"NBAz in 7 Dayz"

My Christmas was pure bananas. Every year, try as I may to be organized, this year I forget gifts and my famous apple pie for Christmas dinner. My solice? Five NBA games on Christmas day. Ahhhh. The best part? Dinner was at my sister's place this year and her husband Brian is a huge basketball fan so it was two against my Dad and my brother-in-law Aaron. If they polled for stress-level ratings of Christmas past, this year would take the cake. Alas, TV ratings make the grade and based on fast national ratings, NBA games airing on ABC and ESPN delivered the highest growing audience ever. The much anticipated match-up (and eventual smack-down) of the Los Angeles Lakers and the Miami Heat increased its viewing audience by 45% over last year's game (Cleveland vs Los Angeles) in the same broadcast window. At the end of the day, ratings gage the percentage of all homes with televisions tuned into the same program. So these stats show basketball and turkey consumption go hand in hand. Let's consume some serious news makers over the past week, including: LeBron James 'water and Love' comments, Larry Brown being fired as Head Coach of the Charlotte Bobcats and Shaquille O'Neal's fine for speaking his mind.

All is fair in Love and war

Let's clear this up. After Heat practice on Monday, LeBron James said he "didn't mean to upset anybody" when he called the NBA "watered down" last week. He also said his comments regarding the league being more popular in the 1980s due to fewer teams and more stars on top squads were not meant to hurt anyone either. He claims he is not saying leave the Nets or Timberwolves high and dry but for the need to see players like Kevin Love playing somewhere other than in Minnesota. He does have a point. Look at Kevin Love's stats. He leads the league in rebounding with 15.6 and is averaging 20 points. Plus, he also leads the league with 25 double-doubles. Pretty impressive, right? Let's face it. LeBron James is not the first person to think this or say it out loud for that matter. Fans and officials across all professional leagues have thought it, too. Don't kid yourself. NBA Commissioner David Stern is not counting out this argument but continues to subscribe to the theory expansion, no matter how financially viable, makes the league more attractive. Look at what is happening to the Hornets. The owners step down without real investors to take over, are all smile and giggles about the Hornets being such a great investment opportunity and yet they throw their hands up and walk away from what is clearly a mess. Forget the fact LeBron James has a target on his back already for "taking his talents to Miami". His argument about the league's talent being spread out makes some sense. Take a look at some of today's bottom benchers who are making mad dough and have the privilege of calling themselves professional athletes. Insert these guys into the game 20 or 30 years ago and the words "professional basketball player" would not be on their resume. These are the guys most upset at LeBron's 'watered down' comments. They should be. A new Collective Bargaining Agreement is on the horizon and they are wondering where they fit in.

Michael Jordan goes back on his word

Think back to when Larry Brown was hired as Head Coach of the Charlotte Bobcats. Michael Jordan (Bobcats owner) said he wanted Larry Brown to coach this team as long as Larry wanted to coach it. Then a few weeks ago, Michael and Larry met on 'how to improve the team' and 'how to play better basketball'. They met again recently and apparently decided the team could be playing better basketball and a change was needed. So since they were in a soft schedule according to them, now was a good time to make the transition to interim Head Coach Paul Silas. Sure, when you are loosing games by 30 points or more, a change is definitely in order. But to argue Larry Brown stepped down on his own free will is a complete fabrication. "Yes, Michael. Our Bobcats could be playing better. Why don't I just step down as Head Coach and let someone else give it a try?" Who are we trying to kid? This is Michael Jordan - an intense athlete in his playing days and proving to be just as ruthless in his quest to win as an owner. My only question is: does he have enough pocket change to buy the Maple Leafs?

Shaq on the Attack

This is just laughable. Shaquille O'Neal has been fined $35, 000 by the NBA for his public comments about the officiating. On Christmas, Boston played Orlando and got beat 86-78. He criticized the referees in this game after picking up his sixth foul when Magic center Dwight Howard fell to the ground wrestling for position. Shaq said, "I just wonder why I have never gotten that call in 20 years. Don't pick and choose when you are going to make the call...That's what happens when you get control freaks". No, that's what happens when you try to change the game abruptly after players are used to being the control freaks. Everyone just needs to settle down and take a time-out. Inconsistency in officiating issues are also plaguing professional soccer where they are considering having an official parked at the goal. Not sure if this would work in the NBA but when the dust settles, we all need to move on. The moving on part is harder for some than others.

