Can we talk about...
Who is the best player in the NBA right now? Kobe? LBJ or D Wade?
I may have ruffled a few feathers when I proclaimed that D Wade was the best player in the league. As my cousin called me out...Yes, I did see that monstrosity of a dunk on Varaejouch and I lost my damn mind.
Who can blame me? I'm quick to hand out best titles, sometimes prematurely, but it's not my fault. I am from a generation of bests. All I know is bests. If you were born in the 70's or early 80's or slightly before, ya'll know what I'm saying. Best gangster rap, Best R&B, Best Macdonalds, till they took those daily meal deals away...
If there is a best in something, good chance my generation has seen it.
Let's just run down the best list real quick:
Bests Ever
King of Pop- Michael Jackson
Queen of Pop- Janet Jackson
Greatest basketball player of all time- Michael Jordan
Greatest hockey player of all time- The Great One
Greatest Golf player of all time- Woodsy
Greatest Tennis player of all time- Federer
( Derek Jeter is best in something..I won't say best yankee hitter al time because you can get killed in certain circles for that...But he is the alltime Yankee leader in hits and does have 5 rings..)
Greatest homerun hitter of all time- ***B*ar*ry B*o*nds*********************************
It gets a little dicey after Bonds. Want to talk NFL Quaterbacks? Whether you say Manning, Brady, Montana, Elway or Marino, still, we've seen them at their best.
So sorry if If I'm always on that best tip.
Can we talk about who the best rookie in the NBA is?
It's Brandon Jennings. The kid might be an allstar this year. So let's move on.
Can we talk about Chris Bosh?
It's safe to say that Shaq's comments about Bosh being the Rupaul of bigmen really were taken to heart by CB. Because this year, the man is on a mission and he's playing tough aggressive basketball and his numbers are off the charts.
But the Raptors... and I've said this before, I've never believed in Jose Calderon. I loved him as a back up PG, but not as the main guy. Just imagine that lineup with TJ running the point.
I actually hope Jose proves me wrong.
Can we talk about Gilbert Arenas turning the ball over 12 times!
Who is he trying to be? Me? Why the hell is he running the point anyway? Newsflash, he wants to shoot it!!!! Anyways, once he shakes off that rust, the Wizards have something going there. They just got Jamison back and he looks sharp, that team could be dangerous.
Can we talk about who is for real in the NBA right now?
Number one, I don't believe Phoenix is for real. I really don't. I love Nash and Amare and the way Phoenix is getting it done right now, but it's a long season, and they just aren't as deep as they need to be to be top of the class. I see them cooling off just like the Heat.
Even though D Wade is unstoppable, unless J.O has a 4 year flashback, they'll cool off too.
Where's the scoring really going to come from? Q Rich? Beasley? Chalmers? I'm not convinced.
You can't tell me the Bucks are for real either. Yes, they got some pieces, but unless Jennings is better than he looks right now, which is hard to believe, they are a 500 team at best. Even with Redd.
Can we talk about the last Sunday Night Football game?
I have heard intense arguements from both sides of this. On one hand, you got the pure coaching minds that argue:
"Your on your own damn 38 with a buck thirty and change on the clock, kick the damn football away and let your defense close this out. Play the percentages".
On the other hand, you have those who say,
" go for it on 4 and 3, get it and that's game. You got Tom Brady at QB, playmakers like Moss, Faulk, Welker and such, make it happen"!
I see that arguement. Keeping in mind Manning was on fire and did have a timeout left, he doesn't need much. I have to say, I was yelling go for it.
Bottom line is this: It was a bad call, one of the worst ever. Why? Because it didn't work and that's the only reason why and everyone knows it. It was pretty close, in New England that might be a first down but not in Nap town. But had they made that, it's just another great call by coach Cheater er, Belichick.
Thursday, November 19, 2009
Monday, November 2, 2009
Can We Talk About...
