Live From The Nosebleeds

The 2009 NBA Glorified Hiring Process Decision Day

2009-06-25T14:40:00.003-04:00

We're less than five hours away from Blake Griffin walking up to the podium and David Stern handing him a Clippers' hat as he whispers in his ear, "Smile for the camera. Oh, and good luck not becoming a typical L.A. Clipper bust." I have a little more than 24 hours to wrap the bow on an intensive Michael Phelps/media effects study. I intend to watch the draft in it's entirety and Facebook analyze it (quantitative research leads me to believe that more people have the 'Book than Twitter and the information is less filtered, although expect an occasional tweet, too). Therefore, I guess I really have five hours to finish the paper...

...but I can take 20-30 minutes to blog about the draft. Or 40. Or an hour and a half.

Before I get into the draft, how'd you like that Shaq trade to the Cavs? Personally, I think it's a homerun for both parties. Yeah, Shaq isn't exactly a young buck anymore, but he gives the Cavs something they clearly lacked against the Orlando Magic in the Eastern Semis: a dominating post presence. Zyndrunas Ilgauskas is probably still one of the better centers in the league, but his game is more predicated on pick and pop and spot-up shooting. Anderson Varejao is a good energy guy, but to say that his offensive game is limited is like saying that Paris Hilton's acting range is limited. O'Neal can score inside and, if not block shots, clog the lane on the other end. From Phoenix's perspective, they save some money... as long as Ben Wallace keeps good on his promise to shut it down.

But, leave it to Shaq to deflect attention from what's really important: today's NBA Draft. While it's true I don't think you'll see any future Hall of Famers coming from this draft (watch that come back to bite me when I'm 45), I definitely think people are severely sleeping on the talent pool of this draft. You already know about Blake Griffin, who I think has a lot of Chris Webber in his game. Hasheem Thabeet is a project, but 7'3" shot-blockers with enough coordination to eventually "get it" one day offensively don't grow on trees. There are six or seven point guards in this draft who have the potential to be NBA starters... not just down the road, but at some point next season, with another three or four point guards who can contribute realistically. Hell, even the wing guys aren't so bad.

I have to admit that I'm not as privy to the inside information on who's taking who this year, but I think that's only because the GMs themselves won't know until they're off the clock. I think that speaks a little bit to how potentially deep this draft is.

But, what I'm hear to do is make general predictions about how some guys will fare in the NBA. Let's group these guys up.

Superstars

Honestly, none that I can see right now. Nobody in this draft has super-special transcedent skill that will make them a global fixture. Griffin has the best chance of course, with his solid athleticism and his underrated skills on the perimeter for a big guy. But, more than likely Griffin will end up like a more skilled Kenyon Martin without the baggage and (hopefully) the tatoo of lips on his neck.

A Couple All-Star Appearances

Griffin probably falls into this group. But, this is also where things get a little hairy. It's like having pocket queens facing a re-raise from the guy who hasn't played a hand for four hours (I promise a Vegas blog at some point in the next week, Ryan).

Jonny Flynn, as I've stated before, displayed a ton of Chris Paul tendencies at Syracuse. He's not Chris Paul, obviously, but I think out of all the guards he'll enjoy the most success early on because his game is NBA ready. I think he's my early "outside the box" pick for Rookie of the Year.

People are extremely mixed on Ricky Rubio. His basketball IQ is highly advanced for someone his age, and I think eventually he could be special. The only question about him is his pedestrian athleticism. But, Jason Kidd made it work, and more than likely he'll be brought along slowly no matter what team he goes to, so I'll give him the benefit of the doubt and say that with tutelage he will become an all-star.

I thought Jrue Holiday had a horrendous year at UCLA, but I think part of that had to do with the Bruins' "watch the grass grow until the shot clock hits 15 and then clear out for Darren Collison" offense. He has all the physical tools to be a very good pro, maybe even the best player in this draft when everything's said and done.

My gut tells me that... gulp... Stephen Curry will make at least one all-star appearance and be a much better NBA player than people--myself included--have given him credit for. Watching him in the combine (I know, I know, chairs and cones), I already think he's one of the top five shooters in the league. But what separates him is that e can get his shot off under duress. Yeah, he turned the ball over a little much at Davidson, but when you have the ball in your hands 90% of the time playing 99% of the minutes, you're bound to have some hiccups. He won't have to do that at the NBA level.

I really think Jeff Teague (and not just because Chad Ford has him going to the Mavericks at #24) has the skill set to be a very good NBA player. He reminds me of Kevin Johnson, who, you guessed it, made a couple of all-star appearances.

Hmmm... I had a tough time figuring out what to do with Brandon Jennings. He reminds me of Kenny Anderson (not just because he's a lefty) with a better stroke. I certainly don't think he's going to come into the league and set the world on fire, but I think he's got the boom or bust game, and from what I've seen, I think he's more likely to boom.

Staples in the Rotation for Years

Say Thabeet never blossoms into an offensive threat. That's okay, because I still think he's going to be that type of player who you always have to give minutes to. In the next two to three years, I bet you he will lead the league in blocks per minute. In a league where good defenders are hard to find, this guy can make some money. I was going to save this bombshell for Facebook, but I'll share it: if you put a good to my head and asked me to pick who I would want for the next ten years between Greg Oden and Thabeet, I would say Thabeet. Easy.

I'm not crazy about James Harden, but my gut says that he'll be an NBA starter or first guard off the bench for several years. Nothing about his game knocks me out, but none of his deficiencies turn me off, either.

Terrence Williams has been a hot name in the draft due to his workouts. His athleticism is off the charts, and he's versatile enough to stay in the forefront of any rotation for years to come.

To quote Steve Kerr from NBA Live '09 when referring to Lama Odom, Earl Clark looks like he was just born to play basketball. At the worst, I see him getting significant minutes throughout his career. If he grasps the mental part of the game, he could be special. Big "if" though.

James Johnson could step in for a lot of teams right now and be an NBA starter. Like Harden, there's nothing about his game to suggest he'll be a star, but he can contribute in the league for years.

There will always be a place in the league for a guy like DeJuan Blair. I feel like he can be a more effective Danny Fortson down the road because of his propensity to bang and frustarte opponents.

Ty Lawson has more of a ceiling than some of his point guard counterparts, but he plays a steady floor game. I think that at some point in his NBA career (maybe sooner depending upon who drafts him), he will be an NBA starter, but more than likely he will make his money as a tempo-changing guard off the bench.

Everything I just said about Lawson, cut and paste with Toney Douglas.

Lawson's teammate Wayne Ellington is projected to slip on pretty much every mock draft outside of the Baltimore Sun (which says a lot), but guys who can shoot it and have a decent amount of athleticism tend to make it in the league.

Darren Collison and Patty Mills will probably have similar careers as good back-up point guards, except that Collison has an outside chance of being good starter because he's a better shooter.

Chase Budinger seems like a more athletic Mike Dunleavy, Jr. to me. Two or three years ago that might not have been too good of a thing to say, but now that L'il Dun is a solid NBA player, Budinger has hope.

Catch the Bust

This is always the hardest to project, yet it's the category that effectively puts GMs and front-office types in the unemployment line. Just ask Elgin Baylor. Even I'm not perfect: I'm still reeling from calling O.J. Mayo a potential bust last year, and yet I'm in year six of waiting to be right about Darko Milicic blowing up to Tom Chambers-like proportions.

By all accounts, Tyreke Evans has worked out extremely well. Those same accounts claim that Evans jumper is still inconsistent. So yeah, he can get into the lane against anybody, but he can't knock down the 18-20 shot that teams are pretty much going to give him every night. Bill Simmons would love this: Evans reminds me of a better version of Tony Allen. I hope I'm wrong about Evans, but I just don't see him blowing up like everybody says. And no, I'm not still bitter about Memphis beating Maryland...

There are a ton of run and jump wings already in the NBA. As athletic as DeMar DeRozan is, I just don't see how he projects as being any different.

Gerald Henderson is a good guy and all... but that whole "Duke curse" thing scares me. Plus, as athletic as he is, Henderson is undersized and I don't think he handles the ball well enough to stick in the NBA.

B.J. Mullens is probably the second best big man in this draft, but I'm labeling him a test subject in the "DeAndre Jordan Hypothesis". The hypothesis: coaches not wanting to give you big minutes in college suggests that your not even close to being ready to play in the NBA.

I can't understand why teams are even considering Sam Young as a first round pick, let alone any earlier than a mid-to-late second round pick. While he's definitely athletic, he's not trascendently athletic, and I don't think his game translates into the NBA.

I've watched game film on Omri Casspi, and usually in those highlights they try to submit the ones that make him look ridiculously good. I've seen Sebastian Telfair highlights that make him look like Chris Paul. Nowhere in the highlights did Casspi look like an NBA player. And yet some team is going to draft his rights. Jason Kapono once said during a pre-draft interview that if he changed his last name to "Kaponovic" he could be a first round pick. In fairness, I think Kapono could probably play circles around Casspi.

So there you have it. Five years from now, on this exact date, I'll re-post this article and we'll see how big of an idiot I turned out to be. Or, I'll be too busy to do it because some team recognized my eye for talent and I'll be scouting talent for them the following year.

Maybe somewhere in between.

Don't forget to tune in to my Facebook status for pick by pick, commercial by commercial, ridiculous interview by ridiculous interview analysis.

Kobe's Legacy...

2009-06-16T01:11:00.004-04:00

Anybody who knows me should have been well-prepared for my hiatus. It always tends to happen around the time the Dallas Mavericks get bounced from the playoffs and I shrink into a dark depression from which I usually don't emerge until September when NBA Live comes out. Like clockwork. If they do win the title sometime in my lifetime, maybe I'll be so jubilant that I'll want to write every single day of the summer... maybe just one word a day. The posts would be something like "YES!" and "Who run it?" and "67 days until the Mavs defend their title". Unfortunately, this whole journalism/objectivity kick is making me come to the realization that that summer may never come.

But, don't get it twisted. Just because I've been away from the blog doesn't mean I haven't been keeping up. Peep my Facebook and Twitter accounts: they would indicate that I'm probably following basketball more than ever. They're a quick fix for a time-starved father/student/workaholic like me.

Which brings me to my next point: I just finished reading a very interesting Bill Simmons piece on Kobe Bryant in which Simmons makes the point that the "changes" Bryant has made to help the Lakers win their 15th title in franchise history have been overblown, and that the make-up of the team around him has more to do with the team's success.

As usual, my man B-Simms is on point.

It's not all a hatefest, though. He does acknowledge that Bryant has had a remarkably consistent and efficient two-plus years of basketball. Think about it: MVP, All-Star Game MVP, Finals MVP, Gold Medal, NBA Title (obviously not in that order but whatever). I don't care if LeBron James could take off from the outskirts of Cincinatti and dunk while drinking Vitamin Water and texting Jay-Z on a non-qwerty phone: he's going to be hard-pressed to top Bryant on that front.

But, back to the initial point. Yes, Bryant is amazing. 75% of the players in the NBA take ridiculously high-degree of difficulty shots for absolutely no reason at all. Bryant HAS to, because he gets every defender's best game. Hell, J.J. Redick will NEVER be known as a stopper in this league, or even a good defender... or even an adequate defender. But, given the circumstances, he performed fairly well when D'ing up Kobe, much better than anybody will ever give him credit for outside of this blog. Why? It's for the same reason why I would want to check... oh, I don't know... guard Josh Thornton from Towson in a pick-up game: I'm going to elevate my game. He may bust my ass... okay, let me stop: he WILL bust my ass (if Redick is inadequate, I'm an invalid) but he's going to have to work hard to bust my ass.

So yeah, Bryant gets every defender's "A" game, and still manages to shoot mid 40's from the field. In today's NBA where the athletes are bigger, faster, stronger, and smarter (on the court), that's amazing. So amazing.

It's amazing.

That being said...

...this group compliments him so well. Pau Gasol. Lamar Odom. Derek Fisher. Trevor Ariza. None of those guys need the ball to dominate. It takes big men to play the roles they've played throughout the past two years. They're not typical NBA players. Try replacing those guys with players of similar talent levels...

Amare Stoudemire (I'll give Pau the benefit of the doubt but STAT is really an upgrade). Shawn Marion. Rafer Alston (sorry, man). Quentin Richardson. Does that team win an NBA championship? In NBA Live, for sure. On the court? Four or five seed in their conference at best (go ahead, flood my Facebook, call me an idiot, but deep down you know I'm right).

It's too big. It's too wide. It's too strong. They don't fit. Those guys all have incredibly big egos. A fight over shots would breakout in the locker room by the third regular season game.

So yeah, I don't buy the whole "Kobe Bryant found Jesus" line, either. Not only were the guys around him well-equipped to succeed, but the Lakers managed to dodge Cleveland and not at 100% Magic and Celtics teams. I think those are the two main reasons why the Lakers won the title.

Given all of that, there's not a player in the world right now I'd rather have on my team than Kobe F. Bryant.

Congrats to all you Lakers' fans, diehard and bandwagon.

See you in September...

...just kidding. The draft's coming up, and you know I'll be all over that.

The Mavs Channel Their Inner BeeGees

2009-05-12T11:15:00.004-04:00

The Dallas Mavericks had every excuse in the world to lay down last night against the Denver Nuggets. The officials had robbed Game 3 from them (although Antoine Wright must have heard some DJ in the back of his mind say, "Throw your hands up!"), Josh Howard was down to zero ankles, and Mark Cuban threw all PR tactics out the window by calling Kenyon Martin a "thug" to Martin's mother's face (he has since apologized, thankfully). I came into the game thinking it would be nice if the Mavericks won, but, realistically, let's face it: this team has never really handled adversity well.

But, at least for one game, one night, the Mavs showed a little backbone, shaking off a turnover-prone night to--finally--win a game against the Nuggets this year. Eighth time's a charm.

In the minds of Mavs' fans that this series should be tied. In their minds they should be playing a rubber game on Wednesday... but that's not the way it is. Much like life, the NBA isn't always fair, but it's time to move on.

Prior to Game 4, I listened to a ton of sports radio and looked at quite a few message boards bashing the Mavs: Cuban's antics, Dirk Nowitzki's stalker/fiance (never thought in a million years you could slash those two elements, did you?), some stuff about closed windows, etc. Painful stuff for a Mavericks' fan... painful but unfortunately true.

One thing my sports journalism class has taught me this year, if nothing else, was to look at sports with an objective eye. More than likely, yes, Dallas is looking at major changes this summer. Part of me wants to see them try one more time with this nucleus, but when that nucleus next year would probably max out at a four or five seed and an appearance in the second round, why bother?

Talent wise, there's nothing horrificly wrong with the Mavs. I'd argue that, pound for pound, they have more solid basketball players than any other team in the NBA. But, win or lose this series (lose in all likelihood), Denver has exploited their biggest deficiency: a glaring lack of athleticism, especially at the guard spot.
With the exception of J-Ho, the wing players that are athletic just aren't good enough basketball players to be out there on a consistent basis. Outside of J-Ho and Dirk, I feel like everyone else is expendable at the end of the year.

That being said, I just want to enjoy the next game. It could be the last we see of the Dallas Mavericks as we know them.

Amazing Happened

2009-05-01T01:23:00.002-04:00

It's been a good two hours or so since the epic Bulls/Celtics Game Six ended with the Chi tying the series, setting up a seventh game in what many people are calling the greatest first round series ever. And I'm still trying to digest everything that happened.

Clutch plays. Bone-headed execution. Weird coaching. This game had a little bit of everything. Looking back on it, I think I genuinely enjoyed watching this game more than the Syracuse/UConn game, simply because in that game there were a ton of choking offensive sets and by the end the quality of basketball was like watching 60-year-old men playing a rec league game: intriguing, sure, but definitely awkward. Sure, there were plenty of awkward moments in this game, too, but down the stretch the overall quality of this game was better.

It started getting real interesting at the start of the 4th. The Bulls were up 83-76, but I saw some signs that indicated that their adrenaline was starting to run out. I told my dad, "I think the Celtics are going to win this game." He laughed. Almost immediately after I said that, the Bulls went on a 5-0 to extend the lead to 12. Cadence comes running up to me and says, "I wanna put my jammies on." Not a huge deal at the time. I figured since the Bulls had extended the lead and it seemed as though Ray Allen and Paul Pierce were cooling off, I was safe to go upstairs and get her ready for bed. Cadence and I get upstairs, where she proceeds to tell me, "Nevermind, daddy. I'll wait until mommy gets back from school." Cool with me, I get to watch the rest of the game.

As we're walking back downstairs, I hear Kevin Harlan yelling something about Allen hitting a huge three. Crap. I run into the family room and peep the score. 91 up. Allen goes nuts some more and the Celts push the lead to eight. Oh well, looks like this series is coming to an end.

Right?

No... of course not. The Bulls get some stops and start to chip away. Derrick Rose lay-up. John Salmons jumper plus the foul. Then, Brad Miller, who was absolutely brilliant tonight after two brutal missed free throws at the end of Game Five, hits a wide-open three, cutting the margin to two with a minute and change left. ANOTHER STOP, and then on the other end Miller gets the ball at the top of the key, makes the world's slowest shot fake but somehow gets Kendrick Perkins completely turned around so that he can basically go into the lane for an uncontested lay-up. Tied.

This was around the time I text my friend Hakeem the following words:

"This is the most schizophrenic game I've ever seen."

Oh, but it just gets weirder in OT. 40 seconds left in OT and the Celtics have the ball out of bounds near half-court with three ticks left on the shot clock. Doc Rivers uses a time-out, leaving the Celtics left with just one. So, Rivers is probably Rembrandting that dry-eraser board, saying something along the lines of, "Get Pierce or Allen the &^$*in' ball!"

Out of the time-out, they STILL can't get the ball in. Rondo has to burn another time-out.

And, so, out of that time-out, a time-out where the same strategy was probably repeated, Glen "Big Baby" Davis somehow ends up with the ball 20 feet out and has to throw up a stepback jumper... that somehow finds nylon. Glen Davis? Sure, why not?

Impressive... except you now have about 36 seconds left, and while you may be up two now, you have no time-outs in the piggy bank. So, of course Salmons racks Paul Pierce and hits a lay-up, leaving the Celtics with no time-outs and 23 seconds left. And, what happens? Just one of the most awkward fadeaways I've ever seen from Pierce as his entire team watches him in awe for the remaining 15 seconds of the game while he pounds the air out of the ball.

Ugh.

So, the Bulls have all the momentum going into OT #2, take a three-point lead into the final 16 seconds. This is what I would be saying if I was Vinny Del Negro:

"One stop and you force a Game Seven. One stop. You KNOW they're going to go to Allen. He's somehow found the fountain of youth and is 26 again. He truly believes he can make any shot as long as he's within the Illinois state lines. Deny him... and if he does get the ball despite all this preaching, FOUL HIM... not while he's shooting of course because that'd just be dumb... just make sure he does not get off a three."

Kirk Hinrich played brilliantly on the defensive end for much of the night on Pierce. We probably won't remember that because... you guessed it, Allen used a high screen, got some daylight and canned a three-ball right in Hinrich's mug.

Jesus Shuttlesworth, another OT.

It had to end, I just had no idea who was going to end it. Allen? Rose? Pierce? Salmons?

Joakim Noah.

Coach Albert, my old high school coach, used to get absolutely horrified whenever one of his bigs used to handle the ball, mainly because bad things happen when bigs handle the ball. Now, of course the game has evolved within the past decade and now most of the bigs can handle the ball like guards.

But, until tonight, I didn't think Noah was one of those guys.

When he put his head down and went to the basket, I kept thinking to myself, "He's going way too fast, he's so out of control. He's going to bounce the ball off of his foot and the city of Chicago is going to banish him." But, he pounded the ball all the way to the rim with Pierce on his hip, took off from three or four feet inside the free throw line and threw it down over Pierce, who was too tired to Rondo him to the floor.

Now that was sick!

Great way to punctuate such a great game... but I just can't end on that note, not when the Celtics STILL should have won the game. Down the stretch, Allen hit a ridiculous 21-foot jumper over Noah's outstretched arms. House hit a wide-open 21-footer in the waning moments as well. What's the problem with those two shots? Clutch as they were, to me they will simply be remembered as two of the worst makes in this series... because each player should have had the awareness to scoot an extra foot back and turn those extra long twos into threes. People ask me all the time why I take so many deep threes. The answer? I don't want there to be any question whether or not I was behind the line.

But, I digress. Despite all the weird stuff, this was by far one of the greatest games I've ever seen in a series that has already been outstanding. I can't gush about it enough. At this point I don't even care who wins.

If Game Seven is half as good as any of the five classics we've seen in this series (damn that Game Three), it might be worth a sick day to watch it unfold.

Just kidding, Lowe's. My Sidekick will keep me informed.

F**** the TV Schedule; Curry Plays Media Hold 'Em

2009-04-23T12:13:00.004-04:00

Let me start off by saying I am absolutely LIVID with how the NBA scheduled these games tonight. How were the Spurs and Mavericks relegated to NBATV tonight? Look, I realize times are tough and Davey Stern needs to sell more jerseys, but if you look at all three match-ups tonight, you can't TELL me that the Spurs/Mavs game isn't the most intriguing. Yes, the Celtics are reeling and somehow knotted up with the Bulls at one, but I expect that game to be over by half-time despite what Bill Simmons says. Yes, the Jazz are one of the NBA's best home teams, but I still see the Lakers winning... and even if they don't they'll effectively end the series in Game Four. The Spurs and Mavs are much closer talent-wise, and with Erick Dampier's comments (no fine) creating even more animosity between the two squads... nevermind. I'm officially boycotting watching any games tonight... save for possibly the last four minutes of the Utah/L.A. game if it's close.

But, in terms of Game 3, I'm interested to see how the Mavs come out after Tony Parker's lay-up drill on Monday. I had to work late Monday and when I got home it was all about getting Cadence ready for bed. The few precious minutes I did see were not good. All I know is that if they duplicate that effort, this time they'll get run out of their own building.

Fortunately for them, the Mavericks will be in their own building, where they lost only nine times all year, a remarkable number considering they started the year 0-4 in their home confines. I've never been to a game before, but everytime I see them on TV that crowd is jacked up, and the Mavs definitely feed off of that. I still think that the Mavs collectively are much more capable of creating offense in one-on-one situations, even though the Spurs possess the series' best one-on-one player. Sigh... call it a homer pick, but I'm going with the Mavs by eight or more.

___________________________________________________________________

Minutes before I walked into my sports journalism class, news broke that Stephen Curry is going pro. The story seems ho-hum on the surface, but the whole story about him going pro is pretty amazing considering today's journalistic climate. In a time where there are more leaks than a run-down apartment in Baltimore (still better than living at home at 26), Curry and camp played it extremely close to the chest. Usually when a player decides to turn pro, there's a report like two days before that player holds a press conference. But, there was no indication one way or the other which way he was leaning throughout the entire process. Steph didn't even tell his dad (allegedly) what he was going to do. His coach Bob McKillop probably thought he was coming back, prompting him to clear all of his plans from March to April. But, the kid really didn't give anything up to anybody. Curry might as well have been sitting at a poker table riffling chips with a pair of shades on; the ballin' version of Phil Ivey. As for how he projects at the next level, I'm going to reserve judgement until I see where he gets drafted. He's never going to be the savior, but if he gets on a team where all he has to do is spot up (i.e Lakers, Magic, Rockets), he could be a missing piece.

Ladies and gentlemen, this is my 100th post, and only this year does it seem like I've gained any sort of consistency. After all, this is my third year of blogging and only my 100th post. I expect to hit 200 way sooner, probably around the time the Blake Griffin posts his first double-double as a member of the Clippers.

It's been a fun ride. Hopefully it goes on for years and years.

Playoff Preview

2009-04-16T02:01:00.003-04:00

I'm not going to lie... studying for accounting has taken its toll. Ugh, I just can't do it anymore.

So, at least for the next 15 to 20 minutes, it's back to what I know. Or at least what I think I know. Somewhat.

What we finally do know is that the NBA Playoffs are set. If you've been following me at all the past week and a half, you know that I'm an absolute genius... at least in terms of who would get the sixth spot in the West. And, for the Dallas Mavericks' reward? They get to play the Manu Ginobili-less San Antonio Spurs in what may be the best series of the first round. I'll get to that in a minute.

With a weekend of all work and no play coming up, here are my first round predictions:

Eastern Conference

(1)Cleveland Cavaliers vs. (8)Detroit Pistons

Once upon a time, in a galaxy seemingly far, far away, the Detroit Pistons were the team to beat in the Eastern Conference. Then, this snotty-nosed brat named LeBron James came along and single-handedly demolished them in Game Five of the 2007 playoffs. Despite a competitive return to the conference finals last year, I still think the Pistons are emotionally hungover from that game. And they will not snap out of it in this series, doesn't even matter if Allen Iverson is on the playoff roster. Heck, Iverson could be completely healthy, travel back in time and have a 25-year-old version of himself take his place and it wouldn't even matter. The Cavs are way too good, and if the Pistons win a game at the Quicken Loans' Arena, I go jog down Phelps Street in nothing but a pink Isiah Thomas jersey... for free.

Prediction: Cavs in four.

(2)Boston Celtics vs. (7) Chicago Bulls

It will be the first question posed on just about every playoff preview you read: how healthy is Kevin Garnett? This is just a gut reaction, but something tells me the guy just isn't right. As intense as he's been throughout his career, KG isn't the type to miss 21 of 25 games without something being seriously wrong. That being said, 100% or not, I don't think the Celts need him in this series. I don't know who it was, but I heard someone on ESPN say that the Celts don't match-up well with the Bulls. Okay, but they won the season series 2-1, with the two wins being one-sided. Let's kill that noise. Rajon Rondo cancels out Derrick Rose, and Ray Allen does the same to Ben Gordon. Paul Pierce is light-years better than John Salmons. So are the Celtics role players. Coaching? Vinny Del Negro has done an admirable job this year, but Rivers has been the Loctite glue (too much Lowe's) that has held this team together without Garnett. Da Bulls may win one on adrenaline alone, but that's it.

Prediction: Celtics in five.

(3) Orlando Magic vs. (6) Philadelphia 76ers

Andy Udvardy, if you're reading this, Shanta and I prefer Italian. With dinner obligations (see 76ers preview for the inside joke) out of the way, let's talk basketball. Everybody thought the Magic were doomed when they lost Jameer Nelson, a fine point guard in this league, but let's be realistic: Rafer Alston might be a half-tier below Nelson in the hierarchy of point guards. Outside of this past week and a half, they've been outstanding with him at the point. It helps to have a nice collection of weapons like Hedo Turkoglu, Rashard Lewis and... oh yeah... DWIGHT HOWARD to get the ball to. The Sixers are similar to the Magic in that they "put-putted" into the playoffs, but the difference is that the Magic just let their foot off the gas pedal while Philly has been in neutral all year (clever analogy given their 41-41 record, I know, I know). Unless the Sixers get Angry Whopper hot, Orlando should have no trouble disposing of them quickly.

Prediction: Magic in five.

(4) Atlanta Hawks vs. (5) Miami Heat

Too close to call, and that's a testament to how good Dwyane Wade (2009 LFTN MVP) is. It basically boils down to the Hawks' balance, with six players averaging double figures, against Wade's, um, unstoppability(?). I just think in the end the Hawks have the athleticism to deter a one-trick pony. Unless Wade averages 40 a game for the series with adequate help from Michael Beasely and Jermaine O'Neal plus a coming-out party from Mario Chalmers against Mike Bibby, I just can't see the Heat moving on. If I'm wrong somehow, then the NBA hype-machine will go absolutely nuts with a Wade/'Bron match-up.

Prediction: Hawks in six.

Western Conference

(1) Los Angeles Lakers vs. (8) Utah Jazz

When the season started, this was billed as a Western Conference finals match-up, especially since the Jazz played the Lakers as tough as any team not wearing a green uniform during last season's playoffs. Boy, what a difference a season makes. That being said, if the Jazz do somehow muster up the energy to win this series, it wouldn't be the craziest thing ever. Given the talent the Jazz have and the fact that everybody on the squad is finally healthy, this would be more like a three beating a six. I know what you're thinking... drug test me. But, as good as the Lakers have been, the Jazz have balance that can disrupt the Lakers. I can name six players off the top of my head that they can use to guard Kobe Bryant. Los Angeles is also vulnerable at the point guard position defensively. Boozer and Millsap bang hard enough to annoy a traditonally fragile Pau Gasol. Will Andrew Bynum be ready to step out on Okur? If this were the NCAA tournament, one-and-done deal, I would pick Utah. But, conventional wisdom Justin has returned and realizes that the Lakers have far too much talent on the offensive end for the Jazz to handle in the long-run.

Prediction: Lakers in six. Again.

(2) Denver Nuggets vs. (7) New Orleans Hornets

Carmelo Anthony better be careful, or he's going to become T-Mac II. He's in his sixth year and he's still trying to get his team out of the first round for the first time. What makes it worse is that none of those series were even remotely competitive; T-Mac at least blew 3-1 and 3-2 series' leads. I think this will be the year, however, that he gets his team out of the first round with the help of his teammates. Chauncey Billups coming over to Denver was the most beneficial acquisition of the year, and his mere presence has inspired the Nuggets to--gasp!!!--play defense. The Hornets won't be an easy out, not with the uber-competitive Chris Paul treating every possession on both sides of the ball like they're the last he'll ever play. But, as I said during my season preview, everyone from last year's team played way over their heads, and it's become apparent during their late-season slide that this has been an over-achieving team masquerading as a contender. Maybe they can bend the rules and get a new passport for Jannero Pargo under the new name, "Bowen, Ryan."

Prediction: Nuggets in five.

(3) San Antonio Spurs vs. (6) Dallas Mavericks

(Breathe..."objective, objective...")

In beating the Hornets tonight, the Spurs pretty much showed why they'll never go away without a fight. But, let's get down to the nitty gritty: can they make a run to the finals without Manu Ginobili? Greg Popovich is a master motivator, and I'm sure he'll try to use a combination of Roger Mason, Michael Finley and Bruce Bowen to keep them going without missing a beat. But, the truth is that age is finally beginning to keep up with this team. Ginobili has already fallen victim to wear and tear. Tim Duncan isn't feeling so spry nowadays. I think Finley uses Just For Men on his facial hair. One of the downfalls of the Dallas Mavericks is that while they're skilled offensively, they lack collective athleticism (except for when they let Gerald Green out of his cage once in a blue moon). I predict that Tony Parker will average somewhere in the 30s in this series. However, the Mavs have superior athleticism at every other position. Athleticism helps create easier scoring opportunities. Can Matt Bonner legitimately guard Dirk Nowitzki? Can Mason, Jr. really stay in front of Jason Terry? While I anticipate this to be a really good series, I will pick the Mavs in a mild upset.

Prediction: Mavs in six.

(4) Portland Trailblazers vs. (5) Houston Rockets

Nobody wants to give the young Trailblazers credit. Here they are, winners of 54 NBA games, one game better than their counterpart... and they will be labeled underdogs by just about anybody with a pen or a laptop. Getting home-court advantage was huge, especially with the fourth best home record in the NBA. Ask the Lakers, who got blown out by a million (or 17, I was close) the last time they went there: the Rose Garden is a tough place to play. If the Rockets can somehow steal one on their floor, I think Houston wins the series, but young teams thrive at home. Besides, Portland is probably the only team in the league that can throw two legit defensive stoppers at Yao Ming. It'll be interesting to see how Brandon Roy handles a healthy dose of Ron Artest and Shane Battier, but my guess is that he'll be fine... not transcendent, but fine. That'll be enough for the Blazers.

Prediction: Blazers in six.

Let the hype begin...

Bill Simmons

2009-04-15T13:03:00.003-04:00

In true Hubie Brown mode, we know that the Los Angeles Lakers will be the West's No. 1 seed. We also know that the Utah Jazz will be in the eight spot after losing to the Lakers last night. The question is, where does everybody else fit?

Isn't it crazy that after 81 grueling, gut-wrenching games, two games will pretty much settle everything?

Two games with playoff implications for all four teams involved.

The Dallas Mavericks have the Houston Rockets coming to town. The Mavs need a win and a New Orleans Hornets' loss against the San Antonio Spurs to sneak into the sixth seed. If the above scenario ends up playing out with the Mavs winning and the Hornets losing, the Spurs end up as the Southwest Division champions, knocking the Rockets down to a four seed.

I hear Gnarls Barkley in the background.

So, despite an accounting test tomorrow, I plan on either using the day hours to study or doing the late-night thing, because there's no way I'm missing the action tonight.

MVP conversation is envogue this time of year, especially when sportswriters' ballots are due tomorrow. Obviously, it's going to come down to four players at the most: Kobe Bryant, Dwyane Wade, Chris Paul, and LeBron James. ESPN.com writer Bill Simmons picked them exactly that way in ascending order.

