BDiddy Gives Back The Keys To The City

It was time. Baron Davis opted out, the Warriors called his bluff, and now BDiddy is going to southward. According to Mark Stein, Davis has verbally agreed to join the LA Clippers. The deal is said to be for five years and $65 million, which according to possible deals I saw from the Warriors, was similar in base money, but definitely longer in years.

If Elton Brand comes back as well, the Clippers have two definite stars and immediately leap frog over the Warriors in the West. As for the Warriors, it doesn’t look like Gilbert Arenas is coming back to play for the team that drafted him. Newly re-signed Antawn Jamison thinks it’s a done deal that Arenas is back with the Wizards.

Now, where do the Warriors go from here? I think Chris Mullin and company have a back up plan, but I guess we’ll have to wait.

We’ve been basketball blogging a lot lately.

Agent Zero Is In The Picture Again

The Wizards Insider blog at the Washington Post is reporting that soon after Baron Davis opted out of his contract, the Warriors were trying to offer former Warriors guard Gilbert Arenas a max contract in the neighborhood of $100 million. The Wizards are offering a bit more (and an extra year), so Agent Zero has a big decision to make.

Warrior Fans, Remember This Guy?

The Wizards are offering more and have a better shot at making waves playing in the lesser Eastern Conference. But really, you could argue that the East had the two best teams in the league in Boston and Detroit. So even though the Wizards’ shot at making the playoffs and advancing further would be easier than the Warriors’, there’s still a bit of a ways to go for the Wiz. You could also argue that the Warriors have not only the better team, but the style that suits Arenas’ game best.

I don’t think the Warriors have the best shot to get him. I do think Arenas will stay in Washington. That city loves the guy. But kudos to the Warriors by going for the top guy available, after their own guy spurned them. It also says to Davis that he’s not even thought to be the best possible free agent by his own team.

I say this to Chris Mullin, which was first told to Mick Foley by Dominic DeNucci - you gotta a lotta ball(s).

My Take On The East

By Young Randall:

NBA’s JV League

 

Well, well, well.  What do we have here?  It seems like the Eastern Conference Playoffs are trying to show that their side of the bracket can be entertaining in the first round.  Series that seemingly were no brainer picks are quickly turning into interesting series.  The only series that was supposed to be somewhat interesting (and the only one I picked the lower seed to win in) was the Wizards and Cavaliers.  One, because of the LeBron James factor, and two, because of Deshawn Stevenson’s big mouth.  Well that series is now at 3-1 with Cleveland in command.

 

 

As of last night the biggest surprise of the series has to be the Atlanta Hawks.  Who would have thought after four games this series would have been even?  I thought it would be over in four and the Celtics are wondering what the hell just happened.  Doc Rivers had to tell his team in the locker room that they have to “make it happen” when they get back to Boston.  Make it happen?  This is the number one seed in the East and had an .800 winning percentage.  Make it happen?  I guess Boston thought they were just going to roll on Atlanta because they are The Celtics.  I expect this to be a huge wake up call for K.G. and company and they will close out the series in the next two games (which will take two weeks).  They will not be the Mavericks of this year.

 

 

 

 

The other big surprise is the Philadelphia 76ers. The 76ers are even with the playoff hardened Detroit Pistons after four games and they do not look afraid to go toe to toe with this Detroit. And they are doing it with their leading scorer, Andre Iguodala, averaging 10 points. Nine points below his season average. AI 2 is also shooting a measly 22% from the field. Eddy Zucko could go out and shoot 22% blindfolded. Philly has been lead by Andre Miller, Louis Williams, and Samuel Dalembert. They are all averaging double figures and shooting decent to good from the field (led by Miller’s 53%). But Philly is matching Detroit’s defense, holding the Pistons to under 90 points per game. While Detroit is matching this proficiency, Philly is giving themselves a chance late in games, and against a seemingly superior opponent, it gives them confidence that they can beat the Pistons. And they have come through twice. This series may well go 7 and at this point I would not be surprised if the Sixers pull it out. But I think Detroit will win in 7.

 

As for the other two series, I’ll let Eddy handle the Cleveland side show, and Orlando handled Toronto in 5 (which I predicted) with Dwight Howard asserting his dominance on and overmatched Toronto front line.  As the kids would say “Dwight Howard is a BEAST!”  Howard went for 20 points and 20 rebounds in 3 of the 5 games of the series.  If that is not dominance I don’t know what is.  I would be not want to be Detroit or Philadelphia who have to face Orlando in the second round. 

 

 

Damn I wish I could change my East Finals pick.

WITNESS: TAKE 2

By Eddy Zucko:

We all witnessed Lebron’s magical run to the NBA Finals last year. Well magical, until he ran into the Spurs. So the question in Cleveland is, can Lebron do it again? His team is supposed to be better, faster, stronger than they were last season. Making the big trade for Big Ben Wallace. Adding Wally Szczerbiak and Delonte West for some much needed outside shooting. And getting a former #1 draft pick in Joe Smith as a throw in, in that trade. All they had to give up was the inconsistency of Larry Hughes and the beard of Drew Gooden. So are they better? Well no one has dropped faster from his all star status than Big Ben (expect maybe Zito). And the 3 other guys were all pretty much non factors as Cleveland limped into the playoffs with a record of 45-37. A record that would of kept them out of the playoffs in the west, but good enough for a #4 seed in the east. Sorry Warrior fans.

