Grizzlies to Make Run at the Playoffs Without Rudy Gay

Posted on March 30, 2011 by leetee21

The Memphis Grizzlies have been making things uncomfortable for the top teams in the West all season. Those looking at March Madness Betting note how they have had great success against the eliteteams in the NBA and few want to face them in a first round series. They are young, athletic and play hard. As the playoff chase enters the final stages, the young Grizzlies will have to make that last push without their best player. Rudy Gay has been shut down for the remainder of the season.

Those studying the March Madness odds state how Gay was hurt mid February in a game against the Philadelphia 76ers. He underwent weeks of rehabilitation but it was announced last week that he will miss the rest of the season.

This, of course, is a major blow for the Grizzlies as Gay was having a stellar season.

Gay averaged 19.8 points per game and 6.2 rebounds per game until he was injured. The Grizzlies have been very competitive in his absence going 9-6 as of Saturday. This is all happening as they try to make the Western Conference playoffs for the first time since the 2005-2006 season.

The Grizzlies currently hold the eighth seed as they try to hold off the Houston Rockets and clinch a berth. The Rockets hold the tie-breaker over the Grizzlies and have a relatively easy schedule the rest of the way. Not to mention the Rockets have been playing exceedingly well since the All-Star break.

In Gay’s absence, the team is hurting on defense due to Gay’s athleticism and length but to be honest, their offense has been better. This can happen when a team loses it’s focal point on offense and everyone realizes they need to step up.

They demolished the San Antonio Spurs without Gay, which is a great sign seeing as if they can grab the final playoff spot in the West, they will be playing the Spurs in a best of seven game series.

The Grizzlies are a team still on the rise so just making the playoffs will be a successful season. Winning a few games in the opening round will be icing on the cake. With or without Gay, NBA teams don’t want to be facing the Grizzlies as the season winds down or in the postseason. They are just the type of team that can sneak up and bite you.

The Grizzlies can take whatever playoff experience they get and add it to what should be an even better team next season when Gay returns healthy and ready for more.

 

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NBA Draft Prospects on Display in NCAA Tourney

Posted on March 25, 2011 by leetee21

This time of year it is hard to focus on the NBA game as the college kids take center stage in March. The NCAA tournament is in progress and that has basketball fans watching brackets, buzzer beaters and who is going to be a good NBA pro.

Basketball betting pundits note how the teams that are going to be in the lottery are watching closely as each potential draft prospect can use the tournament to raise their stock in the June draft. Of course this could all be a mute point if the whispers amongst NBA Betting pundits of a NBA lockout are true.

But let’s forget all that negative stuff and focus on who looks like they are ready to dominate the NBA game once their college dreams are over.

The two hottest names that are being talked about are Kemba Walker out of Connecticut and Jimmer Fredette out of BYU. Both are electrifying and both can take their teams on their back.

Fredette is the nation’s leading scorer who has range starting once he crosses half. Walker has gotten better as the season has gone on and had that amazing run in the Big East tournament where he led his team to five wins in five days.

But this is where the NBA game can be a whole different world. Fredette is a dominant college player, there is no question there. But does his game cross over to the NBA? He will have to use his court sense and amazing shooting ability that to get him over the hump as he will always be up against more athletic players. There have been enough NCAA scoring machines that have vanished in the NBA game over the last several years that a lot of teams may pass on Fredette.

Walker however looks like he is ready for the NBA now. His size could be an issue but the NBA rules play into his strengths as there is less hand-checking and more space to operate. He is a winner and a competitor and could really help an NBA team right away.

The NCAA tournament is the perfect time for NBA scouts to evaluate talent before June. When you have a player in for tryouts, you can’t see how they are during crunch time. You can’t see how they lead a team and you can’t see them elevate their game.

You can’t judge a player on stats alone, you need to see them competing at the highest level and that is what March is all about.

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Rose Leads MVP Race Heading Into Home Stretch

Posted on March 14, 2011 by leetee21

With one month left in the NBA season, not only is the postseason chase in full swing, so is the race for league MVP. Before the season started, NBA Betting pundits note how the usual suspects were mentioned as potential winners. LeBron James, Kobe Bryant, Kevin Durant and so on. Not that many experts were talking about Derrick Rose, the point guard for the Chicago Bulls.

 

But as the Bulls climb the standings in the Eastern Conference, Rose is now the Basketball Betting odds on favourite to take the MVP award thanks to his outstanding play this season.

 

The Bulls changed the makeup of their team in the offseason by adding Carlos Boozer and defensive guru, Tom thibodeau, as head coach. Both additions were expected to put the Bulls in the discussions for the NBA title, and they have. But the number one reason for the Bulls being a serious threat in June is Derrick Rose.

 

Injuries to key players have forced the Bulls to play several different rotations during the first  five months of the season and it has been Rose that has been the constant. His numbers are incredible as he has clearly established himself as an All-NBA performer.

