Bench Robert Horry? You lose.

Hey, San Antonio... when you have a proven asset on your roster, it is usually wise to actually exploit this asset before the Mamba sends you home for the summer.

To recap:

With 2.1 seconds left in Game 4 of the Western Conference Finals... the Spurs were down by 2 points. And they had possession -- with an inbounds play to be drawn up. Hmmm, down 2 points, time running out and trying to avoid going down 3-1 in the Western Conference Finals... that sounds very familiar. Oh, yeah, now I know why!




So, Coach Pop draws up a play for the most clutch NBA playoff performer of all-time, right? (No?!?!?) How the hell does Robert Horry not get the ball there?

Sure, Brent Barry was fouled. No, that's never actually going to be called a foul there. Plus, the dude was 30 feet from the basket and facing the wrong direction. As far as designing in-bounds plays go - that one was quite awful. Horry may not have made a shot to that point in the game, but the entire building knew he would have made a 3 to win that game if you got him the ball. Idiots.

THEN, adding insult to injury...

In what might have been Big Shot Rob's final NBA game, how do the Spurs use him?



You gotta be f--king kidding me... a DNP-CD??

Just for that, the Spurs deserved to lose.

The NBA will fine Floppers next year (This means you Utah)

According to an ESPN article by Marc Stein, the NBA will fine players for flopping next year. Fine amounts are not set yet, but NBA observers and video reviewers will be tasked with reporting blatant violations. This is fantastic news and something that Dave and I have been pulling for since long before this blog started.

I really like Rasheed Wallace's take on the ridiculousness that is the Celtics flopping in this series:

"All that bull(bleep)-ass calls they had out there. With Mike [Callahan] and
Kenny [Mauer] -- you've all seen that (bleep)," Wallace said. "You saw them
calls. The cats are flopping all over the floor and they're calling that
(bleep). That (bleep) ain't basketball out there. It's all (bleeping)
entertainment. You all should know that (bleep). It's all (bleeping)
entertainment."

I do have to take the potential fining with a grain of salt though. It's Stu Jackson and David Stern running who gets fined ultimately, and much like the way they manipulate officials, this will be manipulated as well.

Another portion of the article talked about possible changes to the playoffs. I'm a huge proponent of letting it be the top 16 teams that get into the playoffs instead of 8 teams in each league. And I wholeheartedly disagree with this being a reason not to do it:

There is also naturally considerable opposition from teams in the East to
sending the clubs with the 16 best records to the playoffs. The current format
enabled several sub-.500 teams this season -- such as Indiana, New Jersey and
Chicago -- to stay in playoff contention well into April, giving them something
to sell to their fan bases in spite of sub-par records and constant reminders
from the media about the West's superior depth.

That is essentially ignoring the fact that there were multiple teams in the West that did not enjoy such a luxury, specifically the Portland Trailblazers and the Sacramento teams. Both of those teams had legitimate arguments that they were better than the Hawks, Wizards, Raptors or 76ers. I don't buy that argument at all, there is a give and take on it that is equal on either side, so in no way is it better to leave it the same just because some crappy teams in the east got a shot at the playoffs that they did not earn.

Robert Horry for the HOF (plea #3)

... and I didn't even have to write the article this time.

JA Adande wrote today's plea. I'm just linking to it here.

Though I think he might have lifted my "Robert Horry is the greatest winner of the modern era" tagline to finish his own column...

Did the Lottery results help the Rockets, too?

Tuesday night, there were some clear winners following the NBA's annual Draft Lottery:

The Chicago Bulls (1.7% chance pays off huge)
The Miami Heat (because the decision is now made easy for them)
David Stern (suck it, conspiracy theorists!)
The Eastern Conference

... and maybe, just maybe -- the Houston Rockets.

Yes, I'm being serious.

Let's break it down. The Houston Rockets have a few basic goals to accomplish during this offseason: (1) find a taker for Luther Head, (2) solidify the point guard position, and (3) get more athletic at the swing-positions. I think we can all agree on this, right?

