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Pro Sports Wrap - Sports Personality of the Day:Tony Romo

Ronnie Brewer was a key cog for the Chicago Bulls last season, and he was one of the reasons why the Bulls were the best defensive team in the league. However, Brewer is a poor offensive player which is why he will never become a starter in the league. He's still a decent player overall due to his defense, but Brewer just can't shoot or do much else besides defend.

Brewer racks up steals thanks to his long arms, and he has improved his on the ball defense. His quick reflexes and free safety-like feel on defense also help him generate steals. Brewer is tied for the 4th highest steal percentage in the NBA and averages 2.1 steals per 36 minutes.


On the offensive side, Brewer is coming off of his worst shooting season of his career. His True Shooting Percentage has declined every year since 2008. 2007 was the best year of his career in which he had a TS% of 61.2 with an 18.30 PER. On the bright side, he posted by far the highest rebounding rate of his career in 2010. Still, that doesn't offset his declining shooting and poor offensive output. Even though they say that defense wins championships, offense is the most important thing in basketball. Why else is Carmelo Anthony so much better than Corey Brewer?

If there was one relatively major concern about Brewer's D, it was the fact that he just wasn't such a good on-the-ball defender. He significantly improved in that department last season by putting up far and away the best defensive rating of his career (98.4). His total from the previous season was a mediocre 106, so this is a huge improvement. His defensive rating last year was good for 6th best in the NBA, and he earned a spot on my All-Defensive First Team thanks to his great on-the-ball defense and his ability to steal the basketball.


Brewer was horrible at jumpshots last season, and it's easy to see why he is known as a bad shooter when his effective field goal percentage on jumpers was a meager .346. Did you also know that his free throw percentage was 65.4? That's really, really bad especially for a swingman. He averaged only 2.7 free throw attempts per game, and that is also a career high. Brewer has always been good at limiting turnovers, but he posted his highest career turnover rate last year.

So you can easily tell that as Brewer gets better defensively, he gets worse on the offensive end. With that in mind, Brewer is going to end up being a key defensive stopper off the bench; but I doubt he'll be anything more than that. That's not to say that he isn't a pretty good player, it's just that he'll never be a starter when you look at how awful he is at shooting. Brewer does have a nice touch around the rim, but that's really it. By the way, he has a really weird and ugly shot. No wonder why he can't hit anything.

There is an interesting disparity between Brewer's play at the 2 and 3. When he's playing as a shooting guard, he is much better offensively. However, he is much better defensively when he plays at small forward according to the PER numbers on 82games.com. Brewer is slightly better as a small forward thanks to his incredible defense when he plays that position.
Ronnie Brewer
Great D, No Shot


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2010 PSW NBA MVP

June 12th 2011 10:18
I told you that I would announce my MVP winner during the NBA Finals. Derrick Rose won the official award, but he was only fourth on my ballot. Dwight Howard, LeBron James, and Chris Paul were my top three picks. For those of you who have been reading this blog, you can tell who my pick is going to be.

SF Miami Heat LeBron James

Derrick Rose and LeBron James were the two players who received the most recognition for this award, and I picked the guy who was the better player in the 2010-2011 season. This is no knock on Rose, he's a great player, but LeBron is the best in the NBA. He has been the best for the past couple of years, whether or not you want to openly admit that is your choice. The fact is, James turned in another great season. This time, in Miami.

I really don't want to tack about the background stuff with James, and "The Decision" isn't something I want to revisit any time soon. I do want to look into the advanced statistics and talk more about James's accomplishments this year. Even if the Heat lose to the Mavs, James was still the best player during the regular season.

PER is one of the main things I look at when conducting my MVP ballot. In years past, the MVP usually has a PER of 30. LeBron had the highest PER in the NBA at 27.37. There was a lot of parity on most people's MVP ballots because there wasn't much of a difference between the level of play among the top ten players in the NBA last year.

LeBron James had the highest Win Score in the NBA- a Basketball Reference stat- which further underlines his value to the Heat. When a team is as top-heavy as the Heat are, they desperately need a very good year from their major contributors (the Big Three) in order for them to get to the stage that they are now. The MVP is a combination of importance to your team as well as overall play.

I want to go on a minor tangent for a paragraph- or two- about how people misinterpret the meaning of "MVP". When we say "Game MVP" or something like that, we are talking about the best player on the court for that particular game. People have distorted the meaning of the phrase when it describes a season because of the word "value".

