Basketball

Steve Nash already delivering as Canada Basketball boss

2012-08-28T18:49:37Z

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With the long-expected return of head coach Jay Triano on Thursday and a subsequent players' camp with close to 30 of the country's best, Canada - the nation that historically has had to pull teeth to get its best basketball players in one room together - planted some very important seeds at the Air Canada Centre.

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With the long-expected return of head coach Jay Triano on Thursday and a subsequent players' camp with close to 30 of the country's best, Canada - the nation that historically has had to pull teeth to get its best basketball players in one room together - planted some very important seeds at the Air Canada Centre.

After all, when the best player in your country's history, an eight-time NBA all-star and one of the top point guards of all time, wants you to be somewhere, you are best advised to go.

Those of us who follow basketball closely have known for a while what kind of unprecedented, top-level young talent this country currently has. And at the risk of sounding hokey, seeing them come together in a team-building environment was a special sight.

Of course, talent on paper only goes so far, and a lot can happen before a select group of these guys begin playing meaningful games with the national jersey on.

"The talent level is special," Triano told me Saturday. "But whether we become a special group like the group that played in the 2000 Olympics, that's going to depend on chemistry and how well they work together.

"But we've never had this much talent before in a gymnasium in Canada."

Coachspeak aside, the feeling is palpable that a new era is dawning. And for the young guns like NBAer Tristan Thompson and future NBAer Myck Kabongo - two guys who have never been shy about advertising their Canadian roots - it's been a long time coming.

"A couple of years ago you'd be lucky to have five of the top players in the country in training camp," Thompson said Monday. "Now all the guys are participating. We're building something real special here."

Kabongo, heading into his sophomore season at the University of Texas, agrees that the culture is shifting.

"We have the right management, the right people now," the Toronto native said. "The energy and the vibe we're getting is unbelievable, and as a basketball player you want to be around positive energy. And we have a group of guys that really want to work, and we have our guys at the top who are really pushing us with Jay and Steve."

Tapping into Toronto

The fact that the Olympics just ended - without a Canadian men's entry for the fifth time in the past six Summer Games - weighs on them too.

"After watching the Olympics, myself personally, I was kind of sick to my stomach," Thompson said. "It's cool to watch the USA win, but I wanted to be part of it. I want to compete for a medal, and I think that's the same thing all the guys are thinking."

Whatever was wrong with Canada Basketball in the past - and the list of actual factors and theories of rumoured ones is long - this group is looking to bury the past.

Thompson alluded to one of the long-held indictments of the national program, going back to the '80s and '90s, where some of the country's best players - many out of the Greater Toronto Area - were kept off the team in the interest of an ill-advised regional balance (and by extension inviting allegations of racism).

"You go back in the day before I was born, they said the best players from the GTA could beat the national team," he said. "Now we've got the best players from the GTA."

Perhaps the most striking testament to the burying of that past was the surreal sight of Jamaal Magloire working out with the team all weekend, wearing a Canada practice jersey.

While his age will keep him out of consideration for Rio in 2016, and he predictably avoided questions about his decisions not to suit up in the past, the NBA vet said he was happy to play the role of veteran presence.

"I'm here to offer [the younger players] everything I know," he said. "With Steve Nash and [assistant GM] Rowan Barrett leading the helm it definitely is a new phase in Canada Basketball."

For the players who have toiled with the team for a long time, there is no question that holds true.

"In the past we weren't able to get the best guys," said point guard Jermaine Anderson, who has been with the national program since his high school days at Toronto powerhouse Eastern Commerce and the senior team since 2004. "That kind of hurt, because I've always wanted for us to succeed. But now we know we're going to have the 12 best."

"It definitely feels different," Miami Heat centre Joel Anthony said of the culture change. "A lot of new faces ... We have the talent to go to the Olympics, so hopefully we can build the type of culture where that is our standard."

Still, Triano was quick to defend the more recent progress made by former coach Leo Rautins

"I don't want to diminish what was done in the past," he told media after he was officially named coach on Thursday. "Leo did a great job of developing our young players."

Follow the money

It's fairly clear at this point that the most important change in the program - 100 per cent attributable to Nash - has been an infusion of cash. As discussed during the Olympics, while Canadian athletes could always use more government funding, the corporate sector bears responsibility here too. Canadian companies simply don't fund athletes on anywhere near the same level as ones in the U.S. do, and the safe investment in puck is one reason Hockey Canada does much better with the corporate community than other sports' governing bodies.

Nash, easily the most famous current Canadian athlete on the global scale, has gone about changing that.

"It all starts with resources," Nash said Thursday. "The fact we have started to make inroads in terms of raising money ... to put back on the court so the kids can get better and better."

For the weekend camp, players and coaches were put up at an upscale hotel steps from the Air Canada Centre. There was a hospitality room, complete with ping-pong table to help enhance camaraderie-building. That's a long way from the manner in which most previous camps were run.

"We want to offer them as much as we can in their development," said Nash.

His other major goal is convincing the young players that going the national team route is advantageous for their development.

"For me, playing on the national team was invaluable as far as where I am in my career," Nash said. "Without the national team I may have not been an NBA player."

Historically, distractions from AAU teams, pro franchises and agents have had a habit of hindering Canada. But it appears this generation of players is buying in to what Nash is saying.

"This can get me ready too," Orlando Magic first-round draft pick Andrew Nicholson said at the camp in response to how he should be preparing for his rookie season. "Anytime there's a basketball in the room I'm ready to go."

Triano elaborated, inferring that the days of interference should be over.

"To have Steve say the greatest experience of his basketball life was playing in the Olympic Games - if that message doesn't resonate with our young kids, then we have to re-evaulate who we want representing our country."

Of course, the notable absence from the weekend - 17-year-old phenom Andrew Wiggins - raised some questions from media types and paranoia-prone Canadian fans about his commitment. However, prior obligations were understood going into this camp, and there shouldn't be any doubting where Wiggins' heart lies given his YouTube-hall-of-fame performance for Canada at this summer's Nike Global Challenge and his past involvement with the national junior program.

"He's locked and loaded," said senior team assistant GM Rowan Barrett on Wiggins' commitment to Canada on a Toronto radio station Monday.

Fellow blue-chip 17-year-old Tyler Ennis did make a surprise appearance at the camp, arriving Sunday night. The highly-touted point guard, who just committed to Syracuse for 2013, was one of two high schoolers in attendance, along with forward Trey Lyles.

"I have a lot to learn from these guys," Ennis said Monday.

Band of brothers

There's not a lot of building to do in terms of the aforementioned camaraderie with these players. Most of them have known each other since they were kids, and that love was on display throughout the camp.

"Guys have known each other for a long time," said Lakers second-round draft pick Robert Sacre, who now has the unusual scenario of having his national team GM also serve as his pro point guard. "I've known Devoe Joseph [Cory's brother and Kris' cousin] since we were 14 playing in provincials. We've grown up together and we all want to see each other succeed ... it's great to be part of a brotherhood like that."

His former teammate at Gonzaga, point guard Kevin Pangos, tweeted Thursday that the group was becoming a family.

"Growing up, I played with a lot of these guys, watched a lot of these guys, and now everyone's in the same building, with the same goal," he told me Monday.

It's the sort of love-in that's been lacking from Canada Basketball for a long time, and the level of talent is what makes it exciting. But don't assume the camp was all shugs and laughs. While talent is one thing, the group is a long way from an Olympic podium.

"Any time you go through something hard together, you can start to become more of a family," Triano said. "We're not making this easy. Two-a-days, and they're going hard, the competition is very high. That's part of the goal here. If we're going to be successful you can't go out and play as individuals, we have to play as a team."

As far as the Xs and Os of basketball go, Triano knows he has the talent at hand to push the basketball.

"When you look at two of our top NBA players, Joel Anthony and Tristan Thompson, these guys are very good and protecting the rim and rebounding. We hope to have the wings [Wiggins' off-the-chart athleticsm immediately comes to mind] who will push the ball up in transition and score easily."

And that doesn't even address the depth at point guard, with Kabongo, Ennis, Cory Joseph and Pangos -- so much so that the combo-friendly Joseph would be flipped to the two.

The imperative goal for this squad, whoever ends up forming a 12-man roster, is qualifying for the 2014 world championships. That process begins a year from now in Venezuela, and Nash was happy with the start that the camp provided.

"The guys worked their butts off, that's all you can ask," he said.

And that's something that will make Triano's job harder in the next few years.

"In the future it's going to be a challenge to pick the 12 that represent their country," he said.

That luxury of riches is, in search for the right word, exciting.

"I'm excited," said Thompson, then turning it around to the media and by extension, Canadians. "You guys should be excited too."

