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The 2008 NBA Draft

July 1st 2008 03:49
I’d like to post about the previously finished NBA Draft. A lot of trades were completed/proposed making this years draft exciting and noteworthy. In this first post I will be going through the top five picks and thereafter with updates and all you need to know up to the minute stats and transactions.

Let’s get this post draft analysis going with the first overall pick for the Chicago Bulls DERRICK ROSE. Rose out of Memphis has a solid NBA body and can take the punishment as a player in the paint. He will mold himself into whatever type of player his team needs him to be as evident by the video below. He is one of the most ready-type players to enter the league. A truly solid addition to any team, kind of makes me think of the miss of Jay Williams. In which whom the Bulls took as the savior type PG years ago before he had his motorcycle accident stifling his promising career. With this pick Chicago puts themselves back into contention for a playoff spot in the East.


Derrick Rose #1 NBA Pick 2008
This video shows how Rose can affect the game as he will become a solid NBA-PG.




# 2
Michael Beasley #2 NBA Pick 2008
Undoubtedly the Miami Heat selected MICHAEL BEASLEY out of Kansas State. This PF needs no introduction to basketball fans as his huge wingspan makes up for any negativity about his height at the four spot. One of the perfect teams for Beasley to go to, I think his character issues would only become apparent if he were to have to battle with a solid proven veteran for his starting spot. He will be going in battling Udonis Haslem who has seen his stock drop as he needs to create more of his own offence. The heat I am sure are not finished in tweaking their team for the 08/09 season. Marion though will alleviate any concerns of the rookie being overmatched down-low as he is almost like an extra PF out there sometimes with his rebounding efforts and hustle in trying to make the right plays.





# 3
OJ Mayo #3 NBA Pick 2008
Minnesota at the third spot went with OJ MAYO, who I have seen and been hearing about for a good number of years. Mayo will be a solid two as at 6’4” 200lbs he is limited in selected positions, but this guy is just a born scorer and if he ends up in Grizz-town, look for him to team up with Rudy Gay as Mike Miller was moved with Memphis making the choice to let him go after he admittedly carried the Grizzlies last season at times. In return Minnesota looks to get #5 Kevin Love. I am in love with this deal as the T-Wolves send Antoine Walker also to MEM. Minnesota gets the scoring they desperately need and character guys, to build around. I know what fans may be thinking and no this isn’t the second coming of Wally World, Mike Miller is a gamer playing all three spots from 1-3 for the Grizz and did whatever was asked, as he became a versatile and proven scorer, unlike streaky Szczerbiak.





# 4
Russell Westbrook #4 NBA Pick 2008
Russell Westbrook a surprise at number four as the top three had virtually been decided weeks beforehand. Westbrook though an unexpected pick is an explosive guard that will do well in this league especially when Seattle gets all the parts and can continuously run up and down with Durant and Green. The Sonics clearly want a guard that can break down the D and get up and down the court at breakneck speeds. They have found that guy with Westbrook. People want to compare him to NBA champion Rajon Rondo and maybe Monta Ellis, he is long and skinny and extremely athletic, time will tell if he can make the right passes for a long career with Durant by his side.




# 5
Kevin Love #5 NBA Pick 2008
Care of NBADraft.net
Memphis picks Kevin Love at the number five spot and in turn will be sending him to Minnesota in the deal outlined in the third pick paragraph. Love is solid, not an athlete like the Grizz love at the four spot, but the T-Wolves just need ballers in which Kevin is for sure. Down-low he will be helped by Al Jefferson for sure on defense. Also he will have a great passer in Mike Miller to get the ball to him in good spots. I like Kevin Love on a solid team a rebuilding team he may flourish or sink as he’ll need to create his own offence and may struggle with the speed of the NBA at first.
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Playoff Officiating

May 29th 2008 20:54
After watching game 4 of the LA-San Antonio series, I thought it was time for me to address the issue of officiating in the playoffs, or just officiating in general. I'll start off by saying that Brent Barry was indeed fouled on that last second play by the Spurs. I'm a huge Lakers fan and even I felt a bit cheated after that play. I'm all for my team winning, but I don't want to hear any nonsense about how we only won because a foul was (or in this case, was not) called. With that said, the foul on Barry was not a shooting foul, so he would not have iced the game with his three free throws. Don't remember if LA was over the foul limit though, so it might have been two shots.

