HEROES

1. Lance Stephenson and Roy Hibbert

Hibbert: 13.3 points, 10.3 boards, 3.2 blocks (21-12-5 blocks in game 6)

Stephenson: 25 points, 9/13 field goals, 10 boards, 3 dimes in game 6 (11.7 points and 8.2 boards in the series). 

AB:

What else can you say about Stephenson. In a span of a few years he went from a 1 and done malcontent who allegedly threw his girlfriend down a flight of steps into an hard nosed cog on a young Pacers team that needed every bit of his Brooklyn born passion. 

As for Hibbert, he’s slowly taking all his detractors to the woodshed, as he went from early season maxed out bust to a big man who had no problem showing Carmelo Anthony that the cookie jar was closed for the evening in a must win Game 6. 

Add to that he repeatedly got the best of so-called defensive wiz Tyson Chandler, and the former G-Town Hoya has a lot to be confident about heading into the East Finals. 

2. Zach Randolph

Games 4 and 5 - 25.5 points, 13.0 boards (28 & 14 in game 5, 12/16 from the line). 

AB:

Z-Bo has been playoff steady for a few seasons now, but I like to give credit where credit is due. Next to the Spurs, few squads play an unequivocal team game like the Grizz, but make no mistake, the backbone is still #50. 

Hard to believe this was the same guy who got shipped out of Portland and New York for not being a winner and team guy.

Maybe there really is still hope out there for Demarcus Cousins.  

3. Harrison Barnes

19.0 points and 8.0 boards in Games 1-5 before suffering that injury in the first half of game 6 (51 total points in games 4 and 5 combined).

AB:

Barnes is one of those guys who I say just looks way better in the NBA than he ever did in the college game. 

His unique athleticism and solid jumper were unexpectedly consistent for the baby Warriors this post-season as quickly matured to become a junior version of a “2010 OKC James Harden” next to Steph and Klay. 

Combine all that with his freak athleticism, and ability to create his own shot, and the Bay has a lot to be smiling about besides cashing in on Silicon startups. 

4. Dwyane Wade

18 points, 7/13 shooting, 5 boards, 6 dimes, 2 steals in Game 5 after everyone said he was done. 

AB:

D-Wade can still fool you. 

And don’t get it twisted, he may not be 2006 D-Wade, but he’s far from washed up. 

The man clearly has let King James take the full reign, but if there’s an opportunity to push the pedal, there are few two way guys who can do what Mr. Capri pants can.

5. Danny Green

22 points and 6 triples in that huge come from behind game 1 win that of course included his big time clutch triple.

*16 triples in the series against Golden State

AB:

I never thought Green would be this good ever, but as the old saying goes, let Pop get a hold of em’ and he’ll probably turn out decent. 

A few seasons in and Green is taking what was only potential at one point in his UNC days to noticeably consistent results becoming not only a lock down defender on big time scorers like Steph Curry, but also turning what was a limited offensive game into a solid repertoire built around clutch three point shooting.  

REJECTS

5. Jason Kidd

mDOT:

What we said for First Round Rejects applies here.

Kidd still hasn’t hit a shot and for that deserves every bit of that milk on his face (super pause). 

4. David Lee

mDOT:

We were oh close to putting Lee on the First Round Heroes list for his amazingly quick return when he was supposed to be out for the remainder of the playoffs, but we thought better of it.

Why you ask? 

Because David Lee just doesn’t matter.

The loss of Lee didn’t affect the Warriors one bit in the playoffs. In fact, they were probably better without him because they just moved Harrison Barnes over to the “4” and didn’t miss a beat.

If I’m the Warriors, I’d look to ship him out in a package to get themselves a true low-post scoring threat.

3. Danny Granger

mDOT:

For years I’ve been talking about how overrated Danny Granger is. Obviously, he’s a nice player, but far from the star that many people wanted to label him young in his career.

