Game of the season

The Suns and the Lakers played a game on Tuesday that should be on ESPN classic anytime now. The Suns were at the losing end of what should easily be the game of the season so far - a triple overtime, 139-137 thriller on national TV. The only thing that could have made this any better is a Suns victory. I am not saying this just as a Suns fan, but after trailing by 21 in the third quarter, that ending would have made this gem of a game even more improbable and dramatic. But the game was loaded with dramatic moments anyways. Between the brilliance of Kobe and Nash, Channing Frye and Kobe Bryant's clutch shots, ice-in-the-veins free throws by Pau Gasol and Channing Frye, this game had everything. The game started slow for the Lakers and they looked disinterested and looked like they were just waiting to turn it on in the second half and put the Suns away. And sure enough, they did seem to step it up a notch in the third quarter and they were up by 21 before the Suns knew what hit them. The Lakers were ready to call it a night, but the Suns had other ideas. They may not be the most talented bunch these days, but they showed they are resilient, well except for Vince Carter of course. Channing Frye is especially awesome and is fast becoming one of the best clutch players in the league. Before the Lakers knew it, the Suns were back powered by the Suns' 3 point shooting.

Nash ignited that 3-Rd quarter comeback as always. There are many things we could talk about when it comes to this game and there are several game reports on the web doing the same. But I wanted to focus a little bit on what Nash did late in that third quarter to turn this game completely around. It was an amazing and underrated stretch of the game where Nash showcased his under-appreciated leadership skills. Oftentimes, talent in sports is mistaken for leadership. Not every talented player is a leader capable of doing the right things to show his team direction. But Nash totally is. He is unselfish and has the ultimate sense for what his team needs and when. He can turn his scoring on and off anytime and does it so deftly at specific points in the game, you are sometimes left speechless. In this game, the Lakers were running away with it in the third quarter and it looked like the Suns offense was stuck in mud. He could sense that the Suns were getting close to giving up when he went down the floor and hit back-to-back 3's and another 3 a few possessions later. You could sense that this totally galvanized the team and they started playing with a different rhythm right after. Nash again went back into his usual role as the Suns woke up as a team and started scoring. Granted, he had the talent to hit those shots and without that, he is no leader. But the way he senses his team's needs and provides whatever is needed is just a true leadership trait. Hope people like Carmelo Anthony understand this.

Coming back to the game, even as I was watching it late in the OT, I thought it was one of those games which meant more than just one W or L in the standings. I think this loss pretty much takes the Suns out of the playoffs. This is the reality both literally and emotionally. The Memphis Grizzlies seem to be well entrenched at that 8-Th spot and if they keep winning tough games on the Road against teams like the Celtics, the Suns a'int got no chance. But, a triple overtime loss like this takes way more out of you. It was impressive that the old Suns team came right back on Wednesday and won a back-to-back against the Raptors. But they have to make-up 3 games in 12 tries and leaf-frog 2 teams in Houston and Memphis. Utah is done as expected, but Denver without Melo and the Grizz without Gay are surprising everybody. All that the Suns have to show for this season might be this classic game. I don't mind if they miss the playoffs. Thats a better reality for the front-office and the ownership to deal with instead of thinking we are good just because we made the playoffs. Also, it doesn't hurt to have a couple of balls in the lottery. Of course, I still wanted them to win this triple overtime thriller against the hated Lakers, but the Lakers got it done at the end. It should have been contagious because the Clippers and the Wizards played an entertaining double overtime game the very next day on the same court. And the Hornets today beat the Jazz 121-117 in another entertaining OT game.

March Madness is here

Fun times are here again. The 2011 NCAA tournament kicked off in style today with some tremendous games early. It was amazing to watch these kids hit great shots in the clutch with time running out. For some reason, it feels like these guys do better in the clutch than their NBA counterparts. There are a few buzzer beaters here and there in the NBA, but there are way more in college, especially in March. It should be the better defense in the NBA or something. Also, the number of NBA teams and the player pool is pretty small and players know other players' tendencies and goto moves pretty intimately. In the tournament, schools that have never crossed paths in 20 years meet and anything can happen despite the best efforts by the coaches to prepare their players for the specific opponent. Not sure if it's real or just an illusion, but I thought these college games today featured a lot more big shots than your typical NBA games. I was totally thrilled to watch the fantastic finishes and amazing shots this morning and afternoon.

There were 6 really close games, though UCLA took a blow-out and unnecessarily made it close at the end. Brandon Knight sealed the deal for Kentucky against Princeton with a drive and a shot, though it's a credit to Princeton that Kentucky needed that to win. The better game-winner today belongs to Temple's Juan Fernandez against Penn State. He was stopped cold by the defender, but somehow found a way to use his pivot foot to jump away, create some space and hit that shot with the defender all over him. It was not quite "Kemba Walker against Pittsburgh" good, but a great shot nonetheless. Butler won on a buzzer-beater, but that one should be rough on Old Dominion because Matt Howard won it on a rebound and a put-back after the defense played good D and forced a bad shot. 13-Th seed Morehead State sent Rick Pitino and Louisville packing behind Demonte Harper's game winning 3. I think some of these kids should coach LeBron James and Dwayne Wade. In the same bracket, 12-Th seed Richmond got Vandy for the usual 12 over 5 upset. Thats becoming so common, I am surprised if 5-Th seed win these days. How did Utah State and Clemson lose?

