Antawn Jamison Passes Ball Directly Into Referee’s Face (Video):

If I were to tell you that Antawn Jamison made a pass instead of chucking up an ill-advised long-two with plenty of time left on the shot clock, you wouldn’t believe me.  Luckily for you, Dan Devine from Yahoo! Sports has video evidence that he did indeed make a pass.  Unfortunately the ball did not reach his intended target and it hit referee Nick Buchert right in the face.  The worst thing about this play is that Antawn tries to do the right thing for once and it ends disastrously.  That’s the last time he ever makes a pass.

Paul Silas and Tyrus Thomas Separated During Locker Room Altercation:

Tom Reed from the Cleveland Plain Dealer once wrote that he saw Paul Silas chase Ira Newble out of the locker while calling him a “hip hop motherfucker.”  Never change, Paul Silas.

Ken Berger’s Twitter:

The end of #linsanity is currently happening at Laguardia Airport.

It seems like every week, things keep getting better at I GO HARD NOW.  This is not a humblebrag.  It is a brag.  We have been that great and have been setting the bar even higher recently.

Our Joints:

Good: Opportunity for Human Interaction. This was not a typical blog post, but it was a first for the IGHN crew: Arrange a meeting through the blog for fans to meetup and chill before the game.  Leave it to Amin to break the social seal and put himself out there to hang out with other Cavs and Wizards fans.

Better: Nike Hoop Summit: Quick Thoughts.  Our newest writer, Maddison Bond of getting-engaged-on-The-Basketball-Jones fame went to the Nike Hoop Summit game in Portland.  Instead of writing a boring game recap, he drew a great illustration for those who, you know, are into the whole “brevity” thing.

Best: Losing Perspective: Angelo may as well take a mortgage out on this property, because he is putting out the greatest hits at an alarming rate.  Let’s just say that if Smoke These Joints were an R.E.M. greatest hits CD, Angelo would be “Eponymous.”  He takes on the Dwyane Wade quotes about NBA ballers being compensated for playing in the Olympics and does it without any of that flag-waving bullshit that was so prominent on Twitter in the past few days.

Their Joints:

Good: Help Us Save Hardwood Paroxysm: a Bloggissist’s Plea:  Something terrible happened to the NBA blogosphere this week and Hardwood Paroxysm was hacked.  Years of hard work from many great writers was gone.  Aaron from Gothic Ginobili did what he could to help restore Hardwood Paroxysm and offered step-by-step instructions on how to help the cause.

The Bad: OKC model is A-OK, but is it reality? Sam Amico just doesn’t get it.  Not only does it take him only three paragraphs to make a glaring error (Kevin Garnett was traded to the Celtics after Ray Allen was), but he is repeatedly beating a drum and being completely illogical about his stance.  His argument is that in order to obtain extra lottery picks, you need a guy like Ray Allen.  As if the Cavs didn’t recently trade Mo Williams for a lottery pick.  Additionally, he is straw-manning as he is wont to do and defining the OKC Model in a weird way and then saying that it is nearly impossible to pull off.  My take on the “OKC Model” is that you get lucky in the draft (the Cavs did) and get him some really good teammates by not rushing into the playoffs.  The best part is that Sam Amico will be the first one to be pounding his chest about how great the rookie that Cleveland took with their pick is sooner than later.  If Sam Amico is correct about lottery picks busting too frequently and that there are plenty of great players to be taken later in the draft, the Lakers pick will produce a better player than the top 5 pick that the Cavs will have.  I somehow doubt that.

The Tube: This is my favorite thing on the internet:

From memegenerator.net

Would anybody blame Stan Van Gundy if he were to pull an Eric Cartman and say “screw you guys, I’m going home?”  Pardon the use of superlatives, but the amount of nonsensical drama that he has been put through in the past few years has to be unprecedented.

Van Gundy has been made into a sympathetic figure by Dwight Howard.  This is coming from a guy who has spent years arguing that the Magic coach is an insufferable prick who is always eager to offer excuse after excuse for his team.  He was like the parent of the poorly-behaved elementary school student who always had a person to blame for their child’s lack of success.  Having said that, those days are a thing of the past.  Van Gundy was often lauded for “telling the truth.”  Up until recently, I didn’t see it that way.  I believed that he was more-so giving his own subjective version of the truth as opposed to a fair and unbiased description of what was happening.

