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.

Fantasy Hoops

     Talks are that the NBA owners and the players are making progress in their efforts to end the lockout.  While that is in the works, it's good fun to think about the possibilities of NBA players playing in the Philippines again. With the PBA Commissioner's Cup allowing unlimited height for imports, which NBA players would make great imports in the PBA?

Alaska Aces - The Aces are a mess right now but the good news is that they're very talented.  Obviously, they are struggling to find themselves after losing Coach Tim Cone and trying new sets different from his triangle offense, so what they need is someone to take over and score when the new plays go to hell.  They need a go to scorer who can create shots and someone who can shoot threes with accuracy.  Kevin Durant would be a tremendous help. 

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NBA All Star Starters 2011

     The NBA has announced its starters for the 2011 NBA All Star Game.  Since, the starters are chosen by the fans, there's usually a debate on whether the fans got the choices right.  From the 50 Peso Seats has its own NBA All Star Starter List and let's see if they match with the fans' choices.

EASTERN CONFERENCE

Center
Fans' Choice: Dwight Howard
FtFPS Choice: Dwight Howard

     Was there ever any doubt that the jolly monster from Orlando would be the slotman?  The NBA's resident dominant center (despite whatever Shaq believes), Howard is carrying the Magic yet again on his impossibly muscular shoulders.  He is averaging a career-best 22 points per game to go along with over 13 rebounds and 2 blocks a game.  His post moves are becoming more polished as well.

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Besties (Part 2)

Everyone who knows me knows that 2010 was a great year for me, possibly one of the greatest.  What I'm not sure of is if people know that 2010 was so great because aside from winning Lifestyle Network's Clash of the Toque-en Ones (and a future cooking show), this blog was voted as finalist for Best Sports Blog in the 2010 Philippine Blog Awards.  To celebrate, here are some of the blog entries from last year I'm most proud of. (The first 4 were featured in this post.) Click the titles to read the original articles. Do you have a personal favorite? Let me know!

4.  Top 10 Top 10s : Most Beautiful Women in Sports

Synopsis: My favorite in my Top 10 Top 10s series to celebrate my 100th post, I pick my 10 most beautiful women in sports, but not solely based on their looks.

Favorite Line from the Post: If there is any doubt as to why she's (Melina) number 1, I suggest taking a gander at the video below, which features, as Good ole JR says, "The Greatest Ring Entrance in the History of the WWE."

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Playing Santa 2010

     It's Christmas time once again and it's time to see who has been naughty or nice.  I still wish I could give them the gifts I assigned to them.


Naughty

Mark Joseph - The interim president of the Philippine Aquatic Sports Association (PASA) has been naughty, continuing to refuse holding an election for PASA leadership, while making his lack of leadership clear.  He has shown ignorance for his wards' difficulties, like the divers' problem with frog infestation in their pool or their accident in the Asian Games itself.


Gift: Proper elections to expose his poor approval ratings in the PASA

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A Tale of Two (NBA) Cities

     Every father's nightmare is when his daughter begins to fall in love.  Worries about finding the right man would dominate and sometimes eat up a father's life.  Every dad, of course, worries about the "wrong" man, the one who is all flash, promises the world to their daughter, but barely delivers.  They warn their daughters about the man who demands unconditional love while refusing to commit and conitunually flirting with other suitors.  Ultimately, fathers worry that the wrong man will break their daughters' heart, in the worst case scenario, publicly.  This is why fathers pray a different kind of man sweeps their daughters off their feet.  They pray for a man who has enough gumption to have flash, but follows through.  They hope for a man of simple taste, with no ego to feed.  They would kill for man who not only commits to relationship, but continually works hard on it to keep it going strong.

     This is a tale of two (NBA) cities, and of two superstars. 

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NBA 2010 Season Awards

     With the playoffs kicking off last Sunday, it's also time to take a look at which players should receive individual recognition for their efforts.


Most Valuable Player (MVP)

     I only look for three things in my MVPs.  First, is the player putting up tremendous numbers?  Second, will the player's team absolutely lose its way without him? Last, is the player a great ambassador for the NBA and basketball in general.  With that, I only see four candidates, Lebron James (Cleveland Cavaliers), Kobe Bryant (L.A. Lakers), Dwight Howard (Orlando Magic), and Kevin Durant (Oklahoma City Thunder).  All these four players satisfy the first question, but only two will satisfy each of the next two questions.  While James will in no way satisfy the third question, it is the least important of my questions, so as much as it pains me, Lebron James must be MVP a second straight year.  His numbers are simply other-worldly, with averages of 29.7 points, 7.3 rebounds, 8.6 assists, 1.6 steals and 1 block per game.  Furthermore, it is beyond obvious that the Cavaliers would be absolute crap without him.

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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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