Bizarro Joe Lunardi

Sexson to Yankees

2008-07-17T13:17:00.000-07:00

Sexson to Yankees

Is it a bad sign when you're filling a roster spot with a guy that the worst team in baseball is willing to pay $6 million to no longer be on their roster?

Well, that was Uggla....

2008-07-15T22:34:00.000-07:00

(Ha, get it?)

That game was both awesome and horrible at the same time but it was all kinds of entertaining. It was probably the most entertaining exhibition game of any sport I have ever watched but it was definitely a waste of everybody's time.

And don't worry Phillies fans; I'm sure Brad Lidge is real mentally strong and you will not see any residual effects from this game.

AL MVP - Dan Uggla

Billy Packer Retires!!!!

2008-07-14T10:30:00.000-07:00

As if I need any more reasons to look forward to basketball season, I hear the great news that Billy Packer is retiring. My question is; who is going to stand up for the "little guys" like Duke and North Carolina now that Packer is gone?

Rich Harden to the Cubs

2008-07-10T10:13:00.000-07:00

I put together a post on the Brewers getting CC Sabathia so I figure I better make a post on my favorite team answering that with Rich Harden. (By the way, I am usually opposed to guys deciding they can change their names after everyone they had gained some level of fame. If people have been calling you J.R. for years but you randomly decide you want to be referred to as Isaiah, I'm not on board. Tell us that from the beginning. However, I can get on board with CC dropping the periods perhaps only because it makes his name easier to type.)

Even after the Brewers picked up Sabathia the Cubs were still a good bet to make the playoffs. My biggest fear was front end starting pitching for the Cubs once there. Now, if healthy, I'd throw Zambrano and Harden up there with anyone in baseball. That combined with the Cubs offense and bullpen makes them a pretty scary team in the postseason.

I get the health concerns with Harden but this is definitely a reasonable roll of the dice for the Cubs. If Harden's arm had fallen off on the plane ride from Oakland to Chicago what are the Cubs out for this year? Gallagher? Well, that would hurt but Jim Hendry did a great job getting Gaudin back in the deal as well as not only bullpen help but also insurance in case of a Harden injury. (And it should be noted that even Gaudin or Harden or Gallagher the Cubs can put together a competitive rotation of Zambrano, Dempster, Lilly, Marquis, and Marshall).

The point of this deal was for October and considering the Cubs only lost one possible contributor from this year's team it is a deal that looks like it could be too good to be true (and really with Harden's health it might be).

In addition to Gallagher, Murton, Patterson, and Donaldson. Gallagher has a real promising future and is obviously the centerpiece to this deal. The Cubs wouldn't even let Murton play with Soriano out this past month (although that may have been stupid on the Cubs' part). Patterson is a guy whose bat would be good as a second baseman except he can't play there defensively. So the Cubs have been working him in the outfield where his bat is no longer very good but he sucks defensively there too. And Donaldson is a catcher of questionable defensive ability struggling to hit as a 22 year old at A ball. Like I said, this is perhaps too good to be true.

Sabathia to Milwaukee and Varitek to the All Star Game

2008-07-07T08:28:00.000-07:00

The big news yesterday was the Brewers getting CC Sabathia. I’m a bit surprised the Indians pulled the trigger so quickly considering it looks like the only elite prospect they got was the very elite Matt LaPorta. If I’m the Indians I’m holding out a bit more to see if they can squeeze some more out of the Brewers.

Still, how does this impact the Brewers the rest of the year? Sabathia will probably replace either Dave Bush or Seth McClung. Over the course of a year Sabathia over either of those guys probably amounts to about 4-6 wins meaning a decent guess is that Sabathia probably gets them 2-3 more regular season wins. Obviously for a team on the post-season bubble those could be some huge wins.

Even more than the value of Sabathia for the regular season is Sabathia for the post-season. Do you want to face Sabathia and Ben Sheets in a short series? I know I wouldn’t.

There is one other key component to examine: health. Not only Ben Sheets is obviously injured all the time but somehow Ned Yost has managed to allow Sheets to lead all of MLB in pitcher abuse points. Seriously Ned? Ben Sheets of all guys? It will take a miracle to get him through the rest of the year. Checking out that link you’ll notice Sabathia is 5^th. True, Sabathia has been very durable for his entire career but consider last year. Sabathia threw over 240 innings in the regular season and then struggled mightily in the playoffs. Were his playoff struggles a product of tough lineups, small sample size, or a buildup of all those innings? It’s impossible to say but it’s worth noting.

I need to make one comment on the All Star game rosters that came out yesterday. It was basically already said by Keith Law but Jason Varitek? Really? The same Varitek hitting below replacement level? The great thing about Varitek being voted in is that he was voted in by the players which just further cements what everybody already knows; everybody hates A.J. Pierzkasydnfaskski.

A Great Comment Deserves a New Post

2008-06-29T23:10:00.000-07:00

OK, on my post on team grades I got the comment which said:

"Anonymous Anonymous said...

Regarding Knicks: Since you admit you essentially know nothing about the pick or the Knick's situation, why not offer a grade of "Inc." rather than a "D."

I have a feeling Gallinari is going to be one of the big positive surprises of the draft.

June 29, 2008 1:41 PM"

I started to respond in the comments section but it got long and I decided to make it another post.

First of all, I apologize for the poor formatting of the post (I definitely don't have this whole Internet thing down) but the grade I assigned actually comes AFTER the blurb so I gave the Knicks a C.

All I know about Gallinari is that he has the reputation of being an offensive player. One of the problems with the Knicks for years now has been they have too many guys looking out for their own stats and not enough guys willing to play defense and the role of distributor. Based on what I read about Gallinari, that is not a great fit.

Then again, you could make the argument that D'Antoni is trying to start over and Gallinari will be a better fit with the plans he has in mind. If the Knicks are going to get blown up shortly that could impact my opinion of this pick.

Further, what this illustrates is how stupid of an exercise it is to do what I did. People, myself included, like to look at draft night in a vacuum and say who had the best day and who had the worst day or even do something stupider and assign arbitrary grades for each team. This completely ignores that the draft is only a small part of an off-season and a single off-season is only a small part of putting a team together, especially for a team like the Knicks that need a lot of work.

At the same time, I love the draft and feel the need to throw some thoughts out there so just by the nature of the task you're bound to read some pretty stupid things.

Anyway, thanks for reading and I really appreciate the comment!

Draft Grades

2008-06-28T22:29:00.000-07:00

Atlanta Hawks

It’s a shame that a team that made the playoffs for the first time since 1436 had no way to improve their team via the draft.

Grade: INC

Boston Celtics J.R. Giddens
Bill Walker
Semih Erden

The Celtics seem like a team that could be a good fit for a Giddens. He’ll have a teammate with whom he can share being stabbed while out on the town stories, so that’s something. The talent is there that he could turn into a contributor even if he was drafted too early. Speaking of the talent being there, Walker was a great pickup for them via trade in the second round. I’m thinking it’s possible he could still have been a lottery pick if he went back to Kansas State. The Celtics picked up two very talented players. Picking guys in the second round that you can leave overseas is a fine decision for a team like the Celtics.

Grade: B

Charlotte Bobcats D.J. Augustin
Alexis Ajinca
Kyle Weaver

Is it a bad thing if the pick of theirs I like the most is Weaver? I don’t think Augustin will be bad but it was a minor reach and did not fill a need. The rumors are they are shopping Raymond Felton but I figure they would be better off going another direction (big?) at 9 and hoping Felton is serviceable. Ajinca is a workout wonder that has done nothing thus far in an actual basketball career. And they traded a future first rounder for that? That’s a horrible trade. Weaver is a solid, well-rounded player and I figure he should make the team.

