Bulls V. Pistons

Ah yes, once again in the Playoffs we have a Bulls Pistons match up.

The last time we had this was in 1991, it was the launching pad for the Jordan Dynasty.

It was the year that the Bullies had finally broken through their barrier and beaten the Bad Boy Pistons and the Jordan Rules.

It was the beginning of the brightest years of my young life.

Now the Baby Bulls+Ben Wallace and PJ Brown will look to continue their march towards the Finals against a much tougher foe than the regular season head to head records indicate, the Pistons.

The Bulls took the regular season match up 3-1, but as we all know the playoffs are a different beast.

Position by position breakdown:

C:
Ben Wallace V. Chris Webber

If this was the Webber of old it'd be a no doubter, but he plays limited minutes now and doesn't score as much as he used to. Ben Wallace's offense has come alive of late, but he is too spotty at the charity stripe to give him the edge. What gives Big Ben an edge is his defensive prowess and his rebounding ability.

Slight Edge goes to Webber however.

PF:
PJ Brown V. Rasheed Wallace

No brainer this goes to 'sheed. Better O and he gets dirty in the paint. PJ is nice, but his effectiveness is limited by his age. What will make this a push is whether Tyrus Thomas can play to his potential.

Edge Wallace

SF:
Tayshaun Prince V. Luol Deng

The runner up in exciting matches of this series. Prince's long arms and athletic ability v. Deng's long arms and athletic ability. Deng has been a monster in the post season, so I will give the edge to Deng.
But this will be entertaining to watch.

Edge Deng

SG:
Rip Hamilton V. Ben Gordon

Marquee.
Rip has the experience, Gordon the youth and both possess explosiveness. Crucify me if you like, I like Gordon in this match up. Both make big shots at big times, but I can see Gordon making more.

Edge: Gordon

PG:
Chauncy Billups V. Captain Kirk

Close, but not close enough. Billups is a smarter and better basketball player. Hinrich is a coaches son and plays like one, but he still has some learning to do.

Edge: Billups.

Bench:
Nocioni/Thomas/Sefolosha/Allen V. Hunter/McDyess/Hunter/Mohammed.

Edge to the Bulls.

This will be the difference maker in the series. Sure the Bulls don't have that one guy you have to key on, but that's what makes them dangerous. They get help from all sides and off the bench especially when Noc comes in.

Prediction:
Sticking to it, Bulls in 7.

The Boring East

3 sweeps, all of them as convincing as a sweep can be.

Detroit, Chicago, and Cleveland all walked away from the first round unscathed.

Did all that really happen?

I understand the Wizards plight without Agent Zero and without Butler, but the Magic still had Dwight Howard.

I thought maybe the Magic might be able to steal a game.

But that's not the surprise.

The surprise is the Bulls completely destroying the Heat.

And the Heat looking very old in the process.

Sure, there was an injured Wade and an aging cast surronding him...But swept in the first round?

I'm in shock.

Tommorow there will be a Pistons V. Bulls preview.

Quarterbacks and the draft

Mario and I had a bit of an argument yesterday. He thought that the Raiders had to pick Calvin Johnson today, and I thought they had to go with JaMarcus Russell. I do think that Johnson will be a better pro, but there's no doubt Russell has very intriguing upside. The real problem I would have had with the Raiders drafting Johnson is they have no throw him the ball.

Anyway, Mario's argument was that the Raiders could either get Daunte Culpepper when the Dolphins cut him (and that doesn't look like it's going to happen now. I need some Sal insight on why the Dolphins passed on Quinn) or draft a quarterback later in the draft. That got me thinking if it really was that easy for a team to draft a quarterback in the later rounds and develop him into a starter.

So what I did was look at the quarterbacks of record from 2006 and what round they were drafted in. I decided the quarterback of record by awarding a win or loss to the quarterback with the highest number of pass attempts plus rushes/sacks. Anyway, I realize the problems -- namely that I'm only looking at one year, the draft is an inexact science and football is probably the most team-oriented game -- but there were some interesting things.

