Bleacher Report - Articles by Jaime Irvine

UCLA is Upset by Cal St. Fullerton

Jaime Irvine — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 17:11:49 -0500

Having hernia surgery yesterday, the one good thing that has come out of everything is me being confined to my couch and watching ohhhhh about 20 of the 24 hours of ESPN’s college basketball tipoff.

One of the more memorable games last night was the Cal St. Fullerton vs. UCLA that went into two overtimes with Fullerton pulling off the improbable upset. So, early in the season, I hate to ring the fire alarm so quickly on the UCLA Bruins for this season, however, there were definitely some genuine question marks that they will have to overcome.

For one, the Bruins lost four of five starters from last year and it shows. Anytime you lose two first round draft picks and two other very solid players, it can be very difficult to overcome no matter what program you are in. Not only is the talent loss a detriment to the team, but losing on the court and off the court leadership maybe just as important to this team.

When watching teams, I always like to look at the bench during timeouts and during the game to see how the players are acting and reacting. What I saw during crunch time of this game last night, was joking around, not taking the game seriously, and geniune immaturity–all of which is not a good sign for Coach Howland in 2009-2010.

Secondly, Cal State Fullerton was definitely the underdog team going into this game. When you see upsets, it is usually in regulation and comes down to the wire with a game winning shot of some kind. However, last night, Fullerton played with UCLA through two overtimes!!

This was not a fluke, but a team that stuck with it for 50 minutes of play and pulled out the victory on their own, not to mention, they missed countless easy buckets in regulation that would have put the game away then without the need for overtimes.

Lastly, UCLA had a very good chance to win it at the end of regulation and made, IMO, a huge coaching error. With approximately 13 seconds left, Fullerton was taking the ball out of bounds down by one and they needed a bucket to pull ahead. The Bruins had only one foul in the entire second half and had five fouls to give.

What they should have done was use five fouls and keep running the clock down. I believe they could have gotten down to two or so seconds making the last shot of the game that much harder. Instead, they tried to play defense and ended up fouling a shooter who made one of two free throws and sent the game to overtime.

I want to say and entrust my belief that Ben Howland is one heck of a college basketball coach and I believe these issues he will solve over time this year, it is the first game after all. If anybody can turn this team around, it is him, but I do believe they will not be the Bruins we have known for years. They will surely have their struggles, but rest assure Bruin fans, they will be more than ready for next year.

NBA Real Time on Twitter

Jaime Irvine — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 22:58:25 -0500

Dying for that real-time NBA feed? Want to see what players are tweeting before and after their games or what each team is reporting in real time? Well, now you can follow the pros in real time on our Twitter basketball page over on our left sidebar.

We have created two Twitter lists (one for NBA Players and one for NBA Teams) that are embedded within the basketball.org site.

No need to chase the players individually anymore. You can just watch a live streaming feed of everything every player and team is saying!

Here is a quick example of what the NBA Teams widget looks like:

Top 10 Basketball Halloween Customes

Jaime Irvine — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 13:36:41 -0400

Tonight is Halloween and if you are like me, you still don’t have a costume. No need to worry, I have you covered. Have no fear, Jaime is here.

I have put together for you a list of the top 10 basketball related costumes in no particular order:

10. Dress up as a Laker. What is a Laker? Exactly.

9. Get the jersey for ___________________ (fill in the blank with a plethora of NBA players to choose from) and carry guns around all night.

8. Go as David Stern circa 1985 with the mustache and everything.

7. Get a sideshow bob costume and dress up as Joakhim Noah.

6. Dress up as Wojo (or any Duke player) and slap the floor everywhere you go and cry after every loss. If a friend happens to fall down, you sprint over to them and pick them up. Clapping is a must at all times.

5. Go as Lebron. Carry around plenty of baby powder, pour into your hands, and throw it up in the air everywhere you go.

4. Dress up as one of these retired NBA players. If you can pull off the costume, you deserve to be the wardrobe director for the next Star Wars movie.

3. Get your friends together and go as the Fab Five. Just sucks two of you have to be Ray Jackson and Jimmy King. What kind of fight would ensue to be Jalen Rose?

2. I plan on being at a bar and drinking on Halloween. Therefore, my Halloween costume for Michael Beasley is now complete.

1. Wear a Curious Case of Benjamin button costume and say you are Greg Oden.

A Comprehensive List of all the NBA Teams, Players and GMs with Twitter Accounts

Jaime Irvine — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 06:02:17 -0400

Twitter just came out with a great new feature that gives us the ability to create lists.

Well, what better list than to compile all of the NBA Teams and all of the NBA Player ?

For these lists, here is what I have created:

NBA Teams Twitter List : All NBA teams that have Twitter accounts, as well as some GM’s, Coaches, and even team dance squads.

NBA Players Twitter List : All NBA players that I can find with a Twitter account, including some free agents and retired players.

Just go to the list I’ve created and “follow” the list. This way you will always be in touch with the full NBA roster and not have to worry about chasing up each new individual players all of the time.

One Note: Kobe and Melo’s accounts are currently not working, so they are not on the list at present.

Lastly, I have begun researching for an NCAA Hoops list, but it is not as easy as it seems. If you send me any players, I will add them to the list. I would also like to create a WNBA list.

And let me know any NBA players I am missing!

Pistol Pete Ball Handling Drills

Jaime Irvine — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 16:57:23 -0400

I’ve always believed that you should practice things that you will actually do in a game. There are so many drills out there that teams do that make no sense to me.

However, ball handling is one skill that I do think can extend beyond game situations. Improving your feel of the ball and how it connects to your hand, arm, and body, can always help. Well, there is no better ball handler in history than Pistol Pete, in my opinion.

Don’t waste all of your time with some of the random drills, but it cannot hurt to try them out every once in a while.

NBA Eastern Conference Preview: Part III

Jaime Irvine — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 20:43:37 -0400

The NBA season tips off tonight and I am still working on my preview. It can’t hurt that it is the first week of the season, right? People need to read up on how the season will play out, right? Right?

During the last couple weeks, we covered the bottom feeders of the Eastern Conference:

Part I

Part II

8. Toronto Raptors

Key Additions

Hedo Turkoglu, G/F (trade, Orlando), Reggie Evans, F (trade, Philadelphia), Antoine Wright, F (trade, Dallas), Marco Belinelli, G (trade, Golden State), Rasho Nesterovic, C (Indiana), Jarrett Jack, G (Indiana), Amir Johnson, F (trade, Milwaukee), Sonny Weems, G/F (trade, Milwaukee), Demarr DeRozan (R).

Key Losses

Jason Kapono, G/F (trade, Philadelphia), Kris Humphris, F (trade, Dallas), Nathan Jawai, C (trade, Dallas), Shawn Marion, F (trade, Dallas), Anthony Parker, G/F (Cleveland), Carlos Delfino, G (trade, Milwaukee), Roko Ukic, G (trade, Milwaukee).

The Raptors received the most hype of the offseason with some blockbuster moves. Their star player, Chris Bosh, enters free agency this upcoming offseason, and I believe GM Bryan Colangelo felt the pressure to make this a do or die season.

First of all, I like the pickup of Hedo Turkoglu, though not at the dollar figure they gave him.

I believe he is a very solid player who can shoot the ball well and is a playmaker. He will make Bosh a better player, along with the others around them.

What he is not, though, is a shutdown defender and he does not possess a tenacity to him. Some people may ask what does being tenacious have to do with Turkoglu and picking him up in the summer?

Well, the Raptors' No. 1 problem for years has been their softness. Even their superstar power forward’s body looks like Lindsay Lohan’s on a coke binge.

Combine him with Bargnani and Nestrovic and the Raptors are not a force down low and not a great rebounding team.

Now, Reggie Evans did come over in a trade with Kapono and he will help with toughness and rebounding, but I do not believe it is enough to go deep in the playoffs.

I like the signing of Jarret Jack in the offseason as a backup and possible backcourt mate of Jose Calderon.

People have ranted and raved about Calderon these past two years, but I do not necessarily buy it. He is OK as a starter and it will be great for the Raptors to have such a solid backup PG coming off the bench, especially considering Jack’s defense on the ball.

The Raptors will have enough talent to make the playoffs, but I still believe they lack some key components to make a splash.

Their defense is still weak and their rebounding is questionable. If they are able to address these issues, either by trade or some miraculous coaching, then I see them going further into the playoffs.

7. Washington Wizards

Key Additions

Mike Miller, G (trade, Minnesota); Randy Foye, G (trade, Minnesota); Fabricio Oberto, C (Detroit).

Key Losses

Etan Thomas, C (trade, Minnesota); Darius Songaila, F (trade, Minnesota); Oleksiy Pecherov, C (trade, Minnesota).

The No. 1 ingredient for the Wizards this year is to stay healthy. If they are healthy, they will make it to the playoffs.

In his first year with the Wizards, new coach Flip Saunders will have plenty of talent to work with.

Over the offseason, I liked the moves Ernie Grunfield pulled off to make his team better. The Wizards did not need youth and Grunfield parlayed the fifth pick in a weak draft into Randy Foye and Mike Miller.

Granted, I have never been a huge Foye fan, but I do think he can fit in nicely alongside a healthy Gilbert Arenas.

Miller also gives the Wizards another shooter off the bench, which is so highly valuable in the NBA, particularly come playoff time.

To round out the wings, the Wizards still have former All-Star Caron Butler, sharp-shooter Nick Young, and solid defender and all-around player DeShawn Stevenson. Those are five solid players to fit into three positions.

The frontcourt is no slouch, either. Antawn Jamison will start at the four position, and if he can resemble his All-Star days, he will be a great compliment to Butler and Arenas like he was just a few years back.

The Wizards have Brendan Haywood returning from injury and he is one of the more underrated big men in the game. I am not saying he is All-Star caliber, but he does a good job defending other bigs (much needed against the likes of Howard and O’Neal) in the league and rebounding the ball.

Saunders doesn’t need much scoring from him, which is a good thing, and he will play his role.

Picking up Oberto from the Spurs via the Pistons will bolster the bench as well as he comes from a winning organization and does the little things well.

Andray Blatche (6'11") is back as well. He has shown flashes of greatness in the past and the Wizards hope to get more consistency from him.

I believe the Wizards have a chance to finish higher than seventh in the East, but I do think the injury bug will plague them at some point this season—hopefully for them, not too much.

If they land where I think they will and remain healthy going into the playoffs, the team that gets seeded in the No. 2 spot in the East should watch out come playoff time.

6. Miami Heat

Key Additions

Quentin Richardson, G/F (trade, Minnesota).

Key Losses

Jamario Moon, F (Cleveland), Mark Blount, C (trade, Minnesota).

This team is Dwayne Wade. Period. The ship will go on how well he goes, and more importantly, if he stays healthy.

The Heat kept their team in tact this offseason preparing for what could be an explosive 2010 free agency for them.

Last year, the talent surrounding Wade was good enough to get the fifth spot in the East. This year, they slip a spot in large part because of other teams getting better.

The Heat will be marginally improved with PG Chalmers entering his second season along with the second pick in the 2008 Draft, Michael Beasley.

Beasley’s turbulent offseason (checking himself into rehab) raises plenty of question marks. All signs out of Heat camp have been positive (on the court) and that he is back on track to have an improved second year.

The Heat will have C Jermaine O’Neil for a full season, but he needs to stay injury-free, which has been extremely difficult these past few seasons. Either way, he is not the Jermaine O’Neil of old.

The Heat do have others in the frontcourt to fill the void in Magloire, Haslem, and Anthony, but nothing that strikes fear into the opponents’ gameplan.

James Jones will be looking to return healthy after missing most of the year this past season. He will provide help to Wade with his outstanding outside shooting touch and I believe people forgot how good of a player he can be as a role player. Look for some good things out of him this season.

The bottom line is the team will only go so far as Wade can take them. Wade is a top five talent in the league and he is exceptional. If he stays healthy, they are in the playoffs. If not, they get a lottery pick and tons of free-agent cap space to go after the likes of LeBron or Chris Bosh to pair up with Wade.

Which one is Pat Riley hoping for?

5. Atlanta Hawks

Key Additions

Jamal Crawford, G (trade, Golden State), Joe Smith, F/C (Cleveland), Jason Collins, C (Minnesota), Jeff Teague (R).

Key Losses

Speedy Claxton, G (trade, Golden State), Acie Law, G (trade, Golden State), David Andersen, C (trade, Houston), Solomon Jones, F (Indiana), Ronald “Flip” Murray, G (Charlotte).

After two straight trips to the NBA playoffs, the Atlanta Hawks will try to make it three in a row behind All-Star Joe Johnson.

The Atlanta Hawks’ offseason was fairly quiet and the roster was basically kept in tact, leaving them to get one year older.

For some players, the extra year is added maturity to grow their game (Al Horford), while for others, it is the beginning of the end (Mike Bibby).

To combat Bibby’s aging and diminishing game, the Hawks went out and traded for Jamal Crawford of the Golden State Warriors.

The Hawks did not give up much in return for Crawford, and he will provide some much needed scoring off the bench. If there is one thing Crawford can do, it is his ability to put the ball in the basket. It will be interesting to see how he fits in with the other Hawks players, particularly Joe Johnson.

The rest of the crew is basically the same. Marvin Williams and Josh Smith will fill in the forward spots with Al Horford anchoring the middle.

Good offensive rebounder Zaza Pachulia will come off the bench to back up Horford, and veteran Joe Smith was signed to add beef to the bench, though don’t expect much out of him.

With the number of moves by other teams in the conference, the Hawks' improvement will rely heavily on how well some of their youngsters have grown.

Two of their shining frontcourt stars and cornerstones to the future of the franchise are Horford and Josh Smith, who are both only 23 years old and have room for improvement.

If their games have indeed gotten better, look for the Hawks to break through even further than they have.