Grade: D

Chicago Bulls Derrick Rose
Omer Asik

Rose is a good enough talent that I cannot give the Bulls a poor grade, especially when I was figuring they would be drafting at 9. Still, when you have the first pick you should hope you end up with the best player in the draft and they failed in that regard. In the second round I would have liked to see them pick up Bill Walker or Chris Douglas-Roberts but pulling off a trade of three second rounders for Asik is not a horrible idea. I like the idea of taking a guy to leave overseas and if Asik was a guy they really liked it is worthwhile to give up second rounders for that.

Grade: B

Cleveland Cavaliers J.J. Hickson

I don’t dislike Hickson but I don’t think he’s a guy that can provide any offensive help any time soon and that is what the Cavs need best. For example, there were a lot of Kosta Koufos rumors here and although I think I like Hickson more I wonder if Koufos would have been the better fit here.

Grade: C

Dallas Mavericks Shan Foster

I suppose Foster was not a horrible gamble where the Mavs took him. He was an elite three-point shooter at Vanderbilt but there are rumors that his range does not extend to the three-point line. Those rumors make sense considering there was a fair amount of talk that he struggled with his shot in workouts. If Foster cannot extend out to that line he is not going to have any value.

Grade: C

Denver Nuggets Sonny Weems
First Rounder

I think I am in favor of their trade with Charlotte although it is tough to guess when they’ll get that first round pick back. My guess is probably not until 2012 but that is still OK because it figures to be a higher pick than the Nuggets had this year. Considering I don’t know who would have been able to help the Nuggets now with that pick I think it was a good choice. Giving up a future second rounder to roll the dice on Weems was fine if they like him. It’s a low risk maneuver but I am not very high on Weems.

Grade: B

Detroit Pistons Walter Sharpe
Trent Plaisted
Deron Washington

Initially when Detroit took D.J. White I thought he sounded like a good fit with the Pistons but then they traded him for a couple of second rounders, which turned into Sharpe and Plaisted. Sharpe seemed like a bit of a reach as it is tough to know what to expect of a guy that did not play a whole lot due to problems that may be caused by his narcolepsy. Then you have Plaisted, a legitimately skilled big man that probably was a good value where they got him. Washington is a wonderful athlete but in the NBA there are lots of wonderful athletes and I’m not convinced he has the basketball skills to match. He could turn into an excellent defender though.

Grade: C+

Golden State Warriors Anthony Randolph
Richard Hendrix

I’m really not too high on Randolph although if he is going to succeed anywhere it would be in a system like Golden State’s. So, that’s good for Randolph but what’s bad for Randolph is that I’m not sure how well he and Brandon Wright can play together unless the Warriors are convinced he can play the three. I am not convinced. I hear some comparisons between Hendrix and Paul Millsap but he isn’t going to be that kind of rebounder. He could end up making the roster though.

Grade: C+

Houston Rockets Donte Greene
Joey Dorsey
Maarty Leunen
Second Rounder

I don’t know what to think of Donte Greene. I loved him when I first saw him and then liked him less and less each time I saw him thereafter. He looks like he should be great and he shows flashes but basically he turned into little more than a jump shooter, and not even a particularly good one at that. I like the possibilities of what Dorsey and Leunen can offer. With Dorsey’s strength and athleticism he should be able to contribute defensively and he knows better than to even attempt to do anything other than dunk on offense. He’s a horrible offensive player but at least he realizes his limitations. Leunen is kind of the opposite of these other two guys. Whereas Greene seems to get worse the more you see him, Leunen isn’t flashy enough to appear to be much on first glance but he looks better the more you see him. Whereas Dorsey has no offensive skills Leunen has a pretty nice offensive repertoire.

Grade: B-

Indiana Pacers Brandon Rush
Roy Hibbert
Jarrett Jack
Josh McRoberts
T.J. Ford
Rasho Nesterovic

The Pacers were busy on and before draft night. It was pretty obvious that Jermaine O’Neal was not going to play for the Pacers next year (and you could argue he didn’t really play for them last year either). Getting Ford and a first rounder out of him could be worse considering O’Neal contract and how obvious it was they were looking to deal not to mention their need for a point guard. Then the Pacers lucked into having Bayless slip to them so naturally they traded him away. I would kill them for that but they actually got a guy that is much more of a sure thing in Rush as well as another point guard in Jack. Now if only someone would take Tinsley off their hands they’d be set. Hibbert was a pretty decent pick. Any time you can get a guy that is 7-2 and can walk and chew gum at the same time that’s not a bad deal and not only can Hibbert do that but he even has some offensive skill. Keep him in a half-court game and he can be a valuable contributor.

Grade: B

Los Angeles Clippers Eric Gordon
DeAndre Jordan
Mike Taylor

Gordon scares me because he was only good for half a year. I know he was injured so I’m not holding that against him but I would have liked to see him in college another year to get more of a sense of how legit he really is. Still I think I trust his skills because the half of the year he was good he was awfully good. Jordan is an ideal second round pick. You get a young guy with top 5 potential and that’s what second round picks were made for (even if he hasn’t done anything thus far in his basketball career). Taylor is obviously the fun NBDL story from Iowa State and he’s a fantastic athlete that is trying to play point guard that is very turnover prone and more of a scorer than a distributor. I don’t know how much of his deficiencies were worsened by being in the NBDL because I don’t know much about NBDL basketball but his talent figures to be there.

Grade: B+

Los Angeles Lakers Joe Crawford

I don’t see the any skills that stand out to me enough with Crawford to suggest he’ll stick in the league although he’s pretty solid all around. I can’t hold anything against the Lakers even if I doubt he’ll make the team. It’s hard to expect much when your only pick is that late.

Grade: B-

Memphis Grizzlies O.J. Mayo
Darrell Arthur
Marko Jaric
Antoine Walker
Greg Buckner

I have to give the Grizzlies a reasonably positive grade because I really like Mayo and I really like Arthur. I think things could have been better. It sounds like they likely could have had Michael Beasley if they were willing to give up Mike Conley and if so they should have done that. Instead I’m not sure how this backcourt is going to work out. Arthur is a very good player though, and looked like maybe the best player in the talent rich national title game.

Grade: C+

Miami Heat Michael Beasley
Mario Chalmers
Darnell Jackson

This was a wonderful draft for the Heat. They ended up with the best player in Beasley and they ended up with Chalmers too, who may be able to start in the backcourt with Dwyane Wade. I’m not convinced that Jackson is good enough to stick but Beasley and Chalmers make this draft fantastic on their own.

Grade: A+

Milwaukee Bucks Joe Alexander
Luc Richard Mbah a Moute
Richard Jefferson

I included the Jefferson on here even though no draft picks were included in this deal. That was a great trade for the Bucks as Jefferson provides a real quality player to play on the wing with Michael Redd. With Jefferson there you can also slowly bring in Alexander, which is great for him. I’m really high on Alexander and I actually do not think he is as raw as most seem to suggest but giving him a safety net is not such a bad thing. I assume the Bucks like Mbah a Moute’s potential as a defender but there were a number of other players around then that could have provided better help.

Grade: B+

Minnesota Timberwolves Kevin Love
Nikola Pekovic
Mike Miller
Brian Cardinal
Jason Collins
Second Rounder
Second Rounder
Cash

I hear some people say they like the trade because Minnesota was able to get the man they really liked in Love but also get Miller along with that. That’s fine and true and all, but Miller doesn’t really make sense on the Timberwolves (I guess he didn’t make a ton of sense for Memphis either). Minnesota is clearly going nowhere anytime soon and Miller is good enough to be a valuable piece for a good team. I wouldn’t be shocked to see him get dealt again. I like Love but I don’t consider him a great fit to play alongside Al Jefferson. Neither are great defenders although both are pretty good rebounders. It could work out offensively as Love has the ability to step outside and pull his defender away from Jefferson, opening up room for him to work. I’d like to wait to give a grade on this until I see what they end up doing with Miller, if anything but overall this could have been worse.