 

Rose may not be a proven leader yet, but his ability on the court has been leading by example. He has made everyone on the court better which is the true sign for what an MVP is. On top of it all, in a league with so many talented point guards, Rose has somehow earned separation from the pack. Now when you ask the fans who the best point guard in the league is, they are no longer saying Steve Nash, Jason Kidd or even Chris Paul, they are saying Derrick Rose.

 

There are only two real contenders in the race for the NBA MVP this season and that’s Derrick Rose and LeBron James. If you really believe Dwight Howard, Kevin Durant, Kobe Bryant, Nirk Nowitzki or even Dwyane Wade have a shot, you are ignoring the truth. Rose is the favourite at this point but you can never count out the powers of LeBron and what he is doing for the Miami Heat. Afterall, he is the reigning MVP of the league.

 

The final tiebreaker could come down to who’s team wins in the end. The Bulls and Heat are currently fighting it out for position at the top of the East with Boston. Rose has the Bulls primed to take it and himself to take his first NBA MVP award.

 

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NBA Trade Deadline Recap

Posted on March 8, 2011 by leetee21

Those looking at March Madness betting will note how the 2011 NBA Trade Deadline has come and gone for another season. How did your team make out? Regardless of the outcome, teams are now stuck with what they got to either make a postseason run or to ride out the season until next year.

A total of 13 deals took place before the 3 p.m. deadline on February 24th. Those studying the March Madness odds note how it could of very well been 14, but the Indiana Pacers and Memphis Grizzlies were not able to get the finer details worked out on a deal that would have sent O.J. Mayo to the Pacers for Josh McRoberts and a first round pick.

With all trade deadlines, there are deals that will pay off for a teams immediately. Other deals will benefit teams in the long term once players involved mature and grow into their new surroundings.

The two biggest deals immediately changed the landscape of the Atlantic Division with both Carmelo Anthony and Deron Williams moving over. The Knicks traded away most of their starting unit to get  Anthony, Chauncey Billups, Shelden Williams, Renaldo Balkman, Anthony Carter and Corey Brewer.

Many fans and experts felt that giving up Raymond Felton, Danilo Gallinari, Wilson Chandler,  Timofey Mozgov, a 2014 first-round Draft Pick, a 2012 and 2013 second-round Draft Pick, Kosta Koufos and $3 million was too  much.

But the Knicks got the superstar they wanted. They got the scoring machine they wanted. Most importantly they got more leverage for bigger signings this summer. The Knicks might not be a better team overall after the deal, but they are relevant again in the NBA and that is what matters.

The other big deal involving the Atlantic Division, was the New Jersey Nets landing Deron Williams from the Utah Jazz. The Jazz get Devin Harris, Derrick Favors and two first-round Draft Picks in return. This deal looks like a winner for the Nets up front but the real winner in this draft will be determined on how Favors works out as a budding star.

The Nets missed out on LeBron in the summer and Carmelo but they finally landed their big star in Williams. He is an elite point guard which is so coveted in the NBA.

 

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Halfway There – NBA’s Disappointments

Posted on February 24, 2011 by leetee21

With the All-Star game behind us, now is the time that teams dig in and really push to either get into the playoffs or prepare for a deep run into June. So with four months of action in the books, what teams have been a disappointment so far?

Well first off, the Cleveland Cavaliers. Sure they were not expected to repeat as the team with the best record in the league. But many thought they could still compete and maybe battle for one of the last postseason slots. Minus LeBron James however, it has been a nightmare season for Cleveland. Until recently they were heading straight towards losing 30 games in a row. Not even a shocking upset of the Los Angeles Lakers before the All-Star break can save the season to this point.

The Washington Wizards were expected by basketball betting to be better or at least that was the buzz once John Wall landed in DC. They to had an embarrassing run of not winning a road game until a few weeks ago. Like Cleveland, not much was expected but certainly more than what is happening now.

The Philadelphia 76ers are starting to play better ball now but for the first few months they were one of the bigger disappointments. First year coach Doug Collins took some time to instil his plans and with the talent in Philly, they should post better numbers in the second half.

In terms of the teams that had potential to really make noise in the playoffs, the Denver Nuggets have been a letdown according to NBA betting pundits. With the Carmelo drama hanging over their heads, the Nuggets went from a team that could challenge to win the West, to a team barely keeping itself in the playoff hunt.

Finally, throwing record aside, the Lakers have been a disappointment to many, only because they are held to a higher standard. They are the defending champs and regardless of whether you think they are bored or waiting for the playoffs, they have had some horrible losses this season. Kobe Bryant is not what he used to be and cannot carry a team all by himself. Maybe L.A. is waiting for April to turn it on but the other contenders in the West are not fearing the purple and gold as much as they used to.

