Guy Berger

I was a big fan of his books as a kid: link

That thread will be big no matter what forum it's in. Guy

I don't know how serious you are there, but it's an interesting thing regardless. I guess I'm a tiny bit more sympathetic toward Jackson now that I've had a chance to see him in interiews (and getting screwed a few times by zebras, who no doubt enjoy screwing him by now), From what I've seen and read, Jackson is a good guy who routinely makes bad judgment calls. He's not known (at least on the Warriors) as a guy who starts fights or generates a lot of hard/flagrant fouls.* He just whines and argues with the refs too much. *Yeah, I know he was involved in the Palace Brawl. Any other incidents? One point: without Jackson, the Warriors would not have made it into the playoffs or beaten the Mavs. That said, I largely agree. If the Warriors can get something worthwhile for him, trade him. I would much rather get rid of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle Harrington, though. An out of control whiner (and no, I don't buy the "passionate" argument -- the dude definitely has "issues" that need counseling) but ultimately not a bad guy. Unlike Bowen or James Posey. Guy

I know I'm in the minority here (and am a Spurs fan), but I don't think Bowen is "actively" trying to hurt people. What about jumpkicking Wally Sczerbiak? Or kicking Ray Allen in the back? Guy

Van Horn was not a bad player when he was with the Nets. If I had to make an NBA-jazz comparison, I would draw one between the Arkestra and this year's Golden State Warriors. Guy

Not sure if this was ever posted to the BNBB... link Maybe a little out of date, and overall it's pretty silly, but the writer either knew a lot of jazz names or had an intern comb the encyclopedia pretty thoroughly. Kenyon Martin as Milt Jackson? Hilarious, though Keith Van Horn as a member of the Arkestra probably takes the cake. Guy

What's the best way to get to the Jazz Gallery from Grand Central Terminal via subway? Guy

Same here. Guy

Well, they shouldn't take Jersey/Cleveland lightly and DEFINITELY shouldn't take whoever comes out of the west lightly. But they have a decent chance at another title. If the Suns get knocked out by the Spurs, I'll be rooting for Detroit the rest of the way. Guy

The Bulls just aren't looking good right now. It's going to take a miracle for them to win this one. Tayshaun Prince has been fantastic. Congrats to Darko, Jim A and all the other Pistons fans on the board. Ever since Stephen Jackson joined the Warriors I'm much more sympathetic to Rasheed. Guy

"Well, I've got news for you pal, you ain't leadin' but two things: Jack and shit... and Jack just left town."

Agreed. I'd rather watch Pistons vs. Spurs for 3 years in a row before I could sit through a Lakers vs. Heat series. Obviously this is a purely counterfactual argument, but Horry would have been suspended one game max had it not been for Amare and Boris. Guy

Horry wasn't suspended 2 games because it was Nash -- he was suspended 2 games to "make up" for the idiotic suspension of Amare and Diaw. Which makes the whole thing even more idiotic. Guy

I posted the official NBA response to that question earlier in this thread: Since there wasn't an altercation, apparently it didn't matter whether Duncan got up or not. For someone insisting on a strict interpretation of the rules, Stern spent a lot of time interpreting what "altercation" means. The fact that the Suns were penalized for a sequence in which the worst offender was on the other team, plus the fact the dirtiest player in the series (Bowen) has been allowed to continue his "work" unimpeded throughout, makes the NBA's insistence on "law and order" laughable. Guy

I hear (and feel) what you're saying, but stars shouldn't (and didn't, in this case) get a free pass on breaking a league rule. So why wasn't Duncan suspended? Guy

When did Don Cherry turn from trumpet-playing to hockey?!?!?!? Guy

The one interesting thing is that the Suns played much better defense w/Amare not in the lineup. Guy

Well, I just hope that after this series the Spurs get together and write a REALLY NICE thank you letter to David Stern. Guy

Nellie was a lot more hot-tempered in the late 80s -- he used to get ejected from games quite frequently. Guy Hey, if you had to sit on the bench watching Manute Bol shooting 3's, you'd get a little irritable too. I remember being at the game in Oakland Arena against the Phoenix Suns where Tom Chambers scored 56 points. Nellie got tossed out of that one. Guy

Cowens coached the Hornets to a few 50-win seasons. He was also a Warriors coach during some of the dark years. Guy

Nellie was a lot more hot-tempered in the late 80s -- he used to get ejected from games quite frequently. Guy

Not sure if you intended to come off sounding like a big jerk, but if so you succeeded. Guy

I've said this to friends before (and I wasn't kidding) -- as soon as the technology becomes advanced enough, the league should replace human referees with robots/computers. Guy

Good article by Bill Simmons on the Amare/Diaw brouhaha and the NBA's rules in general. I really enjoyed the anecdote about Dave Cowens. Guy

Next year's salaries for each of these players: Kobe $19.5M Artest $7.8M Garnett $22.0M Kidd $19.7M ------------ sum = $69M by point of comparison, the Lakers' payroll this year was $77M. So yes, it's possible -- but you'd have to get rid of Odom ($13.5M next year), Kwame Brown ($9M), and probably Radmanovic ($5.6M). FWIW, Kwame's contract DOES expire next year, but so does Artest's. So there's absolutely no gain to the Kings from making this trade unless they are REALLY desperate to unload Artest. Brian Grant made $15M this year. I assume Pat Riley gave him that crazy contract? Walton made $1.25M this year, which is not a bad deal. But he is completely replaceable. Guy