"The Rooster" and Thursday's Breakdown

*Alonzo Mourning retired from basketball today. Easy Hall of Famer, right?

“He was the very best thing that ever happened to this franchise,” said Pat Riley, sitting between Mourning and owner Micky Arison at the news conference. “He will always be respected by Micky and myself for being the taproot of a culture that we’re really proud of. He embodies that.”

Riley’s voice cracked as he finished his thought.

“We love you, Zo,” he said. “You will wear that jersey one more time— when we rip it off your back and hang it from the rafters.”

Well said...

*Everyone's about to know D. Wade has an STD. Ouch...

*Are we loving what Danilo Gallinari, aka Gallo, aka The Rooster, is bringing to the table? His been very impressive with his first few games as a Knick. Good look to my man Hayden for supplying The Rooster highlights:

Tuesday Breakdown

*The 4th contestant in the 2009 NBA Dunk Contest was decided. Winner is Rudy Fernandez, who is known mostly for this dunk over Dwight Howard. Definitely the worst choice of the three. Did you see Russell Westbrook's dunk over Mario Chalmers of the Heat? Good look to my boy Barksdale on the Joe Alexander, ridiculous videos. I can't imagine Rudy Fernandez doing anything cool at all. In fact, between now and then I'm betting he bows out. He's up against Dwight Howard, Nate Robinson and Rudy Gay. Alrigghhhhtttt Rudy!!!

*From TrueHoop, NBA players on number 44.

*I'm bringing back an old Mark Cuban link, on why he voted for Obama. Great read. A wise man once said, "He's a jackass, but a very smart jackass." Proud to be an American.

"Having an elected black President will do more to energize this country than any economic or social policy ever could. In a single day of voting, our amazing country once again reinvigorated the dream that any child in this country, no matter what circumstances they are born into, can grow up to be anything they want, including President of the United States.

That dream, staying viable, being reinvigorated, will do more for this country than any economic policy or any legislation that could ever be passed....

...As any successful CEO will tell you, leadership, vision and motivation has far more impact on results than any tax cut or increase. While I prefer lower taxes, I can tell you that no entrepreneur or CEO worth a damn in this country gives up or works less because of a change in tax policy. In this country you work harder to achieve your dreams and goals."

Ankle Insurance, by Kobe Bryant

Thanks to BDTG reader Gerard for this video.

Kobe Sells Ankle Insurance

A History Lesson by GAME OVER

On January 15, 1891, the 13 Rules of Basketball was first published, thus publicly creating the game that we all play. Dr. James Naismith created the game for his unruly physical education class that was stuck inside in the cold Massachusetts winter. The game originally called for nine men aside and shooting into a peach basket set 10 feet high.

The game has evolved quite a bit over the past 119 years. Unlike America's other two "popular" sports of baseball and football, this game is truly American in origin (Baseball from foundations of Rounders, and Football has beginnings of Rugby). It is arguably the second most played and watched sport in the world, behind soccer.

The game can be played anywhere and by anyone, the only required access is to a ball and a hoop. For those of us that know, an empty garbage can in the schoolyard also makes a good substitute basket. Careers of all kinds have been created and devoted to the game, from players to coaches, architects that design arenas to vendors that sell popcorn, colleges that build cash-cow programs to NCAA office pools, from television contracts that go into the billions of dollars to licensors that sell authentic uniforms to the masses. To the very existence of this web site. It can all be traced back 119 years ago this week. Thankfully Naismith was a physical education teacher and not a dance instructor.

Mark Wald, GAME OVER.

Wednesday Breakdown

Damn, it must be bad to be a Wiz fan right now. Not saying I don't like how the Knicks are playing, but the Wiz lose to pretty much everyone. Nick Young is on fire (scoring more than 28 in 3 of the last 4 games, with ridiculous efficiency, better than 65% from the field). Tough Juice pitched in with 25, Antawn with 15, Mike James 4-4 from 3-point, and still wasn't enough to get the win. Chris Duhon, already leading the league in minutes played with over 39, played 41 tonight, but it was David Lee who killed it, scoring 30 points while getting 10 boards and 6 assists. Knicks 128, Wash 122.

*How do they do it? Knickerblogger.net and 7 Seconds or Mess show us a great video of their new and improved defense.

*Rick Fox is obviously bored, now blogging for NBA.com. I don't recommend clicking on that link, it's incredibly boring. Just thought it was funny actually. Shouldn't he be on a soap opera or something?

*Mark Cuban is probably the corniest person to be around. I imagine his friends suffering, but they must befriend him since he's worth more than a billion, right? Anyway, he had a big problem with JR Smith during their last meeting with the Nuggets. Oh Mark, you're so witty.

*As predicted (well, we hoped for...), Eddy Curry may file for defamation. Better....he needs shed these allegations...

*Ball Don't Lie goes one-on-one with Tough Juice, Caron Butler.

*Contradictory from yesterday's report, the Nets won't be playing preseason games in Newark. Apparently, the MetroNetsuals are facing an identity crisis.

