Has Joe Mauer become the best player in baseball? He's on a hitting tear reminiscent of Bonds and Pujols but at the most physically demanding position in the sport (which he plays at the highest level). It's a real argument I'd say.

I can already imagine how desperately Don Nelson wants to
draft Ricky Rubio. He passes beautifully, effectively, creatively and boldly.

 

Rubio is also a great finisher at the rim (think Manu
Ginobili not Ben Gordon). That’s one of the things Nellie likes most about
Baron Davis and Monta Ellis, when they get to the rim, they score and/or get
fouled. Heck, that was a real strength of Sidney Moncrief back in the day.

 

Speaking of El Sid, Rubio also rebounds at a surprisingly
high rate. That’s especially helpful on the defensive boards because he’ll be
able to push the ball even more quickly.

 

Rubio will be a one man press breaker, making it difficult
for teams to slow the Warriors attack.

 

Particularly when teamed with Ellis they will provide
intense defensive pressure on the backcourts of their opposition.

 

Since GSW won’t make playoffs this year, they should make a
concerted effort to see which of their talented youngsters will likely
contribute in the long run.

 

GSW will be a low lottery team next year and can trade their
1^st rounder and some combination of veteran, young talent and
expiring contract if they have to climb high enough to grab Rubio. Fortunately
for the Warriors, I don’t think there’s much chance that Rubio will actually be
the top pick. There are several guys who may grab that brass ring but Rubio’s
game won’t naturally translate to all the relevant GMs and coaches. Derrick
Rose’s likely struggles in Chicago won’t help push Rubio to the top of the draft charts either. That means GSW will have
a decent chance to draft Rubio outright.

 

3 years from GSW could have a lineup of:

Ricky Rubio

Monta Ellis

Anthony Randolph

Brendan Wright

Andris Biedrins

 

With bench players like

Kelenna Azubuike

Marco Bellineli

Stephen Jackson or Corey Maggette

Their 2010 1^st round pick

 

That would be a very fun team to watch and may be a great
way for Nellie to ride off into the sunset. He’d love to pass that team off to
a successor as his last coaching legacy.

 

TP

Steve Phillips (and others) have described Manny Ramirez as a future Hall of Famer dozens of times today. Often, in fact, in the context of two future Hall of Famers being traded on the same day. Really? When did this happen? 

Everyone seems to be expecting a Lakers win including a dominant Kobe performance and a parade to the charity stripe. I'm curious as to how it will really play out. 

1. Is Kobe going to play a team game or is he planning to
have a 50-point evening?

It would not be a surprise if Kobe decides that he needs to
be the Alpha Male of the series and put the Lakers on his back as DWade did against
the Mavs did a couple years ago. The differences are important though. First,
the Heat did not have dynamic offensive performers and had demonstrated through
the first three games of that series that they were totally reliant on Wade to
score. In fact, I’m pretty sure there was only one time in those 6 games that
someone else even cracked 20 for the Heat. Second, the Heat felt desperate and
were in full-fledged panic mode before DWade really took over. Third, the Heat
loved Wade and knew that he had the full blessings of Shaq and Pat Riley to be
the star of the show.

I don’t think Kobe will think through it enough to recognize
that pulling a DWade tonight might undo an awful lot of the good he’s done this
year. His ‘brothers’ won’t really be okay with him taking 38 shots. Of course, since it's Kobe, he may not care that much…

  

2. Will the Lakers get a consistent low post presence?

As much sound and fury has been made about the free throw
disparity in Game 2, too little has been said concerning the almost comical
lack of a Lakers low post offense in the second half.

Particularly considering how well Gasol played, playing through the post so little just
seems absurd. Despite his great (and deserved) reputation as a game manager,
Phil Jackson didn’t seem to respond as one would have expected. I also felt as
though I may have been the only person in America to notice that Leon Powe
didn’t get challenged to play tough defense. How does the Zen Master fail to
respond when Leon Powe is the most impressive big on the court?

 

3. Which Celtic can take his show on the road?

The Celtics can put a stranglehold on this series but no one
seems to expect that will happen. Certainly there won’t be the free throw
disparity as in Game 2 but the reasons that disparity existed in the first place can travel pretty
well. The Celtics play with force and energy; the Lakers can do that but only
in the backcourt. Kobe and DFish work really hard and play with intensity as
does Vujacic (even if it is awkward and manic at times). Turiaf has the force
and energy but like Mark Masden before him, has too many physical limitations
to be an impact player. The way this dynamic has unfolded in Games 1 and 2 is
pretty straightforward: Gasol and Odom get most of the rebounds they’re
supposed to. Garnett, Perkins and Brown get lots of rebounds they’re not supposed
to. That explains a lot and unless lots of rebounding fouls are called (for the
only time since the first round), the Celtics can keep up that trend.

