And now back to our regularly scheduled programming. (SPORTS!!!!)

Now that we have the election nonsense behind us we can return our focus to sports, and sports gambling, which is the focus of this little corner of blogging and what I enjoy writing about the most.  I'm just going to touch on a few things today that have happened while I was out in Las Vegas and relatedly, while I was sick with the travel crud afterwards.

1. The CFP early ranking remain crap. Nothing against them really, but they don't mean shit at this point. The only thing that we really learned from them are two things. First, the CFP committee understands their marketing obligations to the B1G and the SEC. They are in love with brands, not teams. I don't think this will change any in the future. Second, I'm not as upset about Boise State being close to BYU as most people are. While I feel for Indiana, they have it all in front of them. But if Boise State and BYU played on a neutral field I feel the former would be favored.  Who I feel for is Army, who might be the best of the Group of 5 teams but who might not get a chance to show it.  The CFP committee says that they "watch all of the games" but that is certainly not true. Otherwise the rankings would look far different than what they do.

2. The NFL is top-heavy this year. Kansas City, Baltimore, Detroit, Buffalo. Those are the 4 teams right now that seem like they are Super Bowl Contenders. Teams that we thought might be good (Houston, San Francisco, Tampa Bay) don't seem to be all that good. There are other teams out there with winning records but they don't seem to really have a shot. The fact is the NFL is not very entertaining this year. Most games are poor, the officiating is borderline awful, and the fact that you only get three games per day without paying for a package that's not available unless you subscribe to a certain service makes Sundays must-miss TV.  And no, NBC, we are not waiting all day for Sunday Night, we're using that time to get ready for work on Monday.

3. College basketball is BACK. There have already been upsets, the return of Calipari and a handful of teams that looked REALLY good so far. This is going to be a REALLY good season, and Big XII Men's Basketball is going to be fire.

4. The NBA is back.  Zzzzzzzzzz.  Call me when the playoffs start.

5. The NHL is starting off hot. Scoring is up, there are some amazing things happening on the ice, there's a new(ish) hockey team in Utah. Oh yeah.

We're currently in the best time of the year, a time where football is on TV 7 nights per week. There's not day without a football game until almost Thanksgiving. Yes, some of it is bad, really bad, but it's a needed reprieve from the noise that surrounds the world right now. And, if you don't like the football games, there's basketball and hockey on if you're looking for something to do.

Since I was in Las Vegas and then down with the travel crud there will be no discussion of sports gaming this week. I honestly have not had the energy or time to re-run my numbers but I'm going to get them updated Sunday morning so I should be ready to go next week.

Good luck this week however you choose to play. 

Houston Rockets: 2019 will be 2018 part II

Time to face facts Rockets fans. Despite what almost every one of the Local media columnists are writing, Jenny Dial Creech, Jerome Solomon, and Brian T Smith as three examples, The chances of Lebron James wearing a Rockets jersey for the 2018-2019 season are slim to none, and slim just left town with today's news that James is opting out of his player option with Cleveland to become and unrestricted free agent.

His most likely landing spot is the Lakers, which makes sense because he's already got a second home in LA, and visions himself a movie mogul and mover and shaker in the NBA when his playing career is done. Few teams have been more willing to let former players take the reigns than have the Lakers.

Sure, some dominoes have to fall. Kawhi Leonard being traded from the Spurs to the Lakers would help, as would Paul George signing a free agent deal with them.  Once that happens it's a fair bet that Lonzo Ball gets dealt away, no way Mr. James wants to be attached to the Lavar clown show. But the odds on money is LA.

What this likely means for the Rockets is that next year is going to be a mirror image of last year. A team that wins a ton of games but whose playoff hopes rely on the health of an aging player (Chris Paul) with a troubling history of soft-tissue injuries. That's assuming Paul doesn't take a discount himself to play with the Lakers and join up with his friend LeBron. Stranger things have happened in the NBA.  At least Daryl Morey didn't show up at LeBron's front door begging this time around.

It's hard to fault Morey though, he's working with limited resources in a city that's generally unattractive to many of the league's best players. Houston is hot, humid, has little in the way of actual attractions and is a great place to work, but an increasingly crime-riddled and expensive place to LIVE. It doesn't have the best schools for LeBron's kids, and his wife would most probably be bored out of her mind.

But Morey, for all of his brilliance, has not been able to push this Rockets team over the top. They get close, achingly close, before falling just short.  There was the Dwight Howard mess, then the San Antonio dud, then last year the 0-27 historical run of 3-point shooting futility.  James Harden has proven himself one of the better, regular season players in the NBA, when it comes to the playoffs however he's returning Houston to Choke City more than reviving the Clutch City vibes. He's the Dan Marino of the NBA. Not that Marino is a bad person to be compared to but he never won any championships, which appears to be the fate of Harden unless he changes the results.

He'll have to do so in 2018-2019 with, presumably, almost the same supporting cast.

Whatever voodoo Tillman Fertitta can bring over from Lake Charles to bless Chris Paul's muscles, tendons and ligaments had better be shipped in now. Otherwise we'll be writing the same eulogy for next year's team that we did for this year's:

So close, yet so far away.

Don't Blame Golden State (or Kevin Durant) for The Warriors being unbeatable.

Blame the rest of the NBA.

Last night Houston Rockets fans (self included) received a tough, bitter dose of reality.