In an attempt to solidify that decision, or come up with my own, I'm going to answer the four questions he has in the article's sidebar:

1)Ten years from now, who will be the first player from this regular season that pops into my head?

They've all had really good years, but I actually think it's Wade. He has been a Sportscenter staple for the last two months, elevating his play to staggering heights. It's cliche to say that he's put the Miami Heat on his back, but as Simmons pointed out, not only will he lead the league in scoring but he'll also be in the top 15 in assists, steals and blocks... yes, blocks, as a 6'4" guard. Back spasms.

James has had a ridiculous year, but believe it or not he was better last year statistically. Yes, his defense has improved immensely but it was more about the rest of his guys stepping up. The Mo Williams trade continues to look like the best move of the off-season, and the rest of the role players compliment LeBron perfectly. Paul has had a better season statistically than last year, but, through no fault of his own, the Hornets have struggled this year with injuries and inconsistency. As Simmons says, Pau Gasol knocks Kobe out of the top four with his stellar play, undermining overall Bryant's value to a degree.

Wade, James, Paul, Bryant.

2)In a giant pickup game with every NBA player waiting to play, and two fans forced to pick sides with their lives depending on the outcome of the game (I think this is how the annual Rucker League tournament works, by the way), who would be the first player picked based on the way everyone played that season?

A ridiculously funny question, but man... if you think about it, if the two fans' lives depended on the outcome of a pick-up game, as well as James has played, and as traditionally cold-blooded as Bryant has been over the years, the key to the question is how they performed this year. I'd go with Wade again, who just seems to come up with a basket whenever the Heat needs one. I've seen games where Wade gets triple-teamed, and yet still finds a way to the basket.

Wade, Bryant, James, Paul.

3)If you replaced each MVP candidate with a decent player at his position for the entire season, what would be the effect on the team's record?

Another tough question, and for this question I'm going to use the Charlotte Bobcats as a test subject, since they have the most "decent" players in the league without any legit superstars.

Take Raja Bell off the team and put Bryant and Wade on there. I think Bryant would be more effective because the Bobcats kind of resemble a poor man's Lakers with a much better point guard (Raymond Felton). As much as I like Wade on the Heat, I'm not sure how well he'd mesh with this team. Wade thrives the most in a system where he has knock-down shooters around him. This isn't neccesarily the case in Charlotte. I think Bryant can make it work better.

Take Felton off the Bobcats and bring in Chris Paul. Truthfully, if that actually happened I think the 'Cats would be better than the Hornets. More weapons for CP3, plus a better team defensively at their individual positions.

James replaces Gerald Wallace, and if he plays the same kind of defense that he did in Cleveland this year, the 'Cats would definitely be in the top three in the watered-down Eastern Conference.

The answer to this question? Surprisingly I think it goes Paul, James, Bryant, Wade.

4) If you're explaining your MVP pick to someone who has a favorite player in the race -- a player who you didn't pick -- will they at least say something like, "Yeah, I don't like it, but I can see how you arrived at that choice."

I think it's a foregone conclusion that James will win the MVP. Anyone who leads a team to such a remarkable increase in wins should be honored. But, if I had a vote, I would go with Wade. Another question that should get asked when evaluating the process: if you take the candidate off of their team completely, what happens?

Take James away from Cleveland and I think they're fighting for the seven or eight spot. They'd still be a playoff team. Take Bryant away from the Lakers and they'd probably be low lottery. Take Paul away from New Orleans and they'd be pretty bad.

Take Wade away from the Heat? You could make the case that the Heat would be, to quote Stephen A. Smith, "an abject disaster!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

Michael Beasely might average in the mid- 20's, but beyond that who else is going to score? Jermaine O'Neal? Without Wade, how does a player like Mario Chalmers get free for jumpers? The Heat would have, max, 15 wins.

So, there it is, D-Wade for MVP. There's at least one person outside of Miami who would give it to you.

Isiah???

2009-04-14T11:19:00.002-04:00

When I first heard the Sportscenter update on the way to class, I thought someone had screwed up... either that or it was an extremely late April Fools' joke.

Nope, it's true: Isiah Thomas is the new head basketball coach at Florida International. So far this morning, Colin Cowherd has had the best line:

"I now have a better job than Isiah Thomas."

Apparently FIU's athletic department has been living under a rock for the past decade. Either that or I guess they're okay with a guy who has destroyed everything he touches.

The CBA. The Toronto Raptors. The Indiana Pacers. THE NEW YORK KNICKS!!! You name them, he butchered them. And yet here is, albeit at a no-name school but still a D-1 program, with somebody giving him another chance.

When it comes to the best point guards of all-time, Thomas is without a doubt very high on the list. When it comes to running an organization, he may be, scratch that, IS the bottom. He might be below the bottom, where I hear it gets quite hot.

I'm rooting for him, though. Maybe he can start to repair his tarnished image by coaching kids who may be too young to remember the mini on-court virtuoso who could shred through defenses with his ball-handling ability. Maybe he can turn this fledgling basketball program around.

But, more than likely, he'll be back in the unemployment line three years from now, leaving behind more destruction.

Down to the Wire

2009-04-14T01:30:00.002-04:00

Too close to call right now in the race not to play the Los Angeles Lakers.

With one game left, the Dallas Mavericks might be in the most precarious position. Yes, they're tied right now for the sixth spot with the New Orleans Hornets and one game up on the Utah Jazz, but they lose tie-breakers with both teams. Luckily for them, they get to play the Houston Rockets at home on Wednesday, but that's nowhere near a "gimme" game. The Rockets have won five straight and will be playing for a division crown.

Although the Mavs lose tiebreaker scenarios against their competition, the Jazz and the Hornets also have tough tasks at hand. Phil Jackson insists that he's not resting his players against the Jazz when they come to LA, and the Hornets have to go into San Antonio, never an easy place to win.

So how will it all play out? Hard to say, but I predict that when the dust settles the Mavs will own the six spot. They're just a different team at home. The Jazz haven't beaten anybody good all year on the road, and I just don't see them breaking out of that funk against the Lakers. The Hornets are an okay road team, but they've pretty much limped down the stretch, and I just don't know if they're capable of beating the Spurs right now even if they don't have Manu Ginobili.

I guess we'll have it all settled by Wednesday.

And I'll know what day over the weekend I will suddenly come down with stomach virus by then, too.

Dyno-mite

2009-04-09T12:19:00.003-04:00

Humungous win for the Dallas Mavericks last night against the Utah Jazz. Clinching a playoff spot last night is secondary to moving up in the standings, and with back-to-back games against the New Orleans Hornets coming over the weekend they will have a first-hand chance to do so.

A couple of weeks ago I blogged about how the Mavs needed to draft a point guard in June, and while I still feel like that's a position they need to address, J.J. Barea deserves the chance to at least be considered for stepping into a starter's role if Jason Kidd decides not to come back.

At his worst, Barea seems like a rich man's Travis Best, but he could end up being a quicker, shot- first version of Steve Nash. He's been up and down during the season, but in those games when he realizes that nobody on the court can stay in front of him, he's looked ridiculous.

If he can continue to give the Mavs consistent production off the bench during the postseason, Dallas will be a tough team to contend with, regardless of what seed they come up with.

Spurs "Odd" Bid in Trouble

2009-04-07T11:36:00.006-04:00

Before I get to the headline, let's put the college basketball season to rest. Hopefully you guys caught my diary last night which may have cost me cool points with my girlfriend but was fun nonetheless. Here's the box score from last night, and like I said during the game the most eye-popping number was the turnovers. 21 for Michigan State, just about a turnover every two minutes. Can't win games, especially big games against a superior team, with numbers like that. The shooting was pretty bad, too, but thanks to a better-played second half those numbers, poor as they were, became inflated. The Spartans had to rally to get to 40%.

Anyway, Carolina fan or not, you have to feel good for Tyler Hansborough. Until this game, he had one of the most decorated careers in college basketball history without a championship. So much for that.

Now I can finally return my attention to the NBA, where the Dallas Mavericks have a chance to move up to as high as sixth in the West after spending the majority of the season in the eight spot. They've got the Utah Jazz on Wednesday, followed by a home and home with New Orleans that will ultimately decide their fate. My prediction? 2-1 in those three games gets them at least the seventh spot. Anywhere but eight. As much Mavs' fans want to remain optimistic, even I, Mavs' fan extraordinaire, have to admit that they're probably not beating the Los Angeles Lakers in a seven-game series. They'd be underdogs against Houston, Denver or San Antonio, but it wouldn't be out of the question to win a series against any one of those teams.

But, my buried lead is this: as a fan I'm rooting for the Mavs to get to that sixth spot, because news broke today that Manu Ginobili, an integral part of the Spurs' championship runs in odd years, is done for the year after re-aggravating a right ankle injury. No playoffs for Ginobili, in my opinion, means no chance at a title for the Spurs. It's that simple.

Poor Manu. First he misses 44 games at the start of the season after hurting his left ankle during the Olympics. That healed, and then he had a stress reaction in his right distal fibula (I'll have to ask my athletic trainer/physical therapist/girl feeler-upper friend Hakeem about that one, but I assume it has to do with his right ankle). And now, back since Mar. 25, he's suffered another setback.

Rudy Tomjanovich once said, "Never underestimate the heart of a champion." But, whoever gets that sixth seed will not show any sympathy for the wounded San Antonio Spurs.

Dear Diary

2009-04-06T19:35:00.014-04:00

7:36- ESPN.com's Andy Katz is reporting that the Spartans are encouraging a "white out" tonight with their fans. In response, Tyler Hansborough has been sequestered to his hotel room until tip.

7:43- 98-63 the first time these two teams played. Says Spartans coach Tom Izzo, if they had been completely healthy, they "would have maybe lost by 20."

Needless to say, the Spartans are a much better team now than they were back then. But, so are the Heels. Biggest difference with them? UNC has started to defend.

7:52- I have undiagnosed ADD, so I'm switching to Family Guy. Got me thinking... how am I going to handle not seeing 24 tonight???

8:36- I am undoubtedly going to be relegated to TV No.2. My mom is a big 24 fan and she is NOT giving up the tube, reason No. 202,841 why Justin needs to move out. At least it'll be high def.

8:55- I had to wrestle the Sidekick out of Cadence's hands. She's barely three but she loves playing games on this thing.

9:00- As much as I miss Billy Packer, Clark Kellogg does give the telecast a little bit of flavor. And, off subject, everytime I see this Buffalo Wild Wings "send it into overtime" commercial, I think of Tim Donaghy.

9:23- Tip time is two minutes behind schedule! Already having some technical difficulties, just accidentally deleted like five minutes worth of writing. Live and learn.

9:25-Deon Thompson scores the first basket. Game over... J/K Rawlings.

9:27- UNC three for three with three different scorers. 8-3 Heels.

9:28-Hansborough is a good free throw shooter... just not on TV.

9:32- First TV time-out. Random but true thought: due to work I haven't seen a ton of basketball during the tourney, but I think in all the action I've seen I can count the number of times I've seen Wayne Ellington miss on one hand, and I wouldn't even need the whole hand to count it.

9:35-Oscar Robertson, Christian Laettner... Tyler Hansborough??? He's had an amazing career, just moving into the top five scorers all-time in tourney history.

9:37- "Spurtability" cannot be a word, but if it was, Carolina's picture would be under the definition. Here I am, helping Cadence put stickers on her new purse (daddy stuff), and I look up and it's 22-8. Sick.

9:40- Everyone knows that UNC can score in bunches, but they've come so far defensively over the course of the season. They kind of remind me of the '06-'07 Indianapolis Colts, whose defense turned it on late after being much-maligned during the year, helping them win a title.

9:47- Nobody talks about Thompson. He's athletic with a good array of post moves inside. It's because of him that this game is turning into a joke. 31-11 and we're not even halfway through the first half.

9:50- Mr. Kellogg... what is a "lower body root canal?"

9:52- MSU's Chris Allen has awful shot selection... not just tonight but throughout the weekend. He's been like the polar opposite of Ellington.

9:55- Kalin Lucas steps to the line for the first time with 8:20ish left in the half, and I know it's early but he's playing even worse than he did in the first game.

9:56- TV time-out. If the game stays like this, we'll really get a feel for Kellogg's chops. Packer and Nantz were always pretty good at filler, like a couple that had been together forever. Let's hope for no awkward silences.

20-4 Carolina points in the paint thus far. Unless you're playing NBA Live, you can't give that up and hope to win.

10:00- Maaaaan... of all the places for Morgan to get hit... he seems okay but talk about bad luck.

10:02- If Kevin Harlan was calling this game, Wayne Ellington would make his head explode. "ELLINGTON JUST CREATES TIME-OUTS!!!"

43-20 UNC.

10:05- I don't think the Spartans can play any worse than they have this half. The opposite is true for Carolina.

10:11- With this game getting out of hand... can anyone give me a 100 word or less synopsis of what went down on 24?

10:12- Holy crap... Ellington missed a shot.

10:13-Maybe Korie Lucious can "J.R. Smith" the Spartans back into it. 48-30 with 2:30 left in the half.

10:16- Draymond Green called for a charge, to which Nantz responded, "Nothing coming up Green for the Spartans." Come on, man.

10:18- Random thought that my teacher John Eisenberg pointed out to me on Tuesday: Maryland beat two of the four Final Four teams this year. That assertion turned out to actually be the final two teams in the tourney.

Go figure.

55-34, largest half-time lead in title game history.

10:33- Magic Johnson just summed tonight's game perfectly. UNC has significantly more talent than MSU, but when you turn it over as much as they have, that just compounds things even more. I'm waiting for a points off turnovers stat, because I'm sure it has to be off the meter.

Meanwhile, on top of limiting TOs, they have to, for Pete's sake, recognize that #22 in blue is the best shooter in college basketball right now, and that you can't help off him. You can't even give him an inch.

Oh, and on top of all the effort stuff, they have to hope that UNC gets uncharacteristically cold.

To sum it up, my future brother-in-law Rav called to prematurely congratulate me on my first pool win in six years. There's still 20 minutes left... but right about now Tyler Hansborough is probably saying to a CBS publicist, "My hat size is a 7 3/8" as he's getting sized for a championship hat.

10:50- Yes, Michigan State is playing harder, having shaved three points off the lead, but it's like I said... Carolina needs to get cold, and I just don't see it happening.

On another note, Ed Davis just got an and one. He's projected as a lottery pick in the 2010 draft after coming off the bench as a freshman. Not comparing them (even though they're both lefties), but pundits said the same thing about Duke's Josh McRoberts after his freshman year. It'll be interesting to see if he can step into the leading scorer role after being a complementary guy.

10:55- Praise or a diss? Depends on who you ask. Jim Nantz just said that Izzo compared Ty Lawson to Mateen Cleaves. NBA scouts have taken notes and his stock is dropping.

10:59- Darrell "Human Facial" Summers hits a lay-up to the margin to 16. 62-46, still plenty of time left. As a Maryland Terrapin fan you learn to never stop watching a basketball game.

11:28- 78-64 with 4:46 left. Sorry I've been in and out of the seoncd half partially because of these Easter cards my mom insists that I make and partially because my girlfriend thinks I'm a nerd for blogging from my phone. Either way, State has looked better this half, but their poor start pretty much doomed them.

Here's an interesting debate to spark as the minutes begin to dwindle: how good will the Carolina kids be at the next level? While there's no denying that they're a great college team collectively, individually scouts aren't so high on the Heels' big three. As great as he's been in college, people see Hansborough as no more than a better version of Mark Madsen. Lawson is seen as a point guard who lacks the size to stick in the NBA. Ellington might have the most upside of the three, but he will be below the average height of a starting NBA two. What do I think? Personally, I believe there is room for a guy like Hansborough. I bet he'll end up being much better than people think at the next level. Lawson has the height going against him, and it'll be interesting to see if he can get his perimeter shot off or get to the rim as easily at the next level. Of the three, he probably has the highest "bust" risk. After watching Ellington play these past couple of months, I think he has the chance to be the best of the three because he has proven that he can get his shot off. At his worst, I think he'll be better than Rashad McCants.

11:44- During my tangent Danny Green fouled out. Forgot about him. He played 145 games, more than any other player in UNC history. He could end up as a more offensive-minded Bruce Bowen eventually.

11:45- In 154 of 240 possible minutes during the tourney, UNC held a double digit lead. Talk about domination. One of the more dominant runs I've seen in a tourney.

The crowd was hyped, but Carolina just came out and took the air out of the building. 21-7 before I could blink. The Spartans couldn't do anything right. The Heels couldn't do anything wrong. I wish I could write something more profound, but that's how the first half played out. Credit State for trying to make a game of it, and credit the crowd for trying to will their team back into it, but 2009 belongs to the North Carolina Tar Heels.

I WON A POOL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Thanks for tuning in.

Tonight's the Night

2009-04-06T19:27:00.001-04:00

In my sports journalism class we constantly speak of the ever-evolving industry and convergence. If you asked the average ten-year-old what a newspaper was, they'd probably respond, "We use it when the toilet paper runs out."

When I took Dr. Lieb's Writing for New Media class for the first time (long story), he emphasized how big of a role blogging would eventually end up playing with the media.

That was three years ago, and it gave me an outlet to voice my opinions on my own terms. While I haven't been super consistent over the last three years (I haven't even hit my 100th post yet), I think just writing about basketball in general has made me feel closer to the game. But, metaphorically at least, I'm still in the nosebleeds, waiting for that consistent press pass, hence the blog title.

Anyway, long story short, how we report as citizen journalists has evolved quite a bit, and as indication of how far technology has come, I'm going to attempt a running diary of the title game tonight between the Tar Heels and Spartans from my new phone.

Yes, my phone.

Uncle Sam treated me fairly well on my tax return, which I guess happens when you can claim a child and some tuition (warning kids: do NOT try that at home). So, after paying off some of my bills, I decided to get a Sidekick from T-Mobile. Although I originally wanted their G-1, my main requirement was a QWERTY keyboard so that I could 1) text easier , 2) e-mail easier, and 3) blog easier. So far, so easy. Now, if only I had the fingers of a G.I. Joe action figure...

But, back to the game. Despite the fact that 92% of participators in ESPN's Streak for the Cash contest feel that North Carolina will emerge victorious, I happen to think that this will be a competitive game for two reasons. First, despite his relative ineffectiveness in the win against Connecticut Saturday, the Spartans are a much better team with Goran Suton, who missed the last meeting with UNC due to injury. He's a big guy who can stroke it from the perimeter and bang inside on the glass. Second, like Saturday's games, tonight's contest will be played at Ford Field, and if you think that's an irrelevant variable, then you obviously didn't watch the game over the weekend. Over 72,000 fans, a record for a Final Four game, witnessed the MSU/UConn game, and I'd be willing to bet 50,000 of them were cheering for the Spartans.

Despite taking those two factors into consideration, Carolina has looked unstoppable throughout the tournament. Their big three--Tyler Hansbrough, Ty Lawson and Wayne Ellington--have proven to be impossible to guard, especially Ellington, who might as well have still been in shootaround with all the easy looks he was getting against a hard-nosed Villanova team. Add to that the fact that Danny Green has found his game after taking the last two weeks of the ACC regular season off, and the Tar Heels will just be too much for Michigan State. I see UNC winning this game by ten or more, just like they have throughout the tournament.

See you guys in about an hour and a half.

Predictions!

2009-04-03T10:33:00.004-04:00

Growing up I used to love Fridays: the start of the weekend, a little bit of Urkel, nothing to do but sleep in the next day. Thanks to a child and a retail job, Friday has become pretty much like every other day of the week. The only reason I mention this is because this is the first Friday I've had off in more than a year, and I forgot how liberating it is!

Today's Friday, which means tomorrow's Saturday, which means... wait for it... the Final Four! Nice electic mix we've got--the diminutive but tough Villanova Wildcats; the scrappy Michigan State Spartans; the high-flying North Carolina Tar Heels, and the extremely balanced Connecticut Huskies. Good Final Four.

Anyway, I don't want to be bogged down behind a computer all day, so here we go...

Villanova/North Carolina: The average person probably looks at this game and assumes that the Tar Heels are going to drop the hammer early, leaving the announcers with nothing to do but exchange anecdotes about the old days. To be honest, the average person might be right. Yes, Villanova does create some match-up problems on the perimeter since there are so many guys-- Scottie Reynolds, Reggie Redding, Corey Fisher, even Dante Cunningham--that can break defenders down off the dribble, and UNC has never been accused of being a great team on the defensive end. And, yes, I saw part of the UCLA/'Nova game, the part where everytime someone went to the rim they got hammered like frat boys. All that being said, it's not happening. Ty Lawson is... let me see... I have to channel my inner Kevin Harlan but in an original way... a human guerilla... okay that didn't come out too well... Ty Lawson is playing better basketball than any other point guard not in the NBA right now, especially considering that his turf toe is only about 80%. Tyler Hansbrough has been solid in the tournament, and I think the fact that he hasn't won a title yet in his otherwise stellar career will continue to drive him. If you don't buy that, then defensively who is there to stop him on the other end? Overlooked is Wayne Ellington, who outside of last game against Oklahoma has been putting up ridiculous shooting numbers the past month of the season. Carolina has too much firepower for 'Nova, and I think it'll be over by the first TV time-out of the first half. Heels by 10 plus.

Michigan State/Connecticut: I have to admit that I've seen Michigan State play precisely three times this season, and in two of those games they looked ridiculously out-classed. They got destroyed by Maryland (!!!) on Thanksgiving (albeit without Goran Suton) and shelacked against Carolina at Ford Field in which I recall Kalin Lucas looking like the fifth best point guard on the floor. Of course, the third time was in the regional semi-finals where they had to overcome a large deficit to unseat the reigning national champion Kansas Jayhawks. They're probably a team more reflective of the latter game, but the Huskies, at this moment, have probably looked the best and most consistent throughout the season. If you were building a team, ideally you'd want a big man who can alter shots and score down low (Hasheem Thabeet); a point guard who can manage the game and keep defenders honest at the same time (A.J. Price); solid glue guys who do the dirty work to protect their stars (Jeff Adrien, Stanley Robinson), and a wild card off the bench who can shake things up (Kemba Walker). Throw in a Twittering alumnus (Charlie Villanueva) and you've got a team that has to be the odds on favorite to win it. However, stranger things have happened, and it'll be interesting to see how Thabeet matches up with Suton. If Suton can draw Hash away from the rim with the threat of his perimeter jumper, things can get interesting, and even if he can't, it's not like the Spartans can't bang on the boards, too. The Spartans led the nation in rebounding margin, outrebounding their opponents by almost 10 a game. I just think, similar to the UNC/'Nova game, UConn has too much for Michigan State, even if the stands are packed with more green than Bank of America safety deposit boxes. I guess I won't be winning this pool. Huskies by eight or more.

Let the madness continue...

I-verson

2009-04-02T11:04:00.003-04:00

When the Chauncey Billups/Allen Iverson trade went down, I was silly enough to think it was a push, with Billups adding organization to chaos to Denver and Iverson adding scoring punch to a team that had trouble scoring on a consistent basis.

Boy, was I wrong... well, half wrong at least.

While Billups has moved the Nuggs into the upper half of a tough Western Conference, Ivo has been instrumental in the Pistons demise to the bottom of a top-heavy but otherwise weak Eastern Conference. Any doubt about that was completely erased today, when the story came out that Iverson would rather retire than come off the bench.

There's no doubt in my mind that Iverson is a first ballot hall of famer. Few put their body on the line day in and day out more than the ex-Hoya does. However, he's refusing to do something that in the long run would better his team. Selfish doesn't even begin to describe his comments.

In his defense, I don't think there's a basketball player alive that wouldn't rather be starting. Hell, I came off the bench in high school and absolutely hated it. But, I understood that it was better for the team (incidently, so did Coach Jim Albert). Iverson is a guy who can score in bunches, a guy who can score at absolute will. At this stage in his career he's the perfect player to have coming off the bench, not a guy like Rip Hamilton, someone who needs plays run for him to be effective.

It's one thing to think something. It's another thing to say it out loud. And by doing so, Iverson has tarnished his legacy to a degree.

The Notebook: Coach Cal, Mickey D's Meat Market, Mateen Cleaves?

2009-04-01T18:47:00.004-04:00

No, this is not a critical analysis of that movie with Ryan Gosling.

This is my new way of doing things. Whenever I want to touch on three or more topics, I'm labeling the post as "The Notebook" so that readers don't think I'm going off on asinine tangents.

Off we go...

Kentucky, despite what John Calipari says about being a regular guy who does not "walk on water", your savior has arrived. It took an eight year deal just shy of 32 million, but you got him. Yes, there are probably at least ten better coaches in terms of X's and O's out there, but I don't think there's a better salesperson in college basketball than Calipari. He'll do what Tubby Smith and Billy Gillespie couldn't do before him and get the best talent college basketball has to offer. It might start as early as this year, since Xavier Henry and DeMarcus Cousins have the right to void their letters of intent and join Cal. Even if those two follow JC with Jodie Meeks and Patrick Patterson returning, Wildcat nation shouldn't expect a one year turnaround, but I'll take the under on a Final Four appearance within the next three years. Anybody want action? Completely unrelated, if you keep watching the clip under the link above, check out Bow Wow on First Take. While I was typing this, I heard someone's voice talking about Cal's hiring and I said to myself, "This guy knows what he's talking about." Turned out it was Bow Wizzle. Weird... sounds more meaningful on set than he does in a recording booth.

The McDonald's All-American game is tonight. In the pros, all-star games are utter dunk fests and highlight-reel templates. The Mickey D's game isn't really that different, but pundits jump to far too many conclusions of a player's talent/future based upon a glorified pick-up game. Maybe it's not so much the case anymore since players can't jump to the pros after the prom anymore, but over-judgement still lingers. If unsigned hype Lance Stephenson goes for 40 tonight, he'll instantly shoot to the No.1 pick in NBADraft.net's 2010 Mock Draft. If Xavier Henry shoots 3-20, people will say he struggles with his shot selection. I don't know, this game which in reality means so little will help writers formulate opinions that stick far too easily. I'm guilty of this, too: two years ago when I watched O.J. Mayo struggle to hit a jumper in this game, I automatically assumed he'd be Dajuan Wagner '09, a stereotype that I've had a hard time letting go despite strong evidence to the contrary (don't worry, there's still time). My point is this: enjoy the game, enjoy the advertising, but avoid rash generalizations.

He's alive! Mateen Cleaves escaped from obscurity today and I actually heard him on two separate ESPN interviews: once on First Take and the other on Colin Cowherd's show. There were definitely better point guards in his day, maybe even on his own team (Charlie Bell has turned out to be a decent NBA player). But, that Cleaves fella could lead a team. I remember watching the Florida/MSU national title game in 2000 (incidently the first pool I ever won), and the Spartans were giving it to the Gators. All of the sudden, #12 in green got hurt, limped to the sideline in great pain. Mike Miller and Co. went on a little run, and I thought that, "Yes! The most improbable pick in tourney history is about to manifest itself!" Then, that little annoying Spartan came limping back on the court, and all of the sudden he's jumping up and down like nothing ever happened. To this day I believe his injury was an Izzo-induced ploy, but nonetheless it's a ploy that worked to the tune of a national championship. I knew Cleaves would never pan out as an NBA starter or even a good player off the bench, but it's good to still see him as an ambassador of Michigan State Spartan basketball.

Finally, a cruel April Fool's joke played by my cell phone: I scheduled an advising appointment for today, and when I got there there was a sign saying, "Knock when you arrive for your appointment." I knocked. No answer. I figured she hadn't arrived yet, so I pulled out my phone with the intention of playing poker until she arrived. Guess what? My phone, which I am POSITIVE was turned on ALL MORNING, was off. First message: "Dr.________ has cancelled all of her appointments for today." Did I mention Towson is a full half hour's drive away?

Happy April Fool's Day!

Hanging On By a Thread

2009-03-29T22:59:00.004-04:00

Apparently I spoke way too soon in my last post.

Yes, I am by all accounts out of the big money pool I was in, which saddens me because I really could have used the nice pot at the end. But, what I didn't know was that I was and still am very alive in my own pool. The reason for the confusion?

I didn't understand my own scoring system.

In my pool, you get one point for each victory in round one, two in round two, four in the Sweet 16, eight in the Elite Eight, 16 in the Final Four, and 32 for picking the correct championship team. Oh, and throw in bonus points for upsets, a nice little ingenius tactic which Yahoo! allows users to enable.

So, through the Elite Eight, I'm currently losing to, of all people, my girlfriend by four points because she had the foresight (sarcasm) to pick Michigan State to make it to Detroit. My future brother-in-law Rav is third down by six, but more or less he is the favorite to win. He has Connecticut getting to the championship (16 points) and North Carolina winning both the semi-final and the title game (48 points). I need a small miracle: I need Kalin Lucas and Co. to defeat the mighty Huskies. For me, the tourney comes down to that game. If they win, I win. Is it possible? Honestly, if they can beat the Cardinals, why can't they beat UConn?

This is why I like blogging. If I wrote about this at a professional newspaper or online organization, I'd probably be slammed. "You're promoting gambling." I don't know, maybe I am. Maybe that's just the poker player in me. But, to me these pools are about more than the money. It's about bragging rights for the next year. The $100 or so profit I would make from winning this tourney is inconsequential. If the buy-in for this pool was $1, I really don't think anything would change. I'd still be on the edge of my seat, cheering for scenarios to unfold and sending my opponents into a crying frenzy.

If Asher Roth loves college, I love March.

PREDICTIONS!!!!!!!

2009-03-26T02:46:00.003-04:00

Okay, I'll be the first one to admit that I avoided talking about the NCAA Tournament for the last two posts because I'm a little salty. It sucks not being in the running for the sixth year in a row after such a hot start to my bracket predicting "career".

Anyway, here go some "surefire" predictions.

UConn/Purdue: Yes, the Baby Boilermakers are a year older now, and while they struggled at times with puberty this season, they seem to be clicking at the right time, showing everybody that hey, maybe the Big Ten is a decent conference after all. Unfortunately, none of that will matter. A.J. Price and Hasheem Thabeet are on another level, and Purdue doesn't really have an answer for those two. Huskies by ten or more.

Pittsburgh/Xavier: If the Panthers somehow make it to the Final Four like I predicted they would, Sam Young deserves the keys to the city. He absolutely saved them last game against an Oklahoma State team that frankly should be playing in this game. The Musketeers just keep creeping up on you like a cop on the interstate. Then, they're finally right behind you and you can't ignore them anymore. The Panthers are just hoping they don't get pulled over by the boys in blue. Even if they do, I just get the feeling that DeJuan Blair will be able to talk them out of a ticket. Okay, enough police metaphors: Panthers in a close one, six or less.

Duke/Villanova: The Blue Devils, with help from above I suppose, single-handedly took me out of the running on Saturday night after snatching pretty much every single loose ball and seeing every single Texas shot rim out late in the game. Maybe it's fate... maybe this perimeter-oriented but tough-minded team will do the unthinkable and cut down some nets. On behalf of Terp fans everywhere, I'm hoping that Scottie Reynolds, Corey Fisher and Dante Cunningham put an end to that thought. Seriously though, this should be a good one. I just flipped a coin, and it said 'Nova wins by five or more. Must be fate.

Missouri/Memphis: I think this has the potential to be the best game of the night. I expect the pace to be blistering, 40 minutes of utter chaos. It could be one of those games where whoever blinks first loses. In the end, however, I think Memphis has far more talent. They're truly the most improved team in the country since November. I remember watching Tyreke Evans around that time and thinking to myself, "Forget leaving after one year: can you stay for six?" Since then he's turned himself into one of the best players in the country. I don't know if Mizzou has an answer for him. I was about to write Tigers by eight...ROFL (bet you don't remember that one, huh?)... it's Memphis.

I am not sexist...

2009-03-25T10:29:00.006-04:00

I have a daughter whom I love more than anything else on this planet. I've introduced her to basketball, and as far as I can tell she likes it (or at least likes the cool cheers her daddy does during Terp games). At some point I will encourage her to try athletics, and if she so chooses it'd be cool to see her play basketball. I would go see every game, be that crazy dad in the stands, and while I may end up inevitably embarrassing her at some point, I would definitely support her.

Which makes it even harder to write the next sentence.

The women's college basketball tournament is a joke, and I feel horrible for the Duke Blue Devils.

(Pardon me as I try to dodge all these eggs being tossed at me.)

The game itself is okay. Although women don't (neccesarily) play above the rim, there's more fundamentally sound play. You see far less bad shots and better overall teamwork on the women's level, which I think may be a product of players staying all four years with few exceptions. Unlike the NBA, the WNBA doesn't offer enough incentives for players to bolt. Good or bad, they don't try to.

So no, this isn't slamming women's basketball. It's slamming the way the tournament field is staged. 16 "pre-determined" sites is one thing, better than the way it used to be I guess. Back in 1994 when the field expanded to 64 teams, the higher seeds hosted first round games. Now that was just plain awful. If I had started doing brackets back then for women's basketball I literally would have no upsets predicted. And, I'd probably win.

