Melo staying put; Rumor Mill open for business since Gasol trade

May 16th, 2008 – Dr. J-Water

Ever since the Memphis Grizzlies traded Pau Gasol to the LA Lakers for $20 and a freshly minted DVD of the Hollywood blockbuster “Gigli” with Ben Affleck (*cough), the NBA rumor mill has been open for business. Anything is possible right?

I’ve read some pretty far fetched trade rumors lately, and at one point last week hearing about a possible trade of TJ “Glass” Ford back to the Milwaukee Bucks for sharpshooter Michael Redd, I thought I’d heard it all. That was until…I read this.

We are in the middle of one of the most exciting playoff runs of the last decade, yet somehow there are mainstream media folks clearly so desperate for a story that they will just pull trade rumors out of the clear blue sky.

The Denver Nuggets are NOT going to trade their young superstar Carmelo Anthony and the former defensive player of the year Marcus Camby to the New Jersey Nets for the overrated Richard Jefferson, a couple of weak first round draft picks, and 2 bench players on a 34 win team (Marcus Williams and Josh Boone). Have you gone loco my friend?

I realize that sometimes when there is smoke, there is fire. But in this case, even a pyromaniac with can of gasoline, a flamethrower, and a heavily wooded area couldn’t start that fire!

Although everything is not perfect in the Denver Nuggets camp right now following their quick first round exit from the 2008 Playoffs at the hands of the LA Lakers, we have to remember one important fact. The Denver Nuggets won 50 games this year! How many teams in NBA history have decided to blow up their team by trading away their franchise player after a 50 win season?

• The 23 year old Carmelo Anthony does need to improve his defense.
• Former Nuggets GM Kiki Vandeweghe does still have a relationship with many Nuggets executives.
• Marcus Camby is often injured.
• The Nuggets did get bounced from the playoffs in the first round each of the last 5 years.
• Melo did get in trouble with the law for drinking and driving before the playoffs this year.
• The Nuggets do have a terrible team defense.
• The Nuggets are underutilizing Linas Kleiza and J.R. Smith offensively because Iverson and Melo do not swing the ball enough.

While although these individual factors may be true, as a collective they do not in any way warrant the ludicrous rumor that the New Jersey Nets have any hope of landing Carmelo Anthony and Marcus Camby for next season.

What’s the next rumor, Reggie Miller coming out of retirement on the request of Rick Carlisle? The media is a wonderful place for these wild rumors to flourish. But in the wise words of Reggie Miller himself, sometimes you just gotta say:

“Man, you’re crazy!”

Everybody Chill; I’m sure Lebron still loves his Momma!

May 16th, 2008 – Dr. Browntorious

“Sit yo a%# down mom!”

After watching the Lebron play that shocked the world a few nights ago in Game 4, where he not so politely told his mom to go sit down after she tried to interfere in on the court tie up with Paul Pierce on a drive to the hoop, I couldn’t help but be reminded of Vince Carter and his mother in some strange way. And by strange way, I mean considering the recent events Vince Carter seems to be a “Bizarro” Lebron James. For those of you who are not familiar with the term “Bizarro” it was made popular in the mid 1990’s on the television show Seinfeld where the characters used the term to describe someone who is the exact opposite of someone they knew. Before I break this thought down any further check out the Lebron James play mentioned from a few nights ago:

Vince Carter and Lebron James. A couple years ago it was quite common to say these names in the same sentence. Some might even say that Vince and Lebron were of a similar high-flying talent, both “half man, half amazing” etc. Fast forward to the present day, Lebron is one of the best players in the NBA Playoffs 2008 and well on his way to a hall of fame career. Bizarro Lebron (Vince Carter) didn’t even make the All Star team in the weak Eastern Conference. Vince has fallen into a state of NBA obscurity, and fast. Apart from the obvious differences in competitive drive, aggressiveness, and toughness, I guess the biggest difference may be their relationships with their mothers. History and many events in the public eye have shown Vince to be a true “momma’s boy”, whereas recent events are portraying Lebron as the real “man of the house.”

Obviously I’m being a bit extreme. In no way am I trying to suggest there is some correlation between how you treat your mother, and how well you play basketball! That would be pretty silly, but its still fun to think about. Vince Carter has fallen so fast from the pedestal many of his fans put him on, it’s almost become a “love to hate him” situation for some.

Back in Carter’s Raptors years, I can remember the Toronto media ripping Vince for his mother’s constant involvement and interference in team matters, and for her repeated attempts to be in the spotlight by speaking for Vince in media interviews. Remember when Charles Oakley famously stated “Vince Carter’s Mom runs that team.” Vince was such a momma’s boy he even negotiated an agreement with the Raptors to ensure his mom had her own very VIP parking spot at the Air Canada Centre and lots of other special treatment. Her involvement with the media got so intense due to her opinions on players, coaches, refs that the Raptors executives had to bring in Vince for a meeting to discuss the situation. Vince didn’t manage the situation very effectively. He certainly didn’t nip the situation in the bud like Lebron did a few days ago. Carter never stood up for himself or told his mom to step off. He just continued to let her make a fool out of herself and him publicly.

