Alright, back for the second time today. Only two things going on in basketball right now. First is the World Championships in Japan. The U.S. beat Germany by 20 on Wednesday morning. I wish I could say that I woke up/stayed up for an unprecedented 7th consecutive time to watch the live game, but I didn't. I was in dire need of making up for my lack of sleep over the weekend. But I did catch the replay last night. What are my thoughts? Well, in all honesty, the same as everyone else's. They couldn't shoot, but played enough defense to win. It's as simple as that. But these next games are must see basketball TV in my opinion. Argentina vs. Spain? USA vs. Greece? If you are a fan of basketball, whether it be international or NBA, you have to love those matchups. And then the final? I can't wait.
In the NBA, the only news lately has been the hiring of Don Nelson as the coach for the Golden State Warriors. I personally love the idea of Nellie coaching the Warriors again. I think he'll implement the style his old Warriors and Mavs teams used, back when the Mavs were continually knocked out of the playoffs in the second round by the Spurs (burn!). But as long as he can get the Warriors to have fun and make the playoffs at least once during his time there, I think you can consider it a success. We'll see how it goes.
I think that's all for today. I'll be back on tomorrow sometime to post my thoughts on Team USA's semifinal game vs. Greece. Have a good one.
Thursday, August 31, 2006
Is This Thing On?
First off today, I want to give a HUGE, and I can't emphasize that word enough, shout out to Sam Rubenstein and SLAM Online for posting a link to this blog on their site. Now I don't feel like a crazy person who's only talking to himself. I might actually have an audience.
So to those of you (or all of you) who might be new to this site, welcome. The general idea here is that I post my thoughts on what is going on in the basketball world. It might be something somebody else has already talked about, and it might not. You'll never know, it's just how I feel that particular day.
One thing I would like to talk about right now is the title of this blog. On first glance, it seems like of lame. And after explaining it to you, it might still seem kind of lame. And if that's the case, bite me. Anyway, when I was in elementary school, everybody had those T-shirts that said "Basketball is life" and on the back it said "The rest is just details." That is sort of the idea behind this blog. And that phrase just takes me back to the time when I really fell in love with the game of basketball. So the name stays. That's all for right now, because I have to go to class. But I'll post some more later.
So to those of you (or all of you) who might be new to this site, welcome. The general idea here is that I post my thoughts on what is going on in the basketball world. It might be something somebody else has already talked about, and it might not. You'll never know, it's just how I feel that particular day.
One thing I would like to talk about right now is the title of this blog. On first glance, it seems like of lame. And after explaining it to you, it might still seem kind of lame. And if that's the case, bite me. Anyway, when I was in elementary school, everybody had those T-shirts that said "Basketball is life" and on the back it said "The rest is just details." That is sort of the idea behind this blog. And that phrase just takes me back to the time when I really fell in love with the game of basketball. So the name stays. That's all for right now, because I have to go to class. But I'll post some more later.
Sunday, August 27, 2006
Getting Closer
In uneventful fashion, Team USA rolled past Australia early this morning on its way to the quarter finals of the World Championships. A 32-6 second quarter put the separation between the two teams and not much changed after that. My friends and I actually left and went to IHOP during the third quarter because the game was decided so quickly. But nonetheless, I always enjoy a win. Up next for Team USA is Germany, led by none other than Dirk Nowitzki.
Some notable standouts from the Australia game: Chris Bosh, who looks like he's finally gotten some confidence after putting up 20 and 10 against Senegal. Joe Johnson had 18 points, and of course Carmelo Anthony did his thing and scored 20 points. As much as I'd like to elaborate on how the game went, there's plenty of other sports sites that do that. But I think that the US is on its way to a gold medal. And I'm looking forward to seeing them play either Spain or Argentina in the finals.
Some notable standouts from the Australia game: Chris Bosh, who looks like he's finally gotten some confidence after putting up 20 and 10 against Senegal. Joe Johnson had 18 points, and of course Carmelo Anthony did his thing and scored 20 points. As much as I'd like to elaborate on how the game went, there's plenty of other sports sites that do that. But I think that the US is on its way to a gold medal. And I'm looking forward to seeing them play either Spain or Argentina in the finals.
Tuesday, August 22, 2006
It's Getting Crowded
Well the USA cruised along early this morning and beat Slovenia pretty easily, moving their record to 3-0 so far in the preliminary round. They will take on Italy, who is also 3-0, tomorrow morning at 5:30 AM central time.