Thanks for joining me this week. I will see you on Thursday for more "Behind Enemy Lines".

Raptors Travel To Face Bobkittens

The Bobcats are having their own problems with consistency and getting wins as well. Larry Brown even admits his team has taken a step backwards in Charlotte Observer. Raptors will still not have Jose Calderon in the line-up against the team that didn't want him in the summer. Calderon hopes to suit up against Chicago tomorrow back in Toronto at the ACC. Turning back to Bobcats, there was even talk that Michael Jordan recently addressed the team. Whatever was said at halftime of the Raptors/Pistons game might have helped Jordan out. The Raptors had their largest comeback ever. That being said I am pretty confident in saying the Raptors will be looking to get off to a much better start.

The Basics: Toronto 9-15 (3-8 on Road) Charlotte 8-15 (3-7 in Last 10)

When Last We Saw Them: Raptors pulled off an early Christmas Miracle coming back from 25 down to beat the Pistons. The largest comeback in franchise history. Raptors for the 2nd straight game gave up 70+ points in the first half. Jerryd Bayless had 31 points lead the rally as the Raptors had at one point a 32 point turnaround.

Key Match-Ups: Jerryd Bayless vs D.J Augustin. Bayless is getting a chance to show is stuff as a starter but really is not playing with a ton of pressure on him. Being a point guard for Larry Brown is stressful regardless of anything. But D.J Augustin it may be even more so as Raymond Felton left and it was no secret the Bobcats were shopping for a replacement. But in the end they found no one and it elevated Augustin to the starting spot. Should be a fun match-up. Also Stephen Jackson and Gerald Wallace will give all that Sonny Weems and Demar DeRozan can handle and perhaps a bit more. While Andrea Bargnani vs Mohammed should be a huge advantage for the Raptors.

Other Things of Note: Raptors trail the season 1-0 losing a game they should have won in Toronto back in November. Bobcats had balanced scoring in that one with 6 players in double figures in the win. Tyrus Thomas is expected to be returning to the Bobcats line-up and will add some punch to their bench. If you think Demar DeRozan is struggling that is nothing compared to Gerald Henderson. There was talk in the Charlotte camp that they are considering sending him to the D-League. Prior to the season a lot of folks thought Henderson could have a breakout year with the Bobcats but it has been the exact opposite of that.

Where Is It On: 7pm Tip Time on TSN.

Go Rondo Go..You Are Our Only Hope?

They say politics makes strange bed fellows. Well so does sports. How else can you explain Raptor fans cheering on the Celtics to beat the Bulls? When you look at things this is the Raptors best shot to make the most season. Now Larry Brown is on the record saying the Bobcats will play their full roster vs the Bulls on Wednesday. However forgive me if I don't see them being highly motivated to win, or for Brown not to pull the plug on his starters quickly. The Bobcats have nothing to play for. They have already qualified for the playoffs. Which by the way I predicted that they would and the Thunder too. How is that for an unlikely daily double? Anyway back to the point. Bobcats have no reason to win and the only things that can happen for them are bad ones.

Like the injury to Sonny Weems last night. Which by the way both Weems and I were up far to late last night on Twitter. In the wee hours of the morning Weems tweeted thanks for fans concern. He also tweeted there was no way he was going to miss the biggest game of his NBA Career. So as much as Larry Brown is preaching all the right things in terms of doing what is right for the game of basketball. Fact is even if his players do play how honestly motivated will they be? The answer is likely not all that much. If you want a Raptor example of it. How about when the Raptors won their Division Title and raised the banner. They had zip to play for and were easily defeated by a Sixers team that was not heading to the post season.

So that is why tonight for my money (Weems Nickname Pun Unintended) the Raptors hope lies with Boston. As I outlined in the blog the Celtics still have a slim chance of catching the Hawks for 3rd in the East. The main motivation in securing that 3rd spot is you would draw Orlando in round 2 instead of Cleveland. Who regardless of who wins the final seed, Bulls or Raptors, will be a massive favourite to advance. In fact let's be honest about this they are a heavy favourite to win the NBA Title. Which was also one of my pre-season predictions. However if you think I am gloating trust me I am not. You remember who I had for 6th man of the year award winner? Rasheed Wallace was my pick and he has not exactly lit it up in Boston. But Go Sheed, right? At least tonight it will be the case. That was all the buzz on Twitter today with Raps fans. Trying to come to grips with cheering for the team that has punked the Raptors on so many occasions. That knee to Chris Bosh's groin by Paul Pierce is now water under the bridge. K.G smack talking with Jose Calderon a simple exchange of ideas. It is all very odd and bizarre.

