Big Diesel, Shaquille O'Neal retires after 19 seasons

By: Naman "Tiny" Buch




Shaquille O'Neal, "Big Diesel", "Big Daddy", "Big Aristotle", "Big Cactus" and most recently the "Big Shamrock." All of these nicknames represent Shaquille O'Neal one of the greatest centers of all time who in his prime could be considered one of the best players of all time. Shaq grew up in New Jersey and in high school and college at LSU he dominated.

Shaq came into the NBA with the Magic and dominated the game like no other center had since maybe Kareem or Wilt. Shaq was being compared to these elite centers, even during his early years. Shaq was so dominant that he averaged 23.4 ppg 13.5 rpg and 3.5 bpg as a rookie on route to a Rookie of the Year Award and becoming the 1st rookie since Michael Jordan in 1985 to be voted into an All Star Game.  As a Magic player Shaq became the dominant force the league would see for years, but wasn't seeing the results as a team that he wanted, including several early playoff loses. However, the Magic did make it to the 1995 NBA Finals losing to Hakeem Olajuwon and Clyde Drexler's Houston Rockets.

After the 1995-1996 season Shaq joined the 1996 Olympic Basketball Team in Atlanta and was part of Dream Team II and received a gold medal. However, while training for the Olympics, The Orlando Sentinel published an article saying Shaq wasn't worth a huge contract and how there was a big power struggle between himself and then Orlando coach Brian Hill.  Shaq got fed up with the Orlando media and left Orlando leaving averages in 4 seasons in Orlando of 27.1 ppg, 12.4 rpg and 2.7 bpg. Shaq joined the big market Los Angeles Lakers starting a new era for Shaq by signing a 7 yr/$121 million contract.  The first couple of years started out the same where Shaq was dominating but the team results to the Lakers losing to the Utah Jazz in the Western Conference Finals for 2 straight years. However, in 1999 Phil Jackson joined the Lakers as a coach the Lakers and Shaq began to win championships. From 2000-2002, the Lakers had a three peat where Shaq was the Finals MVP all 3 times and had the highest scoring average for a center in NBA Finals history. 

After Shaq and Kobe had somewhat of a beef, he left to Miami and teamed up with Dwayne Wade in Miami to win the 2006 NBA Championship. Shaq ended up bouncing around from Miami to Cleveland and to his last team in Boston. Shaq was known as one of the best basketball players but his personality was even better. His cockiness, and his humor was the reason Shaq was a constant media favorite during his playing career. Shaq was known to speak his mind and didn't give a damn what anyone ever thought. 

Shaquille O'Neal's legacy will include individual accolades of an MVP award, Rookie of the Year Award, 15 All-Star game selections, 3 ASG MVP's, 14 All-NBA team selections, and 3 NBA All-Defensive Team Selections. Shaq ranks 5th all time in points scored, and field goald and was 12th in rebounds and 7th in blocks. Shaq will go down as one of the most dominant centers, even though he was ridiculed for his demeanor and his free throw abilities, Shaq was an incredibly opposing force for close to two decades.

Shaq has moved on to TV shows, different promotions, and has even had players compared to himself. Shaq was an important part for the NBA and has provided excellence and entertainment no matter what team he was on. Shaquille O'Neal will be greatly missed and his legacy will always be remembered. Enjoy your retirement big guy. 

UPDATE:  From the Basketball Jones, (one of my favorite blogs/inspiration for me and friends to create this blog) reported that ESPN said that "Shaq's iconic #34 Lakers Jersey will be retired.. Lakers spokesmen John Black said "There is currently no timetable, but you can be assured that Shaq's jersey will be retired." All of the other 7 players with jerseys retired are Hall of Famers and Shaq will soon join them. I haven't heard anything about the Magic retiring his number but they definitely should. Shaq was a big component in the early 1990's to turn around the Orlando franchise and should be welcomed back and have his jersey retired even though he didn't leave on the best of terms.


Seize the day people.

