June 29, 2008 by editor.

The Chicago Bulls need help at the General Manager position to turn their team’s future around.  They have been helped by the horrible management and judgement of the New York Knicks, but still can’t get over the hump.

The Chicago Bulls seemed poised to make the jump from a rebuilding team, to a perenial contender for the Eastern Conference championship after the 2004, and 2005 seasons as they made the playoffs two years in a row showcasing their young talent.

Ben Gordon, Luol Deng, and Chris Duhon were drafted, and along with Kirk Hinrich, made the fans and management believe they turned the corner and were ready to make the jump to the next level.  After a successful 2004-2005 season where they made the playoffs, John Paxon made a bold move that should have put the Bulls in a position to get everything they needed.

He traded Eddie Curry to the Knicks for Michael Sweetney, Tim Thomas, Jermaine Jackson, a first round pick  and two second round picks.  The net result of all of Paxon’s wheeling and dealing with the Knicks over the years was two first round picks where they could switch positions with New York.

With Chicago’s best players being perimeter players, this was their opportunity to upgrade their front line with a proven post up scorer and add a serious front line presence.  While the league laughed at the Knicks, the joke was on Chicago as they turned a plethora of draft picks and trades into a dysfunctional and confused team.

In the 2006 draft, Chicago drafted LaMarcus Aldridge which was a good move and filled a definite need, but they proceeded to trade him for Tyrus Thomas, who has no concrete offensive game and is a tween-er.  That move made no sense at all.

Chicago was one of the best defensive teams in the Eastern Conference, but they made another mistake in trading Tyson Chandler to the Hornets for   P.J. Brown and J.R. Smith.  Chandler may not have been a go to low post option but he guarded the basket and rebounded the ball very well.  Big mistake.

The worst mistake of all was violating my Jason Williams rule (former New Jersey Nets power forward who had no offense, but was a good defender).  They foolishly gave Ben Wallace a larger than life contract even though he was an offensive liability and couldn’t shoot free throws.  I know he was a great defender, rebounder, and played excelent team defence, but my rule is never, never, ever pay that kind of money to someone that offensively challenged.  I cringed when the news came out about the signing.

With their other first round pick they got from the Knicks they took Joakim Noah.  Another offensively challenged big man that couldn’t help them on the offensive end.  What Chicago should have been looking to do is package that pick, plus one of their perimeter players and trade for a power forward who could score (add players to make up dollar difference).

What they were stuck with this past year was an over-rated team with malcontents that didn’t fit well together.  Scott Skiles paid for that with his job, but Paxon was the one that caused it.  One last miscalculation for the Bulls.  With Kobe wanting a trade and Kevin Garnett on the table to be had, supposedly Chicago didn’t want to include Deng in  hefty package for either.  How can that happen?  How can you not trade Deng, and either Gordon/Hinrich, in addition to a pick, or another young player for Garnett or Kobe? 

They saw how Garnett helped Boston win a championship, but they were afraid to pull the trigger.  Now that they have Derrick Rose, here is what I would do.  They still need an inside presence, and veterans like Rasheed Wallace and Antonio McDyess may be available.  I would also call Houston and see if Yau Ming would be available.  He may not be, but you have to make the call.

Houston hasn’t gotten out of the first round with him, and he can’t seem to stay healthy for a whole season so I would at least inquire about him.  Carlos Boozer is someone else I would find out about.  Andres Nocioni, and Ben Gordon would be nice sign-and trade bait for the soon to be free agent power forward. 

Presently constructed, the Bulls don’t work.  Rose will make it a little better, but in order to contend they need a stud up front.  Deng won’t be enough.  Every on the team in my view would be considered expendable except for Rose.  Paxon balked at moving pieces that he should have moved to get star quality players.  I wouldn’t.  I wouldn’t play fantasy basketball like Isiah Thomas, but as long as I don’t compromise my defensive philosophy, I wouldn’t be afraid to upgrade my roster.

Are you listening Chicago?

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June 22, 2008 by editor.

When we talk about which sport has the best athletes, we have to define what it means to be a good athlete.  The ability to sustain speed, strength,  and agility simultaneously in competition, displaying the skill to excel at more than one sport. 

