily called the Delontes until LBJ returns to form and they can once again be named the LeBrons. Don't worry LBJ, we still love you baby.

2. Why the hell did I go with letters for that sequence of thoughts? Who cares. Time for a few random, rapid fire thoughts.

3. Kyle Korver is the spokesman for some Converse advertisements. Really? I know DWade is hurt, but does Converse really think Korver is going to be able to push the product? WTF?

4. Over a few beverages last night, we were having a heated discussion as to who should have been the MVP. ADavid, a former PG in his own right, was partial to the little guy(CP3). Sawk had his Kobe Bry-oner on, and I may or may not have been fellating LeBron..... But in the end, I had to admit that the trophy was in the right place with Kobe. By the way, I now have to delete my history on my computer because I had to check the spelling and usage of the term "fellatio". Awesome.

5. Then tonight, Sawka asked me who the new face of the league was. His vote went to CP3. The Paul boner seems to be at an all time high in every place across the country with the exception of San Antonio and Utah. Now Chris Paul is good... and it would be great for the NBA to have a guy like Chris be the face of the league, but I think that LBJ is doing a great job. It would be nice to see a "young guns" campaign with Paul, Amare, LBJ, DWade, Deron Williams, and Melo. The only potential problem is that Melo would show up to the photo shoot assuming that "gun" was meant literally. Yeah, my bad, scratch that ad campaign.

6. Then tonight again, me and Sawk were talking about the best players in the league. Now, most of the top guys are obvious, but I started to think about the guys who don't get as much love as they should. Top of the list IMO would be James Caron Butler and Brandon Dawayne Roy, followed by Hedo and numerous other players. However, "Tough Juice" and Roy have finally started to get some love, and Hedo was named the Most Improved Player in the league.

7. Ouch, I just got hit by a LeBron jumper.

8. Mike D'Antoni to New York.... what a terrible match, but I would rather discuss this topic at length at a later date.

9. It was good to see that Carlos Boozer still had a playoff pulse the other night against the Lakers. Even better was seeing every single story on the game include a pun including the last name "Boozer" and some reference to bars or drinking.

10. I've been looking for hours for a picture of Chauncey Billups' watch, but I had no luck. The watch was probably one of the 5 most pimp things I have seen in the past month.

I'm ending on 10 because I'm too lazy and 10 seems like a nice round number.

I'm out like T-Mac in the playoffs,

-NM

The Sequel-Happy Hour (Almost)

2008-05-03T01:17:00.006-04:00

Welcome back to part two of Playoff Happy Hour. Playoff Happy Hour was brought back by you the fans. We are making strides to become more interactive here at PnR, so the comments are welcomed. A few changes, I am actually drunk for this Happy Hour, the thoughts will be more developed, and they will be more organized. Lastly, I may not even fashion 60 ideas, so Happy Hour may end earlier or later than expected.

Random

1. Lamanna's family has a typewriter plugged into a modem. Therefore, for a majority of the summer, I will be posting on my own. However, he does call/text me with thoughts (mostly on Memphis recruiting).

2. Speaking of Coach Cal and his Tigers, they are the only Pro hoops team in Memphis. Memphis picked up 6'7 small forward Wesley Witherspoon today. Witherspoon joins an already stellar class.

3. Not NBA related, but this article on the courage of Chris Lofton is worth a read. Lofton played the whole season while dealing with cancer/recovery. http://sports.espn.go.com/ncb/columns/story?id=3376961&lpos=spotlight&lid=tab7pos1

4. Also related to the college game, Kentucky picked up a commitment from a 6'4 8th grader. http://leagueathletics.com/Page.asp?id=7223&org=KINGJAMESSHOOTINGSTARSSOUTH.COM . Much like a South American baseball player, the kid's age is unconfirmed (he may be 15!!!).

5. I have always been on the Eric Gordon hate train, but after watching Joe Johnson pimp all series, I have come to believe that Gordon may have a similar career. They play a lot alike.

6. In the 2002 NBA draft Drew Gooden went 4th and Carlos Boozer went 35th. Great collective scouting job by NBA teams.

7. My favorite part about NBA Live is that it is really no big deal to start a dynasty with Mike Dunleavy Jr. or Josh Childress as your franchise point guard. In a perfect world, every NBA team would have 4 guys between 6'6 and 6'9 running around and a 6'11 stick of a center who just has great athletic ability and no chance of defending a real post player.

8. I told Sawk that Philly just set their fans up for a huge let-down next year. Expectations will be too high and they will shit the bed.

9. Early reports have Kobe winning the NBA MVP..... I like it!

Cavs-Wizards

10. How many of Delonte West's tats are gang related? I'm setting the over-under at 73%.

11. I hate to admit it, but it takes me three possessions every Cavs game to realize that West is the "white" guy bringing the ball up and not Wally Szczerbiak.

12. Speaking of which, Wally showed up for a postseason game for the first time since his college days at Miami (OH).

13. My favorite play in all of basketball is when LeBron posts up at half court and the Cavs give him the ball and let him go to work. Triple-Double for the King..... I love him!

14. My favorite part of the whole game today was when ESPN kept cutting to shots of Darius Songaila's jersey on the bench folded out over a chair as if it were a tribute to a player who had recently died (Songaila was suspended, not dead).

15. Sawk was cryin about how Bron Bron and the Cavs get all the calls, and to an extent he is right, but they needed to give them some calls considering the way that they were being mauled by the Wizards. It seemed as though DeShawn Stevenson had ordered advance copies of GTA IV for all of his teammates to play before the series in an effort to get them pumped up. I really believe that DeShawn is capable of committing any crime known to man, and some that haven't been discovered/considered yet.

16. DeShawn, shave the beard baby, you ain't no Baron Davis.

Dem Hawks 'n at

17. Al Horford rules. I said it last post and it needs to be said again, what a P-I-M-P.

18. Marvin Williams has impressed me this series. The kid has already contributed more than I ever expected him to in the NBA. I pictured him hanging out with Darius Miles and Shawn Kemp after a failed 3 year stint in the league. He looked good tonight and can make some tough shots.

19. J-Chill, you know we love that afro baby!!!

20. Also, J-Chill's afro isn't the only thing that is smooth about him. The kid can play and really will be a valuable asset if this Hawks team can ever make the leap to contender status in the next few years.

21. Childress is joined by a whole cast of good characters from the Hawks. Who doesn't love Josh Smith and Joe Johnson?

22. You can blame Doc Rivers all you want cough*Bill Simmons*cough, but you have to admit that the Hawks have come to play. Rivers can't guard Joe Johnson, he can't make Ray Allen make open jumpers, and he can't keep PDub out of foul trouble.

23. What is the biggest difference between Ray Allen and Jesus Shuttlesworth? With the game on the line Jesus cans one of those important jumpers that Ray missed. Likewise, Shuttlesworth would have converted one of the 3 shots that Ray missed on the same possession. Lastly, Shuttlesworth has illegitimate children, while Ray Allen is a good guy with strong character. I feel as though there is a positive correlation between illegitimate children and game winning shots.

24. I just spent 45 minutes looking for a Jesus Shuttlesworth jersey.... Sadly, I came up empty-handed.

25. I think that you could put Jason Kidd, Ray Allen, T-Mac, KG, Melo, Amare, Steve Nash, and Vince Carter all on one team and they would still choke in the playoffs. That being said, I see the Celtics taking game 7 and maybe even still making the NBA Finals.

26. I loved when Josh Smith rubbed Ray Allen's head at the end of the game as if Ray were a child. It could have been a sincere gesture, but I am thinking/hoping that Smith was mocking Ray.

27. Around the 5 minute mark, Atlanta had 44 bad possessions in a row, and I was certain that they had blown the game. Then out of nowhere, they stopped the Celts and J-Chill made a sick driving layup to cap a 9-0 run and give the Hawks a 6 point lead.

Utah Advances

28. Most importantly, I have to note how excited I am for the series between the Jazz and the Lakers. My biggest reason for being happy is the fact that I can't wait to see the 3 or 4 times a game that someone gets lost in transition and Kyle Korver has to end up covering Kobe for a few seconds. That should be worth the price of admission alone.

29. Looks like T-Mac may never get out of the first round.

30. On a related note, it is being rumored (but not confirmed), that T-Mac and Luis Scola are holding the rest of the Rockets hostage in the locker room. Hopefully the situation comes to a safe conclusion.

31. Call me crazy, but I really like Ronnie Brewer.

32. Did anyone watch this series? I didn't.

33. WOW.... Thank God. ESPN.com is reporting that DeShawn Stevenson is on a direct flight to Utah in order to diffuse the situation mentioned in number 30. It looks like things are going to be OK.

34. People are saying that nobody from Utah can guard Kobe.... I say who cares? Nobody in the league can guard Kobe. I also would ask who from LA can guard Deron Williams? The only answer is Kobe, but Phil won't use Kobe on Williams until crunch time. I like the Lake Show, but I do think that Williams will have a big series.

35. Listen, Houston fans are going to have the same inflated expectations as Philly fans. Unfortunately for them, the West is so good that Houston won't finish any better.

36. Utah is freakin good at home.

37. The United States government is investigating DeShawn Stevenson in the JFK murder case. Does this relate to the Utah win? No, but I am too lazy to insert it into the blog at an earlier point.

38. Big Ted let it be known that he loves Utah and Jerry Sloan, but take that with a grain of salt because Big Ted was more wasted than Bob Huggins on game day (I woulda said on Saturday, but everyone knows that it is impossible to be more wasted than Bob Huggins on a non-game day).

39. It has just been confirmed that Roger Clemens and Mehmet Okur have been running an underage prostitution ring. More details to come later.

40. Back to basketball, how can you not love a guy like Carlos Boozer (it took me nine attempts to type that.... I love beer). As mentioned earlier, nobody wanted him in the draft and now he is a P-I-M-P. It is sad that the people of Utah were doubting him during the course of this series.

Last Call

41. Sawka, great call on Philly coming out to play.... moron!!

42. Floss, sorry those Pens couldn't pull out the sweep. Also, sorry I let the world know about your porn habits. I promise it will only happen 9 or 10 more times.

43. Stanecsworth, the level of Scottie Pippens goes like this (1 being the worst).
1. Dead man's Scottie Pippen
2. HIV Positive Scottie Pippen
3. Homeless man's Scottie Pippen
4. Teenage pregnancy Scottie Pippen
5. Prison Scottie Pippen
6. Houston Rockets' Scottie Pippen
7. Welfare recipient's Scottie Pippen
8. Regular Scottie Pippen
10000. Chicago Bulls' Scottie Pippen
So as you can see, Welfare Pippen is 4 whole levels ahead of Homeless Pippen. BIG DIFFERENCE.

44. Once again, congrats to all of the teams that have advanced and big ups to the Atlanta Hawks for still being alive.

45. This last one is just a list. Is it my favorite players? No. Is it the best players? No. It is just a list of 5 people who are livin the dream in the NBA Playoffs.
LBJ, Josh Smith, Deron Williams, Dwight Howard, Luke Walton. I'm going to put this starting 5 together on NBA Live and see what happens.

I stopped at 45 because all of my favorite liquors are 90 proof (45% alcohol by volume). Happy Hour has ended early.

Get buckets,

-NM

Playoff Happy Hour

2008-04-30T01:37:00.005-04:00

Welcome to PnR's Playoff Happy Hour- 60 random thoughts on the NBA Playoffs. We might as well get right into the list.

1. Tonight, the Girl behind Mark D'Antoni in the front row wearing a Ginobili jersey was amazing. I want to marry you baby. If you read this give me a call.

2. CP3 is the best point guard on the planet!!!

3. On a similar note, ESPN the Magazine had an article a few issues ago that said Paul invited his friends from other teams to stay at his place while they were on the road. I imagine that if Jason Kidd ever gets this invitation that he will show up with a machete. Paul beat Kidd like Kidd used to beat his own wife.

4. Another note on the Suns-Spurs game tonight... It was great to see Tony Parker flop like he had been shot by Raja Bell at the 8 minute mark of the fourth quarter in a two point game. Really one of my favorite all time flops.

5. D'Antoni should be fired.

6. After 10 drinks I often refer to him as Mark D'Antoni.

7. After 15 drinks he gets called either Mike or Mark D'Antonio.

8. After 20 drinks he gets called, "fag coach hiding the hot girl".

9. Avery Johnson should be on his way out as well. Nothing against either of these guys, but they have missed their shots at titles, and the organizations need to make a move to try to improve, even if it means taking a step back.

10. Steve Nash is great on a decent team, but teams that want to win a title can't win it with Steve. There is not one player in the league that he can guard. His defense is such a joke.

11. The Lakers are pretty good.

12. I love Kobe and LeBron, but if you had to choose a player to take you to a title for one year, wouldn't Duncan have to come into the conversation as well? Who would be the best guy for a one year all or nothing scenario?

13. America, congrats on finally getting to meet Josh Smith.

14. Hack-A-Shaq is stupid.

15. Hack-A-Shaq is gay.

16. Congrats to everyone who has advanced so far..... well, except for the Spurs... I fell asleep 10 times during the game tonight.

17. That being said, Manu is my boy.

18. If I see one more commercial for "The Delfest Concert", I am going to kill someone. Is a bluegrass band really getting to its target audience during NBA games?

19. The other night the TNT cast asked Chris Webber what the Pistons needed to do to stay focused at home. To paraphrase Webber, "This series is 2-2, it ain't a chill with the boys at the crib kinda night.... you have to focus on the game". I think that statement alone clears up any questions as to why Webber never became one of the best basketball players ever.

20. Isn't it funny that Chris Paul and Chris Quinn play the same position in the same basketball league? How big of a drop in talent level is that?

21. Isn't it funny that Chris Paul and Jason Kidd play the same position in the same basketball league? How big of a drop in talent level is that?

22. Al Horford, I'm sorry. Please don't come kick my ass. You now rule my friend.

23. It was cool that people in Atlanta just found out that the city still had a basketball franchise.

24. When Deron Williams doesn't have it going the Jazz only score 69 points. Tonight was a good example of this.

25. Skip To My Lou

26. When Joe Johnson drove the lane in Game 4, the Celtics' defense spread as wide as Kim Kardashian's legs in the video with Ray J.

27. Speaking of Game 4 of that series, I had to miss "The Hills" because of it... WTF NBA? Can't you schedule around these kinda things?

28. Number 27 is a completely serious and legit complaint.

29. Samuel Dalembert went for 22 and 16 in a playoff game.

30. Number 29 is a completely serious and legit statement.

31. Getting 60 thoughts is going to be a challenge.

32. These next few are going to deal with the upcoming New Orleans-San Antonio series.

33. New Orleans can actually beat San Antonio. Paul will do a decent job on Parker and will be Chris Paul on the offensive end. They have a legit second star in David West and some guys who are athletic enough to slow down Manu.

34. The biggest concern? David West is always 2 seconds away from doing something dumb and getting tossed.

35. Can Jannero Pargo stay this hot? The kid was up in flames in round 1.

36. What kind of parent names one kid Jannero (a WTF kinda name) and another Jeremy (an American name)?

37. I do wonder if New Orleans has enough depth to stay with San Antonio. On the other hand, is San Antonio too old to keep up with New Orleans? I hope those old heads are too old. On behalf of every NBA fan, we hate you Spurs!!

38. By the way, anyone who uses Hack-A-Shaq should be ashamed.

39. How is Hack-A-Shaq not an intentional foul?

40. I imagine that you have stopped reading this by now (that means you Stanecsworth).

41. If not, what the Wizards are doing to LeBron is just as bad if not worse than Hack-A-Shaq. They are killing the King.

42. It looks like Detroit will get passed Philly, but it seems clear that their run is over unless Tayshaun Prince makes the unlikely transformation from the homeless man's Scottie Pippen into the welfare recipient's Scottie Pippen. Clearly, the welfare recipient's Scottie Pippen is a much better and much more selfish player.

43. Or the Pistons could try to move someone in an effort to get an explosive 2/3 who can score in order to take the pressure off of Billups and Hamilton. The key would be keeping Maxiell, so that means maybe guys like Rodney Stuckey and Antonio McDyess would have to be shopped in order to get a great talent.

44. Dwight Howard is a force of nature.

45. Chris Bosh is a girl. A really good girl, but still a 6'10 122 pound girl.

46. As always, the TNT studio crew has been great.

47. Hack-A-Shaq is really dumb.

48. However, those saying that the Hack-A-Shaq played a big role in the series (like me) are really completely wrong. It was five possesions a game, and if Phoenix wanted to they could Hack-A-Duncan, who happens to be almost as bas at the line.

49. Shocker, Grant Hill got hurt. I mean really, I'm stunned that Grant would go down with an injury.

50. Hedo got the Most Improved Player Award. We are happy anytime one of our boys gets some love.

51. Brendan Haywood went and talked that shit on LeBron. I have a strange feeling that at some point in Game 5, King James will come flying down the lane and shove his balls into Haywood's mouth.

52. I feel that people are taking LBJ for granted because he is just so good. He is so consistent that 30-8-8 doesn't even impress people anymore.

53. Number 52 also happened to Tim Duncan for awhile.

54. The Spurs may win it all this year, but I feel like this is their last year as a dominant team.

55. Who would have guessed that Atlanta and Boston would be tied 2-2?

56. Who would have guessed that Philly would have broken 50 once this series?

57. I'll admit it, I had to look up how to spell Kim Kardashian earlier.

58. The Floss woulda spelled it right on the first try, because he types it into google images so often for beat-off material.

59. Funny that the Wizards are going to lose to the Cavs three years in a row.

60. LeBron for MVP and Lauren Conrad and Stephen Coletti 4-ever.

Happy Hour is over..... Sorry it was worse than the Suns.

