Holly MacKenzie on Joining B/R, Mocking LeBron, Talking NBA and Kobe's Lotion

The amazing list of talent Bleacher Report has added to the Lead Writer program continues to grow, and I am happy to introduce, welcome and chat with new NBA Lead Writer Holly Mackenzie about her transition.  

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We get really inside writing and blogging, talking about how difficult it is to stop writing every day–MacKenzie previously left writing for The Score to work on social media projects with Nike–to then come back. Is writing just like riding a bike? Wouldn't it be awesome if you could write while riding a bike? (Note: we do not discuss this ridiculous question.) 

We do talk quite a bit about the coverage of the NBA and whether she feels that she covers the sport differently when she has access to the players than some of the more traditional NBA bloggers who are a bit more detached from their subjects.

Is it harder to rip a player when you know him? More pointedly, is it harder to rip a player when you know you have to see him in the locker room the next day?

Speaking of ripping players, Holly and I talk about the odd conundrum of LeBron James.

James is the greatest player in the history of the sport to become a consistent butt of people's jokes. It's uncanny to think about how much mockery LeBron has endured since The Decision.

Does LeBron deserve it? Probably some, sure. But a lot of the mocking comes on stories other players would make cool. If Kobe Bryant rode his bike to work, it would be cool. If Allen Iverson had a waiter cut his steak, every kid in America would start ordering it that way. LeBron does those things and they are ridiculed. It's amazing to see a player so supremely talented become the NBA punching bag.

We talk about a certain Los Angeles Laker who travels with $1,800 of lotion (in one small bottle), which leads to a chat about how the NBA players are both nothing like regular people and exactly like regular people, sometimes simultaneously.

We run through a bit more on the NBA–including Kevin Love having an octopus named after him–before finishing with a chat about March Madness and some NBA fans snobbish disdain for college hoops. Covering the NBA, how does Holly (or any NBA blogger) handle the NCAA tournament? Ignore or embrace?

Thanks for listening, and please, help me formally welcome Holly to the growing Bleacher Report stable of talent.