Answering 5 NBA Questions....

Greetings everyone... been getting a lot of questions concerning the NBA and its makeup as we go forward... what does that mean? well, of course I'll take a look at where we stand by answering your questions!....

1. How many teams can win the title as presently constructed? Great question, and one of the most popular in the media this time of here... my answer is 6 with a giant caveat that I believe there's a distinct drop after 4... the list is Boston, LAL, Miami, Chicago, Orlando, and San Antonio for me... with Chicago and Orlando being in the bottom 2... Boston has the best roster makeup, all the experience in the world, and they're clearly right there... LA is the defending champion and feature the same cast of characters with slight upgrades off the bench (when Matt Barnes comes back), no argument.... Miami has the "key 3" and not much else, but it's universally thought that if they could get Haslem back, Miller shooting, and the trio going all at once, they can beat anyone... San Antonio has the best record in the league, the best coach in the league IMO, a healthy Ginobili, and the deepest bench they've had in years... after that? It takes some stretching... Orlando is soooo talented, and I'll give them a small (tiny even) percentage simply b/c if they put it all together (cough, Gil), I could see it.... Chicago is the X-factor... Derrick Rose has made the leap this year, but they haven't had Boozer/Noah playing healthily together yet for any stretch... can't determine until then.... 2 teams to watch? Dallas and OKC... Dallas' record with Dirk in the fold is outstanding, and Cuban seems to make a big move every year... that said, Caron Butler's injury hurt their depth significantly and Brendan Haywood has been a disaster compared to the contract.... OKC has the 2 elite players you need, and Ibaka is developing, but the front-court is under-talented otherwise, and they've seemingly whiffed on a lottery pick in Cole Aldrich...



2. Who is the MVP of the league right now? Man, this is tough this year... I think there are 4 guys who are a cut above right now.... Derrick Rose is carrying Chicago... we've mentioned the lack of Boozer/Noah together, but he also doesn't have a discernable starting 2 guard, he's averaging 25 and 8, and that team is playing over their heads... Kevin Durant is leading the league in scoring by a comfortable margin (29 a game), maintaining efficiency, and OKC is 4th in the West right now but his candidacy is hurt a bit by the emergence of Westbrook and how he played for that first month or so, the case will get stronger and stronger if he keeps the level of the last 6-8 weeks up... Lebron James is Lebron James... best player alive... the team is 37-14 as I write this, and he's bringing it every night... 26/7/7 on a team with another superstar and another top 20 guy?... It's really ludicrous... the argument against 'Bron is that Wade is nearly as valuable (true), and that basically, he's not going to get any votes because everyone hates him (also true)... Dwight Howard was my preseason pick, and he's lived up to it (technicals aside) so far... career-high 22.4 points per, 13.7 rebounds per (which would lead the league if Kevin Love wasn't from another planet), and 2+ blocks to quantify his crazy defensive impact... oh, and his entire team turned over mid-season pretty much.... the case against Dwight is the team record (32-20) but honestly, I'm not sure how he can be objectively blamed for this... he's been awesome... and a darkhorse? How about Amare Stoudemire? My first thought is, "huh?"... but look at it... 26 points/9 boards a game for a team playing well north of their expectations... and how about Dirk Nowitzki? All the guy has done is average 23 a game with utterly ludicrous 53/42/89 percentages on a team that is 36-15 overall but 34-8 (!) with him in the lineup... My pick? Right now, I'd go with Rose... I use a pure "most valuable" definition when I evaluate these things, and frankly, that team has no business being 34-16 with the amount of injury they've had to Boozer and Noah, and the calamity at 2-guard...