-NM

Holla Back Yungins

2008-04-19T01:26:00.002-04:00

Well, the NBA Playoffs don't start until today and the PnR needed a hoop fix. We decided to check out the AAU circuit at the University of Pittsburgh and see some preps do work.

6:30 game: Pittsburgh Storm v. NCA- This was probably the best game we attended. Was it because of basketball? No. It was the interactions Nasty Nate had with Pittsburgh Storm coach Ron Klimchok. After 6'4" Drew Falletta got pinned/t-bagged by Dante Taylor, Nate decided to laugh really hard. Here is the dialog between the coach and our editor:

Klimchok (K): "Do you think that is funny?"
Nasty (N): "Yeah, it was. Blocks are funny. Maybe you should coach your team."
K: "I'm gonna get you kicked out."
N: "I'm gonna kick you out" (sounds of laughter)

Klimchok then went back to setting up a press or some stupid shit an AAU coach shouldn't do. All was quiet until some sweet ass kids showed up and another huge ass block went down. The kids, whom we told about our encounter, couldn't help but heckle the beloved coach afterwards. Enter new dialog:

N: "Hey Klimchok, it wasn't me this time. It wasn't me!"
K: "(Angry/sarcastic) I bet you were one heck of a player back in the day. I bet you were one helluva ball player."
N: "Well, I was good at football." (Klimchok turns away)
N: "Hey Klimchok, YOU'RE A GAY! You like dudes! On Halloween I heard you dressed as a basketball coach!"
K: Silence.

It was one awesome interaction. Nate eventually apologized to the guy after the game, but he regretted it because it was so fun. The best part: Klimchok was doing all of this shit while it was still a 5 point game with six minutes left. Shouldn't he have been focusing on upsetting the all-star team? All things equal- Zeke Marshall, the 61st player in the country, had a ton of blocks and fouled out in about 10 minutes. Dante Taylor reportedly had 24 points. I think that was pumped up because he is a top 10 power forward in the country. In my estimations, he had about 10.

What did we all learn from this? AAU coaches who actually coach suck and huge blocks on undersized white guys rule!

7:40 pm- Uncle Nate thought it was time to bar hop, so Wide White took over the scene. I watched the next two games on the Peterson Events Center Floor. One game sucked and the other had the most bad ass ninja on the planet. Number 12 on Cecil Kirk (Md) was a fucking PnR Prep Star. This kid was 5'11"-6' at most and was the one man fast break. He had atleast 6 monster dunks.

8:50 pm- I watched All-Ohio Red play in the auxiliary gym. The main reason was this Sullinger kid who is headed to Ohio State. I think the age group I watched was too old for him and the best player on the floor was some 6'10 white dude. It sucked. When I went back to the main gym at about 9:25, I watched the Indy Speice Gym Rats play Crusader Nation. The name Gym Rats summed it up- a bunch of white guys who were about 6'5 apiece hoisting 3's. All of them sucked except for #32. He played more of an inside game and I was shocked to see him throw down some 2 handed power dunks. It ruled.

10:00 pm- Had to check out the newest Pitt commit Lamar Patterson play. Because the Gym Rats' game went into OT I checked my schedule and was pleasantly surprised to see CDR's alma mater THE FAMILY playing in the auxiliary gym. They feature 4 class of '09 stud post players. My favorite was Derrick Nix, who is a taller Dejuan Blair. This muthafucka was about 290 and nasty. Plus he had some sweet Jordan 15's on. He ruled.

Alright so back to Lamar Patterson. He was playing for Team Final (Tyreke Evan's old AAU team). He looked reaaaaaaaaaaaaal bad for a while. He grabbed a boat load of rebounds that all fell right to him. Even though he couldn't hit shit offensively he displayed a super nice handle and passing ability. He is real long armed and about 6'5 3/4" . He played so well by the end of them game that I legit ably that his game is like a high school Paul Pierce. He has a nice stroke, handle, and post up game. The best part was he played zero defense. I was really pleased to watch him play the game.

What made me even happier was the guy sitting in front me during the game. He was a 30ish year old wigger who was sitting with his mom and carrying a ball bag. He was definitely the owner of Team Final. He was being such a fucking bitch about his team. At one point when the clock didn't start he yelled towards the refs, "The damn clock hasn't run in about 20 seconds! You're all too busy fucking around with who is scoring and grabbing rebounds! DO YOUR DAMN JOBS!". It was hilarious. He was a fucking bitch.

Well, now I'm going to return to studying. Tomorrow I have a big day planned with the JamFest (gotta keep the future ballers on tap and hopefull get into Lamar Patterson's entourage):

8:30- Pittsburgh Storm (Zeke Marshall and Coach Cuntlock) Trees Hall
9:40- DC Assault (Nate's brother Terrence Boyd)
and New Jersey Playaz (Dom Cheek-get familiar) Peterson Events Center
10:50- Baltimore Stars (Terrell Vinson) Trees Hall
12:00- BB Stars of America (6'5 Tom Droney) PEC and NCA (Dante Taylor)
2:20- PA Team Adidas (DeAndre Kane) Trees
4:40- Dap2KK (Nick Novak) PEC

and playoff games.

If my day sounds like I'm a big loser its better than studying for accounting.

The Crow is dry, there are tears in my eyes

-ML

NBA Yearly Awards...... Who is the MVP????

2008-04-14T01:15:00.007-04:00

Well it is time to bust out the hardware for the NBA season. Wednesday will mark the final day of the regular season and nothing that will happen in the last few days can change our opinion on the awards. Some awards were posted in our previews of the playoffs, but those awards were selected by the individual poster. The awards posted today were selected by the whole PnR staff after much debate, so the awards may vary from what was previously posted.

1st Team All NBA:
PG- Chris Paul, New Orleans
SG- Kobe Bryant, Los Angeles Lakers
SF- LeBron James, Cleveland
PF- Kevin Garnett, Boston
C- Dwight Howard, Orlando

2nd Team All NBA:
PG- Steve Nash, Phoenix
SG- Allen Iverson, Denver
SF- Carmelo Anthony, Denver
PF- Carlos Boozer, Utah
C- Amare Stoudemire, Phoenix

Coach of the Year:
Byron Scott, New Orleans

Rookie of the Year:
Kevin Durant, Seattle

Eastern Conference MVP:
LeBron James, Cleveland

Western Conference MVP:
Kobe Bryant, Los Angeles Lakers

NBA MVP:
Kobe Bryant, Los Angeles Lakers

Other Shit
This was just round one of the awards for the NBA...... Hopefully we will get out of bed sometime this week and be able to post some more awards (things that were posted in the weekly awards blogs of old). Also, PnR has been making a mistake lately. For some odd reason we kept posting that Josh Shipp of UCLA was a senior. We are dumb cunts, he is only a junior.

Lastly, some recommended reading:

http://www.nba.com/features/pit2008_day3.html - A link to the results of the Portsmouth Invitational, a nice place for guys to try to improve their draft stock and get an invite to the Chicago Pre-Draft Camp. Likely, not many people from the Portsmouth Invitational will make an impact of the NBA, but it is a way to check in on some guys you may like. Pat Calathes and Chris Lofton were probably the most familiar players there. Jamar Butler (OSU) was named the MVP of the whole thing.

-PnR

In Coach Cal We Trust, In White Girls He Busts

2008-04-09T17:31:00.008-04:00

If you know anything about us, you know that we fell in love with Memphis this year and we were almost in tears when they lost on Monday night. What follows is our feelings on the dynasty that Coach Calipari built. Red letters means you are reading the thoughts of ML and orange will be used to show the thoughts of NM.

We all know Memphis really won the title this season and that Uncle Kracker Bill Self screwed them over. We were all deeply saddened by their loss. Let us reflect on cool shit about Memphis:

1. Coach Cal's Basketball Philosophies
- Princeton on Steroids
- If you get in trouble at the rim, just throw it up and let the athletes get it
- He pisses on Conference USA teams
- He pisses on the Nation's elite
- He 69ed Rick Pitino's wife
- He recruits anyone regardless of GPA, criminal history and entourages
Well Lamanna pretty much summed it up here. All of these show why we fell in love with Cal. "If you came here to set screens and get rebounds you came to the wrong place."

2. CDR
- He wore a tight Under Armour short sleeve under his baggy ass jersey, prompting the white youth of America to do the same.
- I personally started to do this, but it resulted in like the 4 worst games of my intramural career.
- He took off the shirt to reveal a huge ass scripture tattoo (I would like to read it because it is most likely the lyrics to NWA's F*ck tha Police)
- Shockingly he has both parents, and he uses both names because neither of his parents wanted some recognition (it takes two to make a kid)
- He shattered the dreams of stocky, white post players by throwing his balls in Kevin Love's face (Best dunk ever??? Yes!)
- He played for the most hood ass AAU team, "The Family"
- During his introduction at the NCAA title game he threw up the "Dynasty"
Gotta Love the "Dynasty" sign, regardless of how bad of a pro he turns out to be, CDR will always have a place in my heart. Really one of my favorite college players of all time.

3. D-Rose
- He came to Memphis because Coach Cal sent him a registered gun, $200,000 and 10 oz of Liquid Codene. SIGN ME UP
- He is arrogant
- When he gets in trouble at the rim, he throws alley-oops to Dorsey
- He bitch slaps people
- He is a freak athlete
Actually, from all reports I have read, Rose is a great kid. His only problem is his association to "Worldwide Wes", but that is a story for another day. So basically Lamanna just made up a whole bunch of shit here. The funny thing is that Coach Cal gets all these thugs and is known as a "dirty" recruiter and coach in basketball circles, yet the only two players on his team that are wroth a damn are Rose and CRD, and every article I have read basically says that they are good kids. Everyone else gets in trouble, but these two don't. Only team in America where the scrubs are the ones who make trouble and stay on the team while the good players keep their noses clean.

4. Andre Allen
- What the hell could he have done for Cal to kick him off the team?! That rules.

5. Pierre Niles
- Cal asked him to lose 30 pounds in preparation for the season, Pierre gained 5.
-Pierre is really an inspiration to fat kids everywhere.

6. Joey Dorsey
- He was officially Coach Cal's slave for the year
- I'm sure he is a real nice guy........ yea, I bet he helps old ladies across the street.
- He makes Ben Wallace look like the Floss

7. The Supporting Cast
- Holy shit, they were straight off the playgrounds.
- Holy shit, they could play (disagree)
- Holy shit, (allegedly) none of them will graduate (that rules)

Will this be the fall of a dynasty? I sure hope not.
I posted about this earlier, while I still think Memphis will be good, I don't see another Memphis team being able to win a title...... ever. They will probably get Tyreke Evans (the best unsigned player in the country), but I just have a feeling about this kid. I mean seriously, he was driving an SUV when his cousin shot someone from the backseat. Where I'm from, you don't spell character G-U-N. And aside from the obvious shooting reference, Tyreke is a gun on the court as well. Memphis will never have another Derrick Rose, and he was the knife that smeared the butter for this team (I was tired of straw that stirs the drink). Plus CDR was so good, it will be hard to ever have another duo this good.

This looks like the end of our Memphis love for at least a few months. Stay tuned to PnR for NBA playoff coverage.

-ML, NM

The West is the Mutha F'n Realest

2008-04-09T16:41:00.006-04:00

So PnR straight up shit the bed on Final Four coverage..... we were too busy beating off to Becky Hammon and selling our video games in order to go to the liquor store (true story, but you know we kept NBA Live). Congrats to Kansas for their victory and we don't blame Memphis for not fouling, because hardly anyone fouls in that situation. We have a feeling that people are going to start fouling now though. Anyway, now it's about the guys who get paid twice as much and try half as hard. Actually, that statement used to be true, but for some reason NBA players are trying hard again (and college players are probably making as much as their NBA counterparts both in cash and white girls). Here is the West in a nutshell.

I'm not going to preview that matchups like Lamanna did, because they are going to change before the playoffs start. New Orleans and San Antonio both have 5 games left, while everyone else has 4. Denver and Golden State have the same record, but Denver is currently sitting in 8th because of the tiebreaker. The NBA tiebreaker is an interesting thing, it takes into account how many illegitimate children each team has fathered, home attendance, and how many times each team has said the "F" word in interviews. If things are still tied then they go with the team that won the season series. If that still leads to a tie then Allen Iverson and Baron Davis play one on one. Now that we sorted out the tiebreaker scenario we have to mention that PnR is praying that somehow both teams get into the playoffs. Sadly that isn't likely.

Here are rankings 9-1 as to who is most likely to represent the West. 1 Being the team most likely to get to the finals.

9. Houston- T Mac in the playoffs is like Eric Fudala at a country concert..... it just isn't met to be.

8. Denver- Better chance of Melo, AI, and George Karl fighting to the death than of this team playing defense.

7. Golden State- Not bad to be ranked 7th considering that if the playoffs started today they wouldn't even be in.

6. Dallas- After watching the NCAA Tournament with Big Ted (my father) he announced that he thought Roy Hibbert of Georgetown was "a gay". Does that have anything to do with Dallas? Hell no, but after seeing pics of drunk Dirk one could guess that he may be "a gay" as well. Also, he has choked in the playoffs before. Honestly, I should give this team more of a shot, but I'm too busy facebook stalking to care.

5. New Orleans- CP3 and the boys are still too young and still one player away.

4. Utah- Old white men everywhere cry when Jerry Sloan's guys get bounced. LeBron cries because the Cavs messed up the signing of Carlos Boozer. Deron Williams still gets his name mispronounced. Really, nobody wins when Utah is involved.

3. Phoenix- Before game 3 of the Western Finals Shaq will eat Amare's hamburger. Both guys will get into a fight and punch each other out. Team chemistry is never the same and the Suns will fall.

2. San Antonio- Is this the year they get old and die? We sure hope, but we doubt it. This is just wishful thinking.

1. Los Angeles- This is wishful thinking as well. Hopefully Kobe and the kids set up a dream finals with either Boston or the LeBron's.

Awards n Shit:

MVP: KB24, CP3 is a close second.

Best Beard: Baron Davis, no contest.

Coach of the Year: Byron Scott, although you could make the case that CP3 is as much of a coach as he is.

Rookie of the Year: TIE, Kevin Durant and Luis Scola. Without Scola after Yao went down Houston would be in trouble. Without Kevin Durant Seattle would be in the WNBA.

Defensive Player of the Year: Awarding a defensive player of the year is like awarding something stupid, like best pick-setter. I don't believe in that.

Most Improved: Monta Ellis, I'm sure someone deserves this over Ellis, but I'm too lazy to give a shit.

Shocker: The Sonics are going to win the lottery instead of Miami and draft Derrick Rose instead of Mike Beasley.

I'm gonna have a few beers and go to night class.

Nate Loves the kids,

-PnR

I'm Sleeping On These Suckas Like I'm Writing In My Jammies

2008-04-09T15:40:00.007-04:00

If you're watching professional basketball and thinking about turning on the NCAA Women's Championship game (Yo Candace, I saw the long sleeve tee you wore), chances are you're watching the Bulls play the Cavs for the 100th time. The Eastern Conference may not have had a ton of big name players come in at the deadline and is obviously a three-team race to the Finals, but it still has some players.

If the Playoffs began today, these are the match-ups:

1 Celtics v. 8 Hawks
2 Pistons v 7 Raptors
3 Orlando v. 6 Sixers
4 Cavs v. 5 Wizards

3 Magic v. 6 Sixers--
First off, how the f*ck(!!!!) did the Sixers sneak in? I know the East is bad and all, but Thaddeus Young is their power forward for Christ's sake! They are playing a fast up-tempo game and have taken down some of the NBA's elite. I don't think they have the pedigree to win against the Orlando Magic, but I'd tune in to watch AI part duex and Co run.

The Magic have the scariest dude in the NBA in the paint, a fast over achieving point guard and a foreign guy who has played like the homeless man's Scottie Pippen. I think they'll win the series in 5, but will be too wide eyed against the Pistons in the Second round.

4 Cavs v. 5 Wizards--

Historically, adding Wally Szcerbiak to your roster isn't a good idea. Historically, adding Delonte West to your roster is a hood idea. LeBron should be allowed to pretend this NBA Live and enhance his teammates ratings. Without LeBron, this team is pulling a Miami and trying to get B-Easy. Because Lebron James might in fact be the "Black Jesus" (eventhough Amare has it tattooed on his neck--He rules), he could take this team to the NBA Finals again. Then again, the other team might realize Ben Wallace, Joe Smith, D-West and Wally World are out there and play a box and one, with the box on LeBron.

The Wizards have a fighting chance, in fact I'll pick them to beat the Cavs. The Hibachi is back and firing, and Tough Juice and Jamison have gotten better playing without their leader. This team is dangerous in the back court, and shitty in the front court (Andray Blatche anyone?)

2 Detroit v. 7 Toronto--

Bill Simmons was once asked- "Give me a roster that is good enough to make the playoffs, yet bad enough to get knocked out." His response was the starting line-up for the Raptors. Chris Bosh is a pussy and their super sixth man is fucking Jason Kapono. If they put this series on TV, I just might watch the WNBA Draft.

Detroit, yyyyaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaawn. You know the story, "They play as a team", "They're tough and experienced.". All things the PnR hates. Fuck it.

1 Boston v. 8 Hawks--

If all is right in the world, the Hawks sweep the Celtics. They have J-Smoove, Double J, Al Horford and Mike Bibby. They also have some fresh bench players like Marv Williams and Josh Childress. They are straight hood, and play like it's a pick up game. Give them two years and they're the 2 seed in the East. Plus, I don't wanna hear about how good the Celtics are anymore in the East. It's like being the smartest retard.

