Monthly Archives: May 2012
Hornets winning the 2012 NBA Draft Lottery reeks of suspicion
Monty Williams celebrating his team winning the rights to the #1 pick in the 2012 NBA Draft (BallerStatus)
After taking a night to soak in that the New Orleans Hornets, who I still frequently call the Charlotte Hornets for some reason, their winning the 2012 NBA Draft Lottery is quite suspicious.
Isolating that they had a 13.6% chance at receiving the #1 pick, I can accept that the Hornets just had good fortune. However, after thinking about events which have happened recently I don’t believe in this mere coincidence.
These following events are why the Hornets winning the #1 pick, aka the Anthony Davis sweepstakes, is highly suspicious.
1. They were the fourth favorites to win the lottery last night.
2. The NBA are desperate to give the Hornets as much value as possible.
3. This comes a year after they lost their franchise player, Chris Paul.
4. This comes after Eric Gordon the player who the Hornets now deemed as their franchise player was injured for effectively the whole season declined a contract extension with the Hornets and now is a restricted free agent.
5. This comes a year after the Cleveland Cavaliers lost LeBron James to the Miami Heat and then won the 2011 NBA Draft Lottery.
6. The team with the worst record hasn’t won the NBA lottery since Orlando in 2004. (The Magic selected Dwight Howard).
All of these reasons combined have made me quite wary of the Hornets winning the 2012 NBA Draft Lottery.
Maybe this is what happened…
Top 20 Sportscenter commercials
I was bored after reading two of my books today. Me being bored means YouTube time! From my YouTube surfing I found a bunch of Sportscenter commercials that I like. Enjoy.
Shaq to the Magic as a GM would have been a joke
I laughed hysterically when I heard that the Orlando Magic and Shaquille O’Neal were talking about the possibility of him taking the GM position. There is no way that Shaq as the GM would have worked out. I will list a few reasons why Shaq as the Magic GM would’ve been a massive failure.
It’s widely known that there is a beef between Shaq and Dwight Howard. Shaq has taken exception to Howard calling himself Superman because Shaq didn’t pass him the torch. Shaq on multiple occasions has refused to call Howard the best center in the NBA, instead labeling the mercurial Andrew Bynum as such. It’s illogical for a team who wants to keep Howard beyond next year to have a GM who he doesn’t have a good relationship with. The Magic have already got rid of their head coach and former GM in an attempt to try and appease Howard. Howard and Shaq would be far from a match in heaven.
2. History
Shaq is the same person who left Orlando high and dry after four seasons. Why would the Magic franchise want to have the man who screwed them over after the 1996 season. After he left every destination in his NBA career, someone else took the blame and he wasn’t willing to accept any for himself. This isn’t a good leadership characteristic.
- Orlando: Market too small
- LA: Kobe
- Miami: Stan Van Gundy fired
- Phoenix: Steve Kerr fired
- Cleveland: Mike Brown fired
- Boston: Team was too old and injured
3. Distractions
According to First Take’s Stephen A. Smith, Shaq has a lot of things going on in his life. Being an NBA GM requires undivided attention, if you want to be successful. Shaq as an NBA GM would be split in too many different directions and it wouldn’t be a good match.
Shaq is much better suited to be an owner than an NBA GM.
Heat vs. Pacers game 6, who ya got?
LeBron and Danny Granger facing off (Getty)
After a physical game 5 blowout, the Indiana Pacers face elimination at home tonight against the Miami Heat.
Over the past three halves the Heat have thoroughly dominated the Pacers. However, the Heat will be missing two players tonight, although Haslem is the only one who would’ve had an impact on the game.
Will LeBron James and Dwyane Wade be able to close these physical pesky Pacers out tonight?
I believe they will. The Heat have finally found a way to play effectively without Chris Bosh. The Heat have the two best players in the series. It’ll be beneficial for the Heat to close them out tonight so Wade has time to rest especially with the Boston Celtics and the Philadelphia 76ers going to a game seven.
Prediction: Miami 94 Indiana 86
Are the Spurs really this good?
Tim Duncan going to work against Blake Griffin. (Getty)
After watching the two NBA Playoff games yesterday I came to a conclusion about the two teams who won. One of them is the quintessential example of a team the other is a two player show.
