NBA Team of the Week: Bradley Beal and the Mediocre Washington Wizards

The Wizards haven't been great, but Alex Theoharides (@Minne_Pop) loves the way Bradley Beal has been playing.

2010 - 2011 NBA Preview

It seems like only a year ago that I was lazily floating along, debating whether or not to devote myself to making this blog an actual entity with different kinds of content; that was actually updated frequently.  It seems like only a year ago that I was writing a belated preview of the 2009-2010 NBA season about a month after the season had already started.  Oh, wait, all of that really was a year ago. Look how far we’ve come: tons of different content, a variety of stupid and interesting podcasts and posts that are on time and actually before the events that they are written about.  If that isn’t progress, I don’t know what is.  You should be thrilled you follow this blog.

All of this is just a long preamble to stating how much this blog has changed as well as how much the NBA has changed.  You would be extremely hard pressed to find a time when the NBA changed this dramatically from one season to the next.  Perhaps you could make the argument for the 1993-1994 season, which was the season immediately following Michael Jordan’s first retirement.  You could also make an argument for the 1998-1999 season, which followed M.J’s second retirement and was also the strike-shortened season that saw the birth of the Spurs dynasty.  And I would also possibly listen to an argument for the 1979-1980 season when Bird and Magic came into the league, though there was still a slow climb to make out of the cocaine/tape-delayed Finals games-era.  However, none of those years can come even close to the shift over this past summer.  Just a few highlights:

-       The Miami Heat becoming the nWo of basketball.

-       Amare coming to the Knicks.

-       The Bulls becoming the “Team that makes sense.”

-       Kevin Durant playing like the best player in the world at the FIBA World Games.

-       The Lakers becoming deeper.

-       The Celtics becoming deeper and bigger.

-       Ticket prices being raised all around the league because of the Heat factor.

-       Carmelo Anthony basically saying that he will only come to the New York Knicks.

-       Dwight Howards’ training sessions with Hakeem Olajuwon.

-       The Miami Heat.

There have been a ton of roster changes league-wide and there is definitely a shift in balance of power to the Eastern Conference.  We are entering a league where there are once again a handful of elite, dominant, deep teams, rather than many watered down teams.  This isn’t the NFL.  The NBA prospers on the strength of memorable teams that go extraordinarily deep.  Now, we have a chance to remember the following teams: ’10-’11 Heat (for obvious reasons), ’10-’11 Lakers (three-peat and Kobe matching Jordan),  ’10-’11 Celtics (vindication for KG, cementing legacies of Big Three, Shaq pulling even with Kobe), ’10-’11 Magic (Dwight’s first (only?) title), ’10-’11 Thunder (far-fetched, but Kevin Durant’s first title and coup for smart management).  That’s five potential memorable/historic teams.  That kind of potential is never there at the beginning of a season – not at least in recent memory.

So, as you can see, there is a lot to look forward to this season.  Now, I am going to take you team by team, through the entire league in order to tell you why you should care about each team in the NBA and what will happen to them.

Atlantic Division:

Boston Celtics

Why You Should Care:  There are plenty of reasons why you should care.  They are poised to be the main competition to the Heat in the East. Garnett looks healthy and has a spring in his step that he seemed to have lost the last two years.  Shaq is in shape.  They picked up Delonte West to pair with Nate Robinson has part of their second team, which will be explosive.  Big Baby and Shaq on the court at the same time.  Rondo pulling off two to three moves a game that make you question everything you knew about basketball.  Pierce looking to cement his legacy as one of the best lifetime Celtics.  Allen looking for redemption from the 2010 Finals.  And finally Rondo playing with a huge chip on his shoulder because he was kicked of the 2010 FIBA gold medal team and looking to destroy every point guard (read Derrick Rose) he faces.  This is going to be a fun team to watch.

What Will Happen To Them: They have a chance to win over 60 games and will most likely play the Heat in the Eastern Conference Finals.  That series will most likely go six or seven games.  However, I think the Heat take them.

New Jersey Nets

Why You Should Care: They have perhaps the best owner in the league in Mikhail Prokhorov bringing mysterious Russian vibes. Brooke Lopez is the second best center in the league and is poised to make a leap.  Derrick Favors as tremendous upside as a rookie. Avery Johnson is a passionate coach and this team was terrible last year so that all want to win.  They have young intriguing talent in Travis Outlaw, Anthony Morrow and Terrence Williams. They might be Carmelo’s backup plan.

What Will Happen To Them:  The Nets were terrible last year, so they can only go up.  They will get out to a slow start, then get frisky right before and after the All-Star Game, leading to some “eighth seed” attention that will die out as the team loses steam at the tail end of the season. Avery Johnson comes in second place in the Coach of the Year voting.

New York Knicks

Why You Should Care:  Amare Stoudemire is one of those rare athletes who relish playing in New York.  He is dying to prove he is the man and that his success wasn’t only because of Steve Nash. He is going to be playing with a lot to prove, which will motivate him – big year.  The New York crowd will be revitalized. The Garden will be relevant again.  Ronny Turiaf and Anthony Randolph will be huge fan favorites that we remember fondly years from now as slightly watered down Anthony Mason and Charles Oakley type figures.  Danilo will have a big year and they will get Carmelo Anthony right before the trade deadline in February.

What Will Happen To Them:  The frenzied crowd at the Garden, Amare’s big year and the late addition of Carmelo will ride them to a strong seventh seed in the East where the Celtics will prove too much for them in the first round of the playoffs. Mike D’Antoni gets Coach of the Year honors and the Knicks fans can look forward to a big step forward in 2011-2012 with a full year of Carmelo and Amare.  Unless there is a lockout.

Philadelphia 76ers

Why You Should Care:  Elton Brand is supposed to be healthy so he may make them friskier than expected.  Maybe Andre Iguodala will recognize his true strengths as a basketball player after the great role he played on the 2010 FIBA team.  Maybe Evan Turner won’t be pouty and will live up to expectations as a rookie.

What Will Happen To Them: Realistically, this team will not be very good.  They will be at the bottom of the conference and are definitely looking lottery.  Their best option is to figure out some kind of trade scenario and blow this team up.  It’ll be hard with Brand’s contract, but they can’t build around Iguodala – he needs to go to a good team and be their defensive stopper on the wing and third or fourth scoring option. They will have some painful, painful games to watch.

Toronto Raptors

Why You Should Care: Because they might literally become the worst team of all time.  There is no one on this team – absolutely no one.  I can’t believe that more people aren’t pointing this out.  They do have Reggie Evans and his Twitter Feed for humor, but that’s it.  They need to move a lot of pieces around and try to become a mediocre team built around Demar DeRozan and Andrea Bargnani – maybe Ed Davis if he pans out as a rookie and puts on more weight. 

What Will Happen To Them:  They will be the worst team in the league. This will not be pretty. I’m very serious about this team.  They are going to stink.

Central Division

Chicago Bulls

Why You Should Care:  Derrick Rose is going to make a big leap this year as a point guard and as possibly a Top Ten/Top Fifteen player in the league. Joakim Noah is going to be a revelation down in the post on offense and especially on defense and open a lot of eyes.  Once they get Carlos Boozer back you are going to see a new dimension to their offense that they have not had – possibly ever.  Rose and Boozer will run some great pick and rolls.  Deng will have a good year and remind people why he was overvalued back in the 2005-2007 days.  They will play great team defense and will fit together as a team.  This team just makes a lot of sense. You will learn about basketball watching them.

What Will Happen To Them: They will finish as the fifth seed in the East.  Since Boozer will be out the first month or so of the season, they will be playing catch up to the Bucks and I think it will be close but the Bucks will take the division.  That means that they’ll play each other in the first round of the playoffs, which will be a classic series that the Bulls will take in seven.  Then, they will fall to the Heat in a “hard fought, but the Heat are just too good” five game series. You can mark my words on that one. 

Cleveland Cavaliers

Why You Should Care: Have you ever been in a long-term relationship that seemed to be going so well; the girl was your high school sweetheart and it seemed like the two of you were going to get married and live happily ever after but then all of a sudden you were getting ready to propose and she told you she was in love with someone else?  Well, that is what happened to the Cleveland Cavaliers and we are going to watch an entire team and city sort through that sort of depression and mess for much of the season.  It’s completely unprecedented.  And the reaction to LeBron returning to Cleveland? I don’t know if we can even begin to fathom what that moment will actually be like.  Plus they have Jamison, Mo Williams, Varajao, JJ Hickson and some other role players that made get traded to interesting places and might make good teams even better.

What Will Happen To Them:  Many of the pieces of this team will be traded away during this season as they try to rebuild the team.  Hopefully Cleveland fans will have patience and not try multiple suicide attempts or homicide attempts on LeBron when he visits.  This team will be bad, but they won’t play horrendous basketball.

Detroit Pistons

Why You Should Care: If you don’t like basketball, there is really no reason why you should care about this team.  They are going to be bad.  The only reason to be interested in them is that they have so many weird parts that there is a way they might be so whacky that they actually confuse teams and beat them. 

What Will Happen To Them: If Ben Gordon and Charlie Villanueva try hard there is a chance they can make a run at the eight seed.  However, that scenario is pretty much unlikely and they will be showcasing some brutal basketball.

