Steve Nash Keeping It Classy

January 7, 2012 by Leave a Comment

In an era in which stars frequently try to control their destiny through the media, Phoenix Suns point guard Steve Nash just reiterated his commitment to the Suns organization in a Friday interview with ESPN’s Marc Stein. With Deron Williams and Dwight Howard both shying away from making long-term commitments with their current teams, it is refreshing to see a former two time MVP show a first class dedication to his club. While it is very likely Nash is privately counting down the days until his contract ends and he can put himself in a situation to compete for a title, his public display of loyalty exemplifies Nash’s first class attitude that has made him one of the best teammates throughout the last decade. Full Story…

Filed under AJ Mitnick, Columns, NBA Tagged with , , , , ,

Warriors Sign KryptoNate As They Attempt To Lure Howard

January 6, 2012 by Leave a Comment

The Golden State Warriors added another undersized scoring guard to their stable on Thursday, signing 5’9 guard Nate Robinson after he was recently bought out by the Thunder. The former three time slam dunk champion will surely bring excitement to the Warriors, but in their current state he duplicates pieces they already have in Monta Ellis and Stephen Curry. With recent rumors that the Warriors will make a run at Dwight Howard, who Robinson famously dunked over in the slam dunk contest, this could be a ploy to try to keep Dwight happy during his potential stay with the Warriors. Full Story…

Filed under AJ Mitnick, Columns, NBA Tagged with , , , , ,

LeBitch

March 7, 2011 by Leave a Comment

After “The Decision,” it was widely assumed that the Miami Heat would roll over their competition, on the path to unprecedented success. The combination of James, Wade and Bosh would be too much talent for any opponent to stand in their path. As the Heat struggled at the beginning of the season, everyone said that the superstar trio needed time to build some cohesion as they started their quest for multiple championships. After losing five of their past six games, it might be time to stop making excuses.

When Michael Jordan was coming in to the NBA, he was drafted number three in the 1984 draft. Sure, Jordan came in as a heralded player after his impressive three year career at UNC. However, there were doubts whether he would be a dominant force in the NBA. Over the first seven years of Jordan’s legendary career, there was a strong hesitation to anoint MJ as the king of hoops, with forces such as Magic Johnson and Larry Bird standing in his path. Jordan earned the respect of everyone and their grandmother, with dominating performances and championships.

LeBron, however, was anointed the king of hoops by Slam magazine and Sports Illustrated when he was merely 16 years old. The NBA was ready to pass the torch to LeBron from almost the minute he stepped foot on an NBA court. Over the first seven years of LeBron’s career, pundits were ready with an excuse for every failure, and high praise for his success. Last season was LeBron’s seventh season, the same season in which MJ won his first title. Is it finally time to say that LeBron may never be king of the NBA, let alone an NBA champion?

The Heat are shooting a miserable 1-16 on game winning or tying shots at the end of close games this season. After the big headed three chose to bring their talents to South Beach, it was assumed that with James and Wade, the Heat should be unstoppable in crunch time, as their role players should have wide open looks, assuming their stars didn’t step up to save the day. Instead of relying on open jump shots from high percentage shooters, the Heat prefer to stand around and watch LeBron play in crunch time. This strategy worked miserably for Cleveland, as they underperformed in the playoffs in every season besides ’07, and it doesn’t look like it’s working any better this season.

The 90′s generation of NBA stars, including Kobe Bryant, Tim Duncan, Steve Nash, Dirk Nowitzki, Jason Kidd, Paul Pierce, Ray Allen, Shaq and Kevin Garnett, have managed to sustain an unusually long peak. Kobe Bryant has never truly passed the torch to LeBron. When LeBron was dominating the regular season and winning MVPs, Kobe was winning titles and Finals MVPs. It seems the “old guys” have a few more seasons left, which may pose a difficult challenge for the Heat, as they try to get past teams like the Celtics and Lakers.

