NBA: My thoughts on the Eastern Conference ~ Can't we just pick 6?

I was talking to my friend, Teri, over the weekend and we were talking about the Eastern Conference and how it's "weak" relative to the Western Conference. 

The final 2 spots in the East as of now are being held by 2 teams that are below .500.  When was the last time any of you basketball fans were clamoring to see the Sixers or the Pacers this year?  Yeah, I know.  Me neither.

1. Boston Celtics
2. Miami Heat
3. Chicago Bulls
4. Atlanta Hawks
5. Orlando Magic
6. New York Knicks
7. Philadelphia 76ers (17-23)
8. Indiana Pacers (16-22)

Granted it's still early, but my initial reaction is "ewwwwwww". 

I like the Boston Celitcs on top and with Kevin Garnett back in the line-up, let's hope they stay healthy. Now I just need to check and see if there's a time table for Kendrick Perkins. I know Perkins has practiced, but last I saw he was on the bench during the game.

I'm anti-Lebron but pro-Dwyane Wade/Erik Spoelstra/Pat Riley, so I'm torn when it comes to the Miami Heat. Even being anti-Lebron, I have to admit that play when he twisted his ankle, went out of bounds, and then drained a 3 from the corner was impressive. Yes, I'm not blind. I saw it, and I was impressed.

How about Derrick Rose's triple double (i.e. granted it was against the Memphis Grizzlies, but it still counts)?!?!  What about Kyle Korver's 3-point shooting?  If those guys can keep up the effort and keep making shots while Boozer is out, then I'd consider the Chicago Bulls to be a viable threat.  I'm just not sure about their strength with Joakim Noah still out of the line-up.

I think the biggest surprise is Atlanta. In the words of Elmer Fudd, they've been "very, very quiet" yet the numbers don't lie (27-15).

I like the Knicks and am impressed with how well Amare Stoudemire is playing.  I anticipate heading to Madison Square Garden again before the NBA All-Star break to catch the Los Angeles Clippers and/or the Los Angeles Lakers in town.  I'm not sure how long the Knicks can continue to "bring it", but I am pulling for them.   

Those are my thoughts on the East.


THE WIRK

Knicks defeat the Bulls on Christmas Day at The Garden

Today I went to Madison Square Garden for my first New York Knicks home game.  The Knicks were hosting the Chicago Bulls and my seat for the Christmas Day performance was SICK! 

I was sitting about 5-6 rows behind the Chicago Bulls bench.  Don't get me wrong...  When I don't have a horse in the race, I have a tendency to root for the home team.  As a girl who adopted the Knicks as her team (i.e. when Patrick Ewing was drafted), I also had reason to root for the Knicks.

Earlier in the week Charles Oakley was named to Paul Silas' Charlotte Bobcats coaching staff, and I received a free pass to not have to go home to Ohio for Christmas.  Soooooo, of course I took it as a sign to go to New York for the day and watch the Knicks at home.

I decided to take the train, since Amtrak dropped me right off at Madison Square Garden and I didn't want to risk driving in holiday traffic.  The game tipped off at 12 noon and I arrived at The Garden with about 80 minutes to spare before the opening tip.  People were arriving early.  Before 11AM, when they started to let people in the entrance was packed full of people standing shoulder to shoulder.

As I walked in and went to my seat, I started to take in The Garden.  Yeah, the Knicks game was a sellout and you could tell that the Knicks fans were ready to battle.  There were a decent amount of Bulls fans in the stands, but they even seemed to be cheering for the Knicks here and there. 

Another thing that was strange.  The Knicks were wearing green uniforms...  Yeah, I get it.  It was a decision to make the game appear more festive for the holidays (i.e. green for the Knicks, red for the Bulls).  Admittedly, as a "basketball purist" I thought the green was corny.

Today's match-up was a high-flying, physical game and I was excited to see Amare Stoudemire perform with his "new" team.  Amare delivered 20 points, 10 boards, and 6 blocked shots.  For those of you that think Amare doesn't play defense, he did his best to show you what he could do today.  For all of you doubters, that was your Christmas present.

2 of Amare Stoudemire's points

Since I was at the game, I wasn't paying attention to numbers.  I had to check the box score, but here are the details.  Raymond Felton came up big with 20 points and 12 assists.  Danilo Gallinari was not to be ignored, since he hit 75% of his 3 point attempts and finished with 15 points.  Wilson Chandler also dropped 15 points and gathered 10 boards.  The Knicks were balanced and earned the victory.

The Bulls were without Joakim Noah, but Carlos Boozer and Derrick Rose came up strong.  Boozer dropped 26 points and grabbed 19 rebounds.  Rose had 25 points and 8 assists.  I took another look at Kyle Korver, and I still think he resembles Carrot Top.

