This is a great time for me as a basketball fan. In the NCAA Tourney last night, LSU pulled out a tough and exciting win against Texas A&M in the final seconds on a long three. LSU is finally making some noise with the tremendous talent they have. Next up is a sweet sixteen date with those snobbish, elitist Dukies on Thursday. I actually like Duke, unlike the majority of college basketball fans. I never understood the reason for all the hating.
The two teams are fairly close talent wise. The game will come down to how much LSU can keep J.J. Redick in check and whether the Tigers' frontline can outplay Sheldon Williams. LSU has a very athletic starting five that can play very effective defense, anchored by Glen Davis and block specialist Tyrus Thomas. Thomas is one of those freakishly explosive athletes. During the game, tv analysts pointed out that his head almost touched the rim when he jumped up for a block. In many ways he reminds people of Stromile Swift, who has not progressed whatsoever on the next level despite his impressive physical talent. Hopefully Thomas can avoid Swift's mistake of leaving for the NBA before he was ready. I'd say LSU has a 40% chance of winning, despite the players' youth. If you think that's too high, consider that early in the regular season they pushed UConn to the limit and lost by 1. It will be a fun game.
Speaking of Swift, his teammate and my hero, Yao Ming, is playing very inspired basketball after he came back from his toe surgery. His point production, rebounds, and minutes are all up significantly from before. Unexpectedly, the toe injury allowed Yao to rest more than he has done in long time. It's a shame that such a rare talent has been stymied from reaching his full potential by needless and short-sighted obligations imposed by the Chinese government, which has forced him to play basketball almost non-stop for the last couple of years. The Rockets won't be in the playoffs this year, but if Yao continues his growth and McGrady comes back healthy, they will have a real shot of challenging the Spurs and the Mavs next season.
And Kobe's 81 is incredible. Still hate the guy and his "bring all your hate" Nike commercial.
3 comments:
Early predictions: Duke barely over LSU, Texas beats W.V., Memphis stomps on Bradley, hmmm...UCLA barely over 'Zaga due to defense, Conn over Wash, Wichita over George Mason....any corrections? -apoorva
Of course I'm not going to pick Duke over LSU. UCLA barely beat an undermaned Alabama, Zags and Adam Morrison will be too much for them.
Lex, so you're going to Harvard for grad school? Congrats man! What are you going to be studying? Like rich's website, there's no place to comment on your blog, either, right?
As far as Yao Ming, it's obvious that he is a good player who is gaining consistency, but far from being a dominant player. He has improved his major weaknesses, stamina and defensive positioning, quite a bit, but these fundamentals can only be developed further in the off-season.
As far as the Mavs are concerned, team depth and fire power have been their strengths for several years now. If they go deep in the playoffs this season it will be because of Avery Johnson and his emphasis on defense, not their array of offensive weapons, which has not been the decisive factor in years past. By the same token, as good and entertaining as Paker, Ginobili and other guards are, the Spurs' bread and butter is still the tough defense played by Duncan, Bowen, and Mohammed.
Is Yao still playing for China this summer? I was watching Scottie Pippen comment on one of Yao's games. He hit it spot on: Yao tires easily, but he if gets to play the game the way he likes it, with finesse and getting the perimeter shots, he can be one of the best players in the NBA.
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