Wednesday, December 31, 2008
Boozer's knee surgery
What sets CJ Miles apart from the other starting four? He's the only one who hasn't missed games due to injury or illness. Deron Williams' shooting has been off since he came back from an ankle injury, and now the Jazz have learned Carlos Boozer might not be back until March due to the upcoming need for arthroscopic surgery on his knee, not to mention all the games missed by Mehmet Okur, Andrei Kirilenko, Paul Millsap, Kyle Korver, Matt Harpring, Brevin Knight and Jarron Collins. It means more minutes for rookie Kosta Koufos, so gee, if everyone's healthy in April, they should be a force to be reckoned with, but they've been playing .500 ball ever since Boozer went down, and if that trend continues, they might find themselves 14th seed in the lottery for the third time in six years.
Monday, December 22, 2008
Boozer's blunder
Carlos Boozer has been under constant suspicion since his arrival in Utah. After renegging on a wink-wink deal with Cleveland, he bolted to the Jazz for the money. Now everyone knows he's going to opt out of his deal this summer. It'd be financially unsound not to. He'll draw max money offers and he's likely to be the best free agent in the 2009 market.
Owner Larry H. Miller overreacted by calling it one of the dumbest 10 things he's heard any NBA player say in 20 years, when Boozer semi-concurred he would indeed opt out this summer. There are 76 media members for every NBA player, so there's always going to be constant contract questions. it gives a day or two of distraction to mull it over when a player dares confirm he might actually do what everyone expects him to do.
The problem for Boozer is two-fold. First Miller revealed that at one point, Boozer asked to be traded to a lower-altitude city nearer his Miami home. The other problem is this lingering injury he has. Last time Boozer had a lingering injury, a high hamstring, it kept him out for half the season, much longer than anyone thought a hammy should sideline someone. Now his quad injury keeps having his return date pushed back. Out for 2 weeks, out for 4 weeks. A third MRI scheduled because no one knows what's going on.
The Jazz have been riddled with injuries, and this should have been their year to really come together and build off last year's success, as the roster is pretty much intact. Many teammates have the option of opting out. Half the roster could be free agents this summer. Success breeds re-signings.
Now it looks like it's not just a given that Boozer will opt out, but every week it's more of a given he'll bolt for another town. Especially if he takes the rest of this year to rest his quad so he can give his new team his healthy self. Just when Stockton-Malone II was established, the Malone half wants to leave.
Owner Larry H. Miller overreacted by calling it one of the dumbest 10 things he's heard any NBA player say in 20 years, when Boozer semi-concurred he would indeed opt out this summer. There are 76 media members for every NBA player, so there's always going to be constant contract questions. it gives a day or two of distraction to mull it over when a player dares confirm he might actually do what everyone expects him to do.
The problem for Boozer is two-fold. First Miller revealed that at one point, Boozer asked to be traded to a lower-altitude city nearer his Miami home. The other problem is this lingering injury he has. Last time Boozer had a lingering injury, a high hamstring, it kept him out for half the season, much longer than anyone thought a hammy should sideline someone. Now his quad injury keeps having his return date pushed back. Out for 2 weeks, out for 4 weeks. A third MRI scheduled because no one knows what's going on.
The Jazz have been riddled with injuries, and this should have been their year to really come together and build off last year's success, as the roster is pretty much intact. Many teammates have the option of opting out. Half the roster could be free agents this summer. Success breeds re-signings.
Now it looks like it's not just a given that Boozer will opt out, but every week it's more of a given he'll bolt for another town. Especially if he takes the rest of this year to rest his quad so he can give his new team his healthy self. Just when Stockton-Malone II was established, the Malone half wants to leave.
Thursday, December 18, 2008
76ers fire Maurice Cheeks
I wonder if Elton Brand had been injured a week earlier, he would have a reprieve. An injury reprieve. But the Sixers were underachieving for the talent they have.
