Just when we all thought it was impossible, the New Jersey Nets gave us a big surprise and found a team in the NBA, well, barely in the NBA, that they could beat and they went out and beat them.

New Jersey Nets 97 Charlotte Bobcats 91

No, this is not a lie, it actually happened in real time. Kiki Vandeweghe applied some personal philosophy and the Nets took it to an extreme.

Adhering to interim coach Kiki Vandeweghe’s call to relax, have fun and block thoughts of the 0-18 worst start in NBA history, the Nets looked like a team enjoying a fresh start as they hustled, dove, defended, responded after taking some gut punches and, above all, won.

They turned the Charlotte Bobcats into that squad with a team-oriented 97-91 victory that featured spectacular individual efforts by Courtney Lee, Brook Lopez and Devin Harris to make Vandeweghe a winner in his coaching debut.

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Kiki Vandeweghe now stands undefeated as the Nets coach, although he had better not get used to that feeling because he will feel a whole lot of the opposite.

The key comment came from Josh Boone who said, “It is about time”. That about sums it up for one of the worst franchises in the NBA in years. Kiki Vandeweghe has his hands full. Some of your stars are everyday names like Brook Lopez and Courtney Lee and …what, those aren’t everyday names in the NBA? My bad.

Devin Harris learned some secret moves from Shaolin priests

There was lots of talk about playing with emotion and playing together and all that other stuff that seems to work when you win and means very little when you lose.

The silver lining in all of this, if one is needed when you break an eighteen game losing streak, is that fact that the 5 – 15 Knicks are the Nets next opponents. Look out Knicks, the Nets are streaking!

Image: Zuma Press

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And now for the untold story of what happened and what may happen to the New York Knicks. It appears that the New York Knicks in their infinite wisdom, oops, make that finite wisdom, passed on Brandon Jennings after several workouts, even though they could see the obvious talent of a young point guard that could shoot from the outside.

Recently NBAObsessed wrote about the 55 point effort by Brandon Jennings.

The Knicks wasted their pick on Jordan Hill, who in spite of the Jordan in his name, is spending most of his time on the bench instead of playing on the court.

These are the same Knicks that have tried to get rid of every player on their team in order to clear salary cap for the great LeBron sweepstakes. Now personally NBAObsessed would love to see LeBron playing for the Knicks, because then he would not be torturing the division where my favorite team, the Detroit Pistons, happen to reside.

What has happened to the once proud New York Knicks franchise? You would think the Garden would be a fabulous place to show off the talents of LeBron James and maybe, just maybe, having a young hot guard like Brandon Jennings would have went a long ways in getting James.

Allen Iverson courted by the Knicks

Allen Iverson

So what are the Knicks attempting to do? They are going to plan B or more like plan D or E and attempting to pick up Allen Iverson. But he is a Grizzlie you say?

Now the Knicks are considering signing Allen Iverson after he cleared waivers on Thursday. It’s the surest sign of desperation in the NBA. There’s nothing left with Iverson, just fading hype and a sure-bet soap opera to come.

Yet, that’s what Donnie Walsh’s front office has become – potentially picking through the Memphis Grizzlies’ scrap heap in search of a pulse of excitement to fool the fans.

So this is how you show LeBron you’re a viable destination? This is how you demonstrate you have the shrewd basketball minds capable of building a winner around him?

Contemplating Allen Iverson?

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NBAObsessed recently wrote about the troubles of Allen Iverson.

New York “the city” and New York “the team that has such importance to the NBA” has so many intangibles to be used to recruit LeBron James, but New York “the team” seems to be working to drive LeBron away.
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Enough is enough. Bring them back. Now.

The NBA replacement referees are no doubt trying their hardest to fit in and do a good job. Maybe too good of a job. Yesterday your intrepid author, NBAObsessed, wrote about the coach from Tel Aviv, Pini Gershon, getting kicked out of an exhibition game.

Maccabi Coach Pini Gershon points out he does not work for the NBA

Yes, you heard that correct, an exhibition game!

