The King Returns
Finally, LeBron is coming back to where it all began. After four years with the Heat, where he was arguably the most hated figure in sports outside of South Beach, LeBron became one of the most liked sports figures again by returning to Cleveland. I've been saying it from the start, and I think LeBron finally realized it too, that winning a single title in Cleveland will mean more than 20 titles in Miami. He is beloved there, in a city where their sports teams have either not been very good, or been bitten with bad luck in the postseason. Bringing a title to Cleveland would be like a Chicago born pitcher bringing a World Series title to the Cubs. Winning 20 with the Yankees wouldn't compare to just one for the hometown team.
As far as basketball goes, it instantly makes the Cavs a contender in the East, if not the favorite. Certainly Chicago, Indiana, New York, and possibly Washington will have something to say about that, but just consider the team that LeBron took to the Finals back in 2007. The other starters were Zydrunas Ilgauskas, Drew Gooden, Sasha Pavlovic, and Larry Hughes. If that group can make it to the Finals, then the current roster with Kyrie Irving, Anthony Bennett, Tristan Thompson, Dion Waiters, and new draft pick Andrew Wiggins have to be a shoe in for a top two seed. If Rose gets injured again (knock on every wood surface in sight), then the Cavs should be the undisputed favorite in the East. I think that with the youth of all these teams that the East could become a lot more competitive than people think with the 76ers being legitimate contenders in about three years.
The only downside I see to this move, and something that will be very interesting to see develop, is what happens if he doesn't find success. I expect them to make the playoffs every year he's there, so I'm not talking about them having a losing record (not going to happen). But what if they continuously lose in the first round or Eastern Conference Semis? What if LeBron plays out the entire rest of his career there and they don't win a ring? He already had trouble trying to get big name free agents to leave bigger markets to come to Cleveland. I just wonder how the city will react to a scenario like that. How long of a leash will he have in Cleveland before the fans turn on him? I'm guessing that they'll stick with him through thick and thin, but after winning back to back titles in Miami, the city of Cleveland will be wanting at least one ring before it's all said and done.
The Curious Case Of Chris Bosh
Bosh probably had the most puzzling free agent summer. Once the rumblings started of LeBron going back to Cleveland, and especially when it became a reality, it looked as though Bosh was headed to the Houston Rockets. It made perfect sense as Bosh was from Texas and would get to play with Dwight Howard and James Harden on a legitimate contender out West. Without LeBron, the Heat seemed destined for becoming a cellar dwelling team like they were before the Big 3 Era and after Shaq left. Instead, Bosh decided to go back to South Beach to play with Dwayne Wade minus LeBron. This is simply puzzling.
Perhaps he sees the East as easier to get through even on Miami versus the road it would take to get through the West in Houston. Maybe he's fallen so in love with the area that he would rather stay in Miami than move somewhere else. Whatever the reason, I don't think it will work out for either party. I think Bosh will be extremely disappointed in his choice as soon as a few months from now. The Rockets were really banking on Bosh joining as it looked like he was going to, so they really didn't make any other big splashes in free agency. Now they're left with the same squad that lost to the Blazers in the first round last year, and might even lose Chandler Parsons. I think the Rockets see a bit of a drop off this year and the Heat lose in the first round as a seven seed in the East.
'Melo Stays On Broadway
Similar to Bosh, I didn't really understand this decision from a basketball standpoint. Obviously if Melo were to come to the Bulls, he would have to take an extremely significant pay cut. Still, he's been getting paid since his days in Denver, but is in real danger of having a title-less career. If his legacy is above all else, then the Bulls had to have been a no brainer. The Knicks made it interesting signing the Zen Master Phil Jackson to run the team with Derrick Fisher as coach, but their current roster isn't striking fear into the heart of anyone. As it stands right now, I don't think the Knicks with Melo would beat the Cavs, Bulls, Pacers, or Wizards in a seven game series. With Melo on the Bulls, however, you could have legitimately talked about title aspirations, regardless of who would be coming out of the West.
The problem with the Bulls ever since Derrick Rose has arrived has been the lack of a proven, go-to scorer. Rose is commended for his slash and dash, aggressive style of play, but I really think it's because he doesn't trust anyone else to put up buckets in that offense. And why should he? Noah and Boozer have always been there, but no one that can drop 30 like it's nothing. Melo would have been that guy. I think it would have taken a lot of stress off of Rose, both physically and mentally, to have a shooter like Melo. He still would have been in a big market (Chicago), and he still would have had an easy road to the Finals in the East. It would have wiped the Knicks off as contenders and catapulted the Bulls ahead of the Cavs.
Unfortunately, things don't always work out the way we want them to. Melo is back in New York and should, with Jackson's guidance, take the Knicks back to the playoffs. A deep run is unlikely though. The Bulls meanwhile, must pray that Doug McDermott plays as well for the Bulls as he did for Creighton. His defense needs a lot of work, but he is an unquestioned offensive threat. Still, praying for McDermott's success is a much riskier adventure than knowing that Melo would be wearing a Bulls jersey this year.
Who Are These Lakers?
Lakers. Yankees. Cowboys. Some teams just have histories and reputations that will not die. The Yankees can pretty much pick and choose their players in free agency, as they are an international brand. The Cowboys are America's Team and are publicly relevant even when they have a down year. The Lakers have experienced sustained success for years and years in a flashy, big market with legends upon legends, and championships upon championships. So what has happened recently that they're not even the premier team in LA anymore? Give credit to the Clippers as they finally started making smart draft picks and personnel moves to build what they have now. The Lakers, however, seem to have lost their way.
You're telling me that in this stacked free agency pool that the Lakers couldn't get anybody?! They got Jeremy Lin in a trade with the Rockets, but Lin has cooled off since Linsanity in New York, and even lost his starting job last year to Patrick Beverley. Then, to make it look like they did something significant, they resigned Nick Young to a new contract. This is the same Nick Young who has already been on four NBA teams and is the architect of some of the dumbest plays I've ever seen. His 17.9 point per game average may have led the Lakers, but someone had to score the ball with Kobe out, and his 43.5% shooting percentage was good for 89th among qualified players. Even giving him the benefit of the doubt, is Young who you want to bank the future of the Lakers on?
Despite the nice draft pick of Julius Randle out of Kentucky, they also lost long time Laker Pau Gasol. It seems like the Lakers are rebuilding at a time when Kobe Bryant is entering the final stages of his career. Bryant is competitive enough that he doesn't want to spend the next several years trying to build up young players, he wants to win now. Supposedly they were the favorites to land Melo for a day or two, but something happened that completely ruined that prospect as Melo narrowed it down to Chicago and New York. They also swung and missed on Phil Jackson before hiring Mike D'Antoni. That worked out real well. Whatever is going on in Laker Land, they better get it fixed. Kobe clearly wants to stay a Laker and it would be good for the NBA, and a longtime veteran like Kobe if the Lakers were contenders once again.
No TV Special For These Guys, But They Still Can Help
As the big names in free agency picked teams, there were a few others that went unnoticed, but could wind up helping their team. The first one was Paul Pierce going to Washington. At age 36, Pierce is obviously not the player he once was, but add him to an improving Washington squad who pushed the Pacers to six in the Eastern Conference Semis, and you have a nice offensive piece. He'll be a good veteran presence to have around youngsters John Wall and Bradley Beal. This was just a small blip now, but I think this will help them perform better in the postseason.
Luol Deng was a two time All-Star with the Chicago Bulls and, after a partial season in Cleveland, is taking his talents to South Beach. Obviously he's not going to replace LeBron, but he can certainly help to provide some of the scoring left by King James. Without him, the Heat are a borderline playoff team, but with him, I think they will definitely get in. Miami fans won't be pleased that he is the consolation prize after LeBron left, but he should give them decent production.
In a move that flew really under the radar because of the teams involved, the Suns were able to get Isaiah Thomas in a sign and trade with Sacramento. This was an outstanding trade for Phoenix as Thomas averaged 20.3 points per game and 6.3 assists per game last season with the Kings. He now joins a back court with Goran Dragic and Eric Bledsoe to try and get the Suns into the playoffs. They really deserved to be in last year, but unfortunately are a part of the Western Conference. Had they been in the East, they would have finished tied for third. The West is stacked from top to bottom, but I think with the Suns roster, they should be playoff bound and might even upset a team or two along the way.
Da Bulls
I'm not sure if I'm happier about getting Pau Gasol or getting rid of Carlos Boozer. Obviously Melo would have been the best of the bunch to come to Chicago, but you can't win 'em all. In all honesty, for all the hate Boozer has gotten the past couple years, he's actually done a pretty nice job with the Bulls. He brings a big body who can score, and plays with heart and emotion which is what the rallying cry of the Bulls is. Still, his defensive game is lacking and Taj Gibson has overtaken him in that regard. Boozer would be pulled in the fourth quarter if the game was close in favor of Gibson. That won't be an issue with Gasol.
Gasol not only plays better defense than Boozer, he's also a better passer. He's probably a better passer than anyone on the Bulls outside of Rose. He's got a great mid range game, and can still finish close to the bucket. It might seem like overkill at the position with Gibson and Noah there already, but Gasol is more of a complimentary piece. Gasol hasn't played a full season since the 2010-11 season and, at age 34, is starting to show signs of age. That is perfectly fine. Similar to what the Spurs do with Tim Duncan nowadays, the Bulls will be able to get away with playing Gasol sparingly in the regular season, then unleashing him in the playoffs. The Bulls made the playoffs sans Rose and Gasol this past year, so rest for both of them wouldn't be the worst thing in the world. His passing makes everyone around him better and he should make for a significant piece in the postseason.
One concern that is bothering me about the Bulls, similar to the Lakers, is their inability to draw in the big ones. Gasol is nice and all, but he wasn't the big prize. Even going back to "The Decision" with LeBron. Up until that special, the Bulls were still in the mix for LeBron. Chicago is a big market, and if the Big 3 were to set up shop in Chicago, then Wade would be back home as well. This year, we were once again in the running for a big name free agent in Carmelo Anthony. Once again, we let him slip away. The circumstances this time around were much more difficult on the Bulls' end due to salary cap concerns, but players do drastic things to win championships. I like the talent the Bulls have now and think they've done a great job building up this team. Still, the Bulls will once again go through this season without a proven, knock it down shooter. McBuckets has potential, but that doesn't mean anything until you put the ball in the basket.
Matty O
Sunday, July 13, 2014
Saturday, July 12, 2014
World Cup Final Preview
How They Got Here
Germany
Won Group G. Defeated Algeria 2-1 in Round of 16. Defeated France 1-0 in Quarterfinals. Defeated Brazil 7-1 in Semifinals.
Argentina
Won Group F. Defeated Switzerland 1-0 in Round of 16. Defeated Belgium 1-0 in Quarterfinals. Defeated Netherlands 4-2 in penalty shootout, 0-0 regulation in Semifinals.
How Germany Can Win
As simple and cliche as it sounds, all Germany needs to do is keep doing what they've been doing. They've dominated at times this tournament and have only experienced struggles against the two African nations they have faced (Ghana and Algeria). Thankfully for the Germans, Argentina is in South America. Their last game against a South American nation went pretty well. The final score of the Brazil game looked ugly, but to be honest, it appeared as though Brazil kind of quit after the third goal. I doubt they get that much open space and free running against Argentina as they did against Brazil in the final 60 or so minutes of that game. Still, their first three goals when Brazil was still mentally and emotionally in it, exemplified how the Germans have played at this World Cup.
Germany has thrived on precision passing and taking advantage of other teams' mistakes. Unlike a Brazil, who heavily relied on Neymar for possession and offense, Germany seems to distribute the load evenly. As far as goals go, Thomas Muller and Miroslav Klose have certainly seen their fair share of them this tournament, but you never got the sense that they were the sole reason for the Germans winning. They also have the depth to go with different lineups depending on their opponent. The fact that players like Klose, Mario Gotze, and even Bastian Schweinsteiger have all been subs at this Cup tells you a lot about their depth.
Germany just needs to continue with their attacking possession and, obviously, contain Lionel Messi. Contrary to popular belief, Argentina do have other weapons besides Messi that can kill you, but Messi certainly makes it much easier on all of them. Teams have done a fairly good job of containing him this World Cup and the German midfield will be the best he's faced yet. Still, all it takes is that one moment when you fall asleep and then the ball is in the back of the net.
How Argentina Can Win
As I mentioned before, Argentina is not a one trick pony. That would be Portugal (looking at you Christiano Ronaldo). Argentina has skilled players all over the pitch, particularly up front. The three striker rotation of Gonzalo Higuain, Rodrigo Palacio, and Sergio Aguero may be the best collection of forwards on one team of any in the World Cup. Another piece of good news for Argentina is that their defense has peaked at just the right time. They have yet to allow a non-penalty shootout goal in the knockout stages against the Swiss, Belgium, and the Dutch. To be fair, the Swiss are not known for their offense and Belgium underachieved all tournament, but holding the Dutch scoreless for a full 120 minutes without giving up many good chances was incredible. They'll need their defense to come up big once again.
Despite the other weapons, Messi's performance has to be where Argentina's hopes are either realized or destroyed. Messi will have more pressure on him than anyone else in this game by a long shot. He continues to battle unfair comparisons to Diego Maradona, who is a legend in Argentina thanks to his 1986 World Cup winning performance (five goals, five assists). Given Messi's club success and skill in general, it would be a major disappointment if he were to not win a Cup for Argentina. His Argentine team has been ousted in the quarterfinals the past two World Cups, so people are looking at this chance as his best. While I don't think he needs to play at a superstar level to win, I do think that if he plays poorly, that Argentina will lose and lose big.
If Argentina can beat back the waves of German attack that they will see on Sunday, then I think they have a shot. They're a very fast and quick team, but it's a controlled fast. Compare that to Brazil, who is also fast, but quite reckless in the process. Sometimes it works for the Brazilians, other times, like when David Luiz hung his defense out to dry multiple times in the semifinal, it can be costly. Argentina's counterattack will go a long way in helping them to win this match. If there is a weakness to be found in the German squad it is their defense. While they do have one of the best goalies in the world in Manuel Neuer in net, it won't mean much if they give up open looks. It will certainly be an uphill battle for Messi and Argentina, but all it takes is one moment, one mistake, to win a soccer game.
Prediction
Germany 3 - Argentina 1
I think this will be a great game of two nations with storied soccer histories battling it out. I think Argentina gets their fair share of chances and even puts one home. Their defense has been playing well, but Germany has been clinically dissecting defenses all tournament. I think it's 2-1 by the time the 70th minute rolls around and Germany gets their third on the counter as Argentina is forced to push men forward.
