Sports Blog

Will Gordon and Villanueva Save the Detroit Pistons?

Things took an interesting turn for the Detroit Pistons this past year. Gone are the days of the Eastern Conference supremacy, and gone are many of the familiar names we’ve been accustomed to seeing in a Pistons uniform over the years.

Chauncey Billups is now in Denver (and playing great basketball). Allen Iverson, who was acquired in this trade, has also left town to sign with the Bobcats (so much for winning that championship anytime soon). Then there’s Rasheed Wallace, who opted to join the Celtics after the end of this season.

The Allen Iverson trade was a disaster and the Pistons played disinterested at times. The Pistons would go on long scoring droughts which essentially ended their season at the all-star break. They were wishing they had Billups back!

For the Chicago Bulls Ben Gordon averaged 21 points per game and made many important shots against the Boston Celtics in the first round in the 09′ playoffs.

Villanueva comes in with some size. He can score points as well and with his presence on defense, he should help improve both sides of the ball.  Read more...

An Improved Charlotte Bobcats Team

The Charlotte Bobcats have never made the NBA playoffs. They are hoping that might change this season. While the Bobcats have never been a successful team, they quietly had their best season in franchise history last year, finishing with a 35-47 record.

The Bobcats have a very young team – one of the youngest teams in the NBA. The Bobcats played some of their best basketball towards the end of the season; this gave fans of the Bobcats hope that there are just a few steps away from making the playoffs for the first time.

Head Coach Larry Brown is an all-time great coach who has turned around teams before and made them playoff worthy – this could be Brown’s toughest challenge to date.

Brown’s work ethic and discipline seems to have carried into the Bobcats last season, as they suddenly looked like a team that believed they belonged in the post season.

The Bobcats in the 08′- 09′ season were a pretty good team at home, 23-18 – but the road record is what prevented them from making the playoffs, 12-29. If the Bobcats can maintain a good home record like a season ago and improve their road record, they will be close to a .500 team.  Read more...

A Season Outlook: The ‘09-’10 Chicago Bulls

The Chicago Bulls had a better season then their record would have indicated in 08′ -’09, 41-41. They were eliminated in the first round by the hands of the Boston Celtics but proved they had a never say quit mentality. Each game was seemingly more dramatic then the previous one. The Celtics had all they could ever want from the Bulls in that series without question. The Bulls look to build off their great performance in the 09′ playoffs this season.

The Bulls were a very good home team, 28-13, but a terrible road team,–28. This will have to improve if the Bulls want home court advantage in the playoffs come the spring time.

Vinny Del Negro has since assumed the role, and has slowly brought the team back to a competitive state. Del Negro had some success in the back office for the Suns, but he’s never been a head coach before.

The loss of Ben Gordon will hurt the Bulls offense – during the 09′ season Gordon averaged 21 points per game and had a sensational first round playoff. Where the Bulls will make up for the points lost during the season will be interesting to see.  Read more...

What’s In Store In 2010 For The Cleveland Cavaliers?

The Cleveland Cavaliers thought they were going to hoist the NBA Championship in 09′, it wasn’t to be. Their record during the regular season impressed all.

It was great to make the finals, but they were swept by the Spurs that season, LeBron James was young and constantly improving his game. Standards are set really high in Cleveland and this isn’t acceptable anymore.

Shaguille O’Neal is suppose to be the player to fill the void the Cavs had last season in the playoffs, a scoring threat besides Lebron James. Shag can’t score 30 points per game anymore but if he gives the cavs 17-18 points per game and 8-9 rebounds, Cavs fans will take that.

During the 2008-2009 season, the Cavs looked like the team to beat. Boasting the best home record in the NBA (they had a 39-2 home record), the Cleveland Cavaliers also had the best record in the NBA. A 66-16 finish gave them the top seed in the Eastern Conference and home court advantage throughout the entire playoffs. It looked like it’d be the year for Cleveland.  Read more...

Chauncey Billup’s Has Huge Impact For Denver Nuggets

The Denver Nuggets had a very successful season in 08-09 despite losing to the Los Angeles Lakers in the Western Conference Finals.

The most shocking reason for this all stems from the fact that the Nuggets had traded Allen Iverson, the team’s second highest scorer, to the Detroit Pistons. This panned out to be a great deal!

Having already lost Marcus Camby, one of the best rebounders and shot blockers in the NBA, it seemed like the Denver Nuggets were simply throwing in the towel. However, other players stepped up.

Coach George Karl and the rest of the team had other plans though. The acquisition of Chauncey Billups proved invaluable to the team. Billups’ leadership, efficiency on the court, playoff experience, and his ability to serve as a natural point guard – a position the team had sorely been lacking ever since the departure of Andre Miller a few seasons prior – all gave the team a major boost in places that the Nuggets had been lagging before he joined the team.  Read more...

