Player Profile: Alonzo Gee

Published on December 29, 2011 in Original. 0 Comments

Position: Guard
Height: 6-6
Weight: 220 lbs
Born: May 29, 1987
Hometown: Riviera Beach, Florida
College: University of Alabama

Aint Nothin but a Gee Thang Baby

While Alonzo Gee has only been in the league for two years he’s already been on 3 NBA teams (Wizards, Spurs, Cavs). It wasn’t until last year where Gee saw significant minutes and made a name for himself in the NBA.

While on the 2010-2011 Cavaliers Gee started in an astounding 29 games, which is impressive seeing as he only played in forty games for the Cavs. Although he’s coming off of the bench so far this year, his defensive energy and overall athleticism are sure to earn him a lot of minutes.

Why is Gee important this year? Well, for starters, this team doesn’t have a lot of depth. Already in two games Gee is averaging 28 minutes a night. That’s a lot of clock for a reserve. Also, Byron Scott speaks highly of this young man which is certain to keep him involved in the rotation, especially with other players such as Eyenga not really seeing the floor much.

Gee should see a lot of good action in 2012, as long as he doesn’t keep doing things like this:

Ten Things I Hate About You…Detroit Pistons

Published on December 29, 2011 in Original. 0 Comments Tags: , .

1. Ramon Sessions is pretty good, maybe people in Cleveland are finally starting to see it.
2. Kyrie settled down, had fun, and had a good game.
3. Life is better without Ryan Hollins.
4. The Pistons are pretty awful.
5. Tristan Thompsons has ups, and he’s not afraid to show em. Early proposed nickname: Tigger.
6. Alonzo Gee is going to get significant minutes this year.
7. Although Byron Scott claims he doesn’t have a doghouse, Christian Eyenga certainly seems to be in it.
8. Boobie loves playing at The Palace. His two back to back 3-pointers in the 4th quarter more or less sealed the game for the Cavaliers.
9. Omri Casspi is off to a slow start, but once he gets his shot to start flowin’ he should be able to get in the zone.
10. Home openers are awful. That game was about 4 hours too long.

Bye Bye Baron

Published on December 15, 2011 in Original. 0 Comments

By now we all know that Baron Davis won’t be a member of the Cleveland Cavaliers this year. I think Baron is a guy who can get a team +7 wins a year, but I understand exactly why the Cavs made this move.

Kyrie is our future, and when you’re the number one draft pick there isn’t any reason that you shouldn’t be starting. Let’s throw him in the meat grinder and see what we get.

Farwell Baron, and we thank you. We’ll never forget this…

 

 

ATH Dream Shakes!

Published on August 9, 2011 in Original. 0 Comments Tags: , , , , , .

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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My Experience with Agent Zero

Published on August 5, 2011 in Original. 0 Comments Tags: , , .

Social media has taken over the world. It’s a fact. I’m a twitter junkie just like everyone else. I don’t do much tweeting, but boy do I love to follow people.

Every day at 3 p.m. Gilbert Arenas (agentzeroshow) gives away a pair of shoes from his personal collection. He asks a trivia question to all his followers and the first person to respond with the correct answer and in the quickest time wins the shoes.

How cool is that?

Two weeks ago I happened to answer the question correctly, and also be the first to respond. My prize? A pair of Jordan XV’s autographed by Gilbert Arenas.

Arenas next to my Cavs tickets....oh the irony

This got me to thinking, are there any other pro athletes that do something as awesome as this? I get pumped up just getting a RT from a lot of these athletes, but to actually win something (like a $200 pair of shoes) is on a completely different level.

What I love even more about this is that it’s Gilbert Arenas doing it. As we all know he’s had a tumultuous couple of years so to do something like this really surprises me. But hey, thanks to Gil I’m now sporting these bad boys in the office. Jealousy at it’s finest.

 

BEAST MODE

Published on August 5, 2011 in Original. 0 Comments Tags: , , .

It’s been reported that in a summer league game last night in NYC, Michael Beasley pushed a heckler in the face with an open palm.

I’m not sure this even qualifies as news, but seeing as there is a lockout there’s really nothing else to talk about (because, obviously, I’d much rather be talking about the Vegas Summer League….)

