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NBA Loud - by Rick Gillispie




The Cleveland Cavaliers are simply the best team in the Eastern Conference and the league as a whole. With a record of 41-11 the Cavs hold a 6.5 game lead on the next closest team in the Conference and we haven’t even reached the All-Star game yet.

The Los Angeles Lakers have seen more ups and downs this year than in years past but one things remains true to form the are the best team in the West. At 39-13 the Lakers are 4.5 games up in the Western Conference and trail Cleveland by 2 games for the best record in basketball.


As we near the half way point it looks like nine teams are going to battle it out in the East with 11 teams doing battle in the West.

Top 10 teams in the League
1. Cleveland 41-11
2. Los Angeles Lakers 39-13
3. Orlando Magic 34-17
4. Boston Celtics 32-17
5. Denver Nuggets 34-17
6. Atlanta Hawks 32-17
7. Dallas Mavericks 31-19
8. Utah Jazz 31-18
9. San Antonio Spurs 29-20
10. Phoenix Suns 31-21

With about each team having around 30 more games to play look for a great finish to the regular season.
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A must see classic tonight!

January 21st 2010 12:33


At 8pm ET one of the two basketball games of the night will tip-off. If you are any type of basketball fan you will be watching it.

The Lakers vs Cavs isn't just another game it is a classic matchup of two of the greatest players of or time and two of the best teasm this season.


Lakers 32-9 and the Cavs 32-11 are easily going to make the playoffs and should make deep runs so yes this could be a finals prequal.

Lebron James is aveargaing 29.6 ppg while Kobe Bryant is scoring at a rate of 28.3 ppg. With these two guys on the court anything can and probaly will happen.

Other Key players in tonights game:

How about everyone. It doesn't matter if you caome of bench for 2 min. You always need to be at your best in games like these.
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The 2008 NBA Draft

July 1st 2008 03:49
I’d like to post about the previously finished NBA Draft. A lot of trades were completed/proposed making this years draft exciting and noteworthy. In this first post I will be going through the top five picks and thereafter with updates and all you need to know up to the minute stats and transactions.

Let’s get this post draft analysis going with the first overall pick for the Chicago Bulls DERRICK ROSE. Rose out of Memphis has a solid NBA body and can take the punishment as a player in the paint. He will mold himself into whatever type of player his team needs him to be as evident by the video below. He is one of the most ready-type players to enter the league. A truly solid addition to any team, kind of makes me think of the miss of Jay Williams. In which whom the Bulls took as the savior type PG years ago before he had his motorcycle accident stifling his promising career. With this pick Chicago puts themselves back into contention for a playoff spot in the East.

Derrick Rose #1 NBA Pick 2008
This video shows how Rose can affect the game as he will become a solid NBA-PG.




# 2
Michael Beasley #2 NBA Pick 2008
Undoubtedly the Miami Heat selected MICHAEL BEASLEY out of Kansas State. This PF needs no introduction to basketball fans as his huge wingspan makes up for any negativity about his height at the four spot. One of the perfect teams for Beasley to go to, I think his character issues would only become apparent if he were to have to battle with a solid proven veteran for his starting spot. He will be going in battling Udonis Haslem who has seen his stock drop as he needs to create more of his own offence. The heat I am sure are not finished in tweaking their team for the 08/09 season. Marion though will alleviate any concerns of the rookie being overmatched down-low as he is almost like an extra PF out there sometimes with his rebounding efforts and hustle in trying to make the right plays.




# 3
OJ Mayo #3 NBA Pick 2008
Minnesota at the third spot went with OJ MAYO, who I have seen and been hearing about for a good number of years. Mayo will be a solid two as at 6’4” 200lbs he is limited in selected positions, but this guy is just a born scorer and if he ends up in Grizz-town, look for him to team up with Rudy Gay as Mike Miller was moved with Memphis making the choice to let him go after he admittedly carried the Grizzlies last season at times. In return Minnesota looks to get #5 Kevin Love. I am in love with this deal as the T-Wolves send Antoine Walker also to MEM. Minnesota gets the scoring they desperately need and character guys, to build around. I know what fans may be thinking and no this isn’t the second coming of Wally World, Mike Miller is a gamer playing all three spots from 1-3 for the Grizz and did whatever was asked, as he became a versatile and proven scorer, unlike streaky Szczerbiak.





