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Good Week/Bad Week – 25/2/13

Now we’ve had a week to get over the extremely exciting and nail-biting events of the trade deadline (sarcasm on standby), and it’s time to get back down to business. There have been a few telling match-ups, some more Kobe drama, and the unfortunate passing of one of the games true legends. And don’t even get us started on 50th birthdays…

Lets take a look at this week’s (belated) winners and losers…

Good Week

LeBron_James_Heat

Miami Heat

Here at uknba, we’ve tried to avoid stating the obvious as much as possible. Unfortunately, we cannot put it off any longer: the Miami Heat are good. They’re really, really good.

The Heat are currently on an eleven game win streak, and it shows no sign of ending any time soon. Since the 3rd of February LeBron James and company have beaten the Raptors, the Bobcats, the Rockets, the Clippers, the Lakers, the Trail Blazers, the Thunder, the Hawks, the Bulls, the 76ers and the Cleveland Cavaliers. They’re only 3 wins away from a franchise record, and are playing some of their best basketball of the season.

On a personal level, Dwayne Wade is back to the top of his game after a few shaky starts, and a benched fourth quarter last month . Ray Allen is chipping in, and Chris Bosch is doing what Chris Bosh does (although he needs to learn to close his legs – see the All Star Game if you haven’t already). However, as good as the team have been, the King has been a whole lot better.

In the past week, LeBron averaged 23.5 points, 9.3 assists and 7.8 rebounds. On top of that, he has one triple-double and two double-doubles in the four games he’s played. Last years MVP is unquestionably this years MVP-in-waiting, and, barring a massive effort from any of the other main contenders before the end of the season, this one doesn’t even look close. As for those rumours about LeBron going back to Cleveland? We’ll file that away in the long-shot pile.

So we’ll finally say it: The road to the Finals definitely looks like it’ll run through Miami. Hey, if it ain’t broke…

Honourable mentions: Memphis Grizzlies, Indiana Pacers, Tony Parker.

Bad Week

JJ

.Orlando Magic

Far be it from us to kick a dog while it’s down but, unfortunately, on this occasion we’ve been left no choice. This Magic team isn’t just down; it’s dead.

This time a week or so ago, there seemed to be a little light at the end of a very long tunnel, when they beat the Blazers to end their previous skid. Let’s just say it was short lived. Since then the abysmal Magic have lost another five in a row, and show no sign of heating up any time soon.

Losing JJ Redick (arguably their best player) on deadline day showed exactly what this teams aims are. Especially with the relatively low return they got as a result. 3 relatively average players and a 2nd round pick? It’s like the D12 saga all over again.

To be fair to them, on Saturday night the new additions looked to display a hunger on the court that’s been severely lacking in recent weeks. The bad news? They still lost by more than 20. Hunger is as hunger does, but it’s not gonna keep the fans entertained. After losing the battle of the worst teams in the league just under a week ago, the Magic play the Kings on Thursday to show how far down the NBA pecking order they’ve really slipped.

Look on the bright side Orlando. At least you’ll have a team next year…

Honourable mentions: Sacramento Kings, Philadelphia 76ers, Chicago Bulls, The Fans (seriously, did you see the trade deadline?).   

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All Star Match-ups: Blake Griffin vs. Carmello Anthony

WEST – F – Blake Griffin (LA Clippers) 

Blake

Advantages: Dunking, rebounding, reaching things on the top shelf.

Disadvantages: Shooting outside the paint, shooting three throws, defence, .

EAST – F – Carmelo Anthony (New York Knicks)

Melo

Advantages: Versatile, can score from anywhere, good clutch play.

Disadvantages: Defence ,hotheaded, honey nut Cheerio’s

Verdict – OK, so we know that Melo is the more complete player. But for sheer flair (and for flair, read height) we’ll take Blake on this one. Also, the advert below wins him major kudos. Bingo… 

WEST 3 EAST 1 

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All Star Match-ups: Kevin Durant vs. LeBron James

WEST – F – Kevin Durant (Oklahoma City Thunder) 

KD

Advantages: Scoring, scoring, scoring.

Disadvantages: Doesn’t get many rebounds, doesn’t get many assists, and… um, steals? (we’re kind of scraping the bottom of the barrel here).

EAST – F – LeBron James (Miami Heat)

The King

Advantages: Scoring, rebounding, assists, NBA champion, regular season MVP, finals MVP, youngest player to 20,000 pts, ONLY player ever to score at least 30 pts and shoot at least 60% from the field. There’s a lot more we could say, but running out of room…

Disadvantages: Umm…

Verdict – If KD was up against anyone else he would walk it. Time is on his side, and he may yet eclipse James in years to come. But right now, it’s got to be the King… (See also: last year’s finals) 

WEST 2 EAST 1 

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All Star Match-ups: Kobe Bryant vs. D-Wade

WEST – G – Kobe Bryant (LA Lakers) 

Kobe

Advantages: 5x NBA Champion, 15x All-Star, 2x Gold Medalist, youngest player ever to reach 30,000 pts,

Disadvantages: Transition defence, best days are behind him, Dwight/Shaq/Women.

