HoopsBlogging

I have started a basketball blog called “hoopsblogging” at www.hoopsblogging.com.

Check it out!

Violence in Sports

We, as humans, have been enamoured by sporting events for thousands of years. Prehistoric art painted on cave walls in France portrays evidence of ritual archery as being a leisurely activity. Captain James Cook, upon being the first Western visitor to the Hawaiian Islands in 1778, saw the native people surfing. When I visited the Mayan ruins of Tikal, in Guatemala, I heard of the Mesoamerican ballgame in which two teams (with a varying number of players) would hit a rubber ball back and forth, attempting to cause the other team to be unable to return. In some cases, war captives would play the game with the loser being decapitated for blood sacrifice.

In modern society we continue to be entertained by sports. Many times we too, much like the Mayans, take it quite seriously.

In Kelowna last month a young referee, Brandon Wright, was confronted by two players following an issuing of a red card (automatic ejection). The player then grabbed his collar and wrestled him to the ground. Wright managed to free himself from this attack before being crushed by a larger set man named Mark. Eventually, Wright was able to call for help and everything was cleared up. He left having cleat marks on his arm and various bruises across his body.

While not everybody gets this angry over sports, this kind of ridiculous behaviour seems to be happening more frequently. In the last five years we have seen everything from NBA players, who are making millions of dollars a year, getting in brawls with the opposing team’s fans to hockey mom’s screaming at junior league referees to the point of legitimate fear being evident. We have seen the Chilean U-20 soccer team fighting with police in Toronto and the always infamous Todd Bertuzzi sucker punch of Steve Moore. The list could go on, and on, and on.

If we continue to accept these kinds of actions without punishment, the frequency will continue to increase much like unpunished ignorance of the speed limit would cause an increase in the amount of people speeding on our roads.

Actions must be taken on each level. Not just legal action, but social action. It’s our job as much as anybody else’s to put an end to these unacceptable occurrences.

There’s a reason nobody is playing the Mesoamerican ball game anymore – and there’s no reason we need to be taking our sporting activities that seriously either.

The Celtics are Moving Forward

When Kevin Garnett was traded from the Minnesota Timberwolves to the Boston Celtics, many NBA columnists, basketball experts, and message board “gurus” (as we often think of ourselves) discussed the age-old argument of “future prospects” versus “winning now.”

We all can agree that Danny Ainge traded away many talented young players for one superstar in return. What we seem to disagree on, however, is whether it was worth it or not.

I’ll recap the trade for you who don’t know the specifics:

Boston received: Kevin Garnett

Minnesota received: Al Jefferson, Ryan Gomes, Gerald Green, Sebastian Telfair, Theo Ratliff, and two future first-round draft picks

To add to that, the Ray Allen trade with the Sonics must also be put into consideration. The Celtics obtained Ray Allen on a draft-day deal along with the 35th overall pick (Glen Davis) for Delonte West, Wally Szczerbiak, and the fifth overall pick (Jeff Green).

So, with the two deals being made, the Celtics gave up six players under 25 years of age that are packed with potential, two extra draft picks, and a guy who has averaged over 15 ppg for his career. All of this for two aging superstars and a second-rounder.

The question of “was it worth it” cannot be answered now. However, in five years, we’ll all know whether this was the greatest trade of all-time or the biggest fire-sale in history.

The Celtics had a very talented young squad that, quite frankly, wasn’t going anywhere. Last year, these “studs” were fighting for the rights to Gred Oden or Kevin Durant rather than fighting for any chance of making the playoffs. Sure, Gerald Green will be a star one day soon, Al Jefferson will be a star one day sooner, and Jeff Green might be the name Celtics fans hate to see for years to come. However, while the future is always loaded with prospects and players with potential, the “now” is the most important thing of all.

Right now, the Celtics have three superstars all eager to win a championship.

Whether they can do it with a major lack of a supporting cast is the real question. If the Celtics go on to the NBA Finals three times in the next five years, it was worth it. If they win the Finals once in the next five years, it was worth it. If the Celtics become and remain a big name in the Eastern Conference for the next five years, it was worth it.

Winning is always more important than the future, because the future is usually built on the “now.”

Many young teams know the struggles that are faced with young players and potential. They always have them, but they rarely hold on to them throughout their prime. Along with that, no established vet wants to join a team with potential over the chance to be a part of a championship contender. There is a reason why Antoine Walker, James Posey, and Gary Payton wore Miami jerseys last year; there is a reason Karl Malone and Gary Payton joined the Lakers in 2003-04; and there is a reason why the Celtics can be surer of their future now than they were before giving away their youngsters.

By trading away their future, the Celtics not only established themselves as a contender now, but they also put themselves in a better position to win for years to come. With Garnett, Pierce, and Allen on the same team for years to come, barring injuries or trades, this team has the ability to beat anybody in the league at any given time — something that the Celtics haven’t been able to say for years.