3. Can you address the overall situation of the Hawks, both this year, and going forward? Well... that would need to be its own column... but I'll give you the shorthand... This team isn't a title contender this year... Do I think they could possibly beat Orlando in a 1st round series? Well... yes, but only if they had homecourt, and I'd still pick Orlando... anybody else? Go against the Hawks with fervor... The nucleus has basically played to expectations this season... Al Horford is the team's best player in case that memo hasn't gone out yet... 16 points, 10 rebounds, best defender on the roster, and a bonafide all-star... Josh Smith has taken steps back in some areas, and advanced in others... his jump shooting is markedly better this year which is both a blessing and a curse... it is honestly to the point where I almost don't care when he takes uncontested, squared-up threes... he's capable... but the shot selection has regressed immensely, he's taking more long 2s and contested 3s than ever before, and as such, he's taken as his game farther away from the basket... there are positives... like a career high rebounding average (9 a game) and vastly improved FT shooting (up 12% from last year), but he's still an enigma... Joe Johnson was woeful by his standards in November and December... averaging 16 points a game on 39% shooting, but he's returned to the star (not superstar, but star) that he's been in the past few years since January 1 averaging nearly 26 ppg... can't complain... elsewhere, the roster is typically underwhelming... the center position behind Al Horford has been mismanaged by Larry Drew in that Zaza Pachulia (the team's only semi-productive backup in the front court) has given way at times to Jason Collins, Josh Powell, and even Etan Thomas... it's inexplicable to play Collins against anyone but Dwight Howard or Shaq, Josh Powell isn't an NBA player, and Etan Thomas is past the point of age where he can produce... simple as that... the backup small forward spot is still vastly below average with no end in sight, and the point guard situation will make your head spin.... Jeff Teague, while routinely out-performing Mike Bibby in every aspect of the game that doesn't involve jump shooting, catches DNP's regularly, and isn't being allowed to progress even in a backup role... and the aforementioned Bibby is a non-contributor if the jumpshot is going in.... What am I saying? The problems are still the problems... and until the ownership will either a) spend more money, or b) spend money more efficiently.... it's not going to change overall... the Horford/Johnson/Smith/Marvin nucleus (by payroll and otherwise) isn't going to win the NBA title... best case scenario? The Spirit Group realizes this, packages Jamal Crawford's extremely valuable expiring deal into assets instead of letting him walk for free, hits on a low 1st-round pick for the first time since Jason Terry, and improves next year... worst case? They let Crawford go for nothing, play 2011-12 with Jordan Crawford in that role, don't invest in Teague, and markedly decline... but hey... it could be 2004 again, folks... and Billy Knight isn't your GM anymore... things are looking...up?... yeah....



4. Where will Carmelo land? I have no idea, and if someone tells you they do, they don't know.... the most recent, juicy rumor has him possibly headed to the Lakers in a package for Andrew Bynum... Pretty crazy on the surface... LA gets out from Bynum (who I'm philosophically against), but adds a wing who can't defend, and inserts a bigger problem sharing the ball with Kobe... Denver would snatch decent value for Melo, but again, I don't think Bynum will ever stay healthy long enough to hit his lofty ceiling.... other reports have Melo primed for NY via a 3-way with Minnesota, but the deal makes no sense for the Wolves, and it screams of NY media hype.... in the end, if Denver thinks they have ANY chance to re-sign him? They aren't making the move unless they get full value... and that's a rare occurrence...



5. How much better is the West than the East? It's laughable... listen to this... I believe that THIRTEEN (13!) West teams are better than any of the 7 through 15 teams in the East... the first 5 teams out of the playoffs in the West as of print (Memphis, Phoenix, Houston, Golden State, and LA Clippers) would all beat #7 Philadelphia in a 7-game series right now in my opinion... that's damning... at any rate, the East does sport more title contenders (4 to 2) from the earlier list, which is a small concession, but the depth of talent in the West (just check out the all-star snubs alone) signifies the gap...

So there it is... it's been one of the most fascinating/entertaining seasons in my NBA memory, and I look for it to continue... oh yeah, I didn't make a pick in question #1... let me do that here... with a gun to my head, Boston is the team to beat now that Perkins is back and healthy... done and done...

2/9: Melo/Lakers, Lebron, etc.

Greetings...

