Brooklyn Nets 2014 Preview

2014 NBA Preview Brooklyn Nets

When I take a look at the Brooklyn Nets I see a team that has a lot of talent, but I am unsure about how all the pieces are going to fall into place.  I think that at the beginning of the season the Nets will go through a lot of growing pains as they learn how to play together as a team.(Very similar to what the Miami Heat dealt with.)  The Nets starting lineup is full of players that at some point in there careers have been All-Stars.  The big move that the Nets made in the off season was acquiring the services of Paul Pierce, Kevin Garnett, and Jason Terry.  While all of these players are very good, the one question mark that I have with regards to this team is how much do they still have in them.  Here is a look at what the Nets Starting Lineup will look like:

 PG. Deron Williams

  SG. Joe Johnson

  SF. Paul Pierce

  PF. Kevin Garnett

 C. Brook Lopez

Key Reserves

  SG. Jason Terry

  C-F Andray Blatche

 F. Andrei Kirilenko

  PG. Shaun Livingston

Like I stated before I think that this team is going to have it's share of growing pains.  With that being said I see this team causing a lot of heartache with other teams in the Eastern Conference, and possibly give Miami a run for there money.  My projection for them is to be the 2nd seed in the playoffs and make it all the way to the Eastern Conference Finals.  After that they will have a tough time with Miami, but the one area that the Nets have an advantage with is the size that they have in the Front Court.( Both starting and off the bench)  My next preview will be for the New York Knicks, how far do I think Carmelo Anthony can carry this team.

The Boston Celtics: The New Core Four || A New Era

2014 Season Preview Boston Celtics

The 2014 Boston Celtics team is going to be an interesting team to watch.  Some people are saying that because of the big trade that they made in the off-season(trading Pierce, Garnett, and Terry) that the Celtics are trying to get a good pick in the up coming draft to start the rebuilding process.  While this team is not as talented as teams that they have had in the past, I still believe that it is a very talented team.  I still believe that because they are in the Eastern Conference the Celtics have a very good chance at still getting into the playoffs.  As for the Celtics projected starting lineup, here it is:

 PG. Avery Bradley( Until Rajon Rondo returns)

 SG. Courtney Lee

 SF. Jeff Green

 PF. Brandon Bass

 C. Kris Humphries

Key Reserves

 F. Gerald Wallace

 G. Marshon Brooks

 G. Keith Bogans

As you can see just by looking at the Celtics projected starting lineups and key reserves they will have a very deep team.  I really like some of the players that they brought in with the trade of Kevin Garnett, Paul Pierce and Jason Terry.  Marshon Brooks is a very good shooter coming off the bench, Keith Bogans is a very good defender, and Kris Humphries is a talented young starter in the league.  The Celtics will struggle a lot in the absence of Rajon Rondo, but when they get him back I strongly believe that this is a Celtics team that will make a big run at the 8th seed in the Eastern Conference.  They will struggle in the playoffs, but this is not a lottery team.

Find out if I believe that the Brooklyn Nets are a playoff team tomorrow.....

Brandon Phillips Career year

When most avid baseball fans think of Brandon Phillips they think of a fundamentally sound player who plays exceptional defense and has the ability to change the complexion of the game with a great defensive play.  However, this year we are getting to see the offensive side of Brandon Phillips game in action.  To date Brandon Phillips is leading all players at his position in RBI’s with 99; the next closest is Robinson Cano with 89 RBI’s.  Brandon is also 5^th overall in all of baseball in RBI’s which is pretty incredible  considering the fact that the other 4 players on that list have hit at least 30 or more home runs this year, compared to Brandon Phillips 17.

                This year Brandon Phillips is going to blow his previous high in RBI’s out of the water.  His previous high in RBI’s was 98 in 2009 and he played in 153 games.  This year he has 99 RBI’s and he has only played in 129 games so far.  He is also on pace to have more RBI’s then Hall of Famer Joe Morgan ever did during his career.  The most RBI’s that Joe Morgan had during a season was 111 in 1976.  That is really saying a lot considering the fact that for the entirety of Brandon’s career he has been constantly compared to the Hall of Famer Joe Morgan.

                Brandon Phillip’s career year goes far beyond just helping himself out, he also helps out and makes his teammate’s job a lot easier.  That is why they say that the game of baseball is a big team game.  The first player that he has helped out this year is that of All Star first basemen Joey Votto.  Joey has always been known throughout his career as a very disciplined hitter at the plate.  He is willing to take his walks and allow other players in the lineup to drive in runs, such as Phillips and Bruce.  This has never been more apparent than this year.  This year Votto is going to set a new high in walks as he currently has walked 109 times; his previous high in walks is 110 in 2011.  These numbers could not be possible without the career year that Brandon Phillips is having.  Pitchers have been more afraid to pitch to Votto, so they have taken their chances instead with Phillips, and he has made them pay.  That is why it is always a good thing to have someone reliable behind you to drive in runs.

                The other player for the Reds that is having a career year is Jay Bruce.  Jay is on pace to hit 40+ home runs, 40+ doubles and 100+ runs batted in, that is partially thanks to Brandon Phillips.  As the season has continued to move on teams have started to realize that they should not continue to pitch to Phillips, and let him continue to beat them.  Because of that Bruce has seen a lot better pitching allowing him to feel more comfortable at the plate.  Jay has been seeing a lot more fastballs as pitchers are challenging Bruce to beat them instead of Phillips.  In all honesty all three (Votto, Bruce, and Phillips) of them have the ability to hurt you regardless of who you pitch to.  Phillips and Bruce have been fortunate to get good pitches to hit and that is why both of them are having career years.

                In conclusion Brandon’s career year is forcing more and more teams to think about how they are going to pitch to the Reds players for the rest of the year.  This leads to a lot of sleepless night for managers and pitching coaches at night, which hopefully will help the Reds go deep into the playoffs and hopefully win a championship.  I know that all of the players including Brandon Phillips will be more than willing to trade in all of their stats for a Championship ring.

2013-2014 NBA Season Preview

After the Miami Heat won the second title with the big three together we are now just about set for another very exciting season of NBA basketball.  The NBA season is just over a month away, with the Bulls vs. the Heat on October 29th.  There has been a lot of talk in the off season about teams throwing the towel in for this next year in hopes that they can get into the top half of the draft for what is expected to be a very strong draft class.  I can understand the thought process especially given the fact that as an NBA General Manager you have the chance to get a franchise player for a long time and a player that you can build around.  One of the only other options that you have is to cross your fingers and hope that you have some chance at signing Lebron James.  Regardless of whether GM's are throwing the towel in or not, I believe that it is going to be a very competitive season this year.  I feel very strongly about how much that the landscape of the NBA is very even for the most part.  Starting today I will start to break down the landscape of the NBA by having a preview of each teams projected starting lineups and what kind of chance that they have to get into the playoffs.  I will start with the Eastern Atlantic division, and the first team up is the Boston Celtics.  I hope that all of you enjoy my previews and are ready for another great season of NBA basketball.

NBA Promo 2014 HD