Vancouver Metro Basketball League

By Clint Lomax

Many people are called “Giants” for the great things that they do. Manute Bol was not only one of those people at 7’7”, he was more like a super hero! His humanitarian efforts in his home of Sudan are not nearly as publized as they should have been. I’d say in some ways understated! In his ten year NBA career, he donated the MAJORITY of his $5.8 million salary to his home land ($3.8 million est. which is about 65%). Unheard of in this age of mega millionaires that for the most part help a lot of people, but not nearly to the extent of Manute’s magnitude.

Manute was born in 1962 in Sudan, son of a Dinka tribal chief. His height was attributed to his dad being 6’8”, and his mom being 6’10”! One of the famous stories of his youth was killing a lion with a spear while tending to cattle. He was discovered while playing in Sudan for a few teams, and was convinced to come to the U.S. in hopes of a professional basketball career. After running into trouble at his first attempt at playing collegiately, but landed at Division II University of Bridgeport. Once established at Bridgeport…the legend of Manute Bol began!

Drafted by the Washington Bullets in the second round of the 1985 NBA draft, he led the league in blocked shots with 397. Not only did he set the rookie record for blocks in a season, but set a career high 5 blocks per game. He still holds the record for second and seventh most most blocks in NBA history! He was traded to the Golden State Warriors in 1988, and that is when his 3 point barrage started! While leading the lead in blocks with 345, he shot a career high 91 3 pointers! The more miraculous achievement is that he made 20 of them! The feat is not memorable for a guy that height shooting 3s. It was the sight of his signature “catapult” delivery, and then the unbelievable feat of his attempts going in!

His more famous teammates in Charles Barkley and Chris Mullin had nothing but the utmost respect for the gentle giant. Bol and Barkley constantly played pranks on each other while Bol was in Philly. “It was an honor and a pleasure to play with Manute. He was a wonderful guy,” said Barkley. “Man, I remember every moment with him,” Mullin said. “Every moment was an event with Manute.” “He’d been through so much in the course of his lifetime. He had seen so much. He taught me a lot about life, just listening to him and his stories and what he’d been through.”

Life after the NBA found him signing a one day contract in the Central Hockey League, eventhough he couldn’t skate. He also signed on to fight William “The Refrigerator” Perry on the Celebrity Boxing show. All in the name of fundraising for his war-torn country of Sudan. Misfortune followed him in 2004 when his neck was broken in a car accident. Plagued by liver disease for several years, he finally lost is battle to the illness on June 19th of this year.

His contributions not only to the game of basketball and his teammates, but to his country is immeasurable. We should all strive to be as selfless as Manute Bol. The world would be a better place.

R.I.P. Manute Bol
October 16, 1962 – June 19, 2010

By Clint Lomax

Ronald William Artest Jr. was born November 13, 1979 in Queens, New York. He is the oldest of six children born into the world by Ron and Sarah Artest. Artest Sr. was a Navy veteran, former Gold Gloves boxer, and a Jack of all Trades. At 6’2” 250lbs with a hair trigger temper, you can see where his sometimes “unpredictable” emotions derive from. As most of us already know, Ron was brought up in the Queensbridge Houses complex. The Artest family lived in a 2 bedroom apartment with 10 people (two parents, six kids, and two cousins). From all accounts after his parents split, Artest’s anger management issues started around 8 years old. Luckily for him (and maybe the neighborhood) that is around the time he picked up basketball as a release.

Early on in his basketball adolescence, Ron would look for a challenge on the court. Has he grew older, he found himself spending almost endless amounts of time at the hoop court. Mostly for his new found love of the game, but almost equally to take his mind off his family situation. Artest, while playing AAU ball, had a fire that burned so hot at times that he even got into it with his teammates on occasion. Rumor has it that before one AAU game, Artest got into an argument with fellow teammate Elton Brand. Before you know it, that argument turned into a massive scuffle, right in front of then coach of St. Johns University Fran Fraschilla. What may have destroyed any other athlete, led Artest to even more accolades. Nicknamed the “True Warrior”, Artest was a McDonald’s All-American selection. He also led LaSalle Academy to a 27-0 record and was named NYC’s Co-Player of the Year along side Maurice Brown of Henninger. Brown won the award the previous year too, and of course none of us on the west coast has ever heard of that cat (funny how the chips fall sometimes).

His freshman year at St Johns, Artest was teamed up with the likes of: Zendon Hamilton, Lavor Postell, and Highly touted Felipe Lopez (dubbed as ONE of the next Michael Jordans, LOL)! This team underachieved until Artest brought his “Take No Prisoners” style of play. Not only were his opponents scared of him, but so were his teammates! That year Artest was named Big East All Rookie and All Tournament teams. He also helped St Johns make the NCAA Tourney for the first time since 1993. With the contributions of Bootsy Thornton, Postell, and Erick Barkley, the Red Storm advanced to NCAA Regional Finals for the first time in 8 years (that would have been back when Chris Mullin played). At season’s end, Ron averaged 15 ppg 6 rpg 4 apg taking home awards like: 1st Team all Big East, and a finalist for the Wooden Award as the top Division 1 player in the nation.

