Garbage Time All-Stars

Get your hands off our lion!

2011-03-10T21:38:00.000-08:00

I don't really need to explain why I hate the specter of the Kings — a team with a loyal following in a one-team town — being dragged off in the night for dubious installation in Anaheim. Here: Tom Ziller presents 19 excellent, lucid reasons why the Kings should not relocate to Anaheim. Go read that.

And what about the reasons for this relocation? They suck!

Of course, us dizzy, foam-fingers-for-brains fans must constantly be reminded that the NBA is a business. It's about profit. It's about moving units. Fine, but business decisions can be short-sighted and rash. It's the sort of decision that's easier to make when your (young, talented, oozing with potential) team is losing lots of games. But if you think that Seattle wouldn't be showing up three seasons later to see Durant, Westbrook and co. rack up 40 wins and counting, well, I've got a truck full of crappy plastic bracelets that might help your balance.

If you want to re-post or use this image, you have my permission. Download a high-resolution PDF here. Let's apply pressure where we can. NBA owners have to vote to approve this move. Let's convince them it's a bad idea! Kings fans have been doing good work at Here We Stay, selling out one game and aiming to do it again on April 11. Sactown Royalty covers all the latest action.

I don't know how much impact fans can have in a situation like this, but the people in power have to know that this relocation would mean losing an entire fan-base (customers) in a market that's been historically good for the NBA.

General managers gone wild

2011-02-27T20:04:00.000-08:00

I hope that your trade deadline hangover is receding. Always a doozy.

That one guy and the men in purple

2011-02-22T22:30:00.000-08:00

Here we are at the trade deadline, and rather than comment on that frothy mess I chose to watch Kings at Heat — a game that mattered little and was enjoyed less. I was geared to do a more in-depth breakdown but the Heat lay such a quick, steady beating on the Evansless, Landryless Kings that I had to get my kicks with this single, silly image.

So, OK, the Kings aren't able to hang with LeByawn James. Fine. But let's not sentence them to Anaheim. If you're a good person, please have a look at the Here We Stay actions over at Sactown Royalty.

No cure for Mamba Mouth

2011-02-02T23:38:00.000-08:00

See you down at Lamprey Chunks

2011-01-13T07:54:00.001-08:00

Sorry to be so apocalyptic about this but selling your arena name to a snake oil merchant is the kind of thing you do right before you sell the office furniture.

I was in grade school in Sacramento when the Kings moved there. Reggie Theus came to our junior high to tell us not to do drugs. Why, Reggie? So that we could one day grow up to hand our meager paychecks over to an embarrassing corporate sponsor for Thneeds we don't needs? Reggie???

Hopefully the sun will come out tomorrow for the Kings, but it's starting to feel like each glimmer of hope is accompanied by two subsequent kicks to the crotch.

Quite possibly the world's smallest painting of LeBron James

2011-01-02T20:56:00.000-08:00

I have to qualify it since I haven't done any research at all, and one could certainly go smaller, but I may have just created the world's smallest painting of LeBron James. Witness:

Ink and watercolor on illustration board. Here's what it looks like hanging over the mantel:

Happy new year everyone.

Road Report up at Red94

2010-12-22T09:08:00.001-08:00

Hey, I filed some notes/drawings with Red94 after attending Monday's Warriors/Rockets game. Cheggitout.

Boxed Out, Rockets at Kings, 12/19

2010-12-19T22:54:00.000-08:00

Boxed Out, Kings at Clippers, 12/6

2010-12-07T01:33:00.000-08:00

GTAS at Red94

2010-11-30T15:14:00.001-08:00

So, I'm going to be doing some comics for excellent Rockets/NBA blog Red94. I've enjoyed reading Rahat Huq & co. over there for some time now, so I'm excited to join the line-up. I'll still post plenty of exclusive work here, but some extra goodies will flow to Red94. I'll mention the Red94 stuff here, and of course it will be pointed out on Facebook and Twitter. Got it?

And here's my first drawing over there, in which I point and laugh at the Heat. You like that sort of thing, right?

