Your Wrong : Your Wrong, I'm Write

The NBA Playoffs are still in the first rounds.  But it’s time to see whose stocks have risen and dropped in the playoffs this year, leading to a comprehensive “best players of the year” list that i HOPE to write deeper into the playoffs.

Let’s start with the just-finished Denver/New Orleans Series:

UP: Chauncey Billups & Carmelo Anthony, Denver:

Probably having the most to gain from this series, Denver’s duo of all-stars’ stocks both went way up in this series for two different reasons.  Chauncey showed more ‘Melo in his game, and ‘Melo showed more Chauncey.  And right now it’s a legit question: Are either or both of these guys top 10 players in the league?  Chauncey took off from the beginning, catching fire from the tip off of game 1.  He drained three after three to help dominate this series.  Really, he played the role of Carmelo Anthony.  ‘Melo did the opposite.  He started off pretty quiet scoring-wise, but picked his spots perfectly.  Passing out of constant double-teams, playing shut-down defense on Peja, grabbing rebounds, playing all-around inspired basketball, and looking like he’s enjoying every minute of it.  ‘Melo was playing like Chauncey.  Until game 5, when ‘Melo and Chauncey went back to their familiar roles with ‘Melo dominating offensively and Chauncey rallying the troops.  When these two play like this, even the Lakers should be scared.

However it’d be difficult to find anyone on the Nuggets whose stock has dropped in this series.  (Nene, maybe?)  Just about everyone finally started playing up to their talents.  Whether it was Dahntay Jones and Kenyon Martin smothering the Hornets’ two best players, Chris Anderson soaring for blocks and rebounds (sometimes on the same shot), JR Smith nailing threes and then throwing up his three fingers so it looks like a gang sign, or Anthony Carter just looking for another guard to hit.

On the flipside, it’d be hard to see any bright side for the Hornets, but their two stars played particularly bad:

Down: Chris Paul & David West, New Orleans:

These two are on the downside for different reasons.  Let’s start with West.  He is not a legit all-star.  And after stealing Melo’s all-star nod this year, it was obvious in this series who was the better player.  In fact, I’d be surprised if he ever gets another all-star nod again.  Words can’t describe how well Kenyon shut him down.  He did not look like the David West we’ve seen for the past two years, he looked hesitant and scared.  He very rarely took that confident, catch-and-shoot style midrange shot that’s his bread and butter.  He’d always look around, scared Kenyon was going to swat his shit into the fifth row.  If David West was considered among the top 10 PF’s in the NBA earlier this season, he may possibly have fallen out of the top half.  It was just a really bad series for him.  Kenyon was in his head, as was Chris Anderson.  And they rendered him irrelevant in this series.

CP3 looked up, I’d think sometime in the first quarter of game 4.  He looked up and his team was getting their asses handed to them.  He had single-handedly given up his body and all his energy to lead them to a two-point victory in the previous game of a series his team was obviously over-matched in.  He was physically beaten, emotionally beaten, and mentally beaten.  He looked up at the scoreboard, and he finally got to thinking “there’s always next year,” and he gave up.

He didn’t give up in the sense that he didn’t play.  He still played.  Even played well at times.  But he wasn’t Chris Paul.  And you have to wonder about that.  Paul is considered by most (including myself) the best PG in the NBA and a consensus top 5 player in the league.  But Lebron or Kobe wouldn’t have just given up.  Certainly Wade wouldn’t.  Dwight Howard’s stock  may not be as high either, but at least he would’ve hit someone.  Chauncey definitely wouldn’t have given up.  You saw Deron, he played every minute of the Lakers series knowing he was out-matched, but still left it all on the court.  Same with Tony Parker against Dallas.  Rajon Rondo’s still doing it in Boston.

Chris Paul is still the best PG in the NBA until further notice, but you have to wonder about him after this series.

Utah/Lakers:

Up: Deron Williams, UTA:

It’s hard to give any sort of nod to the Lakers, since they won this pretty much as expected, so let’s focus on the Jazz. Deron Williams is for real. I questioned him in his rookie year because his performance was so streaky (ala Derrick Rose this year), but right now….he’s legit. He’s the second best PG in the NBA and is closing in on CP3 (of course we’re learning that Chauncey may be better than both of them….still). He pretty much single-handedly carried this team in this series, eventually falling in a noble defeat to the most talented team in the league.

Up: Paul Millsap, UTA:

While the Jazz did lose the series, Millsap proved to be a problem for the Lakers every step of the way.  And if Jerry Sloan ran more plays for him instead of Jarron Collins (!?), maybe the Jazz take another game.  But we’ll blame that on Sloan’s old age, instead of sadling it on Millsap.  He pretty much proved to just about everyone what I’ve suspected all along: that he’s better than Boozer, at least as an all-around player.

