Sportscasm » Dwight Howard

Respect for LeBron James Recedes, Dwight Howard Clowns Him

Joshua Holmes — Thu, 30 Jun 2011 17:05:18 +0000

The NBA Finals seemed to take the untouchability off of LeBron James as he faltered and became the joke of sportswriters and sports fans across the globe.

James display of mortality seemed to open up the inner comedian in everyone.

Now even fellow players, fellow NBA All-Stars, don’t hold back in taking cracks at the aptly mis-titled ‘King.’

Orlando Magic star center Dwight Howard joked on Twitter yesterday about LeBron’s receding hairline.

Howard tweeted a series of ‘planking’ photos, including one of him planking while his barber trimmed his hair.

Howard’s barber, Kevin Tyler, then tweeted an @reply to Howard that stated, “You better stop before your shape up looks like Lebrons.”

Dwight then immediately replied via twitter to Tyler, “lol he took his talents to south beach and left his hairline in Cleveland lol.”

Funny line by Howard but not something many, if any NBA players, would have publicly stated a year ago when James was held in such high reverence.

LeBron will likely get the last laugh though. Howard, with his lack of rings and premature exit from the 2011 NBA Playoffs, should be careful joking about royalty, even as misguided as the crown might be.

Sportscasm’s 2011 NBA Awards

Joshua Holmes — Fri, 15 Apr 2011 15:01:13 +0000

It’s time for the 2011 Sportscasm NBA Awards. With any awards list, you will either agree or disagree. This is simply our choices of who we thought the best of the best were in the 2010/11 season.

Most Valuable Player (MVP) – Derrick Rose – Rose led the Memphis Tigers to the National Championship game just back in 2008. Now, three years later he is the MVP of the NBA. His athleticism and decision making have led the Bulls to 62 wins and the best record in the NBA. And all of this has come just one year after replacing their head coach. Rose is blazing fast and uses his dribble-drive penetration to create wide open shots for teammates or a scoring opportunity for himself…usually of the high-flying, throw it down hard variety. With Rose’s laid back, humble approach to the game you can expect for him to dominate in the NBA Playoffs, as no stage has yet to be too big for Mr. SAT.

Runner Up: Dwight Howard (Orlando Magic)

Rookie of the Year (ROY) – Blake Griffin – His rookie year was delayed due to a knee injury last season, but Blake more than made up for it once he found the court back in October. Griffin was the most talked about in-game dunker since Shawn Kemp reigned in Seattle in his rookie campaign. Blake used his high engine to energize Clipper Nation with 22.5 PPG and 12.1 RPG. He doesn’t have much of an outside shot yet and his free throws need a lot of work (64.2%) but both of those should improve as Griffin matures and gets in more reps in the gym.

Runner Up: John Wall (Washington Wizards)

Defensive Player of the Year – Dwight Howard - Poor Dwight! If Howard could only shoot free throws, avoid technicals, and deliver more often in the clutch he likely would have been the MVP this year. Howard is a game changer on defense though. No other NBA player comes close to making the impact he does in the paint, blocking and altering shot after shot. Howard’s defensive presence will be essential to the Magic if they have any chance of advancing to the Eastern Conference Finals.

Runner Up: Tony Allen (Memphis Grizzlies)

Best 6th Man – Lamar Odom – He is selfless and sacrifices his game and a starting spot nightly for the benefit of the Lakers. He would be the star player on some teams in the league. For the talented Lakers, he comes off the bench to lead the second unit to minimize any dropoff when Kobe Bryant, Pau Gasol, and the starters are getting a breather. Lamar will be even more key if Andrew Bynum gets hurt again.

Runner Up: J.R. Smith (Denver Nuggets)

Coach of the Year – Tom Thiboudeau – He is a defensive guru and the key behind the Boston Celtics success the past few seasons with the ‘Big Three.’ He took over the Bulls after Vinny Del Negro was fired and instilled a toughness on the defensive end whereby everyone would play hard ‘D’ or they wouldn’t play. All of the Bulls seemed to buy in immediately as they had one of the best seasons in franchise history. The Bulls won 62 games this year, for the best record in the NBA, after winning just 41 games last season. Naturally, Thiboudeau inherited a talented roster that added Carlos Boozer in the offseason to sensational point guard Derrick Rose, who is our 2011 MVP.

Runner Up: Lionel Hollins (Memphis Grizzlies)

GM of the Year – Chris Wallace – Some would argue that Wallace overpaid to extend Rudy Gay (5-year, $82 million) and Mike Conley (5-year, $45 million), but when you can steal Tony Allen, the grit-grind, heart and soul of the Grizzlies for 3-years, $9 million then you are going to look smart. Allen gave the Grizzlies a lift through Gay’s injury, O.J. Mayo’s suspension, and numerous lineup changes from coach Lionel Hollins to lead the Grizz to an extremely strong second half of the season and the Playoffs. Something that doesn’t happen to often down in the Bluff City.

