Checking in on the NBA Rookies

Who has been the best rookie to date? If you haven't been paying attention it might surprise you to find out it's a European. No, the best Euro PG has not been Ricky Rubio. It's the guy who decided to pass up on his American college career to make some extra dough in Europe - Brandon Jennings. He opened his career with a 17 point, 9 rebound, 9 assist game that was swept completely under the rug. But he has followed up that effort with 24 and 25 point performances and at just 20 years old, it looks like the Bucks have their PG of the future. Obviously, the fact that Milwaukee has no surrounding talent helps his stats a bit and he must cut down on the turnovers but the kid looks explosive out there.



Other rookies off to hot starts include Pewch Revolution favorite Johnny Flynn: 15 ppg in just over 20 minutes per game...he is really having trouble taking care of the ball however and must get that figured out if he wants additional PT.

Dejuan Blair is still a beast on the boards and an efficient low volume scorer.

Basically, all of the point guards have at least flashed a bit. Ty Lawson and Steph Curry are doing their thing. Tyreke Evans is getting a lot of burn for that pathetic Kings team and flashed with a 22 point game against New Orleans. He also seems to be taking the best care of the basketball of any of the rookies, though I can't claim to have seen the Kings or know what type of role they are using him in.

James Harden has predictably struggled to adjust to a scoring role in the NBA but did have a game he offset a 1-6 shooting game with 8 assists and no turnovers in a winning effort at Detroit. The Thunder quietly already have two wins and just took the Lake Show to OT, is this coming together sooner than thought? (probably not)

Not playing well: Jordan Hill.

A Call to Common Sense

In a bit of single game overreacting I'd like to call some attention to two players...first...for those of you who were not committed Pewch Rev. readers back during the NBA Draft (can you believe we have been blogging to no one for this long?), here is some things I wrote:

Knicks - Jordan Hill - Pewch. Pewch. Pewch. He stinks. Literally outperformed by 6-6 Dejaun Blair in every category and that was while playing in the soft Pac-10 where Jeff Pendergraph was an absolute monster. Just an outright terrible pick. And I love how everyone says "Has only played 7 years" like it's a good thing...that's so ridiculous. I'll take the guy who had a ball in his hand out the womb before the guy who just put down the power ranger action figures and picked up a basketball a few years ago.

Game 1, Dejuan Blair: 22 minutes, 7-10, 14 points, 11 rebounds, 3 assists, 2 turnovers, 4 PF.
Jordan Hill: 1 minutes and 45 seconds.

DEJUAN BLAIR IS ROCKING IT FOR A CHAMPIONSHIP CALIBER TEAM AND JORDAN HILL CAN'T EVEN CRACK THE KNICKS SAD ROTATION IN GAME 1? COME ON WALSH, YOU'RE KILLING ME HERE.


The other guy who was ultra-productive in college but fell like a ton of bricks on draft night was Ty Lawson. A guy I personally thought was the most dynamic player in college basketball (with many disagreeing UNC fans).

Game 1, 26 minutes, 7-13, 17 points, 6 assists, 1 turnover, 1 steal, 4 rebounds. Lawson ran the second unit which essentially won the game for the Nuggets over the Jazz (check the +/- numbers).

Why is it so hard for NBA GM's to get it through their heads that guys who produce in college are the best bets to produce in the NBA? Sure there are exceptions both ways, but why gamble on a guy like Jordan Hill just because he's taller than Blair? Why pick all sorts of players with the upshot of being 6th or 7th men - I'm talking about you James Johnson..when a player as explosive and productive as Ty Lawson is available?

By the way, Steph Curry had a nice first game starting for the Warriors and hitting 7/12 shots with 7 assists to 2 turnovers while falling to one of my favorite sleeper teams - the Houston Rockets.

***edit in - After re-reading the Jordan Hill note, I still can't help but think of how stupid the whole "He just started playing a few years ago" noted as a positive is. Think about that. In no other area of life would anyone say this. You don't go checking around for surgeons and check a guy's credentials, well on one hand we have a guy who has been performing them for twenty years without incident... the other option is this guy who shakes the scalpel around like he just drank two pots of morning howler coffee, but hey, he's only been doing this for a few years, he's got huge upside! I'll take him!

Phils Take Game 1 / The NBA Lives

Everyone can now wake up and realize that the Phillies have been flying under the radar. No way should the Yankees have been such overwhelming favorites in this series and we see why as Cliff Lee out-duels CC Sabathia and Chase Utley single-handedly out-hits the entire Yankees lineup.

Now the problem for the Yankees is this: If Burnett doesn't beat Pedro tonight, they might be on their death bed. I know I'm the only person in the world who still believes Cole Hamels is throwing well, but agree or not, that is going to be a very difficult game for the Yanks to win (game 3, back in Philly, Pettitte-Hamels). That means if they lose tonight they might be starting at 0-3. Looks like it's time for AJ Burnett to finally step up and show us all why the Yanks signed him to such a lucrative deal.

...oh and he has to out-pitch arguably one of the 5 greatest pitchers of all-time in Pedro Martinez (an old, lesser version, of course).


King James and the Cavs fall to 0-2? Glad I didn't get that Eastern Conference preview out saying the Cavs would win 70 games. The king did notch a triple-double in a losing effort.

God, the Knicks are dreadful.

NBA is Back

Just like Hockey did a few weeks ago, the NBA has crept back up on us all. Lots of intriguing plot lines this year to get into and I am sure we will begin to cover some of these in some previews and breakdowns of some early season match ups. Hockey is in full gear, NBA is starting up, NFL is in full swing, and MLB is starting the World Series....what a time for sports.