Don't you hate it when shit happens in sports and you look over your shoulder and can't find anyone who wants to have a reasonable discussion on the matter? That said...
Can We Talk About
Can we talk about Brett Farve. The Man, The Legend. The purple warrior who stormed into Green Bay, the tundra, admist babies crying, women and children screaming, and straight took their heart. The funny thing about what Brett just did, in the end it has nothing to do with Green Bay or their fans. It has everything to do with Aaron Rodgers. Rodgers is a heck of a quaterback, but he's not Farve. And yes, he may at times be comparable statistically to Favre, throw in the fact that he gets his bell rung everytime he drops back, and you can make the arguement that he's a great quaterback. But he still wouldn't be Brett Favre. And that's the problem. It's a problem for Rodgers because the expectations on him are unrealistic. You can expect greatness but not a legend. My hope is that this won't hurt Rodgers career, but it won't surprise me if it does. Rodgers gets hit more times than David Justice's wife. Unless they get an O line that can protect this guy, he won't be mobile very long. He's out there getting himself killed trying to live up to some expectations. And you can see it. He's a smart QB when he's on, yet we saw him holding on to the ball trying to make plays that just aren't there. I don't know, like I said, I just hope it doesn't hurt his career.
Can we talk about the NBA please?
First off, let me just say, I've called Boston.
Can we talk about how good Rondo fits on that team? A pass first point guard who rebounds, plays good D and will be content with a bucket and some dimes on the Celtics is just dirty.
Can we talk about O.J Mayo and how dirty he looks this year? Dropped 40 last night from everywhere. How is Iverson going to fit in on that team, isn't it Mayo's show. Oh wait I forgot, he can just take the shots from...let's see, Rudy Gay? No, how about Zack Randolph, because Big Zack doesn't like to shoot it. (cough) Blackhole. Connely Jr isnt passing up shot is he? There's enough mouths that need to be fed on that team, I can't wait to see it.
Can we talk about Brandon Roy?
Because Brandon Roy might be playing himself a spot on the next Redeem team or redream team or whatever they call it. He's that nice. So if he's invited to try out, the question is who do you take him over? Wade? Blasphemy. If he plays the point, is he in there over Paul or Dwill? Lately, can't call it. That's why these things need to be discussed.
Can we talk about the Raptors?
Are they going to be good this year?
I don't see how. I want to see, but I just don't see it.
Their defense in the front court is terrible and it's a function of their personel. Bosh and Barney aren't going to stop any of the premier big men in the league. Yes, they may score and score plenty on them, but they get outrebounded and out bodied consistently on the block. And that's fine, as long as you have a team that speeds the pace up, runs and guns. But I don't see the raptors doing that. It should start with your PG. Jose Calderon needs to be the Nash or Paul on that team and he needs to shoot more often and push the ball relentlessly. But it's not happening, because that hasn't been his style. He was always the knock down big open shot, take care of the ball, run the offense guy. So to me, there lies the disconnect, because the Raptors are built to run and they should have kept Ford, there never should have been a controversy. Not taking anything from Jose, because I think he's good, but what team would he start on? Would he start ahead of Chalmers? Harris? Felton? Mo Williams? J Nelson? Rondo? Bibby or Crawford? Duhon even? Probably Duhon. But seriously, they dropped the ball on Ford.
And on Sam Mitchell. And we know how that went and its a business so we all understand.
The reality is Sam Mitchell wouldn't and probably from his point of view, couldn't play Barney big minutes and still have a chance to win. He just couldn't. So what you have is a situation where your number one pick overall hasn't developed as expected and is basically looking like a bust. Who does that fall on? The man in the pinstripes that's who, Colangelo. Imagine the convo...
Col: Hey, you gotta play him.
Mitch: I did
Col: No, I mean more than that.
Mitch: He's not ready.
Col: How can he get ready if you dont play him?
Mitch: My job is to win games.
Col: My job is make number one picks that aren't busts and hire and fire coaches.
Mitch: You do yours and I'll do mine.