And clearly as you can see by Indiana’s Eastern Conference Finals appearance, Granger doesn’t matter one bit.

His $14 million expires after next season, which means his contract could be a nice piece in a deal.

Get on the horn, Donnie Walsh.

2. J.R. Smith and Tyson Chandler

mDOT:

I’m disgusted by what I saw from these two against Indiana. It’s hard not to be completely surprised with J.R. considering his track record and how it started to come loose at the end of the Boston series.

With Tyson though, being absolutely dominated is just a bad job. 

Before the series, Roy Hibbert averaged just 5.5 points and 6.3 boards in four games against the Knicks in the regular season. By the end of the series, Hibbert posted two 20 and 12 games and averaged a double-double.

The reigning Defensive Player of the Year shouldn’t be getting rocked by someone with average offensive skills at best.

1. Kendrick Perkins

mDOT:

I’ve hated Kendrick Perkins for years. He’s atrocious.

And I’m sure OKC fans are even more pissed than I am because every time they see his face they just know it should be James Harden.

With all this amnesty talk regarding Perkins and the difference in negotiations between the Thunder and Harden being only about $5 million - which ironically is Perkins’ number - the $9.3 million this guy will be averaging over the next two years could’ve just been given to Harden.

Instead, while Perkins is posting a total of 24 points and 41 rebounds in 11 playoff games, OKC fans have to watch Harden becoming a star down in Houston.

What a joke. 

Phil Jackson’s book, Eleven Rings, comes out next week. But today, Mike Bresnahan of the L.A. Times, who often tried unsuccessfully to get Jackson to compare the two, runs a few preview passages in which Jackson does exactly that.

On basketball mindsets:

“Michael was more likely to break through his attackers with power and strength, while Kobe often tries to finesse his way through mass pileups,” Jackson wrote. “Michael was stronger, with bigger shoulders and a sturdier frame. He also had large hands that allowed him to control the ball better and make subtle fakes.

“Jordan was also more naturally inclined to let the game come to him and not overplay his hand, whereas Kobe tends to force the action, especially when the game isn’t going his way. When his shot is off, Kobe will pound away relentlessly until his luck turns. Michael, on the other hand, would shift his attention to defense or passing or setting screens to help the team win the game.”

On defense:

“No question, Michael was a tougher, more intimidating defender. He could break through virtually any screen and shut down almost any player with his intense, laser-focused style of defense.

“Kobe has learned a lot from studying Michael’s tricks, and we often used him as our secret weapon on defense when we needed to turn the direction of a game. In general, Kobe tends to rely more heavily on his flexibility and craftiness, but he takes a lot of gambles on defense and sometimes pays the price.”

On leadership:

“One of the biggest differences between the two stars from my perspective was Michael’s superior skills as a leader,” Jackson said. “Though at times he could be hard on his teammates, Michael was masterful at controlling the emotional climate of the team with the power of his presence. Kobe had a long way to go before he could make that claim. He talked a good game, but he’d yet to experience the cold truth of leadership in his bones, as Michael had.”

Bryant gradually evolved during the 2008-09 championship season, when the Lakers successfully retooled with a more finessed look with Pau Gasol instead of the brute force of the Shaquille O’Neal teams.

If Bryant talked to teammates in his earlier Lakers years, it was usually, “Give me the damn ball,” Jackson wrote. “But then Kobe started to shift. He embraced the team and his teammates, calling them up when we were on the road and inviting them out to dinner. It was as if the other players were now his partners, not his personal spear-carriers.”

Courtesy SXS

-mDOT

1. The most disgusting shirt ever worn by a fan

I would rather see Kevin Ware’s gruesome injury ten times over than have the image of this disgusting woman in this disgusting shirt entrenched in my mind.

She’s like Kyle Turley meets Chris Farley only everyone wishes Farley was still around and not her.

You know the whole notion of how people with tattoos and piercings are more fun to see naked? She’s not one of them.