A perfect example comes from the 2008-2009 season.  On St. Patrick’s Day of 2009, the Orlando Magic visited the Cleveland Cavaliers.  The Cavs had a better record than the Magic, but Orlando posed a lot of match up issues.  The game was a close one and there was a key moment down the stretch when Dwight Howard was called for a three second violation.  Van Gundy had the following to say about that call:

“You won’t see that call again. That, I guarantee you,” Van Gundy said. “You will not see, with the game on the line, a 3-second call in the last 10 seconds. That’s part of the reason they’re 30-1 at home. They’re a very good team, and when you get calls like that (expletive), you’re in pretty good shape.”

Fast-forward to the first round of the 2009 playoffs and the Magic played the 76ers.  Tony Dileo, who was coaching the 76ers at the time, felt that Dwight Howard was getting to spend a little too long in the paint without being called for a three second violation:

“Dwight Howard had a great game, and he’s a great player, but he just lives in the 3-second lane on offense and defense,” DiLeo said. “I’m just saying he’s standing in the 3-second lane on offense and defense. He’s a great player, and he doesn’t need any advantages.”

Stan Van Gundy did not bat an eye and was quick to Dwight Howard’s defense:

“Am I supposed to come up here and talk about the game. Or am I supposed to come up here and lobby for the calls I want the next game?” Is that what it’s about now? We’re supposed to lobby for the calls we want the next game? Let’s just play the games.  I guess that’s the only reason Dwight’s having success in this series. It has nothing to do with the fact that he’s good.”

I am not here to call Stan Van Gundy a hypocrite.  These are three year old quotes and they involve an NBA coach doing and saying things that are supposed to help his team win.  To Stan Van Gundy, it didn’t matter that his quotes (which were a little over a month apart) could be taken as hypocritical.  He simply was lobbying for his team.  This is something that he possibly did to a fault and the thanks he gets is a divided locker room and a star player with one foot out the door demanding that he be fired.

While it may seem that Stan Van Gundy was throwing Dwight Howard under the bus and putting his team in an awkward situation by calling his star player out in the media on Thursday, the bottom line is that he has been in his corner for many years.  Dwight Howard has Van Gundy to thank for getting the most out of his game and many consider him an MVP candidate.  It is probably bad form for a coach to throw his star player under the bus.  However, after all that Van Gundy did for Howard, it is understandable.  Not only did he take his game to another level and have a part in turning him into a maximum-contract player, he always had his back even when it was questionable to do so.  At some point, it should be expected for Van Gundy to take a stand and stick up for himself.

The Magic front office has not made the team a desirable destination for Dwight Howard.  A player of his caliber deserves better teammates and it is difficult to place blame on Howard for wanting to leave.  Where he does deserve a lot of blame is for being aloof and indecisive throughout the whole process.  Howard had the perfect opportunity to leave Orlando prior to the 2012 trade deadline and instead he opted into the last year of his contract and called for his coach’s head.

Even though the Magic have a lot of blame in this situation, most of it should be placed on Howard.  He had an out and decided to prolong the awkwardness despite how it would affect a lot of different people professionally.  Stan Van Gundy and Dwight Howard will be fine.  No matter how this pans out, Howard will be an elite center and Van Gundy will be a great coach either in Orlando or another market.  It is simply a shame that this is even happening for such a prolonged period of time.

Image courtesy of Stereogum

One of the best aspects of Twitter and in a sense Facebook is that it allows you to decide who to allow into your online life.  In addition, it gives you an opportunity to connect with people who have similar interests around the world.  You can discuss your hobby and interests and hopefully learn a thing or two in the process.

Before Twitter became very popular, the primary means of connecting with other NBA fans was to do so on message boards.  I still believe that forums have a place in the online world and that they serve a purpose, but I have become much more interested in discussing the NBA with people on Twitter.  The great thing about Twitter is that if you say idiotic things, people will stop following you.  There is an incentive to be an informed fan and you are liable for your actions.  If you are a troll, you will essentially be on an island YELLING ABOUT EVERYTHING to nobody.  Forums give these people a voice and give them exactly what they desire, and that is a reaction from other people.

