The Whole 9… week of Nov. 30, 2009….

1. A.I.’s coming back to Philly
This story headlines this super-long T-Day weekend. Iverson retired, was led to believe the Knicks would sign him, and is now seeming to be ready to return to the Sixers, where he should’ve started the season. I’ve told everyone who’d listen to me since he was still a Nugget that there were only two places A.I. could go that made sense: Charlotte (with Larry Brown, which by the way is not applicable anymore since the team traded for Stephen Jackson), and Philly (which will always love Iverson more than any athlete in the city’s history, except…maybe…Jimmy Rollins). Both those teams also needed a SG who can score. And oh yeah, A.I. certainly can still do that. After the Jack trade last week, the Sixers were the only team that made sense. I almost was able to talk myself into the Knicks, but luckily that came and went before I could fully embrace that idea. But let’s face some facts; the Sixers are 5-11. They suck. AI2 is a second or third banana at best. Elton Brand is probably a second banana in his prime, which we suspect may be over. Lou Williams is hurt, but even before he got hurt this team couldn’t score.  A.I. just might be that spark to take them back into the playoffs.  It certainly would be a wonderful scene if that happened.

We all know Iverson as a Sixer, that’s how it should have always stayed.  Some guys just belong to a city. Bird belonged to Boston. Jeter belongs to N.Y. Probably a better comparison is Ricky Henderson, my favorite baseball player of all-time. Ricky started his career with the A’s, and had his most memorable seasons after returning. He played for many other organizations, but he belonged to Oakland, always. That’s how Iverson belongs to Philly. It always bugged me that he left.

2. Steelers lose to Ravens in OT, Hines calls out Ben, blah blah blah
Under the subject of “nothing to see here,” Hines called out Ben on TV supposedly. Only he really didn’t. He didn’t actually say anything to call out Ben. He did say that he’s played with concussions before and that he wished Ben was playing. Both of those are facts. Neither directly emplies him calling out Ben. On the other hand, the Steelers’ debut of Dennis Dixon was a mixed bag. He was great in the first half, but the Ravens adjusted well to him in the fourth quarter, and were able to shut him down. Well, on we go to next week hoping to cling to a playoff spot. Coach Tomlin says that the Steelers are going to “Unleash hell here in December,” so at least we got that goin for us.

2. Melo drops 50 on the Knicks
And we come to our second 50 point game of the year, this one a little less surprising. It was by the league’s leading scorer, Mr. Melo. However it wasn’t quite as impressive being that the Nuggets almost tripped over a terrible Knicks team, and did lose to an even worse T-Wolves team a couple nights later. They get Golden State tomorrow night which should be a great scorer’s duel because…

3. Monta Ellis scores 42 on Wed, 45 on Mon
Monta had to go and drop 45 tonight on the Pacers, and then fouls out with six minutes to go. The rate he was goin, he definitely would’ve topped 50 had he stayed in, and it was a pretty crappy call that he fouled out on. Actually Monta picked up a couple of terrible foul calls. But nothing could stop him. The best part of Monta’s development is that he’s starting everything on the defensive end. He guarded Danny Granger for most of the night and held him to 7-17 on the night. I think we are seeing the rise of another young superstar out west.

4. The Kings sweep all 3 Games, finally get some attention
While it’s true that the Kings beat the Knicks, Nets, and CP3-less Hornets, it’s also true that everyone else plays those 3 teams as well (at least until Chris Paul comes back). It’s also true that the Kings now sit at 8-8, and currently stand as the biggest surprise of the young season. J.T. and Tyreke are really the consistents, everyone else has sort of pitched in when needed. Donte Greene had a monster game against the Knicks, Beno Udrih was the MAN against the Nets, and Sergio Rodriguez destroyed the hot Darren Collinson and the Hornets.

5. Saints destroy Pats, ’74 Dolphins’ champagne ice begins to melt
The Saints and the Colts are both undefeated in one of the strangest football seasons I can remember. In other football news, Alex Smith looks to finally be on the right track, both Vince Young’s Titans and T.O.’s Bills are suddenly in the playoff races, and Desean Jackson and Matt Ryan both got hurt.

