COURTSIDE VIEW: "Revenge is the Sweetest Joy"

Johnny J

2Pac once said, "Revenge is the sweetest Joy" (90% of our readers should know the rest of that line--Ed). To LeBron James, the 2007 Cleveland Cavaliers were suppose to win it all. Instead, those dreams were swept in a dust pan and thrown away by the San Antonio Spurs. Six years later, with a stacked resume, LeBron looks to have the last laugh. Since that defeat, LeBron has won an NBA championship, won Finals MVP, has reached the Finals, three consecutive years, won an NBA scoring title and has two gold medals in the Olympics. Oh, did I mention that he is considered the best player on the planet right now?

This year's best scorer in the NBA, Carmelo Anthony, still hasn't learned that it takes more than one player to win a championship. Now at 28, a mature and focused James is up to the challenge of facing the same team who crushed his chance of winning his first ring.

James also has two other All-Stars on his team in Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh. Yes, Bosh is soft, but he still was an All-Star. LeBron needed help from other superstars to eventually win a ring last year against the Oklahoma City Thunder.  An Avengers team was created and the Miami Heat have been too hot to extinguish. When the Heat lose, everyone panics--everyone but the Heat. They continue to play their game. My first thought on Game 7 between the Heat and the underdog Indiana Pacers was that LeBron is going to take over. I mean he has to because his team is not showing up. Instead in the first quarter, he passed on a few shots. He had 6 points at the end of the first quarter (on pace for 24 points--that's not too shabby!--Ed) and they were only down by two. He let the game come to him. At halftime he had 18 points (36 points' pace?--Ed) and he finished with 32 points. He scored when he needed to. There was even a Dwyane Wade sighting as he scored 21 points to help LeBron and company advance to the Finals.

But if their is a team, who I believe can put the flames out, it is the Spurs. Over the first three rounds, they showed me that old men can play (besides Uncle Drew that is).  They swept the Los Angeles Lakers, beat the young and talented backcourt of the Golden State Warriors, and swept the Memphis Grizzlies with the same broom they used on the Lakers. That's what opened my eyes, and then I closed them because dirt got in my eyes from the sweep. Oh wait, that was just the thought of me losing $40 bucks for thinking old men can't jump. The Spurs are not a physical team, but they can get up and down the court with the best of them. Even though they have three aging stars, they would have a total of nine days of rest before Thursday's Game 1 match-up.

(Not to be confused with the Louisville Cardinals' Second Wind.  Click here, if you want to read my entry on the Cardinals' march to the NCAA Championship). 

During the regular season, the Heat and Spurs played chess with each other.  Both teams sent messages to one another by not playing their "Big Three" on the road during their regular season match-ups.  The Spurs were fined a quarter of a million dollars for resting their big players against the Heat. Even though they lost, they only lost by five in Miami. That told me that they would still be a great team even without their stars. The Heat countered the Spurs by resting James and Wade in the Alamo (Bosh played so they wouldn't get fined, in my opinion).  Amazingly, the Heat won by two on a Bosh three-pointer. I don't know if they knew they would see each other in the Finals, but they didn't want to give away any scripts. Now is the time to see if that fine was worth it. No scripts given out here!

(Unless you believe in NBA conspiracies--Ed).

I believe this is the last year for the big three in Miami. Between Bosh being soft and Wade's bum knee, they're getting weaker.  Plus, with the Cavaliers getting yet another #1 overall pick, going back to Cleveland looks more appetizing for LeBron (irony much?--Ed). Is Pat Riley going to have to choke a player to get them to do what he wants them to do?  The Spurs have been through this for over a decade. They know what's at stake. A dynasty is getting ready to take the floor. I'll put my dustpan away for this series. It's definitely going to be long. James is going to be looking at making his list of accomplishments even longer and all that work he has put into making a name for himself.  This is the time to use the talents that took him to South Beach.  This is the time to silence all of the critics and haters.  This is the time for James to once again feel the sweet joy of revenge.

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THE WESTERN CONFERENCE: Enough Said!

Johnny J

The Western Conference dominance over the Eastern Conference, has been around for some time now. Its not that the west plays a different type of basketball, but its more of a team effort. Compared to the East, teams like the New York Knicks and Miami Heat focus on a superstar.  If you took away the superstar from each team, would they still be Conference title contenders, let alone NBA Title contenders? Out west, teams like Memphis, Golden State and Denver would still find away to win games minus their leading sorer. Truth be told, the West may have more superstars than the East as the latter has won the last three All-Star games. They also won five out of the last eight NBA Finals. That's what I call Conference dominance!