Be sure to catch the final, Sunday on ABC at 2pm central!
Matty O
Germany
Won Group G. Defeated Algeria 2-1 in Round of 16. Defeated France 1-0 in Quarterfinals. Defeated Brazil 7-1 in Semifinals.
Argentina
Won Group F. Defeated Switzerland 1-0 in Round of 16. Defeated Belgium 1-0 in Quarterfinals. Defeated Netherlands 4-2 in penalty shootout, 0-0 regulation in Semifinals.
How Germany Can Win
As simple and cliche as it sounds, all Germany needs to do is keep doing what they've been doing. They've dominated at times this tournament and have only experienced struggles against the two African nations they have faced (Ghana and Algeria). Thankfully for the Germans, Argentina is in South America. Their last game against a South American nation went pretty well. The final score of the Brazil game looked ugly, but to be honest, it appeared as though Brazil kind of quit after the third goal. I doubt they get that much open space and free running against Argentina as they did against Brazil in the final 60 or so minutes of that game. Still, their first three goals when Brazil was still mentally and emotionally in it, exemplified how the Germans have played at this World Cup.
Germany has thrived on precision passing and taking advantage of other teams' mistakes. Unlike a Brazil, who heavily relied on Neymar for possession and offense, Germany seems to distribute the load evenly. As far as goals go, Thomas Muller and Miroslav Klose have certainly seen their fair share of them this tournament, but you never got the sense that they were the sole reason for the Germans winning. They also have the depth to go with different lineups depending on their opponent. The fact that players like Klose, Mario Gotze, and even Bastian Schweinsteiger have all been subs at this Cup tells you a lot about their depth.
Germany just needs to continue with their attacking possession and, obviously, contain Lionel Messi. Contrary to popular belief, Argentina do have other weapons besides Messi that can kill you, but Messi certainly makes it much easier on all of them. Teams have done a fairly good job of containing him this World Cup and the German midfield will be the best he's faced yet. Still, all it takes is that one moment when you fall asleep and then the ball is in the back of the net.
How Argentina Can Win
As I mentioned before, Argentina is not a one trick pony. That would be Portugal (looking at you Christiano Ronaldo). Argentina has skilled players all over the pitch, particularly up front. The three striker rotation of Gonzalo Higuain, Rodrigo Palacio, and Sergio Aguero may be the best collection of forwards on one team of any in the World Cup. Another piece of good news for Argentina is that their defense has peaked at just the right time. They have yet to allow a non-penalty shootout goal in the knockout stages against the Swiss, Belgium, and the Dutch. To be fair, the Swiss are not known for their offense and Belgium underachieved all tournament, but holding the Dutch scoreless for a full 120 minutes without giving up many good chances was incredible. They'll need their defense to come up big once again.
Despite the other weapons, Messi's performance has to be where Argentina's hopes are either realized or destroyed. Messi will have more pressure on him than anyone else in this game by a long shot. He continues to battle unfair comparisons to Diego Maradona, who is a legend in Argentina thanks to his 1986 World Cup winning performance (five goals, five assists). Given Messi's club success and skill in general, it would be a major disappointment if he were to not win a Cup for Argentina. His Argentine team has been ousted in the quarterfinals the past two World Cups, so people are looking at this chance as his best. While I don't think he needs to play at a superstar level to win, I do think that if he plays poorly, that Argentina will lose and lose big.
If Argentina can beat back the waves of German attack that they will see on Sunday, then I think they have a shot. They're a very fast and quick team, but it's a controlled fast. Compare that to Brazil, who is also fast, but quite reckless in the process. Sometimes it works for the Brazilians, other times, like when David Luiz hung his defense out to dry multiple times in the semifinal, it can be costly. Argentina's counterattack will go a long way in helping them to win this match. If there is a weakness to be found in the German squad it is their defense. While they do have one of the best goalies in the world in Manuel Neuer in net, it won't mean much if they give up open looks. It will certainly be an uphill battle for Messi and Argentina, but all it takes is one moment, one mistake, to win a soccer game.
Prediction
Germany 3 - Argentina 1
I think this will be a great game of two nations with storied soccer histories battling it out. I think Argentina gets their fair share of chances and even puts one home. Their defense has been playing well, but Germany has been clinically dissecting defenses all tournament. I think it's 2-1 by the time the 70th minute rolls around and Germany gets their third on the counter as Argentina is forced to push men forward.
Be sure to catch the final, Sunday on ABC at 2pm central!
Matty O
Wednesday, July 2, 2014
ESPYS 2014
Best Male Athlete
Nominees: Miguel Cabrera, Kevin Durant, Floyd Mayweather, Peyton Manning
Winner: Peyton Manning
I was tempted to put Mayweather here as he won two title matches since the last ESPYS in convincing fashion. Manning's offensive explosion and NFL records, however, swayed me. While Manning might not have won the title in his sport, he did win his 5th NFL MVP award, something no one else has done, and set the record for most passing TDs and yards in a season. Manning led the Broncos to a 13-3 record as they scored 10 more points per game than the next closest team (Broncos had 37.9 PPG, Bears and Patriots had 27.8). Manning's efficient play calling and passing skills also helped Knowshown Moreno and Eric Decker receive healthy contracts in free agency. The Super Bowl may not have gone as well as he would have liked, but you can bet he'll be on a revenge tour this year to capture another title.
Best Female Athlete
Nominees: Maya Moore, Ronda Rousey, Mikaela Shiffrin, Breanna Stewart
Winner: Ronda Rousey
Rousey has not only broken down barriers in mixed martial arts (MMA) for women, but she's also really good at what she does. She had been in Strikeforce prior to this past year and even won a bronze medal in Judo at the 2008 Beijing Olympics, but her popularity really took off since she joined the UFC. Since the 2013 ESPYS, she has gone 2-0 in title defenses, headlined a UFC pay-per-view event (UFC 170), got to be one of the coaches on Season 18 of The Ultimate Fighter, and is co-headlining UFC 175 this Saturday. She is 9-0 in her MMA career and has established herself as one of the most dominant people in their respective sport.
Best Team
Nominees: Boston Red Sox, LA Kings, San Antonio Spurs, Seattle Seahawks, UConn Women's Basketball, Florida State Football
Winner: San Antonio Spurs
The Spurs win this category hands down. The Spurs, once again, wound up with the best record in the NBA playing in the far superior Western Conference. During the postseason, they had nine players play all 23 games, and all of them averaged more than 15 minutes per game. The Spurs were pushed to seven in the first round against the Mavs thanks to Vince Carter becoming half man, half amazing once again. Then, they steamrolled the Blazers in a series where Portland was lucky to even win a game. In the Western Conference Finals, they used home court advantage to crush MVP Kevin Durant and the Thunder in San Antonio, then wrap it up in Game 6 in overtime in OKC. The much hyped Heat series became a stroll in the park as they won rather easily in five games. They were dominant throughout the year and have a bright future with 23 year old Kawhi Leonard winning the NBA Finals MVP.
Best Comeback
Nominees: Josh Beckett, Sidney Crosby, Dominic Moore, Russell Westbrook
Winner: Josh Beckett
Unlike the other guys on this list, Beckett looked bad before he missed time with an injury or other leave of absence (Moore missed time due to the passing of his wife). Beckett came over from Boston to the Dodgers in 2012, but was never able to capture that same Boston magic. In 2013, he only started eight games for LA and saw his ERA balloon to 5.19, his highest for a full season since 2010. This season, however, Beckett is pitching much better. Despite a 5-5 record, Beckett has his ERA back down to 2.37 and threw his first career no hitter this year back on May 25th against the Phillies. If he stays in form, this Dodgers team will be a terror to play in the postseason as the first four games they can send out Clayton Kershaw, Zack Greinke, Hyun-Jin Ryu, and Beckett.
Best Breakthrough Athlete
Nominees: Nick Foles, Damian Lillard, Richard Sherman, Masahiro Tanaka
Winner: Nick Foles
This one is a true toss up, although the argument could be made that Lillard and Sherman both truly broke through prior to last year's ESPYS (last year's category was stacked with Colin Kap, Russell Wilson, Johnny Manziel, Mike Trout, and Yasiel Puig). What Foles did once he got the starting job was nothing short of spectacular. The Eagles were 1-3 before Foles took over at QB, but he turned the team around as they went 9-2 under him (he missed one game due to injury) and won the NFC East title. He threw for 27 TDs and only 2 interceptions as he helped provide some legitimacy to Chip Kelly's high octane, high speed offense.
Best Championship Performance
Nominees: Kawhi Leonard, David Ortiz, Jimmie Johnson, Shabazz Napier
Winner: Shabazz Napier
The Spurs and Leonard may have had the best team, but Napier was the most impressive in each person's respective postseason. Napier led the 7th seeded UConn Huskies on an incredible run from the seven seed all the way to National Champions. Along the way, they had to beat (10) St. Joseph's, (2) Villanova, (3) Iowa State, (4) Michigan State, (1) Florida, and (8) Kentucky. Shabazz led the Huskies in scoring in four of those games, including a 22 point performance to lead all players in the National Title game while playing 39 of the 40 minutes. He had good players around him in Ryan Boatright and DeAndre Daniels, but Napier led the way and was the heart of that team. Deservedly, he won the Final Four Most Outstanding Player Award.
Best Game
Nominees: Auburn Tigers vs Alabama Crimson Tide, Kansas City Chiefs vs Indianapolis Colts, New York Rangers vs LA Kings Game 5
Winner: Chiefs vs Colts
This was probably the toughest call to make as I kept going back and forth between Chiefs/Colts and Auburn/'Bama. It really is #1 and #1a. The ending of Auburn/'Bama might have been better, but the entirety of the game has to go to Chiefs/Colts. In this game, we got to see why Andrew Luck is the king of 4th quarter comebacks. Unfortunately, it's because the Colts are so bad the first three quarters. The Chiefs pounded the Colts in the first half as Indy turned it over twice and found themselves down 31-10 going into halftime. Still plenty of time to catch up. Problem is on the very first play in the 3rd quarter, Luck threw an interception at his own 18 yard line. Three plays later and it's 38-10 and I changed the channel. Even when the Colts got it down to 38-24, Luck threw another interception right after the Chiefs went three and out.
Going into the 4th, the Colts got it down to 10, but still needed some help. They got it in the form of one of the luckiest bounces ever. Donald Brown, halfback for the Colts, took a dive up the middle only to be stripped at the goal line. Luck, having just handed the ball off, saw the ball bounce right to him as he lowered his own shoulder and dove into the end zone to make it a 41-38 game. Lucas Oil was rocking and that's when you really started to think that they might actually pull this one out. After another Chiefs field goal, Luck connected on a bomb to TY Hilton with 4 minutes left to give the Colts a 45-44 lead. The Colts held on to conclude one of the wildest comebacks and games I have ever seen.
Best Upset
Nominees: UConn wins NCAA title, Mercer Beats Duke, Chris Weidman Beats Anderson Silva
Winner: Weidman Beats Silva
From 2006 when Silva joined the UFC to October 2012, his last win in the UFC, Silva was probably the most dominant person in his sport in terms of record and ease with which he beat his opponents. During that stretch, he went 16-0 while beating some of the best names that the UFC had to offer. He held the UFC Middleweight Title that entire stretch and was only taken to the 5th (final) round three times. Every time Silva had a match the UFC would have to talk and hype up his competitor to get people to watch, but in truth it was over before the fight even began. He would head bob, fight with his hands down, and attempt moves that other fighters would never try. Ironically, it was his cocky hands down fighting that cost him. Weidman kept pressing the issue, and finally caught him in an exchange where Silva tried to out quick him rather than out fight him. It was a monumental upset, as Weidman has gone on to beat Silva a second time due to a nasty leg injury (warning: graphic). It was the first fight, however, that got the title out of Silva's hands for the first time in eight years.
Best Moment
Usually they have this as a category, but last time I checked the site they don't have it up to vote on though I could have sworn it was up about a week ago. My guess is that they are redoing the poll as one of the nominees probably had to do with the US Soccer Team at the World Cup. That's my guess, but it should be available to vote on in the near future.
Just off the top of my head, one moment that I thought was awesome was Martin St. Louis' comeback after the death of his mother. She died just three days prior to Mother's Day while the Rangers were in the middle of their second round series with the Penguins. The Rangers rallied around St. Louis and came back from a 3-1 series deficit to beat the favored Penguins in seven games. They used this momentum to carry them past Montreal in the Conference Finals before falling in five to the Kings. St. Louis is one of those old, grizzled veterans, respected around the league by fans and players alike so it was nice to see him and his team respond in a positive way.
Matty O
Nominees: Miguel Cabrera, Kevin Durant, Floyd Mayweather, Peyton Manning
Winner: Peyton Manning
I was tempted to put Mayweather here as he won two title matches since the last ESPYS in convincing fashion. Manning's offensive explosion and NFL records, however, swayed me. While Manning might not have won the title in his sport, he did win his 5th NFL MVP award, something no one else has done, and set the record for most passing TDs and yards in a season. Manning led the Broncos to a 13-3 record as they scored 10 more points per game than the next closest team (Broncos had 37.9 PPG, Bears and Patriots had 27.8). Manning's efficient play calling and passing skills also helped Knowshown Moreno and Eric Decker receive healthy contracts in free agency. The Super Bowl may not have gone as well as he would have liked, but you can bet he'll be on a revenge tour this year to capture another title.
Best Female Athlete
Nominees: Maya Moore, Ronda Rousey, Mikaela Shiffrin, Breanna Stewart
Winner: Ronda Rousey
Rousey has not only broken down barriers in mixed martial arts (MMA) for women, but she's also really good at what she does. She had been in Strikeforce prior to this past year and even won a bronze medal in Judo at the 2008 Beijing Olympics, but her popularity really took off since she joined the UFC. Since the 2013 ESPYS, she has gone 2-0 in title defenses, headlined a UFC pay-per-view event (UFC 170), got to be one of the coaches on Season 18 of The Ultimate Fighter, and is co-headlining UFC 175 this Saturday. She is 9-0 in her MMA career and has established herself as one of the most dominant people in their respective sport.