---JOSH

Boxed Out, Spurs at Hornets, 11/28

2010-11-29T01:22:00.000-08:00

Boxed Out, Bulls at Rockets, 11/16

2010-11-17T00:56:00.000-08:00

Boxed Out, Knicks at Bucks, 11/9

2010-11-10T01:58:00.000-08:00

Still working on how to do more of these. And improve the quality. Stay tuned.

Boxed Out, Raptors at Kings

2010-11-02T01:41:00.000-07:00

The Toronto broadcast of this game did actually mention a product called Astro Biobest as being the official yogurt drink of the NBA but I found no evidence of this sponsorship in two minutes of bleary googling. Scam?

Boxed Out, opening night

2010-10-27T00:05:00.000-07:00

I did a 4-panel comic of the 4 quarters of tonight's Blazers/Suns game:

I made this really fast to get it out before the box score had cooled. Is this a good idea? Should this be a regular feature?

'Sheed is gone, and now we are all 'Sheed

2010-10-25T21:23:00.000-07:00

OK, last of the pre-season sketches. All I gotta say down here is THANK MICHAEL JORDAN'S JEANS THE SEASON IS FINALLY STARTING!!!

Mister, can I draw on your neck?

2010-10-12T07:36:00.000-07:00

Hopefully your retinas still function after seeing Chris Andersen's latest upgrade. Pretty spectacular, eh?

That neck is emitting such high levels of radiation that it actually awakened The Name Forge of Destiny from its off-season slumber! A tattoo this magnificent sends powerful nickname pulses through the aether. Here's a list the Forge related to me as I wiped excess magma from its sleepy eyes with a damp cloth:

PEACOCK
THE DAYGLO EAGLE
THE FLUORESCENT FALCON
GRAFFITI NECK
RAINBOW CONNECTION
TASTE THE RAINBOW
HOW DOES MY NECK TASTE?
CRAYOLA AYATOLLAH
NUCLEAR NECK
TROPICAL MEDLEY
HUMAN COLORING BOOK
ULTIMATE NECK
RETINA WRECKER
BIG PALETTE

Name Forge showed up to the pre-season with 1600 pounds of added muscle. Coaching staff asked it to slim down but, well ... suggest/vote in the comments, please.

What's a Chosen One to do?

2010-10-03T18:21:00.000-07:00

I mean, I've poked at LeBron's clownish narcissism before but I'm starting to feel sorry for the guy.

This part is old news, but let's review anyway. He commits the "sins" of making a big deal about free agency (after winning his second consecutive MVP, encouraged and enabled for years by league GMs and all media outlets) and then choosing the roster most likely to yield wins (rather than blind, loyal commitment to mediocrity and the dubious virtue of going it alone). For this his jersey is burned in the streets, he's called a traitor by a grade-schooler masquerading as Cavs owner, the pack of media jackals questions every element of his character, and on and on. Everyone wants a piece. In a recent survey of GMs James received only a single vote as most likely to win MVP this season. I know they'll say that you can't win an MVP playing with these other all-stars but that's straight baloney coming from the same guys who a few months ago would have gladly murdered any number of hobos with their bare hands if they'd thought it would earn them favor with The King. And the same guys who then scrambled to overpay Rudy Gay, Joe Johnson, Amir Johnson, Drew Gooden, Darko Milicic, Rudy Gay (contract so nice I'm saying it twice) etc as Kelly Dwyer so excellently pointed out here.

(My only real problem with The Decision is that it was brutal TV. Next time: fewer grisly Jim Gray close-ups, more windmill dunks, please.)

So, I hope LeBron comes out ready to force-feed some fools their own words this season. Every time he throws it down I hope he's imagining the ball to be the chubby, bald head of this-or-that hater Hall of Famer. Maybe give some "no hard feelings" high-fives to various GMs with a palm full of Pat Riley's corrosive hair gel. I'm excited for the coming season, and one big reason is that I think we're going to see some high-quality waste-laying from a former MVP with the eye of the tiger.

Switching gears a bit: hey Miami, speak up if you want this image on a t-shirt. I am collecting data for that kind of endeavor.

And: Garbage Time All-Stars is back. I plan to generate a not-insignificant amount of drawing and comics pertaining to the 2010-2011 NBA season. You have been warned.

Storied franchises

2010-06-06T06:51:00.000-07:00

Not really excited about the historical significance of this confrontation. Ah well.

