The Lakers convincing win over the Celtics to end Boston’s 19 game winning streak was the highlight of the Christmas basketball action, but there was more to take note of as well. San Antonio’s last second win over the Suns was further proof that San Antonio’s bad start was just a blip on their path to the same predictability dull dependability that they have become known for. Cleveland won yet again, but they had to work way too hard to get past the lousy Wizards. Dallas looked very convincing against the Blazers. The Mavs are another Texas team that has turned things around after a forgettable start. Most surprising, though, was Orlando’s win over New Orleans. Orlando didn’t look like they were working very hard, yet they crushed the Hornets and totally shut down Chris Paul.
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I am clearly a curse of death for any college basketball team. Without a word of exaggeration, my plan for tonight was sit down and write a piece about Syracuse basketball. With a win tonight over Cleveland State they would be 10-0 for the first time in a long time, and their combination of talent, outstanding coaching and expectations tempered by a tough conference set them up very well as a sleeper in my book. It was going to be good. But then I fired up my computer, looked at the scoreboard, and felt my heart sink. See, Syracuse was favored by 10.5 at home over Cleveland State, but they forgot to show up and lost to a late three pointer. That’s yet another team to add to the list of teams that flounder and fall as soon as I jump on the bandwagon. The loss could be worse for Syracuse, I guess – Cleveland State was only 6-4 coming into the game, but they had been well tested, with games against teams like West Virginia, Butler, Kansas State and Washington under their belts. They were a perfect 0-4 against that group, though, so there really wasn’t an excuse. I obviously don’t think that this is reason enough to write of Syracuse, but they have a bit to prove before I believe in them again.
Amazing how close the Heisman was. Fitting. The only shame is that Graham Harrell wasn’t more competitive. He had a lousy game, but a heck of a season.
I have noticed a trend this year – I watch a college basketball game, get impressed by the team playing, write nice things about them, then they go out and get beat at their earliest possible opportunity. First Duke, and now Gonzaga. Arizona looked very good in the win. As a service to all of you, I will be sure to let you know what games I watch as soon as I watch them so you can fade who I like.
A couple of very interesting things showed up in the news today, and both have a significant impact on my out look of the teams involved:
1. Steve Nash and the Jason Richardson trade. On paper, Richardson makes the Suns better. There’s an interesting angle I had forgotten about until I read it, though – Raja Bell and Steve Nash were best friends and were practically inseparable. According to Nash, the first he heard of the possibility of a trade was when he woke up from his pre-game nap, checked his texts, and saw the news. Bell was already at the airport.
Colt McCoy says that he is coming back to Texas for his senior year. That’s a bit surprising, but I’m glad. Not that I have any love for Texas at all – their suffering makes me happy. I just like it when guys come back for another year. Not that it makes much sense here, really. This year he is in an ideal situation – no matter what happens in the BCS Championship game he can tell anyone who will listen that they would have been the better team if they were given the chance to prove it. Things can’t get much better for him next year,but they can get worse. Somebody should give McCoy Matt Leinart’s number. Or Brian Brohm’s.
It’s a very strange week for college football. It seems like most of the action is next weekend, so this week teams just seem to be in a position to make sure that they don’t screw up by overlooking their current opponents. That makes this weekend very interesting, but not in such an obvious way as next weekend will be. Here are some of the games I’ll have my eye on:
As we get prepared for a busy weekend of sporting action, there are some injury notes that are worth a look:
Greg Oden – The big guy is supposed to return to action tonight for the Trail Blazers. That should be a boost for Portland, but I will hold judgment until I see two different things – how well he is physically, and whether he can last for more than a minute and a half this time. Oden is frustrating and hard to trust at this point, but I can’t wait to see what he can do if he can settle in and get comfortable. This team could use a boost.
Matt Holliday appears to be heading to Oakland. I’ll spend more time looking at this one next spring, but my initial reaction is that this is positive – it’s the first time in a long while that the A’s have been a buyer, not a seller. Oakland fans deserve that. Holliday has to be relieved, too – given that he knew he was leaving Colorado there were certainly less hitter friendly places he could have wound up.
Allen Iverson is my favorite NBA player, and he has been wasting away in Denver (and Philly for a few years before that, for that matter), so I am very happy to see him get moved today. Despite my bias, I have to say that the trade of Iverson to Detroit for Chauncey Billups and Antonio McDyess is a very good one for both teams – one with a chance for a real win-win scenario. Here’s a look:
Detroit Pistons
We’re going to delay our regularly scheduled programming a bit this week in recognition of the start of the NBA season. I don’t generally bet on the NBA as much as other sports – I get most of my hoops fix from the college ranks – but I do love the league, and I look for intriguing betting opportunities daily. As the season gets underway, here are ten things I will be keeping an eye on as a bettor:
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