Mixtape for Deron

Nets fans are riddled with psychological complexes; that'll happen when you're constantly trying to convince people you exist. So when NJ shocked the world by trading for the superstar they craved in Deron Williams back in February, we didn't need the media's brash reporting to kickstart our anxiety. Once we heard the term "player option," our collective paranoia and inferiority leaped out of bed and bound down the stairs to fight for a seat at the breakfast table. I've since been able to push down the fear of losing Williams to free agency and the resulting Brooklyn oblivion. I'm trying on a brand new outfit for a Nets fan: Confidence.

A lot of Nets supporters seem to have done the same; I guess that's the reach of a great point guard. As Nets fans, we're suddenly optimistic about Williams' future with the team, and all it took was a five-game winning streak, 14 rebounds a game by Mr. Kardashian, and Brook Lopez playing like every day is Free Comic Book Day.

But, as we're told by everyone with a voice and a Nets press pass, the length of Deron's tenure with this squad hinges on the plan laid out by Billy King and Avery Johnson and endorsed by Prokhorov. Williams' Facebook page says he's thrilled about the glimpes of future that King has dropped into Williams' brain, but who knows what's real life anymore.

But you know what? We don't care. We're in love. We've fallen harder for this point guard savior than we did the last. The result is this mixtape, which is as much about Deron Williams as it is about Nets fandom and all its uncertainties. Is it filled with our begging him to stay? Yeah... it is. But it's also about what one man can do for a community; about what one man can do to the wounded hearts of so many faithful. Are we nervous about the future? You bet. But at least now we have a partner to share the anxiety with. Will he leave us? Maybe. But we dealt with heartbreak before, and it's taught us an important lesson: Love what you've got while you've got it.

Now for the tracklist...

Melo and Active Hands

Abides and I watched the Knick game last night and simply put, it was a wonky affair. Here are some talking points we found hilarious, mind-boggling, and entertaining.

*Throughout the entire broadcast Mike Breen consistently harped on how well Carmelo was playing on defense. Almost every time he noted this, Melo was reaching in and waving his arms furiously—flapping around like a child aggressively attempting to swim out of the deep end. That was pretty much it. No clear shift in strategy, no sign of better communication, no calculated positioning, and no formula—just active hands.

*It was great to watch the Knick cheerleaders present Walt Frazier with a massive goblet filled with Snickers to celebrate his birthday. That should happen at basketball games more often.

*Mr. Candace Parker deserves more playing time. He checked Dwight better than any other Knick big and had some clutch plays down the stretch. And: Why haven't we seen Candace in the Garden yet?

*Chauncey Billups is so far beyond a joke that it's hysterical. If that makes sense.

*Gil showed flashes of OG Gil with some high-pressure threes.

*I get that Dwight's 6th foul call was pathetic, but he needs to calm the fuck down. Go ahead and try not arguing every single time a call doesn't go your way. Grow-up, Peter Pan.

*Melo and Amar'e never really looked to get each other open looks. This might be an option to consider down the road.

*You can't blame Hedo for fouling out: Whatever it took to get out of that arena fast enough for him to stuff three slices of the best pizza in the world into his mouth and rip seven vodka shots as quickly as possible.

*At one point late in the game, J-Rich and Melo looked like 6th graders wrestling as they desperately tried to trip and prevent one another from getting up off the hardwood. Awesome.

*I know this is overstated, but Walt Frazier literally just states words. Nothing he says makes any sense. After listening to him for almost 20 years, it still continues to baffle me.

*Melo should have put back his own miss at the end of regulation.

*This Knick team is great for the league.

*I wonder how many different people in the Knick organization Ewing asked about D'Antoni's job security.

Bibby's World: There is No 'I' in 'One Percent'

"Offensively, the ball is in our hands 99 percent of the time and Mike Bibby has it one percent right now." - Dwyane Wade

I couldn't have said it better myself. The Big Four have arrived. 

I wonder how heavy the ring is going to be on my finger? 

NBA Middle Names: Serge Ibaka

We at No Regard spend a lot of time in our NBA knitting circles trying to figure out the human side of these players. Whether it's musing about their commutes to work, how much "Call of Duty" they play, or what their favorite snack food is, we like to remind ourselves that NBA players are nothing more than young men with enviable jobs. What better way to humanize our heroes than look up their middle names?

 

Sergeballu LaMu Sayonga Loom Walahas Jonas Hugo Ibaka

D'Antoni and Home Cookin'

Big, big news over here at No Regard.

