NBA Draft 2013 Recap: They Stole the Show...

On Thursday night the burrough of Brooklyn held the 2013 NBA Draft. The start to the NBA draft was full of surprises Nerlens Noel dropped to #6, Cleveland Cavaliers continued their impressive drafting streaking selecting UNLV's Anthony Bennett #1. Many pundits (except us) predicted Noel to be the #1 draft pick in 2013 they were wrong and Noel's family was shocked holding their breath as Noels slipped down from #1 to #6. Finally Noels was selected by New Orleans Pelicans appearing to team w/ another Kentucky athlete and former #1 draft pick Anthony Davis. After the selection Kentucky Coach John Calipari was interviewed giving vivid thoughts of a possible Davis and Noel duo in the NBA. Pelicans looked to have secured a young front court full of potential. A few minutes later Twitter exploded with reports of Noels being traded to Philadelphia for Jrue Holiday. After dropping from a perceived #1 draft pick to #6 then being traded from Pelicans to 76ers minutes later. Noel told USA TODAY Sports "oh I am going, to make them pay".

Nerlens Noel is from Haiti his mother worked several jobs just to put food on the table. Through all he has endured he never quit he never gave up on his dream. His mother told reporters that Noel has been dreaming of this day since he was a child. Noel suffered a season-ending ACL tear forcing the young Mc Donald's All American to miss most of the 2012 season at Kentucky. It was the ACL tear that caused Noels to rapidly drop in the draft the look on his face became memorable everyone including ESPN announcers were shocked "wow".

During a pre-draft conversation with Atlanta's Jarvis Davis of 92.9 FM "The Game" we discussed the the possibility of Noels not being the best fit in Cleveland. Reason's discussed Anderson Varejao and Tristan Thompson already provide a good level talent at the post positions. Minutes before the draft I sent a two word text message to the producer "Anthony Bennett". With his strength, size and athletic ability Bennett reminds many of another former "Runnin Rebel" Larry Johnson. Bennett is a more prepared polished player when compared to Noel and has the ability to defend the SF and PF positions. When called with the #1 draft pick Bennett appeared shocked and you can't Google one website in the world where "Mock Drafts" listed Bennett at #1. History was set last night at Anthony Bennett became the first Canadian selected #1 in the NBA draft.

David Sterns goal was global he wanted to reach places where the NBA was less known. Stern believed the  basketball was an international sport that could catch fire around the globe expanding other countries from Canada to Nigeria. In the end Stern's dream was achieved, it all began in 1984 when the Houston Rockets selected Hakeem Olajuwon from Lagos Nigeria. It ended Thursday night during the 2013 draft when Stern called the surprising name of Canada's Anthony Bennett. Stern achieved his international goals the NBA has improved greatly international athletes have come from almost every continent since his commissioning except Antarctica of course.

The night should have ended with those three highlights Bennett, Noel and Stern but in the end the greatest immediate impact was felt when the Brooklyn Nets and Boston Celtics stole the show. The writing was on the wall Tuesday afternoon when the much anticipated trade of Celtics coach Doc Rivers was dealt to the Los Angeles Clippers. Celtics brass had already watched former BIG 3 band member Ray Allen jump ship last season to rival Miami Heat and win a Championship as the NBA Finals parade drove through South Beach on Monday. Then Thursday night the Celtics completed their overhaul sending Paul Pierce and Kevin Garnett to Brooklyn. In the end Brooklyn hosted the 2013 NBA Draft and then stole the draft for keepsakes  with a Mega Deal. It's possible Boston's received way too much compensation for the once heralded NBA athletes, their tanks are close to empty but for the immediate future Brooklyn Stole the Show.... 

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Clenaure Carter is now the Writer for http://www.football.com covering Georgia Tech Football

Also check out Pro Sports Lives (Atlanta GA 1190AM) at http://www.prosportslives.com/ every Saturday 1:00 PM - 2:00 PM EST....

NBA: Miami Heat Robbed of Competition

For years it has been known that the NBA's Western Conference has been superior compared to its Eastern Conference foes. Western Conference offers the more recent legendary NBA franchises from Kobe's Los Angeles Lakers to Tim Duncan's San Antonio Spurs. For comparisons sake simply look at the 2012-2013 Western Conference playoff teams and an argument can be made that the "Top 6" teams in the conference could have challenged the Miami Heat. Fact is the road to the 2013 NBA Finals for the Miami Heat was full of opponents missing key components to their rosters. Chicago Bulls "no Rose", Indiana Pacers "no Granger" yet the mighty Heatles struggled for a combined 8-5 record versus those opponents in the playoffs, possibly playing to the level of their competition. .

