As a lifelong basketball fan and the son of a college basketball star from the late forties, very rarely do I see an NBA story that carries a personal connection for me. But I'm happy to say, there's a story to tell.



















Earlier this week, the Detroit Pistons hired former Cleveland Cavalier assistant John Kuester as their head coach. As I saw Kuester's hiring being reported, I listened to various commentators routinely list the various stops throughout the course of his coaching career. He had been an assistant in the NBA with Boston, Philadelphia, Detroit, New Jersey, Orlando, and most recently Cleveland since 1995. They also routinely mention his two college head coaching jobs at Boston University and George Washington. They don't mention what happened at George Washington that preceded the five year gap in Coach Kuester's resume. In the 1988-89 season he presided over one of the worst seasons in NCAA history, where his GW squad compiled a 1-27 record. As a sophomore at GW, at the time I was quite the basketball fan. I didn't miss a home game that season. I saw the entire train wreck unfold from start to finish. And Kuester was the catalyst.









I carry a very unique perspective on that particular season. I lived in a dorm with all of the players. I knew most of them personally and was very close friends with two players in particular, one being a team captain. But it didn't take an insider to see what went wrong in that historically horrific season. As things got bad for GW that season, the players slowly quit on Kuester. Then, worse than that, Kuester quit on his kids. Even through that, I never held Kuester in harsh judgement because the circumstances were exceedingly difficult as the avalanche started rolling down the hill. However, there is one thing I heard that I believe defined Coach Kuester during that miserable campaign.







One of the captains of that 1988-1989 team was junior Mike Jones. Mike was a 6'6" 210 lb. power forward who night in and night out was playing against much bigger opponents. The most notable being former Phoenix Sun first round draft pick (#7 overall) Tim Perry who played for Temple University. Mike was a physical player who always played with a ton of emotion. By the tail end of that season, Kuester had sucked all of the emotion out of him. The biggest indictment of Kuester I heard out of Mike's mouth came on the morning of the Dec. 10, 1988 home loss to Rutgers. Mike didn't even want to go to the gym that day because he knew they could beat Rutgers, but no else on the team believed Kuester could help them win. His players didn't see him as adding value.





A player doesn't have to love a coach to play well for him. A player has to believe that the coach is an asset. Why do the Orlando Magic players still appreciate Stan Van Gundy even though he's constantly berating them? Because they believe that Stan adds value towards their shared goal of winning. When players stop believing in a coach, most times its on the coach. And in college basketball, its always the coach's fault if the players stop believing in him. Kuester lost his kids early that season with no ability to get them back.





Part of why it went down that way could be explained in this next anecdote. My father, Burt Geltzeiler, grew up in the Weequahic section of Newark, New Jersey. He was a college basketball player for Newark-Rutgers from 1945-1950. And from what I understand, he was a very good college basketball player, averaging 22 points per game in 1950 and was drafted by the Tri City Hawks (now the Atlanta Hawks) in the 7th round by Tri City general manager Red Auerbach, but I digress.





Before John Kuester coached the GW Colonials, their head coach was a Bobby Knight disciple named Gerry Gimelstob, who hailed from the Weequahic section of Newark, New Jersey. Gimelstob coached GW from 1981-1985. In the fall of 1983, my father received a phone call from Gerry's younger brother Barry Gimelstob. Even though Gerry and Barry were younger than my father, he knew them both from the neighborhood. As my dad would tell it to me, all of the best jewish athletes knew each other well. Barry had called my dad to assist in the recruiting of a Jewish basketball player in Philadelphia who hailed from Russia named Max Blank. Blank had been dubbed by scouts as "The Jewish Larry Bird". He was a 6'9" 240 lb power forward with a silky smooth jump shot and a tough demeanor that belied his ability. Barry would proceed to explain that Blank's high school coach, Hal Reinfeld, was giving the Gimelstobs a difficult time in allowing them access to recruit his player. Reinfeld was very protective of Blank. He had just come to this country from Russia as a senior in high school and in his one year in Philadelphia. He was first team All-City with former NBA player Jerome "Pooh" Richardson, among others.





After a few phone calls back and forth, Reinfeld told Gerry Gimelstob was that the only way Gimelstob could talk with Blank, was if Reinfeld got word that Gimelstob was a good guy. And the only guy Reinfeld knew from the Weequhaic was Reinfeld's old friend from the army, my father, Burt Geltzeiler. My father was very happy to oblige and called Reinfeld. As they say in show business, the rest is history. Blank and Gimelstob hit it off and Blank committed to play at GW.





Unfortuantely, this real life story does not have a Hollywood ending. In the Fall of 1984, Blank's freshman year, he blew out his knee playing in a tournament known as the Roundball Classic. In February 1985, Gimelstob was quoted in the Pittsburgh Post Gazette as saying that Blank's future is in doubt. The 1984-85 season would be Gimelstob's final one as GW's head basketball coach.





Kuester's first season as coach at GW was 1985-86. I arrived there as a freshman. One of the first weekends my parents came to Washington DC to visit me coincided with fall basketball practice. So, of course, my dad wanted to go down to the gym and check out the player he had a hand in recruiting. We watched practice from the catwalk on the 2nd deck. I'll never forget my father's reaction when he saw Blank lumbering around in his big bulky knee brace. He looked at me with a blank stare (no pun intended) and said, "Thats him??? Max was a shadow of the player he had heard about. But something struck both of us about Blank that day. No matter how hard it was for him to move, he never stopped working.



When the season started and I saw Max on the court, he actually looked a little better. He still didn't move well because of the knee, but he was a good shooter, an instinctive rebounder and a physical player. He certainly was an asset on the court. The following season, Kuester's 1-27 masterpiece, he used Max less and less. Mike Jones and I used to discuss it all the time. Mike grew up in Willingboro, New Jersey, just over the Walt Whitman bridge from Philadelphia where Max played high school ball. Mike knew of Max in high school and always raved to me how good he was before he blew the knee out. Mike also told me that all of the guys on the team felt that Max could help the cause if Kuester played him more. And Mike liked Max. Most of all Mike considerd him a good guy and it takes one to know one.



I got the opportunity towards the tail end of the 1988-89 season to talk with Max one night. Max had dated a girl that I previously dated. I was out one night at our local watering hole, The Exchange, with Mike. Max was in the bar that night and Mike decided that he was going to have a little fun with Max and I by comparing our notes on this girl we both dated. He called Max over to us at the bar and started in. Max and I both got a big laugh out of it and then I told Max who my dad was and asked him if he remembered him. Max did remember him and the two of us hit it off. Max told me that night that he had accepted the fact relatively early that the knee injury would derail his NBA dreams. He also lamented the fact that Gerry Gimelstob was no longer his coach, because he felt like Gimelstob cared about him. Despite the knee injury he felt like he could have been a productive college player. He told me he felt like Kuester treated him "like trash." Max felt like Kuester disposed of him and disregarded him because he was not one of Kuester's guys and no longer had the ability to help Kuester advance. Later on, Mike confirmed to me that all of the guys liked Max a lot and felt very badly for the way Kuester treated him. Max had only been in the U.S. one year when he enrolled at GW. He was still learning the language. Kuester wanted nothing to do with helping him socially or academically. Kuester didn't believe in Max and in return, his players didn't believe in him. Is this a coach you would want to lead your NBA franchise?



My story comes from a slanted perspective. I knew some of Kuester's players well and liked them. And they didn't respect Kuester in the slightest. In the interest of fairness, Kuester always had a big fan in Larry Brown. Kuester was a key assistant with him in Philadlephia and on Brown's 2003-2004 Detroit Pistons championship team. Brown and Kuester are both members of the North Carolina Tar Heel fraternity. And it is certainly conceivable and reasonable for a man to grow into his craft over the course of 20 years. But I do not think that one can argue the point that his leadership skills in his last head coaching job, 20 years ago, were pretty much nonexistent. And his people skills weren't much better.

The man who hired Kuester last week, Pistons GM Joe Dumars is a highly respected executive in the NBA. He gets credit for putting together the only championship team we have seen in the last 30 years that was devoid of a superstar, that being the Pistons 2003-2004 team. However he has presided over two of the largest blunders we have seen in the last decade. In the 2003 draft, he selected the infamous Darko Milicic with the #2 pick, leaving franchise players like Carmelo Anthony, Chris Bosh and Dwyane Wade on the board. And last season, he shipped out Chauncey Billups for Allen Iverson in a cost cutting move ( a trade I liked by the way) which propelled Denver to the Western Conference finals and secured Detriot's position as the #8 seed and cannon fodder for the Cavaliers in the first round. Before all is said and done, I think this Kuester hire will be an unmitigated disaster for the Pistons. It won't be all Kuester's fault. Dumars has assembled a roster of one dimensional selfish players. New free agent signings Ben Gordon and Charlie Villaneuva are liabilities. Villaneuva is a weak defensive player who doesn't rebound. And Gordon is a chucker who doesn't defend. They have no quality big players and a point guard in Rodney Stuckey who Dumars seems to think is a lot better than he is. It will be a perfect group for Kuester. Doug Collins and Avery Johnson both turned down the job before it was offered to Kuester. Yes, it was about money (Detroit is presently paying 3 coaches), but I can't help but think that if the right team was assembled, one Johnson or Collins would have taken the job for the money offered.

My last point on Kuester is about the job he did as Cleveland's lead assistant last season. Thise of you who regularly read this space, know that I was very critical of the way the Cavs ran their offense in the Eastern Conference finals against Orlando. Their offense was very scattered with no thought of tempo control whatsoever and because of that, among other things, the Orlando Magic took care of them rather easily. Cleveland coach Mike Brown handled the defense. The offense was handled by one, John Kuester. Good luck Detroit. You're going to need it.

Back next week with opinions and such on the free agent signing period. Giddyap. Y'all be cool.

Plenty of trades, plenty of draft picks with plenty to say.......











Its very difficult to not like the San Antonio Spurs acquisition of forward Richard Jefferson for nothing but salary cap fodder ( Francisco Oberto, Bruce Bowen, and Kurt Thomas) from the Milwaukee Bucks. However, I'm not sure that he's going to help as much as they think he will. When Jefferson first came into the league, he was a tenacious defender who took the ball to the basket aggressively and often. As the years have worn on, he has become more of an average defensive player and more of a perimeter shooter. The problem is that he's not a very good perimeter shooter and his shot selection is spotty at best. The Spurs have always played a team game on both ends of the floor. Jefferson may not fit in as seamlessly as they believe.





With that said, what's going on in Milwaukee? Last June they traded their 1st round pick (6th overall) Yi Jianlian to the Nets for Richard Jefferson. This June, they trade Jefferson for three guys they're going to cut. And it appears that they are going to use the money to retain point guard Ramon Sessions. This will come right on the heels of drafting point guard Brandon Jennings with their #1 pick this year. Keeping in mind that August of last year, they completed a trade for point guard Luke Ridnour. Their rebuilding plan resembles a moving target. Being a Bucks fan is worse than being one of Jon and Kate's eight.





