The NBA, and why it sucks

Note: This post was composed after game 2 of the Finals. I wrote it then and avoided publishing it to avoid having to talk about the godforsaken NBA while it was still in season. I'll have a new post up soon talking about the Finals soon.

I've seen enough NBA basketball to recognize how bad it is. Millionaire players missing free throws, games coming down to missed free throws, decidedly unbalanced officiating, and a hilarious lack of understanding of the game of basketball make the NBA, well, the NBA.

There are a couple different things in the sporting world that are influenced too heavily by officiating. Only one is a sport. Basketball, much like gymnastics, synchronized swimming, and figure skating, relies on officials to make decisions which fundamentally alter the game. In hockey, the biggest call a referee can make is the awarding of a penalty shot. In basketball, a ref can change possession of the ball, award free throws, and remove a player from a game in a single play. In a tight game, as the NBA playoffs tend to be, a one point swing can end a game. But calls are routinely made which allow a team to go from having scored a three pointer to being called for a charge and technical foul, sometimes allowing as much as a 5 point swing on a single play. In a slightly wider time frame, a three pointer called back can turn into a three pointer plus a foul shot on the other end. That's 7 points. That's the margin of victory in many games.

In gymnastics, in sync-swimming, and in many other competitions, the judges (officials) have time to observe the "athlete" and make a judgment. In basketball, the decisions are split-second, based on an oblique view from across the court, with ever-expanding impact. NBA instant replay rules only compound a bad situation, restricting what can and can't be reviewed, allowing officials to comfortably make the "right call" even when other factors make the "right call" the wrong call. NBA refs are old, they are getting older, and they are far, far too chummy with the players and coaches. Kobe Bryant frequently puts his arm around the refs and talks to them; players all over the league are able to talk to referees with abandon. This does not portray an image of a league in which consistent officiating can be expected. In baseball, a player touches an umpire and he's ejected. If he whines about balls and strikes, he's ejected. The first step to legitimizing officiating in the NBA is elevating the officials above in-game trash talk and whining. Technical fouls and ejections need to be used to keep the players from interacting with the referees.

Free throw shooting is boring. Unfortunately, many games in the NBA come down to free throw shooting. There's a few reasons for this:

• the players are no longer playing basketball, but streetball
• multimillionaire basketball players inexplicably suck at free throws
• inconsistent, or worse, consistently poor, officiating

Either basketball is a contact game or it isn't. 20 years ago, it wasn't. Then Michael Jordan arrived, and now every jump shooter in the world tries to lean into his defender to draw contact in the hopes of getting a foul, and every defender clobbers anybody in the paint. Basketball is not a contact sport. Assign technical fouls for physical defense and physical offense. Separate the players and let the game flow like it used to, because streetball sucks. And for the love of god, I haven't the faintest idea how PROFESSIONAL basketball players miss free throws, sometimes more than 50% of them. Games are regularly won and lost by free throw margins. Most teams would win far more games by simply making all of their free throws, rather than signing a new player or adopting a new coach.

Finally, the players kinda suck. The on-court screaming, the trash-talking, the goose-necking, it's all stupid. Yes, the players are passionate. But slamming your head into the padding on the basket or pounding your fist on your chest, or yelling "motherfucker!" at your defender, those things are not passion, they're stupid. If I never see Nate Robinson jump off the bench yelling obscenities at opposing players again, it'll be too soon.

The NBA is broken. When the NHL is a more forward thinking league than yours, something foul is afoot. When the college game has better officiated games, more interesting players, and a more compelling background, why does the NBA even exist?

Almost Done

Today is my second-t0-last day of "work." Beautiful. I look forward to the months of delayed paychecks.


Lakers

So I've been thinking about it, and the Lakers' 2009 title is a great example of the ultimate futility of fandom. I haven't been happy with the Lakers until two days ago. Until winning the championship, I was never really satisfied with their performance, and nonfactors like midseason losses to Oklahoma City just made me angry. As I sit here today, I'm finally satisfied with the team.

It's creepy. The only way I don't feel massive disappointment with a team is by their winning the championship. And that's a little crazy. The jubilation you'd expect to come with a Finals win isn't really there...it's more of a calm satisfaction.

A heartbreaking loss always hurts worse than a miraculous win feels good.

With that said, that satisfaction I feel is a pretty enjoyable feeling by itself. Watching idiot bandwagoners in Rajon Rondo shirts stare at the ground when I walk by in a Kobe jersey is downright fun, as is the sudden silence of the thousands of Lakers haters who must now find new material with which to bash the Lakers and Bryant. Red Auerbach's annoying legacy has been surpassed by less-annoying Phil Jackson, LeBron James is doing 2010 bicep curls, and Dwight Howard has acquired a new nickname..."Nick Anderson." And I think, ultimately, this is what I'm enjoying most. Fandom is a combination of faith, love, and rivalry, and winning a title does a lot for the faith and rivalry aspects.

I think something really needs to be said about free throws. I've said it before and I'll continue saying it until NBA players learn to stop being stubborn idiots and decide to help their teams. In the only game of the Finals that really mattered (that would be Game 4, duh), the Magic shot 59.5% from the free throw line. Howard went a pathetic 6 of 14. Turkoglu went 8 of 13. That's 13 missed points from a spot on the floor where most jumpshooters shoot 60%. In other words, Orlando shot a lower percentage on uncontested straight-on shots than they would have with JJ Redick shooting jumpers from the same spot on the floor.

Despite this, Dwight Howard doesn't want to use the backboard? He trades a 2-2 series tie and embarrassing banked free throws for a 3-1 series deficit and the pride that comes with missing your free throws like a man.

This is not a player I want on my team.

Make your free throws however you can. Particularly for someone like Howard who's going to get clobbered routinely, use the damn backboard. It's there for a reason. When you're that tall, let gravity help.

Any NBA player who shoots less than 75% from the free throw line is selfish. It's that simple.


Angels 9, San Francisco 7

I understand now why people think the Dodgers are good. The NL West is unbelievably bad.

Coming off a three game series sweep of the Padres, the Angels again found power in their wimpy lineup, with Aybar, Abreu, Rivera, and recent callup Sean Rodriguez all hitting balls over the fence. Torii Hunter continued his torrid streak with the bat, but managed to hurt himself running into a wall with an 8-0 lead. Whoops.

X-rays were negative, and Hunter hopes to return Friday against the Dodgers. Frankly, the Angels are nowhere this season without Hunter. They are, shockingly, just 2 games out of first. Interleague is hilarious.

Oh yeah, the game wasn't as close as the final score indicates. John Lackey went 7 innings with 10 strikeouts, giving up 3 runs on 10 hits. Yes, that's a weird linescore. The Arson Crew gave up 4 runs, 3 of those coming on a ninth inning two-on, two-out blast by Pablo Sandoval off Kevin "DFA" Jepsen.

Jepsen, along with Shields, and, to some extent, Abreu, all lost big by playing in the WBC. Never again.

Lackey also got the first hit of his career, which included a little RBI next to it. He's now 1-27 lifetime.