NBA Finals Preview, Dallas vs Miami

By: Naman "Tiny" Buch



The Dallas Mavericks and Miami Heat are back again to do battle in the 2011 NBA Finals, a rematch of the 2006 finals with of course a few new names joining each squad. The only members that remain the same are Jason Terry and Dirk Nowitzki on the Mavs, and Dwayne Wade and Udonis Haslem on the Heat. This was the biggest question for the Heat, before the season whether or not the Big 3 of Lebron James, Dwayne Wade and Chris Bosh would coexist and most importantly make it to the finals. Well both of those questions are answered with a resounding yes. On the other side the Mavericks are having one of the most improbable playoff runs, while many people including yours truly thought they would lose to the Trail Blazers in the 1st round and also in the 2nd round to the Lakers. The Mavs have continued to exceed expectations and will look to continue to build on their playoff run and retaliate after their '06 loss to Miami.

Keys for the Mavericks to win the series 
Dirk Nowtizki. One word, one player. The Mavs offense runs exclusively through the 7 foot German, and so far no opponent has been able to stop Dirk. Dirk during this playoff run is putting up absurd numbers. In just 15 games, Dirk is averaging 28.4 ppg, 7.5 rpg, and shooting 52% from the 3 pt line and the field and a ridiculous 93% from the free throw line, having only missed 10 free throws this entire playoff run. Dirk hasn't been able to be stopped no matter who has defended him, causing Lebron to say "Dirk has the 2nd most unstoppable move, with his 1 foot fadeaway after Kareem's skyhook." And I don't expect Dirk to be stopped no matter who they put on him. Most likely Bosh will be on Dirk the most amount of time, but if they don't want Bosh to be in foul trouble Miami should put Joel Anthony on Dirk. Lebron and even Wade will see defensive assignments against Dirk throughout the series in crunch time.  The Dallas bench has been one of the biggest keys throughout the playoff run for Dallas, and will continue to be against Miami. With Dirk likely receiving double and even sometimes triple teams, the Dallas shooters should be ready and will be counted on to take some of the load off of Dirk. JJ Barea will be a matchup problem for Mario Chalmers and Mike Bibby, and he has proven this playoff run to be an effective scorer off the bench, who can score in bunches and isn't afraid to take it to the rim. Peja Stojakovic and Jason Terry will be the main shooters who will see many of the looks during the series when on the floor, and when Dirk will get those double teams. Peja has returned to his old Sacramento form and in my opinion was one of the most underrated pickups by any team this year, and is shooting 40% from the 3PT, while Jason Terry, is shooting 46%. Another big key for the Mavs will be their defense which has been very good during this time, and a very underrated defense. The Mavs run more zone defense than other teams, which has been effective. The biggest acquisition for the Mavs this year was Tyson Chandler who will have the task of rebounding and shutting down Chris Bosh. However, the biggest key for the Mavs is how to stop 2 of the top 5 players in the NBA today in James and Wade. The Mavs in the previous regular season matchups against the Heat used the zone and man to man matchups against Wade, usually having Shawn Marion on Lebron, and DeShawn Stevenson on Wade. The Mavs hope that they can duplicate the regular season matchups by causing Wade and Lebron to take deep jump shots, and causing one shot possessions for the Heat.

