2015-2016 NBA Season Review

This NBA season was filled with a lot of ups and downs for me. There were some spectacular moments, some cool moments, and some not so cool moments. It is all up for review here.

Let's start with the main team that this blog has focused on, the San Antonio Spurs...
The Spurs had a monumentally successful regular season. San Antonio won 67 games this year, which is a franchise record. However, the team was shocking ousted in the 2nd round by a younger and seemingly hungrier Thunder team. It was great to see the regular season and Duncan still being a contributor at his age, while hoping for him to get another ring and go out on top. It was cool to see the transformation to it being Kawhi's team and to see Leonard emerge as a true MVP candidate. Seeing Popovich's unselfish system continue to thrive is never a bad thing either...

So what happened in the playoffs?
The Spurs like I said, were outworked by a younger and hungrier team. It seems that everything was clicking all the way through Game 1 of the second round. This team dismantled the Thunder in Game 1. Then Father Time caught up with San Antonio in a big way for the rest of the series. Tim Duncan looked terrible all series until the deciding Game 6 when he tried to give it one last hurrah. It was painful to see at times. The knees and back were affecting his play and he just seemed to be losing it. For someone that has seen Duncan dominate for so long it was sad. It was sadder in knowing that this is probably it for Duncan and that he likely will not get to 6 championships now. A class individual and class player like Duncan should get to go out on top for the classiest organization in sports. Not meant to be though. The Thunder wanted it more and deserved the Western Conference Final appearance more. While it is sad that Duncan is likely done, the future is bright for Kawhi Leonard and possibly for the San Antonio Spurs still because of Leonard.

Now to the team that ousted the Spurs....
I have not focused too much on the Thunder here at ran. I don't think most of the people that read my stuff care too much. However, the Wizards fans care about Durant and the team has intrigue because they knocked out the Spurs. Kevin Durant is perhaps the most likable guy in the league and him leading the Thunder to knock out the Spurs is good for him and probably for the NBA. Getting more eyeballs on him and Westbrook is great for the NBA. Speaking of Russell Westbrook, I'm happy to see the haters starting to go away. The guy is an elite NBA player. Easily top 10 in the game and probably top 5. He needs to be treated as such. Glad to see Westbrook finally get that respect. The 1,2 punch of Durant and Westbrook will likely stay. Sorry for all of the #KD2DC fans out there. This combo is too great to break up.

The combo also has one of the best coaches in the NBA. As a die-hard Nole, I cannot tell you how excited it makes me that Billy Donovan is coaching the Oklahoma City Thunder instead of coaching in Gainesville. This guy just knows basketball. He is one of the elite basketball minds on the planet. Assuming that Durant stays with the Thunder (I assume he will), this team has future NBA Champs written all over it.

Heck they almost won this year. The Thunder were up 3-1 on the team with the best record in the NBA during the Western Conference Finals. Did it all come crashing down?
Yes. It came crashing down when the Warriors made the proper adjustments and their two best players finally started playing like they had all season. Klay Thompson took over the series and the Warriors ended up winning. The team had the best regular season record in NBA history for a reason. Still, the Thunder had them down 3-1. That says a lot about the potential of Oklahoma City.

The Thunder certainly upgraded over Scott Brooks with Billy Donovan. However, Brooks was a good coach that helped the Thunder get to the next point. He helped develop two young superstars. Brooks is a great hire for the team that I do regularly talk about, the Washington Wizards. Hired just a few weeks ago, Brooks looks to improve on his career 62% winning percentage in a weak Eastern Conference. There is absolutely no excuse for the Wizards being as horrendous as they are, and Brooks has the potential to mold this team at least into a consistent playoff contender. With Brooks, they should at least make the playoffs every year. With some solid roster movement, this team can contend in the Eastern Conference.

