Pre-Game Rountine

I loved this piece from Jalen Rose. As I am getting older, I really appreciate it. It makes you look at someone like Steve Nash or Kobe and think "how the hell are they doing this day in and day out?"

Tim Duncan - Player of the Decade

Ok, it is driving me nuts that the main stream media is trying to label Kobe the player of the decade. He might be player #1 right now or last year and this year but come on. Can you seriously tell me that from 2000 to 2007 if the Lakers called the Spurs and offered Bryant for Duncan straight up, the Spurs would have said yes. NO WAY.

Hell, in 2007, the Lakers were trying to get rid of him. If the Bulls would have thrown in Luo Deng, Bryant would have been a Bull. That is NOT your player of the decade. BTW, Spurs - best decade record. Not surprising...

Now, if you want to say Garnett was player of the decade. Fine. It really is between Duncan and Garnett. Personally, Duncan did whatever his team wanted from him especially come playoff time. You need me to score. Fine. You need me to lock down on defense and take less shots. Fine. He never cared about personal stats and he always stepped up. He cared about winning. I think he is top 10 greatest players of all time. Too bad he played in San Antonio and is a quiet guy. He is very underrated.

It is a shame his legs are starting to go. I bet he retires end of 2011 season. He will be missed!

Also, basketball prospectus wrote a great article on this topic. Here it is...

Chris Paul and NBA predictions

Wow. Just wow. Even I underestimated Paul and I love the way he plays. He absolutely detroyed the Mavs. The mopped the floor with them! Now, they play the Spurs and in the first game he controlled the game. He is playing quite well. I love Tim Duncan and I love Paul. This is going to be a very fun series to watch.

2nd Round predictions

Spurs over Hornets - 4-3
Lakers over Utah - 4-1
Celtics over Cavs - 4-2
Pistons over Magic - 4-3