While Mayweather Talks of Race, Jeremy Lin is the People's Champ

This has wrestling promo written all over it.


Floyd Mayweather is flapping his gums again about something he isn't qualified to talk about.  The controversial boxer saw fit to say that Jeremy Lin, the point guard wunderkind of the New York Knicks, is only getting positive press because he's Asian.  Mayweather, the same guy who fought at Wrestlemania a few years back.  Mayweather, who has teased us with a match against Manny Pacquiao for ages, Rock-Cena style.

Jeremy Lin, in wrestling terms, is over with the fans as a babyface.

Prediction:  Mayweather makes a few more unflattering comments about Lin until Pacquiao, who has been assaulted by anti-Asian Mayweather comments in the past, steps in and challenges Mayweather to a match at Wrestlemania this year.  The match is even for 12 rounds when out of nowhere, Lin clocks Mayweather with a steel chair, giving Pacquiao the victory.


Lin's reign atop New York may be about as dramatic as a well-sold wrestling promo right now, but his play warrants the hype .  As was mentioned in the above article, Lin is the first NBA player in history- counting black, white, yellow, brown, green, aqua, maroon, pink, and emerald players- to drop at least 20 points and seven assists in each of his first four starts.  His Steve Nashian ability to allow his teammates to settle into their comfort zones while he takes care of the rest has propelled New York recently.


In short, there's a reason Lin has recently wrestled headlines away from all of the other main event talents, from Kobe Bryant to Deron Williams to Ricky Rubio.  He's that damn good.


Mayweather should know that.  Love him or hate him, Mayweather is a great talent in his sport.  But real is supposed to recognize real, not randomly spatter it with racist remarks over social media with absolutely no provocation.


Either Mayweather is a real-life heel, or wrestling feuds are real.

A Team of the NBA's Upper-Middle Class

With an impending lockout and the NBA's middle class in possible danger, I've decided to create a team for next year full of players that didn't make the 2011 all-star team.  It's simply toying around and seeing how high-quality that middle class is, so salary will be ignored.  The team will only be built for next season, not for seasons thereafter.  Finally, both talent and fit will be considered.  

The best player in the league who wasn't selected to be an all-star last year was Steve Nash.  Nash, even at an advanced age, can still anchor a great offense if he has competent pieces to work with.  I'm building around the two-time MVP.

I'd go after a rim protector to pair with Nash; it's something he never had when Phoenix was contending, and it usually cost the Suns when they faced bigger teams like San Antonio or 2006 Dallas.  Dwight Howard would be my first choice, but by some voting blunder, he was an all-star last year; Tyson Chandler gets the nod.

My next two needs are an additional perimeter creator and a frontcourt scorer who can post and play pick-n-roll.  Eric Gordon can pass, shoot from 3, and slash; he can play off Nash while also being able to take pressure off of him.  LaMarcus Aldridge plays pick-n-roll beautifully, and this past season, he transformed into a formidable low-post scorer.

Finally, I need a premier perimeter defender.  Andre Iguodala is my choice.  He's arguably the best perimeter defender in the league and a great glue guy who can finish Nash's passes.

The team looks similar to the 2008 New Orleans Hornets.  The Nash/Paul comparison goes without saying, and Chandler is...Chandler.  Aldridge is a better version of David West; his big advantage is going into the post.  The weakness of that Hornets team was on the wing, as they had poor perimeter defenders and no ball-handling to take pressure off CP3.  Iggy and Gordon shore those aspects up and give the team added versatility.

Tyson Chandler
LaMarcus Aldridge
Andre Iguodala
Eric Gordon
Steve Nash

Nash and Gordon can space the floor with their 3-point shooting, while Aldridge spreads the floor with his mid-range game.  Iggy is at least a threat from outside, and Chandler cleans everything up inside.  Aldridge is my post scorer in the half-court.  Good luck stopping this team on the break.  

I sacrificed better rebounding for superior defense, range, and pick-n-pop play by taking LMA over Zach Randolph.  Chandler went over Andrew Bynum, Andrew Bogut, and Marcin Gortat because he's simply more proven in his role.  Iggy went over Luol Deng, Rudy Gay, and Danny Granger because he's the best defender, the best defensive rebounder (which was necessary when I took LMA over Randolph), and the best passer of the four.  Gordon got the nod over Monta Ellis and James Harden because he's a better defender than Ellis (especially next to Nash) and he's a better 3-point shooter than Harden (would have loved the beard though).