Tonight sees yet another starting pitcher for the Halos, with Sean O'Sullivan taking the hill in place of an injured Ervin Santana. Hate to say I told you so, but Santana is unlikely to be okay unless he gets TJ surgery. Escobar is also back on the DL. Shocking.

Game's at 7 Pacific.


Miscellany:

• Not much here today, just a better picture of Thiessen with the Cup.
  

Your 2009 NBA Champions!

Lakers 99, Orlando 86


The Curse of Marcus is dead, it seems. Other terms which can be retired: "Soft" with "Pau Gasol," "can't win a ring without Shaq" with "Kobe," and "old" with "Derek Fisher."

I don't have a lot to say right now, although I'm sure I will later. I'm just so excited to finally own a fan championship, so excited for the city of LA, and so excited to see the greatest basketball player in the world earn his fourth ring.

You'll notice the obvious color changes...these should be around for a little while, but not too long. Also, there's a new addition in "Banners in the Rafters" on the right sidebar. Let's hope for more.

More later. Also, the Angels won, and convincingly so. Gotta love the NL West.

Fish from downtown!

Lakers 99, Magic 91 (OT)

I just love looking at the box score for this game. Kobe Bryant goes 11-31. Trevor Ariza goes 6-14. Lamar Odom goes 4-10. You see Dwight Howard with an almost quadruple double, 16 points, 21 rebounds, 9 blocked shots, and 7 turnovers. Turkoglu went 8-13. Then you see Derek Fisher went 2-7 from behind the arc.

And somehow, after all that, those are the only numbers that matter. Two shots, two threes, those six points transforming the Lakers from treading water at 2-2 to dominating a series 3-1. And I sit back, and I wonder aloud about all those times I've talked about how Derek Fisher needs to be on the bench, about all those questionable lineup decisions from Phil Jackson, and about Fisher's "defense."

And all those problems still exist. They just don't matter anymore.

Fisher nailed a three over Jameer Nelson with 4.6 seconds left in regulation. He drilled another one with 36 seconds left in overtime. The first shot tied the game, and the second iced it. Derek Fisher's Twitter just reads "3-1."

Jameer Nelson's failure to foul Fisher with 4.6 seconds left and a 3 point lead is representative of the countless blown opportunities for the Magicians. Hedo Turkoglu shot 8-13 from the free throw line. Dwight Howard shot 6-14. Those aren't just Shaq numbers, those are Shaq-at-the-beginning-of-the-season-when-he's-still-fat-and-lazy numbers. And they should be embarrassing. Dwight, this is the backboard. Backboard, Dwight. If you two work together, you'd shoot 95% on free throws. Hilarious, but my goodness, embarrassing.

Rashard Lewis was pretty much a nonfactor, outside another ridiculous falling away three that he always seems to hit in the fourth. Despite this, the Lakers still managed to win without playing any sort of defense, perimeter or interior, and it's frustrating to watch. But hey, they won.

And now they need one.

Oh, and I almost forgot: The officiating was atrocious, with the Magic shooting 17 free throws in the fourth to 0 for the Lakers.


Angels 1, Tampa Bay 11

It would be hard for me to care any less about this team than I currently do. They are managing to do absolutely nothing correctly. They can't hit, they can't pitch, and they can't field. About the only thing they can do right now is hover at .500.

You'll get better Angels analysis once the Finals are over, and better still once they call up Brandon Wood and Sean Rodriguez.


Miscellany:

• Tonight, I'll be one of seven viewers watching the Stanley Cup Finals. Go Pens!
• I'll be in LA from the 19th through the 27th.
• I'd like to hop in net sometime before I leave...roller hockey, anyone?
  

Jered Weaver is probably a decent goalie

Angels 4, Tampa Bay 3

I didn't catch this game, like, at all, so I was pleasantly surprised to see a win (and a Rangers loss). Goodness, Weaver is pitching well. 4 walks in 6 innings, which isn't great, but he only gave up 2 runs, a deficit the Angels "offense" is occasionally capable of overcoming. Of course, they led the whole game, so that's irrelevant.

Jeff Mathis is not good at baseball and shouldn't ever play.

Also, the seventh inning:

- D. Oliver relieved J. Weaver
- J. Dillon hit for R. Brignac
- J. Dillon hit by pitch
- B.J. Upton flied out to deep center
- C. Crawford hit by pitch, J. Dillon to second
- J. Dillon to third, C. Crawford to second on wild pitch
- E. Longoria intentionally walked
- C. Pena lined into double play, E. Longoria out at first

Um...yeah.


Lakers 104, Orlando 108

The Magic won by 4 points despite shooting a ridiculous 63%. Kobe missed 5 free throws and had a critical final possession turnover (again). You'd think they'd call a timeout when Gasol is lying on the ground clutching the ball...but you'd be wrong.

I'd be more concerned if not for the unlikelihoods that won this game for the Magic. The Lakers need to win one in Orlando and win the title at home and I won't whine. I still say Lakers in 6.


Jeff's Team 4, The Force 8? 9?

By far our best game, and by far my best game. We actually led 4-3 at one point in the second, but a couple softies and a couple nice shots ended that pretty quickly. Before the game, Jeff hit me right in the crotch on a shot behind me, which probably ended up helping. I've been playing like a hockey goalie...that is to say, I've been on my feet and dropped for shots. That hasn't really been working, and after writhing on the ground a little, I decided I wasn't gonna risk it again and stayed dropped down for most of the game.

Surprisingly effective, for the most part. I felt a little more comfortable with the pads from a lower position, and overall it just felt a lot more like broomball, which I am less terrible at. This strategy works better at preventing the crappy five-hole goals and tight angle shots, like those off faceoffs, but really sucks at defending a breakaway. I only bit hard at a deke once though, which was nice.

In other news, I have absolutely no use for my glove. I might as well just play with that arm tied behind my back, for all the good it does. I'll have to learn how to use it, because all it did today was deflect a single shot into the net and cover up anything on the ground.

I also seem to play better when I'm talking, which seems to be well in line with the rest of my life.

Here's a shot of my most raised stance. Without skates/ice, it's hard to drop down, so generally won't come up higher than this. I'm typically using a goalie stick as well, which puts my blocker in a better position, but this was a surreptitious photo on an illegal cell phone camera after the game.

A frightening scowl, indeed.

...and this picture below is a representation of my typical net coverage. Note the floating glove and the puck in the back of the net.
I give goalies a lot of crap for five-hole goals, but they are surprisingly difficult to defend. My employer currently owes me about 8 grand, some of which could go to goalie pants/jock, a helmet, and real chest protector, all of which are pointless at the floor/roller level but kinda important when you hit the ice.


Miscellany:

• The Pens won 2-1, forcing the Cup Finals to a decisive 7th game. Interesting note: The Red Wings have never played a Game 7 in the Finals in the years they've won.
• Should the Pens win, I'm going to petition Brad Thiessen to bring the Cup to Matthews Arena on the day he gets it. I figure maybe the guilt of his leaving would let me touch the Cup here at NU.
  
• I still can't get this bike out of my head. Belt drive! Apparently they're also near impossible to get. Trek makes a cheaper, 8 speed model as well. It'd probably look nearly as good if you replaced the rims with yellow/neon green deep vees, and maybe some matching handlebar grips.
  
