Ball Don't Lie

A look around the league and the web that covers it. It's also important to note that the rotation order and starting nods aren't always listed in order of importance. That's for you, dear reader, to figure out.

C:  Sports Biz. Headband sales are up 38 percent from last year at the NBA Store in and on NBAstore.com.
PF: Talking Points. How Boston, Los Angeles and two Game 6 road wins can save these NBA playoffs.
SF: Denver Stiffs. Could 'Melo and George Karl be headed down the same road as a young Webber and Nelson?
SG: You Been Blinded. This is disturbing and PG-13 — Lil' Penny has hit the bottle, and is now sniffing markers.
PG: Indy Cornrows. Danny Granger and Jeff Foster are all set to take part in the Indy 500 Festival Parade.
6th: The Dream Shake. Poker star Phil Ivey either really hates the Utah Jazz, or really loves his Crackberry.
7th: CelticsBlog. A Jeff Clark blog thoroughly enjoys LeBron James talking in the third person.
8th: The Blowtorch. Jannero Pargo's internal monolgue during last night's game.
9th: Houston Chronicle. Mutombo, who will turn 42 next month, still has a finger wags in him.
10th: Salt Lake Tribune. Mark Jackson's theory on why road teams are having such a difficult time winning in this year's NBA playoffs: "Weak-minded players and weak-minded coaches." Ha!

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After much deliberation, I have decided that this 1986 Celtics' song entitled the "First Time Since '69" ranks just below the Hawks' "Nothing Can Stop Us" classic and the Lakers' "Just Say No To Drugs" anthem on the Greatest NBA Music Video of All-Time list. The lyrics are brilliant, but it lacked clips of Kevin McHale wearing Ray-Bans.

[High fives and gift certificates to The Commission.] 

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"Yeah, yeah, Eva loves that one, too! Okay, um, one more. So, um, did you hear about the guy that nearly got away with stealing several paintings from the Louvre? Yeah, yeah, after planning the crime, breaking in, evading security, getting out, and escaping with the goods, the guy was captured only two blocks away when his van ran out of gas. Yeah, what an idiot. When the cops asked how he could mastermind such a crime and yet make such a foolish error, he replied ... you ready, Manu ... "I had no Monet to buy Degas to make the Van Gogh. HI-YO! No Monet, Tim! That's an artiste!"

Best joke/caption wins my friendship. Have at it.

After the jump, Pau Gasol takes a nap.Read More >>

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Garbage Time All-Stars is by Mark Haven Britt and Josh Frankel: two cartoonists, illustrators and basketball fans. GTAS post a new NBA comic on Ball Don't Lie every Friday, but for more wit and drawings check out garbagetimeallstars.com. Also, you can buy Mark's critically-acclaimed graphic novel, Full Color, at Amazon.

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They say, desperate times call for desperate measures, which explains why Hornets' fans have folded up their Eva cutouts and retired the Charleston dance move. Yes, it's time to get serious about distracting San Antonio at the free throw line, people. It's time for ... SHIRTLESS PEJA!

Hilarious stuff. Props to Dunk On U for the Photoshop magic, and to Dime for infiltrating my RSS reader.

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It's the talk of Water Cooler town this morning: Robert Horry's dubious shot/pick to David West's hurting back. There's much debate as to whether or not Horry's hit was a fair, clean play, or if it was a malicious Big Shot Bob cheap shot, so let's go to the replay:

This is a tough one to call, but after some deliberation, I've got to side with Ron Hitley at Hornets 24/7 — Horry wasn't intentionally trying to injure West.  If you look, Horry is already setting the pick before West jumps back into him while leaping for the pass. Did Horry throw his hands a little high and lean into it more than he may have needed to? Sure, maybe. But, like Hitley says, "Horry would have to be some kind of speedy diabolical genius" to see an opportunity to hurt West and act that quick on it.

But what do you think? Let's hear your thoughts.

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Scanning the blogs and beats following the Spurs' 99-80 win over the Hornets in Game 6 of the Western Conference Semifinals ...

Mike Monroe, SA Express-News: "Spurs coach Gregg Popovich turned around the Spurs’ fortunes in Game 3 of their Wesern Conference semifinals series against the New Orleans Hornets by reinserting an Argentine into his starting lineup. He now is 2 for 2 with reinstated Argentine starters. Fabricio Oberto (pictured right), a teammate of Manu Ginobili’s on the defending Olympic champion Argentine national team, on Thursday replaced Kurt Thomas, who had started at center in the first five games."

Hornets 24/7: "Three main things cost us the game tonight. First was San Antonio's three-point shooting. They were 11-of-21 from deep, with Manu Ginobili connecting on 6-of-9. The majority of those makes were wide open looks, and that was mostly due to excessive double teams on Duncan. I thought we established in Game 5 that Tyson can do a pretty good job guarding Timmy one-on-one, but for whatever reason the Hornets didn't believe in that strategy tonight, and guys like Ginobili and Udoka took advantage of the extra space to line up and knock down the long bombs."

At The Hive: "... then there was the Robert Horry play: I believe it was totally 100% intentional. I believe it was a malicious play. I don't care that Mark Jackson called it a "playoff foul." Answer me this- what reason did Horry have to push West in the back as he was backpedalling? One, West was totally out of position, stumbling backwards. Two, Horry had the inside offensive possession to the hoop. Three, there was no way he was setting a screen, because the guard had already gotten past his defender and Horry and West were a good distance from the play. Spurs fans have been calling the Hornets 'classless.'"Read More >>

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San Antonio 99, New Orleans 80 

It doesn't make any sense, they're not supposed to make sense, but the Spurs forced a Game 7.

I really couldn't tell you where it comes from, but San Antonio's spacing just came alive at home, they had New Orleans stretched out all over the court in Game 6, every Hornet run seemed to end with a Spurs jumper from at least 20 feet, and it makes San Antonio look every bit the offensive powerhouse (or, at least, it makes New Orleans look like desperate clappers as they try to close out on open shooters) while the Spurs knock in trey after trey.

Why the barrage? No idea. San Antonio nailed 11-21 three-pointers in Game 6, a number more in line with a Seattle SuperSonics game from March (against the Nuggets, ‘natch) than a Game 6 against one of the league's better and quicker defensive teams. Even nuttier, the team's designated knockout corner-bomb guy - TV's Bruce Bowen - missed four out of his five attempts. Take away Bowen's presence, and the Spurs shoot 63 percent from long range.

Some promising signs for the Hornets, heading into Game 7: Morris Peterson and Jannero Pargo combined to shoot 2-11 from the floor. That won't happen again, even if Game 7 took place in San Antonio. Read More >>

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Welcome to tonight's Ball Don't Lie live blog of Game 6 between N'awlins and San Antonio. Your hosts for this evening are Matt Moore, Trey (goathair) and — points thumbs at chest — this guy. (KD is off rappelling skyscrapers in NYC.) From here on out, game commentary can be read below. Please comment away — if your sentiment is funny or insightful, our new comment intern might even post it. She's fickle, though, so I can't make any promises. Game starts around 9:00 pm EDT. See you at the Pepsi Challenge, folks.

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