6. Brandon Jennings and Derrick Rose square off
In what was billed as this year’s eventual Rookie of the Year vs. Last year’s rookie of the year, Young Money and the Bucks beat Rose’s Bulls. Let me explain this a little more. The Bucks are fairly consistent, but not quite as good on their best nights as the Bulls. The Bulls are the opposite. They can play with anyone, and lose to anyone. Very strange team. And while Young Money has been very good, Andrew Bogut and Ersan Ilyasova deserver a lot of the credit for the Bucks’ turnaround as well. Still, this is definitely Young Money’s ship.

7. Rihanna Flops…sorta
In what seemed like the perfect set-up, Rihanna is not living up to expectations and looks to move slightly less than 200K in her first week. Oh well. None of her singles really took off before the release date, so it didn’t end up mattering that she released her album on the biggest retail weekend of the year. And that thing I wrote about her having the biggest album of the year? Let’s just forget I ever said that. In fact, I wouldn’t be surprised if Chris Breeze sells better when his album drops a week from today.

8. Clipse, Kellz, Timbo all spring a leak
As we get into the holiday rush, all of the albums that are actually going to be released should be leaking soon. Clipse I’m excited about, Kellz….ehhhh, Timbo….ehhhh. But all the leaked Clipse songs are dope, especially “Popular Demand,” and the “I’m Good” Remix with Rawwwsssee.

9. North Carolina’s Big Week
Having already lost to Syracuse, NC gets both Michigan State and Kentucky this week. We’ll see what the defending champs are made of, as we rarely see so many tough games scheduled so close to each other, so early in the season. Deon Thompson and Ed Davis are both studs, but what else do they have in the cabinet?

 

The Whole 9….

This, by the way, will be a re-occurring Monday feature. Anyway, the 9 biggest stories of the weekend, through my eyes:

1. Steelers big Loss (es?)
My Steelers lost again, this time to the Chiefs in OT.   But even more important than an embarrassing loss to the worst team in the league: Ben might have suffered a concussion.  If he did, we’re screwed.  Charlie Batch somehow broke his wrist.  And Dennis Dixon would be our starting QB for next week against the Lions.

The game was lost because of shitty special teams, a defense that just never could corral Matt Cassel’s receivers, and a running game that could never quite get started.  Ike Taylor had a chance for a pick that would’ve stopped the eventual game-winning drive, but whiffed at it.  This is what separates Ike from being in that elite crew of CB’s.  Nnamdi Asomugha or Champ Bailey would’ve not only intercepted that, but probably taken it to the house for a pick-6. Even watching Charles Tillman and his ability to knock out fumbles. If we’re strictly talking about coverage, then there’s no one better than Ike. But if you’re talking about a guy who QB’s are scared to throw that direction, Ike isn’t that guy. The worst that happens is an incompletion.

2.The Kings lost a back-to-back.

The Kings lost a back-to-back over the weekend at Dallas on Friday and at Houston on Saturday. As I mentioned earlier, the Kings were Tyreke-less against the Rockets but probably still should have won.  So without their two best players, the Kings barely lost to a (in my estimation) playoff-bound team.  Not bad, but the Kings record is still pretty ugly at 5-7.  Luckily (perhaps?), they get Memphis tonight.  A team with two overrated wingmen, a numbers & ball hog in the post, and a bunch of crap.  So ideally they can get back on the right track, and if Tyreke is back: even better.

3. The Incredibly Strange Saga of Tracy McGrady Continues
Now T-Mac wants to be re-activated and the team doesn’t want him to. It’s clear why they wouldn’t want him: they could get an injury exception if he doesn’t play. But what they are ignoring is that when he’s on, he’s a superstar. One of the 7 or 8 players in the NBA when he’s on. This team is current probably the sixth or seventh best team in the West as currently constructed, without Yao. With T-Mac, they could easily challenge the top. The problem is, what would they do with him? Do they want to discourage Trevor Ariza from playing as well as he is? He’s been the team’s best player thus far. The other wing is manned by Shane Battier, who I’m sure would sit if needed. But the team isn’t going to bench the best defender in the league. This is going to get ugly real quick. Not a good situation.

4. Fiddy Flops
50’s latest album Before I Self Destruct has been targeted for 150k in sales for the first week. A week after taunting Rick Ross by faux-crying over Triple C’s first week numbers, 50 is ironically now changing his stance on sales. What a shocker. 50’s done. Let’s move on. Why do we keep giving podiums to this guy?

