Bobbing for wins, can the Bobcats upset the Heat?

With Day 2 of the playoffs coming to the forefront it has plenty of questions waiting to be asked? Are we due for more upsets or will things take a more predictable turn? Surely the Charlotte Bobcats would be hoping to keep the odd trend going with their match-up against the two time defending NBA Champion Miami Heat.  Charlotte is 0-15 against the champs in the "Big 3" era averaging 95.5 ppg this season against the 2 seed in the Eastern Conference. As most know Lebron James scored a personal season high against the future Hornets with 61 points on 22 of 33 from the field along with 7 rebounds and 5 assists during a game in March. 

A key match up to keep an eye on is Chris Bosh and Big Al Jefferson. If the Cats have a chance of stealing a game let alone the series they WILL need a breakout performance from their key big man. Jefferson has been a 20-10 man all season which was a solid foundation to build around which allowed the franchise to ascend from bottom dwellers to a playoff team in the weak Eastern Conference. Other key performances will be needed from Point Guard on the rise Kemba Walker. Since entering the league, Walker has averaged 16.0 ppg with 5.5 assist and 3.7 rebounds. This season has seen a slight increase with +1 in each category leading the team in assists and steals with 1.2 per game. 

The Bobcats have not won a playoff game in its ten year history due to getting swept by the then relevant Orlando Magic. In the shortened season of 2011-2012 the Bobcats posted an all time NBA worst with a winning percentage of .106 however they did not hold the record for most losses. The Bobcats have had six different head coaches in its ten year history but the latest coaching acquisition of Steve Clifford has seemingly resulted in being a smart hire. Since taking over in April of 2013 Charlotte has gone 43-39 which is oddly the best winning percentage among the head coaches in Charlotte. Plenty tend to think that the Heat will have the brooms ready for this series but don’t be surprised to see the Cats steal a game. In order for that to be a possibility the Cats will have to play through Big Al and hope they can stretch the defense or else the Heat will be able to suffocate Jefferson in the post. They will also have to do what they have been doing all season which is defend. They are 4th in the NBA in points allowed with 97.1. 

The Cats are however playing with sense of pride this season and will not make it easy for the champs who are coming of off highly questionable losses to the Washington Wizards and Philadelphia 76ers as the regular season came to an end. Did they want this match-up and thus so rested LBJ and Bosh while giving wade limited minutes? Did they see something in Atlanta that the Indiana Pacers hadn’t? There's many stones left unturned as many eyes will be on the match-up this afternoon as a quest for a three-peat begins. Mia takes the series 4-1 and despite the eventual series loss to the defending champs, Charlotte will rise again and this time it will be in the form of a hive of Hornets.  

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The Oregon Trail: The Portland Trail Blazers

With the NBA's All Star Weekend coming to the forefront this weekend, the NBA is at its mid-point of the season and while many teams have played sub par, others have met expectations and a select few have come out of nowhere and surprised us all.  The Portland Trail Blazers are one of those surprise teams.  Currently the Trail Blazers have a record of 36-17 which has earned them the 5th seed in the NBA's Western Conference playoff race however they're only six games behind the Oklahoma City Thunder who are the current leaders in the west.  Despite being 5th, the 36 wins by the Blazers are a huge accomplishment considering that last season they had a total of 33 wins which left them out of the playoff picture.  But will this last? 

The Blazers have lost four of their last ten games including the last two to the Los Angeles Clippers and Thunder.  The Blazers have two NBA All-Stars in forward LaMarcus Aldridge who leads the team in points with 23.9 points per game as well in rebounds with 11.4 per game.  Damian Lillard leads the team in assists with 5.7 per game and is an explosive 2nd year point guard making his presence known with his involvement in seemingly all of the All-Star Weekend festivities.  Lillard is as efficient as they come in a point guard putting up 20.7 points per game while partner in crime Aldridge will also be competing in the All-Star game though neither will be starting. With all the attention surrounding those two in Oregon it leaves a lot of pieces unnoticed.  Nicolas Batum is quietly putting up 5.4 assists and 6.5 rebounds a game which are career highs and he's also leading the team in steals.  The Blazers are a respectable 19-6 at home while being a questionable 17-11 on the road leaving the question to be asked if they could have any post season success without having home court advantage.  With the success of the Westbrook-less Thunder and usual performance coming from the San Antonio Spurs it would be hard for the Blazers to pull off a win on the road from one let alone both of these teams. Then there's the two time defending NBA Champion Miami Heat and Indiana Pacers on the horizon both of which will be eyeing an NBA title.  With the level of competition rising at an alarming rate there are many questions to be answered and stones to be turned but this season is for sure the Blazers best hope to blaze through the Oregon Trail and return to the playoffs for the first time since being defeated by Dallas in 2011.

