I'm back after a long, but effective hiatus. On to business.



Before I get to the on court business of the NBA in May of 2007, let me discuss some off court activity that has transpired, namely, The Traveling Van Gundy Brothers.

The lead NBA headline today was the firing of one of the better coaches in the world in Jeff Van Gundy. On one hand it appears totally logical. He never won a playoff series in 3 playoff appearences within 4 years. He had 3 years with two of the league's Top 15 players in Tracy McGrady and Yao Ming and achieved zero success. However those that spent a little time watching the Houston Rockets know the understand the deck that Jeff had stacked against him.

His first year, he was saddled with the Artist Formerly Known as Steve Francis, who believed he was a superstar. The two problems were that he never was a superstar and by the time Jeff got there Stevie's game was in steep decline. The following 2 years he had Yao, McGrady and a glorified CBA roster. Only this past season did they add Shane Battier and give him a player who plays Jeff's way. They won 52 games and got beat in Game 7 in a 4-5 series in a deep, difficult Western conference. His franchise player, McGrady, publicly campaigns for his return. It looks like they're ready to turn the corner, right? Not for owner Les Alexander.

Essentially, Jeff had to fall on his own sword. They told him he could keep his job if he switched his coaching style to "up-tempo." I guess no one reminded ole Les that you need a Steve Nash or Jason Kidd type of point guard to play that style successfully. One thing Jeff knows is that it ain't happening with Rafer Alston as his point guard. So he tells management, I coach my way. If you want up-tempo, hire another coach. So Van Gundy gets canned pride in tact.

Even though it appears that Jeff is prepared to spend a significant amount of time in the broadcast booth, I believe that there is a currently occupied head coaching job that would fit him perfectly. That job is the New Jersey Nets. Lawrence Frank is an OK coach. H certainly has a decent feel for defense. But his halfcourt offense is abysmal. With no big post presence, Frank has a unique opportunityto post up his three big perimeter players, Kidd Carter, and Jefferson. Every night, at least one of them has a size mismatch. Yet the majority of their field goal attempts are perimeter jump shots.

The last team that I saw overachieve from posting up big guards was the 1999 New York Knicks who went to an NBA final with a halfcourt offense primarily composed of posting up big guards Allan Houston and Latrell Sprewell . The coach of those 1999 Knicks??? Jeff Van Gundy. Playoff basketball hasn't changed. It still is and will always be a half court game.

It has been reported that Jeff's older brother Stan has interviewed for the openings in Charlotte, Indiana, and Sacramento. You remember Stan, don't you? He's the coach that took over the Miami Heat when Pat Riley decided there wasn't enough talent to win. So Stan developed his young talent, (Lamar Odom, Caron Butler, and Charles Barkley's love child, Dwyane Wade), got them into the 2nd round of the playoffs in his 2nd year, and set them up to make the Shaq trade. And right about the time the Heat are ready to compete for a championship, he steps down to "spend more time with his family." And who takes over, but Pat Riley. They can spin that one any way they want but Riles is coaching that team with blood stains on his hands.

So now Stan is in the mix for another well deserved chance. If you're reading Stan, don't touch that Indiana job. They are a mess. Anchored by an unhappy superstar in Jermaine O'Neal, and no supporting cast, the Pacers are going no where fast. By the way, special credit for this mess goes to Larry Bird, proving by the shadow of a doubt that he was a much better player, and even a better coach than he is a basketball executive. That organization is yet to recover from his brutal mishandling of the enigma known as Ron Artest, who is the NBA';s version of Tony Soprano.

Back to Stan. Stan, if they offer you the Charlotte job, take it. You've got a good young point guard in Ray Felton. A legit defensive big man in Emeka Okafor if you can keep him on the court. They will have a high lottery pick in this year's very deep draft. And they've got cap space galore. It represents a chance to mold something in his own image without the Riley shadow. Which is really all a Traveling Van Gundy brother could ever want.

This year's NBA playoffs have been drmatically unremarkable. But there are still a few things going on that warrant mentioning.

Firstly, I can't figure out for the life of me how a role player like Bruce Bowen can get away with being the dirtiest player in this league in the last 15 years. The knee he implanted in Steve Nash's genitals was one of the nastiest, unnecessary acts I've ever seen on a basketball court. Which begs the question, does Bowen have pictures of David Stern or Stu Jackson at a bachelor party? They suspended Kobe Bryant twice this year for landing hiis arm on a defender's head while taking a jump shot, but Bowen can mutilate Nash family jewels with impunity??

Now don't get me wrong, I'm not complaining about the Stoudemire and Diaw suspensions. Those rules about leaving the bench are necessary an important, especially in the playoffs. Remember, Steven Jackson played in 2 rounds this year. Any league that employs Steven Jackson always runs the risk of him starting a riot in any game he plays in. But I digress. Bowen gets away with murder. And in a league that employs rules that suspend guys for doing a lot less, it has to be time that Bowen has outlasted any benefit of the doubt he's afforded.

With that said, there is a great story going on that not enough people are paying attention to, the Utah Jazz. Their general manager, Kevin O'Connor has put together a brilliant mix of young players and sprinkled in veterans nicely. 3 years ago, he invested his enormous cap space in Carlos Boozer and Mehmet Okur to man the center and power forward positions. While at the time, these two appeared grossly overpaid, their pairing has been a stroke of pure genius. they completely compliment each other on both ends of the floor. Offensively, Boozer plays in the post and Okur hangs on the perimeter firing (and making) threes. Defensively, Okur takes the tough inside matchup and Boozer helps out and cleans up the glass. The Jazz also sprt the best point guard no one ever pays attention to in Deron Williams. This guy looks like a young version of Jason Kidd, yet he rarely turns it over, and he can shoot. I would also be remiss if I did mot mention their outstanding coach, Jerry Sloan. The Jazz play hard, smart disciplined, and unselfishly. Everyone seems to know their role. They are as well coached a basketball team as you will see in the league. The Spurs will get all they can handle.

More to come soon. Thanks for reading.