The NBA started stimulated mass appeal when Bill Russell (left) and With Chamberlain (right) joined the league and had classic clashes during the 60's - Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division. New York World-Telegram and the Sun Newspaper photo by Ed Palumbo

Dallas Mavericks Dirk Nowitzki - NBA photo   Phoenix Suns Steve Nash - NBA photo   Minnesota Timberwolves Kevin Love - NBA photo   Memphis Grizzlies Marc Gasol - NBA photo   Stu Jackson, NBA Executive Vice President Basketball Operations - NBA photo

NBA BEAT Part 3 - WHITE MEN CAN JUMP

James Loving - National Radio Text Service

The league's recent announcement of the reserves of this seasons All Star teams reflect the domination of minority players in the league as the East squad have no white players on their roster. The West has no white players on their starting team. The West then added four white players to their reserves

Friday February 10, 2012

NBA ANNOUNCES ALL STAR GAME RESERVES

When you know the NBA as long as we do the changes are significant. During the 50's few teams had black players now the league is dominated by minorities. The film White Men can't Jump parodied that facet of the game to some extent. The Boston Celtics headed by Red Auerbach were the first NBA team to sign a number of black athletes with Bill Russell being their main acquisition. That resulted in the Celtics being the dominate team from that point on and winning nine of 10 NBA titles during the sixties including a string of seven consecutive triumphs from 1960 through 66. The 1967 Philadelphia 76ers were the only team to break their streak.

The league's recent announcement of the reserves of this seasons All Star teams reflect the domination of minority players in the league as the East squad have no white players on their roster. The West has no white players on their starting team. The West then added four white players with the announcement of the reserves which includes the Dallas Mavericks Dirk Nowitzki, the Phoenix Suns Steve Nash, the Minnesota Timberwolves Kevin Love and the Memphis Grizzlies Marc Gasol.

Perennial All-Stars Paul Pierce (Boston Celtics) Nowitzki have been chosen as All-Stars for the 10th and 11th time, respectively, and headline the list of 14 players that have been selected by the coaches as reserves for the 2012 NBA All-Star Game, the NBA announced Wednesday Feb 9th.

The game will air live at 7 p.m. ET on TNT and ESPN Radio in the U.S., and reach fans in more than 200 countries and territories in more than 40 languages and will be played at Amway Center in Orlando on Sunday, Feb. 26, 2012.

Joining Pierce as reserves on the East squad are Chris Bosh (Miami Heat), Luol Deng (Chicago Bulls), Roy Hibbert (Indiana Pacers), Andre Iguodala (Philadelphia 76ers), Joe Johnson (Atlanta Hawks), and Deron Williams (New Jersey Nets). Deng, Hibbert and Iguodala are first-time All-Stars, while Williams earns his third trip, Johnson his sixth, and Bosh his seventh.

Nowitzki, whose 11 selections are consecutive, is joined on the West team by reserves LaMarcus Aldridge (Portland Trail Blazers), Gasol, Love, Nash, Tony Parker (San Antonio Spurs), and Russell Westbrook (Oklahoma City Thunder).

For Aldridge and Gasol, this marks their first All-Star selection. It's the second All-Star nod for both Love and Westbrook, while Parker goes for the fourth time, and Nash, at 38 the oldest player in this year's game, is an All-Star for the eighth time.

Selected to start in the East -- through the 2012 NBA All-Star Balloting presented by Sprint - were Derrick Rose (Bulls), LeBron James and Dwyane Wade (Heat), Carmelo Anthony (New York Knicks), and Dwight Howard (Orlando Magic).

Voted to start for the West were Kobe Bryant and Andrew Bynum (Los Angeles Lakers), Blake Griffin and Chris Paul (Los Angeles Clippers), and Kevin Durant (Thunder).

Including Bynum, this year's midseason classic will feature five first-time All-Stars. On the other end of the spectrum, Bryant ties Jerry West, Karl Malone, and Shaquille O'Neal for the most consecutive All-Star nods in NBA history with 14.

NBA Commissioner David Stern will select the replacement for any player unable to participate in the All-Star Game. If the injured player is a starter, the head coach of that team will determine who replaces him in the starting lineup.

