Bleacher Report - Articles by Brandon Gallawa

2009, the Year of Ricky Rubio: NBA New Year's Resolutions

Brandon Gallawa — Fri, 02 Jan 2009 04:51:52 -0500

I decided to do some research on what NBA players, coaches, and teams will be trying to accomplish in the New Year. Here are the NBA’s 2009 resolutions.

Dwight Howard: Learn a post move. At some point it has to happen, right?

Kyle Lowry: Be seen in the same room as MA$E. Until this happens, I won’t be convinced they aren’t the same person.

Ricky Rubio: Roll the dice and declare for the draft. Sure he could end up in Minnesota, OKC, or Sacramento, but he also has a chance to land in a large market like Washington, L.A., or Golden State. As Zach’s favorite movie, Summer Catch, would say, “If you want big rewards, you gotta take big risks.”

Jose Calderon: Pull a Tanya Harding on Rubio so he can continue to be the best Spanish point guard in the league.

Joe Alexander: Bring unintentional comedy to a new level by taking part in the 2009 Dunk Contest.

Kevin Garnett: Be more intense.

Chauncey Billups: Move in with George Karl already. Karl may love Billups more than I love the Nintendo Wii.

Oklahoma City Thunder: Plan their parade through downtown OKC when they manage to get nine wins and Blake Griffin.

Joe Dumars: Hope that no one catches on that the Iverson deal was strictly a salary dump and that this season was a waste.

Mike Woodson: Pray that the Hawks keep flying under the radar this season so there won’t be a huge letdown when they’re bounced in the second round.

Lawrence Frank: Give half of his salary for this season to Devin Harris.

Jeff Green: Eat more. You’re a power forward and should weigh more than 150 pounds.

Jason Thompson: Challenge Peja Stojakovic for the “Who Can Keep His Mouth Agape More?” Contest.

Greg Oden: Ask Kevin Pritchard to trade for Adam Morrison so you aren't the most anti-social guy on the team.

Kevin Martin: Hope that no one realizes he is just sitting out all these games to get Rubio on the Kings so he can play with a fantastic point guard. No offense, Beno.

Utah Jazz: Hire a new trainer and team doctor.

Tim Duncan: Do the Tim Duncan face when he realizes he doesn’t finish in the top five in MVP voting.

Chris Mullin: Pick Billy Knight’s brain and find out the best way to deal with a roster of 42 small forwards.

Elton Brand, Luol Deng, Andre Iguodala, Gilbert Arenas, and Baron Davis: Hold a symposium about how overpaying non-franchise, oft-injured, and non-winning players is a bad idea.

Kevin McHale: Use the inevitable acquisition of the second pick in the upcoming draft to obtain more undersized centers and a few more combo guards.

Toronto Raptors: Wonder if things could get any worse only to see Jay Triano’s record since taking over the team.

Dwyane Wade: Continue to have hands-down the best season by any player who didn’t win the MVP.

Michael Beasley: Get back on defense...sometimes.

Brook and Robin Lopez: Do a viral video of Mike Myers’ "Phillip the Hyper Kid" from SNL. Brook would play Phillip and Robin would play the Nicole Kidman part. I would literally pay $1,000 to see this.

Danny Granger: Be the Arrested Development of the 2008-09 NBA season (aka The Best Show No One Watches).

Tracy McGrady: Save some of his injuries for key playoff games. You don’t want to use them all up in the regular season.

Josh Howard: Celebrate his third month without doing or saying something stupid by smoking a ton, driving drunk, and crashing into an American flag store.

Mike D’Antoni: Kick himself for not waiting until after the draft lottery to choose the Knicks over the Bulls, but be thankful that the Knicks will upgrade the point guard position at this year’s draft.

Nate Robinson: Ruin more dunk contests.

Larry Brown: Bet Michael Jordan $10,000 that he won’t trade him to another team. It may be his only way out.

