Without further ado:
(1) I love the Washington Wizards. Passionately. Irrationally. I've loved them for a while now, since when Gilbert Arenas was blogging his heart out and dropping daggers like this:
Now, I am 100% on board with the John Wall rebuild experiment, so be prepared for a ton of reflections on what it takes for a bottom feeder--with a losing culture--to turn it around and put together a contender.
(2) I hate the Heat. I've always kind of disliked them, but they made the hate flow free when they added my least favorite player, LeCrab Dribble. Believe me, I have mad respect for BronBron and his freak althetic talents, but watching three consecutive years of playoff series between my Wizkids and the Cavaliers, I can't help but loathe his petulance, arrogance, and this:
Yes, Arenas choked -- I'll be the first to admit it. But LeBaby epitomized classless behavior by approaching Gil before that second FT and trying to get inside his head. That's not how the game should be played. That's not how the so-called Greatest Player of his Generation should have to win games.
(3) I'm not a big advanced metrics guy. Instead, I'm a firm believer in subjective appreciation of a player's value -- let's call it the Eye Test. Here's an example. According to John Hollinger's PER metric, Kendrick Perkins is the 51st best Center in the league. He's behind Darko, Kwame Brown, and Timofey Mozgov, that famous defender:
Frankly, that makes no sense -- and every person who watches NBA games KNOWS that makes no sense. There's a reason Perk was a huge factor on the 2008 Celtics Championship team, and a reason the Thunder added him at the deadline. He's the sort of player who contributes in ways you can't measure -- hustle, toughness, and teamwork. So, as I write about players on this site, know that I'm valuing them according to what I see with my own eyes, not according to metrics.
(4) I'm incredibly interested in the CBA and other legal issues that are going to take center stage as soon as the season is done. I'm currently working on a paper addressing the contrasts between the NFL and NBA CBA negotiations, so standby to see some excerpts from that work.
(5) I think the Los Angeles Lakers will win their third consecutive championship this season. They have lost 5 straight, yes, but this team is built for postseason success. They have length, they have experience, they have one of the best on-the-ball defenders in the league, they know their roles, and they have Kobe, who -- regardless of what crunch-time stats might say -- remains the league's most clutch player in my mind.
That being said, the Finals I would most like to see is Thunder-Bulls. That's because that is the league's future, in my mind. And it's a bright future: two teams led by Durant and Rose, who are rare talents who actually give a crap, who work their asses off and are the kind of teammates any player would want to have. And the two teams have been built the right way, in my mind -- from the ground up, around specific roles and with a special emphasis on chemistry. It's the model I hope the Wizards follow, and it's the model that produces teams that play the kind of basketball that keeps me coming back for more.
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