Bleacher Report - Articles by Danny Devine

Baseball's Division Winners, The Way It Will Happen

Danny Devine — Fri, 03 Apr 2009 08:43:12 -0400

It's almost baseball time!

The 2009 MLB season is about to began. Everyone picks a bracket for the NCAA tourney, so why not pick the likely division winners in MLB as well? There are good races in every division this season.

The AL East and NL East are both looking like they will come down to the end of the season, just like last year. The Rays jumped into America’s hearts last season by turning a 180 and winning the division and pennant. The Mets also found a way to fall apart at the end of the season, but I really don’t think it could happen three years in a row.

Elsewhere, the Oakland A’s are loaded with young talent. They should give the Angels a run for their money. The Twins, who were cheated out of their division last season, should have a great race with the White Sox, Indians, and Tigers.

Here is how I think each team will finish.

NL West

1. L.A. Dodgers

2. D-Backs

3. Giants

4. Rockies

5. Padres

The Dodgers are loaded from top to bottom. Manny will help lead them to the playoffs once again and maybe even deeper this time.

NL Central

1. Cubs

2. Cardinals

3. Reds

4. Astros

5. Brewers

6. Pirates

The Cubs will take this division easy and should have the NL’s best record. They have a great team with a solid pitching staff. Look for Carlos Zambrano to have a great season as well.

NL East:

1. Phillies

2. Mets

3. Marlins

4. Braves

5. Nationals

The fighting Phils are the champs, and as the saying goes, “You want to be the champ, you got to go through the champs.” I really think the wild card will also come out of this division.

AL West

1. Angels

2. A’s

3. Rangers

4. Mariners

The Angels have a concept that has worked for them for many years. It will work again and may get them a home field advantage this season. Expect Vald to come back strong.

AL East

1. Rays

2. Yankees

3. Red Sox

4. Blue Jays

5. Orioles

The Rays have everything you want in a team—speed, power, pitching, and defense. BJ Upton and Carl Crawford will have to be healthy to make this happen. David Price should be called up within the first month viva Evan Longoria.

AL Central

1. Twins

2. Indians

3. White Sox

4. Tigers

5. Royals

I think the Twins will have a tough time winning this division, but if you know anything about this division, you never count the Twins out. Good young pitching and solid defense will prevail once again.

This season will be filled with drama and action. I, for one, cannot wait to see the excitement happen. Oh, and my picks for the World Series are the Cubs and the Rays.

Target Field, A Good Thing?

Danny Devine — Fri, 12 Dec 2008 16:26:00 -0500

Everyone knows the Minnesota Twins play the great game of baseball a certain way. Some like to call it Twins ball or small ball.

If you are fan of other teams you just say they cannot hit home runs. Either way the Twins have their own niche and it works very well for them. They beat out infield singles and love hitting with runners in scoring position.

The Twins strongly believe what most people should believe about baseball, which is strong pitching and defense will win more than hitting the long ball. Ask the Tampa Bay Rays how having a strong pitching staff and great defense helped them make it to the 2008 World Series.

With all that is said about the Twins style of play, they are moving to a new field in 2010 will be a big adjustment. Target Field will be the home for the Minnesota Twins. It will be beautiful and also much different from what their used to.

The Hubby Dome now is a major advantage. The ruff helps them more than anything, but there are others as well. The turf is a huge reason they always lead the league in home victories.

The Twins favorite hits seem to be the ones through the short third hole to the first second hole. Putting the speedy Twins on a natural grass will definitely hurt them.

Time will only tell if this is really the case, but do not be surprised to see the grass cut as low as baseball will allow.

Welcome on The Wagon New Rays FANS!

Danny Devine — Mon, 22 Sep 2008 08:01:35 -0400

The wagon is in full circle right now. Thousands of people who live in the Tampa Bay are now looking at the Rays as their favorite team. They are putting away there No.33 Varitek jerseys and there pin strips back in the closet. The Tampa Bay Rays have built a huge band wagon and it is very strong.

I was at the finally game the Rays needed for a playoff spot against the Minnesota Twins. The Rays looked hungry and ready to take that step into the playoffs. Great pitching help get them a 7-2 win. Timely hitting got them the lead and many of there leads all season long.

Tropicana Field was jam packed and the crowd was loud and pumped for the Rays to win. It was the first time I was at the Trop when I didn’t see any New York Yankees hats and or shirts like wise with the Boston Red Sox. Not to be mean, but normally the place is filled with the Sox and Yanks clothes.

