"Been dunkin' since a young'n like..."

Unless you're a big NBA fan, like myself, or someone who happened to watch SportsCenter yesterday, chances are you haven't heard of Kenneth Faried.

Well, allow me to introduce you:

Faried, the Denver Nuggets rookie forward out of Moorehead State, has been all over ESPN and ESPN.com since posting a 27-point, 17 rebound game against the Warrioirs on Monday night. It was a breakout performance from the 6"8', 228 lb, dreadlocked force of nature, who has earned himself the nickname "Man-imal".

(As fitting a s "Man-imal" is, I'm still fond of "The Predator", and with his shot-blocking abilities in the post, think it's just as fitting: see here, here, here, here, and here for evidence.)

But to anyone who's been paying attention over the last few months, Faried's breakout game should come as no surprise.

The greatest Kobe analogy ever...

Simple as this post's title - and as sharp and accurate as well - I give you the greatest ever analogy describing 2012 Kobe Bryant, compliments of Grantland.com staff writer Brian Phillips:

"Kobe's relentlessness has always been his most celebrated quality, but this season, he's starting to remind me of one of those space probes that somehow keep feeding back data even after they've gone out twice as far as the zone where they were supposed to break down. You know these stories — no one at NASA can believe it, every day they come into work expecting the line to be dead, but somehow, the beeps and blorps keep coming through. Maybe half the transmissions get lost these days, or break up around the moons of Jupiter, but somehow, this piece of isolated metal keeps functioning on a cold fringe of the solar system that no human eyes have seen.

That's Kobe, right? While the rest of the Lakers look increasingly anxious and time-bound, he just keeps gliding farther out, like some kind of experiment to see whether never having a single feeling can make you immortal. He's barely preserving radio contact with anyone else at this point, but basketball scientists who've seen fragments of his diagnostic readouts report that the numbers are heartening. It's bizarre. He's simultaneously the main character in the Lakers' drama and someone who seems to have nothing to do with the narrative logic of the post-Phil team. Whatever the Mike Brown era is, he's got no point of contact with it. Even Gasol and Bynum, his best supporting players, essentially just concentrate on not interfering with his flight path. Everyone stays out of his way, which is easy, because "his way" is a couple of billion miles from the rest of the Lakers."

It has truly been fascinating to follow Kobe and the Lake Show thus far through this shortened season; like watching the Titanic's band keep right on playing... except in this case the bandleader might be single-handedly capable of righting the ship before it's too late.

Only time will tell, so I guess we'll just have to keep watching - on the edges of our seats.

You got Rondo'd!!!!

That's all I have to say.

You got Rondo'd.

You got Rondo'd.

And, oh yeah, YOU definitely got Rondo'd.

The magic show that Rajon Rondo put on yesterday afternoon easily ranks as one of the top five greatest "I'm not letting my team lose this game, no effing way" performances I've witnessed in my lifetime. Rondo would not be denied; whether it was on the boards, on defense, in transition, or driving into the paint in the half-court game, Rondo played virtually every possession to perfection.

(In case you somehow missed it, Rondo's triple-double: 29 pts, 18 rebs, 13 asts, 43% FG, and 11 of 16 FT.)

(And just because it makes me feel good, Lebron's losing effort: 22 pts, 9 rebs, 8 asts, 39% FG, 0 of 5 from behind the arc. Really, not bad, but when you compare "The Greatest Player Alive" and reigning MVP "x2's" line to Rondo's... ah, I'm just going to soak this in.)

Chris Broussard has a phenomenal column on ESPN.com reflecting on Rondo's spectacular Sunday, in which Broussard suggests that the torch of leadership on this Celtics team has been unofficially passed to the enigmatic, 6-foot-1, 24-year-old guard. The entire column is worth a read, but the point Broussard chose to end with speaks volumes:

"Rondo's excellence once again carried the Celtics when their Big Three of Garnett, Ray Allen and Paul Pierce weren't quite in sync. Garnett and Allen each provided 18 points, but they combined for only 12 in the second half and none in the fourth. And Pierce continued to melt at James' feet, scoring just nine points to drop his series average to 11.8.

But with Rondo dominating (for lack of a stronger word) with his at-will penetration, the Celtics were in good hands. The raucous TD Garden crowd recognized as much and saluted their new leader with "M-V-P'' chants while Rondo canned two free throws with 17.8 seconds left.

Afterward, Rondo was still dishing assists to his teammates, heaping praise on 30-somethings Garnett, Allen and Pierce for opening things up for him on the floor.

"My numbers tonight were what they were, but we still go through the Big Three," he said. "They're the main focal point. That's why I'm able to get so many open looks and be so aggressive."

That's no longer true. But we understand why he said it. After all, a great point guard always takes care of his supporting cast"

I think that just says it all.