Sweet Jesus, thank you Lord, the Finals are over and we can get back to what we really love about the league. Meaningless transactions which will undoubtedly not result in a championship but make us froth at the mouth with potential. Ye-haw.

Let’s talk Rubio.

In a series of debates over at FH, Ziller and I are discussing the picks and the relevant info. Our first two centered on Rubio and Thabeet who are, of course, the top candidates for the Grizzlies. I’ve been wanting to expound on this further, since Rubio and Thabeet are perfect examples of the components involved in what I’ve come to refer to as:

The Grizzly Conundrum

Fortune smiled on that little downtrodden franchise I favor, and finally granted them a top 2 pick. During the lottery I had my eyes closed, fingers crossed, and was humming “pleasssssssssssssssssssse” when the Grizzlies spot came up. I did the same thing for picks 3 and 2. I was happy they had landed the 2 spot, until it started to dawn on me how wretched that spot is this year.

Or course. It’s the Grizzlies. How else could it be?

The two options for the Grizzlies are eseentially giving a fish a bycicle, or giving a parapelegic running shoes.

Rubio is the bicycle. The bycicle is shiny. It’s red. It has great speed and handle. It’s the envy of all the kids in the neighborhood. Too bad the fish doesn’t care because it’s a f*cking fish. The Grizzlies have their cornerstones, Gay and Mayo. They have a solid center in Marc Gasol (with a high ceiling). They have multiple picks. And they have a fanbase that has all but abandoned them. So what’s the answer? Here’s a hint. NOT THE THIN-BONED SPANISH KID THAT LOOKS LIKE A JONAS BROTHER.

Rubio has the potential to be a game-changer (so to speak) for certain teams. New York. Minnesota. Even the Clippers though Dunleavy will give up Griffin over his cold, dead body. Or if you offer a bloated contract with little to no value, apparently, since that’s been all their other moves. Rubio could be a true facillitator for the Wizards, a franchise player for the Kings, the next evolution for the Warriors, or the Nash Toronto wants but can’t have. But to Memphis? He’s a pain the ass that may decide to play chicken with them; a player that won’t sell as many tickets as other players can (we’ve seen the way Memphis gets attached to awkward looking Spanish dudes), doesn’t provide them an inside scorer, makes their investment in Mike Conley seem completely vapid, and generally is a terrible fit.

If you asked me how far on the plank I would be if the Grizzlies threatened to take Rubio, I’d say that the wood would be bending under my weight. If you asked me how far out I would be if the Grizzlies talked about Thabeet, I’d say you might as well give me a chum bath so the sharks get something seasoned for dinner.

There are teams that can afford to roll the dice on Thabeet. Oklahoma City already has a loaded roster, enough scoring options, and needs a capable inside defender. The Raptors could use a legit 5. The Iowa Energy need someone with his talents. The Harlem Globetrotters could use his Tweet advice. But the Grizzlies? A stilt with a Twitter account? It’s one thing to want a defensive minded team, it’s another to give a starting roster spot and #2 money to a guy who has little to no way of putting the ball in the basket.

What compounds this nightmare scenario is how awesome drafting Tyreke Evans would be for them. Even with Conley on board, Evans represents an evolutionary step for the Grizzlies akin to the development of lungs. Versus Rubio, Evans has great size, can attack the basket with an almost religious ferver, will sell tickets being a Memphis U kid, if even for a year, and creates a sort of dark Horsemen aspect for the Grizzlies 1-2-3 combo. Rubio would be like trying to create a cheap knock off family theme park in Memphis.

So now we hear Wallace is keen on Evans, but that he’s willing to take Rubio if he feels he’s the best player. Heisley and Wallace refuse to be intimidated, be it by Portland or some kid out of Spain. This is the precipice of their three year plan. A faulty step here, and it’s curtains for Memphis for the forseeable future.

I’m a loyal TrueHoop reader. What NBA head isn’t. Heck, we are even part of the original TrueHoop Network. But it appears that Mr. Abbott might have just stretched himself a little too far in this blogger’s mind. Make that ear, rather.

I came across this post on an otherwise pleasant Thursday afternoon here in the Southeast. And I could not be less pleased.

It should be well known that I am a Public Enemy #1 against Hasheem Thabeet. I bitterly dislike his claims in last season’s NCAA Hoops preview in ESPN the Mag. I don’t like the fact that he is super soft (see photo below) or that he has far too much attitude for a guy who boasts nothing more than about 2 extra feet in height than myself. In short, I am not expecting a big impact from the Big Empty when he gets to the next level.