Down: Carlos Boozer, UTA:

While I don’t think Boozer directly effected his stock on the upcoming Free Agent market, since the Lakers were supposed to win anyway, Boozer sure didn’t help his situation in comparison to Millsap.  Millsap outplayed him in this series – defensively AND offensively.  And Boozer’s flaws defensively were never more apparent than having Pau Gasol simply dominate him.  Though to be fair, Gasol dominates everyone in the post.  And the undersized combination of Millsap and Boozer couldn’t stop the Lakers’ bigs at all.

Down: Mehmet Okur, UTA:

While it’s quite possible that the outcome may not have changed anyway, it’s hard not to notice that the Jazz were playing this series without their center when the Lakers are dominating them up front in every way possible.  Let’s get this out of the way: I’m not doubting Okur’s injury at all.  But many players are injured at this time of year, and if you can play at all in the series, you should play the whole series.  Especially when you watch your team being so easily handled on the boards and you’re the tallest guy on the team.

Cleveland/Detroit:

Up: Mo Williams & Delonte West, Cavs:

Lebron’s undersized backcourt sidekicks are the most important factor of the playoffs, let’s start with Mo.

I am now a believer.  I was as critical as anyone when the Cavs signed Mo in the offseason, but he’s proven me wrong throughout the playoffs and on through the postseason.  He’s fit perfectly into the team’s concept and proven to be the one sidekick-star Lebron’s had that is as reliable as the King is.  He hits big shots, plays good passing lane defense, and adds a ton of intangibles to a team that is my pick to win the title.  He is a legit all-star and is playing as well as any Eastern PG not named Rondo.

As far as Delonte, I was always a big fan of the kid’s, despite his uber-ghetto off-the-court life. And he’s proven me right throughout the season and well into the playoffs.  He plays great defense (especially considering he’s probably closer to 6’1″ than his listed 6’3″ and he’s guarding 6’7″ two-guards), provides necessary hustle plays, and fills up a stat sheet (points, rebounds, assists, steals, and even blocks).  With his development and the emergence of Jameer Nelson in Orlando as a legit all-star, just how good was that St. Joes team?

Down: Rasheed Wallace & Allen Iverson, Pistons:

This is a painful one for me to talk about.  But as much as I’ve been in both of these guys’ corners throughout their careers, they both turned in horrible showings in this series. I’m letting Tayshaun and Rip off the hook, and Dice played his ass off.  But these two have some explaining to do.

Rasheed pretty much stopped playing, and resorted to his typical screaming at refs.  As talented as he is, he’s always been an equally big head-case.  We thought that was mostly behind him when he joined Detroit.  But he he looked intimidated throughout the series.  Did he simply give up in game 4?  It wasn’t like Cleveland had anyone who could stop him.

Iverson probably lost the most ground out of anyone in the playoffs, and he didn’t even play.  Or perhaps I should say, because he didn’t play. It is not like the Answer to give up. But that’s how it appeared this year. Allen has been one of my favorite players in the league for years, but this year he had his first terrible year ever, and he didn’t fight through it in typical Iverson fashion. In fact, he didn’t fight much at all. It seemed like he was backed into a corner with the team’s failings and the coach wanting him to come off the bench. Instead of coming out and being the killer he’s been throughout his career, he gave up. I don’t doubt his injury was legit, but it certainly had funny timing, coming right after he was demoted to sixth man. And he’s a free agent this season, so it looks like it came at the worst time in his career.

Atlanta/Miami:

Up: Mike Bibby & Josh Smith, ATL:

The first is a long time veteran who was supposed to be done, and the other is a immature kid who looked like he’d never quite live up to his incredible potential.  Bibby’s post-Sac rejuvenation is one of the more over-looked stories of the year.  He’s been the team’s second best player all year (after Joe Johnson) and has carried the team in its’ Miami series despite JJ being MIA (get it?).  Bibby went from being outplayed by Beno Udrih (the worst starting PG in basketball) in Sacramento to being the second best player in this series.

Smith finally seems to be getting it.  Of course, the kid is still a headcase without a jumpshot.  But he plays great defense, runs down loose balls, and dunks on…well…everyone.

Down: Michael Beasley & Mario Chalmers, MIA:

So the Heat had the second pick in the NBA draft.  Who’d they pick, again?  The most NBA-ready player in the draft, you say?  Was he injured during their first round series?  No?  Sure was hard to nice him…

And where was the other rookie they had?  The kid who won the NCAA title game with his three?  He keeps fouling out?  Is 95-year-old Mike Bibby speeding faster than him from Bibbs’ wheelchair?