It’s not just the vets that the Heat have to worry about. The last several draft classes have infused the NBA with a new generation of stars, and hard-working, unselfish players that will prove difficult for the Heat to overcome in the future. Oklahoma City arguably has a top two that rivals the Heat in Russel Westbrook and reigning scoring champion Kevin Durant. While the Heat are made up of their stars and minimum salary players, the Thunder are stacked from one to fifteen. With several other young challengers scattered throughout the league capable of winning titles, such as Derrick Rose, Dwight Howard and the new look Knicks, LeBron is far from guaranteed to even win a single title in his career.

The Heat have dropped five out of their past six games, with LeBron James missing three game winning or tying shots over that span. LeBron promised in today’s post game report after the loss to the Bulls, to stop failing his team in crunch time. Maybe the best way for LeBron to stop failing his team, would be to let a clutch player handle the ball in crunch time? Heat coach Erik Spoelstra reported that several members of the team were crying in the locker room after the loss. If the Heat players are crying after a regular season loss, I wonder how many tissues they will go through in a seven game series against Boston?

I know this post is very biased against the Heat, but just like Bill Simmons openly writes as a Celtics fan, I can’t hide my affinity for the Knicks. I don’t care that we have been down for a decade, I never let down on my hatred towards the Heat. Besides, history repeats itself. In ’99, the Knicks beat the Heat in the first round as an eight seed. Hopefully this season, the Knicks will draw LeBitch and crew in the first round, and teach them a history lesson.

Filed under AJ Mitnick Tagged with , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Green to suit up in green

February 25, 2011 by Leave a Comment

While Celtics nation may be enraged after losing their big man in a blockbuster deadline deal with the Thunder, the Celtics managed to load up for the playoffs and the future all in one swoop. Celtics fans who clicked the link to Chad Ford’s analysis on the deal, should be cheering, as Chad Ford cannot understand why the Celtics would do this deal, and thinks it’s a perplexing move. Ford, while an entertaining writer and a quality analyst, predicted that Darko Milicic and Nikoloz Tskitsisvili were once in a generation superstars.

The Celtics give up Perkins, who was the a big factor to the team’s stifling defense during their spectacular three year run, since the team assembled the real big three. Fans may be upset that Perk is gone, especially since the Celtics lost without their big man in game 7 of this past year’s finals, mainly due to the absence of Perk’s presence in the paint. However, any way you look at it, this trade was a big win for the Celtics.

After Marquis Daniels went down with a spinal injury that will likely cost him the season, the Celtics knew they needed to make a move for a backup wing. Jeff Green, who the Celtics drafted fifth in 2007 and immediately traded, along with Delonte West and Wally Szecrbiak, for Ray Allen, will add a level of versatility that makes the Celtics an incredibly dangerous team. Similar to Lakers forward Lamar Odom, Green, a combo forward, brings a lot of different skills to the table on the floor, without taking much away from his teammates. After running with stars Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook, Green likely won’t have a hard time adjusting to running with Celtics stars KG, Ray Allen and Paul Pierce.

While there is concern that the absence of Perkins will become a liability in the playoffs, the reality is, aside from Dwight Howard and Andrew Bynum, there aren’t any big men the Celtics should have trouble matching up against. Even after the trade, the Celtics still have a dominant front court in KG, Shaq, JO, Big Baby and newly acquired Nenad Krstic.

The first picture I saw of Nenad after the Nets picked him ahead of Carlos Boozer in 2002

Shaq and Jermaine O’Neal were both acquired to help the Celtics match up against Dwight Howard and the Lakers front court, so now, in the absence of Perkins, the C’s veterans will be under more pressure to earn their keep. The surprising effectiveness of Big Baby against Howard and Bynum, should prove vital after the trade. While the team may lose some of the beef with Perk, they gain a new advantage in the added versatility of Green.

