One Brow to Unite them All

                This year’s NBA Draft features the biggest can’t miss prospect in an NBA draft probably since Lebron James.  Anthony Davis, or the Unibrow, is going to be a star in the NBA for a long period of time and this year’s lottery will make or break the future of multiple franchises.  Here is a breakdown of the impact that Davis would have on this year’s lottery teams

Charlotte Bobcats (25% chance of winning Davis)

                Last year’s Bobcats team was a disgrace to the entire name of professional basketball and ended its season with the worst winning percentage in the history of NBA basketball.  They had by far the worst offense in all of basketball while also having the worst defense in all of basketball; really if this franchise is going to grow they need a game changing player like Davis.  If they do land Davis though they might have a foundation for the building of a good team. 

                For one Davis would make their search for a coach much easier as the ability to coach Davis would be a major draw for top coaches and would make the hiring of someone like Jerry Sloan much more feasible.  Another reason for hope is that there are some young players who could develop on the team into solid starters, like Kemba Walker and Bismack Biyambo.  What the team needs though is Davis to be a star that elevates other players if the team is ever going to grow into a championship caliber team.  Without Davis all they have is a few solid young players who have little hope of turning into a playoff team let alone a championship team, and with poor attendance and Michael Jordan running the show the franchise could turn into a perennial bottom tier team for years to come. 

Washington Wizards (19.9% chance of winning Davis)

                If Washington wins Davis that turns this team into one of the more interesting teams to look at in the NBA.  Davis would give the team two legitimate NBA big men, Davis and Nene, to pair with young point guard John Wall.  While the rest of the team surrounding those players would have to be developed, that team could turn into a playoff team year 1, and with the correct management could turn into a title contender very quickly.  Also I love the idea of having a super athletic point guard, a Brazilian, a Unibrow, Jan Vessely, and Jan Vessely’s girlfriend involved on one NBA team. 

New Orleans Hornets (14.8% chance of winning Davis)

                If there is one team that would cry conspiracy if that team won the lottery it would be the Hornets.  As the team is still NBA owned for the next two months and had to deal with the controversial Chris Paul trade it would seem too perfect for the team to get Davis.  However on a more basketball related note the Hornets this year actually surprised me with how well they played, as they lost their two best players CP3, and David West, and the best player they got back in the Chris Paul trade, Eric Gordon only played in 8 games.  With Davis though this team definitely gets the opportunity to improve dramatically in his first season.  The additions of Davis and a full season of Gordon, if they resign him, would give the team two legitimately star caliber players who could transform the future of the franchise as it tries to reinvent itself in the wake of Chris Paul’s departure.  They already have some good role players as well with Trevor Ariza, Emeka Okeafor, and Jarrett Jack. 

Cleveland Cavaliers (13.8% chance of winning Davis)

                To me and I think a lot of America this is the number one team I would like to see get Davis, for multiple reasons.  First and foremost getting Anthony Davis and Kyrie Irving back to back would more than make up for what Lebron James did to the fans of the Cavaliers.  Also though I think Davis transforms Cleveland into a legit playoff team and a player or two away from a title contender.  They would have star Kyrie Irving, the underrated Anderson Varejeo , the athletic Tristan Thompson and the Lakers first round pick in this year’s draft to play with Davis.  That is a very solid team right there and with a few good roster moves could really turn quickly into a title contender. 

Sacramento Kings (7.6% chance of winning Davis)

                Winning Davis would make the already extremely confusing Kings an even more confusing team.  Davis would hopefully help the Kings stay in Sacramento, something that every true basketball fan wants to happen.  The Kings right now have more scorers than any other team that has a decent chance at Davis; the problem is that, that is the only attribute most of those players understand.  They are a horrible passing team that plays poor defense, but the idea of a Davis, Cousins frontcourt is definitely an intriguing possibility as the team hopes to grow.  With the right management, and coaching though some of their assets could be traded and the Kings could be contenders soon, as they have the talent to contend quickly. 

Brooklyn Nets (7.5% chance of winning Davis)

                Another extremely interesting team that almost has to win the lottery this year is the Nets.  The Nets need to land Davis as that is their only hope of keeping Deron Williams.  This way Davis can be used as a way of luring Williams to stay in Brooklyn or as the trade chip necessary to land Dwight Howard.  Trading for Howard would give the Nets nothing to work with besides those to players but the Nets want star talent and have shown they are willing to mortgage their future in order to gain star talent in the present.  Also the similarities between the buildup of the top heavy Brooklyn and New York teams would be fascinating to watch.

Golden State Warriors (3.6% chance of winning Davis)

                Winning Davis puts the Warriors in an extremely awkward position that while putting them on the right track definitely puts them in a weird state.  Right now the Warriors three best players are Andrew Bogut, Steph Curry, and David Lee.  Bogut and Curry have proven to be talented players but extreme injury risks where you don’t know what you are getting from them year to year.  Lee while a good scorer and rebounder hasn’t shown the ability to play defense that a team needs out of the power forward position.  While Davis would be a good start I can’t see the Warriors contending quickly as they have way too much money put into players that I am not sure are the correct ones to build around. 

