2009 NBA Finals- First Impressions

(photo courtesy ESPN.com)

This could turn out to be the best Finals series in a long time. You have Dwight Howard vs. the LA front line- how will they matchup? Can Rashard Lewis slow Pau Gasol in the post? Kobe/Pietrus...tradition (LA: 30 Finals appearances) vs. young blood (just 1 for Magic)...The Zen Master vs. the Master of Panic

Just as Orlando presented numerous problems for the Cavs, they will do the same to the Lakers. Howard, who dominated in the paint during the regular season, should have his way inside. LA, especially with Bynum struggling, have no one who can match his size and strength. This we know.

What we don't know is how the Lakers will play Lewis and how the Magic will play Kobe. I assume we will be seeing a great deal of Lamar Odom to combat Orlando's big perimeter forwards and I can see Hedo really struggling against an improving Trevor Ariza. Kobe, just as LeBron did, should have no problem scoring this series.

Many critics are pointing to the Magic's 2-0 record vs. the Lakers in the regular season. Where normally this is a good predictor of future success, the Magic were led in both games by Jameer Nelson, who is out. In both games, the Lakers controlled the games until the final moments when Nelson was able to exploit Derek Fisher. Skip 2 My Lou is no Nelson. Here are the highlights from their regular season meetings:

(thanks to lalousse24 and kier0018)

I think the homecourt advantage is going to end up being the deciding factor the the Lakers. A lot of skeptics point out the purple and gold have lost 6 games so far in the playoffs; yet, they fail to point out that this Laker team hasn't lost two games in a row not only in the playoffs, but dating back into the regular season. They are too talented to be beat multiple times by the same opponent. With the 2-3-2 format, it makes it very hard for Orlando to win. There is no way they will beat the Lakers three games in a row at home; hell, it's almost impossible to beat them twice in a row.

I see the Lakers winning this series in 6 or 7. Expect more previews on the Finals in the upcoming days. This was just a taste...

2009 Pre-Draft Measurements

Thanks to DraftExpress, here are the official measurements for this year's draft candidates (I only included those that are first-round or are solid second rounders):




Name Height w/o Shoes Height w/shoes Weight Wingspan Standing Reach

Grevious Vasquez 6' 4.75" 6' 6" 197 6' 7.25" 8' 5"
Demarre Carroll 6' 6.25" 6' 7.75" 207 6' 10" 8' 9"
Derrick Brown 6' 7.5" 6' 8.5" 225 7' 2.5" 8' 11.5"
Sam Young 6' 5.25" 6' 6.75" 223 6' 10.75" 8' 9.5"
Terrence Williams 6' 5" 6' 6.25" 213 6' 9" 8' 7.5"
Marcus Thornton 6' 2.75" 6' 3.75" 194 6' 5" 8' 3"
Hasheem Thabeet 7' 1.25" 7' 2.5" 267 7' 6.25" 9' 5"
Jeff Teague 6' 0.25" 6' 1.5" 175 6' 7.5" 8' 2.5"
Taj Gibson 6' 8.5" 6' 9.75" 214 7' 4" 9' 1"
Jerel McNeal 6' 1.5" 6' 3" 190 6' 7.25" 8' 3.5"
Damion James 6' 6.25" 6' 7.5" 224 7' 0.75" 8' 10"
Danny Green 6' 5.25" 6' 6.5" 208 6' 10" 8' 7"
DaJuan Summers 6' 7.25" 6' 8.5" 243 7' 0.75" 8' 10.5"
B.J. Mullens 6' 11.75" 7' 1.25" 258 7' 1.5" 9' 3"
Tyreke Evans 6' 4" 6' 5.25" 221 6' 11.25" 8' 8"
Wayne Ellington 6' 4.25" 6' 5.25" 202 6' 6.5" 8' 4"
Demar Derozan 6' 5.5" 6' 6.5" 211 6' 9" 8' 6.5"
Austin Daye 6' 9.75" 6' 10.75" 192 7' 2.75" 9' 2"
Stephen Curry 6' 2" 6' 3.25" 181 6' 3.5" 8' 1"
Darren Collison 6' 0.25" 6' 1.5" 166 6' 3" 8' 0.5"
Earl Clark 6' 8.5" 6' 10.25" 228 7' 2.5" 9' 1.5"
Chase Budinger 6' 6.25" 6' 7" 206 6' 7" 8' 5"
Jonny Flynn 5' 11.25" 6' 0.75" 196 6' 4" 7' 11.5"
Blake Griffin 6' 8.5" 6' 10" 248 6' 11.25" 8' 9"
Tyler Hansbrough 6' 8.25" 6' 9.5" 234 6' 11.5" 8' 10"
Patrick Mills 5' 11.25" 6' 0.5" 175 6' 2" 7' 11"
Eric Maynor 6' 2.25" 6' 3.25" 164 6' 2.5" 8' 1"
Ty Lawson 5' 11.25" 6' 0.5" 197 6' 0.75" 7' 10.5"
Gani Lawal 6' 7.75" 6' 9" 229 7' 0" 8' 10"
James Johnson 6' 7" 6' 7.75" 257 7' 0.75" 8' 9.5"
Jrue Holiday 6' 3.25" 6' 4.25" 199 6' 7" 8' 4.5"
Jordan Hill 6' 9.25" 6' 10.25" 232 7' 1.5" 9' 0"
Gerald Henderson 6' 4" 6' 5" 215 6' 10.25" 8' 6.5"
James Harden 6' 4" 6' 5.25" 222 6' 10.75" 8' 7.5"
Dejuan Blair 6' 5.25" 6' 6.5" 277 7' 2" 8' 10.5"

