Doanity - "I got a Basketball Blog"

Doanity has a new home!

2008-06-04T18:49:00.005-04:00

Doanity has moved to a new home, with its own special domain. www.doanity.com

Kobe takes over, again, as the Lakers close out the series in 5

2008-05-30T08:40:00.006-04:00

This NBA season is over! Congratulations to the Los Angeles Lakers, your 2008 World Champions. After the Celtics close out the Detroit series tonight (only because Chauncey's been hurt and now Rip has a sprained elbow), they might not win another game. The Celtics "Big 3" are great and unselfish and a joy to watch, but they have ZERO help. As a matter of fact, they have whatever the opposite of help is. I guess you could say the Celtics "Big 3" has zero help and a lot of "hurt!" It's tough to win with NO point guard on the floor and a coach who has no clue what he's doing.

The Lakers, on the other hand, are a complete team and there is no stopping them. They have the Superstar (Kobe), the Inside Presence (Pao), the rare Do-It-All guy who can actually score (Odom), the Veteran Point Guard who's been there before (D. Fish) and a slew of young guys, who bring energy off the bench, and are just happy to do their part because they still enjoy the "game" of basketball and are all about winning (not money).

Kobe has reached a point in his career where, I honestly believe, he just wants to win. Last night, with a few minutes left in the 4th quarter, Kurt Thomas bullied Lamar Odom for an offensive put back to cut the lead to 2, which infuriated Kobe! Instead of pouting and yelling at Odom, Kobe hit a floater, followed by a ridiculous fade-away (both with 7'0 Tim Duncan right in his grill), followed by a driving lay-up in traffic, which resulted in a Spurs timeout, the game being over, and an ass-ripping of Lamar Odom, during the timeout. I hate to say it (and believe me, I absolutely, positively hate saying what I'm about say), but it reminded me of the "GPE" in his hay-day. If Kobe continues to play with this fire, there is no stopping the Lakers. And for the record, Jordan's supporting cast doesn't even compare to Kobe's.

Game 5: Lakers (-8) vs Spurs

2008-05-29T16:09:00.003-04:00

The "no call," at the end of game 4, was San Antonio's last chance to make a run at Kobe's Lakers. This series ends tonight. The Spurs know a 3-1 deficit, against the best player in the league, who actually has a supporting cast, is way too much to overcome. They've been there for many years now, and they know when to call it quits.

Kobe goes for 45 and the Lakers win going away...Lakers 104 vs Spurs 90

Celtics' talent wins again

2008-05-29T08:18:00.009-04:00

I had been looking forward to a Celtics-Lakers final for a while now, but after the last two games, I don't think I can watch Rondo and Doc do their best to throw games away anymore. Sitting there and watching last night's game was, quite possibly, the most frustrating experience of my entire life.

Why bring in a NBA veteran point guard who has proven himself time and time again if you're not going to play him? Rondo is, at best, a back-up point guard who can bring some energy off the bench when needed. He's great when the Celtics are up and the Pistons are coasting and there's absolutely no pressure on him, but God forbid if the Pistons happen to play a little defense and turn up the pressure!For those of you who have always wondered exactly what the phrase "looks like a deer in headlights" means, pause the tivo on Rondo's face when the game is on the line and urine is dripping down his thigh.

The worst thing about this whole situation is the infamous Doc Rivers refuses to take him out. If you want him to learn and get better, then take him out and calm him down! It's like Doc is trying to prove that his way is better than the obvious and easy way. Coaching, in the NBA, isn't brain surgery. These guys have been playing ball their whole life and they've seen it all. If a kid isn't performing, take him our and put someone in who will.

AVG Free 8.0

2008-05-27T20:55:00.003-04:00

Here's a quick tip...download this free anti virus which is much better than McAfee or Norton. Aaaannnddd, did I mention it's free?!?!? Just type in AVG Free into Google and follow instructions.

Lakers at Spurs (-3.5)

2008-05-27T20:28:00.003-04:00

This is a "must-win" game for the Lakers. If the Spurs happen to win game 4, and tie the series up, Phil Jackson knows his team is in serious trouble. Hopefully, for the Lakers sake (and every other NBA fan who would rather see a soccer match than watch a Pistons-Spurs final), game 3 was just a hangover game. The Lakers became complacent, which is something Greg Popovich gets opposing teams to do better than any other coach, and left their A-game in L.A. Coach Pop would rather pull his starters with 8 minutes left in the 4th, and allow the opponent to win by 25, instead of grinding one out and keeping it close. He knows the blow-out loss will do two things: 1. embarrass his team, making them focus and play the following game with much more intensity, and 2. get the opponent to relax and become over-confident which is every coach's worst nightmare. He is the master of this practice and Phil Jackson is the Zen-Master, which is why he took a page right out of Pop's book in game 3.

