Can the LA Lakers win the title again?
Monday, November 9th, 2009
That’s if Gasol can return in time for the Lakers.
In case you didn’t know, the 2009 NBA basketball season is here. And since we already have the NFL season underway and the MLB playoffs starting to heat up, it’s certainly nice to be a sports fan at this time of the year.
And as far as the NBA season is concerned, the Los Angeles Lakers will try to defend Kobe’s first ever title without Shaq, hoping that last June’s successful run to the title will be the first of successive championship seasons. After all, teams coached by Phil Jackson are known to win titles by threes. But do they have enough this season to win it all again?
With the departure of Trevor Ariza, mercurial stalwart Ron Artest should quickly fill that hole. At this point of his career, Artest just wants to win a title so hopefully, he won’t be a distraction to this Lakers team like he once was with the last few teams that he played for.
Back to back titles would virtually be a wrap if the Lakers could get steadier production from big guys Andrew Bynum and Josh Powell. The team’s Jekyll and Hyde play is still a concern but as long as Kobe Bryant keeps this team together, they will still be in the position to win a world title.
If there’s one team that can challenge the Lakers this season, it would have to be the very team they played in the conference finals last season, the Denver Nuggets. After acquiring a true floor leader in Chauncey Billups, the Nuggets tied their franchise record of 54 regular season victories back in the 2008-09.
Chauncey Billups and Carmelo Anthony will continue to stand out, so it’s up to their big men Kenyon Martin, Nene and Chris Andersen to come through again if the team hopes to duplicate their Western Conference Finals stint and finally take the next step towards playing for the NBA championship.
Also looking for better things this year are…
Raptors beat Pistons 110-99
Thursday, November 5th, 2009
And here we thought the Raptors are really gonna be good this year.
After a smashing start to the 2009 NBA basketball season, the Raptors have returned to their usual selves. Yep, after they came up with a huge win over the jacked up Cavaliers in their season opener, they suffered losses to the Grizzlies and the Magic, bringing them back to Earth, wondering if those two losses were the start of yet another cold season in Canada.
The Toronto Raptors kicked off the season in style with a surprising win over a Cleveland Cavaliers team led by LeBron James and the newly acquired Shaquille O’Neal. The Raptors beat that team convincingly, 101-91, making believers out of Canada and probably most of North America.
But losses to the Memphis Grizzlies and the Orlando Magic diffused any momentum they had from their win over the Cavs. They lost in Memphis 115-107 before losing again at home to the Magic, 125-116.
It’s clear that the Raptors need to improve on their defense. Luckily for them, the visiting Detroit Pistons were struggling after winning their season opener at home, getting back on the win column with a 110-99 win over Detroit. However, if the Raptors don’t do something with the way they play D, even Kwame Brown can have a career night against them in Canada next time.
Chris Bosh was noticeably upset after…
The Best Rookie of the NBA Draft is..?
Monday, June 29th, 2009
Let’s hope some of these guys will live up to the hype.
In case you didn’t know, the NBA just wrapped up the 2009 NBA Draft. And while it’s still a little bit early if any of these picks were the right one or not, we’re hoping none of ‘em will turn out to be a big joke like Milicic did.
And as far as the overall no.1 draft pick is concerned, as expected, the Los Angeles Clippers got Blake Griffin. Griffin should provide the Clippers a brighter outlook for the future. I mean, the guy’s just 20 years old for crying out loud. That gives him a lot of time to develop into an NBA star and help the franchise finally shave that losing mystique off.
Griffin could have been a top 10 pick in last year’s draft but surprisingly, he opted to return to Oklahoma for his sophomore year. Griffin is dominant in the low post and could really help the Los Angeles Clippers inside the paint. He faces constant double teams but he has learned to pass effectively out of them. He is one of the best rebounders in the country, has great athleticism, runs the floor well and he finishes strong around the basket.
