Bleacher Report - Articles by Andrew Callagy

Will Lebron be Saying, "Hello Brooklyn" in Two Years?

Andrew Callagy — Sun, 29 Jun 2008 08:42:29 -0400

Fast forward two years from now. The summer of 2010.

Brittney will probably be 300 lbs. and going to jail for the murder of a media member who was staked out at her house.

The U.S. Men's National team will disappoint once again at the World Cup.

The Red Sox will be going for their fourth title in seven years after a 2009 World Championship.

But nothing will dominate the headlines more than one man. LeBron.

This past year LeBron became a man. It wasn't just the 30 ppg. he averaged, or the seven assists per game or even the eight rebounds. It wasn't even the awkward montages we had of him in his house 'playing' with his wife and kids.

Did anyone else think the entire time LeBron was playing basketball in his house with his little kids he was just gonna swat one of the balls back and say, "YOU KNOW WHO I AM? I'M LEBRON EFFIN' JAMES."

Beyond everything else, LeBron played defense. You have to remember this was one facet of his game many believed would never come around. Every scout predicted him to be the most offensively gifted player since MJ, but few believed he would become a lock-down defender as well.

And make no mistake, LeBron James is a lock-down defender in key situations. No coach will ever stick him on the best guy and tell him to shut him down night in and night out. He'd be sidelined by the 30th game with exhaustion. But, in tight spots or the playoffs, this guy becomes an animal.

Witnessing it first hand when the Cavs played my Celtics, I honestly couldn't believe what I was watching. LeBron shut down Finals MVP Paul Pierce for the entire series until Pierce had one of those 'No one is stopping me tonight' games during Game Seven.

He was all over the place on defense. Making key steals, big blocks, and flat out taking over the game on the defensive side.

I attended Game Seven of that series. When the Cavs came all the way back and pulled within one, I thought to myself, if somehow we lost this it would be more of a defining moment in LeBron's career than Game Five of the Pistons series last year when he scored 37 straight points. It was special to watch. And when we pulled out a victory everyone in the arena knew one thing. LeBron had arrived.

So, back to the future. Two years from now LeBron will be a free agent. Able to leave the Cavs, the team that drafted him. He'd also be leaving his home town. The talk right now is revolving around who is actually going to be able to afford this guy.

Well, as of Wednesday night, we at least have one team that is going to try. The New Jersey (soon to be Brooklyn) Nets. The Nets dished Richard Jefferson's $13 million a year for Yi (I'll be out of the NBA in four years) Jianlian and Bobby (Does anyone know who I am?) Simmons. If you don't see that this is a total cap saving move then you have a worse lazy-eye then Stu Scott.

Anyway, in 2010 the New Jersey Nets will officially become the Brooklyn Nets. Part owner of the Brooklyn Nets will be Jay-Z. Coincidently, Jay and LBJ are butt buddies. Surprise, Surprise. It adds up like Josh Howard's weed on a Saturday night.

It's hard to fathom that a team could actually be trying to prepare to sign one, single player two years before that player goes on the market, but, that is the type of player LeBron James is.

If LeBron doesn't have the type of year he just had, do the Nets make this move? Maybe. But what we do know is what the entire NBA knows. LeBron is here and he is legit. So let the sweepstakes begin.

Trues and Falses of The NBA Finals

Andrew Callagy — Thu, 12 Jun 2008 03:40:40 -0400

True: We are entering game four of the NBA finals. A series where Phil Jackson has lost respect from every Celtic fan after whining about the refs after game two. Subsequently, and very predictably, every time Kobe drove the lane the refs acted as if he was being punched in the balls by numerous people. Kobe finished with 18 free throws.

False: There is nothing wrong with the refs’ whistles. Am I the only one who noticed when Kobe got every call not just one ref blew the whistle, but there were actually multiple whistles being blown?

Beyond that, they blew them like it was a technical foul and had five or six going at once. The Lakers fans were probably close to deaf by the end of the game. In fact, I’m sure they would say they were to make up for that pathetic performance.

True: The Lakers' fans submitted the worst effort in finals history. Seriously, I felt like there were 19,000 Terry Schiavo's watching this game until about six minutes left in the fourth. How can you call yourself actual fans?

I know some of the people there are millionaires who really don't care at all, but there are 19,000 seats in that building! There have to be some actual fans there from the regular season.

False: Sam Cassell runs a camp in the off season called "Sam Cassell and the art of taking smart shots in the NBA playoffs."

True: Although this was stated by Mark Jackson during game three, I also saw this and started laughing. The Boston Herald did a piece on each match up in the playoffs and who it favored. They covered the point guard, shooting guard etc.

Finally, when it came to the coach they said that the Doc Rivers vs. Phil Jackson match up was EVEN. This would be like if someone said Brian Scalabrine was equivalent to Tom Brady in getting girls. It just really isn't even close.

False: Phil Jackson has coached well in this series. Yes, after all that I am going to say that Jackson has done a poor job in this series. Kobe is the most dominant player on the court at all times, yet there are plenty of possessions where he doesn't even touch the ball. Jackson needs to abandon his triangle offense and get Kobe more looks.