Best Team
Nominees: Boston Red Sox, LA Kings, San Antonio Spurs, Seattle Seahawks, UConn Women's Basketball, Florida State Football
Winner: San Antonio Spurs
The Spurs win this category hands down. The Spurs, once again, wound up with the best record in the NBA playing in the far superior Western Conference. During the postseason, they had nine players play all 23 games, and all of them averaged more than 15 minutes per game. The Spurs were pushed to seven in the first round against the Mavs thanks to Vince Carter becoming half man, half amazing once again. Then, they steamrolled the Blazers in a series where Portland was lucky to even win a game. In the Western Conference Finals, they used home court advantage to crush MVP Kevin Durant and the Thunder in San Antonio, then wrap it up in Game 6 in overtime in OKC. The much hyped Heat series became a stroll in the park as they won rather easily in five games. They were dominant throughout the year and have a bright future with 23 year old Kawhi Leonard winning the NBA Finals MVP.
Best Comeback
Nominees: Josh Beckett, Sidney Crosby, Dominic Moore, Russell Westbrook
Winner: Josh Beckett
Unlike the other guys on this list, Beckett looked bad before he missed time with an injury or other leave of absence (Moore missed time due to the passing of his wife). Beckett came over from Boston to the Dodgers in 2012, but was never able to capture that same Boston magic. In 2013, he only started eight games for LA and saw his ERA balloon to 5.19, his highest for a full season since 2010. This season, however, Beckett is pitching much better. Despite a 5-5 record, Beckett has his ERA back down to 2.37 and threw his first career no hitter this year back on May 25th against the Phillies. If he stays in form, this Dodgers team will be a terror to play in the postseason as the first four games they can send out Clayton Kershaw, Zack Greinke, Hyun-Jin Ryu, and Beckett.
Best Breakthrough Athlete
Nominees: Nick Foles, Damian Lillard, Richard Sherman, Masahiro Tanaka
Winner: Nick Foles
This one is a true toss up, although the argument could be made that Lillard and Sherman both truly broke through prior to last year's ESPYS (last year's category was stacked with Colin Kap, Russell Wilson, Johnny Manziel, Mike Trout, and Yasiel Puig). What Foles did once he got the starting job was nothing short of spectacular. The Eagles were 1-3 before Foles took over at QB, but he turned the team around as they went 9-2 under him (he missed one game due to injury) and won the NFC East title. He threw for 27 TDs and only 2 interceptions as he helped provide some legitimacy to Chip Kelly's high octane, high speed offense.
Best Championship Performance
Nominees: Kawhi Leonard, David Ortiz, Jimmie Johnson, Shabazz Napier
Winner: Shabazz Napier
The Spurs and Leonard may have had the best team, but Napier was the most impressive in each person's respective postseason. Napier led the 7th seeded UConn Huskies on an incredible run from the seven seed all the way to National Champions. Along the way, they had to beat (10) St. Joseph's, (2) Villanova, (3) Iowa State, (4) Michigan State, (1) Florida, and (8) Kentucky. Shabazz led the Huskies in scoring in four of those games, including a 22 point performance to lead all players in the National Title game while playing 39 of the 40 minutes. He had good players around him in Ryan Boatright and DeAndre Daniels, but Napier led the way and was the heart of that team. Deservedly, he won the Final Four Most Outstanding Player Award.
Best Game
Nominees: Auburn Tigers vs Alabama Crimson Tide, Kansas City Chiefs vs Indianapolis Colts, New York Rangers vs LA Kings Game 5
Winner: Chiefs vs Colts
This was probably the toughest call to make as I kept going back and forth between Chiefs/Colts and Auburn/'Bama. It really is #1 and #1a. The ending of Auburn/'Bama might have been better, but the entirety of the game has to go to Chiefs/Colts. In this game, we got to see why Andrew Luck is the king of 4th quarter comebacks. Unfortunately, it's because the Colts are so bad the first three quarters. The Chiefs pounded the Colts in the first half as Indy turned it over twice and found themselves down 31-10 going into halftime. Still plenty of time to catch up. Problem is on the very first play in the 3rd quarter, Luck threw an interception at his own 18 yard line. Three plays later and it's 38-10 and I changed the channel. Even when the Colts got it down to 38-24, Luck threw another interception right after the Chiefs went three and out.
Going into the 4th, the Colts got it down to 10, but still needed some help. They got it in the form of one of the luckiest bounces ever. Donald Brown, halfback for the Colts, took a dive up the middle only to be stripped at the goal line. Luck, having just handed the ball off, saw the ball bounce right to him as he lowered his own shoulder and dove into the end zone to make it a 41-38 game. Lucas Oil was rocking and that's when you really started to think that they might actually pull this one out. After another Chiefs field goal, Luck connected on a bomb to TY Hilton with 4 minutes left to give the Colts a 45-44 lead. The Colts held on to conclude one of the wildest comebacks and games I have ever seen.
Best Upset
Nominees: UConn wins NCAA title, Mercer Beats Duke, Chris Weidman Beats Anderson Silva
Winner: Weidman Beats Silva
From 2006 when Silva joined the UFC to October 2012, his last win in the UFC, Silva was probably the most dominant person in his sport in terms of record and ease with which he beat his opponents. During that stretch, he went 16-0 while beating some of the best names that the UFC had to offer. He held the UFC Middleweight Title that entire stretch and was only taken to the 5th (final) round three times. Every time Silva had a match the UFC would have to talk and hype up his competitor to get people to watch, but in truth it was over before the fight even began. He would head bob, fight with his hands down, and attempt moves that other fighters would never try. Ironically, it was his cocky hands down fighting that cost him. Weidman kept pressing the issue, and finally caught him in an exchange where Silva tried to out quick him rather than out fight him. It was a monumental upset, as Weidman has gone on to beat Silva a second time due to a nasty leg injury (warning: graphic). It was the first fight, however, that got the title out of Silva's hands for the first time in eight years.
Best Moment
Usually they have this as a category, but last time I checked the site they don't have it up to vote on though I could have sworn it was up about a week ago. My guess is that they are redoing the poll as one of the nominees probably had to do with the US Soccer Team at the World Cup. That's my guess, but it should be available to vote on in the near future.
Just off the top of my head, one moment that I thought was awesome was Martin St. Louis' comeback after the death of his mother. She died just three days prior to Mother's Day while the Rangers were in the middle of their second round series with the Penguins. The Rangers rallied around St. Louis and came back from a 3-1 series deficit to beat the favored Penguins in seven games. They used this momentum to carry them past Montreal in the Conference Finals before falling in five to the Kings. St. Louis is one of those old, grizzled veterans, respected around the league by fans and players alike so it was nice to see him and his team respond in a positive way.
Matty O
Sunday, June 29, 2014
Six Sunday Summaries (06/29/14)
World Cup Drama
The 2014 World Cup had already seen its fair share of drama in the group stage, but the four games played so far in the knockout round have surpassed the entire group stage by far. The only dud of the group in terms of drama was the Colombia-Uruguay game, but that was to be expected. Colombia had been playing well and won their group, while Uruguay was without their best player in Luis Suarez. After their match on Saturday, Uruguay were 0-2 without Suarez in this World Cup, while being outscored 5-1. They will need to find other sources of offense in 2018 if they are to have a better World Cup showing.
The other three games, however, all had spectacular drama. Brazil and Chile certainly had the most frantic pace as both squads went up and down the field, almost at will. Even though the full time score was 1-1 after 120 minutes, the chances were there for both squads. Chile's Mauricio Pinilla had an amazing chance in the 120th minute, only to see it ring off the crossbar. It wound up going to PKs with Brazil getting the early 2-0 lead, only to see Chile respond with two of their own with Brazil's Hulk missing wide. Neymar converted his shot to give Brazil the 3-2 advantage. Then, with Brazilians the world over holding their collective breaths, Chile clanked it off the left post to end the game. The host nation lived to see another round, while Chile's impressive effort, in this game and throughout the tournament, came to an end.
Sunday was even crazier as both games saw stoppage time goals; one of them was the game winner, while the other sent the game to extra time. First up was a Dutch squad that played like one of the top three teams in the tournament going up against a good, but underdog, Mexican squad. The first half saw Dutch midfielder Nigel de Jong go off with an injury, but was rather uneventful in terms of scoring chances. Mexico quickly snatched a post halftime lead just three minutes after halftime. The Dutch sent a flurry of offense Mexico's way towards the end of the match, only to be deterred by Guillermo Ochoa and missed chances. Finally, off a corner, Wesley Sneijder fired a rocket into the lower left corner of the net to tie the game in the 88th minute. Both teams were tired, so you knew extra time was going to be a bear. Except, extra time never came. Arjen Robben made another great run into the penalty area, tried to cut back inside, got tripped, and drew a penalty. It was a close call and Robben sold it quite a bit, but there was definitely contact. The PK was converted, sealing Mexico's fate as the Dutch advanced with a 2-1 final.
The final game featured the most unlikely of teams with Costa Rica taking on Greece. I have to admit that I wasn't excited at all about this game and kinda tuned in and out. The ending of the game, however, made up for everything else. Similar to the Dutch, Greece went down almost right after halftime in the 52nd minute. Unlike the Dutch, however, Greece got a gift as Oscar Duarte of Costa Rica, already on a yellow card, got a second yellow in the 66th minute, allowing Greece to play with a man advantage. From then on, it was all Greece as Costa Rica was hanging on for dear life. After numerous crosses and attempts to break through, Greece got a juicy rebound and Sokratis Papastathopoulos got Greece on the board and forced extra time. Unfortunately for the Greeks, even with an extra man, they couldn't get the goal to separate themselves. The game went to PKs as Costa Rica made all five of their attempts to beat Greece 5-3 and keep their Cinderella story going.
Hopefully the rest of the tournament will be as exciting as these past two days have been.
Hope For The U.S.?
The good news for the US is that they made it out of their group, but the bad news is they play one of the "dark horse" favorites in this tournament in Belgium. While I had high hopes for this Belgian squad, and even had them in the final against Brazil before this whole thing started, I have not been impressed at all by them. They actually needed to comeback to beat Algeria, then had two 1-0 results against Russia and South Korea, neither of which were impressive at all. The US, however, beat Ghana despite playing probably their worst game of the three so far, tied Portugal but only due to a perfect Christiano Ronaldo cross in the dying seconds, and battled Germany to a 1-0 loss. No shame in that.
One factor that is still up in the air is the status of Jozy Altidore who has been out since the Ghana game. Rumors are swirling that he might be ready to play, but if he's less than 90% I wouldn't put him out there. They outplayed Portugal and hung around with Germany without him so they can make do if need be. If he truly is fit and ready to play, then the US will get a huge offensive boost against a solid Belgian back line and goalie. Portugal's defense was shaky, Germany's is good, Belgium's is great. He will be a welcome sight for the Americans if he plays.
Another interesting factor in this game is the matchup between Everton teammates Tim Howard (goalie) of the US and Romelu Lukaku (striker) of Belgium. It's always fun to see club teammates go up against each other in the World Cup, and even more so when it is a goalie-striker matchup. They both know each others tendencies, so it will be interesting to see how both of them use that knowledge against the other. I've always thought this kind of matchup favors goalies as they can make the goal smaller, so we'll have to see how that plays out when Lukaku gets a shot off.
Bottom line is that the US has a good chance of pulling the upset. At the start of this tournament I would have said no way, but Belgium have yet to play at their best. One thing the US has been good about in all three games is going all out, even if they are outmatched player for player skill wise. They'll be outmatched in the same way this game, but if Belgium under perform, the US could catch them and advance.
Will It Live Up To The Hype?
The players of the much hyped 2014 NBA draft class now have their own pro teams to play for. The talent throughout this draft is crazy, especially at the top. You could make the argument that, in a different year, any of the top five players would have been a number one overall pick. In the end, however, and possibly due to injury concerns of a certain top prospect, Andrew Wiggins got the honor of being taken number one overall to the Cleveland Cavaliers. Unfortunately for all of us, we probably won't know who did what right until about 2020. All the prospects look awesome now, but so did Greg Oden, Andrew Bynum, and Kwame Brown.
What I'd be more interested in is finding that player later in the draft that got overlooked for one reason or another, only to become a superstar down the road. I got a couple guys that could, keyword being could, be great pros down the road and give their drafting team great bang for their buck. The first player is Louisville guard Russ Smith, who went 47th overall. Smith, a 2014 John Wooden All-American and 2013 National Championship winner, has a good shot and plays great defense. His biggest weaknesses are his height (6'0") and his decision making. Despite being a dynamic scorer, there would be times where he would force shots or try to do too much by himself. His coaches in the NBA can help him with that, as well as how to play the game at such a short height. The skills are there, so if he's put in the proper role with the proper team, I think he can be a solid NBA player.
The second guy that I feel even more confident about is Cleanthony Early. Early was a two time Division III Player of the Year before coming over to Wichita State. In his two years there, he led the Shockers to the Final Four in 2013, a 35-1 record in 2014, and finished as a second team All-American in 2014. He led the Shockers in points and rebounds last year and has athleticism to boot. How he dropped to the second round at 34 overall is beyond me. I think he fits in quite well with the team that drafted him, the New York Knicks. The Knicks just traded Tyson Chandler and Amar'e Stoudemire isn't at all the player he used to be. I think Early could be a nice player for the Knicks under the new Phil Jackson era.
You've Got To Be Kidding
In one of the stranger stories this past week, it has been reported that Jason Kidd is looking to go coach for the Milwaukee Bucks in exchange for a 2nd round pick. Apparently both sides are interested but I am confused as to why. From Kidd's perspective, why go? Yes, the Nets are getting older, but your owner is a billionaire and you just went to the playoffs. Given the market and money available, it shouldn't be too hard to lure free agents to Brooklyn and start a winning tradition there.
From the Bucks perspective, why would you want Kidd? Indeed he did make the playoffs, but that was his first year. You're willing to give up a second round pick for a coach entering his second year? I suppose given the youth of the Bucks that perhaps a relatively younger coach like Kidd could help as they build the Bucks up together. Still, I think they're putting way too much faith in Kidd, and would be better off going in another direction. There's a lot of young talent in Milwaukee right now and the last thing you want to do is mess it up with the wrong coach.
Cap Problems
The new salary cap for the NHL was just set this past week at $69 million, which was less than many teams anticipated. With the NHL Draft and free agency coinciding with this announcement, it has left some teams to reconsider how they handle this offseason. With the lower cap, some players who might not have been released will be released, and players asking for more money in contract talks might be disappointed. Since the assumption was that the cap would be higher, some teams may have to gut (release or trade multiple players for financial reasons) their team to simply get under the cap or retain their superstar players asking for better contracts.