No this is not a Miami Heat bashing or ripping apart of LeBron James. This is just a statement of the facts, the Heat simply faced less than adequate opponents in the Eastern Conference this season. When you rattle off 27 straight wins and your main regular season opponents consist of the Orlando Magic and Charlotte Bobcats a sense of superiority can settle in quickly. Now the Miami Heat are embattled in a fierce standoff against the San Antonio Spurs in the NBA Finals. A battle that has the defending champions scratching their heads searching for answers. As the same tactics the Heat deployed against the Granger-less Pacers, Rose-less Bulls, incompetent Bucks, Orlando Magic and Charlotte Bobcats "geesh" simply will not work against the well dressed Spurs.

At the beginning of the 2013 season the Heatles appeared to meet the challenges presented by the New York Knicks, Chicago Bulls, Indiana Pacers and Boston Celtics four of the top teams in the conference. Unfortunately these teams all had significant injuries down the stretch of the regular season and into the playoffs. While the Pacers tested Miami's resolve the truth is the conference was flawed. It was the equivalent of shopping at the Louis Vuitton Outlet finding an awesome sales deal then arriving at the house to find out one sleeve was shorter than the other. While the Miami Heat found deals against less talented and injury plagued teams this season.The lack of competition in the Eastern Conference is now coming back to bite them in the end. It's not Miami's fault they are used to shopping at the wrong places.

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Clenaure Carter is now the Writer for http://www.football.com covering Georgia Tech Football

Also check out Pro Sports Lives (Atlanta GA 1190AM) at http://www.prosportslives.com/ every Saturday 1:00 PM - 2:00 PM EST....

Brooklyn Nets: Phil Jackson Power, Money and a Legacy

Drafted by the New York Knicks in the 2nd round of the NBA Draft 1967. Phil Jackson was a member of two NBA Championships in the "Big Apple" 1970 and 1973 as a top reserve member off the bench. These days in Phil Jackson's NBA career are lesser known by many, Phil even missed the 1970 NBA Championship photo shoot.

 What is known to a greater extent is the coaching prowess and intelligence that helped meta-morph and catapult the careers of Michael Jordan, Scottie Pippen, Kobe Bryant and Shaquille O'Neal to new levels.  Hired by the Chicago Bulls as an assistant coach under Doug Collins in 1987. In 1989 after the departure of Collins, Jackson was promoted to head coach. From  1989 - 1998 Jackson coached the Bulls to two "three-peats" equaling six NBA Championships in a nine year span. The greatest span in modern NBA franchise history. 

First three-peat included the Bulls knocking off arch nemesis Detroit Pistons. The only franchise standing between the Chicago Bulls and the NBA Championship.  Detroit Pistons were the bullies and Phil Jackson was the young coach with the ultra talented NBA superstar Michael Jordan. When the "Bad Boys" Pistons implemented the famed Jordan Rules, Jackson responded with the Triangle Offense a modified version of the Triple Post Offense ala University Southern California and Basketball Hall of Fame coach Sam Barry. 
Phil Jackson's and Bulls assistant Tex Winter "Triangle offense" produced NBA Championship victories against Magic Johnson and the Lakers, Clyde Drexler's Portland Trailblazers and Charles Barkley high octane Phoenix Suns.  

During the off-season of 1997- 1998 off season tensions and contractual arguments grew between Bulls GM Jerry Krause and Phil Jackson. Tensions led to Krause announcing prior to the season that Jackson would not be returning to the Chicago Bulls "I don't care if it's 82-and-0 this year, you're fucking gone." Krause told Jackson. The Bulls did not finish 82-0 but the final season of the Jordan era concluded in dramatic fashion with the Bulls defeating Karl Malone and John Stockton's Utah Jazz marking NBA Championship number six. 

After retiring for a season Phil Jackson took his talents to Hollywood joining the Los Angeles Lakers earning roughly $6 million per season to maintain the ego's of Kobe Bryant and Shaquille O'Neal. In the first season Jackson coached Lakers to 65-17 regular season and to the NBA Finals defeating the Indiana Pacers this was only the beginning to Jackson's third NBA Finals "three peat" as the Lakers won two additional NBA titles versus Philadelphia 76ers (2001) and New Jersey Nets (2002). 