My second team/bench would probably be Bogut/Randolph/Deng/Harden/Wall.

The starting lineup is good enough to win a championship, especially if it gets some of the second-team guys to come off the bench.

My Pick for 2011 NBA MVP

The last three MVPs have gone to these two.

My butt is moving people and I'm sitting on the hot seat.  I'm boxing out the specter of the voters, positioning myself in their spot, and getting deep into this post.  Interior design is mine this time.  Call me the The Big Right Block Voter.

My 2011 NBA MVP is...going to be given at this post's conclusion, after I've figured out who it is.  Undecided is what I am at this point.  A decidedly victorious player may not ascend above the rest, but I'll try my best to unpack what an NBA MVP is and who is most deserving this year.  Choose the best answer.  I apologize to those losing electrolytes after flashing back to standardized testing.  Go drink Jordan's elixir.

What is, and isn't, an NBA MVP?  

An NBA MVP is the transcendental signifier of his particular team, the base upon which the concepts and principles of a successful team are presumed and carried out.  Being part of the equation for a team isn't enough to be MVP; the player needs to be the logic upon which the equation- the team's makeup itself- is based on.

It's kind of weird.  An NBA MVP needs to have the perfect blend of being a great player, having a great supporting cast that allows the player to flourish by allowing him to carry the maximum possible weight for the team, have that supporting cast give enough help to maximize the results of his efforts (and have those results look good relative to the league's other teams), and not have a similarly talented base, or constant, on his team.  It's incredibly difficult to win titles this way.  MVP winners usually aren't on title teams. It takes one hell of a blend to accomplish that dish.

The Most Valuable Player award is such a simple yet descriptive title for an achievement.  Beautiful language.  Refusing to put the word "best" into the title should make confusion regarding what the award represents dissipate.  Steve Nash may not have been a top five player in the league in 2005.  But he was more valuable to his team than anybody else was to theirs, which is why I had Nash as my MVP that season.

LeBron James has been the best player on the planet for three consecutive regular seasons, and a legitimate MVP candidate on his hilariously flawed 2009 and 2010 Cleveland teams.  This season, he's been slightly better than ever before in my opinion.  But he isn't really relevant in this year's MVP race.

LeBron's Irrelevance, and Why it's so Relevant to Talk About

James joined forces with Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh last summer, ushering Miami into the South Beach Experiment era.  One of the hyped critiques of the move was how exactly James and Wade would fit with each other since they essentially fill the same role.  They are elite-level offensive anchors at the wing position who are solid defensive pieces.  Ignore for a minute the diminishing returns that this duo would suffer in theory.  What is the need for them on this Heat team?

It's reasonable to assume the team is better with both James and Wade acting as co-anchors of the offense.  When one isn't in the game or if one is having an off night, the team can rely on the other to counter deficiencies.  They've even been learning how to work together, using pick-n-roll plays and the like.  But what would the team look like without one of them?  Surely the team wouldn't rise to 58 victories on the back of high-end talent.  Bosh and Wade or Bosh and James aren't as good as James, Bosh and Wade (obviously).  But take one of those two off the team, and the Heat can still create a successful equation based on the Constant offensive anchor that is James or Wade, with Bosh as a dependable secondary option.  Add in the 3-point shooters and dedication to defense that head coach Erik Spoelstra could institute given the fact that Wade or James with Bosh would be doing the heavy lifting on offense, and you likely get a solid- flawed, but solid- 50 win team.  They'd be less compelling as a contender in the playoffs, but they'd still be pretty good.

The current construction of the Miami Heat is flawed, especially with their holes at center and point guard.  James and Wade and Bosh needed to produce a lot for this team this year, which is why they combined to have more win shares as a trio than any other trio in the league.  The Udonis Haslem and Mike Miller injuries make the job they did even more impressive.  But take Wade or James away and the team can still run using the same principles and operate at a decently high level in the regular season.  Spoelstra wouldn't need to rush to a radically different plan B.

That's why the best players in the league can't win this award in 2011.

Naming the Contenders

Dirk Nowitzki, Steve Nash, Chris Paul, Deron Williams, Derrick Rose, Dwight Howard, Kobe Bryant, Pau Gasol, San Antonio's Big Three, Amar'e Stoudemire, Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook are suitable enough to be at least looked at.