# 4
Russell Westbrook #4 NBA Pick 2008
Russell Westbrook a surprise at number four as the top three had virtually been decided weeks beforehand. Westbrook though an unexpected pick is an explosive guard that will do well in this league especially when Seattle gets all the parts and can continuously run up and down with Durant and Green. The Sonics clearly want a guard that can break down the D and get up and down the court at breakneck speeds. They have found that guy with Westbrook. People want to compare him to NBA champion Rajon Rondo and maybe Monta Ellis, he is long and skinny and extremely athletic, time will tell if he can make the right passes for a long career with Durant by his side.




# 5
Kevin Love #5 NBA Pick 2008
Care of NBADraft.net
Memphis picks Kevin Love at the number five spot and in turn will be sending him to Minnesota in the deal outlined in the third pick paragraph. Love is solid, not an athlete like the Grizz love at the four spot, but the T-Wolves just need ballers in which Kevin is for sure. Down-low he will be helped by Al Jefferson for sure on defense. Also he will have a great passer in Mike Miller to get the ball to him in good spots. I like Kevin Love on a solid team a rebuilding team he may flourish or sink as he’ll need to create his own offence and may struggle with the speed of the NBA at first.
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LeBron James game winning shot against the Portland Trail Blazers.
LeBron James beating the Trail Blazers today with this game basket. (Photo by Jonathan Ferrey/Getty Images)


Er, remember the time back in the day when the clutch abilities of LeBron James was constantly questioned, including this space? Well, if you haven’t checked into the NBA lately, things have most definitely changed towards the direction of the King.

LeBron leads the league in average points scored in the fourth quarter, with the Cleveland Cavaliers being the best come-from-behind team in the league. Yes, there are a number of inappropriate jokes we could have made in the previous sentence – but we’re too classy for the gutter.

In today’s game against the Portland Trail Blazers for instance, the Cavs were constantly on the back-foot and looked to be in danger of dropping a game against a very good opponent.

Then the unthinkable happened. James got riled by a Portland fan and then got postal on his opponents, scoring 17 final quarter points, which was two more then the entire Blazer squad. The cherry on top: Hitting the game winning lay-up, whilst making it looking like a stroll through the park. Most impressive of all, Bron-Bron made Brandon Roy look second rate when he was locking him down in the fourth.

Generally speaking, Kobe Bryant of the Los Angeles Lakers is seen to be the most deadly player with the game on the line, but again, James put paid to that general belief when their teams met last weekend.

Want some hardcore facts to back up our questioning of Kobe’s lack of clutch-ness? During the Cavs 98-95 win, King James dropped 14 in the fourth, with six in the final minute-and-a-half. Not only that, he was going against Bryant, with the Bean looking like the deer in the headlights when the game was to be won. Oh, yeah, in contrast, Kobe missed six of his seven attempts in the quarter where legends are made.

The final play from the Lakers had Bryant handling the ball needing a three – he ended up passing it to Luke Walton, who gave it back to the Bean, and the shot was always going to be weak.

James spent the offseason improving his jumper, and it killed the Blazers in the fourth quarter today when he hit three consecutive 3-point baskets. Not only that, LeBron spends so much time going to the free-throw line, and was shaky last season down the stretch – now, he is money due to his offseason work.

Kobe might still be the most deadly assassin in the league, but there is a new King of clutch.

Today’s video is of one of the best individual performances last season in the playoffs, obviously featuring, LeBron.


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LeBron James, Jay-Z and Beyonce celebrate LeBron's 23rd birthday.
Shades are needed to look at this picture because of all the star power on display. (Image from stereohyped.com)


So, how does arguably the most famous current basketball player on the planet celebrate his 23rd birthday? Well, if your name is LeBron James, you’d celebrate at the new 40/40 club of arguably the most famous hip-hop artist in the world, Jay-Z. In a star studded affair, the King had a basketball bash fit for the air apparent. Ah, the joys of celebrity hobnobbing.

