I came across this picture of Sergio Garcia the other day it was supposedly from 2002 Ryder Cup, and other than letting the absurdity of Sergio Garcia's goofiness settle in for a few seconds, a few other things caught my eye. First of all, I had to admire the exquisite form on this, should I call it "fist pump"? No, calling it a fist pump would do this no justice, this is a real throwback. What we have here folks is the real deal, the mother of them all, the super duper, white boy, hat off, Street Fighter II Upper Cut!

Notice the perfect form as Sergio executes this move, the perfect line from first to forearm. The high extension of the right arm, the left arm cocked in elbow close to the body. Face, frozen in in a moment of pure focus. Great vertical distance on this jump also. Now let's compare with one of the masters of the Street Fighter II upper cut.

Yes, as you can see, perfect match. Perfect form. Knock Out. So next, time Sergio, if you can't beat your opponent, throw that silly hat off, toss away your belly putter, and go with your heart, go with the Street Fighter II Upper Cut.

Off topic, but look again at the top picture. Ironically, is that actually Padraig Harrington's face third from the top left, who beat Sergio in a playoff this past week at the British Open? Weird...

Yeah, I know, Steve Francis's stock is not on Wallstreet's hot buy list, but what's up with the lack of love for the Houston Rockets signing the "Franchise" recently?  Sure talk about Oden or Durant... but those guys are the future. Of all the teams that could actually win a title next season, we got  probably the most meaningful signing right here. 

    The Rockets actually shocked me last season by their incredibly meek playoff performance considering both "superstars" were relatively healthy and hungry this year, and they were coming off a relatively good season that saw McGrady quietly emerge as a Scottie-Pippen-esque (late in his career) playmaker, and Yao finally put together all those skills he's got with the mentality to finally dominate guys half a foot shorter than him. The Rockets had one thing going for them, their defense was always good. It's just obvious by now, that champions always have good defense (ex: Spurs allowed least opponent points per game last season averaging 90 opp. ppg and Cleveland allowed 5th most in the NBA averaging roughly 93 opp. ppg, Houston was 3rd in the NBA allowing 92 opp. ppg). That shouldn't change as Yao will only get better defensively as he enters his 6th year and seems to have evened out defensive foul trouble now a days, and has found the mental game to match his other attributes now. The Rockets' two glaring needs for seasons now have been:

1.  A good big man next to Yao (but most teams are lucky to have one good big man these days, hell the Sixers are looking for ONE big man right now, applications are still outside Billy King's door)
   
2. A real starting point guard. You can finally consider the latter accomplished.
   

Anyone who needs a refresher on why good point guards are important in the NBA need not look far for examples. See Exhibit A, 2007 NBA finals. Let's compare and contrast Tony Parker destroying the Cavalier defense versus Larry Hughes injuring his leg, essentially making the rest of the playoffs open audition for who wants to be America's Next Top Point Guard? Well, needless to say, the void was never quite filled, and the rest is history.

    Enter Steve Francis, and the Rockets anticipate a starting five that might look like Francis at guard, McGrady two guard, Battier forward, Chuck Hayes forward, and Yao center. Steve Francis signing also ends the Rafer Alston experiment, and the additional signing of talented Mike James at guard, suddenly dare I say, makes the point guard position for the rocket's potentially strong? I know some of you will say I'm drinking the Houston cool-aide on the Francis signing. And maybe your right, it seems the world has soured on Steve Francis the past few years, but remember, this is a guy who at some point was dubbed "the Franchise". The last time he actually had a chance to play starter minutes, only two years ago in 2005 (seems like twenty years ago) he averaged 20 ppg, and 7 assists. Plus, I always liked that Francis was a rather good rebounder for a guard. For a few seasons he managed to average nearly 7 rebounds per game (2000-2002)! That's like 6 more boards per game than Chris Webber could manage when he was with the Sixers last season. So maybe Steve Francis was overpaid, but overpaid and over rated and over the hill are different things. Steve Francis might have been overpaid, but he's not quite the last two. I'm the person who believes it's not his fault, he is what he is, he's not the franchise, but HE IS a 3-time all-star, who's still got nearly a good third of his career left to go.

    The most interesting question is where is the "Franchise's" head at? Is Houston bringing another malcontent into the mix (see: Bonzi Wells)? For the answer, it seems Francis has addressed that himself.

 "I'm at the stage of my career where winning is more important," Francis said. "There has been seasons where Tracy, Yao and myself could get 20 to 25 points per game. But I think, at this stage in people's careers, it's more important that everyone focuses on winning."

