The Saga Continues

Kelly Dwyer from Yahoo Sports might have made it popular to have a man-crush on "The Machine."

But here at ATA, we all know we were the first.

Once again, another Sasha video brought to you by Lakers-fan.com

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Headlining: Basketball

• Welcome back, Sasha! The Machine has agreed to a 3-year $15 million deal. Long enough to earn him 3 rings.
  

• I don’t know what’s wrong with the NBA, but they love Maurice Evans. After a reported $6.4 million offer from Golden State, the highly-desperate Atlanta is close to signing Evans.
  

• Depression and injury is disastrous for any professional sports player, so what happens after Dwyane Wade gets depressed from all his injuries? He gets fat.
  

• The new Oklahoma City franchise will be named either the Barons, Bison, Energy, Marshalls, Thunder, or Wind. Congratulations OKC, you have great young talent and a horrific future name. I personally vote for Thunder Cats.

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Headlining: Basketball

• Reformed stoner, Chris “I Get High as a Bird” Andersen will rejoin the Denver Nuggets , a team that will undoubtedly miss the playoffs this year.
  

• The Golden State Nuggets have re-signed Monta Ellis and matched the Clippers offer-sheet for Kelenna Azbuike. With the affluence of athletic players no leadership, the Warriors are clearly attempting to emulate the Knickerbockers losing formula.
  

• When Josh Childress signed with Greece, I highly doubted anyone of importance would follow suit. Unfortunately, I may be wrong. Sasha Vujacic is threatening to sign in Europe if the Lakers do not offer a more valuable contract.
  

• Charles Barkley, the 6’4” 400 lb. power house will pay for a busboy’s (28 yrs.) Temple tuition so he can eventually teach. Very admirable Charles!
  

• And just off the record, Charles wanted to join us and say a few words about his T-Mobile commercials. Hit the read/discuss link for the video.
  

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Vujacic Stays in Los Angeles. He better.

I regret the fact that we didn't launch After the Anthem sooner.

Because if we had perhaps we would have had the clout to spank Mitch Kupchak in the behind!

There are murmurings that Sasha Vujacic might leave the Lakers for Europe because he feels his $2.6 million contract isn't fair value.

I reported on this topic previously here.

Mitch Kupchak said that he would be in contact with Sasha at 9:01 PM when he was well aware that free agency begins at 9:00PM.

Dealbreaker? Definitely.

Although Sasha wouldn't have realled cared if Mitch called him one minute earlier, this slothful arrogance from Mitch foreshadowed how he was going to deal with Sasha.

Losing Ronny Turiaf is one thing, because next year assuming that Bynum comes back healthy, there is going to be an overload up front. But, to lose Sasha who was as close to Bobby Jackson the Lakers had will be brutal.

The upfront qualifying offer of $2.6 million for one year was disgustingly insulting. He would have earned less money than our tubby tubster Kevin Love. Heck Kevin Love has 2-years guaranteed, while Sasha had only one year guaranteed.

Kupchak then got a bit more realistic and offered a 3 year $12 million deal. Which is at least respectable. But if he was going to offer this from the get go, why even dangle that $2.6 million in front of him?

He is the Machine. He doesn't play around.

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NBA Corner

Clippers were able to steal away Baron Davis from the Golden State Warriors and bring back hope to LA’s OTHER basketball team. Unfortunately for the Clipper fans, the corner stone, Elton Brand, decided to sell his house, packed his bags, and agreed to a deal with Philadelphia. And 20-point scorer Corey Maggette is gone too (but we all knew this was going to happen). Looks like the Clippers won’t be making the playoffs again… and we all hate EB now.

Maggette is absolutely yoked and should fit in perfectly in Oakland.

As soon as allowed, the Lakers offered our personal favorite, Sasha “the machine” Vujacic, a one year $2.6 million dollar offer. He still hasn’t responded. For a guy who came off the bench, averaged 9 points a game and found himself entrusted in the final moments of close games by Phil Jackson, I would expect the Lakers to lock him down for at least 2 years (so does Sasha).

Beasley dominated his first summer-league game and scored 28 points, the next game he went 1-13 FGs, 5 turnovers, and 7 fouls. However, judging from his 28-point performance against Tyrus Thomas and Joahkim Noah, Beasley should undoubtedly become a force for the Heat this season.