Monday, December 15, 2008
Kings fire Reggie Theus
I could understand firing PJ Carlesimo from the Thunder or Randy Whittman from the Timberwolves. I thought the firings of Sam Mitchell and Eddie Jordan were premature, but I guess I could see where they're coming from. But Reggie Theus getting whacked in Sacramento doesn't make sense to me. What have the Maloof brothers done to help Theus make it a winning team besides trade away Ron Artest for nothing? Is it part of a conspiracy to keep the Kings losers so they can try again to move the team to Las Vegas? No NBA season has ever seen five coaches whacked this early. Does this mean Marc Iavaroni (Grizzlies) and Mike Dunleavy (Clippers) whould start coming up with exit strategies? Just how comfortable is Larry Brown in Charlotte now that Jason Richardson is gone?
Even though the injury-riddled Jazz are only 15-10, may I once again make the case that it's a crime Jerry Sloan, who's only had one losing season in his twenty with the Jazz, has never won Coach of the Year?
Even though the injury-riddled Jazz are only 15-10, may I once again make the case that it's a crime Jerry Sloan, who's only had one losing season in his twenty with the Jazz, has never won Coach of the Year?
Monday, December 8, 2008
Fantasy Football d. Real NFL
As my fantasy football season winds down, with my 7-7 team just out of the playoffs (we had a lot of 7-7 teams), I realize now in the final two weeks that I'm not really up how the NFL teams are doing as I usually would be. Part of it is due to the death of NFL Primetime. I know The Blitz is similar, but it's just not the same. I'd much rather watch Chris Berman and Tom Jackson recap the day than Bob Costas, Keith Olbermann and Chris Collinsworth. (I love Costas, but his true calling is play-by-play). Another factor is that I don't watch football before church, and this year my church goes from 2:00 to 5:00pm, and then you get home, you have dinner, so only if the Sunday night game is must-see do I see much of it. The main factor though, is my fantasy team.
I would check individual stats daily. I couldn't have told you before looking it up today what the Jaguars records is, but I can tell you David Garrard and Maurice Jones-Drew had slow starts before coming into their stat stride, and Matt Jones has been a high-and-low receiver for them. I can tell you new coach Mike Singletary didn't do much for Frank Gore's scoring. I can tell you Kyle Orton was a godsend before his injury, and that weeks before it happened, I knew Derek Anderson and Jon Kitna would wind up getting benched. Kurt Warner would be the MVP if the Cardinals had a better record. What is their record, again? I can tell you the Dolphins defense wound up being better than the Colts. The Cowboys had frustratingly inconsistant receiving. Tony Gonzalez is still a kick-butt tight-end.
My two favorite teams, the ones I really followed, sucked this year. That may have been another factor. The Seahawks will never be able to avenge losing in the worst officiated Super Bowl of all time, and the Raiders really need Al Davis to go away. My third team used to be the 49ers, but that's tapered off every year since Steve Young left, and now I don't really care. My fourth team is now my third team, e.g. whoever plays the Broncos that week. My fourth team is whoever goes undefeated, and then they need to win the Super Bowl, because I want someone to shut up the 1972 Dolphins once and for all. Can you picture Michael Jordan, Scottie Pippen, Steve Kerr, etc., publicly shipping champagne every time the last NBA team loses its 13th game, thus keeping their 70 win-team special?
I would check individual stats daily. I couldn't have told you before looking it up today what the Jaguars records is, but I can tell you David Garrard and Maurice Jones-Drew had slow starts before coming into their stat stride, and Matt Jones has been a high-and-low receiver for them. I can tell you new coach Mike Singletary didn't do much for Frank Gore's scoring. I can tell you Kyle Orton was a godsend before his injury, and that weeks before it happened, I knew Derek Anderson and Jon Kitna would wind up getting benched. Kurt Warner would be the MVP if the Cardinals had a better record. What is their record, again? I can tell you the Dolphins defense wound up being better than the Colts. The Cowboys had frustratingly inconsistant receiving. Tony Gonzalez is still a kick-butt tight-end.
