Saturday, May 14, 2016
Monday, August 3, 2009
Welcome Back
OK, so I took a couple months off while I moved across the country, but now I'm back and I hope to start writing consistently again. Being back on the east coast, I also hope to be able to keep up with my favorite teams a bit more.
With that, let's start talking about the Bobcats recent trade of Okafor for Tyson Chandler. First off, I love the irony of a Bobcats-Hornets trade. I'd also like to thank George Shinn for finally doing something good for Charlotte basketball for the first time in a long, long time.
I think this trade is good on several levels. I think Okafor has been overrated since his 2nd season. I know he's a steady triple double, but with the team he was playing with, he should have been much more. I think Bobcats fans were, in general, to enamored with their first draft choice, and it is good to see him go so we can move on.
I think Tyson has played on playoff caliber teams and will bring good experience to go along with Boris Diaw and Raja Bell. Even though Okafor was a presence in the lane to block shots, I think Tyson will be better all around on defense. He can guard the pick and roll and perimeter big guys better than Okafor.
I also think it's a plus to get rid of the length of Okafor's contract. He was highly overpaid last summer, so it's nice to see that disappear. Now, hopefully, they won't overpay Felton to get him to stay.
I think this is a good trade, but we'll have to see if it's enough for them to get to the playoffs. I'm ready for training camp!
With that, let's start talking about the Bobcats recent trade of Okafor for Tyson Chandler. First off, I love the irony of a Bobcats-Hornets trade. I'd also like to thank George Shinn for finally doing something good for Charlotte basketball for the first time in a long, long time.
I think this trade is good on several levels. I think Okafor has been overrated since his 2nd season. I know he's a steady triple double, but with the team he was playing with, he should have been much more. I think Bobcats fans were, in general, to enamored with their first draft choice, and it is good to see him go so we can move on.
I think Tyson has played on playoff caliber teams and will bring good experience to go along with Boris Diaw and Raja Bell. Even though Okafor was a presence in the lane to block shots, I think Tyson will be better all around on defense. He can guard the pick and roll and perimeter big guys better than Okafor.
I also think it's a plus to get rid of the length of Okafor's contract. He was highly overpaid last summer, so it's nice to see that disappear. Now, hopefully, they won't overpay Felton to get him to stay.
I think this is a good trade, but we'll have to see if it's enough for them to get to the playoffs. I'm ready for training camp!
Monday, June 1, 2009
NBA Finals
Ok, so I'm a little disappointed Lebron didn't make it the finals. I was really looking forward to seeing him win a title. That being said, let's look at the matchup we do have.
I think LA is going to have the same matchup problem with Dwight Howard that the Cavs had. LA doesn't have a big strong guy down low to bang on Howard. The Gasol/Bynum combo might work better the Big Z/Wallace, but it's still not enough to handle Howard.
That being said, I think LA has two advantages that Cleveland didn't. One, they have better size to guard Turkoglu and Lewis. Expect them to have a much harder time getting shots off this series. Two, the Lakers have a much deeper bench than Cleveland or Orlando. How Odom plays could be one of the bigger issues in the series.
As much as I don't want the Lakers to win, I think it's theirs to lose. Of course, I didn't think Orlando would win either of their last two series either. It should be a good matchup that relies more on how role players fill their roles than on how Howard and Kobe play.
I think LA is going to have the same matchup problem with Dwight Howard that the Cavs had. LA doesn't have a big strong guy down low to bang on Howard. The Gasol/Bynum combo might work better the Big Z/Wallace, but it's still not enough to handle Howard.
That being said, I think LA has two advantages that Cleveland didn't. One, they have better size to guard Turkoglu and Lewis. Expect them to have a much harder time getting shots off this series. Two, the Lakers have a much deeper bench than Cleveland or Orlando. How Odom plays could be one of the bigger issues in the series.
As much as I don't want the Lakers to win, I think it's theirs to lose. Of course, I didn't think Orlando would win either of their last two series either. It should be a good matchup that relies more on how role players fill their roles than on how Howard and Kobe play.
