Checking In On Things

Well gang, we're through round 1 of the NBA playoffs (mostly) and we've got a few interesting story lines brewing. And in case you were wondering, you should probably expect to see the Oklahoma City Thunder hanging around the top of the West for the next few years - this is a good, young team.

Here are my thoughts, observations, and general rants about this year's playoffs...

• When the Lakers are clicking they are about as good as you can get, but when they get sloppy man do they get SLOPPY! With 2 seven footers, I don't know how OKC was able to get as many offensive boards as they got - it was absolutely maddening. The Thunder had NO ONE who could guard those two giants. But Nick Collison, and African and a Serb were tearing up the offensive glass. Still scratching my head on that one.
  
• It's blatantly obvious to even the novice of NBA observers that Kobe ain't himself - he's still effective and a tremendous player, but his age and nagging injuries are quite apparent.
  
• One day someone is going to teach Russell Westbrook how to be a true point guard and he's going to be a superstar at the position - he's a great scorer, but when he learns to be a better floor general I think he'll really excel.
  
• Can some tell me what the hell is going on with this alleged Milwaukee and Atlanta series? I keep reading headlines, but have yet to actually see any evidence of this series. I feel like this is similar to the play-in game in the NCAA tournament. Who gets a chance to go play the well-rested Magic? By the way, Atlanta will finish this off in A-town.
  
• This sounds crazy, but I think Boston has a decent shot of knocking off the Cavs in this next round. Not saying they will, but it's a good match up for them.
  
• Another MVP for Lebron - yeah, someone try and make an argument against this - he avg. 30 points, 9 assists and 8 rebounds. That's absurd for a forward.
  
• Sidebar on Lebron - I'm pretty sure he could step into the NFL as a corner back or outside linebacker today.
  
• Look, I like Durant. A lot. He's a really good kid, a tremendous talent and plays the game hard and "the right way". I like how aggressive he's becoming as he gets older and more experienced. BUT, I will echo what Kevin Garnett got fined for saying during a game at the end of the regular season - it's ridiculous the calls that he gets. And he gets them consistently. As Kevin Garnett said, "it's like you're playing against Michael F'ng Jordan out there." I don't know how many free throws he averaged in this series, but it had to be in the 12-15 range. Not saying it's all crap, but it was a little crazy.
  
• I wonder how much sleep Jerry Sloan will get between now and Sunday's game 1 between the Jazz and Lakers - third consecutive year the Jazz have faced the Lake show....and I expect it will be a third straight series loss. Lakers are a HORRIBLE match up for the Jazz. And without Okur and A-K in the lineup, just not seeing this happen.
  
• With that said, Deron Williams will likely abuse Fisher.
  
• I won't shed a tear for Denver as that's the last team I wanted to face as a Laker fan, but that team just ain't right. Chalk it up to their coach being out and fighting cancer, but that was a tough one.
  
• I wonder what Mark Cuban is thinking today? If he called and said, "Bearden, what do I need to do", here's what I'd tell him: Dirk needs to co-exist with another top-tier player (think Chris Bosh), but I'm not sure he can do it if you know what I mean - I question how he can work with another top tier player. You have to give Cuban a ton of credit for making this team a consistent mainstay in the 50-win club, but at the end of the day you have to get over that hump. They got close, but the refs and Dwayne Wade knocked 'em out - we all vividly remember that finals. Up 2-0 and losing four straight...I digress. I feel like they have a good pool of talent, they've just struggled to find any real rhythm...especially in the playoffs. I like Carlisle, I think he's a good coach and good for that team, but you've got to make some moves to really bring the intangible fire he's consistently missing. Will be interesting to watch what happens.
  
