NBA Blog

Before I get to the predictions, let’s just take a couple more looks at the Trinity touchdown. 

http://www.mysanantonio.com/sports/stories/MYSA102707.EN.FBCtrinity.millsaps.1b21f550e.html

http://www.azcardinals.com/blog/post.php?author=1&id=488

All in all, I’d have to say it was a pretty good week for the mighty Tigers.  Hopefully, they roll that momentum into a big win over Centre College this Saturday.

Back to the preview:

WESTERN CONFERENCE:

Pacific Division
1.  Phoenix - (1) They are the perfect team for the regular season.  They get out and run and shoot well.  They score a bunch of points and beat the teams they are supposed to.  Their pace also does not create a lot of wear-and-tear on their players, because of the lack of contact.  However, they still are not set up to beat a team with any semblance of a post presence in the postseason.  Sorry, Phoenix fans.  Maybe something else will happen to your team so you can continue to come up with excuses for why your team has failed to win a title.
2.  Golden State - (7) Baron Davis must stay healthy.  If he can, and that is a huge ‘if’, then the Warriors are playoff bound.  Heck, if Davis plays 75-plus games, he could thrust the Warriors even higher in the postseason standings, and possibly be in the running for league MVP.
3.  Los Angeles Lakers - (8*) Notice the lack of a number after their name.  *If the Black Mamba stays or goes, this team isn’t making it to the playoffs.
4.  Los Angeles Clippers - Losing Elton Brand kills any shot the Clips had at the postseason, which wasn’t much to begin with. 
5.  Sacramento - This team was going to be bad anyway, but wasting a draft pick on an injured white stiff and losing Bibby earlier than usual has completely demolished this team.  They could be the worst team in the league, especially after Artest gets unloaded for chump change.

Northwest Division
1.  Denver - (3) Iverson and ‘Melo together for an entire season, plus a healthy Camby, Nene, and K-Mart off the bench should have the Nuggets big and strong.  They could be a monster in the playoffs.
2.  Utah - (5) I doubt Boozer stays healthy all year (track record), which is why they are not the top seed out of the Northwest Division.  However, you already know my love for Fess as Memo Okur’s backup.  This is a quality team that is incredibly deep. 
3.  Seattle - (8) Kevin Durant, Jeff Green, Delonte West, Robert Swift (once healthy), and Johan Petro will all be solid pros.  They will also play well together with Nick Collison and Chris Wilcox.  However, much like Portland, this team is a couple of years away.  Too bad the people of Seattle will never see the Durant-era come to fruition.
4.  Portland - Losing Oden hurt this team, but it did not kill them.  They will still have a solid frontcourt with Pryzbilla, Frye, and Adlridge (who could have a HUGE season).  Also, they get Oden back next year, they have a plethora of talent overseas that they purchased from Phoenix, and they’ll get a solid draft pick next year.  This team will be scary in two seasons.
4.  Seattle - Kevin Durant, Jeff Green, Delonte West, Robert Swift (once healthy), and Johan Petro will all be solid pros.  They will also play well together with Nick Collison and Chris Wilcox.  However, much like Portland, this team is a couple of years away.  Too bad the people of Seattle will never see the Durant-era come to fruition.
5.  Minnesota - All together Minnesota fans, “Al Jefferson is not K.G. He is gone, and we must move on.”  Keep saying that, and eventually you will make it.  Your team won’t, but you should be in a better place.

Southwest Division
1.  Dallas - (2) Hey, Dallas has the best (or second best) record in the NBA.  Hey, Dallas has nothing to show for it.  The more things change…
2.  San Antonio - (4) …the more they stay the same.  What do you expect?
3.  Houston - (6) Rick Adelman is the perfect coach for Yao Ming.  Expect great numbers from him this season.  More on this team in a second
4.  New Orleans - Chris Paul is so good, but can he counter what Deron Williams did last year?  Unfortunately, Peja will get hurt, and the Hornets have too many games against San Antonio, Dallas and Houston.
5.  Memphis - Year one of the change of offenses with a young team to boot.  Sorry Iavaroni, it will take time.  Steve Nash ain’t walking through that door.

So the playoff standings for the Western Conference should look like this:
1.  Phoenix
2.  Dallas
3.  Denver
4.  San Antonio
5.  Utah
6.  Houston
7.  Golden State
8.  Seattle (assuming Kobe gets dealt)

Phoenix, Dallas, Denver, and San Antonio would all advance under this scenario.  Houston fans welcome to the “Rick Adelman Playoff Collapses” portion of the program.  So sorry.