Toronto Raptors (3.5% chance of winning Davis)

                The Raptors surprising as it may seem would actually be a perfect team for Davis to land on.  They have a low payroll, a good coach and a perfect big man to play with Davis, the perimeter based Andrea Bargnani.  Davis landing there would be a good spot for him to grow and develop as a player where the team could make some moves to build around him and his strengths.

Detroit Pistons (1.7% chance of winning Davis)

                Davis would make the Pistons a legitimate playoff threat with a GM who while doing a poor job recently has proven he has the ability to build a championship team.  They would a solid frontcourt of the underrated Monroe, and Davis, Rodney Stuckey and the young Brandon Knight to build around.

Portland Trailblazers (.8% chance of winning Davis)

                Just based on previous bad luck with injuries before with big men Greg Oden, Sam Bowie and Bill Walton you would think that Portland is that last place that Davis would want to end up.  However Portland underachieved this year and if not for injuries to Brandon Roy and Greg Oden then the team really could have been championship caliber the last few years.

Milwaukee Bucks (.7% chance of winning Davis)

                That the Bucks were even close to making the playoffs this year is a testament to the coaching of Scott Skiles.  This team though has 3 solid players to pair with Davis, the embattled Monta Ellis, the young star Brandon Jennings, and the extremely improved Ersan Ilyasova.  A Davis foundation with the right help management could make this team a threat in the east.

Phoenix Suns (.6% chance of winning Davis)

                To the Suns winning Davis would be that everyone in basketball would get to enjoy the specter of Steve Nash throwing lobs to Anthony Davis as this team that overachieved this year tries to get over the hump yet again. 

Houston Rockets (.5% chance of winning Davis)

                To the Rockets Davis would mean the star that they have been craving for so long, as shown by the Pau Gasol trade failure and the ability to instantly contend for titles.  This team has multiple assets and could even make a run at Gasol again this summer, and a Gasol, Davis front court is a title threat right away especially when you look at the rest of the team. 

Overall what is necessary beyond Davis for any of these teams is good management and a clear focus on how the team wants to build.  A good team will build around his stengths and make him want to stay to contend for titles in the long-term as they attempt to grow into a dynasty. 

Stay Hungry My Friends

Taking a Closer Look at Our Finalists

Since the Stanley Cup Final match-up was set last friday, the two most common lines uttered have been: "this is such a suprise" and "this is a match-up no one wants to see." Well to some degree neither of these are true. While no one expected to see these two teams in the Cup final, they shouldn't be so suprised for a few reasons. First of all, there was no 100% solid teams this year, no one that seemed to be unbeatable. Second, it's become clear recently that anything could happen in the NHL playoffs. But third and most important, both of these teams had the tools to make a run.

Yes New Jersey finished 4th in their own division but that looks a little better when a closer look is taken. They were 6th in the conference overall but only 7 points behind the conference leading Rangers and played as well as them to finish the season. The Devils were the hottest team heading into the playoffs winning their last six games and moving with in a few points of every contender including Pittsburgh and New York. Then they began to show they weren't your father's New Jersey Devils. They were no longer focused on the trap and lulling teams to sleep. These Devils were a high scoring, exciting bunch. They have three of the league's premier scorers in Kovalchuk, Elias, and Parise, solid veteran scorers Clarkson, Sykora, and Zajac, and oh by the way they still have three time champion Martin Brodeur in net. There should have been no doubt that a team with a roster like this could compete in the playoffs especially because the roster is littered with guys (Brodeur, Sykora, Elias) who have experience in multiple Stanley Cups.

Los Angeles was a sexy pick to be a Cup contender before last season. However they never really got it together fully and by the beginning of this year's playoffs they were almost irrelevant. No one expected them to make much noise especially because they were slated to face the mighty Canucks. But it never occured to most people that the Kings could finally start playing at the level they were capable of once the playoffs started and they were brushed off awfully easily for a team with the league's best goalie. Despite being 29th in scoring this season, the Kings have as much scoring talent as anyone including Dustin Brown, Anze Kopitar, Mike Richards, Jeff Carter, and Justin Williams along with star defenseman Drew Doughty and of course Veizna canidate Jonathan Quick. Isn't that Stanley Cup level talent? Is it really surprising that they could beat St. Louis or Phoenix? or that Vancouver would choke? These Kings are as dangerous as they've looked in the playoffs.

In showing why this matchup is no surprise, I believe I also made a case for it being a good series. What other matchup would have this level of talent in it or as many marquee players? This is the first match-up in a few years where both teams not only play an exciting high scoring style, but also play solid D and top level goaltending. Not only that though, there is real history at stake though. The Devils winning establishes them as the best franchise in hockey outside of Detroit. They've only missed the playoffs twice in the past twenty three seasons and have as many Stanley Cups (four) as anyone. On the other hand this would be LA's first Stanley Cup victory in 45 years as a franchise. Not only would a victory make this their most memorable season in franchise history, it may change things in LA. This wouldn't be like Tampa or Carolina winning the Cup, LA is the second largest market in the country and this might actually make hockey relevent in California. Plus, with all this young talent, the Kings could be competitive for years to come.

