Celtic Casserole

Fwd: NBA 2010-2011 Preview

2010-11-27T20:51:00.001-08:00

These days I don't have much time to pay attention to anything but my kids, work, and my drinking. So I'm keeping this years NBA preview short, after the incomplete job last year. I'm not sure why I'm sending you this either as it seems that you are probably dead.

Eastern Conference

1. Miami Heat - They are going to cruise through the regular season and kill all the low hanging fruit in the NBA. People think they'll get more tough games because they are a target, but I disagree. Most of the contending teams are older and saving some gas for the playoffs.

2. Orlando Magic - They still have a lot to prove. Howard needs more offense and the Magic need more toughness from somebody besides Dwight. A nice regular season cruise results.

3. Atlanta Hawks - They have a lot to prove too after another disappointing playoff run. Many of their young players now have more seasoning and the roles are well defined except for how much Bibbies minutes will drop off. But playoff disappointment looms again.

4. Chicago Bulls - We know the defense will be even better because of Thibadou as the head coach, and the offense will be somewhat improved with Boozer on board. The big question to me is how much better does Derek Rose get. I think a lot.

5. Boston Celtics - Old, but showed in the playoffs last year that it doesn't matter. The regular season is about staying healthy, and that's it. They would probably like one home series in the playoffs, and then don't care. This team is built to beat the Heat and Lakers.

6. Milwaukee - Fear the Deer indeed. It remains to be seen if Bogut can recover, and that's the key to everything. He still hasn't' regained full motion in his elbow, and since he is clearly their best player it makes sense that they make no noise without him. The Maggette trade is puzzling at best, he's never been a part of anything good.

7. New York - Looks like the Knicks had a big whiff on the Lebron sweeps. Amare is a nice consolation prize and will probably result in a high flying, playoff bound team, that will do nothing when it counts because there are no defenders on this team.

8. Charolette - Larry Brown is out by the All-Star break. He is not going to like coaching this bunch since they seem due for regression after the questionable player moves they made. But it was nice to make the playoffs last year and this year.

Also rans:

New Jersey - Actually has some good players, but not enough.
Philly - What a fucking mess. Igudola has been miscast as a star for years now.
Toronto - There is nothing left here post Bosh. Probably killed NBA ball in Canada.
Cleveland - Speaking of nothing left. Lebron's teammates were not good and we'll see why.
Detroit - Joe Dumars really fucked up this team with the Villanueva and Gordon signings. Bad, bad, bad.
Indiana - I get that Larry Bird likes corn fed white boys, but this is not how to make a team.
Washington - John Wall is going to be on the highlight reel at least once a week, but things with Gilbert will get ugly. Fast.

Playoffs:

Round 1.

Miami over Charolette - Most lopsided sweep since I don't know when.
Orlando over New York - Dwight Howard looks good offensively because Amare and Garngnari can't play defense.
Atlanta over Milwaukee - I think Bogut is not coming back 100% this year. If he does and Jennings continues to improve I would pick MWKE.
Boston over Chicago - And we get to see why Boozer does not make a good power forward. He won't score on Boston's lineup, just like the problems he had with the Lakers.

Rnd 2.

Boston over Miami - I think the crunch time offense for Miami will lead to strife with these guys. Also, Chris Bosh is an overpaid punk. He is not a good defensive force and not a banger at all.

Orlando over Atlanta - Dwight Howard gets to destroy another team with no big men.

Conf. Finals

Boston over Orlando - Howard gets challenged by Boston's size and once again responds poorly. Rondo eats the magic alive yet again, and Pierce abuses Lewis at SF. Basically last years thing with Shaq being extra angry and breaking Howards nose with an elbow at some point.

West.

1. Lakers - It's the best team top to bottom with the only question being how does Bynum hold up.

2. Utah - I think the trade for Big Al was the best possible move for these guys. He can go against Gasol and Bynum on the block where Boozer could not. But can he stay healthy?

3. OKC - Durant is clearly a top five player and showed it in the playoffs and world championships. His teammates are okay, not enough to beat the Lakers.

4. Houston - A team of nice parts, but no real alpha dog hampers their ability to jump to the next level. Ming is pretty much in the Sabonis phase of his career and needs better teammates to be very effective.

5. Dallas - Dirk is very consistent and keeps things solidly in the 50 win area. Is Kidd done this year? Who knows, but their championship window shut a while ago.

6. San Antonio - Low player movements after last years flops, this team is all about arriving at the playoffs as healthy as possible.

7. Portland - Greg Oden, Branden Roy, the brittle PacNW!

8. LA Clippers - predicated on Blake Griffen remaining healthy all year, a big iff.

Also rans -

Denver Nuggets - Should be better, but Carmelo trade demands weigh down whole franchise.
New Orleans - Should be better, but Paul trade demands weight down whole franchsie.
Memphis - Overpaid Gay. Gritty team, but not good enough in this conference, though I could see them in the 8th playoff spot.
Phoenix - I figure Nash has to break, and a team of Small Forwards can't possibly keep winning.
Sacramento - They really have a few nice young pieces, but Cousins won't transform them overnight in his rookie year.
Golden State - New owner, new coach, same old Warriors.
Minnesotat - This is the NBAs worst team. The GM should be fired for trading away Jefferson for nothing and taking in the talented, but underperforming Beasley in exchange. And for not sending the Celtics anteing to win the title, that's the MN GM's job after all.

Playoffs -

Round 1.

Lakers over Clips. Fun intracity rivalry is only fun for Lakers fans.
Utah over Porltand. Jefferson and Williams set to make a run.
Spurs over OKC - tough draw in my imagined world for Durant. Duncan is the kind of post player they have no answer for.
Houston over Dallas - And the Dallas blow up plan begins.

Round 2.

Lakers vs Spurs - A battle royal of epic proportions is one the Lakers are easily equipped to win with a healthy Bynum. He is the key to everything for them.

Utah vs Houston - This is an easy win for Utah with their new low post stud and array of big ment to toss at Houston's undersized lineup.

Conf. finals - Lakers over Utah - Same old same old for the Jazz. Can't beat the Lakers.

Finals - Boston over Lakers. Two things. Apparently Allen was injured in the finals and that's why all his shots were off. And the Celtics just needed some more rebounds to win the ttitle last yea.r ONce Perk went down they were doomed. HOpefully the new O'Neal brothers can insure that at least one seven footer is out there at PF/C and we don't have Baby guarding Bynum. Hopefully. Because though Shaq is slow, he still fucks with Bynums shit because of his size alone. And though he can't play pick and roll, since when are the Lakers a pick and roll team? Triangle and Bryant is what they run. Boston in six games and exacting revenge for last year.

NBA preview 2009-2010 (Playoff teams only)

2009-12-16T15:59:00.001-08:00

Well this is unfinished, but it's getting later and later in the year so eventually these will look just dumb.

Eastern Conference.

1. Boston - I thank the crappy economy and Aingegenious for resinging Rondo at a reasonable cost. $11 mil/year is solid. Bringing on Rasheed Wallace and Marquis Daniels is solid. And to top if off he signed Ken Griffey Jr. after drinking too much nerve tonic. Big moves. Big team. The only question is KGs knee, but God is a Celtics fan, so this won't be a problem. The C's are going to the finals. Unless God isn't a Celtics fan that is.

2. Cleveland - Lebron on five is a good, not great offense. Shaq brings the muscle to mess with Howard, but he's very, very specific for that match up. If Cleveland's road goes through Boston (which it will) they are going to be out. Another year of dissapointment from Lebron, who is pretty fantastic given the poorly constructed teams he's lead to, and close to the NBA finals.

3. Magic - If Vince Carter steps up, I like the offseason moves a lot. Hedo was getting old, even though he lead the team to the finals. That was the best Hedo performance everyone is ever going to get and it's all down hill from here. The Magic have an outstanding young nucleus, and I will be very curious to see what moves Howard has added in the offseason. If it's none, these guys have a conference finals ceiling. IF he has jumpers and semi-reasonable post moves, they could upset the C's.

4. Heat - The Lebron theory applies. Dwayne Wade is exceptionally skilled and can lead a bad team to the playoffs and out of the first round. If Beasley is ready to play (questionable given his offseason of substance abuse treatment) then this could be a pretty good team. Somehow though I see them underachieving like last year.

5. Atlanta - It seemed like this team was only going out after pushing the Championship winning C's to the brink in the first round two years ago. But instead it was a plateau. Josh Smith is proving to be freaky, but he's not getting any better, and frankly he's not good enough to eat up that much playing time and cap space. Joe Johnson is a good shooting guard, a perfect third banana, but here he is hte best option. I see them being frisky, but not much of a threat.

6. Washington - Gilbert Arenas is supposedly back in full, and if that's true they are talented enough to make an ultimately dissapointing playoff run. Good for them.

7. Chicago - This team has a lot of nice, and not necessairily complementary pieces. Tyrus Thomas and Joachim Noah for instance cannot share floor time. But the backcourt is solid with a stellar young PG in Derrick Rose who lets the young team run all day while he plays very good defense and offense himself. He's an exciting young player and a reason the Bulls are back on the rise.

8. Toronto - Chris Bosh, Hedo, and that pesky PG whose name escapes me at the moment. The Euro guy who is kind of good. Phoenix Suns East is perfect for uptempo hoops, but with lesser talents (Bosh instead of Amare; Euro guy instead of Nash; Hedo instead of Grant Hill). They will be entertaining and present a few matchup problems. But a versatile team like the C's can bang the hell out of them and run them out of the gym too, ala what happene dto Phoenix against the Spurs a few years ago.

Western Conference:

1. San Antonio Spurs - The got a little more athletic with Richard Jefferson coming on board and I'm wagering Duncan has one more hall of fame title run in him. He's not retiring, but this might be the last year he is a game changer throughout. Manu is supposed to be healthy and if that's the case, these guys have the coach, the hunger, the pieces, and the experience to hoist another trophy.

2. Lakers - I guess it will take a while for Ron Artest to fit into the mix, but he shouldn't downgrade the Lakers regular season success from last year. I'm not convinced that Artest is what the Lakers need in the playoffs as he's not as athletic as he used to be and I don't believe he can guard quicker threes like Trevor Ariza is capable of doing.

3. Denver - Melo. Melo. Melo. Melo. Melo. Melo. Melo. And Chauncey. Maybe Karl reestablishes a faux-Seattle defense. Nice. I see Western Conference finals as the ceiling.

4. Utah. Jerry Sloan utilizes another hall-of-fame point guard to pick and roll opponets to death. There is a weird subtext to this season with Paul Milsap getting paid and Carlos Boozer probably looking for a new team in a shitty NBA economy. I don't believe those two conditions can co-exist on a succesfful team.

5. Portland - The youngins are starting to get old and that means it's time to tap that potential that makes you exciting before you realize your just a shitty midlevel team. I think Portland will tap this seaosn as Roy has proven to be a capable leader and all around scorer who can alpha-dog other pieces of this team to success. I'm not sure about Greg Oden anymore, but he's apparently learning more about the center post and not acting like a complete and total spaz on defense. Just most of the time.

6. Dallas - It's one last run with a rapidly aging team. I personally think that it's time to blow it up and restart without Nowitzki, but Cuban loves him too much. Does adding Marion to a mix of aging veterans really do much but remake a 2001 Phoenix Suns team? Nah. They'll be okay, but I see an early exit from teh playoffs for these guys.

7. Houston - Scrappy players make for a nice 45 win season and a spirited bouncing from the playoffs. You just do not win in the NBA without at least all-star level talent and without McGrady and Yao they dont' have it. God, just think how it must suck to flush all the money down the drain on their salaries. Moreover, it seems like Yao is destined to be the cheap-Chinese import of Sabonis. Big head. Check. Injury riddled body check. All world passing? Non.

8. OKC - This team has some talented young players, first-and-foremost among them is Kevin Durant. Why can't a young guy at least get his scarppy team into the playoffs to be decimated by a more experienced team? I say it happens this year, though another year in lottery land wouldn't be bad for them.

Playoffs:

East. Round 1.

Boston vs. Toronto - This is a joke. Ray Allen/Paul Pierce make mince-meat out of Hedu and KG/Sheed demolish WAllace. Rondo matches up well in this duel of PGs. Boston in 6.

Cleveland vs. Chicago - This is a good match up for Cleveland. Shaq overpowers Chicago's lithe front line and Lebron can neutralize Derrick Rose defensively. Cleveland in 5.

Magi vs. Washington - Too much Howard, though also too much Vince Carter results in a longer than should be opening round series. Magic in 6.

Heat vs Atlanta - Atlanta is a mystery team to me. They took the C's to the brink in '08, but I don't know anything about them as a team. They have talented players but they remain a total mystery. The Heat have potential with a capital P. Wade's healthy is the first big question adn Beasley's mental health/drug tests will determine how far this team can go. In last years match up each team only won at home. I see ATL winning in 6 games.

East. Round 2.

Boston vs. ATL - a rematch of the '08 heart attack inducer. Boston is calmer and better adjusted. Plus they have size and better perimter defending with Marquis Daniels. Mike Bibby must have lost SOMETHING by now, so how much can he bring. Bosont in 6.

Like Sands through an hour glass

2007-12-30T14:24:00.000-08:00

The Celtics early season run has been quite nice. Only three losses, a good start to their road trip, what's not to love? For me, it's Doc Rivers insistence on continued shitty coaching. What we know about the newest incarnation of the Celtics is that they are built for the postseason. They could get 50 wins in their sleep. And that's how it should be. The Boston Three-Party is all 30+. This means that their MPG shouldn't go much above 35. Right now though Doc is relying on his superstars far too much to win meaningless games in December. For instance, let's look at Paul Pierece's last 6 games:

12/30 vs. L.A.: 37 Minutes
12/29 vs. Utah: 43 Minutes
12/27 vs. Seattle: 43 Minutes
12/26 vs. Sacto: 41 Minutes
12/23 vs. Orlando: 41 Minutes
12/21 vs. Chicago: 27 Minutes

Other than the Chicago game, Doc is maxing out Pierce's minutes. This is unacceptable for a player who is over 30, has logged a boat load of minutes already, and is coming off of an injury plagued season. The Lakers game is probably the ideal amount of minutes for Pierce and his running mates to play.

Let the new Superstar Era Begin

2007-06-04T13:08:00.000-07:00

It goes without saying that the League offices have to be overwhelmingly satisfied with the results of the Eastern Conference Finals. Lebron James, Boobie, and some other guys are representing the Eastern Conference. Better yet, they're doing so with the blessing of the Basketball Moses himself, Bill Russell (he presented the trophy that James holds aloft). Most amazing of all perhaps is that James changed the way he is portrayed and probably the way he will play in a single game. In game 5 Lebron certainly put on a great performance. I'm not among the chorus that would consider it one of the best performances in NBA history. Nonetheless, this performance showed that Lebron is capable of taking over a game and winning it single handledly. Given the sorid state of affairs in the Eastern Conference, it almost guarantees that we can expect to see Lebron in this position for the next 8 years at least. And thus he's starting to realize the massive promise that has been pushed in our faces since he first came into the league.

Can Lebron continue his ascent to the heights of the league by conquering the Spurs in this series? The reaction of Kenny, Charles, and Reggie on Inside the NBA after Lebron and Boobie vanquished the Pistons when asked this question by Ernie was telling. They all laughed and said no way. And this is not an indictment of Lebron at all. It's an indictment of his team, which is poorly constructed. If not for the very compelling emergence of Daniel Gibson, a second round draft pick this year, the Cavaliers would likely be at home right now. The Spurs are simply the better team and it shows in every facet of their game. Their passing, their defensive rotations, and their unselfish play. Lebron is too physical to be stopped by Bruce Bowen alone, but the Spurs will play disciplined team defense against Lebron and the Cavs. They will not take their opponent for granted, like the Pistons did and have frustratingly done for the last four seasons.

What do I predict for this series? I'm compelled to think that San Antonio will sweep the Cavs. I'm reminded of Shaquille O'Neals first appearance in the finals where he met the veteran Hakeem and his well rounded Rockets. These Cavs are less talented than those Magic as O'Neals team was not as entirely dependent on one player as the Cavs are. It's nice to have a fresh face in the finals to be sure, but the Cavs are not ready to threaten the Spurs for basketball dominance. Spurs 4-0.

The Warm and Fuzzy side of the NBA Playoffs

2007-05-31T09:28:00.000-07:00

There has been much to like and dislike from this current NBA playoffs. But watching Cleveland win the other night, I was reminded of one of my favorite things about the NBA playoffs. The emergence of a young player. Cleveland has that young player right now. Daniel Gibson. A second round pick out of Texas who is playing at a very high level right now. Gibson was averaging about 4 points and 10 minutes of burn in the previous two rounds. Larry Hughes goes down (surprise) and Gibson has emerged as the additional outside shooting threat and point guard that Cleveland has been hurting for. His game 4 performance was simply amazing for a rookie. On 7 shots (4/7) he scored 21 points! He was 12/12 from the free thow line as well. And he played a very steady role as the point guard. Kenny Smith noted that Gibson was showing point guard like instincts (the way he spaced the floor on a break where he threw an alley-oop to Lebron) and play (maintaining his dribble while getting bumped). He even changed his game from the third game where he was mostly a spot up shooter. In game four he was aggresive in driving to the hoop, as evidenced by his free throw numbers. As much as I don't really like Cleveland as a cohesive team, I've enjoyed watching Daniel Gibsons play. If Cleveland is able to upset Detroit, he's going to be one of the biggest reasons why. Kenny and Chuck said he's a veteran now with this performance, but that he has the chance to be a star if he does this on the road. I wouldn't go that far, but it's fun to watch.

Stop the Presses! Celtics beat Bobcats!

2006-11-10T01:32:00.000-08:00

I have to say, I am not feeling this Celtic team at all. The only
reason the C's even made it to overtime was Paul Pierce deciding to
take over down the stretch and make 4 straight hoops to build a lead
with 1:30 remaining. That cushion was quickly eclipsed and then the
C's played for overtime, winning on a last second shot.

Also too, for someone as highly touted as Rajon Rondo has been in the
local media, how the hell does he get a DNP-CD last night? Somebody
explain this to me. Unless Rondo did something that warranted a
benching (late for shoot around, grabbed a dancer's ass, etc.). This
just says to me that the C's have a lot of young, decent players.
Great role players, but no legit NBA starters to make you better.

It's going to be a long season.

Other Reviews are in on Hakim Warrick

2006-11-08T12:22:00.000-08:00

From the Sportsguy's latest list-o-rama on the first week of the NBA:

4. Hakim Warrick
Wait, so an excellent college player with big-game experience went a
few spots too low in the NBA draft and turned out to be a good pro?
You're kidding!!! This never happens!!!! I can't believe it!!!!!

I was so high on this guy, and he's starting to show why he's a legit
NBA player. Maybe when he's a free agent Boston can sign him, and
then Gerald Green can carry his bags. If Green is still in the league
by then.

The end of the one finger era

2006-11-04T06:38:00.000-08:00

Remind me again why Danny Ainge took Gerald Green over Hakim Warick, a
blue chipper with championship credentials? Was it because Green had
one finger? WAs it because the Celtics needed somebody who could dunk
in warmups like Kedrick Brown could? I can understand that, but
really, Green played 2 minutes last night. It's his second year. He
should be earning more court time if he's any good. Especially on a
team like the Celtics who don't have much talent beyond Paul Pierce.

2006-2007: Eastern Conference Preview

2006-10-28T05:54:00.000-07:00

Once again the East gained the NBA title. It can't be said that the
East is the top conference from top to bottom, but it has to be said
that the best teams in the East are easily as good as the top teams in
the West. And the East keeps getting great draft picks, so the
conference should continue it's rise back to balancing out the East.

1. Shaq-fu delivered on his promise to bring a title to Miami. But
really it was the continued development of the new-Jordan, Dwayne
Wade, that brought the title to Miami. Wade continued to amaze in the
playoffs. He started hitting threes. He developed a bank shot
seemingly out of nowhere. Only Kirck Hinrich was ablet to contain him
at all as Wade could just will a basket whenever Miami needed. Unlike
the year before, Reilley didn't tweak this roster at all. I like
that. The only troubles are that Shaq probably packed on a few pounds
in the offseason, and Wade recently admitted to being tired after
going through the Finals and playing in the FIBA world championships.
He's bascially had no time off. If he or Shaq are worn down at
playoff time, all bets are off with this top dog status.

2. Detroit Pistons - This is still a team to be reckoned with, but
they lost their heart and soul in Ben Wallace. Hopefully this means
that Rasheed Wallace will take the time to reaquaint himself with the
area below the foul line. He should because he's an unbelievable post
player with so many moves he can't be stopped if he doesn't want to.
They still remain one of the best perimeter teams in the NBA with Rip
and Chauncey holding down the back court as well. I like their
chances of being in the Eastern Conference finals this year.

3. Chicago Bulls - They had a big offseason in getting Tyrus Thomas,
an animal with hops and defensive ability but little offensive game,
and Big Ben. Ben is slipping a bit, but he fits in with the team
oriented hard-nosed brand of basketball that these Bulls play. There
are no outsized egos. Kirck Hinrich is as unselfish as they come at
the point and he can score when needed and proved against the Miami
Heat that he's one of the leagues best perimeter defenders (the only
person to even remotely contain Wade). Now, add to all this that the
Bulls also own the Knicks pick this year, which will likely be a
lottery pick and you can see why the future is bright in Chi-town for
years. I still think they're a little too unseasoned to make a
serious run at the Finals as some have predicted, but that will depend
on how stellar Ben still is and what Thomas can give them.

4. Cleveland Cavaliers - The King James era is now in full effect.
James willed his team to a nice defeat of the Wizards and nearly of
the Pistons, giving them all they could handle. Still this team is
quite a bit flawed as James doens't have a lot of help on the
perimeter. They're still lacking the elusive floor spacing shooter
(The Butler isn't it) and the low post game could use some work. Big
Z clogs the lane and doesn't bring enough post D. Sideshow Bob brings
great energy and proved in the playoffs that he's not affraid to step
up. But really, this is not a team that's ready to compete with the
big dogs. But look for James to have another great season and maybe
even an MVP season if Cleveland wins 50+ games and he can reprise his
incredible 30-6-6 season, or dare I say, improve on it.

5. New Jersey Nets - I think New Jersey had a great offseason. They
got lucky in the draft with Marcus Williams falling to them at 21.
Now they have a respectible back up to Jason Kidd who can likely
handle a Princeton-type offense. Kidd should be able to save
something for the playoffs. Richard Jefferson should be healthier.
And of course, the biggest thing is that this is a contract year for
Vince Carter. Look for him to have monster production and do a lot of
stupid fake motorcycle revving.

6. Indiana Pacers- Okay. This probably shouldn't happen. This team
is a mess. Stephen Jackson is blazing guns at strip joints not long
after taking part in the NBA melee at the Palace. But they brought Al
Harrington back into the fold to play a complimentary role to J.
O'Neal. I like that front court combo a lot. Carlisle remains a
great coach so I see them getting to the playoffs and then not making
much noise there.

7. Washington Wizards - Gilbert Arenas is the craziest player in the
league. He's very talented, but his team will never be great because
he dominates the ball. He single-handedly shuts down the beautiful
Princeton-style offense because he's not talented enough to run it.
And it's a shame because they have the kind of wing players you need
to run it. Antwan Jamison and Caron Butler can both shoot it, score
down low, and move without the ball. They can also handle the rock a
bit too, so there's no excuse for this team to not be running a motion
offense. But hey, Gilbert's got to get his and continue to prove that
everybody underrates him, from the NBA, to team USA. The problem is,
we all know exactly what he is.

