Monday, February 25, 2008

A Sllaacs NBA Take

So how do you win 50 games and still not make the playoffs? Compete in the NBA's Western Conference in 2008, that's how. No NBA team has ever won 50 and not made the playoffs - I think Houston missed the post season with 45 wins or something like that a little while ago in the 2000's. Some of the Western Conference teams who were on a 50-win pace have already started to slow down, like the former Jail-Blazers, now the Brandon Roys; and the Hornets - the CP3's - may not be far from skidding back toward the 35-win plateau where they belong. Hell, my own GSW's may hit the shnide also; they are really just a Boom Dizzle injury away from dropping off the playoff map.
One Western conference team that will not slow down is the Los Angeles Lakers. They did the improbable with that bullsh*t trade they made to get Pau Gasol. I mean, how the hell does Kwame Brown bring any type of decent player in return, let alone a baller like Gasol? Meanwhile, the Warriors signed Chris Webber and were excited about that addition (with not a single player subtraction, I might add) and not really chagrined by the Gasol deal due the simple fact that Executive Vice President of Basketball Operations, Chris Mullin got rid of his Salary Albatross (the lovable Adonal Foyle) before the season and had no giant one-year deal to trade away to Memphis, like L.A. did. Good for Kobe and Jerry Buss and Phil Jackson, and Jerry Buss's daughter (whom Phil is banging) - they deserve a little success right? After so much suffering? Puh-leez.
Who else does the success of the Lakers piss off? Only me? Okay then, I am alone. The Lakers do have the best record in the West as of today, and they actually look like the best team out there - especially after running the Suns and Shaq off the floor recently.
The Warriors did not trade Mickael Pietrus for a bag of peanuts and popcorn because they were like; "F*ck that, we ain't giving away nobody for some sh*t-weasel in return." So he still plays in Oakland - and will be available to guard Kobe when the Warriors and Lakers play back-to-back in late March. Hooh-Ray. And how do the Warriors match up now with the Lakers? Horribly, as always. Mainly because there is and never was anyody to guard Kobe - Stack Jack does a relatively strong job, but c'mon, this is Kobe I'm talking about - and when Gas-Hole was on the Grizz, he would torch the Warriors like there was nobody on him trying to play defense. Even before they got Pau, the Lakers had won nine in a row against GS in a streak that ended in December. The Lakers are now much better equipped to compete with San Antonio and maybe are even the favorites to take the West this year.
The Warriors? Well, they had better not draw the Jazz in the early rounds of the playoffs - I actually think the Warriors match up better with the Lakers than Utah - and they would be better served to avoid San Antonio at all costs - or they will just get Duncan'd and Ginobili'd and Parker'd and Bowen'd. And that sucks.
The NBA in the West is exciting, sure - sort of the antithesis of the Eastern Conference with their all-new, all-rebuilt Cleveland Cavaliers and the Super Celtics not withstanding - but more than anything, the best players and teams reside there, so expect the eventual NBA champions to come from the Western Conference... Again.


Sllaacs

2 comments:

john said...

I made a joke the other day that a GSW/PHO matchup in the playoffs would be ideal, since they could run 4 on 4 while Shaq and C-Webb lean on each other, holding each other up.

Sllaacs said...

The only bad thing about that for the GSW's is that even in his prime, Webber couldn't guard Shaq for 5 seconds - so with both old, I still take Shaq in the matchup.