Well, the roster expanded. The sausage… fest grew and we are now up to EIGHT DUDES. Our name was then changed to the 8th Seed.

Well, Michael De Leon from Project Spurs hosted this February show. As you can see, today’s date is March 11. So if you like reliving the awesome All-Star break, you can listen to us! I mean, it can’t be any different from reliving high school, right? By the way, some breaking news! Did you know that J.R. Rider got drafted by the Minnesota Timberwolves?

Apparently, I also did a bit of auto-tune. Who am I? T-Pain? Wait. Let’s go a little old-school since this podcast is a bit old-school. Maybe I’m more like Roger Troutman. Rest in peace, fella.

Check out Episode 9 over at Project Spurs.

Here’s the 8-man rotation, the Twitter names, and the sites represented!
Glenn Moore (@DugoutSportShow, Dugout Sports Show)
Adam Best (@adamcbest, FanSided)
Jeff Garcia and Michael De Leon (@sa2ny2004 and @mdeleon, Project Spurs)
Jared Wade (@BothTeamsPlayed and @8pts9secs, Both Teams Played Hard and Eight Points Nine Seconds)
John Karalis (@RedsArmy, Red’s Army)
Zach Harper (@talkhoops and @Cowbell_Kingdom, TalkHoops and Cowbell Kingdom)

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So here we go. Let’s call this TNLP TweetBag. And, yes, I’m going to leave these tweets unedited because I like to keep it real. Yes, I know. How very un-L.A. of me.

cazjuice
how many rings will kobe end up with?

I’m going to go with six. They should still be the dominant team in the West for the next few years. Orlando and Cleveland aren’t surefire teams to win the title in the East and I have a hard time seeing Boston improve. As for the West, I can only see Denver legitimately challenging the Lakers in the near future. Maybe Dallas can get more pieces but I just have a hard time seeing that myself. And I can’t believe I’m saying this but San Antonio might be at the end of their road.

da_Goat
@TheNoLookPass who on the lakers you think should be the “Charles Oakley” enforcer for the team?

Ron Artest. Problem is that I think he’s really trying to be a good guy this year. Lamar Odom hinted at becoming that enforcer. Maybe he’ll be that guy.

imsohideous
If Jordan Farmar and Shannon Brown were hanging off of a cliff, which one would you save?

I’m admittedly more of a Jordan Farmar guy. With Shannon Brown, I imagine he has springs on his shoes so he’ll probably land on his feet and spring back himself on to the cliff. So, yeah, Jordan Farmar.

By the way, those Miller Lite commercials are horrible. Why would you turn down Rachel Specter, the RG-X spray girl? RACHEL SPECTER. DAMMIT.

KWAPT
How do u (honestly) think the Lakers would finish this year without Kobe? Eliminated in 1st, 2nd rd? Still repeat as champs?

Remember that team with Pau Gasol in Memphis? This one’s a bit more talented with Odom and Ron. I can see them being a second-round team. But they’d never be mistaken as a title contender. And I’d imagine there would be more headaches with Ron becoming more involved in the offense because he’d feel the need to shoot more.

amberlynn245
what do you see the biggest difference between this years team and last years team? strengths and weaknesses.

They are a much better defensive team with Ron around. Problem is that they still make the same fundamental mistakes from last year (Kobe roaming around on D, point guards leaving shooters open). But Ron has given them that one-on-one defender that the Lakers needed to solidify the D on the perimeter or the wing.

But let’s face it; the hunger is not quite there. They’re soft again (as compared to last year when they… weren’t as soft). Pau Gasol’s having a good season but he’s getting banged around. And I know he’s better than that. Even Lamar said himself that teams have this quiet confidence and feel they can beat the Lakers. That’s gotta stop.

Also… their 3-pt shooting hasn’t been as good. They had knockdown shooters in the past couple of years. They are missing that this season. Their best regular 3-pt shooter has been Ron Artest and while he’s shooting pretty well from there (.377), that’s not the strength of his game.