Jackson's departure from Los Angeles after the 2003-2004 season included several spats. Spat #1 Contract agreement Jackson was looking to double his salary from $6 mil to $12 mil. Spat #2 Kobe Bryant it is well documented that Kobe was a hot head a "me-me first player" usually deviating from the Triangle Offense to play one on five basketball against the other team. Spat issue #3 the departure of Shaq when the Lakers traded the greatest center in NBA history to the Miami Heat the writing was drying on the wall.  Immediately following his departure the Lakers and Bryant fell hard and during the 2005 season the Lakers rehired Jackson.  

The period from 2005-2007 presented Jackson with many obstacles the Lakers roster was mediocre at best. Even with a squad of Smush Parker and Kwame Brown Jackson was still able to coach Lakers to two playoff appearances. During 2007-2008 season LA Lakers and Memphis Grizzlies made a blockbuster trade as Lakers obtained Pau Gasol. With two stars to run the triangle Jackson was able to produce three more trips to the NBA Finals. Though it was not Jackson's usual trifecta Lakers won two out of three NBA Finals losing and then winning against the Boston Celtics and defeating Orlando Magic. 

Look over Jackson's career and you will notice several attributes and key elements first his a well disciplined winner prepared to handle any challenge. Only challenges he encountered included greedy, zealous, power hungry GM and owners the other issue was Kobe Bryant. 

Jackson understands his worth and command value it would take at least a minimum of $15 mil per season to pry Jackson out of retirement. Nets owner Mikhail Dmitrievitch Prokhorov Russian Billionaire and  political figure has no problem shelling out $15 million per season. 

Second major issue was the behavior of Bryant causing a distraction so damaging Jackson requested to Lakers ownership and management that Bryant be traded. This hints to Deron Williams the "Coach Killer" who could not understand or get along with NBA Coaching legend Jerry Sloan causing the longest tenured coach in American Major League sports to retire from his coaching post with the Utah Jazz. Over two decades of coaching history. Does Jackson want to inherit the "Coach Killer"? 

Third point of notice every Jackson team had a superstar a player that was at the top of the league in individual talent. While the Nets have a good unit Williams and Joe Johnson will never be mistaken for Jordan or Bryant.

Fourth Point does destroying Jackson's Legacy come with a price tag? It is often the coach looking for work with a organization that is worth more than the individual employee. In this case Jackson has 11 NBA Championship rings his legacy is remarkable and that may be worth than what the Nets can offer the Zen Master to tarnish his legacy. Brooklyn Nets are not a true threat to the NBA Championship the organization has zero, yes zero NBA Championships and only four division titles. Why would Jackson bring his legacy to Brooklyn?

Why Would Jackson Bring His Legacy to Brooklyn? Phil  Jackson is a Kingpin when it comes to coaching in the NBA and a Kingpin only cares about power. How much is Prokorhov willing to grant Jackson could be the key to any serious negotiations.... 

Dwight Howard Saga: Houston Wants a Problem!

How important is it for NBA teams to work a deal for Dwight Howard? Howard has gone on record quoting that the only team he wanted to play for was the "Brooklyn Nets". Last season Howard said he would not resign with the Lakers or Rockets if traded to Los Angeles or Houston. Now the Brooklyn Nets Howard's preferred choice has decided to move away from the "circus show" that is Dwight Howard and the merry go round Barnum and Bailey show he has created. 

This brings me to this point, it's a sad day when a franchise player single handily destroys a NBA franchise by pity patting and pouting about where they are playing. Especially after signing an extension with the franchise less that 4 months ago.So has Dwight Howard put himself in position where fans in Orlando are read to boo him and say enough is enough? Has Howard destroyed his reputation as a player will the NBA market for Howard start to reflect his personality issues? 

Houston Rockets General Manager Daryl Morey has thrown in all his chips including the future of the franchise to nab "SuperMan" out of Orlando. Houston traded PG Kyle Lowry to Toronto and amnestied Luis Scola. Rockets have simply mortgaged the franchise in hopes of landing Dwight Howard but is he worth the cost? Imagine the trade occurs and Howard is disgruntled in Houston decides to walk away after the 2012-2013 season and enter free agency next summer. Plain and simple Howard is not worth the cost of blowing up a franchise just to watch him walk away after one season. Houston Do You Really Want A Problem?

When the 2012 NBA off season concludes Dwight Howard could end up as the most hated man in the NBA based on his un-SuperMan like attitude. Orlando Magic should take the best deal available and let Howard become some other Owner or GM's problem child. Orlando trade Howard cut your ties let him go if Rockets are willing to send over young talent and future lottery picks take it. Rebuild the franchise get rid of the clown with the size 18 buffalo shoes.