Lakers come out focused and ready to go! Lakers 102 Spurs 95

Lakers at Spurs (-5.5)

2008-05-25T16:11:00.003-04:00

Lakers keep it close but the Spurs should pull this one out. Lakers 94 at Spurs 97

Celtics finally win a road game, despite being exposed

2008-05-25T15:28:00.005-04:00

The Boston Celtics lead from start to finish last night and finally looked like the Celtics we saw during the regular season. The only problem was, the Pistons exposed the two weaknesses that I pointed out in my first blog last week. What's amazing, is how long it took a team to do just that. These coaches, and their staffs, get paid millions of dollars to study film and figure out a game plan of attack. Until last night, no one (except me, of course) had figured it out! Doc Rivers is the worst "in-game" decision making coach in the league and Rajon Rondo is not a point guard.

With about 4 minutes to go in the third quarter, Flip Saunders decided to try something new (and all it took was a 20 pt deficit). The Pistons ran a basic 1-2-2 half court trap and Rondo looked like he had never seen one of those before. The first time down he dribbled right into the trap and turned the ball over. Next time down he decided to dribble through the trap and attempt to score, only to run over a Piston defender who was waiting to take a charge. It only got worse from there. Time after time, Rondo would dribble into the trap, jump in the air and throw a cross-court rainbow pass, or make some other horrendous decision. The worst part about it was, Doc NEVER changed a thing! He didn't substitute , he didn't call a timeout, he didn't even put anyone in the middle of the court (first thing you learn in junior high basketball is get the ball to the middle of the court), he didn't do anything!

I look for the Pistons to consistently change defenses next game and confuse the crap out of both Doc and his great point guard Rondo (this technique is something high school coaches use because it seems to trick high school point guards and coaches). I can't wait for them too zoom in on Doc's face, when game 4 spiraling out-of-control, because the Pistons decided to run something other than a man-to-man defense. His clueless, but pretending to be upset and focused, look is priceless (see photo).

Lakers (-6.5) vs Spurs

2008-05-23T17:10:00.005-04:00

I'm counting on Kobe to actually play the whole game tonight.If he does, the Lakers should cover pretty easily.
Lakers 102 vs Spurs 91

In Depth Explanation of the GPE

2008-05-23T08:24:00.004-04:00

We all know the GPE, Greatest Player Ever, is obviously Michael Jordan. If you'll notice, there's no mention of BASKETBALL in that definition and obviously there's a reason for this. Michael Jordan was not only the greatest basketball player ever, he was the best player, in any team sport, to ever play. EVER! He's better at basketball than Babe Ruth was at baseball, Joe Montana or Dan Marino were at football, Pele' was at soccer (I can't even believe I'm actually calling that a sport), and Wayne Gretzky was at hockey (ditto to the last parenthesised comment). And that's just a few of the greats. You can name any great player throughout history, and I'll tell you why Michael Jordan was better.

I include only team sports because it's not possible to compare basketball, football or any other team sport to Golf (a skill, not a sport). What Tiger has done and is doing, is extremely impressive, but the skill of golf is no where near as physically demanding as the professional team sports are. For the GPE to consistently be the best player in the league for all those years and win 6 championships, is far more impressive than anything any golfer could ever do!

Why isn't today Friday??

2008-05-22T15:54:00.003-04:00

I'd love to know who the masochist was that invented the 5-day work week and 2-day weekend, because this is ridiculous! When this man came up with this idea, was there no one around who thought this was the worst possible scenario? I'd settle for a 4-day work week, although I'd much rather flip it completely and go with a 2-day work week and 5-day weekend. But seriously, didn't they ask the infamous "any objections?" question?? If I could go back in time, that's where I'd go. I'd go right to the time and place where they made one of the worst decisions in the history of the modern world and I'd object!!!

