Putting the Rockets game behind us, we have a big game against the first place Cleveland Cavaliers tomorrow (that still sounds odd). As a change of pace, I exchanged Q&A's with Brian (a.k.a. The Cavalier).
You may remember him from YAYSPorts and a promised Who Shot Mamba? movie that apparently was contracted out to the same folks who brought us the Big Dig. Now he's got a new blog that's called "Brian's Thoughts About Airplanes," ...or maybe it is "Mad Props To Baked Potatoes." It is hard to keep up. Maybe tomorrow it will be called "Pierce is chubby but he rocks my world."
Bottom line: Brian is an odd cat, and I dig that about him. So here's some light hearted thoughts to keep your mind off the big red button below.
See my answers to his questions at his site and his answers below.
1. What's the better move: The Crab Dribble or Rondo's fake-behind-the-back move that never fools anyone?
I'm not that familiar with the details of Rondo's false moves, but I firmly believe LeBron and Co went into the basketball dictionary, found the most obscure move they could find, and installed it as LeBron's "secret trademark" over five years ago. This was all in anticipation of unveiling its name in this, Year 6. You may think I'm a LeBron fanboy, but he often irks me quite a bit. He's all about the brand, and at least to me, it seems like winning only matters because its really good for the brand.
I'd also like to lay my estimation of the total time he takes for the chalk throw sequence Friday night at a full 15 seconds. The clock starts when he crosses the threshold of the scorer's table, and ends when he turns to walk out on the court. I'll keep an eye out for Rondo's back trickery.
2. I miss following Delonte West on a daily basis. Any good stories/quotes/anecdotes from him lately?
Delonte West was mourning his team's just-finished loss to the pitiful Washington Wizards by playing a lonely game of dominoes, and it made him sad. The reason this made him sad was because of all the hip-hop dust gathering on his shoulders. Delonte didn't know where it came from, and the more hip-hop dust he brushed off, the more that reappeared in its place. Soon, Delonte feared, he would be living in a constant state of brushing his shoulders free of hip hop dust. And yet it would get him nowhere.
"Always behind the 8-ball," Delonte thought to himself out loud.
Across the room, LeBron James, Delonte West's basketball playing teammate, was singing a feminine, emotional pop/rock song for a busload of tiny people. This also troubled Delonte in no small way, because part of him wished he could be one of those anonymous, tiny people, and not a famous basketball player. A famous basketball player who was sad, because of all his mysterious hip-hop dust.
(editor's note: I'm pretty sure some of that was made up)
3. Regardless of how this game turns out, who has a better shot at winning a 7 game series that we all expect to happen this postseason?
First of all, this answer has nothing to do with BOS's recent slide. This is the same answer I would've given at any point this season.
The answer is Cleveland, and the boring, generic explanation is we almost got you last year, and this season's Cavs are about 50 times better. For the first time in the LeBron era, there's actual ball movement and a fluid offense. You may not see the fluidity Friday because of the LAL-BOS-CLE January blahs or whatever, plus Z is out. But it's there. The defense is as strong as ever, and there's a fantastic chemistry that's easy to see.
We also have Wally's contract to use on an additional piece, and don't be surprised to see a game of "Wally-gets-released-by-the-new-team-and-comes-back-to-CLE" go down. Believe it or not, he's been really effective this year. He's finally playing the bench role he was always supposed to be, instead of being forced into a starter/primary situation.
You're right in that it should go seven games, and truthfully it's a toss-up. These teams are both excellent. It's not like we're talking about the stupid Pistons.