On the other hand, the Hawks are retarded. They have zero basketball IQ and rely on athleticism and raw abilities. If it was up to PnR, that would win championships. The Celtics have one of the top defenses in the league and also lead the league in FG%. Paul Pierce put the additions of KG and Ray Allen perfectly in the summer. I read it in SLAM basketball magazine.
Pierce: "We've been on teams where we've had to carry a lot of the load, for a number of years, and you all know, you can't win that way". SLAM responded by translating what that really meant: "Or at least none of us could win that way. LeBron seems to be doing pretty well at it".

I hate all the hype they get but The Celtics will probably advance to the NBA Finals (and play the Spurs. That's when I chug a handle of Crow and try to pass out before it all begins).

Eastern Conference Awards:

MVP- KG, he proved to be the most valuable by coming to a team that was so horrific last year and made them the number 1 seed in the East.

Best Player- LeBron James, you could make a case that he is the NBA's most valuable for carrying such a shit team. I'm just going off the impact KG had on his team's record. Lebron is by far the best player in the East and won the MVP at the ASG this year.

Coach of the Year- Mo Cheeks, he got the f*&*ing SIXERS to the playoffs. Doc Rivers was handed a title. Oh my gosh, Doc Rivers had to manage 3 superstars (who are some of the easiest to manage because they're so humble) and make them happy!!!! Mo Cheeks had a bunch of immature players that doesn't have a single All-Star and sneak them into the playoffs. He created a system where his team could be competitive, and should be rewarded.

ROY- Al Horford, a double double average on a playoff team. Pretty impressive. He also provides the toughness on a finesse team.

Defensive Player of the Year- Josh Smith, he averaged almost 2 steals a game and is second in the NBA in shot blocking with 2.5 a game. He is versatile and long enough to defend positions 1-4. KG made a case, but I'm going off stats and J-Smoove's were more impressive.

6th Man- Louis Williams, he is a gunner off the bench on a playoff team averaging 11 ppg. Jason Maxiell of the Pistons was the runner-up but PnR favors flashy gunners. Sorry Jason.

Biggest Winners- The Miami Heat, I'm sure D-Wade is really hurt while he is sippin on vodka at the bars. Shawn Marion probably has some kind of condition he needs to be smoking all that weed for. OR there is a certain guy that goes to school in Manhattan, Kansas that can change a franchise. The Miami Heat's current roster couldn't even win in the D-League. At least next year they'll have Wade, Marion and Beasley. They'll be a team to watch next year.

White Guy You Love To Hate- Brian Scalabrine, the guy averages more fouls a game than rebounds. Plus he makes 3 million a season to ride the exercise bike in the hallway during Celtics games. On a side note, I also hate him because he was the leading MVP candidate of the league (averaging 31, 4 and 6 steals) before going down with a 5-week bone spur injury. Damn you Scalabrine!

First Team Eastern Conference

G LeBron James- 30 pts, 7 rebs, 7 ast
G Paul Pierce- 19 pts, 5 rebs, 4 ast
G Caron Butler- 20 pts, 6 reb, 4 ast, 3 stl
F Kevin Garnett- 19 pts, 10 reb, 4 ast
C Dwight Howard- 20 pts, 14 reb

Second Team Eastern Conference

G Chauncey Billups- 17 pts, 6 ast
G Ray Allen- 17 pts
F Josh Smith- 17 pts, 8 reb, 3 ast, 3 blks
F Antawn Jamison- 21 pts, 10 reb
F Chris Bosh- 22 pts, 8 reb

The stars of the East are definately comparable to the West, its just that the other players are so damn average. Whoever wins the West will win it all. I must be a genius.

Why sail with Captain, when you could fly with the Crow?
-ML

70 points in 2 games...... Call me Cinderella again....I dare ya

2008-03-24T03:39:00.004-04:00

Of course the title of this entry can only refer to one man, Steven Curry..... Oh wait, you mean his name is Stephen and it doesn't even sound like Steven? Crazy.... By the way, kid was voted a PnR 2nd team All-American. By the way again, if you didn't know how to say his name you were/are a moron.

Before we get too deep into the tournament, I feel the need to take care of some housekeeping issues. During the NCAA Tournament we have to make some sacrifices here at PnR. Sadly, we will be doing less NBA coverage. Don't get it twisted though, we still love the L. Secondly, this is the time of year when the work from class about triples, so we might be short on some other stuff, but know that our Tournament coverage is going to be on point like Darren Collison. Being that it is Easter, we would like to wish a happy ressurection to our friend Jesus Stanecsworth. Did you hear that? That was the sound of me being cast down to hell for all eternity. Also, note the change in the spelling of Stanecsworth (he always spelled it this way, I used a worthless 'i' when spelling it). Lastly, I (NM) would like to shake my own hand. I am currently sitting alone in first place in Stanecsworth's NCAA Pool.

Mid-Major my ass....ist
We want to start by giving props to our new favorite team, the Davidson Wildcats. I'm not going to explain what they did, because if you are reading this you already know. However, I will say that we knew about Jason Richards being a scrappy dude who led the country in assists and hit jumpers (and his dad played for Pitt). We clearly knew that Stephen Curry was All-World. But, and this is a huge but, not even we knew about Andrew Lovedale (playing way over his head), and Thomas Sander (gritty team leader). We love Davidson, and in our opinion, no team with a player as good as Stephen Curry should ever be called a Cinderella. I don't care what seed they are. Sadly, Gonzaga and Georgetown may have supplied a blueprint to stop Curry. Let the kid score early and he might not beat you. That plan can't be any worse then shutting him down for a half and then giving up 25 or 30 points to him in the second half.

Hate to see ya leave but it was good to see ya go
"lil Mike" will be missed. It is almost certain that K-State star Mike Beasley will be gone to the NBA. Mike, we just wanted to thank you for one of the finest seasons in NCAA history. You were simply a joy to watch. PnR was happy you got to play two games in the dance instead of one. We were also shocked that Frank Martin was actually an intelligent basketball coach in the first round. As an aside, if NBA head-honcho David "Darth" Stern gets his way, we will eventually get to see 2 years of players as talented as "lil Mike".

Bill Walker, congrats on being back on my good side, but you might have to do some more work to impress Lamanna.

How did that happen, he isn't even the best Joe on his team
Props to WVU soph. Joe Mazzulla. All Joe did was come into the game and flirt with a triple-double for Coach Huggy in an upset of Duke. Mazzulla's final line for WVU included 13 points, 11 boards, and 8 assists in 31 minutes. The guys calling the game for CBS fell in love with Joe during the game. They even tried to get Joe to come back to their hotel for a few drinks. Part of those last two sentences is false.

Questions (and a few answers)
How can you be one of the 5 best teams in the country without a point guard? I have no idea, but maybe Bruce Pearl does. Pearl basically benched Jordan Howell and 6 of his 8 Smiths in an effort to get better play from the point position. He inserted J.P. Prince into the starting spot, but the results were mixed. Smith (who can play the 2, 3, and 4.... and I guess now the 1) had some bad turnovers at the end of regulation. Pearl gave the reigns back to Ramar Smith for overtime against Butler and that worked well enough to earn Tennessee the win. By the way, last week in class, it took my professor and 8 students 15 minutes to figure out how to spell Tennessee.

Is UNC really this good? Probably, but the Heels might find a shooting slump soon, it is impossible to shoot this well for 6 straight games. Yes, I realize how flawed that logic is.

Is WKU legit? No, but Courtney Lee is. WKU got a favorable draw in the first round with Drake. San Diego upset UCONN and the Hilltoppers got past. We are happy for WKU, we just don't expect the ride to last any longer.

Best chance for an upset? Well, we have Louisville over Tennessee, but that isn't even close to being a legit upset. We aren't bold enough to predict an upset (at least not without a dozen shots or three 40's in us), but WVU over Xavier could happen. And wins by Davidson (over Wisconsin) and MSU (over Memphis) wouldn't shock us.

How could Davidson beat Wisconsin? Stephen Curry

How Could Wisconsin beat Davidson? 1, Davidson will have tired legs after two really tough games. More importantly, the other 11 guys on Davidson's roster aren't Stephen Curry.

YUMMY, leftover Easter food tomorrow!!!

-NM

"Now honeys play me close like butter play toast, from the Mississippi down to the East Coast"-Biggie

2008-03-19T20:37:00.007-04:00

Is there an East Coast bias? Biggie certainly had one in his day. One could argue that with UNC (the #1 seed), Notre Dame, St. Joe's, Louisville, and Tennessee reppin the East Coast in the East Region that the East is a beast.

Don't fall into that trap.... You know that trap where an upset is soooo soooo obvious that you have to pick it. It seems like everyone from Jay Bilas to Longar Longar has St. Joseph's advancing over Oklahoma in their brackets. To tell you the truth, I agree, but stay away from picking this upset unless you think St. Joe's is Sweet 16 bound (they aren't). With everyone picking this game, you won't gain any ground by having it on your bracket, and gaining an edge is the only reason to pick an upset.

Perhaps the best game in this region (maybe in the whole first round) is Butler against South Alabama in Birmingham. Butler comes into the game feeling snubbed (they should). How can the number 10 team in all the land get a 7 seed? The Bulldogs also come in with a team who has experienced the tournament and a backcourt duo that can compete with any in the country. South Alabama will counter with Demetric Bennett (20.1 ppg), the most explosive of a three guard attack.

Another game to watch is the 5-12 matchup that features Luke Harangody and Notre Dame against Will "the double double machine" Thomas and George Mason. You probably remember Thomas and Folarin Campbell from George Mason's magical run a few years ago. This contest will probably have 1,000 fouls called. I love Mason, but there is no way Harangody goes down in round one. I'm taking the Golden Domers (always take dome).

The Biggest Question: Can Bruce Pearl's style take Tennessee to an Elite Eight or Final Four.

The Answer and the Boldest Prediction: NO, NO, NO. Not this year! PnR suspects that the winner of the South Alabama-Butler tilt will be able to fend off C-Lo's Volunteers. Even if Tennessee survives that game, they will fall to Louisville in the Sweet 16.

Final 4 Sleeper: See above, PnR is in love with Louisville. The Cards just have so much athletic ability and depth. They also can play a variety of styles, but.........

The Regional Champ will be: North Carolina
Put Louisville in the Midwest or the dirty dirty South and PnR has them in the final four, hell maybe even the finals, but this UNC team won't fall in our opinion.

The Most Outstanding Player in the Region is: Take a wild guess..... yep, Tyler Hansbrough.

Some rapper once asked, "Who runs the South?".

2008-03-19T17:20:00.005-04:00

That is a good question for this portion of the bracket. IMO, the most loaded region. Memphis, Texas, Stanford, Pitt, Michigan State and Marquette could all make runs to the Final 4 if they catch fire (that was a John Madden line I guess). The Final Four team from this bracket is a question mark.

The games to watch are Cornell-Stanford and St. Mary's-Miami. It is rumored that the Lopez twins combined their GPAs and SAT scores in order to qualify. Cornell shoots 50% from the field as a team, 41% from distance and 76% from the free throw line (please have someone transfer to Pitt). Cornell is ultra-efficient on offense and are most likely smart enough to come up with a decent game plan to at least keep the game close. Ryan Whittman can light it up from outside. This is no cake-walk for the Cardinals.

St. Mary's has certainly been surprising this season. Who knew Miami didn't have Darius Rice and John Salmons anymore? St. Mary's has Patty Mills outside and Samhan and Simpson on the inside (both average nearly a double-double and are at least 6-10 a piece). Ian O'Leary is a 6-7 white dude who can do a little bit of everything. Miami has Jack McClinton, an All-ACC first teamer, but their resume doesn't impress me. I'm thinking St. Mary's is a lock for this and I'll be tuning in because it's about the 3rd time they'll be on TV all year.

Bold Prediction: Pitt goes to Houston and flirts with San Antonio. I'm driving the bandwagon. They looked like they are back to the form they were in when they were 11-o and the sixth best team in the country. They overcame the injuries and are stronger because of it. Remember, this team beat Georgetown without Mike Cook and Levance Fields. Sam Young is an absolute stud who is a match-up problem for smaller guys and big guys. Because it is easier to slow a team down, they can out-tough everyone in the region. This is just a bold prediction, so I thought I would be with Bob Knight on this one.

The Biggest Question: Can Memphis walk the walk?

The Regional Champ will be: Texas

The Region's Most Outstanding Player is: D.J. Augustine. If Texas wins the region, it will be on the shoulders of the first-team PnR All-American.

"But in the Midwest, they love to take it slow"

2008-03-19T16:52:00.010-04:00

Besides Wisconsin and Georgetown, no team in the 2008 NCAA Midwest region will take it slow. Every team will be playing uptempo. Who will do it best? The two best first round match-ups are easy: 7 seed Gonzaga v. 10 seed Davidson and 6 seed USC v. 11 seeded Kansas State Fighting Michael Beasleys.

The 7-10 match-up is nice because it features two mid-majors (a little conspiracy by the committee to knock them out). These teams are actually closer to high majors than mid majors. Jason Richards drops more dimes in college than anybody (this includes all the dime college girls Bret Michaels shuts down). His two guard, Stephen Curry, can light it up from ANYWHERE and is a 2nd team PnR All-American. The key stat that tells me they're for real is that they played UNC and Duke very tough this season. The Gonzaga Bulldogs are a balanced team led by Matt Bouldin outside and Josh "Super Mario" Heytvelt (the shrooms...) on the inside. They have also played a tough schedule, so I expect a competitive game between two teams that everyone should watch because they are seldom on TV.

O.J. Mayo and Michael Beasley highlight the 6-11 game. They are high-profile freshmen who want the bragging rights. However, Bill Walker was a high school running mate with O.J. and probably wants to show him up. Devon Jefferson is also a nice freshmen (although he is 30) for USC. Unless B-Easy goes for 47 and 18, USC will have too much all-around talent for KSU to pull of the upset. PnR is a huge fan of this game because of all the selfishness.

Bold Prediction: In the Midwest, they love to take it slow so,I'm predicting a Big Ten team, the Wisconsin Badgers, to do well. Everyone rips the Big Ten for being boring (it is) and having no talent (they don't) but Wisconsin is a really nice team. They have good guard play and depth down low. IMO, it's easier to slow a team down than speed the tempo up. The Badgers certainly have the ability to be extremely effective in a slow game and I'll say they will be Elite 8.

Biggest Question: Will Kansas avoid another disappointment in the Tourney?

The Winner Is: Rock Chalk Jayhawk

The Most Outstanding Player in the Region is: Michael Beasley, but he won't be in the tourney long enough to do anything other than have one good game. I believe Mario Chalmers of Kansas will be the best player in the bracket because he harasses the shit out of people and knocks down the big shots.

In the words of Tupac, "the west coast is the best coast"

2008-03-19T16:21:00.006-04:00

This is the first of our breakdowns of each of the individual regions of the NCAA tournament. I will be focusing on the West, and later tonight we should have blogs about the East, Midwest, and dirty dirty South.

In my opinion, there are 2 first round games that you can't miss. They are the 5-12 matchup between Drake and Western Kentucky and the the 7-10 game between WVU and Arizona.
Interesting to note that Drake's Adam Emmenecker has only attempted 4 three pointers in his college career. Clearly breaking the "Hoosiers-White Guy" stereotype. However, the 6'1 guard is such a good assist man that he even found me open a few times this year. On the other side of the court, if shots aren't falling for WKU's Courtney Lee, things could get ugly. The Hilltoppers have only one other double digit scorer. This is probably going to be the best game of the 5-12's and really there is a chance for WKU to pull the upset. Normally I'm a fan of making predictions, but I just can't for this game. It is too close to call and I like both teams way too much.

In the other great matchup, Bob Huggins takes WVU on some rough country roads to Washington DC. It will be like Huggy and the kids are playing at home. However, with three future NBA players (Bayless, Hill, Budinger) Arizona will make it a tough test. I'm not going to make a prediction on this game yet either, but I will be watching.

Bold Prediction: I guess I owe the readers a bold prediction for skipping out on predicting those two games. Here it is....... The winner of the WVU/Arizona contest will beat Coach K and the Duke White Devils.

The Biggest Question: Can UCLA stay healthy?

The Regional Champ will be: UCLA

The Most Outstanding Player of the Region is: Josh Shipp UCLA, with Love battling back problems and Collison leading the team, it will be the senior Shipp who rises to the occasion and takes home the award.

-NM

Stay tuned the rest of the night for the other three regions!!!!

Happy St. Patty (Mills) Day..... We got Awards!!!!

2008-03-18T06:39:00.008-04:00

Last week was one of the best weeks of hoops of the year. With that being said, we need to get right into the awards.

Instead of full conference tournament teams, we are going to go with what we felt were the two most outstanding players in each conference tournament in order to make a "Super All Conference" Team. Hopefully I never type "Super All Conference" Team again because it was stupid.

Sam Young, Pitt Big East
Joe Alexander, WVU Big East
Tyler Hansbrough, UNC ACC
Cliff Hammonds, Clemson ACC
Sundiata Gaines, Georgia SEC
Terrance Woodbury, Georgia SEC
Chris Douglas-Roberts, Memphis CUSA
Derrick Rose, Memphis CUSA
Mario Chalmers, Kansas Big 12
D.J. Augustine, Texas Big 12
Darren Collison, UCLA Pac 10
Brook Lopez, Stanford Pac 10
Marcus Landry, Wisconsin Big 10
Shaun Pruitt, Illinois Big 10

Now for our Mid-Major Honor Roll (All Players are Tournament Bound)...... Lamanna wants you to know that you should watch out for these guys while picking upsets this year.

