GarageGabs

When the Phoenix Suns traded Shawn Marion and Marcus Banks for Shaquille O’Neal I told myself I’d give the deal until the playoffs before I passed judgment. Well, I can’t resist. Only 8 games into the trade I can’t help but wonder what in the world were the Suns thinking?

When this deal went down most of America wondered just how in the world a 36 year old lumbering Shaq would fit into the Suns fast paced offensive style. The Suns weren’t playing their best basketball at the time, but they were holding down the top spot in the West and remember, this was the same Suns team that was a David Stern decision away from taking down the Spurs in last years playoffs. Still, the thought process of the Suns seemed to be match size with size. With Shaq, Phoenix could run the half-court offense that is so coveted come playoff time. With Shaq, Phoenix had a big man that could match-up with the other bigs in the West. With Shaq, Amare Stoudemire could move to his more natural power forward position. With Shaq, the Suns would have a formidable front line. Made sense….well, sorta. Even Shaq himself said it would take some getting used to. Shaq noted that given a few of games, he’d be be a perfect fit for the Suns offense. Not to be forgotten was the fact that Marion, the Suns best defensive player, was a bit disgruntled. According to rumor, Marion was messing with the “chemistry” of the team.

Well, team chemistry problems for the Suns are no rumor now. Phoenix looks flat out STAGNANT. They are 3-5 with O’Neal in the lineup and the losses haven’t been pretty. A 30 point drubbing at the hands of Detroit. A 17 point loss against up and coming New Orleans. A home loss to Philadelphia, who aren’t exactly one of the better teams in the league. Last night’s 13 point loss to Denver; a game in which it was the Nuggets who got out and ran…..a game in which the SUNS couldn’t keep up. Even their wins haven’t been pretty. Phoenix failed to top 100 p0ints in 2 of their 3 victories since adding Shaq. They’ve slipped from the top spot in the West, all the way to 6th, and if they keep losing, they’ll be on the outside looking in come playoff time. At best, the Suns look to be one and done.

What’s the problem? ONeal’s numbers aren’t that bad since joining Phoenix. He’s scored in double figures four times and pulled down a season high 18 boards last night. The problem is the Suns are trying to adjust to O’Neal rather than vice-versa. Shaq looks flat out LOST at times…to be fair, the entire team often looks lost. Gone are the days of Steve Nash penetrating and having several shooters waiting on the wings. Now he drives to find a lane clogged by not only a lethargic Shaq but his defender as well. At times, Nash drives and has Shaq and Amare Stoudemire standing in the paint…..plus two more defenders. Nash jumps and is lost in the air…looking for someone to pass to. O’Neal just stands there, a big sweaty mess. Phoenix just flat out isn’t built for a guy like O’Neal. I remember many moons ago watching the twighlight of Kareem Abdul Jabaar’s career. Friends and I used to joke about how long it took Jabaar to run down the court and catch up with the offense. Shaq is a reincarnation of those days, plus about 60 pounds. Kareem was a tall dude. Shaq is not only tall, but he weighs 325 pounds on a good day. He’s been carrying around that weight for his entire NBA career. He’s not exactly what you’d call “fleet of foot”. At times, he just DOES NOT MOVE. He stands in the paint, waiting for the ball. He doesn’t contribute to the offense in any other way. Throw me the ball. That’s about all the guy is good for now. No picks. No hustle rebounds. He doesn’t always command double teams anymore. If the ball doesn’t come right to him, (which it often does seeing as he stands directly under the rim) Shaq isn’t chasing it down. He can’t shoot free throws worth a lick, (of course we already knew that) so he becomes a bit of a liability come crunch time; although the Suns haven’t visited crunch time to often in recent weeks. If the Suns fail to score their bigs can easily outrun O’Neal to the other end of the court where it’s dunk city. Was it really worth trading your best defender, hustler, and rebounder….for this? Given, Marion wasn’t one to create his own offense very often, but the guy moved without the ball and picked up tons of garbage points; and he played exceptional defense and would stick the occasional ugly 3. Marion was a team player despite rumors that he wanted to be more. Other guys have begun to look hesitant as well. Boris Diaw at times looks flat out scared to shoot. Raja Bell has hit only 22 field goals in the 8 games with Shaq on the court. It’s almost as if Phoenix is thinking “play our way” and then the idea of passing the ball into O’Neal enters their minds. Sure, “playing our way” hadn’t gotten them to the finals, but it had a lot better chance of working than the current strategy. Why did they give up so soon? Did the media and fan criticism (a running team can’t win in the playoffs) finally get to them? Were they THAT desperate to get something for Marion? Did they figure O’Neal would sell more tickets? He’s obviously not a long term solution and doesn’t appear to be short term, in fact, Kurt Thomas (member of Phoenix last year and recent addition to the Spurs) was a much better fit. Kurt wasn’t the quickest guy on the court either, but he added tons of things that don’t show up in the stat book. If it ain’t in the stat book, Shaq didn’t add it.

