The Dish 1-27-12

Sorry it’s been so long. Last week I was just couldn’t find the time to write. But here is this week’s dish.

How to fix the Lakers

Even though the LA Lakers just beat the Clippers a couple of nights ago, they are far from being a real contender. There is one simple solution to this, no really it’s easy. Trade Pau Gasol. There are plenty of teams that would trade for Gasol. One team would be Houston. I know you don’t usually trade within your conference if you can help it. But we know for a fact Houston covets Pau because of the nixed Chris Paul trade. Houston offered Scola and Martin. If you’re the Lakers you don’t need Martin, because of Kobe. But you could load up on role players and maybe a pick. Or what about Scola and Lowry with Jordan Hill or Patrick Patterson added in there?

If I’m Houston I do it because you finally have that elite player they have been wanting. If I’m the Lakers I do it because You get two good starters and a good backup big. This is one step to getting the Lakers back to title contenders.

Holy Extensions Batman!

News this week was all about the contract extensions. Russell Westbrook, Derrick Rose and Kevin Love all got big extensions. The one that I find funny is Hornets SG Eric Gordon declined a contract extension. David Stern how do you look now? This goes all back to your nixed CP3 trade. NOLA would still have been better off with the original deal, yet now they look lose their top guy… again. Yes he will be a restricted free agent but what if someone throws max money at Gordon, crazy to think, I know. Regardless if that happened NOLA couldn’t match because the NBA still owns the team and why would the other 29 owners want to pay a max guy for another team.

This Week’s Top 10

10. LA Lakers 11-8
Yes they currently have the 12th best record but they beat the Clippers and like a said before if  Kobe, Bynum and Gasol all play well you’re going to lose.Not to mention World Peace (Artest) played really well in that Clippers game

9. San Antonio Spurs 12-7
Even without Manu they still win. That’s all that needs to be said.

8. Orlando Magic 12-6
Even in a week when they score 56 in an entire game they still rank this high. I don’t know how good they really are though.

7. Atlanta Hawks 13-6
Without Al Horford they are keeping it going. Main reason is the excellent play of Josh Smith.

6. Philadelphia 76ers 12-6
I love their depth. After Miami and Chicago there are a few teams in the “almost there” category and Philly is one of them.

5. Indiana Pacers 12-5
They scored a huge win in Chicago this week. I love this team. They are scrappy and fun to watch.

4. Denver Nuggets 13-5
I’m eating crow from my preview with this team. They have made me a believer. They are extremely deep and they out run everyone.

3. Miami Heat 13-5
They drop to #3. Why? Injuries. They aren’t the same without Wade

2. Oklahoma City Thunder 15-3
Yes, I know you have the best record. I’m sorry but I think Chicago and Miami (when healthy) are better. There is going to be a time when you need an inside presence and OKC doesn’t have one,

1. Chicago Bulls 16-4
Right now the best team in the league and they are the league’s deepest team.

And before I go I want to review NBA 2k12. As a huge NBA fan and video game fan I have been spending a lot of time with 2k12. First off this game is amazing. I feel it’s an upgrade over 2k11. The way each player you control feels differently is something that I have never seen in a video game. Each player plays like their real life counter part, except LBJ performs in the fourth quarter. I know completely unrealistic. But there is a ton of time to be spent in this game.

Association mode is the game’s franchise mode and It is one of the deepest in sports gaming. Especially since there is a great community dedicated to making realistic draft classes for future franchise years. This year they added contract extensions to re-up your key players for future seasons. This mode is extremely time consuming and puts you GM skills to test. With all real contracts and real trade rules you basically get to control a team the way you want to.

My player mode is my favorite so far this year. They completely overhauled the mode. You start out by creating a player and playing a College All Star game. Depending on your performance you will then get interviewed by 3 NBA teams determining your draft position. You then go to the draft and get drafted.  Now this year they actually added a contract system in the mode so you earn money and can put that towards skill points or helping team chemistry. When you play you can only control your player which makes the mode unique. For sports nerds like me this is the perfect RPG because each game is a mini quest towards the main quest of being the greatest player ever.  The thing I am most impressed with this year is how your AI teammates actually play basketball. Last year you would get the ball and they would stand around. This year they actually cut to the hoop and move around without the ball.

They also expanded on the Jordan Challenge last year making the Legend’s Challenge. Where they added 14 other legends. You play a matchup and unlock a couple of teams. It’s a nice extra little feature.

Overall I think the gameplay is better this year out of the box. I recommend adjusting the sliders a little. I like to play a sim style game so 45%-50% FG for teams in a game is key for me. But once you find your set the game will play amazing. Out of 10 I give NBA 2k12 a 9.7.

The Dish 1/13/12

It’s Friday and I’m going to try something new of having a regular post on Fridays to recap the week, look forward to the weekend games, give random thoughts and such.

The Wizards need to fire Flip Saunders.  He has lost this team. I think that’s one reason John Wall has struggled this year. Most of his teammates don’t care. You can tell they don’t care to be there. Let’s not forget this team isn’t pieced together too well. They have some nice pieces in Wall, Singleton, Vessley and McGee. Other than that they need help bad. Especially in the scoring department. Saunders is better suited for a team that has good veteran leadership.  If I’m Washington I tell Jerry Sloan. “Look Jerry I know you want to win a title and we are striving for that but we need you as our coach. How much will it take?” Then pay him what he asks. Do that and just tell Rashard Lewis to stay home. We’ll pay you, just stay home Rashard.  This link is why, it also has Blatche saying the players don’t listen to Saunders.

