Put Me in The Game Coach!

This is Z-Money coming in late in the season to throw in my "not so expert" opinion on this NBA Season.

The shortened season is coming to an end and its time to start looking at possible playoff match ups. It's looking like the Thunder are going to run away with the West and the Bulls are pulling ahead of the East without MVP “D. Rose”, Scary!  

With only a month left in the season start to watch teams that get hot. The Jazz went from 11th in the west to 7th on a 6 game win streak this last week that ended in a quad-overtime loss to Atlanta. No teams position in safe in this condensed season.

Power Ranking: 

1. Bulls - Winning tough games without Rose, watch out!
2. Thunder - Durant & Co. with newcomer D. Fisher could be running away with the west.
3. Heat - Time to panic? Really need to tighten the D and turn up the O if this is Heats Year.
4. Spurs - The team that took it all last lockout season could be making a run this year.
5. Orlando - Getting their money worth by keeping D12 for the season but will it pay off?
6. Lakers - The offense is clicking and Kobe is punching the bench in frustration...
7. Hawks - Made it through a  tough 3 game series with a 4OT win over the hot Jazz.
8. Pacers - Lost a tough game in Phoenix but watch for them to make some noise in the East.
9. 76ers - Seems to be cooling off after a hot stretch in the season but still is a threat in the East.
10. Celtics - May be old and on there last leg but have the experience to cause problems in the East.
11. Clippers - Got a much needed win over Memphis and I am expecting them to bounce back this week.
12. Memphis - Needs to keep cranking out wins to secure that playoff spot.
13. Jazz - How did they go on a 6 almost 7 game win streak? Watch out for this young team to click, get hot, and shake up the playoff race in the west.
14. Suns - May be cooling off but Nash is going to do everything he can to get to the playoffs again.
15. Knicks - If NY can figure there stuff out and be the team they are on paper the East is just as unsafe as the West.
16. Dallas - Sleeper team of the West? Might be slowing down but lets not forget what happened last year to the Mavs.
17. Nuggets - Slowly slipping away as a power in the northwest division. Need to tighten up the D.
18. Bucks - Can they clinch that number 8 spot in the east?
19. Rockets - Getting better and could be another team that gets hot and makes it to the playoffs.
20. Golden State -  Rebuilding and could cause problems for playoff contenting teams in the west.
21. Kings - Have good young talent but not enough to make a playoff run but enough to upset some playoff contenders.
22. Minnesota - Lose of Ricky probably ruined a playoff run but still could come from behind.
23. Portland - Rebuilding time and no playoffs in 2012!
24. Nets - Will be cleaning out their lockers soon and Dwill is going to be packing his bags if things don't change soon.
25. Raptors - Have shown potential this year and could cause problems to higher seeded teams in the east looking to secure a playoff spot.
26. Piston - 5 game losing streak what else can be said.
27. Hornets - Enjoy your win over CP3.
28. Cavs - Maybe will make a push for the playoffs... next year!
29. DC - Need Nene under the basket to have a chance to win a game
30. Bobcats - 7 wins? Blown out by the Nets? I think some D-league teams could contend with the Cats.

There you have it. Let me know what you think?

Jason Smith vs Blake Griffin

here's the thing ... when you get a front row seat to this:

... or get burnt like this:

... or you have to watch this all night long:

you may get a little disheartened, embarrassed, annoyed and maybe a bit frustrated.  after all, who does this Blake Griffin character think he is anyway?  jumping all high ... being all athletic ... and turning everyone into either a poster or a screen saver!  


so what do you do?


Jason Smith knew what to do.  watch this video and gather your thoughts.

ok ... what's your initial reaction?  no I'm not talking to Jason Smith ... I'm talking to you and the 4 other guys that read this post.  all 5 of you.


I know what you're saying ... that's what Griffin gets for making people look ridiculous.  he gets spilt on the floor like a dropped bottle of Sunny D.  I mean, it's all his fault for rubbing his belly in the faces of about 45% of everyone in the NBA.  Blake ... it's your fault these guys can't hang.  why do you have to have such a quick first step and why do you have to be so explosive.  just be normal and no one will have to put you down, son!  


hopefully, Blake Griffin will learn his lesson.


in all seriousness, this guy Jason Smith is a piece of work.  dude, I know you got showed up by a superior athlete but what is your problem?  don't feel special bro, he does that to everyone.


there are a few this that really disappoint me about this scenario:
1)  after the play, Jason Smith started clapping and getting the crowd hype like he made a good play.  my man ... your play was horrible!  you couldn't contain the City so you had to knock him to the floor?  control yourself man.  this ain't the NFL and you don't play on the Saints.  you ain't getting no bonus for that.
2)  when Smith finally gets ejected, the fans start to cheer for him like he did a good thing.  he high-fives people on his way out.  PEOPLE ... hockey check a dude in basketball is not cool.  when Andrew Bynum famously checked JJ Barea in the playoffs last year, Laker fans knew that was a cheap shot at least and a possible career ending injury at most.  they didn't applaud him (and that is saying a lot about a fanbase that will riot when their team wins) like he did something good.  have some class people.  you would think people in New Orleans would learn something from this whole Saints debacle.


