5 Questions With Josh McRoberts

I talked to Los Angeles back up big man Josh McRoberts prior to the Celtics-Lakers game Thursday night at the Garden. Here is what the former Duke Blue Devil, who is averaging 2.9 points and 3.8 rebounds in his first year in LA had to say.

1. How have you guys been able to deal with all the trade rumors, it started before the season with the deal that got vetoed, and it seems like ever sense there has been trade rumors, how do you deal with it?

McRoberts: When that first one happened, I wasn’t even here, I wasn’t around. That’s part of the profession. I was involved in a deal last year that didn’t go through at the deadline, and some rumors this summer when I was a free agent even, so it’s all part of the territory.

2. How have you been accepted by your teammates, I mean you are coming in to a team with guys like Kobe, Fisher, Gasol, who have been here awhile and won titles together?

McRoberts: They’ve been great. It’s a good group of guys. Any time you come to a team like this, that knows how to win. That’s the most important thing, so they’re going to welcome you as long as you are on the same page as them. And that’s all I’ve ever cared about is winning basketball games so they’ve been very accepting.

3. What is Coach [Mike] Brown like?

McRoberts: He’s a very detailed oriented. We’ve had to put in a lot of new things here offensively and defensively, with everyone being new, it’s a new system for everyone. He’s a hard worker, I don’t think the guy ever sleeps. I think he is always watching film and we know that he’s going to be ready every night.

4. How would you describe your role on the team? Energy guy, defense first?

McRoberts: Yeah I think they want me to try to bring energy to the team and rebound the basketball. I think I can do a lot of things that will help us out and a lot of little things that maybe won’t show up in the stat sheet every night.

5. Have you had a chance to watch Duke at all this year with Austin Rivers?

McRoberts: Nah, I haven’t watched at all. I saw the highlight of him last night hitting the big shot against Carolina, but I haven’t seen any games.

-Keefe

Hornets Didn't Get Enough?

David Stern voided the big 3-team deal in the NBA last night involving the Lakers-Hornets-Rockets. Apparently the deal (negotiated by New Orleans GM Dell Demps) was not in the best interest of the Hornets... who agreed to the deal. The out cry was delivered to Stern by several pissed-off, sour-grape owners, led by Cavs cry-baby Dan Gilbert.

Forget the nonsense about Stern stepping in and calling off the trade. As ridiculous as this is, and how truly insane it is, let's focus on the players and teams involved in the "trade."

LAKERS - Chris Paul (from Hornets)

ROCKETS - Pau Gasol (from Lakers)

HORNETS - Lamar Odom (from Lakers); Luis Scola, Kevin Martin, Goran Dragic, and a draft pick (from Rockets)

First off, the Lakers get their man in CP3. A top tier point guard to team with Kobe, and potentially Dwight Howard. They also shed cap space and avoid the luxury tax (for now). But the fact that people are saying the Lakers gave up nothing to get him is ludicrous. In my opinion the Lakers gave up their 2nd and 3rd best players (Odom is better than Bynum. Fact.) They gave up their height advantage and rolled with a new concept, a quality point guard for Kobe.

So the Lakers gave up an All-Star (Gasol), almost All-Star (Odom) to get back All-Star (Paul)... who did miss half the 2009-2010 season with a knee injury...

The Rockets traded away a lot, but their master plan was to acquire Pau Gasol and then throw their newly available money at former Nuggets center Nene. Ok, they want Gasol and Nene (I'm not a big Nene fan, especially for the money he is going to get), but if that's who Daryl Morey and the Rockets want, why can't they do it? Exactly.

Lastly, the Hornets. People are saying they gave away the best player in the deal and didn't even get the 2nd best player. On the surface, that is probably right. But to call what they got back "trash," "garbage," "Odom and crap," etc. is simply wrong. You are not going to get equal value in a trade for a megastar. Hasn't happened. (Examples below). The Hornets need to get something for a guy who is definitely going to bounce in 7 months.

They got (last year's numbers in parenthesis).

Lamar Odom (14.4 points, 8.7 rebounds, 3 assists)
Luis Scola (18.3 points, 8.2 rebounds)
Kevin Martin (23.5 points, 3.2 rebounds, 2.5 assists)
Goran Dragic (7.5 points and shot 52% from 3 after trade from PHX)

Again, the Hornets trade their All-Star point guard for 3 bonafide NBA starters, a back-up point guard with some upside, and a pick. What else were they going to do? That's a solid trade. They aren't winning the title, but they're gonna be competitive. Let's see how that trade stacks up to some of the other Superstar deals of NBA past.

