Podium Game

The start of the NBA post season usually means it’s a time of crazy finishes, tough defenses, strategic coaching, and knowing and once and for all who the best team in the NBA is. But if you are like me, and your team is out of the first round, you may need something to occupy your time. May I present to you, “Podium Game: NBA Style” edition. Podium game is usually given to a player who performed well during a game, but for my particular post, it’ll be about the style of the NBA players.

NBA players are known for rocking the latest in street style, so it’s no wonder that the podium could be a mini fashion show. I’m not going to say they are good or bad.This is purely based on what caught my eye.

What was your favorite look?

LA Clippers’ point guard Chris Paul in Givenchy

Color coordinating at it’s best with the LA Clippers’ duo of Blake Griffin and Chris Paul.

The many fedoras of New York Knicks small forward Carmelo Anthony.

Miami Heat guard Dwayne Wade in a colorful Versace jacket.

New York Knicks guard/forward Iman Shumpert and dat hair.

Oklahoma City small forward Kevin Durant in a bright blue floral shirt.

Los Angeles Lakers guard Kobe Bryant in Givenchy.

Miami Heat forward Lebron James in Staple.

Oklahoma City Thunder guard Russell Westbrook in a RUN DMC inspired look.

Wonderful Wednesday: The Cycle

Mike Trout hits a home run to complete the cycle in last nights LA Angels of Anaheim win over the Seattle Mariners. Congrats, Trout!

Laker Daze

It’s been about four weeks since the Los Angeles Lakers were eliminated from the playoffs, and I think I am ready to talk about it. I have been keeping myself busy by watching “Adventure Time,” doing crazy amounts of work, and running. I think doing all those activities have helped ease my pain. Although there are moments where I break down and cry.

Anyways, on to the topic at hand.

The 2012-2013 Los Angeles Lakers season was a disappointment. For a team that was supposed to win it all or at least compete against the Miami Heat, it was so disheartening to see them swept out the playoffs. There were many factors that contributed to the Lakers demise, but I really think these three were the main reason.

Injuries, injuries, injuries.

Injuries plagued this team from the very beginning. Dwight Howard had back surgery in the beginning of the season, and missed most of the pre-season and some of the regular season. Steve Nash’s shin injury forced him to miss the beginning of season. Metta World Peace’s knee injury caused him to miss an important stretch of the Lakers season. And finally, Kobe Bryant’s season ending Achilles injury caused him to miss the rest of the season and playoffs.

Chemistry

With all the injuries the Lakers suffered, it was hard for this team to build any type of chemistry. This team never learned how to run the offense through Howard and Nash, and fell back to relying on Kobe. When all five starters were on the court on the same time, it was easy to see that this team lacked chemistry. They didn’t know how to play with each other, they didn’t know how to communicate, and they didn’t have a common goal.

Coaching

If you follow my blog, you would know that I wasn’t a fan of the firing of Mike Brown and the hiring of Mike D’Antoni. Mike Brown, to me at least, is a great coach who preaches defense, something the Lakers lacked all season. His offense was complex but it would’ve worked if the Lakers were healthy and if everyone was patient. But like much like the fans, the front office of the Lakers panicked and fired Brown.

Hiring Mike D’Antoni was the biggest mistake the Lakers made all season. His fast offense and lack of defense proved to be the demise of the Lakers. This team is too old to try and run all the time, and they lacked the focus and the drive to defend anyone in the league. D’Antoni is a good coach but not for this team. He would be great with a young and more athletic team. Sadly, we have to live with this mistake for another season.

The end of the season didn’t mean the end of the Lakeres drama. With July 1st quickly approaching, it is still up in the air if Dwight Howard will resign with the team. Howard didn’t have a great season and he struggled to find his identity within the team, and didn’t respond well to Kobe Bryant. Howard said that he would take this off-season to weigh his options.

