Last Christmas: An NBA preview part 2

Part 2 features a duo of posts to finish up this NBA preview. Happy Holidays...


"Bimbo Coleslaw"

- Top 5 things you are most excited about for the upcoming season

I couldn't come up with five things I am excited about in the NBA now, so here is one thing I am excited for and four things I am not excited for.

The One Thing I am Excited About: Less freaking idiots watching hockey and calling sportstalk and writing on blogs. Good riddance.

Not excited for:

1. Shaq ruining the best thing the NBA had going, Inside the NBA: Some people are excited about the addition of Shaq, thinking his honesty will make him like Charles...don't count me as one of them. Shaq is a blowhard self-promoter and I can handle the cadence in which he speaks for about 7 seconds. Awful decision, should have kept C-Webb there.

2. The Clippers/Lakers debate that nobody outside of California cares about: It would take years and years of championships for the Clippers to grow a foundation bigger than the Lakers have now, no matter how many more overrated players (they have 2 of the 3 most overrated in the league now) Lob City (gay nickname) adds to their roster.

3. JIMMER!!!: Just when you thought you were done with the "cracker, grindy, awkwardly skilled compared to others at his position, religiously-obtuse, over-achiever" storyline, here comes Part 2. While not nearly as annoying as Tebow, the Jimmer will be on our TV and conscious much more than he deserves to be this winter/spring.

4. The NBA taking over SportsCenter on a nightly basis: Yes, I know that ESPN is a TV partner of the NBA and therefore that forces them to shill for Stern, but the show may as well be NBA Tonight once the NFL ends. Sportscenter for the past month or two has been a nice mix of sports...glad I didn't get used to that. Nothing is worse than a Top 10 plays that includes 7 overrated NBA dunks. Here's an update ESPN: when every person in the league can dunk, its not that special of a play anymore.

- 3 reasons the NBA regular season sucks

1. Squeezing 66 games into this timeframe is absolutely ludicrous. A stupid moneygrab by the owners, which is just going to result in bad basketball and probably a lot of injuries. Even just 60 games would have been better, but anymore than 55 makes no sense.

2. There are just too many bad basketball teams and I don't want to see a lot of them. At all. There are 30 teams in the NBA and 8-10 of them suck and have no chance at making the playoffs. Who wants to watch when 1/3 of the teams playing are awful?

3. If the players don't care about the regular season, why should we? Half the time they don't want to be out there and it shows, so why give a shit on our end? The season is a boring grind with a few bright spots. Basketball thrives in the playoffs, the regular season is largely awful.

- Break out team, player

Portland...get ready for a blooming in Rose City (and some awful junior high word puns as well). Love what the Blazers did in the off-season, despite losing Brandon Roy. Their top 8 is as deep as anyone, and I love Crawford off the bench. I felt the Bulls should have made a run at the ex-Wolverine. Break out player: Bismack Biyombo. 'Nuff said.

- Team/ player that takes a step back

The Clippers, if only a step back from the levels they have been elevated to in the press after getting Chris Paul. I don't see what everyone is so excited about, but then again I don't think that Paul or Griffin are nearly as good as a lot of people think they are. Player-wise I will go with Dirk, if only because he has to at some point.

- Best on-court storyline

Sink or swim time in OKC. They have been the NBA darlings the past year or two because of their amazing young talent. Durant and Westbrook are well-known commodities and Harden made a huge step last year, but a lot of people are concerned that Westbrook may not be the guy to play Jake to Durant's Fatman. If Presti doesn't see some big returns this season, you can probably expect him to look to move Westbrook.

- Best potential off court storyline

Kobe. Gotta be Kobe, right? Everything since the Mavs swept the Lakers has been like a line of people ready to kick Kobe in his shin when they get their chance. Phil leaves, is replaced by someone Kobe didn't want by an owner's son looking to make his personal mark, the lockout threatened to steal one of his last year's left as an alpha dog, compressed schedule to tear at his already shot knees, Stern fucking the Lakers on the Paul deal (blessing in disguise IMO), owner's son flexes muscle again by dumping Odom, his wife files for divorce on the eve of the season/holidays, and now the wrist injury. I saw a few people trying to relate Kobe to Tiger Woods...you can go ahead and stop that now. Tiger's was mentally shattered by his divorce/scandal because he handled it like a pussy trying to keep his sponsors and stature and played to the world, going to rehab for a sex addiction, taking time off for family and whatnot because that's what he was advised to do. Kobe faced something much worse when he stood trial for rape...you think a divorce is going to slow down his will to win? Did people really already forget Kobe spending days in court, jumping in a jet, flying back to LA, and then putting up monster numbers that same night? You think he is taking a year of to go to rehab and pretend he's addicted to ass? Kobe, like Jordan, weren't created in their own heads like Tiger was, they created their own will. That said, Kobe isn't going to just languish in this terrible Laker situation. Unless LA can get Howard, which I'm not sure is enough to make them a contender, I think Kobe is going to try and get out of LA. I envision a 3 team deal that results in the #2 player of all time walking past a statue of the G.O.A.T. everyday he goes into work...I mean, as long as Paxson is willing to relinquish the untouchable Luol Deng finally.

- Best random YouTube clip that should fire people up for the NBA season

Come on man, this one is easy. Anything with White Chocolate gets me excited for professional buckets, where just giving 100% each night puts you on the short list for MVP.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8aE1Vs5Kq-M

- Finals prediction

Heat versus Jail Blazers, and the Heatles win it in 5. Don't like it, but I don't see anyone that will beat them. Only chance for someone to legitimately have a shot at beating Miami is if the Kobe-to-the-Bulls scenario comes to fruition, but that's just a fever dream. Dallas got stronger with that Odom move, but I don't like those older stars coming back in this sprint for the trophy. I just see this season being the coronation last season was thought to be.



"Chuck Nevitt", the Human Victory Cigar

- Top 5 things you are most excited about for the upcoming season

1. Fear and Loathing in OKC

Will James Harden emerge as superstar? Westbrook vs. Durant: It will be interesting to see the dynamic between Westbrook and Durant after so much was discussed in the playoffs. I have a strange feeling that Westbrook walks from this team looking for a big payday that OKC does not seem too concerned to give him right now. This is Durant’s team, so can Westbrook follow his lead or will he be the jealous guitarist. Also can somebody besides BoRic’s give Scotty Brooks a decent haircut?

2. Tony Allen’s twitter account

Just look at that thing… Or any NBA players twitter account for that matter. Whether it is a melt down by Agent Zero or sending an @ reply to a pornstar or some other random. The NBA players consistently provide some of the best social media laughs around

3. Welcome to NBA Hell… Portland Trailbalzers

Forget Cleveland because frankly Dan Gilbert is world class A$$hole. The biggest heartbreak over the last few seasons belongs to the Portland Trailblazers. Portland went from being a team of unlikeable (that might be a strong word, I liked Shawn Kemp) drug dealers and thugs to a young up and coming team. Then the storm came. Of course we should not be surprised that Greg Oden has not panned out considering he was 42 years old when Blazers drafted him. Also, there were red flags on Brandon Roy when he entered the league about his long term knee issues, but damn was he fun to watch when he was healthy. However, the Blazers seemed poised to make that leap back to NBA relevance by putting together some nice pieces. At this point though it seems that with Roy’s retirement and Oden’s ability to stay on the floor for seconds at a time the Blazers have once again been relegated to mediocrity or what is better known as NBA hell: a team good enough to grab one of the last few playoff seeds, but not quite good enough to compete for a championship or not bad enough to completely rebuild and grab top lottery pick and draft a game changer. Who knows the could find the next Sam Bowie in the lottery?

4. And a Blue Devil shall be your savior…

It had to happen... the only Duke Player I liked in the NBA went out and joined up with the most hated team in the league. And that makes me mad. Shane Battier may not be the answer to all Miami’s problems, but he helps answer a lot of their questions. He is a proven leader and great glue guy. He really helped the Grizz last year and hit some big shots in the playoffs. Plus, he makes Miami the scariest defensive team in the league. At least he restored order and I can continue to hate all things Duke.


Take or Leave it: The return of the NBA hipster

Whether it’s wearing fancy eye glasses, plaid shirts or being spotted at an Arcade Fire show the NBA and its players have gone the way of the hipsters. The will even become more the case once the Nets move to Brooklyn. It’s cool to like the NBA again and I think the TV ratings and the attention the league is getting will continue throughout this season all leading up to Chris Bosh wearing a Deer Tick shirt to an NBA Finals press conference.


