Thursday, February 3, 2011
Woody Harrelson He Is Not
Who says white men can't jump? This cat is Ed's alum Tom Pritchard, who, according to SportsCenter lives above the rim.
Why Even Play the Game?
I hope this eventually makes Matthew Perry say, "That simulation could not have been more wrong." Madden 10 did accurately predict the Saints victory in SBXLIV last year. Let's not make it a habit EA or the NFLPA will slide a new clause into the CBA banning real-life football. ;-j
Five Alive
Also... I disagree with this dude, mostly because Eddie Sutton, John Beilein, Rick Pitino and a litany of primary talent has not accompanied Joey Graham, Manny Harris, & Samardo Samuels to the Cavs sideline. If you would like to make your case that the Cavaliers would win, please do. Don't make yourself seem an ignorant fool by quoting college statistics and, especially, draft positions. It's not like Anthony Parker was so bad that he to play half a decade in Israel to get another shot. Wait... OSU would win because they have a similar talent level and, more importantly, engage opponents as a team, rather than as a loosely tethered flock of losers. I do agree that the Buckeyes lack depth, but their 7 are used to 35 minutes a night. Still, this certainly is a lot of words.
Tipoff: The Cavs, who are without Mo Williams, Anderson Varejao, Daniel Gibson and Leon Powe, trot out Ramon Sessions, Manny Harris, J.J. Hickson, Antawn Jamison and Christian Eyenga for the opening tip, while the Buckeyes counter with William Buford, Jon Diebler, Dallas Lauderdale, Jared Sullinger and David Lighty.
18:12: Lauderdale, who seemingly has been at Ohio State for nine years, makes his customary early exit, with true point guard Aaron Craft, who represents exactly half of the useful players on Thad Matta’s bench, taking the court.
18:10: With no shot-blocking presence on the floor for OSU, Harris, who put up 18.1 points a game in his third and final season at Michigan, which is more than any Buckeye is averaging, drives around the slow-footed Diebler for the first of his three dunks in the next four minutes.
15:28: Soon after a mandatory TV timeout, the 6-foot-9 Jamison, with a height advantage over anyone Matta puts on him now that Sullinger is at center, scores on a baby hook, the first of many he will have on the night.
9:55: Sullinger, the lone Ohio State player guaranteed of playing at the NBA level, drop-steps around Hickson. Twenty seconds later, Sullinger pump-fakes Hickson off his feet and scores again.
4:04: Matta, his undersized team unable to match up with Jamison, decides to go to a zone. Shooting from the college
3-point line, Anthony Parker, who averaged 16.6 points, 5.4 rebounds and 3.8 assists as a senior at Bradley before becoming the 21st pick in the 1997 NBA Draft, immediately makes a pair of treys. Joey Graham, who averaged 17.7 points and 6.2 boards as a senior at Oklahoma State before being the 16th player chosen in the 2005 draft, comes off the bench and adds another.
Halftime: Jamison has 19 points and the Cavs have made 7-of-13 from beyond the arc to take a 51-37 lead. Sullinger has 15 points for the Buckeyes. Diebler is 0-of-2 from the field, both hurried misses from beyond the arc with a hand right in his face.
Cavs coach Byron Scott, totally unaccustomed to his team leading at the half, much less being on the verge of blowing out someone, says nothing to his players. Matta says plenty to his, then asks his staff why anyone really thought his team had a chance in this one.
17:21: Moments after Diebler cans a pair of threes because the Cavs return to their season-long habit of not guarding shooters, Sessions has a second straight possession where he inexplicably decides to throw the ball to Brutus Buckeye.
17:11: With Cavs radio analyst Jim Chones still talking about Sessions’ turnovers, Sullinger steps out and hits a 16-footer to pull the Buckeyes within eight at 53-45.
17:09: Scott, unwilling to wait for the mandatory TV timeout at the 16-minute mark, angrily calls time and lays into his players. Hickson seems to be looking over his coach’s left shoulder as the Ohio State cheerleaders perform on the court.
16:58: Matta having left Lauderdale in because his team desperately needs the center’s size, Good J.J. surfaces, taking one dribble before spinning around his much-slower defender for a dunk.
16:51: Quickly in off the bench, Parker picks up Craft full-court, picks clean one of three true freshmen playing for OSU and goes in for a layup.
13:10: Sullinger drop-steps and goes up for a shot, only to be hammered by 6-9, 260-pound Samardo Samuels, who averaged 15.3 points and 7.0 rebounds in his second and final season at Louisville. Sullinger splits the pair.