Keys for the Heat to win the series
The keys for the Heat, every series as of course been the Big 3, as none of them have disappointed during this playoff run. Lebron has been the biggest reason why the Heat are in the finals, constantly hitting big shots against New York, Boston and Chicago, while averaging 26 ppg, 8.8 rpg and shooting 46% from the field and 38% from the 3 pt line. Lebron should look to drive like always and should exploit many matchups that the Mavs throw at him. Wade of course it seems to do his usual acrobatic move every game and has averaged 24 ppg during the run. I believe that both Wade and Lebron will get their shots and should be able to exploit their matchups. The biggest key is for Chris Bosh to build on his Chicago series and give the Heat yet another option. Bosh has averaged 19 ppg during the playoffs but averaged 23 against the Bulls, having some big games especially in Game 3 with 34 points and in the clinching Game 5 with a double double of 24 points and 10 rebounds. What I would like to be more and more used is the pick and roll game with any 2 of these 3 superstars. This I believe would cause switches and of course more favorable matchups for the Heat. The Heat by no means have the bench of the Mavericks, and haven't seemed to find a rotation that has suited their needs during the run. The Heat need to try to counter with their own sharpshooters in Eddie House, and James Jones, who will likely be seeing more minutes. If the Heat are able to drive with Wade and Lebron, trust needs to be placed into Jones and House, when open shots occur. However, it seems that both might be a bit rusty as House only played in one game for the Heat in 2 minutes, and Jones only played one game for the Heat in 25 minutes. Mike Miller still hasn't lived up to expectations of what the Heat had hoped for, and was expected to cause the Big 3 to become the Big 4. However, injuries to both thumbs have limited Mike Miller and the Heat need to have a duplication of Game 4 against the Bulls where Miller only scored only 12 points but 40% from the 3pt line. Who knows maybe Dorrell Wright or Michael Beasley might have been a better option for the Heat instead of Miller? The Heat defense should at times have problems, against the Mavs especially at PG and PF, but their athleticism will be used especially with the Heat having one of the best one on one defenders in Lebron and a solid second in Wade. Hopefully the Heat can figure out their center situation as well. Though Joel Anthony is a good defensive option, I believe when the Heat have stretches of scoring, Big Z will be utilized to space the floor for the Heat.

With this being a 2006 rematch,  it's hard not to look back and think that maybe the Mavs should have won after blowing their 2-0 series lead. I believe that this is the absolutely final chance for the Mavs, and will provide some interesting storylines, with Big 3 vs Dirk, Dirk/Kidd vs Lebron for the quest for their 1st ring and even on a smaller note former teammates in Bibby and Peja facing each other. I believe that the Mavs will look to build on their strong leadership and bench, while the Heat will hope Lebron, Wade and Bosh don't get shut down. With our 2 other correspondents being big Heat fan, I can't help going in the opposite direction knowing this is the Mavs last chance, and with the Heat looking like they will dominate for the next 5 years.

Prediction: Mavs in 7 games
Game 1: Dallas @ Miami, 9:00 PM EST ABC

More coverage of the Finals hopefully will be mentioned in upcoming posts, as well as the crowning of the new NBA champion, and later on a look at what seems to be a very weak 2011 NBA Draft Class in the next month.

Seize the Day People.

Dwight Howard, leaving Orlando?

By: Naman "Tiny" Buch

Dwight Howard. The man child of the NBA.  Dwight Howard can be described in so many words: Beast, Animal, One Man Wrecking Crew, and another word comes into mind, goner? Is Dwight Howard going to leave Orlando? With 2 years ago making it to the Finals against the Lakers, it seemed like Dwight just needed a little bit of help, and it looked like the Magic were going to go over the hump. Unfortunately, it doesn't seem like Magic management was going in the right direction. Instead this year they traded for Gilbert Arenas, giving up size and length in Rashard Lewis and also reacquiring Hedo Turkoglu and Jason Richardson and getting rid of 2 keys to their bench in Center Marcin Gortat and Guard Mickael Pietrus. Well in both of those trades it didn't seem to work out.  Arenas in this past 1st round loss to Atlanta, averaged 7 ppg and 13 mpg! 13 minutes!! And it doesn't get any better from two of their other go to guys, with Turkoglu and starting PG Jameer Nelson averaging 13ppg in the series and Turkoglu shooting a mediocre 27% from the field. That provided basically nothing for the Magic while Dwight went off and averaged 27 ppg and 16 rpg! In this process even setting some playoff records for the Magic, and going off for 46 and 19 in the last game of the series. The Magic have had a history of this exact scenario. In the early 90's the Magic achieved success in developing skills with then young center Shaquille O'Neal and PG Penny Hardaway providing big playoff runs and a finals run for the Magic. Until the Magic, basically let Shaq go and Penny followed. After mediocre seasons the Magic hit the jackpot in 2004 by getting Dwight Howard with the 1st pick. Once again the process occurred with the Magic achieving early success and now starting to slip. The Magic aren't even considered a top 3 team in the East anymore, and after their performance against Atlanta in the 1st round shouldn't have even been a 4 seed. The Magic are a on/off team who depend on their jump shooting most nights and of course the incredible performances of Dwight Howard. Dwight has improved throughout his career putting up even more ridiculous numbers every season, and becoming a guy who literally can only beat himself, and can't be guarded. I expect Dwight to strongly consider leaving, but don't expect the Magic to be burned this time. Rumors have swirled about the possibility of Dwight being traded to LA for Andrew Bynum or to NJ for Brook Lopez. It seems like either scenario would be good for Dwight and even for the Magic. The cycle looks like it will continue with the Magic letting their superstar center go in order to attempt to build around another one. I really hope Dwight stays, to stop these BIG 3's from occurring around the league, but after Orlando played this past 1st round, a team that literally quit on Dwight, maybe new scenery is a good move for him. 

