Draft Day 2006!!!

Set those DVRs. What kind of a suit do you think Brandon will wear? Will Bobby Bones get drafted? These are among the million questions that need answers. Few sporting events are as entertaining as the NBA Draft !!!

Also I must pass along a TrueHoop Warning:
"A Threat
I don't think I've ever really done promotion for TrueHoop content before. But I'm just saying, watch out for TrueHoop tomorrow. It's going to be insane."

I was going to be all about that site tomorrow anyway, but now I'm positively giddy as to what might be in store. Draft Forever!!!!

PS If you don't have Insider and can't read those Sports Guy archives, don't get mad at me. It's not my fault you hate yourself.

UPDATE
Check out TH's Bobby Jones Draft Profile.

Rashard for the Matrix?

DraftExpress.com is reporting that a potential blockbuster is brewing between the Sonics and the Suns. From what I understand the Sonics would send Rashard Lewis, Danny Fortson, and the 10th pick to Phoenix for Shawn Marion, Leandrinho Barbosa, and the 27th pick. Even with the understanding that this makes Barbosa essentially a rent-a-player next season, my initial reaction is a strong one: I would love this trade.

Let's get it straight first that I'm not a Rashard hater. He is impossible to guard when he's hitting his threes (which is often). You challenge his perimeter game with a quicker player and he simply backs you down on the block. One of the knocks on the man the Sonics marketing people want us to call "Sweet Lew" is that in the past he was unwilling to bang down low. That is no longer the case on the offensive end, as he emerged this past season as the Sonics #1 option in crunch time. Not Ray. Rashard. He is simply a more reliable two points. It's flat out scary to think of what Steve Nash could do with him and Amare next year.

That said there are a couple of negative Rashard factors that would leave me not unpleased should he be dealt.

Negative #1: He is going to opt out of his contract after this season, and the Sonics are obligated to get something in return for the second best player on their team.

Negative #2: Rashard Lewis has never shown superstar leadership ability. Rashard would be wonderful on a veteran team with an established identity (ie Phoenix). On a team still establishing its identity (ie Supes), he leaves a little to be desired in terms of molding the players around him. I recognize that this second negative is a little nitpicky, and it doesn't influence my feelings anywhere close to the amount that his contract situation does.


Selective Stat Snapshot:
Rashard Lewis
26 years old
20 points, 5 boards, 50 blocks

Shawn Marion
27 years old
22 points, 12 boards, 137 blocks

It's extremely rare for a non-center in the NBA to post those types of rebounding numbers. The Matrix is the definition of an x-factor.

Another pro for Marion is that he's locked up through 08-09. Not to clown my own city, but with the Sonics current management situation it's not going to be easy in the immediate future to attract free agent talent to this corner of the country. Any elite talent we get we're going to get through a trade.

The essence of Shawn Marion is as such that he looks like a claymation version of himself at times.

Runaway 06-07 NW Division Champs Roster
PG: Ridnour/Watson
SG: Ray/Barbosa
SF: Matrix/Wilkins
PF: Wilcox/Collison
C: Petro/Swift

Welcome to Suns NW. That is dirty. However, I would again like to clarify that I'm not going to be upset if the Sonics go into next season with Rashard still on the roster.

UPDATE THAT CHANGES EVERYTHING:
Rashard Lewis via Percy Allen:
"I've put a lot of thought into it [signing an extension] during the season and now, and I would love to finish my career in Seattle and be on one team my entire career."

If Rashard wants to stay he stays. End of story. Bless him.

WEEZY UPDATE:
The Sonics gave Chris Wilcox a qualifying offer on Saturday. As a restricted free agent, the Sonics now have the right to match any offer Wilcox receives this summer. Here's hoping he stays, because I love him.

Not as bad as 1998

When you don't win the World Cup all you get are the memories. Thanks to Clint Dempsey, the US has something brilliant to take home from Germany. Sure the finish was nice, but mostly I was talking about that sick dance he did after his equalizer against Ghana.





And it's not the first time the man they call Deuce has stepped lively on the pitch. Check out his "Young Joc Dance" versus Venezuela:




Oh, and he fucking raps too.





So whatever. We're out. We weren't going to win anyway. I still got a new favorite player out of the deal. Europe please sign Clint Deuce Dempsey!!!!! Save him from the MLS and the fate of Landon Donovan!!!

