Quick Rant

I've been meaning to throw my two cents in the ring about the whining from people arguing to rearrange the NBA Playoff format.  I understand that the West is more loaded than a gun in a Clint Eastwood movie (they have like fifty bullets before reloading!?) but that does not mean we should scrap the whole system.

This is not like the BCS for college football where it blows pretty much every year.  This one time, a couple good teams are left out of the playoffs.  So what.

At the beginning of the season, everyone knew what it took to get into the post-season.  You must have one of the top eight records in your conference.  It was not, win 50 games and if you come in 9th, we'll fudge the rules for ya.  NO.

Honestly, I think the Hawks, Raptors and 76ers deserve to get in the playoffs more than the Warriors.  Because they did what they had to do to win enough games to finish in the top eight.  And that's ALL that matters.

At the beginning of a game, everyone knows the winner will be the team with the most points.  Not, if you score a super amount of points, but still less than the other team we'll let you pretend to be winners too and will all stand in a circle singing Kumbaya.

The Warriors lost.  They would be fun to watch in the playoffs again, but they didn't do what it took.  The teams from the East did.  That's the difference.

NBA Playoff Prediction

Prediction 1.  This is going to be the best post-season ever of any sport in the history of greatness and could not possibly be over-hyped.

Prediction 2.  Here is who will win in the first round:

IN THE EAST...

#1 Boston vs. #8 Atlanta-  I really like Atlanta's youth and athleticism.  They are an exciting team and fun to watch.  (Josh Smith is the best modern shot-blocker)  The trade helped the team become more balanced and effective offensively, but they still have a ways to go before having a chance in a seven-game series against a team like Boston.  Too much talent experience, defense, intensity, you know he drill.

BOSTON IN 4

#2 Detroit vs. #7 Philadelphia-  Detroit is the deepest team in the world.  Almost everyone on the bench can come in at any time and be effective.  The Pistons are also the best inside. From Rasheed Wallace, Antonio McDyess, Jason Maxiell, the blooming Amir Johnson and Theo Ratliff, no team should scare the boys from Mo-Town in the paint.  Philadelphia has found out how to win with what they've got.  The Andre's (Miller and Iguodala) play well together, they can get out and run and some key role players are just around the corner from emerging as seriously quality guys.  I like their chemistry, but this Detroit team invented chemistry.

DETROIT IN 5

#3 Orlando vs. #6 Toronto-  In Orlando, one of the most gifted athletes is emerging as a force in the league, but he is still too young and doesn't understand the dynamics of leadership.  Dwight Howard will be one of the players from this generation, but right now he is not even the MVP of his team.  Hedo Turkoglu is the 'glu' (I couldn't resist) that holds Orlando together.  Toronto is one of the teams that is not great, but are in the playoffs because they are in the East.  They are not a bad team, but cannot hang with a legit team for a series.  Orlando's youth will probably cost them a game or two, but Stan Van Gundy knows what he is doing and will get the Magic into the second round.

ORLANDO IN 5

#4 Cleveland vs. #5 Washington-  By far the most intriguing match-up in the East.  And even that is an understatement.  The Washington players have said flat-out, we don't like Cleveland and we want to play them.  Plagued by injuries, Washington has missed it's stars for most of the season, but made the playoffs comfortably in the Downy Soft East.  Now, Arenas, Butler, Jamison: all healthy-ish.  Each player has shown he can step up and lead the team and be the star.  Shutting down this team, just won't happen this round.  Cleveland can try, but it's not gunna happen.

The Cavs are still working out chemistry issues with the newly acquired players from trades.  They have had time to meld, so that should not be a huge deal.  Cleveland is a good team.  The players they have now are better than the ones they gave up.  That should make them a better team, right?  Well.  No.

Washington will knock King James off his Eastern throne.  I don't care who is on the court with LeBron if the game is close with under a minute to go.  You could take Dhalsim, the invisible man (should that be capitalized?), and anyone else who could do cool stuff, but they will never touch they ball.  And why should they?  The Cleveland LeBrons are happy with what they are and did well last year, but this year, Washington has a chip on their shoulder, and will play with passion.  After all, they are the Wiz, and nobody beats them.

WASHINGTON IN 6

IN THE WEST....

#1 L.A. Lakers vs. #8 Denver Nuggets- No one is giving Denver much of a chance to knock off Kobe and Co.  I understand, I mean, when was the last time an 8-seed beat a 1-seed?  Like a million years ago, right?  Yeah, Lakers fans should not be comfortable because they locked up the top spot.  In the West, that guarantees nothing except you get to play at home to start.  Denver is the most explosive team (ask Seattle after it was rocked for 168 in regulation) but they just don't seem to get it.  In a nerdy reference that I think make sense, they are like Neo in the Matrix, waiting for something.  They have the tools and skills, but they need something to trigger them into functioning like an NBA team and not a street ball team.   If that does kick in before it's too late, I like Denver.  But this is the real world (maybe) and Kobe won't let his team get upset this early.  Besides, nothing bad ever happens when Kobe goes to Denver.

