Celtics Draft Impressions

Celtics Draft Impressions

            I was holding out last second hope that the Celtics would make one last push to trade for Love, but that did not happen and as the draft started to unfold the picks became easily clear. Rumors had the Celtics very high on the athlete Aaron Gordon, but when the Magic surprisingly took him at #4 the Celtics had to look at the next option which was Marcus Smart. Smart at #6 was the best player available and does many things that a team can like. Then as the picks began to swing around closer to #17, a player who was high up on boards early in the season, James Young began to slip down the board. The Celtics selected the lengthy shooter at #17 and set up their future with a fierce guard in Smart and a good wing scorer in Young. The draft for the Celtics was a very good one. Here are some thoughts on each of the picks:

·         Marcus Smart (6’4 220) PG/SG – 2 Seasons at OKST: 16.6PPG 5.9RPG 4.5APG 2.9SPG

o   I have always been a supporter of Marcus Smart in college. I love what he brings to the table. He’s a fierce competitor and brings a great level of intensity and leadership to the floor. While he has his weaknesses, shooting and a temper, there isn’t much at Smart is weak at. He is a bull when he attacks the hoop. He is also a very active and good defender averaging almost three steals per game. Smart has taken over games before, putting the team on his back willing them to victory. Many are quick to call OKST a mediocre team, but they lost their starting center early in the year, which left them very vulnerable inside. If Cobbins does not get hurt, OKST would have been a legit team in March.

o   While many are quick to point out Smart’s inconsistent shooting, I think this aspect of his game is underrated. Yes, Smart can’t consistently find his jumpshot off of the dribble and over defenders, but he’s not a guy that you can just leave wide open like Rondo and be okay. The other knock on Smart is that he is a hot tempered player. There was obviously the incident where Smart pushed a Texas Tech fan, but I think he was provoked. I like the fact that Smart has a hot temper. It only adds to his fire and intensity.

o   Overall, Marcus Smart has a lot to offer and a lot of potential in this league. He can be a lock down defender. He can find a way to score through attacking and getting to the line if his shot isn’t falling. He is a great leader and competitor. Smart is a very solid all-around player and with a couple seasons in the NBA he could develop into a very good guard.

 

·         James Young (6’6 215) SG/SF – 1 Season at UK: 14.3 PPG 4.3 RPG 1.7 APG

o   I’m going to sound like a homer, but yes, I LOVE this pick as well. On my list at #17, I had Young number 1 then Anderson and Napier as other options. I’m very glad to see the Celtics land this lengthy wing scorer. He had a solid but not amazing regular season for the Wildcats, but come March he found his shot and his role in the offense and carried Kentucky a couple games in the tournament. Young didn’t boast the best stats at UK, but he was also on a team with 4-5 other great offensive players. If he is asked to be the #1 or #2 scoring option he can be lethal. Young struggled to light it up percentage wise from deep during the season, only shooting the three at 34%, but he has a very natural stroke and I don’t see this stat as an issue.

o   James Young has great length and athleticism to play either the 2 or 3 positions. He would be a very lengthy 2-guard or an average 3. Young has a very long wingspan, which can help him become a disruptive defender as well. He can put his head down and attack the hoop and finish with authority (shown in the Title game). Young can turn into a very effective scorer who could stretch the floor with the deep threat and attack from the wing which the Celtics could really use. This is a very good pick at #17.

·         Implications?

o   When Marcus Smart was drafted, many people immediately thought: Rondo is gone. I don’t necessarily disagree with this, but I don’t think Rondo being traded is a done deal. Marcus Smart has and can play the off-guard position and could be used as just that with the Celtics as they keep Rondo around. I think it could work out if it was given the shot. Smart has played the off-guard position many times before and his game can easily translate into being an off-guard. So I think Rondo may not be gone as others have jumped to.

o   I think that the drafting of Smart and Young could mean that BOTH Rondo and Bradley will be gone next season. Bradley will be a RFA come July and I wouldn’t be surprised to see the Celtics just letting him walk and throwing Smart and Young into the fire next season at the 2-guard spot. If the Celtics do retain Bradley, I think that he and Rondo are top candidates to be traded as the Celtics may be looking to tank this season again and get more young assets.

