Playoff Football, I Hate SEC Fans, and Gilbert

Well as most of you probably know, this past weekend plus Monday was a football intensive weekend. NFL playoffs started and the National Championship finally went underway. My thoughts of the games played:

Saturday

I was in utter shock (but also pleased) by the play of the New Orleans Saints defense. I mean, credit should be given to the Seahawks, but the Saints defense played absolutely horrendous: a washed-up Matt Hasselback throwing for 4 TDs???? Marshawn Lynch running his longest run since his glory days at Cal??? That’s just sad…

The Jets-Colts game was pretty boring IMO. The score suggested that it was a purely defensive game, but that wasn’t the case. Both offenses were sucking it up, with both offenses not being able to convert 3rd downs. In the end, the Jets won off a FG because of a running into the kicker call on 4th and 5 with a minute to go. Let’s just end the Saturday games by saying that Mark Sanchez is grossly overrated and undeserving of beating Tom Brady and the Pats next week.

Sunday

I thoroughly enjoyed the Baltimore Ravens beatdown of the Chiefs. The Chiefs were actually winning before halftime, but the Ray Lewis and co. decided to show the inexperienced Chiefs what the playoffs are all about. The Ravens defense accounted for 5 turnovers and a huge 4th down stop, and limited star RB Jamaal Charles to less than 5 yards in the 2nd half. That’s classic Ravens football. On the flipside, the Ravens offense was just as impressive, but also unconventional, with Ray Rice and Willis McGahee rushing for a combined 100 yards and Joe Flacco throwing for about 300 yards.

Yeah, I didn’t watch the last game…. I was playing basketball instead…. But Mike Vick, it was a heck of a run. Wish you the best next season. You will always be my MVP <3.

Monday

Congrats to Auburn for winning the Crystal Football. I would personally like to say here that although the SEC has won the past 5 National Championships, only one team from the conference can win per year, not a whole conference. So I would like to tell the UGA fans stop lying to themselves: does it feel like UGA is a national champ because Florida, LSU, Auburn, or Bama won the national championship? I don’t think so. Well, I’m going to stop the hating and look at the two top upperclassmen on Auburn.

Nick Fairley absolutely dominated Oregon’s smaller o-line and should have planted himself as the top pick of the 2011 NFL draft. He’s a defensive tackle with d-end athleticism and has been compared to Ndamukong Suh as a game changer. Clemson end Da’quan Bowers is so far listed as the top prospect, but with the dominance of Suh, Fairley’s stock will rise fast. He was easily the MVP of the National Championship game.


Heisman winner Cam Newton has shown that he can battle with adversity all season long. This guy has the tools to be great (great size, strength, cannon arm, great mobility) and has the intangibles. He needs a bit of work with his IQ and will need to refine his QB skills in a pro-style offense, but all that can come with coaching. He should be a 1st rounder this year and maybe even a top 10 pick if a team like SF or Minnesota decides to reach for him.

Well it is time for my controversial (and pretty ridiculous) NBA opinions. The Orlando Magic are on an impressive run after the blockbuster trades that gave the team a makeover. I am really digging the team, except for one thing: they do not play Gilbert Arenas enough. Maybe I’m being biased because I have him on my fantasy team or maybe not. But I know that on any given night, Arenas can explode offensively and is definitely way more talented than Jameer Nelson and J.J. Reddick. Yes, he is a volume shooter, but he is an underrated playmaker as well. And with Superman as his big man, he will dish the ball more than he did in Washington.

Another factor for the need of a better scorer is the emergence of Hedu as the playmaker of the Orlando offense. He has now reached double digit assists in 2 of his past 4 games. Otis Smith needs to ship out Jameer for a solid PF to increase the Magic frontcourt depth. I know the Gilbert from 4,5 years ago will never return, but ask yourself this, “Which PG would I want to shoot a game-tying 3? Jameer or Gilbert?” For me, the answer is clear.

