As a life long till I die Sacramento Kings fan, I have been following the relocation drama on a daily basis and one of the few positives of dealing with this never-ending situation is that it has allowed the world to see how much passion one city can have for its only professional sports franchise. This film, Small Market, Big Heart encompasses how the Sacramento Kings fans are the greatest in the NBA  as, in my opinion, no city/region would have fought this hard to raise awareness of the need to keep the Kings in the Capital City. This movie is a tribute to the history of the franchise’s 27 years in Sacramento and its special relationship with its fans. It has now been released to watch for free on the internet. Definitely worth a watch. Special shout out to the folks who put this movie together: James Ham, Blake Ellington, and Tobin Halsey. You can check out more information on the movie here .

One final note: There is an epilogue after the credits in which Mayor Kevin Johnson of Sacramento describes what happened when the Maloofs rejected the deal. This movie premiered in January in Downtown Sacramento’s Crest Theatre, prior to the recent massacre brought on by the Maloofs after shaking hands on an what was seemingly a “fair deal”. More on that later. Check out the movie in its full entirety below and enjoy.

Andrew Bynum has emerged as one of the top 2 centers in the NBA this season, but his actions on and off the court are causing problems.  Claiming close games are easy, parking illegally, taking bad shots, being completely uninspired in games and of course his ejection against the Mavericks in the 2011 playoffs has him making headlines recently.  We had our writers give some input as to what they think about the young center’s last year.

Amish Doshi:

I don’t agree with any notion that Andrew Bynum is the future of the Los Angeles Lakers. I don’t care what other folks have to say on the topic because I would not put up with these entitled childish antics if I were his teammate, coach, general manager or owner. A recent poll some stupid ESPN reporter put out showed that 22 of the league’s GMs would trade Bynum straight up for Dwight Howard at this point. I don’t care how talented you are as a player or what you’ve done to show your talent (1 full season out of 7 of health at which he played at an all-star level in 7 total seasons), you still have to play by the same basic rules of expected conduct as a professional just as every individual player on the team. Bynum is trying to see how much power he really has with this organization since he believes he’s their golden boy (Jim Buss, take a bow). He undermines Mike Brown’s authority whenever he can with his stupid comments on the 3 pointer he took against Golden State as well as his desire to practice “his Zen” which he mentioned during that same 3 point controversy. He bitches and moans when he doesn’t get the ball on offensive possessions and sticks it back to his teammates by having complete lapses on weak side help defense and giving up offensive rebounds or by not even trying to crash the boards on the offensive ends.

He continues to make ridiculous statements to the media about “not being ready to play” or about how for DeMarcus Cousins “it’s terrible that he has to play in Sacramento. He could take his talents somewhere and really help a team.” He delayed his needed surgery during the summer (for a vacation to watch the World Cup) after the Lakers won the 2010 NBA title, having known it would cause him to miss games during the regular season (which Pau Gasol quietly threw him under the bus for) and then afterward stated he would have done the same thing over again. He proceeded to act like a complete dirt bag when he elbowed JJ Barea in mid-air during game 4 when it was clear the Lakers were going to lose(I watched stunningly as some Laker fans cheered this moment at a bar in Santa Monica). This action cost himself the first 5 games for the next season of which the Lakers lost 3. And the list goes on. Bynum is immensely talented and at times looks like the best big man in the league. Sorry, but one all-star season doesn’t prove it and his continued actions show that he’s not ready to be a franchise player and likely never will be. I’m sure there are Laker “fans” lined up in his corner though ready to kiss Bynum’s ass and blame everything on Mike Brown’s coaching, which is irrelevant to the conversation. Doesn’t matter who the coach is, because if a player doesn’t have respect for his teammates, coach or organization at the most minimum required level, then he isn’t worth all the talent in the world. I would trade him in a heartbeat for the best deal I could find. Its worked out well for organizations (that seemingly could not afford to lose superstars because of their market) that had much less entitled than Bynum type star players and that made the decision relatively quickly (See Utah and Denver). You’re the Lakers, you’ll always find a way back to the top. God I hate them so much.

