Loose Balls (Boules L�ches)

*As you probably know, hip-hop legend Guru had a heart attack and fell into a coma last week. Sucks. I went back and listened to a few of my favorite Gang Starr/Guru songs, including Mass Appeal and this duet with Frenchman MC Solaar, Le Bien Le Mal. So good. Solaar kills that track. Just crushes it.

*Speaking of the French, Nic Batum, Ronny Turiaf (AKA Chocolate Moose), Roddy Beaubois and Boris Diaw are all currently starting and doing work for their respective squads. And Tony Parker would be too if he wasn't injured. Even Johan Petro got a start tonight. France is balling. C'mon, Mickael Pietrus! You let Matt Barnes take your spot, man? Sacre bleu!

*When I see Andray Blatche going ballistic for the moribund Wiz, it reminds me of that memorable run that Charlie Villanueva had for the Bucks in 2009. Or Anthony Randolph's brilliant close to last season that had GS fans openly discussing his Hall Of Fame credentials. It's a cliche but it's true: almost anyone in the NBA can put up numbers for a losing team when the games don't matter.

*I've been posting recently on Celtics 17 as well, although they probably hate me already for ripping the Nate and Finley signings. If anyone else is interested, they're still looking for writers/bloggers/contributors here.

Pictured: Guru's classic, Jazzmatazz