Sunday Smattering

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Chris Iafolla
on July 13, 2008
in MLB, NBA and NFL
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Due to the inactivity here at “Heard in the Cheap Seats” this would probably be better suited as a 4 Sunday’s Smattering–but we’ll stick with this week for the sake of tradition.

I picked a good week to make my triumphant return with MLB trade season kicking into high gear, NBA free agency, and of course the Brett Favre soap opera.

So here it goes…

Favre Forgoes Retirement (for now): In what has become a yearly ritual, Brett Favre has once again handcuffed the Green Bay Packer organization and sent his loyal fan base into a dizzying frenzy.  The latest word is that the Packers will not honor Favre’s request for unconditional release.  And why should they?

I have great respect for what Brett Favre has been able to accomplish both as a football player and as a person.  However, this constant waffling has to stop.  He owes it to the fan base that dedicated so many years braving the frigid Green Bay winters to watch him play.  He owes it to Aaron Rodgers.  Most importantly, he owes it to an organization that was home to his storied career.

Brett: do us all a favor and have a little bit of conviction in your decisions.  It’s the least you can do.

Monkey See, Monkey Do in NL Central: In a very tight NL Central race, the Brewers and Cubs upped the ante with the additions of C.C. Sabathia to the Brew Crew and Rich Harden to the Cubbies.  With Sabathia and Sheets at the top of the rotation, the Brewers are a formidable bunch.  But does that duo top the pitching prowess of Harden and Zambrano? Each new acquisition comes with an inherent risk–Sabathia’s weight and Harden’s injury-plagued past.  But with enormous upside, these were moves the teams had to make.  From top to bottom, I still think the Cubs’ rotation is deeper and will propel them to the NL Central title.

Brand New Sixer: As a Sixers fan, this was my favorite story line of the week.  It what may turn out to be one of the biggest free-agent coups in recent memory, the Sixers nabbed Elton Brand from Hollywood when he appeared destined to five more year of Clipper futility.  Earlier this year, I wrote about how the Sixers had many of the building blocks in place to build a championship team, but that they lacked the ability to score in the half court set.  The move to acquire Brand immediately solves that need and provides some much needed front-court toughness.  Will the Sixers contend in 2009?  Probably not.  But with a dead-eye shooter and a year more maturity, 2010 is looking pretty promising.

MLB Midseason Awards

Published
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Chris Iafolla
on July 12, 2008
in MLB
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First off, apologies on the near month-long hiatus here at “Heard in the Cheap Seats.” I took off for a jaunt across Italy and had a bit of trouble getting back into this blogging thing but I am ready to roll now.

To kick things off, I will put my hat in the ring for MLB midseason awards. Note: these are not predictions as to what will happen by season’s end, but who I believe deserves the award at this juncture of the season.

National League:

MVP:

As far back as May, the talk about potential MVPs had already been boiled down to three primary contenders: Chase Utley, Chipper Jones and Lance Berkman. Early in the year, when Chipper was hitting .400 and driving the ball to all fields, it looked like he would be the odds-on favorite. But injuries and a lackluster lineup in front of him have brought his power numbers back to earth a bit. That leaves Berkman and Utley. The smart money to win this award would be on Chase Utley. Utley is currently on pace to hit 43 HRs and drive in 120 runs–all for a division leading team. However, a closer look at Utley’s splits indicates he is benefiting greatly from playing in the bandbox that is Citizen’s Bank Ballpark. At home, Utley has 17 HRs compared with 8 on the road. To be fair, Lance Berkman plays in a bandbox of his own, but the HR splits for him are dead even–11 at home and on the road.

So the real question is how do you define the MVP award? Is it the best player on a team that has excelled, or is it simply the best player? If you are going with the best player, the answer is easy: Lance Berkman. As we are sitting at the midseason juncture, Berkman is my choice.

Cy Young:

The current race for NL pitching supremacy is a dead heat between Brandon Webb, Tim Lincecum, Edison Volquez and Ryan Dempster. A strong case can be made for each pitcher. Webb leads the league in wins, while Lincecum leads in Ks for a terrible team and Volquez leads in ERA. So who is the choice? Most experts are picking Volquez at this stage of the season and that is certainly a worthy choice, but my pick is Tim Lincecum.

