I know that I still haven't written my Kobe vs LeBron blog yet.

Don't worry though, it's coming.

What I thought I'd do is offer up my opinion on what certain teams must do to avoid the disappointments next season which they endured this season.

Eastern Conference


New York:
#1. Fire Isiah (oh they already did that?...What do you mean not exactly). I like the decision to keep Thomas on board. It's like Walsh is saying 'let me show you how it's done punk', without having to say it aloud.
#2. Sign Allen Iverson (are you done laughing?). Look the Knicks need to clear up cap space in two seasons at all cost. Whoever they might be thinking of drafting this season will be a waste of time because it will be a high lottery pick who will want a max contract in three seasons, just when they are going to be free from from all of the ludicrous deals Thomas signed off on. Denver is not going to offer Iverson the 16 - 18 million he'll want after next season so sign and trade him to the Knicks for their lottery pick and Malik/Rose/Jamaal Crawford. The Knicks can continue to su_ck for the next two seasons, but not as bad and with less players. Denver will also be crawling out from cap space issues just in time to trade Melo to NY after he threatens to sit out the 2009-10 season. Melo will get to come back east, Walsh will have his big name and the Nuggets can move to Seattle.

New Jersey:
Look we all know why they gave Carter 15 mill per and THEN traded Jason Kidd. Lebron James is coming to New Jersey in two seasons with the new Rocawear uniforms and sneakers in tow. Take it to the bank.

Charlotte:
Keep Wallace, Richardson, Felton, Dudley and Larry Brown...trade everybody else. Okay, maybe that's a bit much. They do have a couple of developing talents on their bench. Whatever they do they should NOT sign Okafor to a long term deal. Use Morrison to move up in the draft if you have to (they have their own lottery pick to offer if it's not in the top five) and go for either Hibbert or Love. Two different players but two players who could help them in different ways and should respond well to Larry Brown.

Miami:
Draft Michael Beasley with the number one pick, if you don't get the number one pick then trade the pick. Why? D Wade is going to have injury problems for the rest of his career, the writing is on the wall. He wants go home to Chicago and the Bulls need to blow that team up and start over. Miami can probably get Deng, Gordon, Duhon, Gooden and Sefolosha for Wade and Marion. Gordon and Deng would have to sign new deals, but that core of players could be the key components of the trade. That would leave the Bulls with Hinrich, Wade, Marion, Thomas and Noah as their new core. That's a playoff team. Miami gets at least three starters out of the deal and if they don't make the post season (which they probably won't) they'll be right back in the lottery the following season when they could then add a missing piece to the puzzle. If they do get the #1 overall, then draft Beasley and still make the trade. Both teams come out on top and both fan bases have something new to look forward to.

Indiana:
Trade Jermaine O'Neal to New Jersey for Richard Jefferson and Stromile Swift. New Jersey gets another scapegoat while they wait on King James and Indiana gets another player in Jefferson who can continue with the facade that Larry Bird actually has a plan on contending anytime soon. Seriously have you seen the Pacers roster? It's like a "Where are they now" segment on ESPN Classic...excuse me FOX Sports.

Milwaukee:
I don't like Scott Skiles coaching this team. I don't think this team (Redd, Mo Williams, JianLian, Villanueva) will respond well to Skiles "Patton" style coaching. Which means some trades are going to be made mid season. The ultimate insult to Skiles would be to have management bring Eddie Curry in next season (it could happen). The Bucks have no inside scoring at all. No inside defense for that matter either. At least Curry will score in the paint and Redd and Mo Williams will not have to wait for him to get down court before finding a shot they like. Honestly, I smell an Antoine Walker sighting here next season as well.

Washington:
I know they made the post season, but something's not right with a team that loses three straight years to a one man team. Start over.

Do my picks look so craaaaazy now?

lol


Eastern Conference

Philly might beat Charlotte, but it shouldn't matter as Toronto should take care of business against Chicago to close out the season.

Round 1
Boston over Atlanta 4-1
The Celtics will win this series, but I expect the games to be closer than everyone thinks. The Hawks are finally maturing and beginning to look like a legitimate NBA franchise. The addition of Bibby will help for no other reason than having someone on the floor who can appreciate the tempo of a post season game. Still too much of the 'Boston Three Party' for the ATL crew.