*Russel Westbrook is emerging as a candidate for the Rookie of the Year Award. David Thorpe has a great take on his improvement and his abnormal ability to rebound for a guard:

Westbrook is rapidly improving, and we can project him to be capable of running a terrific team one day. He also has the potential to be an All-Star. He has a long way to go as a shooter, but give credit to head coach Scott Brooks for letting Westbrook do what he does best on offense: Rebound. Westbrook reminds me of a young Dwyane Wade, relentless on the glass with his effort, long arms, great timing and big hops. He's a rebounding difference-maker, something point guards usually aren't. Teams already tweak their game plan when preparing to face him, and he just turned 20 years old.

Westbrook is basically tied with power forward Nick Collison for the team lead in offensive rebounds per game. The Thunder may sit last in the NBA standings, but they rank 11th in offensive rebound rate.

Tuesday Breakdown

The biggest news of the day...Eddy Curry is being sued by his former Butler. I'm not quite sure yet if this story is unbelievable or not. I always said, just when the Knicks couldn't go any lower, they always find a way. Pretty sure this would be considered lower.

The accusations include [Rated R]:

repeatedly approached chauffeur David Kuchinsky "in the nude," saying, "Look at me, Dave, look" and, "Come and touch it, Dave."

Curry hurled slurs at him, including "f- - - ing Jew," "cracker," "white slave," "white devil" and "grandmaster of the KKK."

My question is...why hasn't Eddy Curry filed for defamation? When someone says these things about you in the public, don't you do that immediately? Until that happens, I'm going to assume it's true. I don't see why not...

*From today's ESPN Daily Dime...

"Don't you get the feeling like we've seen this movie before? We're like a writer with writer's block. We can get the first couple of chapters written fairly efficiently and fairly well, but getting to the ending -- we just can't seem to write the correct ending."

-- Wizards interim coach Ed Tapscott, whose team typed and then deleted a fourth-quarter lead for the 12th time this season.

The Wiz are 7-30. Nuff said...

*What's going on with the Nets move to Brooklyn? I specifically purchased tickets for the Nets, in preparation for the move and their inevitable sell-outs....and now they might go to Newark instead?? More about this on BergerSphere, where I've been fortunate enough to get a new nick name, "The Breakin One." Yea, I can definitely roll with that...

*10 years ago today, Michael Jordan announced his retirement from the NBA (this was the second of three total...so far). JA Adande shares his thoughts...

People used to ask Jordan, in all seriousness, whether he could fly. He was compared to God. When Jordan retired that day in 1999, someone went as far as to ask whether he would use his spare time to help solve the world's problems.

*Out with the old, in with the new? Not quite yet. This will mark the first time I've read an article in GQ magazine. The guys from GQ wanted to go head to head with LeBron James, and he welcomed the challenge.

Agent [Less Than] Zero, Monday Breakdown

After a recent loss, Gilbert Arenas was interviewed about his progress and if he'll see the court this season. He replies,

"I don't know. I mean, seven wins? Would you?" said the three-time All-Star, who last July signed a six-year, $111 million contract to remain in the District.

Yes Gilbert, I would play if I could. You just signed a contract for $111 Million. You play because the fans, the organization, your teammates and coaches all invested into you. I thought I was pissed about this...Breakin' reader and long-time Wiz fan James chimed in;

Simply saying that I'm mad would understate how I feel right now. No matter what happens, I will never root for him again and I hope he never plays again. Hopefully there is a way to void his contract! A disgrace to professional basketball, and he has sabotaged my team for years.

On to the Breakdown...

*The Cavs are now the best team in basketball (just don't' tell the Lakers, who post a slightly better record). King James and his Cavs reign supreme in both the NBA.com and ESPN.com power rankings. To top it off, the numbers agree, and they're also the top spot in Hollinger's rankings.

*The Painted Area asks if LeBron James is better than Larry Bird. "Statistically, there is no question that LeBron is better at 24....[however]...It's nearly impossible to argue that LeBron is better, period, at this point simply b/c he has neither the 3 championships nor the 3 MVPs on his resume."

*In response to Steve Nash's free throw skills...my boy Dave wants to see him take on this 81-year-old who sank 2,750 (!) free throws in a row.

*There is trade chatter in the air...and it should only get louder with the Febuary 19th deadline approaching. The latest talk is that a deal is close to being finished, sending Mike Conley Jr to Milwaukee for Ramon Sessions and Joe Alexander. I think this is a horrible move, considering Mike Conley has had his chances and yet to prove himself as a solid NBA point guard. Meanwhile, Ramon Sessions is an assist machine who only gets better as he gets more playing time. Add to that the fact that it is way too early to give up on the 8th pick of the draft. Look at Toronto, they're still trying to make it work with their #1 bust, Andrea Bargnani.

*Ken Berger reports on the recent Thunder/Bobcats/Dallas talks, and why they're on hold...for now...