What Tim Lincecum has done with the Giants has been nothing short of amazing. He is 10-2 with a 2.66 ERA and 126 SOs for a downright awful baseball team. In the end, his win total may prevent him from winning this award, but at the halfway point, Lincecum is the choice.

Rookie of the Year:

This is basically a 2-man race between Geovanny Soto and Jair Jurrjens. In the end, Soto will win out because he plays in a market like Chicago and his stats are even more impressive given the position he plays. Soto has certainly been a pleasant surprise this year, but it would be a mistake to overlook what Jurrjens has accomplished. When he arrived in Atlanta as the centerpiece of a deal that shipped Edgar Renteria to Detroit many questioned the decision. All Jurrjens has done so far this year is go 9-4 with an ERA sitting right on the 3.00 mark. So what is more impressive: 16 HRs as a rookie catcher or 9 wins as a pitcher? I would argue that achieving some semblanace of consistency as a rookie is much more difficult on the mound than at the plate–Jurrjens is the choice.

American League:

MVP:Everyone knows what Josh Hamilton has accomplished and the odds he has faced to do so. He deserves every ounce of praise that is being thrown his away. With apologies to Carlos Quentin and Alex Rodriquez–add AL MVP to the mounting praise. Sure, he plays in a hitter friendly park that enhances his offensive numbers, but the man is on pace to drive in 162 runs and hit 37 HRs. How can you ignore that?

Cy Young:

I guess I like to do things in threes, because I see this one as a three-person race as well between Cliff Lee, Justin Duchscherer and Roy Halladay. Although Cliff Lee has not been able to propel the Indians to the front of the division, he is the midseason choice for Cy Young. Put simply: he has dominated.

Rookie of the Year:

No argument possible here: Evan Longoria.

Tiger Outdoes Himself Once Again

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Chris Iafolla
on June 16, 2008
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Generally, I try to stay away from exaggeration, hyperbole and manufactured drama when writing about sports.  By creating drama when it may not exist, we cheapen the sports that produce plenty without the benefit of a script.  But occasionally, an athlete comes along that warrants every ounce of hyperbole and exaggeration we can throw at him.

Tiger Woods is that rare athlete.

Pick a cliché and Tiger proved it true this weekend and today.  Mind over matter.  Check.  Drive for show, putt for dough.  Yup.  Comparisons to the great Willis Reed.  You betcha.  The point is, Tiger is the rare breed of athlete that transcends any amount of words or praise we can heap in his direction.

Limping through the U.S. Open, there was a distinct feeling that Tiger was in the midst of something special.  Despite dealing with a serious knee injury, Tiger persevered through 90 holes of knee-twisting golf to walk away the U.S. Open champion.  Unquestionably, Tiger did not bring his A-game to Torrey Pines.  In fact, like most of the field, Tiger was subject to rough the thickness of a brillow pad, greens as hard as a glass bowl and fairways as narrow as a cracked door.   But despite Tiger’s fall to the level of mere mortals, he still walked away with his 14th career major title.  So what did Tiger bring with him to Torrey Pines that everyone else left behind?

Is it the overwhelming desire to win?  I doubt it.  There was not a single golfer in that field that did not yearn for a U.S. Open title.  Then if it isn’t a desire to win, is it the will to put in the effort to win?  Probably not.  Tiger’s work ethic is notorious, but many players have logged similar hours on the range and the course without the same outcome.

On the Mike and Mike show this morning, Greeny argued that what Tiger Woods has that almost every other athlete lacks is a supreme self-confidence.  I agree.  While every athlete feels pressure, not every athlete truly believes they will perform in crucial situations.  In some part of their mind, most athletes do not believe they can consistently perform under do-or-die circumstances.  In some circles, we call these types of people realists.  Let’s face it, even Michael Jordan missed more game-winning shots than he made.  But despite that, he believed he would make that shot the next time.  Every time.