But hey. They’ve been there before. They’ll figure it out.

djmelvis
You see Phil tapering Kobe’s minutes in the final games going into the playoffs? Think Kobe’s being overworked while still on the mend?

Even if Phil wanted to, do you see Kobe wanting his minutes reduced? I think Kobe will be fine; he knows his body more than anyone (he did rest his ankle for a few games). But what I do think will happen is that if the Lakers are locked into home court (whether it’s the West or the whole thing), we’ll see all the starters get their minutes reduced, including Kobe’s.

LucasTHENBAMan
@TheNoLookPass If you could add one player to the Lakers this season (be somewhat realistic) who would it be?

I’d add a cheap swingman that’s a rugged defender, doesn’t mind getting his hands dirty, and can knock down shots from beyond the arc. Ya know, someone like Jared Dudley from the Suns or L.A.’s new favorite, Matt Barnes. Phil can probably play either of those guys on the 2 and it would solve their problems when their bench needs to defend the wing and perimeter.

A nice cheap big man would be good also. Hey, if the Clips inexplicably let go of DeAndre Jordan…

Of course, if I were the “typical Laker fan”, I’d be like, “LET’S TRADE SASHA FOR CHRIS PAUL.”

khoffman3113
What’s the Lakers biggest flaw that could cost them a shot at a back to back championship?

The ability to bang with other teams. Take a look at the Cleveland game as a prime example.

I’d say focus but I think that won’t be a problem come playoff time. However, Lamar Odom said it himself that every other team perceives them as a soft team. The Pau Gasol we’re seeing right now is not the one we saw in the Finals. Andrew Bynum seems tentative at times and, sometimes, his head is just not in the game. I’d love to see Ron Artest assert himself more as an enforcer. He’s playing terrific defense for the Lakers but I haven’t seen him be a bodyguard of some sorts like he was in the past.

Their perimeter D can be better, too… but the inside banging is more glaring to me.

sweetbob
So when does Adam Morrison dye his hair blonde and write “Benchwarmer” in Hebrew, Japanese, & Hindi in his hair?

When I DYE my hair blonde and write “Most Awesome NBA Blogger” in Hebrew, Japanese, and Hindi.

socalgirl24
Do you have a better vertical leap than RonRon?

I think YOU have a better vertical leap than RonRon.

Well, that was terrible. Hope you enjoyed this little Tweetbag!

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I just want to know why he doesn’t clone himself and turn him and his clones ten feet tall more often. They’d be unstoppable.

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A number of his actions and decisions such as the aforementioned made people question his integrity but one cannot question his ability to help bring in talented players (i.e. Cuttino Mobley, Baron Davis, Craig Smith etc) or help keep a little extra change in Sterling’s pockets.

One can’t help but wonder why the decision was made to sever ties with Dunleavy with only a quarter of a season left to play, but there are a number of rumors or possible scenarios swarming around the Internet:

• Clipper fans are wondering if Larry Brown could be making his way back to LA for a second run with the Clippers after news broke about Brown contacting Donald Sterling to inquire about the position. However, there’s speculation that it was Brown’s fall-back plan in the event that George Postolos had won the bidding for the Bobcats instead of Michael Jordan. Brown would also want full control over personnel decisions and would likely want to trade players in order to suit his style of play.
• A source within the organization stated that the move was made with hopes that the organization will be able to persuade LeBron James to come to the Clippers and choose both his coach and GM.
• Phil Jackson apparently said that the Clippers’ coaching job is “attractive” which has people wondering if Phil Jackson and LeBron James would team up on the Clippers.
• And of course there’s the “it’s the Clippers” theory and that the Clippers will strike out, fail to sign any major free agent and will keep Olshey and Hughes in their respective positions through next season and the foreseeable future and that Sterling will remain the penny-pinching individual that he has always been.

