Empty the Bench

He goes to NBA playoff games with friends half his age, he enjoys a few adult beverages at the arena, thinks Jason Kidd is unstoppable right now, and gets to drop the f-bomb on national television after having quite a few of those adult beverages. Okay, maybe we don’t get to swear on national TV, but you know we would if we could. (Via The Fanhouse)

Believe. Believe in Baron Davis’ beard. Believe in Don Nelson’s half nauseating, half brilliant commentary about how the series has gone so far. And most of all, believe that the Warriors are going to knock off the top-seeded Dallas Mavericks in the first round, derailing the Mavs’ championship ambitions before they even got started.

You just knew how last night’s game was going to end after the unflappable Davis banked in a three-pointer at the halftime buzzer from midcourt. This was the Warriors’ night, this was a long-overdue weekend for the long-suffering Warriors fans, and this time next week, we’ll see that this was the Warriors series, period. To think that they’ve done this with little to no contributions from Al Harrington is almost astounding. Now, after their gutsy 103-99 win before a record crowd that was going bonkers for most of the game, the Warriors have three chances to get just one more win and close out the series. Considering their track record against the Mavericks, we like their chances.

We read a lot–A LOT–of predictions for this series that had the Mavericks sweeping the Warriors. For shame, for shame. Hey, but ETB had the Mavericks in six! Yeah, yeah, we know, but we did make it clear this was going to be a tough proposition for Dallas, and we did list the Warriors as the lowest seed most likely to make some noise over at Hoops Addict. Outside of the Warriors fan base, I don’t think anyone could have seen the series going down like this.

If Dallas is indeed eliminated in the first round, that would take care of both teams from last year’s NBA Finals. Wow. It’s not totally surprising that the Bulls advanced, but in a sweep? Madness. The Western Conference would be fine open in the absence of the Mavs; can you say Golden State and San Antonio in the conference finals? How thrilling would a Golden State and Phoenix conference finals be? First things first: Baron, Stephen, Monta, Al, Jason, Andris, Mickael, Matt, Don–take care of business Tuesday night. Get it over with. Pull off perhaps the biggest first-round upset in NBA history. Then let’s see how much you have left moving forward. Here’s hoping this is just the first step of a long postseason run. What a fun team to watch and root for.

It’s been a long, long time since a defending NBA champion was swept in the first round of the playoffs the following year. Well, that was until the Chicago Bulls waltzed into Miami and shut the Heat down, finishing the series this afternoon with a 92-79 victory. There’s a lot of goats in the Miami stable today: D. Wade turned the ball over seven times, Shaq and Alonzo Mourning couldn’t hit the broadside of a barn at the free-throw line, and Pat Riley got little to no production from his bench (Antoine Walker, Gary Payton, and Jason Kapono combined for 2-7 FG for 7 points). Fluke champion? You decide.

But let’s not pin the Heat’s debacle solely on their poor team performance and lack of pride. Scott Skiles had his Bulls running on all cylinders from start to finish in this series, with rising stars Ben Gordon and Luol Deng leading the way. Ben Wallace, the Bulls’ big free-agent pickup last summer, was huge Sunday afternoon… at the free-throw line. That’s right, Riley resorted to the Hack-a-Ben strategy late in the fourth quarter, and all Big Ben did was nail seven straight from the charity stripe. Wow. Shaq loves to say that he always makes the free throws when they matter, but today he was 0-7 while his counterpart went 7-8.

It’s going to be a long, long summer in Miami, and the window may have just closed on their status as an elite NBA team. Look down the bench: there’s a very good chance that Pat Riley doesn’t return as head coach. Mourning, Payton, Walker, and Eddie Jones will all ride off into the retirement sunset or wind up on different teams. Shaq’s second-half performances show that he’s running out of gas, and fast. Age has finally caught up with this team, and it’ll be interesting to see what they look like next fall. For now, though, they’ll head home and watch the rest of the playoffs as spectators.

The table is now set for what will be one of the most heated, hotly contested series of the 2007 NBA playoffs between the Bulls and Detroit Pistons. Chicago took the regular-season series, but none of that matters in the postseason. Both teams look like they’re peaking at the exact right time, and both will be extremely motivated to prove they’re the better team. Everyone remembers the storied rivalry back in the day between Jordan’s Bulls and the Bad Boys, and now it looks like that bad blood will be renewed again. Check back at ETB later this week for an in-depth look at the series; you will *not* want to miss any of these second-round contests.