Dallas/San Antonio:

Jason Kidd, DAL & Tony Parker, SAS:

This series has traditionally been about Dirk Nowitzki and Tim Duncan, but this year’s was about the veteran PG’s.  Now mind you, Kidd is essentially a PG on offense only (there’s no way he’s chasing TP around for 40 minutes), but he’s still proving his worth.  Devin Harris’ emergence as an all-star put a black eye on Cuban’s trade.  But I’m pretty sure Kidd would trade an all-star nod to still be playing in May.  He still ran the offense, and most importantly, kept the scorers happy.  Dirk, Josh Howard, JJ Barea, and Jason Terry were the central scorers, but Kidd made sure they were all involved.

Meanwhile, Tony Parker went down in a blaze.  He averaged 28.6 in the San Antonio, good for second in all playoff series’, just behind Lebron’s 32. Unfortunately, after Duncan’s 20 & 8, Parker got no help whatsoever.  Part of that blame could go on him as the point guard, for failing to get his other guys involved, but most of it is just his teammates aren’t that good.  Especially without Ginobili. If there was any doubt that TP is a top 5 (at the very least) PG, it was erased in this series.

Down: Bruce Bowen, SAS & Dirk Nowitzki, DAL:

There was a time at which this would’ve been the heavily buzzed matchup of this series.  However it wasn’t to be here as both players failed to show up.  Bowen couldn’t stay on the court and Nowitzki couldn’t stay effective.  Ultimately it led to the downfall of the Spurs, but Dirk’s teammates had enough to lift up his struggles.  However things won’t get any easier for Dirk as he will draw Kenyon Martin in the next round.  And just as important, his key teammates will also get some strong defensive assignments: Kidd is in line to draw Chauncey Billups, while Jason Terry looks like he’ll draw Anthony Carter, and Josh Howard should get Dahntay Jones.

Houston/Portland:

Up: Brandon Roy, POR:

If there was any question regarding Roy’s newly-found superstar status, it was certainly answered in this series.  The Rockets have, arguably, the two best wing defenders in the league in Ron Artest and Shane Battier.  But it hasn’t mattered to Roy.  Artest called Roy the best player he’d ever covered.  I’ll tell you right now that he isn’t too far behind Kobe and Wade as the third best SG in the league.   Obviously, he doesn’t have the rings that they do, but there’s plenty of time for that.  The Rox very will may close out the Blazers at home tonight, but it won’t be without a fight from Roy.  He’s just too talented and too motivated.

Up: Yao Ming, HOU:

Scola and Brooks have played way better than anyone could’ve expected.  But its’ Yao who’s gained the most from the Rockets side.  It’s time to end this silly Yao Ming/Dwight Howard debate.  Yao is the best center in the world.  Period.  No commas.  No parentheses.  He’s the best, ok?  Live with it.  If the Rockets passed to him in the low post every single time, they’d win every game.  That’s it, he’s the best.  End of discussion.  Period.

Down: Greg Oden, POR:

He’s become sort of the joke of this series.  He’s been racking up fouls like he did in the regular season.  And with Outlaw struggling, you sort of wonder how good Portland would be a with a really good SF.  Maybe a SF like…..say, Kevin Durant?

Down: Ron Artest:

As everyone is enjoying talking about how much better the Rockets are playing without T-Mac. The little secret no one’s talking about is how little they’ve gotten out of, essentially T-Mac’s replacement, Ron Artest. You mean to tell me the Rockets wouldn’t have already won this series if T-Mac was out there? Even at 65%? Ron Artest has given you nothing in this series. Roy’s lighting him up on D, and Ron’s only scoring 13/game at 37% shooting. In his worst playoffs series, as a sixth man for Toronto, McGrady averaged 16.7 points on 39% shooting, his career playoff lows. As a starter, his worst series was two years ago when he dropped 25.3 pts on 39% shooting. Think the Rockets couldn’t use that right now? Along with his typical end-of-game heroics?

Orlando/Philly:

Up: Louis Williams & Thaddeus Young, PHI:

It is the general consensus that Philly wasn’t supposed to be close to Orlando.  In fact most experts picked a clean sweep.  However, it is also general consensus now that Philly will probably beat an Orlando team without Dwight Howard and Courney Lee, to force a game 7 in Orlando on Saturday.  Most of the credit for this surprise has gone to the team’s two Andre’s: Iguodala & Miller.  However the most efficient players have been Young and Williams, the second-tier players.  Basically, these two can score.  And yes, Miller is the veteran leader and Iguodala, well, it’s his team.   But it’s hard to ignore these two.  Young is averaging 13 on 47% shooting, while Williams is only 8 on 41 % shooting.  So it’s easy to see why they are overlooked.  But these two are leading the team with energy and defense that don’t usually show up in box scores.  But anyone watching the game can see their impact.

Down: Dwight Howard & Hedo Turkoglu, ORL

These two also moved down for different reasons.  Hedo (or “He Don’t” as  I’ve called him in his post-Kings days…which…by the way…is a nicknamed i ripped off from a Lakers fan) has been terrible in the series.  11.8 points on 33% shooting, while averaging 3 TO’s to 3 Assists and 3.4 fouls per game.  Just terrible.  Hedo’s playoffs have been a series of stinkers: 2-8 with four fouls in game one, a 3-10 night that was saved by his 9-11 from the line in game 2, a 2-5 night with 5 fouls and 5 turnovers in game 3,  a 8-11 breakout game in game 4 with 17 points, leading into a 3-14, 5 foul game in Game 5.

