Lebron James and the MVP

Let me start out this post by saying... I don't like LeBron James. I know, I hear the collective gasp. Why, you ask? He is a showboater, he travels more than Marco Polo, the majority of his game is predicated on drawing contact, and (perhaps most importantly) he plays for Cleveland. In a superstar's league, the ultimate superstar gets every break from the refs and media. His annual candidacy for Defensive player of the year is a joke as LeBron essentially plays the role of free safety through the first 45 minutes of a 48 minute game. In last year's MVP race, if I had a vote, it would have gone to Kobe Bryant. The Black Mamba remains the best closer in the game, is an outstanding on ball defender and has forgotten more about basketball than LeBron will ever learn. This year however, it isn't even close.


LeBron James is officially the best player in basketball in 2010 and the Most Valuable Player. This season was supposed to be a struggle for the Cavaliers. Mike Brown is still the worst successful coach in basketball, and the LeBrons only added an ancient Shaquille O'Neal to the mix, failing to fix their biggest issue, which was a lack of speed at the power forward position (Antawn Jamison didn't show up until later). The Cavs and LeBron were always going to be measured by postseason success one year after a 65 win season with an MVP win that ended in the conference finals. Not to mention the fact that the potential for LeBron's departure at the end of the year was supposed to put a damper on the whole proceedings. None of it mattered.

The other names you typically see around an MVP race all fell off. Chris Paul and Kobe Bryant were injured for long stretches. Kevin Garnett has aged drastically the last two years. Dwyane Wade was fabulous, but never got his Miami Heat into high gear like the Cavaliers. Dwight Howard was the anchor for the second best team in the country, but he failed to dominate on a nightly basis. LeBron on the other hand, upped his game. He played more minutes shot a better FG%, increased his assists by 1.4 per game, and pushed up his scoring. Now he leads the heavily favored Cavaliers into the playoffs with the overall #1 seed. King James played like a king.

In the playoffs, if he fails to win the title this year, questions will rain down upon LeBron. Everyone will doubt his ability to lead a team to the promised land, people will want to know if he is going to flee Cleveland (or as I like to think of it, the mistake by the milake). None of it really matters in the long term view of his career. Wherever LeBron is, there will be media cameras and a 60 win playoff contender, and at some point, an NBA Championship team. I just won't be rooting for him.

The Home Stretch

Just a few quick notes about recent happenings in the NBA as the regular season comes to a close:

• In the playoff picture, Toronto beat the Pistons tonight to come within a half game of the Chicago Bulls for the 8th playoff spot in the East. Chicago has two games left, while the Raptors only have one, however Toronto does own the tiebreaker if both teams end with the same record.
• Atlanta has won three games in a row and now has a 1.5 game lead over Boston for the 3rd seed, likely playing Milwaukee in the first round.
• Portland has won its last two games, but lost G Brandon Roy to a torn meniscus. Roy will miss the last two regular season games, but may choose to postpone surgery in order to play in the playoffs.
• The Oklahoma City Thunder will likely end up with the 8th seed in the West after losing to Portland tonight. OKC has only one game left (against Memphis) and currently sit a game behind Portland and San Antonio. Kevin Durant needs to score 22 points to wrap up the League's scoring title, assuming LeBron sits out Cleveland's last game.
• The biggest news in the NBA from the past week surprisingly came out of Golden State, where Warriors coach Don Nelson passed Lenny Wilkins to become the NBA's all time winningest coach. The Warriors beat the Timberwolves last Wednesday to give Nellie his 1,333 career win. Nelson coached Milwaukee from '76-'87, Golden State from '88-'95, spend one year coaching the Knicks in the '95-'96 season, coached Dallas from '97-'05, and Golden State again from '06-present.

Quote of the Day:

"Statistics are like bikinis. They are nice to look at, but they don't tell the whole story."

- Brent Barry, NBA TV analyst

For Your Viewing Pleasure: Will Bynum blocks a layup by Jose Calderon.

BC is too good

Boston College is good. Too good. The Eagles won their 4th National Title in Men's D1 Hockey this Saturday night with a 5-0 victory over the Wisconsin Badgers. The college of just under 1,000 undegraduates and 4,000 grad students has produced one of the greatest programs in sports that you may not know much about. Coach Jerry York took over the program in 1994 and had instant success. Since 1998 the program has been a college hockey mecca. Drool on this...