It's more interesting to note that his actions spoke pretty loudly. It seems the Clippers desperately needing a point guard to play heavy minutes in front of Sam (48 year old and louder by the year) Cassell. And with Shaun "Human Twig" Livingston injured, Steve Francis could have had all the glory of running a young team with nearly unlimited minutes, but chose instead to go to Houston, where two superstars clearly have the right of way. Every player eventually reaches a point where they turn that corner... when winning for real becomes more important, and maybe watching Yao become the dominant force that he is (and obviously he's had plenty of time to watch TV recently) Stevie now understands why jacking three's from the perimeter when you have a 7'6" offensive beast in the paint doesn't make sense. He was quoted saying:

"I'm not really looking to do the flashy stuff like I used to," Francis said. "That right there was just to get on Sportscenter. Now, I'm trying to get on Sportscenter winning games."

But the good news is, on the Rockets, if Francis gets an itchy trigger finger, there will be shots to spare. McGrady no matter what he says, isn't the same health-wise anymore. He's playing on borrowed time already, which is sad for a player of such ability and relative youth. McGrady would prefer to spend this stage of his career spreading the ball, and making the right plays with Yao. McGrady averaged a career high 6.5 assists per game last season a testament to his new attitude. With Francis at the point, shots will probably come to Yao first, but after that it's a toss up between what may become one of the toughest back courts to defend in the league. If Rick Adelman can maintain Houston's defense, stabilize the front court, and pull the talented offensive strands of this roster together, we may be dealing with a team that is young and potentially good enough to contend for more than one championship.

With my home team the 76ers buried within the bowels of the NBA cellar, a man is forced to adopt other teams of interest to bide his time until brighter days. One of these teams has been the Orlando Magic for me, for many years now. It started with the whole Tracy McGrady phenomenon, him coming from nowhere and becoming briefly one of the most unstoppable players in the NBA offensively and continued with my respect and admiration for Grant Hill, who I used to dream would come back from one of those surgeries and finally unite with Tracy to form a duo to remember. Well that didn't work out, as there seems to be something in the water in Orlando. Hill is still around, and as classy as ever. But McGrady who I've always perceived to be one of the more genuine guys in the NBA (we can forgive the weak tribal band tattoo), has seemingly followed Hill's path and found himself repeatedly dealing with troubling health issues (back problems). 

 Nevertheless, these days, I follow the Magic once in awhile to check up on my man from Philly's St. Joe's: Jameer Nelson. Also I've absolutely been raving about Dwight Howard from the first time I saw that kid. I like both player's attitudes, images, and games. Ironically, Nelson is a mature beyond his years mini player in a land of giants, while Howard is a giant of a man, with a happy go lucky kid trapped within. Now, I never said Jameer is Stockton, and Howard is Malone. Don't mince my words, I just like the guys, as players. Nothing complicated... but I also think they got a good young team brewing down there and we might as well see how their off season went?

Obviously they pulled the trigger and got Rashard Lewis. Now they got their most consistent offensive option since McGrady. Yes, if there even IS one fan of Steve Francis left out there, I think Lewis today is more reliable then Francis was back then. The reason is, Lewis is a good free lancer with the ball, but he's a good system player too. He'll work the offense, allow the ball to work around, but when the ball is dumped back out to him, he'll shoot J's all day until you guard him, then he'll come in and hit turn around J's or floaters in your grill till the final whistle blows. The Magic will need that, with Grant Hill gone. Which brings up the next point.

 No Hill? Major blow, this is where the one step forward two steps back part comes in. I'm telling you there's times in sports when things happen that can't be explained (readily). Certain teams rise and fall inexplicably. But really, sometimes the answer comes back to the ole' locker room. It's underated. We're not literally talking about the locker room afterall. We're talking about all the stuff that goes on in the infinite amount of time that does not get measured under the bright lights of a 48 minute game. Talent doesn't win championships. Talent wins games, talent with leadership wins championships. What the magic lost was leadership, it's hard to know what will happen.