- 3 reasons the NBA regular season sucks

1. Wait, there will be an NBA regular season this year?? Then nothing sucks. Sure the schedule will be a grind and then players will still phone in games off of those back-to-backs, but having a regular season when that all but seemed impossible two months ago is just fine with me.

I guess I should mention the inevitable awful song that ABC picks for their intro music will most certainly suck.


- Break out team, player

Apparently me and everyone else is driving or hopping on the John Wall express to superstardom. So, I will say also keep an eye out for Eric Gordon as well, who is a sneaky good value bet for scoring champion.

Call me crazy but I am very intrigued by this Sacramento Kings team, which means of course they will win about 15 games, but they should be a fun team to watch



- Worse off court storyline

The inevitable Redsox-Yankees treatment that ESPN will be giving to the Lakers and Clippers on a nightly basis. I think the Lakers are in serious trouble this season. After Kobe, Gasol and the 7 games that Bynum will play it gets really thin really fast. Also, lets slow down and all this Lob City love and nonsense and remember that Vinny Del Negro is still the coach of this team. Say it again Vinny Del Negro is still coaching the Clippers, so that means they have no chance of making it past the 1st round of the playoffs.


- Best random YouTube clip that should fire people up for the NBA season

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d4PfT4UMcLY


- Finals prediction

Heat over OKC in 6 games
Finally, Joel Anthony gets his ring… And the becomes the NBA counterpart to Sam Hurd three months later

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Thanks for Reading, and till next time...

Do they Know its Christmas: An NBA preview

Much like the collection of awesomeness that was Band-Aid I over here at the Curious Case put together a Band-Aid of sorts to preview this upcoming NBA season. I asked some of my friends to share their thoughts and predictions on the upcoming NBA season. So, here we go... NBA Aliases have been used to protect the Innocent and for comedic value.


"Tito Horford", former Milwaukee Bucks shooting guard circa 1990

Asking me for my thoughts on the NBA is kinda like asking Tim Tebow his thoughts on the female anatomy. Sure, we’re interested in both subjects (I think) but we really haven’t delved deeply into it. Yes, I’ve watched a lot more games in the past two years than I have since Jordan retired (from the Bulls) but I wouldn’t count myself as an expert by any means. Though, judging from Lakers fans here in LA, I assume you don’t actually have to know much about the game to be a so-called “expert”. So here we go, let’s get after this thing like Jerry Sandusky at a Chuck E. Cheese.

5 things I am most excited for:

5. Ricky Rubio, Entertainingly Good or Entertainingly Bad

I don’t think there is any in between with Rubio. He’s either dazzling or horrific.

4. Are the Bulls ready for the Finals?

Is Rip the 2 guard answer? I would rather have a guy who can create his own shot, but he will suffice and be a bitch on defense. But does that get the Bulls into the Finals? More on this later.

3. LeBron James, Put that Coffee Down

LeBron James is better at basketball than anyone on the planet. Generally speaking, when you know you are the best, you take the lead or at least want the ball when the game is on the line. So far, LeBron has been anything but that guy. Sure, he can put up 50 as part of a triple-double vs. the Wizards in February, but can he put the team on his back in May? No one truly knows. There are a lot of people who say, “He just needs time” or “He’ll learn how to close, he has to, it’s what great athletes do” but I’m not so sure. MJ was a closer before even coming to the league. Kobe has never shied away from it. The best don’t need to learn it, they just DO IT. My thoughts on LeBron haven’t changed in years. He’s playing “not to lose” instead of playing to win. As Alec Baldwin said in Glengary Glen Ross, “Coffee is for closers” and until LeBron shows me something, all he’s going home with every year is a new set of steak knives.

2. Lakers vs Clippers

The Chris Paul deal is a game changer here in LA. For the first time in god knows how long, the Clip Show is eclipsing the Lake Show. This will drive Lakers fans insane and I will enjoy every minute of it. There is a sense of entitlement among Lakers fans. If they aren’t a better team than the Clippers (and at this point there is zero chance of that happening) heads will roll. Also, with Kobe’s pending divorce, I could also see both of the following happening:
1) He takes out anger on the league and jacks up 40 shots a game and goes on a scoring binge
2) When they inevitably begin losing, Kobe goes off on the organization, throwing EVERYONE under the bus, getting both Mitch Kupchak & Mike Brown canned by season’s end. I truly believe Kobe is our best shot at ever having a Player-Coach again.

1. Kevin Durant, MVP

With such a packed schedule and conditioning at a minimum, I would think defenses will be awful this year. Enter KD. My prediction: He makes a run at MJ’s post-Wilt scoring record of 37 ppg (which is all contingent on Russel Westbrook letting him shoot in the 4th quarter this season). He’s the best scorer in the league and watching him play basketball night-in, night out is the thing I’m looking most forward to in the NBA this season.

3 reasons the NBA regular season sucks

1. Players phoning it in on random nights
2. Ticket Prices: It’s a great game to watch in person but only if you want to sell a child on the black market or take out a second mortgage
3. Did I mention players phoning it in?

Break out player:

John Wall:I know this is what Bill Simmons wrote too, but I wrote this down 4 days before him. In any other year, he’s the ROY. The only way he won’t breakout this year is his teammates (a whole lot of garbage) or a self-inflicted injury because his teammates are so awful.

Break out team:

T-Wolves:A lot of talent and an underrated coach.

Team that takes a step back:

Lakers:More on this in a bit

Player:

Landry Fields

Best on-court storyline- Team Implosions: Knicks & Lakers:

With a shortened season, and a lot of games in a small amount of time, everything will be amplified, especially losing. Personally, I think both of these marquee squads are built to implode. When you run an offense dubbed “Seven Seconds or Less”, it probably isn’t a good thing to have a loaded front court. I’m sure the Knicks will score in the half-court offense, but it’s probably going to take their big men 7 seconds just to get down the damn court. I think this will drive D’Antoni crazier than a shit house rat and eventually lead to his ouster (or the trading of Amare for a point guard...good luck with that). I know they are signing Baron Davis but expecting him to be Ty Lawson is criminally insane, especially with all the great places to eat in NYC.

After David Stern cockblocked the Lakers and allowed their illegitimate child to take the girl (Chris Paul) home, I thought this team would at least rally around their core and figure out a way to go into total Eff You mode (Trademark: Bill Simmons) against the entire league. But when Kupchak jettisoned Lamar Kardashian and Kobe’s wife filed for divorce, suddenly things weren’t looking that good. Now, factor in five games (at least) without Andrew Luger, err, Bynum, an aging roster and a ton of pressure in a town with no winning teams right now (sorry Galaxy, your title doesn’t really count) and you’ve got the makings of a magnificent clusterfuck of a season...and I can’t wait to see it all up close.


"Tommy Chambers", former NBA All-Star and dunking machine

I think that it is fascinating that the league created a new rule in this new CBA. The rule is referred to as the Derrick Rose rule and it states that a player coming off of his rookie contract who has made two All NBA teams or has been named league MVP would be entitled to up to 30% of his teams cap space. Others coming off of their rookie deals would have a max contract not to exceed 25%. On the surface that is terrific for Rose but the ramifications are severe and unique to the Chicago Bulls. I can’t think that there has been or will be too many players who have accelerated to the level that Rose has, so quickly. I guess it is possible, but unlikely, that Blake Griffin could join this elite club. It really boils down to the league shackling one team with a cap burden that no other team will qualify for.


"Cornbread Maxwell", bench lengend for '80's Celtics

Top 5 things you are most excited about for the upcoming season.

1. Curious to see the NBA (NY, LA, BOS, Chic, Mia) contend….NBA is much better when these cities are good

2. Curious to see how the Knicks fair

3. See how and where all the free agent moves shake out and pan out for their respective teams

4. 62 games in 120 nights

5. D ROSE

The reason the NBA regular season sucks …

Guys don’t show up,

Break out team

Chicago Bulls will continue their ride to the top

Team/ player that takes a step back

Boston and Rajon Rondo

Best on-court storyline

Eddy Curry comeback

Best potential off court storyline

Eddy Curry gives back

Best random YouTube clip that should fire people up for the NBA season

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TGlqU1ztdHk

Finals prediction

Miami over Dallas

Stay tuned for Part 2....

