The Starting Five

The memories are coming back. Seems like Game 7′s are a must have in this rivalry…

Look, the Celtics are getting up there and that injuries are mounting doesn’t help. The Sixers capitalized by taking it straight to Boston. Philly had a 42-16 points in the paint advantage and beat the C’s 82-75. So, if Philly wins in Boston Saturday, will the TD Bank North Garden crowd shout “Beat Miami! Beat Miami!” if Miami finishes off the Pacers tonight?

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(Matt Slocum/AP)

Last night Allen Iversonreturned to Philadelphia to a maddening ovation prior to the Sixers Game 6 match up against the Boston Celtics. It was enough to almost take me there emotionally. Of course there are those that want to take jabs at his alleged financial troubles. As for me, I was just happy to see him in that red, white and blue once again.

Why do we love Allen Iverson so much?

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Photo Credit: NBA Entertainment\Getty Images

It really does seem like they’ve been doing this forever. Not this, mind you. Not this level of offensive excellence, but this quiet, understated march towards the Larry O’Brien trophy while the eyes of the basketball world are on flashier teams in bigger markets – like Lob City, for instance. Chris Paul having Blake Griffin and DeAndre Jordan as his personal dunk muses, capable and willing of ridiculous feats of aerial derring-do. And what did the Spurs, the habitually boring Spurs do to this team? The same thing they did to the Seven Seconds or Less Suns too many times to count. They dismantled them, broke them down with a minimum of fuss and a maximum of skill. When it was done, it was a sweep and no one was surprised, no one batted an eye and no one thought about it.

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(World.comphotos)

The 2012 NBA Playoffs have produced its share of excitement, punctuated by comebacks, last second shots and physical play. What it the playoffs haven’t given us is that classic series. Although the conference finals give us what we’ve tuned in for, I did some thinking and came upon one of the best conference semifinals in recent memory.

What is your most memorable NBA playoff series that didn’t decide the NBA Championship?

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(AP Photo/Lynne Sladky)

Should the league suspend Haslem for this foul?

Growing up and seeing how physical the NBA was in the 80′s and 90′s, last night didn’t phase me. I don’t care how the NBA has cut down on physical play because of the Malace in the Palace (Metta World Peace explains what happened at length).

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Our sincere apologies for the delayed posts. Early this morning the server hard drive crashed and data had to be transferred to another hard drive. Thank you for your patience in this matter.

At 33 years of age and 16 seasons deep into his Hall of Fame career Kobe Bryant’s game has remained at an MVP level and he is still in the conversation as one of the NBA’s best. This season Bryant averaged 27.9 ppg. 5.4 rpg. and 4.6 assts.

I was asked this question earlier today and I thought I would ask the readers. Name an NBA player who has maintained a high level of play after 15+ seasons and/or the age of 33?

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Chatting with Hall of Famer Moses Malone and Earl Cureton…who were honored as well as other members of ’83 Championship Sixers team earlier this season…

African-American athletes make up for more than 66 percent of the players in the NFL and 82 percent of the players in the NBA. In 2006, a study conducted by the Institute for Diversity and Ethics in Sport showed 95 percent of sports editors, 87 percent of assistant sports editors, 90 percent of columnists and 87.5 percent of sports reporters were white. Of the 303 newspapers that participated in that study, only three African-American and four Latinos were sports editors. Among columnists only 19 were African-American, 3 Latino and 2 Asian. The numbers aren’t much higher for women – 5 percent editors, 13 percent assistant editors, 7 percent columnists and 10 percent reporters.

This piece is dedicated to the memory of Eric Daniels. Eric was an avid reader and supporter from the inception of The Starting Five and remained with us as long as his health would allow. Eric pushed us to think and excel as writers and although there were times when opinions and thoughts differed, Eric remained true to his standards. Thank you Eric for your support, encouragement as you become our inspiration moving forward.

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“I’m a Sixer for Life.” –Doug Collins

In a few hours, the Philadelphia 76ers will battle their forever rival Boston Celtics.  The Eastern Conference semifinal series is tied two games apiece yet that the Sixers can win the series is considered by many to be nonsense.  But somebody like Willy Wonka or Don Quixote once said a little nonsense now and then is cherished by the wisest men.

