Suffering Hard? Or Hardly Suffering?

So I took advantage of a toe injury suffered on Tuesday and stayed home for the draft. Thats commitment to the blog Alex. I'm excited that the Pacers have 2 first round picks. Makes my night all the more exciting. Here are my notes...

I like how they have Dick V. sweating the college nuts and Fran Frichilla eating out the Euro players. Back in the day did they have someone masturbating to the High School Prospects?

Well not a shocker, but Derrick Rose was picked first. My Bulls fan roommate is jacked up.

The New York fans boo everything. It doesn't matter what Stern says, the analysts say, or what team is involved, they just boo. I don't see the reason why. Are they really that bitter to the season that the Knicks had?

Well there goes my dream of having Russell Westbrook play for the Pacers. Sonics drafted him at 4. Bastards.

Brook Lopez goes to the Nets at 10. They could draft Robin at 21! That would be tits.

Jerryd Bayless fell to the Pacers. I'm pretty pumped. Now my prediction of him turning out to be an NBA All-Star will be tested with my own team. Love his competitiveness. My Jermaine O'Neal jerseys are now worthless, so I think its time to invest in a Bayless.

Fucking A! I guess the Pacers wanted Brandon Rush the whole time, because they just traded for him and Jarret Jack, giving up Bayless and Ike Diagou in the process. Bird said he had his eyes on 2 players. Hopefully he is right about this one. Brandon will be playing with brother Kareem. Weird.

And to top it off, the Pacers also get Roy Hibbert. BORING!

What The Hell Is Going On Out Here!

Vince, I couldn't have said it better myself. One of my favorite nights of the year (NBA Draft) will be ruined by my employer forcing me to work during the entire first round. Thanks MSCR! I hope you T-Ball kids enjoy making my life miserable as I dream about sitting on my couch listening to the wise words of Stephen A. Smith....wait....Chris Broussard....wait....Dicky V....Oh never mind. I just like watching the Draft.

Celtics!

Looking through APBRmetrics for random stats (most of which I had never heard of): 3 Hours

Re-reading Basketball on Paper and applying Dean Oliver's groundbreaking statistical analysis to my Final's picks: 10 Hours

Watching NBA games this year: I'm not going to disclose those hours

Perusing BasketballValue.com for unit efficiency of different player combinations for the Celtics and Lakers: 2 Hours

Checking out the raw data of the playoffs up to the finals on Doug's NBA stats page: 1 Hour

Waking up each morning to read Popcorn's GameFlow during the Playoffs: 6 Hours

Logging into David Berri's Wages of Wins website and checking out his weird "Wins Produced" stat of all NBA players: 2 Hours

Making Basketball-Reference.com and 82games.com my new statistical obsession: 5 Hours

Religiously reading TrueHoop, BDL, SlamOnline, Hoops Addict, The Association, Count The Basket, Hardwood Paroxysm, Dime, The Arbitrarian, Empty The Bench, The Blowtorch, NBA Post Up FreeDarko, and all the little ESPN Insider minion BLOGS: 100 Hours

Not only picking the Celtics to win the Finals, (with every expert, including 2 from our very own blog picking the Lakers) but picking them to win in the exact number of games: Priceless

Other things that were priceless to me tonight: Watching Rajon dominate with 21, 8, 7, and 6 steals. And, watching the cockiest collection of d-bags (YES THAT INCLUDES PHIL JACKSON) get their asses handed to them.

P.S. Alex, this is what I will bring to the NBA Draft coverage...

Where is the Budinger

-Chase, solid decision to return to the college ranks, but to me, you have just put an awful lot of pressure on yourself to do what you haven't been able to the last two years. Be the man. As Poot has put it, if you focused your offensive energy you could put up 30 a game, but unfortunately we haven't seen this scoring prowess translated to such a degree. If you are hoping to be in the top 10 next year my friend, you are going to have break some skulls, and do some serious damage in a lesser but still extremely competitive Pac-10. Imagine if Mr. Budinger had the will of Adam Morrison.... Anywayzz, Chase, if the wildcats are led by Brandon Jennings and Jordan Hill next year, as you well know, we will be holding try-outs down at the meadow for "Mandy Volleyball Pro-Am" next summer, and you're welcome to be on my team against Nathan and Mike. Its a charity event to support undernourished doggies who's significant other eats both bowls of food when the owner leaves* Not to be confused with the "Mandy Paintball Classic" which aims to support those orange boxer hounds whom without consent, have a paintball rubbed into their fur, followed with Jim being asked to tell Jeff that he didn't know how it happened...