As Larry Bird’s career reached its twighlight years, many wondered whether the old big three would have been able to pull out a few more titles had a younger talent come in to take some of the regular season burden off the aging stars. Unfortunately, due to one of the most devastating events in the history of the NBA, Celtics fans can only be left to ask, what if? After today’s trade, Celtics president of basketball operations, Danny Ainge, acquired the young talent who can help ease the old legs of Garnett, Pierce and Allen in regular season situations. With the incredible longevity being shown by the stars of the 90′s, it is not unreasonable to think this move can add another year or two to the Celtics title window.

Prior to Perkins return from injury, the Celtics held the best record in the Eastern conference. The team walked all over the Heat twice (and squeaked by them once), without Perk there in the paint to defend the wanna-be three. Had the Celtics not picked up Krstic in the deal, the loss of depth at center may have been a concern, but as constructed, this deal makes the Celtics better now and in the future. All emotions aside, Green is simply a better player than Perkins, and should prove to be an excellent fit in Boston.

The trade thrusts the Thunder into the thick of the Western conference title race. Prior to the trade, the Thunder were a bit of a weak defensive team in the post, and sorely lacked a wide body to protect the paint. As any casual basketball fan would know from these last three playoffs, there are few centers who can protect the paint like Perk. Aside from acquiring Perk, the Thunder also acquired Nate Robinson and Nazr Mohammed. Mohammed was acquired in a separate deal with Charlotte, in exchange for the expiring contract of Mo Peterson and forward D.J. White. All three players provide finals experience, with Boston and San Antonio respectively, that will prove valuable to the young Thunder squad in the playoffs.

While the Thunder may risk breaking the strong bond the team has developed in Oklahoma City, their need for size made this trade difficult to pass up. Green may have been a vital piece for the Thunder, however, the presence of Durant and up and coming big man, Serge Ibaka and Nick Collison, should plug in the gaps left by Green. The Thunder now have the size in the middle to compete with the likes of San Antonio, Dallas and LA.

While many pundits are calling this trade a huge win for the Thunder, and subsequently a big loss for the Celtics, I think both teams should receive a good grade for this trade. This trade, in my humble opinion, improves both teams in both the short and long term. Besides, any time I have a chance to post a link to this video, everyone’s a winner.

In other news, it appears the Semih Erden/ Luke Harangody era is over.

Filed under AJ Mitnick Tagged with , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Assessing the Melo Deal

February 23, 2011 by Leave a Comment

With today’s three team deal between the Denver Nuggets, Minnesota Timberwolves and New York Knicks, the “Melo Drama” has finally come to an end. After over five months of constant speculation, Carmelo has finally landed in New York. The real losers in the deal are Deron Williams, Chris Paul and Dwight Howard, who now will face non-stop speculation over their future destinations between now and the summer of 2012. However, in the interim, it should be nice to shift the focus back to the actual season. Now that Carmelo has finally found a home in the Big Apple, it seems like a good time to take a look at where each team stands after the trade.

Weeks ago, it seemed as if the Nuggets were in danger of possibly losing Carmelo for nothing over the summer. Nets owner, Mikhail Prokhorov, had grown tired of the public negotiations and instructed his management to pull out of trade discussions. However, the Nuggets insistence on holding out for a strong trade package proved to be a sound strategy. In this deal, the Nuggets acquire Danilo Gallinari, Wilson Chandler, Raymond Felton, Timofey Mozgov, a 2014 first round pick from the Knicks and two second round picks from the Knicks (via Golden State) in exchange for Anthony, Chauncey Billups, Renaldo Balkman, Anthony Carter and Shelden Williams.

While the Nuggets regress slightly after the trade, they should remain in contention for a playoff spot in the West. The Nuggets may make an additional deal, however Felton, Chandler and Gallinari should help the team remain competitive throughout the rest of the season. Instead of walking away with nothing, the Nuggets may make the post-season and still come away with a few assets. After seeing Toronto and Cleveland turn into the doormats of the NBA over the summer, the Nuggets should be very pleased with this move.