The Chicago Bulls snatched up Artest with the 16th pick of the first round. Artest’s hard hat mentality earned him a spot on the All Rookie 2nd team averaging 12.5 ppg 4 rpg. However, with liquidation of Scottie Pippen, Toni Kukoc, Rodman, and Michael Jordan’s retirement, The Bulls manage one 20+ win season under Coach Tim Floyd. Floyd had little patience for Artest’s youth mistakes on the court which led to him being pulled from games often. With the additions of Ron Mercer, Brad Miller, and Jamal Crawford, Artest was expendable and was traded to the Pacers mid way through the season. The Pacers acquired for NBA sharpshooter Chuck “The Rifleman” Person as an assistant coach, who locked in with Artest almost immediately. Artest already had the defense and the hustle, Person help Artest find his offensive side. In the 03-04 season, Artest (with the help of Person) was a reserve on the East All Star team, and was named Defensive Player of the Year!

After the infamous “Malace at the Palace” event. Artest was suspended for the remainder of the season, along with suspensions for Jermaine O’Neal and Stephen Jackson. 73 games lost and $7 million in forfeited salary was the result of the suspension. What was worse is that he had the “Rodman” touch of death put on him. Through some GM trade talks, Artest was traded to Sacramento for Peja Stojakovic. Under the coaching of Rick Adelman, Artest found his place quickly and added much needed defense to the Kings. Unfortunately, after a first round exit (in which he was suspended for game 2 for a flagrant elbow to Ginobili’s temple), Artest was the victim of another team partial dismantling. With Bonzi Wells and Adelman’s contracts being up, the Kings opted to trade and not renew their contracts, respectively. Artest had even offered his whole salary in support of keeping both of them with the Kings with no luck.

Artest was again traded to Houston for a few players and a draft pick. Yao and McGrady ruled the roost in Houston, but with McGrady injured on a regular basis Artest filled in the gaps that Houston needed. With McGrady out for the playoffs, Artest helped Yao, Scola, Brooks, and the Rockets defeat the Blazers in the first round of the playoffs. Artest was ejected in games 2 and 3 for what some people call “questionable” technical fouls. Coincidentally enough, Houston lost both of those games. After that the Rockets couldn’t put together consecutive games to move on to the next round, and lost to the lakers in game 7 at the Staples Center by 19.
Artest signed with the Lakers as an unrestricted free agent for 5 years/$33 million. He took the number 37 as a tribute to Michael Jackson’s 37 weeks at #1 for his album Thriller. The signing paid dividends right off the bat! While trying to learn the Triangle Offense and struggling to find his offense in it, Artest played smothering defense game in and game out. This was highlighted in the playoffs where he had to guard: Kevin “Durantula” Durant, C.J. Miles, Jason Richardson, and Paul Pierce. Not only that, he had a hand in a number of Laker playoff victories including: The whole series vs OKC and guarding Durant especially game 5 vs OKC (Durant 5-14), The last second rebound and layup vs Phx in game 5, and his rough and tumble play vs Paul Pierce in the NBA Finals. Game 7 at the Staples Center was more or less a showcase of how dangerous he is on both ends of the court. Artest (with Gasol) literally kept the Lakers in the game with his scoring, rebounding, and defense. His 20 points including the clutch 3 pointer after Ray Allen cut it to 3 was monumental for the Lakers in keeping the game at 2 possessions for Boston.

Lastly, from my experience following Artest from the St Johns Red Storm days (they were actually not the Red Storm back then, think they were the Redmen back then) to the present day Artest, and everything in between. Including all the Love and Hate, not too mention the blame from all Lakers fans when they lost (which is absolutely ridiculous). When every loss was on your shoulders, and you held it together because you wanted to be the ultimate team player (even though I predicted midway through the season he was going to crack Kobe’s jaw in practice)…. RON ARTEST! I SALUTE YOU! You are an NBA Champion, and you deserve all the accolades that go with it!

By Clint Lomax

By now most of you have heard all of the stats, hype, history, legacy talk, etc. Since I picked Boston in 7, Kendrick Perkins has went down with a season ending knee injury. By all accounts, when you pick your winners you always pick on the assumption they will be healthy. With Perkins out, my pick gets a lot weaker. The main reason for that is with Perkins you knew what you were going to get out of him in every game. Toughness, strong interior defense, and if he scored it was definitely a bonus. This only increases the chance of the Lakers repeating. Along with this ridiculously massive stat:
Lakers Celtics History

- Phil Jackson series record is 47-0 when winning game 1s!
- The home team is 3-0 in Game 7 of Finals in 2-3-2 format.
- The home team has won 13 of the 16 game 7s!

