So...Yeah...

"A week or two" away from practicing, still "100% sure" he'll play this season, new insane hairdo.  Really firing on all cylinders in South Philadelphia. The Sixers begin the second-half fight for their playoff lives tomorrow at Minnesota.  They still have 4(!) games left against Miami, as well as 2 with BKNY and Indiana, and 1 each against Golden State, Knicks, Denver, and LAC.  Hopefully it's not too painful to watch. 

Ho Hum, Just Another Night for Bron

As BronBron led the Heat to their 6th straight win, he coincidentally set an NBA record by scoring 30+ points on 60%+ shooting in his 6th straight game.  He is 60 for his last 80 shot attempts (75%).  Just let that sink in for a bit.  Going to be hard to deny him another MVP if his game stays at this level. 

Larry Bird's All-Star picks

My All-Star picks are fairly similar to Chucks, which is not that unexpected.  Over in the East, we came up with the same starters.  I don't think Bron or Melo need any introduction.  They'll be occupying those two spots for years to come.  Varejao has been having a career year, putting up 14&14, and is getting rewarded.  The Celtics haven't been too impressive, but Rondo is putting up career highs in points and assists (12 assists/game is crazy talk) and is generally the main reason the Celts stay competitive.  I went back and forth between Kyrie and Jrue for the last spot.  In the end, a combination of injuries, the Cavs stinking, and not seeing any rational way for the Cavs to have 2 starters, I had to go with the hometown hero Jrue.  Breakout season, and is doing his best to keep the Sixers relevant in spite of the massive 7-foot void in the middle of the team.  Kyrie will get a bench spot, with Tyson Chandler, Brandon Jennings, Joakim Noah and Bosh. 

We differed a little in the West.  Can't debate KDTrey.  ZBo has been quietly having a great year, forming probably the best frontcourt out there with Marc Gasol.  Tim Duncan, while not necessarily my favorite player, has rolled back the clock and is leading the Spurs, yet again, to one of the best records in the West.  Gotta give him recognition for that.  It boggles my mind Chuck would leave Chris Paul off the starters...Seriously, don't understand that one.  Best player and leader of the team with the best record in the L, and probably 3rd best overall player out there.  I don't need to get into it, but he's a starter.  Taking Harden for the last spot.  Got thrust into the limelight and has been handling it quite well, sitting 4th in the league in scoring.  Kobe has been playing some ridiculous ball, but I would rather reward the guy keeping his team in the playoff mix without having multiple All-Stars/HOFers.   Kobe can man the bench, with Ibaka, RussRuss, Blake, Aldridge, Lawson, Faried, Asik and more keeping him company. 

Don't need to go on a rant about it, but fan voting for starters is fucking stupid.  Just seeing Lin, Howard, Wade, and DWill at the top of the ballots says all that needs to be said about that. 

What's up with Bynum?

After Bob Cooney laid into the Sixers management on Saturday, the team released a statement today saying Bynum will be out another month until Dec 10, when he will then be able to resume light drills.  Mixing that with the conditioning he'll need to get into game shape, Bynum needs anywhere from 1-4 weeks after Dec 10 before he can play, assuming all goes well.

And that "assuming all goes well" is the real kicker, because nothing has really gone well so far with Bynum.  Like every other Sixers fan, I was really excited when I learned of the trade.  Suddenly they have the best big man in the conference, while gaining some room for Jrue and ETurner to handle the ball and mature, and become as good as we all hope they can be.  That part is at least going well.  But the closest we've seen to Bynum playing was pregame intros in the home opener, where he came out to a standing ovation, only to go back down the tunnel right afterwards.  Management has been extremely coy on his situation as well.  Maybe it's because they don't want to say anything too premature to such a fickle fan base.  Maybe they're giving Bynum time to grow his hair until he looks like Dr J. 

But most likely, they remained vague so they could sell some tickets.  There's no better way to damper enthusiasm and hurt ticket sales than saying the injury-prone, All Star center you just broke up a fairly successful, if stagnant, team for, is already injured.  And ya know what?  That really sucks.  This new management group has actually been awesome so far in my opinion.  But no amount of dollar dog nights, 100-tshirt firing guns and cheap tickets will make up for refusing to tell anyone your new player, and hopeful franchise cornerstone, is injured way worse than you thought.  This team isn't going anywhere without Bynum, and I appreciate them being cautious - it's the right attitude to have for sure.  But just tell us.  Because when you don't, everyone assumes the worst. 

CP3 vs a collection of traffic cones

Dan Gilbert got the last laugh though, as Uncle Drew and Dion Waiters combined for 52 to sneak past Lob City.  Still, they should all be embarrassed by this one.

IT'S ALL HAPPENING

Tonight, the NBA gets back underway.  Coming off one of the best seasons in years, the league awash in a level of talent not seen since the early 90s, big offseason trades, and storylines out the wazzoo, everyone in da Club couldn't be more excited.  Welcome back.

Shoooooooooooo

So Long, TMac

Tracy McGrady official retired from the NBA today, and is shipping off to play in Communist China.  Everybody's gotta get paid.  It's a damn shame though.  McGrady could never seemingly get to the level he should have.  Combine lots of back injuries, and his getting paired with  guys with their own injury issues (Ming, Yao), Tracy never quite reached the heights everyone expected.  The days of him playing in Toronto with Vinsanity were awesome though.  Regulars up in the club scene.  Oh well, at least we'll always that dunk contest.