NBA
Did I jinx Chris Paul? He had a horrible game last night as his team lost to the Utah Jazz. A day before, I was pumping him up for MVP.
His line from last night - 4 pts, 9 ast, 2, reb, 3 stl.
However, before last night Paul had at least a double-double in 15 of his last 16 games. Last night was also only the second game this season where Paul failed to get double digits in assists or points. Coincidentally, the other game came against Utah as well.
That said, don't fret CP3 fans, he's still the MVP
NCAA
The sigh of relief, of course, is that Kansas won the national title on Monday night, sparing me from making one of the worst predictions of all time (although, I picked the NY Giants to go like 5-11 this year and they won the Super Bowl).
When it came down to it, Memphis was taken down by the things I figured would take them down all season; free throw shooting and lack of coaching. I don't think they ran one play the entire game.
What got Memphis that far was the fact that Derrick Rose and CDR had been unstoppable all tournament. What propelled Kansas was their combination of athleticism, poise, and coaching.
Random thought: What does Rock, Chalk, Jayhawk mean?
Showing posts with label Memphis Tigers. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Memphis Tigers. Show all posts
Wednesday, April 9, 2008
Monday, April 7, 2008
Eating Crow 60% of the time ...
NCAA
One of the main reasons I started this blog was to give me an outlet to make bold predictions. When you’re in the business of making such predictions, you teeter between being a genius and an asshole.
With the Memphis Tigers, I’m probably the latter. I don’t think I slept on Memphis. I knew how talented they were, I just didn’t think they could hold it together for five to six games.
I expected them to shoot poorly from the line (which they only did against Mississippi St.), to play undisciplined on offense and to have defensive lapses. I though John Calipari’s lax method of coaching, at least offensively, would come back to haunt them. I was definitely wrong.
Perhaps what was most foolish was I didn’t even give them a chance to win. I now find myself wondering if that was just an omission or was I really dumb enough to think that Memphis didn’t have a chance to win the championship.
They have clamped down on defense, and while they still don’t run many plays on offense, they are far more superior from an athletic standpoint then probably 60 of the teams in the tournament.
They made UCLA look like one of the Cal St. teams, in terms of athletic ability. Their performance was very overwhelming.
Now, the only team standing in their way is Kansas. Kansas, as I did write earlier, probably has the best combination of depth, coaching, and athleticism of any team in the tournament. Normally, I’d rant and rave about how Memphis didn’t have a chance, but I’m too embarrassed to do that.
Out of all the foolish predictions I’ve made, not giving Memphis a chance to get to even the Elite Eight has to be the worst, hands down. Therefore, there will not be a tale of the tape from me today. I really don’t have a clue who will win. From an analytical standpoint, I think Kansas should be able to take them down.
However, after watching them dismantle Texas and UCLA in their last two games, I’m not comfortable picking against Memphis. Regardless of who wins, this game should be a high scoring game and very fun to watch.
MLB
I haven’t written anything about baseball yet. The reason why is because I’m just not into it right now. This year’s tournament and the NBA have been so good, I just don’t care to turn on a game or look at stats and rosters and try to predict who is going to do what.
I’ll probably start following baseball more after tonight, when the only other game in town is the NBA.
NBA
Speaking of the NBA, the Western Conference playoff race between Dallas, Denver, and Golden State for the last two playoff spots is going to come down to the wire. From a viewing standpoint, I’d rather see Denver and G-State make it than Dallas. However, with Dirk coming back early, it seems as if Dallas is going to make it in fairly easily.
What’s most important is that Chris Paul wins the MVP. He’s going nuts right now, and recorded his fourth career triple-double last night.
On March 16, I first used this space to campaign for Paul to win the MVP. Here were his stats then:
21.4 pts, 11.2 ast, 3.9 reb, 2.7 stl, 49% FG, 36% 3PT, 87% FT
Here are his stats now:
21.5 pts, 11.5 ast, 4.0 reb, 2.7 stl, 49% FG, 37% 3PT, 85% FT
In just three weeks he’s been able to improve his scoring, rebounding, and assist average. He now leads the league in assists and steals and has his team in the playoffs and headed for the #1 overall seed in the Western Conference. Please, give this man the MVP.