 

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Role Players Spurring San Antonio’s Regular Season Success

Posted on February 14, 2011 by leetee21

It is not hard to believe that the San Antonio Spurs own the best record in the NBA. The real hard part to believe is how they are doing it. Sure they still have the Big Three in Tim Duncan, Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili but you need more than that to be so far ahead of the rest of the league at this point in the season.

That is where the role players come in to play and once again the management team in San Antonio has done a masterful job plugging in holes and pulling the right strings.

Sure, we all know who Richard Jefferson is and how he has bounced back from almost being bounced out of the league. George Hill, Gary Neal and Matt Bonner are not going to be trending on Twitter anytime soon and Antonio McDyess is certainly past his prime. In the middle the Spurs are getting more than they bargained for out of DeJuan Blair and if he got to play the Toronto Raptors every night, the guy would be an All-Star (put up over 20 points twice versus the Raps this year).

But do NBA betting pundits believe that this marvellous run keep going into the playoffs and all the way until June? Unlike previous years, the Spurs have been healthy and when you figure in Gregg  Popovich’s genius, there can be a little bit of false advertising on how good the Spurs are.

Can the role players keep it going when the stakes get higher? They are heading towards being the top seed overall but many are still not sold on the Spurs sailing through the Western Conference.  Role players are good for a few big moments but at the end of the day, they are in fact just the supporting cast.

At some point, basketball betting pundits note that it is going to once again fall heavily on the shoulders of the Big Three and in particular, Tim Duncan, to get them over the hump. The question is, will he be able to do it like he has so many times before?

Fans in Texas will have to wait and see once the postseason starts but for now they should enjoy this historical ride for all it is worth because as many NBA teams find out, it is only an injury or two away from falling apart. That is when the strength of your role players really gets tested as they are forced to step into bigger shoes.

The supporting cast has gotten them this far but can will they carry them to another NBA title?

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A Shift In The Lakers Hierarchy?

Posted on December 2, 2010 by leetee21

Anybody who is currently following the NBA is fully aware of the fact that the LA Lakers are on a 4-game losing streak. This has never happened to a Phil Jackson championship team (hint, hint!), and the Lakers have not done this badly in a stretch since they acquired Pau Gasol from the Memphis Grizzlies. Mentioning Gasol is not just relevant because the Lakers have never played this poorly since he’s been on the team, but I think that it is because they are not using him as frequently as they should that they are losing.

The Lakers started off the season very hot, and I think a lot of that had to do with the distribution of shots between Kobe Bryant and Pau Gasol, who were roughly taking the same amount of shots per game. And now you look at the distribution of shots taken by Kobe Bryant and Pau Gasol during their little funk, and there is a huge discrepancy in favor of Kobe who has taken an explosion of shots in comparison to Gasol.

You can say it’s the whole chicken and the egg situation, where Kobe is taking more shots because his team is losing, and he has felt the need to take over games. However, that would not hold true because their games have been close and they could have gone either way. So when it comes down to it, the problem is that they are failing to run their offense in the most productive way.

Last season as I watched the NBA Finals, I concluded that the Boston Celtics would have been the champions had Kendrick Perkins been healthy for Game 7. Not only that, but I also concluded that if the Lakers did not have Pau Gasol, whether or not Perkins played in Game 7, the Lakers would not have won the championship. Everybody was talking about Kobe this and Kobe that, and how great of a player he was. I, on the other hand, was talking about Pau Gasol, and how he made the Lakers too good. Sure, Kobe is an amazing talent in this league, and has been for many years, but there are a lot of teams with great players. There’s Dwyane Wade, Carmelo Anthony, LeBron James, and Kevin Durant for example, but none of them have a big man with the skill-set of Pau Gasol, who might be the most talented big man in the game right now, on their team. That’s what separates the Lakers. They have the superstar in Kobe, but they also have the amazing big man in Pau Gasol.

So when I see the Lakers not utilizing that big man, and they are instead trying to run the offense solely through Kobe, I feel that the Lakers are not using their best weapon, their x-factor. You cannot overlook that advantage that you have. When teams have to double Kobe that leaves Gasol in a lot more favorable situation. In fact, I’m not sure that anybody in the league can take Gasol one-on-one effectively. So for Kobe to be taking double the amount of shots that Gasol has taken, there’s no logical explanation.

When you see how the Lakers are struggling, and it should be brief because they have a mastermind in Phil Jackson who should repair the problem really soon, it is very obvious that they have to learn right now that it’s not Kobe’s team anymore. Rather it has become Pau Gasol’s team, and it’s imperative that they run the team through him if they want to be successful moving forward.

P.S. If Kobe gets wind of this article, you know he’ll be dropping 40 in his next game.