- Mike if you haven't seen the "machine" series yet, here it is

-Kobe's reputation is on the line these next couple of games, hope he comes out swinging. Paul Pierce is a possessed animal

-I'm going to be traveling for the month fellas... I hope to see some posts on the road every now and then... Poot i will be living the draft vicariously through you so you better bring the emotion...

Game 5 Notes

1st Quarter: That was not much of a surprise. Lakers come out with way more energy and dominate. I still think the Celtics patience could prove to help later on. Garnett in foul trouble is not a good thing. I missed the last 6 minutes...Ocean's 13 was on HBO.

2nd Quarter: Rondo must be hurt worse than I thought. He hasn't played much and Tony Allen has come in to run the point for a little bit. This really doesn't look like the Celtic teams I have been watching earlier in the playoffs. The lineups just don't look right. Still, they are slowly trudging back. Gasol's "pissed off no foul was called" face is uglier than Sheldon Williams and Sam Cassell's face put together.

3rd Quarter: Well I missed the first 7 minutes of the quarter finishing up Ocean's 13. Fisher just hit a shot with a possibility for a three point play. God I hate him. I've decided Laker fans might be the stupidest bunch of basketball fans assembled in a building at one time. They cheer when they shouldn't, they boo when there is no reason to. Paul Pierce is going to tire himself out before the 4th quarter. Too much energy spent on both ends of the court. His 3/4 goatee is also quite a statement. Cameramen need to back the FUCK off of the court. Someone is going to get killed out there falling out of bounds. Ray Allen just missed 2 wide open 3pointers, then stepped out of bounds...in one possession. Nice.

4th Quarter: Terrible way to end the 3rd for the Celtics. Let's hope for a better 4th or else off we will go to Boston! As I said, Pierce is tired and doesn't have his legs underneath the jumpshot. I feel like I am watching the A.V. Panthers as the Celtics prance around the floor. No starting point guard (Nate Moore) and no starting center (Carlos Torres). Although I must say, injury is a more noble excuse than possession of marijuana. Celtics are in the bonus early. This could help, although Fisher just checked back in. I have a feeling he is going to hit a couple 3's. Lamar is bitching about "bad calls" all quarter and is responding by disappearing during crunch time. Ref's are bailing out the Celtic's intense defense with some pathetic touch fouls. Kevin Garnett just choked 2 ft's. NOT a clutch player. Bad coaching by Doc Rivers AGAIN. He does the defense for offense switch, putting in Tony Allen. It works, they stop the Lakers but Doc doesn't call a timeout to switch back. The results? Celtics turnover leads to Kobe dunk and a 4 point lead. Garnett can't point blank a simple tip-in. Game Over. Celtics looked good undermanned. Returning back to Boston and their fans should give them that little extra push to get them over the edge.

Also...Bill Walker tore his meniscus yesterday and can't workout until after the draft. THAT SUCKS! My hope is that the Pacers can grab him at the 41 spot.

F*** These Fools

*Quite a game last night, I just got to watch the first half unfortunately. The Celtics are just tougher. There seems to always be a scary mismatch on the floor with Ray or Paul playing so well... Gotta give a shout-out to Trevor Ariza for following the 1 year and jump rule before it was even put into place... why didn't you stay at UCLA!

*There is one chance this comeback will not be remembered the way it should, and that's if it goes 7 with the lakers winning it... coming up with a W 2x in boston will be a feat in itself

*I've officially changed my reincarnation list to this order...

