The Hoop and The Harm

JA Adande of the LA Times has some very good insight about the blockbuster deal that is bringing Shaq back to the west coast. How will this, coupled with Pau Gasol’s recent relocation, change the western conference? I think the most direct effect of these two trades will be that the playoffs will feature far less of the run and gun action that made last year’s so much fun to watch. Add Chris Webber to the mix of new west coast big men, and all the running teams are showing signs of slowing down. Luckily for teams like the Blazers and Hornets that have the future in mind, and not the present, all three new bigs may not be factors beyond this season or next. It is safe to say that Andrew Bynum is the Lakers center of the future and who really knows how many years Shaq has left.

Friday night and monday night were two big games for the Blazers. First Zach Randolph and the Knicks and then Allen Iverson and Carmelo Anthony and the Nuggets.

The Knicks, who are having a terrible season, pushed the Blazers into uncomfortable territory. Having fallen to ninth in the Western Conference, the Blazers could ill afford to lose. Their victory in overtime was followed by a big sigh of relief from the Blazers faithful who have seen a team that won eighteen in the month of December stumbling in January. On Monday, the Blazers continued their inability to win two in a row this month.

Although Monday’s was a much better game than Friday’s the Nuggets are a team that the Blazers need to beat. Especially at home, if they have any hope of making the playoffs. The upside to Monday: the Blazers started crashing the offensive boards and LaMarcus Aldridge failed to show up, the upside to LA not showing up is that next time these two teams play, if he gets more than four points, the Blazers will probably win.

Coming down the stretch the Blazers will be competing with the Nuggets for the seventh or eight playoff spot, and with no more head to head match-ups left, this game may turn out to be one of the most important of the season.

If Jason Kidd wants to leave the Nets, which he should, and the Nets want Kidd to play in the Western Conference, as they should, then the Blazers should stay as far away from the whole deal as possible. I agree with this post on the Blazer blog. This team has too much future potential to risk on an aging star like Jason Kidd. I would rather rely on Jarret Jack and Steve Blake and miss the playoffs than lose some piece of this current team and get knocked out in the first round this year. If the Blazers’ brass has proved anything so far this season its that they are interested in the future. I don’t think that they should throw that interest away on Jason Kidd.

The Blazers finish their trip 4-3 with losses to Orlando, Boston, Toronto, New Orleans, all top fifteen teams in the NBA.com power rankings.

With the Rockets getting McGrady back and the Blazers showing signs of being unable to defend the post this could be a real test for a team that is 17-3 at home while needing to win every game at the Rose Garden to have a shot at the playoffs. The next six for the Blazers are at home.

Look for a big game February 1st as Zach Randolph makes his only appearance in Portland for the year.

Yesterday on Full Court Press, they were discussing their top 12 players in each conference THIS YEAR. Not to be outdone and because their lists sucked, I have decided to throw my two cents in. This is not an actual all-star team list, as I’m not basing it on picking a team or by position or any of that bogus nonsense. That would make too much sense. This is just a straightforward list of my top 12 players in each conference so far THIS YEAR. Let’s start with the east.

In no particular order:

Bron Bron
D-Wade
Jermaine O’neal
KG
Paul Pierce
Chauncey Billups
Michael Redd
G-Force
Dwight Howard
Caron Butler
Jason Kidd
Joe Johnson

And now the West. Again, in no particular order:

Nash
Kobe
Chris Paul
Dirk
Tim Duncan
A.I.
Melo
Yao Ming
Amare
Baron Davis
Deron Williams
Chris Kaman

I know there’s a few left off that have deserved it in years past(I’m lookin at you T-Mac), but they just haven’t really done it for me this year. Injuries also played a part in this(Did Arenas retire?) So, there you have it. I’ll compare this to the actual all-star roster when it’s announced. Should be interesting to see what top players are left off because of their position.

Last night’s game against the Suns was not out of reach. Not super close, but anythings possible……. right?  Wrong.  Lakers fans were left thinking what could have been if Bynum had played. I know I was. Kwame Brown was an embarrassment at the 5 spot, and the fans let him know it. To make matters worse, it was a nationally televised game.  A word of advice Laker fans, do yourselves a favor and skip the next two months.

