Awesome Adidas Basketball Brotherhood Ad

{ November 17, 2008 @ 2:11 am } · { Cool Stuff }
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This is part 3 of a four part series of ads by Adidas.  In part 1, Gilbert Arenas picks a group of “random” kids playing basketball on the street and takes them to the Verizon Center to show them some moves.  Then he takes them out to dinner and explains his nickname “Hibachi”.  In part 2, the boys fly down to Orlando to meet up with Dwight “Superman” Howard and learn more basketball and dance moves.  In part three, Tracy McGrady picks them up in Houston and he and The Big Fundamental, Tim Duncan, pick their teams (they’re joined by three Chinese players that have been training with T-Mac) and square off in the Toyota Center.  In part 4, the kids fly up to Boston to meet KG and learn what it’s like to be beloved by a city.

Overall, I like the entire series and suggest you go watch the entire thing at the Adidas site.  I am posting part 3, because I think that it is the best of the three segments.  Enjoy!

“The Answer” traded to Detroit

{ November 3, 2008 @ 8:49 pm } · { Uncategorized }
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This is somewhat old news, but Allen Iverson has been traded to Detroit for Mr. Big Shot, McDyess, and Samb.  Here’s an article.

Chicago Bulls

{ November 1, 2008 @ 12:05 am } · { Game Notes }
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The Chicago Bulls got dominated by the Celtics today.  That wasn’t very surprising, but I have to question some of the decisions made by coach Del Negro.  He started people who I don’t think he should have started (Tyrus Thomas, Thabo Sefolosha), but that’s okay since he’s a new coach and is experimenting with different lineups.  My problem was with him leaving Tyrus Thomas in for so long after he took bad shot after bad shot.  Thomas would get the ball and pretty much try to just take it in and score.  I don’t see how leaving him in gets him or his teammates any kind of experience.  Yes, they were getting blown out early, but that’s when you go out there and try different plays and strategies, not let players try to take over the game (unless your nickname is Black Mamba or King James).  Thomas took 17 shots during the game, of which he made 2.  2 shots!  That’s 12%.  I think that once he was at the 1-14 mark, he should have been pulled from the game, if not earlier than that.  Is Tyrus Thomas trying to turn the Bulls into a copy of the Oklahoma Thunder, taking the place of Kevin Durant?  Let’s hope not, because I actually have some faith in this young Bulls team and hope to see them play to their potential.

I’m not sure if Coach Del Negro picked anyone on the team to be the go to guy, but it didn’t really look like it.  Everyone on the team was hawking up shots, and very few of them were going in, which is partly a testament to the defense of the Celtics.  However, if this team is going to win games this season, they need to start working on their teamwork in spreading the floor as they are a pure jump-shooting team.  What does this mean?  It means that to back up starters Rose and Deng, they need to start jump-shooting threats (Ben Gordon and/or Nocioni?)  Then, try to get one of these guys hot early and ride that person through the end of the game, whoever that may be.  If Gordon or Deng get hot early, they can be devastating.  The offense of the Bulls should be focused around these two guys, not the rookie Rose or the inconsistent Thomas.

The Bulls are still a team trying to find themselves, so we’ll see if they can learn from today’s disaster.

Team Preview: Portland Trailblazers

{ October 30, 2008 @ 1:57 am } · { 2008-2009 Season Preview }
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Last season was supposed to be the beginning of a new era for the Trailblazers…the Greg Oden era.  However, that era was pushed back a season with the season ending injury of Oden.  Now that the big man is back, there are a lot of expectations for the up-and-coming ‘blazers.

Starting Lineup

PG: Steve Blake (Jerryd Bayless)

SG: Brandon Roy (Rudy Fernandez)

SF: Nicolas Batum (Martell Webster)

PF: LaMarcus Aldridge (Channing Frye)

C: Greg Oden

Record Last Year: 41-41

Head Coach: Nate McMillan

GM: Kevin Pritchard

Last Year: Proving that they didn’t need Greg Oden to win games, the Trailblazers went on a 13 game win streak in the beginning of the season.  However, they lost some steam through the middle of the season and ended up missing the playoffs, mostly due to the stackitude of the West and not their own lack of talent.  Simply put, for a team built like the ‘Blazers to split the season a year ago is pretty amazing.  They are an EXTREMELY young team.  They won those games on pure athleticism and talent.  Trailblazer fans should look at last season as a year long training camp in preparation for…

This Year: Unlike the other teams that feature young lineups, I believe that this one will actually do well and make the playoffs.  What did we learn from last season?  Well, lesson number should be that LaMarcus Aldridge is a BEAST.  He averaged 7 rebounds, 18 points and a block a game last season.  These aren’t CRAZY numbers, but this is only his THIRD season, so he’s got tons of potential.

