Reefer Madness here, checking in with a quick look at game four of the NBA Finals which goes tonight in Orlando. The Magic are looking to even up the series that many people thought (including myself) they didn’t stand a chance in, but so far they have proven to be the better team, aside from game one, despite trailing in the series. The first game the Magic looked overwhelmed by the whole finals atmosphere and got spanked by the Lakers’ experience, they are only one Courtney Lee alley-oop layup away from winning game two and leading the series. They are a team that lives by the jumper and dies by the jumper, and after setting NBA finals shooting records in game three they only won by four points. I do not think they will be able to repeat anywhere near the same type of shooting performance, but if they realize it early and start feeding the ball down low to the beast that is Dwight Howard he could put them on his Superman-esce shoulders and get it done. The Lakers have done well in limiting Howard’s offensive contributions, but you can only hold him down for so long, with a lower shooting percentage comes more offensive rebound opportunities for D12 and he will have his best game of the finals for sure, but will it be enough? I know if GOAT were here (and we all wish he were) he would be all over his boy Dwight tonight, but he’s not, so I hate to break it to you all but it’s not going to happen for you tonight. Kobe won’t allow it.

Game three was a bust for Kobe and he knows it. He shot only 50% from the free throw line, and talked about letting his team down after the game. Kobe has come a long way since his last championships with Shaq, he has matured both on and off the court into a more complete player and person. He is still grumpy as hell though when he doesn’t win. I expect him to have a dominant performance tonight to makeup for leaving more than the margin of victory at the charity stripe last game. That doesn’t necissarily mean dropping 40+ points anymore, but it might. Kobe has shown more trust in his teammates all season long than ever before in his career and has become a leader on the court. He will look to get everyone involved early and then look to take over down the stretch, and when the Magic throw everything but the kitchen sink at him he won’t be afraid to look for guys like Fisher or Ariza to make a big shot.

Key for me tonight is the Lakers’ energy off the bench, if Lamar Odom comes ready to play and gets his fair share of rebounds to keep Howard away from the offensive glass then I think the Lakers will take the win. If the Magic are able to get Howard involved early and often on the offensive end that is their best chance at winning. I don’t see them shooting 62.5% from the floor again so I don’t see them winning this game. I am picking the Lakers tonight 102-98.

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Orlando vs. Boston

If Kevin Garnett were able bodied (don’t they have cortisone in Boston?) I wouldn’t even waste my massively valuable time writing up this synopsis but since he isn’t, here I GO!!!  After a long series with Chicago we learned a few things about the “new” Celts,  #1 Paul Pierce isn’t as good as he thinks.  Sure he made some big shots but he also effed up a lot, i.e) fouling Noah on a bonehead play that probably cost them the game if not another over time. #2 Boston can get REALLY thin, REALLY fast up front (I am really trying to get a Big Baby joke in here but I am tired) and #3 Brian Scalabrine and Tony Allen are part of an elaborate rouse by Ashton Kutcher to Punk the whole world into thinking these 2 DUDS could actually make and NBA squad.  As for Orlando, I think they are way too big for the Celts but not too deep for them.  If they can get O Town in foul trouble, I think they will be able to pressure their back up players into a big enough hole that they can’t recover but that is a LOOONG stretch….Magic in 6

Atlanta vs. Cleveland

If you skipped the first match up to get to this one you may want to go back to the first sentence and read slowly.  My time is valuable and the Cavaliers time is too.  I mean how is LeBron going to celebrate being MVP at 24 years old when he has to play these damn playoff games.  Cavs = good, Hawks = not good enough. Cavs in 4

Lakers vs. Rockets

I think this is a match up I am anticipating more than most people.  One of 2 of the worlds best players (depending on who you like better) vs. one of the worlds best defenders and piss off artists.  And if you don’t know who I am talking about, its Yao Ming and Sasha Vujacic…..No seriously, earlier in the year Kobe vs. Artest was AWESOME and gave me my favourite clip of the year which I posted on the site here.  I think people are MAJORLY looking past the Big Man and his band of merry men and just thinking LeBron/Kobe finals.  Houston is here for a reason, they have a deep team filled with role players that just come to play basketball.  Sure they don’t have T-Mac but T-Mac doesn’t have knees or a back so he would only slow them down.  What I think this series will come down to is how well Ming can play Gasol and how bad Artest can piss off Kobe.  If Ming gets in foul trouble consistently, Houston loses.  If Artest can piss Kobe off enough to make him shoot 50 times and forget his teammates, I think LA loses.  But…LA in 6