One question surrounding the league during the run-up to the All-Star game is, what’s going on with the Blazers? How does a team go from lottery eligible to first place in one season? Even Portlanders are questioning whether this December’s run of wins is something to get excited about or just a prelude to a mid-season slump and a finish outside the playoffs looking in. It’s understandable to be skeptical of a team that has finished towards the bottom of not just their division but of the entire league in the last few seasons, however if Wednesday night’s game against the Golden State Warriors is any indication this young Blazers team could be for real.

On a night when Brandon Roy went down early with what looked like a possibly serious injury, and came back in the second half only to finish with eight points, the Blazers relied on a crop of role players to take it to a team that was one of the hottest finishing out last season. Five players not named last year’s rookie of the year finished in double figures. Steve Blake, before going out with an injury, was one off a career high with twenty-four points including five of six three pointers. The Blazers were able to get some easy baskets early, with LaMarcus Aldridge and Joel Pryzbilla finishing with nineteen and ten respectively. The Blazers balanced attack jumped out to a lead as high as eighteen in the first half, and never trailed.

The Blazers put together thirteen straight wins in December, and as of last Wednesday, have won seventeen of their last eighteen leaving them in sole possession of first place in the northwest division. The Blazers are getting the job done with a variety of young talented players stepping up and making big shots when they need to be made. This team will go as far as Brandon Roy will take them, but when he goes down, or doesn’t put up All-Star numbers, they will be able to rely on the strength of Aldridge and the shooting of guys like Blake and James Jones to not only produce wins but dominate games.

With a road trip of seven games on the horizon this team is about to get a real test. If the Blazers can take three or four of the next seven games and not get dominated by Boston it will be a successful trip. However, having won five of their last six road games, recently outlasting Chicago in a classic double-overtime game, it wouldn’t be a total surprise to see the Blazers return to Portland with their second streak of ten straight wins. At that point, I hope that people would begin to believe that this might be for real.

It’s Friday, let’s party!!!  Another full slate of games tonight.  I won’t call for any blowouts two days in a row.  I learned that lesson yesterday.  And anyway most of the games are pretty ho-hum.  I do think the Hornets V Warriors ought to be fun.  I like the Warriors in that one.  They were embarrassed last time out in big D and should come out with something to prove.  Baron Davis will have a hard time chasing CP3 around all game, but the Warriors have enough weapons to pull out the win.

Happy New Year Hoopandharmers! Here’s what i’m amped about in tonight’s games.

- 13 games on tap

- Warriors back in big d for the first time since beating the Mavs last May. Can the Warriors make it 4 in a row?

- J-Kidd needs just 3 rebounds to pass Magic Johnson on the all-time rebound list for guards. UPDATE: 16 mins in and Kidd already has 3 rebounds. Magic who?

Is it just me or does it seem like people sometimes lose sight and forget about what is most important? That’s why as a Wayne State University Graduate, I can tell you that I honestly am ready, and love it when b-ball season rolls around! Now sure, there are a lot bigger and perhaps better schools, but let us never count out the awesome action you can catch, even if your grades were not good enough to get into one of those schools. The GLIAC is full of all sorts of excitement, especially within in the world of hoops. Furthermore, from a sheer logistical standpoint, isn’t it about time, we started to give everyone a fair shot at getting some of the lime light? This is not of course to say that these young and able athletes do not get their chance to shine, but instead that we can get caught up in all of the busyness of life, and forget about things such as the GLIAC. Now in case you are on of those people who would like to know more about GLIAC basketball, you can always check out the GLIAC websites. Furthermore, today November 1, 2007, Wayne State’s Men’s basketball team will be traveling to Bowling Green, Ohio to play in an exhibition contest. Aside from Wayne State other great schools such as Grand Valley State University and Northern Michigan University, have some great basketball potential and hopes as well. Still, there is a hope in writing all of this. The hope is that, in the midst of the bigger schools, we do not always have to associate them as having better or more professional players. So here it is, we must not forget about the GLIAC, and also we must remember that these kids play their hearts out just as much, as any other bigger or smaller school would and does. For if they do not, then really where is the heart in what we call the passion for sports and the game? Stay tuned for more information, schedules, and happenings as the season unfolds.