Sasha Vujacic: Request a bigger percentage of Wall-E’s grosses since they used his image and likeness.

China: Ruin more All-Star Games.

Stephon Marbury: Make outrageous claims like "Chestnuts are lazy" and "I invented the question mark."

Brian Scalabrine: Throw a massive kegger at the Delta house and buy a new long board.

O.J. Mayo: Win the ROY while also setting the record for most games played with a playoff beard without actually making the playoffs.

Andray Blatche: Solicit more prostitutes. With the way the season has gone for the Wizards, I’m sure they’re willing to try anything.

Kobe Bryant: Win more than two meaningful games at the Fleet Center.

Paul Pierce: Fake more injuries.

LeBron James: Learn all the lyrics to "New York, New York."

Glenn Taylor: Find a way to get the hopes of every Wolves fan up only to crush them again. My suggestion: Fire Kevin McHale right before the draft and hire Isiah Thomas as your coach/GM. I couldn’t do this without a mention of Zeke. Plus, I just miss his antics.

There you have it, the unequivocal 2009 New Year’s Resolutions. Granted, it isn’t your standard lose 15 pounds or drink less or quit smoking, but these aren’t your standard guys. I feel pretty confident that every one of these things will happen.

Sacramento Kings & Houston Rockets: History Lessons

Brandon Gallawa — Fri, 19 Dec 2008 04:53:47 -0500

It's funny how history always finds a way of catching up with you. Fours days after firing Reggie Theus, the Sacramento Kings look at a match up with Rick Adleman's Houston Rockets tonight at the Toyota Center.

These two franchises have had strong ties for thirty years.

The Maloof family was a majority owner of the Houston Rockets from 1979-1982. They returned to the ranks of NBA team owners when they purchased the Kings in 1998.

Ralph Sampson played for the Rockets for over four seasons and the Kings for two. The Kings would argue that Sampson didn't really "play" inasmuch as he continually found his way to the IR.

The comparison that will be brought up more often than anything else is the trade that sent Ron Artest from the Kings to the Rockets this off season. This is obviously the most recent transaction between these two franchises, and it changed both franchises significantly this season. The Rockets are now considered a contender in most circles whereas the Kings are absolute bottom feeders. Understandably it will be the main focus each time these teams match up throughout the season.

But the real focus of this game with the recent coaching change in Sacramento should be Rick Adelman's history with the team and how his ultimate dismissal has haunted this franchise for the past three seasons.

Rick Adelman is unequivocally the best coach the Kings have had during their time in Sacramento. During his eight seasons with the Kings, Adelman won 395 games with a .633 winning percentage. He took the Kings to the playoffs every season and led them to the Western Conference finals in 2002.

Yet the Maloofs didn't hesitate to show him the door instead of re-signing him after the 2005-06 season. It seemed the Maloofs bought into the belief that certain Blazers and Kings' fans held which was that Adelman was a great regular season coach, but he couldn't win the big games in the playoffs.

What people seem to ignore is how often the chips were constantly stacked against him in those playoff series or how often his star players underperformed when the spotlight was on them.

Adelman took the Blazers to the Finals twice, but he was beaten by superior teams each time. Ask Karl Malone, John Stockton, Charles Barkley, Patrick Ewing and just about any other player how easy it was to beat Isiah Thomas or Michael Jordan in their respective primes.

Adelman was also saddled with players on the Kings that crack under pressure or weren't healthy enough to show up time and time again.

Chris Webber is the ultimate example of why box scores are deceiving. He always seemed to put up big numbers over the course of the game but ran away from the ball like it had cooties in the final minutes. He was also plagued with injuries throughout the latter part of his time in Sacramento.

Peja Stojakovic was constantly injured and could hit water if he fell out of a boat in pressure situations.

Besides Doug Christie, none of the Kings were willing to do the dirty work and play consistent defense especially at the end of games.

Maybe those things could be blamed on Rick Adelman.