Jim Thorpe comes to mind when we talk about men in the sports arena that were head and shoulders above everyone else.  He won gold medals in the pentathlon, and decathlon in the 1912 Olympic games in Sweden, and played professional football and baseball. 

His accomplishments landed him on the 1911 and 1912 All American football teams.  Thorpe was considered the greatest athlete of his time.  Who are the greatest athletes of our time?  Every sport boasts good athletes, but which sport has the best?

For one, we can eliminate baseball players.  While there are some studs that are in the major leagues, you don’t necessarily have to be in top physical shape to play.  There are quite a few pitchers that are overweight and sport oversize midriffs, but it doesn’t inhibit their ability to throw or hit the baseball. 

This doesn’t mean that they aren’t considered athletes, it just means that a lack of fitness doesn’t preclude them from doing their jobs.  Add to that the fact their game is not very fast, and if you are not pitching, catching, or hitting you are basically waiting around for something to happen.  For the most part they would not be good candidates for other sports like basketball and football. 

Let’s compare football players and basketball players.  Football players have to be in excellent shape to play.  Lineman, linebackers, defensive backs, running backs, all have to be in tip top shape to compete.  Their combination of strength, agility, and speed that is necessary to excel is unparalleled. 

You have defensive lineman that are 250 plus pounds running down quarterbacks and running backs who are supposed to be faster.  The players on a whole are much faster than they were in the 70’s and 80’s, and it is not uncommon any more for receivers, backs, and defensive backs to post forty yard dash times of 4.3 and below.

It’s not just all about the speed.  Agility and quickness is evident at almost every position.  Many defensive lineman (especially defensive ends) over match their counterparts by being too quick off the edge, or shooting the gaps.  Offensive lineman may be the most un-athletic of the bunch, but the better ones are strong and quick, with good feet.

Bo Jackson and Deon Sanders come to mind.  Both excelled at football and played professional baseball.  Jackson stared with the Oakland Raiders and played baseball for the Kansas City Royals, and Sanders won super bowls with the 49ers and Dallas in the NFL, and played in a world series with the Atlanta Braves.  They were football players first, baseball players second.

You don’t see baseball players transitioning to football, but we have seen football players play baseball.  Many college football players have played on their school’s basketball teams as well.  Regardless of their size their athleticism translated over well to the hardwood. 

Charlie Ward of the Florida State Seminoles won a Heisman Trophy playing football, and was the starting point guard for their basketball team.  He elected to play professional basketball and was a serviceable point guard for New York.  His athleticism allowed him to choose between the two.

Outside linebackers may be the most athletic bunch of all, because they have to be strong enough to shed blockers and offensive lineman, fast enough to cover and run down backs and receivers, as well as quick and agile enough to get after the quarterback.

Looking at basketball players, their athleticism can’t be denied.  They have to have more body control than the other athletes in the major sports because so much of their time is spent in the air.  Having jumping ability is one thing, but being creative and agile while in the air is something totally different. 

We have become used to watching the exploits of Michael Jordan, Vince Carter, Kobe Bryant, Dominique Wilkins, Julius Erving, and many others as they have defied gravity and done the unimaginable with no tera-firma to support them.  No other sport requires as much in-the-air time as basketball.

What makes them special is the fact that they are very vulnerable while in that position,  but have to focus on scoring, shooting, blocking a shot, and executing dunks.  From a strength standpoint there are quite a few players coming in the NBA now that are not physically mature due to their age.  You can get away with it if you are very talented (see Kevin Durant), but you can’t get away with it in the NFL.

Hakeem Olajuwon is a good example of a professional basketball player that was an exceptional athlete.  His nickname was the dream, because there was no one you could compare him to with his cat like quickness, assortment of low post moves, and rare physical ability.  At six feet and ten inches tall, he was constantly among the league leaders in steals, which was unheard of for a center.

Originally from Nigeria he excelled in soccer and played collegiately with Clyde Drexler at Houston (Phi Slama Jama).  Olajuwon didn’t play basketball until he was seventeen years old but loved it immediately and realized that was the sport for him.  He is generally regarded as one of the best to ever play his position.