LAKERS IN 7

#2 New Orleans/Oklahoma City vs #7 Dallas- The Hornets essentially have two fan bases until the Sonics relocate, so I feel it's only fair to recognize both groups.  Besides, why did everyone have to get hurt last season when I lived in OKC?  And how did they get so many people in the arena to watch Kirk Snyder and Rasual Butler? Anyway, Dallas is a team that did not care what it ended up finishing in the regular season, as long as they made the dance, so to speak.  They focused on getting J-Kidd meshed with Dirk and J-How as quickly as possible.  They are a better team now, than they have been since the trade, so it worked.  What's interesting though is Erick Dampier has stepped up into a PT Player (If I can steal some Dick Vitale vernacular) and his production has skyrocketed.  They also have a sense of urgency, because the NBA career Grim Reaper is chilling in the hot tub in the Mavs locker room.  They may have a shot at it all next season (I think they will be solid) but when you trade away your most versatile player's best friend (Josh Howard and Devin Harris were totally bff) you sort of take away his swagger.  And Josh Howard is they key for Dallas to win consistently in the post-season, and I don't think he's got it this year.  The Big Hasselhoff will do his thing and will Dallas to a couple W's, but don't sleep on the Bees.

New Orleans would have been about a four or five seed last season if healthy.  They weren't it happens, but they developed an unbelievable team trust.  These guys believe in each other.  The confidence oozes from every player.  Chris Paul is the general (my pick for the MVP, yeah, somewhat biased, but there is more than enough of that going to a certain K. Bryant.  Actually, that's too obvious, let's call him, Kobe B.) and his players would follow him anywhere.  David West and Peja Stoajokovic are both great scorer's when Paul is on the court and Tyson Chandler just has to catch and dunk for most of his buckets.  They are young, but in the West, you mature quickly and Bonzi Wells off the bench helps with experience and you never know when the Brushfire (Jannero Pargo) will start to spread.  Bottom line in this series, Chris Paul is the new and improved model of point guard and will show how obsolete the Jason Kidd model has become (only Kidd will not then get dumped on a remote planet where he will eventually exact his revenge and learn to love again).

NEW ORLEANS/OKLAHOMA CITY IN 6

#3 San Antonio vs. #6 Phoenix-  First of all, the Spurs are not too old, too boring, too methodical, too whatever to win this year.  This team is built for winning in the NBA.  And that's what they do.  The Warriors are built for scoring a ton of points and corrupting fundamentals and teamwork in our basketball youth,whatever, but the Spurs end the game with more points than the other team.  That is really the only way to accurately describe what they do.  They are professionals and embody every bit of essence of that when they step onto the court.  Even when they play hard it serves a purpose. (Hipcheck-gate(do we have to put -gate onto stupid controversy?  When will that get old?  When will someone get creative and catch the president doing something illegal at a different hotel?  Can you imagine if it had been at a DoubleTree?  Would there have been a Spy-Tree in New England?  All sorts of questions.))

This is the most anticipated series in the most anticipate Western Conf. Playoffs.  It will be unpredictable (except for mine) and should be very entertaining.

Steve Kerr took a lot of heat for making the biggest trade of the season, acquiring Shaq, who became the Big Cactus and pairing him with the most dominant point guard over the past five seasons in Nash, the best up-and-coming who is actually already here power forward in Stoudemire and some guy from Sprite commercials in the '90s who apparently still knows how to play ball pretty good.  I liked this trade from the second I heard.  The Suns had peaked with the team they had.  They peaked really high, and most franchises would be psyched to get back to that point, but Kerr is not afraid of taking the last second shot.  And he pulled the trigger to make the deal.  They made this deal to beat San Antonio, and with all the hoopla still swirling (does hoopla swirl?) from last year's Second Round showdown, I see this as the perfect first round opponent for the Suns.  I can just picture Steve Nash rubbing his hands together with an evil, but knowing grin on his face.  Either way, Shaq wins in the post-season.  I don't care about fitting the style of play.  Shaq wins in the post-season.  Check the numbers.  When he turns it on, no one can stop him.

PHOENIX IN 7

#4 Utah vs. #5 Houston-  Just a note, Houston has the better record and will therefore have homecourt advantage.  Utah won its division and automatically earned a top 4 seed, which is meaningless.  Unfortunately for Houston and the One-Round Wonder, Tracy McGrady.  Having home court advantage kills their shot at beating Utah.  I know this sounds crazy, especially since Utah is wicked tough at home, but read me out.  Houston point guard Rafer Alston has a sprained hamstring and is expected to miss the first two games.   (At least this is the latest news I could find)  His play has been the accelerant for this squad.  When Yao went down, they had the pieces for a team that can play well and win games together without relying on any one player, including T-Mac, but it is Alston, that makes it happen.  Without him, Utah comes in with a ton of energy, and unable to rally without Skip to my Lou, Houston loses homecourt advantage in game numero one.  If Rafer comes back and plays at a high lever, throw this prediction out the window (that's the norm with trash in NYC) and expect the road team to never win and see the Rockets move on.  But if he misses game one and two, Bobby Jackson will do an adequate job and keep it entertaining, but the Jazz will be playing Utah.

