Word on the NBA Street

Last night, I witnessed the greatest player since Jordan close out on of the best teams of this decade. I am, of course, referring to Kobe Bryant and the San Antonio Spurs, respectively. Tim Duncan had his fourth career triple-double with 19 points, 15 rebounds, and 10 assists which would have made news had Kobe not been...well, himself. Bryant finished with 39 points and scored 17 of them in the final period. He completely dominated and led his team back from being down 17 points in the first half.

To any average fan, it would seem as though Kobe was the one who fueled such a comeback. However, the average fan would be wrong. This comeback was ignited while Kobe, Derek Fisher, and Lamar Odom were on the bench. Jordan Farmar had a great game, showing viewers that he definitely has a future in this league, with eight points, three assists, and a steal in only 17 minutes of playing time. Lamar Odom and Pau Gasol helped out tremendously on the boards with eight and nineteen, respectively.

For the Spurs, they saw yet another tough game for Manu Ginobili. He was nursing a bum ankle while the Lakers forced him to use his off hand on penetration to the basket. The result? Nine points on 3-for-9 shooting from the field. Another problem, which is unusual for such an experienced team, has been their inability to close out games. They had a 20-point lead in Game 1 which they also ended up losing. I can only wonder what those "tweaks" Duncan was referring to after the game will be.

In the East (or Midwest for tonight's game), the Celtics will be looking to close out the Pistons on the road in Game 6. I firmly believe this game will be going the full seven games, and Detroit will win at home tonight. However, I do not see Boston losing at home in Game 7 so either way, all those nostalgic fans will get their wish and have a nice ol' Celtics/Lakers rematch that they've been waiting for.

The key for the Pistons is none other than Rasheed Wallace. I've said it all series long, and I'll reiterate it time and again. 'Sheed is essential if Detroit wants any hope at forcing a Game 7 back in Boston. He needs to bust his ass on defense and, also, to make Kevin Garnett work on both ends of the floor by taking it hard to the basket and becoming an offensive force. In their Game 5 heartbreaking loss, Wallace scored 18 points on 6-for-12 shooting, which is a good game for him. But he didn't play his hardest on the defensive end against Garnett. He allowed KG to score 33 points on 11-for-17 shooting which, in my mind, was the simple and direct reason Boston won.

Now I'll take you much farther south in this blog to the land of NBA superstar-hopefuls in Orlando, Florida, the home of the League's annual pre-draft camp. First, I'd like to congratulate the Bulls on their superior luckiness. Next, I'd like to point out that either choice, Michael Beasley or Derrick Rose, would at least help your franchise somewhat in the future. But, in my humble opinion, Rose is the better choice. This is a Chicago team that has been looking to ship Hinrich elsewhere in order to get someone that could fill their frontcourt void. If that goes through, Rose would be the floor general and playmaker that he has proven he can be. My mock draft goes as follows:

1. Derrick Rose, PG, Chicago Bulls
2. Michael Beasley, SF, Miami Heat
3. Brook Lopez, C, Minnesota Timberwolves
4. Jerryd Bayless, SG, Seattle SuperSonics
5. Kevin Love, PF, Memphis Grizzlies
6. OJ Mayo, SF, New York Knickerbockers
7. DeAndre Jordan, C, Los Angeles Clippers
8. Eric Gordon, SG, Milwaukee Bucks
9. Darrell Arthur, PF, Charlotte Bobcats
10. Russell Westbrook, PG, New Jersey Nets

I'm not completely sold on Anthony Randolph yet, and I'm not so sure many NBA scouts are either, which is why I have him going anywhere from 11-13. I also expect Gallinari to go somewhere in the 11-13 range as I'm not buying the whole Italian/D'Antoni connection with the Knicks. I would now like to warn NBA general managers of three draft busts although, sadly, 99% of GMs don't read my blog:

OJ Mayo- His many run-ins with the law is an obvious concern, but you can't forget his selfish and conceited decision-making that appears in his game from time to time. OJ can be very turnover-prone as well when he tries to do too much on the floor. All in all, there are way too many concerns and question marks about not only his game but also his image.

Roy Hibbert- All the success he has had thus far has been due to height and great teammates. He's not athletic and doesn't have the explosive first step to attack the rim in the post. When he plays against others of his size, he tends to be outplayed. Hibbert isn't a very good rebounder for being 7'2" and will struggle tremendously at the next level.

Donte Green- Many would be attracted by his athleticism and versatility. I, however, am not so easily fooled. His shot selection is downright terrible and, for as athletic as he is, Green doesn't get to the free throw line all that much. Finally and maybe most importantly, he's afraid of contact. In the NBA, the contact is ten times that of college.

