The Western Conference

The teams, ranked according to their playoff seedings, in three words or less.

1. LA Lakers: Kobe M-V-P
2. New Orleans Hornets: They can sting
3. Houston Rockets: First round knockout
4. Utah Jazz: Picking and rolling
   
5. Phoenix Suns: Running in place
   
6. San Antonio Spurs: Not repeating
7. Dallas Mavericks: So screwed
8. Golden State Warriors: Upset City
   
9. Denver Nuggets: Thanking Dirk
10. Portland Trailblazers: Waiting for Oden
11. Sacramento Kings: KJ for Mayor
    
12. LA Clippers: Familiar territory
    
13. Minnesota Timberwolves: Envying green
    
14. Memphis Grizzlies: Not like D'Antoni
    
15. Seattle Supersonics: Moving

Kevin Garnett: Turning The Other Cheek

How appropriate, given the Holy Week, to see NBA superstar Kevin Garnett turn the other cheek in the face of (dumbass) allegations by Minnesota Timberwolves owner Glen Taylor that KG "tanked it" in the homestretch of last season.

Says Taylor:

"It was more like KG tanked it. I think the other guys still wanted to play. But it sure changed the team and didn't make us [as good]."

Garnett didn't hit back. "First off, I want to say Glen Taylor was good to me when I was a Timberwolf and I'm a Boston Celtic now," Garnett said. "I'm not going to be going back and forth saying tasteless things. That's not my character."

KG doesn't have to say anything. His actions and his 13-year career speaks for itself. He's always played his guts out, and in the worst of times in Minnesota, he never forced a trade or sulked, as some of his contemporaries have done recently.

Kevin Garnett has always had class. And he proved it here.

Boston: Where Amazing Happens

In honor of the Boston Celtics, a video I made that says it all.

Big Green Defensive Machine

The Houston Rockets' Tracy McGrady paid tribute to the Boston Celtics' defense after their 94-74 thrashing at the hands of the NBA's best team:

"I've never seen a defense like that. I mean, if they play defense like that, night in and night out, the NBA is in trouble because that was defense at its finest."

The Celtics ended the Rockets' 22-game win streak convincingly, beating the streaking Rockets by 20 big points.

Making the win more impressive was the fact that it came a night after Boston's equally impressive two-point victory over the San Antonio Spurs, whom they beat, 93-91, after rallying from 22 points down.

Kids, This is How to Play Defense

I only learned today, via an article by ESPN's John Hollinger, that Houston Rockets forward Shane Battier has never made NBA All-Defensive Team. Holy crap. The NBA is full of injustice (Isiah Thomas, still with the Knicks), but this one just takes the cake. There are a couple of players who are known for playing excellent defense, something that's rewarded by spots on the All-Defensive Team, i.e., Ron Artest, Marcus Camby, and Bruce Bowen. To me, Shane Battier has always been a part of that list; that he hasn't been officially recognized for his tough (and very smart) D is a travesty.

The photo above, taken during Houston's fantastic win over the LA Lakers, illustrates just how effective a defender Battier is. He gets in your face--literally and figuratively. As Hollinger astutely points out in his article, Battier doesn't try to block the jump shots of scorers like Bryant; he finds a way to stick his hand over the shooter's face as the latter releases his shot. The feat is harder than it looks or sounds. If you watched Battier cover Bryant in the Houston-LA game, you'll notice that Battier slides his whole arm in between Bryant's arms when Kobe takes a shot.

It's not only that Battier does this, it's that he does this every time. EVERY TIME. He's friggin' relentless. Hollinger points out that Battier covered Kobe with almost no help from his team-mates, and Hollinger is right. Battier hounded Bryant like a shadow, and, more impressively, he never let up. A Battier defensive play in the fourth quarter shows just how persistent he is. Bryant brushes Battier off a screen, spinning off the screen (watching Kobe dribble is a thing of beauty) and then quickly rising of his feet to take the jumper; Kobe thinks Battier is gone; so do I; but then Battier runs around the pick and leaps to block what Kobe thought was an open shot.

After the game, Battier was slumped in the shower room and said that a guy deserves a couple of beers after running after Kobe for forty-plus minutes.

I say give this guy a keg.

(Nathaniel S. Butler/NBAE/Getty Images)

Twenty-two!

I had to wake up at four in the friggin' morning to watch the Houston Rockets win their twenty-second straight game, but boy, was it worth it. Years from now I'll be able to say that I watched history unfold, to say that––should the Rockets fall to the Boston Celtics tomorrow, as I believe they will––I saw (1) the Rockets win the last game of the second-best winning streak in League history; (2) Shane Battier make Kobe Bryant look human; and (3) watch Houston rocket from tenth to first in the Western Conference, in the span of two months. Houston, 104, LA, 92.