Thursday, May 28, 2009

Rosey Picture..


Derrick Martell Rose born October 4, 1988, the youngest of four brothers. He grew up a fan of the Michael Jordan era and dreamt of one day ending up in the NBA. Derrick's dream did come true in 2008, where he was not only picked # 1 overall by his hometown team - The Chicago Bulls, he went on to win Rookie of the year and gave the Boston Celtics an unbelieveable headache on the offensive end. On a side note Rose's Jersey is the 11th best selling jersey in the league this past season.

Just to prove that not everything ends up Rosey (no pun intended). Here's the latest on Rose.

According to the Memphis Commercial-Appeal, the University of Memphis has to respond about the NCAA allegations that charge the men's basketball program with major violations, which might be related to Derrick Rose.
The player's name is blacked out in the report but the wording indicates that he only played in the 2007-08 season. Rose is the only Memphis player who meets that criteria.
The report claims that an unknown individual completed Mr. Rose's SAT exam and due to this he was allowed to play in the championship game in NCAA tournament.

Truth or not, you decide for now, but I'm sure the individual's name will be stated on websites all over in the next few days.

I hope it ain't Mr. Rose as he did sound like a really humble individual when interviewed on TV.

Wednesday, May 27, 2009

The Forgotten Olympian...


So how did the Americans do, very well indeed. They beat Spain to end up with GOLD MEDALS. How did they do it? They borrowed stars from the NBA and ended up winning it all.


The Big Names... (in no particular order)


- Amare Stouda

- Kobe Bryant

- Lebron James

- Chris Paul

- Dwayne Wade

- Derron Williams

- Carlos Boozer

- Jason Kidd

- Dwight Howard

- Carmelo Anthony

- Tayshaun Prince


Who's missing from the list above, two players.... Michael Redd and Christopher Bosh.

To make a case for Redd, he didn't play a big role with the Olympic team, however, Mr. Bosh did indeed have a huge impact on the defensive end and was one of the individual's who understood his role on the team. However, reality has hit Chis Bosh in his face, to be one of the instrumental players in the end of the game against Spain can't actually make the NBA playoffs. All the names above (with the exception of M.Redd) have been or still are in the 2008-2009 playoffs.


You can make a case and state that the names above are playing at a higher level than Chris Bosh. They willed their teams into the playoffs. I agree and disagree to some extent. Let's make a case for Bosh and see if we can defend this star.


Most of the players on the list above are all guards, unlike Chris Bosh. When the ball is in Chris' hands in the dying seconds of a game, it shouldn't be expected for Bosh to take that last shot. The opposing teams know this and will take Chris out of his comfort zone, however, with a guard, they have the handles to dribble through the crowd and make a play.


Raptor Fans are sitting on the edge of their seats wondering what is going to happen in the upcoming season. The charming GM of the Raptors (Bryan Colangelo) is optimistic about the upcoming draft, but if the GM selects anything but a guard, the fans will be asking the MLSE to chop up Colangelo. The raptors have a lot of work to do this offseason and their main priorty should be to resign the FORGOTTEN OLYMPIAN. Without Chris Bosh, the team lacks a leader. GM Colangelo can not put that burden on the 3rd year player in Andrea Bargnani as he is not a finished product at this point (even though he has shown improvement in the last season).


Bosh is a smart, intelligent young man who understands that the money is out there but his destiny is with the Raptors. By signing with a decent raise and resigning Shawn Marion for the right price along with some bold moves by the Raptors GM, the Toronto Raptors will be back into the playoffs - looking past the 1st round and beyond.


Bosh will NOT be the forgotten olympian in the 2009-2010 season, the title will be tagged to Michael Redd (but that's a story for another day).

Diamonds in the Rough...



The 2008-2009 Playoffs have had it's fair share of Star Players who are shining bright. Let's take a look at a few of the players who don't get a lot of tv time compared to the Billups, the Kobes, the Lebrons...



Chris Anderson:

Now a lot of casual fans would disagree with me about this rising role player. Chris has been suspended by the league for 2 years for violating the terms of the NBA's Anti-Drug policy (to this day he has not revealed what drug gave him the suspension). He has come back with a straight record and has proved to the league that he "belongs". The Denver Nuggets have signed him cheap but the play of the "BIRD MAN" has surprised even the Lakers.








J.R. Smith

You need a guy to fill it up, J.R. Smith is your guy, this guy can score. He has the handles, plus can shoot the outside 3. Mr. Smith was drafted by the New Orleans Hornets at # 18 and was later traded to the Bulls in the Marcus Camby deal. Chicago traded Smith due to his locker room attitude to the Denver Nuggets. Smith has finally found in Denver and the fans love him along with his coach George Karl who claims that Smith brings a certain edge to the Nuggets.









Mickael Pietrus:

Here's a guy who has been in the league for only 5 seasons, but has played like a 10 year veteran in the 2008-2009 playoffs. An under the radar defender who can run the floor on offense and give you easy baskets or stand on the 3 point line and drain it. This Frenchman is proving his worth and a lot of teams (cough, Toronto Raptors) missed him this season.








Trevor Ariza:

Here's a player that was signed by the New York Knicks on a low salary, who ended up in Orlando and almost out of the league. The Lakers took a chance on Trevor and he is paying dividends in the 2008-2009 playoffs. Key steals in games against the Nuggets to seal the deal. Ariza is a player who will give you a bit of everything, steals, assists, highlights reels, rebounds and a little bit of scoring, best of all, he is long and lanky and can defend his position well.





Players come, and players go, but there are players who step up in the playoffs and let even the casual fan believe they are the best in the world and they belong in the NBA.