Of the 56 quarterbacks who "decided" a game, the group with the most by far were 1st round picks -- 23. The next highest group was undrafted quarterbacks with nine, which was somewhat of a surprise to me. 1st round quarterbacks had a record of 145-115, meaning that those taken later in the draft or undrafted were 111-141. As far as the best winning percentage? The 6th round, of course. 6th round quarterbacks won 58.7 percent of their games (27-19) thanks largely to Tom Brady and Matt Hasselbeck.

But I digress. Did this decide the argument? Not really. It does seem that 1st round quarterbacks are more likely to play more games and 1st or 2nd round quarterbacks are more likely to be winning quarterbacks (171-135 record in 2006), but one year of data doesn't prove anything. I think what the Raiders did was take the safest pick, but we won't know if it was a good pick until their careers are over.

True European Style Basketball

Did anyone else catch this? As a basketball fan I realize that the NBA has flourished during Stern's reign, but I'm not really a big fan of his and this is just another thing I disagree with him on.

I do think that basketball is a popular enough game world-wide that this would work financially for the new teams. But for this to work out schedule-wise, at least three of the teams are going to have to come into the league at the same time. This way, it would be like the Texas trifecta part of every team's schedule, but in Europe. Adding that many teams at one time is going to have a serious effect on the NBA's talent pool.

I also don't imagine that the current teams are going to be very happy with the increase in travel costs and difficulty. I'm sure they can afford it, but there's going to be a lot of complaining. Then there is the time zone problem. A 7 pm game in London or Madrid would be televised in the US at 1 pm central time. Not exactly prime time.

I think a good theory for any professional sports commissioner is to do exactly the opposite of what the MLB would do. And adding five teams within the next 20 years sounds a lot like baseball adding four teams between 1993 and 1998.

I don't think this is an awful idea. If done correctly, the NBA will become the model professional sports league. But I think it has to be done gradually, and I don't see how that is possible.

The Curse Of A-Rod

How perfect is it that Alex Rodriguez is having the greatest April in the history of baseball and his team is awful? Do you think he's having flashbacks to 2001-2003 with the Texas Rangers?

I don't think A-Rod was born a bad teammate. Like all monsters, he was created by -- you guessed it -- the contract. Since signing with the Rangers in 2001 has played on three teams with winning records (the Yankees from 2004-2006) and four teams with losing records (the Rangers from 2001-2003 and this year's 8-11 Yankees).

In roughly the same amount of time (he's had 171 more plate appearances for losing teams) Rodriguez has hit .299 with 119 home runs, 357 RBI and scored 349 runs for winning teams. For losing teams, he has hit .309 with 170 home runs, 429 RBI and 408 runs scored.

The stat-head statistics are even more alarming. While his on-base percentage hasn't changed much, .398 for losing teams and .396 for winning teams, his slugging percentage is drastically different. He's slugged .632 for losing teams and only .549 for winning teams.

The Yankees probably won't continue to be a below .500 team this year, but with that rotation you never know. The best it's going to get for them this year is Wang, Mussina, Pettite, Hughes and Igawa. Not one of those pitchers is without a question mark, whether it is injury, age or performance (looking at you Kei).

A-Rod is going to go down as statistically the greatest hitter in baseball, but for some reason, the better he plays, the worse his team plays. Maybe when Robert Horry retires we can give his intangibles to Rodriguez.

BREAKING NEWS

HIS VAG ER...SHOULDER STILL HURTS!

Chicago Cubs "employee" Mark Prior is having exploratory shoulder surgery.

Which means he will never pitch again in his life.

RE: Oden V. Durant

Why would anyone draft Oden?

He looks like he's going to retire soon.

NBA Predictions

So I'm a little late with the NBA Predictions, but here they are:

EAST:

(1)Pistons (8) Magic

There aren't many matchups in this years opening round that look very boring on paper, and will be even more painful to watch in person. Unfortunately this will be one of them.