Way to go, guys!

2010-03-30T22:49:00.000-07:00

Warriors on the Blocks

2010-03-23T22:03:00.000-07:00

In case you hadn't heard, the nacho cheese-colored hot-rod on cinder blocks that is the Golden State Warriors is officially for sale. Needs a little work, yeah, sure, a family of opossums is living under the hood, but still ... hard to say how all the mismanagement impacts value. They seemed quite valuable as recently as spring 2007, and the fans are loyal despite all the torture. Don't stop believing, Bay Area!

---JOSH

The Name Forge of Destiny III

2010-03-07T20:22:00.000-08:00

For those unfamiliar with The Name Forge of Destiny, you can read earlier iterations here and here.

The Exchange

2010-02-23T21:06:00.000-08:00

I understand that this is pure fantasy, it's a business, life goes on, etc but let us note the trade deadline deal sending Kevin Martin to Houston and Carl Landry to Sacramento. Most modern NBA trades are unappetizing samplers of overpaid guys who've worn out their welcomes, nebulous future considerations, career 12th men and draft busts. This is different. Both of these guys rose from obscurity to become fan favorites. Kings/Rockets bloggers rushed to assure each other that they were sending a special player in the deal. It's one of those times when it hurts to be "cheering for laundry" (as Jerry Seinfeld put it).

Tyreke

2010-01-21T20:11:00.000-08:00

Just a little tribute to one of the guys who's made being a Kings fan quite a lot more bearable.

---JOSH

Shall I dunk?

2009-12-04T09:01:00.000-08:00

LeBron cracks me up. I'm sure that he IS human, but every time he does something warm and human (such as calling out Mike Brown in support of Zydrunas Ilgauskas) he follows it up with weird actions from beyond the understanding of mortals. This is demonstrated by his former irrepressible enthusiasm for the All-Star weekend dunk contest suddenly turning into a "We'll see." What's going on with this thing? Does he have some sort of super-computer crunching the numbers on which course of action would be most profitable? Just dunk, LeBron. You said you would.

---JOSH

NBA/JLA wade as flash

2009-12-02T13:28:00.000-08:00

The first in a series of these. This is an easy one. Next one I think will be Green Lantern. Any guesses which NBA player it will be?

I'll be watching the Heat for the first time this year tonight. Stoked to see D-Wade (and Melo) in action.

___________________________

BLACK INK ON BRISTOL (digital colors)::

Iverson dreams

2009-12-01T23:18:00.000-08:00

I have to qualify everything by saying I really don't know what's going on with Allen Iverson. Us writers and fans tend to go berserk on every meager scrap of information, and really, maybe we don't know the rest of the story. At face value, Iverson's retirement by Grizz tantrum depresses me. I don't want to see him go out on such a low note.

Iverson's particular mixture of skills and personality may not fit in anywhere. Math and history show that he's an iffy choice when brewing a contender. But: I watch the NBA to see those guys who can do something that no one else can do. No one else is Allen Iverson. Maybe he will ruin a team's efficiency, but I still smile when he obliterates a defender like only he can.

As I write this it's sounding like he may lace 'em up again soon. I hope he does. People are arguing about whether he'll actually be able to help the Sixers. The Sixers will not be contenders, with or without Iverson. Fans of that squad won't like this: I really don't care whether they win this or that many games. But I would like to watch Iverson play.

---JOSH

P.S. A long time ago I saw an Ahmad Rashad interview with Iverson, and as the show was winding down they were talking about what he likes to do away from the court. And A.I. said that he likes to draw, and broke out pencils and crayons to whip up a caricature on the spot. Maybe that's part of why I like him? Does anyone have more information on Iverson as visual artist?

He gone

2009-11-13T22:51:00.000-08:00

This week Byron Scott joined the swollen ranks of guys who've quickly transitioned from Coach of the Year to Persona Non Grata. Mike Brown has gotta be loosening his collar a little bit, huh? And who will be this year's lucky winner/loser?

Sorry for the lack of updates recently. Computer meltdown is kind of a lame excuse but not as lame as having to deal with computer meltdown. So there.

