it was only the grizz but...

to be perfectly honest, what i saw of the nuggets game was a happy coincidence that resulted from a stats studying session finished early. it is bizarre that a jewish-american princess would have NBATV on her 1,000,000 inch plasma screen tv, but both of those things happened. i tuned in just in time for the nuggets to get their swerve on in a serious way (about midway through the first.)
to me, that was a perfect example of how the nuggets SHOULD function. they basically hopped into passing lanes and ran the grizzlies clean off the floor. i would say that that is a fairly repeatable model for success, but one that requires that they have freakish athletes capable of lane-hopping and floor-running. fortunately, the nuggets are gifted with an extremely athletic team. (perhaps most athletic in the nba?)
but once the game moved along into the 2nd quarter, all the pratfalls of the nuggs approach were on full display. they didn't steal and j.r. smith shot far too many 3s, leading to far too many fast breaks, leading to far too many made baskets, leading to no fast breaks/easy finishes for denver, leading to more j.r. smith 3s. it's a vicious cycle.
ALL THIS BEING SAID: i wouldn't count the game as meaning too goddamn much. after all, it was their first game ever together, and the natural tendency is to create tension/chemistry where none has had the opportunity to grow. i know it was just the grizz, and i know the nuggets will not become the suns, but maybe they can repeat their 38-point 1st quarter once a game. for me, that will be enough.

HIBACHI!

Happy Kwanzaa and New Years from Lamar Blogom, which has finished its holiday hiatus (finally) and will be back on a semi-regular posting schedule. Among my resolutions is at least 3 quality posts a week, with an option for a fourth depending on homework load.

Anyways.

We've discussed AgentZero 6 times, this one the most in depth of them all. He is quite simply far and away the most singular and awesome player in the NBA. His game could be easily pigeonholed into that of a shoot-first, pass- (and ask questions-)later PG that Mamba of all people accused of being sans conscious.
Gilbert's game could be described as a more perfect extension of the steez originated by the Answer. He has that same sort of funky-freshness and feel-good little man aura about him, along with an insatiable urge to get the fuck to the bucket, but he also cops some serious juevos AI lacks when it comes to shots outside the 3-point line.

Here's something else important: GILBERT'S IN HIS 5TH YEAR!

As Peter, my spiritual cowriter, points out--he's only beginning to flash some serious scoring ability. Last season could be described as the one where he exploded onto our oily stage, and 06-07 is just a confirmation of his gunnerly goodness. Dude got snubbed twice last year: once at the ASG, and once by the Olympic team. He basically vowed revenge on the entire league (and specifically the Suns and Blazers, against whom he pledged to average 50 ppg) and backed his shit up--averaging over 30 since he was left off the All-Star team, and scored 54 against the Suns in his only outing opposite McMillan or D'Antoni.

Gilbert's dagger against the Bucks is only an extension of what all of us here at Lamar hope will become the type of legend we tell to our grand kids while we bounce their asses on our knees and try to ignore the arthritis. If you watch the ESPNews feed, you are not only treated to the announcer yelling "HIBACHI" like it's the only word he knows in the damn language, but also a brutal scowl Gil flashes for approx. 1 second after dropping the Bucks to their knees. Then the man is nothing but smiles as he walks towards his bench and the signature jersey toss.

His game is the purest form of gunnership. By that I mean that he has that sort of star quality where the defense matters only as an incidental. Gil has to work harder than maybe Kobe or TMac does, but he's different than they are in that he plays the game of basketball as if it's totally incidental to whatever else he's doing that night.

Perhaps another reason we find Gilbert so appealing is that he has a little bit of child left in him. Sure he has his occasional bouts of petulance involving a lot of assists and not too much scoring, followed by the opposite, but he also has the sort of sublime quality of figuring out the game as he goes along. This in direct opposition to his Division-mate Dwyane Wade, who seemingly has the game on lock every time he steps onto the floor. Not to say that Gilbert doesn't have more than his share of swagger (and outright cockiness), but his confidence comes and goes. When it is there, he heats up like the Hibachi Grill that he so espouses. When it's not, dude could be a Frigidaire for how he trots around the court.

AgentZero is also childish in his actions outside the court.

(I should clarify that when I say childish I don't mean immature and shits himself. What I do mean is that he has some serious child-savior vibes happening around him, including his innocence w/r/t traditional means of playing basketball.)

Rather than spend time with teammates out on the town, Gilbert chooses to stay in his hotel room and order things from infomercials. Now tell me that there isn't some part of every one of us that wants to just sit around and buy supersharp knives and other errata. In fact, that same proclivity for infomercial ordering has probably manifested itself in what was for a long time his trademark shout of Hibachi.

