Ya know, I'm really amazed that people notice this blog.
Because The No-Look Pass will no longer be updated here. NLP was recently picked up by the good guys over at the Most Valuable Network. Yes, of course, it's excellent news! I'm excited that this blog will get more traffic and I get to talk with more and more people about the NBA. I just never thought that someone would take notice considering all I'm really doing is bringing up stuff that my friends and I talk about (especially the obscure NBA players).
All right, so the three of you that read this blog... if ya got this bookmarked, update it to...
Being that the blog is still only a month old, The No-Look Pass is still looking to expand on its content. I'm sure we can talk about more than just L.A. basketball and obscure players, right? Got a suggestion? E-Mail me at r2estyle@yahoo.com.
Anyway, we're off to a new chapter to this blog! See ya guys over at MVN! Don't disappoint John Crotty!
I think we remember him more in Providence where he and Austin Croshere took the Friars to the Elite Eight. This was his one shining moment; a sick crossover that left Michael Dickerson wondering where God went. The move was called... THE SHAMMGOD.
Anyway, after that tournament, he left for the NBA. He was picked in the 2nd round (46th overall) for the Washington Bullets. He never really got off the pine as he only played 20 games, averaging 3.1 PPG and only burned 7.3 MPG. His NBA career was over after that.
Thanks to Hoops Addict for this. But, yeah, God Shammgod is now apparently playing in China showing the Chinese ballers the Shammgod. People basically thought that it was the wrong move for him to leave school early as he wasn't mature enough to handle the rigors of the league. Also heard he had an attitude but I can't really confirm that.
Regardless, we will never forget God Shammgod. He had the coolest name ever and even had a move named after him. Even if he never panned out in the NBA, at the very least... I want a basketball move named after me. The MORALDE. How does that sound?
I'll have the usual obscure player section later but I HAVE to blog about this.
So I was watching a potential Game of the Year candidate in the Lakers and the Hornets. David West and Chris Paul were putting on a show for N'awlins while Kobe Bryant turned into NBA2K9 mode when he was making three after three after three. We were in for a barnburner. Lakers were up, 92-89, after three.
What the hell happened?
It was David West who went into NBA2K9 mode. Sometimes, a guy just gets into a zone. Even still, I was waiting for some double-team to happen (without leaving Chris Paul alone). It never came.
But what baffled me was the offense. They decided to camp behind the arc and shoot shoot shoot. Yes, they were open looks. But you have to establish yourself in the paint, guys. Pau Gasol never really got going. If you say you need Andrew Bynum, go ahead and have him work it! Instead, it was Derek Fisher and Trevor Ariza (Ariza?!) chucking up bombs. 16/34 (3/11 in the fourth quarter!) is a good percentage, yes, but if you start getting dependent on them, you're more likely to lose that game than win. It's more common sense that the closer you are to the basket, the higher percentage the shot is. Go inside.You wonder about the freethrow descrepancy. How about being more aggressive about going inside? 34 3-point attempts ain't going to get you to the line.
The Hornets deserved the win (116-105 over the Lakers). They recognized that Kobe was hot (37 in the first three quarters but only two thereafter) so they blanketed him. New Orleans made the supporting cast beat them and it worked. While Lamar Odom was injured, yes, the Lakers were still good and deep enough to beat the Hornets.
But, Christ... David West. He tied a career-high with 40 points (15 coming from the fourth quarter) and he also had 11 boards. He was making all his midrange jumpers. He was bumping off all his defenders and creating space for his shots. I don't know what else to say. He was simply phenomenal. I can't forget Chris Paul having 32 and 15 and James Posey's clutch three, but this game would not be won without West.
No one should sleep on David West anymore. I'd be shocked if he wasn't an All-Star yet again.
L.A. fans, stop chanting, "Boston sucks!" The Lakers couldn't even get past N'Awlins. Stop it.
Honestly, I don't know what the Clippers are doing.
Right now, they're 8-25... and even this was worse than I imagined when I predicted they wouldn't make the postseason because of the weird mix of talent that they have.
It's just a lot of bad luck. First, Elton Brand turned his back on them. Sure, they tried their best to make up for it with all these signings but...