Ever since I primarily switched from discussing the NBA on forums and to Twitter, I have seen a lot less misinformed discussions.  Sure, there are a lot of dumb Gloria James and Delonte West jokes.  I also see a lot of nonsense about LeBron James quitting in the playoffs.  You’ll have that.  Sometimes it is easier to ignore something than it is to get into a debate with someone who has their mind made up and is not open to hearing the other side’s opinion.  Overall, I am very happy with the majority of NBA bloggers and fans that I interact with and I hope they feel the same way about me.

Which brings me to Ryan Hollins.

On March 29th, 2011, Ryan Hollins played the game of his life.  He put up 13 points, grabbed 3 rebounds, dished out 2 assists, had 2 steals and 3 blocks in 36 minutes.  He out-played Chris Bosh, who is a perennial all star.  To put it into perspective, the Cavs were +33 with Hollins on the court and the Heat were -24 when Bosh played.  Even more impressive, it was a relatively close game with the Cavs coming up on top by a score of 102-90.  For one player to have a +/- of +33 in a 12 point game is something that deserves kudos.

Ryan Hollins is a pretty terrible player.  I do not want to look like I am relying on superlatives, but I sincerely believe that he is one of the worst rotation players in the NBA.  Because of how impressed I was with Hollins’ performance in Cleveland’s biggest win last season, I made a Youtube mix of all of the positive things he did in that particular game.  It is now the first video that appears when someone searches for “Ryan Hollins” on Youtube.  I have been hard on Hollins for being such a bad basketball player, but I always give credit when it is due.  Hollins was great against the Heat and I wanted the basketball world to see it.

Chris Grant and the Cleveland Cavaliers agreed with my take on Ryan Hollins and decided to buy out his contract.  He became a free agent and is reportedly going to sign with the Boston Celtics to try and help them with their playoff run.

His free agency brought back bad memories of having to read misinformed opinions of NBA fans on forums.  Because I created the aforementioned Youtube video, I get an email every time a user comments on it.  Ever since Hollins became a free agent, I have received the following comments:

“Welcome to the Celtics my friend!”

“@Rtpas11 I hope so man we could use him”

“Come to the Celtics!”

“nope celtics fans he comin to south beach baby”

“take your talents to south beach!!!!!”

“looks like he is on his way to Celtics… why be on a lame bandwagon franchise in Miami when you can be part of the greatest franchise in NBA history in Boston…. no brainier there.”

“FUCKING”

“Dude your ficking stupid he says “get that weak stuff outta here” not “get that rich the da out of here” are you fucking reatarted? wow!”

“WElcome to BOSTON!!!”

“Welcome to Boston homie! If we can get him to play like this all the time in Boston?!?! He could be special”

“I hope KG can help to grab rebounds but on the break with rondo should be fun”

“I mean I hope kg could help him on rebounds”

“the new celtic. destroy the heat.”

I enjoy not being surrounded by these types of NBA fans anymore, but at the same time it is pretty amusing to see people refer to Hollins’ “talents.”  This video and the ensuing comments that have come into my mailbox are a great reminder of how hopeful people are despite being routinely disappointed by players who are free agents after making it through the waiver wire.  Hopefully they will learn, but I am not holding my breath.

“Without you, there is no me.”  How many times have athletes, performers and artists fed their fans this exact line?  It is officially a cliché.  NBA fans were told this exact sort of thing during the lockout from both sides, but it was done in jest.  The fans were so far down on the priority list of the owners and players.  The thing about that statement is that it can either be lip-service or the most sincere statement a person with an audience can make.

I saw Charles Bradley & His Extraordinaires perform in Columbus, Ohio on Wednesday night.  I came across a song of his on Youtube about six months ago and was intrigued by his soulful sound.  I rarely go to concerts anymore.  When I do, it is usually of a band that I liked when I was in high school or college.  In the rare event that I am at a concert that is not a band from my youth that is doing a money-grab, it probably is not of a band that I only know one of their songs.  Nevertheless, I decided to stop acting like a curmudgeon and to try and have fun even though I swore off new music many years ago.