If you haven’t followed the Rays all season go take a look at their season statistics. (After you read this though.) There is nothing special about any of their hitting stats. The Rays leading hitter is BJ Upton who is hitting .277. We all know that is not very good. I know Navarro hit .292 and Bartlett hit .280, but there didn’t have enough at bats to qualify for the batting title.

They don’t have a forty homerun guy and Carlos Pena as not been the feared hitter he was last season. Injured or not his .249 average is horrible and the team hasn’t missed a beat. I would like to show you some stats as the Rays have collected over this great season. All stats will be American League only.

Pitching

· ERA -No.2 (3^rd overall in MLB)

· SAVES- No.2

· OPPONENTS BATTING AVERAGE- No.2

· STRIKE OUTS- No.5

· SHUT OUTS- No.3

Hitting

· Runs- No.10

· BA- No.13

· HR-No.6

· OBP-No.6

· Slug- No.8

· HITS-No.13

All these stats are ranked out of 14 teams.

These states indicate that this season has been a total team effort. They could not rely on one hitter or one pitcher on any given day. There best pitcher only had 13 wins. This is something that will not seen for a long time. Their team ERA is amazing this season. It has been a 180 for the bullpen which should get the team MVP if they give one out. Belfour and Howell should be first to get that AL EAST ring.

All in all it’s been great to see the Rays fans coming out to the Trop and supporting the Rays. Lets just see it those fair weather fans aka band wagoner’s are here to stay, or are they going to pull out the Red Sox and Yankees shirts out again.

Why UCLA May Not Be An Underdog This Season Against USC

Danny Devine — Tue, 26 Aug 2008 16:00:23 -0400

Everyone remembers the amazing game last season between USC and Stanford. Stanford was a 40-point underdog and somehow ended up winning the game. What many people should recall though is how Stanford’s coach Jim Harbaugh talked USC up before the season.

Harbaugh said before the season some very respectful things about USC. He called them the best team of all time, and said they were lucky to be on the same field as them.

The thing is, when saying those things about USC, he was really motivating his team. He was downplaying the game and hyping up how great the Trojans are.

I don’t know if you all have ever been on team where the head coach has done what Harbaugh did, but it is a huge motivation tool for your team. It just makes you think day and night about that team, about that game, and about how bad you want to beat them with all your heart.

Whether or not you think that the win over USC was a fluke or luck, the big thing was that his team circled that game and played their best football of the season that night. Stanford was not a great team by any stretch last season, but holding USC and all 900 of their five-star, blue chip running backs to fewer than 100 yards rushing is something special.

If you don’t think it's something, let's take a look at their other opponents and the rushing yards they gained on Stanford:

—Arizona State: 41 Att, 174 yds, 4.2 Avg

—Washington: 63 Att, 388 yds, 6.2 Avg (WOW!)

—UCLA: 50 Att, 338 yds, 6.8 Avg

—Oregon: 46 Att, 222 yds, 4.8 Avg

As you can see, there was something great about that night.

What am I getting at? UCLA Bruins new coach Rick Neuheisel also had some words to say about the power house that is USC.

Neuheisel said, “There’s no hiding from it, we are going after them.” USC has been a powerhouse in college football for as long as John Dailey has been drinking diet coke.

Neuheisel saying all this about the Trojans makes me think. It makes me think of what Jim Harbaugh said this past season. I am wondering if this may become a trend if UCLA can also pull a big time upset of the mighty USC Trojans.

If this becomes a trend I would love to see Urban Meyer and Bobby Bowden smack talking. Or Jim Tressel and Bob Stoops get into it about Tressel's faded red sweater vest he never seems to take off.

This will be fun to see how this pans out. I guess we will have to see what happens on December 6th at 4:00 on ABC. When the USC Trojans and the UCLA Bruins square off, I'll have my popcorn ready.

Why the Olympics should keep baseball and softball in 2012

Danny Devine — Wed, 13 Aug 2008 17:02:25 -0400

Everyday for the next couple weeks you will be hearing about the Beijing, Olympics. The Olympics this year so far have been great to watch. Michael Phelps is doing his merman thing in the water. The Chinese gymnastics team won looking graceful and anorexic as hell.

If you watched that please tell how old you thought those girls were? (I was thinking 11 or 12).

There are many things that the Olympics take part in that doesn’t make any sense. There are some so called sports that are taking place that puzzle me. Everyone that likes baseball and softball knows that it is being canceled after these Olympics.