I think it’s safe to say the Patriots are having the best offseason of any team in the NFL. After already bringing in Donte Stallworth, Kelley Washington, and Wes Welker to solidfy an inconsistent wide receiver corps, as well as Adalius Thomas at an already strong linebacker spot, the team traded a fourth-round pick for WR Randy Moss.

Everyone knows that Moss has been dogging it the past few seasons in Oakland, and it remains to be seen whether he can just flip the switch and again be one of the elite players at his position. We’re not sure if he’ll ever fully reach the level of play from his first few seasons in Minnesota, but something tells us Moss is going to at least two more Pro Bowls with Tom Brady as his quarterback. This guy does not do well in a losing environment, so while it’s his job to give maximum effort regardless, a change of scenery is going to do wonders for his attitude and production during the twilight of his career.

Sources from the Patriots and Packers, who were also suitors for his services, both confirmed that Moss ran a 40-yard dash last week that was clocked at 4.29, 4.30 seconds. 4.29 at 30 years old! He obviously still has the speed, he still can get open and has great hands, which leaves his heart and determination the only question mark. That’s not going to be a problem in New England, as this team is certainly poised to make a run to the Super Bowl. If they both stay healthy, Stallworth and Moss on the field at the same time is going to be a major problem to deal with. Throw second-year running back Laurence Maroney in the mix, and the Pats could potentially field one of the most explosive offenses in the NFL.

We’re about 14 minutes away from the kickoff of the NFL’s annual Spring Super Bowl, otherwise known as the NFL Draft. We’ll be checking in periodically with updates from all the zaniness in New York this afternoon, blow by blow, pick by pick. The Oakland Raiders are on the clock.

1. Oakland Raiders - JaMarcus Russell, QB, LSU: My god, that was one cheeseball “draft room” dramatization from ESPN, wasn’t it? This thing gets more and more overblown every year. Mel Kiper says Calvin Johnson is the number one guy on most teams draftboard, but that “JaMarcus Russell has to be the Raiders pick.” Al Davis and the Raiders agreed, and go with the hulking QB from LSU with the first overall choice. This is one big boy–yep, he loves to eat. Russell probably won’t start the season behind center, but this team isn’t going anywhere and we fully expect Russell to take over the starting job by midseason. If Moss is still around, Russell’s cannon arm is well suited to Moss’ love for the deep ball.

2. Detroit Lions - Calvin Johnson, WR, Georgia Tech: Please, ESPN, get the Lions’ recent first-round pick history off the screen! It’s a nightmare! No trade (yet), the Lions’ take their fourth stab at fortifying their receiving corps with a top-10 pick at the wideout spot. Lots of speculation that Johnson will still be traded, but as a Lions fan, unless they’re being offered a pirate’s ransom for Johnson, let’s just hold onto him at his point. This guy is going to be Pro Bowler by his second year. Roy Williams and Calvin Johnson on the field at the same time? SICK. SICK. SICK. This isn’t a sure thing yet though… trade is still a very real possibility. They could have drafted Brady Quinn.

From MLive just now: “Mike Martz has bene pushing for the Lions to draft Calvin Johnson for some time. He’s even been leaving sticky notes around Rod Marinelli’s office, pretending to be Johnson, with phrases like “Coach, I like you a lot, please draft me. Calvin.” Today, he got his man, saying in the press conference explaining the pick: “He’s the best (WR prospect) I’ve ever seen.”

3. Cleveland Browns - Joe Thomas, LT, Wisconsin: A bit of a surprise pick here for the Browns, as most of ESPN’s talking heads had Brady Quinn pegged as the pick. Berman says “Thomas has one of the highest grades of any offensive lineman in the past few years. Higher than D’Brickashaw Ferguson.” We’ll see. You have to like this pick, though, as we’re just not convinced that Brady Quinn is a sure thing to succeed at the professional level. Of course, you might hear differently from Andrew if Quinn slides to his Vikings at #7. At any rate, solid, smart pick here for Cleveland. Thomas should be a starter for the next 12 years in the Dawg Pound.