Charles Bradley was born in 1948.  He has lived all over the country and worked in various kitchens to make ends meet.  The legend has it that his sister took him to see a James Brown concert at the Apollo Theater in 1962.  This became a life-changing moment for him and he wanted to pursue a career in music.  He had a band in the 60′s, but it was broken up when various members were sent to Vietnam to fight in the war.  Through a serendipitous chain of events, Charles Bradley released his very first record at the age of 62.  For those counting, his dream of becoming a musician was finally realized after almost 50 years of waiting.

For this reason, he was had the most sincere of intentions when he told the sizable audience at Skully’s “without you, there is no me.”  He must have yelled “I love you!” at least 50 times throughout his performance.  Charles Bradley embraced audience members throughout his performance and had the utmost respect for them.  In fact, he sang his songs with tears streaming down his face.  I have seen hundreds of concerts and thousands of bands and I have never seen a musician connect with his audience the way Charles Bradley did on Wednesday night.

Speaking of his story and how appreciative he is of his audience, Charles Bradley set the tone when he opened his set with “Heartaches and Pain.”  This is a song which bluntly recounts the day that his brother was murdered by getting shot in the head with a hollow point bullet.  Immediately after delivering the line “your brother is gone,” Bradley lets out a James Brown-esque scream that comes from the deepest and darkest part of his soul.  When you combine the journey that he took to get to where he is and how long it took for everything to get to this point, you have an amalgamation of a sincere and honest performer who can has a mutual admiration with his audience.  It is the perfect storm.

Some of the Charles Bradley story reminds me of Jeremy Lin.  Bradley is more talented at his craft than Lin is and his journey is one of heartache and living in the projects.  Jeremy Lin went to Harvard and from what I can tell, lived a fairly privileged life.  Not to mention, music and basketball probably could not any less in common.  The reason that Charles Bradley reminds me of Jeremy Lin is because they both had unorthodox journeys to get to where their craft is appreciated by people.  Jeremy Lin was in the right place at the right time after being waived by the Golden State Warriors and Houston Rockets.  He was one good Baron Davis injury report away from  being cut by the New York Knicks.  The parallel that I draw between Bradley and Lin is that they both believed in themselves, but required a little bit of luck and being in the right place at the right time.  Jeremy Lin is a breath of fresh air when he gives interviews.  He is indeed humble.  Whether this is because he went from sleeping on his brother’s couch to being the biggest sports story or because he does not know how long this will last doesn’t matter.  He is happy to be in his position and humbled by it all.

One of the reasons that the world is falling in love with Jeremy Lin is because the odds are stacked against him, but he is overcoming that and playing out of his mind (except against the Heat on Thursday night).  Thinking about that made me ponder Vince Carter.  This is a guy who had every opportunity to be something special, but his apathy has in a way derailed his career.  The appeal of guys like Jeremy Lin in basketball and Charles Bradley in music is that they have a “never say die” attitude that puts them in a position to showcase their talents to the world.  Some artists and athletes can put on a show, but it is those that really love what they do that have a bigger appeal.  If they have a heartfelt love for their craft, they are willing to take the long road to success and are more appreciative of it once they get there.  Athletes and musicians that go through the motions are transparent.  Charles Bradley and Jeremy Lin are a breath of fresh air because they are acting with the utmost sincerity.

Sports fans have one single thing in common and that is that they all want what is best for their team.  Everybody has a different idea of what that is, which opens up the line for debate and discourse.  Most of the time, the discussion is in reference to what the team needs to do moving forward to maximize its success.  There are millions of different perspectives and only time will tell what was the right course of action (and sometimes that doesn’t even tell the whole story).

The question is what should a fan do when they really don’t like a particular aspect of what their favorite team did in the past?  For example, what kind of position is a Knicks fan in who never wanted the front office to trade for Carmelo Anthony in the first place?  What if Anthony comes back into the Knicks lineup and neutralizes all of the great things happening with the team and Jeremy Lin?  As a fan, you feel the need to support your team.  But at which point do you pull out the “I Told You So” card and waive it in everybody’s face?