12:50: The Cavs begin to exploit Ohio State’s many matchup problems, with Jamison rolling in another baby hook, then stepping out for a three against an unsuspecting Sullinger. That is followed by Parker losing Diebler on an off-the-ball screen and canning a jumper, then Graham, who is much bigger than his listed 230 pounds, powering right through Lighty for a layup.
9:20: Sessions posts up the smaller Craft for an easy bucket. He follows with a variety of drives and midrange jumpers as the Cavs complete a 21-5 run.
9:19: Austin Carr and Fred McLeod can barely contain themselves.
8:34: Back at center because the Buckeyes can no longer afford to use the non-scoring Lauderdale, Sullinger, who has played all but 27 seconds, has his shot swatted into the third row by long-armed, 7-foot Cavs backup Ryan Hollins.
6:12: The outcome of this one no longer in doubt, Lighty scores on a strong drive. Buford does the same moments later, then freshman Deshaun Thomas hits a high-arcing jumper from the wing.
5:01: Eyenga, whose athleticism has frustrated Diebler much of the night, throws down a monster dunk off a lob from Sessions.
4:20: Ohio State having been forced into another bad shot by the bigger, stronger and quicker Cavs, Alonzo Gee, who averaged 15.0 points and 7.2 boards as a senior at Alabama, throws down another lob from Sessions.
1:58: Appalled anyone could think a college team — even the top-ranked one in the country — could beat an NBA team — even one that barely competes at that level — the Cavs continue to pour it on.
1:02: Both coaches clear their benches, with Matta bringing in five players who are taking off their warm-ups for the first time. Jamison exits with 33 points and nine rebounds, Hickson sits down to eye the OSU cheerleaders with 16 points and 13 boards and Sessions leaves with 19 points, six rebounds, nine assists and five turnovers. Sullinger has 29 points and 15 rebounds, but Diebler, who scores all 12 of his points in the second half on four 3-pointers, is the only other Ohio State player with more than eight.
Final buzzer: Cavs 103, Ohio State 77.
Pretty Girl 02.03.11 - Jill Flint
I know she's a shy little thing, but Maxim, if you're listening, help a brother out.
Wednesday, February 2, 2011
Light at the End of the Tunnel?
8-74 is unlikely. That would entail 55 straight losses and I think that even the Cavs can luck one out before then. The fact of the matter is that it is totally irrelevant. They might win 8 games or they might win a few more. Dollars to doughnuts though, they will have the most ping pong balls on lottery day. If the gods don't decide that it's retribution time for 2003, then the #1 pick will come to Cleveland. Who will that pick be? Having scoured the Web for mock drafts, I have found only 4 names listed at the top - Kyrie Irving, Jared Sullinger, Perry Jones III and Harrison Barnes.
Let's deal with each in turn --
Harrison Barnes - 6'8" 210lbs - SF - North Carolina (Fr)
If you had asked just about anyone, before the season began, who the 2011 #1 pick would be, Barnes would have been the answer. He was the first freshman to be selected as a pre-season all-american by the AP, his high school reel is spectacular and his build resembles the dearly departed. Unfortunately, we actually had to play the games. Barnes has averaged a solid 13.1/5.3/1.4 while turning the ball over only twice a game. He has helped Carolina back into the Top 25. Troublesomely, he has done so by shooting barely 40% from the floor and seeming completely lost at times. Barnes is a do everything wing, whose upside mirrors the best in the league (no, I'm not going to use his name). When (not if), he reaches that potential he will be the exactly the dynamic centerpiece that the Cavs need, but Barnes has not yet even acclimated to the college game which is going to make his transition to the NBA doubly difficult. If he comes out (right now I call it a coin flip), he will go in the top half of the first round, but, unless he wows us through March, he's not going #1.
Kyrie Irving - 6'2" 180lbs - PG - Duke (Fr)
Do the Cavs need a 1? Do they need a leader on the floor? Do they need an exciting scorer whose energy will raise the play of the rest of the team. I'm going to step way out onto a limb here and say "Hell, Yes!" This is the pick. This is the guy who will begin the foundation of the next generation of contending Cavaliers and make the team marketable again by the time Dan Gilbert's casino opens in 2013. Done. Finished. Next time, I'll... Wait... What? He's only played 8 games this year and might very well miss the remainder with a toe injury so bizarre that the doctors can't even name it? Well, that's OK, he'll be ready by summer league time. His upside and his numbers (17.4/3.8/5.1, 53/45/90%) are simply too good to pass up. Oh, crap, he's not coming out. If he does, this is the pick, but he's not. Moving on.