When discussing the recent incident with Lebron and his mother, some of my boyz have said that when it happened live, at first they thought Lebron’s mom was some sort of crazed groupie fan rushing the scene. Why did they think this? Maybe because she looks a little young to be Lebron’s mother (pregnant at 15, she had Lebron at the age of 16). Since his father was not around during his childhood, Lebron has most likely been the ‘man of the house’ since a young age. I’m glad Lebron responded to the Pierce situation in Game 4 the way he did. Why? Because although the media has been giving him a bit of a hard time since the incident, it would have been a lot worse if he did nothing and was being pegged as a “momma’s boy.”

Don’t believe me? Ask “Bizarro” Lebron James.

The real Lebron however was rightfully assertive in telling his mother to go sit down, not only to avoid being the center of media controversy, but more importantly to ensure her safety incase some sort of melee erupted. I understand that you need to have respect for your parents (I love you Momma!) but I respect and agree with the way Lebron handled the situation. Put yourself in the same situation: its the conference semi-finals, you’re down 2-1, the game is starting to get intense on one of the biggest stages of your profession, the NBA Playoffs, and then your mother jumps up and tries to get in the middle of an on the court altercation with an opposing player? Are you kidding me?

What if a fight did happen to break out there? What if Gloria James got accidentally knocked down? Lebron James would have to stand by his mom and knock some people out, right? Lebron would be saying goodbye to the playoffs, just ask Stu Jackson. So yes, Lebron was right to tell his mother to “sit yo a** down.”

What are your thoughts? Do you believe Lebron was correct in his actions? Do you believe he should have been more polite as some critics have said, and been like “Mom could you please return to your seat?”

I guess King James, truly is the King of his Castle.

The Great Ones Adapt in Real Time: Did only Lebron James and Michael Jordan get the Memo?

May 13th, 2008 – Dr. Dime

I will not say Lebron James is struggling offensively. Considering his penetration, passing, positioning, and even just the defensive attention he attracts it makes for good team offense regardless. What I will say is that all series long Lebron James has struggled with his shot.

The only reason his shooting struggles are even a factor for discussion is that Cleveland has never been a very high scoring team, so a drop in Lebron’s point production generally means there is a ton of pressure on the role players and team defense. One of the Cavaliers greatest strengths has always been the ability for Lebron’s teammates to feed off the energy of James on his electrifying offensive plays. Lucky for Cavs fans, Lebron has been serving up a double dose of electrifying defense instead this series. And generally in the clutch moments of these close games against the Celtics in round two, Lebron has been guarding seemingly 3 or 4 guys at once. He’s everywhere. Here is a Game 3 example of the high flying, aggressive defense he has played all series:

Everyone talks about Lebron being on his way to matching the greatness of Michael Jordan. Although there will never be another player like Michael Jordan, what reminds me of Jordan most in Lebron’s game is his ability to recognize his weakness on any given night and then consciously decide to effect the game in so many other ways. The type of player that has the ability to self-assess their game in real-time and adapt on the fly is very rare.

We saw a good example of just how rare that ability is to come by (even in NBA star players) in the Game 4 of the Lakers-Jazz series Sunday afternoon. Whether Kobe Bryant’s play was affected or not by his strained back is not the issue. The issue is that even though Kobe was clearly not his normal self offensively in the 4th quarter, he continued to launch three pointer after three pointer and jumper after jumper, all the while piling up the bricks and allowing the Jazz to get the win.

Anyone notice D-Fish had the stroke? Pretty sure everyone but Kobe noticed.

Derek Fisher was H-O-T from long range in the 4th quarter and Kobe was cold, but Kobe failed to recognize the deficiency in his own game in real-time. In hindsight, if Kobe swings the ball once more to Fisher on a couple of those bricks, they may be up 3-1 in the series. I don’t want to knock the MVP, because he has played great in the playoffs thus far and there are only a rare few that would recognize this in real-time and adjust. Why don’t more players adjust in real-time? Think about this…what are shooters told day in and day out by their handlers when they hit a shooting slump? “Keep Shooting!” “Shoot yourself through it!” If a shooter is told this for multi-game slumps, it’s no wonder he can’t recognize just an off-night and adjust when it happens.

Enough about Kobe, Lebron James shot only 7 for 20 in Game 4 of this series! Cavaliers must have gotten blown out right? Wrong. Just like MJ would have done, Lebron recognized his offensive struggles and adjusted his focus to all other facets of the game. After his cold start shooting, Lebron completely took over the game in ever other statistical category. James finished with 13 assists, 6 rebounds, 3 steals, 2 key blocks, 2 big threes, and one emphatic power dunk in the closing minutes of the game to completely energize the Cavaliers and simultaneously demoralize the Celtics. For those of you that are unsure what it means to be a “clutch” player, check out this nasty throw down in the closing minutes:

Now that the series is heading back to Boston, the series has become a best of three. Holding home court just isn’t going to cut it anymore, as two of the final three games in this series are in Boston. If the Cavaliers want to have a real shot, Lebron has to continue to be a defensive stat stuffer and anchor the team’s defensive energy. We all knew this series would be a battle of defensive heavy weights, but I don’t think anyone would have predicted the shooting struggles of Lebron, Ray Allen, Paul Pierce, and Rajon Rondo.