Steve Nash owes Toronto Raptors absolutely nothing

2012-07-05T05:21:32Z

]]> Steve Nash is a Los Angeles Laker. Canada's inferiority complex is still very much intact, and it's clear as ever that it always will be.
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Steve Nash is a Los Angeles Laker.
Canada's inferiority complex is still very much intact, and it's clear as ever that it always will be.

You can try and avoid the Twitter people who hate -- the ones who consider multi-millionaire athletes making their own life decisions as some sort of personal affront; you can skip reading comment boards where society's underbelly is too often on display. Unfortunately in this day and age, you can't completely block them out.

There weren't too many places Wednesday where you weren't going to see at least one person's negative opinion on Nash's painfully delayed decision. I counted several, including people I know, who bequeathed the term "traitor" upon him.

Perhaps that view softened among the great throng of victims once it became clear Nash was taking his talents to Hollywood rather than Broadway. It's harder to knock a guy for trying to win with a proven champion like Kobe Bryant rather than a ball-stopper like Carmelo Anthony -- even if Nash himself downplayed ring-chasing just last week.

The fact remains however, the Victoria native owed the Raptors, Toronto and Canada absolutely nothing. Hell, I wouldn't even have held against him if he had ended up in New York -- it's where I predicted he would go before this snowballing hysteria gripped Canada with visions of him playing point guard at the Air Canada Centre.

If Nash did anything he could correct in this drama, it might be being more honest with the media about how important winning was to him. You cannot fault a man with his resume for chasing a title. And even the New York Knickerbockers would have offered a more likely scenario for that than the Raptors.

Toronto never realistic option

The reality is, Toronto was never a realistic option for him. We knew this was the case when he hadn't bit on the reported $36-million US contract offer by late Tuesday night. Once sign-and-trade rumours began flying, it was over.

And for this, he is eviscerated by many of his fellow Canadians. The same fellow Canadians who forget that less than two months ago he began the process of rebuilding the credibility of the decrepit men's national team (although the same national team most of those Canadians have always ignored anyway).

That's right: The same fellow Canadians who probably cheer for other countries when Canada plays them in basketball or soccer. The same fellow Canadians who will probably boo Nash and cheer Kobe when the Lakers visit Toronto next season.

The same fellow Canadians who give hockey players a free pass for routinely signing and living in the U.S. The same fellow Canadians who I'd bet 50 per cent of would move to L.A. or New York with the offer of a lucrative job -- joining the other estimated one million Canadians already living in the two cities.

Yet because he didn't come and end his career as a character-guy, jersey-selling, 38-year-old up-tempo point guard who doesn't defend ON A TEAM NOW BUILT AROUND DEFENCE, he's a pariah.

Criticism falls on Bryan Colangelo

The legitimate criticism now falls in the lap of Bryan Colangelo.

Chasing Nash was worth it. Where things got hairy, and potentially crippling down the road, was when Colangelo decided, in a ballsy poker move, to sign Landry Fields to the reported $19-million offer sheet -- purposely removing a big piece of a Knicks sign-and-trade option with Phoenix.

The reality is now that the Knicks will not match this (because they are not stupid), leaving Toronto with an overpaid small forward who while he rebounds well for his position, can't really shoot. Now without Nash, it's an epic swing and miss.

I've defended Colangelo in the past -- in the NBA, one significant roster move can put into motion a negative sequence of events without a lot of wiggle room (For example, T.J. Ford becomes Jermaine O'Neal, who becomes Shawn Marion, who becomes Hedo Turkoglu).

But in this case, he has probably gambled one time too many. Unless he can pull the proverbial rabbit out of a hat and try and correct this situation by acquiring the likes of a Kyle Lowry -- a scenario that would require a trade at this point -- the events of the past week will ultimately mean his job.

Yes, they had to try for Nash. But did they really expect to overpay for Fields in the process? We know that the Raptors are not option No. 1 in NBA free agency -- they're not in a city called New York, L.A. or Miami -- and because of that, the attempt to sign Nash was more of a statement than any real-time basketball need.

MLSE and casual fans want "buzz" and jersey sales.

Raptors need protracted success

What they forget is the team needs some kind of protracted success for this to occur. I know Colangelo knows this, but I know some of the people above him don't. Yes, it's a catch-22. Every time the Raptors have risen to contention, injuries and free agency have ultimately changed plans. But it's also the 12-man NBA roster, where smart drafting, smart signings and a lot of luck (something bereft in Raptorland) can lead to good places.

But no matter what, we'll still hear from many of the same knuckleheads noted above how "even Canadians don't want to play here" and how "the Raptors will leave in five years."

Yeah, sure. To where may I ask, economics majors?

While it was put well Wednesday by the National Post's Bruce Arthur that the Raptors don't matter, it's not impossible to build something. Despite some disadvantages, it's not the NBA outpost many believe. It's just still a city most players would rather visit than play in (Google Drew Gooden and Canada customs for some background on this).

Yet Nash also represents the past. The future of Canadian basketball lies with the talent we see sitting on the precipice now -- the same talent Nash will be prodding in the next few years to play for their country.

It shouldn't be a goal of the franchise to simply land just any Canadian in the future. It's just that there's going to be a choice of a hell of a lot more of them to choose from.

Does the 'Steve Nash factor' explain the Raptors' draft strategy?

2012-06-30T03:27:01Z

]]> Toronto's first-round selection of Terrence Ross Thursday night brought out all the usual cries of consternation from the fans Raptorland. In a decade and a half of watching this franchise -- as a rabid fan, as a disgusted bystander and as a member of the media -- I've come to expect certain things. One of them is that draft night is never what anyone wanted it to be.
When I was a slackjawed teen in '95, the crowd at the draft in Toronto booed Damon Stoudamire over Ed O'Bannon. In '98 I myself asked whether Antawn Jamison would be a better pro than Vince Carter after the Raps and Warriors flipped their picks.

Yet In '01, following what still stands now as the ceiling of the Toronto Raptors' success, I questioned Michael Bradley ahead of Zach Randolph (or in 20/20 hindsight, Samuel Dalembert, Tony Parker and Gilbert Arenas). On a warm early summer night in 2004, a day or two after one of the worst general managers in the history of team sports (Rob Babcock) took Rafael Araujo at No. 8 because he was too incompetent to do his homework, I asked my buddy Puffy while we were waiting for a crossing light at the corner of King and John, "F**king Aroojo, really?"

This tall, long-haired dude rolled up next to me on rollerblades (anybody use those anymore?) Overhearing me, he said, defeatedly, "Hey man, what can we do?" Then as the light went green he bolted across the street only to get his blade caught in a streetcar track -- and went down like a ton of bricks.

Since then, there's been Charlie Villanueva (who Jack Armstrong told me the night of, "I like, but not at 7"), and the 2008 disaster where we knew Roy Hibbert would be traded for the incoming Jermaine O'Neal. All along, the franchise has been eviscerated by local fans as well as the likes of Stephen A. Smith and The Big Lead.

But there was also Chris Bosh in '03 (hey, we picked fourth in a star draft -- and thank Joe Dumars for accommodating us) and Andrea Bargnani in '06 (a pick I still argue stands the test of time given that LaMarcus Aldridge was too Bosh-like and Brandon Roy's career is over. Rudy Gay, maybe, but spending a top pick on defensive specialist Thabo Sefolosha? No).

The point I'm trying to make, for lack of a better example, is that with a point guard under big money contract, Taj Gibson would have been a stretch at 9 in 2009. In the age of one-and-dones, things take a while to crystallize. I believe that the talent in this particular draft had a lot of parity after Anthony Davis, and by taking Ross (an uber-athletic wing with the lockdown defensive capabilites that Dwane Casey loves), the Raptors simply made a choice of the best player available.

Sure, Toronto wanted Harrison Barnes. But them's the breaks. Golden State got exactly who they needed/wanted without having to move. Obviously, that never happens to the Raptors. But that's life. Ross was a plan C wing, and not a bad one at that. It's easy to read the draft order five years from now and do critiques. The Raps did not want Austin Rivers -- the most point guard-ready combo guard in this draft -- or Jeremy Lamb, and there's a method to their madness.

That method is throwing everything and the kitchen sink at Steve Nash.

We've been hearing these rumours for a while, but there's a real feeling it's different now. We know the Raptors plan to have a "five deep" contingent to pitch the T-dot to Nash at his Manhattan residence when free agency opens on Canada Day.

It's been easy to dismiss it for months, but let's break it down.

