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Detroit Pistons

Detroit Pistons "Dynasty" Flips Over- Sees Philadelphia Eagles in Mirror

The Pistons just finished their 6th straight Eastern Conference finals and for the 3rd straight year they find themselves on the outside looking in. They are the dynasty that isn’t; the team with the great run that was just short of greatness. Now everyone wonders if this is the end of the journey.

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NBA General

Season Of Certain Uncertainty

2008 NBA Playoff Preview

The knockdown, drag out fight that has been the NBA regular season has finally come to a close and all the participants, battered and disheveled, are ready to scrape their way to the summit to claim the Larry O’Brien trophy.

Okay, that sums up the Western conference but what about the East?

(That was too easy…)

But seriously, this NBA season has been one of the best that I been able to watch.  And because of my love for football, I usually dismiss the round ball action until after New Year’s, but this season slapped you in the face all year long.

Mega-blockbuster, franchise changing trades, unrealistic turnarounds, the tightest MVP race in history, and some of the coolest-turned-annoying promotional commercials I’ve ever seen (I hear that “Where amazing happens” piano music in my sleep).

While no one in their most insane and eccentric state of mind could have predicted Boston going all “We’re the real Celtics again” on the league, Mitch Kupchak hi-jacking Pau from the Grizz, CP3 looking like the Big O reincarnate, Shaq turning Phoenix, Arizona into the latest site for his 24-hour fitness club chain, or Kobe playing nice; the upcoming playoffs will be even more unpredictable.

So with all of the questions swirling around this weekend’s playoff kickoff, I picked out 15 of the most pressing ones and answered them.

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NBA General

Breaking Down the NBA Draft

by Trevor Freeman

It has been awhile since I have sat down and penned an article about basketball.  Too long in fact.  However with the NBA Draft upon us, I stayed home all day Sunday to write about one of my favorite events.  With my Internet humming and a couple Yuenglings serving as steroids for the side of my brain that needs to be energetic and alive, I got a chance to submit my mock draft.  

In my opinion, the NBA Draft is the most underrated sports spectacle of the year.  It combines college and pro.  Newfound Millionaires getting dappered up and occasionally looking very uncomfortable in a suit (see Adam Morrison).  Very, very, tall men hunching down to say hello to David Stern.  Every couple years we get the “lone man in the Green Room” spectacle that is always riveting or the second round pick storming out of the crowd to say hello to a startled Assistant Commissioner.  All in all it is an experience that is always unforgettable.  With that being said and without further ado………David Stern steps to the podium…….

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NBA General

The Convoluted Picture that is the 2008 NBA Draft

By David J. Cohen

The NBA draft is extremely crucial toward building success and ultimately championships. Every team is one great pick away from possible glory. However, this year the draft shook out in an order that hurts many of the teams. If trades don’t happen early and often a lot of square pegs could find themselves in round holes. Here is a mock draft rundown of what the teams should do, and then what I think they will end up doing if they are picking at their respective spots.

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NBA General

No Tats?! Who?!

By: Maurice K Dixon

Chris Paul is rare.  Not just because of his amazing ability to change direction in a split second or his position of being one of the best in assists and assists-to-turnovers ratio in the NBA.  Dwyane Wade is in the same boat.  And not due to his talent of effortlessly splitting two defenders on a pick-and-roll prior to attacking the rim without fear of contact.  The physically and athletically gifted Dwight Howard rounds out this trio of established young stars, who are a majority in the league due to their African American heritage (83 percent of NBA players are black).  

Yet, these three are minorities when compared to many of their counterparts since neither of them dons any viewable tattoos.  Along with a handful of other players, Paul, Wade and Howard would almost be a better fit in the 80’s and 90’s.  Their styles of play do not carry a retro tag, but their unmarked skin does in a league where nearly 80 percent of its players display body art, which is totally out of control like gas prices.

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NBA General

If I Were…

On the heels of the NBA Draft Lottery, teams are probably starting to rack their brains out trying to position themselves to make the most out of their selections. Fortunately, a know-it-all-like myself has never had a problem giving my two cents on what each lottery team should – or should not – do when the draft night rolls along.

These picks, however, are chosen without consideration to any potential trades. If any trade happens with at least one of these 14 teams, then all bets are off.

So without further ado, here’s my take on what each team’s General Manager should do to strike gold in the draft.

“IF I WERE…”

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NBA General

The Guru’s 2008 Mock NBA Draft Lottery

The Guru Predicts The 2008 NBA Draft Lottery

The ping-pong balls are done bouncing and the Association has once again found a way to make all the conspiracy theorists, like myself, concoct new assumptions about its self-serving manipulation.

But far be it from me to ever question Mr. Stern or the integrity of his league, you know the league with the betting refs, the painfully predictable games, and the one that once employed Tom Tolbert; that league.

But I digress.  The next crop of “one-and-dones” is ready to start collecting millions of dollars while trying to avoid the ranks of Kwame Brown, Darius Miles, and Michael Olowokandi.  But unlike the aforementioned busts, this next generation of kids can at least say they know what a college gym looks like.

I still think the NBA should extend the age limit rule to two years removed from high school, forcing these kids to actually take notes in class instead of doodling sketches of their first ugly, over-priced shoe.

There I go getting off topic again…

Here’s how I think June’s lottery will shake out:

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Chicago Bulls

Chicago Bulls Win Miracle Pick: With Strings Attached

By David J. Cohen

The Bulls lucked into another great draft spot. They’ve made a habit of this since MJ left the building. History shows that the Bulls have the luckiest ping pong ball in the draft lottery of late when it comes to getting high draft picks:

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New Orleans Hornets

A Right Kind of Buzz

As one of the biggest New Orleans Hornets fans this side of the Pacific, you can imagine my delight with the success they had this season.

Sure, they didn’t exactly win the championship, but if one looks deeper inside their season-for-the ages then you’d understand why this year will go down as the most successful – and most memorable – season in the franchise’s history.

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NBA General

Still the King?

One off game. That’s all it was, right? Yeah, sure. Until game two rolled around and Lebron’s already suspect perimeter game was exposed for all the world to see.

Sure, he’s the most exciting player in the NBA, that is, if you haven’t already jumped on the Chris Paul bandwagon, but dear God, are we seriously going to overlook this?

Are we for real, in all our skeptical wisdom as fans and writers, going to look past a 19% shooting effort and 17 turnovers in two straight games? And not just any two games. We’re talking two straight games in the second round of the playoffs. You know, the series that, if you were to win it, you’re suddenly four wins away from the NBA Finals.

I mean, I hate to say it, but isn’t this kind of all sorts of hilarious? Bare with me folks, but I’m going to go out on a limb here. Despite what Stephen A. Smith (the A stands for something other than his parents intended) and others want you to believe, Lebron “King” James, is in full choke mode.