Tiger is no different.  No matter what the situation, Tiger believes that he is not only capable of performing, but he will perform.  There is a significant difference.

I often question what greatness is in an athlete.  It is one of those things that you know when you see, but it is hard to neatly define with a few words.  Here, I offer my own definition of greatness.

Greatness is when an athlete is so special that he/she renders all hyperbole and exaggeration useless.  Tiger Woods has done that yet again.

NBA Finals: Game 4

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Anthony Iafolla
on June 12, 2008
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Even though a cloud of suspicion regarding NBA officiating has been cast over the NBA Finals, Game 4 will take place tonight in Los Angeles.  Just like in Game 3, tonight is a must win situation for the Lakers.  If the Lakers lose tonight, they put themselves in a position to have to win 3 games in a row, two of which would be in Beantown.  The feeling out portion of this series is over with.  No more real surprises or gimmicks.  It now comes down to good old fashioned execution.  Up until this point, all that has taken place is both teams have won on their home floor.  Tuesday night was the first game that the Lakers played with aggression, and at times it was not pretty, but they came out on top thanks to a stellar performance by Kobe Bryant.  I believe that this series will go the distance.  I heard J.A. Adande say something on the radio that I agreed with one hundred percent.  He said that he felt that the Lakers best effort would beat the Celtics best effort, but that he didn’t feel the Celtics, with their defensive pressure, would allow the Lakers to have their best effort.  This is where it gets fun.  Now we have a series on our hands ladies and gentlemen.  The bright lights and pressure of the NBA Finals will be much more intense starting tonight, which could lead to some classic games.  I can sit here and break down every key component of this match-up, but I won’t.  If you have watched the games, you already know what both teams need to do in order to be victorious.  What I will be watching is which players perform under the pressure.

There is something about pressure in sports that is so compelling.  Legends are made by those moments when an athlete rises above the pressure.  These next few games will either make legends or leave certain players with the undesirable stigma of choking under pressure.  There have been many great players whose careers have been altered by these moments.  This series will alter the careers of a few great players.  I include Kobe Bryant in this mix, along with Garnett, Ray Allen, and Paul Pierce.  Kobe already has 3 rings and a legacy, but none of those rings came without Shaq.  He now has his chance.  Garnett, Pierce, and Ray Allen, depending on how they perform starting tonight can either cement their own legacies or fall under the category of great players who never rose above the pressure.  There are going to be points in tonight’s game and the remaining games to follow where we may see a player rise above or cave under.  We will know it when it happens.  The body language, the look in the eyes, the desire, the ability to have no fear even in the face of failing will all be things to look for. I cannot wait for these moments.  I cannot wait to see legends made, and at the same time legacies tarnished.

Game 3: Time to Man Up for L.A.

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Anthony Iafolla
on June 10, 2008
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kobe-angry.jpgSo far the NBA Finals has gone exactly the way I thought it would go, and the exact opposite of the way most experts said it would go. I figured that the Celtics would win the first two games of this series in Boston. I do think that the Lakers will bounce back in a tight Game 3, but I do not feel they will win this series. I stated previously here that this would go 7 games, and it still may, but I wouldn’t be shocked to see it over way sooner. Many of the advantages that I laid out on this site, turned out to be even bigger in the first two games. The Celtics have dominated all the aggressive play, especially loose balls and rebounding. The main problem for the Lakers, however, is that they came into this series riding high due to a high octane offense. Though the Western Conference was much better this year, the Lakers have not had to face a defense as physical, athletic, and suffocating as the Celtics. The Spurs did do a better than average job of forcing Kobe Bryant into taking jumpers, but unfortunately he made most of them. The Celtics, so far, have done a masterful job. They have intimidated the Lakers physically, and kept them away from the paint. When the Lakers are not hitting from the outside, their high octane offense starts running on unleaded. They have been settling for outside shots, and their patented ball movement and spacing has disappeared. Some people feel that with the 4th quarter comeback in Game 2, the Lakers have gained an advantage. I disagree. The Celtics simply went to sleep.

