Sterling Reaction: Adam Silver Got It Right

Today the NBA, led by Commissioner Adam Silver, did the right thing. They started the process of getting rid of Donald Sterling, but understand this is going to be a process and it's going to be complicated.

It's not complicated because of the actions, or more accurately the words in the tape shared by TMZ.

Donald Sterling is a racist. Donald Sterling is an adulterer.

Both of these things are known by anyone who's paying attention including his wife who not only apparently has given up (if she ever started) fighting them, but she has participated in the racism portion. You're reading this on the internet, if you want to know more look up the lawsuit settled in 2009. You'll find her name too.

This situation is complicated by the laws and the fact that Donald Sterling is a litigious cheapskate who loves to use them.

He's famously not paid coaches after firing them, making them sue him for money he plain as day owes them. If they do, he drags them through the courts and they cost themselves money. So most of them settle and Sterling gets to keep some of his cash.

This is just one small example of how Sterling has been the worst owner in sports over the last 30 years. His team has the worst winning percentage in sports over his reign and it wasn't until he was gifted the best point guard in the league two years ago by David Stern that his team became relevant.

In that time, Sterling started to change who he was as an owner in that he actually showed a willingness to invest in his team, but make no mistake he has not changed as a man.

He's still a racist. This is on the record. Forget the words from this recording. We have actions to prove that and those actions are FAR more important than what happens to him and his basketball team. This point was made by Bomani Jones on The Dan Lebetard Show far more eloquently and effectively than I could ever dream of making it and in urge you to listen to it as soon as you're done reading this if you haven't already. (Starting at 4:33)

However what happened to him was still a valid and important question.

There's a large group of people, largely the general public, who had never heard of Donald Sterling before Saturday or even Monday when they saw these comments on their daytime TV shows that are outraged by this and want Sterling's head on a platter. There's another group that's going "wait a minute, we're mad now? This is who this guy is!" and then go "this is kinda what we've got and there's nothing we can do." and in a weird way they're both right.

I can't expect someone who doesn't follow sports to be aware of who Sterling is and what he is which is a racist scumbag and not be mad upon finding out. It's like those of us who don't really follow politics finding out about some awful thing a politician said and putting it up on Facebook. More attention is good. It outs them. Which is why despite "knowing the score" so to speak, I'm all for all these people piling on. Sometimes we need a concrete reason to take action and now the NBA has a reason to do something with Donald Sterling, which many owners have wanted to do for years and that's try to get rid of him.

Today Adam Silver started just that. He was widely applauded.

For those that didn't think a lifetime ban and max fine for an 81 year old billionaire, what the hell did you want? For Silver to kill him?

The NBA did the right thing today. Sure Sterling should've been gone years ago. Sure this isn't even close to the worst thing Sterling's done.

But Donald Sterling is all gone from the NBA and anybody who tries to minimize that very good thing by bringing up other factors is doing Adam Silver, who wasn't in charge for Sterling's other incidents, a disservice.

Well done Adam. In your first test as commissioner, you've passed with flying colors.

2-8 Hoffman and Platt

Jeff and I are live Saturdays at 2 pm CT on 103.3 FM in Dallas and online at KESN1033.com. Follow along on twitter @craighoffman and @jeffplatt. We'll also be taking calls at 855-787-1033. Here's what we're doing on Feb. 8th:

2:00 - Mavs: The Week that Was

2:15 - Would You Go To Sochi?

2:30 - Calvin Watkins answers the five biggest Cowboys off-season questions

2:45 - Best of Six Pack

3:00 - How Pete Carroll and Chip Kelly are changing football.

Your pre-listening reading - http://espn.go.com/nfl/story/_/id/9581925/seattle-seahawks-use-unusual-techniques-practice-espn-magazine

3:15 - Mavs: how high in the standings can they climb?

3:30 - Hoffman’s guide to college hoops now that you’re paying attention

3:45 - The Value of Signing Day

4:00 - Kevin Arnovitz, ESPN.com NBA Writer

4:15 - Talk To Me - you call, we answer and that's a bout it at 855-787-1033

4:30 - Winter Olympics

4:45 - One Last Thing - Adreain Payne and Princess Lacey

Bleacher Report's Jason King joins us discuss his heart-wrenching story of a 6'10" college basketball star and an 8 year old fighting for her life. Read the amazing story here: http://bleacherreport.com/articles/1947345-the-adreian-payne-story-how-michigan-state-star-became-the-ultimate-role-model

We'll hope you'll join us!

One Last Thing - Kevin Durant

Every Saturday at 4:50 pm, I share "One Last Thing" on Hoffman and Platt. It's an essay on a topic that caught my eye during the week. This week I chose to shine a unique light on Kevin Durant coming off one of the best months in NBA history. Listen to Hoffman and Platt Saturdays at 2 pm on 103.3 FM ESPN.

Towards the start of the season, I said the gap between LeBron James as the best player in the world and Kevin Durant as the 2nd best was wider than that between Durant and Paul George, who I consider the 3rd best player. I was wrong. I was really really wrong.

The evolution of Kevin Durant's game is staggering and James is having his relative worst year in a long time (read: still better than basically everyone, but not as good as previous years), in large part because he's conserving energy for May and June. But this is more about Durant. Many players get better, but the elite get better at what they're good at and add different facets. This is what has made James the player he is. Not only has he become a better shooter from all areas, but he's added a post-game and worked on his left hand and become the best defender in the league.

Durant's worked out with James in the off-seasons, but being by greatness doesn't guarantee it. Whatever the reason, Durant has added too, taking advantage of a thought impossible skill set and maybe maximizing it. I say maybe because the thought that he could be much better is absolutely terrifying.

People don't realize how big Kevin Durant is. At All-Star Weekend a few years back, he and Chris Bosh were walking down a hallway as the collective media who saw them suddenly realized Durant was taller. He's every bit of 6'11" playing the small forward position meaning he's always got the height advantage. This means, especially with his lightning quick release, that he's always shooting into clean airspace. He's got an unobstructed view of the hoop as he shoots. It's the same thing helps Dirk Nowitzki as a shooter. It's also going to help Andrew Wiggins when he gets into the NBA because he gets off the floor so quickly on his jumper.