1992: 76ers trade Charles Barkley to the Suns for Jeff Hornacek, Andrew Lang, & Tim Perry

(I don't need to tell you that Barkley then won the MVP with Phoenix and led them to the Finals)

2004: Lakers trade Shaquille O'Neal to the Heat for Lamar Odom, Caron Butler, Brian Grant, a 1st & 2nd round pick

2007: T-Wolves trade Kevin Garnett to the Celtics for Al Jefferson, Gerald Green, Sebastian Telfair, Ryan Gomes, Theo Ratliff, and two 1st round picks

2008: Grizzlies trade Pau Gasol (and 2nd round pick) to Lakers for Kwame Brown, Javaris Crittenton, ammo, Marc Gasol (who no one knew would be this good), and two 1st round picks.

There are more. Those are just the ones that come to mind. You aren't going to trade CP3 for Deron Williams or Derrick Rose. You also aren't going to re-sign him after this season. The league just hurt the Hornets going forward. Maybe the team should not exist. If no one buys the team in the next few months, I say contract them. One less team would help the NBA.

There is still a chance this deal gets done (or one similar), let's hope it does. The league looked bad during the lockout, but this is worse.

-Keefe

Thoughts from the Game 1's

I watched as much as I could over the weekend, and this is what I came up with.

EASTERN CONFERENCE:

#1 Bulls vs. #8 Pacers (104-99 Chicago, 1-0)

Shocking. Well as shocking as it can be without the #1 overall seed actually losing. Indiana was leading from start to almost the very end. Tyler Hansborough? Where did that come from? Looked like he was playing a Tuesday night game against Clemson for a few minutes.

I thought Danny Granger summed it up best by comparing Derrick Rose to a stalker ex-girlfriend, every time you turn around she’s there, at your door wherever. I think this game will wake up the Bulls and they will win in 4 or 5.

#2 Heat vs. #7 76ers (97-89, Miami 1-0)

Give credit to Chris Bosh, ok you don’t have too, but he played well and helped the Heat avoid a loss. For the Celtics sake let’s hope Philly can win a game, or two at home, so LeBron and company have to work rather than coast into the 2nd round. I have faith the 6ers can make them fight after watching on Saturday. Game 2 is tonight.

#3 Celtics vs. #6 Knicks (87-85, Boston 1-0)

Jermaine O'Neal! Watching that game was the first time all season when I actually had a JO in Indiana flashback. The way he narrows his body and gets all skinny when he shoots and it a pretty good shot blocker. Now I don't expect that to keep up the rest of the playoffs, but it was fun nonetheless.

The Celtics were lucky in the fact that Carmelo Anthony played well for 1 quarter, and they still nearly lost the game. Melo is going to be better, however if Billups misses a game or two or just isn't effective, it may not matter.

#4 Magic vs. #5 Hawks (103-93, Atlanta 1-0)

The Hawks don’t seem to like playing with each other and they certainly don’t enjoy coaching in general, but they stole home court from Orlando. Dwight Howard 46 points 19 rebounds… in a loss. Let the big man get his and take everyone else out. It worked once, will it work again? I’m going to stick with my pick of the Magic winning this series, the Hawks self hate will overcome.

WESTERN CONFERENCE:

#1 Spurs vs. #8 Grizzlies (101-98, Memphis 1-0)

How about this one? Tony Allen starting for a contender? Ok contender is a bit aggressive, but they do present some tough match ups even without Rudy Gay. Memphis get its first playoff win in franchise history (0-12 coming in), and they follow that up by giving Zach Randolph a 4-year contract extension. And you know what? I like it. Sure he seems like the obvious, pay for play guy, 1-year, incentive deals, but go for it Memphis!

It’s the same team Chris Wallace led front office that dealt Pau Gasol for nothing (although Marc Gasol has turned out pretty nice) and drafted Hasheem Thabeet #2 overall, only to pair him with another 1st rounder to get Shane Battier… back.

Manu’s elbow could be the key to this series, however I still think San Antonio advances, but they sure seem ripe for the picking.