Seize the Day People. 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mArHU1ewSog- Dwight's off-season work with Hakeem Olajuwon and the early stages of Dwight possibly becoming even more of a force.  

Guy Dupuy: The World's Best Dunker??

By: Naman "Tiny" Buch






Guy Dupuy is a young French dunker who has been a You Tube sensation around the basketball world. Dupuy has performed various acrobatic dunks and has proven to  take his dunks to the next level. Dupuy has been outspoken after Blake Griffin's all star car dunk and performed an even better dunk using a car which we expected Blake to do. There is so much creativity from Dupuy that he continues to outperform himself, and hopefully will be in a showdown with Blake for world dunk supremacy. In his latest video Dupuy, who has been with And1 Live Tour goes home to France to jump over many many guys and perform some spectacular dunks.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ucYsw7xcbo8&feature=player_embedded
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rmhEhQWemhY- Car Dunk Vid in Poland

Seize the day people.

White Chocolate, Jason Williams retires

By: Naman "Tiny" Buch







I know it's been a while since we posted, and anyone reading this blog is probably wondering why we haven't even talked about the playoffs. Well, I doubt people are even reading this blog yet, so I'm gonna hold off on the playoffs and with the talk about the Kings relocation talk about one of their best young players in the past. I'm talking about a point guard who was one of the flashiest players in the game, and put "Sacramento on the map" according to Shaq, Jason Williams.  White Chocolate, they called him Jason Williams was a player who made some of the craziest passes and was a highlight machine in the late 90's and early 2000's.

J-Will helped lead Sacramento with some very good players including Chris Webber, Vlade Divac and Peja Stojakovic into the Conference Semi-Finals 4 years in a row, including one year in the Conference Finals. The Kings were an exciting team with Williams leading the break and would make ridiculous plays that didn't even seem humanly possible. Williams was a bit of a problem on and off the court leading to numerous suspensions and violations of team policies. After bouncing around with the Kings and Grizzlies he landed in Miami. With the request from good friend Shaquille O'Neal, Williams was brought into Miami and was a key member of the Heat 2006 Championship team. He came off of the bench and provided 10 ppg off the bench and contributing 21 points in the series clinching game for the Heat.

Jason Williams seems like he always will be remembered for his off the court antics and personality and never for his on court abilities and talent. J-Will is the career leader for the Grizzlies in assists and according to his former Florida coach Billy Donovan was "the closest thing to Pete Maravich." Jason Williams in my opinion was underused for his last team in his career, the Orlando Magic. It seems like he was healthy and still could provide valuable minutes off the bench for the Magic in this year's playoff run. Announcing his retirement, at age 35, Williams retires being one of the flashiest point guards in the 90's and should be remembered for his incredible passes and abilities. Hopefully, this will provide fans a chance to see what Jason Williams once was in these links I have posted below.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SgoijMXFOmA
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QN1jFhVT4pY
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AUz18ewZlPo

Seize the day people.

Playoff Preview Western Conference #4 Oklahoma City vs #5 Denver

By: Naman "Tiny" Buch

The Oklahoma City Thunder last year gave the NBA the most exciting series of last year no only in the 1st round but, I would say in the entire playoffs. Thunder crowds were raving and cheering loudly for the 3rd youngest team in the NBA. After nearly scaring Los Angeles in 6 games, the question became can Oklahoma City compete year in and year out at a high level? Well the Thunder have proven that this is true, as the Thunder have improved from 50 wins last year to 55 wins this year, and a division title. On the other side the Denver Nuggets were expected to have a big step back after their big mid-season trade of Carmelo Anthony, but the opposite occurred. The Nuggets acquired several pieces including Raymond Felton, Danilo Gallinari, Wilson Chandler and Timofey Mozgov. After giving up mainly their 2 big names in Melo and Chauncey Billups, the Nuggets have become a more well rounded team, though without a legitimate superstar.