Durant's always been a shooter though and what's made him make that leap is Durant's progression as a ballhandler. Big guys don't dribble because science says they shouldn't. The taller you are, the farther the ball has to travel from your hand to the floor. That's more space and time for a defender to steal the ball. This is why guards are always taught to keep a low dribble. Despite being nearly seven feet tall, Durant's arms are so long he can keep that low dribble. He's also worked and worked in the off-seasons to speed up his dribble, eliminating that time for defenders to swipe the ball.

The long arms also make his crossover possibly the most lethal move in the NBA. You want to reach? Go ahead. His arms are longer than yours and you can't reach that far. A defender assumes if a player extends the ball that far in one direction, he's going that way. And then Durant with one swipe comes back. The defender leans. Durant has space. He also has two or three more of his at least 30 points.

Or maybe he drives, gets into the lane and dishes to a wide open teammate. During his January for the ages, he averaged 6 assists per game. He's averaging almost eight rebounds per game on the season. He's very much a plus defender on one of the best defensive teams in the league. He's a complete player and this is the fun time to remind you that he's only 25.

Wednesday night, Durant and James dueled. It was the opposite of what many probably expected. James outscored Durant while Durant's team ran away with the win on Miami's home court. In the end, James is still the better player when it's time to turn it on, but the gap has closed considerably and Durant is absolutely the MVP so far this year.

If you didn't get a chance to watch him in the last month, you missed out. He's always up to the moment and whether it's dueling with Steph Curry or dancing 1-on-1 versus LeBron, Durant was full of them in January. His streak of twelve straight 30 point games ended Friday night in Brooklyn because he didn't play fourth quarter. If you've missed out though, it's not the end of the world. Again. He's only 25. This could just be a start.

Final Four Primer

This week has been one of the craziest of my life. In the past 36 hours alone I've driven from Kansas to Texas with a pitstop for Spurs/Thunder in OKC, met my new PD, seen my new station, spent an entire day looking for apartments and slept for maybe 3.5 hours. For those that know my sleep schedule, I don't do 3.5 hours of sleep! I'm happy to finally have a minute to write though and with not much time left to do this before the games tomorrow night, here's your Final Four primer.

How'd they get here?

Syracuse

• The Orange got embarrassed and bruised egos propelled Cuse all the way to Atlanta. SU was horrible down the stretch culminating with a blowout loss at Georgetown. This team doesn't have fantastic leadership but it has top flight talent and top flight talent comes with egos. A bruised ego is a hell of a motivating factor and the Cuse turned around their offensive slump thanks to hot shooting from James Southerland, attacking aggression from Brandon Triche and good decision making from Michael Carter-Williams. The defense never really left despite the losses but it's gotten even better in the tournament. The Orange have forced more turnovers than field goals allowed. That's my favorite stat of 2013 and it's not even close.

Michigan

• Point guard Trey Burke has been sensational all year and now he's getting help from freshman Mitch McGary inside making the Wolverines almost impossible to guard. Michigan has run a ton of pick-and-roll in this tournament though and you can't really do that against a zone. That Burke/McGary pick-and-roll has opened up the shooters and with all five starts capable of scoring, Michigan's the most potent offensive team in the tournament.

Wichita State

• Timing is everything and Wichita State picked it's game with #1 Gonzaga in the round of 32 to have it's best shooting stretch of the year from deep. They basically didn't miss from 3 in the second half including some prayers late in the shot clock and there's nothing the Zags could do. They play their game which is in the half-court with nasty defense and it's worked like a charm.

Louisville

• Louisville has gotten here by obliterating people. The only "close" game was the regional final against Duke. The Blue Devils played it close for a half before the Ville did exactly what they did to Syracuse in the Big East Tournament final and turned up the heat. They've gotten exceptional guard play and Gorgui Dieng has held down the fort inside. We've said all year there is no dominant team, but for the last month Louisville has been just that. 

Keys to the games

Louisville vs Wichita St

This game is all about pace. If the Cardinals can speed Wichita State up, the Shockers don't stand a chance. WSU needs to make this a lower numbered possessions game and hope that Louisville's guard throw away one too many. Peyton Siva and Russ Smith have been almost unbelievably good this tournament, yet their larger body of work provides a blueprint to beat them: turn them over. Both guys can be turnover prone at times and Smith takes some horrific shots that might as well be turnovers.

The key for Wichita State is to make both Smith and Siva into jump shooters and hope each has a bad night. Louisville just needs to play it's game and the Cardinals play Monday night. Turn up the press, get to the rim and create organized chaos that's not so organized for the opponent.

Syracuse vs Michigan

This game is about discipline for Syracuse and managing the moment for Michigan. If SU can continue to challenge everything from the perimeter like they have been through the tournament season, Nik Stauskas won't go 6-6 from three like he did against Florida. Michigan has shooters all over the place so it's important that SU's rotations are on point.

Michigan's offense has been largely predicated on the pick-and-roll with Trey Burke and Mitch McGary over the past 4 games and the result has been huge numbers for both and 4 wins. You can't run a pick-and-roll against a zone though so it'll be interesting to see how John Beilein attacks the 2-3. He certainly has experience doing it from his years at West Virginia. He's 0-9 against Boeheim but never had a player at WVU as good as Burke. If Burke penetrates, everything else breaks down. SU has to hope Burke's lack of size causes him problems against the extreme length of Michael Carter-Williams and Brandon Triche.

The last part to Cuse's plan is finishing possessions. McGary's a very good and relentless offensive rebounder and Tim Hardaway Jr. and Glen Robinson III are super athletic wings who will crash the glass. The Orange has to rebound as extra possessions for Michigan is a death wish.

The other end of the floor is pretty simple. Triche needs to stay aggressive. Carter-Williams has to be careful against Burke not to get picked and I'd expect a lot of Brandon Triche bringing the ball up the floor. Get into the offense. Attack the rim. Kick out to Southerland and Fair and SU's offense is just fine.

If Michigan, with it's four freshmen starters, can do the things I listed above they'll have a great shot to win. If the moments too big and they force threes, John Beilein will be 0-10 against Jim Boeheim.


Prediction:

My heart says Cuse wins it all, completing the revenge tour Monday night against Lousiville. This would mean in the tournament season, SU beat Georgetown, Marquette and the Cardinals all whom beat SU in the regular season and in Louisville's case for the Big East Championship. My eyes tell me the Cardinals win it all.