That being said, I think Thabeet is good kid. I know he had a tough time growing up and got a great chance to immigrate to Houston, then attend UConn and transform himself from basketball novice to certain NBA Lottery pick. But, that doesn’t mean I have to like him.

Worse, it also doesn’t mean that this guy (and his rythmically catch name) has to invade my eardrums, crushing my hammer, anvil and stirrup everytime I want to pump some Go-Gos or Debarge – what, I said it – rolling down a coastal highway this summer. I mean, I am out there on Twitter every night trying to launch the #thabeetfail or #thabeetstopshere tags on the microblogging interwebs. Why must these catchy, summery tunes have to force images of Thabeet getting slammed on by Shaq or being bounced into the stands by a D-Ho power block invade my brain, when all I want is for people to realize that drafting this kid is like playing with dynamite? (i.e. certain destruction). I am talking Sam Bowie potential.

Well, on the other hand, maybe I should just relax. He will be perfect for Grizzlies. Even they have learned to laugh at themselves a bit here and there. Besides, stuff like this is just pure entertainment.

“Beastie Boys (and Dejuan Blair) known to let Thabeet… Drop!”

With the draft a week away, I’ve decided to put together a list of the top 50 prospects and their corresponding offensive Four Factors numbers. For good explanations of what those are, go to http://www.basketball-reference.com/about/factors.html (I chose to use true shot percentage instead of effective field goal percentage). I’ve also included the players’ ranks in each category. The lowest rank is 42 because I decided to leave out the eight international players.

In the next week, I plan on determining which players are the best fit for each team based on these numbers and the team Four Factors. All of the information will be on Basketball-Statistics.com.

To see the numbers, go to:

http://spreadsheets.google.com/ccc?key=rYWvxyu-k0VHkqpR1m7Oc4g

I used Chad Ford’s Top 100 list to come up with the names. College players’ numbers were obtained from http://www.kenpom.com. I calculated the Euro numbers using the data available at http://www.keyhoops.com.

To see my draft player projections using the Box Score Prediction System, go to http://basketball-statistics.com/2009draftplayerprojections.html.

Kevin McHale has few equals in his status as an NBA punchline.  His track record as an exec is covered with the torn jerseys of players past and soaked in the tears of Wolves fans everywhere.  From polaroids of Joe Smith to Dwane Casey’s headstone, the evidence of McHales failures as a manager is overwhelming.

Some of McHale’s flubs are understandable, others unforgivable.  But all in all, I didn’t quite shed a tear the day he was canned from his management duties.  He was given keys to the car he built, a level of accountability that few managers in this league are held to.  The Wolves deserve plenty of praise for that, even if they stood ildly by while McHale ruined the franchise’s hopes for the better part of a decade.  That’s why I was a bit disappointed with the franchise’s latest move to can McHale, the plague that he was, from his coaching duties.  I’m not calling for Kevin to get his job back, or anything close to demanding it.  But I certainly wouldn’t have minded.  Separating McHale the coach and McHale the executive was apparently too tall a task for the Wolves’ new brass, and if the move was made in the name of wiping the slate clean then I have no objections.

That said, I still feel like McHale is getting a bit of a raw deal.  His work as a head coach was admirable, and players from Al Jefferson and Kevin Love all the way to Mark Madsen have sung his praises as a excellent coach and teacher.  He managed to find some success during his time as a head coach until Jefferson’s sent the team reeling.  The Timberwolves had already endured an unexpected down season from Mike Miller, a season ending injury to Corey Brewer, and a recovering Randy Foye by the time Jefferson went down, and to expect anything significant from an already limited roster sans Jefferson is a bit ridiculous.  There was no playoff run and there was no late season miracle, but McHale was able to raise the spirits of a limited team decimated by injury.  It’s not much, but it’s something.

At this point in his career, I don’t think there’s much that Kevin McHale is entitled to.  He hasn’t earned a second chance.  But considering what the Wolves were able to accomplish in short spurts this past season (a 10-2 run in January, in particular), shouldn’t David Khan and his staff face the possibility that McHale may be the right man for this job?  Doing so brings about a strange conflict of interests; McHale’s success as a coach with this team as constructed would be akin to admitting that his firing was a mistake.  It would be an acknowledgement that the right coach could have made sense from McHale’s muddled roster.  Khan gave no real explanation for McHale’s firing, and so we have no way of knowing.

