NBA

JR240 Fourth Blog Piece

Photo Rights to thestartigfive.net

For my fourth class assignment of the semester, I was assigned to watch or listen to a broadcast of any sporting event and provide a performance review of sorts for the announcers.  I was worried that I would struggle to follow the game action while still listening critically to the broadcast, but I didn’t want to listen to a radio broadcast because I’m easily distracted.  Luckily for me, one of the most unimportant but entertaining sports event of the year went down this weekend, so I tuned in to “NBA All-Star Saturday Night” on TNT.  In studio for the event were Ernie Johnson, Charles Barkley, Shaquielle O’Neal, and Chris Webber, with Kevin Harlan on the call with Kenny Smith, Reggie Miller, and Charles Barkley.

The TNT NBA analysts truly epitomize the “infotainment era” that we find ourselves in as journalists.  Former NBA players Charles Barkley, Kenny Smith, and Shaquielle O’Neal  (among others) entertain viewers first and then use their basketball knowledge to provide a decent description of what is transpiring on the court.  I’m not sure if any of the former stars employed by TNT could ever be a “real journalist”, but they can definitely entertain a large viewing audience, even if Chuck has to call himself a “dumbass” to do it.

There was a lot to like about the broadcast of All-Star Saturday Night.  The best thing about the analysts at TNT is their brutally honest commentary.  During the Shooting Stars Challenge, Kenny Smith had the commentators cackling as he mocked Chris Bosh, saying, “I love it when a guy holds his follow through like that, and then it’s an air-ball.”  An even funnier exchange happened during the Slam Dunk Contest, when Kenny, comparing the current lackluster product to the glory days of the late 80s and early 90s, said that in those days the competitors had to do 9 dunks instead of 4.  To which Chuck quipped, “And people knew who those guys were too,” alluding to the recent trend of star players declining to dunk and the contest being filled with non-stars.  To reference this, Shaq called Jeremy Evans “Chris Ross” in the pregame show, despite Evans being the 2012 winner (Terrence Ross was the eventual 2013 winner, but still no word on where “Chris” came from).  In the case of TNT’s NBA coverage, bad journalism is actually a huge draw for them, because viewers know that even if it isn’t Bob Ryan breaking down the action for them, they’ll still get plenty of laughs.

There were also some aspects of the broadcast that I didn’t like.  TNT had Nick Cannon hosting the event, which was just insulting.  As a journalist, it’s insulting to have Nick Cannon hosting an NBA event, and as a viewer I’m insulted that TNT thought I’d want to watch something that Nick Cannon was hosting.  I also didn’t like how the event was catered to non-NBA fans as much as it was.  There were so many “celebrities in the crowd” shots over the course of the night that it felt like maybe the NBA players were an intermission to a Hollywood show.  The NBA is probably more in tune with the “infotainment era” than any other sports league, but as someone who would rather just watch basketball, I’m not a fan of making it about something other than basketball.

To make the broadcast better, I would have changed a few things up.  I’m fine with TNT having the comedic analyst factor, and I think Kevin Harlan did a pretty good job on play by play.  But as for hosting the event, I’d go with Ernie Johnson, who actually has a background as a sportswriter and is a mainstay on TNT.  I also would have replaced all the crowd shots of celebrities with interviews with some of the players.  Rather than watch Drake yuck it up with some players between events, I’d have James Harden talk about his first year in Houston, or LeBron James talk about his recent hot stretch.  It would have felt more like a show for the NBA All-Stars and less of a who’s who Hollywood showcase.

2/20/13 The Trade the Celtics Should Make (Rondo) this Deadline

Celtics point guard Rajon Rondo is on the trade block again, only this year with a new set of circumstances.  Rondo tore his ACL and is out for the season, and the Celtics are unlikely to trade him because it's hard for other teams to gauge his value (if Derrick Rose had recovered from his ACL tear by now and was playing well, his value would definitely be higher).  That said, I believe there is a trade out there for Rondo that will benefit the Celtics this season and in the future.  Here's a brief breakdown (since the Trade Machine doesn't include draft picks):

Celtics Acquire PG Aaron Brooks and C DeMarcus Cousins from Kings, SF Michael Kidd-Gilchrest from Bobcats

Kings Acquire PG Rajon Rondo, C Fab Melo, and Boston's 1st round pick in 2013 from Celtics.

Bobcats Acquire PF Jared Sullinger and a lottery protected 2014 1st round pick (which they can roll over into 2015 if Boston is in the lottery in 2014) from Celtics, SG Tyreke Evans and a 2013 Top 5 Protected (Top 5 protected in 2014, 2015, and 2016, unprotected in 2017).

