Should Mike Brown be fired?

May 19th, 2008 | Posted by PostmanE

I just got done reading both FanHouse friend Matt Watson’s and TrueHoop’s unwittingly dueling takes on whether or not Mike Brown deserves to keep his job. A summary of the points therein:

Watson argues that Cleveland’s give-LBJ-the-ball-and-watch sets are so brutal, they’re actually holding the team back. He concedes that Brown is a good defensive coach, but that until Brown is relieved of his duties — and fans of the NBA are relieved of having to watch Lebron take on double teams from 30 feet away — the Cavs won’t win an NBA title.

Henry Abbott argues that the Cavs’ stunning lack of non-Lebron talent is the reason for their mediocrity, and that even with that talent, Brown has managed to take the team deep into the playoffs in consecutive seasons. Abbott credits Brown for his ability to get the most out of players like Wally on defense, as well as dealing well with the “Superstar Challenge” of keeping a luminary like Lebron pacified at all times. No easy task, that.

Where Henry fails in his argument, I think, is where he fails to recognize just how good Lebron is. Lebron, and not Mike Brown, has been the reason the Cavs have sauntered deep into the playoffs the past two years. Abbott’s argument stresses the way Brown is getting the most out of lesser players, but I don’t necessarily buy that. If anything, Zydrunas Ilgauskus has gotten slightly worse under Brown (though his increasing age is a factor), while the rest of the team has been swapped out for relatively unimaginative three-point shooters, a product of Brown’s insistence on the Lebron Stand-and-Watch-And-Shoot space continuum.

Anyway, it’s not an either/or question. Abbott wants new Cavs players; the Cavs need new players. Matt wants a new coach; the Cavs need a new coach. Players are probably more important in the near term, but just because the players are bad doesn’t mean Brown is good. It means that everyone not named Lebron has been bad. Which you probably knew already.

Jay-Z’s Deshawn Diss: Meh

April 28th, 2008 | Posted by PostmanE

I wonder what Jay-Z does all day. I know he’s a business, man, but at some point his surrogates can handle the day’s workload — destroying Redman’s solo career can’t be that taxing — thus freeing up Jigga’s time for important non-retirement activities. Like golfing, or marrying Beyonce. Watching Scarface 50 times. And, of course, writing rap songs about Deshawn Stevenson.

Seriously: Deshawn Stevenson. We gotta get Jay-Z a new habit. This is mid-life crisis stuff right here.

Fortunately, it looks like Stevenson recognizes just how cool it is to be the subject of a mild-mannered, arena-friendly Jay-Z diss:

DeShawn, on the song: “That would never happen in Cleveland. I mean, if I even walked into a Cleveland club right now, I’d have two black eyes and I’d be on crutches. And they’d tell me I deserved it too. So, we’re boycotting Love. No loyalty….[Jay Z’s] worth about $500 million, and he’s writing songs about me? What does that say about DeShawn Stevenson? Ballllllling!”

As for the song, I give it a 5.5. A few good lines in there — something about Lebron not being paid enough — but for the most part it sounds like Jay-Z is as bored rapping about Deshawn Stevenson as everyone else is talking about him. Except me, of course, which is why I wrote this post. But now even I am sick of it, and thus likely to be the last blogger on Earth who dedicates any space to it. This is what it sounds like when stories die.

The Wizards should probably stop trying to injure LBJ

April 22nd, 2008 | Posted by PostmanR

The tactics the Wizards are employing against LeBron James to try and curb his game a bit — namely, the cheap shots shown above in part with this Brendan Haywood push — is pretty tactless, but it’s far from unique. Teams back in the 80’s did this kind of stuff to slow opponents, get in their heads, fire up the fans. And small little physical moves (grabbing jerseys on a screen etc.) go undetected all the time. But as Marcel Mutino points out over at Slam today, how much longer can the Wiz continue to do this?

As far as I can tell, their only goal in the series is to knock him to the ground as much as humanly possible.

On offense, there’s no chemistry whatsoever, as guys simply take turns going one-on-one.

