Category: NBA

Mid-Season NBA Awards

~ Dave Ettinger ~ 3 Comments

It’s that time of year again. We’ve played about 50 games so far, and it’s time to gear up for the All-Star Game. It is also time to dish out some mid-season awards. The awards to be given out are MVP, Sixth man of the Year, Defensive Player of the year, Most Improved Player, Coach of the Year, and Rookie of the Year. Some of these races have clear cut winners at this point in the season, and some are so difficult to differentiate a front-runner that we need to delve further into each category. I am here to clear up any confusion as to what you’ve seen thus far in the 2012-2013 NBA season.

Let’s start with the easiest debate, Rookie of the Year. If the season were to end today, the obvious winner for this award would be Damian Lillard of the Portland Trailblazers. There are some other nice rookies this year(Anthony Davis, Bradley Beal, and Dion Waiters come to mind), but Damian is head and shoulders above everyone else right now. He has started every game this season for the Trailblazers. In those games he is averaging 18.2 points on 42% from the field in 38.5 minutes per game(not to mention he’s shooting an impressive 85% from the charity stripe). That is the easiest award to give out, but the rest are a little tougher. Don’t be scared. Just close your eyes, count to three, and rip off that band-aid.

Let’s move on to Sixth Man of the Year. For me this is a two man race between Jamal Crawford and JR Smith. Both have been instant offense off their teams bench. They have both been an integral part of their teams success this season. As much as I love the Knicks, this award has to go to Jamal Crawford. Not only did he outplay JR this past Sunday in a head to head match up, but he has been the better player all season, barely.

Next let’s talk about Coach of the Year. This is a tough one, so let’s throw all the potential candidates out there and then break them down until this makes sense. The candidates are Mike Woodson, Mark Jackson, Frank Vogel, and Tom Thibodeau. If you read my blog you know I am a die hard Knicks fan, and while Woodson has done a phenomenal job with the team so far, their most recent struggles against good teams might hurt him for now.  He did, however, do a great job right from the start of the season.  He was motivating Carmelo Anthony, JR Smith, Jason Kidd, and even Rasheed Wallace to maximize their potential out on the floor.  He had everyone buying into his concept of team defense and an uptempo offense.  It was working perfectly until Amar’e Stoudemire and Iman Shumpert came back from injuries.  I believe it will work out in the end for the Knicks, but there is definitely a growing period that the Knicks and Woodson are going through right now.  The final chapter for the Knicks will determine whether Woodson is the Coach of the year or not.  As of now, I say he is not.  As for Tom Thibodeau, he has impressed by continuing to succeed without his superstar.  For the second straight season Derrick Rose has missed a significant amount of time, yet the Bulls continue to put up winning records. His team plays a defense first, physical brand of basketball that creates nightmare match-ups for smaller teams and turnover prone teams.  It is also extremely impressive to win with Luol Deng as your best player(no offense to Luol he is a nice little player, but let’s be real, he is NOT a #1 guy). With all that being said Tom is still not the coach of the year. Who is? I’m getting there just calm down! The popular pick right now is Mark Jackson.  I like what Mark Jackson is doing with Stephen Curry and the rest of those boys, but his team is not good enough to push him to the top of this debate. While I always liked him as a player, and I personally always thought he would make a good coach some day(ahem, Jason Kidd, ahem), he is not the coach of the year at this point of the season.  My pick for coach of the year right now is Frank Vogel.  I bet most of you don’t even know what team he coaches. That is part of the reason why he is coach of the year right now.  He is a nobody to most people, and he is succeeding with nobodies.  Even his best player who is not playing right now due to injury is a nobody amongst the ranks of superstars. I like Danny Granger’s game, but he like Luol Deng is not a #1 guy. The only problem for the Indiana Pacers(ohhh that’s who Vogel coaches) is that Granger IS their #1 guy. Frank Vogel is my pick for Coach of the Year.
There could have been a nice segue into this next category, seeing as The Pacers have two candidates for Most Improved Player, George hill and Paul George. They have both vastly improved their games, but I think this award is a two man race. Greivis Vasquez and Jrue Holiday have both taken their game to the next level. They have both increased their points and assist totals tremendously from a year ago, and they both have bright futures ahead of them. No disrespect to Greivis, but Jrue Holiday has taken his game into another stratosphere. He has quickly become one of the premier point guards in the NBA, and the league recognized this by selecting him to his first all-star appearance. My award for most improved player goes to Jrue Holiday.
This next category is the toughest for me to choose. It is difficult to find a clear cut winner for Defensive Player of the Year. There are many worthy candidates so far this year that include: Tyson Chandler, Serge Ibaka, Larry Sanders, Lebron James, and Joakim Noah. Larry Sanders and Serge Ibaka will most likely be battling each other for this award for years to come. They are both physical presences underneath the hoop and both block approximately 3 shots a game. It is not due to their lack of defensive effort that they aren’t going to win this award, it’s because someone else on this list has managed to stand out above all the rest. This is me building suspense. Next, what else can you say about Lebron James? The guy is as physically gifted an athlete as anyone who has ever stepped foot on the hard wood. He can guard 4 positions at anytime while still managing to dominate on the offensive end. He is not going to win this award though(at least not this year), but don’t feel too bad for him I’m sure he’ll win another award real soon(hint hint). The reigning Defensive Player of the Year, Tyson Chandler, has yet again found his way into contention for this award, however when he played the Bulls earlier this season he learned why he isn’t going to repeat as DPOY(he would get my vote for the most intimidating man on the planet though if that was a real award). Joakim Noah has placed himself at the forefront of defensive forces in the NBA. Man is he ugly!! Anyway, as much as I dislike Noah, he does anchor the best defense in the NBA. When he’s on the bench they give up 10 more points then when he’s on the floor.  Joakim Noah gets my vote for Defensive Player of the Year.
Finally, last but not least, the MVP award. This is always a fun debate because people think it’s strictly about offense. It mostly is, but you really need to look at the overall skill-set of a player plus his impact on his team to measure the MVP. The candidates this year are: Lebron James, Kevin Durant, and Carmelo Anthony. There are two honorable mentions for this category, Chris Paul and Tony Parker. Parker is doing spectacular things that go mostly unnoticed, especially with a banged up Tim Duncan and Manu Ginobli on his team. Chris Paul will be in this conversation at the end of the year because he is clearly the best point guard in the NBA. For right now though he has missed too many games to be considered for this award. I love what Carmelo Anthony is doing this season, and I hope he can sustain his outstanding play throughout the whole season, but he doesn’t do enough of the little things to make his teammates better. Let me see if I can use an analogy that makes sense for this argument. Kevin Durant is like The Utah Jazz in the 90’s. If it wasn’t for that Jordan guy and the Chicago Bulls, they might have a couple of rings right now(sorry John, sorry Karl). Get it? Not yet? See, Kevin Durant has improved every facet of his game this year. The problem is that there is this guy named Lebron James in the NBA. As good as Durant is(28.9 points, 7.5 rebounds, 4.4 assists, 51% from the floor, 43% from three point range, and 90% from the free throw line), Lebron is better. Sorry Kevin, I know I’m pulling for you because I certainly don’t like Lebron “I can’t win a title without an all-star roster” James, but Lebron is on his way to another MVP.  As much as I don’t like Lebron, I must give credit where credit is due.  My vote for MVP and best player on the face of the earth is Lebron James.