Detroit over Philadelphia 4-3
The Sixers are the second tier team the big dogs would like to avoid. They are had a great second half and they are young with speed to burn. There's a reason they split the season series with Detroit, with the exception of Maxiel and Stuckey, the Pistons are getting older and slower. Four games in Motown will prove to be too much for Cheeks' hoopsters to overcome. But wait until next year.

Orlando over Toronto 4-2
I'm not sold on the PG situation in Orlando, nor am I convinced that Rashard Lewis is ready to take it to the next level in the post season. I am sold on Hedo Turkolu and Dwight Howard having their way with the Raptors, who won't be able to turn it up a notch the way they'll need to.

Cleveland over Washington 4-3
This is the series that gets the Cavs in 'playoff shape'. A little trash talking by some Wizard players will be just enough incentive for the Cav's role players to play harder at home. This is becoming a nice post season rivalry and I like big players (LeBron) to step up when the spotlight is on.

Round 2

Cleveland over Boston 4-3
I know, I know...I should stay off the wacky-tobacky right? Trust me on this one, the Cavs will win this series. I've always said that LeBron is like Karl Malone with handles. He's too big to stop when he's committed to driving the lane. A slow down, defensive, grinding game plays right into the Cavs' hands. LeBron has already done something that not one of Boston's 'big three' has been able to accomplish and that is lead his team to the NBA Finals singlehandedly. While Cleveland doesn't have anyone to stop KG, they won't need to. KG will defer to either Allen or Pierce when the game is on the line, Lebron won't defer to anyone. This is where having Ben Wallace, Wallyworld and Delonte West will pay dividends for the Cavs. All they have to do is muscle up the Celtics and use all of their fouls in a timely manner. Once they get into Boston's heads look for the underachievers to underachieve once again.

Orlando over Detroit 4-3
No, it's just my cologne that smells like crack. Detroit, Like San Antonio, has played a lot of games the past couple of seasons, including Prince and Billups summer on the FIBA team. Their big three are getting tired now. Also, it's time for Dwight Howard to step up and make his move on the league. If D. Howard focuses on offensive rebounding, which I expect Stan Van Gundy will implore him to do, then his points will come easy. Lewis and Turkolu are entirely too big for anyone on Detroit's team to defend and they both are three point specialists. Van Gundy is underrated as a coach and Flip Saunders is overrated as one. I really think Orlando can win this one in five games but I'll give the Bad Boys once last hurrah.

Conference Finals
Cleveland over Orlando 4-3
I am really having difficulty picking the Cavs in this one, but if there's one thing I've learned from watching professional hoops it's that big players always take advantage of big moments. By the time these guys get to game 7, Kobe will have already punched his ticket to the NBA Finals. That's just too much for LeBron to pass up. When Cleveland made the big trade this season that revamped their starting lineup, it was primarily for defense and spot shooting. Management expects LeBron to take care of everything else (scoring at will).
I am the world's biggest Kobe fan, but let's face it, LeBron is the truth. How will the Cavs figure out a way to stop the Magic's three point barrages and dominant center? I don't know, but I'm sure somehow, someway, King James will figure it out.

Next Blog: Kobe versus LeBron in the NBA Finals...an NBA dream matchup.

Fiction




Me and A.I. go back to our days running the street in Newport News, V.A. I got through to him on the telephone after the Nuggets loss last night to ask him about the game. It was obvious that while he saying all the right things in the post game press conference, there was something else going on in his head and I wanted to find out what it was. Bubbachuck agreed to give me five minutes on the phone to tell me what he really wanted to say but couldn't. I had to alter his voice a little on the playback so that he could deny any and all of this if someone wanted to take him to task for his comments. Enjoy the exclusive. Tomorrow I'm hoping to get an interview with Shaq, who has heard that I'm not a big fan of his and wants to put me in my place.  The interview is rated PG 17 for profane language and is NOT SAFE FOR WORK. You've been warned!

