As spectators everywhere marveled at Kobe Bryant's game-winner versus the Boston Celtics (in Boston) on Sunday, after the game, I couldn't help but look forward to the NBA Finals. Honestly, it doesn't seem like there's a team in the Western Conference that could defeat the Los Angeles Lakers in a playoff series. Sure, they may encounter a speedbump here and there, but nobody else in the West is capable of truly challenging the defending champs. Which got me thinking about the Eastern Conference. Despite the fact that the Boston Celtics are currently 7 games behind the Cavs, the two teams seem like the frontrunners in the East. Of course, we can't forget about the Atlanta Hawks.
On paper, Boston is undoubtedly the most talented team in the East and right there with L.A. They just seem like the more disciplined team. They already had the vets among the Allen-Garnett-Pierce triumvate, but Rasheed Wallace adds championship & NBA Finals experience. Furthermore, the development of Rajon Rondo has been a huge factor toward the Celtics' success thus far. One of ABC's commentators, I believe it was Van Gundy, noted today that in the past the vets weren't quite comfortable with Rondo facilitating the offense.
But, of course, things have changed. Rondo has emerged as a rising prospect in the league, a walking double-double if you will. If only he could hit his free-throws. In addition to this already talented cast, at center may be one of the most underrated players in the league: Kendrick Perkins. With his big frame, he's able to give his opponents trouble en route to averaging 2 blocks per game. Offensively, when a guy is shooting over 63% he deserves his props.
However, as good as they may be, the Celtics' vets are just that - veterans, experienced but old players. They have become increasingly injury-prone, and this squad hasn't proven that they are able to consistently win without one of their key pieces. Plus, in the last two seasons it's taken the Celtics 7 games to advance out of the first round. That kind of fatigue can't be good.
Then, I remembered the Cleveland Cavaliers. When you have one of the best players in the game, you're bound to make a solid run for the cup. Although analysts claim he doesn't have much help, I'm not buying it. Anderson Varejao is a hustle player who can ultimately change the outcome of games. Shaq, though he no longer dominates, still has a physical presence that frustates the opposition. To make it a 1-2 punch in the frontcourt is Big Z, who has range and height. Oh, and let's not forget about Mo Williams, a good playmaker equally capable of scoring as he is passing. J.J. Hickson has been a great boost as well. Anthony Parker is able to come in and chip in a few points here and there. Jamario Moon has some of the best hops in the league. Lebron may not play alongside star-studded talent, but he does have some good pieces among him.
One of the things that stands out when contrasting the Cavs with the Celtics is how they've faired against the defending champs. Whether or not the Cavs managed to catch the Lakers off guard (twice!) or they were just pure victories, they were still able to defeat them handily on the road and come away with a victory at the Q. The Celtics, on the other hand, weren't able to hold a double-digit lead vs. the Lake Show...at home. As Lebron has said before, the Lakers serve as a "measuring stick", and in this sense, the Cavs have faired better than the fellows in Beantown.
Everything considered, though, Lebron is the heart and soul of the team. If you're able to negatively alter his game (easier said than done), the Cavs won't have a chance of winning a playoff series; throughout the course of multiple playoff games, if the opposition can at least wear Lebron down, chances aren't that great for the Cavs. Then again, the Cavs are looking extra hungry this year and with Lebron's free agency approaching, Cleveland is doing the best it can to go for the gold.
Now the Atlanta Hawks are one special team. Having gone all the way to seven games with the Celtics in the same year as their championship run just two seasons ago, this team always excities me. On the flip side, though, it took them seven games to defeat a mediocre Miami squad last season. Nonetheless, this is a different team, in small part because of Josh Smith's maturity as a player.
What's so great about the roster is the youth. This team is among the Eastern Conference elite and the average age of a member of the starting lineup is about 26 years old. Make sure not to sleep on these ballers. Running the point is the experience of Mike Bibby, the former Sacramento Kings player who is capable of nailing down a long-range jumper just as easily as throwing up a floater. Joe Johnson and Jamal Crawford are probably two of the most underrated players in the league, both of whom can create looks for themselves at will. Josh Smith, who has grasped an understanding of his capabilities, has no problem flying for a jam or, just as lovely, a monstrous block. Al Horford is a terrific rebounder and shotblocker, who has proven his abilities from Day 1.
All in all, you don't want to mess with this Hawks team. In the playoffs, leaving their court with a win is no small task, either. The names on the roster might not stand out at first, but the game of the Atlanta Hawks shouldn't be underestimated.