Let’s step back a bit and look at the Trailblazers’ starting lineup.  Steve Blake is the oldest in his 6th season, both Brandon Roy and Aldridge are in their 3rd season, and Nicolas Batum and Oden are rookies (I count Oden as a rookie even though he’s technically been in the league a year).  I haven’t fully checked, but that is the YOUNGEST starting lineup of any NBA team.  And they won 41 games last season?  I can only see an upside for this team this season.  Besides Aldridge’s 18 points, the Blazers can expect Brandon Roy’s 19 points a game to go up as well.  The Blazers have 2 GUYS who can score 20 points a game!  My Goodness!  And they’re adding Greg Oden to the lineup?  This team is going to be a handful next season.

So, who will be running this show?  Steve Blake, a man who, in my opinion, doesn’t get a lot of notice, but should.  This guy is entering is 6th season, so he has plenty of experience behind him, and having been on the Nuggets for a year, he knows how to play with guys who hog the ball.  Blake is a great passer, so he should welcome the addition of Oden as his option in the paint and we may see a lot of Blake-Oden alley-oops this season.

As for their starting 3, Nicolas Batum, I honestly don’t know much about him.  He’s mostly taking the place of the injured Martell Webster, another young player in his 4th season.  When Webster comes back in a few months, the Trailblazers should have a starting team with few real weaknesses and limitless potential.

That said, potential doesn’t always translate into good basketball.  The team lacks any kind of veteran leadership, what with Jerryd Bayless (R), Rudy Fernandez (R), and Channing Frye (4th) coming off the bench.  A group of talented guys like this could have an amazing season together, or fall apart like the Chicago Bulls did a year ago.  A lot of it will come down to how well Nate McMillan gets his guys to work together and if any egos start to pop up.

X-Factor: Greg Oden.  Everyone is expecting him to be the final piece to the Trailblazers’ team puzzle.  Being a talented big man, they hope that he will give the Blazers a lockdown defense and be a threat in the paint on offense.  Just how good he is will determine how far the Blazers go this season.  If he does his job adequately, they will make the playoffs.  If he goes out there and dominates people, then they can make the Western Conference Championships.  It all depends on the big “O”.

Predictions: There will be some bumps in the road, but they’ll scrap their way into the playoffs. 50-32.

Update: Even though Oden will be out for the next month, I still believe that the Blazers have the talent to win a bunch of games.

Opening Night Thoughts

{ October 29, 2008 @ 1:03 pm } · { Game Notes }
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- Even though the Celtics beat the Cavs last night, I fully expect this to be a big rivalry throughout the season.

- I don’t expect there to be much of a rivalry between the Bucks and the Bulls, mostly because I don’t think they’ll go very far if they even make the playoffs.  Both teams, though, have potential to make some noise if the Bucks figure out how to efficiently incorporate the scoring abilities of both Richard Jefferson and Michael Redd.  The Bulls just need to tap into their talent pool and play as a team.

- Once Mo Williams and King James start gelling, the Cavs will transform into an entirely different monster

- Lakers beat the Blazers, Greg Oden is injured, Lakers predicted to be champions, and all is right with the world…right?  Not so much for T-Blazer Fans.  At least they have Rudy Fernandez to look forward to.

- With Bynum AND Ariza AND Mihm back, the Lakers look almost unstoppable.  One LA Times columnist has already decided to call them Champs for the rest of the season.

- Voters over at ESPN.com’s Daily Dime seem to think that Derrick Rose will have the better rookie season.  Not so fast.  Greg Oden will return soon and after watching him block Andrew Bynum, I would say that the future is bright for this young beast.  Derrick Rose has nine dimes, but that was against the Bucks, not exactly the Lakers.  I’m not willing to tip my hat in either direction, but I wouldn’t discount Mr. Oden yet.

- The Staples Center and Jack in the Box have teamed up to provide two free tacos to every fan at games where the Lakers hold the opposing team to under 100 points (it used to be the Lakers had to score over 110 points).  With the new mantra of Defense that is being espoused by the Lakers, I am going to put this out there that Lakers tickets are virtually guaranteed to bag you two free tacos.  Enjoy!