Who knew Carmelo Anthony’s kryptonite was Grant Hill???

~ Dave Ettinger ~ 2 Comments

The Knicks weaknesses were highlighted very brightly in their loss to the Clippers on Sunday. We saw how bad the Knicks are in defending quick point guards. We saw how being out-rebounded by a taller front line effects the outcome of the game. And, if they don’t play team defense for 48 straight minutes they can’t beat good teams. Chris Paul has missed some action this season, but today was a prime example as to why he is just as valuable to his team as anyone in the league. Don’t be surprised when his name is in the mix for MVP with Lebron, Durant, and Melo. Carmelo Anthony as usual was fantastic, but when it mattered most he was shut down by the 40 year old Grant Hill. This goes to show you that if the Knicks don’t get production from JR Smith or Amare Stoudemire, they have a very hard time out scoring solid offensive teams. Raymond Felton played a solid game and continues to be a great orchestrator for the offense when Melo isn’t going one-on-one in isolation. One of the Knicks bright spots this season has been their depth and outstanding bench play. Today they were completely outmatched by the Clippers Bench. Eric Bledsoe and Jamal Crawford were too much for the Knicks to handle combining for 40 points(on 18-28 shooting). JR Smith and Amare Stoudemire usually bring instant offense off the bench, but today were nonexistent scoring a combined 15 points(on 5 of 18 shooting). A game like this against a top tier team in the NBA is sure to bring about a lot of questions about the Knicks. Are they as good as their record would indicate? Can they realistically make a run at a title the way their roster is built? These are all valid questions, and I think the answer can be yes to both of those questions but a lot of things would need to fall perfectly into place. The Knicks would need the entire roster to shoot lights out at the same time. The Knicks live and die by the three, and they would need to stay lights out from behind the arc while out scoring the opposition. I’d think this franchise learned from the Mike D’antoni era that you don’t win titles by trying to run up the score. Now in no way shape or form am I comparing Mike Woodson to mike D’antoni. Woodson is a defensive minded coach, but he needs some bigger bodies down low if he wants to succeed NOW. The other question that is being raised is whether the Knicks should look to make a trade for a low post presence? I definitely think they should do that but it all depends on what they would need to give up. If they can add a power forward who’s strengths are defense and rebounding without having to give up one of their top 5 players, they would be primed for a title run. The Knicks will look to get back to their winning ways Wednesday night @ 7:30 P.M. against the Toronto Raptors. This is their final game before the All-Star break.