G Adam Emmenecker Drake (9,000 assists this season for the college Steve Nash)
G Michael Jenkins Winthrop (Dropping 30 is no big deal for Jenkins)
F Taj McCullogh Winthrop (Improved play towards the end of the year)
F Mike Scott Kent State (Fisher gets their pub, but Scott is more diverse... also shares the name of the lead character from "The Office")
G Al Fisher Kent State (14 ppg)
G/F Courtney Lee Western Kentucky (Can score at will, 20.4 ppg)
G Stephen Curry Davidson (If you don't know Curry by now, please stop reading the blog)
G Jason Richards Davidson (Finds Curry when he is open)
G Mike Green Butler (Combo guard averaged 14.9, 6rpb, and 5 apg)
G A.J. Graves Butler (Butler's other combo guard can shoot it)
G Robert Jarvis Oral Roberts (Jarvis is ORU's leading scorer, but he is banged up a little)
G Wink Adams UNLV (Almost 17 ppg this season)
G Patty Mills St. Mary's (He leads the team in scoring at 14 a game)
G Josh Akognon Cal State Fullerton (19.9 ppg)

*Red font denotes awarded most outstanding player for conference tournament*

All American Teams

1st Team
G D.J. Augustine Texas
G Chris Douglas-Roberts Memphis
F Michael Beasley Kansas State
F Tyler Hansbrough UNC
C Kevin Love UCLA

2nd Team
G Darren Collison UCLA
G Stephen Curry Davidson
G/F Shan Foster Vanderbilt
F Luke Harangody Notre Dame
C Brook Lopez Stanford

3rd Team
G Jerryd Bayless Arizona
G Chris Lofton Tennessee
F Sam Young Pitt
F D.J. White Indiana
C Roy Hibbert Georgetown

NCAA POY: This was a two horse race all year, and while we do understand that the best player on the best team deserves some recognition, we just can't overlook how big "lil Mike" was this year.
Michael Beasley Kansas State

NCAA Freshman of the year: Clearly it should be Beasley, but for the sake of giving out more hardware we are giving it to someone else.
Kevin Love UCLA

Take off you pants and jack-it 6th man of the year:
Danny Green UNC

I wish I was a lil bit taller, I coulda been a high major baller award:
Mike Green Butler
Stephen Curry Davidson

Along the same lines, I only weigh 155 pounds:
A.J. Graves Butler

I gets no pub, where is my love all underrated team:
G Adam Emmenecker Drake (Making the girls wet at Drake since November 2007)
G Courtney Lee Western Kentucky (I think we have given Lee some pub in the last 2 days)
F Charron Fisher Niagara (Is listed at 6'4 and 230, but looks more like a 280 pound defensive tackle. The big guy is second in the country in scoring at over 27 ppg. He switches between power forward and shooting guard with ease.
F Sam Young Pitt (Most improved player in the Big East)
C Jarvis Varnado Mississippi State (1st in the nation in blocks, and he actually scores in double figures once in awhile)

They said I was a step slow and an inch short, then I tore up the Pac 10:
G James Harden Arizona State (17.6 ppg)
C Kevin Love UCLA (1st team All American)

The kids are alright Freshman All Americans:
1st Team
G Derrick Rose Memphis
G Jerryd Bayless Arizona
F Michael Beasley Kansas State
F Blake Griffin Oklahoma
C Kevin Love UCLA

2nd Team
G Eric Gordon Indiana
G James Harden Arizona State
G/F O.J. Mayo USC
F Robbie Hummel Purdue
C DeJuan Blair Pitt

Really?, I didn't know you were allowed in that painted area little girl award:
Donte Green Syracuse

Hopefully, the NBA Scouts actually look at production team:
G Darren Collison UCLA (Leader of the team, despite the fact that Westbrook has a better draft stock)
G Eric Gordon Indiana (Despite great numbers, he has fallen on draft boards)
G/F Brandon Rush Kansas (Should have made himself some cash by stepping up in the Big 12 Tournament)
F Darell Arthur Kansas (Stock is falling because of more athletic young guys, but Arthur is Big 12 battle-tested)
C Kevin Love UCLA (Kept the dream alive for stocky white guys the world over by playing great all year)

We do it all, glue guy team:
G A.J. Price Connecticut
G Josh Shipp UCLA
F Kyle Singler Duke
F Tyler Smith Tennessee
C David Padget Louisville

Coach of the year:
Keno Davis Drake

Last, but not least, the most polished 6'10 white guy going award:
Ryan Anderson California (Big guy scored 21.3 ppg both inside and out)

Who knows, depending on how we feel, we could be handing out some more awards today or tomorrow. Stay tuned to the Pick 'n Roll all week for top notch coverage.

-PnR

Fantastic 4's

2008-03-17T01:09:00.007-04:00

The NCAA Tournament leads to the Final Four, Pitt's Levance Fields had exactly four turnovers in the Big East Tournament, and Memphis boosters slip Shawn Taggart four g's for every rebound he grabs. For these reasons, and many more, PnR has decided to do a 4licious NCAA Tournament Blog. That means that everything we be laid out in groups of 4.

The 4 seeds:
1. Pitt- You knew we would have to start with our hometown Panthers. After pimping the Big Apple this week the Panthers actually look like the real deal. Bob Knight actually picked Pitt to win the whole thing, but we aren't sure we believe yet. Either way, this team is talented and playing great hoops at the right time.

2. Washington State- I just fell asleep typing that...... that is how boring Tony Bennett's Cougars are. Kyle Weaver is the man, but he is too pussy to shoot it more than 6 times a game. Yawn, WSU could have trouble with repeat NCAA team Winthrop. Wait, scratch that, Winthrop's coach was too busy being an ESPN analyst today to prepare by watching film. Why in the hell was he on ESPN? Why did ESPN want him?.... we have no idea.

3. Connecticut- A dangerous team that people have fallen in love with for no real reason.

4. Vanderbilt- Siena could give Vandy some problems, but I doubt Shan Foster lets Vandy fall in the first round. However, they are not a final four threat.

The 4 guys who pimp on sluts with no fanfare:
1. Courtney Lee WKU- #32 (divisible by 4!!) is perhaps the most NBA ready senior in all of the land. The silky smooth guard is hitting on over 40 percent of his threes this year. The only knock? Perhaps he lacks elite athletic ability. Oh well, he kept the Hilltoppers in games against Gonzaga and Tennessee.

2. E'Twaun Moore PURDUE- Whitey Hummel, or I mean Robbie (my bad) gets all the pub, but Moore actually leads Purdue in scoring at 12.7 ppg. The future looks bright considering both guys are freshmen.

3. Curtis Jerrells BAYLOR- This junior leads Baylor in scoring with almost 15 ppg. He also has nice numbers with 3.5 rpg and 3.6 apg, which proves that he is a complete player. More importantly, he shit on Kansas and Oklahoma by dropping 30 and 29 in those games. Baylor lost both games, expect them to lose early in the tournament as well.

4. Tyler Hansbrough UNC- Rumor has it that this little name player has been playing well for Roy Williams. Rumors have also stated that he plays really hard. Hopefully we can check him out in the tournament.

The 4 first round boner gettin games:
1. WVU(7)-vs-Arizona(10)- Arizona made it into the field of 65 despite the fact that they lost 33 games this year. I swear that is true, just look it up. The best storyline in this game involves Joe Alexander and Chase Budinger fighting over the right to be named sweetest white guy going. A key matchup will take place between the spectacular (Zona guard Jerryd Bayless) and the solid (WVU guard Darris Nichols). Everyone knows about Bayless, but Nichols is one of the better floor generals that nobody knows about.

2. Gonzaga(7)-vs-Davidson(10)- A battle that any mid-major fan should love to watch. Mark Few will throw Pargo and Bouldin at Curry on the defensive end, but we doubt that it will be enough. Regardless of who comes out on top, this contest should be great. By the way, we love Curry...... just love him to death.

3. Notre Dame(5)-vs-George Mason(12)- A 12 beats a 5 every year, can this be the upset? We doubt it, because Notre Dame has Harangody and a cast of good shooters, but it will be interesting to see if George Mason can be this years George Mason (what?).

4. Memphis(1)-vs-Texas Arlington(16)- The day America finally gets to see if Memphis can score 200. Personally, I can't wait.

The 4 NIT contenders:
1. Arizona State- A simple rule when picking a NIT champ is to avoid teams that have been snubbed because they don't want to be there. F that rule. We have a hard-on for James Harden.

2. Florida- Billy Donovan called out his team for being a bunch of girls. We think the young Gators will respond. Also, Nick Calathes is the only white guy that Billy ever got to play for him that doesn't enjoy smoking tons of tree. The Gators are our pick to win it all.

3. VCU- Never bet against the fightin' Eric Maynors!!!

4. Dayton- Hey, they beat Pitt and they have the best RPI for teams who were left out of the big dance.

The 4 college players I would let my daughter sleep with in hopes that they will marry her and make me rich:
1. Michael Beasley KSU- We all know he is the best player in the country, sadly "lil Mike" has two games max left in his college career.

2. Derrick Rose MEMPHIS- The best PG in all the land was getting drunk with coach Cal today. At least we hope he was. You know he is going to make bank next year.

3. Russell Westbrook UCLA- Simply because no players draft stock has ever risen faster or higher for no reason. Also, we love the designs in his hair.

4. Levance Fields PITT- Chance of Levance making us rich? ZERO. Chance of having a sweet grandson who is a one man press break? 100 percent. I'll take those odds.

The 4 teams with the best shot of winning it all (times 2, in order).... We don't have enough balls to predict a Final 4 yet:
1. UCLA
2. UNC
3. Kansas
4. Louisville
5. Memphis
6. Tennessee
7. Pitt
8. Texas

Have a 4licious day,

-NM

Spring Break is the 4 B's..........

2008-03-15T01:48:00.003-04:00

1. Blog- we haven't done much of it, leave us alone we are on spring break. That being said, we have missed some important stuff. And we do owe a lot of make-up content to our readers (aka Stanecisworth), so stay tuned for that in the next few days. The most important update is related to Lamanna's 21 team. It will be a list of the finest white guys who love to smoke herb, so stay tuned to see if Jason Williams will be a starter or if he will be coming off of the bench.

2. Boobs- sadly, not nearly enough boobs have been seen over break. However, rumor has it that floss has set a new personal record for amount of porn watched in a week. At least his two favorite pornos are hoops related--Love and Blackballs, and Kobe Does Colorado Springs . Experts in the porn industry are saying that these two movies have raised the bar for sports related porn. A review may be forthcoming.

3. Beer- we all know that Lamanna is more of a Crow guy, but I have consumed enough beer for all of Latrell Sprewell's children, which is kind of ironic, because according to wikipedia, Spree's yacht is named "Milwaukee's Best". Anyway, the bar scene has treated me well. I basically got dunk every night during break, in places ranging from Morgantown, WV to New York, NY. Beer=Yummy

4. Ball- It is conference tournament time and we really shit the bed by not covering anything. Oh well, this isn't the first or last time that we have let you the fans down. However, as mentioned earlier, updates will be coming in from all over the place in the next few days. Be excited. On a similar note, the NBA still rules. Here are four quick reasons why it rules (this list will later be turned into a whole update).

1. Luke Walton and Kyle Korver are making it ok to be white again (and not smoke weed, well probably..... well maybe.....ehh nevermind).

2. Mamba (not black mamba, we are politically correct at PnR) is playing his balls off. I mean isn't it crazy, an NBA player actually caring. Meanwhile, Mamba's effort may not be enough to earn him MVP honors. LBJ and CP3 are both playing like studs and are just as likely to snag the award.

3. Houston sucks....well they should, but they have won 21 in a row. 21, like one lesss than the number of shots I did on my birthday...... that is impressive.

4. The playoff race in the west is still soooooooo soooooo sooooo tight. It is going to be interesting to see how BDiddy (nice beard by the way) and the boys at Golden State compare to the elite teams in the West. I still want to see how the trades work out when things get down and dirty. Pau and AI are banged up. Shaq is 500 years old and 500 pounds. Melo is the only young gun (Bron and DWade) who has yet to win a playoff series. Throw in all of these plots along with the Spurs, Mavs, and Hornets, and you have a fantastic finish.

God I love beer.... God I love hoops,

-NM

21 means 40's

2008-03-03T18:34:00.005-05:00

In honor of fellow creator Nasty Nate turning 21 today, I wanted to name my all-time #21 or alcoholic basketball player team. In order to make it the player has to have worn the number 21 at some point or be a big time player in the drinking game. All levels of competition are eligible. A tribute indeed. Try their actions at home.

Coach- Bob Huggins
Assistant- Larry Eustachy
Trainer- Maurice Clarett

Voice of the Team- Bill Hillgrove

PG- J-Kidd (Gave up the bottle but they wife-beating still didn't stop)
SG- Vlad Podkul (Once drank a fifth and then dropped 10)
SF- James White (#21 for the Cincy Bearcats, had to use the loophole to get him the nod)
PF- Shawn Kemp
C- David Thompson

F- Juwan Howard
F- Eddie Griffin
G- Jerome Dyson
G- Levance Fields
F- Herb Pope
F- Glenn Robinson (blew a .11 during a DUI)
F- Ricky Davis (Triple Double while drunk)

And this one is for Nasty getting 22 shots down in an hour:

Joe Johnson scored 38 points on 22 shots last night in a game going on while Nasty was at the bar.

The only difference? Nate's team won.

Camo Ice 40's and Michael Beasley dont mix well.

Mike Beasley Rules..... Kobe too.......

2008-03-02T19:21:00.005-05:00

Last night there was a party here. I guess you could call it the first annual PnR "Happy Hour, Happy Times, Happy People Mike Beasley Throwdown" party. Or for short, you can call it HHHTHPMBT. Anyway, the party was attended by various people and many great things were consumed. To be honest, I lost a battle with 3 King Cobra's, Vlad, Calico Jack, and Some Old E, but enough about me. The best part about HHHTHPMBT was that the topic of conversation was focused on 3 of PnR's favorite people. We got to man-crush on CDR, Mike Beasley, and Brad Wanamaker. This took us into a discussion on what basketball players we would name our kids after. This list is the first annual "I'd name my babies after you" team.

MVP: Chris-Douglas Muzika..... Notice we had to move the hyphen.

The Other Starters: Palacios Muzika........ The Colombian Market would be huge for PnR.
Nate Richard Mbah a Moute Jr........... One of the kids has to be a Jr.
Chase Budinger-Muzika............ Notice we inserted a hyphen.
DeJuan Muzika................... Gotta love the hometown guy.

Coach: Bob "Huggs" Muzika......... Always good to have a drinker in the family.
Team Manager: Tino Cameron Walde........ Obviously Walde's kid will be unathletic.

Wanamaker Family:
Tough times for the Wanamaker family. PnR doesn't like that Mrs. Wanamaker's baby boys aren't getting much run on their respective teams. Brad's minutes have been cut really short since Fields has come back for Pitt. Central Connecticut State rolled to a big win today over Sacred Heart, but Brian (the shorter of the two twins) didn't even get to take off the warm-up suit..... Scratch that, CCSU probably doesn't even have warm-up suits in their athletic budget. I think they wear Starburys as their team shoe. Brian has only appeared in 12 games this season, and has not really impacted any of those 12 games. The good news for the 2 Wanamakers is that both are still really young for college freshmen. Count me in the group that feels Brad will still develop into a prime time player. If he doesn't, both guys could transfer to Cal U of Pa and win a D2 national title.

The Girl at the Lake Show:
KB24 was a pimp today in LA. He was scoring like he was in Colorado, only this time there were no legal ramifications. Dirk tried hard to keep the Mavs alive, but Kobe and the boys were just too much. Kobe scored 52, but that isn't even the impressive part. The best part was that 30 of those points came in crunch time (the 4th and overtime). Kobe's final stat line, 52, 11, and 4 on only 27 shots. Dirk had a pretty solid effort as well, going for 30, 13, and 5, but he was nowhere near as efficient as Kobe. Also, Pau Gasol continues to play well for the Lake Show. However, that Laker depth that we keep hearing about really wasn't a factor. Kobe, Pau, and Odom, all played 44 minutes or more, and only 3 bench players were used. Things should get better when Trevor Ariza and Vlad Radmanovic return from injury. I see why the Lakers are becoming the "in" pick to win the West. Gotta love beating Dallas when Lamar Odom really shits the bed with 6 points in 48 minutes of action. He gets my Rudy Gay Memorial Trophy for player most likely to fall asleep while on the court.

College n Shit:
Just some random scores that seemed important. The Tennessee Smith's held on in a close one with Kentucky for a 63-60 win. UCLA survived Arizona 68-66. Budinger actually led Arizona in scoring for once..... he must of read PnR last week and got sad about all the pub we give Jerryd Bayless. Michigan State killed Indiana in a game that probably had far too many white guys on the court because it was in the Big Ten, and Big Ten rules call for at least 2.5 white guys to be on the court at all times.

Lastly, Michael Beasley is still a PIMP.... we love the kid, and so does his Mama..... check out her blog at http://blogs.kansas.com/kstated/category/mama-sayz/ . It rules.

Supersoak that Phillips,

-NM

Phillips Gets Supersoaked

2008-03-02T19:17:00.001-05:00

This weekend PnR and The Floss had a chance to attend a high school basketball game at Plum. The game featured Franklin Regional and Pittsburgh Central Catholic. All PnR could think about during the game was former FR Panther Brad Phillips and how Juice Williams killed him with a stiff-arm this year. Phillips is the poor white sap who gets supersoaked by Juice at the 42 second mark. Sadly, this was the best video I could find of this. This highlight will be part of Juice's Heisman campaign. We don't like to get off of subject, but we felt like this is worth watching. And Juice could probably supersoak on the basketball court too.

