As has become tradition for the Chicago Bulls(See Tim Floyd), John Paxson fired Scott Skiles this morning, on Christmas Eve. The fallout and repsonse from the media, fans and players has been overly predictable. "Skiles is an A to B type coach." "Skiles lost his players." "Skiles lost his job because Aaron Gray isn't getting enough tick."(yes, someone actually threw that one out there. Other speculation is that he was fired so the Bulls could trade for Jason Kidd.(Trading for a point guard a year after giving Kirk Hinrich 10 million per over five years, yeah, that really makes sense.) The fact of the matter is that this firing is no different than almost every other coaching change in any other sport. The coaches go, well, because someone needs to go and they are the only ones that can't be fired. How much has Rick Adelman done for the Rockets? Phil for the Lakers? Isiah for the Knicks? Some coaches are worse than others, but it is a bit ludicrous to think that Skiles is to blame for Ben Gordon's and Kirk Hinrich's severe regression.

To understand what Skiles has had to deal with, lets take a look at the challenges he has this season.

1) His guards: Kirk Hinrich, Ben Gordon, Thabo Sefolosha, Chris Duhon. 

 

            While Kirk has always been a favorite of Skiles and Paxson, i have never really been a big fan of his. He puts up respectable numbers in the traditional categories, but his defense is overglorified, his passing(for a point guard) is subpar and his shooting is as streaky as it gets. I say his defense is overglorified because with his trouble staying out of foul trouble, his defensive abilities, which admittedly are very good, are rarely able to be used. Ben Gordon is a sixth man, and anybody that has watched the Bulls consistently for the last few years should know that by now. His defensive effort is there, but his defensive abilities and size aren't. He can score in bunches but play no defense, and players with those skills are best utilized off the bench against the opposition's second wave. Thabo Sefolosha, although given very little chance to showcase his skills, has done little to impress. He is a strong defender and has good size, but he can't shoot a lick, has mental lapses way too often and seems to think he can do things which he clearly can't. I like Chris Duhon as a backup point guard and a floor general, but he isn't a starter. He is a smart player who was clearly taught very well at Duke, but he is physically challenged and is not starter material.  To sum it up, Skiles had a streaky, frustrating combo guard in Hinrich, a one dimensional bench player in Gordon, a defensive 2 guard(2 guards must be able to score in this league) in Sefolosha and a nice bench guy in Duhon.

 

2) Small Forwards: Luol Deng, Andres Nocioni, (Tyrus Thomas).

            This is the only position where the Bulls have adequate talent. Luol Deng is perhaps the only balanced and complete player on the entire roster. He can rebound, pass( a bit), shoot and defend. The problem is that although he can do everything pretty well, he does nothing amazingly well. I really like Luol, but he is not a centerpiece type player like The Carmelo's, Lebron's and Kobe's of the world(although there is no shortage of Bulls' fans that would argue vehemently against that.) Andres Nocion is a good player and has probably been the Bulls' second best player this season, but he is just a solid player. He is easily frustrated and often gets too trigger happy on a team with better outside shooters, although this year the latter is probably false. Tyrus Thomas, at this point, is more of an athlete than a basketball player. He clearly has worked on his shot and it has shown in some of the latest games, but he still is somewhat of an offensive liabilty and lacks the size to match up one on one against most of the better post players in the game. His help defense is very good, but i sometimes wish he would block balls into play instead of into the stands, which looks better but is not all that beneficial.

3) Power Forwards/Centers: Joe Smith, Joakim Noah, Aaron Gray, Ben Wallace, (Tyrus.) 

            This is probably the weakest unit on the Bulls. Only one of these players has performed well for the Bulls over an extended period of time, that being Joe Smith. He is scrappy, runs the floor pretty well, has an above average mid-range game and is a good mentor for the younger players. On the other hand, the trio of Wallace, Gray and Noah, for lack of a better word, sucks. Wallace is washed up, and even with the recent article on Fox Sports on his dicline, people that don't watch the Bulls really have no idea how worthless the 60 million dollar man has become in just over one full season. He isn't even starter material at this point, making him the most expensive one-dimensional bench player in all of sports. Noah and Gray were both very good in college, but they are both clearly overmatched at the pro level. They get their shots, and easy putback dunks/layups, blocked routinely and aside from scrappy play and decent size, offer almost nothing. They warrant no more than ten-fifteen minutes a night, but since the Bulls are weak at the position, are forced to play starter's minutes pretty often.

There is not just one problem with the Bulls. Rather, there are problems up and down the organization. The players do seem top have given up on Skiles, but could it be that they are just burnt out? The amount of effort this team has to exert to play competitve ball is greater than any other team in this league, and the last few years of intense work may have finally taken a toll on them. A team can only scrap and scrape for so long. John Paxson is also responsible for this, probably more than anybody else. The contract extension to Hinrich looks really foolish right now, but pales in comparison to the ontract Wallace got, which by the way will hamper the Bulls for another 2+ seasons. The draft day trade of LaMarcus Aldridge for Tyrus Thomas looks terrible right now, as does picking Noah ninth overall just a few months ago. From the looks of it, either Deng or Gordon, or possibly both, will be gone after this year, leaving the Bulls in even worse shape than now, if at all possible.