He's a proud Canadian. But the guy is from Victoria, 4,200 km away from Toronto. Although he hosted a charity game here after Vince Carter cut out in '05, in reality he has much attachment to this Canadian city as an Australian Perth native does to Sydney (I needed a comparable example). In my mind, he's never owed anything to the national program either -- Jay Triano's dismissal in 2005 was a crime -- and taking the reins of the men's national team now is more than enough in terms of patriotism.
While he's on the record as not being a ring chaser, he should (I would hope) have to concede something to winning. But Miami doesn't really work because of who gets the ball. Dallas is a real possibility, but there's some bad blood (the 2004 contract) with Mark Cuban and the fact that they're really, legitimately too old.
New York makes sense (his place is in SoHo), but does it? He told ESPN Radio in Gotham last week that "money, in many ways, represents respect." Say what you want about that, but the Knicks can't pay him top dollar. Brooklyn can -- if they lose Deron Williams.

So why would Nash come to Toronto?

This is likely a playoff team in the weak Eastern Conference with him. With Jonas Valanciunas at centre at a newfound defensively-capable (and hopefully healthy) Andrea Bargnani at the four, one of the greatest point guards in NBA history certainly won't hurt. The Ross pick is a bit of a kick in the butt to DeMar DeRozan, who needs to attack the rim more. Some suspect this Toronto "five deep" assault into Lower Manhattan includes Raptors' director of sports science Alex McKechnie, who previously and endearingly trained Nash in core work. Nash is known to hold training staff in very high regard.

This has really blown up in the last week. There's almost an expectation that he's coming here.

But remember something. Steve Nash owes us nothing. Let's not get too excited. We reside in a country where, on July 1, many people -- if they're not working or drinking beer and barbecuing -- will be watching free agents of another sort sign in American locales like Raleigh, N.C., and Nashville.

This could be all for Kyle Lowry too.

2012 NBA lottery mock draft

2012-06-26T16:09:41Z

]]> With the NBA Draft going Thursday night, what better time than to throw out a final lottery mock draft, which really signifies nothing when you throw in the monkey wrench of the trades that are likely to go down. With the NBA Draft going Thursday night, what better time than to throw out a final lottery mock draft, which really signifies nothing when you throw in the monkey wrench of the trades that are likely to go down:

1. New Orleans - Anthony Davis, PF 6-11, Kentucky

Fear the brow. Enough said.

2. Charlotte - Thomas Robinson, PF, 6-9, Kansas

The only sure thing about this draft is Davis going to the Big Easy. Here at 2, this is where things can go haywire. There are other possibilities here, but common sense points toward the Bobcats needing a power forward. Some have doubts about Robinson, while others envision him becoming a solid -- but not spectacular -- pro. Bear in mind however that Michael Jordan is unpredictable and taking Bradley Beal isn't out of the question, nor is drafting him for another team if they trade the pick.

3. Washington - Bradley Beal, SG 6-4, Florida

This draft is full of undersized 2-guards, or a more nice way of putting it, "combo guards." Beal however is the best, and a great fit in D.C. With Nene and Emeka Okafor up front for the Wizards, the natural fit is sliding Beal into the backcourt next to John Wall. The Wiz will be on pins and needles watching what Charlotte does at two.

4. Cleveland - Michael Kidd-Gilchrist, SF 6-7, Kentucky

This should be a no-brainer for the Cavs, who will also have the choice of Harrison Barnes. But Barnes' stock has been up and down like a toilet seat since the NCAA tourney, and MKG is a good fit at the three with Kyrie Irving running the point. He'll be better on a team with somebody to get him the ball, and that team is Cleveland.

5. Sacramento - Harrison Barnes, SF 6-7, North Carolina

He fills a need for the Kings on the wing and despite his disappearing act in the tourney, nobody expects him to fall below five. He's clearly not a No. 1 scoring option, but should fit nicely on a team with youngsters like DeMarcus Cousins, Marcus Thornton and Tyreke Evans.

6. Portland - Andre Drummond, C 7-0, Connecticut

Logic has the Blazers taking point guard Damian Lillard here, but in the NBA, nothing tempts front offices like a big man with raw potential. Then when you consider Portland also picks at 11, they can assume a guard will be available there. Drummond won't be. They could also go Lillard here and wait for Tyler Zeller at 11. However the Blazers have cap space as well, and that plays into the mix.

7. Golden State - Dion Waiters, SG 6-4, Syracuse

The Warriors are a big-time trade likelihood in this spot, as evidenced by their scouts attending Luol Deng's workouts with the British national team. They want a small forward, and there isn't going to be a good one available here. Failing that, Waiters is a possibility as the best player available. While I love Jim Boeheim, the Syracuse coach has said Waiters is the most NBA-ready guard he's ever coached. It's worth remembering however that outside of Sherman Douglas, the best Syracuse backcourt alum-turned NBAer in the Boeheim era is probably Jonny Flynn.

8. Toronto - Austin Rivers, SG-PG 6-4, Duke

Raptors VP Ed Stefanski said Monday that a trade is unlikely, but he also offered the caveat that a lot can change in three days. There's a natural fit perhaps in flipping the 8^th pick and a contract like Amir Johnson's to Brooklyn (currently without a first-round pick) for a Raps' need in a player like Gerald Wallace, but that's all rumour and innuendo. If they keep the pick, Rivers (or Waiters) is a valid selection. Of the combo guards in this draft, the son of Celtics coach Doc Rivers is the best equipped to actually play both backcourt positions.

9. Detroit - John Henson, PF 6-10, North Carolina

Size, size, size. The Pistons need it and Henson, while still filling out, can help Greg Monroe. The only way this doesn't happen is if Henson somehow goes higher.

10. New Orleans - Damian Lillard, PG 6-3, Weber State

It's actually unlikely Lillard falls this low, but given that this is a mock draft not considering the unknown and inevitable trades that will happen, it's simple product placement. The Hornets would pass out from excitement if Lillard lands in their lap here, as they are still in need of a point guard to replace Chris Paul.

11. Portland - Kendall Marshall, PG 6-3, North Carolina

Again, product placement considering the Blazers should be active on the trade/free agency front. While he's coming off a wrist injury, he's an unselfish floor general whose scoring limitations are more than made up for by his passing ability. Should evolve into a nice NBA player.

12. Milwaukee - Tyler Zeller, PF/C 7-0, North Carolina

The annual batch of talented Tar Heels continues, and it's a no-brainer for the Bucks in the wake of the Andrew Bogut trade.

13. Phoenix - Jeremy Lamb, SG 6-5, Connecticut

The Suns need scorers regardless of what happens with Steve Nash, and a solid jump shooter with athletic ability like Lamb fits the bill.

14. Houston - Meyers Leonard, C 7-0, Illinois

The Rockets acquired another first-round pick Tuesday by trading Chase Budinger to Minnesota for No. 18. Another trade notwithstanding, they now select at 14, 16, and 18. Assuming they're not about to package these picks for a top player or a higher selection, a player like Leonard is sensible given that they could use some size.

The Canadians

Mississauga, Ont.'s Andrew Nicholson out of St. Bonaventure is pegged by NBA people and other mocks at landing anywhere between 18 to 28. One thing's for certain: He will be a first-round pick, and you can envision him as a quality combo forward off the bench for an already-decent team. His skill from the perimeter is where the "tweener" concerns come from given that his body is more in line with that of a power forward, but it doesn't hurt right?

At 6-9 and about 235 he could use some more strength, but appears to be a willing player in terms of working on his weaknesses. Word has been that the Thunder and the Celtics like him, and in the case of Oklahoma City (who picks at 28) it's hard to think of a better situation to go into -- but I think it's unlikely he falls that low.

Syracuse's Kris Joseph (Montreal) and Gonzaga's Robert Sacre (North Vancouver) are pegged as possible second rounders, if not free agent possibilities

LeBron James earned the respect

2012-06-22T15:51:59Z

]]> It wasn't overwhelming, but many of us who follow basketball closely noticed something of a shift in the attitude towards LeBron James around 11:45 p.m. ET Thursday.

Nobody can say the LeBron haters are gone -- a quick scan of Twitter or the dreaded sports comment boards (the Thunderdome of the Internet) show that the hostility is still alive and well.

]]> It wasn't overwhelming, but many of us who follow basketball closely noticed something of a shift in the attitude towards LeBron James around 11:45 p.m. ET Thursday.

Nobody can say the LeBron haters are gone -- a quick scan of Twitter or the dreaded sports comment boards (the Thunderdome of the Internet) show that the hostility is still alive and well.

However, in delivering his first NBA title in a near-unconscious manner (a triple-double in the clinching Game 5, an average of 30.3 pts, 9.7 reb and 5.6 ast per game in the post-season) James did a lot to earn the respect, begrudging or not, he has so publicly been seeking for almost a decade.

I am not particularly thrilled that the Miami Heat are NBA champions -- I chalk it up to the last remnants of the 1990s Knicks fan in me -- but what transpired in the finals essentially had to happen. Love him or hate him, respect him or doubt him, he is the best all-around player in the NBA, and has been for a while.