Okay, here's da first annual Crow Awards

2008-02-28T19:54:00.004-05:00

Well Nate's been doing school work (Comeback Student of the Year) so I'm gonna handle the awards for the week. I won't be as funny but i'll try. Like the 3-6 Mafia once said, "It's a Tennessee thing."

Smith of the Week:

Tyler Smith gets the nod for the Smith of the Week. He went for 16 and 6 against Memphis in the game of the year, including the game winner. If his Vols woulda won against Vandy (he went for 11 and 17) he woulda been my NCAA POW. I know Nate usually throws in some Smith I've never heard of. I thought this guy will suffice (also relevant to my 2008 NBA Mock Draft, coming soon)

Take Off Your Pants and Jack It (Bench Player of the Week):

Bench players should provide two things: 1) an energy boost for the team and 2) points and defense. Like I said before, it's a Tennessee thing. J.P. Prince is staying fly. He had 13 and 8 as well as lock-down D against Memphis. He's lanky like his cousin, and just an awesome bench player. "He rules."

NCAA POW:

He was the second fiddle last year and his team lost the second overall pick in the draft, Kevin Durant. However, the Texas Longhorns are back in the hunt and DJ Augustin hasnt had a touch of the sophomore slump. The 6-0 soph from the NO has put his team on his back. His team went 2-0 over the past week and averaged 21.5 on plus 50% shooting. The little guy is a force to be reckoned with.

He Was Just A Freshman of the Week:

His high school teammate gets the hype, but "Project" Pat Patterson has been holding it down in the Southeast for his Kentucky Wildcats. The Cats are a team I think will sneak into the Tourney and have been improving as the season goes along. His team went 1-0 for the week and Patrick went for 14 and 11, similar to his season averages. More impressive: Wilt Chamberlain's 100 points in a game or Pat's 100 white girls during conference play?

NBA Player of the Week:

No shocker here. His team is standing atop the toughest conference and he is the best player on the team. KB24 does two things The Pick 'n Roll enjoys: gets buckets and screws hotel management. He went for 27 ppg, 7 dimes, 6 boards, and 2 steals per game over a 4 game stretch where his team went 4-0. Also impressive, he did it all by shooting 60%. Looks like the addition of that Pau guy was a good one.

NBA's Get the Donuts Award:

This one goes to the newbies in the league who have to tend to the vets. Our selection for the NBA's top rookie is Al Thornton. He took the unusual route by actual staying 4 years at Florida State. Maybe it was the chronic, maybe it was the hott ass cheerleaders. Either way I'm good. The former college 4 man has made a smooth transition to playing on the wing. The past week he got 16 and 5 per. He is living up to the promise. Keep an eye out for this guy.

Lost In Translation:

The best foreign player usually goes to an obscure dude, this week im gonna keep it simple. Yao Ming fractured his foot and is done for the season. This will probably be the last you hear about him (until ALL-NBA First Team and the reason the Rockets might suck a fat one the rest of the season). On the season he was putting up 24 and 11 and his team was on a huge winning streak. We'll miss ya Yao.

Fresh-Men of the Week:

Gotta love the fact the Tennessee Volunteers shaved their numbers in the hair. That's hood and sweet. As a white man aspiring to be black and athletic, I'm jealous. Just a shame they lost to Vandy.

We'll probably forget about it so:

Jon Williamson gets the ML Man Crush Award. It goes to undersized post players who rule. Mr. Williamson has a lot of things we like: tats, cornrows, long socks, red patent leather shoes and a 40" vert. The things ML likes: being 6-5 and playing down low as well as possessing the 20 footer. He went for 27 and 9 against a usually tough on the inside Pitt Panthers.

Cincy always has some of my favorite guys; I just wanted to state my All-Time Cincinnati Bearcats starting line-up:

G- Steve Logan
G- James White
F- Eric Hicks
F- Jon Williamson
F- Jason Maxiell

Drink a lotta Crow this weekend everyone, but not so much that you forget to check up on what's good at the Pick 'n Roll,

-ML

I'm not even drunk..... I'm just pissed.... Bill Walker is the drunk one...

2008-02-25T23:28:00.002-05:00

This is just a random gathering of my thoughts from the last few hours.

Kansas State, I hope you understand that you have one of the most talented college players ever on your roster. I swear, Michael Beasley is really good, but you would never know from watching KSU play. Coach Frank Martin allows KSU to phase Beasley out of the game at the most important times. Martin prefers that Jacob Pullen and Bill Walker (aka Paul Harris Midwest) fire up 40 footers while his star works his ass off in the post. This is an interesting coaching strategy, and one might wonder why Martin uses this plan. The answer is easy, Martin's only previous head coaching job was at Miami.... No, not the U, not even Miami of Ohio, not even Miami Dade Junior College. Martin was a worthless piece of shit high school coach for 7 or 8 years. But don't let that fool ya, he also coached some good AAU teams. He also spent time as an assistant at Northeastern and Cincy before heading to KSU. With a resume like that I can only wonder why we didn't select him to coach Team USA in the Olympics.

A few weeks ago, we fell back in love with Paul Harris Midwest..... He even climbed all the way to 17th on our NBA Draft list (although Lamanna did not agree). Sadly, Mr. Harris Midwest shit the bed tonight. 0-14 for 1 point...... but at the end of the game I guess he was a better option than Beasley. Really, Beasley should just take every shot..... It should be like a pick-up game when a guy just inbounds the ball off of the wall to themselves. I can only imagine how much less Beasley would be seeing the ball if his boy OJ Mayo would have went to KSU like many people suspected a few years ago. That would be fun to watch. I bet a real fight would have broken out between all 12 members of the squad in order to see who got to bring the ball up. Frank Martin, you make me sick.

Despite losing 3 in a row, I still think KSU belongs in the big dance. http://realtimerpi.com has them at 42nd right now, and America deserves a chance to see more of Michael Beasley. I would actually like to have the chance to interview Mike and ask him, "how do you continue to put up 30 points a night even with your team members avoiding you like you slept with all of their girlfriends?". By the way, he has slept with all of their girlfriends.

Another team who belongs in the big dance is Gonzaga. I will always have a special place in my heart for the Zags, and they are currently 33rd in RPI. Gonzaga has only lost to Texas Tech, Washington State, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Memphis, and St. Mary's. 4 of those teams have 20 wins or more.... Sounds good to me, let the Zags play in March.

Speaking of Memphis, you know I love the Tigers and I have mad love for my boy Coach Cal, but I am a little worried about next year. If CDR chooses to leave, the Tigers will lose 3 starters and Andre Allen off of the bench. That doesn't sound like much, but you have to assume that 5 star shooting guard Tyreke Evans (currently unsigned, but basically down to Memphis and Louisville) will be replacing one of those starters. That sounds good to an outsider, but you have to understand that Evans is a certified ballhog. He is basically Darius Washington Jr. That being said, I guess it is too early to worry about next year.

Lastly, there will be a Mock Draft coming up before Sunday. Michael Beasley is still going to be #1. Beasley will be #1 until he loses a limb. Once he loses a limb he will fall out of the top 5, but still be a lottery pick. Bill Walker Harris Midwest Drunk Asshole Paul has fallen out of the top 30. For those of you who didn't understand, I was talking about Bill Walker. I currently hate him. Some other guys are rising and falling, but you will have to check in all week to find out who goes where in our draft.

I'm pissed, 0-14 means Billy was drunk....

railroad them KSU bitches like Beasley,

-NM

This is why we live!!!!

2008-02-23T14:51:00.006-05:00

This preview was supposed to happen earlier in the week, but alcohol happened instead. That being said, tonights matchup at the FedEx(mad props for delivering my phone on time) Forum in Memphis should be one of the finest games of the college hoops season. #2 Tennessee takes on #1 Memphis at 9 on ESPN tonight. I really don't want to get in too deep with this preview because everything has already been said, but I am going to highlight some key players/matchups.

Jordan Howell:
Howell, Tennessee's point guard, is one of the few white guys who will have a chance to impact this game. For that reason, and that reason alone, he gets some love from PnR. Howell doesn't score much, but he does run the show well for Bruce Pearl.

CDR:
You already know we love CDR, and we expect him to be huge tonight. Douglas-Roberts is averaging 27 ppg over his last 3 games and Coach Cal has to be happy that his leader is finally showing the balls/guts to take the big shots when they count. CDR had been almost unselfish to a fault, but he now knows it is his time to shine.

Tyler Smith and C-Lo(Chris Lofton):
Smith is the straw that stirs the drink, the glue guy, the athletic Dane Bradshaw. C-Lo is a winner, and one of the finest shooters that college hoops has seen over the past decade. He is also a Kentucky school-boy legend, who has used his lack of scholarship offers as motivation over the past four years. These two will have to carry the load on the offensive end if Tennessee wants to pull the mild upset tonight.

Coach Calipari -Vs- Bruce Pearl:
Both guys have made a career out of turning shit into gold. That is why Memphis (a freakin CUSA team) and Tennessee (a football school) are playing for the right to be named the best team in the NCAA tonight. They are also both really cool. Pearl wore body paint to cheer on the women's team last year, and Coach Cal basically encourages his players to be as hood as possible. His two best players are nicknamed "Buckets" and "The Great Poohdini"..... that rules. More importantly, the two have had some harsh words for one another on the recruiting trail. Both guys love playing uptempo and stress defense.... However, their players are so talented and their offenses so fast paced, that we expect the first team to 150 to be declared the winner.

Prediction:
I love Memphis.....Love em to death, but I just have a gut feeling that we are going to see Tennessee leaving tonight as the #1 team in the country. I don't think Memphis can go undefeated, and I think they just have too much trouble right now, with Dorsey being a little girl and all. Tennessee by 4..... write it down, Tennessee by 4.

-NM

One more shot of Crow...

2008-02-21T20:22:00.002-05:00

Former Gulf Shores Academy star Gerald Green returns to his native Houston while Kirk Snyder heads to the Siberia of North America, Minnesota. I like this trade because I am a Gerald Green fan, although I still think it woulda been real hood (and showed a me first attitude) if he threw on his retro Celtics "Green" jersey at the dunk contest.

Rockets got

F Gerald Green

T-Wolves got

Another worthless piece of shit.

More Trades!!!

2008-02-21T19:18:00.003-05:00

There were two big deals today that improved contenders. The New Orleans Hornets and the Cleveland Cavaliers both made moves. Both were involved in three way trades with one teams tucking their dicks between their legs, one team not givin a shit, and one team improving. Here's the breakdown of the trade between the Hornets, Rockets, and Grizzlies:

Hornets got:

G Mike James
G/F Bonzi Wells
Draft rights to Forward Sergei Lishchuk

Rockets got:

G Bobby Jackson
G Adam Haluska
New Orlean's 2nd rounder in 2009

Grizzlies got:

F Marcus Vinicus
Cash from Houston
Draft Rights to F Malick Badiane

The Grizzlies got involved late and picked up Marcus Vinicus (prob to make the cap work) as well as cash even though no one wants to go to Memphis unless they're young, black and coached by Calipari. I'm sure the Memphis Tigers have more valuable assets than the draft rights to some random forward. The big story is that the Hornets just picked up a good shooter/back up point guard and a solid wing player in Bonzi Wells.

The big 3-team, 11 player trade:

Cavs got:

G Delonte West
G Wally Szczerbiak
F Joe Smith
C Ben Wallace

Bulls got:

G Larry Hughes (finally the worst signing in Cleveland history is gone)
F Drew Gordon
G Shannon Brown
F Cedric Simmons

Sonics got:

G Ira Newble
F Donyell Marshall
F Adrian Griffin

The Sonics pretty much are dumping salaries and getting rid of gunners so that KD and Jeff Green can take over. The Bulls may have upgraded (FYI: on NBA Live they went from a 87 to an 89). Drew Gooden is, in my eyes, an upgrade from Ben Wallace. He is a solid rebounder and a capable scorer. They also acquire Larry Hughes who may actually decide to produce in Chi town. The Cavaliers- kudos. Boobie, much like Boobie Myles, has hurt his leg and is out. They acquired Delonte West, who may be one of the most hood guys in the league (he has a neck tattoo, a tilted headband, and an STD) and can score/handle the rock. Im interested to see what the front court looks like. Big Z is obviously the starter, will they bring Big Ben off the bench or start him at the four. I like him starting because Big Ben can defend the guys Big Z can't (ie everyone).

Other trades that are of little to no importance in my life:

Toronto and Detroit

Toronto got:

C Primoz Brezec
Cash

Detroit got:

G Juan Dixon (who's lil bro is coming to Pitt instead of DeAndre Kane)

Blazers and Nuggets

Blazers got:

G Von Wafer

Nuggets got:

G Taureen Green

"Shit, I wish Stoudamire and Randolph where still at Portland. Then I'd have the good shit to smoke."

-- Von Wafer on his trade

Trade Update

2008-02-20T21:01:00.002-05:00

The San Antonio Spurs made an upgrade today in my best estimation. They have acquired Kurt Thomas, 35, from the Seattle Supersonics. Don't sleep on this trade, Kurt was the Suns' best defensive post player last season but was dealt away for salary cap reasons (dealt away with 2 first rounders btw). Who knew a guy who averages 7 and 8 could be traded for two players and a first rounder. They Spurs upgraded defensively and Kurt can hit the open J so TD can work it down low.

Spurs got:

F/C Kurt Thomas

Sonics got:

G Brent Barry
C Francisco Elson
2009 First Round Pick

Weekly Awards for Feb 13 to Feb 19

2008-02-20T20:21:00.006-05:00

You know what time of the week it is....... Weekly Awards are hot right now and for the first time in PnR history Lamanna and I actually put our heads together to select the winners. These award winners are hotter than a 12 year old girl at an Akon concert. This set of awards is from 2/13-2/19 and takes into account what happened during All Star Weekend.

Smith of the Week:
We let it be known that this week we were going to go big-time and allow NBA players to win this award. Good thing we did. JaJuan Smith of Tennessee (I'm 20 years old and I still have trouble spelling that damn word) had a big game with 32, but he then shit the bed and went for 2 in his next outing. That isn't going to cut it. Craig Smith of the Minnesota Timberwolves stepped up and beat out Tyler Smith (Tennessee) and Josh Smith (a PnR favorite) for this weeks honor. Craig (normally this would be a last name, but that would be confusing as hell) averaged 10 points and 6 rebounds over a two game span. If the Smith's continue to stink we may have to award a Jones, Miller, or Williams next week...... PnR don't want that to happen.

NCAA Newcomer of the Week:
Every single time we mention Zona's Jerryd Bayless his draft stock rises. Every single time Bayless shoots, Chase Budingers' draft stock falls. Bayless lit up the nets this past week to the tune of 33 against PAC 10 rival Cal and 31 in a loss to conference foe Stanford. Youngin' is tearin up the PAC 10. Arizona is still not as good as they should be, but you can't blame Jerryd for that.

NCAA Player of the Week:
Most people say the alphabet in this order: abcdef......z Here at PnR, our version goes: abCDRef.......z That was a lame attempt at whatever the hell it was an attempt at, but we hope you get the idea. Lamanna owns a pair of CDR boxer shorts. I own a pair of CDR's boxers...... big difference. Anyway, Chris Douglas-Roberts is our NCAA Player of the Week. Coach Calipari's main man went for 22 and 6 in his first game of the week. He then turned it up a notch and went for 32 and 7 against UAB, including a game winning 3 point play that was simply gross. Without CDR, Memphis would have lost to UAB. Chris, PnR hearts you :)

Lost in Translation Star of the Week(Foreign Player of the Week):
Manu, Manu, Manu...... PnR has yet to have a chance to talk about the Spur's star. It really is ashame, because PnR does enjoy Manu even though he flops like a DWade. Hopefully this award helps make up for our lack of Manu coverage. Manu Ginobili is our Foreign Player of the Week after going for 46 points, 5 boards, and 8 assists agaisnt LBJ and the Cavs. He also put up 18 in a victory over Chicago. Lastly, the man should have been an All Star.

NBA Rookie of the Week:
This is always one of the harder awards to give out because usually no rookie plays well enough to win it. To be honest, that was sort of the case this week, but Sean Williams went for 8 and 7 last night. More importantly, he showed up big in the Rookie Challenge during All Star Weekend. Most importantly, he threw down a sick dunk in said Rookie Challenge.

NBA Weekly MVP:
Dwight Howard had New Orlean's running around and screaming like it was Hurricane Katrina again. Only this time, they were happy. Superman put in one of the finest efforts in dunk contest history on Saturday night. You can add him to the list with Vince, MJ, and Dr. J...... his show was sick. By the way, I actually heard some website ran a running diary for All Star Saturday... I think you can find it here.... http://thepicknroll.blogspot.com/2008/02/running-journal-of-nba-all-star-weekend.html. However, dunking wasn't the only thing Dwight did this weekend. He went for 16 and 9 in the All Star game, led his Magic to a 2-0 record(23 points and 24 boards one night), and earned a new nickname. Superman can ball a lil.... who knew?

That is it for the awards this week, perhaps next week there will be a few more.
As long as I don't act like a lazy cunt, there should be a preview of the best game ever posted tomorrow. Oh yeah, Memphis and Tennessee face off on Saturday. I've heard some people saying it is going to be like Christmas, Columbus Day, and a Lil Wayne concert all rolled into one...... We can only hope!!!

-PnR

The NBA trade deadline is 3p.m. Thursday....Weird, that's when the weekend begins.