Freaks and Geeks

Neal Scweiber: "Bill, Dallas Sucks."
Bill Haverchuck: … "You suck. Dallas Rules"

At about 9:50pm (CT) on Thursday during game 2 of the NBA finals it looked like we were in the midst of a coronation or what some may have called “The Celebration” part 2. Then something changed… The Heat forgot how to run offense, play tough defense and the Mavs started getting stops, not turning the ball over and hitting clutch shots. And the next thing you know the series was tied 1-1. While all of this was going down I was enjoying the basketball portion of the proceedings as a huge sports fan and self-proclaimed NBA geek. However, at the same time I was also feeling perturbed and at odds and somewhat villainous for what was to become of the aftermath of a Heat collapse or a Dallas’ failure once again down the stretch of another NBA finals game. So, I guess what I feared somewhat has inspired this post.

“Dirk is soft”
“See I told you LeBron is not as good as MJ”
“Just like in July the Heat celebrated prematurely and it cost them…”

The above quotes could be taken from any number of pieces I have seen throughout the playoffs and just like decaffeinated Colombian coffee crystals they make me “angry”. The way sports are analyzed, written, and spoken about in the mainstream is becoming formulaic, tired and old almost like an episode of “Family Guy”. And never more so has that been apparent to me during this years NBA playoffs. Sure I can still enjoy an episode of “Family Guy” and some mainstream sports analysis is still useful and insightful, but I feel like I have seen it all before and all it is is the same tired arguments/angles that have been played out a dozen times before at various points. Game 2 gave us this exact reaction whether it was when the Heat were coasting through the first 3 quarters and Dirk Nowitzski was suddenly becoming soft again or “ I told you he can’t play through pain with that finger” never mind the fact Dirk was shooting the exact same as he did in game 1 with a healthy finger. Then the Mavs came back so all that Dirk stuff was replaced and filled-in by: “I can’t believe the Heat would the nerve to celebrate a big lead during the 4th quarter and that is why they blew it because they took their eyes of the prize” so on and so forth. Now, I am not going knock anybody if that is their angle and that is truly what they believe, but I am just tired of it.

It is to the point where I just want to watch the game and enjoy it for what it is; also at the same time respecting the things these guys do during those couple of hours while the game is being played. Not for who these athletes are on the court with their antics (yeah I can still be annoyed a little by that) or off the court. In reality the way sports are covered makes this concept very difficulty. Now I still might have an opinion time to time on some of the off the field tomfoolery that these athletes find themselves in; although, I am really as I get older trying to divorce myself from the concept that their off the field personalities should have an impact on how I watch and enjoy sports. For the most part these athletes in my opinion are not very interesting people in general, but they just happen to do very interesting things on a field/court for a living. I really do not find Derrick Rose to be that fascinating of an individual, but I do find that he is incredibly captivating for the 82 plus games he plays on the basketball court. And this is a hard notion to break since most of the coverage of these guys tends to include this sort off the court narrative and what kind of personality do they have type of element. I would rather like/dislike an athlete for how I subjectively feel about their game not so much their personality away from the game. Now I understand that people are going to like and dislike certain players for their on field actions and I am okay with that and to a certain degree would say that is where my argument has some flaws and some room for debate. I guess in a long winded way what I am trying to say is that I am trying to make a more conscious effort as a sports geek to look at the more freakish things of what these athletes can do on the court then worry about what they are like away from it.




Speaking of tired/recycled opinions… I still may not be comfortable with how this Heat thing all came together last July, but it was astonishing to watch the Heat play for the first three quarters the other night. I am pretty sure they way they played the other night during those quarters is pretty much what everybody feared around the league what would happen if this team was able to get out in transition and showcase their talents. Highlight dunk after highlight dunk and it was pretty incredible to watch that display take place not to mention how this Heat team has defended throughout the playoffs. I can respect greatness and if they can sustain playing like they did for the first three quarters for an entire game then they deserve to win and in fact should win and to a point I will be impressed by it but it in no means will I have approval for it. At the same time while all of those theatrics are taking place you have a team in Dallas that is just as equally solid in the way they move the ball to open shooters and seemingly have this will to never give in. It was a perfect game between two really good teams. I would have been happy (moreso Dallas) with either team winning especially when they play like that.

Stray observations and thoughts on game 3:

- The Brendan Haywood injury could have a huge impact on the Mavs because that would shorten their rotation down to 7 and make their frontline very thin. Although, it would mean we would probably see more minutes from “Dad” (Brian Cardinal).

- I am really interested to see what type of start the Heat get off to tonight especially on the road if the Dallas crowd can get into the game.

- LBJ and D-Wade have made a living off shooting and making low percentage outside jump shots throughout the playoffs. That finally caught up with them in game 3 when they could not find the broad side of a barn late and had some terrible possessions. The Heat so far have shot more 3 pointers than foul shots and I would expect that to change tonight.

- Can we get a respectable National Anthem performance?? Michael McDonald and 10 year-old was not a good start in Miami. Although, it was better than having Jimmy Buffett

Till next time... Enjoy game 3

Short Post / Long Jacket: An NBA Finals pick

We are now less than a few hours from the NBA Finals and in the immortal words of Bart Scott: “I can’t wait” The NBA playoffs so far have been everything from entertaining, perplexing and distressing (see: Bulls, Chicago) for me. And now we are down to 7 games to decide who gets to hoist the Larry O’Brien trophy. I have decided to eschew a regular breakdown style of the NBA Finals and instead I will just offer a simple prediction for now.

At the start of the playoffs I picked the Heat to win the NBA finals and unfortunately I have seen nothing to change that opinion. I think Dallas will be the most complete team that the Heat have faced in the playoffs thus far especially on the offensive end of the floor. Dallas might be able to throw Miami for a loop with their zone and some funky lineup combinations that they can throw out on the floor. However, in the end the Heat just have too much talent and has the best player in the NBA playing at the top of his game. I will be rooting for the Mavs , but I think that will be a losing proposition.

Enjoy Game 1… Till next time

"I don't roll on Shabbos"

I am always up a for good debate at the old saloon, so why not recreate that on the internet (I know how original) So, instead of flying solo and debating my own conscious I decided to recruit some help for tonight's post and so I reached out to noted haberdasher, part-time blogger and noted Tecmo NBA basketball enthusiast "Phat" Joe for some help. I was trying to get this done on Saturday, but my guest does not drive a car, does not handle money and sure as shit does not type on his computer on his day of rest. The following is a transcript of an email exchange we had over the course of yesterday and today regarding all things NBA. My questions/responses are from "Chuck Nevitt" and well "Phat" Joe's are from "Phat" Joe.

Enjoy...

On Sun, May 22, 2011 at 12:11 PM, "Chuck Nevitt" wrote:

Hello, PJ

We might as well start with one of my favorite subjects and probably your least… LeBron James. And by that I mean why is it I keep finding myself having to defend his game against basketball idiocy? “ He will never be as good as MJ” Look I know that, but last I checked MJ has not played a meaningful basketball game in 13 years. So, why is that the permanent stock answer that almost every half wit and Chicagoan keeps saying whenever the words LeBron James are mentioned in a sentence? I get that people are annoyed by the coverage by say an ESPN at times and on the TV side of it the ESPN NBA product is pretty miserable save for Hubie Brown. You can hate LeBron for “The Decision”, running off-tackle plays late in the game, etc, but I find it really hard to say that there is a much better player going in the current NBA or at least he is in the top 3 right now. So, I guess the question I have is can LeBron James be considered underrated and overrated at the same time?

I really look at something like the conversation a lot of people are having about say the greatness of Dirk Nowitzki is a far more interesting topic than this tired LBJ/MJ non-argument. The Dirk thing seems to be debating where he fits into the hierarchy of NBA forwards not so much is he better than say Larry Bird or Karl Malone, which I think is a better debate because it is really difficult to compare eras in the NBA.


From: "Phat Joe" Sent: Sunday, May 22, 2011 3:47 PM
To: "Chuck Nevitt"

Sorry this took so long. You would think that having Die Hard on in the background for the 283rd time wouldn't be so distracting, but alas...I'm not sure I would call LBJ underrated or overrated, but I think I would call him historically overextended (as of now) and athletically under appreciated. Simmons ranked LBJ as the #20 basketball player of all time. I just can't wrap my head around that. Not yet at least. I can't rank a guy that has a substandard (for his talent) jump shot and no post game (for his size) ahead of a guy like Pippen who could do almost everything asked of him on a basketball court. That said, LeBron's overall package of tools is unlike anything sports has seen. He is basically a hybrid of Randy Moss and Urlacher, but 4 inches taller. The things he can do on the floor are legitimately scary. To have his athleticism and strength at his size isn't really fair to the majority of the rest of the league. He is 280 pounds with the body control of Kerri Strug. No player in the league now or maybe have has as many HOLY SHIT moments a night than LBJ. He is a treat to watch, but in the sense that a lot of guys are throwers and not pitchers, LeBron is still to me more of an athletic freak than an all time great basketball player. I do agree with you though that he is at least a top 3 player in the league if not the best. LBJ doesn't owe anyone an apology for being really good at what the current NBA allows his skillset to do.