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Rock Bottom!!!!!!!!

Looking at this year’s draft, it boasts many talents going from Andrew Wiggins, Jabari Parker, Joel Embiid, Marcus Smart, Julius Randle just to name a few. This draft is nearly  as deep as the 2003 draft, which highlighted LeBron James, Dwayne Wade, Carmelo Anthony, Chris Bosh, David West, Kirk Hinrich and T.J. Ford. The NBA is in midseason form, rounding out your contenders whom are Indiana Pacers, Oklahoma City Thunder, Miami Heat, Portland Trail Blazers and San Antonio Spurs are the teams who are operating at peak efficiency. If you are a fan of one of these teams, then yes, championship aspirations should be on your mind. What about the Teams who are at the bottom, whose season has been over well, since it started back in November? That’s a little harsh, sorry about that. So, the question remains, while this is a race for the best, is there a race for the worst? I’ll take a look at teams who are at Rock Bottom, and also I went browsing different forums and see what would they do to resolve tanking.

Looking at all the teams who are at the bottom Milwaukee, Orlando, Philadelphia, Sacramento, and Utah. Of all these teams, the highest win total stands under 20 going into the All-Star Break. All these teams have some young talent, Milwaukee with Antetokounmpo (Try pronouncing that...) and Henson, Orlando with Oladipo and Vucevic, Philadelphia rising rookie star in Carter-Williams, Utah with Burke and Favors, and Sacramento with Cousins and Thomas are still looking for pieces to be added via draft or trade deadline transactions. Sacramento already traded for Rudy Gay earlier in the season, surely some would expect them to be a lot better than they are. The Kings brass were and still hope pairing him with Cousins would open up his game and be the player he was in Memphis, now there has been rumblings about an extension, but Gay must prove to them that he could provide them some additional help because this draft could provide them some wing assistance for a fraction of the cost. with the Gay transaction, some would speculate they are trying to speed up their rebuilding process and so far, the Kings are stuck in neutral. The Jazz is an interesting team, they extended Derrick Favors, and Gordon Hayward is up next. He’s a restricted free agent, and it makes me wonder if Utah is going to match it. This draft favors them since they could go with a wing player and this upcoming draft have plenty available. They are simply an young team with a rookie running the point, so nonetheless they are going thru some growing pains at the moment. Philadelphia started off blazing this year behind the talented rookie Michael Carter-Williams whom is leading all rookies in scoring, assists and steals. He’s been already labeled as their franchise player with another rookie who is supposed to be pretty good in Nerlens Noel. Many thought they would be the worst team and while they came back to planet earth, 76ers fans can be excited about building a foundation starting with this kid and build through the draft, go with player development and prep for June. Could you imagine this team with Wiggins, Noel and Carter-Williams? Scary thought.