From a basketball standpoint, the biggest non story of the offseason so far has been the Cavaliers acquisition of Shaquille O'Neal. Shaq is the biggest of the big names and will certainly make the Cavs more interesting to watch, but he's not going to cure what ailed the Cavs in their playoff loss to the Orlando Magic.



The Cavaliers had an outstanding regular season on the strength of their half court defense. They were at their best on both sides of the court playing at a slow pace. In the Orlando series, they were caught from moment one in Orlando's up and down the floor fast paced transition game. And they were not athletic enough to keep up with the Magic. Shaq is a very nice luxury to have. But if you're not going to slow the game down to feed him in the post, he becomes a very expensive statue. The Cavs under utilized their main post presence in Zydrunas Ilgauskas. Obviously Shaq, even at this stage of his career, is much better than Ilgauskas. But if he's not getting the ball, he's useless. He can't thrive in an uptempo system ( i.e the 2008-2009 Phoenix Suns). And this notion that he can help stop Dwight Howard is laughable. The best thing Shaq has in relation to Howard is the ability to create 12 Howard free throws over the course of a game. Very frankly, the Cavs 2nd round draft choice, Danny Green from North Carolina will be a lot more helpful in a series next year against the Magic than the artist formerly known as Shaquille O'Neal. And the task of keeping up with the Magic didn't get any easier with their acquisition of Vince Carter.....



Speaking of Vince Carter, this is one of those few NBA trades that every party involved actually benefits. I will preface this analysis by saying I am a big Vince Carter fan. He gets a very bad rap in this league for quitting on the Toronto Raptors in 2004. And Vince was dead wrong back then. But I believe he righted that sin by being not only a good soldier on a somewhat hopeless New Jersey Net team last season, but an enthusiastic leader who set a very professional example for a very young team. He played unselfish basketball and took an interest in the improvement of the younger players. He deserves a shot at a title a lot more than the coach killing, hypocritical Jason Kidd, who quit on Vince's Nets, but I digress.



I love this trade for Orlando. They get Carter and Ryan Anderson and gave up cap fodder in Tony Battie and Rafer Alston and a promising young player in Courtney Lee. This makes the Magic more athletic and more importantly gives them leverage against a likely Hedo Turkoglu defection. Now if Turkoglu wants to return, it will be On Orlando's terms. Orlando GM Otis Smith derserves a lot of credit for pulling the trigger on this deal.



I like this trade for the Nets as well. Lee is unique in the respect that he's 21 years old with some significant playoff experience under his belt. He is a tough, athletic kid who works hard and doesn't intimidate easily. He can shoot it a little bit and seems to understand NBA defense. He also handles the ball well, which makes him a good backcourt partner to Devin Harris. The Nets also save a lot of money in this deal and open up a lot of cap space for the 2010 free agent class. And with a young nucleus of Lee, Harris, and center Brook Lopez, the Nets have assembled an attractive supporting cast to the array of free agent superstars anticipated to be available next year. Good work by Nets president Rod Thorn.

The other deal from draft week was the Washington Wizards trading away the fifth pick of the first round and three bad contracts (Etan Thomas, Darius Songalia, and Oleksiy Pecherov) to the Minnesota Timberwolves for guards Randy foye and Mike Miller. Before I tell you how much I despise this trade for Washington, let me first tell you that I have always had a great amount of respect for Washington general manager Ernie Grunfeld. He's always been very creative and resourceful when building a team, the Wizards included. But Ernie has made some decisions in the past 9 months that qualify as head scratchers. He fired a very good coach in Eddie Jordan less than 1 month into the season with a 1-10 record on a team besieged by injuries. He hired long time personnel executive Ed Tapscott as interim coach. And no, Knick fans that was not a gas bubble you just had, it was your muscle memory of the gut punch you felt that fateful 1999 draft night when Tapscott selected the immortal Frederic Weis with the 15th pick of the first round leaving Ron Artest on the board. Tapscott lead the Wizards to an 18-53 record to finish out the season. Eddie Jordan was out of work less than a season as he was hired to coach the Philadelphia 76ers not long after the season. Needless to say, I found Jordan's firing and Tapscott's subsequest hiring more than a little curious.

Which brings us to the Foye/Miller trade. When Grunfeld made this deal it made it very clear that this was a trade with the short term in mind. Some so called experts have even predicted that this trade would catapult the Wizards into the elite of the Eastern Conference. I'm not sipping from that Kool Aid jug. The Wizards were a 19 win team last year. I understand that Gilbert Arenas was out all year, but guys like Foye and Miller don't make you an elite contender. They help you get the #8 seed in the playoffs and a quick ticket home from Cleveland/Orlando/Boston, which is NBA no man's land. Either you're competing for a title or you're rebuilding. When you get stuck in between, you become the Knicks from the last decade. No matter what Grunfeld thought of this draft, the Wizards are best served with a young player contributing as he develops. To take it a step further, this trade wreaks of Grunfeld being concerned for his job and looking for a quick turnaround. Those turnarounds don't happen unless you can acquire Kevin Garnett and Ray Allen in the same offseason while they both have plenty left in the tank.


There was plenty I liked about the draft and plenty, well.....not so much.

I liked what Minnestoa GM David Kahn did in drafting point guards Ricky Rubio and Johnny Flynn with the #5 and #6 picks. He increased his odds greatly to have a solid point guard for the next 10 years, and if ends up with two solid point guards, he's got a very tradable commodity. He kept a good eye on the long term picture for a team that won't be competing for a title in the next 3 years.

I liked Sacramento's selection of Tyreke Evans with the #4 pick. The Kings need good athletes and Evans is an exceptional one.

I did not like the Knicks selection of Jordan Hill at #8. He seems destined for a very pedestrian career. And why, in a point guard heavy draft, with a fast tempo system, would Knick GM Donnie Walsh pass on a fast break point guard like Ty Lawson. Even if Walsh didn't like Lawson (by the way, I LOVE Lawson), take a shot on someone like Brandon Jennings who at least is suppossed to have the skill set to run the system. I don't think Walsh has this ship moving in the right direction.

I liked Indiana's selection of Tyler Hansbrough with the #13 pick. Hansbrough may not end up being a star, but he will be a solid contributor for years to come.

I did not like Detroit's selection of Austin Daye with the #15 pick. Daye's upside is that he turns out to be Tayshaun Prince, and as effective as Prince is, I don't think the Pistons need two of him. In addition, I think Daye is a bust waiting to happen. He does not seem cut out to be physical enough to be any kind of NBA defender.

As you probably would figure, I predictably love the Denver trade for the #18 pick and Ty Lawson. The prevailing thought is that Lawson will serve as Chauncey Billups backup, but I think Lawson will be much more. I think that Denver coach George "the Animal" Karl will use Lawson and Billups together a whole bunch. Billups is strong enough to cover wing players. And Billups tendency to channel his inner Iverson and fire bad threes off the dribble will be mitigated with him playing off the ball. It also helps the Nuggets salary cap wise because playing Lawson and Billups together will not make it necessary to overpay last year's starting two guard Dahntay Jones. They can now devote that money to resigning the legendary Chris "Birdman" Anderson.

I like Utah's pick of Virginia Commonwealth guard Eric Maynor at #20. Similar philosophy to what Denver did. Because Utah point guard Deron Williams has good size, he can defend the two guards. And Maynor has good scoring ability off the dribble and is more than skilled enough to be an effective wing player offensively as well as an efficient point guard.

I also like Sacramento's pick at #23, Israeli forward Omir Casspi. He's an energetic, athletic 6'9" forward who doesn't intimidate easily and has confidence in his ability. The Kings had a very good draft.

I did not like the Cavs selection of Christian Eyenga, a forward from the Congo, with the last pick of the first round. The Cavs need wing athletes, preferably one who can shoot. When your team is in a position to compete for a title, making first round picks to stash over in Europe to develop for a few years defeats the purpose. They got very lucky that Danny Green fell to them in the 2nd round at #46. Green is an athletic wing who can shoot and defend who hung around far too long in this draft.

Speaking if guys who hung around far too long, I love the San Antonio Spurs selection of Pittsburgh forward DeJuan Blair in the 2nd round (#37). Blair is a player whose development as a pro was going to be largely dependent on which organization selected him. If he ended up in Minnesota or Memphis, I'm not sure he would have all that much impact. But Blair hit the lottery in San Antonio. He is a very physical player who will take a lot of the physical load off of Tim Duncan. And playing with seasoned veterans who win championships like Duncan, Manu Ginobili, and Tony Parker will do wonders for Blair learning what it takes to be a winning basketball player. This also obviously works out great for the Spurs. Blair will be the first big man off of their bench and be able to provide a low post presence while Duncan gets his much needed rest. This is a marriage made in heaven.

I find it impossible to pan a 2nd round pick, because in reality there are only shots in the dark anyway. So here are the 2nd round picks I think could succeed and make someone's rotation.

Pitt's Sam Young to the Grizzlies at #36
Arizona's Chase Budinger to the Rockets at #44
North Carolina's Danny Green to Cleveland at #46
Oklahoma's Taylor Griffin to Phoenix at #48
Michigan State's Goran Suton to Utah at #50 (good draft for the Jazz)
Connecticut's AJ Price to Indiana at #52 (good draft for the Pacers)

Back next week to sort out the free agency madness. Y'all be cool. Giddyap.

Some wrap up business on the Finals and my mock draft








Before I convey a few random thoughts about the quick work the Lakers made of the Magic, I'd like to respond to the slew of e-mail that I've received from some readers who wanted to take me to task about my merciless assault on Laker point guard Derek Fisher in this space. Here is my response: Fisher's still washed up.





I know that Fisher hit two very big three pointers in the Lakers game 4 overtime win. The first one tied the game with 4 seconds left in regulation and the second one gave the Lakers a 3 point lead in the overtime, a lead the Lakers would never relinquish. But that still doesn't change the fact that Fisher is athletically inferior to every guard he plays against. And who says that Shannon Brown could not have hit big threes if given the chance. I would never have played Fisher as much as Jackson in every series and I stand by it. But then again, Phil Jackson has 10 championship rings and all I have are a couple of wedding rings, so there you go.





Speaking of Philosophical Phil, I think this was his 2nd best coaching job ever. His best was the 1994 Bulls when he had a 55 win season without Michael Jordan and was a bad Hue Hollins whistle from being in the NBA finals. And his 3rd best was the Bulls 72 win season in 1996 that culminated in a title. His finest coaching moment of the series was with 10 seconds left in regulation of game 2, he was able to put a defense on the floor that had the Magic's two shot opportunities to win the game attempted by Orlando's 5th option, Courtney Lee.





A quick note on Kobe Bryant. He changed his game just enough to put the Lakers over the top. Make no mistake. Lamar Odom and Pau Gasol didn't get any better this year. Kobe just played with them more allowing their vast talent to matter for the Lakers. Kobe even starting regularly feeding Gasol in the post down the stretch of games. Don't get me wrong. Kobe isn't exactly the most humble guy in the world. But he played enough team basketball to lead his team to a title and he deserves a lot of credit for that. Now that I just threw up in my mouth, its onto my mock draft.