Prediction: LA in six. I admit that this may be unpredictable but LA looks too good to lose right now, Brown and Kopitar are playing as well as anyone and Quick may be the best goalie in the world. New Jersey won't go down easily though, look for a higher scoring series than expected.

MLB Surprises Part Deux

For the second part of this post I'm going to cover teams in the MLB that haven't quite lived up to expectations thus far. Every year some teams put fear in the heart of their fanbases early with a slow start to their season. Most of the time they eventually turn it around and begin to play up to expectations.. However sometimes these teams prove to have been overrated and never improve. We're going to figure out which of the many under-achieving teams will turn it around and which are headed for a golf-filled October.
Boston: Admittedly expectations weren't very high in Beantown coming into this season after the worst September collapse in MLB history. However, no one expected the Red Sox to be in last place headed into June. The big problem for them is they aren't even playing that poorly, they're 24-24 as of May 28th. The Yankees and Rays are, as expected, just better while Toronto and Baltimore have rosters loaded with young talent. Meanwhile other eyes are on young developing teams such as the Royals and Indians in the AL Central or the all star laiden Rangers and Angels in the AL West. Forget bad or underachieving, the Red Sox are quickly becoming irrelevant. Even with the offense playing as well as it is, they still haven't been able to break out of last place and it's difficult to see Ortiz keeping the MVP type numbers he's put up so far. While much of the lineup is underachieving, I wouldn't count on all of  them turn it around. At some point Youkalis is no longer in a slump, he's just aging and Gonzalez has shown no signs that he's anything but average. Getting Ellsbury back in July might be a plus but expect the offense to slow a bit by mid summer. The Sox were downright abysmal on the mound to start the year but have evened out a bit since then. I wouldn't expect to see too much of an improvement for the rest of the year. So far the ace of the staff has been Felix Doubront who is the epitome of average. Beyond that they have the below average trio of Daniel Bard, Jon Lester, and Josh Beckett not forgetting the downright horrible Clay Bucholz. They appear to have no options beyond what they're putting out right now so look for a .500 finish and a 3rd straight long offseason in Boston.

Los Angeles: After signing CJ Wilson and free agent prize of the year Albert Pujols this offseason, the Angels were expected to unseat the Rangers as the kings of the AL West and contend for a world series. However much of this talk disapeared after an 18-25 start. Pujols was having the worst season of his career and they just didn't seem to be all the way there yet. However the Angels have now won seven games in a row and are challenging the Rangers for the lead in the AL West as expected. So which Angels team should we expect to see for the rest of the season? I'd say that this current run is more indicative of what will be seen for the rest of the year. If Jered Weaver isn't out for too long they have one of the best pitching staffs in the game including veterans  CJ Wilson, Dan Haren, and Ervin Santana. Then you throw in the lineup featuring young up and comers Mike Trout and Mark Trumbo, reliable veterans such as Howie Kendrick, Torii Hunter, and Vernon Wells, and the suddenly rejuvinated Albert Pujols and all of a sudden you have a World Series contender. Expect to see this turn around to continue and for the AL West race to come down to the wire.

Detroit: After making a splash in free agency by signing the biggest (literally)prize in Prince Fielder, the Tigers were a sexy pick to win the World Series. What was being overlooked was that Justin Verlander was sure to regress even is just a little bit, as was Alex Avila, and the rest of the pitching staff. They were over-valued in the preseason and thus their below-.500 record shouldn't be a suprise. They were a team that had multiple guys having career years last year and they barely cracked 90 wins. Now they're having trouble staying competitve in the supposedly bad AL Central mostly because the division isn't that bad. Only expect to see them to matter if the Indians and White Sox fall off completely, otherwise they have a future to focus on.
Philadelphia: After having the best run in franchise history these past few years, no one expected the Phillies to go away easily no matter how good the NL East would be this year. It's an even bigger suprise that it took until May 28th for the Phils to break out of last place. The offense has regressed even more this year and they're now relying on Carlos Ruiz as their best hitter. The only hope they're holding out right now is that Ryan Howard can come back and return to his old form. The pitching staff has been good but perhaps not as dominant as they had hoped when they put together the five man super-rotation only 2 years ago. Roy Halladay will be on the shelf for the most of summer but Hamels has been downright dominant so far. Overall if they can avoid further injury they should be in decent shape down the stretch. Look for them to make a deal for another bat around the deadline and if  Halladay returns and is healthy, the Phils could make a push. But that push may only get them a second wild card spot in the competitive NL East.

Other Predictions: Watch for the Marlins of Miami and Chicago White Sox to remain competitive all year and compete for playoff spots, don't sleep on them. You can sleep on the Diamondbacks though, they're going a long way to prove that last year was an abberation.