Add Baseball (kind of)

So I decided to read this Jim Baker fellow's diary of watching Kansas City Royals' games for this past week. That's chiefly because they played the Mariners and I like reading about how much the local nine suck from a national perspective. I was pleasantly surprised by how much I enjoyed the piece. Definitely worth a read. Especially this nugget:

What can we assume from the advertisement that ran between the seventh and the eighth inning? Here's the scene: it's obviously the wee hours of the morning. A very addled young man can't make up his mind at the drive-thru window at Jack In The Box. We are led to believe he has been there a while, hemming and hawing. When prompted, he can barely articulate a response. Suddenly, the miniature Jack-In-The-Box figure on his dashboard starts talking to him. It tells him to keep things simple when ordering. (Implying that it's too much trouble to pronounce something like a Ciabatta burger.) The kid agrees with the animated Jack but wants to know how many tacos he should order. Jack suggests 30 and the kid, squinting as he speaks in that certain looking-through-the-haze sort of way, says that was the number he, too, had in mind.

I think the message here is obvious: They are acknowledging that a lot of their late-night customers have come by their overwhelming hunger by means that would, if they were professional athletes caught doing so, get them suspended. And Jack In The Box is cool with that. In fact, they celebrate and heartily welcome the excessive purchasing needs of this breed of consumer.


Exactly.

Mavs in 5

I hate prediction columns. They are invariably awful. So here goes.

In Dirk Nowitzki, Jet Terry, Josh Howard, Jerry Stack, Marquis Daniels, Davin Harris and KVH Dallas has seven players who can consistently put the ball in the basket. Cut one head off that hydra and another will grow in its place. In contrast, the Heat boast only Wade, Shaq, maybe Toine and maybe Jason Williams to counter. This is the new NBA and to compete you gots to score. Dallas can and Miami can't.

There is no way that the Heat can contain the Mavs' perimeter attack. Gary Payton has NO HOPE of guarding either Devin Harris or Jason Terry off the dribble. It's just not happening. Ditto for White Chocolate. Miami lucked out by facing Jason Kidd and Chauncey Billups in the previous two rounds. Both are good points, but neither exploit Miami's inability to defend speedy guards. There's a reason the seemingly overmatched Bulls gave the Heat fits in the first round: young legs.

Tubby is rooting for Miami, and thinks they are going to win. Those words just typed shifted the Vegas odds further in the Mavericks' favor.

The "Shaq only needs to try hard for seven games!" argument? This carries some weight as far as I'm concerned. But, you know what else carries a lot of weight? Shaq. And he's played 76 games already this year. If it wasn't for a playoff schedule that gives him a week off in between series, Shaq would already be a non-factor.

And while we're on the subject, it's not like Shaq is Shaq anymore. I love the guy, but he only plays thirty minutes a game. Alonzo Mourning and his working kidney give the Heat arguably equal value, and for 18.8 million dollars less. What a bargain!! You could even argue that the Heat are better with Zo on the floor because he brings a better (more agile) defensive presence, stays out of Wade's way on offense, and makes his free throws. There I said it.

Finally, the Eastern Conference has drawn closer to the Western Conference in terms of competitiveness this year - but not at the top. The West Finals are still like the NFC Championship games of the early 90s. Both are essentially for the title with the final serving as a victory lap/right to kick the Bills' ass.

So there you have it. Mavs in 5, allowing for one Bavetta special. Get ready for more Mark Cuban posts about how no one respects "us".



Unrelated: Why is it in girls' sports that they call each other "ladies"? As in "Let's go, ladies!" or "Pull it together, ladies!". That bugs the shit out of me.

My Name Is Prince

Remember this year's All Star Game when four Pistons made the East roster?

Conventional wisdom said that Tayshaun Prince was the least spectacular of Detroit's starting five, and accordingly there was little grousing over his not being invited to the Black Super Bowl. (J.A. Adande's term, not mine FYI)

Fast forward to last night, and there's Prince leading Detroit with 29 points on 11 of 17 shooting in an elimination game. In the Conference Finals no less. That's big boy stuff. In contrast, Ben Wallace's paltry 3 of 4 field goals made him the only one of Detroit's "All Stars" to shoot above 33%.

If you've been watching this series, it wasn't just last night. Tayshaun's led the team in scoring in three out of the five games. When Detroit is in the doldrums offensively (as they have been since game 3 of the Cavs series) only Prince demonstrates consistently the ability to generate points. His more lauded teammates seem, dare I say, SCARED by the stage they find themselves on. (I'm looking at you, Rip.)

So Tayshaun Prince then. Not an All Star...just the best player on his team.