Team Preview: Philadelphia 76ers

{ October 28, 2008 @ 9:23 am } · { 2008-2009 Season Preview }
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Is he the second coming of Moses Malone? Brand could be the piece that really brings this team into the spotlight and although I don’t want to compare him to Malone, you can say that he might be the inside force they need to consistently make the playoffs year after year. The real question is, will be be enough to help them win it all rather than end up as a team that can only contend? 

Starting Lineup

PG: Andre Miller

SG: Andre Iguodala

SF: Thaddeus Young

PF: Elton Brand

C: Samuel Dalembert

Record Last Year: 40-42

Head Coach: Maurice Cheeks

GM: Ed Stefanski

Last Year: They made the playoffs and was my darkhorse pick for upsetting the top ranked teams out east. Sadly that didn’t happen, but after watching how they played, I can assure you that they are no fluke. After trading Kyle Korver (one of those trades that actually helped both teams in the end), they ended up getting a clear identity of who they are – a team that scores on 2’s. No more shooting 3’s, this team was all about efficient scoring. And what’s a better way to do that than go old school on everyone? But what really got this team going was the re-surgence of Miller and the fact that this team was committed to playing a high energy game. They didn’t stray from their gameplan and the results eventually showed in one of the more entertaining playoff series last year. They probably could have won it, if it wasn’t for Iguodala’s poor performance (ok, I’ll give credit where it’s due – Detroit did have great D on him).

This Year: I expect a lot from the team that managed to steal away Brand. They now have someone to team up with Igoudala and give them a really fearsome inside prescence. I mean, would you want to run into Brand AND Dalembert? Probably not, unless you’re Kobe. Brand’s game also complements the team well as they are designed to score on the inside. Now that they have a go to guy in the post, it will be even harder for teams to defend the 76ers. If you think about it, a team that could care less about 3’s makes teams pay for having poor defensive gaurds (they can’t pray that their guy will just hawk up a 3 anymore) and for using perimeter defensive specialists (they’ll be forced to gaurd people on the inside, where they presumably won’t be able to do much). Of course there are exceptions (Prince for example), but those are far and few in between. Combined with the good D that their individual players exhibit, I can see great things in the future for them.

X-Factor: None. That’s right. There isn’t a single variable on this team that will make or break them. Instead, it really comes down to their ability to continue their excellent play from last year, combined with how well the integrate Brand. Outside of that, they don’t need any luck (kinda amazing considering they needed all the luck they could get when they had the other AI).

Prediction: 49-33. Brand is worth at least 9 wins in the East. That and they probably would have improved by 1-2 wins this year even without him. They will make the playoffs and could be the team to reach the conference finals and challenge the Celtics as they now have the upper hand on Detroit, have a more balanced team than Cleveland, and are much more consistent than Orlando. Will they reach the finals though? That one I believe is a coin toss, but hopefully, they don’t turn into the Moses Malone era 76ers, always close, but not close enough.

Team Preview: Sacramento Kings

{ October 22, 2008 @ 10:55 pm } · { 2008-2009 Season Preview }
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I gotta have more cowbell baby!  Finally, after a few months of waiting, we are back to previewing a Western Conference team!  Just goes to show you how bad the Eastern Conference was last season (I know that Boston won, but the average Eastern team sucked last season).  In any case, the Kings are a team that should have made the playoffs with their record last season, but didn’t because the playoffs is separated into two conferences.  Will the Kings of Sactown make it to the big dance this season?  Let’s find out:

Starting Lineup

PG: Beno Udrih (Bobby Jackson)

SG: Kevin Martin

SF: John Salmons (Francisco Garcia)

PF: Mikki Moore

C: Brad Miller

Record Last Year: 38-44

Head Coach: Reggie Theus

GM: Geoff Petri

Last Year: The Kings were actually a decent team last year, but unfortunately they were in stacked Bestern Conference.  And with budding star Kevin Martin out for a large chunk of the season, there was little chance of them making the playoffs.  They also had Ron Artest and Mike Bibby last season, so their talent wasn’t that bad, but injuries plagued the team and their backups couldn’t hold the fort.  The Kings were out of the picture early and knew it, which would explain why they traded away Mike Bibby for a bunch of players, mostly to clear cap space.  They did, however, pick up Beno Udrih, who has turned out to be a budding star in his own right.  He’s a pretty good point guard with a lot of potential, so looking at it that way, they didn’t really need the aging Bibby.  Most Kings’ fans would like to forget about last season and focus on the current season.