Is this Real Life? Early season Suprises in the MLB Part 1

Every year some teams stir up their fanbases by having an unexpectedly good start only to fall by the wayside halfway through summer and in many cases fall back to their familiar 4th place position. Meanwhile contenders terrify their faithful into irrational trade talks and other reactionary behavior by having a slow start. More often than not these teams end up in 1st place where they are perceived to belong. However there are some teams that defy expectation and either stay hot or never get out of a rut. This year has as many early suprises as any in recent memory. It seems as though the Yankees haved righted their ship and are headed back to a position to be upset in the playoffs like their fans have come to expect while other teams continue to suprise. So which teams are having suprise years and which teams will be back to normal soon? Part 1 of this post will feature the teams that are suprising because they are playing above expectations.

Baltimore: The Orioles are the poster child for suprise teams that impress early only to collapse by September. Nearly every year since 2000 they've had a hot start but have finished no better than 4th place, in some cases playing historically bad at the end of the season.(They've had 4-36 and 5-35 finishes) This year is different only slightly, it's hard to see this team collapsing that hard. For the first time since Cal Ripken, the Orioles have a bona fide superstar in Adam Jones. At the age of 26 he's blossoming into a complete player with a .944 OPS and a team leading 14 home runs. Overall the offense is playing well enough to stay in first place but this is where the differ from Oriole teams in the past; they haven'treached their peak yet. Nick Markakis, Robert Andino, J.J Hardy, and Matt Wieters are all much better hitters than they are showing now. If they get better production out of those guys plus a little more from Wilson Betemit, Nick Johnson, Mark Reynolds, Bill Hall, or Endy Chavez, the offense could be dangerous. On the flip side, the bullpen is humming along as well as it possibly can right now. Baltimore boasts the best Bullpen in  baseball including five guys with 20+ innings and below a two era lead by Jim Johnson's 20 and two/thirids innings, .87 era and .77 whip. This is not sustainable, the bullpen's era will rise over the course of the year but the starter's era falling could counteract that. The starting pitching has begun to slip a bit but should there be faith that it will return to normal? How much faith should be put into Jake Arrieta, Tommy Hunter, and Brian Matusz?
Verdict: The Bullpen's era rising is a given but if the offense can get more production out of it's verterans and the starters can pitch like they did in April this team could compete. However not enough as they barely miss the playoffs while finishing 3rd in the AL East for the first time in more than a decade.

Cleveland: For the first time in five years the Indians matter again. They have a great chance of making the playoffs for the first time in that span, by default, but a division title all the same. This team is about as bland as it gets in baseball. The offense is completely pedestrian at everything besides getting on base.(8 regulars have a OBP above .300) Besides that they have no power, no superstars, and the only guys that can hit for power in the lineup(Hafner and Duncan) can't do much else. The lone bright spot in their offense right now is Asdrubal Cabrera who is having a career year. Somehow though, these Indians are scoring runs, they hit well with runners in scoring position and get on base and for now that's enough. On the pitching side, Derek Lowe has been the ace this year but at age 39 can that hold up for a full season? If the Indians want to compete they will need the pitching of Justin Masterson and Ubaldo Jiminez to improve.
Verdict: If the White Sox slow down this is the Indian's division. However they will have a tough time competing in the playoffs unless they can add some pop to the lineup and see improved results from Jimenez and Masterson. However they won't even get there if the White Sox sustain their pace.

Washington: Good news for the line up, Steven Strasberg is the best hitting pitcher in baseball. There's not much good news beyond that besides Adam LaRoche's career year. Much of the lineup that was expected to be above average this year has been downright abysmal. You know you're in trouble when you need Jayson Werth to come back to improve the lineup. However expect to see a better output this summer. Ryan Zimmerman should improve, Bryce Harper will continue to grow and they could always pick up a bat at the trade deadline. Then there's the pitching staff which has been dominant so far. They are the reason why Washington is leading the league's best division right now. They have a cy young canidate in Gio Gonzalez, two all stars in Jordan Zimmerman and Steven Strasberg, and two more above average pitchers to anchor the rotation in Edwin Jackson and Ross Detwiller. That staff is as loaded as any since the 2003 Yankees.
Verdict: While they may not win the competitive NL East, they will make the playoffs and will be a force to be reckoned with once they get there.

Los Angeles Dodgers: If I was to tell you pre-season that Matt Kemp would be sidelined with an injury but the Dodgers would have the best record in baseball anyway, would you believe me? Well so far it's come true as the resilient Dodgers put the troubles of the McCourt era behind them and excelled. Led by suprise performance from AJ Ellis and Tony Gwynn Jr. and guys you forgot about like Bobby Abreu, Jerry Hairston Jr., Mark Ellis, James Loney and Juan Rivera; the Dodgers have one of the best offenses in baseball. So much for Ethier and Kemp being the only ones that mattered. Meanwhile the pitching staff is also as good as any led the three headed monster of Clayton Kershaw, Ted Lilly, and Chris Capuano. This team isn't just suprising, they're running away with the divsion. They've opened up a 7.5 game lead over San Francisco and it's not even June.
Verdict: At some point this hot streak will end. Right now the Dodgers are relying on too many guys playing aboved their capabilities. At some point that will come back to haunt them but they're playing well enough now that it might not matter. Soon they'll have Matt Kemp back which adds to an already stellar offense. They'll win the division if for no other reason than San Francisco's just not good enough to catch them while Arizona is playing like last year was an abberation. Don't expect the Dodgers to make too much noise in the playoffs though.