The good news for Cleveland is that another game of this series went by with Rajon Rondo jacking up the second most shots on his team, completely squeezing out All-stars Ray Allen, Paul Pierce, and even Kevin Garnett from the offense. Most significantly this happened for long stretches in the 4th quarter and clutch time. Sam Cassell is a great offensive back-up for Rondo, but there has been very few shots Sam didn’t like in his career. Maybe the Celtics biggest weakness is there lack of a point guard who can consistently feed the rock to the Big Three in a position to score?

Playoffs are all about adjustments. I’m anxious to see what Doc Rivers has in store.
And will LJ be like MJ and continue to adapt in real-time?

Is Baron Davis leaving the Golden State Warriors this Summer?

May 11th, 2008 – Dr. Dime

Baron Davis has one more year left on his six year, $84 million contract extension he signed with the New Orleans Hornets, before getting traded to the Golden State Warriors. What some fans in Golden State weren’t aware of regarding Davis’ contract is the player option he has to void the final year of his contract. Davis has until June 30th of this year to exercise that option and if he so chooses, he can become an unrestricted free agent this summer and sign with any team in the league of his choice.

Is Baron Davis really going to leave Golden State? The city he helped put back on the basketball map for the first time since the days of Tim Hardaway and Chris Mullin. Speaking of Mullin, he is now the Warriors executive vice president, whom Davis and his agent are in contract negotiations with.

Davis’ agent Todd Ramasar has been negotiating informally with the Warriors since the playoffs began, trying to get his client a contract extension. Baron is now 29 years old and some would say entering the prime of his career. On the other hand, some (including the Warriors executives) may be concerned about signing a point guard who is entering his 30’s, which historically is considered an age where the play of point guards begins to decline.

Hey Chris Mullin, how well did that line of thinking work out for Mark Cuban and the Dallas Mavericks when they chose not to resign point guard Steve Nash? The Mavericks low-balled a contract offer to Nash, which led to him quickly bolting for the Phoenix Suns, where he proceeded to rejuvenate his new team into a Western Conference powerhouse, win two straight MVP awards, and narrowly miss a third.

Granted the ageless Steve Nash may have been an anomaly, and Nash definitely didn’t have anywhere near the health history and troubles with nagging injuries that Baron Davis has had. That said, Nash also didn’t have anywhere near the physical gifts and potential that a player of Davis’ caliber has.

Over the last few weeks Mullin has stated repeatedly he did not want to begin these contract negotiations with Davis until after June 30th. While Mullin may have believed that this would put him in a greater negotiating position given that Davis would be locked into at least one more season with the Warriors, it also was a giant signal to the Warriors star point guard that the organization was going to try to save a few bucks once the contract negotiations began. Clearly if their number one priority was making sure the extension was a done deal, they wouldn’t have been concerned about his opt-out deadline of June 30th. They would have just signed Davis for an extension of fair market value, end of story.

What is fair market value?

Well some may look at the contract of Jason Kidd (six years, $103 million) as a bit excessive. Davis himself has said that he doesn’t expect to be a “max player” and try to bleed the franchise dry. Given that Davis is 29 yrs old now, he may be willing to give up a few dollars on an annual basis in order to sign a longer-term contract and secure his future. If that is the case Davis’ market value and an appealing contract may look something similar to the Gilbert Arenas (six year, $65 million) or Steve Nash (six year, $63 million) contracts. To please the Warriors executives maybe the contract could be end loaded, and build in annual ‘games played’ or ‘health’ bonuses similar to the contracts of Marcus Camby and other NBA players who have had a history of injury issues.

Seems simple right? Just get it done then; no one in Oakland wants to see B.Diddy leave for another franchise.

Unfortunately for the Golden State Warriors fans and the fans of Boom Dizzle himself, the NBA is a business and nothing is that simple. Coming off the heels of some pretty poor business decisions involving what some might call “overly inflated” contracts given to Adonal Foyle, Danny Fortson, Erick Dampier, Troy Murphy, Mike Dunleavy, and even Jason Richardson, the Warriors seem to have now adopted a more fiscally responsible strategy. What most Warriors fans now are praying is that this new “strategy” doesn’t cost them their superstar, and put them quickly back to their pre-Davis status of bottom-dwellers in the Western Conference.

With the anticipation building on how this will all play out. Did anyone think to stop and ask the Oracle?

Celtics may want to muzzle the Garden Fans; Don’t Wake the Sleeping Giant!

May 9th, 2008 – Dr. J-Water

I will always encourage NBA fans across the nation to cheer for their favorite team like rabid wild animals during the playoffs. Isn’t that what it’s all about? We wait all year long for this moment, NBA PLAYOFFS. Let’s get nuts!!

Now with that said, can NBA fans actually have a negative effect on their team?