The 14 players selected -- seven each from the Eastern and Western Conferences -- were chosen by the 30 NBA head coaches, who were asked to vote for seven players in their respective conferences -- two guards, two forwards, one center and two players regardless of position. They were not permitted to vote for players from their own team.

The East and West All-Star coaches and coaching staffs will be determined by the best record in the conference through games played Feb. 15. The Celtics' Doc Rivers and San Antonio's Gregg Popovich coached the East and West All-Stars, respectively, last season and are therefore ineligible for the honor this year.

The resurgence of the white man in the game that they created is exemplifies that white men can jump.

NBA BEAT Part 1 - ALL STAR GAME AN LA FAMILY AFFAIR

Part 2 - THE BRYANTS FATHER (JELLYBEAN) & SON (KOBE)

NOTE: The LAKERS SUB page has been split into two sections. The older material is now in section 1999 to 2008

WHAT GOES AROUND COMES AROUND

As the saying goes what goes around comes around and that applies to NBA executioner Stu Jackson, who is also the NBA Executive Vice President Basketball Operations. Jackson is responsible for delving and dealing out punishment for those found guilty of NBA crimes against the pristine concepts of the league in breaking the rules.

This past week has been a busy one for the eradicator as he went into his wheel and deal game on three separate cases. Los Angeles Lakers head coach Mike Brown was been suspended one game without pay and fined $25,000 for making contact with a game official and failure to leave the court in a timely manner following his ejection. The rule he broke was THOUGH SHALT NOT TOUCH AN OFFICIAL.

The incident occurred with 8:41 remaining in the fourth quarter of the Lakers' 96-87 loss to the Utah Jazz at Energy Solutions Arena in Salt Lake City on Feb. 4. Brown served his suspension Monday when the Lakers played the Philadelphia 76ers at Wells Fargo Center.

Kevin Love of the Minnesota Timberwolves was suspended for two games without pay for driving his foot into the upper body and face of the Houston Rockets' Luis Scola as Scola was lying on the floor.

The incident, which has been upgraded by the league office to a Flagrant Foul Two on Love, occurred with 8:34 remaining in the third quarter of the Timberwolves' 100-91 win over the Rockets at Target Center in Minneapolis on Feb. 4.

Love will served his suspension Tuesday, Feb. 7 when the Timberwolves played the Sacramento Kings at Target Center and Wednesday, Feb. 8 when Minnesota plays the Memphis Grizzlies at FedEx Forum.

As we previously noted that Love is one of the white men who can jump and will appear in the All Star game. What is most disturbing about this is Love's uncle Mike love was a member of the Beach Boys recording group.

Listen up Kevin the lyrics go like this… Bah, Bah, Bah, Bah, Barbra Ann NOT BOP, BOP, BOP, BOP, BOP and RAN. In the future be NICE.

The rule he broke was THOU SHALT NOT STOMP ON PLAYERS HEADS.

Last but not least is the bad boy owner of the league Mark Cuban getting his just award for behavior unbecoming for an NBA OWNER. The Dallas Maverick's owner was fined $75,000 for his criticism of NBA officiating, it was announced by Jackson.

Cuban made his comments on Feb. 1 following Dallas' 95-86 loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder at American Airlines Center. The rule he broke was Thou shalt not berate an NBA official.

What is amusing about this for us is when we began coverage of the NBA in 1989 Jackson was a young coach of the New York Knicks. He was very pleasant and approachable with impeccable manners. Jackson led the Knicks to a 45-37 record in the 1989-90 season and a 3rd place finish in the Atlantic Division. They then eliminated the Boston Celtics 3-2 in the first round of the playoffs and were knocked out of the competition in the second round 4-1 by the eventual champion Detroit Pistons.

The squad included Patrick Ewing, Charles Oakley, Gerald Wilkins, Kiki Vandeweghe, now Golden State Warriors coach Mark Jackson and Maurice Cheeks. After a 7-8 start the following season he was replaced and moved on.

Obviously Jackson's rise to being an NBA adhere to the rules decision maker stems from his respect for others when he was a coach.