UTAH IN 4.

I am preparing my picks for the winners of several end of the season awards, but I want to wait and see how a few guys do in the playoffs, because I can.

And finally, I hope you enjoy these serieseses as much as I will.

Ode to Basketball

It's closing time on another season of NBA hoops.  While there is still the excitement of the playoffs looming, I feel a sort of sadness.  I am looking forward to the playoffs this year more than any other.  The West is completely up for grabs and two powerhouses in the East will try to swat away potential Davids so the Goliaths can meet in the Eastern Finals.  It's stuffed with story lines and I'm stuffed with excitement.  But it will all be over soon.  Yeah, then MLB will be peaking and Football just around the corner, but none of the other major sports compare to basketball.

Basketball is an art.  It is the most mental of all the sports.  Nothing is impossible as long as you can imagine it.  It is the most fluid.  A basketball game is a living thing.  From it's birth at the jumpball - to it's mid-life crisis at halftime - to old age when it forgets everything else that happened before and all that matters is that very last tick.  The artists on the hardwood have the ability to paint masterpieces.  Many times the product is less than flawless, but the crowd waits in anticipation because it knows with every stroke of the ball, magic is looming in the tunnel.

We have entered a new era of performance in basketball.  The masters of the roundball are young and creative, but they have learned from the best.  The Superstars of the previous generations handed down their abilities to children who repeated the tricks and feats over and over until they could add another degree of difficulty, then another.  This generation will show us the new potential in athletic competition. 

Football is all muscle.  Who is the strongest, the fastest.  Very little creativity can be exercised on the field.  When it does happen, it is spectacular, Brett Favre, John Elway and Michael Vick are just a few examples of the men who could dazzle with the pigskin.  But football is not designed for the artistic, it is designed for the consistently hard and powerful.  

Baseball is too geometrical and slow.  It is a constant.  It is the most individual a team sport can be.  Every play begins with a one-on-one, the others must wait.  But here too, flashes of brilliance are evident.  Willie Mays was astounding in the field.  Ozzie Smith made you not believe your own eyes because his play was so perfect.  Jim Edmonds looks like he has an extra sense to bring his glove to the ball as he dives through the air.  But again, baseball games cannot be won with creativity.  It is for the patient and wise.

Basketball is art.  Some of the masterpieces that will be created this post-season will live forever.  And the modern artists will earn a place with the greatest of all-time.

Check back on Friday for my post-season predictions, as well as a new type of picking competition I will be unleashing.  I hope it will nudge the excitement of the NBA post-season in the direction of college b-ball's March Madness.

March Madness

Yeah, I know I'm writing this a couple days late.  I was not able to pull myself together after watching Memphis collapse.  The bad part was NOT that I did not cash in on my office pool like I would have if Memphis won, NOT that I lost to my girlfriend (who has nailed the National Champ pretty much every year) again for the fourth straight time, but that I didn't even see it coming!

As I sat at the bar, staring at the score with a couple minutes left, I allowed myself to become cocky.  I thought that sure, Memphis has been a terrible free throw shooting team, but CDR and D. Rose have been clutch and they won't buckle.

But they buckled.

Even still, I thought no way Kansas would come down and bury a game-tying trifecta.

But it was buried.

OK.  Overtime started and I knew I was toast.  I still hoped, but I should have known better.  And while this game was the final drop of poison to a bracket that was once alive and kicking, I think this game showed more about the future of the main characters who were on display.

The possible number one pick: Derrick Rose.

I understand that he helped his draft position in this tournament.  He showed toughness and an ability most coaches kill to have in a point guard.  But still, he left me wanting to see more.  I'm not sold on him as a big-time player in the NBA.

He has quickness, toughness and can hit a big shot off the dribble. But I don't think he has the ability (YET) to carry a team on his back.  To be a superstar, sometimes a player just needs to know when to string together a personal run of buckets.  Rose can develop into a guy who can lead his team and carry it when needed, but he needs to develop more.

The Athletes: Brandon Rush and Chris Douglas-Roberts

These guys, I want on my team.  Whatever it takes, they know how to score, they know when to score and they can do whatever they want on the court.  At this point, I'll take Rush over CDR because hitting free throws in the pros is a big way to rack up points and I think the mental discipline is there for Rush, not yet for Douglas-Roberts.  Also, I think Rush is a more patient and intelligent player.  He understands the nuances of when to force a drive or when to force a three (not all shots can be open). 

All things considered, I can't really complain because the two best teams played an exciting game.  That makes us all winners, except me who is a loser for just writing that.