When he came to the league, we all knew there was no package like him -- a guy who had the ability to score from anywhere, pass, rebound and simply take over games. It just took him nine years -- and some help -- to get to the pinnacle.

Sure, he has made mistakes. Clearly egocentric (but show me a pro athlete who isn't -- and if you say hockey players I'll laugh in your naïve face), the questions began when he fired his agent and placed a team led by childhood friend Maverick Carter in charge of his career.

A few years later, it was Carter's idea along with Jim Gray and Ari Emmanuel to orchestrate the breathtakingly disastrous "The Decision."

That's not to absolve him of responsibility -- you can't blame others for making you look like a massive jackass. As a result, most of us outside South Florida rooted for him to fail, rolling our eyes when we'd see the odd guy walking around our neighbourhood in a Heat jersey.

But winning had to happen. The best player in the NBA today had to win a title. Now he has. Cast him in any role you want. He's a champion.

Having said that, here's a quick breakdown about who I'm happy and not-so happy for with the Miami Heat winning the championship:

Happy For

Bob McAdoo (Asst. coach, former Buffalo Brave)
Juwan Howard (last member of Fab 5 to play in NBA, first to win title)
Joel Anthony (third Canadian to win NBA championship alongside Smrek, Wennington
and Fox)
City of Seattle (just for this year)

Respect For

LeBron James
Pat Riley

Not Happy For

Chris Bosh
Eddy Curry (more titles than Steve Nash of Patrick Ewing

As for the Thunder, they'll be back. As Miami celebrated Thursday, Dwyane Wade told Kevin Durant he'd see him the same time next year. It's a pretty good bet.

While Scott Brooks and James Harden lost some stock value in this series, I have a feeling Oklahoma City learned some of the same lessons Miami learned last year against Dallas. That and the old basketball adage that the best player on the floor usually wins, held true.

And let's not blame refs either. There are a lot of people who complain about things like traveling in the NBA (and really, so what?), but please, it's not like the Thunder were robbed.

Is there value in Miami winning for the league? Of course. But if you want to cast roles, there you go. Good guys vs. Bad guys. Heartland vs. South Beach. This could become a Finals rivalry akin to Lakers-Celtics in the '80s.

Expect to see more of it.

The NBA's good, bad and ugly

2012-06-15T22:35:22Z

]]> If you ever wanted a crash course on every good, bad and comical aspect of the NBA, the past week should have sufficed quite well.
With what will without question become one of the greatest NBA Finals series in history square at a game apiece going into Sunday, we also got a dose of bad reffing (or just NBA reffing) and a rehash of the ancient (dating back to 1985) conspiracy theories.

The Good

The level of basketball being played in the Finals is in rarefied air. Note to NHL: This is what you need in a championship series to make fans other than the die-hards watch.

I spent the entire regular season bemoaning bad shots, bad basketball and bad conditioning thanks to the lockout. While the playoffs were better, what has transpired in two games between Miami and Oklahoma City overwhelms all of it.

Everything: The tempo, the athleticism and the defence is off the proverbial hook.

Of course it helps when you get the two best players in the game not only playing against each other, but matching up against each other.

The last time this happened was Magic vs. Bird - when the Internet was still a cold war military application. LeBron James and Kevin Durant averaged 31 and 34 points respectively in Games 1 and 2, with Russell Westbrook and a clearly hurting Dwyane Wade contributing (when he wasn't being held to just two points by Thabo Sefolosha in the first half of Game 1, before Thabo blanketed LeBron in the second). Ole maligned Chris Bosh keyed Miami early with a double-double in the first half in Game 2.

Still, criticism remains.

The Bad

Right, the criticism. The LeBron haters? Whatever.

The people who think the Thunder are in trouble when Westbrook starts jacking up shots? Statistical fact says the team is 26-6 (including Game 2) this year when the point guard took more shots than the small forward. People have been trying to create a rift between those two for a year and a half, and it obviously isn't working given their shared love of glasses.

But those are NBA fans and media bringing this stuff up. Yet that's a major part of this story. So is what fans have doing for two decades: Questioning refereeing.

I'm as odious of calls in the league as Mark Cuban is. There's no question stars get calls most of the time and the rest is give and take. But to blame the Thunder's Game 2 loss on the no-call on James getting his arm in Durant's chest is idiotic.

I won't defend a ref missing something and I steadfastly believe NBA referees and MLB umpires need to both attend a self-improvement seminar run by the North Korean government, but bear in mind OKC started the game in an 18-2 hole.

The officiating complaints will always be there, but if anything as much criticism can be levelled at Thunder coach Scott Brooks (for whom I doubt I will get an argument from anyone on when I say he's a better coach than Erik Spoelstra) for not playing Kendrick Perkins for more than 20 minutes, despite three fouls.

However you've got to remember something. The NBA fans are passionate and to many extents, crazy. Basketball fans, before any other sports fanbase, pioneered the sports blogosphere.

Case in point: When Raptors fans complain about the quality of mainstream media coverage in Canada, a lot don't realize the Raps have more bloggers (serious or casual, stable or insane) than any other team in the NBA. That digital revolution alone -- combined with an inferiority complex from every city not named New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, Miami, Boston or Dallas -- lends the sport to conspriracy theories.

Which brings me to:

The Ugly

Commissioner David Stern's classless smack talk to radio host Jim Rome Wednesday summarizes that ugly. I realize Rome is no Bob Costas and some liken him to a hygiene product, but how many people Googled whether he has actually ever been in trouble for spousal abuse (never has) after Stern's idiotic "do you still beat your wife" response to Rome's question about the draft lottery being rigged?

While I see Stern's intent to pose a similarly loaded question where perception becomes reality, the ugly response is further evidence that Stern lost it a few years ago. Right around 2007-08.

Not to touch on the Tim Donaghy scandal while we're talking about refs, but maybe that nightmare affected his thought process with his breathtaking PR bumbling of the Seattle-Oklahoma City situation in '08.

That's not to take anything away from the Thunder and their fans. That's easily the best gym in the NBA right now. But the means in which that franchise arrived there -- with Stern's eased complicity -- from a passionate 40-year market stinks to high heaven. Ask fans in Washington state how they are enjoying these epic NBA Finals. Stern is far from a stupid man. He is brilliant actually, a man who deserves medals for building the NBA brand.

But as often happens in life, there's a time when you've been somewhere too long, and the decisions you begin to make start to counter the positive things you've done. And as a smart lawyer, his wife-beating response was just amateur.

Anybody in his position with the skill to think on their feet would have simply countered Rome's question with whether the host's 1994 "fight" with former NFL quarterback Jim Everett was set up.

But hey, it's another week in the NBA. The ugly is ugly and the bad is usually stupid, but the good is great. Add them all together and it's fantastic.

I love this game.

LeBron haters never satisfied

2012-06-08T17:34:35Z

]]> From a fan's standpoint, it's not difficult to dislike LeBron James. This is not news. However, one thing abundantly clear after his beatdown of the Boston Celtics on Thursday night is that no matter what, many fans in the Twitter age are still going to be haters. beatdown of the Boston Celtics Thursday night is that no matter what, many fans in the Twitter age are still going to be haters.

James has needed an elimination game like his 45-point, 15-rebound effort in Game 6 of the Eastern Conference Finals for more than two years now just to try and shut people up. Unfortunately for him, that won't happen, as evidenced by the classy fan that threw a drink at James after the game.

In the 2010 ECF - when many expected performances like this - James all but disappeared in his last three games against the Celtics, effectively beginning the anti-LeBron movement. After he kicked it into high gear by kicking Cleveland in the teeth in front of Jim Gray and the fridge full of Vitamin Water, it became easy (and quite fun) to pile on him.

Rightfully so, everything about his game since has been nitpicked and over-analyzed. And it serves him right; if he wanted to be the "global icon" he so desires, and to a more completely impossible extent, the "next Jordan," there could be no missed free throws or fourth-quarter disappearing acts.

However, James's deluge came at the expense of the rest of the Heat team. Dwyane Wade shot a weak six-of-17 and was the only other Miami player to score in double digits. It's also worth noting - and I'm not hating - that Boston basically played like crap, with Paul Pierce and Kevin Garnett going a combined 10-of-32. Basketball is a game of tempo, and Doc Rivers said as much afterwards. The Celts just didn't match Miami's energy, and it cost them - in all likelihood the series.

While James took a big step up Thursday, it's really what people have expected, rightly or wrongly, all along. Killer instinct. And rightly or wrongly, it will be expected in Game 7 as well.