Which leads me to my next topic, the underachieving Bradley Beal. This guy is supposed to be offered a max contract this offseason. Why?
Beal played in just 55 games this season and his injury prone status is a large reason why this team underachieved so much. Do they really want to make the playoffs only when an injury prone guy is healthy?
Beal has played in just 247/328 regular season games in his career. The career just started and its been filled with injuries. This is the guy you want to offer the max to. The guy you want to make Wall's 2nd best option. Sure he has a pretty 3 point shot, but why risk it. Can't we go with a safer and more reliable alternative here to giving Beal 22 million?
He says he is past the injury thing, but is he really?
The dude derailed the Wizards season and they missed the playoffs in a weak Eastern Conference. That he averaged 17.4 is of no consequence, he played in just 55 games. There are a lot better ways to spend 22 million. He has a nice shot, but he isn't a great defender and rarely can create his own shot. Not to mention that he has the 39th worst turnover rate among NBA guards. The guy doesn't play and when he does, he turns it over. I just don't see why this guy deserves a max deal. If you want to bring him back, fine, but structure the deal in a way that the team still has financial flexibility. A team with two injury prone max guards will stay a fringe playoff contender. That playoff status will continue to remain on the backs and legs of two injury prone guys. Not how I want to spend my time as an NBA fan. If you give Beal the max, you deserve the broken player you get. Here is a solid article on what the Wizards should offer Beal.

Speaking of the weak Eastern Conference.....

LeBron certainly continues to dominate the pathetic conference. However, as a hater of the LeBron narrative, I thought it was worth pointing out that the Miami Heat pushed the Raptors (that gave LeBron fits in the Finals) to 7 games the series before. They did it with largely the same team LeBron had, just minus LeBron. They also did it injured. Guess they are solid help and I guess Wade did have plenty in the tank, just like I said. The biggest difference between this Heat and LeBron's Heat in my opinion is that this Heat did not include Chris Bosh either. They must have some pretty solid contributing parts. Led by a pretty fantastic guard in Dwayne Wade.....

Stay tuned next week, for more from the world of sports...

-Noland

NBA Season Preview

The NBA season is less than a week away and basketball fans are excited. They want to see what the defending champs will do and if Duncan can match Jordan with 6 rings. Lebron James has returned to Cleveland with much anticipation as well. This will be one of the most anticipated seasons in league history. So there is only one thing left to do, I must give my predictions for what will happen.
Here is my NBA Season Preview for the 2014-2015 season.

My Predicted Playoff Field
Eastern Conference
1 Chicago Bulls
2 Cleveland Cavaliers
3 Washington Wizards
4 Toronto Raptors
5 Miami Heat
6 Atlanta Hawks
7 Charlotte Bobcats
8 Boston Celtics

Western Conference
1 San Antonio Spurs
2 Dallas Mavericks
3 Los Angeles Clippers
4 Portland Trail Blazers
5 Golden State Warriors
6 Oklahoma City Thunder
7 Los Angeles Lakers
8 Houston Rockets

League MVP
Dirk Nowitzki

I think Dirk has one more teriffic run in him and I honestly think he and the Mavs are the biggest threat to a San Antonio repeat. KD is hurt to start the year and it will take LeBron some time to gel with his new teammates. That makes the race for MVP wide open. Do not be surprised if Kobe is a serious threat to the award. Stef Curry will also be a force in the race as will (gasp) Joakim Noah. John Wall will be a strong finisher in this race and Derrick Rose is another name to watch.

6th Man
Taj Gibson

Gibson is the best player off the bench for anybody. He will put up the best numbers, and his team could easily finish with the top record in the East. This guy will certainly contend for this award again if nothing else.

Coach of the Year
Brad Stevens

The Celtics 2nd year coach will get coach of the year for leading the young Celtics to the playoffs against expectations. Once the Brooklyn Nets fall apart again without their best player, Paul Pierce, the Celtics will fill a spot in the wide open East. This is something that is not widely predicted and being the biggest surprise should land Stevens in this spot as frontrunner for Coach of the Year.