• Tomorrow, MLB draft discussion, and a recap of my desire to strangle Jeff Boras with Manny's dreadlocks.
  
• If any of you read this on Facebook, do me a favor and leave a comment...my traffic figures are already at least one person higher than I thought.
  

The "bullpen"

First, I'm getting ready to write a piece in the Baseball for Newbies series on pitch counts and why they matter, despite every Angel fan going "GAWD Scoscaias is an itiot, Lakcey only threw 117 pitches through 7 innings, he should of left him in."

Also, I don't typically write because I'm bored, although I do tend to spend more time on the blog during periods of boredom. But today, I'm bored, and I'm writing. Don't expect quality (not that you ever should, really).


Angels Bullpen

At this point, I don't really know what the Angels should do about their bullpen. It's been their most glaring problem, and while I don't think it's their biggest issue*, it's definitely number two, and with the number of games they've blown, fans are calling for wholesale changes.

While it's true that a lot of the bullpen inconsistency is a direct result of rampant injuries to starting pitchers, it's a good idea to take a look at the relief pitchers' tRA vs ERA:

Oliver: 2.18 2.92
Arredondo: 2.82 2.74
Shields: 6.20 6.62
Bulger: 4.18 5.25
Speier: 5.32 5.06
Fuentes: 3.82 4.95

Mixed results here. League-average tRA is around 5 and league-average ERA is around 4.50. It loks like Shields/Oliver are a little unlucky, Bulger is a little more unlucky, and Fuentes is unluckiest.

Bulger's getting killed by his HR percentage, with over 10% of everything hit in the air leaving the park. Fuentes, on the other hand, is dealing with an unholy .386 BABIP, likely unsustainable long-term but still frustrating to observe now. With a similar line drive percentage two seasons ago, he was a BABIP of .248. That was lucky, but his career BABIP is right around .300, so perhaps he's due for some regression to better stats.

Scot Shields is giving up 35.7% fly balls and 35.7% groundballs, both well off his career averages which tend to give him groundballs at a ~50% clip. He's definitely hurt. Arredondo, on the other hand, is trading some outs for line drives, and with his LD% more than 7 points higher than last season, is getting murdered by a .394 BABIP. Ouchies. He's unlucky at the moment.

Overall, it's a mixed bag for the relievers, and their struggles are magnified because the offense sucks. That said, there should be at least small amounts of improvement in the coming weeks.

*Their biggest issue is a lack of team slugging percentage, a problem which would be mitigated by sending Kendrick down, Figgins to second, and Rodriguez/Wood to short or third. This front office can't be as dumb as they act, but...maybe they are.


Lakers

I'm missing tonight's tip-off because I'll be getting murdalyzed in floor hockey, albeit in my own pads this time. That said, the Lakers are playing above-average basketball at the moment, which probably won't be enough to win game 3. Tonight's game will come down to, as always, perimeter shooting/defense. If apparent headcase Rafer Alston can't overcome his shooting woes, and Jameer Nelson continues to suck, then that just means more time for Courtney "Can't Hit a Layup" Lee and JJ "LOL Duke Sucks" Redick, which happens to be great news for the Lakers.

I'd like to see better defensive strategy from both Bynum and Odom. Bynum's strategy thus far has been "aim for the arms," which isn't particularly effective when there are referees around, while LO has been playing "run away from the guy with the ball," which isn't particularly effective unless he's defending me. Odom gets away with bad defense because he does so many other things quite proficiently...Andrew, not so much.

Sasha Vujacic has, by the grace of god, seen very little playing time. Maybe PJ reads this blog. Also, crow alert: Fisher's been playing well.


Miscellany:

• Things no car needs, from personal observation: horn, blinkers, high beams. Everybody uses a horn when they shouldn't, fails to use blinkers when they should, and the only people using high beams are the same assholes using their horn.
• New two-wheeled love interest.
• It's below 50 and raining. Welcome to Boston, please check your pleasant weather at the door.
• PayPal is really good at taking your money, but really bad at returning it.
  

ShamPau

ShamPau, courtesy of Memphis.

Lakers 101, Orlando 96 (OT)

A lucky win for the Lakers, but sometimes you make your own luck in the playoffs. Lamar Odom had a superb game scoring 19 points on 8 of 9 shooting (and 3-4 from the stripe), with IPNO favorite Pau Gasol chipping in 24, including 10 of 11 from the free throw line.

Kira, Mark, and I were discussing our imagination of Pau's persona, with Kira frequently chipping in with first-person moments of third-person Gasol monologue. In his overtime and-one, she yelled "PAU WANT BALL! PAUUUUUUUUUUU!" as Gasol stood yelling under the basket. Mark later remarked on this supposed conversation:

Gasol: Hey Kobe, we win game?
Bryant: Yes.
Gasol: PAU! Kobe, want shower with Pau?

Even the NBA can be fun sometimes.

The Lakers won this game despite making absolutely no adjustments to the Orlando offense, which sought to trade points in the paint for threes. While they missed those threes in Game 1, they weren't in Game 2, yet Rashard Lewis, Hedo Turkoglu, and JJ Reddick (of all people) were left open for critical threes. The Lakers still have no concept of perimeter defense, and they'll lose games in Orlando if they don't force shooters to take jumpers inside the arc.

Trevor Ariza, my favorite player in the NBA since moving to the starting lineup, had an awful night, going 3-13, but came up with 3 steals and continues to be the Lakers best defender on 9 out of 10 plays.

I encourage Stan van Gundy to continue putting Jameer Nelson out on the floor. He's ineffective and sloppy, but hey, Rafer Alston shot 1 of 8, so maybe that's all he's got. Dwight Howard had 17 points and was still a nonfactor, as several of his 4 blocks were Magic fouls anyway. He shot 5-10, something I'll take from an opposing starting center any day.

As far as the Angels...well, if you're going to give up grand slams, at least do so when the other team hits, not walks, its way onto base. The bullpen is historically bad.

"Fuck it, let's pitch." -Ervin 'Magic' Santana

Angels 2, Detroit 1

The Angels are 3 games into that season-requirement 7 game winning streak I've previously mentioned. I missed most of tonight's game, but caught the ninth, pretty much the only inning of consequence, as the Angels scored 2 runs, with the gamewinning RBI coming on a Howie Kendrick groundout to shortstop with the bases loaded. That groundout followed a rare sight: An intentional walk to Maicer Izturis.

The Halos were mostly unable to produce any semblance of offense against Tigers starter Justin Verlander. But Verlander was matched by Santana, with Ervin throwing substantially fewer pitches and going 8.2 innings. His fastball is still not there, and I'm growing leery of continuing to trot out a power pitcher who's lost his power. But tonight, he had a good slider and managed to escape every inning unscathed until the ninth, where he allowed a run on an Ordonez single and was relieved by Brian Fuentes.

Fuentes threw 3 pitches to get his 15th save, with the third pitch resulting in a foulout which Chone Figgins managed to catch over the outstretched gloves of several Tigers fans. Memo to Tigers fans: You've gotta make that catch.