#2 Lakers vs. #7 Hornets (109-100, New Orleans 1-0)

I thought New Orleans was the worst Western Conference Playoff team, and the only one not capable of winning a series. Winning a game I figured would be a stretch, let alone at the Staples Center. Hats off to Chris Paul. Maybe he hasn’t been as explosive as we’ve seen earlier in his career, but can we ease up on Derrick Rose is waaaaaay better than CP3, and so is Deron Williams, maybe even Russell Westbrook. Chris Paul is still here folks.

#3 Mavericks vs. #6 Trail Blazers (89-81, Dallas 1-0)

This could be a classic case of everyone picks the “underdog,” making them not the underdog any longer, and they end up losing to the original favorite. Teams 5-8 in the West were hoping to get Dallas. Well Portland did, what can they do with them? As Bill Simmons pointed out in his recent podcast, the Mavs have the best player in this series (Dirk) but Portland might have the next 4 (Aldridge, Wallace, Miller, Camby?) It’s debatable.

Wes Mathews is a good player who had a poor Game 1. Brandon Roy is a total wild card. His injuries knocked him down from a potential Top 10 player, to the team’s 7th man.

As poor as Dirk’s supporting cast is, I believe in this series, he can win 3 games while his supporting cast can take 1. Hey J. Kidd had 24 points in Game 1. Jason Terry is capable of 30 one night, and I’m probably the only person in the country that thinks Shawn Marion could slap up a 20-12 in one of these games.

#4 Thunder vs. #5 Nuggets (107-103, OKC 1-0)

This is the series (outside of Boston-New York obviously) that I am the most interested in watching, and will find ways to be in front of the TV for every minute.

Funny how the 4 playoff teams that really changed at the deadline are involved in 2 series. The Nuggets made a franchise altering deal with the Knicks, and the Celtics shocked their own fans… and players, by trading with the Thunder. A couple months later and you get Celtics-Knicks and Thunder-Nuggets.

I like watching Perkins play. I never, ever, thought I would say that. I yelled at every moving offensive screen, every time he put it on the floor near the basket and did his infuriating “gather move.” But now that he’s gone, I’m like, “Wow look at that screen! Did you see that board? There’s the scowl!” The question remains with OKC, how far can Durant-Westbrook carry them as their only offensive options?

As for Denver, it’s amazing how they don’t have a single star player but can still go a legit 11 deep with each guy bringing their own flavor. George Karl has them meshing well, but you got to wonder if it’s just a fun regular season team that surprised, only to bow out in the playoffs.

If the first weekend is any indication of how the rest of the 2011 post season is going to be, we are in store for one of the all time greatest. I’ll be back throughout the playoffs with scattered thoughts.

2010-11 NBA Predictions

Yes, 3 games are in the books, but I still am going to release my 2010-2011 NBA Predictions. Proof that I came up with this list prior to last night, I have the Heat winning the East. Here are the playoff teams and winner of each conference, a finals winner, MVP, 6th Man, Rookie of the Year, D-Player, Most Improved, All-NBA 1st-3rd teams, and All-Rookie 1st and 2nd teams.

Eastern Conference Finish:

1. Miami Heat
2. Orlando Magic
3. Boston Celtics
4. Chicago Bulls
5. Atlanta Hawks
6. Milwaukee Bucks
7. Charlotte Bobcats
8. Indiana Pacers

Heat over Celtics

Western Conference Finish:

1. Los Angeles Lakers
2. Oklahoma City Thunder
3. Utah Jazz
4. Dallas Mavericks
5. Portland Trail Blazers
6. San Antonio Spurs
7. Houston Rockets
8. Los Angeles Clippers

Thunder over Lakers

Finals: Thunder over Heat

Individual Awards:

MVP: Kevin Durant, Thunder

6th Man: Jason Terry, Mavericks

D-Player: Dwight Howard, Magic

Most Improved: Jrue Holiday, 76ers

Rookie: Blake Griffin, Clippers

All-Rookie 1st Team:
Blake Griffin, Clippers
John Wall, Wizards
DeMarcus Cousins, Kings
Landry Fields, Knicks
Jordan Crawford, Hawks

All-Rookie 2nd Team:
Evan Turner, 76ers
Wes Johnson, T-Wolves
Derrick Caracter, Lakers
Xavier Henry, Grizzlies
Greg Monroe, Pistons

All-NBA 1st Team:
Kobe Bryant, Lakers
Deron Williams, Jazz
Kevin Durant, Thunder
LeBron James, Heat
Dwight Howard, Magic

All-NBA 2nd Team:
Rajon Rondo, Celtics
Dwyane Wade, Heat
Dirk Nowitzki, Mavericks
Paul Pierce, Celtics
Pau Gasol, Lakers

All-NBA 3rd Team:
Derrick Rose, Bulls
Russell Westbrook, Thunder
Carmelo Anthony, Nuggets
Tim Duncan, Spurs
Al Jefferson, Jazz

Enjoy what should be a great NBA season.

