Rasheed Misquoted by ESPN

In response to the NBA's proposed system for fining players for "egregious" flopping, Rasheed Wallace had the following to say:

"...All that bullshit-ass calls they had out there. With Mike and Kenny -- y'all seen that shit. A lot of them phantom calls... cats flopping and falling all over the floor, and they're calling that bullshit - that shit ain't basketball what they want out there. It's all fuckin' entertainment. You all fuckin' know that shit. All that shit is entertainment."

The quote was actually changed when it was transcribed by espn.com. Their version is as follows:

"All that bull[expletive]-ass calls they had out there. With Mike [Callahan] and Kenny [Mauer] -- you've all seen that [expletive]," Wallace said. "You saw them calls. The cats are flopping all over the floor and they're calling that [expletive]. That [expletive] ain't basketball out there. It's all [expletive] entertainment. You all should know that [expletive]. It's all [expletive] entertainment."

Note how they changed "That ain't basketball what they want out there" to "That ain't basketball out there." The league wants the entertainment part of their sport to be prominent, and Rasheed is a true basketball player. If I were him, the flopping of Vujacic, Ginobili, Wade, Nowitzki, Varejao, etc. would drive me insane. I mean, I just watch and these guys drive me nuts when the flop all over the place. I am glad the league is taking action, and I am pleased to hear Wallace speak his mind about this.

ESPN Video: http://tinyurl.com/4keqr9

Lakers head back to Finals

The storybook season continues for Kobe Bryant and the Lakers, as they put away the Spurs 100-92 Thursday night. But one important question remains: Why did Sasha Vujacic shoot that 3 at the end of the game? I cringed as I watched that and thought "oh he better not shoot that..." I'm sure he'll hear all about that from the veterans. Not the most honorable or professional way to go out, but hey - everyone makes mistakes, especially when emotions are at an all-time high. The guy is only 24, after all.

The Lakers now await the winner of the Boston/Detroit series, which resumes Friday night with game 6 in Detroit.

Boston @ Detroit - 8:30et ESPN

Game 6 Tonight

The Lakers have the Spurs on their heels, but I don't think anyone is counting San Antonio out just yet, despite the 3-1 deficit. The Spurs have so many weapons and trust each other so much, it is surprising that they have blown big leads and lost 3 out of 4 games in this series. Phil Jackson has done a fantastic job with his player rotation, keeping everyone fresh and matched up effectively against any Spurs lineup.

Bruce Bowen is doing his usual defensive drill on Kobe, but just how good does your defense have to be to stop the best player in the league at the peak of his career? I simply don't think it's possible to shut Bryant down. Not at this point in his career. And now that he has two big contributors in Lamar Odom and Pau Gasol, and has brought back his wingman Derek Fisher, it is clear that stopping this Lakers team may be more difficult than it's been since 2002.

LAKERS @ SPURS 9:00et TNT

Turiaf Robbed of Camera Time!

Leave to NBA.com to ignore hard data.

After a strong (and apparently successful) effort to get Ronny Turiaf on the YellowBook Cam for the fourth quarter of Game 4, YellowBook decided to go with Kobe for yet another quarter on the stream.

At the beginning of the 4th, Michael Bivins came on and said "we will be going with Kobe and Parker as they try to lead their teams to victory." At the same time, the poll results on my screen said Turiaf beat Bryant in the voting 54% to 30%. Video proof --->

Check out the results in a screen shot below (taken as the fourth quarter began). As much as I tried, even with hard evidence and stats backing me up, I couldn't get Kobe off the screen.

Yellowbook Cam Glitch

How long before nba.com recognizes the fact that you can vote as many times as you want for a Yellowbook Cam "star"? I have voted about 50 million times for Ronny Turiaf and Ime Udoka, just to throw a wrench in the system. Actually, there are reasons I picked them. I love Udoka's defense, and Turiaf is a one-man show, even on the bench. Anyway, going into the fourth quarter, I have single-handedly brought Turiaf from 3% to 54% so far (8:07pm). Kobe is down from 74% to 30%, all since I started voting like my carpal tunnel depends on it!