I’m so glad the St. Louis Blues got bounced in the playoffs. She might have actually shown her “playoff beard” in the second round.

2. George Karl wins Coach of the Year and Tom Thibodeau comes in 8th

How on earth did Chicago Bulls head coach Tom Thibodeau come in eighth place when Derrick Rose (former league MVP), Joakim Noah, Taj Gibson and Kirk Hinrich missed a combined total of 137 games (roughly 34 games per player) and he still finished fifth in the Eastern Conference and turned in a top-3 defense in the NBA?

George Karl wouldn’t have been my choice for Coach of the Year, but he did turn in an impressive regular season. But I’d like to see him with that same Bulls roster with the same number of missed games from one of the league’s best players in Rose, and still finish top-5 in the conference.

I don’t care how weak people may think the eastern conference is, Thibs and his team are as tough as they get.

3. Titus Young gets arrested twice in 15 hours

If there was a seminar for young football players on how to throw your career away as quick as possible, Titus Young would be the main focal point.

Drafted in the second round of 2011, out of the league before 2013 even begins, and no hope whatsoever in sight.

Sent home by the Detroit Lions on three different occasions, intentionally sabotaging his own team during a game, telling former high school coaches that he’s better than teammate Calvin Johnson, and tweeting to the world that he’s not about to change his ways.

And now he gets arrested twice in 15 hours. It’s not easy being this stupid.

4. Terrell Owens becomes a professional bowler

Terrell Owens is an avid bowler and in the three games he bowled, he rolled a 185, 129 and 161.

I’m no bowling expert, but I’m pretty sure those aren’t exactly impressive scores. I haven’t bowled in probably seven years and I can roll a 129.

T.O. is a “celebrity owner” of the Dallas Strikers in the new PBA league. I’m sure this is lining up to be another financial boom for Owens.

I’m not sure what’s worse: his bowling skills or the fact that he said learning how to roll strikes isn’t all that different from training for football?

5. Ignorant fan flips Joakim Noah the bird to his face

As it turns out, the woman in this picture is Filomena Tobias, the widow of former CNBC commentator Seth Tobias.

If you read the backstory of this woman in the link below the picture, this image actually wouldn’t surprise you. But I don’t get the disconnect some fans have with athletes these days. And most of the evidence can be seen on twitter.

People like Filomena are shoving middle fingers in the faces of players, saying the most ridiculous things you would never say if you were in a closed room with said athlete, and they’re doing it as if they aren’t actual people.

What would she have done if Noah decided to grab her hand and break her fingers? He would’ve had a right, no? He could’ve used her ridiculous actions to state self defense since her hand was right in his face.

I’m actually glad she ended up being the one caught on camera and that her “story” came out. For the record, some people still believe she had something to do with the death of her late husband, Seth.

Honorable Mention

Titus Young arrested… again

Basically everything I said earlier regarding Young applies here, again.

Not that I would know, but it has to be incredibly hard to get arrested three times in one week, on three different charges no less.

The Week of Titus Young

• May 5th 12:01am - Suspicion of Driving Under the Influence
• May 5th 2:22pm - Attempted jumping the fence of a tow yard trying to steal his own car back that was towed after DUI
• May 10th - Breaking into a home and fighting with deputies after a foot chase

Hey Titus, have you ever met Maurice Clarett? I bet you two would have a lot to talk about.

-mDOT (edit AB)

Imagine Harden developing as he has, Durant getting better like he has (he would’ve) and Westbrook making room for both. How would that not have been the most enjoyable team in the known universe? Everybody’s in a better place now. We should be happy they’ve found that more settled place. But the Thunder were a dynamic unit with Harden, full of possibility, tension, and a million ways to make you drop your jaw. At the same time, it would be great to see them play together, the three of them, as the players they’ve grown into this season. We owe it to ourselves to grieve. We owe it to ourselves to put aside sound explanations and wish it hadn’t happen. That’s the best we’re going to do. And while it’s not comfort, at least it’s honest about why that team moved us—and why a lot of us enjoy the NBA in the first place. - Bethlehem Shoals, GQ

HEREOS

1. The Whole Chicago Bulls Squad

AB:

The Bulls under Thibs have been the defnition of team ever since he took over and whether somebody is throwing up, getting meningitis or playing on one leg, he gets everyone to leave their corpse on the court.