[ … ]

Unfortunately for Eddie Jordan and co., no one on the Wizards seems to really believe in this physical plan. Guys have sheepish looks on their faces after knocking LeBron down; when Brendan Haywood got kicked out of the game last night following his hard foul on James, Antonio Daniels slid over to LBJ and asked him if he was OK.

Can you imagine any of the Riley-Era Knicks or Isiah’s Bad Boys checking on MJ’s well-being during their postseason wars? Me neither. So, there you have it Wizards. No one believes you’re hardbody (not even yourselves); focus on the actual game instead. It’s your only hope.

So not only does the plan leave you with a near 30-point loss last evening, but it’s something you’re not even wholly comfortable to begin with. Yeesh.

{Vid HT: Stet Sports.}

What a great day

April 19th, 2008 | Posted by PostmanE

The Cubs beat Pittsburgh’s brains in (sorry, Lack), the Panera chicken noodle bread bowl was especially on point, and now the above: an absolutely disgusting, monstrous dunk from LeBron James. There is, like, one person in the world who can do that. And he just did. (Video HT: Brinson at TSB.)

Oh, and let’s not forget Suns-Spurs, which just finished up, and which was pretty much everything we can expect from this series. A tactical battle, a couple of overtimes, egregious flopping, a Manu Ginobili game-winning drive, and a bullshit Tim Duncan three that kept the Spurs breathing. This is going to be seven games of craziness.

What a great day. I am to playoff hoops as Ryan Dempster is to Marisa Miller. Visibly … excited.

LeBron James, in handy Etch-a-Sketch format

June 13th, 2007 | Posted by PostmanE

Like every child of the 90’s, I had an Etch-a-Sketch. (I think it came with my Pogs set.) This is a toy I could never get behind; for some reason, my hand-eye prowess that led me to a distinguished video game career didn’t transfer to Etch-a-Sketch, and that gets frustrating after a while.

Anyway, LeBron might have been fouled last night, and he might not have, but either way, he has something to cherish from these Finals. He has people drawing him in lead. Can’t beat that!

(Via everywhere, including Hoops Addict)

LeBron’s new commercial, complete with soul licks

June 6th, 2007 | Posted by PostmanE

As difficult as it has become to argue against LeBron’s merits on the court, it’s even harder to argue against his marketing aura. Everything seems to work for the guy. Crazy split-personality fantasy? No problem. Deification? Not a big deal. Kung-Fu odyssey-maker? Works for me.

The latest commercial — set to be premiered later this evening, or so I hear — is above for your enjoyment. It’s simple enough, but sort of weirdly moving too. Incongruous, but moving. Who’s ready for the Finals?

Case of the Mondays: LeBron saved the playoffs

June 4th, 2007 | Posted by PostmanE

OK, so Saturday’s effort will never be the one people remember. That will always be Thursday’s legendary performance, the numbers (29 of the last 30! The last 25!) ringing out in playoff tapes and marketing visions for years to come. But Saturday cemented the best thing LeBron has done for us so far in his career: salvaging these lackluster 2007 Playoffs.

Don’t get me wrong. It’s not that I dislike the Spurs, or lack an appreciation for their methodical style of play. It’s just that the NBA as a whole needs something different. It needed the Suns to run and pass their way to an NBA Championship; it needed something to follow up on the Warriors’ dismantling of the Mavericks; it needed an Eastern team with any sort of redeemable aesthetic qualities, our Bulls notwithstanding.

The Cavaliers are largely boring and unimaginative, but LeBron changes all of that. On Thursday, he changed the way we watch the playoffs by turning potential into action. His brilliance is no longer a threat; it is a very real possibility, one that must be bargained for every time he is on television.

The Spurs will likely still win the title, and that’s fine. They deserve it. But LeBron has made the Finals far more worthy of our attention than the Pistons could have. That’s his greatest accomplishment yet.

(Well, besides Thursday’s game. That’s probably greater.)

MLB: I don’t get what it is. Something about the Cubs’ uniforms — or maybe the chemicals used to curate the Wrigley ivy — causes mass hysteria and uncontrollable anger … or at least insanity.