The Miami Heat were carried by two outstanding performances by LeBron James and Dwyane Wade who at one point scored 38 straight points for their team in the second half. This performance helped them tie their series against the Indiana Pacers. The Pacers are a team who almost all basketball pundits gave no chance at defeating the Heat.
On the other hand the San Antonio Spurs had six players score double figures led by the ageless wonder Tim Duncan who scored 21 points. It was another overall team effort by the Spurs who completed their second consecutive postseason sweep. This sweep over the Los Angeles Clippers, a team who almost all basketball pundits gave no chance at defeating the Spurs.
The Spurs have taken care of business while the Heat are struggling with the Pacers. The overall depth of the Spurs roster and the ability for anyone of their team to explode is an intimidating proposition for any possible opponent they’ll have. With the way they are playing it’s difficult to see how any team will win four out of seven against them.
The Spurs have quickly changed from a NBA title sleeper to the overwhelming title favorites.
Dwyane Wade the hypocrite…
Dwyane Wade watching the Indiana Pacers celebrate their game 2 victory (Reuters)
After the Miami Heat lost game 2 to the Indiana Pacers, Dwyane Wade was irritated with the Indiana Pacers victory celebration.
Dwyane Wade said “I heard they wanted to be like the Dallas Mavericks, in a sense…I saw their little celebration at the end of [Game 2]. I don’t know if they didn’t expect to win, but every night we go out on the court, we expect to win.” Then asked specifically about the celebration, Wade said “They say their identity, they say they want to be like Dallas. So they celebrated like Dallas, I guess.”
After first hearing and the then reading Wade’s post game comments, I have to admit I started laughing.
Was this the same Dwyane Wade who was part of the Miami Heat celebration before they even played a game where LeBron James, Chris Bosh, and himself guaranteed “not one, two, three, etc..[championships]” Is this the same Dwyane Wade who started strutting around with LeBron James after taking a 15 point lead in fourth quarter in game 2 of the NBA Finals?
What gives Dwyane Wade the right to celebrate and boast and then at the same time lambaste the Pacers for celebrating a game 2 victory in Miami. This victory was much more of a cause for celebration than guaranteeing multiple titles without playing a game or dancing and celebrating a 15 point lead that your team would eventually blow.
If you’re going to complain about the way which a team celebrates don’t do it yourself.
So Dwyane Wade in this case can described as one word…hypocrite
Bye bye King Kenny
Kenny Dalglish sacked by Liverpool FC
In news that made me incredibly happy, Kenny “King Kenny” Dalglish has been sacked by Liverpool.
During Dalglish’s tenure, Liverpool has been a disappointment both on and off the pitch. Unlike his earlier tenure at Liverpool, Dalglish couldn’t lead Liverpool to success in the league- although Liverpool did win the almost insignificant Carling Cup and lost in the FA Cup final to Chelsea.
Dalglish wasn’t fired earlier because of the clout he developed in his earlier managerial tenure and time as a player with Liverpool.
During Dalglish’s rein, Liverpool has become a hotbed for poor signings with most of these signings being British players (i.e. Andy Carroll, Jordan Henderson, Charlie Adam, Stuart Downing.) Prior to the season, expectations had Liverpool competing for a top 4 place in the league, they finished in 8th, 17 points behind 4th placed Tottenham. That simply isn’t good enough for a team with the history of Liverpool.
In addition, Dalglish played an important role in the disappointing stance that Liverpool took during the Luis Suarez/Patrice Evra ordeal.
I am interested to see what direction Liverpool will go now. Finishing in 8th place and behind Everton in the time is unacceptable for Liverpool.
How many MVPs will LeBron win?
LeBron James with his 3rd MVP trophy (Associated Press)
Congratulations to LeBron James for winning his third MVP. Coming off the best statistical season of his career, in terms of percentages, how many MVPs will LeBron wind up with by the end of his career?
At 27 years old, LeBron is now in the prime of his career and is the best player in the NBA by a pretty good margin. Dwyane Wade has already conceded that LeBron is going to the #1 option for the Heat which will enable him to dominate the ball more without question- something similar to what he experienced when he played for the Cleveland Cavs.
With LeBron working on his game every year, it’s quite feasible that he’ll continue to improve. For example, LeBron’s work on his post game this past offseason will help him for years to come especially when his athletic superiority starts to diminish.