Now, that we have covered the more vapid aspects of basketball, how about some on-court news? The New Jersey Nets are currently in a deep funk and it’s not the type of funk associated with Dr. J. More directly, the Nets just plain suck. Call in Tony Soprano to throw his metaphoric weight around because his home team is swimming with the fishes.

Jersey fans are naturally getting restless and are demanding any type of action to alleviate the pain for the Nets. The Jersey faithful want a miracle that bought in Vince Carter, or the lopsided trade that had Jason Kidd wearing their colours.

Kidd, the brightest star for the Nets, has regularly been touted as potential trade bait with the latest murmurings suggesting that Allen Iverson’s name had been thrown into the mix. A league source that has been privy to the discussions dropped the bombshell.

However, New Jersey apparently weren’t interested in that trade scenario.

Rod Thorn, the president of the Nets wants a star calibre player in return for Kidd, and desires a big man that could play with the star point guard. Pau Gasol had been in the Nets crosshairs but the Memphis Grizzlies aren’t interested in veterans.

We’ll finish today’s posting with the biggest news of all – Michael Jordan has made a basketball comeback with the Charlotte Bobcats – of sorts. His Airness who holds a front office position with the Cats joined in a practice scrimmage recently, with his players acting like star struck kids rather than multi-millionaire, professional ballers.

Players were giddy with joy that they got to play with, or against, MJ with Jason Richardson saying that it was such a pleasure to stop the man: “I will take that for a long time, blocking the shot of one of the greatest players ever…” (Olivieri, PA Sports Ticker, 2008)

The Cats used Jordan’s presence as inspiration with Nazr Mohammed basically summing up the general consensus of all Charlotte players. “You're talking about the greatest player to touch a basketball…So, it's always great to get a chance to see the things he does and the way he approaches the game.” (Olivieri, PA Sports Ticker, 2008)

Sadly, for the Cats His Airness can’t suit up for them on a regular basis.

Today’s video is of the top 10 facial dunks of 2007. Enjoy.



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Gilbert Arenas Out for Three Months.

November 22nd 2007 11:35
Argh! One of the most entertaining basketball players in the NBA will
Gilbert Arenas layup.
Hibachi is going to take longer to heat up this season. (AFP/GettyImages/File/Mitchell Layton)
miss a huge chunk of this season due to injury. It is with a heavy heart to inform all you readers out there in the WWW that, Gilbert Arenas will miss three months after undergoing two different surgical procedures on his left knee today.

Agent Zero’s season has been indifferent to say the least, and it has been blatantly obvious that the man hasn’t been himself. Hell, even, Blind Freddy could have seen that Gilbert wasn’t so great.

The MRI on his knee revealed a cartilage tear, ruining another season for Hibachi: "I'm just going to sit in my sorrows again. I have three months to (be) back positive again, but right now, it's hard," Arenas said in a posting on his blog Wednesday. "I need to start thinking about longevity in my career instead of just this injury right now. Every great player has missed at least one year." (Cranston, AP, 2007)

Let’s all hope that, Gil will have a speedy recovery and back to his best in no time.

Well, since we’re talking about bad news, let’s move onto the New York Knicks! Isiah Thomas’ coaching position is extremely tenuous right now, and as the team from N-Y-C suffered their eighth straight loss today, the knives are really out for Zeke.

Returning to Detroit where he made a name for himself as one of the greatest little men to have ever played the game, Thomas found himself battling for his professional life as the Pistons handed the Knicks a 98-86 beat-down.

Chauncey Billups tore the Knicks and Stephon Marbury apart, but all the attention was on the coach for the New York. Rumour has it that after the shabby handling of the Marbury affair, Isiah has lost the confidence of his players and it shows. New York is playing some of the worst basketball ever witnessed by this writer.

A once proud franchise is on its knees and it will be interesting to see what will transpire at
LeBron James dunk.
All LeBron James wants to do is a zoom-zoom and a boom-boom. Just shake the rim! (AP Photo/Tom Olmscheid)
Madison Square Garden.

