March Madness - New York Guards STAND UP!!!!!!!!

With the Sweet 16 taking place this weekend three New York City Point Guards have truly played like stars and will complete in the Elite 8 tomorrow. Kemba Walker, Irving Walker, and Lamont Jones made Manhattan, Harlem, and Bronx proud as well as their universities.

Arizona will face Connecticut tomorrow as these former Rice HS guards will battle for the rights to play in the Final 4 in Houston.  Kemba Walker has been the best player in college basketball this season. Irving Walker has been the best lead guard in the SEC while Lamont Jones is the second best point guard in the Pac-10 (Thomas has the honor being the best).

Tomorrow I will look forward to watching these ankle breaking, dime passing, high basketball IQ, big shot making guards from the Big Apple. Let's hope no opposing center suffers the same fate as the center from Pittsburgh. 

Bulls Best in East????

With the loss to the New Jersey Nets tonight the Boston Celtics are now tied with the Chicago Bulls for the best record in the Eastern Conference. The Miami Heat and Orlando Magic will continue to beat each other up in the South Division, The Celtics have the experience but are beginning to show their age which is why the young Bulls lead by the leading MVP candidate Derrick Rose will play in the NBA Finals this year.

During the beginning of the season many projected the Celtics, Heat, or Magic to contend to Eastern Conference supremacy (including myself) but none of the "experts" projected the Bulls to be the Beast of the East. Will they reach the NBA Finals this year remains to be seen but I can tell you why they'll finish with the best record in the East.

Other than the Chicago Bulls, the NBA Central is full of teams that will participate in the NBA Lottery. Currently the Bulls are undefeated in their division and should remain that way the rest of the season. The point guard is the most dominant position in the NBA today but the Bulls have the best of the best lead guard in Derrick Rose who'll most likely win the MVP award this year. Rose's scoring, assist are up this year and has even become more of a vocal leader along with his improved jump shot.

Improved front court: If Derrick Rose is the MVP than Jokim Noah is the most improved. Noah's scoring and rebounding has increased every year and would have been an All-Star if not for his hand surgery. Carlos Boozer is the much need low post scoring we've been missing since Elton Brand. Taj Gibson has shown glimpse of stardom and occasionally gets double-doubles. Lou Deng is the "veteran" of this young core that provides the scoring Rose doesn't. Kyle Korver is the new John Paxton, Steve Kerr (you get the picture).

Their lack of a legit scoring guard will become a problem deep in the playoffs but should be enough to finish with the best record in the East....GO BULLS!!!!!!

All Star Reserves..My Verdict

As far as the starting lineup is concerned my only issue is that the fans voted Yao Ming as the starting center and his career is practically over. But this article is about the reserves that made it and if they deserved to play in the Staples Center this year or not.

Eastern Conference

• Ray Allen - The all-time leader in 3's made. Adding Jesus to the roster is a must. Verdict: Good Choice

• Chris Bosh - Not putting up the same number as he did as a Raptor due to playing with better offensive player. Verdict: Absolutely not the spot belongs to Carlos Boozer

• Kevin Garnett - One of the greatest power forwards of all-time has resurged since his knee surgery. Verdict: Of course he deserved to go

• Paul Pierce - The Truth. Nothing but the truth. Celtics most clutch player. Verdict: Of course
• Al Horford - Solid number down south and also possesses a great post-up game. Verdict: Yes
• Joe Johnson - One of the best offensive talents in the League. Verdict: Good Choice
• Rajon Rondo - Was the early favorite for NBA until Derrick Rose took over. Verdict: Duh

Western Conference

• Deron Williams - Best PG in Utah since Stockton and one the best PG's the the League. Verdict: Again one of the best
• Russell Westbrook - Will probably finish top 5 in MVP voting. Verdict: Again MVP candidate
• Dirk Nowitzki - Runner up for Rose's MVP this year. Verdict: Of course
• Kevin Love - Bad team but you can't deny his stats. Verdict: Can't keep the leading the rebounder off this roster
• Blake Griffin - Karl Malone in training is MSBG. Verdict: Human highlight real was a must
• Pau Gasol - Fundamentally sound Spaniard. Verdict: Between he & Al Jefferson but Gasol gets the nod
• Manu Ginobili - Best Spurs offensive player this year. Verdict: All-Star moves deserves an all-star nod
• Tim Duncan - Greatest power forward of all-time. Does not have to put up huge numbers anymore. Verdict: Again greatest power forward of all-time

