The Drubbing

We have a number of hoops-heads at The Drubbing.  We believe that the NBA season can be saved.  We believe that Dwayne Wade’s shouting match with Commissioner Stern will not lead us any closer to a new collective bargaining agreement.  We believe that one player has the capability to thwart basketball Armageddon.

That player said that he would fly to New York for future negotiations if the negotiations were at a point that warranted his attendance.  That player could save the NBA.  That player’s name is Kobe Bryant.  This is the story of how Kobe Bryant taking over the role of lead negotiator on behalf of the Union will save the NBA season.
Continue reading “Alternative Ending for the NBA lockout of 2011″ →

Our 2011 NBA Mock Draft concludes with picks 21 through 30. If you missed it make sure to check out the first 10 picks in Part 1 and picks 11 through 20 in Part 2.

21. Portland Trail Blazers

Jeremy Tyler (PF) – Tokyo Apache (Japan)

If Portland could trade the 21st pick in the draft for new knees for Brandon Roy they would, but they can’t.  Given that Andre Miller is the starting point guard and that his back-up is Patty Mills (really?), Portland decides that it needs to select size and goes with Jeremy Tyler who averaged 9.9 points per game and 6.4 rebounds per game while playing for Tokyo Apache in Japan.  This pick should work out for Portland about as well as Greg Oden, but at least they didn’t pass on Durant to draft Tyler.  This seems to bring us back to the Jailblazers days as write-ups on Tyler say that he needs to work on “maturity.”  I’d also guess that he needs to work on rebounding since he couldn’t average six and a half in the Japanese league.
Continue reading “2011 NBA Mock Draft: Part 3″ →

Our 2011 NBA Mock Draft continues with picks 11 through 20. If you missed it make sure to check out the first 10 picks in Part 1.

11. Golden State Warriors

Tristan Thompson (PF) – Texas

Mark Jackson’s first draft should be interesting. He brings a lot to the table. Jackson has zero years of experience as a coach, but he is a grown man. With that said, mama there goes that man, Tristan Thompson. Think of Thompson as a Taj Gibson like player, adding depth and rebounding to the Warriors’ front court. The Warriors need help with their depth everywhere and Thompson is the best player left on the board of a woefully weak draft. Jackson himself could re-enter his name in this draft and get picked in the 1st round.
Continue reading “2011 NBA Mock Draft: Part 2″ →

The order is set, the players have done their workouts, the teams have had their meetings. The only thing left for us to do is have a mock draft. With the help of Ryan and Rodney we’ve tried to get into the head of NBA GM’s to predict their moves and lay out a roadmap for what they should do. We’ll post the full round one mock draft over the next few days, but here are the first 10 picks.

1. Cleveland Cavaliers

With the first pick in the 2011 NBA Draft, Dan Gilbert, Nick Gilbert, the Cleveland Cavaliers, John Kasich, the State of Ohio, Joshua Cribbs, Joe Haden, Bernie Kosar  and Vincent Connare select… Derrick Williams (PF) – Arizona.

While this pick does nothing to settle Cleveland’s point guard battle between the ghost of Baron Davis and Under-Performing 1st Team selection Ramon Sessions, Williams is the safest pick in this weak and PG heavy draft. He’ll immediately compete with the aging Antawn Jamison for minutes and will surely shoot a higher field goal percentage. Williams’ biggest plus will be providing the easy buckets that the Cavs have so dearly missed since a certain someone took his “talents” to South Beach.

Added bonus, everyone knows Khan can’t resist drafting point guards so he’ll have no choice but to field a roster with Johny Flynn, Luke Ridnour, Ricky Rubio and Kyrie Irving.
Continue reading “2011 NBA Mock Draft: Part 1″ →

We love our athletes.  I know I do.  I had posters on my wall growing up of Michael Jordan, Frank Thomas, Pavel Bure and of course Kathy Ireland.  The latter is another story for another time, but I digress.  We idolize them and even put together our own little game of “American Idol” together to select our favorite.   We even go back and forth between teams because we may follow a particular player or buy new jerseys when they change their number.  With every generation there are players we look up to as kids and even as we grow into adults with a kids heart, we continue to follow them even though they are not what they were in their prime.  But as I look around at yesterdays and todays athletes, I believe there is a vast hole of this “Idle” winner in the world today… if you’re looking in the wrong place.

Continue reading “America’s Idle” →

What if there is life on other planets?
What if we found out who the Babushka lady was?
What if women didn’t ask men if they looked fat…ever?
What if Ricky Martin really isn’t gay?
What if LeBron doesn’t win a ring in Miami?

All age-old questions but only one seems to have our attention this summer.

Don’t get me wrong, I’m not trying to downplay extraterrestrials, just in case they’re reading this and want to probe me on their next trip zippin around the galaxy or Ricky Martins Menudoesqe rise and fall to fame, again, due to his zombie-like 15-year stroll out of the closet.  LeBron James’s signing in Miami for 6 years in the summer of 2010 will go down as both the greatest signing and pairing in professional sports history or…I’ll say it:

The biggest bust ever.In any sport.
Ever.
Bigger than Ryan Leaf and Sam Bowie.  Combined. Times infinity. Plus one.
Continue reading “What if…” →

Dan Gilbert got to write his letter to LeBron. Now it’s my turn. But this one isn’t just for LeBron. I’ve got something for everyone involved.

To Cleveland Fans

I’m sorry. You didn’t deserve this. Your city has endured enough. While LeBron was in Cleveland you were nothing but supportive and loyal. There’s nothing that can be said that will take away the sting of this, but let me offer you a few pieces of advice. Don’t follow Dan Gilbert’s lead. You’re better than that. Try not to blame LeBron for leaving. The Cavs management had plenty of chances to do what was necessary to keep him around but they didn’t. That’s not LeBron’s fault.
Continue reading “My LeBron Letter” →

While The Drubbing was conspicuously silent over “The Decision” and has been so far during The Summer of LeBron, one individual has not been so quiet. Here’s what “Multiple Sources” had to say during a recent sit-down with TBJ.
Continue reading “Multiple Sources” →

One of the greatest sports quotes of all time. It’s old, but it never gets old. In an exchange with a sports reporter during his time on the New York Knicks, the following occurred with Michael “Sugar” Ray Richardson.

Reporter: What do you think is happening to the team?
Richardson: The ship be sinking.
Reporter: How far can it sink?
Richardson: Sky’s the limit.

The sky is the limit indeed.

Life on the road for NBA players is hard. You spend days or weeks away from your home and your families. You spend night after night in hotel beds. Each day is spent mostly in transit from plane to bus to hotel to bus to stadium to bus to plane and so on. But every team has to do it. Some teams even have notoriously tough annual pilgrimages like the Chicago Bulls and their “Circus Road Trip” that they endure each year while The Ringling Brothers Circus takes over the United Center.We know it’s not all rainbows and unicorns, so most teams just play through it. But the New York Knicks aren’t most teams.
Continue reading “A weak excuse from the New York Knicks” →