Quick Friday Hoop Thoughts
By Coup
Is it bad that I already like Taurean Green and his game about twenty times more than I ever have Jarrett Jack? Apparently I’m not the only one. I’ve made a lot of jokes about the Hawks and their poo-poo platter of PG’s they have to choose from…but damnit the Blazers are right up there. Blake, Jack, Rodriguez and now the emerging Green. I would say Sergio is going to be the odd man out in this situation.
People like Coup and others doubted whether or not Yao would be able to keep up in Rick Adelman’s new fast paced, high-octane offense. I of course pointed to the fact that if it worked with Kevin Duckworth and Vlade friggin Divac, anyone could do it. Turns out…I was right. I believe my brilliance is becoming a burden.
I won’t settle until my partner-in-crime buys into the Big 3. The Celtics are just a great story right now. It’s almost like the premise for a movie. Three superstars who just so happened to be in three separate crappy situations, come together to attempt to win a championship. The re-emergence of Boston to relevance and a major league bump of interest into the Eastern Conference. Not only that, but this is the perfect team for Doc Rivers to coach. Also…you have three of the top players in the game, all willing to sacrifice, all with the same goal and all making each others lives easier. Add to that quotes like these from Big Baby Davis;
“You see the way these guys act when we’re out there and they’re on the bench, and it makes you want to go through a wall for them – anything,” Davis said. “You’re not just doing that stuff for yourself. You’re doing it for your teammates and coaches.
So…you have a veteran laden team with three great players and young guys (and old) willing to do anything to get the job done. How many times does that happen in the NBA? Exactly. They might not be able to beat the Spurs or the Suns but damnit you can’t tell me they aren’t in the top 3 in the East.
Darius Washington Jr. had a near triple double last night for the Spurs as they beat the Warriors. I always point to him as a guy who should not have left college early to go to the pros. I mean now look he’s fighting and playing his butt off for a team that has no openings. It’s sad.
Everyone will forget Allan Houston tried to comeback in exactly three weeks.
Only in Phoenix would the Suns winning the title in a simulated season of NBA Live 08 be a big deal. I’m not sure I can deal with these people for another year to be honest. By the way, I’m sure there isn’t a stat but when has a video game ever been right? I think last year I was playing one and the Spurs didn’t even make the playoffs. Exactly.
This whole Kobe thing has gotten way out of hand. This is what the Lakers and their fans get. It’s called karma for torturing Western Conference fans for all those years. Dr. Buss personnally gets this for trading Shaq, Kobe should be forced to live in this personal hell and make post entry passes to Kwame Brown for an eternity for not doing everything in his power to keep Shaq around. But here are my predictions for the Lakers. Kobe is not getting traded. They will make the playoffs. One of their big men will emerge to be semi-reliable. And Vujacic will still blow.
Someone please tell Chicago and Dallas they aren’t getting him. Please.