The life and death of Spencer Hawes! Blake Griffin (sorta) switched hands in midair against the Sixers last night. According to the announcers, the crowd went crazy — though given the fact that the crowd was in Philly, this could have been for any number of reasons (fighting over the spoils of a T-shirt cannon, mourning Hip-Hop, Iverson sighting, etc.)
So much amazing is happening, and the Shootaround crew is here to help you keep track of it all. You'll find takes on moments you might've missed from the previous night, along with ones you will remember forever.
Sometimes noise is better than words, so I won't say too many. You heard all the rumors, the Dominican Republic, broke, uncoachable, China, the gambling, the drinking. He's not gonna make the flight to Philly. It'll be a distraction. And then there he was, wearing a Lou Williams jersey, hat to the side, smile on his face and tears in his eyes. The fan with boxing gloves, raised in glory, because even if he didn't practice, he always fought. God, I even love the Joey Crawford hug, for some reason.
So much amazing is happening, and the Shootaround crew is here to help you keep track of it all. You'll find takes on moments you might've missed from the previous night, along with ones you will remember forever.
Dexter Pittman: "Hey LeBron, did you see what I did?"
LeBron James: "You mean, going out of your way to elbow Lance Stephenson as hard as you could in the final minute of a game that we were leading by 35 points?"
Dexter: "Yeah, that!"
LeBron: "I saw it, thanks for that. You're probably getting suspended, though."
Dexter: "Yeah, but he'll never give you the choke sign again, that's for sure! I SHOWED HIM!"
LeBron: "You sure did, Darius."
Dexter: "Dexter."
LeBron: "I mean Dexter."
Dexter: "If you want, I could try to run him over in the parking lot as he's walking to the Pacers' bus."
LeBron: "No, I think we're cool."
Dexter: "You want to grab something to eat?"
LeBron: "I can't, I made plans."
Dexter: "Want to play video games sometime?"
LeBron: "I don't really play video games anymore."
Dexter: "Well, if you ever want to hang, lemme know."
LeBron: "Sure thing, Darius."
— Bill Simmons
Along with Allen Iverson, Brian Dawkins is my favorite Philadelphia athlete ever. They both arrived in Philly in 1996, right when I left. And they both played with complete disregard for their own personal well-being, willing to do absolutely anything to win a game. There was nothing outside of the sport they were playing, nothing else mattered. And, as anyone from Philadelphia can tell you, that quality is valued most over almost any other. I would watch Sixers and Eagles games whenever I could. And whenever Iverson would go rampaging through the lane or Dawkins would separate a wide receiver's soul from his body, I would just think to myself, Yup. That's my hometown.
Jalen Rose is done talking about football. Methinks my pod partner is a little upset with the attention that the NFL gets during the offseason, so after briefly reviewing the Super Bowl (read: defending Gisele and Gronkowski), we turned our attention to the NBA. There was no shortage of NBA stories to tackle, what with Kevin Love stomping on people, Jeremy Lin scoring on people, and Shaquille O’Neal “sneak dissing” people. We also discussed Allen Iverson’s rumored return to pro basketball in Puerto Rico, and Jalen details exactly how NBA players can end up in financial trouble. The math might not work out down to the cent, but you will catch the gist of what he is getting at. Enjoy.
In late November, the new owners of the Philadelphia 76ers announced that Hip-Hop, a doo-rag-wearing rabbit who was the team mascot since 1996, had “relocated to a rural part of Pennsylvania to start a family.” We can read between the lines. That’s corporate code-speak for “sentenced to 12 years in Frackville State Correctional Facility for his role in a home invasion robbery spree.” But whatever the cause for Hip-Hop’s removal, it may have been time for a change.