Unfortunately, we can only speculate what might happen on or after July 1 when free agency starts but this move to remove Dunleavy is a move in the right direction and the Clippers should continue to seek out individuals with championship experience to truly help turn this franchise around much like they did when they added Sam Cassell to the team in 2005.

But this is only 1 opinion out of 3 on The No-Look Pass’ Clipper supporter team. Dave and Brandon share their thoughts as well:

Dave: With the Clippers’ season virtually over, they made headlines with the relieving of Mike Dunleavy as GM. This would mean that he and the Clippers have completely severed ties. Though the timing was kind of odd, it was something I thought needed to happen.

If you look at the direction of the team with the current regime, ask yourself  ”what are they trying to do?” Dunleavy made it a point to clear cap space for the summer of 2010 hand has put the Clippers in an excellent position to attract a marquee free agent or two. Kim Hughes is just rolling with the punches and will likely not be back as head coach next season. It is once again a period of transition. On paper, the Clips are loaded, but why are they getting outclassed by a team like Houston, who had a bunch of role players prior to the Kevin Martin deal?

It’s obvious there’s more to being a great GM than collecting talent – it’s obtaining player with high character that fit within a team concept. Kevin Pritchard and Sam Presti have built exceptional models that should be followed by all GM’s in the league. You look at the Clippers young core – Blake Griffin, DeAndre Jordan, Eric Gordon – and you build around that. Add in a potential star FA and a high lottery pick and you’ve got something. Make sure the right GM and coach are selected to maximize the potential of such a roster.

There are so many factors that go into building a winner. There are also so many unknowns that will be solved within the coming months for the Clippers. But, at first glance, it looks like the pieces are there for something special. And while Dunleavy is a smart man who was passionate about making the franchise better, in the end, everything is measured by wins and losses. Fair or not, it was time to move on. It says something (positive) about Sterling in fact he was willing to eat up the remainder of Dunleavy’s contract, something one could have not imagined possible years ago. Will these “unlimited resources” that he claims he has to be used completely this offseason? Only time will tell. The palette has been cleansed. It’s time to paint a new picture…and this time, hopefully, it’s Van Gogh worthy.

Brandon: With Mike Dunleavy Sr. no longer acting as the GM of the Los Angeles Clippers, he and the team have officially parted ways. his time was a turbulent one, riddled with injuries and missed expectation to go with the one miraculous playoff run where he brought the Clippers within one game of the Western Conference Finals. For his time, which is marked as the longest tenure of any head coach in Los Angeles Clipper history, he was one that took most of the blame for the Clippers’ misgivings, but that time is now oever. Marked by a desire to win now, the Clippers can now look ahead with their upcoming cap room and unlimited resources, made possible thanks to the philanthropic owner of the tea–

Oh wait. That’s right, we still have no evidence that Donald T. Sterling is willing to commit his resources into making this team a winner.

Call me skeptical, but with this firing, it might be best to take a “wait and see” approach. After all, Sterling has shown no history or willingness to spend money on the team prior to the arrival of Mike Dunleavy. The advances the franchise has made in the past decade — building a state of the art practice facility, signing free agents, re-signing their own marquee players — these were all pipe dreams to any Clipper fan prior to the arrival of the MDSr. As much as I’d like to play the optimist in this case, imagining possibilities of GM/Coach combinations that could take this team into playoff contention, history is holding me back from having such thoughts. As a Clipper fan, how can I not be skeptical of yet another rebuild, or be fearful of a return to the times when Eric Piatkowski’s 5 year, $15M contract was the most money the team had spent on a player?

This team can win, but the problem with it as there are too many #2 and #3 options when the team clearly lacks the go-to player that they can rely on in order to close games. Baron Davis can’t feel pressured into having to take shots, Chris Kaman can’t be the one taking most of the shots and Eric Gordon needs to develop that instinct to believe he can make big shots. The team clearly needs a star to balance the rest of what should be a talented roster and a voice that will steer them in the right direction. Both are available this offseason, should the owner be willing to spend the money for it.

