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

2010 PSW NBA Defensive POY

April 20th 2011 14:44
I am going to take a break from the NHL awards and give out my award for the NBA's Defensive Player of the Year. This award was easily given out to Dwight Howard (his 3rd straight). I have no disagreements with this, and I will show you my statistical reasoning for picking Howard.
Defensive Player of the Year

Orlando Magic C Dwight Howard

Dwight Howard is an incredible defender; we all know that. The defenders around him are poor, so he has to make up for a lack of defensive talent. Hedo Turkoglu, Gilbert Arenas, and Quentin Richardson are three of the worst players in the league. Reserve point guard Chris Duhon is another horrible defender. Howard has dominated the middle, and that has been all they have needed to have the third highest defensive efficiency in the league as well as the second best rebounding rate. That's all Howard.


Howard put an exclamation point on his latest trophy by packing Kirk Hinrich in the Magic's playoff win. In total, Superman had 33 points while shoring up 17 boards. He had the 4th best total rebounding rate, but more importantly, the best defensive plays average. This is the average number of blocks, steals, and charges drawn per game. Basically everything from Howard was blocks, but it definitely shouldn't draw any complaints.

Ryan Anderson was 31st in the league in total rebounding rate of all forwards, which is a decent mark but nothing special. I mean, it took a lot from Dwight Howard to even be the 2nd best rebounding team in the NBA with only Anderson posting solid numbers. By the way, Hedo Turkoglu was among the worst rebounders in the NBA last year. We can all agree that Howard was the best defensive player in the 2010-2011 season. It's remarkable that Howard alone made his team one of the best rebounding and defensive teams in the league. His season was the equivalent to a 25-7-7 season for a defensive player.

Dwight Howard
2010 PSW DPOY
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2010 NBA Playoffs Preview Round One

April 15th 2011 13:53
East

1 Bulls vs 8 Pacers

What is there to say about this game? The best team in the league is going up against a team that was five games under .500. Prediction: Bulls in 4. MVP: Derrick Rose.

2 Heat vs 7 76ers

Andre Iguodala and the rest of the Sixers' players are very athletic and should be able to stick around with the Heat. If you're not a top four seed though, you won't bother the Big Three too much. Prediction: Heat in 5. MVP: Dwayne Wade.

3 Celtics vs 6 Knicks

The Knicks won't be able to stop Doc Rivers's prolific half-court offense. Rajon Rondo will break out of his slump and own Chauncey Billups. Carmelo Anthony will keep things close, but the C's are the defending Eastern Conference champs for a reason. Prediction: Celtics in 6. MVP: Rajon Rondo.

4 Magic vs 5 Hawks

This is easily the best series of the four in the East. Al Horford has really improved on the defensive end, and he won't get destroyed like last year against Dwight Howard. The Hawks are more athletic than the Magic, but I think that the all-around talent of the Magic gets them by. Prediction: Magic in 6. MVP: Dwight Howard.

West

1 Spurs vs 8 Grizzlies

Even though Manu Ginobili isn't at full strength, I don't think that really matters much in this series. He's probably only going to miss one game anyway, and the Spurs are still going to be great without him. The Grizzlies are a pretty good team, but the savvy Spurs take this in 5. MVP: George Hill.

2 Lakers vs 7 Hornets

Chris Paul is going to cause a ton of problems for the Lakers, but the Hornets can't cause the defending champs too much trouble. The talk of a Lakers' collapse will have to wait another round. Prediction: Lakers in 5. MVP: Pau Gasol.

3 Mavericks vs 6 Trail Blazers

This is my upset special right here. Although Dirk and the Mavs are a great team, no doubt, I love the Trail Blazers and their efficient-but-not-sexy brand of basketball. Guys like Gerald Wallace, Marcus Camby, Nicolas Batum, LaMarcus Aldridge, Andre Miller, and even Brandon Roy (in a limited bench role) are playing well off of eachother- gee, that sounds a lot like the Spurs. Prediction: Blazers in 7. MVP: Gerald Wallace.