1. Monta
2. Joe Alexander
3. Gobo Fraggle
4. Mi gato Agatha
5. Hugh Hefner

This is the nastiest youtube clip i have ever seen

Team-Dream

According to UpsideandMotor, we have a potential, yet 0% chance of happening, shot at an astounding NBA Olympic Basketball Team. I say to hell with Chris Paul oops to Amare, Kobe lock-down D, or Lebron James man vs child action... Let those guys rest it up for the upcoming season and give those, "little college stars who could" chances to shine on the worlds brightest stage. Compiling the tryouts for the team over the last few years, there's a rocky-road ahead, but a chance for the ultimate prize, another Adam Morrison mid-court collapse...

Point Guard:
Starter- Luke Ridnour
Back-up- Kirk Hinrich

We're going to try to keep this olympic squad as north-west as possible, and with Luke's Oregon Origins, and stellar performance backing-up Earl Watson and Jerryd Bayless over the next few years, i'm seeing Carlos Arroyo Puerto Rico performances on the horizon... Kirk, you had a shitty season after having defied critics for 4 years that a lanky white guy could play good d in the league along with a top of the arc Kansas 3 ball. Here's your last chance to prove that Derick Rose needeth go to Miami...

Shooting Guard:
Starter - JJ Redick
Back-up - Michael Redd

JJ, where has that once infinite shooting touch gone to? With his last game swat-fest heroics against LSU's hyper-athletes Tyrus Thomas and Tasmin Mitchell, we were reminded that maybe the NBA would never suit your nimble frame, however, Europe? Can it be? 5 on 1 Three Balls and the utter destruction of the famed Euro zone? If one of these guys can do it, it's JJ, and with a thinner Samwise Gamgee distributing the rock, anythings possible... Oh, and M-Redd can provide some decent garbage minutes, along with some Ohio St. rep.

Small Forward:
Starter - Adam Morrison
Back-Up - KDizzle

Arguably the finest small-forward on planet earth today, we'll see his first action this year since starring in the "awkward behind the Gonzaga bench portrayal of Michael Jackson Mcvey, while his alma-mater got TORCHED by a future Poot's Olympian, Stephen Curry." Keeping it in the northwest, Ammo is going to be pumped out of his metallica beaten skull after his Bobcat voided season, hitting one-footed jumpers and going high glass over JamesOn Curry wannabees. With this success will come the most highly touted olympic match-up since the Dream Team faced Russia in 92, USA vs Brazil. Why you may ask? JP mothafucking Batista. The man who was famously stripped Jordan Farmar and Cedric Bozeman in the 2006 Sweet Sixteen, which gave way to a Morrion-less Final Four. When this power-foward is defeated, Samwise Ridnour will liberate Morrison's "Lord of the Rings Ghost Army", and and all his pent up rage will spew onto mid-court once again, crying away his Indianapolis Demons, and resurrecting his career as the next Larry Bird. Kevin Durant along with scoring 30 points a game with limited minutes, can use Michael Redd to practice his fast-break baby hook spin.

Power Forward:
Starter - Nick Collison
Back-Up - No Use

Talk about a work-horse, Nick Collison, despite lacking starpower, is going to pull down Kansas esque 23 and 24 board games against these Euro pussies. Pair this beast with Brad Miller on the post, and we got a solid Highway 5 Cali-Oregon frontcourt to lay some pain. Hinrich and Collison on the same floor together again... It's proven their only kryptonite is G-Mac and Melo, so unless they form Boeheimia and throw in Andy Rautins, Donta Greene, and Eric Devendorf onto their new turf, Kirkison is looking like an Olympic Lock.

Center:
Starter- Brad Miller -
Back- Up - Greg Oden

How better to ride off into the Sactown Sunset than to win olympic gold? Once again, we got to northwest ballers on the doorstep of the baddest summer of their lives. Brad Miller's no-look passes will make Serbian young'ens Darko and Jaric thinking they saw the second coming of Vlade Divac. With "outside the box drop step slam" Oden coming off the pine along with KD dawned in McDonald's all-american gear, there will undoubtedly be some broken international hearts.

Well There it is... Poot's World's Olympic team... I feel even with the all-stars at the helm, Spain is going to be a tough draw: Rudy Fernandez, Gasol, RICKY RUBIO, Sergio Rodriguez, Marc Gasol... We'll see, it will be a nice summer escape along with the extra special Greg Oden's/Marco Bellinelli Sophomore Summer League Jam.

I leave you with the only good think to come out of the Tim Donaghy scandal thus far...