New York Mets: I'll keep this one short and sweet. The Mets have an average offense, an average pitching staff, and play in the best division in baseball. The team is littered with young guys playing above expectation right now. While the Mets are in 2nd right now and are 6 games above .500, they have a run differential of -19 and have been winning close games. The Miami Marlins are coming on, the Braves will likely heat up again soon, and does anyone think Philly is going to sit in last all year? Didn't think so. Look for the Mets to play like the Mets down the stretch and end up in last place. Mark me down as a non believer in the "Met's Moxy" if for no reason other than it's the Mets.

Eastern Conference Finals Preview

                This year’s Eastern Conference Finals squares the hated Miami Heat against the Celtics of Boston.  I as much as anyone would love for the Celtics to win this series and knock off the vaunted Heat who plan on winning, not one, not two, not three… you get the idea.  As it stands now it is extremely hard for me to make this case.  There are a few people though that can make this series interesting:

1.       Rajon Rondo

More than anyone else Rajon Rondo will determine whether or not the Celtics can compete with the Miami Heat.  He is the one player on the Celtics who can have performances that reach the levels of Lebron James and Dwayne Wade.  He will have to control the tempo of the game, keep the game at a slow controlled pace that prevents the Heat from running in transition, and dominant the game getting into the lane, scoring, rebounding, and creating easy shots for his teammates.  For the Celtics to have any chance Rondo will have to average about a triple double a game scoring around 20 points per game with multiple games of 15 assists or more. 

2.       The Big 3’s

The matchup of the Big 3’s, or depending on whether or not Chris Bosh is able to play at all in this series, the Big 3 against the Big 2 should favor the Miami Heat regardless.  While Bosh is out with injury, the health still may favor the Miami Heat with regard to this.  As of now Paul Pierce seems to be significantly hampered by his sprained MCL and Ray Allen has almost no lateral movement dealing with bone spurs in his ankle.  These guys have to guard Lebron James and Dwayne Wade respectively, a hard enough task to do when healthy, but when injured this task is next to impossible.  The only hope for the Celtics in this matchup is if Bosh is unable to come back, a strong possibility, to provide floor spacing, Garnett has a dominant series, and Wade reverts to pre-knee drain form where he shows little lift and ability to hit a jumpshot. 

3.       The Role Players

This is a series where for both teams the role players are a significant weakness for the team and whoever is able to get decent contributions out of their role players may be able to swing one or two games.  The only consistent role player currently healthy for either team right now is Brandon Bass, a solid jump shooter who can provide consistent and necessary auxiliary scoring for the Celtics.  The injury to Avery Bradley was a devastating blow for the Celtics as he has transformed into an elite defender who has given Wade troubles this season.  The Celtics need to hope that players like Mickael Pietrus, Ryan Hollins, Greg Stiemsma and others are able to play adequately in the series.  For the Heat, they have to hope that their role players make the open shots that they are going to get.  This has been a problem for the team this post season in that Shane Battier, Mike Miller, Mario Chalmers, and Udonis Haslem have not been able to consistenly hit the open shots they are getting.  If those players consistently hit their shots then this Heat team almost becomes unbeatable.

4.       Coaches

Doc Rivers has become one of the best coaches in basketball and his end of game play calling, his minute managing and rotation juggling over the course of the season has been impressive.  Erick Spoelstra on the other hand is going to be coaching for his job as he is trying to take the team to the NBA Finals for the 2^nd consecutive season, but really anything short of a championship this year will be a disappointment.   This is a matchup that significantly favors the Celtics as Rivers has proven that he can handle himself in these situations, while Spoelstra has seemed to botch some decisions that cost his team games.

Overall I believe that while the Celtics will compete hard the entire series and give the Heat all they can handle, I’m going to say Heat in 6.  I would love to pick the Celtics, but I had a hard enough time convincing myself that they would win 2 games.  The Celtics have almost no chance of winning game 1, but I think they win games 2 and 4 while the Heat win games 1,3,5, and 6.  

Western Conference Finals Preview

                 This year’s Western Conference Finals for pure basketball fans is one of the most anticipated series in some time.  It features undoubtedly the two best teams in the Western Conference and in my opinion the two best teams in basketball with San Antonio matching up against Oklahoma City.  The series consists of two high scoring efficient teams that should provide great drama for the entire length of the series. 