On the flipside, here are some Celtic Finals stats that could bring hope:
Boston Celtics

- 7-0 in gm 7 of Finals
- 4-0 vs Lakers in Game 7 of Finals
- 11-0 in Finals when Leading 3-2
- 7-0 Series Record with KG in the Lineup

Here are some key hopes for Boston fans who are feeling less confident than they were 4 days ago.
PACE OF THE GAME
The Cs must push the pace when they force a stop. The Celtics are really good at getting back, and that is helped by a lack of a truly aggressive Laker PG. Fisher is aggressive, but not like Rondo routinely is. Unlike Phoenix, it is hard fastbreak when your taking the ball through the basket. Rondo is the key. It wouldn’t hurt for him to pull off a triple double right about now. If not that, he must hit at least half of his jumpers. The Lakers would be smart to foul him every time he entered the paint area. We all know Kobe is going to come out firing in the 1st and 3rd qtrs. The question is can Paul Pierce bounce back to play his best game ever, and can Ray Allen find those same spots he found in game 2.
Free Throws
The Cs must get more free throws than LA. The king of drawing contact is Paul Pierce. Everybody gets upset when Fisher “flails” his arms and legs violently when an opponent is near him. Well…Pierce does the same thing, just with a bigger body. Ray Allen must get to the line! Even though that is wishful thinking, he is a career 89% FT shooter and he will rarely miss. Matter a fact, I would push Artest off the 3 point line, and foul him when he entered the key. He is just under 55% from the line in the playoffs. Lamar Odom is next at 60%.

Rebounding
This is an uphill battle for the Cs! Even if Bynum doesn’t play much, LA still has Gasol, Odom, and the now “motivated to grab rebounds in traffic” Kobe Bryant. Garnett, Wallace, and Glen Davis are formidable but I think old legs and a lack of height will plague them again this game. Gasol is relentless on the offensive boards because he knows if Boston gets a rebound, he can beat his man back to the other end. Boston will need everybody to crash on the defensive end, including Ray Allen!

Bench Production
What a difference Home Court makes! The Cs bench had outscored the LA bench in all 5 games before game 6. Shannon Brown who didn’t even see the floor in game 5 because of his “just filling up space” performance in game 4, breaks out his rocket boosters in game 6 on the Staples hardwood. Farmar dunking on KG, and giving him the stare afterwards! Didn’t see any of that in the previous 5 games, but…that is what Home Court can give you. Glen/Wallace (depending on who starts), Nate “The Great”, and Tony Allen must play the games of their young lives. In what will be the loudest, most anxiety filled atmosphere they have ever played in. OH BOY!

BOTTOM LINE
Even though the odds are against the Cs, never say never. PRESSURE MAKES DIAMONDS AND IT BUTS PIPES!!!! There is always a chance that one or more people on the Lakers will have a “John Starks 2-18 in game 7 of the 94’ finals”. We all knew that Starks was streaky, but not that streaky. All the Lakers favorite “Love to Hate” players are candidates. Artest, Odom, Sasha and Farmar are the favorite whipping boys for Lakers fans. Even though if it wasn’t for them in key games and specific situations (i.e. Game 5 vs Phx), they may not even be where they are right now! I see why they are where they are, and it’s not all because of Kobe and Gasol. Which actually makes them more dangerous tonight, because they can and have contributed when the Lakers have truly needed it.
Boston in 7…..Tentatively.

Game Seven Keys to Victory

By Andrew ‘Soda’ Wadden

What could be better than a game seven NBA Final? Well, I can think of a few things, but in terms of basketball, it doesn’t get any better. The latest edition of the Boston – LA rivalry has been nothing short of amazing with a game seven finale that could go to either the resilient Celtics or to the reigning champion Lakers. LA proved last night that they’re the champs and that they wouldn’t go out without a fight, jumping on the throats of the Celtics from the opening tip. Boston will need to regroup for Thursday night’s final as the Staples Center will be rocking. Can the Celtics take the Lakers on their home floor in a one game showdown? Are the champs just too much for Boston?
Here are my keys to winning game seven for both LA and Boston.

Lakers Keys

Kobe Must Be Kobe

He’s been doing it all series long and can’t stop now. It’s a must he sets the tone early for himself and his teammates. Count on this happening.

Supporting Cast

Not the bench (I’ll get to them next), but the co-stars, Gasol, Artest & Odom. Gasol has to be relevant on the glass on both ends of the floor. This is the biggest game of Pau’s NBA career, even bigger than last year. He must step up.
Artest had a brilliant game six, hitting shots and doing his job on the defensive side. Ron must do this again for the Lakers to win.
Odom get’s this consideration over Andrew Bynum because Bynum is not 100%, not even close to 100% for that matter. Odom will play big minutes and must do what he does best. Chip in for 8-10 points and nab 8-10 rebounds. That’s Odom’s game, and when played efficiently, it usually results in a Lakers win.

The Bench

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This key get’s a mention for both teams. The benches were the key for LA’s win last night and for Boston’s win in game four. Odom (though he may start in game seven), Sasha Vujacic, Shannon Brown and Jordan Farmar all need to contribute in some sort of way, be it hitting open shots, grabbing boards, diving for loose balls or jumping out of the arena like Brown did last night. All the intangibles need to be executed by these glue players. It’s the small things that win ball games.

