Sure, he wants it to be in 2007, but I’m willing to bet he’s still hoping the Heat pull a come-from-behind victory in their series with the Celtics. If that happens, maybe he’ll even spring for an updated jersey-jersey backpack combo, though I’m sure he gets a kick out of zinging both the Cleveland and Seattle fan bases.
Or, I suppose, he could just dig out his Paul Pierce satchel. It’s probably still wrapped around the Kobe Bryant jersey he wore it with back in 2010.
(via @BullBearSock)
This comes from the James Harden School for the Obvious Award-Winners (Class of 2012), but just so you guys know, Kyrie Irving is set to be named this season’s Rookie of the Year. It’s a real no-doy situation.
Irving led all rookies in scoring, was second in assists and third in minutes per game, all while playing four times as many games in the pros as he did in his one season at Duke University. He led the entire NBA in shooting percentage during isolation plays, was 23rd in PER (eighth among guards), and could have been an All-Star if not for the silly “no rookies” stance that seems to pervade bench selections. He hit at least two game-winning layups, won the prestigious BBVA Rising Stars MVP trophy which will be a source of pride for decades to come and had the Cavaliers challenging for a playoff spot during the first half of the season. Also, he is the first “Kyrie” in NBA history, which has to count for something.
All in all, Kyrie Irving did everything you’d want from a No. 1 overall pick, including giving Cleveland fans a reason to buy one of those new jerseys. No offense to Antawn Jamison, but it’s going to be way more fun for those guys to root for a young, exciting player for the next however many years than wasting $75 on a season of awkward flip shots. He was an easy pick at No. 1 and everything came out roses during his first season, barring a relatively minor shoulder injury.
As long as he doesn’t break the city’s heart by hosting a television special where he decides to team up with his best friends in Miami, things are looking up in Cleveland. Congrats to them and to him.
Round about this time last year, the Cleveland Cavaliers used the Los Angeles Clippers’ lottery balls to snare the first pick of the 2011 NBA Draft, thanks to a little good luck from Nick Gilbert, son of owner Dan Gilbert and the coolest person to have been associated with Cleveland since Bizzy Bone. But after a decent season led by No. 1 overall pick and presumed Rookie of the Year Kyrie Irving, the Cavs are back in the lottery.
So why not try the same thing again? Bring an awesome kid, use some of his special powers and get another top pick in a stacked draft. That’s exactly what the Cavs are doing and they’re hoping it works out the exact same way. From the Cleveland News-Herald:
“We are trying to repeat the same route, same people,” Gilbert said. “We’re trying to do everything in the same exact way.” Gilbert said Browns personalities Bernie Kosar, Joshua Cribbs and Joe Haden will be at the lottery in New York, along with Irving.
“We are very superstitious with this stuff,” Gilbert said.
Nick will try to recreate his magic from last year when the Cavs got the top pick.
“We’re going to bring Nick to the lottery,” Gilbert said. “If he doesn’t get the first pick, he’ll be grounded all summer.”
This is big. Not only does the future of the Cavs’ franchise hang in the balance, as a 15-year-old, everything attached to Nick Gilbert’s happiness depends on getting this pick.
You remember when you were 15. How much would it have sucked if your dad didn’t let you go hang out with your friends because you couldn’t get him the NBA Draft’s No. 1 pick? Even though those are very specific circumstances and very few of us have parents that own NBA franchises, it would suck a lot. That means he can’t see “The Dark Knight Rises” or go to all of Justin Bieber’s concerts or sit on a flag pole or whatever 15-year-olds do in 2012. All I know is that when you’re 15, doing things is the most important thing in the world, so this could be a potentially devastating night for Nick Gilbert.
But if the Cavaliers do end up with the No. 1 pick for the second year in a row, thanks to Nick’s bowtie, I’m thinking he should be get a substantial reward. He’s going to need a car when he gets his license and if he makes his dad that much money — Anthony Davis and Kyrie Irving on the same team is tantalizing — he should be in line for something pretty special. A team hasn’t had the No. 1 pick two years in a row since the Orlando Magic in 1993, so I’m thinking Mercedes.
(via SB Nation)
I can’t decide if this is funnier than when Jack Ramsay voted Keith Bogans Defensive Player of the Year or not, but the lone ESPN Deportes representative being the only guy to not vote for obvious ROY Kyrie Irving while giving his vote to a guy who speaks Spanish is impossibly good.
Sometimes the jokes just write themselves. And then sometimes they get posted on the internet with bylines and headshots that make them even funnier. Glad that’s the case here.
If you think a bunch of fancy swordsmen destroying your car is bad, imagine being a fan of the Grizzlies.
For the rest of State Farm’s State of Fandom campaign, check out their Facebook page.
If you guys want to make fun of Antawn Jamison, now is the time. Because trust me, he isn’t going to see anything mean you say about him or this pass he threw off a referee’s face.
How do I know this? Well, because he said so. From the AP:
”Trust me, I’m trying to figure out what happened myself,” Jamison said. ”I just know that I’m not going to be watching SportsCenter or reading any newspapers for the next couple days.”
If he’s not reading newspapers, you know he’s not reading TBJ, even though I am sure he’s usually checks the comments here three or four times a day. Not today though. Not after last night’s horrid Cavaliers performance.
So it’s open season on Antawn Jamison. What he doesn’t know won’t hurt him. I’ll start by mentioning that he looks like Homer Simpson. Feel free to carry on in the comments. Antawn’s avoiding anything about the Cavs for another few days, so we’re in the clear.
(vid via BDL)
You’ve heard the story, now see the video.
Even from the tiny bit you can see, you can tell that’s a really hard punch. And if he struck Moondiggity straight in the mascot eye, then you can totally see why it’d send the human inside to the hospital, since that’s the weakest place on a fake dog’s head. That was quite the blow.
Bad boy, David West. Go to your cage. No park today.