One thing that I wanted to take the time to address today was the issue of Kobe Bryant, Chauncey Billups, and Michael Redd possibly taking spots on the team for the '08 Olympics. I read Sam Amico's thoughts on it a couple of weeks ago on ProBasketballNews.com and watched Ric Bucher from ESPN the magazine on ESPN News today talk about it. I decided it was my turn to weigh in on the subject.
A lot of people seem concerned that this current Team USA has great chemistry and adding one or all of those players to the roster will take away players who fit into the current team concept. I can understand where these guys are coming from, but I believe having any of them will make this team better. Bucher himself stated that his main concern with Team USA thus far is their ability to win close games, which they haven't had to deal with yet. If it becomes apparent that this team can't win close games in international competition, why would you not want Billups, whose nickname is "Mr. Big Shot", and Kobe Bryant, the most stone-cold killer in the NBA on the team?
I have in the past be a huge critic of Kobe Bryant, mainly because my Spurs couldn't seem to get past his Lakers for several years. But I don't think there should be any argument about his potential placement on the team. Kobe Bryant is the fiercest competitor the NBA has seen since Michael Jordan. I honestly don't see anybody in the NBA who comes close to his tenacity and mental toughness. Does he go overboard sometimes? Yes, but so did Jordan. Is he selfish? He can be, but I don't think that he has even been in a situation that he would be in playing for Team USA, playing with so many great players. Yes, the 2004 season he played with Shaq, Karl Malone, and Gary Payton, but there were already rifts in that team before the season even started. I believe that having Kobe Bryant on a team with this many great players, where he doesn't have to take all the shots, would not lose a single game. My thoughts here are kind of erratic and fragmented, I know. But my message is this: Team USA needs Kobe Bryant, Chauncey Billups, and Michael Redd. We can stand to cut Brad Miller or Chris Bosh, Kirk Hinrich, and Joe Johnson. Yes, in my last two posts I have sung the praises of those guys, but if everyone on the team is buying into the team concept the way everyone is saying they are, losing those guys will not have any negative consequences. But first things first, the preliminary round of the 2006 World Championships isn't even over yet. We've still got a long way to go until the Olympics. See you soon....
One thing that I wanted to take the time to address today was the issue of Kobe Bryant, Chauncey Billups, and Michael Redd possibly taking spots on the team for the '08 Olympics. I read Sam Amico's thoughts on it a couple of weeks ago on ProBasketballNews.com and watched Ric Bucher from ESPN the magazine on ESPN News today talk about it. I decided it was my turn to weigh in on the subject.
A lot of people seem concerned that this current Team USA has great chemistry and adding one or all of those players to the roster will take away players who fit into the current team concept. I can understand where these guys are coming from, but I believe having any of them will make this team better. Bucher himself stated that his main concern with Team USA thus far is their ability to win close games, which they haven't had to deal with yet. If it becomes apparent that this team can't win close games in international competition, why would you not want Billups, whose nickname is "Mr. Big Shot", and Kobe Bryant, the most stone-cold killer in the NBA on the team?
I have in the past be a huge critic of Kobe Bryant, mainly because my Spurs couldn't seem to get past his Lakers for several years. But I don't think there should be any argument about his potential placement on the team. Kobe Bryant is the fiercest competitor the NBA has seen since Michael Jordan. I honestly don't see anybody in the NBA who comes close to his tenacity and mental toughness. Does he go overboard sometimes? Yes, but so did Jordan. Is he selfish? He can be, but I don't think that he has even been in a situation that he would be in playing for Team USA, playing with so many great players. Yes, the 2004 season he played with Shaq, Karl Malone, and Gary Payton, but there were already rifts in that team before the season even started. I believe that having Kobe Bryant on a team with this many great players, where he doesn't have to take all the shots, would not lose a single game. My thoughts here are kind of erratic and fragmented, I know. But my message is this: Team USA needs Kobe Bryant, Chauncey Billups, and Michael Redd. We can stand to cut Brad Miller or Chris Bosh, Kirk Hinrich, and Joe Johnson. Yes, in my last two posts I have sung the praises of those guys, but if everyone on the team is buying into the team concept the way everyone is saying they are, losing those guys will not have any negative consequences. But first things first, the preliminary round of the 2006 World Championships isn't even over yet. We've still got a long way to go until the Olympics. See you soon....