Celtics Keys

Pierce Must be the Truth

More than Allen and more than Garnett even more then Rondo, Paul Pierce is the main factor to a Celtics victory. Like Bryant, Pierce get’s his teammates going and when he’s going so are they. Paul must be aggressive right from the tip for Boston to win.

Make Them Pay Ray

Ray Allen must make shots. It’s that simple. Ray will get his looks, that’s for certain. Whether he buries them is not that certain. Allen is shooting less than 40% from the field and less than 30% from the land beyond in the series. It’s doubtful that Allen will repeat his game two heroics nor does anyone expect another dismal shooting performance like we saw from Ray in game three, however, he needs to be effective from outside early in the game. If Allen makes less than 40% of his shots for the game, the Celtics lose. It’s that simple.

Bench

Just like for the Lakers, the Celtics bench could very well be the key to another Celtics championship. Glen Davis, Rasheed Wallace and Nate Robinson may seem on paper as the most unlikely three players you would need to step for you on the most important game of the season, but they very well could be. Davis is an enigma. Undersized, out of shape, no hops, not super long arms, but somehow he’s effective in the trenches, scoring, rebounding and even blocking shots. Big Baby may possibly start this game with Perkins looking to be sidelined for game seven. Whatever the case may be with Davis, he must perform.
Wallace just has to do the small things to be effective for the Celtics. Sheed can’t take dumb fouls or useless techs. Plus, he must hit shots. That’s his job, seeing as he sits on the perimeter most of the game. Hit those shots Sheed!
Robinson just needs to bring a small dose of energy when he gets on the floor. When little Nate has the energy going it flows through his team. When he makes shots, then it really gets him going. Robinson has to be the spark plug for the Celtics bench. It’s now or never Nate.

What Boston Needs to Do to Closeout LA in Game 6

By Clint Lomax

While LA is at home, and LA has won by 16 points after losing the previous game in the playoffs.  Kobe is coming off his best game of the series.  Plus, they kept the game close until the last minute or so.  I believe that Boston needs to do three of the following to pull out a game 6 victory at the Staples Center tonight.

Boston must continue to bump Bynum every chance they get, and make him move from side to side on defense.  Gasol is going to be Gasol, so the main thing is to force LA to bring in Odom and take your chances that he won’t dominate.  He does have games where you ask yourself..”where was that all series”!  Look for Shannon Brown to help out on the boards too.  KG, Perkins and Wallace must win the offensive rebounding contest tonight.

Boston bench needs to continue its dominance over LA’s Bench.   Boston’s bench has outscored LA’s bench in every game this series.  Look for Nate “The Great” to make an impact in this game…good or bad.  Boston has an excellent chance of a victory if Wallace doesn’t imploded, but explode on offense and playing solid defense without getting in foul trouble.  Farmar, Brown, and Odom will make contributions.  2 of the 3 need to play above their series averages.  Boston’s team defense can still slow them down enough to keep it close in the end.

LA should shoot better at home once they re-discover their “sweet spots” on the court.  Kobe and Paul can score from just about anywhere, but Artest and Fisher have sweet spots they are proficient at!  Boston has done a good job at making them shoot shots they don’t want to shoot.  Unlike the previous 3 series where they got just about every shot they wanted.

The foul count must be under 45 total.  With less fouls being called, that falls right in the wheelhouse of “BULLY BALL”.  Those of you who know me have heard me say this since the beginning of the series.  THE LAKERS BEAT THE CELTICS AT BULLY BALL!  We all know that.  If the fouls get over 45, that means that the flow of the game is slowed down.  Which means Boston is not able to fast break after made or missed baskets with Rondo leading the way.

Those are the main components to victory for Boston, but here are a few other intangibles:

- Kobe Bryant could be MVP even if he loses the finals, but Rondo is the MVP for the Celtics.  If Kobe won the MVP even after losing the finals, he would be the 2^nd player in NBA history to do it.  The first?  Jerry West!

- Kobe trying to hard to cement his legacy.  The harder he tries the worst the Lakers do!  Not only is he averaging 25 shots a game, but he is also averaging 5 turnovers per game.  Kobe had 2 and a Laker game high 4 assists in games 3 & 4, respectively.  Berating his team about their defense, saying their defense should be on “milk cartons” may not help this team.  The mental toughness of this team is not the same from 09’, and not indicative of a Phil Jackson team. 

- Boston is 11-0 when leading a series 3-2.

- Boston is 6-4 on the road this playoff season.  The first team in NBA history to have a better road record than home record in the regular season.

-The Lakers are averaging 92.4 per game since game 1.  Boston has held the Lakers under 100 since game 1.  LA had scored over 100 in their previous 11 games.

- The Celtics led the league in 4^th quarter losses when winning a game after 3 quarters in the REGULAR SEASON!  In this series, they have held every 4^th quarter lead so far.