One example among many was Dusty Baker’s retarded claim last year that “walks clog up the bases.” (I really still can’t get over that, by the way. I mean, are you freaking kidding me?) The latest installment came this week, when the Cubs proceeded to brawl in the dugout, lose their sixth game in a row and ninth out of their last ten, and then have their manager get suspended for getting too frisky with the umpires. What’s next? I’m not even going to offer up a sarcastic example here. I’m genuinely curious. What the hell could go wrong next?

Knocked Up: Not to ruin anything for those of you who waited out the inevitable first-weekend madness, but this movie is incredible. It’s no less funny than the 40 Year Old Virgin — perhaps the best comedy of the past five years — but with a bit more heart, just a little bit, and a realistic picture of what it’s like to live in a relationship in postmodern America. Oh, and readers here, presuming you’re sports fans, will love the fantasy baseball bit. That’s all I’ll say for now.

Of Playoffs and motorcycle movies: a Pistons convo with Matt Watson

May 25th, 2007 | Posted by PostmanE

After watching the Pistons pull out yet another close game last night, I got the feeling that, besides the close nature of these games, the Pistons were having to work much harder each possession than they did against the Bulls. Like, MUCH harder. So as I was about to write about this novel concept and backhandedly insult the Bulls (and their oh-so-photogenic head coach), I decided to chat up Detroit Bad Boys’ (and FanHouse’s) own Matt Watson on the subject. After all, he would know better than I, and could provide me some expert insight before I got to writing.

Well, a conversation that started about the movie Torque progressed into something probably more interesting than I would have written, so I’ve reproduced it for you here. As I told Matt, this serves at least two purposes: 1. Preventing me from having to actually write anything, and 2. Granting Postmen space to someone who actually knows something about anything. (This is rare, so enjoy it.)

Anyway, here’s the convo. If the spacing is screwy, it’s because changing it would completely ruin the prevailing ethic behind this idea, which was laziness.

Matthew: so, i’m watching this ice cube biker movie that came on after the pistons game … it’s oddly entertaining

PostmanE: that’s triple x the sequel or something like that, right?

Matthew: no, it’s worse than that

PostmanE: oh god
“from the producers of ‘fast and the furious’ and ‘xxx’”
so you know it’s good!

Matthew: the only saving grace is that the female lead is hot

PostmanE: very nice
i was actually getting ready to write about this for the postmen, so i might as well bounce it off you — is it just me, or do the pistons look like they’re playing harder this series?
i mean that as a credit to the pistons
essentially, they were so much better than the bulls that they cruised a majority of the time in that series and still won handily

Matthew: well, yes and no. they’re still up and down from quarter to quarter. i don’t know if that’s them not playing hard or a credit to the cavs defense, though
cleveland does match up well with chauncey, though. chauncey is used to be so much more stronger than the opposing point guard, and while he could probably win an arm wrestling match with larry hughes, hughes has a lot of length to contend with

PostmanE: yeah, i think the cavs are much better equipped to guard them than the bulls were, especially on the perimeter
and the bulls, minus lebron, could probably get shots easier
but just watching the flow of this series compared to bulls-pistons, i get the feeling that the pistons are being forced to play a bit more urgently, and not just because both games have been close

Matthew: that i do agree with
it’s a blessing in disguise, since they won’t get fooled into taking a game off

PostmanE: that’s probably true too … they respond to that much better it seems than to a team they can chill a bit against
i was just watching the game tonight and thought, ‘damn — i actually thought the bulls had a chance’
they just got toyed with for a couple games, and then left in the dust

Matthew: i just hope lebron stays passive in cleveland
during that third quarter when detroit was storming back, LBJ took one shot

PostmanE: yeah, i don’t get that at all
is that brown’s fault for pulling him back? because why would lbj temper himself?