8. Milwaukee - Michael Redd proved more than worthy of his contract.
Andrew Bogut showed that he's going to be a commodity in this league
and because he can run the floor, the Bucks should be able to continue
their transformation into an uptempo team. There's a lot to like
about this team. So get some fried cheese, a $1 PBR, and tuck in
Milwaukee. This is the team to follow until the Packers can resurrect
themselves.

_______________________________
Welcome to the Lottery (order not important)

Boston Celtics - Let's see. They brought in a point guard with an ego
and posse bigger than most in the NBA. Oh, he likes guns too. Did I
mention he may be implicated in ordering a shooting? And hey,
remember Tony Allen? He's implicated in a shooting too. What are
the other problems with this team? Well the biggest one is that they
have one legitimate NBA starter (any guesses who that is?). The
problem is that everybody else is either over the hill (Wally World,
Theo Ratliff) or entirely promise with no chance of becoming much
better (West, Jefferson, Green, Rondo, Telfair, Allen, Powe, Dickau).
Danny has built a great team for March Madness, but the problem is
that this is the NBA. Paul will continue to put up MVP type numbers,
work hard, fight off nagging injuries, and the result will still be
the same. Welcome to the lottery. Oh did I mention that the Celtics
raised ticket prices for a non-playoff team and have committed the
ultimate sin of getting a dance squad. Needless to say you won't find
me at any Celtics games anytime soon. Larry Bird is rolling over in
his grave.

Atlanta Hawks - What's that? Marvin Williams totally sucks? You mean
a guy who couldn't get off the bench in college shouldn't have been
the overall number one pick? Oh, he's got a broken hand right now?
Chris Paul is a future halll of famer? Nice job Atlanta. At least
Josh Smith is turning into a Kirelenko of the East. Joe Johnson
worked out okay, but he didn't translate into more wins. This team is
a total mess. Oh, they also drafted too much nerve tonic Griffey (aka
Shelden Willams), and he looks like a total bust. What a total mess.
Well, maybe they can land Ogden in the next draft.

New York Knicks - This should end Isiah Thomas' run as doing anything
in the NBA. He ruined the CBA, he ruined some pretty good Indiana
teams with some horrible coaching, and he help drive the Knicks into
what will be at least another ten years of nothingness. The biggest
NBA market will have no team for ten years. That hurts. Oh yeah,
Thomas shipped multiple lottery picks to the Bulls for Curry, who has
heart problems, and immeadiately rediscovered the buffet line after
getting his big money contract. Great.

Orlando Magic - Grant is the past. Dwight Howard is the current and
future. He is a total monster on the boards and keeps getting more
tricks in his offensive bag of tricks. Jameer Nelson proved to be a
great improvement over Francis. The only thing I question is using a
lottery pick on JJ Redick. They could have picked him up three years
from now for bargain basement prices. Well, unless DAnny Ainge is
still a GM. He would have given Reddick a 10 year max money contract
for being white.

Charlotte Bobcats - I wanted to put them in the playoffs, but it's not
time yet. They are testing my firmly held belief that drafting
college blue chippers and proven Madness commoditites is the way to
go. They've got 4 NCAA champs on the roster and added to that Adam
Morrison. This reminds me of the route the Bulls started taking a few
years ago. If they get a good coach, I think they're going to be in a
very good place soon. Plus, Gerald Wallace averaged 2+ spg and 2+ bpg
last year. That's simply amazing from your two guard. But they're
still too young, and Morrison is going to take a year or two to adjust
to the NBA, much like Dirk did.

Toronto Raptors - The good: Chris Bosh is a great power forward and
is young. He wants to be in Toronto. TJ ford could be Nash-lite.
Brian Collangelo has a proven track record as an NBA GM. The bad:
Well, Ford hasn't really lasted a whole season yet, and after Bosh,
the pickings are little bit thin as far as talent goes. Sam Mitchell
doesn't seem to be a totally stable coach. And that Italian player
they drafted is a ways off. But there's hope on the horizon.

Philadelphia 76ers - They couldn't unload Iverson this offseason.
Their attempt to make one more good run at it with Webber and Iverson
backfired miserably. Their stuck with surly and overpaid players and
aren't going to do anything this year. I think it will be a miracle
if they make the playoffs. I've also got the over/under at 3 bust for
pot this year for C.Webb. But his posse will take the blame. God,
it's great to be in the NBA.

2006-2007: Western Conference Preivew

2006-10-21T16:15:00.000-07:00

The East took the title again for the the second time in three years.
While overall it's not the stronger conference, it does have some of
the stronger teams. That has to do with a few things. One. The Big
Aristotle came home to the East where he belongs. That helps. Two.
D Wade apparently went down to the crossroads and sold his soul to get
every call in the NBA finals. Worked for Robert Johnson and Eric
Clapton, so I guess I'm okay with it. Thirdly, Eastern teams have
been drafting okay because of high slots. But don't get me started on
Danny Ainge. Anyway, on with the Western Conference Preview.

1. San Antonio - My old rule was that as long as Shaq is breathing,
his team is the number one threat for the title. My new rule is that
as long as Timmy, Now! is anchoring the 4 spot, his team is a
legitimate threat for the title every year. His game is so sound and
so unselfish. It's a joy to watch and a reason that everybody who
hates on the NBA should just shut up. Even Larry Bird admitted to
hating bank shots. Tim Duncan lives by the bank shot. That's the
most purist move in the game. Plus he boxes out, hustles on defense,
and rubs guys head. Big. Manu should be healthier, Le Petit Point
gets better every year (though you can knock him around to intimidate
him), and Pop finds a way to work in veterans and Euro picks. Last
year almost worked wiht the Finley experiment (it was close versuses
Dallas) so I think this year shakes out okay.

2. Dallas. I think what dissappointed me most about these guys was
that Jason Terry dissappeared in the finals. He had been bigger than
Dirk. More than made up for an absent Nash. Come finals time though,
he looked a little scared. Dirk raised his game consistently, but the
referees and Cubans coxswain routine wore thin. Dalls choked and
combined with a seriously atrocious officating performance, they lost
the finals after going up 2-0. Almost unthinkable. So why aren't
they number one? Timmy is healthy. Last year his ankle was hurting.
Should be good this year. And Timmy is better than Dirk. That's how
it works.

3. Phoenix. How's your microfracture treating you Amare? Really?
You could Tomhawk on Megatron if needed? Okay. Even with Nash's back
spasms I'll give you the three spot. Thanks. [This prediction is null
and void if Amare cannot raise his game again. I heard Diaw got fat
off his contract this offseason, literally and figuratively. I will
concede that it may take Amare a while to come back so regular season
struggles may be present, but I think good things will happen in the
playoffs if Amare is right by then]

4. L.A. Lakers. The Zen Master worked his magic again and somehow
the surly and undertalented Lakers blew a big lead in their series
against Phoenix. I put that squarely on Kobe. But Phil's coaching
helped get them this far. And though he's only a rookie, I like the
addition of Famar. Odom should be more familiar with the triangle,
and perhaps they can get some Jordan-Pippen style action going with
Lamar initiating much of the triangle. Also too, maybe Kwame is
getting better.

5. Houston Rockets - Welcome to clutch city Bonzi. No player had a
bigger playoffs than Bonzi, as he decided to wake up and earn a new
contract with a few weeks of work. It didn't pay off. Too many teams
have been burned by Bonzi at this point. Sacto let him go and Houston
got him for $2.1 million with a player option for next year. This
means Bonzi has one year to earn himself basically his last big fat
contract. He's going to play, and he's going to play hard all year.
I like that for Houston. They have a potent trio of players, and if
they stay healthy, they should be in the mix for some good things this
year.

6. Utah Jazz - These guys have been fooling me for a while. But I
love the all around game of AK47. Deron Williams started to step up
at the PG position towards the end of last year too. And Deron spent
the offseason working out with John Stockon and learning from him.
That's a great sign about the young fella, he's willing to work and
learn, and learning from maybe the greatest pure point of all time is
a nice opportunity. And Boozer, well, maybe he's ready to start
playing up to that contract that at one point he earned. And finally,
I find it hard to believe that a Jerry Sloan coached team could miss
the playoffs again. I won't accept it.

7. Los Angeles Clippers - This was a very nice offseason for the
Clippers. They brought in Tim Thomas. They didn't ship out Corey
Maggette (yet). They weren't in the lottery for the first time since,
umm, I don't remember. Why am I not putting this team higher then?
They did go to the conference semi-finals after all. I think that stems
from the fact that they have two extremely fragile point guards. Sam
Cassell is a leader par excellence and an outstanding point guard.
Wherever he goes, winning happens. But he's getting up there in years
and it seems unlikely he'll be able to hold together for the whole
year. So I think the playoffs will happen, but the Clips will need to
rest Sam for a significant stretch during the regular season. And who
backs him up? Well that crazy kid that everyone keeps comparing to
Magic Johnson, Shaun Livingston. Let's forget for a minute that this
kid has thrown 12 sick passes in his lifetime to garner this mention.
He has yet to play an NBA season. And he's not even the sole point
guard. He's lithe and that means injury. I seriously doubt his
toughness as well. So without a reliable point, I think the Clips
will struggle during the regular season. Come playoff time, things
may be different.

8. Sacramento - Okay, so their new coach just got a DUI. Will there
be extreme moral outrage over the DUI of a middle-aged white guy?
Just wondering how WEEI will treat that one. Maybe it hits a little
too close to the bone. So here's the thing about this team. The
coach is an unproven commodity, but the talent is here to be a very
good team. Bibby, Honky, Artest, Abdur-Rahim, and most importantly
Vitaly Potapenko. The thing is, the Kings contending days are well in
the rear view mirror. They'll be competitive and give good show, but
they're not causing major damage in the playoffs. Just scaring a team
or two. Especially with Artest on the floor.

----------------------------------------

Sub playoff teams -

NO/Okc Hornets - Chris Paul led this resurgent team. He's a brilliant
young point guard, and worth seeing play. They brought in Peja to
shore up the offensive attack, but Byron Scott likes defense, and I
don't see Peja playing much of that. Plus, when clutch time arrives,
Peja can be found clutching his man-purse. Not much worth saying
after that.

Memphis Grizzlies - I'm not totally sure what the logo was up to this
offseason. He brought in Stoudemire (a bad test away from a
suspension), he brought back Stromile Swift in the process of getting
rid of the franchises blue collar guy, Shane Battier. I like the
drafting of Rudy Gay who is supremely talented, but his attitude and
will to win have to be questioned. These guys always make the first
round and get wiped out. Gasol is the new Garnett in that respect.

Minnesota T'wolves - The Big Ticket wasn't shipped out of town, and
I'm not sure why. He's a great player, but he's got a lackluster
supporting cast. I think Randy Foye was a nice draft pick, but he's
not really going to contribute a whole lot. Mike James is an erratic
point guard. IF you like score first PGs with a propensity for TOs,
well he's your man. There's a reason James hasn't stuck with a team
in this league yet. And he doesn't exactly boost your winning like
Sammy Cassell does. So it's another season of frustration for Garnett
and another season of speculating when he'll get traded and when
McHale will finally be shown the door on his horrible GM career.

Portland - I'm not sure what's going on here. They've drafted some
character guys, but have Randolph and Darius Miles locked up, so what
does it matter? The team is a wreck, and some of their draft picks
aren't panning out. This is going to get ugly before it gets any
better.

Seattle - Hey, do you want a 7' prospect? How about the last few
Seattle drafts: Johan Petro, Robert Swift, Mouhamed Sene. I think I
could do a better job. And now one of the more rabid sports markets
in the country is going to lose the team to an OKC conglomurate
because the Starbucks owner is a big pussy, expecting the citizens of
Seattle to pay for his desired new stadium. Wisely, they passed up
the chance to give millions to a billionaire.

Golden State - New coach. New players. Old players. Whatever.
They're going to suck. They always suck. Can Nellie re-instate
RunTMC? Is it too late?

Denver Nuggets - I really like George Karl. I really like Carmello
Anthony. But something seems foul in the Rockies. Karl is already
wearing out his welcome and some of the players on this team just
don't seem to gel all that well. I think they might be the 8th
playoff team if Melo has a great season, but I'm not expecting a lot
out of this bunch because the whole team just doesn't strike me as
that great. Boykins, Andre Miller, Mr. Glass, Nene ($60 million,
enjoy that Denver), a fat Veshon Lenard. Whatever, not really buying
it.

Danny Ainge loves him some white boys

2006-10-13T21:15:00.000-07:00

Welcome to the club Luke. Grab some pine down there by Veal, Raef,
and Wally World. How long before Danny trades Rondo and Tony Allen
for Swift and Nick Collison? Not long I'd say.

Doc Rivers one of Big Ben's Favorite Coaches

2006-10-09T11:29:00.000-07:00

Well, we know the players certainly love Doc, but here's the quote
from an ESPN.com piece:

Wallace mentioned Jim Lynam, Doc Rivers, Rick Carlisle and Larry Brown
as the favorite coaches he has played for, going on to say Skiles
reminds him of Brown because he does not play favorites and sees
himself as a teacher at both ends of the floor.

The gist of the piece is that Ben Wallace does not like Flip Saunders
one bit. Hard to see how a coach could piss off a guy whose entire
game is based on hustle and heart, but he did it. I've always viewed
Flip as a decent coach (and the Pistons hot start last year certainly
boosted that opinion) and his many playoff failures in Minnesota as
being a product of not having enough talent beside KG (Kevin McHale's
fault naturally), but to hear Big Ben complain about Flip certainly
changes my opinion a little bit. Hard to say what went wrong between
these guys and maybe more will come out as camps and preaseason
begins, but how does Joe Dumars go with Flip given what Wallace has
said and the fact that he left the team? Maybe Flip and Joe save a
little face because Wallace left for more money in Chicago, but I
suspect that Flip has to be on the hot seat from the moment the first
ball is tipped.

Who wants Baklava

2006-09-01T06:53:00.000-07:00

Great, now we're losing to totally gay European guys who do ring around the rosey after the game. Charles Barkley is rolling over in his grave.

Danny Ainge, World's Greatest G.M.

2006-07-26T11:48:00.000-07:00

The Running of Da Bulls: Offseason Edition

2006-07-07T08:17:00.000-07:00

The Bullls are clearly the biggest movers and shakers of this early
offseason. They grabbed arguably the best player in the NBA draft
(using the Knicks pick no less, thank you Isiah) in Tyrus Thomas and
then secured another young athletic swingman in Thabo Sefolosha in a
trade with Philadelphia. Supposedly this draft went exactly as John
Paxson wanted it to, which is always a good indication. However,
Thomas was a freshman, and not necessairily the leader of the breakout
LSU team he was on, that was Big Baby. So Thomas isn't quite like
Carmelo Anthony was, a sure shot can't miss draft pick.

Then came the somewhat shocking move of Ben Wallace coming over to the
Bulls from Detroit as a free agent. Wallace was kind of the archetype
of what those Detroit teams were about. All grit, hard work, and
defense. I guess the money was the big thing, and Wallace seemed to
have some issues with Flip last summer. I'm sure the Pistons felt
that $15 million a year is a little too much for a banger who is
turning 32 this offseason. Basically this move equates to trading
away a young and injury prone defensively minded center for an older
and dependable defensive minded center. And this is what is a little
confusing about the move. Chandler is a huge shot blocker and
rebounder when he's on the floor (granted, not as much as he should
be) due to his length and athleticism. Chandler had no offensive game
to speak of, but neither does Ben Wallace. What the Bulls have lacked
is a low post scoring threat akin to Curry. As horrible as Curry was
defensively, he knew how to handle himself in the half court on the
offensive end. Curry was adept at rolling to the hoop and his great
hands combined with his ability to finish strong and with other
offensive moves made him a great pick and roll partner for Heinrich to
work off of. Perhaps Thomas can fill this roll, but Ben Wallace
certainly cannot.

The next rumored move (rumored only because it cannot become official
until after July 12th) is a trade of Chandler for P.J. Brown and J.R.
Smith. Brown I can understand because he brings another veteran
presence to a team of young players, and is somebody who can help
mentor Tyrus Thomas. Additionally, his salary comes off the books at
the end of the year. J.R. Smith is more puzzling because he does not
seem to be a mentally strong player. If he couldn't handle playing
for Byron Scott, it's very unlikely he'll see the light of day under
Scott Skiles. So perhaps they'll move him in another trade.

And that is the latest rumor. Supposedly the Bulls are working to
acquire Chris Wilcox from Seattle. Wilcox is a restricted free agent,
so the Bulls can tender him an offer but Seattle can then match it and
keep him. From all appearances Seattle wants to keep Wilcox, but is
balking at his asking price of 6 years and $60 million dollars. And
the Sonics are right to balk at that. I think Wilcox is a very good
player who can still get better (I was very high on him coming out of
Maryland a few years ago, and had hoped that the Bulls or Celts would
get him back then), but that kind of money would be too much for a
player has shown decent play for only one year. I'm not totally
conviced they need Wilcox though. With Nocionni, Thomas, Brown,
Wallace, and at least Allen (perhaps Songalia and Harrington as well)
the frontcourt is awfully crowded to start with. I'm not totally
sure how Wilcox would fit into that mix. He's a great rebounder and
has decent offensive talent, but if the Bullls are committed to
playing the young Thomas, then Wilcox would seem to be uneeded.

The Bulls offseason has certainly kicked off in an exciting fashion.
I'm not totally convinced this is going to yield big dividends in the
in column though. The Bulls lead the league in field goal % allowed
last year, and it netted them a 41-41 record. They certainly gave
Miami their biggest test in the eastern conference playoffs, but what
was glaringly missing from their game at times was offense. None of
the offseason moves so far seem to address that particular weakness.
The Bulls will certainly be one of the better, if not the best,
defensive teams in the league again. And Wallace should be enough of
an imporvement in the middle to lead the Bulls to around 50 wins. But
what after that? I think a lot of teams feel that the NBA title is up
for grabs, so some aggresive moves are all that may be required to get
a title here and now. And seeing Miami win a title this year with the
likes of Antoine Walker et al. certainly gives credence to that line
of thinking. But without a Dwayne Wade or a Shaq, that road is
awfully tough. And the way the game is called now, you need guys who
can really press the defense at the offensive end. That's not
exactly the way the Bulls are built right now. At the very least
though, the Bulls have to be considered legitimate threats to
challenge for a title.

Celtics Draft Scenarios: 2006

2006-06-26T12:03:00.000-07:00

So what were the 2005-2006 Boston Celtics? A weird collection of
talent that came and went on the trade conveyer belt. Some of the
young players started to live up to their promise (Perk and West come
to mind) and some didn't (Big Al). Ricky Davis was sent packing along
with Blount (yipee!) which brought us Wally World. Wally proved
likeable, but not much else in my opinion. The trade was all about
getting rid of Blount and making frontline room for Perk and Big Al.
Room that Ryan Gomes clawed his way into, which was great. Pierce
delivered a stellar all around performance, again leading the team in
almost every statistical category. The Celtics then sport a lineup
with one superstar, a fading high quality player, and lots of up and
comers? What will the Celtics do on draft night? Nobody knows. But
I'm going to think about the players that I wouldn't mind seeing the
Celtics draft, assuming there is no trade in the works for Jermaine
O'Neal or Kevin Garnett (or the preposterous Iverson rumor). Last
year I did this and the player I really wanted the Celtics to get,
Hakim Warick, was available. The C's took a pass and got old 4 finger
Green. The Logo took Warick. This year there aren't as many obvious
prospects to me and the draft order seems highly to change. But this
is who I would love to see fall to the Celtics at #7:

1. Marcus Williams - This guy is the best pure point guard available.
And while Connecticutt proved to be a bunch of too-cool-for-school
slackers in the tournament, Williams was busy raising his game. They
wouldn't have made it to the elite eight without Williams all around
game of penetration, scoring, and dishing. This guy could easily hold
down the position for years. Rondo is the other player I hear bandied
about, but he's a scorer that people would try to make into a PG. And
that always works. Williams I think is the best player in this draft,
and could very well fall to the C's at #7.

2. Kyle Lowry - Again, another point guard. He may be a bit of a
reach at #7 because he's a little smaller and doesn't score all that
great, but he is a very good playmaker. He's less attractive because
when paired with Delonte it would make for a very small backcourt.
But still, I think the C's need a point guard as Delonte isn't it,
Dickau most definitely isn't it, and Orien? Well, you get the
picture.

3. Tyrus Thomas - He's going higer than this, but what kills me about
this is that Hakim Warick was this guy last year, but with more
polish. A freak athlete with long arms, he could become a Shawn
Marion type player, and we could all use a guy like that.

4. Pittsnogle - Don't laugh. He's a center with deep shooting range
who is not afraid to get on the boards. Some of his biggest plays
have come in the clutch during the tourney, something that has to be
respected. With Raef getting older we could use another center to
pair with Perk. Snoggle woudl give the C's a different look as he's
more offensive than defense minded. Plus he has some totally boss
tatoos. I will not accept it if Ainge has Snoggle Available in either
late first round or the second round and doesn't pull the trigger.

5. Adam Morrison - Sure he cried when UCLA turned the tables on them
in the tourney before the game was over. Sure he's got Diabetes and
wears an insulin pump. But he has a nice offensive game. He can move
without the ball and get his shot do to his size and craftiness. He's
no Larry bird, but he does rock a sweet mustache. But I severly doubt
he'll fall to the Celtics at #7. Larry Bird is eyeing Morrison, and I
think this is a good sign.

6. Ruddy Gay - There's definitely a chance he'll be here. Gay would
be a future pick becuase right now the backcourt is too crowded for
him to contribute. The biggest problem though is that he looks
disinterested on the court a lot during college. Connecticutt should
have won the tourney this year, and Gay should have been their king.
But he settled for jumpers and slacked on defense. The upside on Gay
is huge, but the downside is a sulker who doesn't work. Would the C's
be the right environment to get more out of him? Maybe so with the
scrappers they have on this team currently. And of course, if Wally
gets injured (we won't even consider Pierce getting hurt. It just
doesn't happen) Gay could step up in the second scorer mold and
provide decent minutes at the 3, where the Celtics have nobody.

7. David Noel - a second round pick on him would be great. He was
the team leader of a UNC team that greatly over achieved last year
considering the number of rooks they had on board. He would look
great at the three spot as a solid defender and a player to fill lanes
and get hustle points off the offensive glass. He could be a real
asset and a player whom I think shows signs of getting better as he
goes along. I'm thinking of him as a Josh Howard type player. He may
surprise the right team that gets him.

8. Mike Gansey - Another WVU Mountaineer who is tough as nails and a
great shooter. He more than anyone reminds me of DAnny Ainge. And I
think he's better than Danny Ainge ever was, without being as much of
a pest. He could easily play the two or the three. Another player he
is reminicent of is Jeff Hornaceck, and maybe a slightly bigger
Michael Redd. The kidd can stroke it and shows no fear when the game
is on the line. I think that's a pretty good quality. Plus he's
white, which would make Danny happy.

That's just a minor shopping list. There aren't a lot of stand out
players in this draft, but I felt that way about last years draft a
little bit too. Hopefully Danny will do right. He has a decent track
record with the draft. It's the other half of the GM position that
could use some polish.

Keep Michael out of the front office

2006-06-20T13:56:00.000-07:00

So if we know anything about MJ, it's that he doesn't necessairly have
the best eye, or the patience for talent development. He drafted
Kwame Brown. He traded Richard Hamilton. He got fired from the
Washington Wizards, thank you very much.