So yeah, as much as giving home court advantage in the tourney is bad, having a one seed play on a NINTH seeds' home court---not 20 minutes away, not 45 minutes away, on their HOME COURT--- is atrocious. You bust your hump all season long to get that one seed, only to find out that you have to play your first two rounds in an inferior opponents' gym. Oh yeah, and factor in that Michigan State absolutely hates your guts because you stole their coach, and it almost cancels out the fact that you are indeed the better team.

All because it was pre-determined.

"Oh yeah, let's have regionals in College Park and Connecticut."

While it is true that sometimes teams benefit from playing close to home in the men's game (Villanova, North Carolina), keep in mind that they're playing CLOSE to home. Sure, it helps. But if Carolina is playing LSU at a weighted neutral site, chances are there will be plenty of non-Carolina fans hoping for Tar Heel blood. At the Breslin Center? I didn't see the game, but I'm willing to bet that 90% of the people who showed up didn't want Duke to win.

Just adopt the men's system. Maybe it's flawed, too... but at this point it's better than the women's.

Thankfully nobody reads this blog...

Open Audition

2009-03-24T13:39:00.004-04:00

So, by now if you've been reading my blog for any length of time you'd know I was a big Dallas Mavericks' fan/apologist.

With the way this season is going, it's apparent that the Mavs, while dangerous, will be somewhere in between the six to eight seed, meaning a playoff spot and a draft pick somewhere in the 20s.

With Jason Kidd's contract ready to expire at the end of the year, does it take a brain surgeon to realize where Dallas is going to look in the draft?

So while the rest of you are sweating over upsets and Cinderellas and such (my bracket blew up over the weekend unfortunately), I'm analyzing what point guards will be around that 20-25 range.

NBADraft.net has the Mavs taking Ty Lawson, which as a fan I would have absolutely no problem with, especially the way he looked against LSU on Saturday. At the college level, he is without a doubt the best PG at getting to the rim and finishing. I only have two worries with him: first, will he be able to get to the rim with that kind of regularity at the next level, and second, can he consistently knock down open jumpers? Conclusion: the Mavs can do much worse than Lawson.

What about a guy like Jonny Flynn? Personally, I like him better than Lawson because of his stroke is more pure, plus I think he's better at running the half-court stuff. At the worst I think he'll be a solid NBA starter, but I think he has the chance to be a poor man's Chris Paul. Soak that in for a second, and before you belittle me and call me an idiot, think about their games: the handle, the passion, the will to win... I like Flynn. The only issue he has at times is his shot selection, but on a team like the Dallas who has proven scorers I think he'll be fine.

All year long I've been clamoring for Stephen Curry to somehow fall the Mavs' way, but will he declare? Draft.net took him off the boards inexplicably and put him in the 2010 Mock. I wrote a couple posts back that maybe Curry was so peeved by how things ended up this season that he'll be determined to come back dedicated to the team. If it happened with any senior it probably would be Curry, who thanks to daddy's NBA career will be fine financially, and at the very worst he will be playing basketball somewhere after he graduates, whether it's in the NBA or Europe (doubtful). Maybe he enjoys his last season in the limelight of a college campus.

Finally, I know there are point guards ahead of him in mock drafts, but what about Greivis Vasquez? His play this year was up and down, but I think that was more a product of having to shoulder the burden of carrying a limited team. His size at the point guard position will intrigue many NBA teams, and especially with the team's penchant for drafting internationally, I wouldn't rule out the Venezuelan Vacillator (because of his tendency to border on stardom and then do something that makes you say, "Never mind.")

Obviously, as workouts take place, the list of candidates will constantly change, but one thing is for sure... the Dallas Mavericks neeeeeeeeeeeeeed a point guard.

Like I neeeeeeeeeeeeed to stop doing bracket pools.

15/16

2009-03-20T01:18:00.002-04:00

I'm feelin' myself a little bit after posting my best start in pool play history...

But, like a poker tournament, you get nothing for finishing Day 1 as the leader.

Random thoughts after Day 1...

Next year, I'm definitely requesting the first two days of the tournament off (maybe by then I'll have a real job). It is next to impossible to work under these conditions, constantly waiting forever for text messages to come and having to rely on people at work who when I ask them for a score they say, "The Lakers are winning."
Big win for Maryland. I fully expect them to give the Memphis Tigers all they can handle.
Speaking of which, the Tigers showed up to their game against powerhouse Cal-State Northridge an hour and a forty five minutes late.
Both Western Kentucky and UCLA provided free clinics for how NOT to close out a game with a big lead.
Is Blake Griffin going to be okay?
How the hell am I going to leave work in time for the Maryland game????

15-1, baby. Great start.

Justin Cherot's Bracket Press Conference Coverage

2009-03-18T18:20:00.003-04:00

The following is a transcript of Justin Cherot's March Madness Press Conference

Moderator: Ladies and gentlemen... wait, it looks like there's only one of you... okay, sir, I'd like to welcome you to Justin Cherot's press conference on the eve of the 2009 NCAA Tournament. In a moment we'll welcome Mr. Cherot to the stage, where he'll briefly share some thoughts about this upcoming tournament and field questions. Keeping in mind that we have time limitations (his daughter is about to wake up in less than 45 minutes), we'd politely ask to keep questions limited to the topic of the tournament and nothing else. Thank you. Now, without further ado, bracket pool legend, Justin Cherot.

Cherot: Thank you, Mr. unnamed moderator. Due to a lack of advertising budget I wasn't able to get any bigger names but thank you for being here. Folks... okay, I see there's only one of you... sir, first off I'd like to express my excitement for the madness returning. I somehow made it through that long, exhausting regular season which saw good teams choke, underdogs prevail, and NBA scouts yawn. Now comes the real fun part, March Madness, a time when virtually anything can happen... well, except for a 16 beating a one. It's just not going to happen this year, just like every other year the field of 64 or 65 has existed.

What I usually do during my previews is I breakdown every single game and my reasons for making such bold and, at times, irrational predictions. In an attempt not to bore my very few readers who have ADD, I am simply going to link to my bracket.

My reason for holding this brief press conference is simple. My recent struggles at doing these things is well-documented, having not recorded a pool win since Carmelo Anthony set the world on fire in 2003. I know I've been saying this for the past few years, but I anticipate this year to be my big comeback. I have prepared feverishly for this month, and my homework over the past several months will prove more than worth the trouble.

Thank you.

Moderator: We will now field questions from the press... all one of you. Go ahead, sir.

Crazy Bone: Remember me, from last year you [expletive]!?

Cherot: I don't seem to recall.

Crazy Bone: "Don't seem to recall." Nice selective memory. Cite me when I pick Florida to win the title in 2000 and Syracuse to win in 2003, BLAME ME when you haven't won a pool since Lindsay Lohan was still considered adorable.

Cherot: That was a long time ago.

Crazy Bone: Whatever, I'm not here to pick a fight with you. I'm just here to analyze the bracket you made without my help. I have some questions.

Cherot: Shoot.

Crazy Bone: Not a ton of upsets in the first round, three number ones in the Final Four. In a year where there's a ton of parity, what the [expletive] are you thinking?

Cherot: I'll start with the first round. I admit that only five upsets, two of which are eight/nine games that are basically only "de-seedings", seems a little light for me. But, in my recent struggles I have noticed a disturbing trend: either I shoot out to a huge lead or I'm completely out of the running after day one. From a strategic standpoint, going for less upsets in round one makes sense. From a basketball standpoint, I just don't see that many upsets in round one. I definitely see Arizona, Maryland, and Western Kentucky advancing as double digit seeds because, quite frankly, I feel that they're better than the teams they match-up against. But beyond that, I can't see any mid-major magic. As for the Final Four, you're right: I do have three number ones there, with kind of an asterisk on Carolina. News broke a few hours ago about Ty Lawson not being readyfor Radford. It won't really matter in round one, but it could hurt them later on. I'm thinking about an addendum to that part of the bracket, but as far as I'm concerned if Lawson plays nobody's beating the Tar Heels.

Crazy Bone: What about the one exception to the Final Four, the Wake Forest Demon Deacons?

Cherot: They've struggled lately a little bit, but I think they're a hard team to beat because of all the athleticism they throw at their opposition. I'm not sky-high on Louisville because sometimes they just downright don't show up, and in a game that should be entertaining with as many as eight future NBA players together on the same court, I just think Wake's guard play takes them over the top. Everybody talks about Jeff Teague, but Ish Smith is becoming just as dangerous.

Crazy Bone: Not bad, not bad. Okay, so not too many first round upsets and a fairly stable Final Four. But, you go a little crazy in the second and third round. Case and point: Maryland as an Elite Eight team. This is a team that just squeaked in at the buzzer! How can you justify them getting into the Elite Eight?

Cherot: Funny you should mention that. I just got a call from one of my friends saying verbatim, "You can never be an analyst. You wouldn't have Maryland beating them if you didn't go to Maryland."

Crazy Bone: ...okay.

Cherot: To be honest, he's right. As a matter of fact, they can just as easily lose to California in the first round. But that's been Maryland all season. When they're good, they're really good, scary good considering their lack of athleticism and size. When they're bad, they can lose to Virginia in a game that almost ruined their season. With the way they're playing right now, they're definitely teetering more to the positive side. I've been noticing a disturbing trend with the Terps: they tend to play their best against teams that are far more athletic than them. They tend to play their worst against scrappy teams without a ton of talent but that can outwork them. Look at the wins against Carolina and Wake. No way on paper they should even be in those games. But, that's how good of a coach Gary Williams is. He could take a piece of lint and turn it into a BMW.

Crazy Bone: That doesn't even make sense.

Cherot: Call it what you want, but after careful consideration I'm keeping the Terps in the Elite Eight.

Crazy Bone: Do you see another Stephen Curry-like emergence from any one player in the field?

Cherot: Texas' A.J. Abrahams, Siena's Kenny Hasbrouck if he can somehow get them in the Sweet Sixteen, maybe a re-emergence from Villanova's Scotty Reynolds... I dunno. There's nobody like Steph.

Crazy Bone: Last question: if UNC loses, do you think they can blame it on the the Obama curse?

Cherot: Hey, if McCain won, he would have picked NJIT.

Moderator: Uh, and that concludes this press conference. Thank you all for attending... or just you, Mr. Bone. Thank you for coming.

Crazy Bone: Good luck to you, sir. Hope you won't finish last... again.

You'll Be Missed, Steph

2009-03-12T11:38:00.002-04:00

Sorry, Boston Celtics' fans. This isn't an entry about the Celts cutting Stephon Marbury.

Unfortunately, this has to do with the country's best guard and 2008 NCAA tournament hero not being able to return to the dance for an encore (unless some bubble team from a major conference gets absolutely screwed). Not winning your conference tournament and coming up with only one marquee win out of conference (West Virginia) will do that to you.

We've got Verizon FIOS in our home, and in their free on-demand section they have highlights from previous NCAA tournaments. There's the obligatory Christian Laettner fade away; the Valpo hook-and-ladder; the Chris Webber four-step travel in the back-court followed by the infamous time-out (people talk about the TO, but if you watch how he got there, you'd think that was even more amazing).

And, of course, there's Stephen Curry against Georgetown, Davidson's most unlikely victory in last year's tourney.

I've been watching basketball for a long time, but Curry's four-game run in last year's tourney was probably the most captivating performance by one player I've seen. Maybe Laettner in '92, but I put Curry over him because Laettner had help. He had the best point guard in the country (Bobby Hurley) and a swingman that would end up becoming one of the best players in the NBA during his prime (Grant Hill).

With the exception of Jason Richards (who should have been drafted), nobody on that Davidson squad had or will have a chance of being drafted.

The Wildcats will probably go deep in the NIT, and then Curry will probably bolt for the league. I can only see Dell's son coming back if he feels completely sickened by not making the tourney this year, and even though he would have to do even more for his team next year, he'd be willing to make up for it. By coming back next year, however, he would cost himself some money, because unless he gains 30 pounds, adds 20 inches to his vertical and averages a triple double, he would not be a lottery pick in 2010. He may not even be one this year, which by now you know is set to be the worst one of the new millienium.

So, moment of silence for Curry and the 2008-2009 Davidson Wildcats. The madness you would have caused will be missed.

It's Not Gary's Fault

2009-03-11T22:58:00.002-04:00

It's March again, or, as some Maryland Terrapins mens' basketball fans like to call it, the annual bubble watch.

Can you blame them? The Terps have only been firmly locked into an at-large bid in two out of the last seven years, and in one of those seasons they had to rally late in the second half of the conference schedule to secure a spot (see, 2006-2007). Of those other five years, Maryland missed the field of 64 plus one four of them. The one exception of course was the 2003-2004 season where the mercurial John Gilchrist decided that he wanted to become the best player in the country for three games in the ACC Tournament.

With each passing season ending in disappointment, the "Fire Gary Williams" talk has augmented. The crescendo reached its apex prior to the start of conference play when the Morgan State Bears, a MEAC team that would probably go 4-12 in any major conference, came into College Park to stun the Terps.

For the next couple of weeks, you could turn on any local sports radio station and faithfully here the words "Gary needs to go" from every other caller. Prior to a painful loss at Virginia, that talk had died down considerably (funny how a win against North Carolina and great efforts against Duke and Wake Forest can change that), but right after the loss the lines were jammed again with irate Terp "fans".

Yes, the script for this March isn't much different than other Marchs in the first decade of the new millenium, but let's make this clear: considering what Williams has to work with, this may be his finest coaching job since taking over the program in 1989.

Losing James Gist and Bambale Osby to graduation was going to be tough, but what Williams didn't anticipate was that Gus Gilchrist, a big body whom the Terps desperately needed, would transfer. With Braxton Dupree and Dino Gregory not quite ready to step up and give them consistent minutes in the front court, Williams had no choice but to play small ball.

This means a player like Landon Milbourne, much more comfortable guarding perimeter players, had to match-up nightly with unsympathetic high-risers on the interior. Dave Neal, Maryland's 6'7", 263-pound "center", is probably the polar opposite of athletic, probably wouldn't even be the fourth player picked in a pick-up game at your local YMCA, and yet he has had to jostle for position with players who have two million times his athleticism.

And as if his troubles on the inside aren't enough, he has to contend with the volatile Greivis Vasquez, who probably leads the nation in games where he's had more shots than points.

The fact that he has these Terps, these under-sized kids who lack collective athleticism, at 18-12 and 7-9 in the Atlantic Coast Conference (which, by the way, is the top rated conference according to the latest RPI) is amazing. Yes, there have been some ugly moments along the way--the 44-point drubbing at the hands of Duke, a 29-point debacle at Clemson, MORGAN STATE--but this team has stuck together, fighting and clawing for each of their 18 victories, even doing the same in their 12 losses. There hasn't been any let up effort wise... after all, can a team that lost to Morgan State and Virginia really afford to have a lapse in effort?

Say what you will about Williams and his inability to recruit big-time players. You'd be right; no one said he wasn't stubborn about getting his type of player, mainly a player who would cares more about getting paid at the next level than diving for a loose ball and risking his draft status.

The sad part about it is that what he has failed to do off the court--not only the recruiting but the poor academic standards during his time as coach-- may have him looking for employment sometime within the next couple of years.

But, as far as using the tools at his disposal, as far as motivating his players to lay it on the line for him night after night, as far as being a leader, give me Gary Williams before any other coach in the ACC.

Any.

All-Star Weakend

2009-02-17T11:17:00.002-05:00

I'm not a big fan of all-star games in any sport. They're just glorified exhibition games where there's nothing to play for. I guess in baseball they play for home field advantage in the World Series, but if there was ever a sport where home field advantage can be negated, it's probably baseball.

I told my dad right before going out on Saturday for Valentine's Day with my lovely that All-Star Saturday Night is ten times better than the actual game, but in all honesty it was a dud... well, except for Nate Robinson's dunk over Superman: that was pretty ill as the kids say.

Other than that, I'm glad all-star weekend is over and we can get back to actual basketball.

One team probably wishing the weekend would never end is the Phoenix Suns, who had to wake up Monday morning with a laundry list of task to accomplish. Step one was yesterday when they fired Terry Porter, a guy who quite frankly shouldn't have been hired in the first place. He was a bad fit from jump street, and even though new guy Alvin Gentry probably isn't the answer, he'll be a better fit, already promising to run and gun.

Step two was figuring out how to discipline the only player (at press time)in the NBA to have gotten into any kind of trouble during the weekend. Police pulled Suns' guard Jason Richardson over after he was cited going 90 in a 35. That by itself isn't earth-shattering, but the fact that his three-year-old son was in the back without a child seat escalated the incident. Dude, how can you not have a child seat in the back? That's like daddyhood 101. The Suns decided to suspend J-Rich for one game without pay.

Steps three and four? Figuring out what they want to do with Amare Stoudemire and Shaquille O'Neal. It's becoming clearer by the day that STAT is bolting in 2010, especially with the team disintegrating right before our very eyes. I'm obviously a little late on this (sorry, it's just that point in the semester where posting is becoming difficult), but pretty much every team in the NBA inquired about his availability. Some attractive deals arose with Miami, Memphis and Chicago, but now it looks like he's not going anywhere. Ditto with Shaq, who has nothing short of great this year but has $21 million due next season. How many teams honestly want that on their payroll?

They just seem totally confused out there in the desert. If the season ended today, they'd be in the lower end of a really bad lottery this year.

Big game for Maryland tonight as they begin an absolutely brutal stretch against Clemson. After the Tigers they get to host both North Carolina and Duke. Wow, thank you, schedule gods! This is a winnable game for the Terps, as the Tigers are in the midst of doing what they always do in February: coming back down to earth. Clemson always gets off to these ridiculous starts and people jump on their bandwagon, but when they hit the ACC things change and they're only a little bit better than mediocre most years. That being said, the Terps have to come to their place, and they've been awful on the road going 1-4 thus far.

I'm not making a prediction for this game, so don't even ask for one. It's hard for anyone to take you seriously with a 2-14 record in pick 'em.

I'll save my good ones for March.

JET's flight delayed

2009-02-10T00:44:00.002-05:00

Anyone who has read my blog for any period of time knows that I can be quite verbose when it comes to these entries. I may be more inconsistent than a Jamal Crawford jump shot in terms of posting, but any entry I make is by and large big and bulky.

Not this one. As a Mavericks' fan, I have a very short reaction to tonight's news...

$@&@!)!_@)!#)*)!#!_#!#!_#!#*_!#*!@#_!@#*_#!*#!*)@#_!#^^#&&&^%%!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I'm gone like Alex Rodriguez's chances of making the Hall of Fame (just kidding, when everybody comes to their senses and realizes you were one of the few "cheaters" in this steroids' era that admitted their wrong-doing, you'll be in).

LeBron f'd around and got a triple-double... and some prognostications

2009-02-05T11:49:00.004-05:00

Before I begin, I would like to say that New York finally has a team to be proud of in the Knicks. They're not "there" yet, but they do play hard, and they definitely have some good pieces to build around.

But they did not want to get into the history books in this way.

The Knicks have given up two legendary performances in their past two games. Obviously I touched on Kobe Bryant's 61 during my last post, and I thought that was amazing. These days I'd rather listen to talk radio on my way to work and school than the same three T-Pain songs in constant rotation, and the talk was that Bryant put those numbers up as a challenge to LeBron James. While that may have been true, I dismissed it as just a night where Kobe was truly unguardable against a horrific defensive team, and even if it was a "statement" to James, I didn't expect him to take it too personally.

Wrong. Oh so wrong.

52 points. 10 rebounds. 11 assists. I'm not big on neo text-savvy language, but WTF!?

Bryant's 61 was nice, historic even. But, considering the fact that the last person to score 50+ with a triple-double was Kareem Abdul-Jabbar in 1975, I'd say Bron-Bron wins*.

Bryant may be the most complete offensive player in the NBA today, but if James doesn't win the MVP this year then something is wrong.

By the way, in case you weren't paying attention, #24 dropped 36 last night.

And, more important than everything I've typed thus far, the Mavs have won four straight, slowly creeping up the Western Conference charts. Is it any coincidence that they're 4-0 since Jason Kidd started calling the plays on offense?

Predictions for the next few days:

Los Angeles Lakers/Boston Celtics(tonight)- "It'll be one for the ages," boasts Ray Allen. Truer cliches have never been spoken. I know that Bryant has been playing with a chip on his shoulder since Bynum went down, but the Celts have been hotter than Kim Kardasian(courtesy of flickr before they shut me down) in biker shorts, PLUS they have the game at their place. Celts by eight to ten.

Dallas Mavericks/Utah Jazz(tonight)- Tough road test for the Mavs, but I like their chances against a Jazz team who can't seem to stay healthy. Mavs by five plus.

Memphis Tigers/Gonzaga Bulldogs- Should be a competitive game, probably the last real resume builder for both teams headed into March as I don't see either team losing more than one game in conference if any. I think the 'Zags have a ton more talent, plus they have the benefit of having this one at their place. The Tigers have too much youth in the back-court to win in such a hostile environment. 'Zags by ten plus.

Notre Dame/UCLA- No way the Fighting Irish should be on the bubble, not with the amount of talent they have. Yet, the "B" word and Notre Dame are starting to show up in the same sentence. I get the feeling that a step outside of that dreaded Big East box will be a good thing for them, mainly because the Bruins don't really have an answer for Luke Harangody. Irish by six or less.

Lakers/Cleveland(Sunday)- If ABC was salivating about the ratings possibilities when they initially scheduled this game, then they must be on the threshold of ecstacy waiting for it now after what they've done this week. Tough one for the Cavs, who if they hold to form will come into that game unbeaten at home. They can't go the whole season unbeaten at their place. Lakers in a close one.

So, there you have it, just in case I don't get back to a computer between now and Monday (which is probably about right).

Off to sportswriting.

*note: Apparently they took away 'Bron's triple-double, saying they mistakenly identified one of his rebounds. Okay, so hed 52, 11 and 9. So what, LBJ was still better.

Is This Smart?

2009-02-04T13:07:00.003-05:00

Chris Broussard and Ric Bucher, two of the best writers in basketball, recently co-authored an article in ESPN Magazine on how to fix the Los Angeles Clippers and Golden State Warriors. Tough task, I must say.

Today, Broussard plays Mr. Fix-It as he outlines five steps that the Clippers need to take to turn it all around. The first thing he says to do is trade Baron Davis, which at first glance seems weird especially since they just paid him all that money in the off-season, but the fact of the matter is he's just not happy. He thought he was going to a better situation; why else would he sacrifice more than five million a year by leaving the Warriors? Injuries have been a problem for the other L.A. franchise, but that doesn't totally excuse the Clips for having the NBA's worst record at press time.

So, the Clippers' job is to find a suitor for Davis, someone who would be willing to take a huge gamble to win now.

Enter the Dallas Mavericks.

Look at the proposal: Davis and Marcus Camby for Jason Kidd. Davis and Camby aren't exactly young, but they definitely have more in the tank than Kidd. Davis gives them a more explosive (albeit volatile) option at point guard, and Camby is a double-double machine when healthy. Plus, like Broussard says, Kidd would come off the books for the Clippers this summer, so it benefits them, too.

I don't know... something fun to think about.

Oh, and I dropped to 1-9 last night. Will it ever stop?

Nothing but Basketball

2009-02-03T11:55:00.003-05:00

I thoroughly enjoyed the Super Bowl despite not having a rooting interest. For a game that went two weeks without snowballing into an avalanche of hype, it was fun to watch.

The end. No more football!

It's all about basketball for the next four months. Especially with my sportswriting class going on, expect more frequent posts from me as I try to cover the only sport I can justify covering.
Lots to cover, little time...
___________________________________________________________________

In the wake of the Lakers announcement that Andrew Bynum would miss at least two months with a torn MCL, Kobe Bryant went absolutely nuts last night at Madison Square Garden, setting an MSG record with 61 points in their 126-117 win over the New York Knickerbockers.

Sorry, Bernard King. Apparently there's a new King of New York.

Is this what we can expect from Bryant over the last couple of months of the regular season? Nightly explosions trying to compensate for the loss of Bynum? Stay tuned...

___________________________________________________________________

Being No.1 in college basketball has been a curse lately, with Pittsburgh, Duke and Wake each spending very little time there since North Carolina's inexplicable loss to Boston College.

Tell that to the UConn Huskies, who disposed of the No. 7 Louisville Cardinals like they were NJIT or somebody. UConn is looking like the truth with ten straight wins and a gaudy 22-1 record, including 10-1 in the Big East. Hasheem Thabeet still has a little ways to go, but he is starting to become a two-way player. He's always been an intimidating presence around the rim defensively, but if he can make teams honor his existence offensively, the Huskies may be the team "Thabeet" come March (dude, I made that up all by myself).

On the other side of the coin, I wouldn't read too much into the Cardinals' loss. Aside from a terrific game from Terrence Williams, nobody else from the 'Ville decided to roll out of their student housing beds to show up. With the weaker portion of the Big East ahead of them, they should be fine in no time... provided they don't lose focus.

_________________________________________________________________

Huge win for the Dallas Mavericks last night on the road in Orlando. I know that a three-game winning streak normally isn't something to get all jazzed up about, but a win against one of the four best teams record-wise in the NBA should be. It looks like the Mavs are coming around, but they can't relax: the Portland Trailblazers are red-hot coming into their place tomorrow.

__________________________________________________________________

I'm in the mood for a reckless prediction, given the fact that I'm 1-8 so far this year. There's nothing on paper to suggest this, but I think the Maryland Terrapins go into Raleigh and beat the North Carolina Tar Heels in a close one tonight. Three in a row versus the Heels!? Am I crazy!?

Hell yes.

Off to class.

Mavs Back on Track

2009-01-29T11:49:00.002-05:00

It's always interesting to see how a team responds after getting, for lack of better phrase, f'd up. Good to see the Dallas Mavericks bounce back last night, even if it was against the Golden State Warriors and their suspect defense.

The Mavs looked terrific last night, getting contributions from all over the place. We know that Dirk Nowitzki and Jason Terry can be counted on nightly, but it was everybody else that impressed me: Josh Howard looking all-star caliber again; Erick Dampier making us remember why he's one of the highest paid centers in the league; Brandon Bass showing why he deserves at least 20-25 minutes a game. Even James Singleton shot lights out.

On the other side of the coin, I've never seen a team more indifferent to defense than the Warriors. With the exception of Ronny Turiaf and maybe Andris Biedrins, everyone on that team is basically consumed with getting shots up. On certain nights, that can cause teams problems, especially when other teams try to get into a pissing contest and try to hang 140 on Golden State. But, at their best when they're fully healthy, the Warriors are no better than a .500 ball club. In order for them to get over the hump, two of their four primary gunslingers--Monta Ellis, Jamal Crawford, Corey Maggette, and Stephen Jackson--need to go. There's simply not enough balls to go around.

I was just thinking to myself that this is probably the only basketball blog in America that would lead with a 24 point blow-out in the middle of the regular season, especially on a night when No.1 played No.4 in college basketball and the game wasn't decided until about eight tenths of a second.

Don't worry, I can talk about that, too.

We're not even halfway through ACC play, but I don't think it's too early to proclaim the Wake Forest Demon Deacons as the league's premier team. The Duke Blue Devils showed a ton of heart getting back into the game late, but the Deacs showed just as much composure not folding under pressure. I know Stephen Curry has gotten more love with the media with his little boy looks and big boy game, but to me Jeff Teague has established himself as the best guard in America. His game is silky smooth, so much so that while players are running up and down the court at break-neck speed he's like Neo or Max Payne, seemingly freezing time as he finds openings into the lane. He didn't even play that well last night, but whenever that team needed a big play he was always available.

As good as Teague is, the Wake forwards were equally impressive last night. Both Aminu and Johnson showed the type of versatility that will help them succeed at the next level. Their ability to grab a rebound and take it coast to coast on defenders is what sets them apart from most bigs in college ball and also what sets them apart as a team from the other two ACC giants.

And with that, I'm off to sports writing class. Catch you on the flip side.

Stop Me If You've Heard This One Before...

2009-01-28T02:28:00.002-05:00

The Maryland Terrapins have a team by their throat, holding a ten to 15 point lead at some point in the second half. And yet, somehow that team manages to come back and win.

I went to the dentist on Monday for a filling. She gave me novocaine prior to going into the trenches to fix my tooth. What would have been painful without medication was pretty much a walk in the park. The inside of my mouth was so numb that she could have let off a firecracker in there and I might not have known.

That's almost how I feel about this year's Maryland team. Hell, I even forgot they had a game tonight!

Doesn't matter, it's not like I missed anything new.

My Maryland/Duke Story

2009-01-23T23:51:00.003-05:00

These are my confessions...

Before I attended Maryland, I was a tepid Terp fan. Don't get me wrong, I liked them and all, but experiencing that '01-'02 national title run turned that like into full on l.o.v.e. Call me Fairweather Ferris if you want, but that was a special season filled with drunken nights, skipped classes and Garyland hoops. That season was part of the reason I'm still without an undergrad degree despite my writing prowess.

My first basketball love? Don't laugh... I became a basketball fan because of Christian Laettner and his shot. What an impressionable kid I was.

Make no mistake, though: Duke basketball may have been my first love, but I'm a full-on Terp fan. I camped out two weeks before they were coming to Cole Field House for the last time, getting sick and missing valuable class time in the process. By game-time I had little to no voice. But, it was all worth it when Steve Blake swiped the ball from Jason Williams while he was picking his nose at half-court before intermission, ultimately giving the Terps the momentum they needed to smother Duke in the second half.

Sweet as that victory was, sweet as that national championship run might have been, for some reason it doesn't replace what happened more than eight years ago in January. Roll tape.

The good news about basketball? Anything can happen. The bad news? Anything can happen.

Good luck, fellas. As lopsided as this game looks on paper, I know you'll bring it against the Devils.

0for

2009-01-16T17:30:00.003-05:00

Actually, the title of this entry should be something along the lines of, "Justin Cherot Doesn't Know Jack About Basketball."

Okay, so I'm off to somewhat of a tough start to the year so far. My daughter could probably point to whichever mascot she thinks is cooler and she probably would have won at least one game. Unfortunately, I was devoid of such expertise and I sit at a very Oklahoma City Thunder-like 0-5.

Hopefully with the slew of sporting games occurring this weekend I can turn the tide.

Before I get into predictions, I absolutely have to talk about my two teams (if you haven't read the disclaimer on the sidebar, do so), both of whom are about to figuratively send me off the top of a building into traffic. I'll start with my Dallas Mavericks.

In the midst of an untimely four-game slide, the Mavs would be relegated to the century's worst
lottery. Maybe it's been my denial for the past two years, but I'm starting to agree with every informed writer/sports geek: they're getting old. I would have to fact check this, but I'd say that they have the oldest backcourt in the NBA by a wide margin. Even though Jason Terry is having a career year and Jason Kidd is still a well-rounded point guard, both of them function better as beneficiaries of someone creating shots for them. Josh Howard is starting to come around, but it worries me that his rebounding is down. Dirk Nowitzki is quietly having one of his better seasons as a pro, but his mediocre three-point percentage has been a cause for concern.

The story of the season thus far: they can't finish off good teams. Defensively, they've been stout as a unit, allowing only two opponents thus far to shoot over 50% from the field. But, Rick Carlisle promise of a running Maverick team has failed to materialize midway through the season, and although you generally see good movement on offense for the first three quarters of the game, their half-court offense tends to really bog down during crunch time. How else can you explain 60 point first halves followed by 35-40 point second halves at times? I mentioned this to one of my friends earlier in the week and they agreed: Dallas needs a more dynamic lead guard.

I almost jumped for joy when the Mavs were talking with the Charlotte Bobcats about getting Raymond Felton, who isn't perfect but probably would be a good fit as a penetration threat on a jump-shot happy team. Alas, the Mavs reportedly have completed a trade with the Bobcats... just not a ground-shaking one (on a side note, I believe Ryan Hollins could be an upgrade over Diop offensively and Matt Carroll gives the Mavs a knockdown shooter... if they want to use him).

So, where are the Mavs headed? Hard to say. Their play over the next couple of weeks will largely impact whether they can make everything come together or whether they will pray for Stephen Curry to fall into the late lottery. There's no doubt that the talent is there to overcome their current malaise. The only question is whether or not that talent is past it's prime.

As much as the Mavs depress me, they don't irk me as much as the Maryland Terrapins. Another large lead midway through the second half. Another loss.

Ugh.

Other than the Big East this year, the ACC schedule is probably the most unforgiving. With the Terps lack of size and athletic ability this year, their margin of error is extremely thin, thinner than Nicole Ritchie on a diet. They just can't afford to play well 75% of the game.