When Rondo is covering Kobe, get Kobe in the post. When Allen is covering Kobe, send him off screens. Allen was horrendous trying to cover Rip Hamilton off of all the screens from last series. When Pierce/Posey is on Kobe, let him go one on one.

The Lakers don't have enough scoring after Kobe and Pau to win three more games in this series unless Kobe averages 40 a game. The third head of their big three is totally useless.

True: Sorry Phil but Lamar Odom seems a little more than confused. Odom looks like Andy Dufresne the day after he got raped. Stone cold and eyes wide open. Only Odom looks like that every second he's on the court. Seriously, where has this guy been?

In game three I can remember three different times where he just put his head down and drove to the basket at full speed with no regard for anyone else. Twice he slammed the ball off the backboard for a horrific looking miss, and the third time he picked up a charge. He's been nothing short of non-existent in this series.

False: Tim Donaghy will not be killed in 10-25 years by the mob.

True: Tim Donaghy's allegations about the fixing of playoff games are more startling than the first time I saw a woman's breast on a computer screen. Just read this statement submitted by Donaghy's attorney:

"Referees A, F, and G were officiating a playoff series between Teams five and six in May of 2002. It was the sixth game of a seven-game series, and a Team five victory that night would have ended the series. However, Tim learned from Referee A that Referees A and F wanted to extend the series to seven games. Tim knew referees A and F to be 'company men,' always acting in the interest of the NBA, and that night, it was in the NBA's interest to add another game to the series. Referees A and F heavily favored Team six. Personal fouls [resulting in obviously injured players] were ignored even when they occurred in full view of the referees. Conversely, the referees called made-up fouls on Team five in order to give additional free throw opportunities for Team six. Their foul-calling also led to the ejection of two Team five players. The referees' favoring of Team six led to that team's victory that night, and Team six came back from behind to win that series."

That game was the Lakers-Kings game from 2002 in which the Lakers got every call and forced a game seven. A game in which they eventually won. Listen, the only reason why I believe this is because Donaghy is accusing these refs of doing something totally different than what he did.

He's not saying they fixed games for money; he's saying they fixed games for the NBA. If someone can tell me which is worse I'd love to hear your reason.

The league's integrity is now being questioned more than ever. If this is true, that means David Stern is behind all of this. It has always been about the money since Stern took control of the NBA, and now he has gone a step too far. Stern should either be fired or resign.

People are angry at Donaghy for releasing this during the NBA finals. We should all remember he's not only a convict, but also a douche bag. Yet, his allegations are insanely eye-opening.

The NBA: where timing happens.

Xavier Basketball: X Marks the Final Four

Andrew Callagy — Mon, 24 Mar 2008 05:02:40 -0400

One year ago: No. 9 seeded, Xavier taking on top-seeded, Ohio State in the second round of the NCAA tournament.

Ohio State is loaded with talent. Freshmen Greg Oden and Mike Conley are two future NBA first-round picks. Ron Lewis and Jamar Butler are talented upperclassmen who are perfect counterparts to the fabulous frosh.

Ohio State is bound for a Final Four appearance, while Oden is headed for super-stardom on the collegiate stage. Does this faze Xavier?

The defensive-minded Musketeers battle Ohio State to overtime. It took a Ron Lewis (unthinkable) three-pointer to get the game that far. In OT, Ohio State is too much. They beat Xavier by seven and go onto to face Florida in the national title game.

Not many people remember that great game. Xavier sure does.

"It's been a motivating factor for us all spring, summer, fall, and during the year,'' Coach Sean Miller said, "To get back to this moment and see if we could break through.''

Miller has been the mastermind behind the unit, which has six players averaging double figures.

The most noticeable face on the roster is the five-foot-seven, point guard, Drew Lavender. Lavender runs the show, but this is more than just a team led by a quick little point guard.

Josh Duncan, Stanley Burrell, Derrick Brown, CJ Anderson, and BJ Raymond, all contribute, in large amounts, to this team that takes much pride in its defense.

Xavier comes off wins against 14th-seeded Georgia and sixth-seeded Purdue, to put themselves a win --against West Virginia-- away from an imminent, Elite Eight showdown with UCLA. The Musketeers held Purdue to 39 percent from the field, in their last contest.

"Their defense is legit. Definitely legit," said Purdue’s Keaton Grant, who scored 19. "They’re not one of those helter-skelter (teams), where it’s false defense and it’s going to break down in the last five minutes."

Of course, none of the Musketeers will tell you they are looking ahead to a looming match up with everyone’s final four pick, UCLA; the fans of the X are.

After the loss to Ohio State last year, one thing that has been on Xavier’s mind from the beginning of the season, is to make a statement in the big dance.

Beating top-seeded UCLA to reach the Final Four, for the first time in school history, would be a pretty large statement.

The defense and experience from last year’s tourney will get them there.

Coach Miller probably states it best. "There's no clear path; there's no easy way. But, we have a lot of guys who have been through it all and know what to do."