The Big Fundamental

Tim Duncan, the Big Fundamental, is probably the 2nd best player I have ever seen play behind Michael Jordan and definitely ahead of all of his contemporaries including Shaq, Kobe, Iverson, Garnett, and anyone else. Why do I say this? Because he is not concerned about stats because the only stat he cares about is wins as in "How many championships can I win?" He is at 4 right now and with the cast that is around him, I can definitely see them making a run to get a 5th ring this year. Current ring totals: Duncan 4, Kobe 4, Shaq 4, Garnett 1. How many rings could Kobe and Shaq have won if they sacrificed both of their egos. 6? 7? 8? They were two of the five best players (Kobe, Shaq, Duncan, AI, Garnett) at the time but they wouldn't sacrifice for team. Both Shaq and Kobe each won a ring after separating and now they are realizing their legacy is related to rings not scoring titles. Now a word about the split with the two. Kobe gets painted as the main culprit and problem for the split with Shaq. While I do think Kobe is part of the problem, I think it is very telling that Shaq (as an elite one of a kind center) has been on 5 different teams and always seems to leave on less than cordial terms (Magic, Lakers, Heat, Suns). Look at some of the players he has been traded for and there is not an elite player among them. The problem why most don't appreciate Duncan's game is that it isn't "sexy" enough. Boring comes to mind but he is far from that. He does all the little things to help his team win. Last night during the Bulls game, it was no different. He put on a clinic against the Bulls with his shooting and cutting and positioning himself for the basket (13-19 FG, 28 points, 16 boards, 2 steals, 3 blocks). I counted at least 5 to 6 shots that were bank shots from the elbow. Although the Spurs did not win on this night, Duncan has made an environment where winning is the culture and self is sacrificed for the better of the team. Comments are always welcome and I would love to discuss further why I think Duncan is the best of his contemporaries and the 2nd best I have seen (I was born in 1981 so didn't get to see Bird or Magic at their primes and remember it).

D Will

I didn't get a chance to watch much basketball last night with youth group and the World Series getting started but I did sit down to watch about 30 minutes of the Jazz-Nuggets game. In those 30 minutes I watched in the third quarter, Deron Williams (pictured to the left) truly was unstoppable. He used and abused Anthony Carter in so many ways both on the defensive end and the offensive end. He has such a great combination of speed and muscle. He used his speed to get to the lane for a driving layup and his muscle to handle any contact from a big man. He also used his body to put himself in the right position on defense and to muscle his opponents as well. He truly has the capability to do it all with the drives to the lane to take a layup or set someone up with a dime. He also has a phenomenal mid range game and can knock down 3s as well. Obviously, if the Jazz are to be successful this year, they will need to ride Williams and have him carry them into the playoffs and beyond. Chris Paul and Deron Williams will forever be linked due to them being drafted one pick apart and each are amazing athletes in there own rights, so it will be interesting in the next few years how it all works out with playoff victories and leading their respective teams.
Final Line: (9-15 FG, 2-3 3P, 8-8 FT) 28 points, 13 assists, 1 steal

Western Conference and NBA Finals

15 Questions for the West

Southwest:
San Antonio- Does Tim Duncan and Co. have one more run in them?
New Orleans- With CP3 and David West, can you ever truly consider them out of it?
Dallas- Is "The Matrix" reloaded?
Houston- Is Daryl Morey the top GM with the way he has constructed this team and lured Trevor Ariza away from LA?
Memphis- Are there going to be enough basketballs to go around?

Northwest:
Denver- How awesome is Chauncey Billups leadership and winning?
Utah- When will Jerry Sloan get a Coach of the Year recognition from his peers?
Oklahoma City- Can Kevin Durant take the team to the next level and get them to the playoffs?
Portland- I personally think they take a step back and stop listening to Nate McMillan, but I could be wrong. What say you?
Minnesota- So when exactly is Ricky Rubio going to be a T-Wolf if ever?

Pacific:
LA Lakers- Is Ron Artest that much of an upgrade to the Lakers to mess with the chemistry from last year?
Phoenix- Will 7 Seconds or Less return in the desert?
LA Clippers- Is Blake another pawn in the Clippers Curse?
Golden State- Anytime you can start 4 guards and one center you gotta do it, right?
Sacramento- With some of the best fans in the NBA, will the team be staying in Sacramento and if so does Arco need to go or get upgraded.

Playoffs:
1) Lakers
2) Nuggets
3) Spurs
4) Suns
5) Hornets
6) Mavs
7) Jazz
8) Thunder

Western Semis: Lakers over Suns, Spurs over Nuggets
Western Finals: Spurs over Lakers

NBA Finals: Spurs over Magic in 6 games
With the Spurs healthy, I think they have one more run in them and I like their additions of Richard Jefferson, Antonio McDyess, and DaJuan Blair. They seemed to get younger overnight but Manu is the key for the Spurs. Can he stay healthy? With Dwight Howard and VC, I think the Magic will get back to the Finals but just against a different opponent but with the same result. Looking forward to another awesome NBA season.

Eastern Conference Predictions

15 Questions for the East

Atlantic:
Boston- Will KG's knee hold up the whole year and if so, should other teams be concerned?
Philadelphia- Will Elton justify the contract Philly lavished on him before the start of last year?
New York- Can 2010 come fast enough and will the King be a Knick?
Toronto- How exactly does signing Hedo to a 50 million dollar contract help keep Bosh there?
New Jersey- Can the "Russian Mark Cuban" get this team to Brooklyn?