Rookie of the Year
Jabari Parker

Parker IMO is the best rookie, in a good situation to succeed and therefore will have the biggest impact. This guy is going to be really good for a really long time.

5 Other Bold Predictions
1) Not only will Jabari Parker win rookie of the year, but he will also be an all-star
2) Milwaukee however with Jason Kidd as Head Coach will be a bottom 5 team
3) The closest race in the league will be between the Celtics and the Knicks for the final playoff spot in the East
4) Kobe finishes top 5 in scoring again
5) After the season a loud portion of Lebron's fans will claim that he needs more "help" and I will be able to add to this article

Conference Finals
Spurs over Mavs
Wizards over Heat

I forsee a Derrick Rose injury late in the year after the Bulls clinch the one seed. That injury opens it up for the 4/5 seed to possibly upset the 1 in the postseason. The veteran Heat take advantage and force the issue to get in. The Wizards ultimately end up being too much for the Heat.
The Spurs in Mavs are destined for another epic postseason clash. The only question is when that clash will happen in this postseason.

Who Wins It All?
San Antonio Spurs

Honestly, they are the best run team and the best team period. If these guys stay healthy, this thing really should not be that close. They are a fantastic team from top to bottom and as long as they got 21, I am not picking against these guys.

-Noland

Looking Back At My Sports Predictions

Before making predictions for the upcoming season, I believe that it is important to look at the predictions that I have made in the past. This helps for accountability purposes and as a good frame of reference for the next set of predictions. I will go over the major hits and misses and the close calls in this piece. Hope you enjoy.

March Madness Predictions
Here is my 2013 March Madness Prediction. My most confident pick to make it to the final four that season was Georgetown and they were upset early. Since, I have vowed to never pick Georgetown to advance far again. I missed on several picks. However, I did pick Louisville to win the National Championship and still won my pool.

My 2014 predictions were not posted on this blog. I picked Michigan State to win it all in my main bracket, but did have UCONN winning one of my brackets. I was not even close on Kentucky this past season. My biggest mistake by far though was being so critical of the selection committee on their selection of Dayton. The selection committee really does a great job and proved the haters (including me) wrong once again. Dayton made the Elite 8 and played a great tournament. I still think UVA got an unfair shake with a loaded bracket though.

NCAA Football Predictions
I actually already did a recap of my college football predictions for 2012 late in the season that year. It can be found here. I predicted Georgia would win the National Championship that season and they came so close, but eventually fell to Alabama. I absolutely love that I hit on the rise of Duke football and the return of FSU to the BCS. Both predictions were certainly not universal. FSU fell a little short of my expectations that season, but took a valuable step forward.

My 2013 predictions were better in some spots and a lot worse in some spots. Those predictions were not ones that anybody else was making though. I don't like following the script.
I picked FSU to go undefeated and win their bowl game, but I did not think they would be selected for the National Championship. Then FSU went out and completely destroyed every team they played and I was pleasantly surprised.
Stanford won the Pac 12 in impressive fashion as I predicted, but did not finish undefeated.
Louisville did not win the American Conference losing a head-to-head game with the University of Central Florida. Central Florida came out of nowhere and even won a BCS Game.
Texas and Nebraska didn't come close to the National Championship Game. This is the worst prediction I have had to date. Texas was so bad last year it was not even funny.
South Carolina had a strong year, but didn't win the SEC. They did beat Clemson though which is one game that I had wrong. Their best player played injured the entire season and did not sniff the Heisman as I predicted. Who could have predicted a Freshman QB to win the Heisman though?
I was wrong about Clemson beating SC, but I did have them winning a BCS game and they did just that knocking off Ohio State!
My other big misses were that Virginia Tech was not a Top 15 team and Michigan State was a Top 5 squad. I had Michigan State finishing ranked 22nd.
Sometimes you are glad to be wrong though and these predictions are proof of that.