Most Valuable Player is simply referring to the player whose season-long performance provided the most value. Therefore, the MVP award should be given to the guy who was the best. We should boost players who have lesser teammates around them and are expected to carry much of the load, but the players who are perennially in the MVP discussion already do this.

Not only was LeBron scoring like crazy, he was also passing it around a lot as well further entrenching him as the most versatile player in the NBA. His insane athleticism has allowed him to become one of the best defensive players in the game. LeBron was always this good at D, even before his much-talked about performance against the NBA's MVP in the Eastern Conference Finals.

LeBron James's Defensive Wins Score was the third best in the league behind only Dwight Howard and Kevin Garnett. That's pretty good for a guy who also boasts the highest PER in the league. Picking LeBron as the 2010 PSW MVP wasn't a difficult choice for me. Although there were some good and intriguing candidates, James was the player who stood out the most in my eye. Disagreements? I bet there's a lot of them. Let's hear it in the comment section.
LeBron James
2010 PSW NBA MVP
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2010 NBA Finals Preview

May 31st 2011 15:15
This is a rematch that one man has relished more than anyone else. This is a shot at redemption, most likely the last one, for one of the NBA's biggest stars. This series dates back to 2006 when the Dallas Mavericks blew a 2-0 series lead against Dwayne Wade and Shaq in a series that featured an epic collapse from Dirk Nowitzki. The man who is perhaps the greatest player in Mavericks' history has took it upon himself to lead his team back to this moment. Will they get their vengeance. One thing's clear, they won't go down without a fight.

The 2006 Finals have haunted this team ever since, and the word "choker" has long been associated with the name Dirk Nowitzki. That is, until this season. The man largely blamed for what happened in 2006 and the loss to the eighth seeded Warriors in 2007. Nowitzki scored just eight points on a team that won 67 games and was considered to be one of the best teams in recent memory. That's all behind the man born in Wurzburg.

It's difficult to describe the drastic difference in Dirk's postseason play that happened this year. The shot were finally falling and the legendary work ethic was paying it's dividends on basketball's biggest stage. He and the Mavs didn't wilt when the Blazers tied the series 2-2 when the Mavs were up 2-0. It seemed like deja vu, but the Mavs showed they were a changed team and won the next two games.

The Lakers were supposed to be easily into the Finals after the Spurs were bounced out by the Grizzlies. The Lakers imploded, and the Mavs exploded on their way to a surprising sweep. The Mavs showed they were for real, and Dirk Nowitzki had the series of a lifetime. He obliterated the Thunder and had the highest true shooting percentage in a playoff game in NBA history. Dirk was brutally efficient, got to the line with ease, and turned in a performance that has skyrocketed his reputation.

The Heat's journey to this point has been well-documented, and LeBron James cemented himself as the NBA's best player after a playoff series against the Bulls that we can simply chalk up as being dominant. There really is no other word to use to describe the clutch shots, the efficiency, and the remarkable defense against the league's MVP who actually wasn't my MVP.

This is tantalizing matchup that we need to savor in. It's so captivating because of the storylines surrounding this game. It's the Big Three trying to prove the doubters and "haters"- one doubter being Mavs' owner Mark Cuban- that they are the best team in the league.

So far in the playoffs, Chris Bosh is easily the best player that Dirk Nowitzki will be guarded by. He's far more athletic than Gasol, Ibaka, and Aldridge as a defender. I think Nowitzki wins this battle though. Shawn Marion played superb defense against Durant, but LeBron isn't going to be pushed around as easily. Again, Marion is better at defending LeBron than the guys he has faced in the playoffs right now. Deng and Iguodala play good D, but they aren't as physical on the ball as Marion. But nobody can guard LeBron at this point.

The Mavs don't really have anyone to take on D-Wade either. Jason Kidd has turned into a good defensive player, but Wade is too fast and is incredible at attacking the rim. I don't see how Kidd can contain him, unless if Wade gets gassed out like he did against the Bulls. I doubt that's going to happen.

These are two unquestionably talented teams that fully deserve to be at this point. Sports are all about matchups and utilizing matchups. This series is definitely winnable for both teams, but I think the Heat have the better matchup against the Mavericks. It's going to be close considering the fact that the Mavs have the far better bench.

I've been very critical of the Heat over the season, but they really proved me wrong against the Bulls. I rarely ever pick series to go seven, but I do think these will be six hard-fought games. Want an MVP? I think Wade gets his second one against the Mavs in the Finals. He's going to rise up and show us he is the second best player in basketball behind LeBron. Yes, I just said that Wade is better than Kobe, but that's a debate for another day.
Dwayne Wade
Trying to Duplicate 2006
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What a postseason. Each year, the NBA Playoffs never disappoints. There's always action, storylines, suspense, upsets, and great games. This year is no different, and both series have interesting matchups. The West may be the most perplexing, because it all has to do with which team is streakier. The Heat and Bulls are the two best teams right now- I have the Bulls winning it all- but these two teams are either on or off. They're not sure things.

