Two Things!

In all my years of watching the NBA and playing NBA 2K-whatever, I have never been so pumped after the first few weeks of the regular season. To me, it has been a bit of a strange first chapter and as the season plays out, I hope that things become a bit more clear; unlike the NFL, where, apparently, no one is good and everyone is Super Bowl bound.

Here are a few of my astute observations:

1) Yup, I was right, the Lakers are good: At 8-0 they are the NBA's best team and have been fairly convincing while doing it. I realize that the Hornets are currently undefeated as well, but come on, they aren't a team, that's just Chris Paul destroying everyone! The LA offense is already in midseason form. They are currently first in points per game (a staggering 112.1), fourth in rebounds per game (46.1), and eleventh in points allowed (99.6). Keep in mind that the "points allowed" stat contains a lot of garbage time, second-unit minutes.

The big factor I see in this offensive resurgence is Lamar Odom. LO, already in shape and primed due to his World tourney tour, has been extremely efficient. Through eight games, Odom is shooting almost 63% from the field while averaging 15 ppg and 10 rpg. This gives him a strong Player Efficiency Rating of 19.1 as the third option on his team. Lamar moves the ball wall, defends well and rebounds; when you pair him with Pau Gasol, you are looking at, statistically, the top post duo in the NBA.

Oh and Pau Gasol is averaging 24, 11 and 5. Yup.

2) The Heat are...something: I find it interesting that the media is not freaking out now that the Heat have three losses. Well, it's probably good because they get too much coverage anyways, plus there is nothing to freak out about yet. I've heard that "Bosh is a bust," but you really can't buy all that. Personally, I feel that he's getting his ass kicked out there, especially defensively, I mean, Paul Millsap tore him up. Even though I'm not for the Heat winning it all this year and have enjoyed watching teams rise up against them, I'm not even close to saying they have glaring weaknesses.

On the other hand, they have glaring weaknesses. See my last blog.

The big three seem so uncomfortable out there, Wade and James are gelling a little bit, but  Bosh just looks left out and confused. I expect this to be fixed by All-Star Break.

Beat the Heat

We're through the first couple weeks of basketball this season and somehow, this is still the most intriguing season ever. It's like "The Decision" has single handedly changed the NBA and the levels of hate between teams. Think of these story lines: The Heat vs Everybody, Boston vs LAL, LAL vs. SEA-OKC, ORL vs. Boston and that's not even counting the resurgent Bulls.

The Heat, though they can no longer go undefeated, are widely expected to be the best team in basketball by the end of the year. Right now I believe the Lakers look like the best team in the NBA, and, as a surprise to me, Boston showed how teams CAN beat the Heat.

I know it was the first game of the season and it looked like Chris Bosh was about to shit his pants out of nervousness, but still, as a team, Boston played the same great defense that allowed them to not only take out Wade in the playoffs, but LeBron and Dwight Howard too. The thing that Boston does well is, they don't let your shooters get involved.

Look at the Magic last year. Dwight Howard's post game was virtually non-existent. Against Boston in the playoffs, the Celtics took away every aspect of the Orlando arsenal by following one simple philosophy: "Don't leave the shooters!"

If you watch closely, Orlando breaks down defenses by penetrating and kicking on bad rotations. This leaves all those shooters on the perimeter wide open. So instead of doubling on Dwight Howard and rotating to the open shooter, the Celts stuck with their man on the perimeter, effectively shutting down the Magic offense. 

With the Heat, I'm thinking that same strategy is going to work. The Celtics rotate so well that, if they do get caught out of position, they make up for it quicker than most teams.  With the Heat, the key has to be keeping the paint locked down. Wade and LeBron are going to drive and dish all day. Check that, LeBron is going to drive and dish, Wade is going to drive and get fouled, they have almost established this early on. Right now, it's too easy for LeBron and Wade to just dribble in and hit Bosh for a jumper or James Jones for a three.

Here are the five things defenses need to do to stop the Heat:

1) Sag off LeBron and Wade. Let them shoot jumpers all day! They're still going to be better than you, but these guys really start to get things going when they get in the lane. Neither of these guys are lights out from the perimeter so make them one dimensional by taking away the drive.

2) Be physical and stick on Bosh. Is LeBron driving to the hole? Yes? OK, are you guarding Chris Bosh? Yes? Alright, stay there. The worst thing you can do is try to help your teammate with a streaking LeBron on the way to the hole. One thing is almost guaranteed when this happens: the Heat will score. Either LeBron gets fouled and makes the bucket or Bosh hits an open jumper. The other thing that can happen? You stand in the way to take a charge. Good luck with that shit.