The conference semifinals should be awesome then.  San Antonio will defeat Dallas, and I actually think that Denver might have enough firepower to beat the Suns, assuming Iverson and ‘Melo are healthy.  Remember all those big guys I rattled off for Denver, yeah, Phoenix can’t do anything about that.

The Western Conference finals will be a slugfest.  I hate picking against the Spurs, but I did it last year and they won it all, so…

Denver versus Washington in the NBA Finals, and Iverson gets a ring!!!! Even with George Karl as the head coach and no three point shooting?  Oh, I forgot to mention that mid-season deal where the Nuggets unload somebody (read, Chucky Atkins and a draft pick) to pick up a quality deep threat.

Let’s hope the mojo of picking against San Antonio works again.

This upcoming NBA season is one of the most hyped seasons I can remember in recent history.  There are many reasons for this, including the already impressive rookie class, the fallout from Donaghy, the impending disaster when Phoenix and Dallas fail to get the job done again (pleasurable for me, and a little foreshadowing), LeBron’s opportunity to continue to shine, a full season of the Iverson-Melo tandem in Denver, the disaster that will be the Isiah (and his continued fall from grace) and the Knicks (I believe Curry and Randolph will have a brawl that will put Etan Thomas and Brendan Haywood to shame), a healthy Agent Zero in a contract year, and the resurgence of green in the East (read, Boston).

In consideration of my crazy, going out on a limb, prediction from last season, let us try to forget that one, I am going to have to go with the smart and safe pick.  But not yet.  Let’s take a look at how each division will play out, starting in the East.  The teams will be broken down by their finish in their division, and the numbers in parenthesis will represent the playoff seeding.

EASTERN CONFERENCE:

Atlantic Division
1.  Boston Celtics - (2) Their big three is better than most starting fives in the NBA.  Don’t worry too much about their lack of depth either.  I have a feeling Juwan Howard or some other savvy veterans will end up in green before too long.
2.  Toronto Raptors - (6) The Raptors should be playoff bound once again after they get healthy, glue guy, Jorge Garbajosa back.  He is a solid all-around player that will help CB-4, T.J. Ford and Andrea Bargnani develop into a very good team.  I give them one more year before this team really turns some heads.
3.  New Jersey - With Kidd’s body starting to break down, and the always brittle Richard Jefferson ailing, I can’t back a team with a center that is coming off of major knee surgery and Vince Carter with a new, fat contract.  I can’t wait to see Jay-Z’s face when he watched Vinsanity jack up 25-footers on a consistent basis. 
4.  New York - Between Quentin Richardson’s bad back, Jamaal Crawford’s 28% shooting, the uber-crazy Starbury, the buffet-friendly Eddy Curry, the lady-loving, overdealing Isiah, the criminally insane Randolph, the hihgly unmotivated Randolph Morris, the release of Demetris Nichols, the $200 million payroll, and the incoherent owner of this mess Jimmy Dolan, what’s not to love?
5.  Philadelphia - It will be a good year for Andre Iggy fans, too bad the team will suck.

Central Division
1.  Chicago - (1) With or without the Kobe deal going through, I think the Bulls win the Eastern Conference regular season.  They just have that type of roster that will win every game that they are supposed to, especially with Skiles at the healm.
2.  Detroit - (4) This is the year that you start to see a real decline in the Pistons.  Rasheed’s playoff meltdown will carryover into this season, and he could be a major liability.  Also, Rip and Chauncey (not Mr. Big Shot) cannot continue to handle the load like they did the past few seasons, especially with the lack of depth in the Pistons backcourt.
3.  Cleveland - (5) Eventually, the Cavs will get one or both of Pavlovic and Varejao back.  However, Larry Hughes might spend 70 games on the injured list at this point, and Big Z’s feet ain’t holding up forever.  Daniel Gibson could be in the running for some major minutes this season, which could be fun because his shooting is such a great complement to LeBron.
4.  Milwaukee - I want to like this team, I really do.  However, Charlie Villenueva, Andrew Bogut, Mo Williams, Earl Boykins, and Charlie Bell are all injury prone players.  That leaves Michael Redd to do the majority of the lifting, and just like Ray Allen, that can’t be done by a one-trick pony.  And for ‘Chair’man Yi, it could take a while.
5.  Indianapolis -They would be the worst team in the Eastern Conference were it not for Jermaine O’Neal’s professionalism.  Still, they won’t be very good.