Now that His Airness is once again part and parcel of an NBA team,
joining up with the Charlotte Bobcats, we have to wonder what his
influence on the draft and the management of the team will be. The
rumor is that he's all about Brandon Roy. I think Roy is a good
player too. But the MJ endorsement is sometimes the kiss of death.

For instance, he has tabbed such notables as Darius Miles and Quentin
Richardson for his Jordan Brand (Nike) apparel line. I'm just not
sure I would trust MJ with important decisions like these, that's all.

Avery Johnson's Cherry

2006-06-18T21:49:00.001-07:00

Here's the things that puzzled me a little about Avery's calls down the stretch:

1. Hack-a-Shaq used once. Shaq 1-2 (with a lane violation, so actually 1-3). Then dissappeared after and let Wade hit shots.

2. No defense thought up for the Wade iso at the top of the key. I realize Wade is a good player, but you've got to force him to give up the ball. The play where he went behind the back and Payton hit the three was awfully casual, and I think the Heat were fortunate. More of that should have been done. I would much rather have Walker or Payton with the ball in their hands than Wade. But that's just me. Maybe bring Haslem's man up. Leave the center in the pivot and just hack if either Shaq or Haslem get it. Neither are good foul shooters.

3. The last play was a little too conservative. But I can blame Terry too. Should have given the ball back to Howard, and I'm sure that was talked about in the huddle.

4. The timeout.

Now what did Dallas need to do better?

1. Nowitzki missed the second free throw. Second time in the finals he's missed cluctch.

2. Umm. Keep finding Howard on screens. The iso on terry was good for a while, and bought a dunk for Dampier at the end that could have won the game.

3. Pay the referees more than Miami does. Wade got to the line a little bit too much. Every ticky-tack on Wade was called. Not many ticky's were c alled on the other end.

What was good?

1. Avery's last play to get Dampier a dunk was sweet.

2. Wade was totally sweet, despite getting a very favorable deal from the refs. It was so beneficial it was amazing when the Refs didn't blow a whistle in his benefit.

3. Payton hitting clutch shots? This is unreal. A big three in regulation. A big lay-in in OT (high, high off the glass).

4. Diggler's HUGE shot in OT over Shaq after Terry and Howard look scared. I'd say he's looking for freedom.

5. The refs not letting the Miami shot clock operators get away with any funny business this game.

6. Wade hitting his free throws, even if undeserved.

What was sour?

1. Howard blowing two free throws in OT. Ouch. Hadn't missed all game. Kid's not quite ready.

2. Refs. Not sure what the FT tally is, but I think it's at least 2-1. Granted there were a few hack-a-Shaq's, but those were a minor component.

3. Players trying to twist Dirk's ankles on FT attempts. It's subtle. But it's still dirty. Posey in particular is a champion of this. Bruce Bowen may have pioneered the move (and is a major reason why he has drawn the ire of several premier swing players in the league).

4. Showing Shaqs wife. She's not even that hot anymore. It's south beach ABC. If you must point the cameras at the crowd, more bimbo action.

5. Wade bailed out with 1.9 left, after putting on a sweet dribbling show.

6. DAllas for not clobbering wade if they're going to get a foul called.

7. Avery Johnson signalling like an idiot to call a timeout and then getting angry when Howard did. This is strictly Avery's fault. He was arguing for two timeouts after he called it. I don't think so. I can't emphasize how dumb this was by Avery. He was jumping around like a chicken with his head cut off asking for a timeout and not knowing he had one timeout, not two.

8. And in closing, Mark Cuban wearing a Suckhouse jersey. Nice job kid billionare.

The artist formerly known as Shaq

2006-06-12T08:22:00.000-07:00

This is the look Shaq saw most of the night. Two seven footers preventing him from even thinking about offense, and chumps like Antoine Walker standing out beyond the three point arc waiting to brick a three, or turn it over on a drive. This lead to Shaqs lowest output in the finals of his career of only 5 points. The new story of this is going to be, "yeesh, when did Shaq get old on us?". He put up some solid performances before this, including the throw back 26-16 in the Detroit series. He also protected the paint a lot better in the Eastern playoffs. But now he's got to deal with more height and more quickness and the creakiness is showing badly. He can't do anything about Dirk when he drives to the tin, and Mavericks have multiple players who can all finish around the basket better than most players the Heat faced in the East. In addition, O'Neal is shooting free throws worse than at any time in his career. And when he was frustrated by the Dallas defense last night, it was sad to watch him forcing up shots with no hope of going in.

The standard comeback rules apply here. After a blowout the humiliated team usually comes back strong. But this Dallas team is more talented, and troubling for Miami, has the confidence and the know-how to get the job done. Miami needs to win the next three games at home to have any hope in this series, and I just don't see that happening. Especially with Udonis Haslem getting injured.

So with this series we will bid Shaq adieu. He'll play for a few more years to be sure. And the Heat will go deep into the playoffs with Wade carrying much of the load. But the days of Diesel dominance are definitely over.

Cleveland's chutzpah

2006-05-15T18:39:00.000-07:00

I am impressed that Cleveland was able to hang in there with the Pistons tonight. Rasheed made the full out ass whooping guarantee and it kind of blew up in his face. A nice victory, but LBJ needs to hit some free throws. He also missed a lot of shots. This was more about decent team defense on Cleveland's part and bad offense on the Pistons part.

The First Round?

2006-05-05T21:02:00.000-07:00

Humping over a first round victory is just not cool. LeBron has so much to learn about winning.

The Least, with one Beast: The Eastern Conference Playoffs 2006

2006-04-21T08:24:00.000-07:00

I thought the East was going to improve substantially this year. I pegged Milwaukee as a better than .500 team because it seemed that with TJ Ford back, Bogut and Magloire added to the front line, and Bobby Simmons brought in as a jack of all trades to replace the Master of the dunk, Dr. Desmond, they had the makings of a good team. Plus I thought for a little while Artest was going to fly straight and help make Indy into the contender everyone keeps predicting before the season. And I thought Larry Brown might make something positive happen in New York. Wrong, wrong, wrong. That's neither here nor there, and at least I predicted that every Central Division team would be in the playoffs. I just didn't see them being this bad.

Round 1:

Detroit vs. Milwaukee - Good experience for Milwaukee, but really a waste of Detroits time. The only way any of these games are even close is if Detroit plays flat and not full out. I think Ben Wallace was making sure that didn't happen when he sat out of a game a few weeks ago. Detroit 4-0.

Cleveland vs. Washington - I think the Wiz made due nicely considering they lost Larry Hughes. They replaced him well with Caron Butler. Arenas and Jamison continue to score but a strong post presence is missing from this team, both defensively and offensively. And for my money Arenas is just too selfish with the ball to get his team very far. On the flip side, Lebron is coming into his own rapidly. And the addition of Flip Murray has been a good one. He's not afraid to take tough shots, and he's hitting them. Something that wasn't happening before. But Cleveland lacks a perimeter defender who can handle arenas, and that's a problem. And granted, Cleveland has no playoff experience, but then Washington barely has any. I think Cleveland takes this in a sloppy and not entertaining series (I expect to see lots of iso and missed shots, not 100+point games). Cavs, 4-1.

New Jersey vs. Indianna - The Nets have quitely become one of the better teams in the East. And it's all because of Jason Kidd. Sure, Vince has decided to play for pay again, but it's because he's in the mix with a great playmaker and totally unselfish superstar who takes the heat and doesn't get a ton of the limelight or credit. Now Vince gets to pose and preen after acrobatic dunks that are superbly set up by Kidd. Jefferson is back strong after his injury too. And Kristic is proving to be a passable center, with Collins providing adequate relief. Indiana has been a mess all year. Artest. Then O'Neal's injury. And the foreign guard they signed Jaskuaoulkj;lkj, hasn't exactly panned out. Peja has played well since coming over, but we all know how he responds in the playoffs. I don't feel like Indy has the confidence to get it done, and New Jersey is just playing so well right now. Nets, 4-0.

Miami vs. Chicago - Chi-town limped into the playoffs with a sub .500 record and Philly sinking like a lead balloon. The loss of Eddy Curry proved to be very large for this team. Granted, he wasn't the main man, but he provided interior scoring that is completely absent now. And they also lost Antonio Davis. Sure he was aging, but he set a solid example on the court and played hard nosed basketball that Skiles loves. Now the Bulls have Chandler and Luke Schenshur (rookie out of wake) for a front line. The Diesel is going to pick his teeth with these two. And Wade is just going to be too much. This series could be a good tune up for Miami and boost their confidence for the showdown with New Jersey. Heat 4-0.

Round 2 -

Cleveland vs. Detroit - You know what Cleveland can't do? They cannot beat Detroit. The Pistons are a team, the Cavs are a sembelance of a team. The Pistons rotate and switch on defense better than any other team and force you into sets and shots you don't want to take. The Cavs have had difficulty running offense against teams that aren't that talented defensively. This is where Lebron learns a hard lesson about winning in the NBA. Pistons 4-0.

New Jersey vs. Miami - This has all the makings of a great series. We know Shaq can absolutely kill Jersey inside. The question is, will Miami get him the ball, and will he tire of taking all the shots? It's hard to say if Jefferson or Vince can stay with Wade. Vince is definitely not known for defense, but RJ has some skill and maybe his size could bother wade a little bit. But what I like about New Jersey is their break. Shaq is slow, and some of the other guys on the team like Antoine, Jason Williams, and James Posey don't transition well. This is where New Jersey is going to have to get their scores. But unlike those other Jersey teams that made the finals, this team can do somethings in the half court. Vince and Jefferson can create, and they won't have Martin clanging shots off the back of the iron anymore. And Kidd always seems to find a way to score when it counts. That said, Shaq and Wade are the two best players in this series. Riles is the best coach. I like Miami's chances here. Heat 4-2.

Conference Finals -

Miami vs. Detroit - This is what we've been expecting since last year. The Heat were minutes away from beating Detroit at home in game 7, but Wade's bruised ribs and Shaqs injuries were just too much. Shaq is leaner this year which bodes well for him staying healthy for this series. And Wade is healthy too, but he's so gung-ho when he plays, he's a risk to get injured on a constant basis. While many people have criticized Reilly for breaking up last years team, I think people overlook that an important core is still intact. Wade, Shaq, and Haslem form a nice nucleus. And Jason Williams is an upgrade over Damon Jones at the point, plus Jones routine was getting old fast. I'm not sure Antoine has worked out well for them, and everytime I see them, he can't even hit a three pointer when he's wide open. He must be shooting around 20% from three. But that core is still there. The big question is Alonzo Mourning. When Shaq was out, he was a beast. Blocking around 5 shots a game, ripping rebounds, and all that. If they get that Mourning, I think Miami can prevail. But that's a big if. This Detroit team plays freerer on the offensive end, and I think that's made them better. Not many defending conference champs come out and improve their W-L record substantially. Larry was suffocating these guys a little bit, and distracting them too. With that gone, Detroit seems focused on the prize. Detroit 4-3 (in what should be a great series. Close games, tight finishes).

Playoffs 2006: Western Conference

2006-04-20T17:01:00.000-07:00

The West has shown once again that it is the superior conference. I thought the East took a step up last year and was poised to do so again this year, but it was not so. Look at how many sub .500 teams are in the Eastern conference playoffs vs. in the West. That said, the best team is probably in the East, and the West may be up for grabs in a big way.

Round 1:

San Antonio vs. Sacto - Sacramento is back in and the addition of Artest has proven to be very big for them. I would have automatically put the Spurs over these guys easy, but Tim Duncan has been hurt all year. He's proven himself a warrior though. Lesser men would have taken a month or two off to heal, but Timmy just put his head down and balled tough. And while his offense was a bit off, his defense has been tight and he's just finding ways to win even when hurt, the mark of a truly great player. His team has home advantage throughout. In the end nobody matches up very good with Timmy and I think Bruce Bowen can quickly throw Artest off his game. And I'm not sure Artest is quick enough to neurtalize Ginobli. All signs point to a Spurs Victory here. I'm thinking 4-1 Spurs. And who knows maybe

Dallas vs. Memphis - An injustice that the Mavs are a four seed here. Pau Gasol has been stepping up this year in a big way, and the Logo did good by brining in seasoned vets like Eddy Jones, Bobby Jackson, and yes Damon Stoudemire. Mike Miller coming off the bench has been a nice addition too. On the Dallas side, Dirk is once again Dirk. And his running mates have gotten better. Josh Howard has raised his game, Diop is playing good minutes at center, and Terry is more than making up for the dissapearance of Van Exel's big shots down the stretch. I think in the end it's going to come down to the coaching. And I just don't trust the Czar. Dallas 4-2.

Clippers vs. Denver - It's a friggin' miracle. The Clips are back in the playoffs. So how come Dunleavy isn't getting any praise? Well because mostly it can be attributed to Sam Cassell. He's a winner everywhere he goes. Granted, he eventually is too tough to put up with, but the guy can ball and he hits back breaker shots. Elton Brand is a load on the block and Mobley provides ample offense in a hurry. Magette is a good slasher, but has been hobbled by injury. For Denver Melo is playing the best ball of his young career. He's lethal in crunch time now too. Right now, he's the absolute best at dagger shots (granted the record is short). Ruben Patterson brings good wing defense and Denver will need it considering that Maggette is such a good slasher. Kenyon Martin should be able to handle Brand pretty well. His offense is atrocious, but his D is still pretty firece. And of course, Mr. Glass is ready to put up a few 20 rebound 6 block efforts at Center. He should score a bit too seeing as he's facing the human spazz, Kaman. In the end, I think this is going to come down to two things. Coaching (advantage Denver) and playoff experience. Mobley and Cassell have it, but the young Clips have never been. I'm not sure they're ready for primetime yet. Denver 4-1.

Phoenix vs. La Lakers - The Lakers are becoming a hot pick to upset Phoenix in the first round. Kobe is unstoppable, clearly, and he's got the better coach, but Phoenix has a floor coach. And the horses to run all day on LA. If this were the old days of best of five I would give LA a chance. But best of seven is a long series for an undermanned and less talented squad. Phoenix, 4-1 (Well, unless Odom decides to play his heart out. Not a given).

Round 2.

San Antonio vs. Dallas - This could be the Western Conference finals. The best thing for Dallas is that Timmy is hurt leaving Dirk to run hog wild. Dallas has more players at every position and finally has some guys playing some defense too (credit to Avery for changing the mindset of this team). But this is the Spurs right? And even hurt, Timmy finds a way to get it done. Ginobli brings another level in the playoffs. And Pops is a great coach. Plus I see Robert Horry is still rocking a Spurs uniform. He's done nothing all year, meaning he's ready to tear opponents hearts out now. Plus, I don't think anybody on Dallas can contain Tony Parker. Spurs 4-2.

Denver vs. Phoenix - This is tougher for me to call. I think Phoenix lacks depth, but they have two bona fide All stars in Marion and Nash. And Diaw has emerged as a good foil to most big men. In the end they look like very similar teams. Except, I can't shake the feeling that without Amare, the playoffs are going to be a lot tougher for the Suns. Karl is going to have a scheme ready to contain Nash, and Patterson will be able to check Marion a little bit. I'm surprised I'm saying this, but I like Denver here. 4-3 in a hard fought series.

Round 3, conference finals - San Antonio vs. Denver. This isn't even close. San Antonio in a walk, 4-1. Denver needs more personel before they're ready to unseat the champs.

Why Most NBA Coaches are Wimps

2006-03-08T07:53:00.000-08:00

Last night I took in most of the Celtics game versus the Washington Wizards. It was a pretty well played game with a lot to like from both sides. For the Celtics Ryan Gomes put up a monster first half and a game overall and continues to impress as a second round rookie. Wally World abused Washington's small lineup by continually posting up and scoring over Antonio Daniels, and Big Al looked great going against Jamison on the low block (until he began wincing after a dunk that is). For the Wizards they had to be pleased to see their new big three of Arenas, Jamison, and Butler clicking very well and to see Antonio Daniels attacking the rim. The game went to overtime where the two superstars Arenas and Pierce took over.

With under a minute remaining the Celtics drew up a nice play that had Oriene Green taking the inbounds pass while both Wally and Pierce came off screens from down on the block for what would be open jump shots. Pierce got wide open had a great look at a three which he shot perfectly. The Celtics now lead by one.

Washington attempts to inbound the ball at half-court and is clearly only going to Areanas. They can't get it in within five seconds and are forced to use their last timeout. Notable on the play is that Pierce jumped out and overplayed Arenas, denying him the ball, but the subsequent rotations left Jamison open by the hoop for what would be an open score. But clearly the play was only to go to Arenas. No other option on the play. Washington then puts the ball into Arenas' hands and he dribbles his way to a short jumper that he cashes to give the Wizards a one point lead with 14 seconds remaining. The Wizards fans go crazy and things seem good for their chances to win. Just play solid defense and they'll escape with another close win over the Celtics.

Doc Rivers decides during the timeout to just give the ball to his superstar, much like Washington did on their previous possesion. Pierce gets the ball at the top of the three point arc, holds it and then prepares to dribble his way to a last second shot. Washington wisely doubles Pierce and forces him to dribble furiously to get off his shot. Pierce finds a sliver of daylight and as he's fading back and listing to his left, he releases an incredibly difficult shot just before time expires. It hits nothing but net. The Cetlics win. Pierce begins the typical chest pounding and at Tony Allen's insistance pops his Jersey. Nevermind that these are two of the lesser teams in the Eastern Conference and that the Celtics aren't even in playoff contention. Everyone on the Boston side of things is happy. Rivers is out on the court beaming at his superstar and pumping his fist. Just like Doc planned it, right? (See the play here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uUF5lIxtflg&search=pippen)

Not exactly. I don't think Doc imagined the shot Pierce took would be that difficult, but he should have. And Eddie Jordan probably should have envisioned that the Celtics would do everything they could to deny Arenas the ball on their last possesion. And this drives me crazy. Coaches tense up and draw in the reins in the closing seconds of close games. I think this gives them an automatic excuse if their team loses the game. For example, if Pierces shot misses Doc can say they got the ball into their best player and hoped that he could create by either drawing a double team or hitting a tough shot and what more can you ask for? The coach is blameless. On the play where Pierce took an open shot off a screen there's a lot that can go wrong. First your giving the ball to a rookie point guard. Second, what if Pierce doesn't get a proper screen? What if the passer gives Pierce a bad pass? That's a risky play in the NBA coaches world. He could take the fall for the loss if something goes wrong with the play. The same thing for Eddie Jordan. Had he drawn up other options besides Arenas in their last possession perhaps Jamison would have been spoted underneath for the much easier wide open shot. Eddie Jordan runs a fairly nice variant of the Princeton offense and to see his team reduced to standing and watching Arenas pound the ball at the end of games is shame. The same for the Celtics. Pierce is almost a perfect jump shooter when open. And after coming off a screen, the defender is at a disadvantage. He's running at Pierce and is susceptible to a quick up fake. Pierce can then either take the open shot, fake his man and drive towards the hoop for a closer shot, or fake drive and kick to another open defender after the defense overcompensates. Instead after a timeout you give the defense the advantage by just giving Pierce the ball. They can send their double, set things up and know how they're going to rotate. Only a tremendous play is going to beat them. And guys like Pierce can deliver those plays. Just not all the time.

Watch almost any NBA play and you'll see the same thing. Isolation play for the superstar at the end of the game. Only Detroit and San Antonio come to mind as teams that don't follow this strategy. And it's a shame. Excellent players are almost unstoppable when open. If only the coaches weren't afraid to take a little heat, the average NBA fan would be treated to exciting ends to games on a regular basis. Instead we're left with the false drama of isolation plays that don't often work.

Paul Pierce's Outstanding Season

2006-02-08T11:19:00.000-08:00

It's been a while since I've posted anything here and a lot of that has to do with the fact that the Celtics really stink this year (the Bulls too). The NBA has been interesting overall for sure, but the local malaise is tough.

But I was thinking a lot about Paul Pierce lately because he's been having monster games, and mostly in losing efforts. The consensus at home and at large is that Pierce is having his best season as a pro, and I don't disagree. Which makes it all the more frustrating to see the Celtics lose inspite of those efforts. As an example, I went to the Phoenix game last week and naturally the Celtics were getting dusted handily by the Suns at the half. Pierce exploded for 20 points in the third quarter and single handedly got the C's back into the game. And it was just that. His enthusiasm and emotion were infectious on the court. The things you don't see on TV that you can see at a game make a difference. On one play when Delonte crashed to the hoop and drew a foul, Pierce was loving it and trying to psyche up the crowd. In the huddle during timeouts he was vocal and talking to the young guys (though Scalabrine was all over the white board. I guess that's where his basketball IQ comes through. Thanks Danny.). I was thoroughly impressed. And I was one who was advocating for trading Pierce this offseason to truly get the team going young. But now I'm glad they didn't trade him.

And this all got me to thinking about my favorite Celtics players. The legends were all a little before my time. They were great, but I only watched the tale end of the dynasty. Only saw Bird gritting through back injuries and producing minor heroics and still lighting up the Garden. My real first favorite player with the C's was with Reggie. Reggie's cool manner on the court and his old school scoring style won me over instantly. He was great. I bought his jersey at the first Celtics game I ever went to (at the Garden against O'Neal and the Magic). It was great. And Reggie died early leaving us asking what if? Well I think I can say that Pierce has supplanted Reggie in every single way and yet may never be as beloved by the C's fans. Maybe that's because Reggie played so closely with and was directly connected to The Team or maybe that's because Reggie wasn't the man long enough for his flaws to be dissected endlessly by the fans and media. It's hard to say. But I feel lucky getting a guy like Pierce on the C's. He's a pleasure to watch play and he's only gotten better over time. I'm glad the Celtics didn't trade him because it almost seems impossible that they could get value for him. And without Pierce, the Celtics would be truly unwatchable.

Almost one month

2005-12-13T22:05:00.000-08:00

Ron Artest. My. My. My. It must be hard to go through life being wired improperly but still somehow functioning at certain tasks at a high level. It's a shame that he's going to waste his immense talent. And it's a shame for Indiana. With him they are championship contenders. Without him? They might be able to get to the finals, but it's doubtful. And to think that the SI preview issue featuered Bird and Artest in a touchy feely story about how Ron Ron had learned from his mistakes, how he worshipped Bird, etc. Now he thinks he should be "The Man" with the rock in his hand as much as possible? I say grant him his wish. Send him to any of the following: Atlanta, Toronto, Charlotte. Best of all Portland. I hear that they love head cases up there.

The whole problem the Pacers are faced with is that now every team in the league is going to low ball them on Artest. First because he's a maniac and they want his potential excellence, but don't want to give up too much in case he decides to kill commit a capital offense in his new uniform. Secondly, because the Pacers have admitted they are ready for a trade. I'm sure Danny faxed over an offer of Veal and Banks, or Blount for Artest already. And there are probably a ton more junk offers like that. And clearly the Pacers are going to take the best offer. What do they need in return? Maybe a center to compliment JO and let him play some PF.

Artest is so hard to read. Is he as crazy as advertised? I think so. He's not like Dennis Rodman because while the Worm loved theatrics, when it came to playing he brought it hard every night. And the only thing he did on the court was try to get in the opponents head. But maybe the problem in Indy is that O'Neal isn't Alpha dog enough to check Artest. Then again, Artest tried to kill the Baby Bulls with dumbells which is why they traded him.

At the end of the day, this must kill Larry Bird. It has to twist his stomach to see a guy like this ruin his career and his chances of winning a title. It really must.