Sydney Johnson, Princeton's head coach and Kalin Lucas, Michigan State's senior guard, both teared up at the post-game presser showing us why we love this event. The single-elimination, sudden-death format is thrilling, but it should also be heart-breaking to the players and coaches. Their entire season and in some cases, their college basketball careers come down to one shot and a few plays here and there. It's real tough. These guys still stay cool and focussed enough to take and make those game winners. Just the potential of ending some senior teammate's careers with a miss should put immense pressure on these kids. It's all part of the allure of the tournament. Speaking of the allure, Kemba Walker and Jimmer Fredette had big days and did nothing to hurt their star status. Jimmer's range is just incredible with some of his shots. The kid is going to need some help soon, but I will be watching him as long as he is playing. The "watching" was really fun today with the coverage across 4 channels. It's a brilliant idea and you never miss anything. Especially with the way they stagger the start time of these games, you get to enjoy the last 5 minutes of every game on a different channel and the action was continuos all day. This is exactly why I love the first weekend of the tourney more than the rest. Of course, the "first round" on Tuesday and Wednesday didn't do much for me except confuse me a little with the bracket. Anyways, can't wait for more of this tomorrow!

Tradeoffs

Now that we have seen teams in action for more than a week since the NBA trade deadline, it 's a good time to evaluate the trades. This, surprisingly, was an especially busy trade deadline in the NBA. All the talk for months leading into the deadline was about Carmelo Anthony and he did move. But there was many more players switching jerseys and zip codes. Some trades are over-hyped, while others are under-valued. I can see what the excitement is with Melo and the Knicks. The Knicks have been hurting big time for many years and Amare has finally bought them some legitimate hope. Now add a prolific scorer and a clutch player like Melo, it's a formidable 1-2 punch that almost guarantees them a playoff trip every year. But the problem is, they are both similar in what they bring to the table - lots of scoring with very little outside of that. They are both mediocre defenders and bad rebounders for their size. They have both been accused of being ball-stoppers. So I expect good things, but not great things from this combo. They still need a third piece and the best part of the deal for the Knicks might be Chauncey Billups. He is another clutch player, but he is also a good point guard who can manage the 2 scorers on the floor. He has already won them a game against the Heat and he may win them a playoff game or two down the road. With all that said, this Knicks team is incomplete and I am not sure if they will ever have the cap room to become complete.

The Russian Billionaire really scared the Knicks into trading for Melo while the Knicks thought they could wait for the off-season and just get Melo off the street as a free agent. Denver had no leverage in their negotiations with the Knicks and Mikhail Prokhorov gave them the leverage. Now, the Nuggets are not looking that bad with all the pieces they got back. It's not quite the elite roster without Melo, but it aint bad at all. The rich and creamies are running, gunning and even winning with the young and talented roster with better defenders and no "ball stoppers". Danilo Gallinari has a lot of potential with a Nowitzki-like game. Raymond Felton and Wilson Chandler are not bad either. Timofey Mozgov, the guy who almost held up the trade from the Knicks side because D'Antoni didn't want to give him up can actually make this trade one-sided if he develops as a player for the Nuggets. Speaking of D'Antoni, the Nugges roster looks like something he would love to coach even more than the Knicks roster he coaches right now. But Pokhorov made sure the Knicks lost a lot of talent in this trade and Pokh got Deron Williams fromt he Jazz in a shocker of a trade at the last minute. I don't know if Deron wants to stay there, but if he does, I would say Nets hit the jackpot. Give me Deron over Melo any day of the week and twice on Sundays. Deron is under-rated a little and a great point.

The Jazz didn't want to deal with any kind of Deron soap opera and hence dumped him in a surprising trade. But they now lose legitimacy in the West and have to deal with the under-achieveing Devin Harris. For all his talents, Devin is invisible these days and may be the change of scenery will do him good. I won't put money on it, but the Jazz are now in trouble without Sloan an now trading away their heir-apparent to John Stockton. They are slipping down the Western seeding and I am not complaining as a suns fan. The other shocker trade was the Clippers banishing Baron to Cleveland. Thats the last place Baron is going to play hard for, but they have him now - enjoy! The other big trade was Boston trading away big body Kendrick Perkins, the guy who could have won them their championship last year. They got good scoring talent in return in Jeff Green and Nenad Kristic, but thats not what they need for a championship run this year. They better hope Shaq and Jermaine are healthy now for the playoffs. Otherwise, they are going to be soft in the middle. Perkins hardens the Thunder's middle immediately - if he stays healthy and plays. Portland got Gerald Wallace, Atlanta got Krirk Heinrich and the New Orleans got Carl Landry from Sacramento in other good moves. The Suns joined the party by trading Dragic for Aaron Brooks. I have always liked Aaron Brooks and I am expecting good things from him. Some people are reading too much into this move with regards to Nash's future, but it's a decent move for the Suns.

I still can't believe Baron is in Cleveland. The Donald is cruel.