Nuggets-Lakers Preview.

What if I told you that you could have Allen Iverson,Carmelo Anthony,Kobe Bryant,Pau Gasol and Lamar Odom all match up against each other in a first round series?Is that something you might be interested in?

The Nuggets are a jam-packed team,they have offense escaping from every orifice,scoring to the point that you could be forgiven for thinking that Kiki Vandeweghe is still lacing them up for Denver. A team with two superstars and a slew of athletic scoring role players should be better than this,simple as that. They have yet to gel as a team,and at times don't look like they even want to be one.Ron Artest trade rumors and Melo's recent DUI have not helped things(the latter may have). With their frustrating refusal to play anything that resembles the word "defense" all season,it's hard to imagine them being able to overcome a team equally willing to turn the game into a track-meet.In this series,it is entirely possible that the Nuggets could score 200 and still end up losing due to their D.But,then again this is the playoffs,and apparently this is where amazing happens.So, far be it for me to discard this Nuggets team too quickly,especially with a ring-less Allen Iverson on the team.

Does anyone remember a certain website dedicated solely to getting a man named Mitch Kupchak fired?No,really?Well there was one and it stated in no uncertain terms that it would like very much that said GM would be fired.If you are now looking for this website,I think it has since re-named to www.KupchackisaGreekGod.com. Things seem to change in the NBA pretty quickly.Larry Brown turned from "Legendary coach" into "hated old man" in the space of one season,Gilbert Arenas went from "breath of fresh air" to "egotistical annoyance" in a mere few months.This season, for the Lakers has played out in a similar fashion,they went from "tricky first round encounter" to "The Lakers will win the championship,no question" and guess who's responsible?EW guessed it,Mitchell Kupchack.At the risk of sounding like Captain Obvious,the Pau Gasol trade completely changed the Lakers season; only having to give up mildly promising rookie Javaris Crittenton and consummate party(and cake) thrower Kwame Brown was the icing on the cake. Even Bynums injury doesn't seem to have slowed them down. When Kobe Bryant was giving a parking lot interview sometime during last summer,do you think he really expected the Lakers to be no.1 in the West going into the playoffs?I think not. Do you think he'd really prefer to be in Chicago right about now. I think we all know the answer to that one.

Let's Look at the Match ups.

PG-Anthony Carter/Derek Fisher-No team has any advantage here,both players do the exact same thing on each squad,to provide a veteran presence,keep a cool head,not make many mistakes and let the star players do what they do.
SG-Allen Iverson/Kobe Bryant-Although it's highly unlikely that either will actually be guarding the other during the series; it will be interesting to see who has more of an impact on their team's performance.I'm going to say that the Lakers have a sizable advantage here.
SF-Carmelo Anthony/Lamar Odom-This is the match-up that might decide the outcome of the series,this is the match-up that the Lakers might have no answer for.Lamar by himself cannot defend Melo,this will have to be a group effort; especially considering that Melo' may be a smidge more fired up than usual due to recent events. A combination of Lamar,Ira Newble and the grace of God may help The Lakers overcome this,but the Nugs have a clear advantage here.
PF-Kenyon Martin/Vladimer Radmanovic-Both have shown glimpses of their better days this season,but this will seemingly be a non factor match-up.
C-Marcus Camby/Pau Gasol-The Lakers need to keep Camby occupied when on offense,Lamar and especially Gasol need to be aggressive in order to prevent Camby helping out on weakside D,if they manage to curb Camby's help D he will become a non factor,he's already a non factor on offense and Gasol should dominate him one on one.Lakers with the clear advantage.

How The Lakers Will Win:
The Nuggets are a horrible defensive team,the Lakers need to take advantage of this.Not only are the Nugs a horrible defensive team,they are also often a lazy defensive team,meaning they often fall into a zone.If the Nugs do go zone,the Lakers should bring Pau into the middle running the high post,this will bring Camby up and open the backdoor.The Melo match up is crucial also,they should have a constant slew of fresh players defending him.Guys like Ira Newble and Sasha Vujacic will be a constant nuisance and key to preventing Melo' getting comfortable.The Lakers should by no means double the post-ever.Why risk giving guys like Kleiza and JR open looks,especially since Denver's bench is their trump card.mThe Lakers need to make guys like Camby and Carter be scorers,let them have the ball as much as they want,keeping the ball out of the hands of Melo' and AI is important.It's important for the Lakers to limit turnovers,prevent the Nugs from getting many fast break opportunities.Most importantly,make damn sure that Kobe gets hot early,no team in the league has an answer for Kobe Bryant,no team in the league has a player like Kobe Bryant,let Kobe be the apparent MVP.

