Los Angeles

The Clippers are a very good team, they are much improved over last year especially with Chris Paul in the lineup. The only problem for me is this media driven frenzy. They are treating the Clippers in the same manner of the Heat and neither has won nothing. "Lob City" headlines and "Battle of Los Angeles" to me is all media hype and media driven. If the two teams don't like the other that's okay, they represent the same city but that's all they have in common. The teams are mortal "enemies" and that makes this rivalry that much better. They occupy the same arena but Clipper fans are not Laker fans and vice-versa. The Clippers can keep Billy Crystal we have Jack Nicholson! One of these teams is not like the other. One of these teams has won 17 NBA Championships and the other 0, can you guess which one?

 

I know my bias is showing

CBS Sports.com contained a list of Player of the Year Candidates. It contained the usual suspects, KU's Thomas Robinson, Ohio State's Jared Sullinger and several others. I scanned the list for Marcus Denmon or Ricardo Ratliffe's name but neither was listed. I also saw a list for coach of the year and guess whose name was omitted? We have no idea how the balance of the season will turn out, but for now I think Mizzou has exceeded expectations.

 

In good hands

The above was once the motto of an insurance company but it could be applied to several NBA teams. I've made note the lack of quality play at the center position. In fact I once mentioned with Shaq's retirement we are down to two good post men, Dwight Howard and Andrew Bynum. On the other hand we are witness to a succession of quality point guards coming into the NBA. Naturally we are speculating on the rookies but it appears they are moderate successful in bridging the gap from college to the NBA. The Cavs Kyrie Irving, the Wolves Ricky Rubio and the Bobcats Kimba Walker are playing major minutes for their respective teams, other rookies are the Knicks Iman Shumpert and Norris Cole of the Heat. Youth will be served, the Nuggets have 3rd year man Ty Lawson at the helm, 2nd year speed merchant John Wall guides the Wiz. MVP Derrick Rose and Tyreke Evans are in their 3rd year in the NBA. Evans and Shumpert are playing the point currently for the Kings and Knicks however they may become two guards in the near future. There are other youthful point guards, Mike Conley of the Griz in his 4th year and D.J. Augustin of the Bobcats in his 3rd year. As you see this changing of the guard is "real" change at the one. How successful will the others be, can the Lakers Darius Morris assume the point for them replacing 37-year old Derrick Fisher? What about Jimmer Fredette, will he transcend to the role of a point guard in the future for the Kings? Fredette was a do-all guard in college who could flat out shoot. These are but few of the young point guards who are providing leadership for their respective teams while others are in waiting to assume the role.

 

The east side of the state

There is good basketball team on the east side of the state of Missouri, this is probably know to but a few on this side of the state. Distance might be a contributing factor. Columbia and Springfield are nearer to us than metro St. Louis. Television plays a role too, on this side of the state we can view all Mizzou games and a significant number of Missouri State games. Occasionally a Billiken game might be picked up on this side but there is no regularity. The Saint Louis University Billikens are 13-3 as this is written. Currently they sit atop the Atlantic 10 standings and probably must be considered the conference favorite. The Billikens coach is Rick Majerus, I'm sure the name might be familiar to most of you. Majerus was the longtime coach at Utah from 1989-2004, he's been at SLU since 2007 rebuilding this university basketball program. Criticism is good but I think it's only good when serving a purpose. One writer stated little if any attention would be paid to this program if not for it's well known coach. That type of statement is certainly not fair to the roster of SLU players, there are good college players spread throughout the nation several are at SLU.

 

Has age finally caught them

Laker Haters love to tease me about the "old" Lakers. They might be old but their key players and reserves don't have the mileage of the Celtics. On this story come back in the spring if I'm wrong. I thought the trio of Celtics had one more championship run in them. Unfortunately it does not appear to be the case, they look old, and even worse they are slow. Ray Allen is 36, Kevin Garnett 35, Jermaine O'Neal 33 while Paul Pierce is 33. Rajon Rondo is the baby of the bunch at age 25. Keep in mind Garnett, O'Neal and Pierce have played major minutes over the course of their careers. Garnett and O'Neal both both came directly from high school into the NBA, Pierce left KU after his junior year for the NBA. Their combo of players have quite a bit of mileage on their knees and legs from the regular season and the playoffs. The balance of the roster is comprised of twenty-something players. They could field a younger team but certainly not one any NBA team would fear.