Indiana Pacers

Why You Should Care:  The Pacers always trot out a lot of white guys for the race purists out there (is that offensive? And to who?).  Danny Granger is a terrific scorer and always entertaining to watch. They made a big trade to get Darren Collison as their point guard and that could pay off.  They have Tyler Hansbrough who could put in a productive sophomore season and become one of the more likeable hardworking guys in the league.  Uh, well, I’m really stretching here, but there is something about this Pacers team that I kind of like.  I want them to do well.

What Will Happen To Them: The best case scenario is that Collison plays like he did last year and his ability teamed up with Granger’s scoring and Roy Hibbert’s jump from an average center to a good center could provide them with some options on offense that might lead to a run at the eighth seed.  Their fate is similar to the Nets: some possible eighth seed gossip, but most likely a fadeout.  They will not play completely awful basketball.

Milwaukee Bucks

Why You Should Care: One of the best stories of last season was the Bucks’ surprising run into the playoffs as well as their fan’s adopting the “Fear the Deer” slogan invented by Andrew Bogut. Unfortunately, the Bucks were too inexperienced and Bogut was injured and they weren’t able to beat the Hawks in their first round series.  The Bucks with Bogut would have put up more of an effort against the Magic than the Hawks did.  Well, the band is back for this team (what?) and Bogut will look to build on his season last year so that more people notice that he is actually a very solid center.  Jennings will look to raise more eyebrows after his impressive rookie season and contend with Rondo, Rose and Wall as the most exciting young point guard in the league.  They have some wild card additions in Drew Gooden and Corey Maggette that could very well pan out.

What Will Happen To Them: I’m thinking nothing but best-case scenario for this likable team and their great fan base.  I think the Bucks will actually surprise a lot of people and get to the four seed in the East.  The fans will feel a bit of a setback when they lose to the Bulls in seven games in the first round, but the Bulls are going to be hot going into the playoffs. The wild card is that Scott Skiles is a hard ass coach that can grate on players. Hopefully that doesn’t happen this year or next year so we can see a little Bulls/Bucks rivalry develop. 

Southeast Division:

Atlanta Hawks

Why You Should Care: For the past three years the Hawks have boasted a young, dynamic, exciting and talented (?) roster.  You never know when Josh Smith is going to throw down a ridiculous dunk or make a fantastic block.  Al Horford is one of the best young big men in the league.  Jamal Crawford is an erratic Sixth Man who is capable of putting up big points.  Joe Johnson is a boring, solid and unremarkable star.  Oh, that last one’s not drawing you in? Well, its not like the Hawks spent 127 million dollars signing him to a new contract in the offseason.  Oh, wait, they did.

What Will Happen To Them:  The Hawks are such an erratic team there is no true way to tell what will happen to them.  They are dangerous one moment and then lackadaisical the next.  That’s what you get with a team of borderline head cases (well Josh Smith is a head case).  They are going to take a step back this year as the Bucks and the Bulls are much more cohesive teams and have better coaches.  The Hawks will fall to the sixth seed where the Magic will dispatch of them in the first round as easily as they did last year (although that may not be possible as the way the Magic whipped the Hawks last year was ridiculous).  Then, the Hawks try to retool the roster but realize they paid Joe Johnson 127 million dollars. Oopey.

Charlotte Bobcats

Why You Should Care: Any team with Stephen “Captain Jack” Jackson on it will be worth watching.  Captain Jack has developed into one of the better league personalities we have had in the last few years. Jackson may be dynamic or he may be a head case and demand a trade.  There are some interesting prospects with Jackson, Gerald Wallace and Ty Thomas (poised to make a big leap from what I hear) all playing together.  There’s also the fact that Michael Jordan is the owner and he might make bold statements during the year and also that they are paying Boris Diaw and Dasagna Diop a combined 15 million dollars.  Trust me, that is absurd.

What Will Happen To Them: The Bobcats lost a lot of small pieces from their playoff team and they don’t seem to resemble a team that will play very good basketball.  All this being said, that may just be enough for them to sneak into the eight seed in the East.  The Heat will sweep them in the first round.

Miami Heat

Why You Should Care: They are drawing hate only matched by the nWo in the heyday of the WCW.  The two best players in the league are playing together for the first time ever and the two best perimeter players are playing together for the first time since Baylor and West.  You will get to know Chris Bosh as a player. This is an experiment in unselfishness and suppression of ego that is unprecedented in sports history.  Their team coming to any U.S. city will be an event. They may save the economies of some failing cities and the raised ticket sales for ALL OF THEIR AWAY GAMES may help prevent the lockout (although this is not really plausible, it is still very fun to think about).  LeBron is playing with a huge chip on his shoulder after all the insults he took in the offseason. We will finally get to see Dwyane Wade play with a team that resembles an actual pro basketball team.  I could make up a million more reasons why you should care, but really, this is historic stuff.

What Will Happen To Them: I am on the side of optimism for this team.  I think they constructed the bench and supporting players very conservatively and practically. Everyone on this team will have their role and will not be asked to stretch more than they can do.  Dwyane and LeBron will anchor and guide everything and each one of those guys is capable of pulling a team through an off night.  They will get everyone’s best shot, but I am predicting 66 wins and they win the title over the Lakers.  Next year (if not lockout) is the year they go for the Bull’s wins record.

Orlando Magic

Why You Should Care: They are a perennial contender in the East.  They have Dwight Howard.  Dwight Howard spent the offseason in private training sessions with Hakeem Olajuwon that you can view on YouTube, so you can expect his post game to show visible signs of improvement. Vince Carter may play like a man who has balls at one point in the season. Stan Van Gundy has lashed out at Pat Riley and LeBron for all the offseason moves.  The Magic genuinely seem to have a chip on their shoulder for being overlooked and could surprise the Heat or Celtics in the playoffs, although that scenario is not very likely.

What Will Happen To Them:  They will finish as the three seed and meet the Celtics in the second round of the playoffs.  Unless Dwight has really improved his post moves, they will face the same fate that met them in the Eastern Conference Finals last year.  I’m thinking history will repeat itself.

Washington Wizards

Why You Should Care:  They drafted John Wall who will eventually become one of the best point guards in the league, who will perform freakish feats on a Rondo-scale, except that he is more athletic and perhaps more of a freak than Rondo is.  Gilbert Arenas has possibly lost his mind.  If Gilbert Arenas actually buys into playing the two-guard position and focuses simply on making shots, he and Wall could form a potent backcourt. JaVale McGee will be receiving tons of alley-oops from John Wall. They are slowly putting pieces into place to have a good team.

What Will Happen To Them: John Wall will carry them to a few surprise wins and will deliver some fantastic highlight reel plays. I have heard his on-court aura is already being compared to Iverson’s rookie year, which is a big compliment.  However, it seems like Gilbert has really lost his mind and may end up undermining this team.  If not, there is a chance they could make some kind of weak run at the number eight seed, but that is unlikely.  They will have some moments of good basketball.

Northwest Division

Denver Nuggets

Why You Should Care: They have Carmelo Anthony – for now.  Carmelo Anthony might get traded.  They have a roster full of head cases who do and say crazy things (i.e. JR Smith popcorn trick on Kenyon Martin’s car).  They are talented.  They could make a run at the West if they keep their dysfunction in line.

What Will Happen To Them: They won’t keep their dysfunction in line and will most likely self-destruct right around the All-Star Break. Carmelo trade rumors will weigh the team down until Carmelo is actually traded to the Knicks, which will keep the Nuggets out of the playoffs.  If Carmelo stays, they are a dysfunctional team that lands the seven seed and matches up with the Mavericks in the first round – that could be an interesting upset special.

Minnesota Timberwolves

Why You Should Care: Because their owner, David Kahn, is an idiot who lacks any form of self-awareness. Because David Kahn has made a million head scratching signings and trades. Because David Kahn had one of the most awkward interactions ever with Chris Weber during the offseason.  They have a lot of young talent that could work if they were assembled on a team with an actual plan.  Mike Love is one of the most underrated players in the league.  Michael Beasley may or may not be stoned for all of their deep winter games when he can’t leave his home in Minneapolis.  They might actually surprise some people and win a few games.

What Will Happen To Them: They will most likely not surprise and will be one of the worst teams in the league.  They have a lot of nice pieces, but until they figure out how they actually want to build this team - form an identity on offense or defense, the roles of the players they have, the roles of players they need to get – they will not be playing enjoyable basketball to watch.  I’ll watch it, though, because they do have some good young players.

Oklahoma City Thunder

Why You Should Care: Kevin Durant. Kevin Durant. Kevin Durant. Russell Westbrook is one of the most exciting young guards in the game and throws down some of the most ridiculous dunks as well.  He took a big leap at the FIBA Games and his poised to do the same this season. Jeff Green needs to prove his worth after disappearing against the Lakers.  James Harden will improve in his second year.  KU alumni Nick Collison and Cole Aldridge will form a hilarious white boy mentor-pupil duo on the front line.  Serge Ibaka will open your eyes at least once a game.  They are a well-built, hard playing, very likable young team.

