Please Draft Beasley

Enough of all the trade talks and speculation. My head is spinning from all the possibilities. Marion, the 2nd pick, Mark Blount, and even Dwyane Wade have all been discussed in rumors involving Miami and the NBA Draft.

As much fun as it would be to play fantasy NBA GM, I just want to draft Beasley tonight and sign him before Pat Riley does something foolish, like trading him. I understand they love OJ Mayo, but it's iffy if he can play the point in the NBA and Beasley is a force on the inside. You have a huge trade chip in Marion's expiring contract. Find someone who needs cap space and move him for an asset.

I still don't understand the problem with just signing Elton Brand this summer. If Brand is indeed interested in playing for Miami, why doesn't he just opt out and sign here? Wouldn't you prefer the 50+ million guaranteed over the next few years than a one year deal worth 16+? This isn't the NFL where you can get cut and lose all that money. If he would just opt out, it would save us a huge headache.

The problem then, of course, is that we would be way over the luxury cap without a way to dump salary. Micky Arison won't allow it. I think he should. I suppose it is a little too late, with our draft pick so close. Had we gotten a chance to sign Brand this summer, then we could have traded Haslem or Marion for a point guard, and draft Beasley, or kept them both and drafted Mayo. Who knows?

At this point, the only way to get Brand is to trade Marion or wait till next year. Instead, it is looking more and more likely that the Heat will just opt to dump salary through Blount and trade Beasley away just so they can sign Brand next season. It's a calculated risk. I'm not saying OJ Mayo isn't a special player, because he is, but Beasley is ridiculous. You'd be putting your job/legacy on the line by passing on him in an attempt to rebuild using other assets. We'll see.

Playoff Predictions Update

A little over a month ago I posted my predictions for the entire NBA postseason. Usually, I'm way off on these things, case in point my failed NCAA brackets. However, this year I managed to screw myself over in a new way. I didn't bet on my picks.

Sure, I didn't get any of the series lengths correct. And yes, I didn't do much in picking upsets. Regardless, I'm pretty proud of the fact I got every series correct leading up to the much ballyhooed Lakers-Celtics NBA Finals that I would say is going to be over in 5. Expect Kobe and the Lakers to be celebrating on their home court in a couple of weeks. They're that good.

I wonder what kind of payoff I would have gotten from dropping a bet on my entire postseason predictions. It kind of sucks that for once in my life I was right about a sports prediction, but I got nothing from it. Although I suppose these playoffs were relatively predictable aside from the Boston-Detroit ECF, the Spurs-Suns first round series and the Spurs-Hornets 2nd round series. The rest were pretty much easy picks.

Now That We Have The 2nd Pick

What happens next?

That's probably a good question. No doubt I wasn't the only one relieved as hell to see the Timberwolves' logo on the 3rd envelope. That meant we had assured ourselves of either Beasley or Rose. The problem is that I'm not entirely sure Beasley is our guy and the Bulls present a threat to take Rose.

I personally like the idea of picking 2nd. You take whichever guy is left over and call it a day. No 2nd guessing down the road if the player you missed out on ends up being a superstar or wins a title. I would be ecstatic to have either player. My preference is Rose to team up with Wade in the backcourt, but that's up to Chicago now.

I would hope the Bulls know better than to pick the hometown guy in Rose. They have 2 or 3 solid point guards, and a whole lot of money tied up into that position. They also have no frontcourt scoring ability, so Beasley presents a very enticing option. I don't see why they wouldn't just draft Michael. However, there are rumblings that they like Rose and might end up taking him.

I would be fine with that, if we were to take Beasley that is. I've read rumors that Miami is less than enamored with Beasley and would lean towards trading the pick if it isn't Rose. That scares the hell out of me, to be honest. Only once a decade or so do you get a gift like this. Unless we get a proven, relatively young All-Star and a good backup or two in the trade, then we seriously need to just take Beasley. Figure out what to do with Haslem or Marion later.

I will be very pissed if we trade the pick instead of taking Beasley. I'm tired of Riley's anti-youth personnel decision-making. And speaking of Marion, apparently he is looking to opt out, according to ESPN. So that puts us in a position where drafting Beasley would be a no-brainer. Regardless, I'm a little antsy about the whole thing because it's no longer assured we will get Derrick Rose. I don't want a situation where we pass on a can't-miss prospect in favor of some retreads and cap space. Maybe picking 2nd isn't so great after all. Had we just gotten that first pick it would have been Rose all the way.

Celtics Dominate, Advance

It certainly took longer than expected (I had them sweeping), but Boston dismantled the outmatched Hawks in Boston today to advance and meet the Cavs in Round 2.