Wanted to touch on two quick games tonight, the TNT double header. First off with NBA comes TNT pregame and halftime reports and Big Chuck Barkley. This crew is honestly the best group of analysts you can find in any sports. They know there stuff, are controversial, and honestly funny. I can't take listening to Fox and CBS stutter and laugh at themselves at non-sense anymore.

Game one match ups up two favorites in the east. Celtics @ Cavs. Lets see how the Big Witness protection program (Shaq) works in Cleveland. If nothing else, this should be the funnest pregame introduction team in the league by far. Expect nothing less then an MVP out of Lebron this year.

Sad note on the Clippers franchise who face off vs the Lakers tonight. Should be good to see Ron Artest go nuts on the lakers at some point this season. Clippers receive a huge blow with the latest news that Blake Griffin stud #1 prospect trashed his knee and the Clipper Curse Continues. He will be out around 6 weeks and its a shame because everyone wants to see what this kid can really do. All signs point to him being NBA ready. The Clippers may have been able to contend in the west for an 8 seed as they have some decent pieces. Excellent big man in the inured Griffin, Camby, and Chris "top three ugliest in NBA" Kaman. Al Thorton is a solid player. Baron Davis is apparently in better shape than ever looking for a bounce back year, and Eric Gordon is ever improving. Plus any team with Sebastian Telfair has to be good, its a proven track record.....

Lets see what the NBA season brings us...

Dunk City

If you are bored...here is a good link from Sports Illustrated's Web Site. About 10 clips of some of the top dunk, high school, college, NBA, Olympics...enjoy.


http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2009/basketball/nba/07/23/dunking/index.html?eref=T1

*Vince Carter's Olympic dunks is classic.
*Never saw the Willy warren one before, pretty unreal.
*Patrick Chewing takes a couple serious facials.
*Nothing better than the "Send it in Jerome" call on Lane's dunk.
*Baron Davis dunk over AK-47 was fantastic, reminds me of that great Golden state run.
*Danny Green laying out Greg Paulus was great. Paulus better get used to his back on the ground if he is trying to play QB for SU this year.
*John starks is classic
*Lebron sucks, Sports Illustrated must have felt bad for him to include him in this package. All he does is get dunked on these days himself (what a lame clip..can't believe there was so much hype over LBJ getting dunked on and it was just a terrible video).

Quick Hits

* Denzel Washington is apparently Chad Ocho Cinco's new coach/psychologist. Ocho is apparently turning back to the fun loving player we have all grown to love over the past couple years instead of the whining complaining one we saw last year. “He got on me about the way I handled myself last off season,” Ochocinco recalled in a phone conversation last week. “He wasn’t being gentle. He said, ‘You know what? You need to straighten up and stop fussin’ about something you have no control over. Make it fun again because it sure looks better when you do it that way.’ That’s all I needed to hear, especially from somebody like him.” Is there a situation Denzel Washington can't handle? If he can turn around 85 from having another 53 reception season for 540 yards, then it may be his finest work yet.

*Sticking on the Bengal receiver (ex-Bengal anyhow) front, lets take a look at the latest from the pony-tailed T.J Houshmanzadeh (championship!). T.J is apparently boycotting Madden '10 because he is unhappy with his 91 player rating. He went on to say, "I'm going to miss not playing it, but until they do me right, I'm not playing it any more." Why are receivers the biggest divas in all pro sports? If you ask me a 91 is a fairly good ranking, not to mention I believe Madden was scaling back all of their rankings to make superstars more valuable...

*Former UFC fighter Kimo Leopoldo is not dead, I repeat, not dead. Rumors surfaced on the Internet about the death of Kimo, and was later "confirmed" by various sources. It turns out Kimo was not dead after he told Yahoo! Sports in a phone interview, “I knew I wasn’t dead,” No Kimo, you are indeed not dead, just incredibly stupid.

*NBA movement around the league.

Pudgy Sean May signed with the Kings.

Skeleton Matt Barnes signed with the Magic.

Jarret Jack signed with the Raptors.

Odom is still undecided.

Andre Miller may be on the move, likewise with Big Baby Davis.

Steve Nash will rot away his career in Phoenix. Given Nash's age, I can't imagine them making another huge run after totally breaking down the team.

*JP Losman has officially signed with the UFL and Las Vegas to team with Jim Fassel. What a marriage this should turn out to be. The funny thing is that Losman (unless Vick ends up here) is being called the poster boy for the UFL. I don't know if this is sadder for J.P or the UFL.

Couple Trades Leading Up to Draft Night

The Washington Wizards are close to a deal that would send the No. 5 pick in Thursday's draft, Oleksiy Pecherov, Etan Thomas and Darius Songaila to the Minnesota Timberwolves for Randy Foye and Mike Miller.

The deal would give the Timberwolves the 5,6,18 and 28 picks in the first round of the draft this year. New GM David Kahn certainly must be exciting the 7 or 8 people out there rooting on the T'Wolves, after dealing with Kevin McHale for about 15 years too long, he finally ended that relationship and now is looking to wheel and deal - rumor has it the Wolves are not yet done and may be looking to trade up again. Speculation is they want Tyreke Evans..and would be interested in Curry, Flynn or Thabeet as well. NBA Draft Net has them taking Curry and Jordan Hill. The Evans thing seems like a smokescreen to me. While Minnesota is now clearly shorter on guards than big men, I think Thabeet would be the type of center necessary next to Jefferson and Love, the Wolves two best players. Clearly they will need to add a guard or two, but does Sebastian Telfair finally get a legitimate shot at running a NBA club? All I know is this is a team in serious need of a shot-blocker and a scoring guard. I'm not exactly sure how they'll make it out of the draft with both, but if so this team may be finally headed in the right direction.