For the Houston Rockets this could be the worst deal in NBA history. Some pundits have compared the gutting of the Rockets roster to the gutting of the Heat in 2011. Seriously stop, the Miami Heat was a team gutting their roster for 2 Hall of Famers and 1 All Star with guaranteed long term contracts with a NBA Championship to follow. Howard your no LeBron James or Dwayne Wade and NBA GM's and Owners should stay away from the circus show you have created. Superman has already lost the city/burrough of Brooklyn. Dwight Howard what franchise will he destroy next? I guess Houston Seriously Wants a Problem...

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NBA Eastern Conference: Milwaukee Bucks and New York Knicks fighting for the #8 seed...

NBA Playoffs start April 28th and the playoff race in the Eastern Conference is starting to turn the corner headed for the home stretch. A glimpse into the playoff picture in the Eastern Conference where the Milwaukee Bucks and New York Knicks are currently fighting for the #8 seed.

New York Knicks currently have possession of the #8 seed but the Bucks are primed to make a playoff run. The acquisition of Monta Ellis gives the Bucks one of the most talented back courts in the NBA. Brandon Jennings averaging 18.7 pts. 5.6 apg. and 3.4 rpg are all above his career season averages. Milwaukee Bucks offense is explosive currently ranked#7 in the NBA at 98.1 ppg and #3 in assist at 23.2 apg.

Milwaukee Bucks are deep at every position on the court. Drew Gooden's recent interior play has presented an inside presence giving the Bucks head office enough confidence to trade the oft-injured Andrew Bogut for Monta Ellis. Bucks major problem is on the defense. The Bucks allow 98.3 ppg a -0.2 offense to defense differential in points. Forward Luc Richard Mbah a Moute is finally healthy and the addition of Center Ekpe Udoh should help the defense immensely. Bucks roster is mostly shaped by spare parts  (Mike Dunleavy, Carlos Delfino and Ersan Ilyasova) keeping the engine running but that engine is running pretty smoove right now.

New York Knicks hold the final playoff spot but this has been a disappointing season for the Knickerbockers. Carmelo Anthony and Amare' Stoudemire have been stuck in a funk all season long. Pundits place the blame on Mike D'Antoni saying his coaching style did not fit the team yet in the same breathe they say Jeremy Lin could be like Steve Nash. Last time I checked Amare' Stoudemire had his best career seasons while playing for D'Antoni in Phoenix w/ Nash at the point. D'Antoni was also the coach of the Knicks last year when STATS arrived and produced New York Knicks franchise scoring records. With Amare' broken and Carmelo growing tired of an offense that did not feature his style of play D'Antoni quit, resigned and was eventually fired at the same meeting.

Knicks now have a head coach whose X's and O's feature the strengths of Carmelo Anthony. Mike Woodson the infamous creator of the Iso-Joe offense when coaching the Atlanta Hawks now posses one of the best Iso players in the NBA. Mike Woodson is a tough defensive minded coach who will keep a emphasis on the defensive end of the basketball court and allow Tyson Chandler to control the defensive box. Issue is can the Knicks grasp Mike Woodsons defensive adjustments before the Bucks knock them out of position.

Josh Smith 2012 NBA All Star snub seems to be overlooked in the Atlanta sports media market.  Talk to anyone who follows the Atlanta Hawks and they will say Josh has great potential and fans are waiting for more. What are the fans waiting for, Josh to average 20 pts per game and snatch 12 rebounds per contest?

If Josh played in New York, Los Angeles, or Chicago he would be a two time All Star playing for a big market team. Instead Josh is the perfect example of a hot talent in a underperforming sports media market. Atlanta fans were recently accused by sports media reporters as being “a bad sports town”. Residents in Atlanta claim that Atlanta is a transient city full of out of town citizens creating a gap in fan support.

During the CBA agreement David Stern lobbied for more growth in underperforming markets like Atlanta, New Orleans and Milwaukee. Commissioner Stern and Cavaliers owner Dan Gilbert made resounding remarks during the lockout making a case that underperforming and smaller markets should be the new focus in the NBA. If small underperforming markets are the NBA’s new focus then Josh being snubbed from the All Star game roster after averaging 16.0 ppg, 9.5 reb, 1.5 stls and 2.1 blks is a slap to the NBA’s new direction.

Atlanta Hawks have one of the top records in the Eastern Conference. Josh continues to be a huge contributing factor for the Hawks stepping into a leadership role with the absence of injured NBA All Star center Al Horford.  Josh is no longer the player waiting on the arrival of his Oak Hill Academy potential he has arrived.