---JOSH

speak of the devil

2009-11-01T22:53:00.000-08:00

I was actually watching the Kings/Spurs game on Saturday night, via League Pass. As some of you know, I am partial to the Kings, so I was pleasantly surprised to see the purple hanging in there with San Antonio for the first quarter and a good chunk of the second. Kevin Martin doing his thing, some rookies not looking so terrible ... it was at this point that Manu Ginobili started killing animals with his bare hands. Paul Westphal did not prepare the kids for that.

I know, obvious joke, but I had no choice.

---JOSH

A present for LeBron

2009-10-29T22:32:00.001-07:00

He'll always be Captain Jack

2009-10-19T22:00:00.000-07:00

I feel bad about what's going on with Stephen Jackson. I'm a fan. Image inspired by Howard Pyle's sad pirate illustrations.

---JOSH

raw product

2009-06-05T01:02:00.000-07:00

Hey, here's the raw stuff, straight out of my sketchbook, game one of the finals.

---JOSH

The Secret Lives of Shane Battier

2009-05-12T21:57:00.000-07:00

New strip over at Ball Don't Lie, where you can see an army of Kyles employing level-headed logic in the comments section. And if they like that, then they're sure to dig this doodle:

And I feel that it might be necessary to remind that any of the Garbage Time All-Stars artwork may be purchased as a high-quality print. They make great gifts for friends OR enemies!

And if you want to stay up-to-date on the latest GTAS goodies, get with our Facebook.

No mercy

2009-05-08T06:27:00.000-07:00

Another page from the playoff sketchbook. I'm not into conspiracy theories, but this just seemed right. Also, Phil's hilarious post-game explanation, that it was all an accident, reminded me of one of those old jokes ...

GUY #1: I'm tellin' ya, I didn't stab that guy! He just sorta fell on my knife.

GUY #2: Yeah, but eleven times?

---JOSH

Oh the humanity!

2009-05-04T21:26:00.001-07:00

Another page out of the playoffs sketchbook, depicting one of the only memorable moments of the ATL/MIA series. Sure, the dunk didn't go down, but who will ever forget the subsequent righteous indignation? From Mike Fratello's bewildered tsk-tsking to Dwyane Wade's limply manufactured humiliation ... oh Josh Smith, you might as well have spat on their grandmothers or wiped your ass with that Michael Jordan jersey the Heat retired. How dare you disgrace the sacred institution of basketball with an attempt to entertain the fans? WAAAAAAAAH!

---JOSH

Damp 2.0

2009-04-23T19:30:00.001-07:00

Originally posted over at Ball Don't Lie.

The many faces of Derrick Rose

2009-04-20T23:00:00.000-07:00

I look forward to many years of drawing this guy. Here's the other Derrick Rose comic I did, in case you missed it.

---JOSH

Rockets/Blazers preview sketchbook

2009-04-17T11:37:00.001-07:00

More sketchbook stuff ...

I don't think that a lot of people really dislike the Rockets, but the Blazers are the new pony, the NBA darling. Can't help but love these kids.

OK, gotta go, this is probably the last preview I'm gonna have time to do before the playoffs start. Enjoy the games everyone!

---JOSH

Playoff sketchbook

2009-04-17T08:39:00.000-07:00

Hey, I'm going to start posting sketchbook stuff ... so, more frequent updates throughout the playoffs. Here's the first one.

I honestly haven't seen enough of the recent Jazz games to understand how they went from tough out to cupcake party, but it seems like the Lakers are gonna trample them.

--JOSH

Nellieball on Broadway

2009-04-11T19:11:00.000-07:00

Originally appeared over at Ball Don't Lie.

And here's a little bonus for y'all:

I'll send the black/white original artwork of the bonus to someone who comments on this post, based on my own arbitrary rum-soaked criteria. Get postin'!

Are we Ubuntu-ing yet?

2009-03-28T21:21:00.000-07:00

Originally appeared over at Ball Don't Lie. And here's a little extra thing we found on the cutting room floor ...

... and what the hell: a week from now I'll mail the pen/ink original of "GTAS: In The Bonus" to whoever leaves the best comment on this post. Got it?

MVP Couch Rage

2009-03-24T17:25:00.000-07:00

Originally appeared at Ball Don't Lie.