As for the Wizards: I like both Foye and Miller. Miller can stroke it from deep and rebounds very well for his position, coming off an injury-filled season, he should be able to bounce back and give the Wiz some additional outside shooting. Foye can also allow Gil to play his true position as a flat-out scorer off the ball. It has undoubtedly created a bit of a log-jam with Foye, Gil, Miller, Butler, Jamison, Nick Young and company..so perhaps the Wiz are not done dealing themselves. What this deal perhaps best indicates is that the Wiz didn't like what they felt they'd be looking at at 5 and must feel Thabeet will be off the board, as he would seemingly be an absolute no-brainer for them.

Meanwhile the Spurs acquired Richard Jefferson from the Bucks for Bruce Bowen and Kurt Thomas. They also sent Oberto to Detroit for Amir Johnson who was also packaged with Bowen and Thomas to the Bucks. Clear salary cap move for the Bucks here and another shrewd move by the Spurs. As the biggest Richard Jefferson hater you will find, he is a very nice fit in San An. Meanwhile the Bucks save money but it's hard to believe they will use it wisely, if at all - this is one of the league's absolute worst franchises and they should be dreadful again next year and for years to come. With the 10th pick, they are unlikely to get an impact player, and I think Joe Alexander would rather win the dunk contest than a NBA game.

Update on the NBA Draft Net mock, they seem to have basically reordered the top:

Clips - Griffin (obviously)
Memphis - Thabeet (interesting debate as to what they'll do here, I think this is what they'll do)
OKC - Harden (team has to be praying Thabeet drops to them, otherwise they have an incredibly tough decision, as someone who never liked Westbrook I think Rubio makes the most sense and is the best fit here - perfect compliment to an absolute stud in Durant)
Sactown - Rubio (Would be thrilled with Rubio I'm sure, and have the unfortunate luxury of basically being able to go Best Player Available regardless of position, this team is beyond-belief bad)
Minn - Curry
Minn - Jordan Hill (lol, this makes no sense and would be such a bad move, why is Jordan Hill considered a top-10 lock????)
Golden St - Jennings (no clue what GS should or will do, absolutely no clue)
Knicks - Evans (can't argue with it, I love Evans's upside and versatility...ah fuck it, who I am kidding, SET THE GARDEN ON FIRE DONNIE, GIVE US FLYNN...seriously has anyone considered the garden crowd and how they will be chanting for Johnny Flynn all night? Since St. John's has been terrible since Erik Barkley left, Syracuse has stolen most of the New York college hoops fan base..fans are going to be demanding J-Flynn and I can't lie, I hope they get him, the Knicks need a NY point guard to get excited about, after the Starbury debacle, only Flynn turning into a stud can alleviate the pain)
Toronto - Derozan (don't like him)
Milwaukee - Flynn (or can they get an impact guy at 10 after all?)
New Jersey - Gerald Henderson (another underwhelming Dukie, perfect fit in Jersey)
Charlotte - Hansbrough (seems about right for him...the late 1st round stuff was ridiculous and most of you know what I call Hansfa...uhh Hansbrough...too productive not to take a flyer on before the likes of James Johnson, BJ Mullens and Victor Claver start flying off the board.
Indiana - Earl Clark (Enigma)

Pewch man of the weekend

Who was the Pewch-o of the weekend. The nominees are!!

1st Candidate: Marian Hossa: Detroit Red Wings. See the picture below of Hossa who had to watch his old team he turned his back on win the Stanley cup on his own home ice. Talk about a decision burning you in the end. It is ridiculous that he claims he does not regret his decision. Of course you do. You stay with Pitt and your jumping around with Crosby and his 12 year old pre-pubescent mustache right now.

2nd candidate: Louis Castillo. Louis you looked like the Millman in this weekends NV Blues game. How in the world you drop that pop fly to lose the game for your team, in the Subway Series no less. I don't know what is worse, that you dropped the fly ball, or that you inexplicably threw the ball to 2nd base instead of home after dropping it.

3rd Candidate: Random Laker Fan. Take a look at this joke. This cat is the definition of pewch. Not once after my team has won have I ever contemplated jumping on cars, Vandalizing shoe stores, police cars, and/or decided to throw rocks and bottles at police. Real class LA. Did anyone tell you that you beat the Orlando Magic. Big deal.

Big Thursday in Sports

-Breeny, Van Gundy and Mark Jackson have stepped it up as a great announcing team. They are very critical of the officiating crew, and while it's with good reason at times it detracts from the game. That said, I like their style, maybe I'm biased as Jeff Van Gundy was my favorite coach and Mark Jackson is a NYC PG legend so of course I think he's the man (could we get Erik Barkley in the booth?). The way Mark Jackson enunciates his words is hilarious. Love when he uses cheesy puns. The only way this could be better would be if Hubie Brown and Gus Johnson were in the booth, not only is Gus the most exciting announcer in sports, he is also the coolest, as the first 30 seconds of this clip prove:

-The Lake Show got it done in overtime last night, thanks in large part to Dwight Howard clanking a pair of free throws with under a minute left that would've put the game away. I'll give Kobe credit, I thought he played a pretty terrible game for his standards again last night, but fouling Dwight there and not letting him get the dunk turned out to win the Lakers the game. I also must admit that I agree with Phil Jackson, who said in his press conference that Kobe ripping that one rebound away from Dwight Howard was the turning point. How did that happen? How good / strong is Kobe? How much of a bitch is Kobe?
Jameer messed up by not getting out on D Fish, but no one would've criticized his defense if D Fish wasn't so cold blooded, taking the game into his own hands and knocking down a long three with Nelson's hand in his face. A lot of players would've looked to get Kobe the ball there, especially at 0-5 from behind the line at that point in the game, D Fish continues to be one of the all-time role playing point guards.
What I really don't understand is why Jameer was on the floor in the first place. He made two plays down the stretch, one nice pass and then a standard dump-in to Dwight in the post. He looked lethargic out there and really provided the Magic with nothing, Stan Van's tossing Skip aside this series really doesn't make sense to me. Seems when Skip gets it going the Magic roll..but Jameer is giving them nothing and cutting into Skip's time and rhythm.
Rashard Lewis where were you?
Dwight Howard had some monster numbers: 16 pts, 21 boards, 9 blocks. 5-12, 6-14 FT, and 7 turnovers killed the Magic though.
A lot of praise is being heaped on Trevor Ariza and with good reason. Sure is one player I never wanted to see the Knicks get rid of (but hey at least we got Steve Francis out of it!) and watching him develop a shooting stroke (have you seen the pretty rotation on his three-balls? I'm officially a believer) tells me he is going to be a valuable player for years to come.
To borrow a horse racing term, the Lakers are just too classy for the Magic. The Magic play so sloppy..they commit untimely turnovers, clank free throws and have serious mental lapses on defense. Even Hedo admitted this after last night, calling the team stupid.
On the Gasol-Pietrus play - I don't love Gasol dunking it there, but he is right under the hoop, it is a little different then if he came dribbling up the court and ran in. Pietrus needs to keep his head there, if you want to foul him to send a message just give him a good clean, hard foul..don't just throw your forearms into his back. Now Stern is going to be forced to suspend him. Nothing better than watching a couple softy Euros mix it up though.

-On the baseball scene, the Yankees suffered another heart-breaking loss in what was the most entertaining baseball game year-to-date in my opinion. I'm not going to turn the loss into some sort of big deal that I'm sure the rest of the media will. If anything I think it was encouraging on some accounts..they finally got to the Sox bullpen and CC pitched great, Girardi just left him in too long. The big problem is that Aceves is the go-to guy to try and get them out of the jam there. I know he pitched the night before and was unavailable but if they are going to put Hughes in the pen, they should at least give him a chance to be the guy they go to when they need an out and can't go to Mo yet. I'm sure Girardi will be getting a lot of heat from the media and it's all well deserved in my eyes. Sox win 8 straight off Yanks to start the season for the first time since 1912.

Meanwhile, the Mets were busy dropping another heart-breaker to the Phils when Ibanez cracked a 3-run homer in the tenth. This is probably a more crushing loss than the Yanks as this Mets team has proven to be such a fragile bunch over the past few years.

Both the Mets and Yanks come into this first subway series at the new Yankee Stadium reeling...I don't want to play up the importance of this series but both teams will be looking to get some momentum back. I've already profiled the pitching matchups in a previous post, should be an exciting weekend in baseball though.

Get CP3 a Ring

Todays star is Chris Paul. Same rules apply.

Mulldog Maruaders:
PG: CP3 - Would like to get an athletic team that can get out and run with him, not too different from the one he currently has. He gets a ton of assists due to his great ability to alley-oop it to Chandler, so I don't want to starve him of that.
SG: JR Smith - Great athlete who can stretch a defense, but can also get penetration. I think that is the biggest problem with that Hornets team, they don't have anyone other than Paul that can get to the hoop.
SF:Trevor Ariza - This team will get a ton of steals and will run. Ariza a great finisher on the fast break and will stretch the defense along with JR to give CP3 room to work.
PF: Jason Maxiel - No clue why the Pistons don't give him his deserved PT. Can truly do it all.
C: Yao Ming - Could you make the argument that he is better than CP3? I don't think so, gives Paul a true sidekick, can hit the mid-ranger as well as Pual and Maxiel.
6th man - Chris "Bird Man" Anderson - Basically a better shot-blocking, lesser rebounding version of Tyson Chandler.

Milldog's MonStars:

PG: CP3.
SG: Completely agree with Mullen that CP3 has no gaurd help and untill he does I don't think him and solid big men will ever get the job done. He needs a consistent scorer by his side. My vote for SG is Ben Gordon. Gordon is a solid player who can light it up and is the perfect compliment to CP3. Very JR Smith like.

SF: Ron Artest. Here is the lock down defender that at this stage of career is no more than a role player who can occasionaly light it up. He will provide some scoring, but more importantly for this team, the ability to lock down the other teams top offensive player. Plus any time you can get a ticking time bomb on a made up squad I almost feel you have to pull the trigger.

PF: Al Horford. Horford is going to be your down low scraper. The man is going to get your 10 (9.3 to be exact) rebounds inside and he will certainly scrap.

C: I will take Bogut's 11.7 ppg and 10.2 rebounds per game. This former #1 pick outta Utah may never amount to much, but he is solid and with Artest and Horford on the squad I think you can afford a "softer Center"

6th Man: With Artest Horford and Bogut you have some decent size and toughness on the front line so my sixth man is Ronnie Brewer. This is a guy that is athletic, fits with the team, and can run up and down and dunk on CP3s fast breaks.