Denver vs. Dallas

I have previously stated my disdain for the Mavericks and their style of play and nothing afforded me more happiness then seeing them get beat on Sunday while I was nursing a WICKED hangover (THANK YOU PACQUIAO).  I think Denver is WAY too deep, too dirty and too well rounded to even get sucked into the Diggler’s one man band act.  Billups is better than Kidd (at this point in their career), anyone is better than JJ Barea, JR Smith is Jason Terry with attitude, Melo and Dirk are  fairly even, Martin is a real thug as opposed to Josh Howard and Nene is a REAL beast as opposed to Ericka Dampier (shout out to the Big Shaqtus).  I can see the Mavs lulling the Nuggets to sleep for a game or two so I will say….Denver in 6

Let me know what you guys think in the comments section….PROVE ME WRONG CELTICS!!!

Peace!

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Saturday

*NHL Playoffs - Washinton vs. Pittsburgh (1pm ET CBC, NBC) - Look for Bettman in the crown with a huge smile and object covering his “excitement” probably a bag of popcorn

NHL Playoffs – Chicago vs. Vancouver (9pm ET CBC, VS) -  Game 2 of my favourite series in the second round.  I love Chicago’s youth and I love Canadian teams so I am happy the longer this series lasts.  Game 1 saw the inexperience of Chicago seem to really hamper them at the start of the game but then saw them storm back in the 3rd only to be robbed my Luongo, like everyone else in the world.

*Kentucky Derby – (Coverage starts at 4pm but post is 6pm ET on NBC) – With 3-1 favourite I want Revenge being scratched from the race a few days ago with an ankle injury Pioneer of the Nile is still the dog in the horse race??? Anyway, I have my money on Regal Ransom, General Quarters and Papa Clem in no particular order but if any of them wins, you are DEFINITELY going to want to find me tonight because the drinks will be on the house!!!

*NBA Playoffs – Boston vs. Chicago (8pm ET TNT, Score) – This series has been one of the all time best first round series in NBA history.  So far they have played in 7 OT periods and Game 6 was 4 hours long,  Too say these teams will be tired is the understatement of the year but I can guarantee you this is ends up being the event of the night.  I know for sure I will be sitting some where with a BUNCH of empties scattering around talking about how good a 3 point shooter I am and if I was 6′5 I would be the next Ray Allen.

*Boxing – Manny Pacquiao vs. Ricky Hatton (9pm ET HBO) -These two little guys will going at it in Las Vegas tonight with Pacquiao looking to become the only fighter since Oscar De La Hoya to capture titles in 6 different weight classes.  While Manchester’s favourite fighting son, Hatton, looks to defend his belt at 140lbs and show the world hes not “a fat, beer drinking, lucky bastard”.  The Diesel will be in the crowd tonight for the fight…at a friends house….watching on TV….CHEERING FOR PACQUIAO!!! 

Sunday

NHL Playoffs – Anaheim vs. Detroit (2pm ET, TSN, NBC) – After a very close game 1 Anaheim will look to prove to the world they aren’t a fluke and a lot of people forget this, almost, exact same team won the cup a very short 2 years ago.  Detroit one ups Anaheim, they won LAST YEAR.  I look for Detroit to overwhelm Anaheim’s aging defence and goal tending with a barrage of shots and to take the win.

*NHL Playoffs – Carolina vs. Boston (7:30pm ET, TSN, VS) – Game 1 went according to plan 4-1 Boston (the same way this series will end)  Look for more of the same onslaught from Boston’s quick, young frontline and there bruising defence.  I figure the sooner the better for these guys anyway, that way Eric Staal can find some bachelor parties to crash with his brother Marc.