Dwight’s numbers, on the other hand, have been outstanding.  He’s been completely dominant and has made Sam Dalembert look like a kindergardener who just got his transformers stolen.  So with all of his dominance, why the need for the sucker punch in game 5?  That could end up costing the Magic the series.  That plus his fall on Courtney Lee rendered their most effective perimeter scorer out for the playoffs.  Altogether, the Magic could very well end up losing this series.  And while some of the blame will undoubtedly fall on Coach Stan Van Gundy.  The majority should fall on Howard.  He got himself kicked out of game 6.  He fell on Lee.  And he is going to have to make up for all of this with a monster game 7.

Boston/Chicago

Up: Ben Gordan, CHI & Rajon Rondo, BOS:

Other than maybe the Nuggets, these two have raised their respective stocks as much as anyone in the playoffs.  Rondo is leading an under-manned, beat up veteran team, and Gordon is keeping the inconsistent, young Bulls affloat.  He’s averaging 25 pts on 42% shooting in the playoffs.  And this is with a bad hammy.  He’s leading a Bulls team deeper into this series than anyone expected.  And, oh yeah, he’s in a contract year.

Rondo has been the unsung hero for the Celtics all year.  While it’s true that Pierce is still actually their best player, Rondo is a very close second, and has been even better than Pierce in this series.  How about 24.2 points on 51%(!!!) shooting to go with 10 dimes and 10 boards a game.  That’s right – Rajon Rondo is averaging a triple double in this series.  he may have passed Nelson and Harris as the elite young PG in the east.

Down: Eddie House & Stephon Marbury, BOS:

Nice performance off the bench from House and Marbury.  Combined, they are 15-50 from the field.  That’s 30%.  That’s terrible.  One would think that the Boston guards would have the advantage off of the bench.  But Kirk Hinrich is outplaying both of them.  If they don’t turn things around, the Celtics could have a long summer.

Last season, Jack Cust and Kurt Suzuki were probably the A’s best hitters.  Especially considering the only guys who played enough games to be considered “regulars” were Bobby Crosby, Jack Hannahan, Daric Barton, Emil Brown, and Mark Ellis.  Ryan Sweeney was on the borderline, and was stastically (percentage based numbers only) a little better than Suzuki.

So the A’s beefed up the team.  Matt Holliday replaced Emil Brown, Jason Giambi replaced Barton, a healthy Chavey replaced Hannahan, and Orlando Cabrera replaced Bobby Crosby.

The result?

The team’s two best hitters, so far, are Jack Cust (OPS .848) and Kurt Suzuki (OPS .835).  Among regulars, no one else is even above .630.  In other words, it’s not even close.  Cust is essentially the same.  His power numbers are down but his contact numbers are up.  But to his credit, Zook has jumped 120+ points so far this year and is currently on a tear. But otherwise, the offense has been nothing if not disappointing.

So what went wrong?

Well basically, the guys with the big names are hitting like the crappy guys we has last year.  Chavvy is particularly bad, with an OPS of .262.  In case you were wondering, the newly re-called Hannahan’s OPS was .647, good for worst in the league among regular players, but still more than twice what Chavez currently stands at.  Orlando Cabrera’s OPS is a putrid .525 (even WITH him hitting a respectable .286 Batting Average).  Last year, Croz had an OPS of .645.  Giambi and Holliday currently stand at .626 and .629, respectively.  Last year, Brown and Barton were at .683 & .675.

So this year’s team, with all the big names, is actually batting WORSE than last year’s league-cellar hitting team.

….And I can’t say I’d really blame you if you did.

2009 has been a pretty altogether boring year for hip hop/R&B/soul so far.  So let me get you all caught up in case you missed it, with….

THE TEN THINGS YOU MISSED IN 2009:

10. Keri Hilson

Despite being completely gorgeous and a very talented songwriter, Keri dropped her debut to limited fanfare.  The soundscan numbers are decent thus far, but hardly make up the budget spent promoting her four singles released previous to the album’s release.  Especially considering that she still dropped an incredibly average album.  It was the equivalent of buying T-Shirts in extra medium.  But when “Energy” didn’t pop off quite as expected, they went with a “The Way I Are”-rehash in “Return The Favor.”  That made even less noise.   Then she brought the Polow Da Don banger “Turnin Me On” which became a modest hit but topped out fast, requiring a quick fourth single before the release date.  This time all the big names came long wth her on the Ne-Yo & Kanye-assisted “Knock You Down,” which was also produced by Danja.  This is probably her best shot at a real hit single, but can she get the impact before the album loses steam?  We’ll see….

