Links to NBA team previews, Southeast and Southwest Divisions

For the second straight year LucidSportsFan.com is participating in an blog exchange of NBA team previews.  I post theirs on my site, and they all post mine on theirs.  Here is the second set of links:

Southeast Division

Atlanta Hawks: Peachtree Hoops
Charlotte Hornets: At The Hive
Miami Heat: Hot Hot Hoops
Orlando Magic: Orlando Pinstriped Post | Orlando Magic Daily
Washington Wizards: Bullets Forever

Southwest Division

Dallas Mavericks: Mavs Moneyball 
Houston Rockets: The Dream Shake 
Memphis Grizzlies: Grizzly Bear Blues 
New Orleans Pelicans: The Bird Writes
San Antonio Spurs: Pounding the Rock

And here is my Celtics preview from yesterday:
Boston Celtics 2014-15 Season Preview (all you need to know in just over 37 seconds)

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Boston Celtics 2014-15 Season Preview (all you need to know in just over 37 seconds)

Boston Celtics
Last Year's Record: 25-57
Key Losses: Kris Humphries, Jerryd Bayless
Key Additions: Marcus Smart, James Young, Evan Turner, Tyler Zeller, Marcus Thornton

1. What Significant Moves were made during the offseason?

Not many.  The Celtics drafted Marcus Smart with the No. 6 pick and James Young at No. 17.  They signed Avery Bradley to a four-year $32 million contract extension.  When it became clear the Kevin Love deal wasn't in the cards, Boston chose not to play its hand for the time being.

2. What are the team's biggest strengths?

On the court, it's an abundance of guard depth.  Smart will likely be the backup to both Rajon Rondo and Bradley.  Evan Turner, Marcus Thorton and possibly Young (if he doesn't end up in the D-League) will all add scoring punch off the bench as well.  But, the Celtics' real strength is the way they're positioning themselves going forward with salary cap room and extra draft choices.

3. What are the team's biggest weaknesses?

The lack of a defensive presence in the paint (shot blocking) will be a big issue.  Kelly Olynyk and Jared Sullinger should get most of the frontcourt minutes, but Olynyk is a perimeter player and Sullinger is generously listed at 6'9".  Who is the go-to guy/crunch-time scorer?  It's not Jeff Green.  It's never going to be Jeff Green.

4. What are the goals for this team?

To determine who fits into the club's long-term plan, and figure out how to move on from those who don't.  Ideally that would include developing Olynyk and Sullinger into an effective tandem in the post, and building a solid three-guard rotation with Rondo, Bradley and Smart.  If that happens Boston might look like an attractive location for a star to come to in 2015-16.

5a. What does the future hold for Rondo?

I don't think the Celtics will trade him; I just can't see any teams making an offer Danny Ainge thinks is good enough.  After that I'd say it's 60/40 whether or not Rondo signs a five-year max contract to stay in Boston, or goes elsewhere on a shorter deal for less money.

5b. What will the Celtics record be this season?

The same as last year, 25-57.


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Recycle Sunday No. 13: Columbus Day Weekend Edition

I was crazy not to rank Paul Pierce as one of the five greatest Celtics ever.

I would love to work somewhere that fired people once a month "Survivor" style.

Should athletes really get to celebrate their retirement for an entire season?

Remember that Malaysian plane that disappeared?  I think what happened to it must be something outside the realm of what we think is possible.

My plan for becoming a winter Olympian in 2018 in South Korea.

Fact: There is no such thing as "low calorie alcohol."  Alcohol has calories.  If you want to drink, there's just no way of getting around it.

If LeBron James wants to be remembered as better than Michael Jordan, he should only sign one-year contracts and try to win titles in as many places as possible.

I think football would be better without kickers.

People who don't clean up after their dogs should be banished from society altogether.  I have a plan...

Baseball managers should be more adventurous with their 9th inning pinch-hitting.  Who cares if they don't have the right people to play defense afterwards, they're going to lose anyway.

Do you ever dial phone numbers anymore?  How many numbers do you know off of the top of your head?  I can come up with two.

How many NBA players would it take to beat a WNBA starting five?

In the very near future we're going to have to consider the issue of healthy athletes having surgeries to make themselves perform better.

A few lessons learned from my first experience as a credentialed reporter.


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Awesome Old Song of the Week: "Everything Falls Apart" by Dog's Eye View

After first hearing Everything Falls Apart in 1996, I believe I was so impressed by it that I made the mistake of buying Dog's Eye View's entire album, called Happy Nowhere.  I can't for the life of me think of the name of another song on it, and I'm fairly certain it was pretty terrible.

And if anyone reading this knows anything about Dog's Eye View that I didn't mention in the first paragraph, I'll be simultaneously impressed and mortified.




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The greatest catch of all time. Seriously. (Unless it's fake)

I have watched a lot of sports in my lifetime.  A lot.  And I can honestly say that this looks like the greatest catch I've ever seen:



Whenever football players make ridiculous one-handed grabs it's always with their hand underneath or behind the ball so that they can absorb its momentum.  How the #$%* did this guy catch it with his arm coming down on top of it like that?

What appears to be happening here is something that I don't think is humanly possible.  Is this video fake?

I first saw it in a tweet two days ago.  I have no idea where it came from.  I waited patiently to see if it would blow up.  I haven't seen it in Sportcenter's top 10.  It hasn't taken over the internet.  The only logical explanation must be that it's not real and everybody knows already.

How else can you explain the greatest catch in the history of history not being a bigger deal?

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Improving the "Dump Cakes" Infomercial

According to YouTube this infomercial has been out for over a year, but I just saw it for the first time late last night:



In all honesty it looks like a pretty great idea.  The "Dump Dinners" in particular I think I'd be a big fan of.  But the name?  Wow.

Cathy Mitchell probably should've gone with "Crap Cakes"--at least that has a nice alliteration to it and might make people laugh.  Then she could've followed it up with "Dump Dinners" and have the greatest product name ever instead of one of the worst.

UPDATE: Or, why not lead with "Dump Dinners" then introduce "Dump Desserts" right after?


More infomercial blogs here...

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Jeff Green has a different theory than LeBron James about the benefits of size in the NBA

One of the first things that caught my eye while attending the Celtics open practice for season ticket holders last week was that Jeff Green looked noticeably bigger than I remembered.


Below is a brief video I shot of him warming up:



Green reportedly put on ten pounds of muscle this past offseason.  When asked how he thought it might help his game, Green gave a very logical answer:

.@unclejeffgreen on benefits of added weight: "I'm able to take some of the bumps and continue to play through it and finish at the rim."
— Marc D'Amico (@Marc_DAmico) October 1, 2014

It makes sense right?  And that's exactly why it blows my mind that LeBron decided to get so much skinnier...


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