Major League Baseball Predictions
My 2013 season predictions were okay.
We will look at the American League first. I picked the Boston Red Sox to finish last in the AL East largely due to their breakdown the year before and they won the World Series. I did not think that Napoli and Victorino would get them that far. Apparently, I underestimated the ability of a healthy Shane Victorino, because that team exceeded expectations for sure. The 2014 Red Sox have him hurt and Jacoby gone and they are in last place. Cleveland got a wild card and I also predicted them to come in last place. Anaheim and Baltimore did not come through as division champs for me either. Albert Pujols was far from an MVP candidate.
It was not all bad though, I predicted Tampa Bay to win the wild card game and had the bottom two teams in the AL West correct as well. Additionally, I had the easiest pick in the league which was the Detroit Tigers winning the AL Central. There were a couple other teams I had correct like Minnesota in 4th, Texas in 2nd etc., but its more important to get the playoff teams right and I was not too accurate at that.
For the National League, I fared a little better. This league I got most of the playoff teams correct. While I missed on the Nationals in the playoffs and had them winning the division, I didn't pick them as far as many others. There were several people picking the Nationals to win the World Series. I foolishly picked St. Louis to finish 4th though. What a horrible miss. St. Louis would obviously make the playoffs like they do every year. I also predicted the incredibly consistent Giants to win the entire National League and they missed the playoffs. They have been so good with Posey in the lineup though that it was hard to resist. There are 5 playoff teams and I missed on 3, but I was incredibly close. I missed on the Nationals who were the next team out, the Giants who are always in the fight, and the Pirates who I correctly predicted would finish 2nd in the division.
Like I said about the National League I was pretty good. I correctly had Atlanta and Cincinnati in the playoffs. I had Pittsburgh and the Dodgers in contention as well and they both made it. The last place teams in the National League Central and East were also correct. The National League Cy Young was obviously going to Clayton Kershaw if he stayed healthy and I nailed that prediction. I flip flopped San Diego and Colorado in my predictions, but they were at the bottom of the National League West as predicted. I also correctly predicted that Milwaukee would not be a factor, but I had them in 3rd place and not 4th. I missed my predictions on the Mets and the Phillies standing order by 1 game too. I don't think that's bad at all over 162 game season.

For the 2014 season I did not make any predictions on this blog. I would have picked the Dodgers to win the World Series though and Clayton Kershaw to win the Cy Young again. In the American League I would have picked Felix Hernandez because he's the next best pitcher in the game. The American League Champions I would have picked would have been the Angels. I have been counting on Hamilton and Pujols to have bounce backs for a while now, so we will see if they finally do it. There is a lot of baseball still to be played.

NBA Predictions
I have yet to make season predictions for the NBA, but here are predictions I have made about the NBA. In this piece after Lebron won his 1st title, I predicted that the Spurs would win another title before the Heat trio came close to catching them. It was another Duncan vs. LeBron piece and it was largely correct.
Here I incorrectly predicted the Spurs to win the NBA title in 2012 as the playoffs were getting underway. However, I still dispute some of the Thunder's comeback in the Western Conference Finals that year. There were quite a few Joey Crawford shenanigans. I also incorrectly predicted though that the Heat would not make the finals and that they would be knocked out by the Celtics. Very wrong!
Way back in December of 2012, I guaranteed that as soon as David Stern or Joey Crawford retired, the Spurs would win the next NBA Championship. Stern retires mid-season and the San Antonio Spurs won the NBA Championship. It was easy to predict because the Spurs were screwed out of multiple titles by Joey Crawford. Duncan has 5 rings and should have at least 7 by now.
After the Thunder won that 2012 Western Conference Finals, I predicted that the Spurs dynasty was not done and was proven right.
I also called for the removal of Joey Crawford again after that season, but didn't make any new predictions. I just talked about how the Spurs got robbed and Crawford needed to stop doing Spurs games.
You see most of these predictions were centered around the NBA being similar to pro-wrestling and Joey Crawford and Stern needing to go. Crawford didn't do a deciding game this year and Stern is gone and magically the Spurs are NBA Champs! Who could have guessed?

