Unexpected changes to my day job, moving house and basically living in fast forward since early June have slowed the 2SOTH express. The posts have been non-existent but I’m happy to report that I’m back.

What a time to go missing you might say? Well, I see it as an opportunity to lay down my longest post to date.

There is an absolute treasure trove of subjects to talk about and I’m going to get the main story out the way first. Yep, you guessed it… The Miami Heat.

Feel free to comment.

The Announcement

Well, what an absolute farce! I really feel for Cleveland fans who, (although the decision to leave Ohio seems obvious now in hindsight) couldn’t possibly look away hoping that LeBron would stay. The drawn out process and the two producers chairs was really lame in my opinion. All it was lacking was “Jim” and “The King” written on the backs of them. And why Jim Gray? I mean, Queen Latifa could’ve ran that broadcast! I usually like watching Gray as he always makes the athletes squirm and generally gets them to answer outside the boring “we need to lift our intensity” media-trained guidelines. Watching LeBron trying not to smile as he laid the smackdown on his home town was kind of bizarre too. I genuinely don’t think he wanted to leave Cleveland but he definitely wanted to leave the Cavaliers. I recently wrote about LeBron’s potential leap into legend status, something tells me Cleveland’s Playoff failures and this move to Miami won’t hurry that process along.

Having Chris Broussard on that show took all of the suspense (if there was any left) out of the broadcast as he basically confirmed the move to Miami, and subsequently left Jon Barry and Co with no choice than to agree.

Overall, I rate that telecast a weak D. (D-)

The Miami Heat

The Miami Heat have just booked themselves a trip out of the first round next April, but at this stage that’s it. There’s no doubting the talent that has arrived in South Beach but you still have to gel, and until I see that I’ll just predict the obvious only. The additions of James Jones, Mike Miller and Zydrunas Ilgauskas are great additions but would hardly be panicking the Boston Celtics or Orlando Magic. Yet.

In my opinion, the second most interesting factor of this new team will not be how Wade, LeBron and Bosh lift their games, but more importantly what areas they’ll comfortably reduce as far as output is concerned. We all know what this three are capable of at full steam being “the man” but we’ve never really seen any of them as the “second banana”.

The most interesting element that I don’t see anyone talking about though is that a large portion of the NBA fan base will probably be desperate to see this team fail. I knew plenty of people who literally rejoiced at the Hall of Fame-loaded Lakers demise in 2004 against the Pistons. Those same people didn’t enjoy or even like most of the Pistons at all, but it was better than seeing a “built for Championships” team get their way.

I expect the Heat to be treated with differing levels of hostility in Chicago, New York, Orlando, Los Angeles, New Jersey and most importantly and obviously Cleveland. That’s not an easy schedule with nearly all of those cities on the East Coast. Bring on November!!

Golden State Warriors

All I’m going to say is that the new (old) logo is simply a great result! Here’s hoping the uniforms don’t completely suck. The jury is out on that right now…

The New York Knicks

Amar’e is not a bad thing. Sure, he’s no LeBron but c’mon… did you REALLY expect Isiah Thomas to get you over the line? It’s hard to imagine any of the team’s coming up with a better situation that what James’ got in the end. So when you compare Wade, Bosh, Haslem and Miller to Stoudemire, Chandler, Gallinari and Walker you can see what’s what.

When the stadium is the best element of your franchise, you’re completely and utterly dead in the water. I am looking forward to seeing the fans’ reaction to LeBron’s visit to Madison Square Garden during the coming season.

Chris Paul

I usually don’t like the whole, “yeah I signed a 5 year deal but you know what? I want out after one” situation with pro athletes. I always get that feeling of “eff you” to the athlete who signs these deals and then makes life a living hell for his employer until they trade him. (See Stephon Marbury, Stephen “Average” Jackson and most recently Hedo Turkoglu)

But with CP3 I am making an exception. I will feel a lot better when CP3 gets to let loose with a new club. To see this guy waste his talent for a 30 win team for the next 3-5 years would be the equivalent of seeing Jessica Alba in a Burqa. Sometimes a stand must be made and on this one occasion, I’ll turn a blind eye to his potential Bobcat move. Although if I’m Michael Jordan, I’m not taking on Dampier’s contract AND giving up Wallace and picks.