2005 NBA West Preview

2005-11-10T09:26:00.000-08:00

The West seems to be slipping a little bit in overall dominance and top to bottom quality, but they still hold the best team in all of basketball, which is where we'll start.

1. San Antonio - So they haven't gone back to back yet? So what. This team was the best in basketball last year and my oh my how the rich have gotten richer. They kept their core intact and to that added Nick Van Exel, Michael Finley, and Fabricio Oberto from Argentina. Van Exel can be used in the clutch and when Parker is cooling off. Finley provides great scoring punch of the bench and another lethal outside shooter. Oberto is a banger and does the dirty work. A great team guy who cares about winning. And everybody else on the roster is back and getting better and staying healthy. No good reason to see why they won't repeat. Their only challenge will come in the finals.

2. Dallas - They've got a lot of the same players as last year but I think one player who is growing and adding a lot is Devin Harris. He's providing a nice scoring touch for them so far in the season and is a decent point guard too. He should improve on all his numbers this year. Dampier showed that he can stay healthy and contribute, even after he got awarded that contract. He seems to be hungry to prove that he's worth the money which is good. And Dirk is Dirk. Just a great player from top to bottom. Their emphasis on defense is good, but it isn't yielding huge dividends yet. But this is the second most talented team in the Conference and they should do well in the playoffs.

3. Houston - This team loaded up for a serious run, no more excuses for first round exits Mr. Tmac. Supposedly Yao is refreshed, but he's a good center and it doesn't all hinge on Yao. He's never going to be a Shaq type player, he's more a complimentary player who every now and then will have a monster game. They also brought in Raefer Alston and Stromile Swift to help out with depth and youth, two big problems. Swift seems inconsistent so far, but I expect better things from this team this year and they don't have much competition.

4. Utah - This really depends on Kirilenko staying healthy. He is the hub of that wheel. Jerry Sloan is too good a coach to miss the playoffs twice and they got another decent infusion of talent by missing the postseason last year. Deron Williams looks to be a steady point guard and should hold down the spot for a while. Memhet Okur is playing well, but he'll always be a little inconsistent. In the West though, he is a legitimate All-Star center candidate. A few years ago that would have been a joke. I think they can also take advantage of some of the slips and injuries other teams have had.

5. Denver - Coach Karl is ready for his second year on the bench and Carmelo looks like he's taking this season very seriously trying to prove that he is 1B to Lebron's 1A. What really hurts is the injury to Nene. Their big man depth is thin meaning they're relying on Mr. Glass (aka Camby) to remain steady all season. Stranger things have happened. But with Karl coaching them they should be good on defense and offense. And from what I've seen so far, they're going to set a record for alley oop dunks. Everyone on the team goes for back door lobs and they executre them very well. It's fun to watch, and it's a pretty effective offensive strategy.

6. Phoenix - Losing Amare cripples these guys. But Nash is top flight and Shawn Marion is no slouch himself on the court. Tim Thomas is providing decent low post offense and defense and James Jones is proving to be an able three point marksman hitting around three a game. It's not as automatic as last year though, and they're defense is still atrocious. Still they have the talent to be back in the playoffs, and if Amare returns this season it can only help.

7. LA Lakers - Triangle. Kobe on a mission. What more is there to say? They're not the most talented team out there, but they just barely missed the playoffs with kobe missing 15 games and playing hurt in several others. Smush Parker has been a nice addition, and Kwame Brown is feeling his way through things. Give these guys to the All-star break to learn Phil's geometric attack and then watch them scare some folks in the playoffs. Phil has done more with less before.

8. LA Clippers - They brought in steady veterans to help this team break their losing streak. Cassell has the confidence and experience to help, but he's been breaking down physically and he's kind of a bitch. There's a reason nobody keeps him for more than a couple of years. Mobley is a reliable scorer and another good veteran. And Elton Brand is a steady presence on the block. I think Elton gets to taste his first playoff action.

Playoff cut line ------------------------------------------------

9. Minny Timberwolves- How can I go against Garnett? Well his supporting cast got a lot lighter. They're relying on Rashard McCants to have a big year. He's a good player, but it's tough to depend on a rookie too much. Their depth is dwindling with the Mayor retired and they still play the Kandi man for significant minutes. Never good for your team. Garnett is going to break down from carrying these guys just like he did last year.

10. Memphis - They're well coached and they've brought in some character guys in Eddie Jones and Bobby Jackson. But well coached isn't going to cut it because they just don't have the talent. It's clear that Pao Gasol cannot become a MVP first team caliber player. He's hit his ceiling. He'd be a nice addition to a team with some talent on it, but he cannot carry the load himself. They lost Jason Williams, Earl Watson, and Stromile Swift in either free agency or trades and those guys could play. It is a big problem for their point guard situation as well. I just don't see them cutting against teams that may not be top to bottom more talented, but have better superstar players in the fold.

11. Seattle - I think they lost a little too much in the offseason to repeat last years great run. In order of importance they lost: their coach>Antonio Daniels>Jerome James. James isn't a huge loss, but the first two were. Seattle still has some plucky players, but they've also got guys angling for contracts in Vlad Rad and Ridnour isn't somebody who is going to hold up to 40 minutes a game yet. Daniels was needed for his excellent on the ball defense and steady hand in pressure situations.

12. Sacramento - It doesn't feel right putting them here after all the 50 win seasons they've had, but I'm just not sure they're good enough to escape the curse of Shareef Abdur Raheem. He's got the best numbers of anyone who has never made the playoffs. Addleman's last stand is this year if they don't make it back in. And how soon until Bonzi Wells does something to make an ass of himself or his teammates? My guess is before Thanksgiving. Not a lot to like here.

13. Golden State - Everyone thinks they're going to have a great year, and they are off to a hot start, but the whole thing relies on Baron Davis holding up for a complete season. If there's one thing we know about Baron, it's that he's no longer capable of doing this.

14. Portland Trailblazers - Oh Nate, that money is going to be your only comfort this year. Ruben Patterson and Pudge still remain on a mercurial team of bandits that has alienated one of the great fan bases in all of the NBA. They brought in guys high on character like Steve Blake, Juan Dixon (do these guys always come as a pair, is it in their contract?), Martell Webster, and Jarret Jack. But the talent just isn't there. It's going to be a long year.

15. OKC/NO Hornets - What a tough adjustment it's going to be for these guys to actually play in front of fans. Oklahoma is selling out the arena, something that never happened after Shinn poisoned the deep well of fandom in Carolina. Chris Paul looks like he's going to be the real deal and they still have a guy who goes by the nickname of Birdman.

NBA East Preview

2005-10-28T08:33:00.000-07:00

Things are shaping up nicely for the Eastern Conference. They lost the crown again, but the overall quality of the teams in the East keeps improving with the import of free agent and draftee talent. It's clear that the Spurs rule the NBA, but the Eastern Conference will give the West a run for it's money.

1. Indiana - The whole key to this team is Ron Artest. They've got good talent, especially up front. J'O'Neal is a beast and showed just how tough he is playing with a bad shoulder in the playoffs against the Celtics and the Pistons. Foster is a great reserve hard nosed player. The Abuser if finally coming into his own as a point guard, and they signed the euro star Sarunas Jasikevicius who is officially a rookie, but really is a seasoned veteran who played his college ball at Maryland and has been a pro ever since. The big question is Ron Artest. With him this team is great. They especially need him after Reggie Millers departure. Can he maintain his passionate play without boiling over? That's the biggest question in the East.

2. Detroit - The Pistons were a few breaks away from being back to back champions. The core is back and the role players may get a little more experience during the regular season now that curmudgeon Larry Brown is on the Knickerbockers bench. Flip Saunders is a good offensive coach and I think he'll do very well with this team. They are experienced and tight knit and don't really need a task master. Plus there's the dual motivation of showing they can do it without Larry Brown and the failure against the Spurs last year.

3. Miami- Unquestionably Shaq made this team leaps and bounds better last year. Plus, D Wade continues his growth into one of the NBAs best players, I expect only better things from him. The question mark with this team is how the new players will fit in with the rest. Antoine Walker, James Posey, and Jason Williams were all brought on board. Williams will be the starting point guard and actually has a decent assist to turnover ratio (~3-1 the past couple of seasons). He shouldn't have problems getting more assists on this team. To me, the biggest question is Antoine Walker. He wasn't too happy being a sixth man in Dallas and seemed to really feel comfortable being the hub of activity in Boston. Maybe he'll get hungry for a championship, and made the Diesel can keep him in line. Antoine has never had to play with someone of Shaq's stature, so that's probably the best hope.

4. Milwaukee Bucks - Talk about an offseason. They had the number one pick and drafted a very good college center in Bogut (the jury will be out on his actual production come season time). They resigned their franchise player Redd to a long term (and overly expensive deal), signed emerging wingman Bobby Simmons, and then just pulled off one of the bigger trades by getting Jamal Magloire for Desmond "the dunk artist" Mason. Great, great pick up. Milwaukee now has the bigs and the wings covered. If TJ Ford can regain the form that he showed before a troubling spinal injury, this team is going to make some noise.

5. Cleveland Cavaliers - Lebron James now has some running mates. Larry Hughes is the biggest addition, but the less heralded addition of of Donyell Marshall is going to be the big difference. Hughes played great in Washington last year (his contract year, no surprise) and that play should carry over as he has seemed to develop greater poise and maturity in Washington. I think Eddie Jordan had a lot to do with that. Damon Jones will shore up the point and the long distance bombing and Big Z has quitely played great in the post while staying totally healthy the last two years. Lebron stirs the pot and gets these guys into the playoffs where James learns the hard way that winning in the NBA takes time.

6. New Jersey Nets - This should be a fun fast breaking team. Kidd is healthy again as is Richard Jefferson. Vince Carter has refound his love for the game and played superbly well last season. It helps that he's no longer the alpha-dog, a role he was never suited for even going back to his college days. They are a little thin up front and will be relying heavily on Krstic, Collins, and (gulp!) Lamond Murray to anchor the power positions. But in the east, that's not the end of the world and when Jason Kidd is healthy and the Princeton offense is clicking, there's no need to get bogged down with big men on the post.

7. Chicago Bulls- Yes, they lost Eddy Curry. But the Bulls knew they could afford to lose him. He only got into shape in his contract year. He's a great post scorer, but is way too soft (5.6 rpg? That's pathetic for his size). The loss that might hurt a bit though is Antonio Davis. He provided a tough interior presence and brought a good veteran perspective to the team. Outside of that though, the Bulls young guns are ready and can play. Hinrich keeps getting better and if Chandler and Deng stay healthy, they should have the fire power to stay tough in the East.

8. New York Knicks - Larry Brown always makes a positive impact when he first arrives. Then he poisons the well. Whatever. Adding Curry and Loren Woods, oops I mean Channing Frye, and Antonio Davis made for a nice offseason of player movement too. Hopefully Curry's heart proves no problem and he contributes this year. Marbury will probably chafe a little under Brown, but then again Larry got a lot out of Chauncey Billups where others failed so he and Stephon should get along okay. Jamal Crawford seems like the piece that doesn't fit, but given that they have some decent NBA talent, some good youth, and a great coach the Knicks should see the playoffs again.

--------------------------------- Playoff cutoff line

9. Boston - Pierce and Davis are going to have to carry the load. Luckily for them Blount looks like he refound his pulse and is a live body again and LaFrentz looks somewhat spry meaning he should have a productive year. But the rest of the roster is very young and hasn't proven a lick. The PG situation is horrendous. There's been lots of positive spin on Orien Green, but he's a second round pick who can't shoot. His defense is okay, but he doesn't handle full court pressure. Delonte West has never been a point guard and doesn't seem to be the most durable player (something he denies wholeheartedly). Both of them seem a little slow delivering the ball and orchestrating the offense, the mark of players not totally sure in their role. And Dickau looks like he wasn't ready for any sorts of expectations being placed on him. He has not looked very good in the preseason, especially on defense. And his offense doesn't even come close to making up for his attrocious defense. Do we really want to see Dickau checking Marbury, Hinrich, Mike James, Gilbert Arenas, or Jason Kidd? Too many points are going to role right over the kid, which is why Greene is getting a lot of starter buzz. This position is going to kill the Celtics. That and the fact that Pierce and Ricky are the only reliable scorers on this team.

10. Philly - Iverson is what he is. A guy with a ton of heart who can't play well within a team structure. He must have the ball in his hands to be effective and because of that his team suffers. Webber is physically done. I see no reason why he'll make it through a season. Iguodola is the lone bright spot on this team. They got a great player in him. He's the second coming of Pippen for sure. Cheeks will probably let Dalembert play a little more and the rest of the team knows their roles, especially long bomber Korver. They barely squeaked into the playoffs last year, and the rest of the East got way better while they mostly stood still.

11. Orlando - Grant hill is out for 6 weeks. What else is new? The continuing maturation of Dwight Howard into a first rate beast is going to keep these guys competitive, but then Francis will turn the ball over and they'll lose close games. But those two are the only talents on this lack luster roster.

12. Toronto - Charlie from UConn looks like the right pick. He should be good. Rafael hasn't worked out so much. He's just a side of beef clogging the lane. I feel bad for him, but hey, lots of lottery picks turn out to be big stiffs later on. At least he's gettin' paid before he gets handed his walking papers. Bosh seems like he's reached his NBA potential, though perhaps he would be better off if he wasn't forced to play center so much. Mike James brings some steadiness and leadership to the point, and Jalen Rose continues to produce hillarious quotes for the papers while cashing multi-million dollar checks.

13. Charlotte - If nothing else, attendance is going to go up. Sean May and Felton come off a national championship and remain in Carolina for their early pro carriers at least. Both should help the Bobcats win more games immeadiately. Emeka Okafor is the real deal down low. He works real hard and his game continues to grow with better range on his jumper. This was such a great pick by Charlotte. The rest of the team is still thin, but they'll be competitive again. They're still a few more years away from winning.

14. Atlanta - They had the number two pick in the draft and spent it on a guy who didn't even start on his team. They had better hope that Marvin Williams starts panning out soon. They invested a lot of money in an uproven young guard (now to be their point) in Joe Johnson. He's never been the center of attention, but he will be now. He'll also be turning the ball over, a lot. Josh Smith was a highlight reel filler and not much else. Maybe his game is growing. Not sure. And Al Harrington looks like a bust as a big money guy. He should have stayed with Indy for less money and been part of a powerhouse team. I'm thinking the Hawks are going to be trying to move Harrington to give Williams more PT. Another dip in the lottery is in this team's future.

That's how I see them falling. And yes I have the entire Central Division in the playoffs. They just seem like they all got a lot better or didn't lose anything over the offseason. Time will tell.

Why the Warriors are not this years Suns

2005-10-19T11:33:00.000-07:00

Today at ESPN.com Chad Ford has an article detailing why the Golden State Warriors are going to be the surprise team of the year much like Phoenix was last year. He argues that Baron Davis will be the catalyst to spark a running and gunning team and that wing mates Jason Richardson and Troy Murphy will fill the lanes on breaks while others like Mike Dunleavy rain down the open threes. This is a nice article, but it is flawed for many reasons.

Firstly this resurgence depends on Baron Davis, and of late Baron Davis has been anything but dependable. Take a look at how many games Baron has played per season over his career:

'99-00 - 82
'00-01 - 82
'01-02 - 82
'02-03 - 50
'03-04 - 67
'04-05 - 46 (played 18 games with the Hornets and 28 games with the Warriors)

Supposedly Baron showed up to camp last year out of shape and unhappy about not being traded out of camp, and this year his weights down and his knees and back are rested. I remember a similar story before the 2003-004 season about Baron whipping himself into shape by running five miles a day, working out intensely, and eating a low carb diet that was heavy on fish. That was supposed to make him an iron man and help him tear through the season making the Hornets dark horse contenders. Baron didn't make it through that year unscathed, and since the 2001-2002 season, he hasn't played a lot of games. What makes Chad Ford think that a player with back problems (oh, those go away easily) and knee issues is going to be ready to remold one of the leagues worst franchises? There's a reason New Orleans was willing to dump Davis for Speedy Claxton and Dale Davis last year. He's damaged goods and comes at a high price, Baron's $85 million dollar contract has four years and $65 million dollars remaining on it. Baron can opt out of his contract in 2008, but that's unlikely given the his breakdown in physical health the last few years. When healthy, Baron is certainly an elite point guard who is also physical and a great scorer. Sadly though, Baron is rarely healthy and his penchant for playing above the rim is likely to land him on the injury list for significant stretches of this season. That's the first issue.

The second issue the players surrounding Baron on the floor. Jason Richardson is a very good shooting guard who seems to be increasing in ability with each passing year, but after that the Warriors are a little thin. Troy Murphy is a heavy, plodding power forward who while having an ability to hit threes (39.9% from downtown), doesn't exactly fit the bill of a quick and powerful fast break finisher. After Murphy the rest of the roster is filled with inexperience or unproven talent like Mike Dunleavy. The Suns of last year had a proven all-NBA point guard in Steve Nash who had led his former team deep into the playoffs. They had a certifiable freak of nature in Amare Stoudemire, a rare big man with track and field speed, power, and moon hops. He also had the hands to handle those passes from Nash making the finishes. Out on the wings the Suns had Quentin Richardson, a proven marksman and Joe Johnson, a talented player still developing. Oh and Shawn Marion has appeared in a few all-star games himself. In fact, last years Sun's had three bona-fide All-Stars who were healthy and ready to go. The Warriors have one proven All-Star who can't stay healthy and nobody of particular merit after that.

From where I sit, this years Warriors look nothing like the team that "surprised" the league last year. They look like a bunch of pretenders who are going to get the Bay Area turned on briefly, but once Baron Davis goes down (and he will) the house of cards collapses with it. Sorry Warriors fans.

Lakers fixation

2005-10-05T11:39:00.000-07:00

How can you go wrong with this combination?

Scottie Pippen, Kurt Rambis, Kareem, and Brian Shaw all coming on board as assistants can only help as the Lakers prepare for the NBA season. Pippen especially can be a great help with showing the players the ins and outs of the triangle offense and emphasize to players who get hurt (Lamar Odom) how to train and prepare for a season. This looks great.

Perhaps I'm too much of a Phil Jackson fan, but I just don't see this team failing the way people are predicting them too. San Antonio and Houston got significantly better in the off season, but nobody else in the west really did. Some playoff teams took steps back. Seattle, Phoenix, Minnesota (well, they didn't make the playoffs), and probably the Grizz. So why is everyone predicting the Lakers to miss the playoffs? I just don't buy it. People forget about the power of the triangle and how with the right players it can be used to hide some less than proficient players at the half court side. Plus the Lakers added Aaron McKie to the mix giving Phil another heady, big guard to help run his system. Just look at the other guys he brought in and had success with Brian Shaw and Ron Harper. They were forgotten men until they joined Phil. I think Aaron is due for the same respect.

If I were a Lakers fan, I would definitely be excited. This team has a lot of potential to surprise.

Mike Crotty: Deputy Director of Baby Sitting

2005-09-19T10:01:00.000-07:00

From Sunday's Globe:

Green has settled into a new apartment with roommate Mike Crotty, the former Williams College point guard who just happens to be the Celtics' recently-hired director of player development. He has added about a half-dozen pounds to the 6-foot-8-inch, 200-pound frame that served him well during the high school all-star games where he emerged as a first-round prospect, but that was clearly insufficient for the NBA. He says he works out twice, occasionally three times a day.Continued...

I'm sure that Danny found that Crotty has the brain type of Michael Jordan and Tennesse Williams and the video game playing skills of a recent college grad thus making him the perfect person to hold Gerald Green's hand through an NBA season. But seriously, Gerald doesn't have a brother or somebody else to live with his first year away from home?

Dan Dickau

2005-08-30T14:07:00.000-07:00

The Celtics have yet another PG on the team and one who has a three year contract to boot, meaning he's not going to face a cut or trade when the roster needs to be paired down. We also don't know who the Celtics are sending back to New Orleans in exchange for Dickau.

Dickau seems to have a good basketball IQ and the ability to work in half court sets. He finally got his chance to play significant minutes in the NBA this year and he showed that he can produce. New Orleans was an awful team and he still had a little over 5 assists and notched a shade over 12 ppg. Both passable numbers. He was a great college player and played with a winning program. He strikes me as a guy like Luke Ridnour. Solid team guys who can run the ball and defer to their teammates without a problem and who only needed playing time to blossom their NBA games. I think he'll make a nice contribution to the Celtics and with a great player like Pierce and a good one like Ricky, he's probably an ideal fit as a starting/back up point guard. That's the good.

What Dickau can't bring to the table is much defense, a lot of which is due to his dimunitive stature.. This can be forgiven on a team with help on your hip. The Celtics though lack the kind of paint cloggers that even a team like New Orleans had. Dickau could perhaps hide his weaknesses by gambling a bit in New Orleans knowing that Magloire and PJ Brown were in the wings waiting to intimidate penetrators. On the Celtics the biggest clogger is Raef, and he's lost a lot with his injuries. Blount seems to play uninspired basketball these days and Jefferson has shown a soft touch and good feet on the offensive end, but little inclination for defense. Perkins hasn't figured out how to stay out of foul trouble limiting his effectiveness as defensive help. He is also an offensive liability and thus cannot remain on the floor for extended periods. So this is going to be a big problem when Dickau is going against opposing points.

Will his contributions on the offensive end offset his defensive shortcomings? I'm not sure yet. And it's going to be hard to predict if he'll get the 31 mpg that he saw in New Orleans last year. In short, I like Dickau a lot, but I'm not sure if the Celtics are quite the right fit for him. I would have loved to see him on an up and coming team like Cleveland. He's intriguing, but not a guy that's going to lift the Celtics much higher than they currently are and not much of an upgrade over the platoon they might plan on running if he did sign on with Boston.

Amnesty Day comes and goes

2005-08-16T14:06:00.000-07:00

So Vin Baker's contract comes off the luxury tax books but the Celtics still have to pay his sorry ass. This was probably the Cetlics best available move, though I would have loved to see Mark Blount ridden out of town. That probably didn't make much sense though because they would still be paying Blount and he would be contributing somewhere else while drawing even more salary. It would have been like a reward. Raef has a bad contract too, but there's just no way to cut him like that if the savings aren't there. I see both of these guys becoming expiring contract trades later in their carriers, but they're Celtic green for a while. I only hope Perkins keeps getting better and can become the tough interior presence the Celtics so desperately need.

We are not a Second Tier team

2005-08-10T07:25:00.000-07:00

Last winter I was out in Seattle and went to a Seahawks game. Later in the pro-shop I had to laugh that the Seahawks had NFC west division winner T-shirts for sale. Nothing smacks of inadequacy like celebrating pointless milestones. In baseball it's fine to celebrate a pennant win. It's a long season and if you're in a competitive division it represents an accomplishment by your ball club. But most other sports division crowns are meaningless because everybody wins those and a larger number of teams make the playoffs. I had a good laugh at Seattle and my friends who support all their loser teams (except the Storm. WNBA champs!)

Last night I was in Dick's sporting goods and what did I see? Celtics merchandise emblazzened with the 2004-2005 Atlantic Division Champs all over it. I had to do a double take. I mean, this isn't Seattle, Phoenix, Atlanta or some other second rate sports city. This is Boston. This is the 16 time world champs. The team that made basketball what it is today. The marquee franchise. And now we're celebrating Atlantic Division Crowns? Thankfully all this stuff was on dramatic sale indicating that nobody was really buying any of it, so at least the fans know what still counts. But at the same time, I just can't get over seeing that stuff.