-Keefe

Why the Celtics Can Win the 2011 NBA Title

When the Celtics finished 50-32 and in 4^th place in the Eastern Conference last year, no one thought they would be just minutes away from winning their 2^nd championship in 3 years. They’re too old. They won’t be able to compete with LeBron’s Cavs, Dwight’s Magic, or certainly Kobe’s Lakers. Well they broke up Cleveland, took down Orlando, and nearly beat the defending champs from LA. Here’s why they can go all the way this year.

Depth. This team, since 2007-2008 has always had the best or second best starting lineup in the NBA. Rondo-Ray-Pierce-KG-Perk have never lost a playoff series when starting together, as Doc likes to point out. But they’re second unit has never been confused with the league’s best bench mob.

Sure they have gotten great contributions from the likes of James Posey, P.J. Brown, Glen Davis, Eddie House, Rasheed Wallace, and Nate Robinson since the Big 3 has been here, but consistent great play from the subs has been elusive.

The loss of Kendrick Perkins for perhaps half the season, was an obvious concern for this team. How would they fill the void? Danny Ainge and the front office not only made sure they replaced Perk, but also the retiring Rasheed Wallace, making the decision to bring in extra pieces and not merely wait for Perk to return from knee surgery and rehab.

In addition to the now Big 4 of Rondo-Ray-Pierce-KG, the C’s have added Shaquille O’Neal, Jermaine O’Neal, and 2008 2^nd round pick, Turkish center Semih Erden to grab rebounds, bang bodies, and do the ugly stuff.

The team re-signed Glen Davis, Nate Robinson, and Marques Daniels, brought back Delonte West, brought in Von Wafer and drafted Avery Bradley and Luke Harongody. It was a busy off season for the Celtics, not one where they were just happy to win the East and play the Lakers close.

Obviously just having depth is not enough to win an NBA title. The C’s still have their star-power as well. Paul Pierce, and maybe I am a little biased here, is a Top 10 player in the league. Ray Allen is a Top 5 shooter, and Kevin Garnett can still anchor a defense and score on the majority of bigs in the league.

As for Rajon Rondo? After getting cut from the World Championship team… I mean leaving because of a sick relative… he is out to prove a point. He has always played well against the biggest name PGs in the league, Chris Paul, Deron Williams, Tony Parker, Steve Nash, Jason Kidd, etc., but now you have to add all the players who won Gold instead of him, Russell Westbrook, Chauncey Billups, Stephen Curry, and most notably Bulls PG Derrick Rose.

I expect a monster season from Rondo to go along with more of the same from the rest of the starting lineup and a much improved bench, which of course should allow KG to not have to play crazy minutes in the regular season.

The Celtics also do not possess any major weaknesses that other clubs, specifically the Heat, Magic, Thunder, and Lakers can exploit. Rebounding was an issue last season, (25^th in rebounding differential), but the additions they have made should help solve that problem.

The C’s have the depth, star-power, and experience to win the NBA title this season. They also know, despite whatever there contracts say, this might be the last chance.



-Keefe

Celtics vs. Lakers

Tonight is Game 1 of the NBA Finals, and for the second time in three years it will be Celtics vs. Lakers. It is the 12th time in league history that the championship game is between these two franchises.

