All the 4 playoff series today ended up at 3-1. Dwayne Wade made sure the Heat got one back today. He was sensational as he dropped 46 on the Celtics. The Heat were up a lot and then they lost all that lead and trailed by 5 or 6 at one point. It seemed like the Heat should have been so deflated and ready to go fishing. But Wade had other ideas. He just decided to go bonkers and even hit 3 after 3, which is really not his game. He made 16-of-24 shots, 5 of 7 from 3-point range, and outscored the Celtics 19-15 in the fourth quarter. Thats amazing for someone who shoos just 30% from 3 and takes no more than 3 per game. It was one of those special games for DWade in what might be his last game for the Heat. I think he resigns, but you never know.
It was a great day for the 2003 draft class as LeBron and Melo followed DWade with great showings of their own. Cleveland creamed the bulls behind LeBron's triple double - 37/12/11, shooting 11/17. Melo lost, but dropped 39/11 and almost had a dubious triple double with 9 turnovers. The Jazz are surprisingly leading this series 3-1. This was a 4-V-5 series and those are always close. And this was especially supposed to be tight in this year's Western playoffs where even 1-V-8 is sensationally tight. But the surprising part is that the Jazz met with late season and post-season injuries to AK-47 and Okur. Thats when I switched my pick to Denver. But Jerry Sloan and his system is genius. They are taking it to the more talented Denver team behind starters named Fesenko and Matthews. Sloan should be winning the Coach of the year award every year or like somebody said, they should just name the award after him instead of giving it to him.
Dallas is in trouble. They are down 3-1 and today, they got undone by George Hill who had 29 points. Duncan, Ginobli and Parker combined to score just 31 points on 9/34 shooting once again proving they win behind their defense and experience. Of course Hill's offense didn't hurt, but they bottled up everybody on the Dallas side including Nowitzki. For all the glitter and glamour of the Mavs, they really are not setup to handle such playoff pressure unless Nowitzki shows up big. If he is off, they are like chickens with their heads cut off. All that scoring talent they got seem pretty inconsistent and they seem to run a system that is just hoping for people to hit shots and score and it doesn't really have a consistent scheme outside of Nowitzki. And against teams like the Spurs, hope doesn't quite get it done. The Suns are similar in some ways and they have to use their home court and make it 3-2 tomorrow. They have to unleash Amare to neutralize the size of the Blazers and somebody, anybody has to slowdown LaMarcus Aldridge. Orlando and Atlanta are also playing tomorrow, but who cares.
Sunday, April 25, 2010
Saturday, April 24, 2010
Tebow goes too early Roy returns too early
The draft is done. They started it Thursday and ended it today and surprisingly, Tim Tebow was drafted on Thursday itself - ahead of Jimmy Clausen. Broncos coach Josh McDaniels seems to have made up his mind to practically burn that franchise down. After dumping Jay Cutler last year, he has traded away Brandon Marshal this year. After getting rid of 2 of their best talents, he has now drafted Tebow way ahead of the spot his talent actually warrants. I would be surprised if Josh is still employed this time next year, but part of me hopes he would still be the coach for several years to come and personally struggle through Tebow's development. Clausen on the other hand endured a draft day embarrassment worse than Aaron Rodgers and Brady Quinn. Hopefully this motivates him to achieve greatness. Carolina is a good spot for him. The QBs were the biggest news of the first 2 rounds of the draft. It was amazing to see players from the state of Oklahoma fill out 3 of the first 4 and 4 of the top 6 draft spots. Good day for the state and especially the Sooners football program.
The other pick from the first two rounds that caught my eye was Stanford's Toby Gerhart going to the Vikings. Thats a great pick for the Vikes. The interesting story for me from the later rounds was the former FSU safety Myron Rolle. There were questions about his “character” because he left school early to study at Oxford on a Rhodes Scholarship. One Bucs scout asked him how it felt to desert his team. Basically teams have downgraded him because he is smart. Thats ridiculous. Trent Dilfer made a great point on TV that for most players, the priorities are football and play-station or football and partying. Thats considered normal. But they don't want it to be football and education. That raises some eyebrows and I can only laugh. Rolle eventually went with the last pick of the sixth round to the Titans. Weber State receiver Tim Toone was "Mr Irrelevant". He went to the Detroit Lions as the last pick of the 7-Th round. Looks like the Lions post-Millen have started drafting WRs with the last pick instead of the first pick. Thats good for them. They have pretty much wasted the last decade drafting WRs with their first pick year after year. All in all a fun draft. More than anything, it ends ESPN's 3 month obsession with the draft and I am thrilled about that.
