maniLA ice's Pittsburgh Steelers fan blog

Three years and $15 million is not much of a contract by NBA standards, but the Lakers should get their money's worth.

Sasha Vujacic, a key part in the team's playoff run and the Lakers' first-round pick in 2004, was rewarded with a new deal and will remain a Laker until Kobe Bryant feels no need for him.

Vujacic averaged a career-high 8.8 points per game during the 2007-08 regular season and converted 43% of his 3-point shots. But his value goes beyond the stat sheet.

He is the kind of player the Lakers need to make their triangle offense run smoothly. He's is a big guard (6-7) and Coach Phil Jackson loves big guards more than he loves his children. He has also proven that he's not afraid to take and make big shots in the playoffs. Vujacic's shooting range allows Bryant to work the middle of the defense and keeps double teams off Lakers big men Pau Gasol and Andrew Bynum.

Continue reading "VUJACIC IS KEY PART TO LAKERS MACHINE"

Friday night's exhibition game in Las Vegas was not much of a contest, which is how the U.S. senior men's basketball team wishes all their games would be this easy in the Olympics.

In preparation for the Beijing Olympics, Team USA has organized six "friendlies" against the rest of the world and Canada was the first victim. As expected, the United States rolled past Canada, 120-65, thanks to a ton of points in the paint against an overmatched team.

Let's be real. Canada is not a threat in international competition. Heck, Canada didn't even have its favorite son (Steve Nash) and adopted brother (Samuel Dalembert) in the lineup. Instead, the Canadians threw in Joel Anthony, Rowan Barrett, Andy Rautins, Olu Famutimi and Jesse Young into the Lion's Den.

Continue reading "TEAM USA STILL HAS A LOT OF WORK TO DO"

Jerry Colangelo and USA Basketball is painting this wonderful picture of how the 12-man U.S. men's national team was constructed but take a closer because the picture is revealing something else.

In a team photo, Dwight Howard - the Orlando Magic center who wears the adidas brand - is placed at the far left craddling a ball with his left hand conveniently covering the Nike logo on his shorts. Coach Mike Krzyzewski, the only one seated, has his left foot covering Howard's sneakers, which probably does not say Brand Jordan or Air Zoom.
It's not the first time an NBA player tried to hide a sponsor's logo in the Olympics.

Remember the 1992 Dream Team. To avoid being seen wearing anything but his beloved Nike gear, Michael Jordan draped himself with the American flag. Charles Barkley did the same thing.

Continue reading "TEAM NIKE GOING FOR GOLD IN BEIJING"

Who are the most valuable free agents this summer?

Baron Davis? Elton Brand? Gilbert Arenas?

Try Corey Maggette and James Posey.

Yes. That Corey Maggette. The one the Clippers basically gave up on once Boom Dizzle opted out of his contract with the Warriors.

Maggette can sign anywhere he wants. If he wants to get paid, he'll end up in Philly, Memphis or Golden State. All three teams have tons of cap room.

Or, he can take less money and be a major piece for a playoff contender.

The Spurs are very much interested in acquiring Maggette, who cures one of the Spurs' Achilles heels: scoring. Maggette can play 2 guard and small forward, get his own shot and is one of the best in the league at getting to the free-throw line. San Antonio struggled mightily on offense last season and could use a big-time scorer.

Continue reading "MAGGETTE AND POSEY ARE FREE AGENTS TO WATCH"

The real winners of the 2008 NBA draft were the Lopez twins from Stanford.

Robin Lopez, the 7-footer with some game, was taken by the New Jersey Nets with the 10th overall selection. Five picks later, his twin brother Robin (the 7-footer with no game), was chosen by the Phoenix Suns.

What a day for Mommy Lopez. Her baby boys got drafted and realized their NBA dreams. She'll be in tears once both sign their guaranted contracts. It's like winning the lotto...twice!

It was no surprise that Brook, the serious one in the family, was a first-rounder. He was Stanford's best player last season and should start immediately for the Jay-Z Nets. He'll follow the path taken by another Stanford Cardinal 7-footer with a twin brother in the NBA, Jason Collins. Do the Nets only send their scouts to Stanford University? Just wondering.

Continue reading "NBA DRAFT WINNERS AND LOSERS"

In a few minutes, the Chicago Bulls are expected to select Memphis point guard Derrick Rose with the top pick in the NBA draft. In a few years, the Bulls will look back and say, "WTF!."