NFL Predictions
In 2012 my predictions for the NFL season were decent. I did not have the Redskins making the playoffs and was surprised at the success of two rookies there. The New York Giants are who I predicted to win the division and that team ended up finishing 9-7. I did not have the Minnesota Vikings making the playoffs and figured they would struggle coming off of Peterson's devastating injury. I had the Rams getting the wild card though instead of the Seahawks. The only AFC Team I missed in the playoffs was the Indianapolis Colts (who had a rookie QB), I foolishly picked Buffalo, but surely I wouldn't make that mistake again....
Correctly, I predicted the Green Bay Packers to win the NFC North, but so did everyone else. Additionally, I had the Atlanta Falcons winning the NFC South correctly. The San Francisco 49ers also won the NFC West as I predicted. I got the order of all the AFC playoff teams right with the exception of Houston having home field and as I said the Colts making it. 5 out 6 playoff teams is pretty dang good though if you ask me. Although some of those predictions were pretty easy.
The playoffs were not quite as good to me as I had the Houston Texans advancing to and winning the Super Bowl. I figured that Denver would eventually fold in the playoffs given Peyton's playoff history, but did not expect Joe Flacco's dominance in the playoffs. Flacco was amazing during this postseason and knocked everyone out. The Falcons made a good run at the Super Bowl too, but San Francisco was too strong and it was hard to deny the all brothers coaching match-up. These predictions were pretty solid though other than the Greg Schiano one. That was an awful pick. Not as awful as my 2013 NFL predictions though.

For the 2013 NFL season I had a disaster as far as predictions. There was not a lot I had right. I predicted the wrong team to win every division in the NFC. I had Washington, Minnesota, New Orleans, and San Francisco. The latter two were actually solid predictions, but those first two were colossal misses. I also had Atlanta making the playoffs and Carolina finishing in last place. There were only two correct playoff teams for the NFC (San Fran and New Orleans). I once again thought the Rams would break through and I still believe they are incredibly close, but they fell just short. That NFC West is so loaded that I am not embarrassed by that pick at all. Washington, Minnesota, and Carolina though were horrible misses. Picking San Francisco to win the Super Bowl was also a really good prediction. Those guys were so close and were the second best team in the NFL all year long. They came the closest to knocking off the champs.

The AFC saw me pick slightly better for the playoff teams, but I made two major mistakes. One I am not embarrassed about is picking the New England Patriots to fall out of the playoffs. This is a team that had an awful last season and it was reasonable to think they would struggle mightily. The Bills having the injury to EJ Manuel also effected the race a little bit in my opinion. He missed out of several valuable snaps. Tom Brady is absolutely terrific though and deserves the benefit of the doubt. The other awful mistake in the AFC was once again picking the Texans to make it to the Super Bowl. Two swings and misses on that prediction. I was not the only person to make that pick, but they had an awful season. I got 3 of the 6 playoff teams right and actually picked San Diego to have a better record than they did. San Diego was the next team closest to a playoff berth in my predictions.
For the individual awards and predictions I had mixed results. EJ Manuel was hurt for a majority of the season so my prediction on him winning the rookie of the year was off. Keenan Allen, and Eddie Lacy had fantastic years and one may have beaten him anyway though. Eddie Lacy ended up winning the award, but I would have picked Allen and Manuel being a factor may have changed the votes. Another Sam Bradford injury prevented Jeff Fisher from his coach of the year, but I still think that was a decent pick. Picking Adrian Peterson to be MVP back-to-back was pretty foolish now that I think about it. Having that many carries in consecutive seasons would have ruined him. There was no way he'd produce at that high a level either with the other teams watching more film. Which leads me to the guarantee about Ponder. Not a smart call on the Ponder guarantee. My last dumb guarantee was my bonus guarantee about CJ Spiller. Spiller didn't even sniff the yardage I was assuming. This guy has got to start producing soon or I consider him a huge draft bust. He has been nowhere near as good as advertised yet. Vernon Davis did have double digit touchdowns though with 13 in the regular season. He also had 2 in the playoffs. Finally, Mario Williams was top 5 in sacks as well as I predicted. Mario Williams was 4th in the league and 2nd in the AFC in sacks. The only person that beat Mario Williams in sacks in the AFC was Robert Mathis who has since tested positive for PED use. Mario Williams is an absolute monster.

