PickRolled (San Antonio Spurs 3, Phoenix Suns 0)

Why the San Antonio Spurs are up 3-0, and what the Phoenix Suns can do to pull off the greatest comeback in NBA history.

Reactionary Trades Don’t Work

A look at the Jason Kidd and Shaq trades.

Top 30 NBA Centers

When it comes down to the best center in the NBA, there’s no question that Dwight Howard is #1, with Yao Ming finishing second. Howard’s averaging a 22 PPG and 18.2 RPG and 3.8 BPG in the playoffs, numbers that haven’t been seen since Wilt Chamberlain. The other 4 positions will be posted over the week.Player (Current Team/Former Team) PPG, RPG, APG, SPG, BPG* = Best in Category(R) = RookieBlocks 1.5+ ShownBlocks and Steals Shown if both are 1+1. Dwight Howard (ORL) 20.7, 14.2*, 1.3, 2.2 BPG 59.9% FG2. Yao Ming (HOU) 22*, 10.8, 2.3, 2 BPG3. Pau Gasol (LAL/MEM) 18.9, 8.4, 3.2, 1, 1.5, 58.9% FG (LAL)4. Al Jefferson (MIN) 21, 11.1, 1.4, 1.5 BPG5. Chris Kaman (LAC) 15.7, 12.7, 1.9, 2.8 BPG6. Marcus Camby (DEN) 9.1, 13.1, 3.3, 1.1 , 3.6*7. Andrew Bogut (MIL) 14.3, 9.8, 2.6, 1.7 BPG8. Andrew Bynum 13.1, 10.2, 1.7, 2.1 BPG, 63.6% FG (35 games)9. Zydrunas Ilgauskas (CLE) 14.1, 9.3, 1.4, 1.6 BPG10. Tyson Chandler (NOH) 11.8, 11.7, 0.211. Samuel Dalembert (PHI) 10.5, 10.4, 0.5, 2.3 BPG12. Brad Miller (SAC) 13.4, 9.5, 3.7*, 1, 113. Shaquille O’Neal (PHX/MIA) 13.6, 9.1, 1.7, 59.3% FG (Season)14. Andris Biedrins (GSW) 10.5, 9.8, 115. (R) Al Horford (ATL) 10.2, 9.6, 1.516. Rasheed Wallace (DET) 12.7, 6.6, 1.8, 1.2, 1.717. Mehmet Okur (UTA) 14.5, 7.7, 218. Brendan Haywood (WAS) 10.6, 7.2, 0.9, 1.7 BPG19. Troy Murphy (IND) 12.2, 7.2, 2.220. Kendrick Perkins (BOS) 7, 6.1, 1.1, 1.5 BPG, 61.6% FG* (Season)21. Eddy Curry (NYK) 13.7, 4.2, 0.522. Josh Boone (NJN) 8.2, 7.3, 0.823. Andrea Bargnani (TOR) 10.2, 3.7, 1.124. Nazr Mohammed (CHA/DET) 7.6, 6, 0.9, 61.7% FG (CHA)25. Darko Milicic (MEM) 7.2, 6.1, 0.8, 1.6 BPG26. Erick Dampier (DAL) 6.1, 7.5, 0.9, 1.5 BPG27. Joel Przybilla (POR) 4.8, 8.4, 0.428. (R) Joakim Noah (CHI) 6.1, 5.6, 1.129. Fabricio Oberto (SAS) 4.6, 5.2, 1.2, 60.8% FG30. Mark Blount (MIA/MIN) 8.4, 3.8, 0.631. Johan Petro (SEA) 6, 5.1, 0.4

