I'm just going to pile a bunch of NBA updates into one post, since the NBA is my favorite topic, besides fighting with haters.
Eddy Curry Gets Robbed: The NY Post, of all places, has a nice angle on the attack. Where one would expect that they would find some way to blame Isiah, Marc Berman actually sympathizes with Eddy Curry. He makes a great point (first one of the year?), noting the similarity to Marcus Camby's situation in the 2000 playoffs (in which his sister was held hostage, and he had to help the negotiators in a harrowing ordeal). This type of thing is rough, and especially for someone like Curry, who grew up in the tough streets of Chicago, but probably thought he was now removed from that life. It can really f*ck with your mind. Camby, as Berman pointed out, ended up with some post-traumatic stress to deal with... Curry may have some ill effects from this, too. Physical injuries might be easier to diagnosis than mental or emotional ones, but when you are dealing with a young (25 year old) man, it may be just as damaging. Here's hoping Curry sees the court as an escape....
Oh, and it's certainly telling that the Post took a much more intelligent approach to this topic than Deadspin, which asked the question "Does this (the Curry home invasion, on the heals of Antonio Walker's home invasion a month ago, also in Chicago) make it difficult for the Bulls to sign free agents?"
Um, I don't think so. Were you aware that neither victims are Bulls players?! Both are Chicago natives, which is why they live in the city, and were probably targeted by local people with familiarity with their homes; maybe if Ben Gordon or Luol Deng were getting robbed during the offseason I might worry about the effect on the Bull's free agency, but I doubt either lives in Chicago during the offseason, right? Gordon is from Money-Earning, and Deng is foreign (don't know if he goes home to the UK, or stays somewhere in the Chicago area during the offseason). Chances are they live in local apartments during the season. Most Knicks, for example, live in apartments in downtown Westchester, near Suny-Purchase (where practice is held) during the season, then go home to wherever after the season is over (Chicago for Curry, for example). So the answer to Deadspin's question is: No.
True Hoops On What To Do About NBA Officiating: Professor Henry Abbott (we like calling him Professor, since he has that Professor Charles Xavier thing going for him) has an article calling for more transparency in the NBA referee evaluation process. What we really like is that he also included a link to, and a response, to a criticism of his post by another blogger. That's the proper way to treat critics, in my opinion - if they have something legit to say, acknowledge that and then respond, as oppose to pretending that you are right all the time. After all, if you are right all the time, then you can take their points and prove how you are right.
Our take: We agree the NBA needs more transparency with regards to their refs. This is what they have to do to combat the perception (perpetrated most notably by Abbott's colleague Bill Simmons) that NBA officials are crooked. But the blogger is correct - Abbott's suggestions aren't the answer.
Abbott had suggested making referee "grades" available to the public; this seems like a bad suggestion, because it does open up a low-performing referee (who may in fact be very very good, but just because he's scored lower than his peers is being chosen) to public scrutiny. We don't have that system of transparency in other sports leagues (I don't think there are MLB umpire reports out there for the public to see), and yet they are able to avoid the perception.
What the NBA needs to do is a different kind of transparency, one similar to the NFL - address questionable calls as much as possible. When a bad call costs a team the game, the NFL will review the tape and issue a statement within 48 hours. The NFL statement is usually dead-on; either an acknowledgment that a mistake took place, or an explanation for why the call was made the way it was. Or both.
Nobody from the NBA responds publicly when Mark Cuban complains about the refereeing. Or Bill Simmons. Or fans.
That's a starting point to getting the fan's trust back. Also a good idea - allowing fans (maybe season ticket holders, or maybe grading should be available to all fans) to grade refs' performances. You can put it on the NBA website - pick the game you attended, and grade the refs' overall performance (don't separate by individual referee, since most fans can't tell which ref made the call, as evidenced by the famous Donaghy Game 3 video). Does this data matter? Probably not... the NBA can ignore it if they want! But just letting the fans feel like their voice counts might help sway The Perception.
Speaking of Simmons, KG To Boston: First off, calm down. I still doubt this trade will take place. KG is going to give up the comfortable kingdom he has in Minnesota (where he practically calls the shots!) to go to the most uncomfortable place in the States, Boston? But since everyone is reporting it is a done deal, we'll take a look at it.
First off, Ainge has to make the move. As long as Pierce is around, which is for the next four season since ain't no way he's trading a $21 million a year swingman to anyone, he has to make this move. There is no waiting for the future in Boston; the Celtics are handicapped by Pierce more than anyone is willing to write about.