 

What do you think?  Did I miss something?  Log in and sound off!

Why I’m Picking Brazil to win the 2010 World Cup

By Clint Lomax

My first hands on experience with Brazil soccer came in the form of “Fifa International Soccer” by EA sports for the Sega Genesis.  Back then they didn’t have any names, just the numbers.  So I had to look up who was who, and try to get the ball to that number to give me the best chance to score.  As time went on, I upgraded to a Playstation one right around 98’ (just in time for the 98’ World Cup).  Sometime after the PS2 came out, I moved to playing the Madden franchise and Fifa Soccer became just a memory.  Even with that transition, I still followed Brazil from their 94’ Win of Italy.

Anybody that follows World Cup soccer already knows the proud history of the Brazilian National Football team.  Their most famous team member to date is still Pele’.  Before having a number of injuries and being “head hunted” in the 62’ and 66’ World Cup Tournaments, he had already cemented himself as the most popular soccer player of his time.  I would venture to say he was one of the best of all time after I found out he scored over 1,000 goals in his professional soccer career!  With a career spanning from 56’ to 77’, I’d say he has to be in the top 3!

With this world icon retiring from the National Team in 73’ or 74’, the following years in World Cup competition would be disappointing to say the least.  Through five World Cup Tournaments, Brazil was bitten by misfortune on way or another.  With rumors of a Peru team being bribed by Argentineans supporters in the 2^nd round of the 78’ World Cup to throw the game so that Argentina would advance to the final game by goal differential, to a missed penalty kick in 86’, to an upset loss in the 2^nd round vs an undermanned Argentinean team led by Maradona .

Right around the time I picked them up as a surrogate team (for when the USA was mathematically eliminated), Brazil made a strong run through the knockout stage to defeat Italy in penalty kicks for a record (at the time) 4^th World Cup title.  In 98’, Brazil made another strong run to the Title game, but was smashed by the host team France 3-0.  It was reported after the game the One of the young superstars Ronaldo, had an epileptic seizure a few hours before the match.  Yet he was still inserted into the starting lineup!  Needless to say he had a poor performance, but only after they were back home was the news of the seizure released.  The “Three R’s” took over in 02’.  Ronaldo, Rivaldo, and Ronaldinho!  Brazil would face Germany in the final, who they had only met once before back in 74’.  Germany did not have near the firepower of Brazil, but they had the best goalkeeper in Oliver Khan who shutout: Paraguay, USA, and Korea in route to the finals.  However, Khan was no match for the onslaught of the Three Rs!  Ronaldo, who had scored in every match in the tourney, scored 2 to clinch Brazil’s 5^th World Cup victory.  The 06’ team was loaded with veteran and young superstars, but severely underachieved working in what was called “The Magic Square”.  This formation was implemented by Brazil coach Parreira, and was highly scrutinized throughout the tournament.  In the Quarter –finals, they only managed ONE SHOT on goal with the new formation and lost on a free kick to Thierry Henry in the 57^th minute.

This leads us to this year’s world cup.  Brazil has drawn what is known as the “Group of Death”!  Their first match will be against Korea DPR, then Cote d’lvoire (Ivory Coast), and the last game match vs the dark horse to win it all Portugal.  Even though this is a tough draw, I think that the skill and craftiness of Kaka, Robinho, Fabiano, and Juan.  Julio Cesar has been a rock in goalie for Brazil this year, and he claims to be ready for everything.  My only issue is… NO RONALDINHO OR RONALDO!!!  Evidently, they will be missed.  Yet I still think Brazil has enough to go all the way.

By Clint Lomax

After game 3, Boston must have at least three of their “BIG 4” be productive for the rest of the series!  Boston will continue to be out rebounded just because of the “length” factor.  Boston shot as many free throws as LA did for the first time in this series.  Plus the foul calls were under 50 combined for the game.  The Boston bench outscored the LA bench by 2 points, which isn’t a lot but it is still productive.  The key (like I said at the top) is that they MUST have 3 players out of the four major scorers to do what they have done all playoffs.

Rumor has it that Kobe’s ankle is banged up, and Rondo is still sore from earlier in the playoffs.  None of that matters now!  Championships are not won by teams that are 100% healthy.  I will bet my life on that one!  As finals series go on, adjustments are made to try and take advantage of chinks in the armor.   Both Jackson and Rivers are excellent at making adjustments.  The main change that Rivers has to figure out is how to keep his Big 4 out of foul trouble early.  Some of the fouls are either touch fouls or fouls because the Lakers have them out of position.  A lot of the fouls are silly fouls.  Fouls 50+ feet away from the basket, fouling in non-scoring positions, and undisciplined moving screens.  All of that must be cut down to a minimum.

The perfect storm for Boston is:  The game is in the high 80s- low 90s, not in the 100s.  Total foul calls are under 45, which means they are letting them play (and that means Boston gets to play Bully Ball).  They must shoot as many or more free throws than LA.  Lastly, 3 of the Big 4 are productive!  I can’t say that enough.  If the games are deviate from that in any way or fashion, the Lakers may take it in 6.  However, I believe Boston will step up and take it to a game 7, and pull it out in veteran fashion.