• On the flip side, although this was a 7 vs 2 seed, after the Lakers was essentially a 6-way tie for the second seed and the Thunder just a couple of games behind that. And most importantly, THEY'RE THE SPURS!!! We've only seen them do this about a thousand times. I expect they will dismantle the Suns fairly easily, but the bigger question is how much does it suck out of their tank. They too are a team just on the other side of old. They've got youth in Blair, Parker and Hill, but the core players (pretty much Duncan and Ginobli at this point) are getting up there and put in a lot of hard minutes in this last series. I expect Richardson will get pretty physical with Ginobli in this next series to try and wear him down, and Nash should contain Parker just fine. But, as much as I like what Stoudemire brings, he can't contain/guard Duncan for seven games. No chance. Duncan will eat him up. This is where The Big Fundamental does his best work - against talented, yet undisciplined big men who are finesse players. Spurs in 6.
  
• Grueling yet admirable year for the Trailblazers. No team can survive an injury bug like that - especially to your best player, starting point guard and top scorer (Brandon Roy was all of those). They're not going anywhere though, they will be a mainstay in the playoffs for many years.
  
• Random predictions in the free agency circus coming up this off season: Wade to Bulls, Lebron stays, Dirk stays, Bosh in any number of places (top 3 are New York, Dallas, or Miami)
• Second round predictions: Cavs in 7, Magic in 5, Lakers in 6, Spurs in 6.

NFL Draft:
Interesting draft this year - not ashamed to say I watched almost the entire first round. Must be grueling on the talking heads (Young, Kiper, Gruden, Jackson, Berman) to have to create stuff to talk about...so to speak. A few thoughts...

• And the Pete Carroll era starts with a bang in Seattle. Peter King had a great summary of the Seahawks draft - that's what I call having things fall just right for you. Will be an interesting next couple of years for this team.
  
• On paper, the Jets look like the far and away favorites in the NFC East - they had a great off season, but the decisions in the running game are curious. Their style of basketball requires a strong, methodical running game. I like bringing in Tomlinson, but he's not an every-down back anymore - he's got a limited gas tank and you need to use it right. Additionally, they let Leon Washington go and drafted Joe McKnight. I think this kid is a good back and will have a pretty decent career, but now you've got a great, great back a good 2 years beyond his prime and an incoming rookie who's been described as being similar kind of back as Reggie Bush.....who by the way has never been and will never be an every-down back. Interesting thinking here. On another note, I'm curious to see Sanchez in his second year.
  
• Of course don't discount the significance of Brandon Marshall now being in Miami. If that works out, look out Jets/Pats.
  
• And now we have to get to the intriguing move of the draft - Denver making a myriad of trades in the first round and ultimately, taking Tim Tebow in the first round. So a couple of my thoughts on this - I have no doubt McDaniels loves this kid as they seem to be very similar in their energy and passion about the game. However, I think this move was a reach. A big one. I like Tebow, have nothing against him and genuinely wish success for him, but just not sure he's going to be the piece that elevates this team to the next level. Leadership, passion, energy and the "intangibles" are great, great things and often hard to find, but they won't get the ball to the right spot on time and in traffic. Will be fascinating to watch.
  
• Go get your Browns gear Texas fans - but don't do it right away. Wait a year or two.
  
• Surprised that Sergio Kindle fell to the second round - very surprised actually. However, there may not be a better team for him than the Baltimore Ravens. You think Ed Reed and Ray Lewis are going to let him slack or fall out of line? I don't think so. Pay attention Kindle, you'll learn a lot from two of the game's best.
  
• I think Detroit fans have reason to feel optimistic about the direction of this team - there hasn't been this much progress in a long, long time.
  

Non-Sports Thoughts for the Week:

• Sitting here with my wife as I type this and she's sending someone a message through facebook - when did messaging via FB replace texting, phone calls or email? I don't know how it happened, but the movement is on. Ugh.
  
• Pulling the car seat out of the car the other day and as I'm getting the last buckle undone and pulling the seat out, Ella says (louder each time), "That's it....that's it.....that's it..." and when I pull it out, "Good Boy!!".
  
• This oil rig mess is going to get uglier and uglier (and I don't just mean on the beaches).
  

That's what I got gang - have a good week.