o   All in all, for not getting Kevin Love, I love what Danny Ainge did in this draft. He didn’t force the issue by moving up and he didn’t trade back either and took the best player available at both #6 and #17. I loved both Smart and Young prior to the draft and the fact that the Celtics are walking away with both of them on the roster makes me very happy. While Danny Ainge predicted that ‘fireworks’ would be in store for the draft, I am certainly okay with what transpired. If both of these players can turn into the players they are supposed to be, the Celtics could have a very solid foundation of Smart-Young-Sullinger and Olynyk to build from and find more young talent. Yes, the Celtics look like they are going down the long rebuild road, so this is what we have to accept and just root for consistent improvement out of the young guys. BUT I still think the Celtics have the assets to get Love while keeping these two guys as well. I think Ainge isn't done with Flip, so we shall see what happens in the end! So as always, through thick and thin, GO CELTICS!

 

Celtics Draft & Kevin Love

Celtics Draft and Kevin Love Thoughts, also Flip and Golden State Are Blowing Smoke.

            This is a huge offseason upcoming week for the Boston Celtics. What happens from now until June 26^th could decide the future of this team for years to come. The Kevin Love rumors are still hot and heavy. Rajon Rondo and Jeff Green’s futures also weigh in the balance depending upon this Love situation as well. The Celtics are either going to land Love and become a playoff team, or they don’t get him and blow the whole team up and look to build through the draft. The Kevin Love saga has been a rollercoaster from the get-go as well. At first, Love to the Celtics was a dark horse thought, and then when Love visited Boston, suddenly the Celtics were the favorites to land him, but now with the recent reports that the Warriors and Nuggets have potentially better offers, the Celtics have fallen back into the pack for Love. Or have they?

            We’ll start with the Love rumors, and then move into draft talk. First off, I think that Flip Saunders is full of absolute crap right now. He continues to say that the Wolves want players in return for a Kevin Love deal. This Golden State rumor that Klay Thompson is available is hard to believe. The report is that the trade would be David Lee + Klay Thompson + GSW 1^st Rd for Kevin Love + Kevin Martin. Now why on earth would either team do this trade? Golden State looks like they are getting a good deal for Love, but they are splitting up their most lethal tandem (Curry/Thompson) in the process. In my opinion, they do not gain much from this deal and still lose a first round pick in the process. As for Minnesota, this puts them absolutely nowhere. I understand that Flip wants players in return for Kevin Love, but getting Thompson and Lee is a down grade from Love and Martin. Minnesota will be stuck in a cycle of mediocrity if this deal were to go through. Not to mention the fact that Thompson and Lee would most likely leave Minny in free agency eventually anyway. Fact is if the Wolves want players in return for Love, they aren’t going to get a Durant or LeBron to make them a 50-win team. If they choose to take the players in return, they will be stuck winning 25-35 games a season and not have any prospects looking up. This is why I think the GSW rumors are crap. There is no way the Wolves wreck their future like this. The Celtics have draft picks they can offer and a good player in Sullinger who can give the Wolves a better chance to be a contender down the road. If Flip wants to take glorified role players, the Wolves will be worse off than they are now. That’s why this ‘wanting players’ rumor is crap. But, if this is crap, why is Flip leaking all of this? Driving up the price for Love.

            According to the Herald’s Steve Bulpett, the Celtics have only offered picks #6/#17 and Kelly Olynyk to the Wolves. This news now makes sense with the reports that the Celtics offer isn’t enough according to Flip. The best asset the Celtics have, outside of the #6 pick, is Jared Sullinger. They also have two Brooklyn picks in ’16 & ’18 and a swap in ’17. Flip knows about these assets, obviously, and wants to make Ainge offer them up. Ainge hasn’t even shown his full hand yet, which is why the Celtics aren’t the favorite for Love as of now. Once Thursday night rolls around, Ainge will pull off what he has to, within reason, to obtain Love. The Celtics are the obvious favorites to obtain Love with the assets they have. Flip Saunders can sit there and try to deny it all he wants, but the Celtics have the best assets to take Minnesota’s best player off their team for a second time in seven seasons. He’s in full denial and Ainge will make the necessary push to get Love if he wishes when the time comes.