I think as far as why Chicagoans immediately turn to the "LBJ is no MJ" argument is because most Chicago sports fans (a.k.a. irrational jagbags) are extremely territorial when it comes to their sporting heroes. Try telling someone that Ryne Sandberg isn't in your top 3 2B of all time or that you would trade Patrick Kane for a 2nd line center and a physical defenseman and watch the steam in his eyes rise. Just the threat of someone ascending to MJ's level is enough to get out their Great MJ Defender costumes. We see it with Kobe, we see it with LBJ. Just comes with the territory I guess.

I agree with you about Dirk being a much more interesting topic. He has always been historically undersold in my opinion, partly resulting from having the '06 championship stolen from him. Had the Mavs won that series, Dirk's career arc would have accelerated much faster. He is probably the toughest match up defensively of our lifetime with the exception of Shaq. Trying to find someone 6' 10'' that has the foot speed to keep up with Dirk is pretty much impossible. Anyone shorter than that and Dirk either posts them up or simply shoots over them. He is easily the best European of all time, and I think in a way that has effected his reception here as far as reputation goes. Part of me wishes Dirk was born in Ohio or Wisconsin to see how he would have been received here. Bird's legacy stemmed from being a farm boy from middle America, and I think that elevated his status on a historical level a lot more than most people will admit. If its not the Bulls that take home the O'Brien Trophy in a few weeks (or months), I hope it goes to Dirk and the Mavs. I think your trepidation about comparing eras is interesting to me. While I agree that it isn't the best way to go about looking at the hierarchy of players in a given sport, isn't there enough information and footage available to at least surmise to some degree how certain guys would perform in different eras? Don't we know to some degree that LBJ as he is currently constituted would struggle and have to adjust if he was playing in the early 90's when guys were actually allowed to defend?

From: "Chuck Nevitt"
To: "Phat" Joe

Agree 100% that Dirk has been undersold. And that is part of the problem on how most people tend to not validate a player because they have not won a championship. We could get sidetracked in a whole other debate here, but I did want to bring up one point. And that I always find it fascinating watching Kenny Smith and Charles Barkley interact during the playoffs. It seems to me that sometimes Kenny feels like his points are more valid because he has a ring and he holds that over Barkley. I do not think anybody in their right mind thinks that Kenny Smith is better than Barkley, but people do to some degree discredit Barkley because he did not win a championship. Barkley only got one shot at a ring and it is not like he choked on the big stage he put up 27/13/5 averages against the Bulls. I just think he happened to play on some average to good teams that at most points in his career were never capable of winning a championship. I guess what I am saying is that for me I can more easily validate a great player in the NBA without a ring rather than say a QB in the NFL without a championship because it just seems like there a fewer opportunities in the NBA for players to win titles than say the NFL.

To answer your other point about my trepidation to compare eras I guess I should clarify my stance a little bit. This is weird to quantify it this way, but I see the NBA in two distinct eras since I have been alive and that is the Pre-Shaq (1980-1992) and Post-Shaq (1993-current) eras. The reason I say that is it seems like the league has just gotten more athletic since around the time Shaq came into the league. That is not to say there were not great athletes in the league before that, but some of the things that guys are doing now is just incredible. So, yes I would still have difficult time comparing a guy, who played say pre-1992 to a guy that is currently playing the league. However, you also brought up a great point of there being all this footage out there that we can use and maybe gauge a little to see how the game has changed or in some respects still stayed similar to what it was before and I really think that is a huge credit to the NBA marketing policy and more direct their YouTube policy. You can pretty much pull up any game from anytime and watch highlights if not the full game on YouTube, which is pretty awesome.

From: "Phat" Joe
To: "Chuck Nevitt"


The Barkley appearance on The BS Report last week dealt with the whole never winning a title argument and Charles' feelings about it. I highly recommend it for anyone who didn't catch it. I think Charles has always carried the burden of not winning a title, fair or unfair. I think judging individual players on titles is a slippery slope. Barkley always lost to a better team/player. Not all guys can say that, as some stars just didn't show up all the time (ahem, Patrick Ewing). Kenny does seem to try and keep Charles in his place on the set, especially during the playoffs. They should both just get out of the way for my guy C-Webb.

In regards to the question of eras, I didn't necessarily mean YOUR trepidation as much as basketball fans overall not wanting to compare eras. It is pretty hard to compare the 50's and 60's to today's game, but the latter eras are more similar. I do agree with your Pre-Shaq and Post-Shaq timelines. I also like to term those two as the Some-White-Guys Era and Few-White-Guys Era. I guess my point was just that in the 80's and more so the 90's didn't feature a red carpet to the rim like today's game does.

Getting back to the local flavor...what do you make of the Bulls? Its way early in the series to start pointing blame around, but its pretty evident that Thibs needs to dial a new number or two. Something needs to change with the rotation at the 2 spot. Also, my tweet last night about Simmons re-awarding the 2011 NBA MVP in the 2nd addition of The Book of Basketball was only half-tongue-in-cheek. Rose has four points on six shots during the 4th quarter of the two losses. If it was LBJ or Wade or Kobe that put up those numbers in back-to-back losses they would be getting killed for it. Rose seems to be getting a bit of a pass. What say you?

From: "Chuck Nevitt"
To: "Phat" Joe

I think the Bulls are very frustrated at this point. And most of that has to do with the excellent defense being played by the Heat. Also, when you get 5 points between your starting SG and C you are going to lose pretty much all of the time. I think Thibs although he does not have a lot of buttons to push has really been I do not know if would say outcoached, but more so out-adjusted . What Spo has done as far as his rotation and making in game defensive adjustments has been really good. Although, it helps when you have three legitimate scoring options that can create their own shots. I think Rose tends to get a pass because not many basketball people really respect most of the Bulls roster especially from an offensive standpoint. I sort of wrote about this on Saturday about Westbrook being constantly scrutinized after every game and I think in large part of that has to do with him having Durant as a teammate, who is probably a better player. Whereas with Rose the conversation turns to: “well who else is going to take shots?” I was discussing this last night with some friends and I said I thought that was Rose’s worst game of the playoffs. I was afraid that Rose may break down at some point this year because of his excessive usage rate and I think we are seeing some of that now. Which means he will probably come out and score 40 points next game and make me look like an idiot, which I would gladly welcome.

I think this Bulls team is playing against not so much the Heat, but the history of the NBA. That pretty much tells us that no team has won a championship with the PG being the main scoring option. The closest example I can think of and a good comparison to this Bulls team, which they mentioned on the FreeDarko podcast the other day was the Bad Boy era Pistons. I think that is a very good comparison because this roster is comprised of a talented point with a bunch of athletic bigs and some wing scoring much like the Pistons were. The big difference being the Pistons had Joe Dumars at the 2 and some serious punch off the bench with Vinnie Johnson, Mark Aguirre or Adrian Dantley at certain points. The Bulls do not have that which makes it difficult for their chances at a championship. But there I go again breaking my own rules about comparing era's, but hey it fits my narrative...

From: "Phat" Joe
To: "Chuck Nevitt"

Agree whole-heartedly with you on Spo. For the Bulls to win this series, their COY needed to be COY and their MVP needed to be the MVP. So far, neither of them have been very good. The Bulls haven't really adjusted much at all, at least from what I can see. A little bit rotation wise, but not a lot. You are obviously a better X and O guy than I, but why have the Bulls not switched away from the pick and roll to try and make it not so easy to double Rose? Wouldn't a 1-4 give him more room to operate? I understand that the Heat are a terrific defensive unit, but it looks to me that the Bulls offense has been brutal. If I may, I'd like to follow that with two personnel questions. 1) Is there no room in the current rotation for Big Sexy? With the Heat backing off Noah and covering the cutters, wouldn't it be ok to try and steal minutes with two big men that can knock down a 15 footer? I'd like to Thomas and Gibson play a little with Boozer. Its not like Noah has been any good anyways. 2) Is playing Bogans crunch time minutes really such a wild idea. He isn't as good of a defender as Brewer and he isn't as good of a shooter, but he is the best all-around 2 the Bulls have. Korver is killing them on both ends of the floor and Brewer just isn't spacing the floor at all. Why not let Bogans get some burn down the stretch?