Scott Skiles is a hell of a coach, and i highly doubt that any other coach in the league could have done significantly more with the Bulls than he has done. The Bulls simply are not that talented of a team, and it's a shame that Paxson hasn't come to terms with that yet.

PS- It appears that many fans that are happy with the firing seem to think that Skiles' biggest failure was his inability to develop his young players, Tyrus Thomas, Thabo Sefolosha, Aaron Gray and Joakim Noah. The idea that Skiles, while coaching a team expected to go to the conference finals, can afford to play severely underdeveloped players AND take his team to the next level is laughable. This isn't baseball people. To really develop a player, a coach must give him real time experience, and with a team only able to put 5 players on the court at one time, a coach of a team with championship expectations can not afford to put his lineup at a disadvantage to help bring along a specific player. Baseball has the minor leagues and even when a player comes up, he can be shoed in the seven or eight hole and learn from there, but in basketball, players and teams don't have such a luxury. John Paxson put Scott Skiles in an impossible situation. Teams that win champonships grow together and eventually reach their pinnacle together; championship teams usually don't consist of a couple of role players and first and second year projects. John Paxson will see that while the team he assembled in Chicago was decent enough to fight it's way into a second round exit, it was nowhere good enough to meet the expectations put upon it. You see, Paxson, and perhaps Skiles, were naive enough to believe that a team full of solid but not excellent players with great work ethics, good values and team-first mentalities could win championships. The idea is great and can work in the college level(see Duke), but the NBA is a big boy league with mean, grown-#### man that feast on the type of players that the Chicago roster is full of.

Oh, and to the inevitable "Well the Pistons won a championship" comment, please. In their championship season, the Pistons had four players better than any one on the Bulls right now. Rip, Chauncey, Sheed and Tayshaun are all all-star calibur players and would be superstars on any other team aside from the one they find themselves on. All of those players, aside from Rip(maybe), could create their own shots and take advantage of mismatches. Tell me one player on the Bulls that on their best day could hang with any of the  aforementioned Pistons.

         While baseball has managed to stay atop American Sports for the better part of one and a half centuries, the fact that baseball has lost some of it's luster to America's other sport, football, is indisputable. When was the last time andybody said anything along the linees of "So and so might have saved football?" Meanwhile, in the late nineties, baseball was in need of saving, and the unprecedented home run battle between Sammy Sosa and Mark McGwire arrived just in time. Don't let anybody fool you, while baseball's stadiums were and still are getting filled at a very respectable game, the game is nowhere close to where it should be, or where it, for the most part, has been. TV ratings are way down, and even during October, when the football season is still in it's infancy and baseball is in the thick of the playoffs, TBS and FOX recorded putrid viewing numbers, some of which were all-time lows.

          Now imagine a game where pitching is dominant and 60 home run seasons are as unlikely as undefeated seasons are in football. With today's instant gratification mindset and the way fans crave the long ball, the casual fan would be extinct. Now imagine what Bud Selig and baseball's owners were up against when the allegations and accusations came about in the early part of the twentieth century. They could do like other sports and set up a real steroid policy at risk of losing the casual fan base, which would devastate a game already reeling from it's losses to the NBA and NFL, or they could turn the other cheek and hope steroids went away. In hindsight, the decision looks pretty easy to make, but was it, and is it, really so? Selig, as it is right now, has put himself in a position where he has no choice but to beef up the steroids policy and severely punish violaters. Ten game game suspensions will become 50 game suspensions and two time violaters will get one or two year bans. Selig has no choice anymore. By setting up the Mitchell investigation, which finally gave real, documented evidence pertaining to the undoubtebly enormous influence of steroids on baseball, Selig has cornered himself and is now forced to do what he didn't do a number of years back. The question now isn't whether or not Selig will toughen up the doping policies. Rather the question is, will baseball be better off for it?

First Team:
PG- T.J. Ford/Jose Calderon: Its kinda hard to mention one without the other. Toronto has two of the most high-energy and efficient point guards in the entire league. Both aren't great shooters, but can fill it up on occasion. They are excellent free throw shooters and both are in the top twelve in Asstist/PG.
SG- Josh Howard: Howard is the only Sg in the top ten in scoring with a FG% above 50. The next best, Paul Pierce, is 33 percentage points behind. His defense, efficiency and athleticism make him one of the tougher defensive assignments in the league.
SF- Caron Butler: Another efficient offensive machine. He logs a ton of minutes and doesn't take all that many shots, yet he puts up 22 per. Steals are a very misleading defensive stat, but he still grabs 2+ per and grabs 7 boards per as well.
PF- Al Jefferson: Although the Celtics are doing great, i cant help but wonder if it ws worth getting rid of Jefferson. This kid is a beast. He's only 22 and is already putting up All Star numbers. He and Carolos Boozer, another vastly underrated player, are going to alternate as starters in the All Star game for the next decade.
C- Chris Kaman: His goofy face and ADD make him easy to disregard and poke fun at, but he has developed into a really strong center. When his head is in the game, which it is a lot more often than not, he is a monster on the glass. When Elton Brand returns, his numbers might suffer a bit, or with less of the responsibility in the blocks, they might improve.