Most scouts and NBA executives are calling this draft the worst in years. I wholeheartedly disagree. If you need a point guard, this draft is a good place to find one. This draft may be lacking star power, but there's a lot of players in this draft who will be contributors. Too many personnel executives shoot for the moon in the draft. The same chance exists to unearth a star in drafting for contributors than drafting to find the next Michael Jordan (remember Harold "Baby Jordan" Miner). With that in mind, lets begin.





1) LA Clippers- Blake Griffin (F) Oklahoma- The closest thing there is to a sure thing in this draft. The way I see it it is the only thing that can ruin him is that Creepy Clipper Karma. And that has powers we beyond anything that can be analyzed.





2) Memphis- Ricky Rubio (G) Spain- I believe Memphis GM Chris Wallace when he says they are very interested in Rubio and will not let threats from Rubio's camp that Rubio won't come to Memphis prevent Wallace from drafting him. Rubio needs to be the highest pick he can to make enough money to buy himself out of his Spanish league contract. If Memphis selects him, Rubio will come. He'll have fellow Spanish Olympic teammate Marc Gasol waiting for him. Rubio will be a good NBA point guard. He can play NBA level defense at a very young age. He guarded Chris Paul and Deron Williams very effectively in the Olympic gold medal game. Needs to watch his turnovers





3) Oklahoma City- Hasheem Thabeet (C) Connecticut- Thabeet is in the Dikembe Mutombo mold. Very good shot blocker. Very good rebounder. He's adequate offensively. He has great size at 7'3". But needs to add toughness. Got pushed around a lot in Big East play for a guy this size. If the Tin Man finds his heart, Oklahoma City's got themselves a real good center. For the record, I do think Thabeet toughens up and becomes a good center.





4) Sacramento- Stephen Curry (G) Davidson- Curry is an excellent shooter who can fill it up quick. But I question his ability to be a point guard and he's way too skinny to be an effective wing player. Has questionable shot selection for a guy who suppossedly has a "high basketball IQ". I wouldn't take him this early, but a lot of teams are enamored with him. Probably ends up as a good bench player.





5) Washington- Tyreke Evans (G) Memphis- Evans is a great fit for the Wizards. Handles the ball enough to allow Gilbert Arenas to play some on the wing as a scoring guard. And Evans is a tremendous athlete who should evolve into a decent wing defender. He could play a big role in the Wizards turning it around fast.





6) Minnesota- James Harden (G) Arizona St.- Minnesota's back court is a mess. Harden will help stabilize it. Not the best athlete, but a good scorer and a physically tough player for 6"5". Could certainly be part of the long term solution on Minnesota.





7) Golden St.- Jrue Holiday (G) UCLA- Warrior coach Don Nelson (who's back in charge after inserting a ginsu into Chris Mullin's delicate back) will not be able to resist an athlete like Holiday. Holiday's workouts have suppossedly been off the charts. Scouts are drooling over him ignoring the fact that he wasn't all that good a player for UCLA last year. He could develop, but a coin toss is more certain.





8) New York- Ty Lawson (G) North Carolina- Many scouts think this is early for Lawson and maybe a little wishful thinking by this Knick fan, but I think Lawson is going to be one of the top 3 point guards in the league. He's fast, strong, and unselfish. He's a decent shooter, an agressive and willing defender, and he doesn't turn the ball over much. Scouts are concerned about his height and his work ethic. Last time I checked, the best point guard in the league Chris Paul is 5"11" and strong as an ox, just like Lawson. Thats right, I went there. Lawson was the most important player for the champion Tar Heels and played the NCAA tournament with a very bad toe. A great fit in Knick coach Mike D'Antoni's up tempo system. My favorite player in this draft.





9) Toronto- Jordan Hill (F) Arizona- Toronto will think they are a getting a bookend to Chris Bosh to help Bosh with all of the grunt work. But they're getting a tentative player with a low motor. Not a Jordan Hill fan.





10) Milwaukee- Jonny Flynn (G) Syracuse- A good fit for Milwaukee. Flynn is exactly the kind of floor leader Buck Coach Scott Skiles needs running the point. Needs to improve the shooting and watch the turnovers, but he'll be a good one.





11) New Jersey- Earl Clark (F) Louisville- Clark is a very well rounded basketball player. One of the more talented players in this draft. Has been unfairly downgraded by scouts because of work ethic questions. His college coach Rick Pitino believes he has what it takes. Similar skill set to Lamar Odom. That makes Earl my second favorite player in this draft behind Lawson. He'll be a very good player on a championship contender before all is said and done.





12) Charlotte- Demar DeRozan (F/G) USC- Charlotte thinks they're getting a replacement for Raja Bell as a shutdown wing defender with tremendous athletic ability. What they're really getting is a tremendous athlete who is disinterested and selfish and will be impossible for Larry Brown to coach. This guy has bust written all over him.





13) Indiana- Gerald Henderson (G) Duke- Indiana GM Larry Bird will grab his ex teammate Gerald Henderson's son. The Pacers could use a reliable off guard and Bird knows this kid's a good citizen, which is very important in Indiana. Henderson will be a solid NBA player, but not much more.





14) Phoenix- Eric Maynor (G) Virginia Commonwealth- Maynor can serve as the heir apparent to Steve Nash. Maynor has a complete game. Good at just about everything, great at nothing. But he is a legitimate floor leader who plays wiith passion and guts.





15) Detroit- James Johnson (F) Wake Forest- This guy is billed as being able to play both small forward and power forward. My guess is that he won't play either that well. He's suppossedly a black belt in jujitsu, which will onlly draw him flagrant fouls in the NBA. This pick will not end up at the top of Piston GM Joe Dumars' resume when he ends up looking for a new job.





16) Chicago- Tyler Hansbrough (F) North Carolina- The Bulls are not all that pleased with their 2006 first rounder Tyrus Thomas at power forward. Hansbrough is a hard working physical forward who can shoot. Sort of the anti Tyrus Thomas, who is athletic, but immature. The perfect player to either push Thomas or replace him





17) Philadelphia- Brandon Jennings (G)- Italy- Jennings played professionally in Italy this past season. I'm using the word played loosely because from what in understand, all he did was sit on the bench last season and complain about it. The Sixers figure he can replace free agent point guard Andre Miller, but they might as well be throwing their money on black or red at the roulette table.



18) Minnesota- B.J. Mullens (C) Ohio St.- Minnesota will figure that Mullens can be a project with lots of upside. I think he's the dictionary definition of a bust who never should have left college this early.



19) Atlanta- Jeff Teague (G) Wake Forest- Not a big fan of Teague's game. Clearly should be staying in school at least another year. But the Hawks need a replacement for free agent point guard Mike Bibby. Teague may develop eventually, but will certainly disappoint in the short term.



20) Utah- DeJuan Blair (F) Pittsburgh- I definitely have concerns about Blair, but if he lands in
Utah, he'll have landed in the right place. Utah's coach Jerry Sloan has had outstanding success with undersized, but strong power forwards Carlos Boozer and Paul Milsapp. And with all indications appearing that Boozer will opt out of his contract and explore free agency and with Milsapp entering restricted free agency, who better to bring in than an undersized strong power forward in DeJuan Blair. Blair stock has dropped recently due concerns about his knees. And if he drops to 20, the Jazz will bethrilled and rightfully so. He won't be a star, but he will be a significant contributor in the right situation.



21) New Orleans- Nick Calathes (G) Florida- New Orleans would rather not pay a rookie contract this year, so they'll select Calathes because he signed a contract to play in Greece, so they can wait a few years to bring him in and start paying him. Calathes' game is probably more suited to Europe anyway.



22) Dallas- Sam Young (F/G) Pittsburgh- Young is a very effective wing player who plays strong, defends well, and can shoot. He goes this low because he's ancient by draft standards at 24. Not a lot of upside for him from where he is now. But the good news is that he's pretty damn good now. He may just end up the reason the Mavericks are able to move Josh Howard, which just might net them Chris Bosh.



23) Sacramento- Austin Daye (F) Gonzaga- Sacramento may go European here instead to save a contract, but I think they'll like Daye a lot here. Personally, I don't think Daye deserves to go in the first round. Even though he's 6'11". he's softer than the stay puff marshmallow man. He's only 190 pounds and his only discernible skill is his ability to shoot. Guys like this get thrown around in the NBA like rag dolls.



24) Portland- Darren Collison- (G) UCLA- Certain things about the draft make me scratch my head. Jrue Holiday spent the year last year as Collison's backup, rightfully so. Yet Holiday will go in the lottery and Collison will be lucky to go in the first round because Holiday is a workout star. If Portland selects Collison, they'll be getting a pass first point guard who is a tenacious defender. Collison may be a little small, but he makes up for it with a great motor. He's a perfect fit for the Trailblazers.



25) Oklahoma City- Terrence Williams (G/F) Louisville- If the Thunder get Williams here, they'll have gotten good value. A good athlete and a smart player. He is just not that great an offensive player. he handles the ball decently, but does not have a nose for the basket. He'll defend well on the NBA level. Many scouts have him as a top 10 pick, but you can do better in this draft. He'll be a contributor wherever he goes. Thats his ceiling, but at this stage of the draft thats a good thing.



26) Chicago- Wayne Ellington (G) North Carolina- This would be a great value pick for the Bulls. With it looking likely that they lose Ben Gordon to free agency ( a blessing by the way) Ellington will fill that role and be a much better complement to star point guard Derrick Rose. Gordon dominates the ball way too much. If the Bulls add Hansbrough and Ellington with losing Gordon to free agency, they will be a much better team this year and possibly contend in the East. Both would be excellent chemistry picks.

27) Memphis- Omri Casspi (F) Israel- Everything I've seen on this guy I loved. He didn't want to work out for many teams because in his eyes, the workouts are not reflective of the kind of player he is. And although he changed his mind (as he should have) and blew teams away with his workout , the man has a point. He's a very athletic and energetic forward. He would provide Memphis with some much needed grit. In the words of Judge Smails from Caddyshack, "the world needs ditch diggers too!!" Casspi is a ditch digger.

28) Minnesota- Patrick Mills (G) St. Mary's- Mills is a shoot first point guard and lord knows Minnesota has plenty of them. But Mills just might be the best point guard on their roster if they draft him. Questionable shot selection and lots of turnovers work against Mills. But he might just give them a better chance to win than current point guards Randy Foye and (gulp) Sebastian Telfair.

29) L.A. Lakers- Chase Budinger (G/F) Arizona- If Budinger is here when the Lakers pick, and I think he will be, he will be just the excuse they need to part ways with the psychotic Sasha Vujacic. Watching Vujacic hug his teammates while their nostrils flair at the smell has become downright uncomfortable. Budinger can play the same role as a shooter off the bench, which is really Budinger's only future in the league.