3) Deny D-Wade the ball. LeBron wants to spread the ball around. As long as you stay on Bosh and immediately deny Wade the ball, you've taken out the two other best options on that team.

4) Whoever is guarding Joel Anthony, DON'T GUARD JOEL ANTHONY! He may be the most awkward player in the NBA. I don't know why he even plays. I mean, they could get Mike Miller, Eddie House and Jerry Stackhouse, but they couldn't do any better than a terrible, undersized center to stand around and do nothing? There weren't any veteran players sitting around waiting to play? What can he do?! Either way, when you see LeBron with the ball, start coasting to the paint and be ready. First, cut off Wade, then cut off Bosh, finally stick to James Jones/Mike Miller. EVEN AFTER THAT do not guard Joel Anthony. At this point, you have LeBron with the ball and Joel Anthony open. That's the best possible situation.

5) Go big or go home. I like Chris Bosh, but he is being exposed early on. The Heat are going to need a lot of weak side help for big time post players. Every one should point to the Magic game in this situation because the Heat absolutely destroyed. Well, Dwight Howard is not that good of a passing big man and Rashard Lewis may not be a man at all, so they aren't a good example. Boston, the Lakers and even the Hawks have tough big men that can pass, so I expect them to do well versus the Heat. The key on offense is having a highly skilled point guard and two good big men.

Opening Night!

Finally! The night has come where SportsCenter replaces slow rolling ground balls with double-crossover, spin move, 360 windmill dunks! Opening night in the NBA is always great because it marks the one time people are really interested in basketball until the All-Star break. Admit it, you're excited to see LeBron, Wade and Chris Bush...Bash...Bosh...I don't know, he's not important...excited to see those three walk out on that WWE stage with all kinds of fireworks with the mellifluous sounds of Three-6-Mafia filling the arena. You'll scowl when you see Kobe recieve his fifth ring and make out with it for a couple minutes before throwing it away because he doesn't care about last year. You'll smile when you see Steve Nash step on the court just because he's so damn good and despite the fact that his time probably sucks, he's still going to give it 100% night in and night out.

How about a prediction:

Miami vs Boston
 Oh snap! The defending Eastern Conference champions are matched up with the Miami "Already won the championship for the next ten years" Heat! This is an awesome first game. First off, the Celtics are going to hate the Heat. I mean, they fight through injuries, criticism, team chemistry issues and all kinds of problems last year, make it the Finals, take LA to game 7 only to lose in the final minutes AND STILL they are second fiddle to the Heat.

 This team is gritty, proud and still very good. Also, it seems as if they are very rested up. A healthy Pierce and Garnett will only help Ray Allen get on track and Rajon Rondo is going to be very good regardless. Let's not forget the Big Leprechaun!  Shaq is not a fan of the Heat, he has played with both LeBron and D-Wade and remember, Shaq dropped that amazing "Chris Bosh is the Ru-Paul of big men" joke last year, which may have been the most underrated joke of all time.

I really don't see a way to predict this game. Last year, people wrote the Celtics off and didn't think they would amount to much. This year, the media has honed in on the Celtics and Heat being the top dogs in the East with the Magic as a darkhorse. So, maybe we're putting to much pressure on Boston this year?

The game: No one is going to be capable of stopping LeBron. If they put Paul Pierce on him, the Celtics can pretty much expect Pierce to completely die on the offensive end. Just look at the playoffs last year, same situation. The Celtics were eventually able to "stop" LeBron (and I mean "stop" because if you think LeBron from games 5 and 6 of that series was the same LeBron from the previous two seasons then you are out of your damn mind) by playing solid team defense. Unfortunatley for Boston, LeBron now has Wade and Bosh. I think Wade will be good, but I also feel like he's going to get injured chasing Ray Allen around.

Bosh versus Garnett is going to be good. I really feel like it's a bit of an even match up. Both finesse big men who can hit the outside shot and put the ball on the floor. I think Garnett is going to try to intimidate Bosh a little bit and he will probably wind up coming out the "winner." Garnett did a great job of guarding Pau Gasol in the Finals and is still great defensively.