They're nowhere near as good as the Golden State Warriors.


Neither is anyone else in the NBA.  The easy road is to lay the blame on Superstar, and all-around bad guy, Kevin Durant but that's not really fair.  Durant did what any player should do, go to the team that was offering him a crap-ton of money where he had the best chance to win a title.  Golden State did what any team should do, build a roster that gives them the best chance to win.

The fault for Golden State's dominance lies with the rest of the NBA, who haven't been able to negotiate the maze of the salary cap nearly as well.

Yes, outside of Stephan Curry the Warriors are an utterly unlikable collection of players (unless you're a Golden State fan).  Draymond Green is a jerk, Kevin Durant is utterly unlikable, but every team in the NBA has players like that.  Hell, every team in professional sports has players who are the same.

As a 49ers fan I lived through the Terrell Owens days. Yes he was a prick but he was OUR prick. It's the same for Golden State fans. The rest of the NBA fans might not like their players, but it doesn't really matter because the home fans do and they're winning.

James Harden is a flopper, but he's HOUSTON's flopper.

Russell Westbrook is a Prima Donna, but he's OKLAHOMA CITY's Prima Donna.

And so on and so on.

(Of note: This doesn't mean that these players are necessarily bad PEOPLE, I'm referring to their image ON THE COURT. I don't know them in person and neither do you, they might be kind, caring sweethearts of human beings for all we know)

The biggest problem that the NBA has right now is that they are extremely top heavy.  There is a ton of individual talent but few real TEAMS, let alone teams that can compete with the best of the bunch, the Golden State Warriors.

This was on display last night as Golden State moved the ball around with quick passing, excellent ball movement and, when need be, a great individual performance by Durant. Compare that with Houston's isolation dribble, dribble drive or shoot offense based primarily around Harden and the issue becomes very clear.

And it's not Golden State's fault.  Just like it wasn't UConn's fault they dominated women's basketball, or UCLA's fault back during the Wooden era.

In the words of the great Ric Flair: "To be the man, you gotta beat the man."

Increasingly it feels that no one in the NBA is going to be able to do that.


Bring on the off-season. (It's more fun anyway)

Houston Rockets: This team is REALLY good. (How good remains to be seen)

First all of the caveats:

 - It's regular season NBA, which means next to nothing except for actually making the playoffs.
 - Many in Houston aren't paying attention, at all, to the team in the NBA that currently has the best record.
 - Even IF they win they'll still be 3rd fiddle to the Astros and a mediocre Texans franchise.


Given all of that, the Rockets just won their 17th straight game which left them with the best record in the NBA and a narrow 1/2 game lead over the Golden State Warriors for home-field advantage throughout the playoffs.

Chris Paul has been amazing, James Harden has been even better.  Unanimous MVP better.  In fact, if Harden doesn't win the MVP this year the award is a farce.  And I say that as someone who's not traditionally been a fan of "the Beard" in the past.

For all of the concern surrounding his hiring head coach Mike D'Antoni has done a masterful job crafting this deep roster, built by GM Daryl Morey, into a currently unstoppable force.

The only question remaining now is whether or not they can continue this charge when the games really matter, in the playoffs against quality teams when something is actually on the line.

James Harden doesn't have that bullet point on his resume yet, none of these players do.

It has to be frustrating though to realize that, no matter how good you're doing, the bulk of sports interest in Houston is going to be focused on the worst team in the city.  A brief listen to Houston sports talk radio this morning revealed the bozos at 610 talking about JJ Watt's trade value, and 790 (The Rockets flagship station) airing Josh Innes who only talks about himself while making borderline racist comments to try and drive controversy, and listeners.

As good of a time as it is to be an Astros or Rockets fan it's equally as frustrating because of the 800 lb gorilla in the room.

In even a mediocre sports town coverage of the Astros in Spring Training and the Rockets beating all comers would dominate the sports news landscape. In Houston we get talk about whether or not the Texans will pursue free agents who might have knelt during the National Anthem or not.

Blech.

To the credit of the Houston Chronicle and the TV stations, at least they're covering Houston's two best teams. Although there's precious little coverage of the Houston Cougars men's basketball team, who is a shoo-in to make the NCAA dance and my dark horse team to win the AAC tournament.

But, I digress.....

As the regular season winds down the playoffs in Houston have the potential to be really, really fun. IF the Rockets and Warriors take care of business (and they should) their match-up in the Western Conference Finals might be looked back on as the REAL NBA Finals. The Raptors and Celtics might have something to say about that bur, for right now, it appears that the Rockets and Warriors are the class of the league.

It's just too bad that few in Houston realize this.

The rise (and fall) of the National Basketball Association

On July 4th Kevin Durant, presumably via a  ghost-writer in the The Player's Tribune, announced to all interested that he was taking his talents to Oakland.  To be more specific, Golden State, where he will join with current NBA MVP Stephon Curry, Draymond Green and Klay Thompson to form one of the most formidable starting line-ups the league has ever seen.

This is "Dream Team" stuff, stuff that has already caused the line-makers to move the Warriors' 2017 title odds to 4/5, a ridiculously low number this far out.

Call it "LeBron II" except that Durant had no ties to Oklahoma City, he was born and grew up in California before going to college at UT-Austin. Durant still lives in LA during the off-season, when he's not hanging in the Hamptons that is.

