Bulls

A Well Deserved Break

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I’m not sure how many games I’ve watched this season, but I’m starting to suspect that I’m spending an unhealthy amount of time sitting in front of my laptop. I tried hanging out with some friends the other night, and caught myself thinking about the Mavericks-Blazers game. I’d check my phone and get texts that read “Dirk!!!!”, or “You watching this Mavs game?”

And honestly I wasn’t that upset about taking the night off. 82 games in a season is too many. Not only is harder to get hype for all of the Good Ass Games, but the players clearly don’t look as fresh the last couple of weeks.

Dudes are tired. Frankly, I’m tired. I have to force myself to go out to practice interacting with people again. I’ve begun to look forward to going to work on Mondays because I won’t leave my house unless I absolutely have to.

I’m looking forward to doing other things this weekend besides watching basketball. The All Star Game will be played at the “Mecca of basketball”, Madison Square Garden, and I can’t think of a better place to host a glorified pick up game in front of a bunch of rich celebrities. Sunday will be as if the Grammy’s or the Oscar’s held a basketball game between awards.

I’m sure I’d watch this year if I weren’t not committed to my out of town plans for the weekend. I’ll be asleep on a bus nursing a hangover, while the game is going on, but I’ll be sure to watch the highlights. Until then, let’s get to these Good ASS Games:

Monday

Clippers got dealt a big blow when they found out Beige Blake Griffin could miss a significant amount of time to a staph infection in his elbow. Ugh. That ain’t nothing nice. I’m not a fan of BG, but that can get nasty if treated the wrong way. It’s a good thing Donald Sterling doesn’t own the team anymore, or Blake would be pouring peroxide on his elbow to get that thing treated #cheapskate. This along with a back-to-back will give the Mavs an advantage tomorrow night–even without Rajon Rondo.

Tuesday

Houston vs. Phoenix

The Western teams not named the Clippers need to get their licks in now. Every win is important of course, and Phoenix, Oklahoma City, and New Orleans have to grab as many wins as they can. It will be rough to see any of these three teams not in the playoffs. They all deserve to be there and hopefully Adam Silver will fix this now dysfunctional playoff structure.

Wednesday

Memphis-Oklahoma City is my pick to click this week for Good ASS Game of the Week.
Memphis is so nasty right now, and one of the best benches in the NBA, has suddenly gotten better with Tony Allen giving up his starting spot to Jeff Green.

The Miami-Cleveland and Houston-LA CLippers games will be the equivalent of a 2 AM hook up from the bar. Not exactly what you want in your living room, but that late at night, sometimes anything will do. I mean its still basketball right? Well…….sort of…………

Thursday

Cleveland-Chicago will be the last good ass game of the first half. If you haven’t started partying for Mardi Gras at this point, I’d certainly recommend peeping this action. It’s all down hill from here– the 3 Point shooting contest, slam dunk contest, the All Star Game, and then the trading deadline. Before you know it, it will be April and the beginning of playoffs.

FRIDAY-SATURDAY-SUNDAY

ALL STAR WEEKEND!!!!! I’m a be like Dirk, getting my rest on. But before I go, we gotta hand out the Buster of the Week Award to

LeGarrette Blount. First of all, the shirt isn’t all that clever. I’d have been more impressed had the shirt read “BITCH MADE” That would have had me rolling–even if it isn’t true. Secondly, Blount barely had any yards in the Super Bowl.

Had it not been for Tom “Terrific”, Blount would be hanging out with Leveon Bell, trying to find a new weed connect. “Beast Mode” showed up, and had Russell Wilson had the balls to call an audible, he’d be getting hyphy with that Super Bowl Trophy for the 2nd time in two years.

Sometimes LeGarrette you just gotta shut up and ride the wave–especially when you ride someone’s coattails into a Super Bowl trophy. Instead of dissing on opposing players, he should be kissing Robert Kraft’s pinky ring for the second chance with them.

That’s all I have to say about that. Enjoy the festivities this week, and stay out of trouble.

Peace.

BM
#THISAGOODASSGAME
@Clickpicka79
bobbymickey@gmail.com

“We’re Going Streaking!!!!”

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Atlanta tho!!!

The Hawks who I slighted in this year’s preview, have yet to lose in 2015; winning 19 straight and are 40-6 for the season. I tuned in to the watch the Atliens play Portland the other night and was impressed with how krunk it was. I guess I should not have been surprised, since it is the birthplace of Krunk music. What bugged me out though was the arena organ player throwing down some French Montana during a key defensive stand.They beat the Blazers and continued their streak. Hawks are fa’real ya’ll.