• The big story of the day remains the new interest in a Carmelo-to-LA trade centered around Andrew Bynum... I can't stress enough to not overreact to this simply because it's been addressed as early initiation and nothing more... but let's take a look... I don't particularly love the Melo/Kobe fit for LA, but i'm not a Bynum guy at all, so I can see the uptick... for Denver? That's about as big of a name as I've heard in any rumor... a young, skilled 7-footer who could be a nice building piece... if he could ever stay on the court...
• Albert Pujols may be a free agent... this is the first I've published on this story, but it's been brewing for a while.. there's reportedly a February 16 Pujols-imposed deadline for a contract extension before he'll cut off negotiations and become a FA in the following winter... pretty crazy when the best player alive could hit the open market...
• The Titans fire Mike Heimerdinger... this story is odd for 2 reasons... 1) Heimerdinger was the "boss" of newly hired HC Munchak and that must be an odd dynamic when the O-line coach gets the HC job when the OC was also a candidate... and 2) Heimerdinger is a high-profile coordinator because of his resume and his recent bout with cancer... I know one thing, Tennessee better be improved on offense...
• NBA Check - Lebron James led the way on Tuesday with 41 points, 13 boards, and 8 dimes in Miami's 117-112 win over Indiana... he's pretty good... The Hawks were an abomination last night... a 34-point home beatdown keyed by a 33-15 first quarter... the absence of Al Horford is certainly felt, but that's clearly not the catalyst for a disappearing act like this one... Dwight Howard with another 20/20 in Orlando's win last night, but the key was holding Blake Griffin to 10 points/12 boards... it was clear Blake wasn't comfortable playing through the double-teams Orlando threw at him... San Antonio is 43-8... there have been six 43-8 or better starts in NBA history prior to this and they've all won the title... hm... and finally, Zach Randolph (Z-Bo!) put up a 31/14 in Memphis' OT road win in OKC... an impressive win for the Grizz without Rudy Gay, and while Durant had 31/10, he only had 2 in OT... I have to mention Trick-or-Treat Tony Allen with a season-high 27... wow...
• College Hoops - Purdue and Kentucky with mirroring efforts... one win by 14 (Purdue), one by 12 in home games against inferior teams in conference... taking care of business in these spots is what it is about... San Diego State is for real... it's kind of funny how far they fell off the radar with one loss to BYU (aka the Jimmer explosion) but this is still a top-10 team and I'd have them as a 2-seed right now... talented, balanced, and they have Kawhi Leonard who can get their own shot...

What to watch for...

• #21 North Carolina @ #5 Duke - 9:00 ESPN/Jefferson Pilot (in the South) - The headliner... the best rivalry in college hoops takes the stage and this is a must-watch every year regardless of record... UNC is playing better basketball with Kendall Marshall at the point, and Harrison Barnes has it going a bit now... but I like Duke in the game... too much talent/experience...
• #15 Louisville @ #7 Notre Dame - 7:00 ESPNU - Hard to believe ND is the #7 team in the country, but Mike Brey always does a great job...
• #11 Georgetown @ #13 Syracuse - 7:00 ESPN - I'll be the first to tell you that I have no idea how good Syracuse is... but they have the better coach (cough, JT3 alert), and they're playing at the dome...
• #3 Texas @ Oklahoma - 9:00 ESPN2 - If you get sick of Duke/UNC or if it's a blowout, turn on the Canadian connection from Austin...
• Clippers @ Knicks - 7:30 NBA TV - Blake vs. Amare is an interesting visual...
• Nuggets @ Warriors - 10:30 NBA TV - I can't wait to see Chauncey attempt to guard Ellis or Curry if he plays...

Until later...

2/8: Cleveland Futility, Melo, etc...

Greetings...

• The Cleveland Cavaliers aren't good at basketball... 25 straight losses after a 99-96 defeat in Dallas last night... let's be positive first... they showed up and competed last night in a spot where they have no business winning... JJ Hickson has been improved in recent days (26 and 12), and they're even getting productive play from Christian Eyenga... that's about it for positivity... any time your best player is Antawn Jamison in 2011 that's an issue, and the guard play has been borderline offensive... I still think it comes down to Feb. 13 at home vs. Washington to snap the streak...
• Carmelo Anthony put up 50 points and 11 rebounds in a loss last night... the first 50/10 in a loss for anyone in quite a while, but Denver couldn't overcome the loss of Billups and the absence of Nene... and oh, they ran into Kevin Martin and Luis Scola combining for 62...
• Box Score Bits - Lamarcus Aldridge exploded late last night.. 42 points on 15-23 shooting and 8 rebounds to lead Portland over the Bulls despite Derrick Rose's 36... Charlotte knocks off Boston? Yes, you read that right... Gerald Wallace (19 and 16) led Charlotte over the Cs... nothing to see here, just a night off for Boston... Kevin Love continues to be ridiculous... 27 and 17 on the road in NO last night, and he led them to a rare road W.... I referenced this on Twitter yesterday, but is Demarcus Cousins making a run at John Wall for #2 rookie? Another huge game last night (25 and 14) and he's been dominant for about 3 weeks now...
• College Hoops - Kansas put up 103 last night... and not against just anyone... against hated rival (and ranked team) Missouri in a 17-point win... 7 guys had 8 points or more and the Morris brothers combined for 38... Pitt fights back to win a tough roadie in WV... typical grinding offense down the stretch from Pitt in the comeback win... one note on WV... Deniz Kilicli? The guy shoots a Kareem-like sky hook with both hands.... how awesome is that?...
• Tennessee Titans name Mike Munchak head coach... kind of random in that he's a life-time O-line coach but he's a legacy in the organization having played there and seems to be qualified...
• Michael Young asks for a trade from Texas... he seemed genuinely angry/hurt by what's gone down in the offseason... presumably due to being ousted from an everyday job this offseason and portrayed as some sort of "super-sub"... This could get interesting...
• The Super Bowl shattered every ratings record possible... not a big shocker with 2 of the most public teams in the league and 2 big name QB's... but it just shows the NFL's dominance again...

