Dwight Howard is a funny guy. Whether hes impersonating Stan Van Gundy or Dwight Howard, saving Hannah Storm or dressing up as a homeless man for Halloween, he's always looking for a laugh. So it should surprise no one when he dropped this little gem during his remarks after accepting his third straight defensive player of the year award: "I wanna thank my teammates for allowing their man to get to the basket again, force me to block shots and pick up fouls, sometimes technical fouls. So thanks teammates, you're the best." ZING!
Sound a little harsh? Maybe, but Dwight might just be at the end of his rope with his teammates. It's not hard to see why. Playing alongside numerous suspect defenders, Dwight Howard has been asked to anchor both ends of the floor this year, and especially in the first two games of the playoffs. Apart from his undeniable contribution on the defensive end, tonight he scored 33 points on 9 of 12 shooting. No one else on his team shot better than 50% from the field. Rumors are already seeping out about a potential trade this summer involving Dwight Howard in anticipation of his likely free agency departure at the end of next year. No doubt these rumors will kick into high gear when and if the Magic are bounced from the playoffs early, and one of the main reasons for his apparent dissatisfaction is the poor performance of the players surrounding him.
So even though Howard might have seemed like he was joking, his teammates and the Magic front office should take him seriously. Dead seriously. Despite a string of moves over the last two years that make Mark Cuban look passive by comparison, Dwight is going into games with a decidedly worse supporting cast than he had in 2009 when the Magic went to the NBA finals. The Magic have remained one of the top teams in the east in part due to Howard's own personal growth. His offensive skills and output have increased significantly while he has maintained his defensive dominance. The only knocks on him this year were his suspensions due to technical fouls and the fact that his team finished 4th in the east. His frustration with his teammates and with the refs is understandable (although with officials he needs to reign his emotions better). Otis Smith has the rest of the playoffs and perhaps one more season to convince Dwight Howard to stay. If he can't, it seems likely that no one in Orlando will be laughing.
Wednesday, April 20, 2011
Tuesday, April 19, 2011
Playoff Rundown (Eastern Conference)
With the playoffs starting tomorrow (technically today because it's after midnight), and my excitement higher than it's ever been for a post-season, I figure I need to say something to capture what I'm feeling in this moment. This has the potential to be the best postseason in quite a while. There are five serious contenders this year (Los Angeles, OKC, Chicago, Miami and Boston) and a handful of others who I might be underestimating (San Antonio, Dallas, Denver and Portland). Long story short, there are 5 first round match-ups that I'm really looking forward to, and if that doesn't bode well for the playoffs as a whole, I don't know what does.
So here's my team by team breakdown of what I expect this postseason, with predictions scattered throughout.
Eastern Conference
Chicago Bulls
They're good. Very good it seems. Derrick Rose has them running like a well-oiled machine and they've worked their way steadily and consistently to the number 1 overall seed. They have strong advantages in incredible defense inspired by a great first year coach (and probably coach of the year), a superstar who can get his own shot, and solid role players. A weakness a lack of a consistent number 2. Derrick Rose is far and away the best offensive player on the team, but who is their second option? Is it the inconsistent (if defensively solid) Luol Deng, or is it Carlos Boozer, who scores well, but has trouble against length. In order to take down the real monsters in the playoffs, they are going to need to be able to turn to one of these guys to take some of the load from Rose every night.
More concerning to me, however, is how well the Bulls are already playing. Are they already in fifth gear? As strange as it sounds to say for a team that couldn't play it's starting lineup together for much of the season, I wonder if they've hit their ceiling, at least for this year. Can they ratchet up the intensity another notch, or has the Thibs/Rose motivational combo already squeezed the best basketball out of this team. Ultimately I see them losing in Conference finals to either the Heat or the Celtics.
Miami Heat
I think I may have accidentally drunk the Kool-aid with these guys. I've disliked them ever since The Decision, but I'm starting to see them as a real threat in the east.. A lot of this has to do with the level of their competition, and the fact that Lebron and Wade can turn it on in the playoffs. It goes without saying that they are two of the best scorers in the league, and their ability to turn aggressive D into easy transition points will help them in the playoffs where so many points are so difficult to get.
Their main weakness is what it has always been: who is gonna step up after their first two. Towards the end of the season, the answer has been Bosh, but if he's matched up against a superior defender, or can't get his game going, then there is almost no one else. Miller and Haslem have been disappointments and the rest of the team feels like dead weight compared to the Big Three. I like them to bring a new level of intensity and focus to the playoffs and use their sheer athleticism to run teams off the court. I think they match up well with the 76ers, the new look Celtics and the Bulls and I see them making it all the way to the finals.
