The Dugout – Hot Curry & King James
Would You Rather…
Four All-Stars with home court advantage… or one superstar with a hobble?
Forget about the injured Kevin Love, forget about missing his first 10 shots in game three or his self-proclaimed innumerous injuries, forget about paying without Kyrie Irving, with a rookie coach and the combined grind of a decade of NBA and half a decade of deep playoff runs. LeBron James is still The King.
Kyrie was back and as good as ever in game four but the damage had been done long before the sweep was completed. LeBron had one of his very best ever playoff series, taking it all in his own hands to will and demand this team to victory, leaving a 60-win team helpless in his wake. That really can’t be understated. The Hawks are a damn fine team, they won 19 in a row at the start of the year, but what the hell are you supposed to do here!? Granted, a fit Korver and Thabo Sefolosha would have been nice (When the oppo is missing Kevin Love & ¾ of Kyrie Irving, you can’t really moan, though).
Woah, Delly!
The Hawks have been demolished, but they’ve still got their gripes. And most of them surround the Cavs’ Aussie battler Matt Dellavedova. He fell awkwardly on Kyle Korver’s leg in game two, which ruled the NBA’s leading three point marksman out of the rest of the series, and his tumble over Al Horford led to Horford getting controversially ejected while Delly survived with a token tech. That game could have been so different ha Horford been available down the stretch. As the Hawks fans and coaches have been saying, there’s a trend emerging.
Neither play looked deliberately dirty, Dellavedova’s just that kinda guy that dives in for loose balls he may not necessarily get. He was undrafted and has had to fight for everything in his NBA career, earning some big minutes with a huge series this round. His teammates love him and his opponents hate him. The most important lesson being learned by the American NBA community is that Australians aren’t all cuddly koalas and corked hats. They know what knives are and they know how to use them.
Doing nothing to dispell the Aussie grub thing here, Delly
Spicy Hot Curry
A couple of things here. First of all, that fall that Steph took in game four was ugly. Like, scary and horrible all at once. He slammed his head damn hard on the court and it’s no shock that they had him tested for concussion symptoms afterwards. It was a shock to see him return, though you have to imagine that he got the all clear from many-a doctor first. The airball he threw first up after coming back in was jarring but he soon found his rhythm. And to be fair he seemed fine after the game.
Next up, there was a little backlash to Curry bringing his (admittedly adorable) daughter to the interview stand earlier in the week. You can’t imagine that’s the most entertaining place for a child. Still, even if it isn’t exactly recommended procedure it’s not like there should be a law against it. Post-match pressers are sometimes interesting but often boring, so the odd element of chaos is always welcome. Just don’t be doing it all the time.
And now for the fun stuff. Steph Curry might be the greatest pure shooter in the history of the game, no kidding. He just broke Reggie Miller’s record of 58 threes in a single postseason and he did it in 13 games. It took Miller 22. NINE FEWER GAMES! Considering he could play up to 8 more games (let’s be honest, the Warriors are winning game five vs Houston), and Reggie’s not even gonna be in the rearview mirror anymore. He pretty much peaked in game three with a 40 point game off just 19 shots and only 10 attempted free throws. That’s efficiency heaven. He’s hitting shots at such a rate that it almost feels like he’s cheating the record books, but this isn’t like 90s baseball & ‘roids. Curry practices his shot more than any other player in the NBA, he’s put in his hours.
Also on Steph Curry, having swept Anthony Davis’ Pelicans, beaten out Marc Gasol’s Grizzlies and just a win away from taking down James Hardens Rockets to face LeBron James’ Cavaliers in the NBA Finals, he could become the first man in history to be voted All-NBA First Team and then knock every other First Teamer out of the playoffs in that same year. Monstrous.
Trade Time
Baseball managers are so restless, and the Dodgers are up there with the best/worst in terms of trigger-finger team adjustments. They’ve gotten the 2015 ball rolling on the trade market with a move that’ll send Juan Uribe to Atlanta.
The Dodgers are doing fine but they wanna be way out on top. Fine isn’t good enough, so if they spotted a way to improve their team then they were gonna fire without hesitation. Meanwhile the Braves are bottoming all the way out, but have at least held solid close to a 50% record – though without much hope of making the playoffs as is.
