Lakers hire Mike D'Antoni

On Sunday night, early Monday morning, The LA Lakers hired former Coach Of The Year Mike D'Antoni. D'Antoni signed a $12M/4yr deal with Tinseltown's team. Communication with Phil Jackson broke down due to his seemlingly outlandish demands ( $10-15M a year, major clout in personnel choices, choosing his successor, and skipping selected road games). Obviously that's a lot to ask for even for Phil Jackson. Now that the Lakers have their coaching situation in tact, how will the rest of the season play out for them? I believe that Lakers will flourish under Mike D'Antoni. D'Antoni has a great relationship with Steve Nash; Nash knows how to run a D'Antoni offense. Their offense will be fast paced, high octane, pick n roll oriented, and fun to watch. Dwight will thrive in the pick n roll with Nash, which will free up Kobe for open shots due to the threat of Nash's unparalleled pick n roll ability. A plethora of critics, including myself, know that D'Antoni isn't a defensive minded coach; However according to ESPN D'Antoni's teams have solid defensive stats. Although that is true none of D'Antoni's previous teams had the best low post defender in the NBA, in their starting lineup. Dwight will improve D'Antoni's solid defensive stats, and transform them into great defensive stats. The Lakers currently are on the right track again; They've won two straight games, and have hired a new coach. I'm dubbing these new look Lakers "Showtime Pt. 2". Things are looking up in Hollywood. NUFF SAID.

Mike Brown FIRED!

Yesterday, Lakers coach Mike Brown was terminated from his head coaching position. Mike Brown compiled a record 42-29 while with the Lakers. This season the Lakers were expected to win the Western Conference, but seemingly can't get it together. Brown seemingly never had an offensive system in place; Brown's predecessor Phil Jackson who implemented the Triangle Offense, enabled the Lakers to flourish without a true point guard. Mike D'Antoni and Phil Jackson are the top 2 candidates for the job. D'Antoni is known for his "7 second offense", and high scoring games. In his stint with the Suns the team stayed among the top 10 in PPG, and top 10 in other offensive categories. However, defense is not his fortay; Dwight would control the defense, allow the offense to score in transition, and thrive in the pick n roll with Steve Nash. Phil Jackson is Phil Jackson, need I say more? The only concern with Phil is his health. Can he deal with 82 game grind of the NBA season, plus a predicted deep playoff run? I believe Phil Jackson should be rehired, simply because he's Phil Jackson. NUFF SAID

THE NBA IS BACK!!!!

Welcome to 2012-2013 NBA season! This season promises to top the previous 2 seasons with relative ease. What better way to start this season than with Heat vs Celtics! There is a plethora of bad blood between these two teams. The Heat have ousted the Celtics from the playoffs two years in a row. On top of that future Hall Of Famer Ray Allen joined the Heat this offseason; he's been involved in a highly publicized beef with former teammate Kevin Garnett.  These two teams are going to be extremely determined to defeat each other. Fans should expect a gritty, tough, and defensive minded
game. All in all the Heat will win in a close one 90-85. The second game on the marquee is the Lakers vs Mavericks. The new look Lakers are geared up, and ready to prove their dominance in the West. Unfortunately for the Mavs Dirk Nowitski is 6-8 weeks due to knee surgery, Chris Kaman is also out with a strained right calf. The Lakers will win this game convincingly 100-80. NUFF SAID.

James Harden to Houston

2012 Sixth Man Of The Year James Harden was traded to the Houston Rockets on Saturday night. The Oklahoma City Thunder recieved Kevin Martin, Jeremy Lamb, and 2 first round draft picks. The Houston Rockets recieved James Harden, Cole Aldrich, and Daquean Cook. Harden was intially offered $52M/4yrs. He declined that offer and the Thunder upped the ante a little more by offering Harden $55.5M/4yrs. When he declined that offer Sam Presti knew he had to make a trade that was beneficial to both sides. I feel that their is no winner or loser in this deal. The Thunder recieved Kevin Martin, a proven scorer who can easily score 20 ppg. Jeremy Lamb was also a good pickup, Lamb is also a good scorer, averaging 20 ppg in the NBA Summer League. The Rockets recieve James Harden, who will make an immediate impact on the team. Harden is good scorer, passer, and defender. The possibility of Harden having a breakout season, and joining the NBA's elite superstars is very strong. However the flipside of this is what if Harden doesn't produce as a starter (assuming he starts in Houston)? Maybe  Harden can only play at a high level in 25-28 minutes off the bench. Maybe he'll score 25 ppg as a starter, we'll have to wait and see during the season. The Rockets backcourt is going to be one of the  most exciting backcourts in the league, espcially with Jeremy Lin at the reigns. The Thunder will miss Harden, but they've acquired 2 guys who fill his role nicely.The Rockets are now a playoff team, with a very bright future. NUFF SAID.

COWBOYS MUST TURN THEIR SEASON AROUND!

After his abyssmal 5 interception performance against the Bears, Tony Romo must turn the Cowboys season around RIGHT NOW! Jerry Jones is the team's problem, however he wouldn't be a problem if Romo was playing at a high level   ( ala Troy Aikman who lead the Cowboys to 3 Superbowl titles under Jerry Jones). Romo has the weapons, guys such as Dez, Miles, Ogletree, Witten, Felix Jones, and DeMarco Murray are more than capable of generating points. Romo must LEAD the team for the Cowboys to be successful. He must guide HIS offense, which is the worst offense in the NFL averaging 16.3 ppg. It's all on Romo, if he wants to join Eli, Brady, Rodgers, Peyton, and Brees in the ELITE QB class he MUST turn this season around, and come up big in crunchtime. If he really aspires to be an ELITE QB he must lead the Cowboys to a Superbowl victory. If he can't step up Kyle Orton should be the Cowboys new starting QB. Nuff Said.

Brooklyn Nets: OVERHYPED

I don't mean any harm, but the Nets are a little overhyped. Yes the team has D-Will, Joe Johnson, Gerald Wallace, and Brook Lopez. The Nets also have Kim Kardashian's ex husband Kris Humphries (who's a 10 and 10 guy). A boisterous Russian owner Mikhail Prokohov and New York royalty Jay-Z also are apart of this new franchise. The Barclays Center, which Jay-Z rocked recently, is a beautiful stadium. The team possesses a former Coach Of The Year in Avery Johnson, who is more than capable of coaching a championship contender. With all of these pros and seemingly no cons, there is one problem. The Brooklyn Nets HAVE NOT PLAYED A NBA GAME (I'm not counting the preseason games). In 2011 the Miami Heat were in the same situation, overhyped and unproven. Through their first 17 games the Heat were a dissapointing 9-8. However they turned it around by having the second best record in the Eastern conference. Another thing the Nets must develop is chemistry. Miami had chemistry issues early on, but patched them up as the season progressed. The Nets look good on paper, but let's see how they look after maybe 25-30 games in the regular season. Nuff said. P.S.- I don't feel that they should have their own "The Association" special on NBA TV. In my eyes they haven't earned it.

NFL REFS ARE BACK!

Thank God the REAL NFL refs are back. The NFL has come to terms with the referees, and their labor dispute is over. The NFL was being cheap, due to the fact that they didn't want to pay the referees. It was the same scenario with the players. The Packers vs Seahawks game played a big role in ending the dispute (we all know about that controversial catch and call).