NBA 2K10 Tournament

Some of my closest friends and I held a NBA 2K10 Basketball Tournament on the Playstation 3 console. I warned them that any such tournament would end with me being victorious. Check out the pictures and see who won.

PLAYERS/TEAMS

1. Sly-Up tempo player that loves to go one-on-one with Carmelo Anthony, loves to block shots with Birdman and will nail the walk up 3 with Billups.

2. Justin (Me) -Run and Gun is the name of my game, I believe in the Suns philosophy of 7 seconds or less. Love the 3 Ball, and will lock up on the wing.

3. Marc -This guy plays just like Tim Duncan! He slows the game down and takes high percentage shots with Duncan, and goes in for dunks with Jefferson.

4. DC-He will either blow you out, or get blown out. The C's will trap you to death and he makes sure to turn those turnovers into points.

5. Mike -Emotional player that relies heavily on Rudy Gay. As Rudy goes so does Mike, which wasn't that far.

6. Ewane-Not the most skilled player but he uses the Hawks well and can get more out of Joe Johnson than Coach Mike Woodson can.

TOURNAMENT RECAP

The tournament consisted of a round robin in which each player played everyone once and then the top 4 seeds were placed into a Final Four...

Marc and Sly competing to get into the Final Four...

Final Four is set

Sly and I duke it out for the Championship...


If there was any doubt about my skills on the sticks, I put them to rest...

The evidence of the Blowout

"If you think you're nice Challenge Him!" -Charlie Murphy (Chappelle Show)

I think he was talking about me. Lol

Peace,

Agent 34

The Air up There must be Cold!

The title of this post says it all on so many different levels, the man who defined gravity over his NBA reign was just as cold in his acceptance speech as he was on the court. While I sat watching the H.O.F induction ceremony I listened to John Stockton, and David Robinson thank old teammates, coaches, and the organization that drafted players in order for them to win. The Admiral even said he prayed to god to send him a compliment the likes of Tim Duncan, and even went on to call him the "Greatest power forward to play the game."

Listening to MJ's speech you only heard him genuinely thank Scottie Pippen for "being there during my 6 championships", and even that was somewhat of a slight. Without Pippen Jordan arguably could have had no rings and just a host of scoring titles. His Airness referenced the Chicago organization saying "The organization didn't play with the flu in Utah". No Mike they didn't, but what they did do was give you Toni Kukoc and Dennis Rodman (who were both in attendance but not mentioned) to help you win, when your skills were on the decline.

One of the biggest surprises of the night was Jordan's take on Isiah Thomas and George Gervin whom were deemed responsible for his '85 All-Star freeze out. "I wanted to prove to you and everybody that I deserved to be there just much as anybody else, and I hope over the period of my career I've done that without a doubt." I was 2 years old when that 'freeze out" occured and had to research what he was talking about. My point is that it was 24 years ago..WHO CARES! He went on to say that they were the reason his competitive fire never died and even told his kids "I wouldn't want to be you."

Like most great men and women in history they are flawed. JFK had Marilyn, Whitney had Bobby, and MJ has well; his own ego. The sad part of the whole night, is that Jordan didn't see a thing wrong with anything he was saying. You almost wanted him to laugh off some of the lines, but it never happened. He spoke from the heart and you could tell he meant every word of it, even when he said "Don't be surprised if you see me back at 50."

On a night when being gracious and humble is expected, Jordan fell to an all-time low and did more to stain his legacy than he ever could have in a Wizards jersey. Charles Barkley looked shocked during the ceremony (not once did MJ mention him) and rightefully so listening to MJ relish the memories of torching (overated defender) Byron Russel. I admire Jordan for what he did on the court and his business model off the court, but I draw the line there. Our society puts athletes on platforms when they achieve the unthinkable, and its only right to show them to their seat when their time is up.

Michael Jeffrey Jordan Welcome To The Hall Of Fame..Please Take Your Seat!


'Agent 34

Shaq -VS- Lebron (Pre-Game)

By now I'm sure even the most average NBA fan has seen LeBron's pregame ritual of taking pictures of his teammates before tipoff..right? Well if not here are a few clips of King James getting his troops fired up. This has sparked some uneccesary controversy from the likes of Charles Barkley (not the biggest LeBron fan) on whether or not this should be acceptable as a pre-game ritual. Also, its worth mentioning that LeBron still does his signature "powder toss" in front of the scoring table as well.

