According to management's
statistical analysis here at the BLIP, tonight's start in the Bulls'
win over the Mavericks gives Ben Wallace his 42nd start of the season,
placing him alone in 25th place on the post-Jordan Bulls starters list.
That's right folks. 25th place. Here's a look at the top 25: (current players in CAPS
Jack here, with the return of It's Gotta Be the Shoes' Guides For Understanding. Some personal matters sidelined me for a bit; as such I was not able to write a playoff prediction guide, and that's probably for the best. Fortunately, those personal matters have subsided slightly for the time being (at least until Friday), and so it's time to take a stab at the NBA Playoffs, brought to you by...and by...
THINKING ON MY FEET (get it?)
1. When played at its best, NBA basketball (particularly in the playoffs) is the most exciting and enjoyable sport to watch on a minute-by-minute basis. The athleticism, the team work, the skill involved, the pace...no other sport can touch a beautifully played game of professional basketball.
2. All of a sudden, the Lakers-Suns series is very intriguing. We've got a matchup of the two-time MVP against the guy who (probably) feels most slighted about not winning the award. We've got the two small forwards with the best array of physical skills at their positions since Scottie Pippen. Everybody knows about Phoenix, but this is a very interesting Lakers team. This is probably the most perfect Kobe team ever put together: nobody to challenge him, nobody close to him in talent or star power, just enough raw talent around him to challenge opponents, and a coach as talented and ego-maniacal to think that it could work. Let's put it this way: If the Lakers were a meal, they'd be a steak dinner. Regardless of the drinks, the appetizers, the atmosphere, the dessert, the company, or the service, you know you're getting a great steak. If any of those other factors come through, now you've really got something. That's the Lakers. Look at the potential on this team. Within a year, Kwame Brown could be the most productive of the Kwame/Tyson/Eddy trio, and Lamar Odom could be once again averaging a double double. Add those two guys to Kobe's 30+, and keep Smush and Walton in the starting lineup, and that's a real squad. I've been saying Phoenix in the Finals all year...they're going to have to fight to get out of the first round.
3. In the NFL, teams draft quarterbacks, pay them a bajillion dollars, and then have them sit for a year and learn from the veteran starter. Couldn't the Heat do that with Eddy Curry and Shaq? Shaq has always said that Eddy had the skills to be the Next Great Center, and Eddy has always played well against Shaq. Assuming Miami could get past the whole Heart Thing, wouldn't trading for Curry be a sound move? Let Curry battle with Shaq in practice, learn from him, and back him up. I guarantee Eddy would be more productive in fifteen-twenty minutes of play backing up Shaq than in 25-30 minutes as a starter for the Bulls or Knicks. Let Riles and Shaq coach him up, and then when Shaq is ready to retire, slide Curry in with D-Wade, and there you go.
4. Poor Eddie Jones. One of the worst feelings in all of sports must be getting traded off of a winning team before they win a championship. In 2005, Eddie Jones was starting and playing 35 minutes a game for the Heat, a team that went into the 4th quarter of Game 7 of the East Finals with a lead. They blew the lead, lost the game, and a few months later Eddie Jones was gone. That's like saying, "We're not sure why we didn't win it all, but we're pretty sure that it had something to do with you."
5. If the Bulls continue to improve, and sustain a playoff run for five or six years, Andres Nocioni could go down as one of the game's all-time great irritators, right there with Rodman, Stockton, and Reggie Miller to name a few.
And now, for the big boy...
6. If all the reports are true, and Steve Nash is set to win his second consecutive NBA MVP award, that will go down as one of the biggest flukes in the history of award giving. I love Steve Nash, don't get me wrong. I love watching him play, and I do think that he is a very valuable player for that Phoenix team. A strong case can be made for Nash as MVP in either the '04-'05 season or the '05-'06 season. But both? That's pushing it, greatly. Consider this:
During the six seasons in which the Bulls won championships, Michael Jordan was clearly--CLEARLY--the best player in the league. There are so many definitions of MVP--Ric Bucher ran a great column on this a couple weeks ago--and no matter the criteria (dominance, leading a great team, leading the best team, indespensibility), MJ fit the bill. Hakeem, Shaq, Robinson, Ewing, Barkley, Malone, Drexler, and even Pippen were all great players of that era, but I'd imagine that if you polled 1000 people in each of those six years as to who was the best player in the NBA, at least 900 would answer MJ, with the other hundred slicing up the aforementioned eight guys.