This is just another case of the NBA replacement referees taking their jobs a bit too seriously. Maybe they think they will get hired on permanently.

This was one of those games where officials needed to understand time and place and circumstances. In that way, these crews are lost causes. As much as anything, that’s the criticism of these lockout refs from the Developmental League and WNBA: They have no sense for the speed and skill and athleticism of the NBA.

Thus, the whistles never stop blowing. They hesitate on the obvious and tweet on the bizarre. The games are a traffic pileup of starts and stops, sluggish and unwatchable. There’s no flow, no rhythm.

“They don’t have a feel for the NBA game,” one NBA GM said. “They’re really quick to blow their whistles before letting the play develop.”

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David Stern needs to get off his Kuester, wait that is the Pistons coach, NBAObsessed meant to say keister, and anyway get off his butt and get the regular referees back on the job.

Do you know how embarrassing this is? Well, the Tel Aviv team had paid for the exhibition game and the proceeds were for charity. The coach refused to leave the court because he could not believe he was being thrown out and what were they going to do to him? Fine him? To paraphrase the coach’s words, he does not work for the National Stern Association.

The referees did accomplish one good thing though. They took your attention off of the New York Knicks, so you didn’t see how bad they are playing right now.
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The New York Knicks seem to get into all kinds of bizarre situations even in an exhibition game. This time the New York Knicks were involved in drawing out the worst in the replacement referees. If there is a worst at this point. David Stern has to do something about these guys. These guys being the replacement referees. There is something to be said for experience.

Knicks 106 Tel Aviv 91

high flying Nate Robinson had 19 points

In the third quarter the replacement referees called two technical fouls on the coach from Maccabi, Pini Gershon.

The game was halted for about eight minutes when Pini Gershon continued to linger near Maccabi’s bench — a delay that included a rabbi trying to intervene by asking the NBA’s replacement referees calling the game to allow Gershon to stay.

“I explained that this is not a regular game and the kids are watching and (it’s) important that there will be peace and forgive him,” Rabbi Yitchak Dovid Grossman said of his discussions with the officials. “If you forgive him, I can speak to the children and say, ‘You also forgive. If you have a fight, you forgive.’ But he says this is the law, that you must obey.”

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It is like an every day event now for the replacement referees to mess something up. Pay the regular referees and get them back.

NBA factoid: As a side note, former Michigan State Spartan Allan Anderson had 20 points for Maccabi Tel Aviv. Anderson enjoyed an impossible weekend while in college playing for Tom Izzo. He defeated Kentucky and Duke in the NCAA playoffs in one weekend, injuring his knee at the end of the Duke game. The next weekend Anderson faced North Carolina and just could not go on the knee. Now he is fighting to get to the NBA and with luck he will make it.

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Stephon Marbury, the man that had the Starbury shoes, has decided to take off the shoes for one year and just sit. Well, he is going to do more than sit, because he plans to build up his empire even more. So as a business decision, he will not take the 1.2 million to go back and play for the Boston Celtics.

Business decision as in no other team really wanted a selfish old point guard.

Hey, you are picking on one of my all time favorite players, ranking right up there with Adrian Dantley, not only in talent, but in court selfishness. Stephon once said in an article in Sports Illustrated, back when we all read magazines, that he only played for the money. That is the guy for my team all right.

Adrian Dantley often would take the rock and ask you to just watch as he went 1 on 5 and scored or got fouled. It was amazing, but after a while all your team could do was stand around.

Stephon Marbury is always good for a quote or two and had this to say about the Knicks, where bad blood still exists.

“I’m just talking as a fan and New Yorker who grew up loving the Knicks: Why would I give you my money to watch them?” Marbury said, according to the Post. “This is atrocious. Guys coming down court, just raising up 3-pointers from anywhere. The coaching is horrible. What kind of coaching is this?”

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LeBron James will not sign with the Knicks

Oh, and the LeBron opinion had to do with the Knicks as well. Stephon claims that there is no way that LeBron is going to sign with the Knicks. They are in a rebuilding phase, so why would he sign with them?