What Will Happen To Them:  They surprised some teams last year, but they were really that good.  Durant has taken it to another level, as has Westbrook so they will keep up with the good teams and the teams that aren’t surprised any more.  Their role players all look to improve as well.  I see them as the number three seed (long season still catches up to them), but they will get past the Mavericks in the second round and make it to the Western Conference Finals.

Portland Trailblazers

Why You Should Care: Greg Oden might play a full season.  Brandon Roy is a good player.  Brandon Roy and Andre Miller might fight each other.  They are always competitive and have a lot of nice role players.  They have great fans and a great jersey.  I can’t think of anything else to really get you excited about the Trailblazers.  I like them as a team and they will not play bad basketball.  They will actually play some very good basketball at times.  There, that’s my endorsement.

What Will Happen To Them: This is a tough one to pick.  If Denver bottoms out, then either they or the Suns will finish as the seventh seed in the West.  If Denver doesn’t bottom out, then it is very likely that they will not make the playoffs.  It sounds strange to me as I’m writing it because I think they are a good team, but seeds two through seven in the West will be tight.  To be fair, if they make the playoffs, they can definitely pull up an upset. Also, they can’t have any more injuries than they did last year.

Utah Jazz

Why You Should Care: Jerry Sloan always coaches his team well. Deron Williams is one of the top three point guards in the league.  The Jazz got an absolute steal when they took Al Jefferson from the Minnesota Timberwolves.  Jefferson is a quality big man with legitimate low-post moves who has never played on a good team or a competent coach (one year with Doc Rivers doesn't count because Doc didn't gain competence until the 2008 Finals when he somehow turned on a coaching switch).  Jefferson is actually an upgrade over Boozer. They usually trot out a dynamic team with the likes of Okur, Kirilenko and Fesenko.  They always seem to play people tough.  They have switched back to their old jersey's with the music symbols - definite plus.

What Will Happen To Them: They will finish as the six seed in the West and face Oklahoma City in the first round. They will play Oklahoma City tough and this is a series that should potentially go seven games.  You have to like the Westbrook vs. Williams matchup as well as the Oklahoma City big men trying to match up with Jefferson, Okur and Fesenko.  However, the Jazz really have no match for Kevin Durant and that will prove to be the difference.  A very enjoyable series, though, with two well coached and good chemistry teams.

Pacific Division

Golden State Warriors

Why You Should Care: Stephen Curry is a really good and exciting basketball player who will be even more comfortable in his second NBA season.  David Lee will enjoy playing with another player who can pass and play good basketball.  They changed their uniforms and they look cool – I think. Don Nelson is not the coach anymore and they actually have a coach who cares about what happens to the team.  They have a versatile roster that could surprise a few teams (hint: this is my code for there are a lot of random players that I know about and that most people the don’t really follow the NBA know about.  These players are not really worth following or knowing about, but I do: Louis Amundsen, Ekpe Udoh, Andris Biedrins.). And, finally, they have a fantastic home crowd.

What Will Happen To Them:  They will most likely not surprise many teams and will finish at the lower portion of the standings.  However, it will be entertaining to watch Curry and Lee play together.  With some lucky, they may end up getting a top spot in the lottery.

 Los Angeles Clippers

Why You Should Care: Blake Griffin may actually get to play his rookie season.  This is important because he has looked insane in the preseason.  He could be one of the most exciting players this year.  His play could inspire Baron Davis and you always want to watch a team with an inspired Baron Davis.  Griffin and Kaman in the post could be extremely formidable.  Eric Gordon took a huge leap forward during the FIBA Games and could be your Most Improved Player.  You will become more familiar with his name.

What Will Happen To Them: If Blake Griffin does not get injured, I see the Clippers landing the eight seed in the West and facing the Lakers in the first round of the playoffs in the Staples Center Showdown (better name?) This will be a series with some serious Golden State/Dallas 2007 potential.  All of L.A. is watching. Lakers are going for a three-peat.  Baron in front of plenty of Hollywood stars.  Blake Griffin’s playoff debut.  This could be huge. Let’s keep our fingers crossed.

Los Angeles Lakers

Why You Should Care:  Kobe Bryant.  Pau Gasol (one of the most amazing players in the game to watch). Ron Artest. Andrew Bynum (and his knee). Lamar Odom. Derek Fischer. Phil Jackson.  The two-time defending champs are looking for a three peat. This would give Phil twelve rings (four three-peats). This would give Kobe six rings (two three-peats) and would draw more Jordan comparisons.  Artest is on the team for the love of god.  Odom loves candy.  They are deeper this year than they were last year.  This team will play very good basketball and it may be the last time to see some of these players playing at this level.

What Will Happen To Them: They will cruise through the West much like the 1992-1993 Bulls cruised through the East. They will try to keep their energy and strength for the playoffs. It will be a tougher road through this year because of the matchup problems, but they will get to the Finals.  I believe they will take Miami to seven games in “The Series That Saves the NBA,” but will lose.  Cue the downward slope of Kobe’s career.

Phoenix Suns

Why You Should Care:  Steve Nash is a freak of nature and he eats a very healthy diet that promotes energy and strength – you should follow it.  They have some great chemistry role players like Jared Dudley.  You should always enjoy watching Grant Hill play and appreciate how he has made a career even after his body was ravaged by injuries (one of the greatest in the game pre-injury). They always score a lot.  They are never not entertaining to watch.

What Will Happen To Them: They lost Amare to free agency, which is a big blow. They also lost a few good role players and may have too many small forwards.  They may not be able to get their same chemistry back from last year where it seemed like everyone cared and understood what to do.  If the Nuggets don’t self-destruct, I see them sneaking into the seventh seed (Why not the Clippers? I don’t know, my logic is flawed.) as the best possible scenario.  Otherwise, there is a good chance this likable team misses the playoffs.

Sacramento Kings

Why You Should Care: Tyreke Evans was the Rookie of the Year last year.  He is poised to improve this year.  He drove his purple car 120 miles per hour over the offseason.  They drafted DeMarcus Cousins who is potentially the biggest head case with the most potential since Rasheed Wallace (that is a huge compliment as ‘Sheed was one of the most talented players to come out of college in the past twenty years.  He had every tool and every move and he just chose to waste so much of it because he was a head case.). They have a good young turk in Omri Casspi (actually Turkish). Ah, that’s about it. The rest of the team is kind of garbage.

What Will Happen To Them: They will be an exciting team and hopefully the duo of Evans and Cousins works out because they are both freaks and could anchor that team for the next decade if all goes right.  Unfortunately, they will play some terrible basketball when they are not making you stand out of your seat.  If they draft well next year (if there is a draft) they could possibly sneak into the eight seed in 2011-2012.

Southwest Division

Dallas Mavericks

Why You Should Care: Dirk Nowitzki is one of the most underrated NBA players of all time.  He is on his way to a Hall of Fame career and is reaching some big statistical milestones.  They are always competitive. They are big enough with the addition of Tyson Chandler to provide a legitimate challenge to the Lakers.  Roddy Beaubois is one of the fastest players in the league.  They are one of the deepest teams in the league and could make a surprise trade near the trade deadline in February to make a legitimate run at the Finals.

What Will Happen To Them: They will be the number two seed in the West.  I don’t see them actually making a trade at the deadline, because for all of his talk, Cuban is usually conservative when it comes to making trades.  They will make it all the way to the Western Conference Finals.  After winning the first game of the series and putting a scare in the Lakers, Kobe will win Game 2 at the buzzer and shift the dynamic of the series.  The Lakers will win in six games.

Houston Rockets

Why You Should Care: Yao Ming is a good player. They have a deep and well-rounded team that fits together well.  Kevin Martin is an overlooked player because he played on so many bad Sacramento teams.  Shane Battier is always one of the top defenders in the league. Luis Scola showed the world what he is capable in the FIBA World Games this summer.  They are a big, physical and dynamic team that can surprise people.

What Will Happen To Them: They will have a solid regular season and finish as the fourth seed in the West.  They will meet the Spurs in the first round, which will be a bruising series that will definitely call to mind some early-90’s Eastern Conference battles.  The Rockets will unfortunately lose that series in seven games.

Memphis Grizzlies

Why You Should Care: They have a young core of good players like O.J. Mayo and Xavier Henry.  They showed signs of progress last year. Marc Gasol is becoming one of the best low post players in the league.  If Zach Randolph tries, they can be seriously dangerous down low. Zach Randolph is a head case.  Hasheem Thabeet apparently improved from “awful” to “not so terrible” over the summer, which could help them.  Rudy Gay just got overpaid during the summer and has to try and live up to his contract.  They have some random pieces that could make them competitive. They have an unpredictable, wild card feel.

What Will Happen To Them: The West is full of so many good teams that are hard to get a definitive read on.  I think that the Grizzlies will challenge for the eight seed, but with teams like the Suns, Nuggets and Clipper lurking around, it may be tough for them to break back through into the postseason.  I don’t see it happening.

New Orleans Hornets

Why You Should Care: Chris Paul.  They have a “not terrible” starting lineup now that they’ve added Trevor Ariza who will hopefully add a little toughness to the team.  Emeka Okafor might not be a total stiff as their center.  Jerryd Bayless can help spell Chris Paul when they need him to.  Quincy Pondexter might be a surprising rookie.  Let’s face it, Chris Paul is the only reason to care about this team and there is still a chance he could get traded this season.