Sunday, August 20, 2006
We Are The Worlds
So the USA is 2-0 so far in the World Championships. They looked very tight against Puerto Rico, especially early on, where they looked eerily like the 2004 Olympic team, bricking jumper after jumper against the zone defense Puerto Rico threw out. But early this morning against China, they looked a lot more comfortable and won easily. Team USA gets Monday off and plays again at 5:30 in the morning central time against Slovenia. I stayed up and watched all of Team USA's first game against Puerto Rico and watched the game through three quarters against China this morning before going back to sleep. I honestly believe this team is on the right track to win this tournament. Carmelo Anthony looks great out there. He's hitting jumpshots consistently and he is playing strong in the post. Both point guards, Chris Paul and Kirk Hinrich, are playing great out there. And the other people you would expect to do well, LeBron James, Dwyane Wade, etc., are doing their jobs. And I don't think enough can be said for guys like Shane Battier and Joe Johnson. Both have been playing intelligently and unselfishly and have consistently knocked down perimeter shots, along with Hinrich, something that was sorely lacking from the '04 Olympics. As much as I wanted Bruce Bowen to make the squad instead of Shane Battier, because I'm a die-hard Spurs fan, I can't argue with what Battier is bringing to this squad thus far. I'm excited to see what this team does the rest of the way in this tournament, and two summers from now in the '08 Olympics.
One thing that has been bothering me so far this tournament though is the tournament itself. Why isn't a bigger deal being made about the World Championships? We had the World Cup of soccer earlier in the summer and it seems like it was the biggest news story in sports while it was going on. Even the World Baseball Classic was getting more publicity than these World Championships. Aren't the World Championships in essence the same thing as both of those events? Why is the extent of ESPN's World Championship coverage a 5:30 AM game and a small blurb on the bottom of the screen on ESPN News? I understand soccer is the most popular game in the world. But isn't basketball the second most popular game? Baseball is popular here in American, in Latin America, and in Japan. It is popular in select other places, but mainly in those three areas. Basketball is popular everywhere in the world. Here in North America, Latin America (Argentina was the Gold Medal winner in the '04 Olympics), Europe, Asia (The tournament is being held in Japan), Australia, and is growing in popularity in Africa. Soccer isn't even that popular here in America (unfortunately), and the United States was eliminated early on in competition. I believe that more needs to be made of this tournament. It's not like there are many competing stories in the sports world right now. Football is in the preseason (wow) and baseball is still over a month away from the playoffs. The only thing that should be remotely close to competing with the World Championships is the Little League World Series. But which would you rather watch: the best basketball players in the world competing for their country, or 11 year olds play baseball?
One thing that has been bothering me so far this tournament though is the tournament itself. Why isn't a bigger deal being made about the World Championships? We had the World Cup of soccer earlier in the summer and it seems like it was the biggest news story in sports while it was going on. Even the World Baseball Classic was getting more publicity than these World Championships. Aren't the World Championships in essence the same thing as both of those events? Why is the extent of ESPN's World Championship coverage a 5:30 AM game and a small blurb on the bottom of the screen on ESPN News? I understand soccer is the most popular game in the world. But isn't basketball the second most popular game? Baseball is popular here in American, in Latin America, and in Japan. It is popular in select other places, but mainly in those three areas. Basketball is popular everywhere in the world. Here in North America, Latin America (Argentina was the Gold Medal winner in the '04 Olympics), Europe, Asia (The tournament is being held in Japan), Australia, and is growing in popularity in Africa. Soccer isn't even that popular here in America (unfortunately), and the United States was eliminated early on in competition. I believe that more needs to be made of this tournament. It's not like there are many competing stories in the sports world right now. Football is in the preseason (wow) and baseball is still over a month away from the playoffs. The only thing that should be remotely close to competing with the World Championships is the Little League World Series. But which would you rather watch: the best basketball players in the world competing for their country, or 11 year olds play baseball?
Tuesday, August 15, 2006
Guess Who's Back
I'm back, and for good this time. After a summer out in the boondocks with nothing more than a dial-up internet connection, I'm back in civilization and in the high speed world. As much as I would have loved to use the Jay-Z line "Allow me to reintroduce myself" as the title, I figured that would be too predictable and my creative ego would not allow me. So The Life blog is back and will be back for good. I don't see any breaks in the foreseeable future. When we first started here, I tried to have new posts up everyday, but with my schedule, I don't believe that will be feasible now. But there will be new posts up every couple of days, in no way will I neglect my duties here. Moving on...
The big news in basketball right now is the current Team USA and the World Championships. I have watched every televised warm-up game so far and I have to say, I'm very impressed. I was a little skeptical of the players selected to comprise the pool for Coach K to choose from for the Worlds and 2008 Olympics, and I was also very critical of Coach K as the choice to coach the team, but after watching this team play I am now under the impression that everyone involved knows what they're doing.
