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One of the bigger potential ironies of this season is that the Philadelphia 76ers look like a pretty solid playoff team whereas the Denver Nuggets, who took Allen Iverson from Philly because the Sixers were mired in the lottery, are likely going to miss the playoffs.  Of course, that's a bit of a superficial observation as ironies go.  The Nuggets are significantly better team than Philly but the Sixers have the fortune in being a far less deep conference.  Still, Philly's run has been … [Read more...] about Philly Phlying: Refusing to Tank?

Last season when I did the tournament preview, one of the theories I suggested for picking the winner was to look for a team with a strong point guard. The idea being that a good PG is the most essential player to NCAA tournament success. Last year things didn’t turn out that way, as a team without a true PG won their 2nd title in-a-row. After actually researching this theory, I discovered I couldn’t have been more wrong. Not that it’s better to have a bad PG, but teams with strong frontcourts … [Read more...] about NCAA Tourney Preview

Yes, I detest the All-Star game and haven't watched it in years and I don't usually read the All-Star pick columns either.  Still, I can't deny there is some appeal to chew the scenery on the process.  So here's my take on this year's voting:  East Starters Guards, Dwyane Wade and Jason Kidd: It's always funny that the writers and the coaches seem to detest rewarding good players on bad teams.  I understand the syllogism: good player = good team, therefore, bad team = bad player, or at the … [Read more...] about All-Star Analysis

If you had to pick the surprise good teams of the first two months of the season, Portland, New Orleans, and the Lakers are the three teams that are really outperforming expectations.  Yes, the Celtics are probably the most outperforming so far, but I don't anyone really expected any of other three teams to break .500, let alone be on paces to break 50 wins.  How realistic is it that any of these three team can keep this pace?  First off, here are their current records and point … [Read more...] about Surprise Squads So Far

In this early season, we always look at the surprise teams, both good and bad.  It's always nice to see a team become great out of nowhere.  Going from the lottery to contention in a one-year period is fun but rare.  Like the 2007-08 Celtics, the exceptions to the rule are usually memorable (e.g., 2001-02 Nets, 2004-05 Suns).  Even intermediate change is rare.  We see that this year that some other younger teams in Atlanta and New Orleans are also poking their heads into the playoff picture.  … [Read more...] about Playoff Turnover