Second Team:
PG- Raymond Felton: he's turning into a really solid player, but his shooting touch really needs some work.
SG- Marvin Williams: He still isn't scoring enough points, but it's not from a lack of skill or work. He just needs to start to shoot a little more. His FG% warrants a few more ATT/pg.
SF- Rashard Lewis: The Magic were laughed at when they gave him a massive extension in the offseason, but he has been excellent. There really is nothing he doesn't do at a high level.
PF- Chris Wilcox: He is more of an athlete than basketball player, but is still a hell of a force on the court. Nobody goes at it harder than him.
C- Tyson Chandler: He still doesnt have any offenive game, but he is a double-double machine that plays some decent defense as well.

Is there anything worse than the hit and run blogger? I have seen numerous blogs on this site where someone posts something absolutely controversial and just when i get worked up enough to drop a comment, i see the writer has disabled the comment option. If you are gonna take time to write an article and post in an online forum like FoxSports, odds are you wanna get some feedback. If not, why post at all. Just had to voice my opinion, because these hit and runs just get under my skin.

The Chicago Bulls really progressed last season. If not for the regular season ending loss by the Bulls, they could have easily advanced to the championship. That being said, the Bulls lost that game and therefore had to play the Pistons in the second round and lost to an older, smarter and overall better team. Still, they made a mockery of the Miami Heat and won a playoff series for the first time since MJ was donning the red and black. But that was last season. This year is a new year, and the Bulls are a different team. Here is the Bulls breakdown:

Several players really improved over the course of the season, but none more than Luol Deng, who really made a name for himself in the playoff series against Miami. He really worked on his offense and now has one of the best mid-range shots in the game. He stopped shooting three pointers and therefore ended up with a really strong FG%. He fits very well into what the Bulls are doing, both on defense and offense. On defense he improved his man2man defense and worked on his reads and rotations. On offense he cut and sliced to the basket and more often than not put himself in positions to succeed. He has developed into a strong, smart player, but to all you NBA guys that think he will be a superstar, I would hold back that idea. He doesnt have the creativity, ball handling skills or speed to create shots for himself and will continue to rely on using screens and cuts to get open shots. That isnt such a bad thing. He wont be a really flashy player, but he is perfectly capable of being one of those rare players that can score 20-25 ppg without needing the ball most of the time. Luol Deng is the perfect player for Scott Skiled system.

Ben Gordon: There are two things that separated the Ben Gordon in 06-07 from the Ben Gordon in 04-05 and 05-06: We all knew that he could score in bunches, but his inconsistency was utterly maddening. He only scored less than ten points ten times, while he failed to reach double digits NINETEEN times the year before. He also boosted his FG% by three full points and added 4.5 to his ppg. He really played very well last season and showed that he can really be a reliable scorer night in and night out. The scary thing about Ben is that he continues to work on his game endlessly and is always getting better. His work ethic is as strong as anybody's. Ben Gordon is a legitimate NBA stud.

Kirk Hinrich: Hinrich is a favorite of the coaches and management. He is a scrappy player that leaves everything out on the court, but he isnt short on talent either. While his ppg only improved minimally, his FG%(41.8 to 44.8) and 3PT%(37 to 41.%) both went siginicantly. His freethrow shooting also got better last season, in which he shot a very strong 83.5%. What Kirk needs to improve on is his fouling issues. He always seemed to be in foul trouble and that really prevented him from improving his offensive game as much as both Deng and Gordon did. I say offensive because his defensive game really hs no room for improvement. Hinrich is a marvelous defender, who despite defending the other teams top offensive guard, still did a good job every game.

Ben Wallace: Wallace is clearly in the declining phase of his career. Almost all of his numbers went down last season, but Wallace is still an elite defender. At a time in which there are not that many really good big men in the league, a guy like Wallace, despite not being the Wallace of old, is still more than enough to hold court in the paint. I commented on another blogger's(Gambitxxx's) blog that he is even more valuable because he offers veteran leadership for a number of young, talented, defensively oriented players like Tyrus Thomas, Thabo Sefolosha and Joakim Noah. I still believe that the Bulls overpaid in a big way for Wallace, but i dont mind having him in Chicago one bit.