Boozer looking light as a feather

The Knicks ended up winning the game and defeating the Bulls with a final score of 103-95.

I can cross Madison Square Garden off of my list.  By the way, parents please listen.  If you bring your child to a basketball game, please make sure the kid either wants to be there or is old enough to tolerate being there.  I was sitting next to a kid who screamed, "I want to go home!" for most of the 3rd quarter.  This wasn't pleasant for anyone in earshot, and believe me ~ this kid had a set of lungs!

Thanks to Amare Stoudemire's effort, the "Christmas" party at The Garden was also a "block" party!  Enjoy the pictures from the game.

****  Oh and did I mention that David Kahn, President of Basketball Operations for the Minnesota Timberwolves was sitting behind me during the game?  Maybe it's something.  Maybe it's nothing.  It is interesting though...

THE WIRK

Calgon take me away (to Cleveland): Game 5: Celtics v Cavs tonight

Remember those commercials where the girl would be in a tub and say, "Calgon take me away."?  Well, I'm not foolish enough to believe that works.  I've clicked my heels three times and said, "There's no place like home."  However, my black flats don't even look like ruby slippers and let's face it ~ my name's not Dorothy so that won't work either.  If I had a private plane and could go anywhere tonight, I'd take that plane straight to Cleveland, Ohio.  Yes, I said it.  I'd even invite Joakim Noah to come with me, because we know he can't be busy.  That's just how nice a person I am!  Game 5 is tonight, and the Cleveland Cavaliers should be ready to exploit homecourt advantage and defeat the Boston Celtics.

I was watching TNT earlier this week and I heard Ernie Johnson use the term "LeBrondo".  That made me laugh.  Rajon Rondo was the story of Game 4, and LeBron James was the story for Game 3.  Both teams split games on their home floor (i.e. basically trading wins and losses).  I think I recall LeBron saying that he wanted to guard Rondo tonight.  Well, let's just hope that that doesn't open up the floor too much for Paul Pierce, Kevin Garnett, and Ray Allen.  Can you tell that I'm a Cavs fan?!?!

I hope Cleveland is bringing more of its offense and defense to the table tonight and is ready to dominate.  I got into a discussion last night about the merit of Mike Brown.  My friend was saying that he couldn't coach.  I admit, I am a member of a "Fire Mike Brown" group.  We both remarked that the only play that Coach seems to call in the huddle (i.e. after a time-out, etc.) is the "Give the ball to LeBron" play.  Trust me ~ he and I are smart and have high basketball IQs, but I assure you that even the dimmest bulb on the shortest bus could figure that out! 

**** Coaches are in a very unenviable position. We love them when the team wins, and we second guess and join "Fire XYZ" forums when the team loses. I like Mike Brown, when the Cavs win and when he's not snubbing Zydrunas Ilgauskas. Regardless, I will still ultimately blame Danny Ferry if the Cavs don't win a NBA Championship this year.

Come on Cleveland, it's GO time at Quicken Loans Arena!!!


THE WIRK

Caps dominate, Cavs win, Noah's comments, and the Jazz defeat the Nuggets

Last night, I parked myself in front of my TV and flipped channels.  That might sound lame to some, but for me, it was about all I could handle.

First up was Game 3 for the Washington Caps and the Montreal Canadiens.  I started watching hockey, 15 mins into the game.  Before you knew it the Caps were up 4-0.  Nice!  Realizing that the Caps didn't need my moral support I started focusing on the Cavs game. 

The Cavs were up 10 points and Shaq was on the bench sweating like Patrick Ewing.  A 10 point lead isn't the end all, especially since it was early, but I wasn't interested in watching the game.  No matter how I tried to get into the game, the Cavs v Bulls series just doesn't interest me.  I don't believe that the Bulls are a threat to the Cavs.  I'm not a fan of Joakim Noah either.  I didn't like him in college, and I don't like him in the pros.  He seems awkward to me.  I remember I had dinner with some of my sporty friends and one of them told me that Noah was killing it on the boards and really proving himself.  As I politely smiled and then yawned into my napkin, I'm sure my disinterest was apparent.  The only Noahs that interest me are Yannick and the one who managed to gather pairs of animals and survive a storm for 40 days and 40 nights.  Both of those men's stories, I find far more fascinating than the youngest Noah.  Shoot...  When I was in Paris, I found myself intrigued by the billboard I saw for Yannick's concert.  However, while in Chicago, Joakim was the furthest thing from my mind...  I wanted to see Derrick Rose and the United Center.  Yep, the building was more exciting to me than Joakim.

Yannick > Joakim

****  There's an "I hate Joakim Noah" facebook group.  I thought about joining it, but next to "Affiliation" it reads, "Peyton Manning is overrated."  Um, excuse me.  As a Colts fan, I'm definitely not down with that.  Oh well.  They almost had me.