In the NBA, the OKC Thunder took it to the Lakers today to even the series at 2-2. Everybody is talking about this young team, but the bad news is, they still have to play a 3 game series with 2 of the games in LA. That unfortunately makes game 5 a must-win for the Thunder. If not, there is no way they go into LA and win game 7 even assuming they win game 6. Thats the power of home field in the playoffs - especially in a series like this where a young team is playing a talented, veteran squad like the Lakers. I hate to rain on the OKC parade, but this series still belongs to the Fakers. But I am happy for the Thunder and what this means for their future. In the Suns series, Brandon Roy played spoil-sport today. He came back way way too early from his injury and caused some unnecessary excitement. He didn't have a great game, but he was a shot of energy for the Blazers. It seemed like the Suns played to lose and they eventually did. They were horrible in the 4-Th as Nash couldn't hold on to the ball and they ended up scoring just 87 points. Thats usually what they score in 3 quarters. The good news is, the series is still 2-2 and the Suns have home court. But the Suns need to focus and get the job done in game 5. They need to slow down LaMarcus Aldridge somehow.
Lots of fun series in these playoffs but the Spurs-Mavs may be the most fun. Mark Cuban might have cost them this series and may be a shot at this year's championship by mouthing off on how the Spurs and the Mavs hate each other. He also went after the Spurs owner a little bit and that seemed to have energized the Spurs. The Spurs are a classy organization and Cubes had no business going after them like that. They have now won 2 straight and are playing game 4 at home. Of course, thats a must win for the Spurs. Otherwise, they will still be looking at a 3 game series with no home court. Not an ideal situation. But Duncan, Parker and Ginobli are baling right now. The Mavs seem to have no answer to any of them and their only shot seems to be to outscore the Spurs if possible. All the other series are also intriguingly poised except for Orlando and Boston. Those 2 teams are comfortably placed at 3-0. Even Cleveland has an important game tomorrow that could potential tie their series and make it a dog fight. Lets see if the King comes through.
The other pick from the first two rounds that caught my eye was Stanford's Toby Gerhart going to the Vikings. Thats a great pick for the Vikes. The interesting story for me from the later rounds was the former FSU safety Myron Rolle. There were questions about his “character” because he left school early to study at Oxford on a Rhodes Scholarship. One Bucs scout asked him how it felt to desert his team. Basically teams have downgraded him because he is smart. Thats ridiculous. Trent Dilfer made a great point on TV that for most players, the priorities are football and play-station or football and partying. Thats considered normal. But they don't want it to be football and education. That raises some eyebrows and I can only laugh. Rolle eventually went with the last pick of the sixth round to the Titans. Weber State receiver Tim Toone was "Mr Irrelevant". He went to the Detroit Lions as the last pick of the 7-Th round. Looks like the Lions post-Millen have started drafting WRs with the last pick instead of the first pick. Thats good for them. They have pretty much wasted the last decade drafting WRs with their first pick year after year. All in all a fun draft. More than anything, it ends ESPN's 3 month obsession with the draft and I am thrilled about that.
In the NBA, the OKC Thunder took it to the Lakers today to even the series at 2-2. Everybody is talking about this young team, but the bad news is, they still have to play a 3 game series with 2 of the games in LA. That unfortunately makes game 5 a must-win for the Thunder. If not, there is no way they go into LA and win game 7 even assuming they win game 6. Thats the power of home field in the playoffs - especially in a series like this where a young team is playing a talented, veteran squad like the Lakers. I hate to rain on the OKC parade, but this series still belongs to the Fakers. But I am happy for the Thunder and what this means for their future. In the Suns series, Brandon Roy played spoil-sport today. He came back way way too early from his injury and caused some unnecessary excitement. He didn't have a great game, but he was a shot of energy for the Blazers. It seemed like the Suns played to lose and they eventually did. They were horrible in the 4-Th as Nash couldn't hold on to the ball and they ended up scoring just 87 points. Thats usually what they score in 3 quarters. The good news is, the series is still 2-2 and the Suns have home court. But the Suns need to focus and get the job done in game 5. They need to slow down LaMarcus Aldridge somehow.