A part of me always feels that a professional needs to be a professional and not get caught up in stupid arguments or fights like this one. But the competitive, athletic nature of me kind of loves a story like this. It’s one thing to heckle an NBA player during an NBA game, that’s fair, but people need to be a little more careful when it comes to the streets.

Hello Mr. Lion, I'm going to taunt you now.

At what point does heckling go too far? Just because they’re playing a game does that mean you can say whatever you want? Would you go up to Michael Beasley if you saw him walking down the streets of Minnesota and heckle him to his face? I doubt it.  If you’re going to start barking at people, make sure you’re ready for the bite back.

Clearly, from the bias of this article, I’m a big Michael Beasley fan.

Kevin Durant at Rucker

Published on August 3, 2011 in Original. 0 Comments Tags: , , , , , .

Summer league basketball is special. It’s unlike any other sport where a professional player can integrate in the system for a game or two and grab national headlines. No one cares about baseball players who play in the Dominican in the Winter, nor does anyone care if an NFL player is running wind sprints in his backyard with a parachute attached to his back. Summer league basketball, that’s where it’s at.

I’m sure by now most of you have seen Kevin Durant go nuts the other night at Rucker Park in Harlem, NY. If you haven’t, check the video link below. To end the game KD goes off for about 12 points in a row and completely brings the house down.

I love KD’s swag. Watching him play the other night makes me think he’s ready to take on a tough guy role in the NBA and take his game to the next level. I’ve never seen him so cocky and brash as he was after he dropped bucket after bucket. Granted, playing on the streets automatically adds an edge to your game, but still, it was a bit uncharacteristic of Durant. Loved every second of it.

But that’s when we also have to put summer league basketball into perspective.

As someone much wiser than me once said “66 points anywhere is pretty good.” Absolutely, it sure is, but let’s not pretend like there was any sort of defense being played the other night. And by the looks of the video it appears that KD is about 8 inches taller than the next guy.

Also, while 66 points does seem like a lot, last night John Lucas III dropped 60 in an overtime game against Durant in the Nike Pro City game. Meaning, if J.L. the third can drop sixty, what do you think some other NBA players could do?

Here’s my list of the top 5 guys I think could get 66 or more right now at Rucker, in no specific order:
1. Arenas
2. LBJ
3. Wade
4. Jennings
5. Ramon Sessions (and 15 dimes too)

What’s your list like? What player would you most like to see get involved in some NBA summer league games?

Durant Catching Fire at Rucker Park

2010 Cavs vs 2011 Miami Heat

Published on March 2, 2011 in Original. 1 Comment Tags: , , , , , , .

Don't make them angry...they might start crying.

This article isn’t about the plight of the Cleveland Cavaliers. In fact, it’s the opposite. This is a look at the other end of the spectrum; LeBron James and the Miami Heat. Because, as we all know, we are still linked with LBJ for at least this season, and probably many more to come.

It’s a shame Cleveland went on that terrible 26-game losing streak, because a much deeper phenomenon has been overlooked. The 2010 Cleveland Cavaliers, at this time last year, were better than the Miami Heat are this year. Don’t believe it? Let me tell you something, and this is fact: After 60 games the 2010 Cleveland Cavaliers were  46-14 with a 12-5 records against the top 8 teams in the league (Boston, Orlando, Atlanta, Chicago, Phoenix, Dallas, Los Angeles and Denver). The 2011 Miami Heat are 43-17 with a 6-10 record against those same teams.

One more time, 6-10 against those same teams!

Sure, people have brought light to the fact that they aren’t beating the top tier teams like everyone expected them too. It gets more attention on the Twitter boards then it does ESPN, because let’s face it, The Heat Index doesn’t want to admit that their team might not be one of the elite in the NBA.

The bigger issue here is not only are they losing to these teams, but they don’t seem to have an answer for how to beat them. Sometimes when you lose a game there’s a lot that factors into it. E.g. injuries, players having off games, poor lighting in the garden, but that’s expected. What’s unique about the games the Heat are losing is they just don’t seem to be as good. They’re giving their best shot and coming up short. Go ahead and add Mike Bibby, see if he brings you into the promise land. And, oh yeah, forgot to mention Boston just signed Troy Murphy…Stretch four that will give the Heat trouble…YIKES!

