I love YouTube. It gives self-promoting high schoolers like “burdman33” the opportunity to showcase their own athletic feats. Here’s what he wrote about the following video:
Me sniping some newton north kid in the face.
That’s great. Succinct, yet descriptive. Now watch burdman33 snipe some Newton North kid in the face.
Kudos to the kid that stands up in the bottom right hand corner of the screen to get the crowd going.
Celtics 96, Lakers 89
I have to hand it to Doc Rivers. How many coaches would have had the balls to play a lineup that included Nate Robinson, Tony Allen, Rasheed Wallace and Glen Davis deep into the fourth quarter of a tight, must-win game against the Lakers? Ray Allen was the fifth Celtic on the floor, and at times he looked a little like Kelly Leak playing with the Bad News Bears.
That group started the fourth quarter, trailing 62-60, and slowly but surely built an 85-74 lead with 3:57 to play. There were points that Rivers sent Garnett/Pierce/Rondo to the scorer’s table only to pull them back to the bench after the aforementioned fivesome made a nice play to continue its run. This is not something we see often in the NBA because most coaches are afraid of their stars, but these Celtics don’t mind riding the wave with the bench when they are outplaying the other team’s starters. Ubuntu.
When Garnett/Pierce/Rondo did re-enter the game, Mark Jackson was concerned about their readiness to shoot when open, but these guys are pros (not to mention champions), and they answered the call. Well, Paul Pierce (19-6-5) answered the call. He scored five quick points, including a very suspect three-point play where he drew a block on Kobe. It looked as if Kobe got his feet set outside of the circle before Pierce left his feet, but the call went Pierce’s way. That’s why there’s such a thing as home court advantage.
With their backs to the wall, the C’s did what they needed to do in Game 4. Now they have to prevail in another must-win game to put the pressure back on the Lakers as the series heads back to L.A.
Photo from fOTOGLIF
In the first installment of this series, I covered the biggest names in this summer’s free agency bonanza, and it wasn’t too tough to try to peg down each player’s value. Now I’ll move onto #6 to #10 in my free agency rankings, and things get a little tougher.
Keep in mind that the “value” below each player’s blurb represents my prediction of what they’ll eventually sign for, not what I think they’re actually worth. But there’s a saying — something’s only worth what someone will pay for it — so there’s that.
Anyway, let’s jump right in:
6. Joe Johnson, SG
Age: 29
PER: 19.33
Comparables: Brandon Roy ($13.5 M), Andre Iguodala ($12.3 M), Kevin Martin ($10.6 M)
Johnson didn’t help himself much with a pretty miserable series against the Magic in the Eastern Conference Semifinals. I’m sure he’s looking for a max deal, and whatever team gives him one may regret it in a year or two. He’s already 29, and while he’d definitely be a good #2 for the next 2-3 years, he’s not a “max” player. He’s definitely going to benefit from all the cap space that’s available. Remember, my estimated value is what someone is willing to pay him, not necessarily what he’s worth.
Value: $17.0-$17.5 M per year (over five years)
7. Carlos Boozer, PF
Age: 28
PER: 21.42
Comparables: Amare Stoudemire ($17.7 M), Zach Randolph ($17.3 M), Josh Smith ($11.6 M), David West ($9.0 M), LaMarcus Aldridge ($10.7 M)
I have Boozer ranked ahead of Lee because he’s a slightly better player…when he’s healthy. He missed 45 games during the 2008-07 season and another 80 games from 2004-2006, so clearly he’s an injury risk. He is no doubt looking for a max or near-max deal, but with his durability issues and his reputation for being a less than stellar defender, he may find the going a bit tough in free agency. Still, there is sooooo much cap space out there that it’s hard to see him signing a deal for much less than the max.
Value: $14.0-$15.0 M per year (over five years)
The Carolina Panthers’ official website is reporting that receiver Muhsin Muhammad has announced his retirement. He’ll finish his career as the Panthers’ all-time leader in receptions with 696 and receiving yards at 9,255.
“Coaching Muhsin has been a pleasure,” said head coach John Fox. “He is the ultimate competitor, and you always knew he would give you everything he had. We shared some great moments, and his contributions were invaluable to the success we enjoyed. His receiving numbers reflect what kind of receiver he was, but he was also one of the best blocking wide outs to ever play in the NFL.”
“The first word that come comes to mind when you think about Muhsin is toughness,” said general manager Marty Hurney. “His competitiveness was contagious in our locker room. He was a dependable playmaker and a leader who brought very much to our team.”
I always felt that Muhammad was one of those players that never got his full due. He was a crafty receiver that always found ways to get past an opponent’s secondary, even during his final years when he had lost a step. He was the perfect complement to Steve Smith throughout the years (minus the three seasons Muhammad spent in Chicago obviously), and vice versa.
In other Carolina-related news, linebacker Thomas Davis is likely done for the year after he re-tore his right ACL during a recent OTA session. He tore the same ACL last November, but had been recovering ahead of schedule and was even recently timed at 4.47 in the forty-yard dash, which is excellent for a linebacker.
With Davis likely headed for IR, Jon Beason could slide over to the weak-side position with James Anderson starting on the strong-side. Panthers’ defensive coordinator Ron Meeks likes the action to flow towards the weak-side ‘backer, so Beason will get a ton of work this season. Either way, losing Davis was a huge blow to Carolina’s defense.
Photo from fOTOGLIF
Jake Peavy told Joe Cowley of the Chicago Sun-Times that he would ask for a trade if the White Sox decided to start the rebuilding process this season.
“I just want a chance to win,” Peavy said. “I believe it can happen here. I’m excited to be in the situation. Nothing’s changed just because we haven’t played well. I’m excited to be in a situation where you talk about it’s not going to be a rebuilding process. If that were the case, I would certainly try to be moved, but that’s the least of my worries.
“Obviously, something’s got to give,” Peavy said. “We’ve underachieved as a team, as a whole organization. I could not have imagined being in this situation at this point in the year, with what we came into camp with I was excited. Other than the captain [Paul Konerko] and Alex Rios I think everybody has had below their expectations this year. That’s unfortunate but the bottom line is it happened and you’ve got to be professional, you’ve got to battle through it and you’ve got to roll on. Like I said, we’ve still got a lot of baseball left to play and stranger things have happened as you know.”
I highly doubt that the GM Kenny Williams will blow everything up and start from scratch this season, even with the Sox’s current status in the AL Central. (They’re currently 9.5 games back of the Twins in the division and eight games below .500.) He may trade off one or two pieces, but that doesn’t mean that he can’t field a competitive roster in 2011.
The bottom line is that players have to step up. After turning in a promising performance last year as a rookie, youngster Gordon Beckham (.201 average) has really struggled this season. Carlos Quentin and A.J. Pirezynski also haven’t hit, and most of Chicago’s arms (Peavy, Gavin Floyd, Mark Buehrle, Bobby Jenks) have pitched like dung, too.
This club isn’t playing well right now, but even though changes are likely to be made, that doesn’t mean that Williams will dismantle the roster. When he traded for Peavy last year, he envisioned the former Padre headlining one of the best rotations in baseball. It hasn’t happened yet, but it’s only June of Peavy’s first full year with the team. Even if the Sox don’t compete this year, it’s doubtful that Williams starts over heading into 2011.
Photo from fOTOGLIF
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