What Will Happen To Them:  Although Chris Paul is a good guy and will try to put this team on his back, I don’t really see them going anywhere.  They won’t play terrible basketball mostly because of Paul, but also because Ariza will be a nice running mate and David West is always solid.  Okafor only needs to finish alley-oops and stay healthy like Tyson Chandler did in the 2007-2008 season, when the team made it to the second round of the playoffs.  I think they will miss the cut of the playoffs, though I believe Paul will finish the season with the team.

San Antonio Spurs

Why You Should Care: Tim Duncan will not be in the league for many more years and I’ve come around on him as a player.  The Spurs are always dangerous with Parker and Ginobli.  Dejuan Blair is a tough player and rebounder inside and an excellent chemistry/glue-guy.  People are very high on Tiago Splitter’s capabilities as a rookie.  Richard Jefferson has been with the team for a year and will hopefully have better chemistry.  George Hill is a nice player. Antonio McDyess is always reliable and can knock down clutch jumpers. They are the Spurs and they never really die.

What Will Happen To Them: The Spurs always hang around.  Even last year when everyone thought they were dead in the water, they were able to upset the Mavericks in the first round.  This year, they finish as the five seed in the West thanks to one last solid Duncan season.  They take the Rockets in an epic seven game first round series and then push the Lakers to six games in the second round.  They are just too old in general and not quite big enough to handle the Lakers and their depth.  You can put that one in the books.

So, there you have it.  An exhaustive wrap-up of every team in the league.  I may be an NBA freak, but this season, there are legitimate reasons to care about every team and that is a good thing.  This will be one of the best NBA seasons in history, so please sit back and enjoy it.

Linksys2

Now, I am sure you are asking, "What's with the post name, Domino? And what does it have anything to do with Patrick Ewing and a young-looking, handsome David Stern?" Well, Little Puddler, I can explain everything to you and very simply.  The name of this post derives itself from the internet connection that we use here at the Puddles of Myself headquarters. When this internet connection is working smoothly, I can post as many times as I want to and right on the schedule I like to keep for the blog.  However, this week Linksys2 has been giving me some problems so that is why your Tuesday podcast was delayed and also why there was no post on Monday.

The name Linksys2 also works because this is the kind of post I like to do every so often when I round up some links and other random things to point you to so that you can read and etc.

Oh, and the Patrick Ewing picture I just think is funny and is also timely because last night the NBA Draft Lottery took place, which is always a great spectacle to watch.  In somewhat a shocking turn of events, the Washington Wizards will have the number one pick in the NBA Draft on June 24, 2010 where they will most likely pick John Wall who they hope can turn around their franchise after the unfortunate circumstances surrounding Gilbert Arenas and his gun-toting ways.  It is yet to be determined if the Wizards will find a way to release Gilbert Arenas from the team, but I know already that the pre-gun incident Arenas would not be humble enough to share the ball with a natural point guard like John Wall. We'll see how this plays out as the draft has really only two sure bets (John Wall and Evan Turner), two players with significant potential but serious questions (Derrick Favors and Demarcus Cousins), and a lot of marginal talent that won't necessarily add a ton to each team, but if picked by the right team can really help to bolster some lineups around the league and fill in the cracks.  This is more of a glue draft than a real substantive draft.  Now, to some links.

- Sticking with the NBA, Bill Simmons delivered two great columns last week. The first was a game diary of Game 5 between the Cavaliers and the Celtics, while the second was a breakdown of the future for LeBron after Cleveland lost the Eastern Conference Semifinals to the Celtics. I read this after my own post on LeBron and the lead up to his pending free agency. As always, Simmons does a terrific job.

- Also last Friday, Simmons did a podcast with Carlton Cuse who is one of the creators of Lost. If you have followed the show at all it is a very interesting listen.  I watched parts of last night's episode and am definitely going to watch the two and a half hour series finale next week.  I think I'm going to go to the Bell House and watch it. Maybe dress up like Sawyer or Sayid.

- Speaking of TV. I am definitely getting anxious for Season 4 of Mad Men to start. The season is scheduled to begin on July 25, 2010 and there is a little bit of info about some unclear items that may take place in the fourth season.

- While we are on the subject of Mad Men, check out this picture of a young Don Draper (Jon Hamm) playing Lorelai Gilmore's boyfriend on an old school episode. He was already developing some classic Draper faces.

- I forgot on the earlier post today to provide a link to the Darlings' material so that you can just it out when you are not listening to the podcast with Joe Tirabassi. You can also check out pictures and other items of the band here.

- I also forgot to mention last week that my friend Janelle Sing, who has done her own podcast as well as the Gilmore Girls podcast, has a new blog up, Giovanni and Giotto, in addition to her website. The blog features more blog type of material and musings as well as pictures of some of the new items she is designing, which include shoes, handbags, and wallets.  Stay on top of her blog as it will be a good way for you to purchase some of these products at the ground level before she blows up big time.

- In other blog related news, I wanted to give a shout out to the blog of Ally Jane Grossan, which is called Kitchen Princess. Ally Jane and I used to work together at Salmagundi Magazine when I was a senior at Skidmore and she was a freshman. Since I left Skidmore, Ally Jane took over the reigns of a lot of the operational stuff going on at the magazine. I always thought that she had a strictly literary writing interest, however, it turns out she has been keeping a terrific food blog at Kitchen Princess that I recommend anyone should read and keep up with.

- My friend Luna Malachowski Bajak of the blog Postres de Abuela y Torres de Caramelo, has had another blog that she updates, which features her artwork.  Please check it out here.

- A final blog I need to mention is the blog of my friend Cyrus Lubin.  Mr. Lubin has created a dog blog, which has some great pictures, but in my opinion, features some fantastic captions.

- The upcoming podcasts that will be appearing on this blog will include the following guests: Chris Dannen (writer) on writing and other related topics; Cyrus Lubin (drummer, label head, promoter, organizer extraordinare) on his own band, promoting shows, and the Famous Class label; Lauren Gidwitz (artist) on her art, painting and other items that we come up with on the spot; and Paul Sicilian on the NBA Playoffs overall, the Tony Castles and the success of the Boston Celtics.  A lot of good stuff I promise you.

- Some future podcast ideas that I have coming up will be a podcast with David Stern devoted to the baseball movies, Major League, Major League 2, Little Big League, Rookie of the Year and Mr. Baseball; a podcast with Erik Gundel about the movie Teen Wolf; and Gilmore Girls Podcast Part 2 adding Ally Jane Grossan as a possible Gilmore Pundit.  I've been getting a lot of responses about that podcast and we may need a whole panel for that one.  May even need to change the title of this blog.

- Speaking of Teen Wolf, please look at this video. It is probably the funniest thing of all time.

- Finally, in a bit of personal news and news related to this blog, I will be starting a new job at W Magazine next week. I will continue to update the blog as I have been over the past two months but you can usually expect to find posts on the blog in the evening from now on.

Alright, my Puddlers, there are always good things coming on this blog. Just stick with me and I will take you there.

The Greatest Day

I intended to post this little piece on Thursday evening, however things began to get carried away with how good the games were and how long my writing became so I had to postpone it until today.  This is supposed to serve as a bit of a running commentary similar to what Bill Simmons put up on ESPN, but mine has the benefit of hindsight and editorializing, so in the end I think it will be more entertaining.  This past Thursday was far and away the best opening day to an NCAA Tournament of all time.  The level of excitement and the number of close games was astounding - it was literally one after another.  The first day of the tournament is already one of the best sports days of all time, but this took it to another level.  Combine that with a Heat vs. Magic game on TNT that went into overtime and new episodes of the Office and 30 Rock and this was the most TV I have watched in a long time.  Needless to say, my brain was fried the next day at work (8 days left).  In any event, let's get to my log of the action.  I had a meeting in the morning, so I was a little late to the first games, but that doesn't really matter:

2:30 PM

- The early afternoon games have already been exciting. Notre Dame loses to Old Dominion. A classic 12 seed versus 5 seed upset. Villanova is in danger of being upset by Robert Morris as well in the always embarassing 15 seed over 2 seed game.

- Scottie Reynolds (Villanova) looks tentative and Villanova continues its slump. Apparently Scottie was benched for a team infraction.  Benching your star player for a tournament game because of a team infraction - unheard of! Who says college coaching is dead?

- At the three minute mark now. Nova is starting to get calls on Scottie Reynolds' drives. 2:10 left, Scottie makes two FTs to cut the Robert Morris lead to 55-53.

- Meanwhile, Florida and BYU is in OT.  They are tied at 87 and Florida has the ball with five seconds left. They run a terrible last play for a tip in off the glass and that game is going to double OT.

- Robert Morris turns it over and Reynolds gets another call at 1:48 on a reach in foul.  Reynolds makes the first FT. 11 of 11 from the line. 55-54.  He makes the second.  We are tied up.

- Robert Morris gets it across half and now Nova gets called for a foul off the ball. 1:34 left.  Karon Abraham, 85% free throw shooter misses the first shot. Classic.  He makes the second. 56-55.

- Reynolds gets a screen and drives through the lane.  He gets tied up but he flails and gets another foul call.  Reynolds goes to the line.  He ties it with the first. Misses the second. 56-56.

