Time to Dance

March Madness has always been the second greatest time of the year behind Christmas for me. I think I started watching the tournament in the 4th Grade and year after year, it never disappoints. 3 weeks of amazing basketball, Cinderella teams, and there is always one player that makes a name for himself. Besides that, there are just some things that come from the tournament that you never forget, I can name a few for myself: Marvin O'Connor, Adam Morrison crying, J-Rich and Michigan State's Nike Shox, the 2004-2005 Fighting Illini  (one of my favorite college teams of all-time), Stephen Curry, Ali Farokhmanesh? and I can go on and on. I really cannot contain my excitement for tomorrow. Along with the excitement, this year's bracket is pretty difficult to breakdown and pick a winner. My team to watch is the Kentucky Wildcats, hoping he proves my bracket wrong, my player to watch is Dwight Hardy, and my Cinderella is Oakland. There are so many teams that can win it all and so many things that intrigue me so here are the big ones:

Cardiac Kemba & Crew: I've been on Kemba's nuts all season and that won't change now that the tourney is beginning. He's definitely going to put on  a show because he seems to thrive on the biggest stage. However, the rest of the UConn team worries me with their lack of experience (Jeremy Lamb, freshman & Alex Oriakhi, sophomore - 2nd & 3rd best players) and  the entire team worries me especially when they play a team with a really good zone. They'll certainly be fun to watch and on my bracket they get eliminated in the Elite 8. 

The Jimmer: Most of the time, I hate the white scorers in college basketball, unless they play for Syracuse. Adam Morrison was an exception with his beautiful porn stache and Jimmer Fredette is an exception as well. How can you not like the guy? He has "Jimmer range," he was a chubster when he was little, and he practiced in a prison growing up. The only problem I have with Jimmer is his comparisons to Steph Curry. That is outrageous. Their skill sets are not even comparable. For Jimmer, he's got a lot on his shoulders and he'll need to score at least 30 a game for his team to advance especially with the loss of Brandon Davies. I have BYU eliminated in the second round, but I don't mind watching more Jimmer, I'll definitely be tuning in when he plays.   

Michigan State March: It almost seems like every other season, Michigan State is in the Final Four, and you can never bet against Tom Izzo. I've bought into it. I like their match-up against UCLA and potential match-up against Florida, and I actually have Michigan State losing in the Elite 8. The team has a lot of experience in Kalin Lucas, Draymond Green, and Durrell Summers, and a good mix of younger players too. They've been pretty disappointing all season, ranked 2nd in the preseason and finishing the year with 14 loses. Maybe they'll start peaking now.


The Clock Doesn't Strike at Midnight (12): This is in reference to all the 12-seeds of the "dance." If you haven't picked a 12 to upset a 5, I suggest you do. 12-seeded Cornell not only won one game last year, but advanced to the  Sweet 16 and in 2009, three 12-seeds won in the first round (Wisconsin, Western Kentucky, Arizona). This year, there's a chance that all four teams can win in the first round. I have two 12-seeds winning in the first round (Richmond & Clemson), I think Arizona is overrated and may lose, and Utah State is an experienced team with only 3 losses this year. Let's be honest, I'm no expert in picking the brackets (I had the 2007-2008 OJ Mayo-led Trojans in the Final Four...), but I'm pretty sure a 5-seed will lose. Choose wisely.

The Return of Kyrie: Kyrie Irving changes everything for this tournament if he can come back and be at least 80% of the player he was before his injury. With a healthy Kyrie Irving, in my opinion, Duke would be a clear cut favorite to win the whole thing. He's only played 8 games this season, but he's that good. He's also a thrill to watch. It pains me to say that too because I absolutely hate Duke. The problem here is that we'll have to wait and see Kyrie play this weekend to see how effective he will be and brackets are due tomorrow morning. I currently have Duke losing in the Sweet 16, but with Kyrie, who knows where Duke may finish...

As you can see, I'm pretty excited for tomorrow, I have my dancing shoes ready, and in the words of Bart Scott, I "Can't Wait!" Enjoy the basketball tomorrow, all this weekend, and for the next three weekends. Enjoy Gus Johnson and enjoy Bill Raftery. I'm curious about everyone else's brackets. Who you got? Here's my bracket:

Kemba.