            Now some fans do not want to trade for Kevin Love, because they either think Sullinger can turn into a 20/10 player or they believe that keeping the draft assets is the way to go. That, to me at least, is a very risky way to go. How many teams successfully tear it all down then come back to be a competitive force? The answer is not many. Oklahoma City got lucky that they landed a generational talent in Durant to turn their franchise around. I look to Indiana when I think of this rebuild. Indy missed the playoffs for years and slowly built their team with first round picks and finally turned a corner after years. But, once they turned that corner, they imploded and found out that the core in place wasn’t good enough to win a title. I don’t want this to happen to the Celtics. I don’t want to see them slowly get better, missing the playoffs for 3-4 years, then find out all of this rebuilding isn’t even enough to win. There’s also the rebuilding that ends up like the Cavs, Bobcats or Jazz where we are just stuck in the lottery year after year never hitting on any picks. So, unless the Celtics get lucky and land a generational player (not gonna happen), they should look to trading for Kevin Love. A core of Rondo-Love-Green isn’t a bad start and immediately makes the playoffs as a 5-8 seed in the East. Once Kevin Love is acquired the Celtics can go after other free agents or wheel and deal for another superstar (Melo?). I just feel like avoiding building through the draft is the way to go. To successfully rebuild through the draft you need a lot of luck, which I don’t like relying on.

            If the Celtics do not acquire Kevin Love for whatever reason, we need to look at their options with the #6 and #17 picks in this year’s draft. There’s also a very good chance that Rondo and Green will be moved if the C’s don’t land Love. So there could be a chance at more first round picks this draft or in future drafts. So let’s start with my big board Top 20 players overall in this draft:

1.      Jabari Parker – I love this kid. The knock on him is that he cannot score versus bigger defenders and isn’t a great defender himself. But, he is an extremetly talented scorer and there’s no denying that.

2.      Andrew Wiggins – While his athleticism and upside is really hard to deny, I haven’t fallen in love with him. He doesn’t have that ‘it’ factor to me and could turn into a Jeff Green, wildly talented player, but passive and inconsistent.

3.      Joel Embiid – His ceiling is the next Hakeem. His floor is the most recent big man lottery bust. The injuries scare me (mainly the back) and he is very raw. Very risky pick, but it could pay huge dividends down the road.

4.      Noah Vonleh – He’s another big man who is very young and raw, but his size and length are undeniable. He has already developed a solid all-around offensive game.

5.      Dante Exum – Big questions about NBA readiness, but has great size for a PG and a very good skillset to be a successful player.

6.      Marcus Smart – He’s a solid player. Nothing really special about him, outside of intensity. Good but not great at shooting, handling, IQ and defense.

7.      Zach Lavine – Reminds me a lot like Westbrook. Explosive. He needs to be a better decision maker shot wise, but has all the tools.

8.      Aaron Gordon – Freak athlete who needs to polish up his shot and post moves a lot to be a force, but overall has a lot to offer with size and athleticism.

9.      Julius Randle – He’s a beast inside and has a huge motor, but hasn’t shown reliability with the right hand and can’t stretch a D with his jumper, for now at least.

10.  Gary Harris – He’s another guy who is solid. Nothing special but everything very well. Is a knockdown shooter when left open and could turn into a very good NBA role player.

11.  Nik Stauskus – He’s got solid length for a 2-guard and is a pure shooter. Not a special athlete, but a smart offensive player.

12.  Elfrid Payton – He’s a taller PG that is very explosive off the dribble. He won’t stretch the D with a killer jumper, but can slice it apart with an attack.

13.  James Young – He is a very good shooter and scorer in general. Very underrated in my opinion. His skills and size can potentially translate into a very good wing scorer and defender.

14.  Doug McDermott – He’s a money ball shooter, which we all know. But there is serious question about his athleticism and overall quickness to play NBA ball. He will be able to hit open looks, but what else? Remains to be seen.