Jason Williams abruptly retired. Baron Davis and Mike Dunleavy started clashing. Zach Randolph and Mike Taylor get injured. Chris Kaman is STILL injured. Al Thornton, despite scoring a lot, isn't playing smart basketball. Mardy Collins is putting up airballs. And we all know about Ricky Davis.
And, of course, bad game and team management. Baron puts up threes in front of two people. Eric Gordon is their best shooter and he never gets the ball during crunchtime. And after Paul Davis has an awesome game, he gets released. And why did they jerk Fred Jones around? Why would they acquire this Cheikh Samb guy? Why release players when the team is ravaged with injuries? WHY ARE THEY SHOPPING MARCUS CAMBY AROUND?!
Seriously. Someone tell me what these Clippers are doing. What is their goal this year?! And the thing is... I don't even see them trying for 2010.
Happy Monday, passers. Well, no, it's not exactly a Happy Monday for me considering I woke up with a sore throat. But, hey, I guess it's time for a blog post.
Orlando, Cleveland, Dallas, and Boston all lost yesterday in what I called Bizarro Sunday. It would've been sweeter had the Clippers beat the streaking Pistons (seven in a row now... didn't I say to watch out for them?).
Of course, Boston fans are worried because their beloved Celts have lost four of six. I think fans should really start worrying if they lose a home game. All four losses have been away from home and it's always tougher to win on the road. Maybe they're distracted by this whole Stephon Marbury thing? Maybe they're not as together as we think they are.
LeBron James finally got called for a walk. About time! I remember him walking during Game 5 of the 2006 Playoffs against the Washington Wizards for the game-winner (come on now, you guys know it). His signature "crab dribble" was a travel, guys. He lifted his foot after a jumpstop, which makes it three steps. As much as I love these superstars, I hope they crack down on these guys taking steps.
Can someone convince me that Orlando is for real? In the meantime, it was pretty sweet to see J.J. Redick get playing time against the Raptors (he scored eight points). I missed most of the first three quarters of the game so I wonder if Keith Bogans got hurt or something.
Illastrate told me that Marcus Camby (after the game was over) slammed the ball and yelled, "We effin' suck!!!" Well, he didn't say "effin'"... but, yeah, the Clippers need that: more disharmony. Baron Davis has reportedly wanted out... and the Clippers have been ravaged by suspensions and injuries. I don't think I've seen a team that has worse luck than these Clippers this year. And the Clippers have been bad 85% of the time.
Of course, all is good in Lakerland (even if Derek Fisher is playing way too many minutes). Them Lakers have quietly won six in a row and have reclaimed the best record in the NBA (27-5).
So that's what went on in the L last night. Oh, yeah.
Lastly... I want to thank The NBA Breakdown for giving me the spotlight for Blog of the Week! I recommend you guys to check their show out. Here ya go. Let me promote these guys.
The NBA Breakdown
The NBA Breakdown
Hosted by Dave Mendonca and Audley Stephenson.
The NBA Breakdown is a fun, high energy call-in basketball talk show which focuses on fantasy players, historical NBA moments and news from around the league through lively discussion.
Personally, I think these guys are funny... and they've had quality guests like the current mayor of SacramentoKevin Johnson, John Starks, and (most recently) Spud Webb. So check it out... and tell 'em Rey-Rey sent ya.
And since we're in a new year, the blog's new resolution is to continue to improve on the quality of the content. We already have a feature on obscure players. I will gladly welcome tips, suggestions, and new features to improve this blog.
So, yeah, Happy New Year to everyone. There were no games scheduled yesterday and, quite frankly, my mind is still all over the place that's not NBA-related. Nevertheless, I just didn't feel right not making a post today. There ARE a lot of great games to watch tonight, though. The schedule includes... Miami Vs Orlando, New Orleans Vs Portland, and Utah Vs Lakers. For the other team in L.A.? Them Clips got the Phoenix Suns.
The big news right now is that Stephon Marbury is supposedly getting close to signing with Boston. There were also rumblings that the Lakers themselves were interested in Marbury. I think Boston is better-equipped to handle a problem like Marbury in the locker room (with veterans like Paul Pierce there). While Phil Jackson has dealt with nutcases in the past, the rest of the team is young... plus the L.A. media will make a story like this explode. I don't think the Laker team can handle that.
