Thursday, April 23, 2009
Win by 1?
I never thought I would feel any sympathy for the Oklahoma City Thunder, but I have now gone through a similar experience that allows me to understand their loss. When starting this blog, I thought I had secured a key member to help start something special. In a bizarre turn of events, Leah will no longer be writing for the Win By 2 blog. Ironically, when you awake Leah's iPhone from an idle state a picture of Tyson Chandler appears. The Thunder similarly thought they had taken an important step in building a winning franchise when they acquired Tyson Chandler from the New Orleans Hornets. After a physical examination and concern regarding Chandler's toe, the Thunder were forced to terminate the deal. Leah wears some really strange boots and shoes, so it wouldn't surprise me if she had toe trouble as well. In all seriousness, this is a big loss for this young blog as Leah brought a lot of great ideas, writing, passion and experience to the table. I encourage you to read some of her articles from a column she used to write in the Tufts Daily titled "Baseline Banter":
Sunday, April 19, 2009
My Spring Fling
For most people in the Boston area, the arrival of spring this weekend was made known by temperatures north of David Robinson's jersey number. For me, it was the start of the NBA Playoffs that marked the change of season. Watching eight intense NBA games over two days...no better way to spend a weekend! I am consumed by the drama, excitement, and entertainment of the NBA Playoffs, enough in fact to make my girlfriend jealous of Ernie and the crew's ability to capture my undivided attention.
20 second timeout: If I had fans (thanks to my boy D'Andre for my first and only comment so far), I would would apologize to them right now for my lack of posts. Finals time for law school is approaching and David Stern unfortunately did not take this into account when planning the NBA Playoff schedule. Expect short posts over the next three weeks or so while I finish up the semester. Thanks for being patient!
Here are a couple quick observations from the weekend:
1. After watching Derrick Rose dominate the Celtics in Game 1, I started thinking about the impact of other No.1 picks in these playoffs. Of the 16 NBA Playoff teams, 9 have former No.1 picks:
2. It looks like Lebron James will win his first MVP for carrying the Cavs to the best overall record this year. This got me thinking, how have previous MVP's fared in the playoffs the year they were recognized for their regular season success? I had to go back 6 seasons (2002-03) to find the last MVP (Tim Duncan) that led his team to the NBA Championship. It will be interesting to see if Lebron can reverse this trend and overcome the struggles the last two MVP's (Kobe and Dirk) have had in the NBA Finals.
3. We saw at least 4 road teams win Game 1 of the opening round this weekend (Nuggets-Hornets are playing as I am writing), the first time in NBA history that this has happened. My prediction is all of the teams that lost (Spurs, Celtics, Magic, and Blazers) will bounce back with a victory in Game 2.
4. Most people have written in the Cavs and Lakers to make the NBA Finals. I don't necessarily disagree with this, but I think the Cavs will have a tougher road than people expect. Sure they will dominate the Pistons, but I think they will then face big obstacles in the Atlanta Hawks and Orlando Magic. The Hawks have improved and matured since last year, when they pushed the World Champion Boston Celtics to 7 games. They are versatile, athletic, and tough enough to give Cleveland fits. The Magic beat the Cavs in the season series, 2-1, including a 116-87 thrashing in early April. With Orlando's three point shooting and Dwight Howard, I really can't hand the Cavs a pass into the NBA Finals.
I will be at Game 2 between the Celtics and Bulls tomorrow and will write about the Celtics playoff chances after watching them play. Hope to see Leah post soon and watch out for a guest entry soon!
20 second timeout: If I had fans (thanks to my boy D'Andre for my first and only comment so far), I would would apologize to them right now for my lack of posts. Finals time for law school is approaching and David Stern unfortunately did not take this into account when planning the NBA Playoff schedule. Expect short posts over the next three weeks or so while I finish up the semester. Thanks for being patient!
Here are a couple quick observations from the weekend:
1. After watching Derrick Rose dominate the Celtics in Game 1, I started thinking about the impact of other No.1 picks in these playoffs. Of the 16 NBA Playoff teams, 9 have former No.1 picks:
- Pistons (2): Allen Iverson (inactive) & Kwame Brown
- Cavs (2): Lebron James & Joe Smith
- Magic: Dwight Howard
- Rockets: Yao Ming
- Trailblazers: Greg Oden
- Nuggets: Kenyon Martin
- Bulls: Derrick Rose
- 76ers: Elton Brand (inactive)
- Spurs: Tim Duncan
2. It looks like Lebron James will win his first MVP for carrying the Cavs to the best overall record this year. This got me thinking, how have previous MVP's fared in the playoffs the year they were recognized for their regular season success? I had to go back 6 seasons (2002-03) to find the last MVP (Tim Duncan) that led his team to the NBA Championship. It will be interesting to see if Lebron can reverse this trend and overcome the struggles the last two MVP's (Kobe and Dirk) have had in the NBA Finals.
3. We saw at least 4 road teams win Game 1 of the opening round this weekend (Nuggets-Hornets are playing as I am writing), the first time in NBA history that this has happened. My prediction is all of the teams that lost (Spurs, Celtics, Magic, and Blazers) will bounce back with a victory in Game 2.