You're An NBA GM: Build a Championship Team

In anticipation of the NBA Finals starting on Thursday, each day until then the Millman or I will be selecting an NBA "Star" with the idea of building a supporting cast around him that could "reasonably expect to win a championship." We will each make our own separate teams with some analysis and encourage you all to build your own squads.

Some stipulations:

While strict adherence to the salary cap will not be taken, you are supposed to be reasonable, understanding NBA contracts, so you can't fill every team with Rashard Lewis, Joe Johnson, Carlos Boozer and Yao Ming. The idea is to spot role players that would compliment the star well. This is not to say he can't have a real good sidekick, but just be reasonable.
Also, the "star" should be the best player on the team. You are building around him, not with him. So that rules out anyone ever picking Kobe Bryant or Lebron James and such. If you're not sure if the player is too good to be on the team, he probably is. This rule is mainly so that you can't just find a bunch of guys on rookie contracts and say "well my team is way under the salary cap." You're not getting Lebron, Wade, Howard and Chris Paul on the same team, I don't care what their current salaries are.

And while we aren't doing this based on actual salaries or the cap, if you want to look up a player's salary, I recommend this great site:

http://hoopshype.com/salaries.htm

So without further ado, today we are giving you a lay-up (perhaps more aptly put a slam dunk):

Amare Stoudemire


The Mulldog Marauders:
C: Marcus Camby - Incredibly good defender. Blocks shots, rebounds and goes along with the athletic nature of the team.
PF: Amare Stoudemire - While very tempting to make him the center, given the lack of depth at the position, Amare just doesn't rebound enough for my liking at center. He can obviously score, and he'll block some shots, but needs a strong rebounding mate and defender to pair with.
SF: Shawn Marion - The Matrix just makes this a ridiculously athletic 3/4/5 combination that teams will struggle to deal with, especially if they can get the ball to Calderon in transition. While he makes a ton this season his stock has dropped to where he probably isn't a totally unreasonable piece on this team. He adds a strong defensive presence while being able to (somehow) keep the floor stretched with his three-point range.
SG: Rudy Fernandez - Thought JR Smith was asking too much here (and that was before I switched Sam Dalembert to Marcus Camby), so I'll go with the less-heralded and lower volume player in Fernandez. Shoots it at 40% from deep and doesn't need the ball at all times. A pretty decent perimeter defender that will take the charge and is pesky, like the fit.
PG: Jose Calderon - If this team scares me in an area it is that it lacks good passers. Enter Jose Calderon, one of the best assist/turnover PG's in the game and another assassin from deep. Him and Amare running the pick and roll with Rudy and Marion camped out beyond the arc could be deadly - especially with Camby looking to clean the glass on any misses.
6th man: Kevin Love. Since this isn't a great passing team outside the PG (though I think Rudy will improve there) and I'm a little concerned that Camby won't be able to stretch the defense enough to let the pick-and-roll be effective against superior defenses / obvious injury concerns, another good interior player with a little more range and passing skills seems necessary (and his lack of athleticism isn't a problem on this team). Kevin Love can shoot it, will rebound and can dish it a bit. While his ideal position is the same as Amare's...it's hard to find a true center in the NBA and the Camby/Amare/Love combo could be one of the NBA's best, not too unlike (different skillsets of course) Odom, Gasol and Bynum.This team can shoot, rebound and defend...I like its chances.

Millman's MonStars:

Not a bad squad assembled by Mulldog. The question worth bearing is that if you can't win a championship with Amare, Marion, and Nash, will any group really be any better off. Let's take a look at who I build around Amare and let you decide.

C: Emeka Okafor: Kind of a Marcus Cambyesque player, but much younger. Emeka would probably get a little more love around the league if he wasn't rotting in Charlotte. Okafor is a double double machine (2nd in the league this year among true centers). Having Okafor rule the paint allows Amare to run free and leave the dirty work to others.

PF: Amare Stoudamire: Not much to add here, have to build around him, we know what he brings to the table.

SF: Tayshaun Prince: Tayshaun is a perfect role player with Championship experience. Not only is he able to knock down an open shot, but he is going to do all of the little things for you. Prince also gives you the ability to once again, let Amare run free and have Prince matchup on the teams opposing scorer. He is also reliable having played in all 82 games this season.

SG: OJ Mayo: OJ only a rookie was 12th among gaurds in scoring average with a solid 18.5 ppg average. Mind you Mayo is only a rookie, but I think he's got the tools to be a pretty solid NBA player. At 6'4 he can play Defense and stick with bigger gaurds and not get killed by his side. Mayo starting at SG gives Amare and the MonStars a balanced scoring attack. Would like to see his rebounding and assist numbers improve, but we hope that comes with time.

PG: Jameer Nelson: I have been high on Jameer Nelson since his days at St. Joes. I was furious when the Nuggets drafted him and traded him away the same day. It took them the next 5 years to find a point gaurd (Chauncey). Jameer can score and take care of the ball. He will distribute the ball to Mayo and Amare. He also provides a 3 pt shooting ability as he shot 45% (2nd in league average)from downtown this year before his injury.

6th man: I think this team require a sixth man who comes off the bench and just shoots. Think maybe Eddie House.

A starting five of Okafor, Amare, Tayshaun, Mayo, and Nelson should give you enough defense, rebounding, and scoring to compete in this league.

I think this exercise really proves that you can't build a championship team around Amare. He has to be second fiddle on any true championship caliber team. Any suggestions for tomorrows star are welcome.

