A big game one victory for the Suns, the whole team must have let out a nice collective exhale. They’ve been dominated by the Spurs for too many years for me to want to remember. The year of the bloody Nash nose, coupled with the Amare suspension gave me flashbacks to Game 6 of 2002 series in Sacramento against the Lakers. We won’t go there, we just can’t, it’s too painful. Jason Richardson seems to be the Suns barometer on whether they will win or not. Continue reading
The Doin-Work team loves the “Told you so” moments, or at least the opportunity of it, hence our MLB predictions, followed by our NBA Playoff predictions for 2010. Speaking for just myself right now, I suck at the aforementioned “Told you so” moments, just skim through my past predictions as evidence.
But, my one “Told you so” prediction for the 2010-2011 NBA season is essentially a guarantee. Chris Paul was the guest on The NBA on TNT pre-game and halftime show during Game 2 of the Cleveland/Boston series tonight. Charles Barkley went on to tell Chris Paul to his face, that he no longer considers him the best point guard in the NBA, and that he is now second to Deron Williams of Utah. Now you can argue back and forth about the two, and which one is better, honestly, having the choice of either is a win-win situation, that’s not the point … but – CP3 has a fierce competitive edge to him. So when Barkley was telling him this, he was simply smiling, pretending to not be affected by his comments, but … as I was listening to, and watching this interaction between the two, I couldn’t help but focus on Chris Paul’s facial expressions, and sure enough, there was a bit of a scowl being held back.
So what I can guarantee you is this, Chris Paul is going to be an absolute beast next season. Watch. I can even guarantee this, he will finish second in MVP voting behind one LeBron James. Yes, three-peat is in the works for LBJ, and when this all unfolds, we here at Doin-Work will be the first to remind you … TOLD YOU SO.
We’ve had little to no talk on the free agent class on 2010 here on the blog, and obviously this class is the biggest and best we’ve probably ever seen. July 1, 2010 has been etched into owner’s/GM’s minds for the past few seasons, and multiple teams could land a couple of big time players to make them an instant contender. This upcoming July could shape the NBA’s power balance for the next decade to come. I’m a big fan of making lists, so here’s my top twenty free agents. I’ve included some guys on the list that I think may opt out of their contract making the list a little more exciting. I decided to leave off the restricted free agents such as Dirk and Pierce, because it would be strange to see some of these teams actually cut these guys…
#1 Lebron James – 7th season – 25 years old – Player option to be an unrestricted free agent
He’s the first player I can ever think of that had teams scrapping multiple seasons just to make the cap space for him, and another star. He’s the best player in the league, and WILL one day join Oscar on the list of players to average a triple-double.
I won’t go into what he’s good at since he can pretty much do everything. If any player in the league can make personnel decisions within his own team, Lebron is that guy.
#2 Dwayne Wade – 7th season – 28 years old – Player option to be an unrestricted free agent
Probably the best guard in the league. He scores wherever he wants, and gets to the line nearly everytime he drives to the hoop. He probably had two of the best five dunks of the season dunking over Varejao, and half the Pacers team. He’s made a crappy Heat team relevant. Hopefully someone else on this list ends up on the same team as him, because if anyone deserves some help it’s this guy. If Miami loses him, they will be counting ping pong balls for years to come.
#3 Amar’e Stoudemire – 8th season – 27 years old – Player option to be an unrestricted free agent
Amar’e looks to have fully recovered from his injury, and looks like he’s back at his 2007-08 form. The knock on him has always been defense, but it looks like he’s made some strides since sitting down with Bill Russell, which Amare said was an eye opening experience. I’m not certain that I see him opting out of Phoenix since he seems to like it there, but why stick with a one year contract when you can get one for six? Especially with his laundry list of injuries. Then again, I could also see him staying in Phoenix to help Nash ride off into the sunset. After all the constant trade talks swirling around him, and him never going anywhere, I’m skeptical that he will leave the valley of the sun.
