Durantula > Black Mamba: New Era for NBA

by Jim Bearor

I’ll say that I consider myself a “casual” basketball fan.  I follow the highlights during the regular season, and occasionally tune in if the matchup piques my interest.  I watch enough to know that the Oklahoma City Thunder can drop 120 points effortlessly when they are rolling on all cylinders.  I also know that Lakers fans (and some players) are unhappy how Mike Brown is handling his aging team.  So going into this series, I had a feeling that we would be watching a large part of the power shift in the NBA.

Similar things are happening in the East as well, as the young Philadelphia team poses a legitimate threat to the geriatric Celtics, especially after stealing Game 1 in Boston.  This changing of the guard is something that everyone saw coming eventually, but it’s hard to believe that its happening now.  Nobody wants to be the first one to say that the sun is setting for Kobe Bryant and the entire core group of the Celts, but I think this is as good a time as any.  After watching the Lakers get absolutely hammered by the Thunder last night, I really don’t think ther is any denying it.  Oklahoma City is no longer the future of the NBA – they are the present.  Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook dominated for the 3 quarters that they played, and made Los Angeles look older and feebler than they actually are.

Westbrook completely outplayed Kobe on both ends of the court, and even pulled off a couple huge steals early on.  The game was never a contest, and it made me realize how grudgingly everyone held on to the Lakers because of their success in the recent past.  Sometimes you have to take a step back and actually pay attention to what is happening on the court, as opposed to giving Kobe and his squad the benefit of the doubt.  Everyone should recognize and appreciate how great they have been in years past, but nothing lasts forever.

Looking back on these playoffs in a few years, everyone will remember it as the season where the Durantula stole the crown from the Black Mamba.  The young guns are growing up before our eyes, and the stars of yesterday are starting to fade.  Oh, the times, they are a’changing.

Follow Jim on Twitter: @JimBearor

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Contact High

by Nick Wershing

Here we are, just a few weeks removed from the 2012 NFL Draft, and the hype all the rookies are creating continues to increase. Teams are saying how good their rookies look and how they will be competing for starting spots in the upcoming season. But what are they basing their opinions on? These players are just going through OTAs right now. It’s all the guys vying for the last spots on the roster playing in no pads. No one will actually know who is going to compete for playing time this year until they are up against the best players, playing at full speed, and playing with full contact.

Yes, certain players were brought in to be the starter in the near future, if not now. Luck, RG3, Tannehill, maybe even Weeden, were all brought in to compete for the starting job now. But teams like the Seahawks, who are saying their 3rd round, undersized QB is competing for the starting job are jumping the gun a little too early. I’m sure that Russell Wilson is making all the throws right now. But I am also sure that B.J. Coleman (7th round pick from Chattanooga), is looking pretty good too. And I don’t hear anyone saying he is going to compete with Aaron Rodgers this year. Don’t get me wrong; I am not saying that Matt Flynn and Tavaris Jackson are on Rodgers’ level, nor am I saying that Wilson is not a great talent. All I am saying is that it is far too early for coaches, teams, and fans to be proclaiming their new draft picks, especially ones after the first two rounds, a key component in their offense. Quarterback may be the hardest position to adapt to in the NFL. How can someone expect a late round QB to immediately make an impact?

These coaches, teams, and fans are suffering from what I am going to call a contact high. For months now, they have heard great things about what these kids (or grown men in Weeden’s case) did in college. Now they expect that to directly transfer into the NFL. Does anyone really expect Luck to come in and have a 3.7 touchdown to interception ration? Is Luke Kuechly going to average close to 16 tackles a game for the Panthers? These are elite talent players, who looked even better due to the competition they faced in college. Now everyone they face is close to the same talent level as they are, if not better. I caution everyone to give their rookies time to develop, learn the system, and grow accustomed to the NFL. Alex Smith was said to be the answer for the 49ers when he was taken with the first pick in the 2005 draft. Well, he seems to be now, having led them to the NFC Championship last year, but it took him 6 or 7 years to get there. Teams need to relax and stop putting so much pressure on these kids. And everyone needs to ignore the contact high they are receiving from the hype of the draft. Remember, for every Peyton Manning and Ben Roethlisberger, there is a Jamarcus Russell and Aklili Smith.

Follow Nick Wershing on Twitter: @n_shing

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Putting a Fork in Indiana

For a while now, I haven’t been posting as much as I would like to on this blog, but haven’t done anything about it.  The problem is not that I don’t have enough material or desire to write, but its more because of I didn’t know how I wanted to write.  As I constantly read stories and article written by guys like Rick Reilly and Adam Schefter, I felt inspired to offer my point of view on whatever interested me at the time.  But instead of using that as a starting point, I tried too hard to emulate the structured and formal work that they did.  I realize now that isn’t what I wanted to do.  I found myself sitting in front of my computer for hours on end just thinking of something that people wanted to read about – usually whatever was headlining on ESPN that day – and how I was going to voice my thoughts in a way that was similar to the writers on the major sports networks.  That was mistake, and I’m going to give this another try.  From here on out, I won’t be spending hours at a time researching statistics just so I can spit them right back out and tell you what they mean.  This blog is going to be an outlet for my thoughts on sports – as outlandish and brutal as they may be – and if you don’t enjoy that, I completely understand if you stop coming here.  If you’re going to stick around, you’re obviously very intelligent and I appreciate the support.

Now that I have that off my chest…

Does anybody really think that the Pacers even have a fighter’s chance against Miami?  It’s understandable to say yes only if you’re associated with one team or the other, but I really don’t want to hear the same old cries of “It’s not over ‘til it’s over” or “It’s a seven game series.”  Save your breath.  Even without Bosh, they should bully Indiana and end the series in 4 or 5 games.  Beyond that is a different story, as they have nobody down low to match up against the Tim Duncans or Andrew Bynums that lie ahead.

LeBron James eats Danny Granger for breakfast, lunch, and dinner.  He has done this his entire career, and I don’t expect it to change. When LeBron was in Cleveland, he played defense on Granger 4 times a year, and locked him down every single time.  The matchup isn’t any better on the other end of the court; all you have to do is look at LBJ’s stats in Game 1.  Using this argument alone, I feel like I can rest my case.  There is nobody on the Pacers that can stop the best player in the world from completely taking over the game – not to mention D. Wade – and that’s why their season ends right now.  Mark it down.

Seeing this series go the other way would be one of the more ridiculous things I have seen in sports.  I don’t doubt that Indiana is a very good team, and I understand that they had the 3rd best record in the east, only 4 games back of the high-and-mighty Heat.  This doesn’t change my opinion at all.  They played out of their minds for the last six weeks of the regular season, and used their physical nature to win games (against a weak conference).  I can’t fathom Miami being outmuscled; Wade and James won’t let it happen.

I’m willing to listen to arguments, although I doubt there will be many.  The general public knows that a Heat victory is almost a certainty, but they are not so hasty to consider the Pacers dead.  I am.

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