4. Most people have written in the Cavs and Lakers to make the NBA Finals. I don't necessarily disagree with this, but I think the Cavs will have a tougher road than people expect. Sure they will dominate the Pistons, but I think they will then face big obstacles in the Atlanta Hawks and Orlando Magic. The Hawks have improved and matured since last year, when they pushed the World Champion Boston Celtics to 7 games. They are versatile, athletic, and tough enough to give Cleveland fits. The Magic beat the Cavs in the season series, 2-1, including a 116-87 thrashing in early April. With Orlando's three point shooting and Dwight Howard, I really can't hand the Cavs a pass into the NBA Finals.
I will be at Game 2 between the Celtics and Bulls tomorrow and will write about the Celtics playoff chances after watching them play. Hope to see Leah post soon and watch out for a guest entry soon!
Monday, April 6, 2009
A New Answer?
*Disclosure: I am a Yellow Jacket ('07) and love the ramblin' wreck from Georgia Tech!!
The Detroit Pistons announced on Friday that Allen Iverson would miss the rest of the season. There were many reasons that the Pistons made this trade for Iverson (salary cap, Rodney Stuckey's emergence, etc.), but one of the main reasons was to obtain Iverson's scoring prowess. The Pistons scoring difficulties have led to their playoff exit in the Eastern Conference Finals in each of the past three years. I didn't really have an issue with this trade for the Pistons. Yes, they risked losing the team chemistry that made them a joy to watch over the years, but at the same time they needed to change things up in order to compete with Boston and Cleveland.
While Joe Dumars was hoping that Iverson would be the "Answer" for the Pistons, another Pistons player has stepped up to provide the dynamic scoring option the team needed. 6'0", 185 lbs, and lightening quick ... hmmm.....sounds like Iverson. Nope! Will Bynum (Georgia Tech '05) has come off the bench to provide the scoring punch they hoped would come from Iverson. An undrafted rookie out of Georgia Tech, there has never been any doubt about Bynum's ability to put the ball in the basket. You can google and read about his short journey since graduating from Tech, but I want to focus more on why Bynum is succeeding. I've been meaning to post about Bynum's emergence for awhile now, averaging 14.8 ppg and 4.8 apg in only 24.5 mpg off the bench over the last 13 games, but I could not put off this post any longer after Bynum errupted for 26 points in the 4th quarter last night against the Bobcats.
Looking at Bynum's build, you may confuse him for one of the running backs in Georgia Tech's triple option. Bynum uses his quickness and strength to shake off defenders and then attack the basket relentlessy. I'll never forget his drive to the basket, my freshman year at Tech, to win the 2004 Final Four game against Oklahoma State. His ability to change direction, his build, confidence, handle, and heart make me think of him as a hybrid between Nate Robinson and D-Wade. I think what I love the most about Bynum is the fact that he uses his talents to get to the basket and does not just settle on outside shots as many young players do. I hope players entering the league follow Bynum's example and bring the same energy and excitement to the game that he does. You reading J-Critt?
The Detroit Pistons announced on Friday that Allen Iverson would miss the rest of the season. There were many reasons that the Pistons made this trade for Iverson (salary cap, Rodney Stuckey's emergence, etc.), but one of the main reasons was to obtain Iverson's scoring prowess. The Pistons scoring difficulties have led to their playoff exit in the Eastern Conference Finals in each of the past three years. I didn't really have an issue with this trade for the Pistons. Yes, they risked losing the team chemistry that made them a joy to watch over the years, but at the same time they needed to change things up in order to compete with Boston and Cleveland.
While Joe Dumars was hoping that Iverson would be the "Answer" for the Pistons, another Pistons player has stepped up to provide the dynamic scoring option the team needed. 6'0", 185 lbs, and lightening quick ... hmmm.....sounds like Iverson. Nope! Will Bynum (Georgia Tech '05) has come off the bench to provide the scoring punch they hoped would come from Iverson. An undrafted rookie out of Georgia Tech, there has never been any doubt about Bynum's ability to put the ball in the basket. You can google and read about his short journey since graduating from Tech, but I want to focus more on why Bynum is succeeding. I've been meaning to post about Bynum's emergence for awhile now, averaging 14.8 ppg and 4.8 apg in only 24.5 mpg off the bench over the last 13 games, but I could not put off this post any longer after Bynum errupted for 26 points in the 4th quarter last night against the Bobcats.
Looking at Bynum's build, you may confuse him for one of the running backs in Georgia Tech's triple option. Bynum uses his quickness and strength to shake off defenders and then attack the basket relentlessy. I'll never forget his drive to the basket, my freshman year at Tech, to win the 2004 Final Four game against Oklahoma State. His ability to change direction, his build, confidence, handle, and heart make me think of him as a hybrid between Nate Robinson and D-Wade. I think what I love the most about Bynum is the fact that he uses his talents to get to the basket and does not just settle on outside shots as many young players do. I hope players entering the league follow Bynum's example and bring the same energy and excitement to the game that he does. You reading J-Critt?
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