Having just discussed the bad about Michael Jordan (and his Charlotte Bobcats), I thought it fitting to make like Matchbox Twenty and get "Back 2 Good." (Re)Jumping off with Jordan returns. Finally.
The Internet is a wonderful thing. America has been introduced to the world of cute British babies thanks to YouTube. Nearly six million people follow (and have the privilege of reading) Ashton Kutcher’s astonishingly generic “thoughts” and “musings” via Twitter. (Follow me! If I get to double digit followers I will do something appropriately crazy and (probably not at all) entertaining/worthwhile.) Facebook lets you network and look at friends pictures and…play Farmville…and stuff. But most importantly, sports message boards eliminate the need to travel to the local sports bar to engage in a passionate, mostly ignorant debate comparing LeBron to Kobe to Kevin Durant to Michael Jordan to that eleven year old phenom who definitely has the inside track on becoming the number one pick in the 2018 NBA draft and will probably break every record in the history of basketball. A far more interesting debate would be determining how many WNBA All-Stars Dwayne Wade could defeat by himself, but that’s just a personal opinion (the answer is three, by the way).
October 7, 2010
Team Preview: Charlotte Bobcats
The Ghost of Seasons Past
Larry Brown and Don Nelson are old. Nelson played for the Chicago Zephyrs. He played with Bill Russell and Jerry West. Brown has been coaching since players had names like Sleepy Floyd and Foots Walker (1982 New Jersey Nets). He coached in the ABA. Both turned 70 earlier this year and each is now a septuagenarian member of our fine society. In his send-off to sexagerarianism, Don Nelson spent his 69th year living in style. He set his own hours, traveled around the country, had a bit of fun and steadfastly refused to relate to today’s youth. NBA devotees will also note that Don Nelson was the coach of the Golden State Warriors. The Warriors season served as a fascinating case study of how an NBA team would fare without any sort of direction from a head coach. They finished 26-56 and Nelson was fired in the offseason. On the other hand, Larry Brown spent his 69th year tirelessly coaching a mediocre NBA and led them to the playoffs. The Charlotte Bobcat roster had comparable talent to that of the hapless Warriors but finished 44-38. I don’t particularly like Larry Brown (see 2004 Pistons over Lakers) but the man can coach. According to Basketball Prospectus, Brown has the third best composite defensive rating of the thirty current NBA head coaches (behind Scott Skiles and Gregg Popovich). He has accomplished this despite frequently taking control of teams without quality talent (see Bobcats-Charlotte, Knicks-New York and Clippers-Los Angeles). Somehow, he coaxed career years out of Gerald Wallace and Nazr Mohammed while keeping Stephen Jackson (mostly) out of trouble and Boris Diaw (occasionally) out of the nearest Krispy Kreme. The Bobcats were the best defensive team in the league last year. Gerald Wallace is an excellent defender and umm…Raymond Felton won an NCAA championship and umm…Tyrus Thomas was picked 4th in the draft a couple years ago? The credit goes to Brown. In a surprising turn of events, he led Charlotte to their first playoff appearance in franchise history while the UNC basketball team struggled to an NIT berth. Don’t count on a continuation of this topsy-turvy version of North Carolina basketball. More Harrison Barnes, less Eduardo Najera.
Larry Brown and Don Nelson are old. Nelson played for the Chicago Zephyrs. He played with Bill Russell and Jerry West. Brown has been coaching since players had names like Sleepy Floyd and Foots Walker (1982 New Jersey Nets). He coached in the ABA. Both turned 70 earlier this year and each is now a septuagenarian member of our fine society. In his send-off to sexagerarianism, Don Nelson spent his 69th year living in style. He set his own hours, traveled around the country, had a bit of fun and steadfastly refused to relate to today’s youth. NBA devotees will also note that Don Nelson was the coach of the Golden State Warriors. The Warriors season served as a fascinating case study of how an NBA team would fare without any sort of direction from a head coach. They finished 26-56 and Nelson was fired in the offseason. On the other hand, Larry Brown spent his 69th year tirelessly coaching a mediocre NBA and led them to the playoffs. The Charlotte Bobcat roster had comparable talent to that of the hapless Warriors but finished 44-38. I don’t particularly like Larry Brown (see 2004 Pistons over Lakers) but the man can coach. According to Basketball Prospectus, Brown has the third best composite defensive rating of the thirty current NBA head coaches (behind Scott Skiles and Gregg Popovich). He has accomplished this despite frequently taking control of teams without quality talent (see Bobcats-Charlotte, Knicks-New York and Clippers-Los Angeles). Somehow, he coaxed career years out of Gerald Wallace and Nazr Mohammed while keeping Stephen Jackson (mostly) out of trouble and Boris Diaw (occasionally) out of the nearest Krispy Kreme. The Bobcats were the best defensive team in the league last year. Gerald Wallace is an excellent defender and umm…Raymond Felton won an NCAA championship and umm…Tyrus Thomas was picked 4th in the draft a couple years ago? The credit goes to Brown. In a surprising turn of events, he led Charlotte to their first playoff appearance in franchise history while the UNC basketball team struggled to an NIT berth. Don’t count on a continuation of this topsy-turvy version of North Carolina basketball. More Harrison Barnes, less Eduardo Najera.