Col: I am. Your fired.
Someone had to go. Don't forget, Mitchell got axed when the team was 8-9. That's almost five hundred with injuries up the ass. And I've seen interviews, Mitchell knew the deal, it's a business.
Can We Talk About
Can we talk about Brett Farve. The Man, The Legend. The purple warrior who stormed into Green Bay, the tundra, admist babies crying, women and children screaming, and straight took their heart. The funny thing about what Brett just did, in the end it has nothing to do with Green Bay or their fans. It has everything to do with Aaron Rodgers. Rodgers is a heck of a quaterback, but he's not Farve. And yes, he may at times be comparable statistically to Favre, throw in the fact that he gets his bell rung everytime he drops back, and you can make the arguement that he's a great quaterback. But he still wouldn't be Brett Favre. And that's the problem. It's a problem for Rodgers because the expectations on him are unrealistic. You can expect greatness but not a legend. My hope is that this won't hurt Rodgers career, but it won't surprise me if it does. Rodgers gets hit more times than David Justice's wife. Unless they get an O line that can protect this guy, he won't be mobile very long. He's out there getting himself killed trying to live up to some expectations. And you can see it. He's a smart QB when he's on, yet we saw him holding on to the ball trying to make plays that just aren't there. I don't know, like I said, I just hope it doesn't hurt his career.
Can we talk about the NBA please?
First off, let me just say, I've called Boston.
Can we talk about how good Rondo fits on that team? A pass first point guard who rebounds, plays good D and will be content with a bucket and some dimes on the Celtics is just dirty.
Can we talk about O.J Mayo and how dirty he looks this year? Dropped 40 last night from everywhere. How is Iverson going to fit in on that team, isn't it Mayo's show. Oh wait I forgot, he can just take the shots from...let's see, Rudy Gay? No, how about Zack Randolph, because Big Zack doesn't like to shoot it. (cough) Blackhole. Connely Jr isnt passing up shot is he? There's enough mouths that need to be fed on that team, I can't wait to see it.
Can we talk about Brandon Roy?
Because Brandon Roy might be playing himself a spot on the next Redeem team or redream team or whatever they call it. He's that nice. So if he's invited to try out, the question is who do you take him over? Wade? Blasphemy. If he plays the point, is he in there over Paul or Dwill? Lately, can't call it. That's why these things need to be discussed.
Can we talk about the Raptors?
Are they going to be good this year?
I don't see how. I want to see, but I just don't see it.
Their defense in the front court is terrible and it's a function of their personel. Bosh and Barney aren't going to stop any of the premier big men in the league. Yes, they may score and score plenty on them, but they get outrebounded and out bodied consistently on the block. And that's fine, as long as you have a team that speeds the pace up, runs and guns. But I don't see the raptors doing that. It should start with your PG. Jose Calderon needs to be the Nash or Paul on that team and he needs to shoot more often and push the ball relentlessly. But it's not happening, because that hasn't been his style. He was always the knock down big open shot, take care of the ball, run the offense guy. So to me, there lies the disconnect, because the Raptors are built to run and they should have kept Ford, there never should have been a controversy. Not taking anything from Jose, because I think he's good, but what team would he start on? Would he start ahead of Chalmers? Harris? Felton? Mo Williams? J Nelson? Rondo? Bibby or Crawford? Duhon even? Probably Duhon. But seriously, they dropped the ball on Ford.
And on Sam Mitchell. And we know how that went and its a business so we all understand.
The reality is Sam Mitchell wouldn't and probably from his point of view, couldn't play Barney big minutes and still have a chance to win. He just couldn't. So what you have is a situation where your number one pick overall hasn't developed as expected and is basically looking like a bust. Who does that fall on? The man in the pinstripes that's who, Colangelo. Imagine the convo...
Col: Hey, you gotta play him.
Mitch: I did
Col: No, I mean more than that.
Mitch: He's not ready.
Col: How can he get ready if you dont play him?
