Yes, it's true. On Sunday, the Los Angeles Clippers played defense. So good a defense in fact that the Memphis Grizzlies didn't score in the final 5 minutes of the game. The Grizzlies only scored 7 points the entire quarter. I'm pretty sure Smokey the Bear is a Grizzly bear because the Memphis Grizzlies did everything in their power to help the Clippers put-out whatever offensive fire they had going coming into the 4th (try a 22 point lead). Well, good job, Grizzlies - another forest fire prevented. Either that or the whole team just decided to hibernate for the entire 4th. I could go on forever with the bear references, but check out this 6 minute video of how the Clippers kept the Memphis Grizzlies at 88 for what seemed like...forever:
(Credit to thecalminsanity for this calmly insane video recap. The 4:31 mark is a gem, with Sebastian Telfair awkwardly being held up by Deandre Jordan while looking like a constipated baby...or something. )
The New Jersey Nets could have used a comeback like this against the Lakers last night because just hours after the Clippers made their exciting 4th quarter run on Sunday afternoon, the Nets took to the same court and became the third team to start 0-17. The last team to go 0-17? Why yes, your Comeback Clips. How poetic indeed. News just in: The Nets hate poetry.
- The Cleveland Cavaliers sign Leon Powe to a two-year deal. If he ever gets healthy and returns to his active 2008 form, the league better watch out. Boston will most likely regret the day they let him go, the day he poetically beats them in a wine and gold jersey, and the day Lebron James' decision to stay with the Cavs hinges solely upon Powe's improvement as a rising star. But let's not get ahead of ourselves - he still has till 2010 before he sees the hardwood.
This train has passed, Boston. Right through Powe's out-stretched legs. What.
- Ben Wallace returns to the Detroit Pistons just after seriously considering retirement. He will most likely back-up the great Kwamay Brown (my how the mighty have fallen). In other news, did you know that Ben Wallace first came into the league as a point guard? Him and Nash were point guard rivals in college. And him and the air were free throw rivals during this game:
Lebron knows what's up.
LakersNews:
- Kurt Rambis nabs the head coaching job for the Minnesota Timberwolves. We wish him the best and hope he can somehow facilitate Ricky Rubio for Sasha Vujacic trade with the Lakers. What impact will this leaving have on the Lakers' championship hopes? Well...they did just get a little less white.
-Pau Gasol injures his left hand during Team Spain's practice and has subsequent surgery soon after. He will be out for 3 weeks and should be just healthy enough before the season begins to effectively resume looking awkward at the free throw line.
Double goose-neck - impressive. Looking like a sasquatch - impressively priceless.
- Someone suggested that we should bubble wrap all the Lakers players for the rest of the summer to insure nobody gets injured. Sounds like a great idea. While we're at it, let's go one step further with Sasha and place him into a nice UPS box and ship him off as well - nicely bubble wrapped and all.
Clippers News:
- A Ramon Sessions signing by the Clippers appears imminent after the Knicks have apparently dropped out of the race. If Dunleavy can nab this rising, young guard, the supporting cast of the future for the L.A. Blakers would appear to be filling out just nicely.
- Baron Davis has reportedly gotten his laptop stolen. He is also reportedly very concerned that some private pictures of his found within the laptop might be leaked onto the internet. His lawyers have gotten involved and have sent out a warning to the culprit that if Davis's privacy is violated and these pictures are released, a lawsuit will be filed. What's more perplexing to me is the fact that Baron Davis could possibly have any more embarrassing and disturbing pictures than this one:
Conan O'Brien: He's not afraid of people seeing any sexual pictures...He's afraid of people seeing him wearing a Clippers jersey. Ouch.
We can only hope that 1. Baron Davis didn't go Vanessa Anne Hudgens on us, 2. that he's not friends with R. Kelly, and 3. that every one involved in those pictures is of legal age to go to Dave and Buster's. In the end, who knows, maybe Davis is just hiding some embarrassing cue pictures thathe took at an Asian place. In any case, we're all cue-rious.
The Fridge Neatly Packages NBA News For YouIn Nice,Witty Tupperware, Jonathan Hernandez (Chick'sFridge)
Odom will sign a four-year contract, with the fourth year at the Lakers' option.
One source with knowledge of the talks told ESPN.com the four-year deal is worth $33 million if the Lakers exercise the final year of the contract.