Boston Celtics
It can't be said often or loudly enough how stupid the Kendrick Perkins trade was. I don't care that Boston played so well without him, or that it is their offense, not their defense that has suffered since the trade deadline. The fact of the matter is that with a healthy Perkins, the Celtics could defend any front line in the league. This may not kill them in the eastern conference, where an active, healthy Shaq is a decent deterrent against dribble penetration, just as Perkins was. However, an active, healthy Shaq is by no means guaranteed to show up in the playoffs. Although it sounds like he will play, how much his already dwindling quickness has been impacted by his injury is a serious concern. Although I expect the Celtics offense (particularly Rondo's) to get back to form, without a solid option at center, I see the Celtics falling to Heat in round 2. If they can make it past the Heat and Bulls, to the finals, then I see the Perkins trade coming back to haunt them as the Lakers front line destroys them inside.
Orlando Magic
Game 1 against Atlanta was basically this Magic team in a nutshell. A man who is on the verge of becoming a dominant two-way player but who invite legitimate questions about his drive and attitude with dumb fouls and technicals. Surrounding this man is one of the most ineffective supporting casts in the league. Turkoglu, Arenas and Richardson are the only ones who have ever been difference makers and none of them are playing very well. Dwight Howard is asked to do everything night in and night out. I was originally very split on whether or not they could beat the Hawks, leaning slightly towards the Magic, but after seeing one game of Howard getting very little help, I'm afraid I have to admit that the hawks are the slightly less broken basketball team, even if I see neither of them winning anything beyond this series.
And now, because this article is already late, I will forgo an in-depth explanation of where and when the Knicks, Pacers, 76ers and Hawks will be bounced from the playoffs. I only have the Hawks coming out of the first round (although I could see them losing there too), and being dispatched quickly by a Bulls team that is playing much better basketball right now.
So here's my team by team breakdown of what I expect this postseason, with predictions scattered throughout.
Eastern Conference
Chicago Bulls
They're good. Very good it seems. Derrick Rose has them running like a well-oiled machine and they've worked their way steadily and consistently to the number 1 overall seed. They have strong advantages in incredible defense inspired by a great first year coach (and probably coach of the year), a superstar who can get his own shot, and solid role players. A weakness a lack of a consistent number 2. Derrick Rose is far and away the best offensive player on the team, but who is their second option? Is it the inconsistent (if defensively solid) Luol Deng, or is it Carlos Boozer, who scores well, but has trouble against length. In order to take down the real monsters in the playoffs, they are going to need to be able to turn to one of these guys to take some of the load from Rose every night.
More concerning to me, however, is how well the Bulls are already playing. Are they already in fifth gear? As strange as it sounds to say for a team that couldn't play it's starting lineup together for much of the season, I wonder if they've hit their ceiling, at least for this year. Can they ratchet up the intensity another notch, or has the Thibs/Rose motivational combo already squeezed the best basketball out of this team. Ultimately I see them losing in Conference finals to either the Heat or the Celtics.
Miami Heat
I think I may have accidentally drunk the Kool-aid with these guys. I've disliked them ever since The Decision, but I'm starting to see them as a real threat in the east.. A lot of this has to do with the level of their competition, and the fact that Lebron and Wade can turn it on in the playoffs. It goes without saying that they are two of the best scorers in the league, and their ability to turn aggressive D into easy transition points will help them in the playoffs where so many points are so difficult to get.
Their main weakness is what it has always been: who is gonna step up after their first two. Towards the end of the season, the answer has been Bosh, but if he's matched up against a superior defender, or can't get his game going, then there is almost no one else. Miller and Haslem have been disappointments and the rest of the team feels like dead weight compared to the Big Three. I like them to bring a new level of intensity and focus to the playoffs and use their sheer athleticism to run teams off the court. I think they match up well with the 76ers, the new look Celtics and the Bulls and I see them making it all the way to the finals.
