NBA 2012 All-Star Reserves

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Last week the 2012 NBA all-star starters were announced for the game in Orlando on February 26^th. Without much surprise the East consisted of LeBron James and Carmelo Anthony at the forward spots, Dwyane Wade and Derrick Rose as the guards, and Dwight Howard at center. The West starters selected were Kobe Bryant, Chris Paul, Kevin Durant, Blake Griffin, and Andrew Bynum (first appearance). Now that the fan voting is done the all-star reserves get to be selected with the official announcement tomorrow. I’m going to give a list of the players who I think should be selected and why they deserve to play in the 2012 all-star game.

Eastern Conference Reserves

PG – Rajon Rondo: He’s the third best point guard in the east, but the second best on a winning team and is the leader of the Celtics (it shouldn’t be the big 3, it should be Rondo, Pierce and friends) so he certainly deserves a spot in the all-star game.

SG/SF – Andre Iguodala: The Philadelphia 76ers are one of the best teams in the league and give teams problems with their lock-down defense. Since someone from this team deserves an all-star selection, why not choose the 76ers leader on both ends of the floor. His scoring numbers may not look flashy, but Iguodala has been one of the best wing defenders in the league for a few years and contributes to his team’s offense with smart ball movement. He’s definitely playing like an all-star in my eyes this year.

SG/SF – Joe Johnson: The Hawks have surprised me this season since I thought they would plummet in the standings (especially after the Horford injury) but they have kept it together with the leadership of Joe Johnson. His numbers are about the same as last year but he has taken that leader role and has done a great job so far, as indicated by the Hawks record.

SF – Luol Deng: If the NBA rewards winning with all-star appearances then the Bulls should have 2 all-stars. Deng has been the second best player on the Bulls for the last few years (since Rose stepped in as the franchise player) and finally deserves some recognition for his hard work.

SF – Paul Pierce: Pierce is playing like his usual all-star self, meaning he’s destined to go to Orlando in a few weeks. The Celtics have struggled (especially due to injuries) but Pierce has stepped it up recently, especially when he led the whole team while Rondo was out by averaging 7 assists per game.

PF – Chris Bosh: Bosh was on a tear while Wade was out and gave us glimpses of his days as a Raptor. His scoring numbers have increased from last year and it also helps that his team stands 2^nd in the East.

C – Roy Hibbert: Indiana deserves a player in the all-star game, the only problem is who to pick. It’s really tough picking a player on such a well balanced team, so let’s go through the starters. Granger (the “franchise” player) has been shooting the ball poorly this year and is not looking like the leader on this team. George and Collison have both been solid, but not all-star worthy and West is nowhere near his old all-star form. I have to go with Hibbert since he’s been a dominant force on offense and defense. He’s averaging career highs in points, rebounds, blocks, and field goal percentage and is the second best center in the East. I think he should be a lock as an all-star and hopefully the GMs think the same way.

Western Conference Reserves

PG – Russell Westbrook: He is a top 6 point guard who is on the 2^nd best team in the league so I don’t think much needs to be said here. Side note: He can finally play shooting guard (his natural position).

PG – Tony Parker: Parker has really impressed me this year with his overall play. He has increased his scoring from last year and is averaging a career high in assists (career high after 10 years in the league!?). I believe he’s the best player on the Spurs right now who sit comfortably in 2^nd in the West. Duncan’s best days are over (averaging career lows in almost everything) so Parker should be representing the Spurs at the all-star game this year.

PG – Ty Lawson: The Denver Nuggets offense has been fun and exciting to watch, which is run by a 5’11 (he’s probably 5’9) point guard by the name of Ty Lawson. Lawson has been excellent this year and has raised his numbers across the board. He should get a free trip to Orlando to showcase his talent with the success he and his team are having. I would have considered putting Gallinari here but he’s likely out for 3-4 weeks.

PF – Paul Millsap: The Jazz have been surprisingly good this year (they were 2^nd in the West at one point) mostly due to their front court due of Millsap and Al Jefferson. Both of these guys are worthy of a spot but I would have to go with Millsap. Statistically they are about equal but Millsap brings up the energy level of the entire team with his hustle (3.3 o.reb/game) and hard work.

