Blood on the Coliseum Floor

I watched him play every night due to my basketball idol Steve Nash joining the Lakers. Nash missed most the of the beginning and the end of the season. The blessing was to watch a modern day Gladiator. On 4/12/13 the Gladiator was taken out after over ONE THOUSAND FIVE HUNDRED walks into the coliseum, they finally got him .. or did they? The Gladiator rose to his feet, the coliseum crowd's roar rose with him .. he stood in front of his enemy, took a deep breath and delivered 2 last blows, turns and walks under his power into a place only he belongs. Every fan of the Show saw his final act that elevated him to a god, not human anymore .. he is nothing we have ever seen. In a year gone wrong this Gladiator never relented, never conceded to failure and willed victory. The Gladiator stepped to the foul line with 1 achilles tendon and made 2 free throws to tie the game before walking into immortality .. the Lakers won by 2. Michael Jordan quit .. TWICE. The Gladiator took 1 more swing even after the game took him out.

I'm Back

It's been awhile since I've made a contribution so I will ease into this and just offer up some awards.

All NBA Team:

PG: CP3
SG: D-Wade
SF: King James
PF: Tim Duncan
C: Superman

Players/Coach of the Year

Coach: Pop.
Rookie: Derrick Rose
Defensive: D-Wade (believe it). runner up: Lebron
Player: King James. runner up: Wade

There you have it, the only awards I offer. The 6th man award is really not worth mentioning. It's simply the best starter who doesn't start. Manu & Jason Terry would start for 25 teams in this league, if not more.

I will attempt a playoff preview next. Forgive me if the series have already begun......

Premature Dissatisfaction?

After the Suns beat their rival in San Antonio on opening night Suns fans seemed to have an optimistic outlook. I guess no one noticed San Antone were without two of their starters, Manu Ginobli and Fabricio Oberto. Don't get me wrong, I'm happy for the win, but it's just "Fools Gold".

Fast forward to Thursday night and the home opener. Half way through the 2nd quarter every fan in the building is sitting with their respective thumb up their ... well let's just say they were sitting on their hands. Is this really the Phoenix Suns? The same Phoenix Suns who electrified the NBA over the last four seasons? The answer is a resounding NO !!! For some reason it seemed like a good idea to let a highly successful coach, Mike D'Antoni (he won 68% of his games and advanced the Suns to the Conference Finals twice in just 5 years), leave town in favor of a GM, Steve Kerr, who has done nothing except make jump shots and take punches from Michael Jordan (at this time I officially thank MJ). Then this GM sees fit to replace the aforementioned highly successful coach with Terry Porter, who has done nothing except LOSE as head coach. Terry Porter, in an attempt to toughen up this "fragile" team, is on pace for 82 technical fouls! It's gonna be a frustrating and laborious campaign Suns fans, I'm warning you now.

Any chance we can convince Steve Kerr to trade Steve Nash & Boris Diaw to the Knicks for Starbury, and then have the Knicks send Eddie Curry and Jerome James to Miami for Shawn Marion? Please?

Questions on my mind ...

Will the Lakers win 70 games ... Why did the Wizards give that much money to Agent Zero and his 25 knee surgeries ... Will Tony Parker be in the MVP race ... Can Toronto challenge Boston in the East ... Is AI2 (Andre Iquodala) overrated ... Do I really think Atlanta won't make the playoffs ... Will Greg Oden ever be relevant ... If we boycott Oklahoma City, does that mean we can't watch Kevin Durant ... Can Mike D'Antoni do it again ... Did JJ Redick really get 19 minutes and blow it ... Will the Suns start 2-0 and give me a ray of hope ... why are the Clippers not in San Diego ... Why haven't I purchased the NBA pass yet?

Jump Ball

Finally the NBA season is upon us and let me get right to it, only five teams matter. LA Lakers, NO Hornets, Houston Rockets, Boston Celtics and Lebron James. In any event the NBA champion will be one of those teams and but most likely from the West. I'd love to commit to Houston but I just can't see them escaping the injury bug or should I say plague. LA & NO are better. LA has Bynum back and maybe just as important Trevor Ariza. An athletic defensive minded swingman who is far more valuable than most realize. NO added James Posey and a chip on their shoudler after being ousted by LA last year. My pick ... Lakers.

On a sad note, will the Suns win 50 games?

West

1. LA Lakers
2. New Orleans
3. Houston
4. Utah
5. Portland
6. San Antonio
7. Phoenix
8. Dallas

East

1. Boston
2. Toronto
3. Detroit
4. Cleveland
5. Philadelphia
6. Orlando
7. Washington
8. Miami

Gold

As expected the USA won the Gold. What was not expected is one of the best international games ever played. I'll save the play by play and will simply say I watched the final quarter with a smile that never left my face. Congrats to the entire USA basketball operation. It was a pleasure to see the utter joy on everyones face. The only smile that could have been wider was that of Paul Allen.

USA..USA..USA...

The medal round is about to begin and I am supremely omptimistic that the USA will win the gold. I have watched every game and have enjoyed every minute. They are intense, focused on defense and fun to watch primarily because they themselves are having fun. Team USA is simply relentless as shown when they took the life out of Spain.

Lebron is the leader, or should I say "King", of this sqaud, vocally and on the floor, doing it all. Cleaning the glass, moving the ball, scoring, defense. Kobe looks so much more comfortable not HAVING to be a leader which is just not in his DNA. He is free to play basketball and that is what he does best. Dwyane Wade is D-Wade again and wow is he fun to watch. Ball hawking, getting to basket and flushing it. Chris Bosh and Dwight Howard have been a nice 1-2 punch in the middle far more athletic than any other big men in this tournament. Chris Paul and Deron Williams are the two best point guards the States and perhaps the World have to offer and play very well together. Carmelo Anthony the role player with timely 3-balls and even some good work on the glass. Tayshawn Prince was able to get in the mix and may have earned some playing time in the medal round. This team is on a mission, full of talent and depth, never a weakness on the floor...

Or is there? Possible pitfalls? Going into these games there were three concerns that most experts addressed. Perimeter shooting, interior size, and defending the pick & roll. It seems to me that defending the pick & roll was a greater concern than how tall the USA big men are. By going "small" with Bosh and Howard team USA is more athletic and more apt to disrupt the pick & roll. Problem solved. The so called lack of size in the middle has not been an issue given the team rebounding concept. Bron, Melo and the rest all getting to the glass. Having mutliple weapons on the floor who can lead and finish the break makes this possible. This leaves us with perimeter shooting.

Yes, shooting, could haunt Team USA at some point over the next three games. Let me preface this by saying I have nothing against Jason Kidd. It's just with CP3 and Deron on this squad he doesn't need to get minutes. His minutes in my opinion could be better served having Prince or even Redd getting more run and have them game ready for the medal round.

Even with the questionable shooting I don't foresee the USA faltering. In fact I expect an easy ride with 20+ point differentials in all three games. This team is on a mission and it's defense is suffocating resulting in too many easy buckets for the opposition to keep up.

USA..USA..USA...