5. Lions Win Thriller
It was the “Bad Bowl,” a game we had mocked for weeks. But strangely enough, it was the best game of the day. The Lions beat the Browns, 38-37 on a last second touchdown pass by Matthew Stafford, and the ensuing extra point by Jason Hanson. Stafford threw 5 touchdowns total, and put together 422 yards in the air. His counter part, Brady Quinn, threw for 304 yards and 4 TDs. Calvin Johnson caught 7 passes for 161 yards and a TD. No defense whatsoever, but great television.

6. Wale Flop Fallout
This is really a story from last week, but internet heads take notice: Your two over-hyped artists this year (Wale and Slaughterhouse) both flopped. It is well known that you do not buy albums, but if you do not start giving some sort of support to your artists, no one is going to care about catering to you.

7. The Dubs are A Mess
More on this story later, but now Nellie’s sick too!

8. The Niners are a Passing Team?
Mike Singletary should have been paying attention last week. The Niners tried to run the ball, and fell behind 23-3. Then the team let Alex Smith air it out and almost pulled off a stunning comeback, before running out of time and losing 30-24. This would lead me to the conclusion that with Michael Crabtree, Vernon Davis, and Alex Smith, perhaps the team should be throwing the ball. Don’t forget Josh Morgan, everyone’s pick as a breakout player for this season, and Isaac Bruce, one of the best WR’s in history. Frank Gore is one of the better receiving RBs in football, and they have Joe Staley, one of the best LTs in football, to protect Smith’s blind side.

9. KG’s Shot
In perhaps the only basketball game worth talking about, the Knicks almost pulled the upset of the mighty Celtics at MSG. Unfortunately, KG hit the game winning shot as time expired to back the Truth’s 33 an pull out the win. Too bad for the Knicks, they really suck.

 

I Can Transform Ya….

These two guys above have a lot in common.  They’re both in the process of saving the NBA in two smaller markets.  They both have star two-guards who are hurt.  They also have both transformed teams that were terrible last year.  And oh yeah, they’re probably the two main rookie of the year candidates.

The picture above is from the Jordan Brand Classic in 2008, of which Tyreke Evans (23 points, 4 dimes) and Brandon Jennings (14 dimes) won co-MVP’s.  I should also mention how well Johnny Flynn is playing in Minnesota, but he’s not quite on these guys’ level.

Evans was really the only fellow PG Jennings didn’t claim to be better than during the draft lead-up.  And with good cause, Evans is a beast.  They’ve both taken teams that looked terrible and made them respectable.  Jennings’ Bucks are 8-3.  Young Money’s averaging 25 points and 6 dimes.  Evans’ Kings are only 5-7, but coming from the worst record in the league – that’s pretty good.  Tyreke’s averaging 18, 5, and 5.  He’s even getting a steal and a half per game.  In particular, the Kings are 4-3 since K-Mart went down.  And tonight they lost to the Rox without Tyreke.  He’s been averaging 24 points, 6 dimes, and 6 boards.

The Kings have been rejuvenated of late, despite the tough schedule they’ve faced.  A lot of the credit has gone to Jason Thompson, and with good reason.  He’s absolutely taken his game to another level in his second year.  But it’s Tyreke drawing double teams that’s enabled JT to have more openings.  Evans doesn’t have much of a shooting touch, he’s penetrate and dish or penetrate to the rack.  When he gets a jump shot of some kind; watch out.  The Kings’ biggest weakness so far is the lack of shooting.  That should change when Francisco Garcia and Kevin Martin come back.

The Bucks have been even better.  By most metric statistics, Brandon Jennings has been the second best PG in the league, behind CP3.  Yes, better than Nash, D-Will, B-Diddy, Gilbert, Chauncey, and Tony Parker.  Of course that double nickel he dropped on the W’s last weekend helps.  The dude has also, basically, saved Andrew Bogut’s career.  The former first overall pick was averaging 16 and 9, before bowing out with injury.  The team also has an emerging player in Ersan Ilyasova, who’s been the ultimate glue guy for that team.

But the credit for the emergence of both of these teams has to lie on the rookie point guards.  And this will not be the last time they are grouped together.