Kevin Love

I don't know how to possibly defend him. He's one of my favorite players, and up until the other night, I thought one of the classiest. It's inexcusable what he did to Luis Scola, though. You cannot let your emotions get the best of you, no matter how physical the game is getting. Partial blame goes to the refs for letting it as out of hand as it did, but that doesn't begin to excuse what Kevin did. I'm sure a suspension is coming.

Link to the stomp: http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=F1yjlnYjido

Update: Love has been suspended 2 games.

L.A. Clippers: Free Agency Edition

After recently signing Kenyon Martin (great pick-up), the word is that the Clippers are pursing J.R. Smith.

Can you imagine Lob City with J.R. Smith there? I can't think of a better fit. A swingman to split time with Caron Butler and co. at the 3 and drill 3's and run some backdoor cuts for ally-oops? Going to be interesting to see if they are able to secure him. I would guess the Knicks and Heat will be going after him hard.

The Knicks lead the NBA in Moral Victories

Mike D'Antoni and Carmelo Anthony are conspiring to get D'Antoni fired. (Yes, you read that right). D'Antoni's big play to tie the game was running Amare off a double screen to attempt the game-tying 3 (Uhhh..) and Melo, after the Knicks were handed another 3 point deficit due to the Bulls inability to put the game away at the line, decided to chuck up a 3 from 30 feet when he still had a couple seconds to dribble it closer (Ummmmmm!!)

Needless to say, neither shot went in and the Knicks dropped a home game to the Chicago Bulls (coming off a blowout loss to the Philadelphia 76ers) 103-100. The Knick fans will tout this as a feel-good loss as they competed with the Chicago Bulls, in their eyes proving they "can hang with the big boys". I beg to differ. They are now 2.5 games out of the playoffs. Yes, the playoffs. They are in 10th place and are battling with the Nets and Raptors to avoid last place in the Atlantic division (all 3 teams separated by 1.5 games). This game proved nothing. The Knicks still don't have a point guard, they still struggle to stop elite scorers (to be fair, who doesn't..) and they have yet to prove that the Melo "point-forward" method can work.

I'm not ready to write this team off as a playoff squad, because it's unfair to assume that Baron Davis can't come back and spark this team with better than average point guard play, but by no means do I think this team can make any impact in the playoffs, especially if they enter as a 7/8 seed and have to play Miami or Chicago in round 1.

All-Star Starting Lineups

East

PG - Derrick Rose (Chicago Bulls)

SG - Dwyane Wade (Miami Heat)

SF - Carmelo Anthony (New York Knicks)

PF - LeBron James (Miami Heat)

C - Dwight Howard (Orlando Magic)

West

PG - Chris Paul (Los Angeles Clippers)

SG - Kobe Bryant (Los Angeles Lakers)

SF - Kevin Durant (Oklahoma City Thunder)

PF - Blake Griffin (Los Angeles Clippers)

C - Andrew Bynum (Los Angeles Lakers)

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HOW ON EARTH DID YAO MING NOT MAKE THE ALL-STAR GAME?!

I've got no problem with the starting lineups. I think for once they are pretty much representative of not only the biggest stars, but of the best talent (young and old) in the league today. I maybe would have liked to see Kevin Love or Lamarcus Aldridge in that PF slot for the western conference, but I understand the draw of Blake Griffin, and he's certainly deserving.

Sixers are for real

The Philadelphia 76ers had perhaps their biggest win in the last handful of years tonight. Even when they were ducking in and out of the playoffs with the likes of Mo Cheeks, Tony DiLeo, and Jim O'Brien, they were never seen as a real threat to do anything. The 76ers fans have to be more than a little bit encouraged with this squad, despite having no "superstar" on the team. The 76ers defeated the first place Chicago Bulls by the score of 98-82 tonight and moved into 2nd place in the eastern conference [1 game behind said Bulls & tied in the loss column].

Get to Know Your 2011-2012 Philadelphia 76ers

The Sixers boast the top defense in the NBA and rank top 5 in offensive efficiency. Translation: They are getting it done at both ends of the court. They run 9 deep (potentially 10 if Lavoy Allen is for real), and have a legit 6th man of the year contender in Lou Williams. Elton Brand has embraced the veteran leadership role and anchors the defense and can still hit his pick and pop shot from the corner of the key. Andre Iguodala is the heart and soul of the team, one of the top 3 wing-defenders in the entire NBA, and a highlight reel dunker. He struggles with his shooting (both FT and FG), but can get hot at any moment. The team boasts a ton of young (sub-25 year old) talent like Thad Young, the aforementioned Lou Williams, Jrue Holiday, Nikolas Vucevic, Jodie Meeks, and Spencer Hawes.

Philadelphia (say what you want about them) is a city that is passionate and loves their sports team. They are blue-collar, hard working people who appreciate a blue-collar, hard working team; and that's just what this 76ers team is proving to be. No superstars. No 'hollywood' guys. Heck, their leading scorer isn't even in their starting lineup! They play no-nonsense basketball, they defer, and they play swarming team defense. Doug Collins is the perfect head coach for this team, and has them playing at the highest level. On any given night, any one of those Sixers can go off for 20+. For those who truly enjoy watching basketball, they are a must-watch every night. This is a team that could have had numerous excuses given the lockout, the low-attendance rates in recent year, and the fact that the Heat/Bulls are clearly the class of the division so how could THEY even compete. But they made no excuses, and it's showing.

Attendance is back up in the Wells Fargo Center, and with tonights huge win that could be a trend that is here to stay. They have a huge test this Friday night as the Miami Heat roll into town fresh off a stunning loss to the Milwaukee Bucks where they coughed up an 18-point lead. If the Sixers could beat the "top-2" teams in the east as seen by nearly every analyst in a 3-day span, you really would have to start thinking about this team being a title contender.

The Sixers have a brutal February Schedule. 11 of their 15 games are against above .500 teams and they close with 7 of 9 on the road. If the Sixers are still standing this tall going into March, we will all know where they stand in the scheme of things. As contenders for the Larry O'Brien Trophy.

LBJ Dunk on John Lucas

Found this funny:

Bosh was being interviewed on ESPN's NBA Coast to Coast by Ric Bucher last night and in the background, LBJ was making a ton of noise to the point that Ric asked Bosh to talk to LBJ. He asked Bosh to ask LBJ what his thoughts were when he dunked on John Lucas in the Miami/Chicago game on Sunday. LBJ's answer: "Oh, I didn't even see him there." For the record, it was not said in an arrogant way, just a humorous jab.

Kenyon Martin

According to ESPN.com, the Miami Heat have offered a contact to Kenyon Martin.

This would be a heck of a sign for Miami. I'm not sure what Kenyon has to offer on the offensive end, but the Heat are middle of the pack in rebounding (Average just about 42 per game), and Martin can certainly rebound. He will also help provide a toughness off the bench for a team that Joakim Noah deemed "Hollywood as Hell".