nbaculture

There are a couple of teams this upcoming season that are putting a lot on the line, and hoping their injured star will take them to the next level.

Portland is hoping that NBA untested Greg Oden will help them reach the playoffs.  The blazers were the wests surprise team last season.  They were not expected to do much, but nearly made the playoffs in an overloaded Western Conference.  Greg Oden was more than solid in college, and we shall find out soon enough if he can be Portland’s super rookie.

Everyone saw how well D-Wade did this summer in the Olympics, he was electrifying.  His bench play was a huge reason USA went undefeated.  He displayed hints of the old Wade with his relentless attack of the rim, his too-quick first step, and his uncanny ability to finish in the paint.  Aside from the Heat’s well executed draft, they have done little this offseason to supplement Wade’s talent.  As good as he is, they will not make it out of the 2nd round, or even the 1st with him alone.  Wade is the only tested player who can create his own shot, which is bad news for the Heat.  We will see if Michael Beasley is an offense stopper, or if he can still work his magic in the Heat system.  Either way, it’s looking unlikely the Heat will make much noise this year.

Gilbert Arenas has been one of my personal favorites over the years, but he was barely played due to knee issues.  He just went into surgery again, and is not expected to play until at least January.  His frustration is really showing, and he was even fined for refusing to meet the press.  This frustration can be good and bad.  It shows how eager he is to get back on that court.  He feels a sense of guilt because he can only support them by cheering in a suit, and he feels that he let himself down because he knows that he is capable of superior play.  But, he made his entry last season prematurely, and it disrupted a rolling Wizards offense.  He should be careful not to make the same mistake this season, and come back at full force.

We can’t forget Andre Bynum now, can we?  The Lakers were murdered in the paint last year by Boston, and Bynum’s physical presence was sorely missed.  Gasol and Odom got pushed bullied in the paint, DJ Mbenga beat by superior footwork, and Turiaf was made to carry most of the burden.  Bynum was a double double machine until a partially dislocated knee ended his season.  He is a shot blocker who is also a good position defender, and his hands are bigger than a 10 year olds.  Speaking of the Lakers, I should also mention Trevor Ariza.  He did play a little in the end, but was not really in the rotation.  He should make a bigger contribution this year and play solid defense for these Lakers.

Those are the biggest injured players I can think of right now that can change the franchise’s fate.   We shall see how things go, the NBA is starting to be exciting again.

Phil Jackson is serious.  How can we tell?  In a recent press conference, he appeared with his recently infamous soul patch shaven.

But seriously, Phil seemed pretty eager during his press conference.  He was giddy about rotations, and seemed pretty excited about seeing how Bynum and Gasol would mesh in the paint.  There was also talk about how he might bring Ariza into the starting lineup and use Odom as a Sixth Man.  Above all, he expressed his anger and disappointment from last years finish, and that is good news for all Laker fans.  The Lakers will need all the drive and motivation they can muster in an increasingly powerful Western Conference.  Portland will have their number 1 draft pick from a year ago in their lineup, Chris Paul will run around and do his thing on a slightly improved Hornets squad, Houston will start the season with new life after their addition of Ron Artest (which could be good or bad), reports of San Antonio’s aging has been greatly exaggerated, and Utah will be a force to reckon with as long as Jerry Sloan is running the show (having Deron Williams and Carlos Boozer doesn’t hurt either).  It’s hard to believe that the Western Conference could be as competitive as last years historic race, but its not exactly fiction either.

Point Guard Jason Williams announced his retirement just after signing with the Los Angeles Clippers.  I’m not sure exactly why he chose to do so, but his presence will be missed.  Although his popularity has dramatically decreased since being traded to Memphis, he was a solid contributor every team he played for.  I’m sure all us basketball fans remember the first time Jason Williams razzle dazzled the crowd as a Sacramento rookie.  His street ball play style garnered a lot of attention, and was part of the street ball wave that hit general media around the mid 90’s.  He definately wasn’t the first to show off his amazing handles, nor did he have the flashiest moves, but he was the first white boy i ever saw with those And 1 moves (his pass off his elbow was pretty sick).

Yes… you read that headline correctly.  I recently had a conversation with a friend about Lebron, and it kind of irked me that nobody had any bad thing to say about him.  What negative thing could someone possibly say about Lebron James?  Everybody saw his spectacular performance during the olympics, his leadership, and his unselfishness with his teammates in the summer.  He is arguably the greatest individual contributor to his NBA franchise, and has an infectious laugh and endearing smile (as noted in the Donyell Marshall jersey debacle).  He is arguably the most hyped player ever to be drafted and has lived up to and beyond many of people’s expectations.  I can personally attest to that, I used to be a Lebron hater until halfway into his rookie season. So what’s wrong here?