Personally, I wouldn’t be too mad if Howard didn’t sign. He didn’t show any drive or leadership when Kobe Bryant was out, he’s exit interview wasn’t great, and he seemed to shrivel in the big market spotlight. If the Lakers were smart, they would work out a sign and trade deal with a team like Minnesota,and get younger and more athletic players who the Lakers can build around and develop for the future. If Howard was smart, he would sign with the Lakers. In two years, Kobe Bryant will retire and Dwight would be the man. And, if Mitch Kupchak works his magic again, Lebron James could very well end up a Laker.

But this is all just assumptions, and we will have to wait until July to see what happens with the Lakers. I guess I’ll just watch of the rest of the NBA playoffs with my sanity in tact.

Current Obsessions

The Met Gala happened on May 6th, 2013, and I’m still obsessing over these two looks. I really thought that Anne Hathaway and Nicole Richie captured this year’s theme of “Punk: Chaos to Couture” and looked absolutely gorgeous that night.

Hathaway stunned with her short blonde hair and a sexy semi-sheer gown from her favorite designer, Valentino.

While fashion forward Richie opted for grey slicked back locks, a deep burgundy lip, and a long floral embroidered dress from Topshop. Her look was so sickening that pop princess, Rihanna, took to Twitter to express her sentiments.

And then there was Kim Kardashian. While Kanye West looked great in his Givenchy suit, Kim looked a bit awkward in her super tight and overly floral gown.

What were your favorite looks of the night?

Wonderful Wednesday

Matt Kemp gives a signed baseball, the shirt off his back, the shoes off his feet, and the cap off his head to 19-year-old Joshua Jones, a terminally ill Dodger fan who only has about 90 days to live.

“I said hi to him, he just looked at me in kind of shock, and it almost got me,” Kemp said. “It almost got me.”

In one of the worst starts the Los Angeles Dodgers have had in a while, it’s nice to see a wonderful act of kindness from one the best players in the game.

Watch the touching video below!

Jason Collins’ Coming Out Story

“I’m a 34-year-old NBA cen­ter. I’m black. And I’m gay. I didn’t set out to be the first open­ly gay ath­lete play­ing in a major Amer­i­can team sport. But since I am, I’m happy to start the con­ver­sa­tion. I wish I wasn’t the kid in the class­room rais­ing his hand and say­ing, ‘I’m different.’ If I had my way, some­one else would have already done this. Nobody has, which is why I’m rais­ing my hand.”

NBA free agent center, Jason Collins opens up about being gay in the latest issue of Sports Illustrated. Collins isn’t the first ever gay athlete but, he is the first to openly admit it while still active in his sport. Most athletes, like former NBA center, John Amaechi, wait until the end of their career to reveal their sexual orientation.

Collins’ story is inspiring because it goes against the stereotype that gay men can’t play any sport because they lack the physical toughness to compete with straight men.

“I go against the gay stereo­type, which is why I think a lot of play­ers will be shocked: ‘That guy is gay?’ But I’ve always been an aggres­sive play­er, even in high school. Am I so phys­i­cal to prove that being gay doesn’t make you soft? Who knows? That’s some­thing for a psy­chol­o­gist to unrav­el. My moti­va­tions, like my con­tri­bu­tions, don’t show up in box scores, and frankly I don’t care about stats. Win­ning is what counts. I want to be eval­u­at­ed as a team player.”

Now will this prompt more gay athletes to come out? It may or may not. It remains to be seen how future teammates and organizations will deal with Collins, especially in an intimate setting like a locker room. But I do believe that sports is a great tool for learning acceptance and cooperation. There is not one thing, in my view at least, that teaches you how to work as a team, how to respect each other, how to communicate, and how to bring out the very best in people, other than sports. Hopefully Collins’ story will inspire everyone to be more tolerant and brave.

Hats off to you, Jason Collins.

Quotes: Sports Illustrated

Rapid Reaction and Overreaction: NBA Playoff Edition

The NBA playoffs started this past weekend and my twitter exploded with everyone’s thoughts about each game. So I thought it would be fun to do another rapid reaction and overreaction post. I did this in the beginning of the NBA season, and it was really interesting to see how everything turned out in comparison to my thoughts.