Good Ass Games This Week

Monday

Atlanta-New Orleans

This is contingent on the health of “Lil Brow Wow” Anthony Davis. He is supposed to play tonight. We’ll see. Otherwise you’ll have to watch Memphis-Phoenix. If you are trying to watch some college hoops (which I rarely recommend this season), get down on some Iowa State-Kansas on the four letter network. Allen Fieldhouse should be hype, that is if the old people in the building don’t make the young fans sit down so they can see. TURN UP!!

Tuesday

Slim Pickings that night, but you can tap that vein as Golden State takes a trip down I-80 out to “Sactown”. Warriors will be getting it in versus the Kings. We know what happened last time don’t we?

Wednesday

Dallas-Golden State
Oklahoma City-New Orleans
Washington-Atlanta
Chicago-Houston

Bulls-Houston may be the best bet of the night. Oklahoma City has been struggling to get on the same page of late, and I’m convinced it isn’t just health. Their offense is explosive at times, but also highly predictable.

Good teams know how to D up for the Thunder. They don’t do anything fancy, they just try to out run, out shoot, and out jump teams.This strategy has its limits, and when the superstars sit down for any length if time, their offense becomes an eyesore.

I look at Atlanta as if they are a west team these days, so if you can sit through a Wizards game, go ahead and tune in to that game.

Golden State-Dallas would be a lot more sexy if Rondo was playing. Get well soon Rajon.

Thursday

Clippers-Cavaliers

Two really good teams that I really don’t like to watch play. Will I watch? Hell yes. Will I enjoy it? Maybe. I can’t lie though I was impressed with Kyrie Irving’s 55 point game. Bro was relentless against Portland. His game is nice for sure, but I’d much rather watch a certain light skinned brother out of Davidson play ball–but that’s just me.

Speaking of Portland, How did my man “Late Game Dame” get stuck on the outside looking in. Bro is an All Star and a sure fire lock to make first team on Bobby Mickey’s “Non-Kosher All Star Team”. Reserved for the ballers who have been going HAM!

Portland-Phoenix will be an up and down affair (big shout outs to the Jayhawk alumni who’ll be playing that night) with some elite guard play.

Friday

Miami-San Antonio

Should be a good one. I’m liking this Hassan Whiteside kid. He’s been a double-double machine since he got into the league (he even got a triple double one night–posting 12 blocks). After I found out he played high school ball with Iowa State legend, Deandre Kane, he was dope by association alone.

Clippers-Raptors and NOLA-OKC if yoy really wanna tap the vein, but nothing will be ass good as

the Good ASS GAME OF THE WEEK!!!!!!!!!!!!
Golden State vs. Atlanta If you are a pretty girl who don’t like basketball and you see me at the bar; transfixed to the TV screen, just keep walking. If you ain’t messing wit hoop, I ain’t messing wit YOU.

Saturday

Dallas-Portland and Chicago-New Orleans will be entertaining, but I wouldn’t sacrifice a Saturday night (and your significant other’s wrath) for either of these games. If the only thing you tryna tap that night is them veins……. well this will certainly do.

Sunday

Atlanta-Memphis will overshadow all the other games on Sunday’s slate. Will the Hawks still be soaring by Sunday? Will they get mauled by the Grizzlebees? The only thing that would make this game better is if these teams were playing on Martin Luther King Day.

It is only when the Clippers come to Oklahoma City that I remember that Blake Griffin is a native okie.

Portland-Houston will be fun and the Raptors will give the Spurs a good run that night.

This is the first Sunday in a long time there will be no football to distract me, which brings me to the

BUSTER OF THE WEEK AWARD:

Pete Carroll had a chance to cement the Seahawks dynasty and spare everyone from a bukakke of “Tom Brady and Bill Belichick are the greatest coach and QB” headlines. I’ll give the Patriots their due. Sure they cheat, but that had nothing to do win Pete Carroll letting 53 grown ass men down when he decided to pass the ball from the 1 yard line; instead of handing the ball off to the best back in the NFL today. Everyone on that team did their jobs but Pete.

The margin of error is so small during the playoffs, and Pete Carroll had finally convinced me that he’d stop doing Pete Carroll type of things. #Baddecisions. The Seahawks lost that game more than the Patriots won that shit, and the blame starts and stops with Pete Carroll trying to be a rocket scientist instead of a football coach.