From: "Chuck Nevitt"
To: "Phat" Joe

Both personnel questions are legitimate questions that I have yet heard be asked of Thibs. I do not know if they win the series with your suggestions, but at this point it would not hurt to try. I would love to see Thomas get some run at some point during the series and as crazy as it sounds Bogans outside of the first 3 Indiana games has been their most productive 2 guard, so it would make sense to at least attempt to give him some 4th quarter minutes. It seems to me that Thibs is just sticking with his regular season rotation with very little adjustments and it has been pretty obvious that it is not working against Miami. And that to me has been part of the Bulls problem in the playoffs. It seems like for the most part the Bulls have not adjusted their game at all from the regular season to the playoffs. I am not talking about intensity or “playoff tough” I mean more of the X’s and O’s and exploiting certain matchups or using different lineup aspect. Look at Miami's offense and you can read how they are running more cuts in the playoffs than they did at any point of the season and those are they type of things I would like to see with the Bulls. The suggestion of a "1-4" look giving Rose more room to operate is interesting and might work better than what we saw last night. Which was pretty much pass to the wing/Rose dives to the baseline/ to set an upscreen to get Boozer in the post/ if a post touch is not open then Rose gets it back and runs PNR with the other big. Now all of these suggestions involve at some point players being able to spread the floor and hit some shots. However, it is some of those fine tune adjustments that coaches make from game-to-game that just seem to have been absent so far by Thibs in the playoffs on the offensive end. And I am willing to cut him some slack since this is his first time around as a head coach.

I wanted to finish up with a question about the OKC Thunder and this theory I have that they are pretty much the NBA’s equivalent of an indie rock blogosphere buzz band. And what I mean is that they kind of started getting some buzz last year; they are adored by kind of this stat/trendy segment of NBA writers; they had some underground success (pushing the Lakers to 6), garnered a little more hype (this regular season) and now are in the midst of putting together a more commercial/successfully 2nd outing (run through the playoffs) that is being recognized by a larger audience. And of course with that larger audience comes the inevitable backlash (Westbrook). So, where will they be in 3 years… We will see the band split and their two creative forces venture out into semi-successful solo projects or stay together to win mainstream recognition and some awards along the way (MVP’s, Championships, etc.)


From: "Phat" Joe
To: "Chuck Nevitt"

I don't have any illusions that those things would change anything either, but it would be an interesting change from beating your head against the wall doing the same thing over and over like they have the last 2 games. If Korver isn't on (and if you aren't going to run a few plays for him or give him enough burn to get in a flow) he has no use on the court. Brewer is an ok guy, but he isn't stretching the floor. Bogans probably isn't the answer in the future, but I think he may be the answer now.

That is just an outstanding comparison for the Thunder (and a quick sidenote speaking of indie darlings gone mainstream, the 2 new Arcade Fire singles are really good including one with your guy David Byrne). I think the future of OKC has yet to be decided but will ultimately come down to how the Thunder lose. If they go down together and it turns into a scenario where its just getting beat by better teams and them growing together as a unit, then I think they can stay together and make beautiful music together. If every misstep continues to get put on Westbrook going 7/21, there may not be a choice but to move him. You never know, Westbrook may go out on his own and try a solo act somewhere else. I think he would end up being more David Lee Roth than Phil Collins (success-wise), but hopefully they can put the egos behind them and just be ok with being basketball's Radiohead (who thankfully didn't break up).
_____________________________________________________________

I wanted to thank Joe for being a good sport and indulging me in this little project

Till next time...

Mega Powers Collide

Well we are two games into the conference finals and guess what?? “We ain’t found shit” Most of the questions and thoughts posed by the experts going into both the Mavs-Thunder series and the Bulls-Heat series are still out there in the open waiting to be answered, repackaged, re-wrote, second guessed,etc. I picked the Heat to meet the Thunder in the finals going wayyy back to the start of the playoffs; I think that will still happen, but what the hell do I know. As I type this the whole world could be coming to an end and we might not even see the NBA finals. However, that will not stop from posting some thoughts on what has transpired this week in the Association.

1. First off it was with a heavy heart that I said goodbye to the 2010-2011 Memphis Grizzlies last Sunday after a valiant effort against the Thunder and an enjoyable run through the Western conference playoffs. I will miss Zach Randolph’s snarl, Tony Allen’s fast break hijinx and most of all the misadventures of Greivis Vasquez and Hamed Haddadi off the bench. Come back next year, Grizz you made these playoffs a lot of fun.

2. It seems like these playoffs have been either a personal crusade in support of or a vendetta against Russell Westbrook’s game for almost every NBA writer. I find myself falling somewhere in the middle and bored of this narrative. There are times when Westbrook has gone haywire in fact he has gone a lot haywire at certain points. However, it is not all Westbrook’s fault. I would say the Thunder have been plagued at points by poor coaching from Scott Brooks, who has been just abysmal with some of the Thunder’s play calling late in games and often puts Westbrook in a no win situation with the ball. Also, at times most notably in the 4th quarters against the Grizz, Kevin Durant was not doing him any favors by failing to shake Tony Allen or Shane Battier, which often left Westbrook holding the bag with very few seconds left on the shot clock.

(- Russell Westbrook, NBA Hipster )

Now, do I think that there are some hero complex/issues at play between Durant and Westbrook that have affected Russ West’s game quite possibly? I do not think we are talking about Marbury/KG like issues that occurred in Minnesota, but I do feel that Westbrook is an emerging player in this league and wants to be treated as such and from my recliner it looks like he feels that he can takeover games much the way D-Rose is capable of doing. And for the majority of the playoffs it seems like that style has benefited the Thunder at times and hurt them in other instances. So, like I said I am firmly entrenched in the middle on this Russell Westbrook thing. He maybe a hipster, but I do not think Russell Westbrook is a heel that would turn on Durant; but it will be interesting to see how this plays out over the next few years not the next few games. Therefore, can I please stop reading or seeing this Russell Westbrook tragic hero/anti-christ narrative every day after a Thunder game.

3. The defense being played has been pretty good so far by both the Bulls and the Heat in fact it has been damn good. So, I expect to see a lot of these games scoring in the 80’s maybe low 90’s. To me this series comes down to two obvious, but crucial things rebounding and bench play. The Bulls won in game 1 because of it, but lost in game 2 because the Heat did it better. I know I sound like a recycled version of sideline reporter getting a coach’s thoughts, but if the Bulls can not dominate the Heat in those areas then essentially that puts these teams on an even playing level and their two superstars are capable of making more plays than the Bulls one superstar.

4. After my last point I think I am obligated to state that the Bulls need somebody to step up besides Derrick Rose if they want to beat the Heat. Carlos Boozer and so on and so on…



5. I would watch a channel called Dirk vs. Durant, which could be just non-stop programming of both of these guys just practicing shooting jump shots, playi9ng games of H-O-R-S-E between the two of them and maybe the occasional NBA game or jam session with Wayne Coyne

I was planning on doing a long Mark Jackson style outro for this post, but something about father time catching up with me and such prevented me from doing so




Till next time… Enjoy the Rapture... RIP “Macho Man” Randy Savage

Weekend Leftovers

I injured my left hand slicing a bagel and so I am writing this post with only one hand…

Here are some random thoughts I had from the weekend.

1. Rajon Rondo is tough, but that’s not the reason why the Celtics won game 3

I’ll be the first to admit that it was pretty incredible that Rondo came back after that brutal fall that I thought for sure would have put him out of the series, but by that point the Celtics were already pulling away from the Heat. The play of Paul Pierce and Kevin Garnett is the reason the C’s dominated game 3. Pierce and Garnett played like superstars, which was missing in games 1 and 2.

It also helps that Chris Bosh openly admitted that he was nervous playing on the road at Boston. Proving once again that Chris Bosh is an overrated softie, who should never be called a superstar. I also found it funny that Rondo scored more points with one arm than when he was healthy. It will be interesting to see tonight if these Boston guys will be able to pull out another big performance like game 3 with only 48 hours between games and not what seemed the three weeks between games 2 and 3.