The Promise of the New

2005-08-10T07:15:00.000-07:00

I've griped about the Antoine Trade, but really he had to go and I'm glad they got something for him and perhaps more importantly for future free agent luring and retention the Celtics showed that even though they didn't feel that Antoine matched their plans, they took care of him financially when they really didn't have to. You don't want Antoine walking around talking about how they screwed him out of money or wouldn't work with him. Walker has come out and talked about how he doesn't understand the teams plans, but he hasn't trashed Ainge or management like he did the first time when they shipped him to Dallas. All around a positive thing.

More importantly this means that Al Jefferson gets to play on the courst a lot this coming season. Ainge and Co. think they've got a gamer in this kid and I agree. His post moves and touch around the basket are very good, his rebounding is adequate, and his outlet passing is superb. So he's a legit scoring threat and he definitely helps start fast breaks off the defensive glass by quickly outletting the ball. I'm hoping with more time we'll see his defense improve. This is his biggest deficiency right now. He needs to learn positioning and better body control. The strength I'm assuming is coming around just by benefit of having trainers and programs that he wouldn't come close to in high school. I'm not expecting huge things out of Al this season. Just progress. In his fourth year he should be a top caliber PF. In his second year he just needs to improve on things and use his increased playing time to learn. I'm excited to watch him play more.

The other area that I'm concerned about his PG. Delonte never got the chance to play real minutes there and I wasn't totally convinced the the summer league run he did. Summer league is never a good indication of anything though. Delonte is a smart player though and I think he'll manage well. I would still like to see more of Marcus Banks. They've never given Marcus a fair shake in my opinion. He's very athletic, plays intense defense, and can definitely push the ball. PG is such a hard position to play and the Celtics haven't given him enough court time to make his mistakes and learn. I hope he gets more burn this year too.

It's weird to be excited about a team that can't really compete, but Danny seems to be changing the composition of the team and the style of play and I'm interested to see how it pans out. It's nice to see a full commitment to changing after last years return of Antoine and use of the Glove for one meaningless division crown and playoff appearance.

Pierce and the rebuilding

2005-08-07T08:14:00.000-07:00

This from today's Sunday Globe:

He plans to continue his preparation this week in workouts with Antoine Walker in Chicago and hopes to be back in the Boston area soon after Labor Day to work out with his less-familiar teammates.

Then Antoine's post-Boston talk:

''When you win the division, you try to move up and keep battling and try to get to that next level," said Walker. ''But they chose to go the other route and go young and start from the ground up again. It's an odd situation. I don't really understand it. Maybe, in a couple years from now, we'll understand the madness to it."

Walker predicts that Pierce will have just as much trouble figuring out the situation. ''I feel for Paul for the situation he's in," said Walker. ''He's in the prime of his career. And it's very difficult to go back to that situation. Nobody wants to do that, to go to the playoffs then go back to possibly not making them. But you never know what can happen. Now, he has to go back to a situation where he has to be a complete leader. He has to lead on and off the court. It becomes very difficult at times."

_______________________

So Pierce is working out with Antoine and Antoine is talking about how the Celtics plans are misguided and probably wasting Pierce's talents at the prime of his career. Clearly Pierce still respects Antoine a lot and has a good friendship with him if they're working out together in Chitown so imagine what Pierce is thinking with Antoine talking in his ear about how the Celtics plans make no sense. I can see Pierce listening a lot more to Antoine than Celtics Management and Coaches. If the C's lose a lot it could be a tough year with Pierce. I've advocated for a trade before, and I still feel that's probably in Pierce's and the teams best interest given the direction the team has taken.

Largest Trade in NBA history?

2005-08-02T22:13:00.000-07:00

Really? Qyntel Woods, 2 second round draft picks, and Curtis
Borschsoup? Wasn't Qyntel the guy who got convicted of running dog
fights in Portland? Can the Celtics Roster possibly absorb all these
players? Danny Ainge is concocting a witches brew up in Beantown that
is for sure. I like that he got something for Antoine departing and
that the Celtics helped Antoine get more money than he deserved. But
still, it seems like more moves have to happen here. If nothing else
though, the Celtics are newsmakers and intriguing and when you
consider that unless you have Tim Duncan you aren't winning
championships, that's not a bad place to be.

And from the Heat's perspective? I just don't know. Antoine, Jason
Williams, and James Posey don't exactly smack of poise under pressure.
What do I know though. Crazy trade all around.

Wanderlust

2005-07-18T13:56:00.000-07:00

Larry Brown is apparently not going to coach the Pistons this season. I'm interested to see what happens next. It seems unreal to me that Larry would want to coach anywhere else right now. Where does he have a better chance to win another championship? A lot of questions will need resolving this week and it should be interesting to see how things end up.

Oh. My. God.

2005-07-08T12:15:00.000-07:00

There may be a one time chance to dump Raef LaFrentz or Mark Blount
this off season. I'm not sure why I ignored the possibility, but the
new collective bargaining agreement is going to allow teams to waive a
player and then not have that players remaining salary count against
the cap. The team would still be responsible for the waived players
salary, but they wouldn't have to pay luxury tax and could sign other
free agents or their own players. I think the Celtics have a great
chance to dump some excess baggage. Mark Blount, I'm looking at
you.....

Next Free Agent Move

2005-07-08T11:41:00.000-07:00

It's reported now that Larry Hughes will sign with the Cavs for 65-70 million over 5 years. Supposedly the Wizards offered him 6 years at $70 million. The Wizards offer was probably the right one. Hughes had his best season ever in a contract year. He has never played in a winning situation and just cut his teeth in the playoffs for the first time last year. It's possible the Wizards will reup because nobody can offically sign for a few more weeks, but I think they would be unwise to do so. Hughes is not entirely unreplaceable and they could get a better or cheaper model in Bobby Simmons if they should wish to do so. Hughes is a bit versatile which NBA guys love, but we'll have to see how he meshes with Lebron. From the Cavs point of view, they had to do something this offseason in terms of signing some guys. Lebron has two years left on his deal and if anybody thinks he's staying in Cleveland if they don't make the playoffs in those years is crazy. I'm not sure how this effects the Cavs ability to resign big Z either. He's looking for a lot of money and now Hughes is getting it. More dominoes soon to fall.

Max Money

2005-07-08T09:00:00.000-07:00

Players that deserve max money (talent and turnstile effects are important with talent being the most important factor):

1. Shaq
2. Duncan
3. KG
4. Dirk
5. Amare
6. Wade
7. Lebron
8. Pierce
9. Kobe
10. Iverson
11. AK47
12. Kidd
13. Ray Allen
14. Elton Brand

On the Cusp (but will probably never be fully worth it):

1. Yao
2. McGrady
3. Melo
4. Odom
5. Ben/Rasheed Wallace
6. Billups
7. Arenas
8. Hughes
9. Bobby Simmons
10. Corey Maggette
11. Jason Richardson

Youngins on the Rise:

1. Dwight Howard
1a. Andre Iguodala
2. Kirk Hinrich
3. Luol Deng
4. Chris Bosh (he may have reached his ceiling)
5. Shaun Livingston
6. Trevor Arizia

Free Agency

2005-07-07T09:27:00.000-07:00

1. Ray Allen. Seattle felt like they needed to reup to keep their number one player with them for a while. They maxed Allen out giving him something like $85 million over the next 5 years to keep playing with the Sonics. I think Seattle overpaid for him, but he proved his worth in ticket sales and success this year. The Sonics just have to hope he doesn't dog it over the next few years now that he's inked for a long time.

2. Nate McMillan. Apparently Portland is going to be paying Nate $6 million per annum over the next five years. Really? $30 million dollars for a coach who had one 50+ winning season and won a single playoff series? Nate was a great player, is a favorite in the Pacific Northwest, and is definitely a young up and coming coach, but $30 million seems like the kind of coin the games premier coaches get (Larry, Phil, Popps), not unproven youngins'. Seems like Paul Allen is on another crazy spending spree. We'll see what it gets him. He better be ready to suspend idiots like Miles if they start acting up though, that's for sure.

3. Michael Redd. Supposedly Milwaukee is going to max-out Michael Redd for a seven year contract. That's good. This reminds me of when the Knicks signed a young lights out shooter who couldn't do anything else on the court. What was his name? Oh right, Allen Houston. Redd better hope Bogut is the real deal, or people in Milwaukee are going to be pissed about this deal. I personally think Milwaukee would have been better off throwing that kind of money or less at a guy like Bobby Simmons or Larry Hughes. Both are more versatile.

More indicators that talent is a rare commodity in the NBA so it will be overpaid for and that NBA GMs are idiots. Seriously, how are the Sonics going to keep their team together with Ray's contract? What are the Bucks going to do with Redd now that they can never trade him? If he's such a great player, how did he let Milwaukee slide out of the playoffs in the Eastern Conference. Paul Pierce doesn't let that happen, and now he and Redd are making the same money? That's interesting. And as for the Blazers, McMillan is a stand up guy but they had better be committed to him. The Blazers are not ready to win today. It's going to take a little while. I just find it surprising that they over reached for him so much. Christ, they probably could have stolen Larry Brown for that kind of money.

Kobe, me myself and I revisted

2005-07-01T10:50:00.000-07:00

I bashed Kobe pretty hard at the end of this season for his poor
leadership and his inability to play like a superstar this past year
when that's all he seemed to want for a long time. I think he
deserved it. But lost in the recent hoopla surrounding the hiring of
Phil Jackson is what Phil's return says about Kobe's mentality and
attitude. I don't expect any open mea culpas, however I think the
return of Jackson signals that Kobe was humbled a bit by last years
experience. I think Kobe realized the way he was going wasn't the
right way and he's reaching out for help from the only true mentor
he's had in the league. After the book Phil wrote Kobe couldn't be
blamed for trying to keep Phil out of L.A., but instead I think Kobe
is intending to take the criticisms he gets from his coach and other
knowledgeable basketball types and work on his weaknesses instead of
just deflecting the criticism. If that's the case the Lakers are going
to be a much improved team and I think Kobe may be ready to try and
change his errant ways. I may be reading too much into this, but
that's the feeling I get. I know it's been denied that Kobe had any
decision in the hiring, but Jackson said that he and Kobe discussed
this before it happened and seeing as Kobe is signed for a long time
one would have to be very naive to think that superstar players have
no input on coaching and personnel decisions. I may have to revise my
opinon on Kobe in the near future.

Circle the wagons

2005-07-01T10:40:00.000-07:00

Peter May wrote a column yesterday that I really agree with. Too many
young players, the C's should have got an established college player
with the pick and that the C's will try to trade Pierce and that it's
probably the right move. I'm very in tune with him. The Celtics are
starting to remind me a little bit of the Baby Bulls years. It's no
secret that a hard nosed coach, and rookies or young players from blue
collar winning programs turned around their fortunes very quickly.
When you start looking to Pierce and Ricky for leadership, your team
is in some serious trouble. I think Jefferson has a good head on his
shoulders, but May is right in that he didn't even play 15mins a game
last year (not his fault with 'Toine coming back in) and Green is
largely an unknowable commodity at this point (who was also passed
over by several teams in spite of widespread acclaim).

I just want to say that I really enjoy watching Pierce play. He's a
very talented player and a shooting guard who has never shied away
from contact and has been remarkably durable. The other Celtics fan I
talk with think that Pierces meglomania has consumed him and I think
he's right. He has some preconceived notion of being "the man"
because he's the best player on the team. He had one of his better
statistical seasons last year and yet he's unhappy, and acting like a
bitch when the chips are on the table. I used to contend that Pierce
was in the top ten of players, but he officially gets the mercurial
lable now. I'd like to see him out of Boston. I'm just not sure who
will want him right now. Should be an interesting month.

Post Draft Reactions

2005-06-29T11:49:00.000-07:00

The Celtics had a potential lottery pick land in their laps at the #18 pick and they pounced on him. Unfortunately that pouncing action didn't result in Hakim Warrick landing on the team, my personal favorite long shot choice. However, the Celtics are being widely lauded as smart and lucky at the same time. Of all the players in this draft Green probably had the second biggets "upsdie" warranting rave reviews to Tracy McGrady and others. I really hope he realizes that potential, and if he can hold down the three spot (depending on where one looks he projects as either a two or a three, 6'7" or 6'8") the Celtics would be in great shape. They haven't had an athletic wing man in a while, no offense to Ricky Davis. Personally I'm dissapointed, but it seems like the Celtics made a great pick.

In the second round the C's grabbed Ryan Gomes out of Providence. I'm a little partial to Gomes as I saw him play live several times during his PC career and he was a well liked and talented player. But I could also see that he's not very athletic, not the greatest shooter, and not instilled with a will to win. Several times I felt like Gomes should have lead P.C. to big upsets over ranked teams and he seemed to shrink in the waning minutes of ball games. But, it's not like the Celtics really need him and in the second round your hoping to get a project or a more polished player.

The other player the Celtics drafted Orien Greene is somebody I know very little about. The early projections is that he's a Bruce Bowen type of defensive player. A tall guard who is raw offensively, but his length and athleticism will allow him to play some spot D. We'll see. I can't complain too much about the second round though because the Celtics picked pretty low, but it seems like Jawad Williams or Jakie Manuel would have been good picks over Orien. Time will tell.

Overall I give it a B.

Ghost of Jordan Past

2005-06-20T09:41:00.000-07:00

Send it in Jerome! (Er, I mean Robert). That's a dunk that might have given Digger a stroke. I can't believe Horry made his 34 year old frame move like that. What is missed in the photo is the meek attempt by Rip to draw a charge that actually resulted in a foul. You could see he was frightened by Horry's move in the replay.

Big Shot Bob

2005-06-20T07:54:00.000-07:00

Hey Rasheed? Who did you leave open on the double team? Good decision, Roscoe.

Time to circle the wagons

2005-06-03T08:28:00.000-07:00

Another very, very good game for Miami and a surprisingly lackadaisical performance by Detroit. With Shaq and Wade having foul trouble early and with Wade basically out of the game for the last quarter and a half the Heat took game 5 and look poised to move onto the NBA finals. I think Detroit will bounce back, but the consistency from game to game just isn't very good. Rasheed Wallace in particular is a problem here. All the Detroit players are letting the refs get to them too much. They need to drop the bitching and complaining and just play their game. The other thing that I feel is hurting Detroit is their desire to try and foul guys out. They went to Shaq's or Wade's man too often when they were picking up fouls trying to knock them out of the game. Detroit doesn't have the type of players that can get fouls on themselves when they want to and when making a guy pick up a foul becomes your offensive strategy then your offense is going to suffer and play more into the defenses hands. Larry Brown said it himself last night when he said they needed more ball movement. Detroit just nees to play the right way.

In other news, it's not clear if Wade will be ready for game 6 at the Palace. This has to be a very big concern for Miami as they need the 1-2 punch of Shaq and Wade to get over the hill to the finals. If Wade doesn't play Eddie Jones is going to have to have a superlative game (he has played exceptionally well already). I think Miami can do it, but it will be tough on the road without Wade and with a still very immobile Shaq. I noticed after Wade drew that late charge from Rasheed just before he went out how armored up he is. Thigh pads, knee pads, elbow pads, and then a flack jacket after the charge. He must take some severe beatings to be wearing all that stuff.

Artest soon to be seen wearing a wedding dress on a motorcycle

2005-05-25T08:02:00.000-07:00

From a Detroit Paper:

Weird scene
The Pistons were still shaking their heads at what happened Thursday
night as they were on their bus inside the loading-dock area of
Conseco Fieldhouse.
It was between 11:30 and midnight and the Pistons' bus was about to
leave the arena for the airport.
Suddenly, a dark Escalade roared into the loading dock, nearly hitting
several people.
Out jumped Ron Artest, the Pacers forward who got a seasonlong
suspension for his part in the Nov. 19 brawl.
According to Pistons players on the bus, Artest was wearing an old
(and short) pair of shorts. He had no shoes on and, upon getting out
of the vehicle, he tore off his T-shirt.
Given the history between Artest and the Pistons, the team's security
officials were on high alert. But Artest made no motion toward the
bus. He simply walked, bare-chested and bare-footed, into the
building, presumably for a midnight workout.
"There's something going on there," Ben Wallace said, not wanting to
comment further.

That's insane isn't it? How is it possible that I did not hear about
this incident on Inside the NBA, The Smack, or ESPN.com? What a wack
job. Larry Bird better start firing up the trade machine.

Done and done. And I mean done.

2005-05-25T07:31:00.000-07:00

The Spurs just absolutely showed the Suns the way out of the playoffs
last night. No question about it. They played fastbreak basketball
better than Phoenix and came out wiht a killer mentality against the
Suns. In both games they pushed towards 20 point leads that had
Phoenix scrapping and scrambling to get back into the game, perhaps
wasting too much energy for a team that isn't that deep. Game two was
close down the stretch and the difference between the two teams was
glaring. The Spurs can man up, rotate, and do whatever it takes to
get a stop. The suns are completely incapable of getting a stop,
especially when the game is on the line. Game one San Antonio shot 20
of 26 from the floor (with four of those misses resulting in offensive
rebounds!) and last night they shot 12 of 17 from the floor. Phoenix
consistently could not get defensive rebounds, and there's really no
excuse with leapers and youngin's like Amare, Hunter, and Marion.
This is going to be the curse of Phoenix. My suggestion for Phoenix
in the off season? Hire a coach who can get some defense out of his
crew. Jim O'Brien just got his walking papers in Philly. He likes a
free wheeling offense as evidenced by his allowing his superstars to
run the show, but he demands defensive play. I think he might be the
shot in the arm that Phoenix needs. The offense definitely is not
broke, but the defense is. Oddly enough I thought this unmasking was
going to happen at the hands of Dallas, but obviously Dallas has their
own problems especially with Dirk's historonics and lack of
production.

Pacers vs. Celtics

2005-04-30T21:39:00.000-07:00

I have no idea what's going on in this series. Ultimately I would have to say it's two teams butting heads that aren't very good. So up and down. I watch the action and realize that it is likely that both of these teams would be swept by either Miami or Detroit.

2005 Playoff predictions

2005-04-22T09:34:00.000-07:00

Round 1:

Eastern Conference:

Miami vs. New Jersey - Shaq-fu is a little hurt and there is talk of the fact that he may not play the first couple of games this series. If that's the case then New Jersey has a chance to stay competitive in this thing. Vince Carter's decision to earn his money again this season has been nice. There's not a lot of options to stop him on the heat. But here's why I see Miami handling this thing easily. 1. Jason Kidd cannot shoot, and hasn't been able to pull his clutch shooting routine much anymore. 2. There is no defensive answer on NJ for Dwyane and Shaq. 3. New Jersey has only one scoring option and that's Vince. He's going to pussy out the first time Hasslem or Shaq flattens his ass. And that's that.

Miami 4-2

Chicago vs. Washington - The Bulls have been decimated by injury late in the season with Deng breaking his wrist and Curry suffering from an irregular heart beat. That's not good. But frankly the Bulls have lost key players during the season and still found ways to win. They play such a good team game. They'll miss Curry's low post scoring, but not in this game. Washington doesn't have any interior scoring or defense. And while Washington has a three-headed monster in Arenas-Jamison-Hughes, I just don't see them lighting up Chicago and their league leading defense (well, they have the lowest opponents FG% at 0.422. Not bad).

Chicago 4-2

Boston vs. Indy - We meet again. Third first round tussle with Indiana has some problems. O'Neal is hurting, the Abuser is out, Artest isn't making a playoff cameo, and Reggie is tired from carrying this team into the playoffs. The Celtics real weak spot is center and if O'Neal was healthy the C's would be in trouble, but that's not the case. I see the Celtics handling buisness in this series, though it won't be easy because they are predictable in close game situations and they don't defend the post well. Still, I see it going Boston's way here.

Boston 4-3

Detroit vs. Philly - Iverson put the Sixers on his back yet again and brought them to the playoffs. A marvelous performance by AI, and really astonishing considering the beating he takes every year. He plays with the most heart and toughness of anyone in the NBA and is fun to watch. But the problem is that he is not a great team player, and his team isn't that good. Detroit on the other hand is a solid, cohesive team loaded with defensive stoppers and just enough offensive to knock people around. It's going to be fun watching Webbs cry and then bitch and moan after the fans boo him out of town.

Detroit 4-0 sweeper special.

Round 2:

Miami vs. Chicago - Chicago is young and precocious. Shaq will now have the taste of blood in his mouth. Too much inexperience and no one to make Shaq work defenisively will hurt Chi-town in this round. This will be very easy for Miami and allow Shaq to rest up for his grudge match with a certain eastern conference team.

Miami 4-1

Detroit vs. Boston - I've watched enough Celtics basketball to know that Boston doesn't have the consistency, fundamentals, or mental toughness to hang with Detroit. Tayshaun can cause Pierce all kinds of problems, and the Wallace brothers are going to give us the ugly reminder of why Danny Ainge traded Walker away in the first place. Hopefully the Celtics can save face here, or maybe Larry Brown gets weirder and bolts from the Pistons mid-playoffs. That's the only way I see them having a chance.

Detroit 4-0

Round 3:

Detroit vs. Miami - This is the clash of the Titans now. The clear front runners in the Eastern Conference once the Brawl removed Indy from this weight group. The last time Shaq tangoed with Detroit in a series he had on the purple and gold, and he looked very, very effective. That Lakers team had funk problems. Not so this Miami team. Miami comes in with two all-world players in Wade and Shaq who cannot be stopped offensively. Haslem has shown that he can scrap and hold his own against Ben Wallace (rasheed will be too much for Udonis offensively) which is good. And Zoe is showing signs of being able to give Miami effective minutes. I think that's enough to beat Detroit, who I don't think are talented enough to beat a team with beaming superstars that are playing together. It will be interesting to see how Brown defends Shaq and how effective Rip will be (will Wade guard him? Can Eddie Jones even hope to stay with him?). But in the end, Shaq is too much for everybody. And he's happy. And he's motivated.

Miami 4-2.

Western Conference:

Round 1:

Phoenix vs. Memphis - Everyone is rightly noting that Memphis backed into the playoffs after initially responding to the Czar. Memphis hopes to be physical and slow the pace of the game down to give themselves a chance to win this series. Fratello clearly is one of the coaches who conspired to ruin basketball by overcoaching and playing a slow down game. I don't see how he can be successful here. This Phoenix team has too many horses and a great floor general in Nash. Every opportunity is a fast break and Stoudemire runs the floor better than any big man I've ever seen. Memphis will succeed sometimes in slowing the pace, but this will also hurt them as they have no real go to scorer in the half court sets, but rather unsteady and unproven shooters and wingmen.

Phoenix 4-1

Dallas vs. Houston - This could be a really entertaining playoff series. Dallas has actually improved in several areas since Nash and Nellie departed. Avery Johnson has emphasized defense, defense, defense and Dallas has one of its deeper teams in a while with a legitimate enforcer in the paint. Dirk has clearly risen to top five status this year emerging as a full-fledged superstar. Houston started out slowly, but it seems that McGrady and Yao are starting to click a little better. Houston's front office was also wise to bring in some extra help in the likes of David Wesley and Jon Barry to stabilize their rotation. Yao's numbers have been good this year considering that he's averaging 30 minutes a game (he needs an offseason to really develop) and Mutumbo continues to show some signs of life. In the end I think Houston is limited by a lack of a PF, a key position on the floor, and Dirk is going to exploit that to no end. Still could be a fun series to watch though.

Dallas 4-2

Seattle vs. Sacramento - I really don't know. According to my Seattle source people are getting ready for the next big let down, but honestly Seattle has had some key injuries coming down the stretch. Sacto has had the same problem losing the likes of Peja and Brad Miller for significant stretches. Both are expected to play in this series. I'm only thinking Seattle is going to win because I don't like Sacto. Really, I have no clue what happens here.