When the Heat (yeah, I said it) meet the Thunder in the Finals next week, the likeability chasm between the two franchises will be highly pronounced. I personally feel like a scumbag for wavering on OKC after their first two games against San Antonio, but the reality was that the Thunder had outplayed the Spurs in four of those eight quarters anyways. When push came to shove, Kevin Durant, Serge Ibaka, Russell Westbrook and James Harden were just too young and too athletic for San Antonio. Throw in a bad game from Tim Duncan in Game 3, and their fate was sealed.

For the Spurs to go from 20 straight wins to four straight losses was surprising, but win streaks in the NBA playoffs don't always mean titles - the 2003 Nets and the 1989 Lakers both put up double digit streaks and still came up short.

If this is the end of the Spurs as we know it, it's been real.

Raptors rumours

I'm not sold on the Rudy Gay or Andre Iguodala-to-the Raptors rumours. While an established wing presence has been a need in Toronto for more than five years, taking on Gay for three years and about $54 million is probably not in Bryan Colangelo's wheelhouse. Gay is a good player - but not a great player. And what exactly is this team if the Raptors get him? A Brian Burke-style rebuild/overpriced player hybrid? Iguodala comes cheaper, but it's widely assumed Philly might want too much in return. Works in progress shouldn't trade draft picks for Phil Kessel ... I mean Rudy Gay or Andre Iguodala (similar when you consider the fan base would expect too much from them).

With Jonas Valanciunas aboard, I actually want to see him play next to Andrea Bargnani for at least a year, as silly as that may sound to some. And if Jose Calderon is traded, who plays the point when they package the draft pick away? There will be no Damian Lillard in that case, and while we're on the topic I wish the Steve Nash speculation would stop. Wouldn't a 38-year-old ringless future hall of famer want to play on a title contender now?

While ESPN's Marc Stein points out that the Heat or the Knicks don't have the cap space for Nash, that doesn't take into account he might be willing to take a discount to win. I realize he has a home on the west side of Manhattan, but do really see Nash plying his trade in Brooklyn next year? As for Toronto, after taking the reins of Canada Basketball, he owes nothing else to us patriotically.

Of course, I could be wrong. Often I am.

Team Canada update

Speaking of Canada Basketball, Team White beat Team Red 56-54 Thursday night at Humber College in Toronto. Sensation Andrew Wiggins, Tyler Ennis and Xavier Rathan-Mayes were among the standouts.

NBA draft lottery fuels conspiracy theories

2012-05-31T22:51:26Z

]]> Wednesday was NBA Draft Lottery day, and NBA fans watched yet another conspiracy theory evolve when the New Orleans Hornets made the unlikely jump to land the first pick in the draft and take Kentucky's Anthony Davis.
It wasn't until Wednesday morning that I realized that there may have been stars, symmetry, fate and all that other stuff involved in the purchase.

Wednesday was NBA Draft Lottery day, and as a salute to the frozen envelope conspiracy theory that delivered Patrick Ewing to the Knicks in 1985, I opted to wear the shirt. Then like clockwork, hours later, NBA fans watched yet another conspiracy theory evolve when the New Orleans Hornets made the unlikely jump to land the first pick in the draft and take Kentucky's Anthony Davis.

Of course to a rational person, my new Knicks tee is a pointless side story to another ridiculous tale of the NBA's historical bend towards Roswell-type conspiracy theories. The thing is, many NBA fans aren't necessarily rational people. And for good reason: When you consider some of the league's stories and the circumstances of them over the years, you understand why.

This time, the theory is that the Hornets (league-owned, in the process of sale to Saints owner Tom Benson) gift-wrapped the No. 1 pick as either a) incentive or b) a big thank you kiss for Benson buying the team and keeping it in New Orleans, to which the league has been admirably committed -- albeit to a fault -- since the horrors of Hurricane Katrina.

For added suspicion, everyone still has the memory fresh in mind of David Stern vetoing Chris Paul's trade to the Lakers in December. For added bonus, the Hornets will also pick 10th in this draft.

The reaction was swift and predictable. On Twitter, ESPN's Bill Simmons compared the NBA to the WWE. Meanwhile, one team executive told Yahoo!'s Adrian Wojnarowski that "this is a joke."

Either way, this is David Stern's NBA right now. Charlotte's former team screwed Charlotte's current team -- who despite a historically inept 7-59 record -- failed to secure the first pick and the unibrowed one, the safest bet in the draft. If it's not a conspiracy theory, maybe higher powers were out to punish Bobcats owner Michael Jordan for screwing things up the last time he had a say in a No. 1 selection -- Kwame Brown.

The Brooklyn Nets had a bad day as well, losing their No. 6 pick from this season's Gerald Wallace trade with Portland (Their pick was top-three protected, so moving up in the fashion New Orleans did would have got them good news amid reports Deron Williams won't re-sign with them unless they somehow acquire Dwight Howard).

The Raptors unsurprisingly stayed put at eighth, leading president & GM Bryan Colangelo to unsurprisingly use the word "flexibility" regarding what Toronto will do with the pick. Many feel a trade may be coming, and given the Raps' needs and the talent in the top 10, there's a very good chance that could happen.

Top-10 mock

Having said that, here's an early top-10 mock. Although keep in mind how much will change in terms of stock, workouts and trade discussions before the June 28 draft:

1. New Orleans: Anthony Davis, 6-10 PF, Kentucky (Signed, sealed, delivered)
2. Charlotte: Thomas Robinson, 6-9 PF, Kansas (Bobcats need size)
3. Washington: Andre Drummond, 7-0 C, Connecticut
4. Cleveland: Bradley Beal, 6-4 SG, Florida
5. Sacramento: Michael Kidd-Gilchrist, 6-7 SF, Kentucky
6. Portland: Jared Sullinger, 6-10 PF-C, Ohio State (Sullinger may be a stretch this high, but the Blazers need something inside)
7. Golden St.: Harrison Barnes, 6-8 SF, North Carolina (Stock has dropped but he won't go too low)
8. Toronto: Jeremy Lamb, 6-5 SG, Connecticut (If the Raps aren't picking for someone else, this is their best option likely available in this spot in terms of need)
9. Detroit: John Henson, 6-9, PF, North Carolina
10. New Orleans: Damian Lillard 6-2 PG, Weber State (Hornets still also need a point guard in the wake of Paul's departure and this is their man)

The Canadian to keep an eye on as pre-draft workouts evolve is St. Bonaventure's Andrew Nicholson of Mississauga. Pegged as a mid-first rounder, he could move up as many have labelled him with a sleeper tag.

Spurs seem like team to beat

While getting caught up in the idea of a Heat-Thunder NBA Finals this year, it became easy for me to pay less attention to the San Antonio Spurs. I won't say I forgot them because you'd never dismiss a team, a system and a coach as successful the past decade-plus as Tim Duncan, Tony Parker, Manu Ginobili, the Spurs and head coach Gregg Popovich.

When Phil Jackson marginalized them by referring to their first championship in 1999 as an "asterisk title" because it was a lockout season (sound familiar?), he obviously didn't know three more titles would follow and the comment would be invalidated.

Of course, San Antonio didn't have Parker or Ginobili then, and it was still David Robinson's team despite the rapid emergence of Duncan.

What Pop and company developed since then has been the subject of much debate, mostly stupid.

Are they an NBA dynasty because they never won back-to-back titles? In an age of flash, image and a public with the attention span of gnats, does this fundamentally rock-solid four-time titlist belong in the pantheon of greats alongside the Lakers?

But back to now. Maybe it was because they were knocked out by Memphis in the first round last year as a No. 1 seed that we thought they were finished. Maybe there is truth in the talk that Parker's been a better player since his marriage to Eva Longoria ended and he's no longer a staple on TMZ.

Whatever it is, they're playing at a level right now -- 20 straight wins through Tuesday -- even they haven't demonstrated in the past with their fundamental, ball-movement system.

The reason they are doing it is because in addition to the savvy vets, the youthful quickness in Daniel Green and Kawhi Leonard are a much-needed upgrade from last season.

And no matter how you slice it, Popovich is the best coach in the NBA. Forget the entertainment value of the surly quotes; no coach in the league can make adjustments and pull down the proverbial pants of another good coach as effectively (Scott Brooks' hack-a-Splitter foolishness notwithstanding).

Appreciate it. Whatever happens next, you probably won't see a team that plays the game this way again for a very, very long time, if ever. Like Martin Brodeur in the Stanley Cup final, take a good look at it and thank the sports Gods you were able to see it.

Heat, Pacers too much fun not to go 7

2012-05-23T16:10:18Z

]]> A week ago I said the Miami Heat would win their series against the Indiana Pacers handily, and that the best Indy could hope for was stealing a game at Bankers Life Fieldhous. A week ago I said the Miami Heat would win their series against the Indiana Pacers handily, and that the best Indy could hope for was stealing a game at Bankers Life Fieldhouse.