I'm going to eliminate Westbrook, Williams, Stoudemire and Gasol first.  Westbrook isn't as important to the Thunder offense as Durant is.  Durant's super-efficient production of points, particularly coming off-ball, is incredible.  Westbrook, while electric, is prone to making bone-headed decisions and turns the ball over a lot despite not having to carry as much weight offensively as his teammate.  The team has other ball handlers, like Eric Maynor, James Harden, and to a lesser extent, Durant.  Obviously the team would suffer, but I think they'd suffer without Durant a lot more.  Westbrook's defense has regressed a bit, as he gambles way too often now.

Williams was traded mid-season and was injured at his new destination, so it's tough to gauge his value.  Amar'e started off strong, but a mid-season trade changed the dynamic of his team, and they ended up with a lesser record than I had hoped.  Gasol is on the huge frontline of the Lakers, and his normal replacement just won Sixth Man of the Year.  By now, I hope the logic of my choices is becoming clear enough that I don't need to explain why Pau Gasol isn't an MVP candidate.

Paul and Nash are similar.  Both led middling teams with inferior talent.  Both were incredibly valuable to their respective teams.  Neither had the help to get just enough positive results to be contenders here though.  Nash is probably in my top five for most valuable players in NBA history, but his under .500 team hurts him here.

Regarding Boston:  I can't seriously put a Celtic on here.  Rondo is the reason why the offense goes- and stops.  Nobody does enough heavy lifting to be included.  If I had to pick an MVP for that team though, it'd be Garnett.  With the injuries Boston suffered, if they didn't have KG, they'd have a horrific frontcourt.

The overrated Spurs are in a similar situation.  Tim Duncan would be my choice for that team's MVP because he makes the team respectable defensively with his shot-blocking and rebounding.  However, I think Manu Ginobili and Tony Parker's offense create the incredible offense that the Spurs displayed.  If you take one of those two away, I don't think the other players, including Duncan, could pick up the slack.  That would make the Spurs a lesser offensive team, and since the team isn't built to play strong defense anymore, I believe the effects of not having a Parker or a Ginobili would be significant.  Nobody's important enough.

This leaves Durant, Bryant, Nowitzki, Rose and Howard.

The Fab Five

And this time, their accomplishments will count!

Let's start with the Black Mamba.  Offensively, Kobe needs to shoulder an immense load initiating, scoring, handling the ball and making plays for others.  On his blog, ElGee notes that Kobe's offensive responsibility is gigantic, second to another remaining player, Derrick Rose.  Remember that fact.

  L.A. is a difficult team to gauge because they are an older team, a tired two-time champion that is known to coast at times during the regular season.  Observing them is a chore simply because you never know if and when they are operating at their highest level.  Are they badly equipped for the regular season?  Are they badly equipped for the regular season without Kobe?

Dr. MJ talked about Kobe's impact here, citing the fact that he doesn't lift his team as much as other superstars which at the very least indicates that he isn't as valuable to his particular team as they are to their respective teams.  Now, an argument against me using Doc's argument is that a player can't lift a talented team that high- a damning argument against Kobe if we're positing that Kobe's team is talented- except that there is a profound concentration of the team's top-end talent in the frontcourt.  Kobe's presence balances things out for L.A.- ironic if you've followed Kobe's career.

Kobe would be my MVP.  But...Derrick Rose has a similar problem with his team.  The difference is Rose doesn't even have that concentration of high-end talent at any position on his team- offensively anyway.  He also doesn't have anybody who can handle the ball.  At least L.A. has Lamar Odom and the point guards to bring the ball past half court.  Pau Gasol can create a bit in the half court.  Chicago's best ball-handler not named after a flower (as far as I know) is Earl Watson, who isn't a high-minutes player.

Two of the Fab Five. 

At least L.A. has the talent in the frontcourt and some ball handlers.  Sorry Kobe, but your team isn't flawed enough.

Nowitzki and Durant are similar.  The main value they bring is efficient off-ball perimeter scoring that essentially opens things up inside and outside for the peripheral players.  Nowitzki's team has more depth, while Durant has more players named Westbrook.  Dallas seemed to really struggle without Dirk this year, which would give Dirk the edge over KD.  However, if you take KD off his newly formed team, you'd lose any frontcourt scoring, or positive effects of frontcourt offense outside of Serge Ibaka's off-ball game, that exists.  Number-one option Westbrook is a bad fit with the interior based Ibaka-Kendrick Perkins frontcourt; he'd have been better with Jeff Green and Nenad Krstic.  After that trade, Durant is more valuable than ever.  His ability to spread the floor, allow Westbrook to do other things, and produce volume scoring from a non-backcourt position makes the offense work.