I'd also be concerned with taking players such as Anthony Randolph, Eric Gordon, and Joe Alexander. The thing I love about the NBA Draft is that for every major bust, there is always that one great steal that no one sees coming. Well, almost no one. Here are my three "steals"...

Lester Hudson- This guy will most likely go down in college basketball history as "that guy from the mid-major school who recorded a quadruple-double". Nonetheless, he would be a perfect pick for the late first round. He can play both guard positions and put the ball in the hoop all the while making himself hard to guard.

Trent Plaisted- One of the premier big men in college this past season would be a great pick in the late first or early second round come draft day. He is a fantastic rebounder and a decent scorer even though he doesn't possess the athleticism and potential of someone like DeAndre Jordan. I find it difficult to believe NBADraft.net thinks he's just another Greg Foster.

JR Giddens- He's projected as a late second rounder but will do a lot better in the NBA than in college. His athleticism is out-of-this-world and plays tough on both ends of the floor. The only thing missing is the ability to attack the basket hard, which should be easy for NBA coaches to corral since he is such a phenomenal athlete.

So there you have it. Those are my views on the NBA world, from Los Angeles to Boston to Orlando and everywhere in between. Have a nice week and, hopefully, the Pistons can extend the series to seven games tonight.

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Thoughts From the NIT

On Wednesday I made the pilgrimage that every basketball fan deserves to make at least once in his or her lifetime. I made that trip to Manhattan to see four college basketball teams play in the grandest arena in all the land. Of course, I'm referring to Madison Square Garden. Two games were played that night and neither came down to a last-second shot. However, both were great games to watch. Surprisingly, it wasn't that big of a crowd even though Syracuse was playing in the second game.

In the first game, the Washington Huskies and Texas A&M Aggies squared off. The latter was ranked 16th in the AP Poll. Washington jumped out to a fast start in the early going. Brockman was key in scoring his team's first 7 points. At halftime, he had already recorded a double-double. I wondered how long he could keep up his stellar play.

Well, Turgeon's crew answered that question for me. At the start of the second half the Aggies looked good. Joseph Jones (17 pts, 9 reb) was playing well and so was...DeAndre Jordan? Yes. This kid reminded me of young Dwight Howard. He scored 8 points and grabbed 11 rebounds. A couple of his points ended in thunderous dunks. Brockman, on the other hand, finished the game with 21 points and 15 rebounds. Anyways, the Aggies took their first lead since the beginning of the game four minutes into the second half.

In the next 10 minutes of the game the two teams would battle closely for the lead. Neither went ahead by more than four or five points. But then the game broke open in favor of Texas A&M right after they called a 20-second timeout. Brockman had cooled off and his opponents were clicking. Washington was outscored 22-9 in those remaining minutes. Fifteen of A&M's were scored from the foul line as they converted well when the game really mattered. It ended with a score of 77-63 but the game was a whole lot better than that.

In the final game of the night, the Syracuse Orange took on the Ohio State Buckeyes in what seemed to be just another home game for 'Cuse. The Orange were 21st in the polls and the Buckeyes were unranked but none of that seemingly mattered to one determined freshman. Kosta Koufos was the biggest surprise of the entire night. He had 24 points and 9 rebounds. Interesting enough, his shooting touch was uncanny for a 7-footer like himself.

Donte Green did his best for Syracuse by hitting two 3-pointers early on. Later in the half, Eric Devendorf got his team going with some pretty layups. Now, most would think that Ohio State would be weak without a good guard. Trust me, they have one. Jamar Butler controlled the tempo very well and asserted himself when necessary. He finished with 14 points, 5 assists, and 3 steals on only 9 shots.

Ohio State really took control of the game in the final five minutes of the first half. A three-point lead turned into a ten-point lead as the players headed for their locker rooms. After that, the closest Syracuse came was three points early on in the second half. The Buckeyes kept their lead right around ten points for most of the remaining time.

Worth mentioning was the quiet yet very good job Paul Harris did for the Orange. He had only 10 points but helped his team in other ways with 12 rebounds, 6 assists, 2 steals, and 1 block. Also worth mentioning is the horrid play of Eric Devendorf in the second half. He kept chucking up threes at the wrong time. Devendorf also earned himself a technical and the crowd was disappointed to see him give up on playing hard late in the game. OSU won 79-65.

In conclusion, I think Syracuse lost the game themselves more than the Buckeyes won it. Yes, Ohio State made a good portion of their shots down the stretch but Syracuse completely changed in the last 25 minutes of the game. To start the game Syracuse made some great interior passes to get high-percentage shots. Then the Buckeyes started packing it in and Syracuse was settling for outside shots which weren't falling (especially for Devendorf).

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