Photo source Newscom

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You have to go back to my youth to understand my feelings here. Back in the day and this was long ago before Magic and before Bird, but after the prime of Russell. In those days of pre-cable and no VCR, let alone a dvr, the games on TV were very limited. Mostly you watched Boston and rooted against them, unless you lived in Boston or you watched New York and rooted for them, especially when they played Boston. Keep in mind this was all happening from Michigan. The Detroit Pistons stunk back then and Dave DeBusschere had been traded to the Knicks. DeBusschere was so popular that many Michiganders adopted the Knicks as their new team.

The Knicks were awesome and Walt Frasier was my favorite player. He would simply control games and set up everyone to do what they did best. It was a treat to watch the Knicks running a weave and then passing out of the weave to an open Bill Bradley or a posting Willis Reed.

In the early 1970’s, the Knicks dazzled New York with brilliant team play and a host of great players. Coached by Red Holzman, they featured DeBusschere and Bill Bradley at forward, Willis Reed at center and Walt Frazier, Earl Monroe and Dick Barnett at guard.

The Knicks won the N.B.A. championship in 1970 and 1973. If their glory years could be traced to a date, that was Dec. 19, 1968, when their general manager, Eddie Donovan, obtained DeBusschere from the Detroit Pistons for center Walt Bellamy and guard Howard Komives.

DeBusschere once described himself as having been ”on the brink of senility by pro basketball standards” when the trade was made, but he provided a key element for the Knicks.

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Now the current Knicks are a mess and are trying to fight their way back to respectability. The current Knicks are on the brink of senility, to quote Dave DeBusschere. Check out their current lineup.

Say hello to …
Toney Douglas (first-round draft pick), Jordan Hill (first-round draft pick) and Darko Milicic (trade)

Say goodbye to …
Quentin Richardson (trade), Mouhamed Sene (waived) and Chris Wilcox (free agent). This list assumes that both Lee and Robinson will re-sign with the Knicks.

Projected starting five
PG Chris Duhon
SG Larry Hughes
SF Wilson Chandler
PF Al Harrington
PF David Lee
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LeBron James will bypass New York

Are you kidding me? That is their starting lineup? Meanwhile the Knicks are talking about keeping their payroll flexible for the big free agent market next year of LeBron James, Chris Bosh, and company. LeBron James will take one good look at that lineup and say, “Are you kidding me?”

Photo source Newscom

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Ok, no surprise here in the NBA.com Power Rankings.
Yes, it is the Los Angeles Lakers number 1 as they should be, but maybe you should take a look, because they added Ron Artest. If handled correctly he can be a force. And Lamar Odom? They resigned him and he is a difference maker.

There was little doubt that fans in Cleveland, Boston, Orlando, San Antonio and other cities were holding out hope that Lamar Odom(notes) would just sign with Miami instead of returning to the Lakers.

As it turned out, Odom never really intended to leave the Lakers—and he wound up taking less money than Lakers owner Jerry Buss initially offered him upon the opening of free agency to return. Odom signed a four-year deal worth $33 million—if the Lakers pick up a fourth-year team option.

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Scanning further down the list to the seventh spot you find the Denver Nuggets. Hey, didn’t they kind of pass all of the West teams except for the Lakers? And all they get are a seventh place ranking? Whoa, that is tough! That may cause Chauncey Billups to shrug his shoulders and say something strong like “We’ll see.”

Chauncey Billups may shrug

Wait a minute; Portland and Washington are rated 8th and 9th? When did this happen? Agent Zero returns and the Wizards and going to play great ball? Andre Miller moves to Portland and they are going to play great ball? Why don’t you ask Utah, Atlanta, and Philly about that?

Oh wow, Phoenix Suns in 15th and belonging there. That is hard to believe with a healthy Amare Stoudemire and Steve Nash, but it is probably right.

Minnesota Timberwolves and New York Knicks after about 425 player deals sit 27th and 28th. Ouch!

Rounding out the 30th spot are the Sacramento Kings and your intrepid author defies you to name one single King player. They earned that spot.