I haven't been impressed with the Thunder so far in the playoffs. They were terrible at times against the Grizzlies, and I don't think they are a good enough team on the road. Even if they beat the Mavs, I doubt they win the whole thing. Even against the Nuggets, the Thunder were poor at times. They got lucky in pretty much every fourth quarter of that series. Their execution in crunch time was extremely poor.

Zach Randolph destroyed them, and they won't be able to handle Dirk Nowitzki if they can't handle Randolph. Pau Gasol was destroyed by Dirk, and Gasol is a better player than Serge Ibaka. Just keep an eye on that. The Mavericks are the best shooting team left, so that presents another weapon against the Thunder.

On the other side, the Mavs don't really have anyone to counter Westbrook and Durant. They are a subpar team in terms of perimeter defense, and Corey Brewer can't do everything for them. Their interior defense is solid with Tyson Chandler and Brendan Haywood coming off the bench. Shawn Marion could actually counter Durant, but I can't see Durant losing that match-up. The Mavs have to get physical against him.

Russell Westbrook will start taking stupid shots if Durant is covered. I think you have to cover Durant and let Westbrook take those kinds of shots. That puts the Thunder in jeopardy, and it is a great tactic to use against the Thunder in crunch time. That's when Westbrook loves heaving off his 3-pointers.

My X-Factor in this series is Shawn Marion. He's played good defense this year, and his offensive output has been decent too. I care more about his defense in this series. He's got to be physical on Durant and push him around. He has to make Durant settle for jumpshots. Marion needs to be aggressive on the best pure scorer in the NBA. He won't win the battle, but he can decrease Durant's overall effectiveness in the series. That's really all you can ask for out of a defensive player when they are guarding one of the game's best.

I think this series comes down to offense. These are two offensive teams, but also two offensive teams that play a different brand of basketball. The Mavericks are the slower paced team that can control the tempo, while the Thunder are the quicker team. I think experience wins in a seven game series that is closer than what a few people will have you think.
Dirk Nowitzki
My Pick For Series MVP
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5/15 NBA News: Hawks' Future

May 15th 2011 11:48
The Atlanta Hawks were finally able to beat the Orlando Magic, and they also have their future at point guard figured out with the emergence of Jeff Teague in the playoffs. Larry Drew did a poor job of coaching during the regular season, but he actually made some good decisions in the playoffs. They were never going to beat the Bulls but taking the best team in the NBA to six games is certainly something to be proud of. The future looks bright in Atlanta, and this team could challenge for the Conference Title with another big man.

Jamal Crawford was huge for them in the playoffs, and he's a very important piece for the Hawks. They might lose him because they didn't give him an extension last year. He is set to become a free agent, and it doesn't seem as if he wants to re-sign with the Hawks. That would be a huge loss for them because Crawford is their second best scorer and second best shooter. That's because there's this guy named Joe Johnson on the Hawks


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2010 PSW NBA All-Defensive Team

May 10th 2011 14:29
Team One

PG Rajon Rondo


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2010 PSW NBA Coach of the Year

April 22nd 2011 14:39
The Chicago Bulls have had the biggest turnaround in the NBA from last year. They were a border line playoff team in an Eastern Conference that had no depth, but they are now the best team in the NBA. So far, the Bulls are up 3-0 in the first round of the playoffs. This is all thanks to the Celtics-style half-court defense brought in by a former Celtics assistant coach.

Erik Spoelstra, Greg Popovich, and Lionel Hollins deserve recognition for also doing a great job; first-year Bulls head coach Tom Thibodeau's work this season has been unmatched. The defense he brought in was modified, and Thibodeau was able to shut down top offensive teams like the Miami Heat. He frustrated LeBron James and Dwayne Wade when the Heat faced the Bulls


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2010 PSW NBA and NHL All-Stars

April 21st 2011 15:17
I have assembled both of my All-Star teams for the NHL and NBA with both league's regular seasons having ended. There are three All-Star teams (or lines for hockey) and there is a goalie for each NHL line. This has nothing to do with team value, but rather how well the player played overall.

NHL


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2010 NBA Playoffs Preview Round One

April 15th 2011 13:53
East

1 Bulls vs 8 Pacers


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