Michael was clearly the best during those six seasons, and yet he only won four MVPs, losing out to Barkley in '93 and Malone in '97. The reason? The Suns and the Jazz had more impressive seasons by their own standards in '93 and '97 than did the Bulls in those two seasons. Barkley and Malone did not put up significantly better numbers in those seasons than they had in seasons past; instead, they were credited and rewarded for the stronger play of their respective teams. Against their own standards, Michael and the Bulls did nothing extraordinary in '93 and '97, even though Mike led the league in scoring both years and the Bulls won both championships. But for voters, that wasn't enough. With the scattered definitions of MVP, the voters found ways to reward other players, rather than simply handing the award over to MJ year after year. If anyone was deserving in '93 and '97 other than Jordan, certainly it was Barkley and Malone. But were they better than Jordan, or were they just better than their own previous expectations?
Fast forward to this season, where Steve Nash is about to win back-to-back MVPs. Keeping the Jordan/Barkley/Malone situation in mind, doesn't this seem odd? By giving Nash the award in consecutive years, the NBA is essentially saying that he has been hands-down balls-out the best player in the NBA for two straight seasons. Steve Nash without peer? How can that be? When the Lakers were in the midst of three-peating, Shaq never won consecutive MVPs. He only won once. The only other guy of this era to win back-to-backs is Tim Duncan in 2002 and 2003, and he has been the lynchpin of three championship teams of the past seven years. And now Nash, a guy with no rings and only one Conference Final appearance, this guy is being crowned as the best player in the NBA over two seasons without peer? That's fishy.
That's all for now. Bulls game tonite. We're taking Game 3, or my name isn't Xaqooryus Moontower.
With the Bears bringing Rex in against the Falcons, I really wanted to write a bit about what this change means for the team. Then the Cubs signed Jacques Jones and the Bulls lost to Charlotte after blowing out Boston, and I decided that there was much to say about my home town teams. So, instead of just a look at the Bears, let's take a look at this week in Chicago sports in reverse alphabetical order. Shall we?
The White Sox
The White Sox rewarded the play of catcher AJ Pierzynski by giving him a three year contract extension, but the bigger news is that they bolstered their pitching staff by sending Orlando Hernandez and others to the Diamondbacks for Javier Vazquez. Vazquez was 11-15 last season with a 4.42 ERA, leaving him with astounding career numbers of 89-93 and a 4.28 ERA over eight seasons.
JACK SEZ:
Honestly, I'm being a little harsh here. Vazquez is a solid pitcher, and certainly a viable fifth starter. Actually, he's probably the best fifth starter in the Bigs, and with Brandon McCarthy waiting around, the Sox have definitely retained their most important unit. With the Vazquez acquisition, some people were asking if this was now the best rotation of all-time. These people are idiots. The 90's Braves, anyone? The three-peat Orioles? Buehrle, Contreras, Garland, Garcia, and Vazquez/McCarthy cannot yet touch these teams.
However, the Sox do have the best rotation in the majors, as I can't think of any other staff that A. is rock solid from 1 to 5 with a true ace, and B. threw four straight complete games in the ALCS. The only mistake that I think they made was shipping El Duque--quality starter, could become a terrific set up man, and a wonderful postseason performer--instead of Garland, who I'm betting will never again have a year like 2005. I'm not saying that he's going to tank, but I'm not expecting him to repeat what he did last season. Regardless, that's small potatoes assuming I'm right, which I may not be, and even if I am the Sox are still the favorite to win the AL Central. I am not rooting for them, but I am hoping that they stay competative and go back to the playoffs, because it's always good for any sport when its defending champion is just as hungry a year later. Every league needs a top-dog team to chase.
The Cubs
The Cubbies continued their outfield revamping project by signing Minnesota Twins right fielder Jacques Jones. Jones hit a career low .249 last season, thirty points below his career average, and while he has never been the standout that fellow Twins outfielder Torii Hunter is, I've always thought Jones was a solid player. This move gives the Cubs an outfield of Jones, Juan Pierre, and some combination of Jeromy Burnitz, Matt Murton, and the soon-to-be-gone (it seems) Corey Patterson.
Meanwhile, Nomar Garciaparra signed with the Dodgers to play first base, which means that Triple Crown wannabe Derrek Lee will probably keep his job. No, I'm kidding. What it means is that the Cubs are still loaded in the infield with Lee, Todd Walker, Neifi Perez, and Aramis Ramirez.
JACK SEZ:
One of the Cubs' biggest problems last season was not that they lost Sammy and Moises, but rather that they didn't seem to have a plan to replace them. Instead of challenging for the NL Central, the Cubs languished in mediocrity with their wonderful outfield grab bag of Patterson, Burnitz, Jerry Hairston, Todd Hollandsworth, Jason Dubois, Jody Gerut, Matt Lawton, and Matt Murton. Now the Cubs have Juan Pierre in center, Jacque Jones in right (presumably), and either Murton or Burnitz in left with the other coming off the bench.
But wait...what about Patterson?
