The good, the bad and the ugly

The Good

Rodrigue “Roddy” Beaubois has been an integral part of the Mavericks’ bench in this resent winning streak.  In the last three games, Roddy has averaged 21 points a game despite only averaging just above six points a game on the season.  While he has only scored in double digits seven times this year, the Mavs have only turned to this rookie guard 39 times on this almost finished season.

With Jason Terry out for and undetermined amount of time due to facial surgery, the Mavs will continue turning to Roddy.  He brings energy off of the bench and runs a fast back court along side J.J. Barea.   He had an impressive block against the Lakers’ Jordan Farmar on February 24^th after getting stuffed himself and sprinting the length of the court for the defensive feat.  The play got Mavs fans on their feet and made Sportcenter’s top 10 plays of the day.  He adds to the guard depth of the Mavs and should be learning plenty as long as Jason Kidd is running the show.

If you still aren’t impressed, just consider the fact that the Mavs could have stuck with Byron Mullens as the 24^th pick in the 2009 draft…

The Bad

By now, if you don’t already know that Allen Iverson is having problems, you need to step your game up.  Today the Philadelphia Inquirer reported that Iverson is facing problems with drinking and gambling.  His wife Tawanna recently filed for a divorce and alimony of the kids and the Philadelphia 76ers have cut ties with the All-Star.  Iverson has only played in 28 games this season (three in Memphis and 25 for Philadelphia) and is only averaging just under 14 points on the season (the worst of his career).

To say the least, A.I. was a distraction to the young 76ers that they themselves have seen a fall from grace.  Last season they took Orlando to six games in the first round and in 07-08 took the then dominating Detroit Pistons to seven games.  This year they are on the outside looking in with only 23 wins and a spot at 10^th in the East.  Iverson making the All-Star game this season speaks volumes about the intelligence or lack thereof of NBA fans around the world.

The Ugly

The Lakers’ play as of late isn’t the only horrifying oddity coming from this west-coast powerhouse and onto viewers’ television screens.  Ron Artest’s hair on Sunday afternoon against the Orlando Magic looked just plain awful.  The veteran forward has never been known for fitting in but the only thing he could have blended in was purple and gold bile as this team took the court in Orlando.  Amidst the recent skid by LA, Artest summoned his hair stylist to write the word ‘defense’ into his hair in Hebrew, Japanese and Hindi in purple and yellow.  His stylist ‘Boogie’ was interviewed during one of the breaks and admitted that the process took over five hours.

However, the hairstyle didn’t improve his game as Vince Carter went on and scored 25 points and the Magic won their fifth straight.  Artest is averaging 6 points a game during this three-game-losing streak including a two-point game against the Bobcats.  He hasn’t recorded a block since February 18^th.