Wednesday, March 16, 2011
The Return
I'm back. My thoughts on the recent NFL coverage and the "Fluff Five" will be posted shortly. Stay tuned.
Saturday, May 30, 2009
The Daily Banned Action: Chauncey Billups Trying to Make the "Home Run" Play
Chauncey is a great player (still a top-5 point guard) and, make not mistake about it, he made the immense talent of the Denver Nuggets finally come to fruition. But too often he buys into his nickname of "Mr. Big Shot" and he tries to go for the "home run" play instead of making the smarter play on the fast break. A pull up three pointer has much less of a chance of going in than a dunk or a layup for a teammate, and the greater risk of a pull up 3 will only give you the extra benefit of one point (or no points if it's an and-1). Chauncey messed up three fast breaks in Game 6 because he ran them poorly. While the home run play may energize the crowd slightly more than the easy lay in, a missed fast break is very demoralizing for the fans.
Friday, May 29, 2009
The Ramifications of This Year's Playoffs
This is in response to this intriguing article: http://www.scoresreport.com/2009/05/28/theres-a-lot-on-the-line-for-kobe-lebron-melo-and-d-ho/?year=2009&monthnum=05&day=28&name=theres-a-lot-on-the-line-for-kobe-lebron-melo-and-d-ho&page
The results of these playoffs will certainly have a great impact on the future configuration of the NBA.
Kobe MUST win the entire thing for him to cement his legacy as a top-8 (or even 6) player of all time. If the Lakers win this year, then they can potentially repeat, but if they don't then the perpetual expectation to win and the burden of losing deep in the playoffs two years in a row will definitely wear on the Lakers. That albatross of not winning without Shaq will only get heavier for Kobe as he progresses into his 30s. He is the only one of the four superstars who absolutely NEEDS to win the championships. The competition will only get stiffer with teams like Portland and Denver on the rise (and look out, if Houston ever gets it together).
While the book on LeBron's career is only its early stages, getting past the Magic and winning the finals will have major implications for where he spends the rest of his career and how he is viewed in the discussion of being a great closer.
As for his impending free agency, when you really analyze the Cavs they really do not have substantially more talent than other more flashy destinations. The 2008-09 Knick were better than the 08-09 Cavs without LeBron. Granted the 2010 Knicks will look completely different but it's not like LeBron would be taking money over a better chance to win if he chooses to go to NYC. Is Mo Williams really the best sidekick that LeBron could hope for?
Kobe is still viewed as a better closer than LeBron, and you can see why in the Magic series. To his credit, he closed out Game 5 beautifully but that was his only impressive fourth quarter in this entire series. While the Magic lead 3-2, all of the games that the Magic won were only one LeBron crunch time takeover from going the Cav's way.
Carmelo has much to gain from winning a championship. You can already see him rising, as many acknowledge his extremely versatile offensive game and how he has matured with the arrival of Billups. If he wins a championship then it would not be a far-fetched assertion to say that he belongs in the same class as Kobe, LeBron and D-Wade.
Dwight Howard is the youngest of the four superstars mentioned, but he can gain a lot of respect if he gets past LeBron and Kobe or Carmelo. He will have accomplished something that Shaq did not and it would place the Magic as the top dogs of the East for years to come. If they win the championship then they would do their best to retain Hedo Turkoglu and we would see a very formidable nucleus of Howard, Lewis, Turkoglu, and Jameer Nelson and servicable role players in Pietrus and C. Lee for years to come. On the other hand if they lose, then they will probably let Turkoglu and Gortat go and revert back to being perenial playoff contender with no championship potential.
A lot is at stake in these playoffs.
The results of these playoffs will certainly have a great impact on the future configuration of the NBA.
Kobe MUST win the entire thing for him to cement his legacy as a top-8 (or even 6) player of all time. If the Lakers win this year, then they can potentially repeat, but if they don't then the perpetual expectation to win and the burden of losing deep in the playoffs two years in a row will definitely wear on the Lakers. That albatross of not winning without Shaq will only get heavier for Kobe as he progresses into his 30s. He is the only one of the four superstars who absolutely NEEDS to win the championships. The competition will only get stiffer with teams like Portland and Denver on the rise (and look out, if Houston ever gets it together).
While the book on LeBron's career is only its early stages, getting past the Magic and winning the finals will have major implications for where he spends the rest of his career and how he is viewed in the discussion of being a great closer.
As for his impending free agency, when you really analyze the Cavs they really do not have substantially more talent than other more flashy destinations. The 2008-09 Knick were better than the 08-09 Cavs without LeBron. Granted the 2010 Knicks will look completely different but it's not like LeBron would be taking money over a better chance to win if he chooses to go to NYC. Is Mo Williams really the best sidekick that LeBron could hope for?