Conclusion, Bynum is a bitch and not worth the trouble. I’m not of the age group of stupid young kids (10-22 yrs. old) that have stars in my eyes for these talented athletes that think they have organizations by the throat. Call me cynical if you want.

Zayd Sharif:

I actually saw Bynum play in the Summer League games down in Long Beach when he was first drafted and obviously he was better than everyone else being a top 10 pick, it was clear how much talent he could develop.  He had great hands, length and footwork.  His development was slow but I feel that is the norm with most centers.  But looking back, it looks like Phil Jackson had a clue that Bynum was a little different in the way he acts.  There are clips of PJ making fun of Andrew for being a wuss.   Of course he showed Phil just how much respect for him he had with his stupid foul on Barea last year in their last game together.

So now with all the talent Bynum is showing as a focal point of the offense (when he feels like playing) he has certainly grown an ego.  I wish it took as long as his ability to develop but clearly his ego was already talented.  I cannot understand what is going through his mind whatsoever.  He continues to make foolish comments and act bored and uninterested on the court.  Every time he takes a step forward, he takes about seven back.  He follows up great games with ones you would expect out of Jordan Hill (who could teach Bynum a thing or two about playing hard).  He thinks extremely highly of himself but when you hand a 24 year old nearly $20 million a year, it is not unexpected.  It is part of the 7-footer issue where money is thrown at them needlessly and prematurely.  Quite frankly I can slightly excuse a player who acts a fool off the court but at least shows up and plays every game.  But Andrew Bynum has been extremely problematic with his growing ego and lack of respect, and it is hurting his image (as if he cares) but more importantly his team.

Unless he learns to bring his best every night and to have some respect for himself and his team, Bynum will continue to be a headache the Lakers will have to deal with.  Something Dr. Buss will not stand for, but his son on the other hand…

Jaymin Patel:

There are certain qualities in sports that give a player a “Get Out of Jail Free” card. Okay, maybe not jail, but maybe a “Get Out of Trouble For Being An Idiot” card. In football, it’s a guy with an elite size/speed combination. In baseball, it’s the ability to hit with power. In basketball, it’s size. Size trumps all. Why do the Lakers and Laker fans not only, to a large extent, put up with Andrew Bynum acting like a teenager on an NBA floor? Because he’s big.

In fact, not only do fans, coaches and NBA “experts” put up with Bynum’s antics, they even stick up for him by bailing him out with a variety of excuses. He’s young. He’s immature. He’s a product of his Hollywood surroundings. Just wait until he really get’s serious.

Bynum, while physically mature, has a lot of growth to do between the ears. His post game is superb, his defensive technique is sound, but he lacks in poise and maturity in adverse situations. Game 5 against the Nuggets was a perfect example. The Nuggets spent the entire night backing off the Laker PG’s and double teaming Bynum or Gasol on the post, with one player in front and one player behind, before they even got the ball. The result was a Laker offense forced to shoot the ball and less touches for the two 7 footers down low. At this point in the season, Gasol has been content to play “high-low” with Bynum, feeding him down low while getting few opportunities himself. Bynum however, took the response of being pissed off he wasn’t getting the ball enough and started letting his mind wander on the defensive end. JaVale McGee got a bunch of lobs while Bynum craned his neck up to watch him slam it home. He looked just about as disinterested and prepared as anyone can look on the floor of an NBA game, just because he didn’t get enough touches in the post.

Not quite what you want from your mid-twenties 7 foot center. The Lakers will live with it, however, because there’s no alternative. They’re not getting Dwight Howard. Bynum’s not going to flip a switch and play with a Jordan-like intensity for every minute of every game. Yes, he might not be such a baby, but he’s never going to be mistaken for a tough-nosed hustler. You’ve got to live with the bad if you want the good.

