He Said What?

As I go back-to-back for the 1st time in a couple of weeks...I'd just like to point out that my Golden squad will likely be in 9th by the end of the night. They are fading fast. The boys are riddled with injuries. Eric Gordon is out again. Chandler is still out. Gay is a couple of weeks away. Perkins is still not close. Can the Showers even challenge for a top 8 might be the real question? That answer will depend on when everyone gets healthy.

I was reading a website recently and I saw a quote from Byron Scott about Samardo Samuels. You know Mr. Samuels? He's the guy who just became relevant this season after Antawn Jamison went down with injury. So the quote (paraphrased) was essentially that Samuels has more talent than Kevin Love and Love just has more experience. Say what?

So I immediately checked to see what kind of night Samuels had. I was thinking a 20 and 15 monster. Nope. 13 and 6 in 32 minutes. Hmmmm. I'm not seeing this comparison. Isn't Love the guy who is now at 51 consecutive double-doubles? Yet some guy named Samuels, who plays on a shitty Cavs team is a better player? If he was a decent player - wouldn't he have been playing all year? It's not like he's behind Gasol, Odom, and Bynum. It was only Jamison and Hickson. And if he was so good - why didn't he get in the rotation when Varejao went down with injury?? Why did it take Byron Scott 60+ games to find the next Kevin Love??

What's the next quote from Byron going to be? That he believes the Cavs could still make the playoffs? That Cleveland will be fine without Lebron? That he actually has the talent to win?
Come on Byron! It's guys like you who set these guys up for complete failure! I mean comparing Samuels to Kevin Love is like saying the ugliest chick in the bar is just the same as the hottest girl because they both have tits and a pagima. The expectations now on Samuels is huge! High expectations can destroy players. Look at Anthony Randolph! Just let the kid play.

I'm watching the Mavs vs. T-Wolves right now. Not a bad game actually. The Wolves are playing the Mavs tough too. And I have to say, Minnesota fans are the whitest crowd I have ever seen at a basketball game! Seriously, I'm scanning the crowd and there are no black people in attendance. I'm watching the Dirk v. Love matchup. A couple of great big men going at it. Love has a quiet game going and he sits at 21 and 15. He's very subtle at how he gets his boards. You don't think of him as being 'exciting' but he's a great rebounder that's for sure. I also like the way Luke Ridnour plays - the Golden squad misses him. And he was a favorite of mine when he was running the point for the Sonics too. Cool hand Luke.

With all the recent talk of the Phoenix Coyotes moving to Winnipeg and the Sac Kings moving to Anaheim - it got me thinking of which team I would love to see re-locate back to Seattle (assuming they ever get a team again). I'm not really considering a Vancouver relocation at this point because we didn't have the history. For me, growing up, it was all about the Sonics and their I-5 rivalry with the Blazers. I loved them. And for me, one of the greatest sports memories I have is watching the final Sonics game they played at the Key Arena. They played against the Mavericks and Durant (a rookie) hit the game winner. The Arena was rocking the "Save our Sonics" chant. GP was in the house! It was an amazing experience. And if the Sonics ever return to the NBA, I want to be there on opening night. So, which team would I want to see move there? Sacramento? New Orleans? Memphis? Charlotte? Those would probably be the 4 most obvious choices these days. I guess it would depend on the talent on the team at the time but I think Sacramento could be on their way to building something quite intriguing with the Tyreke/Cousins combo. I think Chris Paul will be gone from New Orleans by the time Seattle gets a team. Memphis has some potential but as long as Michael Heisley's in charge - they have no shot. And Charlotte? I guess they would be a long shot to move out west. Anyways, it would be very interesting to think about if Seattle can get a new arena built...