Since 1998:

• Winners of 4 Hockey East (HEA) conference titles (2001, 2003, 2004, 2005)
• Winners of 7 Hockey East Tournament titles (1998, 1999, 2001, 2005, 2007, 2008, 2010)
• 11 NCAA tournament appearances in 13 seasons
• The Eagles have been in College Hockey's Frozen Four 9 times
• Played in the Championship Game 7 out of 9 times
• BC has won 3 National championships over this stretch (2001, 2008, 2010)

This team has set the gold standard in college hockey and is producing talent that can compete at the next level; Over 50 players have been drafted into NHL from BC and 16 are currently playing in the league. Coach Jerry York has more wins that any current active coach with 850 which is second all time to Michigan State's Ron Mason (924). York has 4 total Championships, 3 with BC and 1 with former team, Bowling Green. The Eagles skated into the Frozen four this past weekend as an underdog vs the #1 overall seed & #2 nationally ranked Miami(OH) Red-hawks and promptly destroyed them 7-1. Saturday night had the Eagles matched up with the #1 nationally ranked and #3 overall seed Badgers; The Eagles delivered scoring 4 goals in the 3rd period to bury the favored Wisconsin squad. Goaltender John Muse made 20 saves and recored the shutout to make his NCAA tournament record 8-0. The Frozen Four was held in Detroit, MI this year and Saturday's game recorded a record for an indoor college hockey game with 37,592 fans in attendance. Boston College is going to be around for a long time and winning is something that has become a yearly tradition for this team. When it comes to college hockey, this is one team to keep a sharp eye on.

Other Notes:

• Make sure you are inviting your sport-loving friends to check out The Goal Posters!!
• Be sure to check out the Routinely Average movie blog with Adam and Ben as well.

Welcome to the D-League

It was announced Wednesday that 5 players from the University of Kentucky declared for the NBA draft. Departing stars John Wall, DeMarcus Cousins, and Patrick Patterson were joined in leaving by freshmen Eric Bledsoe and Daniel Orton. I'll pause a second for everybody that isn't a Kentucky fan to say, "Daniel who?"

...and we're back. Wall, the likely #1 pick, has the makings of an NBA star (check out this monster slam), while Cousins, though flush with character issues, is an extremely talented ball player who will be a lottery pick. Junior Patterson nearly left for the NBA after last season, but chose to remain with the team and work on his game. While his numbers are down across the board, that can be attributed more to the arrival of Wall and Cousins than to any regression in skill. Patterson impressed scouts by using this season to add an outside shot, making 24 threes after not making any in his previous two seasons.

I have no qualms about the departure of these three players, however Bledsoe and Orton cause me to scratch my head. Bledsoe has talent, averaging 11.3 ppg this season, and will likely be a first round pick, however he could benefit greatly from another year on campus. A great example for Bledsoe to follow is Ohio State's Evan Turner. Turner averaged similar numbers to Bledsoe his freshman year, yet he stayed for another two years, improved both his game and his mentality to become the 2010 Naismith Award Winner. I'm not saying that Bledsoe could win player of the year honors, but he has areas in his game the would benefit vastly from staying another year at Kentucky, such as decision making and cutting down on turnovers.

Orton's decision to enter the draft just seems moronic. What NBA team would draft a player who averaged a whopping 3.4 points and 3.3 rebounds? Sadly, when the person averaging those stats is a 6-10, 255 lb man-child, then numerous teams are willing to take a chance on that tantalizing mystery that is 'potential'. NBA teams are starving for big-men, and so a player who only played 13 minutes per game in college can be selected in the NBA draft. It appears that Orton may have gotten caught up in all the success that the Wildcats had this year and didn't want to be left at school while Wall and co. jumped to the NBA, a la Taurean Green. Green left the University of Florida after his junior season and back to back national titles in 2006 and 2007. Also leaving that year were current NBA players Al Horford, Joakim Noah, and Corey Brewer, and it is my speculation that the sole reason Green left was because he didn't want to be left alone at Florida after all of his buddies went to the NBA. Green was drafted 52nd overall in the draft, got sent to the NBA-Developmental League just a few months into the season, and was cut after only a year in the league. In all likelyhood Orton will spend next year, and possibly many more years, in the D-league and probably end up in Europe, where failed NBA players, like Green, play.

