Midseason Recap

I know this is a few days late now, but I figured I'd go back over my initial predictions for this season, hand out Chuck's midseason awards and make some second half predictions. 

First to recap my previews of the Northwest and Pacific Divisions.

Out in the Northwest, it was no secret going in to this season that K. Smooth and the fellas would easily conquer the competition and grab a top 3 seed in the West.  My real brilliance came in with the 62-20 record prediction.  Currently the Thunder sit at 39-14 and if they continue with their current win rate, they will end up 63-19.  I'd say that makes me a fucking genius.

The major mistakes I made in the Northwest were predicting the Minnesota Timberwolves as the 2nd place team and the Jazz to only win 1 game.  In my defense on the outlandish Minnesota prediction, they have been decimated by injuries this year and Kevin Love has only played in 18 games (posting averages of 18+ppg and 14rpg).  No way a team that has traveled at times with only 7 people to away games is going to have a winning season.  As for the Jazz, the liquor laws in Salt Lake City have not been loosened so they are bound to falter under the pressure of the home stretch. 

In the Pacific, I was pretty damn close sans the meltdown out in Lakerland that no one in the entire world saw coming.  As long as the Warriors stay the course, they'll actually be better than my 43-39 prediction (47-35) and they'll be a 5/6 seed in the playoffs.  NO ONE can want to play this Warrior team.  If Bogut actually rounds into form so they have an inside presence and if Steph Curry stays healthy, I think they can surprise the Clippers or Grizzlies in the first round.  I was also able to correctly predict horrible, atrocious, embarrassing teams in both Sacramento and Phoenix, but that's nothing to write home about.

Midseason Awards:

MVP: Kevin Durant (I'm the biggest Kevin Durant apologist in the world, but this may be the tightest MVP race ever.)

Rookie of the Year: Damien Lillard in a landslide (Notice I didn't mention the idiotic prediction I made regarding him in the preseason.)

Defensive Player of the Year: Larry Sanders (Video game like block numbers, gets the nod in a surprise over Tyson Chandler)

6th Man of the Year: Jamal Crawford (17ppg off the bench, could also make a case for J.R. Smith but he has cooled off from the beginning of the year.  Honorable Mention: Kevin Martin)

Most Improved Player: YOUR Jrue Holiday (Ridiculous year.  19 and 9 up from 13.5 and 4.5 last year.  Paul George is also a strong candidate here especially with how he has carried Indiana without Danny Granger but I'm a homer so Jrue gets the nod.)

Coach of the Year:  Mark Jackson (Look at the turnaround.  That's enough evidence right there.) George Karl gets honorable mention. (Has Denver playing incredible basketball with no All-Stars and really no go-to scorer.)

All NBA Team: I'm going to do the same thing the All-Star game did and pick two back court and three front court players.  Back Court: Chris Paul and Tony Parker (I really wanted to put James Harden in here because he is carrying Houston, but could not ignore Tony Parker scoring 20 a game on 54% from the field while dishing out 8 assits).  Front Court: Kevin Durant, LeBron James, Carmelo Anthony

Eastern Conference Finals: Miami Heat vs. New York Knicks
Sleeper: Chicago Bulls.  If Joakim Noah can get healthy and Poohdini returns anywhere close to where he was last year, I honestly believe they could beat the Heat in the second round.

Western Conference Finals: Oklahoma City Thunder vs. San Antonio Spurs
No Sleeper here.  No chance.

NBA Finals: Miami Heat vs. Oklahoma City Thunder
Not so sleeper: San Antonio Spurs.  Would not surprise me in the least to see Pop take Timmy D and the gang to South Beach.

NBA Champion: Oklahoma City Thunder.  One reason, Kevin Durant.  He is having one of the greatest scoring seasons of all time and as long as Russ Russ gets him the ball in the clutch instead of blindfolding himself and taking wild layup attempts, the Thunder will take down the Heat in Game 7 in Oklahoma City.