I can’t imagine what it feels like to be him, and I don’t want to.That was the most devastatingly bad decision I have seen on such a national stage. Unforgettable. Unbelievable.

People talk about Nelson Cruz’s missed catch in the 2011 World Series, or Bill Buckner’s gaffe. I remember where I was when Scott Norwood missed the game winner against the New York (football) Giants, and the Chris Webber timeout in 1992. This is way worse than any of those events. Never have I seen a coach pluck defeat from the jaws of victory on such a grand and national stage. Pete Carroll, you sir; are the BUSTER OF THE WEEK.

Alright, enough of that nonsense. Football season is over. I’m about to get down on these Good Ass Games.

Peace,

BM

bobbymickey@gmail.com
#thisagoodassgame
@clickpicka79

Going DUMB!!!!

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History was made on Friday night, and the basketball world is no longer the same. Ronnie Lott, Reggie Jackson (Mr. October–not the young pg for the Thunder–we’ll get to him much later),Chris Mullin, Jerry West, E-40, and Too Short were all in the house to see Klay Thompson turn the Oracle up.

The Kings pleaded with the refs to blow the whistle , but to no avail. No one could stop Thompson in the 3rd quarter, not only did he shoot lights out, (12 for 12–did not miss a single shot), but he was blocking shots, taking dude’s cookies, and dishing out dimes.

The coolest thing about watching Klay Thompson score 37 points in the 3rd quarter, was that everyone was juiced to see it go down. Having lived in the Bay, and been to the Oracle, I know just how electric the atmosphere can be when the Warriors are rolling.

I didn’t go to sleep until 5 in the morning because of the buzz, so I can only imagine what it was like for those closer to the action. I had to watch the 3rd quarter over after the game ended, because I was only half paying attention to it, when it became obvious that Klay was “Going DUMB” up in the spot.

You can tell what type of ball club they have in Oakland right now, because not once during that NBA JAM–like performance did anyone want to shoot the ball other than Klay. They just kept feeding him the rock. I’m not sure Klay even gets close to having that kind of hot streak, if he shares the floor with Russell Westbrook, Gerald Green, J.R. Smith, or Dion Waiters. They like to get buckets too much.

It was a remarkable thing to watch, and I still get chills watching the highlights of it. Get ya money Klay Thompson! I hope Steve Kerr (who is an awesome coach) gets to start an all Golden State backcourt during ALL-Star Weekend. Klay is no doubt the best 2 way shooting guard in the league( Magic Johnson thinks Klay and Lebron are the two best all around players)–and he is only going to get better.

At the beginning of the year I thought the Warriors success would depend on the health of the frontcourt. I had no idea they would be this balanced. They have a deep bench, and everyone on the team has gotten better this year. Andrew Bogut’s attributes as a passer have been accentuated in the high post. Kerr starting Barnes over Iguodala has helped not only the starters, but also the bench depth.

They are not just beating teams, they are blowing them out. Their have been beating teams by an avg of 13 points a game. They have that look. They are young, explosive, hungry, and have a winner coaching them through pitfalls. Kerr is level headed, funny, and enjoys seeing the them succeed. It is a long season, and it won’t matter what the seedings are once the playoffs begin (no cupcakes from #1 through #8). All I’m saying is that this (36-6) is no fluke. The Dubs are for real.

Good Ass Games of the Week

Monday

Instead of watching OKC-Minny, I decided to watch some of my students play their freshman against their rival high school. As it turned out, Durant is resting his toe tonight, and the Thunder handled Minnesota–despite ROY candidate Wiggins getting 23 points. This also explains why I’m posting this now instead of yesterday. I’m happy with my decision.

Tuesday

Memphis-Dallas

Dallas has lost a couple of games they could have easily won the last few games. They still need frontcourt help. I’m not sure if signing Jermaine O’Neal (at his age now)is the guy you can count on to alleviate the depth issues.

Chicago-Golden State

No way in hell I’m missing this one. I know Chicago hasn’t been playing well of late, but this could easily be the NBA Finals. Sleep on the Bulls and you might get the horn.

Wednesday

Portland-Cleveland

“Dark Nowitzki” stepped it up Saturday night and put in work (26 points, 9 boards) despite a torn ligament in his thumb. Cleveland has been playing well of late after Lebron getting himself some rest. The acquisition of Iman Shumpbert, Timofey Mosgov, and J.R. Smith saved Cleveland’s season. This game will be played at a very high level. I’m hoping there will be an ILLARD sighting come 4th quarter.