So this happened.
Alberto Callaspo, Eric Stults, Juan Jaime & Ian Thomas --> Atlanta Braves
Juan Uribe & Chris Withrow --> Los Angeles Dodgers
Withrow’s just had season ending Tommy John surgery and won’t be back this season, while Uribe (who’s now 36 and has a career average of .257) reluctantly said goodbye to a clubhouse in which he is one of the major and most beloved leaders. Not an outstanding player, probably not ever headed for the Hall of Fame, but a two-time champion with some big contributions to each of his titles. He had a great season last year, he just isn’t getting any younger and Alberto Callaspo offers a slightly younger, slightly less powerful replacement with half the salary and a better on-base percentage. Justin Turner and Alex Guerrero will probably keep Callaspo on the bench. The other three dudes are pitchers who may or may not be able to offer something to the team with the third best ERA in the majors in 2015.
Hambone
Shout out to Josh Hamilton, who made his return to Major League Baseball this week after getting unfairly shafted by the LA Angels. Although he’s hitless through two games with Texas, it was pretty cool to see him cheered by the crowd upon his return.
MLB Power Rankings:
- St Louis Cardinals
- Houston Astros
- Washington Nationals
- Detroit Tigers
- Minnesota Twins
- Kansas City Royals
- LA Dodgers
- San Francisco Giants
- New York Yankees
- Texas Rangers
We Shall Always Remember
The day that Steph Curry boxed out Dwight Howard for a rebound.
FIRST TEAM ALL DEFENCE!
#Fielding
#Hitting
Joey Takes A Tumble
Throwback Goober
Here’s one from 1993, where Jose Canseco lets a fly ball bounce off his head and over the fence.
Quote of the Week:
"They don't understand the game. They don't understand the process. There's a process. And then they bitch and complain because we don't have a plan. There's a plan in place and we're sticking with the plan. We can't do what's best for the fan. We have to do what's best for the organization so the fan can reap the benefit of it later on. That's the truth."
Philadelphia Phillies general manager Ruben Amaro isn’t happy with the fan reception to his rebuilding process. What it is, chief, is that fans don’t like losing whether there’s a process or not.
Good Week:
Prince Fielder (Texas Rangers) – Remember this dude? Large fella, first baseman. Prince missed most of last season through injury but has returned without barely missing a beat in 2015. He’s been hitting around .350 all season, the only thing that was missing was the power. Five homers and three doubles in a 14 for 25 stretch over four games later and never mind. Oh, add in 15 RBI in that time too.
J.R. Smith (Cleveland Cavaliers) – How about 18 points and 7.5 rebounds a game in the Conference Finals coming off the bench? He’s come a long way since being a whipping boy in New York.
James Harden (Houston Rockets) – Like, credit where it’s due. Game three was a shocker, shooting 3 of 16, but he bounced back something wicked with 45 pts (13-22) 9 rebs & 5 asts in Houston’s game four victory. It’s just a shame for him that his team is getting torched as soon as he leaves the floor.
Bad Week:
Atlanta Hawks – At least the end came swiftly, if not painlessly. Still, a damn fine season from the A-Town lads. Four All-Stars, a Coach of the Year and Conference Finals.
Jeremy Guthrie (Kansas City Royals) – One completed innings, 9 hits, 3 walks, 4 homers & 11 earned runs vs the Yankees this week. Yep, one of the worst starts in the history of baseball. Whoops.
Ray McDonald (NFL Free Agent) – Half decent footballer, terrible person. He had off-field problems at the 49ers and now he’s been cut by the Chicago Bears after he was arrested for domestic assault and child endangerment. If you want the details, look up some scummier site. It ain’t good. Former teammate Kyle Long had this to say:
Player of the Week:
LeBron James (Cleveland Cavaliers) – He averaged nearly a triple-double against the Hawks, something only three men have ever done in a playoff series, and none of them ever did it with a 30 point average to boot. The end product? A fifth consecutive NBA Finals. LBJ all the way.
