5 Things the NBA Lockout is Making Me Miss

     The Southeast Asian Games are coming up and Manny Pacquiao has a fight in less than a week's time, but a lot of sporting hearts in the Philippines are still unfulfilled.  The culprit is the NBA Lockout, which for reasons valid or not, has gone on for far too long.  It's deprived sports fans like me from finding out some of the most interesting things, and here are my top five.


5. Peace Brothers!!!

     For some, it's completely stupid, and as much as I love a good debate, I really can't argue on this point.  Ron Artest has successfully changed his legal name into Metta World Peace in his hope to promote well, um... world peace.  This means that his latest Laker jersey would read either "World Peace" or "Peace" on his back.  Imagine the possibilities for the TV commentators.  "What a hard foul by World Peace!" or "Peace calls a timeout." or "Kevin Durant has been shut down by World Peace!" 


4. New Blood


     This year's crop of rookies is considered a lean one, but there are interesting stories there. Did the Cavs pick the right number 1 pick in Kyrie Irving? What about the long-awaited Ricky Rubio? Will his game translate well in the NBA?


3.  Coaching Carousel

      As usual, the roster of NBA coaches has changed and these new coaches, whether 1st time coaches like Mark Jackson of the Golden State Warriors or those brought back for another run like the Houston Rockets' Kevin McHale, bring intriguing prospects. Whose coaching philosophies will bring positive changes to their teams?  Can Mike Brown handle the circus that is the Los Angeles Lakers? Who will be the 1st coaching casualty of the season and is there ANY possibility that Jerry Sloan will come back to coach?!?


2.  Emergence


     Last year saw the slight decline in Kobe Bryant's game and the shrinking of Lebron James'.  In the same year, though, emerged Derrick Rose and Kevin Durant.  The MVP and Scoring Champ, respectively, emerged as the league's newest bonafide superstars, leading their young teams into the conference finals.  Will the two remain as the league's greatest individual talents or will new names emerge yet again? Will the old, supposedly forgotten names come back with a flurry?


1.  Deadlines

     For some teams, the pressure is not as large to win immediately.  The Mavericks just won an NBA title, so no one will really burn them in effigy if they fail to repeat.  The Bulls and Thunder are young and another year deep in the playoffs with no title won't be too bad.  For some teams, though, the pressure is huge.  The Boston Celtics and the San Antonio Spurs are aging and probably have only this year to win again or face the team blowing up.  The Orlando Magic have only this year to win as well or Dwight Howard will probably leave to free agency.  The Miami Heat have spent over a hundred million (and more in PR money) to bring in their "Big Three" of Dwayne Wade, Lebron James and Chris Bosh.  Another year without a title could break Heat President Pat Riley's patience.  Can these teams beat their deadline? At best, only one of them will.

The World is Alright

     When you're a kid, one of the lessons ingrained in your head is one about hard work and perseverance.  "You have to work hard, keep trying and never give up!" so the lesson goes. It sounds simple enough and it's a noble one.  Yet, the world in its modern age, has become cutthroat; overcome with an obsession for results,records, and achievements, but never about the hard work.  It brought in desperation and greed morphing the lesson into a horrible mantra. "Be practical.  You have to find the easiest solution to get what you want."  That's why the world, as we know it, sucks most of the time. That's why we don't know what to tell children when we try to convince them that the world is alright.

     Dirk Nowitzki entered the NBA full of dreams and promise.  A talented, other-wordly shooter in a seven foot body, the German was a phenom in waiting.  He became a superstar, a franchise player and soon a city's dream of a first NBA title would fall on his shoulders.  He would fail.  Going up 2-0 in the 2006 NBA Finals against Miami, Nowitzki and his Mavericks stood on the cusp of fulfilling Dallas' dreams to NBA glory, but a monumental collapse led to a Miami title that year.  The loss was tough on the Mavs and Dirk, beginning a string of playoff failures in the years that followed.  Brickbats came hard and they came fast. Nowitzki, the phenom, was branded as a "soft player," "choker," and one who didn't possess the needed leadership skills needed to win a title.  He was used as the personification of the European stereo type, skilled players who couldn't take physicality.  

     This year was no different.  Former NBA pro Chris Webber called Nowitzki out for not being tough enough. Dwayne Wade and Lebron James questioned the factuality of Nowitzki's broken finger and scoffed at his 107 degree fever in game 5 of the NBA Finals.  