Tyrus Thomas: This youngster really has potential, but in just his second professional season, i dont think he is going to be as good as some think he can be just yet. There are some questions regarding his work ethic, or lack thereof. Hopefully he can step it up and fill the one one position that i view as a weakness for the bulls, which is at PF.

Thabo Sefolosha: I absolutely love this guy. He hasnt really dazzled yet on offense, but his defense is lightyears ahead of where a 2nd year NBA player's should be. He may emerge as the best defender on the Bulls, and i think that in games where the Bulls dont have to worry about the opposition's big men, he should be worked into the starting lineup, playing the three and having Deng slide down to the four. I fully expect Thabo to make a name for himself in the 07-08 season.

Joakim Noah: Not much is known about the biggest wackjob in Chicago not named Carlos Zambrano. What is known about Noah is that he really loves to play the game and can help out with his defense and intensity immediately. He has size, bulk and more importantly the will to mix it up in the paint. Both he and Tyrus Thomas, despite being a few years away, will be huge fan favorites this year in Chicago.

Andres Nocioni: After an 06-07 season marred by plantar fascitis and other injuries, this Argentenian bulldog will return with a vengance. He is the ultimate Bull. He can shoot, drive, defend and is a scraper who wont back down from anybody. If he stays healthy and Deng shows he can play well at the four spot, Nocioni could contend with Sefolosha for first forward off the bench,

Chris Duhon: Duhon is the third guard in the Bulls. He is limited offensively, but he is a smart player(Kids from Duke have pretty high basketball iq's) that has filled in nicely for the Bulls the last few seasons. Yet, some charcter problems arose late last season as his playing time took a dip. I would place him behind my man Thabo on the depth chart.

Joe Smith: I really dont know much about Smith. The radio guys in Chicago have said that he is a scrappy player that can score a bit to. If that holds true, he will be a valuable player for the Bulls and may contend for some playing time at the four.

All of the aforementioned stuff is all individual stuff and doesnt reflect how the Bulls will mesh as a team. Everything the Bulls do starts with defense, and with the addition of Noah and Smith and the exected development of Thomas and the defense overall, the Bulls defense could emerge as the best in the league. On offense the Bulls already know what their bread and butter will be. Deng and Gordon will be expected to score around 22-23 ppg and Nocioni and Hinrich will be relied on for around 16 ppg as well. If Thomas, Wallace, Sefolosha and Noah can contribute a decent amount offensively, the Bulls should be able to have nough offensive output to hang with the any team out there.

My expectations are sky high for the Bulls. I see no reason that the Bulls shouldnt grab a top playoff seed and at least advance to the conference finals. They have the most comlete team in the Eastern Conference and for the first time since the Jordan era, the Bulls will, or should, be viewed as a potential powerhouse.

By now, the problems between Yi/China and the Milwaukee Bucks have been well documented. Yi's people felt like they made their point clear when they refused to allow the Bucks' scouts to watch Yi work out, but the Bucks went ahead and drafted him at six anyway. Now a new chapter in the Yi saga unfolds. From some media reports being circulated on Chicago radio, it appears that in an effort to try and win over Yi and his representatives, the Bucks flew the ENTIRE TEAM, during their players' precious free time, down to the Summer League location where Yi and team China are participating. From what i heard in the reports, all the players were there, including their superstar Michael Redd. They all waited outside Team China's locker room for TWO FULL HOURS to meet YI and try to show him just how much the team wants him only to watch Yi, accompanied by his entourage, blow them by without even a glance to acknowledge their presence.

What is ironic is that in an effort to win over Yi and make him want to be a MIlwaukee Buck, the Bucks Brass has pretty much made it so that YI must be traded. Can you imagine what the locker room would be like if Yi had to face the guys he so blatantly blew off?

Who exactly does Yi think he is? If he wants to have a large Chinese fan base in the city where he plays he should just go back and play in China. Can you imagine what people would be saying if Dwayne Wade refused top play for any teame besides for his hometwown Bulls? At least one could somewhat understand what Archie Manning was thinking when he demanded that the Chargers pass on his son, Eli. He didn't want his son to play for a bad team, which is easier to understand than chosing a team based on fan base.

The sad part is that Yi's efforts will probably pay off and he will go to a bigger market. For the rest of his career in the NBA, Yi will be viewed as a jerk and he will find that friends will be tough to come by in a league where chemistry and friendships can play a big role in an individual's success. What is wierd is where was all of this lunacy when Yao MIng was drafted by the Houston Rockets? He will most likely be the better player when it is all said and done and he plays in a city that doesn't seem to be too Chinese.
I have a feeling that no matter where Yi goes, he will need his Chinese fans to comfort him when he starts getting crapped on by the rest of the bigger, badder NBA.

