First of all, I just need to start with this quick word: I still think Bill Walker is going to be an all-star some day, and whoever picks him up this offseason is going to get a STEAL.
Now let’s talk some NBA….Eastside.
Who’s the most dangerous low seed in the East you ask? I’ve got to go with the RobertCats allll the way. They play stellar defense, have a lot of capable bigs, Stevie Jackson can be a killer in the playoffs, and they have depth and play like a team.
I really like what Milwaukee has done this year. Scott Skiles seems like a fantastic coach. He would be my vote for Coach of the Year right now. He MAKES them play hard every single night. And they found guys that will step up to the challenge. That’s why I like Jennings a lot – he just seems like a winner. He likes to get his shine on off the court too, but on the court he is straight business, with a whole lot of style and headiness, and an abundance of energy. You also can’t discount John Salmons’ season since the trade. He’s been legit. They are currently 15-2 since the Salmons trade. “FEAR THE DEER” is what the fans up in Mil-Town are screaming right now…good for them – its good to see good TEAMS get rewarded.
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Ok since we started with the East, I gotta say a few words about my Celts. As already stated, I am upset they gave up on my boy Walker. They never even gave him a chance! Are you really trying to tell me that they couldn’t have used him these last 2 years? Because I am not buying that (see below.) There have been times when even I thought my C’s looked old, slow, unathletic, and beat up. And you already know what many critics and haters are saying about them. Walker is so solid – it blows my mind that they never gave him a shot.
The same goes for J.R. Giddens too, but to a much lesser extent. Still, the principle is the same, and they really need to evaluate what they are doing with these young guys. Because by all accounts behind the scenes and from what my eyes have led me to believe, they could have used them!
I don’t want to waste my words talking about his worthlessness, but Rasheed Worthless is a complete waste this year. No player has enraged me this much since McCants’ rookie season.
I mean, the Celtics have 4 guys who are legitimately and near completely out of shape. Think about that. Rasheed obviously. Big Baby has been a pile this year compared with last season. He seems out of shape, sporadic, and loose cannonish. Scal is never in very good shape. Don’t let his whiteness fool you. He’s a fatty. He could rock a B cup, easy.
And then there is Lil Wayne’s twin brother, Marquis Daniels. Yeah, he sat out a lot of games to injury, but now that has been MONTHS ago. The season is almost over buddy. His athleticism used to be a big advantage, but he just has nothing thus far this year. I LOVE his hair. I really do. But at the same time, I feel like that could weigh him down. I mean, am I crazy or would that not weight you down a little bit. And now that I think that, I feel like I always notice it happening. I dunno. Watch for it sometime. Maybe you will see what I mean.
One last quick Celts related note: As much as I love Rondo, (…and I do. He’s my favorite NBA player after KG and The Truth, right ahead of Lebron and K. Love) – I am saddened that he has to take the Celtics franchise team record for steals down this season. Why does this sadden me? Well because he is taking it from my 2nd favorite NBA player of all time… Rick Fox. I can’t believe Mr. Everything, I mean Rick’s sadly unheralded record is falling, but at least it’s going to another stud. By the way, here’s all I have to say about do-it-all Fox: The 3 seasons that he started all 82 games for the Lakeshow were the 3 seasons they won 3 titles.
Last order of contention before I give a Toney Douglas report and explain this sweet and currently intense NBA game my buddies and I have been playing this season: Why is everyone all up on Atlanta’s jock? First of all, they have been the healthiest team in the whole league, so that positively sways their record, seeing that many other good teams have had key guys out due to injury. And secondly, do they really have the dynamic players needed to win multiple playoff series and put them over any of the top titans in the East? I’m just not sold on them. They will have a good first round series and then be out without too much of a fight after that. Done.
I recently watched the Knicks/Nuggets game on NBATV, with my eye specifically on Toney Douglas (why, you ask? I’ll get to that in a second). Anyway, here’s my scouting report. I think he would be a great backup point guard for a top D’Antoni team. Like the 2nd guard off the bench. And if he gets hot then keep him in. As far as being a starter goes, he’s just too small, and he plays horrid defense. Maybe Chauncey was just overpowering him or something, but he was getting blown by on a constant basis, and reaching in cheap and stupidly ala McCants often. But he seems like a hot – cold player, and after scoring no points in the first half, he put up 12 & 7 in the 2nd half. He’s got some explosion and can go on shooting runs, so he can fit a need, but I don’t ever see him being a real starting point guard in this league.
So why I would choose to spend an hour and a half of my otherwise busy evening watching Toney Douglas intently? Because of the epic NBA Survivor League my buddies and I are involved in. The famous College Wolf is my main nemesis, but the two of us and one other friend, we will call him BigBoy (as his initials are BB, and he is not a small human), have just been battling and switching the lead all season. C. Wolf led it for a majority of the 1st half of the season, but right now I have the lead by 4 points. What we do is each pick an NBA player for every day of the regular season, one each day. And you can only use each player once. On his day, you take his stats, and add them up (P+R+A+B+S-TO) for your score. So back in December it’s almost annoying to have to stress about making the right pick every day, and believe me I do, as College Wolf has won it every year, and I’m beyond sick of that. But now come March in a really close multi-player battle, every day is intense. And of course there is a bit of significant money on the line for it. So that’s why I was watching Toney. He was my guy on Monday night, and I was beside myself when he had zero points or assists at halftime. Oh, and BigBoy picked Javelle McGee last night, as he thought Blatche was out…McGee snatched 4 survivor points, which is basically unheard of! So suddenly he is now 47 behind me. Yessssssss.
Here are the standings:
| Bonk | 3,942 |
| College Wolf | 3,938 |
| BigBoy | 3,895 |
| Crazy Carl | 3,836 |
| H-Bomb | 3,617 |
(H-Bomb conceded about a week ago, and quit making picks. It happens almost every year to someone– it’s more grinding than you would think. So C. Wolf puts random people in there now everyday, like Ryan Wittman (and he got 31 survivor points!), Ole Pecherov (0 points!), and Glen Taylor’s First Wife.
Quick shout out to Shawn Livingston. It’s great to see him back and out there moving like a player again. Thanks for your time – come back next week for the Westside wrap.
– BonK