Reports are that Shaquille O’Neal may miss the rest of the regular season with a sprained thumb, which he sustained on a hard foul from Boston’s Glen Davis in a recent game. Shaq has been a valued addition to the Cavs this year, helping them dominate the Eastern Conference and pummeling the Lakers, particularly big men Pau Gasol and Andrew Bynum. His interior presence has aided a Cleveland team that struggled against physical big men, such as Dwight Howard in last season’s playoffs. So why is this injury going to help the Cavs?
Shaq is 38 years old, which for his body and legs may as well be damn near 50. The beating he has taken over his career, especially as he’s slowed down and put on weight, is one that cannot be overstated.
In all honesty, what would having him in the line-up for the rest of the regular season accomplish? The Cavs are 8-1 without him and already have a stranglehold on home-court advantage throughout the Eastern Conference Finals, holding a six-game lead over Orlando with just 20 games to play. The biggest issue may be home-court through the Finals, as LA is just two games back (including the tie-breaker).
But by allowing his body to recuperate and his legs to refresh, Shaq will give Cleveland a healthy and legitimate center come crunch time. When the Finals come, Shaq will be fresh and strong enough to play the minutes necessary to abuse the Laker posts just as he’s done this season.
Since becoming a Cavalier last summer, the big fella has seen a resurgence in his play, anchoring the middle while averaging 12 points, 7 rebounds, and more than a block per game. He has been a dramatic upgrade from year’s past when Cleveland’s best interior options were an inexperienced Anderson Varejao, an aging Zydrunas Ilgauskas or Joe Smith.
It may seem a blow to Cleveland now, but Shaq’s sprained thumb was the ultimate blessing in disguise. At some point, they will have to rely on guys like J.J. Hickson and Varejao, who is one of the crucial elements to this team with his relentless energy and hustle. With Shaq out now, it gives them an opportunity to get significant minutes, so that when they are called upon they will deliver. In an easy win over the Knicks Monday night, this young and impressive duo showed how valuable they can be, combining for a staggering 31 points and 19 rebounds.
(Hickson is showing Cavs fans why Danny Ferry took him in the first round back in the 2008 NBA Draft, and why I thought of him so highly coming out of NC State)
In last night's win over the Nets, Hickson flourished, going for 20 points and 13 rebounds in the start.
Assuming he keeps in shape – this is a rather big assumption but one we can make considering how much we know Shaq wants another ring – the rest he will accumulate over the next two months will ultimately provide Cleveland with its best opportunity to capture Mr. Larry O’Brien himself. The Cavs really only need him for the Eastern Conference semis and on, so he has plenty of time to heal the ailing thumb.
The trade deadline has come and passed, but come playoff time the acquisition of a healthy O’Neal may be just enough for LeBron James to get ring No. 1 in his seventh season, which would be three years sooner than it took Michael Jordan to earn his first championship in Chicago.
I should probably congratulate Nick Saban and his Alabama team, but I can't. I would have liked to, but I can't.
On the game's brightest stage, Saban made one of the stupidest, most inconceivably awful decisions I've ever seen when he attempted a fake punt deep in his own territory after Texas dominated the Tide on their first offensive series.
Think about how insanely bad this call was. Brent Musburger compared it to Bill Belichick's 4th down try against the Colts a few weeks back, but in reality, this was far, far worse.
The key to Alabama's success all season long has been a punishing running game, steady passing, and thwarting defense. Saban's call shifted momentum in this game faster than Michael Phelps with flippers swimming in a damn kiddy pool. Sure enough, Texas marched down near the goal line about to take a commanding 7-0 lead.
Then, just on the precipous, Mack Brown told Saban: "Anything you can do, I can do better."
Correct me if I'm wrong, but the entire gameplan for Texas - above anything else - was to protect their star quarterback. So will someone please tell me why in the world they called a sprint option?
All we've been hearing for four weeks now is how scary this Bama defense is, and how they wanted to bring pressure to McCoy all game long, just as Nebraska did so successfully in the Big 12 Title Game. All the analysts have talked about is the importance for the Texas offensive line to protect him. Well, good going Mack Brown, you sure had a solid gameplan.
I understand that McCoy is a good runner and that he is capable of tucking the ball to pick up yardage. But the time to do this is when the pocket collapses and he can use his instincts. In a designed option, the defense sees immediately that he isn't throwing and can send all their guns. In this case, the pitch was covered, and McCoy was forced to keep the ball, leaving him vulnerable for the hit he took from Marcell Dareus.
On a passing play where he decides to run, McCoy can naturally brace himself by sliding or running out of bounds to avoid a collision, but in an option? Forget it.