The Faces Of Kobe Bryant

Some love Kobe Bryant and some hate him. He has accomplished things on the court few have done, and he has done things off the court few want to. He’s made us laugh, smile, scream in anger and shout in aw. His on the court antics are often described as brilliant, but his character is often described as two-faced. We have seen him grow up before our eyes, and have seen both his faces, but perhaps as we see him lead his team back to prominence, we are seeing a third face of Kobe Bryant.Kobe came up as the NBA’s golden boy. He had a great smile and endorsed just about everything. Kobe dazzled in the all-star game as the youngest all-star ever, and he won the dunk contest. Bryant was Shaq’s little buddy, helping him win three championships. He even helped those kids on the playground win their game in the Mcdonalds commercial; we were ‘lovin it.’In one night everything changed. In the summer of 2003 Kobe was charged with rape. Before even reaching trial, Kobe had lost all his endorsements and many fans. He denied knowing the accuser, and then admitted to sleeping with her shortly after. Bryant bought his wife her own championship ring and publicly apologized to her and his fans. After what some considered dirty tactics by his attorneys, the case was dropped and Kobe settled out of court. Bryant was exonerated, but the public had seen his second face.Suddenly what seemed like Shaq’s little buddy was starting to look more like his jealous little brother. Kobe used his influence to chase future hall of famers Karl Malone and Gary Payton out of town. He complained some more until NBA legends Shaquille O’neal and Phil Jackson were booted out too. It was finally his team, and it allowed us to see the selfish face of Kobe Bryant. Not just the kind of selfish it takes to put up 35 points per game or score 81 in one night, but the kind of selfish that took hostage one of the greatest franchises in sports.Kobe’s dream of being like Jordan was slipping away. He changed everything, perhaps to change our opinion of him. He switched his number from 8 to 24, perhaps to try and one up his airness. He began to lead the league in technical fouls, and started drawing suspensions when he would “accidentally,” hit people in the face when his shot was contested. He claimed it was a natural hitch but I don’t think even his biggest critics would say his shot that ugly.It all came to a breaking point this summer when Kobe demanded a trade. He was tired of L.A and let everybody know it. He was videotaped in a parking lot swearing about the Lakers front office, and a month later he went on national television and expressed the same sentiments, albeit a bit more politely. It seemed like the Kobe Bryant era in L.A was over.The NBA season started however and Kobe was still with his team, and they were winning. Something changed, Kobe shut up and played basketball, and it was working. Kobe started shooting less and passing more, he was finally realizing that his best talent was not his ability to score but his ability to make those around him better. He led his team to the first seed in the Western Conference and is now a favorite for the MVP and for his team to win an NBA championship. What we’re seeing now is a more patient, less arrogant Kobe, his third face.Kobe Bryant now understands he will never win back all those fans he once lost. But the way he will win back the true NBA fans now is by respecting the game. Kobe understands now it’s not his league, and it never will be. Luckily for Kobe, legacies in this game are built on the whole. We don’t remember Jordan’s gambling problem, Barkley’s weight problem, or Bill Walton’s inability to stay healthy. We remember what they accomplished, how they made us feel, and how they rose to the occasion. Kobe still has the opportunity to do just that.

NBA: After Much Speculation Kobe Bryant Is Expected To Be MVP

Ever since he helped split up the duo with Shaquille O’Neal, Kobe Bryant has looked for this opportunity for success. It’s taken a couple of years but according to several sources now he can finally say he earned the best player in the league status by hoisting up the most valuable player trophy.www.rawsportsblog.com

Suns done?

There’s lots of discussion right now about the Dallas Mavericks in the wake of the Avery Johnson firing, lots of speculation about where they go as a franchise. I think the situation in Phoenix is just as interesting, and far more dire.The Suns bowed out this week against a Spurs team that looked more hardened, more determined, and simply more focused. You might think that would point to an ouster of coach Mike D’Antoni, but Phoenix has already denied those reports. Parting ways with D’Antoni makes no sense right now…