Runner Up: Gar Forman (Chicago Bulls)

NBA First Team

Derrick Rose
Dwyane Wade
LeBron James
Dirk Nowitzki
Dwight Howard

NBA Second Team

Chris Paul
Kobe Bryant
Kevin Durant
Zach Randolph
LaMarcus Aldridge

NBA Third Team

Russell Westbrook
Carmelo Anthony
Pau Gasol
Kevin Love
Amar’e Stoudemire

If You Can’t Beat LeBron, Then Join Him

Joshua Holmes — Wed, 23 Feb 2011 06:45:34 +0000

LeBron James is known more for his patented powder toss before basketball games than he for winning NBA championships.

It really shouldn’t be as surprise the rest of the starters for the East at the All-Star Game joined LBJ pre-game to simultaneously toss baby powder into the air.

The starters for the 2011 Eastern Conference All-Star team (LeBron, Derrick Rose, Dwight Howard, Amar’e Stoudemire, and Dwyane Wade) have a grand total of one NBA Championship COMBINED between them. That one being the one that Wade and Shaquille O’Neal stole from the Dallas Mavericks back in 2006 with a bit of help from the referees (Remember Wade shooting 569 free throws in the series?).

To his credit, LeBron was the only Eastern Conference player in the game that played full steam and with any real notion of competing. He came close to rallying his team back to upset Kobe Bryant on his home court. Luckily for Bryant, Kevin Durant came to the rescue with several 3’s to seal the game.

It should then come as no surprise, as evidenced in the video above, that these guys are more interested in being super-friends than they are in collecting rings like Bill Russell or Michael Jordan did.

LeBron’s powder toss is cheesy. It’s not even that original. It’s an exaggerated version of Jordan’s hand powder clap from when he played. It was fun for Jordan, his way of going back and forth with the media and scorekeepers on press row. It wasn’t LeBron’s grand powder-ego-explosion.

2011 NBA JAM Team Rosters (Full List)

Admin — Wed, 15 Sep 2010 15:54:44 +0000

My favorite video basketball game from my childhood, and the most popular arcade basketball game of all-time, NBA JAM is coming back this fall for the Wii, Playstation 3, and Xbox 360.

The game will be sold as NBA JAM for the Wii and will be included with and part of NBA ELITE 11 for Playstation 3 and Xbox 360.

Each NBA team on the game will have three to four active players to select from each team to play with along with a team legend or mascot.

Here is a look at the complete 2011 NBA JAM Rosters:

Eastern Conference NBA JAM 11 Rosters

Atlanta Hawks

Current Players: Joe Johnson, Josh Smith, Mike Bibby
Legend/Mascot: Dominique Wilkins and Spud Webb

Boston Celtics

Current Players: Kevin Garnett, Paul Pierce, Ray Allen, Rajon Rondo
Legend/Mascot: Larry Bird and Kevin McHale

Charlotte Bobcats

Current Players: Gerald Wallace, Stephen Jackson, Tyrus Thomas
Legend/Mascot: Rufus Lynx

Chicago Bulls

Current Players: Derrick Rose, Luol Deng, Carlos Boozer, Joakim Noah
Legend/Mascot: Scottie Pippen and Dennis Rodman

Cleveland Cavaliers

Current Players: Mo Williams, Antawn Jamison, Anderson Varejao
Legend/Mascot: Mark Price and Brad Daugherty

Detroit Pistons

Current Players: Richard Hamilton, Rodney Stuckey, Charlie Villanueva, Ben Gordon
Legend/Mascot: Isiah Thomas and Bill Laimbeer

Indiana Pacers

Current Players: Danny Granger, Mike Dunleavy, T.J. Ford
Legend/Mascot: Detlef Schrempf

Miami Heat

Current Players: LeBron James, Dwyane Wade, Chris Bosh
Legend/Mascot: Glen Rice and Rony Seikaly

Milwaukee Bucks

Current Players: Michael Redd, Andrew Bogut, Brandon Jennings, Corey Maggette
Legend/Mascot: Bango The Buck

New Jersey Nets

Current Players: Devin Harris, Brook Lopez, Courtney Lee
Legend/Mascot: Kenny Anderson and Drazen Petrovic

New York Knicks

Current Players: Amar’e Stoudemire, Al Harrington, Danilo Gallinari
Legend/Mascot: Patrick Ewing and John Starks

Orlando Magic

Current Players: Dwight Howard, Vince Carter, Rashard Lewis
Legend/Mascot: Nick Anderson and Scott Skiles

Philadelphia 76′ers

Current Players: Andre Iguodala, Elton Brand, Evan Turner
Legend/Mascot: Julius Erving and Allen Iverson