This game is impossible to predict. ESPN's SportsNation poll has the Celtics winning. For me, not seeing the Heat play together, Wade's hamstring, Mike Miller being out and the Celtics just being a good team, I say Celtics win, but really have no idea, nor do I care.
CELTICS WIN
Boston 98, Miami 93

Wacka Flocka?!?!!

First of all, excuse this post.

Second of all, answer these questions:

What happened to Adam Morrison? Bust or bad situation?

Can Tracy McGrady be relevant?

Can the Nets finish above .500?

What team is going to take "the leap" this year?

Who will be in the finals?

And

Why is this season most intriguing?

Just think about these and I'll answer!

Back at it!

Sorry guys! I took a long hiatus to let football sink in, but now, we're already in the preseason and it's time to start making wild accusations and predictions which will probably turn out to be completely incorrect.

The first thing I'd like to do is give you my pre-season rankings. These are basically saying where I believe these teams are ranked coming into the season, not where they are going to end up.

1) LA LAKERS 
 The Lakers are the defending champs, brought back all their key players, brought back their hall of fame coach, and added to their team with solid veteran players. There is really no reason the Lake Show should not come back into the season with the title of "Best in the NBA."


2) MIAMI HEAT
 They're so good. It's ridiculous. It kind of hurts. Knowing that they have two potential MVP candidates (Chris Bosh was never a legit MVP candidate. Check the voting. I don't care) and somehow amassed a good collection of role players. They just need a point guard that can somewhat play defense and dribble at least 10 ft., already have Mike Miller to hit jump shots and threes and a slew of serviceable big men to clog the middle. LeBron and Wade are great on their own, but with another very good player like Bosh, this is just stupid.

3)  BOSTON CELTICS
  It was actually difficult to pick this spot. The Celtics are still good somehow. I think they're falling off and shouldn't win games. I mean, Paul Pierce just keeps getting fatter and slower; Garnett can't move that well anymore and Ray Allen has just fallen apart. They need to make some trades. SOMEHOW they still win and they will continually win until retirement. They need JO and Shaq to play decently until Perkins is at full strength. Mark my words, they will NOT be as good defensively due to the lack of Tom Thibodeau on the sidelines. His jump to the Chi is going to hurt the C's.

4) CHICAGO BULLS

 And here is where I tell you that the addition of Thibodeau on the Chicago sideline will launch the Bulls into the top tier of the NBA. They have one of the best guards in the league in Derrick Rose, a strong center with great potential in Joakim Noah and now a legit scorer to compliment the latter's defensive skills in Carlos Boozer. This team will be a strong contender and will be fired up to play the Heat. For some reason, they will have a glaring weakness in the playoffs and be eliminated in the second round. Damn. 

5) DALLAS MAVERICKS
  The Mavs are always good! I rank them this high because of their consistency and because they will now have  a full offseason together (with the additions of Caron Butler and Brendan Haywood mid-season) to get acquainted. Dirk is going to be great, there should not be any doubt about that. I think Roddy Beaubois is going to see some more PT as well with Jason Kidd steadily aging. The Mavs are due for one more big year and I think this is going to be the season when they are undoubtedly the best team in Texas. 

6) ORLANDO MAGIC
  I was one of many that were wholly underwhelmed by the Magic's seemingly early exit from the playoffs last year. Well, as it turns out, they are still a good team, but I feel they are the most overrated team in the NBA. Dwight Howard is a really good player, I knocked him last year because of his lack of post moves and mobility. Then I had to realize, he was putting up MVP numbers without a solid post game?! So this summer, he supposedly worked with Hakeem Olajuwon, the best offensive center ever in my opinion,  to step his game up. We all know last year Kobe and the Dream worked together and KB24s game added a whole dimension with those new low-post skills. Now Howard is no Kobe Bryant, but if he is FINALLY putting in the effort to be the unstoppable force everybody knows he could be, that's a good sign for South Beach's next door rival.

  Still, despite D.How being a great franchise player (maybe), this team really isn't that good. Vince Carter is terrible. Just a bad, bad idea. His entire career was built on him driving to the hole, finishing strong and initiating contact. Defenders would back off to stop the drive and that is when the man formerly known as Air Canada would rise up with a decent J and score without taking a damn dribble. Now, his already poor defense is exposed even more as injuries and age have caught up with him, he has turned into a jump shooter with little penetration ability and he pouts more than ever. His time should be split with JJ Reddick who showed he was more than a capable starter during the playoffs.  Jameer Nelson is the only other "piece" of the Magic puzzle I like. Otherwise, there are just a bunch of shooters standing around the perimeter not looking at Dwight Howard.

