Category: Fantasy Basketball (Page 94 of 274)

      Izzo is staying put…does this mean LeBron is leaving?

      June 16, 2010 /

      Per ESPN…

      Izzo rejected the NBA in part because he was unable to speak with James, although he did speak with people in his camp.

      “That was one of the key factors, 100 percent true,” Izzo said. “That was not the only factor. Was it a big factor? Sure.”

      James’ uncertain future will make for a difficult decision for any prospective Cavs coach. He is unlikely to tip his hand publicly before free agency begins July 1.

      I’m glad to see that Izzo is staying at Michigan State. Too many great college coaches go to the NBA and ultimately fail. It’s a different game, a different schedule, and a different level of ego. Most NBA players were the best players on their teams through high school and college; they think they know everything about the basketball and it’s tough to get through to them. That’s why you see so many coaches during those “Wired Up” sequences trying to motivate and cheerlead, while the players are staring off into the stands or up at the scoreboard.

      With regard to LeBron, we can read the tea leaves a little bit. LeBron wouldn’t speak with Izzo directly, but Izzo did sepak with “people in his camp.” Remember what I said about ego? LeBron won’t even take the time to talk to a prospective head coach for his “hometown” team. If he were leaning towards staying, I think he and Izzo would have spoken so that he could create the best situation for himself in Cleveland.

      Unless, of course, he’s not an Izzo fan, which seems somewhat unlikely.

      This sequence of events tells me that the chances of him leaving are greater than the chances that he’ll stay put. Either way, the next two weeks are going to be excruciating. This could last another month if LeBron holds the league hostage by dragging his feet making a decision in July.

      At least we have a Game 7 to look forward to on Thursday night.


      Photo from fOTOGLIF

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      The Finals, Game 6: A good ol’ fashioned ass-whuppin’

      June 15, 2010 /

      Ever since I saw the schedule for these Finals, I’ve been writing about how the aging Celtics would react to having to fly cross country and play on only one day’s rest. They looked sluggish in Game 3 after a quick turnaround from Game 2, and in Game 6, just two days after Game 5 in Boston, it looked like they never got out of the airport.

      This game isn’t quite over, but it has been decided. The Lakers’ defense showed up tonight and that helped their offense, which in turn kept the Celtics at a slower pace. Boston looked out of sync all night, and that was mainly due to the effort and positioning of the Laker defense.

      The Laker bench also played well — as of this post, the L.A. bench is outscoring the Boston bench 24-11.

      What else is there to say? Kobe needed someone else to step up and pretty much the entire team responded. Both teams are a man down — Kendrick Perkins played only seven minutes before suffering a knee injury, while Andrew Bynum only managed 12 minutes before the Lakers shut him down.

      Okay, now it’s a final: Lakers 89, Celtics 67.

      I would expect a much better effort from the Celtics in Game 7, mostly because they can’t play much worse. They’ll have a full 48 hours to read about how badly they played, while the Lakers will be riding high.

      It’s funny how the momentum in these seven-game series can change on a dime.


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      The state of the Lakers

      June 15, 2010 /

      Adrian Wojnarowski writes that Kobe Bryant was rightfully furious after the Lakers Game 5 loss Sunday evening.

      On his way into the losing locker room, the most angry man in the Garden was heard to bellow a spontaneous stream of curses into the ears of his Los Angeles Lakers. As the door slammed behind them, a witness heard Kobe Bryant(notes) screaming that he needed some-bleeping-one to make a stand with him.

      “We’ve regressed since Game 1,” Bryant confessed to Yahoo! Sports. “Our defense belongs on milk cartons in the last two games.”

      Everyone wonders how Bryant goes about these next hours until Game 6 at the Staples Center. On the eve of Game 1, Bryant told me how the development of these Lakers, their growth, allowed him to channel his aggression, his time, into his own game. Two years ago, Bryant said, the Lakers weren’t good enough to beat the Celtics. He hated losing to them, but he could live with it. This one, he’ll take to his grave. This one, he’ll never get over.

      All that screaming in the locker room, all that angst over a Game 5 that felt like ’08 again, and Bryant stopped walking and stood for a moment. He had to start building back these Lakers, building back the fragility of a defending champion on the brink of elimination.

      His eyes narrowed now, his lips stiffened, and Kobe Bryant would say late in this chase for a back-to-back championship, “Listen, if you told me at the beginning of the year that we’ve got two games at home to win a championship, yeah, I’ll take that [bleep].”

      There has always been an interesting dynamic between Kobe and his teammates. As long as they keep winning, he’s generally happy, but when the chips are down he lashes out like a black mamba. Certain people, like Derek Fisher, can take it as motivation and play a great Game 6, but I wonder how someone like Ron Artest, who hasn’t been in the foxhole with Kobe before, is going to react to the mounting pressure. It’s not just that the Lakers might lose, it’s that Kobe might lose, and that might be worse.

      What is going through his teammates’ heads when the game is on the line? Are they wondering if Kobe approves of this shot or doesn’t approve of that shot? Are they afraid to make mistakes for fear of the tongue-lashing that they’ll no doubt get on the way to the bench? Or do they somehow transform his criticism into toughness and good play?

      I guess we’ll find out tonight.


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      Steve Kerr out as Suns GM

      June 15, 2010 /

      Paul Coro of the Arizona Republic has the scoop.

      Kerr’s contract expires June 30 but he had been expecting and hoping to return until negotiations for his contract and an opportunity to return to television as a NBA commentator prompted him to leave the organization after three years as its GM, Suns Managing Partner Robert Sarver said.

      Kerr, who could not be reached for comment, reportedly was asked to take a cut in salary during negotiations.

      Owner Robert Sarver said that finances barely played a role:

      “I wouldn’t say it’s a big surprise,” Sarver said. “Television is what he did before he came on board. It’s a change of plans from during the season. It boiled down to a number of things, including lifestyle and the opportunity. I was hoping to have him back.”

      Sarver said the differences in financial negotiations played a “small part,” if any at all.

      It’s funny — I thought Kerr might be fired after the Marion-for-Shaq debacle, but he hung in there, unloaded Shaq and his monstrous contract, and put together a nice team that was playing Top 4 basketball at the end of the season. The Suns had great chemistry, and I’m not sure if that was on purpose or by accident, but Kerr was ultimately responsible.

      Being an NBA general manager is something of a dream job for me, but I can see how doing color commentary for the NBA would be a far less stressful occupation. Kerr won’t have fans dissecting his every move and there won’t be any “Fire Steve Kerr” websites out there clamoring for his dismissal.

      That said, whomever takes over for Kerr will have to hit the ground running. The Suns have a big decision to make with regard to Amare Stoudemire, who is looking for a max contract (and probably isn’t worth it).

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