4. Tampa Bay Bucs - Gaines Adams, DE, Clemson: The reasoning behind passing on Brady Quinn is that Phil Simms and Jeff Garcia are already on the roster. So what? Garcia is a just a great backup at this point in his career and Simms just isn’t a franchise QB. For my money, Quinn was the pick here. That said, going defense also makes sense with this pick. Monte Kiffin is a terrific defensive coordinator who gets a lot out of players that are just above average, but he needs some horses. The Bucs have five defensive starters in their 30s going into the 2007 season. Gaines Adams projects to be a premier pass rusher that should fit in very well in Tampa’s D. He’s certainly the best defensive player in this draft and could be an impact player right away. Adams is compares favorably to last year’s number one overall pick Mario Williams. He’s consistent, athletic, quick on the edges and will be giving opposing QBs nightmares for years to come. He’ll be a great player, I just think Tampa Bay will regret passing on Quinn in the coming years.

5. Arizona Cardinals - Levi Brown, OT, Penn State: There really weren’t any picks that make perfect sense for the Cardinals here. With Edgerin James and Matt Leinert signed to big contracts, the two best players on the board, Peterson and Quinn, had to be ruled out. But offensive line was a major need for the Cards and Levi Brown will be a fine player. He’s a physical, nasty and extremely strong. He’ll help, and he may have been the right pick, but he probably didn’t warrant a 5th overall selection. Nobody else fit their needs though. Brown will protect their franchise player, Matt Leinert, and improve Edge’s putrid YPC from 2006. The Brady Quinn saga continues, and the smart money has him landing in Minnesota.

6. Washington Redskins - LaRon Landry, S, LSU: As their only first-day pick, this had to count for the Skins. Trading down and for a second or third round pick makes sense; this team has only drafted 42 collegiate players since 2000, the fewest in the league. But ESPN just panned to Landry at home, and judging by his reaction, it looks like he’s tipped the ‘Skins’ hat. Andrew says “he and Sean Taylor are going to be blowing people up. Nasty.” This guy looks mean. MEAN. Redskins opponents are going to have fuuuuuuun going over the middle for the next 5 - 6 years. Brady Quinn.

7. Minnesota Vikings - Adrian Peterson, RB, Oklahoma: Vikings fans: get used to Tarvaris Jackson. Learn to love him. For better or worse, he is your franchise QB. The Minnesota front offense surprised many by passing on Brady Quinn and landed Peterson, who will become their franchise offensive player. This pick will likely define the Brad Childress era in Minnesota. Adrian Peterson is going to be a great player, but an injury history has to make any team nervous. Maybe that’s a blessing in disguise for the Viqueens though, because AD’s elite talent would certainly have made him a top-three selection otherwise. He also looks to have a low running style that shouldn’t make him injury prone in general, assuming his previous maladies don’t come back to haunt him. The other knock on this pick is that the Vikings signed Chester Taylor to a four-year contract going into last season. Having two solid RBs isn’t a bad problem to have though, and he could take a lot of pressure off of Jackson. Brady Quinn made a ton of sense here, but Peterson is explosive, he’s a workhorse and tremendous athlete, and he’ll be a great blocker.

8. Atlanta Falcons - Jamaal Anderson - DE, Arkansas: With Landry and Brown both off the board, and a failure to trade up and get Calvin Johnson, the Falcons didn’t really have much choice but to turn to Anderson, a classic “upside” guy that’s very talented, but somewhat of a question mark. Honestly, not a very sexy pick here for the Falcons, and you can’t help but feel that, maybe, this is one of those guys that doesn’t overwhelm for at least a few years. And, for the time being, the Falcons still don’t have a legitimate threat at wideout for Ron Mexico. Brady Quinn. They better be focused on the top-rated talent at WR in the second round. The next pick should be a no-brainer for Miami; c’mon, don’t take up the whole 15 minutes.

The Falcons made no secret about their infatuation with CJ. From MLive just now:

According to a source close to the situation, the Atlanta Falcons could’ve had Calvin Johnson for a swap of first-round picks and also their two second-rounders and a third rounder. At the time, the Falcons believed it was too costly.

