Them fancy magic patches are finally working for Duncan; he looked awfully spry tonight. Making aggressive moves, grabbing rebounds and leading the fast break, even attempting to throw down on some Magic player. And he was definitely channeling some Patrick Ewing, using his patented travel across the lane move. It was a little depressing actually; I considered Timmeh more refined than that.
Manu was suited up but got a DNP and TFLM had the runs or the flu or something. The loss was definitely unsettling, given the venue and what's on the line, but ORL has been a playoff caliber team (at least in the Eastern Conference) since subtracting Francis and adding Milicic. Darko hit some big jumpers, grabbed some rebounds, blocked some shots and seemed to always know where to be.
The DAL game, which featured about 3 flagrant flops, is officially over so let's take a look at home court. The Spurs now have a 2 game advantage in the loss column with 3 games remaining. This means all the Spurs have to do to earn HCA in the Western Conference is beat HOU, which is basically a glorified NBDL team at this point. Otherwise their magic number is two, but they do have a SEGABABA on Monday.
There's a new Carnival of the NBA up at The Basketball Jones. Come on folks, it's Friday, the boss ain't around and it's time to spend two hours reading NBA bloggers. One of the, uh, podcasters at The Basketball Jones is none other than J.E. Skeets. If you're unfamiliar with his work then please, for the love of all that is holy, check this out. It's so funny it'll make you slap your grandma.
Though the "Who would you rather play in the first round poll" has only 18 votes, the results are already conclusive. 77% of folks prefer the Lakers and I have to agree. First off, it'll be fun to watch Kobe play 46 minutes a night against Bruce Bowen. Secondly, I want to avoid Ron Artest at all costs. As much as I want to laugh at Bibby not even pretending to play defense, it's just not worth risking Ron-Ron ripping off Ginobili's arm and eating it like a drumstick. Manu's gonna needs his arms if we want to beat DET.
Hmm. You got any of them French-fried pertaters?
Sorry `bout that. Sometimes you have to release your inner Sling Blade.
Though it's a day late, you can find the second installment of the Thursday Totally Random Gif at the very bottom of this post. Yes, it actually made me laugh. And yes, I wonder about me, too.
Entirely True Yet Remarkably Meaningless Tidbit Number Four.
I once saw Peter Gammons going up an escalator under the Union Square buildings in downtown Seattle. His jowls were a site to behold. You should know that the dictionary.com definition for "jowl" is "The flesh under the lower jaw, especially when plump or flaccid." Plump. Flaccid. Peter Gammons. If that doesn't warm your heart than I feel sorry for you.
