No Regard Recaps: Kobe-the-Point

One Game We Watched Last Night: Phoenix Suns vs. Los Angeles Lakers

Suns: 96, Lakers: 86


So many storylines to discuss from this basketball game: Kobe's new role on the Lakers as Kobe-the-Point, the Suns rocking their old-school threads and Steve Nash returning to his old ball club. For me, though, everything in the NBA is about Kobe-the-Point these days.

NBA Things I'm Thankful For

Last night I attended the Celtics 12-point loss to the Spurs. I used to live in Boston and went to Cs games all the time during the 2009-10 season (cheaper cost of living = more disposable income!), and being back at the TD Garden with one of my best friends from my time living there just felt like home. As such, I got the corny idea to make a list of NBA things I'm thankful for this Thanksgiving, both about the game last night and the NBA in general. Enjoy!

No Regard Presidential Previews: San Antonio Spurs (Dwight D. Eisenhower)

Oh the season. Oh the season! Election or NBA, both are upon us. We're getting into the spirit by bringing you our season previews (with a little help from the presidents). One per day for the next 30 days—which will bring us to the Day of Reckoning. So please join us on the campaign trail as we shake hands, kiss babies and sink jumpers.

"Plans are worthless, but planning is everything." - Dwight D. Eisenhower

Dwight D. Eisenhower has affected your life more than most presidents. Many of you benefit directly from him daily, couldn’t function without him. He championed the Interstate Highway System. Yeah, that’s your jam right there. You drive all over that thing.

The Spurs? They’ve long ago laid the groundwork for a system of coaches, veterans and expectations that allows for continued, unparalleled success—a convenient commute to championships, if you will. (Sorry.)

Also, like Ike, the Spurs' domestic achievements have always been overlooked in favor of their foreign policy record. Yes, Parker and Ginobli (and maybe even Duncan because none of us really know what the U.S. Virgin Islands are—it’s like, we know their name leads strong with “U.S.” but they’re not states, right?) are imports and should be lauded as such. But the organization’s true gift has been cultivating role players right here on U.S. soil. The greatest trick the Spurs ever pulled was convincing Stephen Jackson he didn’t exist. By dropping him and all the other average role players into their elite system of highways and extra passes, they’ve kept moving, kept evolving into whatever form Triple G Popovich needs them to assume each given year.

It’s tough to know if Tony Parker’s Popovich-mandated takeover of the team last year has resulted in any systematic changes. Would the Duncan-headed '04-'05 squad have allowed a winning streak (something Popovich notoriously dismisses) to reach 20 games? More importantly, would they have allowed themselves to follow it up with a four-game, season-ending losing streak? The latter can be answered simply in the negative, but the former is trickier. Even with Duncan on the decline—albeit a slower decline than we may have expected—this is still the Spurs. But is it still “The Spurs?” Or even the “Spurs?” I don’t know. We don’t know. But we should try and enjoy the end of this truly remarkable sizzle reel. And Patty Mills!

Look, I don’t know how to tie this back in to Ike one last time to wrap it up, bring it full circle, a third stale cliche, except to say that he is dead now and that one day, the Spurs will be dead too. Really makes you think, no?

Rushed Pull-Up Jumpers

Pokemon who the team should adopt as its new mascot: Alakazam

Headline we’ll be most sick of reading: “Are the league-leading Spurs for real?”

Headline we’re most looking forward to: “Tony Parker apologizes for being a generally unsavory dude.”

If Heaven exists, what would you like to hear God say when you enter the pearly gates?: “Seriously, you guys are waaay late.”

No Regard Previews: Blood, Sweat, and John Wall

One Game We Will Definitely Watch Tonight: Phoenix Suns vs. San Antonio Spurs

With two games left on their schedule, the Spurs can still nab the best record in the NBA. No small feat for a team that many of us seem to forget exists on an almost daily basis. Then we remember that they still sport lifetime Spur Timmy Duncan, who continues to do what he does: back-board an orange ball into a hoop and occasionally get asked to fight with NBA official during a game. We remember that despite his injuries this season, Manu is still a crazy-athletic Argentinian dude who can Euro-step to the moon if he so pleases. We remember that while Tony Parker may or may not be sleeping with a teammate's wife, he's having quite possibly his best season yet and almost certainly is an MVP candidate. And finally, we remember that behind it all is a mastermind, Coach Pop, who not only has been able to quietly keep together one of the most consistently successful teams of all time, but also one day did this. He'll forever remain a favorite in our hearts as a result. 