Pistons in 5.

(2) Cavs (7) Wizards

At the rate the Wizards are losing players the Mystics will be out there before the end of this very short series. The wiz have no chance without the East's most watchable player, Habachi.

Cavs in 4

(3) Raptors (6) Nets

The Raptors have a lot of learning to in a short period of time if they wish to advance. Chris Bosh must assert himself if they are to have a chance against NJ, and right now the Raptors look soft.

Nets in 5

(4) Heat (5) Bulls

This will be the most exciting matchup the East offers up. The Bullies made it difficult for themselves as they have to beat the defending champs, then the Pistons, and if all plays out as it should, the Cavs. Game one was called too tightly and the sequel will likely have more flow to it. For Chicago to win it needs to limit Wade, stop Shaq, and defend the three. A tall order considering all Miami has to do is play good perimiter D.

But I'm a homer so Bulls in 7

WEST

(1) Mavs (8) GS Warriors

The Mavs are going to get all they can handle from the GS Warriors. Dirk Nowitzki was gawful in game one, and Mark Cuban was getting pissed on the sidelines.

However, with the MVP candidate having a bad game, the Mavs still had a chance to win the game. I see a tough hard-fought series, but I don't see an upset.

Mavs in 7

(2) Suns (7) Lakers

The most beautiful Basketball in the first round will come out of this series. before it is up we will see scores like 121-119 and so forth. The games will be competitive and go back and forth, Kobe will be Kobe, Nash will be Nash, and the series will be a tribute to offensive Basketball.

Suns in 6

(3) Spurs (6) Nuggets

Maturity is going to be the difference in this series. The Nuggets don't have it, the Spurs have a surplus. The Nuggets can't survive getting puched in the mouth.

Spurs in 6

(4) Jazz (5) Rockets

Why don't the Jazz change their name? Is there anything jazzy about Utah?

oh...Rockets in 5.

CONFERENCE SEMI'S

EAST

(1) Pistons (5) Bulls

You know, the Bulls really messed up by losing that last game. They might own the Pistons during the season, but the Playoffs are a completely different beast.

The series will be tight, but I feel that the Bulls will pull a rabbit from the hat.

Bulls in 7

(2) Cavs (6) Nets

No really, the Bulls really messed up.

Cavs in 5

WEST

(1) Mavs (5) Rockets

McGrady's dream run in the playoffs come to an end here. Nowitzki will begin to heat up after a supbar first round. Diop will also bitchslap Yao Ming.

Mavs in 6

(2) Suns (3) Spurs

I really hate the Spurs. They seem so vanilla to me. They also win all the damn time. It's a simple offense really, Tim get ball, Tim post up, Tim dunk, sometimes Tim pass. When shot miss, Tim get rebound.

That's pretty much why I can't justify picking them to beat both the Nuggets and the Suns, two of the more exciting teams the NBA has to offer.

The Suns will run and gun, eventually tiring out Tim-may and the Spurts.

Suns in 6

CONFERENCE FINALS

EAST

(2) Cavs (5) Bulls

They shouldn't have made it this far, and there is no way after 14 games against the best teams in the conference, the Bulls will burn out and the Cavs will take advantage.

Cavs in 5

WEST

(1) Mavs (2) Suns

c'mon, the only way it gets better than this is if the showtime Lakers with Kobe played the UnstopaBulls with Tyrus Thomas. The Suns will extract their revenge and Mark Cuban will finally shoot somebody in the stands.

Suns in a very entertaining 7.

FINALS

(2) Suns (2) Cavs

LBJ v. the Suns.

It'll be on baby. The East is the creampuff conference, but you won't be able to tell from the way the Cavs'll play.

They finally surronded LBJ with some talent like...

D. Marshall?

Who the eff is that?

ah well, Suns in 6

Oden v Durant

Now that both Greg Oden and Kevin Durant have officially declared for the draft, we can talk about them without getting fined by Papa Stern.