For fun. The Top 3 football related videos this weekend:
1. Marshawn Lynch's run vs. Saints
2. Ed Reed's crushing blow on Dexter McCluster
3. Marshawn Lynch, "beastmode"
4. Ed Reed postgame talk
5. Cam Newton vs. the confetti

Carmelo's Homecoming

If you believe in destiny, fate, or any other acting supernatural force, then you must believe that current Denver Nuggets forward Carmelo Anthony will be calling Madison Square Garden home in the future. The only question is a matter of when it will happen? Currently, Anthony is being shopped by the Nuggets, and while the demands of the Nuggets shrink the market for Anthony, the New Jersey Nets appear to be the primary suitor. Armed with a blue-chip prospect (Derrick Favors), expiring contracts (Troy Murphy), and the ever-sought 1st round draft picks (3 in the upcoming draft), the Nets seemed destined to land the big fish. However, the main hurdle in this trade is that Melo’s desire to play for the Knicks has long been publicly declared, thus leading many to believe that he will bolt to the Big Apple in July. Would any sane GM be willing to part with that much for a rental?

Paging, Donnie Walsh. After years of aggressive wheeling and dealing for the summer of 2010, Walsh has uncharacteristically been quiet this season. This could be maybe because the Knicks are finally poised to play in the postseason for the first time in 6 years or Walsh’s lack of trade assets. Anyways, Walsh is taking the conservative approach in acquiring Melo, which is the “Oh, he’s going to get traded this season, but he will be playing for us for sure next season. Why bother relinquishing any pieces of our team?”

HELLO?!?!?!!? This is Carmelo Anthony, arguably the 2nd best scorer in the NBA right now. On top of that, he won a National Championship in his only year with Syracuse, New York’s best college basketball team. Okay, maybe this situation is a little different than the LeBron situation (Melo has New York roots as opposed to a native Clevelander like James), but still why risk losing him to a rising team across the Hudson River. The Nets pose the greatest threat to the rebirth of New York Knick dominance with a rising star (Brook Lopez), hip-hop mogul owner (Jay-Z), relocation to Brooklyn, and the assets to assemble a championship roster around Lopez and possibly Anthony

I wrote in a previous blog that Walsh’s #1 target since becoming the Knicks GM was Carmelo Anthony, not LeBron James. That probably is crazy talk, but now Melo is Walsh’s #1 target and now he has the opportunity to cash in that ticket, and if he succeeds, he can create the next Big 3 team by enticing Chris Paul to the Big Apple. Honestly, will Danillo Gallinari and Wilson Chandler ever be superstars in this league? No. Can they lure other superstars to play for your team? No. Will you miss these players if it meant Melo would play for you? No.


Math 101: Melo > Gallinari+Chandler

The value of a superstar transcends his own production on the court. History has shown us, that teams with 3 star players are perennial championship contenders, expedites the development of young players (see Rondo, Rajon), and are the main events of the league. Is this not enough motivation to pursue Carmelo?

The Battle of Number Ones

First off, I would like to say how pumped I am for the NBA season. 4 months after Kobe and his Lakers triumphed over their rivals the Boston Celtics (I would now like to point out that I correctly predicted the winner), everyone is ready for a new chapter in the NBA. A summer headlined by the 3-headed-monster Miami Heat, all signs point to a Heat-Lakers showdown in the NBA Finals.

A much less glamorous and more ambiguous prize during the NBA season is the prestige known as Rookie of the Year. This year stages a much more interesting showdown than previous years due to the debuts of TWO first overall selections from their respective drafts: Blake Griffin and John Wall. Some may point out that former No.1 pick Greg Oden debuted the year after he was drafted, but after his many trips to the injured reserve, he should seriously consider a career in medicine, thus making the competition for Derrick Rose irrelevant.

Hopefully, history (Oden’s Curse and the Curse of the Clippers- I am referring to Bill Simmon’s here) will not repeat itself, allowing Griffin and Wall to duke it out till the season’s 80th game. Just watching both players’ highlights in the preseason alone speaks volumes for what kind of talents they are.

So which one will take home the hardware if both post similar stats? History has shown that individual performance does play the main role (Kevin Durant and Tyreke Evans), but should one player single handedly lead his team to the playoffs (AKA Chris Paul) while the other does not, then the former should take the cake. It should be noted that the past 4 out of the 5 ROYs have been guards, but the 5 before that have been forwards. But here are the cases I make for both:

John Wall PG 6’ 4” Kentucky

This freak of nature has the tools to be a superstar. Regarded as a hybrid between Rajon Rondo and Derrick Rose, Wall’s explosiveness enables him to burn down the floor and make the impossible pass using his incredible vision. His size provides him with the size matchup against most point guards.
X-factor: How many games will Gilbert Arenas miss?