Grade: B-

New Jersey Nets Brook Lopez
Ryan Anderson
Chris Douglas-Roberts
Yi Jianlian
Bobby Simmons

The Nets seem to be giving up on doing anything this year. The Jefferson trade was a clear loss for the Nets unless you assume they were just trying to clear up money for a move at LeBron, which doesn’t sound too bad. They should look to deal Vince Carter. Still they did end up getting a potentially interesting prospect in Yi. I was not a big Lopez guy at 3 where he was rumored for a while, but at 10 that was a great value. I am awfully intrigued by Anderson’s offensive ability in the second half of the second round. Those two guys should go well with the post players the Nets already have. Also, the Douglas-Roberts pick was fantastic and a steal. They had to be thrilled he slid as he did and he should be a pretty nice contributor soon.

Grade: A

New Orleans Hornets

I am kind of disappointed they got rid of their pick because they could use some more bodies. I’m not sure what money they have available for free agents (or who would be a target) but you would think this would be a place people would want to play.

Grade: D

New York Knicks Danilo Gallinari

What can I say other than I don’t know. I don’t that they took a guy that has a reputation for being a good offensive player. This is not the greatest team for that because there are too many guys interested in getting their own points. It’s tough to say what will happen with this because I don’t know what the Knicks will be able to do with their roster.

Grade: C

Orlando Magic Courtney Lee

Lee is a very good shooting guard and fills a huge need for the Magic. I’ll give them a solid grade for this even if all they did was avoid messing up the obvious.

Grade: A

Philadelphia 76ers Marreese Speights

I see what Philadelphia is doing here and I don’t disagree with the thought process but I disagree with the outcome. I don’t see Speights really sticking in the league because I don’t think I can trust him to play with any level of consistency.

Grade: C-

Phoenix Suns Robin Lopez
Goran Dragic

I like the Lopez pick here and I will be interested to see what he can do offensively without his brother around. I think he might have some more ability that might still come out but in the meantime he can help as a solid defensive big. I guess I have to respond the same way to the Dragic trade that I responded to the Bulls taking Asik by saying you have second rounders to make sure you get the guys you want. Assuming they had some reason to believe he would be taken in the couple of picks before he got to the Suns I don’t have a problem with that pick or trade.

Grade: B

Portland Trailblazers Jerryd Bayless
Nicolas Batum
Ike Diogu
Second Rounder
Second Rounder
Second Rounder
Second Rounder

The Trailblazers love trading and they’re going to continue to have that opportunity as they will have a bunch of second rounders in the future. For this year they somehow managed to end up with Bayless, a talent some thought could go as early as fourth. The trade for Batum was a very good value even if I am unsure of how much he will contribute for Portland. Overall, as has been the case the last couple years, this was a terrific night for Portland.

Grade: A

Sacramento Kings Jason Thompson
Sean Singletary
Patrick Ewing Jr.

I really like Thompson but as pretty much everyone has said, this was a pretty large reach. If they really wanted him they probably could have traded down for assets and still gotten their man. In the second round they took two guys that would have been pretty intriguing prospects as undrafted free agents.

Grade: D+

San Antonio Spurs George Hill
Malik Hairston
James Gist
Second Rounder
Cash

I’ll be curious to see if the Spurs find the roster spots for all three of these guys. They are all quality players but I don’t see much contributing too soon with the roster the Spurs still figure to return in 2008-09. The pick of Hill was probably a reach but I’m pretty high on him even if I’m not completely convinced he has point guard skills. Hairston is talented enough to be a great value as a second rounder and the trade they pulled off with Phoenix was very nice to get an extra pick and cash in the deal. I kind of think there are tons of guys with comparable talent to Gist that have failed to stick but it is possible he could become a solid defensive big man.

Grade: B

Seattle Supersonics Russell Westbrook
Serge Ibaka
D.J. White
DeVon Hardin
Sasha Kaun

I’m not sold on Westbrook and I’m not sold of his point guard abilities but I don’t see it being a reach of a pick like many others have said. The top three were kind of obvious but after that I think there were a number of different reasonable directions Seattle could have gone and Westbrook was one of them. He should be a pretty good defender pretty much right away even if I think he could be a liability on offense. I don’t like the Ibaka pick for a team that can’t gamble like that on first rounders. That would be a fine gamble in the second round but Seattle needs to take safer picks. That’s why their White trade was solid. White should be able to contribute and it is much better to have him versus two second rounders. Hardin is an example of a good second round pick as he has that first round upside that he is unlikely to meet. I have a hard time seeing them offering Kaun enough money to keep him out of Russia.

Grade: B-

Toronto Raptors Nathan Jawai
Jermaine O’Neal

This was a huge gamble for Toronto. If it pays off they will look pretty smart as O’Neal and Bosh could be a great combo. Plus, they might not miss Ford too much because Jose Calderon plays such a good point. The upside is pretty high but I think it’s unlikely to be met and if I had to guess I would guess they’ll regret this trade by the end of the year. Even if Jawai ever makes it to the NBA it is not going to happen any time soon. That’s OK for Toronto in the second round though.

Grade: C-

Utah Jazz Kosta Koufos
Ante Tomic
Tadila Dragicevic

There were some concerns that Koufos might end up going to Greece where he might have been able to make more money but it looks like he’ll be in Utah next year. Obviously that’s critical news for the Jazz. Still, right now he looks like he might be a bigger, longer version of Mehmet Okur. That description is actually a very good player but it ignores some of the defensive deficiencies that were problematic for the Jazz this past year. Their picks in the second round showed a pretty obviously preference to gain control over some guys overseas without having to pay them or use a roster spot.

Grade: B+

Washington Wizards JaVale McGee
Cash

I am certainly not on my own when I say that I think McGee is likely to be a bust. Eighteen was just too early for a guy with such a high likelihood of lack of success.

Grade: D

NBA Draft Live Blog!

2008-06-26T15:51:00.000-07:00

Mock Draft and LiveBlog

2008-06-25T18:14:00.000-07:00

My mock draft is below. I considered putting comments and stuff there but I figured then I'd blow all of my material for the LiveBlog tomorrow. Please come back here to www.bizarrojoelunardi.com as the draft coverage starts for a draft chat.

ROUND 1
1. Chicago Bulls - Derrick Rose, Memphis
2. Miami Heat - Michael Beasley, Kansas State
3. Minnesota Timberwolves - O.J. Mayo, USC
4. Seattle Supersonics - Brook Lopez, Stanford
5. Memphis Grizzlies - Kevin Love, UCLA
6. New York Knicks - Russell Westbrook, UCLA
7. LA Clippers - Jerryd Bayless, Arizona
8. Milwaukee Bucks - Joe Alexander, West Virginia
9. Charlotte Bobcats - Eric Gordon, Indiana
10. New Jersey Nets - Danilo Gallinari, Italy
11. Indiana Pacers - Anthony Randolph, LSU
12. Sacramento Kings - D.J. Augustin, Texas
13. Portland Trailblazers - Alexis Ajinca, France
14. Golden State Warriors - Donte Greene, Syracuse
15. Phoenix Suns - Brandon Rush, Kansas
16. Philadelphia 76ers - Darrell Arthur, Kansas
17. Indiana Pacers - Mario Chalmers, Kansas
18. Washington Wizards - DeAndre Jordan, Texas A&M
19. Cleveland Cavaliers - Kosta Koufos, Ohio State
20. Charlotte Bobcats - Robin Lopez, Stanford
21. New Jersey Nets - JaVale McGee, Nevada
22. Orlando Magic - Marreese Speights, Florida
23. Utah Jazz - Roy Hibbert, Georgetown
24. Seattle Supersonics - Courtney Lee, West. Kentucky
25. Houston Rockets - Chris Douglas-Roberts, Memphis
26. San Antonio Spurs - J.J. Hickson, North Carolina State
27. Portland Trailblazers - Jason Thompson, Rider
28. Memphis Grizzlies - Nicolas Batum, France
29. Detroit Pistons - Ryan Anderson, California
30. Boston Celtics - Bill Walker, Kansas State