As the 2011 draft was approaching, I was fully committed to the idea of the Cavs drafting Kyrie Irving and Jonas Valanciunas.  I was intrigued by the idea of drafting a point guard and center in one draft and building around those two pieces with the 2012 draft pick.  When a team has the 1st and 4th picks in a single draft, no matter how weak it is, the rebuilding process is sped up exponentially.  That is, of course, assuming the team picks the right guys.

When the Cavs took Tristan Thompson with the 4th overall pick, I was immediately concerned that they made a mistake.  I could be wrong.  I hope I am wrong.  But Tristan Thompson’s play thus far into his season is not doing much to convince me that the concerns about his offensive game were not based on reality.  Thompson is scoring on only 42.2% of his field goals and converting on 42.6% of his free throw attempts.  The book that was written on Thompson prior to the draft was that he is a great offensive rebounder, an even better person but that he struggles on offense.  What has he done thus far to quell those concerns that draft experts had?

It is premature to call Thompson a bust and declare Jonas Valanciunas the better player.  Valanciunas may never come to the NBA.  He may come over next year and struggle to play in the league.  He also could do exactly what draft experts and scouts thought he was capable of and Cleveland could end up regretting the 2011 draft for years to come.  Only time will tell.

In the meantime, what do fans like me do?  I hated the pick when it happened and it is not panning out well so far.  I suppose the best thing to do is keep an eye on the situation and hope for the best.  Nothing I say or do can change the past or the future.  The best course of action is keep my “I Told You So” card handy in my back pocket and employ a “wait and see” approach.  In the meantime, it would be great if Thompson could use the most of his opportunity.  The ball is in his court.

Stan Van Gundy is the worst.  The amount of campaigning for calls and preemptively complaining about officiating makes him and many Orlando fans insufferable.  The “FOUL ON U” nonsense from last season is quite possibly a by-product of the campaigning for calls to go his way and the “we don’t get any respect” card that Stan Van Gundy is a big fan of.

I would enjoy an NBA that is without Stan Van Gundy infinitely more than I enjoy the one with him at the helm.  I hate that guy.  Having said that, the Orlando Magic need to avoid temptation and not fire him. 

The Magic, having lost five out of seven games are currently at the 6^th seed in the eastern conference.  Every good team has a bad stretch at some point during their season, but this feels different.  In one week, they blew a 27 point lead and in another set the franchise record for lowest amount of points scored in a game.  They also had the dignity of being blown out by the New Orleans Hornets, who had only won three games prior to that meeting.

The Orlando Magic are a mess and it is painfully evident that the Dwight Howard era is coming to an end.  Before and during the season, an argument could have been made to let the season play out and see if they can retain Dwight Howard.  It is painfully obvious that this scenario is not possible.  The team is not playing like a playoff team and the bad losses are piling up.

This brings me to the issue with their coach.  As much as I dislike Stan Van Gundy, he is a very good coach.  Yes, Stan Van Gundy has issues.  For example, he is an intense personality and not necessarily a player’s coach.  It does not take a genius to see why this guy might clash with this guy.  Dwight Howard may be known for his defense, but he also wants to have fun while playing basketball.  Stan Van Gundy allows his team to play a fun brand of basketball, but he has an abrasive personality and his teams tend to tune him out after a while.

The Orlando Magic need to move forward by looking ahead to a world without Dwight Howard.  The ownership group should not make any decisions in an attempt to try and convince Dwight Howard to stay with the team long-term.  It’s simply not happening.  If Dwight Howard is clashing with Stan Van Gundy, one of them has to go.  The Magic should move forward by only making decisions in a post-Howard world.  Doing so will make them better in the long-term and not set the franchise back.  If the team owner Richard DeVos believes that Stan Van Gundy is the coach he wants to man the inevitable rebuild, then retaining him is the decision to make.  The Magic should avoid making any panic moves in an attempt to make Dwight Howard reconsider his trade request.  The writing is on the wall and the sooner the Magic come to terms with what is going to happen, the better the situation is that the team will find itself in.