EAST – G – Dwayne Wade (Miami Heat)

D Wade

Advantages: 2x NBA Champion, 9x All-Star, 1x Gold Medalist, Miami Heat all time leading scorer.

Disadvantages: 3 point conversion, injury prone, overshadowed (and will continue to be overshadowed by LBJ).

Verdict – Black Mamba is one of the best of all time. If Wade was up against anyone else, he may have a shot. Unfortunately for him, as MJ might say, 5 is better than 2 DW….

WEST 2 EAST 0 

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All Star Match-ups – Chris Paul vs. Brook Lopez

So, with the All Star Game little under a week away, it’s time for some predictions. And while we’re not going to be bold enough to come up with a score, all this week we’ll be concentrating on the starters for each conference. First up? Chris Paul vs. Brook Lopez.

WEST – G – CP3 (LA Clippers) 

CP3

Advantages: Speed, agility, passing. Six time All-Star.

Disadvantages: May struggle rebounding, been out for a while,

EAST – G – Brook Lopez (Brooklyn Nets)

Brook Lopez

Advantages: Freakishly tall (7ft), top 4 in NBA in PER, street cred (BROOKLYN).

Disadvantages: He’s not Rondo, he’s not Rondo, he’s not Rondo.

Verdict – Lopez is having a great season for the nets, but we’ll take CP3 all day long in this one.

WEST 1 EAST 0 

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Good Week/Bad Week – 8/2/13

With All-Star Weekend just around the corner, and the trade deadline looming, there’s been an interesting dynamic around the league this week, although there has’t really been many surprises. But as usual, there have been some big plays, some bad plays, and trade rumors galore. We’re looking at you Kris Humphries.

Lets take a look at this week’s winners and losers…

Good Week

Rajon Rondo

Boston Celtics

It’s been a pretty good week for a number of teams around the league. Miami are looking every bit like the champions they are, Denver are starting to heat up, and despite their loss last night, San Antonio are arguably the most consistent team in the NBA. However, for sheer resilience, we’ve given this one to the the Celts.

Rewind a few weeks and The Green were struggling to stay in the playoff picture. They were below .500, and looking listless, lackluster and lethargic (and plenty of other adjectives that don’t begin with L). Then in the space of a week, they lost their star point guard for the rest of the campaign, with Jared Sullinger joining him on the sideline for the same period of time. It looked like the beginning of the end in Boston.

But in traditional Celtics style, the team refused to accept the conventional. They’re now on a 6 game winning streak, including getting the W over the Lakers, the Clippers and the Heat in the process. Not bad for a team that were all but written off when Rondo’s diagnosis came in.

On a personal level, KG is playing great basketball, and a higher shooting percentage than when Rondo was in the team (as well as reaching 25,000 career points). Add to this impressive performances by Paul Pierce, Jason Terry and Jeff Green, and Boston are starting to quietly creep up the standings.

Rajon who?

Honourable mentions: Miami Heat, Denver Nuggets, James Harden, Kevin Garnett.

Bad Week

Print

.Orlando Magic

We’ve been trying to give the post-D12 Magic the benefit of the doubt so far this season, but their time has finally run out. Orlando are on a 12 game losing streak, their longest for 9 years. Let’s face it, they stink.

For a team that started the season with such promise, it’s sad to see just how far they’ve fallen. Ravaged by injuries, most significantly to their star center Glen Davis, and with a group of young players struggling to find their feet, their main hope now is just to get a high lottery pick and get through the season without losing too much dignity. We’re not going to lie, it will be a struggle.

Almost the exact opposite of Boston’s reaction after Rondo’s injury, since Big Baby was ruled out, Orlando have lost their direction and lost their fight. Although Vucevic has been promising with the added minutes, they’re destined to spend the rest of the season in basketball’s basement. The rebuilding process is well and truly underway but, unfortunately, it may take a little longer than planned.

But look on the bright side, Magic Fans. Dwight might end up missing the post-season too. So every cloud…

Honourable mentions: Minnesota Timberwolves, Sacramento Kings (honourable honourable mention for DeMarcus Cousins), Charlotte Bobcats (duh).   

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3 Things We Learned From MLK Day

OK, so we realise that this post should really have gone up yesterday. But, the fact that there were very few games yesterday, coupled with the terrible weather, means that we feel entitled to stretch the rules of relevancy. Also, it was a day that deserves to be remembered for a lot more than basketball. But mostly, we blame the snow.