Did Mark Cuban Make The Right Moves For The Dallas Mavericks?

Since the NBA Finals against the Miami Heat in 06′ the Mavs haven’t really been the same. The Mavs have suffered disappointing playoffs losses and have yet to win a championship despite owner Mark Cuban’s best efforts.

The Mavs have fallen back the last couple seasons – they were once the frontrunner in the West but now have become an average team. It wasn’t too long ago they were going deep into the playoffs.

The last two seasons have been somewhat disappointing for the Dallas Mavericks compared to seasons past. Mark Cuban has realized this, and has elected to do something about it.

The Mavericks have had an extremely eventful off season, highlighted by some big name signings that may have a profound impact on the team.

Mark Cuban is a very unique owner in that he is seen just as much as his players are. Whether this hurts or helps his team win basketball games is uncertain – what is does show is that he cares a great deal about his team and tries to do what’s best for them.  Read more...

Tennessee Titans Can’t Find a W

Who would have expected the Tennessee Titans to open up the season with an 0-2 record? After a successful 2008 season, it’s shocking.

The Titans play in the AFC South, the same division as the Indianapolis Colts – this doesn’t bode well for the Titans. Once you dig yourself a hole in the NFL in the beginning, you spend the rest of the season trying to climb out of it.

It’s not that the Titans are a bad team. In 08′ the Titans went–3, winning the AFC South and overthrowing the Colts. This year QB Kerry Collins is completing less then 59% of his pass attempts – granted the Titans have an average receiving core.

The running game of the Titans is more dangerous, as Chris Johnson and LenDale White are a formidable running duo. The Titans’ defense has been good at stopping the run but not much else. The Titans are among the worst in the NFL in points per game allowed and passing yards per game allowed.  Read more...

San Francisco 49ers Hot Start

How about those San Francisco 49ers? After a disappointing 2008 campaign that showed some promises of hope, it looks like this Niners team is ready to deliver on that hope in 2009.

The 49ers gave the Minnesota Vikings all they could take – it took a Favre miracle pass for the Vikings to win. RB Frank Gore has the potential for another 1,600 yard season and QB Shaun Hill is getting better by the game.

The 49ers are in the same division as the Arizona Cardinals – the reigning NFC West champs. The Cardinals haven’t played like Super Bowl NFC representatives as of yet.

The 49ers have a good chance to win the NFC West because they are so well coached and overall – the NFC West is rather weak. Whether it’s a weak division or not, the 49ers should compete for the division crown which will get them in the playoffs.

The glory days of the 49ers might be gone but they are in the process of rebuilding another Super Bowl type team. This year might not be their Super Bowl season, in a couple years the 49ers could raise the Vince Lombardi trophy for their 6th time and the teams first since’95.  Read more...

A preview of the ‘09-’10 Boston Celtics

The last 2 seasons for the Boston Celtics have been wild to say the least. The Celtic defeated the favored Los Angeles Lakers in the NBA Finals in 08′ for the Celtics 17th championship.

After one of the most exciting playoffs series, first round or not, against the Chicago Bulls the Celtics didn’t have enough to put away the Orlando Magic. It was a shame the Celtics didn’t have the opportunity to defend their 08′ championship at full strength.

If the Celtics had a healthy Kevin Garnett there is no reason they could not repeat as champions – the Celtics nearly beat the Orlando Magic without Garnett in the second round.

The “Big Three” for the Celtics – Kevin Garnett, Paul Pierce and Ray Allen are not getting any younger so this could be one of the last seasons the Celtics have a legitimate chance at winning the title.

Rasheed Wallace joins the Celtics after a disappointing season with the Detroit Pistons. This might also be one of the last seasons Rasheed Wallace has a chance to win a NBA title – he is 35 years old and in NBA years that’s much older.  Read more...

St. Louis Rams Continue To Suffer

Can anything good be said about the St. Louis Rams? Any football fan would be hard pressed to find something positive about the miserable situation of the St. Louis Rams.

I suppose one could point to their 9-7 loss at Washington as a sign that things are on the verge of improving, one fact remains. No telling how Washington is though and they may even be a weak team this year.

The St. Louis Rams have only scored 7 total points through the first two weeks of the 2009 football season. Having been blanked by the Seahawks in Seattle (28-0, couldn’t get much worse), the team traveled to Washington in week 2, carrying higher hopes.

While nearly winning, the fact that the team only scored 7 points doesn’t bode well for the Rams’ offense. Unfortunately for Steven Jackson, he gets no help.

Defense is not known to be their strong point, and without an effective offensive present, it’ll be extremely difficult for this team to win many games. They can’t stop the run nor can they stop the pass. I expect some really big scores against them this year.  Read more...