How the Nuggets Will Win:
If the Nuggets are to win this,they must realize a few things:1)They must realize that they have no answer for Kobe Bryant,just play honest D and hope he doesn't go for 81.2)Speaking of honest D,everyone must play defense all the time,even AI.You won't shut down Kobe but you might be able to stop everyone else,and Kobe won't win on his own.3)Realize the advantage of the bench.If they manage to properly control rotation of players like JR and Kleiza and those players play to their potential,an upset could be upon us.Keep AI and JR together in the backcourt as much as possible,Kobe can't guard both.Kenyon Martin will need to dominate the paint and the boards,Camby will need to contribute on offense and defend out of his skin,Carter will need to knock down shots when called upon.The keys will be the performances of the defense,the bench,A.I and Melo,without all of things things coming to fruition,the Nugs will be going home early.

Verdict:
The Nugs will be tricky,but still be awful on defense.

LAKERS IN 6.

Let False Alligiances Be Formed

Last night was a ridiculous night of basketball. It made no real sense,these were supposed to be hard fought rugged down to the wire,nobody leaves with a full set of teeth or the cherry intact type games. But,they weren't. They weren't even close. I had formed my allegiances early and stuck with them. I predicted UNC to win the title in the pre-season. And this wasn't a "let's get on Hansbrough's jockstrap prediction,I genuinely thought UNC had what it took to win it all. Not only that,I really thought that Kansas DIDN'T have what it took to win it all. Suffice it to say, I didn't enjoy last night. I had too many of my own biases and allegiances go the wrong way to eve begin to try and enjoy the night. I hate not enjoying basketball,since usually I am without any form of fandom I can just enjoy basketball for what it is. Last night,I turned into a fan of two teams and one player,neither of whom progressed any further. Was this my fault? Most likely not,but I do feel more than a little silly for giving in to fandom. And as with most things-I blame CBS. Coming into last night,I only required one event to unfold and that event was the winning of North Carolina or as I saw it-the losing of Kansas. But I made a mistake,I watched "Road to the Final Four",I know,I know. I sat through more feel good fluff pieces and player profiles than you could shake a celebutard at. I usually view these pieces as the folly of any newscast next to corporate bias and a little sprinkling of racism. I may be cynacle,but I usually have no interest about how an aging man in small town North Dakota found new hope by feeding ducks at a pond. But, for the most part,I enjoyed the player profiles,especially one on Kevin Love. He seemed down to earth normal and the type of guy you would root for. Now,obviously the objective was to shine a positive light on him as all of these things are,but of all the player profiles,his was the one that seemed to work the most. And there I was,sitting on the couch,supporting two teams like an idiot.

The games themselves I feel were hardly noteworthy with maybe the exception of the Memphis game. John Calipari is a smart man and a pretty good coach too. He had a plan with his team and he executed it to perfection. He managed to create an underdog mentality in a team with one total loss in the season and a team who were never ranked outside the top three. This was more impressive than any play he drew up during the game and more important than anything that went on during the game. When you've managed to convince a team full of stars and one superstar that the world was against them-you've done well. But not only did he convince his players of this,he convinced everyone. Everyone now thought that a team who constantly proved themselves during the season had something to prove. This thought was of course ridiculous, how a team packed with such talent and ability could feel disrespected is a testament to how well Calipari's plan worked. Memphis were never really underappreciated or disrespected. Questions were asked of the strength of their conference schedule calling it too weak,the same questions were asked of UNC's out of conference schedule. More than a few pundits tipped Memphis to go all the way from the start. If that's disrespect,the New York Knicks must be feeling very respected right now. Kudos must go to Calipari as well as his players,especially CDR who's looking more Iceman-ish every game he plays and that guy DWade is lusting after.

And now to the Kansas game. To be honest I don't really want to talk about this,but I will. Bill Self still isn't a good coach. This one win does not make him good. This is not an arguable point. I will say he was smart to use the whole "go out there and have fun,nobody's expecting you to win" method,I'd be more impressed had I not seen John Calipari use it through-out the tournament. Although his players are very good,especially the one named Rush. The way they blitzed Carolina at the beginning was more than impressive,it was obvious this team meant business. It continued pretty much all the way through the game apart from a few UNC runs which turned out to be meaningless. It was the ultimate anti-climax,a game that promised so much delivered so little and a Kansas victory,I was not happy.