Match ups: BOS vs. LAL

PG: Rajon Rondo vs. Derek Fisher
SG: Ray Allen vs. Kobe Bryant
SF: Paul Pierce vs. Ron Artest
PF: Kevin Garnett vs. Pau Gasol
C: Kendrick Perkins vs. Andrew Bynum

Bench: Rasheed Wallace, Glen Davis, Tony Allen, Nate Robinson vs. Lamar Odom, Shannon Brown, Jordan Farmar, Sasha Vujacic

Head Coach: Doc Rivers (1 title) vs. Phil Jackson (10 titles)

Total Titles: Celtics 17 - Lakers 15

Head to Head in Finals: Celtics 9 - Lakers 2


Keefe's Pick: Celtics in 6; Rajon Rondo MVP

Keefe's 2009-2010 NBA Preview: Western Conference

Believe it or not the NBA season kicks off tomorrow night with can't miss double header on TNT. Kevin Garnett (healthy-ish), Paul Pierce, and Ray Allen take on LeBron James and his new teammate Shaquille O'Neal as the Cavs host the Celtics. Then the defending champion Lakers with new small forward Ron Artest face this year's #1 pick Blake Griffin and the Clippers in an all LA showdown. (Normally the Clippers would be hard to justify as being a part of a can't miss double dip, but with Griffin, an in shape Baron Davis, Marcus Camby, and of course an 0-0 record with the whole season ahead of them, I'm going to include them.

I'm going to break down my NBA Preview into 3 parts; Western Conference, Eastern Conference, and Awards. For each conference I will rank the teams 1-15 in the order I believe they will finish then go team-by-team with a quick look of "Who's Returning," "Who's New," and basically why they will finish in X place. Let's dive right in with a look at the West.

Western Conference

1. San Antonio Spurs
2. Los Angeles Lakers
3. Dallas Mavericks
4. Utah Jazz
5. New Orleans Hornets
6. Portland Trail Blazers
7. Denver Nuggets
8. Oklahoma City Thunder
9. Golden State Warriors
10. Los Angeles Clippers
11. Houston Rockets
12. Phoenix Suns
13. Memphis Grizzlies
14. Minnesota Timberwolves
15. Sacramento Kings

1. Spurs
Who's Back: Tim Duncan, Tony Parker, Manu Ginobili, Roger Mason, Matt Bonner
Who's New: Richard Jefferson, Antonio McDyess, DeJuan Blair

The Spurs to me, are the team to beat. All the attention will be on the Lakers, as it should being the defending champs, but look at what San Antonio did in the off season. Adding a scorer like RJ with size and intellegence of McDyess, then getting the steal of the draft in the 2nd round with Blair. Unreal. If Manu is healthy they are my pick.

2. Lakers
Who's Back: Kobe Bryant, Pau Gasol, Lamar Odom, Andrew Bynum, Derek Fisher, Jordan Farmar, Sasha Vujacic, Luke Walton
Who's New: Ron Artest

The Champs basically swapped Trevor Ariza for Ron Arest. Who's a better player, easy it's Artest, but who's a better fit, we will see. You can't top what Ariza helped do last year (win a title). Artest will be asked to play D and hit the open 3, and you know it will always being interesting when Ron is involved.

3. Mavericks
Who's Back: Dirk Nowitzki, Jason Kidd, Josh Howard, Jason Terry, Erick Dampier, J.J. Barea (shout out Northeastern)
Who's New: Shawn Marion, Drew Gooden, Tim Thomas

It's not a young team. They know they need to win now. It will be fun to see how they match up with the Lakers & Spurs, the two teams that are standing in the way of the rest of the teams on this list. Maybe it's just my obsession with Marion, and him once again playing with a terrific passing point guard but I think the Mavs can be great. Do you think this lineup will cause match up problems galore for opposing teams: Kidd, Terry, Howard, Marion, Dirk... yeah me too.

4. Jazz
Who's Back: Everyone
Who's New: No one

Jerry Sloan brings back the entire crew, for better or worse. Paul Millsap can afford his own meals now, but he'll still likely come off the bench behind Carlos Boozer who is clearly the X factor on this team. Deron Williams is the 2nd best point guard in the league, and he and Boozer can be a deadly 1-2 punch, if Boozer is healthy and plays with some fire.

5. Hornets
Who's Back: Chris Paul, David West, Peja Stojakovic, Mo-Pete, James Posey, Julien Wright, Hilton Armstrong
Who's New: Emeka Okafor

Okafor for Tyson Chandler should give the Hornets more scoring and consistency. I like the move bringing in a double-double machine, takes pressure off of David West as well. How good can Chris Paul be? (22.8 points, 11 assists, 5.5 rebounds, 2.77 steals last year).