Avi Shah: 

I think Andrew Bynum emerged on to the scene this year, faster than even Andrew Bynum thought he would. He has never been a star at any point of his career. He emerged late in high school, and came in behind the shadows of Shaq when he was drafted by the Lakers. Stardom is one of those things, a phenomena, that can’t be explained by you and me. It’s one of those things that a lot of people want, but very few people have. And among those who do achieve the stardom, very very few know how to handle it–especially in a place like Los Angeles.

Lets get one thing straight, Bynum is a superior and highly talented post player. With all bias aside, he simply has the most developed post game of any center in the league. You can say all you want, Dwight Howard is a fantastic player, but how low post prowess is no where near what Bynum posses. He IS the most talented big man in the league.

Can you question Bynum’s interest in games? Yes. But before all of you kill him over that, take a look back at guys like Dwight Howard and Shaq. They both are/were great big men, but their effort has been questioned many many times. Shaq came into every season uninspired and overweight. Dwight has given up on his teammates multiple times. There is a root to all of this. TOUCHES. Big men do not operate without touches. When Bynum gets touches, hes been fantastic, but there have been too many times where they go to him early and forget about him late. It is only natural for a guy with so much talented to be uninspired when he is not being rewarded with touches. The part that Andrew needs to still figure out is how to coexist with Kobe, who is going to demand the ball, and naturally get more touches since he is a guard. Andrew Bynum with Kobe can go as far as Pau Gasol takes him. Gasol is the best distributing big man in the league, and he is the on that “feeds the beast.” That leads to my conclusion, Bynum becomes uninspired as a result of poor nights by Gasol (there have been plenty this year). Bynum is still the future of this franchise, and the Lakers would be fools to think otherwise and trade him.

In three days of NBA Playoff action, we have learned one thing for sure. Carmelo Anthony wants to win his way and his way only. This involves having the entire Knicks offense run through him even though they have another good option in Amare Stoudemire who only got 9 attempts in Game 2. See, Carmelo Anthony just doesn’t get it. He claims he wants to win, he claims he wants to do whats good for the team. He feels that he’s just as good as Wade and James (he’s not, he’s only more clutch). He feels that if the offense doesn’t run through him, it can’t be successful. He also is completely delusional to the fact that the Knicks are playing 500 ball since he arrived. That’s right, kids. The Knicks have only won half their games since Melo’s arrival from Denver and guess what Denver is playing much better than the Knicks are because they play as a team. Don’t get me wrong, to win in the NBA you need superstar level players, but you also need superstars that are willing to concede. Even that jerk Kobe ‘Bean’ Bryant concedes some of his game. We all know LeBron is the singular most unselfish superstar to ever exist and even Wade has picked up his habits since the “King” arrived. But not Melo. Melo doesn’t make anyone better. He’s the best and most clutch all around scorer in the league but he fails miserably at doing anything else. The funny thing is, that when he does decide to not be a lazy idiot and apply himself on defense and on the glass, he does a pretty good job. But those moments are few and far between.

See, Melo was very jealous of Jeremy Lin’s rise in NYC and so he had to start blaming other folks for his inability to grow the fuck up. So he blamed D’Antoni and got his ass fired by owner James Dolan in a clear you know who wins power struggle. Dolan might be just as delusional as Melo in his thinking that you can build a franchise around this assclown. Melo just doesn’t get it. And he’s starting to approach Tracy McGrady/Dominique Wilkins territory. Great individual talents that could never get their teams to win anything substantial.

All that said, I won’t act like that tool Colin Coward, err Cowherd, and say that Carmelo will forever be stuck in his ways. Reason being, I believe people can change and adapt for the better at any point in their life even though it does become more difficult as you get older and more set in your ways. I believe this to be true of professional athletes. See, I still believe Alex Smith can be better and I still believe that quarterbacks such as him and Andy Dalton are not limited like Cowherd seems to proclaim every week during the NFL season while he’s sucking on that great talent Tony Romo’s cock. I believe this to be true of professional basketball players as well, they can strive to make changes but it sometimes takes hitting rock bottom to do so. Carmelo has not hit that point yet. Maybe he needs to get traded to a bottom dwelling hellhole of a franchise like say the Sacramento Kings, like a former All-Star once did and then proceeded to rebuilt his career into potential Hall of Fame possibilities, in order to understand that no one cares about his abilities anymore because in the grand scheme of the bottom line business that is professional sports it means absolutely nothing.

