What's Wrong With the Spurs?

NOTHING!!! Everyone calm the fuck down. The Spurs are fine, they always start slow, and they are working in several new players that are playing huge minutes for them. Plus guys like Duncan and Parker have missed games. All that matters is that everyone is healthy and on the same page come April and they will be. If that is the case, the Spurs and the Lakers will be on a collision course for the Western Conference Finals. The Spurs are currently 4-6 and these are the six teams they lost to: Bulls, Jazz (twice), Blazers, Thunder, and Mavs. You know what, there isn't an easy game in that bunch and taking it a step further, four of those six losses were on the road! So I'm pretty sure the Spurs will be just fine and will be competing for the best record in the West when it is all said and done. So please, everyone, stop writing them off and just give them 20 games to get their feet wet.

League Notes:

-It looks like Allen Iverson may not have a place to play and he may have shot his last NBA Jumper. Sad but true, one of the top players of the last 15 years, and one of the most arrogant, inflexible, and uncoachable players in the league is unwanted by everyone. Even the Lowly Knicks. And if the Knicks won't sign you for the league's veteran salary, your pretty much done. I have mixed feelings about this. I've never really been a big AI fan, but I did respect what he was capable of doing. On the other hand, he never made any of his teammates better, and I always felt like with all the double and triple teams he warranted he should have averaged 10 assists per game instead of four or five. One thing I will definitely miss though, is the circus that surrounds him. There is nothing else like it in the NBA.

-I love it that G.S. trades for Vlad Radmonovic and than gives him 31 minutes in his first two games with the team. Don Nelson is basically saying "I hate everyone on my team and I wish I would get fired." If I'm a Warriors fan, I'm putting the hit out on Nelson. He is trying to destroy a very young and very talented roster so he can collect a large paycheck without having to go to work. I mean jesus, he isn't working right now anyway, a monkey could do what he is doing. Is anyone on that team not available? I think there is at least a 50-50 chance that either Anthony Randolph and/or Monta Ellis are traded by the deadline. Trading either would be a huge mistake.

-I hate to say this, but Greg Oden is looking like he may develop into...a serviceable center. Hell maybe even a decent starting center. He still looks awkward on the court, his footwork is nowhere near where it should be, and he gets into foul trouble literally every game. BUT, he is a ferocious shot blocker averaging almost 2.5 per game, an excellent rebounder averaging 8.5 per game, and he is doing this in just over 24 minutes per night. I think Nate McMillan would like for him to average more minutes than that, but as I said earlier, he gets in foul trouble EVERY SINGLE NIGHT! Most of these fouls seem to be on guards when he is jumping out on the pick and roll defensively or when he is too late in his rotation. This of course all comes down to footwork. If he can develop that Dikembe Mutombo type footwork he could be a future defensive player of the year, more likely he'll get better and be a good starting center who averages 12ppg, 10rebs, and close to 3 blocks. Those are good numbers, quality starting center type numbers, they're not Kevin Durant type numbers, but at least he won't be labeled a bust.

-Biggest surprises after the first 10-12 games? New Jersey being winless is pretty big. I know they've had injuries, but jesus I thought they might surprise people and compete for that last playoff spot in the East...I WAS WAY OFF! Brandon Jennings being this good. I had no doubt he would be able to penetrate and dish (all the scouts raved about his speed and handle) but I had no idea he would be able to shoot this well and I'm shocked that a conservative coach like Scott Skiles has so willingly turned the team over to a rookie (even though they have nothing else). Do I think Jennings will be better than Rose in five years? No. Do I think Jennings is by far outplaying Rose this season? Yes. I'm also surprised with how bad the Wizards are. I haven't seen them play so I can't really comment on them, but with all that talent I was surely expecting good things from them...Hell I picked them to win the four seed in the East.