I expected nothing less from Noah in this series, but I was even more impressed with lil’ Nate who despite driving drunk and reckless over yellow lines his entire career, has somehow found some modicum of control and consistency.

He might not be Derrick Rose, but you’d be hard pressed to find a better stretch of basketball put together from Seattle’s son in his entire career. 

2. Reggie Jackson

AB:

Eric Maynor who?

Eric Maynor never went 17, 7, 8 in a playoff game to closeout the Rockets in Houston. 

3. Andrew Bogut

AB:

Bogut has been a bust. We should know since he mailed it for us in fantasy two years ago. 

Either way, you gotta feel good for the Aussie. 14, 21, 4 blks in a closeout Game 6 vs. the Nuggs.

4. Iman Shumpert

AB:

Shump finally looks recovered from the ACL injury took his season last year, and unlike the rest of his teammates, he never mails it on either end. Plus he looks like he’s getting a jumper, as evidenced by his three triples in the closeout Game 6 in Boston last week.

I hate everyone on the Knicks, but Shump gets my vote everytime, even if I’m not rocking with the Kid n’ Play look. 

5. Chandler Parsons

AB:

Parsons is the better Gordon Hayward or what Gordon Hayward could be if Ty Corbin didn’t cockblock his playing time for two washed guys: Mo WIlliams and Marvin Williams. 

But yeah, the boy done did good. 

In Games 3-6 vs OKC, Parsons averaged 20.8 points, shot 52.5%, 7.3 boards and 5.3 dimes.

REJECTS

5. Jason Kidd

mDOT:

I’ve always respected Jason Kidd’s game, and he still does some other things well. But this man’s shooting is just God awful.

He didn’t hit ONE SHOT from games 3-6. Not even a damn free throw. How is that even possible?

You know what else is a joke? He just won his second straight Sportsmanship award. Do the qualifications consist of driving into poles while you’re drunk?

AB:

I don’t know what’s worse: Kidd’s performance or the fact that Avery Bradley who’s like 30 years younger couldn’t make an impact defensively on him till they were 20 down in the 4th of Game 6.

4. Rudy Gay

mDOT:

Obviously Rudy Gay had no actual involvement in the first round of the playoffs since his Raptors finished with an impressive 34-48 record. But his former team, the Memphis Grizzlies, kind of showed that his absence in Memphis didn’t matter one bit.

3. George Karl

mDOT:

George Karl has made the playoffs 22 times in his coaching career and has only gotten out of the first round eight times. His playoff coaching record is 80-105 and the man doesn’t want star players because in his mind, he’s the star.

Well, here’s the deal George, the NBA is a star driven league and unless you enjoy first round exits, you’re not going anywhere. Let’s drop the ego and win some playoff series.

2. Dwight Howard

mDOT:

7 points, 8 rebounds, 5 turnovers, 21 minutes and an ejection.

That’s what Dwight Howard did in a Game 4 must win at home. Not to mention letting some nobody named Aron Baynes body him in the post.

I believe that’s the definition of mailing it in.

AB:

A spoiled attitude and a lack of character under pressure. 

Not the traits you’re looking for when marking down the characteristics of a franchise leader. 

I’d take Hump and Brook Lopez and Marshawn Brooks for him if the Nets really wanted him. 

Or better yet, how about David Stern does the right thing and retroactively gives the Lakes CP3 like they initially had and instead of ousting Pau, give the Rockets Dwight Coward. 

