Thursday, February 24, 2011
MELO-DRAMATIC
Carmelo Anthony has finally made it to the New Knicks. Since the season started Melo has been hinting and rumors has been circulating that he wanted to go to the Knicks and play in Madison Square Garden with all-star Amare Stoudemire. His wish has finally came true as he and Chauncey Billups are now Knicks, along with Sheldon Williams, Anthony Carter and Renaldo Balkman who was also apart of the trade. In return the nuggets got some young developing talent in Raymond Felton, Danilo Gallinari, Timofey Mozgov, Wilson Chandler, and a 2014 first round pick. The Minnesota Timberwolves also got involved as they shipped Corey Brewer to the Knicks for Anthony Randolph and Eddie Curry. So, the Knicks end up getting 9 all-star appearances and a championship ring in Melo and Billups, along with an althetic wing player in Brewer. The Nuggets get a bunch of talent that caoch George Carl will have to continue to develop. The deal works out well for both teams. The knicks get a superstar but they can't contend for a championship because they need to surround their superstars with some role players. On the other hand, Denver has all the role players and hope that one of the young players will turn into a superstar, but if not they still have a team that is set up for a superstar player to come in and make them a championship contender. With Melo going to the Knicks this only sets the Knicks up to make more moves next season. They have the ability to acquire some quality player who will hit the free agent market next year, players like Deron Williams, Chris Paul, and Dwight Howard. If the Knicks are able to acquire any of those players next season then they will be worthy of being in the finals conversation. But for now there is a certain electicity in New York and The Knicks are making strides to get back to the top.
Tuesday, February 22, 2011
All-Star Saturday & The Rig Dunk Contest
Following Friday's exciting festivities, All-Star Saturday was anticipated to be even better and it lived up to the hype. Starting off with the skills competition that was headlined by MVP candidate Derrick Rose and former winner Chris Paul. Neither one of them won, but it was very competitive; although Chris Paul missed a lay-up to start his run. Russel Westbrook and Stephen Curry stole the show, with times of 30 seconds flat for Westbrook in the first round and a time of 34 seconds for Curry in the first round. Curry blew Westbrook out the water in the last round recording a time of 28.2 seconds to challenge the record of 25.5 seconds set by Deron Williams in 2008. Westbrook struggled in the last round and only posted a score of 44.2 seconds. The competition was still exciting and for a good cause as Curry was able to win 30,000 dollars worth of tuition for a young girl.
With the skills competition starting things off well, the 3-point contest was up next and new record holder for most 3-point field goals made Ray Allen was favored to win. Even though the 3-point contest wasn't too exciting, a few players went on good runs. Previous winner Paul Pierce made things interesting in the final round as he challenged the final two contestants James Jones and Ray Allen by posting a score of 18. James Jones was second and he topped Pierce by posting a score of 20 putting the pressure on the six time contestant Allen. Allen struggled in the beginning and never bounced back as he only posted a score of 15. Making the Miami Heat's 4th or 5th option James Jones the new 3-point shooting champion. Which left me thinking, "the heat finally beat the Celtics in something".
Concluding the night was the dunk contest headlined by the high flying Blake Griffin. The dunk contest was a success. It was very creative, original, and simply fun to watch. Even though the judges may have got caught in the Griffin hype. It seemed like it was pre-determined for Griffin to make it to the final round as he did a two hand 360 that he missed several times and a wind mill from the side that he also missed several times. I thought his dunks in the first round were unimpressive and simple. I thought Javale McGee was the most original and creative as he dunk three balls at once and then dunked two balls simultaneously on two different courts. Although his last dunk wasn't much McGee had already did enough to win and McGee's last dunk was just as impressive as Griffin's dunk over the car; minus the hype of bringing the car out. Even though Griffin did jump over a car he jumped over the shortest end of a small sized car. He didn't jump over top of the car just the hood of it. It was like an alley-oop pass that he dunk with two hands. He didn't take off from a distance and jumping over the hood of a car doesn't seem very high. Minus the presentation of bringing the car out, this dunk was one of the worse. I thought Serge Ibaka's dunk from the foul was better. It was more difficult and he actually topped Jordan and Dr.J by jumping from behind the line. Overall the dunk contest was great but the hype of Blake Griffin stole the show.