(This post originally appeared on my Utah Jazz Blog, Purple & Blues)

 

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Jordan Won’t Let Go… Bobcats Sign Kwame Brown

Posted on August 23, 2010 by leetee21

If you are not familiar with the life story of Michael Jordan, he was actually cut from his high school basketball team. Yes, the same Michael Jordan who is regarded by some as the best basketball player in the history of the game.

What I take out of that is that Jordan is the type of person who does not give up very easily. If he wasn’t that type of person, he would have taken the message from his high school basketball coach to heart, and he would have given up on his basketball dreams. (I’m sure Patrick Ewing wouldn’t have minded that too much!) Instead Jordan decided to dedicate more time to basketball in order to get better. He would work countless hours trying to improve his game, and of course, as everybody knows, it paid huge dividends in the end.

Obviously Jordan’s superb talents made him one of the best of all-time, but the thing that truly separated him from the average basketball player was his mentality of never giving up. Although this mentality was most clearly seen on the basketball court, it is a part of Jordan’s everyday life.

The proof?

You need not look any further than the most recent addition to the Charlotte Bobcats’ roster. That, of course, is Kwame Brown. The same Kwame Brown who is known to be the worst decision of Jordan’s basketball career. With Jordan being the majority owner of the Bobcats, it was Jordan’s decision to bring the “bust” on board in order to give him another shot at NBA success.

And you can’t really blame Jordan for holding on to his protege from yesteryear. I mean, after all, had Jordan not “held on” to his dreams, or he wasn’t given a second chance, the NBA history books would look a lot differently than they do today.

Quitting has never been an option for Jordan. Sure roadblocks have gotten in the way, but he has always continued to push forward with unyielding determination. Who knows? Maybe it is this second chance for Kwame Brown that can be the difference in the course of NBA history for the next 5-10 years.

All I know is that Jordan has a great track record when it comes to never giving up and competing to the bitter end. If this actually works out as Jordan and the Bobcats hope it will, Jordan will only add to the legacy that he has created for himself on the court. On the other hand, if this doesn’t work out, Jordan might just have to face the fact that winning is not always a possibility.

Regardless of the outcome, one thing is certain: Jordan will stop at nothing in order to make this move the best it can be. He might not be able to instill the same values in Kwame Brown that exist within himself, but he will sure as heck try. Is it possible? That still remains to be seen.

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Earl Watson Gets Treated Like A Piece Of Meat

Posted on August 12, 2010 by leetee21

If you’ve ever seen the show, “My Wife and Kids,” you know that Michael Kyle’s oldest daughter, Claire, had a little bit of a short fuse and was what some people would call a little bit crazy. Well, it looks like Claire (Jennifer Freeman in real life) has let some of that craziness become a part of her everyday life.

It has been reported that Jennifer Freeman, who was actually married to Earl Watson of the NBA, went Mike Tyson on her husband, as she bit his wrist and his chest until he bled in each place.

But that’s not all!

Freeman also slapped her man across the face twice, and she also chased him with an iron. Luckily for Watson, he was able to knock the iron out of her hand before any damage was done.

Apparently, all of this psychotic behavior was due to the fact that Watson tried to check his wife’s phone after she received a suspicious text message.

If you ask me, a simple “keep your hands off my phone, you 7 points per game chump” would have sufficed. I guess she was too hungry to get the words out.

All of this happens, and men still get the reputation of treating women like pieces of meat. Give me a break!

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Shaq Looking To Make Some Changes In Boston

Posted on August 5, 2010 by leetee21

With Shaquille O’Neal coming in as the newest member of the Boston Celtics, everybody wants to know what Shaq is going to be able to bring to the table. If his playing ability is a concern, at the very least he is going to bring a larger-than-life personality. Of course, along with that personality will come a new nickname for a guy who has seen way too many to even remember. Well, let’s see… There was “The Big Aristotle”, “The Big Shaqtus,” “The Big Chamberneezy,” “The Big Galactus,” and so on and so forth.

So the real question is, what will Shaq’s new nickname be once he dons Celtic green?

Fortunately for me, I know this guy, who knows this guy, who knows this guy, who knows Shaq’s representative, and I was able to ask “The Big Fella” himself what he thought about the new nickname. This is what he said:

“There are a few nicknames out there that I’m still deciding on. The fans think that they are the ones who are going to give me the nickname, but ultimately it is going to be through my word that it will stick. With Boston’s rich history there are so many to choose from. I just can’t wait to decide on one right now. But forget the nickname for now. I am also trying to get another name to change. As you know, St. Patrick’s Day is a pretty big deal around Boston. So what I’m trying to do is change it to St. Shaqrick’s Day, at least for the 2 years that I’m here. And if I help deliver a championship or two, it will last for a little bit longer than that.”

Well, it’s good to see that Shaq still has his sense of humor. Hopefully for Boston, his play on the court can come close to complementing that. If it does, Boston’s “Big Five” might just be the team to beat in the Eastern Conference this upcoming season.

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