They can vote before the 2012 games to keep it, but no one knows if they will. Baseball and softball are huge sports in many countries. They take gifted people to play them. It takes many abilities to become a professional baseball or softball player.

For softball there are no major professional leagues here in America or around the world. The Olympics are what many young girls and college softball look forward to growing up. Baseball has professional leagues in American (MLB), Japan, and other countries.

Imagine if there was no NFL and it was just an Olympic event. Those college players would be working out everyday and also bagging your groceries. Picture Tom Brady saying “paper or plastic?” (HAHA)

I am just saying look at some of these so called sports that are probably going to stay in the Olympics for many years to come.

·Table Tennis—aka Ping Pong—this is in no way possible a sport. You can play this in your house sucking down a Bud Light. This does take a good hand and eye, but that’s about it. You can go to most retirement homes around the country and see 80 year old men and women playing Ping pong. Tell me how that’s a sport in any fashion.

·Equestrian—This has nothing really to do with the humans on the horse. It just another way for someone to treat a horse like a piece of equipment and not like a pet that they should love. If the horse doesn’t want to jump, it’s not going to jump sorry trainers.

·Yachting—This I guess would be the Nascar of the water, but again what’s the real point. Why do you want to take a boat and go around and around pylons? Fun stuff watching people fight the wind. I hope my TiVo records that event.

There are three so called sports or events that should be taken out of the Olympics before baseball and softball should. There is many more reason that I have, but I don’t want to make this a novel. So next time your young son or daughter want you to get them a new baseball or softball bat or glove, just go to the store and get them a ping pong paddle instead.

The Spark Plugs Of Major League Baseball

Danny Devine — Mon, 28 Jul 2008 17:38:46 -0400

There are many things General Managers look for when picking the players for their respective teams. One thing I personal think is always overlooked is the energy guy. I like to call this player the spark plug of the team.

If you are wondering what role this person plays on their team; it’s very simple. This player plays hard night-in and night-out. These guys are the guy who hits a slow roller to the pitcher and has no chance to be safe, but still runs all out to first. Spark plugs are people who help their team stay energized on a day after a long night game.

You don’t have to be the best player to be a spark plug. Just have to have a second-to-none love for your job and the game of baseball.

The main people who deserve this name are: Dustin Pedroia, Shane Victorino, Curtis Granderson, and Ryan Theriot. All of these guys play major roles on their respective teams.

Like I said “you don’t have to be the best.”

Pedroia has proven himself as an All-Star caliber player. What you need to see is how hard he plays. I am not just saying this because his uniform is always dirty. He runs hard everywhere and has no conscious when going after a ball in the field. I really hope he can walk at age 40. He makes other players on other teams want to play as hard as him.

Victorino is over-looked all the time on his team. With MVP’s like Jimmy Rollins and Ryan Howard and future one in Chase Utley, it’s hard not to get overlooked. But there is some special about Victorino’s game. When the fighting Phil’s made their run this season to get into the NL East race, Shane Victorino finally started hitting and stealing bases. That is definitely not a coincidence.

This really goes without saying, but Granderson is easily the most important Tiger for their offense. We all seen how horrific they were without him and how they are climbing with him. Just think if they could pitch just a little bit.

Theriot is the average leader for the Cubs and their starting shortstop. The reason I say he is the starting shortstop is because he was thought by many as a second basemen. Many scouts told him he was not an everyday shortstop for a big league team. Well he’s showed everyone he is a solid player. He is much like Pedroia only cleaner. Show me a video of The Riot taking a play off and I will buy you a rug.

These guys may not make it on a poster on your wall, or to the Hall of Fame. They will, though, be respected by their teammates and other players for as long as they can go.

Does your team have a spark plug? Many good teams have one and that what helps them get over that little hump. It’s the difference from being a playoff team to being a team looking for tickets for the playoff.

So when you are watching your team plays this season think to yourself, who is the spark plug on my team?

I’d love to hear who you think some other spark plugs are around the league.

Honorable mention: Derek Jeter NYY, Evan Longoria TB, Alexi Casilla MIN, JJ Hardy MIL, Skip Shumaker STL, and Howie Kendrick LAA.

Curt Schilling's Career May Be Done, but Does Anyone Really Care?

Danny Devine — Sun, 22 Jun 2008 12:18:46 -0400

Curt Schilling has said on talk radio that his season is definitely over and his career may be as well. My question to everyone is: does anyone really care?

Schilling was a very good regular-season pitcher and a great postseason one too. His on-the-field accolades are not in question by anyone. It’s the way he handles himself off the field is why I ask this question.