I don't say any of this to disparage Kevin Durant. He made a choice that he feels provides him with silly money (somewhere around $54 Million over two years) and provides him with the best chance of winning a championship ring (something he has yet to do).  All of the other stuff about "player development" and "becoming better" is just a smokescreen. He, like most people, wants to succeed and get paid for doing it.

This, of course, has the media in somewhat of a tizzy. There is nothing more frustrating to a sports writer making five figures than having to opine on an athlete making eight.  While we're not in the bad old days of Richard Justice thinking he was more important than the game itself, the decline of the media industry covering sports has largely mirrored the decline in media as a whole. But that's a tale for another time.

What's important to know here is that all of the media talking heads, yes, all of them, are getting the story 100% wrong.

The problem is not that Kevin Durant decided to not "compete" (as he so famously admonished others for not doing in 2010) but rather that there are too many slots on rosters and not enough quality players to fill them.

Right now the NBA is top-heavy. You have Golden State, Cleveland (amazingly), San Antonio and?

Who?

For a little bit the Oklahoma City Thunder looked like they might be the next 'big' thing but they are now imploding under the weight of "decision II" and what they are going to do with Russell Westbrook.  The OKC fans have been loyal to the Thunder, but they've never been asked to go through a rebuilding process. This will be new to them and will be a test of whether or not they can sustain a fan-base without deep playoff runs.

The Houston Rockets had a cup of coffee in the big-four, but then flamed out against Golden State two years ago before going down in an ego-fueled, flaming mess this year, before Dwight Howard walked away taking much of the blame with him, unfairly I might add.

As for the rest? Atlanta is young, and they might have had something to build on, but they just lost their best player and will surely take a step back. Memphis just signed walking blue-jean model Chandler Parsons to a max deal for Chrissakes.

Of the former powerhouse teams the Lakers are hot garbage, the Kincks are building a team that would have been a monster in 2007 while the Celtics scuttle around the fringes, adding a piece here, losing a piece there, but never seeming to make the move that will get them back in title contention.

The reason most teams cannot make that move is because there aren't enough good players out there to fill the rosters.  This means that a lot of mediocre players are getting huge free agent deals because, the thinking goes, the teams have to spend the money on someone.

Again, I don't begrudge the players their money.  While a charmed life the NBA is also a short life. All professional athletes face this problem. You make what money you can when you can and hopefully set yourself up for life after the league. If you can string together a coherent sentence, maybe you transition to the announce booth, or the analyst's studio.

Players getting paid is not the problem.

The problem is that there are too many teams, and not enough quality players to fill all of the roster spots. This leads to a hollowing out of competitiveness past the top tier and gives rise to spectacles like Daryl Morey's prostituting of the Rockets to Chris freaking Bosh two times to no avail. It means that some guys who shouldn't be fogging an NBA mirror are, and fans are forced to watch Anderson França Varejão flop around like a fish on a boat deck.

Eventually, this TV money train is going to dry up. It has to because TV viewers are going elsewhere. Sure, there will be something to replace it, but in most cases the Internet has ALWAYS been cheaper than what it replaced, and it appears the future of entertainment is going to be streaming.

If we continue to blame the players, as the media is doing, then we're going to risk returning back to the bad old days when the players got peanuts and several wealthy owners provided flat Champagne when titles were clinched.  What we need is retraction, by all of the leagues.  And while I realize the thought of your city losing their team is unpleasant, I would also forward that if your team is one on the chopping block you're probably not all that invested in them anyway.  At least not enough to actually attend games.

For selfish reasons, I'll go first,  You can have the Houston Texans NFL, take them back.

And give me back my Sundays with four or five game options on TV without having to subscribe to Dish Network and buy your overpriced Sunday Ticket.  One caveat though:  JJ Watt has to go to San Francisco.  This is non-negotiable.

Next.

Back in the saddle: A hodge-podge of things.

So I took a little time off from the sports blogging.  Not that I haven't been watching, I have, I just haven't felt the need to write about it much.  A lot of things have happened however since I last wrote about anything on February 11th.

Let's take a look.

March Madness: Believe it or not, the University of Houston is squarely on the bubble. If you would have asked me if they could be after the horrible loss to Grand Canyon I would have laughed.  But Kelvin Sampson is a heck of a coach and has the team playing pretty good basketball right now.  A deep run in the AAC tournament and they might not want to tune-out on Selection Sunday.

Speaking of, LSU with Ben Simmons is a candidate for the team that wasted a generational talent (again). Not only are they clearly in danger of missing the Tournament but this will most-likely be Simmons one and done year with the team.

Maryland is probably the most talented team in the country.  However, they also are the worst coached, and worst mental team in the country.  Because of that I see them falling out of the tournament in the first two rounds.

The SEC is a 3-bid league but they're going to get more because of who they are.

Don't talk to me about how good the Big XII is.  Until someone can beat Kansas for the conference title then they are the Big One and the Little Nine.

Saw this yesterday and it's a good question:  So far this year Jim Nantz has not been on the call for one college basketball game.  Despite this he's going to be CBS' lead announcer for the Tournament.

Houston Rockets: Finally gave up on Ty Lawson, the team is still not very good. I will say this again. If you're a Rockets fan then you want them to miss the playoffs.  Also, it's time to start asking the tough questions of Daryl Morey.

