TNT analyst and former GM Steve Kerr, among others, is sold on the Blazers, who hammered the Lakers again Thursday night in Portland. They have the best mark in the Western Conference at 5-1, their only loss coming courtesy of Chris Paul and the Clip Joint on Jan. 1 in L.A. One of those 5 wins came courtesy of the Thunder, who are everyone’s favorite flavor in the West.
“They are a scary bunch,” Chris Webber said of the Blazers Thursday night on the TNT studio show.
Speaking of the Lakers…: Happy 30th birthday to Gilbert Arenas. That brings us to the Lakers. Did Jim Buss or Mitch Kupchak consider signing Arenas instead of the defenseless Jason Kapono? Didn’t think so.

Do the Clippers vote David Stern a share of playoff coin if they win it all?
In a poll of 30 ESPN writers and personalities, 25 of them picked the Heat to win this season’s NBA title. Three of them picked the Bulls and 2 predicted the Thunder would win it all.
Us? As much as Miami is the safe pick, we’re rolling with our homies (Thunder). Now beam us up Scottie.
ESPN.com
]]> http://blak4rest.com/2011/12/favorite-sons-2/feed/ 1 http://blak4rest.com/2011/12/it-was-a-shakedown/ http://blak4rest.com/2011/12/it-was-a-shakedown/#comments Fri, 16 Dec 2011 05:01:00 +0000 Forrest Lee http://blak4rest.com/?p=24295

Forget the Lakers getting the shaft in the Chris Paul deal. The Rockets are reeling too. And the reputation of Hornets’ GM Dell Demps. Can you spell s-l-a-n-d-e-r?
Adrian Wojnarowski pens 1 of the best pieces I’ve read so far regarding this hijacking by David Stern and the NBA.
Yahoo Sports

]]> http://blak4rest.com/2011/12/it-was-a-shakedown/feed/ 0 http://blak4rest.com/2011/11/nba-less-is-more/ http://blak4rest.com/2011/11/nba-less-is-more/#comments Fri, 25 Nov 2011 01:40:13 +0000 Forrest Lee http://blak4rest.com/?p=23855
Watching David Stern politic and play on the ignorance of many NBA fans who solely blame the players for the lockout, we’re reminded of a solution the commissioner chooses to ignore. It’s called contraction. The league would be better off if they contracted teams such as Michael Jordan’s Bobcats or the NBA-run Hornets, among others. Instead, Stern and his misguided owners believe strong-arming the players for millions and hijacking the game from the fans is a better tactic.
ESPN.com
]]> http://blak4rest.com/2011/11/nba-less-is-more/feed/ 0 http://blak4rest.com/2011/11/game-changer/ http://blak4rest.com/2011/11/game-changer/#comments Tue, 15 Nov 2011 03:28:20 +0000 Forrest Lee http://blak4rest.com/?p=23659
]]> http://blak4rest.com/2011/11/game-changer/feed/ 0 http://blak4rest.com/2011/11/seasons-teetering/ http://blak4rest.com/2011/11/seasons-teetering/#comments Tue, 15 Nov 2011 02:44:28 +0000 Forrest Lee http://blak4rest.com/?p=23652

The owners are closer to achieving their goal of canceling the NBA season. Michael Jordan and a small band of hardliners are intent on it.
Meanwhile, David Stern couldn’t wait to use ESPN today as his platform to tell anyone who would listen of how the players have wrecked negotiations. But if you’re negotiating with someone in good faith, you don’t issue ultimatums with each proposal. Stern has frequently done so throughout these so-called negotiations.
As much as I’d love to see some balling, I still applaud the players. They have little choice in the matter. They agreed to give back the $300 million the league supposedly lost last year only to have Stern and those greedy bastards he represents to demand more. And Stern has the gall to call the players’ decision to disband the union “tragic?” Please.

]]> http://blak4rest.com/2011/11/seasons-teetering/feed/ 0 http://blak4rest.com/2011/10/stern-test-part-of-owners-plan/ http://blak4rest.com/2011/10/stern-test-part-of-owners-plan/#comments Tue, 11 Oct 2011 20:05:23 +0000 Forrest Lee http://blak4rest.com/?p=22990
The public perception is the players are greedy. David Stern and the owners know this and will bank on it to negotiate a deal. They would prefer to put the players in their place and make them pay for the stupid mistakes owners frequently make by rewarding some undeserving players with lofty contracts when they should be earning the NBA minimum.
You the fan? Seriously, do you really think they give a shit about you? They know you’ll be pissed about missing some games, but they also know you’ll eventually come back. You can’t resist.
CBS Sports
]]> http://blak4rest.com/2011/10/stern-test-part-of-owners-plan/feed/ 0 http://blak4rest.com/2011/10/pimp-daddy-2/ http://blak4rest.com/2011/10/pimp-daddy-2/#comments Sat, 01 Oct 2011 21:56:21 +0000 Forrest Lee http://blak4rest.com/?p=22819
Gilbert Arenas picked this outfit to pick up his wife Laura Govan at the airport Friday. Maybe he should tweak David Stern and show up at the NBA meetings dressed like this.
BustedCoverage.com
]]> http://blak4rest.com/2011/10/pimp-daddy-2/feed/ 0 http://blak4rest.com/2011/09/labor-pains-continue/ http://blak4rest.com/2011/09/labor-pains-continue/#comments Thu, 15 Sep 2011 23:01:49 +0000 Forrest Lee http://blak4rest.com/?p=22577
An email sent out by Players Union Prez Derek Fisher is generating much interest. The reason? NBA owners are not on the same page about settling the lockout. No shit Sherlock?
We’d wager the farm that Cavs owner Dan Gilbert is 1 of the owners playing hardball.
SI.com
]]> http://blak4rest.com/2011/09/labor-pains-continue/feed/ 0