Man, this play is just as good as the most thunderous throwdown by Lebron or Dwight!
Friday, February 26, 2010
Tuesday, February 23, 2010
Pistons finally coming into their own
The Pistons are finally playing with some kind of consistency. We've waited for this since the 5-4 start to the season that had us hoping for a playoff run against one of the elite teams in the East and maybe surprising one or two teams, meanwhile having terrific contracts as potenital trade bait if the right offer was made to Joe Dumars. Well, mainly injuries prevented the plan from happening and after the good start, Detroit decided to drop 21 out of their next 28 games, sporting a 13-game losing streak and generally losing to teams that were very very beatable losing to the Raptors twice for instance.
A losing streak like that usually takes a toll on the players especially when the veterans wo have been leading this team for several years are out and injured and a new hierarchy has to develop. Rodney Stuckey isn't capable of leading this team yet (or ever) and the new additions Ben Gordon and Charlie Villanueva have been struggling with injuries of their own. A lot of people aren't satisfied what those two have shown but what a lot of people also don't understand is that supposedly minor aches can have a big impact on what you are capable of doing. Sprained ankles don't seem to be bad for a pure shooter like Gordon, but you lose lift and agility, that way you don't get the seperation from your defender, your drive isn't as big a weapon and when you shoot the jumper you don't get up as high. Kobe never seemed to have problems shooting because his finger was hurt, he started struggling with the ankle and groin injuries. Players usually play through sprained wrists pretty easily, but everything that aches in your lower back or downwards has a huge impact on your performance. That's why it has been bad for the Pistons, since most of their injuries were lower body injuries that effect the players in so many different ways, and what's worse, next morning when you get up out of bed, you feel every single move from the night before.
But there has been a change in dynamics ever since Tay and Rip returned from their injuries and their play has picked up. Tay looks like the Prince of the Palace again and Rip has been dead-on the past three games, even though he almost cost us that Spurs game but whatever dude.If you look at the last 20 games they have won 10 of those 20. I don't know if you realized that, I sure didn't. I'm so accustomed to this team winning around .700 of their games that being mediocre still seems, well, really bad. The overall record also doesn't help to see small improvements.They have against the teams they are supposed to lose to, but all in all they have been hovering around .500 and you can see from their win against the Spurs, this team has the talent to compete. Ok, San Antonio is not the team of '05 or '07, but they are still a playoff contender in the Western Conference so we'll take that win. The Schedule will become a little bit rougher playing Denver, Boston and Cleveland in the next two weeks, but if we get out of this playing at .500 still, I will be pretty proud of this team.
We have a lot of good pieces, we need some more additions but summing it up. I like this team, it's got character. Don't get down on Joe Dumars, he's the best GM there is for this franchise. I'm not saying the FA signings this summer were horrible, I think both C-Nuv and BG will be valuable assets for the years to come. Instead of focusing on trading Rip or BG I think we should explore trades for Stuckey. This team needs a true PG and a true C, that's all there is to it. We won't be a title contender with those two positions filled out, but the balance will be much better.
A losing streak like that usually takes a toll on the players especially when the veterans wo have been leading this team for several years are out and injured and a new hierarchy has to develop. Rodney Stuckey isn't capable of leading this team yet (or ever) and the new additions Ben Gordon and Charlie Villanueva have been struggling with injuries of their own. A lot of people aren't satisfied what those two have shown but what a lot of people also don't understand is that supposedly minor aches can have a big impact on what you are capable of doing. Sprained ankles don't seem to be bad for a pure shooter like Gordon, but you lose lift and agility, that way you don't get the seperation from your defender, your drive isn't as big a weapon and when you shoot the jumper you don't get up as high. Kobe never seemed to have problems shooting because his finger was hurt, he started struggling with the ankle and groin injuries. Players usually play through sprained wrists pretty easily, but everything that aches in your lower back or downwards has a huge impact on your performance. That's why it has been bad for the Pistons, since most of their injuries were lower body injuries that effect the players in so many different ways, and what's worse, next morning when you get up out of bed, you feel every single move from the night before.
But there has been a change in dynamics ever since Tay and Rip returned from their injuries and their play has picked up. Tay looks like the Prince of the Palace again and Rip has been dead-on the past three games, even though he almost cost us that Spurs game but whatever dude.If you look at the last 20 games they have won 10 of those 20. I don't know if you realized that, I sure didn't. I'm so accustomed to this team winning around .700 of their games that being mediocre still seems, well, really bad. The overall record also doesn't help to see small improvements.They have against the teams they are supposed to lose to, but all in all they have been hovering around .500 and you can see from their win against the Spurs, this team has the talent to compete. Ok, San Antonio is not the team of '05 or '07, but they are still a playoff contender in the Western Conference so we'll take that win. The Schedule will become a little bit rougher playing Denver, Boston and Cleveland in the next two weeks, but if we get out of this playing at .500 still, I will be pretty proud of this team.
