stretch
03-14-2008, 03:40 PM
Just started some more fire between the Wizards and Cavs by talking shit about Lebron. This coming, AFTER getting their asses beat by Lebron 2 straight years in the playoffs. What a fuckin moron...
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Posted at 12:33 AM ET, 03/14/2008
DeShawn's had enough
Well, it took several seasons but finally a player has emerged who is sick and tired of polishing the statue that has become LeBron James. His name is DeShawn Stevenson and tonight he not only helped the Wizards beat the Cavaliers 101-99, he then added some flame to an already hot rivalry with some choice words for the boy King.
Stevenson, who finished with 13 points, five assists and three steals, engaged in trash talk with James and Damon Jones all night long. At the end of the first quarter, after James missed a layup while he was defended closely by Stevenson, James starting barking in Stevenson's direction. I was sitting at the press table not all that far from James but couldn't make out his exact words because the crowd at the VC was actually loud for once but they weren't friendly.
Stevenson wasn't backing down.
Afterward, he talked about how the Cavs tried to punk the Wizards and how he's tired of it.
"I was just trying to get up under his skin and make him think about me playing, competing and talking trash. I played with Raja Bell in Utah and I take a lot of things from him. He's a great defender. Sometimes you gotta do that with those guys. Those guys play guys that are scared of them all day so sometimes, you gotta get under their skin and talk some trash and tonight, I tried to do that."
On the Cavs attitude: "They beat us two years in a row (in the playoffs) and last year, they gave us a spanking you know, so they have that swagger. When they walk into our gym they feel like they are at home so we have to take that away from them. We've got to stop playing around with them, laughing and joking because we know those guys. We have to take those guys serious."
DeShawn was obviously holding back in that session with reporters around his locker. When he was leaving the building, Mike Lee was chatting him up and mentioned LeBron again. DeShawn has obviously heard enough of that.
"He's overrated," DeShawn told Mike. "And you can say I said that."
Wow. Bet the King won't like that one. Here's hoping that the Wiz manage to jump ahead of Toronto and grab that fifth spot so these teams meet again.
The other story of the night, of course, was Caron Butler who returned to the lineup and finished with 19 points, six rebounds and a steal plus four turnovers in over 41 minutes. Afterward, Butler said he was fatigued in the second half but had no discomfort in the hip. As you may know, he is celebrating his 28th birthday tonight.
Butler clearly gave this team and the crowd a much-needed boost of energy or Eddie Jordan would call it: "Tough Juice." He had some issues defensively as Sasha Pavlovic scored 10 first quarter points on him but his offensive game was solid and generally looked good.
"I've been playing this game for a while now and I know that after a month off, fatigue would set in," Butler said. "I had the momentum in my favor early on, and Coach said I am going to go to you, so attack and be aggressive. I decided that while I was fresh, I was going to be aggressive as possible."
LeBron on the last shot: "I felt good about the shot. I wanted to win. I didn't want to go to overtime. I went for the win. I missed. I'm human."
He also didn't like getting knocked to the ground by Brendan Haywood late in the game. The foul wasn't all that bad but James reacted as if Big Brendan crushed him. He had that scowl he gets and he was looking at the ref like the guy forgot to mow his lawn or something. If you remember, Brendan gave out a similar hard foul in the playoffs during the 2006 series. For a guy who always talks about how he played football in high school, LeBron sure doesn't like contact.
As for the last possession, Eddie elected to not double team LeBron as I suggested he do in my pre-game blog. I asked Eddie about it again after the game and his answer was good: "I wanted to call a timeout and switch places with you," Eddie said.
Me: "I would've doubled him."
Eddie: "You would've doubled him and Damon Jones would've hit a three."
The media room got a kick out of that one but on this night, I have to give it up to Eddie and the Wizards. It worked and they won.
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Posted at 12:33 AM ET, 03/14/2008
DeShawn's had enough
Well, it took several seasons but finally a player has emerged who is sick and tired of polishing the statue that has become LeBron James. His name is DeShawn Stevenson and tonight he not only helped the Wizards beat the Cavaliers 101-99, he then added some flame to an already hot rivalry with some choice words for the boy King.
Stevenson, who finished with 13 points, five assists and three steals, engaged in trash talk with James and Damon Jones all night long. At the end of the first quarter, after James missed a layup while he was defended closely by Stevenson, James starting barking in Stevenson's direction. I was sitting at the press table not all that far from James but couldn't make out his exact words because the crowd at the VC was actually loud for once but they weren't friendly.
Stevenson wasn't backing down.
Afterward, he talked about how the Cavs tried to punk the Wizards and how he's tired of it.
"I was just trying to get up under his skin and make him think about me playing, competing and talking trash. I played with Raja Bell in Utah and I take a lot of things from him. He's a great defender. Sometimes you gotta do that with those guys. Those guys play guys that are scared of them all day so sometimes, you gotta get under their skin and talk some trash and tonight, I tried to do that."
On the Cavs attitude: "They beat us two years in a row (in the playoffs) and last year, they gave us a spanking you know, so they have that swagger. When they walk into our gym they feel like they are at home so we have to take that away from them. We've got to stop playing around with them, laughing and joking because we know those guys. We have to take those guys serious."
DeShawn was obviously holding back in that session with reporters around his locker. When he was leaving the building, Mike Lee was chatting him up and mentioned LeBron again. DeShawn has obviously heard enough of that.
"He's overrated," DeShawn told Mike. "And you can say I said that."
Wow. Bet the King won't like that one. Here's hoping that the Wiz manage to jump ahead of Toronto and grab that fifth spot so these teams meet again.
The other story of the night, of course, was Caron Butler who returned to the lineup and finished with 19 points, six rebounds and a steal plus four turnovers in over 41 minutes. Afterward, Butler said he was fatigued in the second half but had no discomfort in the hip. As you may know, he is celebrating his 28th birthday tonight.
Butler clearly gave this team and the crowd a much-needed boost of energy or Eddie Jordan would call it: "Tough Juice." He had some issues defensively as Sasha Pavlovic scored 10 first quarter points on him but his offensive game was solid and generally looked good.
"I've been playing this game for a while now and I know that after a month off, fatigue would set in," Butler said. "I had the momentum in my favor early on, and Coach said I am going to go to you, so attack and be aggressive. I decided that while I was fresh, I was going to be aggressive as possible."
LeBron on the last shot: "I felt good about the shot. I wanted to win. I didn't want to go to overtime. I went for the win. I missed. I'm human."
He also didn't like getting knocked to the ground by Brendan Haywood late in the game. The foul wasn't all that bad but James reacted as if Big Brendan crushed him. He had that scowl he gets and he was looking at the ref like the guy forgot to mow his lawn or something. If you remember, Brendan gave out a similar hard foul in the playoffs during the 2006 series. For a guy who always talks about how he played football in high school, LeBron sure doesn't like contact.
As for the last possession, Eddie elected to not double team LeBron as I suggested he do in my pre-game blog. I asked Eddie about it again after the game and his answer was good: "I wanted to call a timeout and switch places with you," Eddie said.
Me: "I would've doubled him."
Eddie: "You would've doubled him and Damon Jones would've hit a three."
The media room got a kick out of that one but on this night, I have to give it up to Eddie and the Wizards. It worked and they won.