Some observations:

• one of the things I always try to warn people about is putting too much emphasis on height. The game is not played from shoulder down; it is played w/ arms up and out. That's why someone like Tyreke Evans or Dejaun Blair are so impressive. Players with similar wingspans and heights are normally specialists; rebounding and defense are severly limited for players with these results.
• Thabeet, already enormous at almost 7'3 with sneakers on, measured out with an incredible 7'6.25 wingspan. There are many questions about his offensive game and focus, but none about his defensive prowess.
• Fans might be surprised to see players like Johnny Flynn, Ty Lawson, Patty Mills, measuring right around 6 feet. Nothing to be ashamed of- many of the game's best PGs (Chris Paul) were/are midgets.
• The biggest surprise had to be Taj Gibson. Being a Mayo and USC fan, I've watched him play a lot over the past few years. There's no way I expected him to be 6'10 in sneakers with a wingspan of 7'4. That will certainly help his shady draft stock...

Athleticism results coming up...

Funny Video

Got this video from another NTer's blog. (thanks ot Whatever's Clever spot, good shit my man). Anyways, this is hella funny...

Game 6- WCF

I can't stress how huge this game is for the Lakers. There are some teams (ie. Rockets) who you can take to a game 7. Denver isn't one of those, mainly because they are so up-and-down. LA should do whatever it can to end it tonight.

END OF FIRST QUARTER: Lakers came to play...took the early lead with everyone contributing...Ariza is locked in, thats a great sign. Melo, Billups- they all are sort of flat so far. In a way that's great, but you know in the second quarter that bench is going to get the building rocking. If the Lakers win the second quarter, they will win the game. LA 25 DEN 20.

8:41 Second: Exactly what I felt was going to happen...JR Smith is invovled, not a good sign for LA fans...their energy is picking up...the starters need to come back in ASAP Denver 31-30

By the way, this Kobe/Shaq Where Will Amazing Happen? commercial is CRAZY...

7:45 Second: Can a role player make a three...The Machine and Farmar missing wide open looks...the bench is doing what they do in the Pepsi Center, still they only up 1

1:00 Second: Wow, a good Lakers team showed up for a road game...Denver looks real shook/timid...they are flat, no doubt about it...without a dozen Lakers TO, it would be a 15 point game right now

Kobe just banged a rainbow corner 3 and then blocked Melo's runner at the buzzer...its 53-40 LA at the half...I said if we won that quarter, we will win. I can't see LA blowing this.