Hi, my name is Lamar.I like candy. And championships.
And candy championships.
Details of the final negotiation process (what we know so far):
* The current deal as constructed will offer Odom about $8 mill a year for the first 3 years - a guaranteed $25mill. If the Lakers choose to excercise Odom's 4th year option, they will pay him about $8 mill extra. If they choose not to retain him, they will have to pay him a $2mill buy-out.
* Contrary to popular belief that Odom was merely using Miami as leverage to get a better deal, Odom was actually very, very close to signing with the Heat. A lot of 'Heat'-ed emotion was involved in his final decision making process - emotion and pride that he admirably doused in order to remain loyal to the organization that never once traded him during its tumultuous years in the past - an organization that he now has the best chance of winning another ring with.
* As Korean dramatic as Dwayne Wade got on Twitter, neither he nor Pat Riley nor any shady candy trucks met with Lamar Odom at all.
* The Portland Trail Blazers stepped in at the last minute on Tuesday night and supposedly offered L.O. a 5 yr/$40 million contract. Odom, however, had no interest whatsoever to blaze any trails up in Portland. [Update:] ESPN is revising this story and pulling Portland completely out of the picture. Portland didn't even blaze any trails for Lamar...
* Ron Artest was the biggest reason Lamar Odom kept pushing to stay (He wanted to win one for Ron):
"But to now get an opportunity to play with Ron Artest, a guy I've known 16 years, it means a lot. I told Ron Ron a few weeks ago I couldn't walk away. I still had to fight. Everytime negotiations didn't go the way I thought, I just took a step back, like them pulling the offer off the table, I just knew I had to fight."
Makes you wonder if Odom would have been as torn if it was Trevor Ariza and not his old-time buddy Ron in the purple and gold instead. In this case, the decision to sign Ron Artest over Trevor Ariza, if there were any doubts before, now looks like the best executive choice that could have been made at the time because of its two-fold implications in keeping 'sugar in the cupboard'- so to speak.
* Jeff Schwartz did not disrespect the Lakers organization or ignore them. In fact, he advised Odom to take a look at the previous deals being offered. And after the Lakers pulled the offers from the table, it was Schwartz who told Odom to take his time and not pull a knee-jerk reaction by immediately signing with the Heat. In the end, everyone has their fair share of the blame and innocence when it comes to who pushed who's buttons.
* Jerry Bussdid not pull his original offers of 4/$36mill and 3/$10mill purely because he felt disrespected, but because the NBA's salary cap had lowered and because he was merely playing a shrewd card in further negotiations. Lamar Odom seems to have come to this understanding as well, refusing to take things too personally.
* Dr. Buss got cold feet about the luxury tax he'll pay, told Mitch to explore other options. Phil, back from Montana, warmed them up to the notion of the Lakers becoming UNSTOPPABLE with Odom. Rest is history. Via Ric Bucher's Twitter. * The Lakers, injuries barred, look like an NBA Dynasty that's primed to move past the Celtics' title count.
* “Riding off Kobe’s coattail ain’t bad,” Odom said, laughing. “He’s got something special going around. I’ve got to be around. I’ve got to be one of the apostles. There was no way I was going to pass up playing with Kobe, Pau, Andrew and Ron-Ron.”
WTF? Kobe's pissed he only has 4 all-stars on his team.
Odom's 360 degree turn-around dunk...er, deal:
We're going to have a 360 degree turn-around this year. I'm just happy to be a...Laker.
I just had to take a jab at LO's awkwardly-cute spaciness. This interview was taken during his Clipper days. I think he meant to say "180 degree turnaround" because a full 360 turn-around leads you right back to where you were in the first place - which for the Clippers at that time (and many a time) led straight back to Suckville. This summer, however, Odom's 360 degree turnaround tendencies factor out just perfectly for the Lakers and their future plans. At long last, we can all finally breathe a large sigh of relief and bust out those red vines and Hi-chews in sugar-rushed celebration (though it's probably best for Odom to stay away from any candy that has the word 'Hi'/'High' in it). At this point, I don't know whether to strangle him or to hug him. All I know is - I'm smiling. A smiling strangle should do. FRICKEN' ODOM!! WELCOME BACK!
Count the number of A's he put into his 'Back' and that should give you a good estimate of how many championships he expects to win with the Lakers in the near future. Back that thing up.