-Noland

Top 100 NBA Players

With all this talk about top 100 in my past few posts, I decided to start doing my own top 100 list for the 3 major sports. These lists will be based on value provided next year. For instance, Jason Kidd is not eligible because he will not play in 2014. It is a list for the 2013 and 2014 seasons. Past accomplishments factor in, but it isn't an all-time list, so a guy like Kobe Bryant will not be in the top 10, eventhough he is arguably the best player of today over his career. Defense will factor in a great deal with these rankings. Finally, no players linked to steroids will be included, although they don't really catch people in basketball.

100. Bradley Beal                  Washington Wizards          SG
99. JR Smith                          New York Knicks               F
98. Raymond Felton                New York Knicks              PG
97. Samuel Dalembert             Dallas Mavericks                C
96. Eric Bledsoe                     Phoenix Suns                     PG
95. Jimmy Butler                      Chicago Bulls                   SF
94. Kosta Koufos                    Memphis Grizzles              C
93. Jarrett Jack                       Cleveland Cavs                  PG
92. Marcin Gortat                   Phoenix Suns                     C
91. Spencer Hawes                 Philadelphia 76ers               C
90. Kevin Martin                    Minnesota Timberwolves    SG
89. Gerald Henderson             Charlotte Bobcats               SF
88. Danilo Gallinari                 Denver Nuggets                 SF
87. JJ Reddick                        Los Angeles Clippers        SG
86. Jeff Teague                      Atlanta Hawks                   PG
85. Carl Landry                     Sacramento Kings               F
84. Derrick Favors                 Utah Jazz                           F
83. Omer Asik                       Houston Rockets                PF/C
82. Shawn Marion                  Dallas Mavericks               SF
81. Tyreke Evans                   New Orleans Pelicans        G
80. Ryan Anderson                 New Orleans Pelicans        PF
79. Monta Ellis                       Dallas Mavericks               G
78. JJ Hickson                        Denver Nuggets                 F
77. Paul Millsap                     Atlanta Hawks                    F
76. Nikola Pekovic                 Minnesota Timberwolves    C
75. Andre Drummond             Detroit Pistons                   C
74. Amare Stoudemire            New York Knicks              PF
73. Al Jefferson                      Charlotte Bobcats              C
72. Gordon Hayward              Utah Jazz                          SG
71. Nene Hilario                    Washington Wizards           PF
70. Jameer Nelson                  Orlando Magic                   PG
69. Nikola Vucevic                 Orlando Magic                   C
68. Tiago Splitter                    San Antonio Spurs             C
67. Chandler Parsons             Houston Rockets                F
66. Danny Green                    San Antonio Spurs             G/F
65. Jose Calderon                  Dallas Mavericks                 G
64. Kemba Walker                Charlotte Bobcats                PG
63. Luol Deng                        Chicago Bulls                     SF
62. Robin Lopez                     Portland Trail Blazers         C
61. Kenneth Faried                 Denver Nuggets                  F
60. Brandon Jennings              Detroit Pistons                   PG
59. Lance Stephenson             Indiana Pacers                   SG
58. Serge Ibaka                     Oklahoma City Thunder       F
57. Grevis Vasquez                 Sacramento Kings              PG
56. Kevin Garnett                    Brooklyn Nets                  F
55. Jeff Green                          Boston Celtics                 G/F
54. Anthony Davis                   New Orleans Pelicans       PF
53. DeAndre Jordan                Los Angeles Clippers         C
52. Ty Lawson                        Denver Nuggets                PG
51. Andre Iguodala                 Golden State Warriors        G/F
50. Dwayne Wade                  Miami Heat                       G
49. Tristan Thompson             Cleveland Cavs                 F
48. Larry Sanders                   Milwaukee Bucks              PF/C
