History in the making … 1 down

When you’re the first person on the planet to prognosticate that the 2008-2009 LA Lakers WILL win 70+ regular season games AND capture the NBA Title … if they retain the players from their previous team AND can remain major injury-free … PRIOR to their loss in the 2008 NBA Finals … while picking the Celtics to win that specific series … it can place a sharp focus on the viewpoint you have toward their efforts each step along the way.

Game 1
FINAL SCORE: Lakers [1-0] 96 Trail Blazers 76
Game Info & Summary

Baby Steps, sound health, and a firm Commitment to the Championship Philosophy of …

“No Rebounds, No Rings.” – Pat Riley

That’s what this year IS ABOUT for the ZenMaster & Co.

Right emphasis in the Magic Kingdom

Stan Van Gundy is a coach’s son, and a coach’s brother … who’s worked with and for Pat Riley [i.e. "No Rebounds; No Rings."], in the NBA, for a number of years.

In this League, SVG is a solid head coach, who understands the contribution of Rebounding & Defense to a top notch team.

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Hudson a possible replacement for Mike Wilks at PG
Boston model for defense

There have been improvements this preseason, but the Magic’s defense is a work in progress now, according to Van Gundy.

And the reigning NBA champion Boston Celtics are to be his team’s model as it moves forward. The Celtics’ three chief offensive weapons might have gotten the headlines, but he wants his guys to emulate the mean green’s defensive attitude.

“That’s a great model for the rest of the players and teams in the league,” he said. “That’s eventually what’s going to get you over the top and get you through the tough moments.

“I don’t care how good you are offensively; you’re going to have nights when the ball won’t go in. Our guys have worked like they want to make a commitment to that; it’s just a matter of getting the job done.”

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While certain outfits over the years have found success in the regular season, by focusing their efforts at the Offensive end of the floor, exclusively, the eventual NBA Titleist is not a team which fits readily into this mold, on an annual basis.

It says here that … those expecting the Magic to slide back to the rest of the pack in the Eastern Conference this season, after the jump forward they took last season, will end up being sorely disappointed.

LOST – Maurice Evans, Keyon Dooling, Carlos Arroyo, Pat Garrity

ADDED – Mickael Pietrus, Anthony Johnson, Troy Hudson-?, Courtney Lee, Tony Battie

This team, as is, is gearing up for an extended run in the upper echelon of the East.

If the Magic sign a solid, veteran PG, like Troy Hudson, they will have a roster with both good High End Talent and QUALITY DEPTH … well-balanced between Rebounding, Defense & Offense … which is what’s needed in order to advance in the NBA Playoffs.

Taking on all comers

Reading this specific blog entry … precipitated the following thought:

If you could construct your ideal 12-man team of current NBA players, who would you select?

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Hmmmmmmm …

From that many possibilities, there would be some exceptionally difficult choices to make … and a lot of supremely talented and valuable players left out in the cold.

Regardless … according to these eyes,

these are the Dirtiest Dozen, in the NBA today:

[listed by position & role]

Starters
PG – Lebron James … far and away his best and most natural position
G/F – Dwyane Wade … the best, taking it to the rack, in the half-court
G/F – Kobe Bryant … Samarai Warrior
PF - Kevin Garnett … Rebounding & Energy are thy true names
C – Greg Oden [my, oh, my] … that’s right, before he’s played a game 

Key Bench Subs
PG – Deron Williams … well-balanced in every respect
G/F – Manu Ginobili … the best 6th Man in existence
PF/C – Tim Duncan … the best combo Big in existence

Reserves
PG – Steve Nash … still the best facilitaor in the business, bar none
G/F – Tracy McGrady … multi-purpose player
PF/C – Amare Stoudemire … multi-purpose player
PF/C – Rasheed Wallace … multi-purpose player

Coach – Philip Patrick Jackson Riley … ‘The Sacred Winner Hoops Within’

“Train them … Excite them … and, Turn them Loose … “

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There you go!

Now … Which 12 players would you choose for your team?

[PLEASE NOTE: Who you choose, in what positions & roles, and who you leave out, says a lot about your unique vision of the game.]

Pistons go back to basics

If this keeps much longer … KSB [much appreciated, JE Skeets!] is going to be listed as a Detroit Pistons’ mouth-piece.