Definitely. By the way, I’m not referring to the obvious case of the melee at the Palace of Auburn Hills a few years ago involving a number of Piston and Pacer players and fans, centered around Ron Artest. What I am referring to is last nights chants of “ov-er-ra-ted” from the fans at the Boston Garden, directed at Lebron James. Why can’t you just cheer for your team and be content that the Celts were completely dominating the under matched Cavaliers? As fans, why can’t you be happy that Lebron James once again couldn’t hit a shot or lay-up to save his life, going 6 for 24 in Game 2 and forcing shot after shot?

Careful now Celtics fans. Here is the only warning I will give. Don’t be lulled into a false sense of security believing that all of Lebron’s poor play was somehow forced by a divine and incredible defense from the Celtics. Don’t think that the Celtics have somehow solved one of the most complex equations of the last half decade, that being how to stop the L-Train. Lebron’s misses may be partly attributed to the Celtics, but trust me Lebron will start making those lay-ups. Lebron’s jumper will start flowing like water. Then what? Did you just wake the sleeping giant? If you’re not sure, just ask the Washington Wizards how well that abrasive and cocky attitude worked out for them against Lebron. Granted, the Celtics have a whole lot more talent to back you up. But if there is one lesson you should have learned from the Cavs-Pistons series in last years playoffs, it’s that Lebron can dominate even the best defenses all by himself if he gets in the zone.

Celtics fans have a lot to learn about trash talking. For pointers you may want to watch one of the best, Kevin Garnett. KG talks trash to his defender, to other opposing players, to coaches, to refs, even to himself. But if you watch really really closely, there is one player KG doesn’t talk trash to….that’s Lebron James. KG is smart enough to know what Lebron is capable of. KG is smart enough to know it would make no sense to give Lebron any extra motivation to take his game up a notch. Right now Lebron is probably second guessing himself, he’s probably wondering if the Celtics have his number. You don’t want to say something that will snap one of the greatest players this league has ever seen, out of this funk he’s been in during this series.

Or maybe it’s too late. You may have already awoken the sleeping giant.

Don’t be surprised to see Lebron James come out in Game 3 at home with a chip on his shoulder. And when King James drops 40pts, 10 boards and 12 assists on your precious Celtics will you still be chanting “ov-er-ra-ted”? Doubt it.

San Antonio Spurs Reputation Audit: Flopping, Hack-a-Shaq, Closeouts, and ‘The Body Check’

May 8, 2008 – Dr. Anklesnap

The San Antonio Spurs are winners. Plain and simple. This cannot be disputed as they have dominated the NBA for almost the last decade. With four NBA titles in the last nine years, and being contenders in the other five, the Spurs are the benchmark for every franchise in the league. Much of this can be attributed to the Spurs acquisition in the 1997 NBA Draft of one of the greatest power forward/center’s in league history. Tim Duncan.

But aside from winning, what else are the Spurs becoming known for?

To opposing fans and media the Spurs are becoming synonymous with words like ‘dirty’, ‘shady’, ‘cheaters’, ‘cheap shot’, ‘rule exploiters’ etc. etc. Bruce Bowen has taken the majority of this flack from anyone and everyone, for his overly aggressive style of defense. From kicks to grabs, and trips to ankle rolling, Bowen has been the subject of much discussion on the fine line between what is a tough aggressive defender and what is a dirty one. But the reputation the Spurs are developing is not just about Bowen. Remember Horry’s body check of Steve Nash into the scorer’s table in the 2007 NBA Playoffs when the game was clearly out of reach for San Antonio? How about Coach Gregg Popovich in this year’s playoff series against the Phoenix Suns exploiting the off the ball fouling rules in what has been unanimously coined the “Hack-a-Shaq”? And finally let’s not forget the regular controversy over the seemingly perfected technique of “flopping” by the hyperactive Manu Ginobili and Fabricio Oberto.

I’ve got to agree with the Spurs supporters on one thing. This is a man’s game. At some point regardless of the perceived injustice you have to just man up and fight through the best the defense throws at you. One thing is for sure, winning isn’t easy, but it’s definitely worth the fight if you can get there. Here’s my take on a few of the issues:

Flopping

There should be no place in basketball for flopping. The NBA should have cut this off when it first started happening, instead of waiting years to clarify the rule. The problem now is that the flopping technique has been evolved and perfected by some players to the point its next to impossible for the referees to distinguish between a charge and a flop. In large part I blame the ‘restricted area’ underneath the basket, as it discourages players from attempting to block shots. If you look at the number of blocks the NBA leaders have every year it is slowly but surely being degraded in favor of attempting to take a charge outside the restricted area, this flopping phenomenon is a disgrace to the game. Between 1998-2008 the NBA leader in blocks only cracked 300 for the year one time. In the previous ten years to that (1987-1997) the NBA leader in blocks broke the 300 blocks mark 9 out of the 10 years. For you visual folks, here is what we are talking about:

On the ball flopping:

Off the ball flopping:

Hack-a-Shaq

I am hoping and praying that this summer David Stern and company take a long look at what happened in the Suns-Spurs series and either extend the intentional foul interpretation to cover these types of off-the-ball fouls, or create a new rule avoid the egregious abuse of the rules. I know Popovich was well within his rights to use the Hack-a-Shaq and he gets big bucks to find these loop holes in the rules and exploit them to the benefit of his employer, but it really does ruin the spirit of the game for all those involved. Brian McCormick probably said it best this post-season regarding the Hack-a-Shaq.

