NBA Conference Finals Thoughts

We are in the midst of two great conference finals matchups. In the Eastern Conference, the Cleveland Cavaliers and Orlando Magic are knotted at 1 game apiece. In the Western Conference, the Los Angeles Lakers lead the Denver Nuggets 2 games to 1.

First, a look at the East, which has been epic through 2 games. After Rashard Lewis won game 1 with a late 3-pointer, LeBron James answered with a buzzer beating 3 of his own, evening the series. Thoughts from this series:

- LeBron James, of course, has been ridiculously good. He is the best basketball player on the planet, and he's showing it through the first 2 games. After being almost unstoppable in game 1 (20/30 shooting? Are you serious?), he followed that up with 35 points and the aforementioned game-winner in game 2. With the defense focusing on him, he is shooting a high percentage, playing great defense, and getting good looks for his teammates.

- However, he can't do it on his own. In Game 21, Mo Williams had 19 points, but it took him 21 shots to do it. Delonte West only had 12 points in 46 minutes. Zydrunas Ilgauskas only had 12 points on 5/13 shooting. LeBron will get these guys lots of great looks, so they are going to need to hit shots.

- Dwight Howard needs to dominate for the Magic. The Cavaliers have nobody that can guard him (Zydrunas Ilgauskas is not even close to quick enough), so there is no reason for Howard to only have 10 points on 3/8 shooting. His average needs to be up in the 20s for the Magic to win this series.

- I love watching Rashard Lewis and Hedo Turkoglu play when they are firing at all cylinders. Great shooters, good handles, good passers... a fantastic wing combination.

- Courtney Lee is showing me some good offensive game a lot more quickly in his career than I thought he would.

- Still like the Cavs in this series... LeBron is simply too good. I'll go with Cavs in 6.

Then there is the West, where the Lakers victory on Saturday gave them a 2-1 series lead... all 3 games have been closely contested and have come down to the wire, where any of the games conceivably could have been won by either team. Thoughts:

- Kobe Bryant was a man in Game 3, carrying the Lakers down the stretch with 41 points to go along with 6 rebounds and 5 assists. Clutch 3 to put the Lakers up late and then lots of late free throws.

- Kenyon Martin with one of the worst inbounds passes I have seen to all but seal the fate of the Nuggets in game 3. Give credit to Lamar Odom for great defense on the ball out of bounds, but that was still an atrocious pass.

- Don't see how the Lakers can win an NBA title if they get as little contributions from their PGs as they did in game 23. Derek Fisher, Jordan Farmar, and Shannon Brown basically added nothing to the table.

- Carmelo Anthony, where did you go in the 2nd half? With his disappearance and the struggle of JR Smith to score (he played well in other areas but didn't add much scoring the ball - 4/15 shooting), the Nuggets just didn't have enough offense.

- Well done Bird Man... 15 points, 7 rebounds, 3 blocks in 24 minutes. The man is an athletic specimen.

Hope you guys are enjoying these 2 series' as much as I am... it has been excellent so far, hope we can continue to have great basketball games!

2009 NFL Draft Thoughts

Some miscellaneous thoughts on the NFL Draft that was...

- As a Vikings fan, I do like the pick of Percy Harvin at 22 in round 1. Yes, there are obviously a plethora of character concerns. He tested positive at the Combine for marijuana (meaning he is either really dumb or has a serious problem), and there have been some other concerns in the past. However, he is a top 10 talent, and has the explosiveness to make a huge difference. With a veteran team and now veteran coach, hopefully that will be able to quell some of the character issues. If that's the case, he adds another option for either Tarvaris Jackson or Sage Rosenfels (along with Adrian Peterson, Chester Taylor, Bernard Berrian, and Visanthe Schiancoe), which should help the offense come closer to matching the defense, which was excellent in 2008. If that's the case, the Vikings could take the next step.

- I'm not saying anything new when I say this... but Darrius Heyward-Bey seems a lot like Troy Williamson... fast, suspect hands, limited college productivity... let's just say I was scared before the draft that the Vikings might take him at #22.

- Have to love what the hated Packers did on day 1... BJ Raji and Clay Matthews should immediately help a bad defense.

- NFL Draft grades are so stupid... seriously, it takes at least a few years to determine that. Second, it generally rewards those teams that have a lot of picks. Not that draft grades matter even one iota in the grand scheme of things, it just irks me for some reason to see them... like anyone has any idea how good a team drafted one day after the draft? If they really did, then why is the draft always so unpredictable?

- I think Mark Sanchez will be the best QB from this draft... Stafford has amazing physical tools but he has never been as consistent of a college player as you'd hope to see. Sanchez doesn't have the game experience of Stafford but I like his toughness and consistency. And I'm not a big Josh Freeman guy.

- Love what Baltimore did getting Michael Oher at 23... great value there. And I really like the Jags, who had an awful offensive line last year, getting tackles with their first 2 picks in Eugene Monroe and Eben Britton.

- Crabtree at 10... I'm with everyone else in that I love the pick. He should be a solid starter very early on in his career and will be a great help to whoever eventually becomes the QB in San Francisco.

What were your thoughts?

Thoughts on the Vikings Pickup of Sage Rosenfels

The Vikings picked up Sage Rosenfels from the Houston Texans for a 4th round pick last week, which drew some not-so-inspired reactions from Vikings fans. Rosenfels is not a star QB, has not proven long-term consistency in the NFL, and is turnover-prone at times. For fans hoping for a Kurt Warner or Matt Cassel, Rosenfels is a disappointment.

But I like the move.

Rosenfels is an accurate QB, which a career completion percentage of over 60% for his career and around 65% for the past 2 years. With Tarvaris Jackson and Gus Frerrotte last year, accuracy was not the forte of Vikings QBs, and receivers couldn't be really sure about where the ball was going to end up. Rosenfels is accurate and can make some plays down the field.

Most of all, he wouldn't be asked to do a whole lot. The Vikings offense is obviously based around Adrian Peterson and Chester Taylor, and all the Vikings need is a QB that will be able to take advantage of all of the attention paid to the RBs. Jackson and Frerrotte were able to do that in stretches last year, but not consistently. Rosenfels has shown the ability to be more consistent in attacking defenses and finding weaknesses.

Of course, Rosenfels will have to beat out Tarvaris Jackson for the starting job, which is no certainty. Jackson played well in the regular season down the stretch, and no doubt Brad Childress would prefer that the younger, more athletically gifted player win the QB battle. Also, Rosenfels would have to be more careful with the ball and cut down on turnovers. With the running game and defense that the Vikings have, they don't need a QB that will be forcing things and taking unnecessary risks. Rosenfels has shown the tendency to do those things in his career, which he will need to cut back on.

If Rosenfels can cut down on turnovers and take advantages of the mismatches that AD provides, then it will be a great use of a 4th round pick by the Minnesota Vikings. If he works out, they will be able to take another step toward the Super Bowl. If it doesn't work out, then Brad Childress will likely lose his job and there will be wholesale changes for the Vikings next season.

No pressure Sage.