12/26: Christmas Day Hoops Wrap

Greetings! I have returned after a short hiatus due to health/holiday, and let's get it going after a jam-packed day of hoops....

• In the "headliner" of the day, Miami defeated OKC in a Finals rematch by the score of 103-97. Lebron, once again, showed why he's the best player on Earth with a ho-hum 29/9/8, and he was aided by 20 points from Mario Chalmers (including 4 triples) and 21 from Dwyane Wade. It's impressive for Miami to get a win on a night where bench sharp-shooters Ray Allen and Shane Battier shoot a combined 1-10, but that's what Miami did thanks to some stellar defense (holding OKC to 43% shooting) and great free throw shooting (a perfect 19-19). On the OKC side, Durant was superb, scoring 33 points (on 11-21 shooting) and grabbing 7 boards, but he was the lone bright spot, as Russ Westbrook did manage to add 21 points, but he did so on a woeful 5-19 shooting, and the normally potent OKC offense wasn't running on all cylinders. These are the two best teams in the league by most people's estimation, and as potential "finals previews" go, this was a good one. High-level hoops. 
• In the other ABC game, the Lakers seemed to get healthy before our very eyes. Steve Nash got his most expansive playing time since returning (37 minutes) and responded with a Nash-like 16 points and 11 assists to key the LA offense. Kobe led the way with 34 points, and MWP added 20, but it's clear to everyone that things go smoothly when Nash has the ball, and you can see the way that he and Gasol interact. It was fitting to see Pau take the ball 25 feet from the basket, penetrate left, and dunk on the game's clinching possession, just because the 7-footer seemed to have all sorts of confidence with Nash in the lineup, and I loved it. For the Knicks, Melo had it going again, finishing with 34 points, but other than an inefficient 25 from JR Smith (on 23 shots, yuck), no one else had their offensive game going with Felton (5-19 FG) sputtering. Not a real indictment of the Knicks, as we all know that they won't win without the 3-ball, but it was a real positive for any remaining Lakers believers.
• Elsewhere on Christmas, Boston beat up on the Nets in Brooklyn by a score of 93-76. It was a balanced offensive game for the Celtics with 7 guys scoring 8+ points, but I thought KG was the best player on the court despite attempting just 8 shots. He led a huge Boston rebounding edge with 10 boards of his own, and the Boston defense suffocated Brooklyn for most of the day. The Nets shot just 40% and couldn't generate any efficient offense all day. Later, Houston blitzed the Bulls by a 120-97 margin. This was the 3rd straight game with 120+ points for a suddenly blazing Rockets offense, and they got 20+ points from 4 of their 5 starters. Harden led the way with 26 points, but Omer Asik was the MVP, scoring 20 points and grabbing 18 rebounds up front. Houston shot a blistering 56% from the field on the night, and dominated the glass overall for a dominating win. Nate Robinson's 27 garbage-time points was the highlight for Chicago... and that's not a great sign. In the nightcap, the Clippers used a 42-point 2nd quarter to outlast Denver 112-100. Matt Barnes and Jamal Crawford stole the show off the bench for LAC with 20 and 22 points respectively, and Chris Paul keyed the offense (as always) with 8 assists. LA is terrifying if you're an opponent at the moment, as that offense is clicking in a big way, and they're defending enough to make it stick. Denver was led by a 16/10 (on 8-8 FG) by Kosta Koufos and a 15/5 from Ty Lawson in the loss.

One college note...

• #3 Arizona remained unbeaten with a nail-biting win over #17 San Diego State last night in Honolulu. This is a game that not a lot of people saw with NBA dominating the day, but 'Zona is pretty impressive, and I love that SDSU team. Stud forward Solomon Hill led the way with 21 and 6 for Arizona, and the Aztecs got 19 from Chase Tapley in the loss.

What to watch for on Wednesday (in chronological order)...

• 7:30 - NBA - Pistons @ Hawks (SportSouth) - The lowly Pistons are in town, and Atlanta should get a relatively easy win here. Greg Monroe is worth watching for Detroit... but that's about it.
• 7:30 - NCAAF - Little Caesars Bowl - Western Kentucky vs. Central Michigan (ESPN) - A 7-5 Sun Belt team against a 6-6 MAC team in the worst bowl game of the season! Praise him!
• 9:00 - NBA - Knicks @ Suns (NBATV) - NYK on the second of a road back-to-back, but Phoenix isn't a team that scares you. Maybe we'll see Amare against his old team?