My two favorite teams, the ones I really followed, sucked this year. That may have been another factor. The Seahawks will never be able to avenge losing in the worst officiated Super Bowl of all time, and the Raiders really need Al Davis to go away. My third team used to be the 49ers, but that's tapered off every year since Steve Young left, and now I don't really care. My fourth team is now my third team, e.g. whoever plays the Broncos that week. My fourth team is whoever goes undefeated, and then they need to win the Super Bowl, because I want someone to shut up the 1972 Dolphins once and for all. Can you picture Michael Jordan, Scottie Pippen, Steve Kerr, etc., publicly shipping champagne every time the last NBA team loses its 13th game, thus keeping their 70 win-team special?
Friday, December 5, 2008
NBA Western Conference Power Rankings
1. L.A. LAKERS (15-2) - Kobe & company look head and shoulders above everyone else. Pau Gasol and Andrew Bynum are twin-towering nicely together, Vlad Radmanovic and Derek Fisher are deadly enough from outside, and the second unit remains an energy booster with Jordan Farmar and Trevor Ariza. I can't help but think Lamar Odom will be trade-bait in February, but do you even want to make a move with things running so smoothly as is?
2. DENVER (13-7) - Yes, Denver. Allen Iverson for Chauncey Billups may have been the mutually beneficial trade in the past three years. Billups is that good steady point guard that makes everyone better while still getting his own. The West's elite point guard pool had been shrinking with the declining of Jason Kidd and Steve Nash, but Chris Paul, Deron Williams and Tony Parker now have to worry about Chauncey being in their Conference.
3. PORTLAND (14-6) - Greg Oden may not win Rookie of the Year (Rose and Mayo can duke that one out), but the team, the young promising team, is living up to its potential right on schedule. They're dangerous in the regular season.
4. NEW ORLEANS (10-6) - I read an article recently on the relationship Coach Byron Scott has with his players. Jason Kidd helped run him out of town after two trips to the Finals, and Scott this year doesn't seem to have the ear of his players. It doesn't mean Scott's going to get run out this year - his track proves he's a good coach - but CP3 and Scott don't seem to have the sympatico enjoyed by, say, Duncan and Popovich.
5. SAN ANTONIO (10-8) - The Spurs aren't about the regular season, but they lost more than they normally would if Parker & Ginobili hadn't been hurt. But they're ba-a-a-ack!
6. UTAH (12-8) - They are 20 games in. Their Big Four are Deron Williams, Carlos Boozer, Mehmet Okur and Andrei Kirilenko, and they've missed 30 games among them, not to mention crucial DNPs due to injury by roleplayers like Kyle Korver, Matt Harpring and Brevin Knight. D-Will still isn't 100%. But if they can get everyone back healthy, they're suddenly one of the deepest teams in the league, with all the extra time Paul Millsap, Ronnie Brewer, CJ Miles and Ronnie Price are getting. But home-court advantage will be important to this team come play-off time, and this looks like it'll be 2007 redux, with nine winning teams and only eight spots.
7. DALLAS (10-8) - Dirk Nowitzki, Josh Howard, and Jason Terry are doing their parts, and Jason Kidd, while slower, is still a triple-double threat. The rest of the team, however, needs to step up. Stackhouse & Dampier are looking old, and Gerald Green hasn't been the most consistant player. And all of east Texas can just weep at what Devin Harris is doing in Jersey.
8. HOUSTON (12-7) - T-Mac's out for three weeks, but Luther Head's been pretty good taking the minutes.
9. PHOENIX (11-9) - Ah, Shaq. The other tragic trade of the West. The run-and-gunning offense is gone, as is D'Antoni. Amare's still got it, Nash hasn't slipped much, and yet, they don't have a prayer to get out of the first round as presently constituted.
and the rest...
10. GOLDEN STATE (5-13) - Their record is terrible, but the Jamal Crawford trade should make it better. Otherwise Nellie, who recently had a contract extension, should be moved.
