The Drubbing

Stan Van (or SVG if you prefer) is never one to shy away from controversy or put his nose where it doesn’t belong. His latest victim, the NCAA. In a post-game interview after an NBA Finals loss, Van Gundy called the NCAA “about the worst organization going.” And called the NBA’s age limit “a sham.” Every organization has their own set of problems, some more than others, but Stan has gone a little far here, as usual.

I have my own issues with the NCAA, several of them in fact. But the NBA (flagrant fouls), MLB (steroids), NHL (Gary Bettman), NFL (protecting quarterbacks), NASCAR (Chase for the Sprint Cup), PGA (FedEx Cup) are no gems themselves. So to label the NCAA the worst organization out there is just a slight exaggeration.
Continue reading “Stan Van Gundy hates the NCAA” →

Did anyone see the Detroit Pistons play the Cleveland Cavaliers in the 2009 NBA playoffs? Don’t answer that, it’s a trick question. Because the Pistons never showed up. They were on summer vacation before the series even began. The Pistons looked like the playoffs were nothing more than an inconvenience.

The series was so bad that Cavaliers fans had no problems getting tickets for the games in Detroit. And this isn’t an indictment of the fans in Detroit. We all know that city has been hit pretty hard, and when a local team shows up and plays hard like the Red Wings, Detroit fans will pack a stadium to cheer them on.
Continue reading “The Detroit Pistons quit a long time ago” →

7:32 p.m.: ESPN shows Blake Griffin wearing a pastel purple shirt underneath his suit, but what stands out is his acne.

7:37 p.m.: Mark Jackson calls going to the Clippers a “great situation” for Blake Griffin.  That might be the first time in history that “great situation” and “Clippers” have been used in the same sentence.

7:39 p.m.: Approximately 3 minutes and 45 seconds into the allotted 5 minutes the Clippers finally select Blake Griffin.  How exciting!  The Clippers just selected Chris Wilcox with the Number 1 pick.  They should have taken Rubio and shipped Baron Davis out.  As stated in my mock draft, the Clippers will be regretting this pick soon.  The Draft now begins.
Continue reading “2009 NBA Draft Diary” →

Who Teams will Select? Who will those Selections Become?

1. Los Angeles Clippers – Blake Griffin, PF Oklahoma
The consensus number one pick here is Blake Griffin. He has elite level athleticism, but I question his small hands. You can’t keep him out of the weight room, but I question his height, length, and the size of his hands. Going to the Clippers sounds like a death sentence but it could be worse for Griffin (e.g. Memphis, Sacramento, or Milwaukee).

I have a hard time believing that he lives up to the hype. My prediction is that at worst Griffin becomes a more athletic Clarence Weatherspoon. Griffin will make an all star team, but I am not sure he is a perennial all star. His upside reminds me of Carlos Boozer, with a less refined post game. If the Clippers had stones, they would take Ricky Rubio, the one player in this draft that I am willing to guarantee is a perennial all star.
Continue reading “The 2009 NBA Mock Draft Preview: Where overreaching happens” →

Now that the 2009 NBA All-Star Weekend is behind us, and the 2009 NBA Draft is upon us, we can take an early look at the 2010 NBA All-Star Weekend, specifically at the rising stars in the NCAA that could be participants in next years festivities.
Continue reading “Stars of the 2010 NBA All-Star Weekend” →

With all of the pre-draft trades going on and the upcoming draft itself, some of the greatest NBA news, as far as I’m concerned, went largely unnoticed the other day. The 76ers are bring back an updated version of an older logo. A slightly altered version of their circa 1997 branding will be replacing the horrific black and gold nightmare we’ve been putting up with.
Continue reading “Bringing Sixers back” →

The NBA’s technical foul/suspension scale is fine. It deters players that are approaching the limit from acting like three-year olds and let’s the officials keep the games moving with fewer tantrums. But of course, any time big stars like Kobe Bryant and Dwight Howard risk suspension, there has to be a problem with the rules. So the NBA will of course “review” the policy in question.
Continue reading “Where technical fouls happen, all the time” →

 I’m no fan of Doris Burke, and I make no apologies for that. Not because she’s a female announcer (I love me some Erin Andrews) but because she’s awful at her job. And that makes my game-viewing experience less enjoyable.

And last night she apparently went into a comatose state during the final minute of the game. During a post-game interview with Rafer Jamel “Skip to My Lou” Alston, she asked him about their hot shooting and scoring 106 points. They actually scored 108 thanks to Rashard Lewis’ two free-throw makes with 0:00.2 left on the clock.
Continue reading “Doris Burke blacks out at NBA Finals game” →

A year and a half after the Mitchell Report solved absolutely nothing [see Manny Ramirez]. And a month after Congressional representatives made good on their promise to hold hearings on the College Football Bowl Championship Series. Another elected politician is taking aim at the sporting world to right a wrong that is at the bottom of the voting public’s wish list.

This time Representative Steve Cohen, a Tennessee Democrat has had enough of the NBA’s minimum age limit. He calls the league’s 19 years old and one year removed high school an “unfair restriction on the rights of these young men to pursue their intended career.” In a letter he asked NBA commissioner David Stern and union leader Billy Hunter omit the requirement from the next collective bargaining agreement. And the member of the House Judiciary Committee told the AP that he would consider both hearings and legislation if the league didn’t comply.
Continue reading “Politics and sports just don’t mix” →

For Dwight's sake, i hope Kobe wore a rubber.

The Finals are set, and much to ESPN and Nike’s dismay, it will be the LA Lakers versus the Orlando Magic.  Lets break down the series by the 5 positions, the respective benches and the coaches and see what we have:

PG – advantage: wash.  The Lakers biggest issue has been their inconsistent guard play.  This was the one area teams could force LA into defensive sets they did not want to use; doubling off picks, help side pressure, etc.  Unfortunately for Orlando, they do not have anyone who can take advantage of this area.  Skip to my Lou is a nice player but he cannot take over games and i think will struggle at times with Derek Fisher.  Now, if Jameer Nelson can somehow play, this changes things.

SG – advantage: Lakers.  Courtney Lee looks like a young Rip Hamilton, and is nailing jumpers.  But Kobe is, well Kobe.  I expect Kobe to win at least 2 games for LA this series.
Continue reading “2009 NBA Finals Predictions” →