Memphis over Kansas in the decider.

Tangled Up In (Carolina)Blue

From the start I had faith. I could only see one team cutting down the nets of the AlamoDome. That team was North Carolina. After last year's crushing defeat to Jeff Green's Georgetown Hoya's,the players down Chapel Hill way were hurt and seeking retribution. Players who could have easily made the jump to the pros stayed put,with only one thing on their mind-revenge. They returned all but one starter from last year and the loss of Brandan Wright was quickly forgotten as the manic intensity and rebounding of one Tyler Hansbrough left UNC wondering whether or not this Wright guy had ever existed at all.

Desire to win or not,the season didn't start smoothly for the Tar Heels. I mere four point win against Davidson which in retrospect seems a little more respectable was seen as embarrassing at the time. After that,the Heels were winning big but winning big against nobodies. Their toughest non conference games coming against an at the time poor Kentucky team and a serviceable BYU team. Their strength of schedule never looked hugely impressive but their players sure did. Hansbrough was having a monster POY type season,Wayne Ellington was showing his untapped potential to NBA scouts,Danny Green was proving that in any other team in the country he would be a starter. But still, people were unconvinced of UNC's chances because of the teams they were playing,but Roy Williams is no fool. He knew he had the best pool of players in the country,there was no need to prove anything at the start of the season. He knew his place in March was guaranteed,why bother giving his team too much too soon. For him,it was merely a case of perfecting their style of play so that they would be at their best come March and what has happened? Carolina are peaking while other teams are getting tired and sloppy.

What's more impressive to me about this team is their resilience. They have not had it easy. First the season ending injury to back-up point guard Bobby Frasor-who was instrumental to Carolina as both a distributor and a 3 point shooter and then the injury to Ty Lawson. These blows would have easily made another team think about giving up and start planning for next year. But not this team,enter Quentin Thomas. UNC's third string point guard. Thomas,who already had a championship ring to his name played some inspired ball and lead the Heels to some impressive ACC blowouts and only one defeat during his tenure.

It is the play of guys like Thomas that make Carolina the team that it is.They have truly effective and workman-like bigs in Deon Thompson and Alex Stevenson who can contribute big in both the scoring and rebounding columns. They have the perfect blend of intense overachievers and genuine NBA talent. This blend is what in my opinion makes this team truly scary,they're a team that goes to work with their lunch pale and hard hats while wearing a Gucci sweater and a Rolex. Combine this with the experienced coaching of Roy Williams and the recent clutch performances of Hansbrough it's easy to see a banner hanging ceremony in the Dean Dome's not too distant future,and you know they don't hang a banner for anything less than a chip.

Brackets,brackets...brackets

I hate predicting the future,I hate trying.I am not a clairvouyant nor do I believe in fortune telling or voodoo(or the Rockets playoff chances for that matter)I am not a fan of it all.If I hate this so much,then why do I love the process of filling out my bracket each year?I'll probably never know the answer to this,I may try and spend thousands to get to the bottom of this with a psychiatrist who couldn't cut it in real medicine,but this is hardly an important enough issue to be obsessing over,I have many more pressing problems that could warrant some psychoanalysis,but ANYWAY.The thing is for all my protestations on predicting a prospects future or the outcome of a game,I still participate-a lot.It's almost like a drug problem or drinking heavily,you know that you probably shouldn't do it,but in the end you ultimately realize that it will be YOU you make a fool of and no-one else.I have made a fool out of myself many times in the past,why stop now?People seem OK with making careers of making fools out of themselves,so me doing it for the love of idiocy doesn't seem all that bad in the scheme of things.I'm an amateur idiot,I can only dream to one day reach the level that some have and I accept that I ultimately won't,I'm a part-timer.I am Ok with this.