-Least surprising turn of events to start the season? The LA Clippers being terrible and their two bright young stars (Eric Gordon and Blake Griffin) both being injured. Was there ever any doubt that this team would have another long season? It's just who the Clippers are. I agree with Bill Simmons on this one, Blake Griffin should have forced a trade before the draft, or signed overseas in order to save his career. I look forward to three years from now when Gordon and Griffin are both playing elsewhere and finally healthy.

Finally...

A fairly easy win. The Bulls won last night keeping the Kings at bay almost the whole game. They led by 10-16 pretty much from the word go and even though the Kings closed the gap to 7 at one point, the game was really never that close. Some bullet points:

-Noah is going to be an all-star. He dominates defensively and grabs every board that is close to him. Hawes and Thompson were often doubling him on the glass and yet Noah still grabbed 14 boards. My only concern, he is playing a lot of minutes and we need him to stay healthy all year.

-Derrick Rose didn't look good all night, and was outplayed by Rookie Tyreke Evans. I'm still going to say this is because Rose isn't 100%, but at what point is he going to be 100%? At times he actually looked like he was limping back on D. I am now to the point where I am worried about him, because he is either still injured or even worse slightly ineffective.

-Deng continues to hit every open jumper, which is why they paid him his money. Plus he is the teams best perimeter defender and a great help defender. I love Deng, always have, and he is proving to be worth every penny of that massive extension he got and was definitely the right choice over Ben Gordon.

-John Salmons may not look like the player he was at the end of last year (my guess is he takes a lot of time off in the off season) but when he is slashing to the hoop, he still looks REAL good!

-The Bulls are 6-4 on the year, which is better than the 5-5 I predicted after 10 games. I have a good feeling about this team and I think a 4-5 seed if definitely a possibility. The big question is going to be whether or not Tyrus Thomas will fit in when he gets back from injury. It's obvious that Taj Gibson (who fouled out in 11 minutes last night) is not the answer at PF, which anyone who watches the Bulls should have realized after game one. So does this mean Tyrus will FINALLY get his minutes? Or does this mean VDN just goes small all season? I have no idea, but if TT can get back to blocking shots, getting out on the break, and slamming home massive dunks this team could be really scary on both ends of the floor.

OTHER NOTES

-Kevin Durant and the OKC Thunder are good. They beat the Heat last night in convincing fashion and have as good a shot as anyone at the 8th seed out west.

-Sadly, the AI saga is over. And the Answer to the question is, the Grizzlies and Iverson reached a mutual agreement to terminate the one year contract. I couldn't be more disappointed. I was really hoping for a season long tirade from AI about how he should be starting and playing 48 minutes a night. Oh well, at least the Knicks are still terrible.

-The Cavs offense is just terrible. They don't run any plays, especially in the second half of games. It's just LeBron on 5. The longer the season goes on like this, the more likely I think it is that LeBron will bolt for NY, Chi, LA, or Miami. Why carry your team every single night having to do everything, when you could play in a better city, have better teammates (This rules out the Knicks), and have a coach who will run plays that aren't LeBron at the top of the key going 1 on 5. I mean jesus at least get him the ball down on the block so he's closer to the hoop like Phil Jackson does for Kobe. Right now, of the big FAs this offseason it is looking more and more likely that LeBron will be the one who leaves.

Stephen Jackson is a...

BOBCAT! Really? This is surprising on many fronts. First, that Golden State found someone to trade him too. Second, that is was the cash strapped Bobcats. And third, that Michael Jordan made a trade that appears to help his team this year as well as in the future. On second thought, MJ probably had nothing to do with this trade, it was probably the GM. It's downright shocking. I don't think the Cats can make the playoffs, but if anyone can handle Jackson it's Larry Brown. Now I'm no Brown fan, but he seems like a players coach and guys always play their damnedest for him. So this could work, and the Bobcats only gave up Vlad Rad and Raja Bell (who might be injured) so this trade could add 4-5 wins on the season for them. Plus Jackson can score and the Bobcats are the worst offensive team in the league. Seriously, go look it up. Anyway I'm just shocked someone was willing to take on that contract and that craziness, but it is the NBA, where 2nd, 3rd and 4th chances happen!