Then we have Ricky Rubio, the most talked about guy in the draft. This guy made a name for himself in the 2009 Beijing Olympics Men’s Basketball Finals when he almost helped Spain beat the U.S. for the title.
Taken by the Minnesota Timberwolves as the overall no.5 pick, Ricky Rubio has good foot speed, a high basketball IQ, and great court sense. It’s like he is one step ahead of everybody else on the court. He shoots pretty well from the floor, knows how to flop, can get to the line a lot and shoots about 80 percent from it. He goes hard every time he is on the court. Has great length and quick reflexes to break up passes.
The biggest prize of the draft, LITERALLY SPEAKING, is the seven-foot-three, 267-pound tower of power, Hasheem Thabeet. The problem is, he got drafted by a team that has a knack for giving up on their big guys.
Yes, the Memphis Grizzlies took him and for a…
The 2009 NBA Draft will go like this
Monday, June 22nd, 2009
Since we all know the Lakers are the new champions, it’s time to look forward for next season.
And as far as the coming 2009 NBA Draft is concerned, the Los Angeles Clippers are the big winners of the NBA’s 25th draft lottery, moving up from the third-best chance to earn the top pick. Memphis will be second and Oklahoma City will pick third.
With the result now at hand, Oklahoma’s Blake Griffin appears to be the consensus No.1 pick in the 2009 NBA Draft. Griffin, who led the nation with 30 double-doubles and 14.4 rebounds per game while also averaging a Big 12-best 22.7 points as a sophomore, might be the best option for the Los Angeles Clippers as they can dispatch the services 
of expensive power forward Zach Randolph and try the rebuilding process once again.
Sure, the Los Angeles Clippers already have a lot of forwards on their roster but if the stats say that Griffin will give them the best chance to win more games, then that’s the guy they should take. Hopefully, it won’t be a mistake like the last time they had the overall No.1 pick, wasting it on Michael Olowakandi.
As far as the other teams and their picks are concerned, read on…
For the Memphis Grizzlies, it might be Connecticut junior center Hasheem Thabeet. The 7-3 shot-blocker is viewed as a high-risk choice. Memphis was the one team that might take Thabeet instead of Griffin if Memphis was to get the No.1 pick, that’s how badly the Grizzlies need size. So it seems likely they would take Thabeet ahead of Rubio. Marc Gasol was good last year, but he’s more of an offensive player than a defensive player.
The Oklahoma Thunder will have an easy…
LeBron James to get help from Shaq?
Thursday, June 18th, 2009
The tipping point.
That is exactly where Shaquille O’Neal is at this point of his career. It seems it was only yesterday when he won three championship rings with Kobe Bryant in Los Angeles, since then, he moved on to win another one in Miami before failing to do the same in Phoenix.
Now that he’s stay in Arizona is about to expire, rumor has it that the Cleveland Cavaliers are interested in having Shaq play alongside LeBron James. Sure, at 37 years old, Shaq won’t be able to lead ANY TEAM deep into the postseason, but with No.23? It might just work.
According to the rumors, the Cleveland Cavaliers are willing to trade Ben Wallace and Sasha Pavlovic for Shaquille O’Neal. O’Neal will be making $20 million next season in the final year of his contract while Wallace will make $14 million and Pavlovic $4.9 million with only $1.5 million guaranteed.
The salary exchange is close enough to make the trade between the Cleveland Cavaliers and the Phoenix Suns work.
Sure, the Suns are giving up a four-time NBA champion like Shaq but the fact of the matter is, the seven-footer is on the verge of retiring anyway and since they would end up saving $10 million in the deal, that will at least point them towards the right direction in rebuilding the franchise.
If Ben Wallace takes a buyout after he gets traded to Phoenix, the Suns would save even more money. Wallace has already hinted that he is contemplating on retirement after the Cavs, heavily favored to play for the NBA championship, lost to the Orlando Magic after six games in the Eastern Conference Finals.
It is very unlikely for Wallace to postpone…
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