What to watch for...

• Sixers @ Hawks - 7:00 SportSouth - This is a game Atlanta shouldn't lose... but they've been playing down to their competition lately at home, and that could be worrisome...
• Indiana @ #12 Purdue - 7:00 ESPN - Indiana is a bit down talent-wise still, but Tom Crean has had them in some games against decent competition... Purdue is fun to watch just for Jajuan Johnson alone...
• Tennessee @ #18 Kentucky - 9:00 ESPN - Potential SEC East ramifications obviously with these 2 and Florida being the major players in that division...

Enjoy it...

2/7: Super Bowl Wrap, etc.

Greetings...

• Packers 31, Steelers 25... Not the best Super Bowl I've ever seen but it had its moments... Super Bowl MVP Aaron Rodgers had yet another great game.. 24 of 39 for 304 yards and 3 TDs with no INTs, and it should've been more with several drops including a couple big ones from Nelson, and a potential touchdown dropped by James Jones... They got enough on the ground (11 for 52 from James Starks) to keep Pittsburgh semi-honest and they couldn't cover all the GB receivers... For Pittsburgh, the night was marred by mistakes... the early pick 6 by Roethlisberger was a wounded duck that seemed to float forever, and the Mendenhall fumble was enormous... but you have to give credit to GB... they lost their defensive leader and pro-bowl CB Charles Woodson and their #3 corner Sam Shields, and while they gave up some yards to Pittsburgh after that, they made enough plays to hold them off... Roethlisberger had a chance to march the field and vault to instant legend status and he couldn't pull it off.... now? We wait to see if there's football in August...

Elsewhere in life...

• Tom Brady named NFL MVP... the first ever unanimous vote from AP voters and it's a deserving one... he had a 36 to 4 TD/INT ratio... come on lol
• NBA Check - Rajon Rondo with a rare scoring outburst (26 points) to lead Boston over Orlando at home... Dwight had 22 in the first half but Boston clamped down and held him to only 28 for the game... there was a scary injury to Marquis Daniels who was carted off with an apparent neck injury as well... prayers for him... Amare Stoudemire exploded with 41 points on 17 of 21 shooting in a 117-103 win over Philly... I'd call that efficiency... and Dwyane Wade led Miami over the Clip Show with 28/8/8 in the 91-79 win...
• College Hoops - Ohio State rolls on... 82-69 road win over a pretty good Minnesota team... Jared Sullinger led the way as usual with 18 and 13... Michigan State is dead and buried.... they got run out of the gym 82-56 by Wisconsin giving them 10 losses and they look to be in utter despair... Wisconsin is a very, very good team, especially at home, but they were non-competitive...

What to watch for on Monday...

• #15 Missouri @ #2 Kansas - ESPN 9:00 - This is even more interesting than it appears as Kansas takes the court likely without Josh Selby... Mizzou is capable of winning this one, even at the Phog..
• #4 Pittsburgh @ West Virginia - ESPN 7:00 - Backyard brawl... this is 2 grind-it-out Big East teams, and while Pitt is the better team, they're playing without one of their leaders in Ashton Gibbs...
• T-Wolves @ Hornets - NBA TV 8:00 - Minnesota is pretty bad... and Chris Paul should do whatever he wants against that putrid Minny backcourt, but Love vs. West is worth the price of admission...
• Bulls @ Blazers - WGN 10:00 - Gotta love WGN... Portland is always dangerous at home, and I'm not sure Chicago has anyone that can guard Aldridge with Noah out...
• Suns @ Warriors - NBA TV 10:30 - If you like points... and absolutely no defense... this one's for you... but the chance to see mini-Nash (Steph Curry) and real Nash go at it will be fun...