In theory, a lower cap favors smaller market teams. With less money to spend on players, it limits what the larger markets like New York and Chicago can do with their teams relative to what markets like Florida and Phoenix can do. Look at baseball, for example, where there is no salary cap. Even though it might not result in guaranteed World Series titles, teams like the Yankees and Red Sox can pretty much pick and choose when it comes to free agency and simply throw money at the players. With a lower cap, a team like Chicago could have Patrick Kane and Jonathan Toews, but perhaps a Marian Hossa or Patrick Sharp can no longer fit in the plans long term. Then they wind up on the Coyotes making the league, in theory, more balanced.
While I am a fan of salary caps, they do have to be carefully set in order for it to truly benefit the league. I don't think the NHL is there yet, but too small of a cap can hurt the league as much as the lack of one. Big market teams are good for the sport and it's good for star players to be on big name teams. Too small of a lockout would result in unhappy players, unhappy owners, and probably another lockout.
ESPYS
Voting is now open for the ESPYS! The award show for sports. Here's the link to vote. Look for a category by category post later on this week.
Matty O
The 2014 World Cup had already seen its fair share of drama in the group stage, but the four games played so far in the knockout round have surpassed the entire group stage by far. The only dud of the group in terms of drama was the Colombia-Uruguay game, but that was to be expected. Colombia had been playing well and won their group, while Uruguay was without their best player in Luis Suarez. After their match on Saturday, Uruguay were 0-2 without Suarez in this World Cup, while being outscored 5-1. They will need to find other sources of offense in 2018 if they are to have a better World Cup showing.
The other three games, however, all had spectacular drama. Brazil and Chile certainly had the most frantic pace as both squads went up and down the field, almost at will. Even though the full time score was 1-1 after 120 minutes, the chances were there for both squads. Chile's Mauricio Pinilla had an amazing chance in the 120th minute, only to see it ring off the crossbar. It wound up going to PKs with Brazil getting the early 2-0 lead, only to see Chile respond with two of their own with Brazil's Hulk missing wide. Neymar converted his shot to give Brazil the 3-2 advantage. Then, with Brazilians the world over holding their collective breaths, Chile clanked it off the left post to end the game. The host nation lived to see another round, while Chile's impressive effort, in this game and throughout the tournament, came to an end.
Sunday was even crazier as both games saw stoppage time goals; one of them was the game winner, while the other sent the game to extra time. First up was a Dutch squad that played like one of the top three teams in the tournament going up against a good, but underdog, Mexican squad. The first half saw Dutch midfielder Nigel de Jong go off with an injury, but was rather uneventful in terms of scoring chances. Mexico quickly snatched a post halftime lead just three minutes after halftime. The Dutch sent a flurry of offense Mexico's way towards the end of the match, only to be deterred by Guillermo Ochoa and missed chances. Finally, off a corner, Wesley Sneijder fired a rocket into the lower left corner of the net to tie the game in the 88th minute. Both teams were tired, so you knew extra time was going to be a bear. Except, extra time never came. Arjen Robben made another great run into the penalty area, tried to cut back inside, got tripped, and drew a penalty. It was a close call and Robben sold it quite a bit, but there was definitely contact. The PK was converted, sealing Mexico's fate as the Dutch advanced with a 2-1 final.
The final game featured the most unlikely of teams with Costa Rica taking on Greece. I have to admit that I wasn't excited at all about this game and kinda tuned in and out. The ending of the game, however, made up for everything else. Similar to the Dutch, Greece went down almost right after halftime in the 52nd minute. Unlike the Dutch, however, Greece got a gift as Oscar Duarte of Costa Rica, already on a yellow card, got a second yellow in the 66th minute, allowing Greece to play with a man advantage. From then on, it was all Greece as Costa Rica was hanging on for dear life. After numerous crosses and attempts to break through, Greece got a juicy rebound and Sokratis Papastathopoulos got Greece on the board and forced extra time. Unfortunately for the Greeks, even with an extra man, they couldn't get the goal to separate themselves. The game went to PKs as Costa Rica made all five of their attempts to beat Greece 5-3 and keep their Cinderella story going.
Hopefully the rest of the tournament will be as exciting as these past two days have been.
Hope For The U.S.?
The good news for the US is that they made it out of their group, but the bad news is they play one of the "dark horse" favorites in this tournament in Belgium. While I had high hopes for this Belgian squad, and even had them in the final against Brazil before this whole thing started, I have not been impressed at all by them. They actually needed to comeback to beat Algeria, then had two 1-0 results against Russia and South Korea, neither of which were impressive at all. The US, however, beat Ghana despite playing probably their worst game of the three so far, tied Portugal but only due to a perfect Christiano Ronaldo cross in the dying seconds, and battled Germany to a 1-0 loss. No shame in that.
One factor that is still up in the air is the status of Jozy Altidore who has been out since the Ghana game. Rumors are swirling that he might be ready to play, but if he's less than 90% I wouldn't put him out there. They outplayed Portugal and hung around with Germany without him so they can make do if need be. If he truly is fit and ready to play, then the US will get a huge offensive boost against a solid Belgian back line and goalie. Portugal's defense was shaky, Germany's is good, Belgium's is great. He will be a welcome sight for the Americans if he plays.
Another interesting factor in this game is the matchup between Everton teammates Tim Howard (goalie) of the US and Romelu Lukaku (striker) of Belgium. It's always fun to see club teammates go up against each other in the World Cup, and even more so when it is a goalie-striker matchup. They both know each others tendencies, so it will be interesting to see how both of them use that knowledge against the other. I've always thought this kind of matchup favors goalies as they can make the goal smaller, so we'll have to see how that plays out when Lukaku gets a shot off.
Bottom line is that the US has a good chance of pulling the upset. At the start of this tournament I would have said no way, but Belgium have yet to play at their best. One thing the US has been good about in all three games is going all out, even if they are outmatched player for player skill wise. They'll be outmatched in the same way this game, but if Belgium under perform, the US could catch them and advance.
Will It Live Up To The Hype?
The players of the much hyped 2014 NBA draft class now have their own pro teams to play for. The talent throughout this draft is crazy, especially at the top. You could make the argument that, in a different year, any of the top five players would have been a number one overall pick. In the end, however, and possibly due to injury concerns of a certain top prospect, Andrew Wiggins got the honor of being taken number one overall to the Cleveland Cavaliers. Unfortunately for all of us, we probably won't know who did what right until about 2020. All the prospects look awesome now, but so did Greg Oden, Andrew Bynum, and Kwame Brown.
What I'd be more interested in is finding that player later in the draft that got overlooked for one reason or another, only to become a superstar down the road. I got a couple guys that could, keyword being could, be great pros down the road and give their drafting team great bang for their buck. The first player is Louisville guard Russ Smith, who went 47th overall. Smith, a 2014 John Wooden All-American and 2013 National Championship winner, has a good shot and plays great defense. His biggest weaknesses are his height (6'0") and his decision making. Despite being a dynamic scorer, there would be times where he would force shots or try to do too much by himself. His coaches in the NBA can help him with that, as well as how to play the game at such a short height. The skills are there, so if he's put in the proper role with the proper team, I think he can be a solid NBA player.
The second guy that I feel even more confident about is Cleanthony Early. Early was a two time Division III Player of the Year before coming over to Wichita State. In his two years there, he led the Shockers to the Final Four in 2013, a 35-1 record in 2014, and finished as a second team All-American in 2014. He led the Shockers in points and rebounds last year and has athleticism to boot. How he dropped to the second round at 34 overall is beyond me. I think he fits in quite well with the team that drafted him, the New York Knicks. The Knicks just traded Tyson Chandler and Amar'e Stoudemire isn't at all the player he used to be. I think Early could be a nice player for the Knicks under the new Phil Jackson era.
You've Got To Be Kidding
In one of the stranger stories this past week, it has been reported that Jason Kidd is looking to go coach for the Milwaukee Bucks in exchange for a 2nd round pick. Apparently both sides are interested but I am confused as to why. From Kidd's perspective, why go? Yes, the Nets are getting older, but your owner is a billionaire and you just went to the playoffs. Given the market and money available, it shouldn't be too hard to lure free agents to Brooklyn and start a winning tradition there.
From the Bucks perspective, why would you want Kidd? Indeed he did make the playoffs, but that was his first year. You're willing to give up a second round pick for a coach entering his second year? I suppose given the youth of the Bucks that perhaps a relatively younger coach like Kidd could help as they build the Bucks up together. Still, I think they're putting way too much faith in Kidd, and would be better off going in another direction. There's a lot of young talent in Milwaukee right now and the last thing you want to do is mess it up with the wrong coach.
Cap Problems
The new salary cap for the NHL was just set this past week at $69 million, which was less than many teams anticipated. With the NHL Draft and free agency coinciding with this announcement, it has left some teams to reconsider how they handle this offseason. With the lower cap, some players who might not have been released will be released, and players asking for more money in contract talks might be disappointed. Since the assumption was that the cap would be higher, some teams may have to gut (release or trade multiple players for financial reasons) their team to simply get under the cap or retain their superstar players asking for better contracts.
In theory, a lower cap favors smaller market teams. With less money to spend on players, it limits what the larger markets like New York and Chicago can do with their teams relative to what markets like Florida and Phoenix can do. Look at baseball, for example, where there is no salary cap. Even though it might not result in guaranteed World Series titles, teams like the Yankees and Red Sox can pretty much pick and choose when it comes to free agency and simply throw money at the players. With a lower cap, a team like Chicago could have Patrick Kane and Jonathan Toews, but perhaps a Marian Hossa or Patrick Sharp can no longer fit in the plans long term. Then they wind up on the Coyotes making the league, in theory, more balanced.
While I am a fan of salary caps, they do have to be carefully set in order for it to truly benefit the league. I don't think the NHL is there yet, but too small of a cap can hurt the league as much as the lack of one. Big market teams are good for the sport and it's good for star players to be on big name teams. Too small of a lockout would result in unhappy players, unhappy owners, and probably another lockout.
ESPYS
Voting is now open for the ESPYS! The award show for sports. Here's the link to vote. Look for a category by category post later on this week.
Matty O
Sunday, June 22, 2014
Six Sunday Summaries (World Cup Edition)
Contenders
Brazil
While they haven't looked as dominant as they did during the Confederations Cup last summer, they still have to be considered a contender for the title. They currently lead their group and their remaining game is against the weakest team in their group in Cameroon. Even though they tied Mexico, it required Mexican goalkeeper Guillermo Ochoa to make brilliant save after brilliant save in order for the result to end in a tie. Their opening round knockout stage match is shaping up to be a tough one with either the Netherlands or Chile waiting in the wings. With home country advantage and skill all around the squad, however, they should make a run in the tournament.
Netherlands
While their destruction of Spain got more attention, I was actually more impressed with their game against Australia, especially considering how mediocre Spain played in their second game against Chile. The Dutch opened the scoring as the Australians made a terrible turnover at center half, allowing Arjen Robben to dribble it all the way from there and slam it home for the first goal. Before assumptions could even be made about the outcome of the match, however, Australia's Tim Cahill struck back with what might be the goal of the tournament. Tied at halftime, the Australians made history and actually led the Dutch as they scored on a penalty shot early in the second half. A quick response by Robin Van Persie crushed Australian momentum as another Dutch goal ten minutes later turned out to be the winner in a 3-2 result. We'll know a lot more about the Dutch after their last match with Chile, but with the offensive explosion they are experiencing at this World Cup, they will be a tough out.
Colombia
Many thought that Colombia should be on upset alert after striker Radamel Falcao was announced out for this squad in the World Cup. Instead, in a relatively weak group, this team has thrived, using its speed to frustrate teams. They've also benefited by being Brazil's neighbors to the northwest as crowd support has been massive for them in both of their games so far (to be fair, the other teams in their group are Greece, Japan, and Ivory Coast). They've been shaky at the back at times, but their attacking play has been fantastic and fun to watch.
France
I was hesitant to call France a contender after the first round of games as they were facing Honduras who had ten men for a large part of the game. With the disaster from 2010 still in the back of my mind, I just wasn't ready to declare them having turned a new leaf. Following their decimation of Switzerland on Friday, however, I think it's time to believe. The Swiss are actually ranked higher than France in the FIFA rankings, but that should change after this tournament. Powered by Karim Benzema, who has carried his Champion's League winning form into the World Cup, France looks like arguably the best team in the tournament. They have yet to trail in this tournament and have won both of their games by at least three goals.
Germany
Nothing against Ghana, but the tie with Germany really shocked me. While Ghana played the US tough in a loss, Germany owned Portugal even before Pepe was sent off. It seemed effortless for them as I dubbed them the best looking team after the first round of games. Similar to the Dutch against Australia, the Germans scored first in their second game, but were met with an immediate response and a quick follow up. All of a sudden, with about 25 minutes left, Ghana had the lead over Germany. The Germans, however, had a quick response of their own as Miraslov Klose capped off a wild span of 20 minutes that saw four goals between the two teams. Similar to the Dutch, I think this was a great test of character by the Germans against a team desperate for a win to stay relevant in the group. While they didn't get the game winning goal like the Dutch, they are still in the driver's seat in their group. Regardless of the other teams in the group, if Germany wins or ties their last game against the US, they will win their group and likely avoid a dangerous Belgium squad in the first round of the knockout stage. Consider this a hiccup as I still see them making at least the semi-finals.
Pretenders
Costa Rica
Perhaps I'm just a sucker for rich soccer traditions, but I still don't believe in this Costa Rican team. Yes, they have two wins in two games, but the first was against a Luis Suarez-less Uruguay squad and the second was against an undisciplined Italian squad that was called for an astounding 11 off sides. They are guaranteed to advance, and it would take the meltdown of all meltdowns to not finish as the winner in the group. Winning the group would be crucial as they would avoid Colombia and get either the Ivory Coast, Japan, or Greece. Despite the soft first round knockout matchup, I think any thoughts of them going deep in the tournament will end sooner rather than later.
Argentina
For a team pegged as one of the contenders at the start of the tournament and placed in this group, Argentina have looked far from impressive. They seem to be waiting for Lionel Messi to provide the attack for this group, and so far he has been able to. Their narrow 1-0, extra time Messi goal game against Iran, however, shows how fine the line they are walking on is. They should still win their group to avoid France, but if they draw Switzerland in the opening knockout round, I think they could see an early exit. While the Swiss loss against France doesn't show it, the Swiss have a very good defensive team. If they manage to lock down Messi, even at the risk of letting others gain space, I think the Swiss could give Argentina trouble.