Top 10 Teams-

Unlike Most lists I’m going to countdown to the #1 spot.

10. Los Angeles Lakers- 8-4

Back to back 40 point games from Kobe will make any team look good but Andrew Bynum is playing like a boss right now. Gasol has played inconsistent this year so far but on the season averages he is not having a bad year. LA is in a predicament, If Kobe, Bynum and Gasol all play good they can beat anyone in the league. Problem is usually one of them is having an off night (I’m looking at you Pau). Outside of Matt Barnes their other players are irrelevant. I would suggest trading Pau to a team that would give up a couple of young pieces to keep their rookie spanish point guard happy. Hey Minnesota how are you? If you’re Minnesota would you turn down Pau for Wes Johnson, Derrick Williams and a pick? I mean you would then have Rubio, Love, Pau and Beasley. That’s a playoff four right there, this year.

9. Atlanta Hawks- 8-4

5 guys averaging double digit points is always nice. Even though Joe Johnson has looked even worse this year, Josh Smith is looking better. Jeff Teague is a legit starting point guard in the league. How long do they keep this up though? Can they really win a playoff series with this team? I really guess that all depends on the team they play. But as of now the Hawks have looked good.

8. Indiana Pacers- 7-3

The have six players averaging double digits in scoring. All 5 starters and then Tyler”The Ultimate Big Off the Bench” Hansbrough. Let’s not forget George Hill is scoring 9.4 ppg. So basically they have guaranteed 70 points every night. I know not a ton, but if you can guarantee 70 points the other 30 should come pretty easy. I see Indy making it to round 2 in the playoffs. This is a scappy, fiesty team that won’t be easily beat. They can match up with most anyone in the league.

7.  Denver Nuggets- 7-4

I know in my preview I didn’t think they would be very good. But they are just running teams out of the gym, literally. They have the highest scoring rate and pace rate in the league. Not shockingly Andre Miller already can’t handle being a backup. He will blow this team up, if they don’t watch out. Miller is a cancer to any good team. He is a good backup point. But the last three years he should have been a backup. If Wilson Chandler returns to this team though, watch out they will be dangerous regardless of Andre “Sourpuss” Miller.

6.  Orlando Magic- 8-3

This is really based on their record and they beat Portland at home this week. I think the D12 trade talk will start breaking this team down. Maybe not to the eight seed like I predicted but they are a one and done playoff team.

5. Portland Blazers- 7-3

I know they beat my #4 team but that was the first game of the year. Portland has played good all year except in Phoenix after the Lakers win. McMillan has finally switched to the uptempo style that he should have switched to four years ago, as yours truly had been saying. This roster is versatile in the eight deep. Their biggest issue will be later in the season when their elder big men start accruing miles on their old bones.

4. Philadelphia 76ers- 7-3

They already have four wins of 20+ points or more. Philly is taking off from where they left off  last year. They have a great 8 man rotation. They play tough defense. Their issue is who is the guy that will take over when the games get tough?

3. Oklahoma City Thunder- 10-2

KD and co are rolling. I don’t see anyone in the west beating them in a seven game series. I think they should just start Harden. With Ibaka, Perkins and Sefolosha on the floor at the same time they really only have two good offensive players on the court (Durant and Westbrook), which makes them way easier to defend. The positive to that though is Sefolosha is only playing 19 minutes a game.

2. Chicago Bulls- 10-2

Da Bulls are rolling again this year. This is the only team in the league who are capable of beating Miami in a seven game series. They are the league’s deepest team.

1. Miami Heat- 8-3

They are the best team in the league this year. I don’t care if they have had some fourth quarter issues this week. The year is young. Their bench is better this year. The are better defensively too. I just don’t see anyone beating them this year.

Kevin Love is the best PF in the NBA

Think I am crazy? In his first six games this year he is averaging 26.4 PPG, 15.6 RPG, 49% FG, 42% 3FG and 1.2 SPG. He scores where and when he wants and he is by far the best rebounder in the NBA.  His biggest weakness is defense but even there he has improved this year. Especially when you factor in he is averaging over a steal a game. What most people get wrong about Kevin Love is that because he isn’t athletic, he can’t be elite. Which is untrue. He uses his high basketball IQ to get in position for every rebound and while throwing every beautiful court long outlet pass. I’ve watched Love since he was a freshman in high school. I’ve seen him grow as a player. He’s always been a great rebounder and passer. In high school he could score on anyone because he was bigger than everyone else. At UCLA he learned how to score on bigger bodies. The biggest change about him this year is that he is in phenomenal shape.

Here is why I think Love has made the move into the best power forward in the league. His rebounding is best in the league ( I know I repeat myself), his passing skills are only matched by a couple of bigs in the league, his range is legit (he can score down low or outside), getting better defensively and his has got in better shape every year in the league. Minnesota needs to do everything it can to extend Love. With the young pieces this team has they can be a contender in a year or two and that all revolves around Love and his abilities.