Soccer professionals are good athletes, but we have not seen a professional soccer player cross over to another sport successfully.  You have to use your hands well when it comes to the major American sports, and soccer players don’t use their hands.

Hockey pros are known for their skating skill and speed on the ice, in addition to their fighting.  Their creative abilities on the ice are excellent, but don’t necessarily mean they are naturally athletic.  The primary abilities needed in hockey are not needed in other sports, so they really stand alone as a sport.

Raphael Nadel is probably the most athletic of all the tennis players, with all due respect to Roger Federer.  He shows his strength, speed and agility every time he plays, especially on clay.  The women’s game boasts some good athletes as well, but the percentage is not that high if you look at tennis players as a group. 

There are great athletes in all sports and we applaud them, but I believe football players for the most part are the best athletes in the world.  It is a close call, but our gridiron professionals exhibit all the necessary attributes to make that claim.  Their speed, strength and agility is demonstrated more on the football field then any other arena. 

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June 17, 2008 by editor.

Just when we thought we had seen just about everything from Tiger Woods, he once again finds a spectacular way to defy the odds and come out on top in a major.

It wasn’t the fact that he won.  It was how he won that made this win special, and it also reinforced why he has no serious challengers or rivals.  Tiger gets it done whether he is on his game or not, hurt, sick, you name it. 

Besides his golf game, what Tiger has deep down within is unmatched by his peers.  His focus and attention to detail can’t be shaken.  It doesn’t matter to him whether there are 25,000 watching him take a big shot, or whether it is a practice shot on the range.  His focus is the same.

His colleagues will eventually shrink under the pressure of the moment, or the fact that they are competing with Tiger.  Woods not only believes that he will win, but he knows when the pressure is on he will perform his best.

The Mickelson’s, Garcia’s, Westwood’s, El’s, and Singh’s can’t honestly say that.  They aren’t wired that way.  The late Earl Woods trained and raised Tiger to be a once in a lifetime player, and to be the best, most disiplined player  the sport has ever seen.

He is the most imaginative, creative, and athletic professional golfer in the sport’s history, and his work ethic is unparalleled.  It is as if the other players are not even out there.  Tiger is focused on becoming what he already knows he is and nothing else: the best player ever, with the most majors.

He is playing against himself basically.  He didn’t beat Rocco Mediate on Monday, June 16th.  He beat Mediate when his father (a former green beret) developed his mental focus, intestinal fortitude, and razor sharp game when he was a boy.  What we are seeing is the manifestation of what was deposited in Tiger when he was a boy. 

The other top players on the tour don’t believe they can win if they are neck and neck with Woods over the course of a last round, or even if they are ahead.  They believe Tiger will do something spectacular to beat them. 

Add to the fact that if you are in the same group with him, you are overwhelmed by the size of the gallery following him, and at some point get nervous.

Mediate made one big miscalculation in this U.S. Open.  Eighteen hole playoff, and you are ahead by one stroke against Tiger Woods and one hole to go, and it’s a par 5.  You know that Tiger will find a way to make a birdie.  Mediate needed to make birdie on that hole and force Tiger to make eagle.

He had to figure that Tiger birdied to force the playoff, so if he needed another birdie, he would get it.  Mediate had to have in his mind to birdie the whole if he was serious about winning.  Anything less would be asking for Woods to extend the match.  If he didn’t have that mindset, then he was playing to lose.

Tiger himself said that this was his greatest accomplishment.  Oh, and did I mention that he had a bum knee due to surgury, and other than abbreviated practice, didn’t play since the last major.   

Kudos to Rocco Mediate for putting up a fight, but we are in the middle of watching history happen and the books re-written, courtesy of Tiger Woods.  Enjoy the ride.

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June 15, 2008 by editor.

As Boston looks to close out Los Angeles and add another NBA championship to their arsenal, it is not hard to figure out why the Lakers are having a hard time deciphering the Celtics.

For starters, it’s Kobe versus Boston’s whole team.  No one has stepped up to be that consistent number two threat to take some of the heat off of Kobe.  Pau Gasol was supposed to be that guy, but he is having problems scoring one on one versus Perkins and Garnett.

Lamar Odom hasn’t been a consistent second scoring option either.  That leaves it squarely on the shoulders of Kobe to not only take over the game when necessary, but to create good scoring opportunities for his teammates.