Game 2: Celtics (-4.5) vs Pistons

2008-05-22T14:43:00.002-04:00

My Prediction: Alright so I was wrong about the total and the spread last night, but at least I got the money line right. Celtics, despite Doc, will win a tight one. Celtics 92 vs Pistons 89

Heat acquire Arroyo

2008-05-22T13:14:00.004-04:00

Yup, that's right! On my blog, I get to sign whomever I please and I choose Carlos Arroyo. It makes sense to me. He'll be a free agent this summer, and after the Heat choose Beasley (because the Bulls will take Rose), all they need is a point guard who can run and create offense for D. Wade (if he ever comes back), Marion (who can't get a shot for himself), Beasley and Haslem. If you can overlook Arroyo's occasional defensive lapses, you'd consistently put up a 110 points a game which is more than enough to beat any team in the Eastern Conference. The Suns have been doing it with Nash for years! And no, I'm not saying Arroyo is as good as Nash, but he's much better than anything the Heat have right now and he's dying to play. He's a tremendous passer and an extremely unselfish player who would mesh with D. Wade immediately, because he would have no problem getting Wade 25 shots a game.

Let's get this done!

Stat of the week

2008-05-22T08:32:00.001-04:00

Phil Jackson's teams are 40-0 when winning game 1 of a playoff series.

Kobe Kobe Kobe

2008-05-22T08:09:00.000-04:00

Well, I have to admit...before last night I thought Lebron was right up there with Kobe and ready to take over in a year or two at the most. I saw something last night that I haven't seen in ten years. Kobe took the first two and a half quarters off, something that the greatest player ever (GPE) would never do, and then decided to play. There is no one else in this league that could do what he did last night, especially at that level, in the Western Conference Finals, against one of the best defensive teams in the league.

Lebron is the closest thing to Kobe, but if he scores 2 pts in a half and ends up going for 30, it's not for lack of effort. Nights like that only happen to Lebron when he's completely off for a half and then all of a sudden his shot begins to fall. His on and off switch is no where near as powerful as Kobe's. Kobe shot only 3 shots in the first half!

It looked like Kobe was just waiting for the game to be completely out of reach so he could prove, once again, why he is the MVP. (For the record, I don't even like Kobe. I think he's an arrogant, immature jack-ass who tries waaaayyyy to hard to look, talk and act like the GPE.) I'm not even sure Kobe cared if the Lakers won or lost, he just wanted to prove to the world that he could take over a game whenever he felt like it, and he did!

Lakers (-6.5) vs Spurs, Game 1 Prediction

2008-05-21T15:05:00.000-04:00

Lakers (-6.5) vs Spurs
My Prediction: Lakers 109 to Spurs 97

Lakers vs Spurs Series Prediction

2008-05-21T15:00:00.000-04:00

This series reminds me of the old Bulls vs Jazz series. Before you catch a hissy-fit, let me explain. Obviously, I'm not saying Kobe is anywhere near as good as you know who (not allowed to mention Kobe and him in the same sentence), but he is the best player in the league right now and his team is on fire. The Spurs are just as boring as the old pick-n-roll Jazz of the 90's, and just as old. The Spurs have one guy in their rotation who is under 30 years old (Parker), while the Lakers have only one guy in their rotation who is OVER 30 (D-Fish). Their youth, and possession of the best player in the league will prevail easily...Lakers win in 6.

Doc Rivers is clueless!!

2008-05-21T13:23:00.000-04:00

Why does Doc make this game sooo hard? He has three future Hall of Famers, which include the second best big man in the league (behind he most boring player in the league, Tim Duncan), and 2, proven 25 ppg scorers. The game plan is as simple as 1, 2, 3: 1.Don't let anyone else shoot unless they're WIDE open! 2. Run more than one play per game, for easily the quickest release and arguably the best shooter in the league, Ray Allen. 3. If the shot clock gets below 10, clear it out and let Paul Pierce and KG run a 2-man game. Who's gonna stop those two? I'll tell you who...NO ONE! It makes me sick to my stomach to see the Boston Celtics not be able to win a road game. They have the most talent of any team in the league, by far. You give just about any other coach in the league those 3 guys and it doesn't matter who else is around them. They're gonna cruise to a championship, especially if they're in the East.

Lets take Pop for instance, he's got Duncan, Ginoblili and Parker. Does he run a play for anyone else on that team? Nope! And you think he wouldn't trade those 3 for KG, Ray Allen and Paul Pierce?? You must be outta your mind! There is no team in the league that wouldn't take that trade in a heartbeat. Jacque Vaughn could run that team and do a better job the Rondo, who suddenly thinks he has to score 20 for the Celtics to win a game. Doc runs more plays for Rondo than he does for Ray Allen. I don't get what's so hard to understand...you give the ball to KG, Ray Ray or the Truth and that's it!!!