Can Phoenix pull out of this? Honestly, I don’t think they can, but anything is possible. I hate to say it, but O’Neal, despite what he might tell you, is WELL past his prime. If he can’t give 30 minutes of hustle, then he needs to play 20. Whatever it takes to get the guy to work his tail off when he is on the floor. The first couple of games with Phoenix Shaq was running hard up and down the court. That was obviously a mirage; Shaq making a splash so to speak. There just aren’t going to be many fast breaks where Nash drops it off to O’Neal filling the lane. When he’s in the game, Phoenix is going to plod. When Shaq can’t go, the Suns need to stick Diaw at the 4 and simply try to outscore teams. I admit, I only watched 10 minutes of the game last night. During most of those minutes, O’Neal was on the floor. It was quite simply some of the worst basketball I’ve ever seen one man play. Loafing up and down the court. Getting called for 3 seconds. Just generally being in the way. Losing is wearing him down. The reality that he doesn’t fit with this team is wearing him down. You can see it in his face. He’s hitting a wall that his big behind might not be able to climb…..and he knows it. Shaq, the guy that has ALWAYS been able to put his money where is mouth is has quite possibly bitten off more than he can chew.

What do you think?  Did Phoenix make a mistake by adding O’Neal?  Will they make the playoffs?  Are they just in a slump?  Let me know what you think about Shaq in Phoenix.

*UPDATE*

Seems Shaq and the Suns must have read this article.  Since writing this article, the Suns are 1-1.  First, they lost to the Utah Jazz 126-118 and then yesterday they actually did the impossible, defeating the SanAntonio Spurs, 94-87.  Shaq put up great numbers vs. San Antonio, with 14 points, 16 rebounds and 2 blocks in 35 minutes of action.  It didn’t hurt that 5 other Suns scored in double figures, but Sunday’s win could mean the Suns are finally getting it together.

 

Dirk Nowitzki wins 2007 NBA MVP award. Really, you can’t make this stuff up to be any funnier.

Edit: Mark Cuban cried at the press conference 

Well, I’m day 2 into my blogging comeback attempt, and I must admit I’m just not feeling very inspired. Making a comeback is hard work! There are so many things to talk about, but to be quite honest I just don’t feel like diving into much detail on them.

I’ll touch on a couple things very quickly-

Looks like Curt Schilling has decided to apologize to Barry Bonds. I think it’s becoming obvious to everyone that Schilling wants the world to revolve around him. For those that don’t know Schilling basically said all of Barry’s records should be removed from the books since Barry has admitted to doing steroids. First of all, I don’t recall Bonds ever coming out and admitting anything, and I wonder if Curt took the time to think about his World Series rings?? Heaven forbid you have to return a couple of those rings because they are tainted…..I mean, a ring is a team achievement and the law of averages says that someone on the Red Sox or Diamondbacks was juicing…..much less those that have been busted. Curt, shut your hole.

Curt’s Official Blog

Golden State fell behind 2-0 to Utah last night. As much as I want to blame the loss on poor officiating, (it just seems like Utah/Carlos Boozer in particular do a lot of bulling to the hoop and on defense) I gotta put this one on Baron Davis. I know the guy is a warrior (no pun intended) and played his ass off last night but that turnover in the closing seconds of the 2nd half was horrid. I can give him a pass on the missed free-throw, it happens. It just seemed as if he was teetering on making crucial turnovers the entire game….which is of course what makes him so effective, but still. Job #1 in that situation should be getting the ball past half-court and setting up offense, not trying to one-up Derek Fisher with some whirling spin move.