Seattle 4-2

San Antonio vs. Denver - No team is playing better in the second half of the season than Denver under Carl. They have a lot of front court size and some fairly reliable scorers. Anthony remains a question mark. He's shown signs of being a really good player, but also showed a lot of inconsitency in his first playoff appearance. Granted he was a rookie. The buzz out of San Antonio is all about Duncan's ankle. If it's healthy they expect a run for the title. If not, well it's hard to predict. Still San Antonio had great games even with Duncan out with players like Ginobli really raising their game a notch. I like the Spurs here because they have big game experience and Denver does not and Karl has a history of having talented teams flame out. Denver just isn't ready yet.

Spurs 4-2

Round 2:

Dallas vs. Phoenix - Can't miss entertainment. Dallas plays a little more defense this year than in previous ones but they can still run and score with the best of them. I really think Dirk is going to be the difference in this series with too much scoring and too much clutch scoring. Plus I think Dallas can guard Nash with some bigger players like Daniels and stifle him a bit. This is still going to be so much fun to watch.

Dallas 4-2

Seattle vs. Spurs - Tim Duncan. Tim Duncan. Tim Duncan. That's all that matters here, and let's face it both Seattle and Sacto are soft as hell so the Spurs are going to mash whichever team gets here.

Spurs 4-1

Round 3:

Dallas vs. Spurs - Nobody can stop Dirk. But nobody can stop Duncan defensively either and San Antonio has more options and just better all around experience. We saw last year that San Antonio certainly has weaknesses (e.g. knock Parker on his ass a couple of times and he becomes less aggressive) but I think Dallas has more of them. I think without a Shaq sized obstacle in his way, Duncan shreds through the lesser opposition of this years playoffs.

Finals:

San Antonio vs. Miami - Shaq vs. Duncan round two. I think Miami takes it because this might be the most motivated Shaq has been in years. I see him giving it his all, putting up 30-20 games to go along with Wade's all around excellence and the help of a few role players. Shaq can force Duncan into playing more defense than he normally does and get him into foul trouble. Wade causes headaches for the Spurs and is quick enough to handle Ginobli or Parker on Defense. The only issue will be Eddie and Damon hitting shots and Haslem getting garbage points and working the glass. Plus I think 'Zo gives them just enough to get by.

Miami 4-2

Kobe Bryant superstar, year one

2005-04-13T08:32:00.000-07:00

Now that the Lakers have utterly collapsed as a dissapointing team (perhaps even finishing below the lowly Clippers) it's time to consider how year one of Kobe Bryant me, myself, and I went.

The good. Kobe is a supremely talented player and his personal statistics show this as he is second in the league in scoring and is shooting a decent 0.431 from the floor. He is bascially averaging 27, 6, and 6 with 4 turnovers per game. Not bad numbers at all. Kobe also showed more willingness to play harder defense this year and hasn't suffered any shoulder problems. He did have an ankle sprain recently but he is back and has played in 63 of the Lakers 78 games. Last year he played in 68 and had the shoulder problem.

The bad. If you watch the Lakers, they stand around much too much and wait for Bryant to initiate something. Bryant's penchant for dribbling the ball without really doing anything has increased which is partially to blame for the standstill in the offense. Kobe also appears to not have the support of his teammates with Chucky Atkins most recently calling Kobe out and with Kobe awkwardly declaring afterwards that Chucky was his "road dawg", whatever that means. Worse yet, the Lakers have only won 34 games to 44 losses.

The historical context. The last two times Kobe played in the equivalent number of games the Lakers won 56 ('03-04, 65 games played due to rape trial/injury) and 56 ('00-'01, injury). In the former the Lakers finished second place and in the latter they were NBA champions. Both happened with Bryant on the floor in the playoffs. The key to both runs though was Shaquille O'Neal, and this shows especially this year with Shaq being older and slower than during the three titles, but still leading the Heat very close to 60 wins in his first year with that team and a new lieutenant, D'wyane Wade.

Some would argue that Kobe's team and coach changed so dramatically that he would have been hard pressed to win in the competitive western conference. This is partially true. But one only need look back to Michael Jordan's first retirement to see how Scottie Pippen and crew were able to keep the Bulls aloft even without his Airness, arguably the games greatest all-time player. In 1994 the Bulls won 55 games and finished second to Atlanta in the Central division behind only two games. They made a deep run in the playoffs and were a serious finals contender. The next year '94-95, the Bulls won 47 games with a rusty Jordan playing in only 17 of those games with mixed results as he reincorporated himself into the flow before a dissapointing playoff run in which Jordan looked uncormfortable on the court during key moments of the game. In neither year did the Bulls plummet to the level that Bryant's Lakers have this year. In fact, the Bulls were serious title contenders in Jordan's first sabatical. Competitiveness of a conference can be debated, but a superstar doesn't let his team miss the playoffs. It just doesn't happen. Pippen lifted his game and with his help, his teammates responded in kind.

I know it's only year one, but I think this will show a trend over the rest of Bryant's career. A great player, prolific and efficient scorer, great defender (when he puts his mind to it), but lacking the qualities of leadership needed to make his teammates better and perform at a higher level than they could on their own. I think Kobe makes a great second banana, but a permier leader he is not.

Season Awards

2005-04-06T11:37:00.000-07:00

Here's how I see the Awards settling in:

MVP - Should go to the self-described MDP. Shaq has brought the Heat the number one overall seed in the East and in the NBA. And outside of D'wayne Wade, there isn't a lot of other talent on this team. Shaq made everyone better.

Coach of the Year - Scott Skiles. The Bulls surprising and impressive turnaround this season gets Skiles the nod. He's no nonsense and tough on his young players. Just what they needed. An 0-9 start to challenging for your division isn't bad.

Rookie of the Year - Ben Gordon. Mr. 4th quarter himself (he leads the NBA in double-digit scoring in the 4th quarter), Ben has shown an ability for hitting tough shots and to score in droves when his team needs it. Has really adopted to his role as a sixth man too.

Sixth Man Award - Ricky Davis. I can't believe I just wrote that. Davis seems to be very content playing with and leading the second unit. He's been very efficient and prolific with his scoring and he has shown some great defensive presence out on the court. I don't see how he can't get this award. Of course, it will probably swell his head even more if he gets it.

Defensive Player of the Year - Maybe he's not getting the normal press that he does because of the rumble at the Palace, but this award goes to Ben Wallace. He's so Tenacious and without Artest around I can't think of anybody who can even challenge Big Ben for the award.

Most Improved Player - Brevin Knight. He's almost averaging double digit assists (9.0) playing just under 30 minutes a night, doesn't turn the ball over, shoots the ball well from the floor and the stripe, and is helping a team without many players win some games. I thought Knight had largely been written off in the league but I feel like he came back in a big way this season and deserves the award.

Who let the Dawg in?

2005-04-06T11:33:00.000-07:00

I fail to see how San Antonio signing Glenn Robinson does them any good. They signed him in an effort to get the top seed in the Western conference playoffs hoping he can provide them with a scoring punch now that Timmy is down. He's not eligible for the playoffs because he signed after March 1st so really he's on a glorified 10 day contract. Weird. Just weird.

Polish sausage. Ditka. Da Bulls

2005-03-29T11:50:00.000-08:00

There they go again. A young team playing tough, hard nosed basketball. The Bulls are on a six game winning streak and have overtaken the Cavs in their division. They remain 4.5 games back of Detroit and a potential 2 seed. This most recent win streak has been manufactured with Kirk Hinrich missing all the games and Luol Deng popping in and out of them with injuries. Stepping up big time have been Pargo, Duhon, and Noccioni. Tyson Chandler continues to excel in his defensive stopper/rebounding role and Eddie Curry is still providing the low post punch in the offensive sets. This team plays so well together and plays such nice offensive sets that losing Hinrich hasn't killed them. It can only make them stronger for the playoffs. Damn their winning though, I was really hoping to go see them match up with the Celtics in person for the first round of the playoffs. It's hard to imagine this young group going far in the playoffs, but with the state of things in the Eastern conference I don't think getting by the first round is out of the question.

Number 17?

2005-03-22T07:26:00.000-08:00

The interest in the Celtics in and around New England has returned to a fever pitch. The return of Antoine and their subsequent winning streak put the Celtics back on the talk radio landscape which in turn has resulted in casual fans tuning their tubes to the Celtics. It's also a good time in local sports for the Celtics to get hot with the Pats being a long way off from training camp and the Sox just diddling around in Florida. Into the void the Celtics have stepped. So the trade for Antoine has been hugely successful from the standpoint of fan interest and in terms of winning. There is no question about this. The Celtics now hold the number three seed for the playoffs and perhaps could even dream of catching Detroit for the two seed. Thus we're going to see at least one home playoff series.

The more important question is have these moves brought the Celtics any closer to title number 17? I think the answer is no. Back when Ainge traded Antoine away it had to be done because he and Pierce needed some help on the floor and Antoine clearly was not a guy who was going to get the Celtics over the hump against bigger more agile power forwards such as Kenyon Martin. Additionally, it looked like nobody in the East had a shot at capturing a title against the Western behemoths who awaited their Eastern prey in the finals.

Under that set of circumstances Danny Ainge began rebuilding his team in the vision of 80s basketball. Fast breaking, uptempo, and good defense (not great defense). The kind of basketball that is enjoyable to watch and can be successful, just witness the rebirth of Phoenix this year. Along the way Ainge cemented Detroit as an Eastern power for years to come by helping them acquire Rasheed Wallace. No worries, our title hopes were at least three years away. Ainge bungled a few things, but got this years crop of rookies who show a lot of promise, most especially Al Jefferson. He also took the risk on Ricky Davis (a move I was not a big advocate of) and that has payed huge dividends. Ricky seems to love his sixth man role and I would be shocked if he did not win it this year. So the future was looking brighter. And of course this year Miami got Shaq teamed up with Dywane Wade creating another Eastern power. All the more reason for the Celtics to stay the course and lay low. So what if they didn't make the playoffs this year or struggled to do it? That might mean a higher draft pick or even a lotto pick. Trades or drafts could only improve the Celtics stock. Clearly the new owners were a bit impatient and Danny took the one year no risk flier on bringing Antoine back thus setting back his title plans.

What can Antoine do? He plays hard every game and brings an infectious enthusiasm to a team that was sorely lacking it. Even Mark Blount has responded and is now playing the type of ball that brought him his riches this offseason. Pierce is encouraged and playing better and the young rookies have a positive voice to respect instead of the gruff and self-interested barking of Gary Payton. The Celtics again have a great leader on the floor. And one who has reshaped his game a little bit since we last saw him in Boston. Better yet, he's a guy who really and truly wants to be in Boston and that's saying a lot in the post-Pitino years.

What can't Antoine do? Anything against Rasheed or Ben Wallace. There is no question about this. If the C's draw the Bulls in the first round, Tyson Chandler will eat him alive on the defensive end forcing Antoine to drift out to his old mistress, the three point line. I'm not so sure Antoine can do much against the unheralded but defensively sound Udonis Haslem of Miami. He'll still get his minutes and his shots, but what will happen to his confidence when matched up against a superior opponent? I thought Kenyon's beat down of Antoine a few years ago really taught him something which is why he lost the weight before being traded. So Antoine's not getting us to the finals, probably not even the Eastern conference finals.

He's also not letting some of the young guns off the bench. Perkins is hurting the most for minutes and he showed a nasty streak that every NBA team needs. Just look at Seattle's improvement with Fortson and Evans patrolling the paint and tangling with opponents. Perkins is still raw but was showing improvement. Most importantly, Al Jefferson is not getting the minutes he should. This kid is the future and needs to play. If he keeps improving he and Pierce could be a great one-two punch, especially when teamed with a dynamo like Ricky and a scoring point guard like Delonte. The Celtics still don't have a low post threat and Jefferson will be it if he continues his dramatic improvement.

So at the end of the day the short term payoff of the move has been great, no question. But will that payoff bleed into next year when Antoine is gone because he won't take a HUGE pay cut and the young guns are still a little bit off because they need to learn on the job? I think no. The casual fan will wonder why there was such a drop off in wins and quality of play and may just turn away again. And Boston still won't be any better than Miami or Detroit. It's a done deal now, so we'll just have to enjoy this years run while it lasts and keep hoping for the day when banner number 17 is raised to the rafters.

Welcome Back 'Toine

2005-03-08T09:01:00.000-08:00

I wanted to wait a few days before putting my thoughts down about the Antoine Walker trade. I wanted to see Antoine play again, here some of his statements, Ainge's statements, and see how the team responded to having him back. Here now, the good and the bad of the whole trade.

The Good - Antoine has provided an immeadiate lift for the team and has rekindled interest in the Celtics in Boston. His first Fleet appearance was sold out and it was a win. Clearly Pierce likes having Antoine around as he has raised his game. Antoine himself is a bit of a different player if only because he does not have a green light to jack three pointers as he did under Obie. Antoine's hustle and board work are welcome antidotes to the Celtics pre-All-Star malaise.

The Bad - Antoine was shown the door in Boston because Ainge wanted to build a championship contender and he did not feel that Antoine could be part of that. Ainge found that 'Toine's trade value was quite low and panicked in trading him to Dallas for the lengthy and bloated contract attached to one Raef LaFrentz (we have him until 2009). Not exactly a blockbuster trade seeing as Raef is widely known to be a bit soft on the glass and to prefer the three point arc to the paint. These were problems with Antoine too, but at least Antoine was the team's lightning rod. Now Antoine is back for one purpose and that is to make the playoffs. The Fleet has been very empty and people who only casually follow basketball barely knew the Celtics were playing. Now the Fleet is hopping and the Celtics are looking like they'll be able to counter Phillies grab for Webber and take the Atlantic, a number 3 playoff seed (home playoff games for those counting at home), and potentially advance against a comprable or lesser foe. 'Toine still does not make the Cs a championship team. Miami and Detroit both have the size and teams to knock the Cs off their collective block. The match ups just don't pan out well for Boston. Pierce is the only slot the Cs have an advantage over everyone and Walker, well let's think about how he would fare against Rasheed Wallace after remembering how KMart too him to school the last time Walker was in Celtic green. This team isn't even built to get to the conference finals quite frankly.

The ugly - Playing time for the rooks is way down. Jefferson is suffering, and he needs to play. The kid has too much talent and needs to hone it. He's big and has skill. He could be a force for years to come. Why wait on that for one lousy trip to the playoffs when we were sold that Ainge wasn't happy just making the playoffs? Then G.P. was brought back as well. Now West and Marcus are going to find their playing time curtailed. This is not good. West was beggining to emerge in the absence of GP and Marcus has been improving his play too. Now they will have to watch and learn more too. This cannot sit well with them. And all this mess cost them a first round draft pick that could have been used this yearAnd finally, Antoine Walker is in his contract year. He has already stated that he will not work for the veteran's minimum and the Celtics aren't going to keep him close to the $14 million/year he is getting paid now. Contract situations can become ugly (I don't think it will be with Walker). So will this amount to Antoine being a hired gun for a single run at the playoffs to make the Celtics semi-relevant again or will Antoine stay long term and take up the playing time of Al and keep Perkins bolted to the bench?

Overall I don't think this is a good thing if Ainge's master plan is to win a championship. I felt all along that Antoine should have stayed in Boston during the first round of things to keep the playoff excitement going and then let him walk or sign for less money when his time was up. By bringing 'Toine back it makes it seem as if Danny's master plan is running up against the patience of the new owners for a successful product. Yes the C's were slumping, but with Detroit and Miami playing the way they are, better to lick your wounds with a high draft pick and come out swinging with new talent and more polished young talent.

The Bell Tolls for Webbs

2005-02-24T10:09:00.000-08:00

So Webber was traded to Philly for an assortment of undersized PFs (Kenny Thomas, Corliss Williamson, Brian Skinner). What does this mean? I think it says a few things about Webber for one. It says that despite his talents he was not a positive influence in team chemistry. We know Peja was unhappy and Webbs did call out Vlade last year after another playoff flameout. Perhaps the Kings felt they would be better without him. Secondly, it says that his value around the league is extremely low. Sacto didn't get one of Phillies talented youngsters as part of the deal or any draft picks. I'm sure this is for two reasons, his poor influence on team chemistry and his injury history. Even though he continues to put up good numbers, Webbs just isn't effective physically anymore. He cannot get tough boards or hustle much on defense, and that's pretty important in the Western conference. And because he's a little soft, you can't be sure when the next injury is coming meaning that you're paying a guy $20 mil to sit on the bench and pout. He's 32 and still has three years left on his contract so I think this was all about dumping a player who had reached his potential with the Kings and was only declining. From Philly's perspective, this has to be about keeping Obie and AI happy. AI now has a marquee big man to play with and they will undoubtedly play the pick and roll together well. And maybe this brings Philly a little closer to climbing the ranks of the Eastern Conference, but it still seems that Detroit and Miami are major obstacles that cannot be overcome by a less talented Philly team. It will be interesting to see how this plays out. It certainly makes Philly the favorite to take the Atlantic and secure a home playoff series. And to think, Philly and Sacto match up this Saturday. Too delicious.

West Coast Blues

2005-02-24T09:16:00.000-08:00

Two games in and two games down for the Celtics. The first loss to the Lakers was a little upsetting because the C's played tough and tight for three quarters and then in the fourth their defense softened and their willignness to work on the offensive end just disappeared. Too much standing around and settling for jumpers. Oh, and Mark Blount still can't catch a basketball. This was doubly upsetting because Mihm went for 18 and 14 in the game. Mihm was all hustle too. Too bad we didn't keep Mihm at the lower price and let Blount go somewhere else. Mihm is incositent but has had some monster games this year with the minutes he's getting on the Lakers. And Tommy pointed out that he is only 25 and is thus only learning how to play the big man role in the NBA. I thought it was a legit point, and it made me sad to see him, Jumaine Jones, and Chucky Atkins have major hands in dealing the C's a loss. Plus Kobe was starting to act out. Flexing, posing, glaring. He really is trying to become some kind of mock villain who nobody will take seriously. He's got great game, but the faux thug stuff isn't exactly going to win him any new fans.

Last night the C's got shelacked by Denver. Just an abysmal performance on their part. At first I was excited because I saw Delonte West seemingly starting making me think that G.P. had been traded. But no, G.P. was there, for now. West started out nicely going 4/5 and scoring down low handling the first quarter PG duties nicely. I'm still thinking that West is not a PG, but we'll have to give it time. He seems more like the Cutino Mobley type of scorer who gets some assissts along the way. Outside of that there were not really a lot of bright spots. Karl had his team running and gunning and the Celtics looked flat. And Mark Blount definitely can't catch.

Still hoping for a G.P. trade because now that the 76ers have Webber it's unlikely the C's are favorites to take the division/make the playoffs anyway. Buh.

I LUV WULTAH!

2005-02-09T05:48:00.000-08:00

It's been real McCarty. Wultah was dealt to Phoenix for a second round draft pick. Now Wultah can come off the pine and run the break and spot up for threes all he wants. And the Celtics get. Umm. I guess a second round pick can be useful, but they must have just wanted to get rid of him. I didn't catch last nights game (a beat down of the C's by the Bucks) so I'm not sure how Tommy is taking it.

Ric Bucher

2005-01-31T13:44:00.000-08:00

Here at: http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/columns/story?columnist=bucher_ric&id=1976018

Ric Bucher posits that the Celtics need to trade Paul Pierce. In the column he argues that Pierce doesn't fit what the Celtics are trying to become, a fast break team, and doesn't have the spark that inspires a team and makes one worthy of max money. He simply argues that Pierce is an anchor that is slowing the team. Bucher makes some good arguments, but I think he misses the mark just a little bit. Some counterpoints:

Most of the Celtics young talent is just that, young. Tony Allen and Al Jefferson have impressed in their rookie seasons thus far and I think they're going to be quite good over the long haul, but they're not the blocks that you can build a franchise on. Jefferson has the potential to be that block, but he's still really raw. Bucher seems to argue that by getting rid of Pierce it would unlock the talents of Jiri Welsch and Ricky Davis too. Maybe. Jiri has shown flashes, but that counts for little in the NBA. You can't assume he'll become good because Pierce isn't around. And Ricky Davis is still a head case. Bucher says that Ricky has been playing well and keeping himself out of trouble but fails to remember that a little over a week ago Ricky was tossed out of a practice for swearing at his coach. Oh yeah, the Celtics had invited some academic achievers to view the practice where they were treated to a display of too much ego and much cursing by Ricky.

Gary Payton has helped stabilize the point guard position that was a little off when Kenny Anderson left (did I just say that?). Payton has this year remaining on his deal and is 36. There is little chance that he'll be back in Boston and he certainly isn't a long term solution at the position. Bucher says Delonte West may turn into an excellent back up point guard, but he doesn't say who he's going to back up. Marcus Banks? That's a big glaring omission. For all of Pierce's flaws, he certainly makes life easier for any point guard by having some ball handling skills and by being a deep shooting and driving threat who makes pressing a risky decision for any team. Perhaps Bucher has in mind a trade of Pierce for some up and coming point guard. Well unless they can get Hinrich, I don't think there's anyone else out there who fills the need.

Raef LaFrentz signed a contract in 2002 that is going to pay him roughly $70 million over seven seasons. He's on the books until 2009! He has an opt-out in 2007, but I seriously doubt he's going to be taking that. Raef is a good player, and this year he is actually trying to show that he's tough by grimacing all over the floor. And he's a team guy for sure. That said, he shoots too many threes for a PF, he doesn't break effectively (one of Buchers criticisms of Pierce), and he's proven to be an injury waiting to happen. That isn't worth $10 million a season. This still has to amount to one of Danny Ainge's most foolish decisions. Antoine certainly had flaws, but he brought leadership and excitement to the Celtics. And if nothing else, he would have come off the books this year. Ainge traded Walker's bloated and short contract for Raefs bloated and long contract for a player with a questionable history who lacked many of the things that made Ainge want to trade Antoine (poor post play, too much time spent on the perimeter, weak rebounding). Just think about it, if the Celtics still had 'Toine, they would have two expiring contracts to either trade (for picks or talent) or to just let expire this season so that they could better position themselves on the free agent market. One of the initial arguments for trading Walker was saying that they could not sign both 'Toine and Pierce when the next date was up. Fine, but both were under contract (Pierce signed a six year extenstion in 2001), and letting 'Toine walk or being more patient with the trade button during his last two years under a Celtics contract would have served Boston much better. Bucher totally ignores the LaFrentz problem. It would be much, much better to trade LaFrentz instead of Pierce. Perhaps Miami could be enticed to take LaFrentz on in the hopes of securing a title this year. It's not that far fetched. They were wooing Malone and could use some post help. I'm not sure if anybody is dumb enough to take on LaFrentz's contract again though. Denver dumped him as soon as they signed him and Dallas dumped him realizing he would never be a necessary piece to take them to championship land.