Lots of fun series in these playoffs but the Spurs-Mavs may be the most fun. Mark Cuban might have cost them this series and may be a shot at this year's championship by mouthing off on how the Spurs and the Mavs hate each other. He also went after the Spurs owner a little bit and that seemed to have energized the Spurs. The Spurs are a classy organization and Cubes had no business going after them like that. They have now won 2 straight and are playing game 4 at home. Of course, thats a must win for the Spurs. Otherwise, they will still be looking at a 3 game series with no home court. Not an ideal situation. But Duncan, Parker and Ginobli are baling right now. The Mavs seem to have no answer to any of them and their only shot seems to be to outscore the Spurs if possible. All the other series are also intriguingly poised except for Orlando and Boston. Those 2 teams are comfortably placed at 3-0. Even Cleveland has an important game tomorrow that could potential tie their series and make it a dog fight. Lets see if the King comes through.
Sunday, April 18, 2010
Game 1 blues
I can't believe the Suns are the only team to have lost game 1 at home in these first 2 days of the playoffs. Not only did all the other teams win, they looked good doing it and also gave us boring games. The Suns on the other hand were supposed to win this 3-6 matchup rather easily due to all the Portland injuries, but they lost primarily due to complacency. They have always had a matchup problem with Portland and that seemed to continue tonight even without their best player Brandon Roy. It's amazing how the Blazers have so much size to bother the Suns even without Greg Oden and Joel Przybilla. Their trade for Marcus Camby was genius. Thats a sign of a team serious about winning. I am sure the Suns wouldn't have bothered to acquire anybody if they had lost a couple of their big guys to injuries in the middle of the regular season. The management would have accepted defeat, conveniently blamed it on the injuries and and even dumped a few more salaries on top of that. Camby was a monster today with 17 boards and 3 blocks. He did give the Suns a shot with a missed dunk, but the Suns still fell short.
At the end of the day, I think the Suns should still be able to win this series if they play well, but they did not look good today. They worked hard to finish 3-Rd in the standings, but Doug Collins was talking about how they might have been better off at 4 playing the Nuggets. The Rich and Creamies are more talented than the depleted Blazers, but the Suns have had their number this season for some reason. It's just one game and Nash could have still sent this game to OT at the end even with them playing this bad. But Suns better make some adjustments and get Amare going against the size of the Blazers. Nash was doing it all alone today and thats not going to work given that Nash is very vulnerable defensively in this series with Andre Miller and Jerryd Bayless going at him. What makes this worse for me and probably Nash is that the Dallas Mavs are looking awesome and may even give the Lakers some fits. Nowitzki was unstoppable today as he dropped 36 on 12/14 shooting on the Spurs. The trade for Kidd has really worked out for this team. Kidd is not what he used to be, but is still amazing. He had a 13-11-8 night today and he may just help the team that drafted him get to the Finals after all. The Mavs are so loaded that Tim Thomas can't even get off the bench.
Russell Westbrook is a player! And the Lakers figured this out in a comfortable victory today. Andrew Bynum had a 13-12 night with 4 blocks. Getting this guy back is huge for the Fakers and might make all the difference between winning the championship or not for the Lakers. Kobe's health and efficiency is still going to be an issues, but Bynum will definitely help. Of course Ron-Ron harassed the kid Durant today and that might become the story line of this series. By the way, how good is Durant? The guy has won the scoring title already at this age and that's ahead of stars like LeBron, Melo and Kobe. This guy is for real like no other emerging star. But they should be dispatched in 5 games in this series, if not 6. Speaking of young teams, it kind of feels good to see the Atlanta Hawks. Except for Joe Johnson and Mike Bibby, all their starters are young, home-grown studs who seem to have reached their potential after a few years in the league. Oftentimes, we hear about these young teams of the future, but it doesn't pan out. The Hawks and the OKC Thunder are 2 teams where it has indeed worked out great.