Jason Smith should get suspended for a few games.  there was no attempt at the ball.  no attempt to wrap the player.  there was a shoulder check and then there was Blake Griffin on the floor.  throw the book at him.  if you feel the way Jalen Rose feels about it, then you should get checked like that and see how you feel about it afterwards.


I may post again just on Jalen's comments because they are ludicrous. 

Thundering Fish

Derek Fisher suited up for the Oklahoma City Thunder tonight after signing with the team earlier today.  with this move it's obvious that Fish wants to win another championship this year.  shacking up with OKC and turning down an offer from the Miami Heat tells me a few things about Derek Fisher.


1)  he has the desire to win.  pretty much everyone in the NBA wants to win a championship (with exception of the few bench warmers who are just glad to be in the NBA) but there are few with Kobe's resolve to just win.  Derek Fisher after winning 5 titles with the Lakers Derek would love to get that coveted number 6 before Kobe.  he has the desire and the pedigree.


2)  choosing the Thunder over Heat tells me he has loyalty.  at least that's what I hope.  obviously, I don't have any kind of in with anyone in the D-Fish camp but I consider myself an optimist.  so for clarification, I would like to think that OKC won the Fish bid because he didn't want to play with LeBron, D-Wade and co.  maybe it's an eastern conference vs western conference thing but what it probably boiled down to Oklahoma could give Derek more money then Miami could.


looking up at the picture above also tells me a few things about Derek Fisher.


1)  he got a huge bottom lip.


2)  that bottom lip of his is hanging.

You Stay Classy Derek Fisher!

I'm more than 650 miles away and I feel it.  this morning was much like any other morning in Los Angeles but slightly different because while everyone is busy doing what they do everyday, there is a small void in their hearts.  there is a hole in the middle of Lakerland and in the hearts of Laker fans worldwide because this morning ... Derek Fisher is no longer a member of the Los Angeles Lakers.

I can't speak for the rest of the Lakernation because that would be presumptuous of me.  I can, however, tell you why I'm gonna miss D-Fish.

Laker fans will tell you.  non-Laker fans will tell you.  Fish is old.  Fish is slow.  Fish doesn't score enough.  Fish rarely posts double digit assists.  the Lakers have THE WORST point guard play in the NBA.  Fish and Blake were horrible.  these things are well known and well documented.  and many Laker fans will agree ... Fish needed to go.

but not like this.

not traded away to nothingness.  Derek Fisher should have retired last year as a Laker and went out with the organization that he spent all but 2 and a half years with.  but he didn't.  

and here we are.

though his play on the court will not be missed (except in crunch time), it's the other things that Derek Fisher brought to the Lakers organization that have Laker fans feeling like they've lost a member of the their families.  character.  class.  toughness.  clutch.  leadership.  savvy.  loyalty.  these are some of the intangibles that Derek Fisher brought, not only to his game but in the locker room and to the organization.  

remember when Derek Fisher hit that shot with .4 seconds on the clock against the Spurs?  clutch.

remember when the Lakers were on the verge of collapse in the Finals against Boston and Derek Fisher drove the length of the court and got pummeled by 3 Celtics as he hit the layup and kept the Lakers in the game.  toughness.

hey Luis Scola, I know you guys are teammates now but do you remember Derek Fisher?  loyalty.

remember when the Lakers were falling apart earlier this season amidst trade rumors and poor bench play?  Derek Fisher called a team meeting and got everyone back on the same page.  leadership.

but the most interesting thing to me will be the effect on Kobe Bryant.  remember when Derek Fisher played those years with the Warriors and the Jazz?  now do you remember that Kobe was out of control those years?  Derek Fisher came back and calmed him down and helped get him 2 more rings.  that's the guy I'm gonna miss the most.  

Kobe is a man looking down on everyone else in the NBA.  nobody can tell him anything because they have not done what he's done.  they weren't there during all 5 championship runs.  they didn't have to struggle, fight and claw their way into history like he did.  they weren't in the trenches when the chips were down and their backs were against the wall.  sure there were people there ... but not for all of it.  well ... except for Derek Fisher.

when Kobe starts getting all dictatorship in practice, in the games or in the media ... there is one dude ... and dude only, that can tell Kobe to shut his trap and that Kobe respects enough to listen to.  that man was just traded away yesterday.  I would venture to say that Kobe doesn't even respect Mike Brown as much as he respects Derek Fisher.

that's the guy I'm gonna miss.

in a hundred years from now when people talk about the all-time greatest Lakers in history, I hope D-Fish will be mentioned in the conversation.  his greatness was much more than his stats will ever show.  

good luck to you Derek Fisher!  

thanks for the memories.

Kobe .... Of The Opera?

last night, the Los Angeles Lakers played the Minnesota Timberwolves in LA and La Mamba Negro was doing his best Rip Hamilton impression by sporting a mask to cover his all star weekend battle wound.  in case you missed it, here are some pictures of Kobe Bryant starring as The Phantom of the Staples Center.  (enter soft organ music now)

night time sharpens, heightens each sensation ....

darkness stirs and wakes imagination .....

silently the senses abandon their defenses helpless to resist the notes I write .....

help me make the music of the night!  .... aaaaaand CRESCENDO! 

mask and all, he ended the night with 31 points, 7 rebounds, 8 assists and 1 steal.  and no I did not write those lyrics from memory except for the ones I couldn't remember so I made them up.  no ways did any of that just happen.