Maybe he didn't prepare them enough for those big games or end of game situations

Maybe he didn’t coach them well enough on how to deal with that pressure.

Maybe he didn't choose his rotations very well and didn't incorporate his younger players enough. As a side note, this was the criticism that held the most water. He let talented young players like Hedo Turkoglu, Gerald Wallace and Kevin Martin languish away on the bench in favor of veterans like Jim Jackson and Bonzi Wells. He also won a ton of games during that time, so it is pretty hard to argue with his immediate results.

Adelman wasn't on the court to secure a rebound in Game Four of the 2002 Western Conference finals. He wasn't missing free throws throughout Game Seven of that same series. It is hardly his fault that fate decided Chris Webber's knee should be a casualty of the 2003 playoffs. Nor did he miss the game winning shot in Game Seven against the Minnesota Timberwolves in the 2004 Western Conference Semifinals.

Ultimately it is the players that win or lose during the big moments of games. It is the coach’s job to put them into a position to succeed or fail, and Adelman was quite adept at doing just that.

The Kings should be dismantled by a much more talented and well coached Rockets club in this game and every other game against them for the rest of the season. They have no one to blame but themselves. Adelman should do everything in his power to continue to stick it to the Kings.

In the bigger picture, the Kings are faced with yet another coaching search this off season. This will be the third time in four years that they have to go through this process, and it is all because they were impatient with the best coach their franchise has ever seen. They may never find another candidate as great as Rick Adelman, but Kings’ fans will continue to hope that history finds a way to repeat itself.

Reggie Theus Lacks Hang Time

Brandon Gallawa — Wed, 17 Dec 2008 12:00:11 -0500

The Sacramento Kings fired Reggie Theus on Monday morning, and it was announced that assistant Kenny Natt was named interim coach. The Kings also fired Chuck Person, Theus’ top assistant.

The writing seemed to be on the wall as early as November 15th when Joe Maloof called Theus out on a Sacramento radio show. It seems that losses in 10 of their last 11 games and falling to last place in the Pacific division was the straw that broke the camel’s back.

Theus was not stellar in his short tenure with Sacramento going 44-62 in his first stint as an NBA head coach. The Kings did overachieve last season going 38-44 despite dealing with a lot of injuries, but their 6-18 record this season left a lot to be desired in spite of missing Kevin Martin for 15 games, Francisco Garcia for 17 games, and Brad Miller for the first 5 games of the season.

They are one of the worst defensive teams in the league and don’t back that up with a very good offense, and their rookies have regressed as the season has progressed. So the case can be made that Theus deserved to be fired.

The case can also be made that he never deserved to be hired in the first place, a point I belabored while the Kings were searching for a coach before the 2007-08 season. Reggie Theus was strictly a marketing pick during that off-season.

He was a recognized name in Sacramento having played for the Kings for 4 seasons; he had an appealing look that would attract fans, and he was coming off a good season as a college head coach at New Mexico State. As most of us know decisions made with only marketing as a factor usually don’t work out very well.

These poor decisions along with impatience, unrealistic expectations and the whims of an owner usually lead to a combustible situation that almost always ends with someone losing his or her job.

The decision of most owners to fire a head coach initially stems from unrealistic expectations, and this was one of the main factors behind Theus being fired. No one that knows basketball expected much from the Kings this season. They were picked as a lottery team in almost every pre-season preview, yet you would have thought this team was headed to the playoffs hearing or reading the Maloofs’ comments before the season.

They fully expected the Kings to be in contention for a playoff spot, and the fact that they still held that opinion even after the Kings were without two of their best players for two-thirds of the season just shows how delusional those expectations are. Owners have to be realistic sometimes.

Only half the teams in the league make the playoffs and only three or four have a realistic shot at winning a championship year in and year out. But when those expectations aren’t met (as they most often aren’t) the owners are usually very quick to play executioner.