I'm not saying that trading Pierce would be the end of the world. Some of Bucher's points are very valid. He does have bad body language and doesn't seem to possess the intangibles that make for a good leader. I've certainly questioned his defensive effort, but I've seen some improvement in this since the infamous benching game against the Bulls a few weeks ago. When the Celtics broke the Bulls most recent five game winning streak in Chicago, Pierce was everywhere in the hustle department drawing charges, getting a steal or two, and getting some tough defensive rebounds with the C's undersized (Jefferson on the IL, Kendrick tossed for a hard foul, Blount taking bong hits before the game). I was impressed. Bucher is right that Pierce lets things slide because sometimes he does need to save his legs for the fourth quarter. But that Chicago game highlighted why he's still such a valuable player. Not only did he get his shot, but when Ben Gordon was in foul trouble and matched up defensively against Ricky, Pierce made sure Ricky got the ball. That's a good team player and the kind of action that gets the support of your running mates. He can only be traded if the Celtics get some great value in return. They would need to get a good center with a pulse or a young and up and coming or somewhat established point guard in return for Pierce. Failing that they would need the guarantee of multiple high picks. Two lottery dips, or one top two pick with a late first rounder would be nice in return.

So in the end, I think Bucher is a bit premature. Pierce still is a top ten talent in my opinion (as or more talented than LeBron for instance) and only his leadership skills lag. But the supporting cast has to take some of the blame. Blount is a dog this year and relying on rookies only gets one so far. Resolving the long-term center and PG needs has to be the biggest priority of the Celtics and I'm not sure if trading Pierce is the way to do this. Heck, Bucher doesn't even suggest a few trade scenarios involving Pierce so I'm not entirely sure why he wrote the article.

Da Bulls

2005-01-27T07:26:00.000-08:00

They started 2-13. They were already being written off. And yet here
they are over .500 almost halfway through the season playing with a
bunch of rookies and now only a few games out of first place. They're
on their second winning streak in weeks having just cleared out four
opponents in row after losing to Boston a little over a week ago.
When you watch them play, you see a team playing. 5 guys on the floor
executing as one. They play tough defense and they execute the half
court very well thanks to Hinrich. They can fast break pretty well
too. And now that the spotlight seems to be off Tyson and Eddie
(they're role players now, not the focal point) they seem to be
playing their roles excellently. Eddie scoring on the box and Tyson
rebounding like a demon and blocking shots from the weakside. This
team is now fun to watch and that hasn't been the case since 23 hung
'em up. Keep it coming.

Da Bulls!

2005-01-23T07:47:00.000-08:00

Chicago absolutely rolled Detroit last night. Totally decimated them with everyone playing great. Hinrich is beginning to look like one of the top point guards in the league (Magic even mentioned Hinrich in the same sentence as Nash and Kidd) as he easily handled the big man step outs by Detroit by deftly dribbling them out and then time after time hitting his big man who initiated the screen with beautiful bounce passes setting up easy scores. Also, Nocioni was mixing it up under the boards with Big Ben and 'Sheed and he was getting results and would not be intimidated.

The highlight of the game for me was that the Pistons started acting like an immature team. Whining to refs about non-calls and making cheap plays but then bitching when the whistle went against them. Larry Brown was caught yelling, "Just play basketball!" to his charges several times on the sidelines. Chicago looked like the veteran well coached team and Detroit looked like the bunch of Rookies. This is trouble for the Pistons and I think this opens up the East a lot this year. Also, I think Skiles is going to start getting coach of the year press soon. We'll see.

Most importantly, the Bulls are at 0.500 and haven't been so or better since #23 laced 'em up. Game on.

Let it snow

2005-01-23T07:43:00.000-08:00

No, there was no shimmy, but there was a skip. Antoine hit a key shot that helped lift the pathetic Hawks over the Celtics down the stretch. Boston started out the fourth quarter leading by 13 points and lost all focus. I'm not sure what comes next from Doc after a night like this. The C's dominated the game and then just went on cruise in the 4th assuming ATL would back down. Well they didn't.

On a positive note Tony Allen started and didn't dissapoint at all. His defense and fast breaking are very welcome. I'd like to see much more of him and a lot less of Jiri.

Learning to walk

2005-01-17T13:49:00.000-08:00

The Bulls just finished off a thriller against the Knickerbocker's today winning the game on a difficult last second baseline floater by Ben Gordon. Gordon lit the Knicks up in the fourth quarter scoring on a variety of drives and outside shots. He's learning to play and is becoming a potent force off the bench.

More importanly the Bulls could have lost this game. They went down by 8 with 5 minutes remaining and instead of folding forced the action defensively (Chandler had some nice blocks and was a real difference maker defensively and Nocioni continued to provide tough hard nosed rebounding and clutch shooting). For a young team to show so much grit is really impressive. Perhaps the Celtics should watch a few games.........

Da Bulls

2005-01-13T09:52:00.000-08:00

Shhh. The Bulls just won four straight games and are only two back of
Indiana for the 7th playoff spot and only 1 game back of the C's for
the eighth playoff spot. And last night they had every chance in the
world to lose. Sporting a 19 point lead going into the fourth quarter
the Bulls went into the tank big time allowing the Warriors to close
within 6 points with only a few minutes remaining. The old Bulls
would have lied down and died. These youngins are starting to learn
how to win as they responded in a big way with a Duhon three and then
a nice defensive play by Nocioni that led to the break and the bucket.
Let's see if these Bulls can't get themsevles to above .500 by the
all-star break.

Benching and Trading

2005-01-12T09:25:00.000-08:00

So the C's threw a stinker against the Bulls. And Doc benched all the
starters for most of the fourth quarter. Doc's problem is that there
is not enough effort being thrown towards defense. The C's are on a
streak of allowing over 100 points a game and are letting teams shoot
nearly 50% or better from the floor against them indicating that their
opponents are getting too many easy shots of the layup variety. I
like what Doc is doing and support him. Here is a bit from the
Globe's assesment of the game:

the Green could have easily owned the glass if LaFrentz and Blount
managed more than a 6 rebounds combined. When asked about that
statistic, LaFrentz shot back, "Well, how many minutes did we play?"
Together, they played 38.

Rivers isn't buying that excuse. Jefferson and McCarty grabbed 8
rebounds apiece in a combined 34 minutes off the bench.

I've been thinking Blount wasn't exactly lighting it up, but only 6
rebounds between Blount and LaFrentz in a combined 38 minutes? That's
pathetic, especially against the Bulls who have the softest or oldest
rebounding forces in the league depending who is on the floor. As for
LaFrentz, I don't think anybody expected much from seeing as his body
has broken down and he plays too far away from the basket for a big
man (wasn't that why we got rid of Antoine?). The sportsguy does a
number on him and Blount in his most recent cowbell features.

Judging from the reaction of the veterans to Docs lesson (at least
immeadiately after the game) things are going to get a bit shaky in
Boston. I think Ainge is going to back Doc to the fullest, but it
didn't sound like Payton, Pierce, LaFrentz, or Blount were very
humbled by the experience. I know I expect trades to happen, but I'm
not sure what Ainge can do. I think Pierce could possibly be on the
block if his play and attitude don't pick up too. I just have to
think something is coming the way this season is going.

Celtics respond

2005-01-11T16:59:00.000-08:00

Maybe Doc's message did sink in a little bit (not entirely) as the
Celtic's beat up on the Magic in their first game after the benching
against Chicago. Of course the Magic were without Cutino Mobely for
the evening as he was traded to Sacto for Doug Christie. Still
everybody was getting into the act on the scoring side of things. On
the defensive end, Pierce looked very pouty and was not working at
all. We'll see how long this lasts.

I'm employee #8. I make baskets.

2005-01-06T16:22:00.000-08:00

Speaking of bygone eras, it just struck me yesterday that Al Jefferson
is wearing 'Toine's good old #8. Not to say that this was unexpected,
but somehow I can't help but think back to the good old days when
Pierce and Walker jacked it up all the way to the Eastern Conference
finals. I'll admit it. I miss the wiggle just a little bit. Well,
hopefully baby Al will make that number count.

It's getting hot in here

2004-12-22T09:01:00.000-08:00

The Celtics played a pretty nice up tempo game with the Heat last
night. The first half was really exciting with the Celtics leading
the score 60-58 and breaking very nicely. There were good passes,
silly oops, and goofy grins. The players looked happy on the court,
even GP. It's a nice sign as it seems that this is a team that is
enjoying playing together. Except for maybe Pierce. He seems to be
in a weird place this year. Not sure.

The second half was a much, much different story. First LaFrentz left
the game due to some unknown injury. Then Ricky was fouled out on a
flagrant foul. I think he was making a play for the ball and was just
too aggressive, but I can understand why the Refs tossed him. I only
hope he's not suspended. After that play really bogged down. Pierce
kept trying to work a two man game with Al and it was really
ineffective. And inspite of Shaq being out, the Celtics could get
nothing done inside. Blount looked flustered and Al got a little
overwhelmed by Laettner's craftiness.

On the other side of things, nobody can contain D. Wade. What a
player. He makes everything look so effortless. His penetration is
killer and he lays the ball off at the right time and to the right
players. I don't really blame Tony Allen for getting killed by Wade
because for the most part he played him pretty well and forced him to
dish. The problem was the help defense. Blount in particular would
just stand still and look dazed as Wade drove into the lane and then
dished to Haslem whom Blount would invariably let roam towards the
rim. Blount needs to decide sooner to either step up, or cut off his
man's lane to the tin. I was impressed with Tony Allen still though.
His defense is great, and his offense isn't bad.

I was also impressed with Al Jefferson. He nearly notched a
double-double (14 points and 9 boards) in only 14 minutes of play.
Not bad numbers for a rook. He also showed a deft touch passing the
ball making two nice back door assists to Payton. I'm feeling really
good about this kid. He's starting to remind me of Zach Randolph.
Jefferson isn't the most atheletic guy, but knows how to spin and use
his hook to get off shots. Also, his touch is very soft. Once the
ball lands on the rim, it generally goes down.

So all that said it was nice that the C's competed on the road with
the top team in the East (albeit one without Shaq), I don't really
expect them to frequently beat the best teams in the league. I'm
encouraged that the team likes playing together and that Allen and
Jefferson are starting to become heavy contributors. Everything is
positive right now.

General notes of NBA concern

2004-12-17T08:52:00.000-08:00

Umm, the Bulls have won 4 of their last 6 games. Don't want to say
anything, but if they keep that up they may not be in lottery land
this year.

Additionally, before the season began I thought the acquisition of
Eric Snow by the Cavaliers was a good move. I felt that his veteran
presence and solid, if unspectacular, point play would help Jeff
McInnis continue his development. Boy was I ever wrong. Snow is not
playing much and apparently is becoming a bitch about it. Last night
Paul Silas had to send him into the locker room after Snow said some
crap to Silas. I applaud Silas too. I think he's a good coach and
he's got the Cavs going in the right direction. And as long as LBJ
buys into his program, he can demand proper respect from his players.
But still, I'm a little surprised by Snow's actions. I have a feeling
Snow will be changing locales before the season is over.

And finally, the Lakers are doing better than I anticipated. Beating
the Kings on the road so convincingly was a nice win from this club.
It helps when everybody steps up. It seems only Kobe can bring it
consistently on this team. Last night everybody brought their A
games. And Kobe's double fisted reverse baseline cram over Mrs.
Christie? Oooooooooo.

The East is not the least

2004-12-14T07:39:00.000-08:00

The Celtics seem to be getting off to a good start on this west coast
swing. They lost to the Blazers, but have just had consecutive wins
over Seattle and the Clippers. Last nights victory over the clips was
particularly sweet. They won it in double overtime and it went into
the first overtime when Tony Allen made a humungous block on Corey
Maggette. Really a nice play. And they managed to do all this with
Pierce on the bench having fouled out. Ricky Davis had a great game
too. This is the stuff that gets you hooked. Hopefully they can keep
it up. I'd still like to see Jefferson cutting his teeth on the floor
a little bit more, especially against a crafty post player like Brand.

Stuck in the middle with you

2004-11-29T12:31:00.000-08:00

It is definitely early in the season, but one man who needs to begin
stepping up again is Mark Blount. He worked hard to get his contract.
Now that he has it he should be working harder. It is entirely
unacceptable that he is averaging only 5 rpg. With his size and the
lack of competition he faces in the paint in the East, this number
should be up closer to 8.

Boston needs a closer

2004-11-29T11:12:00.000-08:00

Another tough loss for the Celtics yesterday. They were able to hang
with a much more talented Miami squad and had a chance to win things
down the stretch. It again comes down to execution, execution,
execution. Too much dribbling leads to a defense that is set. Worse
yet is that the Celtics crunch time defense is not what it could be.
Of course, Dwyane Wade (aka The Flash) is pretty hard to handle. He
gave Celtics defenders headaches with his crossover and atheleticism.

In other news, the Bulls finally won. They beat Utah. At least
they're off the consecutive loss schnide. For now.

Mr. Pierce goes to Washington

2004-11-18T08:28:00.000-08:00

The Celtics. Ugh. I've complained about this a million times and I
thought it was one of Coach O'Briens bigger flaws, but all the crucial
possessions down the stretch and every overtime possession amounted to
isolations for Paul Pierce. He was clearly pretty gassed and was
being defended by a much younger and taller Jared Jeffries who was
also fresher because all he was in to do was defend Pierce. Pierce
took step back jumper after step back jumper and missed shot after
shot. The Celtics almost didn't score in five minutes of overtime.
Just pathetic. I'm a big proponent of attacking a defense. Why let
one guy stand around, dribble out the shot clock, and then take a
difficult shot? Pierce is a great shooter so why not get him a good
look? I would prefer to see Payton get the ball (did I just say
that?) and either penetrate and kick to Pierce or initiate an
offensive set where Paul gets to come off a few screens that leave him
with the option of a quick catch and shoot or a better chance to drive
towards the tin. Pierce knows how to get to the line and is
profficient when he gets there, so why the coach does not put him into
a situation where he will have that chance is beyond me. Pierce is
not Allen Iverson. He cannot out-quick a guy one-on-one and that
showed as Jefferies made Pierce look like a fool time after time with
his defense.

Rookie Report

2004-11-16T20:00:00.000-08:00

1. Emeka Okafor is doing great. He rebounds strong and I watched him
put some nice blocks on people tonight. Very good weakside help. And
his turn around jumper is proving to be a nice offensive move on the
low block.

2. Luol Deng. I believe I wrote earlier that I thougt Luol would be
very good and that he was being widely underestimated. He now leads
all Rookie scorers with 18.5 ppg and is also getting 7 rpg coming off
the bench. He has a very smooth effortless game with good perimeter
shooting and savy moves to the tin.

3. Dwight Howard. I underestimated this kid dramatically. He is
rebounding like a beast and could be in the midst of an Amare type
year. I think Grant Hill is really raising everybody's play on
Orlando so without him Dwight would be lower.

4. Chris Duhon. I frequently fail to understand why the NBA avoids
four year seniors who were leaders from good teams and displayed good
skill. Boozer comes to mind. And this years pick is Duhon. I wanted
the Celtics to draft this kid. He's coming off the pine to average
5.8 assists a game and is playing good hard man defense. I think he
would have been a better pick than Delonte West to be the Celtics
point guard.

5. Nocioni. He is the leading rebounder on the Bulls right now. This
tells you two things. He has a nose for the ball at the small forward
spot, but also that the Bulls twin towers are soft as hell.

Wait and See:

Celtics trio. Delonte West comes back this week. Al Jefferson looks
to be a mean rebounder and Tony Allen is very atheletic and appears to
be a very good rebounder. Problem is each is playing only 9 minutes a
game. This hurts the C's rookies a lot in the evaluation because
they just don't get the playing that Okafur and the rest on this list
get. We'll see how they keep contributing in limited minutes though.

All together though I have to say I think this was a really strong draft.

All is not lost

2004-11-03T18:25:00.000-08:00

Barring evangelical nation deciding to ban games as wicked, at least the NBA is hear to apply salve to my mental wounds incurred on November 2nd and 3rd.

Some Quick hits. The Pistons looked great. The Mavs seem good and have given the keys to their Rookie Harris. L.A. is not going to be as good as they looked last night. Kobe Bryant won't be content to just shoot 14 times a game.

The Celtics are having a very good opening night. The shots are falling, and Pierce is dominating. The Rookies are not getting much burn either. We had to wait until well into the 3rd quarter to see Al Jefferson. Payton is playing well too. He's dishing assists with the broken thumb and everything. Philly looks a little rough around the edges. Iverson is gunning a lot and nobody else is doing much. Their defense isn't playing all that well either which is a mild surprise considering Obie gets his teams to play good defense. Iverson is one tough cookie though. He just hit a very difficult double clutch floater from the wing. Wow. But then Tony Allen just skyed to cram back a rebound. What a hammer. I'm excited. If nothing else this team should be exciting.

Three the hard way

2004-11-01T00:40:00.000-08:00

The Western Conference had a slight brown out during the finals, most
likely due to the soap opera that is the Lakers. We all know that
most of the talent is still out West, but there were some moves that
brought things a little bit closer. Let's see who the performers are
out West from first to worst:

1. San Antonio - Timmy Now! still anchors this team with solid
fundamental play. They were upset by the Lakers after going up 2-0 in
a stirring series, a lead that probably woke the Lakers up and got
them to start playing a little bit. I liked the moves they made in
the offseason: 1. Ginobli is back, coming off a gold medal experience
with Argentina 2. Brent Barry is in. Having Barry is huge. He has
great 3pt% and overall field goal percentage too. He plays smart with
the ball and has plenty of experience. He is going to be what the
Spurs needed to get over the hump last year. The Lakers dared
Turkoglu and Bowen to hit threes and they didn't. Nobody is going to
be able to pull that garbage with Barry. Plus with Shaq and Malone
gone, who will defend Duncan? Nobody. Malone was actually the most
effective defender on Duncan. He was physical and quick on him. He
was "pulling the chair out" from under Duncan at least two times a
game and getting travelling calls on him. Malone also saved O'Neal
from getting in foul trouble. Nobody else out west has proven capable
of defending Duncan, not K.G., not Webbs, not Amare, and certainly not
Gasol. I see an MVP and a trip to the finals for Timmy and Co.

2. Minnesota - They got over the first round curse in a big way. They
made it all the way to the conference finals but Sam Cassell was too
banged up when they got there. He didn't even play in some of those
games. They really needed his outside shooting and leadership. They
also had no answer for Shaq. Well, nobody does, but now they won't
have to worry about that issue until possibly the finals. This team
kept all the pieces it needs to make another deep run. They just need
to keep Golum healthy for the playoffs. As an added boost though,
Troy Hudson should be a contributor this year which will go a long way
towards keeping Sam off the I.L. If KG gets just a little bit more
aggresive (less fadeaway please, you're 7' freaking-1" for godsakes!)
then Minny is in for a great year.

3. Denver - This could be a bit of a stretch, but let me defend this
placement. They had a nice offseason with the addition of Kmart and
the resigning of Camby. Carmelo has another year of seasoning and a
chip on his shoulder because he didn't play much during the olympics
(even though he might have been USA's best shooter). Kmart I think is
big because he gives this team a tough-nosed defender and rebounder.
They now have a front court of Nene/Camby, Kmart, and Melo. Throw in
Veshon Lenord at the two spot and Andre Miller and Pedros Midget (aka
Boykins) at the point and you have a talented team top to bottom.
They tasted the playoffs last year and had some success which they are
going to build strongly on this year.

4. Dallas - Okay, they lost Nash, Jamison, Najera, and employee #8.
They gained Erik Dampier, Jerry Stackhouse, Jason Terry, Devin Harris
(r), and found out last years rookies (Daniels and Howard) are for
real in the playoffs. Losing Nash hurts but they were wise not to
overpay for him. He's getting up in years and it would suck to be
handing out cash to an injured guy. Dampier gives them a big physical
presence in the middle which they sorely needed. He'll help make up
for some of their defensive problems on the perimeter and should be a
good rebounder. Jason Terry brings a scoring guard/pg who can light
up a scoreboard ala Van Exel but won't dish like Nash. But none of
that should matter because everything hinges on Dirk becoming a
superstar this year. He's going to be the offensive focal point so
his assists should go through the roof. He showed some defensive
prowess in the playoffs. And those rookies from last year can
really, really play. Stack brings some instant offense, but lets see
how much he pouts. Maybe playing for a winnner will help. He's
mainly there to keep Finley's minutes down. I like this group a lot
and think they can go far in the playoffs. But there's a big team
chemistry change and we'll see how they survive it.

5. Sacto- Well, Peja is GREAT until the pressure is on. And Webber is
pretty much done physically. He was hobbling all over the place in
China. Vlade left town, and he was Peja's best friend. Oh, Peja
demanded a trade and Webber called him out for not stepping up (excuse
me Mr. Webber, where were you?) after another dissapointing playoff
run. Perhaps this group will unite once more to make their final stab
at the title now that Shaq is out of town. But it seems like the
clubhouse will be poisonous this year. They'll still make the
playoffs, but I think they'll wimper out again. Oh, and watch out for
Songalia when Webbs is out (and he will be). The kid can play and is
great insurance for Webber. I wonder which team had the smarts to
draft him? Hmmmm.....

6. Houston - Van Gundy got what he wanted, which was to be done with
Stevie Franchise. He gets one of the NBA's best players in return,
albeit a guy who dogged it last year big time. Yao continues to
impress and should be the most dominant pivot man in the West this
year. In the playoffs Shaq got motivated playing against Yao and
destroyed him. This year, Yao is the man who should be doing the
destroying. This team is similar to last years Lakers in that the
role players are total garbage. Charlie Ward at the point? Bob Sura
working on his tan? Dikembe Mutumbo growing roots in the floor? Jim
Jackson and Juwan Howard are the only bright spots here. Whenever Van
Gundy goes to his bench, "Houston, we have a problem." will be the
catch phrase to use. Still as the Lakers showed two Superstars can
shine, even in the West. It only remains to be seen if Tmac can bring
his level of play back up and be more than a scorer.

7. Utah - You know, I'm probably underestimating them by placing them
here. They had an amazing infusion of talent this offseason. Memhet
Okur and Carlos Boozer added to AK47 equals one of the NBA's best
front courts. They drafted two very atheletic and talented players in
Kris Humphries and Kirk Snyder who will have the luxury of learning
from a coaching master and not having to shoulder too much of a load
their first year in the league. Back from the I.L. is Matt Harpring,
their best player two years ago when nearly averaged a double-double
from the 3spot. Carlos Arroyo has his confidence up after dismantling
the U.S. in international play at the point and again, they have the
BEST coach in the league right now. Jerry Sloan almost got the Jazz
into the playoffs last year in the west with a motley crew of players
(AK47 excluded). With this kind of talent I expect some big things
from this group. I don't see any reason why they can't be higher on
this list of teams, and they probably will be. This team is a reason
to get NBA-League pass in my opinion because they are going to be a
well coached thing of beauty. Sloan gets coach of the year this year,
finally.

8. Lakers - I'm not sure what to make of this team. Kobe is going to
be allowed to shoot as much as he wants. Whether or not that's a good
thing, I dunno. I can't wait to see what happens the first time he
demands the ball and doesn't get it. I see some fist-fights on this
team, with Lamar Odom winning. Lamar can't be happy about being #2
man on the totem pole again after really flourishing in Miami and
playing a very team oriented game. I was tempted to leave them out of
the playoffs, but I think Kobe has a lot to prove after forcing Shaq
out of town. I don't think he let's them miss the playoffs. But for
the sake of team-chemistry it's a good thing most NBA players can't
read. Phil's book could have really cemented the opinions of some of
Bryants new teammates.

_____________________________

9. Memphis - They played the most team oriented game last year and
broke their streak of futility since entering the league in Vancouver.
Gasol is a stud and they just maxed him out. Hubbie Brown showed
that coaching isn't all about relating to the players, it's about
coaching them up which he did. He rightly deserved coach of the year
honors. However, the offseason was less than productive. The only
major addition was the human swiss army knife that is Brian Cardinal.
He'll do anything to help a team win, making him a perfect fit for
Hubbie's system. But the Logo really wanted Erik Dampier. He wasn't
willing to pay the asking price in talent or cash so maybe Dampier
isn't worth it. Still, Memphis has a lot of talent stock piled on
their roster and they should be active come trading deadline time. I
think Memphis could bump the Lakers out of the playoffs.