2008-02-20T15:46:00.004-05:00

Keith Van Horn finally got traded this Tuesday to New Jersey. Here were the details:

Dallas got:
G Jason Kidd
F Malik Allen
G/F Antoine Wright

New Jersey got:
G Devin Harris
F Trenton Hassell
F Keith Van Horn
C Desagna Diop
2 first round draft picks (2008 and 2010)

ESPN Nation voted in the 60% range that they would rather have Devin Harris' future than J-Kidd's present. Personally I like the deal, but how much longer can Kidd produce. If the Mavs don't win a ship within two years (which with all the trades and the Spurs isn't looking too good) this deal will look stupid. Harris may never be Kidd, but he was part of the young nucleus along with Josh Howard.

As stated before, the trade deadline is Thursday and thanks to my phantom ESPN Insider account, I have some inside info to share:

- Denver and the LA Clippers have been inquiring about the services for Memphis' Kyle Lowry and Mike Miller. The Clips should offer Al Thornton and 2 first rounders. Denver could find Eduardo Najera and JR Smith expendable and are valuable because of their expiring contracts.

- The Sixers are taking phone calls about Andre Miller. WARNING: if you are a bottom feeder looking to win the Michael Beasley sweepstakes, do not acquire. Miller plays too hard and screwed the Sixers out of Oden, Durant, Horford and anyone who was better than Thaddeus Young.

- Vince Carter is on the block, along with Jamaal "Wasn't this guy an All-Star" Magloire.

- The Denver Nuggets are desperately trying to acquire Ron Artest from the Kings. They reportedly have already offered Eduardo Najera and a first-rounder. This would be another blockbuster in the West. THE DEAL BREAKER: Linas Kleiza, the Nuggets feel he is too risky an asset to trade for a guy who may not return next season.

- My friend said he heard Eddy Curry is on the trading block. My guess is Isiah will try and get a wing in exchange because they need one so desperately.

- Other notables: J-O7, Danny Granger, Delonte West, Mike Dunleavy, and pretty much anyone on the Sonics not named Durant, Green or Swift (haha).

"If you came here to read about high character guys or setting picks, you came to the wrong place."

-ML

Memphis Wins, Barkley Inspires

2008-02-17T16:31:00.004-05:00

If you didn't know already, The Memphis Tigers are the basketball team that The Pick 'n Roll endorses. Last Night, in the midst of all of the fun we had watching the All-Star Skill challenges (shout out to Jesus Stanecsworth and The Floss), there was a heavyweight battle going down in the C-USA. CDR took his 6-6, 195 lb tight Under Armour wearing ass to the rack and got the and 1 that led a heroic comback for Memphis to top UAB. Watching the highlights and Coach Cal's after thoughts were awesome. For one, CDR and Robert Vaden were going at it. CDR had 31 and Dark Vaden had 27. Overshadowed were Coach Cal's press conference afterwards. His theories on basketball have always been great (Cal: "D-Rose, you go to the rack and get in trouble just throw it at the rim and Joey will get it". OR "If you come to Memphis looking to post-up or set screens, you came to the wrong place") but his press conferences may be better (http://youtube.com/watch?v=51-4sJTf7iQ). Last night, after the game he pretty much called out D-Rose and Joey Dorsey. He was like (the following is Pnr's interpretation), "Well, if Derrick is shitting the bed I now know Antonio Anderson can fill it up.". About Dorsey he pretty much said, "Joey gave a shitty effort, luckily Dozier can f'n play hard." I dunno, if you caught his thoughts on the game on College Game Night, they were pretty funny.

Also, All-Star weekend means a lot of the "TNT: Inside the NBA" cast. Chuck Barkley is hilarious and also my favorite player of all time and he always does his Fav 5 about certain items (Players, dunks, donuts, etc). In honor of Barkley I wanted to state my favorite 5 NBA Players to watch currently playing:

1. Amare (Hard to like him the most considering Dwight is better, but Amare is more hood)
2. Dwight Howard
3. Josh Smith
4. Caron Butler
5. James White (nevermind)

Running Journal of NBA All Star Weekend

2008-02-16T23:43:00.005-05:00

NBA All Star Weekend Live Blog:

The Lineup: Nate, Lamanna, The Floss, Terry, G-Mo, Barry, leftover Vlad, Ten High, Calico Jack (sadly, not nearly enough), a 6 pack of Natural Ice (bottles, we are classy), and the end of some mixer. Me, Lamanna, and The Floss are in for the long haul. Terry, G-Mo, and Barry are out to the bars soon.

Predictions: 3 Point Contest
Lamanna-Kapono
Me-Kapono
Floss-Kapono
3 predictions for a repeat means that Kapono will probably come in last.

Skills Competition
Lamanna-CP3
Me-Deron Williams
Floss-Jason Kidd (aged like a fine wine or bottle of crow)
Floss really hates DWade…. Like as a human being, Floss hates Wade.

Dunk Contest
Lamanna-Dwight Howard
Me-Jamario Moon
Floss-Jamario Moon
I feel that Jamario is gonna moon walk to victory. The kid was a Globetrotter after all. Lamanna has a huge Dwight Howard boner.

Shooting Stars….. who cares??… not us.
G-Mo wants to make it known that Dwight Howard is his pick. Terry wants to make it known that he is getting drunk. I’m the only one of the three mainstays who is drinking tonight. Lastly from G-M0, he votes Cheryl Miller for biggest dyke. We want boobs.

IMPORTANT: This running journal is going to be all over the place. It is going to be filled with our random comments, and sometimes, what is happening on TV won't be explained that well.

8:00- Show is starting with a montage of cleaning up New Orleans. I’m making another drink. That girl that just gave DWade a t-shirt wasn’t fine, but Terry thought she was. DWade might railroad her this weekend.
On a completely unrelated note, Barry (clearly under the influence) asked us if he looks like a frog. The general consensus is no.

Would you do the Heineken robot girl?
This is going to be a three hour DWade infomercial. G-Mo hates Wade as well.

8:08- Recap of the Rookie Challenge from last night….. we were all drunk.
Lamanna just informed me that Jamario Moon is nicknamed Apollo 33…. If that don’t rule nothing does.

8:10- Terry came out of the closet.

8:11- Terry stripped naked.

8:12- G-Mo makes 300th comment about dude beards, closet exit pending.

8:16- The last few items are being disputed by Terry and G-Mo. Opening band is shockingly white and bad. Lil Wayne couldn’t open??….. this is the NBA, not the CYO. Floss says that the background dancers have far too many clothes. This doesn’t appeal to old white men or young black men. Apparently this is just a gig for David Stern’s nephew. G-Mo notes that there is tons of plumber’s crack in the apartment. Room erupts for BJ Armstrong. With a solid performance the Celtics may sign Armstrong. Floss wants to give Becky Hammon a Floss sandwich. Swin Cash (PA’s own) is also hurting for a squirting.

8:25- Gerald Green proves that the T’Wolves are still in the NBA. G-Mo, T, and Barry head out for the night. Whole room creams their pants over Gerald Green’s shoes from last year. This guy plays a mean saxophone. We all forget his name, but his national anthem was good.

8:30- Floss longs for being a young athletic black man. Floss is indeed young, but he is closer to being black than athletic. Maybe you didn’t understand, that was just a knock on Floss’ athletic ability. In the “Shooting Stars”, me and the Floss are rooting for Chicago. Lamanna loves him some Suns. By the way, there has been over 3 hours of pregame for this shit.

8:42- This is the most people these WNBA girls have ever played in front of. Also, this is the last time we will watch any WNBA activity. Floss made it known that these 4 girls are the only 4 women in the world who are strong enough to get the ball from half court to the rim. Becky Hammon just happened, we are all in love. Bill Laimbeer is drunk, that was the worst half court attempt ever. His jersey could fit Big Black from Rob and Big. We are taking a little break until something legit happens.

8:47- San Antonio wins the Shooting Stars competition. Becky Hammon is my valentine. More importantly (actually less importantly) I just took my first piss of the night. Stanec(aka Jesus Stanecisworth, due to his facial hair that resembles Jesus and his hat that reminds us of Paul Pierce, who reminds us of Ray Allen) is on his way over as a guest analyst. We would like to know what flavor gum Becky Hammon is chewing. Playstation Skills Challenge is up next. Stanec likes Paul in the Skills Competition and Moon in the Dunk Contest.

9:03- J Kidd’s son has a big head. In typical J Kidd fashion Jason filled up the stat sheet by grabbing a rebound, but his overall time wasn't good. Floss is so happy that DWade shit the bed. However, everyone was sad that he didn’t do a sick dunk after his time ran out. Jesus Stanecisworth wanted Earl Boykins in the competition. The finals will be Paul against Deron Williams.

9:13- Props to Deron Williams for winning the Playstation Skills Competition. If you recall he was my choice when this all started. Some random section won a Playstation 3, guess what….. I already have one.

9:22- Time for the white man to shine. Kapono, it is time to go to work!!!! The three point contest is about to start. I guess the contestants are Kapono, Dirk, Boobie Gibson, Nash, Peja, and Rip Hamilton. Nobody here expects Rip to do well, Floss actually expects him to shoot a few runners and mid range jumpers tonight. That arm sleeve is so gay (it has flames all over it). Rip’s foot was on the line. Floss was right!!!! Stanec just talked about Pistol Pete for awhile. We love us some Pistol Pete.

9:31- I guess we forgot to ask Stanecisworth for his prediction. After a terrible job by Steve Nash he said, “I don’t want Nash”. Stanecisworth is going with Dirk.

9:37- Lamanna yells, “Mark Cuban, you bitch”. No reason given.

9:42- Kapono goes for 20. Lamanna lets it be known that Kapono’s hot spots in NBA Live are the corners. We think that Peja, Nash, and Dirk got mad drunk last night. FWIW, I have finished 6 beers and 2 mixed drinks.

9:49- Gibson goes for 17….. That is the only Boobie we will see all night. Now Dirk is up and he is probably still drunk. 14 ain’t gonna cut it Dirk.

9:52- Floss has a KaBoner…. We didn’t think Kapono would miss again, but he has. 25 from Kapono ties some record from 1986. Luckily for Kapono, he got to hug Chris Bosh. That is probably the first time they have talked all year. Jason Kapono is the 3 Point Shootout Champion. Mother of Floss is currently wasted. EDIT: Whole family of Floss is currently wasted.

10:00- Steve Nash introduces a lame guy named “Dr. John”. Nash is only shown from the waist up and the biggest question we have is if Steve is wearing pants? Dr. John actually isn’t that bad, but I think Lamanna, Stanecisworth and Floss hate him.

10:03- Just realized that the only people who will read this are currently in the room. This is more typing than I did all of last year in college. Foot Locker sponsored the 3 Point Shootout, but we have always supported Finish Line.

10:10- I said that Moon has an advantage because he has all of Canada voting for him. Stanec disagreed and said that Canada is watching hockey, not hoops.

10:13- Jamario is up first and he goes with a reverse self alley-oop. Nice dunk, and he came in well under the 2 minute time limit. “You get two minutes?..... I’d use my whole two minutes, just go out there dancing and shit.”-Stanec

10:14- Rudy did a weak job on his dunk and only got a 37. By the way, the dunk contest is so important that we are going to be updating as much as possible. Dwight Howard misses his first one but then gets all 10’s on his copy of Iggy’s behind the backboard dunk. Lamanna just fell in love. Hearing Charles Barkley say, “Birfday Cake,” makes us laugh. Floss can’t believe that 12 foot hoops are illegal, but Gerald Green’s fire on the court is ok (he has a candle lit on a cupcake and the cupcake is on top of the rim). We were all confused at first, but upon seeing him actually blow out the candle we fell in love. Floss said, “I love cake and I love that dunk”.

10:23- Rudy Gay got a 48….. Me and Floss thought it was a 45, but Stanecisworth wanted a 50. Jamario Moon is going to dunk from Illinois. He just put a tape marker way behind the foul line. Kenny Smith said, “he is dunking from the moon”. Floss said, “I can’t even make a jumper from there”. Kapono can’t throw alley-oops at all. Moon was well inside of the foul line, but I hope he makes it into the next round. He basically just caught a bounce alley-oop from Kapono and dunked from barely inside of the foul line. Everyone is using help from a teammate for the second dunk.

10:31- Gerald Green has advanced after….. well shit… I’m too drunk to describe it, but he scored a 91 out of 100 on two dunks. Dwight Howard has just become Superman and the crowd went crazy(he actually put on a cape and has a Superman shirt). Looks like he is going to get some help with a pass from Jameer Nelson. Kenny Smith honestly shit himself on live TV. The camera angle just shit the bed, but the crowd went crazy. Dwight Howard has to advance. He took off with two feet from, according to Stanec, “the imaginary 3/4ths line”. THIS IS WHERE AMAZING HAPPENS!!! Dwight Howard finished round one with a 100 out of 100. This second dunk just showed amazing leaping ability. The final round will be him against Gerald Green.

10:37- This is a college hoops update….. CDR went for 32 and Memphis barely beat UAB tonight. I just celebrated with Lamanna because we love CDR and Memphis.

10:39- Everyone in the room is talking about voting. TNT just showed NBA players “getting ready to vote”. I think they were just messaging some whores. Stanec loves making fun of the TNT announce crew. Gerald Green caught a bounce alley-oop and went between the legs for a very good but not spectacular dunk. Lamanna said Dwight Howard is going to kill someone or everyone. He also loves the fact that Gerald Green has a Houston tattoo.

10:42- “That is not humanly impossible”, says Kenny Smith. He actually met that as a compliment. Howard does a dunk where he throws it off of the backboard and then hits it with his left hand off of the backboard and then dunks. Floss screams, “Why does Kenny Smith love him, he isn’t Tino F’n Sunseri”. In case you were wondering, Floss loves Tino and often talks about him on his blog. Gerald Green’s last dunk is shoeless and between the legs… aka weak city.

10:45- Dwight Howard comes out with a mini-hoop. Who knows what is going to happen. He puts the real ball onto the mini hoop and tries to grab it and then do a windmill. He misses, but then tries again. The second one goes in. Kenny Smith has a huge boner. He is asking America to vote for Howard. Also interesting to note, Howard loves him some white redheaded girls. He used them in every dunk somehow.

10:48- The votes haven’t come in yet, but Howard has to win. This just in, Cheryl Miller is still a dyke and Dwight Howard loves Soulja Boy. Did Darryl Dawkins just speak English? We think not. Stanec claims that Dr. J looks a lot like Wolf Blitzer. All of the judges went with Dwight Howard, but Dr. J did give Green some props. Lamanna voted for Dwight Howard. His text message vote probably cost 10 dollars.

10:53- We are sitting here watching some beat commercials and the Floss is talking about how the All Star game should always be in Vegas. PnR loves the Vegas.

10:57- Dwight Howard got 78 percent of the vote. Stanecisworth thought that Cheryl Miller was playing games with his heart when she giggled before announcing the winner. In any other year Green, Moon, and Gay would have had a shot, but Dwight Howard was just too good. It was good to see some new ideas and this was an amazing Dunk Contest. They should cancel the Dunk Contest for a few years because there is no way that it will be able to top this.

10:59- This is PnR logging off…. I am drunk and we are all hungy. One of the best Dunk Contests ever!!!

Be easy,

-NM, ML, JS, and the Floss

Video Of The Week

2008-02-15T16:14:00.004-05:00

The Sprite Dunk Contest is on Saturday after the 3-Point Shootout and the Skills Competition on TNT (5 pm-11 pm). In honor of it, here is a video made by the contestant who may make me eat CROW if he does the dunk at the end of the video (Hint: Takes off from far, but you don't see the outcome.) Saw it on TNT. I don't know if it's Jamario Moon or James White, but here it is:

http://youtube.com/watch?v=wfL9Ew3b0uE

In honor of James White not being in the league:

http://youtube.com/watch?v=wolosB6ttXQ&feature=related

Shit ain't no title for this entry, just some All Star stuff and things to watch

2008-02-15T15:40:00.010-05:00

I have been sitting around wondering who has the best beard in the NBA. For my money, you can't beat that glorious look Baron Davis has going on his face. Drew Gooden might disagree, but there is no question Diddy has a better look going than Drew. I guess DeShawn Stevenson is working on a beard too as part of a bet with Drew Gooden, but I'm not a big fan of his. There have to be a few token white guys out there with token white guy beards, but those things are ugly as hell.

NBA All Star Weekend:
A big weekend for the NBA kicks off tonight with the Rookie Challenge at 9. This game is fun, but usually it just ends in the Sophomores shitting on the new guys. I predict that by the middle of the second half it will just turn into Ronnie Brewer, Rudy Gay, and Jamario Moon catching oops from their PG's. The only downside to this game is that guys like Al Horford, Jeff Green, and Paul Millsap could potentially ruin the fun by playing defense, hustling, and working on the boards. Tomorrow is the perhaps the biggest night of the weekend. Rudy Gay and Jamario Moon face each other once again in the dunk contest. The 3 point contest is also tomorrow, but sadly Kobe has pulled out of it due to an injury that needs surgery. However, Black Mamba has said that he will continue to play this season and wants to put surgery off until after the Olympics (that makes this guy smile). I'll touch more on the Rookie Challenge in a few, but just to get you a little wet in anticipation here is a clip of Ronnie Brewer doin the damn thing(you've seen Rudy Gay dunk 1,000 times, we wanted to give Brewer some love). For what it's worth, PnR would love to see the 3 point contest turn into a 35 footer contest.