Last but not least, I never thought I'd say this, but they lost Darko. For the 2nd time, a GM decided to let Darko go. I'm nuts now, I know, but I'm gonna say it again I think, but this is a mistake. No, he's not gonna be Duncan in 2 years. But for god's sake, he got drafted when he was like 15 years old. He was a fetus when he was playing in Europe! What is he like 21 now? He's been in the NBA building his game and body since Clinton was in the oval office, it seems. Somebody give the kid a chance to play 30 minutes a game for a season, and I'll guarantee you, a starter at least. And that doesn't sound like much, until you realize a starting big man in this league means, pretty much anybody who is taller than 6'9" and can run. And the standards are slipping faster by the month, soon they'll be taking 6'6" guys who will agree to rebound, and call them big men (oh wait, that's Ben Wallace). But I digress, in a land of no big men, if you can have a viable guy who is 7 feet tall, runs, shoots well enough, has good hands, and shows a new found ability to #### and hustle for rebounds. Please, tie him down, put him with Dwight Howard for the next 10 years. Too late now, it looks like the Magic have opted for a one big man show. The next half decade for Orlando fans will probably feature an impressive parade of uninspired journeyman centers to feature next to Howard, or over the hill pivotmen looking for a last contract. See exhibit A, the Yao Ming odyssey in  Houston. 

It will be interesting to see if the infusion of talent (and Lewis doesn't really set my world on fire in the first place) can push the magic forward.

I expect more or less the same, as defense will become the major issu. Not enough players with the type of grit and defensive ability on this team, but they should be fun to watch at least. JJ Reddick should poke his head out, as I see a team now that features a multi faceted shooting ability in Lewis, Reddick, Hedo Turkoglu, even Jameer Nelson.
 

 Durant and Oden are good picks, at least we can guarantee they will be first year starters. But like the ecological levels of the rainforest , the NBA draft climate changes rapidly as you descend from the top of the canopy to the shadier less well defined levels below. For the 76ers, the #12 pick is basically getting pretty murky. First of all, all month now the 76ers have been getting shady workout declinations, sick call-outs, and straight up middle fingers from agents of top level clients. Agents of kids projected to go 3rd-10th were giving attitude to teams "unworthy" of receiving workouts, apparently! The sixers had to ask (beg) Yi Jianlian's agent to attend a workout of his, all the way in L.A.! The idea is that, no agent wants to let the whole NBA world know the next morning that his potential top 3 pick was working out for the lowly 76ers who hold merely a 12th pick. Since when has it been a privilege for teams to simply VIEW a kid in a workout?! I guess, if Lebron was caught working out for a team that had the 30th pick, then Cleveland would have NEVER drafted him 1st overall right? Meanwhile, around the periphery of the draft talk is about whether Oden or Durant would be "happy" with being drafted by Seattle or Portland. Oh…. Poor babies. I hope tears don't permanently ruin down feathers, because I can just picture so many tearful nights for Oden or Durant as he cries himself to sleep in Portland, on top of his mattress made of stacks of $100 dollar bills, inside his 39 room mansion. People keep saying this is a "business." If it is, then could the real businessmen stand up? Athletes should just play their game, and be the role models that they know they can be. And somebody needs to shut these sports agents up. Other than haggle for money, they never do much else that benefits these players or the game they leach from, all year round.

This is Part II of the QB Award Predictions, to find Part I go Here

Most Consistently Over-Rated QB

"Big Interception" Ben Roethlisberger - I know, 23 INTs, 18 TDs, a 4.9% INT pct rate. Wow, Big Ben has really gone down hill, and fast. Is he having some kind of early career Superbowl hang over? Where did all those people who were calling Roethlisberger a young Tom Brady go? Can we admit what I knew already back then? Ben's a good team guy, who landed behind one of the most bruising physical offensive lines behind a cast of the most bruising running backs in the NFL in recent memory. His job was to throw 11 passes a game, and not to the other team. Now he's being introduced to a real NFL QB's job, and things start looking a bit different.

Honorable Mention : Michael Vick - Never won anything, runs like he's being chased by feds all around the field. Never demonstrated any accuracy in passing. Just a general question, since when are physically gifted players who are horrible at playing a sport, so exciting to us? I think Vick has the world at his fingertips if he learns to play QB and not audition for Olympic track each game.

Most Consistently Under-Rated QB

Marc Bulger - 370 completions, 16 games played, 24 TDs (4th in NFL tied with Brady, and Eli Manning for good measure). And it's not so much that this guy isn't getting props, but for some reason I don't feel he getting lifted on to our collective shoulders and carried off the field Rudy style. The truth is, with Bulger's numbers, only Brady, Palmer, Peyton, and Brees offer stiff competition. I don't know what it is, maybe he hasn't won anything yet, maybe that's it. But he's a heck of a QB, and if he was in a different place on a different team, we might be talking about a "Super" player here, as in Superbowl.