Another interesting referee-related issue regarding the Lakers-Spurs game 4. One of the refs in this game was veteran official, Joe Crawford. For those of you who don't remember, Crawford was suspended last season by the NBA after he and Tim Duncan got into a little argument. Nothing physical, but Crawford must have done something completely uncalled for for him to get suspended. The league is always quick to side with the refs so I found that one rather comical. But anyways, the issue being discussed prior to the game was whether or not Crawford should have been allowed to officiate the Spurs series. Even if there is no resentment or hate towards Duncan, there can always be that small hint of subjectiveness if a call is close. I don't know who botched that last call in game 4, but it would make my day if I found out it was Crawford.

There were also a few controversial calls in game five of the Detroit-Boston series. I believe a flagrant 1 was called against the Celtics in what I believe was a good playoff foul. We all know that the intent of the foul was to prevent the basket and there was no act of recklessness involved in the foul. It was a clean foul... there was nothing malicious about it. This is the playoffs and with the series tied at 2 apiece, you've got to expect that players are going to play hard to win the game. Later in the game, a similar foul was made and no flagrant was called. Inconsistent? Probably; but that was the right call to make in my opinion.

Overall, officiating in the playoffs have not been all that great. I'm not going to bother going into details. Instead, I'll offer some suggestions. When officials have really bad games, they should be punished. A suspension or something would suffice. Just to let them know that game-changing mistakes will not be tolerated. Currently, these guys fear nothing; they need something to keep them on their toes. Officials are supposed to be invisible; they should not impact the outcome of a game. They're supposed to make the calls and enforce the rules to the best of their abilities. Sometimes the refs let their egos get in the way and refuse to admit their mistakes when consulting with fellow officials to determine the call. With that said, these guys are pros and are doing their job better than any of us could do it. I criticize and offer up and opinion, but the bottom line is, they are human and humans make mistakes. We have the benefit of replay and slow motion when watching the game on tv. Refs don't have that when they're making the call on the court. But hopefully, the officiating improves in time for the Finals; we don't want to see a repeat of the '06 series featuring Miami and Dallas.
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Preview: Lakers vs Spurs

May 21st 2008 05:21
Derek Fisher
The Lakers are back in the Conference Finals, and they're facing the team they beat in a dramatic series back in '04. Most basketball fans remember than clutch shot against the Spurs hit by Derek Fisher with 0.4 seconds left in the game. As a Lakers fan, I loved that moment, and with Fisher back in an LA uniform, I'm looking for a repeat performance. I'm going to try and keep the bias aside for this preview, but I can't help but pick the Lakers to win this series in 6 and I'll explain why.

The Lakers rolled their way through the first two rounds rather easily by sweeping Denver and taking Utah in 6. Everyone expected LA to take out Denver, but there were a decent amount of people who thought Utah could take the series. I remember reading a John Holinger article a while back and he picked the Jazz to make it to the NBA Finals. From a statistical point of view, the Jazz were one of the best teams in the West and the Lakes outplayed them in four of their six games. The Lakers have proven that their high-powered offense can conquer any obstacle in their way. Bryant is still playing MVP worthy basketball and Gasol has stepped up his game to a whole new level.

Tony Parker
I think the Spurs will be their greatest challenge yet, but I don't think they have what it takes to keep up with the Lakers. I admit, San Antonio has proven me wrong time and time again, but I think their luck has just about run out. Duncan and Gasol match up nicely as they can both score the basketball down low and have good shot-blocking abilities. Bryant will most likely be matched up against Bowen. Bowen will have Kobe on a short leash and create some problems for him, but in the end, I think Bryant can break free and score when his team needs him to. Odom will be the X-factor in this series. Anyone put on him will be a mismatch. If he's guarded by a big defender, he should be able to shake his man from mid-range and either take the shot or drive to the basket. A smaller defender will have even less of a chance against Odom as he has drastically improved his post game this season. I expect Fisher to get beat by Parker off the dribble, but with Parker's inability to hit the long range ball, I think his impact will be limited as he will have to drive past Gasol, Turiaf and Odom to get his points. With that said, I do believe that Parker has the ability to turn the series in San Antonio's favour. His performance against the Hornets (and Suns) has been one of the best PG performances I have seen in a while, although he has been shadowed by CP3's even more spectacular play. I don't think Ginobli can be stopped, so the Lakers will have to deal with him scoring 20 points, and just hope that he doesn't break loose for a huge game.

I can't see anyone outside of the Spurs' big three having an impactful series, which is why I think the Lakers will take the series. The stars matchup fairly evenly, but once you factor the bench and the role players, I think the Lakers have the advantage when it comes to skill and offensive firepower. The young guys on the Lakers' bench will mop the floor with the Spurs older bench vets. If Popovic wants a chance at making the NBA Finals, I think he's going to have to run his starters a lot more than they are used to. The Lakers' depth it what makes them dangerous, and I think it is what will win them this series.
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