9. Lil Wayne’s Drug-induced attempts at Rock

Lil Weezy-ana decided to go full into rockstar mode, actually recording a halfway decent rock tune as the first single off his upcoming Rebirth LP.  Despite sounding like a yayy-ed out karaoke singer, autotune and a catchy melody save the day on “Prom Queen.”  Birdman has gone on record saying this will not be a “rock” album, but then sidestepping the question of whether Wayne will actually rap onthe album.  Could this have anything with his label, Cash Money’s success in the genre with Kevin Rudolf?  While Rudolf is much more on the pop side, Wayne’s sound is much more grunge-y.  It’s the sort of Nirvana/Pearl Jam sound that was more famous in the early 90’s than it is today.  Wayne even name-drops Kurt Cobain in his verse on Rick Ross’ “Maybach Music 2,” in which Weezy actually does rap.

8. The Unsuspecting J. Holiday album

Competitor #1 for R&B album of the year is J.Holiday’s sophmore effort.  While his debut had its’ moments, it was a quite a forgettable affair.  But J. Holiday pulled a Bobby Valentino and dropped a very good second album with much less fanfare and notoriety.  The whole album brings back the Jodeci/Donell Jones vibe that we loved so much throughout the 90’s.  Even the first single, the decent “It’s Yours” wasn’t particularly noteable.  But once the album came along, everything got better.  Highlights galore, led by “Fall,” “Don’t Go,” and “Make That Sound.”  He also moves along to the dramatic “Run Into My Arms.”  Overall he led to the distinctions of R&B singers who breakthrough with hit singles despite average albums, then follow that up with great albums and poor singles.  The sad thing is, who knows if we’ll see a third album.

7. Flo-Rida Doing his best Nelly

Or is it Puff Daddy? He “raps” like Nelly, with a flow that peddles between sing-songy, andreally sing songy.  But at the same time, like Puff, he has a knack for ripping off the catchiest pop songs of the past decade.  We all knew about “Low” and even “In The Ayer” from his last album.  But he’s gone the Puff route on both of his singles from this album thus far, with “Right Round,” and the new joint “Sugar,” which rips off (*choke*) “Blue” by Eiffel 65.  Though even the biggest Flo-Rida hater (like myself) has to admit that the shit is catchy as hell.  And like Nelly, I don’t hate the guy’s music.  It’s well done pop music.  It’s just not my cup of tea.  But we were so starved for a mainstream rap album to tip off 2k9, that lots of folks were giving Flo-Rida spins.  Weird, huh?

6. Ryan Leslie’s emergence

We knew the guy was dope, but for a quick minute, it seemed like everyone was hoppin’ on his jock.  His album was the best of the “urban” genre so far this year.  It wasn’t just the first single, “Diamond Girl,” which came out a year ago.  Nor was it the alluring follow-up, “Addiction.”  In fact it wasn’t even the super dope third (and current) single “How It Was Supposed To Be.”  Nope.  It was the Cassie thing.  We got to hear RLS answer twice as many questions about Cassie as about his really really dope album.  But if you were looking for a soundtrack, there was the album as well.  Led by inspired 80’s-synth keys and tales of being overcome by love, Ryan Leslie has too many dope tracks to go through all of them.  My favorites are “Quicksand,” “Just Right,” and the 90’s-style slow jam, “Gibberish.”

5. Jadakiss proves N.Y. Has a Pulse

That Jada did a poultry 130K and is still a major story tells you how desperate we were for stories this year.  Like Keri’s earlier mentioned album, Jada’s album was extremely average.  But it’s good to see cats moving units, especially without radio.  So props to kiss for that.  You just wonder if he’s past his prime, and if he’s ever gonna deliver anything that lives up to the “Top 5 Dead Or Alive” billing he’s given himself in the past.

4. The Notorious M.O.V.I.E.

Big’s legacy is unquestioned, and this movie didn’t really tell us anything his fans didn’t already know.  Yet despite this, it was the talk of the town for about the first two months.  It brought up old memories of Big beatin Kim’s ass.  It also brought about a portrayal of Kim by former 3LW member Naturi Naughton that was controversial and provocative.  Memories were abundant.  Obviously, being that this movie was funded by Puff, Puff is written in as the perfect role model for Big to run with.  We got to hear from the whole crew again, even Violetta was back in the spotlight.  Puff, Charlie Baltimore, Kim, Lil Cease – you name it, they all re-emerged.  It felt like 1994 all over again.  With one big missing piece.