Onto this years bracket.This year is noodle-scratchingly tough.Last year was a comparative breeze,we all knew what was going to happen,even the upsets seemed obvious.Now,look at what we have,an almost wide open field with no obvious upsets(with maybe one exception) and at least six teams with a legitimate chance of taking it all home.What are you to do?Well not fill out a bracket would be the most obvious answer and if this is the route you decide to head down,you and I cannot be friends.Brackets are fun,even if fun isn't sometimes fun.How do you go about predicting upsets?Well you don't really,I can't see a real solid approach to predicting upsets.If you think a team is vulnerable-go for it,if you think a team is overrated-go for it.If you want to make a method out of the madness,the question is:Do you go with the user picks percentage and pick along with the masses or do you try and approach your head to heads with somewhat of a gut feeling factor?Do you pick a certain team to win because you think they can or because you think they will?This is all very confusing.You can approach thing a little differently by a)matching each team's record head to head and going by the logic of "Oh Team A has a better record than team B,but Team A has a bad road record.But Team B completely annihilated Team C who beat Team A,so by that logic I'll pick team B to win." or you could b)match both teams line-up against each other,For Example:"Team A has some great shooters and a 3 guard system and can really run the floor,but Team B has height and some great interior D and can really slow the pace of the game down,and since Tourney games are usually slower more methodical games anyway,I'll pick team B."Do you go by current form in the run up to the tourney,or do go by a team's past performances in the tourney?Do you go by AP ranking,do you even care that much any more?This can really get tedious after you get around to picking the 57th match up.You must realize that you're trying to predict what for the most part is unpredictable,you may as well have a game of "eeny-meeny-mineey-mow" to fill out your bracket and have fun with it.Just enjoy the basketball.

UNC/Duke and Other Assorted College Thoughts.

We got Brian Zoubek y'all!

It's upon us.The month that ensures that even less work is done in offices around the world.The Duke/UNC game being confirmation that March is indeed and will indeed be madness.The game itself was entertaining if unspectacular with a few things of note going down.Even ESPN managed a gargantuan task of being bearable for the night.It became bearable due to some odd choices of features which ESPN decided to run,this lead me to think copious amounts of odd and profound thoughts on my part.Luckily many of those thoughts have long since been forgotten.But I will divulge those I did remember.Digger Phelps upped his fashion game wearing a spectacular hat,putting the bland attire of the rest of the analysts to shame.On Gameday; we were forcefully it must be said also re-introduced to one named: "Speedo Guy".If I'm being honest,I, at first thought I didn't need to be re-introduced,my brain allowed me to live in a state of blissful ignorance ever since the game that was both his debut and his swan song.I had forgotten about him and if things had stayed that way,I would have been happy but Gameday does need to last an hour and I didn't want to hear Jay Bilas talk more,this did seem the lesser of two evils,although it did seem evil.The idea of doing a nationally televised feature on a guy in a speedo didn't sit well with me,though I must admit I was enthralled.The more I learned about "Speedo Guy the less I cared,he's a pastor(those last few words should really be their own reward,I don't need to go any further),he's married,he has a kid,his wife is plan but not unattractive,he's not actually all that crazy et.c.I was dangerously close to switching over to late night re-runs of "Arrested Development" which I enjoy because I'm white.But then,Coach K appeared on screen which immediately sparked my interest,an interest based on contempt and hope of a Coach K screw-up.He was unimpressed by "Speedo Guy",he did not see the humor in a post graduate student gyrating wearing only a piece of material that if there were a god should have been longer.This got me thinking of how Coach K is a college basketball brand and how he should be appropriately publicized.I feel he's not being sufficiently propagandized as it is.Any totalitarian dictator(which coach K is) worth his commercial money knows they need to set up the Cult of Personality.He has done this pretty well so far but does not inspire quite enough fear as of yet.This can be easily remedied.Example:"Technicolor" used to bill themselves as "Glorious Technicolor",Coach K should also use a similar type of self-selling-slogan to properly reflect his personality.I'm thinking something like:"This Duke Performance was brought to you by "Surly and Evil Krzyzewski"".To be honest,I'm not sure why Coach K has such a problem with "Speedo Guy".To me "Speedo Guy" embodies everything that Duke basketball stands for-bad sportsmanship and white people.