Lakers

PG - Magic
SG - Kobe
SF - Baylor
PF - Worthy
C   - Jabbar

With the exception of Worthy (and unjustly so), all of these players could easily be considered the all-time greats at their respective positions. I'd like to see someone come up with a better starting five from another franchise.

p.s. I got the idea for this after reading 'ubershorty's' blog.

Good luck, I don't think you can beat this team with anybody else's starting five.

Eastern Conference

Philly might beat Charlotte, but it shouldn't matter as Toronto should take care of business against Chicago to close out the season.

Round 1
Boston over Atlanta 4-1
The Celtics will win this series, but I expect the games to be closer than everyone thinks. The Hawks are finally maturing and beginning to look like a legitimate NBA franchise. The addition of Bibby will help for no other reason than having someone on the floor who can appreciate the tempo of a post season game. Still too much of the 'Boston Three Party' for the ATL crew.

Detroit over Philadelphia 4-3
The Sixers are the second tier team the big dogs would like to avoid. They are had a great second half and they are young with speed to burn. There's a reason they split the season series with Detroit, with the exception of Maxiel and Stuckey, the Pistons are getting older and slower. Four games in Motown will prove to be too much for Cheeks' hoopsters to overcome. But wait until next year.

Orlando over Toronto 4-2
I'm not sold on the PG situation in Orlando, nor am I convinced that Rashard Lewis is ready to take it to the next level in the post season. I am sold on Hedo Turkolu and Dwight Howard having their way with the Raptors, who won't be able to turn it up a notch the way they'll need to.

Cleveland over Washington 4-3
This is the series that gets the Cavs in 'playoff shape'. A little trash talking by some Wizard players will be just enough incentive for the Cav's role players to play harder at home. This is becoming a nice post season rivalry and I like big players (LeBron) to step up when the spotlight is on.

Round 2

Cleveland over Boston 4-3
I know, I know...I should stay off the wacky-tobacky right? Trust me on this one, the Cavs will win this series. I've always said that LeBron is like Karl Malone with handles. He's too big to stop when he's committed to driving the lane. A slow down, defensive, grinding game plays right into the Cavs' hands. LeBron has already done something that not one of Boston's 'big three' has been able to accomplish and that is lead his team to the NBA Finals singlehandedly. While Cleveland doesn't have anyone to stop KG, they won't need to. KG will defer to either Allen or Pierce when the game is on the line, Lebron won't defer to anyone. This is where having Ben Wallace, Wallyworld and Delonte West will pay dividends for the Cavs. All they have to do is muscle up the Celtics and use all of their fouls in a timely manner. Once they get into Boston's heads look for the underachievers to underachieve once again.

Orlando over Detroit 4-3
No, it's just my cologne that smells like crack. Detroit, Like San Antonio, has played a lot of games the past couple of seasons, including Prince and Billups summer on the FIBA team. Their big three are getting tired now. Also, it's time for Dwight Howard to step up and make his move on the league. If D. Howard focuses on offensive rebounding, which I expect Stan Van Gundy will implore him to do, then his points will come easy. Lewis and Turkolu are entirely too big for anyone on Detroit's team to defend and they both are three point specialists. Van Gundy is underrated as a coach and Flip Saunders is overrated as one. I really think Orlando can win this one in five games but I'll give the Bad Boys once last hurrah.

Conference Finals
Cleveland over Orlando 4-3
I am really having difficulty picking the Cavs in this one, but if there's one thing I've learned from watching professional hoops it's that big players always take advantage of big moments. By the time these guys get to game 7, Kobe will have already punched his ticket to the NBA Finals. That's just too much for LeBron to pass up. When Cleveland made the big trade this season that revamped their starting lineup, it was primarily for defense and spot shooting. Management expects LeBron to take care of everything else (scoring at will).
I am the world's biggest Kobe fan, but let's face it, LeBron is the truth. How will the Cavs figure out a way to stop the Magic's three point barrages and dominant center? I don't know, but I'm sure somehow, someway, King James will figure it out.

Next Blog: Kobe versus LeBron in the NBA Finals...an NBA dream matchup.