October 6, 2010
Team Preview: Boston Celtics
The Ghost of Seasons Past (2010 Free Agency Now Included!)
The one that got away. I am, of course, referring to the Celtics and their pursuit of the 2010 NBA championship and not the 1957 WWII film that I was unaware of until some very recent Googling. The Celtics successfully rope-a-doped the Eastern Conference last year and were one quarter away from a second NBA title in three years. But the problems that plagued the Celtics during the regular season crept into Game Seven and denied them a ring. They could not keep their foul rate under control, struggled on the glass against a taller Lakers team and went cold from the outside as the offense stagnated. Faced with a rapidly aging core of players and the expiring contracts of Paul Pierce, Ray Allen and Coach Doc Rivers, the Celtics seriously considered blowing up the team and rebuilding around Rajon Rondo. Instead, Rivers returned as coach and brought Pierce’s Bubblicious Beard with him (Jesus Shuttlesworth, too). To augment a front court that couldn’t match up with Pau Gasol in the Finals, GM Danny Ainge added 600 pounds of O’Neal. It’s uncertain how many pounds Shaq will contribute to that total but my best guess is 437. Although Shaq’s weight might be one problem for the Celtics, the more important number is 39, as in the years that Shaq will have lived on our fine planet Earth this March 6th. Since Boston’s championship window was already rapidly closing, the Celtics chose to swing for the fences and go bigger, slower and older. Hopefully no one threw out their back in the process. I hear that’s a problem for the geriatric.
The one that got away. I am, of course, referring to the Celtics and their pursuit of the 2010 NBA championship and not the 1957 WWII film that I was unaware of until some very recent Googling. The Celtics successfully rope-a-doped the Eastern Conference last year and were one quarter away from a second NBA title in three years. But the problems that plagued the Celtics during the regular season crept into Game Seven and denied them a ring. They could not keep their foul rate under control, struggled on the glass against a taller Lakers team and went cold from the outside as the offense stagnated. Faced with a rapidly aging core of players and the expiring contracts of Paul Pierce, Ray Allen and Coach Doc Rivers, the Celtics seriously considered blowing up the team and rebuilding around Rajon Rondo. Instead, Rivers returned as coach and brought Pierce’s Bubblicious Beard with him (Jesus Shuttlesworth, too). To augment a front court that couldn’t match up with Pau Gasol in the Finals, GM Danny Ainge added 600 pounds of O’Neal. It’s uncertain how many pounds Shaq will contribute to that total but my best guess is 437. Although Shaq’s weight might be one problem for the Celtics, the more important number is 39, as in the years that Shaq will have lived on our fine planet Earth this March 6th. Since Boston’s championship window was already rapidly closing, the Celtics chose to swing for the fences and go bigger, slower and older. Hopefully no one threw out their back in the process. I hear that’s a problem for the geriatric.
October 5, 2010
Team Preview: Atlanta Hawks
The Ghost of Seasons Past (2010 Free Agency Now Included!)
The Atlanta Hawks have a relatively young core of players and won 100 games and two playoff series over the past two years. They have improved on their win total in each of the last five regular seasons and have an emerging star who harnessed his immense talents for the first time in 2010. All of these facts make Atlanta seem like the (much-hyped) OKC Thunder of the Eastern Conference and indeed, the Hawks are similarly a single piece away from being a serious contender. Lost amidst the LeBron mania over the summer was a low-key, yet crucial, signing for Atlanta. It was a signing that brought Atlanta two-time championship experience not named Adam Morrison. To be fair, Josh Powell’s ability is more Morrisonian than Bryantesque. But his renowned locker room DJ-ing can only help team chemistry. According to John Hollinger’s latest computations, that should be good at least .17 wins this season. And all for the veteran’s minimum! So, there’s that. Oh, I almost forgot. The Hawks front office also re-signed Joe Johnson to a contract worth $119 million and destined the team to five years of 48 win seasons and early playoff exits at the hands of the Magic, Celtics, Bulls andLeBron’s Knicks Wade’s Knicks Bosh and Johnson’s Knicks the Legion of Doom. So, there’s that, too. Well played, Rick Sund. It takes a special man to live up the incompetence of former GM Billy Knight but you may have succeeded.
The Atlanta Hawks have a relatively young core of players and won 100 games and two playoff series over the past two years. They have improved on their win total in each of the last five regular seasons and have an emerging star who harnessed his immense talents for the first time in 2010. All of these facts make Atlanta seem like the (much-hyped) OKC Thunder of the Eastern Conference and indeed, the Hawks are similarly a single piece away from being a serious contender. Lost amidst the LeBron mania over the summer was a low-key, yet crucial, signing for Atlanta. It was a signing that brought Atlanta two-time championship experience not named Adam Morrison. To be fair, Josh Powell’s ability is more Morrisonian than Bryantesque. But his renowned locker room DJ-ing can only help team chemistry. According to John Hollinger’s latest computations, that should be good at least .17 wins this season. And all for the veteran’s minimum! So, there’s that. Oh, I almost forgot. The Hawks front office also re-signed Joe Johnson to a contract worth $119 million and destined the team to five years of 48 win seasons and early playoff exits at the hands of the Magic, Celtics, Bulls and
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)