In other games, the home teams won, but I am sure some of these series are going to get interesting nonetheless. Cleveland should handle the Bulls. Shaq looked great in his first game back in a while. Seems like he made sure he took care of his conditioning this time around. The Miami-Boston series should get interesting soon - especially with Garnett's suspension for game 2. Denver took care of Utah at home and Jazz lost Okur for the entire playoffs with an achilles injury, but they should still give Denver a few tough games. With Okur and Kirelenko, I would pick the Jazz to win. But now I think Denver takes it in 6. Similar story with the Bucks. With Bogut in there, their series with the Hawks should have been interesting. The Hwaks tend to be inconsistent, but the Bucks can't beat them. In the other series, the Bobcats lost to Magic and they had no answer for Jameer Nelson. Magic-Cavs is what the East is going to be about, but it's going to take us a while to get there. As TNT says, 40 games, 40 nights. We can only watch.
At the end of the day, I think the Suns should still be able to win this series if they play well, but they did not look good today. They worked hard to finish 3-Rd in the standings, but Doug Collins was talking about how they might have been better off at 4 playing the Nuggets. The Rich and Creamies are more talented than the depleted Blazers, but the Suns have had their number this season for some reason. It's just one game and Nash could have still sent this game to OT at the end even with them playing this bad. But Suns better make some adjustments and get Amare going against the size of the Blazers. Nash was doing it all alone today and thats not going to work given that Nash is very vulnerable defensively in this series with Andre Miller and Jerryd Bayless going at him. What makes this worse for me and probably Nash is that the Dallas Mavs are looking awesome and may even give the Lakers some fits. Nowitzki was unstoppable today as he dropped 36 on 12/14 shooting on the Spurs. The trade for Kidd has really worked out for this team. Kidd is not what he used to be, but is still amazing. He had a 13-11-8 night today and he may just help the team that drafted him get to the Finals after all. The Mavs are so loaded that Tim Thomas can't even get off the bench.
Russell Westbrook is a player! And the Lakers figured this out in a comfortable victory today. Andrew Bynum had a 13-12 night with 4 blocks. Getting this guy back is huge for the Fakers and might make all the difference between winning the championship or not for the Lakers. Kobe's health and efficiency is still going to be an issues, but Bynum will definitely help. Of course Ron-Ron harassed the kid Durant today and that might become the story line of this series. By the way, how good is Durant? The guy has won the scoring title already at this age and that's ahead of stars like LeBron, Melo and Kobe. This guy is for real like no other emerging star. But they should be dispatched in 5 games in this series, if not 6. Speaking of young teams, it kind of feels good to see the Atlanta Hawks. Except for Joe Johnson and Mike Bibby, all their starters are young, home-grown studs who seem to have reached their potential after a few years in the league. Oftentimes, we hear about these young teams of the future, but it doesn't pan out. The Hawks and the OKC Thunder are 2 teams where it has indeed worked out great.
In other games, the home teams won, but I am sure some of these series are going to get interesting nonetheless. Cleveland should handle the Bulls. Shaq looked great in his first game back in a while. Seems like he made sure he took care of his conditioning this time around. The Miami-Boston series should get interesting soon - especially with Garnett's suspension for game 2. Denver took care of Utah at home and Jazz lost Okur for the entire playoffs with an achilles injury, but they should still give Denver a few tough games. With Okur and Kirelenko, I would pick the Jazz to win. But now I think Denver takes it in 6. Similar story with the Bucks. With Bogut in there, their series with the Hawks should have been interesting. The Hwaks tend to be inconsistent, but the Bucks can't beat them. In the other series, the Bobcats lost to Magic and they had no answer for Jameer Nelson. Magic-Cavs is what the East is going to be about, but it's going to take us a while to get there. As TNT says, 40 games, 40 nights. We can only watch.
Tuesday, April 13, 2010
Playoffs are here
The NBA playoffs don't start until this weekend, but for most of the teams in the Western conference, it's playoff time already. A bunch of teams are going after the 3/4/5 and 6/7/8 spots and they are playing each other often to setup a playoff type atmosphere. The Suns played the Nuggets today and are playing the Jazz tomorrow. They creamed the rich and creamies today and that got them home court in the first round for sure. But if they don't beat the Jazz tomorrow, they'll end up at 4. A spot teams are trying to avoid since that puts them in the way of the fakers before the eventual Western conference finals. Tomorrow, we will know if the Suns are 3-Rd or the 4-Th seed. If they finish third and get past the first round, they will play the Mavs. Thats a crazy rivalry and the Suns used to get better of the Mavs back in the day, but I am not sure this year. The Mavs look scary good and they always play well against the Suns because of the rivalry. But I guess we have to pick that matchup ahead of the fakers anyways. So it's important the Suns win tomorrow in game 2 of the 2010 playoffs. Lets hope Amare continues to abuse folks like he has been doing the last 2 months. He pulled a move on K-Mart today and K-Mart is still trying to figure out what happened. You are the man if you can out-thug the top-thug, K-Mart.