#4 Chris Bosh – 7th season – 25 years old – Player option to be an unrestricted free agent
Most teams that are in the Lebron sweepstakes are also hoping to team him with Bosh. The predator should make a big impact wherever he lands whether it’s in Chicago with Rose and Noah, or with Lebron or Wade somewhere else. I don’t view him as a alpha dog, but he’s as good a great sidekick that demands a lot of attention from opposing teams. I see him as a Gasol type fit on a championship team. A big part of why they win, but in the end not the sole reason they win. Continue reading
It may not be a secret, but chances are you heard it here first. Not that it’s tremendously unpredictable, but Tyreke Evans will be presented with the NBA Rookie of the Year trophy on Thursday. Today, the Sacramento Kings issued a press release announcing a “Major NBA Award Presentation” tomorrow. Unless Carl Landry is winning the MVP, one can only guess what this press conference entails. Unfortunately, this writer will be unable to attend the press conference due to other work obligations, but this announcement comes as little surprise to anyone on this panel. Evans became just the fourth player in NBA history to average more than 20 points, 5 rebounds, and 5 assists in his rookie season, joining the likes of Oscar Robertson, Michael Jordan, and Lebron James. It is truly an honor well-deserved. Congratulations Tyreke on a great rookie campaign.
This isn’t exactly breaking news, but former Warriors owner, Franklin Mieuli, passed away at the age of 89 on Monday. Chances are you’ve never heard of him, but you’re probably aware that the Golden State Warriors’ fan base is not particularly enthralled with their current owner. That makes the news of Mieuli’s passing that much more sad. He owned the Warriors for 24 years, from 1962 to 1986 and remained loyal to the franchise to this day. He actually was largely responsible for moving the franchise from Philadelphia to the Bay Area. He was commonly seen at W’s games and remained a season ticket holder. You’d recognize him by his signature hats. It’s too bad he didn’t get to see the W’s return to their glory days, but I’ll bet that memorable run in 2007 was a decent consolation. If nothing else, he at least was able to capture an NBA Championship in 1975 as owner of the team. Thank you, Mr. Mieuli, for all that you’ve done for this franchise. Hopefully someone else can take it back to where you had it.
Can I be the fourth guy in your group?
I’ve more than documented my man crush on Curry, and it has even stretched to seeing how he’s spending his time in the off season, sad I know. Make no mistake, I’m not a stalker that’s going to ask Curry to go to Santa Barbra to buy some antiques with me like this guy, who has more of a fatal attraction to Kobe than a mancrush. Curry made an appearance showcasing that he has some game on Monday. No, the Warriors aren’t magically in the playoffs, and if your thinking, I already knew he was a baller, and could’ve won rookie of the year this year, but I wasn’t talking about hoops. Curry played in the Quail Hollow Championship Pro Am yesterday, and posted three birdies on his score card, which is pretty impressive. He was paired up with PGA pro Stephen Lowry, Nascar’s Michael Waltrip, his dad Dell Curry, and Charlotte police chief Rod Monroe. I’m not sure exactly what the handicaps were for each player, and I’m sure that the handicaps they had helped their group a little, but their group ended up winning the tourney shooting a 54. Pretty impressive work Stephen. I guess Dell taught him a jumper and a golf swing, even though after the tourney Steph said that his dad beat him by three strokes, I’m sure he’ll beat him the next time they play. I’m far from a good golfer, and anytime I have three birdies in a round whether the course is tough or easy, I’m usually pretty happy. I doubt Stephen gets out on the links all that much, but I have a feeling when his playing days are over he will be better than Jerry Rice is on the Nationwide tour!
Some other news broke out today on the rookie of the year that MCeezy and I debated about, and would be Tyreke Evans. He’s another Norcal baller that will put Sac back on the map . He didn’t get out on the links, instead he is being recognized for his professional accomplishments during his rookie season. Although there is no official announcement made by the NBA, Sactown Royalty seems to have the inside scoop, and has reported that Tyreke will be holding the ROY award on Thursday or Friday. I honestly didn’t get to see that much of Tyreke this year, since I live in Southern California, and it’s rare that the Kings are on anywhere outside of Sac. He joined Lebron averaging 20, 5, and 5 on the year, and had some competition from Steph Curry and Brandon Jennings, but was clearly the most consistent rookie this year. All in all a great year for the rookie, and a deserved winner of the award. Hopefully these two guys can bring Norcal out of the basement of the West.