Rose was elevated to the top spot in the 2008 draft partly because the Bulls hold the top choice, Rose is a Chicago native, and partly because Rose played well in the Final Four and nearly led Memphis to a victory in the national championship game.

Some say the 6-1 Rose, tutored by former NBA point guard Rod Strickland, is a hybrid, a mixture of Jason Kidd and Deron Williams with a little bit of Chris Paul. I say that's crazy.

Rose has lottery-pick talent but I don't consider him the best player of the draft. He can't shoot, he's only an average passer and a poor free-throw shooter.

Continue reading "NBA DRAFT: DON'T PASS ON MICHAEL BEASLEY"

His act is getting real old.

A week after the Lakers were blasted by the Boston Celtics in Game 6 to capture the NBA championship, a ghost from Lakers past reared his ugly fat head and sprouted some venemous verses towards his former sidekick, Kobe Bryant.

Shaquille O'Neal, the 35-year-old former purple and gold Daddy, went on stage at a New York nightclub and went B.I.G. on us. The Diesel grabbed the mic and took shots at Bryant. The Big Cactus rapped about how Kobe couldn't win without him. He said that, "I'm a horse. Kobe ratted me out. That's why I'm getting a divorce." And he repeatedly asked the question, "Kobe, tell me how my ass taste?"

What?

Did Shaq just blame Kobe for his marriage falling apart? Did he just crap on Kobe, again? C'mon, Shaq. I thought you were bigger than this. You won. You got your post-Lakers championship ring. You have scoreboard over Kobe and the Lakers...for now. You didn't have to rub it in. Why revisit your divorce from the Lakers? Why kick Kobe when he's down?

Continue reading "SHAQ AND KOBE...AND THE RIFT GOES ON"

The better team won. That's the truth.

Fueled by a Boston Garden crowd that has been starving for an NBA title for 22 years, the Boston Celtics slapped a good old fashioned 131-92 whipping on the Lakers in Game 6 and raised their 17th championship banner.

The 2008 Celtics have bridged the gap in their rich basketball history. From Hondo to Rondo. From DJ to Walter Ray. From Kevin McHale to Kevin Garnett. From Larry Legend to the The Truth.

As KG put it, "Top of the world, Ma! Top of the world!"

The Celtics recorded an NBA Finals record 18 steals in Game 6.....18 steals! That's unheard of in the playoffs yet alone in the Finals.

Continue reading "NBA FINALS: THE LAST WORD"

A few weeks ago, I wrote that the 2008 NBA Finals will come down to Kobe Bryant and Kevin Garnett.

I was only half right.

Through five games, the Finals have been all about Bryant and Paul Pierce. Bryant may not be playing at optimum level by his and our standards, but the reigning MVP has managed to keep his Lakers in the series despite averaging less (down from 30.6 to 26.4) and shooting poorly (from 48.8 to 42.4).

Pierce has been the whole truth and nothing but the truth for the Celtics. He is averaging 22.6 in the Finals (up from 19.8 in the playoffs) and he almost single-handedly won the championship for the Celtics with his 38-point effort in Game 5.

The Celtics are up 3-2 in the series and Game 6 will be front and center tonight at the new Boston Garden. Because both teams have barely 48 hours to prepare for Game 6 with the coast-to-coast travel, I anticipate the game will not be pretty. If you thought Game 3 was ugly, wait 'till you see tonight's game. Eighty points might be enough!

Continue reading "THE TRUTH ABOUT THE NBA FINALS"

Game 3 of the NBA Finals was such a downer it looked like an uncut version of Celtic Pride.

Who is to blame? For one, the NBA should take some responsibility here for scheduling Game 2 and Game 3 just two days apart. Both teams barely had 24 hours to fly from Boston to L.A. and get ready for Game 3 at Staples Center.

But the short turnaround was just one reason for the 87-81 boredom.

When the referees allowed P.J. Brown, Kendrick Perkins and James Posey to put their hands on the Lakers, the triangle offense became very disjointed. There was no flow to the game. It felt like a Knicks-Heat game from the mid-90s crashed the 2008 NBA Finals.

Now that we are on the subject of officiating, I found it very amusing that the Tim Donaghy case suddenly grew some legs when Game 6 of the 2002 Western Conference finals between the Lakers and Sacramento Kings became the epicenter of the NBA's gambling controversy.

Continue reading "NBA NEEDS TO FIX THIS PROBLEM"