State of the Thunder Address: Really Just February 12 Review

The Thunder found a way to lose to the Jazz last night in a game that they shot 56% from the field compared to the Jazz's 48%.  In normal circumstances, I'd put the loss on Russell Westbrook's wild layup clinic, but he was a solid 8/14 from the field last night.  Next I'd move to turnover differential, which Russ Russ certainly contributed to abundantly, but once again, I'd be wrong.  Though Russ Russ did have 7 turnovers, the Jazz ended the game with only a +3 turnover differential.  That leads me to the real answer.  An answer that had Russ Russ noticeably upset after the game and a notion that shakes me to my very core.  You see in the video below, just off camera, sources close to OKC confirm that a reporter from the The Daily Oklahoman was holding up a cue card that read "where's James"?  Short and sweet.  Warm and nostalgic.  Love and loss.  As soon as Russ Russ saw it, it was game over.

The bench lost the game for the Thunder last night, which scares the shit out of me.  You know who else it scares shitless?  Fucking, Presti.  Kevin Martin was invisible, finishing with just 6 points on 3/8, and the rest of the bench combined for a skinny 19 points. Presti made this bed.  He cashed this check. He pumped this fist.  This was a prime game last year where Harden would put up 30 points on a ridiculous 12/16 from the field and carry the Thunder to a win.  They counted on that guy.  I'm worried what is going to happen in June when they don't have that guy.  I know Smooth J had a rough finals last year, but all signs pointed to a breakout this year.  He is having that breakout but not in OKC.

Poppa Perk was not happy about the absence of Jeremiah (more so than Smooth J) and he took it out in an elbow to the side of Al Jefferson's dome that would've made Ron Ron proud.

K. Smooth can do no wrong.  LeBron.

Russ Russ throws a hissy fit

The Thunder raced out to an early lead last night and coasted to a 106-89 win against the short handed, Gay-less, Grizzlies.  Towards the end of the game, Russ Russ was called for a 5 second violation while posting up Jerryd Bayless and apparently blamed it on poor Thabo Sefolosha.  The below video is what follows and his post game interview with the always well dressed, Craig Sager.  Mind you, this all unfolded as the Thunder were up 18 points.  While I admire the fire that Westbrook plays with on a nightly basis, I have to completely disagree with his statement saying he handled this like a man.  He handled this like a spoiled 12 year old that didn't have the nicest sneakers in gym class.  Russ Russ is a freak of an athlete, but if he thinks storming off the court with a towel over his head after jumping up and down and screaming about a 5 second violation while the Thunder are up 18 points is what a leader does, he has a lot of growing up to do.

Lamar Odom smater than Jonas Valanciunas

Let's get this out of the way before I go on.  I'm sure you're looking at this and thinking, "Jesus Christ, man, why don't you suck his dick already?', but if K. Smooth keeps doling out the hits, what's a guy supposed to do?  He's become THE VIP up in da club and club employees have strict instructions to make sure he never even has to SEE the velvet rope.

Last night he was back on his grind and making Khloe Kardashian's husband look like a BITCH.  Lamar Kardashian did not even attempt to challenge K. Smooth in the air.  Probably a smart decision as Smooth has taken no prisoners when attacking the rim in his career.  Although a smart decision, Lamar cowering like that makes me 100% certain that Khloe manhandles him at home.  Poor little guy.

Gotta love the way Smooth blows past Matt Barnes at the top of the key like he's not even there.  Great D from a guy that has made a career out of playing defense.

K. Smooth and another NBA first

The weekend tore through da club like K. Smooth tore through the Mavs' defense on Friday night.  It left us all hungover, burping up Italian meats and asking why we put up with our 40 hour a week cube jobs.

That all being said, this isn't about us, our shitty jobs or our bad attitudes.  This is about someone who found the key to averting the life of a desk jockey: grow to be almost 7 feet tall and have a freakish 7'5" wing span.  I give you the NBA's best player, Kevin Durant.  Last night, he became the first player in NBA history to make 20+ free throws in back to back games.  He is now 41/42 from the line over his last 2 and an insane 91% from the charity stripe this season.  In those last two, he has combined to score 89 points.  For those of you that are math challenged, that's almost 45ppg.  45!

I'd say with recent injuries, the MVP race has now fallen squarely on Durant vs. LeBron.  If I were a betting man, my money would be on the protagonist to unseat the villain for MVP and for NBA supremacy.

K. Smooth shows the world why he will win the MVP this year

Holy shit.  What a game.  In all honesty, this was probably one of the uglier 50 point games of all time. K. Smooth shot a mortal 13/31 from the field including a dismal stretch in the 4th quarter where he missed 8 straight shots to let the Mavs back in the game.  He made up for it in OT though, hitting 2 huge 3's and a ridiculous step back, fade away that would make Kobe proud.  While K. Smooth was human from the floor, he was an astonishing 21/21 from the line and 5/9 from 3 to finish with 52 points.  He also threw in 9 boards, an assist and 2 steals in 50 minutes.