In the bottom half of the West, seems like the OKC will be at the 8-Th spot and will go against the fakers. They have great talent including my main man, Sun Devil James Harden, but they don't have the experience or the maturity to hang with the Fakers. I was hoping the Spurs would finish 8-Th and we could have all seen a great Lakers-Spurs war in the first round. It could have even been an upset. Now, I just hope the Suns don't end up drawing the Spurs in the first round. The West looks so scary that I don't feel comfortable playing any of these 7 teams in any of the playoff rounds, but still you got to be afraid of teams like the Spurs and the fakers. Lets see where things fall tomorrow. In the East, the story is about the Chicago Bulls executive vice president John Paxson shoving coach Vinny Del Negro twice in the chest in a postgame confrontation late last month. I think Paxson should be punished hard. I hate when these so called leaders of organizations treat players like they are thugs on the one hand and behave like thugs themselves on the other. Apparently he tried to provoke Del Negro in to fight so he can be fired. Lame and cheap and stupid and classless.
The MLB season has begun. It's too early to say anything important, but there are a few early surprises as always. Both the bay area teams are on top of their western divisions behind some great pitching. The A's are 6-3 and the Giants are 6-2 and I am not sure if they can stay on top for long. If I were to pick one of the two teams, the Giants are probably capable of surviving given that the division is relatively weak and their pitching is awesome. Even the DBacks are 4-3 and have looked decent so far. They dropped 13 runs in one innings in a game. Of course the Toronto Bluejays are leading the AL East at 6-2 - like thats going to last! The entire league is a front for the RedSox and the Yankees and I don't even know why the other teams in that division are playing. MLB reminds me of a corrupt business that has a trust as a front to siphon off money. The MLB has an elaborate league going on thats basically a front for the Yankees and the RedSox. I think MLB needs serious reforms to make it relevant across the country again. But then again, the Rays of all teams made it to the World Series couple of years back. So I guess the Bluejays and the Orioles in that division and other bad teams in other divisions all have some hope.
In the bottom half of the West, seems like the OKC will be at the 8-Th spot and will go against the fakers. They have great talent including my main man, Sun Devil James Harden, but they don't have the experience or the maturity to hang with the Fakers. I was hoping the Spurs would finish 8-Th and we could have all seen a great Lakers-Spurs war in the first round. It could have even been an upset. Now, I just hope the Suns don't end up drawing the Spurs in the first round. The West looks so scary that I don't feel comfortable playing any of these 7 teams in any of the playoff rounds, but still you got to be afraid of teams like the Spurs and the fakers. Lets see where things fall tomorrow. In the East, the story is about the Chicago Bulls executive vice president John Paxson shoving coach Vinny Del Negro twice in the chest in a postgame confrontation late last month. I think Paxson should be punished hard. I hate when these so called leaders of organizations treat players like they are thugs on the one hand and behave like thugs themselves on the other. Apparently he tried to provoke Del Negro in to fight so he can be fired. Lame and cheap and stupid and classless.
The MLB season has begun. It's too early to say anything important, but there are a few early surprises as always. Both the bay area teams are on top of their western divisions behind some great pitching. The A's are 6-3 and the Giants are 6-2 and I am not sure if they can stay on top for long. If I were to pick one of the two teams, the Giants are probably capable of surviving given that the division is relatively weak and their pitching is awesome. Even the DBacks are 4-3 and have looked decent so far. They dropped 13 runs in one innings in a game. Of course the Toronto Bluejays are leading the AL East at 6-2 - like thats going to last! The entire league is a front for the RedSox and the Yankees and I don't even know why the other teams in that division are playing. MLB reminds me of a corrupt business that has a trust as a front to siphon off money. The MLB has an elaborate league going on thats basically a front for the Yankees and the RedSox. I think MLB needs serious reforms to make it relevant across the country again. But then again, the Rays of all teams made it to the World Series couple of years back. So I guess the Bluejays and the Orioles in that division and other bad teams in other divisions all have some hope.
Wednesday, April 07, 2010
Best in the West?