Gangsta Gangsta

Legiterally hours after Stop Snitchin' and JR were removed from the Nuggets lineup, the Nuggets go out and find an Answer resting on the scrap heap. Billy King did not fail to dissapoint, taking back a confusing medley of players (1.e. Joe Smith + Andre Miller) and a couple of 1st rounders.

This is w/o doubt the second most exciting destination for A.I., finishing just behind Minnesota on the Pump-o-Meter. While their status as the ultimate brawling team was somewhat in doubt as far as their status in the all-time annals, this move cements their #1 spot. Answer brings toughness+willingness to sacrifice whatever it takes to drag his teammates into the storied land.
Think about this for a second before you talk about team chemistry, and how Melo and Ivey will have a tough time adapting to each other: A.I. has been busting his ass up and down the court for about 5 years w/o a single teammate worthy of his lofty stature. Now, picture him w/a bunch of quality teammates sorely in need of an offensive boost now that Options 1 and 2 are suspended for 15 and 10, respectively. It's true that there will be 2 learning curves for Iverson, one w/o Melo and JR, one w/both in full effect.

Before you write this entire move off as stupid on both parties, consider that Iverson has nothing but desire to win. I have not doubt that not only will he not fuck this situation up by playing petulant/former frustrated alpha dog, but in fact he will embrace his role as perhaps the second banana. Or maybe Melo and A.I. will figure a unique way to share the ball and scoring responsibility in a way that benefits both of them in a quest for a championship. I would hope that they can form some kind of alliance that results in both of them scoring obscene amounts on the same court, with JR picking up the rest of the point-scoring tab.

While I don't yet know how that will work, it's my sense that Melo might start spending more time on the perimiter, allowing Iverson ample room for his barely controlled drives toward the rim. Although this trade still leaves Denver bereft of shooters, it should allow them to play at what has become the league's fastest pace with a premier PG/SG running the show.

BLACK SUNS BABY!

Don't never blink

Step away for a moment and look at what you miss:

1. Kobe goes for 45 and AgentZero explodes for 60 on the same court. Lamar (the blog + the person were rightfully ecstatic.
2. Brawl @ MSG.

As a subhead to Item 2, Melo gets slapped w/15 games, JR Smith w/10, and NateRob w/10.



All these suspensions represent a concerted effort by Stern + co. to make a move away from the gangsta-ism repped so heartlessly by A.I., Melo, and even Isiah in his playing days. The brawl itself seems like pretty minor spat; the only thing even vaguely remarkable was Melo pimp-slapping Mardy Collins then backpedaling away from Jared Jeffries for the length of the floor.

I don't particularly understand why Melo got hit with such a large suspension when it was clearly Napoleon complex'd NateRob that pushed the whole damn altercation to a level that passed what would have been appropriate for the foul. JR was clearly restrained and everything was on the verge of calming down when NR came in and blew that shit up.

If anything, Melo's suspension is justified for the sheer stupidity of it. How do you smack the worst player on the Knicks for yapping at you? Point up to that Jumbotron and remind him not only do you (a) earn more money in a single year than he will in his life (b) just ran his squad off the court and (c) starred in a ridiculous "Stop Snitchin" gang video straight out of Ballimore.
To be honest, this whole thing was more than a little disappointing. The Nuggets have arguably the best brawling squad in the NBA, bar none. Perhaps the 04 Pacers could give them a run for their money, but the Nugs have some serious bangers, which fall into a few main categories:

1. Hood: Melo, JR Smith, K Mart (when healthy)
2. Foreigners: Eduardo Najera, Nene (seems like a monolith. a badass monolith.)
3. Guys Not Particularly Dangerous on the Surface but Make You Vaguely Nervous: Marcus Camby, Earl Boykins

Name another team with a lineup that can even pretend to compete w/them. Simmons says the Wiz come close, and I guess I buy that just b/c Gil seems like he has only a vague idea of what's happening at any given time and so could be superdangerous. Even if he decided that the fight was the perfect time for a powernap.

Strange things are afoot at the Circle-K

On the news front:

1. I guess the Ivey trade is superbig news after all. The trade machine makes its season debut, allowing me to while away the hours until Iverson finds his new home.
2. Luke Walton is the second most popular Laker with the ladies. Him and Kobe. Wow.
3. Amare Stoudemire is like 95% back--observe his performace against NJ on Friday.
4. The leather is back.

That is all.

The Answer Cometh

Fresh off denying Jerry Sloan his 1,000th, KG drops a bombshell I certainly didn't see coming.
For those too lazy to click through, here's what it is:

"Bring it on, I love 'The Answer," Garnett said Friday night. "We welcome A.I. with open arms. Where's Kevin McHale?"