It's Go Time

This next stretch of the schedule is both tough and an opportunity for the Bulls. But it all has to start on Saturday Night!!! The Bulls take on the Sixers at home and Philly is on the second game of a back to back. So winning this game is going to set the tone for the entire Circus Trip. If the Bulls beat Philly they will move to 5-4, and then their trip starts in Sac-town. A very winnable game against a team that is really really terrible and is missing it's best player (K-Mart). You win that game and you move to 6-4 and it gives a little cushion to stay at .500 during the trip. The next four games are obviously very tough. The Bulls aren't going to beat the Lakers in LA, it's just not going to happen. They could beat Denver in the altitude, but I doubt it (unless the refs feel sorry for the Bulls after the overturned called that I will not talk about). So that puts the Bulls at 6-6, which is pretty good considering who they had to play to start the season. I figure a split between Portland and Utah is a pretty good possibility and then they wrap up with a road game just up I94 at Milwaukee. And with Redd still out there is no reason for Chicago to ever, and I mean EVER lose to the BUCKS!!! Which means the Bulls should be 8-7 when this trip ends. If that's the case, they are in great shape moving forward because December sees them play 11 home games versus only 4 road games. They do play both the Celtics and Lakers in December, but that means they won't have to play the Lakers again, and if somehow they can beat the Celts at the United Center it sends a big message to the rest of the league (although I don't think they can beat Boston with KG, they are just too tough defensively).

BUT all of this starts with a win at home vs. Philly. If they lose that game this team really could spiral out of control. You can't head out for six games losing three in a row, especially the way they lost the last two: An overturned call, and missing their last 15 shots from the field, that just spells disaster on a long west coast trip. I also don't think VDN is a good enough coach to motivate his team away from the ledge if it loses four, five, or six games in a row this early in the season.

So if they do as I think they will, the team should be set up for a nice little run in December. I could see them going 10-5 or even 11-4, which would put them right in the thick of the 4/5 seed in the East, which should be the goal this season!

Overturned Call = Unhappy Nuge

I can't write about it, I can't see it again, and I don't want to talk about it. What happened in Chicago against the Nuggets pretty much sucks. My argument, if it isn't obvious, you go with the ruling on the court!!! FUCK YOU REFS!!!

A win is a win...And AI takes a break

The Bulls beat the Bobcats last night, and proved once again they play to their competition. The first half was a display of Turnovers and shitty play that could have cost them the game. Thankfully John Salmons had his best game of the season and looked every bit the player I expect him to be throughout the year. He saved the Bulls in the first half and had 14 points in the first quarter, and in the second half everything clicked a little better for the whole team. The Bulls went from being down 10 to up 9 in the matter of one 3rd quarter explosion. It excites me and saddens me to watch games like this. Clearly the Bulls can be a potent offensive and defensive team, but they can also suck. I just didn't expect it to happen in the same game so often. But once again Derrick showed up in the fourth and once again Deng had a solid game. But the player of the game was without question Joakim Noah. He dominated the paint like never before. He was everywhere on defense and literally moved people out of the way on offense. He ended the night with 21 points, 16 boards, 4 blocks, and shot 10-12 from the field. Just an all-star worthy performance in every aspect of the word. Except for free throw shooting. Noah was 1-3, but the two he missed would have iced the game, in fact the Bulls missed five straight free throws with under 2 minutes left, when making anyone of them would have essentially put the game out of reach. But still, a 93-90 victory is always better than a loss, and it also proves this team is willing to fight the entire game no matter how terrible they play in the first half.