Hey ‘Melo?? Does your back hurt??

~ Dave Ettinger ~ Leave a comment

The Knicks are lucky they played a bad team yesterday. They are also lucky they have a superstar on their roster. After a decent overall first half the Knicks took a 7 point lead into halftime. They didn’t play great, but they looked like they were on their way to another easy victory. Then the 3rd quarter happened. They were out scored by 12 and found themselves down 6 heading into the 4th quarter. Luckily Carmelo Anthony came through in the clutch, putting up 14 4th quarter points. He did get a little help from J.R. Smith, who had 8 points of his own in the 4th. However it was Carmelo putting the Knicks on his back and carrying them through the finish line(I think most guys backs hurt today from shoveling a foot of snow, not giving an NBA roster a piggyback ride). We’ve seen the Knicks win while Carmelo has an off night, and we’ve seen them NEED Melo’s production to even have a chance in some of their games. They will need the entire team firing on all cylinders this Sunday as they take on the Los Angeles Clippers.

Let It Snow….As Long as My Cable Doesn’t Go Out I’m Good

~ Dave Ettinger ~ 1 Comment

Snowed in this weekend??  No problem.  Here’s what’s on TV to keep you company:

(MSG)Friday @ 8:00 P.M – Knicks @ Timberwolves

Being a big Knicks fan, I will definitely be watching this game.  As I highlighted in my previous post, I believe the Knicks are going to blow out the Timberwolves coming off a bad loss.  I’d look for something else to watch by 9:30.  This game should help the Knicks get back to their winning ways and carry some momentum into their tough match-up with the Clippers this Sunday.

(ESPN)Friday @ 8:00 P.M. – Clippers @ Heat

Here you have a battle of East vs. West.  Two of the premier teams in the NBA meet in a mid-season showdown.  Even though the Heat sit atop the East and the Clippers are currently in 3rd in the West, they actually have a better record than the Heat by 2.5 games.  This game should come down to the wire, so you might want to switch over from MSG once the Knicks game gets out of hand.  I like the Heat in a close game, but they don’t win because Lebron hits a last second shot(as usual).  They win because Lebron puts his team in front by about 5 early in the 4th, and they sustain the lead throughout the rest of the game.

(ESPN)Saturday @ 6:00 P.M. – Pittsburgh(23) @ Cincinnati(17)

This is the first of of 3 match-ups between college basketball’s top 25 teams this weekend.  A Big East match-up between two solid teams.  Pittsburgh is currently tied for 5th in the Big East with a 7-4 record in conference and 19-5 overall.  Cincinnati is currently tied for 6th in the Big East with a record of 6-4 in conference and 18-5 overall.  Cincinnati won their last meeting(70-61) in Pittsburgh on New Years Eve, so Pittsburgh will be looking for revenge tomorrow night.  Shovel Snow or watch college basketball??   Hmmmmmm.  Enjoy!

(ESPN)Saturday @ 9:00 P.M. – Louisville(11) @ Notre Dame(25)

Here you have your second of the 3 top 25 match-ups this weekend.  Louisville is currently in 2nd place in the Big East  with a record of 7-3 in conference and 19-4 overall.  Notre Dame is currently tied for 6th in the Big east with a record of 6-4 and 18-5 overall.  Big East battles are always tough to predict, but I like Louisville on the road in this one.

(CBS)Sunday @ 1:00 P.M. – Indiana(1) @ Ohio State(10)

Finally, you have the third of 3 top 25 match-ups this weekend.  Indiana is currently tied for 1st in the Big Ten with a record of 8-2 in conference and 20-3 overall.  Ohio State is currently tied for 2nd in the Big Ten and 17-5 overall.  This should be a tough conference battle.  You’ll have Indiana looking to bounce back from a buzzer beating loss to Illinois last night.  What a tough way to lose!  In case you didn’t watch it, Indiana had the ball tied at 72 looking to take the last shot.  If they make it they win if not no big deal, they’ll go to overtime.  What happens? They turn the ball over with about 4 seconds to go.  Illinois drives down for a last second shot that gets blocked out of bounds wit 0.9 seconds on the clock.  Then what happens??? Illinois makes a game winning buzzer beating layup to win 74-72.  Now that is a heartbreaking loss.  Ohio State is also coming off a tough overtime loss to Michigan this past Tuesday.  Look for a closely contested ballgame.  I do like Indiana in this one in a down to the wire 3 point victory.