30) Cleveland- Danny Green (F) North Carolina- If I'm correct, the national champion Tar Heels will have placed 4 players in the first round. Green is an excellent shooter and an excellent defender. He doesn't create a lot offensively, but he shoots it real well, and is a very athletic and willing defender. Green is exactly the type of player the Cavaliers were missing in their loss to the Magic in the Eastern Conference finals. Green is an excellent wing complement to LeBron James.

There you have it. I'll be back before the draft with rumors. Giddyap. Y'all be cool.

As the finals draw upon us, this writer's day of reckoning has come. On April 16th, I predicted that the Lakers would not reach the NBA finals. Kobe, Pau, Lamar and Philosophical Phil have made me eat my words once again. So just for the fun of it, I'll use a top ten list to address exactly where I went wrong.





Top Ten Reasons the Lakers made me look like a fool for predicting they would lose.....





10) Trevor Ariza- Once Isiah Thomas' failed pet project with the Knicks, Ariza has developed a jump shot and some physical toughness to go along with his great athletic ability. In the Denver series, he did to Carmelo Anthony what Shane Battier did to Kobe in the Houston series and what Mickael Pietrus did to LeBron James in the Cleveland-Orlando series. He made Anthony work for everything he got, which wore Anthony down later in the series.





9) Pau Gasol- Once Yao Ming got injured in the Houston series, Gasol completely took over for the Lakers inside. And when the Denver big men took stupid fouls, Gasol made them pay by being aggressive and compounding the foul trouble. For a player who is so often seen on national television, he is immensely underappreciated for what he contributes to the Lakers success.





8) A gross lack of discipline by the Denver big men- Denver's three big men, Nene, Chris "Birdman" Andersen and Kenyon Martin were no match for Andrew Bynum. And there were too many of them for Gasol to handle. Thje only thing that could trip them up was committing too many stupid fouls. Which is exactly what they did, Nene in particular. Denver had a big advantage up front but a lack of discipline nullified it. Just one of a stunning array of coaching failings by George "the Animal " Karl.

7) Chauncey Billups atrocious shot selection- There was a point in the third quarter oof Game 5 as the series was slipping away from Denver when Billups fired one of his patented off the dribble threes before he ever passed to a teammate with 20 seconds left on the shot clock as the ball bounced off the iron leading to a transition basket for the Lakers. ABC color commentator Mark Jackson referred to this particular shot as "an Allen Iverson three." And Jackson was right on. Billups inability to exploit the washed up Derek Fisher made an enormous difference in this series. If Billups is not getting into the paint in the half court, the Nuggets might as well have had Iverson.

6) Lamar Odom- In the first four games of the Denver series, Odom looked like a shadow of himself. No one will really know how much his back hurt from the fall he took in the Houston series. Although some blog writing quack of a physician blamed his inconsistency of his candy addicition. Hey Doc, take a look at Odom's numbers the 2nd half of the season with Bynum out. If thats your version of inconsistent, I say we get Lamar on a gummy bear IV, but I digress. Odom dominated Kenyon Martin in games 5 and 6. He seemed to heal up and get his legs back. I've read in several different outlets this week that Odom may be the most valuable Laker, and of course I agree because the Candy Man is my man crush.....

5) Kenyon Martin's inability to hit an open shot- At several key points in the 2nd half of game 5, the Denver offense generated wide open makable looks in Martin's hands. And Kenyon couldn't hit a bull in the backside with a bass fiddle. Maybe this offseason, Kenyon spends less time in the tattoo parlor and more time in the gym practicing jump shots.

4) Phil Jackson's management of the point guard mismatch- As I stated earlier, Lakers starting point guard, the washed up Derek Fisher, was completely overmatched athletically. But somehow, some way, Philosophical Phil found a way to get his best Billups match up, Shannon Brown, on the court at key times, (3rd and 4th quarter of Game 5)while still having the washed up Fisher start and finish every game. The coach not-so-affectionately referred to by Jeff Van Gundy as Big Chief Triangle, has stayed loyal to Fisher despite an obvious erosion of Fisher's skills. But, in this series, he did not let that loyalty blind him to what needed to be done, i.e get Brown on the court against Billups.

3) One of the dumber coaching adjustments ever by George "the Animal" Karl- Denver had good defensive success against the Lakers through the first four games of the series. Sure Kobe was getting his, but the defensive potpourri of J.R. Smith, Carmelo Anthony, and Dahntay Jones were making him work for everything. And more importantly, Gasol and Odom were being held in check. As we learned in the Cleveland -Orlando series, no one player can win a game on his own. Denver was going down the right road. Then George the Animal inexpicably decided to start doubling Kobe Bryant. Bryant started passing out of double teams and everyone got easy shots. It got so bad for Denver in game 6, that the Nuggets just flat out quit on rotating over to cover open men. Hence, the game was a blowout. Kobe could not have won the series himself. It would have been much smarter for George the Animal to let him try. The good news for Karl is that Denver got eliminated in time for him to audition for "The Biggest Loser".

2) Two of the great team efforts I've seen in recent playoff history- My biggest criticism of the Lakers has always been Kobe's selfishness. As soon as Denver started doubling Kobe, he started passing out of double teams. And it became immediately infectious for the Lakers. Gasol, Odom, and Luke Walton are great passers in their own right, but once Kobe got in on the act, the Lakers shot selection was no less than impeccable. They absolutely shredded Denver. Heck, Kobe was even passing the ball into the post to Gasol in crunch time of game 5. Kobe hasn't done that since Shaquille O'Neal was still alive. Games 5 and 6 were works of art offensively by the Lakers and very frankly, I never thought a Kobe Bryant led team could ever pass like that.....

And the number 1 reason the Lakers made me look like a fool for predicitng they would lose...

1) Yao Ming's game 3 injury in the Houston series- The main reason the Lakers won the Houston series was Pau Gasol's dominance in games 5 and 7. Bryant wasn't shut down, but was forced to play inefficiently. And when Yao was on the court, Gasol could not dominate the game inside. Yao's presence forced Gasol to the perimeter offensively and made him defend on the interior with the risk of foul trouble. Once Yao got hurt, Gasol was freed up on both ends of the floor. The low post was all his on offense and he did not have to defend the post on the other end. Yao stays healthy, things probably turn out differently. Even a team as talented as the Lakers needs to catch breaks to get here.

That was cathartic. So while I'm feeling like Diamond Dave Letterman, here's another top ten list...

Top Ten Reasons the Orlando Magic sent LeBron James' Cavaliers home for the summer....

10) Mickael Pietrus- Pietrus spent a big chunk of the series guarding the King. No one shuts down the King. But Pietrus wore him down. LeBron put up outstanding numbers and carried the Cavs on his back. But when they were on the brink of elimination in game 6, LeBron had nothing left in the tank. That was not LeBron's failing. It was Pietrus' success.

9) Rashard Lewis- Cleveland only had one player who could guard him which also happens to be their best help defender, LeBron James. Cavs coach Mike "I forgot how to slow it down" Brown defended Lewis for much of the series with Anderson Varejao. Varejao is an extremely effective post defender, but a player of Lewis' ability eats guys like Varejao for breakfast on the perimeter. Still trying to figure out why Brown never made that adjustment.

8) The lack of speed in the Cleveland backcourt- When your two guards are 6'1' and 6'3" and you're playing a running team, your guards better be able to run. But Cav guards Mo Williams and Delonte West are not fast guards and are clearly more effective in the half court.

7) The coaching of Stan Van Gundy- Besides finding every right matchup, making every right move, playing his best players when it mattered most, and having all of his players commit to the system, Stan the Man kept his guys calm and focused in coming back to win two different games after being down by 20 points in the first half. Earlier this season, the artist formerly known as Shaquille O'Neal referred to Stan the Man as the master of panic. Stan and the Magic did anything but panic and because of that they get their shot at the Lakers and basketball immortality.

6) The Cavs lack of athleticism on the wings- This may seem like a ridiculous statement considering that the greatest athlete in all the world is a wing player for the Cavs. But somehow in this series, the Cavs ended up playing most of the time with Varejao on Lewis and 6'3" Delonte West guarding 6'10" Hedo Turkoglu. Where's Larry Hughes when you need him??

5) Very little contribution from the Cavs bench- Brown employed an uneven rotation. And when Williams and West were struggling from the field, he was too slow to go to Daniel Gibson. The same Daniel Gibson that helped shoot the Cavs into the finals in 2007. He didn't use Sasha Pavlovic or Wally Szczerbiak enough and when he did use Ben Wallace, Wallace did not seem to have much mileage left on the old odometer.

4) Orlando's commitment to feeding Dwight Howard in the post- This had been my big complaint with Van Gundy throughout the playoffs. Howard was an underutilized asset inside. In all fairness to Stan the Man, Howard wasn't exactly all that interested in kicking the ball out of double teams, a black hole so to speak. But young Dwight grew up in front of our eyes. The Cavs doubled, and Howard found shooters. The Magic drained open shots. The Cavs stopped doubling Howard and Howard went for 40 in the decisive game 6. Its hard to believe that this was the same player who got suspended for a game for elbowing Samuel Dalembert and who played to a draw with Kendrick Perkins for 7 games in the Celtics series. Special credit needs to go out to Magic assistant coach, the great Patrick Ewing, who has done a tremendous job helping Howard ascend to being the top big man in the sport.

3) Terrible job of tempo control by the Cavaliers- This is a point I cannot stress enough. Its really important for a team to understand their identity. Case in point: The Orlando Magic. The Magic are a team who excels at playing up tempo basketball. They are very athletic, they shoot threes very well, and Howard gives them just enough of a half court presence that they can get away with all of the running. The Magic play this way all the time. On the other hand, the Cavaliers biggest strength is their stifling half court defense. So explain why their entire mantra all series was to, and I quote Mike Brown and LeBron James, "play fast." They played Orlando's game instead of their own and went home early because of it. The best athlete on the floor was obviously LeBron James. The next 5 best athletes in this series were all Magic players (Lewis, Howard, Pietrus, Turkoglu, and Courtney Lee). I don't care how good James is, you do not get into a running game with a team who possesses 5 out of the top 6 athletes on the two teams. If the Cavs limited Orlando's possessions and walked the ball up the court the entire series, they would have won in 7 games and Nike and Vitamin Water wouldn't look like morons for designing marketing campaigns around a Kobe-LeBron final that never materialized.

2) The Cavaliers lack of a true point guard- It becomes much more difficult to control the tempo of a game when your backcourt consists of two combo guards in West or Williams. Its like the old football saying, if you've got two starting quarterbacks, you don't really even have one. It needs to be someone's responsibility to slow down the offense. Of course that only works if the coaching staff preaches it, which leads me to....

The number one reason the Orlando Magic sent LeBron James' Cavaliers home for the summer....