Toronto Raptors

Current Players: DeMar DeRozan, Andrea Bargnani, Jarrett Jack
Legend/Mascot: The Raptor

Washington Wizards

Current Players: Yi Jianlian, John Wall, Gilbert Arenas, Andray Blatche
Legend/Mascot: Manute Bol

Western Conference NBA JAM 11 Rosters

Dallas Mavericks

Current Players: Dirk Nowitzki, Jason Kidd, Caron Butler
Legend/Mascot: Mavs Man

Denver Nuggets

Current Players: Carmelo Anthony, Chauncey Billups, Kenyon Martin
Legend/Mascot: Rocky The Mountain Lion

Golden State Warriors

Current Players: Monta Ellis, Stephon Curry, David Lee, Andris Biedrins
Legend/Mascot: Tim Hardaway and Chris Mullin

Houston Rockets

Current Players: Kevin Martin, Yao Ming, Trevor Ariza
Legend/Mascot: Hakeem Olajuwon and Kenny Smith

Los Angeles Clippers

Current Players: Baron Davis, Blake Griffin, Chris Kaman
Legend/Mascot: Danny Manning

Los Angeles Lakers

Current Players: Kobe Bryant, Pau Gasol, Lamar Odon, Ron Artest
Legend/Mascot: Magic Johnson and James Worthy

Memphis Grizzlies

Current Players: O.J. Mayo, Rudy Gay, Zach Randolph
Legend/Mascot: Bryant Reeves

Minnesota Timberwolves

Current Players: Al Jefferson, Kevin Love, Michael Beasley, Jonny Flynn
Legend/Mascot: Chuck Person

New Orleans Hornets

Current Players: Chris Paul, David West, Peja Stojakovic
Legend/Mascot: Larry Johnson

Oklahoma City Thunder

Current Players: Kevin Durant, Russell Westbrook, Jeff Green
Legend/Mascot: Rumble The Bison

Phoenix Suns

Current Players: Steve Nash, Grant Hill, Jason Richardson
Legend/Mascot: Dan Majerle and Kevin Johnson

Portland Trailblazers

Current Players: Brandon Roy, LaMarcus Aldridge, Greg Oden
Legend/Mascot: Clyde Drexler

Sacramento Kings

Current Players: Tyreke Evans, DeMarcus Cousins, Jason Thompson, Carl Landry
Legend/Mascot: Mitch Richmond

San Antonio Spurs

Current Players: Tim Duncan, Tony Parker, Manu Ginobili
Legend/Mascot: David Robinson and George Gervin

Utah Jazz

Current Players: Deron Williams, Andrei Kirilenko, Mehmet Okur
Legend/Mascot: Karl Malone and John Stockton

NBA insider Marc Stein released the rosters earlier this week on ESPN.com

Nasty One-Handed Dwight Howard Tomahawk Slam (Video)

Joshua Holmes — Mon, 05 Apr 2010 13:28:01 +0000

Dwight Howard of the Orlando Magic with a powerful one-handed tomahawk slam against the New Orleans Hornets on February 26, 2010.

The Hornets ended up winning the game 100-93 after the Magic squandered a large lead.

Superman is usually highly successful on this type of shot!

Sportscasm’s 2009-10 NBA Predictions

Joshua Holmes — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 19:22:30 +0000

Sportscasm writers and contributers take a stab at predicting the award winners and champions for the 2009-2010 NBA season.

Award	Joshua Holmes	Kevin Vailes	Josh Watson	Matt Williams
Most Valuable Player	Carmelo Anthony	LeBron James	Kevin Durant	LeBron James
Rookie of the Year	Tyreke Evans	Jonny Flynn	DeJuan Blair	James Harden
Defensive POY	Dwight Howard	Dwight Howard	Dwight Howard	Ron Artest
Comeback POY	Gilbert Arenas	Vince Carter	Manu Ginobili	Gilbert Arenas
Fallback POY	Hedo Turkuglu	Kevin Garnett	Antawn Jamison	Andre Miller
Coach of the Year	Lionel Hollins	Greg Popovich	Flip Saunders	Flip Saunders
Eastern Conference Champ	Cleveland Cavs	Boston Celtics	Orlando Magic	Cleveland Cavs
Western Conference Champ	Los Angeles Lakers	San Antonio Spurs	San Antonio Spurs	San Antonio Spurs
NBA Finals Champ	Los Angeles Lakers	San Antonio Spurs	San Antonio Spurs	San Antonio Spurs

Now feel free to dissect and rip apart these picks, while submitting your own in the comments below!

Dwight Howard Dunking at Venice Beach

Joshua Holmes — Thu, 17 Sep 2009 21:50:40 +0000

NBA all-star Dwight Howard throwing down a two-handed slam during a pickup game at beautiful Venice Beach in California.

Howard posted the photo on his Twitter (@dwighthoward) to his more than 1 million followers.