Enjoy the snow!!  It’s the weekend, and if you have kids take them out in the snow once the storm passes and have fun with them.  If you don’t have kids go outside and act like one.  Most importantly, everyone stay safe out there!!  And for the love of god please stop lining up down the block for gas 2 days before a little snow is coming to town.  I get that it’s better to be safe than sorry, but if you happen to get 2 feet of snow this weekend you’re not going anywhere anyway!!  Just make sure you have a little bit of food and water in the house.  A flashlight or candle wouldn’t be a bad idea either just in case we lose power, since it should be pretty windy.  Have a nice weekend everyone!!

In a word ——> Pathetic

~ Dave Ettinger ~ 3 Comments

Well, the New York Knicks blew a very winnable game last night.  They lost to the Washington Wizards by a score of 106-96.  As you can see from the title, I thought their performance was pathetic!!  This is their worst loss of the season.  If you look at their schedule so far, this is only their 2nd BAD loss of the season though, the other being a loss in Sacramento against the horrid Kings.  That loss was a one point game on the road, but the way the Knicks pummeled them at the Garden last week, they made that loss look even worse.  To the Wizards credit, they are a much better team with a healthy John wall and Nene on the floor.  However, it is the way the Knicks played that really has me fired up today.  I will elaborate on why they played so poorly but to sum up their problems in one word: DEFENSE(or lack there of).  They looked lazy and uninspired on the defensive end.  Guys were getting beat off the first step, and there was no help defense occurring in the paint.  Side-note: I did like Amare’s block on John Wall in the 2nd half.  I need to see a lot more of that when they’re getting broken down by opposing teams point guards.  Let me see that or knock a little guy on his ass once and they’ll stop coming down by the trees real fast(trust me, I was that little guy in high school).  However, at one point in the game it looked like John Wall was out there by himself doing lay-up lines.  One of the Knicks biggest weaknesses is their inability to contain quick point guards.  We saw it last night with Wall, we definitely saw it with Jrue Holliday two weeks ago, and even Jameer Nelson picked apart the Knicks last week(even though we won that game).  The Knicks have a very good record this year, but it’s the games where they play solid team defense from the opening tip until the final buzzer that they look impressive.  It’s in those wins that they look like a team that should compete for a championship.  Last night was not one of those nights.  They allowed Washington(the worst scoring offense in the NBA) to pretty much score at will.  Their 3-point defense was atrocious as well.  Now, I know they can’t win every game and it was just one game, but if they’re going to lose close games I’d like it to be against a formidable opponent.  We might have lost to the Washington Wizards(just as the Miami Heat and Oklahoma City Thunder did), but do you know who I really feel bad for??  The Minnesota Timberwolves.  I foresee a massacre in Minnesota, while the Knicks take out their frustration from a terrible loss.  Only time will tell.  Tune in to New York Knicks basketball as they take on the Minnesota Timberwolves, Friday night at 8:00 P.M.

They are who we thought they were

~ Dave Ettinger ~ 3 Comments

The Knicks continued their winning ways last night with another victory at Madison Square Garden.  They yet again steamrolled their opponent and have now won five straight games.  This was another solid team effort, and I’m starting to think that the Knicks are reading my blog this year and can contribute their success to my words of wisdom.  No seriously, they are buying what Mike Woodson is selling.  They are sharing the basketball, playing team defense, and showing a balanced offensive attack.  You know what they say, shooting is contagious.  I personally would like to see them jack up less three point attempts so they don’t have to rely on it come playoff time.  However, I’m a firm believer of, “if it ain’t broke don’t fix it.”

As for last night’s game, I know everyone is saying, okay great you beat the Pistons.  We can only play the teams that are on our schedule, and it’s only a positive that they continue to beat poor teams handily.  Carmelo looked like Carmelo and scored 27 points on 10 of 17 from the field.  Amar’e continues to impress with his scoring and most importantly his offensive efficiency(he had 20 points on 8 of 14 from the field).  Last but certainly not least, Tyson Chandler has been a beast on the boards ripping down 20 rebounds for the third straight game.  He became the first Knicks player since Willis Reed in 1969 to accomplish such a feat.