1) The awful coaching job by Mike "I forgot how to slow it down" Brown- How did Brown screw up, let me count thy ways. Played the whole series at the Magic's tempo... check. Kept the lead footed Zydrunas Ilgauskas on the floor for long stretches while the tempo was fast, not allowing Ilgauskas' biggest strength to be used, his ability in the post...check. Ignoring Ilgauskas in the post so there be a small likelihood for Dwight Howard foul trouble....check. Stuck with bad matchups most of the series and didn't allow his best perimeter defender (LeBron) to guard Orlando's best perimeter player (Lewis)...check. And worst of all, he did not play a smaller, more athletic team to match up with Orlando. If he had slowed the game down, used a unit of Varejao/Ilgauskas, LeBron, Szczerbiak/Pavlovic, West, and Williams, he could have played to the Cavs' strengths while matching up with Orlando at the same time. He never forced Van Gundy's hand. One of the all time worst coaching jobs I've seen in a playoff in many many years. He makes George "the Animal Karl" look like Red Auerbach.

That was fun. With the finals right in front of us, I'm not quite ready to throw it to Paul Schaffer and the band. One more top ten list coming right at you...

Top Ten things I think you'll see in the NBA finals...

10) Mickael Pietrus will make Kobe work for everything he gets. Pietrus will resemble Shane Battier's job on Kobe more than he will J.R. Smith's.

9) Andrew Bynum with his ample derriere attached to the bench. He's not quick enough to guard Howard and if he can't guard Howard, he can't help.

8) An outstanding series from the Candy Man, Lamar Odom. Odom is Rashard Lewis' worst matchup nightmare. He's an inside outside athletic threat who will make Lewis work on both ends of the floor. Odom will be Lewis' toughest matchup of the playoffs by a wide margin.

7) If Jameer Nelson plays, he'll have a significant impact. If Rafer Alston gets the lion's share of Orlando's point guard minutes, Big Chief Triangle will get away with playing Fisher for big minutes. If Nelson is on the court, Jackson will have to go to his quickest point guard, Jordan Farmar. Even with 4 months of rust, Nelson's speed is a matchup nightmare for L.A.

6) Dwight Howard will keep the Laker big men fighting foul trouble. If he puts Bynum on the bench, no worries. If he puts Gasol on the bench, the Lakers will have issues.

5) Phil Jackson will appeal to the referees through the media for more calls. As we say in the Jewish religion on the holiday of Passover, why should today be different than any other day?

4) ABC color commentator Jeff Van Gundy will be announcing games that his big brother will be coaching. Look for Jeff to be more loyal to his brother than to the network or the fans. And look for several hypocrites.. I mean sportswriters, to call him out for it. Lets all agree that we all would handle it the way Jeff is going to and enjoy a big dose of the Van Gundys in the finals.

3) Trevor Ariza will play a big role for the Lakers in a positive way. After guarding Carmelo Anthony, handling Hedo Turkoglu should not be an issue. And his athleticism and ability to hit threes will be big for the Lakers when they have to run with the Magic. I would guess that the Magic may want to have that atrocious Ariza for Maurice Evans and Brian Cook trade back.

2) The Lakers will continue to keep the ball moving offensively. It appears that Kobe has come to trust his guys enough to know he can't win it alone...and he won't be able to with Pietrus on him....

And the number 1 thing I think you'll see in the finals is......

1) The Lakers will win an epic final in 7. As tough as the Lakers will have it trying to guard Howard and Nelson, the Lakers are the only team that the Magic will have faced in this playoff who can limit Lewis and Turkoglu. And if the Lakers are having trouble playing an uptempo game, we can count on Big Chief Triangle to slow it down. One thing about Philosophical Phil is that he won't pull a Mike Brown and coach an entire series with two hands wrapped around his neck.

Back later in the week with a few finals thoughts and a mock draft. Giddyap. Y'all be cool.

We're about halfway through two of the most entertaining conference finals. Time to break it all down. But first a quick blanket statement about the way these teams play......



Too many 3 point shot attempts. Everyone. Stop the madness.



We see threes of the dribble, threes off the break, threes when a guy is guarded and threes when a guy is not. Only the ladder is okay. Three pointers are best when attempted open off the pass. And one other thing while I'm on the topic of threes...



Not everyone shoots them well. For chrissake, Kenyon Martin attempts the occasional three. I really like Kenyon's game, but Kenyon ought to keep his rage contained to the dribble. And although LeBron James is the king and I'm a witness and all, he isn't exactly Steve Kerr from behind the arc, his dramatic game 2 winner not withstanding. It doesn't really matter for Derek Fisher. He misses it whether its a two or a three. He can only hit the ones and he doesn't get many if those because he's too washed up too dribble the ball towards the basket.



If more attention was paid by teams to get better two point attempts, everyone's offense would function more efficiently. If you subtract all of the 3 pointers out of each team's shooting percentage, you'll find that each team is shooting close to 50%. When you compare that to the fact that each team struggles to shoot 30% from 3, it doesn't take an MIT grad to figure out that more two point attempts will lead to more efficient offense. Please keep this delectable nugget in the back of your mind next time you watch Sasha Vujacic toss up a 25 footer off the dribble with a hand in his face.



Breakdown time.....



Each of the four remaining teams will be addressed in reference to what they're doing well and what they need to improve on. Stan Van, Mikey Brown, George the Animal, and Philosophical Phil: Get your reading glasses on.



Before I go into detail about what I like about the Orlando Magic up until now, I first must mea culpa all previous criticism of my 2nd favorite Van Gundy brother, Stan. He has had an outstanding series. He has found every right matchup. He changed his offense by employing Hedo Turkoglu as a point forward much more often. This has made Turkoglu so much more valuable than just a wing shooter, which is what he normally is. He has been an outstanding playmaker who is tough to guard becausde you've got to respect the jump shot. Van Gundy has employed Dwight Howard much more frequently as a post presence, a common complaint of your truly. But most importantly, Stan has understood amd embraced the theory from the great philosopher Dan Patrick when defending LeBron James. You can't stop him, you can only hope to contain him. And although LeBron's numbers are off the charts in this series, the Magic have been a pain in his rump in the half court. The Magic have focused on shutting down everyone around LeBron and its working. A good indicator in playing the Cavaliers well is that if LeBron needs to score 40 to keep the Cavs close, you're doing things right defensively.



If I'm Van Gundy going forward, my big focus is continuity. The Magic need to keep feeding Dwight Howard inside. Cleveland's strategy to foul Howard to exploit Howard's spotty free throw shooting has not worked. Howard has been efficient from the line and at times fouling isn't enough to keep him from dunking. It is also important to keep Rashard Lewis active on the perimeter. Cleveland's big defensive adjustment on Lewis has been to switch LeBron onto him. If the ball is in Lewis' hands, LeBron's got to work. Avoiding James on the defensive end is never an answer. He's too good off the ball. Taking the ball at him can wear him down. And if we were in some sort of alternate universe where fouls were called evenly, you may even be able to get hin in foul trouble.



The two things the Magic need to improve upon are something I addressed in detail up top. They need to cut down on the three point attempts. In the two games they won, they attempted 20 and 17 threes respectively. In the game they lost, they attempted 23 and hit 43% of them. The Magic are a very athletic team and need to continue to play offense off the dribble. Lots of good things happen when you get the ball close to the basket. And speaking of athleticism, we need to see more of Mickael Pietrus guarding LeBron James. No one shuts down LeBron, but Pietrus has him breathing heavy. And that works to Orlando's advantage.



In discussing what has worked so far for the Cavaliers is summed up in two words....LeBron James. Thats it. Everyone else, including head coach Mike Brown looks overwhelmed in the moment and overmatched by the Magic. But the one person who can help get Cleveland back in the right direction is none other than the coach himself, Mike Brown.



The first problem the Cavs has had is the game is being played too fast. The Magic are athletic and love to get up and down the court quickly. The Cavs have been more than happy to oblige, which becomes a major problem with Zydrunas Ilgauskas on the court. Ilgauskas has a few post moves and can block a few shots, but he looks like he's playing in concrete shoes. If the Cavs get in a running game with Ilgauskas on the court, they're literally playing 4 on 5 on one end of the floor. Furthermore, and I know its sacreligious to criticize the king, but LeBron's got to slow things down. Despite the easy baskets and free throw attempts he garners by pushing the ball off the floor, he speeds up the tempo of the game which plays right into Orlando's hands. This is something that needs to be explained to LeBron by his coach. In spite of LeBron's abundant talent and relentless determination and work ethic, he is not unlike any other 24 year old NBA player. He needs to be coached.

The other important change that Downtown Brown needs to make his to play a smaller lineup. The Magic have a wealth of wing players with decent size and athleticism. The Cavs have very few. But they do have a player sitting on their bench who was instrumental in their 2007 trip to the NBA finals, Sasha Pavlovic. Pavlovic has just enough size and athleticism to be a decent defender on Turkoglu or Pietrus and he can drain an open three, the RIGHT kind of three, which has been a big problem for the Cavs in this series. A unit of Anderson Varejao, James, Pavlovic, Delonte West, and Mo Williams presents some matchup issues for the Magic. Put LeBron in the post, feed him the rock, spot up your shooters and send Sideshow Bob (Varejao) to the weak side to clear the glass. If Mikey B is reading, I may have just solved all the Cavs problems and threw in a Simpsons reference for good measure. Bart, not OJ......

Speaking of O.J. Simpson, its time to break down Kobe Bryant and the Lakers. I must say that my first thought for Denver to shut down the Lakers was to make sure the Lakers were booked in an Eagle County, Colorado hotel and to hire the Spitzer call girl as the concierge and send her to Kobe's room with an urgent telegram. But once I realized that someone tried that already (albeit with a different girl) and it worked, I decided to get down to business.

Before I get all over Kobe, I must say he is having a very good series. With that said, old habits die hard. Kobe's inclination to do it all himself is wearing him down and making it very difficult for the Lakers. In the four games thus far in this series, Laker center Pau Gasol has attempted 40 shots. Kobe Bryant has attempted 99 shots. This stat becomes much more alarming when you add to the fact that Gasol is shooting 62% for the series. Its no wonder that Gasol was complaining publicly about not getting the ball today. Even though Denver is very deep and very athletic inside, Gasol has to be the a big part of what the Lakers do in the half court. He has the ability to create foul trouble in Nene, the aforementioned Kenyon Martin and my new favorite bench player, Chris "Birdman" Andersen. And the thing about Gasol is that he's about as unselfish a big man that you'll find. If Gasol sees the ball alot, everyone will. Kobe needs to think about shooting less, but scoring more. And it might help make Pau happy if Kobe bought him an "L". It may not shine like his wife's "sorry I cheated" diamond, but Pau needs it a lot more.