If you've seen my bracket, that means Michigan will win. If Wichita State wins I give up forever.

Michael Roth on Rice, Rutgers

My buddy Michael Roth joins me to talk about the culture of communication in athletics. Michael is a professional pitcher in the Los Angeles Angels organization and a 2-time College World Series Champion at the University of South Carolina. I uh...have a job.

My recording equipment pooped the bed so we went Google hangout style. Enjoy.

Random Rumblings: 4/1/13

With this much basketball you knew I couldn't stay quiet for long. No delay, let's talk hoop.

Cuse to the Final Four

I've written a few stories in the last week about SU over at Orange Fizz but one thing I didn't write on is how to a certain extent the Orange making it to Atlanta isn't a surprise. Both Jay Williams and Stephen Bardo told me in the middle of Syracuse's slide that SU was still a Final Four caliber team and I was right there with them. It sounds crazy, but the talent has always been there.

What is surprising is that the Orange put it together. I still don't think this team has particularly great leadership, but sometimes you don't need it. Instead of a leader rallying them, Syracuse's super talented players had their egos hurt and embarrassment is a powerful motivating factor. It happened at the perfect time culminating with Georgetown beating the $#&% out of them to close the regular season. They re-grouped and went into the Big East Tournament where momentum picks up quickly thanks to playing a game every day. James Southerland got hot. Brandon Triche found himself. Michael Carter-Williams stopped losing the basketball. Baye Moussa-Keita started being impactful. These four things haven't stopped and here we are with the Orange in the Final Four.

You could make a really good argument that if not for a freak injury to Arinze Onuaku and a bizarre suspension to Fab Melo, this would be Syracuse's third Final Four in four years. I think there are two pretty distinctive reasons why and you can read more at Orange Fizz.

Kansas is home

Logistics say I'll have a few Kansas fans click on this link so I might as well dissect why Kansas is not preparing to play SU on Saturday. Before the season, Bill Self said Elijah Johnson's attitude and approach would determine the outcome of his team's season. Weeks later Johnson was suspended for the start of the team's first pre-season game for being late to a class.

Elijah Johnson is a very good basketball player and I enjoyed covering him. I always found him thoughtful and there's no questioning his commitment to his team. However if he's your senior leader who's also playing out of position as your point guard, you're living on the edge of being a Final Four team. That's what Kansas was this season.

Coming down the stretch Kansas ran "the play" multiple times to no success. For those not familiar, "the play" is the one Mario Chalmers hit a three on to send the 2008 national championship game to overtime where Kansas eventually won. Michigan shut down the handoff and denied Ben McLemore on the flare screen. This left Bill Self needing another option and he decided to run a high pick and roll with Johnson and Jeff Withey.

Elijah took a bad angle off the screen. He was way too wide and that's why he wound up under the basket, throwing a cross court pass to Nadir Tharpe who needed a miracle 3 to go down to win it. It's almost as if Johnson forgot the score because he looked to have a layup for the tie. There's no doubt he had a floater, albeit at an awkward angle thanks to the bad angle off the screen, and he also could have forced the issue and created contact. With Jeff Withey rolling hard to the rim in good rebounding position, either would have been a good option. Why didn't he? There's no telling what was going through his head after some key mistakes down the stretch.

As a senior leader point guard Elijah dribbled into a trap and turned it over. He then inexcusably didn't get the ball across halfcourt on a 10 second violation. Then with 12.6 seconds to go he missed the front end of a one-in-one allowing Trey Burke's long distance three to go down. After that many mistakes, anyone's going to have a messed up head. It all lead to another bad play, the end of Kansas's season and the end of Elijah's career.

What's next?

Kansas loses a lot but will be loaded next year. Ben McLemore should declare for the NBA now. Ideally he'd stay and become more consistent with his shot and more importantly develop an off the dribble game. The reality is he needs to get his money now. His mom needs a house where the heat works ASAP and his entire family shouldn't go through another winter with him capable of making millions now. His stock is as high as it could get thanks to his uber potential and a weak draft even though another year of college would make him a better player. Any Kansas fan who thinks he should stay is selfish.

On top of McLemore, Kansas loses Johnson, Withey, Kevin Young and Travis Releford aka their entire starting lineup. They also might lose Rio Adams to a transfer. However back comes Nadir Tharpe who was exceptional in the second half of the year. He'll be joined in the backcourt by freshmen Wayne Seldon and Bill Self's got 3 other 4 star recruits coming in. The Jayhawks are also still alive for #1 player in the country Andrew Wiggins who's flat out nasty. Also back is Perry Ellis who developed into an offensive machine in the back half of the year. I think he could be an All-American next year.

Love for the ladies

Louisville's upset of #1 seed Baylor was monumental. It was bigger than the only time a #16 has beat a #1 when Harvard beat Stanford in 1998. That Stanford team had a number of key players injured late and thus shouldn't have been a 1-seed while the Harvard team was underseeded and shouldn't have been a 16. This Baylor team had everyone back from a national title team last year including arguably the most dominant player in the history of women's college basketball in Britney Griner. They were 75-1 favorites in this game. What that leaves us with is a weird setup for the Final Four.

On one side of the bracket is what's left after Baylor and the other 1-seed Stanford went down. This was also a huge upset but not nearly as big of an upset as Baylor. Cal punched their ticket tonight and the other regional final puts Tennessee against Louisville. The other side of the bracket has UConn, in it's 6th straight Final Four, against the winner of Notre Dame and Duke also known as Notre Dame.

I've written about the three classic battles ND and UConn have had this year and it's a shame that the 4th meeting won't be for a title. I want to be made about them being on the same side of the bracket but Baylor earned the #1 overall seed in the regular season and thus avoiding teams number 2 and 3 until the national final. Those two teams are the Irish and Huskies and this is what we're left with. With Baylor out of the picture, whoever survives that game will be the definitive favorite Tuesday night to win the title. Perhaps their biggest fight will be against fatigue as they'll be exhausted after battle royale #4. Either way I'll be glued to a TV Sunday night ready to see these two duke it out again...assuming Duke doesn't mess it up.

Life Update

Big announcement coming later this week. Don't wanna say more yet. But I will soon. I'm not exactly the patient type. Stay tuned.