ROUND 2
31. Minnesota Timberwolves - DeVon Hardin, California
32. Seattle Supersonics - George Hill, IUPUI
33. Portland Trailblazers - Jamont Gordon, Mississippi State
34. Minnesota Timberwolves - Goran Dragic, Slovenia
35. LA Clippers - Nikola Pekovic, Serbia
36. Portland Trailblazers - Serge Ibaka, Congo
37. Milwaukee Bucks - Richard Hendrix, Alabama
38. Charlotte Bobcats - Kyle Weaver, Washington State
39. Chicago Bulls - Ante Tomic, Croatia
40. New Jersey Nets - Nathan Jawai, Australia
41. Indiana Pacers - Joey Dorsey, Memphis
42. Sacramento Kings - Malik Hairston, Oregon
43. Sacramento Kings - D.J. White, Indiana
44. Utah Jazz - Omer Asik, Turkey
45. San Antonio Spurs - J.R. Giddens, New Mexico
46. Seattle Supersonics - Trent Plaisted, BYU
47. Washington Wizards - Pat Calathes, St. Joseph’s
48. Phoenix Suns - Maarty Leunen, Oregon
49. Golden State Warriors - Mike Taylor, NBDL
50. Seattle Supersonics - Semih Erden, Turkey
51. Dallas Mavericks - Gary Forbes, Massachusetts
52. Miami Heat - Sonny Weems, Arkansas
53. Utah Jazz - Mantas Kalnietis, Lithuania
54. Houston Rockets - James Gist, Maryland
55. Portland Trailblazers - Davon Jefferson, USC
56. Seattle Supersonics - Mike Green, Butler
57. San Antonio Spurs - Anton Ponkrashov, Russia
58. LA Lakers - Darnell Jackson, Kansas
59. Detroit Pistons - Shan Foster, Vanderbilt
60. Boston Celtics - Othello Hunter, Ohio State

A Very Early Look at College Basketball 2008-09

2008-06-21T22:23:00.000-07:00

Even with the rough trip to Tampa, the Cubs have me freaking out about the possibilities this summer so to keep sane I need to be thinking about some basketball. The following are some stories to keep an eye on for next year. As always, we welcome your comments!

The West Coast Conference

The three WCC teams that made the NCAA Tournament last year figure to be strong again next year. Gonzaga is a darkhorse Final Four team now that Jeremy Pargo has decided to withdraw from the NBA Draft. St. Mary’s has lost a couple of valuable players in Todd Golden and Tron Smith but they return Patty Mills and they figure to be real good again. Keep an eye on San Diego. They didn’t lose anyone from last year’s team and Gyno Pomare and Brandon Johnson are a dynamite combo.

Davidson

Losing Boris Meno, Thomas Sander, and Jason Richards will be a test for Davidson but they still figure to be awfully dangerous. My big question for Davidson is how Stephen Curry will do without a terrific point guard like Richards to set things up for him. Curry will not have to attempt to return to the Elite Eight on his own as he’ll have Andrew Lovedale, who had a real good NCAA Tournament, a fellow shooter in Bryant Barr, and other quality contributors like William Archambault and Max Paulhus Gosselin.

Top Teams

Obviously North Carolina is going to be incredible next year with everyone back. After that though it seems like a crapshoot. There will be some strong teams in the Big East including Pittsburgh, Connecticut, and Notre Dame. Purdue looks interesting in the Big 10 although they would be more interesting with Scott Martin. I’m not sold on anyone in the SEC, Big 12, Pac 10, or Memphis.

Top Mid Major Teams

Last year we had Drake (who loses three quality starters), Davidson (who, as was already mentioned, figures to be real good), Kent State (who returns stud Al Fisher and should be amongst the best in the MAC), Western Kentucky (who loses Courtney Lee to the NBA and Tyrone Brazelton to pro basketball somewhere), Butler (loses a boatload of guys) and South Alabama (who loses seniors Demetric Bennett and Daon Merritt). Of these schools it is probably most worthwhile to keep an eye on Drake, Davidson, and Kent State. Who else should we watch in 2008-09?

Siena had their win over Vanderbilt in the NCAA Tournament and they lose just one starter. Siena figures to be incredibly entertaining and dangerous. I am certainly biased, but Creighton should be dangerous with a deep group of good guards led by P’Allen Stinnett. Cleveland State returns most of their roster including J’Nathan Bullock and the Vikings could end Butler’s reign of terror on the Horizon League. VCU loses three of their top six scorers but one of the returnees is Eric Maynor and obviously he’s awesome so VCU should be dangerous. Keep an eye on Stephen F. Austin who returns most of their players from a quality team last year.

Tyler Hansbrough

Do you already want to turn off your TV because of the inevitable slobbering over Hansbrough’s intangibles? The worst part about that is Hansbrough is actually talented and skilled. I care way more about that than his competitiveness.

Pac 10

Arizona State did not make the NCAA Tournament last year but they might have a chance to actually win the Pac 10 this year. Who else is in it? Well, UCLA returns some quality players and they bring in a great recruiting class but they did lose two likely lottery picks. The Bruins are likely the favorites in the conference. Arizona got good, surprising news when Chase Budinger decided to return to school but unless Brandon Jennings is able to get eligible it could be a struggle there. Stanford loses the Lopez’s, USC loses OJ Mayo, Washington State lost a handful of guys, and Arizona State loses…..Antwi Atuahene? It should be a good year for the Sun Devils.

Lack of NCAA Tournament Worthy Teams

Will it be even harder to find 65 teams to play in March 2009 than it was in March 2008? I think the Big East might get in like 37 teams but I see a lot of rebuilding to be done in the Pac 10, in the Big 10, in the Big 12, and to a lesser degree in the SEC. The ACC should be better as far as bids go but I’m not sure by how much. This bodes well for some of the mid majors.

All-Americans

Who will be this year’s All-Americans? Here are a few candidates.

Tyler Hansbrough, North Carolina
James Harden, Arizona State
Luke Harangody, Notre Dame
Stephen Curry, Davidson
A.J. Abrams, Texas
Blake Griffin, Oklahoma
Darren Collison, UCLA
Jeremy Pargo, Gonzaga
Jeff Pendergraph, Arizona State
Jack McClinton, Miami
A.J. Ogilvy, Vanderbilt
Patrick Patterson, Kentucky
Nick Calathes, Florida
Tyler Smith, Tennessee
A.J. Price, Connecticut
Tyrese Rice, Boston College
Eric Maynor, VCU
Robbie Hummel, Purdue
Patrick Mills, St. Mary’s
Robert Vaden, UAB
Stefon Jackson, UTEP
Josh Young, Drake
Al Fisher, Kent State
Osiris Eldridge, Illinois State
Dionte Christmas, Temple
J’Nathan Bullock, Cleveland State
Edwin Ubiles, Siena
Lee Cummard, BYU
Lorrenzo Wade, San Diego State
Wink Adams, UNLV

The Ultimate Mock Draft

2008-06-19T13:11:00.000-07:00

Time for another look at mock NBA draft comparisons. I used the same mocks as last time with two taken out. I took out Draft Empire’s mock because they still have Ty Lawson listed and I took out The Hoops Report because they have Alexis Ajinca listed twice. If you have another two-round mock in the internet that you would like me to include go ahead and post a link in the comments and I’ll see if I can add it.

Check out the ultimate mock draft here!

There are a couple of things to look at. The top four picks look somewhat agreed upon as going Rose, Beasley, Mayo, and Bayless (with the only exception of one draft picking Beasley first and one somehow having Mayo drop to 6). After that there is very little agreement. The mocks have Eric Gordon going between 6 and 13, Anthony Randolph between 3 and 12, and Darrell Arthur between 9 and 18. Those are just a few examples of how things get messy after the first four picks.

NBA Early Entry Withdrawals

2008-06-17T15:45:00.000-07:00

Take a look at the final list of early entry candidates for the NBA Draft and then check out some of the ramifications. There were a few interesting subplots that came following the passing withdrawal deadline. Let’s take a peek at them.