Houston Texans:  I saw today that Robert Griffin III was released by the Redskins.  There will be a call to bring him to Houston.  There's also a call to sign Brock Osweiler. If I had my druthers I'd take RG III over Osweiler.  People forget that RGIII was pretty good before he got caught up in injuries and the Gruden mess.  Better yet, you can probably get him for cheap so sign Osweiler, sign RGIII and let the two of them compete in camp.  That would free up a draft pick (that GM Rick Smith would waste by overreaching into a weak QB class anyway) to shore up the many, many other holes in the Texans roster.

Of course, they're not going to do this so welcome to Houston Christian Hackenberg.

On that note: Houston Chronicle NFL writer John McClain has the Texans taking Paxton Lynch with the 22nd pick in the 1st round. (Texans beat-writer Aaron Wilson has them taking Emmanuel Ogbah, DE-OSU at that slot.) Typically McClain's first mock draft is a thinly veiled attempt to troll Texans fans.  This time however I think he might have opened up with what will be his final prediction.  I've seen Lynch go all over the board however and I don't think he'll be available at 22.  Wilson's pick is just bizarre.  Even after a strong combine Ogbah is considered a late 2nd/early 3rd round prospect who has little explosiveness, and a questionable motor.

I haven't put my first round mock draft together but it's sure as heck not going to include the Texans taking Ogbah.


Houston Dynamo: I haven't watched many Dynamo games.  In fact, I don't watch much M(inor) League Soccer at all.  When you're used to watching the International leagues the pace of play is glacial, the skill is sub-par and the tactics are basic.  I don't care what US apologists like Alexi Lalas and Taylor Twellman say, the product is poor.  I feel that the closed league system that the MLS employs leads to that.  While promotion/relegation isn't a be all/end all fix for US Soccer it is one step in the right direction.

That said, after watching the opener vs. the New England Revolution on Sunday I won't be wasting much more time watching this team.  Horrible defense, shoddy goal keeping and uninspired mid-field and offensive play?  I'll watch the BPL, La Liqa and Serie A thank you very much.


UFC: I'm finding this fight promotion to be more and more unwatchable every event.  The staged fights at the press conferences/weigh-ins are getting stale and the entire event feels more like a side-show than a serious combat sports event.  This makes sense when you realize that UFC President Dana White is nothing more than a glorified carnival barker.

And it's not just the trash talk, I like it as much as the next guy, it's the predictability of the run-up to the fights now.  Also, McGregor jumped up two weight classes to fight a mid-range guy at 170. It's a loss that he never should have had to take.

Now that Holm has lost to Miesha Tate White has already come out and said that Rousey gets the first shot at Tate.  Why?  Let's have Rousey/Holm II and the winner of that gets Tate for the belt. Just another example of Dana White playing favorites and politics with the championships.

I'm done with them.  Back to boxing, which has it's flaws but which owns them, and doesn't try to act like they don't exist.


And finally......

Houston Astros: Big hopes this year.  Early on the pitching is struggling a little bit but the bats appear to be better than last year.  Like most in Houston I'm hoping to get a full year of Correa/Sprinter/Altuve healthy and just ripping the cover off of the ball.

Houston Rockets: Time to Blow the team up.

You might want to start with James Harden....

'Broken' Rockets limp into All-Star break. Jonathan Feigen, HoustonChronicle.com ($$$)

When asked how the Rockets could regroup, he left it at "Good question.
"Just not willing to help each other out; that's all it is," Harden said of the issues. "Everything, both ends of the floor. That's what team is."

Except that, Harden does not, never has, play anything resembling defense.  So when you talk about needing to play as a "team" it's pretty funny hearing that come from a guy whose the primary culprit.

Last year the team got lucky as they took advantage of a league that was in transition. The Spurs didn't have a great year, LeBron and the Cavs had injuries, Miami was rebuilding, Kobe was injured and the Warriors didn't yet realize just how good they were.

This year, things are different. The Warriors and Spurs are heads and shoulders better than everyone else, Portland, the Clippers, The Grizzlies have all gotten better than Houston, and Oklahoma City is playing healthy. Add to that mix a Jazz team that's young, and possessing of some talent, and you have more than the hapless, 'broken', Houston Rockets are able to overcome.

In the history of "Moneyball" there have always been questions as to whether or not you can truly build a championship team turning a blind eye toward team chemistry.  The Rockets and making it appear that you cannot.

It's past time to blow this team up and start over.

Make no mistake about it though, this should be GM Daryl Morey's last chance.

Houston Rockets: Firing McHale is putting a band-aid on the cancer (But it might help)

Yahoo! News' excellent NBA reporter, Adrian Wojnarowski, broke the news today:

Rockets part ways with coach Kevin McHale. Adrian Wojnarowski, Yahoo! Sports

After struggling to a 4-7 start to the season, the Houston Rockets parted ways with coach Kevin McHale on Wednesday morning, league sources told Yahoo Sports.

Leaving the Houston Chronicle Rockets beat reporters to try and provide "additional details" in order to appear as if they're providing something:

Rockets fire Kevin McHale. Reid Laymance. Chron.com

The Rockets decided that McHale, who coached the team to the Western Conference finals last season, had lost the locker room and the team didn’t want to fall farther behind in the West, a person familiar with the team’s thinking said.