Marshall Henderson

Ole Miss guard Marshall Henderson makes plenty of noise however the noise coming back at him may be louder. According to many the reason why is the same reason so many hate Ohio State's Aaron Craft despite the fact that the two couldn't be more different. Both are white, and that (incorrectly) seems to give fans the mental liberty to say things they otherwise might not. Henderson's bravado certainly don't act as a soothing mechanism though and even his coach admits there's a bit of crazy in his eyes. 

So just who is Marshall Henderson?

Jay Williams on CBB

ESPN College Basketball Analyst Jay Williams joins me to chat about why he waited till now to tell his story, who the best team in the country is and if that team could beat his 2001 Duke National Championship team. Plus, Jay weighs in with strong words for Michael Carter-Williams.

Fake Trade That Will Never Happen But Should

The NBA's trade deadline is today at 3 pm and I have a deal that I love the more I think about, but it will simply never happen. Why? It makes too much sense. And one of the players involved wouldn't waive his no-trade clauses but it would never get to that point because there's just zero chance of the GM's coming together to make it happen. But it should. Because it would make all three teams better. Holy blockbuster here's the deal and yes, the salaries work:

Lakers get:
G Rajon Rondo (BOS)
F Jeff Green (BOS)
F Lamar Odom (LAC)

Celtics get:
C Dwight Howard (LAL)
G Steve Nash (LAL)
G Eric Bledsoe (LAC)

Clippers get:
F Kevin Garnett (BOS)

That's it. That's the trade. Every name you've heard from these teams in trade rumors (plus Nash and Odom) all for each other and somehow with all the zillions of trade restrictions in the NBA, it actually works. Here are the positives and negatives for all involved.

Lakers

The first and biggest mental hurdle of this trade is the Lakers willingness to trade Howard. They insist they're not. I've long said they should and this deal in particular makes sense for multiple reasons. The reason you keep Howard is he gives you a next superstar after Kobe Bryant retires. By getting Rondo, you get that and you do so at a position of need. While Nash has been alright offensively this year, he's never been a great defensive player. Rondo is better than Nash at both ends at this point in their careers and in the point guard heavy western conference, having a stopper at that position is essential.

Unlike Howard, he has the competitive drive to keep up with Bryant and while "every night Rondo" is different than "national TV Rondo" he never fails to show up for big games and that would resonate with Bryant. Now for the thing you didn't think of.

If the Lakers keep Howard, they have to fire Mike D'Antoni for reasons well documented (they hate each other). D'Antoni's on a multi-year deal. The Lakers are still paying Mike Brown. They'd have to hire a new coach (and would flirt with the uber-expensive Phil Jackson). That's a whole lot of money. So who could possibly run Mikey D's system?

What is needed is a younger Steve Nash. I pass-first point guard with an outstanding handle who looks to pass first but can also score. Also known as Rajon Rondo. Nash was/is a much better shooter than Rondo (understatement) but Rondo puts pressure on a defense much like Nash did which opens the passing angles that pick-and-rolled Nash to two MVP trophies. By also adding Green, the Lakers get younger and more athletic at the four spot. Green's a stretch four too which is essential to D'Antoni's system. Pau Gasol shifts to center. Earl Clark and Green play the four or Green can play some at the three for the most athletic lineup the Lakers have had in years. Bada boom. Bada bing. You don't have to fire D'Antoni and the only financial hell you're in is your luxury tax instead of players and coaches dismembering the Buss family bank account.

Is it a perfect, fool-proof plan? Of course not. Rondo and Bryant could butt heads as to who's the alpha-male much like Rondo has with Pierce. Unlike with Pierce, Rondo would lose this battle and who knows how he would handle it. Rondo could also look at all the other guys who think D'Antoni is clueless, not listen to him and not come close to the production Nash enjoyed in Phoenix. While Rondo can lock in defensively, he likes to gamble much like Bryant which could cause very inconsistent defensive play and Gasol isn't exactly an elite rim protector like Bryant used to have with Bynum/younger Gasol/Odom or Rondo has had in KG.

If my options are "keep malcontent Howard and either have to fire a coach/lose him for nothing this summer" or "guarantee something to build around, not have Russell Westbrook, Tony Parker and Chris Paul dribble in circles around me in the playoffs and get the added bonus of not kill my finances," I'll take the latter. Does it wave the white flag on this season cause Rondo's hurt? Probably, but the Lakers are about titles and if you think this team is winning a title this year, you haven't been paying attention.

Celtics

The Celtics are willing to trade Rondo in part because they realize their window is closing as fast as the Lakers is with Bryant. They weren't very good this year with Rondo and are playing better now without him (hooray ball movement!) but in the playoffs they'll miss him if they don't make a move. Unlike the Lakers who are trying to compete in the point-guard heavy west with the Spurs, Thunder and Clippers, the C's have one opponent in mind: Miami. What's the way everyone thinks is best to beat Miami? Size.

By bringing in Howard, Boston at worst stays neutral or more likely upgrades defensively over KG depending on Dwight's back. Maybe not competing with Green for minutes re-inspires Brandon Bass and you don't wind up missing Green at all and it also creates an interesting backcourt dynamic. Courtney Lee moves to the bench and you start Nash with Avery Bradley. It's a small backcourt but who has two supreme offensive guards? Milwaukee, who's trying to trade one. So no one and it's not a problem. Bradley guards the more explosive offensive guard (Wade, Raymond Felton/JR Smith, Paul George, etc) while Nash can stand in the corner with Ronnie Brewer and Mario Chalmers. I love Mario as a spot up guy, but if the offense is being run through him and not Wade/LeBron, advantage not Miami.

Lee then comes in with Jason Terry who can spark the second unit (again thinking the "new role, stop playing like garbage" theory here) while Lee can be your traditional pressure the ball 94 feet backup point guard.

You miss the leadership of KG but gain a lot of it back in Nash. There's potential tension between Pierce and Howard but if you convince Dwight that Pierce is a billiondy times better version of Hedo Turkoglu whom he took to The Finals in '09 maybe they play nice. Also, Doc Rivers isn't exactly Mike D'Antoni at managing egos. Which is a good thing.

Clippers

If the Clippers make it out of the west and meet Miami in The Finals, do you feel good about their chances? As we saw last year with OKC and really Miami before that, there's a process in the NBA and you have to learn to win. This group of Clippers is just too young and outside of Chris Paul and Chauncey Billups, them coming up short on a big stage wouldn't be shocking. Enter KG.

