NBA Fights of the Year

After a tumultuous season - one in which we saw "Ben Wallace with Range" - a.k.a. Kevin Love and an NBA player (Blake Griffin) dunking on people (I'm looking at you, Timothy Mozgov), it's time for the NBA Playoffs. Before I get ahead of myself, I will do a recap of a certain sort. You've seen the top blocks/assists/steals/dunks/plays/WTF moments of the year before, so I'll do something different: the top NBA fights of the year. So, here we go!

Refs Ruin Big East Game

In case you have not heard about the biggest story the past two hours, it was how Rutgers University got robbed of a chance to tie or possibly win in their first-round matchup against St. John's at the famous Madison Square Garden; I'll also discuss how this game reminded me of the "Ruffin the Puffin" problem that took place nine years ago.

First, some background:

The referees at this game, Jim Burr, Tim Higgins and Earl Walton, have been calling a very inconsistant game - or so I have heard. I just tuned in the last 17 seconds left of the game. But what happened in the last seven seconds will live in infamy.

Rutgers is set to inbound the ball from the opposing end and no timeouts left. They are down by two points with seven seconds left in the game. The player throws it to their own three-point-line, where the ball is deflected by one Rutgers' player and two St. Johns' players (mistake #1) into the hands of Rutgers forward Justin Brownlee. Brownlee, not knowing how much time is left on the clock, streaks down the left side of the court - without dribbling (mistake #2) - and steps out-of-bounds (mistake #3) with 1.7 seconds left.

The referees at this point are: a) Talking to the Rutgers' head coach about mistake #1; b) Looking half-heartedly at Brownlee; c)Not paying attention to the game.

The refs called nothing as the buzzer sounded - walking into the tunnel immediately while the coaches and players were shaking hands. As one of my friends would say: "Un-F***ing-believable."

Here's the last seven seconds, in real speed:





The referees should NOT be allowed to ref any Big East tournament game in the near future (basically, they should be suspended indefinitely), based on what they did in this important first-round match. ESPN college basketball analyst Jay Bilas also agrees with me:

Here's what ESPN's Scott Van Pelt and Bill Simmons also tweeted:

@notthefakeSVP: To be fair, Rutgers still would have needed to make a bucket with 1.7 but my God - the refs just stopped working the game. Pitiful

@sportsguy33: Tim Donaghy thinks the 3 Rutgers-Johnnie's refs were superb today.

This Big East game reminded me of a game that occurred in the NBA nine years ago - the infamous Michael Ruffin game. In this case, the Raptors, down by 3 (99-96), were inbounding in a similar situation to the Rutgers game. Washington Wizard power forward Michael Ruffin immediately caught the pass at the similar spot, then flung the ball straight up in the air. Ex-Toronto Raptors' guard Morris Peterson then flung a miracle three-point shot that banked in to tie the game. (The Wiz, out of bewilderment, ended up losing badly in OT)






In both cases, there was some stupidity involved with a certain person on the court, and that there was a terrible, egregious ending for one team (the Wizards and the Scarlet Knights).

So, that's the Controversial Sports News of the Day.

Signing off, Sameer.

2011 NBA Slam Dunk Contest Recap

I thoroughly enjoyed yesterday's Sprite Slam Dunk Contest last night - it was 10X better than the previous 5 years of slam dunks combined. For those of you who did NOT watch the contest, here it is in its entirety:












Click the jump for my analysis:

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A Staples Center Stampede

No, that is not a misprint. The Lakers dominated the Cleveland Cavaliers last night, 112-57. Seven Lakers were in double-figures in points, while only two Cavs did the same.

Here's some reaction by the Twitterfolk:

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NBA Dunk Contest Participants Revealed!

The NBA Dunk Contest - a tradition held during every NBA All-Star weekend - has revealed it's participants. According to Los Angeles Times writer Broderick Turner, these are the four that will be coming to LA next month: 6-foot-10-inch Blake Griffin PF for LA Clippers), 6-1 Brandon Jennings (PG, now injured, for Milwaukee Bucks), 6-10 Serge Ibaka (PF for Oklahoma City Thunder) and 7-0 JaVale McGee (C for the Wash Wizards).