Next up: Who wins the #1 pick in the lottery?
Kings 15.6% of the ping pong balls
Warriors 11.9% of the ping pong balls
Common is one of my favorite rappers of all-time, let me rephrase that. Common is one of my favorite “emcees” of all-time. There is a difference. ‘Til this day Resurrection still manages to transcend time for me, in fact, Common in general transcends time, as he is still more than relevant to this day. The shelf life for most Hip-Hop artist is like four years. He’s been at it for decades. He might be one of the trendiest artist alive as well. Ask your girlfriend if she likes the way Common dresses, go on … do it. Yeah buddy, I knew she would.
As do many Hip-Hop artists, Common has tried his hand at acting, and has been quite successful at it too. Perhaps he hasn’t done anything in which he’s “stolen” the show so-to-speak, but he’s done enough to raise a few eye-brows. In fact, he’s done enough so to land his first (male) leading role in Just Wright, a movie in which he plays an NBA All-Star who suffers a severe knee injury and must go through a rigorous rehabilitation regiment with the guidance of potential love interest Queen Latifah in attempts to return to the league. O.K. so going from his day job of being a Hip-Hop legend to acting as an NBA baller might not be such a stretch for him being that the two are synonymous with each-other, but still. Give credit where credit’s due, it’s a leading role.
Why we should watch this movie? Well, because we should all support Common, he’s a rapper (emcee) with a positive message and vibe. Those kinds don’t come along too often. Another reason? We’re sports junkies! C’mon, unless it’s a movie like Fighting, or Never Back Down, us guys are usually interested in sports flicks. Especially if it stars, or has cameos of real professional athletes. This one does! I was 11 or 12 years old when Blue Chips was a feature film, and it quickly became one my favorite movies behind Jurassic Park, simply because Penny Hardaway was in it. If those reasons aren’t valid enough, it stars Paula Patton too. ‘Nuff said. 
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One last thing to note, Common plays for the N.J. Nets in this movie. Perhaps this will be the most positive thing for Nets fans to view regarding their team until the next NBA Draft comes along. I’m just saying. Plus he (Common) kind of reminds me of Stephon Marbury when he puts on that jersey … I always like being reminded of Stephon Marbury.
(Photo by Jesse D. Garrabrant/NBAE via Getty Images)
Sunday featured a full docket of NBA Playoff games to keep fans busy. I’m a little over 7/8 of the way through the quadruple header, and I’m going out on a limb to assume the Jazz will hold on to their 20 point lead at the time of posting. First, Miami was able to stay alive thanks to the heroic effort of Dwyane Wade. I got a sense of overexposure dating back to the Heat’s last Championship run – Wade was everywhere and got all the calls. But now that his team is a lower seed again, I’ve come to appreciate, once again, the will and ability of one of the game’s great players. D-Wade single-handedly took over the fourth quarter with a barrage of clutch baskets. He finished with 46 to make sure the Heat held on to this one to send the series back to Boston for at least one more game.
In Chicago, the Cavs ran away from the Bulls despite a monstrous effort from Joakim Noah. I had all the doubts in the world about this kid coming out of Florida. I didn’t see him ever becoming anything more than a role player, but today, he was the Bulls best player on the floor. Noah put up 21 points to go with 20 rebounds, and repeatedly came up with big buckets when other Bulls couldn’t. Problem is, too often were the times no one else could come through. On the other side of the ball, Lebron James was dominant once again, posting his fifth career postseason triple-double with 37 pts, 12 reb, and 11 ast. Mo Williams chipped in a couple huge three pointers and finished with 19.
In San Antonio, the 7th seed Spurs took a stronghold on their series with the Mavs, notching a 92-89 win to send the series back to Dallas with the home team in a 3-1 deficit. George Hill had a breakout game with 29 points to lead the way for the Spurs. The Mavs meanwhile looked like the same familiar disappointing team that continually fails to show up in the postseason. Jason Terry led a respectful comeback attempt, but the Spurs showed that they’re still the better team when the games mean something.