What I think is amazing about this game and this performance is the way that Smooth continued to fight.  Most players in the league would defer to the #2 when going through a cold stretch like he hit in the 4th, but he kept playing his game and rewarded OKC with a gritty, OT win in Dallas.

I think Kareem hit the nail on the head this week when he said we could be watching the best scorer of all time.

The Best Player in the League Throwing Down

Another European being victimized by K. Smooth in one of the most aggressive dunks you will see this year.  Yikes.

K. Smooth's End of the World Trick Shot

Whelp, since today is the end of the world and whatnot, K. Smooth decided to go out on top last night with 33 points on 12/21 from the field, 7 rebounds, 6 assists, 3 steals and this insane trick shot:

Pity that Russ Russ was 9/28 from the field with 8 (!) Turnovers.  Dude just does not get it sometimes.  You're playing with the best scorer in the game.  You don't need to force everything and you certainly don't need to be taking 7 more shots in a game.  K. Love and JJ Fresh ended the Thunder's 12 game win streak with a smooth 99-93 win.

Weekend Jams

Moe Harkless is lucky he didn't get the patented Metta elbow after being on the receiving end of a dunk like that from the artist formally known as Ron Artest.

Ya boi, K. Smoove, with the thunderdunk over the shitty Lopez brother.

Last but certainly not least, Smooth J and Jeremiah got theirs over 14 year old, Gordan Hayward.

Presti Puts Curse on Harden

Last night marked the return of Smooth J to OKC and a reunion with K. Smoove, Russ Russ and Poppa Perk.  The gang was officially back together and a post game rendevous with Kate Upton produced familiar results.

Something unfamiliar to Smooth J was Presti's use of voodoo magic.  That fuck put some kind of curse on Smooth J and Jeremiah that caused him to go 3-16 from the field and only end up with 17 points.  The curse also inhibited James' ability to get off shots as illustrated below.

PS K. Smoove ended up with a monster 37, 7, 4 line that made the queen weep.

This is why ESPN is stupid.

This is why ESPN is fucking stupid sometimes.  Look at the headline and then look at the first quarter score to this game.  Just looking for a story.  Gotta get them page views up.  The Thunder are on pace to score 112 points yet the headline says they're struggling on offense... hm....

Poppa Perk v. Z-Bo

So last night the surprising Memphis Grizzlies handled the OKC Thunder even as K. Smoove went for his season high in points.  The highlight of the game came with 2:09 left when Z-Bo told Poppa Perk he was going to "beat his ass" (0:06 in the video below) and both were ejected.

I don't know why Poppa Perk is trying to sabotage my fantasy team.  Maybe he is still upset at my constant ragging of Russ Russ, maybe he is still emotionally distraught about the loss of Smooth J and Jeremiah, but there is no reason to bait Z-Bo, my double double machine, into threatening to beat his ass.  It's just not right, Perk.  Why would you do that to me?  I loved you, man.  If the DeMarcus Cousins off court altercation set any kind of precedent, I'll be losing by boi, Z-Bo, for a couple games at the end of the week.  Granted, Cousins has a history of stupidity and his confrontation was not with a player, rather an announcer, but I'd still imagine Dictator Stern will react swiftly and harshly.

The ejections led to a (alleged) square off outside of the teams locker rooms that Z-Bo commented on after the game.

Update: As I earlier hypothesized, it was Poppa Perk who baited Z-Bo into the "I'll beat your ass" comment with his preceding comment, "I'll meet you by the bus".

Imaginary Daps

I think Young James misses Smoov and Russ-Russ...

Teague Thunderdunks on K. Smoove

The Thunder laid an egg last night (with the exception of Kevin Martin, who was brilliant, finishing with 28 points on 8-11 shooting including 6-8 from 3).  21 turnovers leading to 31 Atlanta points to go along nicely with giving up 12 offensive boards leading to 16 points.  The sloppy play needs to be fixed like yesterday if the Thunder want to get anywhere close to their 2011 campaign.