4 Thunder vs 5 Nuggets

I love what the Nuggets have done since the Melo trade, but it all ends here against a really good Thunder team. Their interior is good enough to match up with K-Mart and Nene now that they have Kendrick Perkins. I don't think the Nuggets have an answer against KD, and I see him going off. Prediction: Thunder in 6. MVP: Kevin Durant.
Kevin Durant
Hey Danilo, Remember Griffin's Dunk? Things Are About to Get Worse vs. The Durantula
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4/2011 Shooting Guard Rankings 1-10

April 13th 2011 12:54
1. Kobe Bryant- Dwayne Wade is baring down on his neck, but Bryant is still the king of the position. He plays much better defense than Wade and is the better pure scorer and shooter.
2. Dwayne Wade- Bryant's age is the only reason why people believe Wade is the better player. If somebody is older, we shouldn't just penalize them because of age when they are still better than the younger player. Heck, it's only a difference of a couple of years. I'll put Wade at the top when he's better than Kobe; it's as simple as that.
3. Joe Johnson- Johnson is one of the most consistent scorers in the NBA, and he is solid at rebounding and passing.

4. Manu Ginobili- Ginobili is a great point guard that would be third on this list if not for injuries. He is a solid defensive player, a good ball-handler, a good passer, and a great scorer that is among the best in the league at drawing fouls.
5. Andre Igoudala- He is such an athletic and explosive player, and he has really transformed into the defender we knew he could be. AI2 has finally put it all together, and it has been quite a show for Sixers fans.
6. Kevin Martin- Before you start bashing me, hear me out here. Martin has been the 4th most efficient player this year behind these guys named Dwayne, Kobe, and Manu. While he is a poor defender, he more than makes up with it by scoring efficiently and drawing fouls.

7. Stephen Curry- Curry has huge upside, and it is shameful that Monta Ellis gets more playing time than Curry. He is the far better shooter, passer, and defender than Ellis. Curry was the best shooting rookie we have seen in years.
8. Jason Richardson- J-Rich is one of the best in the NBA playing the catch-and-shoot game, and he has been able to cut down on his turnovers and rebound solidly. He is a very good perimeter shooter who is also one of the best dunkers in the league.
9. Eric Gordon- Gordon isn't particularly good at attacking the rim, but he does have a nice shot which allows him to score. He was the 6th most efficient player in the league, and he also draws a ton of fouls which makes him all that more valuable as an outside scorer. His biggest weakness is rebounding.
10. Monta Ellis- I will reluctantly put Monta on my list. He takes far too many shots and his stats are so overblown. Ellis doesn't care enough to at least try to block passing lanes and cover on D. He is so lucky that the incompetent Keith Smart is coaching the Warriors. Ellis can play great defense when he wants too- he's like a safety out there at times- but he gambles too much when he does try. Get this, the Warriors play much better basketball without him around. That's easy to see considering all the stupid shots he takes, especially right when the possession starts, and it seems like he doesn't know how to open up the defense by passing it. Ellis is talented, but he's just so dumb on the court.
Monta Ellis
Very Talented, Too Many Bad Shots

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4/11 Game Preview: Heat and Hawks

April 11th 2011 14:35
The Heat are currently in a vicious battle with the Celtics for the East's number two seed. They may have the upper hand now after finally beating the Celtics in a 100-77 statement win that featured an insane block from Dwayne Wade and an even more impressive performance from LeBron James. The Hawks are going to be the 5th seed in the East, and they will pose a challenge for the Heat who are looking to distance themselves from the Celtics in the standings.

The Hawks have been playing poor defense of late, and they have to get back on track against a team that will rip them apart if they do not defend well. Offensively, the Hawks have to be able to spread the ball around. They can do that with guys like Kirk Hinrich, Al Horford, and Joe Johnson. Hinrich is the X-Factor in this game. He is Bibby's replacement, and he can burn up the former Hawk as Bibby is one of the worst defensive point guards in the game.

The Heat's bench is far worse than the Hawks' solid bench. Jamal Crawford is the best scoring sixth man in the NBA, Marvin Williams is a solid bench player, and Zaza Pachuila is much better than James Jones and Joel Anthony. Mike Miller is the only worthwhile bench player for the Heat.

Josh Smith needs to be able to key in on LeBron James. Now is not the time for him to risk everything for a chase-down block. Jeff Teague is another interesting player in this game. If Teague gets to play against Bibby, I could see him hassling the veteran point guard from time to time. Teague is a solid defensive player, and he is very quick.

