Amy, This is the first mention of basketball in this Blog since Kevin's infamous remarks addressed to Piston's fans at the start of the Lakers-Pistons championship series: "Welcome to your worst nightmare." As Piston's fan I thought that it seemed a bit like hubris. I assume that he has been unable to watch pro basketball since that series.

I am an Arenas fan, however the Suns are going to kick the Wizards' ass tomorow night. Perhaps Ms. Sullivan will sing some Baptist camp songs to relieve her grief, then blog about how if we would only allow Wizard supporters onto the Suns' bandwagon Democrats could win some elections and take back the majority in Congress.

Neil -

As a Pistons fan, you obviously suffered a deep wound that day, to recall it this far from the event.

craigie on December 22, 2005 at 3:48 PM:

As a Pistons fan, you obviously suffered a deep wound that day, to recall it this far from the event.

Naw, he's probably just rubbing it in...Just about everyone outside of Detroit, looking only at the scores of the games played, thought the Pistons were going to get swept by a team lead by an all-start roster...and were stunned almost speechless.

...BTW, Detroit's record stands at 20-3, currently the best in the NBA...

Can't wait for that Dec. 25th rematch!

One thing that I can do without, however, is the incessant whining about how scoring is down in the NBA...No shit; that's what happens when teams play defense.

Well, I'm happy to say the least, because I traded Dwight Howard for Jamison about 2 weeks ago, and was definitely getting annoyed at Jamison's slump. Of course, I had him on the bench last night, but the only thing that matters is that he gets back in a groove.

For those who wonder why I traded Howard for Jamison, it basically comes down to more of a need for FT% and 3 pointers, and I'll get a few more points while losing a few rebounds and blocks. Overall, it will work great as long as Jamison stays at 18/10 with a 3 pointer or two each game.

One thing that I can do without, however, is the incessant whining about how scoring is down in the NBA...No shit; that's what happens when teams play defense.

I agree in some ways, but in more important ways a lot of the lower scoring in the past decade had to do with players who couldn't shoot the damn ball, or play within a team concept. Many blame it on the influx of younger players, and emphasis on glam.

Interestingly enough, scoring is up this year, at least it seems like it from my own informal observation. In any case, great defense is not generally what you find in the NBA, though you definitely find it when you watch the Pistons.

"...BTW, Detroit's record stands at 20-3, currently the best in the NBA..."

Pretty sweet. I'm happy with 20-6 since Ginobilli has missed 6 or 7 games and the Spurs traditionally don't hit stride until February.

"Can't wait for that Dec. 25th rematch!"

Amen. It's like Christmas in...er, Christmas.

Surely what you mean is "it's like the Holiday Season in...er, the Holiday Season."

The War on Christmas™ marches on!

Jimm on December 22, 2005 at 5:52 PM:

a lot of the lower scoring in the past decade had to do with players who couldn't shoot the damn ball

Particularly free throws. There's no excuse for under 80% free throw shooting, unless you are in high school.

or play within a team concept.

Hate to say it, but team play in the NBA is the current fad in coaching and personnel management...Thank you, Joe Dumars...The 80's emphasized team play; Lakers, Celtics, and Pistons for example (yes, some big names, but they knew enough to share the ball..). The 90's brought us the Bulls and the Lakers (again); the difference being the presence of one major talent (Jordan, O'Neil) with a surrounding cast of role players and ham-and-eggers.

The pendulum will swing the other way again; watch for the emergence of the next Jordan...

sports blogging? hell, if I wanted to read about sports I'd buy a newspaper!

yeah, i agree beb. why somebody at WM posts about something so completely unimportant in sports, i don't know. i mean, it'd be one thing if it were concerning a big event like the world series or a superbowl, or about a big scandal in sports, but some simple rah-rah my-team-is-better-than-your-team nonsense? pretty silly.

but hey, it's their blog, they can use it to indulge themselves if they want. no biggie.

Fully agree that sports should not be included in a political blog - However, can anyone explain why the "genius" Billy Beane has traded with the LA Dodgers for Milton Bradley? Four teams in six years, or is it five in seven? And now back to Twigless bashing.

Amy, why are you a Wizards fan?

I don't doubt that the best and winning teams often play well and great as a team, but the overall trend of the league in the past decade seemed to be an influx of immature players, lack of fundamentals, the disappearance of the mid-range jump shot, greater emphasis on showboating and dunks, too many fouls being called, and all of this leading to lower scoring and more disjointed play (in the aggregate).

The championship teams like the Spurs and the Pistons obviously are a trend in the opposite (and right) direction - veteran teams that shoot well, defend, and play team basketball. And even the Lakers with Kobe and Shaq were led by Phil Jackson, and ran the triangle offense, which is impossible to play effectively without dedicated team focus and ball movement, and had quality veterans to play various roles (Fox on defense, Horry as clutch shooter and rebounder, Fisher as on-ball defender and occasional sniper, etc.). That said, I'm a big Lakers fan, and I hated watching Shaq just run people over and dunk the ball.

The best teams usually share some elements of the winning formula, no matter the year or decade, but the overall character of the league has shown great variability, especially in the past decade with younger, more immature players, lack of fundamentals, and poor shooting (especially in the midrange game).

Not been following closely, but how in the world was Butler NOT starting?

Congrats to the Wizards for beating the Suns. Damn, ruined my Winter Solstice Holiday.