With the skills competition starting things off well, the 3-point contest was up next and new record holder for most 3-point field goals made Ray Allen was favored to win. Even though the 3-point contest wasn't too exciting, a few players went on good runs. Previous winner Paul Pierce made things interesting in the final round as he challenged the final two contestants James Jones and Ray Allen by posting a score of 18. James Jones was second and he topped Pierce by posting a score of 20 putting the pressure on the six time contestant Allen. Allen struggled in the beginning and never bounced back as he only posted a score of 15. Making the Miami Heat's 4th or 5th option James Jones the new 3-point shooting champion. Which left me thinking, "the heat finally beat the Celtics in something".
Concluding the night was the dunk contest headlined by the high flying Blake Griffin. The dunk contest was a success. It was very creative, original, and simply fun to watch. Even though the judges may have got caught in the Griffin hype. It seemed like it was pre-determined for Griffin to make it to the final round as he did a two hand 360 that he missed several times and a wind mill from the side that he also missed several times. I thought his dunks in the first round were unimpressive and simple. I thought Javale McGee was the most original and creative as he dunk three balls at once and then dunked two balls simultaneously on two different courts. Although his last dunk wasn't much McGee had already did enough to win and McGee's last dunk was just as impressive as Griffin's dunk over the car; minus the hype of bringing the car out. Even though Griffin did jump over a car he jumped over the shortest end of a small sized car. He didn't jump over top of the car just the hood of it. It was like an alley-oop pass that he dunk with two hands. He didn't take off from a distance and jumping over the hood of a car doesn't seem very high. Minus the presentation of bringing the car out, this dunk was one of the worse. I thought Serge Ibaka's dunk from the foul was better. It was more difficult and he actually topped Jordan and Dr.J by jumping from behind the line. Overall the dunk contest was great but the hype of Blake Griffin stole the show.
Monday, February 21, 2011
All Star Friday
Now that the NBA All-Star festivities are over it's time to take a look back at the weekend that was and reflect. Opening night set the tone for a high flying weekend full of dunks and great entertainment during the rookie versus sophomore game and celebrity game. John Wall started it off leading the rookies to their first win in 7 years, with a rookie challenge record of 22 assist. The dunks in this challenge was headlined by John Walls bounce pass alley-oop to Blake Griffin who who threw it down like only Griffin can do.
The celebrity game was entertaining as Justin Bieber won the MVP honors in a losing effort. He showed off some skills with decent crossover dribble against rapper Common and a three pointer to go along with his 8 points. Other notable celebrities were Scottie Pippen who stood out with his 17 points, a win, and a blocked shot against Bieber. Also apart of this great show was Trey Songz, Romeo Miller, Rick Fox, Swin Cash, and many others. The game was fun and full of laughter, highlighting the funniest moments of the game was when coach of the west team, Irving "Magic" Johnson got on Scottie Pippen for blocking Bieber's shot. Unfortunately fame doesn't translate into talent and the final score of the game was 54-49 in favor of the East team. All-Star Friday was a great starting night for a weekend of amazement for the NBA
The celebrity game was entertaining as Justin Bieber won the MVP honors in a losing effort. He showed off some skills with decent crossover dribble against rapper Common and a three pointer to go along with his 8 points. Other notable celebrities were Scottie Pippen who stood out with his 17 points, a win, and a blocked shot against Bieber. Also apart of this great show was Trey Songz, Romeo Miller, Rick Fox, Swin Cash, and many others. The game was fun and full of laughter, highlighting the funniest moments of the game was when coach of the west team, Irving "Magic" Johnson got on Scottie Pippen for blocking Bieber's shot. Unfortunately fame doesn't translate into talent and the final score of the game was 54-49 in favor of the East team. All-Star Friday was a great starting night for a weekend of amazement for the NBA