It’s all smiles in Knicks land of late, and they need to keep taking advantage of their easy schedule.  They will look to keep the ball rolling against the Washington Wizards, Wednesday night @ 7:00 P.M.

Knicks Roll

~ Dave Ettinger ~ Leave a comment

Just as I suspected, the Knicks rolled through the Sacramento Kings en route to a 120-81 blowout victory. Also just as I thought it was a very solid team effort. Amare was a perfect 10-10 from the field, JR and Novak combined for 12 3-pointers, and Chandler ripped down 20 boards. After the Knicks started out as cold as Lance Armstrong’s heart(1 for their first 13 from the field), I don’t think they missed a shot the rest of the way. Now I don’t want to blow this win out of proportion because the Kings are pretty much the worst team in the league, but as a fan it was fun to watch. If you had told me the Knicks would score 120 points with Carmelo only scoring 9 of them, I would have told you you were crazy. That is exactly what happened. They didn’t need Melo do much tonight, which is something I can get used to. Obviously we will need Melo to be at his best come playoff time, but to know that we can rely on our bench to not only hold a lead but extend it is a luxury. As long as Coach Woodson can manage the minutes of this squad, they should be in good shape. Welcome to first place New York Knicks!! Lets see how long we can stay there.

How bout ‘dem Knicks!!

~ Dave Ettinger ~ Leave a comment

Another win for the Knicks, and another solid team effort. The Knicks as everyone knows are working their way through an “easy” stretch of games on their schedule. On a night where Carmelo Anthony struggled from the field, shooting just under 32% from the field(7-22), the Knicks showed why they don’t need their superstar to be spectacular every night to win. Amare is getting better every night and dare I say he’s slowly getting it on the defensive end. He needs to continue being fed in the post because he’s a nightmare matchup for just about every forward in the league; especially the 2nd string forwards. Raymond Felton had a big night, and continued to show just how valuable he is to the Knicks. With that being said, he really needs to stop sticking his hand into places it doesn’t belong. All we need is for him to re-break that finger and watch him get shut down for the season. He’s just as important to this cog as Melo, Chandler, and Stat. Tonight the Knicks continue their home stand against another mediocre opponent, The Sacramento Kings. This should be another easy victory, but you can’t underestimate anybody. I’d like to see Shumpert get more involved and show the defensive intensity he showed in the 2nd half of last nights game. Hopefully we see another solid team effort and of course another win. Miami is off tonight so a victory against the kings would bring us to a tie for first place in the east. Let’s go Knicks! Let’s keep the momentum going!

So much for objectivity huh?? Enjoy the game.

I have roid rage

~ Dave Ettinger ~ 2 Comments

Steroids and professional sports, they go together like peanut butter and jelly don’t they? People might say, ha that’s funny. What people don’t realize is that it’s only funny because it’s true. Steroids are prevalent in every professional sport known to man, whether we want them to be or not. Now, I’m going to do my best to write this piece objectively, for if you ask me there is no right answer on how to handle this issue. I want to shed some light on the topic of steroids, while withholding my opinion, for now. I know steroids is a serious issue, but from the general public’s standpoint we will never know the whole truth of what transpires. And that right there is the problem. With the procedures the major sports have in place, there really is no surefire way to bring every steroid or performing enhancing drug user to justice. Psssst, want to know a secret? They don’t want you to know who’s using illegal drugs. They like it the way it is. By they, I mean everyone that’s bringing home an enormous paycheck thanks to those users. I know, its shocking. See at some point in time whether it’s right now or 20 years ago, from your bench-warming professional athlete all the way up to the best players in the game, guys have used performing enhancing drugs. It’s everyone and it’s everywhere. People now a days are being naive or just really don’t want to admit it, but everyone is doing it. There are tons of examples I can make, but I’ll try to start with the best ones.

This issue isn’t a new one. If you’re one the naive people I mentioned earlier, try to open your mind and see the world for what it is and it might make this easier to realize. People in this world do drugs. Now, I personally don’t do them, but people have been doing drugs since they were discovered. That part shouldn’t be a surprise. This goes for our heroes in sports 100 years ago all the way up to our rising stars today. See, “back in the day” guys were doing different kinds of drugs, and some were doing the same drugs that are being used today; there was just no testing going on at those times. I know I know, a lot of you out there are saying, well how do you know that? You don’t know any of this as a fact! And they are right, I don’t know any of this to be true. That’s the beauty/horror of this argument. There is no clear-cut winner of this argument, and without catching someone red-handed there really is no way to condemn someone for using steroids. There is public pressure and mounting circumstantial evidence in most cases, but it’s difficult to draw a hard line between guilty and innocent. Even if your name has been hinted at being in the discussion of illegal drugs, you’re guilty. Think about it this way, it certainly would be painful for me to learn that Mickey Mantle or Joe Dimaggio did something “illegal” to gain a competitive advantage, but that’s the harsh reality that could have been very possible. Thank god we will never really know for sure. To say it would be damaging to the foundations of America’s pastime would be an understatement.