For the greatness of the NBA, I hope Melo does figure it out at some point because I do enjoy watching him put up numbers and clutch performances and he has star qualities,  but I also don’t enjoy watching kids between the ages of 9-22 look at him with starry eyes and say “Man, he’s so good, he can score on anybody, I want his jersey!” Melo sets a bad example for future aspiring ball players with the attitude of “I’m gonna get mine and that’s how we’re going to win”. This attitude is needed in spurts,  not in overall game play to determine the success and progression of a basketball team.

For Knicks fans, they better hope Melo figures all of this out in the next 2-3 years at some point.

So Doc Rivers and his crew of veteran stars Paul Pierce, Ray Allen, and Kevin Garnett decided that gaining home court advantage in the first round was unnecessary against a team like the Atlanta Hawks. The Hawks should take that personally. The Hawks fans definitely turn it up when it comes times for the playoffs. The ATL definitely gets it rocking in April May and June but that’s about it. Atlanta is still a pretty good team with Joe Johnson (who is so regarded as overpaid that he is now seemingly underrated, reference to Bill Simmons) and they have Josh Smith who is a monster that can fill up that stat sheet but if he would just stop taking bad shots out of the offense would be so much more efficient.

While many including myself favor Boston in this series, it would be nice to see Atlanta finally beat them. It would also be nice to see Tracy McGrady be an active role player involved in getting a team out of the first round. What if T-Mac has one of those vintage performances that can help swing one game in Atlanta’s favor? Who knows. I like Boston even without Ray Allen because they have other players who have emerged this season including Avery Bradley and Brandon Bass (who still is one of the most underrated players in the league).

Prediction: Celtics in 7

Photo courtesy of bleacherreport.com

The Lakers are back after their mini-reform from last season to face a familiar foe in the first round in the Denver Nuggets. A lot was made of the Lakers exit last year when they were swept by the Mavericks in the second round after coming off back to back championships. The Lakers were questioned, Phil Jackson left, the Chris Paul trade fell apart, Mike Brown was brought in, and Lamar Odom was traded to the Mavs. Meanwhile, the Denver Nuggets have been playing solid basketball all season long with no real go-to scorer after trading their superstar Carmelo Anthony to the New York Knicks last year and trading away Nene at the trade deadline after they just gave him a huge contract last summer. Both teams have different looks from years past, but both teams have adapted to these changes and are starting to play good basketball.

George Karl’s Nuggets have bought into the the “team game” system and it has paid off. In a strange move, the Nuggets decided to trade Nene after giving him a $67 million contract in the offseason. In return, the Nuggets got bone-head JaVale McGee and Ronny Turiaf. The Nuggets can recover from this loss (which can be argued as a gain by taking that contract off the books) because of rookie Kenneth Faried. He didn’t get much media attention in college and still continues to get a lack of attention for being an outstanding rookie. Faried is an absolute hustle player, and the model big man you want on your team. Faried will get to all loose balls and go after every rebound. He will definitely force Gasol and Bynum to stay honest on the glass. The Nuggets also have arguably the fastest guy in the NBA in Ty Lawson, a characteristic that is known to give the Lakers major problems. The X factor will be Al Harrington for the Nuggets, who went off on the Lakers in their one victory over the Lakers this season.