While it would no doubt still be Paul's team, Garnett would provide some experience amongst the bigs and his presence might do even more in the long-term development of Blake Griffin and DeAndre Jordan (who I managed to keep in LA doing this deal) than help LA this season. From a basketball standpoint, he also provides them stability in late game situations. Right now you're scared to play Jordan or Blake, nevertheless both, late in games because each is a horrific free throw shooter. Add in the fact that neither is an elite defender and the decision to play Garnett over one of them is easy.

While no one's talking about it, Dwight Howard isn't the only superstar in LA with an expiring contract. Paul's deal is up when the season ends as well and it makes sense that maximizing this year's playoff run maximizes the chances Paul resigns. While you give up uber potential in Bledsoe, you've got plenty of guard depth and he's a backup guard. Is he one of the best backup guards in the league? Yes, but he's a backup guard. This logic also applies to Lamar Odom who might actually be the deal breaker (see below).

Why it doesn't happen

Nash signed in LA this summer so that he could be close to his kids in Phoenix. While he doesn't have a no-trade clause, the Lakers aren't trading him even though this move makes a ton of sense as it would be a horrible look for the organization. That kind of classlessness could set off Kobe too and how the Lakers come off after the passing of Dr. Jerry Buss is important. Garnett does have a no-trade clause and has said he's not going anywhere unless the Celtics trade Pierce, which they wouldn't do because in this scenario they're still going for it this year, just without Garnett.

Odom is the interesting piece. I had to throw him in for salary purposes but that's actually the closest thing to a deal breaker in this whole thing because trading him away takes away such a unique piece of the Clippers bench, their biggest strength and gives more to the Lakers who lack it, making one of your rivals stronger. The argument to do it anyway is Garnett is an upgrade on Odom on both ends, Jordan becomes a bench player because KG takes his starting spot and to hell with the Lakers because you think you're the better team and can beat them.

You could also do this trade subbing Jordan for Odom. The salaries still work and the Clippers keep an experienced piece in Odom while giving up a guy who still has a lot of potential and is definitely getting better in Jordan. You're basically sacrificing future for present. While the thought of another young, athletic piece for the Lakers is exciting if they keep D'Antoni, the chance to re-unite Bryant, Gasol and Odom along with the fact that Odom's on a one-year deal is probably more appealing to the Lakers. Either way, I'd pull the trigger if I'm any of these teams.

The reality is this trade will never ever be discussed nevertheless happen. If it were somehow to make it to the right desks though, who (besides Garnett), says no?

Podcast: Celtics lose Rondo

Brian Robb from CelticsHub.com joins me to explore what Rajon Rondo's injury means for Boston's plans, both present and future.



UPDATE (6:30 pm EST) - It was announced this afternoon that Jared Sullinger is out for the season. The rookie forward from Ohio State had back surgery Friday. If the season wasn't toast after Rondo went down, it is now as Sullinger has been a pleasant surprise for the Celtics. In the podcast, Brian mentions that General Manager Danny Ainge wanted to see how the young pieces played without Rondo. Some of the young bigs, potentially including former Syracuse center Fab Melo, will now have more minutes available as Sullinger had already worked his way into the starting lineup.

Weekend Rewind - 1/28/13

Down goes Cuse

Syracuse is 1-2 against the city of Philadelphia this season and undefeated against everyone else. The good news? No more games against teams from Philly until at least the Big East Tournament. So that's nice.

SU lost Saturday thanks to a number of factors, most of which have and will continue to be discussed. For starters, SU didn't foul up 3 in the final seconds allowing Ryan Arcidiacono to hit a miracle shot and force overtime. At this point it's not even an argument of whether that's sound strategy as the numbers scream that it is. Jim Boeheim agrees, so why didn't he?

The reason is there wasn't really a spot to. Villanova got the ball up the court, took a terrible shot, missed and then got the offensive rebound. If you're going to make the foul argument, that would've been the spot to do it - before the Cats were able to get the ball back out. You'd never coach your team to do that though, so it would have taken an individual player taking that initiative and in that spot that's an absurd thing to ask. Instead you play defense and hope for the best. Arcidiacono hit an incredibly difficult shot. It happens.

Where Boeheim is perhaps more at fault is how he handled his rotation down the stretch that resulted in Baye Moussa-Keita and Jerami Grant being unavailable in the final minutes after fouling out. There's a school of thought that says "they're going to play a certain number of minutes, so let em play" and that's basically what Boeheim did. I'm in the other camp. See how long you can go without them and then when it's crunch time, come in for the save.

The result was Brandon Triche playing the back line and a severe lack of size that killed the Orange. While Triche is smart enough and big enough in terms of bulk to play down low, he can't protect the rim like the wings in SU's zone need to. Villanova had a few baskets right over the 6'4" guard. It mattered. A "solution" I thought of at the time and eventually threw out on Twitter yesterday was putting Michael Carter-Williams on the wing. MCW's nearly 6'7" and his length would have been an upgrade over Triche. 

The downsides though are plentiful and it's why I waffle on whether it would have actually been better. Carter-Williams would have been bullied, as Triche is massively stronger despite the lack of height. He's also excellent at the top of the zone and his ball pressure is a lot to give up. Last but not least, Triche is a four-year starter who knows the zone inside and out. There's a great chance MCW would've screwed up a few rotations. Triche was at least in the right spot every time.

The other obvious solution would have been Dajuan Coleman. The frosh has gotten the authentic highly recruited freshman treatment from Jim Boeheim like Fab Melo and Rakeem Christmas before him - start, play until you screw up 30 seconds in and sit on the bench for basically the rest of the game. Literally as I'm typing this, I (and everyone else who's ever covered SU) got an email saying Coleman's having knee surgery so maybe he wasn't an option after all but the larger problem still remains. For as awesome as the zone is, it's limiting in what you can do with a lineup. 

All of the other problems people scream about with Boeheim's 2-3 only mentality don't bother me. SU plays the 2-3 so well and morphs it so many ways, that they can cover a hot shooter. In late game situations, you might not be able to "lock down" on the guy with the ball, but you've eliminated so many plays that only work against man-to-man it's at least even if not an advantage for SU. That said, the option not to play 3 guards drives me insane. Last year, a lineup with Scoop Jardine, Brandon Triche and Dion Waiters could've put up some serious numbers and caused other coaches nightmares. It barely ever happened because of the defensive implications meaning one of your best players always had to be on the bench.