As is often the case in Chron "breaking" sports stories, the comments of the story are more revealing than the article itself.

BosVas Guest

@eldorado1952
Yeah, what Curiostom2 said. Ty Lawson said that McHale would call in a defensive play and the players would ignore it and do something else. That means that McHale lost his player's respect.

While the Rocket's issues go far deeper than McHale, it appears that his firing was the only direction the team could go after starting the season 4-7, which included four straight, blowout, losses where the team looked horrible.

While this feels like a Band-Aid on the cancer, it might have some, short-term, benefit.  The overriding problem is that the Rockets' current roster is underperforming, lacks focus, and might not be everything that it was last year.

James Harden - My biggest complaint about Harden is that he is a one side of the court player. He frequently gets mocked for his lack of defense and he's known more, this year, for being a bit-player in the Kardashian drama than he is for playing good basketball. Last year Harden was a legitimate MVP contender, this year he's not even playing well enough to garner consideration for sixth-man of the year. Even those players are expected to bring offense.

Ty Lawson - Lawson was heralded as the point guard the Rockets were missing. Instead he's been a low effort guy with poor shooting who appears to have been a driving force in the locker room against McHale. Prior to his time with the Rockets, Lawson was the best player on bad teams. It's very rare that players like that add much to good teams since they are accustomed to losing often.

Trevor Ariza - To date, his most significant contribution to the team is to repeatedly say that the team needs to try harder while showing no evidence that he is doing so himself. Last year he was a key cog in a team that made a deep playoff run. This year he's a below average 3-point shooter who is also a low-effort guy.

Corey Brewer - Brewer got paid in the off-season and he's playing like a player who has lost his drive.  Again, I think he has talent but the effort isn't there.

And finally, the area of biggest concern....

Dwight Howard - There are signs that Howard is not playing bad because of poor effort, but because his injuries are catching up to him. Of all the players on this list Howard is the most concerning. Because it doesn't appear what's ailing his game can be fixed with just more effort. Howard looks slow, lumbering, and out-of-sorts on the court and observers are worried that it's due to his many injuries. Howard has never been a high-motor guy, but as a low-motor center who's already limited offensively and who's body is starting to show severe signs that the tires are balding there's real cause for concern here.

New interim head coach J.B. Bickerstaff has been handed a job with a flawed roster whose stars are either distracted (Harden) or possibly at the end of their career (Howard). All in all it's a team that doesn't seem to have any focus, or drive to play a complete game.

Still, the Rockets are only 11 games in to a 82 game season so there's a possibility that things can turn around. Getting the players to run the plays the coach calls would be a marked improvement, and signs that firing McHale was the right thing to do.

Still, with this roster of low-motor players there needs to be some questions resurfacing as to the personnel decisions being made by GM Darryl Morey.  Last year it appeared that his plan was sound and that all of the naysayers (raises hand) were making accusations not based on reality.  Even I turned around and stated that he had done a great job building last year's roster, that the team was playing great ball, had gelled, and that good things were in the future.

This year, unlike prior years, I still think Morey has the right plan. I think the Rockets have the talent in place to make a playoff run but the one thing that neither Morey, or Bickerstaff, is going to be able to give them is drive. Last year they seemed to find it, but that team is a distant memory.

If the Rockets can find their drive, and if Howard's body is not as deteriorated as I fear, if Harden can remember that he's a basketball player first (and can survive the Kardashian athlete curse) then I think the Rockets can turn it around.

If not?  Well then we're back to "In Morey we Trust" as the GM will have to start the rebuilding process all over again because the window slammed shut on the current group faster than expected. What Houston is hoping to avoid is deja vu all over again, as we've recently seen how fast things can fall apart with the 2012/2013 Houston Texans.

 

  

 

LeBron vs. Jordan: A moot point really.

These are questions asked by those with no real sense of history.

My top 5 would read as follows:

1. Wilt Chamberlin
2. Michael Jordon
3. Bill Russell
4. LeBron James
5. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar

I have 100% confidence that you will 100% disagree with my rankings, and that's OK. You probably also disagree with Peter King's atrocious pre-season power rankings. The difference is my rankings are, to some extent, well thought out (and I can justify them with numbers) while King's rankings are an attempt by SI's football transcriber to generate page views.

My point is this.  Both Jordan and LeBron are undeniably great players. Once you get into the top 5 of all time you're dealing with the complicating factors of position, era, and supporting cast. This is doubly true when you bring in the red-herring that is championships.

While I do believe that championships play a role in determining a player's overall greatness it's not as big of a role as other factors. This is doubly true when you are discussing team sports.  Is there any doubt that the Celtics would have won all of the championships they did had Chamberlin been their center over Russell? Had LeBron the supporting cast (and coaching) that Jordon enjoyed do you not think he would be sniffing 5 (or six) championships at this point?

For me, Wilt Chamberlin is clearly the best NBA player ever. What he did in terms of points scored and changing the game is unrivalled. Jordon is a clear second for the same reasons.  Bill Russell is 3rd in my opinion not only based on the fact that he won it all 11 times, but he was also a five-time League MVP and was the dominating defensive force of his time.  LeBron is currently at 4, but could move up if  he continues at his current pace. The one that I struggle with is Abdul-Jabbar.  He was undoubtedly a great center who played on some great Lakers teams. He surpassed Chamberlin as a point-scorer but I never felt like he fundamentally changed the game.  He also had the honor of playing with the number 6 player on my list, Ervin "Magic" Johnson.