As for Phoenix, after being eliminated from playoff contention last night, we face what might very well be the last Suns vs. Spurs game featuring Steve Nash in an orange Suns tank top. While the contest is ultimately meaningless for the Suns, perhaps recalling the blood gushing out of their captain's nose as a result of Tony Parker's big dome will provide motivation. If this is indeed the last time we are witness to this rivalry, let's hope that we get an effort that reminds us how hard these teams played against each other over the years.

One Game We Definitely Won't Watch Tonight: Cleveland Cavaliers vs. Washington Wizards

If you think that for one second the only reason we are previewing this game is so that I could have an excuse to put up a picture of John Wall in a Red Bulls shirt, then you are way off. That is crazy talk. 

We are just really intrigued to see if the Wizards can continue the impressive form they have been in as of late...

No Regard Previews: The Good Ol' Days

One Game We Will Definitely Watch Tonight: Miami Heat vs. San Antonio Spurs

About five years ago, LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers bested the bullies of the East, the Pistons, and earned themselves a spot in the finals to play against the juggernaut that was the Tim Duncan-led San Antonio Spurs. Today, LeBron James and the Miami Heat host the San Antonio Spurs, a team that sports some of the same pieces it did when they swept the the King's Cavs in convincing fashion many moons ago.

With Wade out due to an ankle injury, this Heat team is not so different than that '06-'07 Cleveland team. Yes, Bosh is an upgrade from Big Z and Coach Spo is significantly more interested in trading for Fruit Roll-Ups at lunchtime than Mike Brown ever was, but the similarities exist. Is Super Nintendo Chalmers not Boobie Gibson 2.0? Does Andy V. not possess some of the glue-guy type qualities that makes Udonis Haslem so valuable? And I like to pretend that Scott Pollard and Juwan Howard can somehow be compared.

Regardless, the point is that without Wade, LeBron is playing the role of quarterback, wide-receiver and running back once again. Back in that first finals season, LBJ averaged 27 points, nearly 7 rebounds and 6 assists per game. This campaign, some of which has been sans older-bro Dwayne, the King's numbers are even sicker: 29.5, 8.2, and 7.4 per game, respectively.

Do not get me wrong: No one is a bigger fan of the fact that LeBron went on television for an hour to tell the world that he was going to play basketball with his friends. But part of me misses the good old days when he was the Cleveland Cavaliers. Every game was the LeBron show and the deeper they got in the playoffs, the more intriguing it was to see if he could carry Erik Snow and Drew Gooden to glory.

Tonight, when the Spurs invade Miami, I'll get slight a reminder of what it was like watching the '06-'07 LeBron Jameses. And I always enjoy a good one-man band.


One Game We Probably Won't Watch Tonight (Even Though We'd Kind Of Like To): Houston Rockets vs. Detroit Pistons

We are not shy when it comes to sharing our undying love for Larry Frank. And for some odd reason, we have taken a similar liking to the concept of Kevin McHale coaching in the NBA. The motivation for the former is pretty simple and we have a solid understanding of it: He was top dog with the Nets and had relative success, is one of the biggest basketball nerds in the world, originates from New Jersey and reminds us of ourselves when we were in 6th grade (doing our best to turn a bunch of stale Fritos into a decent PB&J). The latter obsession is not as clear cut to us. We thought McHale was a decent analyst on TNT, but his hiring as the Rockets head coach freakishly fascinates and amuses us. I honestly can't figure it out why, but it's the truth and I think it probably says something about how we view the NBA. (And the simple fact may be that we view the NBA like a bunch of idiots, but that's our bull to lasso, not yours.)