Enjoy!

12/21: Thursday NBA, etc.

Greetings! Starting to feel a bit better physically, so more content is on the way... let's go!

• Thursday is the NBA's night so let's start there. Minnesota ended OKC's 12-game win streak with a 99-93 win in the Target Center. Kevin Love led the way with 28 points and 11 rebounds for Minnesota, who held OKC to just 40% shooting on the night. In the non-TNT game, Portland got a wildly unexpected 101-93 home win over Denver. The Blazers winning in the Rose Garden is never too shocking, but they won this one without their best player in Aldridge. 22 points from Batum, 20 from Lillard, and an 18/18 from JJ Hickson was enough to outlast Denver, who had a hideous performance from 3-point distance shooting an unspeakable 0-for-22 (!). And finally, Miami dominated Dallas from the opening bell and cruised to a 110-95 win despite a 34-point 4th quarter by the Mavs. Lebron had a 24/9/5 in just 31 minutes, Wade added 19 points in 26 minutes (and a crazy +40), and they were just much, much better than Dallas here. 
• ESPN has suspended "personality" Rob Parker for 30 days following his ridiculous comments about RGIII on First Take last week. I'm indifferent on punishment for him because its ESPN's business what kind of talent they put on air, but there's no question that his comments were ignorant and out-of-place. Parker had already established himself as someone who was capable of saying outlandish and/or off-base things for attention (google his "feud" with ESPN's Keith Law over the AL MVP race, Parker is clueless), but this was a new level. As a side note, for anyone that still watches First Take, I have an idea.... Stop.
• One MLB contract to note is Edwin Jackson and the Cubs inking a 4-year, $52 million deal. I'm not the biggest Jackson fan because he's a guy who is wildly inconsistent, but there's no denying that he's been fairly valuable. He's only 29 years old, has posted 2.7 WAR or higher in 4 straight seasons (including 3 seasons of 3.6+ according to Fangraphs) and he misses bats, which is something that is very valuable, especially in a ballpark like Wrigley. It's not a bargain, but it's not unreasonable either. 
• The NHL has cancelled games through Mid-January as part of their ongoing lockout. Is it bad for the league that NO one seems to care? I realize that I live in a non-NHL town and that probably impacts the type of coverage and chatter that I see, but it seems to be extremely dead. 
• The #1 recruit in the country, as far as college basketball is concerned, is headed to... Duke! In a not-so-shocking turn of events, Chicago's Jabari Parker picked Coach K and the Blue Devils for his likely 1-year college visit. As a full-on Duke supporter, I'm elated, but Parker has been compared to guys like Paul Pierce, and is apparently an impact guy. Love it. 

What to watch for on Friday (in chronological order)....

• 7:00 - NBA - Hawks @ Sixers (SportSouth) - The Bynum-less Sixers host the Hawks in the return of Lou Williams to Philly. Atlanta is the better team, but this is a tough road test.
• 7:30 - NCAAF - Beef 'O Brady's Bowl - Ball State vs. Central Florida (ESPN) - A battle of two 9-win non-BCS teams! Must-see TV! At least we can hopefully hear George O'Leary talk...
• 7:30 - NBA - Bulls @ Knicks (NBA-TV) - New York is really fun to watch, and Melo is in a zone right now.
• 9:00 - NCAAB - BYU @ Baylor (ESPN2) - Not the best game in the world, but BYU's Brandon Davies is worth watching. 

Enjoy!

12/19: Quick Hits

Greetings! I have been sick for about a week now, and it came to a head this weekend... please forgive the lack of content! Let's get straight to some quick thoughts...

• Wisconsin his reportedly hired Utah State's Gary Andersen to replace Bret Bielema as head coach. I actually think this is a nice hire, as Andersen has transformed that program into a top-25 team over the past few seasons, and has a winning track record. Typical Wisconsin move.
• RA Dickey got moved to the Blue Jays earlier in the week for a package that includes Travis D'Arnaud. I liked this deal a lot for the Mets, as they procured a potential top-10 prospect in all of baseball in exchange for the 38-year-old knuckleballer. It's as simple as this. If Dickey is the guy he's been for the last 2-3 seasons, it's a solid deal for the Jays. If he's the guy he was before that, it's a gut-punch for the Jays.
• NBA - Atlanta won an overtime battle with Washington despite playing terribly. Sound familiar? Big thanks to Washington for shooting 38% as a team despite Jordan Crawford's crazy 27/11/11 triple-double. Speaking of triple-doubles, Joakim Noah put one up for Chicago in a 100-89 win over Boston. Denver knocked off San Antonio, giving the suddenly-reeling Spurs their 4th loss in 5 games. And finally, the Lakers got a 101-100 comeback win over the atrocious Bobcats. All's right with the world!