Phil Jackson, the Lakers fans, and the Lakers can complain all they want about the officiating, but that won’t win ballgames. Not to mention, the Lakers have benefited from the refs calls as well, specifically in the Utah series. Go back and look at the numbers. Seriously. That means you Lakers fans. Its easy to point at the refs or the free throw disparity, but even in doing that you might miss the fact that there was only seven more fouls called on L.A. This again points to a lack of aggressiveness. When they were dominating from the free throw line against the Jazz they were the more aggressive team. They might get more calls if they actually grew a set of stones and actually drove to the basket. They need to get more physical and aggressive. Maybe they need to have their own equivalent of the 1984 Finals clothesline of Kurt Rambis courtesy of Kevin McHale. That changed the tone of the series for Boston. Instead of complaining about officiating, maybe one of the Lakers should have put Leon Powe on his ass instead of offering him a cup of tea on his way to another easy dunk. Kobe Bryant has a meanness and tenacity but I am not seeing it from the likes of Gasol, Odom, Radmanovic, etc. That is the problem. It has been stated so many times that defense wins championships. Cliché as it may be, it also most times proves to be true. So, can the Lakers come back and win 4 of the next 5 games, two of which would be in Boston? Anything is possible. Is it likely? Not unless they take off their skirts and act like they are playing for the trophy. Like I said, I believe the Lakers will make this an interesting series again by winning Game 3, but I would not be shocked, if they get off to a poor start, to see them implode. Then we will see the frustration of Kobe realizing that his teammates can’t stand up to the pressure, and then this puppy is over. We will see the preseason, hating his teammates Kobe Bryant. Lakers fans better hope that moment doesn’t come.

Sunday Smattering

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Chris Iafolla
on June 8, 2008
in MLB, NBA and Other
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On this toasty Sunday morning here in Boston I’d like to offer our loyal readers a tip free of charge courtesy of Heard in the Cheap Seats: Whatever you do, do NOT lock yourself out of the house on a 90 degree day and then proceed to walk to Dunkin Donuts for an extra large hot coffee.  It’s really not a smart move–a lesson I had to learn the hard way this morning.  But I digress; Sunday Smattering follows ladies and gentlemen.

  • Big Bummer for Big Brown: The horse racing world takes center stage at least once year (the Kentucky Derby) and at most twice a year when a horse is chasing the illusive Triple Crown.  As has been the case many times before, the media anointed Big Brown the savior of horse racing after a trying season and practically handed the horse the victory.  But the horse racing gods would not oblige and Big Brown delivered a clunker–finishing dead last at the most grueling race of the Triple Crown series.  Da’Tara, rode by the same jockey that spoiled Smarty Jones’ Triple Crown bid, played the spoiler once again.?

  • Tempers Flare in Beantown: On a night when the Celtics were supposed to have the limelight all to themselves, the Red Sox stole a bit of the city’s attention with two separate incidents.  First, Coco Crisp charged the mound after being plunked by James Shields.  Most baseball brawl prove rather uneventful with a whole of shoving but not much fighting.  This one was a bit different.  Shields, instead of backing off the mound and praying for the hasty arrival of his catcher, took three steps toward Coco and attempted to deliver a haymaker.  With boxing in his lineage, Coco adeptly dodged the punch and then succumbed to the pile of Rays’ players that went after him.  Later in the game, Manny and Kevin Youkilis had a small dust up.  Maybe Yuk reads Heard in the Cheap Seats and read my call to action from last week?