Now, let's look at the Chicago Bulls. They have their choice between Derrick Rose - the supposed can't miss PG who also happens to be from Chicago, or Michael Beasley - the low-post presence Chicago has never really had before. They can't go wrong here. BUT... the fans, bloggers and media are already begging the Bulls to bypass Beasley and draft Rose.

So, let's say the Bulls settle on Rose.

Enter Daryl Morey...

If the Bulls take Rose, that is a clear signal that they have no use for Kirk Hinrich anymore. There's a fan petition out to get rid of him already. Which sounds too much like my initial Rafer petition. Hey! Idea!!!

ESPN is killing me by not having the Trade Machine already operational for the offseason, so we'll have to wing it here......... but don't the Rockets have to at least consider a big trade with Chicago if the price is right? T-Mac still hasn't gotten out of the first round. He's about to be a very, very old 29 year old with a bad back and lots of mileage. Luther Head sucks. Rafer sucks less than he used to, but he's not exactly CP3 or Deron Williams.

If Chicago is at all interested in the concept of Rose being paired with McGrady -- wouldn't the Rockets also be interested in a lineup of, say:

C: Yao/ Mutombo (or Hibbert??)
PF: Scola/ Landry/ Hayes
SF: Battier/ Luol Deng / Mike Harris
SG: Ben Gordon / Battier / Deng
PG: Kirk Hinrich / Aaron Brooks / Bobby J

while you could never replace the intangibles McGrady brings... I think it's fair to say McGrady hasn't exactly been bringing much of 'em to the table lately. Furthermore, McGrady has two years left on his contract at $20M each year. Deng was a potential all-star a year ago. Hinrich is coming off a down year but the dude can ball. And he's clearly better than Rafer/Luther. Gordon is going into his 4th year and is instant offense *plus* he can actually shoot free throws.

Isn't this the very definition of "buy low / sell high"???

The only real issue would be getting the contracts to match for salary cap purposes, since Hinrich is a base-year player right now and Deng and Gordon don't exactly have contracts just yet. But Daryl Morey is a genius and he could figure it out.

This trade would make the Rockets younger, faster and more flexible at each position almost immediately. Yao would still be the Man, but he's get many more open shots with Scola on the post and Deng able to hit the mid-range J with regularity. The Rockets could be scary good.

Am I wrong, or could this really work!?!?

Chad Ford forgot to pay attention

In his mock draft today, Chad Ford did a pretty decent job. At least he did up until the Rockets pick, saying they would take JJ Hickson out of North Carolina St. If you don't know anything about Hickson, he's actually a really good player. He's also a Power Forward.

I know that for every year that did not include Charles Barkley post the Otis Thorpe era that the Rockets have needed a power forward. This year is not one of those year. While Ford accurately notates that the Rockets have Luis Scola already, he forgets that 1. The Rockets just drafted a rookie in Carl Landry at the PF slot last year, a rookie that worked out very well and 2. The Rockets signed Chuck Hayes to a 4 year contract before last year.

So Mr. Ford, I know it's still early, but that's just a terrible mistake.

Also, let it be known that I believe the Rockets need to draft 1 of 4 players for this draft not to suck: DJ Augustin, Chris Douglas Roberts, Brandon Rush or Roy Hibbert

That's my draft board, DJ is a pipe dream, but one of the other three should be there. They all fit a huge need and I beleive Daryl Morey will find a way to make it happen.

I guess that was a false alarm

The rumors of Robert Horry's retirement have been greatly exaggerated...

or he and his team just felt like playing a few more games.

Though as much as I am a huge Horry fan, I was actually hoping CP3 would win and he would be able to match up against Kobe. Now I'm just praying that we aren't subjected to a Detroit/San Antonio Finals again. (Detroit v. Kobe... sure. Boston v. Kobe... even better. Boston v. San Antonio... hmmmmmm.)

I did find it odd that both Steve Javie *and* Dick Bavetta were the refs last night. Javie seems to be the ref at most every playoff game this year. Even though he's the worst referee in the league not named "Violet Palmer."

