NBA and College Hoops

With leaving meeting after meeting with no deal, I wish I could say we have hope. With the latest meeting being earlier today in Manhattan, New York, we are left yet once again with no deal or any signs of getting closer to our goal- agreeing. With only six days left to strike a deal and avoid a costly lockout, our NBA players attended the meeting with shirts that read in big letters, “Stand” hoping to make a difference. The roster included Paul Pierce and Kevin Garnett of the Boston Celtics, Andre Iguodala of the Philadelphia 76ers, Richard Jefferson of the San Antonio Spurs and our 2010-2011 champion, Jason Terry of the Dallas Mavericks. After four hours they left without a deal but with some hope that by the next meeting, things could get smoother. Owners are meeting Tuesday in Dallas to discuss all the issues that are still holding us back from having a 2011-2012 NBA season. Commissioner David Stern and others have agreed to refrain from publicly discussing Friday’s meeting, although he is still defending his earlier decision, a so called ”flex cap” and $2 billion in annual salaries for players. David Stern was mostly proud of his boys for joining the meeting but wished that more had come. “We were actually cheered by the fact that they were there.” 

And the T-shirts? “They were nicely done,” he said. 

-Kelly Ouji (@KellysonFIRE)

By: Kelly Ouji (@Kellysonfire)

I’m not here to give you the list of the 2011 NBA Draft, no. I want to share you my opinion about some of the picks that were made earlier tonight. Some good, some bad. I will be putting my own humph and appreciation for some of the players and picks, but it’s only my opinion. So here I go. 

Cleveland Cavaliers: 

No. 1: Former Duke University PG, Kyrie Irving. He’s not Derrick Rose or John Wall, but he has a lot of upside and should do great under Byron Scott.

No. 4: Former Texas University PF, Tristan Thompson. A big shock to many, but a great pick in my opinion. Despite being undersized for his position, he has outstanding length and rebounding abilities and will bring a lot to the table for the Cavaliers.

No. 54: Our foreign Serbian PF, Milan Macvan. Size wise, great fir for the Cavaliers. Play style, he’s got a lot to show and prove.

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Just wanted to wish this years NBA Draft class, families, and friends the best of luck. In only a few hours dreams will come true and lives will forever change. We are all ecstatic to see who will become the new generation. Just remember… Remember not only where you’re going, but where you came from. Stay humbled.

MAKE SURE TO TUNE IN TONIGHT AT 7PM ET ON ESPN.

-Kelly Ouji (@KellysonFIRE)

Known as one of the worst defensive teams in the NBA, the Toronto Raptors have officially announced their new head coach, former Dallas Mavericks assistant coach, Dwane Casey.Taking over in Tronto from Jay Triano who was let go after a very disappointing 2010-2011 season, leaving the Raptors with a 25-56 record, Casey has no doubt that he will be able to not only pick up but take the team to another level. “One thing that I do plan to do here in this upcoming season is help this team develop an NBA defensive identity,” said Casey during a news conference. During the last two years, Casey has contributed as an assistant coach for the Dallas Mavericks, and is known to be one of the league’s top defensive coaches. 

-Kelly Ouji (@KellysonFIRE)

ESPN.com recently reported that the Minnesota Timberwolves privately hoped that they could possibly find a team who is willing to take their No. 2 draft pick in return for what they would call an “impact veteran”, referencing Pau Gasol, JaVale McGee, or Monta Ellis. The Lakers, of course, have jumped right on the idea. If the Los Angeles Lakers trade Pau Gasol for power forward/center Kevin Love and the No. 2 draft pick they could easily start to fill in the missing pieces of their puzzle. Although Gasol remains one of the best front-line players in the game, the Lakers in my opinion should definitely go with this deal. As we all know, size matters. And the Lakers seem to be big on that idea as well. Love would give the Lakers a good size combination with Andrew Bynum, as well as the team making a longer term investment in a younger player. The Timberwolves have been expected to use their No. 2 pick to select Arizona power forward Derrick Williams, which in my opinion Lakers could use more to address their point guard needs by possibly picking up Kemba Walker, Brandon Knight, or even Jimmer Fredette. Spanish forward Pau Gasol however, is totally against this whole deal. “My desire is to stay with the Lakers. I don’t have control over it but I want to stay with the Lakers for as many years as I can to be able to remain eligible for the maximum possible championships,” Gasol told reporters. 

-Kelly Ouji (@KellysonFIRE)

Quite frankly, winning a championship does make you lose control. Dallas Mavericks guard DeShawn Stevenson was arrested for public intoxication on Tuesday night. Irving, Texas Police reported Stevenson intoxicated, walking through the grounds of an apartment complex not knowing where he was. After a sobriety test, police arrested Stevenson for the night and was released from jail Wednesday morning after posting bail. Mavericks spokeswoman Sarah Melton said Wednesday that the team had no comment on the arrest. Stevenson also felt the need to go above and beyond to show his love for LeBron James, after defeating the Miami Heat in the NBA Finals. Besides making constant provocative comments about James, such as saying he is “overrated” and that he “checked out” late in Game 4, DeShawn made personal shirts that read “Hey LeBron! How’s My Drik Taste?” 

Classic, if you ask me.

-Kelly Ouji (@KellysonFIRE)

As the whole nation watched in excitement and anticipation, the NBA champs of the 2011 season was finally crowned last night. The Dallas Mavericks rocked the Miami Heat on their home court. Dallas took the title with score remaining at 105-95.

The question still remains, when will Lebron James get a ring? After looking at his performance in that crucial game 6, is it fair to say it may be a year, or maybe even longer before James fulfills the dream he has been chasing since he entered the league. It comes down to one simple concept, effort. Anybody could watch that game, basketball lover or not, and just see the lack of effort that Lebron possessed. With the clock ticking down and with every possession vital, Lebron let the ball slip through his hands multiple times and the Heat as a team couldn’t buy a bucket even if they wanted too. What ultimately killed the Heat was the absence of Lebron James come the 4th quarter. Going into game 6, James only had 11 4th quarter points while Wade and Dirk tripled that number, even quadrupled that number. Its obvious what area Lebron needs to work on, and thats his 4th quarter performance.

Game 6 was filled with a series of runs, but note that more than half of these runs was provided by the Miami bench, WITH Lebron sitting out. What does that say? It simply says that the bench brought that spark Miami needed but the starters couldnt maintain it. Grant it Wade had the heart of a champ out there. He’s been there before, and accomplished the goal. Lebron on the other hand has only seen the finals once and came up short. Miami Heat have ALL the ingridients they need, its just a matter of time before it all meshes together and produces that Championship title.

Now lets cross over to the Dallas Mavericks. Its OBVIOUS why they won the title; TEAMWORK. Every player went out there and did their role effectively. Grant it they have Drik who is just phenomenal, but give credit where its due and that credit would go to J.J Barea and Jason Terry. Terry and Barea went out there and went straight for Miami’s throat. It’s funny how Miami was so effective at stopping Derrick Rose from getting to the basket, but with Barea there was no solution. Again, does that fall back on to the lack of effort, because Miami undoubtedly has the aggressive defense in order to stop that.

This NBA finals was by far one of the greatest finals I have witnessed. With so much media hype and expectations resting on the shoulders of Lebron, and the under dogs, Dallas Mavs coming out and shocking everyone, that series was every bit of exciting.