There’s still a lot of basketball left to be played in Utah, but barring a miraculous fourth quarter, the Jazz look poised to take a 3-1 lead back to Denver with three chances to close out the series. Deron Williams is building upon his legacy, further cementing his status as one of the top point guards in the league. Also, Carlos Boozer is showing that he can still be a dominating force in the post, something that teams with cap space will certainly be looking to add to their roster in the upcoming offseason.
He may not be a Warrior anymore, and he may have left on bad terms, but I still have love for Stephen Jackson. The guy wears his emotions on his sleeve, and I can’t fault him for that – on the basketball court at least. During the decisive possession of last night’s Game 2, Jack drove into the lane and got slapped in the face by Matt Barnes, causing his headband to blind him in one eye. Instead of fixing it, Jack left the headband covering his face to show officials that a foul should’ve been called. I’ve done that before, so it’s always reassuring to see a pro baller do the same. No foul was called, but Jameer Nelson took the ball the other way and made a layup plus a foul, that put the game out of reach for Charlotte. Calling ALL captains, here’s the clip….
While watching game two of the Nuggets-Utah series the commercial above came on, and I had an immediate WTF moment. I rewound the commercial two or three times just to see if I’d heard it right, and found that my ears weren’t deceiving me. I couldn’t figure out why the people of Utah would support the future champion Carmelo Anthony. It made no sense at all, especially since he was playing against Utah’s beloved Jazz in round one. We debated in an e-mail chain what the motive behind this ad was. We found no ties to Melo in Utah. He went to Syracuse, and was born a New Yorker, so not connection there. The only thing we really came up with was that they shared a state border. Dyslecix claimed it was a Nike covert commercial operation, and low and behold, he was right!
Today it was let on that Melo teamed up with Nike’s Jordan brand to create this confusing, but creative commercial. When first approached about the ad Melo asked “You like it, think it’s funny?”
I fully fell for it, I thought it was a serious PSA from the state of Utah, and the fans of Melo! Turns out it was geared towards riling up the Utah fans. I’m not sure why Denver wants Energy Solutions Arena any louder than it already is, those Mormons are pretty wild. Melo had this to say about the ad, “To make it seem like all the fans in Utah are rooting for me. It’s just stirring some stuff up. If we had played Phoenix, it would be the same thing.”
Good stuff Melo, I’m sure the Mormons hate you and your tatoos a little more now. He was also asked how he thinks the fans will react to him in Game 3, Melo said: “Of course, they’ll boo me. . . . It’s the playoffs.” Good to see we’re on the same page with this one Melo… All in all I liked the ad, and it made me think way more than I should’ve had to for any ad. I guess Nike got their wish, because even I felt it was postworthy material…
Yes, the playoffs are here, and whether your team made it or not probably changes your excitement level for the whole extravaganza. We are doing our second installment of predictions, we already put our baseball picks for the season up, and now it’s time predict how the NBA playoffs will play out. It’s about as competitive of a league as any I can remember,at least in the west, so this should be a great playoff run.
Western Conference Quarter Finals
By: Dallas Mavericks in 6, Phoenix in 4, and Utah in 7, OKC Thunder in 6, what? Yes, I said it. Phil Jackson’s comments on Durantula was just the edge Durant needed to pull off the upset. Kobe has not been himself from the second-half of the season going forward, and despite L.A. having a huge advantage in the paint, their Achilles heel has always been good point guards. Russell Westbrook will give them fits.
Chappy: L.A. Lakers in 6, Dallas Mavericks in 7, Phoenix Suns in 5, Utah Jazz in 7 – It’s amazing how balanced the West is. Every team won 50 games, and it’s tough pick against anyone even the 8th seeded Thunder… The Suns got an easy draw playing the depleted Blazers. The best two series in the first round will be Dallas vs. SA, and Denver vs. Utah. I actually think that the Nuggets will win, but I want to try and jinx the Mormons…
MCeezy: L.A. Lakers in 5, San Antonio Spurs in 7, Phoenix Suns in 6, Denver Nuggets in 7 – I like what’s going on with Phil Jackson and Kevin Durant, because a driven KD could push the series to the limit. The Mavs are stacked, but full of mismatched pieces; SA on the other hand has that familiarity as a unit that plays such a huge role in playoff series. Everyone’s writing off the Blazers without Roy, and rightfully so, but Portland is still good enough to keep it interesting. Denver having home court against Utah will make the difference, plain and simple.