What do you think?  Login and sound off!

Potential Draft Day Steals

By Andrew ‘Soda’ Wadden

With all the focus at the moment being on the Finals in the NBA, I thought it would be nice to let my man C-Low (Clint Lomax), handle the finals analysis and I’ll just chime in here-and-there with some of quick notes and thoughts from around the NBA. The NBA Draft is just 20 days away and there are some interesting players in this year’s class. John Wall, the consensus first overall pick, can really be one of the only players in this draft that can be considered a “can’t miss” prospect. Evan Turner slots into that category as well, but just barely. The rest of class isn’t so convincing.

From what we learned from last year’s draft is that late picks that find themselves in the right situations, can be real key players to late picking teams. The late picking teams usually have good records and usually are looking for key pieces to improve their winning systems. Here are a few examples of teams and players that benefitted from their late round picks in last year’s draft.

1^st Round Steals – 2009

Darren Collison – 21^st overall (Hornets)

Collison played a key role as the Hornets quarterback while Chris Paul was out with a knee injury. Darren started 37 games for New Orleans with averages of 12.4 PPG and 5.7 APG. Not bad for the 21^st overall pick. Plus, the Hornets now have one of the best back up points in the L who’s a great compliment to Paul.

Omri Casspi – 23^rd overall (Kings)

Though, not a winning organization just yet, Sacramento had a great draft last year acquiring two key pieces to their team moving forward. They landed the NBA’s Rookie of the Year in Tyreke Evans with the fourth pick, but also scooped Casspi with the 23rd pick. Casspi is arguably the second best shooter to come out of the ‘09 draft with 7^th overall pick Stephen Curry being the best. Like my man C-Low always says “if you got a jump shot, you will always have a job in the NBA.”

Ty Lawson – 18^th overall (Timberwolves traded to Nuggets)

Boy did Lawson dodge a bullet when he got sent from Minnesota to Denver on draft day. Not only is Minnesota a mess of an organization, but Denver is a winning team with an aging all-star point guard in Chauncey Billups. Billups still has loads of game, but he’ll need someone to take over in the coming years and Lawson will be that man.

2^nd Round Steals – 2009

DeJuan Blair – 37^th overall (Spurs)

Loved him in college and always knew he would be a good NBAer. There couldn’t have been a better situation for DeJuan then in San Antonio. I predict he’ll be a Spur for years to come.

Jonas Jerebko – 39^th overall (Pistons)

Jonas was the lone bright spot of an ugly season in the Motor City. The Pistons got a flat-out steal in landing Jerebko in the second round. Ask the Knicks now which power forward they would have rather taken with the eighth overall pick, Jordan Hill or Jerebko?

Chase Budinger – 44^th overall (Pistons traded to Rockets)

Budinger is an example of another guy that landed in a perfect situation for himself. I doubt we’ll ever see Chase play in an all-star game, but I do know that his athleticism will keep him employed in the NBA for quite some time – barring any serious injury of course. Budinger averaged 8.9 PPG and 20.1 minutes per game as a rookie. To use an example, Houston’s Southwest division rivals, Memphis, used the second pick of the draft on Hasheem Thabeet, who averaged 3.1 PPG in 13 minutes per game and had to get sent down to the D-League in the middle of the season for some conditioning. Well done Houston.

So as you can see there are six examples of how late round picks can be key pieces to an NBA franchises foundation. This year’s draft has some of these types of players. Taking a quick glance at NBA Mock Drafts, here are a few players who could potentially land in situations that could better them and their teams late in the first and second rounds.

1^st Round Potential Steals – 2010

Avery Bradley – Texas

Bradley has been slotted as low as 11^th to as high as 17^th in NBA Mock Drafts. I see four teams where he could benefit from going to, Chicago (17^th), Toronto (13^th), Boston (19^th) and San Antonio (20^th). It’s doubtful he’ll slip to as high as 20^th, but both Boston and San Antonio would be a great fit for a young combo guard who can score. Chicago, however, I feel would be his best fit, especially if they land one of the prized free-agents that are available.

Quincey Pondexter – Washington

Podexter is an athlete who loves to play up-tempo and jump-out the building. He’s stock is sitting somewhere late in the first round, right around the 26^th/27^th spot. Oklahoma City picks in the 26^th spot and would be the best situation for Pondexter. They could use a high flying wing to add to their second unit. Quincey’s game is to score and bring energy. I see could see Pondexter fitting in quite nice with the young Thunder.