Best Baller Alive

By now you have all heard everything you need to know about King James's historic night. He had a monster triple-double 37/14/12. He scored 17 in the 4th quarter, having a hand in the first 29 points his team scored in the final frame. He had the most points, most assists and most rebounds of any player on the court (think about that!). The Cavs literally ran the same play every time down the court - give it to Lebron up top, spread the floor with shooters and let him get it done. And Lebron delivered, he beat Pietrus to the rack, he nailed jumpers in his face and made some beautiful assists to cutting teammates and open shooters.

It truly was a magical performance to watch and a statement game. Sorry Kobe fans (myself included). Lebron James is the best player on the planet. If you hadn't realized it already (and you probably should have) you really have to begin to come to grips with reality. King James is dragging this sorry Cavs team to game 6...if he was on any of the other 3 teams left in the playoffs in place of their big star that team would be absolutely unbeatable. Last night's performance was truly one of the most remarkable in NBA history, I hope everyone took it all in, we are all certainly witnesses.

I would like to give Mo Williams some credit for finding his shot finally (6-9 from downtown, 24 points) and Booby Gibson stroking it from deep (3-4) is absolutely huge for this Cleveland team.

The question is, can Lebron get it done on the road in game 6? Can he re-visit refuse-to-lose mode that we saw last night in the 4th quarter? Does he have enough in the tank? It is a tall task for certain, but after last nights performance I don't see how anybody doubts the Cavs at this point. If you couldn't tell in my previous posts I have always felt the Cavs will probably win this series..the bottom line is in the NBA, you never doubt the best player on the planets ability to get it done.

NBA Finals Picture Shaping Up

In a game in which the score was tied at the end of each of the first three quarters, the Nuggets came up short in the 4th quarter last night, falling down 3-2 in the series.

Since we agreed that whoever was "right" last night would mock the other man - I'm going to take a look at some of the Millman's points and see how (in)accurate he was.

Kobe vs. Melo. Not only does Mrs. Bryant hold a 7-3 advantage in the hotter girl poll, but Kobe got the W last night, scoring fewer points but playing a much more efficient game taking just 13 shots while dishing out eight assists. (To be clear here the loss was not Melo's fault, he had 31 so the non-wife part of Millman's argument may not have been too far off really)

Big Men. Well I'd like to say first off that someone must have finally notified Lamar Odom that the series has started because he was an absolute monster last night. 19 points, 14 rebs, 4 blocks. Odom honestly looked like the best player on the floor last night and that is what makes this Lakers team so good. Pau Gasol? Another very efficient double-double, 14/10...added some assists, steals and 5 huge blocks. ESPN put up a stat at one point deep into the 4th quarter that the Nuggets hadn't scored in the paint since there was 5:11 left in the 3rd quarter. Here is where I'd say this was thanks to Pau and Lamar blocking shots left and right, except I have to ask, did anyone else notice that they posted this two possessions after Linas Kleiza drove to the hoop, splitting two defenders, and made a lay-up? Terrible work as usual ESPN. As for Andrew Bynum, well did I mention there is a rumor he is dating Rihanna?

Birdman, Kenyon and Nene were badly outplayed last night, bottom line.

Home court advantage, or rather lack thereof? Actually, the Staples Center had some real life in the third quarter and obviously at the beginning of the fourth when the Lakers made what turned out to be the run that was the difference in the game (11-0 start to begin the quarter?).

On the bright side, as best I could tell the Nuggets still won the tattoo battle last night.

So now that I've ripped the Millman more than he probably deserves or needs this morning, the question becomes, are both of these series essentially over? The Cavs trail 3-1 with a home/road/home left. The Nuggets trail 3-2 with a home/road left. I still feel the Cavs are the most live team here. I don't think too many people expect the Magic to win game 5 in Cleveland, we should at least be headed for a 3-2 Magic lead, with one game in Orlando followed by one in Cleveland. Essentially, I feel it will come down to whether or not Lebron James can be absolutely heroic in game 6. If he goes into refuse-to-lose mode on the road and wills his team to victory, we'll be looking at a game 7 in Cleveland, where we ought not forget the Cavs are still 44-3 on the year. Are you really going to beat King James, at home, in a game 7? This Magic team is a fun-loving group that has been able to erase huge first-half deficits, but if you keep getting down big early, sooner or later you won't have enough to come back. I fully expect Cleveland to jump on them tonight and I won't be surprised if Orlando packs it in. And if they do no-show tongiht, I think it will be a grave mistake...Orlando has two chances to clinch this series in my eyes: tonight while the Cavs are still feeling down about themselves, and game 6 at home...but if they pack it in tonight and get buried, Cleveland may get their mojo back and the Magic may see the rug pulled from under them before they know what happened.

As for the Nuggets, I'm going to leave that for the Millman to touch on. I think they're drawing dead. I could easily see them taking game 6, but I don't think they beat the Lake Show in a game 7 (and feel there is a strong chance Lakers take the next one in Denver).

I refuse to start a third poll, but if I was going to I'd ask, which trailing team has a better chance of making the Finals, Nuggets or Cavaliers?

Hubie Brown was on Mike and Mike this morning and gave one of the most thorough, insightful, positively brilliant breakdowns on the Cavs-Magic series. If you have a few minutes, click the link and give it a listen, you will be a better fan for it:

http://sports.espn.go.com/stations/player?id=4211968

Millman and Birdman Sharing Same Pipe?

<--Mrs. Bryant vs. La La -->

First of all, this is essentially a direct response to the piece directly below this, so if you haven’t checked that out first, you’d be advised to do so. The Millman may be on the wrong side of this argument, but it is worth a read, if for no other reason than the one-liner about Kobe which I won’t spoil.