Honorable Mention: Steve "Air" McNair - I don't know what it is about this guy, but I think people over look him. I'm not willing to think McNair is going quietly into the wind. And the Ravens won't either. McNair is too grizzled, too wise, too good to let these last couple seasons slip away. The good news is this team is built the same way at this point. The guys who matter are grizzled, and hungry. The word is, McNair's counterpart on defense, Ray Lewis making it a personal job to have a comeback year. This entire team is too good, too seasoned, to not win. McNair has weapons, Todd Heap, Willis McGahee, Mark Clayton and familiar face Derrick Mason. Forget that they drafted Troy Smith, he wouldn't be able to push Kyle Boller right now for a job. McNair can win now, and he just might start doing it.

Most Likely to be Exposed this Year:

Vince Young - I think I missed something. I know, offensive ROY award and all but, he played most of the games last year, and he threw for a pathetic 2199 yards via 184 completions. Basically, nobody who played 15 games last year threw for fewer completions. He did manage 12 TDs passing, 7 TDs on the ground. But even if you combine those for 19 TDs that would just be enough to tie him with Tony Romo's 19 TDs (10 NFL QBs had more TDs). He also lost his numero uno WR Bennet. Combined with the Madden Cover? Oh man, he's done for… poor kid didn't know what hit him. The tape is out on this chap now, there isn't gonna be the surprise factor, teams have seen running QB's come and go, and he's going to have to deal with the Madden curse and defensive coordinators slamming him for every new angle he's dreamed of. The thing he has going for him is mental. I don't know what it is, but even from his college days, I loved Young's personality. He's a winner, I know it's overused, but he really is. He has that steely look in his eye, and he talks like he's already seeing the trophy above his mantle. I like it. He's also got good coaching. Jeff Fisher won't let him down, this is a classic underrated NFL coach, and he's teamed with offensive coordinator Norm Chow, who really should have had an NFL head coaching shot by now.

Grizzled Vet Most Likely to Make A Big Impact:

Jon Kitna - This guy has been doing it since New Kids on the Block were…. New. Well, give Kitna some slack, he's not that old, and he's good. Proof that being a QB is more than flashy looks, and new fangled running ability. Kitna managed to actually do the impossible, after walking on water, and building the Pyramids before lunch, he proceeded to steer the Detroit Lion offense towards some respectability. Mike Martz knows what he's doing up there as the offensive guru, and he's going to have fun with this new draft pick Calvin Johnson. Man, let me say, I think this dude is the real deal. He's a freak, and when people say this, they usually mean a guy is just abnormally fast or big or tall etc. But this guy is a legit freak. 6'5" 235 lbs, chiseled out of stone, quick as a whip, he has track times that make you think of much smaller quicker guys. It's obvious he's got great hands, and he's mentally mature. That's the key, he talks and sounds like he's as grounded as they come. No, sharpies, no gold grillz here, not yet. With a mature leader like Kitna, Furrey, and Roy Williams already on board to show him the way, I think this team is looking great. The Lions also have been diligently working on their offensive line and they brought in familiar producers Tatum Bell and TJ Duckett to make this a real good offensive team suddenly.

Honorable Mentions: Jeff Garcia - the way this guy plays, he'll always find a home. He's the new Doug Flutie, allegedly small, but tough as nails. He'll play QB until we have flying cars. He has great leadership and PR skills too. Here in Philly for some ridiculous reason, people actually fell so in love with him they got their McNabb tattoos laser removed and re-done with Jeff Garcia ink. Only to find out that at 49 years old, Garcia is what he is, a temporary solution looking for a permanent home. And it's not like the Eagles are in Miami. With McNabb returning, and proven stop gap backup QB Feeley with the clipboard. There's no room here for a contract hunting vet waiting to get his cleats dirty as a starter. But again, Garcia will prove some worth in stabilizing/galvanizing a team that needs a real man (albeit a skinny little old man) under center. And head coach Gruden, is one tree branch away from Andy Reid's west coast offensive family and he makes good use of veteran QB's (see, Brad Johnson)

Most likely to throw an interception (on any given play)

Brett Favre - 2006-2007 stats read 18 INTs, 18 TDs, 2.9% INT pct rate. I feel sorry for Favre. I can't help it. His presence is a no win situation for the entire packers team. And the team obviously doesn't want to bench him/trade him. Personally, it reminds me of the Iverson situation here in Philly not long ago. What we have here is a veteran, a winner. He's still got the gifts, the arm, he's durable. He has the know-how, and the heart. But he's got no WR weapons and his once elite running back Ahman Green is gone. This team is rebuilding and nobody told Favre. One day, they are gonna fix the "glitch" in the system, and Favre will stop receiving paychecks, and they will move his desk to storage room B. This season might not get any better, he'll keep throwing bombs to the shadows of yesterday's receivers in a world where WR uniforms continue to look more like the opponent CB uniforms.