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The life of Terrell Owens has taken another dramatic and potentially dangerous turn. The former All-Pro wide receiver has been reported to be friendless and near broke. After spending last season in an indoor football league, Owens is looking to make one last run at making an NFL roster.

After burning bridge after bridge is T.O. sadly, O.T. (Out of Time)?

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Since 2005, the NBA has instituted that the minimum age for rookie eligibility is nineteen,  provided the player meet certain criteria as written in the CBA. The same rule remains in place even after the latest CBA was ratified during the lockout last season.

There is a concerted effort being made by the NBA and NCAA to increase the age of eligibility to twenty.

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KG imposed his will on the young Sixers

Celtics ran back in the past and stole the Sixers Game 3 livelihood. Simple as that. Black Pharaoh went the hell off, talked trash (to himself and others) and the C’s regained home court advantage with the 107-91 win in Philly. The last couple of minutes in OKC were disturbing. The Lakers just lost focus…something you don’t expect from a veteran team. As far as the last shot, yes, Steve Blake was wide open, but with 5.7 left on the clock, an entry pass to Bynum under the basket isn’t a better option?

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We know that during the NBA playoffs the unspoken “no layup” rule quietly goes into effect, seeking to shut down high wire acts and slashers at a premium. With some of the “extra” that has gone on during the regular season and playoffs is the NBA getting too physical?

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This cat keeps going and going and going and going…

Not a fan of the San Antonio Spurs robotic genius flow. I wanna see sick athleticism all over the floor coupled with skill and clutch play. That being said, the Spurs rock you to sleep slowly with precision and mishaps are at a minimum. With Tim Duncan playing the way he is at this advanced NBA age, if the Spurs are hoisting the trophy in June, do not be shocked. They beat up on the Clippers last night. The Parker/Paul match up was a wash, so Tim Duncan took over and became a major factor in the Spurs 108-92 win in Game 1.

In Miami, many today will question whether LeBron James should have been involved (TNT crew discuss) in last shot and also if Chris Bosh’s injury will derail the Miami Heat from NBA title aspirations. Both are fair questions and after last night’s 78-75 loss at the hands of the Pacers in Game 1, the Heat better get it together. Mario Chalmers said the last play was drawn up for him. I don’t have a problem with that. I do have a problem with LeBron missing free throws in a big spot and what made it worse was the shot of Pacers president Larry Bird. Can you imagine what was going through his mind as player after player clanked the first and then the second at the free throw line?

To the notes…

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Five weeks into the Roger Clemens perjury trial and things have finally gotten juicy as Roger Clemens’ former friend and trainer Brian McNamee took the stand for the second day and revealed that he saved the waste materials from a previous Clemens injection and even injected the wife of the former pitching ace while he watched.

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Holiday is growing into a star by the second

The Lakers got caught. Simple as that. Westbrook was making turnaround bank shots. Come man…

I picked the Lakers in 6 because of their experience and size advantage inside. I said so because I thought Andrew Bynum would be up for the test. The Lakers obviously will have problems with Durant and Westbrook. As one of the TNT guys says below, Kobe Bryant will most likely guard Westbrook from the gun. Like I said after the 29 point blowout, 4 games is not won in one. You know damn well the Lakers will come out with fire in Game 2.

In Boston, the Sixers just stayed close. Covering this team, I notice something different. Yes, they still get tight at times, but Andre Iguodala is impressing me. He’s showing a confidence and also leadership I haven’t seen him show this season (more vocal on the floor). He’s taking big shots in rhythm and making them. Elton Brand is not 100% but he’s also hitting shots, playing great D and also leading out there on the floor. Jrue Holiday is becoming a force. Evan Turner hit big free throws and the Sixers as a whole defied what they did all year and converted big attempts at the stripe.  The Sixers are capable and trust me, Philly will be rocking Wednesday. Expect the Celtics to step it up a notch. Should be a classic.

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