Without getting too deep on another Westbrook needs to shoot less and pass more rant, Westbrook needs to shoot less and pass more.  My reasoning: K. Smoove finished with an impressive line of 22 points on 7-17 from the field with 12 boards, 8 assist, 3 steals and 2 blocks.  Full disclosure: he also had 6 turnovers.  You're thinking, what does that have to do with Westbrook, right?  Well Russ Russ finished with 14 points on an abysmal 5-18 from the field with a season high 9 assists and a season low 3 turnovers.  There were at least 4 shot opportunities that Durant passed up to try to play facilitator to get the rest of the team involved.  Durant is the best scorer in the world.  He should NEVER pass a shot up to facilitate.  Westbrook should be the one focusing on facilitating, not taking 18 shots and shooting 27%.  Obviously, finishing with 9 assists, Russ Russ did do his share of facilitating, but if he took 5 less shots and fed the hot hand of Kevin Martin or Smoove, the result of this game could have been drastically different.  My point is that Russ Russ needs to pick up earlier in the night if his shot is off and use his explosive speed to draw help defense and dish the ball to the open man.  Instead of doing that, right now he ends up throwing up wild layups or off balance shots.  It's not working and its becoming more evident now that Smooth J is out of town and Westbrook is handling the point even more.

Another issue that is starting to bubble to the surface in OKC is internal conflict.  For the second game in a row Sefolosha and Russ Russ had to be separated.  Ibaka took some heat from Smoove on the way into the locker room at half about a board he didn't grab and also from Poppa Perk every time they didn't come away with a rebound.  The role players on this team need to fall in line.  Everyone should be looking to Smoove as the first in line and Russ Russ as his Secretary (until he ups his play, I'm not referring to him as the Vice President).  No one else on this team should be talking.  Period.

Oh and Jeff Teague has been bringing the hammer dunks this year.  Smoove fell victim last night after Teague blew by a flat footed Westbrook on the perimeter.  Sorry, Smoove:

LOVE the description of that video.  "Teague baptizes Durant."

Russ Russ Being Russ Russ

So the Thunder lost to the Spurs last night on a Tony Parker 20 foot buzzer beater (first loss at the buzzer in OKC team history).  A few observations about the game:

1) In stretches, Russ Russ is the most infuriating player in the league to watch.  There is no arguing his ability and his place as a game changer, but god damn, there are 4 minutes left in the game and your team is down 3 points, get the ball to the best scorer in the world, K. Smoove.  Don't take back-to-back-to-back wild layup attempts without anyone else touching the ball.  You're having an off night shooting the ball (6-21!!!!!!!) and you're a point guard, act like it and pass the ball.  Durant shot 50% from the field last night, why not give it a try?

2) The last 2 possessions of that game and the result come down to coaching and execution.  On one end, you have Russ Russ dribbling the clock down for 15 seconds while the entire OKC team stands around watching him, waiting for the 10 second mark.  Durant pushes off Kawhi Leonard to try to get open (no screens), can't, Russ Russ forces him the ball (couldn't have gotten him the ball earlier!?) and Leonard comes up with a huge steal (back to back 5 steal games).  Maybe it's on Durant for not getting open, but I put that one squarely on Scotty Too Hottie.  You are getting paid as an elite coach, act like it and draw up a play instead of just looking at Russ Russ and K. Smoove and saying "go throw that ball through the hoop so we win and I look like a genius."  On the other end you have Scar-Face, setting up a play for that fucking Frenchman that has like 601 screens and gets him a wide open shot.  Granted Westbrook made Pop look good with his horrendous defense, completely losing Parker and leaving him with no one in the same area code, but I say potatoes, pototoes. 

3) Back to Russ Russ.  5 Assists and 6 Turnovers!?  Really?  I get that he is not your stereotypical point guard, but he is still THE point guard of OKC.  I'm no genius here, but to win games in the NBA I'm pretty sure your point guard needs to do a whole hell of a lot better than a 1:1 assist to turnover ratio (would've been a step up for Westbrook last night).  Without Smooth J to come off the bench and handle the point at times, I'm worried that assist to turnover ratio is going to get worse before it gets better.

4) Kevin Martin didn't look bad.  He shot 40% from the field, including a big 3 towards the end of the 4th and ended up with 15 points and 5 assists.  Stating the obvious, Kevin Martin is not James Harden.  The Thunder need to figure out what the hell they are going to do with their second team.