Least Likely to throw an INT (on any given play)

Donovan McNabb - This one has to go to No.5  for a couple reasons. McNabb has been incredible during the past few seasons at the position. For a guy who is asked to put the ball out there that many times a game, he has a way of letting the ball out quick and high. He still has that annoying habit of throwing balls in the dirt for whatever reason.  But when McNasty is on the field, he'll protect the rock, and you can count on it. That brings me to the next point. McNabb can't seem to stay on the field. He hasn't finished a season since the Clinton administration it seems. So if you're not on the field, your also not likely to throw INTs I suppose.

QB with the most physical weapons

Daunte Culpepper- Seriously, this guy needs to pull it together. 6'5", 250 lbs. give or take a few dozen pounds of muscle. He's got a cannon that can throw out of the building, and he used to be able to run and was a bear to tackle. Forget about one arm sacking Daunte, you'd better two hand tackle him and then wrap one or both legs around him too. He's got the IQ too, I think… He just hasn't proven it post-Moss era yet. Then again, Moss hasn't been much to write home about post-Culpepper era either. Anyway, Culpepper has the body most QB's would die for. Think Manning (either one) with Culpepper's running, Pennington with Culpepper's Arm, or Drew Brees with Culpepper's height. The funny thing is, Culpepper would enjoy any of these's other QB's success right about now.

Best QB with the most intangible weapons (non-physical, non measurable)

Drew Brees - Too short? Bad arm? I don't know, every since he was on the chargers this guy just plays like Dan Marino. 4418 yards thrown last season. And a 7.98 yards per attempt third best behind Romo and McNabb. And he racked up 26 TDs, third behind Manning and Palmer. And we're talking about a guy who had to deal with integrating a rookie in Reggie Bush and Colston. With Aaron Brooks, the Saints couldn't put a series together, and with Brees under center they have what's considered one of the most explosive offensives in the league.

QB with the best supporting offense

Peyton Manning- Take nothing away from Peyton. He's a great QB, I'll admit it. This guy is a curve buster. And for those of you who didn't go to college, a curve is how the grade is given based relative on how the rest of the class performs. And there was always that one kid who studied about 205 times more for each test than anybody else did, and he totally destroyed the curve making everybody's grade seem worse. But Peyton knows his receivers better and uses each one better than anybody. But he still has Harrison and Wayne, Dallas Clark is a weapon, even Utecht (who the heck is this guy?) makes big plays. And an offensive line that is top notch. Plus, imagine how hard it is to play with a guy who wants to change the plays at the line of scrimmage EVERY down. His offensive line and skill players deserve more credit for the mental fortitude they have for not punching Peyton in the face every Sunday. But you can't argue with success, they all have rings now.

Caption at left: The insidious face of the Devil's Peon himself Oakland Raiders coach Lane Kiffin.

Boy, I know I'm not the only one that said at times last season that the Raiders should just quit while they are ahead and not even bother playing, but I didn't think they'd take it seriously! According to a small story last week, the NFL Player's Union has forced the Raiders organization to cancel the last week of mini-camp. Now, let me preface the following piece by acknowledging, the details of the story aren't copious at the moment. And I don't know if there were other issues at play. But with that said, it would have been a daunting task for a dismal team like the Raiders to improve on a horrendous season without a incredible amount of offseason work and diligence, let alone the fact now that the entire Raiders team has compounded their problems heavily by essentially designating themselves the biggest bunch of daisy picking, ring-around-the-rosy singing, pigtail wearing, skipping, prancing, 7th Heaven watching, heavy work complaining whiners in the entire NFL and maybe all professional sports.

According to a report by ESPN.com, there were complaints about "the high level of intensity, player aggressiveness and fast pace of our practices."

Wait a second, high level of intensity? Player aggressiveness? Fast pace of practices?! I'm glad this outlandishness was put to a stop immediately. If you keep encouraging this behavior, it will only lead to one inevitable dark consequence.... Wins.