PF – Kevin Love: 25 and 14…enough said.

PF/C – LaMarcus Aldridge: Aldridge elevated his game to an all-star level last year, but was unfortunate to be the last cut in the West. This year he’s averaging 2 more points and is leading the Blazers to the playoffs. If 24 and 9 with a good team record isn’t enough for a trip to Orlando then I don’t know what is.

C – Marc Gasol: Gasol makes his 4^th all star game…wait Marc Gasol…what?? Yes, Marc Gasol has been the best center in the West this year (and has outplayed his brother) averaging career highs in points (15), rebounds (10), assists (2.7), and blocks (2.2). He has picked up the slack when Randolph went down with a knee injury and has emerged as the Grizzlies MVP. He has earned his spot in the all-star game. Side note: Hey Pau, at least one Gasol will be participating in the game!

Best Cartoons Growing up II

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I think enough time has passed since our last look at old-school cartoons (which you can read up on here) that we can look at another one. After wasting (worth it) at least 30 minutes on YouTube trying to find which cartoon I would write about, I settled on two. The first one will be Disney's Filmore, and the second one will be Doug.

The premise of Filmore is simple enough: A middle school is treated like real life (think CSI for kids) with ace hall-monitor Filmore in charge of preventing students from various 'criminal offenses' (handing out test answers, sabotaging pep rallies, stealing school projects). Of course, it is never that easy. Filmore has to find a balance between justice and what the politics of the school dictate (the politicians being the principal and the "chief" of the student police). Look, I could talk on and on about how great this show was, but if you clicked the video above ask yourself this: How can a show be bad with an intro like that? The best part is that You Tube has the episodes, so they are not difficult to watch from time to time and get that great feeling of being a kid again. You know, before words such as: tutorial, mid-term, lecture slides, and professor ever existed. Anyways, the show is always watchable and I know that if you watched it as a kid you will have a blast watching it again. If you were unlucky enough not to have seen this, I guarantee you will appreciate the intelligent way in which kids cartoons used to be made. It goes without say that if this came back on TV with new episodes, I would watch.

I almost forgot how good this show was until I watched a few episodes again. Instead of telling you what the show is about, I will let you figure that out from the opening intro. Again, if you did not watch this as a kid, its not too late to see what you missed out on. Anyways, check back often for more nostalgia such as this. Also we have a twitter account! Follow us @MillenniumSandE. cheers!

The Winners and Losers from the Super Bowl

Tweet Obviously we know that the Giants won and the Patriots lost, Cabrock will have a recap of that up shortly. In the mean time, here are some additional winners and losers from last night.

Winners: Tom Coughlin and Eli Manning

From a historical standpoint, these guys are now both locks for the hall-of-fame and even have an aura of invincibility in big games now. This was truly a masterful season of coaching from Couglin; whose team basically played 5 straight playoff games (remember: they were 7-7 and almost missed out at one point). As for Eli, he holds both the "toughest QB in the game" mantle, as well as the "Most clutch QB in the game" one. No one player has ever increased his legacy so vastly in one season of play.

Losers: Deion Branch, Wes Welker, Aron Hernandez

These guys spent the entire season making routine (and moderately difficult) catches, en-route to another Super Bowl appearance... only to drop crucial catches at the worst possible time (I think I will call this the Asante Samuel disease that he apparently infected the Patriots locker room with). Even Giselle Bundchen (a.k.a. Mrs. Tom Brady) called these guys out: "My husband can't throw and catch the ball at the same time!" Ouch.

Winners: Mario Manningham

Had the catch of the game, with a myriad of other tough snags, and provided Eli with an outlet throughout the game. Brilliant performance from him.