Orlando is interesting as well, they start with Vucevic and Oladipo for young talent, Harris is interesting too. Somehow, Orlando still goes with a veteran heavy lineup and don’t play their young talent as much as they should, Afflalo being the only exception whom is a more consistent player this year and he has every right to feel like he was snubbed for the upcoming All Star Game. I’m sure it had more to do with Orlando’s record. The Magic could be busy at the deadline, players who could have different homes are Afflalo, Nelson or Davis if Orlando wants to go developing the younger talent. Orlando is also banking on New York and Denver not to make the postseason as they have the one of their picks meaning the team with the losing record keep their pick and Orlando gets the other teams draft pick, so potentially Orlando could have 2 lottery picks in this deep draft. If one of those three that were named earlier was traded, Orlando could have some cap relief to work with and decide if they also would like to attempt to speed up their rebuilding process through Free Agency. Milwaukee needs a favorable break, they saw both J.J. Redick and Monta Ellis left and Tobias Harris blowing up in Orlando and have nothing to show for it. Well, maybe trading Brandon Jennings for Brandon Knight is okay and Gianns A, their rookie player with the long last name has proven to be quite a pickup, actually Nate Wolters is playing very well too. maybe luck is heading their way sooner than they think, hopefully, this is the only team as of right now whom didn’t reach double digits in the win column, they are close. I like Larry Sanders on the defensive side of the ball, but they are pretty bad. I’m actually rooting for them to win the lottery and get some immediate help, they have to make some trades because their cap situation is in bad shape. If I would to draft for the Bucks, i’m looking for post scoring to complement Sanders in the interior and their wings, it would be a good start for them.

Every year the word “Tank” comes up, crazy how that used to be a nickname of mines, but proceeding to the topic, we always heard to move a step forward, we need to take a step back. applying to basketball, no one wants to stay in the middle. So, when things are not going as planned, changes need to be made. Such as trading disgruntled or redundant players, sit back in free agency for awhile and cue in on player development and rebuild through the draft. this evaluation period helps to see whom will be apart of the team’s core and who could be used as assets to keep the process systematic. How does a team tank? If anyone knows the game, you already know the answers, but a few in my opinion are prolonged rests for injuries, inconsistent rotations, and duration of minutes played within breaks just to name a few. How would one resolve this issue? I saw some good ideas such as play a sudden death tournament for the #1 pick and the rest of the teams go through lottery, it would have to be worked on, because for instance, what if Milwaukee has to play has to play someone like Memphis, doesn’t seem fair right? To the avid basketball watchers could cue in some suggestions. Another Idea that was proposed in forums were the wheel, but that would involve luck more than anything, and how does that exactly help the small market teams? How about it being incentive based, when a certain amount is made when the teams further advance in the playoffs, they are rewarded a bonus, how about a deduction when it comes to losing, not only players, but everyone involved with the franchise? It is really worth throwing games for the #1 pick when between 1990-2007 only one player had remained with their team being Tim Duncan, who almost left himself if it wasn’t for David Robinson talking him to stay. I’m going to exclude Derrick Rose and Blake Griffin for now. But tanking exist, and it may never be a way to stop it. Hopefully the team you root for has a solid foundation and vision. As fans we must be patient and give it time to fruition, this draft practically all the teams could be winners, but at the end of the day, the management has to step up to plate, Rome wasn’t built overnight.

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Nothin but Net?

Okay, now I think we can all agree that the Brooklyn Nets have performed sub-par when compared to the expectations from many NBA experts and fans.  The once championship hopefuls now find themselves dwelling at the bottom of the painfully weak Eastern Conference.  After having an incredible off season with the acquisitions of Kevin Garnett, Paul Pierce, and Jason Terry, the Nets haven’t been able to remain relevant and when one thought that it couldn’t get any worse, they lose starting center Brook Lopez who led the team in points and blocks due to a foot injury.

“We have gotten comfortable with losing” stated Ex-Net superstar and current head coach Jason Kidd who was recently fined $50,000 for his “spill” in order to an extra time out if you will.  Veteran F Paul Pierce was also fined for his clothesline on George Hill during Monday night's game which was lost by the Nets 103-86.  The game saw Pierce scoreless through the first three quarters until the incident. A scare also occurred when starting point guard Deron Williams tweaked his left ankle in the same game but fortunately it is fine.  Williams had already missed 11 games this season due to past ankle issues and has acknowledged that with the noticeable absence of the 7 foot Brook Lopez,  he will have to step it up and be more aggressive. When Williams and Lopez have played together the Nets are 55-45 while they are 32-68 when the pair doesn't see action together so Lopez leaves some big shoes to fill no pun intended.