*NBA Playoffs – Miami vs. Atlanta (1pm ET ABC) – Unless you live in Miami or Atlanta I don’t really think anyone has paid much attention to this series but DAMN its been brutal.  Some times these game looks more like Monday Night Raw then NBA playoffs.  This game 7 will be MUCH of the same as neither of these teams want to lose to each other.  I think Wade is just too good to go out in the first round, look for Miami to take it in Atlanta then IMMEDIATELY LEAVE THE STATE!!!  Looks like we finally have a new, GENUINE, rivalry in the NBA at least.

NBA Playoffs – Dallas vs. Denver (3:30pm ET ABC) -Let the second round begin!  To tell you all the truth I could care less about this series.  My friend DarkMan and I, who I frequent Raps games with, always end up bitching about how boring the Raps are to watch because of Bosh but we always trump that with having to deal with living in Dallas and watching the Mavs.  I don’t think there is a team I WOULDN’T choose over the Mavs to watch night in night out.  I hope Denver takes them in 4 and we never see a Dirk Diggler in the playoffs again, unless he is a 2 fiddle on a team.

Peace!

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Things I learned

• Tony Allen is a good basketball player and very smart - Sorry, if you didn’t get that, I meant I learnt sarcasm last night.  He is by FAR neither of those things.
• Ray Allen is a robot - He was sent from a planet where all the inhabitants have ice in their veins and thie nerves are made of steel. Oh and they also have granite in their scrotum’s in place of testes.
• Paul Pierce gives me hope to play basketball until im 45 - There isn’t a player that looks less mobile in the league but scores as many points or gets to the line more than Pierce.  He’s basically the EXACT opposite of Tony Allen.
• Kirk Hinrich is a little bit Gangsta –  After Rondo gave him the Irish Whip into the scorers table he looked like he could have been an extra in The Wire.
• Big Baby can hit big shots – With Pierce and Allen doubled and tripled teamed consistently someone needed to step up and it was the big man again and again.
• Derrick Rose is going to be GOOD, like REAL GOOD - The kid is good now but win or lose this series, he is going to have some of the BEST playoff experience under his belt and that’s going to make him that much better.  Remember, he is ONLY a rookie.
• Doc River and Vinny Del Negro might be good coaches – WOW!  You think as many minutes as these teams have played against each other that they would have seen it all.  But time after time these coaches pull some unreal play out of their book and it almost always works.
• Overtime is FUN! – I like the Celtics always have but I must admit as soon as overtime hits I just want the game to go on forever.  Its fast, exciting and good damn is it fun.  PLEASE LET TOMORROW GO INTO OT!!!
• I scream like a girl- Last night, my apartment must have sounded like a Justin Timberlake concert every time Ray Ray nailed a big shot.
• Joakim Noah is Ugly – STRAIGHT UP!!!

Game 7 goes tomorrow night at 8pm in Boston…GO CELTS!!!

Peace!

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As I mentioned/showed before, Rondo Bruce Lee’d Brad Miller on a pivotal play in OT on Tuesday and wasn’t penalized by Stu Jackson like D12 was for his mishap.  Then last night during the best basketball game I have watched  EVER, Rondo and Kirk “the Hobbit” Hinrich got in a wee skirmish in the first quarter.  During a rebounding scenario, Hinrich and Rondo were out near the 3 point line when they got “tangled” up, so Rondo deciding he didn’t like the manwich he was making with Kirk decided to toss him into the scorers table.  Rajon was assessed a flagrant foul and it was said the league was going to look at the play again.  Last night, Stu Jackson reviewed the tape and proclaimed there would not be any additional penalties assessed to either Hinrich or Rondo.

I know the foul on Miller was tic-tac and this foul wasn’t necessarily ALL Rajon’s fault.  But I can only imagine the penalty a guy like Artest or even ‘Sheed would receive if they pulled this move off, especially, two days after they went after a dudes head!  I am posting the video below so you guys can let me know what you think.  Does Stu have a man crush on Rajon or is he just the victim of wrong place wrong time all the time???

