Pascal's take 06/12/2008

Sorry folk's. I apologize for my short hiatus. In the meantime there's been plenty to fuel my fire. Lets start with the finals.

Welcome to the party Lakers

The Lake show finally showed up at the end of game two and took game 3. The Lakers have looked really good since they made a few adjustments like Playing Sasha Vujacic a little more and oh yea Kobe Bryant deciding to go well, Kobe. only if Pau Gasol and Lamar Odom finally showed up. 

Melo to Detroit?

All of a suddenly Joe Dumars realizes that it was'nt such a great idea to draft Darko over Melo. I along with everyone else in America, said it was ok to draft Darko since the Piston's did'nt really need him at the time. They said that he would not fit with the Piston's slow, defensive oriented team. Guess what? We were all wrong. You don't get that many chances to correct your mistakes, this is a great opportunity if you get the chance. Supposedly word is that Melo does not want to go o Detroit. According to the Detroit Free Press every player on the Pistons roster is on the block besides for Rodney Stuckey. I have a sneaky suspicion that Joe Dumars is gettiing some major heat  and needs to make something happen soon because the Pistons are almost out of title chances. 

Perkins named Vice President of Player Relations!

This week the Indiana Pacers named Sam Perkins their Vice president of Player relations. I'm happy for the guy, He has been nothing but a great guy as long as I've known him. Ever since he retired he has been a part of many charities such as the Boys and Girls club of America, NBA Cares and Habitat for Humanity amongst others. 

Yao da man!!!

Major props to Yao Ming who donated 2 million dollars to help the relief cause of Earthquake victims in China. this was the initial donation of The Yao Ming foundation.

New faces in Phoenix and Chicago

The Phoenix Suns have hired NBA veteran and Pistons assistant coach Terry Porter to be their head coach next season. The move was made in attempt by the organization to find some balance between their great offensive prowess and their lack of defense. Porter comes from a tough hard nosed pistons organization that is always a great defensive team and is hoping to bring that attitude to the desert. Porter was the head coach of the Milwaukee Bucks in 03-04 where they were similar to the Suns scoring 98 ppg but giving up 97. Porter will have his work cut out for him turning the Suns into a defensively "tough" unit. Getting Shaq to play positional defense and not just foul every guy that goes to the basket will be a challenge in itself. Personnel changes may need to be made before we see a balance of offense and defense in Phoenix. But on the bright side for Porter his system cant be more unsuccessful in the playoffs than D' Antoni's. That is, if they make the playoffs.

The Bulls have also announced that they have found their new coach for 08-09 and it is...... Vinny Del Negro?? it was almost certain that Doug Collins would get the job but he turned it down last week. So the next best choice was Phoenix front office man Del Negro, while he has no coaching experience he is an NBA veteran who no doubt knows the ins and outs of the game. There will be a lot of eyes on Vinny as the Bulls try to rebound from one of the most tumultuous and disappointing season in franchise history. The "Baby Bulls" were expected to be eastern conference contenders last season, they were anything but contenders which led to coach Skiles being released midway through the season. Vinny has come in at a rough time but fortune may be smiling on the Bulls as they miraculously got the #1 pick in the draft and will get a great player no matter who they pick out of Rose or Beasley. If Vinny turns out to be a good coach look for the Bulls to be back in the thick of things in the Eastern Conference.

hmmm Rose or Beasley?

While all these teams are hiring new coaches one coach has not been in the headlines as contending for a new job and that's Avery Johnson. After having great regular seasons and disappointing post seasons is he tarnished as a head coach? Is he no better than Vinny Del Negro? It would seem that many think yes, which sucks if your Avery Johnson.

why wouldn't you want this guy?

Celtics Strong at Home

The Celtics remain tough to beat at the New Boston Garden, they took a 2-0 series lead against the Celtics last night with a 108 - 102 victory. Up by 24 at one point the Celtics squandered a comfortable lead by were able to hold on in the final seconds thank to clutch free throws and a huge block by Paul Pierce on a Sasha Vujacic three pointer. Despite Pierces last second heroics, it was an unlikely set of hero's that fueled the home team to victory.