And, what is with Greivis Vasquez going into this fake Kobe Bryant mode at the end of their games? Like, does he absolutely HAVE to be the hero in every game? Personally, I trust Adrian Bowie or Eric Hayes more with the ball during crunch time. This is nothing against Vasquez, but offensively he shoots okay and he penetrates okay. Hayes is by far the best shooter on the Terps, and Bowie has proven time and time again that he can rack anybody in college basketball. Again, nothing against Vasquez, but his shot selection in the waning minutes of the last two games has been horrendous at best.

Still, it's a team game, and Maryland just has to continue bringing it every night. I bitch and moan about this and that with Maryland, but even I have to admit that the talent level for them is down this year. For them to be 12-4 at this point in the season is a testament to Gary Williams' coaching. Say what you will about him not being able to actively recruit the best that the state of Maryland has to offer, but from an X's and O's standpoint he's done a good job with this group. For everybody saying he needs to be fired, the person taking his place better be damn good.

Sigh... predictions.

Wake Forest/Clemson- UNC is still the best team in the ACC, and I think they'll win the league crown when the dust settles, but the Demon Deacons are tough. There are some good guards in this league, but I think Jeff Teague might end up being the best at the next level. So explosive. It seems like every year Clemson starts off really strong, but it's like an optical illusion because they never really play anybody out of conference. If this game were in Winston-Salem it'd be a blow-out, but Wake wins a relatively close game by six or less.

Louisville/Pittsburgh- If this were a game of "Who do you think will have more players in the NBA?", the Cardinals would win. But, college basketball games aren't decided on prognostications and suspect websites. I'm not sold as Pitt being the best team in the country, but they'll beat Louisville by more than ten.

Ravens/Steelers- I'm going to take a principle I normally apply to college basketball: it's hard to beat a team three times in a year. Especially with the games being so close, I just can't see that happening. This will be a low-scoring affair, and have your surround sound on and popping, because you will hear helmets smacking and bones cracking. The X factor is Joe Flacco: how will he adjust after two subpar games against the Steelers? Judging by his performance in the postseason thus far, he'll be fine. Ravens by at least a field goal.

We'll see how this turns out...

Pick 'Em

2009-01-14T19:37:00.004-05:00

In an attempt to spice things up on my blog and possibly get ready for a big bounce-back year in March, I'm going to start posting game predictions.

Since this is primarily a basketball website, I'm going to try to keep the picks basketball-oriented, but come Friday or Saturday you might find a football prediction or two. Either way, I'm going to keep a running tally of my record throughout the year and by year's end I will make a determination about whether or not I should try to make a living gambling on games (joking, I think).

At my best, hopefully I will just add to my intrinsic basketball ethos. At my worst, you can just rant all over my wall on Facebook about how I should just stick to my day job (which incidentally I keep getting worse and worse at).

Even though this game has already tipped, I'm nowhere near a TV, so I can make a prediction on Georgetown and Syracuse. The Hoyas are one of the most complete teams in college ball this year, but if they have a weakness it's probably knocking down shots from the perimeter. The Orange's pet defense for the last million years? A 2-3 zone. While they aren't exactly stout defensively, Johnny Flynn and Eric Devendorf will more than make up for it on the offensive end. I see the Orange winning a fairly high scoring game in the seven to ten point range.

Maryland needs a win against Miami just to make people forget they lost to an HBCU. Will they get it? Well, considering that they haven't won against the Hurricanes since they joined the ACC in the 2004-2005 season, at least you'd think the Terps would come into this game hungry. I'm going to say that they go down there and beat the Hurricanes by ten plus, and although I have to admit this is kind of a homer pick, I just don't think Miami is that good.

Finally, although the Spurs have been playing lights out ball lately and the Lakers will go into SBC Center short-handed, I think Kobe Bryant is good enough to will his team to victory. Lakers in a close one, five points or less.

By the way, one thing about my predictions. As much as I would like to nail this point spread thing dead on, I'm going to treat it like real sports and say a win is a win. Once I perfect the art of getting the games right, maybe then I'll delve into point spreads. Until then, we'll see how I do.

And yes, my posts last time do count as two losses, thank you.

Free Darius!

2009-01-09T17:13:00.003-05:00

The Portland Trailblazers are playing the role of extortionists in today's news, basically threatening to sue any team that decides to put a perfectly healthy and possibly helpful Darius Miles on the court for at least two games.

In 2007, Miles came off the Blazers' books when it became apparent that the former Hootie and the Blowfish front man---wait, that was Darius Rucker---had suffered a "career-ending" knee injury. That's $18 million off their salary cap, giving them the flexibility to become a player in the free agent market. Ah, but the fine print... they always get you with the fine print. Now that Miles is apparently healthy once again, miraculously healed from that "career-ending" injury, Miles would be back on the Blazers' books at his ridiculous $18 million salary. Looking back on a career where he has nevered averaged more than 14 points per game or 6 rebounds, how he garnered so much money leaves me befuddled, but that's beside the point.

The point is that the Blazers, obviously privy to the fact that Miles stepping on the court will cost them severely, sent out a mass e-mail to the 29 other teams in the NBA and the league office threatening anybody who signed Hootie with "litigation".

While I understand why the Blazers' organization would be upset, how do you think NBA teams will respond? I have a daughter. When I tell her not to play with her food or she won't get to eat the rest of it, maybe I'm expecting her to eat her food, but she's at that stage where she's willing to push me to see if I'll take away her food.

The Blazers are me; the rest of the NBA is in their terrible twos. Despite Portland's best efforts, someone is going to sign this dude, and even though the Blazers have big and bad semantic language, the fact of the matter is that the NBA supports this move. That's that. Deal with it.

That being said, from a basketball standpoint how can you take Miles seriously? I know he's only 27, but his best asset is his athleticism, an asset hindered by his constant knee troubles. He can't shoot, and even if he could he has no offensive moves to speak of. He's not big enough to slide into the post, and he's no longer quick enough to guard perimeter players. If there was ever an argument for players going to college, look at Miles.

I don't think he's worth the trouble of going out on the limb, but mark my words: SOMEONE is going to sign him.

Game previews tonight:

The Boston Celtics are struggling. The Cleveland Cavaliers haven't lost at home. This seems like an obvious one, but if the Celts were ever going to have a bounceback game, tonight would be good timing. Believe it or not, I think the Big Green Machine goes in there and gives LeBron and co. their first home loss of the year.

Oh, and Dallas wins by 60.

Okay, ten.

Morgan State!?

2009-01-08T00:28:00.003-05:00

If I do indeed start posting more blogs in the future, you can thank the Morgan State Bears for bringing me out of hibernation.

Honestly, tonight was supposed to be about the hyped Duke/Davidson match-up, and I missed more than half the Terps' game because, like most NBA scouts, I was tuned into ESPN dissecting Stephen Curry's game and pro potential. As much as I would like to discuss Curry's potential (synopsis, he'll end up being a shorter, more dynamic version of his dad at the pro level), I'd be doing the local fans a disservice if I didn't talk about with this monumental upset.

Thus far, Maryland had been crushing inferior non-conference foes like clockwork. True, they hadn't really played anybody, but it seemed like they had learned not to take "cakewalk" teams for granted. Losing to American and Ohio at home last year will do that to a team, I guess. Anyway, I thought the whole "playing down to your opponent" phase was history.

Nope, apparently not.

On the eve of ACC play, the stretch that will undoubtedly make or break Maryland's season, they came up positively limp against Morgan State. At home. Embarrassing.

I remember switching the channel from the Duke game after the Blue Devils withstood a late run by the Wildcats to escape, and I noticed that the Terps only led by three at halftime. A little troubling, granted, but I figured that Gary would throw a couple "F" bombs at them in the locker room and the good guys in red would finish the Bears off. Maryland's start to the second half confirmed that hypothesis, as they went to the first TV time-out up seven.

More surfing from me. I decided to check in with the Tennessee/Gonzaga game, and at the time the Volunteers were rolling, so I turned back (which, by the way was the first of two mistakes: obviously I missed a great overtime win for the Zags, but I also watched Pineapple Express sober en lieu of the game).

Anyway, I check back in with the Terps, and all of the sudden the Bears are back in the game again. This dude Reggie Holmes keeps jacking threes, and the Terps look absolutely lost in their half-court offense. Suddenly a 14-point lead is cut to one. But, I keep telling myself, "I can't see Morgan State winning this game. I'll believe it when the buzzer sounds."

Oh, but the buzzer did sound, and when it did the CSN camera crew's lenses were fixated on the Morgan State family section, carrying on like they had won the national championship.

It's not like the Bears didn't give the Terps chances to win. But, with Greivis Vasquez taking one abominal shot after another and Landon Milbourne missing clutch free throws, Maryland couldn't come through.

I promised not to rip them, because that would absolutely take away from what Morgan State accomplished. Credit to their coach Todd Bozeman, more infamous than famous in college basketball circles because of his NCAA violations at Cal in the mid-90's, for having his team ready to play. The Bears could have very easily folded when down 14 and said, "Hey, they're supposed to do this anyway. They have significantly more funding than we do and they recruit nationally while we take all the scraps they don't want." Props to the Bears--no sarcasm, no cynicism, just props.

But, where does that leave the Terps? If you think a loss like this just ruins their season, think back to last year. They lost to American and Ohio in non-conference play, but somehow managed to beat the #1 Tar Heels in Chapel Hill. This team might not be better than last year on paper, but so far they've shown me more cohesion (tonight's game not withstanding). I'll put it like this: if the Terps go 8-8 in conference and win a game in the ACC tourney, they should be in. Period. The ACC is going to be very tough this year, and provided Michigan State runs through the Big Ten like I expect them to and Michigan makes the dance, the committee will view Maryland favorably. The Morgan State loss will be a tough pill for the Terps to swallow for now, but it won't doom them. In fact, if Gary Williams is any kind of a coach (which I think he is), I would think they'd respond well to a loss like this. I feel bad for Georgia Tech.

That being said, what a dumb loss (sorry, couldn't help it).

One and Done? Not in Basketball...

2009-01-06T00:04:00.003-05:00

Stop me if you've heard this one before:

Before the regular season starts, a collegiate team is absolutely stock-piled with talent and they appear untouchable like Elliot Ness and crew, preseason No. 1 or 2 with every analyst in America on their jock like a weird stain. A loss? Impossible. There's no way any team can even come close.

And then they go out and lose a really dumb game early in the season.

If it sounds familiar, that scenario actually played out twice this year. The first time was on Sept. 25th, 2008 when the USC football Trojans got shocked during a nationally televised game against the upstart Oregon State Beavers in Corvallis, 27-21. The second time took place this Sunday when the North Carolina basketball Tar Heels somehow lost to the BC Eagles, 85-78 in a game that wasn't even THAT close.

Despite the fact that USC rolled their remaining opponents by 70 points per game (hyperbole), that one eye sore of a loss made sure that no one would ever mention them again in terms of being contenders for a national championship, even after they handled Penn State in the Rose Bowl.

The Tar Heels, on the other hand, still have plenty of season to go, and chances of people forgetting about this early season slip-up come March and/or April are pretty good.

What's my point? Stop me if you've heard this one before: college football desperately needs a playoff system.

It's not just the whole USC thing. Maybe the Trojans really aren't the best team in college football and they really don't belong anywhere near a national title game. But, look at some of the other stories that came about this college football season:

The Texas Longhorns beat the Oklahoma Sooners, who will be playing Thursday for the national championship, on a neutral field early in the season. Take away Michael Crabtree's miraculous reception in the waning moments of their battle with Texas Tech and the Longhorns would be undefeated. Yet, due to Oklahoma's scoreboard diffusing offensive performance in every game after that loss and weird computer rankings that people with college degrees can't explain, Texas had to settle for the No.3 spot in the BCS (as an aside, if you missed Colt McCoy tonight, he was his usual ridiculous self).
The aforementioned Texas Tech Red Raiders got blown out by the Sooners later on in the season after being flawless 3/4 of the season, and everybody stopped talking about them.
The poor Utah Utes went undefeated, and while no one would ever confuse the Mountain West for the SEC, they went out and flat-out destroyed the Alabama Crimson Tide, who in their own right were No.1 for the majority of the season only to be pushed out of the picture after losing to the Florida Gators.

Instead of waiting a month for kids to play in second rate bowl games, you take that month and you have a sixteen team playoff. Win four games and you've earned a national championship. That will kill all this talk about, "The BCS got it right this year", or, "I really think so and so deserved a shot at the title." If Utah can beat Alabama in a pro-SEC environment, who's to say that they can't beat Florida or Oklahoma? They did everything they were supposed to do, and the highest they'll finish is fourth in the polls.

People say I'm partial to basketball, and they're probably right, but at least in college basketball there's no controversy at the end of the year about who the best team is. True, the best team didn't win last year in my opinion, but at least everybody had the chance to play it out. Despite how great Carolina has looked this season (aside from Sunday), I still think that the field has a better chance than UNC of winning the national title. That's why they call it March Madness: crazy stuff happens!

New Year's resolution that probably won't come true: I'm going to try and get it in at least twice a week in terms of posting and blogging and what not. I feel like my brain cells are getting rusty, probably from inhaling all those bad fumes located in our aisles.

Lebron for Mayor

2008-11-26T10:02:00.007-05:00

Tuesday was extremely busy in the world of basketball, with several college games capturing my undivided attention.

The first part is true. Unfortunately, I slept in and out of some really good games. But thanks to the power of the Internet and an uncanny ability to wake up at just the right time, I didn't miss too much.

Rundown:

Obviously the big news within the past week in the NBA was that the New York Knicks are clearing space for LeBron James' possible arrival, officially pulling the trigger on the second of two big trades Tuesday afternoon when they decided they'd be willing to deal with Cuttino Mobley's heart condition (hell, it's only a year and change). With that trade going down, the Knicks have assured themselves of having approxiamately $27.4 million to spend on that free agent class, meaning they'd have enough to get James and possibly another solid player. And, if the Cavs somehow hang on to James, which ESPN's Chris Broussard says might--gasp--actually happen--there's other sexy options out there for them, like Dwyane Wade, Chris Bosh or Amare Stoudemire. No matter what, the Knicks have something they haven't had since Patrick Ewing was taking four steps to the hoop: hope. All New York fans have to do is be patient, and in the mean time enjoy the young but exciting team they have currently.

I have no affiliation to them other than picking them to win the national title (and being right) in 2003 and thinking they were a possible destination for journalism in 2001, but the Syracuse Orangemen have been my sleeper pick to go deep in the tournament for the last two years. Don't remember them being in the tourney? That's because they weren't. They got screwed two years ago, and last year they lost two of their best guards in Eric Devendorf and Andy Rautins and still probably should have at least been in the conversation. But this year, with everybody healthy, I expect this team to be in the top half of an absolutely loaded Big East. Jonny Flynn is on the short list of best point in the country, and Arinze Onuaku is an animal inside. Throw in a versatile, diesel-looking Paul Harris and this team could--here we go again--be a team to watch out for in March.

I mentioned that incredible Big East, and it's funny how a year changes things. Last year I felt like they were overrated, but in this year's landscape of college basketball they're going to be far and away the best conference in America. I watched bits and pieces of the Texas/Notre Dame game last night, and while I came away impressed with a Texas team still trying to find themselves without D.J. Augustin, the Fighting Irish are going to be a problem. I think I said in my tournament preview last year that it was all Luke Harangody and a bunch of players who couldn't start at mid-level Division I schools. Now that I have more of a handle on the pulse of college basketball, I take that back (prediction: I'm making a comeback this year). You won't find too many better shooters in the world in Kyle McAlarney, and I can't believe more people aren't mentioning Tory Jackson as one of the better point guards in the country. The Big East is going to re-emerge this year as the conference of conferences, and when it's all said and done Notre Dame will definitely have a say in who wins it. Of course, UConn, Pittsburgh and Louisville, among as many as seven others, will have a fair amount to say about that.

Nick Calathes is the truth. I didn't get the chance to see him much last year, but the dude can play. His basketball IQ is off the charts. As a Maryland fan, skill for skill I don't see much difference between him and Grievis Vasquez except for maybe a more consistent outside shot, but when it comes to his ability to run a team efficiently and minimize mistakes, Calathes is everything that Vasquez wishes he was.

There's a tie for weirdest story of the night. I'll go for the straight up basketball story first. This game wasn't on TV, but apparently Loyola (MD), coached by former Maryland assistant Jimmy Patsos, decided to go with bring the triangle and two out of the old coaches' book of tricks against Davidson and Stephen Curry. For the non-basketball inclined, it's akin to the box and one, where four players stay back in a zone while the remaining players shadows the other team's star. Back in high school I had a brief three game run where I scored close to 70 points in three games at the JV level, and in the second half of my final JV game Long Reach High School threw one at me. I struggled but I took it as a compliment: that's the defense teams use when they want to truly shut a guy down. Okay, so take that box and one and add another defender. They double-teamed Curry the entire night, and effectively took him out of the game, leaving him scoreless. The problem was Davidson was left with four players operating against three, and contrary to popular belief they can actually play. Despite their best efforts, Loyola still got trumped by 30. Pastos defense?

"We had to play against an NBA player tonight. Anybody else ever hold him scoreless? I'm a history major. They're going to remember that we held him scoreless or we lost by 30?"

Good point. But, I have a feeling the fans are going to remember them losing by 30 in the short term.

The second one I actually found out the night before while watching the Washington Huskies play the revamped Kansas Jayhawks. The Jayhawks won the game handily, but I was intrigued by the Huskies' freshman point guard Isaiah Thomas. Different spelling, but definitely a familiar name, right? Some people remember him as an insane owner or horrific coach, I remember Isiah Thomas as a problem for opposing NBA point guards. Apparently he's a problem for Los Angeles Laker fans, too. During the game Doris Burke, sideline-reporting, shared an interesting anecdote on how Thomas got his name. Apparently his father, a Lakers' fan, was watching an NBA Finals' game where his team was playing the Pistons. His friend, a Pistons' fan, proposed the following bet. "If we win this series, you gotta name your unborn son Isiah." Guess who won that series?

Gambling is bad.

Finally, a shout-out to my Mavericks. Everybody was screaming lottery a week and a half ago, and now we're back to .500. It's going to be a Black Friday for the Lakers.

If they lose this early-season match-up with the Lakers, I will name my unborn son Sasha.*

By the way, check out my new NBA Live blog, http://www.quikcadence.blogspot.com/. It basically details the trials and tribulations of an up and coming Live player. My latest entry shows that I'm well on my way.

*While Sasha Cherot does not have a bad ring to it, I am just joking.

Back to School

2008-11-18T23:47:00.000-05:00

Hopefully by now you've had a chance to gander at my NBA preview (please scroll down if you haven't, I don't feel like a hrefing). If you haven't, go ahead and read it.

I'll wait...

Done? Good. Now, take what you've just read, move the Nuggets and Pistons up for what may have been the smartest trade in NBA history for both teams (how about me calling the Iverson trade?), move Atlanta somewhere in the six to eight region, kick the Wizards out of the playoffs, and cut and paste the Mavericks into the "We the Best" category.

Okay, do everything but the last part. But, please, whatever you do, don't cut and paste the Mavericks into lottery category. At press time, they've won two in a row (including tonight) and I expect them to make it three in a row against Houston tomorrow night on the es-pen.

So, now that I've proven to you that I have been keeping up with the NBA, I want to shift gears to college basketball. Why not? I mean, the worldwide leader has basically force-fed me college roundball for the past 24 hours. It's as good a subject to talk about as any.

While I am glad that college basketball is back, I always find myself thinking ahead to the draft, and what better way to satisfy both my basketball and analysis jones than to watch two probable lottery picks duke it out in an early-season barometer game.

I learned a fair amount from the Oklahoma/Davidson game, which the Sooners won, 82-78. Allow me to share some of my observations:

It's the Sooners' third game of the season, and already at this point you would have to legitimately convince me that Blake Griffin is not the best player in the country by far. The game just comes so easily to him, almost like he's a man amongst babies... not boys, babies. I forget who the color guy was for tonight's game (maybe Fran Fraschilla?), but he said that Griffin reminds him of Amare Stoudemire. I actually think that sells him short. Yes, STAT is a freakish athlete, but Griffin's ability to handle the ball and pass the rock actually remind me of a more athletic Chris Webber (or, Webber pre-chronic unexplainable injuries). He had 25 points and 21 rebounds, and he made it look ridiculously easy. Honestly, if I had the choice to build a franchise around Griffin or Michael Beasley, I'd go with Griffin, and I don't think I'd be in the minority either.

On the other side of the gun, Stephen Curry is, in my own words, a childman (if Lebron is a manchild, then Curry has to be a childman; this is a good thing and has to do more with his stature than his manhood). With this kid, it's almost like what the hell is he going to do next? For all intents and purposes, Curry played a subpar game tonight, and still scored 44 friggin' points! I recently learned in news editing that exclamation points are generally frowned upon in traditional print journalism, but tonight Stephen Curry (speaking of faux pas, the second mention of an aforementioned individual's first name is a no-no) is so good that he makes me not care if I brake rules or use words wrong or whatever.! On the collegiate level, he is absolutely amazing. Of course, it's debatable how good he'll be at the next level. With him sliding over to the point this year, his stock is going to have one of two outcomes: either it rises skyhigh because GMs see him as having the potential to run a team on a nightly basis, or it falls like Circuit City because GMs peg him as a Juan Dixon-type NBA player. Personally, I don't care. I just know for right now I'd take him over any collegiate player to fight a 40 minute war.

I want to show some local love to Kyle Cannon, a sophomore forward for the Sooners and a brief (one game) summer league teammate of mine two years back. He didn't get the chance to play against the Wildcats tonight due to a slight groin injury, but in the past 20 years or so there have only been a handful of players from Howard County who have even smelled Division I. I could be very wrong (and please feel free to correct me, my loyal readers), but aside from Carl Jackson, a forward from Penn State, Cannon is the first one I recall being on scholarship from the jump at a major DI school. Get well, Kyle. We need someone to represent HoCo. I tried, but it's a funny thing about basketball: schools don't tend to look too hard at 5'10", 145 lbs. shooting guards who can't play defense.

I neglected to watch the UNC/Kentucky game only because it was as predictable as an episode of Dora the Explorer: Dora has a problem, bosses your kid around, solves the problem, "dadadadadada We did it" and so forth. The only exciting part is when Swiper the Fox actually swipes something from Dora and Boots and runs away cackling. That excites me. Anyway, terrible tangent aside, I already feel bad for the Tar Heels. If you watch TV or listen to the radio or read silly blogs on the Internet, you probably already know that North Carolina should win every game by 40 and will cut down the nets without breaking a sweat. I'm sorry, but I'm going to make a bold prediction (in lieu of having to write a college basketball preview, haha): UNC will not win the national title. Too much pressure, and UNC hasn't proven that they can rise above to this point. I'm not hating, I'm just stating.

Maybe if you kids are lucky, daddy will have some analysis of the Mavs/Rockets game tomorrow. Either that, or I'll see you at the all-star break.

The Only NBA Preview You'll Ever Have to Read

2008-10-28T00:36:00.000-04:00

Finally...

After having to put up with endless months of baseball, football and some weird woman claiming that she can see Russia from outside of her window, we're finally on the eve of the 2008-2009 basketball season. It all kicks off tomorrow night, meaning I have less than 24 hours to preview the NBA season. Talk about procrastination.

Unfortunately, I don't have the time to write a cute little entry for each NBA team like I've tried to do in the past. Maybe when I graduate college this could be something I can devote my life to, but for now you have to settle for a Cliff Notes' version.

So, without further ado, let's get this party started...

We The Best

Boston Celtics

No brainer. They won it all last year and will probably be the early favorites to do the damn thing again. Everybody's back to produce a hit sequel, everybody except for James Posey and his weird pose after hoisting a three-point shot. The Big Three--Kevin Garnett, Ray Allen and Kend... I mean, Paul Pierce--- are back for another shot at the chip, but let's not forget that they're a year older. It's a well-known fact that 99.9% of all sequels fail to live up to their gaudy expectations, but maybe they can churn out a Godfather II. At the worst, I still see them in the NBA Finals.

Projected Record: 58-24

Los Angeles Lakers

I'm going to go on the record as saying that I don't think they'll be as good with the addition of Andrew Bynum to their already potent line-up as everyone thinks. I'm not a huge fan of Pau Gasol at the four spot, and, at least early on, you'll see the Lakers struggle down low as the two bigs get used to each other. But, as long as Kobe Bryant is out there on the perimeter taking it to the rack while at the same time leading the league in four-point plays, the Lakers will at the very least be in the conference finals. That being said, anything less than hardware will be unacceptable by Lakers' standards.

Projected Record: 58-24

In the Coversation

Utah Jazz

One of the reasons I haven't been writing is because I've been playing NBA Live '09 like it's going out of style (if you need a game, I'm QuikCadence online, currently ranked 360th in the world). I mention that because 1) it's a great game, forget all the 2k9 heads who think that the "other" game is the best thing since sliced bread, and 2) despite love affairs with my Mavericks, the Bobcats and the Grizzlies, the Jazz are my favorite team to play with. Both on the sticks and on the court, they're extremely efficient offensively. Deron Williams is probably the 2nd best point guard in the world, and Carlos Boozer is a beast down low. Throw in a bench with interchangeable parts and, by golly you've got a contender. They gave the Lakers a tough run in the conference semis last year, and while they didn't do a ton in the off-season, Jazz management is banking on the fact that the young but mature team is a year older and ready to take that next step.

Projected Record: 54-28

San Antonio Spurs

You're probably already flipping out on me for putting them ahead of much better teams on paper, but you guys forget this is an odd-numbered year. Let's see... '03, '05, '07? Champions, if I'm not mistaken. All odd stats (no pun intended) have to come to an end sometime, and while it's likely that it will end this year, it's never wise to bet against the Spurs, not when they have Tim Duncan. Manu Ginobili might not be 100% healthy until maybe late December or January, but that just means Tony Parker may have an excuse to put up ridiculous scoring numbers. Then again, he is on the cover of the aforementioned best basketball game this year, but I don't think there's a cover jinx for Live. Right, Gilbert?

Projected Record

53-29

Houston Rockets

This could be finally be the year that the Rockets... get out of the first round. Of course, the acquisition of Ron Artest has them thinking more optimistically than that, I hope. Seriously, that's a talented threesome, T-Mac, Yao and Artest. Throw in Luis Scola and my man Rafer Alston and that's a solid starting five. If Artest can mesh with his new teammates, then maybe T-Mac can shed that "best player to never make out of the first round" label at the very least. Who knows, with a little luck maybe T-Mac's season will end up like Garnett's season did last year: with surgery to remove that monkey from his back. Or, maybe his season will just end with back surgery.

Projected Record

53-29

New Orleans Hornets

Yes, the West really is that much better than the East. The Hornets went 7-0 in the preseason, meaning we should probably just crown them now. Honestly, while I like the Hornets, I expect their win total to drop a tad bit, only because losing Jannero Pargo will hurt them more than people think. Yes, I know they picked up Posey, who will definitely be a change of pace to Peja Stojakovic (in other words, he plays defense), but I really think that, with the exception of Chris Paul (MVP this season), everyone on the Hornets played a little above their heads last year. That being said, they will be in the mix this entire season without sneaking up on anybody.

Projected Record
51-31

Cleveland Cavaliers

My friend Hakeem will hate me for putting the Cavs amongst the league's elite, but even the most hatingest hater has to admit that Lebron James is seriously that good. Add in Mo Williams, a player who can--gasp--create his own shot offensively, and they could be dangerous. That mid-season trade where they brought in Ben Wallace and Wally the human typo among others looked better as the playoffs went along, and with an off-season and a preseason for them to get acclimated to "the Cavalier Way", I don't think this team is any worse than a top three team in the East.

Projected record

55-27

Potential Noisemakers

Detroit Pistons

The window of opportunity for another 'chip in the Motor City is definitely closing. Rasheed Wallace is old, Chauncey Billups looked old in the playoffs, and Joe Dumars looks like he's giving this team one more chance before he blows this team up. Gone are the days when the Pistons could blame underachieving on turning the switch on and off. The Cavaliers have already caught up and surpassed them, and if they're not careful they could fall even further. Still, in the improved but still watered-down East the Pistons can potentially slip into the finals.

Projected Record:

53-29

Dallas Mavericks

(For the sake of objectivity, this entry will predominantly be written by guest columnist Detached Justin)

At the end of last season, the Jason Kidd trade looked like a worse idea than sending Sarah Palin out alone to do an interview with Katie Couric. Mavs' fans are banking on the fact that Kidd will perform better under a new, less constrictive system instilled by new coach Rick Carlisle. The Mavs still have all-stars Dirk Nowitzki and Josh Howard, not to mention a surprisingly deep bench headlined by Jason Terry and Jerry Stackhouse. Although they didn't do much (!) in the off-season, DeSagana Diop could be an underrated pick-up, (mercifully) allowing Erick Dampier to not over-extend himself.

Projected Record

51-31 (82-0)

Toronto Raptors

I spoke of sequels before when previewing the Boston Celtics, and last year the Raptors were like Mighty Ducks II: cute, and good in spots, but definitely not as good or as fresh as the first movie. But, by adding Jermaine O'neal, I think this team will contend in the East. Chris Bosh just keeps getting better, and if Jose Calderon isn't an all-star this year then something's wrong. I don't think they defend well enough to get to the finals, but they will certainly not go down without a fight.

Projected Record:

50-32

Philadelphia 76ers

I have a bet with my future brother-in-law in which I stated that the Mavericks would win more games than the Sixers. It's not just a team allegiance bet; I just don't think the Sixers are a well-constructed team. However, I do think talent-wise that they will fall somewhere in the four or five seed range in the East. Elton Brand gives them real scoring punch down-low, and Andre Iguodala is on the cusp of superstardom. The other Andre, Mr. Miller to you, is a very solid point guard who does a little bit of everything well... except shoot. And that, I believe, is going to be their Achilles' heel. Name me on guy on that roster who will shoot better than 33% from behind the line. I'm waiting... nope, I just can't see it. They will be fun to watch in the regular season, and I guess maybe there's a chance they can win more games than the Mavs. But, in the playoffs when teams collapse on Brand and dare them to fire away from the outside, how will they respond?

Projected Record

47-35 (and a nice dinner)

Phoenix Suns

The D'Antoni Era in Phoenix is done, meaning so will the majority of the fun. I still expect this team to be decent. They've still got Steve Nash and Amare Stoudemire, who I still expect to hook-up for plenty of oops. But, I always wondered how Nash would do in an offense where he had less posessions to work with. That, and with the exception of Barbosa, Stoudemire and Diaw, all of their rotation players are up there in age, including the Big Stupid Nickname, Shaquille O'Neal. Terry Porter was brought in to help them understand the importance of defense, but when you have players that can't defend, what's the point?

Projected Record:

47-35

Just What We Need... Another Mid-1st Rounder

Orlando Magic

The Magic over-achieved slightly last year, only to get ousted in the second round of the playoffs. And then... they had a fairly quiet off-season, with the exception of picking up Mickeal Pietrus, which, let's face it, didn't excite Magic faithful. With both the Cavs and the Raptors making significant upgrades, and the Pistons and Celtics already better than them, the Magic look to be stuck in wet cement this year. Dwight Howard will do everything in his power to get them out, and they'll probably still be a playoff squad, but realistically getting out of the first round would be something to celebrate.

Projected Record:

45-37

Portland Trailblazers

The Blazers were everyone's feel good story for the first half of last year, running off an improbable winning streak that left basketball geniuses like me scratching their heads. They came back down to earth, but they left quite an impression on NBA fans as someone to watch out for in the coming years. Everyone seems to think they've jumped into the playoff conversation, and while I generally disagree with everyone (I'm such a loose cannon), in this case I agree. I think they're the deepest team in the NBA. Brandon Roy is one of the few players in the NBA that you can say does pretty much everything well. Greg Oden, at the very worst, will be a low double-double guy. LaMarcus Aldridge could have a really big year. I haven't even gotten to Rudy Fernandez and, my favorite rookie, Jerryd Bayless, who will provide a spark off the bench until they unseat their incumbents. The only thing they have going against them really is youth, and I think next season we'll see them break into the West's top three or four.

Projected Record

44-38

Washington Wizards

Every year, every columnist assumes that at least one playoff team will fall off, and for at least the last two or three years everybody assumed that team would be the Wizards. Seriously... did you watch them end up in the playoffs without a healthy Gilbert Arenas? It's already a given that Arenas will miss at least a month, but even if he missed the entire season I think the Wiz still make the playoffs. Caron Butler is arguably one of the top 15 players in the league and he's only getting better. Antawn Jamison continues to put up numbers. They have a surprisingly deep and energetic bench (hell, they even listened to me and welcomed back Juan Dixon). If this team can play at the same level defensively as they played last year while at the same time incorporating Arenas' scoring ability once he returns from injury, this team could leapfrog some teams I put before them. For right now, I'll just say they're a playoff team. Unlike anybody else.