Still, I don't see either of those two forwards doing what Rose needs to do.  Think about it like this:  Rose essentially plays two positions for the Bulls.  He's the volume scoring threat and the floor-general point guard.  The run he's on has been compared to 2001 Allen Iverson's MVP run, but I reject that comparison.  Iverson wasn't the ball hog that season that people like to characterize him as- otherwise, how did Eric Snow and Aaron McKie manage 7.4 and 5.0 assists per game, respectively?  Philly could at least run some offense and get the ball up the floor.  Rose doesn't have anybody who averages over 2.8 assists per game on his team.  Rose plays two positions for the Bulls on offense- he's Allen Iverson, and he's Eric Snow.

That brings us to Dwight Howard.  Howard has improved by leaps and bounds this year, turning his mechanical offensive game into a confident-looking, fluidly effective source of points for his Orlando team.  The Magic had clearly regressed in the beginning of the year as Rashard Lewis and Vince Carter struggled.  Howard kept the team afloat.  The team traded those two, along with his backup, Marcin Gortat, for Gilbert Arenas, Jason Richardson, and Hedo Turkoglu.  Hedo and J-Rich have been solid, while Arenas has put up a disappointing 8 point per game on woeful percentages.  Howard got the team to 52 wins with his 22.9 points and 14.1 rebounds per game, along with DPOY-type defense.

Who rebounds for that team?  Orlando has the best defensive rebounding percentage in the league this season, a crucial part of their defense.  I happen to think Orlando's team defense, orchestrated by Stan Van Gundy, would be greater than the sum of its parts without Dwight.  But rebounding is part of defense, and you can only scheme so much for "I'm bigger than you."

Orlando would drop off offensively as well.  A big part of their offense is their eFG%, but without Howard's efficient post scoring, what happens to that stat?  I think Orlando sans Dwight Howard would be a less explosive version of last year's Golden State Warriors, with better defense.  That's not a very good team.  Solid, but not very good.  Kinda sucks actually.

Chicago?  Without Rose, the team's offense sputters.  They were a bit above average this year with Rose.  Without him, they'd turn the ball over even more than they did (they were pedestrian in terms of turnovers this year).  Their claim to offensive fame was offensive rebounding, but you need to get shots up to get offensive boards, and it helps to have a guy drawing attention 18 feet away from the basket.  Intuitively, their league-leading eFG% Against would go up since they'd be turning the ball over more often.  Their defense would suffer without their two-positions-in-one star, and that isn't even taking into account Rose's stellar defense this season.

Above average defense and nearly league worst offense.  Well, that likely results in a team better than Orlando without Howard, but that doesn't solve much considering Rose's team did win more games than Dwight's.

It's Rose's effects on offense as a double-duty star that are so great that it spills into the team's awesome defense vs. Howard's all-around effects on defensive possessions and scoring efficiency.  Different effects on different teams by different types of players.

At this point, both are viable candidates.  However, my choice for MVP would be Derrick Rose.  Such a concentrated flaw in a team is dangerous, as shown this year in the LeBron-less Cavaliers.  They went from over 60 wins to less than 20.  The balancing act necessary to maintain a respectable team would be enormous if Chicago's base player was taken away.  Howard's departure would obviously hurt, but Rose's departure puts Chicago in a black hole- we don't know where they'd land.

As I said, Howard as MVP is certainly reasonable.  I'm taking Rose strictly because of my belief that the concentration in Rose's effects on Chicago would hurt the Bulls to a greater degree if Rose weren't there.  They'd very much need to change what they are.  The team's principle logic and makeup would dissolve without- well, without its MVP- to a greater degree than Orlando without Howard.

I think my three seconds in the paint are up.... 

NBA Playoffs: First Round Preview, Sizable Questions, and Predictions

It's NBA playoff time, baby.  It’s the pro’s version of March Madness as teams get to scrutinize matchup issues and weaknesses of the opposition in a best-of-seven series. 