Also Poot I know you see all these, but Garnett's screens are gut bustingly funny...

Quick Thoughts After Game 3

That was some of the worst coaching I have seen in NBA history. Hey Doc, when your starting point guard goes down with a sprained ankle, you don't leave him sitting on the bench for 40 minutes before putting him back into the game with 5:00 remaining. Ankles swell when you sit down genius. In addition to that, I probably wouldn't put gimpy on Kobe Bryant, the best player in the NBA. He already spent the first 5 minutes of the game on him and that didn't work well at all as Kobe got off to a scorching start. Couple that with running out of timeouts with a minute still left in the game, and you really have a doozy. Oh and doubling Kobe at the half court line was a clever decision, allowing for either of the Laker spot up 3 ballers to check the wind before shooting. Sometimes when I am coaching my middle schoolers, the opposing team will trap our point guard as he crosses the half court line. This will often create a turnover frenzy until I fix the situation with a quick timeout and explanation of floor spacing and finding the open man. Surprisingly, an NBA team was able to figure this out without calling a timeout. Who woulda thunk it? Lakers go on 12-3 run vs. gimpy. Game, Set, Match. Nice job Doc.

On The Subject Of Ref's...

Nothing irritates me more than a poorly officiated NBA game. While single calls in NFL games might have more impact on a given outcome, the overall pacing of a basketball game can be controlled by the actions of the referees. And when there is a difference of 28 free throws attempted when comparing the Celtics and Lakers, one team might be getting screwed. Do I think that there is some conspiracy to have the Celtics win the first 2 games before flying to L.A? No! Are the referees being persuaded by the fans at certain arenas? Absolutely. Even though I love to watch the Lakers lose, especially on the grandest of stages, it angers me to see it with the aid of the little men in grey. It will probably anger me again as the series moves to L.A. and the refs take a one sided approach to the team in yellow and purple. It is so sad that the incredible game had by Leon Powe (Oakland Tech alum) was ruined by the overshadowing story on the referees.

Game 5 should prove to be the most boring game of the series. The Lakers will win by at least 14.

The pace of this series is favoring the Celtics (around 90 possessions per game) with the Lakers averaging around 102 possessions during the regular season. Both teams are playing incredibly efficient for the lack of possessions but higher efficiency does favor the Lakers. What this all means is that the fans should benefit with a competitive series.

Deep Cuts

HangingBuickInterior's Condensed Draft Preview:

Davon Jefferson: Heralded as a retarded Shawn Marion by Freedarko, i think once this guy gets some play on a decent team he could be an electrifying presence off the bench...

Joey Dorsey: DJ Mbenga Re-incarnated... Could prove to be more effective with his better command of the english language, and superior coaching with Calipari.

Bill Walker: Poot's dead on. Round 1 USC vs. K State, Beasley vs Mayo... more like the Bill Walker show... fade-aways, put-backs, this guy is the steal of the second round...

Courtney Lee- Proving to be a tediously unsuccessful Trial and Error process in finding LBJ some scoring help, Cavs need to be drafting fearless shooting guards... Lee falls in this category, he is going to be a good shooting guard in the league...

Buddinger: Anyone on the big banner's gotta get some big love... Potential 3rd scorer on a good team, Philly, Phoenix, Detroit, and Raptors should give him some love.

Drew Neitzel: Re-unites with Shannon Brown in Cleveland, gives LBJ another scoring pg to life the load off... Cleveland trades for Maurice Ager, fires Mike Brown, hires Tom Izzo, and draft Raymar Morgan... I'm seeing potential

Kosta Koufous: Needs to stay at Ohio St. Please don't go to the NBA yet.

Hibbert: Like everyone says, the only two teams he would fit with are San Antonio and Utah... watch Stephen Curry get drafted by Houston and Hibbert go to a psych ward.

DeMarcus Nelson:The Patty DeFaveri of the 2008 Draft. No Love... stick with Schefzchfski on the bench for the rest of your life.

Pooty Mini Bullets -

-While going baseline to dunk on a kids hoop, i smashed my forehead on the corner of the iron backboard and got 6 stitches... Curse of Andre Igoudala's lost Dunk Contest haunts me....