This season's team breaks down differently as Trevor Cooney has been a massive disappointment. He'll have a fine career (I think), but it's been quite frankly astonishing how pathetic he's been shooting considering in warm-ups he can't miss. He can't play game speeds yet. 

James Southerland's return is, in a word, necessary. Boeheim has no problem playing 6 guys and at this point that's all he's got. Cooney's sole purpose is to give MCW and Triche a blow. Christmas, Moussa-Keita, C.J. Fair, Grant, Triche and Carter-Williams are the only guys that should see regular minutes. Winning a title with 6 guys isn't impossible but it's unlikely because if one guy gets in foul trouble you're in deep doo doo. If two are stuck, Saturday happens. With Southerland available, I'm not writing any of this.

You can't fault Boeheim for a lack of depth either. An eight man rotation is ideal and if Cooney doesn't flop and Southerland is eligible, that's what he's got thanks to Grant's stellar play. Outside of Coleman, there's not really another guy on the roster who you realistically wish got more run. The problem with Coleman is playing him moves Rak Christmas to a wing where he's dramatically worse as a defender or to the bench where he's...well...on the bench. Playing those two together slaughters your floor spacing on offense as well as both are useless outside the paint. Again, Southerland coming back solves all problems.

Down goes Rondo

The NBA world was shocked when we all found out Rajon Rondo is out for the year with a torn ACL. Immediately the "blow up the Celtics" talk began and I just don't know how realistic that is. Tomorrow I'll be doing a podcast so I'll save the bulk of my thoughts for that, but the question here to ponder is what was the goal of the Celtics this season? Did they really think they could win a title or did they want to stay relevant? Whatever that answer is frames the rest of the conversation.

Up go the Lakers

I reserve the right to change my mind by the end of the week, but I actually think this Lakers thing is going to work. I said in a previous post that if the Lakers played pickup ball they'd be better off than Mike D'Antoni's stupid system. Turns out, that's basically what they've done. The biggest question remaining is will Kobe be happy playing distributer. 

To quote Bryant: "We finally beat a team that's worth a s---" so he knows that playing that way works. J.A. Adande had a fascinating read on how every single one of the Lakers stars has changed how they've played their entire careers to make things work in the past week. To maintain that will be very difficult. When you've been successful, changing from what got you there is damn near impossible. However if the Lakers keep winning, this can work. Maybe I'm overreacting to two games, but I'll say the Lakers make the playoffs. The reason - if they keep playing, it's not a question of whether or not it will work. It will. The only question is will they continue to do it? To be determined…

Podcast - A Ride on the Lakers Struggle Bus

ESPN LA's Dave McMenamin joins me to discuss the Lakers struggles as we reach the midpoint in the season. We also discuss his man crush on Steve Novak. Both the struggles and the man crush are very rule.

Random Rumblings - 1/12/13

Star Power

Stars in the NBA are somehow both overrated and 100% necessary. The "somehow" is actually not a mystery. In the regular season they are overrated while in the playoffs you essentially can't win without them. Want proof? Look at the Knicks and the Lakers last night.

Both teams are struggling at the moment. Outside of their stretch between coaches, the Lakers have struggled all year. Bernie Bickerstaff for the win(s). The Knicks however have been struggling since basically Christmas and the reasons are similar. First, injuries have depleted both rosters. Raymond Felton and Rasheed Wallace were playing major roles and producing at a high level for New York and have been missed dearly. The absence of Felton has meant more minutes for Jason Kidd and he just can't handle that at his age. The rotation was basically perfect to start the year. It's now a mess. You can tell a coach is searching for answers when he starts a player, plays him two and a half minutes and then doesn't play him for the rest of the half. That's exactly what Mike Woodson did with James White last night.

Meanwhile the Lakers have illustrated the other two main reasons both teams are struggling endlessly. The second issue both teams suffer from is a lack of defensive effort. Whether it's mental lapses, miscommunication or not being in the right position, the Lakers are putting on a "what not to do" defensive clinic this year. The Knicks at least know what they're supposed to be doing (Woodson>>>>D'Antoni defensively) but inconsistent effort has cost them games. The third thing is the star power. The Lakers at one point last night had a lineup of Chris Duhon, Darius Morris, Jodie Meeks, Earl Clark and Robert Sacre. A magical thing happened. The ball moved.

Ball movement is essential to basketball. It's a simple concept. The more the ball moves, the more the defense moves. Think of the 5 defensive players as a 5 cog machine. The more pieces there are in a machine and the more they are used, the more likely one of them is to break. The more the defense moves, the more likely they are to make a mistake. This is why when the ball stops in the hands of Carmelo Anthony/JR Smith or Kobe Bryant, the Knicks and Lakers offenses dissolve into futility. Plus, the rest of the team has no rhythm and doesn't feel involved. This crushes any flow and consistently hurts defensive intensity and causes a cycle of bad basketball hell.

Without a ball stopper on offense, this doesn't happen. No one's sitting around watching Darius Morris want to make a play. It's not always the star's fault. Often other guys see the ball get to the star and just stop. It's part proper spacing, but after about a second and a half, if the guy with the ball doesn't make a move, you've got to continue doing something. Instead, bad basketball hell cycle happens and so does losing.

NFL Picks

Normally my picks come in podcast form with Alex Brewer. One of us got distracted when we were supposed to record this week and I'm not going to point any fingers but it was him. Instead you have to read more. Which is ironic. Because Alex can't read. (BOOOOOOOM!!!)

Baltimore at Denver

Doesn't it seem appropriate that the one to end Ray Lewis's Hall of Fame career is another future Hall of Famer in Peyton Manning. The cold weather is going to be a factor. Today's tilt will be the coldest game in the NFL this year. Baltimore's offense is predicated on Ray Rice and the big play. It's hard to hit the big play in snow, ice and freezing cold temperatures, especially when Denver's defense, and specifically their pass rush are fantastic. Meanwhile Denver has offensive balance and there's a reason they haven't lost in forever. I'll take Baltimore to cover a massive -9 spread, but Denver wins at home.