The fans can see this. The question now is whether or not Sterling sees this as well.

Ansu Sesay is a name we didn’t hear too much here in the United States but his popularity has grown overseas over the years.  His combination of size and athleticism, ability to hit shots from 15-20 feet and quick hands and feet on defense led him to be dubbed as an atypical forward and seemed destined to have a long career in the NBA but managed to only appear in 127 games over 4 seasons.  Today we take a look back at his career.

Sesay was drafted 30th overall in the 2nd round of the 1998 NBA draft, two spots ahead of Rashard Lewis.  Unfortunately for Sesay, he suffered a torn ACL and sat out the entire lockout-shortened 1999 season.  The following season, he was traded along with Dana Barros to Detroit for long-time Clipper Loy Vaught.  He was waived by the Pistons shortly after and spent time in the CBA while his NBA debut was put on hold.

In March of 2002, Sesay signed a 10-day contract with the Sonics and was eventually signed on for the remainder of the season.  The Sonics made the playoffs and were met in the first round by the San Antonio Spurs before falling in 5 games.  Sesay played in 4 of the games and gained valuable playoff experience.

The Sonics began to decline after that season and Sesay was limited to averaging only 10 minutes, 2.1 and 3.5 points per game respectively over the next two seasons.

The Golden State Warriors picked up Sesay the following season but once again saw limited playing time on a team with a number of forwards such as Zarko Cabarkapa, Nikoloz Tskitishvili, and Troy Murphy. He appeared in 16 games before being released by the team in January of 2005.  That same month, Sesay went overseas to Italy and eventually went on to win a title in 2006.

The Clippers called Sesay in to training camp in 2007 and were looking for help after Elton Brand went down with a ruptured Achilles tendon. But unfortunately it was not meant to be as the Clippers released Sesay before the start of the season.

It was back to Italy again for Sesay where he would play for AJ Milano and was featured in this Euro-league profile:

At age 33, Sesay continues to play overseas in France and is still a premier player.  He may be gone from the NBA but he is definitely not forgotten. The No-Look Pass salutes Ansu Sesay.

Questions? Comments? Hit up the Bolo Box – Peter@thenolookpass.com
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Well…

…I wonder if Avery likes to eat ghosts when he’s all fired up.

“EN DA DALLES MAVEREEKS ARE WYPEENG OUT DA LOS ANGELIS LAYKERRS.”

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With the Clippers virtually out of the playoff picture at this point, what better way to uplift the spirits than an iPhone app dedicated to Baron Davis?? I mean, he’s not winning games for his team, so might as well win the approval of iPhone users, right? Here’s a peek of the treats within:

Look at those gaudy stats. So what if he dropped 21.8ppg the year before?

Check out his latest tweet. Is he awake from his month long nap yet?

Thank goodness there's no Greg Oden poses at least.

I will say that his videos are very entertaining. Makes you wanna order a boom beard...in bulk.

This should keep Clipper Nation entertained until NBA Draft time.

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The truth is… every fan base would want someone like Matt Barnes on their team.

Yeah, I get it. He’s not Kobe. He’s not a star. But he is the definition of a role player. He just does what he’s told and he brings it every game. And he’s one of those guys that’s not afraid to get his hands dirty. And America finally got to know Matt Barnes in their big game against the Lakers yesterday. He wasn’t afraid to get in Kobe’s face. Normally, yes, it’s the foolish thing to do. But if you’re fearless like Barnes… then it doesn’t really matter now, does it?

And that’s what players want for a teammate. Just do the job. Stay within the role of the offense. Irritate the star players on defense. Watch their backs. That’s what Matt Barnes does. I haven’t really heard any history of Barnes being a detriment to a team. In fact, I heard from a King fan and a Warrior fan about how much they miss Barnes. Remember that Barnes helped the 8th-seeded Warriors topple the Dallas Mavericks in the 2007 Playoffs.