The move for Ray Allen was a good one; we wrote as much. We also wrote that it doesn't make them better than maybe an 8th seed. Now, if they get Kevin Garnett (for Al Jefferson and a bunch of crap), we have several thoughts:
-Why is Minnesota trading him for that? They can't get a better offer? If the Knicks offered Curry (why not, they have Zach Randolph now, and he's almost as good as Jefferson, if a little more expensive - but he's signed for longer, too), David Lee (better than everything else in Boston's offer for KG), Dan Dickau and/or Fred Jones' expiring contract (makes up for Ratliff's expiring contract), and a #1, doesn't that top Boston's offer? It also solves the Knick's roster size problem, too.
-While Ainge has to make this deal, and it is a good deal, I don't know if it makes the Celtics that good. They have no depth. In fact, their starting 8-man rotation looks like this: Rondo, Allen, Pierce, KG, and Crap. Coming off the bench: Crap, Crap, and SG/SF Crap.
Do they even have a backup point guard to Rondo? Oh, and about that... Rondo may be potentially good (maybe Bill Simmons should do another 2000 word column on how awesome he is this year!), but until he shows and proves, it's a huge risk. Point guard is still the most important position in the NBA; ask the Suns and Nets how important it is to have a good PG. Better yet, ask the Lakers.
So yeah, the Celtics might win 45-50 games next season. Like we said after the Allen trade, the most important player is Rondo. If he can make the leap to serviceable point guard, and keep defenses honest (big if: this is a guy who couldn't keep SEC defenses honest with his awful jumper). And yeah, they might make some noise. Or, if something goes wrong, like a serious injury to one of their big three (all are over 31 years old, I believe), that's it.
The Celtics have to make the move to open the window, something 90% of the teams in a league in any season never get to do. But the window could close at anytime... it's a must make trade, even if the % it fails is greater than the % it works.
Um, in order words: Yeah, Simmons is pretty right on this.
On the other hand, someone really has to prove to me that Kevin McHale is really going to go for this trade, unless Kevin Garnett is absolutely commanding him to do so. This is really a historical ripoff.
My Favorite Anecdote of the Night:
Drinking with the softball team tonight. The Little Brother, who is as un-PC as they come, cracked me up with this dialogue:
Little Brother: I want to see that Chuck and Larry Get Married movie.
SML:Are you f*cking serious? That movie looks stupid. Plus all the reviews panned it.
Little Brother: Of course all the reviews panned it. The movie critics were all probably like "Hey, this isn't funny. I am gay."
Finally, here's a YouTube, found via Gawker, of Tom Synder's best moments. Tom Synder passed away on Sunday, so this is a good time to check out some great highlights of his interviews here in a 6 minute clip... guests highlighted include Elton John, John Lennon, Johnny Rotten, Charles Manson (not nearly half as intimidating as Johnny Rotten, who does the crazy white boy thing better than anyone ever, including Manson), Alfred Hitchcock, Cheech & Chong, and the two all sports fans should see, at the end of the clip: Muhammed Ali and Howard Cosell.
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sml, great video but you are dead wrong about one thing...
I found Alfred Hitchcock to be far scarier than Johnny Rotten and Manson combined!!!
I don't think Minny got enough in the deal, but there isn't much they can do about it. It is probably the best offer they'll get.
Jefferson had a great 2nd half of the season last year. He also was the go to guy, and didn't have to share the ball. He has never played more than 71 games in a season. He's still young, and so people expect continued growth from him (like you probably do).
For all the "young stud" attributes that Jefferson has, no one if he'll be that good or not. It's like Curry in a way (and Jefferson, despite his nice block and steal numbers, isn't that great defense, especially man to man). We're not talking Kevin Durant here. Or Greg Oden. He may be an All-Star someday, or maybe not.
The rest of the trade is crap - Green is an interesting case, but we'll see how he pans out.
A long time ago, when the NY Yankees had a media that was almost as strong as the Boston media, they could totally hype the Yankees' rookie prospects to high levels (especially after all those ill-fated 80's trades, where Jose Rijo and Jay Buhner got traded as rookies and went on to become stars). So then guys like Sam Milleto and Hal Morris got used in trades to land solid veterans.
Point is, you never know if you are getting Paul O'Neill for Hal Morris, or just traded Ken Phelps for Jay Buhner.