He has never been a team moral guy. Let’s just say he is not the guy you want to be the face of your franchise either.

Also, Schilling is not liked by many of his peers. When anything controversial happens in MLB, there is Curt on talk radio stating his opinion. Normally, this isn’t a bad thing, but Curt never has many nice words to say about anyone or anything.

Look I know many players are not exactly nice guys, but with Curt it just seems like he tries really hard to be the guy throwing punches at the easy targets.

Schilling will be a Hall of Fame pitcher, but there is also no question that the Boston Red Sox will not miss him. Facts are facts: he is getting very old and looks more like a bowler then a baseball player.

Theo Epstein, the GM of the Red Sox, said in a press conference that the Red Sox were ready for him not to play and they were prepared.

In layman’s terms that means we knew he wasn’t coming back, and we are not going to skip a beat without him.

Schilling has had a very good career and will face his ugly mug on a plaque in the Hall. He probably would have been considered a great player if he didn’t rub everyone and everything the wrong way.

Tampa Bay Rays: Playing the Underdog to a Tee

Danny Devine — Wed, 18 Jun 2008 18:59:42 -0400

The headline coming into the Chicago Cubs and the Tampa Bay Rays series was the return of Sweet Lou.

Lou Piniella returned to St. Petersburg after coaching the Rays for three seasons. Let's just say that during his short stint in Florida, Lou wasn’t given a fair chance. The team had owners who didn’t want to spend any money on bringing in talent that was worth anything.

Well, with new owners and a new squad of players, the Rays are looking to be the team that Lou wanted to have when he was there. They are young and flashy. They can play small ball, or, if needed, bomb it like the Yankees.

This team is for real—whether the experts and critics think so or not. The bullpen—after being dead last in every relevant statistic last year—has turned a 180, and the Rays are near the top of the league in ERA and Holds. This is the main reason the Rays will stay up and around the playoff race all season long.

Now, on to the Cubs and Rays on the field. The Rays took Game Two tonight, after winning the first game. The mind-boggling thing is they won by one run again.

Troy Percival has given all Rays fans a near-heart attack by twice making it close in the ninth inning. Game One was won on a web gem by rookie star Even Longoria and sub-in first basemen Willy Aybar. Game Two ended on a backwards K, with Percival striking out the Cubs' newest star, Kosuke Fukudome.

I don’t think the Cubs thought when they landed in St. Petersburg that the Rays would give them this much of a headache.

Even without slugger Carlos Pena, the Rays showed that no pitcher can scare them, and no team will come in their house and push them around. They got one of the NL’s best in Cubs ace Carlos Zambrano and beat him up.

Look, I know Pena is not hitting well this season and teams are striking him out like my five-year-old cousin in tee ball—but he’s still a bopper and commands respect.

Also the Rays are playing their best ball ever without the face of the team and the lone All-Star the last two seasons (Carl Crawford) hitting anything. He hasn’t gotten his bat going yet, and they are playing like a playoff team. When he is hitting like the first-round fantasy pick everyone made him this year—look out.

I had the pleasure of going to the first two Rays and Cubs games, and the atmosphere was like nothing ever seen before at the Trop. Every team a big-time team comes to town, like Boston or New York, their fans own the stadium.

Well, the games during this season against the Sox, Yanks, and Cubbies have been different. You’ll get the occasional “Let's go Yankees” chant, but nothing like before. The cheers are so loud for the Rays they finally drown out the other teams’ fans.

31,000 plus fans are unheard of at this point of the season as well. The Cubs series pulled those kind of numbers. With the Astros and BoSox coming to town next, I don’t see that stopping.

It’s great to see these changes, to see other teams than the norm winning all the time. Everyone loves the underdogs, and the Tampa Bay Rays are playing that role to a tee this great MLB season.

P.S. Wait until David Price comes up and gets to show the world how great he is—and is going to be, for a very long time.

Best Head Honchos in Baseball

Danny Devine — Mon, 19 May 2008 16:35:44 -0400

There are openings every season in Major League Baseball for Managers. Every team is searching for the next coach that will lead them for many years to come.

What do the clubs look for?

Are they looking for a fiery manager like Sweet Lou or Ozzie Guillen. Someone that can fire up a team in the blink of an eye? Or do teams need a calming personality like Joe Torre?

I know it depends on the players on your team, but the decision to hire a new manager can affect your organization for many years to come.

Based on all-around talents and how they teach the game, here is my list of the best managers in MLB right now.