Andrew Abides and I talk about a lot of stuff when it comes to the NBA and a fair amount of our banter has nothing to do with actual basketball.

One of our favorite topics is Mike D'Antoni and his passion for Italian food. In fact, we hypothesized that during the Knick's preseason camp, which took place in Westchester, NY, coach Mike probably pestered the security guards for their favorite eggplant parm spot.

So tonight, as I was flicking through channels and came across "The Mike D'Antoni Show," an MSG program in which D'Antoni gets interviewed, magic happened.

In the last section of the show D'Antoni answers questions from fans via video and email. One question, from Syracuse coach Jim Boehiem, caught my attention: "What is the best Italian restaurant in New York City?"

My heart stopped and my attention was furiously grabbed.

"Lot's of pressure here," Al Trautwig, the host of the show noted.

"No there's not," D'Antoni chuckled.

"There are too many good ones to name one. The best is when my wife is in the kitchen cooking pasta."

There you have it, folks.

Power Trio

Big-ups to Andrew Abides for finding this picture for me (from Rondo's Twitter feed). The two best players on my favorite soccer team in the world standing next to my favorite point guard in the world. My mind just exploded along with some other parts of my body that may or may not have exploded.

As Andrew and I sat there last night drinking black n' cans (Saranac Black and Tans, in cans), his streaking Nets took it to my first place Celtics with dead-eye three point shooting and passionate defense, which stifled Paulie Walnuts and Rondo.

We bet $5,000 on the game. Neither of us have close to that. I owe him 5k and I don't have it. Celts are now tied with Chicago for first place in the East due to this loss.

None of that matters because of this glorious picture this game produced.

Thank you, Twitter. It's moments like this when you prove why you're the best invention ever.

Thank You, Jalen

Just want to give a "Facebook thumbs up" to Jalen Rose and whoever else was involved in the making of the Fab Five documentary which premiered on ESPN last night. If you didn't get to watch it, I strongly suggest doing so whenever it airs next. Here are some of the highlights that stood out as particularly noteworthy for No Regard staffers:

NBA Middle Names: Chris Webber

We at No Regard spend a lot of time in our NBA knitting circles trying to figure out the human side of these players. Whether it's musing about their commutes to work, how much "Call of Duty" they play, or what their favorite snack food is, we like to remind ourselves that NBA players are nothing more than young men with enviable jobs. What better way to humanize our heroes than look up their middle names?

Mayce Edward Christopher Webber III

Celtics Nab Music Star

Yesterday, I wrote a post about how I was confused by the decision the Celtics made to sign Carlos Arroyo. Upon reading this, Andrew pointed me in the direction of Arroyo's other career. And as such, I am no longer perplexed, but instead, elated.

In case you missed it, check this out.



As Abides aptly stated to me last night, "There's nothing you love more than NBA players making music videos." And he's dead on. Arroyo is killin' it. Plus, it's in Spanish, which elevates the genius behind this video to another level.

Amazing move, Danny Ainge. Really just inspired general managing. Welcome to Boston, pop star Carlos Arroyo. You'll always have a place in my heart.

NBA Middle Names: Chris Bosh

We at No Regard spend a lot of time in our NBA knitting circles trying to figure out the human side of these players. Whether it's musing about their commutes to work, how much "Call of Duty" they play, or what their favorite snack food is, we like to remind ourselves that NBA players are nothing more than young men with enviable jobs. What better way to humanize our heroes than look up their middle names?

Christopher Wesson Bosh

Carlos in Green?

This move baffles me. When I heard that the Cs would be picking up the recently cut Carlos Arroyo, I didn't understand. I have not followed Arroyo's career too closely and the majority of my exposure to him was from this season when the Heat and Celtics played each other. In those games, Rondo made him look like a small child walking into the middle of the movie. He played as if he couldn't guard the 8-year-old Steph Curry from that NBA ghost commercial. (Although, that may be a bad example, young Steph was probably pretty wet.)

So I checked out his stats from this year: 5.6 points, 1.6 rebounds, and two assists per game. Not that sick. Then I examined his career numbers prior to this season: seven years, 7.2 points, 1.7 rebounds, and 3.3 assists per game. Slightly better, but again, underwhelming. And for a team that prides itself on defense, Arroyo, who couldn't check a Cheeto-stuffed Baron Davis, does not seem to be the answer at guard in Boston.

