(This is how I prefer to remember Kevin McHale)

Losing Minnesota…Someone needs to explain to me how it is that Dwayne Casey got fired…I guess because GM Kevin McHale was not about to fire himself…I guess because Randy Wittman, a former head coach for the Cavs, was brought in as an assistant, or really as a standby replacement for Casey’s inevitable firing …I guess because Casey “lost” (coach-speak for could no longer get said player to play hard for or even listen to the coach) shooting guard Ricky Davis, which is like saying you’ve lost Atlantis, Davis being a an executive level member of the NBA’s all-knucklehead 1st team…I guess it’s because Casey was seemingly the first coach ever to get 7 foot space-cadet centre Mark Blount to actually play hard (averaging 13.2 PPG and 6.6 RPG vs. career averages of 8.0 PPG and 4.7 RPG) and fulfill maybe an ounce or two of his 250 lbs. of potential…I guess because winning 7 of your 1st 8 games in January to move into the last available playoff spot in the very tough Western Division and then losing 4 straight is McHale’s definition of “inconsistent” the main reason for the firing offered in a rambling press conference the other day…I guess because you go 7-5 in the month of January, during which three of your 4 losses come to Utah, Detroit and Phoenix (3 of the toughest teams in the NBA) and one of those losses comes with Garnett suspended (for trying to spank Antonio McDyess in the face…come on people, NBA “punches” are more like the patty cake spank you use to put baby powder on an infant’s behind…meaning without really trying to make much contact and soft as, well you get it…)…I guess because the T-wolves as an organization feel that they’ve surrounded Garnett with sufficient talent to go all the way and a 20-20 record was not going to cut it, even tough they lead the league in combo guards (Bracey Wright, Rashad McCants, Marko Jaric, Mike James, Troy Hudson, Randy Foye, Ricky Davis) with nary a real point guard to be found…I guess because they steadfastly refuse to blow this team up and trade Garnett while he still has value (read: knee cartilage) and before he becomes a giant version of Ernie Banks…Anyway…I’m though guessing, because it’s just another delusional cracksmoker move (delusional cracksmoker…as opposed to all of those self-aware ones I guess) from T-Wolves land that reeks of a desperate GM who’s duped his owner into overpaying for average talent that can’t be fired so oops, there goes the coach…

OK I feel better…

How good are the Phoenix Suns right now…it’s more of a statement than a question, and they made a huge statement last night overwhelming the Washington Wizards 127-105, shooting 60.8% from the floor, with our very own Stevie “Canuck” Nash going fore 27 points on 11-13 from the field including 3-4 from three with 14 assists and 3 rebounds…more how good are they? Consider three things:

1) If Gilbert Arenas doesn’t bank in a three with 30 seconds left from the top of the key on December 22nd to win the game for the Wiz in OT…
2) and 2 nights later Dirk Nowitzki doesn’t hit a desperation fadeaway 19 footer with 1.3 seconds left to give the Mavs a 101-99 victory…
3) The Suns are currently on a 31 game winning streak…


Daily link…Great feature here from NBA Veteran writer extraordinaire Jack McCallum on choosing between Blazers PF Zach Randolph and Grizzlies PF/C Pau Gasol…for the record I take Gasol, if only because with Randolph’s incarceration always seems imminent…

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2007/writers/jack_mccallum/01/23/choosing.sides.randolph.gasol/index.html