Now, the Great Shaqctus has taken it upon himself to openly challenge LeBron to a pre-game celebration contest in which the fans will judge the winner. Here is a clip of what Shaq and the Suns came up with the other night verses the Wizards.
Shaq Goes Bowling

The Big Aristotle says that LeBrons intro is "weak" and that he has an unlimited array of ideas that he will be unleashing if King James accepts the challenge. I'm not sure who will be the winner but I know Shaq is a pretty creative guy, especially after seeing the 300 pounder transform into a Jabawackee.

So who do you think will win the contest? My vote is for Shaq. He's a seasoned vet with more experience in getting the crowd involved.

Heres a few more pictures to help you decide who is more entertaining, and remember this is pre-game only.





















Peace,
Agent 34

Mid-Season Awards

We are almost at the halfway mark of the 2009 season and much has changed since opening night. Some teams have lived up to the hype while others have flamed out, and then there are a few surprise teams in the mix. Also, there are players who have bounced back from injury, MVP candidates and budding superstars. Here is a look at the biggest milestones thus far..

MVP

Kobe Bryant has picked up where he left off last season and is still in MVP form. The Lakers are off to the 2nd best record in the league at 35-9 and have a stronghold on the tough Western Conference. KB24 is practicing less is more by succumbing to only 20 shots a game, and his teammates seem to be reaping the rewards. The early favorite for the award was LeBron James but after the duo squared off in LA; its Kobe's race to lose.

NEXT BIG THING

Danny Granger has been taking great strides since coming into the crowded draft of 2005(CP3, C-Bosh ect.) Once Jermaine O'Neal was traded the team needed a new leader and Granger has lived up to the bill. He is currently 4th in scoring at slightly under 26pts a game. Not only is he turning into a proven scorer but he also has shown a nac for hitting the big shots. He has 2 buzzer beaters under his belt this season, and a would be 3 only to be 1 upped by CP3 in New Orleans with a walk off 3 pointer. Granger should be an All-Star reserve, and he currently has Indy eying the 8th seed in the East.

SURPRISE TEAM

The Orlando Magic have taken the league by surprise and are proving to be contenders not only in the East, bur for a Championship. Led by; Superman 2 Dwight Howard(20pts-13rpg), the Magic are off to a 34-10 record and just completed an impressive 4-0 West coast trip only to return home and get beaten handedly by the Boston Celtics. This team lives and dies by the 3pt shot, when they are effective they are truly unbeatable, but some nights the shot doesn't fall and they are exposed. Time will tell whether this team is a true Contender.

6TH MAN OF THE YEAR

Jason Terry has been a proven scorer in this league for a quite a few years, bur only a few players can match their production coming off of the bench. Not only has he matched it, but he is playing some of the best ball of his career. At 20ppg he is proving to be a great compliment to Dirk Norwitzki as they are slowly becoming a dangerous team in the crowded Western Conference.

ROOKIE OF THE YEAR
This was a tough choice, even halfway through the season its hard to pick a clear cut favorite for the ROY. Derrick Rose is slightly ahead of O.J Mayo at this point just
because of the pressure that comes with running the point in the NBA. Also, the Bulls have a much better record than the Grizzlies and should vie for a playoff spot. Rose is second in scoring at 16ppg and is learning to trust his teammates more with a above modest 6.3 assists a game.






Peace,
Agent34

Chasing History

Here we are almost halfway through the NBA Season and so much has changed, while a lot has remained the same throughout the league. The emergence of the Celtics as one of the All-Time Greatest teams is the biggest story of the season.  After defeating the Philadelphia 76ers lastnight; Boston has pushed their win streak to 19 and setting up a showdown in LA for 20 in a row on Christmas Day. 

1971-72 Lakers won 33 Consecutive Games...

If Boston wants to achieve this feat they will first have to match the 22 game win streak (2nd All-Time) that the Houston Rockets put up last year on their late season playoff run.  To put these Celtics in perspective, dont forget that they are the defending NBA Champions and historically are supposed to be still in celebration mode following the ring ceremony on opening night.  But these guys are different led by a fiery leader in Garnett who seamingly injects heart into even the less exasperated  players (Ray Allen-Shows the same emotion he portrayed as Jesus Shuttlesworth in He Got Game) and its contagious on the defensive end; where championships are won I might add.  The C's have already written themselves a page in the history books as they just set the record for most wins by ANY celtic team.  Thats saying a lot seeing as how they won 11 straight titles, and that is something that will NEVER happen again.  Stay tuned as we see how far this improbable run will last and if we could see our first repeat champs since the 2002..Lakers.  See you in LA.

Merry X-Mas,

Agent34