Err.. wait a minute, if I’m Michael Jordan and NOT PLAYING basketball, anything’s possible.

Kobe Bryant

Hold on to your hats people, because with the 2010 NBA Champions cap placed on his head, Kobe Bryant just broke into the top 3 Lakers of all-time.

Jerry West and Magic Johnson have a new roommate and I’m not sure he’s happy being the joint-leader. Kobe Bryant has the chance to finally nail the conversation shut with one more Championship in 2011 or maybe beyond. I sort of feel bad not including James Worthy in this discussion because in my back cataloging of NBA games I am always amazed by Worthy’s numbers. He also did it so effortlessly and quite efficiently.

Kobe Bryant though is finally one for the ages. It is irrefutable to anyone with an ounce of NBA knowledge. Sure there’s the ill-advised shots, the snarl that we all think looks stupid and the overall lingering opinion that he’s a shit guy.. but numbers are numbers and rings are rings.

Boston Celtics

It’s hard these days to mention the Lakers without immediately thinking of and mentioning the Celtics. I love that. Rajon Rondo’s team is poised for one more shot at the title and I’m genuinely excited to see it unfold. I drafted Rondo as a rookie in my Fantasy Basketball League and am glad to have that on my cyber-GM resume.

Paul Pierce will continue to play his unorthodox but effective style. I think Ray Allen will have another adequate season and yet still stay supremely dangerous in important games. Rondo will lift another gear if that’s at all possible, and bring the singular leadership that will keep the “Old 3″ comfortable in their twilight. Kevin Garnett has a question mark on him this year as he seemed to be at about 70% throughout most of last season and Playoffs. Nate Robinson was recently signed to a 2 year deal and I believe he’ll be an upgraded Eddie House for Boston. I may be proven to sound completely insane but that;s why we love KryptoNate, you never know what you’re getting. All in all, still an exciting time to be a Celtic fan.

Orlando Magic

LOL! Not even wasting my time on this subject. Although really hoping Dwight takes “the step” this year like LeBron did in 2009.

John Wall

For the love of all things Basketball, please Washington, get rid of Gilbert Arenas. You have the chance to re-create your franchise behind this soon-to-be 20 year old phenom. Who needs to drag out the dramas of the past with Hibachi in a Wizards uniform. He single-handedly killed off the brewing idea of bringing back the retro “Bullets” theme of the past, which was another opportunity to start again. You keep him around for the first two years of Wall’s career and you’ll seriously regret it. Guaranteed.

I’ll get to some more subjects over the coming weeks but for now, drink it in and give me your thoughts.

I’ve had plenty of moments during our time at 2soth, where I stare at the keys, with nothing coming to mind. I try and try but cannot get that flow going on a particular subject. Then it just sticks, it all comes together and away I go to deliver the article. With this subject however, I feel I can go on all day and all night! For the benefit of the audience, I’ve cut it down to bullet points on each member of the Orlando Magicians. (in no particular order of failure)

• Stan Van Gundy: Here’s one of the only guys I feel truly sorry for. The ranting and raving that Stan does comes straight from the heart. He doesn’t get caught up in the X’s and O’s because let’s face it, the players know the damn plays! He shouldn’t have to draw them a picture on how to put the ball in the hoop. He tries to fill them with belief by telling them, (by shouting) that they must “continue to fight”, and that they have to “get into the moment”. I personally wouldn’t have thought the Magic players needed reminding of this, as they were actually focussed on winning and just got a little off track. But we’ll get to the players a little later. The barking and yelling and loss of voice that Stan displayed can easily have fingers pointed at it due to the delivery of his message. Some people will look for these sorts of things when figuring out what went wrong. Who knows if Stan will become another case of “good coach gone scapegoat” when the front office count their chips during the off-season. The cruel irony for Stan is that his style is best suited to coaching a team like the 2006 Miami Heat squad. A nice mix of veterans who just “had” to win a title and some young punks who wanted to make a name for themselves. This Orlando team seemingly has neither of those types of players. Keep your head up Stan, and while you’re at it, get the hell out of Orlando.