15.  Kyle Anderson – Has the skill and size to play PG, SG or SF which helps his value a lot. He’s not an amazing athlete, which will hurt him a little but the versatility is huge.

16.  Glenn Robinson III – He’s a freak athlete who can get out and run making highlights plays. Has a lot of room for improvement at shooting and defending, but has potential.

17.  Shabazz Napier – If he was 6’3, I would have him in the Top 7. Amazing IQ, knockdown shooter, solid defender, smart passer and great leader. The only knock is his size. He seriously does everything very well.

18.  Cleanthony Early – Has good size to play the 3-spot and is a good shooter when left open. He’s a good scorer overall, but ball control could improve.

19.  Tyler Ennis – Another PG that does everything well. Very mature for his age and is a great passer, but also knows when to take it over himself. Great potential for him.

20.  T.J Warren – He’s a gifted scorer from 2-point range that can find a weakness in any defense. Doesn’t have a 3-point shot, which is a huge negative, but can be developed. He is a natural scorer that teams will love.

With the Top 20 Big Board looked at now let’s key in on the Celtics selections at #6 and #17 and see the available options for them.

#6 Pick:

·         Joel Embiid (if he falls due to injury concern) – huge potential and fills a huge need as a rim protecting center.

·         Aaron Gordon, Noah Vonleh or Julius Randle – All of them are talented power forwards in their own ways which should intrigue the Celtics. Gordon and Vonleh’s upside are really hard to pass on.

·         Marcus Smart or Zach Lavine – This is a scenario in which the Celtics have traded Rondo and view these two as possible PG replacements.

#17 Pick:

·         James Young, Cleanthony Early, Glenn Robinson III or Kyle Anderson – All of these players can bring a wing scoring threat to the team if they decide to trade Green.

·         Shabazz Napier or Tyler Ennis – More PG options here if the team does move Rondo.

·         Adrien Payne – Stretch 4-man.

So after looking at all of this, my dream scenario for the C’s is getting Kevin Love for a good price and building from there, but if this cannot be obtain my dream picks for #6 and #17 would be Noah Vonleh and James Young, but obviously if Embiid falls, this situation changes. This next week is huge for the future of the franchise. Any wrong decisions and the Celtics could be stuck in mediocrity for years, but if the right moves are made, they could be contending really quickly. Hopefully Ainge makes the correct moves. Go Celtics!!

 

Congrats (and thanks) to the Spurs

2014 NBA Champs: San Antonio Spurs

Congrats to the San Antonio Spurs, the New England Patriots of the NBA, but more successful. Thank you, as a Heat Hater and a Celtic, I am very thankful for you guys making this season worthwhile. Five titles over fifteen seasons…. Insane and amazing. They were out for revenge after letting last season’s title slip away in the infamous Game 6. They successfully got their revenge by absolutely crushing the Heat in all aspects of the game. This series could have easily been a sweep as well if it wasn’t for the missed free throws by Duncan and Parker in Game 2. But that doesn’t even matter at this point, because the Spurs demolished Miami with some of the best team play in recent NBA years. The ball work, the unselfishness and the timely crucial plays made this team great. To me, there’s an obvious reason that guys like Kawhi Leonard, Danny Green, Boris Diaw and Patty Mills thrived. It’s because of the leadership. Pop (or Bill Belichick of the NBA as I like to call him), Duncan, Parker and Manu all made these guys around them better. This Spurs team belongs in the ‘80s; that’s the type of basketball they play. It is really beautiful to watch and I respect their style. They made every single clutch shot. They made every single big stop. They got guys who aren’t necessarily great to play great and make championship plays. It’s hard not to respect the hell out of that type of play.

Now I’m a huge LeBron critic and cannot stand the guy, but if any one tries to place blame on him for this series is stupid. LeBron was the only one that consistently showed up. Chalmers has seen his final days in Miami. Ray Allen, thankfully, was a no show. Dwayne Wade looked like he was 40 out there and seemed very limited. Chris Bosh didn’t even touch the ball much. The Heat didn’t give any resistance to San Antonio’s offense. They were constantly chasing the ball around scrambling to get back into their rotations, because of the amazing Spurs passing. The Heat just got trampled this series and it was great to watch. LeBron was the only one who brought energy out there and made things happen. It’s amazing to think that this team around him wasn’t talented enough to win it. The big question is, how much help does this guy need?  Who knows? He needs a younger 2-guard and a better 4-man obviously. Their Big 3 may see a big shake up or it may not. It will be an interesting summer for them.