However, Atlanta’s gamble backfired because they believed that their second option — safety LaRon Landry — could be there at No. 8. When that fizzled (to no one else’s surprise), the Falcons were sitting on the outside of the small group of elite players that went in the first seven picks. Atlanta had to settle for Jamaal Anderson, who was not highly rated on a lot of boards. It’ll be interesting to see what kind of a receiver — if any — the Falcons can get with one of their two second-round picks.

9. Miami Dolphins - Ted Gunn, Jr., WR, Ohio State: What a shocker. This would have been the best scenario for Quinn, and Ginn is a major reach here. Brady Quinn looks sick to his stomach and his girlfriend isn’t too pleased either. But Mel Kiper may be the most upset, he’s taking this as a personal insult. Ginn is a smaller WR at 5′11″, but he is a home run hitter. He has tremendous speed and game-breaking capability, and he’ll be returning kicks right away. But he isn’t as polished as you’d like to see in a 9th overall pick at WR and lacks route running skills. A Joey Galloway type who won’t thrive in the middle of the field, I just can’t see this pick making sense with Quinn still on the board.

10. Houston Texans - Amobi Okoye, DT, Louisville: “One of the most compelling stories we’ve ever had in the draft,” says Chris Berman. The young, 300-pound, 19-year-old kid will be paired with Mario Williams, DeMeco Ryans, and Dunta Robinson to give the Texans a (potentially) explosive defense anchored by four guys all under 25 years old. There really wasn’t anyone on offense that made sense for the Texans at this spot, but look for them to take a long look at running backs in round two or three. Brady Quinn.

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And it’s about damn time, to be honest, that this man’s amazing defensive talents in the post are recognized. Though he’s the NBA’s best shot-blocking big man, Camby doesn’t get a whole lot of press playing for a team that also employs Allen Iverson and Carmelo Anthony. He’ll get his moment in the spotlight this afternoon, however, as the Denver Post reports that he will be named the NBA’s 2007 Defensive Player of the Year.

“It would be the greatest award I’ve received, other than college player of the year (at the University of Massachusetts in 1996). There are so many great people that won the award,” said Camby, in a phone interview Thursday. “I just try to be consistent with rebounding the basketball and blocking shots and having trust from my teammates that if they get beat I’ll be there to block a shot. I led the league in blocks and finished top four in rebounding. I try to be consistent with that.”

On the season, Camby led the league in both blocked shots per game (3.3) and total blocks (231) while finishing tied for fourth overall in rebounds per game (11.7). Perhaps just as importantly for the Nuggets, the chronically injured 11-year vet stayed healthy for most of the season, suiting up in 70 games, the second most of any season in his career. Along with Nene and Carmelo, Denver has fielded one of the most versatile frontcourts in the league, with Camby obviously providing the D, Carmelo focusing on O, and Nene giving a little bit of both.

The 6-11 center has twice been named to the NBA’s All-Defensive Second Team, but he’ll likely make the first squad this season to go with his first ever NBA Defensive Player of the Year award. Nice job, Marcus… now shut down Timmy Duncan tomorrow night and help put your team up 2-1 on those sleep-inducing Spurs.

You just won Games 1 and 2 on your home court. Cheers. Job well done. Unfortunately in the NBA playoffs, however, you have to be able to carry that winning effort into your opponent’s home building, and until that happens you haven’t really accomplished anything of note. Last night, two of three teams suiting up for their first away game of the 2007 NBA Playoffs failed to deliver the death blow before the knockout punch, while the other effectively guaranteed their first-round series would end Saturday afternoon, or Tuesday night at the very latest.

Detroit 93, Orlando 77: Giving up quarter-ending buzzer beaters, at home, isn’t great for confidence after your opponent has already handily beaten you twice with their B-game. Chauncey Billups (21 points, 3 assists, 2 steals, 8-13 FG) hit a demoralizing three-pointer as the first half expired, Tayshaun Prince (23 points, 7 boards, 5 assists, 8-16 FG) nailed his own three in the waning moments of the third, and the visiting Pistons cruised to 16-point win in Orlando. No team in NBA history has ever come back from a 3-0 deficit, and there’s a 100% chance the Magic don’t break that precedent.

