NBA Musings
I'm dying for the NFL but at least the NBA offseason brings a few storylines to the dog days of summer. Here are a few of my thoughts on some of the offseason moves so far:
(1) Shaquille O'Neal will not help LeBron James win a championship.
In fact, I think the Cavs won't come close to their record last season. Shaq did have a comeback year in Phoenix, but the Suns didn't even make the playoffs.
Shaq is a huge defensive liability these days and he may end up clogging the lane for LeBron James.
Sure, he helped LeBron's buddy Dwyane Wade win a championship a few years ago in Miami, but Shaq has slowed down since then.
Maybe the Cavs get to the Finals next season, but I just don't see them winning it.
(2) The Orlando Magic should do whatever it takes to re-sign Hedo Turkoglu. The trade for Vince Carter was huge but Turkoglu creates so many matchup problems for teams with his size (he's almost 6'10") and with his ability to drain threes Orlando shouldn't let him walk. Vinsanity is a huge upgrade at the guard position, but if the Magic lose Turkoglu, to me, they're pretty much the same team. And though that team was good enough to get to the Finals, they were lucky to get past a Boston team that was without Kevin Garnett; and ultimately they were drummed by the Lakers in the NBA Finals.
(3) Don't sleep on the Spurs in the Western Conference. Gregg Popovich always finds a way to make shrewd moves. Despite having low draft choices every season, they have been able to acquire All-Stars like Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili. This season they didn't even have a first round pick, and yet they were able to snag the Big East Player of the Year DuJuan Blair. Scouts think he's undersized to get it done in the NBA but I'll bet Popovich figures out a way to maximize his potential. And the addition of Richard Jefferson adds much needed athleticism to an aging team. Still, I think the Spurs will be right back in the mix to come out of the Western Conference next season if they can get Manu healthy again. Don't sleep on Duncan beating Shaq and Kobe to a 5th NBA ring.
(4) I like what the Wizards did trading for Randy Foye and Mike Miller BUT it's not like they're a contender. For too long EB has been touting the season the Big Three (Arenas, Jamison and Butler) were healthy and the Wizards had the best record in the Eastern Conference at the All-Star Break, but that was ages ago. Too many teams have gotten better and the Wizards have fallen behind. Even if Foye and Miller play to their potential, the Wizards are still significantly behind at least five Eastern Conference teams: Boston, Cleveland, Orlando, Detroit (they just added Ben Gordon and Charlie Villanueva) and Atlanta. And that's optimistic.
(5) Why would the Mavs want to give Jason Kidd a three-year contract? Just a couple of season's ago the Mavs were up 2-0 in the NBA Finals against the Miami Heat. Since then they've gotten worse every season. And who's been running the show the last two seasons? Jason Kidd. As long as he's been in the league, Kidd hasn't learned to shoot, and now at the age of 36 he is a defensive liability too as he can't keep up with the younger, quicker guards in the league. If I was Mark Cuban, I'd try and get Devin Harris back. What a botch?
Okay, that's it for now. I do get cised for some NBA!
Glass Joe
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It's summer. Who really cares about basketball. It's time for futbol!
How about one of you donks writing about the world's biggest sport?
Cross-Eyed Brett,
New to the internet, huh? The last post before this one was a soccer post...
Read a book.
Stick to your soccer commentary on espn deportes...latin donk.
I agree that the Shaq addition alone will not give LeBron a championship. But let's see what PF they add, cuz they definitely need a perimeter shooter there since Shaq can't shoot jumpers to space the floor like Ilgauskas does, so Varejao at PF is not gonna work. If they can coax Rasheed Wallace into taking the midlevel exception, then they'll be SCARY. If Boston gets Sheed instead, then advantage Celts.
Don't sleep on Shaq's defensive ability - you call him a HUGE liability there, but that's not accurate. Yes he struggles defending the two man game, but so do almost all big centers. He makes up for it by being a great defender in the low post. Dwight Howard abused Big Z with post moves, but Shaq will force him to have to shoot over him, and we know Howard is still working on that part of his game.
Even with those limitations, I think the Magic are poised to return to the Finals since the addition of Vince is the best move of the offseason so far. When you call Turkoglu just as valuable as Carter, I think you need to jump out of another airplane to get your head cleared there, John Paul Utah. They don't need to sign Turkoglu - let Portland with their endless stacks of cash overpay for him. He's a quality player, but he's no Vinsanity. Vince is way more explosive, he's a better defender, better shooter, and an equal passer to Hedo. Turkoglu may be 6'10", but he doesn't play like it - he stays on the perimeter. The Magic will still enjoy creating matchup advantages with Rashard Lewis at PF, cuz he can score equally well from the post and the perimeter.
Don't overrate Turkoglu just cuz he had lots of exposure in the playoffs. Remember that he shot 41% for FG and 35% on 3s last year. Watch Vince shoot the lights out getting to play with all that talent for once - he's never had the chance to play with All-Star bigs before, and now he has Howard and Lewis - watch out NBA, the Magic will be DOMINANT next year. People have forgotten how great Vince really is.
JP,
Football season can't get here soon enough.
I think With Garnet coming back with the addition of rasheed Wallace and with rajo rondo and also glenn davis is stepping up,with allen and peirce they will be very tough to beat.
and with artest going to the Lakers they will be strong also,with Bynum Improving as he gets experience also!
And jefferson with the Spurs and Ginobli coming back with parker and also duncan,the spurs will be tough.
I think Its gonna be The Celtics verse the spurs or the lakers.
I dont think the Cavs will be able to beat the celtics unless Garnett gets hurt again!!
celtics will have homecourt and beat the cavs even with ShaQ! Maybe Garnett will get hurt again.
Who Knows!If he dosent get hurt,Its the celtics verse the spurs or the lakers.
One of these 3 teams celtics, lakers or spurs will be champions next year,nobody else is close to these 3 teams!!
Maybe the cavs can hang,but it will tough to take out the celtics!
I think the Magic are worse without Heido, Vince carter is a good one on one player like Mcgrady,but like mcgrady he doesnt make his teammates better,they both need the ball too much,Heido was a clutch player for the magic.
Remember Heido blocking james shot at the end of that one game in the playoffs,HUGE PLAY in the series to force OT, he is a good defender.being 6 10 he helped out on the backside alot,inside and out.there gonna miss him!
ALso while hitting big shots he also fits in well and picked his spots too shoot so he fits in,didnt take away from howards game too much, I dont see carter doing these things, magic will be worse off!!
vince will sell more tickets thats it though!
The Magic and Celts will be tough to get past. Shaq isn't going to put you over the edge in close games, due to foul shots, etc.
The Wiz aren't going anywhere other than #9 or #10 in the Eastern Conference.