North Carolina will be ridiculous next year

The biggest news is the return of Ty Lawson, Wayne Ellington, and Danny Green to North Carolina. At this point not only is North Carolina the favorite to win the national title next year but it doesn’t seem particularly close. The biggest surprise of those three was definitely the return of Lawson as it seemed he was in decent shape to get taken in the first round.

Will Rick Pitino allow Derrick Caracter back on his squad?

Caracter is going back to Louisville despite the fact that Pitino has already discussed Caracter’s Louisville career in the past tense and he hasn’t seemed too anxious to get him back. Caracter has said he’s taking summer classes, he’s currently eligible and wants to talk to Pitino about getting back on the team this month. Caracter has been saying all the right things so far and it’s possible that he’s turned things around, but considering that the best predictor of future behavior is past behavior, I wouldn’t count on it.

Will UCLA have enough coming back (and coming in) to compete for a national title?

Surprisingly Luc Richard Mbah a Moute is not going back to Westwood but UCLA will be getting back Josh Shipp. Shipp, combined with Darren Collison and arguably the nations best recruiting class, should keep UCLA towards the top of the Pac 10. What that means on the national landscape is less clear. Considering UCLA is losing a couple of lottery picks early to the NBA makes this more impressive.

How will Memphis do in the post-Rose/Douglas-Roberts era?

The decisions of Robert Dozier and Antonio Anderson to return to school certainly don’t hurt that cause. Neither does their recruiting class. They’ll have to figure out where the offense is coming from without Derrick Rose and Chris Douglas-Roberts. I doubt they are national title contenders again next year but they should still have enough to overcome Robert Vaden and UAB.

Is Marquette a darkhorse Final Four candidate?

Tom Crean’s old team would beat Tom Crean’s new team by about 40 points if they played next year. What does that mean for the Golden Eagles? Well, with the return of Jerel McNeal they return the country’s best backcourt. (Am I right there? Whose is better?) Although I’m not sure what they’ll have available in the post, with those guards they can get by without much. It figures to hurt that they lost Ousmane Barro but that backcourt figures to make Marquette a terrifying match-up.

Can Jeremy Pargo take Gonzaga to the next level?

The return of Pargo to Spokane has to have Gonzaga excited. Pargo gives Gonzaga a potential All-American at guard on what figures to be a real nice, deep roster. What is the next level for Gonzaga? It’s probably a Final Four run. That seems unlikely for Gonzaga but if they get some of their guys to improve their game and stay away from the shrooms they have a shot in a year that might be short on upper echelon teams outside of Chapel Hill city limits.

What is with Chase Budinger?

Budinger was pretty much a lock for the first round. He’s a good bet to go higher next year but without Bayless and Brandon Jennings’ eligibility not yet a certainty there are a lot of questions in Arizona this off-season. I have no idea what the floor or ceiling are at this point at Arizona but it should be a fun story to watch next season.

Do you want to come back to www.bizarrojoelunardi.com next Thursday night to participate in a liveblog of the NBA Draft?

Yes, you do. We did this on Selection Sunday and had some good conversation and debate and I’m looking forward to doing it again for the NBA Draft. So, come back next week and join us for a chat during the draft!

NBA Finals

2008-06-05T08:28:00.001-07:00

The NBA Finals the media and apparently most of America has been rooting for is going to happen and maybe that just means people are idiots. At least the Celtics really aren’t that unlikable. Garnett is mostly well known for just being crazy competitive, Allen seems to be able to move around the court about as well as Chad and I so that’s fun, and Pierce was once literally stabbed in the face eleven times so that’s an interesting story and there is nothing about him that’s inherently unlikable. James Posey is pretty much a douche bag but if that’s my biggest complaint with the Celtics I can get over it. The Lakers are pretty disgusting because they have the most despicable player in the game (and the history of the NBA?) and this run to the Finals was completely handed to them by Memphis. So, we have a team with neutral likeability versus a team with nearly infinite dislikeability (Phil Jackson prevents it from being infinite).

I look at this series as being decided basically by two questions.

1. How do the Celtics plan on guarding Gasol and Odom?

Odom has been terrific in the playoffs and Gasol is really good. I’d trust their ability to handle one of these guys but as much as Perkins has improved this year I don’t know how they handle both of these guys with Garnett and Perkins. Luckily for the Celtics, there is one thing that can happen that could basically eliminate the effectiveness of both Gasol and Odom and that is addressed in question number two.

2. Will Kobe remember he is a selfish, teammate-hating gunslinger?

The biggest problem for the Celtics is that they are not as good as the Lakers. By most accounts Kobe has been behaving himself pretty well, allowing his teammates to shoot occasionally, and even avoiding raping people this year. As a result, we have seen a talented Lakers team display some of the greatest ball movement in the league. But is this the real Kobe? Will Kobe revert back to old Kobe and kill the great team basketball the Lakers have been playing most of the year?

That second question is not easy to answer but at this point he’s even been pretty good in the playoffs so I’m going to guess we’ll see Kobe not be too ridiculous and the Lakers’ superior talent (and coaching) will prevail. I’ll even guess it’s going to happen in five.

NBA Mock Draft Comparison

2008-05-29T20:34:00.000-07:00

In a time wasting maneuver I examined several mock drafts from around the Internet. Basically I looked at a handful of mocks that were two rounds and posted since the lottery. I wanted to see the average draft position for players and you can check it out by clicking here.

Anyway, there really is not a ton that interesting with what I have found so far mostly because at this point there has been a ton of straight guesswork. As mock drafters have more data to go by (and the predraft camp in Orlando right now is certainly a key piece of data as well as individual workouts) this might become more interesting.

Not surprisingly every draft has Beasley and Rose 1-2 in some order. Brook Lopez is by far the most popular choice to go third which is surprising and I would guess will change. One of the key players to keep an eye on will be Kevin Love, who ranges between 5 and 16.

I figure I'll probably wait to do this again until after the deadline to opt out of the draft and return to school on June 16.

More on Chicago's #1 pick

2008-05-21T11:11:00.001-07:00

Josh did a pretty good job of summarizing his thoughts on the Bulls' #1 pick in the upcoming NBA draft, but I thought I should add my two cents. As Josh mentioned he is a Bulls fan and approximately .2 seconds after the Bulls won the lottery, he called to ask me "if the Bulls could f*ck up this pick?" Unfortunately, I missed his call, but my answer is yes, the Bulls can f*ck this up.

The potential for screwing this up comes down to overrating Derrick Rose and maybe overrating the importance of point guards in general. First, let's look at Derrick Rose. I think Rose is has the chance to be very good pro, but he is not the player that some are making him out to be. Mike D'Antoni described Rose as "Jason Kidd with a jump shot." I cannot overstate the ridiculousness of that statement. How many players in the history of the NBA could legitimately be described as "Jason Kidd with a jump shot?" I can come up with maybe two; Pete Maravich and Oscar Robertson. To suggest that Derrick Rose is of that caliber is outrageous. And when you look at Rose's skills and statistics this comparison becomes even more preposterous. Kidd averaged 8.4 assists over his two years at Cal and had an assist-to-turnover ratio over 2. Rose, on the other hand, averaged just 4.7 assists/game with an assist-to-turnover ratio under 2. But at least Rose is a better shooter, right? Well, no. Kidd averaged 14.9 ppg over two year and shot 33% from 3. Guess what, Rose's averages were exactly the same.

