Admin: October 2008 Archives

BY MIKE LANSU Sports Pros(e) NBA Guy

What can we learn from the first game of an NBA rookie? Nothing. But that doesn't mean I'm not going to break down the debuts of the six rookies who could make a significant impact this season.

Last season's No. 1 pick Greg Oden missed all of last season with a knee injury and sprained his foot in the first half of the Blazers' opener. It's safe to say it won't be the last time the Indianapolis native finds himself on the IR this season.

Memphis' O.J. Mayo and Miami's Michael Beasley sure like to shoot, but if they don't start making some baskets they will find themselves on the bench in a hurry.

Chicago's Derrick Rose and Oklahoma City's Russell Westbrook looked good and OK, respectively, in their Association debuts. Both shot the ball effectively, got to the free throw line and had a limited number of turnovers for a rookie point guard.

The most impressive rookie: Minnesota's Kevin Love. The big man with lots of basketball skills and no athleticism shot effectively, crashed the boards, contributed on defense and limited his turnovers.

Here are my Rookie Rankings after Game 1:

1. Kevin Love: 12 points (5-of-8 FG, 2-of-2 FT), 2 assists, 9 rebounds, 1 steal, 2 blocks, 2 turnovers.

2. Derrick Rose: 11 points (3-of-9 FG, 5-of-7 FT), 9 assists, 4 rebounds, 3 steals, 0 blocks, 4 turnovers.

3. Russell Westbrook: 13 points (4-of-9 FG, 4-of-6 FT), 4 assists, 4 rebounds, 0 steals, 1 block, 2 turnovers.

4. Michael Beasley: 9 points (4-of-14 FG, 0-of-0 FT), 0 assists, 4 rebounds, 0 steals, 0 blocks, 3 turnovers.

5. O.J. Mayo: 10 points (5-of-20 FG, 0-of-0 FT), 2 assists, 5 rebounds, 2 steals, 0 blocks, 3 turnovers. (Note: Missed all 7 three-point attempts).

6. Greg Oden: 0 points (0-of-4 FG, 0-of-2 FT), 0 assists, 5 rebounds, 1 block, 2 turnovers. (Note: Left game in first half with a sprained right foot).

Detroit Lions fans always need something to dull the pain. Daunte Culpepper could be that something. He wants to be that something.

Culpepper, who earlier this year retired from the NFL, wants to come back. Evidently to a team that is 0-7 and has won one playoff game since 1957.

From the Detroit Free Press:

"Free agent quarterback Daunte Culpepper is visiting the Lions today, after reportedly canceling a visit to Kansas City and saying he is in negotiations with a team that is a better fit.

You're a brave man, Mr. Culpepper. Very brave indeed.

*If I haven't said it before, the Lions won't win more than once this season.

Today's Bulls preview comes to us courtesy of Mike Lansu, who was glad to take a break from writing about autopsy reports and four-alarm fires. When not breaking cops and court news, you can find him using his lanky frame on the low box at any number of West Side gyms.

The Bulls are the most difficult team in the NBA to project.

They don't have anybody who can consistently score and the other team always has the best player on the floor (Seriously. If you don't believe me, pick a team - any team. They have somebody on the team better than everybody on the Bulls.) The Bulls have a lot of guys who don't play defense and have too many guards and not enough big men.

Can a team with a rookie point guard and head coach live up to last season's preseason expectations of Eastern Conference contenders? Could they actually be worse than last year with Rose and Del Negro? Is sneaking into the playoffs with a record around .500 a good thing for the long-term success of the franchise?

For the Bulls to return to Eastern Conference contenders they will need more than Rose and Del Negro to outperform expectations. The Bulls teams of the mid-2000s that made strides from NBA laughing stocks to contenders had one thing the 2008-09 squad does not: interior presence.

At center, Ben Wallace and Tyson Chandler played like the biggest players in The Association. Offensively, the only thing they provided was a rebounding presence that forced opponents to put an extra body on them, leading to increased rebounding production from the teams' forwards. But defensively, Wallace and Chandler were feared. Opponents were scared to drive, allowing the Bulls' other guards to take chances on the perimeter that led to easy points in transition.

If Del Negro's preseason rotation is any indication, Drew Gooden will be the Bulls' starting center. Offensively, Gooden should succeed against slower centers in transition, but tends to settle for 15-foot jumpers in the half-court game. Having a big body on the perimeter puts a lot of pressure on the forwards and guards to get in the paint and rebound.

Joakim Noah and Aaron Gray are better suited to play center. However, Noah often plays out-of-control and picks up too many fouls to see major minutes. Gray is one of the slowest players in the league. He makes Will Perdue look fast.

The Bulls will need production out of the forwards if they aren't going to get it at center. Loul Deng is one of the best complementary players in the league, but doesn't have a scorer to create shots for him. For the Bulls to succeed, he will need to create and become that prolific scorer. He is the best player on the team and needs to step up on the offensive end.

If Gooden starts at center, Tyrus Thomas must play power forward. The often-erratic Thomas looked more mature in the preseason, but is still young and probably a year or two away from being a consistently dominant player. He should put up monster numbers in some games, but will be a non-factor in others.

Off the bench, Andres Nocioni is the only established forward coming off the bench. He can play both forward positions, likes to bang in the paint and has a jumper good all the way out to three-point range. He has lost a step and his tendency to get into early foul trouble limits his minutes. SLEEPER: Cedric Simmons could get playing time if Gooden makes a permanent move to center. The athletic N.C. State alum is a more polished but less talented version of Thomas.

When healthy, the Bulls have a bevy of guards that can score and create. Rose will see significant minutes at the point. Hinrich will start at the shooting guard and move to point guard when Rose comes out of the game.