Why do you think NFL teams don't run the option? It's not because it doesn't work. The option attack can be deadly effective. But when you have a thrower with the ability of McCoy, in this type of game, you simply cannot take the risk.
Texas appeared to be going into the half down 17-6, which would have made for a feasible comeback. However, in one of the greater brain-farts in coaching history, Brown opted to call a timeout with 15 seconds left pinned back on the minus side of the 50. What can you realistically accomplish here?
What proceeded was the shovel-pass of all shovel-passes. I didn't even know it was possible to throw an interception on one of these things. Maybe it's from watching Brett Favre master it for so long, but this is the type of play where you just throw it into the ground if there's a doubt. This is a freshman though, something Brown apparently forgot all of a sudden. You completely magnify the situation with this. And then, don't try and separate yourself from the situation by telling Lisa Salters it's the safest option in the playbook. No, the safest option is to take a knee, accept your fate, and head into halftime.
The timeout, the call, the entire situation, it's all so far beyond comprehension.
(Brown will be second-guessing himself for a long time)
The rest of the game may as well have been forfeited. Freshman Garrett Gilbert did an admirable job filling in, and at one point had the Horns down three with the ball late in the fourth quarter. You can't fault the kid. The fact that he even gave them a shot speaks to the astounding resolve of this Texas team, and perhaps even more significantly, the incompetently conservative playcalling of Alabama.
I'm not sure how much of this is Saban and how much is the offensive coordinator, but I have to assume it's Saban because he has final say as the head man.
How soft was Bama's gameplan once McCoy went down? They were content calling sweeps and draws all night, refusing to take any chances down the field despite their comfortable lead. If Gilbert had completed the comeback, Saban goes down as one of the worst big game coaches ever. Between the fake punt early on and the play-calling after the injury, he gave Texas precious life when, instead, he should have pounced.
And don't even get me started on that miserable post-game reaction.
I'm not sure how many people caught it, but my point of no return (in other words, the crossover line from dislike to pure hatred) with Saban occurred when the Tide players ceremoniously dumped the Gatorade on him to celebrate their victory. Um, memo to Saban: this is a good thing.
Players only do this for meaningful wins - playoffs, streaks, uhh, championships. Meanwhile, Saban looked like someone just told him he had two weeks to live. In one of the most memorable moments of his life, he seemed upset. The one time when a coach can truly let loose and enjoy the moment, he wanted nothing to do with it. Instead, he merely wiped the Gatorade off of him and scampered away to make sure his precious headset was okay. If that doesn't make you sick, than I don't know what does.
But that's not all.
During the postgame celebration and interview on the field, he looked worse. This is unreal to me. It should also be noted that he earned an extra 200k by winning the title. That's half-a-life's salary for some people! Honestly though, Coach Saban: You have reached the Everest of your sport, the absolute peak of greatness, and you can hardly crack a smile?
(Fast forward to the 8:31 mark)
Can you imagine what he'd be like if they'd lost? Maybe he'd look happier, because he could have an excuse to be mad. As backwards as that sounds, it doesn't seem that off.
Seriously, what recruit would choose to play for Nick Saban over Pete Carroll? When Saban comes into your home to make his pitch, are you really inspired? Or is the lure of playing in Tuscaloosa under the whispers of Bear Bryant that strong?
On another note, I couldn't help but feel for McCoy as he could barely find the words to talk in the postgame interview. Here's a kid who has started all four seasons, won a collegiate record 45 games, never been injured, only to have it all turn to dust with one hit.
Please don't try and rationalize Mack Brown's decision to run an option by saying he has a tough QB. This is the heart of your team. You cannot expose him like that. Not during a game with these ramifications.
All in all, I thought this was one of the worst coached title games of all time, on both sides. Neither coach seemed to have a good feel on how to dictate a game of these proportions, which seems a bit odd considering both previously had won titles.
In the case of Brown, all you needed to do was protect your All-American signal-caller and let him go to work. Clearly, nobody on Alabama could cover Jordan Shipley. That combo should have been lights out all game long. And if your defense was that stout knowing it couldn't afford to give up points with a freshman under center, imagine what it could have done without such a burden.
If a true freshman can throw two touchdowns, than McCoy can easily throw three. Coach Brown, you have a staunch, athletic, shutdown type defense. Earl Thomas and Sergio Kindle are two of the best in the country. I just don't get it.