This Year: Well, the dynamic duo of Artest and K-Mart…oh wait, that’s right, they TRADED AWAY Ron Ron.  Well, looks like Kevin Martin is going to have to shoulder the load for the Kings this season.  Note to those fantasy buffs out there, barring injury, K-Mart should be averaging in the high 20s in points next season, so keep an eye out for him if he’s available in the second or third round.

Kevin Martin IS the Sacramento Kings at this point.  He’s definitely not afraid to take shots (and he takes a LOT of them).  While he is a volume shooter, he doesn’t just take shots from the outside, he’ll take it in if he feels like there’s an opening and isn’t afraid to take the hits.  Not only that, he shoots a high percentage (mid 40s) and his 3 is almost as accurate.  Without Artest and Bibby, K-Mart will be the go to guy for the Kings.

With Martin at the 2, let’s look at the 1.  The Kings are pretty flexible in the Point Guard position with Beno Udrih (who I think will be starting) as the younger, more energetic passing PG and Bobby “Action” Jackson as the veteran backup.  Both are good players and excellent guys to handle the ball.  With these two guys, the Kings should be able to get their teammates open looks.

The Kings are pretty weak in the front court.  John Salmons is a decent player who will also get a lot of points alongside Martin and Mikki Moore is also decent, but with Brad Miller at center, they are, overall, not that strong.  Defensively, the Kings are pretty weak and will probably give up a lot of points.  Despite the fact that the Kings have three 7 footers (Spencer Hawes, Moore, and Miller), they lack a semi-dominant big man.  The Kings will struggle against any team that has one (Lakers, Magic, Celtics, Spurs, etc.) unless Hawes or Moore bust out this season.

Basically, like the Pacers, this team will attempt to win by scoring more than the opponents, which sounds obvious and dumb, but I want to emphasize the SCORING part.  The Kings are probably going to give up a lot of points, so they need to score, score, score, score if they want to win.  Production will mostly be coming from their back court of Martin, Salmons, and Udrih.

X-Factor: The Defense.  Why do I think this is the X-Factor?  Because the Kings can score, no question, but if they can somehow become a good defensive team, then that should be the last piece of the puzzle that brings them into the playoffs.  They won’t make that much noise once they get there, but I think that they should be happy just to make it.

Predictions: Losing Artest and Bibby hurt the Kings a lot.  They didn’t do enough to make up for their loss and I am writing off this season as a rebuilding season for them.  32-50.

Team Preview: Atlanta Hawks

{ October 21, 2008 @ 9:39 am } · { 2008-2009 Season Preview }
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These mornings have been ice cold, so let’s turn to something that is a bit hotter – the Hawks. They finally made the playoffs last year and it showed their upcoming potential. The question is, can they maintain the discipline, work ethic, and chemistry that made their first round series against the Celtics so entertaining? 

Starting Lineup

PG: Mike Bibby

SG: Joe Johnson

SF: Marvin Williams

PF: Josh Smith

C:Al Horford

Record Last Year:37-45

Head Coach: Mike Woodson

GM: Rick Sund

Last Year: Definitely the unexpected dark horse of the playoffs with their team providing one of the more entertaining first rounds series. They had great matchups, stuck to the game plan, and ALMOST ousted the Celtics. Now that I think qualifies as a success despite their dismal record (luckily, they were in the leastern conference, though I definitely would have paid to go see a Golden State Celtics first round series). Getting Mike Bibby was definitely key as it relieved a lot of the ball handling pressure from Joe Johnson. How this impacts Acie Law’s development is yet to be seen, but their moves last year showed that this team was on the track to success (also helped that they had what I thought was the rightful rookie of the year – Al Horford).

This Year: They did not start this year out well… actually the year didn’t even start yet and they are down a few pegs. You all know what I mean. Childress has left for greener pastures in Greece and Atlanta didn’t put up much of a fight to keep one of their key glue guys. Good Job! …not. They did rebound nicely with Evans but he is no Childress. They also picked up some good young talent in Morris but unless he develops fast, I don’t see him helping out much. In fact, they need at least 1 more proven player to really put them in the playoff race now that the east has gotten stronger. Where they will get such a player is yet to be seen. 