Rose should create for teammates - especially the athletic Thomas - but a poor jumper will make for inconsistent scoring nights. He also needs to work on his defense. Hinrich is the safe choice at shooting guard. He is too small and too slow to dominate offensively, but he won't turn the ball over much and will consistently make open jumpers. He is a tough defender who can guard bigger guards despite giving up a couple inches.

Backup Thabo Sefalosha has looked good in the preseason and should work his way into Del Negro's rotation. He is a lockdown defender with a developing offensive game. He was drafted as a point guard, but that clearly isn't going to work in the NBA and coaches need to move him to shooting guard full time. Gordon will come off the bench, shoot a lot, not play any defense and complain that he is under paid. Larry Hughes is hurt - but it doesn't matter because he won't play much because he is neither talented nor young.

So how many wins can a team with no center and no consistent scorer win? More than you think. While they don't have a consistent 20-plus point-per-game player, they have lots of guys who could go for 30 any night. As long as one player has a great game every night they should contend on the offensive end. And Rose is a smart enough point guard to find the teams go-to guy early in the game and find ways to get him the ball.

When nobody can score they have virtually no chance because they are that bad defensively. Hinrich and Deng are the only starters who play above-average defensive. The bench players just foul - except for Hughes and Gordon who don't even bother to do that.

The Bulls should finish around .500 and sneak into the playoffs, which isn't necessarily a good thing for the long-term development of the franchise. Until the Bulls find a consistent scorer they will linger as a middle-of-the-pack team.

Welcome to a new nightly feature here at Sports Pros(e). We're just as big of couch potatoes as you are, if not more. So we might as well give you some direction on what to watch.

BY MIKE CLARK Sports Pros(e) World Record Analyst

Sometimes setting a world record involves years of training, loads of talent and maybe even a little luck.

And other times setting a world record just requires the willingness to stuff a bunch of live insects in your mouth.

See for yourself which category Travis Fessler of Florence, Ky., falls into. Who says there is no good news in papers these days?

BY MIKE CLARK
Sports Pros(e) Contributor

We here at Sports Pros(e) like our world leaders to be tough and strong, but are wondering if Vladimir Putin might be going a little overboard.

The former Russian president and puppet master for the guy who currently holds the job, Dimitry Medvedev, is the star of a new DVD whose title translates as "Let's Learn Judo with Vladimir Putin."

This is apparently not Putin's first foray into the martial arts media world. Amazon is selling a paperback version of his judo guide for $18 (marked down from $20).

Could be a great stocking stuffer this holiday season for that Russian nationalist/self-defense aficionado on your Christmas list. This may point the way for other former heads of state looking for ways to raise a little cash after they leave office. We can foresee other such releases, like "Let's Learn Phonics with George Bush."

Marty Farmer has been talking all season about how great the Dodgers are. Let's just say he loves their "young talent." Part of "Code of Silence", starring Chuck Norris, was shot at his house in Oak Park. That's awesome.

BY MARTY FARMER Sports Pros(e) Contributor

When I heard the bizarre news that Cubs chairman Crane Kenney enlisted the sacerdotal services of Rev. James L. Greanias to "bless" the apparently demonic confines of Chicago's dugout, I thought, 'wow, that's really weird and arguably creepier than Bartman's Cubs hat-Walkman ensemble.
For some odd reason, it also reminded me of one of my favorite yarns about Tommy Lasorda.

One weekend when Tommy's Dodgers were in Cincinnati for a three-game set, Lasorda ran into Reds skipper John McNamara at church.

I'll let the Prince of Pasta pick up the story:

 "Now, I know why John's in church, he knows why I'm there. When Mass is over, as we are leaving through the center aisle, Mc says to me, 'Wait for me outside, I'll be right out.' I began wondering what he was going to do and I stopped and watched him. He went over to the right side of the church and he knelt down and lit a candle. When I saw that, I walked up the left aisle, and when he left I went over to the right side and blew out his candle. And all during the game, I kept hollering to McNamara, 'It ain't gonna work, John, I blew out the candle.'"

******

With the Dodgers heading back to Chavez Ravine leading the Cubs 2-0, things clearly aren't working for the Cubs. I offer two obvious observations about Chicago's National League ballclub: I think they are a good baseball team that enjoyed a fantastic, historical regular season. More importantly, they are playing terrible in the NLDS.

For their part, the Dodgers have helped fuel the Cubs' collapse courtesy of solid pitching from D-Lowe and "Bills"; timely hitting from Manny Ramirez, James Loney and Russ Martin; and Joe Torre pushing all the right buttons. Unless the Cubs rip off three straight wins (possible but not probable), consider another season lost in Baseball's Bermuda Triangle of Addison, Clark and Sheffield.

I've felt all season long that LA is a dangerous team on the rise despite skeptical "looks" from some of my Cubs buddies. Western Division jokes aside, the Dodgers are loaded with young talent.

Sure, the additions of Ramirez and Casey Blake have been huge, but the best ERA in the NL coupled with players like Martin, Matty Kemp, Jonathon Broxton, Blake Dewitt, Clayton Kershaw, James McDonald (another young stud pitcher) and Andre Ethier (all under 26) bodes well for the future. As a Dodger fan, I've haven't been this geeked since Gibby went yard on Eckersely in '88. Crank up some Randy Newman!



Of course, there's still an important game to win, so no guarantees are in order. I certainly don't believe in jinxes, let alone billy goats and black cats, but I also know the Dodgers haven't won a postseason series in 20 years.

BY RICCI SHRYOCK Sports Pros(e) Multimedia Correspondent