One of the main reasons I started this blog was to give me an outlet to make bold predictions. When you’re in the business of making such predictions, you teeter between being a genius and an asshole.
With the Memphis Tigers, I’m probably the latter. I don’t think I slept on Memphis. I knew how talented they were, I just didn’t think they could hold it together for five to six games.
I expected them to shoot poorly from the line (which they only did against Mississippi St.), to play undisciplined on offense and to have defensive lapses. I though John Calipari’s lax method of coaching, at least offensively, would come back to haunt them. I was definitely wrong.
Perhaps what was most foolish was I didn’t even give them a chance to win. I now find myself wondering if that was just an omission or was I really dumb enough to think that Memphis didn’t have a chance to win the championship.
They have clamped down on defense, and while they still don’t run many plays on offense, they are far more superior from an athletic standpoint then probably 60 of the teams in the tournament.
They made UCLA look like one of the Cal St. teams, in terms of athletic ability. Their performance was very overwhelming.
Now, the only team standing in their way is Kansas. Kansas, as I did write earlier, probably has the best combination of depth, coaching, and athleticism of any team in the tournament. Normally, I’d rant and rave about how Memphis didn’t have a chance, but I’m too embarrassed to do that.
Out of all the foolish predictions I’ve made, not giving Memphis a chance to get to even the Elite Eight has to be the worst, hands down. Therefore, there will not be a tale of the tape from me today. I really don’t have a clue who will win. From an analytical standpoint, I think Kansas should be able to take them down.
However, after watching them dismantle Texas and UCLA in their last two games, I’m not comfortable picking against Memphis. Regardless of who wins, this game should be a high scoring game and very fun to watch.
MLB
I haven’t written anything about baseball yet. The reason why is because I’m just not into it right now. This year’s tournament and the NBA have been so good, I just don’t care to turn on a game or look at stats and rosters and try to predict who is going to do what.
I’ll probably start following baseball more after tonight, when the only other game in town is the NBA.
NBA
Speaking of the NBA, the Western Conference playoff race between Dallas, Denver, and Golden State for the last two playoff spots is going to come down to the wire. From a viewing standpoint, I’d rather see Denver and G-State make it than Dallas. However, with Dirk coming back early, it seems as if Dallas is going to make it in fairly easily.
What’s most important is that Chris Paul wins the MVP. He’s going nuts right now, and recorded his fourth career triple-double last night.
On March 16, I first used this space to campaign for Paul to win the MVP. Here were his stats then:
21.4 pts, 11.2 ast, 3.9 reb, 2.7 stl, 49% FG, 36% 3PT, 87% FT
Here are his stats now:
21.5 pts, 11.5 ast, 4.0 reb, 2.7 stl, 49% FG, 37% 3PT, 85% FT
In just three weeks he’s been able to improve his scoring, rebounding, and assist average. He now leads the league in assists and steals and has his team in the playoffs and headed for the #1 overall seed in the Western Conference. Please, give this man the MVP.
Thursday, March 27, 2008
Sweet 16 Thoughts
This year’s NCAA Tournament has been a lot more exciting than anticipated. I figured this year would be the year of the major conferences, but a few underdogs have been able to sneak into the Sweet 16.
Although I had them going to the Elite 8 in my bracket, Davidson’s run has been surprising to a lot of people. Stephen Curry has been the best player in the tournament by far, and watching him play has been a pleasure.
Two Big East teams, West Virginia and Villanova, have made surprise runs to the Sweet 16 as well. I got a chance to watch West Virginia play at ‘Nova in February. ‘Nova dominated the game and made the Mountaineers look like a NIT team. Since then, both teams have been playing some of the best ball in the country.
Watching West Virginia play Arizona in Washington last week, I noticed what made West Virginia so dangerous. Because of who’s on the roster, Bob Huggins has to play John Beilein basketball. They can shoot better than any team in the country, and their lack of size makes them one of the more athletic teams in the country.