Thursday
A good night to work on whatever you need to catch up on in the week, whether you are studying for a test, or making one for class. Just take the night off. Trust me I’m a doctor.

Friday

Chicago-Phoenix

This will be a fun one to watch. Fast paced, but a defensive struggle at times. It should get up into the 100’s for both squads but barely.

Clippers-Pelicans

New Orleans and Oklahoma City are on the outside looking in right now. While I think that Oklahoma City needs to move Reggie Jackson for the sake of that locker room, the Pelicans got better by getting rid of one buster in exchange for a decent wingman in Quincy Poindexter. Both teams will be in the hunt until the end, but if they don’t make it in, they can lament on some close losses they had early in the season.

Portland-Atlanta

Atlanta is no joke. At the end of last week, they were 11-3 versus the West. They are balanced and are in the midst of a 14 game winning streak. To say I didn’t see this coming is an understatement. Here is a team that is up for sale (I’ve heard Grant Hill, Hank Aaron, and C-Webb all as potential buyers), and should be in the midst of turmoil. “Can’t Stop. Won’t Stop. Uh uh. Bad Boys.”

Saturday

Oklahoma City-Memphis

Insert any sports cliche to indicate that this will be a physical and hard fought game, and it will be completely accurate. This game will be whatever you want it to be. Of all the candidates for the Good Ass Game of the Week award, this matchup may have the strongest case. If KD plays, this game will live up to the hype.

Clippers-San Antonio

My Saturday night will be filled with good hoop. How am I supposed to choose between this, the above game and Golden State-Phoenix? I just got goosebumps. MMMMMMMPPPPHHHH

Super Bowl Sunday

Seahawks-Patriots

Seattle over New England 24-17. There will be some big hits, and it will be exciting. Damn. I just realized I gotta find a place to watch this thing.

BUSTER OF THE WEEK AWARD

I’ll gladly accept this award this week. During the NFC Championship game, my buddy and I turned the game off after Russell Wilson threw his last interception with 5:01 remaining. I thought there was no way that Seattle could come back at this point.

We started playing NBA2k15 with the Timberwolves and Kings. I was in the middle of passing into the “Boogie Down Productions” in the post when I get this text saying the game was going into overtime.

We stopped the game and turned it to FOX and sat in confusion as we tried to piece the last 4:59 seconds of regulation together. By the time we figured it out, Russell Wilson was throwing a TD to Jermaine Kearse, then weeping on national television. It was a very weird birthday for me. So I guess my gift to myself is this award. The game was over, or so I thought.

Normally I wouldn’t invest that much time and turn off into an event and turn it off during end game, but it just seemed over. I should have known better though. Had I been playing Madden, I wouldn’t have given up and kept playing through. Why would I think differently for the NFC Championship game? Straight Busterish.

Enjoy the week of Good ASS Games.

Holler at me on twitter
@clickpicka79
bobbymickey@gmail.com
#thisagoodassgame

Run That Shit Back!

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We back! The NBA pre-season is upon us, which means we are only 2 and a half weeks away from the ball being thrown up for realsssssssss.

I can sum up this upcoming season by grouping the teams into four categories of watchability:

a) “Don’t Waste my Time”

b) “I’ll watch depending on they are playing”

c) “Oooh they playing tonight? Let me see what I got going on.”

d) “Cancel all my plans. I’m staying in tonight.”

Basically teams fall into these categories by whether they got better, got worse, or stayed the same. Some teams were so wack last year they couldn’t help but improve. Others thought (rightly or wrongly) that no changes needed to be made. Let’s get to it, this thing is already going to be long enough.

As much as I love hoop, I will not spend too much time in front of the tube watching the following teams:

Celtics, Lakers, Pacers, Nets, Utah and the Atlanta Hawks.

As a certain social philosopher likes to say, “NOT GONNA BE ABLE TO DO IT!” Not interested, not even a little bit.

How many uncontested layups will the Los Angeles Lakers give up this year? I’m willing to bet anyone that the Lakers will finish in the bottom five in defensive field goal percentage.
Kobe Bryant, Carlos Boozer, Steve Nash, Jeremy Lin, Swaggy P………if Jordan hill is your best option on defense…should I even continue?