We have a lot of good pieces, we need some more additions but summing it up. I like this team, it's got character. Don't get down on Joe Dumars, he's the best GM there is for this franchise. I'm not saying the FA signings this summer were horrible, I think both C-Nuv and BG will be valuable assets for the years to come. Instead of focusing on trading Rip or BG I think we should explore trades for Stuckey. This team needs a true PG and a true C, that's all there is to it. We won't be a title contender with those two positions filled out, but the balance will be much better.
Tuesday, February 16, 2010
Letter to Lebron
Hey Lebron,
I heard your Cavs are trying to acquire Stoudemire, or Tory Murphy as a plan B.
If I were you, Lebron, I'd like the development. If this proves one thing to you it's that your GM Danny Ferry is doing everything he can to create a championship team. So, I'm thinking, Lebron, keep the pressure on. If you do decide to re-sign with Cleveland sign a two-year deal. They are not going to say "No! We've got a better alternative than you." If you want to gamble higher Mr. James, ask for a 4-year contract with a yearly opt-out clause, this way you could leave Cleveland after each season if you think they are not doing well enough. I know it's about loyalty, but one-year contracts are not that rare in a world outside of basketball and I want you to understand, you are in a position of power. They are going to give you anything you ask for if you just sign a contract for next season.
You don't cheat on them and you are actually loyal. It's their turn, they have to keep you happy, you say your priority is winning championships and if Danny doesn't give you the pieces then leave. Go play with your buddy Dwyane or some other cats. Go see the spotlight in New York, play for your man Jay-Z, go to LA and play for Phil. You got endless possibilities man, use them!!! I'm not your agent, but that's what you should do.
Sincerely yours,
Jakob Eich
I heard your Cavs are trying to acquire Stoudemire, or Tory Murphy as a plan B.
If I were you, Lebron, I'd like the development. If this proves one thing to you it's that your GM Danny Ferry is doing everything he can to create a championship team. So, I'm thinking, Lebron, keep the pressure on. If you do decide to re-sign with Cleveland sign a two-year deal. They are not going to say "No! We've got a better alternative than you." If you want to gamble higher Mr. James, ask for a 4-year contract with a yearly opt-out clause, this way you could leave Cleveland after each season if you think they are not doing well enough. I know it's about loyalty, but one-year contracts are not that rare in a world outside of basketball and I want you to understand, you are in a position of power. They are going to give you anything you ask for if you just sign a contract for next season.
You don't cheat on them and you are actually loyal. It's their turn, they have to keep you happy, you say your priority is winning championships and if Danny doesn't give you the pieces then leave. Go play with your buddy Dwyane or some other cats. Go see the spotlight in New York, play for your man Jay-Z, go to LA and play for Phil. You got endless possibilities man, use them!!! I'm not your agent, but that's what you should do.
Sincerely yours,
Jakob Eich
Sunday, February 7, 2010
Close look at Magic-Celtics
Second Halftime Magic-Celtics
Okay, I missed the first half of the game because I was travelling but I wanna try covering the second half. I caught the last 2 minutes and I can say Rajon Rondo continues to impress me a lot and with Chris Paul being injured right now, I feel comfortable calling him the best pure young Point Guard of the NBA. Even though I’m focused on the Pistons I am curious seeing those two teams and therefore decided to take a closer look at this game! It’s also at a convenient time for me, since its only 10pm! So the second half starts in a few minutes I’ll get right to it!
3rd Quarter:
Howard needs to stay out of foul trouble and the Magic need to take care of the ball then they should be fine to win this thing and turn it around.
This is a very winnable game for the Magic. They are still within reach although Howard has only played 7 minutes in the first half. It looked like Stan van Gundy told his team to go into Howard early and he delivered connecting on a righty-hook, a 15-foot jumper off-glass and several free throws he got because Kendrick Perkins decided to respect his new-found jumper.
Rajon Rondo had a nice assist for an alley-oop and a rare three-pointer, but Vince Carter answered right back with a three of his own when KG got lost defending a pick-and-roll play guarding Rashard Lewis. Howard just committed his 4th foul and I really think he should’ve let Rondo go and get the lay-in. What good does it do to have him sit on the bench in foul trouble. He has to learn to control his defense and just foul when it’s appropriate. He has the quickness but really needs to work on his decision-making. Stan van Gundy decides to still play him, deciding to get him a rhythm. Let’s see if it pays off.