Western Kentucky is also a surprise team in the Sweet 16. They knocked of Drake in one of the most exciting games of the tournament so far, and then knocked of San Diego’s Cinderella team. Unfortunately for them, they face UCLA tonight.
That said, my Final Four is still in tact. UNC has been the most dominant team in the tourney, hands down. They face Washington St. tonight, who will try to slow them down, then they get the winner of the Louisville/Tennessee match-up.
UCLA smashed Miss Valley St. in their first game before barely getting past Texas A&M (with an assist from the refs). Now they face an underdog Western Kentucky, before getting the winner of West Virginia/Xavier (likely to be a thriller).
Kansas has also shown flashes of excellence thus far. They get Villanova first, then they will face the winner of Wisconsin/Davidson. Speaking of that game, it’s probably the Sweet 16 match up I’m looking forward to the most. For the record, I still have Davidson winning this game.
Texas will face Stanford (with Coach Johnson for hopefully the entire contest), before getting the Memphis/Michigan St. winner. Memphis has shown they are the weakest #1 seed, with their streaky and undisciplined play and their pathetic free throw shooting. A defensive team like Michigan St. should knock them off. Mississippi St., a less talented defensive team, almost did so in their 2nd round game with Memphis.
I still think all four of these teams to make it to the Final Four. I’d love it if Davidson and West Virginia could make runs, but I think the #1 seeds in their sides of the bracket are just too tough. UNC and Kansas are almost locks to make it to the Final Four. UCLA will have trouble with Xavier or West Virginia. In the South region, anyone of those four teams could make it.
Just like last week, Mrs. Sportsology is out of town, so I’m going to be a coach potato for the next four days.
Although I had them going to the Elite 8 in my bracket, Davidson’s run has been surprising to a lot of people. Stephen Curry has been the best player in the tournament by far, and watching him play has been a pleasure.
Two Big East teams, West Virginia and Villanova, have made surprise runs to the Sweet 16 as well. I got a chance to watch West Virginia play at ‘Nova in February. ‘Nova dominated the game and made the Mountaineers look like a NIT team. Since then, both teams have been playing some of the best ball in the country.
Watching West Virginia play Arizona in Washington last week, I noticed what made West Virginia so dangerous. Because of who’s on the roster, Bob Huggins has to play John Beilein basketball. They can shoot better than any team in the country, and their lack of size makes them one of the more athletic teams in the country.
Western Kentucky is also a surprise team in the Sweet 16. They knocked of Drake in one of the most exciting games of the tournament so far, and then knocked of San Diego’s Cinderella team. Unfortunately for them, they face UCLA tonight.
That said, my Final Four is still in tact. UNC has been the most dominant team in the tourney, hands down. They face Washington St. tonight, who will try to slow them down, then they get the winner of the Louisville/Tennessee match-up.
UCLA smashed Miss Valley St. in their first game before barely getting past Texas A&M (with an assist from the refs). Now they face an underdog Western Kentucky, before getting the winner of West Virginia/Xavier (likely to be a thriller).
Kansas has also shown flashes of excellence thus far. They get Villanova first, then they will face the winner of Wisconsin/Davidson. Speaking of that game, it’s probably the Sweet 16 match up I’m looking forward to the most. For the record, I still have Davidson winning this game.
Texas will face Stanford (with Coach Johnson for hopefully the entire contest), before getting the Memphis/Michigan St. winner. Memphis has shown they are the weakest #1 seed, with their streaky and undisciplined play and their pathetic free throw shooting. A defensive team like Michigan St. should knock them off. Mississippi St., a less talented defensive team, almost did so in their 2nd round game with Memphis.
I still think all four of these teams to make it to the Final Four. I’d love it if Davidson and West Virginia could make runs, but I think the #1 seeds in their sides of the bracket are just too tough. UNC and Kansas are almost locks to make it to the Final Four. UCLA will have trouble with Xavier or West Virginia. In the South region, anyone of those four teams could make it.
Just like last week, Mrs. Sportsology is out of town, so I’m going to be a coach potato for the next four days.
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