Let’s just hope Jack Nicholson has low expectations this year, because I’d hate to see the old man blow a gasket after seeing his beloved Lake show give up bucket after 4th quarter bucket. Good luck Byron Scott. Lakers need to be in rebuild mode. Talk about being in denial. The Lakers will be right back in the lottery. Mark my words.
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With the loss of Lance Stephenson, I had Indiana being in the lottery even BEFORE Paul George got himself fucked up during the FIBA scrimmages.

I like what Danny Ainge is doing out in Boston, but it will be a couple more years before I can be excited about sitting down to a Celtics game. We’re just not there yet.

Even if the Nets were good, it would be hard for me to support anything Russian owned while that shit is going on in the Ukraine.

UTAH???psssttttttt just change your team mascot already. Saying there is Jazz in Utah is like saying there are good looking women in Maine. I’m sure at one time or another both have existed in each state, but neither are home grown products. If I knew anything about Utah other than Mormons, reformed Mormons, the X-games, and weed, I could come up with something clever–but I can’t. Let’s just move on.

I HAVE A DREAM…….that someday Al Horford will play for a legitimate NBA contender. Go to Chicago Al!!! Team back up with Joakim Noah, I swear I won’t root against you two this time.

DEPENDS ON WHO THEY PLAY

Memphis, Houston, Pelicans, Pistons, Bulls (without D. Rose), Orlando, Denver, Milwaukee, Philly, Knicks, Miami

After a couple of years of squeaking into the playoffs, I think this is the year Memphis finally misses the cut. Phoenix is better, and the Grizzlies are older. I think the injury bug will hit a couple of key veterans. The Grindhouse will not be rocking next April if my suspicions are correct.

I don’t find James Harden or Dwight Howard the least bit of entertaining to watch. I can’t stand Patrick Beverly, and if I wanted to watch someone shoot 30 free throws I’d go to the YMCA and volunteer.

Other than Kid Rock, Jalen Rose, and Eminem, no one outside of the state of Michigan is interested in watching Detroit basketball.

The “Brow” is almost intriguing enough to tune in, but the rest of his team is garbage. Next!

Orlando almost has enough pieces to warrant more than a peek in at their games. One more year of the lottery should get them in position to contend for a playoff spot next year.

Denver has the “Manimal”, and a nasty backcourt of Arron Afflalo and Ty Lawson. But really that is about it. But props to Brian Shaw for smashing on Madonna (a remarkable feat that doesn’t get enough attention) in her prime.

Will Jason Kidd be the first NBA player-coach to suit up since Dave Cowens? I think they the pieces to grab that 8th playoff spot. The Eastern conference is wack as hell, and both New York teams will be in the toilet (more on the Knicks in a second) this year. Someone has to grab that last spot–it may as well be them. Peep the roster if you don’t believe me.
Gonna see a lot of this this year
I’m not even remotely interested in Philadelphia until they get completely healthy.

All the players on the Knicks I wanna see play are deep on the bench. I just don’t see how that roster can make the playoffs–even in the East. I’m not entirely sold on D-Fish as a head coach–at least right now. I believe he will have a pretty big learning curve. I think they will miss the playoffs, but just barely. Also Amar’e Stoudemire makes the most money on the team this year, and may actually play the least amount of minutes.

Do you remember when Chris Bosh was the best player on his team in Toronto? Well if you don’t, then this Heat team will remind you of what that was like. Chris Bosh is going to put up some numbers this year, and the Heat will not be as bad as you think. Don’t be surprised if they play Cleveland in the Eastern Conference Finals.

OOOOOHHHH THEY PLAYING?

Clippers, Bulls (with a healthy D. Rose), Raptors, Cleveland, Mavericks, Wizards, Hornets

These teams I wouldn’t exactly drop everything I’m doing, but I could be talked into meeting someone at the bar to watch any combination of these teams playing each other.

The Clippers were one of those teams that didn’t do much to get better or worse, but besides Jamal Crawford and Chris Paul, there aren’t any other guys who can create their own shot. Blake Griffin and DeAndre Jordan will be better this year, but barring a mid-season trade (and injuries to OKC and San Antonio), I don’t see how they make it out of the west. I do think they will have the best regular season record and will get home court in the playoffs, but that guarantees little against the Spurs and Thunder.

Bulls are deep this year. I’m salivating on watching Noah and Gasol run that Hi-Lo in the post. The Bulls have Mike Dunleavy, Taj Gibson, Aaron Brooks, Doug McDermott and Kirk Hinrich as good role players. I would pencil them as Eastern Conference champs were it not for a few lingering questions.