Okay, now that we have exhausted some of the negative news from the Association. Let’s do a little bit of celebrating!

As we have mentioned in an earlier post, Josh Smith from the Atlanta Hawks is a player to look out for, and today he showed why. The A-T-L travelled to the M-I-A to battle the Heat, and won their first road game in 18 tries, 82-79.

With the game on the line, and with 3.9 seconds left on the clock, Miami’s All-World baller, Dwayne Wade has the ball and is putting it all on his shoulders. Flash has shown his clutch capabilities in the past before, and everyone expected him to pull another rabbit out of the hat. Driving into the lane, D-Wade attempts a layup…but gets rejected by Josh Smith! Game over!

Performance of the Day.


Cleveland Cavaliers versus the Minnesota Timberwolves. LeBron James dominates the T-Wolves with eight rebounds, five assists, and, oh, 45 points.

Do you even need to ask who won? Well, if you really must know the Cavs won 97-86.

Today’s video is of the top 10 plays. Watch in awe as Josh Smith pwns, Dwayne Wade.



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LeBron James is King in China!

October 19th 2007 07:15
LeBron James
LeBron is everywhere in China! (Photo by Andrew D. Bernstein/NBAE via Getty Images)


You’d think that Yao Ming would be the most popular player in China, and indeed he is well liked, but he isn’t as beloved as LeBron James. Yes, it’s good to be the king and LeBron rules the Middle Kingdom in the manner that would make Yao blush.

The NBA is intent on making huge inroads in the burgeoning Chinese market and are doing so on the backs of players such as Kobe Bryant, Allen Iverson, and, yes, LeBron James, who are all more popular in China than, Ming!

Bron-Bron and his Cav teammates are currently in China for some preseason exhibition games and the Chinese have gone gaga for James, who is the centrepiece for Nike and the NBA in their expansion out east.

In fact so big is the cult of King James, Nike established a LeBron James museum that has all things related to the man for the duration of his time in China. The museum offers 3-on-3 games, childhood photos, jerseys and of course, the ubiquitous LBJ range of Nike shoes. It is one whole big, LeBron love-fest!

So, why on earth have Nike initiated the LBJ Museum? Allow, Nike spokesperson, Alan Marks
LeBron James
You'd be laughing too if you had a $US90 million contract from Nike. (AFP/File/Mark Ralston)
to address that question: “The idea is to help Chinese youth understand who he is, his career, his history and his personality…” (Wade, AP, 2007)

Addressing the popularity of King James over Yao, Huang Risheng, a reporter for the Chinese-language Titan sports newspaper has this to say: “The Chinese are looking for individual heroes…We are not open enough, not extroverted enough. We like the individual effort, just one man saving the whole team like James…I think those three are more popular than Yao Ming. It's a contradiction. Maybe I should say we like their style of play better.” (Wade, AP, 2007)

Here we have the irony that Yao is probably more popular in the U.S. than in China, whilst, LeBron gets more love in China.

Young Chinese fans have gone LeBron crazy, with 17-year-old, Guo Youtian calling Bron-Bron “unbelievably stylish” (Rui, China Daily, 2007)

LeBron’s kicks are the most popular shoes amongst the young of China, while his high school replica jersey is one of the most desirable pieces of clothing of the Chinese youth. Want to know how much his high school jersey is worth on the black market? Try a cool, 3000 Yuan, or $US405.

Think LeBron looms large right now in China? Just wait till next year during the Olympics!

Today’s video is of King James in China. Enjoy.




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LeBron James holds the Eastern Conference Championship trophy.
Eastern Conference Champs 2007! (Photo by David Dow/NBAE via Getty Images)


Let’s begin with the formalities: congratulations to Cleveland for winning their way into the first NBA Finals for the franchise. Go team!

LeBron and the Cavs finished off the Pistons today 98-82 in emphatic fashion. After the game James walked around the court with a happy, glazed look upon his face proclaiming: “This is like a dream," he said, shaking his head. "This is probably the best feeling that I've ever had in my life.” (Withers, AP, 2007)

The hero for Cleveland today though wasn’t James who had a relatively quiet 20 point, 14 rebound effort, but super rookie Daniel Gibson who dropped 31 – 19 coming in the fourth quarter to seal the Cavs first Conference Championship.