Who says fans can’t be reasonable?

1. Blake Griffin

mDOT:

I can’t even begin to explain how much of a joke Fake Griffin is. 

13 points, 8 rebounds and 33 minutes. Those were Griffin’s total numbers in games 5 and 6.

You can talk about injuries all you want, but like Z-bo said, you don’t think he’s dealing with anything? Randolph can barely jump over a phone book, but you know why he can still get by and dominate? Because the man actually has the ability to score in the low-post.

Wake me up when Blake can do something besides dunk.

1. J.R. Smith gets hammered the night before Game 5 against Boston

This picture is exactly why so many people hate J.R. Smith.

Just when you think this guy is turning the corner because he’s finally with a coach who wants to help him grow in Mike Woodson, J.R. pulls this crap.

It’s bad enough he elbowed Jason Terry and got suspended for Game 4, but he compounds the problem by talking more trash, getting hammered and then showing up to  Game 5 hungover and shooting 3/14. 

Unless J.R. turns it up with big time performances against Indiana, he probably cost himself at least five mil a year.

2. Mike Francesa doesn’t care about the Jason Collins story

So the biggest story since Manti Te’o is out there and Mike Francesa starts off his show Monday ripping the Jets for drafting Geno Smith.

I mean, are you kidding?

You’ve got all offseason to trash Geno Smith and his attitude and talk about how you don’t think he can cut it. That day was all about Collins. 

Mike just doesn’t get it.

WFAN was cool like 20 years ago. Now its become a joke and this stunt only proves how messed up their priorities are when a former local player comes out, makes national news, and can’t even be talked about over some bad Jets draft picks.

What a bad job. 

3. Family of former NFL player John Helwig kept cashing pension checks after he died

So John Helwig passed away in 1994 and his wife kept cashing the checks for 13 more years before she passed away in 2007, and then his daughter just keeps the scheme going until she’s finally caught in 2011.

I’d like to know why the NFL is still sending pension checks to a player that’s been dead for over a decade?

How was Helwig, who only played four years in the league from 1953-56, still getting pension checks 50 years later? For a guy that was barely even in the league, that’s a pretty good deal.

So is the $200K the wife and daughter received the 17 years he was dead.

4. Royce White gets at Kevin Durant on Twitter

The best part about Royce White getting at Kevin Durant on Twitter is the fact that he’s calling himself a “fan watching the game.”

Yeah, maybe if you weren’t a first round pick that refuses to take a flight to any games that requires one, you can be considered a fan. But that’s not the case.

You’re not a fan. You are currently employed by the NBA and opted to call out Durant specifically. You could’ve chosen to tweet to the Oklahoma City Thunder’s team Twitter account. Or maybe get at Hasheem Thabeet since his career has been about as useless as yours.

But you didn’t. You chose one of the best players in the entire league because you look like an idiot and can barely get on the court yourself. 

I know you have flying issues and probably head issues too, but you’re also proving to be un-coachable and highly diva like for a player without a single minute in the d-league. 

Oh, and by the way, Durant posted 27 points, 8 boards and 6 dimes in a closeout game against your Rockets in Houston. He still look shaky?

5. Tim Tebow receives an offer from the Lingerie Football League

When you get cut by one team that desperately needs a quarterback, don’t receive offers from any other team in the entire league (plenty of who need a signal caller), and receive an offer to become the national quarterback coach in a league that involves women, your career is probably in trouble.

On the flip side, Tebow has gotten some offers from leagues that involve men who want him to play instead of coach.

The Omaha Beef of the Champions Professional Indoor Football League offered Tebow $75 a game to play.

Even the Montreal Alouettes of the Canadian Football League said Tebow can come and play for a backup spot behind starter Anthony Calvillo.

Those have to make you feel good, right?

Or maybe he should just take the Lingerie league offer. Everybody knows he’s been around bigger sideshows. 

-mDOT (edited by AB)