The other big problem for the Lakers in this series is the way Philosophical Phil is operating the personnel on his front line. Please allow me to explain. My man crush, Lamar Odom is absolutely overmatched as a power player against the Denver front line. This is clearly a series where Phil needs to get Andrew Bynum more minutes. Bynum's size is tougher for Denver to handle than Odom's s athleticism. However, Phil does not need to bury Odom on the bench. Quite the contrary. Odom actually can provide a tough matchup for Carmelo Anthony if Phil would play him at small forward. A great way for the Lakers to try and negate the Nuggets size advantage would be to play Bynum, Gasol, and Odom together on the front line. Odom is a more than adequate wing player and that lineup for short stretches would dominate the glass and give Denver fits. Instead, Phil keeps giving 15 minutes a game to Luke Walton. I happen to like Luke Walton, but he is no match athletically for everyone on Denver's roster. And I am certainly not suggesting that Phil takes minutes away from Trevor Ariza at small forward. He has had a very effective series and appears to be growing up as a player right before our eyes. This comes down to an old coaching saying that my favorite Van Gundy brother (Jeff) utters often. A coach's most important responsibility is to find a way to get his best players on the floor at the time the game is being decided. Philosophical Phil has 96 minutes to split between three front court players. If he gives Odom 10-15 minutes a game at small forward, he gets his best players on the floor more.

Before I break down the Denver Nuggets, I wonder if anyone has had a donut intervention with George Karl. He looks like Jerry Krause on steroids. Lets get George the Animal onto "The Biggest Loser" before Denver ownership has to get him fitted for a special sideline chair.

The Nuggets have done a lot of things right in this series. Their big men have been active and unselfish. Carmelo Anthony has emerged as an unselfish star that will do whatever it takes to win including but not exclusive to defending, rebounding, passing and even sitting down if need be. Their bench has been very effective. They've gotten extremely valuable and productive minutes out of "Who shot" J.R. Smith and the aforementioned Birdman. Their three problems have been inbound plays, discipline, and Chauncey Billups.

Chauncey Billups has had an amazing effect on the Nuggets since he was traded early in the season by the Detroit Pistons. He has given them the point guard they desperately needed and been a great leader that has helped make Denver's young players more accountable and less selfish. Everytime Denver steps on the court, Chauncey's influence is apparent. So whats the problem??? The threes!! Thats the problem. Billups takes far too many threes before he gets Denver into their offense. Some of them go in, but as Jeff Van Gundy remided us the other night, that doesn't make them good shots. Billups can score a lot of points, but is not a big statistical guy. He doesn't record a lot of assists, yet is a very good passer. Billups' effectiveness is measured in good decisions made and ultimately wins and losses. If Billups would eliminate the pull up three, his decision making would be impeccable. And for a team that has a discipline issue, Billups increased discipline in terms of shot selection would have an influence on other players.

Which segues nicely into the next issue. The Lakers are going to have a tough time beating the Nuggets. The Nuggets on the other hand can do a terrific job of beating themselves. The taunting has to stop. The technical fouls for taunting are going to cost them a game. J. R. Smith already cost them Game 2 with his chest pounding nonsense. He needs to save his technicals for when he needs them, like to knock Kobe down. As opposed to the rest of this column, I'm not trying to be funny now. Denver needs to stay physical and sometimes drawing technicals are a great way to do it. Kenyon Martin has become a master at using the technical to keep it rough. J.R. Smith has been the Nuggets best Kobe defender. If he's drawing tees because he has to scream in someone's face, he's risking being ejected for getting rough with Kobe. And with the way Smith has defended Kobe, the Nuggets can't afford that. He hasn't shut Kobe down. But, just like Mikael Pietrus on LeBron James, he's made Kobe work. And Kobe is starting to look physically worn. If the Nuggets can keep their heads, they can have Kobe breathing real heavy when the Lakers need him the most.

The other part of Denver's discipline problem is foul trouble. Foul trouble is how they lost game 3. Too many stupid touch fouls and too much reaching in. They did a much better job of playing disciplined defense in Game 4. They will need to carry that discipline back to Los Angeles for Game 5. With offensive players like Gasol and Bryant, its easy to find foul trouble. It seems oversimplisitic and George the Animal certainly doesn't want to take the energy or spirit out of these guys, but they've got to strike that delicate balance. For the Nuggets, the difference is looking like the best team in the NBA or self destructing at the Lakers feet. At this point, nothing would surprise me.

Back soon with more playoff thoughts and a few mock drafts. Giddyap. Y'all be cool.

With two Game 7s on the horizon in the conference semi-finals, its a great time to fire out some observations.


The Lakers have certainly placed themselves in a precarious predicament. There are several reasons that they will be playing for their playoff lives, the least of all not being the fact that they've played against a well coached cohesive hardworking unselfish basketball team that knows no quit. That not withstanding, a big reason that the Lakers have to play game 7 against the Rockets is head coach Phil Jackson's blind faith in a washed up Derek Fisher.

Derek Fisher has been a defensive liability in this entire series. On the three Kobe-Shaq Laker championship teams, Fisher was the perfect point guard. He played decent defense and hit plenty of threes created by Kobe's penetration. It doesn't seem like Philiosophical Phil is aware that its 2009. Fisher has been destroyed defensively by Rocket point guard Aaron Brooks. And Fisher has not exactly compensated on offense by shooting 28% in the series. The worst part about this for the Lakers is that Jackson has two other options had point guard far superior to Fisher, yet he stubbornly continually rolls Fisher out there.

The Lakers have been a clearly better team with Jordan Farmar at the point. Farmar has experience guarding Aaron Brooks from their days playing against each other in the Pac-10. He is also a superior athlete to Fisher which much better ability to penetrate off the dribble, which became a much bigger factor when Yao Ming went out for the series. Shannon Brown is also a better option than Fisher. He is currently shooting the ball better and is also a much better defender.

This has become an enormous factor in this series. The Rockets have one achilles heel. Both of their point guards, Brooks and Kyle Lowry, are relatively poor passers. If Philiosophical Phil makes getting the ball out of a point guard's hands a defensive priority while the Rockets do nothing but run the pick and roll with Brooks and Lowry, this should not be that hard for the Lakers. But with Fisher in the game, its far too easy getting Brooks and Lowry free. Not the proudest moment for a championship and all of fame coach. It may sound like heresy, but has the game passed him by? That is why we'll be watching Game 7 tomorrow. That, and.....

Rick Adelman

Back in the early 90s when Adelman coached the Clyde Drexler Trailblazers to a NBA final only to get annihilated by Michael Jordan's Bulls, I didn't think there was anything special about Adelman's coaching. When he coached the early 2000s Sacramento Kings, I thought they underachieved by never reaching the finals, even though the officials stole a Western Conference final from them. But the job he has done here with the Rockets is one of the better coaching jobs I've seen in 30 years of watching NBA basketball.

Unlike many other writers, I don't count what Adelman did when Tracy McGrady went out as any stroke of brilliance. As I had written then, this is a significantly better basketball team with without McGrady. Mcgrady's absence was incredibly liberating for every guy on that team except for Rafer Alston, and Rocket GM Daryl Morey shipped him to Orlando before McGrady' s surgery was scheduled. Adelman's greatest achivement has been the two games the Rockets have dominated the Lakers after he lost Yao Ming for the series. He lost his best help defender and his big inside post presence. So what did Adelman do? He simplified the offense to play mostly pick and roll, exploiting a great matchup advantage and committed to 6'6" Chuck Hayes at center, who gives Laker center Pau Gasol fits. Hayes has also been a huge asset on offense for the simple reason that he sets a great screen, like most every other Rocket player. Hayes does not need the ball to contribute. He epitiomizes exactly what the Lakers are missing. The Lakers are missing unselfish players who give everything they have to sacrifice for the good of the team. The Lakers still don't play together. Up until now, they've been largely successful as a group of individuals. But now Adelman gets one last chance to knock them off and possibly change the direction of the Lakers organization for years to come. The Rockets just might do it. They deserve to win this series more than the Lakers and karma can play a role as long as the referees have not been given a ratings mandate by the league. We'll know something's up if they dust off Tim Donaghy for this Game 7.......

The Boston-Orlando series has not been as high quality basketball as Rockets- Lakers, yet just as compelling. Orlando coach Stan Van Gundy has taken a lot of heat for his coaching in this series from media and his players alike. And although they all have a point, especially in terms of their under utilization of Dwight Howard on offense, everyone has seem to forget that the Magic are playing extremely short handed without point guard Jameer Nelson. Nelson is just as important to the Magic as Kevin Garnett is for the Celtics. Nelson always keep defenses honest by constantly penetrating and finding shooters. He also feeds Howard in the post early and often. His replacements have offered relatively low value. Jameer Nelson is an essential element in Orlando's efficient executuon of the offense. The only reason that Orlando is in a game 7 tomorrow is because of their giant hole at point guard. Stan has quickly found out what Adelman learned. Its very hard to win with Rafer Alston at point guard. The Rockets upgraded the position merely through subtraction. The Celtics on the other hand have gotten very good production form Glen "Big Baby " Davis replacing Kevin Garnett at power forward. Although he couldn't guard a Big Mac from an anorexic (he'd eat it), he has learned to hit that 15-18 footer that Garnett always hits which has become an important part of the Celtic offense.

The other interesting subplot I see in this series is the exposure of two of the most overrrated players in the NBA. I know this is not a popular notion, but Rajon Rondo is a little overrated. There are a lot of players who make contributions that don't show up on a stat sheet. Rondo is the opposite. Everything he does shows up on the stat sheet. Rondo is still not a good shooter, with very little confidence and he has long stretches where he turns the ball over a lot. His penchant for rebounding is very productive for a guard. But his preoccupation with rebounding causes the Celtics to miss transition basket opportunuites. Rondo is athletic enough to be an open court force, but he always seems to be playing in traffic. The stats and the wins are there for him, but I contend that he's not as good as he appears.

I hate to say it, but Dwight Howard is an overrated player. He is a superb rebounder and a decent help defender. But he's a black hole on offense. Once you pass him the ball, it is inevitably going up. His on the ball defense is actually pretty weak. Celtics center Kendrick Perkins is the most improved player I've seen on this playoff. He has also helped tremendously in filling the hole Garnett left. But there is no way a player like Perkins should play a talent like Howard to a draw in a 7 game series. And even though I believe that Howard needs to see the ball more, I also realize that part of what Van Gundy does with Howard is predicated on protecting him. Howard very well maybe a player who is an example of the law of diminshing returns. The more you ask of him, the less he gives you. This could also be a reason that Howard exhibits overt resentment towards Van Gundy. Either way, Van Gundy's only choice tomorrow night is to win it or lose it in Howard's hands. The Celtics have been too well coached to lose a game 7 because Hedo Turkoglu beat them. The same Hedo Turkoglu who tempts me to discontinue my high definition service on every close up of him.

One last note. I've been habitually critical of Doc Rivers as Celtics' coach even after he won a ring last year. However, Doc has squeezed every last bit possible from this Celtics team. At times when they have been overrun with fatigue. He's pressed just the right buttons to keep them afloat. Whether its Brian "Veal" Scalabrine, Eddie House or Stephon Marbury, Doc has found the right guy for the right spot and because of it the Celtics are one win away from reaching the Easter Conference finals. Its too bad that all of this work will culminate in an old fashioned ass whipping by Cleveland if Boston can survive yet another Game 7. No matter how it turns out, Doc Rivers should be commended for a proud title defense.