There was the usual electric atmosphere in Cameron Indoor that you would come to expect from this game but also included a moment of silence for the UNC student body president who was murdered recently,some players were visibly moved and wore her name on their jerseys as a tribute.The game got off to a nice early pace with UNC quickly establishing an early lead with quick passing and tough inside play.In the opening two minutes Tyler Hansbrough missed two shots,grabbed two offensive rebounds and pulled down four rebounds in total.This would go on to become a trend in the game."Tireless" would be an insulting adjective in describing, Hansbrough,there has yet to have been a word to enter the popular vernacular to appropriately describe Hansbrough's work rate.UNC went on to a 20-9 lead in the middle of the first half.Duke,a team who this year have lived and died by the three pointer were cold not getting any open looks due to UNC's. perimeter defense.Kyle Singler did show some nice toughness inside against Hansbrough,impressively brushing him off for a strong defensive rebound.He is an impossibly sound fundamental player who is destined to annoy many wearing that Duke uniform before his college career is over.Peyton and Eli Manning are in the building.Peyton looking like his normal kidnapped from the TV show "Dallas" self and if Eli's hair is anything to go by he is auditioning to be the bass player for a post punk indie band.Ty Lawson became Carolina'a spark plug,almost everything good that happened for UNC went through Lawson.A mention should also go to Lawson's back up Quentin Thomas who was also playing well.If it weren't for a barrage of Greg Paulus three's at the end of the first half,the game might have gotten out of reach.It ended 42-31 to UNC and things were looking pretty good.

The second half saw Duke chiseling into Carolina's lead.Things became sloppy and it was all down to hustle.The opening ten minutes of the second half were less attractive than Eva Longoria.Though Duke did impress,some unexpected toughness from Jon Scheyer was shown.Although he still does look like a fourteen year old ,he has an impressive offensive game.The idea of seeing him in the Lig one day will be an interesting prospect for those of you who would be interested in seeing Earl Boykins and Vitali Klitschko going blow for blow for 12 rounds.Duke eventually clawed back to tie things and make them interesting at 62-62.Things went back and forth for a few minutes culminating in a 68-68 deadlock.This is where the game ceased as a competition.Duke didn't score a basket in the final 3 minutes.A brace of made Danny Green lay-ups(who was immense in this game btw) helped Carolina to sail away to victory,the game eventually ending 76-68.

Though this was a tough loss for Duke,they can definitely take some positives away from it.They played some tough defense and managed to keep Tyler Hansbrough down to a comparatively dull roar of 16points 15rebounds,shooting 8-21 from the field and even more impressively,kept him completely away from the foul line(although he was fouled-a lot).Greg Paulus has turned into a great college guard,he made shots when he needed to make shots,he organized his team with all the ability of a former QB,he was the shining light for Duke in the game.The biggest letdown for Duke and possibly the reason Duke lost was the no-show of DeMarcus Nelson on his senior night.Although hated,Duke are definitely not a team to be slept on when making out your brackets.

For UNC,this can be seen as the game in which they proved that 1)they actually can play defense when they need to and 2)their bench can put them over the top and win game.We already knew they could run it and gun it more convincing was needed and was given..To win a championship,a team needs to be able to play more than offense,in preventing any open looks for Duke's shooters and dominating the glass inside proved that they can be easily considered as favorites going into March.First and foremost,Danny Green WAS the reason Carolina won this game,his 18pts 8rbds and 7blocks pretty much speak for themselves but are even more impressive considering he was only 0-10 from the field in previous games against Duke.Hansbrough did what he does,put up big numbers while being beat up in the process and amazingly shooting no free throws.Ty Lawson is back to 100% although he's still not starting most likely as a ruse to put off the opposition.His ability to create off the dribble and control the game only strengthens UNC's case for a national championship.Would I go as far to say that I now think that UNC will be this year's NCAA Champions?Yes,yes I would.

To address the opening sentence:I have been accused of being mean to Brian Zoubek in the past.I would disagree,I don't think what I have said was mean.If I were to say that"Brian Zoubek is a stumbling oaf whose main life achievement is his verticality and cannot play basketball very well",I would accept that what I have said was mean,but I would never say that.I remain optimistic on his future.If you look at the early college career stats of the legendary Ben Handlogten,they're not a million miles away from Zoubek's.If he can muster an impressive senior year,Brian Zoubek will be in the NBA people,look out Jerome James.

-This weekend,Kevin Love has made a clutch three pointer,averaged over 20 points and almost 10 rebounds in two games that went down to the wire,he blocked two shots in each game,he made 90% of his free throws and averaged 4 assists a game.This year,Kevin Love has averaged 17 points and 10 rebounds,leading a team with only two loses for the season and real title winning ambitions.I don't want this to came across as complaining but how is it that people are failing to see his worth?Sure he may not be All-Star game material but any GM who fails to see what he can bring to a team is either stupid or..well they're just stupid.What I believe the word intangible to mean in a basketball sense is something maybe a skill a player possesses that cannot be taught.Kevin Love has what can't be taught,as a big man his passing ability is peerless,he has toughness and a desire to win. If I'm a GM,I can see the sense in trying to teach a player the skills that can be taught instead of drafting players and trying to teach them those that can't be taught.Sadly I am not a GM and current GM's seem comfortable with taking uncalculated risks with draft picks to appease fans who are screaming for the next prospect with a high ceiling and promises of possibles All-Star appearances and titles on the back of a player's jumping ability.Love is the example of the safe bet,you know what you are getting and this seems to bore GM's.Draft day buzz and excitement seems to hold more value to GM's than the contributions a player can bring to your team.Why not draft a player who already has what can't be taught and try and teach him skills that can be easily coached?I mean,can you imagine what he could be like if he was introduced to a weight room?I don't know,maybe I'm just cranky.