A FEW REASONS TO GET HOOPS BONERS IN THE NEXT 2 DAYS:
1. The Rookie Challenge-9PM TNT Brandon Roy and Kevin Durant face off in a battle of big time scorers. Jamario Moon and Rudy Gay give us a preview of the dunk contest. The only thing that could make this better is if Sean Williams and Al Horford had a steel cage match against Paul Millsap and Rajon Rondo. Yea, the Sophomores only have one hardass, not two, so Rondo will have to suffice. Also, it would be great to see Mike Conley and Rajon Rondo race. Interesting to note, Al Horford is going to score tonight.
2. The return of Levance Fields-9PM ESPN Fields and the Pitt Panthers take on #25 Marquette in Milwaukee, or as I like to call it, "The City that Produces the Most Cheap Beer". Pitt (ranked 24th) is looking to turn the corner with Fields. Interesting to note, according to Fields, the Panthers have gone, "3 and 3 over our last 7(games)". Better than 3 and 4 I guess.
3. Old Dominion vs VCU-Sat 8PM ESPN2 I swear this isn't a joke. America's Eric Maynor boner should be at an all-time high. Maynor is averaging 17.6 ppg this year.... that rules. Interesting to note, Old Dominion is actually the name of a university, not an amusement park.
4. NBA Dunk Contest and all that other All Star shit-Sat 8PM TNT Rudy Gay, Jamario Moon, Dwight Howard, and Gerald Green face off in what looks to be a great dunk contest. Interesting to note, for the first time in history the fan vote will decide the winner.

Do the damn thing,

-NM

James Naismith ain't got shit on Dr. James Crow..

2008-02-13T21:50:00.006-05:00

I'm in the posting spirit because Nate got the awards up on time. Because I'm a piece of shit and never look up stats for my two-cents, I figured I'd hand out some awards:

NBA's Natural Disaster: Amare Stoudemire

A natural disaster is not classified as such until it havocs itself on a community. Well the Suns played three games this week and STAT didn't disappoint. His team went 2-1 for the week and Amare was an influential piece. In games versus Washington, Seattle, and New Orleans he posted averages of 30 ppg, 14 rpg, 3 bpg, 97% ft and 51% fg. AND he hit 50% from distance. I love me some STAT.

The "I'm Not Even The Best NBA Prospect On My Own Team Award": DJ White

Playing "White" should no longer be an adjective for my playing style. People might get confused and think I averaged 18 ppg, 9.7 rpg and a block for the top 15 Indiana Hoosiers (I did have 19 and 16 in intramurals...don't sleep). His team also went 2-1, with its only loss coming at the hands of Wisconsin and their coach who does the "Soulja Boi". With his mid-high socks and tall tee, how could you not have a man crush on the future NBA first rounder? Eric Gordon gets the shine, but don't front on the guy who is gettin dirty.

The "Nate's Posts About My Scoring Pisses Me Off Award": Al Horford

Thank God no one reads our blog (although we do have a couple comments these days), because Al Horford and his 6-10, 260 lb body would smash Nate into the ground. So what if he shot 32% from the field last week? He averaged 10 boards a game this past week and is an intimidating player in the paint for the Hawks. They went winless (0-3), but Big Al gave the fans something to cheer about. Oh, he averaged 9.6 points last week.

"He Was Just A Freshman"

So I'm looking at Scout.com's POW awards, and one stood out. One, because I didn't have a clue who he was and two, because he plays for a surprising Ole Miss team. Chris Warren might be called "Christ" (I'm going to hell) if he increases his numbers in his tenure with the Rebels. The 5-10 guard averaged 14 ppg and 5.3 apg for a team that went 2-1. If you didn't know, now you know.

Internationally Known: Patrick "Patty" Mills aka "Makes the Dope (St. Mary's) Gaels Go Crazy"

I have never seen the dude play, but when his name came up Nate and the author of "False Floss" draw enough wood to put 84 Lumber out of business. I did some investigating, and the Australian freshman averaged 14 points over a three game WAC tour. His team went 3-0 including a win over perennial WAC favorite Gonzaga (including 13-18 free throws). If he would have scored in the last game, his scoring average would've been higher. Now Patty doesn't have to go into depression for being a St. Mary's player without an award.

-ML

EDIT by NM: I must say that Lamanna did an impressive job of spelling Stoudemire. You may have noticed that I copped out in the Olympic post and just used "Amare". In terms of the awards good shit in my opinion. However, for the award that DJ earned you have to consider about 90 percent of the Kansas Jayhawks. Lastly, I just felt that it was important that the fans know that Patty Mills' other nickname is the "Canberra Cannon". Some say it is because he is a scorer from Canberra, Australia. I think it's because he railroads a ton of girls at St. Mary's. Next week we might actually post all of the awards together.

"Shoot the J, Bitch"

Stayin on track like a box of pumas these Weekly Awards are finally on time!!!!

2008-02-13T14:16:00.009-05:00

Finally, the Weekly Awards are on time for the first time ever. This is history in the making!!!

Smith of the Week:
Back by popular demand the Smith of the Week Award looks to be a staple of the PnR Weekly Awards. Last week, only the 3 guys from Tennessee were up for the award. This week we have made every player from college hoops eligible. If the fans like this idea we plan on going global next week and having NBA players qualify for the honor. That being said, it was a sad week for people named Smith. Nobody really stood out and Tyler Smith probably deserved the award again, but due to PnR's interest in St. Mary's College we have decided to hand the award to Tron Smith. Tron went for double figures in both conference games this week with a high of 15 against Santa Clara. Add in the fact that his name is Tron and it was hard not to reward the kid. PnR regrets that a St. Mary's player was awarded before Patrick "Patty" Mills, but stay tuned, we will eventually give him an award he doesn't deserve out of favoritism.

Take Off Your Pants and Jack-it Award (Bench Player of the Week):
Speaking of not earning a Weekly Award and just being granted it out of favoritism is actually a great segue to our next winner. Brad Wanamaker was probably the 130th best bench player this week. And actually he didn't even "Jack-it"(instant offense). But throw all of that out of the window and remember that PnR is run by 2 Pitt homers. More importantly, about 4 people read this blog. 2 of those 4 are Pitt fans. During Big East play this week Wanamaker was perhaps Pitt's most efficient player. Chipping in more minutes than usual Wanamaker went 3 for 4 against WVU(7 points) and 3 for 4 against Providence(6 points). Add in the fact that he is the best Pitt passer and a good defender and that is enough for us to honor Brad. Wanamaker myself a drink? Yes I do!

NCAA Newcomer of the Week:
Arizona lost the other day, but it wasn't the fault of Jerryd Bayless. Bayless went for 39 of Zona's 54 points. Even more impressive, the kid only took 18 shots.

NCAA Player of the Week:
Tyler Hansbrough has been putting together another great season. This past week he was especially impressive. T went for 28 and 18 in a loss to Duke. He then got his UNC team to bounce back as he went for 39 and 13 against Clemson. Last night against Virginia, Hansbrough went for 23 and 7. PnR don't piss with no math skills, but even we can tell that those are impressive averages. Tyler Hansbrough is PnR's third NCAA Player of the Week.

NBA Rookie of the Week:
Much like we mentioned 2 weeks ago, Al Horford continues to be a monster on the glass. However, he hasn't scored a point all year. We swear, look it up. The Hawks are never on TV, but we would love to see them once to see if Horford even shoots..... He must be passing up tip- dunks and put-backs. Luis Scola averaged double figures in 3 straight wins this past week. He also contributed 7 or more rebounds in each game. In a bad year for Rooks that is good enough to earn PnR honors.

Lost in Translation Star of the Week(Foreign Player of the Week):
When we invented this award the idea was to give it to Hedo every week. Remember, talent, stats, and skills only take you so far in these awards. Sadly, someone had a better week than Hedo. Jose Calderon of the Raptors went for 11 points and 14 assists in his first game last week. He followed that up with 15 points and 10 dimes and then finished the week with a 27 and 6 performance. The bad news????? The Raptors only win in that time period was a victory over lowly Minnesota.

NBA Weekly MVP:
Chris Paul blew up for 42 points against the Suns. After that he went for a lowly 2 points against Memphis. The good news about those 2 points is that we forgot about them because he chipped in 16 assists and got the win. Last night CP3 went for 25 and 14 in a victory over the Bulls. The moral of the story? His 2 big games were more than enough to make up for that 2 point pooper against Memphis. We have a feeling that this won't be the last time CP3 is honored by PnR.

Stay tuned for more exciting news from PnR in the next few days..... Well I doubt there will be anything exciting, but check us out anyway. If all else fails we will start using more made up nicknames like they do over at http://falsefloss.blogspot.com/

Out,

-PnR

..................... Wait, how in the hell do Tron Smith, Brad Wanamaker, Luis Scola, and Jose Calderon all win awards in the same week..... Really, Tron Smith??? Actually, all that means is that PnR is ahead of the curve in terms of research and game watches...... Umm yeah...... ahead of the curve :)

USA Basketball in an Olympic Year

2008-02-11T12:58:00.000-05:00

I have no idea why, but for some reason I love USA Basketball. I'm not overly patriotic and I have no reason to care about USA Basketball, especially since once they started losing many Americans turned their backs on the team/program and stated that the players were thugs. However, I did something completely different.... When America started to suck, I started to care. I fell in love with the program. During the last Olympics I watched Allen Iverson and Lamar Odom (freakin Lamar Odom) play their balls off for a country that for the most part didn't give a shit about them. Odom and Iverson played like Dream Teamers despite the fact that Tim Duncan was always on the bench in foul trouble, LBJ and Melo were on the bench because Larry Brown hated them, and Stephon Marbury was for some strange reason starting. That team didn't win gold, but it was a good thing. After a series of failures, USA Basketball revamped the system and put Jerry Colangelo in charge of the process. Soon Coach K became the head coach. Coach K basically was the opposite of Larry Brown and was a sigh of relief for the players. Currently there are 33 players who are a part of the Senior Men's Team. There are also 8 guys on a USA Select Team which is used to practice against the Senior Team during camp. The roster is filled with the best players in the league (Melo, LBJ, Kobe), some glue guys (Bruce Bowen, Shane Battier, Tayshaun Prince), shooters (Mike Miller, Michael Redd), big guys who can move (Bosh, Howard, Amare), and the best PG's in the league not named Nash (Kidd, Billups, CP3, Deron Williams, Captain Kirk). Rather than trying to play total international ball and losing, or playing NBA ball with our second best players and no chemistry, this program aims to take a different route. Sure, there are still stars on the roster, but chemistry, defense, and shooting are now part of the equation. Add in the fact that Coach K lets these guys press for the whole game and the fact that his assistants know more about basketball than any other group of people in the world and you have a formula for success. That being said, America will only be the co-favorite in Beijing.

Roster:

If history is any indication, not all 33 players will be in training camp for the olympics. Some will pull out with injuries and personal excuses before camp starts. Others, who have no chance of making the final cut, will be asked not to come to camp at all. For the most part, the powers that be will be looking for a way to keep most of the guys from 2007's FIBA Americas Championship Team together.

That roster included:
Melo
Chauncey
Kobe
Tyson Chandler
LBJ
Kidd
Mike Miller
Michael Redd
Prince
Amare
Deron Williams

Dwight Howard

The guys in bold will have a spot unless they get injured. I will touch on the other guys in a minute, but first I would like to talk about some possible addidtions to the full 33 man roster/player pool. Brandon Roy will have a spot in the group if he wishes to accept it. You could even argue that Roy deserves to make the final 12 man roster. In terms of college players, USA Basketball added Redick and Morrison two years ago. Last year they threw Kevin Durant and Greg Oden onto the roster. Keeping with the rule of 2 I am assuming that they will add Mike Beasley and Kevin Love to the player pool this year. The only question will be if they want to deal with and baggage that Beasley may bring. Remember, this is based on chemistry and representing America. That being said, Mike has behaved at Kansas State, so he should be good. Kevin Love will be added because Brad Miller is getting older and Love plays a game that is pretty comparable to what big men do overseas. Not to mention the fact that he is a great passer. Regardless of which college players are added to the player pool, none of them will make the team.

In terms of the final roster, I did not bold Tyson Chandler, Mike Miller, Michael Redd, Tayshaun Prince, or Deron Williams.

Chandler: He will be locked in a battle with Chris Bosh for this roster spot. It will just come down to if the coaches want a shot blocker or someone who is more skilled on offense.

Mike Miller and Michael Redd: I am certain that one of these two will be on the roster and it is even likely that both of them make the final team. They are Coach K's zone busters. Competition here comes from Joe Johnson and Paul Pierce. I like Johnson's chances, but I'm not sure about PP. I love Paul Pierce, but I just can't see him giving the final shot to Kobe. Remember, CHEMISTRY COUNTS!!!

Tayshaun Prince: He is locked in a battle with Shane Battier and Bruce Bowen for this spot as the glue guy/defender.

Deron Williams: This will just come down to if the staff wants to use a big body like Williams, or if they want to run with CP3. Chauncey already gives them a grinder at point, so I think CP3 makes more sense so he and Kidd can make the team uptempo.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Going into the last Olympics 9 guys from the qualifying team were guaranteed roster spots in the Olympics, but because of injuries and other circumstances only 2 of those guys actually played on the Olympic team. I do not believe spots were guaranteed this time. Traning Camp for the FIBA Americas last year had 17 players and after an injury Nick Collison was added. That was then trimmed to 14 and finally to 12 to participate in the tournament. Above I have bolded 7 guys, as I stated before, they are locks for the team. The wildcard is D. Wade. To be honest the team is much better without him. I love the fact that he loves America and wants to be on this team, but his game just does not translate and he settles for too many jumpers in international play. However, if he wants to play it will be hard to turn him away.

-NM

CAWWW

2008-02-09T22:49:00.000-05:00

Crow, Trades, Excitement

Well, I'm drinking Crow yet again and I'll agree giving out awards and making sure the right people get their shine on is hard when ESPN only pushes so many guys. B-Easy is by far the best player in the NCAA.

Rick Pitino- who knew changing a suit at half (going from the Guido white and red to the less Guido black and red) could push his shit team to beat Georgetown. LOL- he just said it was because he spilled Diet Coke on the white one. He also said the next time he wears the white suit will be at the Kentucky Derby. Calipari and Pitino definately sling rocks. Anyways, enough with the side notes.

The Crow: Drank a fifth on Friday night.

The Trades: In terms of Phoenix and LA. I've heard some interesting takes on the trade, and they are retro 80's dank. I'm talking 80's white boy Celtics and Show time Lakers. The kick is that current Lake Show is more comparable to the Celtics. The 80's Celtics featured 7'0" Robert Parrish, 7'0" Kevin McHale and 6'10" Larry Bird. The Lakers will soon feature a healthy 7'0" Andrew Bynum, 7'0" Pau Gasol and 6'10" Lamar Odom (with Kobe actually being Larry Bird being that he's the best player on the team). Charles Barkley was stated as saying that Lamar Odom is not that expendable because he makes the team so much more difficult to defend with their length and skill ala the Celts circa 1988.

I originally bashed the hell out of Steve Kerr (See: post from Wednesday morning) for his trade. I was wrong. First off, he was the last guy to vote that the trade should go through (Mike D'Antoni was first). Secondly, The team now seems like the Showtime Lakers. Think about it: Magic had Byron Scott, James Worthy and Michael Cooper filling the wings on the break with Kareem Abdul Jabar sucking wind behind them. Steve Nash currently has Barbosa, Bell, Granny Hill, STAT and Diaw filling the wings with Shaq-Fu lugging behind. When the Lakers didn't have the break going, they dumped it inside to that goggle wearing 7 footer in the half court. Steve Nash will have Kazaam to dump it into in the half court. He may be lacking the foot speed, but it's still hard to stop a 7-2, 320 lb guy who knows how to play. They lost Shawn Marion, but they have plenty of other options on the break. What the will miss most about the Matrix is his defense (the Suns only had 1 steal Thursday Night). I don't know which team will replicate their model more and win the title, but the West just got even better.

Excitement: Celtics v. Spurs, ABC 12:00 Sunday.
It's the battle of the champs versus the team predicted to win-it-all. KG is out, but it will still be interesting to see what happens.

Heat v. Lakers, ABC 3:30 Sunday
The game was probably supposed to be built around Shaq v. Kobe. Well there was a trade. A couple. This will be my first time watching the newly acquired players don new jerseys. Matrix is rocking #7. I'm looking forward to this more so than the game before.

Also excited about this: It seems that no one team gets on TV more than the Heat. Prob because of Shaq, but I was getting tired of seeing them on TV especially when they're the worst team in the NBA. I'm glad all the trades went down because I'll see fresh faces on the more publicized teams. I love trades, mostly because I change rosters on Live 08.

The Biggest Update Ever......

2008-02-09T14:23:00.001-05:00

I wanted to watch major college hoops today, but ESPN decided to put on Iowa against Minnesota instead. Oh well, this gives me a few minutes to update.

Pau Gasol
Michael touched on this in his previous post, but I wanted to say a few more things about the deal. I usually disagree with everything that Stephen A. Smith says, but for the most part he was right for saying that the Lakers win in this deal just because they get rid of Kwame Brown. Don't get me wrong, as a 3rd or 4th big Kwame isn't that bad of an option, but at the end of the day he will always be remembered as a bust. Kwame is THE prime example of the way that NBA draft logic is flawed. Enough about him though. Pau comes in as one of only 11 players in the league who average 19 and 9. The other guys on that list are Chris Bosh, Al Jefferson, KG, Yao...... you know guys you have probably heard of once or twice. Regardless of what you think of Pau (he has been called soft and a career loser) you have to respect the work the man has done in the league. He hasn't been a Laker for long, but so far the results have been good. The Lakers also got rid of Critter, which is a big move because they had to pick between him and Jordan Farmar eventually and it was good to get that decision out of the way as early as possible. Lastly, I love this deal because Pau got traded for the rights to his brother. How tits is that? How often does someone get traded for their brother?