Second-round pick Mario Chalmers is also displaying signs of greatness by outperforming top pick Derrick Rose in his first game and putting 19 pts 9 assists in his second game. Who knows, maybe this kid will start at the 1 for Miami later this year.

Russell Westbrook. Rookie of the year? Seattle’s.. Oklahoma City’s… first round pick is averaging 18.5 points in his first two summer-league games, shooting well (8-10 his second game) and is meshing well with Kevin Durant and Jeff Green.



Quickly falling. Phoenix Suns. Nash is getting old. Shaq is already old. Grant Hill will get injured this season (and he's old). Leandro Barbosa and Boris Diaw have fallen out of favor. Amare Stoudemire can’t play defense. Shaq was their plan. Looks like ruin to me.


Future of the West. Brandon Roy, Jerryd Bayless, Travis Outlaw/Martell Webster, LaMarcus Aldridge, Greg Oden. Just process that for a minute. They’re going to be really good really soon.

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One More Thing, Vujacites.

Now I know, I know this Lakers flavor on ATA needs to end soon. I mean it has to end soon no? Especially considering that the NBA Season has now concluded. I just had to make one more comment, just because its so much fun supporting a player who really shoots too damn much for his own good. So, I was looking through the NBA Draft results and came across this article:
http://www.latimes.com/sports/printedition/la-sp-lakers27-2008jun27,0,1934112.story

In it, Mitch Kupchak talks about his draft pick Joe Crawford. He seems decent, considering it "slipped" so low. But in reality, this Laker's team is so deep that he really has no place, especially if last year's draft pick, China's Sun Yue, comes over to the United States next season. Here's a clip:

So anyways, the real point of this post is because I wanted to highlight how free agency begins at 9 P.M. tomorrow. Mitch Kupchak knows this too. He's a good GM. Here's what Mitchie said about Sasha:

They are particularly interested in re-signing Sasha Vujacic, a restricted free agent.

"I intend to contact him at 9:01 on Monday night," Kupchak said.

Then pray tell
WHAT ARE YOU GOING TO BE DOING AT 9:00 PM???

Mitch better be on that horse by 9:00 PM.
Thanks to loljocks.blogspot.com for the picture.

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I Wish the Lakers Were Still in it.... So I Could Watch More of the Machine.

Lakers? Celtics? Some could care less. Some just want to see basketball. Some don't like watching blowouts. Some just hate it when superstars sulk on the bench and give up. Some also hate it when regular stars act like they're 2 years old and pretend to be injured so they can get their diapers chagned in the locker room. Some just want to see Sasha Vujacic because they are girls and they think he looks so adorable. And then some just think that the Machine is AWESOME.

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The Machine can't stop.

In honor of a very honorable game by Sasha "the Machine" Vujacic. I present to you the next installment of the Sasha Videos. Thanks to Lakers-fan.com.

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Lakers vs Celtics: Keys to Win

TYPICALLY, there are specific game plans that can be devised to shut down any team in the NBA. So I had all intention of explaining what the game plan would be for each team in the finals. Unfortunately, I'm drawing a blank. The Los Angeles Lakers and the Boston Celtics both have so many weapons and so many different response tactics, you shut down one aspect and they'll fire back with a different weapon-- this is why these two teams are in the championship series. So though there aren't any sure fire ways to truly shut the other team down, as always, I will try (and most likely be right).

For BOSTON CELTICS to win:

Exploit and attack Derek Fisher. Yes, Derek Fisher has been reputed as a solid offensive and defensive presence, however, he has definitely lost a step or two. Deron Williams and Tony Parker ripped Derek Fisher apart on the offensive end using their quickness and an endless series of pick and rolls. Lakers have placed a lot of trust in Derek Fisher's able hands, but unfortunately, many times this trust is misplaced due to Fisher's age. And from a defensive point of view, force Fish to create on the offensive end. When Fisher sets his feet he is one of the best shooters in the game, but when he's forced to create on his own, he will undoubtedly take off-balance shots (that won't go in) and force layups into the opposing teams shot blockers.


Boston by far has the physical edge when being compared to the lanky frontline of the Lakers, but I don't find this to be too much of an advantage in the game of basketball. The Lakers will respond to Boston's strength so forcing the ball to the post will not win the series; don't force it down low.

Boston needs to exploit their three point shooters. James Posey, Ray Allen, Paul Pierce. They are big time three point shooters and if they can find their shot, the Lakers are in trouble. The Lakers have already had a lot of practice versus the pick and rolls by playing against Tony Parker, so it will ultimately come down to a three point contest against themselves.

