San Diego Sports Guy
Commentary about the San Diego sports scene & other stuff too
Shawn Kemp's Kids
Close But No Cigar: Pacers Bow Out Meekly In Game 7
Well, last night certainly proved that the Indiana Pacers aren't ready for prime time yet.
Paul George wasn't up to the challenge and Indy's anemic bench sealed the team's fate with a disastrous stretch at the start of the 2nd quarter in which they were outscored 11-2. Why Frank Vogel decided to even go to his overmatched bench in the first place is a mystery. However, the Heat were the better team last night on both ends of the court.
Bottom line: LeBron is too good and he simply would not let Miami lose. The San Antonio Spurs will not be an easy foe but they don't have any answers for James. Look for Miami to win the series in 5 or 6 games.
Even If They Lose Tonight The Pacers Are The Better Team
Can Indy beat the Heat tonight? Definitely
Will they beat the Heat? That depends on a number of different factors.
Will Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh show up? Can the Pacers starters stay out of foul trouble? Will the referees be a prominent factor? Will there be a huge disparity in the number of free thows? These are just a few of the pivotal questions heading into what should be a memorable seventh game of the Eastern Conference Championship series between two very evenly matched teams.
Miami should win the game. LeBron is clearly the best player and the Heat have home court advantage. However, Paul George is unquestionably the 2nd best player and Roy Hibbert is easily number three. After that I'd take David West and George Hill over Wade & Bosh. Only having one of the top five players in the series doesn't bode well for Miami.
Depending upon where you look, the betting line is currently 6, 6.5 or 7 points. For some reason, Miami is the clear favorite and I'm not sure why. In my mind, the line should be closer to 2.5 or 3. Even if they don't win, right now Indy is bigger and better. Take the Pacers, the points and thank me tomorrow morning.
Barring a major injury or some tom foolery with the officiating (which is certainly a distinct possibility), this game will be won or lost in the last two minutes. When it's all said and done look for Indy to come out on top 88-85. Sorry King James, but you are about to be dethroned by Paul George & Co.
Looking At The Future Of The Miami Dolphins
The Miami sports scene has been rather hit or miss in recent years. The Heat are on top of the world right now, looking to repeat as NBA champions. Meanwhile, the Marlins tried to match that type of success, but instead they have flamed out and are now in rebuilding mode. The Dolphins are somewhere in between right now, but the bigger long term question is, will they even be in the South Beach area?
Right now, the Dolphins can’t find a way with Florida Legislature when it comes to funding improvement for Sun Life Stadium. According to Dolphins CEO Mike Dee, this mess could force the team to relocate. Without getting into a ton of political details, the simple threat of possible relocation effectively catches the attention of NFL fans.
For the last few years, several teams have been linked to Los Angeles as a possible solution to the major city not having a NFL team and such a huge audience having no link to the game except for fantasy football leagues. The Dolphins appear to be the latest team on that wish list, and there are several factors that could make the story more than just wishful thinking.
Without even considering this latest battle, the Dolphins are one of the few NFL teams without a long-term lease with their community. Their attendance is the worst in the league, at least by attendance percentage numbers. Although owner Stephen Ross has denied any relocation rumors, the 73-year old might be nearing the end as far as his current position goes. A new owner could step in and be much more open to relocating.
Things like this do not happen overnight, and the city of Los Angeles does not have a NFL stadium to move into. The plans for Farmer’s Field are just that, plans, so until a team is legitimately considering the area, they will be on hold. Almost every relocation story is shot down as well by people involved with the Dolphins. Whether they will suffer the same fate as the Baltimore Colts and the Cleveland Browns remains to be seen.
J.R. Smith Did Win, Luke Babbitt Received A 3rd Place Vote & A Few Other Random Observations
Earlier today the NBA announced that J.R. Smith won the Sixth Man of the Year award. Jamal Crawford finished in 2nd place and Jarrett Jack third.
Smith somewhat surprisingly won the award easily but that wasn't the most interesting takeaway. What did catch my eye was that some bozo actually gave Luke Babbitt a 3rd place vote. Yes, the same Babbitt who averaged 11.8 minutes a game, 3.9 ppg, 2.2 rpg and shot 37% from the floor.
Based on his numbers this year and the prior two seasons, Babbitt is one of the 50 worst players in the NBA. This assertion is not even up for debate. The man is that bad. The guy who voted for Babbitt should be identified and flogged in Times Square. Nothing more and nothing less.
In other NBA news today, it was reported that the Cavaliers have reached out to Phil Jackson to gauge his interest in coaching the team next season. The Zenmaster in Cleveland? Please. The odds of this happening are only slightly better than LaToya Jackson heading to Cleveland to coach the team.
Finally, this has absolutely nothing to do with basketball but right now the funniest show on television is Veep. Julia Louis-Dreyfus has never been better and the supporting cast (led by the always amusing Matt Walsh and Tony Hale) is tremendous. I can't recommend it enough so check it out.
A Look Back At The NBA Regular Season & J.R. Smith Will Win Sixth Man Of The Year
Back in July last year I proudly pronounced that Damian Lillard would win Rookie of the Year. Well, that very announcement is only a few weeks away. Damian is a mortal lock for the award.
A month later in August I also made some predictions about which teams would make the playoffs. Your fearless prognosticator nailed 14 out of 16...only missing on the injury plagued Timberwolves and perpetually disappointing Raptors.
In my defense, the Rockets hadn't made the blockbuster James Harden deal at the time of the August blog post so I'd like to think Houston would have gotten the nod over Minny. However, thinking Toronto was ready for prime time was a colossal blunder.