Blake Griffin PF 6’10” Oklahoma

Griffin is a BEAST. He loves to work out and it shows in his play: he utilizes brute strength to get into position for rebounds and boards. He also has three point range and can handle the ball like a guard to complement his post game.
X-factor: Can his knee hold up for a season? Will Baron Davis be a playmaker or scorer?

Who do I think will win? The NBA is becoming a more fastbreak guard's league. So, I would have to go with John Wall.

Predicting the Future

And Lebron will be Playing for…

Well it’s time for the NBA Finals and now that we have a good 4 day break, I would like to spend this time to think about the marquee free-agent scenarios this summer.

Before I spoil the big surprise, let me provide you with my credentials: I am a certified psychic and have been so for the past 3 years. I graduated from the school of clairvoyants and am a member of the fraternity of fortune tellers.

Now that I have revealed my true self, let me show you what I see in my crystal ball.
After the final buzzer of the Finals sounds, all 30 teams will be trying to dialing up Lebron’s agent. As of right now, the favorite destinations for King James are: New York, New Jersey, Chicago, and Cleveland. However, a different team will scoop him up.

Lebron has consistently stated that he wants to win. He’s arguably the most talented basketball player in the world, so I am pretty sure that money (and ownership) is of little issue for King James. He has many endorsements and his own shoe line, so he can ultimately play for the midlevel exception if he desires. Cross out New York.

Honestly, let’s just cut to the chase: Chicago is out because Lebron does not want to be compared with MJ; and New Jersey is out because it’s not New York nor will the Nets be moving to Brooklyn fast enough.

Lebron will be playing in Los Angeles. No not the Lakers, but the other LA team. What a perfect way to intrude into Kobe territory in order to see who the true number one player in the NBA is. They will play 3-4 times a season and won’t have to wait for a (gasp!) never occurring NBA Finals matchup.

Plus, the Clippers have a solid nucleus with the forgotten Blake Griffin, underrated Eric Gordon, DeAndre Jordan, Chris Kaman, and will add to that with the eighth overall pick in this year’s draft (a Patrick Patterson or Al-Farouq Aminu. Also, the Clippers complement their young core with solid veterans such as Baron Davis, Travis Outlaw, and Steve Blake.

Bringing LBJ to LA will definitely cause some unexpected dominoes to fall this summer.

1. Dwayne Wade will bolt South Beach for the Windy City and join forces with Derrick Rose to form the most athletic backcourt in the NBA. Boasting a starting lineup of Rose, Wade, Deng, Gibson, and Noah will vault the Bulls into contention for an Eastern Conference title. The Bulls will try to woo Amare Stoudemire and Chris Bosh, but both players will end up elsewhere.

2. Amare Stoudamire and Chris Bosh will re-sign with their original squads. However, only Amare will continue to play with the team he signed. Amare will make one last run with Steve Nash and co. to contend for a title.

3. Chris Bosh will be playing with the Oklahoma City Thunder next season. In a shocking sign-and-trade, the Thunder emerge as the victor in the Chris Bosh sweepstakes. The rebuilding Raptors will receive a package including Jeff Green and a late 1st round pick/early 2nd rounder or a Nick Collison and a mid-first rounder.

4. The Knicks will end up as the losers this summer, but not as big as you might think. All that salary cap build up will reap little reward for the upcoming season. Sorry New Yorkers, King James will NOT be playing in Madison Square Garden. Instead, the Knicks will re-sign David Lee and will end up bringing Joe Johnson to the Big Apple. Should they fail to bring in Lebron, the Knicks front office will immediately focus for next season’s free agency to bring in Syracuse legend Carmelo Anthony to NYC.

What’s the Next the Step in the Highlight Factory?

I am a huge Hawks fan: I have witnessed the team hit rock bottom (a 13 win season led by Antoine Walker and Al Harrington) and stuck with them through the growing pains. Now, the Hawks have learned how to fly, but it seems as though they still have a lot of work to do.