Kevin Garnett always plays with heart, emotion and intensity, it's the only way he plays. But that's not going to win the basketball game. KG needs to take the scoring load on himself, plug the lane defensively, and forcible take games away from Los Angeles. Deferring to Pierce and his teammates will not win the series.


Keys for LOS ANGELES LAKERS to win:

Do not be intimidated by Boston's arena, the historic rivalry, their big three, or their record. The last two times these teams played, Boston destroyed Los Angeles not only on the scoreboard, but also in poise and energy. Lamar Odom, Ronny Turiaf, Sasha Vujacic, and Jordan Farmar need to play tough, physical, in-your-face defense and aggressive offensive for the Lakers to overcome Boston.

Kobe Bryant. With a defense as tough Boston, the only real answer is Kobe Bryant, a man no defense can stop. And if reports are correct regarding Boston's decision not to double-team Kobe, he should have a field day tearing up the defense. I also believe that the Kobe-Pau lob connection will be completely obliterated by Kevin Garnett, so I see Kobe looking for Lamar more often this series.

Lakers bench need to do what they've been doing all season. Entering the game and shooting the lights out, many times extending the lead. This will be extremely tough to do due to Boston's physicality in their starting lineup and their bench, but when did physicality affect three point shooting?

Double team Kevin Garnett, suffocate Paul Pierce individually, and force Ray Allen to be the man. If there was one star in the NBA who was never going to win a championship, it's Ray Allen. When you're slumping for two and a half series, you're not answering the call to be a champion. He did manage to find a few shots in Detroit but I can confidently state that he does not have the IT factor to lead Boston. Look to see him riding the bench for long periods of time.



Lakers in 6. I was going to say 5 but Luke Walton is going to screw up a game.

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A Step Closer to the Championship

(Boredom awaiting the Celtics-Pistons game spawns this post)


A standing ovation with a mere 5-point lead and nearly 2 minutes to play left in the 4th is perhaps jumping the gun. I'll admit, as a cynic, maybe my Lakers faith was stalled a bit. I'll admit I was scared of the Spurs. But the Spurs never came closer after that. And it was goodbye to the defending champs.

Deep down, I knew the Lakers would go on to win this one. They had to. Spurs feeling confident with a 17-point lead? Not in our home! The Lakers wanted the win, and they wanted it bad. Even Farmar stepped it up last night and turned on his game, scoring 8 points, including 3 consecutive baskets. And who else better than Sasha to seal an already-made deal with a 3-pointer at the buzzer? (I am told that my bias would not be in effect if he was on the opposing team, I would hate his guts. I am also told that he made a lot of Lakers gamblers very happy, increasing the point spread to over 5. But I know nothing about this, so I'll stop here. I'll consider it a preview of what's more to come from The Machine. I'm telling you, one of these days he's going to hit a game-winning 3 in the playoffs.) Congratulations to the Lakers for winning the Western Conference championship and moving on to the finals in perhaps one of the toughest conferences yet! Can you believe that just earlier this year, Mr. MVP himself was demanding a trade? Though we must be careful what we wish for, let's hope for a Lakers-Celtics rivalry resurrection to top off this fairytale story! If Kobe is the modern-day Magic, then who is Larry Bird? Is it even fair to make this analogy?

Before I get ahead of myself, Boston has to step on the fingers of Detriot as they struggle to hold on. But if the Celtics continue to follow in their pattern of playoff games this season, we might expect another game 6 loss and third 7-game series for Boston. Stay tuned.

On an end note, as a follow-up to my previous Sasha-inspired post, did you happen to catch that smack to babyface by Ginobili?

Sasha should've ripped Manu a new bald spot. Personally, I think he needs new methods (besides growing his hair long) in his intimidation efforts. I vote for tattoos.

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I admit, I love "The Machine" as well

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These guys are classic. You gotta love it when creativity and sports make love. What`s not to love about the Machine! My POOT my POOT!

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Why I Love Sasha Vujacic

While I will agree that this is perhaps a predictable debut blog entry coming from me, I’ll spare you all the mushy details about how I first took notice of his oh-so-cute boyish good looks. This time, it’s about the talent, the talent that you could sense within him over these past few years that is finally blooming. It’s about the not-so-pesky little Slovenian you all love to hate. It’s about “The Machine!” Even as I am writing this, I can feel all the skepticism, but it’s time that I step up and defend my man once and for all.