Other random thoughts hanging in my head:

·         Tim Duncan: beyond underrated. 5 Rings over 15 seasons. The man does not get enough respect as an All-Time Great. He’s easily a Top 10 and debatable Top 5 All-Time Player in my book. If only the Celtics won that lottery, if only….

·         Kawhi Leonard is already star. I think we all know this by now. He outplayed LeBron this series. That solves that.

·         The Spurs post-Pop and the Big 3 will continue to be a successful franchise. Why? Kawhi Leonard, Danny Green and consistent drafting.

·         This is a crazy scenario I thought of for Miami… They convince Wade to retire. Trade Bosh, Chalmers and picks to Minnesota for Love, then use Wade’s money for Melo and the new Big 3 is LBJ, Melo and Love. I wouldn’t watch the NBA if it happened, because it’d be unfair.

Again, thank you San Antonio for beating this Miami team and making this season worthwhile.

                                    Sincerely, Celtics Fans.

 

Patriots Secondary Matchups

          2014 Coverage Matchups

          Since it’s the offseason, there is nothing much to talk about football wise (outside of some idiots trying to say Brady isn’t a Top 5 QB), so I thought I would look ahead at the possible coverage matchups for the secondary. I’m really taking a look at Revis, Browner and Dennard’s matchups for the upcoming season, because it is most likely that they will be the Top 3 CB’s on the depth chart. Also, since BB made a huge splash this year with Revis and Browner, I thought it would be fun to see what the guy’s matchups will be. The Patriots secondary is loaded with talent (Revis, Browner, Dennard, Ryan and Arrington) and they will be able to match up well with any offense out there. So here are the possible matchups versus each team’s best weapons:

Team	Revis	Browner	Dennard
@ Miami	M. Wallace	*Suspended	B. Hartline
@ Minnesota	C. Patterson	*Suspended	G. Jennings
Vs. Oakland	J. Jones	*Suspended	R. Streater
@ Kansas City	D. Bowe	*Suspended	D. Avery
Vs. Cincinnati	AJ Green	M. Jones	M. Sanu
@ Buffalo	S. Watkins	M. Williams	R. Woods
Vs. New York	E. Decker	S. Hill	J. Kerley
Vs. Chicago	B. Marshall	A. Jeffery	M. Wilson
Vs. Denver	D. Thomas	J. Thomas	E. Sanders
@ Indianapolis	H. Nicks	R. Wayne	T.Y. Hilton
Vs. Detroit	C. Johnson	B. Pettigrew	G. Tate
Vs. Green Bay	J. Nelson	J. Boykin	R. Cobb
@ San Diego	K. Allen	A. Gates/L. Green	E. Royal

 

It’s pretty straight forward that Revis will take every team’s #1 WR, but from there on out it can get rather complicated. Browner is a guy that loves to be physical at the line, but he isn’t the fastest CB out there so he will take the bigger WRs and TEs in some cases. This way, he can matchup his size on the opposition’s biggest weapon and just beat them up at the line. Alfonso Dennard is a smaller CB who likes to be physical as well, but as we saw in the AFC Title when Talib went down, D. Thomas abused Dennard with his size. So, I see Dennard taking on WRs that play in the slot and on the outside as the #2 option as well. The other possible matchups outside of these three guys include Jamie Collins or James Anderson on the opposition’s TE and Kyle Arrington or Logan Ryan on some slot WRs as well. While there are a ton of possible options and matchups for the defense this upcoming season, I think these are the most likely matchups to happen.

The addition of Revis and Browner will make this secondary physical and lethal to any offense out there and to top it off, Dennard and Ryan will continue to grow as young players. Then, backing all of these studs up is Devin McCourty who is a top tier safety in the league. Add Jamie Collins hopefully continuing to grow as a cover LB too with the signing of James Anderson and the coverage unit as a whole looks to be its best since the Dynasty Days. BB is most likely going to have a field day with all of the options and talent he can deploy in different situations. This defense, if healthy, is going to be a Top 5 defense without a doubt.