I still think Golden State can make a series out of this, but I really don’t see them taking it. Utah in 7. I like the Suns in 7 as well, Steve Nash knows his window is closing, he won’t let it slip through his fingers. The East is already settled, Cavs and Pistons will advance.

Hey, did anyone else know that Roger Clemens signed with the Yankees!? Ya know, this is a big deal for the Yanks, but in the long run the return of Jon Lester to the Red Sox (Making a comeback from Cancer) will be a bigger deal. Lester passed all his minor league tests with flying colors and hit 96 mph on the radar guns….100 mph on the stadium gun that obviously needed calibrating. Lester will give the Sox a capable lefty starter that can chew up innings. Clemens will give the Yankees another arm in the starting rotation that can’t get out of the 6th inning, which in all honesty does nothing to help solve their problem: OVERWORKED BULLPEN- Sure the Yankees will probably play .550 to .600 baseball the rest of the way out but come playoff time do they really think they can compete with 3 dinosaurs, 2 less than average Japanese imports, and an average pen? The finger pointing has already begun as the Boss fired the “Director of Performance Enhancement”, (with talk of firing Torre and Cashman as well) but at some point (right in the middle of a 15-11 loss to the Mariners would have been a good time) logic has to take over and Steinbrenner must realize he hasn’t given these guys much to work with pitching wise.

Anyway, my whole point to this post was to take a day off and just post a couple videos-

Bradyfan83 usually has some pretty good offerings, here is his take on the upside of talent available in the NFL draft-

I hate to do this but I’m going to post the video of Shaun Livingston injuring his knee. It’s horrible to watch, and I really hope he is OK and of course that he can return to basketball at some point. Anyway, I just wanted to post the video to show that at any minute, it can all be over. That, and a yahoo article by Dan Wetzel pretty much take all the wonder away as to why kids go pro so early. Never again will I shout “stay in school”! If these guys can sign million dollar contracts, I say go for it. You never know when something like this can happen:
[youtube]qbR7WRXIO-E&mode=related&search=[/youtube]

Age Defiance (Yahoo! Sports)

Five NBA players making a name for themselves this year:

5. David Lee- One of just 11 players in the NBA to average double figures in scoring and rebounds.  Lee picks and chooses his scoring chances and is second in NBA FG % at .606.  To what do we attribute Lee’s presence?  Honestly, playing time, attitude, and Isiah Thomas.  Despite coming off the bench, Lee’s minutes have doubled over last years.  He’s kept things in perspective by saying he doesn’t mind coming off the bench…anything that helps the team.  Lee is actually logging more minutes than Channing Frye and Jared Jeffries, despite not starting.  He’s also getting the 4th quarter minutes.  Unfortunately, Lee has missed the Knicks last 2 games with a sprained ankle.  Really bad timing for the upstart Knicks as they have lost Jamal Crawford as well.

4. Deron Williams- Pronounced DARREN, Deron Williams is pretty close to becoming a household name.   The guy has been flat out sick running the Jazz offense this year, averaging 17.3 points and 9.3 assists per game.  Williams was a decent fantasy fill in type guy last season, but has hit it big this year.  He’s as likely to drop 15 dimes as he is to put up 30 points.  You have to watch him play to understand..he’s totally in control, always patient, never flustered.  Magic Johnson has anointed him the next big thing, and that’s saying a lot.  It doesn’t hurt that the Jazz are playing some pretty good ball.  The 2005 Point Guard Class has turned out pretty well with Williams, Chris Paul, Raymond Felton, and Jarret Jack all playing well.

3. Al Jefferson- Remember when I told you David Lee was one of 11 players hitting double figures in scoring in rebounds?  Al Jefferson is one of them.  Yeah, the Celtics have sucked, but Jefferson has been Mr. Consistent, scoring 14.2 points and grabbing 11 boards per night.  NINE times this season he’s had more than 15 boards in one game.  Double minutes has meant double production from Jefferson.

2. Kevin Martin- Yes, we all saw this coming.  No, we didn’t expect it to happen this quickly.  Personally, I think Martin is an All Star.  20+ points per game, 49% from the field, over 40% from three, decent defense, the kid is a lanky do it all type player.  His minutes are up this year, but it also helps that he is the #1 scoring option on the Kings.  As a scorer, Martin is here to stay.