Over the past four seasons, the Hawks have averaged an improvement of 8.5 games per year and if they continue on this pace, that will put them at 55 wins and give them home court advantage in the first round. However, I wouldn’t count on it.

NBA Eastern Conference Preview: Part II

Jaime Irvine — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 16:24:42 -0400

Last week, we started with our NBA preview for the 2009-10 season by looking at the bottom feeders (15-12) of the Eastern conference.

Today, I will take you through the teams that will finish between 11-9 and are on the cusp of the playoffs. As I mentioned in the first part of the preview, injuries will be a huge factor in determining the outcome of the Eastern conference. If they get some luck with the injury bug infecting other teams in the conference, these teams could be dancing into the playoffs

11. New York Knicks

Key additions: Darko Milicic, F/C (trade, Memphis), Jordan Hill (R), Toney Douglas (R)

Key losses: Quentin Richardson, F/G (trade, Memphis)

We are entering year two of the Donnie Walsh/Mike D’Antoni era and not much has changed in their philosophy—develop younger players and create massive amounts of cap room for the 2010 free agency.

If you had to grade Walsh on sticking to his game plan, then you would give him an A. The Knicks have not veered off course and have kept the rebuilding process intact without much distraction.

Last season under D’Antoni, the Knicks were much improved from the lackluster performance they put up with then coach Isiah Thomas. D’Antoni transformed the Knicks into his style of play and actually brought some excitement to Madison Square Garden that has not been seen in some time. With the lack of talent and constant turnover of the roster, D’Antoni did a marvelous (not Marv Albert) job of getting as many wins as the Knicks did last year (32).

But, lets be honest. Thirty-two wins is not enough for the fans of New York and New Yorkers will want to see improvement, even though it is the year before the 2010 free agency. What is more important, is the superstar free agents of the 2010 class will also want to see improvement to decide if they want to call Manhattan their home in the future.

The Knicks will be better in large part to a deeper team that will cause matchup problems for other teams in the conference.

They have kept their main rotation guys (David Lee, Al Harrington, Chris Duhon, Nate Robinson, Wilson Chandler) in place and have boasted their bench with rookie Jordan Hill, Darko Millic, and Danilo Gallinari (missed last season due to injury and when he played the Knicks were 14-14). They also have Larry Hughes full time and defensive stopper Jared Jeffries. Looking at their roster, they can have nine or 10 guys who can get minutes.

The downside is usually when you see a roster that is even to nine to 10 deep that means the team is not that talented and they don't have any stars. Ding ding ding.

D’Antoni will be able to get this team to score, but his roster is filled with poor rebounders and a poor defenders. He can work his magic only so far and every coach will tell you that talent wins out in the long run.

The Knicks are just not that talented this year and have too many weaknesses to crack the playoffs. Improvement is coming but will it be far enough to attract the big dogs come free agent season?

10. Chicago Bulls

Key additions: Jannero Pargo, G (Russia), James Johnson (R), Taj Gibson (R)

Key losses: Ben Gordon, G (Detroit), Tim Thomas, F (Dallas), Anthony Roberson, G (free agent), Linton Johnson, F (waived), DeMarcus Nelson, G (waived)

After making the playoffs last year, you would think I would put the Bulls back in the playoff picture. Fact of the matter is, the Bulls got worse while other teams got better.

In the offseason, the Bulls’ leading scorer the past four seasons Ben Gordon left the team for cross-division rival Detroit.

Along with Gordon’s departure, the young Bulls don’t seem to be progressing besides Derrick Rose. I think Rose will be a stud point guard for years to come in this league, but the others (Kirk Hinrich, Tyrus Thomas, Luol Deng and Joakim Noah) have all not lived up to their promise billing.

The Bulls will still have front-court issues without a major contributor on the inside. Yes, Brad Miller has come over from Sacramento and will be with the Bulls for the full season, but he seems to be aging by the day, not to mention he is not an inside threat.

Therefore, you look to the perimeter to pick up the slack but they don’t have a pure scorer on the wing that can fill it up. Rose is probably the next thing to a big-time scorer, but he is your point guard and you would rather have him facilitate to his teammates than putting the scoring load on his shoulders.

In order for the Bulls to pick up the slack and get back into the playoffs, they need to see a stark improvement by Deng that we saw promise of a few years back. I am not counting on it and that's why I see the Bulls looking on the outside in for the playoffs this year.

9. Charlotte Bobcats

Key additions: Tyson Chandler, C (trade, New Orleans), Ronald Murray, G (Atlanta), Stephen Graham, F (Indiana), Gerald Henderson (R)

Key losses: Emeka Okafor, C (trade, New Orleans), Sean May, F (Sacramento)

I was very close to including the Charlotte Bobcats in the playoffs. Why? Their coach, Hall-of-Famer Larry Brown.

Making such a hard prediction based on a coach who has had some definite disappointments (Knicks, Olympics) later in his career may seem rather outlandish. However, I believe in coach Brown and his proven track record.

Brown has been with more teams than I can count on my fingers. Therefore, he gives us some good quality data on what is “formula” is for rebuilding a struggling franchise.

In his first year, he is a hard-a** and tears the team apart. He begins to put his hand-print on the team and starts trying to make personnel moves more to his liking. As a result, the first year’s record with a team is not eye-popping and usually a disappointment.

What happens in the second year?

His teams improve their record dramatically averaging slightly more than 14 wins (his second year with Philly was the lock-out shortened season and I pro-rated the wins for that year). Where would a 14-win improvement put the Bobcats at? 49 wins and right in the middle of the playoffs.

The Bobcats’ offseason and second half of last year was filled with moves that had Larry Brown’s fingers all over it. They traded away Emeka Okafor for Tyson Chandler who gives them a legit seven-footer who can rebound and block shots.

Not to take anything away from Okafor, but Chandler is a better fit for this team. At the end of last season, the team brought in Boris Diaw and Raja Bell, both prototypical Brown players.

Bell is a shooter and, more importantly, the defensive stopper on the wing that the team has been in dire need of. On the other hand, Diaw is a playmaker from the wing who really knows how to play the game. When he is in shape, he does so many things well, but he does have a fluctuating weight problem.

There is probably a handful of guys Brown has fallen in love with that can really play the game, yet have battled weight and Diaw is no different. If he gets into shape and plays the way he is capable, the team can contend.

Besides Diaw, Bell, and Chandler, the Bobcats will have Gerald Wallace, Raymond Felton, Vladamir Radmonovic, DeSagana Diop, D.J. Augustin, and Gerald Henderson as rotation guys. Their bench is not a horrible, unlike what you have seen from them in the past. Augustin is a nice fit heading into his second year and has surprised me on how good he played as a rookie.

I think the Bobcats are right there to make their first playoff run, but will need some help in the injury department. Something they did not get with Bell supposedly going to be out a length of time with a wrist injury. If they can stay healthy, they will make a run at the playoffs.

NBA Refs: Sending a Message

Jaime Irvine — Thu, 15 Oct 2009 13:43:48 -0400

The NBA league office has always been fond of sending a message to coaches, players, and teams when they want to get a point across. The fines handed down yesterday to Larry Brown ($60,000 + $60,000 for the Bobcats) and Lionel Hollins ($25,000) sent one loud and clear.

“We’re defensive about having scabs officiate games while the real officials are locked out and we are going to fine the hell out of anyone who criticizes them. After all, we’re still negotiating the contract with the union and if the replacement refs start getting criticized too heavily in the media, it will begin to erode our leverage.”

I think it’s going to be interesting in the first couple of weeks to see how players react to blown calls when the games actually matter. I expect you’ll see the following take place more than a couple of times:

1. Official blows a call.

2. Player reacts to blown call with mild to moderate disapproval.

3. Official, knowing he has blown the call, compounds his mistake by giving the player a technical foul (as bad officials tend to do).

4. Player blows up and subsequently gets tossed from the game.

5. League office excessively fines player and probably team, while pretending (publicly at least) that the officials are infallible.

It seems like you’re also going to see a lot of the replacement officials wanting to send their own individual messages to players that they aren’t intimidated and won’t be pushed around.

It remains to be seen if you’ll get any officials waving their arms wildly trying to draw as much attention to themselves as possible (Dick Bavetta-style), while making a call in an important situation. Given that this lockout is probably the only opportunity most of these officials will get to ham it up on the biggest stage of their careers, it’s a good bet.

NBA Eastern Conference Preview: Part One

Jaime Irvine — Wed, 14 Oct 2009 16:16:48 -0400

The NBA season tip off is in less than 14 days. I thought I would do my due diligence and provide you with a preview of the upcoming season and give you my predictions on how it will all play out. I am sure I won’t be wrong at all (need sarcasm font here).

Over the course of a number of blog posts, I will predict and give a snapshot of every team in the league and where I anticipate them finishing in their conference. Part One starts here with a look at the Eastern Conference and the teams that will finish between 15 through 12.

For years, the Eastern conference has been the Gerald Wilkins to the Western Conference’s Dominique. It has been joked as the minor leagues of the NBA, but no longer is that necessarily the case.

Yes, the Western Conference is more powerful 1-8, but looking at the entire conference, that is not true. Outside of the top four, the Eastern conference is fairly even and believe the remaining playoff spots will be determined by injuries, as is usually the case in the East.

Over the past few years, injuries to star players, whether it is Dwayne Wade, Gilbert Arenas, or KG, have wreaked havoc in the conference and changed the landscape of the playoff picture. It will be no different this year and the teams that are hit by the injury bug will find themselves in a much different position than they envisioned in training camp earlier this month.

Without further ado, here is what we are looking at for the bottom teams of the Eastern conference:

15. New Jersey Nets

Key Additions: Rafer Alston, G (trade, Orlando), Tony Battie, C/F (trade, Orlando), Courtney Lee, G/F (trade, Orlando), Terrence Wiliams (R)

Key Losses: Vince Carter, G/F (trade, Orlando), Ryan Anderson, F (trade, Orlando)

The Nets were a surprise team last year winning 34 games and Devin Harris had a breakout year, making the Eastern Conference All-Star team.

This year, they have continued the rebuilding project but are still years away from cracking into the the playoff picture. In the offseason, Vince Carter was traded away to the Orlando Magic, which saw the Nets bring back some younger talent in Courtney Lee and a veteran point guard in Rafer Alston, though it remains to be seen how long Alston will be in "Dirty Jerz."

Although I am not a huge fan of Carter and his waning defensive attributes, the trade was lopsided in favor of the Magic in terms of talent. What it did bring the Nets, however, was chance to rid itself of a bad contract and get younger to add to the rebuilding project—and a rebuilding project it sure is.

To go along with Harris, the Nets have big man Brook Lopez in the middle who surprised many basketball writers and fans, not named Jaime as I said to draft him fifth in last year’s NBA draft. He is a legit man in the middle, standing 7' and has a nice touch around the basket with a knack for rebuilding. His defense is improving and he will only get better with more experience—he is only 21.

Besides Lopez and Harris, the Nets will sport Lee at the two who is a good defender and above-average shooter. He is not a go-to type of a guy, but Lee is a very nice complement to have on any team.

One of the big question marks is still Yi Jianlian. He came over in the Richard Jefferson trade last year and has still not lived up to his hype. He will be given the opportunity to hold down the power forward position, and it will be interesting to see how he develops.

I believe he is a nice complement to have on a good team but not a player to carry a team, especially a bad one. He needs to be surrounded by more scorers where he can be a good third or fourth option and hit the open jump shot consistently, which is not the case on this Nets roster. Like Lopez, he is still young (22) and has plenty of years ahead of him to get better.

The Nets are a team full of side dishes but no main entree. Next summer’s approximately $30M in cap space should open them up to get that prime steak. Only time will tell with this team, but not this year.

14. Milwaukee Bucks

Key Additions:Hakim Warrick, F (Memphis), Ersan Ilyasova, F (Turkey), Kurt Thomas, F (trade, San Antonio), Walter Sharpe, F (trade, Denver), Carlos Delfino, G (trade, Toronto), Roko Ukic, G (trade, Toronto), Brandon Jennings (R)

Key Losses: Charlie Villanueva, F (Detroit), Fabricio Oberto, C (Washington), Richard Jefferson, F (trade, San Antonio), Malik Allen, F (trade, Denver), Amir Johnson, F (trade, Toronto), Sonny Weems, G/F (trade, Toronto), Ramon Sessions, G (Minnesota)

Just like the Nets above, the Bucks are in a rebuilding project and traded away a top player in their rotation in Richard Jefferson to the San Antonio Spurs for future cap relief. The pieces are starting to come together in the puzzle, but the Bucks are still a few years away from making any sort of run at the playoffs.

Having plenty of athleticism on the wings in Joe Alexander, Warrick, and Mbah Moute, along with first round pick PG Brandon Jennings allows the Bucks to be a much more up-tempo team that is more aligned with second-year coach Scott Skiles’ style. Look for the Bucks to fast-break more and open the floor up.

The foundation of the team still relies heavily on fringe all-stars Andrew Bogut and Michael Redd, but health with these two is always an issue with both missing a combined 69 games last season. If healthy, they are two of the better players at their position, and if they can stay on the court, the Bucks have a chance to fight for the eighth and final spot of the playoffs.

After a disappointing rookie campaign, plenty of the Bucks present and future depends on the progress of second-year forward Joe Alexander. GM John Hammond traded away SF Richard Jefferson which should open up playing time for Alexander and look for him to get increased minutes. The question remains, will he be able to live up to the expectations?

Beyond Bogut, Redd, Alexander, and Jennings, the Bucks do not have much firepower to propel them into the playoffs. The rest of the team is filled with role players, and do not think they do not have what it takes.

13. Indiana Pacers

Key Additions:Dahntay Jones, G (Denver), Earl Watson, G (Oklahoma City), Solomon Jones, F (Atlanta), Luther Head, G (Miami), Tyler Hansborough

Key Losses: Jarrett Jack, G (Toronto), Rasho Nesterovic, C (Toronto), Jamaal Tinsley, G (waived)

Larry Bird is doing all of the right things to put his team in position to win in the future, but the Pacers are not good enough yet this year.