Team Kemba>Team Jimmer. In the words of Mike Wilbon, the play was "Iversonian." Word.

Word.

I love Wale. He's underrated and deserving of more attention. Shout out to the big Jew who told me about him 2 years ago.

Gotta get better with time
Relationships should never rewind
Better leave it all behind
Guess that means you can never be mine
Well ummm there's a but
Without your love it's cold as fuck
Life is a movie we both say cut
But most the time darling the sequel sucks.
 - Wale Ovechkin

Trade Extravaganza

For the 2010-2011 NBA season, the trade deadline was wonderful. Big names going to big places, shockers, a failed deal, potential buy-outs, Baron Davis's exile, and so much more have occurred. This year's deadline has brought plenty of excitement to an excellent season and set the course for a future league dominated by super teams in big-market cities. With that being said, let's breakdown the winners and losers of the deadline.

Winners:

New Jersey Nets: With all the glitz and glamour that Jay-Z and Mikhail Prokhorov present, they failed. They failed to acquire LeBron James and they failed to acquire Carmelo Anthony. However, they shocked the league with Deron Williams and I love the deal. Personally, I think Deron Williams is better than Carmelo Anthony for the Nets and the Nets now have a top 5 point guard in the league and an excellent building block for an up-and-coming franchise. I know he's not Jason Kidd and it will take awhile before they win games, but I have a feeling that he can do exactly what Jason Kidd did for the Nets during his tenure. The Nets already have a good, young big in Brook Lopez and now they just need to get a legitimate wing-scorer to seriously compete. They won't have draft picks, but they'll have cap space and now when Jay-Z and Mikhail Prokhorov try to sell their franchise and their move to Brooklyn to another star, they'll have credibility in D-Will and Brook Lopez.  

Oklahoma City Thunder: I can't write about the Thunder because I love OKC. Air Congo got robbed in the dunk contest, I'm biased on everything about the team, and I can't hold the excitement I have about their acquisitions of Kendrick Perkins, Nate Robinson, and Nazr Mohammed. I am ecstatic! I get asked a lot about when the Thunder will be ready to compete for a title realistically or what they are missing, and the answer is they are ready to compete now and they just got what they're missing. I always felt Tyson Chandler was the perfect fit at center for this team, but Perkins is an excellent consolation prize.The Thunder lack toughness and interior defense and they'll get a mad Kendrick Perkins and a solid Nazr Mohammed to fill that role. Serge Ibaka moves into the starting power forward slot ♥ Dr. Nasty, and Nate Robinson and James Harden can fill it up off the bench. Do I even have to mention that athletic freak at the point and the youngest scoring champ ever? Regardless of their current 3-game losing streak, when Perkins comes back, they'll be just fine. The West and the entire league best beware because the Thunder are no longer a fascinating thought to compete, they are now and reality begins.

Portland Trail Blazers: With the uncertainty of Brandon Roy and Greg Oden's health, the Blazers could have folded their season, blown the team up, and started over. Instead they've been one of the surprise teams this year and coach Nate McMillan is very deserving of coach of the year consideration. Andre Miller continues to surprise me with his talentless, crafty play, LaMarcus Aldridge has been a monster all season, and Wesley Matthews has been a diamond in the rough. Acquiring Gerald Wallace without having to give up Nicolas Batum was brilliant and now that Brandon Roy is back, the Blazers can give one of those top 4 teams in the West a scare come playoff time.

Super Teams: LeBron started it in 2010, and by 2012, it should come into full effect. the Heat have their Big 3, the Knicks have their two now and I'm more than 75% certain CP3 will join them soon. The Nets may be on their way, and could the cherry on top be Dwight Howard as a Laker? Only time will tell...

Carmelo Anthony: His debut at the Garden was electric, the game down in South Beach was a thriller, and Melo now has everything he wants. He's "home," he's on a contender, he has his extension, and he comes out of all the trade talks with an undamaged reputation. The pressure is now on him to keep the city rocking and live up to the hype. Don't disappoint Spike.