6. Trail Blazers
Who's Back: Brandon Roy, LaMarcus Aldridge, Greg Oden, Rudy Fernandez, Travis Outlaw, The Vanilla Gorilla Joel Pryzbilla, Nicolas Batum
Who's New: Andre Miller

I've read a lot of people saying they don't like the Andre Miller move. I'm not ready to write it off. Portland almost landed Hedo Turkoglu in the off season, but that likely would have sent Rudy Fernandez back to Spain, I'm calling a monster year out of Rudy.

7. Nuggets
Who's Back: Carmelo Anthony, Chauncey Billups, Nene, Kenyon Martin, J.R. Smith, Birdman, Renaldo Balkman
Who's New: Aaron Afflalo, Ty Lawson

They won't be as good as they were last year, but still a playoff team in my mind simply because they have Melo and Billups. 7th and 8th seed looks like a terrible place to be, you have to play either the Lakers or Spurs and you miss out on the lottery.

8. Thunder
Who's Back: Kevin Durant, Russell Westbrook, Jeff Green, Nenad Krstic, Nick Collison, Thabo Sefolosha, Shaun Livingston
Who's New: James Harden

Might not be ready to make the step to the post season this year, but I'm going to take them sneaky into the 8th spot. One of the most fun teams in the league to watch with rising superstar Kevin Durant. I also absolutely love the pick of James Harden as well. OKC lucked out with Memphis taking Hasheem Thabeet, because that made sure the Thunder didn't make that mistake.

9. Warriors
Who's Back: Monta Ellis, Stephen Jackson, Anthony Randolph, Andris Biedrins, Corey Maggette, Anthony Morrow, Kelenna Azubuike
Who's New: Stephen Curry

Golden State is a tough team to predict. They could finish as high as 6th or as low as 13th. I'll put them at 9, I love their style, fun to watch. I'm not as high on Curry as most. (Stephen Curry pronounced Steph-En, spelled same way as Stephen Jackson, pronounced Steven... someones wrong.)

10. Clippers
Who's Back: Baron Davis, Eric Gordon, Al Thornton, Marcus Camby, Chris Kamen, Ricky Davis
Who's New: Blake Griffin, Sebastian Telfair, Rasual Butler, Craig Smith

The talent is there, but so is Mike Dunleavy. If Baron doesn't mail it in and Camby and Kamen stay relatively healthy this could be a playoff team with the addition of the only can't miss rookie in last June's draft.

11. Rockets
Who's Back: Aaron Brooks, Shane Battier, Luis Scola, Chuck Hayes, Carl Landry, Kyle Lowry
Who's New: Trevor Ariza, Chase Budinger, David Andersen
Who's Hurt: Yao Ming, Tracy McGrady

The Warriors were the toughest team in the West to predict, the Rockets are just the toughest team in the West. They fought hard in the playoffs last year even without Yao and T-Mac. Sure they could do it again, but 82 games is a long season, their lack of talent has to catch up with them.

12. Suns
Who's Back: Steve Nash, Amare Stoudemire, Jason Richardson, Grant Hill, Leandro Barbosa
Who's New: Channing Frye, Earl Clark

Steve Kerr = great shooter, awesome color commentator, horrible GM. Too bad because it was fun to watch Steve Nash on a good team.

13. Grizzlies
Who's Back: Rudy Gay, O.J. Mayo, Marc Gasol, Mike Conley, Darrell Arthur
Who's New: Zach Randolph, Allen Iverson, Hasheem Thabeet, Sam Young

Wow. I count 4 guys who can get you 22+ points per game, but how many will when they're all playing together. Say what you want but I would be hard pressed to turn away from a game that had Gay, Mayo, AI, and Randolph playing together. Of course I'll be hard pressed to find a Grizzlies game unless I spring for the League Pass. I don't like the Thabeet pick as I mentioned before, not a horrible player, but #2 overall that's tough to live up too. Also I bet Bill Simmons could be right about contender getting Rudy Gay for 50 cents on the dollar during the year.

14. Timberwolves
Who's Back: Al Jefferson, Kevin Love, Corey Brewer, Ryan Gomes
Who's New: Jonny Flynn, Ramon Session, Wayne Ellington, Damien Wilkins, Ryan Hollins

Kurt Rambis takes over a team that had 24 wins last season and completely botched the 2009 NBA Draft. Ricky Rubio will be playing over seas for the next couple of years while the T-Wolves continue to lose games and look bad doing it. Al Jefferson back from injury... player prop for you: Jefferson Points + Rebounds per game over/under Minnesota Wins + 10.