Here's why each team does this deal:

Celtics- The Celtics have played better without Rondo this year and can move him for some able-bodied players.  Cousins would give the team a true center and an upgrade over Melo.  Aaron Brooks is a decent point guard for depth and would fit into the rotation with Leandro Barbosa out for the year (just give Barbosa's minutes to Brooks).  And Kidd-Gilchrest, a SF/PF hybrid would give the team a strong defender on the wing and ease the minutes load on Paul Pierce (old), Kevin Garnett (ditto) and Jeff Green (heart problems) and Brandon Bass (not very good).  With an eye on the future, MKG was the second pick in last years's draft and I'm a huge fan of his game.  He has a Scottie Pippen type mentality and skill set and could turn out to be an all-star.  Cousins has always had the talent but has serious maturity issues and his act is growing old in Sacramento.  If anyone can straighten him out, it's Doc Rivers and Kevin Garnett.  And Brooks is simply a fill-in for Barbosa.

The Kings should make this deal even though it means they will wind up forfeiting a valuable 1st round pick in the process.  Cousins is a problem in Sacramento and a change of scenery is needed.  Tyreke Evans is a free agent after the season and hasn't lived up to his rookie season.  Once I projected all-star, Evans has almost no value on the trade market.  For the ability to swap those two into a franchise building block like Rondo, it's worth a lottery pick.  They're also getting Boston's 2013 1st round pick, which will be somewhere in the 15-19 range.

Side Note:  The Cavs own the Kings 1st round pick (Top 13 protected in 2013, top 12 in 2014, top 10 protected in 2015 and 2016, otherwise a 2nd round pick in 2017) as part of the Omri Casspi trade a few years back.  This means that under this trade the Kings will get to keep their 1st round pick if it is in the top 5 in 2013, it will go to Charlotte if it is between 6-13, and it will go to Cleveland if it is 14-30.  And so on and so forth until they give away two 1st round picks.  If in 2017 they somehow have kept all those 1st rounders then their unprotected 1st rounder will go to Charlotte and their 2nd rounder will go to Cleveland.

The Bobcats should make this trade even though they have to give up MKG.  Even if they valued him as equal to a future #2 overall pick (and I'm not sure they do), they're essentially trading down from 2 to somewhere between 6-10 most likely, and they're also picking up the promising Sullinger (out for the year with a back injury) and Evans, who they could re-sign pretty cheap and hope a change of scenery helps launch him back towards stardom.  They're also getting Boston's lottery protected 1st round pick in 2014 as an additional asset.

Thoughts?  I'll be playing with the trade machine all the way up to the deadline on Thursday afternoon.  Feel free to make some of your own and tweet them at me here.








10/30

2012/13 NBA Preview and Predictions

x	Pat Lowndes	Mike Lucas	Jack Andrade
East Playoffs	1. Miami  2. Pacers  3. Boston 4. 76ers 5. Bulls  6. Nets 7. Knicks 8. Hawks	Miami Heat         Boston Celtics         Brooklyn Nets         Indiana Pacers         Atlanta Hawks         Philadelphia 76ers         New York Knicks         Chicago Bulls	Heat          Pacers          Celtics          76ers          Nets          Bulls         Wizards          Knicks
Conference Finals	Celtics vs. Heat	Sixers vs. Heat	Celtics vs. Heat
West Playoffs	1. Lakers  2. Spurs  3. Clippers 4. Thunder 5. Denver 6. Memphis 7. Rockets 8. Jazz	Thunder         Lakers          Nuggets          Spurs          Grizzlies          Clippers         Warriors         Timberwolves	Lakers          Spurs          Thunder          Clippers          Grizzlies          Nuggets          T-Wolves          Rockets
Conference Finals	Clipper vs. Lakers	Nuggets vs. Thunder	Thunder vs. Lakers
NBA Finals	Celtics over Lakers	Heat over Nuggets	Heat over Lakers
MVP	Kevin Durant, SF, Thunder	Kevin Durant, SF, Thunder	LeBron James, PF, Heat
Rookie of Year	Damian Lillard, PG, Blazers	Dion Waiters, G, Cavaliers	Antony Davis, C, Hornets
Sixth Man	Antawn Jamison, F, Lakers	Lou Williams, G, Hawks	Jamal Crawford, G, Clippers
Coach of Year	Avery Johnso, Nets	George Karl, Nuggets	Frank Vogel, Pacers
All NBA First Team	PG- Rajon Rondo, Celtics SG- Kobe Bryant, Lakers SF- Kevin Durant, Thunder PF- LeBron James, Heat C- Dwight Howard, Lakers	PG-Chris Paul, Clippers SG-Kevin Durant, Thunder SF- Lebron James, Heat PF-Kevin Love, T-Wolves C-Andrew Bynum, Sixers	PG- Deron Wiliams, Nets SG- Kobe Bryant, Lakers SF- Kevin Durant, Thunder PF- LeBron James, Heat C- Dwight Howard, Lakers

8/30

#NBARank- My Analysis

Photo Rights to bustasports.com

104 NBA experts have been tasked with ranking every player in the NBA, from #500 down to #1, and the results are being released through a twitter handle using #NBARank.  Miami Heat Center Eddy Curry was this year's #500, but the Top 200 have yet to be revealed as of this writing.  Here's my stab at what the Top 25 should look like, and we shall see how it stacks up.