The Lakers on the other hand have been playing well as of late, but consistency has been a problem for this team in this short, high-density schedule. This is the time this team should thrive. Their roster and their system is built around success in the post season. The Lakeshow runs the half court, pound it down low, defensive, physical basketball (although some of that physicality and defense will be missed with the suspension of Meta World Peace). The Lakers have had success against this team this season, going 3-1 in the season series. The key, like always, will be to get the big men involved. Andrew Bynum has also had his issues with coach Mike Brown, so it will be interesting to see which Bynum shows up to play. With that said, Kobe Bryant is still the hungriest player in this league and his mind is set on that 6th championship. The key for Kobe is to get his team to believe and really lead them through the playoffs. Kobe’s shooting has certainly been inconsistent throughout the year, bugged with various injuries such as the finger, nose, and shin, but this is the time that Kobe thrives.

The Lakers should be able to dominate this team, I’ll take the Lakers in 5.

Photo courtesy of articles.latimes.com

The Los Angeles Clippers are finally back into the playoffs for the first time since 2006. They matchup with the up and coming Grizzlies who had one of the biggest upsets in history last year when they ousted the top seeded Spurs. Both teams did a seed switch at the end of the season to give Memphis the home court advantage (something you may have not known if you tried to follow this series on ESPN).

The Grizzlies once again flew under the radar because of the injury to Zach Randolph which kept him out for the majority of the season. Nonetheless, Marc Gasol picked up a majority of the slack down low and made his first allstar appearance. The Grizz are a true force to be reckoned with down low, and arguably the best low post combo behind Bynum and Gasol, but Lionell Hollins has chose to bring Z-Bo off the bench since coming back from his injury. The strategy has proven to be effective, but Randolph will have to be a real factor if the Grizzlies plan to move past the Clippers. The Grizzlies in their uptempo offense are extremely dangerous, which should make it really interesting against the Clips who like to get out and running too. One thing that has to be mentioned is that Rudy Gay will be playing unlike last year’s playoffs, but it will be interesting to see how he meshes with Randolph for the alpha dog. O.J. Mayo can really push this team to the next level if he can provide the instant offense off the bench.

The Clippers on the other hand are coming into the offseason with two losses that lost them the 4th seed and a groin injury to Chris Paul to go with it. It always helps to have a young team enter the playoffs with momentum and “peaking at the right time” and I’m not sure the Clippers have either going for them. With that said Chris Paul is the best point guard in the league and can give any oppsing team nightmares. He has a unique ability of setting up guys in great spots and making them look great. It will be interesting to see how much of a factor the groin will be for CP3. Both DJ and Griffin will be challenged by the presence down low, so it will be interesting to see how they are able to adjust. The X factor for the Clippers will be Randy Foye. He has the ability to cone into the game and knock down a few 3s in a hurry.

The edge is to the Grizz who have been through the playoffs with this group of guys. They also matchup really well to the Clippers, and the home court advantage will prove to be too much. I’ll take the Grizzlies in 7.

Dwight Howard with the look of a man who just mailed it in. Photo courtesy of Gabriel Bouys/AFP/Getty Images.

Sorry guys, this post is not a playoff preview, I know all 4 of you were looking forward to reading about how the Pacers have emerged this season with its young talent blossoming into a no. 3 seed a good legitimate shot at competing for a trip  to the East Finals but it was not to be. Sorry for all 1 or 2 of you Magic fans that are reading this that thought I would give a rip about explaining how the Magic could use the “The world is against us” motto to somehow make this series interesting but fuck no that’s not happening and its not even worth explaining. This series should be placed on the shelf aka NBA TV for all its games. 