- On the other end, Abraham drives, cradles and pumps the ball back - beautiful layup! 58-56 Robert Morris. However, Nova comes right back down and lays it in. 58-58.

- Abraham brings the ball across half, drives and puts up a floater that misses.  Nova gets the rebound, Reynolds takes the ball cross court and calls time. After the timeout, Scottie holds the ball until there are ten seconds left on the clock.  A high screen comes, but Reynolds gets trapped.  He scrambles to drive the lane and lays the ball up only to have it swatted into the seats.  Nova ball underneath with 0.9 remaining. I start to feel guilty seeing the sun outside.

- Backside lob by Nova. Perfectly executed, but its blocked by Robert Morris! We are going to OT.  Two overtime games in the first two hours of the tournament.  This is unheard of!

- Nova strikes first in OT. 60-58.

- After a Robert Morris miss, Nova feeds it inside to one of their big men (what? I'm not an expert. I don't know everyone. That's what I don't work for ESPN apparently) for a pretty bank shot.  Nova is up 62-58.  This looks like a classic tournament "favorite was sleeping for most of the game, but woke up in the end to avoid the upset" swing.

2:56 PM:

- Meanwhile, in the Florida vs. BYU game, BYU has pulled away from Florida 97-90, which looks like it will be the final. (In hindsight, I am bummed I missed this game because I heard how BYU's star Jimmer Fridette - yes, his real name - put on quite a show, scoring 40 plus.)

- In the second slot of games, 13 seed Murray State is playing 4 seed Vanderbilt close and winning 17-16 with about 11 minutes left.  14 seed Sam Houston is playing 3 seed Baylor tight as well, leading 8-3 at the 17:20 mark.  These kind of scores happen in a 3/14 or 4/13 game.  In the first half, the lower seed surprises the favorite until the favorite wakes up and pulls way late in the first half or early in the second half.

- Back to Nova/Robby Mo.  Nova has gone up 6 after two FTs and looks like they will take the game. Then, Robert Morris makes two free throws to get the lead back to 4. They benefit from more sloppy Nova play and get the ball back with 2:19 left.  Abraham jacks a three and misses, but Nova fouls on the rebound and sends Dallas Green to the line.  He clanks the first, but nails the second. 64-61 with 1:45 remaining.

- Reynolds holds the ball and the shot clock is down to 9.  Sloppy play ensues and Redding (Villanova) throws a up a desperate pass at Reynolds, who pumps and drills a three! Just his second FG.  He is 2 of 15 for the game. Ouch. 67-61.

- Robert Morris quickly makes a layup and the score is 67-63 with 52 seconds left.  Robert Morris tried to tieup Nova. One ref calls a jump, the other a foul.  Its ruled a foul and Nova goes to the line. The Robert Morris coach's head is about to explode. He actually fakes leaving the game, but comes back.  What did we do to deserve this basketball gods?  Stokes (Villanova) makes the first FT and misses the second. 68-63 Nova.

- Robert Morris takes it down and Abraham tkaes a shot through a double team and gets bailed by a foul call. He makes two FTs. 68-65. In other scores, the Baylor/Sam Houston and Vandy/Murray State games are still close at the 13 minute and 6 minute marks respectively.

-  Nova inbounds and the ball is stolen by Robert Morris!  They make the quick layup. 68-67 with 35.5 seconds left.  Robert Morris has no timeouts left. This is insane. I will need at least 60 beers today to keep pace with the excitement.

-  Nova breaks the Robby Mo press perfectly for a wide open layup for Yarou. However, Abraham chases the play down and fouls Yarou before he can convert.  Yarou makes both FTs.  70-67 with 28.8 left.

- Robert Morris inbounds and Abraham breaks the defense for an open layup but is rejected! Nova gets the loose ball and pushes the ball out to an open Redding who doesn't take the wide open layup! He chooses instead to dribble the ball and run down the clock.  Robby Mo fouls!  Verne Lundquist and Bill Raftery are baffled at the commentators booth.  I haven't heard Verne this puzzled since he did play by play for Happy Gilmore's first PGA event.

- Redding misses the first FT. Classic.  He makes the second.  71-67. Robert Morris pushes the ball up court and Abraham chucks a long three.  He nails it! 71-70 with ten seconds left!

- Nova is fouled immediately and Reynolds goes to the line.  He is 2/15 from the field and 13/14 from the line.  He makes both shots. 73-70 Nova.

- Robert Morris has the final shot, but in a poorly executed final play they miss a long three.  Villanova escapes and Bill Raftery tells us that Robert Morris only lost on the scoreboard. How true.

-Meanwhile, Murrary State and Vandy are as close as it can be. Murray State is up 33-31 with 2 minutes remaining in the first half and Sammy Houston is still playing Baylor tight. Sammy Morris is up 17-16 with 8:36 left in the first.

- Sam Houston has a player on their team that wears goggles.  Haven't seen those in awhile.  In fact, his name is "Goggles" Clavell.  Goggles + Upset Special = Must Have.  Baylor ties it up with an Anthony "Tony" Jones dunk.

- Sam Houston steals, Ray Murray takes the ball down and misses a layup. Baylor with terrific ball movement and another vicious slam by "Large Pie" Tony Jones.  20-18 Baylor.

- Ray Murray clanks a three for Sam Houston.  They are 1/11 from three so far. Not a good trend.  Rebound by Sam Houston.  Brown passes to "Goggles" Clavell.  He makes the layup! And one.  21-20 Sammy Houston.  They steal the ball from Baylor and make another good pass inside. Basket interference. 23-20.

- Greg Gumble switches us to the tip of Kansas State vs. North Texas.

- At the half, Murray Brothers State leads Vandy 36-30.

- K. State is up 3 early. Pace of the game is extremely fast in the early going. 5-0 K. State after a baby hook.

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4:11:

- Oops. Took a little break to set up my pod-casting recorer.  A Tascam DR-07.  I'm going to use this thing to bring you the most innane, yet interesting podcasts invented by man.  That last phrase has probably been said by over one million idiots in the 20-50 range.  Large age range, but still. So, for an update:

           - K. State on a huge run to open up a 30-17 lead.
           - Murray State leading Vandy 51-50 with 7:56 left.
           - Baylor up 34-37 on Sammy Houst with 17 minutes left.
           - St. Mary's and Richmond have tipped off.  7 seed Richmond Spiders are up 19-17 on 10 seed
             St. Mary's. All the games so far today have  been tight. Absolutely unheard of.  It fits in with
             what the analysts said: this year's tourny would be wide open with no true dominant teams
             besides Kansas and Kentucky and even they aren't so traditionally dominant.

- K. State may be the first team to win big today.  I did not see one of their games during the year, but their guards are controlling the gaeme nicely. 15 of their 35 points coming from the backcourt.

- RepoMen.  Repossessing organs.  Forrest Whitaker and Jude Law.  "You and me, we always gonna be Repo."  I am onboard while being simultaneously baffled.

- Pullen (K. State) drives and makes a terrific pass to Kelly behind his head. Kelly can't handle and lay the ball in. Shame. Meanwhile, #17 on North Texas looks like a young Jay-Z. (Speaking of which, last night in Time Out there was a Brooklyn vs. Manhattan quiz. Who is more prototypical New Yorker? Woody Allen or Jay-Z? Come on. More choices?)

- Clemente on K. State steps back and swishes a long three. Clemente and Pullen. Important names to remember because guards make an NCAA tourny run for a team. Also good interior play, low turnovers and good defense - so really everything done well.

- Peter Venkman State still  up on Vandy and Sammy Houston takes takes a 42-40 lead on Baylor with 14 minutes left. Back to K. State and North Texas, Clemente nails another three.  K. State is hot.

*Side note: how good was Dan Akroyd at making up names for movies.  Ghostbusters has a slew of amazing names and Spies Like Us is a clinic in hilarious named characters.  Look up movies Akroyd has written and you will find amazingly named characters.  It is a dying art in comedy and movies.

- Watching Sam Houston  play Baylor, I have to wonder why there is no BBQ chain called Sammy Houston's.  Couldn't you see a Sammy Houston's in Times Square next to a store selling Heath Ledger Joker shirts, or on an Interstate 10 rest stop? No?

- K. State takes a 41-25 lead into the half on North Texas.  Pullen and Clemente have 11 apiece.

- Undercover Boss is just a sorry replacement for the seminal TV reality show, My Big Fat Obnoxious Boss. Ah, 2004. Simpler days.

- And Lamar Odom is everywhere. He wins a ring with the Lakers, marries a Kardashian and all his endorsment offers come in.   I always liked the guy.

- We're back in New Orleans watching Sammy Houston's Baby-back Ribs take on the Baylor Thoroughbreds - er, Bears. Sorry, the colors confused me.

- Ladders.com commercial.  I know a dozen people who got jobs at the Ladders in the golden employment age of 2007.  Sadly, I was not hired when I applied in the fall/winter of 2007. Sadly?

- Baylor hits a long 2. Tied at 46.  Two minutes left and Peter Venkman State is leading Vandy in San Jose.

- Festus Ezeli misses two FTs with Vandy trailing 62-60.  Murray State misses a layup and Vandy gets the rebound. They call a TO with 1:55 left.