Closeouts

Over the years I’ve heard many people come to the defense of Bruce Bowen by calling his tactics strong aggressive defense. And when asked about the regular occurrence of Bowen sticking his feet underneath the offensive player as they come down from jump shots as a perimeter “closeouts”. C’mon, maybe if it happened just once or twice it could be chalked up to a strong perimeter closeout where the defender couldn’t stop completely on a dime and their foot slid underneath the shooter, but the recurrences are getting pretty glaring. For a better visual:

The Body Check

Everyone who has played a competitive sport knows that sometimes tempers flare, and the game gets heated. But there is no place in any sport for the type of hit Robert Horry (6’10”, 245 lbs) put on Steve Nash (6’2”, 178lbs) in the Western Conference Finals last year when the game was completely out of reach for the Spurs in the closing minutes. What is the most surprising about the situation was that the hit was put on Nash who is generally considered one of the most sportsmanlike ambassadors of the league. In my opinion the suspension Horry received was much too short. Stu Jackson really should have ended the season of Horry for the hit. Here’s the hit below, what do you think?

So there it is. Are the Spurs a dirty team? I’m still not sure I can answer one way or the other. But for a final though I’ll leave you with this….when I was a kid learning the game I remember my Dad telling me stories about his playing days and some of the ‘tricks of the trade’ for an effective (but clearly illegitimate) style of defense. Everything from grabbing shorts, to stepping on toes, to pulling leg hair. I used to tell my dad he was ‘old-school’ and how no one does that crap anymore. So maybe after all is said and done, the Spurs aren’t dirty; they are just “old-school”? Hmmmm

Mike D’Antoni vs. Steve Kerr: An Old-fashioned Western Stand-off!

May 6th, 2008 – Dr. Dime

After averaging 57 wins over his past four seasons as the Head Coach of the high octane Phoenix Suns, Mike D’Antoni is now in a position to have his pick of the litter for the teams with vacant head coaching positions. I haven’t seen a Coach demand this kind of attention on the open market since the Lakers rolled out the red carpet for Phil Jackson (the first and second time), or when the Knicks somehow wooed Larry Brown into his New York nightmare. The current leading candidate for the services of D’Antoni: The Chicago Bulls.

The strangest thing about the Bulls making a push to acquire D’Antoni is the fact that Bulls GM John Paxson is a long-time friend of Suns GM Steve Kerr from their running days with the Jordan era Chicago Bulls.

All reports are indicating that the majority of the tension between D’Antoni and the front office in Phoenix stems from his strained relationship with Suns GM Steve Kerr. D’Antoni felt throughout the latter half of the regular season and into the playoffs that Kerr was meddling too much into his handling of the team’s playing style (Kerr wanting a stronger defensive presence), and player relations. Kerr, not so quietly let D’Antoni know he wanted him to be a little more firm with the young stars, Amare Stoudemire and Leandro Barbosa. Given D’Antoni’s preference for an offensive run and gun style of play, and his track record for keeping a very democratic relationship with his players, no wonder he is looking to high tail it out of Phoenix.

After the news broke that Dallas Head Coach Avery Johnson was fired following the Mavericks playoff ousting. The buzz started circulating among NBA analysts that maybe D’Antoni was next. We even reported as such here at The Hoop Doctors. What is starting to now unfold is quite the opposite. With all the latest news of NBA General Manager’s firing their Head Coaches, who would have ever thought that with 2 years and $8.5 million left on his contract, it would be Suns Coach Mike D’Antoni looking to get an early exit out of Phoenix.

Part of me was a bit curious as to why Steve Kerr would grant Mike D’Antoni his request to begin talks with other NBA teams regarding their coaching vacancies. Then I realized D’Antoni in his exit interview with the Suns Owner and General Manager must have made a lasting impression that his heart was no longer with the Phoenix Suns. And once a coach loses that passion and commitment to his team, Kerr probably realized he would be better off elsewhere. But with 8.5 million left on Mike D’Antoni’s contract, and Kerr now clearly hoping for D’Antoni to take another job and be forced into accepting a minimal buy-out from the Suns, what we will witness over the next month or so will be an old fashioned western stand-off. But who will shoot first, D’Antoni or Kerr?

NBA Playoff Power Rankings – ‘The Final 8’

May 5th, 2008 – Dr. Browntorious

Before the playoffs began, everyone was predicting that either Detroit or Boston was coming out of the East, and any one of Phoenix, San Antonio, New Orleans or LA would win the West. As the second round of the playoffs begin, now what are people thinking?