But wait, the report goes to explain the Raiders "won't hold next week's scheduled offseason activities, which were expected to be mostly weightlifting sessions."

Oh for the love of God and all his creatures. Weightlifting?!? Please, don't ever do that to me again without warning. There's children around me! I had to cover their eyes and ears before you start shooting your mouth about the barbaric atrocities of weightlifting. In fact, at this very moment, I've already opened a brand new word processor document to write a letter commending who ever it was who first uncovered these crimes of humanity and reported it. Sure, you might say, what's the harm of weightlifting sessions? Well Sir, a bit of weightlifting is harmless it might seem...then before you know it comes the finely tuned muscles. Suddenly increased game performance rears it's ugly head. Next thing you know.... you wake up finding you've won a game or two. Soon your winning games every week, going from city to city looking for your next score. I've seen it all too many times. It's a sad and vicious cycle.

If the Raider's aren't careful, they might end up like one of these teams like the Patriots, Colts, Chargers or even the Eagles. Luckily, they had the sense to nip things in the bud, at mini-camp.

Well, the Cavs have no shot now. Everybody knows it. Tonights entire game is the equivalent of a last second full court heave to tie a game, except even if they win, they will still be down by a depressing 3-1 margin.

So the question is, what can we expect? No way the Cavs will go quietly into the night. They are too proud, the crowd too amped, the city too supportive to let that happen. We know Lebron will bring it. But has Coach Brown brought his game? And what about King James's band of... what ever they are.

The Cavs

They had the right idea in game 3 finally. I think everybody in the known universe has known that Tony Parker is a one and a half trick pony. Two years ago, he had no jumpshot, but today, he hits them sometimes. But a Ray Allen he's not. Given the choice, I'd go under screens and picks all day, and box out for the rebound.

On the same note, Gibson did an ok job on Parker, but really it's obvious from the slim pickings on this team that Snow is the premier perimeter stopper. Being strongly built with good size for a point guard (6'3"), he's never been fleet of foot, but hasn't lost too much in his veteran age on defense. Snow's minutes have crept up every game, because it takes Coach Brown longer to discipher player strengths and mismatches than it took for Einstein to discover relativity. Brown needs to start Gibson who is overmatched right now, and has unceremoniously turned into a pumpkin. Gibson's only strength is his long range shooting. With a game 3 performance of 0-5 three pointers and 1-10 shooting, and one whole assist at point guard, this kid needs to come out. Snow on the other hand plays superior defense, and in playing 17 mins compared to Gibson's 36 (wasted minutes), managed to contribute 5 assists. Plus, good things seem to happen with Snow on the floor, considering he's the only person with the experience to match many of the other players on the Spurs.

We all know who's gonna need to score. Lebron unfortunately needs to score by default 35 points AT LEAST. And typically when people say stuff like that about a team, it's not a good thing. It means the team is unbalanced. The good news unlike too many "scorers" in the league, is that Lebron has great court vision, and pretty good passing ability from anywhere. As always, he'll lead his team in scoring. We saw in game 3, that coach Brown (finally) put Lebron in the post against an obviously smaller Bowen. The results were encouraging. They need to continue to mix putting Lebron on the low post, high post, top of the key, elbow, baseline. Much like "old Jordan" later in his career, who developed a devastating post up game, and a variety of dizzying spins, pump fakes, fade aways, and turn arounds from posting up guards and forwards, this is Lebron's best bet right now.

The last thing that yielding good results was feeding Ilgauskas in the post. Again, this is something Brown should have been doing about 35 years earlier, when the Cavs actually still had a chance. Big Z has game man, especially within 10 feet of the basket the guy is close to being a premier offensive option. He also contributed to Duncan's early foul trouble.

Pavlovic might be underrated a bit. He's the only one on the Cavs who doesn't seem to wildly fluctuate in performance from game to game. While that's not really encouraging that says something about a guy. In game 3, he again had 13 points, good enough for second highest scoring on the team, but his efficiency stands out (2-6) 3 point shooting, 5-15 overall, with 1-2 from the stripe isn't impressive, but in context of game 3, that's not bad compared to the rest of the players in the entire game. The point is, this guy here is rock solid, and always shocks people with his ability to pick up the rock and run to the hole with it. In some ways, with development, you can see how he could be a slightly slower, but larger version of Ginobili for this Cavs team someday. It's Pavlovic's 3 point shooting that will make him dangerous, if he continues to knock those down, he will demand attention and that's when he can turn a few heads with his ability to drive.