Projected Record:

44-38

Los Angeles Clippers

It's so weird seeing Baron Davis in a Clipper uniform, but whatever: as long as he's there the Clippers will be among the league leaders in scoring. Their starting line-up looks really good on paper, with Cuttino Mobley, Al Thornton, Marcus Camby, Chris Kaman, and Davis. It's the type of team I'd be scared to see in a first round match-up. But, unless Camby and Kaman combine for 12 blocked shots a game, look out, because I expect this team to be sieve-like defensively on the perimeter. They won't be as bad as Golden State or Denver, but that could potentially be their downfall. They're going to be in a fight for the 8th seed, but I just can't see them being better than Portland at this point in time.

Projected Record:

42-40

Golden State Warriors

How do you hurt yourself so severely riding a moped? Aren't normal speeds on those things around 20 mph? Anyway, I believe that due to Ellis' off-season mishap, the Warriors will fall short of making the playoffs. It would have been tough even if they had him for the entire year, but his ankle just complicates things even further. Judging by the pre-season (do not try that at home), the Warriors will still score in bunches but will give up points just as quickly. Corey Maggette and Stephen Jackson will have sore wrists at the end of each game from taking 20 shots each, and Al Harrington will continue to tease Warrior fans with that "wow, he's good... wow he's bad" game. Andris Biedrins is slowly turning into a really good center, but his form at the line makes me want to vomit in my mouth. If this team can somehow come out of the gates strong and hover around the .500 mark until Ellis gets back, maybe they can jump a couple of spots down the stretch. That's assuming Ellis stays off mopeds and pogo sticks and Skip-Its (yeah, I brought it back).

Projected Record: 41-41

Denver Nuggets

Speaking of horrendous defensive teams, expect the Nuggets to be far worse defensively than they were last year. Marcus Camby was like an aging Victoria's Secret model's make-up, hiding all of Denver's defensive imperfections on the perimeter. Now that he's gone, you will start to see craters in their metaphorical face. This team will have no problem scoring, as I expect both Carmelo Anthony and Allen Iverson in the league's top ten in PPG. However, neither player has ever been accused of being a lock-down defender, and the problem is most nights they'll be matched up against the opposition's best perimeter players. I'm interested to see if J.R. Smith can take the next step or if he'll fade into oblivion like every other J.R. who's played in the league (see Rider, Reid). Their two bigs, Nene and Kenyon Martin, are extremely overpaid and haven't done much to shed that label. All in all I just don't see this team being very good this year, and you may see the Nuggets ship A.I. and/or Martin in an attempt to start over.

Projected Record

41-41

And the East's Last Playoff Spot Goes To:

New York Knicks

Go ahead, piss test me. I'm dead serious. I honestly think they compare favorably to the other couple of teams in contention. Mike D'Antoni will get these guys running up and down the floor, making the MSG an exciting destination for basketball once again. Jamal Crawford seems like the perfect player for an "F--- It" kind of offensive system, and I expect him to have a big year. Even if Zach Randolph and Eddy Curry don't buy in right away, the Knicks have the athletes to adjust. Rumor has it that David Lee can play, but the last two coaches in New York didn't like him very much, even if he was at times their best player. I'm not sure what to think of Chris Duhon as their starting point guard, but he's a low mistake player capable of running an offense, definitely a change from Stephon Marbury (Steph, Dallas has a spot for you as long as you stop calling yourself Starbury). Defensively this squad will give up points, but the run and gun teams in this league (with the exception of Phoenix in years past) tend to finish at .500 or above. .500 will be enough in the East.

Projected Record: 41-41

Anybody Wanna Play Ping-Pong?

Miami Heat

I was torn between the Heat and the Knicks, so in honor of Timbaland I went with shock value. Dwyane Wade was the best player on Team USA this summer, looking much like the guy who Tim Donaghy helped get a ring (not letting it go). If he can stay healthy all year, I'd say they were a lock for the playoffs. Unfortunately, chances are he misses quite a few games as he does every year. That being said, the Heat have some intriguing talent up front. Michael Beasley is probably the early favorite for rookie of the year playing second fiddle to D-Wade. Expect plenty of boos when the Heat travel to Phoenix this year in Shawn Marion's direction, but a few highlight reel dunks should quiet them down. Udonis Haslem is one of the best defensive fours in the league, and whoever he's matched up against will generally have an off night. But, their downfall is going to be their point guard and their depth. Mario Chalmers slipped to the second round for a reason: he's not really a point guard. If Marcus Banks hasn't panned out by now, he probably won't. Chris Quinn might have trouble against guards in the summer league I played in (the team went 0-8, I shot poorly and couldn't guard a flea on defense). All in all, this team has too many holes to leap into playoff contention.

Projected Record

39-43

Atlanta Hawks

I still can't believe the Hawks took the eventual NBA champs to seven games, because on paper there's no way that should have happened. I guess the Hawks were able to expose the Celtics' lack of athleticism like nobody else in the playoffs could. Even though Atlanta is the incumbent eight seed, I can't see them getting re-elected (don't forget to vote Nov. 4th!). While Joe Johnson will continue to make a case for himself as an upper-echelon guard and Al Horford will continue to make strides on both ends, I see everyone else on this team taking a step backwards, especially Josh Smith and Mike Bibby. Smith is a fantasy monster, no doubt, but last year he was also playing for a contract. He won't get better until he develops offensively, which I don't think he will. In the case of Bibby, dude is just getting old. He never was a jet off the dribble, but in the playoffs I thought he looked ultra slow and he's not a prototypical playmaker anyway, so I think he'll struggle to get the Hawks' athhletic wing guys involved. Nope, can't see these guys making it back.

Projected Record

37-45

Chicago Bulls

I didn't recognize the Bulls slow start as a big deal until they failed to turn it on in the second half like they always did. As perimeter-oriented as they are, they just don't play fast enough, and I don't think that's going to change under Vinny Del Negro. That said, the Bulls are loaded at the guard position, at least in terms of bodies. As a GM I thought Beasley would have made more sense, but judging by Derrick Rose's pre-season I could be wrong. He's left no doubt as to who the starting point guard should be over there, which makes it awkward for solid but unspectacular Kirk Hinrich. I still have no idea why the Bulls re-signed Ben Gordon, especially with the logjam in the backcourt, but when he's on the court he can get radiant. Luol Deng was supposed to take that next step last year, but injuries hindered him somewhat. I don't know, this team has the talent, but with so many guards with similar skill sets and a no post presence, the Bulls have a lot to overcome to sneak into the playoffs.

Projected Record

37-45

Indiana Pacers

The Pacers finally unloaded Jermaine O'Neal and now Jim O'Brien has the perfect point guard to run his uptempo offense in T.J. Ford... that is until T.J. inevitably hurts himself at some point early in the season. Seriously though, this team has some interesting talent. Danny Granger looks ready to step it up and be the man in Hoosierland. He might be one of the most versatile players in the league because of his size and ability from the perimeter. Was Mike Dunleavy Jr.'s performance from last year a fluke or a sign of things to come? It's hard to say, but as much as I hated Duke during my College Park days, I always thought that he would end up being a solid NBA player, not "Danny Ferry II". Beyond those three, the problem is that the rest of the team is filled with players who haven't quite reached their potential. For a player who hasn't recorded a double-double in three years, Troy Murphy seems vastly overpaid. I love Marquis Daniels and to this day I wish that the Mavericks hadn't traded him, but I'm not sure if Daniels does enough to warrant his salary either. Here's hoping that he blows up this year. I don't know, it seems that outside of Granger this team has too many question marks to take them seriously this year.

Projected Record

36-46

New Jersey Nets

There won't be too many people who have the Nets even this high, but in all honesty this could be a sleeper team. New Jersey kind of reminds me of 6-5 suited: someone raises, two callers and you take a flop probably getting good pot odds. If you miss the flop, fold quickly. If you hit the flop hard, you're taking someone's money. Anytime you have Vince Carter and Devin Harris on your team, there's the potential for a huge pot. But, to use another poker analogy, those two might not be a good investment in the long run, since both of those guys, as talented as they are, tend to miss a fair share of games. At least they have some good young talent developing around them. Before you write Yi Jianlian off, just remember how terrible Dirk was in his first year. Brook Lopez, for better or worse, will probably be remembered as the best big man in this draft. Josh Boone and Sean Williams are very solid defenders down low. See, there's talent on this team. Don't bet the house on them, but they may surprise you.

Projected Record

32-50

Milwaukee Bucks

On paper, this team seems solid. But, realistically, you could have placed the previous sentence in most Bucks' previews. Depending upon how good Yi gets, the Bucks either got a steal by getting Richard Jefferson for an overhyped foreign player or they got hosed because RJ may be one of the most overrated "stars" in the league for a foreign player with tremendous Dirk-like upside. The answer will probably be somewhere in between. One thing that won't change is the Bucks' tepid love for defense, even with Scott Skiles at the helm. Yes, Jefferson and Michael Redd will light up the scoreboard, with each dropping about 21-23 a game. Andrew Bogut has quietly become a consistent double-double guy inside, and that should continue. Charlie Villanueva might finally breakthrough to being a real player in the league. But, in the end
there absolutely no defensive stoppers on this team, certainly not at point guard where Luke Ridnour will probably get eaten up on an individual basis night after night. You may see them push for a playoff spot based upon their ability to score, but it doesn't look too gully.

Projected Record:

30-52

Charlotte Bobcats

Just the other day I was having a conversation with another basketball aficionado about these Bobcats, and I said that they might be the deepest team in the NBA. He replied with zen-like clarity, "Everybody being around the same talent level doesn't constitute depth." Sad, but true. If you look back at college basketball over the last few years, many of those stars turned into Bobcats. Raymond Felton. Emeka Okafor. Sean May. Adam Morrison. D.J. Augustin. The one thing they all have in common (with the exception of Augustin because obviously he's a rookie) is that none of them have really lived up to their collegiate pedigree. Felton is known as the other point guard in THE point guard class (Chris Paul, Deron Williams). Okafor has had a couple of solid years but still hasn't blossomed offensively. May has just not been in good enough playing shape to contribute on a nightly basis. Morrison so far has looked like the prototype of a bad tweener. Veterans Jason Richardson and Gerald Wallace (feels so weird calling them vets but I guess they are) will provide plenty of highlight reels, but what this team is missing is that one guy, that superstar that will propel them out of mediocrity. At least they'll have another chance to find him in the draft, right MJ?

Projected Record

30-52

Sacramento Kings

Ron Artest is Houston's problem now, but unfortunately that means that they lost the NBA's most intense defensive presence. He will definitely be missed on that end, but there is more than enough help to produce what he did offensively. Kevin Martin has become a full-fledged scorer in the NBA, and he'll definitely be amongst the league leaders in that category. John Salmons has become a consistent point forward who can fill a stat sheet quick. Brad Miller has been down the last couple of years, but when healthy he's become someone you can run an offense through. Although he's probably better suited as a back-up, Beno Udrih has become a serviceable starter in the NBA. Honestly, it's not a roster that jumps off the page with talent, but this team will play hard and will definitely win a couple of games they'll have no business winning.

Projected Record:

28-54

Memphis Grizzlies

Other than being on the worse end of the century's worst trade ever, Memphis had a less than noteworthy season last year as they tried to break in young talent. This season will probably be a more exciting version of last season. Grizzlies' fans are hoping and praying that O.J. Mayo doesn't become Dajuan Wagner or Shawn Respert, but after careful consideration I've decided that he'll definitely be better than both of those guys. He's more athletic and actually a very good defender at his position, which should keep him in the league longer. Rudy Gay has proven to be a better NBA player than a college player, and as his game continues to blossom he could be a potential all-star in two years. Mike Conley, Jr. should get the bulk of the minutes at point guard, and although he had a hard time finding the range last year on his jumper you should see him vastly improved this season. The question marks will be in the front court. How do you use Hakim Warrick? Can Marc Gasol be an effective NBA center? Darko Milicic??? I don't think this team will have trouble on the offensive end, but like most bad teams they will be horrific defensively. Still, it'll be fun to watch all one or two games they'll have on TV this year.

Projected Record:

25-57

Minnesota Timberwolves

I had a pretty strong debate about who would be the worst team in the NBA, but in the end the T'Wolves managed to barely keep themselves out of the bottom spot because, well, at this point they're a slightly better constructed team than the Thunder. Al Jefferson had his coming out party last year as a legitimate threat downlow, and he actually has some good shooters to kick it out to. Mike Miller, Rashand McCants, and even Kevin Love can all drill the long ball efficiently. It'll be interesting to see if Foye can become a legit point guard in the NBA after two seasons of teasing fans with his potential. Of course, like all bad teams, this team will struggle to defend, especially down low if the Wolves decide to have Jefferson and Love in the game at the same time for long stretches. It's going to be a long, cold season in Minnesota. They're at least three years away from contending.

Projected Record:

22-60

Oklahoma City Thunder

Thunder ownership did the city of Seattle dirty, leaving a rabid fanbase without any basketball to cheer for. The good news is that Oklahoma City finally has a professional franchise with fans that will support them through thick and thin. Kevin Durant will be a player they can count on for years for buckets and excitement. Russell Westbrook will probably be manhandled on both ends this year, but he has the potential to be a long-term solution for them at the point guard spot. Jeff Green might have underachieved to some degree last year, but it's like Morgan Freeman in Shawshank Redemption: he didn't know how to act once he was freed from the perils of Georgetown grind-it-out style. If nothing else, Chris Wilcox is a dunking machine who will end up on Sportscenter more than a few times this year. Oklahoma City fans are going to have to be patient with this bunch. One more good draft pick and a bonafide scorer down low will get this team over the hump and into conversation for a playoff spot. Until then, just sit back and watch this team grow.

Projected Record:

20-62

Rodney Rogers

2008-10-03T03:31:00.000-04:00

I've been looking for video on this for a long time, but thanks to YouTube user Jarekkowalewski, I finally found it... well, at least most of it. Anytime any basketball fan asks me about the most ridiculous thing I've ever seen in a game, I automatically give it to a young Rodney Rogers against the Utah Jazz. That's absolutely ridiculous. Nine points in nine seconds? Utter sickness.

I still want to know where the rest of the tape is... because I know for a fact that either Stockton or Hornaceck hit the game-winning jumper.

White Chocolate Has Melted

2008-09-27T00:43:00.001-04:00

The Jason Williams era is officially over.

For the first couple years of his career, J-Will seemed destined to join the great distributors of all-time. But, for whatever reason he just never got much better. I looked at his stats, and I couldn't believe that he shot under 40% for his career. It's hard to believe that a guy could be a starting NBA point guard for the majority of his career despite his inept shooting and suspect defense, but hey... he had a longer NBA career than I had, I guess.

I will say this, though: if we were playing a game on the blacktop, he would definitely be my point guard. His numbers were never stellar, but he gets bonus points for renewing interest from one of the NBA's most important demographics: young white teenagers. Racist or not, it is what it is. A ton of white players--especially guards--wouldn't be playing basketball right now if it wasn't for this man. He was what they aspired to be: the white boy with flavor on the basketball court.

You will be missed J-Will. Courtesy of that old show NBA Action, here are some highlights.

Nice passes in there, but this one might be his sickest (even the foreign guy commentating the game gave him props).

SLAMONLINE

2008-09-22T15:13:00.000-04:00

My comments are "still awaiting moderation" (I remember they deleted one of my comments because I was blatantly promoting my blog without saying anything pertinent to the story once), but SLAMONLINE, one of my favorite basketball website for almost a decade, had two posts today worth commenting on.

The first one, about the Jason Kidd trade, irked me slightly, not neccesarily because of the story, but because of the comments. Everybody and their mother is writing the Mavericks off! While they didn't make any earth-shattering changes, DeSagana Diop gives the Mavs more depth at center and Gerald Green could potentially be a nice sparkplug off the bench. Add that to the fact that I'd take Dirk, Jet, J-Ho and Kidd over ANY FOURSOME IN THE LEAGUE (no bias), and I just can't understand how Dallas doesn't win at least as many as they did last year. Haters!

The second one I'm not as adamant about, but it still surprises me how Juan Dixon has to fight for a job. Granted, he is a niche player, but as I said in my comments just in case they haven't been "moderated" yet, I compare him favorably to Eddie House, and last I checked, House has a ring and not just from sitting on the bench waving a towel. I just don't know.

Next post I lobby for former Towson University great Gary Neal as the next starting two guard for the Oklahoma City Thunder.

The List Every Ball Player Wishes They Were On

2008-09-20T00:28:00.000-04:00

It's the off-season for me. Everyday I try to fish for material to keep me motivated to write, because let's face it: when it comes to posting, I'm about as consistent as Jason Kidd in a dimly lit gym (sizzling Olympic performance not withstanding).

So, in an effort to regain my zest for basketball after three long months of endless baseball highlights on Sportscenter, I'm using this post to remind me why I love basketball so much, and more specifically remember my favorite players from inception into basketball folklore (circa 1989ish) to now.

In no particular order, ten guys who are responsible for my love of basketball. In regards to era, the players might have played longer, but in this instance I'm labeling it in terms of biggest impact.

Penny Hardaway

Era: Mid to Late '90s

If you're my age, or even around my age, and you liked basketball in the mid 90's, chances are you probably have a Penny jersey. Before he got hurt, he was easily one of the smoothest players to ever step onto a basketball court. To this day I truly believe that had that freak injury where he bumped knees with Grant Hill not occured (funny how that turned out), he would have eclipsed Magic as the best tall format point guard of all-time. Unfortunately, due to unforeseen circumstances, he had to settle for a solid, yet injury-riddled, career. Overlooked in all of this: in a small, miniscule way, he helped launch Chris Rock's career.

Chris Herren

Era: Late '90s

His career kind of played out like a former child actor's, the basketball version of Cory Feldman or something akin. He was the subject of Bill Reynolds' Fall River Dreams as a high school junior, where he was one of the hottest recruits the state of Massachusetts had ever seen. The story was cool, and when it said that he had gone to Fresno State University to play with Jerry Tarkanian, I figured I'd check him out. I immediately fell in love with the way he played. I've seen very few play with the same passion that he displayed; hell, he made me want to chest bump the person I was sitting next to (which was awkward on dates). I think the Celtics shot his NBA dreams down far too early, because really in his prime I thought he compared favorably to new Clippers' back-up Jason Williams. Of course, sometimes our own demons get in the way, and it's a shame his name is back in the news for the wrong reasons.

Jalen Rose

Era: Early 90's to mid 2000s

Back-to-back book influences. I realize now after some of Mitch Albom's "ethical conflicts" that maybe Fab Five wasn't the most--how can I put this delicately--true work of non-fiction ever, but I have to admit that the guy can write, and he helped me fall in love with Rose. Even watching the Fab Five on TV growing up, I remember how analysts used to dog Michigan for all their trash-talk and what not, and Rose was without a doubt their No.1 target. Even when he struggled early in his career, in typical Jalen fashion, I would tell all my friends in my high-pitched voice, "Watch out, J-Rose is gonna blow up. Just watch." Hate to say I told you so, but... you know the rest. Boggles my mind how he never played in an all-star game, though.

Dirk Nowitzki

Era: Late '90s to present

I've probably said this far too often in this blog, but the Dallas Mavericks are the reason why I'm still an NBA fan. I know Steve Nash made them exciting, but I'd just never seen a player like Dirk before. Sure, Kevin Garnett may have started the revolution towards the offensively versatile big man, but Dirk added ridiculous three-point touch. I may catch flack for this, but I believe he may be the best pure shooter in the NBA. I know his career three-point percentage is only above average, and he's only shot over 50 percent once in his career, but the degree of difficulty on his shots rivals only Kobe and D-Wade in my opinion. As a fan, I really hope he finally breaks through and gets that elusive championship, but if his career ended today, it would have made quite an impression on me.

Rafer Alston

Era: Late '90s to present

Out of all the ridiculously bold basketball predictions I've made over the years, I think I'm most proud of the assertion I made in 2000. I told all my friends that despite the fact that he was stuck to the Milwaukee Bucks bench, the streetball legend would end up as a solid starting point guard one day. I stuck to my guns and I was right. A true testament to my love for Skip: my AOL screen name has been Rafer11 for almost ten years. Every now and then you see a little Rucker Park from him, but the fact that he can play the game BOTH ways just tells you how far Alston has come.

Damon Stoudamire

Era: Mid '90s to Early 2000s

"Mighty Mouse." I was mainly a fan of him in the early days, when even as a kid I couldn't believe Toronto could get away with putting a dinosaur on a jersey. His handle was absolutely ridiculous. I remember one week in like his second season--and I already looked it up on YouTube I couldn't find it--he made Tim Hardaway and Ron Harper fall on consecutive nights. To this day I have no idea why he never became a top flight point guard; maybe he peaked too early, maybe he had too much "two" in him. I definitely still have my Stoudamire jersey somewhere in my closet, and--aside from my Penny because I had to wear that--it will go down as my favorite jersey.

Kerry Kittles

Era: Mid '90s to Early 2000s

I had this strange infatuation with Villanova back in the day, an infatuation that re-surfaced in '06 and '07 when the 'Cats had that four guard line-up. He was the "other" Big East guard that came out of the 1996 draft, Ray Allen and Allen Iverson being the more prominent names. Honestly, I guess it wasn't really his game that excited me. I just liked his style. You see somebody wearing one sock up by the knee cap and the other one down by the ankle? Kittles was the first player I remember doing that. An injury kind of cut his career short, but even though I don't rock his style anymore, at least it made me consider that there was a style element to basketball.

Allen Iverson

Era: Mid '90s to present

I'm not the hugest Iverson fan, but it'd be blasphemy not to put him on this list. Say what you will about him, but be honest: even if you hate him with all your guts, hate everything he stands for, wish someone would just flick the right analog stick next time he was in mid-air (that was for the Madden heads), you'd be lying if you said you didn't think his crossover was the coolest thing ever. I remember reading Hoop magazine one day, and mid-way through they had this cut-out poster on how to do "the move". Step by step. I'm not kidding, I was out in the driveway trying to perfect it for at least six hours that night (funny how that dedication didn't translate into a D-I career, huh?). Still hating? Okay, fine. I didn't want to have to bring it out, but, since you're still hating... I present to you Exhibit A.

Reggie Miller

Era: Early '90s to 2005

If you've ever seen me play for five minutes, I bet you were wondering, "When is he gonna get to Reg on this list?" Our games are so similar that if I was 6'7" we'd be twins. I can attribute much of how I play today from intently watching Miller over the years. I don't think there was ever a player who moved as well without the ball as #31 for the Pacers. Oh, and aside from Michael Jordan and maybe Kobe Bryant, there hasn't been another player from my "era" with a penchant for coming up huge in the biggest of moments. Every movie needs a montage. Man, if you don't get goosebumps from watching some of the stuff he does in that clip... you have no soul.

Michael Jordan

Era: Mid '80's to Mid '90's, and whatever the hell that was from 2001-2003

If you're reading this and I went to middle school or high school with you, you'll probably remember me as one of the biggest Jordan haters ever. What most of you probably don't remember--or weren't there to witness, whatever it may be--how much I l-o-v-e-d MJ in elementary school. Our falling out was nothing personal: he won, he left, Penny came, MJ becomes like that old toy you've outgrown... all of which burned me up inside when he murdered Penny's and, later on, Reggie's hopes of winning a championship. But, Airness, I'm all grown up now, and I just wanted to tell you (though you'll never see this unless my new MySpace friend J.A. Adande refers you here) how much I respected your game and the groundwork you've laid for not only the NBA, but for basketball everywhere. I wouldn't be here writing about basketball today if you hadn't gone out of your way to stick out your tongue prior to every defiance of gravity. I thank you, kind sir.

Now please, for the love of God, learn how to draft.

If you're one of my boys (or girls) reading this and you know of players I left off inexplicably, get at me.

Josh Artest

2008-09-18T20:13:00.000-04:00

Good lord.

Once upon a time, Josh Howard appeared to be a hard-working basketball player that went about his business with a quiet, unshaken demeanor on the court. Despite being drafted far later than he should have been (29th pick in the first round of '03) and being criticized for having no upside at the time, he improved his numbers every single year. Real stand-up guy: in fact, he declined to play for the 2006 U.S. team in the FIBA Championships because it coincided with his youth basketball camp. Through the first four and a half years of his career, you didn't hear jack about Howard's off-court antics.

Then came the 2008 playoffs.

Right before a must-win Game 3 in their series against the New Orleans Hornets, Howard opened up about smoking pot in the off-season. Okay. I thought the timing on that was weird, but I wasn't about to completely vilify the guy. Remember when Karl Malone said that 70% of the NBA toked up? Illegal as it may be, we all screw up from time to time. Given his past, I gave him a pass (damnit, no pun intended).

Then, after a catastrophic loss in Game 4 of that same series, I believe it was Avery Johnson who called Howard out on his excessive partying during the playoffs or something to that extent (great journalism, I know). I definitely lost some respect for him after that, especially when you compare his numbers during that series to his regular season output. But, hey, he's 28, not 19, Drinking is legal. No one got on pitcher David Wells when he got bombed before a start.

The speeding thing? Okay, so now he not only has gotten into legal trouble, he's also putting his life in danger. Just ask David Wesley how dangerous that can be. Wesley saw one of his teammates, Bobby Phills, die in a drag-racing accident. At this point I was really starting to wonder what had gotten into Howard...

and then...

"Star-Bangled Banner going on right now... I don't even celebrate that [poop]. I'm black, [gosh darnit]."

It's worth saying again. Good lord.

Playing devil's advocate for a minute--someone has to, right--I can understand where he's coming from. If you break it down, maybe it's nothing more than a less politically correct version of what Kanye West said, but on a broader scale spanning generations of mistreatment.

Okay, I'm done. West's reaction was more out of anger than anything else. Howard? Dude was cheesin' the entire time, obviously trying to make a joke that apparently no one found remotely funny. West was voicing his disdain over one person; Howard might as well have said, "F--- America."

Has anyone seen Howard's sanity? If so, please return it to American Airlines Arena in time for the start of the season. I would hate to see such a talented player be remembered more for what he said or did off the court than what he did on the court. I would hate to see a bad four and a half month stretch define his career.

Unfortunately for him, it may be too late.

Is It Basketball Season Yet????

2008-09-07T23:59:00.000-04:00

One month until NBA Live '09 comes out. I know that training camps actually open a week or so before that, but to me when Live drops, that's when basketball season starts. Something about Dirk Nowitzki hitting animated step-back, pump fake, pump fake, fade away and flop jumpers gets me excited!

In my time away from basketball season, I've been trying to diversify myself sports' wise (because it's becoming obvious I'll never grow up and care about real issues). For example, obviously I watched football today, as a couple teams (i.e. the Ravens and Falcons) set themselves up for a week of radioheads predicting complete turnarounds. I have to say I was dissappointed Ocho Cinco wasn't allowed to play, and instead some dude named Chad Johnson took his roster spot. In all seriousness, I loved his post game comment when asked about the name change.

"I ain't worried about the name, man. We just lost the game."

That, ladies and gentlemen, might be the most sensible he's ever said.

Believe it or not, I actually caught some tennis this weekend, too. Day Two of Nadal/Murraywas pretty cool, especially for Brit Andy Murray, who will try to become the first of his countrymen to win a major tennis title since his boy Fred Perry did it in 1936.

Oh, and this chick Serena is pretty amazing, too. Seriously, if she decided to one day play with the guys, kind of like Sorenstam used to do on the PGA Tour... I guarantee you she would not be dominated. In fact, I can see her being ranked if she spent a year on tour with the fellas.

See? I'm more than just a one trick pony...

...but seriously, how many days until training camp opens?

The Redeem Team is Mean...

2008-08-18T15:41:00.000-04:00

Critics say the title might not rhyme but it sure does have a ton of assonance.

And they say I'm not ready to go back to school!

Anyway, I know you missed me. I just got back from Martha's Vineyard, which essentially is a happy island off the coast of Massachusetts (true story: I purchased a Red Sox cap and a t-shirt that read "Jeter drinks wine coolers" and stopped in New York. I felt like Shrek facing an angry mob of pitch forks). I had the chance to get some rest before the start of the school year; spend some QT (not queen-ten) with the family; and, of course, watch plenty of Olympic action.

Outside of Michael Phelps domination during my week-long stay, my eyes remained fixated on the United States' men's basketball team, dubbed appropriately as the "Redeem Team". So far they seem to be on the road to redemption, drubbing teams by an average of 32.2. Today's game against Germany was no different, as they demolished Deutschland 106-57. Wasn't exactly the way Dirk Nowitzki wanted to end his international career, nor a subpar Olympics for his country after they failed to qualify for the medal round (it might be time to start a website called http://www.tradedirknowbeforeyoucantgetvalueforhimanymore.com).

Anyway, like I was saying, the U.S. got through the medal round untouched, very good for me since I have a friendly bet with a buddy of mine regarding the point spread. We were out one night prior to the start of preliminary play, and he told me how tough it was going to be for the United States because the rest of the world had caught up. Pride of America bubbling up inside of me, I came up with the following bet: if any team got to within ten points of the U.S.--not beat, got to within 10 points--I would go a year without cutting my hair, basically becoming a better looking version of Ricky Rubio (pictured above). If the U.S. beats every team by ten or more, my friend, fond of his floppy to normal caucasian hairstyle, would have to shave his head completely. I'll modify that and say that he only needs to do a one on top. I understand that as a working professional I have to allow him some lee-way.

So far I'm looking good on my end, and my girlfriend mainly has to thank the swarming United States' defense thus far. Coach K's effect on this team has been massively understated. Some would argue that it's easy to coach such a gifted group, but name me another coach nationally that could get offensive juggenauts LeBron James and Dwyane Wade to play so hard defensively. Seriously, James in particular has looked more like Bruce Bowen on the defensive end during this last week! I think that's the biggest difference between the U.S. from 2002-2006 to now: they're more focused defensively. And, to pour it on even more, they've started to look more comfortable from downtown since the Spain game.

I love this team because they have a swagger that wags a middle finger in the face of all basketball purists, the ones that said this team was just a bunch of individuals that would get smashed by the more conventional offenses of Spain, Argentina, and Greece. I never thought I'd see a better team than the Dream Team of 1992, but... well, okay, I won't go that far but whatever. All I know is that this team will win a gold medal if they keep up the defensive intensity.

I don't buy Chris Sheridan's view that Australia will be a tough game for them. Granted, they did play the U.S. close without Andrew Bogut during the exhibition march, and yeah, they do have the physicality to disrupt the Americans, but, like most teams in these olympics, they just don't have enough from the guard position to get it done. I've become a fan of Australian guard Patrick Mills, who during the year still plays for Saint Mary's, a mainstay in the West Coast Conference's upper echelon, but he's not the kind of point guard who will minimize turnovers offensively. I see a game decided somewhere between 15-20.

10:15 AM Eastern standard time on Wednesday, we'll see if I'll be in the process of making Rubio jealous.

Feel the Draft?

2008-06-29T01:54:00.000-04:00

Wow, I hope all three of you who actually read this thing didn't wait by their computer screen in the hopes that I'd actually follow through on a promise.

Truth be told, I had every intention of blogging during the entire draft. However, it all started to unravel at about 6:00 when my girlfriend had to have these shoes at Arundel Mills. No problem, I thought. We'll be home around 7:30, just in time to hear David Stern say "The Chicago Bulls select Derrick Rose."

7:00 comes and, low and behold, Shanta brings up the suggestion of watching the draft with my friends over her house since the 'rents were in Florida. Cool enough, I say, but we have to go back to my house and get the laptop. Oh, and we need pizza.

So, with my times all sorts of messed up, I call my friend at 7:15 when he says to me, "The Bulls picked Rose."

Shit.

I jet home, get the computer, go to Shanta's house, plug in the adapter and... this pops up.

No friggin' connection. Something about the power going out and her having to reset the router. It's 8:15 by this time, and the Clippers were all about Eric Gordon.

Oh well. Maybe I'll try again next year. However, what I can do is break down some of the picks. Okay, all of the picks.

1. Chicago Bulls- Derrick Rose

I think at the very least, he will be like Baron Davis with less range. At his best, he's Jason Kidd with a reliable jumper. Even without him I thought the Bulls would somehow manage to make it back to the playoffs, but with him they're a lock.

I guess no more Kirk Hinrich. Hey, John Paxson, hit Mark Cuban up. Let's see what we can work out.

2. Miami Heat- Michael Beasley

Heat president Pat Riley must have taken a page from Phil Jackson's book of mind games, either that or Heat personnel backed him into a corner and threatened to shave his head if he didn't pick Beasley.

There are a ton of people who think that Beasley is the best player in the draft. Personally, I think he's more of a sure thing than Rose. I see Beasley's future in the league being somewhere in the neighborhood of 22 and eight for his career, definitely a star. However, the NBA is a point guard's game, and when you have the chance to get a really, really good one--because God knows there's some awful ones out there--you do it.