Keys for the Nuggets to win the Series 
The Nuggets with the loss of Melo have become a better offensive team in my opinion. The Nuggets led the league in scoring with 107.5 ppg and have become a team with many more options than a go to guy down the stretch. The Nuggets went from having many isolation sets with Melo to being a team that ran the ball down the court a lot more often. The Nuggets have become a considerably deeper team and can go easily 10 deep in the playoffs. There is no team as deep as the Nuggets, except for maybe the Bulls. The Nuggets have so many solid options its hard to say which player stands out more than the other. For now I would say their go to guy is Nene. Nene has benefited more looks now that Melo has left, and should look to build on this during the playoffs as he matches up against different Thunder big men. Another option that has gotten more looks is Wilson Chandler. Chandler in New York was having a great season averaging 16 ppg and 6 rpg. Chandler provides a good shooter to the Nuggets, and the ability to over match some of his defenders. The biggest key I believe will be the Nuggets depth. They do go 10 deep, and with the Melo trade have become even better than they were before. JR Smith, a great shooter and scorer provides a big spark off the bench and has been the entire year. Raymond Felton who was a starter for the Knicks and was even considered to be a possible All-Star is coming off the bench and will be key in running the offense with starter Ty Lawson. Danilo Gallinari   when he is healthy will provide a great shooter off the bench and will be looked to hit big shots down the stretch in many games.  Chris Andersen provides a big spark off the bench in his energy, defense and rebounding. As for the starters Ty Lawson is becoming a more complete point guard in his 2nd season in the league. Aaron Afflalo who is a bit injured will look to also get shots and be another option for the Nuggets. And Kenyon Martin will look to be the veteran of the team and lead the defensive charge for the Nuggets.

Keys for the Thunder to win the series
The Thunder have benefited from a huge breakout year from Russell Westbrook and along with Kevin Durant will be the main keys for the Thunder. Durant is the leagues scoring champ for the 2nd year in a row. His numbers have slightly been down because of the emergence of Westbrook, but Durant will still be the go to guy for this young Thunder team and will continue to get his shots. Westbrook is a big reason, even bigger than Durant maybe for their improvement this year into one of the top teams in the West. Westbrook has improved in almost any statistical category and is leading the point for this very potent Thunder offense. Westbrook will look to get to the basket and penetrate into the Nuggets defense and will get to the line very often. Both Westbrook and Durant get fouled a lot and get to the free throw line as much as any player in the NBA. Both Westbrook and Durant will capitalize on these opportunities as both shoot 84 and 88% from the Free throw line. Other than that the Thunder have benefited from the mid season trade of Jeff Green and Nenad Kristic for Kendrick Perkins. Kristic didn't fit as a member of the Thunder team and Jeff Green wasn't a prototypical 4 that the Thunder needed, especially after the continuing improvement of Serge Ibaka.  With Perkins the Thunder will able to match up well against any team with a big man and Perkins also provides much needed Finals experience to this young Thunder team. Perkins should see looks but hasn't really clicked with the Thunder during the regular season, because of his injuries and foul trouble due to his aggressive play. The Thunder easily have the best big man rotation off the bench and will look to use it many times in the playoffs. With veterans Nick Collison, and Nazr Mohammed the Thunder will able to use different rotations in the playoffs to create matchup problems. The Thunder also have a very capable young point guard in Eric Maynor who will see minutes and has handled the Thunder offense very well. James Harden seems destined to start eventually, and provides the biggest spark and scoring threat off of the Thunder bench. With Thabo Sefolosha, the Thunder have their best defender and will be used against the opposing teams best defender. Thabo will have an increased role in what looks to be a deep playoff run for the Thunder, and should be the pesky defender he is, just like last year against Kobe Bryant.