As could be expected, Orlando jumped out of the gates early behind a revved-up home crowd, some sweet-shooting from Jameer Nelson, and some typically monster dunks from Dwight Howard. But as equally expected, the veteran Pistons quickly weathered the storm and brought the Magic back down to earth, tying the game up at the end of the first and never really looking back. Besides being overmatched in terms of coaching, depth, talent, playoff experience, etc, Orlando doesn’t understand the concept of ball movement on the offensive end. How many times did you see them swing the ball all the way around and back again, giving all five or even just four players a chance for possession? Maybe once, twice? Orlando will put in a sporting effort tomorrow afternoon, but their season will likely end.

Utah 81, Houston 67: Here’s an NBA playoffs record the Houston Rockets set last night, but want no part of: four players–FOUR–scored all of the team’s points. Tracy McGrady, Yao Ming, Shane Battier, and Rafer Alston (6 points) were the only ones to put the ball through the hoop. The Rockets also set a franchise low for points in a playoff game. The sad thing is, the Jazz weren’t much better until late in the fourth quarter, when they finally pulled away in a game Houston was practically begging them to win.

This has been an ugly, ugly series so far between two defensively minded squads, and certainly has now taken on the look of a six- to seven-game marathon. The Rockets have been built for the playoffs and are a better team from top to bottom, but they’re not yet good enough to put away a team in Utah that’s very talented and certainly on its way up, but probably not quite ready.

Obviously, for Houston, they’ll have to get much better performances from the supporting cast (Luther Head, Juwan Howard, Chuck Hayes), and Utah is still waiting for All-Star Mehmet Okur to regain his shooting touch (6-35 FG, 2-15 three-pointers, 17 points combined). Kirilenko finally made some hustle-play contributions last night, but you might as well forget about any offensive boosts from the rattled Russian. That’s fine–Jerry Sloan will be happy if he can just make an impact on defense.

Los Angeles 95, Phoenix 89: You knew Kobe was good for at least one. After jumping out to a 11-0 lead before the Lakers realized the game had started, the Suns cooled off considerably and their defensive liabilities were, eventually, exposed by a desperate team led by Kobe’s 45 points on 15-26 shooting and 13-13 at the free-throw line. Of all people, Kwame Brown–a guy weren’t not totally convinced fully understands the game of basketball–was the second-tier Laker who stepped his game up, notching a career playoff-high of 19 points to go with 6 rebounds and 2 blocked shots.

We’re still waiting for Luke Walton to show up, as he turned in another poor performance with 5 points, 3 rebounds, and 2 assists. Even though I’m sure he was only answering a direct question, he recently said that, as a free agent this summer, he hopes NBA GMs don’t look at his playoff performance so far and instead look at what he accomplished in the regular season. Stop me if I’m wrong, but he shouldn’t be voicing those concerns at this point to the press. He’s just making himself look selfish, and his team needs his undivided attention right now. The Suns are obviously the better team, but if they lose again on Sunday, it’s anybody’s series as long as #24 is on the floor for LA.

It’s still early in the 2007 fantasy campaign, but there are already trends worth taking note of. There are also some to ignore. Nobody likes to check the standings in the morning and see they’re in the middle of the pack or lower, and now is about the time when impatient and inexperienced owners are starting to buy into this season’s rankings and numbers.

The fact is, three and a half weeks simply isn’t a large enough sample size to draw significant statistical conclusions. Sure, pitchers may be showing decreased velocity, position players may have earned everyday jobs, and closers may have lost them. You can react to that kind of information. But with players who have hundreds or thousands (or 8,109 in the case of one guy on the list) of at-bats, any stretch of 70-80 plate appearances is meaningless. For a proven player who has terrible 2007 numbers, just keep this in mind: if this slump happened mid-season nobody would even notice.

ETB takes a look at some prime early-season candidates to buy low, sell high and stick with:
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They both stepped up their respective games considerably this season, but in the end, it was a 21-year-old youngster who came to the NBA straight from high school that got the nod. In the closest vote ever, Golden State Warriors guard Monta Ellis narrowly drew more points than the Sacramento Kings’ Kevin Martin to take home the NBA’s Most Improved Player trophy. According to Yahoo! Sports, “Ellis received 352 points, including 47 first-place votes from a panel of writers and broadcasters. Martin picked up 349 points, including 44 first-place votes.”