3. The-Dream Raises his profile

Whether it was his relationship with Christina Milian, or the fact that Def Jam was shoving him down our throats, the-dream was all over the place in 2009 so far.  It could also be that “Rockin That Shit,” his first single, was so dope that even his biggest haters couldn’t front.  Now I’m not sure if this is a good or bad thing.  He makes dope music, but the guy seems to have an ego that rivals Kanye’s.  Oh and by the way, they’re making an album together.  His first album was a borderline classic.  Plus he had that underdog thing going for him.  He doesn’t have that going for him anymore.  He’s Def Jam’s co-poster boy (with Ne-Yo).  But I must admit, his second album is in the same rotation with RLS’ and J.Holiday’s.

2. The Fall of Curtis

You know it had to happen sometime.  It’s just surprising how it happened.  50 went on the super offensive at the beginning.  Ross just kind of laid back in the cut and let 50 get his barbs in, dropping responses every great once in a while.  Then lately, building up to his release, Ross’ not only been on fire – but also just handing out verbal beatdowns to 50 every step of the way.  The highlight of the matter thus far has been the “Mafia Music” remix, rounding up Game, Fat Joe, and Ja Rule to help him dispose of their co-nemesis.  The video of 50’s funeral was a nice touch as well.  It’s just crazy that 50 allowed himself to be used for promotional purposes.  I suppose it’s true that what goes around…..well you know the rest.

1. Rick Ross

I’ve already written plenty about this guy, so I won’t say too much.  But he’s been the major story of 2009.  He’s almost ready to join the Wayne/Kanye/T.I. regime as the great rappers of the era, but we’ll have to see how he sells this time out.  And his album dropped today and it’s dope.  My favorite still being “Rich Off Cocaine” but “Maybach Music 2” and “Usual Suspects” both lived up to their collaboratiors (Kanye/Wayne/T-Pain on the former, Nas on the later). There’s not much not to like on the album.  And it looks like it’s just Ross’ time now.  But we will see.

Well, my beloved Kings certainly were terrible this year. 17 wins in 82 chances. Good for not only the worst record in the league, but also the worst record in franchise history. But let’s search for a silver lining here. There had to be something positive we learned about this club in its’ horrendous 2008-09 season. Umm…..did I mention that we have Kevin Martin?
So let’s take a look:

8 Things We Learned In Sacto This Year

1. This team, as constructed, really really can’t play defense.

2. Kevin Martin, at least on offense, is as gangsta as it gets.  24.6 points on 15.9 shots.  Led the league with 9.0 Free Throws made per game.  You know what else that says?  If you score 25 points on 16 shots, you probably should have taken 25.  Once again.  We need to get him the ball more.  With his incredible efficiency, he should score 30 ppg easily.  The kid is a stud, let’s get him the ball more.  Of course, the one guy who knew exactly how and where to get him the ball is now the backup center in Chicago.  Grrrreat…

3. This Jason Thompson kid can sure play.  Ok, so he’s listed as 6-11 (laughable) but he’s really 6-7-ish.  Honestly, in the picture to the left, he doesn’t look that much taller than K-Mart.  But he’s great on the boards on both ends.  And if he didn’t average 4 fouls a game, I’m sure his numbers would be much better.  His foul troubles kept him under 30 minutes per game, despite his enthusiasm.  He could be either a starting 4, or a early rotation guy on a playoff/championship-caliber team.  Just keep that in mind if we draft Blake Griffin or Hasheem Thabeet or even Jordan Hill.

4. Spencer Hawes can shoot.  From anywhere.  The Kings’ 7-foot center shot 35% from behind the arc this season.  He has some nifty Pau Gasol-like moves in the post as well.  The guy can flat out score.  Of course, he also averaged under 30 minutes/game because of foul problems.  Let’s get these guys working on footwork all offseason.  If you’re not gonna stop the score, just get out of the damn way!

5.  Kenny Natt is NOT the coach for this team.  This was evident when midseason pickup Ike Diogu schooled everyone towards the end of the season, outplaying both Hawes and Thompson when he got the minutes.  Diogu won’t be any more a part of this column seeing as how he is very unlikely to stay, but it should be noted that everyone seems to say he was outplaying them in practce from the minute he came here.  Did Natt just think he was a “practice player”?  What took him so long to give him a shot?

6.  Everyone thinks Eddie Jordan is probably the right coach for this team.  I disagree.  I think Eddie Jordan is DEFINITELY the right coach for this team.  What are we going to do?  Bring in Jeff Van Gundy?  This team isn’t kidding anyone.  We are not the Spurs or the Jazz, our guys can score and are NOT the personnel for a defensive-oriented team.

7.  Francisco loves Kevin Martin.  Though, he doesn’t seem to love him enough to pass to him.  But Francisco went to bat for K-Mart in the face of ciriticism about K-Mart’s D. Says Cisco: ” I know Kev can play defense, because I’ve been there with him. He came back early, and everybody could see he was limping on the court. He couldn’t even dunk. … He still had his 24 points. What do you expect from a guy like that? He still went out there to compete, and he still was hurt.” Cisco is one of my favorite players, but he’s not a second gun as he was on this team.  He’s a sixth man for a good team.