So, Derrick Rose isn't Jason Kidd and he's definitely not an improved version of Jason Kidd, but he can join the current ranks of point guards like Chris Paul and Deron Williams, right? Maybe. I've yet to see the decision-making from Rose to suggest that he is at their level, but maybe that will develop over time. But even if it does, how much does that matter? How important is the PG to the success of an NBA team? Well, from my point of view, not quite as important as some seem to claim. People point to the "success" of Utah and New Orleans and use that as "proof" of the importance of point guards. So let me ask this, how many NBA teams have won championships with great PGs? I'm not counting Tony Parker or Chauncey Billups. Both are good players but neither are the primary reason that their teams won championships. The last team to win by being led by a PG was the 1990 Detroit Pistons. Over that same span, teams led by big guys (Tim Duncan, Shaquille O'Neal and Hakeem Olajuwan) have led their teams to 9 NBA titles and teams led by scoring guards (Kobe Bryant, Michael Jordan, Dwayne Wade) have also won a number of titles. Meanwhile, the best point guards of the recent era (Stockton, Nash, Payton, Kidd) have combined for 1 title and that title (Payton winning with Miami in 2005) had very little to do with Payton's presence. This suggests that the best-case scenario for Rose is that he develops into a scorer, who can play a few minutes at the point (maybe it's just me, but if your looking for a guy like that in this draft, the pick is OJ Mayo).

Josh also did a good job summarizing Beasley's upside, so I won't get much into that. I keep seeing people predict that Beasley will but up 20 and 10. Well, if that's what the Bulls expect, then there's no way he shouldn't be the first pick in the draft. Only three guys in the NBA averaged 20 and 10 this year (Dwight Howard, Carlos Boozer, and Al Jefferson). In the Spurs four championship seasons, Tim Duncan averaged 20 and 10 each year. In fact, I've yet to read or hear anyone question any part of Beasley's game. Conversely, with Rose, we see potential, but many still question almost every aspect of his game.

So, yes, the Bulls can mess this up and to suggest that they can't is incomprehensible. There are plenty of examples of teams drafting a very good player but passed over an all-star (Glenn Robinson ahead of Jason Kidd, Jerry Stackhouse/Rasheed Wallace over Kevin Garnett, Bowie over Jordan, Sam Perkins over Charles Barkley). And while there is a decent chance the Bulls will end up with at least a very good player, the mistake most often associated with high draft picks is not a total "miss" but the instead the missed opportunity from passing on the next great NBA talent. And while my opinion is most likely biased, Michael Beasley has the most potential to be great.

Bulls Win NBA Draft Lottery

2008-05-20T21:07:00.001-07:00

The NBA Draft is one of those events every year that I absolutely love more than is reasonable, especially considering that although I enjoy the NBA, I am no junkie. I love college basketball not only for the sport itself, but I enjoy trying to project how players will translate to the NBA. There are three dates marking three events regarding the draft that I look forward to before the draft itself. I like looking at the early entry list, I enjoy the lottery, and I enjoy seeing which early entry candidates players pull their names from consideration.

I am also a Bulls fan. Winning the lottery has just added a whole new level of excitement for me and it also opens the door to a solid month-long argument that can be summed up in three words: Beasley versus Rose. A brief look at some Bulls message boards makes it pretty clear that Rose would be the more popular pick and it’s a sentiment I understand but I think represents a bit of confusion about these players.

First of all, the Bulls are extremely lucky to end up with either of these players and I am thrilled. People look at what Deron Williams and Chris Paul have done for their teams and they want the next Williams/Paul. The NBA, like seemingly all professional leagues, is a copycat league and it makes sense because those are two wonderful point guards. Naturally several fans are excited about “bringing Rose back home to Chicago” and having their very own Williams/Paul. Although Rose has a huge upside and will likely be a very good pro, I don’t see him on that same level. It has been said that Rose’s poor assist numbers are due to the Dribble-Drive Motion offense and Memphis’ relatively poor perimeter shooters. There is almost certainly some truth to that. However, whereas some have described Rose as a “Jason Kidd with a jump shot” I would argue Rose has nowhere near the floor vision of a Kidd (or Paul or Williams) and although his physical skills are obviously impressive, he’s not a great jump shooter either. Despite some of Rose’s limitations, the Bulls would clearly be a better team with him on the roster.

But they’d be an even betterer team with Beasley on the roster. Beasley’s talents are incredible. He’s a fantastic rebounder, and an unbelievably versatile scorer. The Bulls’ roster has been criticized for lacking a back to the basket scorer. Not only could Beasley fill that need but he could do that while still providing a better jumper than Rose (while still having enough quickness and ball-handling ability to likely be able to drive off most guys that would be guarding him). I have read some fans comparing Beasley to Carmelo Anthony and I think that’s a terrible comparison. Anthony doesn’t rebound nearly as well, nor does he have near the interior scoring ability of Beasley. They really are not comparable players at all. There are obviously question marks with Beasley, such as his potential tweener size, questionable shot selection, and possible ambivalence towards playing defense. However, Beasley’s skill set would fit in perfectly with the other young post players, Joakim Noah and Tyrus Thomas, the Bulls currently have on the roster as he can provide something different.

So, my early assessment (that honestly is not going to change) is that the Bulls really should take Beasley and although I’d consider taking Rose to be a mistake it would be about as good of a mistake as you can make.

Preparing for the NBA Conference Finals

2008-05-20T09:10:00.000-07:00

So, round two of the NBA playoffs are in the books and things could not have been more disappointing. I think if I had to pick my least exciting NBA Conference Finals in the East and West I would have picked just the match-ups we have. At least the lottery is tonight so we have something to look forward to.

Eastern Conference

(1) Boston Celtics beat (4) Cleveland Cavaliers 4-3

(2) Detroit Pistons beat (3) Orlando Magic 4-1

At the beginning of the year I underrated Boston, saying they were the seventh best team in the NBA and the third best in the East behind the Pistons and……ugh, the Bulls (a homer pick that went horribly wrong). I thought Allen was about to hit a severe down slope in his career, Pierce was perhaps a bit overrated, and everyone outside of the big three were horrible (I loved Garnett and saw a MVP caliber season from him). So, naturally the Celtics came out and dominated the regular season. I’m feeling a bit vindicated right now because the Celtics seem to be the worst team still standing based on their play in the playoffs. The Pistons are right here where they’re supposed to be as they are riding that impressive starting five to the Eastern Finals yet again (although I’m liking their bench more this year than in years past). But I’m sick of the Pistons. I can’t stand to watch them anymore. Despite wanting to feel vindicated by seeing the Celtics lose, I can’t root for the Pistons. Plus, it’s not like the Celtics are a team of unlikable guys; I would argue it’s actually the opposite (outside of Posey anyway). Really the reasons I dislike the Celtics are because they were better in the regular season than I thought they’d be and I felt they received more kudos than were deserved and they’re from Boston and I’m sick of seeing Boston teams be good. Despite this, I must root for them to beat the Pistons but I’m not happy about it. I’m also not happy that I really don’t see the Celtics being able to beat the Pistons. Allen is looking old and bad and this team just sucks outside of Boston. Some of those criticisms against Garnett that were around in Minnesota (shrinking down the stretch in big games) are showing up again in Boston. I’m guessing Detroit finishes off this series in 6.

Western Conference

(1) Los Angeles Lakers beat (4) Utah Jazz 4-2

(2) San Antonio Spurs beat (2) New Orleans Hornets 4-3

I’m not going to be able to adequately describe my disappointment at the outcome of these two series. The problem with the Lakers-Jazz series was just that the Lakers were better and the main reason the Jazz were able to stay in as they were is that Kobe sometimes still forgets that his teammates are skilled and he can be really stupid. There were stretches where this series was a lot of fun to watch because it actually involved some beautiful teamwork and ball movement. I guess that’s what you get when you have a series with two of the league’s great coaches. It needs to be pointed out that the Lakers’ third option, Odom, tends to get forgotten a lot behind Gasol and Kobe, but he was really fantastic in this series. The other series was even more frustrating. In the first three games in New Orleans the Hornets were lights out from three-point range and won on the glass. In the decisive Game 7 the Hornets couldn’t make anything and they got killed on the boards. I don’t want to hear the experience card either. One of the worst players for the Hornets was Peja and he has had plenty of playoff experience. The Hornets just sucked a bit more than the Spurs sucked. So, how we have to deal with the Spurs for yet another year against the freaking Lakers and I have no choice but to root for the Spurs, as sick as it makes me. Unfortunately the Spurs have their worst team in a few years and the Lakers are really good. The greatest shot the Spurs have is Kobe sabotaging the series for the Lakers and that’s certainly possible. I don’t think the Lakers will have too much trouble and I’ll pick them to win in 5.