Matthew: no idea
honestly, sometimes i think he just doesn’t care
i mean, i doubt that’s actually it, but i don’t know what else it could be

PostmanE: it’s very weird
maybe, in his head, he feels like because he’s so young and detroit is a better team than cleveland all around he has a buffer zone before he really has to dominate and win constantly
like, in five years, he’ll start to get anxious

Matthew: right
what sucks is that he was awesome in the playoffs last year
but has coasted this year

PostmanE: but he’s like any recent 22-year old college grad that says “eh, i can afford to live at home for a year or two, mom will cook for me, and i can play videogames all day”
instead of being eager to start a career

Matthew: that’s a good point
maybe he thinks he accomplished enough last year to wait until he actually has a good team
(btw the way, this movie is getting awesome-er)

After that, we started talking about Torque in much greater, and no less ironic, depth. Let’s just say: that movie is effing RAD. Flying motorcycles and fire and stuff! Can’t beat that, no sir.

Case of the Mondays: Breathe it in, let it out … it’s Super Bowl Week

January 29th, 2007 | Posted by PostmanE

Last week was a cipher. An imposter. I stop short of calling it a total fraud - but it was certainly a shell of a Super Bowl Week. No media day? Pshh. No Tijauna-bound star players melting down? Whatever. No ESPN Countdown guys guffawing in front of a beautiful Miami backdrop, and then later being photographed surrounded by tramps? Last week, listen: I served with Super Bowl Week, I knew Super Bowl Week, Super Bowl Week was a friend of mine…you are no Super Bowl Week.

It’s important we make this distinction so we can truly revel in everything the next seven days can be. This type of needless build up and inappropriate moralizing happens but once a year (or whenever Joe Buck is involved), so why waste the moment by failing to realize its brilliance? For shame, apathetic football fan, for shame.

That’s why we’ll be casting our beady little focus on as much Super Bowl material as possible this week. Why fight the hype when you can perpetuate it? Oh, and guess what - for the second time in our lives (the first was when we were one) the Chicago freaking Bears are in the Super Bowl. You’ll forgive us if we feel the need to remind you of this as much as possible in the next few days. Apologies in advance.

Here’s what happened while we were thinking about the Super Bowl this weekend:

The Suns waxed impressive. Not as impressive as their last victory over the Cavs, sure, but impressive enough to win their 17th game in a row, a number that becomes all the more mindblowing when you consider it’d be the 34th in a row were it not for two herculean efforts from MVP candidates. Bow down to your desert overlords.

Hey, at least the Suns are good! Speaking of desert overlords, the Arizona Wildcats sufficiently surrendered that status Saturday at the hands of the North Carolina Heels that presumably Tar accidentally. Beat. Down. Lute Olsen looked about one UNC transition alley-oop from a pulling a total Barrett Robbins. (Sorry, I know manic depression’s not funny. Strike that from the record.) In the continually overlooked Pac-10, Aaron Brooks and crew held off a tough Washington State team, and in the Big Ten, Ohio State fell asleep just long enough to let Drew Neitzel and his gang of ragtag Spartans nearly beat them Saturday. Alas, their almost game-winning three was for all Naughtzel. (Sorry again. I’m full of apologies today.)

Eh, you know, just another day at the office. It’s too bad Tiger Woods and Roger Federer aren’t both basketball players, because then I would be really forced to care about their respective dominance. Instead, I did laundry while my roommate fawned over Tiger’s latest Tour win - just his seventh in a row, by the way - and didn’t even pay a wink to another series of Federer masterpieces in his Australian Open win. God, let someone else win, eh fellas? No one likes roboticism - didn’t you learn anything from Will Smith?

And LeBron blows all our minds

May 18th, 2006 | Posted by PostmanE

I discussed this Tuesday. I had a quaint little post about how LeBron was the most naturally talented player ever to enter the NBA, the most explosive raw talent we’ve ever seen.

Now, LeBron has his ragtag Cavs up - UP - on the Pistons. Amazing.

Of course, last night’s win wasn’t just thanks to LeBron. The Pistons are playing noticably worse than they did almost the entire regular season. I’m not exactly an avid Pistons viewer, but that much is plain to see.

The Mighty MJD, a fan of the Mighty DTP, says it’s because the Pistons offense, and defense, are worse. That pretty much covers it all, I suppose.

But as bad as the Pistons are playing, these past two wins have been LeBron’s. He runs the show - a mystifying, gorgeous, make-you-giddy-about-the-NBA-again show.