This means I was 8-8 in my predictions for Round 1, albeit none of the predictions of the length of the series were on the mark. That's not too much to brag about, as I went chalk for the majority of my predictions, save for the Spurs topping the Hornets in 6 in Round 2. Yesterday's shellacking didn't do much to support my opinion that the Spurs are a better team than New Orleans. Then again, I doubt Tim Duncan will be held to 5 points and 3 boards ever again in the playoffs.

I'll stand by my original predictions because not much has changed my mind since Round 1. Boston showed they have some serious weaknesses and it has to be a bit disturbing that they couldn't close out Atlanta on the road. Regardless, they should still send Cleveland home packing pretty quickly. I still say it goes down in 5, but I wouldn't be surprised to see it go 6 or 7 based on the success that Atlanta had.

Detroit also easily took care of their second round opponent, but I don't think the Pistons are 20 points better than the Magic every night. Dwight Howard will dominate, especially at home, and I still think the series goes 6 or 7.

The Lakers are taking care of the Jazz as we speak, but the game isn't over and Utah is an excellent team. Some have them as a darkhorse to win it all and I couldn't disagree with that choice. I still think LA wins this series but I fully expect it to go the distance.

And even with the Spurs' disappointing Game 1 loss yesterday, I think they will pull it out and win the series at home in Game 6. San Antonio is an excellent home team and I don't expect them to lose there in this series. I think they take the next 3 before losing Game 5 and finishing the Hornets off in San Antonio. New Orleans has been playing better than I thought they would, and Chris Paul is ridiculous, but they are still relatively young and the experienced Spurs know how to get it done in crunch time.

How Sweet It Is

Seeing the Mavs and Suns get eliminated yesterday brought a smile to my face. First off, the sniveling crybabies in Dallas deserve their 1st round exit. The team is overrated and made a huge mistake in trading for Jason Kidd. Dirk No-ring-ski is soft and will never win a title as long as he is the primary option on the team. And of course, everybody's favorite owner Mark Cuban gets to stop and realize he spent millions for nothing. Granted, he might have made some profit, but the heartache will be enough to make me happy.

As for the Suns, I never particularly liked them too much. They play an exciting brand of ball, but I personally would have preferred to see Golden State in the playoffs. Steve Nash is excellent but a completely one-dimensional player. But after they traded for Shaq, I openly rooted against them. He can say he was misquoted all he wants, and that he has "apologized" to his former teammates. It still remains that Shaq is a lazy, spoiled child and deserves an early exit from the playoffs. I guess his lack of success with the Heat wasn't all his teammates' fault, huh? Enjoy your time off, big guy, and consider watching reruns of the 2006 Finals. That will probably be the last successful season in your long, illustrious career.

Playoff Predictions

I couldn't be less interested in the NBA Playoffs this year, now that the Heat are god-awful and aren't participating. In any case, here are my predictions. And yes I'm aware I'm cheating since 4 of the series already started.

East

Boston over Atlanta in 4
Detroit over Philly in 5
Orlando over Toronto in 6
Cleveland over Washington in 7

Boston over Cleveland in 5
Detroit over Orlando in 7

Boston over Detroit in 7

West

Lakers over Denver in 5
Hornets over Mavs in 7
Spurs over Suns in 6
Utah over Houston in 5

Lakers over Utah in 7
Spurs over Hornets in 6

Lakers over Spurs in 7

Final:

Lakers over Boston in 6

I have a feeling that Boston has been overrated for a long time. They have the best record, but I just have a hunch about them.

Riley Selected into Hall of Fame

No-Brainer #2 of the day was the selection of coach Pat Riley into basketball's Hall of Fame today. It's been a tough year, but Riley surely will get some solace from receiving this honor. I can't imagine many people more deserving of the honor than Riley.

He's won 5 titles as coach with 2 different teams, most recently leading our beloved Heat to the 2005-2006 NBA Championship. Riley also holds the NBA record for most victories as a coach, currently with 1208. What makes Riley exceptional is his years of experience handling talented teams and balancing the egos on those rosters. He is a master motivator, with a seemingly endless supply of techniques and ploys to help complacent or indifferent players back on the path to success. Without him, Miami doesn't win the 2005 title. Stan Van Gundy wouldn't have been able to pull those guys together and help spark a comeback in the Finals.

Riley will be inducted along with All-Time greats Patrick Ewing and Hakeem Olajuwon, two dominant centers that faced off against each other as Riley coached in the 1994 NBA Finals between the Rockets and Knicks. It's good company to have. Also, Dick Vitale, a staple of College Basketball telecasts, will be inducted in the Hall of Fame. Annoying as he may be, that honor is well-deserved as well.