25. LaMarcus Aldridge, PF, Portland Trailblazers

24. Andre Iguodala, SF, Denver Nuggets

23. Blake Griffin, PF, Los Angeles Clippers

22. Tim Duncan, C, San Antonio Spurs

21. Zach Randolph, PF, Memphis Grizzlies

20. Marc Gasol, C, Memphis Grizzlies

19. Tony Parker, PG, San Antonio Spurs

18. Pau Gasol, PF, Los Angeles Lakers

17. Rudy Gay, SF, Memphis Grizzlies

16. Tyson Chandler, C, New York Knicks

15. Kevin Garnett, PF/C, Boston Celtics

14. Russell Westbrook, PG, Oklahoma City Thunder

13. Andrew Bynum, C, Philadelphia 76ers

12. Deron Williams, PG, Brooklyn Nets

11. Kobe Bryant, SG, Los Angeles Lakers

10. Dwayne Wade, SG, Miami Heat

9. Rajon Rondo, PG, Boston Celtics

8. Carmelo Anthony, SF, New York Knicks

7. Derrick Rose, PG, Chicago Bulls

6. Dirk Nowitzki, PF, Dallas Mavericks

5. Kevin Love, PF, Minnesota Timberwolves

4. Chris Paul, PG, Los Angeles Clippers

3. Dwight Howard, C, Los Angeles Lakers

2. Kevin Durant, SF, Oklahoma City Thunder

1. LeBron James, SF, Miami Heat

8/15

Reviewing the Dwight Howard Trade

Photo Rights to ratepublic.com

Dwight Howard has finally been shipped out of Orlando, but he isn't going to the Brooklyn Nets as he had requested.  Instead D12 finds himself on a Los Angeles Lakers' roster that also boasts Kobe Bryant, Steve Nash, and Pau Gasol.  The Lakers' are now one of the clear favorites to win the 2013 NBA Championship, but for now let's focus on how each of the 4 teams involved made out in the biggest trade of the summer.

Winners:  Los Angeles Lakers: Traded C Andrew Bynum, F Josh McRoberts, G Christian Eyenga, and a lottery protected first round pick for C Dwight Howard, G Chris Duhon, and F Earl Clark

The Lakers are upgrading from the league's second best center to its premier big man, but in this case that upgrade is well worth a decent role player in McRoberts and a draft pick that figures to be near the end of Round 1.  As is usually the case in the NBA, the team that get's the best player wins the deal, and this is no exception as the Lakers' are the clear winners in this one.

Winners and Losers: Denver Nuggets: Traded F Al Harrington, G Aaron Afflalo,  a lottery protected first round pick and a second round pick for G/F Andre Iguodala

The Nuggets managed to flip Harrington's overpriced contract (5 years, $33.5 million) and a #1 for an upgrade from Afflalo to Iguodala, which on the surface seems to be a smart move.  However, you have to consider the Nuggets paved the way for Howard to end up in L.A., meaning Denver and everyone else in the West sans Oklahoma City and San Antonio aren't going to have much of a chance.  However, this deal helps Denver's roster short and long-term, and it was a deal I would have made had I been running the team.

Losers: Orlando Magic: Traded C Dwight Howard, G Jason Richardson, G Chris Duhon, and F Earl Clark for G Aaron Afflalo, F Al Harrington, F Moe Harkless, C Nikola Vucevic, F Josh McRoberts, G Christian Eyenga, 3 lottery protected first round picks, and 2 second round picks.

The Magic dumped Dwight Howard, Jason Richardson's overpriced contract (4 years, $25 million), and some throw-in players for Aaron Afflalo, Al Harrington's worse contract (see above), Moe Harkless, Josh McRoberts, and some throw-in players. And a bunch of draft picks that aren't going to be high enough to matter.  Look, I don't disagree with their decision to not take back Bynum and opt to just suck and get high draft picks and try and build a Thunder-type organization.  I just don't see how they couldn't dump Hedo Turkoglu's atrocious contract (5 years, $54 million) in a deal where they were trading Dwight freaking Howard.

Jury Still Out: Philadelphia 76ers: Traded G/F Andre Iguodala, F Moe Harkless, C Nikola Vucevic, a lottery protected first round pick, and a second round pick for C Andrew Bynum and G Jason Richardson.

The Sixers are taking a chance that Bynum will (a) stay healthy, (b) flourish as a primary option, and (c) sign with the team long term next offseason..  I hate to pin this trade all on one player, but Bynum has the potential to make the Sixers big winners here...but they could also be big losers.  He could be the franchise center who can destroy the Heat inside, or he could be an injury prone, immature center on the free agent market in 10 months.  Only time will tell.