So let’s begin!

Eastern Conference

New York Knicks vs. Boston Celtics

Rapid Overreaction: The Knicks will have no problem beating the Celtics in four games.

If you have been watching the Knicks this season you know that this team is only deadly when their perimeter game is on point. Other than that they lack the defensive intensity, an inside threat, and Carmelo Anthony may shoot this team out of the playoffs if he continues to attempt 15 shots in one quarter.

Rapid Reaction: The Celtics will bounce back after game 1.

After the heartbreaking week the city of of Boston had, it was wonderful to see this team play with the city in their hearts. Kevin Garnett and Paul Pierce will carry this team into a game two win, and on to the next round.

Winner: Celtics 4-2

Chicago Bulls vs. Brooklyn Nets

Rapid Overreaction: Derrick Rose will come back to Bulls and will lead this team to victory.

I doubt that Derrick Rose will be making a miraculous comeback. So I can see this series going a full seven games with Brooklyn barely making it out.

Rapid Reaction: The Barclay’s Center plays amazing music.

Winner: Brooklyn Nets 4-3

Indian Pacers vs. Atlanta Hawks

Rapid Overreaction: The Indian Pacers will win the series 4-0.

I really think that this maybe true but the Hawks could steal a game at home and make it interesting. But with the Pacers youth, excellent defense, and the presence of Psycho T, it’ll definitely be a battle for Atlanta.

Rapid Reaction: This is only team in the East that can give Miami a little bit of trouble. I doubt they can beat the Heat, but if they do, it’ll be a great advantage for whoever comes out of the West.

Miami Heat vs. Milwaukee Bucks

Rapid Overreaction/Reaction: I am going to combine these together because I think the Heat can beat the Bucks in four straight games. The combination of Lebron James, Dwayne Wade, and Chris Bosh is just too much for the Bucks.

Winner: Miami Heat 4-0

Western Conference

Los Angeles Clippers vs. Memphis Grizzlies

Rapid Overreaction: The Clippers will run the table and win 4-0.

This is the only series in the first round where we will see two potential rivals go head-to-head. In the first game the Clippers were able to pull away in the fourth quarter and cruise to an easy win. Memphis will adjust and make this a really good series. This series will go seven games with the Clippers winning the last game. But I say that hesitantly because the Grizzlies can beat this team if the Clippers try to play “Lob City” instead of smart basketball.

Rapid Reaction: Apart of me still wishes that Chris Paul was a Laker but I have gotten a lot better. I can actually watch a game without getting upset.

Winner: Clippers 4-3

Oklahoma City Thunder vs. Houston Rockets

Rapid Overreaction/Reaction: The Thunder will win the series 4-1.
Much like the Heat/Bucks series, the Thunder won’t have any trouble with the Houston. James Harden will be a problem but if Kevin Durant continues to dominate like he has been, the Rockets will have no answer for it.

Denver Nuggets vs. Golden State Warriors

Rapid Overreaction/reaction: I haven’t paid much attention to this series but I think Denver has the talent and depth to make it far into the playoffs. Definite bracket buster here.

Winner: Denver 4-2

Los Angeles Lakers vs. San Antonio Spurs

Rapid Overreaction: The Lakers will get swept and I will have to stop watching the rest of playoffs and take up knitting.

Call me an optimist but I actually think the Lakers can beat the Spurs. In game 1, the pick in roll was somewhat working, and Pau Gasol had a great game. If the Lakers can just limit their turnovers, get Dwight Howard involved early, and make some perimeter shots, they have a great chance at beating the Spurs. Also, if Metta World Peace and Steve Blake can be a pest on defense, then it could really limit Manu Ginobilli’s effectiveness off the bench.

But we’ll see, Mike D’Antoni isn’t known for making great adjustments.

Rapid Reaction: The Spurs are still one of the best coached team in the NBA.

Winner: Lakers 4-3
Realistically: Spurs 4-2

What are your thoughts on the playoff so far?