Kirk Hinrich:  Josh and I believe that Mr. Hinrich does nothing wrong, and trust me he does nothing wrong. Because he does nothing wrong, he is now rewarded with running the Atlanta Hawks. He'll amaze the fans with defense (never seen by Mike Bibby), he'll play either guard positions when asked, he might break J.J. Redick's ankles again, and he'll provide efficient perimeter shooting. In the end, Mike Bibby might actually be the biggest winner (not financially) from the trade, but upgrade for the Hawks, great for Captain Kirk. 

Leon Powe, Mo Williams, Jamario Moon: Is there really much to say? They're out of Cleveland and that makes these three the biggest winners of the trade deadline, rejoice. Sorry Antawn...

Losers:
Boston Celtics: "If it ain't broke, don't fix it." I'm pretty sure everyone has heard of that saying but for Danny Ainge and the Boston Celtics, they may be an exception. When you hold the second-best record in the league (41-16) and your head coach claims the biggest reason for losing a game 7 in the NBA Finals last season was because your starting center was injured, why trade him? Not only him though, why trade Donkey? Why trade Harangody and Erden? Why revamp the entire bench and depend on centers that were dominant a decade ago? The Celtics have been all about redemption and their returning players' hunger for one more run at the title. They were built for the playoffs. Perkins (7:36 of the video) was getting healthy and he carried that tough mentality and grit with KG in the paint, and now it seems missing. Even though Danny Ainge couldn't work out an extension with Perkins and feared losing him for nothing, I just think they should have stayed the course. Their window of opportunity closes this year! Jeff Green can play, Krstic can hit a mid-range jumper, but they don't provide that underrated post presence that doesn't show up on the stat sheet that Perkins provides. They don't have that hunger to win. They're not Sam Cassell. I'm pretty sure, the C's will eventually get a Troy Murphy or Leon Powe to provide depth in the pivot. Perhaps they may even get Rip Hamilton to strengthen the bench before it's all said and done, but the best team in the NBA just lost its heart and identity and it's a huge disappointment. 

Utah Jazz: Last season, the Jazz had Carlos Boozer, Deron Williams, Jerry Sloan, and title aspirations. Now that's all gone. Considering what the Jazz received in return, it's not too bad, but everything that the Jazz were no longer exists. They've lost their franchise point guard and they lost Jerry Sloan, Jerry Freaking Sloan, amidst this mess (thank you D-Will). Ty Corbin won't turn things around and I really don't know where this franchise is heading now. I believe this franchise is cursed. First the Phil Jackson curse and now begins the Jerry Sloan curse.

Chicago Bulls: As impressive as the Bulls are and as great as Derrick Rose has been, the Bulls struck out at the deadline. They've needed an upgrade all season at shooting guard and not acquiring J.R. Smith or Courtney Lee was a missed opportunity. It was crucial for this team and their playoff run because D-Rose will draw the paint and he needed a shooter to spread the floor in late-game situations. Hopefully they'll get lucky with Richard Hamilton being bought out, but for now, make do with Keith Bogans Chicago...

Dallas Mavericks: No Melo, no J.R. Smith, no Tayshaun Prince, no title shot. I'm not saying Prince or Smith would have put them over the top, but they needed another guy to fill in for Caron Butler not named Stojakovic. They have a lot of depth and they're a good team, a really good team, but for a team whose window of opportunity is closing soon, Dirk needs more help and the Mavs needed to make a move. The Mavs are still a top 4 team in the West, but unlike the Thunder, they stood pat and watched KD and his boys leap frog them. They still have a chance in the West, but it will be difficult.  

Houston Rockets: Houston...they have a problem. I assume they're going to rebuild now and they've started off poorly. Blame it on Yao's health, blame it on other injuries, or blame it on Kevin Martin's lack-luster play, but these Rockets had potential to be a good team. Stupid injuries and now bad decisions. Aaron Brooks and Shane Battier for Goran Dragic and Hasheem Thabeet? Hasheem Thabeet?? Is this their idea of replacing Yao? Hopefully Luis Scola finds his way to a contender next season, Kevin Martin finds his game, and only good health for Yao from here on out. The Rockets have helped other teams and they need to start helping themselves. For now, Chase Budinger and Kyle Lowry, it's your time to shine. 