Xavier Henry – Kansas

I feel Henry would have been a top five pick in next year’s draft if he was to have stayed in Kansas for one more year, but that’s beside the point. He’s declared now and see’s himself sitting somewhere from a lottery pick to a mid first rounder depending on what Mock Draft you’re looking at. I see one team that could benefit from drafting Henry and that’s the Toronto Raptors with the 13^th pick. Toronto could use a big shooting guard like Henry (6’6”, 210 pounds). Yes, they drafted DeMar Derozan last year, but I’m not convinced that Derozan is on the Raptors keep list. If they can make a deal for DeMar while drafting Henry, I think they go for it.

2^nd Round Potential Steals

Lance Stephenson – Cincinnati

Nicknamed “Born Ready” for his ability to grind it out at a young age on the tough playgrounds of Coney Island, things haven’t essentially translated just yet for Lance Stephenson to be able to hold up to that title. Lance has been heralded by the press as the next best thing to come out of Coney Island’s basketball mecca Lincoln High School, the home of former NBA all-star Stephon Marbury and current NBA bench warmer, Sebastian Telfair. The way I see it things are going to go either two ways for Lance. Either he’s going to be a lights out scorer with the ability to one day be an all-star ala Marbury, or he’s going to be just another over hyped prospect who floats around the NBA, never reaching their potential ala Telfair. Stephenson is considered an early second round pick in most drafts, but I see the Washington Wizards benefitting from taking him with the 30^th overall pick in the first round. John Wall and Lance running for the Wizards would be great for Stephenson’s game, plus, may give the Wizards a chance to ship out Gilbert Arenas.

Greivis Vasquez – Maryland

I’m reaching a little with this pick, but this kid has a fire inside him and loves the game. Vasquez can be a lights-out shooter at times and has the potential to be a great shooter in the NBA. Slotted deep in the second round, Vasquez could find himself in a great situation if taken by the Lakers with the 43^rd overall pick. I could see Laker fans taking to Vasquez’s energy and emotion, as well as the team using him as a shooter coming off screens  just like they used to do with Sasha Vujacic before his jump shot took off back to Europe.

Jordan Crawford – Xavier

Not only was Crawford the mystery dunker who crowned LeBron James last summer, he’s also one of the main reasons Xavier made it to the sweet 16 in this year’s NCAA tournament, averaging 29 PPG through three games in the tourney. His game needs a lot of fine tuning, especially on the defensive side, but he has a scorers mentality and can motor in the open floor. The Milwaukee Bucks own the 37th overall pick in the second round which is right where Crawford is projected to go. Bucks Head Coach Scott Skiles could be a very good for Jordan in his early development in the NBA. Skiles knows what it takes to make it as a guard in the NBA which Crawford will need to figure fast. With the proper guidance he could very well make it there.

By Clint Lomax

Celtics-Lakers Opening Finals Breakdown

I label this the opening finals breakdown, because this is only for the first 2 games.  Once the series moves to Boston, some of these factors will have changed or be strictly thrown out the window.  I’ve heard and read a bunch of stuff from TV to radio to Facebook!  So much to go through.  Some points are very good, and then others were totally worthless.  I’m going to go through the lineups and give some hypothetical matchups, instead of just picking a winner.  That’s too easy to say this team is going to win without going down the list of tangible and intangibles that go along with it.  I may not hit on all the factors, but I’ll do my best.

PG – Rajon Rondo vs Derek Fisher

Advantage Rondo.  Easy choice (if this is the actual matchup), but not necessarily a shutout.  While Rondo is young and a rising star, Fisher is a proven winner.  As usual, his clutch shooting  as emerged again.  Not only that, but his knack for drawing fouls on offense and defense.  Those little fouls here and there add up to key players being in foul trouble early or in key parts of the game.  The only glaring weakness is quickness.  At 35, he has routinely been smacked up by young/emerging point guards.  I would venture to say that if Westbrook had continued to make the open J vs Kobe (after they had to switch assignments), everybody would of labeled Fisher as the “Goat” for losing to the Thunder in the first round.  Thanks to Artest and to a lesser extend Jeff Green for effectively bailing out the Lakers!  LOL!  I thought that sounded funny when I typed it, but it was just dumb.

The real match up will probably be Kobe on Rondo, if Rajon starts hitting that 17 footer consistently.  Or if he just starts running all over the court on the Lakers like he has done with every other team in the playoffs.

SG – Kobe vs Ray Allen

Advantage Kobe.  This is the scouting report with every team though.  The key to Boston’s success in 08’ was to pressure every shot he took, and bump him everywhere he goes.  With his knee drained and performing like a well oiled machine, he is definitely a unanimous decision in this category.  Ray Ray is not a slouch in this matchup.  He has been off and on in the first two rounds of the playoff, but was able to find a rhythm of sorts vs Orl.  He also showed that he can still take it to the basket, and dunk it on you (ask Dwight Howard about that)!  This in itself makes him an even harder guard since you can’t just chase him over screens, because he may curl a double screen and take it all the way to the hole.