Southeastern Division
1.  Wasington - (1) The aforementioned healthy Agent Zero in a contract year is more than enough for this team.  However, they have the added bonus of having two other excellent scorers that also do little things well in Antawn Jamison (highly efficient scorer-rebounder) and Caron Butler (tremendous all-around and mid-range game).  They also have quality veteran guards in Antonio Daniels and Deshawn Stephenson that can score when needed, but they also defend very well.  If they can get anything from Brendan Haywood, then the Wizards should have a very strong regular season.
2.  Miami - (7) They will have the super-duo of Shaq and Dwyane Wade together for just enough games to land the number 7 seed, because Wade may miss over two months of the regular season.  However, if they get healthy at the end, they could be a monster in the postseason.
3.  Orlando - (8)  This is what spending $20 mil a year on Rashard Lewis gets you, an eighth seed in the East.  Note to GM’s everywhere, “STOP OVERPAYING!”
4.  Atlanta - Seriously, they are one year away from possibly sitting atop the Southeastern Division.  Too bad nobody in Atlanta will ever notice.  And no, I will not change the font color for the Hawks.  They will continue to be orange in my heart.
5.  Charlotte - Also knocking on the door for recognition.  The Bobcats will be much better, and I really like what a lineup of Raymond Felton, Jason Richardson, Gerald Wallace, Emeka Okafor, and Primoz Brezec can do.  Add Walter Hermann and Matt Carroll to the lineup and that is a quality team.  However, Felton, Richardson, Wallace, Okafor and Brezec will all miss a handful of games this year, which doesn’t help considering the team has already lost Morrison and May for a lenghty amount(if not all) of the season.

So, the Eastern Conference Playoff Picture should look something like this:
1.  Washington
2.  Boston
3.  Chicago
4.  Detroit
5.  Cleveland
6.  Toronto
7.  Miami
8.  Orlando

I believe that Washington, Boston, Chicago and Cleveland will all win in the first round of the playoffs leading to a conference semifinal slate of: Washington v. Cleveland, and Boston v. Chicago.  Both series are very intriguing.  The Wizards should finally get the upper hand on Cleveland and will likely battle Boston for the Eastern Conference finals.  That will be a very fun series to watch, and will probably go all seven games.  I still like the Wizards this season.  I think they have something to prove. 

Eastern Conference Champs - Washington Wizards

Stay tuned for who I think the Wizards will meet up with in the 2008 NBA Finals.  I will have that information for you this afternoon. 

Below is the link of the video of Trinity’s fifteen lateral play as seen from the enzone.  Click on the link to watch it on YouTube.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z7oF4ZDigjM

I will be back later today with an NBA preview, but for now, rest assured that Tim Duncan will not leave San Antonio until at least 2012.  Good times.

***UPDATE***

You can listen to Trinity University’s Head Football Coach, Steve Mohr, on the Dan Patrick Show by clicking on the following link.  Enjoy.

http://www.xtrasportsradio.com/cc-common/streaming_onesite/index.html?refreshed=yes#
 
***

Sorry for the lack of lines from last week.  I would pat myself on the back for doing so well, but how could I prove it to you guys.  I just dropped the ball, and did not get the post uploaded in time.  Once it is too late, there is no point in putting the post online. 

Instead, I chose to watch, rewatch, rewatch, and rewatch the amazing finish in the Trinity University Tigers - Millsaps Majors football game.  My boys did us proud by, well, just watch the clip, because it makes you happy to be a part of T.U. Football.  Hoot! Hoot!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_eeEy060qrA

That is the greatest finish to a game in all of college football history.  Forget about “the band is on the field!” because T.U. lateralled the ball FIFTEEN! times.

That tops the other amazing finishes in Trinity football history, including the:

3. Urban Legend’s game winning catch against Gustavus Adolphus.
2. Paul “Horse” Morris kicking the game winner as a freshman at Wash.U. after flipping the bird to the other team for trying to freeze him.
1. Hail Mary to Hunt at Wash.U.

So I realize that I offered a teaser of my predictions of the All Rookie Teams last Friday, only to leave everyone hanging.  Not cool, I realize that.  My bad.  Seriously, I really dropped the ball on that one.

Not to worry, though.  I have the first of my award winning NBA predictions below.

(So, they have not won an award yet, but give me time.)

