On Friday’s episode of “The Fix” x “The Overdose,” The Jones discuss surprising and disappointing NBA Playoff storylines, select their All-NBA, All-Defensive and All-Rookie Teams, wonder whether George Karl deserved Coach of the Year, pitch Phil Jackson on Toronto, and talk moms.
All that, plus crepes, circumcisions, and an epic Rounders softball update.
LINK: The Basketball Jones Soundboard v. 2.0
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Subscribe to The Basketball Jones show on iTunes | Download the .mp3 directly
Did you remember that James Jones still played for the Heat?
Maybe you didn’t before the 8:28 he played in garbage time of Wednesday’s Bulls blowout, easily the most playing time he’s seen in this postseason, and more than he got than in all but six games this entire season. (So dire has Jones’ playing situation been that he needed to use valuable team karaoke time to passive-aggressively plead with his boss for more minutes.) And maybe you didn’t even notice that he was in there for those eight-and-a-half minutes, since he went 0-1 with two rebounds and a turnover. But oh yeah, he was out there, earning the $1.5 million he’ll be receiving from Miami this season. And if we see him again for nearly as long this postseason, we’ll know that things either went horribly wrong or horribly right for Miami.
He played for long enough to remind me how much I still hate James Jones. If I was to do a power rankings of the players I hate the most on the Heat, my most-hated professional sports team of my adult life, first would be LeBron (obviously), second would probably be Dwyane Wade, third would be PA announcer Michael Baiamonte, and fourth would probably be James Jones. I don’t think I’m alone in this, either — I feel like most other Heat haters I’ve talked to also reserve a particular rage for James Jones, disproportionate to his actual relevance as a player. My friend who I watched Wednesday’s game with was confused as to the degree of my ranting, but even he agreed that “generally, f— James Jones.” It’s not an uncommon sentiment.
Why the James Jones hate? Hard to say, except that he has a gigantic forehead, is perpetually sneering, and has/had a tendency to hit shots that made you say “Really? James f—ing Jones?” Maybe it’s his name — my 425th ranked of 425 NBA names – so ridiculously innocuous without even being memorably or tellingly so. Maybe it goes back to the second game of the Big Three era — their first win — when he hit six of nine threes in Philadelphia to help drub my Sixers in their season opener, scoring more points than LeBron or Bosh. Maybe it was that time he nearly got into a fight with Evan Turner during the playoffs that year, shoving him during an out-of-bounds play stoppage. I have no shortage of bulls— reasons to hate on James Jones.
But of course, the real reason was probably just this: He was better than any player not named Bosh, Wade or James (well, last-name-named) should have been for that first post-Decision Miami Heat team. Not to say he was all that great — they won’t be retiring his number next to Dan Marino and Michael Jordan at the Triple A anytime soon — but he had a very respectable season for the Heat that year. making 123 of 287 threes (42 percent), even winning the three-point shootout that All-Star Weekend, and leading the league in lowest turnover rate (for the second time in his career, hilariously — guess it’s easy to not turn the ball over when the only reason it ever leaves your hands is to go up as a three). The one comfort I kept for myself amidst the SuperFriends’ assemblage was that they at least wouldn’t have many (or any) half-decent teammates, but James Jones seemed to be evidence that just about any player could reach maximum efficacy, and acceptable role player status, playing next to those three guys.
This is how you know you’ve made it — when the NBA tailors one of their current ad campaign’s ads to you because you’ve been playing so well and doing such amazing things that they just can’t help but promote you. That’s legit baller status. I haven’t been this proud since Joakim Noah got his own “Where Will Amazing Happen?”. Way to go, Nate.
Brrrrraaaaawwwwwww! (That is an airhorn noise.) It’s award alert time again. From the Denver Post:
The passionate Ujiri will be rewarded for his work Thursday, when he is named the NBA executive of the year, a source told The Denver Post on Wednesday night. Ujiri, the first African-born general manager in major American sports, put together the Nuggets’ roster, a squad that won 57 games — the most in Denver’s NBA history.
As always, it’s important to remember that this is a single season award that is given to a person who has been making personnel moves for several years and hoping they all pan out eventually. Which is to say, always take Executive of the Year with a grain of seasoned salt. I mean, if the Lakers miraculously win the next three NBA titles with Dwight Howard and Steve Nash around, are we going to retroactively give this trophy to Mitch Kupchak because he pulled off some huge trades in the summer of 2012? It’s weird.
But it’s still a nice award to receive and it’s hard to argue that Ujiri isn’t deserving. Sure, the main trade he pulled off that left the Nuggets with an incredibly deep team — Carmelo Anthony to the Knicks for several of their rotation players — took place two seasons ago, but he also ended up snagging Andre Iguodala for a couple of guys who were expendable (Arron Afflalo and Al Harrington), stuck with reigning Coach of the Year George Karl, and continuously added players who Karl could use in his frenetic system. He built this team in a very smart way, and save for a few injuries, they could have made some noise in the postseason.
This is the Nuggets’ second award of the season, after getting nothing since 2006-07. That’s probably small consolation after a first round update, but it’s better than not getting trophies, I guess. At the very least, with the NBA’s best coach and best executive, according to some voters at least, they’re sitting pretty for the future. Let’s hear what you think in the comments.
Always respect your elders, Mario. Always. Even if they were in “Hoop Dreams.”
On Thursday’s episode of “The Fix,” The Jones breakdown last night’s two games: Heat-Bulls and Spurs-Warriors. Topics discussed include: Aggressive LeBron, whether Taj Gibson will be fined and/or suspended, Miami’s C+C Point Guard Factory, slick passes, fronting Boozer, Klay Thompson’s ridiculous second quarter, San Antonio going small, and Pop’s improved mid-quarter sideline interviews.
All that, plus “Die Hard,” counting to a thousand, French miniature golf, Usher, what we’ll do with no games on tonight, and new nicknames for LeBron’s angry face and the Curry-Thompson duo.
LINK: The Basketball Jones Soundboard v. 2.0
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Subscribe to The Basketball Jones show on iTunes | Download the .mp3 directly
Ballin: 34 points, including 8-9 from three, for Klay Thompson, who set his career-high in Golden State’s series-evening Game 2 win. I don’t even care that he only scored five of those points in the second half and that he didn’t score at all in the fourth quarter. Eight threes is pretty persuasive.
Not so much: The Bulls lost by 37, which is the worst playoff loss in franchise history. Now I know how the 1998 Utah Jazz felt after Game 3 of the NBA Finals. Bleck.
Angry Bulls: Want to see two-thirds of the Bulls’ big man rotation go nuts and get kicked out of a game? Sure, you do.
Easily the most F-words I’ve seen in that quick of succession since “Blue Velvet.” Probably a few more coming once Joakim Noah and Taj Gibson get their inevitable fines.