P.S  I like how Hinrich responds after he bounces off the scorers table.  I didn’t expect him to be so GANGSTA, he gets some street cred from me for that move and subsequently I lose TONS of street cred for admitting that in a public forum.

Peace!

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In final seconds of OT in the Celtics/Bulls game, Brad Miller had a WIDE open lay up to tie the game and essentially bring the game into double OT.  On his way to the basket, Miller was met by 3 Celtics, Rondo, Pierce and Perkins.   Both Perkins and Rondo fouled Miller but Perkins was legitimately going for the ball, while Rondo was WAY behind Miller and went for his head..  All Rondo could really do to prevent the lay up at that point was slap Miller in the face and that is exactly what he did. 

Now this where I have a problem with the Howard suspension.  Should D12 have been suspended?  Most definitely!  Everyone knows Dwight is one of the biggest dudes on Earth and a cheap shot to the head by him or anyone else should not be tolerated. With that being said, why wasn’t Rondo assessed a game suspension as well?  As far as I know, the NBA states that any blow to the head its considered a flagrant and then the league reviews the play and decides if any further action should be taken.  I have heard that the league reviewed both plays but I would really like to know the difference?  Is it because Rondo is a smaller person or because it looked “less lethal”?  I watched both things happen and it really looked like Miller was worse for the wear compared to Dalembert? 

So what do you think?  Below is a video of both incidents, so let me know if you think either, neither or both deserved the punishment they got.  Try and watch this ASAP as the NBA loves to take their videos down randomly.

Peace!

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Like I “tweeted” earlier (man, thats the WORST word) the reason the website has been down is my tech wizard and personal Shaman DAG is in the jungle with no internets.  Thus leaving the GoatDiesel with formatting problems out the cornhole (man, thats the BEST word).  I am trying all I can with the pea brain I own but I still can’t figure this Houdini writing thing out.  I am hoping by the weekend I can kidnap and coax a web dude to help me out.

So PLEASE don’t give up on me, for once I am actually not being lazy and drinking my nights away.  Well I am not being lazy anyway…

Peace!

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Now on to the toast of the town, THE CHAMPIONSHIP GAME!!!  Its a classic underdog vs favourite movie set up, right down to the game being in the underdogs backyard, unfortunately for the Spartans, I don’t think this is going to end like Glory Road.  My prediction is the Tar Heels take a commanding lead to start the game and then the Izzo and the boys fight back near half and into the beginning of the second half only to be trounced thoroughly in the end.  UNC is too strong and too determined to let this baby slide through their fingers plus Psycho T wants the chip bad and just look at that crazy bastards eyes, do you want to take something from him?

Final Score 92-74 UNC.

Peace!

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Peace!

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I have been hearing for years how Iverson is a bad seed and all about himself but I just thought it was because he was on crappy Philly teams and had no one there to really help him and he was sick of carrying a team on his shoulders.  Then he went to the stacked Nuggets a few years ago and I thought “this is where AI will thrive with some weight off his shoulders” and it didn’t happen there then either.  Then he got traded to Detroit which had me shaking my head for weeks and my friend Darkman said it best “That trade was the biggest steal for the Nuggets and the worst for the Pistons, you’ll see”.  Lo and behold, he was right.  The Nuggets got the sturdy team oriented unselfish PG they have needed to get over that hump in the Western conference and the Pistons got…6th to 8th seed in the East? 

Detroit was always a team that got by with their unreal belief in themselves and their team unity.  Obviously either the loss of Chauncey really hurt their pysche in Motown or AI is really that bad a teammate or both.  I still to this day don’t know why Joe pulled the trigger on that trade because even if it was to save cap for next year, why did he do it so early?  That may be something we never know but this is something I do know for sure, he regrets it.  The Pistons have looked flat since the trade and I haven’t seen them mount one of their 4th quarter “lets try now” comebacks in a long while, well actually, since Mr. Clutch left town and it must suck for Piston fans.

With AI out for the season we will now get to see if he was the problem or if the Pistons magic has just ran out with their aging stars finally peaking. One thing we know for sure Iverson won’t have to worry about practice anymore!

Peace!

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