15. Kings
Who's Back: Kevin Martin, Jason Thompson, Spencer Hawes, Andres Nocioni, Beno Udrih, Francisco Garcia
Who's New: Tyreke Evans, Jon Brockman, Desmond Mason

The Kings are terrible. Martin can score, and I think Evans will have great rookie numbers because not 1 of his games will matter. Is it too soon to start working out John Wall, Derrick Favors, and DeMarcus Cousins?


There you have it the 2009-2010 Western Conference through the eyes of Rich Keefe. I'll have the breakdown of the Eastern Conference coming soon.

-Keefe

FINISH HIM! (or her)

Something to pass the time... I'm sitting here watching the Lakers run away with Game 7 against the Rockets and waiting for Celtics/ Magic Game 7. Stumbled across this the other day, and I know you will all enjoy it.

Mortal Kombat Fatalities



Just some great stuff there. I was always partial to Scorpion and Sub-Zero. The damn Scorpion finisher where he takes his mask off and spits fire (53 seconds in) is just (up-up-start), seems easy enough, but it's not. You're jumping, getting frustrated then the guy you just beat falls weakly to the ground. If those weren't enough we got more below.



The Lakers just lifted off their mask and blew fire on Houston. I hope the Celtics can do the same in a few hours.

-Keefe

Ron Artest is the Man

There's more to this interview, but it's not posted on youtube yet. Artest talks about how fighting was a part of basketball when he played in high school and on the streets, but he's done with that now. He tells a story where his friend was killed during a game. Incredible. He's grown up. And he really has. I become a bigger fan of this guy the more I see him. I don't think he should have been tossed last night, and it's clear if the Rockets are going to pull this upset he is going to have to stay on the court.

I don't think there is a bigger bad ass in the NBA today. You got to love how Barkley always jokes about guys who get in each others faces during a game, and he always says, "Ernie, these guys are lovers... They can't fight." But when it comes to Ron Artest, Barkley says, "He can play with me anytime." Talk about respect.

And Artest isn't just some tough guy, he can play. He carried them to the Game 1 win and had 25 points before being wrongfully tossed last night. If he is further punished it will be a crime. The league is looking at Ron, Kobe, and Fisher heading into Game 3.

Best series in the playoffs right now, hope you're staying up and watching it.

Side note: If you were going to make a Top 10 list of NBA players you would not want to fight, would Artest be on there like 4 times? 5?

Off the top of my head...
1. Ron Artest
2. Ron Artest
3. Ron Artest
4. Ron Artest
5. Kenyon Martin
6. Dwight Howard
7. Reggie Evans
8. Kendrick Perkins
9. Nene (he's got to know jui-jitsu)
10. Udonis Haslem


-Keefe

Celtics vs. Lakers: From 1987 to 2008

-Keefe

For the first time in 21 years the Boston Celtics will meet the Los Angeles Lakers in the NBA Finals. It’s the match up everyone outside of Detroit and San Antonio wanted to see, and the way the Pistons played the 4th quarter in Game 6 and the Spurs effort, maybe everyone wanted another Celtics Lakers Final. This is the 11th time these two franchises will meet for the League’s Championship, with Boston holding an 8-2 advantage. Of course since their last meeting, over two decades ago, a lot has changed. The Lakers won in ’87, and added 4 more titles and 7 (8 counting this year) more appearances in the Final. Meanwhile the Celtics failed to win the championship, and have not made it back until this season.

In the years following the 1987 Finals both teams experienced unimaginable events that affected their franchises. The tragic death of Reggie Lewis and the diagnosis that Magic Johnson was HIV positive rattled not just the Celtics and Lakers, but the entire NBA. But it was the Lakers who were able to not be labeled, simply a great team of the 80’s, known solely by their storied history. The Lakers beat the Celtics in ’87, then captured back-to-back championships for the first time in Los Angeles’ history in ’88 beating the Isiah Pistons in 7 games, right before Detroit won two in a row. They made another Finals run in ’91 with Magic but without Coach Pat Riley. As we all know they lost to Jordan’s Bulls as that era began, and Magic and the Showtime Lakers were never made it out of the West again.