The only way things can turn sour again in Beantown is if Danny Ainge magically morphs back into, well, Danny Ainge and messes things up again. For now, however, Celtic fans should be ecstatic about the possibilities surrounding this team and their future.

—–Originally Published at Sports-Central.org—–

Mock NBA Draft

Well, it’s that time of the year again. Everybody who’s a nobody goes out and tries to act like an NBA scout by predicting the NBA draft.

The fact is that we, as fans, often do have as good of a guess as to who’s going to be successful as anybody else does, because the future is always uncertain. Sam Bowie was taken before Michael Jordan because even M.J. wasn’t a sure-shot No. 1. Nobody is.

I’ve often felt that I am quite knowledgeable around picks — seeing Darko Milicic and Rafael Araujo as the busts they were while seeing Amare Stoudemire and Marcus Williams as pure steals (the latter still has to pan out). However, with mock drafts, it really doesn’t matter how well one can foresee talent. All that matters is whether I can guess the thoughts of each GM, some having logical patterns, while others are simply crazy.

Therefore, this mock draft is as big of a crapshoot as any other, but I’m going forward with it nonetheless.

Here is my first round mock NBA draft (I would do a second round, but I’m sure I’ve made enough mistakes as it is):

1. Portland – Greg Oden (7′0″ C – Ohio State)
He’s the league-wide favorite to be taken number one and GM Kevin Pritchard isn’t about to take a risk on anything else. If he takes Oden and it doesn’t work out: everybody was wrong. If he passes on Oden and he turns into the best center in the league: only he was wrong.

2. Seattle – Kevin Durant (6′10″ SF – Texas)
In my opinion, Durant is the best player in the draft and Seattle strikes it just as rich as or richer than Portland. They get the player they want without having the pressure of picking the wrong guy.

3. Atlanta – Brandan Wright (6′10″ PF – North Carolina)
The Hawks need a lot of things and there are a lot of things available. It’s “too early” to pick Mike Conley and the Hawks really should fill a big-man position first and get the guard at 11. The only problem is that there is probably no chance Conley slides to 11, since everybody knows the Hawks would take him there or be willing to trade up a couple spots to secure him.

Nonetheless, I think the Hawks should take Brandan Wright from North Carolina. Al Horford is more ready, but that doesn’t matter — the Hawks aren’t “ready” to contend, so there is no hurry. Wright has a higher ceiling, is more athletic, and would make the Hawks a dangerous run-and-gun (or run-and-dunk) team. Well, maybe not dangerous, but they’d still be fun to watch.

4. Memphis – Al Horford (6′10″ PF – Florida)
While Joakim Noah would certainly make sense, I’ve got a feeling the Grizzlies won’t be able to pass on Al Horford. They need another big man to relieve the pressure off of Gasol and the big Floridian (as opposed to the skinny one) would give them the body they need.

5. Boston – Yi Jianlian (7′0″ PF – China)
They will try their best to trade this pick and get Garnett. However, assuming that doesn’t happen — they’ll be happy to settle for Yi Jianlian, who not only helps them out significantly on the court, but also in jersey sales (thanks to the Chinese market). True story: I saw a Team China Jianlian jersey at a Footlocker … in Alberta, Canada. Okay, to help explain why this is so crazy, I have to add in the fact that you can barely even find LeBron jersey’s in Alberta.

6. Milwaukee – Mike Conley, Jr. (6′1″ PG – Ohio State)
This pick could go two ways: either they take Mike Conley depending on the free agent situation with Mo Williams or they pick Corey Brewer to add depth to an awkward small forward position (with Bobby Simmons and Ruben Patterson). I’ll go with Mike Conley and the hope that Simmons is healthy.

7. Minnesota – Corey Brewer (6′8″ SF – Florida)
The T-Wolves should be ecstatic if Corey Brewer falls this far. So ecstatic that there would simply be no way they would pass on him. They’ve needed someone to add significant scoring alongside Garnett for quite a while. Sure, they’ve got Ricky Davis, but that might be more of a problem than a commodity.

8. Charlotte – Joakim Noah (6′11″ PF – Florida)
Noah may not fall this far based on late reactions derived from older performances. Based on this year, he really doesn’t deserve to go top-10, but he will. The Bobcats need a versatile player like Noah and they likely won’t let him fall beyond eight.

9. Chicago – Jeff Green (6′9″ SF – Georgetown)
While Chicago is already doing fine at small forward, they tend to stockpile depth anyways. Jeff Green is arguably the best player available here and is versatile enough to get playing time somewhere or another.

10. Sacramento – Spencer Hawes (7′0″ C – Washington)
Whatever happened to Sacramento? Petrie may turn towards a young player to build the team around for the future, but I’d say he’d rather go for current need. They need a big man to back up Miller and grab boards. Hawes is the answer.