Boston Celtics
It can't be said often or loudly enough how stupid the Kendrick Perkins trade was. I don't care that Boston played so well without him, or that it is their offense, not their defense that has suffered since the trade deadline. The fact of the matter is that with a healthy Perkins, the Celtics could defend any front line in the league. This may not kill them in the eastern conference, where an active, healthy Shaq is a decent deterrent against dribble penetration, just as Perkins was. However, an active, healthy Shaq is by no means guaranteed to show up in the playoffs. Although it sounds like he will play, how much his already dwindling quickness has been impacted by his injury is a serious concern. Although I expect the Celtics offense (particularly Rondo's) to get back to form, without a solid option at center, I see the Celtics falling to Heat in round 2. If they can make it past the Heat and Bulls, to the finals, then I see the Perkins trade coming back to haunt them as the Lakers front line destroys them inside.
Orlando Magic
Game 1 against Atlanta was basically this Magic team in a nutshell. A man who is on the verge of becoming a dominant two-way player but who invite legitimate questions about his drive and attitude with dumb fouls and technicals. Surrounding this man is one of the most ineffective supporting casts in the league. Turkoglu, Arenas and Richardson are the only ones who have ever been difference makers and none of them are playing very well. Dwight Howard is asked to do everything night in and night out. I was originally very split on whether or not they could beat the Hawks, leaning slightly towards the Magic, but after seeing one game of Howard getting very little help, I'm afraid I have to admit that the hawks are the slightly less broken basketball team, even if I see neither of them winning anything beyond this series.
And now, because this article is already late, I will forgo an in-depth explanation of where and when the Knicks, Pacers, 76ers and Hawks will be bounced from the playoffs. I only have the Hawks coming out of the first round (although I could see them losing there too), and being dispatched quickly by a Bulls team that is playing much better basketball right now.
Saturday, April 16, 2011
3 seconds in the cage is...
So if you've stumbled across this page in your spare time on the internet, you're probably wondering what this is. To help you get acclimated I've made this helpful multiple choice test
3 seconds in the cage is
A) The amount of time I would last in a cage-fight.
B) A weak attempt to refer to both basketball and MMA in the title.
C) A self-indulgent sound-off about two things with little common ground
D) All of the above.
If you chose D, you were correct. Of course if you chose A, B or C, you were also correct which is why multiple choice tests are silly. Anyway, that's what this is. A chance for me to put pen to paper (so to speak) and give the thoughts that are liable to cross through my brain at any given moment of the day a permanent home.
You might ask, "why MMA and basketball, what could they possibly have to do with each other?" The answer is nothing. Well, almost nothing . I mean they're both sports but other than that, they only things they have in common is that I like them both, which I guess will have to be good enough.
I consider myself pretty well informed about both sports, although it's easier to be well-informed about MMA than it is about basketball. For one thing, the schedule of major events is a lot less busy, for another just about everything you could want to know is out there on the internet. Fighters don't keep secrets, they tell you what they think. In the NBA, there are "insiders" with "sources." In MMA, Franklin McNeil saying "Dana White told me such-and-such" is the closest you get to an exclusive source. Everyone's being interviewed and the videos are being posted online. So while I know my way around both sports (from an observers perspective only), I am more comfortable with MMA.
Hopefully this first post didn't sound too much like some 14 year old's first live journal, where she says "I know nobody will read this but..." If it does sound like that, it's only because I am the internet blog equivalent of a 14 year old girl.
3 seconds in the cage is
A) The amount of time I would last in a cage-fight.
B) A weak attempt to refer to both basketball and MMA in the title.
C) A self-indulgent sound-off about two things with little common ground
D) All of the above.
If you chose D, you were correct. Of course if you chose A, B or C, you were also correct which is why multiple choice tests are silly. Anyway, that's what this is. A chance for me to put pen to paper (so to speak) and give the thoughts that are liable to cross through my brain at any given moment of the day a permanent home.
You might ask, "why MMA and basketball, what could they possibly have to do with each other?" The answer is nothing. Well, almost nothing . I mean they're both sports but other than that, they only things they have in common is that I like them both, which I guess will have to be good enough.
I consider myself pretty well informed about both sports, although it's easier to be well-informed about MMA than it is about basketball. For one thing, the schedule of major events is a lot less busy, for another just about everything you could want to know is out there on the internet. Fighters don't keep secrets, they tell you what they think. In the NBA, there are "insiders" with "sources." In MMA, Franklin McNeil saying "Dana White told me such-and-such" is the closest you get to an exclusive source. Everyone's being interviewed and the videos are being posted online. So while I know my way around both sports (from an observers perspective only), I am more comfortable with MMA.
Hopefully this first post didn't sound too much like some 14 year old's first live journal, where she says "I know nobody will read this but..." If it does sound like that, it's only because I am the internet blog equivalent of a 14 year old girl.
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