  •  Chipper Hits Number 400: One of my favorite baseball players of all time, Chipper Jones, reached a career milestone this week–HR number 400.  Of course, immediately after the blast, the posts came fast and furious debating his hall of fame credentials.  Let me put it this way, if he retired right now, he is easily in the top 3 in terms of switch hitters of all time.  That alone is enough to get him in.  But, Chipper himself says he would like to play another 4 years at a minimum provided he remains healthy and the Braves would like him back.  Let’s just assume for argument’s sake he sees a fairly sharp decline in his power numbers after this season and only hits 20 HRs a year (a huge stretch) for the next four years.  Assuming he hits about 20 more this season, that would put him at 501 HRs for his career.  Now, let’s look at hits.  Let’s say he finished this season with 200 hits, which would be an additional 110 on top of where he currently stands.  Then for the next four years, he sees a slight decline to 175 a year.  That would put him above the 3,000 hit mark for his career.  In terms of RBI, he will probably get another 60 this year followed by four seasons at a conservative 80 per year.  That would give him 1700 RBI for his career.  My point is this: he is already a HOFer, everything he tacks on from here on out is just gravy.
  • John Smoltz to Have Surgery: John Smoltz had to make the painful decision this week to undergo season-ending surgery, which begs the question, is this the end?  Contrary to the opinion of Jayson Stark, I simply can’t envision this being the end for Smoltz.  Before the announcement, Smoltz was making statements that would indicate if he had to endure another surgery he would retire.  But when faced with that reality, he quickly retreated from his stance.  John Smoltz is too much of a competitor to have this be the way he goes out.  He’ll be back for one more go around next season.
  • Must Win Tonight for Lakers: Is it too early to call this game a must-win?  I don’t think so.  The Lakers need to come out of Boston tonight with a split or they can kiss their title hopes goodbye. 

NBA Finals: Lessons Learned from Game One

Published
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Chris Iafolla
on June 7, 2008
in NBA
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On Thursday night, the long-awaited NBA finals match up finally took its rightful place at the center of the sports universe. And if you examine what transpired in Game 1, there are a few subtle and not-so-subtle lessons that are evident and might impact how the remainder of this series plays out.
Lesson 1: Rajon Rondo Not Awestruck

Coming into this series, I believed this would be the primary factor in determining the Celtics success in the series. Reason being, you have a pretty good idea that you will get approximately 60 points out of the big three every night, but somewhere along the line you need to find an additional 30-40 points to win ballgames. In Game 1, the big three combined for 65 points. Tack on the 15 that Rondo scored and it is easy to see why the Celtics came away with a W. But more telling than the 15 points in my mind was the mere two turnovers. If he is able to keep that turnover rate steady for the remainder of the series, the Celtics will be in good shape–regardless of how many points he scores.

Lesson 2: Doc Still Hasn’t Learned his Lesson

Quietly, the skepticism in Boston regarding Doc Rivers’ coaching prowess grew from a barely audible whisper to a full-fledged buzz. What Doc Rivers needs to realize is that his best coaching asset is pulling back on the coaching. He is over thinking this game and it shows in his rotation. With the extended TV breaks in the playoffs, there is no reason Sam Cassell should be getting 13 minutes. None. It worked out this time around, but Boston’s resident ET has a tendency to kill any semblance of flow an offense manages to create. If he continues to get these kinds of minutes, Doc better be prepared for the fallout in the Boston media.

Lesson 3: Kobe Continues to Look for Teammates Early

Throughout the season and the playoffs, Kobe has been lauded for his willingness to involve teammates early in the game. I had some doubts that this would continue once the allure of the NBA crown was in sight. But if Game 1 is any indication, Kobe is content to involve his teammates early and look to take over late in the game. In Game 2, look for Kobe to ditch this strategy and come out of the gates strong with a solid first quarter. Kobe will not let his team leave Boston without a split.

Lesson 4: Defense Will Decide

This isn’t exactly a startling revelation. After all, how many times have we heard: “defense wins championships?” As tired as the cliché is, it probably was never more evident than in Game 1 of this series. Offensively, these two teams are pretty evenly matched. Defensively, the Celtics clearly outclass the Lakers. Defense is nothing more than a will to commit and right now, the Celtics have that will. Kobe is a world-class defender; I look for him to set the tone for the remainder of the series. In addition, don’t be surprised if Ronny Turiaf starts to get a slight increase in playing time due to the energy and defensive ability he brings to the floor. He might be the only player the Lakers have that can match the intensity and energy of Kevin Garnett.