Mitch: My job is to win games.
Col: My job is make number one picks that aren't busts and hire and fire coaches.
Mitch: You do yours and I'll do mine.
Col: I am. Your fired.
Someone had to go. Don't forget, Mitchell got axed when the team was 8-9. That's almost five hundred with injuries up the ass. And I've seen interviews, Mitchell knew the deal, it's a business.
Sports Talk
It's been a while, so let's get right into it.
NBA:
As I talked about a couple of years ago, we are the lucky generation who has the rare opportunity of watching both the peaks and valleys of the NBA and its journey to a world reknown organization. We can say the prime of the league came with the Bird, Magic, Jordan, Stockton, Malone era and tons of the other 50 greatest ( The Dream, Drex, Admiral, Shaq, Pip, the list goes on)....And then it fell off for a little while when #23 left and we had to watch some nonsense. But it's back. New age restrictive rules are allowing young players to develop before coming into the league so, they're ready to produce once they get there ( Rose, Jennings). We are also starting to see teams stack up on stars again. The result right now is you have a few teams at the top and the others that can't hope to compete.
Let's look at the West.
Everyone wants to say Lakers Lakers Lakers. I'm not so certain. Actually, I think the west will be hotly contested. The Lakers picked up Artest, great. But who else? Let's look at their bench:
Walton, Vujicic, Adam Morrison, Jordan Far- from- more, and Powell? With exception of Shannon Brown, come on. The Lakers have the whitest bench in the league, not sure the last time when that was a recipe for success.
Kobe is going to have to be even better this year. Bynum remains a question mark to me unless I see him starting to beast cats. Some positives are that Odom has increased his range, I guess Kardashian digs the deep ball. Also, with Artest they are tougher and better defensively, and Kobe has really polished his post game ala Jordan, and if he's got it like that, it's over.
Couple things aside from the Lakers:
1. Dallas is alot better and deeper than people thought they would be. Even though Josh Howard smokes way too much weed and doesn't care about basketball, he's still a player and the nucleus of that team should put them at least in the top four in west.
2. My Nuggets- As biased as usual, I'm going to go ahead and say they win the west this year.
Realistically, it will be tough. However, Carmello Anthony was on that workout plan this past summer, he leaned up, worked on a bunch of areas of his game and improved his stamina ( probably while staring at a poster of Kobe Bryant). With him at his best ever, add my main man Ty Lawson who got slept on in the draft...Billups, Smith, Birdman, Nene, KMart, yeah they got a squad. I see them either first or second in the west.
3. San Antonio Spurs- Revamped, re-tooled and ready? The Spurs might be the scariest team in the league that no one really wants to talk about. So what else is new? Health is the only concern. All things equal, a healthy Duncan, Manu, Jefferson, Dice, and the french rapping Tony P can do serious damage. The scariest person on that team is Tony Parker. He got a taste of having to score last year and he proved he could fill it. If Pop lets this guys loose with Manu and Jefferson and has Tim play the utility role this team will fly. I got them at third in the West.
Portland should be in the mix with all the talent they have. Picking up Miller was huge, even though I think Blake does a great job running point. They are deep and exciting, but will they play D?
The East is crap shoot.
The Cavs don't look what they should and it's easy to see why. Number one, Mike Brown, isn't the best coach to show that team how to play with Shaq in the middle. Heck, all his diagrams look the same
( Okay, you stand here, you stand there, and you move out of the way, ok, then, give the ball to Lebron)
I still think they'll figure it out, once they realize Shaq and Illgaga can't be on the floor at the same time. And maybe go to an all shooter line up with Lebron and Shaq on the floor and run pick and roll to death. Or even play Shaq when your resting Lebron, you add some girth to that second unit and let the big man eat. Shaq has got to go to work for him to have any influence on the court, you can't have him running around setting screens and making it to half court on every fast break. They have a multimillion dollar reason why they need to figure it out with 2010 looming.