The Fridgeis stackedwith sugar-foods, Jonathan Hernandez (Chick's Fridge)
Move over Blake Griffin. Mark Madsen is the newest face of the Clippers franchise.
Poor Q-Rich. Just when he thought he'd be able to bring back the head bumps to Staples...
It is Mark Madsen who will instead be bringing back his awkward, white dancing prowess to the streets of Los Angeles. Add Madsen to the ever-growing list of players who have experienced a dual time-share with both the Lakers and Clippers.
The Clippers get a solid, if not erratic, back-up point guard in Sebastian Telfair who can distribute the ball fairly well and knock down the open j, and another capable big man in Craig Smith who can score and play multiple positions just in case anyone gets injured.
More importantly, they get Mark "Mad-dog" Madsen, who's 'off-beat' play and invaluable championship dancing experience should prove absolutely useless for the rising Los Angeles Clippers.
Chris Kaman, meet your new mentor.
Mark Madsen'sJelloIsJigglin', Jonathan Hernandez(Chick'sFridge)
I'm on the Lakers official website and there he is smiling as wide as ever.NBA Championship Trophy in his hand. The greatest prize in all the NBA is right there in his hands!
A year ago he was a starter alongside Dan Dickau for the Clippers, and now he is forevermore an NBA Champion after playing relatively significant minutes for the Lake Show.
Guys like Josh Powell make it tough to be a Clipper fan.
Chick'sFridge:
Guys like Dan Dickau make it tough to be a Clipper fan. or a basketball fan. or a 'white, short guy with curly hair' fan.
In other news, Dan Dickau will also play Bilbo Baggins in the upcoming movie, The Hobbit.
Seeing Ex-Clippers like Lamar Odom win an NBA championship is a little bit easier to swallow and grasp for Clipper fans, I'm sure. Just be glad that the Lakers didn't win it all last year. Or else you'd probably also be lamenting the fact that Vladimir Radmanovic, who once tried to hit the slopes to fulfill his dreams of Winter X-Games glory, would also forever be immortalized as an NBA Champion.
Playing pool at Odom's crib. - Ron Artest's Twitter
Whether or not this was truly an update from the Tru Warier himself is irrelevant now, for right after seeing such a seemingly random tidbit on Artest's Twitter late last night, I instantly became certain that Lamar Odom had this particular 96 ball cornered in just the right pocket. Ok fine, so maybe there isn't any pool ball that's numbered 96, but as of tonight, July 2nd, 2009, there IS a new Laker that's numbered 96 (although knowing Artest, he'll probably choose a new number...like 3.14), and we can all thank Odom, pool, and candy for that! In reality, Buss and Mitch reportedly sat down with Ron Artest for a cup of tea today and prodded him to eventually join the Purple and Gold. The Twitter story just sounded more interesting. Although I'm sure Lamar "The CandyMan" Odom, who Artest played organized ball with in Queens as a kid, played a crucial role in Artest's final decision - his sweet stash and Laker eye candy were probably too much for Artest to say 'No' to. That sounded inappropriate.
In regards to Trevor Ariza, Laker fans can only lament his sad fate and thank him for his hustle, hard work, and overall admirable services in helping the team get its 15th Championship. However, as is so often the case in these sorts of dealings, the business side of things had to come in and ruin all the fun. Enter Agent David Lee, who after hard-balling Buss and Kupchak for the past 24 hours and attempting to squeeze out as much payday from them as he could, now finds himself having to tell his client (who grew up in LA, loves LA, and supposedly "bleeds purple and gold") that he will have to settle for the mid-level offer and continue playing with a Chinese teammate...except this offer was not from the Lakers, and not with the Rising Sun Yue, but from the Houston Rockets, and the Fallen Tower Yao Ming.
