The Good
The Oklahoma City Thunder are on the verge of a playoff appearance with the possibility of home court advantage in the opening round. They have a Coach of the Year candidate (Scott Brooks), an MVP candidate (Kevin Durant), a Most Improved player candidate (Russell Westbrook) and the youngest team in the NBA. The coach does not mention the "P" word to keep his team focused on constant improvement. The team’s best player has shown he has the desire to not only get better but to become the best. From a pure numbers standpoint Durant is already among the ELITE but in order to become an ALL TIME GREAT he has to elevate his team to playoff success.
The BAD
Forward Andray Blatche refused to re-enter his teams game against the Charlotte Bobcats Tuesday night after Washington Wizard head coach Flip Saunders tried to reach out to him regarding his lack of defense. Numerous coaches approached him to re-enter the game at the request of the head coach but the infantile Blatche refused. Well if you thought THAT was bad, guess who was in the starting lineup for the team’s next game just 1 night later? You got it, Andray Blatche. The message was sent and it is loud and clear: The PLAYERS run the league. PERIOD. Shame on the entire coaching staff and front office of the Washington Wizards.
The NETS
With a 93 - 79 win over the Sacramento Kings on Wednesday night, the New Jersey Nets moved to within one game of avoiding being the worst team in NBA history. They now have 8 wins and need 1 more in their last 11 to tie the 72-73 Philadelphia Sixers for the fewest wins ever. On paper the Nets are terrible and on the court they are terrible. They do not have a franchise player and play with very little enthusiasm. There is a light at the end of the tunnel however. It is called CAP SPACE and a top 3 draft pick. As crazy as it may sound with a few sound off season moves I expect this woeful franchise to be in the playoffs next season. FOR REAL.
NBA First Round Match-Ups (as of 03/26):
EAST
1. Cleveland vs. 8. Toronto
2. Orlando vs. 7. Charlotte
3. Boston vs., 6. Miami
4. Atlanta vs. Milwaukee
WEST
1. L.A. Lakers vs. 8. Portland
2. Denver vs. 7. San Antonio
3. Utah vs. 6. Oklahoma City
4. Dallas vs. 5. Phoenix
League Leaders (as of 03/26):
Scoring
Lebron James - 29.8 per game.
Rebounding
Dwight Howard - 13.3 per game.
Assists
Steve Nash - 11.1 per game.
Follow Marlon Benjamin on twitter: www.twitter.com/thehoopsforum.com
| Name | Date/Time | Comment |
| Reizan | Apr 2 2010 10:35AM | Celtics weren't whining if you actually look at the replays of the game you could see the Celtics were in the paint more and weren't getting any foul calls yet the Thunder shot alot of jump shots but still got more foul calls.Yes the Celtics did let those huge threes go by near the end but still not right. Refs been doin this to the Celtics all year and I'm just not speaking as a Celtics fan jus as a pure watcher of the game. Even Paul Pierce ,a master at getting the free throw line, is barely getting to the line nowadays. |
| Reizan | Apr 2 2010 10:37AM | Also Tiger Woods and his people need to shut up blaming Barkley and Jordan. Tiger is a big boy who knows what he was doing so don't blame Barkley and Jordan for El Tigre's little crimes against society. Seriously if you saw those text he sent you know nobody teaches that! |
| Test | Nov 30 2010 11:15AM | Test |