Prospectus Collegus PT.1 The Point Guards.

Aside from my obvious lack of knowledge on the language that is Latin,I find it hard admitting my ignorance on most things,especially if one of those things happens to be called basketball.I like to thing I know a lot of information(admittedly mostly useless) on a wide range of subjects.So,this possibly mis-placed self assuredness allows me to get suitably comfortable to wax lyrical to whomever will listen about pretty much anything.These people are usually held against their will when I decide to go off on one.Over confidence in one's ability to forecast a prospect's future hasn't served people well in the past(see:Rosen,Charley),so before I write this I want you to remember to not take this too seriously nor do I want you to even remember it in two years.(unless,of course,I turn out to be right)So,with that being said it's time to wax some lyrical.Here are,in five seperate posts (as I see it) the best pro prospects in the college game right now,by position:

POINT GUARDS:


Derrick Rose
He's pretty ridiculous.Right now he would be the most athletic PG in the NBA.His drive and dish game is without peer.He can finish with the best of them with excellent agility and cat-like quickness.The Kidd/DWade comparisons aren't even absurd,he is that good.The best thing to about him to me is;even though he has all the tools to be a greedy superstar type with a shot quota to fill(hi Vince!),he's a pure pass first PG and at times unselfish to a fault.Also him being a fierce competitor with major intensity doesn't hinder his chances of being the no.1 pick next year,him being a a freakish athlete with pass first tendancies and size only strengthens his case.His shot needs to be improved but isn't terrible.Will be a star.

Darren Collison
Many,myself being one of many believed him to be the best PG in the country this pre-season.Much longer than his 6 foot billing gives him credit for,he is a complete lockdown defender,will make the most of any mistake made by the opposition.Very effective floor general,rarely makes a bad decision.His main attraction though,along with his defense is his speed which is on Iverson levels.Will blow by any joker who dares get in his way.He does tend to go missing in games where his game isn't coming to him.Will be a welcome addition to any team looking for some defensive production.

D.J. Augustin
I really don't want to jinx him,but I will say this,he has the potential to potentially be something special,potentially that is.The purest point guard in the country,no shooting slump will ever prevent him from being an effective player on any team,he is simply too good of a point guard to ever not be useful.He makes the game of basketball seem effortless and easy to master,not to mention entertaining.His only downfall would be his lack of height and athleticism,but he could be good enough to make those two things irrelevant.Could be used on any team who would like to groom a future team leader.


Tywon Lawson
Quick,would be the first adjective to come to mind when thinking of Lawson's game.Excellent passing ability.So intense that he probably times himself doing the laundry,first step that will require therapy for opposing players in any league,gets into the lane when he wants to,regardless of the defender.He's ultra athletic and can use his bullish frame to create space.Can also get hot from three at times.Has a big upside but is also a big risk,his lack of size(only 5'11'') prevents him from getting a shot off against bigger defenders and will struggle defense also.Will be a back up on a good team or a starter on a bad one.


Jerryd Bayless
Think Gilbert Arenas without the attention seeking.I could have included him in either the top 5 for PG or SG.For now I'll go with PG but he is certainly stuck between a 1 and a 2.He has decent size at 6-3 and great athleticism.He is a smooth,explosive and fluid offensive powerhouse with limitless range,a quick first step and a drive and dish game.Can come off screens with the best of them and is equally adept at shooting off the dribble.He is basically all you can want and need in an offensive guard,is a shooter with a slashing mentality.Oh and he's even committed at the defensive end also.Must show some true point guard skills to cement a top five pick.Has slight tendancies to turn into a chucker.I'll be interested to see what is made of him in the league.

A Few Things...