Enjoy...

Super Bowl XLV Preview

Before we begin... I wanted to say that I'm all done with roman numerals for the Super Bowl... at what point is this ridiculous? Am I the only one that feels this way? I have so many questions... alas... Onto the game... I'm stealing a page from Bill Simmons' via Dr. Jack Ramsey and giving you the Dr. Jack breakdown...

Secondary - Kicking things off on the backend... Pittsburgh has the defensive POY in Polamalu, some solid but unspectacular corners in McFadden and Taylor (who I like), and the hit-or-miss Ryan Clark at the other safety... for GB? They possess the 2009 DPOY in Charles Woodson (aka one of my favorite players ever for obvious reasons), Tramon Williams (suddenly a shut-down corner with big-play ability... see Ryan, Matt), and some embattled safeties in Collins/Bigby/Peprah... Personally? I like the steadiness of Pittsburgh's corners combined with the big-play ability of Polamalu, but don't discount Woodson and Williams locking down Wallace and Ward... Slight Edge: Pittsburgh

Linebackers - This is a barnburner... Clay Matthews was the 1-B to Polamalu's 1-A for defensive player of the year... AJ Hawk is a guy who's always been underrated IMO, but Bishop and Walden are pretty average from what I've seen... versus the gauntlet that Pittsburgh throws out there... I love Woodley (Wolverine!), Harrison is a beast (just ask Kurt Warner), and Farrior/Timmons in the middle is underrated and about as good as it gets... sorry GB... Edge: Pittsburgh

D-Line - BJ Raji is the best player on either DL right now... he's eating people up, and he gets the benefit of going against a wounded Pouncey or a backup... Cullen Jenkins is elite at times, and Pickett is average at worst... for Pittsburgh, their best D-lineman Aaron Smith was ruled out on Friday and that's a huge blow... Casey Hampton is a load and Ziggy Hood is developing, but they aren't on the level of Raji and Jenkins at this point... Edge: Green Bay

O-Line - I won't pretend to know individual tendencies of interior lineman... I just won't... but I do know this... Roethlisberger is consistently running for his life, they are down both starting OT's, currently playing FLOZELL ADAMS(!), and their all-pro center is walking around in a boot... I haven't been impressed with GB's O-line this year, but it has to go their way... Edge: Green Bay

Wide Receivers/Tight End - Gotta combine the 2 for me... anyway... Jennings vs. Wallace? I'll give it a push... you may be thinking that sounds crazy because Jennings is the more established guy, but they have nearly identical yardage totals (1265 to 1257), similar TD marks (12 to 10), and Jennings has done it in an offense geared to get him some numbers... Driver/Jones/Nelson vs. Ward/Sanders/Brown is pretty firmly in GB's side IMO because Ward isn't the same player anymore, and Jones and Nelson are proven options... at tight end, the edge goes to Pittsburgh with Heath Miller who's one of the best blockers in the league at TE and he doesn't drop anything... This is a tight one... Slight, slight, slight edge: Green Bay

Running Backs - Rashard Mendenhall isn't the most consistent guy in the world... that's the only negative thing I have to say... he was electric against the Jets and is capable of putting up 100 on anybody any week... Moore/Dwyer/Redman are nothing special behind him.... for GB it's a smattering... James Starks has been adequate, Brandon Jackson kind of stinks, and John Kuhn is a fullback who carries the ball... this is the most lopsided so far... Advantage: Pittsburgh

Quarterback - Well here it is... you know the story... Rodgers' numbers are impressive... 3922 yards, 28 TDs, QB rating north of 100, 350+ rushing yards and 4 more scores, and the memory still fresh of his 31/36, 366 yards, 3 TDs demolishing of Atlanta on the road... he's got every skill you'd ever want... the only black mark? He hasn't been here before... on the other end is Ben Roethlisberger... he of Milledgeville and Lake Tahoe fame lol... but we'll leave that out for this purpose... guy has 2 rings and while he was horrendous in the first SB win (9 of 21, 0 TD, 2 INT against Seattle), he played really well in the Arizona super bowl... his numbers aren't as outlandish as Rodgers are, but he has a better TD-INT ratio, similar QB rating (97.0), and he's the teflon man in the backfield... people just bounce off of him... and he's been here before.... For all intensive purposes, it's a coin flip IMO, and that's not a shot at Rodgers... if I had to pick, I'll take him, but Ben is right there... Slightest of advantages: Green Bay