-Winning is like a paranoid high school sophomore trying to get a hot senior to go camping with him... There is no chance, and the outcome of winning such an unachievable prize would detract from Sandwomen, Tundra Donuts, Tentsnuggling, and Dune Football... With teams like Detroit and the Warriors on the cusp of breaking apart their awesome-ly casted teams, one should ask if the miniscule shot at an LO'B trophy is worth breaking up such electrifying connections... Ride Rasheed's Contract out Detroit, he is the face of a team and he helped win you a championship already... and warriors... we don't expect a trophy until Monta's prime, 8 years, so sign Baron to what he wants, and keep fans at Oracle pumped to see this once in a lifetime squad play the most entertaining style of basketball this world has ever seen...

-Honestly its hard for me to pull for Boston at all these finals. No build up to their success with this squad... One season, 1 trade, everyone acting like they have been waiting so long for it. Their is no blood sweat and tears which we were to see if detroit would have made it or phoenix or utah, or so on... if it weren't for Kendrick (fuck these fools) Perkins and Paul Pierce, this would be a pooper finals for me.

-Did not realize the Jerryd Bayless is an inch shorter yet 5 pounds heavier than seemingly greek-yolked OJ Mayo... Thought he was a lot smaller, poot could have something going here...

-Mike, reading through old posts, there is NOTHING more devastating than working on a prototype self-steering BARAKA boat racer, only to have the cunning of Jim Pugh's 2" by 2" styrafoam block speed right by you... paced, determined, popovich type dedication. Atleast it isn't The Puddle Master... 2 tennis balls connected by 3 inch pvc, sinks on first contact with H2O. Macos Perez had me laughing for about 10 minutes straight....

-Larry Bird Magic spilt There Can Only Be One just proves how awful ideas at NBA roundtable discussions have become... NBA needs to cater to it's real fans. They need to have Jason Maxiell dunking on monsters and Kevin Durant showing up at random pick up games... eithe of those would make any NBA'ers weiner flutter

Draft Prospect Preview

All of the draft coverage focuses on the exact location of all of the college and Euro stars in what experts like to call “Mock Drafts.” Being that I have yet to talk to any NBA GM’s recently, I feel that I should stick to something that I might be able to predict with some accuracy…future NBA success of the draft prospects. So using NBADraft.net’s mock draft, prior knowledge, and an old magic 8 ball in my closet, I have looked at the players and predicted their serviceability in the NBA.

Derrick Rose: The slam dunk first pick of the draft. Young, fearless, and capable of hopping into a starting PG position in the league. The CP3 and D-Williams comparisons have been flying recently but I don’t believe that his jumper is anywhere near Deron, and his vision is lacking when compared to Paul. He is a better athlete and defender than the 2 young all-stars.

Future in the NBA: Serviceable veteran who is always on the cusp of making an All-Star game.

Michael Beasley: Undersized for an NBA Power Forward but can score with the best. Has NBA 3 point range and the handles of your average shooting guard. Like Durant, I expect his rebounding numbers to drop in the League. Doesn’t have the mindset of a future star.

Future in the NBA: 6th or 7th man, at best

Brook Lopez: This Stanford twin had a rough showing at the Orlando Pre-Draft Camp but I would have to say that would be because a majority of the time is spent measuring athleticism. And let’s be perfectly honest, mad quicks and hops weren’t Brook’s calling card on the court. He is a great low post scorer that uses superior footwork and touch to operate around the basket.

Future in the NBA: Serviceable Veteran (Almost like a Joe Smith type, comes off the bench to give a team 17 solid minutes)

Jerryd Bayless: This is the man that I would put my stock in for this year’s draft. His athleticism screams Monta Ellis, and his versatility of being a point guard or undersized shooting guard has me drooling. He has developed and will continue to develop the art of the mid-range jump shot and his desire to succeed rank right up there with O.J. Mayo and, dare I say it, Kobe Bryant.

Future in the NBA: Future All-Star

Anthony Randolph: Ah, every draft is loaded with super athletic big men who never work out in the NBA. This draft preview has 4. And every year, these types of players get so much on air play but nobody cared to check if they actually know how to play basketball. They don’t. This is the sport of basketball we are drafting for! If one of them starts in an NBA game, I will stop listening to Yo Gotti.