Chris Paul has Recieved Co-MVP In my eyes

New Orleans Hornets The New Orleans Hornets are deserving of some praise right now. They are really playing with the heart of champions right now. I don’t know of city more deserving of something good happening to them right now. Hurricane Katrina was something devastating to the city. Sports I believe bring whole cities together. Now even if you are not a basketball fan this something in this article for you. When season started for the 2007-2008 season started nobody even had New Orleans Hornets even making the playoffs. A few people had them seeding at the very last spot in the conference. In western conference it is filled with all star household names. You have everyone from Kobe Bryant, Tracy Mcgrady, Steve Nash, Shaq, Dirk, Yao Ming, Tim Duncan, Jason Kidd, the list goes on. At the start of the season the Hornets had not one player that had all star game under their belt. Now I a Chicago fan had nothing to cheer about all year long. The only thing was good about the season was going to see my favorite player Jesus Shuttlesworth whoop on the bulls at united center. Now back to Hornets, they have a Leader and that is established and his name is Chris Paul, then have role players that all have very important roles from Tyson Chandler ” I miss you in the chi” David West, Peja, pargo. Paul leads the charge and makes everyone better; there is no question right now that CP3 is best point in the league. The reason the hornets work so well is due to their ability to know their rolls, and their General Byron Scott “congrats on coach of the year”. People doubted them at the start of the season, people doubted them at the start of the playoffs, and people doubted them at start of the San Antonio series, now they have band wagon jumpers on board. No matter how they end this playoff run I will call them most successful team of 2008. Reasons why Coach of the YearCP3 established as the best PG in the league, and well deserving of max contract this summer CP3 took David West, and Tyson Chandlers game and Elevated themDavid West and Chris Paul made all Star Team They finished second in the Western Conference They knocked out Dallas Mavericks They are going to knock out Spurs mark my words They are team that have great group of guys who stay of trouble of the courtThey got a whole city behind them, and some They play with heart and passion every nightThey are achieving a level of success that I don’t even think they knew they could at the start of the season People would not of argued if CP3 got CO-MVPLAST but not Least They PLAY as a TEAMJubril Agoro www.jubrilagoro.com