Being The_Real_Shaq

2009-03-12T18:38:00.000-07:00

ALSO, another interview with us is available for your listening enjoyment, brought to you by the San Antonio diehards over at Project Spurs.

And GTAS has now entered the hallowed halls of Facebook. Check us out, friend us, comment, subscribe, all of it, more, better, now!

Mmm ... Cap Relief

2009-02-19T15:37:00.000-08:00

Originally appeared at Ball Don't Lie.

ALSO, Jeff over at Pete Marasmitch posted a little chat he did with Garbage Timer Josh. Seize that!

Don't Tug On Superman's Cape

2009-02-12T19:32:00.000-08:00

Originally appeared over at Ball Don't Lie.

The nachos are gone PLUS an interview with us

2009-02-05T09:53:00.000-08:00

Why, it's a new comic that originally appeared over at Ball Don't Lie by those Garbage Time All-Stars chaps, nice fellows them, catching all of the johnny-come-lately football fans up on this NBA season.

PLUS

The DEFINITIVE interview with Josh and Mark (AKA those Garbage Time All-Stars chaps, nice fellows them, etc) up over at Robot 6 @ Comic Book Resources, conducted by Tim O'Shea who is coincidentally a nice fellow as well.

Name Forge of Destiny II

2009-01-30T19:54:00.000-08:00

Originally appeared at Yahoo! Sports Ball Don't Lie.

Hardly workin'

2009-01-23T20:35:00.001-08:00

Originally appeared at Yahoo! Sports Ball Don't Lie.

LeBron Commands You

2009-01-16T19:59:00.000-08:00

Originally appeared over at Yahoo! Sports Ball Don't Lie.

Hungry for apples ...

2009-01-12T21:03:00.000-08:00

So ... Derrick Rose is having a fine rookie season. Except for the part where he injured himself while slicing an apple in bed. Hey, it happens. Think back to when you first moved out on your own. You definitely got hurt preparing food in an inappropriate place. Anyway, I hope that Mr. Rose can in some way draw power from the incident.

---Josh

Backsies

2009-01-09T19:52:00.000-08:00

Originally posted over at Ball Don't Lie!

Cheer up, Boston

2009-01-05T21:31:00.000-08:00

This is just a lil' extra comic, inspired by the minor stumbles of the Celtics as well as their recent crunching of the Kings. Happy new year!

--Josh

Theus Ex Machina

2008-12-22T19:11:00.000-08:00

Originally appeared over at Ball Don't Lie!

And another one bites the dust. We may be hearing about how the players had lost respect for ol' Reggie, or how he didn't really handle practices well or whatever, but at least he looked like a million bucks in a well-tailored suit. And he was certainly a breath of fresh air after the putrid Musselman season. See ya around, Reg. I'm sure we will. I'm sure we'll see them all again.

Ghosts of Blazers Past

2008-12-12T20:18:00.000-08:00

Originally appeared over at Ball Don't Lie!

It's Always Sunny

2008-12-05T20:32:00.000-08:00

Originally appeared over at Ball Don't Lie!

Stern, But Fair

2008-11-21T20:54:00.000-08:00

Originally appeared over at Ball Don't Lie.

Hard Times

2008-11-14T19:04:00.000-08:00

Rub the shark's tummy! Strip originally appeared over at Ball Don't Lie!

So, I just got the Free Darko book, and yeah, wow, it's a sight to behold. I haven't absorbed it all yet, but I think you maybe should beat feet to your closest bookstore. And while you're at it I have a couple other hoops book recommendations. These aren't new, but I only read them recently and they relate to last week's strip.

Seven Seconds or Less: My Season on the Bench with the Runnin' and Gunnin' Phoenix Suns by Jack McCallum is basically what it sounds like. The writer was granted total access to the '05-'06 Suns and took lots of notes. Some of the best bits were the interactions between D'Antoni and his assistants. The mind-set behind their offense. Cute Barbosa anecdotes. Amare's child-like curiosity. Good stuff.