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My Favorite Mistake

     In today's society, it seems more premium is placed on noting people's mistakes.  In today's NBA, everyone is waiting constantly for the next team with the next failed experiment.  The problem with this, though, is some mistakes turn out to be delayed strokes of genius.  Just take a look at the final four teams in this year's NBA playoffs.


Senior Moment

     It's amazing how quiet the Dallas Mavericks have been this year.  Even outspoken owner Mark Cuban has been a good little boy.  Perhaps, they long knew what others are only discovering now.  After yet another playoff flameout last year, everyone wanted the Mavs to blow up the veteran line up and rebuild.  They didn't heed the calls and kept the team intact, hoping another year together would see the development of the team.  Many were quick to call that a mistake, yet here they are, in the Western Conference finals after demolishing the defending champions the Los Angeles Lakers.  The extra year together has seen the development of JJ Barea, the resurgence of Shawn Marion and the full maturation of Dirk Nowitzki as a franchise player. With home court advantage against the Thunder, keeping the team intact may make GM Donnie Nelson a legendary executive.


Trade OK'd

      The Oklahoma City Thunder were the envy of the league with it's financial flexibility and very young roster of great players with great attitudes.  Everyone kept talking of the future and how the Thunder would be kings then.  The future couldn't come soon enough, though as GM Sam Presti pulled the trigger on a deal sending Jeff Green and Nenad Krystic to the Boston Celtics for Kendrick Perkins and Nate Robinson.  He then proceeded to sign Perkins to a long term deal.  Both actions drew wagging fingers from doubters, but they were silenced soon enough.  Perkins, while not putting up great numbers, has been a great locker room presence for the young Thunder, especially during their losses.  Meanwhile, Green's departure opened the door for James Harden and Serge Ibaka to shine, with both players piling up career numbers almost immediately after the trade.  If that big mid season trade was a mistake, more team should make mistakes as the Thunder are a series away from the NBA finals.


Heat Check

      Of course, the biggest mistake this season was Lebron James publicly spurning his hometown Cleveland Cavaliers for the Miami Heat on national TV.  The Heat haters, though, pointed to a different one in castigating the Heat.  The acquisition of the "Big Three" of James, Dwayne Wade and Chris Bosh may have been a coup, but others pointed out that that left the Heat thin in the support department, especially up front.  People said it was a mistake to load up on superstars and that the lack of help will tell on the Heat in the playoffs.  Now, though, critics are slowly biting their tongue.  The Heat have flourished in the playoffs, not just because Wade and James have learned to play off one another, but also Coach Erik Spoelstra has finally gotten though on his team and have them playing choking defense.  While Lebron's PR choices continue to be errors, forming the superstar trio with Bosh and Wade seems to be a good "decision."


Bullish Run

     In the off season, the Bulls were in great shape.  A promising young team, a new defensive-minded head coach and lots of money to get Dwayne Wade, Lebron James or Chris Bosh (or two of three).  Then, amid the pandering and ego stroking of the superstars, the Bulls' stars Derrick Rose and Joachim Noah, made it clear that they could care less if any of the three stars joined them.  People were horrified as their statements meant none of the three would join them.  It was a mistake, they said, as the Bulls were at least two years away from being great.  Fast forward to the playoffs and the Bulls have home court advantage, the league Most Valuable Player in Rose and a vaunted, unforgiving defense.  Rose has become the superstar people thought the Bulls needed to get in the off season, and the supposed weak line up has become one of the NBA's deepest teams.  Now, the people are talking about how the Heat can compete with the Bulls, and not the other way around. 


     
     With my meager 50% success rate in playoff series predictions this year, I won't be blogging any previews.  What I will be doing is checking out which "mistake" turns out to be the most genius of strokes.

photos courtesy of Getty Images

"Free"k Show

     As expected, the NBA free agent bargaining period opened to a flurry of activities, and while the "Big Three," of Lebron James, Dwayne Wade and Chris Bosh have all not signed up yet, it has already become a freak show, with things bordering on the ludicrous taking place.  Here is just a sampling of the circus.