Celtics- 2010 NBA champs. That should be all I have to say.
But just for good measure, let me add that this is one of the deepest teams ever assembled in recent memory.
Paul Peirce, Allen, Sheed, KG, Rondo, Marquis Daniels, Sheldon Williams, Kendrick Perkins, Eddie House...that's just deep. Daniels himself is a proven scorer and an excellent defender. Rasheed, great defender and a dynamic inside/outside scorer, the Celtics have the best front court in the league, bench included. With all those weapons, all that means is that Paul Peirce will be for the most part completely unguardable this year with one on one matchups all day long. If he doesn't have it going, there are plenty of others on that team that can pick up the scoring slack. But it's Boston's D that will stand out this season when they win 65 plus games. Yeah, I said it.
Orlando---
Please don't sleep on this team. The bench is deep, the lineup is laden with dead eye shooters and they're rolling already without Vince and Rashard. Top 2 in the east for sure, but I still think this team needs time to learn how to win, same with their coach. Dwight has added a couple of wrinkles to his game around the basket, and despite the hate on Vince, put in the right environment, this guy is still Vinsanity.
NBA:
Can't wrap up Nba talk without discussing some disturbing excerps I read from Tim Donaghy's book, sorry, scrapbook. If you've read it, you know what I'm talking about, if you haven't my suggestion is that you don't read it. To anyone who has watched the NBA for a long period of time, nothing he says in the scrapbook comes as a big surprise. I know people are all up in arms and questioning the validity of the game...blah blah blah. Bottom line to me is the NBA is a show. With actors as players and refs, coaches doing their jobs and a director (Stern) doing his job. Can we question at this point that Stern has done a poor job? Would we rather Gary Betman?
With all that is said, forcing game sevens, favortism calls...
Let me just say, I'm greatful for game sevens and stars need star calls. Calls don't make the star, the star makes the calls and that's what we love to see, stars do their thing, that's what people pay money to see, so the Show must go on.
Quick Notes:
The Wizards will be a force with Arenas back and Oklahoma City is dangerous because this is officially Kevin Durant's break out year along with Oj Mayo.
Favorite cats to watch right now:
Granger, Roy, Mello, and J. Nelson
NBA:
As I talked about a couple of years ago, we are the lucky generation who has the rare opportunity of watching both the peaks and valleys of the NBA and its journey to a world reknown organization. We can say the prime of the league came with the Bird, Magic, Jordan, Stockton, Malone era and tons of the other 50 greatest ( The Dream, Drex, Admiral, Shaq, Pip, the list goes on)....And then it fell off for a little while when #23 left and we had to watch some nonsense. But it's back. New age restrictive rules are allowing young players to develop before coming into the league so, they're ready to produce once they get there ( Rose, Jennings). We are also starting to see teams stack up on stars again. The result right now is you have a few teams at the top and the others that can't hope to compete.
Let's look at the West.
Everyone wants to say Lakers Lakers Lakers. I'm not so certain. Actually, I think the west will be hotly contested. The Lakers picked up Artest, great. But who else? Let's look at their bench:
Walton, Vujicic, Adam Morrison, Jordan Far- from- more, and Powell? With exception of Shannon Brown, come on. The Lakers have the whitest bench in the league, not sure the last time when that was a recipe for success.
Kobe is going to have to be even better this year. Bynum remains a question mark to me unless I see him starting to beast cats. Some positives are that Odom has increased his range, I guess Kardashian digs the deep ball. Also, with Artest they are tougher and better defensively, and Kobe has really polished his post game ala Jordan, and if he's got it like that, it's over.
Couple things aside from the Lakers:
1. Dallas is alot better and deeper than people thought they would be. Even though Josh Howard smokes way too much weed and doesn't care about basketball, he's still a player and the nucleus of that team should put them at least in the top four in west.