So many bloggers often seem to be more informed and often much smarter than some of the "experts" that grace our newspapers, websites and magazines. While i am not 100 % clear on all of the details of steroids and wrestling, it seems like Mark Kriegel is misinformed regarding wrestling and the need for Congress to get involved. From what i understood from Kriegel's article, it seems like he wants Congress to get involved and investigate steroid use in professional wrestling like it has in the MLB. From what i have heard from many sources and certain local radio personalities, it appears that Congress, nor any other government department, has the ability to stop steroid use in wrestling. I am not sure how it works, but when the WWE became an organization, they classified themselves as entertainment, not a sport. Because they are not a sport, (i am not sure why that makes a difference, but if anybody has any information regarding the process please inform me) steroid use by its employees is not a crime like it is in the major competitive sports, i.e baseball,basketball, football etc. Again, i am not 100% sure that what i am writing is accurate, but i have heard it from reliable sources and have also heard it spoken about over the radio, but i have had trouble finding information regarding this topic over the internet. If anyone has information, please leave comments about it.

Man am i steamed. With a bunch of really talented players around at the nine spot, the Bulls pull of a headscratcher by picking the 7 foot clown Joakim Noah. I had such high hopes for the draft and i had so much faith in GM Paxson to make a good move. With the Bulls frontcourt so offensively challenged already, they chose to bring in maybe the most offensively challenged player in the entire first round? HUH. In all fairness to Paxson, he still has plenty of time before next year to shake things up and acquire a potent big man, but i still am upset wuth the Noah pick. Ben Wallace, Loakim Noah and Tyrus Thomas wil  grab a bajillion rebounds and swat plenty of shots into the crowd, but how in the world will the Bulls get some points in the paint? Where are you PJ Brown, we need you???????

With so many talented players left, i would have either taken Spencer Hawes or gone after a swingman with size. Some may say why add another guard/forward to a Bulls team that has so many already? In my opinion, Ben Gordon would be more effective if he were to go back to coming off of the bench. I would hav liked to see the Bulls grab one of the Young ones, Thaddeus and Nick. Both can score and have the size to create matchup nightmares. Ben Gordon is too small to defend most of the other 2 gaurds in the league and can you imagine a player like Ben Gordon feasting on the oppostion's second wave of players off of the bench?

Earlier, maybe a few months ago, i posted that Noah would be a massive bust. While i have warmed up a bit to the idea of Noah in a Bulls uniform, i am still not that high on the big seven footer. His defense will help the Bulls who ARE a defense first organization and his hustle will not go unnoticed by the Skiles administration(I have a feeling Skiles will make Noah take a lawnmower to his head, can you imagine a bald Joakim Noah?), but is he the right choice for the young Bulls? I dont think so, but i will give Skiles and Paxson some time to make some moves before i really write this draft off as a blown one.

With the recent rumore swirling around superstars Kobe Bryant and Kevin Garnett, i couldnt help but notice a large mistake that each franchise made while trying to "rebuld." The NBA is first and foremost a business and most owners are in the business of making money first and then winning later. ONe would think that both making money and winning are intertwined, but in certain situations thaye most certainly are not. That is where the Lakers and Timberwolves have made a large and costly mistake. Both farnchises have superstars that are good enough to bring fans to each game through their great play. Both the Lakers and the Wolves knew a few years ago that it was time to rebuild their respective franchise, but neither team was willing to suffer through the years of empty stadiums and lack of financial success that a rebuilding franchise must go through. So each team held onto their bic ticket player and tried, with litlle success, to rebuild their franchise successfully while alotting a large part of their funds to one player that would bring fans to the stadium for all 41 of his team's home games. THe idea of rebuilding AND filling the stadium is nice, but it is one that is very reality. Both teams succumbed to the temptations of having a star player and cashing in on ticket sales at the expense of having a good, young team a few years down the road. Not only has each team failed when it comes to rebuilding, but their star players also are starting to grumble and want to go to a team that can actually contend.

It would be unfair to only mention the teams that have failed to rebuild successfully. There are two teams in particular, one in baseball and one in basketball, that have gone through a few seasons of futility but now have a bright future ahead of them. The Arizona Diamondbacks, who have successfully rebuilt their franchise since tehir world series victory over the Yankees, have an extremely talented young core of players that figure to have the team in contention for the NL pennant for the next decade. In baseball, because there is no salary cap, it is very possible to rebuild and have success at the same time. Basketball, because of teh cap, presents a challenge. A superstar gobbles up a large chunk of a team's money and can really prevent a team from signing it's other players to large contracts and from going after the best free agents available.
The basketball team that has rebuilt well is my hometown Chicago Bulls. The Bulls, although it has taken a bit longer than it should have, have put together a great young core of players that looks to be a force to be reckoned with in the eastern conference for a very long time.

The main mistake that both teams' futility can be traced back to is the lack of oneness in the organization and lack of planning. A team has to be a team, meaning that one mission has to be carried out by the entire organization and any other idea that goes against that said goal is detrimental to the success of the organization. If a team wants to rebuild, it needs to rebuil all the way through. It can not afford to invest a large part of it's cap space in one player or it will jeapordize it's future. Other organizations would do well to learn from the Lakers and Timberwolves.