Future in the NBA: Future NBADLeaguer

O.J. Mayo: Reincarnation of Dwayne Wade with a more consistent 3-Pt. jump shot. I got the feeling that he was just toying around in college and is waiting for the big show. Kind of like how Boobie was at Texas only at a much higher talent level. Can break down anyone off the dribble and his pull-up jump shot is Jordanesque.

Future in the NBA: Future All-Star

Kevin Love: I’ve never seen a player like him and I do not know how this will translate to the NBA game. Shoots so well for a big man but he needs to be somewhat open and can't create with his back to the basket in the League. I hope for the best with Kevin but my heart is telling me he just won’t work out in the league.

Future in the NBA: 5 years of injury plagued seasons. The big man Jamaal Tinsley.

Eric Gordon: This is my monumental upset special pick of this year’s draft. All signs point to him being a serviceable NBA veteran but I am going to go out on a limb and say his incredibly small stature at the SG will finish his career off before it even begins. I very well could be dead wrong.

Future in the NBA: Future NBADLeaguer

Darrell Arthur: See Anthony Randolph

Future in the NBA: Future NBADLeaguer

Danilo Gallinari: I have been watching a ton of YouTube videos of this guy and he looks like a great athlete vs. European Players. I don’t know if that will translate to the NBA as all of the players in this league are just as or more athletic than Danilo. Jumpshot looks quirky.

Future in the NBA: Future Euro-Bust

DeAndre Jordan: See Darrell Arthur

Future in the NBA: Future NBADLeaguer

Russell Westbrook: Incredible athlete who developed court vision throughout the season. Always showing progress in his career topped off by being the best player on a star-studded UCLA team in their loss to Memphis in the Final Four.

Future in the NBA: Future NBA starter as an undersized 2 guard, NOT a point guard, despite what experts might say.

Joe Alexander: Each year, the draft seems to give us one freak athlete at the SF position to choose from. Look no farther than Alexander in 2008. His elevation on jump shots is second to none and he boasts a vertical of over 40 inches. He tends to quietly score, almost like Antoine Jamison. But at the end of the game you look at the box score and Joe dropped 25 points to go along with 8 boards 3 blocks and 2 steals. A stat sheet stuffer who does everything well, and nothing great.

Future in the NBA: Serviceable veteran off of the bench

Javale McGee: See Deandre Jordan

Future in the NBA: Future NBADLeaguer

Marreese Speights: See Javale McGee

Future in the NBA: Future NBADLeaguer

Chase Budinger: God I love this kid. He is equipped with every tool in the shed except for one that could bite him in the NBA. Motivation. It almost seemed like he would sleepwalk through half of his college games. He has the talent to drop 30-40 on a given night, but just doesn’t seem to care. Makes me so sad.

Future in the NBA: Future Casey Jacobson

Ty Lawson: I do not think he has hired an agent yet so I would strongly advise this one to return to college for another year. He had too many injuries this past year and didn’t handle the high quality of Carolina talent as well as expected.

Future in the NBA: 3 years riding benches and OUT.

Robin Lopez: Plays a different style of ball then his brother, with more focus on hustle and rebounding. There is always a shortage of that in the NBA, and if he can stay healthy, he will fit nicely on an already good NBA team.

Future in the NBA: Along with brother, duplicates the careers of Jason and Jerron Collins.

Mario Chalmers: Hit the biggest shot in college basketball last season but isn’t built for the grind of an NBA season. Watch him turn into the next Rodney Stuckey and prove me wrong though.

Future in the NBA: Stuck on bench for 8 year career.

Ryan Anderson: Led the top conference in the country in scoring. That is saying a lot considering how little run this guy gets. He scores from anywhere on the court. Can face up or back you down to the basket and has range for days.

Future in the NBA: Starter in 2 years, with an injury plagued shortened career.