Howard just blocked a dunk attempt by Kendrick Perkins, I’m sure SVGs hard just stopped looking at that, but it was a clean one and Rashard ties the game at 60 causing Doc Rivers to take a time-out. So the Magic barely needed a few minutes to erase a 10-point deficit. Nice work!
Ok, I wrote down the last 4 minutes and most of the possession and jotted them down after Rasheed Wallace entered the game because I had heard he makes the C’s worse defensively and since I’ve only known him as good defender from Pistons times I was curious. Here is what happened when he entered the game.
Open 3-pointer made, open 3-pointer made, wide open lay-up due to slow help by Sheed, 2 FTM by Lewis fouled by Sheed, Lewis misses wide-open 12-foot jump shot and Sheed misses a three badly on the other side, another wide open lay-up this time by Jason Williams and to close it a stupid foul by Eddie House with time winding down … So 60-60 turns into 76-62.
So the announcers said that the Cs starters were the reason for the deficit. Well, the starters surrendered the lead but when Wallace entered the game so he could provide a spark offensively and defensively, nothing really happened. He missed rotations and rotated slow in most of the other cases. I can’t help but to think that he’s not the player he used to be and that the effort he gave Detroit might not have been because he wasn’t motivated, he’s just not that good anymore and relying too much on long jumpers and three pointers.
4th Quarter:
So the Magic started the fourth period just like the had played in the third. They knocked down two threes continuing to push the lead. Rivers kept his starters out for an extended time, I think about until there were five minutes to go and the defense improved for Boston, but to be frank, it couldn’t get a lot worse. Pierce, KG and Rondo re-entered the game when the score was 89-76, and they almost crawled their way back into this one, only trailing by 5 at one point.
Howard picked up his 5th foul on a bonehead foul. It was a clear path for KG on a fast break and instead of letting him dunk it and just move on he decided to foul him and give him the bucket. If he fouls he can’t let him score, if he fouls him that hard, he’ll get a flagrant so not fouling would look like the best choice also because the Magic need him on the floor and he would’ve had one more foul to give before fouling out and that late in the game an extra foul is a very valuable asset, right?
Matt Barnes gave the perfect example for a good foul. With about 40 seconds to play, Garnett had a wide open dunk but Barnes recovered and fouled him hard sending him to the line. KG knocked down both but it could’ve been a game-changing play. If KG slams it home the crowd gets into it and the Magic didn’t want that happening. Also the Magic had time to calm down. Garnett knocked down both and Orlando could bring the ball up very slowly and take a last second shot which Lewis knocked down in the face of the D. I’m sure SVG didn’t design the play as it was executed but JJ Redick did a hell of a job passing the ball out of the double team and Orlando in general did a good job running the shot clock down. That play was the absolute dagger and the Magic went on to win it 96-89.
So, the watching both teams a little more up-close gave me a few hints. I focused on the Magic a little more but I can see were both teams will struggle and won’t struggle. The announce said they think in a seven-game series the Celtics will win over the Magic easily, I strongly disagree. The Celtics have an aging cast and, KG might come back to his old self but the Cs offense depends on Rondo running the show and Pierce chipping in at the end of games. Their bench is not as strong as one would’ve tought before the season and the wear and tear is only going to increase during the rest of the season and the playoffs and the Magic have a deeper and younger roster.
As for Orlando. I think they are the team to beat! Period. You can talk about Cleveland and Lebron all you want, but if Dwight Howard keeps on getting at hitting those 15-footers off-glass รก la Tim Duncan, there’s no way in hell Shaq or Big Z will be able to stop him down low. Lebron was bothered by Howard’s size down low during last years playoffs and although his jumper is really going right now, he won’t be knocking down those 40-foot three-pointers in the playoffs, I just don’t see it. The Cavs were really good around this time last year too and during the first round of the playoffs, they are going to have to prove themselves against a team like the Magic or the Hawks in a seven-game series. I’m sorry Cleveland, but I just don’t see it.
Alright, that’s it for me, thanks for reading!
Okay, I missed the first half of the game because I was travelling but I wanna try covering the second half. I caught the last 2 minutes and I can say Rajon Rondo continues to impress me a lot and with Chris Paul being injured right now, I feel comfortable calling him the best pure young Point Guard of the NBA. Even though I’m focused on the Pistons I am curious seeing those two teams and therefore decided to take a closer look at this game! It’s also at a convenient time for me, since its only 10pm! So the second half starts in a few minutes I’ll get right to it!
3rd Quarter:
Howard needs to stay out of foul trouble and the Magic need to take care of the ball then they should be fine to win this thing and turn it around.