I fully understand the importance of a fresh start, but I can’t shake this feeling that the reasons McHale was fired have little to do with his coaching ability. I empathize with the blood-for-blood mentality, but as a member of the congregation in the Church of Actually-Employing-People-Who-Can-Do-Their-Damn-Job, I feel a bit dirty.  Being a former player doesn’t make you a qualified executive, but demonstrating some teaching ability is a valuable asset for the head coach of a young team.  Does firing him in the name of a fresh start in spite of his talents really bring about a Timberwolf Revolution?  McHale may have gotten what was coming to him, but he’s ultimately a victim to the twisted logic of an old regime.

So we are officially in the offseason. For some, such as myself, this time of the year is even more exciting than the actual NBA season. Hyperboles abound, conspiracy theories run amok and trade rumors generate faster than new internet memes. Well, almost.

Speaking of internet memes, a few Twitter heavy bloggers, starting with the excellent Devine over at City Line started the #offseasonpredictions hashtag and Tweet driver. A few other folks, such as Unsilent Majority from KSK and myself got in a few good ones. Needless to say, these 140 character wishes/hopes/nightmare scenarios became a good way to crack up other bloggers, scare fans and create hilarious jumping off points for future .gif files, photoshops and so much more.

I implore you all to get in on the fun, follow me or Matt and amaze the Twitterati with your prescience and/or sadistic expectations for our favorite NBA stars in these unpredictable months.

If you don’t do Twitter (or don’t want to do Twitter) then drop some comments in the box. But remember, only 140 characters – this is a challenge! And don’t forget the #hashtag.

Some of the favorites from last night include:

Unsilent: Andray Blatche will be injured after getting rolled by a convincing transvestite prostitute. His jumper will regress. #offseasonpredictions

Devine: Andre Iguodala’s going to get way into the one-man shows of John Leguizamo. I mean, INTO ‘em. Like, quoting “Miggy’s.” #offseasonpredictions

Corndogg: Gilbert Arenas starts the microtweeting trend. Just 21 characters n a .gif file. He coins it blippering. #offseasonpredictions

Corndogg: Ricky Rubio visits Memphis. Decides he likes dry rub ribs n being close to tunica. Decides to work out 4 grizz #offseasonpredictions

Corndogg: Glen “big baby” Davis stars in the new Tyler perry joint: Good Will.I.Am Hunting. #offseasonpredictions

See you in the comments and on Twitter, you wild and crazy guys gals folks internet hooligans.

• D.J. Mbenga
• Adam Morrison
• Shannon Brown (doesn’t deserve to be on this list)
• Josh Powell
• Sauron
• Luke Walton
• Sun Yue

Those who choose to surround themselves with sports encounter constant comparison.  Which player is better?  Which team is better?  If X player wins Y amount of rings, would that make him the best of all-time?  To be honest, I love it.  I need it.  I’ve always been one to squabble, and whether it’s movies, books, or the greatest third-string center of all-time, I get drawn in just like everyone else.

But I think it would be prudent if for one day, we lay off the comparisons.  We lay off the legacy talk.  As much as the Lakers are truly despised, they just completed a fantastic playoff run, and controlled the Finals in dominant fashion.  It’s not that the Lakers deserve special treatment, that they alone should be the ones to benefit from the “Day After Rule.”  Hardly.  The day after the Finals, we, as a collective (I’m not even sure who all that encompasses) should try our best to appreciate the winners for what they were able to accomplish this year.  In the context of league history and individual histories, the Lakers accomplished a lot last night.  But to boil down that championship run as Kobe’s first without Shaq, or another paperweight for Phil, or the emergence of Pau Gasol as whatever you didn’t think he was before…just seems wrong.  Focusing on individual storylines and details can be a fantastic enterprise, but in this case I truly think it disservices the bigger picture: the Lakers kicked ass in these playoffs.  They forgot who they were for a minute against the Rockets, but on the whole we’ve seen some terrific basketball from L.A..  Good enough, in fact, that today I don’t care to think about Phil vs. Red, or what this means for Kobe in the grand scheme of things.  We’ve got a long summer ahead of us, and there will be plenty of time for that.  What I want today is a proper acknowledgement that the Lakers weren’t just a really, really good team, but one that happened to trump the Magic with superior will. 

The Finals weren’t a case of divine right trumping hard work.  The Lakers definitely have the world’s largest silver spoon in their collective mouths (try wrapping your head around that), but the Finals were not an exercise in complacency.  The triangle dismantled one of the best offenses in the league, and though having a Kobe or a Pau around doesn’t hurt things, the team executed from top to bottom.  Trevor Ariza thoroughly embarrassed the Magic for their poor decision-making both on the defensive end, and in trading him to the Lakers.  Luke Walton gave quality minutes to the cause, exploiting mismatches in the post and working the ball around.  Lamar Odom did what he was designed to do when he was Frankensteined in a lab all those years ago.  Derek Fisher, who is probably too slow to still be a starting point guard, showed that at least he’s not Rafer Alston.  Business was taken care of. 