Despite a somewhat impressive record, my judgement has convinced me not to bring up the Orlando Magic. For some reason, they seem like they lack the heart and fluid-ness required to advance to the Eastern Conference Finals. Vince Carter is no longer what he used to be. Dwight Howard can't hit free-throws. Also, has he thought of adding some range to his game. Rebounding, shot-blocking, and dunking make up a great skillset, but it's ok to take a shot out of the paint every once in awhile.
Who knows, I could be totally wrong about these predictions. The Hawks may be upset in the first round and the Magic might face off against someone other than Lakers. Right now, though, Boston seems like the disciplined team, the Cavs have the most heart, and the Hawks are not to be forgotten. Can't wait until June already!
"I love the daunks"
For the past few years, it seems like the Dunk Contest is the main attraction of All-Star Weekend -aside from the All-Star Game itself, of course. This year happens to more exciting than the rest, though. In the past, Dwight Howard managed to earn high scores simply because he was a big name. Exhibit A: Superman doesn't even dunk, but throws the ball in a massive leap. Impressive, but not a dunk. Exhibit B: By far one of the stupidest and least creative dunks I've ever seen, Dwight puts a higher hoop and just jumps. This year, with Nate Robinson being a possible exception, none of the contestants have achieved superstar status.
Furthermore, there has been a new addition to the festivities. A dunk-in between Clippers guard Eric Gordon and Raptors forward Demar DeRozan will determine the fourth contestant. At the surface, it sounds like an amusing idea. Although after some thought, I realized it can only hurt Gordon and Dear; it would give the other three contestants - Gerald Wallace, Shannon Brown, and Nate Robinson - an advantage. Dear and Gordon will have already demonstrated some of their creative dunks, which will require either Demar or Gordan to practice more creative dunks with just one day to prepare.
Regardless, this year's contestant's are very amusing and the dunk-in method may prove to work out better than last year's fan voting. Honestly, I believe everyone knew Russel Westbrook deserved a spot more than anyone else, but Rudy Fernandez was just too funny in the commercials. With his thick Spanish accent, you couldn't help yourself; you just had to laugh.
This year was somewhat unprecedented in the way fans showed their support - at least, for Shannon Brown. It's not a secret that he has hops. The only question was if he'd be able to show them playing alongside Kobe Bryant, Ron Artest, Pau Gasol, Andrew Bynum, and Lamar Odom. Fortunately, he did. But throughout the season, fans showed their support for the Michigan State alum at letshannondunk.com. Quite interesting.
Overall, it seems like there's a little more buzz for this year's contest in small part because of the Lebron James debacle. He declared that he would participate if selected, then backed out. To add more hype to the frenzy, Shaq decided to become LBJ's manager and announce his client would only play if Kobe, Vince Carter, and other stars also participated - to which Kobe Bryant chuckled. For those that are disappointed that Lebron backed out, don't be. He would've automatically won and it would have been just another accolade for him. Let other rising stock receive popularity and get a ticket to All-Star Weekend. After all, Lebron is already participating in the All-Star Game itself.
With such diverse players, this year's Dunk Contest seems like it'll meet the hype, if not surpass it.
There was finally hope. After seasons of being L.A.'s "other" team, the Clippers were one game away from the .500 mark. Then came the losses. Simultanesously, though, the announcement was made: the hyped Blake Griffin would follow the footsteps of another recent #1 pick, Greg Oden, by sitting out his rookie season. For the Clippers organization and its fan, the news of Griffin's surgery was devastating. However, how will his absence really affect the team? Will they finally soar above .500? Or will they tank their effort, with the intention of receiving a high pick in the lottery?
It amazes me how this team lost to the Lakers by 40 points(!), yet managed to lose by a single point the following night to the Cleveland Cavaliers. When you look at the season so far, the Clippers have beaten two of the league's elite in the (surprise, surprise) Lakers and Boston Celtics. That proves that this team has heart - even without Blake Griffin. I don't think anybody ever suggested not giving 100% in the first place, but I'd like to let the Clippers know they must keep fighting.
There's no question that the Western Conference is a tough landscape. Making the playoffs if you are based east of the Mississippi River (the exception being New Orleans) is always a tall task. And knowing the Clippers, they will likely find some way to miss the #8 seed. However, there's always the possibility that they'll come through. In order to do so, there will be several factors.