Also important is that Paul Pierce can get into the paint
more easily than anyone could have expected. That leads to easy buckets and
lots of fouls on the Lakers. Pierce also seems to relish big situations and
playing in LA. While no one expects Ray Allen to come up extra big tonight,
there’s a chance Pierce will make every effort to assert himself. If he gets
the Celtics to a 3-0 lead and becomes MVP of this series, Pierce will be
elevated to the 2^nd tier of stardom in the public perception and
that’s important to him. Despite all the cries of ‘ubuntu’ this season, it’s
always been clear that Pierce thinks of himself as underappreciated. This
series can go a long way to making sure that is no longer the case.

 

If the Celtics bigs continue dominating the paint and Pierce
can come up with a transcendent performance, the Lakers may quickly find
themselves on the brink of a devastating defeat.

TP 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dan_Issel
Did you know that at as of 1985 Dan Issel was the 4th leading scorer in the history of professional basketball?

Wow. Game 2 should be referred to as the Great Escape by the
Boston faithful. 

What a weird, exasperating game. Leon Powe is the star of
the game? A 24 point lead evaporating in 7 minutes? Kobe Bryant getting
virtually no borderline calls? Rajon Rondo and Vlad Radmanovic both having
their best playoff games on the same night? The Celtics shifting from 5^th
gear to 2^nd (I’m being generous) with more than half a quarter left
in the game?

Pau Gasol and KG seemed to cancel each other out by not
doing a ton in the 2^nd half.

Lamar Odom’s 5^th foul clearly helped the Lakers
play better. He was playing well at the time and seemed ‘into’ the game but his
exit pressed Phil Jackson into playing the scrambling unit that made this a
Heinsohn heart stopper. 

Sadly, I also have to relate that Ray Allen did virtually
nothing in the 4^th quarter. Being a decoy has value I suppose.

What will probably get lost in the news stories about fouls,
the 4^th quarter and Leon Powe is that this was a well played game.
Both teams shot well, hustled consistently, defended solidly and shared the
ball. If we see the rest of the Finals played at such a high level David Stern
will be on Cloud 9 because this is the kind of basketball that will keep people
tuning in.

 

 

 TP

Of course the Paul Pierce injury is the critical storyline
tonight but everyone is focused on that. Here are some other issues that bear
consideration.

 

1. Is Kobe in Ray Allen’s head?

 

In Game 1, Allen had a run out with Kobe and another Celtic
trailing the play. Even though Kobe had just picked up his fourth foul, Allen
refused to take the ball to the rim and instead threw an awful, complicated
pass that was predictably swiped. I wondered at the time if we’d look back on
that play as a turning point. Fortunately for the Cs that turned out not to be
the case but I wondered what caused Allen’s ridiculous decision. I think I
found the answer here.

 

At one point in the second half, Allen stripped Kobe and went
in to shoot a layup. Kobe caught up to him and spike-blocked his shot, knocking
Allen to the floor with the force of the play, then stood over Allen and
glared. No matter that Rashard Lewis had gathered up the loose
ball and was dunking it at the time, Kobe was making a point.

http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/columns/story?columnist=hughes_frank&id=1945983

 

Oh. Tonight, we can expect to see a hyper aggressive Black Mamba
and since Pierce won’t be asked to check him, Allen will have a tremendous task
in front of him.

 

2. Will the Lakers get a consistent 3 point threat in Game
2?

Several players can
fill this role but none are consistent enough to be counted on. DFish, Vujacic
and Vlad are the leading candidates and Game 1 made it clear that the Lakers
will have lots of chances to take easy 3s. Especially if Odom or Gasol
struggles to score on the interior, open jumpers may make the difference in how
well the Lakers can score.

 

3. Which Garnett will show up offensively?

If the Celtics get first half KG (drives to the hoop setting
up jumpers, high FG% and frustrating Gasol) all game long, they’ll be very
tough to beat. If they get passive aggressive KG (lots of long jumpers, low
FG%, bailing Gasol out defensively), it could be a long difficult night in
Beantown.

 

 

 TP

Nadal just beat Federer 6-0 in the 3rd set. This was the most dominating tennis performance I've ever seen between the two best in the world. I don't know if Federer were ill, intimidated or only outclassed but Nadal took a giant leap today. This match will be the one people always reference to indicate his dominance on clay. 6-1, 6-3, 6-0 Nadal over Federer. Virtually unthinkable.