They possess emerging star Danny Granger who broke out last year to make the all-star team and average over 25 ppg. Other than that, their other main contributors are injury-proned players who are soft in Mike Dunleavy and Troy Murphy. In the NBA, you can’t win with soft players and the Pacers have too many of them, which I believe is why they went with All-American Tyler Hansborough ("Psycho T") in the draft.

Some people believe this was a stretch in the draft, but I believe it was a good pick-up. I think grabbing somebody like Hansborough you get exactly what you expect: hard-nosed and tough player who can rebound and be a nuisance.

This type of draft pick changes the culture of the ball club and forces players to get tougher in practice. The draft wasn’t particularly strong this year and Hansborough will be a solid rotation guy for years to come.

Along with Hansborough and Granger, the Pacers have a bright future. They have Brandon Rush on the wings who is a deadly shooter from the outside and can knock down shots—something always coveted in the NBA.

In the middle, Hibbert had a nice rookie season and will move into the starting center position with the void left by Nestrovic. He looks lighter this season and looks to be quicker and more mobile. Big men always take longer to develop in the NBA, and I believe the best of Hibbert is down the road. If he continues at this development, he will be a nice five in the league for years to come.

Like many of the other teams missing the playoffs, the Pacers are just a couple of pieces away. Unfortunately, they have some bad contracts on the books and can’t make moves in free agency in the near future. For them, it will all be about development of their younger players and making good picks in the upcoming drafts.

12. Detroit Pistons

Key Additions: Gordon, G (Chicago), Villanueva, F (Milwaukee), Chris Wilcox, F (New York), Ben Wallace, F (Phoenix), Dajuan Summers (R)

Key Losses: Rasheed Wallace, F/C (Boston), Antonio McDyess, F (San Antonio), Amir Johnson, F (trade, Milwaukee), Arron Afflalo, G (trade, Denver), Walter Sharpe, F (trade, Denver), Allen Iverson, G (Memphis)

Many of you may be surprised to see me rate the Pistons so low in the Eastern Conference. Bottom line, I have not been impressed with the moves Joe Dumars has made over the last few years.

Last year, the Pistons squeaked into the eighth and final playoff spot. This offseason they have lost their starting frontcourt and replaced it with mediocre players in Charlie Villanueva and Chris Wilcox, not exactly a force to be reckoned with in the middle. Dumars was able to pick up sharp-shooter Ben Gordon from division rival Bulls, albeit overpaying for him.

Yes, Gordon lit it up in the playoffs but he is streaky and a liability on defense. Not to mention, you have to try and squeeze him in for playing time among the Pistons' best players in Hamilton and Prince. Rookie coach John Kuester will have his work cut out for him. Players have been responding well to him so far, but we are still in the preseason and that will only go on for so long when a team starts losing.

Kuester will definitely have his bumps in the road as a rookie coach, particularly dealing with an under-manned front court.

Basketball Hall of Fame Class of 2009

Jaime Irvine — Wed, 09 Sep 2009 12:35:07 -0400

This Friday, hardwood greatness will be enshrined forever as the basketball Hall of Fame introduces the much heralded inductees of 2009. This year’s class is notable because it features a record breaking point guard, a highly decorated first overall pick who delayed his entrance into the NBA to meet his service requirements, and a coach who is the corner stone of a franchise.

Oh yeah…and a guy who got cut from his high school team on his way to becoming arguably the most extraordinary and influential person to ever step on a basketball court.

Already, the in-coming group of John Stockton, David Robinson, Jerry Sloan and (of course) Michael Jordan are being considered the best class ever.

So much consideration is being given to this class that ceremony has been moved from the 1,200-capacity Center Court room to Springfield Symphony Hall, with seating for 2,611. This is the first time such preparations have been made for the event.

It’s understandable why the Hall president John Doleva feels the move is necessary. In terms of the NBA's development, the “Jordan Era” during the 90s was a time when the league experienced a period of rapid exponential growth.

In fact, the ratings for the NBA finals during Jordan’s title runs in the years before retiring from the Bulls in 1993 and 1998 turned in the highest audience for an NBA title series at 27.21 million and 29.04 million viewers respectively.

In comparison, the last finals matchup between Magic Johnson and Larry Bird, widely considered the rivalry that began to attract casual fans to the NBA, drew 24.12 million viewers.

(Note: the 1979 NCAA finals featuring Johnson and Bird is the still to this day the highest rated televised basketball game of all time.)

Beyond ratings, Jordan’s affect was felt in other ways. He was a trailblazer in marketing and promoting products. He can be thought of as the first of the modern product endorsers.

Thanks to him, brands such as Nike had us wondering if “it was the shoes” or Jordan creating magical moments on the court. Gatorade had us all chanting that we wanted to be “like Mike.”

He was the first notable professional athlete to crossover into the fragrance industry and let’s face it he made talking about men’s underwear cool.

Today his Jordan Brand has signed some of the best athletes across sports, including Derek Jeter, Ray Allen and Marvin Harrison, and it sponsors one of the top high school basketball all-star games in the country.

Still, to be the best class ever, it takes more than just one person. John Stockton overtook Magic Johnson to be the all-time leader in assists and holds the title by close to 5,000 dimes over the next candidate Mark Jackson.

He also holds the record for all-time steals by a margin of about 700 thefts over the immortal one, Jordan himself.

Stockton played his majority of his career under coach Jerry Sloan. As a player, Sloan was a member of the only other Bulls team that wasn’t lead by Jordan to win an NBA title.

Sloan is the longest tenured head coach in American major league sports and the only coach to win 1,000 games with one franchise. Sloan began his NBA journey as the fourth overall pick of the Baltimore Bullets in 1965.

David Robinson was the first overall pick of the San Antonio Spurs in 1987. After completing two years of service with the United States Navy, Robinson entered the NBA and took home rookie of the year honors.

Robinson had a noteworthy career as he was continually amongst the players chosen for all-league honors. He retired in 1999 after winning his second NBA title.

Anyone who witnessed the majesty that was Jordan on the court knows his legacy so no need go into his accolades here.

The basketball hall fame class of 2009 is a fine one to be sure. Greatest of all time? Well I’ll leave that to the pundits. But for the moment the argument is valid and an intriguing one.

Only time will tell whether this class or a newer one (perhaps featuring a certain King from Cleveland) will be met with as much anticipation.

Other notable classes:

1969

1987

1991

2001

2008

The Summer of Quentin Richardson

Jaime Irvine — Fri, 14 Aug 2009 15:24:51 -0400

Quentin Richardson was traded last night from the Minnesota Timberwolves to the Miami Heat in exchange for Mark Blount. Why is this important? Why would this get an article on Basketball.org after so much complacency has hit this blog?

This summer Quentin Richardson has been shipped around from team to team more than Elisha Cuthbert and NHL hockey teams. Really, an Elisha Cuthbert reference on a basketball blog? Really, that is where we are going?

Since June 25th, Richardson has been traded to four teams. Yes, four teams in the matter of 50 days!

Here is how his trades break down:

June 25th—Richardson is traded from the New York Knicks in exchange for Darko Millic of the Memphis Grizzlies.

July 8th—Richardson is traded from the Memphis Grizzlies in exchange for power forward Zack Randolph of the Los Angeles Clippers.

July 21st—Richardson is traded from the Los Angeles Clippers to the Minnesota Timberwolves in exchange for three players—forward Craig Smith, “Dancing Machine” Mark Madsen and much-traveled point guard Sebastian Telfair.

August 13th—Richardson is traded from the Minnesota Timberwolves in exchange for center Mark Blount of the Miami Heat.

Richardson’s summer is microcosm of what the NBA is all about these days. His worth is not the skills he possesses on the court, rather the contract paper that he holds.

You see, Richardson is in the final year of his contract that will pay him about $9 million this season, and in NBA executive terms, he is a trade commodity. To an NBA GM, Richardson is the ticket to get to financial flexibility and open up more cap space for the coming seasons. Or if they are the gambling type, procure a talented player another team is trying to dump to get to that financial flexibility mentioned above.

The Grizzlies brought him in to use as trade bait, and eventually secured Zach Randolph. The Clips used him to shed Randolph’s contract and land two needed and solid bench players in Craig Smith and Sebastian Telfair.

The Timberwolves were able to pawn Richardson off to get some much-needed depth on the front line, while not hurting their salary cap situation in the future. And the Miami Heat? Well, it looks as if they will keep Richardson and use his perimeter shooting to compliment their star Dwayne Wade.

So what will happen with Richardson and the Heat? IMO, Richardson is at best a role player. His defensive is atrocious and he loves the 3-point shot way too much.

Maybe the Heat will get lucky and Richardson will play his tail off knowing he has to sign a new contract next summer. My guess is he will be the same player he always has been, which will help the Heat to a certain extent as they are desperate for perimeter shooting.

Image Source: Everyjoe.com

Portland Blazers Decide to Skip Exhibition Game in Seattle

Jaime Irvine — Fri, 31 Jul 2009 00:54:48 -0400

You can go back to sucking your thumb in the fetal position, Sonics fans. It was all just a bad dream.

The Blazers announced that the October 14 exhibition game against the Suns at Key Arena—the NBA’s first scheduled return to Seattle—has been scrapped and moved to Portland.

The game, which Vulcan/Blazers CEO Tod Leiweke said “makes good business sense” would have served two major purposes, neither of which would have really assuaged the Sonics faithful.

First, it would have marked Portland’s first salvo in their campaign into the deceased Sonics’ territory, a land still torn and tattered from David Stern, Greg Nickels, and Clay Bennett’s private little game of Risk.

Second, Stern could have sat back as the scab was ripped clean off, leaving a wound nearly as fresh as the day Bennett stormed out of town with the city’s only pro sports franchise to host a victory parade.

From the early rumors of fan boycotts, to the Save Our Sonics picket line, to the scathing media jabs, to the three-quarters empty Key Arena, the game would have made an easier target than Spencer Pratt.

And it would have all come together to form a perfect little mass of discontent; a mass that would fester and growl and allow Stern to further wash his hands of the city whose lawmakers left a taste in his mouth that would never be confused for a cherry popsicle.

Now, I understand what the Blazers are/were trying to do. They need look no further than their MLB neighbors to the north, the Mariners, to visualize the benefits of having multiple markets from which to draw fans.

Despite Seattle’s relatively pedestrian size compared to other MLB cities, the Mariners are able to generate enough revenue (in a stable economy) to join the likes of the Yankees, Dodgers, and Red Sox with a nine figure player payroll.

This is, by-in-large, because of their vast geographic reach (they have radio affiliates in Washington, Idaho, B.C., Alaska, Montana, and Oregon).

Unfortunately for the Blazers, their road to similar geographic greatness is uphill. Hard to believe that a young team on the upswing with a coach (Nate McMillan) and a superstar (Brandon Roy) with illustrious Seattle history will have trouble growing their fanbase north of Chehalis.

Why? Because, in the Seattle-Tacoma market, the Blazers are in a rare pro sports purgatory where they don’t appeal to the either casual fan OR the passionate fan (also see: Detroit Lions, The).

The NBA product is not as attractive to casual fans as the MLB product, especially the MLB product in Seattle. Major League Baseball has Little League, kids on summer vacation, outdoor ballparks, and the guy that goes by one name is Ichiro and not Nene.

The casual fan just wasn’t there in the Sonics final two years. Nobody wanted to fight for a team that had been stripped for parts. Other than a strong showing from rally groups like Save Our Sonics and the local media (some of whose jobs were directly tied to the Sonics), a good percentage of town reacted with an indifferent whimper when the team left.

They just weren’t going to be held at gunpoint by another pro sports team’s financial ultimatums. So why would they suddenly feel the urge to venture into an NBA arena to see the Blazers?

If I may oversimplify, that leaves the passionate sports/NBA fan. This one is much more simple. Anyone who follows sports or the Sonics wouldn’t be caught dead trading their green and gold for black and red.

In Seattle, the line to hand hard-earned money to the NBA isn’t much longer than the one for Poseidon.

So, the Blazers dipped their toe in the water and learned that even in 103 degree heat the waters are still too cold to even think about wading in.

Notes from NBA Vegas Summer League

Jaime Irvine — Wed, 15 Jul 2009 14:16:11 -0400

This past weekend, I was fortunate enough to take in some of the summer league games, while attending a terrific NBA conference (sponsored by SMWW) in Las Vegas.

Let me tell you, for a serious NBA fan, it’s quite an event. NBA coaches, GMs and players all co-mingling with spectators right off the Vegas strip. I’m already planning my trip for next year.

In any case, here are a few notes I took on some players that caught my eye. Some you’ve heard of, and few you may not.

Team	Player	Position	Height	Weight	Team/How acquired
Golden State Warriors	Stephen Curry	G	6′ 3″	185	2009 7^th overall pick

- Exclusively an inside dribble move

- Can finish with either hand in the air on either side of the basket

- Good but not great distributor. Makes the simple pass but doesn’t quite have the anticipation or court vision to make the spectacular pass

- Good off-the-ball defender. Is able to play the passing lanes to deflect and steal passes.

- Doesn’t have the foot speed to consistently stay in front of PGs

- Sometimes commits silly fouls

- Not strong enough to take a high volume of shots. Gets tired at the end of games, which effects his shooting

Team	Player	Position	Height	Weight	Team/How acquired
Golden State Warriors	Anthony Randolph	F	6′ 10″	210	2008 14^th overall pick

- Can hit from range. Automatic from 18 feet and in.