The mercurial attitude of the Maloofs also contributed to Reggie Theus being fired. The Maloofs made the decision to bring Theus in before last season. They had a whim to bring in an ex-King who would have instant name recognition with fans instead of allowing the basketball people they hired to make the basketball decisions.

They used their gut when they made the decision to fire Rick Adelman and to hire the fire Eric Musselman. You would think that the last three coaching decisions that they made would have made them realize that they aren’t the greatest basketball minds in the building, but it hasn’t slowed them down.

When the story first broke, the first reaction was that the Kings were a rudderless ship that really didn’t have a direction or plan in order to succeed. When you look deeper, you realize that they are more like a ship with four rudders trying to steer the ship in ten different directions.

This team doesn’t have a unified goal because the Maloofs don’t seem to trust Geoff Petrie; the coach can never trust the Maloofs, and the players have no motivation to work hard for a lame duck coach with no actual authority. This usually stems from ownership trying to take over too much of the game-to-game control of a team.

Great business people know that entrusting others and delegating tasks to them is the best way to run a business. What owners like the Maloofs don’t seem to realize is that they don’t have to be the only ones to make a decision for it to reflect positively on them.

More often than not a great decision made by their employee still reflects positively on them because ultimately it was their foresight to delegate that power which led to it. That isn’t to say that the Maloofs should be completely hands off because they paid a lot of money for the Kings, and they have every right to voice their opinions and be involved in the decision making processes.

On a related note, name the owner of the San Antonio Spurs without looking it up. Most people couldn’t pick Peter Holt out of a line-up unless they’re real NBA-philes or in the market for Caterpillar construction equipment. The reason: he trusts the decision makers he has put in position to succeed and knows they are more qualified than he is when it comes to running the product on the court.

He doesn’t grandstand or worry about his image as a playboy or team owner. Holt cares as much about his team’s winning and being seen accepting the Larry O’Brien trophy as the Maloofs care about producing reality shows and being seen on the Las Vegas strip.

So this now leaves the Kings with a head coaching spot to fill this off-season, and the next topic of discussion will be who the Kings decide to bring on board. There is no way of knowing exactly who will be available or who the Kings will choose when it is all said and done.

As I wrote immediately after Musselman was fired, how this decision is made will reflect on whether the Maloofs are actually handing the keys back to Geoff Petrie. There are a lot of great basketball minds available, so at least they’ll have a talented pool of potential coaches from which to choose.

Reggie Theus’ firing serves as yet another cautionary tale of a college coach not being able to cut it in the NBA. College coaches just don’t have the right attitude and mentality to lead an NBA team. For every Larry Brown there are ten examples just like Mike Montgomery. You can have a dictatorial relationship with college players because you make more money than they do and your job is much more secure, but that just doesn’t translate to the pro game.

Coaches have to deal with different players that have different motivations in college than in the pros. In college it is all about the team and winning games as opposed to getting your stats in spite of victories.

The NBA is all about getting paid, and getting paid is directly proportionate to what statistics you accumulate. There are exceptions to this rule in both college and the pros. There are plenty of players in college that are only out to get their stats and don’t care what their coaches have to tell them, and there are also plenty of players in the NBA that could care less what stats they put up as long as they win.

Players in the NBA know that their guaranteed contracts mean they can do and say whatever they want and only be on their best behavior in a contract year, and that more often than not the coach will take the fall because he is much easier to replace. College coaches have to answer to boosters and their Athletic Director, but once again the AD and boosters care more about winning than anything else.

It appears that Reggie Theus had already planned his exit from Sacramento, and he has hinted that he had been planning on heading back to the college ranks. Hopefully his style continues to translate well to college, and he is able to find success again.

Sacramento Kings' Draft Wish List, Random TV, and Christmas Traditions

Brandon Gallawa — Wed, 17 Dec 2008 11:55:44 -0500

I respect the hell out of Chad Ford, but there is just no reason to start putting mock drafts and draft position rankings out there yet.