Potential Western All-Star Lineup

Next Thursday on TNT, Ernie Johnson, Kenny Smith, and Charles Barkley will announce the starting lineup for the All-Star Game. The forward position in the Western Conference is without a doubt the toughest lineup to crack. Blake Griffin and Kevin Love deserve to start in the Staples Center but they must contend with the usual suspect which are 'Melo, Duncan, Dirk, and Pau Gasol. Rudy Gay and Al Jefferson are also gave great years but probably won't make the the lineup. With my view on the Eastern lineup in my previous blog here's who should start in the West:

F- Kevin Love - Forget to fact that his team is not winning there is no way the league's leading rebounder should be left out of LA. He also has the only 30 point 30 rebound game this season. He's a walking double-double part 1
F- Blake Griffin - MSBG aka Must See Blake Griffin.....highlight real is required nightly on ESPN and NBA TV but Karl Malone in training is also in the top ten in scoring and rebounding the the improved CLIPPERS. It also helps the game's at the Staple Center.  He's the other walking double-double part 2

C- Tim Duncan - The big fundamentals is boring but he's one of the best to ever play this game.
SG- Kobe Bryant - The real question will he win the games MVP
PG- Steve Nash - The Canadian seems to get better with age. His passes also are a highlight real plus he has unlimited range on his shot. 

Potential Eastern All-Star Lineup

When the all-stars gear up to play the annual game in the Staples Center next center fans are still voting for the starting lineup and as of today, Derrick Rose surpased Rondo for second place only trailing Dwayne Wade for the top spot in guard voting. Coaches get to add the reserves but if it were up to me, this would be the starting lineup for the Eastern Conference:

• PG - Derrick Rose - Leading candidate for MVP for the first place Central Bulls.
• SG - Dwayne Wade - What other shooting guard is better
• SF - LeBron James - Best overall player in the League....hands down!!!!!
• PF - Amare Stoudamire - Playing in the top market has led made him and MVP candidate for the improved Knicks.
• C -   Jokim Noah - Scoring and rebounding has improved each season. Top five in rebounding before hand surgery.

Against a monster proceeds an intentional unfortunate.

Against a monster proceeds an intentional unfortunate.

Florida and Texas...Best NBA Teams?

Tonight in America Airlines arena the top two NBA Teams in the Western Conference squared off in TNT as the San Antonio Spurs defeated the Dallas Mavericks. Not only are these two teams the best in the West but they make a strong case for who is the best pro team in Texas? Further east in the state of Florida the new look Orlando Magic led by Dwight Howard claim they're the best team in the NBA but the triple three in Miami claim that the Heat are not only the best team in Florida but also the NBA.

All four teams make strong cases for best team in the NBA but for now lest decide who's the best team in Florida and Texas:

Heat vs. Magic: With the addition of Jason Richardson and Gilbert Arenas, the Magic added additional scoring for Dwight Howard. Most Improved candidate JJ Reddick is improving every game and even regained his long range shooting. The biggest advantage for the Magic is Jamer Nelson. Miami has been unable to contain calaber point guards all year and Nelson and drive and dish all day. For the Miami Heat, it starts and ends with The Big 3. James, Wade, and Bosh can score any given night but the with the return of Mike Miller, he must provide the long rage shot when the triple threat are in trouble. Without a quality point guard I give the edge to the Orlando Magic.

The Texas Showdown: Tonight we saw the San Antonio Spurs victorious and I believe they're still the best team in Texas for reasons why. The Spurs are the smartest team in the NBA. The veteran team that's won 4 titles since 1999 has the same formula working since they won their first title. This team breathes defense and never takes any bad shots. Tony Parker is still one of the quickest point guards in the league and Manu Ginobili provides the additional scoring for Tim Duncan. Richard Jefferson has secured his role which is attacking the basket and having DeJuan Blair is a huge plus. Dallas is getting older and still does not practice defense. Jason Kidd can no longer guard the speedy guard and Dirk is still soft on the defensive end. Kidd's guard play, Dirk's scoring, Marion doing everything, and Tyson Chandler rebounding & blocking shots is still not enough for Mark Cuban's crew to win Texas.