Everyday you’re hearing about someone new being tied to PED’s. You’re also hearing people’s names that you would never look at and say, oh yeah he definitely “juiced”. No, that’s not a Jose Canseco reference. I wish that guy would shut his mouth and stop trying to make a few bucks at the expense of others. It’s your fault your broke and nobody else, so stop ratting people out and just go away. Anyway, think about it, Rafael Palmeiro was busted for steroid use. He looked like a normal guy who just happened to be really really good at baseball. Someone who’s 6 feet tall and 215 pounds doesn’t exactly scream I do steroids. Most people have this misconception that steroids are this magical pill that makes you huge, and cut, and turns you into an athletic monster that’s twice the size of your former self over night. That’s not how it works. Let me reiterate that I don’t do drugs, and I don’t condone the use of drugs. However, steroid users still have to put in their time in the weight room. They still have to pour out blood, sweat, and tears to achieve their goals. It’s not magic from a cartoon like Popeye’s spinach that turns you from dud to stud in 5 seconds. Not everyone takes steroids and doubles in size and starts hitting 7357 home-runs like, ahem Barry Bonds, ahem. I wish we could get rid of steroids, PED’s, deer antler spray (hahahaha), and all of this illegal nonsense all together. Unfortunately, it’s just not possible. Some people are trying to take a stand against it thought and that’s great. The voters for MLB’s hall of fame are at the forefront of the fight. In this years hall of fame ballot you had arguably the best hitter of all time (Barry Bonds) and the best pitcher of all time (Roger Clemens) on the ballot. Neither of them got in because of their ties to PED’s. Actually, no one got in from the entire ballot. That hasn’t happened since 1996, and it is only the 8th time in the history of baseball that no one was elected to the hall of fame. Think about that, one of the best hitters of all time and one of the best pitchers of all time used PED’s to gain a competitive advantage. There are more names tied to drug use than I have time to mention, so I’ll leave that to George Mitchell. Logic dictates that almost everyone out there has, at minimum, tried PED’s.

Now I could go on forever with all the different big names that have used PED’s and how they effected their sports in a positive way, and in turn damaged their own livelihood and personal image, but I won’t. I think you get the point by now. If these drugs are the difference between making the team or not, or recovering from an injury in 3 months opposed to 6 months, or hitting a home-run or only having warning track power, you are going to use them. See like I said before, they don’t want you to know everyone who uses. Why you ask? Cycling is literally built on doping. Lance Armstrong finally admits what we all knew for years, who cares. They couldn’t give his trophies to anyone else because virtually everyone in the sport has been caught doping. Thanks to PED’s baseball became relevant again in the 90’s. Thanks to the “steroid era”, we learned what chicks have apparently always known, we dig the long ball. You can keep Mark Mcgwire and Sammy Sosa out of the hall of fame all you want, but you can’t tell me you weren’t watching that home-run race in the summer of ’98. I know I was. I was 12 years old, and I was captivated by each and every home-run trot, every chest bump by Mcgwire, and every shuffle down the first base line by Senor Sosa. I know I get goosebumps just thinking about it. They literally brought baseball back to life. And football, I mean let’s be real. Football has practically been built on HGH and PED’s. It is a violent sport that will stay that way because well, we want it that way. We don’t watch football for the kickers and to watch QB’s slide to safety. We watch for the huuuge hits and spectacular plays.

Since Steroids, PED’s, and HGH have all contributed to the growth and popularity of many of the sports we enjoy today, how do we go about testing for them and ultimately removing them entirely? I personally think we should put serious random testing in every sport. We should come up with a definitive list of what is banned and what is okay for athletes to use, and then we should institute random monthly tests for everyone. I know some would say well that would be too expensive, but let me tell you something; for the amount of money these organizations and franchises generate, they’ll find the money from somewhere. This should take place in all sports at all levels, because the real message behind this conversation is to keep children away from these drugs. Do I think these changes will ever take place? Nope. Cynical of me I know, but it’s just like anything else, it will only change if we stand up together and do something about it.

Lastly, what do I think we should do with all the tainted players that based on statistics alone should be in the hall of fame? I also don’t know if there’s a definitive right or wrong answer, but I will do my best to tackle that topic in my next article.

