Review: NBA 2K12

Maybe You Should Rise? (Michael Jordan & LeBron James)

NBA 2K11 Trailer Starring Michael Jordan & Friends

I'm pretty sure that I spotted Clyde Drexler, Joe Dumars, Isiah Thomas, Dominique Wilkins, Patrick Ewing & Shawn Kemp.  Oh, yeah . . . they made sure to get LeBron in his new uniform and John Wall doing his dance.



Seeing Michael do the fake dunk/layup was sweet, but I lost it watching Nique break out the windmill.  Those images took me back so far that I almost thought I had algebra homework due tomorrow.

*cue Nas' Memory Lane*

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8

NBA 2K11 Introduces The Jordan Challenge

The Jordan Challenge will allow you to try to recreate some of Jordan's greatest moments. According to 2K Sports you will be able to play as 10 different versions Jordan. Some of the moments you will have the chance to recreate are:

• 1986 when he dropped 63 points on Bird's Celtics in The Boston Garden
• 1992 when he dropped 35 on Drexler's Portland Trail Blazers in the first half (The Shrug).
• 1995 when during his first comeback he traded in his tradition #23 to don #45 and drop a double nickel on the Knicks
• 1997 The Flu Game against Stockton & Malone's Utah Jazz
• 1998 Jordan's final game with the Bulls that featured his final shot

Since 2K Sports will be recreating 10 of Jordan's greatest games, one could only assume that the teams that his Bulls teams played against will be playable in some form or fashion as well.  The possibility of reliving my childhood through a Bulls vs. Blazers (HUGE Clyde The Glyde Fan!) redux definitely makes the underparts kinda tingly.



CNBC's Darren Rovell spoke with Jason Argent of 2KSports to get further details:

In each game, gamers are charged with different goals, including matching Jordan's point totals and shooting percentage. If you hit six three pointers in a row like Jordan did against the Trail Blazers in 1992, the virtual Jordan will shrug just like he did in real life on that night.

Two of the 10 challenges don't have specific dates tied to it.

You can play the 1991 Finals version of Jordan as well as play a game in 1990 style vs. Dominique Wilkins and the Atlanta Hawks, where gamers are challenged with holding Wilkins to 25 points or fewer.

The most challenging version of Jordan to play with likely will be the "flu game," where Jordan scored 38 points against the Jazz in what Phil Jackson would say after the game was the greatest game Jordan played.

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8

Why LeBron James Is Now A Sucker & A Sidekick

I planned on doing a blog on LeBron's exodus from Cleveland anyway, but due to some of the questions and statements I have received about my opinion of him I felt the best way to address it is in a blog entry. This isn't going to be some literary masterpiece. This is going to be more of a stream of consciousness, point by point entry about some of the things I have heard or been asked.

First of all my feelings in general:

He has always had the biggest ego in sports right alongside A-Rod, T.O. and Floyd Mayweather. Your ego can't possibly be anything less than that when you are comfortable with the moniker "King" before you ever step on to an NBA floor. That raised my eyebrow at jump, but I gave it a pass because if any city deserved a star and deserved success on a national level it's Cleveland. I say this as a Pittsburgher and die-hard Steelers fan. I am not the type of cat to hate rival teams just because they are rivals. I do tend to have little to no patients for jerks.

Then there is his Jordan worship and the fact that he aspired to be in that company. I was happy for Cleveland that they finally had a player that was going to try and bring them a title and appeared to have the ability to do so.

The picture above is of LeBron's own words from an ESPN The Magazine article from 2006. This has always kinda been my requirement for greatness in regards to basketball. It's the reason why people love Jordan, Magic & Bird. It's the reason why NBA in the 1980's and to a lesser extent the 90's are looked back upon so fondly. Isaiah's Pistons and Dominique's Hawks battling Bird's Celtics, Jordan's Bulls, Barkley's Sixers/Suns, Drexler's Blazers, Stockton and Malone's Jazz & Ewing's Knicks. These guys didn't chase rings while in their prime. They tried to bring rings to the teams & cities that they represented. Barkley was dealt to the Suns because the Sixers were rebuilding and at the time he was 29 years old. Drexler was in a similar situation when he was dealt to the Rockets and that was only after giving the Blazer 12 years!

It's kinda sad to see a young man with his talent give up so easily. Please don't be fooled, because that's exactly what he did. He couldn't beat them so he joined them. Do you think Jordan wanted to leave the Bulls for the Pistons? The fact that he is basically running away from competition kinda bugs me. To call yourself King James and then go to someone else's team to be his sidekick . . . huh? What? He told Cleveland and the rest of the nation that he can't beat Kobe, Wade or Duncan.