8. And then there’s Beno Udrih.  He sucks.

Someone get Rick Ross’ manager on the phone.  Tell him the game NEEDS Deeper Than Rap right NOW.  Not later this month, not next month.  Right NOW!.  Get L.A. Reid on the phone, tell Hov to get some push in.  Tell Khaled to start the push.  We are craving so much for some mainstream hip hop that folks are even giving Flo-Rida spins!

…Although.  That might be the point.  Khaled was involved in releasing both Jadakiss (ehhhh) and Flo-Rida’s albums, so maybe he’s using them to build up to Ricky’s release.  But seriously, “Magnificent” is fire, “Sittin On Top Of The World” aka “Rich Off Cocaine” (they’re the same song) is fire, “Usual Suspects” is fire.  Plus he’s the spokesman for the Anti-50-era.  I mean, the guy’s got Nas, Jay, Jeezy, Weezy, Game, T-Pain, Kanye, and Ja all in his corner.   Basically, Hurry up and drop the album Ricky, the game needs you.

This year hasn’t brought any other dope hip hop albums yet.  We’ve gotten a trio of pretty good R&B albums though.  Ryan Leslie is probably the best of them.  He’s got a very unique keyboard-heavy sound. Non-educated heads may recognize him as the flashy producer behind Cassie’s “Me And You” or Slim from 112’s “Good Lovin,” but his own stuff is better than both of those songs. Led by the nostalgic-warm feeling of he hot single “How It Was Supposed To Be” Leslie continues this theme throughout the album on cuts like the uptempo “Quicksand” the alluring single “Addicted” and “Just Right,” a song leftover from his lesser-known indy label debut. The album comes to a triumphant close with the straight-out-the-90’s ballad “Gibberish” where he not only sings in auto-tune, but also in gibberish. While if you listen closely you can understand, for the most part, what he’s saying – it seems that’s not the point. It’s one of the warmest “slow jams” in recent memory, leaving a naive sense in its keys.

Not to be out-done, J.Holiday has come out of nowhere to deliver an almost equally-dope sophmore LP. He throws the sophmore jinx out of the window as he comes much better this time around with a slightly more mature album. The highlights here include the melodic single “It’s Yours,” the thankfully-not-over-dramatic ballad “Fall” and the sexy bed scorcher “Make That Sound.” J.Holiday has made a making love album in the vein of Jodeci and Donell Jones before him.

If Holiday made an album to make love to, the-dream’s album is more to fuck to. While littered with fun songs like “Rockin That Shit” and “Walking On The Moon,” there is plenty more for the bed enthusiasts. “Kelly’s 12 Play” or “Sweat It Out” are much more raw in baby-making music than Holiday’s alternative. I’d put this one below Holiday’s, Leslie’s, and even dream’s own debut…..but easily one of the better releases of this young year.

Upcoming releases I’m looking forward to include the Nas/Damian Marley album, another Trey Songz album, and of course Em and Rawwwwwwwwse. We’ve had three year end list-worthy contributions so far, we’ll have to see how the rest of the year stacks up.

It is time to give some sort of tribute to Tim Hardaway.

The guy made me awe of his game when he was playing, and he just makes laugh today.  The hating gay people was funny (I think even gay people found him hillarious – though they were laughing at him, not with him…actually come to think of it, we all were).  His son is a prep baller tryin to go to the U.  But he hasn’t been recruited by them.

But Tim Hardaway’s main reasoning for being back in the news is that with Alonzo Mourning’s jersey being retired, he believes he should be there too.  Says Hardaway, “”I don’t like gay people” comment — despite his apologies. ”I thought we were supposed to forgive and forget but it’s not happening.”

But let’s pay tribute to what he really should be famous for.  He is the cream of the crossover.  The Sultan of the shake.  The best crossover we’ve ever seen.  Sure, AI and Deron Williams have put it down on their own worth, but Timmy was the greatest.

So this is to you, Tim Hardaway.  The greatest crossover of all-time.

The Sub-Plot For the 2009 season in baseball will be the recession

The Haves and have-nots in baseball will become even more exaggerated in 2009. On one side of the coin, the Yankees and Mets have rolled out $2 billion worth of new stadium. On the other hand, the A’s have the most out-dated current stadium with both Florida teams passing for new stadiums (though in both of their cases, i’ll believe it when i see it).

Money will affect everyone, as we saw with big-name free agents not receiving the sort of contracts they were expecting. With that in mind, let’s look through the 2009 Baseball season:

30. San Diego Padres
The Pads still have the same holes as before. It’s nice that Giles and Gonzalez are still there, and Peavy. But after those 3, what do they really have? David Eckstein is probably the next name on the team that would come across to you. But with the Giants getting better, the Dodgers and D-Backs should both still be good, the NL West looks very competitive going into this year. And the Pads just don’t have the horses to keep up.