This is a very winnable game for the Magic. They are still within reach although Howard has only played 7 minutes in the first half. It looked like Stan van Gundy told his team to go into Howard early and he delivered connecting on a righty-hook, a 15-foot jumper off-glass and several free throws he got because Kendrick Perkins decided to respect his new-found jumper.
Rajon Rondo had a nice assist for an alley-oop and a rare three-pointer, but Vince Carter answered right back with a three of his own when KG got lost defending a pick-and-roll play guarding Rashard Lewis. Howard just committed his 4th foul and I really think he should’ve let Rondo go and get the lay-in. What good does it do to have him sit on the bench in foul trouble. He has to learn to control his defense and just foul when it’s appropriate. He has the quickness but really needs to work on his decision-making. Stan van Gundy decides to still play him, deciding to get him a rhythm. Let’s see if it pays off.
Howard just blocked a dunk attempt by Kendrick Perkins, I’m sure SVGs hard just stopped looking at that, but it was a clean one and Rashard ties the game at 60 causing Doc Rivers to take a time-out. So the Magic barely needed a few minutes to erase a 10-point deficit. Nice work!
Ok, I wrote down the last 4 minutes and most of the possession and jotted them down after Rasheed Wallace entered the game because I had heard he makes the C’s worse defensively and since I’ve only known him as good defender from Pistons times I was curious. Here is what happened when he entered the game.
Open 3-pointer made, open 3-pointer made, wide open lay-up due to slow help by Sheed, 2 FTM by Lewis fouled by Sheed, Lewis misses wide-open 12-foot jump shot and Sheed misses a three badly on the other side, another wide open lay-up this time by Jason Williams and to close it a stupid foul by Eddie House with time winding down … So 60-60 turns into 76-62.
So the announcers said that the Cs starters were the reason for the deficit. Well, the starters surrendered the lead but when Wallace entered the game so he could provide a spark offensively and defensively, nothing really happened. He missed rotations and rotated slow in most of the other cases. I can’t help but to think that he’s not the player he used to be and that the effort he gave Detroit might not have been because he wasn’t motivated, he’s just not that good anymore and relying too much on long jumpers and three pointers.
4th Quarter:
So the Magic started the fourth period just like the had played in the third. They knocked down two threes continuing to push the lead. Rivers kept his starters out for an extended time, I think about until there were five minutes to go and the defense improved for Boston, but to be frank, it couldn’t get a lot worse. Pierce, KG and Rondo re-entered the game when the score was 89-76, and they almost crawled their way back into this one, only trailing by 5 at one point.
Howard picked up his 5th foul on a bonehead foul. It was a clear path for KG on a fast break and instead of letting him dunk it and just move on he decided to foul him and give him the bucket. If he fouls he can’t let him score, if he fouls him that hard, he’ll get a flagrant so not fouling would look like the best choice also because the Magic need him on the floor and he would’ve had one more foul to give before fouling out and that late in the game an extra foul is a very valuable asset, right?
Matt Barnes gave the perfect example for a good foul. With about 40 seconds to play, Garnett had a wide open dunk but Barnes recovered and fouled him hard sending him to the line. KG knocked down both but it could’ve been a game-changing play. If KG slams it home the crowd gets into it and the Magic didn’t want that happening. Also the Magic had time to calm down. Garnett knocked down both and Orlando could bring the ball up very slowly and take a last second shot which Lewis knocked down in the face of the D. I’m sure SVG didn’t design the play as it was executed but JJ Redick did a hell of a job passing the ball out of the double team and Orlando in general did a good job running the shot clock down. That play was the absolute dagger and the Magic went on to win it 96-89.
So, the watching both teams a little more up-close gave me a few hints. I focused on the Magic a little more but I can see were both teams will struggle and won’t struggle. The announce said they think in a seven-game series the Celtics will win over the Magic easily, I strongly disagree. The Celtics have an aging cast and, KG might come back to his old self but the Cs offense depends on Rondo running the show and Pierce chipping in at the end of games. Their bench is not as strong as one would’ve tought before the season and the wear and tear is only going to increase during the rest of the season and the playoffs and the Magic have a deeper and younger roster.
As for Orlando. I think they are the team to beat! Period. You can talk about Cleveland and Lebron all you want, but if Dwight Howard keeps on getting at hitting those 15-footers off-glass รก la Tim Duncan, there’s no way in hell Shaq or Big Z will be able to stop him down low. Lebron was bothered by Howard’s size down low during last years playoffs and although his jumper is really going right now, he won’t be knocking down those 40-foot three-pointers in the playoffs, I just don’t see it. The Cavs were really good around this time last year too and during the first round of the playoffs, they are going to have to prove themselves against a team like the Magic or the Hawks in a seven-game series. I’m sorry Cleveland, but I just don’t see it.
Alright, that’s it for me, thanks for reading!
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