There has been a lot made of the Spurs, and the entire NBA playoffs for that matter, have been "boring." The fact of the matter is that when the playoffs come around in basketball, and baseball and footblall for that matter, team defense, team offense and disciplined play are what brings championships. In a sense, the Spurs have the "triple crown" of those three categories. They do lack the traditional, do it all superstar that fills it up on Sportscenter's highlight reels, but they still get the job done. Coach Pops has instilled the team concept into his players and they have embraced it. Tony Parker has become one of the most exciting players in the league. Nobody can stick with the guy. His quickness and ability to finish from either side of the bucket are remarkable. His shot is quickly becoming a strength more than a liability and in the coming years when Tim Duncan starts to show his age Tony will shine even brighter than he has already.

Most of the critics that tab the Spurs as "boring" seem to think that exciting play is associated with highlight reel shots and Lebron-style dunks. To actaully sit down and pay attention to the nuances of the Spurs' offensive plays and their perfect rotations on defense is really one of the greatest things to see in sports. Before the Spurs briefly fell apart at the end of the game Tony Parker slammed the ball down in disgust after the Cavs nailed a meaningless three ball which dwindled the lead down to a meaningless twenty-something advantage. Every player out there knows his assignment as well as the others' assignment and get upset after a mere failed play in the middle of an absolute butt-kicking. That is all Pops.

Undeniably, the bulk of the scoring is going to come from the big three, but the way that the Spurs brass has brought in the pieces to complement Manu, Tony and Timmy reminds of me of the Bulls teams of the nineties. Aside from the main players, the team has the perfect pieces to comlete the puzzle of getting an NBA championship. Each team has great scorers(Jordan/Pippen-Manu/Timmy/Parker), a lock down defender or two(Jordan/Pippen/Rodman- Bowen/Duncan/ maybe Manu) and shooters that help prevent an overfocusing on their star players(Kerr/Armstrong/Paxson- Bowen/Barry/Horry). The main difference is that the Spurs have a stud at the PF position, although Horace Grant and Bill Cartright were very good in their own right.

THe point is tha even though the games thus far in the finals have not been competitive and nail biting, there have been reasons to watch the finals. Whether it is "witnessing" the emergence of Tony Parker, the clutchness of Manu, the easiness at which Duncan gets his points or just closely watching the well oiled machine that is the San Antonio Spurs, the real basketball fan should and most likely will enjoy wathing this years remaining finals games.

There is one particular thing that bothers me in the argument of Lebron over Kobe. When the Cavs players, other than Lebron, speak of what he has done for their confidence it says two things about the team. It tells me that Lebron has gone above what is required of him to instille confidence in his teammates. The other thing it tells me is that Lebron James is running a day-care center raher than a team over there in Cleveland. Just because Kobe isnt playing the father figure to Daniel Gibson(who should man up and not need Lebron's constant reinforcements) doesnt mean that Kobe doesnt attempt to raise the level of his teammate's play. I have read excerpts from books where old teammates of Michael Jordan admit that they were terrified of him and played their best because they knew Jordan would get in their faces and rip into them for missing big shots. Jordan has been known to be upset with players due to a simple lackluster performance. He didnt call out his teammates in the manner that Kobe did but thats because he didnt recieve the horrible supporting cast that Kobe currently has. Also, Kobe going out on the air and voicing his diespleasure in the Laker organization shows that at least he isnt a player that plays for a paycheck and goes home. He is a competitor and demands that his organization and teammates put as much into winning as he does.

Again, Lebron is in a unique situation where it seems his teammates need to be coddled more than what is the norm. The point is that every situation is unique and Kobe's "non coddling" is being mistaken fr poor team play. That is simply unfair.

Lebron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers have beat the Pistons and advanced the NBA Finals. I got news for all of you who are saying Lebron should be teaching KObe a thing or two, or a "chapter" as somene previously blogged.(BY the way, if you are gonna blog about KObe learning from Lebron, write a blog that backs up your statement, not one freakin sentence.) If Kobe and his Lakers were in the East, he would be doing exactly what the Cavs and Lebron did, just probably in less games. And for those that really want to compare the situations that Lebron and Kobe are in, why dont we take a look at their respective teams.