                This series will come down to a few key matchups:

1.       The Point Guards

The point guard matchup in this series places two premier players against one another.  While Tony Parker will almost definitely not be guarding Westbrook, that duty should be handled by Danny Green, there is a good chance Westbrook will be guarding Parker.  For OKC to win in this series, Westbrook will need to decisively win this matchup, he will need to force Parker into tough shots constantly and get many easy shots himself while also shooting well.  Westbrook probably needs to shoot above 45% from the field while holding Parker to under that percentage.  For the Spurs Parker just needs to hold his own and have one or two games where he elevates his game and ends up with a 30-7 or 22-13 performance. 

2.       The 6^th Men

Ginobili vs new Ginobili with an awesome beard one of the more compelling matchups in these playoffs.  Manu has shown time and time again the ability to raise his game to the level necessary, and while Harden has seemed to do it in these playoffs he doesn’t have the track record.  Overall though Harden has had a better season and has become seemingly the closer for this Oklahoma City team.  For Oklahoma City to win Harden needs to shoot well and in the end of close games take over.  He has to become the teams point guard and get into the lane to get to the free throw line and set up open looks for Durant and Westbrook.  While Manu has to be the player he always is scoring at an efficient clip, and really leading the team’s extremely dangerous 2^nd unit.

3.       The Stars

Duncan vs Durant, while these two players will not be matched up against each other, their importance to their team is the greatest.  Durant in this series for Oklahoma City to win is going to have to make the leap from superstar to transcendent player.  He is going to have to be the team’s leader and truly dominant scorer.  Considering there should be large stretches of the series where OKC is playing small it means Durant will have to pick up the slack in the rebounding area as well.  Durant probably needs to finish the series averaging 35 point and 10 rebounds per game while shooting over 55% from the field and 40% from 3. 

Duncan needs to be the player he has been these entire playoffs for the Spurs to win.  He needs to really take advantage down low when Perkins isn’t on the floor for OKC, and hit the midrange shot when he is on the floor.  The most important thing Duncan will provide will be his defensive contributions.  He needs to patrol the paint and prevent Durant, Westbrook and Harden from getting into the lane.  This shows the problem with Perkins, while he can best matchup with Duncan defensively for OKC, he allows Duncan to stay in the paint and only worry about protecting the rim when OKC is on offense.  If Duncan averages his 20-10 while patrolling the paint then the Spurs will be in good shape.

4.       Role Players

The reason OKC has to win the other matchups decisively to win the series and their star players need to elevate themselves is that the Spurs role players are significantly better than OKC.  The Spurs can rely on the contributions of Danny Green, Kawhi Leonard, Boris Diaw, Tiago Splitter, Gary Neal, Stephen Jackson, Matt Bonner and possibly even DeJuan Blair to play well for them.  OKC on the other hand can rely on Thabo Sefolosha, Kendrick Perkins, Nick Collision and Serge Ibaka to play good defense, while providing vary little else in regards to their role players.  Ibaka will be the key for OKC, he is going to have to hit his jump shot consistently to give OKC another offensive threat and play good defense when matchup with Duncan.

5.       Coaching

Legendary Greg Popovich vs the still young Scott Brooks, is another area where the Spurs figure to have a significant advantage.  While Brooks has down an admirable job in getting OKC to their current position, he is nowhere near the in-game or in-series tactician that Popovich has proven to be.  Coach Pop has pushed all the right buttons for this all season and doesn’t look to stop now.  For OKC to have a chance Brooks will have to hold up admirably and make sure he doesn’t play into Popovich’s hand too much as Popovich utilizes his deep bench.

Prediction:

                Spurs in 5 games.  While I expect the entire series to be competitive I do not see it lasting very long.  I believe that when it comes to late game execution the Spurs will be more equipped to excel with their multiple options, as the Spurs proved against the Clippers teams they can shutdown teams with limited options at the end of games.

Stay Hungry My Friends

Wild Times in the NHL

Each year, more so than any other league, there is a steady stream of upsets and unexpected runs in the NHL playoffs. One might have thought the high point of this parity was 2010 when all four first round series in the East were won by the lower seed and the 7th seeded Flyers eventually defeated the 8th seeded Montreal Canadians in the Conference Finals. However it appears that 2012 has topped this in terms of absurdity. This spring has caused even the most knowledgeable of hockey fans look clueless. Both of the sexy picks to win the cup(Pittsburgh and Vancouver) were eliminated in the first round, each in a manner that caused even more surprise. Vancouver has absolutely dominated by the seemingly easily beatable Kings while Pittsburgh played possibly the most ridiculous series in NHL history against Philly. The high scoring excitement was matched only by the incredible violence of the series. In addition both 2 seeds were eliminated as the upstart Blues were swept by Los Angeles and the defending Champion Bruins fell to Washington in seven. Hell, Washington winning a series and pushing the Rangers was a suprise in itself....and they won by limiting the minutes of their most potent score(Ovechkin)? I Could go on for days about all the weird nuances of this post season but in interest of time, i'll stick to the four teams that are still around.