Sasha Vujacic has provided a spark at times, but against the longer, athletic Celtics, he has been inconsistent. 

Boston hasn’t had that problem.  They know if Paul Pierce is struggling they can look to Garnett and Ray Allen to carry the load.  They play with a confidence that sooner or latter, at least one of them will get hot and spark the team.

The Lakers much publicized bench has been marginalized by the Celtics bench and physical play.  We forget that James Posey and Sam Cassell have championship resume’s and are used to pressure situations.  P.J. Brown and Leon Powe’s physical play and rebounding have made Ronnie Turiaf a non factor.

Jordan Farmar has not been able to provide a consistent spark like he did in the regular season as well.  Boston’s transition defense has forced the Laker second unit to play a lot of half court offense, and they have not thrived.

Boston has just been tougher than Los Angeles also.  They are the ones willing to mix it up and put a body on someone in the paint.  The Laker bigs are not matching them, and I don’t think they can.  

Los Angeles only chance is to run and get easy baskets as opposed to standing around on offense and waiting for someone to make a move.  They need to push the tempo on every Celtic miss, but too many times they have been tentative.

Bottom line: Boston is a better team and too tough a match-up for this Laker team.  My last word on this is my original prediction.  Boston in six. 

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June 7, 2008 by editor.

San Antonio can take away something from the series between the Lakers and the Celtics, and prepare themselves for the new order of elite teams in the NBA.  The sting of being eliminated in five games by Los Angeles is still fresh, but that should give their organization the impetus to make the necessary changes to stay close to the top.

It was evident that even a defensive minded Spurs team couldn’t slow down the quicker, faster, and longer Laker team.  One of the things that San Antonio needs to consider is the over-all athleticism of their players. 

In game one it was clear that Boston’s combination of physical play and athleticism on defense bothered Los Angeles.  Kevin Garnett starts at power forward and is excellent at guarding the basket, and Kendrick Perkins at center cleans up everything left behind by KG.  Paul Pierce is an above average defender and a good rebounder at the small forward position, and up until this year’s playoffs, was one of the more underrated stars in the NBA.

Fabricio Oberto is serviceable, but he is not athletic enough to adequately defend the David West’s and KG’s of the world.  Unless he is matched up against other plodding power forwards he will not be effective.

Tim Duncan needs another David Robinson type player next to him so he can be at the power forward position and not have to defend the basket by himself.  The Spurs have gotten away this, but since the landscape has changed in the NBA, Duncan will need more help on the inside (someone with size and athleticism).

Kurt Thomas is a crafty veteran, but again is at a disadvantage against forwards like KG and Lamar Odom.  At the small forward position, Michael Finley can shoot, but is not the greatest one on one defender to say the least, and really doesn’t rebound.  Manu Ginobili is good on the defensive end, but because of his size, he can be marginalized by posting him up, like Los Angeles did.

Bruce Bowen is their best perimeter defender, but he can be a liability on offense.  San Antonio excels at playing team defense while relying on Bowen to neutralize the other team’s star player.  That works fine, except when your opponent is athletic and has size.

In game one, the Lakers were not as accurate shooting over the Celtics out stretched arms as they were against the Spurs.  Boston closed out on the shooters well, and their sagging defense as a team shut down the paint.  When Kobe looked to pass when double teamed, the Celtics were able to force some turnovers because of their size and quickness. 

Boston needs to improve their defense against the pick and roll as they at times played like they never saw one before, but on the whole they shut down Los Angeles.  The most telling stat was the way the Celtics man handled the Lakers on the boards 46-33. 

Too many of the Spurs parts proved to be one dimensional.  They need and infusion of six foot eight to six foot ten players around their core group that are effective on both ends of the court.  When I say that I mean players that are able to score within the system, defend, and rebound. 

San Antonio has too many problems scoring points when either Duncan and Parker are not in the game, and that was evident against the Lakers and Hornets.  They beat New Orleans because of their experience and the fact that the young Hornet’s had never been on this stage before.

Changes are needed for the Spurs to get back to winning championships.  Not to the core, just to their supporting cast.  If all else fails maybe they can convince David Robinson to come out of retirement.

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