Ah, My Leg Is Snapped In Half! Oh Wait, I'm Better
The selling of calls is getting ridiculous. Touch a player with your fingernail and he'll go down like he just got shot. I understand doing so as the refs are human and sometimes if all you see is a player flailing in the air, you may give him the benefit of the doubt. From an integrity of the game and reputation standpoint, however, it is extremely frustrating. Once a team gets a lead late in a game, you can bet that a player will stay down and roll around longer than he needs to. After enough time has run off, however, he's back up at 100%. I get that they're trying to run the clock, but faking an injury is not alright in my book.
Now, I'm not opposed to all stalling techniques. When the ball goes out of play and maybe you take a little while to get it back in, that's alright. It's similar to sending the pitching coach out to the mound with the sole intention of giving the guy in the bullpen more time to warm up. Fine. But to fake an injury is a no-no. I get angry when I see the same thing in football when teams run hurry up offenses and defensive players just drop like stones to get some rest. Sorry if you can't keep up, just lay down in the backfield and get called for offsides while you get your rest. It has to be frustrating for the refs as well because it is their responsibility to protect the players on the field. It becomes increasingly difficult to determine injury severity if players are faking them. While you do want to keep the game flowing, you also don't want to have the other team pulling on a guy's arm to get him up if he legitimately just broke his arm.
While officials can't make the determination of real or fake injury, the players can, if they so choose, to stop this practice of delaying the game. Unlike in football where if a player goes down the entire game is stopped, in soccer, you can keep going unless a player is bleeding from the head or something like that. While it is proper etiquette to knock the ball out of play with the expectation that you'll get it back, a team isn't required by any rule to do that. All 11 guys could be down, but a team could keep right on playing if they wanted to. I saw a few games in the Premier League this season where teams just kept playing because they were down and needed a goal, but I've seen plenty of instances where the losing team will stop and play the ball out. While commendable, it not only hinders you from your team goal (winning the match), but also encourages this practice.
Referee: Not An Enviable Job
Controversial calls are nothing new to sports in general, and there have been quite a few in this World Cup already. Regardless of whether a call goes for or against the team I'm rooting for, I rarely try and blame the refs. The first reason is because I don't believe any given call costs a team a game. That call might have made it harder on a team, but unless they played a literal flawless game, there is no way you can blame a ref for a singular call. Let's say for instance, there's a zero-zero game in the 95th minute. Team A has a player in the box, doesn't get fouled by Team B, but the ref calls a penalty. Team A scores, game ends 1-0, and the attack on the refs begin. Well, unless Team B had zero total shots, they have nothing to complain about. Why didn't you do better during the other 94 minutes of the game? Why didn't you play better defense so Team A doesn't even get to the box? Thankfully, most players recognize that this is the case, but the majority of fans have no problem blaming one call for their lost game.
The other thing to realize, particularly in soccer, is that the refs don't get the benefit of replay. There's a lot of contact during any soccer game and the amount of times the ref has to make a call or no call is numerous. They actually do a good job and get the call right most of the time. When they get a call wrong, people watching TV will gladly say how horrible the call was...as they watch it in slow motion with a zoomed in camera. Trying to make a call with two men charging at each other trying to play the ball when one of them is partially obscuring your view is an extremely hard task. The next time a call goes against your team, just remember how difficult the ref's job is and give him a break.
CONCACAF Breakthrough
The Confederation of North, Central American, and Caribbean Association Football (CONCACAF) looks to finally have broken through in this World Cup. Despite the majority of the nations not being known as soccer powerhouses, the United States, Mexico, and particularly Costa Rica have all played well and are still in position to advance to the knockout round. CONCACAF usually just gets brushed to the side when talking about powerful soccer areas as Europe and South America are the two regions that easily come to mind. In this tournament, however, these three teams have tied Portugal, tied host Brazil, beaten Italy, and beaten Uruguay, and looked good doing so. The US and Mexico still have an uphill battle, but Costa Rica are guaranteed to advance. Hopefully this World Cup improves the reputation associated with this area of the world when it comes to soccer. Exposure and success are critical in getting the talented athletes in the States to play soccer instead of football, basketball, etc.
United States Outlook
There's good news and bad news from tonight's draw with Portugal. The good news is that they are still in the hunt and don't have to beat, or even tie Germany, to advance to the next round. The bad news is that there are still scenarios in place that will allow Ghana or Portugal to take the States' place in the next round. Also, they have to play Germany. While beating the Germans would guarantee them a place in the next round, that is far from likely. Even though the Germans tied Ghana, and the US beat Ghana, it will still be a difficult task. I thought the US played their most emotionally invested game against Ghana, and Germany was caught napping after the ease with which they disposed of Portugal. I expect Germany to come out focused with a different starting lineup from the Ghana game, one that should include Bastian Schweinsteiger who has interestingly been left out of the starting lineup the first two games for Germany.
From the US perspective, it will be interesting to see how they respond after that devastating late goal by Portugal. Clint Dempsey looked at full health so that shouldn't be a concern against Germany but the defense still should be. While they played better than the Ghana game, they still folded when it mattered most. They gave Ronaldo a lot of time and space to cross, then failed to cover Varela who scored the winning goal. With Jozy Altidore out, the US cannot afford to get into shootouts with any team, particularly Germany.
The best scenario for the US, or at least the one that require the least effort by the US, is if Ghana and Portugal tie. If that happens, then the US automatically advances. If there is a winner between Ghana and Portugal, then things get interesting. If Ghana or Portugal wins and the US loses, then they would be tied for points and it would come down to goal differential for the first tiebreaker. The US currently sits at +1 in that category while Ghana is at -1 and Portugal is at -4. Despite their tie today, Portugal is pretty much done for as nothing I've seen by either Ghana or Portugal tells me they can win by six goals over Ghana. Ghana beating Portugal by two, however, is certainly possible. If they win by three and the US loses, then Ghana will actually advance along with Germany. After goal differential, they go to goals scored for. Since I expect the US-Germany game to be low scoring and the Portugal-Ghana game to be anything but, then I would not want it to come down to that tiebreaker if you're a US fan.
Personally, I think the US will drop its game to Germany, Ghana and Portugal tie, allowing the US to advance to the knockout round. While this would guarantee an US advance, it would likely set up a first knockout round game against a very talented Belgium squad. The drama will be at an all time high in Group G this Thursday as both games will be going on at the same time. They both start at 11am central with Portugal-Ghana airing on ESPN2 and US-Germany airing on ESPN. Better find a TV that has the picture in picture function.
Matty O
Brazil
While they haven't looked as dominant as they did during the Confederations Cup last summer, they still have to be considered a contender for the title. They currently lead their group and their remaining game is against the weakest team in their group in Cameroon. Even though they tied Mexico, it required Mexican goalkeeper Guillermo Ochoa to make brilliant save after brilliant save in order for the result to end in a tie. Their opening round knockout stage match is shaping up to be a tough one with either the Netherlands or Chile waiting in the wings. With home country advantage and skill all around the squad, however, they should make a run in the tournament.
Netherlands
While their destruction of Spain got more attention, I was actually more impressed with their game against Australia, especially considering how mediocre Spain played in their second game against Chile. The Dutch opened the scoring as the Australians made a terrible turnover at center half, allowing Arjen Robben to dribble it all the way from there and slam it home for the first goal. Before assumptions could even be made about the outcome of the match, however, Australia's Tim Cahill struck back with what might be the goal of the tournament. Tied at halftime, the Australians made history and actually led the Dutch as they scored on a penalty shot early in the second half. A quick response by Robin Van Persie crushed Australian momentum as another Dutch goal ten minutes later turned out to be the winner in a 3-2 result. We'll know a lot more about the Dutch after their last match with Chile, but with the offensive explosion they are experiencing at this World Cup, they will be a tough out.
Colombia
Many thought that Colombia should be on upset alert after striker Radamel Falcao was announced out for this squad in the World Cup. Instead, in a relatively weak group, this team has thrived, using its speed to frustrate teams. They've also benefited by being Brazil's neighbors to the northwest as crowd support has been massive for them in both of their games so far (to be fair, the other teams in their group are Greece, Japan, and Ivory Coast). They've been shaky at the back at times, but their attacking play has been fantastic and fun to watch.
France
I was hesitant to call France a contender after the first round of games as they were facing Honduras who had ten men for a large part of the game. With the disaster from 2010 still in the back of my mind, I just wasn't ready to declare them having turned a new leaf. Following their decimation of Switzerland on Friday, however, I think it's time to believe. The Swiss are actually ranked higher than France in the FIFA rankings, but that should change after this tournament. Powered by Karim Benzema, who has carried his Champion's League winning form into the World Cup, France looks like arguably the best team in the tournament. They have yet to trail in this tournament and have won both of their games by at least three goals.
Germany
Nothing against Ghana, but the tie with Germany really shocked me. While Ghana played the US tough in a loss, Germany owned Portugal even before Pepe was sent off. It seemed effortless for them as I dubbed them the best looking team after the first round of games. Similar to the Dutch against Australia, the Germans scored first in their second game, but were met with an immediate response and a quick follow up. All of a sudden, with about 25 minutes left, Ghana had the lead over Germany. The Germans, however, had a quick response of their own as Miraslov Klose capped off a wild span of 20 minutes that saw four goals between the two teams. Similar to the Dutch, I think this was a great test of character by the Germans against a team desperate for a win to stay relevant in the group. While they didn't get the game winning goal like the Dutch, they are still in the driver's seat in their group. Regardless of the other teams in the group, if Germany wins or ties their last game against the US, they will win their group and likely avoid a dangerous Belgium squad in the first round of the knockout stage. Consider this a hiccup as I still see them making at least the semi-finals.
Pretenders
Costa Rica
Perhaps I'm just a sucker for rich soccer traditions, but I still don't believe in this Costa Rican team. Yes, they have two wins in two games, but the first was against a Luis Suarez-less Uruguay squad and the second was against an undisciplined Italian squad that was called for an astounding 11 off sides. They are guaranteed to advance, and it would take the meltdown of all meltdowns to not finish as the winner in the group. Winning the group would be crucial as they would avoid Colombia and get either the Ivory Coast, Japan, or Greece. Despite the soft first round knockout matchup, I think any thoughts of them going deep in the tournament will end sooner rather than later.
Argentina
For a team pegged as one of the contenders at the start of the tournament and placed in this group, Argentina have looked far from impressive. They seem to be waiting for Lionel Messi to provide the attack for this group, and so far he has been able to. Their narrow 1-0, extra time Messi goal game against Iran, however, shows how fine the line they are walking on is. They should still win their group to avoid France, but if they draw Switzerland in the opening knockout round, I think they could see an early exit. While the Swiss loss against France doesn't show it, the Swiss have a very good defensive team. If they manage to lock down Messi, even at the risk of letting others gain space, I think the Swiss could give Argentina trouble.
Ah, My Leg Is Snapped In Half! Oh Wait, I'm Better
The selling of calls is getting ridiculous. Touch a player with your fingernail and he'll go down like he just got shot. I understand doing so as the refs are human and sometimes if all you see is a player flailing in the air, you may give him the benefit of the doubt. From an integrity of the game and reputation standpoint, however, it is extremely frustrating. Once a team gets a lead late in a game, you can bet that a player will stay down and roll around longer than he needs to. After enough time has run off, however, he's back up at 100%. I get that they're trying to run the clock, but faking an injury is not alright in my book.
Now, I'm not opposed to all stalling techniques. When the ball goes out of play and maybe you take a little while to get it back in, that's alright. It's similar to sending the pitching coach out to the mound with the sole intention of giving the guy in the bullpen more time to warm up. Fine. But to fake an injury is a no-no. I get angry when I see the same thing in football when teams run hurry up offenses and defensive players just drop like stones to get some rest. Sorry if you can't keep up, just lay down in the backfield and get called for offsides while you get your rest. It has to be frustrating for the refs as well because it is their responsibility to protect the players on the field. It becomes increasingly difficult to determine injury severity if players are faking them. While you do want to keep the game flowing, you also don't want to have the other team pulling on a guy's arm to get him up if he legitimately just broke his arm.
While officials can't make the determination of real or fake injury, the players can, if they so choose, to stop this practice of delaying the game. Unlike in football where if a player goes down the entire game is stopped, in soccer, you can keep going unless a player is bleeding from the head or something like that. While it is proper etiquette to knock the ball out of play with the expectation that you'll get it back, a team isn't required by any rule to do that. All 11 guys could be down, but a team could keep right on playing if they wanted to. I saw a few games in the Premier League this season where teams just kept playing because they were down and needed a goal, but I've seen plenty of instances where the losing team will stop and play the ball out. While commendable, it not only hinders you from your team goal (winning the match), but also encourages this practice.
Referee: Not An Enviable Job
Controversial calls are nothing new to sports in general, and there have been quite a few in this World Cup already. Regardless of whether a call goes for or against the team I'm rooting for, I rarely try and blame the refs. The first reason is because I don't believe any given call costs a team a game. That call might have made it harder on a team, but unless they played a literal flawless game, there is no way you can blame a ref for a singular call. Let's say for instance, there's a zero-zero game in the 95th minute. Team A has a player in the box, doesn't get fouled by Team B, but the ref calls a penalty. Team A scores, game ends 1-0, and the attack on the refs begin. Well, unless Team B had zero total shots, they have nothing to complain about. Why didn't you do better during the other 94 minutes of the game? Why didn't you play better defense so Team A doesn't even get to the box? Thankfully, most players recognize that this is the case, but the majority of fans have no problem blaming one call for their lost game.
The other thing to realize, particularly in soccer, is that the refs don't get the benefit of replay. There's a lot of contact during any soccer game and the amount of times the ref has to make a call or no call is numerous. They actually do a good job and get the call right most of the time. When they get a call wrong, people watching TV will gladly say how horrible the call was...as they watch it in slow motion with a zoomed in camera. Trying to make a call with two men charging at each other trying to play the ball when one of them is partially obscuring your view is an extremely hard task. The next time a call goes against your team, just remember how difficult the ref's job is and give him a break.
CONCACAF Breakthrough
The Confederation of North, Central American, and Caribbean Association Football (CONCACAF) looks to finally have broken through in this World Cup. Despite the majority of the nations not being known as soccer powerhouses, the United States, Mexico, and particularly Costa Rica have all played well and are still in position to advance to the knockout round. CONCACAF usually just gets brushed to the side when talking about powerful soccer areas as Europe and South America are the two regions that easily come to mind. In this tournament, however, these three teams have tied Portugal, tied host Brazil, beaten Italy, and beaten Uruguay, and looked good doing so. The US and Mexico still have an uphill battle, but Costa Rica are guaranteed to advance. Hopefully this World Cup improves the reputation associated with this area of the world when it comes to soccer. Exposure and success are critical in getting the talented athletes in the States to play soccer instead of football, basketball, etc.