1. Luol Deng- Give this guy some range and he is going to be deadly.  Keep in mind, this would have been his senior year at Duke.  19 points and 7 boards per game, 52% from the field.  Over the last month or so, he’s right around 22 per.  Seriously, if he adds some range to his already decent perimeter game over the summer, Deng will be a legit All Star every year.  It’s also cool that Deng slightly resembles Oscar nominee Djimon Hounsou.
 

Sorry so slow lately, I’ve been super busy. I’m getting married you know. Anyway, here is George Takei, who is openly gay (played Mr. Sulu on Star Trek) responding to Tim Hardaway’s comments. Takei does a great job of poking fun at Hardaway’s ignorance by portraying the very stereotype Hardaway is so afraid of. The funny thing is, according to John Amaechi, Takei isn’t acting all that much different than NBA players act in the locker room.

Mr. Sulu pwns Tim Hardway with homophobia PSA (Boing Boing)

Thank god it’s over.  I mean, of all the all star games, I’ve always loved the NBA’s the most….but the lack of defense being played really makes this an exhibition.  I really don’t see a need to name an MVP-

Things got off to an offensive start Friday night in the “rookie/sophomore” game as the sophomores beat the rookies 155-114.  Here’s the kicker: The sophomores were led by David Lee who hit 14 of 14 shots and scored 30 points.  Now Lee is an improved player this year, don’t get me wrong, but the fact that he’s only topped 20 points twice in regular season games should tell you something about the worthiness of this game.  Yeah, I know, it’s just for fun, but still like Bill Walton would say: “Play some defense!”

I did enjoy the 3 point competition on Saturday.  Jason Kapono was a very deserving winner.  The dunk contest was “decent”.  The guy I predicted to win (Gerald Green) won, but Dwight Howard got robbed.  Like Jordan could ever touch that part of the backboard.  Also, I’ve got nothing against Nate Robinson, in fact I like him, but him trying like 40 times to do the same dunk gets pretty tiring.

The All Star game?  It sucked.  It was never close, had no intensity, and was boring.  Honestly, I can go to the Y and watch guys play like that.

The best moment of the entire weekend was Charles Barkley racing Dick Bavetta.  The fact that Bavetta dove and actuall cut his knee was awesome.  I really  thought Dick was gonna kill Charles, but Charles runs pretty well for a big dude.  Honestly, that was the most entertaining thing I saw all weekend.  Anyway, rather than continue to rant, I’ll just compile what photo and video highlights I can.

Barkley vs. Bavetta Video (YouTube/Awful Announcing)

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Ok, I thought long and hard about posting this. Well, I thought for about how long it took me to watch the 4 videos, and then read a few of the comments on Deadspin. I’m not sure what these videos imply. Well, yeah I am, they imply nothing. Just a bunch of naked dudes in a locker room, putting on lotion together.

I guess we now see why Tim didn’t want a gay guy in the locker room. They might get a glimpse of him lotioning up his entire body. Honestly, if anyone in that locker room was acting “gay” it was Hardaway.
Anyway, I’m only going to “embed” one of the videos. There are 4 of them. You’ll have to click the youtube link on the video to see the other 4. There is no way these stay up longer than 24 hours.

[youtube]wH8wItdJb6g&mode[/youtube]

Because This Had To End With Hardaway Being Nude On Youtube (Deadspin)

Well, I do believe that the Tim Hardaway story has finally reached its zenith.  Now, you can look just about anywhere and find something funny done up for Mr. Hardaway.  Here are todays offerrings.

Deadspin discovered why Tim Hardaway really threw that TV monitor onto the court several years ago.  He doesn’t like Will and Grace!

[youtube]Q9eDIhyZMPc&eurl=[/youtube]

The Big Lead found this absolute gem over at  NBX.com.

What Set Tim Hardaway Off  (Deadspin)

It’s Raining Men…Just Not In Tim Hardaway’s (Or Shavlik Randolph’s) Neighborhood   (The Big Lead)

With all the hype over John Amaechi’s gayness I am starting to think there is a conspiracy behind all of this. Here is what I think went down.

*phone ringing* —–>
Tim: Who this?

John: Cheerio, I’m looking for Penny Hardaway?

Tim: Penny? Who is this? This is Timmy Hardaway fool, ya know, with the killer crossover! The UTEP 2 Step! Run TMC foool!