Most people seem to think that Corey's career with the Cubs is done. Either they won't resign him, or he'll sit on the bench. A don't see either of those scenarios. I think they'll keep Corey, and with Pierre solidifying the leadoff spot and center field, all of the pressure is now off of Patterson to dominate in those two spots. Now they can move him over to left and leave him low in the order...bringing Pierre in might have the same effect on Corey that the Cedric Benson drafting had on Thomas Jones. Corey has pretty much bottomed out with the Cubs, and most Cubs fans have given up on him, which means that from here on in anything we get from him is bonus. I think he knows that, and with the pressure off I wouldn't be surprised to see Patterson have a solid year. Look for .280/20/80 with right around 100 strike outs.
BOTTOM LINE: The Cubs have a terrific infield and are solid defensively up the middle. Derrek Lee won't have another season like he did in '05, but he is a legit player who should easily put up .300/30/100 for the next five years. Aramis is a stud, Michael Barrett is terrific, Neifi/Todd Walker is solid, and Pierre is a great leadoff hitter and center fielder...
...but none of that will matter if Prior, Wood, and Zambrano cannot be the three aces that we think they can be. The Cubs' rotation has been the reason that they've been NL favorites since 2003; they've also been the reason why the team has missed the playoffs the last two years.
The Bulls
The Bulls put a hurt on Boston on Saturday, and then followed that up by losing big at home to the Charlotte Bobcats. They've bounced around .500 this whole season, and currently sit at 12-12, last place in the Central but eighth in the conference.
JACK SEZ:
As far as the Bulls' place in the Central and East right now, I predicted something close to that in my Eastern Conference preview, and everything I said then about the Bulls is still true...kind of. I still expect Tyson to put up 10 and 10 every night, but he's been hampered by a breathing problem. Sweetney has been solid but inconsistent. He's scored ten points or more in fifteen of the team's 24 games this season, including four games in the 20's, leaving him in single digits for the other nine. Six players are averaging double figures--Luol, Ben, Kirk, Sweets, Noce, and Du--but the highest of those six is Deng with 14.5. The Bulls have the offensive tools; now they need to utilize them fully.
The Bears
The Bears beat Mike Vick and the Falcons Sunday night by a score of 16-3 to improve to 10-4, and with the Vikings losing to Pittsburgh the Bears now have a two game lead on Minnesota with two to play. The season is far from over, though, as the Bears still have to travel to Green Bay and then to Minnesota for the season finale.
Our defense looked terrific on Sunday, with Brian Urlacher, Alex Brown, Michael Green, and Nathan Vasher playing particularly well. It was a hell o####ame for Green, who started at safety with Brandon McGowen in place of Mike Brown and Chris Harris. Green played great and helped the Bears force two turnovers, first by picking off Vick, and second by knocking the hell out of Atlanta receiver Michael Jenkins to pop the ball out of Jenkins' hands and right into Vasher's lap.
But the big story of the day was Rex Grossman, who made his season debut when he replaced a struggling Kyle Orton in the third quarter with the Bears leading 6-3. Soldier Field near took off when Rex came in; if it really was a space craft sitting atop the columns, we nearly made it fly. Rex got high fives all around the huddle when he came in, and then started things nicely by hitting Moose Muhammad with a 22 yard pass. Rex drove the Bears to the Atlanta 8 before throwing an interception to Keion Carpenter at the goal line. Fortunately for us, Carpenter fumbled, Justin Gage recovered, and on 1st and goal from the 1 Thomas Jones punched it in.
JACK SEZ:
I have been an ardent Kyle Orton supporter all season. The man did not have the greatest statistics, but the stat that I'm most concerned with when looking at a QB is wins and losses. When people were calling for Orton's head and hollaring for Rex to get his job back, I stood firm...
So they made the switch Sunday night, and to my surprise I felt OK with it at the time. In fact, I have to admit that it gave me some "pep," as my grandmother would say. Rex has now been named the starter for next week's game, and it's safe to assume that he's won his job back for the rest of the year, including the playoffs. I can't see them going back to Orton now, barring another injury. Rex did some nice things against Atlanta, though let's not forget that he did throw the pick near the endzone. That we got the ball right back on the same play is beside the point. Still, the man hasn't played since August; he was bound to make a bad throw. No biggie.
BOTTOM LINE: Rex is healthy. He has his teammates' confidence. He has his coaches' confidence. That's enough for me. If he can get the offense going and get some points on the board, that would be wonderful. I still think that Kyle Orton will be a good pro QB; we'll have to just wait and see with whom. But that's down the road. Our D is great, and Rex does bring a spark to this offense. I think he'll play well and give us a lot of positives from the quarterback position. We'll see how he plays next week. It'll be his first start since 2004, and it's in Green Bay a week after Favre and the Packers were embarrassed by the Ravens 48-3 on Monday Night Football. The Packers will be ready...this isn't a gimme. Reasonable offensive goals: 14-20 points, 100+ yards rushing, 225 yards passing.
HOPE YOU'VE ENJOYED MY CHI-TOWN RECAP. Keep it tuned here.