Western Conference Semi-Finals
By: Utah in 6, and Phoenix in 7 – I wouldn’t be surprised if Dallas defeats Phoenix though, as both teams are stacked. I just like Steve Nash a lot, and so I chose Phoenix.
Chappy: LA Lakers in 6, Phoenix Suns in 7 – I’d be really happy if I was wrong and the Jazz upset the Lakers, and I fully believe it’s possible the way the Lakers played down the stretch, but still don’t see it happening. The Suns are my darkhorse this year. Since they decided to start playing a little defense, they’ve looked like champions. Is Amare playing for a new contract? Maybe, and if they get this far he may as well opt out of that last year on his contract, because he will get paid somewhere!
MCeezy: L.A. Lakers in 6, Phoenix Suns in 6 – As much as I don’t want to agree with Chappy here, I don’t see it playing out any other way. The Lakers will be ready for the Nuggets this time, and now that Ron Artest is thrown into the mix, there’ll be so much emotional volatility on the floor that hijinx will certainly ensue. Phoenix vs. San Antonio is going to be a last man standing match. In the second round, I’m willing to bet injuries are going to be the deciding factor – and I’m betting it’ll be on the Spurs’ side. Steve Nash has to be thinking this is his last shot.
Western Conference Champions
Have you heard?!? Grant Hill still drinks Sprite!
By: Phoenix in 6, what!?! Yes, finally Steve Nash gets the trip he deserves to the 2010 NBA Finals. Too bad it’s as far as he gets this season 😦
Chappy: Phoenix Suns in 7 – I’m going to be completely wrong on this, but I’m really hoping that the 8 seconds or less pace of play can actually bring home a championship. I guess it’s the inner Warriors fan in me, that just wants to see it happen. Besides, who else in the league deserves a championship more than the most ridiculous man in the world. Nash will have more than one 20 assist game if they do make it this far. I bet he’d trade all those MVP awards in for one championship!
MCeezy: L.A. Lakers in 6 – I’d love to be wrong on this, but Phoenix vs. L.A. is one of those matchups where the former team is never going to get over the hump. If they’re going to, it will be the result of Nash having the series of a lifetime. Despite his multiple MVP awards, we don’t often mention his name in the same breath as the Kobes and Lebrons. This postseason will go a long way in defining his legacy. ….Assuming they do, in fact, make it this far.
Eastern Conference Quarter Finals
By: Cleveland in 4, Orlando in 6, Atlanta in 4 – (No Bogut out in Milwaukee), Miami (Yes Miami) over Boston in 6. Dwayne Wade is playing at that level again, and we all know how he gets, when he’s at “that” level.
Chappy: Cleveland Cavaliers in 5, Orlando Magic in 7, Atlanta Hawks in 5, Miami Heat in 7 – I really want to pick Charlotte. Especially since SJax lead the W’s to a playoff upset of their own, but I think the Magic will be too much for them. Pierce will need to have a huge series if Boston has any hope. I’m hoping D-Wade is just too much and he takes over the series because nobody can guard him. Who knows, Sheed might even tip a few in for them. I’d love to see Lebron vs. Wade in the second round. The Hawks will take advantage of their deer in the headlights opponent.
MCeezy: Cleveland Cavaliers in 5, Orlando Magic in 5, Atlanta Hawks in 6, Boston Celtics in 5 – Chicago always plays the Cavs close, but Cleveland is going to be too driven to let up against the Bulls. I’d love to have seen the Bobcats draw someone like the Cavs or Celtics, because then they could really embrace the underdog role and play inspired ball a la the 2007 Warriors. Instead, they’ll relax and subsequently get eliminated by Dwight Howard and Co. The Bucks are far from playoff tested, but they’ll find a way to steal a game or two from Atlanta. Everyone expects a long series from Boston and Miami, but Dwyane Wade is going to be held to 35ppg while the rest of the Heat are held in check.