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What is going on with these teams anyway? The Mavericks, Knicks, and Trail Blazers are fighting, that is right, fighting to sign Jason Kidd. Why? He will be a basketball grandpa age of 37 next year and how is he supposed to keep up with the speedy young guards if his team makes the playoffs?

Will Jason Kidd be able to keep up with the young guards, let alone the Tony Parkers of the world?

Jason Kidd will be in the Hall of Fame and there is no questioning that at all, but he will be there for piling up stats like the rest of us pile up our dirty clothes in the corner of the room. He is long past his prime and hardly worth the money to the three teams involved. These are all building teams.

Let us say, just for example, that you have a team with a superstar or two and all you need is a point guard to handle the rock and you are heading to the conference finals. Hey, Jason Kidd would be perfect, but that does not describe any of the above teams.

Kidd has enjoyed a fantastic career. A great deal of what he provides cannot show up in individual statistics, but individual statistics have also helped inflate his worth. He’s a bit of a liability to an offense if he isn’t dominating the rock, dishing out tons of assists. He has a reputation as a fast-break point guard, but I can’t tell you how many would-be breaks have been halted by Kidd chasing after rebounds, instead of leaking out and waiting for the outlet pass. And his jumper, though on-point in 2008-09, comes and goes.

This is the point where I have to point out that I’m not pointing toward denigrating this point guard’s skills. He’s a fine, fine player, even at this stage. He helps teams. I just don’t get where he fits into the plan for a team like the Knicks, or the Trail Blazers.

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Yesterday, we discussed how Isiah Thomas was still loved in Michigan no matter what kind of mockery he makes of himself out in the world of coaching. Today, we will look at the fact that he appears to be making a mockery of himself again.

Isiah Thomas is dismayed to find out he has doubters

Florida International deserves everything they get, so they better have an exit strategy. For myself, let us hope that Isiah surprises the nay sayers (that includes myself) and finds his coaching mojo.

The doubters are out there.

“He feels like he’s toxic in the NBA right now,” a longtime Thomas associate said. “He thinks this is the only way to get back in the basketball world.”

Out of the era of Michael, Magic and Larry, Thomas always considered himself the outsider, the dismissed superstar. He was the captain of the Bad Boys, the 6-foot-nothing point guard missed on being mythologized like Jordan, Johnson and Bird because genetics dealt him six too few inches. He never got over it, and never stopped making everyone else pay a price for his perceived slights. As a pro basketball commissioner, executive and coach, Thomas lived to abuse power and humiliate and even sexually harass underlings. He spent too much money on players, too little time on the job. His Knicks days were one big party on someone else’s tab.

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It is just that kind of day. The kind of Michigan day when you go outside and the cold rain beats down on your head and the sun is lost somewhere on the other side of the clouds. You know in the back of your mind that this is about as good as it gets and at least there is no snow. Yes, it is just that kind of day.

Someone at Florida International lost their minds and hired Isiah Thomas at the same time.

Isiah Thomas always brings the cherubic smile

How will Thomas be able to match the previous coach?

The Golden Panthers have lost 20 games in three of the last four years, and haven’t had a winning record since going 16-14 in the 1999-2000 season. FIU finished fifth in the six-team Sun Belt East Division this past season, and only averaged 693 fans for its home games — one of the lowest totals in Division I.

Thomas replaces Sergio Rouco, who was reassigned Monday after posting a losing record in each of his five seasons as coach.
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In Michigan, we still love Isiah Thomas, especially a whole lot better than this rainy cold weather. Isiah brought drive, determination, talent, and titles. We really liked the titles. He dominated as a small guy in a very tall guy’s game. Odd, because if he walked into the room, he would most likely be bigger than most average men. They listed him at 6′ 1″ and 190 pounds of rock hard muscle when he was playing.

Later, as a coach, the rocks turned out to be in his head. But Michigan is still behind Isiah and wishes him all the best. Come on, Isiah; show them boys that drive and determination that made you great as an NBA player.

Oh, and if you don’t? We will still love you. You brought titles. Geez, are we shallow.

Photo source Newscom

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