I was right.Did I not tell you?Okay,enough of that.So basically I'm excited after LeVance Field's performance last night.I'm not sure how one couldn't love the way this guy plays,tough,solid smart,rarely turns the ball over.He's a leader on the floor and as he showed against the evil that is Duke University,he is clutch.As much of a man-crush I have on his cross over and as much as I hate to admit it-he won't be in the NBA,well he won't be drafted anyway.He's under-sized and has a questionable shot.All the while,you have a guy like Kyle Singler,someone who seems hugely underwhelming so far for me and is destined to be an 8th man on a so-so NBA team some time soon,but hey he plays for Duke-hasn't he earned it?Hype seems to worth more than honesty of effort nowadays.Enough of me being an old man.Either way it was a highly entertaining game.Pitt should some real fight with the comeback,even managed to win it after the horrific injury of Mike Cook.On the Duke side,Greg Paulus seems to have improved and has a deadly shot(but you didn't hear that from me).Gerald Henderson seems to be a legit prospect and has a well rounded game,should be a decent pro.As I said Kyle Singler was serviceable and I'm sure at some point during his four year stay,the left corner of the three point line in Cameron Indoor will be Christened "Camp King" because he's not good for much else.On the Pitt side,LeVance did his thing and made one helluva winning shot.Ronald Ramon was disappointing,hasn't seemed to improve from last year.Sam Cook has been playing well this year,taken over the scoring reigns from that big center from the Bulls,he does seem to drift in and out of games,I didn't hear his name during the first half at all.And then there's the big fella,DeJuan Blair,seems scary that he's just a freshman,15points 20rebounds and 3 blocks,dude makes the game fun to watch,didn't stop smiling all night.You can see he has a real thirst for the game.I'd like to think he has a midget Dwight Howard game about him but a Craig Smith/Corliss Williamson mix is probably more accurate.


And there's the Knicks,I'm honestly not sure what to write that hasn't already been written.So I'll keep it short,it's a train wreck.And there's no way you can't blame Isiah.The buck stops with him.He assembled this team and it's his job to do something with them.As ridiculous as it was to put all these egos was,they are a good enough squad to at least be a 500. team.Does this team have any sort of game plan at all?Does it have a style of play?A team should be set up around having a style of play and assembling players that will perform well with that style of play,simply signing "a shit load of good players" isn't good enough.He's the wrong man for the job and everyone knows it,well everyone except Dolan.The ridiculousness during the summer should have been a clue.Isiah must have something bad on Dolan.In summation,FIRE ISIAH!

I don't endorse bandwagon-hopping but I am very happy I indulged myself with the Celtics badnwagon early.

Merry Christmas everyone.

F*ck You,NBA

What happened?I thought we were friends,we had some good times didn't we?I mean it wasn't all bad surely.Remember that time when DFish made the buzzer beater with .6 seconds to go when I jumped into the air, hit a light bulb-broke it and woke three of the neighbors up in the process?Yeah,they were angry,it was at four in the morning too.Remember when we watched the whole Detroit chip winning series drunk?Yeah,great times,contributed greatly to a severe lack of sleep but it was worth it. I put a lot of commitment into us,sure,maybe I didn't always buy your jerseys or T-Shirts or any of your products at all.now that I think about it,but I did love you.And now look at us,I don't even get to see you at all anymore.One of us changed and it wasn't me.You traded my love for greed;dirty,bloodsucking capitalist greed.You and that devil in comfortable shoes that appears to be your all knowing imperialist totalitarian leader can take your extra 32.50(probably the amount of money one of the children who make you products earns in a year) or whatever you got from that new TV deal and maybe hire a ref under the age of 82.Maybe you could put the money you earned from the evil transaction into a fund that will buy all players a nice dress tie,because God forbid they go around wearing those dirty hip hop criminal garments.Not that you would ever advertise those criminal garments or anything-Heaven forfend that you would be hypocritical.Anyway,to hell with ya.I'm more interested in your little sister-the NCAA,she's easier and hides her greed better.So in closing f*ck you,David Stern.F*ck you,greed.The players,you're cool and f*ck you NBA,I quit.

The "Why Bother" College Preveiw

Okay its about that time where I start to write about basketball again so I'll start with the form of Basketball I get to see with any regularity.Its the Pre-Season Top 20.Feel free to pick apart everything I say.

#20 N.C STATE
Sidney Lowe is good at coaching,he'll try and recreate the spark they had last year during the A.C.C tourney.They'll miss the PG leadership of Atsur but expect a big player in Brandon Costner.They should over-achieve their way into the Tourney.