 The East is full of depleted stars this season, due to injuries: Derrick Rose, Danny Granger, Rajon Rondo and Amar'e Stoudemire have all missed a significant amount of games this year because of injury. Who has the best chance of reaching the finals? Obviously its easier to win in the East because of teams missing their stars. So for a team like the Knicks, now is the time to turn that frown upside-down. This could be their year.  The only team in their way--the Miami Heat. The Knicks have beaten them three times this season; once without Carmelo Anthony. Now just make it stick in the playoffs. I see only two teams being able to make the Finals in the East: New York and Miami.

If you look at the eight teams in the playoffs for the West, I would say six of them can make the finals. The only two who I believe won't are the Houston Rockets and Golden State Warriors.

• Houston, we have a problem: James Harden has to go back to OKC and show them why he should have gotten paid. Who's worth more to a team: Harden or Russell Westbrook?  (Russell Westbrook--Ed). My answer is Harden.  He led the league in  free throw attempts with 792. Kevin Durant attempted 750. Imagine having them on the same team. Oh wait , that happened! Now Harden has to take his one man band into Chesapeake Arena, where the Thunder have only lost seven games all year. 
• "Warriors come out and play": This isn't the 1979 classic, but more of the 21st century video game. All I can say is this is going to be a series that doesn't believe in defense. These teams can definitely put up points. Denver lead the league with 106.1 PPG and Golden State came in seventh with 101.2 PPG. Stephen Curry vs Ty Lawson: a 2013 classic!

Matter of fact, if you take the eight seed Rockets and put them in the East, they would be a five seed. If you take the fifth seed Grizzlies and put the in the east, they would be a two seed. So is the West harder than the East?  Yes!  It's because they don't rely on one person; they rely on the team. Six of the the top teams who lead the league in assists are out West. Carmelo Anthony's team ranked 30th in assists. Big difference between ball sharing and ball hogging. It just seems to work for the Knicks. The West also plays at a faster tempo. Its more of a full-court, fast-break style of play. It's all about possession efficiency and pace.  Matter of fact, there is a formula that measures team pace: Team Possessions + Opponent Possessions / 2 X [Team Minutes Played / 5]

Basically, the more possessions you have, the more points a team can put up. The Rockets lead the league with 98.6, followed by the Nuggets with 97.8. Then you have the Warriors, Lakers, and Spurs in the order of four, five, and six. That's how the West dominates. Its simple mathematics. The West plays at a faster pace, while the East is mostly half-court play. Whoever comes out the East will still have to worry about slowing down their Western opponent.  It's that simple!  Easier said than done.

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NBA LESSONS: v2.1

Dan P

Adidas, Nike: let's call it even?
(photo courtesy of Ed Mancia)

Random NBA thoughts by Dan P. 

1.) Somehow, the Boston Celtics are 7-1 without star point guard, Rajon Rondo. 

It's perplexing how the Celtics have been winning since the Rondo injury.  They’ve ranked near the bottom third of the league (18th overall) averaging a mere 96.3 points per game while averaging a tremendous 23.5 assists per game (4th overall).  How the Celtics will continue to keep the high assists numbers is highly questionable.

For all the hype surrounding this win streak, I chalk it up to the Celtics’ veterans who were tired of hearing they couldn't win without Rondo.  Poke an old elephant with a stick and it's still sure to charge.  Ultimately the age of the team and the rigors of the playoffs will doom them; it’s no mystery.  

That's not to say the Celtics can't make some noise come playoff time.  The East is wide open and no team has yet to solidify itself as the true No. 2 seed in the Conference.  

With all that being said, I just can’t picture them going too far without Rondo.

2.) The Brooklyn Nets are pursuing a trade with the Atlanta Hawks for Josh Smith.  

The Hawks are looking for a young center so a third team is likely in the mix.  Look for the following young centers/rebounders on the block: 

• Marcin Gortat-- 11.4 Points Per Game; 8.7 Rebounds Per Game
• JaVale McGee--  10PPG, 5RPG
• DeAndre Jordan-- 9PPG, 7.3RPG
• J.J. Hickson-- 12.9PPG, 10.6RPG
• Nikola Pekovic--  15.8PPG, 8.8RPG
• Kris Humphries-- 5.8PPG, 6.2RPG

3.) The Golden State Warriors will be displaying a new jersey this season with sleeves.

I'm on the fence with these new Golden State jerseys from Adidas, but I'll get to that in a bit. The fabled golden sleeves make their debut February 22nd against the San Antonio Spurs and the team is very excited at the opportunity to start a new trend in the NBA.  The jersey itself is golden yellow with less outlining and stripes than their regular home/road jerseys.  It has a two color "V" style neck design that is reminiscent of the official's jerseys and the sleeves themselves are really only quarter cut length or short t-shirt length.  

