It’s kind of sad that the most compelling thing about the Cavs/Wizards series is all the drama surrounding the ongoing feud between LeBron James and DeShawn Stevenson, though I have to admit I love hearing clueless announcers describe the insult in LeBron’s comparison of DeShawn to Soulja Boy. Then Soulja Boy shows up and meets Stevenson before the Wizards go on to blow the Cavs out in Game 3. Apparently, LeBron bought a private room in a club that night and played a new Jay-Z song in which he disses Stevenson. Caron Butler and his squeeze were in the club and when they heard the song, they left. On and on it goes. Oh yeah, the Cavs are up 3-1 heading back to Cleveland.
Hedo Turkoglu won the Most Improved Player award, making me three for three in my year-end award predictions. The award was well deserved as Turk’s Efficiency Per Game jumped 56% and he played a large role in the Magic’s emergence this season. Turkoglu won the award going away, with Rudy Gay and LaMarcus Aldridge coming in second and third. Former lottery picks simply have a tough time winning this award because the press expects them to make a leap early in their career. Voters are more likely to give it to someone that comes out of nowhere (and no one saw Turkoglu’s season coming).
The Suns dodged a bullet in Game 4 by jumping all over the Spurs. No NBA team has ever come back from being down 3-0, but the Suns have a shot. (Granted, it’s a long shot.) If they can find a way to win Game 5 in San Antonio, they’ll get the opportunity to tie the series at home. I’m mildly optimistic because it seems like they made some adjustments guarding the Spurs’ pick and roll, and Boris Diaw has taken on the challenge of guarding Tony Parker. Given all that has happened thus far, the Suns have to be thinking that the series is a lucky Tim Duncan three away from being tied up, 2-2. They know they can play with the Spurs and they just need to take it one game at a time.
I’m really starting to enjoy watching the Jazz. I played for Bo Ryan on one of his national championship teams at UW-Platteville, and Jerry Sloan has the Jazz playing like we did. Take care of the ball, cut and pick hard, get good shots and play defense. They always make the extra pass, rarely take a bad shot, and it translates to wins. Ryan’s teams overcome a lack of athleticism by outwitting their opponents, and the Jazz are doing the same thing. I don’t know how Jerry Sloan hasn’t yet won Coach of the Year, but if we’re willing to give the MVP to Kobe as a career achievement award, we might as well reward Sloan as well.
I’m a Josh Howard fan and a proponent of the legalization of marijuana, but I have to wonder about the timing of his comments. Apparently, Howard has a history of partaking, so when a writer brought it up as a possible reason for Howard’s less-than-stellar performance in the playoffs, he took issue and said that he only smokes Mary Jane during the offseason. This, of course, flies in the face of the NBA’s substance abuse policy and the interview has become a giant distraction for the already distracted Mavs. I like Josh and I like Dirk, but I have to say I enjoy watching Mark Cuban and his league leading $105 M payroll get knocked out in the first round. Cuban made his fortune during the internet boom, which means he basically sold an idea for lots and lots of money. I’m not blaming him for being in the right place at the right time, but that’s all it was, right? Now he owns the Mavericks and that makes him an expert on putting a team together… Only he just traded away his second-best young player for a washed-up point guard and it looks like his Mavs are going to make their second consecutive first-round exit. Ouch.
Photos courtesy of the Orlando Sentinel. and Flickr.