- Violently attacks the basket but is sometimes out of control

- Ability to start the fast break and go coast to coast

- Starting to grow into his body and is using it more effectively

- Good offensive rebounder

Team	Player	Position	Height	Weight	Team/How acquired
Sacramento Kings	Tyreke Evans	G	6′ 6″	220	2009 4^th overall pick

- Questionable shot selection

- Works hard on the defensive end of the court. Can smoother ball handlers from end to end and plays through screens set on him

- Good rebounding guard

- Poor shot mechanics

Team	Player	Position	Height	Weight	Team/How acquired
San Antonio Spurs	George Hill	G	6′ 2″	190	2008 26^th overall pick

- Freakishly gifted athlete

- Plays above the rim

- Deceptively good/explosive ball handler

Team	Player	Position	Height	Weight	Team/How acquired
New Orleans Hornets	Darren Collison	PG	6′ 0″	160	2009 21^st overall pick

- Solid PG

- Finds teammates for easy catch and finish opportunities

- Able to get into the lane and break down defenses

- Has a nice floating jump shot

- Nice pick and roll game

- Able to split double teams

- Is extremely quick particularly with the ball

- Instinctive defensive player/good footwork on defense

Team	Player	Position	Height	Weight	Team/How acquired
New Orleans Hornets	Marcus Thornton	G	6′ 4″	194	Traded to New Orleans Hornets From Miami Heat - 2009 43^rd overall pick

- Great transition player

- Gets into passing lanes and creates deflections and steals

- Extremely active (block, offensive rebound/put back)

- Good crossover

- Able to get into the lane and break down defenses

- Finds teammates for easy catch and finish opportunities in the lane

- Can shoot from range

- Aggressive will attack opposing players both offensively and defensively

Team	Player	Position	Height	Weight	Team/How acquired
Golden State Warriors	Cartier Martin	G/F	6′ 7″	220	2007 Undrafted

- Hard worker

- Fills in gaps

- Plays good defense

- Good defense

Team	Player	Position	Height	Weight	Team/How acquired
Dallas Mavericks	Aaron Miles	G	6′ 1″	175	2005 Undrafted

- Works hard on the defensive end of the court.

- Vocal leader

Team	Player	Position	Height	Weight	Team/How acquired
San Antonio Spurs	Romel Beck	G/F	6′ 7″	185	2005 Undrafted

- Can shot from range

- Active on the offensive boards

- Good athlete able to get into the lane

- Can draw fouls in the lane

Team	Player	Position	Height	Weight	Team/How acquired
New Orleans Hornets	Brian Cusworth	C	7′ 0″	255	2007 Undrafted

- Big man who can score around the basket with either hand

Team	Player	Position	Height	Weight	Team/How acquired
San Antonio Spurs	Dejuan Blair	F	6′ 7″	265	2009 37^th overall pick

- Great leverage/position player (able to grab rebounds below the rim because of it)

- Hard worker

- Can defend and challenge the shot of taller players

- Able to carve out space on the court

- Extremely strong hands

Team	Player	Position	Height	Weight	Team/How acquired
Houston Rockets	Mike Green	G	6′ 1″	184	2009 Undrafted

- Pesky defender but lacks elite foot speed

- Great court vision

- Good anticipation

Team	Player	Position	Height	Weight	Team/How acquired
Houston Rockets	Jermaine Taylor	G	6′ 4″	210	Traded to Houston From Washington Wizards - 2009 32^nd overall pick

- Raw athlete

- Can elevate and finish in traffic

- Can block shots

- Not afraid to challenge other players and mix it up

Team	Player	Position	Height	Weight	Team/How acquired
Minnesota Timberwolves	Johnny Flynn	PG	6′ 0″	185	2009 6^th overall pick

- Good court vision

- Not shy and will pull up and pop from anywhere given an open look

- Has more of shooters mentality

- Can create his own shot

- Questionable shot selection

- Explosive

- Tendency to throw one-handed passes

- Able to finish in the lane amongst bigger players

Team	Player	Position	Height	Weight	Team/How acquired
Minnesota Timberwolves	Oleksiy Pecherov	F	7′ 0″	234	Traded to Minnesota Timberwolves From Washington Wizards - 2006 18^th overall pick

- 7-footer with 3-point range

- Finesse around the basket

- Uses a lot of dribbles to get into post position

Team	Player	Position	Height	Weight	Team/How acquired
Houston Rockets	Joey Dorsey	F/C	6′ 8″	268	Traded to Houston Rockets From Portland Trailblazers - 2008 33^rd overall pick

- Doesn’t give up on plays

- Has hands of stone

Team	Player	Position	Height	Weight	Team/How acquired
Minnesota Timberwolves	Wayne Ellington	G	6′ 4″	215	2009 28^th overall pick

- Not able to finish around the basket

Team	Player	Position	Height	Weight	Team/How acquired
Houston Rockets	James White	G/F	6′ 7″	200	2008 Free Agent/2006 Draft Class

- Has three-point range

- Amazingly gifted athlete can literally jump out of the gym

Team	Player	Position	Height	Weight	Team/How acquired
Houston Rockets	Maarty Leunen	F	6′ 9″	220	2007 Undrafted

- Makes timely plays

- Good footwork particularly around the basket

- Gets offensive rebounds

- Moves the ball well

Team	Player	Position	Height	Weight	Team/How acquired
Houston Rockets	Chase Budinger	F	6′ 7″	218	Traded to Houston Rockets From Detroit Pistons - 2009 44^th overall pick

- Struggles to shoot when feet aren’t set. Has a tendency to float side to side on his jumper

Team	Player	Position	Height	Weight	Team/How acquired
Oklahoma City Thunder	Russell Westbrook	G	6′ 3″	187	2008 4^th overall pick

- Basketball savvy is starting to catch up with his athleticism

- Plays with a tempo two steps faster than everyone else; needs to slow down

Team	Player	Position	Height	Weight	Team/How acquired
Oklahoma City Thunder	James Harden	G	6′ 5″	220	2009 3^rd overall pick

- Able to get in the lane and finish

- Good stop and start game

- Wide array of up fakes

- Good mid post player

- May be a liability at the end of the shot clock because he uses so many fakes to get open

- More of a “counter puncher” as opposed to attacker

Team	Player	Position	Height	Weight	Team/How acquired
Memphis Grizzles	Hasheem Thabeet	C	7′ 3″	267	2009 2^nd overall pick

- Great offensive rebounder

- Needs to be able to power up and finish at the basket

- Needs to work on conditioning

- Good footwork and positioning on defense

Team	Player	Position	Height	Weight	Team/How acquired
Oklahoma City Thunder	Kyle Weaver	G	6′ 6″	201	Traded to From Charlotte Bobcats - 2008 38^th overall pick

- Has worked on his range more confident in with his jumper

Team	Player	Position	Height	Weight	Team/How acquired
Memphis Grizzles	Darrell Arthur	F	6′ 9″	235	Traded to Memphis Grizzlies From Houston Rockets by way of Portland and New Orleans - 2008 27^th overall pick

- Not really a post up player/not a wing

- Can face up and hit a jumper out to college three-point line

Team	Player	Position	Height	Weight	Team/How acquired
Oklahoma City Thunder	BJ Mullins	C	7′ 0″	275	Traded to Oklahoma City Thunder From Dallas Mavericks - 2009 24^th overall pick

- Legitimate 7-footer able to bother shots

- Has range out to the college 3-point line

- good footwork actively on defense

Team	Player	Position	Height	Weight	Team/How acquired
Memphis Grizzlies	Hamed Haddadi	C	7′ 2″	265	2008 Free Agent

- Has a nice post hook shot

- Brings the ball

Team	Player	Position	Height	Weight	Team/How acquired
Memphis Grizzlies	Donta Smith	G/F	6′ 7″	215	2009 Free Agent/2004 Draft Class

- Good energy off the bench

Team	Player	Position	Height	Weight	Team/How acquired
Memphis Grizzlies	Sam Young	G/F	6′ 6″	220	2009 36^th overall pick

- Good all-around game

- Can come off screens and hit jumpers

- Can get into the lane and score

- Hustles after lose balls

- Gets out in transition

Image Source: Probasketball.About.com

2009 NBA Draft Recap and Highlights

Jaime Irvine — Fri, 26 Jun 2009 14:51:10 -0400

Here is a recap of the 2009 NBA draft:

1. Blake Griffin - Clippers - A pick so easy, a caveman could do it. Far and away the best player in the draft this year and the obvious number one choice.

2. Hasheem Thabeet - Grizzlies - Thabeet will add value on the defensive end from day one. I think he’ll be better offensively than people are estimating him to be. Even so, when you set the bar that low, it shouldn’t be hard to step over it. It remains to be seen which contending team Memphis will give away their new franchise Center to while getting virtually nothing in return.

5. Ricky Rubio - Timberwolves - This kid really knows how to play. He will distribute the ball, and could be the face of the franchise for years to come, though he didn’t seem thrilled to be going to what may seem like an arctic wasteland to him when January rolls around. In fact I loved this pick, up until now.

6. Jonny Flynn - Timberwolves - I thought for sure this had to be a part of a trade because I just don’t understand why the T-Wolves would take another PG at six, especially when they desperately need a SG and Stephen Curry is still on the board. It seems they are going to build their team around two point guards and two power forwards. I don’t get it.

10. Brandon Jennings - Bucks - Probably the biggest question mark of the draft. Very talented and athletic, but an enigma who created one of the strangest scenes in the draft history by not coming out to shake hands with David Stern until several picks later because his agent had advised him not to be in the green room.

13. Tyler Hansborough - Pacers - I don’t think Pacer fans will ever be disappointed with this pick. Hansborough will play hard every day and provide the type of grit and toughness that the Pacers are lacking.

15. Austin Daye - Pistons - If this Tayshaun Prince clone turns out as well as the original, Detroit will be quite pleased with this pick. Daye seems to have a big upside, comes into the league very skilled and with a great outside shot, but with a body that makes it seem he could blow away in any stiff breeze.

18. Ty Lawson - Nuggets - Lawson should be a great backup for Chauncey Billups. This role should give him the opportunity to learn from one of the best.

28. Wayne Ellington - Timberwolves - Minnesota finally got the shooter they needed and I think Ellington provides a lot of value with this pick.

44. Chase Budinger - Rockets - Budinger is very athletic, but doesn’t really display it on the court like you might expect. He can shoot the ball and may be a steal in the second round after having initially been mentioned as a lottery candidate.

NBA Mock Draft 2.0

Jaime Irvine — Wed, 24 Jun 2009 21:31:48 -0400

It’s less than 24 hours until the NBA Draft, and I’m feverishly putting together a mock-up of what will surely be one of the most intriguing drafts in years.

There's (relatively) no certainty after the Clippers select Blake Griffin with the No.1 overall pick; no player is a lock to go to any team, and no team is a lock to select a player that they will sign.

For that matter, it’s quite possible a number of teams will trade away their pick for a veteran player or future pick. That being said, I feel the analysis below is as good as you’ll see so close to the NBA’s main offseason event.

So, to borrow a NASCAR term, “gentleman, start your engines” and let’s rock and roll!

	Team	Player	Position	Height	Weight	School/Club Team
1.	LA Clippers	Blake Griffin	PF	6′ 10″	250	Oklahoma

Player Recap: Griffin is a no-brainer as the No.1 overall pick.

He’s a versatile big man with excellent athletic ability who can put the ball on the floor and finish with both hands around the basket. He also has a great motor, as evidenced by his high volume rebounding prowess and ability to run the floor.

He doesn’t possess a consistent jump shot, but has good mechanics. Griffin needs to work on his defensive skills, but has all the tools to be effective on the next level.

Team Impact: It’s no secret that Griffin is the Clippers guy here at No.1. Blake’s presence with "the other LA team" creates a rather intriguing front line rotation with Marcus Camby, Zach Randolph and Chris Kaman.

If, like last season, the Clips get nicked up by the injury bug, they’ll need all the help they can get on the front line—or they can use the flexibility up front to swing a trade to get help in other areas of need.

Memphis

Ricky Rubio

6′ 4″

180

DKV Joventut

Player Recap: Rubio, voted the best Euro young player in 2007, is the prototypical pick-and-roll PG, and probably the second best prospect after Griffin.

The 18-year old Spanish phenom has excellent ball-handling skills, and is equally gifted with both hands (thanks in part to a wrist injury to his right/strong hand). He isn’t particularly fast, but has great burst and is adept at using change of speed to beat defenders.

He has terrific court vision and anticipation, which are assets both in the transition and in half court situations. At one point, Rubio led the ACB Euro League in assists per 40 min/gm at a staggering 11.5.

He must develop a consistent jump shot, and his physique —which should happen naturally as he matures.

Team Impact: The buzz around the NBA is that there are a number of teams looking to move up to the No.2 spot in order to draft Rubio, so don’t be surprised if the Griz make the young Spanish PG the pick here and quickly trade him for multiple pieces to compliment a young core that includes OJ Mayo, Rudy Gay and Mike Conley Jr.

Oklahoma City

Hasheem Thabeet

7′ 3″

265

Connecticut

Player Recap: Thabeet is a legitimate presence around the basket defensively. He shows great explosion and anticipation to block and change shots.

The UConn Huskies’ center runs the floor well, considering his gargantuan size. He has very little to offer offensively, but has demonstrated the ability to use his size advantage to score when in the vicinity of the hoop.

Thabeet has strong hands and catches the ball with ease, but his footwork leaves much to be desired, as he often gets knocked around in traffic and loses balance.

Team Impact: Thabeet has what you can’t teach—size. At 7′ 3″ and 265 lbs., he is literally the biggest prize in the draft.

He would be a welcome addition to a team with great offensive weapons but poor defensive prowess.

With him defending the basket Durant, Green and Westbrook can be aggressive on the perimeter defensively—knowing there’s a bonafide shot blocker behind them. The big fella will also allow Nenad Krstic to slide to his more natural PF position.

Sacramento

Tyreke Evans

PG/SG

6′ 6″

215

Memphis

Player Recap: Evans is one of the premier perimeter scorers among this year’s crop of prospects. He can take players off the dribble to create shots for himself or teammates.