MEMO

To: Dwight Howard

From: Everybody

Subject: Thanks for nothing…

Hey Dwight, I just wanted to thank you for absolutely nothing. I don’t care if you’re injured and are sitting at home really upset that you’re not playing in this year’s playoffs because quite frankly, you mailed it in before the season started. You are an embarrassment to true superstars everywhere in all professional sports. You are a fake wannabe primadonna happy go lucky star that wants to act like a superstar but doesn’t want any of the responsibilities that come with that title. You didn’t want to be the bad guy so you basically decided to screw the Magic over by going back and forth on whether you wanted to be traded. You asked for Stan Van Gundy to be fired, who also happens to be the only coach under which you truly became relevant in this league, the only coach that demanded more of yourself that you could ever hope to do, the coach that challenged you to make free throws (which you couldn’t do and still can’t do and badly didn’t do when your team needed it the most in Game 4 of the 2009 NBA Finals). Then when Stan Van Gundy called you out on it in a post-shootaround interview, you had the fucking audacity to pretend like a little girl you had no idea what was going on.  Orlando should have handled things the right away and traded your trifling crybaby ass the second you started rumors about going to LA. You accept no responsibility for not improving your offensive moves in the post and already in a matter of two years, the argument can be made that DeMarcus Cousins has more offensive skills than your punk ass. You are no longer relevant and no one cares what you have to say. All you do is laugh and smile and jump around having fun on the court and taking credit when your team succeeds and then tossing blame on your teammates when it doesn’t. A superstar elevates his teammates and wants to get it done with the team that drafted him. Not puss out like that doucebag LeBron James and get the first jet to a big market or town with another alpha dog.

Go fuck yourself Dwight.

Prediction: Pacers in 5

There’s an anecdote going around the NBA that, during this past offseason, Greg Popovich watched Tony Parker play with Team France. Parker looked sensational–playing the part of a pure point guard, dishing out assists and making plays, mixed in with choosing his opportunities to score when his team needed it the most. So, as the story goes, Popovich asked himself, “Wait, we pay this guy millions of dollars, so why can’t he do this for us?”. Popovich then decided to pull Parker aside, so to speak, before the start of the season and tell him, “This is your team now”.

In movies, Parker would then look rejuvenated for the rest of that season and become the engine of an aging Spurs squad by leading them in points and assists. Sometimes storylines like that actually do come true.

Tim Duncan, Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili. The original Big Three, without the cache and hype that other trio’s have gotten. The reason that the Spurs had such a great regular season is not because of those three players however. The reason the Spurs are the #1 seed in the West is because they, better than any other team in the NBA, can find fringe-talented players that fit their scheme perfectly. From young guys like George Hill to wily veterans like Robert Horry, the Spurs have always had the knack of getting value out of average players. This year, players like Kawhi Leonard (who?), Daniel Green (who?), Tiago Splitter (who?) and late-season acquisition Stephen Jackson (oh, him) logged major minutes on a Spurs rotation that went 10-11 players deep. And they played well, very well.

The Jazz, on the other hand, should just be happy being here. Phrases like that are commonly overused in sports, and then followed up with some quip about how a team that plays “loose” and “free” is “dangerous” as an “underdog” in a playoff series. However, just over a year after the Jazz traded Deron Williams, they find themselves back in the playoffs. Al Jefferson finally gets a chance to play in the playoffs, young guys like Gordon Hayward, Enes Kanter and Derrick Favors get playoff experience and you get a few home games.

On the court, the Spurs will have a tremendous advantage in depth and backcourt talent. However, for a team that hasn’t won a playoff series in three years and got upset by the Grizzlies in the first round last year, it is likely that they will treat this series as an actual series and not just a rehearsal for the second round. The Jazz are good enough to sneak one by the Spurs at home, but even that isn’t a sure thing. They will need to dominate the Spurs on the boards and hope that Devin Harris can contain Tony Parker on the defensive end.

Prediction: Spurs in 5

Melo vs. Bron in Round 1. Photo courtesy of Getty Images

This promises to be the most intriguing series of the first round match-ups. The insane scrutiny will be on LeBron James more with this series (especially if the Knicks get a split which will make it rise infinitely) than any other 1st round playoff series he’s had in his career because this is New York. You don’t think the Knicks fans are salivating at the idea of seeing a wounded James come in for Game 3 at the Garden ready to shout everything possible at the “King”. Can Carmelo Anthony, who definitely sees himself as equal to LeBron and Wade, put the Knicks on his back for an entire series. I believe he can. I’m not a Carmelo fan but I won’t be naive to say that I don’t think he’s the best offensive player in the league and has been for the last 4 years. He has no weaknesses and can literally score in any manner necessary, free throw, 3 point line, post up high post, low block, offensive rebound, off the dribble, catch and shoot. No weaknesses period. The real key in my opinion, will be Amare Stoudemire and if he can revert back to  2010 Western Conference finals Amare. If the Knicks can get a split of the first 4 games, all the pressure in the world will be magnified to the upteenth degree on LeBron James and the Miami Heat. This is a historical and classic rivalry from the late 90s and early 2000s that was filled with fights, bad blood, intense defense. If this series can even come close to those games, we are in for a treat.