With this as his most likely destination, why would Orton leave the situation he was in at Kentucky to for an outside shot at the NBA? Obviously money is a large factor in this decision, but Orton could make much more if he stayed in college, developed his game, and declared for the draft in a few years when he has a more realistic chance of making, and contributing to, an NBA team. It makes much more sense to me to stay and be 'the man' at Kentucky for a year or two. He wouldn't be playing on depleted teams either; Coach John Calipari has proven that he has no trouble recruiting talent (legally or otherwise) and he has another top class coming to campus next fall. Doesn't it make more sense to star on teams that are competing for SEC titles, if not national titles, every year? Not to mention Orton would be playing at a school with one of the richest basketball traditions in the country and one of its largest fan bases. He would have a chance to be a player that Kentucky fans remember, rather than a 'one and done' player who even the most die-hard fan will easily forget in 5 years.

Alas, we have to wait until the draft on June 24 to learn the fate of Orton and his fellow Wildcats, but I suppose I can wish them good luck in the draft.

And Daniel Orton, welcome to the D-League.

Detroit and the 1st Round

Hello everybody. I'm here to discuss the Detroit Lions and the NFL draft. In recent history the Lions have a miserable draft record... and that is putting it kindly. Under former GM Matt Millen, a series of disastrous picks and free agent signings doomed the Lions. The downward spiral culminated two years ago in the now infamous 0-16 season. Since it is mathematically impossible to get worse than 0-16, the Lions had only one direction to go. After a 2-14 season last year the Lions appear to be breathing again at the very least. Lets take a quick look back at the Matt Millen era before moving on to this month's draft.

Millen was the GM from 2001 to 2008. Eight catastrophic seasons during which the Lions assembled a jaw dropping record of 31 wins and 97 losses. Of the 45 draft picks the Lions made from '01-'06, three of them are currently on the active roster. Some of those noticeably absent include such high picks like Charles Rogers (who appears to be in trouble again), Mike Williams, and Joey Harrington. In 2005 alone, a mere five years ago, the Lions had six picks in the draft. Two of those players are now on other teams, and four of the Lions' selections in that draft are no longer in the league. That includes the Lions' first round pick and the 10th overall selection, WR Mike Williams, who was drafted ahead of such NFL mainstays as Demarcus Ware, Shawne Merriman, and Aaron Rodgers. Other wide receivers selected after Williams include Mark Clayton, Roddy White, and Vincent Jackson. In other words, poor choices were made.

In 2009 things seemed to start to turn around for the Lions (as much as a 2-14 season can be a turnaround). New GM Martin Mayhew used the first overall pick in the draft to net the Lions a gutty and talented franchise QB in Matt Stafford. The rest of the draft also provided players like safety Louis Delmas, who started for much of last year and will be expected to contribute again in 2010. Now with seven picks, including the #2 overall, the Lions are looking to improve through the draft.

The Lions have been fairly busy during the offseason, acquiring Kyle Vanden Bosch, Nate Burleson, Shaun Hill, OL Rob Sims and others. The Lions are essentially set at QB, TE, and WR, but just about everything else is a need. With the Saint Louis Rams all but locked in to QB Sam Bradford with the first overall pick, most are projecting the Lions will draft Ndamukong Suh, the DT out of Nebraska. Suh is widely considered the best player in the draft and fills a pressing need for the Lions. This seems like a slam dunk right? Well, not quite.

There are several rumors coming out of Lions central about a possible trade with the Washington Redskins for their leviathan of a DT Albert Haynesworth. This is attractive for a few reasons. First of all Haynesworth used to play for current Lions coach Jim Scwartz when they were with the Tennessee Titans. The trade for Haynesworth would allow the Lions to trade down a few picks so some other team could climb into a position to take Suh, or Notre Dame QB Jimmy Clausen. Not only would the trade down provide the Lions with a few more picks at their disposal, but ideally, it would allow them to take the #2 guy on the board for them, OL Russell Okung out of Oklahoma State. This would be quite a coup for the Lions to snag not only the highest rated offensive line prospect in the draft, but also get one of the top players in the NFL at the defensive tackle position. It will also be difficult to pull off.