Evans led his team to the NCAA tournament by accepting the PG position, but is a questionable decision maker, and is turnover-prone. He can be selfish at times, and could stand to work on his shooting mechanics.

He does display the ability to defend both guard positions.

Team Impact: The Kings are in dire need of a ball handler and perimeter scoring after losing both Ron Artest and John Salmons, and Evans immediately fills that void.

He can dribble penetrate with ease, and create drop off opportunities for the young Sacto bigs (if he doesn’t take the shot himself).

He has the possibility to become the primary ball handler interchangeably with Beno Udric on the floor, be the PG when he and Kevin Martin are paired together in the backcourt, or the scoring machine he was born to be with backups in the game.

Minnesota from Washington

Stephen Curry

PG/SG

6′ 2″

185

Davidson

Player Recap: Curry is an exceptional shooter with NBA range. He has the ability to make the tough shot, and was frequently called upon to carry his team in college.

He’s not only a scorer; he learned to set up his teammates—partly due to other teams concentrating their defense on him—while being the primary ball handler.

He's not the most physically blessed player, which may hinder his defensive ability on the next level; however, it hasn’t been an issue so far in workouts.

Team Impact: The T-Wolves acquired this pick by shipping off PG Randy Foye and sharpshooter Mike Miller to the Wizards. This gives the Wolves two lottery picks and four total in the first round.

I fully expect Minnesota president of basketball operations David Kahn to use these picks to bring in another PG, whether it be Curry here or another PG, as well as another big man to help spell Al Jefferson. They could do this by packaging one or two picks to use in a trade.

Either way, expect the Wolves to be active, as Kahn has stated that he is looking to make a big splash in his first draft as the head basketball personnel decision maker in the twin city.

Minnesota

James Harden

6′ 4″

220

Arizona State

Player Recap: Harden is a savvy player, whose basketball IQ overcomes his physical shortcomings. At 6′ 4″ he is undersized at SG, but lacks the foot speed to keep up with PGs.

Still, he plays the game with comfort and ease while rarely forcing the action, and can create plays for his teammates. He has a good stop-and-start game, and uses hesitation moves to free himself from the defense to get good looks at the basket.

Harden's primarily a set shooter, which explains why he’s inconsistent shooting off screens and in catch-and-shoot situations. He plays smart and pesky defense, but physically does not grade out to be a defensive stopper.

Team Impact: Harden is the best option on the board for Minnesota, should the draft play out this way—but I happen to think there will be quite a bit of movement at the top of the order.

Still, Harden fits in nicely with the Wolves, who are in need of a perimeter scorer after sending Mike Miller to Washington.

Harden is smart enough to pick his spots and get open looks to score, or create scoring opportunities for his teammates. Also, his learning curve should be minimal—good news for a young and inconsistent team.

Golden State

Jordan Hill

6′ 10″

235

Arizona

Player Recap: Hill is a freakishly gifted athlete, who plays bigger than his physical stature.

He's still raw in terms of basketball skills, but he noticeably improved between his sophomore and junior years—particularly with his footwork. He's a good, but not great, rebounder.

Hill needs to work on his shot, especially from the free throw line. He can run the floor, but is known to take plays off. PHill projects to be at the very least a key role/rotational player.

Team Impact: Golden State seems to be having a bit of an identity crisis at the moment, and it’s been rumored that they made a promise to their young dynamic combo guard Monta Ellis not to draft/add another player to their already full backcourt.

If those rumors are true, Hill becomes the obvious choice, as the team is lacking in size. He’s the type of tough, scrappy big man that could thrive in Don Nelson's system; because he’s active and runs the court well, Hill should seamlessly fit into an up tempo style of play.

His lack of offensive polish won’t be an issue, as the Warriors backcourt draws most of the defense's attention by scoring a ton, which will allow Hill to slip in between cracks for offensive rebounds and put backs.

New York

Brandon Jennings

6′ 1″

165

Virtus Roma

Player Recap: Jennings, the consensus #1 high school player last year, possesses world class speed, natural instincts and a never say die mentality. He’s a terrific ball handler that can get to the basket with ease and finish in traffic due to his amazing bounce.

Jennings has excellent vision, and is a willing passer who can make the spectacular play. He could use some more bulk, especially because he’ll be going against more physical guards in the NBA.

He needs to learn to play within himself and polish his jump shot. Defense is also a concern with him.

Team Impact: If both Curry and Hill are off the board at No.8, look for the Knicks to decide between the plethora of PGs in this year's class if they don’t make trade first.

All indications are that the Knicks' brass were unimpressed with UCLA’s Jrue Holiday after his workout, and Johnny Flynn and Ty Lawson don't seem to be on New York’s radar. With the Mike D’Antoni experiment just beginning in the “Big Apple”, the team will need an instinctive passing PG, and Jennings fits the mold.

Incumbent Chris Duhon performed well, but the team began to sputter in the latter part of the season when he was injured. Nate Robinson is more suited to his role—providing scoring off the bench.

Jennings’ year playing pro ball for Roma could also prove to be advantageous as the young man adjusts to the bright lights and big stage in NYC. Plus D’Antoni has an affinity for Italian-league players, as he was star in the country during his playing days.

Toronto

DeMar DeRozan

SG/SF

6′ 6″

210

USC

Player Recap: DeRozan has an NBA-ready body, but needs his game to catch up to his physique. At 6′6″ and 210 lbs., he has the quickness and speed to guard NBA SG’s, and the height and strength to guard SF’s.

DeRozan isn't an excellent ball handler or shooter, but he can be an effective scorer in the right system. He relies heavily on physical talents, and sometimes bails out opponents by not playing up to his potential; however, he is still very young, and has great upside and unlimited potential.

Team Impact: DeRozan gives the Raptors a youngm athletic wing they can mold to replace the void left by Vince Carter.

In fact, DeRozan draws comparisons to Carter and Gerald Wallace at their age and stage of development. He has the potential to be the high-flying finisher for Jose Calderon, a nice running mate for Shawn Marion, and a good athletic wing to complement Anthony Parker.

10.

Milwaukee

Jrue Holiday

PG/SG

6′ 3″

185

UCLA

Player Recap: A consensus top five high school prospect, and potentially the best California PG prospect since Baron Davis, Jrue failed to have that break-out season as a freshman at UCLA. He decided that he wouldn’t stick around for a second season to wait see if it would be the one.

Most of Holiday’s ineffectiveness is credited to his playing out of position, alongside all-American candidate Darren Collison, last season.

Still, Jrue has all the tools to be effective in the NBA. At 6′ 3″ 185 he has the ideal size for a PG. He also possesses quick feet and long arms, which point to him having the ability to lock down opposing PGs defensively.

If he can get into the groove and show some of the natural feel for the game he displayed back in high school at Campbell Hall in N. Hollywood, CA, he’ll be just fine in the pros.

Team Impact: Everything I’ve heard and read implies that the Bucks will draft a PG with the No.10 pick.

The question is, which one will be available at that pick?

Holiday seems to be the best fit, because Milwaukee could stand to have a more defensive-minded presence at that position. His athleticism should upgrade the Bucks in that area (after trading away their best athlete in Richard Jefferson), and allow Holiday to slide to the two where he can score and guard opposing SGs as well.

11.

New Jersey

Earl Clark

SF/PF

6′ 9″

220

Louisville

Player Recap: the Louisville combo forward has the skills set and the size to really impose his will on the game both offensively and defensively.

The question is, will he?

He is known to be turnover prone, and doesn’t always play up to his potential. He needs to develop a reliable jumper, and maybe a little more of a mean streak before becoming a key contributor.

However, he's made strides with his consistency and could prove to be a steal if developed properly.

Team Impact: Most draft boards have New Jersey selecting a player from Louisville, but it's usually Clark’s Cardinal teammate, Terence Williams.

It’s my opinion that the Nets need a presence on the front line; while guys like Yi Jianlian and Jarvis Hayes are nice players, they haven’t done much in the Garden State.

Clark could easily slide into the rotation to replace either of those two players (if he plays to his potential) and because he comes from an up-tempo system under Rick Pitino, keeping up with Devin Harris or the high flying Vince Carter shouldn’t be an issue.

12.

Indiana

Jonny Flynn

6′ 1″

172

Syracuse

Player Recap: Flynn is an explosive, athletic PG, with good court vision and the ability to push the tempo and make plays.

Flynn also has excellent command dribbling the ball with both hands, and has displayed a knack for getting into the lane to create scoring opportunities.

Earlier in his career, he was more known for his passing, but he took on a larger scoring role last year for the Orange, averaging 17.5 ppg.

Jonny also dispelled questions about his defensive prowess, coming from Jim Boeheim’s zone scheme in pre-draft workouts.

Team Impact: Although the Pacers could use some help in the frontcourt (Larry Bird said so himself a couple of days ago), Flynn is way too good to pass up on, which just goes to show how deep the PG talent pool is this year.

Jonny’s explosiveness and ability to get the ball up and down the court could be a nice shot in the arm for a team looking for a more permanent solution at PG (depending on what they decide to do with Jarrett Jack and TJ Ford).

13.

Charlotte

Gerald Henderson

6′ 4 ^1/2“

212

Duke

Player Recap: Henderson is a smooth athlete, with a quality all-around game. Henderson isn’t a great ball handler, but he's explosive, and can finish at the hoop even through contact.

He's inconsistent on offense, but that’s primarily due to his tendency to defer to teammates. He has an above-average basketball IQ, and he’s a good one-on-one defender. He’s slightly undersized as an NBA SG.

Team Impact: College allegiances aside, this Dukie’s game is perfectly suited to the style of coaching of former UNC Tarheel Larry Brown, and to the Bobcats team built by the most famous Tarheel of them all, Michael Jordan.

He’s very smart and coachable, and fills a couple of needs including dribble penetration, defending perimeter players. and being able to play off others while maintaining good flow on offense. In time, Henderson will be a solid replacement for Raja Bell.

14.

Phoenix

Terrence Williams

PG/SG

6′ 5″

213

Louisville

Player Recap: Williams is an all-around gifted athlete, whose stats don’t necessarily reflect his impact on the game.

Williams isn't especially good at any one thing; his game is predicated on his physical gifts, which everyone he has a lot of.

He lacks a steady jumper, but can get up and down the court both offensively and defensively, and can fill the stat sheet in a number areas. He can score points in bunches, but is not a consistent scorer.

Team Impact: His shooting maybe a liability for a team that lives and dies by the three-pointer like Phoenix, but he definitely will bring a perimeter defensive presence that the Suns have been lacking since sending Raja Bell to Charlotte.

Also, Williams can go under the radar and provide a lot of the hustle and effort plays allowing Shaq, Nash, and other players to do their thing.

The Ultimate Sports Moment: Buzzer-Beating Jumper or Stanley Cup OT Goal?

Jaime Irvine — Fri, 12 Jun 2009 10:24:49 -0400

The Pittsburgh Penguins and Detroit Red Wings square off tonight in Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Finals. Why should sports fans outside of the blossoming metropoli of Pittsburgh and Detroit care? Because the matchup sets up the pro sports landscape for the potential of one of the rarest of sports moments… a sudden-death championship win.

Are Red Wings faithful be mere hours away from the most untoppable moment of sports fan euphoria? Or are we better off hoping the Magic win two straight and the “if nec.” asterisk comes off June 18th at Staples?

Until then, I give you an ordered countdown of the top potential fan euphoria moments in each of the five major pro sports.

5. NFL Super Bowl - Touchdown

I don’t care about Adam Viniateri and your field goals. Too much emphasis on a jockey in shoulder pads with a specialty skill. Plus, modern NFL field goals are robotic and about as exciting as making applesauce sculptures. It would have to be a non-Hail Mary pass from around 15 yards out.

Unfortunately, all the potential candidates have come in the final minute, but not on the final play. Or in an earlier round. The real sleeper?

A 50- to 60-yard pick six in OT of the Super Bowl. Tell me that’s not a momentum swing the 4,000 partisan fans in attendance could get behind. Jump around, non-sponsors. Jump around.

4. FIFA World Cup - Game-Winning Goal

This can’t really happen because “futbol” OT isn’t sudden-death. Eventually, there’s penalty kicks (like in World Cup ‘94 and ‘06) which is like electing a president via a rock skipping contest. It’s too bad, because there’s potential.

While Americans would rather watch D.B. Sweeney’s greatest hits on DVR, the rest of the world is losing their mind over the World Cup to the tune of billions of people. Plus, only Copa Mundial can fetch you a matchup that might legitimately re-start a war.

3. MLB World Series - Walk-Off Home Run

A World Series ending home run has only happened twice (well, 2.17 times if you factor in the Canadian exchange rate for Joe Carter). Both were close to being baseball’s “ultimate” postseason outcome. Both came in the bottom of the 9th.

Bill Mazeroski’s shot in 1960 came in Game 7, but the game was tied and there was nobody out. With Carter, the Jays were trailing, but it was only Game 6 and there was one out (not two).

All that aside, the main issue is that a home run—the quickest way to change a lead in baseball—takes too long to play out. The moment is spread over 3-4 seconds, and there’s actually two moments… the ball leaving the bat and the ball leaving the yard.

The physics of the game prohibit it from consideration for number one.

2. NBA Finals - Buzzer Beater

This has the potential to jump to number one if the circumstances are right, but sits here at No. 2 because of its dependence on the clock. The perfect senario would have to be Game 7 with the home team having possession, trailing in the final seconds coming out of a timeout.

The game-winner would need to be deeper than 15 feet and hopefully be preceded by some kind of ridiculous scramble or smack of desperation. It’s all a hypothetical right now, because this hasn’t happened in the modern era. In fact, no Finals Game 7 has ever gone to OT or ended on a buzzer-beater.

1. NHL Stanley Cup Final - OT Goal

Hockey is unique in that it’s sudden-death AND the possession alternates quickly and without any sort of cadence or boundaries (downs, innings, shot clocks). Once a hockey Game 7 goes to overtime, the whole thing (game, series, playoff run, season!) is seconds away from crashing down around you at any moment. It’s a gut-wrenching existence.