Well before I get into my defense of the Lakers, a few quick notes on last night / the Cavs-Magic series in general. First off, you’re nuts if you’re complaining about the foul call at the end of regulation that allowed the King to tie the game with .5 seconds left. Bottom line is, NBA refs are not going to let a game end while Lebron James hits the floor (with the defender not in position no less) and doesn’t even get a shot off. The Magic should consider themselves lucky that his second free throw went in, by the way – it was going to be the most tailor made tip-in by Varejao of all-time. On the other end, as Varejao and Howard got tangled up, it was a good no-call – honestly if anyone was fouled there it was Varejao. The refs, who I and most everyone else love to kill, had a bunch of extremely difficult calls last night, and I feel they were on the right side of most, if not all of them.

And after yet another incredible game we have to start considering the fact that we may be on the verge of having the best pair of conference championship series in the history of the NBA. With the Cavs down 3-1 now, that could be in jeopardy, but both of these series could easily still go 7 games, almost every game has been decided on the final shot, with only the last Lakers-Nuggets game really being a bore. I don’t recall two series ever both going to game 7 in the same year…and you really have to go back to the late 80’s, early 90’s golden age of the NBA to find both conference finals having this much juice.

I remember having a conversation (as the Magic were wiping out the Celtics in game 7) abut the conference championships where I made the – at the time unpopular – claim that if either the Cavs or Lakers were going to not make the finals, that the undefeated Cavs were the team in danger. Now, both teams are arguably in danger, but I still feel as strongly as ever (and most would now agree) – the Lakers will be in the NBA Finals waiting, but the King may not make it.

But why can’t the Lakers lose this series (currently 2-2)? For one, I maintain that the Nuggets are simply a lesser version of the Lakers. Both teams want to get out and run, unfortunately for Denver the Lake Show is more efficient on both ends of the floor. Both teams shoot it efficiently, but the Lakers control the boards…the only place I really see an advantage for Denver is their ability to get to the line, which is why I do think the Lakers home court advantage helps them – even if the entire crowd looks like they’re watching Jack Nicholson re-enacting About Schmidt.

As for the Millman’s claim that Kobe is a jump-shooter – he has been to the free throw line 53 times in the first four games. He has proven absolutely un-guardable all series even when Dahntay Jones is tripping more people than Julian ‘Frankenstein’ in Big Daddy.

The idea that La La Vasquez is somehow superior to Kobe’s wife is probably the Millman’s most ridiculous claim however. I love how he conveniently found Kobe’s wife’s worst picture and La La’s best…and it was still arguable who looked better. Huge advantage in the wife department to the Lake Show – a quick google search reveals a rumor that Andrew Bynum is dating Rihanna. I then bring to the table Pau Gasol’s wife:

The big men argument is almost laughable. Pau Gasol can score on Nene anytime he gets single coverage - quick shake, baseline, dunk. Repeat…the Lakers have not utilized this enough yet but it is there for them at any time. For the record, he has recorded a double-double every game…and the way he opens up the floor for that offense by always being in the right spot is so underrated. Odom hasn’t been special, but he’s rebounding a ton and doing exactly what Phil Jackson wants. Did I mention that Bynum is dating Rihanna? Meanwhile, all the Denver big men are the same exact players…shot-blocking, poor one-on-one defenders who offensively can do nothing but dunk and have been getting beaten on the boards (despite being a good rebounding unit).

Look, I love this Nuggets team. They have a player who made an appearance in a gang-related Stop Snitchin’ video (Melo), a recovering – and in my suspicion relapsing – drug addict freak (Bird Man), and the guy who netted the Knicks Antonio McDyess (Nene). They are exciting to watch. But really, what kind of crushing blow would it be for the NBA if somehow both Kobe and Lebron get knocked off before the finals? Can the season-long crash course that was the Cavs-Lake Show really turn into Magic-Nuggets? Orlando and Denver really? The same Denver team that has never made the NBA Finals in the franchises 32 years of existence? Can’t happen. Won’t happen. In one of the juiciest NBA seasons in recent memory there would be little juice for that NBA Finals. David Stern is too wise for that. His referees are too scared for that.

His referee

One more piece of real analysis – once the Lakers big men realize that they’re better off staying on Nene, Birdman and Kenyon and forcing the Nuggets guards to finish around the tin themselves, I think we see the Lakers take total control. That or if Kobe decides he wants to lock up on defense (a characteristic he can do like no other which has strangely not been employed by him yet this series as JR Smith is blowing by him with the greatest of ease, though he’s doing a good job of not letting him get his threes off). Unless Melo comes out in a vintage Orange jersey (which he practically has so far this series) then I really can’t see the inferior Nuggets getting it done here.

And last but not least, has anyone ever put a career in cruise control more than Spike Lee? After the masterpiece that was He Got Game, every “Spike Lee Joint” has been hot garbage. It’s as if you could plot his career path along the same curve as Public Enemy…once his favorite rap group lost it, he did too. Am I the only one who thinks that maybe Chuck D should get more credit for Do the Right Thing and He Got Game than Spike Lee himself in hindsight? Am I just crazy? Kobe Doin’ Work is probably the worst execution of a great idea I have ever seen. I literally thought it was a joke with insightful comments from Kobe such as “Here I take a jumpshot” and “that’s me running back down the court to play defense.” It was at times reminiscent of the infamous Ball St “Boom Goes the Dynamite” announcer as Kobe finds himself at a loss for words, check this clip and then watch the legendary footage if you have not seen it before:

Nuggets of Wisdom

For those of you who don’t know the mulldog and I very well let me comment that we are both NBA junkies. That being said we have some contrasting opinions of who will represent the Western Conference in the NBA Finals while the Nuggets and Lakers are at a 2-2 series stalemate. Lets first clear the air as I admit I am a Denver Nuggets fan…however, my allegiance to them is not why I think they will advance. Let’s check out the real reasoning the Nuggets will be in the NBA Finals….