Find out more about my analysis and videos of the participants after the jump:

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Blockbuster NBA Trade in the Works

A big trade involving the Phoenix Suns, the Orlando Magic and my home team, the Washington Wizards, might go down in the next couple of days.

The deal involves two NBA dunk contest champions, a power forward that is a three-point threat, Agent Zero, and one of the worst players in the NBA.

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NBA Dunks of the Year

We are not even through a third of the NBA season, yet we have seen some impressive dunks so far - from Blake Griffin's "Superman" dunk to the emotional throwdown by point guard Russell Westbrook. Here are my top seven dunks of the year:

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Minor Melee in Miami

I just heard about this a few minutes ago: Hilton Armstrong, a backup power forward for the Washington Wizards and ex-Wizard and current Heat backup power forward Juwan Howard (yeah, he's STILL in the league) were both EJECTED late in the third quarter of today's match.

So, you think these players are scrubs, but I wanted to know what happened, so here it is:





So, Armstrong got called for a flagrant-2 foul that merited an automatic ejection, and Howard got ejected for protecting his teammate, Joel Anthony. I feel sorry for Armstrong, since he was trying to pull up Anthony after that hard foul and instead gets a vicious push in the back by Howard.

Bye, Bye, Elton Brand!

During the late stages of the Philadelphia 76ers - Washington Wizards game (a matchup of two TERRIBLE teams - a combined 8-19), there was a critical play made by the 76ers that changed the game:

Yes, during the final minutes of the fourth quarter, in a close game, power forward Elton Brand committed an awful Flagrant-2 foul that merited an ejection on JaVale McGee. This moment changed the game around, since the Wizards were able to come back from a fourth quarter, 15-point deficit to WIN the game in overtime.

The best part about the play - seeing a sprawled-out McGee smile as he waves goodbye to Brand.

From Haynesworth to Injury Central

As you all may know, today is by birthday! I'm happy to become a full-fleged adult for the first time as I head to college next year.
Today's post will cover various sports clippings, such as Tennessee Titans DT Albert Haynesworth's supposed monsterous deal to the numerous and some devastating injuries in the NBA.

Here's a nice tune to Happy Birthday that I made up regarding Haynesworth's deal:

Albert Haynesworth will be rich
Albert Haynesworth will be rich
Danny boy is giving away 100 million
Albert Haynesworth will be rich

------------->

------------ >

I have quite a bit to say if Redskins owner Daniel Snyder plays Haynesworth. One is that he is coming off a contract year. Typically, players in any major sport (NFL, MLB or NBA) play their best if their season is their last on their contract. That is exactly what Haynesworth did. Also, Snyder is willing to pay $100 million - that's Agent Zero money there! - for one player. Unlike the 2008 Ravens/Dolphins franchises, who built their teams by buying ultiple players off the free-agent market and used the draft to their advantage, Snyder is willing to ONLY pay Haynesworth, less than three other free-agent signees and their four draft picks, of which I presume one of them will be cut. I guess Snyder is going back to his old ways again. Unless the Redskins cut many of their offensive linemen/defense that is 30+ yrs of age, they will still be a mediocre franchise.

Hopefully, Haynesworth won't do this again, since he now sees OL Andre Gurode twise a year now...

Now, to injury central in the NBA. Almost every team has suffered some sort of devastating injury, with multiple mediocre teams (i.e. Washington Wizards and Los Angeles Clippers) getting hit with the injury plague the worst. Here's a list of NBA teams that have dealt with major injuries (major injuries referring to star players getting injured for multiple (3+) games):

Washington Wizards: PG Gilbert Arenas
Charlotte Bobcats: SF Gerald Wallace (Now healthy)
Orlando Magic: PG Jameer Nelson
(B/c of this, ended up trading for Skip to my Lou PG Rafer Alston
Boston Celtics: PF Kevin Garnett
Philadelphia 76ers: PF Elton Brand (Although he was a hinderance rather than a help)
Toronto Raptors: PG Jose Calderon and PF Chris Bosh (Now healthy) and ex-Raptor PF Jermaine O'Neal (now with Miami Heat)
Cleveland Cavaliers: C Zydrunas Ilgauskas (Now healthy), SG Delonte West
Milwaukee Bucks: SG Michael Redd, PG Luke Rindour, C Andrew Bogut and MASCOT Bango (all out for season)


(You can see Bango limping after being hit in the groin. OUCH!)