What to watch for...

• 7:00 - NBA - Nets @ Knicks (ESPN) - The Battle of New York rages on.
• 7:00 - NCAAB - Xavier @ #11 Cincy (ESPN2) - This is a physical, wild rivalry game.
• 7:30 - NBA - Thunder @ Hawks (SportSouth) - The Western conf. champs make their one appearance at Philips this year. 
• 9:00 - NCAAB - #23 North Carolina @ Texas (ESPN2) - This game looks better on paper than it actually is, but UNC could use a win.
• 9:30 - NBA - Bucks @ Grizzlies (ESPN) - Larry Sanders against that Memphis front-line and the battle of the lefty point guard between Jennings and Conley. 

Enjoy!

NFL Week 15 Preview

Greetings! Let's take a look at an absolutely jam-packed NFL slate...

• 1:00 - Giants @ Falcons (FOX) - This is the most high-profile game the Falcons have played in weeks, and the defending champs are in town. Most people blindly believe in the Giants because they way they've risen from the ashes in both of their Super Bowl seasons, but I see an 8-5 team that is wildly beatable. There's something to be said for Eli on the road (he's been better, esp. indoors), but I think Atlanta holds serve.
• 1:00 - Packers @ Bears (FOX) - Absolutely huge game in the NFC North. If Green Bay wins, they all but lock up the division, but if Chicago wins, it's wide-open again. Green Bay is the better team IMO, but Soldier Field could be the great equalizer. I like GB, even on the road, but if Cutler stays upright, Chicago has a chance. 
• 1:00 - Redskins @ Browns (FOX) - Must-win time for Washington, and it looks like RGIII will play. Cleveland hasn't rolled over at all this season (and that's a compliment) but if the 'Skins play well, they'll win.
• 1:00 - Vikings @ Rams (FOX) - 7-6 vs. 6-6-1 = Elimination game!
• 1:00 - Broncos @ Ravens (CBS) - Game of the day in the AFC as Denver is scorching hot, but going on the road against a Baltimore team that is 5-1 at home. I think Denver is substantially better with Manning and company and the Baltimore defense is banged up beyond measure at this point. On the bright side for Baltimore, Ray Rice may re-emerge now that they've fired Cam Cameron. I like Denver.
• 1:00 - Colts @ Texans (CBS) - The other big game in the AFC. The big question going into Sunday is whether Houston was exposed on Monday or whether New England is just that dominant. I think it has more to do with injury than anything for Houston, but if Andrew Luck can go in there and win? Trouble for the Texans.
• 4:05 - Seahawks @ Bills (FOX) - Tons of Seattle buzz this week. I'll buy-in a little more if they go on the "road" (in Toronto) and beat Buffalo soundly. 
• 4:25 - Steelers @ Cowboys (CBS) - Another elimination-type game, and this one is much more high-profile. I firmly believe Pittsburgh is the better of these two teams, but in Dallas, it levels the playing field. It'll come down to whether Ben can play at full-strength against a quality Dallas secondary, and with injuries on both sides, it's a toss-up game. 
• 8:20 - Niners @ Patriots (NBC) - Game of the day overall. New England is playing better than anyone (I think) and Colin Kaepernick gets his first look at the GIANT stage that is Sunday Night on NBC. It'll come down to whether SF can move the ball on the previously bad Pats secondary, but that's a big burden for a first-year-starting QB, and I like the Pats, even if the Niners can slow them a bit more than Houston did.

Enjoy!

12/14: Hamilton, Hollinger, etc.

Greetings! Let's get to it!