Thoughts on the NBA Playoffs: First Round

2008-05-04T11:47:00.000-07:00

Eastern Conference

(1) Boston Celtics beat (8) Atlanta Hawks, 4-3

If the Celtics can’t win on the road in Atlanta how are they going to win on the road against teams that aren’t Atlanta? That’s fine if they don’t lose games at home but you figure they’ll probably drop one at some point. What’s more troubling is that it really wasn’t that flukish. The Hawks were able to use quickness and athleticism to just abuse the Celtics from the free throw line. If they could do anything on defense, protect the ball, and stay close on the glass the Hawks would be there because of that advantage from the stripe. While the Celtics clearly have some issues to address if they want to hang a banner, the Hawks have a nice little future ahead of themselves. Johnson and Smith are real good, Bibby maybe could be good even if I think he dominated the ball more than he should at times when he has guys like Johnson and Smith on his team, and Horford has a chance to be really, really special. The Hawks are not all that far away from being pretty good and I’d be excited to be a fan.

(2) Detroit Pistons beat (7) Philadelphia 76ers 4-2

In Game 6 the Pistons showed that the 76ers really had no business winning two games this series. That lack of consistency won’t fly in any subsequent round. I really don’t get how the 76ers made the playoffs this year and you can save your “They’re in the Eastern Conference” jokes because this roster doesn’t look like much even in the East. I mean, Miller is a nice if old point guard, Iguodala would make a real good third option on some team, Dalembert is nice defensively but not reliable to do much of anything on offense, and they have some young guys led by Young that could be solid contributors but still appear to be role players. I feel like they might have been better off sucking for another year or two and trying to get some better help via the draft than to make the playoffs this year.

(3) Orlando Magic beat (6) Toronto Raptors 4-1

Going into the playoffs this was maybe my most highly anticipate series, which is funny considering most of these games were on NBA TV or whatever that channel is. Both of these teams look like they’re not only pretty good now but they figure to be pretty good for a while (although you might be able to make the argument with the Raptors that I made with Philadelphia that they’d be better off collecting a lottery pick before really making a run but I think the Raptors’ talent is substantially better than the talent in Philadelphia). Anyway, the Magic seem to be a forgotten team but they looked pretty good against Toronto and I would not be remotely surprised to see them knock off Detroit. Howard is a beast, Turkoglu has had a terrific year, Lewis is an effective shooter even if overpaid, and I like Nelson far more than is warranted still because of how much I loved his career at St. Joseph’s.

(4) Cleveland Cavaliers beat (5) Washington Wizards 4-2

It turns that that L. James character is not terrible at basketball. It’s tough to expect the Wizards to do much without a healthy Arenas and taking this series to six was good enough (even if they only won Game 5 because the Wizards completely gave it away). God bless DeShawn Stevenson though, because nothing makes a series more fun than to have some journeyman player calling the best player in the sport overrated. It’s a shame that Cleveland still only has one player on their team because it will be awfully difficult for that one player to beat the three players that Boston has.

Western Conference

(1) Los Angeles Lakers beat (8) Denver Nuggets 4-0

I couldn’t be more disappointed that the Nuggets beat out the Warriors for that final playoff spot. I don’t watch a ton of NBA basketball but I was surprised to see just how bad Melo is. He was pretty brutal. Naturally I refuse to say anything positive about the Lakers.

(2) New Orleans Hornets beat (7) Dallas Mavericks 4-1

It’s been said to the point that it would be really obnoxious if it wasn’t so true but Chris Paul is really good at playing basketball. I mean, he has David West on his team, who is really good, and what else? Nothing really. Like, without Paul I don’t think this team is a playoff team in the East. Instead I wouldn’t want to bet against them even if I’m not completely convinced they can match up against Duncan. The Mavericks, by the way, might be done. Kidd looks cooked so they’re basically trying to get by with Dirk and Howard and while they’re good it’s not enough in the West.

(3) San Antonio Spurs beat (6) Phoenix Suns 4-1

Is there a team in basketball less fun to watch than the Spurs? I mean, before I used to just get annoyed by the fact that they’re good and pretty boring. Now I spend the whole time watching them jump on the ground flopping everywhere and whining when things don’t go his way. Next time Duncan opens his eyes that wide someone should pull them out of their sockets. And that doesn’t even begin to go into their obnoxious use of the Hack a Shaq philosophy (which was even used when the Spurs defense was completely shutting down the Suns and as a Suns fan I would have actually been happy to have Shaq on the line and have a shot at maybe getting at least one point). Anyway, speaking of the Mavs maybe being done, the Suns may be done too. Nash just killed them more than I can ever remember Nash killing his own team and Shaq is just a shell of his former self. It’s the potential demise of the Suns and Mavs that should give Western Conference teams like Portland hope for next year.

(4) Utah Jazz beat (5) Houston Rockets 4-2

I was feeling a bit bad for TMac until he started up with the whining about everything being his fault. He’s right; it isn’t all his fault. Again, I don’t know much about the NBA but this seems like a flawed roster especially with Yao out. Beyond McGrady where are points going to come from? Rafer Alston? Luis Scola? Those are pretty scary answers and it makes it pretty remarkable that the Rockets have even done what they have done. For Utah, I would feel all right about their chances against the Lakers but I want to know how a game like Game 5 happened. Do championship caliber teams have games that bad? That’s a real question because I don’t know the answer to it but that was pretty atrocious.

Official NBA Early Entry List Released

2008-05-01T20:19:00.000-07:00

So, there were not too many surprises on the list of early entry candidates. Well, at least there were not many surprises on the list of early entry candidates that any one has actually heard of. Although the entire list can be seen here, I have already discussed most of the NCAA guys. Being stuck in the US and not being a professional scout I do not know any more about the foreigners than what you can read around the Interwebs, so I’m just focusing on what I know.

Josh Akognon, Cal State Fullerton

Akognon can score and that’s about it, which is not great for a guy that probably won’t hit the 6-foot barrier, but he showed Wisconsin that when he is scoring he can be loads of fun. Unfortunately “loads of fun” does not mean he’ll get drafted.

Alonzo Gee, Alabama

Gee just doesn’t have the basketball skills and hasn’t shown the progression from his freshman year that he needs to get drafted. His shooting ability only seems to be getting worse and even if he’s a good athlete that cannot overcome the lack of basketball ability at the next level.

Kalen Grimes, Missouri

Grimes is a guy that only declared for the draft because he has no where else to go. He is also the guy that taught us the important lesson that “Dairy Queen” + “early morning hours” + “the butt of a shotgun” + “some dude’s face” = “end of college basketball career”.

George Hill, IUPUI

It’s a shame Hill isn’t a few inches taller because that would do wonders for his stock. As it is he’s a 6-2 do it all guard that turns it over too much to be a point but he certainly shoots well enough to be a decent combo guard (and he’s a very good rebounder for his size as well). If anything he’s a second round pick this year but he’s really an outstanding player.

Reggie Huffman, Alabama-Birmingham

Huffman was going to get his degree anyway and not return to UAB next year so he probably felt he might as well through his name in the draft. He’s not getting picked up by anyone.

Stefon Jackson, Texas-El Paso

Jackson mentioned he is only declaring as an exploratory measure and he is willing to return to UTEP and I’d be pretty stunned if he does not do that. Jackson is a prolific scorer if not a good shooter and he turns the ball over far too much. He does not have an NBA body at this point either as he could use some more muscle.