3:15 Third: Bill Walton's son is playing huge. Making open Js, took a huge charge on Smith...Kobe hitting, so is Gasol and Odom is active...you couldn't ask for more right now if you are an LA fan...Smith just hit a 3, Denver is on the edge right now- LA 79-64

END OF THIRD QUARTER: It is 83-67 LA. The Lakers just survived the final two minutes with the Mamba out after Kleiza and Smith had hit threes for an 8-0 Nuggets run...Denver made a couple of stupid fouls; one by JR Smith and one by Kenyon Martin where he just lost his mind for a second. The Machine w/ 4 big FTs to push it back up to 16. All they gotta do is finish this.

9:30 Fourth: The real Lakers are finally back...that dunk by Walton might've just sealed it...it is 90-69...it seems like they have taken the Nuggs hearts

8 Fourth: Denver just isn't even trying on defense...Kobe just walked down the left elbow for a dunk, seemed like it was over, but Denver just hit 3 pullups in a row (Smith & Anthony w/ a three and long two)...but KB just stopped the bleeding w/ an easy layup...LA 98-82 w/ 6:30 left

Two straight buckets for the best player in the game...KB eyed-up Smith and just wetted a corner three- it's 101-82 with just over 6 minutes left.

4:17 Fourth: It's over...3 straight Shannon Brown FTs and then a Smith missed 25-footer...108-85, ball game, two straight Finals Appearances...let's go, new ending this year...

Let's Take It Back

Happy Holiday to all today and much respect to all the veterans. I've been just lamping today, not doing much...perfect timing for some youtube.

Little bit of what I've been watching today (some old rap videos and of course, MJ):



It's crazy to see a young Money, before the Jumpman, before he was dropping 28 a game in his ROY season. You can see the work he has done on his J over the years; it looks pretty bad in this video. His form isn't too smooth. Dope video.



This is just a classic song. Off Heavy Ds Blue Funk, you had everything on here. The catchy hook, a dope boom-bat beat. Of course, Guru & Biggie & Busta Rhymes add to this joint. I actually hadn't heard this song for a few years before stumbling on it today. But that hook will never avoid me.



One of my favorite remixes of all-time. I threw this on here just cus I love Big's verse. Enjoy.

Graduation

Well, I finally did it. Time seems like it's gone so fast yet so slow. People can talk all they want about graduating and entering the real world and you can try to understand it from a student's vantage point. But, you never really know until it happens.

I'm not completely done with school, but it is definitely a different feeling.

So this is a big thank you to all my fam, friends, loved ones, anyone who helped me get to this point. It has been a group project. Love.

Kobe vs. LeBron

My favorite commercial currently airing. This could really be something special if they stick to the script...



And here's the originally in case you've been in a hole:

First Time Seeing The GOAT

Finally got to see NaS in person.

It was so hot-- I wouldn't be surprised if it was 90 degrees. Heads were just drenched by the end of the show.

But, $18.25 at Eastern Connecticut State, it was def. worth it. About five rows out for over an hour of The Message, Hip Hop Is Dead, Life's A Bitch, etc.

I Know I'm Late But Still...

This had me dying, man furreal....

Mike Vick's Official Plea

Rockets Show Up, LA Doesn't...Again

(photo courtesy of AP/Eric Gay)

Wow, the game today was a complete joke. An embarrassment for a team trying to win a championship. Artest didn't even play good-- he was 4-19 in 44 minutes.

The best offensive team in the L w/ 54 points after the third? That's pathetic. No team has ever frustrated me as much as this one.

They better get it together.

Eminem's Relapse

Well...he is finally back. Past the drug addictions, the weight problems, the inevitable battles w/ his mother and his on-off relationship with his wife, Eminem is back. Sort of.

I honestly didn't expect much from Relapse: all of the singles range from forgetable (Old Time's Sake) to extremely horrific (We Made You). But I have been pleasantly surprised. I've been giving this a fair listen for a day or two and while it lacks that special something from some of his past releases, it is worth a listen. Perhaps a purchase.

Best songs: Deja Vu, Medicine, Same Song & Dance, Underground & Hello