(Ron Artest Owning NBA Forward David Lee. On this day, he also owned NBA Agent, David Lee)
Putting it simply, David Lee made a mess out of this entire situation and screwed Ariza over. If there is any similarity between the agent and the Knicks' curly-haired forward(also David Lee), it's that both love to scramble for rebounds. In Agent David Lee's case, the Houston Rockets became his desperate rebound option, and sadly for Trevor, it was his agent, not him, who let the ball slip with the Lakers. David Lee betrayed his client and ironically tried to pull a Trevor Ariza and 'steal' some extra cash from a Laker front office that simply wasn't going to budge. He should have known that the Lakers had an ace in the hole in Ron Artest and that he couldn't win in a bluffing game with Mitch and Jerry, one that he initiated. But who knows, maybe Trevor Ariza will get his chance to shine and see if he can become the cornerstone of a franchise - which is exactly the situation he'll find himself facing on a team with a deteriorating Yao Ming and Tracy McGrady headlining the Rocket Launch (or Failure to Launch, starring Matthew McConaughey).
In the end, I wish him the best and truly hope he can fulfill his utmost potential. Knowing Trevor's focus and strong work ethic, there's no reason to think he won't.
There's also no reason to think that the Lakers won't win their 16th Championship next year either. Provided that the Lakers ink LO7 soon, with the addition of Kobe's new German Shepherd Ron Artest, the Lakers have just gained a little more toughness, offensive power, and...insanity. The wild card. In what was essentially a two-way trade between the Lakers and Rockets for each of their respective forwards, the Lakers came out the glaring victors of this deal for at least the short-term. Artest instantly provides a more polished and reliable three point shot (when he decides to take good shots) and a rough, bull-dog tenacity on defense that will allow Kobe to conserve more energy on the offensive end and prolong his overall productivity for another 3-4 years. He's also just a weird, scary player that others don't really want to rub the wrong way. Translated - the Lakers are now a weird, scary team that hates back rubs (I don't know).
In the end, I'm ecstatic about the trade and ready for another exciting, if not unpredictable, title run in 09-10. For those with doubts about Artest, let's not forget that Phil Jackson was able to reel in a player by the name of Dennis Rodman, who once came to a book signing wearing a wedding dress. Nothing aboutDennis Rodman, books, and wedding dresses sound enticing, but he sure did help get Phil some rings. Ron Artest hopes to do the same baby. LAKE TOWN, SHAKE TOWN.
The Fridge Is Closed, The Lights Are Out, The Butter's Getting Hard, and The Jello's Jiggling, Jonathan Hernandez aka Chick's Fridge
Laying Down The Law (theClipperperspective):
Imagine playing pick up ball with your buddies. It's point up, win by twos. The game has gone back and forth and the intensity is picking up with each play. Overly zealous players are fighting and shoving for position down on the block, bickering over calls and hard fouls. Finally someone hits the game winner. And just as everyone starts complaining about the shot, you see a friend of yours break off a piece of wood from a bench and shank the guy in the heart.
Such is the background of newest Los Angeles Laker, Ron Artest.
Well known for his hard-nosed play on Defense, Ron's only glaring weakness in recent years is his erroneous assumption that it is to his team's benefit that he should create shots for himself on his own and put up 15-25 FGAs per game. Such assumptions should be put to rest when playing with one who somewhat unerringly feels the same way in Kobe B.
Being on a team where Ron rarely needs to create his own shot, he should benefit greatly on the offensive end over the next few years. It'll be interesting to see how Trevor Ariza does the rest of his career without Kobe creating wide open jumpers for him.
Congrats to the Lakers on not overpaying Ariza, and upgrading to an All Star and former Defensive player of the year in Ron-Ron at the MLE. No doubt about it, they are top dog contenders for the NBA crown over the next 3 years.
This really has no relevance towards the Clippers except that the Lakers have once again stolen the little bit of thunder the Clippers had for a short while just as their fortunes seemed to have turned with Blake Griffin falling into their laps, and desperate enough teams like the Memphis Grizzlies taking on Zach Randolph's $30+ million over the next two years. Just as the Clippers had begun to see glimmers of light at the end of this elongated post-2006 tunnel, the Lakers once again have reminded us all that the Clips are still far off from being an upper-echelon team. But at least the pieces are falling in good places for both teams this offseason.
Lawler'sLawAlwaysPrevails, Mike Whang aka Lawler'sBingo Card
Welcome to OhMeOhMy, Jello'sJigglin'NBA talk, where Laker and Clipper minds fuse together to provide some interesting NBA analysis.
The name of the site is a double tribute to long-time Clipper broadcaster, Ralph Lawler, and the late, great Laker broadcaster, Chick Hearn, who each coined the respective terms "Oh me, oh my!" and "the jello's jigglin'!"
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