... let the conspiracy talk begin. David Stern obviously doesn't care. He's not even trying to be subtle about it anymore.

Ding, Dong!

... the Wicked Witch is dead!

Enjoy yet another ringless year, Utah.


(oh, and thank you, Kobe... I can rest easy again knowing that the Jazz will once again not win anything. I am "okay" with the Lakers, Pistons or Hornets as Champs... maybe even Boston or San Antonio. Just please not Cleveland.)

Hey, Utah, maybe next year... try not having your (second) best player foul out with 4 minutes left in an elimination game. Just a thought.



What am I thinking... Utah not fouling?
That's unpossible.

Phil Ivey hates the Utah Jazz, too

Noted professional poker player Phil Ivey was at the Lakers/Jazz game last night...

courtside, naturally.

Oh, he's the only person sitting down in this picture:


My guess? Ivey is a noted Houston Rockets fan, so he was just there last night to make sure the Utah Jazz lose. Even Phil Ivey hates the Utah Jazz. Looks like we have something in common.

Robert Horry for the HOF (plea #2)

Last night, Robert Horry set a new milestone: Most playoff games ever (238). He surpassed the record previously held by Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. I guess it helps to be a Laker for part of your career if you want to play in a lot of playoff games (?)

This is just another playoff-related record for Mr. Horry. His name is all over the record book for various things accomplished in the months of April through June. Particularly in June... or did everyone forget the dude has seven rings. Seven! (More than MJ!)

Yes, it still hurts to see Horry in a Spurs jersey. It hurts a lot. But anyway...

Sadly, because the Spurs cannot win in even-numbered years and now trail the New Orleans Hornets 3 games to 2 after losing last night, I realized that the next game the Spurs play just might be the last time we see Robert Horry in an NBA uniform. Think about that for a second.

Thursday night could possibly be the last game of Robert Horry's career.

Horry was part of the loaded draft of 1992 (Shaq, Alonzo, Laettner, Harold Miner, etc. etc.).

1992!??!?!

Horry has won championship rings in 1994, 1995, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2005 and 2007. Because the Spurs fear even numbers, I think it's safe to say Horry will not get ring #8 this year. And that's okay. (Just so long as Utah doesn't win a ring, I'll be fine.)

What kills me though is seeing this on ESPN this morning:

"won't get into the Hall of Fame..." Why the hell not? Why is Horry already precluded from even being considered a Hall of Famer? No, he has not been an All Star before. No, Horry does not average 20 points a game or grab 15 rebounds or some other hollow statistical marker you might deem notable. All the guy has done for 17 years is win. Win! That's what the game is about.

Put another way... every season Robert Horry has been in the NBA - his team has made the playoffs. Every. Single. Year. His bio is quite fantastic. So maybe Horry hasn't been named an All Star before... but whose career would you rather have? Robert Horry's? ... or Vince Carter's? (or even Tracy McGrady's?) Vince Carter may have been half-amazing at one time in his life, but he'd trade places with Horry immediately. So would McGrady.

So I readily acknowledge that Thursday might be the end of the career of my favorite player. All good things must come to an end sometime (like 22 game winning streaks...). Consequently, The Robert Horry for the Hall of Fame Campaign will shift into overdrive here whenever he officially hangs up the sneakers for good. Horry will forever be a Houston Rocket to me.


... nice hair, dude.

Looks like we have that PF slot finally figured out!

Both ends of the Luis Landry rookie power forward made the All Rookie team today. Luis Scola on the first team and Carl Landry on the second team. Congrats to both of our guys and let's get Landry under contract now for a while. Our lone other rookie, Aaron Brooks, even got 1 second place vote!

All Rookie Team

Of note, what idiot coach didn't vote for Durant as a first teamer? I'm guessing it had to be Isiah Thomas, he's the only one dumb enough for that.


Editors Note: Looks like it was probably the same guy that did this: Acie Law, Atlanta, 1
I'm a Longhorn, but I really like Acie Law, but only an absolute moron would think he should be on the all Rookie team in any capacity.