The Spurs

There really isn't much to say here. The Spurs are amazing. The best team overall during the past decade. Regardless of wins and trophies, here's a team that is always one of the potentially best in defense in the league, and they never ever seem to run out of options on offense. It's horrifying when you utterly stop their best 3 offensive options and they STILL win a game.

The Cavs will have to play out of their minds tonight to win a game to save face, and really, if they do win, it probably won't be so much of anything that they do, but it would be the mercy of the Spurs that allows them to walk away tasting a W in the finals.

    While Mike Wilbon and Jon Barry were lathering themselves up to throw a hissy fit over Bruce Bowen's non-called shooting foul against Lebron during the last shot of the game Tuesday Night, Lebron James did something at his press conference that suddenly raised my level of respect for him through the roof. He simply accepted the referee's call, describing the foul as "incidental contact". Adding, "it didn't affect my shot at all, I had a clean look."

    Ladies and Gentlemen, what you just saw might have been one of those times, a boy (albeit a freakishly developed one) took a step towards being a man. A lesser player might have taken the first question of the press conference regarding the controversial foul in a thousand different directions. He could have stirred the pot, deflecting blame. He could have pointed the finger of failure towards someone else, the refs, the coach's play, his dinner salad not having fresh enough lettuce... anything. Or more easily he could have poured more fuel onto the national fire which is currently burning Bruce Bowen at the stake for being a dirty, rotten, mean hearted man. But instead, he simply said the shot just didn't go in.

    I'm not sure if Wilbon and Barry have my same screen. But on instant replay, I'll tell you what I saw. I saw Bruce Bowen reach for Lebron sure. Obviously he tried to foul him before the shot, but Lebron being too explosive and too slippery was already gone. But was the foul really worth calling? If you'll notice closely, by the time Lebron's feet are actually set under him for the shot, Bruce Bowen is no longer even in the picture let alone fouling anybody. His initial contact was barely more than a swipe at the back of Lebron's departing jersey. Lebron was able to set his feet, and rise up for his (ridicously long range, Gilbert Arenas-esque) three point shot unencumbered by a defender in his face or anywhere. Indeed, give credit to Lebron for owning up to what really happened. The shots to win this game were there, mostly at the rim, and mostly via layups and open jumpers for both teams. Somebody had to win tonight, and it wasn't the Cavs.

    Perhaps, Lebron didn't win a game tonight. Maybe he let the last chance for this series slip through his fingers tonight. But, he did manage to win the respect of at least one sports fan, and perhaps many others out there. Over a long enough time, wins will fade, and loses tend to fade even faster. But respect, integrity, and class last forever. But obviously, nobody needs to tell that to Lebron, because it seems he's already figured that out for himself.

The last person in the world that should be poking around for a trade is Shawn Marion. Conversely, the last team that should want to trade away Shawn Marion are the Phoenix Suns. A recent rumor posted by a source in Chicago has Marion going to the Bulls for Ben Gordon and Andres Nocioni.

Ok, firstly, Chicago is starting to look like they are grasping for straws now. Chicago's problem isn't that they need another slashing forward/guard/shooter/dunker. They need an honest to god guy in the post who knows what to do with the rock in a regular offensive possession. Deng, Kirk, Tyrus, Gordon, Nocioni those are a great nucleus of young fast dangerous players. Marion would be nice, but not without giving away half of the team for him.

Now onto the real issue. I can't believe all this talk about Marion being so unhappy about being in Phoenix. Is playing with 2 other all stars that rough? Is playing with a future hall of famer in Steve Nash so brutal? Is the prospect of being within several wins of going to the NBA finals each year too much for the "Matrix" to handle? What is wrong with this guy?! The suns need to have a sit down with him, an intervention if you will. They need to talk him down from the ledge of NBA suicide. Because mark my words, trading away Marion will mark the end of the current suns team. And also mark the beginning of Shawn Marion's denouement period.

