Sunday 28 October 2012

Shocker

James Harden was traded to the Houston Rockets for Kevin Martin, Jeremy Lamb, and picks.  Wow!  No one aside from Jalen Rose saw this one coming.  Presti lowballed Harden offering him 4 years for 52 to 55 million.  In Houston Harden will get alot more money with no state taxes.  OKC is sticking to their team philosophy with this one.  Everyone must accept less dough to remain with the team.   Remember Jeff Green.

I applaud the Thunder sticking to their guns but short term their title hopes are taking a huge hit with this trade.  Harden was a major part of Thunder ball.  A rare talent he could score in bunches by taking the ball to the hole and had a nice jumper.  Team chemistry takes a hit with this deal as well.

Harden cant be blamed for not accepting a low offer.  This is a business.  The chance to be the man on another team is something he must have wanted on the other hand.  In the end given the OKC philosophy he had to know he was leaving at some point this year.

Long term the deal might work out for the Thunder.  Kevin Martin will replace some of what Harden provided this year, perhaps he stays long term.  Jeremy Lamb and Perry Jones 3 might develop into pieces on a title contender.  The draft picks also might pan out.

In the end the future will tell but the Thunders 2012-13 title aspirations took a huge hit with the Harden deal. Talent and chemistry are important.  Denver and the Lakers have to benefit from the deal.  It would not surprise me if the Thunder fell to the #2 or #3 seed in the Western Conference come playoff time.


Watched two CFB games yesterday.  The Florida/Georgia was atrocious with the Dawgs winning.  Penalties and horrendous offensive play created a disjointed affair.  The CBS SEC bias is also hard to listen to.  Boston College got its first ACC win of the year over Maryland.  Good to see that score on the ticker but its time to get rid of Spaz and redo the whole thing in Chesnut Hill.

The Notre Dame/Oklahoma game was a pleasure to watch.  I am an Irish homer and this one was a nail biter till the end.  I kept waiting for Golston to make the mistake that would cost the Irish the game but it never happened.  Coach Kelly has been brilliant with his young qb and the offence.  Golston has become a threat for the Irish and avoids mistakes.  He has matured.  The defense again was dominant when it counted. At the beginning I had my doubts about the bend but don't break philosophy but it was a great game plan as the D was able to stifle the Sooners in the red zone.  Blake Bell really got under my skin, scoring the first rushing td against the Irish all season.  Teo again was a force with a sack and a late interception that sealed the win.  He should be considered seriously for the Heisman.  A second place finish to Klein of KSU is not out of the question.

The Irish should be undefeated heading into their last game against USC.  I am shocked by the quick progress the Irish have made under Brian Kelly.  They are relevant again.

Saturday 27 October 2012

Western Conference

As always it seems the Western Conference is loaded.  Dwight and Nash have joined the Lakers.  The Thunder are young and salivating for another chance at the title.  Denver seems loaded like the late 90's Trailblazers.  San Antonio is still strong.

Here are the playoff teams an contenders:

1. OKC:  Durant will lead the league in scoring.  Westbrook is unguardable. Harden's contract will be resolved soon.  All the pieces of a title contender.
2.  Lakers:  LA certainly has the talent to make the Finals.  Dwight has alot to prove.  Nash and Pau should be a delight to watch.  How will Kobe co-exist with all the talent around him?  Is the bench good enough?
3.  Denver: Iggy is a great addition to this team.  His defense is stellar and he should thrive in the Nuggets transition game.  Lawson is blossoming.  Galinari is a shooter.  The Manimal!  Deep squad too many to name.  Wouldn't surprise me if they got the #2 seed.
4. San Antonio:  All the same pieces.  A full year of Diaw and Jackson will help.  No big man to play alongside Duncan.  Leonard is key.  Popovich will figure it out again and make us all look stupid.
5. Clippers:  Chris Paul is amazing.  Griffin is a highlight machine but he game is unpolished and I view him as overrated.  Still the roster is deep, Crawford, Hill, Billups, Odom, Bledsoe, and Jordan.  The vets will provide a good regular season record.
6.  Utah:  Love the frontcourt of Milsap, Favors, and Jefferson.  Hayward is solid and developing.  Mo and Marvin Williams should have "I'm pissed at my old team" seasons.  A surprise team?
7.  Memphis:  Z Bo and Gasol are solid.  Rudy Gay is soft as proved by last years playoffs.   I think the Grizzlies start to slide.
8.  New Orleans:  The shocker!  Monty Willliams is a great coach.  Eric Gordon returns and is elite.  Davis wins rookie of the year.  Miracles do happen.  Hey David Stern got them a great trade for Chris Paul and the #1 overall pick.