So, after the top 5, my bottom five looks like this:

6. Ervin "Magic" Johnson
7. Hakeem Olajuwon
8. Larry Bird
9. Moses Malone
10. George Mikan

Your mileage may vary.

Houston Rockets: About that heart transplant.

I've never been more happy to be proven wrong, but right at the same time.

Yup, I said it.

Houston Rockets: The Thing that needs to be said. Me, SLAM

They're done, barring something changing in the mental make-up of this team. They can talk as much as they want about "backs against the wall" and "being back in our house" all they want. Lest we forget the win that they had at home required some of the most curious officiating of the series. Game 1?  Well, it was a blowout as well. I don't see any way this Rockets team beat the Clippers 3 games in a row. Barring a heart transplant that is.

Apparently, they had that transplant completed and it appears that they swapped with the Clippers in games 5, 6 and 7.  It was eerily similar to the Phoenix series in which a totally different Rockets team went and did the same thing.

I'm a firm believer in never saying never. You always leave yourself an out. After game 5 I was still unimpressed, thinking that the Clippers would rise up at home and put us all out of our misery.  Then the unthinkable happened. It was the Clippers who just quit.  And then, in game 7, they quit again.

Meanwhile the Rockets played with heart and drive and did everything they needed to in order to win the series and face the daunting puzzle that is Golden State and Curry.

The opening line on that series is Golden State -850 with the Rockets coming back at +575.

Despite everything that happened in the previous series I think that line is about right. During the regular season the Rockets were not competitive against the Warriors and I'm unsure if they match-up with the 1st seed well enough to ask the questions they need to ask.

All that said, at that value, I like the Rockets pick here.  If they do win however they're going to have to steal one in Sacramento and hold-serve at home. That's a hard task against a team that's looking all the world like the next champions.

Still, the Rockets have a strong beating heart now, that means a lot.

Houston Rockets: The Thing that needs to be said.

They. Quit.

Behind all of the hand-wringing and philosophizing about what went wrong with the Houston Rockets over the last two games (30 and 33 point blowouts to the Clippers) the elephant in the room is that, in the 2nd half of both games, the team just flat out quit.

Yes, Kevin McHale is a strategic liability, and yes both DeAndre Jordan and Blake Griffin have been killing the Rockets with great inside play.  But isn't that why the Rockets went out and obtained the services of Dwight Howard, to put a damper on great inside play?  And what, last night, did Howard do? He found a way to get himself ejected from the game. 

That's quitting, any way you look at it.

In the past I've been hard on James Harden because he scores points, but forgets that there's another, equally important, half of the game. On defense a disengaged James Harden is a liability to the Rockets. He's been a defensive liability this entire series. He's playing closer now to "sixth man of the year" status than he is anywhere near the 2nd place finisher in the MVP balloting.  If you had to revote right now would Harden even be in your top 5?  Probably not.

The Rockets are the basketball equivalent of a Lindt Chocolate Truffle. They have a seemingly hard exterior which, once cracked, exposes a silky soft interior. The thing is, it's not all that hard to break through the shell if you're a good team.

The Dallas Mavericks were not a good team. They were led by a rapidly aging Nowitzki, a 2nd-tier scorer in Monte Ellis and a male fashion model masquerading as an NBA player in Chandler Parsons. The 1st round win, and the breathless analysis that the Rockets had "progressed" from last year because of it, is nothing more than fool's gold. Had the Rockets played the Spurs instead of the Mavericks it would have been San Antonio and the Clippers going at it in Round 2. It would have been a much better series as well.

It was a brain-dead moment on the last day of the season by the Spurs that prevented that from happening. If anything, this proves that the regular NBA season still has importance, but it means nothing in terms of a team's chances of winning a championship. To win one of those, you need heart. And the Rockets desperately need a transplant. Stat.

I've no doubt that head coach Kevin McHale is going to take the lion's share of the blame for this. And that share is well deserved. At times against the Clippers he has seemed clueless about what needs to be done to turn this train-wreck around. It's very clear that, from an X's and O's perspective, he's not only overmatched but, against the top coaches, he's not even playing the same game. I think the Rockets need to seriously consider making a change in the off-season.

Some of the blame needs to be laid at the feet of GM Daryl Morey as well. While I'm a fan of Sabremetrics and the statistical approach it takes to building a roster, I also think that it needs to be blended with the human factor as well. A team needs competitors, and the Rockets have few. It's OK to have Dwight Howard and James Harden on your roster leading the team provided you have another leader who has the desire, and strength of will, to herd the cats when things start turning South. The Rockets thought that Terry would be that veteran, but he doesn't play a big enough roll to matter.

Hard core fans will point to the fact that Beverly and D-Mo are out with injuries. That's true. But would a middle of the pack NBA point guard and below-average small forward really do much to change the dynamics of the series?  Not as long as the big two decide to open up a can of quit when things get dicey.

If anything, the Game 4 result reminded us that the window for this Rocket's team has always been very narrow, and it's closing in a hurry.  Early rumors are that the Mavericks are going after LaMarcus Aldridge, which would make them a much more formidable team next year. A legitimate playoff contender. Something they weren't this year. Golden State has Steph Curry, Cleveland is still out there with King James and the Bulls are looking like a team on the come. We still haven't mentioned the Clippers, whose time might be THIS year the way they are playing.