Star Power: Kobe vs. Melo:
Listen, I am not going to sit here and go through some ridiculous argument that Melo is a better player then Kobe, just not going to happen. In fact, Kobe recently set the record for most conference final points through the first 4 games last night, Talk about Kobe Doin’ Work (thanks Spike Lee for one of the worst documentaries I have ever watched)! Kobe is still no questions asked the best closer in the game (speaking of The Closer I cringe when any game is shown on TNT because god knows we are going to see the damn commercial for the new season of The Closer 800 times).

Kobe is a jump-shooter at this point of career and you can see he did little to no penetrating in Denver so far this series (it’s not his fault, it's court ordered). Carmelo has done enough this post-season to merit being called a superstar and is slowly edging his way to top of the class. He has taken the challenge of playing both ways (offense and defense perverts), guarding Kobe, and making Bryant look like a child in the post grabbing offensive rebounds. The edge here obviously still goes to KB24, but not by as much as he is getting credit for. Let’s also take a look at their wives, which plays a small factor in my opinion. Kobe’s wife, who is surrounded by scandal and lies is not someone you want to associate yourself with. Carmelo’s wife, world famous MTV VJ La La Vasquez is all over the red carpets. Take that for what it's worth.

Big Men: Trio vs Trio:
For this breakdown we are pinning Nene, Kmart, and Chris “Birdman” Andersen vs Pau Gasol, Andrew Bynum, and Lamar Odom.

Lets take a stab at the Lakers big girls to start. Pau Gasol (stolen from the Memphis Grizz) is a great player, but not a game changer. Pau could be effective, but they do not utilize him enough and its apparent as he is only averaging 10 shots per game. Andrew Bynum, age 16, still can’t play with the big boys, gets into feuds with Phil Jackson, and is nothing more then a complimentary player. As far as Odom goes, I am actually high on LO…Just not sure if anyone has told him the series started yet.

Nene, Kmart, and the Birdman hold the clear advantage (as evident as them all securing 13+ rebounds last night). Nene is finally playing to the level of his $60M dollar deal (how he got that coming straight off of knee surgery baffles me). Kenyon, currently playing with no knees if nothing more will be your enforcer and scrap. Any man with a tattoo of pink lips on his neck has to be scary, right? And finally the X Factor, the BirdMan. For those of you who haven’t checked out his story its worth a watch.(http://espn.go.com/video/clip?id=4205357&categoryid=2459788).

The BirdMan is the perfect role player willing to take the charge, rebound, and he will erupt the home crowd with his thunderous dunks and high flying swats….he will even quiet down the crowd when playing in LA…scratch that…they have no home court presence anyways.

Home Court Advantage?:

It does not bother me that the Nuggets have to win one at the Staples Center. Those fans don’t show up until the 2nd half starts and they are more concerned at watching the jumbo tron showing the celebrities in crowd. The celebrities themselves don’t care about the Lakers either. They are just there so they can watch themselves the next day when TMZ reports on every move they make. “Is Leo DiCaprio trying to watch his weight, we saw him eat nothing during the game and even had a diet green tea in hand…two words Leo, Anti-Oxidants!”

Denver will have no problem winning one in LA.

Head Coaching: Karl vs Jackson:

Sort of in parallel to our Kobe vs Melo conversation I am not going to tell you George Karl is a better head coach. In fact, I think Karl is a lousy coach and essentially sits on the sidelines and gains weight. My point here is that Phil Jackson isn’t all he’s cracked out to be. Sure he has 9 NBA championships, but I am convinced you could have all-star, hot as a pistol, Jason "J Mac"McElwain, as your head coach and still win finals with the talent Jackson has had.

After all it's not to hard to win championships with Michael Jordan, Scotty Pippen, Shaquille O’Neal, and Kobe Bryant. These championships were more about the players and less about the “Zen Masters” Triangle offense. Phil Jackson only got the LA coaching job because he was sleeping with the owner’s daughter Jeanie Buss in the first place. So Phil Jackson you keep being the “great” coach that you are and stick your fingers in your mouth and whistle and pretend you are doing something while you sit on your elevated throne on the bench.

Intangibles: Nuggets have them, Lakers don’t:

If my points above don’t help my argument about Denver’s ability to win, let me sprinkle these “Nuggets” into the post for you (You see what I did there, I used Nuggets to represent both small facts, and the basketball team…it’s called journalism, don’t worry about it). The Nuggs have the best point guard left in the playoffs in Chauncey B-B-Billups. Mr. Big Shot will make a statement in one of the final remaining games the way he did in the first two series vs the Hornets and Mavs.

Also, the Nuggets have one of the best benches in basketball. Leinas Kleiza the Lithuanian all-star, the BirdMan, and last but not least J.R. Smith all bring big time scoring to the court. Finally, the Nuggets lead the league in this all important NBA stat: Most team tattoos: Carmelo Anthony, Chris Andersen, J.R. Smith, and Kmart all host sleeves of tattoos. You can guarantee (yes you, Mark Cuban) that this group of thugs will be storming to the NBA finals.