 

 

Miami-San Antonio Pt. II, Lance & More!

Miami-San Antonio Pt. II, Lance & More Random Thoughts:

            Well, the Miami Heat are going to the Finals for a 4^th straight time. It really sucks to say it, doesn’t it? But, you got to hand this team some real respect. But the better part is, the San Antonio Spurs are back as well, and they aren’t going to let that Ray Allen Game 6 BS fly again (at least I hope not). I mean, let’s be honest, I think Miami would have beat OKC. The Spurs, for some reason, find a way to play the Heat well. They are old and their coach STARTS Matt Bonner with no regrets and Boris Diaw sees legitimate action for them. But of course, they find a way to sneak back into the Finals again with a great mix of future Hall-of-Famers and young budding stars, but the Heat have been the NBA’s best for a while now and they are certainly and sadly the favorites to win the title to complete the 3-Peat. Also, the Pacers are officially Miami’s little brother. Three straight seasons for the Pacers have ended from the big brother Miami. Pacers are the equivalent to the Patriots little brother, Buffalo.  The Patriots always beat them, but every now and then the Bills put up a real fight and make the Pats earn it. Same thing can be said here with Indy and Miami. For three years the Pacers have given Miami some good fights, but in the end, never have enough left to knock out the Champ.

            There are various reasons for this, obviously. So let’s break down the reasons the Pacers can’t beat Miami:

·         First off, there is Roy Hibbert, who should become a magician because he’s so damn good at disappearing. I don’t think I’ve ever seen a 7’2 player NOT be able to take over a game after doing it consistently for a year. This guy is certainly an enigma. Either he has to fix his confidence/mental issue or he has to go and find a new team to maybe find himself again.

·         The next issue on the list is the Pacers bench, or the nonexistence of the bench. All we heard about in March was how good the bench for the Pacers was. C.J. Watson, Luis Scola, and Evan Turner were saviors. Well, in the Conference Finals, they pulled their best Hibbert impressions. Scola was consistently left open for jumpers and couldn’t connect on anything. Did Evan Turner even play? Seriously. Watson was okay, but nothing special. You cannot expect to beat Miami in a seven game series with only 5 scorers.

·         Then, there’s Paul George. Don’t get me wrong, he’s a great talent, but he’s not a superstar just quite yet. He disappeared in 2-3 of the games this series and a superstar does not do that. But, the bright side for George is he’s only 24 and has a ton of time left to develop and mature. But, as of right now, he’s not ready to take the big stage and be ‘that’ guy. Maybe in 2-3 years he will be ready to dethrone LeBron, but if he continues to disappear in the playoffs like this, it won’t happen.

·         The biggest problem for the Pacers was that they had only one guy who consistently brought energy, and well, the problem with that one guy was all of his energy was being spent acting like an idiot. Oh good ole Lance Stephenson. Then there’s Lance. It’s funny when some of the players pull little tactics here and there in the regular season. J.R. Smith and the shoe laces and Dwight tapping on guys’ shoulders are two decent examples. These things are done in the regular season when nobody really tries!! Lance was out there the entire series acting like it was some throw away game in December “trying to get in LeBron’s head”. It was pathetic, and what was worse about it was Lance said before Game 6 that the Great Larry Legend told him specifically to cut it out, yet he went out and acted like a buffoon again while the Pacers got probed. Indy would be beyond stupid to resign this guy. He’s a detriment to the team and the NBA more than anything. He couldn’t take the playoffs seriously. That’s the only explanation needed for that. I hope Lance signs with a garbage team for big money so we don’t have to watch him act idiotic again in May.

If Indy wants to have any shot at beating Miami next season or becoming a legit threat for the Larry O’Brien Trophy, they need to find a legitimate shooting guard who will worry about scoring more than 10, 9 and 11 points in the closing games of the Conference Final than blowing into the opposition’s ear. They also need to find a couple players who can be real contributors off of the bench come May. The Pacers during the regular season looked to be legit contenders, but the playoffs took all of those thoughts and burnt them down.