The Los Angeles Lakers….Oh how the mighty have fallen

~ Dave Ettinger ~ 2 Comments

So I have this friend that is a “Big” Lakers fan.  You know the type, they talk all kinds of smack when they’re great, and they try to explain to you how they knew this was going to happen now that they’re spiraling out of control.  He’s the type of fan that probably hopped on the Lakers bandwagon around the turn of the century, you know when Shaq was still there and they started winning consecutive titles again.  So rewind to before the preseason even started, and let me recap what this “fan” had to say.  “Dude, there is no way the Lakers aren’t going to win the title this year”.  “Did you see that picture of our starting five?”  Yeah, well that “all-star” caliber starting lineup has only played 132 minutes together so far this season.  How’s that working out for you?  I’m here to tell you who’s to blame for this train wreck, and that their season, while it has been a disaster so far is not completely lost yet.  Any major problem you have in an organization, a business, or even your own family always starts at the top.  Let me see how I can say this without having a potty mouth, ummmm, okay got it: “poo doesn’t travel uphill.”  The problems in a family don’t start with the kids, they start with the parents.  The problems with a business don’t start with the $12/hour employee, they start with the owner(s).  So, why would the dysfunction that is the Lakers have started with the players?  It obviously started with ownership and upper management and trickled down to the coach and finally has effected the players negatively.  So when you watch the Lakers struggle on both ends of the floor, you can’t blame Kobe Bryant, and you can’t even blame Dwight Howard.  For the root of the Lakers struggles let’s look up, first at Jerry Buss.  Yes, I said Jerry Buss.  Who is that is ruining one of the greatest franchises in sports history?  That would be Jim Buss.  And, who is it that made Jim Buss Executive Vice President of Basketball Operations for the Lakers?  Yes! You are correct again, that would Jerry Buss.  I’m tired of these ultra wealthy business men whom mostly created their multi-million dollar businesses on nothing but hard work and a brilliant idea, just handing over their fortunes to their self-entitled kids.  Our kids don’t always turn out to be carbon copies of the best form of ourselves(as much as we want them to).  Just because daddy was a great entrepreneur and knew how to run one of the most successful sports franchises of all time, doesn’t mean little Jimmy Buss can follow suit.  With that being said, and now that Jim Buss is making decisions in Los Angeles, we can all point our fingers at him.  Jim Buss decided this past November to hire Mike D’Antoni, not Phil Jackson.  I know that all of you reading this already knew that but let me write that again.  HE HIRED MIKE D’ANTONI OVER PHIL JACKSON!  So as hard as it was to get past that, let’s get past that.  Now am I saying that the Lakers would be 25-17 instead of 17-25?  Most of you might say no, but I’d say uh, yeah maybe they would be.  We are talking about PHIL JACKSON HERE!  He’s one of if not THE greatest coach of all time.  Again, we can’t change the past so let’s analyze the present.  Let’s keep playing the blame game(I don’t know about you, but I’m having fun with this)and all point our fingers at Mike D’Antoni.  Mike D’Antoni is not the answer for the Lakers.  With that being said, I don’t know if Mike D’Antoni is the answer for anyone in the NBA.  His style of coaching, if you can call it that, just doesn’t win championships.  See, this is isn’t the Minnesota Timberwolves who were content just getting to the Conference Finals.  The Lakers are like the Yankees, it’s championship or bust.  Everyone is asking if the players should be adjusting to their coach or if the coach should adapt to the players on his roster?  This is a very dumb rhetorical question if you ask me.  Obviously, the answer is the coach must tweak his coaching “system” to fit the players on his roster.  Players in the NBA are who they are.  That mind sound vague or confusing, but it’s true.  You can’t ask Kobe Bryant to lock down the other teams best player and then score 30 points on 65% shooting every night.  As great as he still is, he’s not 24 anymore.  You also can’t expect Steve Nash and the rest of these three toed sloths to sprint down the floor and play at a pace that’s better fit for an Olympic track.  No disrespect to Steve Nash, Pau Gasol, Dwight Howard, and that guy who changed his name to the most outrageous thing I’ve ever heard, but they are just too old and too slow to play at this frenetic pace.  That’s like taking a 1988 Pontiac station wagon out to the race track and expecting to blow by people on your way to the checkered flag.  It just doesn’t work like that.  Now, like I said earlier, I don’t believe D’Antoni is the answer in L.A., but I don’t see the Lakers firing another coach mid-season and carrying anymore extra payroll.  So it looks like they’re stuck with D’Antoni, for now.  I read an exchange between Grantland’s Zach Lowe and Bill Simmons last night.  