Lesson 5: Lakers Will Win This Series

Bet you didn’t see that one coming did ya? With the Celtics winning Game 1, it wouldn’t seem logical to come away with the conclusion that the Lakers will win this series. But, the Lakers showed they are quite capable of winning a game in Boston. You can bet that Kobe will not score 24 points again in this series; in fact, I might even venture to say he won’t score fewer than 30. In addition, I don’t think we continue to see 15 a night out of Rondo. While the Celtics certainly took care of business on their home floor, they did not do enough to sway me from my original belief that the Lakers would win this series. That being said, Game 2 is a must win for LA.

NBA FINALS PREVIEW

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Anthony Iafolla
on June 5, 2008
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The NBA Finals is a culmination of a painful 6 months as a Philadelphia sports fan. Beginning with the Eagles season fading away, followed by having to endure a Super Bowl with two of the teams I hate most in this world. Next up came watching the Sixers and Flyers have very respectable seasons, but also with the knowledge that they have not reached elite status just yet. Look out NHL, because the Flyguys are creeping up to elite next year. Which brings me to this point: Lakers vs Celtics. I may go on a steady diet of Vicodin and Heineken for the next couple weeks. Or just bang my head against a brick wall enough times to put me in a coma short term. Don’t get me wrong, I am extremely excited for this series. It’s just that in the NBA, these are the two teams I hate most. I’ve actually been openly praying for an NBA lockout to avoid having to watch one of these teams hoist the trophy. I have always hated the Celtics and the Lakers, however my level of hatred for the Lakers has reached a new level since moving to Los Angeles. With the stupid car flags and the damn purple jerseys floating around town wherever I go, I’m a ticking time bomb. I wonder if now that it’s the NBA Finals, those amazing Laker fans will be able to make it to the game by halftime. I know, I know. I am just complaining again. I promise I will get to the series in a minute since no one cares about my pain. One more thing, though. This is a message to all Lakers fans: KOBE WOULD NOT HAVE WON MVP AND YOU WOULD NOT BE IN LOVE WITH THE DUDE HAD CHRIS WALLACE (WITH THE HELP OF JERRY WEST I’M SURE) NOT GIFT WRAPPED PAU “ THE OSTRICH” GASOL. Whew. That felt amazing. On to the series now.

I was going to do my usual position by position breakdown, but I decided to just breakdown the series as if I was sitting with a buddy at a bar. Plus, I am tired and too lazy to do a full roster breakdown. Let me also say that if you’ve been reading my posts, I have been picking against the Lakers in every series except Denver, but as I type this, I have no idea which way I’m leaning. This is another series of interesting match-ups and storylines. There’s the obvious historical significance. Although, even though hearing Lakers and Celtics gets me excited (in a non sexual way), I do think it is over hyped. The Celtics have been away from the Finals for 21 years. Those teams in the 80’s were some of the best in NBA history. Neither of these two teams hold that distinction. We also have Phil Jackson going for a record 10th NBA title as a coach. East coast against West coast. Purple against green. The legacies of many players can be altered. Excuse me, I need to take a Vicodin.

I’m very interested in seeing how both teams decide to play it defensively. Will the Celtics trust Perkins to guard Gasol one on one and Garnett guard Odom? Perkins certainly cannot handle Odom’s quickness. I am also curious to see how the Celtics decide to defend Kobe. Obviously, Kobe Bryant is by far the best player in this series and in the NBA, so they cannot expect to stop him. I think Kobe will see a variety of defenders. Probably some Paul Pierce, a little Ray Allen, and a lot of James Posey, as well as Kevin Garnett and Perkins popping out in order to try and force Kobe to beat them from the outside. The single greatest difference between the two teams is that the Lakers have a guy who has proven he can take over a playoff game in crunch time, and the Celtics do not. Paul Pierce did it once, but I would not call that a trend. The good thing for the Celtics is that they are the top defensive team in the NBA. The Lakers have not gone up against a defense like this. The Spurs play solid defense, but they are nowhere near as quick and athletic as the Celtics. The ideal scenario for the Celtics is to be able to swarm and rotate their defense and keep Kobe out of the paint. If they can force him to give up the basketball, and his teammates do not come through, then Kobe may revert back to selfish mode. To me, the only guy other than Kobe I would trust in crunch time is Derek Fisher. Problem is, there is only Paul Pierce on the Boston side. Speaking of Paul Pierce, how will the Lakers defend him? Neither Radmanovic or Luke Walton can do it. I think Kobe will be chasing around Ray Allen, so the Celtics have a decided advantage there.