Winners: Tom Brady

Say what you will about the man, he made all of the plays he had to, including a near completion on the Hail-Mary. At one point in the game he completed 16 passes in a row, his one mistake was having the guile to throw a jump-ball between the best tight-end in football and a line-backer. Side note: Gronkowski was not the same player last night, the Patriots might have been better off not playing him at all. Anyways, the only thing you need to know about Brady is this: When Bradshaw ran in (stupidly) for the 'reluctant' touchdown, a vivid Cabrock Jones jumped off the couch (he was cheering for the Giants) and provided us with this gem: "NOOOOO, you IDIOT, NOOO" When our horrified friend Marko (a non-football fan) asked him why the hell he was upset with a touchdown, Cabrock response was priceless: "Because Tom Fu***** Terrific is an A** You dont understand that he will win this now!". Our boy Cabrock dishes out the hate, but it was really nice seeing him showing Brady respect, even if it was in a fit of rage.

Winners: The Waterloo crew

Threw a great weekend for the Superbowl, good job guys!

Loser: Ahmad Bradshaw

If Branch and Hernandez caught those passes and the patriots went on to win, he would be looked at as the guy who made the worst play of all time. The Giants should have just knelt it and not allowed for a mistake like that to happen.

Loser: The NFL rule-book

With the Patriots desperately trying to mount a game winning drive, the Giants placed 12-men on the field (probably by accident). This allowed them to get a stop, while time ran down, so how were they punished? A measly 5-yards was awarded to the Patriots. You may not think that this is a big deal, but just wait until next year when Belichick starts throwing out 16 players on defense and wins a game because the penalty is so insignificant compared to the advantage the defense gains.

That's it from me, hit us up later in the day for Cabrock's take

The Sad Case of the Memphis Grizzlies

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Earlier this season when Zach Randolph went down in a heap with, what turned out to be a torn MCL, the first two words I thought of were: Chris and Webber. Why the hell would I think of him? Because this Memphis squad reminds me a lot of the old Kings teams, and how a little bit of bad luck can ruin an opportunity to win a title. If we were to compare this version of Memphis with that version of Sacramento we would see some similarities. The defensive prowess of Tony Allen and Doug Christie, the bench impact of O.J. Mayo and Bobby Jackson, the passing skill of Divac (a big man from Europe) and Gasol (a big man from Europe), and of course; a star power-forward with a good inside-out game who struggled before finding the right team (for Webber it was Sacramento, for Randolph it was Memphis). Obviously there are differences as well: Conely and Rudy Gay are vastly different then Bibby and Stojakovic but the fact remains that (when healthy) both teams had arguably the best starting five's in the league. Notice I did not say best player (LeBron) or best one-two punch (Durant/Westbrook), but F-I-V-E, Memphis has arguably the best combination of players and a sixth-man in the league. But their inherent problem has not been choking (they have several players who can hit big shots), or lack of talent (see above) it has been bad luck (refer to the word in bold above).


Last season, Memphis came out of the gate struggling, but as the season progressed it became clear that this team was a lot better then people thought. Once everything started to click (the Grizzlies had a 12-3 record in the period of Jan 21 - Feb 21 of last season) it seemed like this could be a team to contend. Then Rudy Gay was proclaimed out for the year. Memphis still finished the season on a decent 15-10 run but could only muster an eight seed. We all know what happened next, they thoroughly outplayed San Antonio and only a 3OT loss in game 5 to OKC on the road could stop them. Does a healthy Rudy Gay make the difference for that team? Could the 2011 Grizzlies have won the title if they stayed healthy? One could certainly argue that they would have had a much better chance, just like the 02' Kings (Peja-ankle), 03' Kings (Webber-knee) and 04' Kings (Jackson-abdomen) probably would have. Which is exactly why I was so disappointed when Zach Randolph was injured. Although news has come out that he has progressed fantastically and will not be done for the year (as coach Hollins told SI the other day) will this Memphis team that had no training camp (lockout be damned), and few prolonged stretches of playing together be able to get things together for a title run? If last year's Mavericks squad taught us anything its that defense, teamwork, and execution down the stretch go a long way towards winning. Memphis can do all of those things, whether they will catch a few breaks remains to be seen.

A team gets very few opportunities to win a title before the window closes. Having seen that happen to my favorite team, i hate seeing it happen to a team that is so similar. Here is hoping that Memphis can pull it together and take their chance before time runs out on them.