1) Is the Curse of Michael Jordan real?

Ever since the Jerry’s ran off Phil, Scottie and MJ, the Bulls have had nothing but bad luck. Eddie Curry…..trading Lamarcus Aldridge for Tyrus Thomas, the Jay Williams motorcycle accident, Derrick Rose getting hurt during garbage time of a playoff game—-oh wait that isn’t bad luck— those are the result of bad decisions aren’t they?

2) Will Tom Thibadeau finally learn from the Spurs model and figure out a way to spell his starters so the team can be fresh for the playoffs? Thibs just has a way of grinding his players down. I feel like this is an under reported item concerning his coaching style.

3) The big question of course is will Derrick Rose make it to the All-Star break? He is the difference between them getting knocked out in the first round, and them losing to the Spurs in the finals.

Raptors made no significant changes, which was a good decision. They re-signed Kyle Lowry, which is almost like getting a big name free agent. They could should easily win Atlantic division this year.

People are hype about Cleveland, (and the should be), but why aren’t people also acknowledging that besides their “Big 3”, Cleveland still has a number of questions. Just how much better is Lebron’s supporting cast in Cleveland than the one he left in South Beach? Was James Jones ever that good?
He old and Cleveland is COLD.

I could write that sentence again in regards to Mike Miller and Shawn Marion. All three of these guys are in their mid thirties and have had the luxury of playing in warmer climates for most of their careers. Sure the game is played indoors, but that has to have some affect on your psyche–especially in a shit hole town like Cleveland. It aint ‘Zona or Texas or Florida.

How many games will Kyrie Irving play this year? He hasn’t played a full season of basketball since he was in high school. I’m not saying he’s bad, I’m just suggesting he might be a little frail. I’m not judging (I’m someone who gets hurt playing everything). But we can’t pretend like Irving is a guy you can pencil in to be healthy at the end of the year. Perhaps this wouldn’t be that big of an issue had Cleveland not wasted that pick on Anthony Bennett.

They opted instead for Victor Oladipo, but who is to say they wouldn’t have had to trade him for Kevin Love (imagine what an addition that would have been for Minnesota)? regardless Lebron not only has his consistently monster numbers, but will earn the MVP because everyone else’s stats will inflate because of his presence on the court (especially the Wins column).

Dallas as a team that would drop in the west, but I took a look at the roster and realized that Raymond Felton was indeed NOT the starting point guard for the Mavericks (the Jeopardy answer would be “Who is Jameer Nelson?”). I like their squad, and as I have said before, Rick Carlisle is the 2nd best coach in the NBA. Nothing could surprise me concerning the Mavericks–including another Finals run.

I like the Wizards running the same team back with the addition of Paul Pierce. He will be a great presence for them in the locker room. They are a dangerous team that has a top five backcourt. They could easily be in the Eastern Conference Finals as well.

Lance Stephenson was a great pickup for the Hornets (feels so right doesn’t it? I miss calling them that). Charlotte will be more entertaining to watch this year, but they will still get bounced in the first or second round.

“Alright stop what you doing cuz I’m about to ruin……”

You know what it is….every day I will circle the games these teams are playing and will make damn sure I get to watch them–even if its on replay.

Golden State made a controversial move in ousting Mark Jackson, but they couldn’t have made a less controversial hire in Steve Kerr. I think he will fit in fine with the front office, and will be a breath of fresh air for the franchise, believe it or not. Their season depends on how many games they can squeeze out of their front court players, David Lee and Andrew Bogut.

I’m also curious as to how well Harrison Barnes is integrated into the playing rotation. They need him to play as well as he did during the 2012 playoff run, if the Warriors are to take that next step. Continuity is a huge factor every year, and no major moves were made this off-season. The core remains intact with a couple of key additions in their back court. The Splash Brothers will actually get some rest if Leandro Barbosa, Shaun Livingston, and Brandon Rush can contribute off the bench.

Super Bowl champion Head Coach Jimmy Johnson used to say, “If you are not getting better, then you are getting worse.” This adage pretty much sums up what the Thunder did this off-season. They wasted this summer’s draft picks, lost their best perimeter defender in Thabo Sefalosha, and only managed to sign Anthony Morrow. That being said, the still have two of the best five players in the NBA. That alone will be good enough to get them to the Western Conference Finals. Steven Adams will be starting at center no later than the All Star Break.