Whoa.
I have to admit that I'm not entirely ready for this pairing to happen just yet. Simmons claims that KG is the ultimate second banana, whatever that means. He's never truly been a dominant scorer in the purest sense of the word. Also, he's never been a dominant big man, despite being arguably the best in the game.

His versatility is his ultimate downfall. KG resembles Lamar a lot in that regard; he is perhaps tortured by his ability to do so much, that he settles for less than the sum of his parts. For Garnett, this is less true than it is for Lamar, but the concept lurks just below the surface.

Were he to focus on any one aspect of his game, he might morph into a more dominant, more perfect player than he already is. However, it is that dangerous element of raw imperfection that lends KG's game its indisputable charm. He isn't shackled to the post like so many of his predecessors and prodecessors.Garnett isn't easily comparable to anyone in particular. If anything, he is the idealized image of what Fab5-era CWebb should have been. Minus the boneheaded timeout calls, the petulance, and plus some insane competitive fervor.

The Answer brings many of the same elements to the table. He is a non-traditional player in a very real sense of the word; upon NBA entry, he violated every conceivable rule of style and etiquette both on the court and off on his way to becoming the Best 6-Footer Ever (caps definitely necessary.)

Like KG, he brings an insatiable desire for victory onto the floor, as well as the skills and motivation to sacrifice every inch of his frail humanity to achieve that success.

However, he differs from Garnett in his desire to score the damn ball. While KG sometimes seems vaguely content to exist w/in the flow of the offense, AI Creates his own flow on the fly. Sometimes he realigns some inviolable tenets of The Right Way while doing so, but so be it. Maybe all Garnett needs to reach his own personal promised land is a little bit of hood flavor.

If a homey's still moving, he's holding it down

Alright, I admit that the title of this post is quoting Lil' Wayne's fiery track "Georgia Bush". I also admit that "homey" was a completely different word in the track, a word that shouldn't be tossed around by whitey.

The subject of this post isn't the revitalization of N.O., nor is it something about the durrrty in general. No, Lamar throws his gaze to Phila, where AI is currently keeping it real as shit. A teenage was shot because he refused to give up his Answer jersey to a group of ruffians, and now Answer is paying for his funeral. Among all the things A.I. has done in his career, this is without a doubt the most noble and selfless. Well, duh.

We've talked about Iverson before, but in the context of Team USA and their doctrine of dominance. Now, his relationship to the Lig at large is examined.

I've never enjoyed watching Allen Iverson. Perhaps it's the Finals appearance against my beloved Lakers in 2001, or maybe I harbor some latent feelings of supressed racism, but his game is generally without aesthetic merits as far as I'm concerned.

That does not mean that he is without import to the Lig. Entirely the opposite--because he makes whitey so uncomfortable by fearlessly repping his thug/gangsta image, he is demonized in whatever he does. The conventional wisdom is that he doesn't share the ball enough because he's too "street," or that he hot-dogs too much for his own damn good.
One of those criticisms is perhaps true: for all his merits, Iverson didn't tend to share the ball around a whole lot until two years ago. But both deny the man's insane toughness and win-at-all-costs sensibility. Iverson should, by all rights, be revered by the Right Way NBA for his bulldog mentality. Dude tosses his 6'0"-and-skinny frame into the fires of war each and every time he rides onto the hardwood, but cannot shake the demonic marker that has been so cruelly placed upon his slender shoulders. No matter how hard he attacks the bucket, he will forever be regarded as a ballhog showoff who just happens to have played for some damn good basketball teams.

When Larry Brown, that paragon of righteous basketball, helmed the 76ers, Iverson was faced with a constant battle. Although Brown clearly acknowledged that Iverson could and should be the only scoring option on the team, there were mighty battles waged in the press between the two. Iverson's famous practice speach is just one small example of their ongoing struggle.

What cannot be ignored about their pairing is that it worked. Kinda. They made the damn Finals in 2001 with nothing beyond Iverson, Aaron McKie, and Dikembe Mutombo on either end of the floor. Iverson did nothing less than single-handedly win every game for the 76ers, dragging them by their struggling hair into some version of the promised land.

They fell short, and Larry was greeting with resounding praise for his fabulous job wringing success from what should have been a fruitless measure. The praise fell upon the wrong head. For all of his flaws, and they are many and multifarious, Iverson holds shit down on the offensive end. Sacrificing your body 82 games (and more) at a time is a measure that should not, by rights, be undertaken by an individual that could be described as shrimpy.

However, because of Answer's heart, lungs, and brains, he does that shit daily, with little help from any of his compatriots.

Tru Warier

Before you read, peep the 2010 predictions popping over at the Worldwide Leader. I'm not saying that shit is accurate, or even that most of those involved are experts, but it does reflect a change in the fundamental way that basketball is perceived. At least for the dude that picked the Hawks.
The quandary of one Ronald Artest. On talent and competitive drive alone, he is easily a top 10 player in the NBA. His competitive drive, however, is subverts itself on an almost daily basis. Observe an incident while he was with the Chicago Bulls: while trailing at half-time, Ronald threw rocket chest passes at the wall just above his teammates' heads, all the time remaining mute.