47. Tyson Chandler                 New York Knicks              C
46. Pau Gasol                         Los Angeles Lakers            C
45. Joakim Noah                    Chicago Bulls                     PF/C
44. Jrue Holiday                     New Orleans Pelicans         G
43. Dirk Nowitzki                  Dallas Mavericks                 PF
42. Mike Conley                    Memphis Grizzles               PG
41. Thaddeus Young              Philadelphia 76ers               F
40. Ray Allen                        Miami Heat                         SG
39. Marc Gasol                      Memphis Grizzles               C
38. Carlos Boozer                  Chicago Bulls                     PF
37. Josh Smith                       Detroit Pistons                    F
36. Rudy Gay                        Toronto Raptors                 G/F
35. Blake Griffin                     Los Angeles Clippers          PF
34. David Lee                        Golden State Warriors         PF
33. David West                      Indiana Pacers                    PF
32. Ricky Rubio                     Minnesota Timberwolves     PG
31. Rajon Rondo                    Boston Celtics                     PG
30. George Hill                       Indiana Pacers                    PG
29. DeMarcus Cousins           Sacramento Kings                PF
28. Al Horford                       Atlanta Hawks                     PF
27. Klay Thompson               Golden State Warriors          G/F
26. LaMarcus Aldridge          Portland Trail Blazers           PF/C
25. Joe Johnson                     Brooklyn Nets                     SG
24. Chris Bosh                       Miami Heat                         PF/C
23. Greg Monroe                   Detroit Pistons                      C
22. Brook Lopez                    Brooklyn Nets                      C
21. Roy Hibbert                      Indiana Pacers                     C
20. Damian Lillard                   Portland Trail Blazers          PG
19. John Wall                          Washington Wizards            PG
18. Paul Pierce                        Brooklyn Nets                     F
17. Zach Randolph                  Memphis Grizzles                PF
16. Deron Williams                  Brooklyn Nets                     PG
15. James Harden                     Houston Rockets                G/F
14. Kawhi Leonard                  San Antonio Spurs               G/F
13. Kyrie Irving                       Cleveland Cavs                    PG
12. Kevin Love                        Minnesota Timberwolves     F/C
11. Tim Duncan                        San Antonio Spurs              F/C
10. Tony Parker                       San Antonio Spurs               PG
09. Dwight Howard                  Houston Rockets                 C
08. Carmelo Anthony               New York Knicks                SF
07. Paul George                        Indiana Pacers                    SF
06. Derrick Rose                      Chicago Bulls                       PG
05. Russell Westbrook             Oklahoma City Thunder        PG
04. Stephen Curry                    Golden State Warriors          PG
03. Chris Paul                           Los Angeles Clippers           PG
02. Kevin Durant                      Oklahoma City Thunder       G/F
01. Lebron James                     Miami Heat                          F

The NBA Refs Make the NBA More Like Pro Wrestling Than Sport

Don't get me wrong, basketball is my favorite sport, but enough is enough with these refs. Are you kidding me? These NBA Finals are almost torture to watch because of all the blown calls. In fact I am done watching these playoffs because it is so bad. I don't know if the fix is in or it is just incompetence, but this is horrible. If Joey Crawford is the best the NBA has to offer, then I think it is time to get some new refs. College basketball never calls games this horribly.

The no call of Lebron on Durant in Game 2 was horrible. Almost as bad was last night when Lebron cleared with his elbow three times and a foul was called...on Harden. WHAT????

Why do I dislike Joey Crawford so much? I think the better question is why do we know a refs name? You only know the bad ones? Crawford has had some absolutely terrible calls throughout the years, here are some of his worst. These aren't just bad calls, these are horrible errors.