First of all, the team cannot afford to continue losing leads. They had a 13-point advantage over the Cavaliers. Obviously, no one person can be blamed for this bad habit. Although I ever analyze a team, one of the immediate things I look at is the player at point guard. Theoretically, to succeed in the game of basketball, a team needs a talented big man equally as much as it needs a skilled point guard. The point guard, much like percussion in music, has the power to dictate the flow of a game. Baron Davis, at this point, should be experienced enough to properly orchestrate his team. He is certainly talented enough to hit shots and expand leads, or at the least, maintain them.
I also believe that the season remaining should dictate whether or not Coach Mike Dunleavy should be allowed to stay with the organization. Mike is a very respectable man, but at the same time, I think many can agree with me when I say he's been given too many chances. Even without Blake Griffin, the team showcases one of the best frontcourts in the NBA between Marcus Camby and Chris Kaman, an All-Star in Baron Davis, great perimeter shooters in Steve Novak and Rasual Butler, a sturdy & young big man in DeAndre Jordan, a dependable scorer in Eric Gordon, as well as a great ballhandler in Sebastian Telfair. On paper - and in video games - the Los Angeles Clippers are a scary team. If you can't even hit .500 with those pieces, then you shouldn't be around.
Whether the Clippers' shortcoming lie in karma or a curse, as Phil Jackson claims, or not, I commend the Clippers on the entertaining wins they've had thus far. Furthermore, I urge that the squad plays on, hopefully en route to an NBA playoffs appearance.
With two Lakers losses, one against the hometown rivals, the Clippers, and at the hostile Rose Garden against the Portland Trailblazers (technically, the Clippers game was a "road" game for the Lakers). The Lakers haven't loss consecutive games in quite some time and have been bailed out too many times by clutch performances from Kobe. The question on the minds of many fans is whether or not the Lakers are still the NBA's best.
According to their 28-8 record, the Lakers are still officially the most successful team in the NBA. There's no doubt the Lakers deserve credit for that. However, as analysts have been eager to point out, the squad hasn't proved itself on the road, especially in Portland, where they last won in 2005. Then again, the absences of Gasol and Artest have definitely taken a toll.
To be the best, though, you have to win against the other great teams in the league, as well as lesser opponents. The entire Lakers team came in to the Christmas Day matchup versus the Cavs with an unacceptable attitude. They downplayed the game simply because they weren't playing the Boston Celtics. Here's some news: The Cavs were third place in the Eastern Conference coming into Christmas Day - meaning they are still an elite team. On December 30, when I was on Correy Costelloe's Home Turf on December 30, merely 5 days after the horrible loss, the Cavs trailed Boston by only half a game for #1 in the East. At the moment, Cleveland is ahead of Boston by 1 game for best in the conference.
However, there's nothing that can be done to reverse what's already happened; rather, there are certain improvements that can be made to have a better future. Understand that no particular individual is at fault for the Lakers' few and rare shortcomings.
The coach of a team, equally as much as a point guard, directs a team's course of action. Phil Jackson, as intelligent and experienced as he is, still makes mistakes from time to time. He has declared he will be more active in the first halves of games to prevent the Lake Show from falling behind early. Well, it's about time!
I'm still in the process of wrapping my head around his Playboy incident, but there are 2 very distinct Bynums on the is hardwood. One Bynum, typically seen in Gasol's absence, exhibits his offensive savvy through an array of post-moves and drops steps, in addition to hustling on the defensive end, and grabbing rebounds. Another Bynum, usually present when Gasol is, has no inclination to grab rebounds, gets into foul trouble, and attempts forced shots, if he shoots at all.
A couple seasons ago, the Lakers' "bench mob" was renown around the league as skilled unit that could take over for the starters and not only maintain a lead, but extend it. Unfortunately, this is no longer true. The second five has failed to perform well on either end of the court. Offensively, they just can't get a rhythm going, which surprises me. Adam Morrison, as funny as he may look at times, is a great shooter. Shannon Brown can create a shot for himself and was known for his defensive skills during his tenure at Michigan State. Jordan Farmar has the quickness and range to be effective. Josh Powell is a sturdy forward down low, who is also capable of knocking down a mid-range shot. DJ Mbenga, who still needs to work on lowering his fouls, is a daunting center with the ability to alter every shot, if not get a hand on it. And Lamar Odom would be a starter on almost any other team in the league. It's just a matter of coming together and playing as a team.
Although there were certainly other elements involved in the Lakers' avoidable falls, I will remind everyone that they are still the best team in the NBA and remain three games ahead of the Dallas Mavericks for the lead in the West. It's not that they're doing anything wrong, heck when you're 28-8 most criticism is considered nit-picking. It's just that the Lakers can be better.