The one person I will have no issue with cheering for on the Celtics in Rajon Rondo. I believe I have told this story in the blog before but it is worth repeating. I was out at a social gathering in the Early fall after the Big 3 was coming to Boston. I was among a group of people and the topic of the Celtics came up. Someone expressed extreme doubt that Rondo was good enough to make this all work. He suggested that the Celtics needed to get a point guard in order to make this make over a success. I at the time said " No you just wait and see, Rondo is going to be fine,trust me". Not sure if that person did or remembered this conversation, but the results have been very positive. Rondo in the Big 3 era has become a star. While the Big 3 has got old, Rondo has gotten better. In fact I am willing to say that the Celtics are now more about Rondo then they are about any of the Big 3. As Rondo goes so go the Celtics. He is the only reason they were able to hold off the Bulls from what would have been an epic upset last year. That series for some was one of the greatest of all time.

This is good news for the Raptors if you want to be optimistic. These two teams fought in a sports version of a war. That leads to bad blood and people not liking each other very much. So beyond having their own reasons to win, sticking it to the Bulls would be a cherry on top. If it helps the Raptors in the process so be it. I don't think the Celtics are fearing they would see the Raptors in the post season any way. Even if by some miracle they did they swept away the Raptors in 4 meetings this season and have traditionally owned them.

It also doesn't hurt that everyone is doubting the Celtics, and some may even favour them to lose in the first round, depending on who they draw as an opposition. This is for whatever you make think of them a group that has a lot of pride. Celtic Pride is a real thing, and even for a team that has some questionable characters that means something. Yes they talk smack, drop f-bombs and at times play like they are God's gift to the world. It is very easy not to like this team. They give you lots of ammo to hate them. But for this one night forget all that and cheer for them anyway. I feel you have no choice, because I honestly see this as the Raptors only hope to make the playoffs.

If you are one of those folks that doesn't want them to get into the playoffs you can do what is natural and cheer against them. I understand that logic may dictate missing the playoffs makes the most sense for the Raptors. After all they get to keep a first round draft pick. The chances of Chris Bosh staying seem bleak for most. I just can never get behind wanting the team that I support/cover to lose. It is just not something I can go to bed and sleep at night over. Yes, the chances of advancing are remote at best. If Chris Bosh is not healthy, which we still do not know for the playoffs, they become even less so. What is the point to getting in?

I will give you three off the top. Jack, Weems and DeRozan, none of which have made the post season. It will be a great experience for them, even if the Raptors were to be swept aside by the Cavs. To get a taste of what the playoffs are like. Many pro athletes have experienced and talked about it. There is absolutely nothing that can prepare you for the intensity of the post season. Every possession counts, the level of defense is turned up and cranked to the max. Wild crowds out of control with noise. I know it has been a few years but we all remember that right? There is nothing like it. Be it from Vince Carter and A.I doing battle to Vince Carter no longer a Raptor returning. The Playoffs is a different animal and the more experience not just those 3 can gain, but everyone the better the Raptors are for it. Getting to the post season is like a drug, once you get there you want to come back. Once you get a taste you want more. It is the biggest natural narcotic in sports and every player wants it once they have had it.

So that is my take on what will be a very odd night in Raptorland. If you happen to be a fan of the RoundBall Review that I do on here, the cartoon hosts have their own Twitter account. I know it seems a little nutty, but I asked folks on Twitter if it was a good idea and got 3 fast replies with enthusiastic responses to the positive. So if you would like to follow the antics of J.B and Joey G on Twitter they have an account DNBsRoundBall is them. If you some how do not follow the blog on Twitter please do @dinonationblog and also Anas is on Twitter to @ThisisAnas as for Danielle, I am working on it. Eventually will get the DNB's Double D on there as well. Read her NBA Column that just went up as I was working on this. She calls it Jiggly Bits. I love all our little DNB Family from my cartoon employees, to the living breathing ones, and yes all of you that read it and support it.

So Go Celtics Go. Really? Yes REALLY!!!