Final Four
Here's hoping we see an end to a recent trend of super dull final four games. I for one think we will see that trend bucked on this fine Saturday - the reason you ask? Well, let's dig in...
Michigan State vs. Butler:
If Kalin Lucas were playing for the Spartans this prediction would be pretty short. But he's not...so it won't be. This is the one game where if you're in Vegas, bet the under. These are two very stingy defenses and it's the reason, I believe, both are in Indy this weekend. If you break these two teams down you'll see they are about evenly matched. Butler gets the edge in front court play with Howard and Hayward, but watch the zebras in this one - if either of those guys gets into foul trouble (which Howard often does) it could open up the Spartans to pound it inside.
On the flip side, in the backcourt, if Michigan State has gotten this far without Lucas, they are certainly capable of knocking off Butler without him too. Izzo has done a tremendous job of getting his other players to step up this year while facing a myriad of injuries over the course of the season and this tourney is no exception. I have no doubt that someone in Michigan State's backcourt will step up and take on the scoring load today.
I'm a big Tom Izzo fan and would never (make that rarely) bet against him in big games - hell, this is his 6th final four in 12 years....that's amazing. Boeheim, Krzyzewski, Williams, etc., etc. - none of them have pulled that off. The down side to this is he's only been to one championship game (but they did win). I'm predicting this trend continues - Izzo and team play a tough game, but end up going down to the home team Butler bull dogs. And don't give me this Cinderella crap - they've been in the top 10 ALL year long so let's not start playing the George Mason game here.
Butler - 62
Michigan State - 58
Duke vs. West Virginia:
Love 'em or hate 'em, I'm not sure any of these teams are playing as good as the Blue Devils right now. I know that's not a shock because hey, they're Duke, but considering they haven't been this far in many years, we're still saying, "oh yeah, I forgot these guys were so good."
Like the above teams, West Virginia is a strong defensive team and can disrupt high-scoring teams (see the Mountaineers win over Kentucky) and they'll have to maintain that if they're going to slow down this Duke team. If you look on paper, Duke should take this one pretty easy, and frankly, if there's going to be one of those ho-hum games today this will likely be it. BUT, West Virginia has taken a backseat to the more glamorous teams in the Big East all year and now they're here so let's not discount them just yet. In fact, I'll even go so far as to say the Mountaineers shock the Blue Devils today (mainly because I've got them in the finals in my bracket). Huggins defense will be too much for Duke to get comfortable in their offense.
West Virginia - 66
Duke - 61
NBA:
We're getting close folks.....6-8 more games until the playoffs start and it can't get here soon enough. Frankly, I think this is going to be a hell of a playoff year for the league. We've got our locks at the 1 spot on both conferences, but beyond that it's quite tight. Let's look at some big story lines heading into the playoffs.
Just get rid of him now. I just don't think this guy gets it and the Rooneys are not a group that will tolerate this They will not hesitate to take a step backwards in performance in order to get rid of bad seeds. Big Ben needs to convince management that he's changing his behaviors.
Look, I'm not convicting him of this offense at this point, but it's the second time in less than a year he's been accused of it and now it turns out that the club owner where the alleged offense occurred has erased the security tape showing Big Ben and the alleged victim coming out of the bathroom. I wasn't there, but why would he do that if something was amiss on the video?
I would not at all be surprised to see Pittsburgh float some trade scenarios with a few teams.
Non-Sports Thoughts for the Week:
Michigan State vs. Butler:
If Kalin Lucas were playing for the Spartans this prediction would be pretty short. But he's not...so it won't be. This is the one game where if you're in Vegas, bet the under. These are two very stingy defenses and it's the reason, I believe, both are in Indy this weekend. If you break these two teams down you'll see they are about evenly matched. Butler gets the edge in front court play with Howard and Hayward, but watch the zebras in this one - if either of those guys gets into foul trouble (which Howard often does) it could open up the Spartans to pound it inside.
On the flip side, in the backcourt, if Michigan State has gotten this far without Lucas, they are certainly capable of knocking off Butler without him too. Izzo has done a tremendous job of getting his other players to step up this year while facing a myriad of injuries over the course of the season and this tourney is no exception. I have no doubt that someone in Michigan State's backcourt will step up and take on the scoring load today.
I'm a big Tom Izzo fan and would never (make that rarely) bet against him in big games - hell, this is his 6th final four in 12 years....that's amazing. Boeheim, Krzyzewski, Williams, etc., etc. - none of them have pulled that off. The down side to this is he's only been to one championship game (but they did win). I'm predicting this trend continues - Izzo and team play a tough game, but end up going down to the home team Butler bull dogs. And don't give me this Cinderella crap - they've been in the top 10 ALL year long so let's not start playing the George Mason game here.