Allen Iverson's career may or may not be over in Memphis after all of three games. Yesterday he took a leave of absence to deal with "Family matters." Whatever the hell that means. He's already bitched about not starting and now he is bitching about the communication between he and coach Lionel Hollins AND how many minutes he is playing per game. Holy shit it's only been three games AND he is coming off an injury. I love every minute of this and want a 24 hour news crew hanging out at AI's house.

And it's...TAJ GIBSON TIME!

Tyrus Thomas broke his left forearm and will be out for 4-6 weeks. That means his starting job is going to go to rookie Taj Gibson, and that means Thomas will never get it back. This is bad news for me, a die hard Thomas supporter, but it is good news for my Bulls viewing enjoyment. Hopefully I no longer have to swear at the t.v. about why VDN is playing certain players at the end of the game. I'm sure I'll find something to complain about, but at least I won't have to complain about Thomas...For at least four months!

There's no 'I' in team, but there's a big 'I' an IVERSON!

Allen Iverson had zero suitors in the offseason, zero! The only reason the Grizzlies signed him was the owner thought he might sell a few extra tickets and bring up their bottom line. I mean my god, the Charlotte Bobcats (who he would have been a perfect fit for) never even made him an offer. That should really tell AI something.

So when he signed with Memphis it was made clear that the Grizz are looking towards the future and that Iverson would come off the bench. So what does Allen say before his first game of the year? “Nah, I won't accept it. Bench came into the play when I came to Detroit. You never heard about Allen Iverson coming off the bench ever in my whole career. It was never something people even thought in their head until I came to Detroit. Now, it's the big topic. I don't look at it as a negative. On a basketball team, you need guys to come off the bench. If that makes us a better team, with me coming off the bench, than that's something I would obviously do -- if it results in wins. But I don't know anybody in the world that would feel like me coming off the bench is the right thing to do if that's not making the team better. Everybody in the world knows I don't want to come off the bench. It's a media thing. I don't think it has anything to do with basketball. Anybody in their right mind, to me, honestly knows that on this team or the teams I've been on, that I deserve to start."

The man is delusional, and there is zero chance that this doesn't explode in the Grizzlies face. Whether Iverson starts or comes off the bench they are going to suck, so why would you start an old man when you need to play your young studs? I am so fascinated by this, I actually watched the first half of the Kings/Grizz the other night just to see what would happen. I can't wait for the inevitable blow up, I just hope I'm watching the game when it happens. My best guess, AI bitches all season long about coming off the bench, the Grizz lose and lose, and they eventually just send him home for the last month or so of the season. This season is going to be great on so many levels!!!

I'm already leading the FIRE VDN MOVEMENT!

Why you ask do I want the coach fired after only three games? Easy, Tyrus Thomas is averaging all of 23 minutes per game...TWENTYFUCKINGTHREE MINUTES!!! Why not just cut him and get it over with, or at least trade him and try to get some value for him. Because this is a clear sign that the Bulls have zero intention of bringing him back, they aren't even giving him a chance. And you know what makes it worse? Taj Gibson, the ROOKIE, is averaging 18 minutes. How does that happen, a player who is one of the best shot blockers in the game, a solid offensive player, a fierce dunker, and a guy who has already hit some big shots for the Bulls ends up getting only 5 more minutes per game than a rookie who was drafted late in the first round? I'll tell you how, cause Vinny sucks my balls. He has basically already screwed up what should have been a tight seven man rotation by giving out big minutes to an inferior player. My question is this, does this come from upper management or more likely is Vinny just a fucking idiot?

All I wanted from Del Sucko was to let Rose turn it loose and to play both Noah and Tyrus at least 32 minutes per game and he is failing on all fronts!!! (Noah is averaging only 28 minutes per game despite looking jacked up and beating everyone up and down the court throughout the game)

Tonight they play the Bucks, and Tyrus is out with the flu. So now Vinny has an excuse to bench him permanently, and trust me, there is at least a 50-50 chance Tyrus never starts again. So from here on in, I hope I start hearing VIN-NY SUCKS chants during the home games.