Indiana Pacers: PF Mike Dunleavy, PG T.J. Ford
Denver Nuggets: PF Nene
Portland Trail Blazers: Oft-injured center Greg Oden (He'll NEVER play a full 82-game season)
Utah Jazz: SF Andre Kirilinko (a.k.a AK-47), PF Paul Millsap (Now healthy), PF Carlos Boozer (Now healthy) and PG Deron Williams (Now healthy)
Minnesota Timberwolves: C Al Jefferson
Los Angeles Lakers: C Andrew Bynum
Phoenix Suns: C/PF Amare Stoudemire
Golden State Warriors: C Andres Bientrins
Los Angeles Clippers: PG Baron Davis (Now healthy), PF Zach Randolph (Now healthy) and C Marcus Camby
Sacramento Kings: SG Kevin Martin (Now healthy)
San Antonio Spurs: SG Manu Ginobili
Houston Rockets: C Yao Ming (Now healthy), SF Ron Artest (Now healthy) and SG Tracy McGrady
New Orleans Hornets: C Tyson Chandler
Dallas Mavericks: SG Jason Terry and SG Jerry Stackhouse (Now healthy)

That is more than 66% of all NBA teams, and 81.25% of ALL current playoff teams. OUCH!

Now, for my Video of the Day:
It's of LeBron James' 55-point outburst against the injury-depleted Bucks. He was shooting three's from near halfcourt, like 40 feet away from the basket!

What a Night!

I was expecting five things to happen yesterday when the Washington Wizards faced against the Indiana Pacers last night.

First, for some background: Wizards were 10-40 (They had a one-in-five-chance of winning last night's game), while the second-to-last team in the Eastern Conference, the Pacers, were 20-31, TEN more wins than the woeful Wizards. On top of this, SF/SG Caron Butler was out with the flu for the past two games, so he was a GTD (Game-Time-Decision). Also, in the game before for both teams, Indiana All-Star SF Danny Granger scored 33 pts in a win against the Orlando Magic; while the Wizards were blown out in a 124-103 game against the Denver Nuggets, a game where the Nuggets held a 30+ point lead during the game.

Here were my top ten expectations:

1. Wizards would lose again (after all, they did have a 1:4 chance of winning the game)
2. The seats I had (Section 106, Row G) would be great not only b/c of the view, but also b/c of the 'clappers' I would get during the game, since the seats were right behind the hoop
3. Caron Butler and PF Antawn Jamison would combine for: 50 pts, 15 reb. and 8 asts.
4. I would be leaving midway through the fourth quarter, when the bench players would be playing major minutes, in another blowout loss.
5. The arena - Verizon Center - will be quiet throughout, with a crowd of 10,000

Here's how the game fared:



What a time to go to the game! With a crowd of 13,708 (i believe it's the biggest crowd this week), the Wizards gave every person their money's worth.
Let's go back to my expectations:
1. They actually won! i witnessed one of their 11 wins!
2. I didn't get any 'clappers', but I did get TWO buzzer-beaters - one by Jamison in the end of the third quarter and the MJ-like step-back fadeaway jumper by Butler to seal the deal.
3. Here is the Buter + Jamison combo stat line: 69 points (AJ: 34, CB: 35); 19 reb. (AJ: 6, CB: 13); 6 asts (3 by both players) ; and 3 steals. MUCH better than I predicted.
4. I stayed throughout the game, arriving 20 min. prior to the game, and dashing to the Metro after the fourth quarter buzzer sounded.
5. The crowd was 13,708, which was 3,708 more than I expected. The first half was quiet - just as I suspected - but was unusually LOUD in the second half! :)

I also got a nice laugh from the jumbotron. In the fourth quarter, during a timeout, PF Darius Songalia was asked several questions about which he would rather have (Recorded prior to the game), such as: Mustard vs. Ketchup (He chose Ketchup) and Guitar Hero vs. Rock Band (He wasn't fond of either). But what took the cake was this question: Which would you rather have: a Blonde or a Brunette?
His answer: "Both!"

Well, here is today's Video(s) of the Day. It is of Caron's last two buzzer-beaters. Better shots, but not as noteworthy as last night's bucket.





Impressed?