Nothing… on the court that is.  What I have beef with is his goal of becoming the first athlete billionaire.  Really?  You might be thinking that we live in America, and that is exactly what the American dream is all about.  Am I a communist?  No, not really.  But I do believe that people should always remember their roots and share the opportunity to succeed as someone had offered it to him.  Yes Lebron James does do community work, and participates in the NBA Cares campaign, but seriously, he’s riding bikes with kids.  It’s good and all, but I don’t really see the heart or devotion.

I’m not asking him to be a Dikembe Mutombo or anything, or even a Ledanian Tomlinson, and I am in no way diminishing the great work the NBA is doing in community outreach.  However, people should have better life goals than to be a billionaire (I think hanging out with Jay Z is going to his head); especially at a time when hurricanes have devestated multiple major cities, and the nation is in a state of economic panic (you hear McCain’s speech?  They say businesses nationwide and people’s ability to own homes might be in jeopardy).

That being said, I still think Lebron James is some kind of phenom.

My post I wrote yesterday about Starbury being gone may have been premature, according to Donnie Walsh.  Mr Walsh stated that Marbury will be at camp, and that he has not even approached Marbury about buying out his lucrative contract.  This year’s offseason seems to be mundane compared to those of recent years, especially last year with Kevin Garnett and Ray Allen moving to Boston, as well as Kobe Bryant’s comments about Laker management.  So it’s understandable that Marbury’s relatively quiet offseason is making headlines and starting rumors.

On the plus side, Knicks fans can look forward to another spectacular season with their diva knowing that they haven’t had a winning season in New York since the 2000-2001 season when they lost to Toronto  in the first round.  In Stephon’s defense, he didn’t board ship until the 03-04 season, the only season since that 00-01 season that they made the playoffs (albeit they got swept by a decent New Jersey team… ouch).

I just don’t see the Knicks being a threat next year.  If Marbury is on the starting roster, they definately need to find a point guard that is willing to pass.  D’Antoni’s system worked for four reasons: Steve Nash, three point threats, fast break dunks, and unselfish play.  The Knicks can only excel in making threes, and if D’Antoni can get Randolph and Curry to run half as much as Stoudemire or Boris Diaw, then my hat is off to the man.

In his run with the Knicks, Marbury averaged almost 20 points and nearly 8 assists, so we know the man can play.  But when he is unhappy about anything, the man can stop offenses with his dribbling.  Sure Steve Nash dribbled a lot, sometimes in circles, but he was pass first and a very unselfish player and ran like a race horse (pretty good for an old man).

Ok, I admit its not fair to compare D’Antoni’s old team to his current roster, so I’m pretty excited to see what they cook up and how their team chemistry develops.  Still, I’d hate to be a Knicks fan knowing there’s a chance Marbury may still be on my team.

For all you Knicks fans, you can take a big sigh of relief because Starbury’s contract will reportedly be bought out very soon.  I am not a big Knicks fan, but I acknowledge that their team has high influence in the NBA and are relevant no matter how bad they are doing.  It’s too early to tell, but it looks like things are rolling in the right direction.  Donnie Walsh is in office, and newly hired coach Mike D’Antoni should bring some much needed enthusiasm to this disheveled Knicks locker room.  Everybody had the feeling that Starbury would go, but his 21.9 million dollar contract should sting.  That still does not fix all of the Knicks problems.  Their lack of drive and motivation might have been influenced by a diva of a player and a tyranical sex craved coach, but that team played (for the most part) like a team without focus and identity (much like a D-league team without the motivation)- this should still loom in the back of every Knickerbocker fan out there.  Still, if they can get Eddy Curry to rebound and their italian wonder kid to be half decent, we might have something here.

Our favorite Maverick forward is at it again.  Seriously, when is this guy going to realize that he is a moderately famous basketball player, and if he is on camera, that footage is bound to show up on the internet.  For those of you unaware of Howard’s latest controversial behavior, he was filmed “disrespecting” America’s national anthem.  This took place at an Allen Iverson charity football game recently, here’s the video:

I don’t care if what he said was wrong or not, people are entitled to their opinions, but saying it on camera and expecting it not to bite you in your ass is just damn foolish- last time I checked, Texas was a fairly patriotic state.  Mark Cuban has been working to clean up his image in Dallas this summer after his marijuana radio debacle (plus a couple of other incidents) and this isn’t really going to help his cause.  On the plus side, Dallas should do just fine on the ball court next year.