Leon Powe is the epitome of work man he battles for boards dives on the floor for loose balls and is always there to do the dirty work a very overlooked quality now a days. He answered the call on the scoring end last night exploding for 21 points in only 15 minutes of action, with a Celts bench not usually known for helping with the scoring load this was instrumental to the win. Rajon Rondo was also the catalyst for the offense the entire night, while only scoring four points he dishes out 16 dimes while only having 2 turnovers. Rondo also pulled down 6 boards had 2 steals and 1 block. Powe and Rondo were the x factor that the Lakers could not match. It is widely accepted the being more comfortable in your own arena allows your role players to perform better and that may be the case so far in this series as the Lakers bench has been unable to provide the spark and sustainability it did in previous series. Or maybe the younger bench of the Lake Show are just getting out the jitters. Either way if the Celtics keep getting big contributions from their "the other 9" it looks like there wont be much show time in LA.

Lawson Charged with Drinking and Driving

UNC point guard and NBA hopeful Ty Lawson was charged this morning with driving after drinking as well as driving on a suspended license. He was released and will appear in court on July 8th. Lawson was pulled over by Chapel Hill police and failed a field sobriety test.

What does this mean for Lawson's future? while he will surely receive not much more than community service and a fine, this is not the image to portray to NBA GM's thinking of drafting him. While moral character has never been the NBA's strong suit and many NBA players have had similar troubles (most recently Carmelo Anthony). How does this affect his draft status? Most people had him being on the cusp of the first round or at worst an early second round pick, he played recently in the Orlando Pre Draft Camp and played well but its not sure if it was enough to push him into the 1st round. It is almost certain that he will fall to the second round, now that it's not only his jump shot that's questionable. That is, if he decides to stay in the draft he hasn't hired an agent and could return to UNC if they would have him back. I don't think an incident like this would be grounds for the University not to want him back. But this and Psycho T's frat house swan dive definitely will be a black eye on the squeaky clean Tar Heel image. Hopefully he will learn from this and one mistake will not ruin his chances of NBA success.

Celtics Draw First Blood

The Boston Celtics won game 1 of the NBA Finals last night in impressive fashion. The 98-88 victory came by way of doing what many thought was impossible, stopping Kobe Bryant. The Celts stifling defense held Kobe to 24 points on 9 for 26 shooting, they did this by throwing different looks at him with Allen, Posey, even Cassell guarding him at times. They also had a strong performance from the BIG 3 offensively with KG leading the way with 24 points & 13 boards. The talk of the night of course was Paul Pierce's injury and then return which included back to back 3's to put the momentum in Boston's hands for the rest of the game.

"When I first fell to the ground I heard a pop in my knee," Pierce said. "I thought I tore something."

So did everyone else in attendance as their heart sank watching their season go down in flames. But none the less Boston is up 1-0 and all eyes will be on Pierce's knee and Kobe's jumper as game two gets underway Saturday night. As most people assume Kobe will bounce back to have a much better offensive showing but will it be enough? Will Odom stay out of foul trouble and get into the flow of the game? What about Pau? He was uncharacteristically passive in Game 1 will this change or will the Celtics physical style of play deter him from scoring in the paint and force him to shoot 18 foot jumpers? Either way game 1 lived up to the hype. Now will the Lakers? That's still to be determined.

Finals Preview

The NBA Finals start tomorrow and all eyes will be on the rebirth of the Lakers - Celtics finals rivalry. Will this live up to the hype and be as historic as the legendary series of the 80's? maybe, maybe not. On one side is the Celtics whose dramatic reconstruction has had every bandwagoner screaming Ubuntu for the last 8 months. But despite making the finals they have looked very shaky at times throughout the playoffs. On the other end is the Lakers led by the Mamba himself, a team that pulled off the greatest robbery of all time (Pau for Kwame and some other guys). Both teams have proved they were the best in their respective conferences all year and now there can only be one. So who will it be? Well there are a few factors that will determine who is crowned the champ. How do these teams match up in these categories lets have a look...

THE BIG 3's

Both teams have three all stars, both teams have 3 guys who can break out for a huge game any given night. Which trio gets the heads up, that would be the Lakers. The Celtics have yet to have a game in the post season where the "Boston three party" have all played well and until Ray can be the real Ray Allen they dont really classify as a BIG 3. The Lakers have THE BEST PLAYER IN THE WORLD!! Kobe averages almost as many ppg as Pierce and Allen combined as well as Odom and Pau both average double doubles. So the Lakers take this one despite what Gatorade and every interview with Bill Russell would lead you to believe.