Too Much of a Good Thing

     Every year, some poor team throws too much money at some talented yet undeserving free agent in fear of not getting anyone.  This year, with a huge pool of free agents came a huge amount of head-scratching deals as well.  Just check out this list:


Darko Milicic (Minnesota Timberwolves): Four year deal, at least $ 16 million guaranteed
Amir Johnson (Toronto Raptors): Five year deal, $ 34 million
Rudy Gay (Memphis Grizzlies): Five year deal, $ 80 million 
Joe Johnson (Atlanta Hawks): Six year deal, $ 119 million


     Now, I love the talent all these players have, and my fervent hope of Darko redemption is unparalleled, but that's a whole lot of money for guys who haven't or will not do as much on the court as that money will on their teams' salary cap.  Sure, big men are hard to find, but Milicic and (Amir) Johnson's upside is worth a lot less.  They're not exactly coveted by numerous suitors.  As for Gay and JJ, they may be franchise players on their current teams, but the max money they're getting are for franchise players on championship teams, not middling teams struggling in playoff situations.  

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Shorts: Big and Small (Deal)

     The 2010 NBA All Star Weekend is over and a part of history, but not all of its activities were big deals.

BIG Deals


Venue - The main attraction for this year's festivities was the Dallas Cowboys' Stadium.  Expecting a mammoth crowd of over 90,000 people, everyone was awed as over 108,000 people packed the venue to watch the All Star Game.  The 2010 All Star Game now has the world record for the largest crowd to ever watch a basketball game and this bodes well for the ticket sales for Manny Pacquiao's fight against challenger Joshua Clottey, which will be in this same venue.

Steve Nash - My main man had a dream weekend for himself, starting with lighting the Olympic torch in his hometown Vancouver, Canada, then beating much younger players over a decade younger in the NBA Skills Challenge and then dishing out an impressive 14 assists in the NBA All Star Games.  Not bad for a 36 year old people said Phoenix should abandon.


Paul Pierce - The Celtic franchise player had a dismal first foray into the Long Distance Shoot Out, so he really looked forward to redeeming himself this year.  Redeem himself he did, as he scored 20 points in the finals to beat rookie Stephen Curry and "Mr. Big Shot" Chauncey Billups.

Dwayne Wade - With all the talk of the West's plans to feed hometown hero Dirk Nowitzki passes to make him MVP, Wade went about his business and got the MVP award for himself, while having fun doing it.  The Miami Heat star collected 28 points, 6 rebounds, 11 assists and 5 steals, proving he can be the biggest deal in a team full of big deals.






small Deals

All participants of the Slam Dunk Contest - This year's crop of contestants, DeMar De Rozan, Gerald Wallace, Shannon Brown and eventual champ Nate Robinson, produced one of the most boring Slam Dunk Contests ever, barely getting the crowd on its feet, save for 1 or 2 dunks.  While I think it's stupid that people keep calling for the abolition of the Slam Dunk Contest (since all dunks have supposed to have been seen already), these guys didn't help the popularity of the contest at all.

George Karl - The coach of the Denver Nuggets had his third try at coaching an All Star Game but third time was not the charm for Karl, as his West team lost to the East by two, 141 to 139.  His coaching stint included what seemed to be a final play where all players were confused at what to do, leaving Carmelo Anthony to throw up a hurried three pointer in an effort to win the game.  While the All Star Game is a no bearing exhibition match, wouldn't it be nice to win one, George?


Sophomores Team - While they have an excuse (Derrick Rose did not play), the Sophomores Team undoubtedly are disappointed in themselves, losing to the Rookies Team, 128-140.  The loss snapped the Sophomores' 7 year win streak and gave the rookies only their second win in 10 years.  The rookies were led by game MVP Tyreke Evans who scored 26 points and Da Juan Blair, who scored 22 points and grabbed 23 rebounds (the game's first 20-20 game).  I wonder if this crop of Sophomores will ever live it down.


photos courtesy of Getty Images and Ball Don't Lie

NBA All Star Game 2010: My Starting Line ups

     Every year, NBA fans around the world get to vote in their preferred choices for the starting line ups of the NBA All Star Game.  With the NBA set to announce the final line up of starters this week, I thought it would be nice to give my two cents, who will be voted in by the fans and who I voted for.  While I agree that fans should get to vote for who they want to watch, I still think that we should all be more conscientious about voting the right people, players who earned their spots by having a great year.