1. Bobby Cox-ATL

2. Terry Francona-BOS

3. Tony La Russa-STL

4. Lou Piniella-CHC

5. Joe Torre-LAD

6. Jim Leyland- DET

7. Mike Scioscia-LAA

8. Ron Gardenhire- MIN

9. Dusty Baker- CIN

10. Charlie Manuel-PHI

11. Ozzie Guillen-CHW

12. Dave Trembley- BAL

13. Willie Pandolph- NYM

14. Joe Girardi- NYY

15. Fredi Gonzalez- FLA

16. Eric Wedge- CLE

17. Clint Hurdle- COL

18. Bob Melvin- ARI

19. Joe Madden- TB

20. Ned Yost- MIL

21. Ron Washington- TEX

22. Cecil Cooper- HOU

23. John Gibbons- TOR

24. Trey Hillman-KC

25. Bob Green- OAK

26. Bruce Bochy- SF

27. Bud Black-SD

28. Manny Acta- WAS

29. John Russell- PIT

30. John Mclaren-SEA

Best Motivator-Lou Piniella

He showed his motivation last season when he got ejected from a game and sparked the Cubs on a huge run.

Best Teacher-Bobby Cox

For longer than I can remember, Bobby has had his team in contention with great talent or without. However, Ron Gardenhire is a very close second.

Best In-Game Adjustments-Tony La Russa

He will make that one move that will help his team become victorious.

Best player’s manager-Terry Francona

He keeps the wildest clubhouse in the history of the MLB contained—and wins World Championships.

Everyone on this list has earned their right to be a big league manager. They all know the game well and can teach it.

Some have more strength then others, but that’s life. Not every team can have a manager coach for 15 years.

A manager’s job is to put their players in the best position to allow the team to succeed—this is how I see the best of the best in order.

MLB: 'It's Still Early" is the Worst Saying Ever!

Danny Devine — Wed, 14 May 2008 17:41:04 -0400

It’s a phrase that is said over and over when a season starts in any sport. It doesn’t matter if it’s hockey, basketball, baseball, or football; this applies to every player and every team. The phrase is it's still early.

Can anyone give me a good reason why everyone uses this line so much? I really can’t fathom why that is a good answer to any question on how an athlete or team is performing. Let me give you some examples.

Chipper Jones is sizzling hot, hitting .415, and he doesn’t look to be cooling down. Let’s just say he hits a wall and gets ice poured on him. Chipper will still end up with at least a .350 average at the end of the year; and will having everyone saying how fantastic of a year he has had. Chipper will also be in the MVP race as well.

Another good one is Brandon Webb, who is an absolute beast! He is 8-0 and looks to be on pace for 1,000 wins. If he were to lose his next four starts and become 8-4, people will still put him in the conversation for best in the game. Being 8-4 will still leave him some room to be in the Cy Young race at the season end.

It’s a lot easier to bring up an average after 100 at-bats than after 400 at-bats Also, it’s easier to turn around a 1-3 start then it is to be 1-6. Or like in Barry Zito’s case, 0 and infinity.

This is how a horrible start can hurt you. Justin Verlander is considered one of the game's best pitchers. Coming into today, he is 1-6 with a 6.43 ERA.

Even if he turns it around and pitches like he did last season, it would be impossible to bring that ERA down past 4.00. He would probably end up with more than 10 losses as well. Then all the naysayers would talk about how bad of a year he had cause of his start.

Everyone knows it’s hard to turn things around after a bad start, but I still can’t fathom why everyone still says it's still early. If anyone can help me with this, please do.

P.S.: If you don’t believe this is true, please take a look at the numbers of Ryan Howard, Troy Tulowitzki, Miguel Cabrera, and Travis Hafner at the end of the year. Then listen to the media and bloggers heckling them.

New Look and Attitude, Same Ol' Tampa Bay Rays

Danny Devine — Sun, 20 Apr 2008 17:33:24 -0400

Well, the new look and attitude aren't working.

The Tampa Bay Rays looked great shutting out the Chicago White Sox Saturday, but, like the Devil Rays, they didn’t show up Sunday against John Danks. This is why they have never finished close to .500 in a single season.

Adding to Rays fans' frustrations, the club sends Jeff Niemann back down to Triple A Durham. I ask myself every time a team sends down a young star that can win at the big league level, “Why?”

It doesn’t make any sense at all.

He’s proven that he is good enough by winning his fist start and pitching well in his second. You send Niemann down, but leave Ed "No Win" Jackson up? Jackson lost 15 games last season, if everyone remembers. Niemann's stuff is just as good, and he is a much smarter pitcher.