Eastern Conference Semi-Finals
By: Cleveland in 7, Orlando in 6 – I love Josh Smith so much, but he can’t match up against LeBron alone. No one can, and as good as the Hawks are, LeBron is that much better. Dwight Howard will ultimately be too much in the battle of Florida.
Chappy: Cleveland Cavaliers in 6, Atlanta in 7 – I REALLY like the Hawks this year, and hope they can put together a solid run in the playoffs. They along with the Magic are probably the most complete teams in the eastern conference. I’ll find it funny if my prediction works out, because the only real reason the Cavs got Shaq was to have someone to guard Dwight, and I don’t even have them in the conference championship!
MCeezy: Cleveland Cavaliers in 6, Atlanta in 6 – These two series are nearly impossible to predict. You never know what you’re going to get with Boston, and you could say the same about Orlando, although they did dominate the season series against the Hawks. Some how, some way, though, you don’t see a whole lot of repeat series from year to year in the NBA. It’s amazing how we get new matchups each postseason. Instead of Cavs-Magic, it’ll be the Hawks’ turn to to stand on the brink of the NBA Finals.
Eastern Conference Champions
By: LeBron in 6 – The Cavs will exact revenge against everyone’s favorite pick in Orlando. I know there are a lot of similarities in how Cleveland entered this season’s playoffs to last season’s, but the differences will be the turning point. Shaq & Antawn.
Chappy: Cleveland Cavaliers in 6 – Atlanta might be a more complete team, but there’s just no way to knock Lebron out this year. He’s somehow better than last year, and will average a triple double in the series if that’s what it takes. If the Lakers get knocked out like I predicted, the NBA will force the refs to get the Cavs in the finals. Look for a poorly officiated series, and Lebron to finally get the cockiness that Jordan had. He’s already molding that arrogance if you haven’t noticed!
MCeezy: Cleveland Cavaliers in 5 – Just can’t see the Hawks hanging in a series this big. They will have flown under the radar to this point – first taking on the Bucks in front of 30,000 or so viewers. Then, their matchup with the Magic will play second fiddle to a Cavs-Celtics series. They’ll be thrust into the spotlight and forced to try to stop Lebron from getting to Kobe.
NBA Champions
Is this just an extension of Larry Johnson's Grandmama?
By: LeBron James. It’s simply his time.
Chappy: Phoenix Suns in 6 – I don’t really think they will win it all, but I’d love to see a winner come out that wasn’t Lebron or Kobe. I’d also like to see Lebron latch onto another team for next year, which would in turn make the current Cavs team into a 7th or 8th seed next season. Reiterating a previous point, I really would like to see the Suns win to prove that the Warriors playing the style can get it done in the playoffs. Plus, how can you root against Grant Hill and Nash getting a title!?!
MCeezy: Utah Jazz in 4 – How did we get here? you’re asking yourself. When was the last time I hit a 14 team parlay? Never. So why should I expect to predict correctly the first 14 series? Therefore, although the Jazz don’t get out of the first round in my scenario, I’m predicting that Jerry Sloan coaches his heart out to win that elusive NBA title and perhaps the respect of my grandfather, Roy, UT resident Jack Christensen; who adamantly maintains that Jerry Sloan has been the one thing holding the Jazz back all these years.
Did anyone get an opportunity to see what Dwayne Wade did to Troy Murphy, Brandon Rush and Josh McRoberts last week? Well there are a lot of “cons” to how easily accessible things are with this “new” media (youtube), but this right here, is definitely a “pro”.
Enjoy.
I was scanning the headlines, and saw that Malone and Pippen were elected to the Hall of Fame deservedly so. The second part I read was really confusing to me. They inducted the 1960 and 1992 USA Basketball Dream Teams into the Hall of Fame as well. I’m all for celebrating these teams, but doesn’t that mean all of those guys are now in the Hall of Fame? Granted 11 of the players on the 1992 squad should be or are already in the HOF, but then we are including Christian Laetter. On the 1960 team they had the Big O, Jerry Lucas, Walt Bellamy, and Jerry West, but not a whole lot behind them. So, my question is, why are they inducting teams into the HOF now, and why these two in particular? I get the 1992 team, sans Laetter, but why the 1960 team? I can’t answer that one maybe you can…
Anyways, Pippen was one of the greatest sidekicks we’ll ever see to the best player we may ever see. Remember that season Jordan retired? Pippen showed he could be the alpha dog putting up averages of 22.0 points, 8.7 rebounds, 5.6 assists, 2.9 steals, 1.9 three-pointers, and 0.8 blocks per game, while shooting 49.1 FG%, and 32% from 3PT. He was one of the best defenders, and will always be linked to MJ for life, but there’s many worse distinctions you could have. Malone was impressive as well, even though he ended his career as a weak link on the Lakers squad that fell short. Too bad he didn’t just stick it out in Utah, and end his career with “his” franchise.
