A look around the league and the web that covers it. It's also important to note that the rotation order and starting nods aren't always listed in order of importance. That's for you, dear reader, to figure out.
C: T. Jose Caldeford. Marcus Camby, Shawn Marion, Kevin Martin ... that's a pretty good All-Ugly-Shot team.
PF: YAYsports. Breaking news: LeBron James retires to become a lawyer.
SF: McSweeney's. Underwhelmingly titled hypothetical pro-sports video games from the early 1990s.
SG: SLAMonline. Memories of Mayce Edward Christopher Webber III. (The Jones reminisce too.)
PG: Garbage Time All-Stars. The Knicks, in comic form, always makes me giggle.
6th: Free Darko. Video of Chris Paul on the piano with some old cat from the Preservation Hall Band.
7th: Arizona Republic. Shaq is all set to become a volunteer with the Tempe Police Department.
8th: The Big Lead. Magic Johnson has never looked better.
9th: Epic Carnival. Kobe Bryant is more important than he is valuable.
10th: TalkHoops. Zach Harper: "If you don't shed a tear thinking about the love and joy that will pour out of Kevin Garnett's heart when he finally wins an NBA championship and hope that someday he gets that wish granted by the basketball gods, then maybe you don't deserve to celebrate this game."
BDL Bedlam, Rd. 1: Mark Cuban vs. Phil Jackson's throne
Day three of our completely pointless, albeit oddly entertaining, BDL Bedlam Tournament. Thanks to your help, we've compiled a list of 64 things that you may or may not love about the NBA and seeded them into four regions. We're unveiling all 32 first round match-ups over the course of this week, and voting will remain open until Sunday.
Our next West Region match-up: No. 3 seed Mark Cuban vs. No. 14 seed Phil Jackson's throne. A closer look at the nominees:
No. 3 Mark Cuban: I do worry about how I'll get Cuban his BDL Bedlam trophy if he wins this thing, but we'll just cross that bridge when we get there.
No. 14 Phil Jackson's throne: Ever wondered about that throne-like chair Phil Jackson sits on during games? Well, it's a LaunchPad -- the world's first pneumatic, height adjustable, folding chair. Jackson claims it's ergonomic design helps with his long legs, but he really just likes to tower over his players on the bench. It makes him feel like Gandalf. ("I am not a conjurer of cheap tricks, Sasha Vujacic!")
So, who/what makes it through to the second round? What do you love more? Vote now.
Click here (and scroll down) to vote on all of the BDL Bedlam first round match-ups. Voting remains open until Sunday.
BDL Bedlam, Rd. 1: Heat dance team vs. Kings' dance team
Day three of our completely pointless, albeit oddly entertaining, BDL Bedlam Tournament. Thanks to your help, we've compiled a list of 64 things that you may or may not love about the NBA and seeded them into four regions. We're unveiling all 32 first round match-ups over the course of this week, and voting will remain open until Sunday.
Let's get this hump day started off right. Up next in the West Region: No. 8 seed Miami Heat dancers vs. No. 9 seed naughty Sacramento Kings' dancers. Something tells me this could be a popular poll. A closer look at the sexy nominees:
No. 8 Miami Heat dancers: It's not like you're reading any of these words, but I'm told that the Miami Heat dancers are currently defending their back-to-back championship (garter) belts in this year's NBA.com Dance Team Bracket. Back-to-back titles? Wow. They must be really good dancers!
No. 9 Sacramento Kings' dancers: Can you imagine the type of party the Kings' dance team will throw if they win this BDL Bedlam tournament? Because I can, and it's amazing.
So, what lovely ladies make it through to the second round? Who do you -- ahem -- love more? Vote away.
Click here (and scroll down) to vote on all of the BDL Bedlam first round match-ups.
Behind the boxscore, where Drew Gooden happens, slowly
Chicago 103, Atlanta 94 The most intriguing game of a rather uninspiring Tuesday night lot, and it still wasn't enough to convince me (the pie-eyed red and black optimist) that Chicago has an outside chance at the playoffs.
Chicago did play well, and though his shots weren't falling in the fourth quarter, Kirk Hinrich finally grabbed his team by the blankety-blanks when it counted the most. That's a significant improvement for a player who has moped the year away and likely cost Chicago a playoff berth more than any other rotation player.
Newish Bull Drew Gooden had a 20 and 10 game by halftime, finishing with 31 and 16 (Al Horford worked hard against the Chicago veteran, but Gooden was on and the Hawk rookie didn't have a chance). He was brilliant, and active, and had the sort of game that sort of unfolds slowly before you. I'm not sloughing off his energy level, which was through the roof, but everything came very slowly and easily for Gooden on Tuesday.
Luol Deng was all over the place in the second half, Joakim Noah was a fixture both in the paint and on the perimeter watching Josh Smith, and Ben Gordon was solid off the bench with 16 points on eight shots.
The Bulls are two games behind the eighth place Hawks, but ... eh, I'm not feeling it.
Orlando plays this sort of game against any other squad outside of the Lakers, and they win by 15 - even with Jameer Nelson (bruised jaw) and Hedo Turkoglu (sprained wrist) leaving the game for good in the first half.
The Magic worked its tail off, but San Antonio's ball movement was too good, Manu Ginobili was too potent offensively (he had the Magic scrambling all night), Tim Duncan was a game-changer defensively, and Michael Finley (24 points, most from the perimeter) had a game he's not likely to duplicate.
Just as it was down in Orlando, the Indiana Pacers deserve credit for staying with an obviously superior Western team until the final buzzer, incessantly trying to make more than a close game of things.
The issue is, the Hornets are too good. Chris Paul (31 points and 14 assists with one turnover, geesh) and David West (35 and 16 rebounds) had an answer for every Pacer run, and Indiana couldn't make up for the fact that the Hornets (who don't usually get to the line much) nailed 30-39 free throws.
Call me a party pooper, but I do not like the fact that Utah - given new life with a Dirk Nowitzki ankle injury that could keep him out for the rest of the year (I don't care what Marc Stein says, this is a high ankle sprain, not a normal sprain) - allowed a crummy Bobcats team to make half its shots and score 106 points in spite of 19 turnovers on Tuesday night.
Offensively, the Jazz were brilliant: 53.6 percent shooting, 31 assists on 45 field goals, free balloons for the kids. It's that other end that continues to bug me. Also, in my day, those damned kids had to work for their damn balloons.
Portland 102, Washington 82
The Wizards, playing a million miles from home, getting out-rebounded by 19, and taking in a combined 9-33 shooting night from Caron Butler and Antawn Jamison, were lucky not to lose by 47 in this one.
Martell Webster - 23 points on 14 shots - had the sort of game he's going to have for twice a month for the rest of his career.
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