Contenders:

Timberwolves:  Very fortunate Rubio and Love are injured to begin the season.  Will be interesting to see how the once retired Roy performs.  The Russian wings?  Peckovic might have some skills.
Golden State:  Bogut is always injured, as is Curry  Klay Thompson scored alot of points when the team was tanking.
Dallas:  So long Dirk.  This team sucks.  Cuban really screwed up the last two summers in breaking up his championship team and accomplishing nothing is free agency.  Collison, Brand, Kaman, and Mayo are solid pros but nothing to get excited about.

The playoffs in the Western Conference should be very exciting.  Barring injury I look for the Lakers to figure out how to use all their new found wealth late and dominate.  I think its a draw between them and the Thunder for conference title.  Lakers in seven games.
A Lakers/Heat finals! Wow, should be awesome!

The Celtics and the East

I have the Celtics penciled in as the #2 seed in the Eastern Conference.  The additions of Terry and Lee should bolster the backcourt play.  Look for Lee to start with Terry providing scoring off the bench.  Jeff Green returns this year after health issues.  He can provide some scoring and defense.  Sullinger looks like a quality pick in last springs draft.  A smart player Sully might surprise.  Garnett and Pierce are still the core leaders of this team and despite their advanced ages they will continue to produce.  The Celtics will go as far as Rondo takes them.  He is a top five point guard in the league and I expect a big year from him as he makes a run to be mentioned in this years MVP debate.

Here are the other playoff teams and contenders from the East.
1. Miami:  Lebron has his ring and he will dominate once again.  Wade appears to be healthy and Bosh proved his value in last years Finals.  Now that Lebron will not be bogged down by playing a position the sky is the limit for the Heat's version of small ball.  Ray Allen left Boston because of his ego and will knock down some shots.  The Heat/Celtics matchups should be classic as these two teams do not like each other and Allen joining the Heat has only added to the rivalry.
2. Boston
3. Indiana:  The Pacers surprised everyone last year.  Now the team is marked and it will be interesting to see if they can perform like a season ago.  They put alot of faith is George Hill by trading Collison.  Will Paul George make the leap and become a star?
4. Chicago:  I'm sticking with the Bulls.  Rose will be back soon enough.  Great coaching and a system philosophy will carry them this year.  The bench mob is gone.
5. Atlanta:  Josh Smith and Horoford are a great front court.  Johnson and his contract are finally gone.  Teague, Harris, and Lou Williams will provide scoring and defense on the perimeter.
6. Brooklyn:  Looks good on paper.  Can't guard anyone.  They might impress during the season.  Will Deron Williams return to Utah form?
7.  Philadelphia:  Bynum is hurt.  Can he be a #1 on a team?  Nick Young cannot replace Lou Williams.  Will  the Sixers tire of Doug Collins.
8.  Knicks:  Camby, Thomas, Kidd, and Wallace are senior citizens.  Melo is a black hole.  Amare is hurt again.

Contenders
Milwaukee:  Will the Ellis and Jennings backcourt work?  Both guys are shot first guards.
Detroit:  Monroe is great.  Drummond had looked good.
Toronto:  Bunch of solid players and depth.
Washington:  All depends is Wall gets back soon enough.
Cleveland:  Probably not but Irving is a star.

Aside from Miami and Boston the East is wide open.  Indiana should be a lock.  Any of the other teams could really slide.  In the end the conference belongs to Miami with Boston giving another strong showing.  The Heat/Celtics battles should be epic.


Be back at you will the Western Conference.