Here are 3 things we learned from Monday’s action:

 

Pacers vs. Grizzlies

Pacers vs. Grizzlies will not set the world alight

The first game of the day was Pacers vs. Grizzlies. Played in Memphis, it seemed quite fitting. The problem was, the two teams were never going to provide the showpiece game that the occasion required. Both teams rank in the top five defenses, and stink on offense. And don’t let the relatively dramatic finish fool you, this one was dull. With Indiana leading the Central, and gaining pace (sorry) in the East, their game plan is clearly working. Just don’t expect showtime in Indy anytime soon…(or Tennessee – sorry Grizz fans).

york-knicks-v-brooklyn-nets-Nets vs. Knicks rivalry is just heating up

New York lost to their neighbours at the Garden, to tie the series at 2-2 for the season. Not only was the game close, finishing 88-85 in favour of Brooklyn, but it even had post-game drama (See: J.R. Smith and Kris Humphries trash talking on twitter). If it wasn’t for Carmelo going cold in the fourth, it genuinely could have gone either way. The Nets are now 11-2 under P.J. Carlesimo, and only one game back in the Atlantic. Although they’re done squaring off in the regular season, we have a feeling that this rivalry has only just begun…

Pau-Gasol


Pau may be done in L.A. 

Before they took on the Bulls on Monday night, head coach Mike D’Antoni announced that he would be benching Pau Gasol for the foreseeable future. With the Spaniard struggling to fit into D’Antoni’s system, and the trade deadline looming, it may be coming to the end of Pau’s time in Hollywood. Although he’s by no means the only one struggling (we’re looking at you Dwight Howard and Steve Nash), he is potentially the most expendable. And with Gasol as good as stating that he’d consider moving on to pastures new, it might only be a matter of time.

The question is, where would he go?

 

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NBA London

The third ever regular season game played in the UK took place last night. The Knicks beat the Pistons 102-87. The result itself was almost a forgone conclusion, with New York heavily favoured from the outset. But for basketball lovers in the UK, the impact of the game could prove far greater than what was on the scoreboard at the end of the night…

NBA London

What we liked

There were a lot of positives to the game, and none more so than the increased exposure of the sport this side of the Atlantic. At the start of the season, no games were even being televised in the UK. As part of their agreement to show NBA London, Sky announced that they will be showing games on Sundays for the rest of the season. NBA is back. And this time, no subscription is required.

Aside from TV coverage, the game at the O2 was a sell-out. Despite the inflated ticket prices, almost 20,000 fans were in attendance to see Carmello and company amble their way to victory. Whatever their previous basketball experience, the crowd was energetic and it seemed like there was a genuinely good atmosphere. Not only does this mean more attention is being given to the sport, it also means that the league is likely to want to come back.

Also, we’re huge fans of Kevin Cadle in a makeshift studio (and watching basketball at a reasonable hour).

What we didn’t like

Sure, the game could have been more competitive. And sure, it would have been nice to have a more instantly recognisable team than the Pistons (who were, incidentally, meant to be at home – despite New York supporters outnumbering Piston supporters roughly 1295 to 1). The main problem however, unfortunately came with the amateur nature of the coverage.

Firstly, aside from the very talented and under appreciated Kevin Cadle (did we mention we like Kevin Cadle), the commentary team left a lot to be desired. Mike Shaft and Rob Paternostro unfortunately provided the bulk of it. While the latter (who is coach of the Leicester Riders British basketball team) actually performed pretty well, the former was just far too excitable to be taken seriously.

Shaft, who used to provide UK Basketball coverage, and has an extensive background in radio presenting. However, last night it sounded like he’d never watched a game before in his life. Alternating between ‘Wow’ and ‘Oh baby’ for every lay-up, his enthusiasm was only matched by his use of stock phrases (‘nothing but net’ being a particular favourite).

We’re sure he’s a very good commentator, and will grow back in to the role as the weeks go on, so we’re prepared to give him the benefit of the doubt. But saying ‘we have a ten (or less) point ball game’ at every available opportunity is not particularly helping his cause. This is basketball Mike. It will be a 10 or less point game quite often. And that’s OK.

Add to this the unreliable virtual scoreboard, which either didn’t have a shot clock or simply disappeared, and roving reporter Julie Collier, who was very nice but had a hard time actually listening to her interviewee’s answers, and it’s clear that Sky don’t really know what to do with their live coverage yet.

With their NFL offering of a consistently high standard, there is definitely hope for the NBA. If they don’t manage to do the same, well hey. It’s just nice to have it back.

N.B. Hopefully they will also stop speaking about a potential European franchise at every opportunity. One step at a time…