Butler - 62
Michigan State - 58
Duke vs. West Virginia:
Love 'em or hate 'em, I'm not sure any of these teams are playing as good as the Blue Devils right now. I know that's not a shock because hey, they're Duke, but considering they haven't been this far in many years, we're still saying, "oh yeah, I forgot these guys were so good."
Like the above teams, West Virginia is a strong defensive team and can disrupt high-scoring teams (see the Mountaineers win over Kentucky) and they'll have to maintain that if they're going to slow down this Duke team. If you look on paper, Duke should take this one pretty easy, and frankly, if there's going to be one of those ho-hum games today this will likely be it. BUT, West Virginia has taken a backseat to the more glamorous teams in the Big East all year and now they're here so let's not discount them just yet. In fact, I'll even go so far as to say the Mountaineers shock the Blue Devils today (mainly because I've got them in the finals in my bracket). Huggins defense will be too much for Duke to get comfortable in their offense.
West Virginia - 66
Duke - 61
NBA:
We're getting close folks.....6-8 more games until the playoffs start and it can't get here soon enough. Frankly, I think this is going to be a hell of a playoff year for the league. We've got our locks at the 1 spot on both conferences, but beyond that it's quite tight. Let's look at some big story lines heading into the playoffs.
- The surprise teams of this year heading into playoffs have to be Oklahoma City, Atlanta and Milwaukee. The Bucs have really just started to come on of late, but still, who saw this coming. And the Thunder? My word, I've said this before, but what a great job by that organization. Get this - they're seeded higher than the Spurs....yeah, those Spurs.
- Liiiiiitle bit worried about my Lakers right now - coming off of a tough road trip that did not turn out well. I'm still a believer that teams will turn it on once the playoffs start (they usually do). Artest really needs to turn it up on defense, and I think he will, for the playoffs - that's why he's here.
- I just don't think the Celtics are going to do anything....ever....with this team how they are. They got their championship and that was good for them, but they simply can't keep up with the athleticism of the rest of the teams in the East. If they get out of the first round it will be a miracle.
- Dallas scares me....a lot.
- Denver doesn't.....at all. They are incapable of winning a game on the road.
- If Andrew Bynum is unable to get healthy for any part of the playoffs I think LA needs to seriously consider moving him. This will be 3 straight years that he hasn't played a bit in the playoffs and both times they've gotten to the finals without him (winning one). You can find a taker in a trade deal here and maybe bring in a veteran big man. This is getting ridiculous.
- BIG kudos to Kupcheck for locking up Kobe and Gasol to extensions this year. Good move. Very good move.
- Durant for MVP? I think so....I just think it may happen. Or it may be that Lebron kid.
- How is Derek Lee so good? I haven't figured it out yet.
- If I'm picking my finals match up now, I'm picking LA and Cleveland with Lebron getting his first ring.
- Classic quote by Garnett after are recent game against the Thunder where Durant got a ridiculous amount of calls: "I thought we were playing against Michael F'ng Jordan out there the way he was getting the calls." Funny. True. And cost you 25 Gs.
Just get rid of him now. I just don't think this guy gets it and the Rooneys are not a group that will tolerate this They will not hesitate to take a step backwards in performance in order to get rid of bad seeds. Big Ben needs to convince management that he's changing his behaviors.
Look, I'm not convicting him of this offense at this point, but it's the second time in less than a year he's been accused of it and now it turns out that the club owner where the alleged offense occurred has erased the security tape showing Big Ben and the alleged victim coming out of the bathroom. I wasn't there, but why would he do that if something was amiss on the video?
I would not at all be surprised to see Pittsburgh float some trade scenarios with a few teams.
Non-Sports Thoughts for the Week:
- It's official folks - I am now a metro rail rider pretty much full time. My parking will be canceled on Monday. I've shat on Cap Metro many times over the years and frankly they've deserved every bit of it. But so far so good on this one. The station is less than 3 miles from my house and it drops me off 2 blocks from my office. I'd be stupid not to do it. 30 minutes station-to-station. Pretty sweet gig.
- The one thing I do find annoying is the number of people bringing their bikes on the trains.
- South Park has been brilliant this year so far.
- I'd like to ask for a moment of silence - this will be the last season of 24. You know what though...it's probably for the best. It's getting a little absurd. BUT, fear not friends, as I understand it, they're working on a movie version. We'll see how that works out.
- Will Ella ever stop coughing? Allergies are killing her.
- Classic story of the week - Republican National Committee members going to an S&M strip club. Love it.
- This is a sports note, but what the hell has happened to Rafael Nadal?
- I couldn't be any less intrigued or interested in the iPad.
posted by The Bearden Wonder at 8:14 AM
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