In the meantime all hell broke loose, and I was reminded once again that I should never make predictions. It may be safe to say, however, even after Miami's throttling of the Pacers in a chippy, borderline violent Game 5 Tuesday night, is that this series is going the full seven.

The belief among many is that the Heat are too good to lose to the Pacers, and that this is merely a second-round scare along the lines of what Pat Riley's New York Knicks did to Michael Jordan's Bulls in 1992; that the absence of Chris Bosh will force LeBron James and Dwyane Wade to adjust and win it on their own. And in the games that Miami has won in this series, that is absolutely the case.

The problem with the above statement is these are not even close to the 1992 Chicago Bulls. James has proven time and time again -- including in Game 2 -- that he was very wise to stop wearing number 23.

The break for Miami comes with the fact that Indiana just simply isn't very good at scoring. Centre Roy Hibbert has been somewhat effective for them (Game 5's dreadful 3-of-10 performance aside), but they just can't match up offensively with the Heat, especially when Miami is getting quick transition baskets. Danny Granger, now day-to-day with an ankle injury (and who always struggles against LeBron, anyway) hasn't got off the ground all series.

Bird calls Pacers 'soft'

Indiana does have one ace in the hole left though, and it's how Granger and fellow banged-upee David West will almost assuredly play in Game 6: Larry Bird called the team out. Following Game 5 Tuesday night, the Pacers president told the Indianapolis Star, "I can't believe my team went soft."

Then for added effect, spelled it out. "S-O-F-T. I'm disappointed," he said.

The method of the madness is no different than Wayne Gretzky's "our guys go through so much crap" speech at the 2002 Winter Olympics, it's desired effect to light a fire under the backside of the Pacers going into what will be a raucous Game 6 Thursday in Indy.

But with the gavel of Vancouver Grizzly-killer Stu Jackson expected to fall at any minute over Game 5's foolishness, the Pacers may catch another small break. We can certainly say goodbye to Dexter Pittman (and who will notice, really) for his filthy box-out shot on Lance Stephenson, but does it help Indiana if Udonis Haslem gets suspended for the rest of this series? Haslem has really only been effective in one game here, but the Heat are already playing without their all-star big man, and James finds playing stretches at the four "taxing."

Haslem's shot on Tyler Hansbrough was completely justified in my opinion, even if it was in fact a Flagrant 2 (hope for, but never expect a correct call from an NBA ref). Hansbrough had earlier mugged Dwyane Wade, something that screams out for retribution. The elbow of Pittman however, was idiotic, a move that harkened back to the days of Kermit Washington when low-skilled players wandered the floor in enforcer mode (sound familiar, NHL?).

It's been a physical series, but one more thing about all this intransigence: how the hell is there a feud between 39-year-old Juwan Howard and 21-year-old Lance Stephenson? Howard's old enough to be his father, yet they've been beaking since the regular season.

This is too much fun not to go seven. And the expectation again is the Heat will win. Just like most predicted, but with a roundabout way of getting there.

Spurs-Thunder tough call

I'm not making a prediction on the Western Conference finals. When you consider the Spurs have won 18 straight and 46 of their last 53 games, it's tough to bet against them. Keep in mind though the Thunder has only lost one game in the playoffs too. I'm still getting a changing of the guard feeling here.

Heat, Thunder on collision course

2012-05-15T17:39:10Z

]]> It's probably too early to draw conclusions, but there's two things blatantly clear from Game 1 of the second-round playoff series between the Los Angeles Lakers and Oklahoma City Thunder -- Oklahoma City is up for this one and it clearly didn't matter that it had a long layoff before Monday's triumphant opener.

Oh, and the other thing. This fashion trend of people wearing non-prescription glasses must stop now, as was demonstrated by Russell Westbrook and Kevin Durant (although mostly Westbrook) post-game? The general consensus on the Interwebs is that the all-world point guard should be stripped of his 10-of-15 shooting, 27-point, near-triple-double performance because of his choice of post-game attire -- a Steve Urkel-meets-Sally Jessy Raphael criminal act that had bloggers abuzz.

Back to ball, though. ESPN's Dave McMenamin had a nice piece Tuesday on how the Lakers helped create this Thunder team, going back to L.A.'s playoff victory over OKC in 2010. There's too many backstories in the Thunder's favour this time around, like Westbrook's performance, karma from the Metta World elbow or the mere presence of Derek Fisher on the Thunder roster.

Inside for the Lakers, sure, Pau Gasol reverted to that inconsistent subpar-shooting version of himself in Game 1, but Andrew Bynum did about as much as he could. You can't write off the Lakers yet -- as we all know, Kobe Bryant can kill a team by himself -- but you almost get a changing-of-the-guard feeling watching these two teams play.

HIBBERT NO LONGER FEELING HEAT

With Chris Bosh now out indefinitely with an abdominal strain, the Miami Heat check people are again over-analyzing his value to Miami. Yes, Bosh's presence has appeared to be redundant during stretches this season. But say what you want about him, -- for instance, the fact he doesn't play like a real power forward -- losing a double-digit scorer during the playoffs is not an ideal scenario.

The Indiana Pacers can take advantage of this in the sense that it frees Roy Hibbert up to stay where he belongs -- inside, rather than having Bosh stretch him outwards. The Pacers are a scrappy, likable team with a good coach, but it isn't enough to beat the Heat, with or without Bosh. See Danny Granger's performance in Game 1 on Sunday -- seven points on 1-of-10 shooting guarded by, and guarding LeBron James, who went for 32 and 15.

Granger has struggled to get his shot against James for the past two seasons, averaging a line of 5-for-15 and 15 points whenever the Pacers played the Heat before this series. Fully expecting this to continue, it puts more pressure than needed on David West, George Hill and Darren Collison to score. That said, they'll probably steal a game in Indy.

Boston could be trouble for Miami, but the collision course for the Heat and Thunder continues. Yet after the Derrick Rose debacle, anything can happen and is therefore a candidate for an asterisk this post-season.

Still in search of better NBA basketball

2012-05-09T16:29:39Z

]]> Almost two weeks ago, I said the basketball would be better with the NBA playoffs starting. I could not have been more wrong. Almost two weeks ago, I said the basketball would be better with the NBA playoffs starting. I could not have been more wrong. We are still waiting for the best ball of the season to be played and, at this point, it may be logical to write off this entire season as a lockout-contaminated gong show.

If you watched Tuesday's Game 5 between Philadelphia and Chicago or the first half of Denver-Los Angeles (ie. before JaVale McGee inexplicably made like Patrick Ewing and Kobe Bryant almost brought the Lakers back), you'll know what I'm talking about.

McGee, by the way, earned several million dollars with that performance and some lucky team will reward him with an albatross, I mean, contract, this summer.

As the injuries pile up, it was nice to see one healed. Al Horford won Game 5 for the Atlanta Hawks over the Boston Celtics in his first start since January.

But enough about on-court stuff. When the product is suffering, we can thank the Lord that the NBA has always provided us with the goods needed to entertain.

The past couple of days have only reaffirmed my faith in that, whether it was a woman stumbling onto the court in Denver reportedly asking, "Where's Kenyon?" (she reportedly has stalked Martin in the past, but obviously not well enough or she'd know he now plays for the Los Angeles Clippers) or Keith Closs (a man ahead of his time by a decade by being videotaped in a shirtless brawl) appearing at the Memphis-Los Angeles playoff game wearing his own Clippers jersey.

Nash-ional Pride

Among the feedback I received on Canada Basketball hiring Steve Nash was a rather cynical viewpoint that he's just a face and that the program is still bad.

They are right about one thing: the senior men's program is currently bad. But to assume that Nash is simply some puppet is completely uninformed.

At the absolute least, Nash will serve as a recruiter to help overcome one of the program's biggest problems -- getting players to play. It's simply harder

to say no to Steve Nash than to Leo Rautins. And if you don't believe Nash has already made a mark, consider that he is responsible for getting the "Sixth

Man" funding group on board, thanks to conference calls he made months ago.

C'mon, Bennett, let's party!

Seeing as sneezing is considered an NCAA violation in certain situations, UNLV alum Jimmy Kimmel may have done something wrong by tweeting his desire for Canadian Anthony Bennett to choose his alma mater.

Nash gives Canadian men's basketball credibility

2012-05-08T21:25:33Z

]]> Steve Nash was named general manager of the senior men's national basketball team on Tuesday, representing a gigantic step in the climb back to credibility from a national program that has struggled to take steps at all in the past decade.
And apparently some time last fall, former national teammate Rowan Barrett approached Nash with the intent of convincing him to join Canada Basketball in a lead role. Many of us expected that if this were going to happen, it would be after Nash's Springfield-bound NBA career came to an end.