2. Is 32 shots too many by a point guard?

It seems like this debate has been happening a lot these playoffs and flared up again last night after Derrick Rose’s game 4 performance. Look, I think there are a number of different ways to look at this, but I tend to fall in the line of its great if he is making shots, but when you shoot in the 30% range you are going to get critiqued. I would like to see Rose get more people involved, but you can argue with the shots he was taking considering most of them were lay-ups or in the lane.

There is no question the Bulls offense collapsed in 4th quarter as detailed here by Royce Young, of CBS Sports, but I think there defense killed them as well. Thibs needs to go back to the drawing board and start running those PNR’s back on the wing rather than up top where Rose has a chance to get trapped and have Noah set the screens because he at least he can make a pass from the top of the key. Plus, it was a little disheartening to see Carlos Boozer play a solid game, but get no 4th quarter touches. I have roundly criticized Boozer throughout the playoffs, but if he gets it going during the game then you can’t just go away from him cold turkey.

3. Josh Smith has to be one of the most exciting/frustrating player’s in the league

Josh Smith has a ton of talent and a lot of it was on display last night in Atlanta, but still let’s not forget about Smith’s glaring deficiencies that still seem to be rearing their ugly head. Smith still settles way too much for his jumper rather than attack the rim much to the groan of the Atlanta faithful. I mean Smith managed to have a worse shooting night than Derrick Rose, which is saying something. As a Bulls fan I would love to see Smith continue to settle for his jump shot, but I am scared if decides to start attacking the rim like he did in spurts during game 4.

4. The Lakers showed their true colors going out like a bunch of punks...

After game 1 I had a feeling that the Mavs maybe were the better team in this series, but never did I expect them to sweep the Lakers. Gone is the soft play and “DeerHunter” beard of Pau Gasol, who was a no show on the offensive end and light up like a Christmas tree by Dirk on the defensive end. I think time has finally caught up to Derek Fisher and Ron Artest, who looked a step slow all playoffs. Kobe did not seem like Kobe at any point during the playoffs quite often settling for jumpers rather than attacking the rim save for game 2 of the Hornets series. And what can you say about that debacle yesterday in Dallas… The end of the Lakers dynasty has to be the most classless ending of a run since the ’91 Pistons walked off the court after being swept out by the Bulls. Good riddance, Lakers.

5. Walking in Memphis…

I love watching the Grizz play. The way they scrapped and clawed to come back in game 3 and then dominate OKC down the stretch was impressive. Zach Randolph might be the MVP of the playoffs at this point and the Grizz are getting contributions from Sam Young all the way down to Grevais Vazquez. I am not going to count OKC out of this series by any means, but they are having some serious issues with their 4th quarter offense. They have no movement, continue to run the same PNP play with Westbrook and Durant and have inexplicable been sitting James Harden during key offensive possessions in favor Thabo, who is a non-threat on offense. Sebastian Pruiti over at NBA Playbook provides some nice visual evidence of what I am saying. Until the Thunder figure this out and make adjustments they will be in trouble against the Grizz.

Enjoy the games. Till next time…

Goodbye, Phil Jackson

Excuse me, I have a lunch meeting with Cliff Huxtable

Originally I planned to write a really dark and trippy piece on the death of the Lakers and Celtics then I woke up from watching “American Psycho”, decided to return some videotapes, lost my train of thought and here we are it is Mothers Day.

We are now three games into each series of the 2nd round and every conclusion I tried to draw from some of these games has either been tested or totally proven incorrect. Due to the power of the reverse jinx this will be the only sentence that mentions the Dallas Mavericks and Los Angeles Lakers series.

I don’t need to go into a punch-by-punch breakdown of each series or point out key matchups or things to watch for because at this point it would be pointless and has been covered ad nauseam by every basketball “expert” under the sun.

The reason I mentioned “American Psycho” is because I find it interesting in that it is the one movie/book where not only I am a fan of the main character, Patrick Bateman, who “seemingly” (a discussion for another time…) does all of these terrible things, but I am openly hoping for him to continue to do all of these terrible things. Because it not only makes it more exciting entertainment, but it also has this depraved comedic I won’t say charm, but something I find to be incredibly fascinating throughout the movie/book.

And in some strange universe this relates to me as I watch the 2011 NBA playoffs most notably the Miami Heat. Now let me clarify that I am not rooting for the Miami Heat, but I am not exactly rooting for the Boston Celtics either. I guess what I mean is that if the Heat keep on winning I think it makes for a more interesting narrative despite all of these “terrible things” they may have done coming into this season.

“I killed Paul Allen. And I liked it…”

In some respects if the Heat win the championship it will eradicate some of my notions of what it takes to win an NBA championship and how the game should be played. Yet, I am still fascinated to watch these guys play. They have no Point Guard, no post scoring to speak of and at times do a very poor job of moving the basketball, but they also have two of the best basketball players on the planet to defer to at any point during the game and play very good defense. I hate the trend that “The Decision” may have set in motion for how teams will be built in the future, but I must say that it makes for very compelling story lines. And much like when Patrick Bateman throws a chainsaw down 7 flights of stairs to kill a woman I am intrigued to see how it all plays out.

“There is an idea of a Patrick Bateman; some kind of abstraction. But there is no real me.,,”

I feel very similar to LeBron James. Going into this season LeBron finally came to the realization that “The Decision” pissed people off and that he would no longer be seen as the fun loving player he once was thought of in Cleveland, but rather a pariah in search of a championship and some sort of basketball utopia in South Beach. So, LeBron decided to embrace this “villain” persona, he made commercials, gave interviews, etc about how he was going to use this backlash as motivation to lead the Heat to a championship and prove everybody wrong. LeBron can say and do all of those things publicly, but you know what I don’t believe him. He still wants people to like him, buy his jersey and shoes and keep growing the brand of LeBron. Because if he really wanted to shut people up and silence the “haters” he would have spent his summer developing a post game as a big eff you to everybody because that would have made him practically un-guardable. Rather he decided to focus on other things besides basketball and as Patrick Bateman be the side of Phil Collins that “…works best within the confines of the group, than as a solo artist, and I stress the word artist”.

“Harold, its Bateman, Patrick Bateman. You’re my lawyer so I think you should know: I’ve killed a lot of people.”

Spoiler Alert…

As you can gather from that last quote Pat Bateman murders a lot of people, but the problem is that no matter what Bateman does he cannot seem to be caught nor stop himself. So, as the story closes Bateman is a free man, who does not pay for his crimes. As an ending of a book/movie that works for me. In terms of sports that type of ending does not work for me. And so as much as it might sound like I am advocating how exciting it would be to watch the Heat in the finals, that it is great to watch the best players on the biggest stage. I do not want to see the Heat win. I do not want them to get away with hijacking the free agent process and winning a championship on their first try out of the gate. It is kind of like Patrick Bateman having all of these material things, but the one thing he can’t get is a reservation at Dorsia (sp?) and that’s the Heat. They can win all of these awards, have all of these commercials and endorsement money, but I do not want them to get that championship.


Till next time… when I compare Kevin Durant & Russell Westbrook to Clay Easton and Julian Wells of “Less than Zero”

Brief thoughts by Jack Haley

Sorry for the no posts lately, but I just wrapped up my stay at Jon Gruden’s QB camp. And let me tell you something THAT GUY!!!! I must say it is no bueno for me to sit here on the last Saturday in April and have no NBA action on for the day. However, the 1st round was quite spectacular so at least we got that going for us.

This post was interrupted yesterday by my attendance of a matinee of Fast Five, which I must say was quite spectacular.

And with the end of the 1st round we bid adieu to several quality and not so quality teams. So, let’s move on to some random thoughts as we head into the 2nd round of the NBA playoffs.

- Hopefully we have seen the last of Dick Stockton calling games. Look, Dick was once a great NBA announcer, but that was like in 1989. Now he is just a confused old soul that somehow gets stuck with games past his bedtime.

- For as great as Brandon Roy was in the 4th quarter of game 4 for the Blazers I think that somehow while saving that game for Portland ended up losing them the series. The Blazers seemed to rely on Roy being the go-to-guy from that point on instead of LaMarcus Aldridge. I felt that the Blazers played away from their strengths and the fact that Dallas struggled to guard Aldridge virtually all series. To me it just made no sense for the Blazers and I ultimately think it hurt them in the last two games, which were Mavs wins.