These are your 2008-2009 NBA champs, and they were brilliant.  How else do you describe Kobe’s performances?  The ball movement?  The Staples Center crowd?

…Okay, maybe not that last one.

Look, nobody is crazy about the idea of the Lakers winning it all.  But that doesn’t mean we can’t appreciate, in typical playoff fashion, the last thing that we saw.  We saw a better team execute at an incredible level against an elite defense, we saw the elevation of games on a personal and team-wide level, and we saw the Lakers perform in a manner all series long that should remove any doubts to their worthiness.  The Lakers accomplished a singularly great thing last night: a pretty damn good team playing to its potential.  As such, we should appreciate their accomplishment with blinders on.  Phil’s tenth, Kobe’s first P.S., that all can wait.  This is a day for the Lakers as a team/organization and Los Angeles as a city, as it’d be a pity for this singular success to be overlooked.

(*Ali G finger snap!)

Today, I am grateful for a few things. I am glad the Lakers won the NBA Championship. They deserved it. Throughout the entire playoffs, they never got too frustrated, they always made time shots/stops and they had been building this team for this moment over the last 2 years. And it paid off. After some turmoil, some sulking (last year’s Finals) and some hate, the Lake show proved what we all were wanting to deny since last Fall – that they were good enough, smart enough and doggone it – well, really good enough – to win the title.

However, the one thing I am most grateful for today is, in so few words, hope. I hope that this title, this vindication of Kobe, this dominating performance throughout will finally turn the tide on the Laker chatter throughout the blogosphere and in the MSM. Sure, winning it all isn’t going to make Kobe haters less angry. Far from it. But, what it can do, and what I hope it actually does, is turn the Lakerrati away from always being on the defensive, always up in arms about Kobe and the rest and turns that passion into peace.

Don’t get me wrong. HP will still find ways to antagonize Laker fans and Kobe diehards. It’s part of our DNA. But now, in this moment of triumph, I would like to see these fans, after taking the very long and very justified moment in the sun, chill out. You have done it. You made history. Mamba minue Shaq. The past 7 years are but whisper in time. If you want to drop a few “I Told You Sos,” that’s fine too. We can handle it. We’re big boys and girls around here.

But please just turn the check. Embrace your power and look forward. You’ve got a very bright future and, besides, if you wanted to settle every grudge you had with those less enamored with any one of a million aspects of the Lakers, you’d have be a modern Methuselah.

So, congrats to Kobe, Fish, even Machine and Ammo. And especially, congrats to Phil Jackson – you, sir, are the greatest.

And just for fun, and because we love you all, please feel free to go back and peruse the great work we hosted for our first (and most likely only) annual Kobe Bryant Blog Day. I am sure someone predicted this…

(Photo courtesy of Washington Post)

Yahoo! Sports

Congratulations to the Los Angeles Lakers and their fans on their 15th (!) championship.

The only way the Lakers could atone for their atrocious play in the semifinals was to come out and absolutely blast a very good Magic team. And they did it. They showcased everything you would need to make the argument that this was a great team. Pau Gasol playing terrific defense and hitting shots only he and Dirk can hit. Kobe hitting shots only he and Voltron can hit. Fisher playing the part of the savvy veteran hitting big shots. Ariza being pure energy. And Odom, always Odom, putting it together and playing to and beyond his athletic potential, just playing fantastic basketball.

The Orlando Magic were not frauds, wimps, or shellshocked. They were not shocked by being in the Finals. They were not unprepared, starry-eyed, or overwhelemed. SVG was not outcoached. The Lakers were just the better team. Why must we trash one team who made it to the freaking Finals in order to congratulate the best team? The Lakers were great, as they have been all season. And they were better in this series. Nuff said.

i picked the Magic in seven becasue my heart ran away with my head, and I feel like picking the Lakers was too easy. I hate easy picks. But it would have been the right pick. Not just because they’re now the champs, but becasue I knew they were the best team. I was never convinced, even by Cleveland’s late run, that any team but the Lakers deserved the mantle of “best.”

The Lakers started this season dominating everyone. They then went and destroyed Boston and Cleveland. They took down every challenger, weathered losing Bynum again, and still killed everyone but Charlotte. The Lakers were the best team in the NBA this season, becasuse they are talented, athletic, tall, and, for longer periods than not, focused. And all those things equate why they’re a great team.