 

Now, let’s take a look at OKC and their MVP, Durant. It’s tough to sit back and talk about how talented Durant and Westbrook are and not start to give them some grief for not getting it done. I don’t really know who to blame on this team. All I know is someone needs to be blamed. They have KD and Westbrook who are both Top 10 players in the league. So, why no titles? Let’s take a look at reasons why OKC can’t win the big one:

·         First, they have only four legitimate scores (KD, Russell, Jackson and Serge). You cannot expect to win titles with only four players who can score. Yes, Durant and Westbrook are elite scorers, but they cannot carry 60% + of the load night in and night out. The Thunder need to find another big man who can hit a jumper and post up some, a shooter, and another shooter. Jeremy Lamb looks like he may develop into something nice that could fill that void, but the team is also going to lose Fisher eventually and he’s a main shooter for them.

·         Next, they need to take a look at the center position. Listen, I love Kendrick Perkins for his decent time in Boston, but without Garnett coaching him, this kid has gotten progressively worse. If OKC can find a center that can defend better and finish better (both not hard to upgrade), then they could be in business, and Steve Adams actually looks like he could be that guy.

·         Immaturity or Stupidity. You pick. You can give the Thunder the immaturity excuse, because well their core is still VERY young. But, you could also discredit that reason because this team was in a NBA Final previously. I tend to fall on the stupidity side. I’ve been saying this for years: As long as Russell Westbrook is the PG in OKC, the Thunder will not win a ring. There. Boom. Why? Because first off, Westbrook takes shots away from Durant and two, when Russell gets hot, he turns into an idiot. Every time he starts to take over a game, his shot selection gets worse. I think Westbrook is a crazy good talent, probably Top 10 in the league, but sometimes, he makes plays that just make you shake your head. Until he grows out of the poor shot selection and turnovers, OKC will continue to make Final 4’s and not have any rings to show for it.

 

Before I get into the Finals matchup, I want to just mention that fact that Kevin Love was spotted in Boston this weekend and is reportedly visiting the city to “check it out”. I think it’s safe to say that he wasn’t just here on vacation either. I find it pretty convenient that the draft is less than a month away and he’s checking out a city that has interest in acquiring his talents. The interest seems real and if the deal is right, the Celtics could be in the playoffs by next season baby!!!

Now, onto the NBA Finals, or Miami-San Antonio Pt. II. I really hope that San Antonio gets the revenge we all know they want after blowing the golden chance in Game 6 last year. That thing was all but wrapped up and bang… broken play.. Ray Allen 3…. I’m crying… We all know the story after that. Who the hell would’ve thought that the rusty ole Spurs would make it back to the Finals? I certainly didn’t. I thought last season was the last run of the great Parker, Manu, and Timmy D combo, but the young talent on this team continues to help lead them and give the old guys a break. I love seeing what the Spurs are doing, and wanted this team to make the Finals again only because we know they can give Miami everything they can handle. And also because the Spurs reign of success in the NBA just reminds of the Patriots reign so I respect it big time.

This series is going to be great. I expect tight games every single night. The health of Tony Parker is a key story to watch, because he killed Miami last year and if he isn’t 100% that’s pretty much it for the Spurs. For Miami, keeping DWade healthy is huge too. I know you Heat fans may not think anything of it, because you did such a great job limiting him in the regular season and the knee has given him issues at all, but the knee is always an unknown with him.

Predicting this series is tough. The Spurs seem to make every single big shot whenever it is needed and Miami has LeBron. The key to this series is how well Leonard can defend and slow LBJ, and which team’s shooters will hit the most shots. Both teams are lined up with deep threats, and whichever team can hit the most open looks will win. While each team has loads of veteran talent, the young kids in this series will play the biggest role. The team that has the younglings play mistake free and consistent will have a huge advantage. This thing is shaping up to be another classic like last season. The Spurs are out for revenge and one more ring, while Miami wants to continue their reign and complete the 3-Peat. Screw it; give me the Spurs in 6. Screw Miami!!