Barnes doesn’t have the greatest numbers but some plays aren’t seen in box scores. Kobe scored 34 points with Barnes on his grill. While that may sound like Kobe schooled him, it took him 30 shots to get there. Not exactly efficient. In the meantime, Barnes just scored 10 points but he hit a crucial three at the end of the game that helped Orlando win. He’s just doing what he’s supposed to do. Will Kobe get the best of him the next time they play each other? Undoubtedly. But that doesn’t mean Barnes will back off the challenge of guarding Kobe. They may even have a run-in or two if they end up meeting in the Finals. But you have to respect what Matt Barnes does. He’ll keep coming even if the guy went 10-for-10 on him. I mean, yes, faking throwing a ball at someone’s face isn’t the cleanest play in the book but if he was on your team, you’d applaud and say how much the opposing guy is intimidated.

For the opposing team’s fan base, yes, he’s someone that can be easily hated. They may even deny wanting him on the team. But deep down, the fans do want him on their team. And when it does happen, they’ll embrace him with open arms and everything they said about the guy is suddenly forgotten. Don’t believe me? Ask Los Angeles about Ron Artest.

PHOTO CREDIT: John Raoux/AP.

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For the most part, Ron Artest hasn’t done anything outrageous in his first year as a Laker. I mean, he’s had messages carved in his hairstyle but he had been doing that even before he got to L.A.

With those things in mind and the Lakers in a bit of a tailspin, I’m sure people are questioning why Artest is doing this.

Pictured here with his barber, Boogie… Ron is showing off his NEW look. I’m sure part of this is a tribute to former NBA bad boy, Dennis Rodman.

The following two pictures show off the word “defense” in Japanese, Hebrew, and Hindi.

Is it distracting? Sure. His hair is friggin’ bright. But as you know, Ron’s been on fire in the defensive end as of late. Maybe this is more of his way of saying that he totally means business. After all, it has DEFENSE written all over his head.

Honestly, I’m wondering why it took him so long to do this. It probably would’ve also been better if he did this in the beginning of the season to get those talkers out of the way early but Ron (or his brothers) would be the first to tell me that he’s used to the talk and that he’s just focused on getting the ring.

Besides… it’d be even MORE distracting if he went with this hairstyle.

Yes, that’s Ron Artest in his adolescent years. Ron, please don’t kill me.

Photo Credits: All of them are from Ron Artest’s Twitter. Follow him on @RONARTESTCOM.

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1. Lakers Vs Denver 02-28-2010 (Twitter Play-By-Play): I take my favorite tweets from that game and put ‘em all here!

2. I’m Sure Dallas Likes This Deal Now: I take a look back at what used to be a good deal for the New Jersey Nets. Now, it seems like Dallas has gotten the better of it.

3. Sweet Dishes: Scottie Is Mr. Submarine: An old commercial of Mr. Submarine involving Pip.

4. So How Are Ron Artest And Trevor Ariza Doing?: Who still doubts this is a downgrade for the Lakers? If you still think yes, you’re kidding me.

5. Lamar Odom Likes Tacos From Taco Bell: No, Lamar Odom actually likes to get chocolate from Taco Bell. But, yes, check out our awesome quick Twitter convo.

6. We Like Obscure NBA Players: Boniface N’Dong: Peter Kim brings out a player we had been talking about for weeks off record: Boniface N’Dong. The name alone makes him sound like a winner.

7. Sweet Dishes: Kobe Bryant’s First Video Game Endorsement: Remember when Nintendo got Kobe Bryant for their first basketball video game in the Nintendo 64. The entry has the commercial for it.

8. Chronicles Of Crotty #44: Supersonic: We end this week with the Chronicles of Crotty Podcast. Eric Pincus from Hoops World Dot Com humbles us with his appearance.

Stay safe out there, people!

Follow me on Twitter. My name is @TheNoLookPass. Now I am going to try to enjoy this rainy weekend.

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