‘I don’t think we have an identity” stated Nets star PF Kevin Garnett and fellow star Joe Johnson agreed.  The Ex-Celtic has averaged a disappointing 6.7 points and 7.1 rebounds a game with an overall shooting percentage of 37.5%.  His green hearted partner in crime Paul Pierce is averaging 12.6 points 2.9 assist and 5.2 rebounds a game though he has shown some spark with two 20+ games before the incident with Hill.  The Brooklyn Nets rank 21st in ppg (97.6), 28th in rpg (40.4), 17th in apg (20.9) and rank 25th in points allowed with 102.6. Playoff doubts are nonexistent with this team especially in the horrible Eastern Conference, full of much mediocrity but it won’t take much to push them off of the edge.

The Nets are currently 27th in the NBA power rankings falling from 23rd last week. Brooklyn has invested $190 million on this group and the franchise expects a turn-around.  This team has beaten the likes of the two time defending NBA World Champion Miami Heat and the Los Angeles Clippers which showed potential but the losses thus far have been inexcusable.  With that being said, there is a possible silver lining with Andrei Kirilenko returning to the line-up after suffering from back spasms. He hasn’t played in any games since November 8th (23 games) and talks will continue between team trainer Tim Walsh and himself to figure out when he will be game ready.  Now will today's match up be the “game of the night”? Of course not but it will be a real test of character as the Nets try to create the identity of a potential powerhouse on the road to the playoffs.

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Bulls or Busts?

Okay we get it......Derrick Rose is back and looking elite, looking like the 2011 NBA MVP but what about his teammates?  With all of the media hype being focused around D. Rose, it leaves a couple of stones unturned.  Obviously D. Rose will lead the team in scoring but what of the pieces around him because there is no I in team as he would agree.  Lets not forget Carlos Boozer who averaged 16.2 ppg along with 9.8 rpg as well, a very respectable stat line for the power forward and also Loul Deng whom put up an additional 16.5 ppg and 6.3 rpg and those 3 apg doesn't hurt either.  With that being said, no one is more important than Kirk Hinrich.......yes i said it!  Putting aside stats, Hinrich is D. Rose's right hand man.  The better he does the more D. Rose can rest which would take a load off of coaching staff and D. Rose himself especially with the loss of Nate Robinson who signed with the Denver Nuggets during the offseason.  A few questions still remain for the Bulls, are they ready to leap over the Miami Heat?  They are arguably the best team in the NBA's Eastern Conference (along with the New York Knicks) to dethrone the Heat seeing as they stole a home game from Miami in last seasons Eastern Conference Semi-Finals. 

Historically the Chicago Bulls are a good regular season team whom fall short in the playoffs. The Bulls were knocked out by the Heat in 2 of the last 3 years.  They will get somewhat of an immediate test of that challenge tonight as they travel to Miami to begin the season.  Chicago is definitely going to have to be more efficient this year ranking 25th in the league last season with field goal percentage averaging 82 fg attempts a game opposed to around 36 makes. However they were 3rd in the league in opponents points per game with only 92.9 while putting up only 93.2 on average ranking tied for 28th with Washington and Philadelphia which isn't exactly good company.  But what about Joakim Noah?  The New York born center has managed to be a double double man with an average of 11.9 ppg and 11.1 rpg and with 2.1 blocks per game which ranked him 6th in the league last season.  So are the pieces there?  Well that is greatly debatable but only time will tell and with only mere minutes until tipoff I'm sure the league, along with the fans are anxious to see if the Bulls will be able to hang with the juggernauts of the league and increasing competition.  One thing it will not be however is boring and they will be bringing the Windy City along for the ride. 

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Let The Games Begin!

Once you see the leaves on the tree change from green to yellow, brown or maroon, when the air that we breathe in turns crisp, and little kids start to get ready for to get treats or give tricks for Halloween; Pumpkins of all types are on display everywhere, it’s an indication to me that one baseball season is coming to an end and Basketball is on the horizon..... it is indeed the best time of the year! This past off-season has been a busy one, as the previous season ended with the Miami Heat putting up another banner, it was time for teams to go to work to try to dethrone the current champions, some were in the midst of rebuilding, and some were making a splash in the free agency and the draft to try to bolster their rosters.  It’s time to recap an eventful off-season and see what could be in store for this season, let’s begin with the draft.