- I think it is perfect that the Orlando Magic play in the state of Florida because much like the state of Florida the Magic are very overrated. Sure you have your great big attraction in Dwight Howard (Disney World) and also you have a pretty solid go to option in Jameer Nelson (Miami), but when you surround that with mediocre or past their prime guys (locations) you are going to have problems and that’s no fun for anybody. Sure you can get quality time out of Hedo ( Ft. Myers), Gil Arenas (Ft. Lauderdale), JJ Redick (Key West) and Jason Richardson (Tampa), but overall those pieces (places) only bring so much to the table and do not offer much in the way of excitement. Not to mention any state that has Jacksonville as its most populated city is overrated by default.

- I think a bigger deal could have been made for the Grizzlies beating the Spurs, but after watching that series to me it seems the better team won. The Grizz took away the Spurs biggest weapon by limiting their good looks from beyond the arc and caused a number of uncharacteristic turnovers by the Spurs throughout the series. For the record I now think Lionel Hollins, Grizz coach, is a genius for tanking the last 2 games to draw the Spurs. Plus, Hollins sounds like a mix of Norman Dale and Pete Bell during timeouts, so it is hard not to like him or get up to play for him.

- I own an iPhone (we’re happy for you!!), but I wish Apple would stop airing those damn “Do you own an iPhone” commercials.

- It seems like forever since the Bulls have played, but that is a good thing. It gave them some time to rest and recover. I would say prepare for the Hawks, but that is impossible since Atlanta does not run anything and loves to hoist up 30 foot jumpers at the drop of a hat.

- So, I guess Kobe Bryant’s ankle is ok??

- Heat-Celtics has the potential to be the best 2nd round match-up we have seen in the last 10 years of the playoffs, but it will feel like watching Donald Trump vs. Jay Leno. In that I wish both could lose, but ultimately they will be all over our TV and unfortunately one of these teams will not be going away anytime soon.

- 2nd round predictions:

o Thunder over Grizzlies in 6 games
o Lakers over Mavs in 5 games
o Bulls over Hawks in 5 games
o Heat over Celtics in 7 games


This was real short and I hope I carve out a block of time for some extended thoughts in the upcoming week. As fun as it was to have on 3 games a night I am actually glad that the playoff schedule will be back to normal and all four of these series’ should be pretty entertaining.

Till next time…

NBA Playoff Thoughts: The Franklin & Bash edition

Well we are a couple of ballgames into the 2011 NBA Playoffs and I must say that it has been nothing short of outstanding thus far. Especially the slate of games that took place last Saturday and Sunday save for that Atlanta-Orlando game. Each series has played at least 2 games and in some cases 3 games and some questions have been answered and others still linger.

So, the following are my semi-coherent impressions on what has transpired thus far with the help of some indie rock paragraph headings endorsed (not really) by the Red Rocket, Matt Bonner

Now I am ready to start… - Arcade Fire

The team that has impressed me the most so far has been the Oklahoma City Thunder. Durant and Westbrook took over in game 1, but it has been the Thunder’s physicality and play on the defensive end that has really impressed me. After a hot start early from the Nuggets the Thunder have made them take tough shots and of course it helps that Denver has a bunch guys willing to settle for jump shots and that’s even without JR Smith playing many minutes. I think OKC is really dangerous out West and can make a run past the Spurs.

Speaking of the Spurs… This Grizzlies match-up is just a nightmare for them. I think they will win the series, but it is going to take a lot of wind out of their sails. The Grizz have shown the potential to pound them in the paint harder than Tony Parker did Brent Barry’s… I’ll keep this PG, but you get the idea. I think this series is going 7 games and that means we get 5 more games of Tony Allen’s shenanigans, which is cool by me.

I am so bored… -Wavves

I have watched all of about 5 minutes of this Magic-Hawks series. From what I have seen in the box scores and what is being bantered about on the ‘net is that Dwight Howard is pretty good, but besides Jameer Nelson the Magic are bad. Plus, it helps that by all accounts Larry Drew has coached a terrible series so far for the Hawks. I love this game, but this series makes me want to watch the 2011 Chicago Cubs.

Angela Surf City… -The Walkmen

Playoff time in LA, which means the Lakers are going for a 3-peat and TNT, hammers us with gratuitous cross-promotion shots of George Lopez sitting courtside. It was a foregone conclusion going into this series was that Chris Paul was going to have a big series vs. the Lakers. The question was would that be enough for the Hornets to win one game. It was, but man were they bad in game 2? The shots the Hornets hit in game 1 were not falling in game 2. Somehow I do not think Aaron “White Panther” Gray will go 5 for 5 again in a game let alone have 5 more field goals. The Hornets played perfect in game 1 and well the Lakers played perfectly disinterested. A positive note for the Lakers was the play of Andrew Bynum in game 2 and the continued solid play of Lamar Odom, but I think this Lakers team could be in trouble.

Dance Anthem of the 80’s -Regina Spektor

I bring up the 80’s because that is what Carmelo Anthony's game 2 performance against Boston has reminded me of. Part shades of Bernard King in his Knick days and part MJ in ’86 at the Garden, Carmelo torched the Celts for 42 & 17 and almost pulled off the impossible: winning a playoff game with a roster that would struggle winning a game at an open gym. Between Amar’e in game 1 and Melo in game 2 it felt like the Knicks should have won a game in Boston. The reason they did not is pretty simple: Doc Rivers. Rivers is just ridiculous with coming up with offensive sets out of timeouts, whether it be a sideline lob or back-“trip”play to setup Ray Allen for a game-winning 3. Rivers is probably the best coach in the NBA out of timeouts and that has been the difference so far.

Walk in the Park… -Beach House

I knew this was a good match up for the Heat and outside of Thad Young’s fun game 1 performance it has been smooth sailing for the Miami Sound Machine as well as the Heat. This Miami team is very intriguing and I can not tell if this team is peaking or just taking advantage of a weak 76ers team. At some point I will have some extended thoughts on the Heat, but this series does not warrant that.

I think ur a Contra… -Vampire Weekend

Jason Kidd looking spry, Dirk’s love for all things Hasselhoff and an amusing Blazers group has made this series fun to watch. All three games have been close and we have seen a variety of players hit some big shots as well as Brandon Roy in tears because of playing time. Good times all around. The one thing that irks me about this series is JJ Barea, reserve Mavs guard, I do not know what it is but I hate Barea and find it difficult to enjoy the Mavs when he is on the floor. Other than that this series has been solid and will almost certainly go 7 games.

Closing Time… -Semisonic (yeah, I know what you are thinking)

Two things that go will with closing are coffee and Derrick Rose. All 3 Bulls-Pacers games have followed the same script with the same result every time. Indiana’s solid collection of role players gut out 45-46 minutes of solid basketball by hustling, making some tough shots and playing some decent defense, but then Derrick Rose swoops in and all that work goes to sh*t. Rose has crushed the hearts of the heartland and probably John Mellencamp as well by his clutch play. Some kudos also has to go out to Kyle Korver, who has knocked down some huge 3’s and jump shots late in the games as well. I am running out of mean things to say about Carlos Boozer by this point so I will just nothing at this point besides once a Duke guy always a Duke guy… I hope the Bulls can wrap this thing up tomorrow to get a nice little rest before the start of the 2nd round because it only gets tougher from here.


Save it for later… -The English Beat

I could go on and on about the NBA playoffs, but I need to get mentally focused for the Arcade Fire show tonight. It should be another fun weekend of games and I will probably have another post up on Monday with some more thoughts.

Till next time... RIP Gerard Smith of TV on the Radio

The 2011 NBA Playoffs: Be All That You Can Be

Lafayette "Fat" Lever being all that he can be...

No break down of the NBA playoffs is complete with out offering some predictions. Most of the breakdowns will be pretty short, so I can gear up for the NBA version of Christmas.


EAST (1) Chicago vs. (8) Indiana
Season series: 3-1 Chicago



I covered a fair amount on the Bulls in my previous post, so let’s talk about the Pacers. The Pacers I think can make this series competitive. They have some solid pieces on the perimeter with Darren Collison and Danny Granger along with some solid depth down low in Josh McRoberts, Roy Hibbert and Psycho T. The Pacers shoot the ball pretty well and work well off of screens both on the ball and away from it, which evidently is one of the Bulls’ strength on the defensive end. The Pacers might be able to steal one. Let’s hope not…

Pick: Bulls in 5


(4) Orlando vs. (5) Atlanta
Season series: 3-1 Atlanta

I don’t have much to say about this series. Because I really do not enjoy watching either of these teams play. The Hawks have had some success against the Magic because Jason Collins can match-up down low with Howard, which allows the Hawks to stay out on Orlando’s shooters. However, the Hawks have been miserable lately and in fact they allowed more points this year than they scored. Orlando has not gotten any better since the trade and at times they are down right terrible on defense when you throw out Arenas, Hedo and Ryan Anderson on the floor together. I think the Magic screen and roll the Hawks to death and pull this off, but this series will be ugly

Pick: Magic in 6


(2) Miami vs. (7) Philadelphia
Season series: 3-0 Miami

The 76ers are a great story after a tough start to the season, but this is a real bad match-up for them. The Heat can counter any funk lineups that Doug Collins will throw at them. The Heat are very good defensively and if they can get stops and turnovers, which allow them to push the ball in transition then watch out. The 76ers will not be able to control pace on the Heat like other teams may be able to down the road. It will ve interesting to see how this Heat group plays in the Playoffs together, but I do not think the
76ers will be able to test them very much.