The Hawks are the better team on the interior and have more depth, but the Heat's big three is extremely athletic. They're on a mission, and they have the main intangible coming into this game; hunger. I don't like to use the saying "They want it more" as a key factor in deciding a game, but I do use it as a minor intangible factor because this mentality does exist in games. The Hawks aren't playing for anything. They already know their seed. I see this being a tight game, but LeBron's star power gets the Heat by a difficult test.
LeBron James
Pushing for 2 in East
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4/2011 Team Scope: Denver Nuggets

April 9th 2011 13:02
The reason why the Nuggets are playing at an extremely high rate after the Melo trade is the emergence of role players that now have more touches. There is also less uncertainty surrounding the future of the best player on the team which in turn effected the other players on the team. Denver also has a nice all-around roster that is quick on the outside and strong in the interior.

Ty Lawson epitomizes a quick point guard, and he is also a solid shooter that is at his best in transition; a staple in George Karl's offense. The only knock on Lawson is his defense, but Raymond Felton and the interior have that important portion of the game covered. Felton and Lawson form a solid point guard duo. Felton is a good defensive player because of his quickness and fast hands, and he is also superb in transition. However, he is a subpar shooter that is terrible at long 2's


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No.1 vs. No. 2 Seed in NBA

April 7th 2011 14:36
The Spurs clinched the number one seed in the West after a win against Sacramento and a Lakers' loss against the Warriors. Everyone has been talking a lot about it, but I'm here to tell you that all this talk is meaningless. The title of this post is a verbal irony that almost sums up my feelings on this subject.

When you think about it, the one and two seeds are elite teams that are pretty much evenly matched. Only a few games will separate these teams, but a team's record really isn't that important come playoff time. The only advantage the number one seed has over the number two seed is that they get the home court advantage- one game- over the two seed. That one game is further devalued when you take into account that any elite team can still win games on the road


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Kentucky Shooting Guard DeAndre Liggins

The official award went to Kenneth Faried, but my pick goes to DeAndre Liggins of Kentucky. He is a lock down defender that can also get boards, and that's a nice bonus from a guard. He is an unselfish player that leads by example and can also play at shooting guard


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Wow, it's come to this already. I am psyched. Butler is back and as good as ever, even without Gordon Hayward who was the team's best player on last year's squad. Shelvin Mack pushed Butler over VCU, and they find themselves facing the best player in college basketball. However, UConn is about more than just Kemba Walker. Jeremy Lamb, Shabazz Napier, and Alex Oriakhi are also solid players. Lamb is a great sidekick for Walker.

Brad Stevens and Jim Calhoun will be pitted against each other in a matchup that won't disappoint. It's Butler's stingy defense against Kemba's show. Connecticut was able to get by Kentucky, but Butler is going to be an even bigger challenge. For all the talk about Calhoun vs. Calipari, Butler have the youngest coach to ever get to 2 Final Four appearances. While Cal is better than Stevens, Stevens will find a great scheme to try and slow down Walker


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2010 PSW NCAAB Conference POYs

April 2nd 2011 13:57
It is time for me to unveil my picks for Conference Player of the Year for each of the Big Six conferences (Big East, Big Ten, Big 12, ACC, SEC, and PAC-10). After the National Championship, I will announce my Player of the Year. Are you fired up?

Big East Connecticut Point Guard Kemba Walker


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Take a look at your standings. A .415 team, whether it be the Pacers or Bobcats, could actually make the playoffs. Yes, a team with no defensive effort and a team in rebuilding mode might actually get there. The disparity between good and bad in the Eastern Conference is so great that the Bulls have already clinched their division- which has the Pacers in it. Three teams have clinched the playoffs in the East, compared to just one- San Antonio- in the West. The Memphis Grizzlies have the 8th seed in the West, and they are a pretty good basketball team. The East is definitely playing better basketball than it has in the past couple of years collectively, but I still think that they are far behind the West. Depth Matters.

I love how Matt Bonner has the highest 3 point percentage this season. Yes, a power forward is the best three point shooter in the NBA this year. Who knew? Well, Bonner is like Nowtizki in that he is great at spreading the floor- Channing Frye is another one of those guys. They are becoming a little more used in the NBA these days, and that's a good thing for offenses. Best free throw percentage? Yeah, that's Stephen Curry. He's going to be great one day. I love that guy. He should have been rookie of the year last year. All the box score idiots looked at the stats and didn't watch how great Curry was when he played. Curry is a natural shooter- his father is Del- and he plays D, passes, attacks the rim, and can lead already at this age


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Yeah, Hoop Talk is a new thing where I'll just start talking about basketball. I'll start with some topics and work my way through the news of the day- sort of. Anyway, George Karl got a three year extension, no surprise because Karl is an icon in Denver. Nate McMillan got a two year extension. He is a great coach that manages players well, he has great strategies, and he deserved like a five year extension. McMillan is one of the best coaches in basketball, and his team plays very efficient basketball.