Kojo Mensah, Duquesne

Mensah is following teammate Shawn James’ lead by declaring for the draft. He was a transfer from Siena and as a 6-1 guard I know nothing about him that would make him remotely draftable. However, I did see that Mensah left Siena because he wanted greater exposure for the NBA (so naturally he went to Duquesne).Please, if anyone knows anything else about Mensah and his situation, let us know.

Courtney Pigram, East Tennessee State

Pigram was actually a pretty highly regarded player in high school that had some ACT issues so there is talent there. The problem is that his numbers are not that great and his shooting is pretty poor. He’s not getting drafted and should return to school.

Bruce Price, Tennessee State

Price declared last year as well before pulling out so unless I’m missing something, he’s out for good this time. He has had a lot of knee injuries so perhaps he is just ready to move on and figure out if he can collect a paycheck somewhere.

John Riek, Winchendon School (MA)

The Sudanese Riek was thought to be a possible lottery pick due to his huge size and wingspan but he’s very inexperienced and he has already had some knee and foot injuries. It still would not be stunning to see a first rounder get spent on him.

Walter Sharpe, Alabama-Birmingham

Sharpe was declared academically ineligible to play this past semester and that’s not the first semester he has missed due to academics. In addition he was booted from Mississippi State partly due to academics and partly due to showing up late to meetings and practices. He may not go back to school because school just might not be for him.

Gordon Watt, Houston Baptist

Watt was on school number three after leaving Boston College and Purdue (and he left Purdue after falling in love with the DUI). Watt is leaving the door open to return and that will likely be necessary. I’d want to see more than a half year of him before I’d want to put him in the NBA.

Last Group of Early Entry NBA Guys Prior to the Official List

2008-04-28T12:28:00.000-07:00

Here goes another group of early entry NBA guys. The entry deadline was over the weekend and my guess is the NBA will release the official list later this week. We’ll take a look over that list when it comes out and look for any surprises.

Josh Carter

Carter probably just had his worst year as a junior and although he was good as a younger player it’s not like he was Durant or Beasley as a freshman. This is likely just Carter putting his name out there and he figures to be back at Texas A&M in 2008-09.

DeMarre Carroll, Leo Lyons

This is a pair of juniors from Missouri that are probably second round picks at best so you figure they’ll go back to Missouri and hopefully with a lot of work and some improvement Missouri might be able to play in the CBI next year.

Lee Cummard

Cummard is a shooting guard with good size (although real thin) and pretty good offensive efficiency. He had a real nice year with BYU but he’s not going that high this year. He’d be better off hitting the weight room and returning to BYU with teammate Trent Plaisted to make a run next year in Provo.

Wayne Ellington, Danny Green, Ty Lawson

The good news for UNC fans is that Tyler Hansbrough decided not to follow all his teammates. I would guess Lawson is the best bet to stay in this draft but it’s possible for all three depending on workouts. If it turns out that they are all better than they possibly showed (perhaps due to having to share the glory at North Carolina) it’s possible all could sneak into the first round. I still think it would be more likely for all to slip to the second round. My guess is Ellington and Green return to Chapel Hill and Lawson stays in this draft. UNC should still be very good next year.

Davon Jefferson

The first time I saw Jefferson play I thought he was USC’s best player so obviously he can show some pretty impressive flashes. The problem is that at this point his game is mostly just that: impressive flashes. That means that if he can get a first round guarantee he should take it because it remains to be seen if he can put his massive talent together. I could see him coming back to school and never putting it together and ending up being a guy that can’t get drafted at all. Now, even if it’s in the second round, his talent pretty much guarantees that he’ll get drafted at some point. Anyway, Gary Parrish is reporting that he’ll sign with an agent so all of the talk about with he should pull out may be moot.

Jerel McNeal

I was wondering if we’d say some of the Marquette guards decide to leave once Crean announced he was headed to Indiana and McNeal is the most likely of the three. Dominic James was pretty highly regarded after a strong freshman year but his stock hasn’t improved since. Wesley Matthews is a bit short, the worst athlete of the three, and not a great shooter. I’d be curious to see what McNeal’s status would be if he wasn’t at Marquette sharing the backcourt spotlight with two other very good guards. My guess is we’ll see McNeal back at Marquette next year because he doesn’t figure to be a first round pick.

Shawn James

If James decides to return to Duquesne for another year he’d be 26 by the time the 2009-10 NBA season begins. That, combined with his physical ability and shot blocking skills (aided by a huge wingspan), suggests that he might stay in this draft and if he fails to get drafted or stick with a team he could make some coin in Europe. James’s returning to Duquesne could mean a lot to their continued rise as a program.

Josh Shipp

Shipp picked a rough time to go through a big shooting slump at the end of the year. As a junior I don’t blame him for entering the draft but I’m pretty sure I’d blame him for staying in. With all the talent leaving UCLA this year he should have plenty of opportunity to show he can be more than just a role player next year. If he can do that he should greatly improve his stock in a weaker draft.

Lorrenzo Wade

At his size, Wade doesn’t shoot well enough or rebound well enough to stick in the league or likely get drafted in the second round. There’s nothing wrong with putting his name out there, but he’ll be back at San Diego State next year.

Yet another group of NBA early entry guys

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Keith Brumbaugh

Brumbaugh was really highly thought of in high school until he decided his favorite pastime was stealing from Wal-Mart. Talent-wise he’s supposed to be pretty good but obviously he’s a risky pick (although perhaps if he got first round money he wouldn’t have to steal from Wal-Mart) so he’s likely to go in the second round.

Kosta Koufos

Koufos is one of the rare guys that is basically a first round lock that I think would be best to come back to school only because I think he looks like a top 10 pick next year. Instead I would guess he’ll go around 20 or so.

Chris Douglas-Roberts, Antonio Anderson, Robert Dozier

Roberts will clearly stay in the draft and he will be a first round pick. I doubt Anderson or Dozier will see the first round and I expect to see them back at Memphis. How bad would it be for Memphis if they do follow through and stay in the draft though? With these three plus Rose and the exhaustion of Dorsey’s eligibility, who is left? I understand they’ll still have talent and they have a good class coming in, but could next year be the year that Memphis loses the CUSA crown? Well, maybe more realistically is next year the year that Memphis loses a CUSA game?

C.J. Giles

Although talented he is not talented enough to overcome the fact that he’s been kicked off of multiple college teams. Like Brumbaugh he isn’t a bad gamble in the second round where you wouldn’t be tied to him but a first round pick on Giles would be awfully stupid.

Lester Hudson

Despite coming from Tennessee-Martin, you have to be impressed when you look at the stats. He really fills out a stat sheet, although considering at his size he is likely a point guard it is troubling that turnovers is one of the stats he fills up. I would say he was almost certain to come back but considering grades have been an issue with him I wonder if he cares about the academics and he’s old enough at this point that his age is becoming a negative in terms of the NBA as he’ll be 24 by the time the next NBA season tips off.

Jamont Gordon

Assuming he goes back to school it was a great idea for Gordon to declare. He might as well become familiar with the process so he can be more comfortable going through it again next year. He’s not getting a first round contract this year but with a good senior year it could happen in 2009.

D.J. Augustin, A.J. Abrams

This puts a damper on Texas’s hopes at a national title next year. Augustin will go in the lottery most likely. Abrams will likely be helping the Longhorns in their Final Four hopes next year; he’s not a first round guy this year but like Gordon, as a junior there is no reason not to go through the process now.

Mario Chalmers

I love Chalmers (and that was before the buzzer sounded in regulation against Memphis). Chalmers played in a strong backcourt and stood out to me. I think his numbers would look a lot better as well if he was not on such a balanced team. If people fail to realize that he’s awesome he could come back to school but I like him in the first round.

Formula One anti-racism campaign

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This is a fun story. I guess Formula One is starting an anti-racism campaign after Spanish fans taunted back driver Lewis Hamilton. I wonder if as a part of this anti-racism campaign if Formula One will still be involved in Nazi-themed sex orgies.

(It turns out that last entry I had on Formula One was not the only thing I would ever write on Formula One.)