Kobe is still viewed as a better closer than LeBron, and you can see why in the Magic series. To his credit, he closed out Game 5 beautifully but that was his only impressive fourth quarter in this entire series. While the Magic lead 3-2, all of the games that the Magic won were only one LeBron crunch time takeover from going the Cav's way.
Carmelo has much to gain from winning a championship. You can already see him rising, as many acknowledge his extremely versatile offensive game and how he has matured with the arrival of Billups. If he wins a championship then it would not be a far-fetched assertion to say that he belongs in the same class as Kobe, LeBron and D-Wade.
Dwight Howard is the youngest of the four superstars mentioned, but he can gain a lot of respect if he gets past LeBron and Kobe or Carmelo. He will have accomplished something that Shaq did not and it would place the Magic as the top dogs of the East for years to come. If they win the championship then they would do their best to retain Hedo Turkoglu and we would see a very formidable nucleus of Howard, Lewis, Turkoglu, and Jameer Nelson and servicable role players in Pietrus and C. Lee for years to come. On the other hand if they lose, then they will probably let Turkoglu and Gortat go and revert back to being perenial playoff contender with no championship potential.
A lot is at stake in these playoffs.
Wednesday, May 27, 2009
A Must Watch
Last night's game was exhilarating, but a year from now I will probably only vaguely remember Rashard Lewis's near game winning three, LeBron James's free throw attempts at the end of regulation, or Dwight Howard laying it in while Anderson Varejao is on him like a 6 foot 11, 260 lb backpack. What will stick with me is seeing Zydrunas Ilgauskus's face in slow motion as he caught an elbow from Dwight Howard. That was hilarious!!!!!!!!!! I'll post a video or a picture as soon as I can find one.
Tuesday, May 26, 2009
The Daily Banned Action: Cavs Complaining About Foul Calls
LeBron James is a tremendous player and he would remain an elite player even without the preferential treatment he gets.
(For more, go to: http://www.nba.com/bulls/news/smith2_090406.html?rss=true)
Over the last three games, Dwight Howard, Hedo Turkoglu, and Mickael Pietrus have been routinely called on fouls in which little to no contact occured, or (which hapeens very often) LeBron initiated the contact. For the Cavs to lament that the Magic shot 51 free throws, they can only blame themselves. For one, if they did not want to purposely hack Dwight Howard they could have easily avoided a substantial number of those freebies. For another, they did not have to hip check or hand check Hedo Turkoglu when he is 30 feet from the basket. Lastly, Dwight Howard was fouled far more than was called and every time a foul was called, post-whistle hacking was a regular occurence by the likes of Anderson Varejao.
(For more, go to: http://www.nba.com/bulls/news/smith2_090406.html?rss=true)
Over the last three games, Dwight Howard, Hedo Turkoglu, and Mickael Pietrus have been routinely called on fouls in which little to no contact occured, or (which hapeens very often) LeBron initiated the contact. For the Cavs to lament that the Magic shot 51 free throws, they can only blame themselves. For one, if they did not want to purposely hack Dwight Howard they could have easily avoided a substantial number of those freebies. For another, they did not have to hip check or hand check Hedo Turkoglu when he is 30 feet from the basket. Lastly, Dwight Howard was fouled far more than was called and every time a foul was called, post-whistle hacking was a regular occurence by the likes of Anderson Varejao.
Orlando-Cleveland Game 4
The following are the keys to victory for each team:
Orlando wins if :
1) Hedo Turkoglu and Rashard Lewis control the game. In Game 3, Hedo had a terrible (that's an understatement) shooting night but he still managed to get to the free throw line and get his points, while also putting the Cavs in the penalty early on in the quarter. His seven assists were impressive, considering the fact that Cleveland did everything possible (they were hand-checking him as soon as he got a foot behind the three point line) to keep him out of the paint. Look for Cleveland to force Hedo into making some plays before they start agressively trapping his pick and rolls as they did in Game 3.
As for Rashard Lewis, he has been Mr. Consistensy for the Magic. You can write him down for an efficient 17-25 points right now.
2) Dwight Howard makes his free-throws. "Superman" is going to get hammered everytime he is two feet from the basket. 14 of the Magic's points were a result of Dwight's free throws in Game 3.
3) Continue the excellent defense. As much as analysts say that "so and so" just isn't knocking down shots. The Orlando Magic have played very well thus far. They are making James work for every point and they are closing out very effectively on all the shooters, I don't like to put it on the refs, but clearly LeBron has been getting an inordinate amount of the calls for him and avoiding plenty of calls that should go against him. The Magic's defense would look a lot better if James was not living on the free throw line.