Who would have thought that Atlanta could take Boston to a game seven? A 37-win team pushing a 66-win team to the limit. Had this ended badly for the Celts, this could have been the biggest upset in NBA history. I think what this really showed was a bit of over-confidence and a lack of urgency from the Celtics. With that said, what about Detroit losing two games to Philadelphia? Or Cleveland going six games with Washington. At the current rate the East is going, they will have beaten the hell out of each other by the time one of the teams is ready to face off with the West in the NBA Finals.

At the moment I still favour Boston to come out of the East, however after seeing the first round match-ups unfold, below is now how I’m ranking the teams in the East and my predictions on where they will finish:

1) Boston Celtics. Although they seem to only come together when it mattered most and really coasted in the first round, their bench has tightened up as of late. At the end of the day, they still have KG, Pierce and Ray Allen. In Round 2 they will all have to share the responsibility of guarding Lebron James, considering James pretty much attacks from every position. I predict Boston in 7. If they beat Cleveland, I predict they will handily beat the winner of Orlando vs. Detroit in 5.

2) Cleveland. Most people are going to bark at me for putting them ahead of Detroit, but I am doing this for one reason; Lebron James. Lebron is a freak of nature, he single handedly beat Detroit last year in the playoffs, not to mention doing the same to Boston in the regular season this year. Lebron is playing probably the best basketball of his life right now, not to mention this year he has Big Ben and Ilgauskas defending behind him, and both are active on the boards. Wally Szcerbiak has really come on strong in the latter half of Round 1, and Daniel ‘Boobie’ Gibson has once again resumed his solid playoff shooting from last year. Cleveland has a remote shot at beating Boston, but this is where home court advantage comes into play, where I’m sticking with a prediction of Boston in 7. If they do beat Boston, I predict they win the Conference Finals again.

3) Detroit. Detroit was not able to defeat Cleveland last year because of one man, James. Lucky for them, Dwight Howard is a beast, but he is no James. Detroit struggled against Philly, but in there last 3 games they seem to really have pulled it together, playing Deeetroit Baaasketball. The point guards should be the keys to this series as Jameer Nelson is much too small to guard the bigger, more athletic Chauncey Billups. I predict Detroit in 5.

4) Orlando. Dwight is amazing and Turkoglu really did his thing this year, but lets face it they struggled to grind out the win in each game against the Raptors in the first round. And the Raps are no Detroit Pistons. The first round in the East should have been a joke to Boston and Detroit given the record differentials with their opponents from the regular season. Orlando lacks the experience and the talent to make it past Detroit. Jameer Nelson and Carlos Arroyo are just not enough in the backcourt to compete against Chauncey Billups and Rip Hamilton.

In the Western Conference, I really only see 3 teams with a possibility of making it to the finals. New Orleans, San Antonio, or LA. Utah has a very talented team, but they have severe match-up problems against the Lakers and I doubt they will be able to grind out more than one win in that series. Below is how I rank the remainder of the West.

1) LA Lakers. Kobe Bryant, Pau Gasol, Lamar Odom, and all their role players are playing at a very high level right now. They’ve won 9 games in a row and have a legitimate shot to sweep Utah given the match-up problems for the Jazz. Sure, in the first game they were beat on the boards, but when you have two 7 footers in your starting line up, this won’t happen for long. I’m predicting LA in four or five against the Jazz. Then if they face New Orleans in the Conference Finals I predict LA in 6. If they play an experienced Spurs squad in the Conference Finals, I think it will go the distance to a game 7, but again the Lakers with the home court advantage should take that series as well. (Will we have a throwback NBA Finals of the Lakers vs. Celtics?)

2) New Orleans. This team has been great lately. David West has been giving it to the Spurs all year long. I’m surprised by now; Greg Poppovich hasn’t come up with one of his brilliant defensive schemes to stop West. Game 1 of the Spurs-Hornets series the other night was the third blowout the Hornets have put on the Spurs this year. If the Spurs can’t stop West they’ll be going home early. I’m predicting New Orleans in 6, then getting beat by LA in the Conference Finals.

3) San Antonio. The Spurs are a great team, but they need to find a way to stop the one-two punch of Chris Paul and David West. This series is also keyed on the point guards as the outcome may come down to the Parker-Paul match up. If they do manage to beat out New Orleans, I believe with their bench and experience they are a better opponent to match up with the Lakers and take it the distance in the Conference Finals.

4) Utah. The Jazz have a hardworking blue-collar team with Boozer and Harpring pounding the glass. And Deron Williams is a very talented point guard who reminds me of a modern day Mark Jackson. However, having Pau Gasol, Kobe Bryant, and Lamar Odom on the floor surrounded by shooters in Sasha Vujacic, Luke Walton, Derek Fisher and Jordan Farmer to keep the spacing is just too hard for Utah to match up. You may see multiple games with Utah winning the battle of the boards, but they are not quick enough to play perimeter defense and at the same time try to close the gaps in the paint. Lakers should close this out in 4 or 5 games and send the Jazz to summer vacation.

