Rasheed Wallace chooses Boston Celtics

Posted on July 5, 2009 by Dino Gomez

Rasheed Wallace was one of the leagues best available free agents until this evening when reports surfaced that he has officially chosen Boston as his next location to play. Wallace was considering San Antonio, the Orlando Magic, and the Dallas Mavericks as other possibilities but in the end it looks like he chose Boston in order play alongside Kevin Garnett, Ray Allen, and Paul Pierce. Immediately the discussion on ESPN is whether Wallace will provide the lift the Celtics need to return to an NBA final. My answer is contingent upon whether Cleveland adds any more pieces to their team.Rasheed_Wallpaper_NBA

Right now I would imagine an Eastern Conference final featuring Boston and Cleveland with Boston slightly edging out Lebron and the big Diesel. However if the Cavaliers add anything more, I mean anything more like a better towel boy that keeps the players better hydrated, then it would seem the duo of Shaq and Lebron with solid complimentary players would still be too much for Boston to handle. Lets face it those Boston stars are getting up there in age. Not to say that Shaq isn’t but that is only one player compared to the core starting 4 of Boston. On paper Boston does looks better, on the court Cleveland does. This Celtics line up can be compared to that of the Los Angeles Lakers a few years back when they had 4 future hall of fame players in the starting line up: Kobe, Shaq, Malone, and Payton. That line up also looked amazing on paper but did not on the court. The NBA championship teams of the most recent years tend to be built around a perfect mesh of young talent and clutch veteran play. Big news that Wallace has chosen Boston but still no upgrade for the Celetics. Trevor Ariza would have been a better fit there with the defense that he brings, his youth, and his low-key profile.

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Best draft picks from second round in past 10 years

Posted on June 24, 2009 by Dino Gomez

With the NBA draft another day closer, we have decided to recall the best draft picks from the second round in the past 10 years. These players were selected at positions where a career normally doesn’t exist for them  in the NBA after a matter of 3 or 4 years. We will start with the top pick and work down to the fifth best pick.redd

2000 – Bucks selected Michael Redd 43rd- That is just crazy. Michael Redd the guy with the sweet left hand jumper that seems to never miss was passed up 42 times before his name was called in the 2001 NBA draft. Redd is an NBA all-star now and franchise player for the Bucks. He also was chosen to represent the Dream Team in the Olympics in 2008 in which he contributed to a U.S. gold medal.

2001- Warriors selected Gilbert Arenas 31st- One of the league’s premier players was selected in the second round. Agent zero a.k.a. Gilbert Arenas, the franchise player for the Washington Wizards was offered the league maximum $127 million for seven years back in 2008. Instead he opted to receive $111 million so that his team had more money to spend elsewhere. Arenas has worn the number zero since high school when he was never given a chance to flourish on the court. He wore that number at Arizona and now in the NBA in order to remind himself what he has to prove.

1998 – Supersonics selected Rashard Lewis 32nd- Rashard Lewis who was just featured in the NBA finals as a member of the Orlando Magic is obviously talented. He is a 6’10 forward who can knock down long distance shots like he was a guard. He represents everything the NBA wants in a player. He is humble and extremely talented. He chose to take less money and play for the Magic because he understood that the majority of teams that win a championship do so with a dominant player at the center position. Lewis felt Dwight Howard was his best chance.

2003 – Mavs selected Josh Howard 29th- Josh Howard is still growing as a player but is already un-stoppable on the offensive end. He has a solid jump shot and is athletic enough to drive the lane. If the Mavericks or his team ever pushes far into the playoffs look for him to step up and take over big game situations.eva_longoria

2001 – Spurs selected Tony Parker 28th- Alright I know the 28th pick falls as the last pick of the first round but for matters here that is close enough. How amazing that Tony Parker was drafted so late. He is dominant at the point and has one of the quickest first steps in the league. He is an NBA allstar and three time NBA champion. He is also a pimp. He was approached after a playoff game in L.A. by Eva Longoria’s father and was congradulated on an impressive performance. Parker responded by explaining how hungry he was after his performance and invited Eva’s father and Eva herself to a late dinner. Parker treated the two to a late night Denny’s meal while playing everything casual. Before long he had his own date with Eva and now as you all may know she goes by Eva Longoria Parker. What a player.

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The Two strangest Game Winners

Posted on May 10, 2009 by Dino Gomez

It’s hard to say which game winning play was more awkward, Carmelo Anthony’s game winning three pointer last night against the Dallas Mavericks or Glen Davis’ game winning jump shot tonight against the Orlando Magic? 51357575No matter which play you found more exciting or enjoyable, you have to admit, they were both strange.

Last night towards the end of the game between the Denver Nuggets and Dallas Mavericks, Carmelo Anthony had the ball close to the top of the key with his team down two points. As the clock showed under 5 seconds remaining, Antoine Wright of the Dallas Mavericks intentionally bumped Anthony multiple times in order to draw a foul and stop the clock. Wright obviously fouled Anthony but no whistle from the officials ensued. What happened next was hilarious. Wright having thought he fouled Anthony stopped defending him but Anthony never stopped playing and instead turned a corner and hit a game winning three-pointer. In the replay during live action the announcer even comments that Anthony was fouled and then fumbles over a few words to explain that the play had continued and that Anthony had just hit a game winning three pointer.

Then tonight  Boston faced Orlando in a crucial game 4 of their series. With the Celtics down a point and with possession of the ball, Paul Pierce received an in-bounds pass in the remaining seconds of the game. Pierce’s teammate Glen Davis, who must be the most overweight player in the league, came towards Pierce to set him an on the ball screen. As Pierce came around the screen, Glen Davis A.K.A “Big Baby” slipped outward toward the baseline un-guarded. Pierce passed “Big Baby” the ball and as time expired, “Big Baby” hit the game winning jump shot. Now if this is the first time hearing about this play then you may wonder how it is strange. You must keep in mind however that Glen Davis is huge and looks more like a sumo-wrestler on the court than a forward. Watching him jump in the air and hit a game winning shot is the equivalent of watching a 350 pound linebacker run 50 yards for a touch down in the NFL. It just looks ugly and it seems like it shouldn’t count.

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