Eastern Conference


Center
Who Will Be Voted In: Dwight Howard
Who I Voted For: Dwight Howard

     While this may seem like a no-brainer, it was actually close, at least for me.  Howard is averaging great numbers (17.3 points, 12.6 rebounds, 2 blocks), these numbers are two year lows and he generally looks a lot less dominant this year.  In fact, the Knicks' undersized center David Lee is encroaching on his numbers as Lee is averaging 19.1 points, 11.2 rebounds, 3.4 assists and 1 steal per game.  Despite this, though, Howard is far and away, the world's best center right now and he deserves a starting spot.


Forwards
Who Will Be Voted In: Lebron James, Kevin Garnett
Who I Voted For: Lebron James, Chris Bosh

     The "three" spot is definitely a no-brainer.  LBJ has not let up from his MVP season as his averages (29.6 points, 7.1 rebounds, 7.7 assists) is actually better than last year's, so his spot is well-deserved, even if he reneged on his promise to join the Slam Dunk Contest.  The other spot, however, shouldn't be given to KG.  I love KG as he remains one of my favorite players, but he has not recovered his dominance since his devastating injury last season.  KG is averaging a competent 15 points, 7.6 rebounds, 2.5 assists and 0.9 blocks per game, but these are at the lowest level since his rookie year.  Meanwhile Chris Bosh, who many thought would the this generation's version of Garnett has been big for the Toronto Raptors this year.  He is averaging 23.8 points, 11.3 rebounds, .523 FG % and .462 three point % and each of these numbers are career highs.  Even with the distraction of the possibility of him leaving, Bosh has shown Toronto fans that he is indeed the face of the franchise and deserving of an All Star starting spot.


Guards
Who Will Be Voted In: Dwayne Wade, Allen Iverson
Who I Voted For: Dwayne Wade, Joe Johnson

     Dwayne Wade has continued to be spectacular for the Heat, who have been competitive this season and it is because of this that Wade deserves a starting spot.  His 27.1 points, 4.9 rebounds and 6.3 assists are the only thing keeping Miami in the playoff hunt and an All Star starting spot is well-deserved.  Allen Iverson, meanwhile, is a completely different matter.  While he has done some positive things for Philly this year, his numbers are not impressive (career-low in points) and he was quite a distraction in his brief stay in Memphis.  Joe Johnson, meanwhile, has continued his stellar, consistent play with numbers almost as impressive as Wade (21.3 points, 4.8 rebounds 4.9 assists).  What is most impressive for him, though, is he is leading the Atlanta Hawks to their best season in years, currently atop the Southeast Division.


Western Conference


Center
Who Will Be Voted In: Amare Stoudemire
Who I Voted For: Chris Kaman

     Without Yao Ming, the Western Conference has featured a host of inconsistent, but talented centers.  With a litany of inconsistent centers one has to just go by the numbers.  Stoudemire overcame a rough start to the year to help lead the Suns with 20.8 points, 8.8 rebounds and 0.9 blocks.  Despite these impressive numbers, he has been wildly inconsistent and his constantly disappearing defense is one of the reasons the Suns have barely won on the road.  Kaman deserves the spot this year, after following up an injury-riddled year with great numbers like 20.4 points, 9.3 rebounds, 1.4 blocks.  The Clippers are playing better lately too and that should be attributed to him too.


Forwards
Who Will Be Voted In: Carmelo Anthony, DIrk Nowitzki
Who I Voted For: Carmelo Anthony, Kevin Durant

     It's hard to get this one wrong, but Durant does deserve a starting spot this year.  Both Anthony and Durant are averaging eye-popping numbers (Anthony 30 points, 6.3 rebounds, 3.3 assists and Durant 29.1 points, 7.1 rebounds, 3.1 assists) and they are both leading their teams to greater heights.  No offense to Dirk, but these two guys have been dominant.


Guards
Who Will Be Voted In: Kobe Bryant, Tracy McGrady
Who I Voted For: Kobe Bryant, Chris Paul

     I'm not even going to talk about Kobe.  He deserves this spot by virtue not only of his numbers but also his overall toughness in playing through at least three different injuries.  T-Mac, though, is a total absurdity.  Shame on the world for trying to vote in a player who has barely played this year and who has been placed on ice by his own team.  That spot should go to Chris Paul, the Hornets' sole superstar.  Paul's averages of 19.5 points, 4.5 rebounds and 11.2 assists are more than enough to earn a starter's spot, and considering the kind of teammates he has, these numbers become all the more impressive.


  

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