And the Rockets?

They're done, barring something changing in the mental make-up of this team. They can talk as much as they want about "backs against the wall" and "being back in our house" all they want. Lest we forget the win that they had at home required some of the most curious officiating of the series. Game 1?  Well, it was a blowout as well. I don't see any way this Rockets team beat the Clippers 3 games in a row. Barring a heart transplant that is.

Here's the 2nd point:  If your team rolls over and plays dead, TWICE, then you as a fan are under no obligation to keep with them. They quit, you quit. It really is that simple. "Wait until next year!" is a perfectly acceptable rallying cry.

Because of that I'm going to be spending my Tuesday evening watching the sure to be more entertaining Game 7 between the Capitals and the Rangers in the NHL. For the Rockets, I'm taking the Missouri approach:


Show me.

The Biggest Sports Weekend (EVER!) that was.

If you're a fan of sports, then waking up on Monday might feel like somewhat of a downer after Saturday. There's obviously a LOT to cover but let's give it the once-over shall we?

1. Draft "grades" are stupid. Mainly because you're attempting to grade something without knowing whether or not any of the players drafted are going to play or not.  What we should be doing, right now, is grading the 2011 drafts of the teams. Those are the drafts whose rookie contracts are getting ready to roll off and we have a good idea how the teams did.

2. American Pharoah is now the only horse to have a shot at the Triple Crown. That said, were I his owners I'd run him in the Preakness, and then give him some time off to rest for the Fall card, including the season-ending Breeder's Cup.  With all of the big races later in the season running a 3 year old a mile and a half (a distance it's probably never going to run again) on the heels of two tough races does more to damage a horse in the long-run than help it. Oh, and the Woodford Reserve Turf Stakes was one of the better horse races you'll ever see.

3. MayPac was, unsurprisingly, not the super-fight of the Century that it was hyped to be. Mayweather is a smart man. He waited until Pacquiao was incapable of doing the things he needed to do in order to win the fight, before he agreed to fight him. Instead of two of the best pound-for-pound fighters slugging it out, we got a typical Mayweather dance that was overpriced, and left people with a bad taste in their mouths.

I do think that this could signal the beginning of the end of the pay-per-view era of professional boxing.  And good riddance.  As Al Hayman's Premier Boxing Champions series continues to prove: the best boxing matches could, and should, be fought on Network TV.  Also given that Showtime boxing has elevated its status to become a true challenger to HBO and you have several outlets where the biggest fights can occur, on free TV or tiered cable.  Charging $100 (or even more ridiculously, $30/head time capacity at a bar) effectively priced a large percentage of the population out of the watching the fight live. I refused to buy the PPV, and my local bar (which typically carries all of the fights) elected to not pay the exorbitant fees.  As such, I followed the fight on Twitter. I'll DVR it when either HBO or Showtime airs it on their networks and feel like I haven't missed out on anything.

4. Clippers vs. Spurs - Game 7 What was initially threatened to be overshadowed by the "other" events of the weekend ultimately turned out to be the best event of them all. This was a classic basketball game with two teams throwing haymakers at the end, and with Chris Paul, limping around on one hamstring, ultimately sinking a beautiful shot to clinch the win for the LA team.

It was also a heroic last stand for what was one of the greatest NBA runs of all time for the Spurs, who will undoubtedly have to consider finally admitting that Duncan and Ginobli are aging players and will begin the process of drastically altering their roster going forward. If you missed this game to watch the horrid undercard for MayPac, you really lost out.

All of that and I still haven't mentioned the Stanley Cup Playoffs or the fact that the Houston Astros are currently playing out of their minds. I also didn't mention that Rory McIlroy is pretty good.

All in all it was a great weekend to be a sports fan. One of the better ones in recent memory.

Houston Rockets: Dreams of Hope and Glory come crashing down.

As the Rockets emerge from their horrible, no-good, disaster of a start to the free agent season it's tempting to say while the team has regressed there are still some options for the team to improve but doing so requires taking the secretarial path and ignoring the fact that Morey has taken the team down this road before.

In fact, it's probable that what we're seeing now are the inevitable results of having a General Manager who cannot quit tinkering with the team despite himself. There was a school of thought that suggested the Rockets could move Lin and Asik, wait on the Parsons decision and spend the off-season shoring up the point and the bench. This would have been the prudent pathway, and would have improved the team, but it wouldn't go very far in the way of scratching Morey's seemingly unreachable itch for big FA signings.

So, for now, the Rockets are re-visiting a previous mistake (Ariza), admitting they made a mistake on two previous "big splash" FA signings (Lin, Asik) and are left scratching their heads as Mark Cuban and the Dallas Mavericks pulled a Daryl Morey on Daryl Morey.  Hardly something befitting Morey's media-generated reputation as the "smartest guy in the room".

In their current iteration, the Rockets appear to have regressed. Where last year they finished the season as a four-seed (who flamed out in the first round of the playoffs) this season, with this roster, they appear to be headed toward a sixth-or-seventh (or even eighth) seed and another first round playoff dismissal. At least, for now, the East seems to have benefitted the most from the movement of off-season talent while the West figures to have stayed mostly pat.