• Josh Hamilton is a Los Angeles Angel (of Anaheim lol). 5 years and $125 million is apparently what it took to lock up the former Rangers OF, and that's a very, very steep price. Hamilton's upside is other-worldly, as we've already seen him post a 7+ WAR season, but the downside is pretty hefty as well. He hasn't reached 150 games played since 2008, and has seasons of 89 and 121 games played in recent seasons. In addition, there's inherent risk with his body having taken a beating (his words) due to past drug use, and while his on-field action has been rather limited for a 32-year-old, I wouldn't mistake that for fresh legs. At any rate, Hamilton will likely earn this money for 2 or 3 of the years, but I wouldn't bet on him earning it for 4 or 5 when he'll be into his age 37 season by the end of the deal.
• There are various reports out there that the 7 non-football schools in the Big East are set to leave the conference. Basically, this would be a huge wrench for the newly-formed creation of the league, and would effectively murder the basketball conference. Conference realignment is something that is slowly driving college sports purists (myself included) insane, but unfortunately, it isn't going anywhere. Stay tuned to find out where these schools end up. 
• NBA Check - The Hawks cruised to a 113-90 drubbing of the over-matched Bobcats last night. Atlanta had 6 players in double-figures led by Devin Harris with 20, and after a 17-point halftime advantage, it was all downhill from there. Charlotte.... eesh. New York outlasted LA by a final tally of 116-107. The Knicks shot 53% from the field and 48% from three in this one, basically doing whatever they wanted on the perimeter against the porous defense from LA, but held on for dear life late thanks to a 58 point second half from LA. Kobe (31), Dwight (20), and Ron Artest (23) all scored big-time for the Lakers, but it wasn't enough to overcome 30 from Melo and the balanced scoring punch of Chandler, Smith, and Felton. And finally, for as much talk as the Lakers implosion is getting (and justifiably so), the biggest shock of the night was San Antonio going down in a heap in Portland by a 98-90 final. Portland was able to hold the Spurs to 45% shooting and caused 19 turnovers while getting a monster night from rookie PG Damian Lillard. 29 points, 7 rebounds, and 6 assists qualifies as the line of the night. 
• Thursday Night NFL! Cincinnati trailed Philly 13-10 at the half. The final score was 34-13 Cincy, so you can infer how the 2nd half went... Philly committed 4 turnovers in the 2nd half and while only one of them (a fumble returned for a TD by Wallace Gilberry) netted direct points, they set Cincy up for easy scores and that was that. Andy Dalton threw for just 127 yards, which was shockingly low against a bad Philly D, but he did throw and run for a score, and AJ Green's fantasy owners thanked him for the late garbage TD. Philly is a mess, but Cincy just needed a win to stay alive and they did that. 

What to watch for on Friday (chronological order)...

• 8:00 - NBA - Celtics @ Rockets (ESPN) - Kevin McHale coaching against the Celtics is still awesome/weird.
• 10:30 - NBA - Grizzlies @ Nuggets (ESPN) - Two of the better rebounding teams in the league face off here. This is the ultimate test for the Denver front-court, and the Mike Conley/Ty Lawson match-up should be wildly entertaining. 

And a final note concerning one of my favorite writers, ESPN's John Hollinger...

If you haven't heard/read by now, the ESPN NBA writer has taken the position of VP of Basketball Operations for the Memphis Grizzlies. He's basically one of the founders of the advanced NBA statistical movement, and the creator of the most popular "advanced" stat in his Player Efficiency Rating (PER). He's been a must-read of mine for years, and is highly responsible for pushing me to learn more about advanced stats. His analysis has also been the model for incorporating this kind of data in my writing, both here and over at Soaring Down South. I will greatly miss his writing, but if anyone deserves a position like this, it's Hollinger, and I can only hope he'll maintain his status as one of my favorite Twitter follows, even though he probably can't be as upfront as he is now. Best of luck to him in Memphis. They got a steal. 

Enjoy!

12/13: Sick Day

Taking the day off due to illness, but since I had this written out yesterday, here you go...

What to watch for on Thursday (in chronological order)...

• 7:30 - NBA - Bobcats @ Hawks (SportSouth) - The only non-TNT game tonight! In Atlanta! Against an awful team! I can't stop using exclamation points!
• 8:00 - NBA - Lakers @ Knicks (TNT) - Whatever the result of this game is. The media will overreact to it. That said, with the way NY is playing, I don't see them losing the D'Antoni Bowl.
• 8:20 - NFL - Bengals @ Eagles (NFL Network) - The final Thursday night game of the season, and of course, it's another bad match-up. Philly did fight last week and actually beat Tampa Bay, but Cincy is the better team and they are still playing for playoff possibilities. 
• 10:30 - NBA - Spurs @ Blazers (TNT) - This used to be appointment viewing. The problem is that Portland is terrible now, and I feel bad for Aldridge. That 2nd unit is a college team.