A good win, after which Jose Mota interviewed Santana on the field. When asked about his nosebleed, Ervin replied something along the lines of, "Yeah, it started in the bullpen, but I just said, you know, fuck it, let's pitch." On live TV. I love it.


Lakers 100, Orlando 75

I'm not as high on this game as many Lakers fans, mostly because Orlando's 29% shooting is unsustainable. That said, encouraging signs:

• Andrew Bynum matching Dwight Howard when on the floor, both offensively and defensively, if not outplaying him.
• Kobe Bryant having a mediocre shooting night, but still picking up 40 points and 8 rebounds, 8 assists, and only a single turnover.
• Stan van Gundy illustrating why he's earned the title of Panicky Stan, or Master of Panic, or Stan van Panic, etc.
• Josh Powell hitting a step-back three. I swear, the kid's underrated.
• DJ Mbenga. Sure, he had two passes bounce off his hands, but the man speaks like 9 languages. He's a scholar, god dammit.

If the Lakers play with the same level of intensity in game 2, they walk away with a 2-0 lead. I'm still not happy with their perimeter defense and their unwillingness to drive at Howard, but they're largely unbeatable when they play to their potential.

Finally, for the record, the 2-3-2 format is so unbelievably dumb that I'm shocked the NHL hasn't tried it. A road team can win only their home games and still have two elimination games. A home team winning only its home games gets one. That's nonsensical.

The Finals, and How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love Rehab Assignments

I'm going to start with Ervin Santana. I've covered this previously, but Santana probably doesn't recognize his own fastball. Where he used to overpower hitters with a 94 mph average fastball, he now averages a flat 90 mph. The movement, particularly late break, which he used to generate swinging strikes and weak grounders, is almost completely gone. His slider, a devastating pitch last season, is missing most of its horizontal break and he's having a harder time throwing it for strikes.

In other words, Ervin Santana needs one of two things, maybe both:

1. Another, longer rehab assignment where he regains confidence and arm strength.
2. Tommy John surgery.

The rehab starts should be a no-brainer. The TJ surgery is another story. Regardless, I don't like the way the Angels handle surgery for their pitchers. The front office has given away months and years of seasons with (worthless) rehab and DL stints before giving in to surgery. Ligaments don't really heal, at least not the way we view muscle regrowth. They need to be slowly rehabbed over months, or receive some sort of surgical intervention. Bartolo Colon and Kelvim Escobar are two pitchers who screwed around with "rehab" before finally getting surgery and resuscitating their careers.

So, Ervin...this season is probably screwed anyways. Get the surgery and play strong in 2010.

As far as the team, I maintain that they'll be fine if they can fire off 7 or 8 wins in a row. Their win over the Mariners came when they held a 2% chance of victory, while their loss the night before came when they held a 97% chance of winning. Betting on baseball is stupid, as both games should make quite clear.

On the other hand, if they continue to struggle to stay above .500 for much more than another month, they're in trouble. I don't think Texas' rotation or defense are likely to hold up, but they're playing .800 ball against the West, and two months of that might be all they need. The Angels need to improve their 9-12 record against the West if they plan to make the playoffs.

Beating Seattle seems like a good way to start.


NBA Finals

Deep down, you know this kid misses Shaquille.

Lakers and Orlando. Both teams looking for titles without Shaqtus. The NBA's newest star facing off against one of the most storied franchises in basketball, a franchise with the most fundamentally sound player since Michael Jordan.

One coach has a porn stache. The other has some sort of Zen bullshit going on.

Whoever wins this series is going to win despite coaching, not thanks to coaching.

If I'm Phil Jackson, I force Orlando to run their offense through Dwight Howard. Play good perimeter defense and force the ball into the post to Howard. If he picks up 40 points, that's fine. Look at the benefits. Howard is huge and will get tired if he has to hold up an offense for 40 minutes a game. He's foul-prone. If he has to sit, they lose their most potent offensive weapon. Moreover, Howard presents the biggest matchup issue for the Lakers. But he also has the least potential on the offensive end...he can't shoot threes, he can't hit free throws, and he doesn't have the high post moves that Gasol has.

Play perimeter defense. Seriously. Derek Fisher should see very little playing time in this series if Jackson knows anything about basketball.

Force the Magic to run their offense through Dwight Howard and the Lakers win the series in 6.

A(nother) note on officiating

I think it's become a tad too trendy to talk about how awful NBA refereeing has become. And I think a lot of folks (Nuggets players/fans are carrying the most blame at the moment) have decided to claim that every ref in the NBA is part of some huge David Stern conspiracy to get the perfect Finals matchup. Last year, that was LA/Boston. This year, LA/Cleveland.

Look, the refs are awful. I realize that. I also realize the last six years of Finals:

LA/Boston
San Antonio/Cleveland
Miami/Dallas
San Antonio/Detroit
LA/Detroit
San Antonio/New Jersey

Do you really think an NBA conspiracy would allow a Miami/Dallas Finals? A San Antonio/New Jersey Finals?

Come on.

The idiotic assertion by an unnamed Nuggets player that the Lakers paid $50,000 to win Game 5 is one of the stupidest things I've ever heard. NBA refs make an average $250,000 a year. Only a real idiot would take a fraction of his yearly salary as a bribe to fix a game. Even if it's part of some to-the-top NBA conspiracy, I imagine Stern and Co. would want a little more than 50 grand from the $100+ million Lakers. Please.

I, personally, believe that the NBA has realized they have a huge problem with officiating. Tim Donaghy was the peak of public distrust with NBA refs, and if you look at the refs who are allowed to officiate playoff games, they're OLD. The NBA is concerned with the quality of refs it's been producing over the last two decades, and it's now becoming a big problem. Jerry Crawford can't ref from a wheelchair.

I don't think they know what to do about it. From a fans perspective, all we really want is consistency. In other words, if you're going to call the game loose, call the whole game loose, not the first half. Fans, players, and coaches have decided that that inconsistency is evidence of some scheme to fuck their teams, a sexy proposition but not one which carries any weight.


Lakers 119, Denver 92

Thank you, guys. Seriously. Now, take care of business, avoid all of this crap, and bring one home to Figueroa.


Angels

I have never seen a team more in need of a 7 game win streak. A streak >5 wins restores my confidence in this team. Otherwise, it's looking like a .500 season. I'm a bit more bullish on the future, though, with a couple prospects (Sean Rodriguez, Brandon Wood, Will Smith, Trevor Reckling) looking much more promising than at season's start.

There's gonna be more Angels coverage after the NBA Finals.

I dislike sports media

Lakers 103, Denver 94

Say what you like, but the Lakers are nothing if not predictable. After an expected near-blowout loss in Game 4, they came back and won in LA for game 5, pushing the Nuggets to, at the very least, 7 games, and possibly to the golf course.

Before I go any further, let me say this: The next time someone says that the Lakers have no problem scoring, I'm going to threaten him/her with knives. It's become quite the trendy thing to say, that the Lakers can score at will but only defend when they feel like it.

That. Is. Nonsense.