I expect the Heat to be right in the thick of things for a playoff spot.

3. Minnesota Timberwolves- OJ Mayo

Everybody I talk to says I'm hating, that Mayo is much better than I make him out to be. They could be absolutely right. After all, that story about him texting USC coach Tim Floyd and saying, "Yo, I'm coming to your school" even though they weren't recruiting him rubbed me entirely the wrong way. Maybe I am giving him a hard time.

However, I'm sorry, but dude just reminds me way too much of Dajuan Wagner. He is taller, but at 6'3" and change, he's still on the short side of the average NBA two guard, and I just don't think he's that special of a talent to get away with it. I told my friend Hakeem that I don't ever see Mayo shooting over 44% from the field. I mean, he barely shot over that in college! EVERYBODY shoots a high percentage in college!

Anyway, when I went to bed and he hadn't been traded I thought to myself, "Minnesota really wants to keep him even with Randy Foye and Rashad McCants?" I guess they came to their senses when they traded him.

Feel the Draft

2008-06-26T11:47:00.000-04:00

11:51AM: Inspired by Bill Simmons' diary of Game Four during the NBA Finals, I have decided to follow suit (AKA stealing as a form of flattery) and document the NBA Draft from, well, 11:51 AM Eastern Standard Time until the draft goes off sometime before midnight. 12 hours!!!

Special thanks to Shanta Myricks, best girlfriend in the world, for letting me use her laptop. Due to the location of my home PC, it's been awhile since I've actually gotten the chance to watch TV while typing. I need to get me one of these; I heard you're not a journalist until you have one.

Oh, as for that playoff blogging... man, I really need to stop focusing so much on family, work, and poker. I didn't even get to give you my insight on the Mavericks losing; the Hornets nice run; Kobe's MVP; and, of course, the most-hyped NBA Finals since back in the 80's (maybe one of the better one's, too). All in all, Kobe Bryant is by far the best player in the NBA, and despite what people say his legacy was not tarnished in this series, but the Boston Celtics were simply the better team. Fan of the Celts or not, you've got to be happy for Kevin Garnett, Paul Pierce, and Ray Allen getting over the hump. For years all three of them have had that "Can't Win the Big One" label, and I think it's fitting that they bonded together to get that collective monkey off their back.

Don't worry, I will definitely get into my Mavericks' rant, probably sometime around 11:30 or 11:45 tonight, when they make the 51st pick. NBA Draft.net has them taking some foreign dude I've never heard of, as does ESPN.com's Chad Ford(different guy though). Honestly, if he's still around, I wouldn't mind them using the pick on James Gist. He's not on Chad Ford's list, but he's been on and off draft.net all year (trust me, I check quite often). We all know how athletic he is, but his jumper is very underrated. If he developed any sort of handle, he'd be capable of being an all-star caliber player one day. For now, I think he can at least contribute somewhere.

But, enough about Gist. Here's some of the headlines going into today's draft:

Even before the lottery gods blessed the Chicago Bulls with the first pick in the draft, everybody in the world figured whoever got that first pick would either go with Derrick Rose or Michael Beasley. I honestly have to admit that when I first heard the Bulls had won the lottery, my first impressions was that Beasley was the obvious choice. After all, the problem with the Bulls the past couple of years hasn't been talent. They just have too many players who prefer to settle for jumpers and absolutely no post presence. Beasley gives them immediate help downlow, and at the absolute worst he's an upgrade over Drew Gooden.

However, Rose has the chance to be really special, and franchise-type point guards don't come around every year. I know the Bulls have Kirk Hinrich, a solid starting point guard, but Rose brings freakish athleticism, defensive prowess, and superior leadership skills, even though he's much younger than Hinrich. It would definitely make sense for the Bulls to take Rose and ship Captain Kirk elsewhere. Although he's coming off an awful season, he's still young enough where they can get pretty good value for him.

Anyway, all season long and all spring long it's been Rose-Beasley, Beasley-Rose. However, the rumblings are getting louder by the minute, and they seem to be saying no Beasley at number two--and if they do pick him, it's simply to trade him. A couple of days ago Chad Ford broke an article that said the Heat were talking seriously with the Grizzlies about trading for their number two along with Daequan Cook for Memphis' number five, Mike Miller and Kyle Lowry (a potential future all-star if you ask me). Talks broke down I believe because Heat GM Pat Riley wanted Mike Conley (the Grizzlies have the most under-the-radar point guard tandem in the NBA). I think for both teams the trade should have been a no-brainer, but whatever.

Say the Heat do decide they want to keep whomever they draft. If that's the case, it's sounding more and more like O.J. Mayo will be that pick. Dwyane "I'm hurt but I can shoot cute T-Mobile commercials and play on Team USA (sorry it's nothing personal but my girl thinks you're hot and I wish I knew your address so I can key all 39 of your whips)" Wade is high on Mayo. Personally, if you didn't want Beasley, I'd pick Jerryd Bayless before I took Mayo. I don't know why everybody thinks that Mayo can project as a point guard in the pros. Mark my words: Mayo will be, maybe, a better version of Dajuan Wagner.

Last night the Indiana Pacers and Toronto Raptors executed a major trade that could potentially impact the top of the Eastern Conference. The Pacers sent Jermaine O'Neal to Toronto in exchange for T.J. Ford, Rasho Nesterovic and the No. 17 pick the draft. I know it's a trade involving two guys who are serious health risks, but could you imagine a healthy O'Neal with Chris Bosh and Jose Calderon? I think the move instantly puts them at least in the top four in the conference. Debate.

12:48 pm: Unfortunately, I've got to take a break from blogging for a little bit. I can't concentrate while Diego is demanding that I say, "Caliente!" You would understand if you had a two year old.

By the way, I'm very interested in the Washington Wizards pick today. Not mentioning names, but a girl that I work with also happens to work with the Wizards. She didn't tell me who they were picking, but when I said Roy Hibbert, she definitely hesitated before saying, "I can't tell you." However, she did kind of put a scare into me when she said, "Who knows? Maybe we'll draft someone from Europe and stash them?"

Having played so much poker lately, the former feels like a sign of weakness. The latter seems like a bluff, but nonetheless a believable one.

12:54 pm:Lunchtime.

1:09 pm: Still haven't had that lunch, but I stumbled across this Bill Simmons' list of bad lottery picks. Funny, reminds me of one of mine.

Bill Simmons is not a writer; he's a biter...

Just kidding, Bill. I love your work, and I'd be honored if for some reason you were actually reading this.

1:23 pm: Just in case you're reading this, babe, you don't have to worry about us watching too much sports. LPGA Tournament and Wimbledon are on. We're about to watch Ni-Hao Kahlan.

And, this is why I hate the summer sports season.

3:44 pm: As I watch highlights of the 2007 WSOP (World Series of Poker for those of you who do not read the other blog), I'm also checking out some of the local headlines, mainly about Donte Greene and where people project him to be drafted. To me, and many other experts agree, Greene probably would have been better served with another year of college. Scouts unanimously agree that he has no in between game to speak of, and as athletically gifted as he is Greene rarely attacks the rim with ferocity. He's a project, but that being said there are much worse projects out there.

Another interesting note is that there's a movie called Gunnin' For That #1 Spot, featuring some of the top prospects from this year's draft when they were high school seniors. It's only showing in Owings Mills but it might be worth watching.

BREAKING NEWS!!!

You heard it here 202nd time: the New Jersey Nets and Milwaukee Bucks have decided to shake things up. It looks like Richard Jefferson to the Bucks for forwards Yi Jianlian and Bobby Simmons, according to NBA front-office sources.

Looks like Yi finally gets to go to that big Asian market. Or, at least closer to it, I guess.

As for RJ... that might be a good fit for him, as long as Mo Williams remembers to pass the ball.

4:25 pm: MORE BREAKING NEWS!!! The Los Angeles Clippers are trading up to #4, and it's all but confirmed that they will take former UCLA guard Russell Westbrook and the Seattle Supersonics will take Brook Lopez.

I think Westbrook, at his very worst, would be a better-shooting Rajon Rondo (my friend Hakeem and I agree). While I like Jerryd Bayless better as a player, I definitely think he has more upside. Especially with Shaun Livingston and his shaky future, I like the move toward a point guard.

Seattle? Wow, they must be enamored with their point guard situation! Earl Watson and Luke Ridnour, go get 'em. I personally do not understand this trade. Let's look at some of their past choices at center: Robert Swift, Mouhamed Sene, Johan Petro. While I'm assuming that Lopez is better than all three of them, scouts have seriously questioned his ceiling, meaning he's as good as they're gonna get. Lopez is not going to lighten Kevin Durant's scoring load, nor will he be able to create easier shots for him like, say, JERRYD BAYLESS WOULD!

By the way, I'm watching Rome is Burning on ESPN. You'd figure that the worldwide leader in sports, who is televising the draft, would actually feature a draft hopeful as a guest. Nope, not ESPN. Aaron Rodgers... good luck, buddy.

I think I'm about to go to Arundel Mills with my family, so the blogging for right now is probably going to be iced until about 6:30. See you then.

4:58 pm: I don't know if I'm reading too much into this, but Jerryd Bayless is on Rome is Burning as a correspondant for the draft. He wore a New York Knicks jersey the entire time.

Don't Mess With the Zohan...

2008-05-09T01:18:00.000-04:00

I promise I'll blog hard about the playoffs some time in the next couple of days, but I had to link to the Don't Mess With Zohan spot with Baron Davis. It's funny on a couple of levels. From a comedic standpoint, it shows that Adam Sandler, contrary to popular belief, can still be funny. I also enjoyed B Diddy's comedic chops, accent and all.

But, on a basketball level, it's hilarious. Just had to be Baron, whose team didn't make the playoffs, in that split screen with Sandler. I started dying at the, "If you want to make the playoffs next year" line.

I don't know. Maybe it's because I'm such a basketball geek that I enjoy such stuff.

Alright, thank you for reading my wasted post. I promise more substantial posts will follow shortly.

The NBA: Where ODing on the Playoffs Happens!

2008-04-22T12:21:00.000-04:00

"Live From the Nosebleeds: where inconsistent posting happens."

That will be my official mantra for this blog from now on. How the heck are ya?

Well, it took me all of about four hours into the NCAA tournament when I realized that, regrettably, I would not be winning any money for the fourth year in a row. Talk about depressing. Both my alternate personality and I were ill-equipped this year to make any sort of noise in either pool. Oh well, as the Baltimore Orioles say every year, "We'll get 'em next year" (and, by the way, I don't claim to be a baseball pundit or anything, but there's no way they finish better than fourth in the AL East this year despite their good start).

With my/our poor showings in the tourney behind us, we focus our attention back to the NBA. Playoff time, baby. Say what you will about the NBA and how it's a league full of pre-madonnas and pampered stars, but I still think that you won't find better basketball than in the playoffs. Sure, I love the intensity and the drama of the NCAA tournament, but in terms of high level intensity and high quality play, the NBA from April to June is where it's at.

Snapshots of the first round series in order of importance and watchability and how I see them ending up:

1. Phoenix(6) vs. San Antonio (3)

I think Michael Wilbon hit the nail right on the head when he said on a recent episode of PTI that they played the best Game One ever. Clutch shot after clutch shot in a game that narrowly missed going into a third OT. All that aside, Phoenix blew a golden opportunity. The feeling for them probably going into the series was that they finally had a roster good enough to beat the Spurs with the addition of Shaquille O'Neal. I mean, they were up 16 in the first half; nine points midway through the 4th; and led in both overtimes until the second to last possession. Hell, they even had a shot at a 3rd overtime: all they had to do was stop Manu Ginobili from going left! Alas, they didn't capitalize on any of those chances and had to settle for a heart-breaking two point loss.

I almost think they're done, that after expending so much energy they can't possibly win this series. When it boils down to it, this game could end up being a microcosm of the series: so close, yet still not good enough to beat the Spurs. I see the Spurs winning in six.

2. Dallas (7) vs. New Orleans (2)

I know, I know: I did say snapshot. But this one may be a photo album because of my affiliation with the Mavs.

Dallas played like crap in the first half of the Game One against the Hornets, but still somehow managed to be up 12. It caught up to them, as Chris Paul came up with a game for the ages: 35, 10 and four steals, impressive for someone playing in his FIRST PLAYOFF GAME!

Honestly, you can't fault Jason Kidd. It almost didn't matter who you had on Paul, he was just determined to go off. Can't blame Dirk Nowitzki, who FINALLY had a good playoff game (for the record, I hate people who question his heart; he is playing on one good foot and at a very high level). What you can do is question why Josh Howard forgot to come out of the locker room in the second half, or why Jerry Stackhouse got more minutes than Jason Terry. Which brings up another point.

As a Maverick fan, Avery Johnson has left me scratching my head, and it seems to coincide with the Kidd deal. First there was the decision to leave him off the court on the final possession against the Lakers in March. Then, he puts Brandon Bass in the doghouse for no reason. This Saturday he basically splits time between Stack and Terry even though Terry is more effective in less minutes (8 rebounds by Stack notwithstanding). I don't know, I still think Johnson is a great coach, but I think he makes some key personnel errors at time. Great motivator. X's and O's? Inconsistent.

All that being said, while the Hornets looked like the hungrier, more experienced team in Game One, I still expect the Mavs to win the series. Dallas is not going to shoot 35% every game. It wasn't as much the Hornets defense as much as it was the Mavs missing open shots. Chris Paul is going to get his, but I think the Mavs will key in on making sure their other guys. Mavs in seven.

3. Washington (5) vs. Cleveland (4)

Now that the Cavs are up 2-0, this series should actually slide down a couple notches, but this series is this high because of everything going on off the court, not on the court. You all know the drama by now: LeBron James has disparaging remarks about DeShawn Stevenson to a mutual friend in Drew Gooden; Stevenson says James is overrated; James uses a clever hip-hop analogy to illustrate their differences in abilities, etc.

But James has been a wildebeast so far in the series, taking all of Washington's pounding and putting video game numbers while doing so. The Wizards probably still have a glimmer of hope, and as I was telling someone last night, the Cavs still have to go to Washington, and it's not out of the question for them to steal a win in Cleveland. But, realistically, Cavs in six.

4. Houston (5) vs. Utah (4)

Remember when the Rockets won 22 in a row? Well, now, more importantly, they've lost two in a row and face being one of the best teams ever not to make it out of round one.

The drama here basically revolves around Tracy McGrady, who is trying to get out of the first round for the first time, a protruding black eye in an otherwise illustrious career. Of course, like the previous six times, this one won't be entirely his fault either. Yao "I can't link you because you're not in the boxscore and I'm too lazy to look for it" Ming isn't on the court, and at press time neither is Rafer "see above" Alston. That and the fact that they had home-court and give up home-court to the NBA's best home-court team do not bode well for these Rockets. On Utah's side, some members of the media have them as the Gnarls Barkley (AKA trendy) pick as the darkhorse West representative in the finals. Can't say I completely agree, but hey, if they can win on the road they're going to be tough. Utah will probably win in five.

5. Philadelphia (7) vs. Detroit (2)

"But wait, Justin! The Sixers just upset Detroit in Game One. Doesn't this make that more watchable than some of the other games?"

Quite frankly, no. The Sixers have been a great story this year, coming up with a great run over the last third of the season. They're a real scrappy bunch, the type of team that can bother a water faucet team like the Pistons. But, looking at how Game One ended, everything was just out of character, and no one sequence describes that like this:

With the Sixers down one, I think, the Pistons foul Reggie Evans down low. Evans, a career 51% shooter from the line, makes both. On the ensuing possession, the Sixers foul Chauncey "Mr. Big Shot" Billups. Billups, a career 89% free throw shooter and second in the league this year, missed both, prompting Doug Collins to say, "You may never see this again." The Sixers get the ball, and with time running down on the shot clock, Evans, a player more known for rebounds and garbage points, hits a fade-away from 18 feet.

Craziness. Stuff like that can't happen again. I'm a good writer, but I can't make this stuff up! The Pistons, pissed that they lost even one game to this team, will probably win the next four games. But, I'll be safe and say Pistons in six.

6. Toronto (6) vs. Orlando (3)

Toronto was a great story last year with their influx of international talent, but honestly this season's been like a bad sequel. They probably do have a better team on paper than Orlando, but Dwight Howard is ridiculous. 25, 22 and five blocks!? I'm not a huge Magic fan, but I do think that his presence makes it hard for the Raptors to win. Magic in five.

7. Denver (8) vs. Los Angeles (1)

Maybe it's because I'd rather have seen the Warriors eke them out for the last playoff spot, but I just don't think they match-up well with the Lakers. I mean, they gave up 128 points in the first game. All that scoring will only get you so far (trust me, ask the Warriors). Lakers in five.

8. Atlanta (8) vs. Boston (1)

Unless Joe Johnson and Mike Bibby get red hot and the Hawks can manufacture hustle points with their raw but athletic front line, the Celtics will make this a short series with plenty of time to rest up for Jay-Z or Soulja Boy. Celts in four.

Don't say I never wrote you nothing.

Davidson vs. Goliath

2008-03-30T11:50:00.000-04:00

I know, I know: the title is cheesy, and I bet if I Googled it this article would probably show up at least four or five times by journalists who were probably like, "Wow, this sounds catchy!"

Alas, the title does say it all. Despite having made a miracle run to the Elite 8 by beating Gonzaga, Georgetown (killed my bracket), and Wisconsin, Davidson beating the Kansas Jayhawks will be their most daunting task, borderlining on the realms of impossibility. That being said, out of every college basketball game this year, I think this one may be the most intriguing to the masses.

Why? Simple: Stephen Curry has "it". He's the ultimate underdog, not having been recruited by any big-time schools and yet carving up defenses with his lethal jumper and cold-bloodedness. On paper there's no way Davidson should be able to compete with the schools they beat, but this kid willed them to victory. College basketball fans love that, the virtual unknown coming into his own on the biggest of stages.

People question his ability to be effective at the next level. As a matter of fact, I completely agree with NBA Draft.net's assertion that Curry is somewhere in between Juan Dixon and Steve Kerr skillwise. But, given his intangibles, I definitely see him being a contributor at the next level. That's later though; all indications are that he'll be back for his junior year.

I just want to enjoy today, where he'll be chased around all day by Mario Chalmers and Russell Robinson. Great defenders they are, I don't think they'll effect Curry as much as experts think they will. This kid has been the focal point of defenses all year, so what's different now?

Does Davidson win? Paper says they have absolutely no chance, with Kansas steamrolling opponents by an impressive 21 point clip. But, ask George Mason about paper.

That's why I'll be watching.

Oh, and I think Texas beats Memphis today. I know I praised them and everything early in the season, but the Longhorns will be the best team they've played all year by far. Too much balance, PLUS they're playing in Houston. It should be a great game, but it will be Derrick Rose's final one as a collegiate athlete (thoughts of Rose and Durant are already running through my head).

Enjoy the games.

Split Personality

2008-03-20T02:06:00.000-04:00

The slump ends this year, one way or another.

I'm in two pools this year, and I'd be lying if I said I didn't want to win one more than the other. One costs significantly more, and I've been contemplating how to play them, especially in the midst of a three year, fundless drought. Most people who do pools would say, "So what?"

I don't consider myself most people.

I consider myself a basketball pundit, someone who has seen more basketball than geezers quadruple my age. I cemented this reputation after winning a grand total of six pools in five years. I know my stuff.

I said a couple posts back that I'm a little less informed than I had been in previous years. While that may be true, I've seen enough basketball to carry me in these two pools.

Why? Because I'm taking my two personalities and dispersing them amongst two pools.

I'd be an idiot to let psycho "Oral Roberts is going to the Sweet Sixteen" do the more expensive tournament, so I'll delegate him to handle the low buy-in pool. Mr. Eagle-Eye Objectivity will do the grown man diddy.

Grown man? Hey, I'm in it for the money, too!

I thought I told you to go to bed.

Well, I've had so much &^%$ caffeine that I can never sleep at night. Dude, you gotta hear some of my theories.

Fine, fine. I guess I'll let you chime in on my predictions.

Our predictions.

Sigh... our predictions.

East Region

Even my hyper, caffeine fiend friend agrees that Carolina will man handle Mount St. Mary's. Despite late season tomfoolery up in Bloomington, I think Indiana is still good enough to beat Arkansas. Don't be fooled by the hype: George Mason isn't good enough to beat Notre Dame.

But wait... don't they have two senior leaders who were there when they got to the Final Four? And, hasn't at least one five seed beaten a 12 seed in 17 of the past 19 years? And, you actually think Harangody can carry a squad of otherwise average Division I players that might not even start at some mid-majors?

Blah, blah. You can go ahead and pick them, but the CAA got one bid for a reason: they're a mid-major conference.

Don't generalize. That's what got you in trouble last year.

Whatever. Notre Dame wins. I picked against Washington State last year...

...actually, I did.

... whatever: you picked against Washington State last year, and while you may be privy to making that same mistake again, I'm not. They're a very strong basketball team, and while they aren't very exciting to watch, they're steady, and I'm confident they'll make it out of round one.

Crazy Bone and I actually agree that Saint Joseph's will beat Oklahoma, mainly because the Sooners are so banged up. That, plus the fact that they beat Xavier twice in ten days and beat 'Nova during the regular season leads us to believe they can advance.

Man, that Boise State/New Mexico State game made quite an impression on me, and there's no doubting that the Broncos have heart. But, within the first five minutes of the game Louisville will rip it out and eat it. Butler got screwed with their seed and their location, having to play a good South Alabama team in what will be like a road game, but I still think their heady guard play wills them on.

I ain't seen the other Alabama play all year, but one thing I do know is that Butler is heavily reliant on the three. You know what they say... live by the three...

...die in the next round, but not against South Alabama. Tennessee does what the Terps couldn't and beat American (kudos on the win last night; I didn't watch).

In round two, we have another game that my alter ego and I heavily disagree on. In my opinion, North Carolina wins a fairly competitive game. Go ahead, buddy.

All year long I've been saying Indiana is a sleeper for the Final Four (maybe not all year because I haven't been blogging like that but I guess out loud). To me, there's no guard in the country better than Eric Gordon when he's focused, and DJ White is a MAN inside. Look, Carolina struggles defensively are well-documented, and I think they can get exploited in this match-up. I know who I'm picking.

Good luck with that. Washington State, simply put, is a better team than Notre Dame, and as much as I like Luke Harangody, Cougars prevail. Louisville is too athletic for Saint Joseph's. Ditto for Tennessee as they roll past Butler, getting partial revenge for a loss in the pre-season NIT last year.

North Carolina...

Indiana...

... will be too much for the Cougars. Louisville/Tennessee will be a fun game to watch. Tennessee I think is more athletic, but Louisville's size inside with Padgett and Derrick Character will end their season.

North Carolina...

...INDIANA!!!

You're grounded. North Carolina beats Louisville. Are you really picking Indiana to go to the Final Four?

Yeah.

You're an idiot.

Midwest

Kansas beats Portland State by at least four touchdowns. The 8-9 is generally tricky in the tourney, but I like UNLV to beat Kent State convincingly. They've still got a few key players from a team that made it to the Sweet Sixteen. Clemson beats Villanova.

Still mad I picked 'Nova to win it two years in a row?

Hell, yes, AND they lost in the first round last year. In all honesty, Clemson is really just the better basketball team. I liked your stat about 5/12, but not in this game.

I never said anything. I just asked a question.

Anywho, Vanderbilt beats Siena and Shan Foster continues to play his way into the lottery. USC/Kansas State. Honestly I'm split on this one, with or without headcase helping me. I'm picking USC because KSU hasn't been impressive lately, and the Trojans have proven they can win big games.

Michael Beasely is nasty. O.J. Mayo is Dajuan Wagner '08.

And basketball is a team game. No disrespect to Billy Walker and crew, but Mayo has a much better supporting cast. Trojans win. As annoying as Wisconsin is to watch, especially around basketball purists, they'll beat Cal-State Fullerton. Davidson/Gonzaga is real interesting, because you could reverse the seeds and no one would notice. I think Gonzaga is the better team on paper, but good guard play can exploit them, and the Wildcats have two of the best in the nation in Stephen Curry and Jason Richards. Davidson marches on. UMBC senior Brian Hodges sounded real confident on the radio about his team's chances against the Hoyas, and, honestly, if the Retrievers can force an up-tempo game, they may have a chance...

...did we just switch personas?

No. Ultimately, the Hoyas will win by double figures.

Kansas beats UNLV in a game that will probably be decided in the last two TV time-outs. Clemson beats Vandy. I'm telling you right now: Clemson is legit. You don't play Carolina to as tough as they do by accident. Here's another one that we agree on: USC beats Wisconsin. For such a young team, they play with an unexpected composure. Sure, they can score, but they can win the other way, too. That's why Wisconsin's pace won't surprise them.

Hope this one doesn't blow up in our face. Might be one of the bigger games in the bracket for both of us.

No, trust me. We've got much bigger ones. Georgetown beats Davidson handily.

Clemson beats Kansas, and I'll give you two reasons: 1) While they didn't beat Carolina, they played them well, and to me Kansas isn't as good. It'll be a very good game, but I think Clemson moves on.

Now you're starting to grow some!

Georgetown beats USC.

Now, wait a minute! How is Georgetown so different in the way they play from Wisconsin?

Simple: the Hoyas have athletes.

I might go the other way on this one.

Do what you want, it's your pool. When I win, we'll split it.

In AC?

I was thinking more along the lines of something nice for Shanta and Cadence.

Oh. Well, that's good, too.

Shut up. Georgetown beats Clemson.

Clemson to the Final Four.

South

Memphis smacks UT-Arlington down. I've only watched Oregon a couple times, and while I'm generally high on the Pac-10, I'm not so much on them. Mississippi St. moves on. Okay, here's your 5/12: Temple beats Michigan State. The Owls are absolutely rolling, and while you generally think of them as a methodical team, but Dionte Christmas and Mark Tyndale can light it up. That little match-up zone is annoying, too. Oral Roberts beats Pittsburgh. Marq...

...what'd you just say?

Just making sure you were actually paying attention. Pittsburgh wins handily (although I will be a sour-puss if Oral Roberts gets this right a year late). Marquette/Kentucky makes me nervous, only because Dominic James is so up and down. I still think the Golden Eagles are more athletic, and Kentucky... well, they got in with a shoddy resume. Give it to the Big East. Stanford and Cornell would be an interesting heads-up aptitude match, but on the court, the Lopez twins are too much. St. Mary's I think might be a couple seeds under expectation going into the tourney (a conference tourney loss will do that), but I think they have better guards than Miami's guard-oriented attack. Go Gaels. Texas makes Austin Peay.

That was funny.

Just ignore the italics. Memphis will run over Mississippi. Pittsburgh will find a way to master that crafty zone (simple: knock down jumpers and attack the gaps) and beat Temple. Here's a big game: Stanford loses to Marquette.

But, why? I mean, you just said James makes you nervous. And, how do they combat the bigs?

Today's game is a guards' game, and while big men are at a premium, their advantage on the perimeter negates Stanford's advantage inside. When in doubt, go with the guards, because ultimately they hold the fate of every game in their hands.

Well-spoken, especially from a 5'9" GUARD!

5'10", thanks. Golden Eagles win, and I can't believe you're suddenly becoming the voice of reason. Texas is too much for St. Mary's.

I can make the argument that Memphis will lose to Pittsburgh, especially since the Panthers will be the best team they've played in awhile. However, the Tigers can match Pittsburgh's toughness, and as much as I like Levance Fields, Derrick Rose will have him on lock. Tigers. Texas can do everything that Marquette can do, but better. Texas.

Tough call between the Longhorns and Tigers. Memphis has been on the brink of taking that next step, and the whole idea behind recruiting Rose was that he was their missing piece. That said, I think this is where the Tigers soft conference could come back to bite them. Yes, I know Memphis has an impressive out of conference resume, but when you delve deep into it, all of those "tough" games, outside of Georgetown and Tennessee, were a little overrated. They split those two aforementioned games. Texas attacks you with very good balance, and D.J. Augustin is definitely the best point guard in the country. I really think the Longhorns, head-to-head ten times, would win seven. Yeah, I'm going with Texas.

You don't sound confident.

This is a tough one, but I gotta go with my gut.

When's the last time your gut was right?

...

West

This is the region where I/we are either going to get broke or get rich. UCLA beats Mississippi Valley State into the ground, as Russell Westbrook throws down one, maybe two highlight reel jams. Texas A&M is inconsistent as hell, and I've got to give the edge in that game to the BYU. I know tons of people who think Drake will fall to Western Kentucky, and it's probably the most popular of the 5/12 upsets. I know one will happen; it's just my job to make sure I pick the right one. Truthfully, they are ripe for an upset, especially given their style of play. But, they're legit. You don't get ranked in the top ten by accident. Drake wins by a dozen or so.

Ripe for an upset. Like fruit.

It's 3:30 in the morning. Why don't you go lay down?

Can't. Too much Mountain Dew.

Another popular one is UConn/San Diego, but I don't buy it. Better bigs, better guards, UConn is just plain better. Here's one I'll actually bite at: Purdue will lose to Baylor. Saw the Boilermakers play a couple of times this season, and they're a little green in close games. Sure, they did well in the Big Ten, but none of those teams are very, how should I put this, creative offensively...

...aside from Indiana!

...right. Baylor has some good guards, and while they get criticized from feeding off the bottom portion of the Big 12 and struggling as of late, I think playing in a more competitive conference will help. Xavier/Georgia is ANOTHER popular one, one that I had down a couple of days ago, but I've changed my mind. Sure, the Bulldogs are media darlings, having won three games in less than 48 hours, but when reality sets back in, this is a team that went 4-12 in conference and had to win four straight games to get above .500. The Musketeers aren't exactly sizzling, but they are a good basketball team, a much better one than Georgia.

But, isn't that why you play the games? Isn't that why March Madness is the most fun time of year?

Well, yeah, but...

...but nothing. Plus, if you don't buy the whole "sentimental favorite" thing, consider this: the Bulldogs aren't Cornell. They play in a highly competitive conference. Who has Xavier played recently?

Come on. The A-10 is a real good conference this year. You honestly could have made the case for five teams getting in.

Georgia.

Xavier advances. And, on the heels of that one comes the most important first round game of the day for us.

Us?

That's right. I agree with you. Arizona will beat West Virginia. Look, I know there was debate about whether the Wildcats should even be here. At 100%, the Wildcats, in my opinion, are one of the best teams in the nation. I've seen almost every guard play in the country, and I'm about to say something borderline crazy: Jerryd Bayless, when healthy, is the best offensively I've seen. Period. He's also got one of the best swingmen in Chase Buddinger, who's like a much more athletic Mike Dunleavy, Jr. Jordan Hill is tough inside, and Nic Wise gives Bayless a running partner. Look, West Virginia's Joe Alexander may be arguably the hottest player in the country right now, but 'Zona has too many weapons for WVU.

Co-sign.

More about them later. Duke kills Belmont.

UCLA beats BYU pretty handily. This may come back to haunt me, but I have Drake beating UConn. That's a tough style to defend on one day's rest. Xavier is just good enough to beat Baylor.

I've got them in the Sweet Sixteen.

You're special. And, here we go... every year I pick a money team in these things. I remember the first time I ever won a pool I picked the Florida Gators to win. Dude, I got laughed at so hard...

Whatever, that was my pick. But, he's right. I made that pick back in '00, people thought I was absolutely nuts. But, I had done my homework. They were deep enough to make it happen. Some teams you just latch onto. Sure, they didn't win it, but when while I was racking up points in the finals, everybody else had zeros.

You know, that's why we're in the predicament we are! You make these god-awful decisions and hope for the best. And, maybe that's why I'm trying to talk myself out of it. But, yes, I have Arizona beating Duke. While the Blue Devils are certainly much better than last year, they are also like a rich man's Butler or Drake, highly reliant on perimeter play. The Wildcats haven't been great defensively, but in this case I do believe they match-up well enough to beat Duke, and they won't need a perfect game to do it.

Go Cats!

UCLA beats Drake, dousing the hopes of a mid-major returning to the Final Four. And, you guessed it: 'Zona beats Xavier. No knock on the Musketeers, but the Cats are battle-tested.

UCLA will beat Arizona.

But, here's an interesting question: how hard is it to beat a team thrice?

Hard. A good point. But, UCLA is better at pretty much every position except one, and that's close to a push.

Final Four

North Carolina would love to have the last five minutes of last year's regional final back against Georgetown, and while no one's invented a time machine yet, UNC will at least get a chance to enact some revenge. Really just a contrast in styles: Georgetown controlled; UNC run and gun. The Hoyas' game won out last year, but I think the Tar Heels, and especially Tyler Hansborough, are better in the half-court this year. Tar Heels advance to Monday.