But wait a minute, you say, the Heat have the second best record in the East! Sure do, just as the Cavs had the best record in the league for the past two seasons. But as we all know only 16 teams make the NBA finals, and your record against them counts a lot more than your record against Minnesota, the Clips and Sacramento.

Still not convinced? Still want to go with the same “he didn’t have enough pieces to win in Cleveland” argument? How bout this for a stat. The 2010 Cavaliers scored 102.1 ppg and let up 95.6 to their opponents. Ranked 9th and 6th in the league, respectively. This year’s Miami Heat score 102 ppg and allow 94.4 to their opponents. Ranked 9th and 6th in the league, respectively. WAIT A MINUTE! That’s right, both teams are ranked the same in offense and defense. Seems odd to switch teams to become better, and then put up almost identical numbers as a team.

But how could that be? The Miami Heat have the big 3! (by the way, are we still calling them that? By now it should be Wade, Wade’s lap dog, and a really tall guy who used to have dreads but now seems as out of place as Nicole Richie shopping at Lane Bryant). The answer is simple, they’re still just three people. The next highest scorer on their team is Udonis Haslem, at a whopping 8.0 ppg. Mike Miller, the guy who was supposedly a huge piece to their puzzle, is dominating the floor with 6 ppg. And big Z, remember him, is absolutely killing it with 5 points and 3 boards a game. Hope it was worth it, Z.

I try not to devote too much attention to the Heat, because after all I love the Cleveland Cavaliers. I worry about my team and our future, and could really care less about the Heat. But when I have people coming up to me telling me how this year is so telling because look at the Cavs and look at the Heat, it upsets me. This year’s Cavs team is an entirely different story, one that has a lot more to do than with the departure of the Queen.  So next time someone gets up in your grill (because I’m sure just like me your lunch breaks are filled with talking people’s ears off about NBA basketball) just tell them to compare the 10 cavs vs the 11 Heat…and then punch them in the face.

Cavs 93 Nets 91

Published on November 10, 2010 in Original. 0 Comments Tags: , , , , , , .

B. Scott sent his old team packin!

Three road games in a row, three solid wins. Our energy we’re showing in the fourth quarter is truly remarkable, and one of the most surprising qualities of this young team. Now that I have a little bit more knowledge about the identity of this team, let’s take a look at some of the highs and lows of last night’s game:

•If you were to tell me Mo would finish 1-12 from the field and play 0 minutes in the fourth quarter, I would most likely tell you that would be  a game we’d lose. But we didn’t. Mo, having one of his worst shooting games ever, still managed to muster up 7 assists and still be a solid floor general. What Mo brings to the table is much more than just his scoring, but he’s the leader on this team. What I also love about Mo is that he keeps shooting, he kept staying aggressive last night despite his shooting, and he still pushed the ball up the floor to create some pressure on NJ’s D.

•No Mo, No Problem. This was a great game from Ramon Sessions. This is the type of player he is. Slash/Dash finish. While other players hit big shots in the fourth Ramon clearly took this game over and wouldn’t allow the Cavs to lose. I really like his floater down the lane which he seems to be able to shoot over anyone. Brook Lopez can try to get that weak stuff outta here, but it just aint gonna happen.

•Speaking of those other big shots, how about Booby for three—Booby for three—Jawad for three sequence we had in the fourth that brought us back the lead. Unbelievable. Sometimes when I watch this team I get frustrated and worried about who is going to generate our offense, but that was a great showing on how role players can step up and bring us back into ball games. How upset must NJ have been to give up nine easy points like that, and squander the lead they were slowly building. When you’re open for three, it’s hands down mans down time.

•Booby. Yes, he spells it with a Y now (see his twitter) had another impressive game. I got off the “hate Booby” train awhile ago, so it pleases me to see him step up in games like this where he needs to. Booby had a classic Booby game—4-5 from deep and ended with 14 points. I still believe at time Booby tries to do to much. He still can’t really drive to the lane and put up shots without getting blocked. But, to his credit, that’s not really his game. Watch Sessions cut to the lane and shoot, and then watch Booby to the same. The difference is night and day. Sessions is a slasher, Booby is a setup 3 kind of guy. Always has been, probably always will be. But that’s fine, that’s what we need out of him. He gives me that every night then Booby has gone above and beyond his expectations. This, above all, to thine own self be true (just keep shooting threes.)