Enjoy!

12/12: Hoops, MLB Trade, etc.

Greetings! Not a lot of time this morning thanks to a 1,200-word piece on Josh Smith's jump shooting (which can be found here)... Let's go!

• NBA! Carmelo Anthony exploded for an NBA league-high 45 points last night in leading the Knicks to a 100-97 win in Brooklyn. Melo was absolutely bonkers in the 2nd half and he's playing the undisputed best basketball of his career right now. The Lakers got 42 points from Kobe and a 19-point/20-rebound game from Dwight Howard against Cleveland last night. They still lost 100-94. Kyrie Irving returned in a huge way for the Cavs as he had 28 points, 11 assists, and 6 rebounds in his first game in a month. There are severe problems in LA, folks. Denver got a road win in Detroit by a 101-94 total. The Nuggets are road-tested as they've played 16 of their first 22 on the road, and with their normal home-court dominance, their record should reflect big-time improvement soon. Finally, the Clippers won their 7th straight game in defeating the Bulls 94-89 in Chicago. Blake Griffin led the way for LAC with 22 points and 10 rebounds, and the Clips held Chicago to just 40% shooting on the night. 
• Michigan's college basketball team won a 67-39 decision over Binghamton last night. It isn't news when the #3 team in America beats a 2-9 small-conference team. I just have to mention this (contractually almost) because Michigan is now 10-0 and off to their best start since the national championship-winning team of 1988-89. That's all I will say.
• There was a massive (and confusing) MLB trade last night. Cincinnati acquired Shin-Soo Choo (the headliner of the deal from a major-league-ready standpoint) and Jason Donald, Cleveland acquired Drew Stubbs, Trevor Bauer, Matt Albers, and Bryan Shaw, and Arizona acquired Didi Gregorius, Tony Sipp, and Lars Anderson. The best possible analysis of this deal can be found here (insider required), but the short version goes like this. Arizona gave up one of the best pitching prospects in baseball (Bauer) and basically got a defense-only shortstop (Gregorius) and a LOOGY (Sipp). That is borderline insane, and no one in the industry can seem to figure out what they were doing. Cleveland bought low on Bauer, which I loved, and got a major-league OF in Stubbs in exchange for Choo. There's no question that Choo is the best player in the deal, as he's a high-OBP guy (his .373 OBP this year was his worst in years, which is crazy) who can really hit, but the difference between Choo and Stubbs certainly isn't Bauer, so that's a steal for Cleveland. On the Cincy side, they basically went all-in for offense, with Choo being a much better offensive player than Stubbs, and Donald being a utility guy capable of playing 3 spots. I love the deal for Cleveland, it's okay for Cincy, and a trainwreck for Arizona. 
• Former NFL Commissioner Paul Tagliabue has vacated the player suspensions from the Saints Bounty scandal. Of course, this move received far less publicity than the original suspensions, but I still like it. There was clearly not enough evidence for the severity of the punishment, and Tagliabue saw through the tyranny of Roger Goodell.
• One more MLB move saw the Yankees lock up former Red Sox 3B/1B Kevin Youkilis to a 1-year, $12 million deal. This is a pure desperation move from the Yanks, as A-Rod is out for months with a hip injury. That said, I'm not sure Youk can really play 3B effectively anymore, and the only way this deal makes sense for that much money is if he can. Either way, if he's healthy, he'll draw walks and get on-base, but NYY fans better hope he can defend that position with reasonable effectiveness.

What to watch for on Wednesday (in chronological order)...

• 7:00 - NBA - Hawks @ Magic (SportSouth) - Atlanta takes on a feisty, but underwhelming Magic team in Orlando. The Hawks are looking to avoid 2 straight losses, and Orlando should be the recipe for that. 
• 8:00 - NBA - Mavs @ Celtics (ESPN) - This isn't your older brother's Maverick team without Dirk, but they've played fairly well in his absence, and OJ Mayo has been a revelation. Boston has underachieved thus far, but at home, it's tough to pick against them.
• 10:30 - NBA - Spurs @ Jazz (ESPN) - What an awesome game. Utah is devastating at home (8-1 record) always and their massive front-line faces off against Tim Duncan and company. Highlight of the sporting night.