And even better, The Last Shot by Darcy Frey tells the story of the Lincoln High School basketball team, Coney Island, 1991. This book had a back cover quote from David Halberstam that snagged me, something like "This is a book I wish I'd written." Wow. Frey vividly describes the squalid poverty of Coney Island, and what basketball meant to the players and the neighborhood. The game is really their lifeline. Dreams of NBA riches are for the most part overshadowed by players desperate for college scholarships and chances to leave Coney Island. Of course, the team does feature a flashy 14-year-old Stephon Marbury. We know where he's gone, but it's important to see where he's from. And what happened to his less-gifted teammates? From the housing projects to unscrupulous Division 1 recruiters, this book doesn't flinch.

DNP - Bozos

2008-11-06T19:02:00.000-08:00

Hellooooooo, New York! Stare deeply into Steph's eyes. Lose yourself in a sea of Starbury. Originally appeared on Ball Don't Lie.

I don't really know what the New York management should do with these guys. I do find it somewhat hilarious that a fraction of pundits/fans are now grumbling that D'Antoni might as well play the guy, like a) he should be trying to win it all now with a poison roster rather than sorting out the wreckage, and b) like some solid minutes for Marbury would erase the brains of every potential trade partner in the association. Maybe he's not the only reason for the prominence of the term "mercurial point guard" but he's certainly the standard bearer. Sure, playing him might not be the worst thing either but I'm willing to give D'Antoni/Walsh a little more rope after years of Knicks teams wallowing in a hopeless pit of slime.

---JOSH

It's not you, it's me

2008-10-29T19:44:00.000-07:00

Originally posted at Ball Don't Lie.

Heeeeey, basketball is back. Whaddaya know. And with basketball comes it's dark mirror: fantasy basketball. I don't understand all of the details about why the economy is such a disaster right now, but I'm pretty sure that fantasy basketball is NOT going to help.

We'll all be safe from Satan, when the Thunder rolls...

2008-10-23T17:51:00.001-07:00

Originally posted at Ball Don't Lie.

HEY, the part of the year-round NBA news cycle when games are actually played is right around the corner. GTAS is online!

---Josh

Slam Dunk, volume 1 review

2008-09-15T18:28:00.000-07:00

Hey, something different: I reviewed the Japanese basketball comic Slam Dunk over at Ball Don't Lie. You might want to check that out.

---Josh

D U R A N T

2008-09-12T10:44:00.002-07:00

OKC WTF

2008-09-11T18:47:00.000-07:00

Originally appeared at Ball Don't Lie.

OKC fans: welcome to Garbage Time All-Stars. Seriously! I know, this week's strip is a sore subject but please understand that we aren't hating on you or begrudging you the right to enjoy your team or anything like that. You had no team and now you do. You're happy and you should be.

What bugs us is not the fact that you have a team but rather that Seattle does not. It's Bennett's premeditated hijacking that leaves a bad taste. It's David Stern and the NBA and 27 team ownership groups who allowed it to happen (votes against: Portland's Paul Allen and Dallas's Mark Cuban).

So please cut the crap about the people in Seattle not loving their team enough, that they don't deserve a team, that they should have voted for a new arena, etc. There are a lot of great Sonics fans feeling this loss. This was politics and capitalism and powerful interests. Their team is gone. And you know what, a few years down the road it could happen to you too, whether or not you love your team.

When the season starts we will watch the OKC Thunder. We will be amazed by Kevin Durant and the promising bunch of youngsters Sam Presti has gathered. We will absolutely understand that you are happy to have a team. But when we think back on this business of how it came to pass we might also feel a twinge and have to use the can.

And I'm even a little sorry to contribute to the negativity at this point, but it is THE story of the off-season and we didn't want to let it go by without comment. Plus, the logo is hideous.

---Josh

The Golden State Warrior

2008-09-04T15:55:00.000-07:00

The whole damn Bay Area is up in arms about Clay "Sticky Fingers" Bennett re-christening his hijacked Sonics with the name of Golden State's (perhaps not beloved but absolutely tolerated) mascot, Thunder. It's even got the ever-stoic Matt Steinmetz screeching for blood. This firestorm (and a chat with GTAS pal Rina) got me sketching on a replacement/reinforcement for Golden State's besieged blue weirdo. I give you my literal interpretation of THE GOLDEN STATE WARRIOR:

It's one state you don't want to eff with. And you know the first head GSW mounts on a spike? Whatever soon-to-be-announced crappy mascot OKC churns out, whose suit will likely have been "relocated" from a Chuck E. Cheese employee break room. Thunderstruck my ass.