Cleveland Wins if:
1) LeBron gets 50 tonight. He is averaging 41 points for the series and they are still trailing the series 1-2. The Magic are playing very good defense on the rest of the Cavs. It is clear that the Magic do not want any role players penetrating into the paint and they do not want them taking open 3-pointer. In essence, they have reduced every player not named LeBron into a 12-18 foot jump shooter.
2) LeBron gets off to a torrid start. Despite what Mo insists, this team has lost its confidence and it has no idea how to play an elite team like the Magic (they were 3-6 in the regular season against the Magic, Lakers, and Celtics). The Cavs have to get their swagger back if they want to win this game.
3) Zydrunas Ilgauskaus can do his primary job on offense (pick and pop). The 7-3 center has to be able to shoot over the 6-9 Rashard Lewis. This is probably the only semi-mismatch that the Cavs have over the Magic (besides Lebron, of course) and they have yet to take advantage of it.
The following are things that the opposing team is hoping for:
Orlando hopes that:
1) LeBron is exhausted from penetrating and just settles for jumpers. Never mind hope, Stan Van and Dwight are praying that this is the case. As Stan said and every basketball fan is aware of, when LeBron penetrates good things happen. A collective "oh crap" is uttered by every Magic fan whenever LeBron drives hard to the basket.
2) Cleveland gets off to a slow start. As was mentioned the Cavs are on the edge and if Dwight is throwing down dunks, Hedo is penetrating, and the Magic are raining down threes, while Mo, Delonte, and Z can't hit a jumper, then this game could be over in the first half. (I don't think this will be the case, since LeBron can find a way to keep them in it given the must-win nature of the game).
Cleveland hopes that:
1) Orlando does not bring a sense of urgeny to tonight's game.
2) Dwight bricks his free throws
Prediction:
Orlando wins. Even though the Cavs' role players have been missing some shots that they are capable of making, they are not getting too many open looks (and even when they do have open looks, the thought of a long, athletic Magic defender racing towards them seems to be in their head whenever they square up to shoot). So, I don't see any unexpected Cav from having some sort of breakout game. The Magic are a confident team that has been more tested than any other team in the Conference finals, while the Cavs were an arrogant team that face no adversity whatsover in the first two rounds of the playoffs.
The Magic's toughness originates from knowing that they have the ability to win a close game in the fourth quarter, while the Cavs' confidence depends on the moment (up 20, just hit a 3, dunked it on somebody, LeBron blocks somebody on a fastbreak, etc.)
The Cavs have been absorbing siginifant jabs since Orlando's game 1 comeback and a near knockout in Game 2. To their credit, they got off the mat, but were quicly bombarded by the Magic in Game 3. Look for the Magic to go for the knockout tonight.
Orlando wins if :
1) Hedo Turkoglu and Rashard Lewis control the game. In Game 3, Hedo had a terrible (that's an understatement) shooting night but he still managed to get to the free throw line and get his points, while also putting the Cavs in the penalty early on in the quarter. His seven assists were impressive, considering the fact that Cleveland did everything possible (they were hand-checking him as soon as he got a foot behind the three point line) to keep him out of the paint. Look for Cleveland to force Hedo into making some plays before they start agressively trapping his pick and rolls as they did in Game 3.
As for Rashard Lewis, he has been Mr. Consistensy for the Magic. You can write him down for an efficient 17-25 points right now.
2) Dwight Howard makes his free-throws. "Superman" is going to get hammered everytime he is two feet from the basket. 14 of the Magic's points were a result of Dwight's free throws in Game 3.
3) Continue the excellent defense. As much as analysts say that "so and so" just isn't knocking down shots. The Orlando Magic have played very well thus far. They are making James work for every point and they are closing out very effectively on all the shooters, I don't like to put it on the refs, but clearly LeBron has been getting an inordinate amount of the calls for him and avoiding plenty of calls that should go against him. The Magic's defense would look a lot better if James was not living on the free throw line.
Cleveland Wins if:
1) LeBron gets 50 tonight. He is averaging 41 points for the series and they are still trailing the series 1-2. The Magic are playing very good defense on the rest of the Cavs. It is clear that the Magic do not want any role players penetrating into the paint and they do not want them taking open 3-pointer. In essence, they have reduced every player not named LeBron into a 12-18 foot jump shooter.
2) LeBron gets off to a torrid start. Despite what Mo insists, this team has lost its confidence and it has no idea how to play an elite team like the Magic (they were 3-6 in the regular season against the Magic, Lakers, and Celtics). The Cavs have to get their swagger back if they want to win this game.
3) Zydrunas Ilgauskaus can do his primary job on offense (pick and pop). The 7-3 center has to be able to shoot over the 6-9 Rashard Lewis. This is probably the only semi-mismatch that the Cavs have over the Magic (besides Lebron, of course) and they have yet to take advantage of it.