Thursday 25 October 2012

Whoa

Correction:  New York is not a lock to make the playoffs,  put them in contention for the #8 seed, roster is aged, Melo is a black hole, Amare is hurtin

NBA Starts Up In Less Than A Week

Very excited for the Association to start up.  This year we will be treated to a full season with the strike of last fall behind us.  My teams are the Celtics and the Raptors.  Living in Canada I have become very interested in and follow the Toronto franchise closely.  The Raps are a team void of a true superstar but might be able to contend for the final playoff seed in the Eastern Conference this season.
Seems like Miami, Boston, Indiana, Brooklyn, Atlanta, Chicago, Philadelphia, and New York are givens to snatch the first 7 seeds.  That leaves Milwaukee, Toronto, Detroit, and possibly Cleveland to duke it out for the eight seed.
The preseason means nothing but I like what I've seen from the Raptors so far.
The starting five:
Lowry:  love the trade that brought him to Toronto,  a gritty defender, a true gamer, plays hard and is willing to take the big shot
DeRozean:  stats geeks are not in love with Demar, however he seems to have developed his game a bit,  he know goes to the rim looking for contact. he could surprise this year with his production
Fields:  overpaid perhaps, seem to be an intangible guy who makes the smart play, good defender
Bargnani:  has his limitations with rebounding and defense, a scorer
Valanciunas: impressed me so far with defense and rebounding,  can score, not polished, makes mistakes, hustles,  high potential
The Bench
Calderon: great backup point guard, possible trade bait later in the year
Lucas: another point guard, might be used at shooting guard because he can flat out score
Johnson: energy big man
Davis: make or break year for the former lottery pick
Anderson: serviceable
Ross:  the rookie lottery pick has been injured this pre-season, supposed to be good defender and shooter, will see how long it takes him to make the rotation
The Raps do not have a star but the roster is comprised of solid players.  Depth is also good with this team.  Casey is a defense first coach.  As long as the Raps can score, which they should be able to at this point with the depth they have, Toronto could get to about 38 to 40 wins.  That total might get them in the playoffs.  The ceiling for the squad is a poor mans version of last years Pacers.  A team with a bunch of solid players that overachieves.  What you say?  Yeah the analogy is a big reach.  The Raps don't have the talent of a Granger, George, or a Hibbert.  I did say poor mans version.
Hoops.  Love em and the boundless optimism that comes with every season till the results come in.
Next time I'll run down the Celtics.

Tuesday 23 October 2012

Pigskins

The week that was.  Felt good to see Team Gagan get back on the winning side of the ledger.  Overall record is 3-4.  Had to sweat this one out as Maurice Jones-Drew injured is foot early against the Raiders.  Was a nail biter!  Held on for an 11 point victory.  Hopefully the wins keep coming.  Dropped Vick, useless turnover prone loser, pending the waiver wire.  Hoping to add Kerley from the Jets and the new Arizona running back.  Sending Pitta packing.
Umm, the Patriots are starting to really scare me.  Brady seems to have lost the charm.  They can't hold onto leads or close games.  They stop using Gronk and Welker for periods.  I don't get it.  I am starting to think the shine is gone and the er might be over.  They made Sanchez look capable in the win versus the Jets.  Yikes.  Thankfully there seems to be only one very good team, Houston, in the AFC.
I was very impressed with RG3.  The rookie Redskins, bad team name, quarterback looked stellar.  He is a flash with the ball and has an arm to match his foot speed.  The Giants defenders were gushing about him after the game.  The Skins outplayed the Gaints most of the game losing on a late Manning to Cruz hookup.  Griffin really has changed his teams fortunes as they are competitive in every game.  Can't wait for years of RG3 in the NFC East.
College football wise didn't watch much.  West Virginia is done after being trounced for a second week in a row by Kansas State.  Colin Klein appears to be the front runner for the Heisman.  Notre Dame rolled on with a tight win over BYU.  Boston College's season will mercifully end in November and I am interested to see who the next coach will be.
Very excited for this weeks Notre Dame/Oklahoma game on Saturday night.  Should be a good one.  ND needs to put up some points to keep up with the Sooners.  The Irish defense can't win every game for them.

Tuesday 16 October 2012

Sox Sack Valentine and AL MVP

That was quick.  Bobby V was fired one day after the 2012 Red Sox ended the season with a 14-2 drubbing at the hands of the Yankees.  The move comes to the surprise of no one.  In fact the only reason he lasted the entire season was the owners let their egos get in the way.  It was a poor hire to begin with.  Chalk it right up there with the sell out streak and the big contracts thrown at players incapable of handling the market.  However, all the blame cannot be put on the owners or even Bobby V for this season.  The players have to perform and they did not.  They seemed to disagree with the hire from the get go and never were willing to buy in.
What's next?  I have no idea.  I kind of hope the owners sell the team and we get some new blood in.  Manager wise Farrell from Toronto should be a target.  Blue Jay nation won't be happy and have blocked previous attempts by the Sox.  It could be a dog fight if it's even possible.