After completing one of the best seasons in the history of the franchise, the Hawks dream season came crashing down in a horrendous best-of-seven series versus Dwight Howard and his Orlando Magic. The Magic controlled every element of the series and showed it by winning all four games with convincing double digit wins. Dwight’s vanishing act shed light on the huge schism between the Hawks and the elite.


Assume the position for Dwight.

Near the end of the regular season, I witnessed the Hawks annihilate the Lakers, which got me to believe that the Hawks were legit contenders. However, the Hawks’ playoff struggles have exposed the glaring weaknesses of the team. These weaknesses have plagued the Hawks since before the 13 win season, but when the team is winning, they are easier to cover. But in all due respect, these issues need to be addressed in order for the Hawks to get better.

1) Find a true center.
We need to find someone to scrap with Superman. It was just too easy. Horford is a power forward, not a center. I was trying to see who the Hawks could chase this offseason via trade or free agency, but not much come to mind: Brandon Haywood, Greg Oden, Marcus Camby, Jermaine O’Neal, Samuel Dalembert, Theo Ratliff, or Amare Stoudemire. Or we can find one through the draft such as Cole Aldrich, Hassan Whiteside, or Solomon Alabi. OR just convince Dwight to come back home.

2) Get a new coach
Everyone knows that Mike Woodson is NOT a good coach (he’s better than Paul Hewitt though). Seriously though, he has no idea what he is doing out there: does not have much aptitude for offensive sets, sucks at developing young players, and has poor clock management. We need to bring in a coach who knows how to coach, like Byron Scott or Avery Johnson. Lastly, Woodson also needs to realize that Joe Johnson is NOT the truth, which leads me to my next point…

3) Joe Johnson needs to realize that he’s not Kobe
In every sense of the word, Joe is an All-star player. However, he must think that he is one of the elite players in the league. Unfortunately, he does not have enough moves to be like Kobe. Johnson utilizes two moves: a crossover semi-fadeaway jumper and a driving floater in the lane. Most importantly, if you are a star you have got to make your shots when you are being aggressively guarded. Kobe, Melo, Lebron, D-Wade, heck even Paul Pierce all shoot around 33-40%, while scoring 15- 18 on a bad night. That’s making at least one out of every three shots. Johnson? 12 points on 28% shooting. But hey, by all means bring him back. I like the rotation with him and Jamal Crawford right now, so Rick Sund should try at all costs to re-sign Joe, but not at a max contract.

4) Develop a point guard
This kind of goes with firing Mike Woodson. Remember when Marvin Williams was supposed to be the next big thing coming off a National Championship at UNC? Well, he is now just a role player struggling to gain any momentum on his career. Is he content with being a side dish? Or is his coach suppressing his ability to contribute? Maybe it is a little bit of both, but I am sure that Woodson has done a HORRIBLE job in developing players. The only 1st round picks to fulfill their potentials are Josh Smith, and Al Horford (who was one of the most polished players coming out of the draft). The others? Josh Childress, Shelden Williams, Marvin Williams, and Acie Law have all been labeled as busts. Okay, to defend Woodson a little, the GM makes the ultimate decision, but the coach has direct input and influence on the pick and these selections and Woodson was all for drafting Williams ahead of CP3 and Deron Williams, two potential Hall of Famers. Woodson kind of has the opportunity to make up for his mistakes with the development of Jeff Teague, but he rarely played Teague, most of the time in favor for veterans Jamal Crawford and Mike Bibby. Teague has already displayed the ability to be a solid if not upper-half point guard in the NBA: he has quick feet, can run the floor, decent vision, and can score at ease. He can probably accomplish close to what Darren Collison did last season off of athleticism alone.


The second coming of agent zero?

Speaking of developing players, the NBA Lottery is this coming Tuesday. Won’t it be interesting if Minnesota wins the draft lottery? They already selected Jonny Flynn and Ricky Rubio last year, but now can add a John Wall. How about the Hawks, Wizards, or Heat swooping in and offering a deal for Rubio or Flynn? Interesting.

The Sun is Still Shining in Phoenix

Can these reborn Suns win it all?

Just a couple of years ago, the Phoenix Suns were declared done. The fiasco of bringing in Shaq, the departure of Mike D’Antoni, and the poor coaching of Terry Porter did not yield any positive results for the Suns, who seemed to be on the decline. Things got so bad last year that the Suns failed to make the playoffs, despite a team that consisted of Steve Nash, Amare Stoudemire, Jason Richardson, and Grant Hill.