Just because the Lakers can score with relative ease doesn't mean they do. They frequently play stretches where they miss 5 or 6 straight shots from the field. Missed layups, missed threes, missed free throws, whatever, the fact is that they miss lots of shots, and usually when they're playing poor defense. Don't say the Lakers score at will, because if they did, they wouldn't have to play defense. They shoot right around 45% on average, just like everybody else in the damn league. Stop it. It would be a completely different story if they were winning/losing games with scores like 140-135, but they aren't.

Beyond that, I think Los Angeles played two good quarters and two average quarters last night. The fourth quarter, obviously, was their best, as they outscored the Nuggets 27-18 to break a third quarter tie and win the game. They also played a good second half of their third and first quarters, both times remembering they had to play defense to be effective.

I'm still taking issue with Phil Jackson's rotations. He really likes Derek Fisher, and while I'm a Fish fan myself, the best point guard on the floor last night was Shannon Brown. Let the kid play, particularly when his dunk over this clown* was probably the turning point in the game.

Also irritating was the Lakers' refusal to get the ball to their big men, yet again. Gasol and Bynum finished the game 9 of just 17, with Gasol going 5 of just 8. Get the ball to Pau and good things happen...somehow, the guys with the biggest offensive advantages are getting ignored by the triangle. Granted, it would help if Gasol would stop dropping passes from Kobe.

Lamar Odom had a big night, but I think it's being exaggerated a bit. He finished 7 of 15 with 19 points, 4 blocks, 15 rebounds, and 4 offensive rebounds. Those are good numbers, don't get me wrong, but he was taking some Dumb Shots (c) and only shot 4-7 from the free throw line. He missed a lot of makeable shots early on and missed Bryant open in the corner a couple times. It was a good game, no doubt, but certainly not what Odom is capable of.

Game 6 is Friday, and I fully expect the Lakers to lose by 20. Wouldn't it be nice if they won?

Memo to Whiskey's in Boston: It shouldn't take 15 people in Kobe jerseys to convince you to put an NBA playoff game on at least 1 of your 25 TV's. The Red Sox play 162 games...I'm sure your clientele can deal with 2 TV's not showing David Ortiz striking out on belt-high fastballs.

* Steph, in particular, has claimed that she's a fan of Andersen despite his "carefully over exaggerated in-game persona." I, on the other hand, respect his defensive skills (4 BS in 24 minutes), but let's not forget that 1.) he was suspended by the NBA for two years for violations of drug policy, and 2.) that "over exaggerated in-game persona" is something I see as selfishness. He can still do all that dumb Birdman crap without the ridiculous hair/"beard," and frankly I don't see his act as anything more than pandering to the crowd. Basketball is (and always has been) a game of style, but that's something I've never respected. I also don't think someone who's come back from a drug suspension is necessarily worth any sort of commendation. Josh Hamilton also falls into this bucket...your ability to return from your own stupid decisions shouldn't earn you a medal.


Angels 3, White Sox 1

I missed most of this game (as I hope any combination baseball/basketball fan did), but caught the last few innings once I had returned home and had access to my Slingbox and ESPN simultaneously.

First of all, Jered Weaver is this year's Joe Saunders. Weaver's been putting it together quite nicely, pitching 8 innings tonight on just 103 pitches. Weaver's discovery? First pitch strikes. Hell, strikes overall. He threw 67 of them last night, picking up 8 K's to just a single walk, giving up one run on a sac fly. You can't ask for much more, aside from the last three outs, which Fuentes nailed down with little in the way of hysterics. Sure, Frankie looks great as a Met, but I don't miss the angina during his saves.

The Angels, thankfully, have an off day.


Notes:

• Tim Brown says Torii Hunter is an AL MVP candidate. I agree, but Evan Longoria is the clear choice right now. You can't argue, though, that Torii's become the face of the franchise, and you couldn't ask for a better face.
  
• The Magic have the chance to eliminate Cleveland tonight. Don't bank on it.
• This site's got some pretty cool shirts. I'm fond of this and this, but this is my personal favorite.
• Also, this and this in the mail. Hilarious sieve pictures forthcoming.
  

Angels, Lakers win, I'm a sieve

Continuing a theme from last night with the title here.

Angels 6, Seattle 5

The improbability preventing Matt Palmer's regression wore off tonight, as Palmer looked hittable (and was). He gave up 5 runs, three via the long ball, and generally struggled with his control, walking three to just two strikeouts.

Luckily for Palmer, he picked up his 5th win anyway, joining Jered Weaver and Bo Belinsky as the only Angels to start their Halo careers 5-0. Palmer got lots of help from "King" Felix Hernandez, who continues to exemplify the million dollar arm-ten cent head pitcher principle. The guy has some of the best offspeed pitches in the game, so he throws lots of fastballs, gives up 11 hits and 6 runs in 5.2, and manages to walk 3 players from a wildly hacking team.

Of course, Hernandez wasn't helped much by his crappy infield defense, with Jose Lopez booting an easy double play ball and allowing a run to score. Yuniesky Betancourt had an error last night as well. The vaunted Seattle defense looks...less vaunted, with Lopez/Betancourt and Skillet Branyan at first. I am unimpressed. Cedeno played today for Betancourt and launched a homer while playing better defense, so we should probably expect to see Yuniesky in the field for tomorrow's game. Hey, it's Seattle.

Anyways, the Angels got 4 innings out of the bullpen, with Jason Bulger allowing an inherited leadoff double to score, but otherwise looking surprisingly dominant along with Scot Shields and Brian Fuentes, with Fuentes striking out the side. The Halos look for a series victory tomorrow with Ervin Santana pitching against Chris Jakubauskas, who sucks and will thus shut out the "potent" Angel lineup. Game's at 7:10 Pacific.


Lakers 105, Denver 103

Before I continue, this needs to be said: I could not give any less of a fuck about Kobe vs. LeBron unless the Lakers actually play the Cavs. The Yahoo Sports comment boards are full of idiots, and I might have to switch to ESPN if they can't get a handle on the rampant idiocy.

I missed most of the first half, courtesy of my hockey commitment, and it's probably a good thing. Los Angeles came out flat in the first quarter, as they seemingly always do, but pulled ahead once Carmelo Anthony cooled down a bit and they remembered that half the game is defense.

The Lakers managed to win the game with timely defense and Kobe Bryant free throws. It ain't sexy, but it's a win, and I'll take it. Pau Gasol missing critical free throws was not funny, cute, or endearing in any crazy Spanish way. Also, you shouldn't be hoisting up 25 threes a game. They're lucky to have made the 11 they did.

Sasha Vujacic is not to be allowed near the three point arc until next season, and maybe not even then.

If the Lakers lose a series to a team with this dumbass, I might have to quit the NBA. Seriously, that guy looks like every 13-year old wanted to in 1997. I wonder if he gets called for a foul if he spears someone with that "hair." Somebody hide that man's Mega Ultra Hold gel.


Jeff's Team 2, Other Team 9 (two periods)

My first time strapping on the pads was enjoyable but forgettable from a performance standpoint. I was way too jacked up before the game, and after the first goal I don't think I spent a second thinking about positioning. By the fifth goal (second period) I was a mental mess, and it showed. I wasn't seeing the ball and definitely wasn't positioning properly, and it didn't help that the other team literally ran the ridiculous backdoor play that always kills Northeastern at least 15 times.