Kobe is definitely surrounded by lesser talent, and in a big way might i add. His point guard is Smush Parker, who universally is known as a nothing that doesnt deserve to be on an NBA roster. He can dunk a bit and pass a bit, but cant shoot and make good decisions. Luke Walton, for all his heralded ability to lpay in the triangle, is not that good of a player. He played poorly in the postseason and never got into a groove after coming back from his injury. The same can be said for Lamar Odom. The guy simply looked lost and didnt have his mind on the game. Who can really blame his? He had an injury and lost a child pretty recently. He is a good lpayer but just wasnt into the game. Kwame Brown is a lost soul. He doesnt know what the hell he is doing on offense and defense and aside from the rare easy dunk he cant but the ball in the basket. Andrew Bynum is a long way away from being a good player. He is young and has optential, but at this point is not much more than an all-right backup who is in the game strictly to get experince, not for his current ability. Jordon Farmar has some talent but showed that he really isnt ready for the NBA game yet. His hustle and effort is there very night though. Aside from Kobe it looks like he is the only one with his head in the game.

Now take a look at what Lebron has. It isnt all that much either but it definitely beats what Kobe has. The guards are Larry Hughes, Daniel Gibson and Eric Snow. I really dont like Larry Hughes too much. His shot is suspect and he needs to be a third option to perfor well offensively, like he was in Washington. He is good for a few steals a game and plays some defense, but he is definitely better than Smush Parker. Eric Snow has almost no offenive ability and is strictly in the game for his defensive spurts and his ability to run the offense. Teams always give him ample space to get shots off but he understands that he is not a shooter and plays within his very limited abities. Daniel Gibson is a defensive liabilty but has shown that he can fill it up from long range from time to time. But anybody that thinks that Lebron has found a reliable second scorer is in for a big surprise. Detroit played with no interest on Defense and seemed to lack the motivation they had against the Bulls. Detroit responds to trash talk and the Bulls' big talking via Nocioni lit a fire under the Pistons. SanAntonio will most likely elimnate the drive and kick that got Gibson open looks versus the Pistons. Clevelands guards arent that good either, but the defense of Hughes and Snow plus Gibson's shooting places them above the Lakers' guards, sans Kobe.

The bigs are where the Cavs really trump the Lakers. Bynum, Brown, Mihm and Turiaf really have nothing on Ilgauskas, Gooden and Varajao. I personally think that Big Z could toughen up a bit and play more in the post, but he has a nice outside shot and is a dependable 12-18 point per game scorer, something Kwame Brown can only achieve in his dreams. Varajao is an all energy guy who can really frustrate the opposition with his help on the offensive glass. He also gets a few put backs and easy dunks through the course o####ame. Gooden is really an X-factor. Sometimes he shows up big and other times he just dissappears offensively. However inconsistent his scoring is he still is huge on the boards for Cleveland and gets tons of offensive rebounds and tip outs.

Another clear advantage is where they play. Cleveland, residing in the East, which is improving but at this point is still very underwhelming, had to go through Washington, New Jersey and detroit. Only Detroit would have proved as a competitive challenge for any of the 8 playoff teams in the West.

The point is that Kobe is clearly in more difficult situation than Lebron, whether it be where they play or who they play with.

Lebron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers have beat the Pistons and advanced the NBA Finals. I got news for all of you who are saying Lebron should be teaching KObe a thing or two, or a "chapter" as somene previously blogged.(BY the way, if you are gonna blog about KObe learning from Lebron, write a blog that backs up your statement, not one freakin sentence.) If Kobe and his Lakers were in the East, he would be doing exactly what the Cavs and Lebron did, just probably in less games. And for those that really want to compare the situations that Lebron and Kobe are in, why dont we take a look at their respective teams.

Kobe is definitely surrounded by lesser talent, and in a big way might i add. His point guard is Smush Parker, who universally is known as a nothing that doesnt deserve to be on an NBA roster. He can dunk a bit and pass a bit, but cant shoot and make good decisions. Luke Walton, for all his heralded ability to lpay in the triangle, is not that good of a player. He played poorly in the postseason and never got into a groove after coming back from his injury. The same can be said for Lamar Odom. The guy simply looked lost and didnt have his mind on the game. Who can really blame his? He had an injury and lost a child pretty recently. He is a good lpayer but just wasnt into the game. Kwame Brown is a lost soul. He doesnt know what the hell he is doing on offense and defense and aside from the rare easy dunk he cant but the ball in the basket. Andrew Bynum is a long way away from being a good player. He is young and has optential, but at this point is not much more than an all-right backup who is in the game strictly to get experince, not for his current ability. Jordon Farmar has some talent but showed that he really isnt ready for the NBA game yet. His hustle and effort is there very night though. Aside from Kobe it looks like he is the only one with his head in the game.

Now take a look at what Lebron has. It isnt all that much either but it definitely beats what Kobe has. The guards are Larry Hughes, Daniel Gibson and Eric Snow. I really dont like Larry Hughes too much. His shot is suspect and he needs to be a third option to perfor well offensively, like he was in Washington. He is good for a few steals a game and plays some defense, but he is definitely better than Smush Parker. Eric Snow has almost no offenive ability and is strictly in the game for his defensive spurts and his ability to run the offense. Teams always give him ample space to get shots off but he understands that he is not a shooter and plays within his very limited abities. Daniel Gibson is a defensive liabilty but has shown that he can fill it up from long range from time to time. But anybody that thinks that Lebron has found a reliable second scorer is in for a big surprise. Detroit played with no interest on Defense and seemed to lack the motivation they had against the Bulls. Detroit responds to trash talk and the Bulls' big talking via Nocioni lit a fire under the Pistons. SanAntonio will most likely elimnate the drive and kick that got Gibson open looks versus the Pistons. Clevelands guards arent that good either, but the defense of Hughes and Snow plus Gibson's shooting places them above the Lakers' guards, sans Kobe.