Portland didn’t do much to improve either. Then again, any off-season moves to be made on that roster would’ve had negligible results (Is the difference between a 7 seed and a 5 seed in the west worth messing up team chemistry?) Portland’s bench is better based on another year’s experience for Thomas Robinson and C.J. McCollum.

Phoenix will for sure be in the playoffs. They re-signed Eric Bledsoe, bringing back the nastiest back court duo west of San Antonio and east of Nevada. They managed to draft Tyler Ennis, T.J Warren, and acquired Isiah Thomas. The Morris twins re-upped and so did P.J. Tucker’s drunk driving ass. They won’t be sneaking up on no one this year. They ready. Fools are gonna get banged on when they play the Suns.

The T-Cubs will be the newest fun team to watch this year. It is too bad Rick Adelman won’t be around to coach this team. I think this is the second coming of the Baby Bulls, and early 2000’s Sacramento Kings. Rubio finally has some guys to run with him. Look at who the Timberwolves have: Zach Levine, Shabazz Muhammad, Glenn Robinson III, Corey Brewer, Mo Williams, and my boy A. WIGGINSSSS!!!

Last year, the Wolves were 3rd ppg, 6th in rpg, 5th assist, 26th in points allowed. If they can even get into the top 20 in team defense, I think they can contend for a playoff spot until the final week of the regular season. I’m excited to see this team play. Andrew Wiggins wins Rookie of the Year award (even if he has to share it with Jabari Parker–I think getting shunned by the Cavs/Lebron will be the best thing to ever happen for his career–this is the chip on the shoulder he needed).

You know who didn’t have to do a damn thing this year? The NBA (World?) champion Spurs re-signed their role players and drafted triple-double machine, 6’9 PG Kyle Anderson from UCLA. I see this being a quiet title defense for the Spurs. Everyone is going bananas over the revamped Cavaliers, when the Spurs dismantled a team that currently looked better than what Cleveland is running out onto the court. I see the Spurs just chilling in the cut until their “Rodeo trip” and then landing a #3 seed in the playoffs. Health is the biggest factor for them. Their bench players will play just as big a role (probably a bigger role) as last year’s title run.

Anyway, enough with all the formalities. Time to put my name on the line.

MVP Lebron (of course)

Co-Rookies of the Year
Andrew Wiggins/Jabari Parker

Eastern Conference
1. Cleveland
2. Wizards
3. Raptors
4. Chicago
5. Miami
6. Charlotte
7. Milwaukee
8. Atlanta

Western Conference

1. Clippers
2. OKC
3. Spurs
4. Mavericks
5. Warriors
6. Phoenix
7. Portland
8. Houston

Western Conference Finals

Spurs over Oklahoma City (again)

Eastern Conference Finals

Cleveland over Washington

NBA Finals

Spurs over Cleveland to defend their title and shut down any remaining naysayers. Cleveland isn’t ready yet. This year will be a toss up in the East, but by 2015, it will be Cleveland and then everyone else. As evidenced by all the hype surrounding his return to Ohio, this is still Lebron’s league.

Scrappin’ [Posted 4/25/14 on Sportsblog.com]

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If you are the type of person who likes seeing hard fouls, contested layups and massively uncomfortable stare downs, then the NBA playoffs is for you. If you haven’t noticed, things have turned up a notch The past week has given us a couple of weirdly entertaining series out east, a Pacers teams that looks on the verge of an epic seasonal collapse, a youthful resurgence in Rip City, and GM’s dropping 25,000 dollar expletives.

As we get closer to the swing games of the first round series, expect the intensity to pick up. I’ve watched judiciously, easing into this two month gauntlet of masculinity and bravado, but the weight of each game is getting heavier and even the Eastern Conference is becoming just interesting enough to at least tune into the 4th quarter. The Feds seized my favorite streaming site so now I’m catching them wherever I can; pool halls, pizza joints, wing bars, and frat boys’ open windows. It’s about to get krunk, and if my roommates thought I was loud during the regular season,look out!!!!!!!! Thanks to Kevin Durant and Kendrick Perkins, I’ve already alienated myself with all the screaming I was doing. The people who live on my floor hate me.

Random thoughts from the first round:

I may have been wrong about the Eastern Conference but only slightly. From everything I’ve heard, the Pacers-Hawks series has been ugly. I’ve been tracking it on ESPN, and whatever apps you can get score updates, and I haven’t gotten the impression that its something that I’m missing out on. The same can be said about the Bobcats-Heat. If I wanted to see beat downs, I’d go on bumfights.com or look up Kimbo Slice videos. Yawn.