2. My Nuggets- As biased as usual, I'm going to go ahead and say they win the west this year.
Realistically, it will be tough. However, Carmello Anthony was on that workout plan this past summer, he leaned up, worked on a bunch of areas of his game and improved his stamina ( probably while staring at a poster of Kobe Bryant). With him at his best ever, add my main man Ty Lawson who got slept on in the draft...Billups, Smith, Birdman, Nene, KMart, yeah they got a squad. I see them either first or second in the west.
3. San Antonio Spurs- Revamped, re-tooled and ready? The Spurs might be the scariest team in the league that no one really wants to talk about. So what else is new? Health is the only concern. All things equal, a healthy Duncan, Manu, Jefferson, Dice, and the french rapping Tony P can do serious damage. The scariest person on that team is Tony Parker. He got a taste of having to score last year and he proved he could fill it. If Pop lets this guys loose with Manu and Jefferson and has Tim play the utility role this team will fly. I got them at third in the West.
Portland should be in the mix with all the talent they have. Picking up Miller was huge, even though I think Blake does a great job running point. They are deep and exciting, but will they play D?
The East is crap shoot.
The Cavs don't look what they should and it's easy to see why. Number one, Mike Brown, isn't the best coach to show that team how to play with Shaq in the middle. Heck, all his diagrams look the same
( Okay, you stand here, you stand there, and you move out of the way, ok, then, give the ball to Lebron)
I still think they'll figure it out, once they realize Shaq and Illgaga can't be on the floor at the same time. And maybe go to an all shooter line up with Lebron and Shaq on the floor and run pick and roll to death. Or even play Shaq when your resting Lebron, you add some girth to that second unit and let the big man eat. Shaq has got to go to work for him to have any influence on the court, you can't have him running around setting screens and making it to half court on every fast break. They have a multimillion dollar reason why they need to figure it out with 2010 looming.
Celtics- 2010 NBA champs. That should be all I have to say.
But just for good measure, let me add that this is one of the deepest teams ever assembled in recent memory.
Paul Peirce, Allen, Sheed, KG, Rondo, Marquis Daniels, Sheldon Williams, Kendrick Perkins, Eddie House...that's just deep. Daniels himself is a proven scorer and an excellent defender. Rasheed, great defender and a dynamic inside/outside scorer, the Celtics have the best front court in the league, bench included. With all those weapons, all that means is that Paul Peirce will be for the most part completely unguardable this year with one on one matchups all day long. If he doesn't have it going, there are plenty of others on that team that can pick up the scoring slack. But it's Boston's D that will stand out this season when they win 65 plus games. Yeah, I said it.
Orlando---
Please don't sleep on this team. The bench is deep, the lineup is laden with dead eye shooters and they're rolling already without Vince and Rashard. Top 2 in the east for sure, but I still think this team needs time to learn how to win, same with their coach. Dwight has added a couple of wrinkles to his game around the basket, and despite the hate on Vince, put in the right environment, this guy is still Vinsanity.
NBA:
Can't wrap up Nba talk without discussing some disturbing excerps I read from Tim Donaghy's book, sorry, scrapbook. If you've read it, you know what I'm talking about, if you haven't my suggestion is that you don't read it. To anyone who has watched the NBA for a long period of time, nothing he says in the scrapbook comes as a big surprise. I know people are all up in arms and questioning the validity of the game...blah blah blah. Bottom line to me is the NBA is a show. With actors as players and refs, coaches doing their jobs and a director (Stern) doing his job. Can we question at this point that Stern has done a poor job? Would we rather Gary Betman?
With all that is said, forcing game sevens, favortism calls...
Let me just say, I'm greatful for game sevens and stars need star calls. Calls don't make the star, the star makes the calls and that's what we love to see, stars do their thing, that's what people pay money to see, so the Show must go on.
Quick Notes:
The Wizards will be a force with Arenas back and Oklahoma City is dangerous because this is officially Kevin Durant's break out year along with Oj Mayo.
Favorite cats to watch right now:
Granger, Roy, Mello, and J. Nelson
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