Awards
This week we are going with a smaller list of awards due to the fact that we are lazy and picking the awards is actually way harder than we (or at least I, dunno if Lamanna feels the same) ever imagined. We'll do a few college awards and then go with an NBA player of the week and Rookie of the week.

Smith of the Week:
Tyler Smith was a beast against Florida as he went for a career high 23 points. T also had 9 boards and 6 assists. He was a little less stellar earlier in the week, but his production was good enough to earn him honors over his buddies Ramar Smith and JaJuan Smith.

NCAA Player of the Week:
Davidson could be playing high school teams.... I don't know... hell if anyone can name a player from their conference other than Stephen Curry. That being said, Curry is our player of the week with 58 points and 10 dimes in a 2 game span last week. The super soph is making a case for the award again next week with a 36 point effort against Elon.

Newcomer of the Week:
Mike Beasley.... Why? Because he is the best player like in the whole world.... maybe in the whole world ever. Jan 30-Feb 5 was actually one of his worst weeks of the year..... but we don't care... He rules!

Rookie of the Week:
24, 21, 20....Kevin Durant went for 24, 21, and 20 in a three game span last week. In a strange turn of events Seattle actually won 2 of those games. In an even crazier turn of events, KD actually grabbed 7 boards in a game against the Knicks.

NBA Player of the Week:
21 ppg over a three game stretch doesn't seem that impressive in the NBA, but it is when you consider that within those three games the player had 10 boards one night and then flirted with a triple double another night by having 9 assists and 9 blocks. Josh Smith, congrats on being the second PnR player of the week.

Draft
The NBA draft is still a long time away, and we feel it is too ealry to do a mock draft, but below is a list of our 20 best prospects.

1. Mike Beasley-Kansas State

2. Derrick Rose-Memphis(shown above)

3. Eric Gordan-Indiana

4. DeAndre Jordan-Texas A&M

5. Marreese Speights-Florida

6. OJ Mayo-USC

7. Brook Lopez-Stanford

8. Donte Green-Syracuse

9. Danilo Gallinari-Italy

10. Nicolas Batum-France

11. Jerryd Bayless-Arizona

12. Chase Budinger-Arizona

13. Darrell Arthur-Kansas

14. DJ Augustin-Texas

15. Roy Hibbert-Georgetown

16. Blake Griffin-Oklahoma

17. Bill Walker-Kansas State

18. Kevin Love-UCLA

19. Kosta Koufos-OSU

20. DeVon Hardin-CAL

Stay tuned.... in the future PnR will bring some mock drafts to the net.

Make money, get buckets
-NM

Carmelo Anthony Etch A Sketch All Star

2008-02-09T14:21:00.001-05:00

In honor of Melo going for 49 here is a video of some douche making an etch a sketch of Carmelo. Just let it play and look at the finished product. It is unreal.

"See, What had happened was....."-Will Smith

2008-02-08T19:43:00.000-05:00

Well what happened this week was that me and Lamanna ran into a lot of work.....and then he decided to go on vacation to PSU.

Here is a link to the baddest 11 year old you will ever meet.... head and shoulders above LBJ and OJ Mayo.

http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=869_1201052822

Tomorrow I will post the largest update in PnR history in order to make up for the shitty coverage from this week.

Gotta Lay Off The Crow On School Nights.......

2008-02-06T02:02:00.000-05:00

Either I just logged onto espn.com completely blackout or it's reality. The Phoenix Suns just landed a big one and finally got rid of the disgruntled poison that is Shawn Marion and the point guard who just never became the solid back-up in Marcus Banks. When I say big one, I mean BIG one. A big, slow, and old Shaquille O'Neal. WTF.
The Miami Heat are more giddy than the author of False Floss (falsefloss.blogspot.com) at a cheap titty bar while hammered. They now have gained a semi-youthful (29, he's got about 4 good years left) and productive wing to go along with D-Wade. I don't think this trade gets them out of the top 5 however, because Shawn Marion is unproven at the 3 spot. But, if they land a big guy in the draft who can play, the future looks bright because of a Sun. As a side note: if the NBA kept track of players who smoke a shitload of cronic Ricky Davis and Shawn Marion would be killin.
What the hell are the Suns thinking? Their offense is tailor made for fast players who get up in down the floor. That's why Marion could succeed as a 6-7 power forward. He was the fastest PF in the league. Maybe the Suns bought in to the fact that they couldn't win in the playoffs with a run-n-gun system. So they bring in Shaq, who may not be able to give it 80% because of injuries. What will happen with Amare? He has been the hoss on the blocks. He won't be nearly as effective on offense shooting jumpers as Shaq posts up. Maybe they're bringing him in as a defensive presence, because (as much as I love STAT) Amare couldn't defend Luke Harangody on the block. Shaq can't even play defense anymore though, that's the funny part. He doesn't have the athleticism he used to. Best case scenario: Nash, Barbosa, G-Hill, Brian Skinner (defensive purposes) and STAT start games with Shaq bringing a change of tempo off the bench pushing Amare to the 4 and they physically dominate together 20 minutes a game. Worst case scenario: They start Shaq and Amare and just watch how the funnest team to watch becomes the 1995 NY Knicks. Steve Nash makes a lot of guys better, but the personnel he will have on the court will fit him about as well as Shaq's wang in a water balloon.

There was an outstanding trade where a contender became for real on Friday. Pau Gasol to the Lakers for 2 first rounders, Kwame Brown, J-Critter, Marc Gasol and Aaron McKie(?). The Lakers gave up picks, but ensured themselves that KB24 will stick around this off-season. The Lakers went from having a chance to get the Western Conference Finals, to being a lock for them and a favorite to win the West. If Bynum comes back and is playing like a monster again, KB24 will cream. Gasol and Bynum will in turn make each other dominant. No one can match up to their youth and skill. Monsters on the block = more open lanes for Mamba to get to the hole for fear of dunks. Really, it will be a pick your poison on defense. Either let Mamba drive and dunk or dish to one of the finishers.
It will be interesting to see what happens to Lamar Odom. Out of Rhode Island, everyone expected him to be the new Magic. The skills never materialized and he is a rich man's Tim Thomas. Will they move him to the 3, where he played before the Lakers, bring him off the bench or trade him? It'll be interesting.
The Grizzlies showed they're going for the uptempo pace now. This past Saturday, they played Mike Miller (a 2) at the 3, Rudy Gay (a 3) at the 4 and Darko (a pussy) at the 5. Going very small indeed. The GM of the Grizzlies looked at the deal as getting 4 first rounders. They got the 2 picks, Critter (a first rounder/rookie) and Marc Gasol (who some say if he waited til this year to enter the draft he'd be first round). But really........they have Kyle Lowry and Mike Conley already, the two first rounders will probably be in the twenties, and Marc Gasol is in Europe.
On a bright side, Kwame Brown makes Sam Bowie look like Hakeem Olajuwon and that makes me smile :).

Weekly Awards

2008-02-02T18:31:00.000-05:00

Well, our first Weekly Awards are finally here!!!!!

Lost In Translation Star of the Week (Foreign Player of the Week):
Hedo Turkoglu went for 26, 23, and 27 over a three game span that ended with a game winner against the Boston Celtics.... In our opinion, Hedo has earned an All Star invitation, but sadly the powers that be disagree.... Looks like Weekly honors from The Pick 'n Roll will have to do for now.

NBA Weekly MVP:
King James averaged 33.3 ppg, 8 boards, and nearly 6 assists in a 3 game stretch last week. Couple that with the fact that we didn't pay attention to any other NBA players last week and he wins our Weekly MVP award.

NBA Rookie of the Week:
Well Al Horford had a monster week on the boards, but we would like to see him actually score once or twice. Moreover, we'd like to give the award to someone who contributed to wins, but looking at the rookies it is hard to find anyone who won last week. Therefore, in an effort to increase our readership in the oversea market we are going with Juan Carlos Navarro as our Rookie of the Week. He stunk against Orlando, but bounced back with 3 double digit scoring games in a row for Memphis..... Good enough for us.

College Newcomer of the Week:
Kevin Love, OJ Mayo, Rose, and all those other guys are pretty good. But we figure that nobody from Rutgers will ever be awarded again, so we are taking Mike Coburn as our Newcomer of the Week for his effort in wins against Nova and Pitt last week. The kid from NYC had 23 against Nova and 17 against Pitt..... Works for us.

College MVP:
This was tough. Some wanted Kevin Love for what he did in his home state of Oregon, but Love annoys me. Therefore, give us Mike Beasley and his averages of 31 and 14 last week. What a beast!!!

Big trade for the Lakers in getting Pau Gasol, but we will touch on that later.

Stay Fly,

-The Pick 'n Roll

I'm just tryin to get drunk.....

2008-02-01T17:34:00.000-05:00

Well I was right me and Lamanna are too lazy and drunk to update this as much as we promised, but the link Lamanna posted below is sick and will count as our weekly old school highlight.... Yea it isn't old school, but deal with it. Tomorrow I will post our Weekly Awards that were promised for Wednesday. The awards will be from last Wednesday evening to Wednesday morning. Next weeks awards will actually be posted on the right day.

Life happens.... we drink too much and that kills our posting ability, but we will get better I swear.
Also, Lamanna posted that link like a moron.... I'll provide the same link in a clickable(nice word) format.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Ri0khzm5gA&NR=1

Get foul this weekend..... Coach Calipari called me and said him and CDR are sipping on some Vlad tonight, so I'm going to do the same.

Much Love,

-NM

HOLY CROW

2008-01-31T16:26:00.000-05:00

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Ri0khzm5gA&NR=1

2008-01-30T00:09:00.000-05:00

How could I be so silly to forget: Brandon Roy should be an All-Star reserve for the west. The Blazers are the biggest surprise in the Western Conference and the Roy is a big reason why (Travis Outlaw off the bench and LaMarcus Aldridge being a man are also influential).

I also just read that Chris Bosh has a higher Player Efficiency Rating than Tim Duncan :)

-ML

I'm gonna need a new handle....

2008-01-29T18:46:00.000-05:00

Well, I read Nate's post and i figured he didn't even touch the topic of who should be a reserve and the skills challenges.

The Skills challenges: only participants for the dunk contest have been named (how hard is it to throw 6 white guys together for a 3-point shootout and LJ23, Nash, CP3 and Kidd to agree to dribble up the court and throw passes?) Here are the participants and my predictions on how they'll finish:

1. Dwight Howard- believe it or not, he's prob the most athletic guy in the event even though he is 6-11 and 265. The height is a disadvantage because you really have to pay attention to appreciate. Last year he pinned a sticker about 13 feet in the air on the backboard. If he pulls out something flashy or breaks the backboard, that's your winner. If he goes with just power dunks, he wont make it to the finals. He probably won't so just enjoy the freak on his first two dunks.

2. Rudy Gay- If he shows a pulse (which would be out of the ordinary) and throws down the dunks he's capable of, he's the champ. He throws it down with power and agility. He probably won't give a shit about the contest and do boring white-ass dunks.

3. James White- Oh shit, he's not even in the league. Maybe if he wouldn't have spent his time from ages 12-20 throwing crazy ass dunks down from the foul line and working on a jumper he could participate. Tonya Harding, if you're out there take out Jamario Moon. Miami Heat, if Tonya responds you should sign White because you're gonna be lottery bound anyways.

4. Gerald Green- The reigning champ, and he plays for the T-Wolves. Put these two together and you have a motivated young gunna. I hope he pulls out the lob to himself and takes off from 10 feet out like he did at the McD's dunk contest. This guy will most likely win it all.

5. Jamario Moon- He was doing great for being a 28 year old rookie from a community college. Then he started averaging 8 and 6. You're telling me James White couldn't do that playing his minutes? His top 10 dunks on NBA.com are pedestrian for freak athletes of the NBA and there his best. Thanks for showing up Jamario!

MY ALL OLD CROW TEAM (aka they're in the reserves)

EAST

Chris Bosh, C, Toronto Raptors- Chris Bosh was being a pussy in the beginning of the season. He had some games where he grabbed 1 rebound(!). Thank God he has shown what he can really do as of late and that we don't have to watch Shaq embarrass himself or Big Z make white people look even more uncoordinated.

Caron Butler, F, Washington Wizards- 21,7, and 4 are numbers that define being a small forward. Agent Zero went down with the injury and he has picked up the slack. His team lacks talent and he and Jamison have been shouldering the load. The former UCONN Husky should make it but an injury could keep him out.

Antawn Jamison,F, Wizards- Averaging21 and 10 and making sure the Wizards aren't Lottery bound

Gerald Wallace, F/G, Charlotte Bobcats- A former high-energy reserve player who has worked on his offense. Averaging 20, 7 and 4 like Butler. He also plays incredible defense and is atop the leaders for blocked shots. He has worked too hard to be shunned away.

Chauncey Billups, G, Detroit Pistons- The leader of the best UNIT in basketball today. He is listed as a point guard but I think he is just the guy who brings the ball up the court. He doesnt do anything to make plays for teammates ala Kidd, CP3 and Nash but he makes the clutch buckets and is a great shooter.

Ray Allen and Paul Pierce, G and F, Boston Celtics- If the line-up needs 12 to be complete they're in. Their numbers are down and Pierce has been too aggressive in the past couple games. Their team has also lost 5 of their last 10 heading into Tuesday's action. How do you lose with KG, Ray Ray and P-Double ever?

WEST

Marcus Camby, C, Denver Nuggets- The Camby Man has been very good this season, thanks in part to being healthy (I will not be held responsible for jinxing him). He is disrupting shots and shooting those 18 footers to perfection, not to mention the boards. He has never been to an All-Star game, probably because of health. Pick him up ________ (the West coach hasnt been named yet)!

Carlos Boozer, F, Utah Jazz- One of three players to be averaging 22 and 11 in the NBA. They others? Dwight Howard and Yao Ming. He has the post game that gives me a hard-on.

Al Jefferson, F, Minnesota Timberwolves- Come on NBA, give Minny something to cheer about this weekend. Their team stinks, but they do have a catalyst to forget about KG leaving in their new 21 and 12 machine. He'll also be one of three players in the game taking baby hook jumpers (Yao, Boozer are others).

Chris Paul, G, New Orleans Hornets- The MVP through the first half of the season in my eyes. Who else can make Tyson Chandler look like an offensive nightmare? His team is atop the West and they would be lottery bound if he didnt exist. The fans need to realize AI isn't the answer to who the best PG in the West is. Just shows it's a popularity vote.

Steve Nash, G, Phoenix Suns- He's a two time MVP who at 30-something is still dominating. He's probably the next best PG in the NBA behind Paul. Am I not the only one who wants to see him isolate on KG and own him?

After these 5, I really don't know who I'd want as the rest of the reserves. A swingman is needed, and Manu Ginobili would be a good pick or Stephen Jackson (just to ensure he wont be shooting anyone up at the strip clubs in Indiana)

-ML

Rasheed Wallace Crazy Dance

2008-01-29T00:08:00.001-05:00

Rasheed Wallace does one of the finest dances ever. This is part three in a Video series.... Please Read "All Stars selected" in order to understand these last few posts.

Bo Ryan cranks dat Soulja Boy

2008-01-29T00:01:00.001-05:00

Awesome.... that is the only word I can even think of to explain this.

Danny Green Pregame Dance

2008-01-28T23:58:00.001-05:00

Really hard to find a good version of this, but this is UNC's Danny Green "doin work" before a recent UNC game.

All Stars selected, Lamanna drinks, and Bo Ryan boogies

2008-01-28T23:34:00.000-05:00

Fastbreak:

Just a few quick issues to get out of the way before this blog really gets off of the ground. I was informed by Lamanna that most of his columns/posts will be done when he is PUI (posting under the influence). His beverage of choice is normally Old Crow, but he has been known to venture into the realm of cheap vodka as well. As for me, I'll basically post when I am bored. However, I am fairly lazy, so I may just stop posting in general in about two days.

Our Weekly Awards will be posted on Wednesday. Our Board of Directors will vote for each award and turn a ballot in by noon every Wednesday.

The NBA All Star starters have been announced and I will post them in just a sec for anyone who has been living under a rock.

EAST

F- Kevin Garnett, Boston

F- LeBron James, Cleveland

C- Dwight Howard, Orlando
G- Jason Kidd, New Jersey

G- Dwyane Wade, Miami

West

F- Tim Duncan, San Antonio
F- Carmelo Anthony, Denver

C- Yao Ming, Houston

G- Allen Iverson, Denver
G- Kobe Bryant, LA Lakers

Dance Time:

I am still trying to figure out how to embed videos from youtube onto the blog.... but in the meantime I will just provide links. I just wanted to point out some of the finest dancers/dances that basketball has seen in recent years. Actually..... hell.... I think I just figured it out.... so forget the links, here comes some real live(well not really live, but you know what I mean) video. Actually, I still suck at this video thing, but I believe they are all up above this post.
The first video is Rasheed Wallace and the second is Wisconsin coach Bo Ryan. Danny Green of UNC is the final video in this 3 part video series. This section doesn't feel complete without a good Mark Madsen clip, but it is hard to find one online.

-NM

Pick 'n Rollin Like Stockton and Malone Since January 2008

2008-01-28T13:10:00.000-05:00

Welcome to the 1st edition of The Pick 'n Roll Blog, published by Nate Muzika and Mike Lamanna.

Today will just be a quick introduction to the site with a description of the features that will soon be appearing.

Every Wednesday we will release our Weekly Awards to the public. Check us out every Friday for an Old School hoop highlight from youtube and be sure to check out our various columns and upcoming Mock Draft Lottery.

"If you came here to read about rebounds and defense you came to the wrong place."
-NM/ML