John: Oh, my mistake then. Well, maybe you can help me. I’m John Amaechi, remember me lovie?

Tim: Lovie? Man, whatever, yeah I remember you, wassup?

John: How do you feel about gay people?

Tim: Gay people? Man, what!? Men or women?

John: Well, just in general. Well, in the NBA in particular.

Tim: In general, well, ya know….I’m not gay man.

John: Ok, well that’s good, I was hoping you weren’t, otherwise your opinion doesn’t matter.

Tim: My opinion? What you want my opinion on.

John: Well, your NBA career is over correct?

Tim: Yeah. I still play though, just not in the league. I was doing some coaching…but the team got retracted..ya know..man, why!?
John: How would you like to get some press? You scratch my back and in turn I will scratch yours.

Tim: Dude, I told you……NOT GAY.

John: No, no silly goose. What I mean is this. See, I’ve got this book coming out, by ESPN books. It’s called “Man In The Middle” .

Tim: Uh huh, well I own a car wash, so what?

John: Well, I’m trying to drum up some press for me book. You see Penny, we want our pound of flesh. We as society. Give us our human sacrifice. I don’t care what you lose. I don’t care what you risk. You must fall on your sword for us to look at you…oh never mind! I’m getting carried away again! I’ve done a couple of interviews about it, but I just haven’t stirred up the level of enthusiasm needed. I was hoping you could help me stir up a little controversy.

Tim: Why me? Why you coming to me first.

John: Oh believe me, you were not tops on my list. I started with Michael Jordan, but he told me he preferred womanizing and gambling. James Worthy told me the same. I made my way down the list and came upon you. I remember you being very popular in the 90’s with that Lil’ Penny character.

Tim: Man, I done told you once……that’s Penny Hardaway. I’m Tim Hardaway! Anyway, so what you want me to do?

John: You’ve seen Jerry McGuire?

Tim: The movie? With the guy that believes in aliens?

John: Yes, Tom Cruise.

Tim: Yeah, I seen it. Good flick. I thought it did a wonderful job of showing the turmoil that professional athletes endure, both on and off the field. I would recommend it for any athlete that is having a hard time understanding the business side of sports.

John: Quite proper, but do you remember the line where Tom Cruise says “I love black people”?

Tim: Yeah, classic stuff. I doubt that fool loves black people though.

John: I’d like you to do the same, but reversed. I’d like you to say “you hate gay people”, but with the same reverence, you know?

Tim: You hate gay people!

John: No, no. I’d like you to do an interview. In the interview I want you to say that you hate gay people. It will get your name back out there. Probably get you a couple gigs. Land you lots of TV time. More importantly it will give me another opportunity to talk about my upcoming book.

Tim: Man, ya know, I dunno. That sounds sort of shady to me.

John: Oh come on man. It isn’t as if either of us were embraced by the NBA. Sure, you started well, but the way Shaq left you. I tried calling him as well you know. He decided to be a prankster the entire time. I can only imagine you have some animosity towards the league.

Tim: Ok, last time man. I am not Penny Hardaway. I am Tim Hardaway. I played for Golden State, with Mitch Richmond and Chris Mullin. They called us Run-TMC. I later went and played for Miami. You’re right though….a ring woulda been nice.

John: Exactly. Now you could get back out there, and get back at the NBA as well.

Tim: Ok, I’ll do it! What do I need to do!

John: I’ve got an interview set up with you and Dan LaBatard, of ESPN.

Tim: Yeah, cool cat.

John: Yes, it works perfectly see. ESPN published my book and now they are helping me hype it. Dan will make it a point to ask you how you feel about gay people at the end of the interview…to create a buzz. Just run with it mate.

Tim: I can do that.

John: Tally Ho then!

Tim: Who’s a ho? Man, you a trip.

John: Oh, that’s jolly well, I will be seeing you.

Tim: Alright, peace.

John: Ta ta for now.

*The above transcript is entirely fictional*

Hardaway’s comments cause stir (ESPN)

NBA Viewpoints Clash (John Amaechi on Mike & Mike today)

ESPN Loves How Tim Hardaway Hates Gay People (Aviator News 2.0)

Bid on the rights to TimHardawayIsGay.com

Tim Hardaway Responds:

Run TMC: Sorry about the Kemp thing at the beginning