Panic. Cathartic relief. Desperation. And that’s BEFORE the game actually ends. And that’s what it does… it ends. No injury time, kneel downs or spread-killing free throws to bleed it out.

It’s one situation that brings “sudden death” momentarily out of its cliche shell. Over the last half-century, there have been nine Game 7’s in the Stanley Cup Finals, including four this decade. None have gone to overtime.

The last Cup Final Game 7 overtime goal came in 1954 and was only televised in “Canadia” on CBC. That series was also the last time, prior to this season, the Stanley Cup started with games on back-to-back nights.

But there’s more… That 1954 game winner that touched off an instant celebration for the home crowd was scored by Tony Leswick of… the Detroit Red Wings.

You stand by, Shirley Bassey. You just stand by.

Five Suggestions for the Orlando Magic

Jaime Irvine — Mon, 08 Jun 2009 16:45:27 -0400

First of all, great Game Two yesterday; glad to see the Magic bounce back and put up a hard fought game.

That being said and before I get into coaching the Magic, I do have to say that I thought the referees in Game Two were atrocious on both ends of the floor.

Pietrus’ sixth foul, Turkoglu’s phantom push off, Howard’s goal tend, and many more, I really thought the refs did not bring their A game and these are the best the NBA has. As Mark Jackson would say, “David Stern you are better than that…” Yes, he is starting to really get on my nerves and upset that I ever used to like the Jackson shimmy shake.

Without further ado, here are my five suggestions to Stan Van Gundy and the Orlando Magic to get them back in the series:

1. When Turkoglu is running the pick and roll with Howard, I would like to see him come off the screen looking to shoot more. I think if he came off hard and pulled the trigger on a couple of jumpers, not only would he probably score, but he would force the bigs of the Lakers (Bynum and Gasol) to come at him more aggressively.

Thus, opening up the roll situation for Howard and getting him easy looks at the basket, or if a Laker rotates to cut off Howard, there would be open jumpers for Lewis and others.

2. Stop having Patrick Ewing as Howard’s offensive mentor, it obviously is not working. I make fun of Ewing and have no clue if it is actually his fault, though he does put himself out there as Howard’s mentor.

But, how many times did Howard put the ball down yesterday and get stripped It was nauseating and we need to get him to keep the ball up high.

3. Overall, I thought the Magic did a fairly good job defensively on the Lakers. I thought Hedo did a pretty good job on Kobe (as good as others) and would consider putting him on Bryant more. I think you keep rotating Lee, Pietrus and Turkoglu on him and try to change things up.

I wouldn’t want to see Turkoglu on him for too long as he is the focal point of the Magic offense, truly running the show and wouldn’t want to see him get tired chasing Bryant around.

4. I am unsure what SVG was doing at the end of the game with Reddick in there. Granted, if Reddick had hit some shots, we would be praising Van Gundy as a genius. But that is the thing, if you are going to keep Reddick playing those minutes, he has to look for his shot.

The Lakers weren’t even guarding him because they knew he wasn’t going to shoot it. He needs to have the confidence and aggressiveness and look to score to put the pressure on the Laker defense and open up things for the other Magic players. If he isn’t going to do that, then go with somebody else (Nelson, Lee, Alston).

5. I am not sure why Nelson didn’t get more minutes than he did. In my opinion, he is playing fine, though a little too cautious, but I understand he isn’t trying to mess with the chemistry that got the Magic to the Finals. Unlike Reddick at the end of the game, the Lakers have to guard Nelson and respect him. The respect alone can help get open shots for Nelson’ s teammates.

I would change up the starting lineup and put Nelson in there along with Pietrus. Even if Nelson continues to play cautious, he has plenty of scoring options around him in the starting lineup that he could be a facilitator. He doesn’t have that coming off the bench with the second unit, and I think the second unit needs somebody a little more aggressive than Nelson has been.

I believe Alston and Lee would be a nice pair of guys to bring off the bench andadd some energy to the second unit.

Sticky Sticky Dozier

Jaime Irvine — Sat, 06 Jun 2009 00:11:50 -0400

Memphis hoopster and heralded recruit Robert Dozier notched a 670 on the math portion of his SAT in 2003, which put him in the nation’s 89th percentile. Nothing to see here, right? Not so fast. Ironically, subtraction—in this case, the difference between his first SAT score and second SAT score may actually be his biggest problem.

From ESPN.com’s Mark Schlabach:

[Dozier] took the SAT for the first time on Dec. 6, 2003, about five months after he verbally committed to play for the Tigers. Dozier scored a 1,260 of a possible 1,600…

Educational Testing Service, the nonprofit company that develops, administers, and scores the SAT, opened an investigation of Dozier’s test scores in June 2004. In a June 14, 2004 letter to Dozier, ETS officials told him that “we believe there appears to be substantial evidence that your scores [on the SAT] are invalid. Our preliminary concerns are based on a comparison of the handwriting on your answer sheet with the handwriting on other documents such as your registration form and external documents.”

ETS officials offered Dozier a chance to validate his earlier scores by taking the SAT again. Dozier took the test in July 2004 and scored 720—540 points lower than his earlier score.

Moral of the story…if you’re Chuckie Sullivan, don’t have Will Hunting take your SAT for you.

Photo Credit: Jon Goering - Daily Kansan

That's Why They Play the Games

Jaime Irvine — Thu, 04 Jun 2009 15:24:39 -0400

The NBAs final four has been reduced to the final two, however, only one of the NBAs two chosen stars will have the opportunity to shine in this year’s finals.

In the west, last year’s MVP, and the one dubbed by many as the best player on the planet, seeks to capture his fourth championship ring.

Meanwhile, in what can only be describes as a “Magical” scene, the eastern conference final round concluded with the current MVP, also known as “King” James, being unceremoniously ousted from the playoffs by Orlando. How ironic is it that the “King” was dethroned in the Magic Kingdom—by Superman, no less.

Afterward, the usually loquacious LeBron left without saying a word. But, who could blame him, as this was supposed to be his coronation. Or, at least if you’re like me, you were subliminally programmed to think it was supposed to be.

What I mean is, this year the media marketing machine that promotes the NBA playoffs really went to the extreme in trying to frame, what it deemed, the best finals matchup. And if the league and its team/harem of sponsors weren’t banking on a Kobe/LeBron showdown, they didn’t do a very good job keeping it a secret.

For example, about a week ago ESPN aired Dream Season: 23 & 24. Nike.com sums it up, saying, “Everyone is anxious to see if at long last the league’s greatest players will be able to bring out the best of each other on basketball’s greatest stage, the NBA Finals.” It goes on to say the one-hour special’s “focus [is] on Kobe and LeBron’s pursuit of an NBA championship.”

And if that isn’t proof enough that the NBA and its corporate interests play favorites; every other minute of commercial airtime during the conference finals, almost to the point of nausea, was dedicated to a duo of puppets made to try and emulate the likeness of NBA’s two favorite sons.

Don’t get me wrong, everyone wants to see the greatest perform on the greatest stage. However, in an industry like sports, in which the outcome is not predetermined, wouldn’t it be smart not to force your audience to expect an outcome even if it is subliminal, and especially if you can’t guarantee the expected outcome?

Yet every major sports media outlet was singing in unison to the tune of Kobe vs. LeBron. As if only two players were poised for the sport’s biggest stage, or that only two had such aspirations of doing so.

Let’s face it, with all the games sevens this year there have been some really good series’. In turn, meaning, good teams, or at least good matchups with good players. So let’s give those players some respect. (And by the way Dwight Howard’s frame is definitely big enough to shoulder the load of the big stage.)

Now, far be it for me to admonish the “Average Joe” sports fan for sharing their opinions with fellow spectators.

I, myself, admit to being guilty of doing just this. I mean, one of the most enjoyable aspects of sports is arguing and making a case as to why you think a particular outcome is inevitable. In fact, that’s precisely the reason why Nielsen ratings for shows like Pardon the Interruption and Around the Horn combined have a larger audience than SportsCenter.

Uncertainty is part of the fun of sports, especially when you can hold an individual accountable for their choices. But, it’s wrong when a faceless corporation or particular sports league tries to tell you who and what team to root for.

Honestly, LeBron’s loss is a win for all the true sports fans out there that follow the NBA (except for those in Cleveland of course). It signals that on an equal playing field the will of individuals can overcome product placement predetermined in a board room to be the only intrinsically viable option with little to no input from the consumer.

The 2008 Superbowl is a perfect example. After going 16-0 in the regular season the New England Patriots seemed poised to hoist the Lombardi Trophy at the conclusion of the post season.

However, thanks to a ferocious Giants defense, and one particularly spectacular pitch and catch from an elusive Eli Manning to sticky fingered (helmet) David Tyree, the New York football team snatched the crown that had been prematurely placed on the hood Bill Belichick in what will certainly go down as one of the most jaw dropping finishes in Superbowl history.

Now if the NFL were to choose, it probably would have preferred Brett Farve over Eli Manning to face off against Tom Brady, but would that have produced the same result?

Probably not.

So at this time I just want to remind everyone of the saying, “That’s why they play the games.” Too often champions are crowned and hardware and trophies are handed out before the outcome has been settled out on the field or court. The presumptive dream match-up pitting the NBAs last two MVPs will have to be put on ice for a little while longer.

I can almost hear David Stern in his office screaming.

John Wall and Kentucky

Jaime Irvine — Thu, 21 May 2009 12:51:35 -0400

John Calipari, already the highest paid coach in NCAA basketball, continues to add to his riches by landing a gem of a player in John Wall. What makes this so intriguing is the fact that Wall could have chosen to enter his name in the NBA draft due to a technicality.

Originally, the 19-year old Word of God Christian Academy standout was slated to graduate in 2008. But for whatever reason, (I’m not going speculate) he did not meet the necessary requirements and instead will graduate this year. According to NBA draft eligibility rules,

“The player (A) is or will be at least 19 years of age during the calendar year in which the Draft is held, and (B) with respect to a player who is not an international player (defined below), at least one (1) NBA Season has elapsed since the player’s graduation from high school (or, if the player did not graduate from high school, since the graduation of the class with which the player would have graduated had he graduated from high school)”

So in essence , Wall made a choice that many players wouldn’t by turning down the money and fame of the NBA and choosing to go to college despite having the option to go pro.

Now until a couple days ago, Kentucky wasn’t necessarily a lock to have Wall’s services next year especially considering there are 343 Division I basketball programs in the nation.

Wall’s high school ball was played in Durham, NC. It's only natural that he considered playing for Coach Krzyzewski and Duke, along with a host of other schools vying for his efforts.

So why Calipari and Kentucky?

Well, Wall is widely considered to be No. 1 point guard prospect in this year’s high school recruiting class. And as of late, as far as point guards go, Calipari has done arguably the best job in country in developing players at that position. Wall will be the third highly touted point guard to commit to play for Calipari in as many years.

Last year it was Tyreke Evans, who also signed late in the recruiting period and is sure to be a lottery pick in this year’s draft. Two years ago, it was Derrick Rose who went No. 1 overall in NBA draft and recently was name 2009 NBA rookie of the year.

Furthermore, let's not forget who else Coach Cal is bringing with him to the Blue Grass state. Cal was able to persuade DeMarcus Cousins, a holdover from his Memphis recruiting efforts who is also a top-five high school talent, along with Wall to join him in the Derby state.

And with horses like Wall and Cousins, I’ll be looking for the Wildcats to set the pace in NCAA basketball because they by far have the best crop of talent coming into next season.

I applaud the way that Calipari was seamlessly able to put together another stellar recruiting class after abruptly exchanging Memphis’s blue for Kentucky’s.

NBA Playoffs: The Best Teams Won.

Jaime Irvine — Tue, 19 May 2009 12:52:52 -0400

It doesn’t get much better than a playoff series that comes down to a Game Seven , no matter what the sport. The players are sick of each other, tempers are frayed, and coaches are about all-strategized out.

How many surprises and adjustments can there be? You know the teams are pretty equal; if otherwise, why have they split the six games leading up to Game Seven?

A couple of days off while the press analyzes ad nauseum. As game time approaches, fans get to a fever pitch, players get nervous and totally psyched up. Anyone who has participated in a Game Seven will tell you that just entering the arena, there’s a different feeling. You can literally feel the tenseness and excitement in the air.

That’s where we were yesterday with two Game Sevens scheduled. I sat down ready to watch two great games and what did I get? Two blowouts. How does that happen?

Like I said earlier, if they weren’t pretty equal how did they get to a Game Seven? It’s not like both teams aren’t going to be up for the game, both teams putting everything on the line.

I don’t know the stats about this, but thinking back, there seems like there have been a disappropiate number of blowouts in Game Sevens, considering that the teams should be basically equal.

Lakers-Rockets

While watching this game, one thought was prominent in my mind. How did this series ever get to a Game Seven? LA was so clearly the better team, after Yao went down. They were so much bigger and longer than the Rockets .

It was like a college team versus a high school team, length wise. Game Seven was no contest and that was with Kobe having just a so-so game. LA made it so hard for the Rockets to score, and if LA was patient, it was almost impossible for the Rockets to stop them inside.

What I got out of this game was such respect for the Rockets and their competitiveness. If they weren’t so competitive, they never could have made it to a seventh game.

At the same time, I gained a further appreciation for how good the Lakers can be. When they are active, and into playing defense…with their length and depth…they are very, very good.

Offensively, they can’t help but be good due to Kobe and their collective shooting abilities. If they are to reach their potential, it is all about defending for the Lakers.

Boston-Orlando

With Garnett out, I felt all along that Orlando was the better team. But I thought with the home court in Game Seven, Boston had a good shot. They did not and the better team won.

Orlando is just better, and deeper with Turkoglu being the difference. He was the best player on the floor. He had 25 points and 12 assists, but more importantly, hit some big shots when they were needed.