11. Atlanta – Acie Law (6′3″ PG – Texas A&M)
The Hawks need a point-guard and Javaris Crittenton, though tempting, isn’t the one they end up going with.

12. Philadelphia – Nick Young (6′6″ SG – USC)
This USC product is enough of a reason to pass on filling their PF needs. Young will give them a legitimate two-guard who can excite. They can pick up a big man at 21 if they want.

13. New Orleans – Rodney Stuckney (6′5″ SG – E. Wash)
The Hornets don’t get the guy they want in Nick Young, but Stuckney still fits the bill as a guy who can produce as a shooting guard.

14. LA Clippers – Javaris Crittenton (6′4″ PG – G-Tech)
With Shaun Livingston on the shelf, the Clips are in need of a point guard.

15. Detroit – Julian Wright (6′8″ SF – Kansas)
With Chris Webber being injury prone and Rasheed Wallace being technical-foul prone, Julian Wright would be a solid addition to the Pistons’ front court.

16. Washington – Al Thornton (6′7″ F – Florida State)
Washington has holes. Regardless of where they are, they can’t afford to pass on the best player available.

17. New Jersey – Jason Smith (7′0″ C – Colorado St.)
The Nets could use another big man. Jason Smith provides a big body that can run the court well and would add a lot to the post for a team that has nearly no inside presence.

18. Golden State – Petteri Koponen (6′4″ PG – Finland)
The Warriors make a big splash by taking this recently hyped floor-leader from Finland. While he isn’t the most NBA ready player available, he does provide depth for a position in need (with B-Diddy’s injury history).

19. L.A. Lakers – Josh McRoberts (6′10″ PF – Duke)
Most believe the Lakers are going to go for a big man. With Jason Smith gone, McRoberts is the likely candidate.

20. Miami – Thaddeus Young (6′7″ SF – G-Tech)
The Heat could use a SF with James Posey being a FA. And even with Posey, it’s arguably their weakest position. With that said, either Derrick Byars or Thaddeus Young will be snagged here. I’m going with the more athletic Young.

21. Philadelphia – Derrick Byars (6′7″ SG/SF – Vanderbilt)
By taking Nick Young earlier, the 76ers pressured themselves to use this pick on a big man. With Smith and McRoberts off the board the pick ends up being between Tiago Splitter, Sean Williams, and Marc Gasol. With nine picks to go until they choose again, the 76ers take a risk in believing that one of these players will still be around at 30.

22. Charlotte – Tiago Splitter (6′11″ PF – Brazil)
Splitter may not come into the NBA right way, but that’s okay with Charlotte. They’ve already got the guy they need for this year earlier on in the draft. Splitter makes the future a safer place for this organization.

23. New York – Glen Davis (6′8″ PF – LSU)
I put a bunch of names in a hat, and out came Big Baby’s name. Isiah Thomas is probably the most unpredictable person to draft for and I believe that this system is as accurate as any other.

24. Phoenix – Marco Belinelli (6′6″ SG – Italy)
I saw somebody else put this in their mock draft and it made perfect sense. He’s a great shooter with a quick release — the perfect player for the Phoenix system. Not to mention he’s Italian (Coach Mike D’Antoni played ball in Italy).

25. Utah – Morris Almond (6′6″ SG – Rice)
While the Jazz had a great year, they sure could have used some scoring against the Spurs. Almond averaged 26.4 ppg in college while shooting over 45% from behind the arc. If he can pull down 15 rebounds a game as well they might actually be able to contend with the Spurs.

26. Houston – Sean Williams (6′10″ PF – Boston College)
The Rockets are in need of a big man after trading Juwan Howard for Mike James last week. Dikembo Mutombo is aging, Yao is injury-prone, and Chuck Hayes isn’t enough to not need a big man with this pick.

27. Detroit – Aaron Brooks (5′11″ PG – Oregon)
They need a backup point guard for Billups. There are a few options out there, but the way this kid shoots the ball is awfully attractive to the Pistons.

28. San Antonio – Rudy Fernandez (6′6″ SG – Spain)
Fernandez is a lottery-talent player who I see falling quite a bit. The great thing about drafting late in the first round is that there are always a few players you had in mind still available. With San Antonio aging, Fernandez brings in some young talent that can play a role on the team almost immediately.

29. Phoenix – Gabe Pruitt (6′4″ PG – USC)
Marcus Banks didn’t work out as a backup. Pruitt, or whatever point guard they select here, will hopefully mold into the player that can carry over for Nash down the road.

30. Philadelphia – Marc Gasol (7′1″ C – Spain)
Finally, the 76ers get a big man to provide some sort of hope for the future. Gasol has upside, but is a definite work-in-progress.

—–Originally Published at Sports-Central.org—–