Joey Crawford is so bad, there is a petition online to get him banned from being an NBA ref. Sign it here.

During the Tim Donaghy scandal, Donaghy said that he would tell bookies which team to bet on based on the refs assigned to that team one of them was Joey Crawford against the Spurs. That is just crazy right, well watch these two instances.

The 1st one was Brent Barry and while it was not the worst call ever, I cannot believe that officials at the highest level would miss it, how do you miss that call? Barry was clearly fouled by Fisher. Then there is the Duncan video below that where Tim Duncan was ejected while he was on the bench. He was on the bench. Come on! There was absolutely no reason for Crawford to make those calls.

Next up, is a "foul" where Joey Crawford said Marcus Camby was choking Steve Nash. Why don't you look at where Nash was and look at where Camby was. No way Nash was getting choked.

That foul was bad, but have you ever seen a referee take out a player and then call a foul to cover up his error? Well, if not, you will in a second.

Then there is the Perkins technical when Perkins did nothing wrong other than go straight up. It should have been a foul on Jones.

Then there is the Kenyon Martin ejection for a normal foul. What is wrong with Crawford?

If the NBA wants to eliminate conspiracy theorists, the 1st step has to be the removal of Joey Crawford from NBA games. Having him do the most important series of the year does not help. Especially, given the fact that he is the head ref. There are many more instances of Crawford abuse throughout the years, the guy has to go.

-Noland

Less Than 1 Week Until NBA Draft Lottery

In 6 days the NBA Draft Lottery will be held. ESPN will air the draft lottery Wednesday May 30 @ 8am live from New York. This will be held before Game 2 of the Eastern Conference Finals. The event will really be about finding out who will get Anthony Davis. The Wizards have a realistic shot and fans have got to be hoping for it. Davis is an absolute stud and someone that can help the Wizards compete quick. So what are the chances the Wizards get him?

Here are the odds by team.
Charlotte 25%
Washington 19.9%
Cleveland 13.8%
New Orleans 13.7%
Sacramento 7.6%
New Jersey 7.5%
Golden State 3.6%
Toronto 3.5%
Detroit 1.7%
New Orleans 1.1% (from Minnesota)
Portland 0.8%
Milwaukee 0.7%
Phoenix 0.6%
Houston 0.5%

Notes: New Orleans has two picks so they actually have a 14.8% chance of getting the #1 pick. The Nets lose their pick to Portland unless its in the top 3. Golden state loses their pick to Utah unless their pick is in the top 7. If everything holds to form, Golden State will pick 7th.

-Noland

The Andray Blatche Rant

With the NBA Playoffs now moving toward the conference finals it is a familiar sight for Wizards fans. We are on the outside looking in and seeing other teams compete for the title. Never in my lifetime have I seen the Wiz have a very good shot at the title. Well maybe, the one year they were in 1st for a while with Arenas, Butler, and Jamison, but even then not really. These guys just aren't competitive. So we are left thinking of what it will take to make this team competitive.

Whenever I think of this question, I can only think of one answer. Why the heck did we give Andray Blatche a contract extension? The guy is a malcontent and a horrible teammate. He doesn't try hard, he is overweight, and he makes way to much money. Why did we keep him at all? This guy is horrible for the Wizards. It will be difficult to escape him. Should we amnesty him then?

Blatche bashed his coach in the media. He proclaimed himself the team captain. The fans boo him everytime he touches the ball. His career as a pro in basketball may be done period and not just with the Wizards. The guy is out of shape.

I was working on this post and then checked Wizards Extreme they also have a post on Blatche. They are working on grading all the Wizards and Blatche got F's straight down the board. Here is their review.

This guy has got to go. I say use the amnesty clause. Otherwise, Blatche will make a ton of money over the next three years. Get rid of the guy. I am fine with Lewis for another year off the bench, we can use his expiring contract in a trade or get the cap space in a year. Andray Blatche is far more of a problem than Rashard Lewis.

-Noland