Jeff netted a pair and just missed a third which would've killed the stupid mercy rule. Seriously, if I wanted to play two periods of hockey, I would've signed up for two periods. The team looked substantially better, but our defense is still a speed bump when it needs to be a funnel. I saw at least 5 shots from players in the slot, either on breakaways or free runs across the ice.

On the bright side, there's lots of room for improvement. My best saves were early on, shots that hit me in the chest because I was ready for them. I've also started getting used to wearing full goalie gear, which is nice, particularly since this is something I'd like to do both in college as well as after college. I struggled a bit with movement (I really miss being able to slide on ice), but that should become more natural as I gain some playing time. Anyone with a cheap set of leg pads, let me know.

Also, I now understand something. I used to laugh at Shaq as he walked to the free throw line, literally pouring sweat from his head and face, all that liquid getting into his eyes and soaking his jersey. I didn't get it, I don't really sweat, and besides, he'd been on the court what, five minutes?

Well, I definitely get it now. With a t-shirt, chest protector/shoulder pads, elbow pads, cupped compression shorts, shorts, long socks, leg pads, a catcher, a blocker, a jersey, and a shitty goalie helmet, you get HOT. Fast. Within five minutes I had already begun to feel the sweat leaking down my back. Just awful.

Next game's a while from now.

Golf!

Gotta love golf. And even if you don't, you're out of options, should you be a Boston Bruin or Boston Celtic. And thank goodness, talk about a city which has overstayed its welcome with sports success.

Angels swept by Rangers

I don't have a lot to say about these games, other than Brandon Wood's current line at Salt Lake City, mixed in with the lines from three other players on the Angels. See if you can tell who's who:

A: .272/.361/.316 .677
B: .262/.289/.298 .587
C: .347/.434/.806 1.239
D: .303/.319/.461 .780

Player A is Figgins, B is Izturis, C is Wood, and D is Aybar. Two of those players would be getting 0 minutes of playing time on most major league teams. Aybar, despite his generally awful approach at the plate, is producing. Wood is annihilating the ball. And Izturis has an OPS below .600. Something is wrong here.

The only games that matter in modern baseball are intradivisional games. The Angels are 5-9 in the West while the Rangers are 10-2. If the Angels can manage .600 ball against the West and .500 elsewhere, the inevitable Texas pitching swoon will push the Halos into the playoffs.

The Angels start another series against the Mariners tonight at 7:05 Pacific.


Lakers finally put Rockets on golf course

The Lakers continued their bipolar nature, destroying the Rockets 89-70 in a game that wasn't even that close. The Lakers are very hard to root for, so here's how they can earn back the respect of their fans:

Play every game like it's game 7. Stop settling for jumpshots. Get the ball to the big guys (Gasol, Bynum, even Odom) and let them make plays from the post. And for god's sake, stop pretending like it's all okay in every press conference after you lose. Even if you think it's all right that you lost by 20 to a Houston team which is comically awful, pretend that you're really concerned and that you're going to take extra shooting practice. Hit your free throws.

They play the Nuggets tomorrow at 6:00 Pacific.

Dallas, Denver, Boston, Washington, Pittsburgh, Houston, and Los Angeles

Let's just call this post "Around the country."

Dallas/Denver

Jordan makes a fair point: I haven't talked about Dallas point guard Jose Juan Barea. With all due respect, though, he hasn't done much this series until...yesterday. In the Mavericks season-saving 119-117 win, Jose went 5-8 for 10 points while playing almost 16 minutes with a +7 rating. The plus/minus stat in basketball is even worse than hockey's, but the Dallas players with at least a +5 rating are these: Dirk (+12), Jason Kidd (+5), and Jason Terry (+10). Not bad company, if you pretend Terry is actually, well, good.

Jose has played between 15 and 20 minutes for most games in the series, even getting a start in game three, but he hasn't taken more than 5 shots until last night. For those of you who remember JJB from his Northeastern days, he's definitely a rhythm shooter, and his best games as a Husky came when he took lots of shots. Missing the free throws, though, is unacceptable.

Dallas is probably done in 5, but I'd like to see Jose manage a double-double as he did several times during the season.


Washington/Pittsburgh

A great series already, the Caps evened it up to force a decisive game 7 with a 5-4 OT win in Pittsburgh. I've been rooting for Washington mostly because I find Sidney Crosby to be edging on Brett Favre drama queen status, but you really can't complain about the level of play from either side. Plus, the Penguins are currently utilizing Brad Thiessen as a practice goalie, and Joe Vitale is in the playoffs with the Baby Pens (0-0-0 with 12 PIM...ouch), so Pittsburgh isn't really an organization I can root against.

And no, Thiessen has not updated his blog.


Houston/Los Angeles

At some point in every fan's life, often as frequently as once a season, one becomes disappointed when the realization is made that the players don't care half as much as the fans. For the Lakers, they've been pulling this act all year, but game 4 was the worst. It was extremely clear that they don't give a shit, and it took about 5 minutes for me to realize they thought they didn't have to try to win. If this team could, just once, play 48 minutes with the effort to match their talent, they would win by 60 points.

But they won't.

I fully expect them to win this series, but there's no way they win another without realizing that talent only gets you so far.

Luke Walton should see 0 minutes of playing time and come off the bench after Adam Morrison. Josh Powell should take his minutes. Walton sucks. Seriously. He's a turnover machine who can't shoot, also known as the guy in street clothes on every other team.


Boston/Los Angeles

Another Angels/Red Sox series...already. The last time they played, the Angels miraculously took 2 of 3 despite playing some truly awful baseball. They're improving. Boston, somehow, is improving despite losing a couple SP's and infielders. Youkilis and Pedrioa are probably out for tonight's Weaver/Masterson matchup.

I'm cautiously optimistic about Weaver. He's kept his walks down, but his flyball tendency means he's always prone to the long ball, particularly against a team as proficient at hitting them as the Red Sox. That said, if Weaver pitches as well as he has already this season, I see a W tonight and a likely W in the series.

The Angels are a half game out of first place. Seattle has really, really screwed up, and it couldn't have happened to a better fanbase.

Game 3 + the Royals - Recap

The Lakers will win this game if these things happen:

• They find someone (Ariza? Sasha? Brown? Odom?) capable of hitting an open three. If the Lakers are hitting from beyond the arc, they win.
• Jackson makes rational rotation decisions. For example, the second unit doesn't play to start the second half.
• Kobe Bryant has more than ten assists.
• Bynum is told to focus on getting, not sending, to the foul line.
  
• Odom manages to finish at the rim and hits his foul shots.
• They play effective perimeter defense.

Let's see here. Yes (11-20 3FG), sorta, no, no, yes, yes (Houston 6-10 3FG).

I said they needed two of those to win, and they got three. The Lakers finally played to their potential and pulled out a 108-94 win in Houston. The biggest difference between this game and the first two? Three point shooting. Kobe Bryant hit some ridiculous, completely unfair shots (4-6), but Odom went 2-2 and Ariza 3-4, with Vujacic and Walton both chipping in one each. Only Farmar had on o-fer from three land, which, frankly, is fine considering his overall level of play.