Gibson, the formally little used second round pick for the Cavs came alive today with an
LeBron James and Daniel Gibson.
LeBron James and Daniel Gibson share the love. (Photo by Jesse D. Garrabrant/NBAE via Getty Images)
outstanding 5-5 effort from beyond the arc that was capped off with a very solid six rebound performance as well. Not a bad game for a guy who was just averaging 3.7 points in the playoffs.

Although LeBron didn’t have a mind blowing night his confidence and silky skills carried a largely unheralded squad of players into the promised land and they, in all honesty, have a chance to cause a huge boilover against the Spurs. Bron-Bron really is playing such sick basketball right now that anything is possible.

Four games ago it was hard to imagine that Cleveland could have pulled off the victory over Detroit with such ease. Yes, they were down 0-2 at that stage of the series but the signs were there that the Cavs were going to be a transformed team when LeBron attacked the rim in the dying seconds, took a hit and had no foul called. Cleveland was livid with the non-call but they took it in their stride and with fire in their bellies proceeded to kick the behinds of the more experienced Detroit team.

One team got stronger while the other wilted away under the immense pressure of the situation – ironically enough it was the more battle hardened Pistons team who blinked first.

However, it begins and ends with King James who was irrepressible in this series after enduring a barrage of unfair criticism in Game 1, doing what superstars are supposed to do, stepping up when the going got tough. In the end Bron-Bron was too much for the Pistons to handle and finished the series averaging 25.7 points, 9.2 boards and 8.5 dimes.

No matter what transpires after this we know this one truth – LeBron James will become the best player in the NBA for the next 10 or so years and this series made him and the public believe.

It may not be Cleveland’s time in the sun just yet, but as James has proved throughout his young career there is no precedent for such an immense talent. He has thrown the rulebook out the window.

The Cavs may just yet shock the world!

Today’s video is of Game 6 and the Cleveland celebrations. Enjoy.



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NBALOUD may have been a tad late in our analysis of Game 5 of the Eastern Conference Finals but it’s worth taking a look back at this contest because of LeBron James superhuman efforts. After winning the first two games of the series Detroit all of the sudden look extremely shaky and it is all due to the amazing performance of Bron-Bron.

Game 5 was a double-overtime classic with King James having a performance for the ages scoring his team’s last 25 points, including the final 29 of 30. Going by yesterday’s performance the Cavs would have beaten any team on earth due to the outstanding play of James. It is performances like these that really reinforce how wonderful basketball can be.

And let’s not forget about the Pistons, who full credit to them, played one hell of a game of team basketball but still came up short. Chauncey Billups and Richard Hamilton stepped it up together, the Pistons protected the rim and out rebounded the Cavs – but it still wasn’t enough. Why? Because it has all been about Bron-Bron.

Earlier in the series James was raked over hot coals for playing what appeared to be meek games instead of taking the bull by the horns and dominating like everyone expected. When we try and conjure up players in the league who are the most clutch performers LeBron wouldn’t have been one of the names that would feature prominently. Um, almost everyone
LeBron James dunk in Game 5 against the Pistons.
LeBron James walks on air. (AP Photo/Paul Sancya)
who bagged out James earlier should backtrack as fast as Carmelo Anthony did earlier this season in New York, because the king is alive and well.

James’ performance was so sublime it conjured up memories of Larry Bird, Magic Johnson, Michael Jordan, and Hakeem Olajuwon just to name a few basketball players who were so individually spectacular in a playoff series that not even a better team could stop this one individual.

You can now all hail LeBron as the new Neo.

Anyone watching Bron-Bron’s Game 5 performance would have their mouths agape at how good his game really was. Didn’t matter who was on him he’d hit the impossible shot, broke ankles and dunked at will. James had the ball on the string and it seemed like he was the only one on the court.