The other pressing issue is their general manager Otis Smith.  He has made enough bad decisions and squandered a great opportunity to be relieved of his duties.  The Magic ownership finds themselves with a pressing need to fire Smith and hire a new general manager, but the timing could not be worse.  When the Denver Nuggets hired Masai Ujiri in August of 2010, it was seen as a bold move because he was a first time general manager and had inherited a good team with a superstar that wanted to be traded.  Despite being put in a position to fail, Ujiri made the best possible trade and has the Denver Nuggets primed to be a good team for the foreseeable future.  If Otis Smith is fired before the Dwight Howard situation is resolved, the new general manager will find themselves in a precarious situation.  It is doubtful that a general manager would want to inherit a struggling team with a superstar who wants to leave, but it beats the alternative of having to live with the long-term decisions of a lame duck general manager.

Reality TV is cheap to produce, thus it rules the airwaves.  I am not a network executive, but the fact that it is everywhere is indicative that it is massively profitable.  Personally, I do not get the appeal of watching people who I have nothing in common with compete for the love/job/house of their dreams.  I don’t care for these people.  There is something completely unappealing about a person who would sell themselves out in order to gain fame.  And we’re not talking about legitimate fame.  They aspire to be D-list celebrities that will be forgotten as soon as the new batch of pathetic, attention-seeking people with unresolved issues pop up.

Recently, another reality TV personality has committed suicide.  It is too simple of a narrative to look at the death of Sgt. Wesley Durden’s suicide and blame it on the fact that he was a member of TLC’s “Next Great Baker.”  I don’t know Sgt. Durden.  I never heard of him until last night when I was researching this topic.  What I do know is that a member of society put himself in a vulnerable position by agreeing to be on TV and he later committed suicide.

LeBron’s free agency decision was aired on ESPN on July 8, 2010.  This was after years of building momentum about how historic the free agency period of 2010 would be.  The topic of the ill-fated primetime television event has been discussed ad nauseum.   At first people were furious that it even happened.  After having a period of time pass, it seems like it is in the public discourse less and that the outrage has subsided.

The popular narrative about it is typically about how damaging it is to LeBron James’ legacy that he would go on live television to announce his decision.  On one hand, you have the LeBron apologists.  They are quick to point out that a donation was made to the Boys and Girls Club of America from the proceeds of The Decision.  You also have guys like Dan Gilbert who want to equate a grown man making a professional choice to that of treason.  Again, these perspectives have been discussed to death.  One thing that I have never heard from anywhere is how the Decision was offensive to Cleveland fans because it made them a party on a reality TV show.

As I mentioned, reality TV is exploitative in nature.  One has to have issues to want to subject themselves to being scrutinized on national TV.  As I sat in my living room on July 8, 2010 hoping that the reports were not true, I couldn’t help but feel that I was a personality on a reality TV show.  I never signed up for that.  I didn’t ask for my emotions to be toyed with.  The Cleveland fans who were shown on TV burning their jerseys didn’t ask to be part of this, but they were.  I would hope that the people who reacted with such anger have simmered down.  That footage was not a positive image of the Cleveland fans.  However, they found themselves in an emotional place that they never signed up for or wanted.  When Kim Kardashian complains about not being able to go to the gym without having the Paparazzi photograph her, the natural response is to blame her for bringing this upon herself and her family.  She is exchanging fame and fortune in favor of her privacy and happiness.  Cleveland fans were not given the option to opt out of that show and were made a mockery of for reacting negatively.  Putting a group of people on TV and then televising their immature reaction is unethical.  I am not attempting to make excuses for negative imagery from that evening.  I am merely attempting to explain how and why it happened.

In the grand scheme of things, it is just one night in our lives and it was in regards to sports.  People who willingly appear on reality TV give up their right to privacy for longer and it affects their lives in a more serious manner.  Much has been written about the exploitative nature of sports owners during the lockout.  The fact that the proletariat players are now taking the power back about their careers is celebrated by people like Henry Abbott.  This very well could be a valid opinion to hold, but I just wish that the fans wouldn’t be exploited in the process.  I also hope that this is the last that I ever have to say about The Decision.  It’s time to move on.

A recurring theme in the Film Jam series is discussing how suspending disbelief is not possible with these movies.  In another post, Kendon had an in-depth look at Air Bud and why it would never happen in real life.  What should come as a surprise is that it had very little to do with it being a dog that plays high school basketball.  The 1996 film “Eddie” requires a little too much suspension of disbelief.  For those who are unaware, the movie is about a die-hard Knicks fan named Eddie (Whoopi Goldberg) who is a dispatcher for a limousine company.  She is a season ticket holder at Madison Square Garden and has been for many years.  Eddie is well-known by arena security for being outspoken and living and breathing Knicks basketball.  Of course, Eddie becomes the head coach of the Knicks and leads the struggling team into the playoffs.