The only thing that is more of a lock than Lillard winning ROY is LeBron James being named MVP. Bet the house, farm and children on this one. Here is the Top 10 on my make believe MVP ballot:
1. LeBron
2. KD
3. Chris Paul
4. Melo
5. Kobe
6. Tim Duncan
7. Tony Parker
8. Stephen Curry
9. James Harden
10. Russell Westbrook
Other Awards:
Most Improved Player: Larry Sanders
Honorable Mention: Jrue Holiday
Sixth Man of the Year: J.R. Smith
Honorable Mention: Jarrett Jack & Jamal Crawford
Defensive Player of the Year: Joakim Noah
Honorable Mention: Sanders, Marc Gasol & Tony Allen
Coach of the Year: Tom Thibodeau
Honorable Mention: Erik Spoelstra
Most Irritating Coach: Erik Spoelstra (stay off the damn court Erik with a K!)
Honorable Mention: Keith Smart & Lawrence Frank (both completely clueless)
Most Menacing Player: Nikola Pekovic
Honorable Mention: Kurt Thomas
Most Disappointing Team: Los Angeles Lakers
Honorable Mention: Nobody...it was a landslide
Biggest Knucklehead: Andrew Bynum
Honorable Mention: JaVale McGee
Eric Weddle Is Delusional If He Thinks The Chargers Are Best NFL Team
Eric Weddle is either delusional or has had one too many concussions.
The Chargers are not anywhere close to being the best team in the NFL. However, Weddle apparently thinks they are #1:
"Now, shoot, I feel like we're the best team in the league," Weddle told the paper. "And a lot of that is because of Coach McCoy and the way he presents himself -- the way he portrays what he wants. A lot of what you are as a team is attitude, and you can control that."
Perhaps Weddle hasn't seen what his team has done (or not done as the case may be) this off-season. Just read this list of transactions ... it's underwhelming bordering on pitiful.
An 8-8 season would be optimistic at this point for the Chargers. Eric, you may want to stop talking for a while. Just a thought.
Fozzy Fever: Chargers Stumble Out Of The Gate By Signing Fozzy Whittaker & John Phillips
Fozzy Whittaker and John Phillips have been signed by the San Diego Chargers. Who?
After news broke of Luis Vasquez bolting to the division rival Broncos early this afternoon, the Chargers announced the signings of Whittaker and Phillips (30 career catches and two touchdowns in 3 years). This may or may not be related, but I think I'm coming down with a Fozzy Fever right now.
While it is still VERY early, I can't help but think back to the memory of two off-seasons ago when the major free agent acquisition was Travis LaBoy.
New general manager Tom Telesco has his work cut out for him during the next couple of months and he'll need to address the gaping holes on the roster (especially the offensive line) or the Chargers will be one of the ten worst teams in the NFL.
A.J. Smith left the cupboard virtually bare and it remains to be seen if Telesco is the right man for the job. Based on Day 1 it appears that he may be in slightly over his head. We shall see what the future holds...
Damian Lillard Has Lived Up To The Considerable Hype
Back on July 16th I proudly predicted that Damian Lillard would win the ROY award and become the next NBA superstar. Well, we're now well past the half way point of his rookie campaign and Lillard has met my lofty pre-season expectations.
Put simply, this diminutive dude is a stone cold killer. Here are Lillard's stats in his first 51 NBA starts:
18.1 ppg
6.6 apg
3.3 rpg
1.0 spg
Pretty impressive numbers for a rookie point guard on a team in playoff contention despite having the worst bench in the entire league. Unless The Brow suddenly starts averaging 20 points, 12 rebounds and 3 blocks a game, Lillard is going to win the ROY award in a landslide.
In 24 Hours Norv Turner Will Be Gone...Finally
We are now 24 glorious hours away from D-Day.
Black Monday will be very special for all Chargers fans this year. Why? Because Norv and A.J. will finally be gone. Dean Spanos should have done it much sooner given the team's misfortunes over the past three years but for whatever reason he didn't pull the trigger.
Now he has absolutely no choice. A large percentage of the team's home games are blacked out and nobody really cares. Norv and A.J.'s ineptitude and incompetence have brought nothing but apathy to devoted Chargers fans.
Andy Reid? Jim Mora Jr.? Please. This town needs fresh blood. Not a retread. Bruce Arians is the the right man for the job. Come on Dean, make it happen.
Random Observations About Mitt, Drudge, Norv, Honey Boo Boo & More
Just a few of the things on my mind today...
There you go again, Mitt.
Barack Obama certainly would be very vulnerable right now if there was actually a legitimate Republican or third party candidate. Unfortunately, that just isn't the case.
As if things weren't bad enough all ready for Romney, a video emerged earlier today that makes Mitt look even more out of touch...if that's even possible. Good thing Matt Drudge came to Mitt's rescue and posted a video of Barack Obama from 14 years ago. No, not 14 weeks or months ago. Years. Yeesh.
Kohl's is hiring but since forty-seven percent of the country is lazy, entitled and simply looking for a government handout the department store might have trouble filling the open positions. Isn't that right Mitt?
In other news, the San Diego Chargers are currently 2-0. Yippee!! Too bad those two wins came against the Raiders and Titans...likely to be league doormats all year.
The Bolts haven't been tested yet and next week's game against the Falcons will be very revealing. If Norv Turner and the Chargers truly are for real they will take care of business at home with a convincing victory. If not, it's probably going to be another up and down 8-8 or 9-7 year. We shall see.
Last but not least, what the hell is wrong with people in this country? Until two weeks ago I had never heard of Honey Boo Boo. Now she and her morbidly obese momma are everywhere. Evidently, 3 million brain dead Americans watch these two on their abomination of a show every week. Mind boggling...simply mind boggling.