Another thing to watch for later round picks is the secondary. The Lions have been mentioned as being interested in the talented but troubled defensive back Adam 'Pacman' Jones. If the Lions grab a few secondary players with their later picks, it could mean their interest has waned. They have already added former Carolina Panthers CB Dante Wesley through free agency.

It will be interesting to see how the next month shakes out personnel wise. But finally, after almost a decade of hand wringing, I can say that the Detroit Lions are moving on up.

Lets Talk Some Basketball

Greeting fellow blog readers. I am another collaborator of 'The Goal Posters', specializing in NBA news and analysis. I am hesitant to call myself an NBA 'expert' (since there are many people who know more about basketball then me), so lets just say I'm the guy who spent way too much time as a kid watching and reading about the NBA, when I could have been doing more productive things with my life. I look forward to writing some pieces for you and getting some feedback/debates going in the comments section. I'm just going to wrap up tonight with a little info on some NBA playoff races:

• The battle for the 8th seed in the East took an unfortunate turn tonight, when two minutes into their game with the Cavs, Chris Bosh took an elbow to the face. After bleeding on the court for several minutes, Bosh was taken to a local hospital, where a CT scan revealed a fractured face. While no timetable has been set, early rumors speculate that Bosh will miss the remainder of the season. This would seem to end any hope of the Raptors making the playoffs. As it currently stands the Raptors have a one game lead on the Chicago Bulls for the final playoff seed in the East. With only five games remaining for each, the pivotal game is when these two teams will meet on Sunday in Toronto. Look for the winner of that game to grab the 8th seed and a first round loss to the LeBron's.

• Meanwhile the Bucks won their first game without Andrew Bogut; clinching a playoff spot in the process. John Salmons had 26 points to lead the Bucks to a victory over the Bulls, the team that traded him a month and a half ago. This proves that losing Bogut, while painful, does not end the season for a Milwaukee team that still has things to play for.

• If you were lucky enough to catch the Oklahoma City/Utah game last night, you saw one of the best games of the season. Utah barely survived 140-139 in this thrilling overtime game, that included a controversial no-call at the end. Deron Williams scored a career high 42 points, including the game winner with 1.1 seconds left, and added 10 assists with only 1 turnover. The Jazz survived 45 points from Kevin Durant, who appeared to be fouled while attempting a 3 at the end of overtime. KD did overtake LeBron James as the League's scoring leader with one week remaining in the regular season.
  

Links and NewNews

Quick post today and before we get started, take some time to check out Routinely Average, a blog my buddy, and fellow goal poster, Adam recently started. He does a great job reviewing movies and finding the inside scoop on what's coming out next in theaters! Trust me this guy knows his stuff. Be sure to click the link above, check out and follow the site!!! Movies and Sports... What could be better??

• Duke defeated Butler in the Men's National Championship Game 61-59 on Monday night to earn Coach Mike Kryzewski and the Blue Devils their 4th National Title.

• The Los Angeles Lakers have re-signed superstar Kobe Bryant to a 3 year extension that is rumored to be just under $90 mil.

• The St. Louis Rams released QB Marc Bulger on Monday, opening the door for Oklahoma's Sam Bradford to be selected with the Ram's overall #1 pick in the 2010 NFL Draft April 22.

• Big Ten Player of the Year Evan Turner was named the 2009-2010 Naismith Award winner, making him college basketball's top player for season. Turner averaged 20.4 pts, 9.2 reb, 5.9 ast, and 2.0 stl leading Ohio State to a 29-8 record, share of the Big 10 title, and Big 10 tournament title. The Buckeyes lost to Tennessee in the Elite 8 during post-season play.

Check out some of these links:

- LeBrun on the NHL - ESPN

- Behind the scenes with Tom Izzo

- Milwaukee C Bogut Breaks arm

(warning this is ugly)

What I'm watching tonight:

• The Connecticut Lady Huskies will face he Stanford Cardinal in the Women's National championship tonight. UCONN is playing for their 78th straight victory and 2nd straight title. (ESPN - 8:30 PM)

• LOST - 9:00 PM (ABC)