#19 VIRGINIA
Dave Leitoa's gameplan:"Give the ball to Sean and get the f*ck out of the way."

#18 WASHINGTON
Jon Brockman will do his best impression of a brick wall with soft hands as Lorenzo Romar sticks pins into a voodoo doll effigy if Spencer Hawes but Washington will nonetheless be solid.

#17 KANSAS STATE
Huggy Bear is gone-gone but Mike Beasley and Bill walker remain.Something's bound to happen.

#16 ARKANSAS
Patrick Beverley can flat out play but he doesn't have the support around him to make a huge dent this year.Should be an entertaining team though.

#15 MARQUETTE
This is variable depending on whether or not Dominic James decides to show up this year,if so they could have a frightening three guard knock out punch,if not it all gets a bit flat and things could turn all LSU on them.

#14 PITT
The big load in the middle has moved to greener pastures which frees Pitt up for more of a drive and dish game which they are well capable of.And the LeVance Fields man-crush continues.

#13 SYRACUSE
Jim Boeheim has a lot of talent to work with.He'd better not ruin it.

#12 TENNESSE
Anything less than 130points a night will be dissaponting,Chris Lofton I'm looking in your direction.

#11 STANFORD
I neither know nor care which Lopez twin is which,but I do know that having them in the line-up garauntees a Tourney berth(cue the injuries)

#10 INDIANA
Lets see how this works out.Kelvin Sampson should be doing cartwheels with Eric Gordon coming in to terrorise defenses and match that with the already terrifying DJ White in the line-up I have no idea why I think its all going to crumble-I just do.

#9 OREGON
Veteran nucleus + freewhelling and unashamed volume shooter = success.

#8 LOUISVILLE
Good team and good coach expect big things from Derrick Caracter who just completed "Shaq's Fat Kids" or whatever that show was called.

#7 MICHIGAN STATE
Best of the Big Ten.Raymar Morgan should have a break out season and expect more of the same from Drew Neitzel.

# 6 KANSAS
Will they choke when it comes down to the big games?More than likely,but should be good during the regular season.

#5 GEOREGETOWN
They are a really good team with a really good coach.Not to hard to work this one out.Roy Hibbert should literally eat anyone who contaminates his painted area.

#4 USC
Its all up to you O.J

#3 Memphis
The best offense in the country.Should be ready to step it up a gear and move onto the National Championship.I'm really looking forward to the Chris Douglas Roberts-Derrick Rose combo.

#2UCLA
Kevin Love will bring his NBA ready post presence to a team already loaded with NBA talent.Collison to be the on court leader and probably the best PG in the country.

#1 UNC
Roy Williams must be giddy,he has by far the most talented team in the whole of college sports.It's theirs to lose.With that comes added pressure but their too loaded for it to make a huge affect.

Gilbert Owes Us Some Children.

And a lot of them.Gil,the first ever blog superstar and all-round crazy person owes the world something.Not a championship,not an MVP caliber season,he just owes us more of him.I'm pretty sure he already as two children,two is a good start but more are needed.This is more of a public service than a re-productive exercise,can you imagine the Lig or society without Gil or even traces of Gil?Lets hope he hears my request and one day a blog will be selling "Gilbert Arenas is My Father" t-shirts.Hopefully his seed spreading ability will one day defeat that of Shawn Kemp or even Wilt Chaimberlain.

Entertainment is not the only reason that Gil needs to produce an army of little crazies.I hear he's also pretty nifty at basketball ball,and if at least one of the little soldiers shows any promise at the roundball,we could have another Arenas in the Lig before the elder ones hangs up his Gil Zero's.This is of course assuming that Ryan Jones one day becomes Commissioner and enforces his own new age limit rules of fifteen.

Not one of the troops should ever shy away from the limelight,thats not their job,at an early age they will be taught that they are on this earth for a special divine cause-to "Preserve the Crazy".They should carry on what their father started.I can see and all Arenas all the time sports network,their own blog site on which they would all spout their collective playful craziness 24/7.They could take the show on the road-a travelling roadshow of Arenas-it wouldn't be scripted just some of them on stage saying whatever comes into their heads.It would be genius.

So ladies,next time you're in the club and meet Gilbert Arenas,remember that saying "no" will hugely deteriorate the standard of living in about fifteen to twenty years.

And also,I'm fully aware that this was writing for the sake of writing.