While I think that Greg Oden is going to be a dominant defensive player, I just don't see a well-developed offensive game. He's got the offensive repotoire of Shaq, but without the size.

I can't imagine Durant being anything other than a dominant scorer in the Association. He scored 25 points against Kansas IN ONE HALF. And that was with a coach who doesn't even know how to run an offensive set. He was a great rebounder this year, 11.1 per game, and he averaged almost two blocks and steals per game. I don't see a downside.

So, simple question. Who will be the better pro and why?

Not so sweet sixteen

As I mentioned in my NBA playoffs predictions blog, the playoffs begin this Sunday. If the finals go seven games, the final game will be on June 21. That's two months -- simply ridiculous. There's absolutely no way to justify a two month postseason at the end of a sixth month regular season (and a one month preseason). Baseball doesn't even last that long, Mario.

I also said that the first round should be taken back down to five game series, but I feel a little more radical today. Why even have a first round? When was the last time that we needed 16 teams in the NBA playoffs? This isn't college basketball, there are no cinderellas. I'm going to go out on a limb here and say that Golden State isn't going to make the finals this year.

So why not just have an eight team playoff? This makes the regular season more interesting and more important and shortens the playoffs by two weeks. While we're at it, let's go back to the four division format as well. This way the division winners get home court advantage and the next four teams with the best records get playoff spots.

In 23 years of the 16 team playoffs, only twice has a team seeded lower than fourth made the NBA finals. In 1994-95, the sixth-seeded Houston Rockets won their second title in a row. They were essentially the same team as the year before, except they added Hall of Famer Clyde Drexler. The only problem was Drexler missed more than half the season due to injury, a common problem with that season's Rockets. The only player on that team to appear in all 82 games was backup point guard Sam Cassell.

The second time this rarity happened was in 1998-99 when the eighth-seeded New York Knicks went to the finals before being beaten by these tough guys. Do you want to know why you remember the 1998-99 season? It's because it was the lockout-shortened season. That means that in the 22 years of non-lockout-shortened play, only once has a lower-seeded team made the finals. And that team didn't make the finals out of luck and they weren't a cinderella. They merely had too many injuries during the regular season.

Once in 22 seasons isn't enough to justify keeping the 16 team playoff system. The only advantage it affords is more money for owners, while sticking the fans with two weeks of mostly uninteresting basketball.

I smell a dynasty

Why did the NBA change the first-round to seven games? Did anyone outside of Seattle think it was a bad thing that the eighth seed Denver beat the top seed Sonics in the 1994 playoffs? I immediately began rooting for the Nuggets, if for no other reason than the underdog factor. I think I'd be okay with the going back to the five game format, for no other reason than brevity. As excited as I am about the playoffs starting this weekend, the finals won't start almost TWO MONTHS from now. Just add that to the list of things the NBA has done wrong. Predictions:

Detroit v Orlando-
The Pistons are dominant. This year is the sixth straight year they've won 50 games. They've been to the conference finals four straight years and, of course, won it all in 2003-04. Orlando's best player is 21 years old. Detroit wins in a sweep.

Cleveland v Washington-
So wait, the Wizards are going into this without Agent Zero and, at least for the first round, Caron Butler? This should be wildly entertaining – for people in Cleveland. The Wizards will win one game because the LeBrons have the worst supporting cast in the league. LeBrons in five.

Toronto v New Jersey-
John Hollinger predicted the Nets season dead-on. Check this out if you have an ESPN Insider subscription. I really like Jason Kidd, but this team isn't very good. Raptors will win in six games.

Miami v Chicago-
This will be interesting only because the games will be close, not because exciting basketball is being played. After losing in Charlotte on February 14, the Bulls were 29-25. Over their next 27 games, they went 20-7 and jumped from the fifth seed to the second seed. Then they lost to the Nets on the final day of the season and dropped back to five. That can't feel good. Also, an injured Dwyane Wade is better than no Dwyane Wade. Heat in seven.