Detroit now face the exact same scenario as they did last season when they faced the Cavs – winning the first two, losing the next three, then securing the last couple of games to advance. However, the bad news for the Pistons is that the Cavs are a better unit than last season and sorry to be a Captain Obvious here, LeBron is playing out of his skin! Detroit has no answers for King James right now.

Want a not-so-bold-prediction? The Cavs will take Game 6 and meet the Spurs in the Finals. Want another crazy reading of the future? Cleveland will beat San Antonio too. You can lock that in your memory banks my dear readers.

Today’s video is a highlight reel of LeBron’s Game 5 performance. All hail King James! Word.




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Down to 2-0 to the Detroit Pistons, questions surrounding LeBron Jame's ability to lead the Cleveland Cavaliers to the promise land are starting to surface and becoming the talk of the NBA playoffs. No question LeBron is talented, but he can't seem to close when it comes down to crutch time. The Cavs lost again Thursday night by exactly the same score as game one, 76-79. LeBron had a somewhat of a better game scoring 19 points and dishing out 7 assists, but still the same result. James had some help with Anderson Varejao putting up 14 points and 14 boards, but it wasn't enough.

AP Photo/ Paul Sancya



The Pistons didn't have the best offensive performance, but got the job done. Rasheed Wallace showed up once again with 16 points, 11 rebounds and an amazing turn around jumper on LeBron which helped clinch the win. Tayshaun Prince on the other hand was a disappointment, shooting 0-8 and scoring only one point.

If LeBron wants to win championships like the players that he has been compared to, (Michael Jordan, Magic Johnson) he better figure out how to put the nail in the coffin and beat a quality team like the Pistons in the playoffs. It's time to step up and show how good he really can be.


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Shoot or pass? That seems to be the question LeBron James must constantly ask himself when the game is on the line and whatever he chooses hasn’t worked thus far. In Game 1 driving down the lane with a possible game winning shot available the King was a pauper when he made the smart basketball decision to pass to an open Donyell Marshall for the three which missed, instead of taking it upon himself to be the superhero. Needless, to say the critics had a field day stating that a player of James’ calibre should be making the big time plays, rather than designating the responsibility.

In Game 2 with the result up in the air LeBron had another chance at redemption, Bron-Bron with 7.9 seconds left in the contest drove the lane once again and missed a spinning shot. Larry Hughes grabbed the rebound, missed another attempt and Anderson Varejao‘s tip in also failed to hit the spot – game over, Detroit 79-76.

Cleveland coach Mike Brown after Bron-Bron’s failed game breaking shot attempt argued that the King should have had a foul called on him, but instead it was coach that copped a technical.

Poor James can’t get a trip to the foul like to save his life, let alone the skin of his team. In Game 1 LeBron didn’t make one single free throw attempt prompting more discussion that
LeBron James misses shot in Game 2.
LeBron James puts on a sad face after his game winning attempt failed. (AP Photo/Duane Burleson)
James should have been more aggressive and not gone ‘Dirk Nowitzki’ in the basketball series.

Bron-Bron was much more forceful today after scoring a lowly 10 points in the opening game. James demanded the ball down the stretch on the way to scoring 19 points, dishing off seven dimes and snatching six rebounds. Oh, one last thing – he also had six turnovers as well.

Wow, with all this talk about James one would assume that it should be the winners that should get all the words written up about them rather than the one individual on the losing squad.

Well, let’s talk about Detroit which had no standout performers but instead were balanced with both Chauncey Billups and Rip Hamilton scoring 13 points apiece, Rasheed Wallace added another 16 and Jason Maxiel notching up a playoff high with 15. Let’s not forget that bar Lindsey Hunter every Pistons player that got court time managed to score at least one point in the game.

The Cavs can take solace in the fact that last year the Pistons won the first two games in their playoff match-up, then Cleveland responded by winning the next three games and only getting bounced in Game 7 on the road.

This series is still very much up for grabs.

Game 3 is in Cleveland, but for now it’s all Detroit rock city!

Today’s video is of LeBron who ironically enough talks about his clutch abilities when the game is on the line.




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Moderated by Rick Gillispie
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