The AL MVP should go to Miquel Cabreara.  End of story.  He propelled his team to the playoffs while winning the first triple crown in 45 freaking years.  A ridiculous season.  Unfortunately, the stat geeks have clouded the matter with praise for Mike Trout.  Trout has also had a stellar season.  He excels at defense and on the base paths.  He might have a high WAR.  Trout will win plenty of MVP's if he keeps it up.  The AL Rookie is all his this year.  The Angels did not make the playoffs.  This why the Detroit slugger wins the award.
Sabermatics are entertaining in a geeked  out way.  But apparently the RBI is now devalued?  Please.  Knocking runners in front of you and runners in scoring position is the definition of clutch.

Hibernation


Alright my forced exodus is over.  I have to come out of hiding.  Enough is enough.  Team Gagan has lost three in a row.  I will not dwell on the previous weeks but I am tired of losing.  Last week I lose because of RG3 caution and Aaron Rodgers goes insane for my opponent.  RG3 is concussed the week before so I sit him and start Andrew Luck last week.  Luck bombs versus the Jets and RG3 has a great game versus the Vikes.  I could have had a win if not for Rodgers throwing six scores against the Texans.  What's up with the Texans D?  Well the nucleus of RG3, MJD, Bradshaw, Gronk, Nicks, Jones, Moore, Bryant, and ATL D/ST are all in the lineup this weekend.  I need the W, my confidence is wandering like a Patriots corner.  Thomas from Denver is my only key player with a bye.  I need my WR's to produce, hopefully Hakeem NIcks is approaching full health.  Victory will be mine and I pledge from this point on to stay out of the way.

The Patriots reverted back to early season form in losing late to the Seahawks.  It was very disappointing.  Th offense could not seal the deal and put up so more points to cushion the lead.  The Pats are losing their luster.  Is the era coming to an end?
I mean we've only known the secondary is awful for five years now and nothing has been done to fix it.  Unbelievable, every time the ball was in the air late in the game I just knew a Seahawk would come down with it for a big play.
Could not find the Giants-Niners game on T.V. here.  Giants were very impressive from all accounts.

College football is heating up.  The SEC teams keep knocking eachother off week by week. West Virginia was upset.  If this holds up my Notre Dame fighting Irish might sneak into a major bowl.  The Irish defense was impressive in out smashing Stanford with an overtime goal line stand.  Offensive the Irish have a tight end and quality running backs.  Still undefeated.  Alabama, Florida, and Oregon seem to be the title contenders but for the Irish to be in a BCS bowl would be a major step in the right direction.

Monday 1 October 2012

Rondo/Allen

What's the over/under on a Ray Allen Rajon Rondo dustup/skirmish this year?  I think it might happen.  Everyone has overvalued the class factor with Jesus Shuttlesworth, he has the look and plays the part of a GQ'ish hombre but last years feud with Rondo proves otherwise.  Rondo got the intern position with the magazine over the summer so perhaps he will take the high road when the Celtics and Heat tip off.  I doubt it.  KG has now involved himself in the fray, divulging that he and Allen no longer speak.  This could get interesting.  Expect at the minimum some long hard stares between the former backcourt mates.

NBA Media Day News

The Spurs are giving Eddy Curry a invite to training camp.  Um shocking move for the Spurs.  Guess they need an extra warm body in camp.  Is the D-League or China the next stop for Eddy?

Andrew Bynum took a trip to Germany.  Insert Kobe knee doctor voodoo pin here.  And the year long Bynum injury questions begin.  Wait till the Philly press starts to wonder aloud about his maturity and attitude.

John Wall is shelved for a month with a bum knee.  Hope for the Raptors.  Like the Wizards the Raps are eyeing the #8 seed in the Eastern Conference.  A slow start for the Wiz could help Canada's team.

Bryan Colangelo was not optimistic entering last season.  And now he is with more talent on the roster entering this year.  A little too forthright with last years opinions.  Did last year even need to be mentioned?  I give him some credit for bringing in some talent, Lowry, Fields, Ross, and McGuire but the poster child for nepotism needs to zip it sometimes.