For Saban, you can't play a game - especially at this level - not to lose. With McCoy out, that was the time to take a few deep shots and see what Julio Jones can do on the perimeter. Don't take the ball away from Mark Ingram or Trent Richardson, but use the threat of the run and translate it into lethal play-action passes down the seem with Colin Peek, who has proved to be a reliable pass-catching tight-end all season. Once again, I just don't get it.
As is the case, of course someone has to win, and someone has to hoist that beautiful crystal trophy. It's why we love sports really. There can only be one.
With that in mind, I'll say the one thing I really, really don't want to say. It hurts and aches in my soul to do this, I'm just letting you know, but I'm going to do it . . .
Congratulations Alabama.
(For more cool reads, check out the website: http://unbiasedwriter.com/).
(Oh, and next year, watch out for Jake Locker, Chris Polk, Jermaine Kearse, and James Johnson next year. The UW Huskies are back!) Yes, I just had to get that in there.
The Portland Trail Blazers may have just completed their basketball renaissance. GM Kevin Pritchard – despite all his faults - is borderline ridiculous with his moves to make Portland into a legitimate contender.
ESPN.com is reporting that they have offered Jazz PF and beast extraordinaire Paul Millsap a four-year contract worth between $32-36 million. Millsap isn’t a household name just yet, but he will be soon.
To put it the bargain of this deal into perspective, this would be like someone going into a BMW dealership and getting a brand new 5 series sedan for $15,000 off the asking price.
I know everyone loves the Lakers, Celtics, Cavs and even Magic as contenders next season, but it’s official, the Blazers are in that mix. Assuming Utah does not match the offer sheet on its restricted big man, Portland may now feature the best trio of big men in the NBA – with Aldridge, Joel Przybilla and his nine rebounds may be the best back-up center, and Millsap. The addition of Millsap takes pressure off of Sam Bowie (I mean, Greg Oden) and gives him time plenty of time to develop out of the limelight and not hurt his already damaged ego anymore.
With All-Star guard Brandon Roy only getting better, and the smooth shooting Rudy Fernandez on the perimeter, as well as a healthy Martell Webster and Travis Outlaw, this team has all of the tools to make a deep run in the playoffs.
Their only concern is Steve Blake at the point, who despite coming off one of his best seasons as a pro, remains too offensive minded and isn’t the facilitator such a talented team needs. Still, Blake is a solid floor general who doesn’t hurt you at this stage in his career. The youngster Jerryd Bayless from Arizona has a bright future ahead of him, and in time - if he's not traded as rumors have suggested - will be the dynamic point guard this team desperately needs.
In the first round against Houston, Portland got hammered on the glass. But it was more than just Yao Ming. Energy guys like Carl Landry and Chuck Hayes beasted the Blazer big men on hustle plays and loose ball scenarios. For all his talents, the young Aldridge's toughness and overall grit remain a work in progress. Oden still has no idea how to play, and Przybilla is foul prone, which is why Millsap is the perfect fit in the 503. An energy guy himself, Millsap loves contact and will immediately bolster the frontline of the Blazers. He can score on the block, yes, but his real contribution offensively is rebound put-backs and drive dump-offs.
In other words, he will go out and get you 15 and 10, but won’t demand the ball on the block and take away important touches from Roy and Aldridge.
To win a championship in this league, I think you need three key ingredients:
1. Top 10 player (Roy).
2. Top 25 player (Aldridge).
3. Top 50 player (Millsap).
Don’t believe in this formula? Just take a peak back from the past five Larry O’Brien winners:
2009 – Lakers – Top 10 (Kobe Bryant), Top 25 (Pau Gasol), Top 50 (Lamar Odom).
2008 – Celtics - Top 10 (Kevin Garnett), Top 25 (Paul Pierce), Top 50 (Ray Allen).
2007 – Spurs – Top 10 (Tim Duncan), Top 25 (Tony Parker), Top 50 (Manu Ginobili).
2006 – Heat – Top 10 (Dwayne Wade), Top 25 (Shaq), Top 50 (***Udonis Haslem/Antoine Walker***small exception to rule), but in this case, you have a top 5 player in Wade overcompensating).
2005 – Spurs (Same three as in '07).
Millsap’s new deal is hard to match because it’s heavily front-loaded, so it’s safe to say his acquisition is the premier signing of the off-season. This catapults Portland from a good squad into a team fully capable of winning a championship within the next three years.
Shaq is 38 years old, which for his body and legs may as well be damn near 50. The beating he has taken over his career, especially as he’s slowed down and put on weight, is one that cannot be overstated.
(Hickson is showing Cavs fans why Danny Ferry took him in the first round back in the 2008 NBA Draft, and why I thought of him so highly coming out of NC State)