But seriously, how can 74% of people want to see Kobe Bryant? TNT should have one quarter be a non-Kobe-cam quarter, if that's what it takes. Don't get me wrong - I love watching Kobe and getting the close up behind-the-curtain view of the game, but let's mix it up a little bit.

Also: Am I the only one sick of ABC forcing Eva Longoria into NBA coverage?

Boston wins Game 1

Just two days after sending the Cavaliers back to Cleveland, the Celtics hosted Detroit in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Finals. Right off the bat, Kevin Garnett came out ready to score. He opened the game by hitting three jump shots, really the only Celtic hitting from outside. Meanwhile, the Pistons starting backcourt had only 7 points at halftime. But Detroit was able to keep it close by getting the Celtics into the penalty with over 7 minutes to play in the second. The Pistons also turned the ball over just once in the second quarter, Boston five times. But in the end, it was the Detroit who ended up turning the ball over when it hurt the most, and Boston kept hitting shots to keep them between 6 and 12 points in front through the fourth quarter. Also worth noting: the Celtics got nearly twice Detroit's assist total (27-15). Besides that, these are proving to be two very evenly matched teams. Game 2 is Thursday 8:30et on espn.

New Orleans, Cleveland eliminated.

In each NBA postseason, there are two or three series that get remembered. Matchups that stick in our minds because of superstar matchups, developing rivalries, or an intertwining of a number of subplots surrounding the teams involved. More often than not, it's not the Finals that falls into this category. This year, it has been the Cavs/Celtics matchup that peaked my interest and passion for great basketball. This was a series that started off slow but ended with a legitimately heroic performance from Paul Pierce in game 7. Somewhere in watching game 5 I realized that this series had gone to another level. Just as one team figured out how to break down the other's defense, the defensive strategy adjusted and the process had to be repeated. Sometimes teams can't adjust their defense well enough to get stops at all in a game. But this quick adaptation was something to behold in the last 2 or 3 games of the series. In the end, the Cavs could not contain Paul Pierce, who was hitting anything he wanted. And although the Celtics could not hold down LeBron, Pierce had other guys to fill in the scoring gaps if need be. The biggest story on the Cavs side: LeBron has no help. That revelation is going to shake up Cleveland in the offseason for sure.

Dirk & Sig

I'm surprised it took me until now to realize this, but how many of you have noticed that Deadliest Catch "star" Sig Hansen bears striking resemblance to Dirk Nowitzki? Think about it - have you ever seen both of them in the same place at the same time? For you doubters, I offer proof:

In any case, only one of them is working right now, after Dirk showed his postseason soft side yet again. When did he stop demanding the ball when his team needed a leader? He appeared to be letting the game come to him in the fourth quarters of the New Orleans series, playing like it was the first quarter of game 2 when a playoff exit was in fact minutes away. But that story is but a sidenote to the recognition the Hornets are finally receiving. Playing this well is nothing new to them - New Orleans has been pounding teams all year with flurries of defense and total dismantling of the most effective interior defenses in the league. Chris Paul has the ability and control to get to any spot on the floor, much like a Steve Nash or Brandon Roy will. And Paul has the vision to be able to see every scoring opportunity for both his teammates and himself. Now that's a high basketball IQ, and I don't mean in the way Tim Legler or Brent Barry have high basketball IQ. During a game, it seems Paul can actually make any play he wants.

+ =

The new breed of NBA stars is here, and I'm not talking about Mello and D-Wade, or even LeBron. Yes, you heard me. I'm talking about Paul, Deron Williams, Roy, Dwight Howard, Al Horford, Greg Oden, etc. These are the guys you will hear about after April in the next 8-10 years. The rough draft version of this influx of players doesn't exhibit the leadership and patience to get their teams to the title. Don't get after me about Wade, either. What has he done lately? I'm not sold on his lasting value yet. He still might be the next Penny Hardaway. Yes, I really think so.

Lakers in Utah tonight - 9et, espn