a little more than halfway through the first round, and
I think the 06' playoffs have the makings of being the best
in a very long time. The exciting/interesting stories and
plotlines are numerous:
1) Last second buzzer-beating heroics, starring Brent Barry,
Kobe Bryant, and Kevin Martin
2) Unexpectedly tight/thrilling series in Spurs/Kings and Bulls/Lakers
3) LeBron James
4) LA Lakers stepping up + riveting game 4
5) Clips winning first playoff series in 30 years and impending
Battle of LA
6) Mavs finally getting their playoff act together
7) Udonis Haslem throwing mouthpiece at Joey Crawford and
Reggie Evans, Reggie Evans.
OK, now here's my commentary which the majority sportwriters and
talking heads have been missing. Has to do with point #4...
Steve Nash was a fine MVP candidate, if we're going by the regular
season. He improved his already impressive stats, and led a retooled
team to 50 wins. Maybe Bryant or Billups or LeBron was more
deserving, but not by a significant margin. The key thing to keep in
mind here is the award is based on the reg. season, not the playoffs,
and that the playoffs are a completely different animal than the
reg. season.
I have been very impressed with improved play of LA Lakers, and
believe that Kobe and Phil Jackson deserve a lot of credit. The
heat Steve Nash is taking, however, is not deserved. He is playing
on a team with essentially no inside players. With Kurt
Thomas going down with injury, Tim Thomas, who was playing
basketball at the Y a few months ago, is the closest thing the Suns
have to a big man. This makes winning in the playoffs almost
impossibly difficult. Nash has no big body to dish to in the paint,
and the lack of big men on defense has allowed Lamar Odom and
friggen Kwame Brown to be effective. That the Suns have won a
game and kept others close is a testament to Nash's effectiveness--
and I don't count them out of this series as most other pundits do.
He missed a lot of shots in Game 5 and committed some key
turnovers, but then again, perhaps he was also clearly calling for
a timeout at the end of OT and got screwed. I predict that the
Lakeshow will get stomped by the Clips in the Battle of LA.
Brand and Kaman will be the difference.
NFL Draft: I have two things to say, which I've not read
in print or heard on the airwaves or the tube.
1) The Texans drafted the wrong guy, but not for the reason
everyone is saying.
Last year I watched a Texan team with a good RB in Dominic Davis
and a good WR in Andre Johnson and a decent defense. I also
remember watching an offensive line that couldn't stop Pee-Wee
Herman or Verne Troyer, which led to QB David Carr getting
sacked on every other play. Call me crazy, but if I am the Texans,
I am drafting D'Brickashaw Ferguson and signing a couple other OTs
in the off season and trying to run an offense that isn't 3-and-out
80% of the time.
Now lets get real provocative-like. I might receive my first
e-threats of physical harm for writing this. So be it.
Reggie Bush was not the answer for Texas, unless the goal was
simply to sell more tickets. I see the career track for Reggie
Bush playing out not like Barry Sanders or Priest Holmes, but
more like Warrick Dunn. That is, I see him breaking 1,000
yards most seasons, but not going much above that, and not racking
up a load of TDs. In USC's big games against formidable D-lines
last year, it was LenDale White who was doing the dirty work and
breaking the goal line, and Bush getting tackled around the line
of scrimmage, or ripping off a Willie Parker-esque run or two.
I'll say it... mixing in Reggie Bush with D. Davis, or simply
giving Bush the starting job, would not have made the Texans
much better this season or next if the O-line was not addressed.
In a similar vein
2) The NY Jets did NOT have a good draft.
There is a fairly simple explanation for this. The Jets QB
plan for the 2006-2007 is, unless I am mistaken, Chad Pennington
backed up by Pat Ramsey. This is a little problematic as:
A) Pennington has a bum throwing shoulder, and
B) Patrick Ramsey sucks.
I'm not saying Matt Leinart was the answer, but having him as
an option in week 4 after Chad has had his 3rd season ending
shoulder surgery and Ramsey has completely bungled a couple
starting attempts, after what happened last season (read: major
problems at QB), I think this would have been the wise
decision. If the Jets had been able to sign Matt Schawb in the
off-season then, fine, this was a great draft. But it won't
pay dividends in the short-term. I predict 7 Jet wins in 06.
Of course, part of the problem here is that we'll never know
if Leinart was good, as he is heading to the Arizona Cardinals.
And I'm guessing I'm not the first person who opines
about the NFL to throw that one out...
Pop Quiz: Which person shown above is your Imported-From-Canada 2005 and 2006 NBA MVP???
5 comments:
I think this blog should have less talk of sports, and more talk of my hit internet series Captains in Space
Sorry about the plug, Dave-- I'm just trying to get the word out there. Viral marketing, you know. Etc.
Fire away Dan. Your posts are always welcomed and appreciated, regardless of the topic. Captains in Space, people, check it out.
The guy on the right, Dirk. Don't ask me to spell the last name. I'm not even a basketball fan.
Draft analysis we'll have to agree to disagree on. Patrick Ramsey was never given a chance, and Pennington does have a bum shoulder, that's true. But the REASON he has a bum shoulder is because a D'Brickashaw wasn't on the line. They've protected their future investments, and had a solid draft.
Draft winners: New England, Philly, Denver, Jets, and Arizona (not in any particular order)
Draft losers: Buffalo, Washington, Cincinatti, Seattle, and St. Louis. Also not in order.
Houston revamped the line--they'll be alright in a few years. Same with the jets. I still wish my bears went with a little more offense, but Secondary and ST did need a lot of help. They picked up two bad-ass TEs that went undrafted, so that helps.
I would have put LeBron at least at #2. But could just be geographic bias.
With the support of Ilgauskas and one or two other potential lions on his team, and defense a la Game 5, the Cavs are going to the finals.
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