The playoffs began on Saturday with Cleveland and Washington up first. Lebron and co. playing a Washington team that got to the playoffs without the services of Gilbert Arenas and Caron Butler for most of the season. But now both are back and for the first time all season, Washington has it’s full lineup at 100%. Which has most NBA analyst taking Washington to come out of this series. Trouble for Cleveland right? Well bring in Deshawn Stevenson, most famous for being accused for having intercourse with a 14 year old girl when he was 20.  Deshawn did the one thing you don’t do to Lebron, he called him out. He called Lebron overrated. Which Lebron replied back by comparing Deshawn to Soulja Boy. As in he’s a one hit wonder. Which begs the question, “Deshawn had a hit?” Lebron’s not really the Rock when it comes to snappy comebacks. So he let his game speak for himself. To the tune of 32 pts, 6 rebs, 4 ast and a Cleveland win. Things were a little testy in the beginning of the game. A couple technicals were handed out in the first half in a very closely contested game. But second half belonged to Lebron, scoring 20 of those 32 pts, mostly on uncontested layups. Washington kept it close, but in the end it was Cleveland 1, Washington 0. Deshawn by the way was 1 for 9 from the field and had a total of 3 pts. He should really leave the trash talking to people who can back it up.

2008 NBA Playoffs - Predictions

All of the Basketball Blog contributors sent me their playoff brackets. That is, except The Mystery Cow. He only sent me a message, which I will paste at the bottom.

Western Conference

First Round

(1) LA Lakers

(8) Denver Nuggets

Eddy Zucko - Lakers in 4

ShavedAsian- Lakers in 5

Young Randall - Lakers in 5

GG - Lakers in 4

(4) Utah Jazz

(5) Houston Rockets

Eddy Zucko - Utah in 7

ShavedAsian - Utah in 6

Young Randall - Utah in 7

GG - Utah in 6

(3) San Antonio Spurs

(6) Phoenix Suns

Eddy Zucko - Suns in 7

ShavedAsian - Suns in 7

Young Randall - Suns in 7

GG - Suns in 7

(2) New Orleans Hornets

(7) Dallas Mavericks

Eddy Zucko - Mavs in 6

ShavedAsian - Mavs in 6

Young Randall - Hornets in 6

GG - Hornets in 6

Color - We all agreed on each of the 4 West match-ups, except the last one. Young Randall and I went with Chris Paul and the Hornets, while ShavedAsian and Eddy Zucko are picking the upset. It’s crazy that we all picked the Suns. Aren’t the Spurs the defending champs? Haven’t they won the most titles in recent memory?

Western Conference Semi-finals

 

Eddy Zucko

Lakers over Jazz in 6

Suns over Mavericks in 7

ShavedAsian

Lakers over Jazz in 6

Suns over Mavericks in 6

Young Randall

Lakers over Jazz in 6

Suns over Hornets in 5

GG

Lakers over Jazz in 6

Suns over Hornets in 6

Color - I think we’re all simply hoping to see Kobe and Shaq all over again. But truly, is that a bad thing to hope for? That would be one of the greatest spectacles in modern sports history and an exciting conference finals.

Western Conference Finals

Eddy Zucko

Lakers over Suns in 7

ShavedAsian

Lakers over Suns in 6

Young Randall

Lakers over Suns in 6

GG

Lakers over Suns in 7

Color - No dark horses here, we’re all taking the Lakers.

Eastern Conference

First Round

(1) Boston Celtics

(8) Atlanta Hawks

Eddy Zucko - Celtics in 4

ShavedAsian- Celtics in 5

Young Randall - Celtics in 4

GG - Celtics in 4

(4) Cleveland Cavaliers

(5) Washington Wizards

Eddy Zucko - Cavaliers in 7

ShavedAsian - Cavliers in 6

Young Randall - Wizards in 6

GG - Wizards in 7

(3) Orlando Magic

(6) Toronto Raptors

Eddy Zucko - Magic in 6

ShavedAsian - Magic in 5

Young Randall - Magic in 5

GG - Magic in 6

(2) Detroit Pistons

(7)Philadelphia 76ers

Eddy Zucko - Pistons in 5

ShavedAsian - Pistons in 4

Young Randall - Pistons in 5

GG - Pistons in 6

Color - The only series any of us disagree on is the Cavs vs. the Wiz. Eddy Zucko and ShavedAsian believe that Lebron and 4 other guys are going to beat the Wizards, who learned how to play without Gilbert Arenas during the year. I think the match-up result is either that Lebron takes his game to another level (and that’s scary) and wills his team to victory, or that the Wizards have too many weapons for Cleveland.

Eastern Conference Semi-finals

 

Eddy Zucko

Celtics over Cavaliers in 6

Pistons over Magic in 5

ShavedAsian

Celtics over Cavaliers in 5

Pistons over Magic in 6

Young Randall

Celtics over Wizards in 5

Pistons over Magic in 6

GG

Celtics over Wizards in 6

Pistons over Magic in 5

Color - No surprises here. We all think the top two seeds seeds are going to meet in the conference finals.

Eastern Conference Finals

Eddy Zucko

Celtics over Pistons in 7

ShavedAsian

Pistons over Celtics in 6

Young Randall

Celtics over Pistons in 7

GG

Celtics over Pistons in 6

Color - ShavedAsian believes that the Pistons will represent the Eastern Conference in the finals, but everyone else thinks the Celtics are the team.

NBA Finals

 

Eddy Zucko

Lakers over Celtics in 6

ShavedAsian

Lakers over Pistons in 6

Young Randall

Celtics over Lakers in 6

GG

Celtics over Lakers in 7

Color - We’re split right down the middle. Two of us believe the Lakers will win the title and the other two, the Celtics.

As for the Mystery Cow? Well, here was his quote.

Fo’, Fo’, Fo’.

Don’t matter who we play in the Finals, we’ll beat them in Fo’ too.

What he means for those who don’t follow is that he thinks the Lakers are going to sweep every team in the playoffs.