SF – Artest vs Pierce

Advantage Pierce.  Artest is hands down one of the best defenders in the NBA, and has been for several years now.  Unbeknownst to some Laker fans, Artest can score too.  One of the benefits for the Lakers is that Phil Jackson has already told him, “We don’t need you to score.”  Told the media as much too.  However, it looks like he still has the green light in the 22 foot 3 point corner shot.  The key for the Celtics is to make sure he has the ball with time running out on the shot clock.  While he will harass Pierce into more turnovers and bad shots than usual, the one thing people don’t realize is….Pierce will exploit his physical play.  Pierce is still one of the more complete players in the league, and one of the things he does best is…. Draw fouls!  They are not always shooting fouls, but they are fouls none the less.  Every foul will count in this series, and could mean the difference between winning and losing.

PF – K.G. vs Gasol

Advantage Gasol.  Anybody that knows me already knows that I am “Pro K.G.”!  Have been since he came out of high school.  So I would have to pat myself on the back for acknowledging that Pau is playing inspired ball right now and throughout the season.  Not only that, seems to be injury free.  K.G. on the other hand, has been playing on one leg since he was hurt in the middle of the season.  He may be closer to “Bynum” speed than regular K.G. speed.  The main indicator will be how he plays in LA.  His career stats at the Forum are above average.  14 ppg, 52% fg, 82% ft, 7.5 rpg, 1 stl, 1 bpg.  The point total is low, but the percentages are high which means that he is consistently hitting the outside shot.  It will be Gasol’s relentless offense vs K.G.’s defensive intensity.  Plus the five year difference in age may be key further in the series.

C – Andrew Bynum vs Kendrick Perkins

Advantage Bynum.  In limited minutes, Bynum is 2^nd in blocked shots and 3^rd in rebounding for the Lakers.  Plus he is shooting a solid 57% fg, mostly from deep initial posts or catching lob passes for dunks.  Perkins presents an interesting challenge for the Lakers.  He may only be 6’9”, but he is strong and has “Go-Go Gadget” arms!  The key for him is to avoid the little guards coming in the lane and throwing themselves at his chest.  He also has quick feet for a guy tipping the scales at around 270-280 lbs!  If Perkins is solid and cuts down on the turnovers, this will help the Celtics steal one game in LA.

Bench – Glen Davis, Rasheed Wallace, Tony Allen, Nate Robinson, Michael Finley vs. Lamar Odom, Shannon Brown, Sasha Vujacic, Luke Walton, and Jordan Farmar

Advantage Celtics.  Lamar Odom anchors the Laker bench, but what I’ve seen is if Odom isn’t scoring he is hit or miss to help out anywhere else.  When the Laker bench is in rhythm they are hard to stop, but if one or two of them are not contributing it makes it a problem on defense.  They commit some of the most unnecessary fouls usually late in qtrs that lead to free throws, or when the shot clock is winding down on a bailout.  The Celtics bench is not a well oiled machine all the time, but one thing they do well is defense.    Not only that, the Celtics bench have at least three players that can play multiple positions, which they will definitely need vs the Lakers.

The intangibles of this series are numerous.  Almost too many to count.  The history of this matchup is legendary, but it also illuminates the domination of these two teams in being in and winning the last 3 titles!  The first being this is there 12^th meeting in the finals….12^TH!  I’d have to look it up, but I don’t think there are two other teams close to that matchup record in the Finals.  Boston has won 9 out of 11 tries vs LA including winning their record 17^th against them in 08.  LA has home court advantage this time around.  As we look back, Boston erased the biggest depict in 4^th Qtr Finals history to take game 4, and take a commanding 3-1 series lead.  Then went on to capture the title with a record 39 point win.  However, gone are PJ Brown, Leon Powe, and Eddie House.  Enter Wallace, Glen Davis, Michael Finley, emerging playoff heroes in Nate The Great, and Tony Allen.  The Celtics are two years older, slower, but wiser.  Can Kobe and/or Fisher disrupt Rondo, who is more dangerous than ever now?  Honestly we know what to expect from LA.  High energy, The Triangle with a lot of screens and cuts, aggressive offensive rebounds, and open 3 point shots.  The question is how will Brown , Sasha, Farmar, and a semi injured Bynum handle the grueling bump and grind that Boston puts everybody through?  Kobe is Kobe, Fisher is a playoff warrior, and Artest will be Artest (good or bad or both)!  I can’t pick against Boston because everybody has this year and in 08.  Boston finished the regular season 7 games behind LA in record, and who knows if home court could have been Boston’s to own.  KG missed 13 games this season, maybe they could of won 8 of those games if he was in the lineup?  On the flip side Kobe missed 9 games this year, and maybe if both were healthy LA would still have home court advantage.  Except for the fact that…. 4-1 during a stretch where the defeated Port, Spurs, Jazz, and Warriors when Kobe sat out.  Only losing to Boston at the Forum by 1.

What am I missing here?  Let me know, so that we can add to the conversations.  I know it is going to change from game to game, but we’ll be able to dissect the how and why as we go along.  Leave your comments on this post.  Thanks.

The Vancouver Metro League got a mention on Asa Rehman’s ‘Point Forum” blog on www.cknw.com. Check it out.