The Bulls-Wizards match up has been intriguing. I’ve watched crunch time of both games and the Wizards have been taking it to the Bulls down the stretch. I’m not the biggest fan of Bill Simmons by any stretch of the imagination, but I’ll give credit where its due. He said Washington would beat the Bulls before the series started. Simmons stated that the back court match up would be the difference in the series and he was right. Chicago has no real answer for Bradley Beal and John Wall when it matters most. Nene has played pretty well (I didn’t realize he was such a good passer) and the rest of the cast has been just good enough. Both games could have gone either way, but Chicago is going to have a tough time climbing out of the hole that’s been dug for them. They just don’t have enough playmakers.

The off the court theatrics in the Toronto-Brooklyn series has been more compelling to me than the on court product (Paul Pierce’s “This is why they brought me here” was exactly why he’s one of the most beloved Jayhawks of all time). Between that, GM of Toronto’s “F%$^ Brooklyn” and this weird Jay-Z- Drake “beef” (which I’m almost convinced is a publicity stunt for an upcoming duet album “Degrassi Heights”), the media has made this series into “New York vs. New York Lite, the battle for Metropolis” narrative.

While I’m talking about this, there are a couple weird things I think about this so called “beef”. Drake calling anything anyone’s raps “corny” is laughable, and for him to pretend like Toronto is this blue collar city, and the Raptors are a team for the “people” is equally ridiculous. I’ve been to Toronto. Its about as metropolitan of a city as you’ll find in North America, and other Canadians hate Toronto. Everyone please stop it. That shit is too silly.

Somehow I’ve managed to miss both Spurs-Mavs games, but luckily there haven’t been any dick punches to upstage the actual play on the court. With Dallas winning game 2 in San Antonio, it guarantees there will at least be a game 5. This will probably be when I decide to finally jump in and watch Dirk vs. Tim, Pops vs. Carlisle, and Monta vs. the WORLD.

Oklahoma City may have possibly gotten the worst draw of the field. Memphis has always been a bad match up for them, because of how physical they play on defense, and how slow they play on offense. Oklahoma City beats most teams by their athleticism and most teams try to out run them. Memphis likes to body up KD with Tony Allen and company, and make OKC grind out their wins. It took OKC 7 games to dispose of the Grizz two years ago on their Finals run. Last year with no Westbrook, it was clear they were dead in the water. This year, with OKC fans cringing every time Westbrook hits the deck (they are such a different squad without Russ), it seems like even if the Thunder escape this round, that they may be too tired to advance much deeper than past years. Memphis has a way of wearing down their opponents.

Watching Westbrook get his kneecap worked on put into perspective how flaky life can be. 2 years ago, it seemed like the Thunder were on the brink of a dynasty, and just like that Harden is leading a team of floppers down in Houston, and Westbrook is one nasty spill away from being this generation’s Ron Harper. It just goes to show that you never know how things are going to be from year to year. Memphis was the one team that I didn’t want to get in because they made me nervous (well that and Phoenix was a bit more entertaining), and now that they are healthy again, they are going to make teams work to close them out. It won’t be pretty.

As for this Dubs-Clips series, I didn’t realize David Lee was going to be healthy enough to play this series (he’s such an underrated passer), but even with Lee it is still hard for me to believe the Warriors have the juice to win this thing. There was a moment when I realized that I used to watch Mark Jackson and Glen “Doc” Rivers when they were playing for Indiana and New York, and how I was a fan of both of them during their league days. I am starting to think that despite Mark Jackson’s oratory skills, he is lacking in the X’s and O’s department. His in-game decisions have been trumped again and again by the Doc. Jackson will always have a job in the league because he is a player’s coach (much like Scotty Brooks) but some of his strategic decisions have been puzzling at best (again much like Scotty Brooks).

Have I mentioned that I don’t like the Clippers? They are some of the whiniest, dirtiest players assembled right now, west of Miami, Florida. Blake Griffin flops more than a mud shark shoved in a Zeppelin groupie’s……well let’s leave that alone. The point is there is always a little extra with the Clippers, and that was a foul by Chris Paul at the end of the game. That being said, you can’t play that poorly for 3 quarters and then expect to get bailed out the refs. My prediction is the next game will be the last game won by the Dubs in this series. I think the Clippers will win the next two, of course game 6 might be another Oracle classic.

Let’s see how it all shakes out.

See ya next week.