Wade was out there recruiting free agents to come to Miami to help him. Why couldn't LeBron have done that for the Cleveland? This is a city that has not experienced a title since 1964. You're going to go on national television to tell them, "fuck you"? Really? REALLY? Let's put this into perspective. More than likely if you are reading this you weren't even born the last time Cleveland won anything. Hell, man of you may have parents that weren't even born with Cleveland last held a title. Cleveland has had to deal with The Drive, The Fumble and Jordan Over Ehlo and now LeBron has now given them The Exodus, The Departure, The Decision or The Defection.

Look at this through a real world lens. How does a man that has worked for a company for 7 years not have the guts to go up to his boss as a man and look him in the eye to tell him that he's leaving? Think about that. He essentially did just that. This is a company that gave him anything and everything that he could have wanted. He had input on personnel moves and his coach. How about this? Would you dump a boyfriend or girlfriend on TV? I'm not talking about the degenerates that go on talk shows. I'm talk to you! Would you really slap them in the face like that?

People want to make fun of or are outraged by Cavalier's owner, Dan Gilbert's letter to Cavs fans. But if you did everything you could to make a person happy and comfortable and you are told on TV that your best employee or significant other is no long longer going to be with you, you would be pissed also. If you say no, you're lying to yourself. It's like he wanted to rub his decision in the face of the Cavs, their fans and the city.  Let's also not forget how he went out in Cleveland on the court.  We were all wondering why he was playing the way he was.  He seemed completely disinterested in beating the Celtics and played the worst series any superstar player, ever!  Shortly after the series it hit the web that his mother may have been getting piped by Delonte West.  Is this true?  I don't know.  But his play was so bad that people felt that something like this may have been an excuse for it.  People want to focus on Dan Gilbert's guarantee that the Cavs will win a title before LeBron, but he said it in anger right after being embarrassed on national television.  When he woke up this morning he probably regretted that part of the letter, but the rest of his letter was maybe in bad for in tone but was anything he wrote not true?

I want to be crystal clear about this.  I have no problem with the fact that he chose to leave Cleveland.  I felt that was going to happen most of this season and those feelings grew stronger after his playoff performance and the rumors about his mother and Delonte.  The problem I have is strictly in regards to the nature in which he went about what he did.

With that being said I want to address some of the questions that I received on twitter in regards to my disappointment in his leaving and why I find the way he exited upsetting.

Have u ever thought that a ring is more important than all this greatness YALL are wanting for him?

Chasing a ring somewhere else when you are in the prime of your career with another team lessens it in my eyes and I doubt that I am alone in my feelings.

Why are yall mad? He don't care what yall think.

I feel this whole process of taking over a network for an hour just to flip off your previous employer and the city that you claim to love is a asshole/jerk/bitch ass move.  I have absolutely no tolerance for assholes/jerks/bitch asses in ANY aspect of life.  Him caring what I think doesn't matter.  People express their feelings on people that don't care about them all of the time.  I don't why his caring should have any impact on whether I vent frustration or not.  Why is absence of empathy or compassion for others seen as no big deal by people in our society?  That's what that announcement was.  Our society is going to hell in a hand basket.

I don't care that much & I am trying to find out why errybody else does?

The this is what sports fans do.  They care about their teams.  They care about the athletes on their teams.  Why do people care about Real Housewives?  Why do people care about anything or anyone?  It's because they are fans of them or it.

You know, if I were still his age, I might hold him to what he says. Being as though at that time I was just pompous enough to think I even 'started' to figure it all out. So yeah, I could see riding him for saying that as a 21 year old as a 20something.  Now? Naw...I know he doesn't know everything at that age. I think you do too. You know good cotdamm well that could change.  I would expect you not to hold that 'boy' (and make no mistake, he was but a boy then) to that foolish statement. lol  *this is regarding the ESPN quote pictured above*

He made the quote just four years ago when he was 20 or 21 years old.  We aren't talking about some 17 year old.  He's a grown man that can fight for his country, drive a car and drink legally.  Why would I not hold him to what he says?  When I was 21 if I said something like that I personally wouldn't back down from it.  It's not like he wasn't man enough to be the face of a franchise and have his own shoe and clothing line.  If you want to be the King this is part of the job as well.

