After a long weekend out of town, I'm back facing the prospects of writing something about Game 3 (box score). Although I watched it and enjoyed a few moments here and there (that video above was not one of those moments), I'm taking the easy way out. It's not fun for me or useful to you to invest too much time covering old (and depressing) news.
If you're desperate to supplement your mainstream coverage, you'll be happy to see that Need4Sheed and Mind of Boney did a bang-up covering the game.
To catch up with some news -- some old, some new, some in between -- here's a handful of links for you to digest while pretending to work:
- That's one brutal dunk by LBJ up there. I just feel bad Rasheed Wallace is the one in the poster -- Chris Webber looked awfully lost and slow in the paint before flashing some matador defense.
- It took most fans (including me) a few days to discover the elbow LeBron James delivered to Chris Webber's head in Game 1, and it took the NBA even longer to respond. So what did they do? Assess an after-the-fact flagrant foul 2, which usually carries a $5,000 fine, but not suspend him.
Taken alone, it's probably the right call ... but taken after a regular season in which Kobe Bryant was suspended twice for a similar infraction, and then after a playoff series in which the Suns lost two players to non-violent infraction and the whole thing leaves a bad taste in my mouth (and no, I'm not tasting sour grapes). Besides, the whole "announce the thing on a Friday and not issue an official statement" reeks of a cover-up.
- A. Sherrod Blakely thinks LeBron was helped by Tayshaun Prince's ankle injury. I think LeBron was simply due.
I also think ... wait, Tay has an ankle injury? Here's to hoping it's so minor we never hear of it again.
- Speaking of injuries, Larry Hughes is almost certainly out for Game 4 after suffering a partial tear in his plantar fascia. I think Hughes' length has been a huge reason that Chauncey Billups has struggled in the first three games, so here's to hoping Billups can get back on track.
While it's unfortunate that Cleveland is losing a key guy this late in the playoffs, is anyone actually surprised that it's Hughes who has an injury? Being available only 80% of the time (if that) has been his m.o. since coming into the league.
- And, just for kicks, from Brian Windhorst of the Akron Beacon Journal (via TrueHoop):
Yesterday, Mike Brown told a story about seeing teenagers around town and, after raving about LeBron, always want him to say hello to Andy. Mike surmised that Andy is pretty popular with the teeny-boppers. Well, let me just say this, over the last three years I've gotten e-mails from members of the gay community who have professed their infatuation with the mop-topped Brazilian as well. Meanwhile, the female members of the media covering this series are all jealous of Andy's hair and have asked him about what products he uses. So I guess the only thing I can say about Varejao is, men want him and women want to be him."
- Is LeBron a bad fit for Team USA? I often question Sam Smith's sources, but even if the article is taken without any insider knowledge, his own observations are probably spot on.