An aspect of the plot that should have been explored more was her love life.  She literally spends her entire life watching, talking about and thinking about the Knicks.  There is a brief mention about her husband early in the film, but he is never heard from again until the very end of the movie.  As it turns out, Eddie is a widow which could explain why she is so obsessed with basketball.  A bond that Eddie and her late husband shared was Knicks basketball.  It makes sense that she would gravitate towards it after a tragic event.

Eddie the Fan is ejected from her seat and demoted to nosebleeds for heckling the fictitious Knicks coach Dennis Farina.  His Knicks are struggling and play a selfish brand of basketball.  Parallels can be drawn between the Eddie Knicks and Isaiah’s Knicks.  The star player, Stacey Patton (played by Malik Sealy) speaks in the third person and shoots even if he is triple-teamed (Stephon Marbury).  The odd thing about the ejection is that arena security would not eject a fan to the nosebleads.  They would be kicked out.  I went to one NBA game between 1996 and 2000, but I don’t think that arena security has changed that much since then.

When Eddie was in the cheap seats, her seat number is selected to be the “2nd Half Honorary Coach.”  She made her way to the court and put on a cheap Knicks jersey that said “honorary coach” on the back.  When Dennis Farina notices that Eddie is that night’s honorary coach, he is not happy and demands that she is kicked out of the arena.  This set off a chain of events that lead to the new Knicks owner, Texas businessman “Wild Bill” Burgess, to force Farina to quit and hire Eddie to be the Knicks head coach.

Think about this plot for a minute.  A Knicks fan is demoted to cheap seats for heckling the coach, is picked to be the “honorary coach,” has the new owner of the team impressed by her performance which leads to a chain of events that leads to the coach being fired and the fan becoming the head coach.  It’s beyond idiotic.

Eddie does not have much of a footprint on the Knicks.  Her big coaching moment is starting a “D-Fense” chant.  She also happens to wear weird Armani suits and dance at halfcourt.  The other big coaching move she made was telling off her players after they refused to sign autographs for her two children, who (like her late husband) are not heard from again until the end of the movie.

And interesting note about this movie is that the plot revolves around a woman who inexplicably becomes the head coach of the Knicks.  Ironically, there are a lot of ex-players who make cameos that are probably wondering how they got to where they are.  The former players who became questionable coaches are Mark Jackson, Doc Rivers, Avery Johnson, Sam Mitchell and Vinnie Del Negro.  For those of you who are scratching your head at the Doc Rivers inclusion, I offer you two 19 game losing streaks with two different franchises.  It is a safe assumption that if you are a former NBA player who made a cameo in “Eddie” and decided to give coaching a try, you will fail.

The most entertaining aspect of the movie was seeing ex-NBA players act in different roles.  For example, Dwayne Schintzius has a recurring role as the Russian Knicks player Ivan Radovadovitch, who is not playing with a full deck.  The only form of communication that he had was stating “Ivan make basket.”  Gary Payton was a trash-talking streetballer who played against Malik Sealy’s character in a game organized by Eddie in order to humble the star player.  Mark Jackson’s role was essentially the same as he is in reality, but he went by Darren “Preacher” Taylor.  The list of NBA players in this movie is quite extensive.

Every sports movie builds up to the final game where one team plays the protagonist and another team plays the antagonist.  These games usually involve the highest of stakes.  The winner usually wins a championship at the buzzer and the loser unceremoniously does not.  “Eddie” is different.  The final game does not include a championship.  It is a late season game between the Hornets and Knicks.  The winner gets to be the 8th seed in the playoffs while the losing team enters the draft lottery.  The fact that the big dramatic moment revolved around simply making the playoffs (a feat accomplished by literally more than half the league) is asinine.  It is the type of game that nobody ever cares about.