The Suns are rocking and rolling since the all-star break. This has been a weird season for the Suns. They started at the top spot and then at one point dropped all the way down to the 9-Th spot. Then they tried to trade Amare for no good reason. Then they did not. Suddenly Amare starts balling like crazy. He seems to be finally back to the monstrous Amare level from his pre-surgery days. I thought those days were gone for good, but he is suddenly back a couple of years after the surgery. His elevation, extension and ferocity are back. I am so glad the Suns didn't trade him. The second half MVP is either Amare or Ginobli and thats the expert opinion across the league. Now the Suns are competing for the 2-Nd spot and are the fashionable pick to make it to the Western conference finals. It's still a long way to go with 3 teams tied for the second spot and 3 more tied for the 6-Th, 7-Th and 8-Th. The West is amazing. Teams can go from the second spot to no home court in the playoffs overnight.
The Suns were 12-2 in March and coach Gentry won the coach of the month award. Some people are also picking him to win the coach of the year award. They have the best record in the league since the all-star break and the Lakers have also been losing lately. And of course the MP3 Steve Nashty is playing like the MP3 as always. Things are looking good. Today, they even beat the Spurs without even getting Nash off the bench in the fourth quarter. Thats amazing to me. These games are usually nail biters with the Spurs taking it at the end. Things have changed. The Suns missed the playoffs last year and were supposedly on the way out. But now it's the Spurs fighting for the 8-Th spot. They seem to have finally gotten old suddenly and ironically, this happens the year they get the younger, more athletic, albeit over-rated Richard Jefferson.
The state of the Spurs reminds me of an article Steve Kerr wrote when he was in the media a couple of years back. He was saying that every championship team had a "big 2" - Jordan/Pippen, Shaq/Kobe etc.. People think the Spurs didn't have that, but Kerr's point was that the second wheel on those championship teams was actually Bruce Bowen - Duncan/Bowen. And those 2 anchored and dominated the defense, which was the Spurs calling card anyways. I think Kerr nailed it. The main problem with the Spurs right now is not that they are suddenly old or that Duncan has slowed down or they are always injured. All thats true to some extent, but the primary issue is that they are missing Bruce Bowen and his suffocating defense. I am so glad he is not molesting Nash at half-court every possession.
In any case, I hope the Suns lock up the 2-Nd spot. That way, they don't have to face the fakers until the WC finals. The Lakers are also wobbling a little bit, but I think they will be fine come playoffs time. They are probably just disinterested and slacking off right now. Finishing number 2 in no guarantee to make it to the WC finals in the brutal west, but that obviously gives you a better chance to make it rather than starting at the 7-Th or 6-Th seed. But the playoffs are just going to be unbelievably close in the west. Just 3 games separating spots 2 and 8. With just a week to go, we still have no idea what the match-ups are going to be. Except for Lakers at 1, nothing else is set. We could also see all 8 playoff teams in the west winning at least 50 games. That would be amazing. Speaking of amazing, in the east, Charlotte Bobcats have clinched the playoffs. Thats newsworthy. I am curious to see if Larry Brown can take it even further in the coming years. Don Nelson is now officially the winningest coach in the history if the game. The Warrior fans are now hoping he retires.
The Suns were 12-2 in March and coach Gentry won the coach of the month award. Some people are also picking him to win the coach of the year award. They have the best record in the league since the all-star break and the Lakers have also been losing lately. And of course the MP3 Steve Nashty is playing like the MP3 as always. Things are looking good. Today, they even beat the Spurs without even getting Nash off the bench in the fourth quarter. Thats amazing to me. These games are usually nail biters with the Spurs taking it at the end. Things have changed. The Suns missed the playoffs last year and were supposedly on the way out. But now it's the Spurs fighting for the 8-Th spot. They seem to have finally gotten old suddenly and ironically, this happens the year they get the younger, more athletic, albeit over-rated Richard Jefferson.
The state of the Spurs reminds me of an article Steve Kerr wrote when he was in the media a couple of years back. He was saying that every championship team had a "big 2" - Jordan/Pippen, Shaq/Kobe etc.. People think the Spurs didn't have that, but Kerr's point was that the second wheel on those championship teams was actually Bruce Bowen - Duncan/Bowen. And those 2 anchored and dominated the defense, which was the Spurs calling card anyways. I think Kerr nailed it. The main problem with the Spurs right now is not that they are suddenly old or that Duncan has slowed down or they are always injured. All thats true to some extent, but the primary issue is that they are missing Bruce Bowen and his suffocating defense. I am so glad he is not molesting Nash at half-court every possession.