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8

9th Wonder Presents TP

An Open Letter To LeBron . . . Not That He'll Read This

LeBron, let me start off by saying that I don't have a dog in this race. Unless Pittsburgh gets an NBA team within the next 30 minutes. I just wanted to remind you of a few things before you make your decision. Here is a question that you have to ask yourself:

Do you want to be a legend or do you want to be just another Hall Of Famer?

If you are looking to just be another Hall Of Famer, then by all means leave Cleveland in search for a title. Keep in mind that unless you are near the end of your career this kinda looks like a punk move. There is something to be said for playing your whole career in one city. Running off to Chicago might get you A title in the short term, but unless you can catch Kobe in wins you won't be mentioned in the same breath as Jordan, Bird, Magic, Russell or Jabbar.

You've already put in seven years with the Cavs. Between Kobe's Lakers, Rondo's Celtics (yeah, I said it!) & Durant's Thunder, you more than likely will not possibily be sniffing 5 titles no matter where you go. Why not stay in Cleveland and become a legend? Going to Chicago will get you a title, but frankly it will always be seen as Derrick Rose's team. If I were a betting man, the ball will be in his hands at crunch time. He's the point guard and also may become a better closer than you. Plus, going to Chicago will ensure that you will never be any better than the 2nd best player in FRANCHISE history.

If you went to Chicago with Bosh, do you think that the Bulls will be able to keep you two as well as give Rose the max contract that he will deserve in the next season or two? Why not just emulate Jordan in the way that everyone seems to forget about, taking less money in order to get the best players around him to win.

Why not just stay in Cleveland and recruit free agents to play with you? You make more money off of the court than on it. Why not bring a title to Ohio, the state that you claim to love? Winning one or two titles in Cleveland will be far more powerful than going to Chicago and adding a banner or two or being Wade's sidekick (yes, that's what you would be!) in Miami and winning one. You can't talk Rudy Gay or Joe Johnson into running with you in Cleveland? You couldn't do some damage with one of those guys?

The only team you can go to and win without looking like a sucker would be the Clippers. It's funny, they probably have the best roster already in place out of all of the teams that have been talked about. The Clippers are cursed so you might want to avoid them.

If you want to be the icon you say you want to be, your only choice is to stay at home. You can't be a legend when your hometown is heartbroken.

We Are All Witnesses To An Overrated Team

It's funny how everyone has just now started to see the Cavs for what they are. They aren't anywhere near a championship caliber team and I don't care if they go on to win the Boston series or not.

LeBron's effort definitely wasn't there in game 5, but his effort would not have given them ANOTHER 30+ points. They got their doors blown off because they are LeBron with a group of average to slightly above average players.

Think about any of the Championship teams of the last 30 or so years, there will at least be a solid B to B+ star to go along with the A+ star or you'll have a situation like the Larry Brown Pistons that may not have had any A level stars, but they had 4 or 5 B to B- level players that were good offensively and defensively.

Who is the next best player on Cleveland? The only person I can think of is Jamison and he's a C to C+ player at best. He gives great effort but he's just average or slightly above and the rest of the team is filled with C- talent or lower. Let's be real, Mo Williams is a streaky & small two guard that happens to play the the one.

Take a look at the rest of the teams still playing. Does anyone on Cleveland not named LeBron crack their starting line-ups?

Dwight Howard is an A level player and with Nelson (C+ - B), Vince Carter (B- to B) and Rashard Lewis (B- to B) and they are bringing solid C level players off of the bench. Gortat & Pietrus would START for Cleveland.

The Celtics might be old, but Rondo is at minimum a solid B level player, I personally would have him at B+. Pierce, Allen & Garnett are all at minimum B level players at their ages, but they can still give you A+ level production at anytime.

The Lakers have Kobe who besides being an A+ is still the best player in the league and I still don't even like him. Gasol is a B player, Odom & Artest are B- and Bynum & Fisher are solid C players.

Phoenix has Nash & Amare who are at minimum B+ players along with Jason Richardson who's a B to B- and Grant Hill who is a C+ player. They also have Barbosa coming off of the bench and he's a C+ player that would start on Cleveland as well.

If Cleveland were the great team that everyone in the media would like you to believe, answer me this question:  Do you think that LeBron's Cavs would even win a game in a series against the Bad Boy Pistons, Bird's Celtics, The Showtime Lakers or Jordan's Bulls?  We already know that they can't get a game against Duncan's Spurs.

Basically I used all of this text to say that Mike Brown and Danny Ferry should've both been fired by the time that you read this.

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8

His Airness

Upper Deck 1985 Slam Dunk Contest Michael Jordan Figure