But that idea took a turn Tuesday with the naming of Nash as senior men's team general manager and Barrett as executive vice-president and assistant GM.

It's a gigantic step in the climb back to credibility from a national program that has struggled to take steps at all in the past decade. While it could be met with skepticism seeing as he's not about to retire from his NBA career just yet, the optics alone are huge. Placing the reins in the hands of a uniting force in Canadian basketball is a good decision whether or not Nash is playing point guard in Miami, New York or even (doubtfully) Toronto for the next three years.

Barrett will be there to cross the t's and dot the i's, but Nash's input will leave a big mark on the squad that must make the 2016 Olympics in Rio.

And the reason he's doing it is because he knows we are standing at the brink of a watershed moment in Canadian basketball history. Many people -- some of the puckhead variety, others just unaware -- don't comprehend the level of talent and its depth that is about to mushroom from this country. Tristan Thompson? Cory Joseph? Tip of the iceberg.

"Now's the time to capitalize," Nash said at Tuesday's press conference in Toronto when asked whether it was the said young talent that convinced him to take the job he won't be paid for.

You could talk all day (and judging by the attendance of games over the years involving the national basketball team in Canada, few want to) about the on- and off-court failures of the national program. But as I've said before, this is an unprecedented time. Canada Basketball has to do this right. Yet perhaps bigger than the Nash hiring was the announcement of a funding model known as the "6th Man" group -- a partnership of corporate and private sector financing that has been direly needed for decades.

Massive job ahead

It's easy to draw parallels between bringing Nash aboard and Hockey Canada hiring Wayne Gretzky ahead of the 2002 Olympics. But it's not even close. Our success in international basketball is essentially limited to beating the U.S. at the 1983 Universiade. Nash, Barrett and Maurizio Gherardini have a massive job ahead of them, limited not only to ensuring our bumper crop of youngsters are willing to play for their country. There's a gulf between the AAU youth programs in Canada and the national system that must be closed. There's a coach that must be hired.

Whether that coach is Jay Triano remains to be seen. With all due respect to Leo Rautins, Triano never should have been fired in the first place. But that goes back to those failures of the past decade. Triano would have to finish off his commitment to USA Basketball first, and while
there are whispers he won't be brought back as the bench boss, Nash made no secret of his closeness with Triano Tuesday, calling him an "important candidate" for the job.

For the first time in a long time, Canada Basketball did something positive and exciting Tuesday. There may be reason for hope after all. It's about building a system, and they just planted the right seeds.

"Excellence doesn't happen from time to time," Barrett said.

Anthony Bennett

Anthony Bennett update:

The blue-chip forward from Toronto eliminated both Kentucky and Florida from his list over the weekend, and will now choose between UNLV and Oregon. Having played high school ball at Findlay prep in suburban Vegas, most are expecting him to stay local and choose UNLV.

Knicks quick to punch out

2012-05-01T17:16:22Z

]]> Take it from somebody who has punched glass before. There's a split second after you've cocked back your arm, you're on the follow-through and past the point of no return when common sense hits you and you realize you are about to make the sort of mistake that will a) hurt and b) subject you to very serious ridicule.

On the frustration front, I can sympathize with Amare Stoudemire after two subpar playoff games in Miami. Yet to nobody's surprise is the public humiliation that has followed -- from the usual mainstream morning fun of the Gotham tabloids' back pages to some of the best tweets of Monday night:

"To his credit, Amare Stoudemire was attacking the glass" (@AndreFRiSCO)

"Now that the glass on the container has been broken, can the fire extinguisher play point guard for the Knicks?" ( @CardboardGerald)

Big ups also go to @treykerby for pointing out that "Carmelo taking care of snitches' while Stoudemire got stitches.

Now that he's almost certainly out for Game 3 of the Eastern Conference quarter-final with the mangled hand, we can probably start assuming this series will be over sooner than many thought.

Iman Shumpert's torn ACL in Game 1 was just about the worst thing that could have happened to the Knickerbockers -- much worse than Amare punching out the fire extinguisher window -- because he was a difference maker on defence and an X-factor if he could just get a little extra harassment on Dwyane Wade.

Now, for Game 3 at least, back in the Garden, the Knicks really will be all Melo's again. Of course, stats will tell you that New York may be better off without Stoudemire (14-5 without him this year). But keep in mind that one of those win streaks came at the height of Linsanity. Also keep in mind that the Knicks are now resting their hopes at point guard on the two-headed veteran monster of Baron Davis and Mike Bibby.

Stranger things have happened, I know. In fact, the term "Ewing Theory" was concocted from the Knicks during another lockout season playoff run in 1999. But the intangibles are much different now. The Knicks will probably steal one at MSG, drawing from what will be a raucous crowd. But this series is over.

Further to the topic of torn ACLs, much like New York's, Chicago's title hopes are also finished with Derrick Rose's injury. Much has been said since Saturday about whether the compressed schedule and lack of adequate recovery time contributed to the end of the ACL tear of the NBA's reigning MVP.

The answer is yes. Partially. But as ESPN's Michael Wilbon pointed out Monday, NBA trainers are fully aware that few athletes have the torque Rose does and therefore putting more stress on their joints. It was probably a perfect storm. But as with all things medical, there's no guarantee in knowing what it was.

We can blame the schedule all we want. But there are no victims here, even with serious injuries. Players play. Sixty-six games in 124 days wasn't going to faze a true professional athlete, at least not on the surface.

The upside for Rose is that he's got all summer to rehab and Chris Paul's recovery from his knee issues should serve as some positive reinforcement.

Holding to Heat-Thunder in NBA Finals

2012-04-27T12:29:17Z

]]> I'm not as married to it as I was on Christmas Day, but I'm holding to the Miami Heat and Oklahoma City Thunder meeting in this year's NBA Finals. To be resolved starting Saturday.

]]> Alright, that was shoddy. Even though I wish the NBA -- and the NHL and maybe even Major League Baseball -- would play only 66 regular-season games every year, it's clear now that it shouldn't be done in 124 days with no training camp.

The casualties from this truncated season are best sampled statistically (shooting percentages way down; last season, 11 teams averaged 100-plus points per game; this season, three) and medically (Al Horford, Ray Allen, Andrea Bargnani to name a few). But the survivors remain and the best basketball is yet to be played.

They don't call it the second season for nothing.

EASTERN CONFERENCE

Chicago (1) vs Philadelphia (8)

The Sixers looked like a great story early in the season and, for the first time ever, it appeared Doug Collins could coach. Then came a 10-14 finish and the squandering of the Atlantic division lead (although they did put together a nice stretch last week with three non-playoff teams). Philly defends well, but so does Chicago -- in fact, the teams were 1-2 in points allowed this season. It'll be a defensive, grind-it-out series, but with Joakim Noah, Carlos Boozer and Taj Gibson rotating, Philly is overmatched up front. The Sixers lack a go-to scorer and Derrick Rose is back for the Bulls -- bad news for Philly, even if he's only at 75 per cent. Evan Turner of the Sixers may have said he liked this matchup, but he'll feel differently next week.

Pick: Bulls in 4.

Miami (2) vs New York (7)

New York in spring is a special place with the Knicks and the Rangers in the playoffs -- although the excitement is mostly for the Knicks. The last time the Knicks won a post-season game was April 29, 2001, in Toronto. So with New York back and having more depth, the hyperbole piping out of Gotham for this matchup with their hated '90s rivals is enough to make any fast-talking kid on the 7-train convince you the Knicks will win. It will make for some fantastic TV, but I don't believe they will win. In another lockout season (1999) the Knicks beat the Heat in an upset because Jeff Van Gundy ran perpetual isolation plays for Latrell Sprewell and Allan Houston. They beat a team anchored in the middle by Alonzo Mourning. Today, while Carmelo Anthony is the best pure scorer in basketball, Miami SHOULD be on a mission and SHOULD simply be too good to lose this. Since Mike D'Antoni's departure and Jeremy Lin's injury, Mike Woodson has rightly thrown the team on Melo's back and let him carry them offensively. That will continue, but even with Amar'e Stoudemire and Tyson Chandler likely getting the better of the matchups down low, the Heat's better team defence and the mere presence of both Dwyane Wade and LeBron James SHOULD give Miami the edge. There are X-factors on the Knicks side, like Iman Shumpert, but as much as I'd love to see it, I can't call it. Beyond the ego and the other crap, this is at its essence why the Miami super team was assembled: To win a big-time playoff series like this. Last year's NBA Finals was excusable, after the fact. Don't do it now in the first round against New York and the Heat fail epically on a grander stage.

Pick: Heat in 7.