Green Bay at San Francisco

The logic here is simple. Take the best quarterback in the league and he plays for Green Bay. Add in the fact that said quarterback has a vendetta against his opponent and I feel even better about it. Aaron Rodgers is a northern California kid who got passed over for Alex Smith on draft day and has never let that go. It'll be up to Smith's replacement Colin Kaepernick to generate points and more importantly not turn it over. Rodgers loves to take advantage of opponents' mistakes and defending him on a short field is near impossible. Justin Smith being back is huge as it makes Aldon Smith relevant again but it's not enough. Give me Green Bay to cover the 3 and win outright on the road by the bay.

Seattle at Atlanta

This game makes no sense. Non whatsoever. The #1 seed coming off a buy is a monster at home. Their quarterback is 33-6 at home in his life as a pro. The visitors have to fly cross country for the second time in a week, just lost their best pass rusher and have a rookie QB. However the home team is the Atlanta Falcons who have been absolutely housed the last two years in the playoffs by the eventual Super Bowl champion who was the hottest team in the league. That distinction could certainly go to Seattle who has only lost once since the calendar turned to November. The rookie quarterback is Russel Wilson who's as unflappable as any rookie in recent memory.

No outcome would surprise me, but I'm starting to get more concerned about my Seattle lean. There's a lot of noise around the Seahawks. Both coordinators are spending the day before the game not with their team but other teams, interviewing for head coaching jobs. I'm going to stick with my gut and say Seattle goes on the road and pulls this off, but it wouldn't surprise me if Atlanta finally breaks through in the post-season. If the Falcons do "pull it off" (amazing that we frame it like that given they are the #1 seed at home), look for Tony Gonzalez to be a major factor. Seattle's corners are fantastic and could limit Roddy White and Julio Jones. The biggest shocker of all of this though is that a win would be Gonzalez's first in the playoffs for perhaps the greatest tight end ever. I'll take Seattle to cover (+1) and win outright.

Houston at New England

Some people feel like this is the biggest lock of the weekend. I'm not one of those people. In playoff games that are rematches of 28+ point regular season blowouts, teams that won (and lost) are 11-11. Houston was the best team in the league for the first half of the season and then seemingly stopped playing. They now have something to play for again and had a warmup week against Cincinnati. It's imperative that Arian Foster has a big impact but Matt Schaub will need to make a few plays. More importantly for Houston is J.J. Watt. He's won games for Houston this year by completely wrecking the other team's offense. Doing that to Tom Brady is infinitely more difficult than doing it to anyone else not named Peyton Manning. If you hear Watt's name a lot, Houston has a chance. If not, Houston we have a problem. That was the lowest of the low hanging fruit and I apologize. I just can't do it. Take Houston to cover the 10, but New England wins outright.

Random Rumblings

There's a ton of stuff going on right now and I haven't written in a while so it's time to empty the mind brain on a few things. I was going to write today on the somewhat complicated place of Jim Boeheim in history, which is actually a stupid argument over semantics, but I think I'm going to save those thoughts for an Orange Fizz post. Normally I write there on Fridays, but tomorrow is the day Ebenezer Ogundeko announces and that will likely take precedent. Stay tuned to Twitter for the Boeheim article. On to the other sports related thoughts floating around my otherwise empty head:

Amare says he's never been told how to play defense:

Amare Stoudemire told reporters yesterday he's never been taught how to play defense until now, with Mike Woodson as the Knicks head coach. Stoudemire spent most of his career playing under Mike D'Antoni who is known as an offensive genius, but his teams have often been less than stellar defensively.

Defense is about three things: effort, instincts and positioning. Fixing Amare's defensive effort (if that's deemed a problem) is pretty easy. So much of defense is making a commitment to engage and push that extra little bit to get into position and make the right plays. However within a defensive scheme, which many average fans might not notice during a game, positioning is everything. The first step to stopping a drive to the basket isn't cutting off the ballhandler as he starts to go, it's the helpside defender already being in position so the drive never happens in the first place.

I learned a lot about defense during my two years at MTSU going to both Kermit Davis's and Rick Insell's practices. Great defenses are a step ahead of the offense. Rick had his girls work nearly every day on cutting off the cross court pass so many players make when they drive baseline and run out of room. Kermit screamed endlessly when his guys didn't get to the mid-line (an imaginary line that cuts the court into a left and right half) as that discouraged drives and put you in a perfect position to take a charge if the offense did try to come into the lane. These things can be taught, and it's shocking that in a 10 year NBA career, Amare's allegedly never gotten that coaching.

That said, he can learn and even a decade in can become a much better defender within a team context. However, it's not going to be easy as Amare clearly lacks superior defensive instincts. Two blocks per game should come easy to him based on his athleticism, however he's only hit that mark once in his career. Specifically being called into question is Amare's pick-and-roll defense. Stoudemire is considered one of the best pick-and-roll finishers in the league when healthy, yet he's never been able to turn that knowledge of how he reads and exploits basketball's most basic play offensively into defending it on the other end.

Marrone to the NFL

As a selfish Syracuse fan, I hope Doug Marrone stays in Orange. He said it's his dream job but as you achieve your dreams, you dream new ones and the reality is competitors want to compete at the highest level and no man is above a bigger paycheck. There's no doubt the NFL is the highest level of competition in football and Marrone has experienced that as a coach and as a player. We know he's interviewing for a number of jobs and it shouldn't surprise any of us if he takes one.

Marrone is a different kind of guy though and it wouldn't surprise me if he kicks the tires and decides to stay in Orange. He's got a new challenge ahead of him in moving to the ACC and while he's losing an NFL caliber quarterback in Ryan Nassib (I'm in still in disbelief that the previous statement is true, but it is even if he's a backup), he's gaining what many think is a future pro in Elite 11 QB Zach Allen and the chance to develop him could be one of the many reasons Marrone eventually winds up staying in Orange.

The bigger question is what does SU do if the two-time Pinstripe Bowl winner Dougies up to the NFL. Based off per speculation and minimal logic, here are SU's two best options in my mind:

1) Jim Tressel, former Ohio State Head Coach

We all know he left in a terrible manor from Ohio State, however how bad was it really? We all hate the NCAA's stupid rules, yet see a guy like Tressel as a horrible person for not following them? I can get over that. Tressel is an offensive minded guy who would be good for Allen and he's spent some time at SU as well as the QB Coach in 1981-82. He's an Ohio guy which is one of Syracuse's crucial recruiting areas and he might be willing to keep the defensive staff in place. This leads me to candidate number two.