11. SACRAMENTO (5-15) - Kevin Martin and Spencer Hawes and... yeah. They're going nowhere.
12. MINNESOTA (4-13) - Al Jefferson and Mike Miller are great on my fantasy team, but their record suggests that's about all this team has.
13. MEMPHIS (4-14) - Rudy Gay, OJ Mayo, Mike Conley, Marc Gasol... they need to overpay a starter free agent to get anywhere.
14. L.A. CLIPPERS (3-15) - Same old Clippers.
15. OKLAHOMA CITY (2-17) - They're averaging a win a month.
2. DENVER (13-7) - Yes, Denver. Allen Iverson for Chauncey Billups may have been the mutually beneficial trade in the past three years. Billups is that good steady point guard that makes everyone better while still getting his own. The West's elite point guard pool had been shrinking with the declining of Jason Kidd and Steve Nash, but Chris Paul, Deron Williams and Tony Parker now have to worry about Chauncey being in their Conference.
3. PORTLAND (14-6) - Greg Oden may not win Rookie of the Year (Rose and Mayo can duke that one out), but the team, the young promising team, is living up to its potential right on schedule. They're dangerous in the regular season.
4. NEW ORLEANS (10-6) - I read an article recently on the relationship Coach Byron Scott has with his players. Jason Kidd helped run him out of town after two trips to the Finals, and Scott this year doesn't seem to have the ear of his players. It doesn't mean Scott's going to get run out this year - his track proves he's a good coach - but CP3 and Scott don't seem to have the sympatico enjoyed by, say, Duncan and Popovich.
5. SAN ANTONIO (10-8) - The Spurs aren't about the regular season, but they lost more than they normally would if Parker & Ginobili hadn't been hurt. But they're ba-a-a-ack!
6. UTAH (12-8) - They are 20 games in. Their Big Four are Deron Williams, Carlos Boozer, Mehmet Okur and Andrei Kirilenko, and they've missed 30 games among them, not to mention crucial DNPs due to injury by roleplayers like Kyle Korver, Matt Harpring and Brevin Knight. D-Will still isn't 100%. But if they can get everyone back healthy, they're suddenly one of the deepest teams in the league, with all the extra time Paul Millsap, Ronnie Brewer, CJ Miles and Ronnie Price are getting. But home-court advantage will be important to this team come play-off time, and this looks like it'll be 2007 redux, with nine winning teams and only eight spots.
7. DALLAS (10-8) - Dirk Nowitzki, Josh Howard, and Jason Terry are doing their parts, and Jason Kidd, while slower, is still a triple-double threat. The rest of the team, however, needs to step up. Stackhouse & Dampier are looking old, and Gerald Green hasn't been the most consistant player. And all of east Texas can just weep at what Devin Harris is doing in Jersey.
8. HOUSTON (12-7) - T-Mac's out for three weeks, but Luther Head's been pretty good taking the minutes.
9. PHOENIX (11-9) - Ah, Shaq. The other tragic trade of the West. The run-and-gunning offense is gone, as is D'Antoni. Amare's still got it, Nash hasn't slipped much, and yet, they don't have a prayer to get out of the first round as presently constituted.
and the rest...
10. GOLDEN STATE (5-13) - Their record is terrible, but the Jamal Crawford trade should make it better. Otherwise Nellie, who recently had a contract extension, should be moved.
11. SACRAMENTO (5-15) - Kevin Martin and Spencer Hawes and... yeah. They're going nowhere.
12. MINNESOTA (4-13) - Al Jefferson and Mike Miller are great on my fantasy team, but their record suggests that's about all this team has.
13. MEMPHIS (4-14) - Rudy Gay, OJ Mayo, Mike Conley, Marc Gasol... they need to overpay a starter free agent to get anywhere.
14. L.A. CLIPPERS (3-15) - Same old Clippers.
15. OKLAHOMA CITY (2-17) - They're averaging a win a month.
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