But for the Rays, that doesn’t mean anything.

If John Danks shuts you out, your team has big problems. If anyone remembers, super Danks was 6-13 last season with an ERA of 5.50. He did pitch well, but with the hitting on this Rays team they should never only have four hits in a game. It’s simply not being ready to play that day.

I think Joe Madden may have something to do with that. Do you?

Injury News

Garza, who got shelled on opening night at the Trop, feels great. He pitched a rehab start and said he felt good and will be back soon. Hopefully, he will look like the pitcher that the Twins were very high on for a while.

Bartlett sat out today with an aching shoulder. His glove will be missed, but since he is only hitting near the Mendoza line at .200 his bat won’t be. Hopefully we may get a Reid Brignac sighting soon if Bartlett is on the DL.

The Rays have the best farm system in baseball. I think it could be a good time to use it!

NBA: Remember, It's "Most Valuable Player," Not "Best Player"

Danny Devine — Thu, 17 Apr 2008 13:24:40 -0400

2008 NBA awards:

MVP

· Chris Paul

· Kobe Bryant

· Amare Stoudemire

· Dirk Nowitzki

· Lebron James

Reason for Paul is that he make’s everyone better. He made Tyson Chandler good; witch in all honesty is very hard to do. Kobe could get it, but I have a good reason why I didn’t pick him. Kobe is GREAT, but he jacks up 30-35 shots a night and doesn’t shot that well all the time. Best player in the NBA takes second one more time. REMEMBER ITS MOST VALUABLE NOT THE BEST PLAYER!

Rookie of the Year

· Kevin Durant SEA

· Al Horford ATL

· Al Thornton LAC

· Luis Scola HOU

Hard to pick between the top 2 were so good. This is how I picked Kevin Durant. Would Seattle have any wins if Durant wasn’t there? I couldn’t tell myself they would so I had to go with him. He’s a solid scorer, good rebounder, and average passer. All those traits will improve over his young career.

Defense player of the Year

· Marcus Camby

He wins this in a land slide. Just imagine how many points the nuggets give up with out his there; SCARY HUH!

Coach of the Year

· Byron Scott

· Rick Adelman

· Eddie Jordan

· Nate Mcmillan

· Doc Rivers

Scott’s team was predicted to finish way under were they did. He is a great coach and is a good man. 20 plus wins in a row should get you some love right? Eddie Jordan was without his two best players for most of the season and they really had a good year. There are huge sleepers in the east to. Rivers best record should get you in top 5 some where.

Sixth Man

· Leandro Barbosa-

He is a true 6^thman. He doesn’t play 85 % of the time like other do. Manu Ginobili is who I am talking people. He plays WAY more then the starter Mike Finley.

Most improved

· Hedo Turkoglu

· Ruby Gay

Easiest one of all; Hedo is a savior to Orlando. He made that team a 50 win team. He also plays all positions on the court besides center.

Thee were many great games any plays from this season in the NBA. I can’t wait to watch the playoffs. GO SUNS!!!

Style of Play in the NBA

Danny Devine — Fri, 11 Apr 2008 14:31:40 -0400

There are so many great things going on in the NBA this season.

First things first, the Western Conference playoff race. Everyone says how great all the teams are, and how competitive they are as well. One thing no one is talking about is the way the teams are playing how great they are doing it.

Let’s take the Suns, Warriors, and Nuggets.

They all play the run-and-gun style of offense. The easy way to explain it is that they try to outscore their opponents. They don’t mind giving up 110 points, because they will score 125. That style has work very well for the Suns, finishing with the top record in the west the last four seasons. Also, the Warriors knocking the number-one seeded Mavericks out of the playoffs last season.

Then you have the triangle offensive of the Lakers.

This style shows off the skills of the big men. It runs through the center and power forwards on the team. With the addition of All-Star Pau Gasol, and the emergence of young Andrew Bynum; the Lakers have the perfect fit to run the system to perfection. Also having the one of the greatest players ever in Kobe Bryant doesn’t hurt either.

Finally, is the half-court game of the Spurs. The Spurs play a smash-mouth hard-nose defense, and play a half-court style of offense. They don’t like to run with the other team, or play stylish basketball. They love to win ugly. Winning by 30 or just winning by one, it doesn’t matter. They make you play a slow-down style and make you run that the whole game. This has brought them a ton of success, by winning championship almost at a pace of every other year.

So when you hear everyone talk about how great and competitive the conference is, think of how they play and not just how great the teams are.