United States Outlook
There's good news and bad news from tonight's draw with Portugal. The good news is that they are still in the hunt and don't have to beat, or even tie Germany, to advance to the next round. The bad news is that there are still scenarios in place that will allow Ghana or Portugal to take the States' place in the next round. Also, they have to play Germany. While beating the Germans would guarantee them a place in the next round, that is far from likely. Even though the Germans tied Ghana, and the US beat Ghana, it will still be a difficult task. I thought the US played their most emotionally invested game against Ghana, and Germany was caught napping after the ease with which they disposed of Portugal. I expect Germany to come out focused with a different starting lineup from the Ghana game, one that should include Bastian Schweinsteiger who has interestingly been left out of the starting lineup the first two games for Germany.
From the US perspective, it will be interesting to see how they respond after that devastating late goal by Portugal. Clint Dempsey looked at full health so that shouldn't be a concern against Germany but the defense still should be. While they played better than the Ghana game, they still folded when it mattered most. They gave Ronaldo a lot of time and space to cross, then failed to cover Varela who scored the winning goal. With Jozy Altidore out, the US cannot afford to get into shootouts with any team, particularly Germany.
The best scenario for the US, or at least the one that require the least effort by the US, is if Ghana and Portugal tie. If that happens, then the US automatically advances. If there is a winner between Ghana and Portugal, then things get interesting. If Ghana or Portugal wins and the US loses, then they would be tied for points and it would come down to goal differential for the first tiebreaker. The US currently sits at +1 in that category while Ghana is at -1 and Portugal is at -4. Despite their tie today, Portugal is pretty much done for as nothing I've seen by either Ghana or Portugal tells me they can win by six goals over Ghana. Ghana beating Portugal by two, however, is certainly possible. If they win by three and the US loses, then Ghana will actually advance along with Germany. After goal differential, they go to goals scored for. Since I expect the US-Germany game to be low scoring and the Portugal-Ghana game to be anything but, then I would not want it to come down to that tiebreaker if you're a US fan.
Personally, I think the US will drop its game to Germany, Ghana and Portugal tie, allowing the US to advance to the knockout round. While this would guarantee an US advance, it would likely set up a first knockout round game against a very talented Belgium squad. The drama will be at an all time high in Group G this Thursday as both games will be going on at the same time. They both start at 11am central with Portugal-Ghana airing on ESPN2 and US-Germany airing on ESPN. Better find a TV that has the picture in picture function.
Matty O
Wednesday, June 18, 2014
World Cup Review (1st Round of Group Stage Matches)
Team of the Tournament
Netherlands
Germany could certainly make an argument of their own for this spot, but the way the Dutch beat the defending champion Spanish squad was simply amazing. What's even more amazing is that they had to come back to do so. Diego Costa, seen as a traitor in Brazil for playing for Spain, was constantly showered with boos, but was making some promising runs in the first half. He got good looks a couple of occasions, but failed to finish. Finally, on another of his runs, he was clipped in the box, as a penalty shot was called. Spain converted, and it seemed like we were heading towards another classic case of Spain winning and the Dutch underachieving.
Then, in a goal that will forever be remembered, Robin Van Persie made a diving header that looped perfectly over a frozen Iker Casillas into the back of the net. While it was a huge momentum boost for them going into halftime, it was still tied and Spain was still the defending champs. In the second half, however, the Dutch absolutely throttled Spain as Spain looked lethargic and old. The Dutch scored four goals in the second half, including two beauties by Arjen Robben, to cap off their convincing victory.
It is now the Dutch that are in the driver's seat in group B. While they are in control, this is no time to relax as Chile also got their three points and are certainly capable of challenging the Dutch. The battle for first place is crucial as the runner up of this group will play the winner of group A. That winner is most likely to be the host country, Brazil.
Disappointment of the Tournament
Portugal
It wasn't just that they lost 4-0 to Germany, it was the way they lost. While you could argue about the quality of the other players on the pitch, the Portuguese boasted the best player in the world in Christiano Ronaldo. There were questions about his health coming into the match, but from what I saw, he looked fine. Portugal as a whole, however, was abysmal. They got a few good looks, particularly in the first half, as they tried to match Germany's attacking play. At the same time, they also would go on breaks and get opportunities, only to squander them with a silly dribble or pass.
Ronaldo was very demonstrative throughout the match as you could see how upset he was when the Portuguese attack fizzled out. Despite going down early, Portugal was still within striking distance to tie the match. The wheels came off, however, when Pepe and Thomas Muller got tangled up. Pepe took exception for what looked like a regular soccer play, got in Muller's face while he was still on the ground and head butted him. The referee saw it and gave Pepe a straight red card, banning him from the rest of that game, as well as Portugal's next game against the US. From that point on, it was almost a moot point that the Germans would win as Portugal couldn't commit as many players to help Ronaldo up front. One Muller hat trick later, and Portugal find themselves on the outside of their group looking in.
Opportunity Knocks
United States
Staying in Group G, the US was able to get by Ghana on a late header from John Brooks to exorcise demons from the past two World Cups. They now sit in second place in the group, tied in points with the Germans. With all the turmoil that the Portuguese are going through, the path is set up for the US to advance. I still don't think they can beat the Germans, and the Germans will beat Ghana, so it really is a fight for runner up in the group. There's certainly a couple scenarios where the US could win the group, but they seem unlikely as they would require the Germans to have a drop off in form.
One concern that the US needs to have, and one that Landon Donovan mentioned on ESPN, is the fact that this was such an emotional game and that it is sometimes hard to turn around and play your next match. The US wanted this game, probably more than any in this group stage, and it showed. The emotion and effort was there, but still, it only counts as one win. If they don't take care of business against Portugal, then this exciting win against Ghana will all be for naught.
Where Is The Defense?
This question seems obvious to ask Spain and Portugal who gave up a combined nine goals, but this could be asked about a lot of teams in the tournament. Even though the US won, their defense was absolutely atrocious. Luckily for them, Ghana does not have the best of all strikers. If they concede those opportunities to Ronaldo next game, then the US could get blown out. I'm not sure if it was lack of experience, lack of communication, a faulty defensive system, or a combination of the three, but Ghana had people free nearly all game. The chances were there with Tim Howard making a couple saves, but most shots missing the frame of goal. They need to shore that up going forward.
Then I look at the host country of Brazil and am not impressed by their defense either. Even though they wound up winning 3-1, including a very questionable penalty to give them their second goal and take the lead, they gave up some good looks to a talented Croatian squad. Brazil gets a bit of a pass as their team was clearly focused on attack and was willing to simply outscore Croatia if need be. They start Dani Alves at defense, even though he's a defensive liability, because he helps so much on the offensive side. They might be able to get away with sloppy defensive play in the group stages, but the knockout stage will be a completely different story.
Down, But Not Out
Spain
Their destruction by the Dutch was certainly a terrible one, both on paper and watching the game. Still, you look at this squad and find it hard to believe that this team can't respond in some way. The best thing Spain has going for them is their bench, which could probably beat a few teams in the World Cup on their own. The starting lineup is guaranteed to have a few changes before their next match, but the drop off in skill will not be nearly as severe as it would with other, less bench-loaded teams. Another thing to remember is that, although it wasn't nearly as devastating as this game, they did lose their World Cup opener in 2010. Then they turned around and won the whole Cup. I don't think they will win it this year, but to count them out after one game, no matter the final score, would be foolish. Since Australia will likely get swept by all the teams in this group, Spain's next match against Chile will likely decide who advances with the Dutch. Win or lose, don't anticipate another blowout.
Uruguay
The highest ranked country in their group, Uruguay now finds itself at the bottom after a shocking opening loss to Costa Rica. It was a convincing loss as well as Uruguay struggled to find offense, tallying their only goal on a penalty kick. Uruguay should feel some sense of hope, however, as striker Luis Suarez wasn't fully back to health. He should play in the next couple games and his talent is such that he can completely change how the Uruguayan squad plays. He had an outstanding season for Liverpool in 2013 and will look to carry that over into the Cup. With England falling to Italy, the matchup between Uruguay and England becomes crucial for advancing to the next round. I don't think Costa Rica continues their upsets, so the Uruguay-England game could be a knockout game in its own right.
Key 2nd Round of Group Stage Matches
June 18th, Spain vs Chile
June 19th, Uruguay vs England
June 20th, Switzerland vs France
June 22nd, Belgium vs Russia
June 22nd, United States vs Portugal
Matty O
Netherlands
Germany could certainly make an argument of their own for this spot, but the way the Dutch beat the defending champion Spanish squad was simply amazing. What's even more amazing is that they had to come back to do so. Diego Costa, seen as a traitor in Brazil for playing for Spain, was constantly showered with boos, but was making some promising runs in the first half. He got good looks a couple of occasions, but failed to finish. Finally, on another of his runs, he was clipped in the box, as a penalty shot was called. Spain converted, and it seemed like we were heading towards another classic case of Spain winning and the Dutch underachieving.
Then, in a goal that will forever be remembered, Robin Van Persie made a diving header that looped perfectly over a frozen Iker Casillas into the back of the net. While it was a huge momentum boost for them going into halftime, it was still tied and Spain was still the defending champs. In the second half, however, the Dutch absolutely throttled Spain as Spain looked lethargic and old. The Dutch scored four goals in the second half, including two beauties by Arjen Robben, to cap off their convincing victory.
It is now the Dutch that are in the driver's seat in group B. While they are in control, this is no time to relax as Chile also got their three points and are certainly capable of challenging the Dutch. The battle for first place is crucial as the runner up of this group will play the winner of group A. That winner is most likely to be the host country, Brazil.
Disappointment of the Tournament
Portugal
It wasn't just that they lost 4-0 to Germany, it was the way they lost. While you could argue about the quality of the other players on the pitch, the Portuguese boasted the best player in the world in Christiano Ronaldo. There were questions about his health coming into the match, but from what I saw, he looked fine. Portugal as a whole, however, was abysmal. They got a few good looks, particularly in the first half, as they tried to match Germany's attacking play. At the same time, they also would go on breaks and get opportunities, only to squander them with a silly dribble or pass.
Ronaldo was very demonstrative throughout the match as you could see how upset he was when the Portuguese attack fizzled out. Despite going down early, Portugal was still within striking distance to tie the match. The wheels came off, however, when Pepe and Thomas Muller got tangled up. Pepe took exception for what looked like a regular soccer play, got in Muller's face while he was still on the ground and head butted him. The referee saw it and gave Pepe a straight red card, banning him from the rest of that game, as well as Portugal's next game against the US. From that point on, it was almost a moot point that the Germans would win as Portugal couldn't commit as many players to help Ronaldo up front. One Muller hat trick later, and Portugal find themselves on the outside of their group looking in.
Opportunity Knocks
United States
Staying in Group G, the US was able to get by Ghana on a late header from John Brooks to exorcise demons from the past two World Cups. They now sit in second place in the group, tied in points with the Germans. With all the turmoil that the Portuguese are going through, the path is set up for the US to advance. I still don't think they can beat the Germans, and the Germans will beat Ghana, so it really is a fight for runner up in the group. There's certainly a couple scenarios where the US could win the group, but they seem unlikely as they would require the Germans to have a drop off in form.
One concern that the US needs to have, and one that Landon Donovan mentioned on ESPN, is the fact that this was such an emotional game and that it is sometimes hard to turn around and play your next match. The US wanted this game, probably more than any in this group stage, and it showed. The emotion and effort was there, but still, it only counts as one win. If they don't take care of business against Portugal, then this exciting win against Ghana will all be for naught.
Where Is The Defense?
This question seems obvious to ask Spain and Portugal who gave up a combined nine goals, but this could be asked about a lot of teams in the tournament. Even though the US won, their defense was absolutely atrocious. Luckily for them, Ghana does not have the best of all strikers. If they concede those opportunities to Ronaldo next game, then the US could get blown out. I'm not sure if it was lack of experience, lack of communication, a faulty defensive system, or a combination of the three, but Ghana had people free nearly all game. The chances were there with Tim Howard making a couple saves, but most shots missing the frame of goal. They need to shore that up going forward.
Then I look at the host country of Brazil and am not impressed by their defense either. Even though they wound up winning 3-1, including a very questionable penalty to give them their second goal and take the lead, they gave up some good looks to a talented Croatian squad. Brazil gets a bit of a pass as their team was clearly focused on attack and was willing to simply outscore Croatia if need be. They start Dani Alves at defense, even though he's a defensive liability, because he helps so much on the offensive side. They might be able to get away with sloppy defensive play in the group stages, but the knockout stage will be a completely different story.
Down, But Not Out
Spain
Their destruction by the Dutch was certainly a terrible one, both on paper and watching the game. Still, you look at this squad and find it hard to believe that this team can't respond in some way. The best thing Spain has going for them is their bench, which could probably beat a few teams in the World Cup on their own. The starting lineup is guaranteed to have a few changes before their next match, but the drop off in skill will not be nearly as severe as it would with other, less bench-loaded teams. Another thing to remember is that, although it wasn't nearly as devastating as this game, they did lose their World Cup opener in 2010. Then they turned around and won the whole Cup. I don't think they will win it this year, but to count them out after one game, no matter the final score, would be foolish. Since Australia will likely get swept by all the teams in this group, Spain's next match against Chile will likely decide who advances with the Dutch. Win or lose, don't anticipate another blowout.
Uruguay
The highest ranked country in their group, Uruguay now finds itself at the bottom after a shocking opening loss to Costa Rica. It was a convincing loss as well as Uruguay struggled to find offense, tallying their only goal on a penalty kick. Uruguay should feel some sense of hope, however, as striker Luis Suarez wasn't fully back to health. He should play in the next couple games and his talent is such that he can completely change how the Uruguayan squad plays. He had an outstanding season for Liverpool in 2013 and will look to carry that over into the Cup. With England falling to Italy, the matchup between Uruguay and England becomes crucial for advancing to the next round. I don't think Costa Rica continues their upsets, so the Uruguay-England game could be a knockout game in its own right.