Los Angeles Lakers owner Jerry Buss, WNBA star Cynthia Cooper and U.S. high school coaching great Bob Hurley, Sr., were also in the class. I have to mention them or this wouldn’t be completely informing you about this joyous event.
NBA veterans Dennis Johnson and Gus Johnson and Brazil star Maciel “Ubiratan” Pereira will be honored as well. I’ll be happy to hear Gus talk at the ceremony, the guy is unmatched in the booth, and has to give one hell of a speach. Too bad CBS is terrible at covering the March Madness, and he saved them calling some good games. What do you think will happen if they expand the tourney? Is CBS going to have their 12th team out there covering games? We already saw the D-Leaguers of announcing during the first couple rounds. They should give the rights up to ESPN if the expansion happens.
All I can say is, this clip below is not for the faint of heart. It gave me the O face with the taste of something sour mixed in. Bogut flopping flat on his arm might give me more nightmares than this chick.This pretty much kills the Bucks chances at making any kind of impact in the playoffs. Bogut finally played like he was worthy of that #1 overall selection, and now has this devastating setback. They are now a one and done team. Salmons can only do so much…
LeBron James is the clear-cut favorite to win the 2009-2010 MVP award. There’s even talks of a “unanimous” vote –
As much as I am pro-LeBron, I am not sold on Cleveland walking right into the 2010 NBA Finals. That’s fool’s gold, and I’ve been down that road before, in fact, just last season. Yes, the acquisition of Antawn Jamison definitely helps the cause, but we can’t just disregard Orlando as if they do not exist, and even Boston to a certain extent.
But, this post is not even about that. Being that it’s Easter, I feel it is a time to be grateful for certain things. Wait, or is that Thanksgiving? Either way, LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers need to send the Toronto Raptors a “Thank You” card. Why you ask? Simple, Toronto had a mini-melt down in the latter stages of March and let a hobbled Chicago Bulls team back into the playoff hunt. More so, Toronto slipped into the eighth seed in the Eastern Conference, and allowed the Charlotte Bobcats to move up to the seventh seed. Why is that significant? Does everyone remember what happened in the 2007 NBA Playoffs? Only the greatest upset in NBA Playoff history, that’s what happened!
The Dallas Mavericks boasted the best record in the NBA in 2006-2007 (67-15) and the league’s MVP (Dirk), they were the odds on favorite to represent the West in the 2007 NBA Finals (along with San Antonio) but there was just one problem. Those pesky Warriors. Golden State owned the Mavericks that season, sweeping the season series 4-0, including a win on the Warriors 81st game of the season in which Dallas chose to rest their stars. Big mistake. We all know what ensued, no need to write about it, but here, a visual reminder:
Now here Cleveland sits, all indications point to an improved team from a season ago, with the best record in the NBA yet again, but – what is their record against the upstart Bobcats? 1-3 with their only win coming on Halloween last year, the first week of the season. Being that I’m from San Francisco, I haven’t had an opportunity to actually watch any of those games, but the highlights on ESPN’s Sportscenter showed Cleveland’s inability to handle the match-up with Charlotte. Sound familiar Dallas/Golden State fans. Guess what? Stephen Jackson is in the middle of all this again!
(Beware Charlotte fans, don’t invest in S-Jack.)
Anyway, as I said at the top of this post, it’s a time of the year to appreciate things, and the Cleveland Cavs needs to appreciate the fact that they currently won’t have to face the Charlotte Bobcats in the first round. No monumental upset this time around. Thank you Toronto.
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