We don’t know exactly who is going to be picking first. We don’t know what trades will be made before the season is over, how certain college players will perform come tournament time, or how Euro imports will stack up against homegrown talent. There should be a moratorium on all draft previews until after March Madness is over.

Let’s see if Blake Griffin can perform on the big stage against better competition. Let’s see if Stephen Curry has another magical run in him.

Don’t we want to know every possible aspect of the potential Euro players, including health and how they respond to a full season against the European leagues?

Shouldn’t we wait to see how the coaching decisions play out since that will undoubtedly alter the draft order? Four of the bottom five teams have fired their coaches this season, and the Clippers should be seriously considering it.

With that said, I absolutely love seeing Ricky Rubio, Brandon Jennings, and Stephen Curry’s names listed next to the Kings on the lottery page. Yet another reason not to pay attention to it: I don't want to get my hopes up, and who knows if it actually will happen?

I should never have clicked the link because now I’m watching Jennings and Rubio highlight packages against the Euro leagues on YouTube non-stop and fondly remembering Curry’s performance in the tournament last March.

See what you’ve done, Ford! You’ve given hope to a broken man, and, as Red said in Shawshank Redemption, “Hope is a dangerous thing. Hope can drive a man insane.”

After all the talk about how Al Harrington looked like Earl from Dinosaurs on the last podcast, I started to think this was one of the most underappreciated shows from my youth.

Now, you may be questioning the tag I placed on Dinosaurs, but it truly was underappreciated. It was an extremely smart show despite the fact that all the major players were essentially puppets or guys in dinosaur suits and a bastard of a baby character whose only purpose was to spout catch phrases and hit the father in the head.

Many of the characters were named after petroleum companies such as Sinclair, Phillips, and Hess. There was also a lot of satire throughout the show, and it discussed a lot of hot-button issues: war, divorce, damaging the environment, equal rights, religion, censorship, drug abuse, corporate crime, and government interference.

I really am considering buying the series on DVD once I get my inevitable Best Buy gift card for Christmas.

Other old TV shows that I wouldn’t complain about getting on DVD: Parker Lewis Can’t Lose, Hang Time, The White Shadow, Perfect Strangers, ALF, Mr. Belvedere, Growing Pains, Night Court, Out of this World, Small Wonders, Silver Spoons, Coach, Just the Ten of Us, Wonder Years, Boy Meets World, Double Dare, Salute Your Shorts, Hey Dude, and many more shows that I can’t really think of off the top of my head.

You all only have seven more shopping days until Christmas, so you can show how truly loyal you readers are by sending me a copy of any of those shows on DVD. If they aren’t out on DVD, send me a petition to get them released, and I will sign it without hesitation.

As was also mentioned in the podcast, I’m breaking Christmas tradition. I'm headed to Mexico on a cruise with the wife and her family.

Now, before you question what I’m doing in these tough economic times, it's Mrs. Good Knowledge’s grandmother who is paying for the trip, and I am not one to turn down a trip to Mexico. I’m also looking forward to relaxing where the temperature has been consistently in the 80s and where ordering a piña colada or rum punch won’t illicit snickers.

Plus, it beats the current cold snap that everyone in the U.S. is feeling. Here’s to not seeing snow or having to wear an overcoat for a week. Going to Mexico is usually great, unless of course it is via kidnapping, and that is where I draw the line.

I am looking forward to seeing how all-out Mexico goes on Christmas. We’re talking about a country that is predominantly Catholic. I’m just glad that we’ll actually hear people saying “Merry Christmas” for a change instead of “Happy Holidays.” They actually say “Feliz Navidad,” but we all know what the translation means.

I just think people who wish me happy holidays are the scum of the earth, and my opinion isn’t going to change. Why is it so hard to tell people “Merry Christmas?”

Last I checked, Dec. 25 is a national holiday, and the United States is shut down, with just about every business closed on that day. Any calendar you look at will list it as Christmas Day, so why are we as a society so touchy-feely about uttering that phrase?