The last storyline in “Eddie” was between the new owner “Wild Bill” Burgess and Whoopi Goldberg’s character.  She had found out that Burgess was planning on relocating the Knicks to St. Louis.  His plan was the make the playoffs and move the team.  Watching “Eddie” was like watching a weird version of the documentary “Sonicsgate.”  There is an uncanny resemblance between Burgess and Clay Bennett.  Unfortunately for Sonics fans, Hollywood has a picture-perfect ending where well-meaning people prevail and the bad guy is forced to keep a storied franchise in a great city.

“Eddie” was entertaining in a “it was so bad, it was good” kind of way.  Conversely, it is quite interesting to see a lot of the former NBA players in the movie.  Seeing Malik Sealy and Bobby Phills in NBA uniforms and playing basketball is bittersweet.  Seeing Brad Daugherty after he put on weight and wearing those awful Cavs jerseys from the mid-90’s is hilarious.  I expected to watch “Eddie” and enjoy it because it was bad, but the NBA nerd in me actually enjoyed it because of the personalities who are in our recent memory.  Not only am I willing to say that I would watch “Eddie” again, I plan on it (but only after I see “Just Wright.”)

Sports fans are idiots. 

I should say that most of us actually know better, but it seems like everybody loves to push narratives.  Well, most everybody on TV and the Radio.  Remember when people wanted to give Pau Gasol the MVP in November of 2010?  That didn’t work out too well for anybody.  If you say enough things, something will stick.  It doesn’t matter how outrageous it is. 

The 2011-2012 season has existed for 10 days.  Each team has played about 5 games, which is crazy because it is January and we’d be just about halfway through the preseason in any other season. 

Norris Cole hit some big shots on TNT in a marquee matchup and he is the best rookie.  Whatever helps push the Miami owns Cleveland narrative, I guess.  It all makes sense somewhere. 

The fact that the season is about a week and a half old is the perfect opportunity to give NBA fans fuel for the fire.  Let’s take a look at the Small Sample Size All Stars.

Jarrett Jack: With the departure of Chris Paul and Eric Gordon’s lingering injury, Jarrett Jack has increased his minutes from 19:36 a game to 37:17.  With an increase of about 18 minutes per game he has increased his rebounds by 1.6 and his points by 8 per game.  With his minutes doubling, it is not that surprising that his points have nearly doubled.  What is most impressive is that he has added 5.4 assists per game.  Of course by losing Chris Paul, Jack’s usage rate has increased.  Regardless, that is a major jump in productivity.

Andrew Bynum: Holy hell, has he been good this year.  22.7 PPG, 17.0 RPG and 2.0 BPG.  This guy is going to be the MVP.  The Lakers would be idiotic to trade him for Dwight Howard.  Guys who score 23 points per game and grab 17 rebounds are unheard of.  This guy is going to challenge Wilt Chamberlain and Kareem Abdul Jabbar as the best big men in Lakers history. 

Ryan Anderson: Originally considered a throw-in for that weird trade that brought Vince Carter to Orlando, Ryan Anderson is having a breakout year.  He’s the stretch-four that Rashard Lewis never was (and he doesn’t make over 20 million a year!)  Ryan Anderson is playing amazingly well and averaging 19.2 PPG on 48.8% shooting.  He is also hitting on 44% of his three point shots. 

Spencer Hawes: The NBA’s favorite Republican is playing out of his mind this year.  He is averaging 12.0 PPG, 12.5 RPG And 4.0 APG.  Of course his contract is expiring this year and we can surely count on a team overpaying him to produce half of that for the next 3 years.

Lou Williams: Yet another guy with an expiring contract playing for the Philadelphia 76ers.  Where the hell did this production come from?  He is scoring 20.3 PPG.  In addition to increasing in scoring by 6.6 PPG, he is shooting 6.5% better from the field.  If only the 76ers had Dirk Nowitzki.  Between someone as talented as Dirk and all of these guys playing for their next contract, they could contend for a title.

Kyle Lowry: Lowry is quickly turning into an elite point guard.  He is putting up Rondo-esque numbers.  Lowry is averaging 15.0 PPG, 7.0 RPG and a league-leading 11.0 APG.  If he keeps this up, there’s no reason that he shouldn’t win the Most Improved Player award.  And to think, he’s not even playing for a long-term contract.