My best guess is they believe he'll be motivated after getting the shaft from the Heat to make room for our very own Mike Bibby (who, by the way, is averaging 2.3 points and shooting 14.3% from behind the arc in his first three games on the Heatles. Keep up the solid effort!) but that's the only reason I can think of. Anyone have a reasonable explanation for this? Or is Danny Ainge trigger-happy and/or bored since the trade deadline is over with?

If You See Something, Say Something: Crying, Cakes, and Crossovers

IYSSSS is our semi-regular internet intelligence report, a liberal arts approach to following the NBA on the Web. E-mail us at jewsforjesusshuttlesworth@gmail.com if you've got any suggestions.

Greg Payne ESPN: Shaq turned 39 a few days ago, so someone gave him a cake the size of the galaxy. Then he cut it and shared it with friends. Sometimes I forget if Shaq still plays basketball, but that really doesn't matter at all.

New York Times: So many great scraps of useless info in here about NBA players' napping habits. "Kobe Bryant checks into a hotel before home games for his pregame nap." Let's be honest, more likely he checks into a hotel before home games to set up his kill room. (But seriously, no "Dexter" spoilers in the comments, my girlfriend and I are behind.)

Rod Benson's Blog: As much as I loved Adam's post about crying, I think Rod Benson gets the trophy here for his take on this very silly explosion about the Heatles' desire to win.

Shaky Ankles: Last time a Net point guard went to London, this happened. This past weekend, the new Net point guard traveled across the pond and they actually let him inside the arena this time. Then he almost killed Sonny Weems.

Negative Dunkalectics: A great piece on the revelation that is the wonderfully puckish new Nuggets squad. We're getting to excited to watch this team in the playoffs.

After Laughter

First thing's first: I, along with 99% of those watching, loved seeing Derrick Rose and the Bulls complete their season sweep over the Heat yesterday. Rose is quite possibly the most likable star in the league (or at least second behind Durant), and one can feel the weight of the Chicago bandwagon getting ready to blow the wheels off the damn thing. Plus, everyone here knows that there’s no love lost between me and LeBron. So, no, I’m not above anyone.

Bibby's World: I Made It

Don't know how we locked this down, but we'd like to introduce you to No Regard's newest blogging sensation... Mike Bibby! He'll be checking in whenever he can, just to remind us: It's Bibby's World, we just live in it!

I did it. I made it. I won. I won all the prizes. The Miami Heat read my letter to them and have signed me as their starting PG!!! By this time next year, I'm going to have a big, fat ring on my finger. But that's not even the best part. The best part is that I get to coast to the championship with my new best friends, Dwyane LeBosh (That's what I call them. They think it's awesome.).

So what have I done in Miami so far?

No Regard Daily Previews: Florida Rivals

The First Game We'll Be Watching Tonight: Orlando Magic vs. Miami Heat

Tonight's Florida-on-Florida NBA action has the potential to be some serious eye-candy for NBA junkies and casual fans alike. Outside of the tight Eastern conference playoff race in which the top three seeds are barely separated by a few games, Miami, a side that's been criticized for both its inability to win close games and have success against the top-tier teams in the league, has a chance to gain some confidence and silence their haters temporarily. For Orlando, it's an opportunity to continue the momentum it gained from their comeback victory over the new-look Knicks and tinker with a roster that still hasn't figured out its identity since being revamped a few months back.

D-Will Loves Mexican Food, Other Stuff

Last night, No Regard and friends attended the first home game for Deron Williams in a Net uniform. If you haven't heard about it, the game was incredibly exciting and featured clutch shots, serious dimage from Jersey's newest point guard and a heartbreaking and controversial loss for the home team.

Outside of the amazing basketball, half-court buzzer beater by Vujacic, rowdy crowd, and free D-Will tee-shirts for the first 10,000 fans (I didn't get one though, damn PATH train) the Nets also had a pretty cool introduction for Williams on the Jumbotron in between quarters. During this, the newest Net discussed some of his favorites. Seeing as I had imbibed in a fair amount of sodas before and during the game, I don't remember most of them. (Although, I was giddy about them at the time.) That said, I do recall him stating that Mexican is his favorite kind of food, specifically steak burritos, or steak something.

Sasha, you listening?

NBA Middle Names: Troy Murphy

We at No Regard spend a lot of time in our NBA knitting circles trying to figure out the human side of these players. Whether it's musing about their commutes to work, how much "Call of Duty" they play, or what their favorite snack food is, we like to remind ourselves that NBA players are nothing more than young men with enviable jobs. What better way to humanize our heroes than look up their middle names?

 

Troy Brandon Murphy