Just because you say it doesn’t mean you’re labeling someone as Christian. If anything, it is patriotic and a show of unity that we all celebrate Christmas as a national holiday.

My Christmas traditions seem to be watching A Christmas Story three or four times during TNT’s 24 hours of A Christmas Story, watching four or five basketball games on Christmas Day, and spending inordinate amounts of time during the week at Best Buy deciding what to purchase on Dec. 26.

Also, complaining about having to wait to watch movies I want, complaining about the usage of "Happy Holidays" instead of "Merry Christmas," eating way too much, and spending Christmas morning with my family.

It looks like this Mexico trip is going to throw off quite a few of those traditions this year, but I’m not about to complain. I was also able to weasel my wife into a new tradition: watching It’s a Wonderful Life the weekend before Christmas.

She has repeatedly stated that she thinks that this movie is too long and that she doesn’t like it, but I told her she had to give it another chance and I wasn’t going to let her get out of watching it this year. It is arguably one of the top three Christmas movies ever made.

Frank Capra directed it to perfection, and it is the prime reason for the term “Capra-esque.” Jimmy Stewart is arguably the best American movie star that has ever lived, and he doesn’t disappoint in this classic.

The wife and I sat down to watch it on Sunday night. Meanwhile, she was posting on her Facebook about how I had forced her to watch it. People were agreeing that it was overrated and to watch National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation instead because it was “better.”

Don’t even get me started on the sheer lunacy of that idiotic suggestion. Of course, she was in tears for the final five minutes (as anyone who isn’t heartless would be) and admitted that it was actually a pretty good movie. I’m glad she came to her senses because I plan on watching it with her every year on the Sunday before Christmas from here on out.

You won’t be reading me next week, so hopefully this good knowledge can sustain you until New Year’s Eve. I’ll be back with a tan, Montezuma’s revenge, and as much underpriced alcohol as I can fit in my suitcase.

Kings-Lakers Non-Rivarly, Memphis and Oklahoma City Battle at the Bottom

Brandon Gallawa — Wed, 17 Dec 2008 11:50:36 -0500

Let me be point out something that would seem out of character for me—I hated watching the Kings beat the Lakers on Tuesday night.

Don’t get me wrong.

I loved seeing John Salmons control the game at both ends of the floor.

I also loved Francisco Garcia playing on nothing but adrenaline in the first half.

I was pleasantly surprised that they could hang with the Lakers without Kevin Martin, let alone beat them handily.

What pissed me off was the fact that Gavin Maloof was screaming and jumping around as if this was a do-over for the 2002 WCF. After every three, defensive stop, or big dunk, they would cut to Gavin Magoof out of his seat screaming and pumping his fists.

If Gavin is reading this, the Kings never had a rivalry with the Lakers, so I’m wondering how something that never existed still is around in your mind.

Don’t get me wrong—no team gave the Lakers more trouble during the Shaq/Kobe era, but they still never beat the Lakers. It was as much of a rivalry as Bugs Bunny versus Elmer Fudd. One party constantly getting the better of the other does not a rivalry make.

That frustrated me immensely, and getting wins against top-flight teams (Lakers & Hornets for example) should only serve to frustrate Kings’ fans even more. Where is this effort in winnable games against Memphis or in blowouts against Denver or Utah?

The other issue is that every win means the Kings are that much further away from landing Ricky Rubio. No offense to some of the players currently on the roster, but Rubio may make being a Kings’ fan worth it again.

He would bring back the days of Jason Williams but in a package that is younger and more in control offensively and defensively. I’m not exaggerating when I say that within five years he will be one of the top three point guards in the league.

Again, no offense to Beno Udrih, but the Kings aren’t blowing anyone’s doors off with him. Let’s see some more last-second losses to get the Kings in a position for long-term success.

Who do the Grizzlies think they are, getting in the way of history? They need to realize that the likelihood of a team with single-digits in the win column may never happen in my lifetime with how watered-down expansion has made the league.