Key 2nd Round of Group Stage Matches
June 18th, Spain vs Chile
June 19th, Uruguay vs England
June 20th, Switzerland vs France
June 22nd, Belgium vs Russia
June 22nd, United States vs Portugal
Matty O
Monday, June 16, 2014
NBA Finals Wrap Up
Spurs or Heat fan, I doubt a lot of people saw a 4-1 series coming. In arguably the most anticipated Finals matchup since Boston-LA in 2010, the Spurs managed to take two in Miami in convincing fashion after splitting at home the first two games. The Heat came out in Game 5 looking like a team that could be the first ones to come back from a 3-1 NBA Finals series deficit. The Spurs rallied from their slow start and took the lead before halftime. They never looked back as they buried the Heat in the second half, avenging their heartbreaking 4-3 loss to Miami last year. Now is as good a time as any to reflect on these two teams, as well as what the future holds for both of them.
Heat's Legacy
Four trips in a row to the NBA Finals is nothing to sneeze at. There are a lot of teams out there that would love to be able to make four straight NBA Finals. While the Big Three of LeBron James, Dwayne Wade, and Chris Bosh were the obvious stars of the bunch, they were able to find role players that played crucial roles during each of their runs to the Finals (Mike Miller, Ray Allen, Shane Battier). During this four year run, they have played against the likes of Dirk Nowitzki, Kevin Durant, Russell Westbrook, Tim Duncan, Tony Parker, and Manu Ginobili, all of whom may one day end up in the Hall of Fame (Duncan and Nowitzki are sure bets to get in).
While the dreams they had of winning three straight titles have been halted by these Spurs, they still drew attention to the NBA and changed the way we think about how teams are assembled. Because of the intense hatred that people had towards the Heat because of the way the team was brought together, people flocked to games and television sets just to see their demise. Television ratings for the Finals had taken a nose dive and was struggling mightily after the Jordan Era ended. Jordan's last series in 1998 against the Jazz drew an 18.7 Nielsen Rating. LeBron James' first NBA Finals when his Cavs played the Spurs? A record low 6.2. In fact, from 2003 to 2009, every NBA Finals series had single digit ratings except for 2004 when the Pistons beat the Lakers in 5. Starting with the Lakers-Celtics series of 2010 and carrying into the Heat Big Three Era, the ratings went back into the double digits as you had the classic matchup in 2010, then the hope that the Heat would fail from 2011-2014. If the Pacers beat the Heat and were playing the Spurs in the Finals, would the ratings have been as high? I doubt it.
The attention surrounding this team and what they accomplished is something that won't be forgotten, even though the time they've been together has just been a flash in the pan. For as great as the San Antonio Spurs are, even they have never won back to back titles. Certainly, it's too soon to predict what will happen with this team going forward, so perhaps their legacy isn't finished yet. As it stands right now though, they will probably be more remembered for the circus it took to bring them together and the disdain people had for them, rather than the back to back titles and success they had on the court.
What's Next For The Heat?
While it might be too soon to predict what will happen, it's certainly fun to guess. There have been a lot of prospects thrown out there, most of them revolving around what James ultimately decides he wants to do. The first, and most interesting prospect, is having Carmelo Anthony come down to South Beach to play with the Heat. The most significant barrier to this, however, is financially. While the NBA has the softest salary cap of the major sports, there are still limits. To pull this move off, Bosh, Wade, and James would all have to opt out of their current contracts to take pay cuts to allow Anthony to join the team.
While this would, once again, be great for the league, I think this would be devastating to all four's legacies, except for Wade because he won a title without the Big Three in 2006 (although Shaq might count as two people). It would be a toss up between Anthony and James to determine whose legacy it hurts more. Anthony would be accused of riding James' coat tails and proving that he can't win a title as the best player on the team. If they don't win a title, Anthony still gets ripped, and possibly blamed, for messing up the Heat's chemistry and proving that he can't get it done when it matters. James would be ripped for needing even more help to win multiple NBA Titles after failing to do so in Cleveland, and going 2-2 in the Finals with the current Big Three. Anthony still does not address their need for a big banger down low, and this would really put a squeeze on them financially to find role players. They could still do it, but if they miss on one or two of them, it will leave their bench in a terrible position.
The other, also interesting option, is for James to opt out and go somewhere else. Should he go back to Cleveland where the Cavs have a great, young core as well as the number one draft pick this year? Should he go to LA and play with Kobe and resurrect the Lakers? Is there another team he has in the back of his mind that is off the radar? Lots of questions to consider for James. Similar to when James decided to go to Miami, there are a couple enticing players that might be looking for a new team as well. Anthony is one, with the other being Minnesota Timberwolves forward Kevin Love. Unlike Anthony, Love won't be a free agent until 2015. Love, however, has voiced his frustration about playing for the Timberwolves and some believe that the T-Wolves would rather trade him for some value now, rather than simply lose him next year and receive nothing in return.
Love is arguably the best forward in the game right now, but he just doesn't get the love (pun intended) because he plays in Minnesota. Dwight Howard is still a quality big man, but the attention he got went down significantly once he left LA. If Love had been playing in LA or New York, more people would realize how good this guy is. I think a LeBron-Love duo could wreak havoc in the NBA. Pair them with another superstar and you could have the start of a new dynasty.
The last, and most boring, option would be for the Heat to do nothing. They would once again replace and find new role players to fill their bench, but they would trust the core of the Big Three to carry them back to the Finals. Not only is this the most boring option, but it's also the riskiest. Wade has clearly lost a step and is no longer the player of 2006. Bosh won't be getting any better and, in my opinion, is one of the more overrated big men in the game. James is still the best player in the league, but, as we saw in Cleveland, even he cannot carry a team to a title on his own. If they are able to find a diamond in the rough with every single one of their free agent signings and find the rookie of the year with one of their two draft picks, then it will work out. That's not likely to happen though so something, whether it's adding to the team or blowing it up, needs to happen this offseason.
Spurs Legacy
Since 1999, when the Spurs won their first NBA titles on the backs of Tim Duncan and David Robinson, they have been a model of efficiency in the NBA. Their own Big Three of Duncan, Tony Parker, and Manu Ginobili were all drafted by the Spurs. Also, although he wasn't officially drafted by the Spurs, Finals MVP Kawhi Leonard has played all his NBA games with the Spurs as he was traded to them by the Indiana Pacers shortly after he was drafted by the Pacers. It's a somewhat risky strategy in holding off on signing big name free agents, especially if one of your drafts picks turns out to be a bust. The Spurs stuck to their system as all four of them have flourished under Gregg Popovich and now sit on top of the NBA world.
While they cannot boast back to back titles like the Heat, their run of five titles since 1999, and four with their Big Three intact has been quite amazing. Despite their record and success, they also manage to go through the season and playoffs almost undetected. The focus almost always seems to be in Miami or Chicago or New York or LA. I think they enjoy this lack of attention as they just keep building momentum during the season, then unleash all their hard work on their opponents during the playoffs. This lack of attention also has the negative side effect of their greatness sometimes getting overlooked. Everyone wants to matchup the Heat against legendary teams from the past, but what about these Spurs?
They have a dominant big man (Duncan), skilled point guard (Parker), and a very deep bench (Manu Ginobili, Boris Diaw, Patty Mills, Marco Belinelli). I could see them being able to hold their own against the likes of Jordan's Bulls, Magic's Lakers, and Bird's Celtics. I could not say the same about this year's Heat. Popovich is the brains behind the whole thing as he has gotten his players to buy into true team basketball and to play within his system to maximize their potential. That is why guys like Parker and Ginobili have become so successful. While Duncan was drafted first overall and was a superstar in the making, Parker was drafted at the end of the first round and Ginobili wasn't taken until the end of the second round with neither having played college ball in the US. Most players with that story don't work out, but the Spurs found a way to get the best out of them. That's not to say they would not have been successful elsewhere, but I doubt they would have been embraced and trusted the way they were in San Antonio.
The best part going forward with this team is that the 22 year old Leonard won the Finals MVP and looks poised to become a star in this league. He will have to carry the torch as guys like Duncan (38 years old), Ginobili (36), and Parker (32) are all chasing father time at this point. Duncan might even call it quits after winning this last championship. Either way, Leonard could soon become the face of this franchise and be counted on to compete in a brutal Western Conference. If the Spurs keep drafting and signing the right guys to fit their system, I have no doubt that they will continue to contend.
Give Coaches A Chance
In today's day and age, the most common question for coaches is, "What have you done for me lately?" While this can be a good thing if the coach has overstayed his welcome or simply isn't that good, it can also be a bad thing in that it kicks coaches to the curb far too quickly. If a team is performing poorly, one solution that front offices are quick to jump to is to fire the coach just to "shake things up." The problem is you can shake yourself back about three or four years if you do that. I think that more coaches should get more time to not only implement their system, but gain the trust of the players to give 100%.
If a coach truly doesn't connect to the players in any way, or has been chosen simply as an interim head coach, then yes, pull the plug when you need to. Some teams however, feel like pulling the plug on coaches that simply need more time. The most recent example I can think of is with the LA Lakers. You might think I'm talking about Mike D'Antoni, but I'm actually talking about the guy who preceded him, Mike Brown.
Brown was coming off a successful, but title-less, run with LeBron and the Cavs leading them to at least the Conference Semifinals every year he was there, and one year to the NBA Finals, where they were swept by the Spurs. If Erik Spoelstra gets credit for taking this Heat team to the Finals and losing, then Brown should get two spots in the Hall of Fame for taking a far inferior Cavs team to the Finals and failing to win just one more game than the Heat did in the final series. Then he comes to LA in 2011 and leads the Lakers to third place in the West, while getting the best year out of perennial bust Andrew Bynum. The Lakers lost in the Conference Semifinals to a Thunder team that wound up in the NBA Finals. Not a bad year. The very next year, Brown wants to use a Princeton offense as the team acquires Steve Nash and Dwight Howard. The Lakers start off badly, going 1-4, and Brown is fired after five games. FIVE! This happened while Nash, Kobe, and Dwight were all at less than 100%
Now, I'm not saying Brown would have led them to multiple straight titles. We'll never really know the answer to that. What I am saying is that giving a coach one year and five games to fully implement their system while acquiring new starters in the process is not the easiest of challenges. Imagine if we gave every President one year and five days as their term. No one would get reelected because that is an extremely short amount of time to implement anything worthwhile and to get an entire organization, or nation, to buy into it. It is the resistance to this knee jerk method of replacing coaches that has allowed Popovich to have his system grow and to truly create a culture of winning.
Popovich didn't win a NBA title until his third year with the Spurs. Does Brown win a title with the Lakers if he stays three years? Hmmm. In fact, Pop went an abysmal 17-47 in his first partial season of coaching. In his second year, he made the playoffs but, like Brown, lost in the Conference Semifinals. Now, 16 seasons later, he has a NBA championship for each finger on his hand. I'm not sure if the five titles or his tenure as coach for 17 full seasons is more amazing. The point is that I think players, coaches, owners, and GMs need more stability throughout the organization. While it may be tempting to fire a coach or GM, or trade a player, keeping the right one can give you sustained success and multiple trips to the top of your sport.
Depth vs Star Power
Even though the NBA has a soft salary cap, there is only so much money to go around. Even in a no cap environment like baseball, teams cannot simply buy the best players at each position. Miguel Cabrera is the best first baseman in baseball, but he's still on the Tigers, not on the Yankees. This means that, eventually, you'll need role players that cost less money to fill the void behind your superstars. The problem is that if you have too many star players demanding higher salaries, you're much more restricted in the quality of role players you can get. Since all role players are not created equal, the way a team is assembled will have a great impact in how well they do during the season and into the playoffs.
To me, the Spurs represent the depth in this scenario while the Heat represent star power. LeBron James is asked to play so many minutes in part because of his athleticism, but also because their bench is so shallow. Certainly Ray Allen and Mario Chalmers have helped the Heat out in the past, and Birdman and Battier can give Bosh some rest, but I don't think anyone is looking for the Sixth Man of the Year award on the Heat.
Switching sides to the Spurs and you have a wealth of "role players." That's in quotes for the Spurs because while some of them come off the bench, they're actually good enough to start for a lot of teams in this league. Ginobili comes off the bench most games. Danny Green, a streaky but good shooter, is considered a role player and will sometimes come off the bench. Boris Diaw, one of the best passing big men in the game and an actual starter for the Phoenix Suns and Charlotte Bobcats, had been used off the bench but worked his way into the starting lineup for the Spurs. When Duncan or Parker come off, the drop off is not nearly as severe as when James steps off the floor for the Heat (see Game 1 of this series).
I've always thought that a deep team is better than a top heavy one. If there was a way, like in video games, to turn injuries off, then a star loaded team wins every time. Unfortunately, that's not reality and if something happens to just one of those star players, on or off the playing field, then the integrity of the system is in trouble. In this series, it was Wade who showed the world that father time catches up to even the best athletes. His shooting percentage was atrocious as he tried to play like 2006 Wade, which resulted in 2014 Wade results. Bosh actually turned in a solid playoffs and series, but it really was like the Big Three turned into the Big Two. Without that third star to go along with, the Heat turned into an only slightly better version of LeBron's Cavs that were swept by the Spurs. Without the depth to compensate for this loss, the Heat folded as the Spurs and their bench trampled them down the stretch in every game except Game 2.
Greatness In Perspective
I can't speak for the great teams prior to the 90s because I didn't get a chance to see them play. What I can speak for is the Jordan Era Bulls that took the NBA by storm during the 90s. Since Jordan is widely considered the greatest of all time, James is constantly being compared to him and, consequently, his Heat teams are compared to Jordan's Bulls teams. I don't think that any of the Big Three teams could have beat Jordan's Bulls, particularly the 1995-96 version. They went a ridiculous 72-10 during the regular season and lost three times during the entire playoffs. Also, for anyone suggesting that the competition was easier back then, just look at the joke that was the Eastern Conference this year. The team with the best record, Indiana, didn't even come close to the 72-10 mark as the Pacers finished 56-26.
Even if you take a look at the Spurs and their accomplishments, it still comes up short to what Jordan and the Bulls did. Two three peats, although you could very easily argue that the Bulls would have won eight straight had Jordan not gone to play baseball. In the 1993-94 season, the Bulls made it to the Conference Semifinals and pushed the Knicks to seven games. In the 1994-95 season, the Bulls made it to the Conference Semifinals and pushed the Magic to six games. If James, the best player in the game, can take a last place Cavs team to the NBA Finals, then I would think that Jordan would have been able to get a Conference Semifinals losing Bulls team to two more NBA titles.
The Spurs are still working for six, and have had everyone from their core group the entire time (exception: David Robinson when he retired). The team of Parker, Ginobili, and Duncan have even lost in the first round...twice! I don't think the Spurs or the Heat can match the greatness that the Bulls presented. I think the only recent team that comes close was the Kobe-Shaq Lakers of the early 2000s. Had they not had their personal differences, I think that combination and the players they had around them, could have challenged six straight, not just two separate three peats. A title next year would certainly help the Spurs' argument in this debate, but considering how hard it is to repeat, I still have my doubts.