Ball Don’t Lie (2008) “8-Mile meets the And1 Tour” Doc J-Water may need to re-rank his hoop flicks…

May 4th, 2008 – Dr. J-Water

How excited was I when my boy “Biggie” (we call him biggie because he’s….well….big) tells me he’s in NYC the week of the Tribeca Film Festival and he’s going to check out the screening of “Ball Don’t Lie”? He knows I’ve been dying to check it out since I heard it was in production. Of course he’s rubbing it in my face huge. So with a little forceful persuasion I make him call me up straight away after he catches the May 3rd showing. Biggie isn’t the smoothest or most descriptive speaker I’ve ever met, but basically he says, “it’s like 8-Mile meets the And1 Tour, and a whole lotta goodness.” A whole lotta goodness? Okay well I didn’t expect a highly detailed film review given it was Biggie, but how is “a whole lotta goodness” helping me out? Guess it doesn’t really matter, as I would be going to see it eventually no matter what he said about it.

So what’s the hype about Ball Don’t Lie? Here’s the quick breakdown:

“Sticky” (Grayson Boucher) is a skinny 17-year-old high school junior living in Venice, California and has spent his life being abused by pimps who have lived with his prostitute mother. Sticky has been bouncing from one foster home to another, and living on the street between failed placements. But he’s developed incredible hoop skills that have given him considerable social standing among his mostly black peers. He gets a girlfriend named Anh-thu, who loves him and wants to help him reach his dreams. Sticky sees basketball as his way out of his dead-end life and is determined to make the right moves in the game to attain his goal. He doesn’t quite know how to make the right moves in his life, until a bad decision leads him to confront his dark secrets.

Ball Don’t Lie (2008) starring Grayson Boucher a.k.a. “The Professor”, Chris “Ludacris” Bridges, Nick Cannon, and Rosanna Arquette

I don’t know about you, but I’m hyped to check it out!!! I spoke with the production company and they are still in the process of finding the right distributor, so the release date is still unknown. Reading about it got me thinking about Basketball Movies. If you love hoops and you love movies, most of you probably grew up on the classics like the documentary Hoop Dreams or the cult classic Heaven is a Playground. I can still remember takin’ road trips for tournaments, beggin’ my old man to drive us around town lookin’ for a movie store where we could rent Michael Jordan’s Playground or Above the Rim to hype us up the night before a big game. Sure nowadays there are tons of Hollywood flicks with basketball as a backdrop, but there are still only a rare few that have pure unadulterated ballin’, where a true playa doesn’t have to spend the whole movie picking apart the hoop scenes that don’t seem realistic.

For those of you who want to know what hoops movies to rent, and what to avoid. Here is Dr. J-Waters Hot or Not list:

HOT

1. Hoop Dreams (1994 Documentary) – This documentary follows two inner-city Chicago residents, Arthur Agee and William Gates, as they follow their dreams of becoming basketball superstars. Beginning at the start of their high school years, and ending almost 5 years later, as they start college, we watch the boys mature into men, still retaining their “Hoop Dreams”.
2. Hoosiers (1986) – Starring Gene Hackman this is based on the true story of a small-town Indiana team that made the state finals in 1954, this movie is about the attempts of a coach with a checkered past, and the town drunk who loves hoops, to lead their high school team to success.
3. Above the Rim (1994) – Starring 2Pac in this fictional story of Kyle-Lee Watson, a promising high school basketball star, and his relationships with Birdie, a powerful drug dealer, and Birdie’s brother, Thomas ‘Shep’ Sheppard, himself once a promising high school star at Kyle’s school, now employed as a security guard
4. Rebound: The Legend of Earl ‘The Goat’ Manigault (1996) – Starring Don Cheadle this is the true story of a talented but drug-addicted basketball player from Harlem who cleans up his act and devotes his life to teaching Harlem children to play the game.
5. Heaven is a playground (1991) – Set in Chicago, this movie is about an inner-city basketball coach and a young lawyer who set out to save a group of teen-aged boys from crime and drugs by giving them athletic scholarships and teaching them about the game.

** Honourable mentions go to “White Men Can’t Jump”, “He Got Game”, “Blue Chips”, and “Glory Road”

NOT

1. Space Jam (1996) – Aliens called the Nerdlucks uses their strange powers to steal the talent of five NBA stars such as Charles Barkley, Patrick Ewing, Mugsy Bogues, Larry Johnson, and Shawn Bradley which they’ll ultimately transform themselves into a team called the Monstars. It’s up to Michael Jordan to help the Looney Tunes play a basketball game vs. the Monstars. But if the Monstars win, then the bad guy Swackhammer gets the Looney Tunes, and Jordan to slave away on Moron Mountain! Nuff said, wow!
2. Love and Basketball (2000) – Starring Omar Epps this is a love story with basketball used as the backdrop. Chick flick, with not much hoops action. If you get forced into a date movie, this isn’t a bad option to keep her happy. Not a recommended flick for you and the boyz.
3. Basketball Diaries (1995) – Decent acting chops shown by young Leonardo DiCaprio in this one. But if you are looking to get your high-flying hoops fix, this certainly isn’t the one. This movie is more about a teenage basketball player that gets a couple of bad breaks and turns to heroin. Follows his struggle with the addition.
4. The Air Up There (1994) – Jimmy Dolan (played by Kevin Bacon) is a college basketball coach who wants a big promotion. He ends up deep in Africa, hoping to recruit Saleh, a huge basketball prodigy Jimmy glimpsed in a home movie. But Saleh is the chief’s son and has responsibilities at home, since the tribe’s land is threatened. It was all a little bit hokie for me.
5. Celtic Pride (1996) – Starring Daman Wayans and Dan Akroyd this is about two over-loyal Celtic fans who kidnap their opponent’s star player in order to guarantee their team the championship. This one is an embarrassment to loyal Celtic fans everywhere.