A game like last night only gives the Thunder hope that they can pull off 10 wins this season, and the first step to success is hope. They may have even walked into a win.

The next time these teams play, I want the Grizzlies to steam-roll them into oblivion. That’ll break their spirits.

I must say that no one thought that this historic match-up would be the best game of the night, but you learn to always throw the records out when Memphis and OKC face off. Of course this was probably the Thunder’s best chance at getting a win this month, and they wasted it. Maybe there still is hope for history this season.

I still disagree with Talkhoops Creator Zach Harper that Marc Iavaroni is on his way out in Memphis. I just don’t see how the cheapest ownership in basketball would pay someone not to coach the team. They certainly wouldn’t pay two different people to coach the club.

It does seem like Iavaroni is daring them to fire him with the rotations he is playing and their inconsistent performances. Does he have an unwritten deal to join D’Antoni in New York?

There is something very calming about having Tim Duncan on your fantasy team. You know what you’ll get from the guy every night. He has stayed healthy his whole career. He saves his best performances for late in the season. Even his “off nights” are still 17 and nine with a block. He is the anti-McGrady.

I actually have both guys. I’m almost considering changing my team’s name to The Duality of Man, but I think that may go over way too many heads. Plus I don’t want to come off like a first semester psychology student.

The Dark Knight came out on DVD this week, and I feel like a crackhead with some rocks in the next room. Christmas basically guarantees that I’m not allowed to purchase anything for myself for a two-month period, so I have to wait for another two weeks to get a movie that I’m dying to watch again.

It was without question the best movie that has come out in the past year, and it succeeded in the seemingly impossible task of legitimizing comic book movies. If you didn’t go see it in the theatre (it made half a billion dollars and was one of the best reviewed films of the year, and you still blew it off?), go rent it or put it on your Netflix queue‚—or better yet, buy it, because it is worth the $20.

I would put it up there with Saved by the Bell: Hawaiian Style for the greatest movie ever put to film. Now if they could only combine the two…

My two cents on the Suns-Bobcats trade: I actually like it for the Suns. Matt Barnes has basically replaced the production that Raja Bell has given them for the past 2 seasons. Boris Diaw has never been the same since signing his big contract after his fluke season. Jason Richardson has never played with a true point guard, and he should reap huge rewards and produce big offensive numbers playing alongside Nash. He is also a pretty good defender and can drain from three with open looks. He should have plenty with Nash, Amare Stoudemire and Shaquille O’Neal. I love him as a third option on offense, and they’ll now be able to outplay just about any small line-up. This does hurt their front-court depth especially if one of their bigs gets injured. I want it to work out. Steve Kerr and Terry Porter are both good guys and deserve the benefit of a year or two on the job.

Don’t agree with what I have this week? Email me at bgallawa@talkhoops.net and I may print your letter in a future column and politely tear you apart.

Remember there is more to life than basketball, but it isn’t much. As always a little good knowledge goes a long way.

Quick Thoughts on the Dubs and the MVP Debate

Brandon Gallawa — Wed, 17 Dec 2008 11:45:26 -0500

There may not be a more fun losing team than the Golden State Warriors. The Dubs have lost with more flare than any other team in the league. Any time they suit up, you could be witness to a 120-point onslaught that will inevitably be countered with their opponent’s 125. It’s almost as if Don Nelson hates defense.

Maybe defense murdered his father or picked on him at school because he has basically thrown his middle finger up to “D” for the past three years in Golden State. Or it’s also possible he is just so in love with offense that he doesn’t care about hurting defense’s feelings. Either way, I know that I’m going to be treated to some Run-TMC era scoring when the 08-09 Warriors take the court. Wins and defense be damned!

Speaking of the Dubs, how happy is Jamal Crawford right now? He had to feel disheartened at first. Getting traded away from D’Antoni’s system is like your really fun, cute girlfriend breaking up with you. Only this is like your ex-girlfriend saying that you should still be having fun and seeing other people so she gives you the number to her younger, hotter sister who is more “adventurous” and crazy.