Kyle Weaver: The Pac 10 is loaded with prospects in this year’s draft, but Kyle goes a little under the radar. I might be a little biased on this analysis being that I used to play against him 4-5 times a year in high school, but this kid can play. He is the only threat in this draft to drop QUADRUPLE DOUBLES. He does everything on the court, and on both ends. His ability to cover 1’s, 2’s, 3’s and 4’s will immediately help the team that drafts him. I

Future in the NBA: Veteran player will end up on a great team and win 4 championships in his career.

Bill Walker: Has potential through the roof and a developing jumpshot that would compliment his freakish athletic ability. He still has one more year of recovery in my opinion before he will be completely back to 100%.

Future in the NBA: Future Starter

Go Obama!

Sorry Nate, but I've got to go with the TentSnuggler on this one. Both the Lakers and the Celtics are great teams, but Kobe and Phil Jackson have shown they can consistently win games in the post season but Boston hasn't. At this point in the season the game gets too mental and we've been seeing one or two of the Celtics' stars disappearing almost every night. Phil and Kobe, however, thrive in these kinds of situations and this year they have a supporting cast that can actually back them up.
Lakers in 6

P.S. Alex, Marcos (or Macos as he was known among the year book staff) was an amazing ball player, he just didn't "want it enough." And the fact that he quit right after he got in the team photo was pure coincidence.

On To The Draft

Yes, I have lost a majority of my NBA interest with this lackluster playoffs, and like Alex said, its time to move ON TO THE DRAFT! I have been spending the last few days working on an NBA prospect preview and am on page 3 of writing in WinWord. SINGLE SPACED! I will need an extension. It's kind of funny how I am putting way more effort into my Draft Preview and this blog than my summer school social issue project I have due in two days. Some things stirring around in my brain...

-Tim Donaghy is a very bad man.
-I know that the Spurs would not have beaten the Celtics. I think you get caught up in all the free flowing western conference playoff style of ball and forget that grind it out slugfests from the east work just as well.
-I love reading about the upcoming draft, but doesn't it irritate you that writers treat every prospect like they will be a future hall of famer? Just look at a draft archive. How many of the players even last longer than a year? 20%? And what percent of each year's draft produces all-stars? 3%?

I guarantee my draft preview comes out no later than Friday. Until then, I'm just a Dirty South Soldier.

Goodbye Flip

Saw the top 20 June Blogs... We're Not On It, Let's Pick it Up fellas... INTENSITY!

-Well I see NBA Draft.net goes by Chad Ford nowadays....
-I would like to say I knew that Brook Lopez wouldn't go 3rd. He doesn't deserve to be there and would most definitley be the pooper after-thought of the stellar lottery that will be remembered for years to come
-Trent Johnson... Brook and Robin 1# and 2#. Augustin and Abrhams beat them in the tourney... imagine what Travis Diener and Nate Robinson will do to them
-De'andre Jordan is slated to go to the warriors... Won't Happen... P Bryant and Jelly is enough developing 7 footers for one developing team...


-it's time for my draft now that the official one is starting to shape up the way it should....



Pootylove aka TentSnuggler's MOCKDRAFT 1.3

1.M. Beasley----- Too much Courage in Hinrich
2.Rose------- Wade County meet Sheriff Rose
3.Mayo-----G Green Wolves... meet future All-Star
4.Bayless------Bayless Barons
5.Lopez------DJ Paul Perpetual Losers
6.Galinari-------D'Antoni Dons
7.Gordon------Livingston Atrocitites need SHOOTER
8.Love-----BogYiLove fast-ForWards 4 years to #1 pick
9.Randolph---Replacement for Hermann/Morrison Jedi Apprentice
10. D'Andre-----The Chad Ford best prospect Available
11.Westbrook--Fred Jones/Monta wannabe/lockdown defender poot desires
12.Augustin-------Doobie and Augustin!? 2013 Playoff Bubble!
13.Joe Alexander-------Hate portland more than Spurs... why rob such a GEM!?
14.Darrell Arthur------Feel this one...Harrington replacement-Range+Dunk Ability


Finals...

Poot, Honestly? This may be a semi-lame point, but do you think the celtics could have beaten the Spurs? Tony Parker would have made Rondo look like Marcos Perez, and Tim Duncan would have anhilated their front line. Having that said, what do you think the Lakers are going to do the Celtics. Already too much hype, bring on the draft... Lakers in 5