Posts Tagged ‘Kobe Bryant’
Western Conference Playoff Preview – 1st Round
April 17th, 2010 | Author: ProfessorDunk
Western Conference
(1) L.A. Lakers vs (8) Oklahoma City
In what would have been otherwise easy series for Lakers, the late season slumps will most definitely translate into a grueling series against an up-and-coming Thunder. Only Lakers unraveling at the seams propel Thunder into the second round. However, I take Lakers due to their home court advantage. Will Kobe Bryant’s finger be an issue?
(2) Dallas vs (7) San Antonio
This one is tricky, just because of the disparity between the second and seventh team in the West is so miniscule, any of those teams has a good chance to move on to the next round.
Mavs midseason acquisitions of Brendan Haywood, Caron Butler and DeShawn Stevenson bolster their already solid offense. Haywood is the kind of center that Mavs haven’t had in a long time and look for him to be the difference maker.
Spurs have championship experience and they’ve been here time and time again. Gregg Popovich will find a way for his team to win, the question is are Mavs too strong this time around.
I don’t see how Mavs who have the home court advantage and have beaten the Spurs 3-1 in the season series will lose this one. But I wouldn’t totally count out the chances for an upset.
(3) Phoenix vs (6) Portland
Brandon Roy is out for the first round and he isn’t the only injured Trail Blazer. Any way, Blazers are too banged and are missing too many pieces to win this one. Phoenix is playing too well to lose. Nothing here indicates that Blazers will be able to win more than one game in this series.
(4) Denver vs (5) Utah
This would have been a great series if both teams were at full strength. Jazz have four starters that are either battling or are out with injuries: Carlos Boozer, Deron Williams, Mehmet Okur and Andrei Kirilineko.
AK-47 is the x factor in this series. If he comes back from his calf injury and will do a decent job guarding Carmelo Anthony, then Jazz will definitely pull what would be only listed on paper as an upset. Denver isn’t the same team that challenged the Lakers last year, unless Kenyon Martin returns at full strength and they play well under Adrian Dantley while George Karl is out.
Tags: Adrian Dantley, Andrei Kirilenko, Brendan Haywood, Brendan Roy, Carlos Boozer, Carmelo Anthony, Caron Butler, Dallas Mavericks, Denver Nuggets, Deron Williams, DeShawn stevenson, George Karl, Gregg Popovich, Kenyon Martin, Kobe Bryant, Los Angeles Lakers, Mehmet Okur, Oklahoma City Thunder, Phoenix Suns, Portland Trail Blazers, San Antonio Spurts, Utah Jazz | 
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Review: The Book of Basketball
March 15th, 2010 | Author: ProfessorDunk
Simmons’ The Book of Basketball delves into the depths of basketball history, starting with the pre-shot clock era and ending with the stars of the current millennium. All the while you get knowledgeable insight from one of the greatest basketball minds in the world.
The structure of the book, although not a straight narrative, makes it a very easy read. Though annotations give the impression of a basketball encyclopedia, don’t be discouraged by the countless footnotes.
One chapter discusses The Secret of basketball, another delves into the subject of who was better: Bill Russell or Wilt Chamberlain. The book also addresses the many “what ifs” of the basketball worlds, such as: What if the Detroit Pistons took Carmelo Anthony over Darko Milicic? What if Kobe Bryant signed with the Los Angeles Clippers in 2004? What if Atlanta Hawks took Chris Paul with the number two pick of the 2005 draft?
These are just a few of the “what if” scenarios; there are 33 in all. Along with that, the book provides a breakdown of every NBA MVP award since its inception, along with an analysis of its recipients. It names players who justifiably won the award, ones who should have.
You will find out who the greatest team in NBA history was. Along with who are the players in their primes that would represent Earth if its faith was ever to be decided in a game of basketball, something like: ‘92 Jordan, ‘77 Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and ‘05 Ron Artest.
I cannot forget to tell you that his book is 700 pages long. However, no need to panic, this number just seems quite large, but in reality reading the book is a breeze.
But the book doesn’t stop there. There are about 250 pages devoted to Hall of Fame Pyramid, which is basically a ranking of the players who would be in Bill Simmons’ revamped version of the Basketball Hall of Fame.
There is so much more to write about the book. Trying to condense 700 pages worth of information into 450 words is a task of infinite futility. If you like basketball then you will enjoy this book. If you love basketball, then you will wonder when Simmons is coming out with the follow up.
If anything, this book will become your basketball Bible to which you will be making countless references and maybe even quoting some of the passages in support of your beliefs. Thereby, solidifying Bill Simmons as a god of basketball knowledge.