Plus, wouldn't this be sweet for Kevin Garnett?
Understandably, most don't like the move. It might hurt Rajon Rondo's confidence and Starbury is always a danger to any locker room. But I honestly think that Boston would be able to handle him the best. And if he doesn't pan out, they can just easily cut him. Then Stephon can go to Italy to finish his career!
Anyway, enjoy the games tonight. I'm sure some people have already seen this. While I actually don't know if they're going to fine Andrei Kirilenko for this, I say that he just earned himself a WWE contract! I guess in Vince McMahon's mind, AK-47 would be a heel.
Okay, this whole "making fun of OBSCURE NBA PLAYERS" thing really started with my friend, Beerman.
We were chillin' at his place when he showed us his old NBA Hoops, SkyBox, Fleer, and Upper Deck cards. And then he came across this player.
BEERMAN: "Man, what the heck? He made 100% of his freethrows?!" REY-REY: "Who did?" BEERMAN: "This guy. RICH KING."
The Seattle Supersonics (I hope you guys in Seattle get a team back soon!) in 1991 drafted the 7'2" center in the first round, 14th overall. I suppose anytime you get a chance to draft a big man with skill, you do it. For the record, I never saw him play when he was in college. Sadly, I never really saw him play much on a professional level, either.
Ya know why my friend mentioned that he shot 100% from the stripe? Because he only played THREE games in his second year, and he only attempted TWO freethrows (made 'em both, obviously). Ha ha ha.
Again, he didn't last very long. King was ravaged by injuries throughout his career. His best stats? His rookie year when he only played 40 games and he only averaged 2.2 points. It wasn't because he wasn't skilled that he averaged only miniscule numbers. King was just injured so much that he never got to live up to his billing (I mean, he got drafted in the first round so he must have been, at least, something).
And thanks to seattlepi.com for this story... but, yeah, he never got to step on an NBA court after his contract expired with Seattle (hey, $2.5 mil for four years at the time was pretty hefty). Also, according to this story, he is pals with Detlef Schrempf and he's become a licensed financial analyst and is also working at Marquis Jet. He's also done a little coaching in the CBA.
But the best news of all is that he's healthy and apparently has no more aches and pains. That's definitely the most important part.
Much love, Rich King! You are the reason why we made this section! Happy New Year to you if you get to read this!
...has anyone noticed that the Detroit Pistons have been playing well for the last couple of weeks?
I don't get to watch them often but I caught the last part of their game against Orlando Magic. It almost felt like the Detroit of old. Is it coincidence that after Antonio McDyess' first game back (a loss to the Wizards), the Pistons have won seven of nine (with a current four-game win streak)? It's certainly given them depth on the frontcourt... and Michael Curry has been tinkering with his line-up ever since the Allen Iverson trade. Rip Hamilton hasn't played in the last two games and there have been hints that he might come off the bench when he returns.
Iverson has mentioned that it feels weird for him to be scoring less... but has also acknowledged that he doesn't have to score twenty anymore to win games. We do know that Rodney Stuckey has emerged over those last couple of weeks. He's averaged 21.5 PPG over his last five, including 40 against Chicago.
Was it foolish of us to write the Pistons off early? Currently, they're 18-11 and sitting at the #5 spot in the East. And they have three winnable games coming up with New Jersey, Sacramento, and the Clippers. Their true test will be the three road games after stopping by Staples Center (Portland, Denver, and Utah).
I personally think they're going to be all right come playoff time... and will, at least, make the second round of the playoffs. But to Joe Dumars, all right is NOT all right. With Cleveland and Boston at another level, Dumars is in for another disappointment because, for him, anything but a title is a failure.
It's just a random blog of the NBA. Since I live in Southern California, there will probably be a lot of Los Angeles Laker or Clipper-related stuff on here. But I just really love the NBA so I'll talk about whatever comes to mind. My friends and I particularly love to reminisce about obscure NBA players in the past so I dedicate every Wednesday to those guys that hardly get any love.
I'll try my best to update this blog on the weekdays.
It's me, Rey-Rey! I'm just your average Southern California guy who has a lot of interests. I love hoops, football, video games, blogging, people-watching, etc. Just trying to live the L.A. life.