Head Coach - I think Mike Tomlin is the coolest man in America... or at least in the running... but he wins this one more by default than anything else... I'm not a Mike McCarthy fan... I think he's abysmal in game/clock management, he goes into the 4 corners every time they get a lead with the exception of Rodgers turning into Jesus himself against Atlanta, and I just generally don't trust him... plus, if you look at Tomlin, you just feel good about it... done... Advantage: Pittsburgh

I thought about doing an "intangibles" bullet... but really... what does that mean?.... These are 2 storied/stable franchises, so rule out an advantage there.... neither team has done anything (yet) to provoke the other through the media i.e. Shannon Sharpe/Ray Buchanan so rule that out too... We can try to speak to the Roethlisberger dynamic with his newfound "restoration" but we really have no idea... so there it is...

The breakdown above?... 4-4... of course it is....

And now of course... the pick... in the end, this is about as even as the Super Bowl gets and the Vegas line of Green Bay -2.5 indicates that... I've been hearing from all corners all week and the consensus seems to like Green Bay which immediately indicates that I want to go the other way... fade the public!... but I just can't do it... Green Bay is too scary offensively inside, and Pittsburgh has shown they can be thrown on... add in the Pouncey injury (scary against Raji), and I'm not picking against the Aaron Rodgers I saw decimate the Falcons... I can't get the image out of my head... cover your eyes... Green Bay 31, Pittsburgh 23

2/5: Wall-to-Wall Hoops...

Tons of hoop action on Friday night and more coming Saturday... let's get to it...

• Kevin Love added as the Yao Ming injury replacement... you know where I stand... justice was served here... but on the other hand, it's still kind of crazy that Lamarcus Aldridge and Steve Nash are chillin at home while Ray Allen and Joe Johnson play in the all-star game... alas...
• NBA Box Score Check - Dwight Howard put up a 22/15 in Gilbert Arenas' return to DC... Orlando beat up on them 110-92... Dwyane Wade had a triple-double with 22/12/10 in Miami's 109-97 road win over Charlotte... Lebron had a ho-hum 19/8/9 and was close to having dueling trip-dubs.... crazy... Cleveland has lost 23 straight... tying the NBA record, and they did so despite a career night from JJ Hickson who contributed 31 and 15 to the cause... career high 28 for Nene tonight in the loss for Denver... he's still vastly underrated... but 28/10 from Jefferson and 26/12 from D. Williams was too much from Utah... shout-out to Raja Bell as well, who put up 20 huge points and played 41 minutes for the Jazz...
• The Hawks game gets its own section.... Jamal Crawford went nuts in the 3rd quarter (and finished with 34 points) keying a 26-point in 5:30 outburst that gave the Hawks the lead they'd hold onto for dear life... Al Horford knocked down 2 FTs with 0.6 seconds to go for the victory, on a "flagrant" foul by Blake Griffin... I'm very, very glad Horford knocked the FTs down simply because it was an egregious missed call on Griffin... he was whistled for a flagrant foul and it wasn't close (copyright: James)... at any rate, a nice home win for the Hawks thanks to Horford (23 and 12), Crawford, and company...

Other stuff...

• Maurkice Pouncey and Aaron Smith ruled out for the Steelers in the Super Bowl... huge blows on both lines of scrimmage for the Steelers... could change my pick a bit... check out the SB preview post later in the day...
• Vlad Guerrero signs a 1-year, $8 million deal with Baltimore... they suddenly have a ton of right-handed power in Baltimore, it's a shame they don't have any established pitching...
• Sam Bradford and Chaos N. Suh (lol) named the NFL rookies of the year... no surprises here... Bradford was as polished as you ever see a rookie QB, and Suh was dominant from the jump...

What to watch for on a busy Saturday...

• West Virginia @ #12 Villanova - ESPN Noon - Big East hoops with the noon tips.... fantastic
• #11 Kentucky @ #23 Florida - ESPN 9:00 - Gameday is in Gainesville for the battle for SEC supremacy...
• Hawks @ Wizards - NBA TV and SportSouth 7:00 - Back-to-back for the Hawks and a road trip to boot... not a great spot as Washington is a decent home team (13-11)...
• Memphis @ Gonzaga - 4:00 ESPN - This isn't the type of matchup we'd hope for preseason, but still 2 talented squads playing a nice non-conference game... The Zags need this one bad...
• NC State @ #5 Duke - ESPN 6:00 - Duke got the ship righted a bit in pounding on Maryland this week... this is worth turning on just to see Sidney Lowe in the red coat...