The 90’s ran out and Phil Jackson teamed up with a 27 year old Shaquille O’Neal and a 21 year old Kobe Bryant. LA ripped off 3 straight titles led by Shaq and Kobe. The Lakers were back! They beat the Pacers, 76ers, and Nets a combined 12-3 in three consecutive NBA Finals. A run at a 4th banner was derailed by Tim Duncan, Tony Parker, and yes Stephen Jackson the next year. In 2004, Karl Malone and Gary Payton joined forces in attempt to win their first ring, reminiscent of Charles Barkley teaming up with Hakeem and Drexler in Houston. The All-Star Lakers did make the Finals, but lost to Billups, Rip, the Wallaces, and Detroit. Phil Jackson left the next year and the team failed to make the post season. Upon his arrival the Lakers returned to the playoffs only to bow out in the 1st round his first two seasons back, but now here they are, the favorites to win the NBA title.

What about the Celtics? What happened to them following the 1987 Final? Boston remained very competitive between 88-93, always finishing with a winning record and making the playoffs. Larry Bird retired after an injury plagued ’92 season that ended in a Game 7 loss in the Eastern Conference Semifinals to Mark Price, Brad Daugherty, and the Cavs. It was then Reggie Lewis’ team. He made the 1992 All-Star team, and averaged 20.8 points per game in each of his final two seasons. The year after Lewis’s death, the Celtics were 32-50, and missed out on the playoffs. From 94-01, Boston was a combined 241-383, making the playoffs just once, and losing in the 1st round. The weakness of the Eastern Conference and the skill of Paul Pierce and Antoine Walker did equal one conference finals run where they lost in 6 games to Jason Kidd and the Nets. This year’s Finals run came off of a well documented 24 win season where they were openly trying to get Greg Oden or Kevin Durant. Had they got the number 1 or number 2 pick, who knows how many more years the Finals draught would have lasted.

Let’s take a closer look at the Celtics and Lakers in the past 21 seasons. (This takes into account everything after the Lakers win in the 1987 Finals over Boston).

NBA Championships:

Celtics – 0
Lakers – 4

Finals Appearances (counting 2008):

Celtics – 1
Lakers – 8

Years in the Playoffs:

Celtics – 12/21
Lakers – 19/21

Losing Seasons:

Celtics – 11
Lakers – 3

Coaches:

Celtics – 8 (K.C. Jones, Jimmy Rodgers, Chris Ford, Rick Pitino, Jim O’Brien, John Carroll, Doc Rivers.)

Lakers – 11 (Pat Riley, Mike Dunleavy, Randy Pfund, Bill Bertka, Magic Johnson, Del Harris, Kurt Rambis, Phil Jackson (2x), Rudy Tomjanovich, Frank Hamblen.)

All-Stars Players:

Celtics – 9 (Larry Bird, Kevin McHale, Danny Ainge, Robert Parish, Reggie Lewis, Antoine Walker, Paul Pierce, Kevin Garnett, Ray Allen.)

Lakers – 8 (Magic Johnson, Kareem Abdul- Jabbar, James Worthy, A.C. Green, Eddie Jones, Nick Van Exel, Shaquille O’Neal, Kobe Bryant.)

Best Trade:

Celtics – Al Jefferson, Sebastian Telfair, Gerald Green, Ryan Gomes, Theo Ratliff, and draft picks for Kevin Garnett.

Lakers – Javaris Crittenton, Kwame Brown, Aaron McKie, rights to Marc Gasol, and draft picks for Pau Gasol.

Worst Trade:

Celtics – Joe Johnson, Randy Brown, Milt Palacio, and 1st round pick for Rodney Rogers and Tony Delk. Also Chauncey Billups for Kenny Anderson.

Lakers – Caron Butler for Kwame Brown.

Diehard Fan:

Celtics – Donnie Wahlberg
Lakers – Jack Nicholson

Well as you can see these two proud franchises have taken different routes from 1987 to make this rematch happen here in 2008. I truly believe these are the best two teams in all of basketball and deserve to be here. After Ray Allen and Kevin Garnett joined the Celtics there were rumblings that, in the East, this team has a shot at the Finals. Then during the season, once Kobe decided he wanted to stay in LA, the Lakers had their young big man Andrew Bynum go down forcing them to hit the market. The beginning of February the Lakers made the most 1 sided trade in sports history (least in the conversation), and suddenly there was a legit chance of a Celtics-Lakers Final four months later. It gets started on Thursday in Boston and I am ready to go.

Early lean: Celtics in 7.