7) OKLAHOMA CITY SONIC STEALERS

  The franchise formerly known as the Seattle Supersonics looks to be in good shape this year with Kevin Durant's ridiculously talented, lanky ass leading the way. The key here is, do the other pieces pick it up as well? Durant got better during the offseason, he's played and won on the international stage and become more of a leader. He's the man. The thing with Durant is, can he be effective against all types of defense? For instance, last year he ran away with the  scoring title, but against Ron Artest's physical defense, he struggled badly. With Durant, his lack of strength is going to be a minor chink in his armor. This is what separates LeBron James from KD. LeBron will dominate any individual defender. KD still struggles with a guy that is smart and extremely strong. Lucky for him there's only about one defender that fits that bill in the NBA.

8) UTAH JAZZ
  The Jazz may have come away with the biggest steal of the offseason. It's not quite on the Pau Gasol level of steal, but it could be close. They lost Carlos Boozer. Great inside scorer, not a very good leader, injury prone, defensive liability. So what do they do? They get a bigger, younger and potentially better big man in Al Jefferson. He may be a weird fit for Jerry Sloan's fast motion, passing offense, but when you have a towering, strong scorer inside and arguably the best point guard in the NBA distributing the ball, I don't think it's going to be a problem. 


9) SAN ANTONIO SPURS
Aging, slow, boring. Still better than 3/4 of the teams in the NBA. If last year is any indication, we should know by now that discounting a team with championship experience, a great coach and good chemistry is just a stupid idea. Because once the playoffs roll around, those teams are the most likely to pull off an upset. Case in point, Boston and San Antonio. The Spurs should not have beaten the Mavericks last year. When I first saw that match up, I wondered, "How the hell did this happen?!" The Mavericks can finish with the second best record in the West and somehow wind up playing the Spurs in the first round of the playoffs? That may have been the worst first round draw ever and a huge case for a revamped playoff system. I mean, the Bulls sneak in at 41-41, with all due respect, the Bulls are a good team, but the Grizzlies could have given them a great series last year and they didn't even make it to the playoffs!

Rant aside, the Spurs look really good this year and I think Tiago Splitter is going to be awesome. Duncan is going to do his thing down low, and Splitter, the best big man not in the NBA, will be able to stretch the floor and add a great element to a well disciplined Spurs offense. San Antonio is going to be VERY good this year. From what I've read, Duncan is in amazing shape and has been working all summer. Ginobli is back to his old self and actually, when using metric stats, his efficiency and +/- has been better than Kobe Bryant's for the past 5 years. Tony Parker seems to be the only question mark, but I think being healthy and really showing the Spurs that he want so to be in SA is going to drive him back to being the great distributor and playmaker he really is.

10) DENVER NUGGETS
  I know, I know, tenth is pretty high for a team like the Nuggets, but I'm basing these ratings off of what I see currently and last year. As of right now, I see a team that finished 53-29, was tied for second in the league with a home record of 34-7 and added Al Harrington who average 17-20 points in the last two seasons.

We all know the situation with Carmelo Anthony. As of right now he is a Denver Nugget, and since he is a part of that organization, they must be rated a top ten team. When you combine the above elements, Anthony, Chauncey Billups and a serviceable bench, you get a top 10 team.


MORE RANKINGS COMING SOON!

Week 2 Picks

It's late. We're lazy. Everybody just wants it to be Sunday so they can go to church watch football. We decided that you guys need to know who we pick to win. So, quickly, here's the run down:

Pittsburgh at Tenesee
Lucas: Tennessee BJones: Tennessee

Philadelphia at Detroit

Lucas:Philly BJones: Philly

Arizona at Atlanta
Lucas: Atlanta BJones: Atlanta

Miami at Minnesota
Lucas: Minnesota BJones: Miami

Kansas City at Cleveland
Lucas: KC  BJones: Cleveland

Tampa Bay at Carolina
 Lucas: Carolina  BJones: Tampa Bay

Buffalo at Green Bay
Lucas: GB   BJones: GB

Chicago at Dallas
Lucas: Chicago   BJones: Dallas

Seattle at Denver
Lucas: Seattle  BJones: Denver

St. Louis at Oakland
Lucas: St. Louis  BJones: St. Louis

Jacksonville at San Diego
 Lucas: San Diego  BJones: Jacksonville

New England at NY Jets
 Lucas: New England  BJones: New England

Houston at Washington
Lucas: Houston  BJones: Houston

NY Giants at Indianpolis
Lucas: Colts  BJones: Colts

Baltimore at Cincinati
Lucas: Cincinnati BJones: Baltimore

New Orleans at San Francisco
Lucas: New Orleans  BJones: New Orleans

Switching Flows

Alright, so this has been primarily a basketball blog, but no more! I have an opinion on some things football so I'm going to get involved. With the season now officially underway, I feel that I have to throw out some last minute predictions and opinions, just to piss people off. Then I was like, "wait, why don't I just ask my friends to think of ridiculous things to say so that I can dispute everything?" Well that is exactly what I intend to do as I present to you, the

BJONES AND LUCAS FOOTBALL EXTRAVAGANZA .com

LUCAS' 5 THINGS HE'S LOOKING FORWARD TO:

1. The Pats will be back. Tom Brady, Randy Moss, Wes Welker, you know the names.

NOTHING TO SEE HERE. JUST VERNON DAVIS BEING HUGE

Bjones: Oooooohhhh yeah! I like this one. Tom Brady is a great quarterback and when you practice like a champion, you play like a champion. Brady is going to be an MVP candidate. Wes Welker was injured last year, so what? He's Wes Welker and he's a beast, give him the ball. Let's not forget Randy "Ya I Smoke Weed" Moss. The Boss is going to have a solid season catchin' footballs because it's a contract year and he wants to get that paper!

2. Adrian Peterson WILL still fumble at least 15 times. Watch.

Bjones: Oh God yes....He does that...

3. Chad Ochocinco and TO on the Bengals. I hope that something ridiculous happens with those two. They get pissed at each other because TO calls 85 a bitch for having a worse touchdown celebration. Or TO changes his name to "Ochouno."

Bjones: No way dude, they coexist in harmony, but they're going to have a bad season, Carson Palmer is going to get pissed, people are going to get tired of 85s antics and TO will have to ride off into the sunset. A failed experiment. 

4. Hopefully at least one of these teams will have a decent season for the first time in years: Lions, Browns, Rams, NOT THE SEAHAWKS, Redskins, 49ers. The Texans ought to make the playoffs this year.

Bjones: I have no beef with the Seahawks, just their fans. Until their fans quit talking the Seahawks into the Super Bowl before preseason starts, I will never support them. I do hope the Lions are good, and the Niners. I like Alex Smith, Crabtree is legit, P. Willis is going to be the best linebacker in the league and Vernon Davis is the most intense physical specimen on the planet.

5. Ben Roethlisberger coming back from his suspension. He'll likely celebrate his first win as a starter in week 5 or 6 by heading out to a bar, getting wasted, beating the shit out of some chick, crash his motorcycle, lose some teeth and an arm, go to jail, and get suspended again. But he has two rings...so it's cool.

Bjones: Exactly

Other Predictions

Richard Garza

1) The Saints will not make the playoffs

Bjones: I really don't get this, but I guess people have this thing about Super Bowl hangovers. Maybe Tricky Dick is basing this prediction solely off the Madden Curse???? I mean if Brees goes down, the Saints go down. How realistic is this prediction? I give it a thumbs up with %52. Not too weak, not outrageous.

2) The Packers will get scored on as much, if not more, than they score. 

Bjones: Ummmm....so they're not good is what you're saying? I don't know what this means. You sound like John Madden. Prediction Rating - D+

3) This is the year the Texans finally overtake the Colts.

Bjones: Hey, this isn't bad. The Texans are a good team, but I think we tend to overlook the Colts because of how boring they are. We never want them to do well because they are soooooo boring. They have no cool players, their uniforms suck and they're just annoying. What does Peyton Manning even spend his money on? Probably clothes at JCPenney. I dislike the Colts. Prediction Rating - B

Anthony Scales

1) The Lions win 7 games!

Bjones: People seem to like the Lions, not to win it all, but they just like them. I do too, they're only going to win 5 games though.

2) Brett Favre will not make it the whole season.

Bjones: Ya, I think this is probably true. Who knows though, nobody is allowed to hit the quarterback anymore.

3)   Green Bay and Baltimore in the Super Bowl.

Bjones: I'd love to see Ed Reed and Ray Lewis back in the Super Bowl. I think expectations are too high for the Pack this year. Someone is going to get hurt and all kinds of wacka flocka