Baron Davis: Even though the man has battled weight issues and never put his full heart into his stint in Los Angeles, he doesn't deserve this. No one deserves to be traded to Cleveland and this must really suck for BD. He was home, he had Blake Griffin, and this cool commercial, but now he is in the NBA's black hole. There really is no hope for the Cleveland Cavaliers and I wish he would be bought out and signed with a contender (Heat, Lakers?). I would love to see the old Baron playing with a purpose. For now, we'll just have to hope he can take advantage of this situation to resurrect his career and give some basketball life back to the city of Cleveland .

Isiah Thomas: Isiah Thomas was a great NBA player, one of the best point guards to ever play the game, but he is a terrible front office guy in the NBA. Yet he still has a great effect on the league even though he's a college basketball coach at Florida International. Zeke wishes so bad that he could be the Knicks general manager and he wants all the credit for bringing Carmelo Anthony to New York. He and World Wide Wes want to take over the league by orchestrating deals for the league's top superstars to big cities and they've actually done a pretty good job. However, all of this "work" has Isiah coming out looking like a rat and he's quite mistaken if he thinks he'll get a job in an NBA front office anytime soon (James Dolan cannot be that dumb). Isiah's reputation has actually taken another hit and now he might be costing a deserving general manager his job. I just can't see how a man, who was a .500 coach and gave Eddy Curry a 5-year extension, as deserving of another chance at running an NBA team. 

We Reminisce: Escalade & the AND1 Mixtape Tour

It seemed like just yesterday that they'd be showing episodes of the AND1 Mixtape Tour. For those of you that don't know who or what the AND1 Mixtape Tour is, it was a show on ESPN2 (usually broadcasted late at night) that followed this basketball team around the world as they place games against the top local players from each area that they went to. However, they didn't just play regulation basketball with all the rules and everything, they played streetball. So, it was very entertaining to watch. Even though the rules weren't exactly the same as those of the NBA, the people on this show were amazingly gifted with their ballhandling skills and their amazing athleticism. I mean...guys doing 720's? Really now? The AND1 Mixtape Tour was so popular at one point, that they were on the cover of Sports Illustrated. But on another note...


R.I.P. to the streetball legend, Troy "Escalade" Jackson. I remember him being on the AND1 tour and he seemed like a really nice man. He was a really big guy, but he could handle the ball like no other big man that I've ever seen. My prayers go out to Mark and Troy Jackson's family. R.I.P. big guy.

Chuck

Happy Monday. Happy President's Day. Happy Belated Charles Barkley.


"I May be wrong, but I doubt it." - Sir Charles

10 Things

10) Lost in Translation - After starting off their 7-game Grammy road trip with 4 straight wins (including one over Boston), the Lakers dropped the last 3 games. After their first lost to Orlando, everything seemed to snowball from there. Dropping games to the Bobcats and yes...the Clevland LeBron-less, all-time-losing-streak record-holding Cavaliers. The Lakers should be more than a little worried and maybe give that Carmelo trade a little more consideration. However, on the bright side, Ron Artest doesn't seem to mind too much.

9) All-Star Weekend - With the All-Star events happening this weekend, the NBA has reached it's breaking point in the season. Trades and Justin Bieber should be all the rave this weekend. My predictions are that...DeMar DeRozan is going to win the dunk contest, Ray Allen's going to win the 3-Point Shootout, and Justin Bieber's going to ball.

8) What's in a Name? - What do DeMarcus Cousins and LaMarcus Aldridge have in common other than their similar first names? They've both been playing excellent basketball. LaMarcus Aldridge has carried the injury-prone Trail Blazers to not only hold onto a spot in the playoffs, but the 5th seed. Aldridge has been averaging 29.1 PPG and 8.3 RPG for the month of February (as of February 16th). DeMarcus hasn't been scoring as much as LaMarcus, but he's been doing a much better job of rebounding. Since January 28th, Cousins has been averaging 19.3 PPG and 11.5 RPG. Even though Cousins isn't scoring as much as LaMarcus, you have to remember that it's only his first year in the league and if he continues to improve at this rate, the Kings should be a team to watch in the upcoming years.