The good news is that they have Josh Smith still, though seeing how he starts out will be interesting considering the contract struggles over the summer. Marvin Williams has improved each year and next year should be no different. In fact, if he can get that rebounding up, this team should have a pretty strong inside game (they already have Smith and Horford), which combined with JJ, Bibby, and Evans means that they actually have a well balanced lineup. Go figure.

If they can keep their momentum from the playoffs, then I think they can sneak back in at that 8th spot in the east. Otherwise, it’ll be a sad drop back into lottery-land if they don’t. Mostly because, I really don’t trust this management to make good decisions if they don’t make the playoffs.

X-Factor: Woodson. Yeah, the coach is their x-factor. I think he did a good job in exploiting the matchups they had against the Celtics and if he can keep this team together, they will do well. Not that I’m saying he doesn’t need improvement (cause he is far from the best coach out there), but his ability to keep developing this team is probably more important that any individual improvement from any one player.

Predictions: 40-42. I’m going to be optomistic here and say that even with the loss of Childress (with him I’d make them a .500 team), they will still improve. Hopefully, this is enough to get them in the playoffs where I await their entertaining performance. =)

Team Preview: Indiana Pacers

{ October 14, 2008 @ 5:55 pm } · { 2008-2009 Season Preview }
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All I know about the Indiana Pacers is that they are STILL recovering from the basketbrawl at the Palace four years ago and that Mike Dunleavy (son of the Clippers’ coach) somewhat busted out last season and got me a lot of stats in my fantasy league (which I won thanks to my numerous sleepers and Marcus Camby).  With that said, let’s see how they’re looking:

Starting Lineup

PG: T.J. Ford (Jarrett Jack)

SG: Mike Dunleavy

SF:Danny Granger

PF: Troy Murphy

C: Jeff Foster (Rasho Nesterovic)

Record Last Year: 36-46

Head Coach: Jim O’Brien

GM: David Morway

Last Year:  After losing Jermaine O’Neal at the beginning of the season, things looked grim for the rebuilding Pacers.  However, the team was able to bring it together and made a run for the 8th seed in the playoffs, battling it out with the Atlanta Hawks.  Mike Dunleavy and Danny Granger had a breakout season and carried the team to the finish line.  Although they didn’t actually make the playoffs, they made it clear that they were finally learning how to play with the big dogs.

This Year: There’s a lot of expectations for the Pacers this year.  They traded away Jermaine O’Neal, their defensive workhorse, but got a good point guard in T.J. Ford who could be the key in bringing this franchise to the playoffs.  He’s an extremely good passer (averages about 6 assists per game) who can also score.  I believe that he will work well with Dunleavy and Granger in finding them good looks at the basket.  With rookie guard Brandon Rush and decent veteran Jarrett Jack to back up Ford, the Pacers have a potentially great back court.

Now we come to their front court.  Not looking great here.  Granger will be doing most of the heavy lifting at the 3 spot with Troy Murphy and Jeff Foster mostly playing defense and grabbing rebounds.  Murphy and Foster are good players, but I just don’t see them as game changers for the Pacers.  They will get their rebounds, but defensively they need to improve.  Without Jermaine, the Pacers will probably give up a lot of points this season.  Coach Jim O’Brien prefers a fast paced game, so look for these Pacers to be very streaky this season.  They’ll be fast, flashy, and high-scoring, but if they don’t make their shots, they will lose a lot of games.  Overall, this season will be another tough battle for the last playoff spot in the East (as it stands right now).

X-Factor: I have already written off Jamaal Tinsley as not being a Pacer by the time the season starts, but that doesn’t mean he can’t have an impact.  He’s technically still on the roster and he is a very good point guard.  What the Pacers need to do is to trade him away for a good 4 or 5 to shore up their defense.  If they can do that, then they may actually have a very good season.

Predictions: The Pacers lost a great defender in O’Neal and got a great point guard.  Somehow, I still don’t see them making it.  If figure they end up with about the same result 34-48.

Better Fantasy Basketball

{ October 14, 2008 @ 1:49 pm } · { Fantasy Basketball }
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Bill Simmons at ESPN the magazine has a way to make Fantasy Basketball reflect Real Basketball:

http://sports.espn.go.com/espnmag/story?section=magazine&id=3630801&lpos=spotlight&lid=tab7pos2

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