Central:
Cleveland- Will Shaq win a ring for the King?
Chicago- What will Derrick Rose do for an encore after the first round series with Boston last year?
Indiana- Will Danny Granger be getting any help any time soon?
Detroit- How exactly do Charlie Villaneuva and Ben Gordon bring Detroit back to prominence?
Milwaukee- Has it really been since 1971 that we won a title (with Oscar and Kareem)?

Southeast:
Orlando- Will VC give a rip now that he is on a winner?
Washington- How much trust do you have in Agent Zero's knee?
Atlanta- Can Mike Woodson please get a contract extension?
Miami- Are more troops coming next summer to help D-Wade or is Flash bolting?
Charlotte- Hey MJ, if you cared about the Bobs as much as ripping people in your Hall of Fame speech, maybe you could field a winner.

Finish:
1) Celtics
2) Magic
3) Cavs
4) Wizards
5) Hawks
6) Bulls
7) Sixers
8) Heat

Eastern Semis: Wiz over Celts, Magic over Cavs
Eastern Finals: Magic over Wiz

Ring Night & other two games

Ring Night last night for the champs and the ring itself is insane. No, seriously, have a gander at this bad boy. Although I am not a huge Lakers fan (read Anti Lakers Fan), it was cool to see some of the old championship Lakers there including Magic, Rick Fox, the Logo (Jerry West) among others. On a side note, how do feel being the Clippers where you are treated like an afterthought and you have a championship celebration in the building you play in (Staples Center) but it isn't for you.
- Sad to see Blake Griffin is out for 6-8 weeks. For a comical but insightful read on the "Clippers Curse" read this article down before draft night by Bill Simmons. On a Bill Simmons note, I want to pick up his new book, The Book of Basketball, which came out yesterday.
- As for the game, Chris Kaman had a pretty good game with 18 points and 16 boards. Camby is working back from injury and put in 14 points and 6 boards mostly from the second half. And prolly my favorite Clipper, Eric Gordon, had 21 points with 4 assists. I just love his game and look forward to how he progresses this year in this his 2nd year.
- The Lakers seemed to always be in control of the game even though it was a good game throughout. Kobe paced the champs with 33 points and 8 boards and we had an Andrew Bynum (26-16) siting in the first game of the year but I won't put much stock in it since he went for 42 against them last year in a game and Pau Gasol was a DNP with a strained right hammy. Candyman and newly married Lamar Odom got the start and put in 16 points and 13 rebounds. Needless to say, it should be an interesting title defense with new addition Ron Artest and the circus that will follow him, Candyman and the other Lakers.

Wizards-Mavs
- After a 19 win campaign by my Wizards last year, hope springs eternal with a return to health of Agent Zero, Brendan Haywood, Deshawn Stevenson amongst others and adding Oberto, Randy Foye, and Mike Miller. However, with Antawn out about 4 weeks, Wizards fans await the combination of Arenas-Butler-Jamison to play a game together. Last time was in April 2007. However, the Wiz looked sharp last night in Big D scoring a 102-91 victory with solid defense and some awesome scoring from none other than Agent Zero, Gilbert Arenas. He looked to have his old hop in his step with his drives and shots. Final line was 29 points and 9 dimes. 39 points off the bench between Blatche and Foye also didn't hurt. Caron was his typical self with contributions across the stat sheet.
- The Mavs were paced by Dirk with 34 points and 9 boards. Did you know that was his 26th consecutive game with 20+ points and also the 11th straight game with 20+ against the Wizards. Was very impressed with Shawn Marion now that he is back in a run and gun offense he is able to use his skills (16-7 with 1 steal and 3 blocks) to the max and truly be "The Matrix."

Opening Night (Celts-Cavs)

Opening Night last night in the NBA. Kevin Garnett so aptly put it that "Opening Night is like a first date." Think there is a lot of truth to that. So glad the season is finally here and that we are finally playing games that matter. Watched 3 games last night: Celtics-Cavs, Wizards-Mavs, and Lakers-Clips. Each were different in there own respect.
Celtics-Cavs:
- Cavs started with a lot of intensity and got off to an early 21-7 lead, but the Celtics weathered the storm and were down 28-21 after 1 period
- Celtics owned the 2nd quarter and were up 51-45 at the half. The Celts bench with Rasheed and Marquis Daniels dominated the Cavs bench.
- 2nd half was back and forth and the Celts pulled it out 95-89. Paul Pierce (23 points, 11 boards) had two daggers at the end of the game to put it away for the Celts.
- Definitely was impressed as I said by Rasheed and Daniels and the energy and lines they had. Daniels gives the Celtics another ball handler. Rondo had a typical Rondo line with 8 points, 10 assists, 3 steals, and 6 boards. I know it was only game 1 of 82 for the regular season but Kevin Garnett (13-10-3 blocks) looked good but still not totally sold on the knee. However the C's missed his intensity and defense at the end of the year and into the playoffs.
- As for the Cavs, Lebron (38-7-8-2 steals and 4 blocks) was amazing. He had 4 blocks on the night and two on breakaway layups (45 seconds in and 1:48 in). Shaq had a double double with 10 and 10. Another player who caught my eye and has always flown under the radar for the teams he has played on is Anthony Parker. Solid line: 10 points, 3 rebounds, 4 assists, 2 steals, and a block