This rollercoaster ride seemed to be one of the biggest questions prior to the 09-10 season: as most sportswriters and analysts were sure on two scenarios: GM Steve Kerr would be fired, and Amare Stoudemire would be traded.
However, Kerr has the last laugh. His Phoenix Suns, the third seed in the Western Conference, are now headed to the Western Conference Finals for the first time under Kerr’s helm.

The fact that they made it this far is pretty surprising, but the road they travelled is even more shocking. Everyone expected them to beat an injury-plagued Portland team, but no one, including myself, ever thought that sweeping the Spurs was ever possible. The Suns had never beaten the Spurs in a 7 game series in the last six tries and the Spurs also eliminated the number 2 seed Dallas Mavericks, showing that they were still a threat in the playoffs.

I am not going to go in and analyze every little detail on how the Suns swept the Spurs, but I will go and say that the Suns coaching staff and front office deserve a
whole lot of credit.

I always thought that Kerr was a legitimate basketball mind. He has plenty of big game experience and served as a basketball analyst. Although this is not a very impressive resume for a general manager, he knows basketball very well. When he acquired the Diesel, I was extremely puzzled because this move signaled an end to D’Antoni’s “7 seconds or less” offense. Maybe this move was for Kerr’s desire of the team to play defense or maybe to move Amare back to his more natural power forward position, but in every sense of the word, this plan was an epic failure.

About halfway through the 08-09 season, though, Kerr found the right man for the job: Alvin Gentry. After the firing of Terry Porter and the disposal of Shaq, the NBA witnessed an explosion of the Suns offense. Over the first 3 games of Gentry’s tenure, the Suns averaged over 120 points per game. The leading scorer? Amare Stoudemire, who stringed together two 40+ performances. However, a gruesome eye injury caused him to miss the rest of the season. Even though the sample size was extremely small, it showed everyone that the Suns still possessed some swagger from their glory days. Unfortunately, with the loss of Amare, it was too little too late, as they missed the playoffs.

This duo seems destined for great things, with Gentry preaching defense and, even more surprising getting the team to actually play some, and Kerr bringing the right players for the offense (Channing Frye, Jared Dudley, and Robin Lopez). Nobody gave this team a chance, and many are still not, with the anticipated meeting between them and the Lakers. But hey, let us backtrack a little bit: the Suns have beaten the Lakers in their last two playoff meetings (albeit without Pau Gasol, Ron Artest, and Andrew Bynum). After a convincing series win over the Spurs, yes I’ll say it, these reborn Suns can play with any team. GO SUNS!!!

Calling Secret Agent 0. License to Kill Included!

You just can’t help but feel sorry for the Washington Wizards.

Entering the season, many predicted them to challenge for a playoff spot and possibly a division crown. However, the return of Gilbert Arenas and the additions of Randy Foye and Mike Miller were not able to lift the team from the ashes.

The worst part, despite playing well individually, it seems as though Agent Zero has lost his head. Arenas thought that he was James Bond and drew out a handgun amid a disagreement with a teammate (my beloved Tech alum Javaris Crittenton).

I am not defending this sort of behavior, but I have a kind of sense of what he’s going through. Last fall, I played in a basketball tournament with a bunch of friends. Despite the high expectations for my team, we ended up losing all our games. Let me say this plain and simple: losing sucks. Players start arguing with each other and start playing less like a team. On top of that, it carries over past the games. And this is not even with a person whose life revolves around basketball.

Now it seems evident that the Wizards are all but ready to tear down the house and start anew. However, it is former all-stars Caron Butler and Antawn Jamison who are garnering the most interest around the league, not Arenas. In the second year of a monstrous 6 year, $110M contract, almost all teams would want to avoid adding that to their payrolls.

On the other hand, why not add one of the most electrifying and dynamic guards to your team, especially if your team lacks in guard play (hint, hint Toronto Raptors)? Yes, the cost is a handful, but the reward would be unbelievable. True he is suspended indefinitely, but if he has already shown the world that he still has the skills to excel in the league. And when (or if) he returns, I am positive he will not be going all special agent on a teammate again.