Phil loves him, so you should too. If it’s anyone that has faith in Sasha, it’s Phil Jackson. So maybe he did refer to Sasha as “11 o’clock player.” But it is apparent that Jackson consistently puts his trust in him. As Sasha emerges as a reliable player, things are changing. He's confident. When the ball gets to Sasha, you can almost always expect he will shoot. And despite the occasional pleading for him not to take the shot, he's making a good amount of them. If he doesn't, it's okay, because you can just tell he knows he will make the next one. You need confident shooters. He gives 100% every time he steps out on the court in practice and 110% in games.

Defense. He’s everywhere. Even reputable players struggle with Sasha on guard, and I am convinced that, that is why they are forced to foul, and foul hard. Players get annoyed at Sasha because they see him as a little nuisance that, for some reason, they just can’t seem to get past. I will forever vow revenge on Carmelo for daring to intentionally choke poor little Sasha.

He’s “The Machine!” A nickname he did not, in fact, give himself, but rather, is called such for his amazing 3-point shooting abilities! This season Sasha shot 44% from the 3-point line. And if you can recall as well as I do, the games in which Sasha’s 3-point shot sealed the deal for a Lakers win: first back in 2005 in OT against the Jazz, Sasha put the Lakers in the lead making both free throws, then proceeded to secure the win with a 3-pointer. Last year again, against the Mavs, he not only shot his career high in points, but broke Dallas’ winning streak with a game-winning 3. Sasha has definitely saved the day before. And it’ll happen again – perhaps in these playoffs, he’ll have a chance to become the new Horry. Sasha can pull through when it matters the most.

The hair, the headband, the heart. With all of these components, Sasha is that player so loveable you can’t help but like. So he grew his hair to juxtapose his baby face. But he’s still cute. He wears a woman’s headband given to him by a Lakers girl. But he’s still cute. (And at least he doesn’t have to constantly slick his bangs to the side every time he goes to make a shot, i.e., Kyle Kutcher Korver.) That aside, Sasha brings the intensity to the court. The flame was always there, and now Sasha is on fire. Gradually he is becoming a valuable asset to the Lakers, a player not only looked to for comic relief, but as a necessity to the team. All in all, Sasha has proved to be able to get the job done when it counts. He'll continue to improve, and one day you will all embrace Sasha as a respectable NBA player with as much intensity as his bearhug "manhug" to Pau Gasol.

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Liveblogging: Lakers-Utah

Just as a disclaimer, I think the Lakers are going to win this one. And it is because I've been saying that it's over in 6 that I'm rooting for them to win. Otherwise I am completely unbiased. Now lets get on with it.

• The Cavs-Celtics game finally ended! For those of you who dared question me when I said Cavs in 7 all I have to say is this is why I run a sports blog and you don't! Just kidding guys! I'm kind of scared about game 7, but I'm rooting for the Cavs all the way so that I can feel like a genius.
• Lakers are starting the game really fast. This is a very nice change from the last Utah home games, where they would get lost on offense a lot.
• I never noticed before but Carlos Boozer's free throws have some amazing arc. I wonder if he shoots a lot better now and days.
• Man I can't get enough of this Laker offense, everything is so smooth.
  
• Lakers now up 24-12. Uh oh Utah. Utah just keeps on taking fade-aways.
  
• Man who else saw Pau almost lose the ball then pick it back up and try a little floater when vlad was wide open for a dunk. Give him the ball man! Vlad ended up tipping it in anyways. But still, where's the respect.
• Hubie Brown just said Kobe is averaging 33-7-7. What?? I haven't been following stats but those are dominating numbers. They all came really quietly...Is that a good thing or a bad thing?? I think it really shows me that the Lakers have truly become a team now.
• I can't wait for next year, when Vlad really gets integrated into the offense. This guy has a lot of potential, even though at times its really, really, really hard to see some times! But Phil agrees with me! He told me over lunch. That's why he's been starting Vlad for the last couple months.
  
• 2nd quarter 11:40, Korver misses a three. Who would you rather have Vujacic or Korver??? Sasha hands-down!!
• Did you know Sasha stole Vlad's nickname??? From wikipedia: "Was nicknamed "THE MACHINE" by Supersonics announcer Kevin Calabro, after his resemblance to NFL quarterback Joe Namath."
• I know you guys saw Korver hit a 3 right after I picked Sasha. And I KNOW you saw SAsha hit one right after!! Thank you, thank you....
• And there's Sasha taking it to the hole, 7pts!! 3 for 3 !!!
• Who else thinks that live-blogging is weird. Am I supposed to comment on every single play??
  