- Tony Easley on Murray State gets called for a block and fouls out. That puts Vandy star player A.J. Ogilvy on the line.  He hits the first and misses the second. 62-61. Murray State calls TO with 1:36 remaining.

- Shot clock winding down and Murray State's Danero Thomas makes a clutch fadeaway jumper. Vandy answers immediately with a nicely executed Ogilvy layup.

- Meanwhile, Baylor has pulled ahead of Sammy Houston's Slow Cooked Brisket, but Sammy comes back with another order of Pork Belly. 50-49.

- Murray State 64. Vandy 63. 49 seconds left. Murray State is moving the ball to run down the clock.  Shot clock at 10.  Dribble drive by Isacc Miles (Murray State) and a baseline pass is intercepted by Vandy.  Timeout with 22 seconds left.  As Verne Lundquist would say, "Oh my!"

- Vandy sets up a perfect backdoor through Ogilvy. He dishes it to Jermaine Beal who goes for a dunk and is fouled. No basket. Beal makes his frist. 64-64.  Murray State tries to freeze Beal with a timeout.  Meanwhile, Murray State's team name is the Racers.  I like it.

- Beal sinks the second. 65-64 Vandy. 12 seconds left. No timeouts for Murrary State.  They bring the ball down and miss a long three.  The ball bounces off Vandy.  Murray State ball with 4 seconds left.  Timeout Vandy.  Murray State will take the ball out underneath.

- Murray State inbounds the ball. Isacc Miles gets it.  He trips up on the dribble and passes it to Danero Thomas who takes a dribble and step in, pulls up and NAILS IT AS TIME EXPIRES! 66-65 Murray State.  The upset. The Murray Brothers are going to the second round, even the brother who played Freddy Rumsen on Mad Men! Jesus, another great ending.

-Back in New Orleans there is 3:20 left and Sammy Houston and Baylor are tied at 55-55.  Sammy Houst has the ball. They spread the Baylor zone and miss a jumper.  Baylor comes back with a nice pass to the interior for a dunk. 57-55.

- Sammy Houston loses it at the other end.  Baylor comes back and Lacedarius Dunn makes a turnaround jumper.  Gotta love Lacedarius! 59-55.

- Sam Houston makes a bad decision to go for a long three that clanks off the rim.  1:24 remaining.  They foul Baylor and they miss at the line, but Sam Houston throws the ball away. Lacedarius Dunn comes back with a dunk. 61-55.  Sammy Houston misses another shot and fouls.  The wheels may be coming off here. Dunn makes two FTs. 63-55 Baylor with a minute left.

- Quick pass underneath for Sammy and a layup.  But Baylor comes right back and Dunn is fouled.  Dick Enberg (the legend) tells us that "Goggles" Clavell had a great game.  Dunn makes both FTs. 65-67 with 46.6 left.

- Clavell picks up a miss and makes the layup. He is fouled! And one chance. Lacedarius fouls out. Clavell misses the FT and Sammy fouls immediately. 65-59 with 30 seconds left.  Will there be BBQ in round 2? Baylor makes 1 of 2 at the line.

- Crow on Sam Houston misses a 3. Baylor fouled. 66-59 with 21.4 left. Baylor makes both. 68-59. Sam Houston misses another three and Baylor dribbles out the clock.  68-59 final.

- Back to Providence. St. Mary's and Richmond. St. Mary's 41, Richmond 40. 16:51 left. We are with Raftery and Lundquist, which is a great commentator pairing.

- St. Mary's takes a 43-40 lead. Gonzalvez (yes, correct spelling) on Richmond with some nice dribbling, gets inside and makes a tough layup.

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7:11:

- Back from the News Break between early sessions and the late sessions as well as some dinner.  Missed the ending of the St. Mary's and Richmond game, but I heard that St. Mary's was extremely impressive.  A team to watch for in round 2.

- Now we get UNLV and Northern Iowa who are underway and tied at 8.  A classic 8 vs. 9 matchup between two historical rivals.

- Northern Iowa is setting the tone early for some offensive glass dominance.  10-10 as CBS takes us back to Providence for Georgetown vs. Ohio. I caught a couple Georgetown games this year and they have looked either dominant or terrible.  It hinges on Greg Monroe, the talented and enigmatic center.

- Ohio moving the ball well and Tommy Freeman from Muncie, IN makes a 3. Ohio 3, G'Town 0. Julian Vaugh on G'Town answers with a nice post move and lay-in. 3-2. Basset of Ohio nails a jumper. 5-2. Freeman misses for G'Town and Ohio pushes it. They move the all around the point and find an open shot. Miss. They look extremely sharp, though.

- G'Town throws away an inbounds pass. Basset with a breakaway layup. 7-2 with 16:30 left. G'Town misses again. They do not look good at all.

-8-2 with 16:00 left and Wright on G'Town makes a 3. 8-5. That might wake G'Town  up.

- A couple of sloppy possessions by both teams. G'Town in transition. Wright bobbles it but pushes the ball to Monroe just in time. Monroe makes a layup and is fouled.  He misses the and one and Ohio comes back with a 3. 11-8 with 14:30 remaining.

- Monroe posts up and spins baseline for a reverse layup.  Very pretty move. 11-10 Ohio.

-G'Town inbounds and Hollis Thompson makes a corner three. 13-11 Georgetown.

-Meanwhile, UNLV is holding off Northern Iowa 24-20.  That may be a close one as well. Kentucky already has a 15 point lead on East Tennessee State University. Over.

- G'Town comes back with a transition layup by Wright and then Ohio executed a picture perfect baby hook.

- Back from break, Wright has the ball and Georgetown is in transition. Ohio defender strops him  but then leaves his assignment. Wright takes the long, open three. Nails it. Ohio moves the ball, winding clock down. They find an open man and nail a three. 20-18 Ohio. 9:30 remaining.

7:49:

-Ohio's ball movement is excellent and it results in another open shot.  22-18 Ohio. 8:23 remaining.  Georetown with another turnover.  Ohio takes possession again finding the open man. Freeman for three. Nails it. 25-18. Ohio. Timeout.

-After the timeout, Monroe with a great drop step and spin layup. On the other end Ohio turns it over.

8:27:

-After I doze off for a few minutes (sorry, post-dinner food coma) its G'Town down 48-36 at the half. UNLV is up 36-35. CBS has put Marquette vs. Washington on. Marquette is up 31-30.

- Isiah Thomas for Washington (nope, no relation) nails a three. 33-31 Huskies.

-CBS shows us clips of Armon Basset's excellent play in the first half.  Very few Armons out there. The last one I heard of was Armon Tanzarian and his reign of terror in Springfield.

- Back to G'Town and Ohio. Ohio continues its terrific ball movement. Open shot. 50-36. G'Town follows that with a turnover. However, they recover with a steal and dunk by Jason Clark.

- Monroe is stripped by Ohio who takes the ball the length of the court. Foul on Georetown underneath. 17:52 remaining.

- Kentucky is giving us the obligatory 1 seed vs. 16 seed blowout.

- Cooper of Ohio steals the ball from Wright. Cooper takes it down and delivers a beautiful alley oop. The crowd is up and is definitely pro-Ohio.  53-38.  The ugly G'Town has definitely showed up tonight.

- Back at the G'Town/Ohio announcers booth, Lundquist sells a Raftery joke. Sometimes these guys like each other a little too much.

- Wright (Georgetown) steals the ball, fast break, layup  by Freeman. 53-42 Ohio.

- Switching channels during commercial and watching clips of Heat vs. Orlando on TNT.  "The magnificent" Dwyane Wade says Doug Collins.  You know times are tough when it appears that Wade's  best friend on the team is Quentin Richardson.

- Second half underway in the No. Iowa and UNLV game.  Northern Iowa up 45-43.  Washington and Marquette are tied at 41 with 46 seconds left in the first half.

- Big call in the Ohio/G'Town game.  Monroe makes a bucket and there is a whistle.  Offensive foul on Monroe.  G'Town is down 13.

- Basset comes the other way and nails a step back three. 58-42 Ohio.  They look good as Raftery skats, "a rat-a-tat-tat."

- Magic-Heat. 56-54 Miami in the third. Underrated story this year: Dwyane Wade is an excellent passer.  Very much ignored.  His season this year is like 2005-2007 Kobe, except he can pass.

- Wade posts, draws double, spins baseline, drives in traffic and dishes to Arroyo for an open two. He gets it.

- Switch back.  Foul on Georgetown underneath.  Ohio headed to the line. G'Town looks disinterested.

- Monroe slashes nicely for a big man, dishes to Wright for an easy layup. 59-44 with 14:20 left.

-Marquette up 43-42 at the half and just as I am thinking it, CBS switches to the UNLV/No. Iowa game. 50-48 Northern Iowa. UNLV is pressing No. Iowa. I can feel the old blisters forming on my feet. What?

- Northern Iowa with some great ball movement and an open 3.  Their fans are holding up giant heads of one of their players who look like Bobby Boucher from The Waterboy. I like it.

- UNLV breaks a trap, but Chase Stanback is fouled by Kerwin Dunham. Which one of those guys is black?

- UNLV steals from No. Iowa. They launch a three. No good. 53-49 Northern Iowa with 7:49 to go.