• Dwight Howard: Now here’s a guy everyone can respect. Nice smile, mountainous physique, the kind of guy who gets Basketball “Oooohs” and “Ahhhhs” every night he plays because he’s always doing things that 7 footers shouldn’t be able to do. If only he could put together some reliable post moves, stop fouling people unnecessarily, stop whining to the referees via voice or internet, learn to shoot free throws and grow a killer instinct. I’ll go right ahead and call “Hall of Fame” on him if even 3 of those things happen. The big moment for me came in the dying stages of the Game 6 “no-show” from his team when he tried to mock the Boston crowd with clapping gestures. I mean sure Dennis Rodman used to do it but you know what? His team was winning Championships along with taunting battles.  Dwight, you need to take command of that giant frame and start putting it to good use because if not, you’ll end up being the next Patrick Ewing in terms of titles and the next Eddy Curry in regards to reaching potential.

• Vince Carter: I actually thought Vince in Orlando to replace Turkoglu was an upgrade and a lot of people thought the same. Now, I’m not so sure. Vince sure scored a lot of points, but perhaps at the expense of other players. Carter played well in stretches of this series and predictably played better in the front-running demolition of Atlanta and Charlotte. Now that the dust has settled, I think we can all comfortably say that the deal wasn’t great for the Magic. I mean, we’ll never truly know if it was better or worse (like all things in life) but we can say that it didn’t turn out great. Vince ultimately fit in perfectly with Orlando though as he shared a chat with Ray Allen in the final minutes of Game 6 (down by 10 at this point and practically eliminated) that resulted in both players laughing as the ball was inbounded. If I’m a serious Orlando Magic fan, I’m super pissed off with that. It’s been my gripe with Orlando for a long time now and strangely enough they’ve brought another pretender in to crowd. No killer instinct, Carter you are the Mayor.

• Jameer Nelson: Here’s a guy who is a cross between Bart Simpson being shocked by a power point and an O’Doyle sibling from the movie Billy Madison. An old boss of mine once told me “if you do as you always did, you’ll get what you always got” and there’s no truer NBA example of this right now than Jameer Nelson. (And maybe Antoine Walker?) Here’s the equation: Rondo is killing your entire team as all you have faced in the Playoffs so far at point guard is Mike “D.U.N.” Bibby and Ray “I’m overrated in video games” Felton. Your back up is Jason “White Chocolate” Williams who doesn’t win all of his And1 drink bottles and t-shirts from playing defense. You have a good three-point shot and you can be a double threat on the pick-and-roll with your buddy D12. What do you do? Actually, let’s just highlight what Jameer did… repeatedly. A) Didn’t push the tempo on offense to attempt to tire Rondo. B) When on the pick-and-roll, didn’t attack the hoop in Games 1, 2, 3 and 6. (crazy pattern there eh?) C) Stood off Nate Robinson in Game 6 when he was on the perimeter, systematically transforming the renowned ”locker room cancer” into the next Gino by letting him light up. Strangely similar to what he let Derek Fisher do in last year’s Finals. D) Allowed Ray Allen to cut off an alley-oop pass to Dwight Howard. With the age of Ray Ray now, that play alone defines him as a legitimate Basketball Jesus. Except the only water he was walking on was Orlando’s tears of failure. Ah, that’ll do four is enough but you get my point. Jameer, grow 5 inches or go play in Oakland. Your choice.

• Brandon Bass: Not much to say here as he only logged 4 more minutes than his jersey number (34) but I will say this, Brandon Bass gave a damn and played hard!

• Marcin Gortat: The new Ike Austin of the NBA. As soon as that contract is up he will be as gone from the League as Reggie Lewis. (Unless he does a Dino Radja and bitches out back to Poland)

• JJ Redick: Now this guy tried his backside off for every minute he was out there but seemed to finally succumb to the “all referees hate us” attitude that was oozing from every Magic player’s face. The same could actually be said for Rashard Lewis as he performed the “look how long my arms are OMG! I’m Tim Duncan” shock face after the very first call in Game 6. I give Redick props in this series, not because he’s a DTA player, but because I truly think he wanted to have a killer instinct. He was just dragged down to his team’s level. You place him in John Paxson’s shoes in the early 90’s and Redick is a legend. Besides, Johnny Pax does not have a rap album.