• Matt Harpring is being a little overly aggressive now while guarding Kobe. I hope no one gets into a fight tonight..... Who am i kidding!!
• Derek Fisher cookie!!!!!!!!
• Derek Fisher assisst!!!
• Kobe dunk!!!
• by the way, when is Kobe ever going to do a one-handed dunk... the last one must have been when he dunked over Steve Nash two years ago.
• Lakers in 6?? What did I say??
• Time-out now, finally. Lakers 50 - Utah 35. This liveblogging is so much work. I hope 50,000 people read this.

• I just saw a commercial for the WNBA, featuring Candice Parker. I happened to watch the Women's final four with Tenessee. Anyone else?? I still cant believe the half time speech Pat Summit gave Candice Parker. She guilt tripped her into playing with her injury!
• Utah is in a zone now.. zones work well against teams who can't shoot. Zones used to destroy the Lakers when they had Smush Parker. I will stop there.
• Trevor Ariza is cleared to play??? Now they have a lockdown defender.. this will come in handy for them vs. the Spurs. Did I just? Yes I did.
• What is C.J. miles doing...Deron Williams must want to kill him.
• Derek Fisher cookie!!!!
• Back to the man-to-man they go. What did I say. What did I say?? If you didn`t realize. I like being right, alot.

• Back from halftime. First sequence for Utah, and Deron Williams pulls off one of the nicest passes I have seen this playoffs. I could have sworn it curved in the air.
  
• Deron Williams is finally turning it on. But that and1 with 9:45 ish was a travel, undoubtedly. It's just questionable as to whether the foul or the travel came first.
  
• On that note, I think Derek Fisher could beat up Deron Williams easily. Williams is pretty buff, but I think he has a pretty small frame. That's why he is so deceptively quick!
• I think the Lakers will have the most efficient offense in the leauge next year. They might not score the most, but they're ridicuolously efficient.
• I love Pau's intensity. And I love how his personality meshes with the Lakers. I would rather have him than Kevin Garnett.
• Utah has been complaining all game about fouls. And by 3:25 left in the 3rd quarter they're even! I can't believe the fans were chanting "refs you suck! refs you suck!" I wonder if they put that on the jumbotron. Outrageous!!
• with the hanging fade away at the end of the 3rd, Kobe Bryant is officially back. For a moment, Lebron and Chris Paul were the most exciting and most dominant. But today marks when Kobe officially returns. So many people would say Keving Garnett was the best player of the first half, Chris Paul the best of the second half and Kobe was number 2 throughout the year. So they gave the MVP to him for being consistently "2nd best." That's over and done with.
• Man, there's a lot less to write about when the game is a blowout. If Kobe doesn't come back in during this time out (9 min left) then we've already seen the last of him for the conference semis.
• Man, 9 point game! I spoke too soon. Kobe is back in, and Paul Milsap is a beast. He's 6'8 and 258. I didn't know they came that huge! Lebron James is listed as 6`8 and 240. Ron Artest: 6`7 , 246; Elton Brand 6`8 and
  
• Matt Harpring is being outrageously physical. Kobe too, but I didn`t think they allowed this much contact anymore!
• Kobe 3 pointer in Matt Harprings face around 4:50. In game 4 Kobe would have tried to do too much, too soon. But as I said at the end of the 3rd quarter. He is officially back.
• These refs are loving the Lakers and these Jazz CANNOT miss. Mehmet okur is one of the clutchest big men I`ve ever seen.
• Hate to say it but, Kobe Bryant got twin towered. By Kirilenko and Okur with 1min left. One of the best tandem blocks I`ve ever seen!
• Sadly, all of these clutch Utah plays are far from enough.
• AGAIN! Kirilenko! It makes no difference! But this must be fun as heck for Utah fans. At least for the next 15 seconds.
• This is some horrible endof game defense by the Lakers. But again. 12 seconds until the end of Utah.
  
• MY GOODNESS, Utah had 3 chances to tie the game with a 3 and make me eat my feet.
  

Well that`s the end! I`ll end by saying that I LOVE being right =). Till next time folks.

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