The Magic offense was basically directed by him and he had a very impressive game. He also did a nice job on Pierce, though he had a lot of help. Howard, of course, was a force, but mainly on the defensive end. His offense is pretty suspect, but give some credit to Perkins who was very physical with him.

I think Howard needs to junk that running 13-foot hook shot…come on, Patrick Ewing, you’re coaching him. You didn’t take shots like that. What is that shot about?

The Missing Piece, er Pierce.

Paul Pierce is getting a lot of flack about his lack of game in Game Seven. In no way did he have a good game, and in fact, it was a disappointing game from him. However, let’s give some credit to Orlando’s strategy of coming off of Rondo to double team Pierce.

It appeared to me that that grew to be discouraging to Pierce, and finally, he gave in to it. He just did not look like he was into it as much as usual. I think it would have been beneficial to Pierce if he could have come off some screens and quickly made a move, with his teammates moving.

Instead, most of the time he would get the ball in an isolation type set, with his teammates in predictable areas so that after doubling him, the defensive adjustments were predictable. I’m starting to wonder who the Magic are going to come off of in order to double Lebron.

Lastly, let’s give some credit to Orlando’s front office, especially Otis Smith and Dave Twardzik, their basketball people. They had done a nice job putting their roster together over the years.

Good group of guys, and talented. However, when Jameer Nelson went, down their season looked like it could be in jeopardy. They went out and traded for a solid veteran point guard in Rafer Alston.

It's not always easy to go get a veteran point guard, especially one who is starting for a playoff bound team, and they got him without giving up a great deal. The magic arguably saved their season, without jeopardizing their future. Excellent job, and they should be congratulated.

Now it’s on to the Conference Finals before we see the NBA Championship between LA and Cleveland.

Image Source: Boston.com

John Wooden on Teaching

Jaime Irvine — Mon, 18 May 2009 21:54:00 -0400

I have never really “heard” John Wooden. I’ve seen him on TV giving a quick sound bite. I’ve read a book about him, and a book by him. I admire him greatly. But I’ve never really heard him talk long enough that I felt like I truly understood him.

Well, this speech he gives to the group “TED” is truly fantastic. It shows how John Wooden is not only a very knowledgeable person, but a good human being as well.

There are many lessons to be learned from John Wooden. My favorite point from this video is how he says he never really mentioned “winning.” His idea is that you can lose when you outscore somebody in a game and that you can win while being outscored.

“When a game is over and you see somebody that didn’t see the game, I hope that they cannot tell by your actions whether you outscored the opponent or they outscored you.”

He is making the point that winning is about making the effort to do the best you can. If you do, the results will be what they should be, and you should be more proud of giving your best effort than winning.

The First Annual Feinberg Academic All-American Basketball Classic

Jaime Irvine — Thu, 14 May 2009 14:28:44 -0400

This past Saturday at Citizens Bank Arena, in Ontario, CA, the culmination of a new kind of sporting event took place. A high school all-American weekend dedicated to celebrating the participating scholar-athlete’s character as well as their caliber of play and (to quote the founder and chairman Robert Icart) “promoting the education and athletics at the highest level.”

I’m talking about the first Feinberg Academic All-American basketball Classic.

Unlike similar events where participants are selected solely on athletic ability, the selection process for the Feinberg Academic All-American Classic (or FAAAC for short) is based on a number of criteria.

All players selected must be high school seniors that have committed to attend a four year university in the fall of the upcoming year and demonstrate outstanding achievement in the following areas:

Scholastic achievement (specifically core GPA)
Difficulty of class schedule
SAT/ACT score
Quality of the university the player scheduled to attend
Community service

The inaugural class featured some of the finest young men and basketball players from across the country including as far east as Massachusetts, as far north Illinois and Utah, as far south as Texas, and as far west as California, the events home state.

Schools of participating players include basketball Meccas such as UNC and UCLA in addition to traditionally recognized academic institutions like Brown, Penn, Harvard, Princeton, and Stanford.

The whole weekend was packed full of events focused on helping the weekend’s honorees as they take the next step in their basketball and professional lives. UCLA’s Men’s Basketball Academic Coordinator, Kenny Donaldson led a seminar that laid out the expectations of each individual player as they navigate through college.

A sports psychology and mental training seminar was conducted by Graham Betchart. Senior Product Manager for the Basketball Division at Reebok, Justin Kittredge discussed how to increase the value of each individual player’s brand.

Milwaukee Brewers owner Mark Attanasio shared his thoughts on professional sports from a front office perspective and Drew Housman of the Harvard Crimson and Vince Oliver of the California-Davis Aggies gave the players a heads-up on what to expect as collegiate athletes.

In addition to the seminars and all-star games, the players participated in a service project at the Los Angeles Children’s Hospital. On the other hand, the weekend was not all work as the teams were also able to visit some of Los Angeles’ most famous landmarks including the Hollywood Walk of Fame and Universal Studios in addition to taking in some fine southern style cuisine at Roscoe’s Chicken & Waffles.

In the end, individual honors were given to a number of the young men who participated including Matt Vogrich (CLR Scholar Award - given to the player with highest GPA (4.6) - committed to Michigan), Andrew Bock (Dave Ellis 3pt contest winner - committed to Creighton), Mike Marra (MBT Slam dunk contest winner - committed to Louisville) Reeves Nelson (East/West Game MVP - committed to UCLA), Roger Franklin (North/South Game MVP and FAAAC Player of the year - committed to Oklahoma State).

Nevertheless the point of weekend is not to hand out individual accolades but to highlight the contributions of 40 young men towards creating a better society by simply being outstanding citizens and human beings.

In an era where players are looking to go overseas and forego the college experience to chase pro basketball dollars, it’s refreshing to know there is an event that celebrates these talented young men in their totality, rather than just their ability to play sports.

As Icart says, “These are the people who will controlling and leading the country in the future….We’re looking for the next [Barack] Obama and Bill Bradley in addition to the next LeBron James.”

If you love basketball and appreciate character and education, check out the event’s website at www.aaa-classic.com for information on next years game time and location.

Atlanta Hawks Need a “Heart Transplant”

Jaime Irvine — Mon, 11 May 2009 17:20:02 -0400

Saturday, I was hurrying home to watch Game Three of the Atlanta-Cleveland series. I was listening to the pre-game on ESPN, when Jim Durham asked Dr. Jack Ramsey what he thought Atlanta needed to do. Dr. Jack said, "first of all, they need a heart transplant." He went on to say that they had not been competitive enough and had to play harder.

Dr. Jack has never been one to mince words that is why I have so much respect for him. There’s no BS to him. I had not seen a lot of the first two games. I know Dr. Jack had, so if he said something like that, which is mighty strong, it must have been true.

So as I’m watching the game, I cannot get the “heart transplant” remark out of my head. I keep watching Atlanta, wondering if they would quit. They got down by 11 in the third, and again “heart transplant” comes to mind.

Then bam, what happens? Atlanta came storming back, to take a one point lead. The Crowd is roaring, players all pumped up. No quitting here. Then LeBron takes over playing beyond spectacular, literally taking the heart out of Atlanta. You could see Atlanta’s body language drop with every great play LeBron made.

They got completely out of sync, and Cleveland destroyed them. One of the things that was most disturbing was Atlanta’s reluctance to step up in rotations as Lebron would drive. Lebron would drive and the seas would part in a way that would have made Moses proud, and I’m not talking about Malone.

Yesterday, I watched the Fourth Game in the Lakers-Rockets series. Losing Yao was such a blow and I was curious how the Rockets would react. Well, everybody stepped up and the Rockets competed their asses off. Anybody who likes basketball had to enjoy that effort. Even the most ardent Laker fan had to respect the effort they gave.

No ”heart transplant” needed here, and you have to respect the fact that the Lakers didn’t quit either. I was quite surprised when Kobe came back into the game at the middle of the fourth, down by over 20 points. The Lakers kept playing and made the final score respectable.

One last thing, ever since Yao has come into the league I have heard nothing but good things about him, especially from the people who either play with him or coach him? Everyone seems to like this guy—a class act.

I loved the way he reacted during the interview while he was on the bench during the game.You could tell it was the last thing he wanted to do. He was trying to be polite and he was polite, but he did not want to miss one of his team’s plays. I feel badly for Yao and the Rockets. Tough, tough break, no pun intended.

Rajon Rondo Is the Boston Celtics' New Main Man

Jaime Irvine — Fri, 08 May 2009 13:12:52 -0400

As I watched the start of the second game of the Lakers vs Rockets series, it was evident that Kobe Bryant was in the mind frame that he was not going to let the Lakers lose Game Two.

After losing at home in Game One to the Rockets, Bryant knew how important it was to win Game Two. He did not want to go down 0-2, and then need to win 4 of the next 5, three of which would be on the road.

A team’s’ best player should have that kind of attitude. Show your teammates right off that there’s no BS tonight. When the best player is like that, it gives the rest of the team confidence, and sends a signal to them. It lays the foundation for the type of effort that will be needed by all.

And when that best player is a great player like Kobe, he often is able to have a huge effect. I know from personal experience—I did play with Julius Erving—that when a great player goes to that next level, it sets a tone and gives the rest of the team great confidence.

Plus, it is often very demoralizing to the opposition. It is the team’s best player’s responsibility to step it up, whether at the beginning of a game, or at a certain point in a game, to give the aura of “I’m not going to let us lose”. That’s what leadership is all about.

I’d say that is exactly what Kobe did in Game Two. He came out focused and on fire, goes for 40 points on 16-27 shooting. That’s getting the job done.

Now switch to Game Two in the Boston-Orlando series. Same situation that the Lakers were in, a near must win. So who would step up for Boston? Who would not let Boston get in a position to lose? Rajon Rondo.

Man, what a fine game he played and on a team with the much balleyhooed Big Three. Where was the Big Three? Well, Garnett’s hurt, Allen played well, but Pierce was no where to be found.

Rondo, you could find. Yes, I know House had a big game too, but not like Rondo’s game.

Watching that game, one came away with the feeling that Rondo was just not going to let the Celtics lose. He not only had the numbers—another triple double with 15 points, 11 boards, 18 assists—but more importantly, he had that attitude.

I think he is proving to be the man on the Celtics, absent Garnett. I know he’s not the prototypical point guard like a Nash, or a Stockton, or a Cheeks. However, he is becoming Boston’s leader, not only like a point guard, but also like a “team’s best player”.

Coming out of school and entering the draft, Rondo had a lot of doubters. People were always pointing out the things he couldn’t do. He was not a great shooter, didn’t play as a point.

There were questions about his leadership, his size. But people forgot about his assets. He’s a terrific athlete, with blazing speed. Big hands, good handle. Could defend, and would flat out compete.

A true fact about the NBA is that as players stay in the league, almost all improve in their ability to shoot the ball. Good shooters become very good, very good shooters become great shooters, poor shooters become passable shooters.

That is because players in the NBA spend so much time shooting, usually under supervision. They shoot before practices, during practices, after practices. They shoot at shoot-arounds. They shoot before games. They shoot in the summer.

I had a player in Detroit, Lindsey Hunter, who had a key to the Pistons’ practice facility so that he could come in and shoot at night, all season long. The point is, players have a lot of opportunity to shoot the ball, and they do.

Rondo, who was an average shooter, at best at Kentucky, has become a passable shooter. He only had to improve enough that people had to respect him and then had to play him honestly. He has done that, which has opened up his entire offensive game.

Combine that with his athleticism, toughness and competitiveness, and he has become a terrific player and leader.

During the Bulls series, Jaime wrote that he thought that Paul Pierce was overrated when people said he was a great player and compared him with Lebron, Kobe and Wade. Some people had conniptions over his assessment.

Jaime felt that Garnett had been the man for the Celtics, not Pierce. Arguably, Pierce now has become the fourth most important player for the Celtics in this series vs. the Magic, behind Rondo, Allen and Perkins.

I have said before that I have always had a great deal of respect for Pierce, and what he has accomplished. He has been a terrific player, but in a ”must” game like Game Two Wednesday night, a great player does not disappear and let other guys on the team assume the responsibility for winning or losing.

Rondo certainly did step up. It’s fun to see a player develop like he has. This should be a close series. Losing Rafer Alston for a game, and the question marks about Courtney Lee certainly have not helped the Magic.

Let’s see if the Magic’s young Dwight Howard will step up and dominate in these two home games, or will Rondo continue to be the man.

Los Angeles Lakers-Houston Rockets, Round Two: Ejections and Hard Fouls

Jaime Irvine — Thu, 07 May 2009 15:38:28 -0400

Things are getting a little chippy already in the Orlando-Boston series and the LA-Houston series, and they are only two games into them.

Usually it takes a little more time for players to get sick of each other and have tempers flare. I think the fact that both of the favorites, Boston and LA, got spanked in their first games at home, put an extra edge to the second game. If Pat Riley is right, that a playoff series doesn’t really start until a home team loses, then these series got started real quick.

LA started off quickly in last night’s game, with Kobe Bryant basically putting the team on his back and giving the impression that he was not going to let his team lose. Have to admire that.

That’s what great players are supposed to do. I just wish he wouldn’t walk around like a proud peacock after making a shot. What’s that about? I guess he thinks it is an intimidation factor. Ultimately, I think his chirping and the puffing of his chest did lead to things getting a little more intense. Whatever happened to “act like you have done it before?"

Anyway, Houston fought back with hard play after being down in double figures early, out scrapping the Lakers in the second quarter despite Yao Ming being on the bench with foul trouble.

Terrific effort from Carl Landry, as Houston just out hustled and out fought the Lakers to get back into it. You have to admire Houston's competitiveness. There’s no quit in those guys.

Another quick start for Bryant and the Lakers at the start of the second half, to get back up by double figures. Late in the third quarter, Luis Scola fouled Lamar Odom on a drive to the basket.