When we see changes like this, our initial thought is to run, run far away and cry foul.  However, it only takes a few valid stars like a LeBron James or Kevin Durant (both currently employed by Nike--Ed)  to vouch for them and have their teams also produce these alternatives and then the jersey becomes part of the NBA.  

Everyone thought the Oregon Ducks (also Nike--Ed) were crazy for essentially playing in a different jersey every game but that's what sells and that's what the players want to wear.  Everything is a brand and brands are meant to be recognized.  And if any sport can make it work, its the NBA where fashion is just as important as the tradition.  

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SACRAMENTO KINGS: A Fan's Perspective: Part II

One of the last home games for the Kings in the city of Sacramento?
(photo courtesy of Josh Chiaratti)

Josh C

Josh C continues his rant about his favorite team, the Sacramento Kings.  Part I can be read, here.

As explained earlier, an NBA team needs a difference maker to build their team around and contend for championships.  The Sacramento Kings had their difference maker in Chris Webber.  Yes, the Kings were bold in trading for a player that did not want anything to do with playing in Sacramento, but the gamble eventually paid off.  Since Webber has left, the Kings have been trying to fix the club by way of short-term, quick fixes rather than rebuild.  The most glaring example of management’s stubbornness in placing a full-fledged, rebuilding plan came in the 2006 NBA DRAFT.

Webber was gone, the team’s window for a title had closed, and it was time to find an heir apparent to point guard, Mike Bibby. I understand that it was weak draft, but at #19, there were some nice, long-term projects you can gamble on.  Players available at that spot:

• Rajon Rondo
• Marcus Williams
• Kyle Lowry
• Shannon Brown
• Jordan Farmar
• Sergio Rodriguez 

And what do the Kings do?  They select Quincy “bleeping!” Douby! QUINCY DOUBY!!! I still remember that night like it was yesterday: the Kings had the opportunity to pick up a young point guard and Geoff Petrie and Co. picks Douby who is nowhere near the point guard prospect that the other players are.  I was so enraged by the selection that I started to curse Petrie and Douby’s name at the top of my lungs and proceeded to throw an empty plastic cup at the TV.  I still haven’t gotten over it! (For those that don’t know, Douby was scouted as a defensive liability, a combo guard who would best be used as a scoring option rather than a point guard, was given a ZERO in the passing and ball handling variables coming into the 2006 NBA DRAFT—Ed).

But all of these moves since Webber and Bibby have left are nothing compared to what they did in the 2011 NBA DRAFT.  At first, I was drinking the Jimmer Kool-Aid as I was singing the praises of Jimmer Fredette.  But after awhile, after the Jimmer Kool-Aid started to wear out, even after drinking high doses of the stuff, I’m finally coming to the sad realization that Jimmer might have been a mistake—at least for this team.  See, I still believe Jimmer can be a legit, productive pro; just not with the Kings.  He will only achieve success in the NBA with a real, professional team.  The pick would not be so bad if it wasn’t for the fact that the Maloofs, essentially, forced Petrie to trade for the draft rights of Jimmer and also bring in veterans that did not fit well with this team (see John Salmons).  

The Maloofs have been crying poor in the last few years or so and clearly this acquisition was done in anticipation that the cult following Jimmer effectuated in college, would streamline into the NBA by bringing more fans into the arena and help bring in more money.  Financially, the move did pay off as Jimmer’s #7 jersey boosted Kings’ jersey sales to new, astronomical figures.

I often wonder how many terrible, front office, transactions can be attributed to the Maloofs.  And then I realized that ESPN ranked the Sacramento Kings as the penultimate, worst franchise in the FOUR MAJOR SPORTS in the U.S. and Canada.  The Charlotte Bobcats are ranked ahead of the Kings.  Are you kidding me?  And as stated earlier, the Kings are one of two teams (the other being the Minnesota Timberwolves) who have not made the playoffs since 2005-06.  And I haven’t even mentioned their disservice to the city of Sacramento with their aggressive pursuit of a new stadium, threats of relocation, and selling the team with the potential, inevitable move to Seattle.  

There’s no team in sports that I’ve ever been nearly as passionate about as the Kings.  No team in sports continues to scorn me and has made me throw things in ongoing, raging frustration because of terrible ownership and management decisions.  As you can see, I’m a die-hard Kings’ fan as long as they remain in "Swerve City", but at this juncture of the franchise’s history, perhaps radical changes are needed.  Even if it means my favorite team moves on.  It will at least give me the opportunity to move on myself.

Hello Golden State Warriors, my name is Josh and I am in the market as a free-agent fan and looking to take my talents to a new NBA team...

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For some reason, we have a lot of content regarding the Sacramento Kings.