So there’s my thoughts on the Orlando Magic, another season of stellar regular season play followed up with a cold, stale bucket of failure. I haven’t done the research but I wouldn’t think there have been too many teams who went on a 14 game winning streak to end a season/start a Playoff run, and then lose 3 straight to practically eliminate themselves. Doing all of this while earning/pissing away home court advantage. But hey, it’s Orlando and they ARE Magicians after all.

Some BIG questions loom for the Orlando Magic over the Summer. With the pending free agency about to explode, a new arena coming and some frustrated fans about to start a riot, I would think that changes will be made during the off-season.

I suggest hiring Wanderlei Silva at point guard or maybe even bring back Hedo Turkoglu if you can peel him away from Little Turkey. *mock*

If LeBron James’ future employment options were threatening to take attention away from this season’s Playoffs, then the events of the past 48 hours have closed that book for now. The Phoenix Suns have “taken care of business” at home and now have the chance to steal the lead in that series against the Lakers with a win tomorrow night in Los Angeles. Add to that the Orlando Magic’s comeback bid against the Boston Celtics and you find yourself “smack bang” in the middle of an extremely captivating and exciting time to be an NBA fan!

Firstly, let’s look at the Phoenix vs Los Angeles series.

I want to start by saying that this series will be over in 6 games, I cannot see any reason to believe otherwise. The Suns have been sensational to date but I’ve seen too many Laker teams, and more importantly Phil Jackson teams get 2-0 leads in the past and often finish up 4-2. With the home court advantage, the Lakers will win a home and then win the one game they need in Phoenix. Kobe Bryant has been sensational in this series also. His numbers are sky-rocketing and it almost feels like that “you’re nothing without me” swagger has truly disappeared for good. Player like Shannon Brown, Lamar Odom and Andrew Bynum are being empowered by their leader to score and Bryant’s assist numbers are reaping the benefits.

The Suns have been great and Amare’ Stoudemire is certainly not doing his free agency value any harm with his play. The Lakers always seem to have trouble guarding quick/smart point guards though, and given the right cards falling on the right night, this may go to Game 7 but honestly I doubt it. Even my boy Channing Frye found a way to break out of his slump. Good to see the Doubting Thomas Award is getting a good run in Phoenix this post season. (Note: Paging Danilo Gallinari and Corey Brewer?)

Now for the East, and all I can say at this point is…

WTF?

Some of Rajon Rondo’s play in Game 3 was arguably some of the best and most entertaining Basketball I’ve seen, ever. The diving on loose balls, the drives, the pull-up jumpers.. Amazing! It turned a blow out into an entertaining game somehow! Sure, the Celtics dropped one in Game 4 but surely they would just steam roll their way over Orlando in Florida? Right?

<insert 2nd WTF>

Orlando win comfortably, Kendrick Perkins gets ejected, picks up his seventh Technical foul and subsequently may have suspended himself for Game 6, Glen Davis gets knocked out by a D12 elbow and Marquis Daniels is concussed! What else???

So for the first time in recent NBA history, we have a team that has been down 0-3 now genuinely holding the advantage in the series if they win on Friday night. Unbelievable.

If I am Doc Rivers, I am very concerned with what’s going on here. Now you know I don’t rate Orlando and probably never will but the Celtics are such a good team that if they are without key players, things don’t turn out so good for them. If they lose Perkins AND Davis for Game 6 I actually think the Magic, and more importantly Dwight Howard will completely overpower them. I believe this game, (if Perkins and Davis are out) will be a career-defining moment for Dwight Howard. If he cannot put his team on his back and lead on this particular stage, then my theories about him (and other Magic players) holds up and Dwight will never lead a team to a Championship. If he steps up now, OWNS Game 6 and then leads in Game 7, I will forever be impressed.

Ladies and Gentlemen, stepping to the stage…

Mr Dwight Howard.

No matter how this thing shakes out, we’re going to imitate history or create it:

Los Angeles vs Boston – The 2008 Remix

Los Angeles vs Orlando – The 2009 Remix

Phoenix vs Boston – The 1976 Remix

Phoenix vs Orlando – The first NBA title for one of these franchises.

Who else is excited?