•Even though Travis Outlaw went all beast mode last night, I was really happy at the way we contained Brook Lopez. Brook’s not quite at the point of being a dominant center in this league, and Andy can more than contain people like him. Andy’s D was really impressive, and the agitation he causes these players alone is huge. Andy didn’t get much help either. Ryan Hollins—AKA the foul machine—only played 7 minutes tonight. I was a bit surprised Troy Murphy didn’t have a better game, especially against us, but he seemed pretty lost in New Jersey’s offense. I’m a big Troy Murphy fan, and am used to him putting up 14 points and 19 rebound type nights, but it just didn’t happen for him last night. Look for a big game tonight out of him

•So here we go round 2, 7:30 at the Q. I love these back to back games because coaching plays a big role tonight. What adjustments are we going to make, what are they going to throw at us, and who is going to step up. I don’t expect Mo to have two bad games in a row, but maybe him having to D up Harris is what caused his offense to suffer. It would be nice to see Mo Flo come out firing tonight and get us off on the right foot. Either way, it’s going to be a fun one to watch at the Q.

Last Night, We Were the Best Team in the NBA

Published on October 28, 2010 in Original. 0 Comments Tags: , , , , , , , , , .

Ramon and the Moon Man Celebrat the W.

Sigh of relief. Deep Breath. Shot of Jameson. Deep breath. Repeat. That was me, post-game, following the Cavs 95-87 victory over the Celtics.

With the entire city watching, the Cleveland Cavaliers put on a performance for the ages. As in games past—or at least we thought—basketball was more than a game, at least for one night. Last night’s game was the most watched for a Cavs opening night. A stat that would almost seem made up, if it weren’t for the intrigue and mystery that surrounds this team. We all knew what we COULD do with LeBron, but we have no idea what we can do without him. And that’s what this season is all about.

Without getting to caught up in the moment, let’s put last night into perspective. We beat the Celtics. A team that will probably finish first or second in the East. But we beat them after they played on of the biggest games of their young season. Not to mention after that game they had to board a plane, take the one and a half airplane ride to Hopkins, and try and get rested for the game against the Cavs. The Celtics are an old team, but they know it. They understand what games they have to get up for, and what games they don’t, and last night was the latter. It meant everything to us, and nothing to them (kind of like all my encounters with women). But was it completely meaningless, of course not.

Our team has talent. We have young guys, veterans, and everything in-between. We saw a bit of everything last night. Anyone who was saddened/pissed/confused by the trade of Delonte West, realizes now why we did it. Ramon Sessions and Ryan Hollins, the players acquired in the Delonte trade, combined for 24 points, 6 rebounds, and 4 assists. More importantly their hustle and key actions in crucial plays really showed. It was Hollins who took Nate Robinson’s kick to the nutsack after the whistle, a play in which he could have easily walked away from after hearing the refs call. But he didn’t. He stood in there, continued to play, and took one for the team…literally. It was Ramon who came up with key steals, timeout calls, and relentless D on Rondo that helped seal the win. If that’s what we get game-in and game-out from those guys, just for the loss of Delonte, then good riddance.

We had our standard hustle and muscle from guys like Andy, J.J. and J. Moon. And as they all stated after the game, a lot of that had to do with Byron Scott’s conditioning in the off-season. How many times have you ever heard a player after a huge game like that say “I wasn’t tired down the stretch.” Not many, because guys love to protest how they left it all on the court, and don’t have anything left in the tank. Maybe it was because this was the first game of the season that we feel so energized, but one would be foolish to think Byron Scott doesn’t have something to do with all this, because he does.

So in the end, what does this one win mean? It means that if we have nothing else, we have this. If we go 1-81 we’ll still remember this victory, and the impact it had on the team and on this city. Again, it was the most watched opening night for the Cavs. A team that’s been to the finals and won back to back Central Division Championships. A team that for the past several years was considered NBA Title contenders. But this is Cleveland, where we root for the underdog and stand behind our teams. I don’t know what the rest of the season holds, but I’ll always remember that we started 1-0.