If you’ve been paying attention, you already know how high we are on this kid. From our All-Youngin’ Team profile of Ellis: “Ellis has already drawn comparisons to a young Allen Iverson. There is some similarity between the two lighting-quick guards with an ability to score in the lane over larger defenders, but it’s not entirely accurate. Both can score at will, are incredibly fast with the ball and purloin at an extraordinary rate.

But Monta is already better from the field than AI (mostly due to his wise decision not to shoot 3-pointers) and he has the potential to be a much better distributor. That being said, we don’t see Ellis leading the NBA in scoring anytime soon. We do, however, see him in several All-Star games over the next decade and maybe leading the league in steals once or twice. Get on the bandwagon now, before all your friends catch on to this rare talent.”

And since this award is about marked improvement on the prior season, Ellis upped his per-game averages, compared to last year, by +16 minutes, +10 points, +2.5 assists, +6% FG, +5% FT, +1 rebound, and +1 steal. Not too shabby.

For his part, Martin also had a fantastic year in becoming the Kings’ second, sometimes first scoring option on any given night. He finished averaging 20 points, 4.3 boards, 2.2 assists, 47% FG, and 84% FT a game.

ETB tips our hat to you, Michael Vick. We feared that with a year-long absence of Pacman Jones, the number of “you can’t make this stuff up” headlines would rapidly fall by the wayside during the NFL season. But you, Mr. Mexico, have stepped up in a big way to admirably fill his void, first with your magical marijuana bottle, and now with a report that you’re a dogfighting and cockfighting aficionado. Apparently, you’re such a big fan that you weren’t satisfied with simply attending these reputable events; no, Ron, the show was run from the back of a home on property you own:

A search warrant has been issued for a property in Surry County owned by NFL Atlanta Falcons star quarterback Michael Vick. Vick does not live at the home. It is inhabited by Vick’s nephew. Police said Vick does not spend much time on the property.

While investigators were at the property, they discovered three buildings behind the home that housed several barking dogs. Surry County Administrator Tyrone Franklin said that the dogs appeared to be hungry and forgotten.

Early reports indicate that Vick was allegedly running a dog-fighting and cockfighting operation from the back of the home. The Virginia Animal Fighting Taskforce was on the scene. Authorities report that Vick had been under investigation for several years for illegal animal fighting.

Several years?! I think you misunderstood when coach suggested getting a hobby to take your mind off football during the offseason. Pitting starved, abused animals against each other for sport? Illegal. Not a hobby. Building replicas of well-known landmarks with sporks, learning to crochet like no one’s business, collecting Cabbage Patch Kids? Legitimate hobbies.

It has not yet been fully ascertained as to the level of Vick’s involvement, or why, exactly, he’s deliberately, repeatedly, trying to sabotage his multi-million dollar career.
(Via Deadspin)

Two of baseball’s best starting pitchers appear to be progressing well and both should be back in early May according to today’s reports. Chris Caprenter was a preseason candidate for the NL’s Cy Young award before being derailed after his first start of the season with arthiritis and a ‘mild impingement’ in his throwing elbow. The St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports that after starting a throwing program this week, Carpenter’s arm felt good and he didn’t experience any swelling according to trainer Barry Weinberg.

After Felix Hernandez’s first two starts, he was looking like a legitimate threat to Johan Santana for the AL’s Cy Young. King Felix had given up no runs, struck out 12 in the opener and then pitched a complete-game shutout in Boston. Then Minnesota came to town and Felix removed himself after just two outs in the first inning with tightness in his throwing elbow. Since then, the baseball world has been waiting with baited breath, hoping one of the best prospects in the last decade would be OK. According to John Hickey at the Seattle Post-Intelligencer, Hernandez threw on the side before Wednesday’s game and came out of it fine. Hernandez will throw a bullpen session this weekend and is scheduled to start in Yankee Stadium on May 4, the first day he’s eligible to come off the disabled list.

I watched this game last season, but just now found the clip (thanks Need4Sheed!). That he was recognized by the Pistons’ bench probably made the dude’s life. Hilarious.