10. Phoenix - They sure did load up their back court with free agent
signings of Steve Nash and Quentin Richardson. I can see Nash, but
why Q? Joe Johnson really broke out at the end of last season and now
they've got a higher paid less atheletic version of him in the
presence of Q. Amare Stoudemire really regressed last year and he
looked totally lost out at the Olympics. I think he's bought his own
hype and isn't really working on getting better. I don't like
anything about Phoenix's offseason and I don't like this teams
chances.

11. Seattle - Rumor has it that Ray Allen's back is already an issue
and he could miss substantial playing time again. Rashard Lewis is
decent, but has clearly hit his talent cap after signing a fat
contract. Seattle was wise not to give him the max. They lost a great
team player and a leader in Brent Barry and got nothing in return.
What they do have is rookie Nick Collison coming back after a
dissapointing first year in the L when he missed every game due to
injury. I thought Collison was really going to help this team last
year, and I think he will this year. I look for him to have a decent
year. But this team needs another dip in the lottery after drafting
first round token white-bust Robert Swift. He sure will look goofy on
that bench.
________________________________________________________
12. New Orleans - Not only did George Shinn screw the city of
Charolette over, he screwed his own team over. Welcome to the Western
Conference you idiot. Here are Charolette's problems: Masburn ain't
coming back. Ever. B.Diddy is good, but plays recklessly and is
going to break down physically. A bad back is hard to get rid of in
the NBA. Magloire wants out of Charlotte because he hates the owner
and doesn't want to be in the West where he is not going to be making
any All-Star teams, that's for sure. Look for this team to be moved
again too because the last thing the residents of a city below sea
level need is to watch another overpriced group of gentlemen dog it on
the court/field.

13. Portland - They pushed for a playoff spot because Maurice Cheeks
is a great coach. During the offseason Qyntel woods was arrested for
arranging dog fights, Zach Randolph got caught with pot and harrassed
a police officer, they drafted a small high school point guard who was
over hyped and will be out of the league soon, and they failed to move
a very disgruntled Shareef-Abdur Rahim. The Chemistry is going to be
explosive with this bunch and not in a good way. I feel bad for
Cheeks, he deserves better. More importantly, the good people of
Portland deserve much, much better than this group of players.

14. Da Clips - Another year, another trip to the lottery. Elton Brand
is on track to put up hall of fame numbers and never even taste
playoff action. There's not much to say about this team. Maybe
Dunleavy can coach 'em up, but this half of the NBA is too talented to
get by with a bunch of pretenders.

15. Golden State - They resigned Adonal Foyle to a ridiculous contract
and let in successive years both Gilbert Arenas and Erik Dampier walk.
Mully has a lot of work on his hands, this team doesn't really have
many prospects.

When I say dozen, you know what I'm talking about

2004-10-16T14:44:00.000-07:00

It's about that time again, time to get the NBA previews down and in
order. Due to claiming the championship, the East will be up first.
I'll start with the favorites and go down to the cellar.

1. Detroit "Rock" City - Unexpectedly grabbed the title last year. Were
they the best, or were the Lakers just a sinking ship that took on too
much water when they got to the finals (Phil's book will answer this
question)? They lost Memhet Okur, who barely played after Rasheed
Wallace came on board. They gained Carlos Delfino (will spell Rip and
Tayshaun sometimes. 22 y.o. and can ball. Just came off an olympic gold),
Antonio McDyess, and this kid from Western Kentucky named Nigel Nixon.
McDyess is a wait and see. His injury history is not positive, but
he has looked decent in the preseason. He reminds of Larry Johnson
during his Knick years. A guy who was done physically, but because of
his natural agility, awareness, and experience could still be
effective. They don't need McDyess starting or playing more than 20
minutes a game so he should be a nice boost for Detroit. The dude
that makes me think Detroit might repeat is Nixon. This kid was up to
425lbs in college! He lost 100lbs last year to get himself to a
svelte 325 lbs. In spite of his weight this kid can move! He
devestated the C's this preseason with great defense. He really
doesn't have an offensive game, but does anybody on Detroit have one?.
With this guy backing up the Wallace Brothers at the power spots
Detroit is in very, very good shape. I think they're going to win the
crown again and I think this kid could be a big part of it. He
reminds me of O. Miller a little. I could see him ballooning right
back up after a good season too.

2. Indiana Pacers - Made it to the conference finals last year and Ron
Artest didn't blow up or cost his team any games. They let Al
Harrington walk because he wanted too much money and wanted to start.
That's fine because Harrington isn't that good (great sixth man, he
won't handle max minutes well). In return Atlanta shipped Stephen
Jackson off to Indianna. I think this is a great move as it gives
Indy more offense and better perimeter defense. Jackson demonstrated
in San Antonio that he can be a team player and deliver in the clutch and in
Atlanta he proved he can be a GREAT Roto player. The big question is
who will step up for Indy to help out O'Neal. He's a beast, but has
looked tenative. Some more muscle would help. Brad Miller, where are
you? The other question about this team is can Reggie pull that fork
out of his back? It's time to hang 'em up Quark. Tayshaun showed you
the way out, now take it.

3. Miami Heat - The heat stripped down their quick playoff engine and
rebuilt it with a monster Diesel. This team is going as far as Shaq
can take them. Supposedly he has lost weight and is looking good.
But he's getting up there in years and has had some nagging foot
injuries that can be tough for big men to bounce back from. Shaq will
tear through the imposters that play center in the East but how ready
will he be for the playoffs? Moreover, who is going to help out Shaq
besides all-world player Dwyane Wade? Eddie Jones might benefit most
from having Shaq around as he's a good outside shooter and has lost a
step so cannot defend or get to the hole as well as he once did. With
Shaq having his back defensively and drawing players from the arc to
double down Eddie Money could have a big year. Thisis the most
exciting team in the East and they have the biggest
expectations, but ultimately I think they will be dissapointed.
______________________________________________________________________________
4. Boston - This is where the talent drops off a lot, hence the line
in the sand. However, the core of the group that got Boston to the
playoffs last year is intact and
Paulie should have some help this year. Blount has maxed out his
talent, but it's good enough for the East and a lot of NBA teams would
like to have him on board. This team could be volatile too with G.P.
and Ricky Davis playing games all season. But if they can keep the
winning up, that should cover up their problems. To earn this ranking
LaFrentz has to play 85% of the games at the minimum. Word out of
Boston is that Summer league aside, Al Jefferson is not ready to go
major minutes. If LaFrentz goes down at all there is a major void at
the 4-spot. I have to like the C's here though because the rest of
their division is total dog shit.

5. Orlando - This team got a long overdue makeover. Tmac wasn't getting
it done and was looking to put the blame anywhere but on his
shoulders. He's a great player, but a top five player doesn't let a
team sink to the depths that McGrady let this team sink to. I like
that the Magic got Stevie Franchise and Cat Mobley. These two almost
made the playoffs in the West without Yao so they should get the job
done in the East. They also picked up some servicable veterans in
Tony Battie, Hedo Turkoglu, and Stacey Augman. With Pat Garrity back
and the Top pick Dwight Howard cutting his teeth (could have an Amare
type year based on the burn I've seen him have in the preseason) this
team should be able to hold their head above water. And if Grant Hill
plays the whole season, they could make a little noise in the playoffs
too.

6. The Wiz - I really like them bringing Antwan Jamison on board. If
Gilbert Arenas stays healthy (big if) these two pack a lot of
offensive punch of the high low variety. Kwame Brown is still an
enigma. He has all the physical tools to be a very good player, but
his head is out of the game. Too bad M.J. couldn't detect the lack of
fire. That said, this is a contract year for him so he should be
motivated to play hard. Etan Thomas and Brendan Haywood are
servicable at the center spot, Larry Hughes may be learning how to
apply his talent, and Jared Jeffries still has some promise. So I
like the feel of this team. Last year having Stack and Arenas miss
most of the season killed their chances. I think with a healthy core,
Eddie Jordan is going to show why he was hired to coach this crew.
They're definitely going to the playoffs.

7. Philly. Allen Iverson is back at the Point and Willie Green is
going to get a chance to play some 2 guard. I'm not sure how this is
going to work. Iverson has managed to dish out around 5 assists/game
over his career, but that's not as the guy who sets the table. That's
coming off fastbreaks/steals/and chaotic drives to the rim that draw
weakside help. I thought we were past the Iverson is a PG thing but
apparently the Sixers were done with Snow. Still Iverson has so much
fire and competitiveness that he can will this team into the playoffs.
The big reason they didn't make it last year was all the time he
missed with injury. Samuel Dalembert can really play and looks to be
a less brittle version of Marcus Camby. Andre Iguodala was a GREAT
draft pick. I think he's going to vie for Rookie of the year if he
gets burn. He has Richard Jefferson with better defense written all
over him and I think he will make a real difference with Philly.
Kenny Thomas does a lot of the dirty work as an undersized 4 with
heart, I like him a lot and he always sneaks onto my roto team. They
still have marksman Kyle Korver, and
somewhere in the back room the Big Dawg is still wimpering. They
should trade him because he plays NO D and that is how this team is
going to win a lot of games. Plus,
he's getting injured too. And he ruined my Roto team last year. I
don't like him basically. Still, Philly in the playoffs, but won't
make it out of the first round.

8. NY. This pick I'm very iffy about. I guess Starbury's presence is
the only thing that warrants an appearance here. This team is WAY
overpaid and isn't very good. Marbury is too selfish and not a table
setter at the PG. He would be much better suited to being a two guard
ala Iverson. I think Allan Houston may be done. He looks so creaky.
And bringing in Jamal Crawford at huge expense? I think Isiah is
really reaching or he's expecting Houston to not contribute. As it
stands they have Shandan Anderson, Penny, Marbury, Houston, and
Crawford. All guys limited to the 1 and 2 spots. If Lenny coaches
this team to 50 wins it will be the greatest job of his career. I'll
be impressed if they're at .500 come May. I don't like this pick, but
I'm not really sure who else will be here.

________________________________________________________________________

Vying for the last playoff spot:

9. Cleveland. Losing Boozer is going to prove to be a very huge
problem. Who is getting tough rebounds for them now? I like that
they brought in Snow, and I love their draft pick of Luke Jackson.
Jackson could definitely be Robin to Lebron's Batman. Luke can shoot
lights out and has good size and atheleticism. It remains to see what
kind of on the ball D skills he has because Oregon relied heavily on Z
due to their undersized back court. Now imagine if they kept Boozer
on board. This team would be up a few. Paul Silas is a great coach
and I've underestimated Lebron before. If he starts willing this team
ala MJ, then they will be in the playoffs. But it's going to be hard
work for him.

10. Milwaukee. I don't have them in because I think the possibility
that TJ Ford may not come back this year is a big, big problem. They
also lost Brian Skinner, who is junk, but was 6'11 and played okay at
the 4 spot. Toni Kukoc is still on the team, but really has lost a
step and can't go more than 20 minutes a game. Michael Redd is
awesome, but he needs more help. This is where Van Horn needs to step
up. He needs to get close to a double-double and be aggresive. His
career track record suggests that he may have a hard time doing this.
However, being buried in a small Market may be one of the better
things that's happened to him. Still without TJ Ford I see this team
having difficulties.

11. New Jersey. Traded Kmart and extended Jefferson. This was a bad
move. Jefferson is great, but he's kind of one dimensional. Kmart
was big, played his ass off on D, and had decent offense. They also
didn't get anything in return for Kmart as the old owner is just
dumping salary to make the team sale attractive. Kidd's knee seems to
be a problem and he's making noise about being traded and what not.
That said, if Kidd stays on plan then he and R.J. and crew should be
good enough to get this team into the playoffs where they can enjoy
being swept. That's a big if and that's why I have them outside
looking in.

The rest:

12. Atlanta. Walker and Harrington make for an interesting front
court. But Walker will be gone, possibly by the trading deadline and
is heading for a career of obscurtity. The rest of this group is a
motley collection of over the hill veterans and role players. It
would take a miracle for Atlanta to get to the playoffs.

13. Chicago. It pains me to say it. But they won't fool me again
this year. The problems: Eddie Curry is in shape, but he's still
soft as hell. Chandler rebounds and plays D but is totally retarded
on offense. Oh yeah, his back is shot too. So that's the front
court. The rest of the team is really, really young. And while I
like the rest of the team that they've got (Gordon (r), Deng (r),
Nocionni (r, Argentina), Heinrich) they're all back court players.
They'll need time to gel, but maybe the Bulls can sucker somebody into
giving up either a high draft pick or some respectable size for one or
both of the Baby Bulls.

14. Toronto. Vince carter is a bitch. 'nuff said.

15. Charolette. Great grab in Emeka Okafor, but there isn't much
help on this team. Another dip in the lottery and a full salary cap
next year should help them make some moves. There will be a good free
agent crop this year and they'll be in position. It just won't happen
for an expansion team in the NBA, the rules handicap them severly just
coming in. But Charolette is a great basketball market and I expect
with good management they'll be back in business soon.

Eastern Conference finalists:

Detroit and Indiana.

Finalis:

Detroit.

Western conference preview coming soon.

Vermonsters

2004-10-08T07:56:00.000-07:00

Gary Payton is wearing Celtic Green now. I am not happy about this. Supposedly he is saying the right things. Of course, underlying this is how vocal he has been, and it seems that he is trying to establish top-dog status with the Celtics after being totally ambivalent about even showing up to play this year (I guess the $5.4 million helped that decision. Cash is still bigger than ego). Paul Pierce for one was surprised by how vocal G.P. was at the first day of practice. And he should be. Gary should be trying to fit in, not lead this team. He is a one year stop gap that could be traded during the season. If he's not traded, he won't be resigned. This is strictly about cap room, not G.P. making the Celtics any better. My prediction, G.P. is a locker room problem by Christmas time. My other prediction, either Ricky Buckets or G.P. will be gone at the trading deadline. You can't have two basket cases on one team. The smart money would be on Rickey leaving town because I think Jiri will win the starting spot as he is a better player, and Rickey seems to think he's one of the top players in the league. So, when Jiri starts, Rickey will fume and it won't take long for him to blow. After that, he should be gone.

What's wrong with this picture?

2004-10-06T18:54:00.000-07:00

The Glove is ambivalent

2004-09-21T10:14:00.000-07:00

G.P. has yet to show his ugly mug in Boston and I can't say I'm dissapointed. He's apparently working out in Las Vegas, and his agent said we'll know within a week whether or not he'll be reporting. My bet is that G.P. is trying to engineer a trade and I'm sure Danny Ainge will abide him if he can get a deal he likes. However, this seems unlikely for two reasons. The first is that G.P. is going to make $5.4 million dollars this season. No team in their right mind wants to pay an old point guard who has questionable talents and effects on team chemistry. And two, it's too early in the season to trade cap fodder like G.P. I think he should be dealt midseason so that Boston can position themselves well to get the next best thing, like cap room in return or a good draft pick. I would think the Clippers might have interest in such a deal. They're loaded with young high picks and they don't need anymore influxes of talent. Donald Sterling is cheap and as such likes cap room. From the Celtics perspective, the Clippers are unlikely to reach the playoffs this year so a return draft pick would likely be a good one that could be A) traded B) turned into more size. This is my hope of hopes.

The other best case scenario is that G.P. doesn't show up at all. He will be awful for the Celtics. Ricky Buckets is enough to deal with on his own. If only the Trailblazers hadn't changed their stance on the talent/character ratio recently. Boston could probably have suckered them into taking Buckets and the Glove in years past.

Dampier

2004-08-18T06:41:00.000-07:00

Supposedly Eric Dampier, Evan Escmeyer, and Dan Dikau are coming to big D in exchange for Eduardo Najera and Christian Laettner. On the face of it this looks like a good trade for Dallas. They get a legit 7' center in Dampier and a back up to him to boot. They get rid of Laettner, whom nobody wants and give up Najera. The downside to this trade is that you lose your hustle guy in Najera who can give a team a big lift off the bench. He was key to Dallas' playoff performances the last few years as he was the only person willing to really play defense. The other potential problem is Dampier. He averaged 12-12 on a subpar team and this was his best season ever. He was clearly playing for a contract. He says he wants to go to a contender, but he was getting close to signing with the Atlanta Hawks. He's 30 years old. I think he may be poison to Dallas much the way Olowakandi was in Minny. If he comes to ball this year like he did last year then Dallas is in pretty good shape. They'd role a starting line up of Damp, Diggler, Josh Howard/Jerry Stackhouse, Michael Finley, Jason Terry/Marquis Daniels. This overall is a pretty impressive starting 5, especially now that Shaq has crossed the Mississippi. I'll hand it to Mark Cuban, he is not afraid to deal if he sees something he wants, and I'm impressed that all he gave up was Najera and Laettner. I'm still predicting Dampier to be a bust, but I haven't really seen him play as he's been in Oakland for a while.

The Glove ain't got the love baby

2004-08-16T11:24:00.000-07:00

I was waiting for the dust to officially settle on the trade before writing anything about the G.P. for Marcus Banks (plus others) trade.

1) Danny is clearly willing to give up on Marcus Banks quickly. I thought he had potential, but maybe the sports guy is right and Banks is only the poor man's Robert Pack. So now that Ainge has Marcus back in his lap and unhappy, what will he do with him? Is he a trade asset? I'm not sure. I'm thinking that the Pistons could use him, or maybe the Pacers, possibly the heat but who are any of these teams going to trade for Marcus. This is concerning. It's also bad for Marcus. If he's on the Celtics he needs to just show up and play so he can get himself out of town to a better situation for him. He hasn't shown enough to be demanding trades or anything like that.

2) Danny made a smart move. Looks like he's clearing cap and committing to his guys Allen, West, Jefferson, Blount, and Pierce. Everything else is expendable and not worth losing cap room. I'm fine with that. This team is young though, and it remains to be seen how talented. If Jefferson and West can step up so that Pierce doesn't have to lead the C's in every statistical category then Boston will do okay in the East this year. The East is still weak with the final 4 playoff slots being open to anybody, but the division the C's are in will help them hit the playoffs.

3) Thank god G.P. is threatening to retire rather than come to Boston. Nobody wants him here. They just want his contract to expire and if he wants to pull the plug on that himself, fine. He has become a parody of his once proud self failing to accept his declining skills with any grace.

4) The Lakers got screwed by G.P. not showing up for his physical because I think they wanted Marcus, not Jumaine Jones. This is also good. Stupid Lakers.

Ainge makes a good move

2004-07-08T11:24:00.000-07:00

Danny Ainge finally did something right. Blount resigned with Boston today ($41 mil for 6 years). This is good. He is a viable NBA center and that's important if you want to win. I was pretty sure Mark was skipping town so this is a very good deal. I'm surprised Blount didn't get more money from other teams. Considering what Foyle and Okur signed for I thought Blount could go for more than the midlevel exception. No matter. Now all the Celtics need to do is trade away Ricky Davis and I can really start feeling better about the team.

Post-NBA Draft Jitters

2004-06-27T18:55:00.000-07:00

A few words on the NBA draft:

1. Orlando is stupid. Okafor can come to play. His game only got better by the year at UConn and he is going to work the glass and the D, what else could you ask for from a big man? Charlotte couldn't be happier though.

2. The Celtics finally drafted some size and were hoping and praying that Sergei Monya would fall to 24. They got size in the form of a high schooler. I'm not pleased that he is "raw" or has "upside". But size is good. I know nothing about this kid other than the fact that he can dominate a team of 6'4" and under white kids. Yeesh. As for drafting more small guards, I hope Ainge has a plan to trade something. And will he give up on Marcus Banks too soon? That said, I like both West and Allen, but not for the Celtics. They don't have much need for players like this. Maybe they can trade them for Shaq. And as a final Celtics draft note, thank you Seattle for taking this years big-white stiff Robert Swift. I guess he wasn't going to fall to the Celtics anyway, but still. The idea of Swift in Boston was not an appealling one. They should just go sign Ostertag if they want to realize the upside of Swift. None of my wish list players landed in the Celtics hands. Also, I'm not sure if this draft really helps them avoid the lottery next year.

3. The Bulls. They did right. Jamal Crawford, the door is that way. Ben Gordon, welcome to what will hopefully be one of the best backcourts in the NBA for the next decade. Just don't go riding any motorcycles. And I love the Deng pick. I think people were a little harsh on him the way Tayshaun was ripped coming out of college, but I think Deng could play. He was pretty dominant during just one year at Duke.

Expansion Draft Fears Realized

2004-06-22T21:38:00.000-07:00

A'yup. Brandon got his walking papers. It wasn't unexpected, but I am dissapointed. This kid would not be a star, but I think he brought a lot to the table. It's a shame he got lost. I thought maybe Charlotte would want Chucky and his veteran leadership, but they clearly were not trying to take on salary. They took a ton of restricted free agents that they now do not have to sign. Smart move. Maybe Ainge could learn something from Bickerstaff et al.

NBA trades

2004-06-22T06:45:00.000-07:00

Tmac in Houston? I'm not so sure if that's the move Van Gundy wants. Tmac is not a playmaker, he is a ball hog. Sure he can drop 40 and look flashy doing it, but where are the wins? Remember when he said it sure felt nice to be in the second round against the Pistons and then lost three straight games? I don't like this move at all. Except from the standpoint that it gets rid of Stevie Franchise and Cat Mobley who turnover and dominate the ball too much to let Yao run wild. I was thinking Houston could parlay their backcourt for a solid PG and maybe a higher draft pick to help get them a respectable 4. We'll see. And from Orlando's perspective, this makes no sense. Getting SF and Cat does make them a lock to make the playoffs in the east (especially when combined with Okafor) but it doesn't seem like the right direction for them. Though, with all their recent ineptitude, the playoffs will be the right direction. The whole trade could be made moot if Charlotte takes Juwan Howard or Kelvin Cato in the expansion draft tonight, but that is highly unlikely.

At the very least, this will make the next month of NBA news very, very exciting. Oh, the expansion draft drops tonight at 7pm on NBATV (I know you don't have it). They've also been showing old drafts, today their going from 1981 to 1986. And yes, I thought about calling in sick today. And yes, that is wrong.

Celtics Expansion Draft

2004-06-21T08:29:00.001-07:00

Chad Ford from ESPN.com reports that Brandon Hunter has been left unprotected for tomorrows expansion draft. I'm not sure if I see the logic in letting a young, inexpensive bruiser depart for nothing in return. Hunter showed a knack for rebounding during the season and toughness as he refused to back down to J. O'Neal in the playoffs. He just took O'Neal down for trying chippy shit under the glass, as he should have. This kid doesn't have much offense, but someone that can work the glass like him should be kept and polished. It's tough to find heart, hussle, and energy guys and they're important. Just ask the Detroit Pistons about that.

Throwing the baby out with the bath water

2004-06-18T20:53:00.000-07:00

Apparently a number of players have withdrawn their names from the NBA draft. Looks like Ainge's strategy of stockpiling late first round picks is blowing up in his face. At least Krispy Kreme Krause waited until after he had the rings to screw everything up. But I'll try to be optimistic about this.

Lottery Balls Bounce not for the

2004-05-26T12:03:00.000-07:00

I can't wait to see where the C's will land in this years lottery tonight. Oh right, they were the worst team in known history to land in the playoffs and thus are on the outside looking in tonight. Sigh.