Dallas v Golden State-
You know, the Warriors won all three of their games against Dallas this year. Warriors head coach Don Nelson coached the Mavs from 1997 through 2005, so he knows Dallas pretty well. I think I'm buying into this, I'm picking the Warriors – to win one game. Mavs in five.

Phoenix v Los Angeles-
I feel like we've done this before. But this year, the Suns are better and the Kobes are worse. I'm also starting to think that Lamar Odom is not going to be the next Pippen. Kobe
is going to win two games in this series by himself, but that's it. Suns in six.

San Antonio v Denver-
I understand why Greg Popovich decided to bring Manu Ginobli off the bench for the last half of the season. I also think it's dumb. He's the Spurs second best player and he almost never plays 30 minutes a game. That's about the only thing Popovich has done wrong since becoming Spurs coach in 1996. Carmelo and Iverson is interesting, but the Spurs ALWAYS control the pace. Spurs in six.

Houston v Utah-
I'm giddy about this series. The Rockets look like a great team, as long as they are healthy. Two years ago the Jazz won 26 games, while this year they won 51 and they are loaded with good-but-not-great players. It's a toss-up, but Masha Lopatova decides this one for me. Jazz in seven.

Detroit will take Miami in round two 4-2, and the announcers will say "this is playoff basketball!" at least 100 times. LeBrons over Toronto in six games only because James is the best healthy player in the Eastern Conference this year. The Jazz's lack of star power will show and Dallas will beat them in five. The Suns are the most entertaining thing in sports today, but the Spurs will beat them in seven.

Detroit will contain James and beat the LeBrons in six, while the Spurs are going to avenge last year's loss and defeat Dallas in seven. I promise that the Western Conference finals are going seven games, no matter who the teams are. I've never been so confident of something in my life.

Tim Duncan will complain about the officials at least three times during the finals, but the Spurs will win in six. That'll be three championships in five years and four championships in nine years. Say hello to the most boring dynasty ever.

Pac Man Jones Unfairly Disciplined

The new commissioner of the National Football League, Roger Goodell, suspended Tennessee Titans corner back Adam "Pac Man" Jones for the entire 2007 - 08 season because of his failure to comply with league policy.

It seems as if though Jones failed to report his several arrests to his team and the league, and thus violated the NFL policy for player conduct.

Goodell took the reigns of a league that had become associated with America's game, and is as profitable as any professional sport in the world. However, it's a league that as of late has been developing a bit of a reputation for being the Notorious Felons League as opposed to the National Football League.

Several players on the Cincinnati Bengals attracted attention for consistently being arrested in off-field encounters with the authorities. Dozens of other players have been in and out of the media for their encounters with the boys in blue, causing Goodell to focus this off season's spring meetings on player accountability.

Despite all that has happened in the past, no player has ever been disciplined anywhere close to as stringently as Jones was with the commissioners recent reprimand. 16 unpaid games, without any contact whatsoever with the Titans or the league. Banishment, vanquished, exiled given the accursed Scarlett Letter!

With all of that being said, Goodell made a clear and resounding example out of Jones, but in the process unfairly disciplined someone that needs assistance and support as opposed to "TOUGH LOVE"!

Goodell not only unfairly disciplined Jones, but sent the wrong message to the league and more importantly its devout following of fans and young supporters. He showed the world that instead of setting up targeted and concise methods of helping troubled contributors to his league, he'd simply utilize his position and power to force them to report to the corner and put on the dunce cap. OSTRACISING, and a classic example of Machiavellian leadership.

Well Goodell, you've successfully made everyone including the outspoken and recent Las Vegas brawler Joey Porter fear you, and all it took was the sacrifice of a troubled but a remarkably talented and conflicted young man. I hope that it's worth it, and you're willing to accept everything that comes with ruling out of fear as opposed to compassion and fairness?