Dwight looking happy after a big win

Heyyyyyy wooorrrrrrrlllllddddd!!!
Well, we took care of business today against Atlanta.
I’m not here to gripe and complain because we won and won big and that was the goal all along. I’d just like to say to Mr Stern and the Officials, thanks yaw’ll for letting me rock it for more than 20 mins a game. Now yaw’ll see what I can do when you let fouls go. I know I still fouled people, but if you don’t call them I can be a legitimate superstar in this league.
Like I have said dozens of times already, this is about so much more than just me and me being frustrated. We’re trying to win that gold ball and bring that ‘chip back to Orlando for all the Magic fans out there, and if yaw’ll are calling every foul I commit then we can’t get it. Now yaw’ll finally stopped disrespecting my game we can do that!
I was talking to Pat Ewing about my foul trouble and he said he never had foul trouble like me. Perhaps that’s coz people didn’t bounce off Ewing like they’d been hit by a freight train.
Now the Officials are taken care off, I only need the ring to stop disrespecting my game yaw’ll. The way the ring just bounces every second free throw away, well it’s just wrong man. Anyway, I gotta go lift some more. Peace out!!! DWIGHT

Just kidding Dwight, I love your game, but after complaining so hard last week (and giving up a decent wad of cash), I hope you come out in praise of everyone, including the refs, after such a big win.

Results:

Orlando def Atlanta 114 – 71

Los Angeles def Utah 111-103

• Mario Chalmers playing Rondo very well on both ends. Not to a standstill, but negating Bostons advantage at the 1 to a certain degree.
• Just saw the most amazing ad. Well played ESPN, well played.
• It’s been spoken about to death, but Garnett just can’t get up. As a massive fan of KG, it hurts my heart to see, as he misses yet another lobbed dunk.
• In related news, Michael Beasley is looking good defensively against KG. Michael Beasley! OMG.
• Mark Jackson… speaking in stages… adding nothing to the coverage…. Momma there goes that man.
• Miami showing life with 8 mins to go. They can’t win this series but they are trying. And this is one big showcase for potential free agents suitors.
• Finally Wade getting some help from Beasley. Showing what he can do offensively.
• Garnett’s turnaround, with or without knees, still unstoppable.
• The Miami crowd is just awful. If you can’t get excited to see Dwyane Wade, you don’t deserve an NBA franchise.
• Pierce is a great closer. Very calm with a lead. He’s still an actress though.

Mavs @ Spurs

• Jason Terry is an overrated talent in my opinion. So one dimensional.
• Haven’t seen a crowd shot of Eva Longoria yet and it’s quarter time. Amazing.
• Shawn Marion still has the ugliest jumpshot in the NBA. I hadn’t seen it in a month or so, and it’s jarring.
• DuJuan Blair is just full of energy. Impressive player. Sure makes do with no knee cartlidge.
• George Hill just doesn’t back down. What an impressive sophmore season he’s had.
• Amazing how much Dallas is relying on J.J. Berea. Not that he’s playing well, but he’s played the entire second half.
• Jason Terry and his one dimension ability just isn’t performing well tonight. Without Dirk, the Mavs would be destroyed.
• George Hill just abuses Jason Terry on the drive. Isn’t Terry supposed to be the JET?
• Nowitzki as good, or better, than his MVP season. So impressive tonight. Hitting tough shots, playing the angles and contributing in all the little ways.
• It just feels like the Spurs will win this close one. They have the swagger. TP feels it, George Hill feels it. Everyone else playing their roles.
• Way too much talk about how physical Nowitzki is being defender. He is a bigger actress than Paul Pierce, which is saying something. Dirk is excelling though.
• Tim Duncan from the high post is just incredible. Not a look we see from him often, but wow. So controlled. Directs every player on the floor and makes the right call every time so far. He can really hurt the Dallas zone from there.
• I try to hate on Jason Terry, but he hits big shots. Being clutch is a skill. Cold blooded.
• Manu Ginobli is one hell of a creator, with one hell of a bald spot.