The Cleveland Cavaliers surprised everyone by selecting UNLV’s Anthony Bennett with the 1st overall pick; he's a tweener who can play the Small and Power Forward positions, it makes one wonder why they didn’t go with a big man to pair with Kyrie Irving, and Tristan Thompson.  Bennett was projected at most an top eight pick in the majority of Mock Drafts, it will be interesting to see how they use the versatile big man.  What’s even more wild was how far Nerlens Noel fell on the charts, he was the consensus pick at the beginning of the season but it’s crazy what an injury history can do to player’s status after many witnessed the tearing of his ACL Against Florida in February of 2013.  He was drafted by the New Orleans Pelicans, but, the frontline dream of Davis and himself only lasted for a minute, as he was apart of a trade that sent Jrue Holiday to New Orleans and Noel heading to the Philadelphia 76ers. Victor Olapido was drafted 2nd to the Orlando Magic, Otto Porter went thrid to the Washington Wizards. the other surprises was Cody Zeller going 4th to the Charlotte Bobcats, and Ben McLemore, projected a top three pick fell to the Sacramento Kings at 7th, and Trey Burke, fell ninth to the Timberwolves only to be traded to the Utah Jazz.

Top Five Free Agent Signings

1. Chris Paul - Los Angeles Clippers

He re-signed with the Clippers for 5 years, $107 Million and we know he’s one of the top point guards in the game right now.  Hopefully with Doc Rivers in town, they can take the final step into being a contender, he’s special, but he hasn't moved past the NBA's Western Conference Semi-Finals....the pressure is building on him to win a title soon.

2. David West - Indiana Pacers

This was a great signing for 3 years, $36 million. West realizes this is a really good Pacers team, and have a chance to do some special things in the East.  The trade that brought Luis Scola from Phoenix takes even more pressure off West and gives the Pacers another option scoring wise off the bench all the while not clogging the lane with West.

3. Dwight Howard - Houston Rockets

This could be higher, but due to how he performed with the Los Angeles Lakers last season is why he is this low on my list.  I don’t know if it was his back injury that held him back or the enormous expectations in Los Angeles but Howard was a shadow of himself a far cry from the 3 time defensive player of the year with the Orlando Magic.  Hopefully he’s worth $88 million over 4 years, but, Houston seems like a better fit for him, it’s eerly silimar to Orlando’s set up, pick and roll guard in Lin, swingman that can handle the ball with Chanlder Parsons, almost a mixture of the 2009 team in Orlando with Nelson, Turkoglu, and Lewis. Perhaps this time, Howard gets the shooting guard he likes to play for that he never had earlier in his career in James Harden.  No disrespect to Kobe Bryant, but Howard can roam the paint all by himself instead of sharing it with Pau Gasol. To add, Joe Rogowski has joined the Rockets as their Strength coach, as he was his Strength coach in Orlando.

4. Josh Smith- Detroit Pistons

Back in the early 2000’s Pistons frontcourt was one of the best defensive units and actually their entire team was very solid.  Pistons legend and current GM Joe Dumars knew he had get back to that mentality which is why he signed one of the most versatile defenders in Josh Smith to add with Greg Monroe and Andre Drummond.  At 4 years and $54 million, I have a feeling they will be one of the best defensive teams in the league this year, one of my few bold predictions, and if that’s the case, I could see Josh Smith anchoring that defense, and putting him a front-runner for Defensive Player of the Year and earning himself an All-Star appearance that he’s been robbed of the last few years whilst  the Pistons will make the playoffs in the east this year.

5. Andre Iguodala- Golden State Warriors

The Warriors consist of shooters, playmakers, and rebounders, they now add a top notch perimeter defender that can guard the other team’s best wing player and occasionally give Stephen Curry a break with ball handling duties.  For 4 years, $48 million you have a player that fills out that stat sheet and sometimes does the little things on the defensive end.  The Warriors still love pushing the pace and at 29 years old Iggy can still fly up and down the court.  This team could win their division and make some noise come postseason in April.

On the Deck; J.J. Redick- Clippers, Al Jefferson- Bobcats; Nikola Pekovic- Timberwolves

Green Fades to Black..........