Durant is going to win the Rookie of the Year Award as I previously mentioned, which means he will clearly be on the NBA All-Rookie First Team as well.  He will be joined by the following players:

First Team:
G - Juan Carlos Navarro - A rookie from Spain who will quickly steal minutes away from Mike Conley, Jr., Tarence Kinsey, and Randy Foye.  The Grizzlies actually have a nice collection of young point/combo guards to run their fast paced offense.  It will be interesting to see how that rotation unfolds, especially with Damon Stoudamire back in the mix. 
G - Kevin Durant - He’s starting the year at the two guard, so he’s making my team as the two guard. 
F - Al Thornton - I was torn between Thornton and Horford here, because I absolutely love how Horford’s game is going to transition into the NBA, but the Hawks just have too many bodies that they want to get minutes, including Horford, (uberwasted pick) Shelden Williams, Marvin Williams and Josh Smith.  Horford and/or Williams will share minutes with Pachulia, but I still don’t see enough time to go around for all.  Unlike Navarro, Horford will still have to develop against the professional players.
F - Luis Scola - This is the guy that I believe will make a run at Durant as the top rookie.  He’s 27 years old, and he’s been dominant in Europe.  Plus, there is that little axe to grind with the Spurs for never bringing him over to the U.S.  Scola will not have the stats to compete with Durant over the long haul, but he will be a very good rookie for the entire season.
C - Kyrylo Fesenko - This is my sleeper.  I watched him get minutes during the summer league game, and I hopped on the Fess bandwagon.  He is huge, he runs the floor really well, and he’s got a nasty streak that I have not seen in any Euro big men.  Once he breaks into Jerry Sloan’s rotation, he will stay there.  This kid is something special, and the stories I have been hearing about his personality are hilarious. 

Second Team:
G - Marco Belinelli - A sweet shooting guard for Nellie-ball.  I’m waiting for the first Sportscenter highlight where Belinelli gets hot and knocks down 6 3’s in 13 minutes of game action.  Pietrus and Davis have a knack for getting hurt, Jax is missing the first seven games, and Monta Ellis’ nasty injury (which has not received enough press coverage) means that there will be plenty of minutes to be distributed between Kelenna Azubuike and Belinelli.  (Personally, I don’t buy the news that the Warrior rookies are spending the first part of the season in the NBDL, at least not Belinelli).
G - Rodney Stuckey - The Pistons will play solid all year long, and Billups and Rip will need some help from the bench.  Stuckey is able to rotate between the two guard positions, and he should see enough time to beat out Thaddeus Young for this spot.
F - Corey Brewer - Somebody has to play in Minnesota right?  Jefferson and Brewer should have solid fantasy seasons, but they won’t do much as far as wins are concerned.
F - Al Horford - He may not make the first team, but I believe he will be the third most important thing from this draft class right behind Kevin Durant and Greg Oden’s knee when all is said and done.
C - Jo Noah - Once again, there are no centers in the draft that will contribute much.  While I like Noah’s energy, he reminds me of nothing more than Mikki Moore.  Moore is a great energy guy, but do we really talk about him all that much?  No, so why does Noah get the hype.

Inconspicuously left off the list:
Jeff Green - solid season, just no ‘wow’ factor.  He will be like the Rounder of this draft class, never in the top, but never in the bottom either.  He’s gonna come in and do solid things every night.
Thaddeus Young - The wild card.  He has some tremendous athletic ability, but there’s no way to know how long it will take for him to develop.
Mike Conley, Jr. - Not enough minutes for him behind Foye, Navarro, Stoudamire, and Kinsey.

Left off for a big reason:
Morris Almond - I like his shooting stroke, but as I watched the other players on his team during the Summer League, I noticed that Matt Lojeski (white kid from Hawaii) is a MUCH better shooter.  I mean, Lojeski’s jumper is phenomenal, a la Mike Miller.  I’m on the Lojeski bandwagon, which makes two rookie Utah players that I like.  Add that to the Utah players that I have liked in my life, and that makes two.  (Note: Greatest of all time “NBA Hoops” flops, Rafael Araujo is also listed on the Utah roster for now, which continuously haunts me like the ghost of Luke Jackson).

For the highly anticipated return of the picks, I thought I would kick off the NBA prediction campaign by offering my personal, enlightened opinions about the NBA rookies this season.  Remember, nobody, and I mean NOBODY watches more basketball than me that does not earn a paycheck to do so.  I promise.  Name one person, other than yours truly, that Tivo’ed every single summer league game and watched them in their entirety.  You can’t.  Maybe some tried, but once the lineups got down to Hans Jorgenflugen, and four other deadbeats, you turned away in horror.  Not I.  I stayed the course.  It is what I do, and my wife sometimes hates me for it.