5) The Thunder shot a horrendous 38% from the field including a lower first half shooting percentage than all of last year.  Smooth J was on the team last year.  He isn't now.  Just saying.

Conclusion: The Western Conference is wide open.  I give the edge to the Spurs followed by the Thunder and Lakers.  The Thunder HAVE to be concerned that they are now the 3rd best team in the West.  Everyone is making a huge deal out of LA's slow start, but they're just going through the growing pains that Miami went through in 2010.  They'll be fine and I'm sure the Black Mamba will have them right there in May and June.

On the bright side, Poppa Perk seems to be coming around on Scotty Too Hottie's coaching:

Bye, Smooth J: OKC Sacrificed Title Shots for Financial Security

After taking a few days to digest the Harden to Houston trade, I'm no less upset than I was on Saturday night.  With the trade of Harden to Houston, Presti traded away almost certain title opportunities over the next 5 seasons (probably more).  When is the last time a team had 3 of the top 20 players in the league and those players were all UNDER the age of 25?  The answer is never.  Houston was able to offer Harden the max contact he desired (5 years, $78M) and a shot at being The Man.  Harden never demanded the spotlight in OKC, that's not what he wanted.  He just wanted what he was worth.  He already sacrificed numbers and a starting spot and now Presti wanted him to sacrifice the money he deserved.  Hadn't he already sacrificed enough?

OKC is obviously a small market team, so there will be those that argue this all comes down to the plight of a small market and while there may be SOME truth to that (the Lakers would not have batted an eyelash at the luxury tax they would have had to pay to sign Harden to a max deal in part because of their $150M/yr TV contract, almost 10x what OKC makes on their annual TV deal), I call bull shit.  OKC made $35M in PROFIT last year in a shortened season.  According to Forbes, they are the 15th most valuable team in the NBA.  That being said, their operating income is 5th highest in the entire league, so for those arguing that OKC's ownership is just ensuring that they get theirs, let me assure you, they are getting theirs on a nightly basis.  If they would've re-signed Harden to a max deal, they would have been over the luxury tax cutting into their profit greatly, but it only needed to be for one year.  At the end of this season, they could've amnestied an aging Kendrick Perkins or tried to find a trade partner for Ibaka (I'll visit Ibaka more later), so for those arguing ownership did not have a choice, you lose.  Ownership had to take a cut to their profits for ONE YEAR (pending the right offseason moves) to sure up title contention for the next 5.  While I understand sports are a business, by choosing profits, OKC broke up a trio the likes of which we may never see again.  A trio that could have competed for championships for a decade.  A trio that could have gone down as one of the greatest threesomes of all time.

In return for Harden, Presti acquired Kevin Martin, an established wing scorer who averages around 18.0 ppg for his career but does not play anything resembling defense, Jeremy Lamb, who averaged 20 ppg in the NBA Summer League but doesn't strike me as the superstar type, 2 first round picks, one of which may not happen until 2018 and a second round pick.  No piece that was acquired will provide the spark that Harden gave off the bench and no piece will be pointed to at the end of the year as the reason the Thunder went back to the NBA finals.  In fact, this trade will be pointed to after the season as the reason the Thunder lost to the Lakers in the Western Conference finals.  The Lakers had no answer for Harden in the Western Conference Semis last year... I doubt they are going to have the same problems with Kevin Martin.

An angle that has not been talked about is the negative effect this could potentially have on the psyches of Russ Russ and K. Smoove.  The Thunder should know first hand what breaking up such a tight knit group of players can do to a team.  When OKC acquired Poppa Perk from the Celtics, what happened to Boston?  They struggled.  Not because they were dramatically less skilled as a team, but because Poppa Perk was the glue that held that locker room together.  I'm not suggesting that Harden was the glue in OKC's locker room or that I think Russ Russ and K. Smoove will struggle this year, I'm just saying to keep an eye on the demeanor of OKC's remaining superstars.  If I were either of them, I'd hold a bit of a grudge towards management for breaking up something so special for the dollar signs.

OKC is making an enormous bet on the maturation of Serge Ibaka's offensive game.  I'm not saying that can't happen, but all the evidence we have up until now points to that process taking a long time if it happens at all.  I understand that Ibaka provides unbelievable contributions on the defensive end, but he is a liability on the offensive side of the floor and anytime that is the case, you put an enormous amount of pressure on the other four guys.  K. Smoove and Russ Russ can handle the pressure, but there is no longer a relief valve for when Russ Russ goes into one of his 0-8 slumps.