Besides the obvious implications for "team chemistry," his actions in that one incident reflect only one thing: a burning desire. This desire has nothing to do with winning. Rather, Ronald simply seeks always to distance himself from embarrassment and humiliation.

Almost every incident of Ron's career has been a direct or indirect result of not wanting to seem like a bitch when dudes step at him. The brawl in Detroit was and is a perfect example of that. A hard foul sets off a shoving match between Ron Ron and Ben Wallace. Gets broke up, but Artest mosies over to the scorers table and lies down--making like it ain't no thang. Of all the cocky things he could have done, that could be described as the most inflammatory.

He stood up (or lied down) and told the Palace crowd that he was literally unconcerned about the entire incident. All of this was done in a weird way to save face. A lot of NBA players would have sat back down on the bench, or continued the yelling and pushing match happening at midcourt. But Artest chose to make his nonchalance public and brutally honest. He was not to be cowed or made the fool of--if anything, he made Wallace look like the one who lost his cool; the petulant child shoving at the patient dad.

Then, shit got real as fuck. Someone lobbed a bottle at Artest. How else is he going to react? He is the most "Keeping it Real" obsessed dude in the NBA. Even Iverson doesn't do like Ron, because Iverson is secure in his own public image.

Ron has always been, and will always be, obsessed with how he is perceived. It is essential to him that he be thought of first and foremost as a representer: never, never back down. That desire to keep it real usually manifests itself as a strong, almost pathological desire to win. Losing is simply not an option for Ron, the public denial of his worth is too great.

The effects of his realness are also readily apparent in his game: he is a lockdown defender, a great way to avoid humiliation on the playgrounds of NYC. Some dude thinks he's all that, and tries to break Ron off, Ron reacts by making it so the dude simply cannot break him off. His offensive game isn't flashy--he doesn't want to risk a fancy move failing him, or excessive attention being brought to something as transient as offense.

He knows how easily those same offense-first players looked like bitches on the other end of the court. He knows how to keep it real.

Fallow no longer

It is time to break Lamar's silence. In part caused by the general uninterestingness of the Lig this summer (is Bonzi Wells dead?) and in part due to increased workload now that school has rolled around, Lamar has been relatively reticent of late.

No longer.

Consider this the first post of a new era.
AI's denial by USA basketball has to rank either as the number one or two disaster of the summer. Agent Zero's injury/cut/subsequent explosion was bad, but not of the magnitude of the Answer being denied.

Dude busted his ass for Team USA in Athens and is repayed with a curt "Fuck you" when he asked, nay, begged, to be included in Colangelo's grand experiment on the international stage.
The Answer's snub reveals all that we should have seen coming. AI is the quintessence of Young, Black, and Fabulous. Even as he begins to decay, his conrows still hold the threat of unmitigated thuggery in its most primitive form. In short, he is still the most BAMF in the Association, perhaps more than dear Ronald because of his lack of explosion.

Latent energy is more potent than that exposed; his lack of explosion (save the "practice" speech) has dumbfounded a ruling class incapable of viewing Street as anything more than dealing crack and robbing old ladies.
Colangelo's Doctrine of Dominance runs counter to everything AI represents. He is not concerned with dominating the game with shock and awe--big dunks and the like. Rather, he is content to operate outside the normal boundaries of the law. Answer ignores the niche to which he should be regulated, drawing a healthy dose of hate from the right way contingent in process.
His transcendent ignorance is exactly what Team USA needed. It was filled by an essentially Right Way cast of characters--heady folk not as concerned with their stats as the functioning of the team as a whole. Their failure on a world stage is as much of an indictment of the Right Way as Athens was.

That's right, Athens.

Olympics 2004 proved what everyone should have already known. It proved that prejudice against prototypical Young Black Males is the most misguided sentiment of all time; Melo and Lebron barely tasted the floor, while Larry was content to watch his team struggle to adapt to the Right Way that he so cherished.

His inflexibility told us volumes about him and predicted his subsequent failure with the New York Knicks with stunning accuracy.
For all of importance on the world stage, Iverson also tells us about ourselves. He shows us the true nature of the underdog, the one we should all rally behind like so many moths to a flame. He shows us that no matter how big the heart, how big the fight in the dog, there will always be someone around to tell us to hate that dog because it makes them feel insecure in their White Anglo-Saxon Protestant manhood.

Iverson is everything that the Right Way folks tell us should be, but with a casing so repellent to their blinkered gaze as to make them blind to his glory.