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Remember when the Texas Beef Barons sued Oprah Winfrey for threatening the entire Beef Industry with her controversial statements about Mad Cow Disease?
Well, now the Lone Star Cattlemen have a beef with a new enemy, and he's a Bruin (who doesn't give away tax-due automobiles to the poor).
Baron Davis, with the help of fellow Bruin Matt Barnes, led the Warriors to a shocking 97-85 upset IN Dallas, in Game 1 of the First Round of the NBA Playoffs.
Despite getting swept by Golden State during the Season, Dallas was a double-digit favorite at Home, but they could not stop Baron Davis.
Davis scored 33 points (including 19 in the 3rd quarter), as Golden State came back from a 4th quarter deficit to take the Series lead. While Davis made most of the key shots, he also had time to dish out 8 Assists. He was also a dominant force ON THE BOARDS, with FOURTEEN Rebounds. Not bad for a Point Guard. All-around superstar Davis also snagged 3 Steals, and had one acrobatic Blocked Shot. He practically did it all, and anything he didn't do, Barnes did. Matt got several huge Offensive Rebounds in the final minutes to preserve the lead, and in his 25 minutes off the bench, Barnes scored 10 Points, grabbed 4 Boards, gave out 3 Assists, picked up 2 Steals, and came up with 1 Blocked Shot. Those totals are truthfully representative of Barnes' hustle, aggressive attitude, and all-around contribution. His attitude was infectious, repeatedly firing up his teammates when Dallas was threatening to make a run. Barnes, Baron, and some questionable calls had Maverick Owner Mark Cuban practically convulsing in his seats, and then practically in catatonic tears at the end.
Baron was the Player of the Night, on a Weekend where several Superstars looked like they were on the take for at least parts of their games. Tim Duncan and Manu Ginobili, two absolute All-Stars, choked miserably in their Game 1 loss to Denver. Their teammate, the future Mr. Longoria, also had major droughts as San Antonio struggled to score. The Announcer said he had never seen the Spurs miss so many easy shots. It was as if ESPN asked them to make the Series, which was expected to be one-sided, more interesting, in order to extend the Series and create more viewer interest. Of course that doesn't explain Allen Iverson's 0-fer start, Vince Carter's lame 1st half, or Kobe Bryant's 4th Quarter.
Kobe had a First Half that had people around the Country calling him the Best Player Ever. He had 28 points, including three straight threes shot with the confidence of a CIA sniper.
But the Suns adjusted their Defense, and the Lakers couldn't adapt to get Kobe the same good looks. Under more duress, Kobe struggled to go 1-10 in the 4th quarter, as the Lakers blew their lead and lost, 95-87. The Lakers had led by 12 in the second half, but when Kobe went cold, he missed some open men, and tried to shoot out of his slump. He should have tried penetrating, because he never emerged from the shooting funk. He ended with 39 points, at least serving notice that he can explode on the Suns, even in Phoenix, and even with their resident Kobe-stopper Raja Bell on the job.
Speaking of serving notice, Baron Davis wasn't the only Bruin Point Guard who made a statement yesterday.
First of all, we don't suppose you remember that last year when the Lakers Drafted Farmar, we said that he should be starting over Smush Parker by the time the Playoffs arrive? Well, for once, we were right. Smush started 80 games as the Lakers' Point Guard, but fell into Phil Jackson's doghouse after getting angry over losing a couple of 4th quarters to Farmar, his Rookie back-up.
Phil Jackson isn't a Hall of Fame Coach for nothing. The only question is why did he wait so long? The Lakers' Offense runs better when Farmar is at the helm, and right now, Smush is probably a bigger outside scoring threat, so he's a good player to have coming in off the bench for an Offensive spark.
Farmar keeps the Offensive structure in tact, and he makes all the hustle plays too. Jordan scored 9 points, had 2 Assists, 2 Rebounds, and 2 Steals in 31 minutes. Two of his points came on a beautiful drive where he arched the ball high over the defenders, and he also hit one three. The driving shot even made the Pussycat Dolls "Right Now" Instant Highlight Reel.
While Farmar was far from perfect, he was awesome for someone who is a Starter, playing in his first career Playoff game. For the Lakers to have a shot at beating the Suns, Farmar will have to improve in three areas: First of all, he can't miss five open shots out of 9. Secondly, he has to make some Magic-like passes. He has to thread the needle, and hit some guys on alley-oops and back door plays. He HAS the ability and court vision -- he just needs to get the timing and communication with his teammates down. Finally, he has to do a better job of staying in front of Steve Nash on Defense. It seemed like there were about 10 drives where Nash got a step on Farmar, and it created a chain reaction of Defnesive help that left a Sun wide open for a high-percentage shot. Even if it wasn't Nash that cashed in, the fault still lies in part with Farmar's lack of positioning on D. Farmar actually got in FOUL TROUBLE! A couple of the calls were kind of ticky-tack -- One of them was so bad that Farmar screamed "Bullsh*t!" right into a TNT camera lens.
But despite this criticism about his Defense, and despite the loss, Farmar had an amazing first Postseason game, PROVING in ONE game that he BELONGS. Anyone who said that he wasn't ready to go Pro after his Sophomore year was apparently just plain wrong. Even the National TV Announcers were won over, singing his praises before the 1st quarter was over.
They commented about his confidence, and when asked if he was nervous, he said that he's played in the National Championship Game, so the Playoffs don't make him nervous. The exposure will do wonders for UCLA, assuring the Bruins will continue to get the Nation's best prospects.
It doesn't go unnoticed that there are a total of SIX Bruins still alive in the NBA Playoffs, while there are ZERO trojans. Besides Baron, Barnes, and Farmar, Trevor Ariza, Jason Kapono, and Darrick Martin are all still going for the Ring.
Jason got one last year, but for some reason, the League's 3-point shooting leader didn't get one three-point attempt in Miami's Game 1 loss to Chicago. Meanwhile, Darrick Martin watched his Toronto teammates get upset by New Jersey, as the 11-year Veteran could only share his leadership from the bench. Finally, Orlando was dispatched by Detroit 100-92, perhaps because they didn't give Trevor Ariza enough minutes. In his 7 and a half minutes, Ariza scored 3, had 2 Rebounds, and 2 Assists. That's "Barnes-active," and could lead to more playing time as the Series progresses. Of course, it would be a shocker if Orlando took Detroit past 5 games, but we would have said that about Golden State and Dallas before last night.
Unfortunately, it's still extremely possible that all 6 Bruins will be eliminated in the First Round, but that's still better than getting no players to the Postseason at all.
Below are a half-dozen photos of beautiful Golden State scenery, for the (mostly male) fans out there who made the Swimming Charity photo spreads such a success. Thanks.
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