Friday, May 1, 2009
Greatest playoff series ever?
All the talk this morning is about the Chicago Bulls vs Boston Celtics series. And it should be after the sixth game went into three overtimes last night. While the series saw it's fourth overtime game last night, I'm not sure I agree with everyone that this is the best series ever.
Overtimes are exciting, but I think it takes more than overtime to make a great series. Isn't it just as exciting to see a last second buzzer beater go in than it is to watch another five minutes of basketball?
There are a lot of fun and exciting things about this series. There is a superstar missing and another hobbled by injury. We have two superstars in the making. An old veteran shooting the lights out, again. And there's some role players stepping up to new levels.
When game seven starts, I think we're going to be in for a good hard fought game. I expect Boston to win on the home court and with the veteran abilities. Chicago should learn a lot from this series and very hungry next year.
Overtimes are exciting, but I think it takes more than overtime to make a great series. Isn't it just as exciting to see a last second buzzer beater go in than it is to watch another five minutes of basketball?
There are a lot of fun and exciting things about this series. There is a superstar missing and another hobbled by injury. We have two superstars in the making. An old veteran shooting the lights out, again. And there's some role players stepping up to new levels.
When game seven starts, I think we're going to be in for a good hard fought game. I expect Boston to win on the home court and with the veteran abilities. Chicago should learn a lot from this series and very hungry next year.
Monday, April 27, 2009
NFL Draft
I don't think there was a big surprise at the NFL draft over the weekend. I don't think I could have gone with Matthew Stafford number one, but the pick doesn't surprise anyone. And yes, the New York Jets traded up for the number five pick, but that wasn't a surprise either.
I think Mark Sanchez will be good for New York. Coming out of USC, he understands what pressure is and what it's like to have a very large city watching you play. That and his seemingly great presence will help him charm New York, if he can win.
I like what the Carolina Panthers did even though they didn't have a first round pick. When they saw a first round quality defensive end available at the 11th spot in the second round, they made a move to get him. This makes tons of sense with the Julius Peppers situation.
I was a little surprised to see Michael Crabtree fall to San Francisco at tenth. I do think it made their draft though. Now the quarterbacks there won't have the excuse of not having a viable wide receiver.
I think Al Davis needs to let someone else make the football decisions in Oakland, and this draft shows why once again. I think there were two better receivers on the board when he took Darrius Heyward-Bey, but Davis' love of speed won out again.
Philadelphia benefited the most from Al Davis' pick, winding up getting Jeremy Maclin with the 19th pick. If Maclin can learn the system quickly, it gives Donovan McNabb an elite wide receiver for the first time in years.
I think Mark Sanchez will be good for New York. Coming out of USC, he understands what pressure is and what it's like to have a very large city watching you play. That and his seemingly great presence will help him charm New York, if he can win.
I like what the Carolina Panthers did even though they didn't have a first round pick. When they saw a first round quality defensive end available at the 11th spot in the second round, they made a move to get him. This makes tons of sense with the Julius Peppers situation.
I was a little surprised to see Michael Crabtree fall to San Francisco at tenth. I do think it made their draft though. Now the quarterbacks there won't have the excuse of not having a viable wide receiver.
I think Al Davis needs to let someone else make the football decisions in Oakland, and this draft shows why once again. I think there were two better receivers on the board when he took Darrius Heyward-Bey, but Davis' love of speed won out again.
Philadelphia benefited the most from Al Davis' pick, winding up getting Jeremy Maclin with the 19th pick. If Maclin can learn the system quickly, it gives Donovan McNabb an elite wide receiver for the first time in years.
Wednesday, April 22, 2009
LeBron, Cleveland survive Detroit's comeback bid
The Cleveland Cavaliers took a 2-0 series lead last night by defeating the Detroit Pistons 94-82. The Cavs came out on fire and jumped to an early lead. Up by 27 at the end of the third quarter, it looked as if the starters were done for the night.
Detroit had other ideas. They came out shooting well and playing defense to start the fourth quarter and got the lead under 10. Mike Brown was forced to put his starters back in.
