Archive for May, 2011

WHAT CAN BROWN DO FOR YOU?

Last year Mike Brown lost his job as a head coach. He was tossed away like a kid throws away the crust of the bread on a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. Coaching vacancies were filled and Brown’s name wasn’t called. He was the kid who didn’t get pick to play ( the kid theme is coincidental). Now after a year away from the game and the departure of the NBA’s most accomplished head coach, Brown has been summoned to coach the NBA’s signature franchise, the Los Angeles Lakers.

Sidenote: For those of you who are thinking what about the Celtics..The Lakers have won more rings in the modern NBA era (80s and 90s).

Anyway, some fans and analysts think Brown to the Lakers is not a good move and they couldn’t be more wrong.

Here are a few reasons why..

1. They’re the Lakers:Mike Brown is going to a team that is loaded with talent and has already won two NBA championships together. The Lakers may have lost to the Dallas Mavericks this year, but they have played 100 plus games for the last three seasons. Not only do they get to rest, but they also get to have the “chip on their shoulder” driving them back to the finals. And Mike brown, who also has a few Lays on his shoulder, will drive that point home.

Former Cleveland Cavaliers coach, Mike Brown, will become the next head coach of the LA Lakers.

2. DE-fense: Everyone knows that Mike Brown’s specialty is defense. He was an assistant coach under Greg Poppavich — coincidentally the only other Western Conference coach to win a title during the 2000 era — and while he coached the Cavs he had his team in the top ten defensively every year. People criticized Brown for being too defensive minded and not knowing how to coach offense, but that’s where point number one comes into play.

3. He’s a winner: This is where many will disagree, but it’s the truth. 272 wins in his career, 42 playoff wins, two trips to the Eastern Conference finals and one finals appearance. He won coach of the year during the 08-09 season when his team had 66 wins. Of course people will say “Well he didn’t win a ring”, but that isn’t the only way to measure a coach’s success. Taking the Cavaliers to NBA finals with only one superstar and beating the Detroit Pistons to get there was an amazing accomplishment. Losing to the Spurs doesn’t mean he isn’t a good coach, it just means he got out-coached by his mentor.

Brown has done more with less in his career. He should have taken his team to two or three finals appearances, especially in the 08-09 season, however he still has time to prove to the league that he is a good coach. Remember nobody thought Doc Rivers was a good coach until he won with the Celtics. Brown is in a similar position to prove his doubters wrong and by the end of the 2012 season he could be LA’s golden boy.

2011
05/26
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THE REAL MVP?

The term Most Valuable Player (MVP) is one of the most debated and argued topics in sports especially in a sport where one player can dominate individually. Some say it means the best player on the best team, others say it’s the best player in the sport and some say it’s the person who has the worst supporting cast, but still puts up good numbers. The consensus definition is that an MVP is the player most responsible for their team’s success (whatever that means).

The 2011 NBA MVP was Derrick Rose. The youngest player to ever win the award and the first to win it for the Chicago Bulls since..that’s right “His Airness” Micheal Jordan. Rose went from middle of the pack to the top of the league in one year and took his team from the 8th seed in the eastern conference to number 1. He did it with two of his starting big men — Carlos Boozer and Joakim Noah — missing about 50 games between them. He averaged 25 ponts and 7.7 assists per game during the regular season the only player to be in the top 10 for both categories. He’s soared over defenses, made opposing players look foolish trying to stay in front of him and given Chicago fans a reason to believe that there is life after Jordan. And with all that said, he’s still not the MVP.

The best player in the NBA during the regular season was LeBron James. He’s been the best player for the past few years and was the MVP two years in a row before Rose won it this year. After leaving Cleveland to go to Miami and play with two other superstars, the perception of James changed drastically. His expectations also went through the roof because of the team he would have around him. Rose, on the other hand, didn’t have expectations this high.

Most expected Rose and the Bulls to become a top four team in the east, but not the best. So James never had a fair chance to be considered the best player because he had “too much help”. And even with all the help that James had he still averaged what he averages for his career 27 points 7 rebounds and 7 assists. He was named to the NBA’s all defensive team and he is the only player to be unanimously voted First Team All-NBA.

Now that we are coming up on game 5 of the Eastern Conference Finals Jame’s has proved that he is the best player on his team and on the floor against the Bulls. He has done all of the little things writers and analysts have criticized him for all season. He closed out game 2 against the Bulls scoring nine of the Heat’s 14 fourth quarter points. He’s made 26 of 33 free throws during this series and he’s played smothering defense on every opposing player on the court including the MVP Derrick Rose.

Some may say that what James is doing in the playoffs doesn’t matter because the MVP is regular season award. I say the playoffs have forced people to look at James and remember just how good he is. And if you’ve really been watching, you have to agree.

2011
05/25
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