2) Scott Shafer, SU Defensive Coordinator

I think we'd all agree we'd gladly take more of what Marrone is building, so why not just shift some pieces around and keep rolling? Shafer's a coaching lifer who's defensive resume is incredibly impressive. His players love playing for him and that's a key part of being a head coach. He preaches accountability (like Marrone) and that every man must simply do his job. I don't know if Shafer has head coaching chops because I'm not around him every day and he's never had to make clock management decisions, etc (some guys are meant to be coordinators) but I wouldn't be mad if he was given a shot.


Making the Jump
On top of Marrone, a ton of other college coaches could be making the jump to the pros including Oregon's Chip Kelly. The debate is endless on whether his uptempo system could work in the NFL, but I think the answer is clearly maybe. So decisive. I know.

There would have to be some changes and Kelly would absolutely have to have the right personnel to make it all work. The question is how realistic is getting that personnel (definitely possible) and will those small changes be enough to make the whole thing not work (maybe). I know if I was a GM/owner I'd be willing to find out and I wish the owner of my team would take that shot. Cam Newton cost Chip Kelly his best shot at a national title game in January of 2011 when Cam's Auburn team beat Kelly's Oregon Ducks on a last second field goal. To make his system work, Kelly needs a versatile and mobile quarterback and an army of running backs. No team fits that model better than the Panthers who have Newton to go with Deangelo Williams, Jonathan Stewart (a pre-Kelly Oregon Duck) and Mike Tolbert in the backfield.

Both coaches in this year's national title game will also be on NFL radars. Brain Kelly is ahead of schedule at Notre Dame being in the national title game this year. If I'm him, I'd wait. Even though this team was carried by the defense, the experience it's younger players, especially freshman quarterback Everett Golson, have gotten is invaluable. Perhaps the Irish can be right back in the title game a few times in the next few seasons and Kelly can leave in a few years tens of millions of dollars richer and a Notre Dame legend.

If Alabama wins Monday night, Nick Saban would only be further cementing his status as a legend in Tuscaloosa. That would make 3 titles in four years and at that point, what's the point? The NFL is the one thing Saban never mastered and for as competitive as he is, that has to eat at him. He spent two years with the Dolphins and got screwed over by his own medical staff who didn't clear Drew Brees. That meant the Dolphins had to sign Daunte Culpepper who was mediocre in 2005, got hurt and was had to be benched in 2006 for Joey Harrington who was so bad he got benched for something named Cleo Lemon. With that (whatever that combination of awful is) at quarterback over two years, he went 15-17 which is far from the abject disaster that everyone seems to make Saban's time in the NFL out to be. If Saban wins, he should go. Why not, unless he's comfortable crushing it in college, having a lighter work load and making NFL money. While that sounds awesome to most of us, the 61 year old Saban is an uber-competitor and he doesn't have that much time left if he still has an NFL itch to scratch.

#TallPeopleProblems

Tweet of the day (which I've never done before, but might do again) comes from former Syracuse center Fab Melo. Ol' Fabricio got called up from the D-League yesterday! Is it because he's averaging 10.9 ppg, 6.9 rpg and 3.8 bpg? Is it because on Dec. 26th he had 32 points, 9 boards and 9 blocks? Nope! It's because he ran into a door at a hotel and got a concussion. In order to be treated by the Celtics team doctors, he has to be on the active roster and thus he got called up. As for Melo:

If you stand under 7feet don't ask me how I did it.
— Fab Melo (@Fabpmelo) January 3, 2013

I don't even break 6 feet, so I won't ask. The world isn't designed for people his size so I'll cut him some slack. Hell, I hit my head on a car door last week. It happens. As long as he's okay, we can laugh about it and knowing Fab's light-hearted personality, he'll laugh right along with us.

Funemployment Podcast 3: NBA Top 10

Alex Brewer and Kevin Brown join me as we re-draft the NBA in an effort to find out who are the best players in the league for this season.

Knicks/Nets - This is Real

There are a million things that make sports great. It's the best reality on television as games have ups and downs that aren't scripted and often you can't make up. There is drama. There is tension. There is conflict and it's all very real. All of these are heightened in rivalry games and in early December it is abundantly clear that the rivalry between Knicks/Nets is real.

It started before it started when Mikhail Prokhorov and some guy named Sean Carter (you know him as Jay-Z, even if you're this lady) took out space on the side of a building (New York's version of a  billboard) across from Madison Square Garden, sending the message of "we're coming for you."

After last night's epic, the story lines were endless but it all starts with the fact that both teams are actually good, something that couldn't have been said basically ever. The Nets have been a model of mediocrity or worse with the exception of the 5 season stretch last decade led by Jason Kidd, ironically the man who hit the game winner last night for the Knicks.  During that time the Knicks were at their worst, missing the playoffs every year except 2004 when they were swept by the Nets.

There was always the big brother/little brother dynamic where the Knicks were far and away the talk of the town, and the Nets were more of a geographic annoyance between the Knicks and Sixers than an actual rival. However the fact that the two teams have never been good at the same time makes the timing of the Nets move to Brooklyn all the better.

Of course this wasn't coincidence. If the Nets hadn't moved, Deron Williams has admitted he would have left for Dallas last off-season. They never would have traded for Joe Johnson. There's also the sleeping giant that no one is talking about yet that if the Nets can trade the oft-injured Brook Lopez (not possible until Jan. 15) for some expiring deals, they might be able to land Dwight Howard this summer if the Lakers' disastrous season continues and Superman wants to fly away.

From the chants of "Brooooooklyyyyyn" to Jay-Z and Queen B sitting on the sidelines, the atmosphere in the Barclay's Center is infinitely better than any of the arenas the Nets called home in Jersey, and the Nets really feel like Brooklyn's team. The Nets for a time played at the Meadowlands across the street from the Jets and Giants both of whom claim New York as home. With all due respect to the Garden State, there is just no respect for the Garden State. Being stationed in New York makes the Nets a legit force and whether Knicks fans like it or not, the Nets just hit puberty and the little brother you used to beat up is now your size and not so easy to manhandle anymore.