Enjoy the Game 7s. More next week as the conference finals start up. Giddyap. Y'all be cool.

Some random thoughts as I mirror Charles Barkley's bewilderment as to why most guys who go bald decide to grow beards......



I have to confess, I'm not really feeling all of this Ben Gordon love. He signed a one year tender with the Bulls before the season began and prevailing wisdom is that his performance in the playoffs has put him in line for a big multi year contract. This is a classic case of buyer beware. No doubt, Gordon can score, but thats all he can do. He certainly can't defend. Ray Allen has exposed him in a big way in this series. And Gordon never met a shot he didn't like. As soon as a teammate passes the ball to Gordon, its rebounding time. He's sort of like the NBA's version of the Bermuda Triangle. And someone is going to give him 50 million for 5 years. And I'm going to laugh.......



While we're on that series, I need to comment on the two point guards. Rajon Rondo has been statistically dominant in this series. The most impressive thing about his game is his ability to give the Celtics exactly what they need, when they need it. He has developed his shooting enough to be an all around threat. Doc Rivers and the Celtics coaching staff deserve a tremendous amount of credit for his development. With that said, these comparisons to Derrick Rose have to stop. Derrick Rose is as unique a guard as you'll ever see in this league. And the matchup between the two has been compelling to watch. But can I remind everyone that if Rose stayed in college, he would just be completing his SOPHOMORE year. Point guards never learn the NBA game as fast as Rose has learned it. He is a very good NBA point guard right now at the age of 20. And the sky is the limit. The Rondo/Rose comparison may seem relevant now, but in three years it won 't be. Rose will blow him out of the water.



And while I'm on point guards, does anyone agree with me that Stephon Marbury probably would have been better off sitting the year than going to the Celtics if his goal was to get a contract for next year. The big worry was Marbury's ability to play within a team concept. Someone might have taken a chance on that. What no one actually considered is Marbury's skills have eroded and he actually kind of stinks. He went from being a bad teammate and a good player to being a good teammate and a bad player. In game 4 of this series, which went to double overtime, Rajon Rondo played 55 of a possible 58 minutes in the game. Rondo's backup, Marbury, played 5 minutes. In Game 6 of this series, a triple overtime game, Rondo played 58 out of a possible 63 minutes in the game. Marbury played 8 minutes. One of my column contributors enlightened me to the inevitable truth. The Celtics signed Marbury in case Rondo got hurt, not to be a capable backup. This has been a staggering fall from grace for Marbury, the once renowned coach killer. Somewhere out there, Larry Brown is laughing......so is Lenny Wilkens, Don Chaney, Isiah Thomas, John Calipari, Keith Van Horn, Kurt Thomas, etc....



As you could probably surmise, I'm very impressed with Phil Jackson's decision to move Lamar Odom back to the starting lineup. Andrew Bynum may have a very bright future, but he's not leading the Lakers to a title. Odom is the only player the Lakers have that creates a matchup problem for the Houston Rockets, including Kobe Bryant. Shane Battier's going to guard Kobe most of the series and when he doesn't, Ron Artest will take him. And life will be rough for Kobe in this series. The Rockets beat up Brandon Roy like Clubber Lang pounded Rocky Balboa in the first fight of Rocky 3. Kobe will have to take a lot more perimeter jump shots in the name of self preservation, which is why Odom will be so important. The Rockets best defender on Odom is probably Artest. If Rocket coach Rick Adelman decides to play Artest on Odom, he'll be forced to play a smaller lineup which would force either Yao Ming or Luis Scola to the bench, which does not play to the Rockets' strength. With that said, I've been on the Rockets all season long and I'm not stopping now. Rockets will win this gutter war in 7 games. Think of it as the Rocky Balboa/Apollo Creed fight in Rocky 2.

While we're on the Houston Rockets, there are two individual redemption stories in process on that team right now and very few are noticing. After Ron Artest ran into the stands on one fateful night in Detroit on November 19, 2004, his NBA career was left for dead. The Indiana Pacers tried to make it work with him, but Ron wasn't ready to be contrite enough for his actions and the Pacers were rightfully short on patience. Finally, on January 24, 2006, the Pacers traded Artest to virtual basketball purgatory in the name of a declining Sacramento Kings team. Almost instantanouesly after the Kings acquired Artest, they went on on a run and qualified as the #8 seed in the Western Conference playoffs. They were defeated by the defending champion San Antonio Spurs in 6 games in the first round, but Artest proved himself to Kings coach Rick Adelman. Artest and Adelman forged such a good relationship, that Artest offerred up his salary for King ownership to retain Adelman. It didn't work and Adelman was fired. This past offseason when the Houston Rockets general manager Daryl Morey had the opportunity to acquire Artest at cents on the dollar because of Ron's bad reputation, he jumped at the opportunity. And it has paid off big time. You see, Ron Artest was always that player who had the big "What if?" attahced to his NBA career. What if he didn't run into the stands that night? What if he didn't leave the Pacers midseason to make a rap album? What if he grew up and actually realized his potential? This season, this Rockets team, and this role for Ron Artest has separated him from the big, "What if?". He is their offensive, defensive, and spiritual leader. He truly brings something different every night. If either takes the toughest perimeter player on the other team or plays passing lanes like demons. The entire offense runs through him and he plays extremely unselfish basketball. He feeds the post effectively and often which keeps the big men happy. During last night's postgame press conference, the affection between Artest and Yao Ming was evident. And he has kept his emotions in check. The best thing that happened to the Rockets was trading for Ron in the offseason. And the 2nd best thing that happened was losing Tracy McGrady for the season. It made the Rockets Ron Artest's team. And that had made all the difference. You may not like Ron Artest, but you wish he was on your team.

The second redemption story on the Rockets this year revolves around their center, 7'6" Yao Ming. Yao Ming was the first pick in the 2002 NBA draft, a relatively unknown commodity from China. He was a giant of a man who supposedly could shoot. When Yao got to Houston, the Rockets soon saw they had so much more. In Yao's rookie year, he finished 2nd in the Rookie of the Year voting to Amare Stoudemire. Before Yao's 2nd season began, the Rockets hired Jeff Van Gundy as their coach. Yao improved significantly in his 2nd and 3rd seasons under Van Gundy and the expert tutelage of Rockets assistant coach Patrick Ewing. In both of those seasons, Yao was the starting center for the Western Conference all star team. Although we could point out the obvious ballot box stuffing by a rapidly expanding Chinese contingent of NBA fans, Yao's play was worthy of the honor. Then, it started to unwind for Yao rather steadily. He missed chunks of two seasons with injuries. There were rumblings that Yao's commitment to international play for his native China was making him more injury prone for the Rockets. So, when he missed the 2nd half of last season and the Rockets finished the 2nd half of a 22 game win streak without him, he was starting to become a punch line to an NBA draft joke. Then, this season happened. Yao stayed healthy. Yao averaged 19 points a game and 10 rebounds a game. But, most importantly, Yao became a defensive force. Physically, he's an animal. He absorbs a tremendous amount of abuse. He plays excellent post defense. He plays excellent help defense. He doesn't always look pretty doing it, but he is as complete a big man that currently plays in the league. And whether you choose to view this as a coincidence or not, he has become a more selfless agressive player once Tracy McGrady got hurt.

In a nutshell, the way Artest and Yao play the game, make them both very easy to root for. Right now, its a good story. But can it become a great one??

Its a good thing for the Rockets that they beat the Portland Trailblazers in this year's playoffs, because it may be difficult for anyone to do it again anytime in the near future. The Blazers were as impressive as a team can be when its defeated in a series in 6 games. First off, Brandon Roy is a star right now. He's Dwyane Wade without the championship ring and those silly, forced, uncomfortable T-Mobile commercials. And LaMarcus Aldridge is a big time power forward who needs to improve his defense. The rest of their core is young. Rudy Fernandez reminds me of former Blazer and New Jersey Net star Drazen Petrovic and Blazer coach Nate McMillan has got to find more minutes for him. For the record, McMillam realized that and started Fernandez in Game 6. The only issue for the Blazers revolves around the oldest 21 year old in the world, Greg Oden. If Oden can be a productive, healthy role player, the Blazers have something very special. Unfortunately for them, Oden has specialized in getting injured and commmitting fouls. Just last week, he pulled a groin and got benched with three fouls while he was making a pass at his girlfriend, but I digress. If Blazers GM Kevin Pritchard can upgrade from Steve Blake at point guard, and Oden can be more Forrest Gump than Benjamin Button, they might just be dominating June for years to come.

Please don't be mad at me for using the Greg Oden/Benjamin Button again. I really think its funny....

It would be quite interesting to kidnap Dwyane Wade, inject him with truth serum, and interrogate him about the feeble group of amateurs that Pat Riley has surrounded him with. Before you call the authorities, remember there's no such thing as truth serum and I don't have a history of kidnapping professional athletes. Regardless of the outcome of this Atlanta series, the Heat will have a very interesting summer ahead of them. Wade is a free agent in 2010. And as much as Wade loves South Beach, I get the impression he likes winning more. If the Heat are unable to surround him with better talent this offseason, Wade could bolt next offseason. With interesting destinations like New York and Detroit in the market for high paid superstars in the summer of 2010, Miami's window to build a good team around Wade is closing fast. Wade's career will not last as long as it could with the physical abuse he takes in Miami. And he is a sharp enough guy to realize it. Last year's big move to upgrade looks like a big dud. The #2 pick in last year's draft Michael Beasley doesn't appear to be the answer. If Beasley doesn't develop soon, it may be bad news in South Florida.

While we're in Florida, I owe an apology to Stan Van Gundy. He got his Orlando Magic to blow out the Philadelphia 76ers and the Magic were playing without Dwight Howard, who was lost for a justified suspension. The two big discoveries in Game 6 of that series were the fact that Sixers' coach Tony DiLeo is not so good with adjustments and Magic backup center, Marcin Gortat can really play. Gortat's 11 point 15 rebound performance made Howard's absence virtually irrelevant. My bet is that Stan is smart enough to realize that his team can match up much better with EVERYONE left in the playoffs playing Howard and Gortat together. The Magic's big weakness is their love affair with the three point shot and the lack of inside support for Dwight Howard. Playing Gortat next to Howard helps address both of those problems. It will be interesting to see if Van Gundy sees it that way.

I am not anticipating a competitive series between Denver and Dallas. I don't drink the Jason Kidd kool-aid. Additionally, Kenyon Martin will guard Dirk Nowitski well and Josh Howard is going to develop whiplash watching Carmelo Anthony repeatedly blow by him. My prediction is that Mark Cuban will be using barf bags behind the Maverick bench by the time we reach the 2nd quarter of Game 4.