New York: The only thing that about their playoff run that has suprised people is the difficulty they've had putting Ottawa and Washington away. However people should be a tad more suprised. New York was hardly a Cup favorite prior to the start of the season. While they landed the top free agent prize (Brad Richards), they weren't among those being discussed as cup favorites. They barely snuck into the playoffs last year as an 8th seed and were immeadiatly eliminated by Washington who went on to be swept. The Rangers have no star power and have had trouble scoring all year. While Lundqvist may be the best goalie in the NHL, relying on him was never good enough for a cup run, until this year. It appears as though the team has fully gelled under third year coach John Tortarella and really bought into his gritty philosophy. Despite all this, New York still qualifies as a suprise team, if only slightly.

New Jersey: For years this wouldn't have been a surprise in the slightest. The Devils are one of the league's model franchises but recently they haven't been as successful.Suprisingly this is their first conference final appearance in nine years. In fact it had been five years since they made the second round. Not only did they miss the playoffs last year, they were the worst team in the league for most of the year. After a furious run that ended up in 9th place last year, the Devils re-entered the playoff picture this year due to the re-emergence of veterans Pat Elias and Martin Brodeur, the unexpected contributions of role players such as David Clarkson and Petr Sykora, and the vast improvement of 2010 free agent signee Ilya Kovalchuk. Despite all this improvement they were still 4th in their own division. While New York's unexpected run at 1st in the East was heavily discussed, the Penguins were supposed to be shoo-wins to take home the cup. Even Phillygot some attention as a contender after their bold offseason acquisiton of Goaltender Ilya Bryzgalov. New Jersey was recognized as good all year, but not good enough to compete in their own division. While all eyes were focused on the Rangers holding on to the top spot and Crosby's return, the Devils quietly finished the season 11-4-1 with Stanley Cup and playoff experience all over the roster. Perhaps this shouldn't have been as much of a surprise.

Phoenix: Forget that they have one of the most respected coaches in the league and that they've been in the playoffs the past two years. This team has not had an owner in 3 years. Take some time to digest that. They don't have an owner....and they're in the conference finals. Now we can consider that despite being respected, Dave Tippett has a tendency to lose in the 1st round (four consecutive times), the team lost all star goalie Ilya Bryzgalov this offseason(who many perceived to be the catalyst of the team), and that last year's playoff "run" consisted of being swept a Detroit team that went on to lose the next round. After analysts left them for dead in preseason predictions, they didn't do much to change anyone's mind by early February. After a 21-7-5 run to end the year; they still needed to win the Division to barely sneak in the playoffs. Perhaps what suprises people has less to do with that all of that and more to do with the fact that more the most part people were unfamiliar with Phoenix's team. The Raffi Torres's and Keith Yandles of the world often go unnoticed in the mainstream hockey scene. Overall Phoenix is a suprise for three main reasons: 1. People aren't familiar enough with the team to recognize their potential. 2. Analysts tended to focus on what they lost instead of what they still had/added. 3. Mike Smith turned out to be unfuckingbelievable. Who wudda thunk it?

Los Angeles:Every so often an 8th seed makes a deep run and a little less often a team makes a dominating playoff run but never have the two been combined......until now. I can't begin to explain how incredibly strange this is. I've watched playoff hockey since 1999 and i've never seen a team start the post season 11-1 or even anything close to that. So the first team I saw do it was the 8th seeded Kings who many thought were the most likely canidate for a sweep in the first round. Looking back it's clear to see that Los Angeles was a tad underrated by the average pundit. They're a team with one of the league's best goalies in Quick, top playmaking forwards in Anze Kopitar and Dustin Penner, young star defenseman Drew Doughty, and gritty veterans Mike Richards, Jeff Carter, and Dustin Brown. Looking at it that way it seems reasonable to think a team like this could make some noise in the playoffs. However it's ludacris to think any team should start the playoffs 11-1. Hell, it's only been done twice before and those were the 68 and 73 Canadians, some of the greatest teams of all time. LA looks every bit as good as any team in the past few years so perhaps the surprise isn't that they've come this far, but that they were an 8th seed in the first place.

Overall what this postseason teaches us is to look past the few teams making big headlines to see if any other teams have a chance. But even with this we still have very little chance of understanding the absurity that is the NHL playoffs.
Stay Hungry My Friends

Basketball's Greatest Team

                My return to the blog will consist of telling you about the greatest basketball team I have ever seen.  A team that has no weaknesses and can seemingly play any style of basketball that the game dictates.  This team has star talent up top and is extremely deep with a bench that can adapt to just about any situation.  No this is not some super team like the Miami Heat or Oklahoma City Thunder, or even the veteran Boston Celtics or Los Angeles Lakers, this team is forever “boring” San Antonio Spurs.

                Since winning their last title in 2007 the Spurs have year after year been considered too old to truly compete for championships.  Even before this season star Tony Parker had thought the Spurs time as championship contenders had passed them by.  However something strange happened this season, the Spurs became the most dominant team in the league, and this “old” team that would seemingly be hampered by a lockout season with a condensed schedule tore through the league by tying for the best record in the league basically without trying to.  They constantly rested star players, limited minutes, and were extremely cautious with regards to players returning from injury. 