**Honourable mentions go to “Sunset Park”, “Eddie, “Teen Wolf”, and “Air Bud”

You’ll notice I didn’t mention any of the amazing NBA player documentaries. Don’t worry though I keep those in a separate category all their own. I regularly throw in a Michael Jordan’s “Air Time”, or an Allen Iverson’s “The Answer” for a pump up session. If you got a H-O-T basketball flick not mentioned you want people to check out, drop a note in the comments section below.

The Orlando Magic are the best kept secret in the NBA

May 3, 2008 – Dr. Anklesnap

All season we’ve heard about how dominant the Western Conference has been, and specifically how good they are compared to the Eastern Conference. Even the teams with the top two regular season records in the entire league (Boston Celtics, Detroit Pistons) had a tough time getting mentioned by NBA analysts when the discussion of who the eventual 2008 NBA Champions would be. So given that fact, its not such a big surprise just how far removed the Orlando Magic were from those discussions. Maybe it should be surprising; I know I’m still baffled.

The Orlando Magic won 52 games this year, and beat many of the Western Conference’s top teams along the way. Put the wins aside though for a second, would you really feel comfortable betting against a team with “Superman” Dwight Howard on the roster? I certainly wouldn’t. The guy is an absolute beast. He was consistently mentioned in the early stages of the season as a contender for league MVP, putting up huge double doubles nightly. Although his statistics tapered off a bit in the mid-late part of the season dropping him out of the MVP discussions, the Magic continued to win consistently. In fact they were arguably the most consistent team in the league this year, with very few losing streaks and multiple short win streaks.

Why did Dwight Howards play taper off? I guess he must have been saving his energy for the playoffs, a-la-Shaquille O’Neal? Although I highly doubt it, the guy has come barreling out of the gates this post-season with the type of dominating interior play I haven’t seen in the NBA since the likes of David Robinson, Hakeem Olajuwon, and Shaquille O’Neal. In the opening game of the playoffs on April 20th against the Toronto Raptors, Howard put up 25 pts, 22 rebounds, and 5 blocked shots. Are you kidding me?

As dominant as Howard is inside the paint, I can’t honestly say he’s even their biggest offensive weapon. Now if you haven’t been following the Magic closely this year, on paper many of you would probably assume I’m referring to the off-season acquisition of small forward Rashard Lewis. Wrong. I’m talking about Hedo Turkoglu. Now I probably should apologize to Hedo. As recent as 4-5 years ago I can remember yelling at the TV…“C’mon Turkey Glue, you good for nothin’…” Keep in mind this was back in his days with Sacramento, when Hedo had all the potential to become the next great foreign shooting sensation in the mould of a Peja Stojakovic, but lacked the focus and consistency necessary to avoid the wrath of a Sacramento Kings fan.

Fast-forward to the 2007-2008 season and what you have is a mystifying improvement to the focus, leadership, and all around play of Hedo Turkoglu. He put up 19.5 points, 5.7 rebounds, and 5 assists per game. His career best point and rebound totals were second on the Magic only to Dwight Howard. And his career best assist totals were the teams second best only to their point guard Jameer Nelson. I was extremely thrilled to hear his hard work and dedication to improvement resulted in the league’s recognition as the 2008 NBA Most Improved Player.

So a team with the much improved Hedo Turkoglu, Superman Dwight Howard, sharpshooter Rashard Lewis, and the engine that runs this machine Jameer Nelson is being overlooked by almost everybody as a legitimate contender to win it all huh?

Well what about depth?

This team is deeper than the Pacific Ocean! At backup point guard Coach Stan Van Gundy has his choice of the proficient Carlos Arroyo or Keyon Dooling. To sub at the wing Van Gundy has legitimate options with Maurice Evans, Keith Bogans, or even sharpshooter JJ Redick. At the PF spot, the Magic have high energy, scrappy hustle players such as Pat Garrity, and Brian Cook (the latter of which can step out and knock down the 3-ball as well). And if God forbid Superman needs a rest from time to time, the Magic won’t fall apart by playing the veteran center Adonal Foyle.

This team has a young core, but has the right mix of veteran leaders and an experienced coaching staff to make it work. The Orlando Magic have been flying under the radar all year, and it didn’t seem to bother them. Or did it? They are certainly playing this post-season like they have a chip on their shoulder. In Round 1, the way they quickly disposed of the Raptors team that gave them fits throughout the regular season, the Magic are looking poised and ready to finally draw the attention from around the League they deserve.

Can the Magic finally get back to the elusive NBA Finals for the first time since their glory days of Shaq and Penny?

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