Speaking of Jordan Farmar, he played great defense and had 7 assists to a single turnover. His shooting was erratic, but Fisher's has been as well, and I really think Farmar should start over Fish in game 4. Defense is important, and when your point guard isn't hitting shots regardless, choose the guy who can actually guard the other team.

Something else we learned tonight: Kyle Lowry's favorite food is pancakes. What kind of Philadelphian's favorite food is pancakes?

Yao Ming looks like he's in some serious pain out there. I'd prefer he stay healthy, although I'm not sure how the coaching staff plans to pull that off. Rest, ice, compression, and elevation, my friend. Ron Artest, on the other hand, seemed to be trying to take bad shots. He went 2-8 from beyond the arc and did a great job of helping LA win this game. Kudos, Ron.


Angels 4, Royals 1

I missed most of this game while watching basketball, but the Angels are back to .500. It'll be tough to beat Greinke tomorrow, but hey, anything's possible.

Howie Kendrick hit a 2-run "inside the parker," put in quotes because it was clearly a 4-base Jose Guillen error. In his postgame interview, Howie joked that he's been "on the treadmill, getting fit just for this one moment."

Matt Palmer is looking like the 5th starter until Escobar's return, holding a surprisingly good Royals offense to a single run over 5.1 innings. He did walk 3, but struck out 5, and gave up only two hits. Extremely promising. I'm telling you, that cutter's got a ton of movement. I wish I could back that up with some sort of PitchF/X analysis...oh wait! I can!

Image from Brooks Baseball PitchF/X tool. It's useful, even if he is a Red Sox fan.

Click on the image for a bigger version. Anybody getting a foot of horizontal cut is doing something right.

Tomorrows game is at 6:05 Pacific.

Game 3 + the Royals

Lakers vs. Houston Rockets, 6:30 Pacific

This game is going to suck. Not from a who's-gonna-win-who's-gonna-lose perspective, but from the NBA's terrible track record at officiating following a game like game 2. There's going to be a million fouls, Bynum will probably foul out in about 6 minutes, and Yao Ming will have 5 halfway through the fourth.

With Fisher suspended for a game, as expected, I think we'll see Farmar get the start over Brown, just because I maintain Farmar is better at running the point. But who knows, maybe Jackson goes nuts and decides to play Vujacic at the point. At this stage in my fan career, I really wouldn't be surprised by anything he decides to do.

The Lakers will win this game if these things happen:

• They find someone (Ariza? Sasha? Brown? Odom?) capable of hitting an open three. If the Lakers are hitting from beyond the arc, they win.
• Jackson makes rational rotation decisions. For example, the second unit doesn't play to start the second half.
• Kobe Bryant has more than ten assists.
• Bynum is told to focus on getting, not sending, to the foul line.
  
• Odom manages to finish at the rim and hits his foul shots.
• They play effective perimeter defense.
  

I think any two of those will do it. Yao's gonna get his points, but I don't see any reason why Wafer, Brooks, and Battier should have more than 10 points a piece. Artest can be contained with effective defense. Make him take Crazy Ron Jumpshots (TM) and the game is much easier.

By the way, Rockets fans whine. Our point guard knocked your power forward onto his ass. Not only does Scola now look like a bitch, but so does the fan base. Seriously. If you have a problem with Fisher's hip check, then maybe you should consider that your favorite new player once beat up a fan in the stands. And probably will again, if I ever get to a game where he's playing.


Angels vs. Royals, 7:05 Pacific

Gil Meche goes up against Matt Palmer in the first LA/KC matchup of the season. The Royals tend to decimate the Angels, but typically only in Kansas City, unless I've just been repressing memories. This is a big start for Palmer. Another quality start+ will do lots to prove he belongs in the rotation over the Moseley's of the world once Lackey and Santana return in the coming week.

I like the Angels against Meche. A win tonight puts them at .500 for the first time since the second game of the season. Seattle, as expected, has begun to fizzle. Texas is currently in first place, but the staff tRA is catastrophic. The good starting pitching they've had is pure luck. Expect massive regression.

Manny

Not surprised. The 2004 Red Sox can borrow this from the 2002 Angels (and pretty much every late-90's early 00's World Series winner): *

This Slurpee Sucks

Seriously. I bought it like 10 minutes ago and it's already doing that thing where it ices up and then won't make it up the straw. At least it's watermelon and not some crap like blueberry or cherry.

Angels

The Angels have had a strange week. Their series with New York was predictable, but only with regards to the record with which they left. I expected them to go 2-2, and they indeed went 1-2 with rain postponing my guessed second win. What was weird was that they a.) won Matt Palmer's start against CC Sabathia, and b.) managed to lose a game they should've won by blowing a 5-run lead with 6 outs to go.

The bullpen is clearly still an issue, but I think it's steadily improving as Arredondo, Shields, and Fuentes all relearn how to pitch. The biggest issue, in my mind, has been bullpen management, but a solid Arredondo-Shields-Fuentes back end helps reduce the number of games Scioscia can manage to screw up by putting in relievers like Rafael Rodriguez and Jason Bulger.

By the way, Matt Palmer has an obscene amount of movement, at least from my observation. Since Kalk's Pitchf/x tool doesn't include Palmer at the moment, I really can't provide a better analysis other than "everything he throws starts here and ends somewhere way different." His fastball reminds me of Scot Shields' two-seamer, in that it's pretty clear he doesn't know where it's going because it tails and drops so much. A neat guy to watch, although someone who's been in the minors until his age 30 season is probably not going to continue winning pitching duels with Sabathia.

I caught the last few innings of the Angels/Oakland game last night, and was overall pretty impressed with Joe Saunders and Jose Arredondo. Jose struck out all four batters he faced before giving way to Fuentes, who earned the three-run save without allowing a baserunner. Division wins are very important, and I'll feel more confident about this team if they can play .500 ball against the other divisions and .600 ball within the West, which isn't an unreasonable proposition.

Lakers 92, Houston 100

Nobody expected a 4-game sweep, but watching this team last night was aggravating. When the Lakers refuse to try and score easy points, they end up taking three pointers the second they encounter adversity. So they did. And they shot 2-18 from beyond the arc. Whoops.

Lamar Odom missed 5 of his 6 free throws. Kobe missed 2 of his 5. Add up those points and the game might've been 100-99. Free throws are easy, and they matter. The fact that Ray Allen is like the only NBA player who can consistently shoot over 95% on free throws should be embarrassing to the other players, but I guess Odom is too cool to use the glass.

I'm still not particularly worried about this series. I don't think Pau Gasol is going to go 6-14 from the field again, and I don't think Fisher and Ariza are likely to go 0-4 on three pointers again. This was a game the Rockets had to win if they had any chance of winning this series, and they did. But nothing leads me to believe we'll be seeing Yao Ming knock down deep jumpshots like he did last night.

Also, free Jordan Farmar. Fisher can't defend me, much less Aaron Brooks. Farmar, at least, hit a three and harassed Brooks.