Not to fear, however … as this correspondent has always had a predilection for anyone, and anything, linked with Making A Commitment To Excellence.

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Courtesy of nbaroundtable …

Curry going back to basics
“No matter what the rules are, the game of basketball goes to the most aggressive teams and players,” Curry said. “We want to be the team that’s always on the attack, both defensively and offensively.”

• Pay attention to detail.
• Daily conditioning and player development sessions.
• Increase the intensity and consistency at the defensive end.
• Increase scoring in the paint.
• Establish clearly defined roles. Curry expects to play 10 or 11 players on a regular basis.

Click the link and read the whole thing.

Close your eyes and listen intently.

Do these words and simple concepts harken back to a different place?
A different time?
A different hairdo? 

Say, perhaps, the 1982-1983 season … when a certain young relatively inexperienced assistant coach was promoted internally to the head man’s chair, for a team – and a GM who was himself a HOF immortal – that had recently captured an NBA Title but was also in need of re-direction, at that time, with a fascinating combination of wily vets, established All-Stars, and a certain ‘New Kid On The Block‘ [an athletic 21 year old, 6-9, 225, PF], who was ready-to-rock-and-roll into Prime Time.

Hmmmmm …

Could it possibly be … delectable symmetry?

… in the same season featuring the ‘Re-birth of SHOWTIME, in LA‘.

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The most important sentence in the whole article?

“[Rasheed] Wallace, who has been at the practice facility most of the summer, has complied.”

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First-class stuff, all around, from the new Sheriff … in [Mo]Town.

Showtime in the Motor City.

The Zeitgeist is with the Celtics

zeit·geist
Pronunciation: \ˈtsīt-ˌgīst, ˈzīt-\
Function: noun
Usage: often capitalized
Etymology: German, from Zeit + Geist spirit
Date: 1835

: the general intellectual, moral, and cultural climate of an era

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A comprehensive assessment of both teams in the NBA Finals indicates that there are a number of important factors in favour of the Celtics …

* Rebounding Differential (BOS/+3.1; LAL/+1.3)
* 9 of the last 12 NBA titles (75.0%) have been won by the team with a superior Rebounding Differential; and 19 of the last 28 (67.9%) 
* Offensive Rebounds Allowed (BOS/11.0; LAL/12.1)
* Home court
* Absence of Andrew Bynum & limited contribution of Trevor Ariza
* Overall depth at the 4 & 5 positions
* 3 proven scorers (Pierce, Garnett & Allen) vs 2 (Kobe & Gasol)
* Interior Defense (with the Lakers missing Bynum’s shot-blocking)
* NEXT YEAR is the Lakers’ SEASON OF DESTINY, as a team, not this one (which has always been about Kobe Bryant’s MVP and getting the Lakers pointed in the right direction, once again)
* THIS YEAR has always been about CELTIC PRIDE and the inter-connectedness of …

Danny Ainge & Red Auerbach & Bill Russell & Kevin Garnett & Paul Pierce & Ray Allen & Leon Powe & Doc Rivers and …

Ubuntu: I am what I am because of who we all are.

“No Rebounds, No Rings.” – Pat Riley

WE not Me … Basketball is a Brotherhood.

PLEASE NOTE: The Celtics (66-16, .805) finished 9 games ahead of the Lakers (57-25, .695), have home court advantage, and are +170 (moneyline) to win this series. There will never be a better opportunity to Capitalize on an ‘incorrect’ line.

NBA Playoffs – Finals Preview

 

 

(1) BOSTON CELTICS (H)	(2) LA LAKERS
By the Numbers
QIR – #1 (6) Points Differential Rank – #1 Points Allowed Rank – #2 Rebounding Differential Rank – #3	QIR – #10 (30) Points Differential Rank – #3 Points Allowed Rank – #19 Rebounding Differential Rank – #8
Basketball Acumen
Home court advantage. Should be betting favourite. Team D is THE story, fuelled by KG. Must turn Kobe into volume shooter; clamp down elsewhere. Key Match-up: Thom Thibodeau vs The Triangle. Will win the series with a Positive (+) Rebounding Differential.	Betting favourite. Quickness and size at all positions. Top notch offensive execution. Rebounding & interior D questionable without Bynum. Must get points from multiple sources, not just the MVP. Key Match-up: Team Rebounding Differential. Lakers’ year is 2008-2009.
Who will win
“No Rebounds, No Rings.” – Pat Riley … Ubuntu: I am what I am because of who we all are … Celtics in 7.