UCLA and Texas both have a ton of weapons and play with great balance, but in the end I think the Bruins have performed better in closer games (refs help or not). Composure will be the key, and I think UCLA wins out.

And, in the final, UCLA will battle UNC. Two storied programs, battling for 2008 supremacy. Lots of history. I think UCLA's ability to play better in the half-court will win out.

Dude I just got back from the bathroom, what happened?

We're done. I just ran down how we're gonna come back to glory this year.

So now it's we?

Hopefully at least one of us can get this damn thing right.

Maryland Didn't Make It???

2008-03-16T19:41:00.000-04:00

Can you imagine the uproar if they had made it? I mean, pretty much every single analyst at ESPN was up in arms about Virginia Tech not making it, so I can hardly fathom the backlash occurring from the Terps sneaking in.

In terms of the teams that didn't make it, I think Hubert Davis had a great point when he said that Syracuse wasn't even in the discussion, despite having a better overall resume (in my opinion) than Oregon, Kentucky, and their Big East counterpart Villanova. Everybody talks about how Arizona State got a raw deal (I constantly laugh at that Dick Vitale soundbite whenever it comes up), but if you're going to talk about them, at least mention the Orange in that same conversation.

Maybe it's just the fact that they won me a total of $600 in two pools five years ago, but still...

Anyhow, I'm probably going to need more time to think about my bracket. I filled out my five minute impulsive bracket just now, but I think that's cost me money in the past few years. My victories in the past always came from meticulous studying, so I'm attempting to return to my roots.

However, I will let Cadence fill out a bracket. Hold tight for the results...

March Gladness, Sadness, and... You Know the Rest

2008-03-16T00:50:00.000-04:00

Madness, for those of you too slow to catch on. How the heck is everybody? So much for that New Year's resolution I made. Hopefully, with everything going on in the next couple of days, I'll get back into the swing of things.

How long has it been? Last time I wrote, Maryland was hoping for a three or four seed in the NCAA tournament, and the Portland Trailblazers were still hypothetically involved in the Jason Kidd deal. Wow, how times have changed.

Anyway, yeah. How about those conference tourneys? How does Georgia, the worst team in the SEC this season manage to win twice in one day? Hell, how does Arkansas rise above the rest of the bubble pack and make it into the SEC final?

How do Coppin State, UMBC and American University qualify for the dance while Maryland is left to hold down the NIT (much more about this in a minute, trust me)?

All those stories are definitely interesting, and trust me, I've been quite into all the conference tourney happenings, but, in all honesty, I didn't think I was truly into the whole madness of March (especially after the Maryland loss) until I saw the Boise State/New Mexico game about thirty minutes ago.

I tried watching the Georgetown/Pitt game, but found myself fairly unemotional, feeling like I was just passing the time. I guess it was for two reasons: 1) As good as Georgetown and Pittsburgh might be, the Big East to me has become a fairly mundane, work-the-clock kind of league and, superficial as it may sound, I hate that kind of basketball, and 2)What do they really have to play for? Georgetown could have blown Pitt out and still not have risen above a two seed, and while you can make a good argument for the Panthers having played their way into a three seed, who cares? They're going to the tournament anyway.

That's why I wanted to switch to the WAC Championship Final, a league which in recent years has become a one-bid pony. I wanted to see two teams play who would not take tomorrow for granted. And, I say without hesitation that this was the best game I've seen all year.

When I made the switch with about 11 or 12 minutes left in the game and the Broncos (that is, Boise State for those unfamiliar with Jared Zabransky's now famed "Statue of Liberty play) led the Aggies of New Mexico State by 13. The only thing I truly knew about either team was that the Aggies were the #1 seed and regular season champ, and, upon seeing that score, I figured I would just stick around to see the contrast of emotion on the side-lines: jubilation from Boise State; frustration and utter disbelief from New Mexico State. That, and, ugh, I did not want to go back to that damn Big East Final.

However, the Aggies pleasantly surprised me, using a combination of suffocating defense, guard penetration and, the above all, heart to whittle away at Boise State's lead. After blowing such a huge lead, especially as the underdog in the first place, I expected the Broncos to fold under pressure.

But, down the stretch and throughout all three overtimes, they took every punch the Aggies threw and countered with blows of their own. On the road no less!

I do think that the better team lost in this case, but that's the beauty of March Madness. You can talk RPI this and "record in last ten games" that all you want, but once that (hopefully unbiased and non-mafia-backed) referee throws the ball in the air, wipe the slate clean and play ball.

In terms of brackets, I haven't figured out a strategy quite yet. I have to admit that I'm going into the tourney a little less informed than I have been in previous years, but I can cram. After a couple disappointing years in bracketology, I'll be back amongst the contenders in any pool.

One team I won't have to research will be my Terps, unless I decide to run an NIT pool. I've got to be completely honest: as a Terp fan for the past ten years or so (admittedly I did hop on the wagon late but when I hop I hop as anyone knows), I've seen some inconsistent seasons, as well as some big-time choke jobs. For me, this one has to take the cake. How do you lose to teams like American and Ohio at home, only to beat #1 North Carolina on the road? How does a team blow a 20 point lead with 12 minutes and change in a must-win game (I won't even bring up the fact that it was James Gist's senior night)?

The Boston College game was a microcosm of their season-long dual identity problems. They shoot out to a 21-7 lead early, lead by nine in the second half, and then literally hand the Eagles the game on a silver platter with mind-numbing turnovers, most of which led to buckets. That and, oh yeah: the Eagles finished dead last in the ACC during the regular season.

Despite everything I just wrote, and it goes back to what I said early in the season, I think this was one of Gary Williams' best coaching jobs. "But you just said..." Yeah, I know, but seriously, he took a team that lost at home to American, American, and willed them to the bubble. Us Maryland fans want them to go to the tournament every year and get to the Final Four so we can relive the glory days and blah blah, but we have to take the small victories, too. I know a ton of people won't want to hear any of what I'm saying, but after having had time to think about it, it's true.

Don't fire Gary. Period. Get his guys to be more proactive in getting talent on the recruiting trail, but he should be able to coach there as long as he wants.

Good luck in the NIT, guys.

I'm Back, I'm Back...

2008-01-30T22:20:00.000-05:00

I'm cooler than Lupe. Life has been hectic, what with planning a birthday party for my daughter and doing the whole Jimmie Johnson thing (awkward plug: if you need carpet come see me to Lowe's, where you can get a whole mansion of carpet installed for $199). But, just because I haven't been writing doesn't mean I haven't been paying attention.

New Year's resolution: I have got to get on this thing more. Even if only two or three people in the entire world read it, I owe it to them to provide cutting edge basketball analysis. Done laughing yet? Good.

No, but as I mentioned in paragraph one, I certainly have been watching. I saw Maryland pull off, in my mind, the most unlikely win in school history; I've seen the insane Western Conference in the NBA (serious props to Portland and New Orleans); hell, I even saw Kevin Durant at Love (no wonder why he's shooting 40%). But, what brought me out of my slumber were two things: 1) I'm waiting for my girlfriend to get back from the movies while my daughter Cadence is asleep (I'm actually sitting on my daughter's crib/bed/crid typing this) and 2) my two favorite teams were in the news today, one positively and the other, I'm not quite sure about yet.

I said last post that the Terps would have to be near flawless from then on out to make the tournament. Then, of course, they go out and lose a heartbreaker to Virginia Tech where they were winning the entire game. I almost, almost gave up right there. The ACC is tough, but Maryland needed that game. I thought for sure they were done.

But, as Lee Corso says, "Not so fast, sweetheart."

They come out and while they don't wax Wake Forest, they beat them. And then, the granddaddy: they beat UNC. In UNC. I couldn't believe it! I was actually on my lunch break when I found out. I nearly spilled zesty onion ring sauce from Burger King all over my upholstery.

That win showed me something that, while I never published, sort of suspected: on paper, how different is Maryland from North Carolina really? Aside from Ty Lawson, who moves like a real life version Speed Racer, is there anybody from Carolina you'd rather have on Maryland at any position? That's up for debate, I suppose, but I for one wouldn't take any of them.

The difference between them and Maryland is, of course, the fact they're a more cohesive unit overall. Yet, on that day if you would have watched the game with a non-basketball fan and told them that Maryland was number one, they wouldn't have known the difference.

And, while they did lose to Duke on Sunday, you saw signs in that game that this Terps team might actually have something up their sleeves to make a run for a tourney bid. When they play within themselves, run the offense and limit the turnovers, there's no reason why they can't, at the very least, be the ACC's third team.

They looked pretty good tonight against a Virginia team that didn't have a healthy Sean Singletary. Of course, had he been healthy he might have gone for 50. I wouldn't mind seeing a little more intensity from Greivis Vasquez defensively, but hey, when now fully linkable Eric Hayes shoots the ball like he does, stuff like that gets forgotten.

Boston College is going to be interesting this weekend.

Okay, so here it is, the news of the day, the news of the season: Jason Kidd to Dallas might actually happen. Henry Abott of TrueHoop.com writes about Chris Broussard of ESPN leaked the proposed trade.

Some of the players in that link have changed a bit, I think, but the meat and potatoes remain: Dallas gets Kidd, Portland gets Devin Harris, New Jersey gets key but not irreplaceable members of Portland's youth movement.

I've been wrestling back and forth with this one: what do I, as a Dallas fan, think about the trade?

I'd be lying if I said that thoughts of libations spilling onto Dirk Nowitzki's head and Mark Cuban doing a funny dance at center-court don't tickle me, because for sure I think they'd be the favorites in the West (and boy, is it crowded). However, would the one shot at a title be worth it to watch Harris, who has grown into one of my favorite players, blow the f*** up in Portland or some other city two years from now while Kidd sips Mattais on a beach somewhere in Tahiti?

Personally, I definitely think Kidd gives them a better chance to win now (even though Dallas would lose Jerry Stackhouse and probably Devean George, too). But, stubborn as I am, I still think Dallas has a good enough team to win a championship without giving up their future.

There, I said it. Don't pull the trigger, no matter how enticing it is.

College Basketball Fever

2007-12-30T12:30:00.000-05:00

Even though there's a ton of talent in college basketball this year, it's taken a minute for me to really get into it. That probably has to do with being completely subdued for the last few weekends, including when the Memphis Tigers dismantled the Georgetown Hoyas (at least that's what I heard). Oh yeah, and the fact that Maryland absolutely sucks this year. How do you lose to Ohio and American after winning 44 of the last 45 games against non-conference opponents? Hopefully they'll turn it around in conference play, but in order to impress the committee they may have to be nearly flawless at this point.

But, I digress. After watching some ball yesterday, I think I'm getting that college basketball jones back. Texas losing to Wisconsin without their leading scorer; Dayton drilling Pittsburgh like they were a Division II freshman team instead of one of the last remaining unbeaten teams; an exciting Oklahoma/West Virginia game where I got my first look at Blake Griffin (while he doesn't put up the insane stats of the other more ballyhooed freshman, he does pretty much everything well and I think he'll be better at the next level than in college).

Memphis/Arizona was the game I was actually looking forward to, but unfortunately it coincided with the Patriots run at perfection (congrats, now if you can concoct a three game winning streak it'll really mean something). I did some flipping but ultimately the buzz died down once I learned that Jerryd Bayless, another fabulous freshman who I think would have given Derrick Rose fits, wouldn't be playing.

I mention that game specifically because the bulk of most team's non-conference play is over, and now the meat and potatoes of the schedule--conference play--will be underway soon. Fair or not, you always try to draw some conclusions from non-conference play, trying to analyze which teams have separated themselves from the competition. To me, Memphis has separated themselves from pretty much everybody.

I know that North Carolina is number one, but Memphis has played a brutal out of conference schedule and come away unschathed. Sure, they were favored to win all of those games, but being favored to win and winning are two different things (like Maryland was favored to kill American). They now get to play the 16 of 18 games against over-matched Conference USA foes (they still have Gonzaga and Tennessee). To say they'll go undefeated in the regular season is a bit presumptuous, but after watching the Patriots do it while I hated on them every week, honestly name a game that they'll lose. I know that's the beauty of college basketball, but I'll take the opposite approach: I'll believe it when I see it.

The Tigers are just too balanced and too good for anybody in the nation to beat them on paper. Obviously there's Rose, who according to Chad Ford is a hybrid between Deron Williams and Chris Paul but more athletically gifted than both. But, you also have Chris Douglas-Roberts, the most overrated-underrated player in the nation (meaning that he's not underrated but everybody says he is); Joey Dorsey, who looks and plays like a damn football player (just ask Roy Hibbert); and Robert Dozier, another athletic forward who gives teams problems. The one question you would ask about this team is their ability to consistently connect from outside, but, on paper, they have to be the favorites to win it all at this point.

Dallas won yesterday against the Hawks. That is all. No praise until they start playing consistently.

Happy New Year to everybody. You'll be happy to know that one of my resolutions is to write more in the new year. Like, maybe at least once a year.

Oh yeah. I wanted to advertose my MySpace page to people because I currently have no friends. Maybe I really don't... but at least check me out.

Dallas... In My Own Words

2007-12-29T01:02:00.000-05:00

One of my old teachers at Towson (damn that seems years ago, huh?) used to have a requirement for graded blogs. He used to make it a requirement to link at least one article in each post with an encouragement for more than that. As an opinionated writer, I used to really hate it. Sure, I love to react to sports news and such, but I think sometimes links can bog down an article.

Anyway, here's your one link: the Dallas Mavericks, my beloved Dallas Mavericks, looked absolutely listless last night in their 88-81 loss to the Cleveland Cavaliers. I guess I can take some solace in the fact that they looked listless and still had plenty of opportunities to win, but that's not the point.

The Mavericks lost 15 games all of last season. So far this season they've lost 12. In 29 games.

One could make the case that it's good for the NBA, that the league has far more parity than it has had in previous seasons. After all, they're only a game and a half in back of the Spurs right now (who are going through their own issues but I'm not a San Antone guy so...). But, I'm not going to give them a pass.

The defensive intensity is way down compared to last year. I don't have last year's stats right in front of me, but I believe they're giving up about five more points a game, which of course directly effects their scoring margin, which I think is cut in half. I've only watched a couple of their games this year, and in every game I've seen they get beat down the court. In transition defensively they look like one of the slowest teams in the league, which should not be.

Dirk Nowitzki is the main culprit. In every game I've seen him play on television this year I've seen him get abused, and usually he can off-set that with solid offense. And, in all honesty, his numbers are down on that end, too.

Charles Barkley made an interesting point at half-time. He said that the Mavs should make a trade to get Jason Kidd, and that--outside of Nowitzki--they should use any means neccesary to get him. At first, I dismissed it, taking his comment as just Barkley being Barkley. But, then I thought about it. As unconventional as the Mavericks' offense is in functioning well without a true lead guard, Kidd would make things crisper and would give them some diversity in their offense. Yeah, he can't beat some middle schoolers in a three-point contest, but he would create easier opportunities for the Mavs. The question is, who would you give up, and would the Nets take him/them?

Best case scenario would be that the Nets take Jason Terry and maybe an expiring contract, but the Nets are smart. Having just turned 30, Terry I think is in the early decline in his career. The Nets are going to want either Devin Harris or Josh Howard and someone like Brandon Bass. Is that really worth an aging Kidd, who would be extremely valuable in the short term but maybe not as valuable long-term as Howard or especially Harris?

Now that I've had a chance to calm down from last night's debacle, my opinion is keep everybody... for now. I said it a couple posts back: it's too early for that panic button. But, a couple more weeks of teeter-tottering and... hey, interesting closing thought: assuming Howard stayed, do you think he's give up #5?

Random Musings From Tonight

2007-12-06T00:10:00.000-05:00

I meant to get off work earlier, but when you have more issues than Britney Spears coming up every damn shift, you can only do so much. Man, life will be so much easier when I get a real job (snicker).

Even still, I got to see a decent amount of basketball tonight, mainly the Lakers/Nuggets game. Allow me to go beyond the 111-107 score for a couple of impressions.

First off, how about Allen Iverson? I can't believe there are people out there who think he's washed up just because he doesn't look to score 30 + every night. C'mon, people! That's by design for the betterment of the team. Iverson might be one of the only people who can average 24 a game and critics will be like, "Oh, he's lost a step." 51 points on 17-28 shooting should shut up those haters for a minute. More amazing than the 51 points was a crazy stat that one of the announcers (okay, the one who wasn't Jon Barry) said. It's well-documented that Iverson is one of the best conditioned athletes on the planet, that's a no-brainer. What I didn't know was that he was clocked at 4:30 in the mile. 4:30!!! Makes me wonder if he chose the wrong sport.

But, in the 4th quarter, we all saw who the best player on the floor was. After sitting out all but 30 seconds of the 3rd, Kobe Bryant came out and dominated in the final frame, making an array of MJesque shots. Actually, you know what? We as fans and members of the media have to stop comparing him to MJ. Kobe Bryant is Kobe Bryant. I know I'm going to catch flack for this comment but that's okay, that's why Blogger has comment boxes: if I were playing a pick-up basketball game on the playground and I had every single NBA player who's ever played the game in the talent pool... alright I guess I'd still take Jordan first. But, I'm telling you, I'd have to really think about it (I did, it took me about a minute and a half to write that sentence, but mostly because I had to check my grammar).

J.R. Smith is one of the most enigmatic players in the league. He's got ridiculous athleticism, a pretty good jumper and a decent handle, but he's also constantly out of control and makes some God-awful decisions at both ends. I'm about to make a sad comparison. On talent alone, do you know who he reminds me of? Josh Howard. Actually, I'd make the argument that he has a better jumper, better handle and more athleticism than Howard, and as we all know Howard's an all-star in the West. But, aside from lockdown defense, Howard excels at the intangibles, and Smith straight-up Justin Cherot's them (flunks). I said it before the beginning of this season: I think if Smith is ever going to fully blossom, he needs a change in scenery.

I was a little frustrated that the Mavericks/Spurs game wasn't on ESPN tonight, but that was nothing compared to how I felt when I found out that the Mavs lost to a Spurs team without Tim Duncan. That loss puts them at a very human 12-7 this season. What the Hellmuth is going on?

Wait, wait... I promised myself before the start of the season that I wouldn't get hung up on regular season results, even though I assumed I'd have to pump myself down rather than the other way around. So, that being said, it's way too early to hit the panic button with this team. I could delve deep into stats, the rotation (hopefully Avery will go back to starting Jason Terry with more regularity) and defense, but what it really boils down to is that the Mavs are playing down to their competition. Let's see, they've lost to the following teams: Atlanta, Portland, Indiana (who incidentally is better without Jermaine O'neal than with him), Milwaukee, Washington's lucky asses, New Orleans, and San Antonio. With the exception of New Orleans and maybe Milwaukee, all of those teams are pretty mediocre (yes, without Duncan the Spurs fall into that category, too).

This isn't anything to celebrate. You really should win the games you're supposed to win, but sometimes you don't. That's why they play the games, I suppose. Anyway, my point is that Dallas will be fine. They'll finish anywhere from 1-3, and then they'll do their thing once the second season starts. This Maverick fan is not worried.

Now, if they're 12-12 by the next time I write, I'm going to purchase a domain name on GoDaddy called http://www.fireaveryandtradedirk.com/. If the link works in two weeks, you'll know something went terribly wrong.

Speaking of terribly wrong, how about them Terps, who lost on Sunday to VCU? I could go on a mad Maryland rant here, and I really want to (by the way, any feedback from the Hayes' comment, ladies?) but as I said a couple posts back, I'm not expecting Maryland to be world-beaters. Right now honestly VCU is a better team... or at least they have a better back-court. Either way, I don't consider this loss an upset of Appalachian proportion. After all, they did beat Duke in the tournament last year.

I guess what worries me more than the loss is James Gist's lack of improvement from junior to senior year. Okay, I guess that's not really fair; his statistical improvement. The only number he's improved significantly from last year is his turnovers, which are a Telfair-like 3.3 a game. Even if his guards aren't knocking down perimeter shots to take the pressure off of him downlow, I think he's still a good enough player to drop more than 13.4 points per game. Bold statement: out of Terrence Morris, Lonny Baxter, and Chris Wilcox, I think Gist probably has more talent than all of them combined. Somehow Maryland has to get him more involved.

For now, that's about all I have. I'm Justin Cherot, somebody sue me.

Agent Zero MIA, D-Harris to the Rescue and College B-Ball Insight

2007-11-22T00:43:00.000-05:00

So much basketball on today. I feel like my brain is about to explode, and I'm using this blog as a rag.

I'll start with the big news of the day. Gilbert Arenas, arguably the second best basketball blogger in the world, will go under the knife and miss the next three months. Funny thing is, two nights ago I actually sent a comment to my buddy Colin, an avid Wizards' fan, about how despite the slow start things were starting to even out, and that once they got a healthy Arenas back things would really start to click together like laminate flooring. So much for that.

Actually, in all seriousness, I still think the Wizards will be okay. As long as they hover around .500 until Agent Zero snaps back into action, they'll still make the playoffs, and I think with the team that they have and especially being in the Least (despite Stephen A. Smith's cute commercial with Carmelo Anthony I still think the East is the JV league) .500 is a realistic goal. The big thing for them is they cannot lose another one of the big three. Losing Arenas last year hurt, but losing Caron Butler really compounded things. He's not going to drop 39 every night(great win by the way), but him and Antawn Jamison are good enough to split Arenas' scoring production.

Plus, even if they do fade, Arenas' blog will be enough to keep Wizards' fans content.

I told myself before the beginning of the season I wouldn't get too excited about the Dallas Mavericks in the regular season, but... damn. They're off to a 9-2 start, and aside from two inexplicable losses to Atlanta and Portland, they're starting to establish themselves as the team to beat in the West. I know it's early, but come on: almost every NBA pundit out there admits that in one way, shape or form the championship is going to go through Texas, and the Mavs are 3-0 against they're brethren from that region, including a gutsy win tonight against the Rockets. In consecutive nights they have overcome huge deficits to seal wins. The craziest part about it is that Dirk Nowitzki still hasn't found his touch. Of course, he hasn't had to thanks to stellar play from Josh Howard , JasonTerry , and a break-out year thus far for Devin Harris . I know it's too early to talk title with this team, but if they can sustain this effort throughout the season and avoid a match-up with Golden State, that elusive championship could be theirs. And I could die a happy man.

I can already tell this is going to be a special college basketball season. When David Stern first dropped the "at least one year out of high school rule", I thought it was dumb. I mean, how can you make someone go to school who doesn't want to? Shit, make Michelle Wie go to school before turning pro.

But, while I still don't agree with the rule fully, this legislation has definitely benefitted the college game. I've been a basketball fan for a long time; hell, who remembers Bulls vs. Lakers? I'm telling you: I have never seen such a deep class of freshman. It's ridiculous.

Michael Beasley . Derrick Rose. O.J.Mayo. Eric Gordon(whom I think is the best of the bunch). Kevin Love(no disrespect intended yesterday, buddy). Those guys are game changers, guys who would probably have been starters or at least rotation players in the NBA this year. Having these guys in college uniforms, albeit probably for only one year, drastically alters the landscape of college ball.

The Sonics should honestly tank this year, and even if they don't do it intentionally, they probably will have one of the three worst records in the NBA. That means that even if they miss out in the lottery like the Celtics and Grizzlies did last season, they'll end up with one of those guys. Could you imagine Rose or Mayo throwing oops to Kevin Durant for the next ten years, wherever the hell the Sonics end up!? Jesus.

But, enough peddling around with the future. I did get a chance to watch some basketball today. Even though Marquette lost to Duke today, I walked away with a good impression from them. They'll definitely be a team to watch come March, and although they're overshadowed by Georgetown and Louisville in the Big East, it wouldn't surprise me to see them in the Sweet Sixteen.

Much to my dismay, the Duke Blue Devils also left a positive impression. To me they seem more athletic than last year, and having a player like Kyle Singler who creates match-up problems will really help them. If Greg Paulus (too lazy to find a link) reminds people why he was the number one point guard in his class, then they may have a surprise in store for North Carolina (that, and maybe it'll inspire me to link him).

Maryland could be in for a looooooooooong season. Against UCLA and Missouri, they went a combined 1/25 from the three-point line. Oh, and they also turned the ball over close to 50 times (not hyperbole). Maybe all is not lost, however, because despite those two insane stats, the Terps were actually in both of those ball games. Interesting.

And, if you attend the University of Maryland and happen to run into Eric Hayes (whom I will refuse to link until he takes more than 10 shots in a game, I don't care if he's a senior by the time that happens), please inform him that he's the best shooter on a team that has not proven that it can make perimeter shots. Girls, if you see this man at a party, make him take you back to the Courtyards (or wherever the hell these guys are staying now), and hook-up with him. Afterwards, leave a comment on my blog telling me if or if not he has a pair.

Uh-oh, I may get in trouble for that one...

Impressions From The NBA and... Maryland

2007-11-19T21:34:00.000-05:00

Okay, so I missed an NBA preview this year. I'm fallin' off, I know.

Truth be told, between working 40 hour shifts at Jimmie Johnson's and doing my best Michael Vick impression every weekend, I have been a busy Bee Movie. But, in short, here's what I think will happen this year:

*a team from the West will win it

*Dirk Nowitzki will not win the MVP.

*Kevin Durant will give Oklahoma City something exciting to look forward to for years to come.

*T-Mac will hurt himself again (oh, wait, did that already happen?).

*The Boston Celtics will have the biggest turnaround in NBA history.

That's pretty much all you missed from what would have been my NBA Preview (aside from the most astute insight in the industry, contract or no contract).

But, here's some stuff I've been intrigued by this season:

* I mentioned above about the Celts. You know, I really thought KG and co. were gonna pull a Patriots' Act for a second (God I'm slick with the puns, huh?), but, alas, the Magic ended all that nonsense last night. Seriously though, the real Big Three are good enough to bring Boston back to the finals. I hate to say it, but (had I actually published an NBA Preview) I (would have) told you so.

*A lot of people talk about the Houston Rockets' rise to the upper echelon of the West. As a matter of fact, if I'm not mistaken John Hollinger annointed them as the best team in the NBA by the numbers in the pre-season (a ranking system I'm still not sure I, or that matter, anybody gets). Sure, Rick Adelman's presence injects some life into a boring offensive philosophy from the Jeff Van Gundy regime, but creativity doesn't totally make up for the fact that only three players on that entire team can create their own shot (sorry, Steve Francis, at press time you're not one of them). Add to the fact that one of them, the aforementioned McGrady, is constantly in a cast, wheel chair or sauna. Don't get me wrong, I like Houston; I almost have to since my screen name has been Rafer11 since 1998 (due to my ability to handle the virtual rock, take that however you like). However, are they really better than San Antonio, Dallas, Phoenix, or even Utah at this point? Time will tell, but my early answer is no.

*The Chicago Bulls have got to be kicking themselves. Michael Jordan must be rolling over in his grave... wait, he's still alive? Oh yeah, the J-Rich trade... anyway, yeah, the Bulls, and specifically John Paxson, are insane. I don't care what it takes: when you have a chance to get Kobe F. Bryant in his prime--and yes the man has at least four more really good years left--you pull the trigger. Nobody on that team is untouchable to the point where I wouldn't include him to get Kobe, including Luol Deng, who will be a solid borderline star player for years in this league but would never on his luckiest day have the privilege of holding Bryant's jock strap ("Yo, he brought out the jock strap reference, yo, and made me say 'yo' multiple times in a sentence, yo!).

So, instead of easily being the best team bar none in the East, they were stubborn and didn't change anything because they thought they could ride the wave of last season's second round appearance. And where are they now? 2-7.

Despite all that, don't write them off. They always start off slow, but a classic symphonic piece, they gradually progress until you almost didn't even notice the crescendo in measure 500. Shout to the AHS Wind Ensemble.

So, those are some early impressions from the beginning of the NBA. I promise I'll try to update you more than twice a year.

Oh, but I'm not done. Maryland had a game against UCLA tonight.

They lost.

Not that I expected a win. I'm approaching this Maryland season a little bit different from years past. I can't get mad at this team because they're so cute and young. Aside from James Gist, this team is so wet behind the ears. Even Bambale Osby, the only other senior of consequence on this team (sorry James), is rawer than my skin in the winter time (Shanta, my girlfriend, just said my skin is dry, not raw, but you get the point).

It'll be interesting watching these guys grow up throughout the course of a 35 game or so season. No longer do I have to pin unrealistic expectations on a talent-laden Maryland squad. Yes, this team has talent, but it's very young talent. I'll be happy with a 20 win seasons and an appearance in the NCAAs.

And, the funny thing is, despite an awful game in the turnover department, despite getting next to nothing from Gist (aside from an amazing dunk where I don't have footage), despite not making a three-pointer until the last minute... they only lost by 12 against the co-number one team in the nation.

They won't be world-beaters, but they won't suck.

On a side-note... I actually like Kevin Love. I hate to sound overly white here, but he plays the game the way it's supposed to be played. He's more fundamentally sound than 99% of the fours in the NBA.

And yet... listening to Dick Vitale gush about him makes me fall out of Love very easily.

I hope UCLA eventually fades, otherwise we're going to here about how superhuman he is for the next four and a half months. I don't know if I can take it. I'm probably going to get fined by David Stern or Myles Brand for saying this, but I love it how the white media gets so fired up when one of their own is successful on the basketball court. Yes, Kevin Love is a superb college player already, but in the NBA, he'll be another Michael Bradley clone.

Let the criticism pour in.

(Note: Kanye West was my guest editor in the last portion)

NBA Reviews Con't

2007-10-10T00:25:00.000-04:00

I'm going with a new, anti-verbiage format that hopefully won't bore fans to death. I really want to start previewing the NBA, but you know what they say: you can't move forward without taking a step back. Or something cliched like that, I don't know.

Anyway...

Detroit Pistons

How They Fared Vs. My Expectations: Underachieved

Reasoning: Pound for pound I thought they were by far the best team in what had been a weak Eastern Conference, but somehow Lebron James beat their boss starting five by himself. Harsh as it was, this team had to make the Finals just to meet expectations, and they didn't.

Golden State Warriors

How They Fared vs. My Expectations: Overachieved

Reasoning: I'm still sipping some real bittersweet tea, but honestly I have to give them props. I knew they would be good, and they had they not beaten the Mavericks they would have simply met my expectations. Their improbable (understatement of the year) victory over Dallas pushed them over the top.

Houston Rockets

How They Fared vs. My Expectations: Met Expectations/Underachieved

Reasoning: They were on the bubble for me. I knew they would be around a four or five seed before the season started because there was no way they'd be better than the Spurs, Suns, or Mavs. However, with T-Mac and Yao Ming finally healthy, I expected this team to at least make it past the first round. Double that when they had a 3-2 lead against an inexperienced Utah Jazz team. Will T-Mac ever get out of the first round?

Indiana Pacers

How They Fared vs. My Expectations: Underachieved

Reasoning: I'm a realist (except possibly when it comes to my Mavs, and believe me--THAT might change this year) and I never expected the Pacers to be world beaters. However, when you play in the East and you have one of the best fours in the game, I would have expected them to at least make the playoffs. Granted, there were some injury problems, but it's the East.

Los Angeles Clippers

How They Fared vs. My Expectations: Underachieved

Reasoning: It was November, and I looked at the standings one day to see this team at 8-1 and I thought they were about to make me look like the basketball genius I truly am. Then, out of nowhere, their backcourt became old; chemistry problems started to erupt, and then there was this. I feel dumb, and things aren't going to get better anytime soon. One word sums up this team for next year: lottery.

Los Angeles Lakers

How They Fared vs. My Expectations: Met Expectations

Reasoning: I know I said they wouldn't make the playoffs in my preview, and while they did, they were only one game better than I predicted they would be. If I were Kobe Bryant, I would be pissed off, too. They just refuse to give him any semblance of talent. The Lakers making the playoffs last year is a testament to how good Kobe really is.

Memphis Grizzlies

How They Fared vs. My Expectations: Underachieved

Reasoning: Yeah, I thought they could at least play around .500 until Pau Gasol got back. Boy, was I wrong. What a bad team. The funny thing is, they, like the Celtics, tried to tank and get Oden or Durant. That worked out nice, huh? Mike Conley, Jr. will be good, but give it up to the basketball gods for not rewarding quitters.

Miami Heat

How They Fared vs. My Expectations: Underachieved/Met Expectations

Reasoning: Talent wise, they were certainly good enough to get back to the finals. However, as I semi-predicted would happen, they weren't hungry enough to get another one. Had Dwyane Wade been fully healthy, maybe they would have gotten past the Bulls, but now way they were beating the Pistons. They'll be back in the mix this year, though.

Milwaukee Bucks

How They Fared vs. My Expectations: Incomplete

Reasoning: No, this is not a Justin Cherot report card. Honestly, how can I fairly judge this team? See, at least with Memphis, I thought the team could have at least played above water for a bit. I didn't anticipate Michael Redd and Charlie Villanueva missing significant time. Had they not, I truly believe in my heart of hearts that they would have beaten out Orlando. They'll be around the eight spot this year, too.