The bigs are where the Cavs really trump the Lakers. Bynum, Brown, Mihm and Turiaf really have nothing on Ilgauskas, Gooden and Varajao. I personally think that Big Z could toughen up a bit and play more in the post, but he has a nice outside shot and is a dependable 12-18 point per game scorer, something Kwame Brown can only achieve in his dreams. Varajao is an all energy guy who can really frustrate the opposition with his help on the offensive glass. He also gets a few put backs and easy dunks through the course o####ame. Gooden is really an X-factor. Sometimes he shows up big and other times he just dissappears offensively. However inconsistent his scoring is he still is huge on the boards for Cleveland and gets tons of offensive rebounds and tip outs.

Another clear advantage is where they play. Cleveland, residing in the East, which is improving but at this point is still very underwhelming, had to go through Washington, New Jersey and detroit. Only Detroit would have proved as a competitive challenge for any of the 8 playoff teams in the West.

The point is that Kobe is clearly in more difficult situation than Lebron, whether it be where they play or who they play with.

Is it possible that the San Antonio Spurs will be the last real NBA dynasty. They wouldnt even qualify in a dynasty a few decades back, but they contend every season and grab a'chip every two/three years. In the present era of big money free agent contracts,players' inflated egos and superstars with me-first attitudes, great, long lasting teams may become extinct after the San Antonio Spurs finish their impressive albeit boring run.

For a team to win Championships consistently it needs a unique blend of a few superstars surrounded by great role players that accept their position as role players and do not in anyway resent the stars for being stars. One of the most successfully assembled dynasty teams that illustrates this point is the Bulls of the 90's. They had the superstars in Jordan and Pippen, who by the way does not get enough credit for some of the things he did while in Chicago. I recently was watching some highlights of the Bulls and remembered just how physically giftet and talented Pippen was. I firmly believe that if he was the "main man" on any other team he would have raised himself to a level just under the one where Jordan, Magic and Bird reside. For the first three chamionships they had the grinders in the paint in Stacie King and Bill Cartright along with 3 point sharpshooters John Paxson and BJ Armstrong. Horace Grant was vastly underrated and was an above average forward and produced greatly in a somewhat limited role. Many forget that Oakley was there too. He was somewhat of an enforcer and a great on at that. In the latter years, Jerry Krause surrounded Jordan, Pippen and Rodman with great role players again. Luc Longley, Bill Wennington, Steve Kerr, Ron Harper and Toni Kukoc were all very solid and had veteran savvy that helped them shine in the playoffs.

The point is that it is hard to see a team that has so many players willing to take the backseat to the Superstar team leaders. There are too many inflated egos floating around and too many guys who think they can play only to prove night in and night out that they are not much more than servicable(see Nate Robinson). I believe that the Lakers did have a great dynasty in te making built around Kobe and Shaq with their role players in Rick Fox, Robert Horry, derek Fisher, etc.

Let me know if you agree with me and if you dont explain why. There is nothing more frustrating than a comment with no explanation.

WIth the lottery just hours away, the idea of having to listen to draft experts on various radio shows and having mock drafts all over the internet is just plain frightening. The top two, barring an unforseen event, will most defnitely be Oden and Durant.(really stepping out on a limb there arent i?)

But one thing i have come to realize is that there are certain players that just dont really fit in well with the college game but happen to flourish in the NBA game. That mostly applies to players at the guard and small forward positions. The NBA is not as much a team oriented game like college is, and players with great individual talents can perform at a high level and be better at the NBA level than ever percieved from watching them play at the college level. In other words, i think the college game holds certain players from showcasing their talents, and i think Brandon Rush will prove to be an example of that.

Rush is a player that has a great blend of size, quickness and speed along with an abundance of talent. He shoots the ball really well and most importantly, with some slight improvements in his dribbling and some extra time in the weight room will have the ability to break the oppisition down in isolation situations, which is crucial in the NBA game. (For example, while Luol Deng shined in the postseason, i dont believe he can grow into a star player because his style of play is very team oriented and rarely can he score if placed in an isolation situation. The player that he was often compared to this postseason, Tayshaun Prince, has length, size, athleticism and the ability to score one on one. The best is yet to come from Tayshaun, but thats a whole different blog.)

I think that whatever team is able to snag Brandon Rush will get a player that over time will flourish and grow into a superstar at the NBA level.