Kobe Bryant just topped Moses Malone for sixth on the all-time scoring list with his 26 points against the Atlanta Hawks. I called the winner- easy- but I also called the MVP- Andrew Bynum. He of the 16 points and 16 boards with 3 blocks on 8-10 shooting had a boom-roasted kind of day against Atlanta. Bynum was easily the most efficient player on the court in that game. Only Zaza Pachuila could even think about challenging him on the boards. Bynum was easily the most dominating defensive player in the game. He was impressive- as usual- in the paint


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3/8 Game Preview: Lakers and Hawks

March 8th 2011 14:19
The Los Angeles Lakers are coming off of a remarkable 99-82 shredding of the San Antonio Spurs, while the Hawks are coming off of a 92-79 loss against the Knicks. They were horrible offensively in that game, and they cannot afford to do that poorly against a far better Lakers team. The Lakers won the last meeting between these two teams, and they are the favorites heading into this game- for good reason. So let's kick back and preview the biggest matchup of tonight in the NBA.

Kirk Hinrich really gives this team a point guard that isn't a liability in defense. He is much quicker than Mike Bibby, and thus doesn't get burned by the quicker point guards out there. Derek Fisher isn't a quick PG at all, so I think Hinrich matches up pretty well against him. Hinrich is a great passer that is average in everything else. Defensively, I think Fisher doesn't really do much against him. He can hit some shots if he gets open, but that's the furthest impact I think he can have offensively in this one. Maybe Steve Blake is the man that shows up today at the point for LA. Hinrich is better than all the point guards that Los Angeles has


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3/2011 Scouting Report: Gary Neal

March 6th 2011 17:11
I recently talked about why the San Antonio Spurs are so successful, and that's because they have many players that embrace their roles on the team and do a good job of fulfilling their roles. Gary Neal is one of those guys. The undrafted rookie has proven to be a solid player on the team that is a good shooter and performs well offensively. Although he doesn't create his own shots, he isn't called upon to do so in the Spurs' offensive scheme. Creating shots for himself is not his role. He is supposed to camp out near the perimeter and hit shots from kickouts- for the most part.

Neal is average in the other facets of his game, and he isn't exactly "good" at any one thing in particular. However, Neal is a decent player that is really good on the perimeter. A knock on him is that he focuses too much on playing around the arc. When Neal is on a hot streak- like he is now- his shot is nearly unstoppable. He is shooting 41.9 from downtown as well as 44.1 from the field in general, and Neal doesn't attempt many close shots so the stats aren't skewed


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We went from the best NBA team to the worst NBA team in team scopes. I wrote about the Cavs when they broke the all-time losing streak record. They were the first to win 50 games last year, but they are one game away from being the first team this year to lose 50 games with an 11-49 record. Wow. It's no surprise when you look at a roster that only has one player that actually tries- Anderson Vaerjao. He isn't even the team's best player skill-wise- Antawn Jamison just barely over Baron Davis- but he does the gritty work. Varejao's out for the season, so yeah. That sucks.

Anyway, Baron Davis has talent, but he never tries. The Cavaliers are filled with a bunch of JAGs. Daniel Gibson is a good shooter, but he really isn't much. There are a bunch of shooters that are only average players on a whole on this team to go with those JAGs. The roster situation isn't completely their fault because there will still be overhaul. This roster was the supporting cast for LeBron, but the roster will definitely change with him gone. Right now, this roster reflects the guys that you build around LeBron. The Cavs will bring in some change. It's the transition phase of the rebuilding process right now


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3/3 NBA News: Corey Brewer to Sign

March 3rd 2011 15:26
It comes as no surprise that defensive specialist Corey Brewer will sign with the Dallas Mavericks. They had the most money of the three main suitors for Brewer, and they also had their mid-level exception left. It all equated to Brewer going to Dallas. He was traded to the Knicks in a Knicks-T'Wolves swap that was supposed to be a nice one for the Knicks. Instead, they bought out Brewer's contract in what was a pretty stupid move. Brewer is 25 and now has a multi-year contract with the Mavs. I see him being a really nice addition for this team. It was a great move, and he will be a quality contributer.