It was actually pretty interesting.  They were pretty much saying how D’Antoni is so stubborn, he’d rather go down with the ship then try to adjust his own style.  Here is an excerpt from Bill Simmons:”He’s basically saying, I’m here only because of my system.  I can’t actually coach.  If you give me the wrong players for my system, it doesn’t matter – I will keep using the system anyway, because Plan B would be coming up with a more inventive way to coach these guys.  And I can’t do that.  I’m not good enough.  So if it’s OK with you, I’d like to go down in flames with my system.”  Personally I think he is spot on with what should be going through D’Antoni’s head.  I’m sure he’s already gone through this kind of inner conflict, when he was the coach of the Knicks.  If only someone in the Lakers organization had sat down Jim Buss, taped his eyes open so he couldn’t look away, and forced him to watch the first half the Knicks 2011-2012 season, they might not be in this predicament.  This is like a horrible remake of an already horrible movie.  We all know how it’s going to end.  So now that we’ve established the chain of command that put this in motion, let’s talk about the players on the floor.  Everyone is also trying to blame Kobe Bryant for the Lakers troubles.  To those critics I say, are you out of your mind?  Kobe Bryant is 34 and is having another phenomenal season.  Also, to the critics who try to call Kobe a selfish player, he is in a system that asks him to shoot as many times as possible.  People are also trying to blame Dwight Howard for their struggles.  Yes, he’s having a down season compared to his own standards, but he’s still averaging 16.7 points, 12 rebounds, and 2.5 blocks per game.  Man, what horrible numbers, especially on a team that has Kobe Bryant shooting as many shots as humanly possible.  What also boggles my mind is why Dwight Howard has been playing through an injury that is obviously affecting his play.  They should have rested him until he was 100% or as close to 100% as he can get before playing him.  Dwight Howard can become a free agent at the end of this season, so the Lakers should be doing everything in their power to keep him healthy, happy, and in purple and gold next season and many more seasons to come.  Now on to Pau Gasol.  He is a special talent, and can be a key component to a championship caliber team.  Don’t believe me?  Just check Gasol’s numbers and minutes from their last two championships.  This, just like every other players struggles can be attributed to one person, Mike D’Antoni.  Which leads me to another great point that Bill Simmons made yesterday, he said: “I’m glad we finally got to Pau.  Here’s a good rule of thumb: If you’re a professional basketball coach and your system is telling you, “I should play Early Clark more than Pau Gasol,” you need a new system.”  I couldn’t really come up with a better way to say that, so I let him say it for me.  Thanks Bill.  In closing, if you ask me what the solution is, you have to do what no one in the world would do, fire D’Antoni, and hire a 3rd coach in a single season.  From a purely wins and losses perspective, this is the only move Jim Buss should be thinking about.  Unfortunately we all know that owning a sports team is strictly a business venture for 99.9% of owners, and he’s not going to come out of pocket to hire a 3rd(even if it would be the right one, cough, The Zen Master, cough)coach.  Little Jimmy is probably upset that Phil’s setting up shop with his little sis.  Resentment is an ugly character trait, Jim.  Especially when it aids in your own self-sabotage.  The other fix I would make is to play to Kobe, Pau, and Nash’s strengths.  And that is to let Nash orchestrate the offense like he knows how, while favoring the Kobe side of the floor slightly in each possession.  Let Dwight Howard get healthy, and I’m sure you’ll see the production we’ve all been expecting.  Now as for Pau, get him the damn ball inside the post!  He’s a great passer for a big man so even he can find Dwight Howard from there.  And most importantly he is a great low-post player, stop forcing him to shoot 18 footers.  If you take time to look at his numbers, you’ll see that they are far better when he is inside the paint opposed to outside roaming the earth, like Quentin Richardson in that old D’Antoni Pheonix system.  How dumb are the Knicks by the way(says the Knicks fan)?  Fool me once shame on you, fool me twice shame on me, and fool me 3 times, well I don’t know what you call that.  The D’Antoni “system” got us with Quentin Richardson, Amare Stoudamire, and then Mike D’Antoni!!  Really?!?!?  Come on Man(said in a Keyshawn Johnson voice)!  Finally, let Ron/Metta I’m not calling him that scare the other teams best player into submission.  Or play physical, whichever way you want to go with it.  The Metta guy isn’t what he used to be either, but if he stops expending energy on the offensive end and focuses all his efforts to the defensive end, they might have a recipe for success.  Back to reality we go, the Lakers need to win between 25 and 29 games to have a shot at the playoffs.  Is it likely? No.  But, I’m telling you there is a chance.