- Back to Miami and Orlando. The Magic have taken the lead 67-60. Of course.  Beasley with a miss. What can you say about him? Terrible.

8:55:

-Coming to a critical period with no TiVo. New Offic starts at 9:00.  I think D-Wade may suffer tonight. Tonight (shock!) priorities go: NCAA Hoops, comedy, NBA. Normal priorities: 1. Writing/beer, 2. NBA, 3. Comedy.

- Northern Iowa with a steal and Adam Koch with a layup and the foul. Northern Iowa on an 11-1 run. 6:49 left.

-Northern Iowa is playing tremendous defense, but UNLV gets a putback and then a steal. Chase Stanback (black or white?) nails a three. 58-54.

- The Office is on. It may be jumping the shark this season.

- UNLV gets the halfcourt trap and Northern Iowa has to call timeout.

-UNLV on a 7-0 run now as Stanback gets white-hot. 58-56 with 5:09 left.

9:07:

-Kwadzo Ahelegbe on the line for Northern Iowa.  He makes both FTs. 60-56. Timeout UNLV with 5:03 left.

- UNLV has cut the lead to 62-61 as Stanback continues his hot hand. UNLV are using the press very effectively. Northern Iowa is flustered. They lose the ball, get it back and there is a tie-up. Possession goes to UNLV.

- Back in Providence, Georgetown has cut the lead to 7. 81-74 with 4:35 left.  Basset misses a long three. G'Town gets the rebound and brings the ball down and they are fouled.  However, the one and one misses.

- Cooper makes a three for Ohio.  They have 13 threes in the game.  The lead is ten. Foul on Ohio and we go to timeout.

- One of two freethrows made. 9 point Ohio lead with 3:30 to go.  Cooper drives for Ohio and makes a terrific one-handed scoop.  86-78 Ohio. 2:00 left.

- Georgetown has to foul Cooper. He makes two. 88-78. Georgetown misses and it looks like Ohio is going to take the game.

- We switch to UNLV/No. Iowa.  66-63 Northern Iowa leads with 1:09 remaining.  Shot clock violation against Northern Iowa. 57.2 seconds left.

- UNLV ties it with a three by Belfield who then makes the steal but goes out of bounds. No timeouts left for Northern Iowa. 35 seconds left.

- Northern Iowa will hold it for the last shot.  UNLV can't foul.  Northern Iowa is backed up near half court, but Ali Farokhmanesh nails a long three! 69-66 Northern Iowa.  UNLV takes it down court and it is tapped out. Officials are trying to figure out how much time to put on the clock. They decide on 1.6 seconds.

- As we are in timeout, Marquette has opened up on Washington, 60-47 with thirteen minutes left.

-UNLV inbounds. Three point attempt is too late. No good anyway. Northern Iowa advances.

- We're back in Providence. Ohio is up 93-80. Georgetown brings the ball down and travelling is called on Wright. Georgetown is going to play the foul game with 56.2 seconds left and down 13.

- Washington has cut Marquette's lead to 8.

- Switch to 30 Rock. Liz Lemon making some great Philadelphia Eagles snowball throwing references.

-"This is for you, Don Goose" - Jenna on 30 Rock.

-Switch back. Washington makes a three. 62-58 Marquette is barely hanging on.  Washington with a steal and it is tied-up. Jump ball, possession stays with Marquette. Marquette with a crazy shot off the glass. Butler with the putback. 64-58. Washington at the other end - a three! 64-61. Eight three pointers for Washington.

- Haywood for Marquette with a catch and shoot. Drains it. Very pretty shot, very tough.

- It is strange hearing Isiah Thomas' name being repeated over and over.  Washington nails a long jumper. 66-63 Marquette.

- Marquette has missed a few layups and Washington comes back down the floor. Thomas to Pondexter. Layin. 66-65 with 6:43 left.

- 30 Rock back on. Frank is rocking a Pumps t-shirt.  Maybe repping the sleazy Williamsburg strip club on Grand Street?

- "I got a lot of flack for playing the pig that ate Babe," - Jenna.

- Marquette inbounds. Hayward witha  tough bank. 71-69 with 5:41 remaining.  Marquette with a miss. Thomas buries a three for Washington! 72-71.  Marquette loses the ball. Timeout with 4:59 left.

- 30 Rock: Settling soul mates. Some classic lines. "I've played Monopoly alone." "You can make me look less gay at work functions."

- Good defense by Marquette. Steal, drive, dish for an open three! Nailed! 74-72 Marquette. Marquette continutes to play good defense.  It looks like they make a clean block, but are called for the fouk.  4:15 left. Quincy Pondexter at the line.  He makes both freethrows. 74-74. 4:11. Marquette works the ball inside. Shooting foul on Washington.

- Switch back to 30 Rock. "Its a Lizaster." "At one time my obituary was going to say, 'Young CEO dies in casino orgy fire.'"

- Marquette  at the line. 3:54. Jimmy Butler makes both. 76-74 Marquette. 3:52 left.

- Isiah Thomas goes for a nice reverse layup, but its blocked out of bounds. Washington ball.  Washington with several offensive rebounds but can't make the follow-up.  Butler with a rebound, he slips. Travelling called. Washington ball. 3:12.

- Pondexter working for Washington, misses, follows his own shot. 76-76. 2:34.

- Marquette has the ball. Acker drives and is fouled.

- We may need Isiah Thomas in this tournament so that announcers can oversay his name for nostalgia.

- Acker makes both FTs. 78-76 Marquette. 2:26.  Marquette presses. Foul.  Washington makes both FTs. 78-78 with two minutes remaining.

- Hayward with a long three for Marquette. Misses. Washington has the ball with 1:40 left. Marquette strips it! Tieup. Jump ball to Marquette. Marquette turns it over on a missed pass! 59 seconds left.

- Isiah misses the long three. Rebound Washington. 30 seconds left. Washington to hold. Seven seconds on the shot clock.  Pondexter with a herky jerky move. Banks it in! 80-78 Washington with 1.7 seconds left. This is getting ridiculous today!

- Kansas down 0-2 with 17:32 remaining!

- Marquette misses the last second shot. Huskies win 80-78.

- Miami and Orlando are in OT. 101-100 Orlando.  Wade takes a three and misses. Carter posts on Dorrell Wright and makes the turnaround with the foul. 104-100 Orlando.

-Lehigh is leading Kansas 10-4. Slightly surprising with 14 minutes left.  Carrington of Lehigh with a beautiful bank shot. 12-4.

- Back to Heat/Orlando. Wade drives, gets fouled and almost makes the shot. Wade has 35 tonight. Makes both FTs. Heat follow that up with good defense, but Lewis gets to the corner and makes a 3.  That puts the nail in the coffin.

- Back to the tourny.  Tennesse and San Diego State are in a close one. Tennessee is trailing.

- Collins with a three for Kansas. Miss. KU is cold.

- Maurice Morris knocks down a three for KU. Morris follows that with some good defense. He knocks the ball away. Tie up. Lehigh ball.  KU keeps up pressure. Lehigh throws it away. KU makes the layup. 12-9 with 12:20 left. Lehigh works it in. Offensive foul.

- KU works it inside to Aldrich.  Aldrich makes the layup and is fouled.  Chance for a three point play.

- Aldrich completes it.  Morris and KU are coming alive. 17-16 with Kansas looking good, this could get out of hand.

- San Diego State and Tennesse are embroiled at 14-11.

-Xavier Henry makes a three for KU.

-Collins drives in and makes a floating layup. KU up 21-14 with 8:10 remaining. Lehigh is going cold. They can tell Kansas is ready.

-Tennesse and SD State are at 22-21 with 6:14 remaining. CBS wants us to have a long look at KU, though.  Lehigh is just losing it. Amazing how fast Sherron Collins is.

- Tayshawn Taylor with a steal and a nice soaring dunk.

- Finally Lehigh makes a three. Foul on Kansas. 5:45 remaining. 25-17.  Lehigh with a long two. 25-19. Another offensive foul on Kansas. That's two on Cole Aldrich.

- Carrington makes an awkward hook. 25-21 Kansas.  But a foul on Lehigh. KU misses both shots.

- Carrington with another great move and a nice fadeaway jumper. 25-23.

- Scoreboards: Texas and Wake tied at 30 with 2:00 minutes left in the first half.  Tennesse up on SD State 30-21 with 2:10 left.

- KU makes one FT. 26-23. Travel on KU. Long two from Lehigh. 26-25.

-Xavier Henry throws it away for KU. Lehigh answers with a turnover.  Collins drives and is fould by John Adams. Gotta love the Patriot League.

- Collins makes 2.  28-25. KU with a strip on Lehigh and Collins makes a 3. 31-25 KU 1:35 left in the half.  Lehigh needs a bucket and they get a tip in by McCullem off a Carrington miss.

- Texas and Wake at 38-35 with 1 minute left.

-Tennessee and SD State 32-26 with 52 seconds left.

-Lehigh gets the ball down to Carringon who makes an outside drop step and makes a sneaky layup.  31-29 Kansas. Collins answers with a drive and a perfect reverse layup.

- Off a Lehigh miss, Collins drives and dishes for a KU layup.  35-29 Kansas at the half.