Sidebar 1:  You may or may not have noticed that I am dropping the ‘wife’ reference a lot lately instead of referring to her in my preferred nomenclature, ‘lady friend.’  Well, I am still adjusting to this whole marriage concept, and I just think that if I drop that term enough times the hotties will back off, I mean, it will sink in that I’m actually growing up.

Anyway, back to more pressing matters.  In my opinion, and the opinion of EVERYBODY else, Kevin Durant will be the Rookie of the Year.  No doubt about it.  He is going to get plenty of minutes and plenty of shots, so the numbers will certainly be there.  Will there be nights where he goes 4-19?  Probably, but I am willing to bet that they will be few and far between. 

Sidebar 2:  I am going to go out on a limb and demand that Kevin Durant get a great nickname, because I don’t want that stupid initial thing happening to him also.  Kevin Garnett is still the Big Ticket in my book and not K.G.  There are not enough quality nicknames anymore, which is a serious disappoinment.  J.Kidd, T-Mac, D.Wade, and ‘Melo.  That’s just lazy.  At least the Spurs have stayed strong starting with The Ice Man, then The Admiral and The Little General, and finally The Big Fundamental, but other players deserve quality nicknames, like Agent Zero.  That is good stuff.  Durant needs a quality nickname, and I am calling for all takers to offer up nicknames for Durant. 

Anyway, lets get back to the picks (home teams in bold, my picks are listed first):

Arizona +8.5 at Washington
New Orleans -8.0 v. Atlanta
Baltimore -3.0 at Buffalo
Dallas -8.5 v. Minnesota (yes, I have that little faith in Tarvaris Jackson and the Minnesota pass defense)
New England -17.0 at Miami
New York Giants -9.5 v. San Fran.  (Dilfer is no good)
Tampa Bay +2.0 at Detroit
Tennessee -1.5 at Houston (if Vince Young plays, if not, go the other way)
Kansas City +1.5 at Oakland
New York Jets +6.5 at Cincy (the Bengals are awful right now)
Chicago +5.5 at Philadelphia (close game because neither team is playing very well)
Seattle -8.0 v. St. Louis
Pittsburgh -3.5 at Denver
Indianapolis -3.5 at Jacksonville

for the formatting error of last Friday’s post.  I could not get it to format properly.  I guess I was a little rusty after my two-month hiatus.  Rest assured my crazy hoopsfans that I have corrected the problem, well somewhat. 

As I noted in my final paragraph last week, the preeminent prognosticator has returned to his proper place perched atop his …(struggling for another word with p)…perch?!.  If you had asked me which team to take last night, I would have laughed at you and said, “Go get those points with the Saints because they are beating the ‘Hawks, and they are going to blow the over right out of the water.”  You know why I would have stated thusly, well because this is a thing of the past.

As far as tonight is concerned, well, I could just make my picks and then laugh all the way to the bank only to tell you about it the next day.  After all, who would ever know if my picks did not pan out?

Instead, I’ll just advise going with the hapless Jets, -4.5 points, over the lackluster Falcons.

If you want to get really crazy, mix some Dicey Sox with your J-E-T-S, Jets! Jets! Jets!, because it is good when Manny’s being Manny.  I mean really good when Manny is being Manny.  Seriously.  What, still don’t believe me?

Wait, what was he wearing?  Is that for real? On second thought… I’ll back this guy.

     So I’ve been incognito for the past couple of weeks, it is not like a whole lot has happened in the sports world. (Okay, so here is where I would channel Buffalo Bill, no not in a mangina “it puts the lotion on its skin kind of way,” but rather just so I could drop that always funny line) Oh WAIT, wasn’t she a great big, fat chic?…” 

     Man, I have been going crazy with all the exciting things happening in the wide world of sports recently.  Unfortunately, I have been a tad bit busy over the past few weeks, what with the marriage, the honeymoon, the garage sale, the move, the new job, the wife applying to 18 different places for internships while writing her dissertation, and last weekend, planning an impromptu bachelor party for my buddy who is getting married this weekend. That is a lot of stuff.

So let us break down the past couple of weeks in that always entertaining, never boring, verse of haiku:

NFL:

NBA:

MLB:

NHL:

     Well, there you have it.  Several weeks of sports rolled up into one (or multiple) lines of obscure Asian verse. I don’t know what marriage has done to me.

     I’ll see you next week with some new stuff and I may even return to my NFL prognosticating ways. (Let’s just say there has been a resurgence of late after last season’s debacle.)