Pick: Heat in 5


(3) Boston vs. (6) New York
Season series: 4-0 Boston

I wish CBS still had NBA games and we could get a lucid Dick Stockton to call this match-up of classic NBA teams.



What the Celtics did last year down the stretch was in part an effort to rest their players, but this year… This Celtics team looked like a disaster down the stretch. Rondo is a different player and not in a good way. And the big three is another year older. So, of course this Celtics team seems ripe for a 1st round upset… Well, it is not going to be this year. The Knicks are a nice story and it is great to see relevant basketball being played in the Garden again. However, the ‘Bockers are atrocious on the defensive end and I think they gave up 1 too many players (Ray Felton) in the Carmelo trade to be able to beat the Celtics this year. This should be fun to watch, but I think the Celtics get back on track.

Pick: Celtics in 6


WEST




(1) San Antonio vs. (8) Memphis
Season series: 2-2

After tanking their final 2 games the Grizzlies got the match-up they wanted in a 60+ win Spurs team. Wait a minute… Yes, you read that right. The Spurs come into the playoffs a little banged up with Ginobili and Tim Duncan, but I think their experience and home court advantage will allow them to push past the Grizz. I like this Grizz team, who would have been the 5 seed in the East and instead are an 8 seed out West. Zach Randolph is as tough as they come in the post and Mike Conley has played a pretty decent point. However, the Grizz struggle shooting from the perimeter and really don’t have an elite wing with Rudy Gay being lost for the season. So, I think the Spurs get it done.

Pick: Spurs in 6


(4) Oklahoma City vs. (5) Denver
Season series: 3-1 Oklahoma City

I am hoping the average score of this series winds up to be in the 128-124 range. I think the Thunder have the look of at least a conference finals team... Maybe more. The Nuggets are as fun to watch as any team in the NBA. It is shame that these two teams have to meet up in the first round, but at least this will be entertaining. The big question is who do the Nuggets turn to down the stretch? Because they really play well as group, but they do not have that go-to-guy you need for a tough basket in crunch time. The Thunder pushed the Lakers last year, but much like the Bulls this Thunder team has yet to win a playoff series let alone a playoff game on the road. Westbrook has taken his game to another level this year and the addition of Perkins bolsters their front line and allows Durant to play his more natural position in the 3 spot. This has the making of one of those classic late 80’s / early 90’s Western Conference playoff match-ups like the Suns-Supersonics.



(Oh My.....!)

So, over course that means this series will be boring to watch since I just spent the better of this paragraph hyping it up. The Nuggets make it interesting, but I really like this Thunder team.

Pick: Thunder in 6


(3) Dallas vs. (6) Portland
Season series: 2-2

This series will be really fun to watch. The Blazers are going to throw the kitchen sink at Dirk and pretty much every NBA expert likes the Blazers. Either way I think this series goes 7 games. The Blazers struggle shooting the ball and the Mavs have been pretty average down the stretch. I tend to like the Blazers ability to mix and match different lineups a little more than the Mavs, who are missing some key components (Butler and possibly Beaubois). Rip City gets it done, but it is close.

Pick: Blazers in 7


(2) L.A. Lakers vs. (7) New Orleans
Season series: 4-0 Los Angeles

Chris Paul is a great point guard and facilitator, but without David West the Hornets have no shot. It will be interesting to see if Bynum plays at all for the Lakers and if so how effective will he be? Also, let’s see what teammates get chicken pox from Steve Blake

Pick: Lakers in 4




Finals Pick:

Heat over the Thunder in 6.

I think the Heat slightly edge out the Bulls in 7 and the Thunder push past the Lakers in 6. Obviously I hope this does not happen, but I just have a strange feeling about this Heat team. The Thunder pick is more becuase I just do not want to pick the Lakers.

Till next time... Here is some Warpaint from yesterday at Coachella

Breakfast with the Bulls

Only the Bulls… Your one and only Chicago Bulls.


Let’s see 60 wins: check; front-runner for MVP: check; coach of the year: check; Went from close to last in the league to 12th in offensive efficiency: check.


I could go on and on about all of the accomplishments and accolades that the 2010-2011 Chicago Bulls have achieved so far, but the main question is will it mean anything if you ain’t got that ring? Yes and No. That is such a cop out answer on my part…


The first thing this team has done is at least brought the Bulls back into the sports conscience of this town for the first time in along time. Did you see that Rose dunk? Man, I hated Noah when they drafted him, but that guy works his tail off… People are actually watching this Bulls team, which for awhile was very difficult. Trust Me. Tom Thibodeau has proven to be a tremendous hire for the Bulls. What they have done on the defensive end is just incredible. Their team defense has been the best I have seen in the NBA in a few seasons. Especially for not having many great individual defensive players; I mean when Kyle Korver can actually play in crunch time and defend somebody you know your coach has a done a hell of a job.


I remember reading an article early in the season where Derrick Rose was talking about the start of every practice, which is usually began by spending 20-30 minutes on defensive closeouts. That’s a drill that teams in grade school work on, but it’s also what separates this Bulls team. It is the little things that the Bulls are willing to do that has made them so successful up to this point. Also, it helps when you buy into your coach’s message from the top on down.



That top starts with Derrick Rose. There is a million different ways you could argue whether Rose is the MVP or not, but to me the thing that has made him so valuable to this team is the attitude that he brings to every game. The way he has fully embraced Thibodeau’s message and led his teammates on the court are to me the qualities that makes him the MVP besides some of the ridiculous games and plays he has had this season. A lot of star players are difficult to manage at times and do not take kindly to criticism by their coach. A perfect example of what makes Rose different would be when the Bulls played in Atlanta in March. The Bulls held a pretty comfortable lead in the game around the 3rd quarter when the Hawks came down and ran a screen & roll. On the play Rose allowed himself to be screened easily, which led to the Hawks scoring an easy bucket. Thibodeau immediately called a timeout and gotten in Rose’s face about the play. Rose did not pout or ignore his coach instead he acknowledged he made a mistake and said my bad. In a game where the Bulls won by a comfortable margin that told me a lot about Rose and the respect he has for his coach and the way he plays the game. And I think that the willingness of Rose to buy-in has reverberated throughout this team. It really is a likeable group to watch play the game of basketball.


All of that is great, but the really business at hand starts on Saturday. The Playoffs… I have seen the numbers thrown out that every time the Bulls have won 60+ games they have won a title. Well, that’s great in all, but you need to remember up until this point the highlight of the post-Jordan Bulls has been losing a 7 game series to a Garnett-less Celtics team. Having home court advantage will be a huge plus for this young team and the way as scary (Noah and Brewer) as it was how they kept their foot on the pedal all the way through the regular season that is also a plus for this team. They kept that edge and swagger heading into the playoffs because at this point the Bulls do not have that switch like the Lakers or potentially the Celtics have where they can just turn it on or off at the right time.



With all that said this team needs to win a playoff series. Going from no playoffs series’ wins to an NBA Finals is a big leap. Do I think the Bulls can make that leap? Sure… They will beat Indiana, but then the hard part starts. You can throw out regular season records when it comes to the playoffs. Your benches shorten up; you don’t have to account for long road trips or back-to-back games. After the first round I think the East will be a dog fight (predictions tomorrow) and I think the Bulls will be able to handle their own, but it is not a sure thing by any means.


This is where I come full circle on this Bulls team. Like I said they have done the little things right all year to put them in this position. Now it is time to continue to execute, defend and hit some big shots if you want to advance. The NBA playoffs are exciting as it gets at least for me. It is finally nice to have a dog in the fight again.


Tell next time… Another week & another farewell: Goodbye, Free Darko.

This video is not Bulls related, but I could not resist the combination of Pearl Jam and Shawn Kemp. Enjoy!