5 Reasons the NBA Playoffs Are Delightful

Apologies if you saw the beginning of this last night – I’m still not sure how touching a post marked “local draft” in the WordPress app made it publish, but here’s the full version.

We have been watching a LOT of NBA Playoffs at my house. It started because we were checking on the Knicks and the Thunder (uh, and the Nets- we have a lot of basketball allegiances) and yet “hey is a game on tonight?” has become a common refrain.  There’s just so many things I find delightful this year. Here are five of them.

Friday Fellow(s): Feeling Good

We’re going literal this week: it’s Friday, and there are some fellows in the basketball world who are feeling (and looking) pretty good.  Feel free to click the above for a soundtrack appropriate to the coming joy…

Caption This: NBA Fun Times

(Photo: Getty Images)

Hope everyone had a relaxing Memorial Day Weekend! Perhaps you wrapped up your holiday by tuning into Game 1 of the NBA East Final last night. In case you missed it…well, you weren’t alone. The Celtics missed it too. They were trounced 93-79 by the Miami Heat. However, the game produced a few memorable moments, notably this one. If you ever wondered how much Lebron douchebaggery could be contained in one photo, the answer is this much.

Yes, the long weekend is fun but it’s time to get your clever brain back in gear. See what you can come up with, caption-wise. Best answer gets…golf claps from all of us.

NBA Rookie Watch!

Guess who finally made it to the NBA?

(AP Photo/Andy King)

Five Words.

Dick. Move. Hall. Of. Fame.

Okay, look. I’ve devoted a lot of time and energy into hating the ever-loving hell out of Brett Favre for the monumental screw-job he handed Green Bay fans by first doing the ‘I MAY RETIRE OR I MAY NOT WOULDN’T YOU LIKE TO KNOW’ dance and then the ‘LOLOLOLOL I AM SIGNING WITH YOUR RIVAL’ swan song. I really, really thought there couldn’t possibly be a bigger dick in organized sports than Brett Favre. I mean, the man singlehandedly held up football in Green Bay for a solid three years, and I’m pretty sure Aaron Rodgers still has Favre voodoo dolls in every room of his house.

That said? I’ve never seen an athlete so tone-deaf as to think that a nationally televised hour-long special to announce his free-agency decision smacked of anything beyond rampant egotism. That was horrifying in and of itself.

But a nationally televised hour-long special to break up with his hometown team in the most public manner possible? That’s an unprecedented level of douchebag.

Congratulations, LeBron James. You’re 2010’s entry into the Dick Move Hall of Fame. Good thing I don’t care about basketball.

Advent Calendar of Hotness: Day 13

It’s 6 am and my neighbors dog was left outside in the cold and woke the whole neighborhood – except her parents. A friendly and cute police officer beat their door until they roused from their alchoholic stupor.

So obviously I’m a little bitter, but it does mean that today’s ACoH post is up bright and early!

There’s been a dearth of basketball hotties on this site recently, and as I explained to the other Ladies… in an email, I’ve had an inexplicable crush on this man recently, so today’s Advent Calendar window opens to reveal Dwyane Wade:

I’m certain the fact that he’s the biggest name to come out of Marquette has something to do with my crush, but also, the man knows how to dress! I love his grin, his style and his jump shot!

Also, his abs and outtie belly button!

Here’s some forearms, for those that like that sort of thing.

And one more to get you through your morning:

NBA Haiku Preview Part II: Southeast and Northwest Divisions

Everyone needs bonus Boris Diaw.

The NBA season starts in just under two weeks, so it’s time for the second installment of our Haiku Previews. (If you missed it, part one is here.)

Living in New York, I’m tolerably familiar with the Eastern Conference in general and the Atlantic Division in particular, so horrible Bucks haiku blunder aside, last week was the “easy” week in terms of research.  This week’s haikus owe much to TrueHoop, Henry Abbott’s excellent NBA blog (which I was reading before ESPN hired him, so I feel all cool), as well as the various NBA team blogs hosted at SBNation. I will say the pictures came a bit easier this week — there are some lovely, lovely men in the Eastern Conference’s Southeast and the Western Conference’s Northwest divisions.

Again, the teams are listed in order of last year’s final regular division standings.