Perry Jones III - 6'10" 220lbs - PF - Baylor (Fr)
I like to call him Percy, but either works. Those who dig this cat point to the fact that you can't teach size and this guy has the body to grow into an NBA beast. His numbers are fair (13.9 ppg, 7.0 rpg, 57% fg) and he has been dominant at times this year. For me though, something seems off. Either he's overwhelmed by the speed of the game in the NCAA or he's lazy or he's just not very bright. Jones can simply disappear from the mix on offense, not moving well without the ball or turning timid when he receives it. True, he can score from anywhere inside of the arc, but only when he wants to. Some of his moves are dazzling, but their lack of frequency is troubling. Perhaps what gives me the longest pause is his defense. He is described in scouting reports as being "an outstanding shot-blocker," and yet he averages less than a block a game. On many possessions I have seen Jones staring at where the ball was rather than fronting his man or rotating with the offense. This leads to a plethora of easy inside points and is my strongest critique of Perry. Again, this is a guy who has tremendous potential. If he gets into the right environment, adds some weight and screws his head on straight, he will become a force to be reckoned with. Those are a lot of "ifs." You can't teach size, but you can't teach desire either. Again, NBA GMs like to speculate, like to think they're smarter than everyone else, so Jones will likely go in the top 5. Still, I am begging you Chris Grant, begging you, not this guy, not now.
Jared Sullinger - 6'9" 280lbs - PF - Ohio State (Fr)
Let me say, right out of the gate, that this is my guy. I was handed the Kool-Aid and I drank it down. Sullinger is NBA ready right now. Not in October, not on draft day, he was ready yesterday. Critics point to his 6'9" stature as too short to play the 4 in the Association. Taken in a vacuum that is entirely true, but doing so is down right foolish. Sullinger's footwork is beyond amazing. He can take literally any 3/4/5 in the NCAA and make him look like a chump in 5 seconds. His first move is to go around his man rather than over or through him (although he can do both). Many defenders are left standing with their arms straight up as Sullinger dunks or drops in a weak hand hook. His body is ready to bang on the NBA blocks. Sullinger isn't going to need 2 years in the weight room to build his frame, he's a rock now. And his hands are baby soft. Not once this season have I seen a unforced fumble or dropped pass. Sullinger shoots 73% from the line and has the form to become a Tim Duncan-esque jump shooter. This dude is so damn good, so damn polished that his numbers (18.0/9.9/1.4 w/ 57% fgs) become irrelevant. In fact, the only argument against Sullinger (other than his height) is that he doesn't have huge growth potential from here, that we're seeing close to the best that he's got. To punish him for this would be tantamount to saying that he got too good too fast. Sure, Harrison Barnes is going to refine and expand his game to the point that he will appear an entirely new player, but Sullinger doesn't have to. I say he's good for 18 & 12 for a decade, at least. Think David West or Kenyon Martin if he never got hurt. Think Charles Barkley if he kept his mouth shut. He's not the sexiest pick, but he is the best. If he is not #1, it will because the Cavaliers have gone in search of an entertainer rather than a basketball player and that would be a shame.
Don't get me wrong Irving or Barnes would be great. Despite the fact that I am firmly in Sullinger's corner, it is most important that they don't take Perry Jones. If Irving and Barnes go back and Sullinger isn't pretty enough for you, take Derrick Williams from Arizona or even Terrence Jones from Kentucky (ooh, a lefty!). This pick is too important to blow on a kid whose best quality is his god given size. Go get a real player and you will be happy. Especially during that playoff run in 2013.
Cheers.
If Football Was Football
The veteran starter options are down to two for the Tribe: Kevin Millwood and Jeremy Bonderman. They have also shown interest in 6-time Gold Glover Eric Chavez to fill the gap at third.
The Buckeyes snared 5-star Virginia LB Curtis Grant and Glenville QB Cardale Jones on signing day. Grant was rated #2 overall by Rivals and #46 by ESPNU. Jones will attend a prep school in the fall and likely redshirt in 2012, thus putting him 2 eligibility years behind stud QB Braxton Miller (p.s. I got to watch Miller in the state championship game and I think he's head and shoulders above TP). On the minus side, Glenville OL Aundrey Walker committed to USC and JFK OL Chris Carter now sits in jail for forcing girls to strip and allow him to fondle their breasts under the ruse of measuring them for ROTC uniforms. Here's the full OSU recruit list.
Video on Grant --
Video on Jones --
Pretty Girl Update! - Aly Michalka
Pretty Girl 02.02.11 - Mila Kunis
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