Category: NBA

by Trevor Freeman

“As the thirty-fifth pick approaches, Erik once again leans into the speaker phone.  If he leaned in just a bit more closely he might hear phones around the league clicking off, so that people could laugh without being heard.  For they do laugh.  They will make fun of what the A’s are about to do; and there will be a lesson in that.  The inability to envision a certain kind of person doing a certain kind of thing because you’ve never seen someone who looks like him do it before is not just a vice.  It’s a luxury.  What begins as failure of the imagination ends as a market inefficiency:  when you rule out an entire class of people from doing a job simply by their appearance, you are less likely to find the best person for the job.”

The Western Conference Finals have been different this year.

No Shaq. No Duncan. No Stoudemire. Something is wrong with this picture.

When the Western Conference Finals were determined last week, I was quite bewildered. The more offensive minded teams, the Dallas Mavericks and the Phoenix Suns, were moving on to compete for a championship. The strategy of just “pounding it inside” to either Tim Duncan, Elton Brand, or Chris Kaman failed to thwart the surge of the victors. Tim Duncan had ridiculous numbers but was unable to score in regulation, resulting in the Spurs loss in the Game 7 overtime. Elton Brand had his way against Phoenix, shooting between 60-80% from the field but could not pull out needed victories. Finally, Chris Kaman was a monster on the offensive boards, but whether hampered by shoulder injuries or not, did not have any impact as the series went on.

The Eastern Conference picture was no different. The last two teams remaining were the Detroit Pistons and the Miami Heat. The Pistons do not rely on a dominant center; Ben Wallace is more like a moving wall and never scores while Rasheed is a poor man’s Kevin Garnett who can shoot and is more athletic than a center. The Miami Heat, on the other hand, have a dominant center…or at least he used to be. Shaq has had a roller coaster of a season. He really has not been himself and often finds himself in foul trouble. Shaq is no longer consistent, often having difficulty producing his typical numbers of 20 points, 10 rebounds. Yes, the Diesel is running out of gas, and Wade is carrying the team.

This ultimately leads me to one question: Is small ball the future of the NBA?

by Trevor Freeman

“In any case, you had only to study the history of the draft to see that high school pitchers were twice less likely than college pitchers, and four times less likely than college position players to make it to the big leagues.”

NBA Conference Finals Teams

The NBA playoffs have been nothing short of spectacular this season.  This year’s second round provided fans with dramatic finishes and some of the most poorly officiated games I’ve ever had the displeasure to watch.  But I digress.  The second round boasted four match ups that no one thought would turn out the way that they did.  

By Trevor Freeman

No Game 7’s on Saturday.  No doubleheader on Sunday with the NBA Draft lottery nudged in between.  Is Mickey Mouse currently in charge of NBA programming……..wait a second…..don’t answer that…

Throughout the season, I wondered when the Maloof Brothers would fire Rick Adelman. The Sacramento Kings were last in the Pacific Division and were on pace to miss the playoffs since the 1997-1998 season. Their golden run appeared to be over.

Ron Artest did not think so. Artest arrived after the All-Star game and revived the Kings franchise, making them one of the hottest teams entering the playoffs. In doing so, he saved Adelman’s job or so I thought. The Maloof Brothers fired Rick Adelman last week.
His departure means Mike Bibby is the only person remaining from the 2002 team that almost dethroned the Lakers and won the championship.

Every player has moved on since then. Peja Stojakovich appears to be happy in Indiana, Chris Webber is back to his 20 points, 10 rebounds form in Philly, Doug Christie retired after numerous injuries, Vlade Divac earned a one year salary sitting on the Laker bench before finally retiring, Bobby Jackson provides instant offense off the bench in Memphis, and Jimmy Jackson continues the trend of hopping from team to team.

It’s Adelman’s turn to find his niche. Where will he coach next?