Can someone tell me what Joakim's problem is?  Why does he think he can start jawing with LeBron James in Cleveland?  Further to cement, my feeling that Noah is just terrible, check out the video of him trashing Cleveland.  Now, I'm sure that Cleveland isn't at the top of the list in terms of vacation destinations, but I'm also confident that there are at least 20,000 people who'd be more than happy to put Noah on the Rapid and send him back to the airport.  Don't worry, Joakim.  You'll be on vacation soon enough!  Feel free to go wherever you want in the off season.

The last game I watched was the Jazz v Nuggets game.  It was Game 2 and was being played in Denver.  The injury riddled Jazz managed to defeat the Nuggets.  Injury riddled...  With Kirilenko out and Mehmet Okur rupturing his Achilles it should've been an easy game for the Nuggets...  "Should" was the key word.  What is going on with the Nuggets?  Sure, they're not the same team they were now that George Karl is tending to his health, and Adrian Dantley has assumed coaching responsibilities.  George Karl's presence is obviously missed.  I know Adrian Dantley is knowledgeable, but he only had 1/10 of the passion to win last night's game compared to me.  I'm actually a little surprised that the folks in Denver didn't tell me to, "Shut up," because my inside voice was SCREAMING last night.

The Nuggets are supposed to win this series!  Am I the only person that knows this?  Has anyone told the Nuggets that they can and should win?  ARGH!  It's almost as if the refs didn't want the Nuggets to win either.  Is it just me, or did it seem like every time I heard a whistle blow, one of the Nuggets had drawn a foul.  Crazy...

****  I just checked.  Numbers don't lie.  Fouls for Denver looked like this:

• Anthony:  6
• Nene:  5
• Martin:  5
• Afflalo: 5
• Billups: 5

I was still steaming after the game and started thinking ahead to the Suns v Trailblazers game in Portland on Saturday.  I remembered that I knew a former front office executive for the Blazers and decided to drop him an email.  I also started thinking about Carlos Boozer and got reminded of the debacle in Cleveland when he duped management and left for Salt Lake City.  Don't remember?  How can you forget?  Well, just in case you can relive the nightmare by reading the following link.  http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2004/writers/ian_thomsen/07/09/paxson.boozer/index.html

Being a Cavs fan, I'll say this.  I know Gordon Gund to be a class act, and I respect Jim Paxson.  I believe in Paxson's basketball knowledge.  Based on those statements, you can deduce how I feel about Boozer (i.e. especially when it comes to the Cavs).  Boozer had a very strong performance last night.  Come on Denver, let's stop getting tattoos, practice, get it together, and WIN!

Kenyon Martin had 15 pts, but was hampered with 5 fouls Monday night

Actually now that I think about it, when the Nuggets were in town to play the Wizards, the Wizards won 107-97.

Seriously... What is wrong with Denver?

Enough about all that.  Today is a brand new day and there is a full slate of games on tonight.

Bucks and Hawks tip at 7.

Heat and Celtics tip at 8.
****  Earlier tonight, for his Twitter fans, dwadeofficial, posted this:  "First 1 to get this question rt. How many players on Miami and Boston R from chicago??? And name them."  If you're not on Twitter and you're a fan, you might want to correct the situation.

Trailblazers and Suns tip at 10:00.

Thunder and Lakers tip at 10:30.

If you follow this blog, you know who I want to win...  Let's go guys!  BRING IT!!!

THE WIRK

Conference tourneys aren't the end all, but they are important

I was watching Around the Horn today, and I must disagree with some of the sentiment regarding the conference tournaments importance.  I listened to a few of the viewpoints and I have to say, I don't agree.  I think the Conference tournaments are important.  Are they extremely important?  Will I become ill and be forced to miss work so I can watch?  NO to both questions.  However, I will tune in and watch a few of the games in various conferences (i.e. that pique my curiosity), and I will definitely check the scores.  Why?  Because now is the time for people to dial in and start getting a sense as to who's peaking and who's fizzling.

I don't have to remind you that it's almost time for us to start completing our brackets, do I?  In a world of where everyone and their mother decides that they want their shot at the money in the bracket pool, people have to make intelligent decisions.  Sure there are the people that pick based on mascot, location, alma mater, seeds, coaches etc.  Another factor that needs to be considered is the strength of the conference.  I don't see anything distinctive or unique in many of the conferences that makes me want to take note.  Yes, it's no secret I think that the ACC is weak.  Further, even though I'm from the Midwest, I can't seem to get interested in the Big 10.  The SEC isn't my cup of tea, as all of the teams seems to blend in my brain.  Plus, I've already been there and done that when "Big Baby" Davis was playing for LSU, and it took me days to get the song, "Eye of the Tiger" out of my head.  What?  You like that song.  Well, I did also ~ UNTIL, I heard it a bajillion times played by school band in the span of only a few days. 