In this case, though, I'm inclined to think the Wolves are putting a lot of faith into Jefferson and Green's upsides. And they are giving up a HOF in his prime for that?!?
SML, yes I also believe the Knicks offer that you proposed is better for Minnesota, but I can't agree with you about your Celts. Look what KG did with Spree and Casell and now he has upgrades...
If this trade goes down the Celts are instantly the team to beat in the East. As for PG they can sign a solid free agent like Brevin Knight who will have no problem deciding which all-star to get the ball to. With those three guys all you need is well-placed role players...
Brevin Knight! Great idea. I'm a huge Brevin Knight fan - that guy always gets like 10-12 apg when he's healthy. He's the perfect point guard for Boston.
He's a good fit because he only plays like 55 games a year anyway - let him lead them early in the year, then when Knight gets his annual hamstring injury, Rondo can come in a take over the reins for a while. It's brilliant.
I don't doubt the three All-Stars will be dominant when playing together. And you are absolutely right - these are by far the best teammates Garnett has ever had, and he's won 50 games before. I can totally see them winning 60 games.
It's just that I can also totally see them falling apart, because they have to ride their horses too much. The Celtics have very little left - no bench, and Rondo is now the fourth best player on the team. Rondo!
The three guys are going to have to play like 40+ minutes a game, and by February they'll be slowing down. I can see them getting knocked out in the 2nd round out of nowhere, like the Pistons did this year. It's because they aren't deep enough. They need more role players.
Add a Knight, and a decent big man (Magliore or Mikki Moore would have been perfect), and a solid 6th guy off the bench (Capano might have been a nice touch), or a hustle guy (Ronny Turiaf), and this team is unbeatable.
But as currently compromised, they are too thin to last 100 games.
Fair enough, I do remember that the Celts of the late '80s would breakdown in the playoffs because of no bench. The only difference was that the competition was also better back then, we'll see...
SML, I disagree with you this time
what else could Minn have got for Garnett ??? They got six players !!
60 W are way too much, in my blog I predicted 45-47
too many holes/weaknesses, even assuming that the big three stay healthy all year
later my friend
(I also like Brevin Knight)
45-47? is this a new rule that I haven't heard about? 92 games?are they trying to break Jason Collins' poor knees?
The Celtics got a steal and guys like Leon Powe and Scalabrine of all a sudden are key rotation players, LIKE VIOLA! EUREKA
Hey Ricky,
Good point. I really wonder... I guess the big question is "Where were the Bulls?"... if they had offered the #7 in this year's draft (far better than any of the Boston picks), PJ Brown's expiring contract, and one of their young studs (Ben Gordon), couldn't they get Garnett? And then wouldn't they be the favorites to win the East for the next three years?
Instead, not only do the Celtics become the favorites, but they have a "dragged" effect on the rest of the Eastern Conference, meaning: Shaq becomes motivated and maybe gets into shape so to prove one last time he's still the best; the Pistons get motivated and play hard together for the first time in a few years; heck, even LeBron might get motivated.
It's quite possible the Bulls end up worse next year - 50 wins isn't going to be as easy with the Nets, Knicks, and Raptors also looking much improved.
Of course, if I say anything like this aloud, the Bulls fans will be up my ass!
yeah u r right, Bulls could have made a better offer and now would be a lock to win the Conference for 2-3 yrs in a row !
but I still think they have a chance, the acquisitions of Noah and Joe Smith are underrated IMO
good point about the motivated Shaq & the imporved teams (I say watch out for the NJ Nets...) , but I think no one, him included, exactly knows how much he has left in the tank
it's gonna be a fun season and I, as a Sixers fan, will lay on my sofa and enjoy the (others') show
actually it's the same for the Nets, well the other way around, if the Wolves would accept the deal of Krstic, Williams jefferson, we're the ones contending for the championship, alas..
Dude, I really like the deal for Minnesota. Jefferson is alot better then people realize, and he's 22. People were saying that, for Boston, anytime you can add a 24/12 guy you have to do it. Well i wouldnt be surprised if Jefferson went for 21/10 in Minnesota next year. He's a really good player and Minnesota did well in this trade to land him. Theo's contract is pretty big too, and i can eventually see Green averaging 15-18 ppg. I like the deal for both team, the C's can prolly win around 43 games and next year and maybe do some things in the playoffs.