Bench

The big 3's can play all 48 mins so the "other guys" will be an important factor, which teams drop off will be bigger when the second unit hits the floor could be critical. Again I have to side with LA on this, their second unit is comprised of young shooters and athletic players that can score and also defend. Vujacic & Farmar are shooters coupled with athletic guys who can get out and run and play D like Turiaf and Walton they can not only not lose the game they can help win it. Boston's bench is where it gets tricky mostly because there is no rhyme or reason to their rotation in this playoffs, will it be Sam Cassell dribbling up the shot clock or will scorer Eddie House actually see the court. Posey and Brown are the two constant faces now a days off the bench as well as Leon Powe all of whom are tough and defend but cant be relied on for much offense. Put them on the court with a ice cold Ray Allen and Rondo and it could be disastrous, especially if KG or Pierce gets in foul trouble. Lakers take this hands down!

Clutch

Anyone who ever watched basketball in the late 80's early 90's might have seen two guys named Bird and Jordan take over close games at the end to deliver their teams to victory. Clutch is always one of the biggest deciding factors in sports. When its close can your go to guy step up and deliver when it counts most? Both teams have one guy that will be looked upon to accomplish this task. Boston's Pierce is the only guy on the team that doesnt shrink when there is a big shot to take. Against Cleveland in game 7 he single handedly won that game by becoming unstoppable, count on him being the guy that takes and makes the big shots for the Celts. But again THE LAKERS HAVE THE BEST PLAYER IN THE WORLD! no one since MJ himself has instilled more fear in fans at the end of a game then Kobe, it's almost like your just waiting for him to go off and send your team to the gone fishing montage on TNT. Kobe will take over games and hit game winners in this series. My advice to Boston, win big or you wont win at all.

That explains a lot

Now i know what your thinking this articles has been very one sided and I agree it hasnt looked good for the boys in green so I thought of a category that will surely be in Bostons favor...

Screaming

Everyone knows that unless you are screaming or pounding your chest your arent playing very hard at all. Just ask the Celtics. Led by all NBA 1st team screamer Kevin Garnett, they are more than willing to show how "intense" they are by yelling and chest pounding after the most average of plays. Unlike noted slackers Tim Duncan, Steve Nash, and legendary mediocre player Magic Johnson (he smiled all the time). The Celtics wear their dedication on their faces by being fired up at all times. The Lakers have no answer for this. The only guy they have who cares about winning enough to make funny looking faces and give a few screams after some blocked shots is Turiaf but he is nowhere near Garnett's level. If anyones magical roar can win four games its his, so Beantown break out the champagne the dynasty is back!

It worked in Minnesota why not Boston

Pascal's Take 06/04/08

Welcome Back to MiamiHoopsblog, I am priviliged to provide my very first take on here. I guess I'll Start Local. According to SI.com http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2008/basketball/nba/06/02/mourning.heat.ap/index.html
Alonzo Mourning want's to come back for one more year. Alonzo feels that he can still be a contributor (6 ppg, 3.7 rpg). Talk about someone who does'nt want to give it up. I guess I would'nt wan't to give up the 2.7 million per year to play a game I love either. This guy should have retired after the 2006 championship season. Now he's realized that it was a mistake to not retire and hopes he gets another chance at winning a title in his last season of pro ball. If he was an ageless warrior like Brett Favre who was still performing at a high level I'd be ok with it. Don't get me wrong I love what Alonzo has done for the Heat and even more our community. He has been a source of inspiration for so many. I would personally hate to endure another injury plagued season in which Alonzo is unable to make it to the finish line. Hopefully the Pfund and Riley do the right thing and let Alonzo retire, the guy has too many good years ahead of him.

Gilbert says he will opt out.
On June 30th Gilbert Arenas is going to opt out of the last year of his contract with the Washington Wizards. should heat fans be excited? The answer is no. By opting out Gilbert is just keeping his options open. Gilbert will get more than the 12.8 million that he would be scheduled to receive next year from another team such as New York, New Jersey or maybe Cleveland. All three will factor into the Arenas sweepstakes. The biggest factor as to where Arenas will play next year will be if the Wizards resign Antawn Jamison. Would you want to play on the Wizards if Jamison was gone? no knock on Caron Butler but without Jamison they will not be contenders. My gut feeling is that theds will sign Jamison and keep Arenas.