Coach K has these guys playing pressure defense and getting out in transition, all of which plays into Team USA's strengths of depth and athleticism. Who has impressed me the most thus far this summer? First and foremost, as most people have mentioned, Carmelo Anthony. When he came into the league he was being talked about almost as much as LeBron James. But after some bad decisions got his name in the headlines in negative ways and the rise of Dwyane Wade, he has been the forgotten man of the top 3 of '03. But after hearing rave reviews during the latter part of this past season from SLAM Magazine's Lang Whitaker, I began to pay a little more attention to him. Carmelo, to me, has been the best player on the court so far this summer. Wade and James have looked great, but Carmelo has been hitting consistent jumpshots and been able to create offense for the team. The majority of what I've seen from Wade and James is easy opportunities in transition. But regardless of how this team is scoring, they've been doing a lot of it and made it fun to watch at the same time.
Who else has impressed me so far? Joe Johnson has been a very excellent player thus far, and makes me wish I had League Pass so I could watch Atlanta Hawks games next season. Dwight Howard has looked like a beast, very reminiscent of a young Shaquille O'Neal as many people have pointed out, and I am interested to see how he will do playing alongside Darko Milicic for a whole season. Brad Miller has looked like he's loving the international game out there. I always liked Brad Miller, ever since he was asked what he would be doing during All-Star Weekend if he hadn't made the team and he responded that he'd probably be welding crap together. I even thought he should have been on the 2004 Olympic team as I wrote here for Insidehoops.com in 2004. But even now, after watching how well his game has fit into the international game, I'm surprised. He looks like he spent years overseas working on his game.
After watching Team USA play its warm-up games, I honestly believe they will win the Gold Medal at the World Championships. I believe with the exception of a couple of games, Team USA will roll through this tournament. Will I be surprised if they lose a game? Actually, yes, I will. I don't think any other team has the talent, depth, athleticism and maybe even basketball IQ of this team. As long as this team keeps playing tough defense, nobody should be able to hang with them, and we might even think of calling these guys a Dream Team. All that starts for real on Friday. We'll see you in a few days.
The big news in basketball right now is the current Team USA and the World Championships. I have watched every televised warm-up game so far and I have to say, I'm very impressed. I was a little skeptical of the players selected to comprise the pool for Coach K to choose from for the Worlds and 2008 Olympics, and I was also very critical of Coach K as the choice to coach the team, but after watching this team play I am now under the impression that everyone involved knows what they're doing.
Coach K has these guys playing pressure defense and getting out in transition, all of which plays into Team USA's strengths of depth and athleticism. Who has impressed me the most thus far this summer? First and foremost, as most people have mentioned, Carmelo Anthony. When he came into the league he was being talked about almost as much as LeBron James. But after some bad decisions got his name in the headlines in negative ways and the rise of Dwyane Wade, he has been the forgotten man of the top 3 of '03. But after hearing rave reviews during the latter part of this past season from SLAM Magazine's Lang Whitaker, I began to pay a little more attention to him. Carmelo, to me, has been the best player on the court so far this summer. Wade and James have looked great, but Carmelo has been hitting consistent jumpshots and been able to create offense for the team. The majority of what I've seen from Wade and James is easy opportunities in transition. But regardless of how this team is scoring, they've been doing a lot of it and made it fun to watch at the same time.
Who else has impressed me so far? Joe Johnson has been a very excellent player thus far, and makes me wish I had League Pass so I could watch Atlanta Hawks games next season. Dwight Howard has looked like a beast, very reminiscent of a young Shaquille O'Neal as many people have pointed out, and I am interested to see how he will do playing alongside Darko Milicic for a whole season. Brad Miller has looked like he's loving the international game out there. I always liked Brad Miller, ever since he was asked what he would be doing during All-Star Weekend if he hadn't made the team and he responded that he'd probably be welding crap together. I even thought he should have been on the 2004 Olympic team as I wrote here for Insidehoops.com in 2004. But even now, after watching how well his game has fit into the international game, I'm surprised. He looks like he spent years overseas working on his game.
After watching Team USA play its warm-up games, I honestly believe they will win the Gold Medal at the World Championships. I believe with the exception of a couple of games, Team USA will roll through this tournament. Will I be surprised if they lose a game? Actually, yes, I will. I don't think any other team has the talent, depth, athleticism and maybe even basketball IQ of this team. As long as this team keeps playing tough defense, nobody should be able to hang with them, and we might even think of calling these guys a Dream Team. All that starts for real on Friday. We'll see you in a few days.
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