The other question I have is: will Rajon Rondo completely crap the bed in the spotlight? Boston better hope not. Ray Allen is also going to be big here. He needs to knock down shots and if Kobe is guarding him, run Kobe as ragged as possible. If I was coaching Boston, my offensive strategy would be to use my big men as much as possible. Get the ball down low and try and get the Lakers frontcourt in early foul trouble because the backups for L.A. in the frontcourt do not stand a chance. The Celtics need to dominate the defensive boards, which I think will happen. There are definitely things that worry me like Kobe Bryant going crazy on Boston, Rondo crapping his pants, and Doc Rivers being the coach of the Celtics. All in all, I think this is going to be a great series with close games throughout. I see it going the distance, and as hard as it is to pick against Kobe Bryant in a game 7, I am going with…drum roll please…BOSTON IN 7.

That was a tough post for me to write. The Vicodin helped though. But, as a fan, I am looking forward to an exciting NBA Finals. So let’s get it started before Kevin Garnett eats someone.

Sunday Smattering

Published
by
Chris Iafolla
on June 1, 2008
in MLB, NBA and NFL
. 3 Comments

This Sunday morning marks the return of Sunday Smattering–the column that is my facade for not being able to narrow my ideas down to one post–so I call it a smattering and post everything. Pretty clever huh?

Without further adieu, Sunday Smattering ladies and gentlemen:

  • Lakers vs. Celtics: After all the hype, drama and predictions, the two most storied franchises in NBA history will once again meet to decide the NBA title. The story lines here are endless. As much as I loathe both of these teams, I even have to admit that this final brings a certain nostalgic feel that is a rarity in the world of basketball. My prediction? Lakers in 6. Bolder prediction? Brian Scalabrine, in his only playing time of the series, gets so overwhelmed with nostalgia he clotheslines Kobe Bryant going to the bucket to reenact the Kurt Rambis and Kevin McHale incident.
  • Taylor Wants Out: Does this really come as a surprise? Forget the fact that Jason Taylor is not a 3-4 defensive end, the preferred scheme of Bill Parcels. Forget the notion that Taylor is 34 years old. Forget all of the logical reasons why Jason Taylor and the Dolphins are about as good a match as Charles Barkley and Las Vegas. Did we really think that a guy that spent his offseason prancing around on national TV would mesh with the stone-faced, tough-as-nails, Bill Parcels? Not a chance.
  • Rookie Phenoms Rule the Week: Between the debuts of Clayton Kershaw and Jay Bruce (I’m still pissed about the walk-off last night against my Braves) two heralded rookies showed their chops right from the outset. Both of these kids have bright futures, but let’s not forget they are rookies–struggles will come.
  • Will the Braves Ever Win on the Road?: How is that the same team can be 7-20 on the road and 22-7 at home? Seriously folks, I am at a loss here. I understand that there will almost always be a discrepancy, but clearly this is a case of a Braves team that plays Jekyl and Hyde. If they don’t get it straightened out soon, they can forget about the NL East crown.
  • Historic HRs: Last night, Manny Ramirez hit number 500 for his career and Griffey hit number 599. These two could not be more different. By all accounts, Griffey is a nice guy that plays the game the right way. Ramirez on the other hand is an immature prima Dona. Why he feels the need to constantly draw attention to himself through antics on and off the field is beyond me. He is one of the greatest right-handed hitters to ever play this game–let that do the talking Manny. I don’t care if that was his 500th HR last night, if he ever posed that long and walked up the baseline like that in a game I was managing, the next fastball would be placed square between his ribs. Can we put out a referendum to the league on this? Throwing at hitters is illegal, unless it is Manny Ramirez after an unnecessarily long pose following a HR (or single for that matter).
  • Heard in the Cheap Seats Gets a Makeover: Alright, so I am not a Web designer, nor will I ever be–hence the awkward orange and green colors from our previous design. We’ve gone with a new look, albeit still not perfect. In addition, check out the About section, it now reflects our staff of two instead of our staff of one–a long overdue change.