As we've seen two very proud and accomplished franchises of the last decade, the San Antonio Spurs and the Detriot Pistons, it begs the question, is this the end of an era for both franchises. In one case its simple. Stick a fork in the Pistons, they're done. Time to break it down and start over. Let Rasheed Wallace sign somewhere else as a free agent. Trade Richard Hamilton, Tayshaun Prince, and Antonio McDyess. It would be very different right now in Detroit if general manager Joe Dumars didn't pass on Carmelo Anthony, Dwyane Wade, and Chris Bosh in the 2003 draft in favor of foreign unknown Darko Milicic. Dumars doesn't take close to as much heat as he should for that blunder. It will also be interesting to see how far that 2004 championship trophy carries Dumars after his chief ally in Pistons owner Bill Davidson has passed away.

The Spurs are a little bit of a different story. Tim Duncan could probably give them another high level season if his minutes are regulated, which is coach Greg Popovich's specialty. Tony Parker is in his prime. And if Manu Ginobili's ankle is okay and his minutes are regulated (which they always are), the Spurs have their core in tact. However, they need more help than that. Their ultimate problem is that wing players Bruce Bowen and Michael Finley are playing the 18th hole of their respective careers. The two of them look so slow and old on the court, I'm not sure I'd want either of them on my over 40 synangogue team. At this past season's trade deadline, the Spurs kicked the tires on the Nets' Vince Carter. They would be smart to revisit this. Carter has become a very unselfish efficient player. He would fit in very well with this Spurs group. He could make them elite as Duncan and Ginobili reach the twilight of their repsective careers. And he can help keep the Spurs competitive with Parker as they move past the Duncan/Ginobili era. The only issue is Carter's bloated contract. The Spurs need to decide how much they want to pay to make one more run. Logic would dictate they take the shot. Tim Duncan is a once in a lifetime player for an organization. And you never know when you will get another shot to be a contender. Food for thought.

Enjoy the Game 7s. Giddyap. Y'all be cool.

One week into the NBA playoffs, a bunch of things I've seen surprise me. Others, not so much.

I am surprised that the Miami Heat responded so well to their Game 1 beating at the hands of the Atlanta Hawks. Their coach Eric Spoelstra does an outstanding job. He's got Dwyane Wade and a bunch of CBA quality players and he keeps them more than competitive. Don't look now but Pat Riley is getting that franchise turned around quick. Spoelstra better watch his back. He may only stay around long enough for Riley to pull the plug on him to return to the sideline himself in time to win another ring. Just ask Stan Van Gundy....

Speaking of Stan Van Gundy, I am surprised that it appears that he's losing his team. The Orlando Magic have had a great year. But in watching them in the playoffs, it has become painfully obvious that his players are not responding the all of the hollering and histrionics. The Sixers are a spirited enough opponent to take advantage of the kinks in the Orlando armor. It seems like the Magic are playing these games very tight. They take way too many three point shot. And they're perimeter defense is weak, which can be a killer against the athletic Sixers. This is not an easy matchup for the Magic under the best of circumstances, but my man Stan is setting him up to be the fall guy because of his bellicose sideline demeanor.

I am not surprised that the New Orleans Hornets are quitting on Byron Scott. Scott is generally a finger pointer when it comes to his players. He can get by for a year or two, selling his finger pointing under the guise of accountability. But his act becomes transparent quickly. This is a young, talented team, but they lack effort at times and play with a collective body language normally reserved for solitary confinement at a prison ward. The only reason Scott will survive this offseason as coach is because owner George Shinn would rather keep a bad coach than pay two.

I am not surprised that the Lakers are in a dog fight with the Utah Jazz. I don't think the Jazz can beat them, but the Lakers have some serious issues on the defensive end of the floor. And I think if you force fed Phil Jackson some truth serum, he'd admit to you the same thing.

And while I'm still on the theme of coaches, I'm very surprised about the 180 that Bulls coach Vinny Del Negro has done this season. Not only has he grown nicely into the job, but their young players are improving under him. Joakim Noah has improved immensely. He has become an outstanding defensive player and a very good screen and roll big man. Between that and his hair, he looks a little like Rebecca Lobo out there, but I digress. Del Negro has taken a lot of heat for not having time outs available in the closing seconds of the first two games of this series. But if you don't use them, you lose them. He called the timeouts he needed to call to gvet them to the end. And they managed to win one late on the road. Also, keep in mind he's without his 2nd best player in Luol Deng. No matter how this Celtics series turns out, the Bulls have turned the corner.

I am completely surprised that Yao Ming only had 6 shots in Game 2 of the Rockets-Blazers series. I will be even more surprised if we see Yao take so few shots again in another game in these playoffs.

I am not surprised that the Cavs are dominating the Pistons. There is no team in the league that is as imposing defensively as the Cavaliers. And the faster they can finish off the Pistons, the more rest they can get. Whcih would make them that much tougher to beat come mid June.

I am totally suprised that Jeff Van Gundy stole my Benjamin Button/Greg Oden joke. Either great minds think alike or my favorite coach/announcer is secretly reading my blog and I don't know it. And if you're a little uncomfortable with my man crush on the Van Gundys, I understand.

And finally, I'm surprised to the great Tim Duncan playing like a shadow of his former self. Either we're wathcing an all time great get old before our eyes, or he's more injured that the Spurs are letting on. With that sais, Spurs coach Gregg Popovich made a very smart move pulling his starters in the 3rd quarter of a blowout, especially Duncan. Either way, I would not count the Spurs out until they're out. Duncan may not be able to move like he used to, but he knows how to get it on on guts and brains. And if all else fails, he'll blame the refs......Y'all be cool. Giddyap.

With the NBA playoffs on our doorstep, if we believe everything we read, there's no reason to play anything before the finals. Lets just throw LeBron James and Kobe Bryant in a steel cage and its on. And although that appears as the likely scenario as these playoffs are about to commence, I'm going to tell you why I think that will NOT happen come the start of June.



I must confess that in the East, its virtually impossible to make a case for anyone but the Cleveland Cavaliers. The defending champion Celtics will have too large a mountain to climb in beating the Cavs on the road in the absence of Kevin Garnett. They might not even make it to Cleveland without Garnett. If this were the NCAA tournament, the selection committee would lower their seeding. And the Orlando Magic are not quite ready to take the Cavs. I sit here giggling like a mental patient thinking about Courtney Lee trying to guard LeBron in a playoff games in Cleveland. So before I turn this column into a LeBron love fest, let me get to the point.



The Lakers will not win the West. I think I'm going to say it again for effect.....



The Lakers will not win the West. As a matter of fact, there are four other teams in the West that are more than capable of going to the finals besides for the Lakers. This year's version of the Western Conference is too strong and too talented for it to be anything but wide open.



The Denver Nuggets are starting the playoffs as the #2 team in the West. They went 1-3 against the Lakers this season. One of the losses was before the Billups/Iverson trade. They can be a tough matchup for the Lakers. The Lakers do not have a point guard to match up with Billups. Kobe would actually have to play defense in this series because no on else on the Lakers can guard Carmelo Anthony. Denver's athletic big men, Kenyon Martin and Nene, match up well with the Lakers' bigs. And Nuggets coach George Karl is a good enough coach to neutralize some of the bench advantage that Phil Jackson brings. The one player who can tip this series towards the Lakers is Lamar Odom. He's too big for Anthony to guard and too quick for Martin. But Phil just loooooves Andrew Bynum, so if Odom's hightops gather dust on the bench, the Nuggets are right there.



The Houston Rockets are starting the playoffs as the # 5 team in the West. They lost all four times they played the Lakers this year. I will not let that statistical anomaly deter my analysis. The Rockets have the best Kobe Bryant defender in basketball in Shane Battier. They also match up well with the Laker bigs. Sure they can't guard the Laker bigs, but the Laker bigs can't guard them either. Their lack of a very strong point guard does not hurt them against the Lakers because the Lakers don't have one. And because of their size and great perimeter defense, they can wear the Lakers down in a long series. If this series occurs, it will come down to Bryant's willingness to play team basketball because we know the Rockets will. Kobe will need to spend time guarding Ron Artest, because no one else on the Lakers can. And Kobe will have to share the basketball, because there will be times that Battier keep him from even seeing the basket. This is also a potential series where Phil Jackson's bench advantage will be somewhat neutralized. Rick Adelman is a good coach in his own right and has been going head to head against Phil for years, first in the 91 Bulls-Blazers finals and then in those epic Laker-Sacramento King battles of the early 2000s. This Rocket team is bulit for the playoffs. As you can see, I'm not paying mych attention to their winless regualr season versus the Lakers.

The San Antonio Spurs are the # 3 team in the West. They lost 2 of 3 games against the Lakers in the regular season. The whole world has dismissed them because they will not have Manu Ginobili for the playoffs. In years passed, this would have been devastating for them, but this year they are in a position to replace his clutch production. In typical Spurs fashion, they acquired Roger Mason Jr under the radar in the offseason. He has hit some clutch shots for the Spurs this year and has particularly elevated his game since Ginobili went down for the season. That, in addition to the maturation of Tony Parker could make the Spurs a ton of trouble for the Lakers. And even though the Spurs have no one who can guard Kobe, the Lakers have no one who can guard Parker. The Spurs are deeper than they've been in the past. And Tim Duncan gives the Laker bigs fits. Also, Spurs head coach Gregg Popovich is probably the one coach who can outcoach Phil Jackson. If Phil is thinking right, he'll play Odom a ton of minutes at small forward and force Michael Finley to guard him or Kobe. If Phil insists on giving Trevor Ariza and Luke Walton the lion's share of the minutes at small forward, we may be looking at another Finals appearance for this very proud, very accomplished Spurs group.

Thje New Orleans Hornets are the #7 seed in the West. They lost 3 of 4 games versus the Lakers in the regular season. They had alot of injuries all season, but look like they're starting the playoffs healthy. Their point guard, Chris Paul is for the Lakers, which is lucky for the Hornets because they don't have a player on their roster who can even distract Kobe. They have good size across the front line and one of the Laker bigs is going to be pulled to the perimeter to guard Hornet power forward David West. The best guy on the Lakers to handle this job.....(lets say it all together).... Lamar Odom. If Phil buries Odom on the bench in a potential New Orleans series, the Lakers could have more than they can handle. What could save the Lakers in a series like this is the fact that Hornet coach Byron Scott generally coaches in tight spots with two hands wrapped around his own neck. And even though he made two finals trips as the head man (hey now) for the Nets, he's in over his head against Phil Jackson tactically. You could probably say that about Scott going against any other coach in the West, which is the primary reason I list this potential upset as the least likely scenario. That, and I don't think New Orleans can survive Denver in the first round.

So there you have it. Four different scenarios that send NBA commissioner David Stern rushing to his cardiologist. He probably goes into cardiac arrest if he gets a Rockets-Cavs finals and Ron Artest injures LeBron for the series in a game 1 with a flagrant foul.

Now don't get me wrong. I would enjoy a Kobe-LeBron steel cage match. But lets let them do what needs to be done before we crown anyone. In the words of a balding, aging, overweight, broadcaster, who is in dire need of a new catch phrase..... Thats why they play the games.

Giddyap. Y'all be cool