Matty O
Heat's Legacy
Four trips in a row to the NBA Finals is nothing to sneeze at. There are a lot of teams out there that would love to be able to make four straight NBA Finals. While the Big Three of LeBron James, Dwayne Wade, and Chris Bosh were the obvious stars of the bunch, they were able to find role players that played crucial roles during each of their runs to the Finals (Mike Miller, Ray Allen, Shane Battier). During this four year run, they have played against the likes of Dirk Nowitzki, Kevin Durant, Russell Westbrook, Tim Duncan, Tony Parker, and Manu Ginobili, all of whom may one day end up in the Hall of Fame (Duncan and Nowitzki are sure bets to get in).
While the dreams they had of winning three straight titles have been halted by these Spurs, they still drew attention to the NBA and changed the way we think about how teams are assembled. Because of the intense hatred that people had towards the Heat because of the way the team was brought together, people flocked to games and television sets just to see their demise. Television ratings for the Finals had taken a nose dive and was struggling mightily after the Jordan Era ended. Jordan's last series in 1998 against the Jazz drew an 18.7 Nielsen Rating. LeBron James' first NBA Finals when his Cavs played the Spurs? A record low 6.2. In fact, from 2003 to 2009, every NBA Finals series had single digit ratings except for 2004 when the Pistons beat the Lakers in 5. Starting with the Lakers-Celtics series of 2010 and carrying into the Heat Big Three Era, the ratings went back into the double digits as you had the classic matchup in 2010, then the hope that the Heat would fail from 2011-2014. If the Pacers beat the Heat and were playing the Spurs in the Finals, would the ratings have been as high? I doubt it.
The attention surrounding this team and what they accomplished is something that won't be forgotten, even though the time they've been together has just been a flash in the pan. For as great as the San Antonio Spurs are, even they have never won back to back titles. Certainly, it's too soon to predict what will happen with this team going forward, so perhaps their legacy isn't finished yet. As it stands right now though, they will probably be more remembered for the circus it took to bring them together and the disdain people had for them, rather than the back to back titles and success they had on the court.
What's Next For The Heat?
While it might be too soon to predict what will happen, it's certainly fun to guess. There have been a lot of prospects thrown out there, most of them revolving around what James ultimately decides he wants to do. The first, and most interesting prospect, is having Carmelo Anthony come down to South Beach to play with the Heat. The most significant barrier to this, however, is financially. While the NBA has the softest salary cap of the major sports, there are still limits. To pull this move off, Bosh, Wade, and James would all have to opt out of their current contracts to take pay cuts to allow Anthony to join the team.
While this would, once again, be great for the league, I think this would be devastating to all four's legacies, except for Wade because he won a title without the Big Three in 2006 (although Shaq might count as two people). It would be a toss up between Anthony and James to determine whose legacy it hurts more. Anthony would be accused of riding James' coat tails and proving that he can't win a title as the best player on the team. If they don't win a title, Anthony still gets ripped, and possibly blamed, for messing up the Heat's chemistry and proving that he can't get it done when it matters. James would be ripped for needing even more help to win multiple NBA Titles after failing to do so in Cleveland, and going 2-2 in the Finals with the current Big Three. Anthony still does not address their need for a big banger down low, and this would really put a squeeze on them financially to find role players. They could still do it, but if they miss on one or two of them, it will leave their bench in a terrible position.
The other, also interesting option, is for James to opt out and go somewhere else. Should he go back to Cleveland where the Cavs have a great, young core as well as the number one draft pick this year? Should he go to LA and play with Kobe and resurrect the Lakers? Is there another team he has in the back of his mind that is off the radar? Lots of questions to consider for James. Similar to when James decided to go to Miami, there are a couple enticing players that might be looking for a new team as well. Anthony is one, with the other being Minnesota Timberwolves forward Kevin Love. Unlike Anthony, Love won't be a free agent until 2015. Love, however, has voiced his frustration about playing for the Timberwolves and some believe that the T-Wolves would rather trade him for some value now, rather than simply lose him next year and receive nothing in return.
Love is arguably the best forward in the game right now, but he just doesn't get the love (pun intended) because he plays in Minnesota. Dwight Howard is still a quality big man, but the attention he got went down significantly once he left LA. If Love had been playing in LA or New York, more people would realize how good this guy is. I think a LeBron-Love duo could wreak havoc in the NBA. Pair them with another superstar and you could have the start of a new dynasty.
The last, and most boring, option would be for the Heat to do nothing. They would once again replace and find new role players to fill their bench, but they would trust the core of the Big Three to carry them back to the Finals. Not only is this the most boring option, but it's also the riskiest. Wade has clearly lost a step and is no longer the player of 2006. Bosh won't be getting any better and, in my opinion, is one of the more overrated big men in the game. James is still the best player in the league, but, as we saw in Cleveland, even he cannot carry a team to a title on his own. If they are able to find a diamond in the rough with every single one of their free agent signings and find the rookie of the year with one of their two draft picks, then it will work out. That's not likely to happen though so something, whether it's adding to the team or blowing it up, needs to happen this offseason.
Spurs Legacy
Since 1999, when the Spurs won their first NBA titles on the backs of Tim Duncan and David Robinson, they have been a model of efficiency in the NBA. Their own Big Three of Duncan, Tony Parker, and Manu Ginobili were all drafted by the Spurs. Also, although he wasn't officially drafted by the Spurs, Finals MVP Kawhi Leonard has played all his NBA games with the Spurs as he was traded to them by the Indiana Pacers shortly after he was drafted by the Pacers. It's a somewhat risky strategy in holding off on signing big name free agents, especially if one of your drafts picks turns out to be a bust. The Spurs stuck to their system as all four of them have flourished under Gregg Popovich and now sit on top of the NBA world.
While they cannot boast back to back titles like the Heat, their run of five titles since 1999, and four with their Big Three intact has been quite amazing. Despite their record and success, they also manage to go through the season and playoffs almost undetected. The focus almost always seems to be in Miami or Chicago or New York or LA. I think they enjoy this lack of attention as they just keep building momentum during the season, then unleash all their hard work on their opponents during the playoffs. This lack of attention also has the negative side effect of their greatness sometimes getting overlooked. Everyone wants to matchup the Heat against legendary teams from the past, but what about these Spurs?
They have a dominant big man (Duncan), skilled point guard (Parker), and a very deep bench (Manu Ginobili, Boris Diaw, Patty Mills, Marco Belinelli). I could see them being able to hold their own against the likes of Jordan's Bulls, Magic's Lakers, and Bird's Celtics. I could not say the same about this year's Heat. Popovich is the brains behind the whole thing as he has gotten his players to buy into true team basketball and to play within his system to maximize their potential. That is why guys like Parker and Ginobili have become so successful. While Duncan was drafted first overall and was a superstar in the making, Parker was drafted at the end of the first round and Ginobili wasn't taken until the end of the second round with neither having played college ball in the US. Most players with that story don't work out, but the Spurs found a way to get the best out of them. That's not to say they would not have been successful elsewhere, but I doubt they would have been embraced and trusted the way they were in San Antonio.
The best part going forward with this team is that the 22 year old Leonard won the Finals MVP and looks poised to become a star in this league. He will have to carry the torch as guys like Duncan (38 years old), Ginobili (36), and Parker (32) are all chasing father time at this point. Duncan might even call it quits after winning this last championship. Either way, Leonard could soon become the face of this franchise and be counted on to compete in a brutal Western Conference. If the Spurs keep drafting and signing the right guys to fit their system, I have no doubt that they will continue to contend.
Give Coaches A Chance
In today's day and age, the most common question for coaches is, "What have you done for me lately?" While this can be a good thing if the coach has overstayed his welcome or simply isn't that good, it can also be a bad thing in that it kicks coaches to the curb far too quickly. If a team is performing poorly, one solution that front offices are quick to jump to is to fire the coach just to "shake things up." The problem is you can shake yourself back about three or four years if you do that. I think that more coaches should get more time to not only implement their system, but gain the trust of the players to give 100%.
If a coach truly doesn't connect to the players in any way, or has been chosen simply as an interim head coach, then yes, pull the plug when you need to. Some teams however, feel like pulling the plug on coaches that simply need more time. The most recent example I can think of is with the LA Lakers. You might think I'm talking about Mike D'Antoni, but I'm actually talking about the guy who preceded him, Mike Brown.
Brown was coming off a successful, but title-less, run with LeBron and the Cavs leading them to at least the Conference Semifinals every year he was there, and one year to the NBA Finals, where they were swept by the Spurs. If Erik Spoelstra gets credit for taking this Heat team to the Finals and losing, then Brown should get two spots in the Hall of Fame for taking a far inferior Cavs team to the Finals and failing to win just one more game than the Heat did in the final series. Then he comes to LA in 2011 and leads the Lakers to third place in the West, while getting the best year out of perennial bust Andrew Bynum. The Lakers lost in the Conference Semifinals to a Thunder team that wound up in the NBA Finals. Not a bad year. The very next year, Brown wants to use a Princeton offense as the team acquires Steve Nash and Dwight Howard. The Lakers start off badly, going 1-4, and Brown is fired after five games. FIVE! This happened while Nash, Kobe, and Dwight were all at less than 100%
Now, I'm not saying Brown would have led them to multiple straight titles. We'll never really know the answer to that. What I am saying is that giving a coach one year and five games to fully implement their system while acquiring new starters in the process is not the easiest of challenges. Imagine if we gave every President one year and five days as their term. No one would get reelected because that is an extremely short amount of time to implement anything worthwhile and to get an entire organization, or nation, to buy into it. It is the resistance to this knee jerk method of replacing coaches that has allowed Popovich to have his system grow and to truly create a culture of winning.
Popovich didn't win a NBA title until his third year with the Spurs. Does Brown win a title with the Lakers if he stays three years? Hmmm. In fact, Pop went an abysmal 17-47 in his first partial season of coaching. In his second year, he made the playoffs but, like Brown, lost in the Conference Semifinals. Now, 16 seasons later, he has a NBA championship for each finger on his hand. I'm not sure if the five titles or his tenure as coach for 17 full seasons is more amazing. The point is that I think players, coaches, owners, and GMs need more stability throughout the organization. While it may be tempting to fire a coach or GM, or trade a player, keeping the right one can give you sustained success and multiple trips to the top of your sport.
Depth vs Star Power
Even though the NBA has a soft salary cap, there is only so much money to go around. Even in a no cap environment like baseball, teams cannot simply buy the best players at each position. Miguel Cabrera is the best first baseman in baseball, but he's still on the Tigers, not on the Yankees. This means that, eventually, you'll need role players that cost less money to fill the void behind your superstars. The problem is that if you have too many star players demanding higher salaries, you're much more restricted in the quality of role players you can get. Since all role players are not created equal, the way a team is assembled will have a great impact in how well they do during the season and into the playoffs.
To me, the Spurs represent the depth in this scenario while the Heat represent star power. LeBron James is asked to play so many minutes in part because of his athleticism, but also because their bench is so shallow. Certainly Ray Allen and Mario Chalmers have helped the Heat out in the past, and Birdman and Battier can give Bosh some rest, but I don't think anyone is looking for the Sixth Man of the Year award on the Heat.
Switching sides to the Spurs and you have a wealth of "role players." That's in quotes for the Spurs because while some of them come off the bench, they're actually good enough to start for a lot of teams in this league. Ginobili comes off the bench most games. Danny Green, a streaky but good shooter, is considered a role player and will sometimes come off the bench. Boris Diaw, one of the best passing big men in the game and an actual starter for the Phoenix Suns and Charlotte Bobcats, had been used off the bench but worked his way into the starting lineup for the Spurs. When Duncan or Parker come off, the drop off is not nearly as severe as when James steps off the floor for the Heat (see Game 1 of this series).
I've always thought that a deep team is better than a top heavy one. If there was a way, like in video games, to turn injuries off, then a star loaded team wins every time. Unfortunately, that's not reality and if something happens to just one of those star players, on or off the playing field, then the integrity of the system is in trouble. In this series, it was Wade who showed the world that father time catches up to even the best athletes. His shooting percentage was atrocious as he tried to play like 2006 Wade, which resulted in 2014 Wade results. Bosh actually turned in a solid playoffs and series, but it really was like the Big Three turned into the Big Two. Without that third star to go along with, the Heat turned into an only slightly better version of LeBron's Cavs that were swept by the Spurs. Without the depth to compensate for this loss, the Heat folded as the Spurs and their bench trampled them down the stretch in every game except Game 2.
Greatness In Perspective
I can't speak for the great teams prior to the 90s because I didn't get a chance to see them play. What I can speak for is the Jordan Era Bulls that took the NBA by storm during the 90s. Since Jordan is widely considered the greatest of all time, James is constantly being compared to him and, consequently, his Heat teams are compared to Jordan's Bulls teams. I don't think that any of the Big Three teams could have beat Jordan's Bulls, particularly the 1995-96 version. They went a ridiculous 72-10 during the regular season and lost three times during the entire playoffs. Also, for anyone suggesting that the competition was easier back then, just look at the joke that was the Eastern Conference this year. The team with the best record, Indiana, didn't even come close to the 72-10 mark as the Pacers finished 56-26.
Even if you take a look at the Spurs and their accomplishments, it still comes up short to what Jordan and the Bulls did. Two three peats, although you could very easily argue that the Bulls would have won eight straight had Jordan not gone to play baseball. In the 1993-94 season, the Bulls made it to the Conference Semifinals and pushed the Knicks to seven games. In the 1994-95 season, the Bulls made it to the Conference Semifinals and pushed the Magic to six games. If James, the best player in the game, can take a last place Cavs team to the NBA Finals, then I would think that Jordan would have been able to get a Conference Semifinals losing Bulls team to two more NBA titles.
The Spurs are still working for six, and have had everyone from their core group the entire time (exception: David Robinson when he retired). The team of Parker, Ginobili, and Duncan have even lost in the first round...twice! I don't think the Spurs or the Heat can match the greatness that the Bulls presented. I think the only recent team that comes close was the Kobe-Shaq Lakers of the early 2000s. Had they not had their personal differences, I think that combination and the players they had around them, could have challenged six straight, not just two separate three peats. A title next year would certainly help the Spurs' argument in this debate, but considering how hard it is to repeat, I still have my doubts.
Matty O
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