WATERCOOLER CHAT: NETS HORRIFIC, IVERSON TO 76ERS, ARTEST DRUNK DURING GAMES
BASKETBALL
In the NBA, the New Jersey Nets have been perfectly horrific this season. They are 0-17. What’s odd about this is that they weren’t predicted to be bad. If anything, some expected them to sneak into the playoffs this season. They acquired Devin Harris last year, and he looked primed for a great career. Their top pick, 7’0 Brook Lopez, was one of the best rookies last season. They could only improve, right? Well, last night they hoped to get their first win against the Dallas Mavericks. They started out strong, and Chris Douglas-Roberts (former Memphis star) gave them a solid night with 24 points, but they completely fell apart in the second half. The Mavs took advantage, and cruised to a victory. The Nets are now a franchise record bad 0-18. Dallas 117, New Jersey 101.
Elsewhere in the NBA, it’s official — Allen Iverson has avoided retirement, and signed with the Philadelphia 76ers. This is less about what Iverson can do to help them win, and more about spiking ticket sales. The Sixers have been average this season, 29th in the league in attendance, so waving the Iverson glory days around might fill some seats….out of curiosity if nothing else. We’ll see how this experiment works out.
And in another fun NBA story, bad-boy Ron Artest made a very interesting public admission yesterday. He said that he used to drink alcohol during games when he played with the Chicago Bulls. Wow, now that’s incredible. Artest said he used to walk to local liquor stores at halftime and buy Hennessy. He even kept it in his locker. Artest did emphasize that he “USED” to do it, implying he doesn’t drink at halftime anymore. His reason: It was tough to handle all the losing. The Bulls weren’t very good at the time. Oddly, coming from Artest, this all seems less shocking.