You know it isn’t going to lead to anything serious and your ex was marrying material. You also still feel a little betrayed, but you won’t complain with all the fun you’ll be having for the next few years. Basically what I’m trying to say is Crawford is playing for the Knicks’ younger sister.

How has NBATV not turned this Stephon Marbury situation into a reality show? They could have representatives from all 30 teams compete to be eliminated. The GMs would have to do challenges like putting together sign-and-trades or setting up draft kits. If you do well, you get to back to work for your team. If you lose challenges, you have to stay.

The worst/last GM standing would have to take Marbury onto his roster. That would be great original programming. Plus MTV or VH1 could parlay it into their own program where they follow Marbury and film him living his life in his new city. If this ever happens, let me apologize in advance to the city of Minneapolis and T-Wolves fans for getting Marbury back.

I normally wouldn’t call out one of the other Senior Writers on Talkhoops, but I have to openly question Phillip Barnett’s MVP list after the first month. He has the front-runner correct because LeBron James is running away with it.

James is putting up absurd stats and his team has the third best record in the entire league. Getting the winner is the most important thing, so I don’t have too much against his top choice. After that he couldn’t be more wrong.

Kobe Bryant has been the best SG and probably the best player of the past 10 years. I’m impressed with how well the Lakers have played, but Kobe Bryant isn’t second in the MVP race right now. The only reason he is being mentioned is his name recognition and the Lakers record.

The Lakers have been the model of “team oriented.” I think he deserves to be in the conversation because he is the best player on the best team. If we just gave the award to the best player on the best team, why didn’t Garnett win it last year? The answer: it was an ensemble act just like the Lakers are an ensemble this season. He’ll be in the top five when it is all said and done, but there are other players that are more valuable right now.

Dwayne Wade should be in the same breath as LeBron with the season he is having. He is leading the Heat to wins in spite of how bad they are. He leads the world in scoring and has an NBA Live stat line (i.e. unrealistic). There isn’t a player doing more with less than Wade, and there are only a few that are even close.

The fact that they are the seventh seed right now has everything to do with Wade. Not only that, but we should reward players that play both sides of the ball. Wade is not only a dominant player on offense, but he can defend any opponent’s best perimeter player. Plus there may not be a single SG in the league that can step in and replace his production on that roster.

My other candidates (besides Kobe) are as follows: Chris Paul should be in the running. Talk about the Hornets barely being above .500 all you want, Paul has been dominant, and this team would be 6 or 7 games under .500 without him. He is playing point guard as well if not better than Nash and Isiah Thomas in their primes and doing it surrounded by guys having anti-career years.

Tim Duncan would be next in my voting. He doesn’t get the attention because he is so mild mannered, but he has overcome injuries to two All-Stars and still has the Spurs winning games. He also leads the Spurs in points, rebounds, blocks, minutes played, and he has as many assists per game as their interim PG George Hill.

Finally Devin Harris should round out the MVP voting. If you had told me before the season that the Nets would be above .500 and realistically in the hunt for the playoffs, I would have called you a liar and sent a mass email to all your friends proclaiming how dumb you were. Harris is averaging 25.3 points, 6.4 assists, and 1.3 steals. He also is second in the league with 11.9 FT attempts per game. This may sound like an insignificant stat, but he is putting opponents in foul trouble and getting his team into the penalty.

He is also shooting 82% from the line, so he isn’t a liability like Dwight Howard. The Nets are 5-2 when he leads the team in scoring. They are 0-3 without Harris with a -12.8 point differential per 100 possessions when he is off the floor. Point guards that take lottery teams to the playoffs should be in the MVP hunt.

Don’t agree with my opinions or want to tell me how off I am at all times then send an email to bgallawa@talkhoops.net, and I’ll tell you just how right I am.

Remember a little good knowledge can go a long way.