                The main reason for the emergence of this juggernaut is a complete change in team philosophy starting at the top with Head Coach Greg Popovich.  This team has transformed from a defensive oriented team that relied on making stops and its half-court offense into one of the scariest efficient offenses I have ever seen that relies on corner threes and easy twos, ranking first in the league in offensive efficiency, while still bringing a top 10 defense to the table.  This has happened because Popovich changed the foundation of the team from playing off the talents of Tim Duncan to playing off the talents of Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili.  Both of these players are extremely dangerous ball handlers who can get into the lane to create shots for themselves and others.  They then have built the rest of the team on players who can play off their talents.  They have three point shooters galore by employing Matt Bonner, Gary Neal, Danny Green, Kawhi Leonard, Stephen Jackson, and Boris Diaw, all of whom are great catch and shoot three point shooters. 

                You cannot talk though about the San Antonio Spurs franchise without talking about the importance of Tim Duncan.  As the leader and face of the franchise the way he has acted has allowed the Spurs to become the team they are today.  Duncan’s ability to step away from being the focal point of the team has allowed the Spurs franchise to grow and keep steady as a premier franchise in the league.  We have seen the same type of concerns plague this year’s Lakers team, as Kobe’s unwillingness at points to realize that he shouldn’t be the focal point of the offense has cost the team dearly, and the team is at its best when Kobe is focusing on dumping it inside and feeding the team’s star big men.  Even though Duncan isn’t the player he used to be and has accepted this, his drop-off though has been dramatically overstated, as he has made up for lost athleticism with an increased basketball IQ.   Actually when looking at numbers per 36 minutes when compared to the 1998-1999 season, the last lockout shortened season and Duncan’s first championship season, Duncan’s numbers are almost exactly the same.  Actually Duncan’s limited minutes this season could prove to show that the Spurs defense is actually better than their rank indicates.  The Spurs defense is significantly better when Duncan is on the floor and with increased postseason minutes the Spurs defense will likely play better than it did during the regular season. 

                This team though can matchup with any team left in the playoffs easily and will dispatch of all the competition in its path.  The Spurs showed last night that the Clippers are no match for their superior ball movement and great team defense.  This team will continually get easy shots and minimize the impact of Chris Paul, the only true shot creator on the Clippers.  If they are matched up against the Thunder they will turn them into a jump-shooting team.  If the Thunder attempt to go small to matchup with the Spurs then that leaves the Thunder with nobody to guard Duncan in the post, Ibaka while a good help defender struggles in regard to post defense, and if they play Perkins to go big then that hurts the offense.  Duncan would then be free to guard the paint with little fear that Perkins could hurt them, and thus would force the Thunder into perimeter shots where the length of Leonard and Green could force them to shoot for low percentages.  The Lakers length is seen as a threat to the Spurs dominance but recently the Spurs have shown that they can handle it.  Duncan and Diaw are capable post defenders, along with the emerging Tiago Splitter, that can handle Andrew Bynum and Pau Gasol one on one which really neutralizes the Laker’s greatest strength and even Kobe Bryant’s impact would be mitigated by the great defense of Green and Leonard.  The Spurs then are much too fast for the Lakers offensively and could score at will against the slow Lakers team.  Perhaps the greatest threat to the Spurs dominance would be the Miami Heat, but again this is an extremely flawed team.  The Heat’s greatest strengths are getting to the rim and one on one defense, which would be mitigated by two of the Spurs biggest strengths are defending the rim and great passing.  Duncan could keep Lebron and Wade out of the lane and force them into a jump shooting team.  While the Heat are great one on one defenders they are not as strong on help defense which is the key component of slowing down the Spurs attack.  The Spurs also employ a significant upgrade at Head Coach over every single one of these teams.

                This year’s Spurs are the deepest and most dynamic team in all of professional basketball.  They employ a great offense and underrated defense to exploit the weaknesses of the opponent.  Popovich utilizes the deepest bench in the NBA to create matchup nightmares for the opponent that allows the team to adapt to almost any situation.  This team is peaking at the right time with the late season additions of Stephen Jackson and Boris Diaw filling the biggest need of the team and the reason for the fall of last year’s Spurs and actually the emergence of the name of this blog, toughness.  This team knows how to execute in all situations and is perfectly built to have a surprisingly easy run toward this year’s NBA Championship. 
Stay Hungry My Friends

We're Back.....This time it's less personal

Roughly a year ago Mike and I formulated an idea to create a blog where we would write about sports and pop culture. Over dinner we created a few ideas for re-occurring columns and other topics to write about. We each wrote an original piece about movies but we quickly ran out of inspiration and ideas. Basically we got lazy and after only 3 columns the site was left for dead. However after a year much has changed. I've spent my entire first year of college writing sports articles for various media sources and now feel that i'm better prepared to write. I've also re-discovered a love for baseball which should give me a lot more to write about this time around.

This summer things will be a little different with the Hungry Dog Blog. First off there will be multiple articles written every week. Second there will be a higher level of quality to the writing. Third we will be even more hungry this year and we hope our readers will be too. (I also hope we have readers.)
Stay hungry my friends.