Congratulations, Laker Nation. You can crow about your franchise being the best again, and it has all the weight it needs, fifteen times over.

UPDATE: Since Yams pointed out I buried the Lakers last year, it’s only right that I trash the Magic, even though I don’t feel like there was much else they could do outside of a handful of plays to beat this team. I was wrong last year about LA. There was no shame in what they did. There wasn’t a team in the world that was going to stop Boston last year, just as nothing was going to stop LA. But let’s talk about the Magic for a moment.

• The big question is whether to re-sign Hedo or not. Otis Smith has made noise that they plan on doing just that, and that they’re willing to go into luxury-tax-land for it. But I’m not so certain that’s what this team needs. They need more balance, and a semblance of a traditional lineup. Lewis needs to play as an oversized 3. Turkoglu’s not quick enough to play a traditional 2 role. And they need a rebound and clean-up player (Brandon Bass). Their size should be an advantage for them, but LA murdered them on the boards. And that’s not talent on the Lakers end. That’s drive.
• SVG deserves as much blame as anyone on the Magic, even though the Master of Panic stuff is ridiculous (they made the freaking Finals!).  He didn’t have his team ready in the closing moments of games, consistently overreacted to elements and adjustments, and most importantly, abandoned the thing that got him here, shutting down support players.
• Howard’s not there yet.I don’t think he needs to be, because of his age, but he isn’t.
• Welcome back to earth, Mikael Pietrus. Hope you like the atmosphere while you were up there.
• There was a point in time when I really thought that Rashard Lewis could give the Magic more than 25 a night consistently if called upon. That was not smart.

Also, just to respond to something else asked in the comments, I think Trevor Ariza is a perfect example of a great Laker player. That is, the guy’s not going to be a star on many other teams, but in the triangle, told to do specific things and fill certain roles, like nailing spot up threes, he was terrific this year. The guy’s no bust. He works his ass off on both ends of the floorand while he can be a little reckless, you need some of that if you want to win a title. That dude’s getting PAID. He and Rick Fox should go bowling together.

And as KD pointed out over at BDL, Pau Gasol has forever shed the soft label. You don’t have to be emphatic if you’re really, really, really freaking good.

Hindsight’s 20-20,and right now, this Lakers team looks better by the minute. Championship shine will do that to you.

Last night, when I laid down to rest, I found none.  No ease, no comfort, no relaxation in the thoughts that raced through my mind upon entering the dream world.  Just a single face.  A single vision.  Taunting.  Smiling.  Pure dagnasty evil staring me right in the face and creating the greatest horror, tension, and pain to my very core.  I knew misery and it knew me.  For one night, I was in Hell, with a demon’s face my only friend.

When I awoke from my dark, evil dream, I started along with my daily routine, not noticing things for quite what they seem.  But when I cracked open this laptop, imagine my surprise, when I saw a replay of the things in my mind: a nightmarish vision through a Firefox window, evil incarnate, hope eradicated, and painful dissonance everlasting.

Photo from the 2009 Playoffs tumblr.

I have seen this face of Derek Fisher, and to see him is to know pain.

Kobe smacks Jameer Nelson in the jaw (incidentally) with an elbow, and Derek Fisher steps into his second well-timed contribution of the night; In the wake of those events, as a defeaning silence overtook the Orlando crowd, Fisher stood, motionless, letting his smirk do the talking.  This, ladies and gentlemen, is a bad, bad man.

And this Lakers team is a bad, bad team.  Fish, Kobe, Ariza, and Pau are stone-cold killers.  They would kill your greatest hopes and dreams without a moment’s hesitation, and rather than react in typical fashion with a strut or a chest pound, they smile in the face of the Magic’s almost certain demise.  Missed free throws and poor shot selection may have made the Magic stumble in the dark, but it was still up to Fisher and company to deal the final blows.  If the Magic choked, it was because Derek Fisher was strangling them.  A year ago, the Lakers, collectively, may have wavered.  This year’s model holds none of the same indecision, and that’s why they’re one win away from the championship.  All-time greats the 2009 Lakers may not be, but they’ve taken care of business against a tough Magic team under the most scrutiny imagineable.  Kobe’s done his work, Pau has been incredible at times, and Lamar Odom has led an entire supporting cast in filling the team’s most gaping holes. 

All of this came through in one fiendish smile, in excellence, moxie, and resolve personified.  Fish smiles not because the Lakers live, but because the Magic dies.  That’s the mindset that it took to elevate these Lakers to their eventual throne, and take note: we’ve just seen the awakening of something truly powerful.