The Timberwolves acquired Anthony Randolph, Eddy Curry’s expiring contract (which will be bought out) and $3 million in exchange for Corey Brewer. Without giving up any important assets, as Brewer no longer appeared to be a part of the team’s future, the Timberwolves pick up a nice asset in Randolph in exchange for helping the Melo deal go through. The Timberwolves are under the salary cap, therefor they do not have to pay any luxury tax on Eddy Curry’s contract. Since the season is more than halfway done, the $3 million in the deal will cover the majority of Curry’s buyout with the team.

Randolph has shown flashes of athleticism, shot blocking, rebounding and a surprising handle for a guy his size. Since D’Antoni insists on going eight players deep and ignoring players for months at a time, Randolph never found his way in New York. While he plays the same position as Minnesota’s current two best players, Kevin Love and Michael Beasley, a young team can never have too many good prospects, especially if they are on rookie contacts (see the Beasley acquisition).

The Knicks are the most difficult team of the three to assess. The Knicks acquired Carmelo Anthony, Chauncey Billups, Renaldo Balkman, Anthony Carter, Shelden Williams and Corey Brewer in exchange for Danillo Gallinari, Raymond Felton, Wilson Chandler, Tomofey Mozgov, Eddy Curry, Anthony Randolph and $3 million. On the one hand, the Knicks land their second star in Carmelo Anthony. On the other hand, the Knicks could have possibly acquired Melo at a far cheaper price. While negotiations may not have gone accordingly, what’s done is done.

This trade should help the Knicks in both the short and long term. While losing Gallinari may come back to haunt the Knicks in the future, Carmelo should more than replace his production. Billups may not produce the same numbers that Felton put up in the Knicks system, but he should bring playoff experience and clutch shooting in a way Felton never could. While this trade does hurt the Knicks overall depth, it doesn’t matter much since coach Mike D’Antoni prefers to limit his rotation to seven or eight players. Brewer may see some minutes, but his sub-par outside shooting may not mesh well with the seven seconds or less philosophy. Balkman, Williams and Carter can produce in short spurts if needed, but don’t expect D’Antoni to give them much of a chance to prove it.

The deal will give the Knicks a second All-Star starter, after Amare Stoudemire became the first Knick to start in an All-Star game since Patrick Ewing. The deal will also mark the return of Renaldo Balkman, the man who the Knicks brilliantly drafted ahead of Rajon Rondo. You-know-who made the call on that one.

The Knicks may look to bring in Earl Barron, who had a nice end to the season with the team last season at a minimum deal to help with the loss of Mozgov. Additionally, Jared Jeffries is a prime target to be bought out by the Rockets after the trade deadline, since he has an expiring contract and rarely gets on the floor. Jeffries proved to be a solid defender who can guard multiple positions in D’Antoni’s system the past two seasons. While his contract was a burden on the Knicks in the past, he would be a nice addition at a minimum salary.

While this trade may not effect the Knicks seeding in this year’s playoffs, it solidly positions the Knicks in the same group as Chicago, Orlando and Atlanta. With a core of Stoudemire, Anthony, Billups and rookie sensation Landry Fields, the Knicks should prove formidable to any team in the playoffs. While the Knicks have some decent pieces off the bench in Toney Douglas, Bill Walker, Shawne Williams and Ronny Turiaf, the team will need to significantly improve its supporting cast in order to win a title. But then again, with D’Antoni at the helm, depth may not even be an issue.

The Knicks may have given up more than they needed to, but they come away better than they were before. Tied with the Minnesota Timberwolves for the longest current post-season drought, the Knicks appear to be a lock to make the playoffs for their first time since 2004. While the future is anything but certain, Knicks fans should rejoice in this temporary moment of success. With two superstars in the Big Apple, the Garden should be rockin’ once again.

In other news, former number 2 overall pick and long time AJ Mitnick favorite Stromile Swift was arrested earlier this month for showing up to a woman’s house, whom he reportedly had been harassing, with a gun while the police were in the middle of conducting a search on the woman’s home. It’s a shame that Stro is already out of the league, and getting himself into trouble. That man sure could block the heck out of the ball!

Filed under AJ Mitnick Tagged with , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,