A MOMENT OF SILENCE FOR LEBRON JAMES

A MOMENT OF SILENCE Lebron James walked off the court dejected after his Cleveland Cavaliers were defeated by the mighty Orlando Magic. James, usually very accessible to the media dressed quickly, didn't talk to the anyone and boarded the team bus. I almost felt sorry for the James, but so is sports. It's about the climb to the top with the slippage along the way. All the great ones have gone through it. Jordan, Kobe, Garnett, the list goes on. Not that it's right, but I can understand why he didn't speak to anybody. Sometimes there's nothing to say. Frustration is boiling inside. You can't put on a smile. You can't do much more. He carried the Cavs on a stretcher the whole series and I say stretcher because it was if the rest of his team was dead. I understand the frustration. But I think after what he did in this series, in this picture his head should be tilted in the opposite direction.



PUPPETS OFF THE BENCH
Now I know Nike wasn't stupid enough not to have reinforcements right? I know they have to have some puppets come off the bench right? If not, let me give them an idea. You got to have an extra long puppet now. It has to be Dwight Howard. He has to move into the house and take over Lebron's room or something. And then he becomes Kobe's new best friend. They go and hang out, they play games together while they leave Lebron home. Lebron's unhappy because he can't tag along. May not be too funny to the real Lebron. He may not ok a commercial like that. The other thing is, not sure if Howard is even sponsored by Nike. Someone do the research please. But hey, it's just a thought. The puppets are a hit. We got to keep it going.



WHAT DID THE FIVE FINGERS SAY TO THE FACE?
The Lakers just straight disrespected the Nuggets in their own house last game. Denver got smacked at home as the Lakers ended Denver's best season in franchise history. The main reason is because of a beast to the left that needs no introduction. How do you stop the Black Mamba you ask? You don't. You hope, that's all you can do. You hope he's off. You hope he wants to defer to teammates. You hope he doesn't find something to motivate himself. As good as Lebron James is, this guy is a nightmare and has more killer in him. He is more driven to prove he's the best and it's very scary. He wants to prove he can win it without Shaq. He's been to the NBA Finals last year and his team, unlike Lebron James, will give him some assistance. The Black Mamba is scary and if he wins the championship this year, while putting up outstanding numbers in the Finals, the puppet debate will fade into the distance. Kobe Bryant and the Lakers can smack you with the best of them.




IT ALL DEPENDS
But hey, don't get me wrong, I'm not stupid. I know that the Lakers face a monumental task when going up against the Orlando Magic and Dwight Howard. The Magic beat the Lakers twice during the regular season. We know Howard is the best center in the league. But it's not long ago that I was watching a young guy from the Lakers and thinking to myself, "This young guy can be the best center in the league." I am going to say this and I won't aplogize. Andrew Bynum has more skills and can end up being a better player than Dwight Howard. What? You gonna question me on that? He is very athletic, not so much like Howard, but how many guys can wear a cape? He is a better shooter and has more moves around the basket. He can shoot free throws and is a better passer. But it all depends on which Bynum shows up. He has battled injuries in his career but he has the skills. He has to transform from that nice guy into a monster. On another note I can't believe I am selling out my high school Piscataway right now. Bynum went to our local rival high school St. Joseph's in Metuchen, NJ. The same high school as Jay Williams who starred at Duke and was drafted with the 2nd pick in the NBA draft by the Chicago Bulls. We hate dudes from St. Joseph's. So forget I even said any of this. What a sellout I have become!!! Piscataway Chiefs for life!!!



MUTT AND JEFF
No two coaches can be more different than these two. One is tall, the other is short. One is slender, the other is...not so slender. One has 9 championships, the other has none. One is known for his laid back attitude, the other has been called "The Master of Panic." One rarely ever yells on the sideline, the other loses his voice with his ranting and raving. With this all said and done, I think the opposites are going to make this series a very good one. But in the long run, for all that is different, the one thing that they share is that they are both in search of the NBA Championship.




THINGS THAT WERE EXPOSED DURING THE PLAYOFFS



Everyone had this team on a pedestal coming into the series with the Magic, including me. They had the best record in basketball during the regular season. None of us really questioned that they were coming out of the East, the weaker conference. None of us questioned the age of their frontline. None of us realized how strong a King's back can really be.




The Boston Celtics were a great team last year. But they got old over night. Who knows if Kevin Garnett will be back? Paul Pierce got old right in front of our eyes. Ray Allen disappeared for long stretches in the clutch. Big Baby Davis may be looking for greener pastures, meaning he wants more green that maybe the Celtics can't even get him. It may be a one and done run for the Celtics. No offensive rebound for a second chance shot.





The NBA has to address this after the season. All the flagrants that weren't flagrants. All the ones that were. The NBA has no idea when it comes to this. This is not a kiddy league and the NBA has to understand that. These guys will show emotion and you can't get thrown out of games for yelling in someone's face or hitting a guy a little too hard. Hey I understand you have to keep control, but this year things got a little out of hand.


The NBA's old slogan was "NBA Action is FANtastic". Well I'm not so sure about the fans anymore. I work at these NBA games and sometimes these fans get carried away. We saw the issue with Ron Artest a few years back. Yes, Artest was wrong but we tend to forget that a fan threw a beer from the stands and it hit Artest. Carmelo Anthony's fiancee Alani Vasquez was verbally attacked in the stands during the series with Dallas. The Lakers Derek Fisher has a stalker that has been harassing him since 2000. Some of this stuff is getting out of hand and the NBA has to address it. Better security and they have to hold fans to a higher standard. I don't care how much you paid for your ticket, you have to have some class.


The integrity of college athletics was exposed as well. The problem is a problem in itself, but it is worse because it always comes to the forefront once these guys are in the NBA. The issue that is circulating about Derrick Rose and someone else possibly taking his SAT test, while his grades possibly being changed while at Simeon High School in Chicago doesn't look good. O.J. Mayo had some problems with taking money while at USC. These Universities love to turn their heads and act as if they don't know anything is going wrong. It's crap because most of the Universities know exactly what's happening and just care too much about winning and the money generated to really police their athletic departments. Mayo and Rose are the two that hit the headlines, but this happens more than we all hear about. Do I blame the kids? No, I blame the grownups who "think" they're looking out for the kids when actually they're doing the exact opposite by giving them a hall pass to the bathroom.