End of an Era?

Published
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Chris Iafolla
on May 30, 2008
in NBA
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As my brother so astutely pointed out in the previous post, what seemed a forgone conclusion in recent days came to fruition last night when Kobe and the Lakers put the proverbial nail in the coffin.  In the end, youth and energy trumped savvy and experience.  Bellyache all you want about non-calls, conspiracy theories and injury problems–it doesn’t change the fact that the Lakers simply were the better team and proved it emphatically.

So for the first time in eight years, we will watch an NBA championship that does not contain men by the name of Duncan or O’Neal.  So the question then becomes, did we just witness the end of an era–both in the sense of the closing of the window on the Spurs dynasty and the era of big men dominance in the NBA?

Each point warrants its own examination (and potentially its own post) so let’s take them one at a time.

The Spurs:

Call it what you want: dynasty, prolonged success, it really doesn’t matter, it’s impossible to deny the success of the Spurs over the last decade.  This is a team that has won four championships during that time and has been a legitimate contender every year.  But their demise this year felt a bit different didn’t it?  This is a team that has never been shy about finishing games that seem to be out of reach–something they failed to do twice in this series with the Lakers.  More than that, the Spurs seemed to be outworked and out willed, something I have never seen happen in my time watching the current variation of the Spurs.  Part of that is a result of simply running up against Kobe Bryant.  Say what you want about him, but the man can play.  He wasn’t going to let his team leave the Staples Center without a Western conference title.

So was this the end of the Spurs?  Are they finally too old?  Is Tim Duncan no longer able to carry a team?  Has the wear of a decade’s worth of extended seasons finally taken its toll?  If you looked at this past series in a vacuum, the temptation would be to write off the Spurs next year.  That would be a mistake.  This is a team that has its entire core group of players signed for at least the next two seasons.  Sure, Tim Duncan might be on the decline, but he isn’t finished yet.  A quick injection of youth and athleticism will have the Spurs right back in the thick of the race next season and possibly one more beyond that.  Let’s not  make this one series out to be more than it is for the sake of manufacturing some drama.

The Fall of the Big Man:

This question is a little bit tougher to answer.  Slowly but surely over the past decade, the NBA has been methodically moving to a different brand of basketball that favors athleticism and agility over size and strength.  It started with the European invasion.

When Europeans began entering this league in bunches, they brought with them a brand of basketball that favored a broad set of skills over specialty players.  Players like Toni Kukoc, Detlef Shrempf, Arvydas Sabonis and Sarunas Marciulionis typified this brand of basketball.  Over time, this philosophy had a trickle effect across the league and as players like Hakeem Olajuwon, Patrick Ewing and David Robinson retired–the face of the game looked quite different.

But even in recent years, teams with dominant big men have gone on to win titles (with the notable exception of the Detroit Pistons).  This is probably why teams continue to put a premium on size by drafting Greg Oden and Andrew Bynum with number one picks.  This year is different.  Whatever team wins this year will do so without a traditional dominant big man (apologies to Gasol and Garnett).

I would contend that this year’s NBA playoffs have been a microcosm of the shift that has been taking place over the past few years-the game is moving toward a more guard-dominated league.

Now I know the next argument: the Suns tried the small ball approach and abandoned it in favor of adding the traditional big man to the mix.  To that I would say: “yea, how’d that turn out?”  The Suns abandoned the small ball approach–not the guard dominated approach.  There is a significant difference.  The Suns’ offense was based on the premise that a shot had to go up in seven seconds or less.  Ultimately, this created a tempo of basketball ill-suited for the playoffs and for teams that could impost a physical presence.

As players like Deron Williams, Chris Paul, Lebron James, Dwayne Wade and next year, Derek Rose continue to emerge, you will see teams grow more comfortable with the idea of a guard dominated team.  If this most recent playoffs was any indication, you better get used to the idea, because it’s already here.