Nuggets @ Jazz

• Came into the game late after watching Mavs/Spurs but no one but Melo and Billups showing up at all
• Melo on the bench with 5 fouls. The last one was silly, that’s for sure.
• JR Smith has the worst tattoos in the NBA. His only competition is Chris Anderson. Can anyone think of worse?
• Warning: Immature thoughts, but Carlos Boozer looks like he’s taking a dump when he goes to the line. What is that motion all about?
• Deron Williams banks a three, and doesn’t even smile to himself. No one in history has ever intended to bank a three, but I like his intensity.
• This game is over. 22 points, 8 mins to go. Safe to say Utah is not missing the huge defensive contributions of Memo Okur.

When you look back over some of his actions and reactions over the course of his career, you could see a child in a man’s body… well, quite literally. The “global icon” comments, the low percentage contested jump shots, the pre-game “photo shoots” with team-mates, the infamous Orlando “walk-off” after last year’s playoff defeat, it all reeked of a kid who certainly knew how to play but didn’t know how to handle himself.

Now look at how he’s dealing with the Joakim Noah inspired “Cleveland sucks” bait.

LeBron’s response?

“I have nothing bad [to say] about Chicago, and I’m not saying that because of what he said about Cleveland. I’m dead serious. We all love Chicago.”

For the first time in LeBron’s career, I am genuinely about to consider myself a WITNESS.

I’m an old fashioned fan and have genuinely loved the NBA for over 20 years now. I have developed likes, dislikes and general opinions/relationships regarding many players and teams. I was a fan when Isiah continued to run on that broken foot, I was watching when it was all about MJ vs Clyde in the NBA Finals, I watched Barkley’s dream fade on a John Paxson three-ball, I’ve lived through the lock-out, the Lakers dynasty, the Artest vs Crowd debacle, the Knicks failures and the emergence of the Bobcats.

Many stories and milestones both good and bad have intrigued me over the years, but none is more captivating than the current journey of LeBron James.

This guy has the size and shape of Karl Malone, the shooting touch of an insanely more athletic Larry Bird, the killer instinct of Michael Jordan, the dunking capability of a Shawn Kemp/Vince Carter hybrid and the passing skills of Magic Johnson. If I see him go to the sky hook in a pair of goggles this post-season, I’ll basically pass out and flat-line. I mean this in no way metaphorically.

Forget the direct comparisons like “who’s better, LeBron or MJ?” or the “Wade won a championship first!“ arguments, this guy has a piece of everyone legendary running through his veins. I’ve been a massive Kobe Bryant fan for a long time now and always find a way to include him in the “best players of all-time” conversations. I think his ability to get the job done through injury, distraction and/or lack of back-up makes him one of the best ever. I have also mounted a pretty simple argument that Kobe could always be considered higher on the food chain than LeBron until James won at least one championship ring. (Let alone four of them…). The arguments are what makes watching and being a fan of this game so much fun. Where would we be without the David Robinson vs Hakeem Olajuwon debates? Or the comparison of value between Robert Horry vs Dennis Rodman? (Stay tuned for that story soon from 2soth!).

The fact of the matter is, we have all been witnesses to the talented, yet frustrating caterpillar who has taken the league by storm. Last year’s playoff defeat may turn out to be the metaphoric “cocooning” of LeBron. Will this season prove to be the emergence of the LBJ butterfly?

One thing is for sure, there is no more “warm-up” time for LeBron James. The time to win is now.

Or…

Try this on just for fun…

Is LeBron James simply a front-runner? Does he only appear to be the best when he’s winning? Is he the Chumbawamba of the NBA?

Let’s face facts here, this playoff run is the most important basketball adventure of LeBron James’ career. He’s got a highly talented, experienced, multi-skill set team that has beem hand-picked to beat the Orlando Magic and Boston Celtics. The 2007 journey into San Antonio was a youthful, exuberant NBA Finals failure of epic proportions. No one can call that journey a “stepping-stone” because a stepping stone is not navigated by going backwards. The 2008 and 2009 Cleveland Cavaliers teams both produced worse outcomes than 2007 and did not handle favouritism well. Sure, the Cavs have a 2-0 lead in the first round against Chicago, but the “real” Playoffs don’t start until they travel to Atlanta in Game 3 of the Conference Semi Finals in about a week and a half.

So buckle your seat belts, grab the remote and be a witness to not only the possibility of LeBron James’ first title, but the beginning of the run that puts LeBron on top of the entire pile by career’s end.

Massive call.. but we’re dealing with a massive player.