Wednesday, February 2, 2011
Brady or Vick for Offensive Player of the Year.... You Decide
The 2010 Offensive player of the year award went to none other than the New England Patriots Tom Brady. He put up ridiculous numbers barring the fact that he didn't have a legitimate star receiver. Brady threw for 3,900 yards, rushed for 30 yards, threw 36 touchdowns, rushed for 1, and only threw 4 interceptions and lost 1 fumble, giving him the highest quarterback rating in the NFL at 111.0. The statistic that stood out the most was Brady's record of throwing 335 consecutive passes with out an interception. He led the Patriots to a NFL best record this season at 14-2 and the number 1 scoring offense in the league. Meanwhile, his closest competition with 11 first place votes to Brady's 21 first place votes was Micheal Vick. Who also had an unbelievable season leading the Eagles to the playoffs and a division title. Vick threw for 3,018 yards 21 touchdowns, and just 6 interceptions. He also gain 676 yards rushing and 9 rushing touchdowns. He led a phenomenal comeback victory against the Giants in the Meadow Lands, with the help of a DeSean Jackson punt return to win the game and he also recorded a record breaking game against the Redskins; completing 20 of his 28 passes for 333 yards and 6 touchdowns, 4 throw the air and 2 rushing. Obviously two games doesn't win you an offensive player of the year award but the numbers that Vick put up this season and his impact on his team is worthy of the award. So, the question is did the offensive player of the year go to the right person??????
Tuesday, February 1, 2011
The NFL's Defensive MVP
Safety of the Pittsburgh Steelers Troy Polamalu has won the NFL 2010-2011 defensive MVP. The question is did he deserve it. Polamalu stat line for this year was 63 tackles, one sack, one force fumble, and seven interceptions in 14 games. He was tied for second in interceptions along with the Eagle's Asante Samuel and the Patriot's Devin McCourty, Ed Reed led the league with eight. This will be Polamalu's first defensive MVP award which some think is long over due being that he has been a top safety in the league for 6 years now. Also taking into account his importance to the team as he is arguably the best player on a super bowl contending team. This season in the two games Polamalu missed the Steelers went 1-1, in comparison to the 3-1 record the team acquired while Troy played and their star quarterback Ben Rothlisberger didn't. The Steelers are 14-4 when Troy plays and just 5-7 when he's out. With this being said some would disagree that Polamalu deserved winning the defensive MVP award over Packer's outside linebacker Clay Matthews. Matthews recorded 60 tackles, 13.5 sacks, 2 forced fumbles and 1 interception. Clay Matthew finished 4th in the sack race 2 sacks behind the league's leader DeMarcus Ware. This is Matthews' second double digit sack total in a season in only his second year. In his rookie season he recorded 10. It's safe to say that Matthews has been putting up numbers since he entered the league, the question is.... Are his numbers better than Polamalu's??? The voting finished with Troy getting 17 first place votes and Matthews getting 15 first place votes. With both stars in this years superbowl we can only hope that the game is as close as the MVP race.
FIGHT! FIGHT! FIGHT! FIGHT!
Sunday's game between the Oklamhoma City Thunder and the Miami was entertaining to say the least. Not only because of the thrilling ending but also because of the mini altercation between the Thunder's Kevin Durant and the Heat's Chris Bosh. The dispute started after Bosh fouled James Harden to prevent an easy lay up. When Durant went to congratulate his teammate on a nice play, Bosh interupted and words were exchanged between the two. After the game Durant called Chris Bosh "a fake tough guy", surfacing the question, "who would win in a street fight between Kevin Durant and Chris Bosh??". With both athletes standing at about 6'10 inches, both weighing about 230 pounds and both having about the same arm length there is no physical advantage. Durant was raised in the mean streets of D.C. where nothing is given to you, while Bosh is from the southern streets of Dallas Texas. With this limtied background information and from what we see on television; i pose this question to you all.... Who wins in a street fight between Kevin Durant and Chris Bosh????
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)