Indiana (3) vs Orlando (6)

The Pacers are the feel-good story of the year. And with Andrew Luck's Indianapolis Colts in rebuild mode, the timing couldn't have been better for the re-emergence of a team that has some of the best fans in the NBA. Opposing them is a team held hostage all season and now left high and dry by what many fans hate about the NBA. To be fair, Dwight Howard's absence from the Magic makes it easier to call this series. As Charles Barkley said Thursday, the Pacers should put Orlando out of its misery very quickly. Without Howard, Roy Hibbert, the most current, painful evidence from Bryan Colangelo's disastrous Jermaine O'Neal-Shawn Marion-Hedo Turkoglu sequence, will have no difficulty whatsoever inside. The Magic have little choice now but to bomb away threes and hope for the best.

Pick: Pacers in 4.

Boston (4) vs Atlanta (5)

The Celtics won their division and get the higher seed, but it means nothing because Atlanta has home court by virtue of a better record as the runner-up to Miami in the Southeast. Last year I could see coming down Broadway that the Hawks would knock off Orlando in the first round because of better matchups. It's not the same story now. While the Horford-less Hawks play a similar game to Boston, they are not as good as Boston. With Rajon Rondo threading dimes and Avery Bradley filling in admirably for Allen, this post-season is very likely also the last hurrah for the old guys like Paul Pierce and Kevin Garnett.

Pick: Celtics in 6.

WESTERN CONFERENCE

San Antonio (1) vs Utah (8)

There's a belief among some that the Jazz could play spoiler to San Antonio the way the Grizzlies beat the Spurs in an 8-1 last year -- putting Al Jefferson in the role of Zach Randolph. That's intriguing for about four seconds. A gigantic mismatch comes in favour of San Antonio in terms of backcourt and experience. The Spurs will also be rightly pissed about what happened to them last year. If Jazz players could only tape an interview with Jim Nantz in a Texas hot tub during this series, they will at least lay claim to a moral victory, but odds are long on that too.

Pick: Spurs in 4.

Oklahoma City (2) vs Dallas (7)

The Thunder has wanted a playoff rematch with the Mavericks since losing last year's conference final. James Harden's condition after his Metta World concussion puts him into a possible Sidney Crosby status zone now, but despite that and some matchup issues, this is still the Thunder's series to lose. If you ever wanted to see the ever-so subtle advances of age on an NBA team, Dallas was a case study this year. Chandler was a big loss for them, but it's clear they are half a step slower than they were when they won it all last season. The Thunder are young and hungry and have some anger to back it up now.

Pick: Thunder in 6.

L.A. Lakers (3) vs Denver (6)

It's been flogged ad nauseam, but Kobe Bryant's decision to sit out the regular-season finale and concede the scoring title to Kevin Durant tells you how Kobe thinks. I would have suspected his killer instinct would have wanted that accolade too, but it's clear he's solely focused on the playoffs. And the reason the Lakers won't lose this series, despite alarm bells both legitimate and imagined, is Bryant. Denver is the highest scoring team in the NBA and spreads the ball around better than anyone in recent memory. JaVale McGee goes from a comic footnote in Washington to shooting close to 61 per cent for the Nuggets in April. George Karl is a good coach and a good man who has fought tougher battles than in basketball. But who stops Kobe? Arron Afflalo and Danilo Galinari? Denver, for what it's worth, also surrendered the second-most points in the league. Being without Metta for up to six and wondering which Andrew Bynum shows up are question marks, but it's still an L.A. win.

Pick: Lakers in 5.

Memphis (4) vs L.A. Clippers vs. (5)

With all due respect to the Knicks and Heat, this is the best first-round series. It just doesn't have the sexiness of New York-Miami. All season long, Western teams feared drawing Memphis in Round 1 and now the up-and-coming Clippers get them. While Z-Bo (that's Zach Randolph for the uninitiated) isn't the same player he was last year, Marc Gasol is better than last year and their backcourt rotation of shutdown specialists with Mike Conley, O.J. Mayo and Tony Allen should adequately harass Chris Paul. The Grizz also have Rudy Gay for the playoffs this time around and that's a difference maker. Blake Griffin will find ways to get to the basket, but keep in mind that karma may also punish Clippers owner Donald Sterling.

Pick: Grizzlies in 7.

I'm not as married to it as I was on Christmas Day, but I'm holding to a Heat-Thunder finals.

To be resolved starting Saturday.

Raptors coach Dwane Casey deserves recognition

2012-04-17T16:23:36Z

]]> Dwane Casey won't win the NBA coach of the year award. You need to get in the playoffs to earn consideration, and while the Toronto Raptors are still a fair distance and a couple of lucky breaks away from that, the culture change he has instilled in the team is worthy of some kind of hardware.

"Culture change" is an overused cliche in sports, especially in the NBA where chemistry is essentially everything. But it's also a necessity when teams stagnate -- whether they are loaded with talent or not. For the Raptors, what Casey seems to have instilled may just transcend this particular edition of Toronto's basketball team.

Statistics don't tell you everything. The entire league's field goal percentage is down this year because of some of the atrocious basketball played in a compressed period of time due to the lockout. There is also a fallacy that pops up occasionally, saying the Raptors' franchise never played defence before Casey's arrival. It's not true -- under Kevin O'Neill in 2003-04, Toronto gave up only 88.5 points per game with opponents shooting under 43% -- both team records.

Like this 2012 squad, it was a bad team. But unlike this squad, it was going in the opposite direction. Of course the other big problem was O'Neill was a certifiable lunatic. Like Casey however, he demanded accountability from his players. Only this time, it's a young team willing to listen and accept that.

Best Raptors coach?

There's been a lot of talk over the past week about Casey being the best coach in Raptors history. It's clearly too early to make that proclamation, but what we've seen this season was something different in Raptorland. Butch Carter can currently lay claim to that meaningless title, but not unlike O'Neill he was mostly undone by some bizarre off-the-floor antics.

With this installment, just about every night this season, this team showed up and played hard. The inconsistencies -- such as beating Boston Friday in an undermanned Hoosiers-like effort and losing to the Hawks Monday with an offensive disappearing act in the second half -- were fewer (and part and parcel of a young team).

One of the most entertaining things about the NBA and it's community of rabid fans is how quickly a No. 1 pick like Andrea Bargnani can become a punch line. Had anybody suggested last summer that the seven-foot Italian would become competent -- let alone solid -- defensively, it would have drawn a chorus of laughs. Picking apart Bargnani's season, you can't ignore the calf injury and his less-than-ideal return from it, before being shut down. But his marked improvement in that defensive area -- in terms of effort, positioning and help defence -- did not occur in the previous five years under two other NBA head coaches.

No surprise, but Toronto is still a ways from true contention. Whatever happens next, be it trade possibilities (probably not Jose Calderon), free agency and the draft -- which is pointless to project until after the lottery -- will further mould what Casey is building. The arrival of Jonas Valanciunas next fall won't come without adjustment either. And the reality is that when this team gets good, many of the current Raptors won't be here. But it's fair to say they are on the right track (Sure, we've heard that before).

One upside this time however is their coach is not insane.

Vancouver unlikely to land Kings

News that the Sacramento arena deal has fallen apart has to be gutting to Kings' fans who believed six weeks ago that the city's franchise had been saved. I don't know the Brothers Maloof, but if you want to take sides on this issue, I'm not sure the casino owners are going to get the benefit of the doubt here. The mayor of the city in which they are negotiating is not a generic talking head elected official. He's a former NBA All-Star point guard with a vested interest in keeping around the only professional sports franchise in town. Now the Maloofs -- in what appears to be their latest blame tactic over financing issues -- say they don't want to work with Kevin Johnson.

"Dealing with the Maloofs is like dealing with the North Koreans -- except they are less competent," said Think Big Sacramento official Chris Lehane on the weekend.

Meanwhile, Vancouver has emerged again as a rumoured destination for the Kings. As various U.S. and Canadian media have pointed out, things have changed economically in Van City since the Grizzlies split in 2001, and David Stern's quote about that incident being a "great disappointment" opened up hope a few years ago.

It won't happen.

The Grizzlies left Vancouver mostly because of a lack of corporate dollars and partially because of the most inept general manager in NBA history outside of Rob Babcock (Who ties up $62 million in Bryant Reeves and then drafts Steve Francis despite direct warnings that he won't play for you: Stu Jackson, of course).

While there may be more corporate money and luxury box candidates in B.C. now, it just doesn't make business sense for the Maloofs or the NBA to overlook a similar-sized but more basketball-friendly market in Seattle or a big income one like Anaheim and Orange County.

Plus Stern may still push the issue with Sacramento. After alienating Vancouver and Seattle in the 'aughts, the commissioner seems to have pulled a PR 360, playing nice with questionable markets this decade. His securing of the Hornets sale to Saints owner Tom Benson at least demonstrates that is trying to keep the franchise in New Orleans. Whether it works out in the long run remains to be seen.