The following are things that the opposing team is hoping for:
Orlando hopes that:
1) LeBron is exhausted from penetrating and just settles for jumpers. Never mind hope, Stan Van and Dwight are praying that this is the case. As Stan said and every basketball fan is aware of, when LeBron penetrates good things happen. A collective "oh crap" is uttered by every Magic fan whenever LeBron drives hard to the basket.
2) Cleveland gets off to a slow start. As was mentioned the Cavs are on the edge and if Dwight is throwing down dunks, Hedo is penetrating, and the Magic are raining down threes, while Mo, Delonte, and Z can't hit a jumper, then this game could be over in the first half. (I don't think this will be the case, since LeBron can find a way to keep them in it given the must-win nature of the game).
Cleveland hopes that:
1) Orlando does not bring a sense of urgeny to tonight's game.
2) Dwight bricks his free throws
Prediction:
Orlando wins. Even though the Cavs' role players have been missing some shots that they are capable of making, they are not getting too many open looks (and even when they do have open looks, the thought of a long, athletic Magic defender racing towards them seems to be in their head whenever they square up to shoot). So, I don't see any unexpected Cav from having some sort of breakout game. The Magic are a confident team that has been more tested than any other team in the Conference finals, while the Cavs were an arrogant team that face no adversity whatsover in the first two rounds of the playoffs.
The Magic's toughness originates from knowing that they have the ability to win a close game in the fourth quarter, while the Cavs' confidence depends on the moment (up 20, just hit a 3, dunked it on somebody, LeBron blocks somebody on a fastbreak, etc.)
The Cavs have been absorbing siginifant jabs since Orlando's game 1 comeback and a near knockout in Game 2. To their credit, they got off the mat, but were quicly bombarded by the Magic in Game 3. Look for the Magic to go for the knockout tonight.
Sunday, May 17, 2009
Los Angeles-Houston Game 7
The following are the keys to victory for each team:
LA wins if:
1) They show up and play with a sense of urgency.
Houston wins if:
1) Aaron Brooks continues to penetrate
2) Shane Battier takes and makes the 3 point shot. This will make Kobe Bryant expend some more energy on defense and reduce his prefrence to "roam" around and disrupt the passing lanes.
3) Luis Scola is a force in the post
4) Chuck Hayes stays out of foul trouble
5) Ron Artest has a good night on the offensive end
The following are things that the opposing team is hoping for:
LA hopes that:
1) Houston's offense consists of Artest endlessly dribbling the ball and looking for his shot
Houston hopes that:
1) Kobe Bryant continues to take 2 point turnaround, fadeaway jumpers with a hand in his face
2) The Lakers do not go inside to Pau Gasol
3) The Lakers believe that the Rockets are satisfied with just getting to Game 7.
Prediction:
While I first predicted that Houston would win this series in 7 games, that was before Yao went down with an injury. Once Yao went down in Game 3, I immediatly got the feeling that LA would wrap this up in 5 games.
That being said this Houston team has really impressed me. They shocked the Lakers and the rest of the world, by taking two of the next three games. They have all the intangibles that you would want in a championship team: They play hard, they play together, they're tough, they are not intimidated by anybody, etc. But, I'm going to have to go with the Lakers. As much as I hate to pick against an underdog team like the Rockets, the Lakers have shown that they can get it done when they need to (it's when they have no sense of urgency, they have a problem).
LA wins if:
1) They show up and play with a sense of urgency.
Houston wins if:
1) Aaron Brooks continues to penetrate
2) Shane Battier takes and makes the 3 point shot. This will make Kobe Bryant expend some more energy on defense and reduce his prefrence to "roam" around and disrupt the passing lanes.
3) Luis Scola is a force in the post
4) Chuck Hayes stays out of foul trouble
5) Ron Artest has a good night on the offensive end
The following are things that the opposing team is hoping for:
LA hopes that:
1) Houston's offense consists of Artest endlessly dribbling the ball and looking for his shot
Houston hopes that:
1) Kobe Bryant continues to take 2 point turnaround, fadeaway jumpers with a hand in his face
2) The Lakers do not go inside to Pau Gasol
3) The Lakers believe that the Rockets are satisfied with just getting to Game 7.
Prediction:
While I first predicted that Houston would win this series in 7 games, that was before Yao went down with an injury. Once Yao went down in Game 3, I immediatly got the feeling that LA would wrap this up in 5 games.
That being said this Houston team has really impressed me. They shocked the Lakers and the rest of the world, by taking two of the next three games. They have all the intangibles that you would want in a championship team: They play hard, they play together, they're tough, they are not intimidated by anybody, etc. But, I'm going to have to go with the Lakers. As much as I hate to pick against an underdog team like the Rockets, the Lakers have shown that they can get it done when they need to (it's when they have no sense of urgency, they have a problem).
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