Image Via busybuzzblogging.com

Unfortunately, the 2011 playoffs will go on sans a couple of classic, shouldn't-need-to-miss features:  Tracy McGrady's team won't be kicked out of the first round, Steve Nash won't get to demonstrably prove that his style of offense works in the playoffs despite what his detractors say, and NBA audiences won't be listening to analysts comment about how great the Houston Rockets are doing without an injured Yao Ming.  If you can't live in a world where consumption of the information I just spoke of is available to you during most NBA telecasts, then stop reading this article and turn on the NHL playoffs.  If you can make it through and be satisfied with a half-historic/half-experimental playoffs, then follow me!  Don't feel forced though- hopefully my McGrady joke caught your comedic eye enough and you think they'll be more hilarity in the coming paragraphs…a risky proposition. 

Eastern Conference Preview
  In the Eastern Conference, everything is pretty straightforward.  All of the bottom-four teams are competitive squads, but none of them will make the top-four quaver.  Despite what happened in the regular season (ATL taking three out of four), Orlando owns Atlanta to a greater extent than Matthew Mcconaughey owned his lead role in The Lincoln Lawyer (Seriously, watch that movie.  Excellent performance my Matty Mac).  Joe Johnson may be a very rich man, but the constant flow of dollars and sense into his bank account isn't proportional to the offensive consistency and sense that he provides the team he's supposed to lead.  This is the series I see ending in a sweep.  Dwight Howard's prudent concern should be limiting his technical fouls and using his anger at getting hit across the face to run harder, make moves faster, and play defense better than ever.  He's by far the best player in this series, but he's got to remain disciplined. 

A very wise professor (Not making this up and not saying he's wise to play up my narrative regarding a basketball player whom I don't know personally) recently told me that if a person wants real freedom, they need to have discipline.  Howard's ability to control his emotions, even if he needs to use self-deception - pretending that literally every time a call goes against him, it physically boosts his energy- will be the key to not only Howard's success, but Orlando's success.  Orlando is my dark horse pick to win the NBA championship.  But it starts with Howard not picking up technicals in the first round of the playoffs against an easy opponent.  Normally, this series wouldn’t matter.  I think it matters mentally for Orlando, and Dwight in particular.  They’ll obviously win, but it’s the mental aspect that the Magic must capture. 

Mr. MVP Derrick Rose is going to lead his team past Indiana in five games.  Indy is a solid team, but they will simply be overmatched here.  Luol Deng should limit Danny Granger, and Roy Hibbert has neither the game nor the experience to play well against Chicago's tough interior defense.  Darren Collison will have a hard time driving into Chicago Head Coach Tom Thibodeau's playoff defense, a defense which-  when Thibs was in Boston- looked to suffocate perimeter-oriented creators by keying on them and denying them their most effective spots.    

Boston versus New York looks good better on paper.  And I think it will be a good, entertaining series.  The Knicks can legitimately call this a small, nascent rivalry now, regardless of what Paul Pierce thinks.  In professional wrestling (the one with the metamorphic stone who asks people if they can detect the odor of his cooking, the one that Boston's Shaquille O'Neal appeared on in the past...the one you used to watch!  Yeah, admit it!), a rivalry is born when two wrestlers start a feud and produce an emotional reaction in the audience, good or bad.  Knicks against Celtics isn't Yankees against Red Sox yet- that'll only happen when Rajon Rondo throws Walt "Clyde" Frazier to the baseline of MSG during a brawl- but it has some potential.

Both teams have high-end talent, but Boston is the team with an identity and a build.  New York is just figuring it out, and although Amar'e, Melo and Chauncey are an excellent offensive trio, the Knicks will have a hard time slowing down Boston, which shot a league-best 48.6 percent from the field this year.  Now, Boston was below average offensively in terms of offensive rating, which can be attributed to poor offensive rebounds and turnovers (Boston was terrible in these two categories).  However, New York is less than outstanding when it comes to boxing out and defensive rebounding, and the Knicks aren't exactly a bunch of ballhawks out there.  Boston should be fine offensively, and since defense is their team constant, they'll beat New York.

Can Iggy slow Lebron enough?

The South Beach Experiment starts as well.  Philly actually matches up pretty well against Miami, as Andre Iguodala is arguably the best perimeter defender in the NBA.  Having Iggy on Lebron or Wade will slow Miami's offense down.  Elton Brand matches up well against Chris Bosh, who isn't exactly Stone Cold Steve Austin when it comes to being physical.  (Would you look at that?  My memories of wrestling are infiltrating my post.  Maybe after the playoff games are done for the day, a little Wrestlemania XXI via YouTube is in order.)