Both of these teams are young and are very capable of putting up points in a hurry on the scoreboard. The Thunder is a little more experienced then the Nuggets are and will look to build on last years post season into one of the top teams in the West.

Prediction: Thunder in 6 games
Rating: 4.5/5 (This in my opinion is the most exciting series with both fan bases being very loud, it should be very entertaining. All the games should be competitive and very high scoring)

Game 1:  Sunday April 17, Denver @ Oklahoma City 9:30 PM EST ESPN

Seize the day people.

Playoff Preview Western Conference #2 Los Angeles vs #7 New Orleans

By: Naman "Tiny" Buch

Everyone says that Los Angeles is going to get upset. They said that Memphis shouldn't have given up at the end and could have stole the #7 seed and was going to upset the Lakers. They said the Lakers aren't clicking and should change the rotation and Phil Jackson doesn't know what he's doing and is losing is coaching touch. Last year when the Lakers came into the playoffs losing their last 7 out of 10 games they responded by winning the title. The same thing occurred this year when the Lakers lost 5 out of their last 8 games. This however, isn't true whatsoever. The Lakers can turn it on and off and I believe should have no problem once again having a deep playoff run. The Hornets on the other side are struggling without David West, who tore his ACL and will be out for the playoff run.  This team seems destined to start rebuilding with the NBA's support and I believe Chris Paul and David West should and will leave after the season ends.

Keys for the Hornets to win the series
The Hornets obviously need CP3 to give a crap for one last time as a Hornet and attempt to give them an opportunity to steal a couple of games. CP3 is their #1 option and will look to burn by Derrick Fisher and look to get to the free throw line. The mid-season trade of Marcus Thornton for Carl Landry seemed to be a bit lopsided. I thought that Marco Belinelli was a lot worse than Thornton and of course Thornton proved that he can play by putting up big numbers for Sacramento. However, after the West injury, Carl Landry is capable to handle the post down low but obviously no West, but should look to get looks in the post. The Hornets defense will have to be on point in order to stop the Lakers offense. Trevor Ariza, will look to lock down former teammate Kobe Bryant, and of course Chris Paul will look to get his steals in the playoffs as well. Emeka Okafor should be in the post as well looking for his shots especially to test Andrew Bynum's injury and try to take advantage if he isn't 100%.

Keys for the Lakers to win the series
The Lakers have been the champions for the past 2 years and have the same team and coach that has made everything so successful for them. Phil Jackson will lead the Lakers again and look to win his 12th championship. Of course he is a big reason why the Lakers are the Lakers. Kobe Bryant. There isn't much to say about the Lakers leader. He should have no problem getting his shots and the ball will be in his hands during the big moments of any game during the playoffs. What I want to see is Andrew Bynum get his shots and if he is healthy and contributing then the Lakers are the most dangerous team in the playoffs. Bynum obviously didn't need to get many looks as last year he only averaged around 8 ppg and 8 rpg. A big component of the Lakers is the man who never seems to get any credit. Everyone talks about Pau being Kobe's #2 and providing big shots down the stretch, but I'm talking about this year's 6th man of the year (in my opinion) Lamar Odom. Odom has provided a big spark off the Lakers bench these past 3 years and will do the same again this year. Odom is 6'10 and handles the rock like a point guard. He is a nightmare matchup for any team and especially for the Hornets with their limited size. The bench has improved over the last year with the Lakers adding defensive stud Matt Barnes, and a breakout year for Shannon Brown who has improved his shot a lot and still provides the Lakers highlight reel dunks.

The Lakers should have no problem with the Hornets and will silence the critics once again for saying they had a bad final stretch heading into the playoffs. I expect this series to be CP3's last series as a Hornet. After this series I believe he will look to join a powerhouse to form another dominate duo/trio. The Hornets should be able to grab a game just because of Paul's abilities but nothing more.

Prediction: Lakers in 5 games
Rating: 1.5/5 (This seems like the most boring 1st round series, and looks to be a halfcourt struggle if neither team can get out and run)

Game 1: Sunday April 17 New Orleans @ Los Angeles, 3:30 EST ABC

Seize the day people.