Miscellaneous

Find the headline below which is an embarrassment to Yahoo Sports and the sports world in general:


Next week's headlines:

• CC Sabathia pitches 8 strong, A-Rod doesn't eat sunflower seeds in dugout
• Housing crisis continues, A-Rod doesn't wear tux to wedding
  
• Yankees beat Baltimore, A-Rod sneeze startles Teixeira
• A-Rod goes 4-4, doesn't have swine flu

What a joke.

Got Wood?

Angels 8, Seattle 0

Finally, a fun game to watch. Howie Kendrick went 3-5 with a homer, Juan Rivera went deep, Brandon Wood started (!), and Halo hurlers looks magnificent on the mound. Wood went 1-4, but should have been 3-4 with three doubles. His first double was stolen away by a great play by Beltre at third. His second double was hit even harder, again snared by Beltre, but Wood reached on an awful throw to first. his third double was a clean hit, but nailed the umpire behind Beltre and held him to a single. It's really hard to complain about someone going 1-4 when they go 3-4 with three doubles with a league-average third baseman and a mobile umpire.

Weaver looked good, great at times, and managed to cruise through 7 shutout innings on just 95 pitches. My biggest concern with Weaver has been his lack of an out pitch, leading to long innings and limiting his ability to throw more than 6 innings. Today, though, his changeup was an out pitch, and he recorded 5 K's to only two walks. Shields pitched a solid eighth, throwing 11 pitches to record three outs, the last two on a brilliant 3-6-1 double play. I didn't catch the ninth, but Fuentes struck out the side around a hit and a walk. I can live with that.

Things the Angels can do to keep me interested and claw back to .500:

• Win three games in a row.
• Keep playing Brandon Wood.
• Get good performances out of the most important bullpen pieces: Speier, Arredondo, Shields, and Fuentes.
• Stop dropping pop flies in the outfield. Torii, the ball is your responsibility.
  

Chicago Bulls 121, Boston Celtics 118 (2OT)

A fun game to watch. Ben Gordon hit an incredible three over Paul Pierce to send the game to 2OT, but the game never should have made it to overtime. Word of advice to teams playing the Celtics: Ray Allen is the ONLY player you have to guard with less than a minute remaining. Chicago's inability to play perimeter defense will screw them, as it already has, either again in this series or in the next round. Guard Allen. Guard him. Zone defense is for pasties.


NCAA Women's Tennis

Big congratulations to Amanda, who finishes up her senior year of Pac-10 play by leading the Trojans to their first Pac-10 women's tennis title in 17 years, then following up the team effort with a pair of individual Pac-10 titles for singles and doubles. This sweep was the first by a single player since 1917. Wow.

You'll see Amanda again in the NCAA's in a week or so, and then again on the pro circuit.

Playoffs

Lakers 113, Utah 100

The Lakers played some extremely mediocre basketball in the second half and won by 13. During their sloppiest quarter of the game, they led by no fewer than 9. Kobe Bryant ensured the game was over once LA led by 22 at the half.

They play again tonight, and it will be closer. Lakers in 5.


Boston 118, Chicago 115

I'm going to go ahead and say that basketball coaches are idiots. Unlike managers in baseball, NBA coaches actually have to do things fairly often, like dictate substitutions and call set plays. They all make the same error at the end of games, and I'll show you what they should be doing.

If your team is tied, particularly on the road, with less than a shot clock remaining and with possession belonging to the other team, FOUL. I know it sounds crazy. But the second the ball touches someone who doesn't shoot 80% free throws, foul.

But Marcus, you're clearly an idiot, you say. Then you're just giving the lead to the home team with 15 seconds t play!

I know, and that's good. The last shot at the end of a quarter is highly overrated. The last shot at the end of a game is highly underrated. Let's go through the scenarios:

1.) You don't foul:

• They make the shot with under 5 seconds remaining and win the game.
• They miss the shot with under 5 seconds remaining and the game goes to overtime.

2.) You do foul:

• They make both free throws and you have a chance at a tying shot/winning three.
  
• They miss one and you have a chance at a winning shot.

I'm sorry, but I'd rather be down a point with 15 seconds left and the ball than tied with 15 seconds left without possession. Particularly in a game where you're on the road (and thus looking to steal a game), where overtime naturally favors the home team, and where there's clearly been no defense whatsoever the whole game (115-115), this seems like an easy choice. I ask this: If the Bulls were playing the Lakers of 2001 last night, would they have fouled Shaq?

Shaq career FT%: .581
Kendrick Perkins career FT%: .601

Yeah, coaches are dumb. Despite all the mantra about "don't play to not lose," that's exactly what coaches do.


NHL Playoffs

The Ducks, behind rookie goalie Jonas Hiller, are the luckiest team to take the ice since the Boston University Terriers. I suspect Scott Niedermeyer has a horseshoe so far up his ass he can't digest his daily salad of four-leaf clovers.

The Sharks were pretty much my team for these playoffs, and they're now down 2-0 because a +20 shot differential in the NHL apparently means nothing anymore.


Angels

I'd just like to get to .500, please. At 4-8, that means we need a 4 game winning streak, which is about as likely as Tim Salmon coming out of retirement and hitting 40 homers in a shortened season.

At this point, I'm having a hard time seeing this team suddenly fix its bullpen and generate offense from any of the SS, 2B, 1B, and RF positions unless Abreu is in right (in which case LF is a problem). I think Aybar has a real shot at being a capable major league hitter, as his minor league numbers are superb, but he certainly hasn't proved it yet. Howie Kendrick is failing and clearly not built for the 2 spot in the lineup. Kendry Morales started hot but has since cooled down and is not providing the offense needed from an offense-first position. Juan Rivera and/or Gary Matthews Jr. are not hitting homers, and are therefore not suitably good outfielders. Neither is Abreu, but at least he gets lots of hits and gets on base.

The bullpen is a mess, turning brilliant starts from Nick Adenhart, Dustin Moseley, Darren Oliver, and Shane Loux into losses. Part of the problem is Mike Scioscia's asinine bullpen strategy, and part of it is a reliance on AAAA-type players Kevin Jepsen and Jason Bulger, neither of whom would be playing anywhere near a major league bullpen if not for the Angels' thus far extensive use of the disabled list. Lots of people are pointing to the loss of Francisco Rodriguez as the problem. Don't believe them. Since Scioscia doesn't allow his closer to pitch outside the ninth, the only game the Angels might have won with Frankie over Fuentes would've been Adenhart's start versus Oakland.

This team still has a chance at the playoffs, but they need to turn it around quickly. And if they don't, this team NEEDS both a great draft and a fire sale before the trading deadline. Major league talent needs to be packaged for high-level prospects and the farm system needs to be reloaded at the AA and AAA level to allow this team to compete in two years instead of five. I'm serious...if the Angels still suck in two months, they need to make sure they'll be good again sooner than later. Texas, Seattle, and Oakland will all be good as early as next season.


Misc:

I picked up a 1992(!) Trek 930 on Craigslist for $90, and wow, talk about improvement. It's the first "real" mountain bike I've had in quite a few years, and the massively better ride/feel over a year-old Schwinn is crazy. Plus, the brakes still work, something which can't be said about the old bike. I'm surprised there's not still a market for lugged steel frames. This thing is solid.