Currently LeBron is already a first ballot hall of famer; if he continues to play at his current regular season level it’ll be amazing to see where his career statistics will put him in comparison to the all-time greats.
By the end of his career, LeBron will wind up with at least three more MVPs which will give him at least six. Those six would tie him for the most MVPs all-time with Kareem Abdul-Jabbar.
However, in the opinion of many, LeBron’s regular season prowess doesn’t mean anything anymore because he still doesn’t have a title. For a player with his unbelievable ability, he should already have at least one NBA title. I am sure that he’ll win a title at some point in his career which will firmly cement him as an all-time great. Then he’ll finally have earned his nickname “King James.”
The ultimate motivating factor for most athletes: A contract year (i.e. Josh Hamilton)
Josh Hamilton hitting one of his four homers against the Baltimore Orioles on May 8. (Bleacher Report)
For the season, Josh Hamilton is hitting .395 with 15 homers and 38 RBIs in 29 games. I have two words to explain Josh Hamilton’s success, “contract year,” this success is not a coincidence.
In this past week Josh Hamilton has broke the single game AL record for total bases in a game, hit four homers in a game, and has six total homers. Those six homers this past week for Hamilton are more homers than Albert Pujols, Alfonso Soriano, Adrian Gonzalez, Joey Votto, and Joe Mauer combined for the season.
What’s the difference between Josh Hamilton and those five players? All of those players, with the exception of Soriano, are in the first or second year of long-term contracts worth over 100 million apiece (Soriano is the 5th year of a 8 year/$136 million deal) while Josh Hamilton is the last year of his contract.
After listening to some talk shows and feverishly looking over stats, I’ve come to realize that the ultimate motivating factor for most athletes in money. So, when a player is nearing the end of their contract they feel more motivated to do well. And by doing well in your “contract year,” players can then sign contacts which will earn them more money in the future.
Obviously this wont happen again, but a way to keep all players motivated financially is to only allow one-year contracts.
Thunder and Heat too good for their opponents…
Durant and Westbrook celebrating in the Oklahoma City Thunder game 3 victory over the Dallas Mavericks. (Newsok)
My my have times changed in a year for the Dallas Mavericks. A year after the Mavs won their first NBA Title, they are a game away from getting swept in the first round of the NBA Playoffs. This series feels as there is being a changing of the guard-last year the Mavs defeated these Oklahoma City Thunder who have almost the exact same team they had last year in 5 games.
After the first two games of the Mavs/Thunder series many people believed that the Mavs should have won at least one of the two games in Oklahoma City after blowing late leads in both games 1 and 2. So, going in-game 3 many analysts believe that this was the game the Mavs were going to win to get back into the series; unfortunately for Mavs fans and neutrals it didn’t happen.
In a game that Jason Terry labeled as a game 7, the Thunder played as if it was a game 7 and the Mavs didn’t. As a result, the Thunder hold a 3-0 series advantage and have the opportunity to sweep the team who knocked them out of the playoffs last year.
LeBron James being guarded by Carmelo Anthony in the Miami Heat game 3 victory against the New York Knicks. (SbNation)
After watching the Miami Heat last night, you understand why so many people believe that the Heat are the best team in the NBA. Last night was the opportunity for the Knicks to get back into the series against the Heat. In the first half, it looked as if the Knicks had a chance to take game 3 against the Heat, although the Heat played a borderline terrible first half. However, in the second half the cream rose to the top with Dwyane Wade taking over in the third quarter and LeBron James taking over in the fourth quarter.
When the Heat are on their game, especially defensively, they are the best team in the NBA. There are many comparisons when the Heat are on their defensive game to the 1990s Chicago Bulls teams which had Michael Jordan and Scottie Pippen. The Heat smothered the Knicks defensively last night, particularly in the second half, and have essentially gave the Knicks zero chance of getting back into this series.
When you’re predicting an outcome to a playoff series, you can typically predict that the team that has the best player will win the series. So, when one team in the series has the two best players in the series the other team has no shot. The Heat with Wade and James have the two best players in the Knicks/Heat series and the Thunder with Durant and Westbrook have the two best players in the Mavs/Thunder series-the result 3-0 leads for both teams.