Meanwhile, LeBron James will once again be up on a platter for all of us to rip apart like none other before. If he loses to the New York Knicks in the 1st Round, no one will ever let him forget it for the rest of his career. He can’t lose to Melo and the Knicks. He’s the one that decided not to go to NYC to go for immortality which is what his status would have been if he brought a title to Gotham City. Every year we read the same stories about how LeBron gets it, I sincerely laugh now at his attempts to get into the good graces of the public. Please just prove it one time King. Win one championship. Don’t open your mouth until you do so. Only Cleveland will hate you forever. Right now people are just laughing at you because you’ve done nothing. Eventually people are going to feel sad for you and that will be even more pathetic. So go win and then you won’t be a joke anymore.

Guess what, I’m TAKING THE KNICKS PEOPLE. I don’t believe in LeBron James and probably never will. I don’t even care about him wanting to prove people wrong anymore. He’s a joke to me. I believe Carmelo is about 30 million times more clutch than Wade and obviously a gazillion times more clutch than that douchebag King James. I believe Amare will have a larger impact on this series than James will and Chris Bosh will revert to his female like qualities that we have grown accustomed to. This is the playoffs y’all. Only big boys with big balls allowed. James and Bosh don’t have them. Melo has enough for both of them cloned 4 times.  Also, Miami won’t be able to get into transition as easily because the game inevitably ALWAYS SLOWS DOWN. And Miami is horrible in the half-court.

Prediction: Knicks in 7

The NBA Playoffs are finally here and what a great way to start, the current defending champions versus the team many think will represent the West. Unfortunately, I am not sure how competitive this matchup will be.

Let’s be honest, this is not the same Dallas Mavericks team as last year. They lost their defensive motivator in Tyson Chandler and J.J. Barea, who added some spark off the bench. They brought in Lamar Odom but that project ended up being a complete failure and so now they go into the playoffs as the old, not-so-exciting defending champs.

So let’s take a look at some of the matchups:

Coaching: Rick Carlisle has a ton of experience after coaching the Detroit Pistons and Indiana Pacers, both during some of their best seasons. Also can’t forget that he was also the Mavericks coach last year as he led them to a championship. Scott Brooks, on the other hand, has only been a head coach for a few years but has done a tremendous job with the Thunder. The biggest different between the two is that Carlisle is coaching a more mature and veteran team, while Brooks is coaching a younger yet growing team. Both have done a great job with the specific situation and therefore I believe this battle is tie.

Bench: Jason Terry is great and Brandan Wright has been playing well but I believe the Thunder sneak by with the win in this category. I love James Harden and I would be surprised if he doesn’t win the Sixth Man of the Year award. I love Harden’s game, I love the way he controls the floor when he’s out there and I love his ability to score when needed. It also helps that they have a clutch veteran in Derek Fisher to come off the bench and provide leadership. Terry can do his airplane celebration all he wants but Harden will be the one flying high in this round! (I’m also assuming that Harden doesn’t have any side effects from his concussion or whatever he had)

Can The Young Gunners Get It Done?

Starters: This is not even a battle, Thunder have almost every position dominated besides power forward. They have two of the best young players in the league, a great defensive stopper in Sefolosha, and two talented big men. The Thunder really do have a solid roster and it is pretty scary to see how well they have been built.

So can you tell who I’m picking in this matchup? Yes, I am going with the young gunner and hoping that Westbrook doesn’t shoot them out of this round. I want to go 5 games but let me give the defending champs a little credit and say Thunder in 6.