A Few Thoughts…Including the Coaching Situation

Well, I don’t know if things could have ended with any more of a thud than they did a few nights ago…well, I guess there could have been a sweep, which would have been a serious thud, but there’s not much of a difference between a sweep and a 4-1 series win. The Raptors put themselves in a hole in the series by having those two bad first quarters in the first two games and they never seemed to fully rebound from that (wow, the Raptors not being able to rebound…there’s a new one). There were times when they looked very lethargic, being outhustled to loose balls, outmuscled on the boards and just not showing any sense of urgency regarding their season that was quickly coming to an end.Well, let’s take a quick look at some of the good things from this season. I was actually pleasantly surprised with the progression of the Raptors defence over the season. The Raptors were continually in the top 10 on defence for most of the season and while there are a million things to criticize Sam and the Raptors on, you have to say that they stepped up on D, without their supposed best defender in Jorge Garbajosa. The Raptors were good at using their team speed to close in on shooters and also used that speed to effectively double team players, especially in the low block. The problem for the Raptors was that they had to double on the low block because they just don’t have anybody big and athletic enough to crash with the big boys down there. The Raptors lost a lot of games this season due to their inability to rebound, which led to numerous putback points. Job number one this offseason will be for Colangelo to address the lack of size and strength inside. Bosh needs some protection out there, some room to operate, because if he has to keep going up against guys like Dwight Howard, it is going to be a jump shot special on a lot of nights next year.The Raptors problems this year have been well documented and rehashed a thousand times, but in the past few weeks, there have been some interesting comments regarding the coaching situation. Since Mike D’Antoni has left Phoenix, there has been some natural talk about him coming to Toronto, which Colangelo has essentially quashed by stating that Sam is here ‘for now’. I’m not even that sure if D’Antoni is the guy you would want in Toronto anyway. Quick, what has D’Antoni’s biggest problem been in Phoenix? His inability to effectively use his bench. D’Antoni has always had difficulty finding ways to effectively use his bench, leaving starters in for too long or having them out of the lineup in the wrong situations. There has been some argument that the reason the team always fades in the playoffs is that because of their run and gun style, the wear and tear on the team over the regular season is heightened. So if your bench isn’t being worked in, by the time you get to the playoffs, you just don’t have the depth or energy to compete. I’m not sure if I completely buy into that theory, but it does hold some weight. What you might also want to look at is that while Phoenix management made a mistake by bringing in Shaq (it completely disrupted their flow), D’Antoni struggled in finding a way to effectively implement Shaq into the Phoenix system. He had two options: either work Shaq into the system they were using (which wasn’t impossible…the Lakers were able to use Kareem in a run and gun style) or create something new that could work off of Shaq’s strengths. D’Antoni wasn’t able to succeed with either of those options. Now when you’re saddled with a Raptors lineup and game style that has no clear definition, I’m not sure if D’Antoni is the guy you want at the head.What about the Little General? Avery Johnson is now available and while it appears Chicago and New York are serious about getting him, how would he look heading the Raptors? I think he might be a better fit than D’Antoni and I guarantee he would whip Andrea and Jose into shape on the defensive end. If there is one thing Avery stresses, it is defensive responsibility and toughness. Make the stop on your end, then get down the court and run your plays. Avery was able to get Dirk Nowitzki to become a tougher player, not just settling for jump shots, which you would love to see him do with Andrea. Avery was able to get the Mavs over the next level, but not the final hump, as he wasn’t able to win a championship there, but he did get them to the final and that was something they hadn’t seen before. You can talk about Avery not being able to get Jason Kidd working again in Dallas, but that could have been one of the worst management decisions I have ever seen. You don’t put an aging PG into a team bound for the playoffs right near the end of the season and expect it all to gel in time. It’s tougher than putting in a new centre. That move essentially killed the Mavs and you could see it down the stretch as with Kidd in the lineup, the Mavs couldn’t beat any teams above .500. Overall, I think Avery Johnson would be an interesting fit here…that is, if the Raptors were looking.Moving onto some other toughts, I couldn’t believe how afraid of Dwight Howard the Raptors were in the playoffs. Bosh has the speed to take him on the bounce, but time after time, we saw him settle for jump shots or runners. Nobody on the Raptors other than Jamario Moon wanted to go up against Howard for any rebounds and let’s be honest, you have to give Jamario credit, because it’s not like he’s built like a mountain. We occasionally saw Delfino go in tough, but that was only in the times when he felt like playing. That guy’s more inconsistent than American foreign policy. Anybody watching the series was able to see that the Raptors are in need of some interior toughness, they’re practically walking around with a giant neon sign stating the fact. They also still need a slasher, because the options on the offensive end just don’t seem to be there. This could also be a problem with coaching…Well, it will be interesting to see what happens this off-season and I think the draft will be very interesting for a variety of teams this year. A lot of diffferent directions teams can go with their picks this year as many young players have declared themselves eligible. As we get closer to the draft, we’ll check out how things might shake out.

Will Ferrell & Shaq

Simon & Garfunkel. The Captain & Tennille. Peaches & Herb. Will Ferrell & Shaq: Video

Hack-a-Shaq rears its ugly head (again)

After a thrilling double-overtime Game 1 for the ages, the Suns/Spurs series came to a rather unremarkable close last night when the Spurs won at home, clinching the series 4-1. Throughout the five games, San Antonio utilized the Hack-a-Shaq defense, intentionally fouling Shaquille O’Neal and putting him on the line to try to end the Suns’ possessions. For the most part, it worked, as O’Neal shot a woeful 32 of 64 (50%) from the line.I don’t blame the Spurs for utilizing a perfectly legal tactic in attempt to win a game or series, but it’s a little bush league, isn’t it? From a fan’s point of view, it really slows the game down and hinders the enjoyment of watching two good teams battle each other for the right to advance in the playoffs. Honestly, it was kind of sad to see a proud team like the Spurs utilize Hack-a-Shaq.That said, it’s the league’s fault for allowing it to continue. There’s a rule prohibiting it in the final two minutes of a game, but for the other 46, it’s fair game. Former coach and current television analyst Jeff Van Gundy says that the league can’t legislate for a player’s weakness. That is, they can’t put in rules to protect Shaq just because his free throw shooting stinks.To a certain extent, I agree with him…(Read the rest of the article after the jump.)