Minnesota Timberwolves

How They Fared vs. My Expectations: Met Expectations

Reasoning: I knew they wouldn't even sniff the playoffs last year even with Kevin Garnett. Your boy was right. For both the T'Wolves and Garnett's sake, I'm glad he's gone. Now, Garnett can have a chance to compete for a 'chip and Minnesota can re-build, albeit with a D-League roster.

New Jersey Nets

How They Fared vs. My Expectations: Met Expectations

Reasoning: To paraphrase Dennis Green, they were who I thought they were, and Toronto let them off the hook. Good play from their starters, no depth, and although I will give them a bonus point for making it into round two without Nenad Kristic, I wasn't surprised with how they finished the year.

New York Knicks

How They Fared vs. My Expectation: Overachieved

Reasoning: I think Anna Nicole Smith died a few weeks after I posted this. If you're reading this Anna Nicole, no disrespect intended. Seriously though, Isiah Thomas has been taking a beating this year, so I will say that while he didn't merit an extension at the snap of a finger, they did play much better. At least last year they were semi-competitive, which is better than I gave them a chance to be.

New Orleans Hornets

How They Fared vs. My Expectations: Underachieved

Reasoning: Chris Paul hit the sophomore jinx. That and the injury bug damned the Hornets. I think they're better than they showed last year, but numbers don't lie. I expect them to be in the playoff hunt this year near the bottom of the West.

Orlando Magic

How They Fared vs. My Expectations: Met Expectations

Reasoning: I think they were the only team that I was spot-on record-wise with. I wasn't fooled by their hot start, and yet I knew they'd sneak into the playoffs. Chances are they'll be back again, although I don't know about Rashard Lewis in a feature role yet. He's so Topher Grace (am I sick with the Hollywood metaphors or what?).

Philadelphia 76ers

How They Fared vs. My Expectations: Met Expectations

Reasoning: I think it was sad the way Allen Iverson went out, forcing his hand and making the owner say, "We'll do everything to accomodate his wishes." Still, with him, they sucked; without him, they teased at the end of the year, but will still suck in a full 82 game schedule.

Phoenix Suns

How They Fared vs. My Expectations: Met Expectations/Overachieved

Reasoning: Was I or was I not right about a second round exit this year? I know, I know. To be honest, however, I thought they overachieved slightly. I didn't think they'd crack the 60 win total, but I have to admit that Amare Stoudemire looked great. I didn't think he'd have the immediate impact coming off of an injury that he did. Had it not been for Tim Donaghy's "habits"--OK that's unfair, let me re-phrase that: had it not been for some poor officiating decisions on and off the court, Phoenix would have been in the Finals last year.

Portland Trailblazers

How They Fared vs. My Expectations: Overachieved

Reasoning: Look, I know they missed the playoffs by a wide margin, but they impressed me with their heart (I know, I know... I just can't think of a better way to put it). With so many young players in the rotation, they actually managed to win 32 games. I honestly feel like if Greg Oden were healthy this year, they would have had a Maryland over Rutgers chance to make the playoffs (not a huge upset).

Sacramento Kings

How They Fared vs. My Expectations: Met Expectations

Reasoning: Their bench was inconsistent. Mike Bibby was inconsistent. Brad Miller's health was inconsistent. Hell, Ron Artest's temperment was the most consistent thing in Sacramento last year (well, that and Kevin Martin's jumper).

San Antonio Spurs

How They Fared vs. My Expectations: Met Expectations

Reasoning: Unhappy to sit through another boring NBA Finals thanks to the Spurs? Yes. Surprised to see them there when I pegged them as the pre-season favorites despite my allegiance to Dallas? No. God, they're boring... except against the Mavs. I really want to see them tangle in the playoffs this year, Donaghy-less.

Seattle Supersonics

How They Fared vs. My Expectations: Met Expectations/Underachieved

Reasoning: They were horrific defensively again last year, giving up 102 a game. What shocked me a little bit was the fact that they were mediocre on offense. That's why I'm pegging them as an underachieving squad. By the way, anyone want to give me action on Kevin Durant's numbers this year. I'll take the over on 23 points and the under on seven rebounds.

Toronto Raptors

How They Fared vs. My Expectations: Overachieved

Reasoning: Put it this way: I forgot to preview them last year. What an oversight. If I had previewed them, however, I probably would have had them better than people were giving them credit for, but if someone had told me they'd win the Atlantic, I'd tell them, "Yeah, and Appalachian State will beat Michigan in the Big House."

Utah Jazz

How They Fared vs. My Expectations: Overachieved

Reasoning: Although I expected them to make the playoffs, I waited on Denver to catch them in the regular season; Houston to sweep them in the playoffs; and Golden State to run them out of the building in round two. And yet, they made it all the way to the Western Conference Finals. Good for them; however, with the West set up the way it is this year, it's back to hatin'.

Washington Wizards

How They Fared vs. My Expectations: Met Expectations

Reasoning: I bash the Wizards sometimes to get a rise out of a couple of my friends, but seriously, no team should have to endure the injuries they did at the end of the season. Their playoff chances were slim to none without Gilbert Arenas (lovin' Live by the way, wish they'd add some more depth and make the computer a tougher opponent) and Caron Butler. That being said, I didn't have them any higher than a six seed anyway, and while some maintain that the collapse happened after Gilbert got hurt, the downward spiral was beginning anyway. Now, John Hollinger has a prediction about this year's Wiz, but fear not: they'll make a good run in the East this year.

Speaking on Live vs. NBA 2K8 from a couple posts back, here's my unbiased opinion: Live is a better game to play against another human. The dribbling control is absolutely ridiculous, and the player graphics are off the chain. However, NBA 2K8 is a better basketball sim, and the drop-off from actual gameplay really isn't that much, plus the shooting motions are a ton more realistic. If I ever get a 360, I'd get both. I'd play XBox Live with Live, and NBA 2K8 when I'm playing with myself... er, by myself... er, against the computer or when I'm running Association mode.

Hindsight Before I Do My Previews

2007-10-06T02:15:00.000-04:00

I love doing previews, if for no reason other than to have something to laugh at when the season ends. Let's go back over some of last year's gems...

Atlanta Hawks

"Marvelous Marvin [Williams], as I've heard Dickey V call him countless times as a collegiate athlete, apparently made people remember who he was this past summer. He didn't have to, but he played on the Hawks summer league roster and destroyed the competition. Now that Harrington's gone, Williams is in prime position to blossom this year."

Comment: He blossomed, alright... blossomed like (insert a flower that does not blossom well at temperatures below -50 degrees Celsius). Honestly, though, in his defense he was hurt for a portion of the year. He'll be a good sixth man for them this year, now that Atlanta added Al Horford in the draft.

Boston Celtics

"[Ryan] Gomes looked really good during the second half of the year, and even though he's a tweener at 6'7", he's a grinder like Mike McDermott (sorry, too much poker lately). I think his overall upside is limited (compared to the other kids on this roster), but I expect to see a jump in production for him this season."

Comment: Ah, that was back when poker was still fun. Anyway, technically I was right. Boston did tank near the end of the season (and remember it was Gomes who called them out on it), but Gomes was one of the few bright spots on a really bad team. His points jumped from seven to nearly 13, while his rebounding went from five to... well almost six. Okay, kind of a reach there. I think he'll have a good year in Minnesota, but if you thought things were bad in Boston, you ain't seen nothin' yet.

Charlotte Bobcats

"With another year of experience, I look for Raymond Felton to emerge as one of the East's top point guards this year."

Comment: Let me do a preliminary rundown of the best point guards in the East and we'll see how far it takes me to get to Felton:

Gilbert Arenas (I guess he's a point guard)
Jason Kidd
Chauncey Billups
Kirk Hinrich
Andre Miller
T.J. Ford
Mo Williams
Felton
Stephon Marbury
Jameer Nelson

I gave him the benefit of the doubt over Marbury because he's younger. You'll see later on that a draftmate of his made me look really stupid, but honestly, this list isn't neccesarily a knock on Felton. He's still got plenty of upside, and with the Hornets planning on a more uptempo attack this year, 16 and 8 isn't out of the question. One of the best in the East, though? Come on, Justin, put down the pipe; he's got to shoot at least 40% from the field to be up there.

Chicago Bulls

"Player on the Rise: I think we have a tie. The Arlington Heights Daily Herald, a Chicago based publication, reported that [Luol] Deng had beaten out [Andres] Nocioni for the starting small forward slot. It honestly doesn't matter which of them start, because they are both obviously going to play heavy minutes. Deng is a versatile swingman who is just starting to come into his own, and Nocioni showed me a great deal in both the playoffs against Miami and in the FIBA Basketball Championships for Argentina. It's a luxury to have both of these guys on the same team for two reasons: 1) match-up problems and, 2) trade bait."

Comment: Everything in this tidbit is kind of boring except for the last two words: trade bait. Chicago has a very good team, but unfortunately they're not going to take another step forward until they get either more help in the post and/or more consistency/explosiveness on the perimeter. Either one of these two combined with one other player could have gotten them Pau Gasol before the trade deadline last year, or even Kobe Bryant this summer if the team had pushed hard enough. I tend to like Deng better than Nocioni, who struggled through an injury plagued year, but the Bulls need that one great player to push them over the top. Why not trade two good ones to get that?

Cleveland Cavaliers

"I think the Cavs and the Bulls are fighting for three and four in the conference this year. James has tasted the playoffs, and even though there weren't any huge additions to the team in the off-season (too early to tell with Brown), I think the Cavs will be a little better than they were this season. That still won't mean a trip to the finals, but the conference finals aren't out of the question. Detroit and Miami may have something to say about that, but I think they'll be in the mix. Second round knockout, however, seems more likely."

Comment: I gotta be real: the Cavaliers shocked me last year. And, actually, scratch that... LeBron James shocked me. He cruised through the regular season, but really cranked it up in the playoffs, especially against Detroit. They had a weak draw before that, which opened the floodgates to some haters (cough, Hakeem, cough, Colin), but after watching him in Game 5 last year... even I was taken aback.

But, I think what sums up James in a nutshell came a funny moment from the 2007 ESPY Awards which I couldn't find on YouTube. Jimmy Kimmel introduces Lebron, who gets carried in on this gigantic throne. Punchline: "Imagine if they won a game in the finals."

The NBA wants him to do so well, but he can only get the Cavs so far. He needs help, and especially with the Celtics re-loaded, the Pistons pissed off, D-Wade's chip on his surgically repaired shoulder, and Gilbert being Gilbert, there's NO way they get back.

Dallas Mavericks

"That being said, this team won 60 games last year, and I feel like while they didn't do anything drastic, they're definitely better than they were last year. The only obstacle I see is themselves. Anything less than a trip back to the finals would be a disappointment."

Comment: God, I absolutely hate being right. I knew they'd win more than 60, but I knew they'd shoot themselves in the foot, although I didn't know that it'd be against Golden State. I think last year Nelly and that "small ball" shit really got into their heads, and Dirk just was out of his comfort zone the entire series, all adding up to me being right about the last sentence as well.

As big of a Dallas fan as I am, we're going to learn a lot about them this year as a team.

Denver Nuggets

"J.R. Smith is turning heads this pre-season for the Nuggets, both in good and bad ways with Coach George Karl. Talent wise, there's no questioning who the starting shooting guard should be on this team. He was in Byron Scott's doghouse for a reason, but in Karl's system he should flourish."

Comment: Before the fight at Madison Square Garden, Smith was having a pretty solid season, and he was making people remember why he jumped straight from high school in the first place. But, once A.I. came to town, he got lost in the shuffle and found a way into another coach's doghouse. And then came the off-season, where his friend died in a car accident where Smith was behind the wheel.

From a basketball standpoint, I'm just not sure about Smith. I mean, he is only 21 and most would say he has a bright future ahead of him. I just don't think it's in Denver.

I'll hit some more up tomorrow. God, I'm lazy.

2K8 or Live '08?

2007-10-02T15:29:00.000-04:00

So, yeah, I've been gone for quite awhile. Maybe it's because I spent practically the entire summer being bitter about the Dallas Mavericks' monumental collapse against the Golden State Warriors in the first round of last year's otherwise uneventful playoffs.

Then again, compared to the New York Mets (poor Willie Randolph, even though he kept his job) and the San Diego Padres (poor Trevor Hoffman), maybe the Mavericks collapse wasn't that monumental.

With that, I'm past 2006-2007. 2007-2008 is where it's at. And, as training camps opened yesterday, I'm faced with a quandary.

While it's true that I don't have a next generation gaming system at press time, I plan on getting one fairly soon, hopefully by the end of the month. So, the question is... Live '08 or NBA 2k8?

Personally, anybody who knows me knows that I'm a big Live guy, having essentially grown up with the series (I used to give people fits with Penny Hardaway, who gets one more crack at it with Shaquille this season), I am partial to giving Live a chance every single year.

But, with the past couple of seasons basically being mirror images of each other (except for those crappy freestyle moves that I couldn't use on my slow ass computer), I've been seeking solace in the 2K series. In fact, NBA 2K7 was probably one of the best basketball game I've ever played.

Here's the thing: Live promised an overhaul from last year's version, all but admitting that they did a subpar job in '07. I've seen screen shots, I've seen video: DEFINITELY different. Now, I have read some reviews that said 2K8 is still better, but I don't know. I'm A-K vs. pocket 8's right now (for more on poker and my ups and downs, click it.

Actually, I guess the next step is getting the next gen. system, right, Shanta?

NBA previews starting tomorrow. Good to be back.

Final Word on Dallas, Playoff Analysis

2007-05-15T01:04:00.000-04:00

As most of you now know, there will be no internship at SLAM this summer. Who knows if they would have followed through on that bet, but it sure would have been nice if Dirk Nowitzki could have at least made things interesting.

The MVP award, nice of an honor as it may be, is little consolation for what has to be considered a disappointing post-season run, or lack thereof. I've had two weeks to think about it, but thoughts of Baron Davis hitting leaning three-pointers and Stephen Jackson shooting like Reggie Miller keep popping into my head and will no doubt haunt me the entire summer when friends ask me, "So, how 'bout those Mavericks?"

Can you tell I'm still bitter? Good.

I'm convinced, however, that Dallas can still win a championship with virtually the same cast of characters. It'll be interesting to see how they handle the Jerry Stackhouse contract situation, simply because Maurice Ager is in no way, shape, or form ready to step in and take his minutes. The Mavs should think about possibly addressing this in the draft. They're not going to get a world-beater, but with three second round picks they can certainly find a big-two guard who can score and a four man who actually doesn't mind mixing it up inside. They should dump Austin Croshere because not only is he a little expensive at $7 million, but Nowitzki's back-up should be a contrast, not a Walmart knock-off.

I don't think this team should make too many drastic changes, contrary to popular belief. I've heard rumblings on TV and talk radio about Dirk not being a top tier NBA star and how he's not a player that a team should be built around. Let's kill that noise. He had a bad series. From time to time that happens. He's gotten further than T-Mac and KG in less time, and he's just entering his prime in my opinion. Four years from now I bet he'll have at least one ring, if not multiple.

All that said, Steve Nash really should have gotten the MVP.

Perfect segue. The Phoenix Suns evened things up tonight against the San Antonio Spurs in a series that has met every expectation of being the "real NBA Finals" (though Detroit or Cleveland will sure have something to say about that in June). Great game in what has been a very good series.

I'll admit that prior to this series starting I wasn't completely intrigued for two reasons: 1) My team's out so what's my motivation and 2) the Suns and Spurs didn't have that genuine dislike for each other that Dallas has for both of them. The latter has definitely changed.

First, there's Nash's messed up nose in Game 1. Then, Amare Stoudemire accuses Bruce Bowen of being dirtier than old Xtina Aguielera for kicking his achilles. Then Bowen, trying to change his ways, checks Nash's manhood in Game 3. And then, out of nowhere Robert Horry goes all Ty Domi (what a black guy can't know about some hockey?) on Nash, prompting Raja Bell to semi-retaliate and Stoudemire and Boris Diaw to leave the bench and possibly be suspended for Game 5 (dumb rule but the NBA is pretty strict about it).

Drama changes everything!

The pending potential suspensions could change everything, too, but if they don't happen then this series is literally up for grabs. Like a mouse making a value bet on the river, I can't call it. As a fan I guess I'm rooting more the Suns because I think Nash deserves a shot at the finals, that and San Antonio is boring as hell. The decision on those suspensions, however, could swing the pendulum back to the Spurs, who have to be reeling after leading most of the game and losing in the final minutes.

All of the other series are 3-1. I know Detroit is going to eventually beat Chicago (who just hasn't shown up), and I have a pretty good feeling about the Cavs beating the Nets, even though the series has been much closer than the margin indicates. The Golden State/Utah series interests me because, with the exception of Game 3 which the Warriors won, every single game has been close. It wouldn't surprise me at all to see G State win this series even down 3-1, but coming off the high of beating one of the best regular season teams of all-time I figured there'd be a letdown. The only thing I can guarantee about Game 5 of that series is another close game. If the Warriors can steal one on Utah's home court, the Jazz better watch out, because playing in Oakland can be a sickening experience with all those "We Believe" t-shirts. Just ask Dirk.

I can't wait until next April.

Internship Update

2007-05-02T12:19:00.000-04:00

My class last night ended at 9:30, and the second it ended, I sprinted to my car, put the key in the ignition, and quickly switched to ESPN Radio 1300. The game wasn't live on the radio, but with updates every five minutes, I was good to go for my half hour to 45 minute drive. I heard that the Mavericks had jumped out quickly; first by eight, then by 13. I pulled up to into my driveway and they were up 21.

But, as soon as I turned on the TV...

Chaos.

The Warriors didn't chip away at the lead; they made a mockery of it. Seven point deficit at half-time with Stephen Jackson due to shoot a technical at the beginning of the second.

Wow, maybe I'm just bad luck to my own team.

And, of course, while Dallas managed to maintain a slight lead in the 3rd, I felt as comfortable as a recovering cocaine addict in Colombia (my teachers say I have a gift for similies). Sure enough, when Matt Barnes threw down a dunk on Devin Harris to take their first lead of the game with 9:32 left, I thought Dallas was done.

They teased me, like they always do, by taking four and five point leads, but the Warriors just wouldn't lay down. Then, the Mavericks went ice cold, while the Warriors remained white hot from the perimeter. When Baron Davis hit that lunging three despite great defense from DH, I slumped down on my couch. 112-103 with 3:23 left, all the great work they had done during the regular season would go to naught and ESPN would have a field day with the choke job/Cinderella story angle.

And suddenly the MVP shows up.

Where he had been for the past five games I have no idea, but I do know one thing: Dirk Nowitzki put that team on his back and carried them to the promised land. One three, a sick block, another three, and six free throws later, the Mavs survived.

In my seven years of being a Mavericks' fan (and I know I will get criticism for that remark but I direct all inquiries to Thursday, Oct. 12, 2006), that perhaps was the most impressive win I've seen from a Dallas team. I know they got to the finals and I know they've hade epic battles with the Suns and Spurs, but I've never seen them figuratively come back from the dead, ESPECIALLY Dirk. This is the "refuse to lose" attitude that I expected from Game 1, but, especially in this case, better late than never.

In terms of Game 6 (because you know I'm probably not going to write before then), I believe that the Mavs will even the series, and I'm not just saying that as a biased fan (although I would probably say the same thing). I've watched enough basketball (I'm a Terp fan, too) to know that a demoralizing loss (such as the one that Maryland suffered against Duke in 2001) can be psychologically damaging. Yeah, that Terp team did eventually make the Final Four, but if I recall correctly that team went on to lose something like five out of six. My point is that it takes awhile to recover from a loss like that, and the Warriors have less than 48 hours, or realistically less than 96. It took the Terps almost two weeks, and that was a pretty good team.

By the way, no word on whether SLAM has accepted my bet or not. But, that hasn't stopped me from posting on the site.

Thursday night can't come soon enough.

My Bet With Slam

2007-04-30T12:39:00.000-04:00

I've been in serious hibernation for about a month and a half now. Best believe I was watching a ton of ball, and before I get to today's topic, let me just give you a Cliff Note's version of the last month in a half in my eyes: my bracket sucked but at least I picked Florida, who despite the hateration should be recognized as one of the best college basketball teams of all-time; Don Imus was straight-up wrong, and I thought his firing was looooong overdue; I'd rather have Kevin Durant than Greg Oden in June, and good luck to Billy Gillespie at Kentucky.

Now... the topic that has haunted me since last Sunday night.

The second the Golden State Warriors outlasted the Los Angeles Clippers to get that eighth seed, I cringed. People wrote the Warriors regular season success against the Mavericks off because, well, the playoffs are a different ball game and gimic ball doesn't tend to work at the most crucial time of the year. I, however, knew the Mavs were in for a tough one because the match-ups just didn't bode well for them. Too quick at every single position except point guard, and Baron Davis is too strong for Devin Harris. I honestly thought the Mavs would be in for a six game series at a minimum.

What I didn't anticipate was that Stephen Jackson, all 6'8" of him, would bother Dirk Nowitzki the way that he has. Granted, I always thought that Jax was a solid defender, and I know it's not just him, but even when it is just him, 41 can't get anything going. Nowitzki has looked bad all series, but last night for the most part he was horrible. I'm used to him taking and making off balance shots, but it's like he's just throwing up shots PRAYING that they'll go in. It's not fun to watch.

What's sad is that collectively Dallas played fairly well except down the stretch when it counted. They got solid efforts out of Jerry Stackhouse, Josh Howard, and Jason Terry, plus an unexpected strong interior presence in DeSagana Diop. All of that went to waste because of poor play down the stretch, and, well, Dirk.

Definitely have to give those Warrior boys credit, though. Mickael Pietrus and Matt Barnes played big last night, and Jason Richardson was on point as usual. They played with more heart than Dallas, just like they have all series.

However, optimistic fan that I am, I just can't give up on Dallas yet. I've seen 3-1 comebacks before, and if any team can do it, the Mavericks can. At this time last year, every columnist in America was talking about the Suns deficit against the Lakers and how Kobe and Co. had their number. Yes, on the surface there's no real indication that Dallas can come back. The one thing they do have going for them is that Nowitzki is due for a big game any night now, that and they're accustomed to hitting timely winning streaks.

To show my appreciation as a fan, and maybe even get my foot in the door, I've posted a bet with the good folks at SlamOnline.com. My user name is Tripset30 (appropriately enough the same moniker I have on Full Tilt Poker), and as you can see I'm wagering an internship opportunity. Call me crazy, but I really do think that the Mavs are gonna pull this one out. I saw a snippet on NBA All-Access with Ahmad Rashad, and George Karl said to his team, "The hardest game to win is the fourth one." I firmly believe that.

And, for whatever reason, I still believe in the Mavs.

Here It Goes...

2007-03-11T22:32:00.000-04:00

First off, click on the link (obviously) and then watch Jay Bilas' rant on who got snubbed from the tourney. I fully agree with him. It's amazing to me that Syracuse didn't get invited to the tournament with ten Big East wins. I also agree with his point on Drexel. Doesn't matter what conference they're from, how do you NOT reward a team that won 14 road games this year against quality teams for the most part? Kansas State being left out was weird, too.

And that is all.

Actually, I'm just glad Maryland isn't playing in the NIT this year.

Whatever... let's do it. Let's go to the picks as I try to overcome two sub-par years in a row.

St. Louis

Florida will absolutely man handle Jackson State. If you're a Florida fan be disappointed if this game is any closer than 30. Speaking of disappointment, how does Purdue get in and Syracuse not? Actually, how does the Big Ten get almost as many teams as the Big East and ACC when in fact the league (as a whole) is nowhere near as good? Whatever, Arizona beats Purdue pretty handily. I like Butler as a five seed, and as much as people will be saying, "Watch out for ODU" all week, I don't buy them as a legitimate threat. The committee actually left out the best Colonial team in Drexel. Maryland's got their hands full against Davidson, whom I think might have finished 8-8 in a major conference this year, but, especially after the whole Miami fiasco in the ACC tourney, they'll advance, though it'll be an interesting contest. First "upset": I think Winthrop beats Notre Dame. I know that's going to be a popular choice, but I'll explain why: the Fightin' Irish just aren't athletic enough. Their whole game is dictated by how Russell Carter and Colin Falls shoot, and if the threes aren't falling, they suffer as a whole. Oregon is too much for Miami (Ohio). I consider Tech a serious sleeper in this region, and I think they'll run the Rebels out of the building. Wisconsin/Texas A&M sounds nice... until you add the CC to the A&M. Badgers by 15+.

Florida/Arizona could be an interesting second round game. Arizona can match their athleticism and they've got tough match-ups for the Gators on the perimeter. However, the Wildcats have no answer on the interior for Al Horford and Joakim Noah. Gators advance. The Terps (oh it feels so good writing about them after a two year exile) are deeper and I think more talented than Butler. The only thing is Butler's A.J. Graves is a straight-up assassin, and of course the Bulldogs won't be scared, having played a pretty good schedule against some high profile teams. Sigh... I've got Maryland winning. That might come back to haunt me. Oregon beats Winthrop due to far superior play in the back-court. This next one scares me: Georgia Tech over Wisconsin. Let me explain. I like the Badgers. Most years I would pick them to go far due to experience and a somewhat methodical style of play. However, not only do I think Tech is deeper and more athletic, but ultimately, as I talked about in my previous entry, those last couple of at large teams tend to play well in the tournament, like they have a chip on their shoulder.

I think the fairytale ends for Maryland against Florida, as much as it pains me to say that. The Terps have a fighting chance due to their depth and at times scrappy defensive play, but I think across the board the Gators are too talented. Oregon and Georgia Tech, if it came to fruition which monetarily I would welcome with open arms, could be one of the best games in the tourney due to both teams' run and gun style of play. The Ducks look really good right now and I think they win.

Florida goes back to the Final Four.

San Jose

Kansas won't even blink in the first round, and for the first time in three years they'll at least see the second day. Villanova pissed me off last year, and while last year they certainly yielded a better team, I think their conventional line-up this year helps them. I think they'll beat Kentucky. Illinois isn't playing at home, so I think they'll get thrashed by VTech. Holy Cross/Southern Illinois. Even though this is a 5/12 game, these two teams are pretty equal in my eyes. I'm giving it to Holy Cross, for no particular reason other than God's on their side. Duke sucks, and the CAA will have a team in the 2nd round as VCU ends their awful yet overrated season. For what it's worth, I liked Wright State when I watched them play, but against Pitt, Aaron Gray will be too much for them inside. I like Gonzaga, who actually more resembles a mid-major team this year. Nothing about Indiana really scares me. Add those two opinions up and that equals a 10-7 up-ending. Weber State is another team that I like, but I just don't see them beating UCLA.

Kansas/Villanova should be interesting, and given that I've picked 'Nova to win the national title the last two years, I should pick them again. But... man, I just can't do it. Jayhawks in a close one. Virginia Tech should beat Holy Cross. I really don't like Pitt that much, but it's hard to see VCU beating them because they're so guard-oriented. UCLA/Gonzaga, re-match from last year's bittersweet sixteen... at least for Adam Morrison. UCLA is still better and I think they win.

I'm going against the grain here: I'm picking Virginia Tech over Kansas. It's really a gut feeling. On paper there's absolutely no reason this should happen, but that's the beauty of March. I guess my rationale is that the Jayhawks are not a clutch team, and I'm not saying that the Hokies are, but they have more experience. I look for that experience to overcome talent in this case. UCLA knocks out Pitt.

And then, the Pac-10 reigns supreme as the Bruins get back to the Final Four.

East Rutherford

Home of the Nets. I remember going to a game when I was little. MJ hung 43 on those boys. I fell asleep. Interesting, I know.

Anywho, Carolina will run over Eastern Kentucky (will there ever be a year when a one seed falls?). Marquette/MSU is going to be one of the better first round games. Drew Neitzel, Dominic James. Two absolutely clutch point guards. James has the better supporting cast, so I might have to go with Marquette. USC beats Arkansas pretty easily, showing the Pac-10's dominance this year. To me Texas was a little low and I think they'll get by New Mexico State fairly easily. G-Dub beats Vandy. Oh, heres a good one. Washington State/Oral Roberts. Seeding wise, it's a no-brainer. But Oral Roberts is tested. Here it goes... move Oral Roberts into the second round. BC beats Texas Tech. I'm kind of iffy about that game but BC to me is just tougher. Georgetown grinds Belmont to death.

Carolina beats Marquette, simply because they have five guys coming off the bench who could start for them, and that's not even a diss to Marquette. Texas and USC should be good, but Kevin Durant is amazing. Longhorns take it. I must be on something right now... Oral Roberts gets to the Sweet Sixteen. Am I putting too much stock in the Kansas victory? Possibly. But, if they can beat Washington State, I've got to believe that they can beat G-Dub. Georgetown outgrinds BC.

Texas/North Carolina has the potential to be a great game. And why not? It seems like every game Texas plays in is a great game, which means they play pretty well under durress. Want to know a secret? The Tar Heels are a great team, but they do not play well when the pressure is on. If they're involved in a close game, more often than not they lose. Check it out... Tar Heels go home early and empty-handed. Georgetown grinds it out and beats Oral Roberts, finally ending my acid-induced trip.

Longhorns-Hoyas is like a complete contrast of styles. I think I've found my money team. Texas.

San Antonio

Write this down: Ohio State will play one of the closer 1/16 games in the tournament's history against Central Connecticut State (don't worry, they'll still win). I'm just not that high on Xavier, especially when I think that Syracuse, Drexel, and Kansas State had better resumes. BYU moves on. Like Notre Dame, Tennessee is another one of those teams that live and die by the three. Long Beach State is athletic enough to disrupt them. Five seeds constantly lose to 12 seeds. Give it to Long Beach. Virginia smokes Albany. Louisville and Stanford are pretty even, and I think it'd be safe to say the Cardinals will win. College basketball joke. Not funny, I know. Put Louisville into the second round. Texas A&M will win an interesting one against Penn. Nevada/Creighton on paper looks like it will be a close game, but I'm picking Nevada in somewhat of a lopsided affair (even though Nick Fazekas burned me last year). Memphis kills North Texas.

OSU continues their winning ways in round two. Virginia outlasts BYU. I've got the Aggies beating Louisville. Nevada beats a slightly overrated Memphis team. I've been hard on Memphis the past couple seasons, but honestly, they go months without playing a single good team. Nevada, though flawed in their own right for the same reason, is better I think.

Ohio State beats Virginia in what would promise to be a good game with Greg Oden being the single difference. Texas A&M ends the Wolfpack's run.

OSU/A&M is a tough one to call. On paper I think Ohio State is obviously more talented, but over the years in these things, what's one me a fair amount of pools is going with the intangibles. A&M is more experienced. Aggies go to the Final Four.

Final Four

Florida/UCLA, in my mind, should be the final. These two teams have been the most consistent of the top five to eight teams that keep fluctuating at the top. Unfortunately, they have to meet in the semis if they make it that far. UCLA returns almost everybody, but Florida returns everybody, and I really think in this case that's a huge difference, because Jordan Farmar and Ryan Hollins made huge contributions to their run this year. I like Darren Collison in Farmar's place, and maybe they are in fact a better team this year than last year, but the fact of the matter is so is Florida. Gators go to the championship game.

The spread on the Texas/Texas A&M game in my mind has got to be -.000001 in A&M's favor. They've already played in one of the better games of the year. As much as I said you consider intangibles when picking these things, I simply cannot ignore the fact that Durant has gone from the "other guy" in the 2007 Draft to a great freshman to a great player to Player of the Year to one of the best that's ever played the college game. This morning on the radio Kansas coach Bill Self compared his impact on the college game to Larry Bird. How can you not pick Texas to win this game?

Heads-Up

Florida/Texas kind of reminds me of Duke/Michigan back when the Fab Five were trying to dethrone a champion. Texas actually starts four freshmen, but you get the idea. It tells you how far this game has come since then, where Florida is one of the most experienced teams in the country with four juniors and a senior in the starting line-up. That experience will definitely help them, but don't expect Texas, despite their youth, to come into the game gun shy. They certainly won't make it easy.

But, in the end, Florida is too good. They coasted for the most part through the regular season and still got a number one seed. They looked untouchable in the SEC tourney. I think they win it all.

Couple of things I considered when filling out my bracket:

But, finally what I considered when filling this out is that unfortunately I'm going to get games wrong. In fact, I won't be the least bit surprised if Washington State bounces Oral Roberts in the first five minutes. What I've learned over the years in these pools is very rarely do my opponents have perfect brackets (with the exception of Hakeem's 99th percentile bracket last year). The formula for winning these individual game tournaments is that the most creative bracket often wins. Year in and year out, that's been my calling card.

Sign up for my pool.