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I watched the Bird & Magic documentary on HBO last night.  If you are a basketball fan at all I would recommend checking it out.  You can get it On Demand and HBO will be showing it off and on for a while so plug it in to your Tivo.  Aside from just being about how great each player was it’s about their complicated relationship and how their careers and playing styles mirrored each other.  I had no idea that Larry Bird’s father killed himself and how difficult of a life he led until becoming an NBA player.  I really wish that I appreciated him more when he was playing.  I always rooted against him, and I’ll admit it was probably because he was white.  The documentary touches on this.  Boston was always considered somewhat of a racist city and because many of the Celtics stars of the time were white, they were very easy to root against.  None of this was Bird’s fault.  The documentary explains how he was basically color blind and paid no attention to the “great white hope” label that he was tagged with.  He didn’t care.  He was just a damn good basketball player known mostly as a shooter by the laymen, but was also an amazing rebounder and one of the best passers the game has ever seen.  I was more familiar with Magic’s story.  He wasn’t my favorite player and I never liked the Lakers, but I always admired him.  When I found out he was HIV positive, it’s one of those moments that I will never forget where I was like the 1989 Earthquake and 9/11.  I was a freshman in high school and it was just after one of my football games which I am assuming was a loss.  I was strolling off of the field when my Dad told me.  I remember breaking in to tears.  I didn’t totally understand why and at the time didn’t totally understand the difference between HIV and AIDS.  I thought that we were all going to be forced to watch the greatest point guard in history shrivel up and die before our eyes.  Luckily that didn’t happen.  Watching them recap this moment during the documentary choked me up a bit.  Anyway, these two guys changed the NBA and may have saved it from going the way of the NHL.  And if you’re not a basketball fan, it may still be worth the watch for the Arsenio Hall sighting and Bryant Gumbel thinking he’s a badass during one of the interviews.

Atlantic Division

1. Boston Celtics X
2. Philadelphia 76ers X
3. Toronto Raptors
4. New York Knicks
5. New jersey Nets

Central Division

1. Cleveland Cavaliers X
2. Chicago Bulls X
3. Detroit Pistons
4. Indiana Pacers
5. Milwaukie Bucks

Southeast Division

1. Orlando Magic X
2. Atlanta Hawks X
3. Washington Wizards X
4. Miami Heat X
5. Charlotte Bobcats

(X = playoff team)

Atlantic Division

Boston Celtics:

Regardless on if Kevin Garnett is healthy or not the Celtics should win this division fairly easily.  The thing that hinges on his health is how far they can go in the playoffs.  If he’s healthy they are title contenders, if he’s not they won’t make it out of the second round.  Rajon Rondo is an enigma personality wise but he continues to develop in to one of the league’s top point guards.  He always has an awkward look on his face and there have been non-stop rumors of him being a weirdo in the locker room and Doc Rivers wanting to trade him.  My guess is that he ends up staying on the team and playing like an All-Star.  Ray Allen is in a contract year and would like to put up some big numbers for one more big pay day.  If he can stay on the court he’ll keep shooting the lights out and get his money.  Paul Pearce continues to be one of the hardest working players in the league on both ends of the floor.  His years of being elite are dwindling, but he’ll still be up there this season.  What I am most curious about with this Celtics team is how good Rasheed Wallace will be for them.  You have to figure that he’ll be motivated to impress his new teammates and that he’ll be a huge help off the bench and starting when KG can’t go. Read the rest of this entry »

Pacific Division

1. L.A. Lakers X
2. Phoenix Suns X
3. L.A. Clippers
4. Golden State Warriors
5. Sacramento Kings

Southwest Division

1. San Antonio Spurs X
2. New Orleans Hornets X
3. Dallas Mavericks X
4. Memphis Grizzlies
5. Houston Rockets

Northwest Division

1. Portland Trailblazers X
2. Denver Nuggets X
3. Oklahoma City Thunder X
4. Utah Jazz
5. Minnesota Timberwolves

(X = playoff team)

Pacific Division

L.A. Lakers:

Unfortunately the Lakers appear to be the class if the West again this.  Some of the other teams made some moves which I think will make the conference more competitive at the top this year, but the Lakers still look like the best.  They essentially traded Trevor Ariza for Ron Artest which didn’t make a ton of sense to me.  At this point in their careers Ariza is the better defender, understands his role better and doesn’t fire up a ton of stupid shots.  With that said, Artest is more capable of taking over a game on offense in stretches if Kobe gets hurt or is in foul trouble.  I guess overall, I don’t see the change affecting their win/loss totals.  What Artest does give them is entertainment.  You add the leagues craziest player to a team that already has the league’s biggest douche bag (need I mention who that is?), it will be interesting how it all plays out.  Also in the picture is Lamar Odom’s new wife, the Kardashian sister who got the short end of the stick in the family genes department and we have the makings for one hell of a circus.  At the heart of this though, Kobe is still great and Pau Gasol is still one of the best big men in the game.  It will be interesting to see if Andrew Bynum can stay healthy for a full season and become the guy he has shown he can be at times.  This is one of the weaker divisions in the league; expect the Lakers to run away with it.  Hopefully when I write this preview in a couple of years I’ll be able skip putting an X next to the Lakers.  I really am tired of seeing their fans so damn happy. Read the rest of this entry »

Eastern Conference Predictions:

Atlantic Division:

1. Boston Celtics x
2. Philadelphia 76ers x
3. Toronto Raptors x
4. New York Knicks
5. New jersey Nets

Central Division:

1. Cleveland Cavaliers x
2. Detroit Pistons x
3. Chicago Bulls x
4. Indiana Pacers
5. Milwaukee Bucks

Southeast Division

1. Orlando Magic x
2. Miami Heat x
3. Charlotte Bobcats
4. Atlanta Hawks
5. Washington Wizards Read the rest of this entry »

When I started this site I expected to do some sports blogs.  It hasn’t really turned out that way.  With all of the movie stuff, it being an election year and so much to complain about; sports took a back seat.  Now with the start of NBA training camp I decided to do a team by team preview and predictions.  First up will be the Western Conference, then the East and lastly playoffs and award predications.  

This is how I expect the divisions to finish.  If there is an x by the team, I have them in the playoffs.  Feel free to post a message if you have anything to add. By the way, i was going to put links to player profiles for every player that I mention – but it was way too big of a pain. Sorry.

Western Conference Predictions:

Pacific Division:

1. Los Angles Lakers x
2. Phoenix Suns x
3. Golden State Warriors
4. Los Angles Clippers
5. Sacramento Kings

Northwest Division:

1. Utah Jazz x
2. Portland Trail Blazers x
3. Denver Nuggets
4. Minnesota Timberwolves
5. Oklahoma City Thunder

Southwest Division:

1. New Orleans Hornets x
2. Houston Rockets x
3. San Antonio Spurs x
4. Dallas Mavericks x
5. Memphis Grizzlies Read the rest of this entry »

I am back after a short hiatus.  Last weekend was my birthday and the opening two rounds of the NCAA Tournament.  I was too occupied by eating, drinking and basketball to get my ever growing ass in front of the computer to do anything other than check and see how I am doing in the many pools that I entered.  If you’re wondering, I’m not doing horrible.  I was also busy doing some things around the apartment such as putting together some back patio furniture.  I got the thing put together (with a little bit of help from my girlfriend), but not before it took a small chunk of flesh from the tip of my middle finger.  It’s not a terribly interesting story of how it actually happened, but it hurt like hell.  Aside from that it was a pretty solid weekend.  I took Thursday and Friday off so I could sit around and watch games all day.  The fact that my birthday lands during March Madness every year is fantastic.  I am pretty much given free reign to be as lazy as I want and watch basketball without my girlfriend telling me I have to clean something up, go on a walk or do whatever other chore she has in mind.  I have to hand it to her though; she took me out on Thursday night for a fantastic dinner at Nopa.  If you haven’t been there and live in San Francisco you have to try it out.  Great food, great drinks, great atmosphere and the service there is second to none.  Aside from dinner she gave me some very cool sunglasses and a new book about Woody Allen that I am very excited about.  She gave much more than this newly 31 year old deserves, and it’s very much appreciated.  After dinner we went and saw my friend’s band The Cons.  They play around the city every so often and are more than worth a look.  I would listen to them even if they weren’t friends.  Very good band.  The rest of the weekend was nothing to complain about either.  It was capped off by my friends taking me and another friend who happens to have a birthday the day after mine out for steaks at Izzy’s on Saturday night and a day with the family on Sunday.  I haven’t mentioned my thoughts on the tournament so far because I am about to get to that and I want to really lay on the excuses to why the site has been inactive.  So without carrying on any longer about stuff that you probably couldn’t care less about I will move on to what this posting really is about.  Read the rest of this entry »