Another option would be change the name of the Warriors existing mascot to "The REAL Thunder."

Anyway, sit tight, all you bored people who read this site at work! After a brief champagne-soaked off-season Mark and I are recharged and ready to toast your retinas. Garbage time is nigh.

---Josh

Celebrating with the champs

2008-06-20T12:37:00.000-07:00

So, the latest strip is up on Ball Don't Lie. Check it out if you please.

And with the end of the season we'll be easing off on the weekly comics. Still, it wouldn't hurt to check back here every so often (or subscribe to the RSS feed even) as we ruminate, illustrate and dominate. I'm sure we'll post some summertime goodies.

---Josh

David Stern and the Golden Age

2008-06-13T19:18:00.000-07:00

Originally posted at Ball Don't Lie. Home stretch!!! Finals!!! WOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Keys to the Finals

2008-06-05T19:11:00.000-07:00

Originally appeared at Ball Don't Lie.

Kevin Garnett sits down with Bill Russell. So Powerful.

2008-05-30T19:20:00.000-07:00

Originally appeared at Ball Don't Lie. If you you haven't already had the "pleasure", this strip references a goofy series of interviews from ESPN.

---Josh

Phil Jackson's book club: Kobe Dick

2008-05-23T19:28:00.000-07:00

Originally appeared over at Ball Don't Lie.

Understanding Home Court Advantage

2008-05-16T19:33:00.001-07:00

This strip originally appeared on Ball Don't Lie

Home court advantage in the 2nd round of the playoffs is officially STRAIGHT-UP BANANAS. Home teams are currently 20-1. How does that happen? Read a comic answering that very question over at the Yahoo! Ball Don't Lie blog.

---Josh

Don't look at Coach Pop

2008-05-09T17:18:00.000-07:00

This comic originally appeared at Yahoo!'s Ball Don't Lie.

And if you want an eyeful of scary, peep Coach Pop in the previous post.

---Josh

Please Gregg Popovich Don't Hurt 'Em

2008-05-06T19:23:00.000-07:00

This is a fairly unflattering drawing of Gregg Popovich, and, well...yeah. By many accounts "Pop" is an affable, loyal guy, and he does a good job of coaching a basketball team. Still, any time he's interviewed, no matter what words are coming out of his mouth, his barely-concealed message seems to be, "I can't wait to piss on your gravestone."

Which I love. It's sort of like one of those restaurants that have elevated rude service to the level of performance art (I recommend Top Dog in Berkeley for all of your hot dog, cigarette and comical bad attitude needs). It becomes dinner theater.

Stay surly, Coach Pop! I salute you!

---Josh

Trash talk!

2008-05-02T18:10:00.000-07:00

This comic originally appeared on Yahoo! Ball Don't Lie.

We're talkin' out the trash! Go ahead, get a little rowdy in the comments. 'Tis the season.

---Josh

Only science can tell us the real MVP

2008-04-25T12:20:00.000-07:00

This comic originally appeared on Ball Don't Lie.

I'm sure some people will read the strip as an endorsement of Kobe for MVP. Wrong. What we are endorsing is drinking. Everybody drink!

No, OK, what I'm saying is that I hate the MVP debate. Lebron, Kobe, Paul, KG: these men are artists. They are unique. To argue that one is Most Valuable is just partisan bickering in the void. I guess it keeps sports talk radio from going silent, but it gets way stupid. Those guys ... they're all pretty good at basketball.

---Josh

The State of the East

2008-04-25T12:11:00.000-07:00

This comic originally appeared on Ball Don't Lie.

Double Oden

2008-04-23T21:43:00.001-07:00

Hey! Our strip from last week is up at Ball Don't Lie on Yahoo!. And our next strip will be there this Friday. Every Friday we'll post a reminder here that the new strip is up over there.

We're also going to try to post additional stuff over here as much as possible. Stuff like these Odens I just drew, one happy and one classic expressionless:

Like a lot of internet dudes, I've fallen for Oden. I'm not particularly a Blazers fan, but I still want him to come back and win, like, 15 championships. Get well Greg!