7) Bear Minimum - The Memphis Grizzlies have won their last 4 games heading into the break, and are looking to secure a spot in the playoffs. With the Jazz out of tune, they could potentially be that 8th team in the West. Zeebo has been doing magical things this season and statistically, I believe that he's playing better than he did during his All-Star season last season. Zach Randolph is averaging 20.1 PPG and 13.2 RPG. But...the Grizzlies take a serious blow with the loss of Rudy Gay. Gay is expected to be out for at least 4 weeks with a shoulder injury. Back to work for Zeebo.

6) Golden Opportunity - Golden State is back in the running for a shot at the playoffs. With Monta Ellis focused and locked in, the Warriors have won their last 3 games and 7 of their last 9. Stephen Curry and Monta Ellis. There hasn't been a more dangerous backcourt duo thusfar this season. The tangent of Curry and Ellis have averaged a (combined) jaw-dropping 43.7 PPG and 11.5 APG. If Golden State continues to play at a high level, they could be back in the playoffs for the first time since their magical '06-'07 season where they pulled off arguably the greatest upset in NBA history.

5) Looking for a Tune-Up - The Utah Jazz have lost their last 4 games heading into the All-Star break. 3 of which are under new coach, Tyrone Corbin. The retirement of Jerry Sloan is still quite shocking to many basketball fans around the world. Nonetheless, it's not an excuse for any team to allow fast food to score so much. The Jazz need to get themselves together and start winning some games before they drop out of the playoff race.

4) Trade Talk - The NBA trade deadline is next week, so expect to see sort of trade occur between now and that time. Possible destinations for Carmelo Anthony are still up in the air. However, if I was a GM for most teams, I'd pass on Carmelo like I pass on my grandma's cooking. He's probably not even going to resign with your team unless you are the...Lakers, Bulls, and/or Knicks. In other news (non-Melo related), Avery Bradley could possibly be up on the trade block. Ramon Sessions and Antawn Jamison are on sale as well.

3) Bullying Others - So, I watched the Bulls - Spurs game on TNT, and I must say that I was quite impressed by Derrick Rose. The young man scored a career high 42 points and was dazzling to watch. Hitting contested floaters and jumpshots like they're nothing. And that's not even the most amazing part about this 42 point game. He did all of this without a single 3-point field goal. He shot 18 for 28 and made all six of his free throws. Rose also dished out 8 assists. It's not like the Spurs are horrible at defense either, because that is most certainly not the case. Beating the top team in the NBA right before the All-Star break is always good. Happy All-Star Weekend, everyone.

2) Seeing Green - For those of you that don't know, each season ESPN and the NBA team up together to shoot a season long documentary that follows one team in the league. This year, they decided to follow the Celtics and film them and their 4th run at a championship with KG and Ray Allen on board. I've posted part one of episode one below. Ray Allen is also the new all-time NBA 3-point FG's leader.



1) Disappointment - What do I think of when I hear Milwaukee, Houston, and Minnesota? Disappoint. Why you ask? Well let's see... Milwaukee was in the playoffs last season pushing the Atlanta Hawks to a 7-game series and was on the brink of heading to the second round. With Brandon Jennings' injury, they should've still been halfway decent with everyone's favorite Aussie, Andrew Bogut. The Bucks are currently 21 and 34. Houston was 42 - 40 without Yao Ming last season. With Yao supposedly returning this year, Houston was supposed to make a serious push into the playoffs. However, they've been awful. Yao Ming has been hit by the injury bug once again, and Aaron Brooks (last season's Most Improved Player) is averaging a very unspectacular 11.9 PPG. The only person I would say that is playing very well is Luis Scola. He's averaging a near double-double at 19.4 PPG and 8.6 RPG. Minnesota wasn't very good last season, but Kevin Love has been playing his beard off with 21.1 PPG and a league-leading, 15.5 RPG. The combined amount of talent on Minnesota should be able to at least win a few more games than their 13 - 43 record. Jonny Flynn? He's averaging 5.8 PPG this season. Last season? He averaged 13.5. Michael Beasley's improved, and Darko Milicic's nipples have stepped their game up this season. But even with the improvement of those two, the T'Wolves are only 3 games better than the Clevland Cavaliers which is quite rediculous if you ask me.