One thing that has not received a lot of run among the so-called "smart-set" in the Houston media is whether or not Houston is setting itself up for return of the Dwight-mare.  Given that Lin, Parsons and Dwight were tight and that Morey has destroyed that core by first dissing Lin and then letting Parsons walk raises the real potential that Howard could once again decide that he's not happy in his current situation and move to get out.

It doesn't seem, a this point, that Howard is all that thrilled to be sharing the court with James "Sixth Man" Harden and I can't see him being happy with an off-season that's currently the equivalent of trading Asik, Lin, Parsons and a 2nd round pick for Ariza.  Even if the Rockets can trade for Rondo, is he really all that much of an upgrade over Patrick Beverley given this team, and this line-up? As an individual talent yes, but in McHale's scheme I don't think Rondo move the needle all that much, possibly lifting the Rockets to a potential fifth or sixth seed at best.

More concerning is the fact that the laundry list of Morey failures is getting long. From Lin to Asik to Bosh (twice) to Anthony to (amazingly) LeBron to Parsons to Ariza (again?) to Royce White to a host of draft picks and free agents that seem overvalued by Morey and undervalued by everyone else the Rockets appear to be a ship that's listing along minus the engine of discipline.

There's no doubt that Morey is a smart man and that he can, at times, come out the best in a deal against another General Manager. However, there is significant doubt as to whether or not this same man has the discipline and long-term planning that's required to build a championship team.

The NBA Rumor Mill: The only certainty is that nobody knows.

And so it has started, breathless reports that LeBron James could be taking his talents back to Cleveland have started the annual NBA silly-season with a bang. Of course, King James hasn't met with the Heat yet nor has their been any word as to what the man himself is thinking so take all of this with a grain of salt.

Also comes word that the Rockets, having lost out on Kyle Lowry, seemingly out of the LeBron sweepstakes and having nothing the Timberwolves want in return for Kevin Love are recreating the embarrassing courtship of Chris Bosh that is eerily similar to their spectacle of 4 years prior. This after rolling out the red carpet for Carmelo Anthony and..... by all accounts getting soundly rebuffed.

Despite some well deserved praise of Rocket's General Manager Daryl Morey, the fact remains he's too much a gambler and tends to chase the brass ring despite the fact it's firmly on someone else's finder.

That's the point of the NBA free-agency season however. Despite all of the rumors and projections of players leaving for greener pastures, the NBA rules are made to ensure player stability.  Both the Bird rule and the increased max offers that current teams are allowed to write usually ensure that movement is minimal.

So as we approach July 10th, the date when signings are allowed to happen, let's remember one thing: Most of the rumors you are hearing are false.  If anything, the media has developed a system that's designed primarily to fill air.

In reality, there is NO movement on any of these stories, no rumors or change of teams that mean anything.  We won't know where the players are headed until the day they can sign a contract.

I would suggest tuning out until then.

The NBA Playoffs

As promised, here are my playoff picks for the Association:

Round 1:

Western Conference:

San Antonio (1) vs. Dallas (8) - I haven't seen anyone credible picking a Dallas upset. San Antonio in 5.

Houston(4) vs. Portland(5) - I really enjoy watching this Rockets team. Given that injuries are an unknown I'm taking them in 6. 

Los Angeles Clippers(3) vs. Golden State(6) - Ironically, I think the Clippers would have gone deeper in the playoffs had they fallen to four.  Clippers in 5.

Oklahoma City(2) vs. Memphis(7) - OKC is one of my favorite teams to watch right now. Thunder in 4.

Eastern Conference:

Indiana(1) vs. Atlanta(8) - One of the weakest #1 seeds in recent memory.  If only Atlanta were stronger I'd pull the trigger on the upset. Pacers in 7.

Chicago(4) vs. Washington(5) - To see just how BAD the Eastern Conference is this year compare this matchup with the same seeds in the Western.  No matter who wins, we all lose. Chicago in 6.

Toronto(3) vs. Brooklyn(6) - Not a believer in Jason Kidd. Give me the Raptors in 5.

Miami(2) vs. Charlotte(7) - At some point the Heat are going to turn it on right?  Miami in 4.


Round 2:

Western Conference:

San Antonio(1) vs. Houston(4) - This is a match-up call. I like the Rockets in 6.

Los Angeles Clippers(3) vs. Oklahoma City(2) - Had the Clippers played San Antonio in the 2nd round, I'd pick the upset.  Against OKC?  Thunder in 7.

Eastern Conference:

Indiana(1) vs. Chicago(4) - Indiana is a mess, Chicago is not that good. I'll take not that good over a mess in 6.

Miami(2) vs. Toronto(3) - Every fiber of my being wants to take Toronto here except one, my brain and memory.  Miami in 7.

Conference Finals:

Western Conference:

Oklahoma City(2) vs. Rockets(4) - Here's where the Rocket runs out of fuel. Horrible match-up and OKC is just a better team. Thunder in 6.

Western Conference:

Miami(2) vs. Chicago(4) - Easy. Heat in 5.

NBA Finals:

Oklahoma City vs. Miami - Yes, we've seen this before and yes, people are going to be saying it's the Heat again.  I'm not so sure.  This OKC team is better than the team in 2012 and they seem to have answered the loss of Hardin.  Give me Oklahoma City in 7 games.