Still, Miami's defense wins out as Philly doesn't have the offense capable of exposing Miami's weaknesses.  I expect this to go to six games as Miami attempts to find its playoff self while fending off a tough foe coached by the meritorious Doug Collins.  This series is analogous to Boston's 2008 first-round matchup against Atlanta.  Not saying Miami finds itself enough to run through the league to a title, but you get the idea.

Western Conference Preview

Phil, Kobe, and Fisher are looking for their second three-peat together.  They will be tested more this year than either of the previous two years, as the top of the West is stronger than before.  However, they won't need to flip their usual lazy switch just yet.  The Hornets are a solid team with a point guard who is arguably better than the point guard about to win MVP.  The Lakers are terrible at defending point guards, so Paul will get his numbers, but with David West injured, I don't see how New Orleans summons enough firepower to take the Lakers down.  L.A. should rest center Andrew Bynum by using him sparingly and letting the bone bruise in his knee heal up.  They haven't had a healthy Bynum in either of their playoff runs the past two years, yet they've won nonetheless.  That won't happen this year though.  They need a healthy Bynum.  Not for this series, but for future ones.

Perkins gives the Thunder some power.

Oklahoma City is taking on Denver.  This is similar to the South Beach-meets-Liberty Bell series.  Denver's chemistry and a few favorable matchups will make this one of the most exciting series in the first round, and the Nuggets will give the superior talent of the Thunder a rumble they will take with them in future exploits.  With their genius mid-season trade to acquire center Kendrick Perkins, the Thunder have the capability of playing dominant playoff defense.  They have the chemistry and the personnel to do it, while Denver does not.  Kevin Durant was stopped offensively by Ron Artest and L.A.'s supreme length in his first shot at the playoffs, but now he has experience and the luxury of not facing Ron-Ron con defensive Megatron.

In theory, Dallas should dominate Portland.  The Blazers don't have a quick point guard capable of penetrating at will versus the Dallas D, Lamarcus Aldridge is facing a strong interior defense led by Tyson Chandler, and Brandon Roy isn't really Brandon Roy right now.  And yet...I believe this series will be amazing.  Portland, forged out of the Gerald Wallace trade and Aldridge's inspired play after becoming a first-option, is not a team where dissecting matchups makes a whole ton of sense.  I suspect Aldridge scores a ton despite Dallas defending him properly.  All Portland needs is one or two hot nights from one of their peripheral players to win games against Dallas.  I guess I'll take Dallas overall because I feel they are the third best team in the conference after the Lakers and Thunder, but man......I feel like we're all missing something as this series begins.  We need to watch this one closely.

San Antonio is going to lose in their first round series, ending many myths about the Spurs.

Myth 1:  Tim Duncan can still elevate his post-season play.

No, no he cannot.  He hasn't since 2007, and he hasn't consistently been able to on-call since 2006.  Tim Duncan is no longer a playoff offensive constant, and he is only a true co-anchor on defense.  Unfortunately, San Antonio has nobody in their frontcourt backing him up defensively, and their wings aren't great either.  The Spurs cannot expect Tim Duncan to carry them.            

Myth 2:  The Spurs will still be able to play enough defense to win now that they have a strong offense. 

Related to myth one.  Where is the anchor?  San Antonio didn't show signs of playing consistently excellent defense in the regular season, and this particular team hasn't shown an ability to turn a switch on that side of the floor.  There are a lot of new faces since the last time the Spurs relied on dominant defense to get far in April and May. 

Can Duncan still elevate his game?

Myth 3:  Playing the stars at decreased minutes was only to preserve them, and the egalitarian nature of the team's scoring distribution is not a weakness.           

The team has no true offensive constant either.  This is especially true if Ginobili is not playing at his best as a result of the elbow injury he suffered at the end of the season.  If San Antonio is going to be carried by their offense this year in the playoffs, then it won't go far, because their offense won't look like it did in the regular season.  You need to be able to bank on somebody's offense this time of the year, and the Spurs can't.

I'm calling it.  The Grizzlies will take down the Spurs.  Memphis has the ability to punish the Spurs on the offensive glass and make the Spurs walk the ball up, and they have an above average defense that could give a less-than 100 percent healthy Spurs offense trouble.



I'll be back with analysis of Shaq's importance to Boston going forward and of how well built the Thunder may be now with Perkins.  Enjoy the playoffs.  Make sure to watch Portland and Dallas.  And remember to come back and comment on how insane I was for taking Memphis to beat San Antonio- or on how astounding and ballsy a pick I made.