Everything good takes time

If you haven’t seen this specific clip before, as I hadn’t myself prior to this AM … then just sit back and soak it in …

Magical … stuff.

The Winner Within

Despite the intense criticism that has been directed his way, at different times during his illustrious NBA coaching career, there has always been a specific reason this observer has developed an appreciation for what Pat Riley stands for as a basketball coach and a man … perhaps, embodied best in these words,

Call to Hall humbles Riley
”I look at it this way: I don’t belong there. I really believe in the coaching profession and what the word coach means, and the gentlemen that are in — all the gentlemen that are in that Hall of Fame as coaches — [I know] why they are deserving, and why I don’t belong, but why I’m there.

I never coached a [Catholic Youth Organization] team. I never hauled a group of wannabes in the back of a truck to Central Park and worked them out from dawn to dusk. I never took a kid home in my car and treated his athlete’s [foot] in my house when I was in high school. I never did the 8 million hours of work that a student-manager/assistant coach did. I never did any of that stuff.

I was pushed through a door and a silver spoon was shoved in my mouth, that had Kareem [Abdul-Jabbar] and Magic [Johnson] and [James] Worthy and [Bob] McAdoo and [Byron] Scott and [Michael] Cooper and [Norm] Nixon. I mean, that’s how I got my start. And most of the guys that are in [the Hall] did it the other way. So that’s how I look at it.

But I think over the 25 years, as a pro coach — it’s a lot different than as a college coach — maybe I’ve earned my way into that. But I have a different perspective about the whole thing.”

As the old Smith Barney’s use to say …

Yes, sir, Mr. Riley, after 24 years … you’ve earned it.

Turning up the Heat in Miami

In the aftermath of trading Shaquille O’Neal, for Shawn Marion & Marcus Banks, these are daunting numbers for Miami … 

9-38

#15, last place, in the Eastern Conference (EC)

10 games back of the 8th, and final, playoff spot

#27 (last in the EC) in Rebound Differential (-3.23) … a vital statistic, in the NBA, which Determines Winners from Losers …

#30 (last in the NBA) in Scoring Differential (-7.63).

Q1. Where does the Heat go from here?

A1. Straight up … with a bullet … in the Eastern Conference standings.

Fact #1. At 36 years of age, The Diesel simply cannotDefend, Rebound and/or Finish around the basket, at a very high level, any more … with a +15.84 Efficiency Rating this year (Career Averages). 

Fact #2. At 30 years of age, The Matrix is still a Rebounding, Defending, scoring machine, who is performing at or above his Career Averages this season … with a +23.74 Efficiency Rating.

Adding Marion & Banks to the Heat’s current line-up, thusly:

Starters
PG – Jason Williams (6-1, 180)
OG – Dwyane Wade (6-4, 216)
SF – Shawn Marion (6-7, 230)
PF – Udonis Haslem (6-8, 235)
C – Mark Blount (7-0, 250)

Bench Players
G – Marcus Banks (6-2, 212)
G – Daquan Cook (6-5, 205)
G/F – Ricky Davis (6-7, 205)
F – Dorell Wright (6-9, 210)
PF – Alexander Johnson (6-10, 230)
C – Earl Barron (7-10, 245)

Reserves
PG – Chris Quinn (6-2, 175)
PG – Smush Parker (6-4, 190)
C – Joel Anthony (6-9, 245)

instantaneously makes Miami into:

i) A better Rebounding team;

ii) A better Defensive team, especially in the half-court, with a plethora of athletic, good-sized guards, forwards and centers; and,

iii) A better Offensive team, capable of playing an up-tempo game by scoring often in transition, in bunches, from high percentage shots. 

Q2. Did the transaction help the Suns solidify their status as one of several “contending” teams in the Western Conference?

A2. Definitely.

BUT …

Q3. Did it help the Heat regain a measure of respectibility this season (short term), and heading to the future (long term)?

A3. Without a doubt!

With a re-energized Pat Riley, two viable scoring options, D-Wade & S-Marion (plus, an outstanding defender) … if the Heat can return U-Haslem to full health …

Do not be at all surprised to see Miami challenge for the 8th (and final) Playoff spot, in the EC, before the end of this season.

Visit: www.khandorsports.com