In any case, I hope the Suns lock up the 2-Nd spot. That way, they don't have to face the fakers until the WC finals. The Lakers are also wobbling a little bit, but I think they will be fine come playoffs time. They are probably just disinterested and slacking off right now. Finishing number 2 in no guarantee to make it to the WC finals in the brutal west, but that obviously gives you a better chance to make it rather than starting at the 7-Th or 6-Th seed. But the playoffs are just going to be unbelievably close in the west. Just 3 games separating spots 2 and 8. With just a week to go, we still have no idea what the match-ups are going to be. Except for Lakers at 1, nothing else is set. We could also see all 8 playoff teams in the west winning at least 50 games. That would be amazing. Speaking of amazing, in the east, Charlotte Bobcats have clinched the playoffs. Thats newsworthy. I am curious to see if Larry Brown can take it even further in the coming years. Don Nelson is now officially the winningest coach in the history if the game. The Warrior fans are now hoping he retires.
Monday, April 05, 2010
McNabb is gone
The Eagles finally traded away Donovan McNabb to the Redskins for a second round pick in this year's draft and a 3-Rd or 4-Th rounder in the next draft. I was a little surprised by the destination considering the skins are their in-division rival who are on the upswing with a lot of hype surrounding their new coach Mike Shanahan. Now Mike has a QB, though I am not sure McNabb is his kind of QB. I have always thought McNabb was a little over-rated. But he is still better than average and a definite upgrade for the Redskins. Apparently McNabb is Jason Campbell's mentor and now the protege will lose his job to his mentor. This should be a weird and unique situation.
As for the Eagles, I like Kevin Kolb. I think he is the real deal and with all those new weapons on offense, this guy is going to do great next season. Coach Andy Reid and McNabb have been inseparable for 11 years. They both got to Philly the same year and McNabb was inserted as a starter soon after. It turns out Reid has out-survived McNabb in that crazy town. I think he has made the right decision with Kolb. If not, Reid will be gone soon. As for McNabb, I am glad Reid has tried to treat him well. He honored his request to not get traded to Buffalo or Oakland. It sucks to be Oakland right now. But thats neither here nor there. But the McNabb/Reid era in Philly is over and I hope those crazy fans understand what they had. Outside of the Colts and the Patriots, the Eagles have the highest number of wins since 2000 and McNabb took them to a Super Bowl and multiple NFC championship games. But that was not enough at the end.
Tomorrow is the NCAA championship game with Duke and Butler matching up. This is a very interesting contest considering Duke and Butler are significantly different programs. Some people even call this the David versus Goliath game. Butler is not a major program, but is not quite a cindrella either because they are a 5-Th seed and are not totally a surprise to be where they are now. I think Duke wins this one and Coach K will be on cloud 9 after that. He has had a few bad years and he is enjoying this Final 4 appearance. Lets see if he caches in tomorrow. Good luck to both teams.
As for the Eagles, I like Kevin Kolb. I think he is the real deal and with all those new weapons on offense, this guy is going to do great next season. Coach Andy Reid and McNabb have been inseparable for 11 years. They both got to Philly the same year and McNabb was inserted as a starter soon after. It turns out Reid has out-survived McNabb in that crazy town. I think he has made the right decision with Kolb. If not, Reid will be gone soon. As for McNabb, I am glad Reid has tried to treat him well. He honored his request to not get traded to Buffalo or Oakland. It sucks to be Oakland right now. But thats neither here nor there. But the McNabb/Reid era in Philly is over and I hope those crazy fans understand what they had. Outside of the Colts and the Patriots, the Eagles have the highest number of wins since 2000 and McNabb took them to a Super Bowl and multiple NFC championship games. But that was not enough at the end.
Tomorrow is the NCAA championship game with Duke and Butler matching up. This is a very interesting contest considering Duke and Butler are significantly different programs. Some people even call this the David versus Goliath game. Butler is not a major program, but is not quite a cindrella either because they are a 5-Th seed and are not totally a surprise to be where they are now. I think Duke wins this one and Coach K will be on cloud 9 after that. He has had a few bad years and he is enjoying this Final 4 appearance. Lets see if he caches in tomorrow. Good luck to both teams.
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