By no means was it even a hard foul. Just a basketball foul. Odom seemed to react, verbally, and then Luke Walton and Sasha Vujacic got involved, running their mouths with Scola. Technicals were given to Odom, Walton, and Scola, as the refs tried to get control.

As Scola came up to set a screen on Derek Fisher in the next play, Fisher delivered a vicious elbow and shoulder into Scola, knocking Scola off his feet and to the floor. No Hollywood acting in this one. Fisher assessed a flagrant two foul and was ejected, and is suspended for the next game, rightfully so.

I have always been a Fisher fan. Not the most naturally gifted player, but he has made himself into a fine NBA player.

He is a hard nosed and very competitive, the kind of guy you want to play with as a player, and coach if you are a coach. He’s all about winning, and he has often delivered the big plays in the clutch. A tough guy, but not a “cheap shot” guy. Why, then, this cheap shot? It was so out of his normal character.

My take on it is this: Houston is definitely the more physical team, and I don’t mean that in a bad way. They are physical, but not dirty. I believe their physical play was bothering the Lakers, and I think Fisher felt a message had to be sent back from the Lakers.

Fisher knows that none of the Lakers’ big people are going to get tough, physically. Maybe tough verbally, but not physically. So he took it upon himself to deliver a message. Fisher had not been involved in the Odom-Scola little spat. There was nothing personal involved, but I think he felt a message needed to be sent, on behalf of the team. No big guys would do it. He would and did.

In the fourth quarter, Bryant hit Ron Artest with an elbow to the neck while the two of them were jostling for position under the basket for a rebound. Artest, who is stronger than Bryant, was using his superior strength to push Bryant under the basket, and Bryant threw the elbow.

There’s nothing like a thrown elbow to piss a player off, especially to the head and neck areas. Artest, rather than flat out punching him, like he probably would have done a few years ago, paraded around to get the refs’ attention to the fact that Bryant had thrown an elbow.

Artest ended up getting thrown out when he got into Bryant’s face, probably telling Bryant, "no more." Now, like Fisher, I have been a big fan of Artest for a long time. I wanted to trade for him when I was coaching the Pistons during his rookie year. I love his toughness and competitiveness. I know he’s done some crazy stuff, but I still like him. I’m proud of him for how he restrained himself last night. Like Charles Barkley said after the game, “he’d take Artest in his foxhole." So would I.

The NBA’s policy of no fighting has been a good thing. Basketball is a game of finesse and beauty. Physical intimidation and fighting should not be in the game. But there is also a downside to it.

Knowing there is no retaliation, some players gain a little bravado that they may not have had otherwise. Can you picture an Odom, or a Walton going up to Scola on the playground and giving him lip? Do you really think Bryant would throw an elbow at Artest on the playground in Queens?

Like they say, “not in a ******* NY minute."

In the “old days," guys thought twice about giving a cheap shot because they knew it would be coming back at them in spades, kind of like how Fisher retaliated. Even the toughest guys got tired of getting knocked down.

Image Source: Charlotte Observer

Chicago Bulls vs. Boston Celtics: Where Amazing Happens

Jaime Irvine — Fri, 01 May 2009 14:59:45 -0400

After watching game six of the Bulls vs. Celtics series, I wanted to write a post on how magnificent the series has been. I have been sitting in front of my laptop for the past hour trying to come up with something to write.

Why?

The series has been that magical. There is not one specific topic to write about as there are too many highlights that need attention.

I could discuss the fact that there has been seven OTs in six games so far in the series. I could discuss the fact that Gordon, Pierce, Allen, Noah, Salmons, Miller (and probably others) have hit clutch shots or made clutch plays.

I could discuss Rondo averaging a triple-double in the series or Allen dropping 51, or how about John Salmons, who earlier in the year was on the NBA’s worst team, the Sacramento Kings, and last night he dropped 35 to help force a game seven.

Finally, I could talk about Rondo’s tenacity and almost brawl when he threw Hinrich into the press table, a game after punching Brad Miller in the face on an end of the game foul.

There is just too much! The series has been grand and one for the ages, and I can not recall a series being as good as this one in a very long time–no matter first round or the Finals.

Earlier, I wrote that I felt the NBA playoffs are better than the NCAA’s March Madness. I am sure some people got a laugh and disagreed (Not Truehoop), I am just glad the Bulls and Celtics proved me right.

One question remains and you can never get it with March Madness. It is probably the best questions in sports: Who do you like in Game Seven?

The Exportation of Jeremy Tyler

Jaime Irvine — Thu, 30 Apr 2009 13:53:24 -0400

Jeremy Tyler, hailed by many as the best big man prospect to come along since Tyson Chandler and Greg Oden, has decided to forgo his senior year to play professionally. Ordinarily this wouldn’t be a big deal.

Many collegiate basketball players leave school early to pursue their pro aspirations now-a-days. In fact, of players taken in this June NBA draft, most will be underclassmen.

For example, University of Oklahoma sophomore Blake Griffin is projected to be the #1 overall pick. The difference in Tyler’s situation, however, is he hasn’t enrolled or for that matter stepped foot on a college campus as a student because he hasn’t graduated high school.

Jeremy’s father James, who’s a curiously staunch supporter of the decision, says his son “was bored,” and that he wasn’t “getting the challenge he deserves.” Well I’m sure the younger Tyler will have plenty of challenges awaiting him while he adjusts to the language and culture of a new country, whether it be Spain, Italy or Israel (depending on where the talented 6′11″ forward decides to sign).

He’ll also have the added pressure of trying to live up to what will likely be a multi-million dollar contract, while competing against older more seasoned players, in addition to finding time in his schedule to complete his schooling. A pretty full plate considering that the 17-year old’s on the court demeanor has raised questions about his maturity or lack thereof.

Now you may ask, what would prompt the San Diego high school underclassman to make such a drastic move like heading abroad to fulfill his hoop dreams? Well, there are two glaringly obvious reasons why (at least to me). The first being talent development and second is timing.

In Tyler’s own words, “Playing with the pro guys will get [a player] a lot better faster.”

And most would agree with this assumption. Especially European professional hoops brass who offer opportunities a plenty to young players.

The shinning example of this is Ricky Rubio. The 18-year old point guard prodigy was twice named the FIBA Europe Young Player of the Year.

Ricky, who is known on a first name basis overseas, was a bolt of lightning off the bench for the Spaniards in the Olympics this past summer and his play was a major reason why his country qualified for the gold medal game against team USA. Rubio is currently starring in the Spanish ACB League, which is considered to be the highest level of competition outside of the NBA, and is definitely a hot topic among NBA talent evaluators.

Though Tyler’s move is radical, it’s the natural progression of a process that was set in motion last year by number one high school prospect Brandon Jennings . The speedy left handed guard out of Oak Hill Academy was originally a University of Arizona commit.

However after not qualifying for the NCAA clearinghouse, he defected to Italy and joined Virtus Roma on the Euroleague A circuit. And now it looks like it was worth it because, despite receiving sporadic minutes in his initial pro season abroad, Jennings is widely considered to be a lottery pick in the upcoming draft.

Jeremy may have had a point when he said playing “overseas may not be the best way to get to the NBA, but it’s the best way to get ready for the NBA” (Or at least the draft). But based on the evidence so far I have to agree with the pair of southern California phenoms.

A year from now if Jennings has any measure of success it will likely boost Tyler’s draft stock and open the floodgates for all of those wanting to follow in their footsteps.

Still, you would think that there would be domestic options for young blue chip players like Tyler and Jennings when they are ready to leave high school? Well, there is…College.

Regrettably, it’s pretty much the only one due to the semi-incestuous relationship between the NBA and NCAA. There’s also NBA Developmental League but it has yet to find its niche in the world of sports.

The days where players could declare for the NBA draft straight out of high school are long gone thanks to the age requirement instated by the league as a part of the 2006 Collective Bargaining Agreement. Article X of the agreement states:

The player (A) is or will be at least 19 years of age during the calendar year in which the Draft is held, and (B) with respect to a player who is not an international player (defined below), at least one (1) NBA Season has elapsed since the player’s graduation from high school (or, if the player did not graduate from high school, since the graduation of the class with which the player would have graduated had he graduated from high school)

The Collective Bargaining Agreement (or CBA for short) expires in 2011 which is Tyler’s first year of eligibility. So in order for him to maximize his money earning potential, especially considering the new CBA will most likely drastically reduce rookie salaries in response to the current economic conditions (or potentially raise the minimum age limit), he has to start making money by playing professionally now or as soon as possible.

Originally, the thinking behind the age requirement was that it would help induce high schoolers to enroll in college in the hopes they would stay. And though finishing all four years isn’t required to be in the NBA, it was thought that there would be some increase in diplomas among NBA rookies.

Plus, players would get to experience some college basketball while receiving an education ultimately improving the sophistication of the young players in the league. But, as we’ve seen from the large numbers of college basketball players who declare for the draft before completing their college education, NCAA basketball and all that goes along with it, isn’t necessarily the destination of choice.

Furthermore, in my opinion, the resurgence of the NBA has been fueled by players who made the jump directly from high school. Such is the case with the league’s brightest stars including LeBron James, Kobe Bryant and Dwight Howard.

If the Tyler’s and Jennings’ trend catches on, David Stern and the NBA may have stumbled on to the perfect platform on which to showcase its young talent to the world. On the other hand he may have created the conditions for his worst nightmare if the talent developed over there never comes back stateside.

Nevertheless until the NBA creates a viable developmental league like baseball and hockey or until young players decided to sit out an extra year (which is unlikely due to the risk of a player’s skills diminishing and/or losing his valuable draft buzz) then you can expect the United States’ growing number of exports to include young basketball players.

Image Source: Courier-Journal

Bull-Celtics: Are Playoff 4th Quarters Different from the Regular Season?

Jaime Irvine — Wed, 29 Apr 2009 08:45:03 -0400

When I was in high school, a guy in a hooded sweatshirt used to run around the outside of the court holding four fingers in the air at the beginning of the fourth quarter to fire up the crowd and signify that the fourth quarter is different than the other three.

Two examples from the Bulls-Celtics game last night made me ask myself if the fourth quarter, specifically the last few minutes, should be officiated differently.

Let’s start with the Ray Allen double foul. This is the type of call that spawns a million conspiracy theories.

For those who didn’t see it, with a few minutes to go in the fourth, a comically bad double foul was called on Allen and Brad Miller when the two got tangled up.

In the first quarter, I would have rolled my eyes at the call, but given that it was Allen’s sixth and this was the call that put him out of the game, I just sat there shaking my head.

I don’t think there was a grand conspiracy to put Boston’s best shooter and most clutch performer in this playoffs on the bench. It was just a bad call by a bad referee.

Should the call have been made at that point? No, and not because it was the fourth quarter, but because it’s a ridiculous call and shouldn’t been made. Ever.

The second play was Rajon Rondo’s foul on Miller at the end of the game. Rondo went up to block a shot, but ended up hammering the 7' Miller in the side of the head.

The way the NBA works these days, this is unquestionably called a flagrant foul in the first three quarters of the game. But, with just two seconds to go in the fourth, none of the officials wanted to make that call in the Boston Garden.

Personally, I don’t like the flagrant foul rule. To me, Rondo made a good, hard playoff foul, with no intent to injure Miller.

However, since I don’t make the rules, it was a flagrant foul by NBA standards and no matter what the game situation was, it should have been called.

As a fan, what I want most in officiating is consistency from the beginning to end of the game. Call it the same, independent of the situation or where the game is being played.

Ultimately, as it usually does, the ridiculous calls evened out and this very intriguing series moves on.

Paul Pierce—Overrated

Jaime Irvine — Tue, 21 Apr 2009 19:45:34 -0400

First, I want to apologize for the lack of posts lately. We have been extremely busy on some other projects and just did not have the time to work on posting our thoughts on what is going on in the basketball world.

If you have a chance, check out our Lahaina.com website. It is a travel resource for all things Maui and will be a great site to check out for all you college basketball fans coming over for the Maui invitational.

Fortunately, I was lucky enough to catch the last three quarters of game two of the Boston Celtics vs. the Chicago Bulls.

I have to say that the game was filled with plenty of excitement, which is pretty typical for an NBA playoff game.

For those of you NBA haters out there, I highly recommend watching the NBA playoffs. This might be one of the more ridiculous comments for me to make, but I believe the NBA playoffs are just as exciting as March Madness. I mean for a basketball purist, what is better than 40 games in 40 nights?

Back to the game, it was action packed and back and forth, between the two teams. Both teams couldn’t stop one another on defense and there were some great individual feats, such as Ben Gordon dropping 40+ and Ray Allen hitting the go ahead three-pointer—yadda yadda.

What I want to talk about is something that has been bugging me for sometime, but we have seen its true colors in these playoffs.

I want all the experts and casual fans to stop telling me how amazing Paul Pierce is.

Since last year season and the NBA Finals, I have heard over and over how great Pierce is, how he lead his team to an NBA championship; how he deserves to be mentioned in the MVP voting; and even last night by Doug Collins, how he has the heart of a champion.

Yes, Paul Pierce is a good player, but he has some great players along side of him ,and the true heart of a champion on this team is his injured mate Kevin Garnet.

If the Bulls get one rebound, the Celtics would be down right now 0-2 in this series and staring elimination dead in the face.

The same Bulls who are playing without Luol Deng and have a rookie coach in Vinnie Del Negro. Without KG, the Celtics are obviously not very good. The heart and soul, the MVP of Celtics, is in street clothes with a bald head on the bench.

Do you think the Celtics give up a 115 points with KG in the lineup?

Last night put the icing on the cake that Pierce is overrated.

Down the stretch, in clutch-time, it was Rondo, and more importantly, Ray Allen who won last night’s game.

In fact, the plays that were drawn up at the end of the game weren’t even for Pierce. Start giving credit where it is due. Ray Allen deserves a ton of credit. KG deserves a ton of credit.

Paul Pierce needs a little less credit.