The Cavs starters seemed to have adopted the mindset they were done for the night, so it took them a while to get back into the flow of the game. Eventually they did, and they started to play the way they're supposed too.
James ended up with 29 points, 13 rebounds and six assists. As always, he looked dominate and like he was having fun at the same time. This is one of the reasons I want to continue to see him walk all the way to the NBA Finals. I love watching him play.
Don't get me wrong, I love the NBA in general, but watching some of the things LeBron can do is simply amazing. Unlike some other NBA players, his first instinct doesn't seem to be to score, even though he can score at will. His first instinct is to get the ball to the player with the best chance of scoring on that possession. He's also smart enough to know who that is.
I look forward to seeing him for another decade, since he's only 24, but I want his championships to start collecting this year. I'd love to see him win as many as Bill Russell, but that's crazy talk.
Detroit had other ideas. They came out shooting well and playing defense to start the fourth quarter and got the lead under 10. Mike Brown was forced to put his starters back in.
The Cavs starters seemed to have adopted the mindset they were done for the night, so it took them a while to get back into the flow of the game. Eventually they did, and they started to play the way they're supposed too.
James ended up with 29 points, 13 rebounds and six assists. As always, he looked dominate and like he was having fun at the same time. This is one of the reasons I want to continue to see him walk all the way to the NBA Finals. I love watching him play.
Don't get me wrong, I love the NBA in general, but watching some of the things LeBron can do is simply amazing. Unlike some other NBA players, his first instinct doesn't seem to be to score, even though he can score at will. His first instinct is to get the ball to the player with the best chance of scoring on that possession. He's also smart enough to know who that is.
I look forward to seeing him for another decade, since he's only 24, but I want his championships to start collecting this year. I'd love to see him win as many as Bill Russell, but that's crazy talk.
Tuesday, April 21, 2009
Spurs and Celtics even their series
The two surprises from the NBA Playoffs on Saturday were corrected last night. San Antonio and Boston won their games in totally different fashions.
San Antonio sent Dallas a message by responding to Saturday's loss with a 21 point win. They did it behind Tony Parker's 38 points, 21 in the first half. By the end of the game the Dallas bench was looking completely dejected, which isn't surprising.
It will be interesting to see how Dallas responds. They have the next two games in Dallas, which will help, but with all the playoff disappointment they've experienced over the last several years, will this mess with their head?
In Boston, it was a much closer game that came down to the wire. Chicago won a very close game on Saturday, and Boston did the same last night. Ray Allen hit the last shot and Boston held on as a half court heave fell short.
Ben Gordon had the best playoff game for a Bull since Michael Jordan retired, scoring 42 and hitting six threes. This probably would have worked out better for him and the Bulls if he could play defense like MJ too.
As it were, Ray Allen also went off in the 2nd half. He had 30 points and also hit six threes, including the game winner. The Celtics are extremely happy to get Allen on a hot shooting streak heading to Chicago, especially as they seem to get someone hurt every game.
San Antonio sent Dallas a message by responding to Saturday's loss with a 21 point win. They did it behind Tony Parker's 38 points, 21 in the first half. By the end of the game the Dallas bench was looking completely dejected, which isn't surprising.
It will be interesting to see how Dallas responds. They have the next two games in Dallas, which will help, but with all the playoff disappointment they've experienced over the last several years, will this mess with their head?
In Boston, it was a much closer game that came down to the wire. Chicago won a very close game on Saturday, and Boston did the same last night. Ray Allen hit the last shot and Boston held on as a half court heave fell short.
Ben Gordon had the best playoff game for a Bull since Michael Jordan retired, scoring 42 and hitting six threes. This probably would have worked out better for him and the Bulls if he could play defense like MJ too.
As it were, Ray Allen also went off in the 2nd half. He had 30 points and also hit six threes, including the game winner. The Celtics are extremely happy to get Allen on a hot shooting streak heading to Chicago, especially as they seem to get someone hurt every game.
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