In a perfect world, Serge Ibaka's offensive game would mature quickly and Perry Jones III and Jeremy Lamb would develop into reliable scorers making Smooth J an afterthought in OKC, but I doubt thats how this will play out.  While I desperately hope I am wrong, I fear that this trade will cripple K. Smoove's title chances for the next couple years especially with the emergence of super teams like the Lakers and the development of other teams like the Clippers.

Presti, I hope the boys prove me wrong or you will be my least favorite GM in sports.

Jeremiah is FUCKED UP, Smooth J to the Rockets

Sam Presti would not agree to give Jeremiah his white woman.  I hope Jeremiah is happy.  He and Smooth J are now headed to the mecca of Houston to play alongside Jeremy Lin's sizable IQ, small member and lack of athleticism.  Presti could've done worse... Kevin Martin, Jeremy Lamb, 2 first rounders and a second rounder.  My emotions are running circles around me.  For now, I leave you with the beauty below... when I compose myself, I'll be back for more.

Can only imagine what Poppa Perk is like right now...

Bye Bye Dictator Stern

ESPN's Marc Stein reports that David Stern will be stepping down on February 1, 2014 and be replaced by Adam Silver.  The news will be formally announced tonight.

Listen, I appreciate what David Stern did for the NBA.  He brought the NBA back to relevancy and took it out of the days of tape delayed NBA finals.  I can't believe there was ever a time when the finals of one of the big 4 sports was tape delayed, but that's for another time.  For all the good he did, he was (is) an arrogant, power hungry, smug dictator (being smug is the worst of qualities) that ran over anyone who had the stones to stand up to him.  My hatred for David Stern boiled over during a recent radio interview with Jim Rome (Rome is a raging douche, too) where Rome asked Stern if the "fix was in" when referring to the Hornets (an NBA owned team at the time with a 13.7% chance of winning the #1 pick in the 2012 draft) winning the 2012 draft lotto.  The following insinuation and back and forth is the stuff dreams are made of.  Check out the audio below.  If you haven't heard it, it's fantastic.

I'm happy Stern is gone.  Maybe the NBA will stop fixing games now so K Smoove and the boys have a chance to knock off Stern's horse, LeBron.

Thanks for the story Blackface.

Smooth J and the Contract Caper

Time to address the elephant in the room, Smooth J's expiring contract.  The Thunder and Super GM, Sam Presti, have until October 31 to sign Smooth J to a contract extension or he's destined to become a restricted free agent on July 1.  The implication here is if Harden gets to free agency on July 1, he will receive multiple max offers (4 years, $60mil) which the Thunder will not be able to match.  In interviews leading up to this year, Harden has stated that he is willing to "sacrifice" to keep the Thunder's Big Three intact, just like Westbrook did before the beginning of last year and Durant prior to that.  What the Thunder have is special.  Never in the history of the league has a team been so good and so young at the same time.  It would be a shame if J can't see that.

According to our sources close the situation, the major hold up on getting a deal hashed out is not Smooth J himself, but his beard, Jeremiah.  After all the attention Jeremiah has received over the last 3 years, he has become a full blown diva.  Demanding a cut of the profits on any beard related sales (in addition to Smooth J's cut), his own personal assistant, his own seat on the bus and even his own white woman, Jeremiah has become the Elton John of basketball; high demands but not much production when the lights turn on.

For now, we all wait with bated breath to see if Smooth J, Jeremiah and Presti can work a miracle.  Smooth J would never leave on his own (too scared of Poppa Perk), but with the influence of the power hungry, Jeremiah, no one can say for sure how this saga will end.

Heat Already Making Excuses

Are you kidding me?  The season is still 2 and a half weeks away and the Heat are already starting to get their excuses ready for when K Smoove and the boiz steamroll through Miami in June.  What is it this time?  They are complaining that they are TOO open from the 3 point line.  Seriously?? TOO open!?  Dummies.

Is LeBron really wearing a t-shirt with a picture of his face on it?  That's something I would do because I think it's funny.  LeBron isn't doing it to be funny; he's doing it because he thinks he's the man.  Douche.