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ISSUE 014
COVER STORY
1: New Celtics: Allen, Garnett
& Peirce
COVER
STORY 2: AND 1: Mixtape Tour
Guide
FEATURES: Tracy
McGrady: Agony & Ecstacy, Gilbert Arenas:
Inside his mind, Living without Greg Oden
PLUS: Penny
Taylor, David Barlow, Homicide Williams, TJ
Ford, Chris Anstey, Iverson's new kicks and
more!
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Check out a selection of featured spreads from
issue 014 below...
EDITOR’S ANGLE 014:
THOSE WHO DOUBT WILL SOON BELIEVE
Photo credit: NBAE / Getty Images / David Dow
This off-season, 29 teams’ front
office personnel set out to dethrone the Spurs,
and unpick that squad’s substance over style
approach. The players, meanwhile, worked out (or
didn’t) in an attempt to earn themselves more
burn, better respect, a starting job, a final roster
spot, that new sneaker deal or the final push into
All-Star territory.
The combined effect was an off-season laced with
more daytime melodrama than The Bold and the Beautiful
– sex and seduction optional: In a nutshell,
Andrei Kirilenko nearly left $63 million behind
in Salt Lake City searching for happiness –
a timely reminder of the disconnect between the
two…Shawn Marion made himself look rather
childish while asking for more money, despite being
the highest paid member of the Phoenix Suns...Team
USA qualified handily for Beijing, riding successful
exhibitions by the likes of Jason Kidd, Kobe Bryant,
Carmelo Anthony, LeBron James and Dwight Howard...while
the French national team strangely failed to quailfy
in the Euro Champs, leaving Eva Longoria without
an international audience and a reason to glam up
on camera during Tony’s games…Toronto
spent $40 million on Jason Kapono when Morris Peterson
bolted, and, although they’ve been right and
I’ve been wrong before, I just don’t
see it…Charlie Bell was given the run-around
by Milwaukee, only to resign with the lukewarm Bucks…The
Phoenix Mercury ran and gunned their opponents to
death and ripped the title from Detroit with the
unbeatable foursome of Diana Taurasi, Kelly Mazzante,
Penny Taylor and Cappie Pondexter… Greg Oden’s
rookie class became Kevin Durant’s when the
big man decided to go under the knife for microfracture
surgery…The Yi Jianlian joke got old, snowballed,
got really old and then wrapped up as neatly as
one could have hoped. It had it all: international
diplomacy, one man lock outs, pissed off locals,
big money – and it was still boring…The
Miami Heat’s new guard – Smush Parker
changed superstar backcourt teammates, conferences
and time zones, hopefully Pat Riley doesn’t
blame him for his star’s stuff-ups like Phil
Jackson did…Danny Ainge shook up his beloved
Boston Celtics in a major way. Who would have thought
that the Kevin Garnett trigger would have been pulled
for Boston’s sure-fire future? Statistically,
The Truth, Jesus and The Big Ticket look similar
enough to Pip, MJ and Rodman (or maybe that’s
Chuck, The Glide and Hakeem), and while Doc may
be no Zen Master (or Rudy T), the Celts just want
to be respectable again, and a championship would
just be the cherry. I guess the East is now Boston’s…Back
home, we sighed in relief as the Boomers bumped
the Tall Blacks and booked flights to Beijing, thanks
to the reminders of what David Anderson brings to
the game and the ascension of Pat Mills, who we
declared a star-in-the-making way back in issue
007, that’s over a year ago if you’re
keeping score…NYC streetball icon Corey “Homicide”
Williams joined the Crocs, reminding us all of what
D-Mac brought to the local game when he arrived
back in ‘94...Our heads were on a swivel as
Penny Taylor helped the Mercury capture the WNBA
chip, making her the princess to LJ’s queen
(still, and maybe forever, Australia’s pre-eminent,
unbeatable team athlete of all time)…So, as
far as the NBA off-seaons goes, when you throw in
Tim Donaghy, Kobe’s continualy (over/under)
retractions and Isiah Thomas’ behaviour at
Madison Square Garden, so much has happened we feel
like we never had time to break. Does that mean
the NBA’s regular season could be a major
let down, filled with empty promises and forgotten
memories? Never that. It’ll more likely be
bigger and louder than ever before thanks to that
new kid on the block named Kevin Durant, Gilbert
Arenas’ ability to always be Gilbert Arenas
and that new trio of Jedi Masters out in Boston.
Now if only we could bring the NBA back on free-to-air
broadcasting. – ED
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