Enjoy it... Come back and check out the Super Bowl preview...

2/4: Lebron Explodes, All-Star Reserves, etc.

Greetings all...

• Normally I wouldn't lead with a single regular season NBA game... but when Lebron James goes for 51/11/8 on the road against an East contender in Orlando... it's worth leading with... 17-25 shooting, 14 of 17 FTs, and a ridiculous 23 point, 9/9 FG first quarter... but a big story? Miami nearly blew this one... Orlando cut the seemingly insurmountable lead to 3 on the final possession until Ryan Anderson hoisted a miss with the clocking running down... Dwight Howard shot 3 of 13 from the line, really inexcusable and it curtailed what would've been a dominating performance (he had 16 rebounds)... just kind of a crazy game...
• The All-Star reserves were announced last night... We'll hit the East first... Horford/Garnett/Bosh/Pierce/Johnson/Allen/Rondo is about right... I had originally included Felton in my picks, but he's tailed off a bit, and Ray Allen's shooting numbers are legitimately out of this world... so no beef here.... to the West... Duncan/Gasol/Blake/Dirk/Manu/Williams/Westbrook.... well... that was underwhelming as a Kevin Love supporter... how in the world does a guy who is 1) Leading the league in rebounding with a ridiculous 15.5 per, 2) 6th in the league OVERALL in PER (the best overall statistical measure we have of performance), 3) Top 10 in the league in win shares while playing with a terrible cast (really tough to do), and 4) Likely being the first guy since Moses freaking Malone to average 20/15 for a season... He's having a better season Duncan (blasphemy from me, but it's true), he's having a better season than Gasol, he's having a better (if not infinitely less exciting) season than Blake Griffin, and I'd have him in over Manu and Westbrook if it camed I've long since thought David Stern should announce his injury replacement along with the reserves.... it's absurd...
• Spurs 89, Lakers 88... Still taking a breath from the rant above... here we go... Antonio McDyess hit a tip-in at the gun to pull this out for SA... for them to win, on the road, with Duncan/Ginobili combining to shoot 8-29 is pretty impressive, but you can see some elements of how riveting of a series that can (and hopefully will) be come May... they know how to defend Kobe, LA gets eaten up by dribble penetration, and on the other end, SA doesn't have the pure length to deal with LA up front especially with Duncan in a slightly diminished capacity...
• Andy Pettitte is retiring... just a couple thoughts... first of all, I don't believe it... maybe it's the Clemens thing where he'll just keep being lured back in, maybe even midseason... secondly, I always liked Pettitte... he's done the best job of anyone EVER in managing steroid allegations by getting out in front of them, admitting it, and moving on... and he's been a fantastic pitcher at times... nice career...
• Larry Drew II transferring from UNC... as you may know, I've been a harsh critic lol... at any rate, never want to see a kid leave mid-season, especially on a team that's likely headed for March, and he's still a contributor...
• College Hoops Roundup - Ohio State stays unblemished... Michigan actually led at half in this game, and I was generally happy with the fight I saw there, but too much Jared Sullinger (19 and 15), and you can't win on the road shooting 4 free throws (making only 1).. There was a shake-up in the Pac 10 race... Washington took a bad 12-point loss at Oregon State, and then Arizona knocked off Stanford on the road to take over the conference lead... Derrick Williams is a beast.... and locally, Georgia Tech is a maddening entity.... they shot 27% on the road at Miami last night... 27!... in losing yet another inexplicable road game despite Glen Rice's breakout with 28 points... they were only even in this one because of 28 Miami turnovers, but at 3-5 in the league now... lights out

What to watch for...

• Clippers @ Hawks - 7:30 SportSouth - the Blake Griffin traveling road show hits town... that's enough to watch this one right there....
• Mavs @ Celtics - 8:00 ESPN - This is a really nice matchup... Dallas has Dirk going again, and they're playing better basketball, but I'm not sure they have the weapons to score consistently against Boston...
• Jazz @ Nuggets - 10:30 ESPN - Can't imagine this will generate too much buzz for ESPN... but two 29-win teams in a decent game... it's gotten alot quieter in Denver in recent days, and they're a very good 21-5 at home... like them here..

That's it for today... stay tuned for the Super Bowl preview tomorrow Dr. Jack-style... until then...