Utah Jazz head coach Ty Corbin received a two year deal with a team option for the third year. The front office was impressed with how Corbin led his team through the turbulent time in which their best player was traded, and their legendary coach was fired. The players have fed off from him, but Corbin still needs to bring home some tangible results. I don't need anything big from him, but I want to see Corbin actually win some games


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Let's open up March with a team scope. But unlike yesterday, this scope will be of an NBA team that is on pace for a record season. The Spurs have depth and star power along with coaching to become the best team in the league this season. First off, I would like to give a shoutout to Forest Bennett, a PSU fan just like me! How you doing man? Hope you enjoy this one Forest, and all you other great readers of this blog!

The Spurs just received that their star point guard is out for two to four weeks with a sore calf muscle. For most teams in the NBA, this would be crushing news. It is terrible news but having George Hill as your backup point guard softens the blow. Tony Parker is one of the three best point guards in the league at driving. He brings so much to the table for the Spurs, and his leadership is invaluable to the team. However, Hill is a good scorer in his own right that really stepped up last year when Parker was injured


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The Boston Celtics traded Kendrick Perkins and Nate Robinson for a 2012 first round pick, Nenad Kristic, and Jeff Green. The Oklahoma City Thunder were the winners in this deal. Green really won't fit anywhere on Boston, and Kristic sucks. The pick is for 2012 from a trade that the Thunder acquired from the Clippers. It is a solid first round pick, but it's the best thing Boston got.

Boston did a good job of getting rid of Robinson, but they traded the best piece in this deal by trading away Kendrick Perkins. The Thunder now have a big to pair with Nick Collins and the others that can help stifle the Lakers. This makes them better in a matchup against LA. Boston got the short end of this stick, which is a surprise considering they have the best GM in Danny Ainge. Maybe he knows something that we don't. It wasn't a terrible deal for Boston, but it sure wasn't a good one


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Deron Williams has been a headcase for a while. He conceitedly called himself the best point guard in the league, and his ego caused great coach Jerry Sloan to re-sign. Williams publicly announced that he would leave after the 2011 season when he would become a free agent. When you combine this all together, it's no surprise that Williams was traded to the New Jersey Nets for prospect Derrick Favors, two first rounders, 3 million, and Devin Harris. I am going to explain why the Jazz got the upper-hand in this trade.

Make no mistake. I think Deron Williams is a phenomenal player and one of the best 10 in the league. Williams may not be the best point guard in the league like he says he is, but he is still only second to Chris Paul. He is an elite player that is incredible at driving, passing, drawing fouls, and he is a strong player that plays solid defense. The problem was that he was no longer the face of the franchise. He was becoming a reckless ego, and the Jazz are also a couple million over the luxury tax cap. Nobody wants to pay that bill. As great as Deron is, is he really that much better than Harris? Is the gap between Harris and Williams really cash and basically three first rounders? The answer is a simple no


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Breaking Down the Melo Trade

February 22nd 2011 15:30
The drama is finally over. I have a question to pose for you after looking at another cliche ESPN headline. Which rapper made the song "N.Y. State of Mind"? I will be in rage if somebody gives me Jay-Z as their answer. That was two big hints right there. Carmelo Anthony joins Amar'e Stoudamire as the Knicks' second prolific scorer that just doesn't know how to defend. Mike D'Antoni is their coach, so you know where this team is going. No D, all O.

The Nuggets gave up Carmelo Anthony, Chauncey Billups, Shelden Williams, Anthony Carter, and Renaldo Balkman. They got Danilo Gallinari, two second rounders, a first rounder in 2014, 3 million, Timofey Mozgov, Wilson Chandler, and Raymond Felton. They wouldn't know whether or not they would re-sign Melo in the first place, but they did give up a lot of talent. I think this deal was even personnel wise, and the Nuggets needed to add as much talent as they could in key spots- especially young talent- to make up for the loss of Anthony


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2011 Scouting Report: Serge Ibaka

February 21st 2011 14:58
Big Man Serge Ibaka Oklahoma City Thunder

We all know him for his recent success at this year's slam dunk contest. I thought he did better than Blake Griffin, but that's not important. We also may know Ibaka for those FIBA commercials, those crazy blocks, and just because we're smart basketball guys. Now let's dig a little deeper into the major role player for Scott Brooks's team


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