This game pits some pretty dysfunctional offensive clubs against one another in what probably won't be the most entertaining game of the season. But since one of my resolutions for 2012 was to try and view situations positively, perhaps Luis Scola will drop 50 points and Larry Frank will get ejected for charging the court in the 4th quarter.

Also, we're obsessed with Scola, too, but we know why. We watched him a ton that one summer wheel and deal for Argentina and were beyond impressed. He's brimming with game from head to toe and if he did not play for the Rockets he would compete to be an All-Star every year. That and the hair. It's mostly the hair.

Question of the Day

Despite the truth that this first round has been downright thrilling since tipoff, will we remember it less fondly if the Grizzlies fail to make good on the promise implicit in their game four drubbing of the Spurs and lose in seven? Would we ultimately be disappointed if the only underdog victory was the Hawks semi-upset of the Magic? Or are competitive series, no matter the outcome, all we ask of lower seeds in the first round?

The Audacity of Z-Bo

The 2006-2007 Golden State Warriors were what I assume LSD is like. The experience of watching Don Nelson, Baron Davis and Stephen Jackson hijack the league for 12 days was mind-expanding in a way you normally only read about in Jack Kerouac books. And their "We Believe" mantra was fitting for a team trying to change the world during Obama's campaign. Nelson's lineup choices were as strong as Obama's email list, and Boom Dizzle's refusal to be anything less than great was downright presidential. Plus, there's a connection to be made somewhere between the flag lapel pin and the bullet fedora.

As much as that team stood for hope and change in a dedicated sports city that needed it, during an era that was starved for it, their breakup and subsequent waning also paralleled Barack's own struggle to unite and lead during his first term. Both promised a few too many revolutions to be able to follow through. Warriors fans must have felt like the ostracized LGBT community as they watched broken promises turn into missed playoffs.

But as Obama begins his second campaign, NBA fans have been gifted another team in which to place our optimism for a better world: The Memphis Grizzlies.

No Regard Daily Previews: Born to Run

One Game We Will Definitely Watch Tonight:
New York Knicks vs. San Antonio Spurs

If you've been watching the Spurs so far this season and you didn't know who their coach was, you might hypothesize that it was Mike D'Antoni. Compare the two teams offensively and the evidence is clear.

San Antonio is 4th in the league in scoring, averaging an impressive 105.6 points per game. Ginobili and Parker have been instructed to to run and gun and they've been doing exactly that, even at the expense of significantly decreasing Tim Duncan's role in their offense. (Duncan is averaging by far a career low in points, just 13.6 per game so far this season.) To top it all off, they take about 22 3-pointers per contest.

The team Mike D'Antoni actually coaches, the Knicks, is first in the league in scoring, putting up a crazy 107.2 points per game. They too run-run-run and then run some more on the offensive end. As for 3-pointers, about 24 per game jacked up so far this season.

Perhaps Coach Pop woke up in a cold sweat one night this summer in the middle of a nightmare in which D'Antoni's 7-seconds-or-less Phoenix Suns were blowing the doors off of his Spurs. Or maybe he was hammered at a bar and made a drunken bet with his buddy that he'd 'completely change the way his team plays in order to get laid more often!' Or maybe, more likely, he realized that sometimes change is necessary in order to be successful in the NBA. Particularly on a team that boasts some of the fastest and most electric players in the league.

Should be a fun one tonight in the Garden.

One Game We Won't Be Watching Tonight But Will Be Thinking About: Sacramento Kings vs. Atlanta Hawks

Good luck against your old team tonight, Mike! We know how much this means to you! Do it!

No Regard Daily Recap: 11-22-10

One Game We Tried To Watch Last Night, But Kept Getting Distracted By Blake Griffin And His Potential Energy:
San Antonio Spurs vs. Orlando Magic

Spurs: 106 Magic: 97

Learn this about us now: when we say in a preview that we'll "definitely" watch a certain game, we're lying. We're not trying to lie, but things come up, like say family coming into town a few days early for Thanksgiving or a basketball scrimmage against Eastern Europeans that will seal the fate of our team's regular season seeding. Or the possibility that Blake Griffin breaks the Internet again with a dunk. So, no, none of us watched this game in its entirety.