If you're a diehard fan of a team, I recommend you go to your team's conference tourney.  Do it once.  It's an experience.  I'm a Duke fan, and I remember when the ACC tournament was at the Verizon Center.  Duke beat GA Tech and won the ACC tourney that year.  I went to almost every session of that tournament.

The opening tip, of Duke v GA Tech, 2005 ACC Tourney

Duke, 2005 ACC Tournament Champs

As each team wins and loses, it's fun to see how the dynamic and team colors of the fans around the arena change.  If you're not a major booster of your alma mater or favorite team (e.g. Iron Duke), don't worry about tickets.  You can still get into the game.  As teams lose, their fans go home.  Most of the fans that are making a quick departure out of town, have ticket books for the remaining sessions and chances are they'll sell them to you for $100-200 to cut their losses and try to get some cash back (i.e. maybe for gas money and to cushion the blow of the loss).  Wait outside the arena and hold your finger in the air with how many tickets you need and chances are you'll be able to strike a deal.

Perhaps you're already in the arena, and have a upper level seats (YUCK, EWWWWW, GROSS) and in between games.  If you're not creepy, you can politely approach someone who's on his/her way out the door and ask for his/her ticket.  BE NICE!  The person's team just lost.  Chances are you can upgrade to a lower level ticket.

Alright - enough about the ticket hustle.  I can't give away all my secrets.

Conference tourneys.  I've been to the ACC and I've been to the SEC Tourney (i.e. 2006 in Nashville, when Florida won). 

Florida's Joakim Noah and LSU's "Big Baby" Davis together on the court, 2006 SEC Tourney

This year though, the Big East is more interesting.  Yes, the Big East is strong.  Yes, we all expect many teams from the conference to get into the brackets.  It's not a secret.  However, for this fan, who has yet to watch basketball be played at the Garden (i.e. I've only been there once and it was to see the NY Rangers play the Pittsburgh Penguins), this is the year I choose to check out the action.

Below is the Big East tourney schedule (and my quick 2 cents on the games already played):

Tuesday, March 9: First Round

No. 9 USF vs. No. 16 DePaul, Noon, (ESPN2) <---DON'T CARE
No. 12 UConn vs. No. 13 St. John's, 2PM (ESPN2) <---WOW, UConn got bounced.  I love it. 
No. 10 Seton Hall vs. No. 15 Providence 7PM (ESPNU) <--DON'T CARE
No. 11 Cincinnati vs. No. 14 Rutgers, 9PM (ESPNU) <-- Yeah, Cincin won!  I support Ohio teams.

Wednesday, March 10: Second Round
No. 8 Georgetown vs. 9/16 Winner, Noon (ESPN)
No. 5 Marquette vs. 12/13 Winner, 2PM (ESPN)
No. 7 Notre Dame vs 10/15 Winner, 7PM (ESPN)
No. 6 Louisville vs. 11/14 Winner, 9PM (ESPN)

Thursday, March 11: Third Round
No. 1 Syracuse vs. Georgetown-(9/16) Winner, Noon (ESPN)
No. 4 Villanova vs. Marquette-(12/13) Winner, 2PM (ESPN)
No. 2 Pittsburgh vs. Notre Dame-(10/15) Winner, 7PM (ESPN)
No. 3 West Virginia vs. Louisville-(11/14) Winner, 9PM (ESPN)

Friday, March 12: Semifinals
Semifinal 1, 7PM (ESPN)
Semifinal 2, 9PM (ESPN)

Saturday, March 12: Final
Championship Game, 9PM (ESPN)

I plan to be at the Garden on Friday night to take in the semifinals.  I would love to see 2 quality games.  I want to see more Big East action up close and personal.  I want to see the physicality of the players and see how Big East fans get down in one of the most famous, storied basketball venues.

Being from Ohio ~ with any luck, maybe the Dayton Flyers will continue to win and play in the A-10 Conference tourney in Atlantic City on Saturday, March 13.  If time is on my side, perhaps I can take in the A-10 action Semifinal Round Doubleheader, which starts at 1PM.  My only concern is that I have the Jay-Z concert later that night, and I need to make sure I'm in good position for a quality location by the stage...  That's right.  I have to keep it moving...

NY and NJ, keep an eye out for me ~ I'll be "on the move" this weekend...  I'll be the girl hustling a ticket with 1 finger in the air (i.e. and no, not that one).

That's all for now...  Oh wait... 


"It's the eye of the tiger, it's the cream of the fight.  Risin' up to the challenge of our rival".  LOL.  I couldn't resist and now I bet it's stuck in YOUR head :-P


THE WIRK