Yeah, so anyway, look for the strips over at Ball Don't Lie, and keep checking this site because we are not going away.

---Josh

The State of the East ... huh, where did we go?

2008-04-18T12:55:00.000-07:00

Hey, we've got our Eastern Conference comic for you but it's over at the Yahoo! Ball Don't Lie blog. We've been assimilated!

We're still going to post our comics on this site, only a week after they've run at Yahoo!. And we'll still be posting other NBA-related art stuff here too. But for now, travel at the speed of light over to Ball Don't Lie and drop some juicy kisses with tongue into the comments there.

---Josh

The State of the West

2008-04-09T16:55:00.000-07:00

Ain't no conference like a Western Conference 'cause a Western Conference don't stop!

---Josh

Tanking and You: A Fan's Guide

2008-04-01T23:01:00.001-07:00

Let's get rid of tanking. How about a reverse food reward: if the team reaches 100 points, the fans give the players free tacos.

---Josh

T.G.I.The End of the Season

2008-03-25T17:09:00.001-07:00

We didn't want the season to slip away without doing a Knicks strip.

Also, I just did a little behind-the-scenes post over at the art blog.

---Josh

In Boston no one can hear you scream.

2008-03-10T12:34:00.000-07:00

Cassell emerges. We were thinking of showing a press conference at which Kevin McHale proudly welcomes Sam's jumbo balls to the Celtics, but went with this instead. And now Rajon Rondo is the most portrayed player in our strip, with 2 appearances. Weird.

---Josh

Yao Ming by Mark

2008-03-04T20:48:00.000-08:00

Fantasy Yao

2008-03-03T18:52:00.001-08:00

Kevin Garnett by Josh

2008-02-25T20:46:00.000-08:00

Paul Pierce by Mark

2008-02-25T20:41:00.000-08:00

Trade party!

2008-02-22T19:13:00.000-08:00

I don't want to hear about trades any more. Smash the trade machine. Anybody got a Tylenol?

---Josh

The Name-Forge of Destiny

2008-02-15T19:18:00.001-08:00

I feel bad for players who get saddled with lousy nicknames. Or players who get stuck with one joke about their haircut that gets repeated a million times by lazy writers who can't think of anything better. I cringe whenever I hear Nowitzki (seven-time all-star, league MVP, franchise player) referred to as "Dirk Diggler." Good one! Calling Kyle Korver by the name of the doofus actor from "That 70s Show" is so old that even pointing out that it's old is at this point old.

Complaining about bad nicknames is old too, I guess. But damn it, the Garbage Time All-Stars are gonna crank up the old Name-Forge of Destiny from time to time and see if we can't come up with something a little better for the unique stars of the NBA. Keep an eye on our minty-fresh art blog for further nickname outbreaks.

---Josh

Coach Nellie and the C-Webb Kid

2008-02-07T14:07:00.000-08:00

C-Webb has yet to play his first game for the Warriors, so we don't know how it's going to work yet. There's a real last stand in the Wild West feeling to it. I had the healthy skepticism about Webber's evil knees with the run-n-gun W's when he signed, but this Shaq business really upped the ante. Webber to the Warriors seems completely reasonable by comparison. But I hope things turn out well for ol' C-Webb. I'm rooting for him.

We've also done started a b-ball art blog. Mark and I kicked it off with some love for Golden State's bearded cannonball Baron Davis. Enjoy!

--Josh F.

Run-T.N.T.

2008-01-29T16:51:00.000-08:00

Life after basketball

2008-01-21T16:09:00.001-08:00

Happy new year, King James

2008-01-08T09:39:00.001-08:00

Baron by Josh

2008-01-07T20:38:00.000-08:00

b-diddy by mark

2008-01-07T20:31:00.000-08:00

zero vs. zero

2007-12-31T15:48:00.000-08:00

touched by a spaniard

2007-12-14T20:22:00.000-08:00

Off-season tattoo awards

2007-11-16T19:14:00.001-08:00

Yo Rajon!

2007-11-11T14:06:00.000-08:00

Interviews with Garbage Time All-Stars

2001-01-01T19:23:00.000-08:00

If you can't get enough of us, here are some interviews to read/listen:

Pete Marasmitch

Project Spurs podcast

Robot 26