Now I know what your saying, hold on, this isn't Marion's Suns team. It's Nash's team, and Stoudamire's team. Correct. At his worse, Marion is nearing his 30's in age, he's not a type of guy who can be depended on to create his own shots, or be a real great playmaker. He has a reputation for disappearing in the playoffs. BUT at his best, Marion is an athletic forward, who rebounds with the best of them, can play quality defense on any position from shooting guard to powerforward. He's a premier finisher, and fast break runner. He can shoot a respectable (although hideous) three point shot. And he's got a nice mid range game, complete with hook shots and floaters. On a team already struggling to find anybody with an ability to defend premier players, who would help Raja Bell slow down scorers? And anybody who's seen Sportscenter knows that approximately 42.6% of Steve Nash highlight clips end with an alleyoop to Marion. In the NBA you can find guys who can shoot better than Marion or defend better than Marion, or dunk better than Marion, or maybe pass better than Marion. But efficiency is what creates great teams. Can the Suns find a player who will suit them, and be so efficient? To make the situation more urgent, Steve Nash only has at best 2 more years. For all his playmaking and passing ability, we need to remember that NBA quarterbacks have to play defense too. And Nash who has never had the defensive aggression or strength o####ary Payton, or the size and grittiness of Jason Kidd, will not last much longer. Nash needs bodies around him to get to the promised land. He needs bodies who can do what only he can see. Bodies that slide in time with his passes, who will soar to meet his expectations and his alley oops. Nash needs defenders to keep the would be attackers at bay so that he can in turn attack. Nash needs Marion now, and although Marion might not realize it Nash is his best chance of getting that ring and maybe that respect he feels he never had.

Bron-bron heads out there, remember to tuck and roll as you jump off the "King's" bandwagon. I'm not really sure how the heck this Cavs team is actually representing a full half of the NBA. But alas, there they are, and few sights compare to the first two games between the Cavs and Spurs. Anybody who enjoys watching games like these, might also enjoy watching other favorites about excruciatingly drawn out disasters such as the movie Titanic or movie footage of the Hidenburg disasters.

Somebody give Big Z (Zydrunas Ilgauskas) a map out there. He's completely lost without any hope of getting in this series. LeBron has no chemistry with Big Z and makes zero attempt to involve or establish ANY of his big men in the post play offense.

So? If your not gonna run any offense through the post can't Brown at least put some shooters and ball handlers in there and fire up the running game.?

Nah... instead, let's put the slowest, gimpiest lineup around Lebron possible, have them spread out while the "King" winds himself up at the top of the key like one of those toy cars for 16 seconds before you let him loose so that he launches 250 lbs. of youth and vigor blindly towards the basket without regard to human life. Doing this 50 times a game or so, should just about win a championship right?

Give Lebron some credit though. When faced with no openings or double teams, he does do a good job of kicking the ball out to open teammates. Unfortunately, those teammates tend to be guys like:

1. Larry Hughes, who's injured foot has made him lose his explosiveness, his jumpshot, his playmaking ability, his defense, his manhood.... basically I'm not sure why he's even out there. The water boy would make a good substitution for Hughes I suppose... but faced with team-wide dehydration I agree with coach Brown's decision to play Hughes instead.
2. Big Z, his rebounding, offense and overall game is on "Have You Seen Me?" flyer. Granted, he's had his hands full with Duncan, but for two games now, Big Z is just lost.
3. Drew Gooden, I thought his game was emerging during the Detroit series. The Cavs could use his little jumpshot, offensive rebounding (or any rebounding). But like the little patch of hair on the back of his head, his game remains a mystery.
   
4. Pavlovic, he's actually doing better than most people expected. And by that I mean his dozen or so points a game and mediocre defense are about as consistent a rock to lean on as anything else on this Cavs roster.

What I'd like to see:

1. The Lebron James, the King, the Second Coming and everything advertised and promised to me that has not been delivered.
   
2. More Boobie Gibson, it's obvious. This kid has got it. I'm not sure what "it" is... ice water in his veins? Rare talent? Temporary insanity? Whatever, I don't care if he's a flash in the pan. Amidst the coldest cold spell on offense ever, the Cavs need any spark they can use to get their offense going.
   
3. Eric Snow playing like 20 more minutes a game. He's not gonna shoot much, but at least he'll play solid perimeter defense on one of the Spurs' fifty-nine perimeter threats. And this way, Larry Hughes can put down his red traffic flags and sit down instead of standing around out there. Also, how about that call to action speech Snow gave during a time out huddle. I'm telling you, I've been saying since he was on the Sixers, he's gonna be in a suit with a clipboard walking the sidelines one day for some team.
   
4. Can Brown do some coaching? It's not all his fault this heap of trash is called an NBA team, but jesus, at least make an effort to change SOME THING! We could start with feeding Big Z a few more times. Duncan or Oberto basically have NOTHING to do on defense right now besides wait like tigers for the next foray from Lebron.