The biggest trade that occurred during the offseason involved The Boston Celtics and the Brooklyn Nets where a trade focused on Kevin Garnett and long time Celtic Paul Pierce among the other pieces involved Jason Terry going to the Nets, and Gerald Wallace, Kris Joseph, Kris Humphries (Expiring contract) and three first round picks (2014, 2016, 2018) going to the Celtics.  This move put the Nets in very high luxury cap restriction, giving them a tab around $80 million, their payroll is at nearly $100 million.  It shows that Mikhail Prokhorov is willing to play Poker, taking a risk on older players but Kevin Garnett can help instill a culture like he did in Boston, which could reap benefits down the line.  Pierce is still a great isolation player and can get off his own shot and Terry adding some depth to the bench.  Are they championship contenders...... I can’t foresee them getting past Miami, Chicago or Indiana and they could possibly be fighting for the fourth seed with the New York Knicks.  Health could be an issue, even though their Coach Jason Kidd said he would rest Garnett in back to back games.  Depending on their seeding, they could make a run but everyone thought the Lakers would come out the west last season, it’s really a probability game with the Nets.

Orlando and Summer Vegas League

Watching some of these games during the Summer, keeping an eye on the young talent that came into this year’s draft, this has been noted as one of the weaker draft in recent memory according to experts. There was some players that lift some eyebrows, i will list my top five players.

1. Kelly Olynyk, Boston Celtics, Forward

Kelly has got quicker feet than i anticipated, he displayed an array of post moves, and was the go to player, for where he was picked (13th Overall), give Danny Ainge and his group some credit, because he may be a steal, and he has got to be in this years rotation. He was the Orlando Summer League’s MVP, no question, lead the way with 19.5 PPG on 58% shooting from the field, and grabbed a league’s high 7.8 RPG.

2. Victor Oladipo, Orlando Magic, Guard

Victor displayed his motor during the summer league, really pushing the ball up the court, getting into the lanes, either converting or going to the foul line. Orlando is running him at the PG in hopes to mold him into a Russell Westbrook type guard, he showed that he can be relied on to hit a jumper, which was one of his proposed weakness by experts. He finished with 19 PPG, 4 RPG, and 5 APG, the only downfall was his turnovers, averaging 4.8, but this was expected. He should be a great addition and see if this experiment by the Magic Front Office pays dividends.

3. Cody Zeller, Charlotte Bobcats, Center

Down the line, Zeller could be one of the best centers that could run the floor, he’s that athletic, another Indiana player that is all about playing fast and hustling. his best game came against the Grizzlies, netting 18 points, and nine rebounds. The fourth draft pick finished with averages of 16.3 PPG and 9.3 RPG, shooting 52%. Charlotte’s draft history has been a few swings and misses, the Bobcat brass may have a really good player on their hands, which jaws were dropped when he was picked that high in the first place.

4. C.J. McCollum, Portland Trail Blazers, Guard

Declared as a hidden gem in this years draft, a diamond in the rough who could turn out to be a steal did not disappoint in Las Vegas. while his efficiency was down, he was able to lead the Vegas league in scoring at 21 PPG on 36 FG%, 4 RPG, and 3.6 APG. his Clutch gene was on display with about 15 seconds left, nail a buzzer tying 3 pointer against the Bulls to send it to overtime. he will add some depth to the Trail Blazers bench, which was very thin last year. Here’s to a speedy recovery to a broken foot which occurred in one of their training camp sessions.

5. Michael Carter Williams, Philadelphia 76ers, Guard

Besides the horrendous shooting percentage at 27%, and leading the league in TO’s at 4.8. MCW displayed some beautiful passing and control of Philly’s offense. there are going to be some ups and downs running the hardest position in the game, but the future is bright if Philly can add some pieces around him that can score, because eventually, he’s going to figure it out and put the ball in the right places for his teammates. He made a big splash on to the scene against the Rockets, even though they lost, he put down 26 points and 8 assists, so the talent is there, can he maintain consistency? This was a good pick for the 76ers.