Shaq Attack is Back

By now you've probably heard Shaq's recent comments regarding his former teammates. Pat Riley has already responded with a statement, saying he is disappointed with our former center's comments. Calling these unprovoked attacks "sad" is an understatement, but I applaud Riles for not shooting back with insults of his own. God knows he could dredge up plenty of dirty laundry from Shaq's playing days here. As much as O'Neal improved on his physical condition, his work ethic was in question many times.

Now he has the gall to call out specific teammates. He had previously taken shots at them, but didn't identify anyone by name. Unfortunately, he changed his mind and felt the need to insult Ricky Davis and Chris Quinn while describing how happy he is playing for the Suns. I'm sure playing for the Suns is fantastic, and Ricky Davis is hardly the best teammate on the court, and yes, Chris Quinn is a marginal player at best, but come on Shaq.

The problem with Shaq is that he doesn't really care about anyone but himself. The things he has said about the team are true: yes they stink and maybe it wasn't all that fun playing here these past 2 seasons. But he didn't seem to have a problem playing with players of Quinn's caliber when we won a championship 2 years ago. Remember how he said Michael Doleac was the first true backup center he ever had? Hah. And according to Ira, he wanted Antoine Walker out, got his wish, and still complains about what we got in return. What did he expect, Corey Maggette?

Quinn is a hard working guy who gives his all every time he plays. The same can't be said for Shaq, who weighed down this franchise with 20 minutes a game for 20 million dollars. Look at his mini-Renaissance in Phoenix. It's not that their training staff are miracle workers. He is playing better there because 1) obviously he has better teammates, but more importantly 2) he is actually trying. That proves he is unprofessional. Even in a 10-72 season, I expect men being paid millions of dollars to play a game to at least go out there and try. Granted, losing wears you down, but give the fans the decency to put forth some effort for their money. Shaq didn't always do that.

There is no need to bring down people you used to work with. Even if they take the first shot, it's unprofessional to say anything negative against former employers or co-workers. There's no excuse for what Shaq does. Even if everything he says stems from some locker room strife we don't know about, then one can easily point to his days in Orlando and Los Angeles, where after leaving those two teams, he again had words to say about some of his teammates.

O'Neal is and always has been two-faced. He always has wonderful things to say about his new team, charming the media and the fans into liking him and overlooking his shortcomings. Don't forget how little respect he's had for opponents in the past and then once he is on the same team with them, he loves them.

It's sad because Shaq is one of the best players in NBA history and above all he is concerned about his legacy. The mistake he has made is that he thinks he will only be remembered for his exploits on the court. What he hasn't realized yet is that when people talk about the great players of all-time, they also acknowledge what kind of people they were and what they did off the court. It may be irrelevant to their basketball accomplishments, but I guarantee you that O'Neal will always be held below Bill Russell partially because people will subtly remember what a bad teammate Shaq was at times.

Stan's Return to the AAA

Missing from my recap of last night's game versus Orlando was the notable story of Stan Van Gundy returning to Miami for the first time since he was fir----since he resigned from his job as head coach of the Miami Heat. With him came a 1st place Orlando team that as usual dominated their in-state rivals.

Unfortunately, I didn't catch the opening of the matchup and thus I don't know whether or not Stan got a standing ovation for his 2+ seasons as our head coach. Looking back, I'm not even sure he deserves it. Sure the guy took us to the playoffs twice, winning 3 playoff series and securing a #1 seed in 2004. However, there were pros and cons during Van Gundy's tenure.

Though Stan's teams were moderately successful, it became clear that he simply did not demand the respect of the team in the clutch. There is no way we lose Game 7 to the Pistons at home in 2004 (the fact our entire starting 5 was injured is irrelevant) with Pat Riley. Likewise, there is no way this team comes back from being down 0-2 with a 13 point 4th quarter deficit in the 2006 Finals with Stan Van Gundy.

Stan was more of a caretaker than a great coach in many regards. Riley wouldn't have made the mistake of handing the ball to an injured Damon Jones in the waning moments of Game 7, and would have made sure to feed a then effective Shaq the ball. I believe that team would have had a 50/50 chance to beat the Spurs in the NBA Finals, so that was a huge disappointment.

However, I am being a little harsh on Stan the Man. His 2003 team was a ragtag bunch of lesser known players who came back from an 0-7 start to secure a 4th seed and a decent showing against Indiana in the playoffs. He also was unafraid to give playing time to a young rookie name Dwyane Wade. Who knows if Wade ever would have blossomed into the star that he has become had he started under Riley his first two seasons. For that, I give Stan credit.

The end result is that Stan was a good coach for us, and a better person. The conspiracy theories regarding his 2005 exit should be put to rest and he should be allowed to move on. I wish him the best in Orlando, even at our expense this season, as it seems that our year is already down the drain. He may have cost us slightly in the short run, but in the long run it was probably because of him that we got to see Wade explode so quickly onto the NBA scene.