- We switch to Tennessee and SD State. Prince with a strange pump bank shot but he makes it. Tennessee up 34-26 with 2.2 left in the half.

- Texas up on Wake 38-37 at the half.

- Draper is doing Mercedes commercials.  Soothing until Mad Men Season 4.

- New Mexico and Montanat. 17-17 with 8:54 remaining. Two states I have spent time in. I almost camped right next to a prison in New Mexico, but my friends and I decided against it. The uniform matchup here leaves a lot to be desired though.  Almost made me forget that it was a 3 seed vs. 14 seed matchup tied at 17.

- Back from the half to Lehigh and KU.  Kevin Harlan gives us a litany of stats where KU is outplaying Lehigh, but Lehigh remains within 6.

- Collins in to Aldrich. Layup. 37-29. Watch for Aldrich.

- Bad baseline pass by Lehigh picked off by Xavier Henry. Collins with a nice crossover but misses the layup.

- 3 pointer by Lehigh, but Maurice Morris answers with a layup. 39-32 KU.

- Harlan asks, "In the tournament you have to have urgency don't you?"

- Xavier Henry gets a rebound and goes to coast to coast. 41-32 KU. They are pulling away quickly.

- Wake up on Texas 44-38. Tennessee up 37-28 on SD State. Montana up 22-17 on New Mexico.

- Lehigh misses and KU takes it down and Xavier Henry makes a pretty floater in the lane as Harlan and partner talk up his skills.

-Lehigh makes a pair of FT. 43-34. 16:55 remaining. Travel on Xavier Henry. Chance for Lehigh here, but they almost turn it over. Long three from C.J. McCullen for Lehigh. Aldrich answers with a dunk. 45-37.

- Missed 3 by Lehigh. Tap in by McCullem. 45-39.

- Collins answers with a three. 48-39.  Tough inside pass by Lehigh. Kansas steals and Xavier Henry lays down an NBA drunk in the lane. 50-39. Lehigh follows with a three. 50-42. KU turns the ball over and Lehigh makes a layup. 50-44.

11:21:

- Wake pulling away from Texas 54-42. Tennessee and SD State are tight. Tennessee is up 39-37. Montana up 28-27 on New Mexico at the half.

11:39:

- Tyrell Reed nails a three for Kansas. 56-44. I always like Kansas because of their UNC connections.  This year they seem extremely deep (Ed note: Clearly this was written on Thursday. Oh what a difference two days make in the NCAA Tournament.)

-The superior athleticism of Kansas is starting to show at the 10:25 mark.  But Lehigh nails a three. 58-49.

- Morningstar nails a three for KU. 61-49.  Collins is showing his ability to get wherever he wants to on the court. He dishes to Reed who nails another three. 64-51. 9:19 remaining. KU looks in control so we switch back to Providence where Tennessee is up 44-43 on SD State. 9:44 left.

- SD State takes the lead. "They are back back up!" exclaims Verne Lundquist.  You can tell that he loves this time of year - maybe too much.

- Tennessee takes the lead as J.P. Prince makes two FTs. 46-45 Tennessee.  Offensive foul on SD State as Prince takes a vicious elbow to the face.  In a funny moment, Wayne Chism "kicks" Prince on the floor.

- Is RepoMen going to be good? No, right?

- This SD State/Tennessee game is hard to watch. I have seen a few Tennessee games this year, but it seems like they always play games that finish with a score of 60-52. They also always have really athletic and long players that play very loose and sloppy.

-Nice inside pass by Tennessee ino Chism for the layup. 48-45 Vols. Hopson nails a three. 51-47 Tennessee. 4:21 left.

- Gay on SD State with the lefty layup. And one.  He makes the FT. 53-50 Tennessee. 4:08.

- Tennessee is at the line with two FTs. Another questionable loose ball call called. Tennessee 55-50 with 3:20 left.

11:58:

-Wake leads Texas 68-62 with 2:10 left and New Mexico has taken the lead on Montana 38-32.  Tennessee gets called for an offensive foul. 55-52 with 2:38 left.  SD State travels. Tennessee inbounds to Chism and Chism loses the ball by making a terrible behind the back dribble decision.

- All of a sudden, we are switched to Wake and Texas. Wake is up 67-64.  Brown of Texas hits a three. 67-67. 49.3 seconds left.

- Back to SD State and Tennessee. 57-54 Tennessee. 57 seconds left.

12:04:

-Foul on Tennessee.

- Back to Wake an Texas. Wake is up 68-67. Texas drives and there is a dish for a layup, but its blocked. Tieup. Wake ball.

- Back to  Tennessee and SD State. Tennessee is up 57-56. Prince misses a FT but Chism with the rebound. 30 seconds left.  Tennessee moving the ball.  12 on the shot clock. Ball movement to Goings who makes a three! SD State comes down and Tennessee fouls on the three point shot! Wake is going to the line to shoot three free throws. 9.5 seconds left.

- Gay makes the first. "He's a net guy. He doesn't touch the tip." Vaguely erotic.

- 13.6 remaining in Texas vs. Wake.  Wake turns it over on the inbounds pass.

- SD State makes two of three FTs. Tennessee and SD State. 60-59 Tennessee.

- NM has pulled away from Montana.

- Back to Texas and Wake. Damien James drives and there is a blocking foul on Wake.  9.9 seconds left. James makes the first FT. Tie. James misses the second.  Wake drives down and loses the ball. Texas picks it up. Half court shot. No. Another overtime.  I can barely write or think anymore.

- In Tennessee/SD State, Chism makes two FTs. SD State with three seconds left goes for the three to tie.  No! Tennessee winds.

- Texas and Wake in OT. Wake misses a floater. Texas works it inside.  Ragged baseline jumper is good. Wake comes back with a three. Miss. Tip back. Miss. Texas gets the rebound and works it down inside on the other end for a layup. 71-68.

- Texas steals the ball and Jordan Hamilton hits a three. 74-68. Texas steals the ball immediately. Damien James for a dunk and is fouled. 3:04 left. James makes both FTs. 76-68 Texas.

- Wake converts a follow-up dunk. 2:43. Texas misses a three and there is a loose ball foul. Wake Forest makes the first of the one and one. They make the second. 76-72 Texas.

- Brown makes a long jumper for Texas. 78-72. 1:49 left.  Wake can't get going on offense. Loose ball picked up by Texas.  1:25 left. Texas has the ball, but Brown is called for a charge.

- Wake shoots a three. Misses but the follow up is good. 78-74 Texas.

- Texas misses two FTs. 78-74 with 49 seconds left.  Wake misses a three. Damien James grabs the rebound with 35.4 left.  From what I have seen, this has been a sloppy game. Wake  fouls Texas. First FT is made. 79-76. Second FT made. 80-76. 28.2 seconds remaining.

- Wake takes the ball down. Open 3 by Wake's Gay. Nails it. 80-79 with 15.9 remaining.  Dick Enberg says, "Oh my! Overtime!"

- Wake fouls Texas with 10 seconds left.

- Meanwhile, Montana has crawled back to 53-52. One after another with these ridiculously close games.

- Texas misses both FTs and Wake comes back and nails a three! Unbelieveable. 82-80.  Texas for the last minute shot. No good. Jesus, let me sleep.

- The Montana/New Mexico game has sucked me in like this is Godfather Part III.  New Mexico 57, Montana 54. 1:50 left.

- Montana misses a layup. Out of bounds to Montana. Inbounds, baseline jumper is good. 57-56 with 1:25 to go.

- Montana commits a blocking foul with 1:22 left. New Mexico at the line. Dariese Gary makes the first. He makes the second. 59-56.

12:38:

- Montana is moving the ball side to side.  The ball is almost stolen and then actually stolen by New Mexico with 52 seconds left.  Timeout, New Mexico.

- Montana fouls New Mexico with 42.4 seconds left. Dariese Gary misses the first. He makes the second. 60-56 with 30.4 left.

- Montana inbounds the ball. They drive and drop-off for the layup. The shot misses, but there is a foul. Two shots. 22.4 seconds to go. One of two free throws are made. 60-57. Montana fouls before the ball is inbounded. Dariese Gary for New Mexico misses both FTs! Montana drives down at the other end, but they miss the layup.  They have to foul New Mexico with 13.5 seconds left.

-Roman Martinez at the line for New Mexico.  He makes both FTs. 62-57 New Mexico.

- Montana takes the ball in.  They attempt a three. Miss. Second chance. Miss. New Mexico winds.  Dear Lord what a day. Can it be this good again?


I exhausted myself scribbling out those notes and I just exhausted myself typing them up. Of course, Friday was a solid day of action and then yesterday we had two big upsets with Villanova and then Kansas both getting upset.  This tournament is really wide open at this point as the main storylines become:

1. How mediocre the overall competition is, which breeds all of these exciting games; and

2. John Wall vs. Evan Turner. Who will be the #1 pick in the draft? Depending how well each of these guys play in the tournament could decide who is picked first.  Kentucky is extremely talented and could take the entire thing at this point from what I have seen of them. I haven't seen Ohio State in the tournament yet, but you can't rule out Evan Turner.

Anyway, that's my take on the tournament for now. I am going to try to enjoy the beautiful weather today and the games later on.  I'm going to get the first podcast up this week and then try to do one every week going forward.

Just stay with me here.