EuroBasket 2013:  France takes Gold

There was some international play going on and the gold game featured France and Lithuania. This game featured NBA talent from Tony Parker, Nicolas Batum, Boris Diaw and Linas Klezia who played in the NBA and does not any longer. The game started out with Lithuania up 29-27, and Klezia went to the bench, and France decided to hit their surge behind a 21-3 run, giving them a 50-34 lead at Halftime. France continue to cruise their way to Gold, with the final result ending in 80-66. Batum ended up with a stat line of 17 Points, 6 rebounds, and 2 steals. Silver Medalist Linas Klezia had 20 points, 5 rebounds, and 1 assist to end the tourney run. Spain who showcases NBA talents such as Ricky Rubio, Jose Calderon and Rudy Fernandez ended up with Bronze defeating Croatia 92-66. The Game was back and forward until Spain start making a huge run near the end of the first half and continue to do so after halftime with 20 points, and doing it in transition, ending up with 13 points in that category for the night, also 17 points off turnovers and 17 second chance points. It all started with Sergio Llull who pressured the ball handlers creating turnovers and help dictating the pace for Spain. It shows you how crazy the tournament went because, Spain was fourth in thier group, with Croatia leading group F with four wins and one loss, and France being third in their group as Serbia lead group E with four wins and one loss in the 2nd round.

Summer to a hardcore basketball fan is always a bit boring, but this off-season had some interesting storylines. A championship Head Coach moved West, or how one era came to an end in Boston which the power shifted 4 hours to Brooklyn. In one of the most unpredicatable drafts, a player who wasn’t even projected top three goes first. How about Kelly Olynik’s rise in the summer league, showing experts, he could be better than one thought. Dwight Howard’s indecisiveness comes to a end when he locked up a four year contract with Houston.  Al Jefferson signing with Charlotte came out of left field and Derrick Rose is back and looks ever bit explosive than before.  David Stern last season as commissioner is upon us as he passes his helm to Adam Silver in February.....the storylines are endless with the main one being, can the Miami Heat three peat?  Can Lebron put his name up there with Michael Jordan, Kobe Bryant, and Shaquille O’Neal to do it to recent memory.  That’s the beauty of Sports, sometimes you get to see things that re-occur in past time or you see something you have never seen before. It should be a great season, so the wait is over, so, do what you have to do, turn on your TV or stream your league pass, I declare, let the games begin!

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Oladipo Excels in Orlando Summer League

Victor Oladipo, The Orlando Magic’s first round draft pick (2nd Overall) in the 2013 NBA draft began his debut this past week in the Summer League and needed to make an impression on a fanbase whom were split between he, Nerlens Noel, and Ben McLemore and did he ever do so.  Oladipo, who was known for his defensive presence at Indiana, displayed that he had more to his game than just  being a lockdown defender.  His final stats were 19 PPG, 37% (7/13) FG, 54% (7/13) 3PT 4.3RPG, 5 APG, 4.8 TO.

The Magic decided to experiment with the shooting guard running the point.  It was as if Rob Hennigan and Jacque Vaughn understood that the perceived notion that Oladipo's handles were a weakness that could be improved upon.  His ball handling are better than what I thought, lightning quick first step to get where he wants to on the court.  He was able to penetrate and get to the free throw line 40 times within the four games he played, converting on 33 shots from the stripe (83% FT).  In the big picture, Oladipo's ability to draw contact helps the Magic, who was ranked last in Free Throw Attempts per game (16.6) last season.  Oladipo also has no quit in him.  While Orlando was getting pounded on day three of the Orlando Summer League by the 2-time defending NBA Champion Miami Heat, Oladipo went to the line 14 times.  Going forward he should only have the ball in Iso situations as his turnovers were hard to watch moreover having full time responsibilities at the point limits his off the ball ability.  He is a great slasher and can really utilize that first step with back door and pick and roll plays with his speed. 

Day Five saw a rugged game against the 76ers, the Magic were down one, Oladipo was isolated with Michael Carter Williams, dribbled to the left side of the court, stepped in left, fell back right, and released a dead eye jumper to put the Magic on top and in route to win the game.  The kid loves challenges and was very vocal in the huddle while being every bit positive in discussions.  He even made the Summer League All-First team that was announced recently.  It’s easy to root for someone of his caliber, personality, and will.  Oladipo wants to improve and he may well could turn into a decent player or more.....the sky is the limit for the kid named Victor.

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