29. Pittsburgh Pirates
The Pirates should be juuust good enough to be better than the Pads. But they don’t have any pitching, and sporadic hitting. After McLouth, who can you trust in this lineup? Freddy Sanchez had one good season two years ago, LaRoche is a great prospect but unproven in the bigs. Same with Moss and Wilson. The biggest thing with the Pirates is, can anyone teach this team to win?

28. Seattle Mariners
Yes, they play in a weak division, but they’re still far behind the rest of the pack. Especially after this offseason’s firesale. Bringing back Griff was a nice story, but I don’t see much translation into results. The front-end of that rotation is very strong with King Felix and Bedard, but they have no hitting and a pretty weak back end of the rotation. And they just traded their closer. And now Ichiro’s hurt. There’s some young talent on this team, but it might be a while before it develops.

27. Washington Nationals
A lot of people have them improving this year. But that division is really tough, and it’s only going to get better. The Phills won the whole thing, the Mets and Braves got better, and Florida’s stars are just getting better. Still they do have Christian Guzman, Lastings Milledge, Adam Dunn, and Ryan Zimmerman in that lineup. If the pitching comes up they could surprise a couple people. But they’re not going anywhere in that division.

26. Toronto Blue Jays
Everyone is expecting a firesale at mid-season from these guys. Alex Rios, Vernon Wells, and even Roy Halladay are supposedly going to be available if the team has another bad year. And in the toughest division in baseball, they just don’t have the talent to compete.  The Yanks, Sox, and Rays are the cream of the league.  And the O’s are getting much better.  The Jays just lost their second best pitcher (AJ Burnett) and weren’t too good last year.  It’s going to be a long yearn in the T.dot.

25. Cincinnati Reds
It’s only a matter of time before these guys make a real run at the Central. But I don’t think this is the year. Jay Bruce and Joey Votto look very good. So does Brandon Phillips. And Ramon Hernandez will do wonders for that young staff. But after Harang and Volquez, the talent is questionable. When some other young kids start to develop, they will be a force. But it’s not their time yet. Just yet.

24. Colorado Rockies
They were an average team last year, and lost a top 10 hitter in the league. Ubaldo Jimenez looks for real, but what else do they have on that staff? Troy Tulowitzki is an absolute stud, but he’ll probably even see his numbers drop without Holliday in the order to protect him. I see this as a looong season in Colorado, though I like to see all the A’s castoffs.

23. Detroit Tigers
I don’t really feel right putting them here. But it’s hard to predict they’ll be much better than last year. Their bullpen is suddenly very suspect and Maggs suddenly is starting to fall off. There’s also a lot of talent in the rotation, but just as many ifs. “If” Verlander can get back on track, and “if” Galarraga is ready, and “if” Jackson can adjust to his move higher in the rotation, this could be a very good pitching staff. But as I learned with last year’s A’s, “if”‘s aren’t good to bank on.

22. Chicago White Sox
I’m not sure what Ozzie’s doing here. The sox still have a meaty middle of the order with Carlos Quentin, Alexei Ramirez, and Jermaine Dye. The rest of the team looks not so good. I’m not sold on Danks and Floyd. Buehrle’s on his way down, so are Konerko and Thome. Jenks has always been iffy. But at least Colon seems like he might return to form. The AL Central will be a three-team race, but the Sox won’t be in it.

21. Milwaukee Brewers
Last year’s postseason darlings return minus their top 2 pitchers. Personally, I don’t like this strategy, considering their pitching wasn’t particularly good after CC and Sheets. But this lineup is still loaded, and that should win them enough games to avoid the cellar. Maybe I’m overstating pitching, when Ryan Braun, Prince Fielder, Ricky Weeks, Corey Hart, and JJ Hardy is one helluva dangerous lineup. But this is a really bad pitching staff. Really bad.

20. Texas Rangers
They are the Brewers-AL. They have a huge batting lineup with Josh Hamilton, Michael Young, Ian Kinsler, and Hank Blalock (though they did lose Milton Bradley), but really no pitching to speak of. I also think Hamilton will go down a bit, and Young and Kinsler already were. They are going to have some trouble making the AL West a three team race. I predict the Rangers will have enough 14-5 games to make you think they’re competitors. But such would be a foolish proposition.

19. San Francisco Giants
What’s the opposite of the Rangers and Brewers? The SF Giants. They have, really, 5 stud pitchers. They also have a lot of solid hitters, but no greats. Emanuel Burress, Pablo Sandoval, and Fred Lewis could be great down the line, but are very young and inconsistent at the moment. Leading me to believe they’ll only be as good as the young hitters. Which would make them inconsistent.

18. Arizona Diamondbacks
The pitching here is not quite as loaded as in SF. But the hitting is a little more timely. Plus I like the addition of Garland to the back of that rotation. I’m also betting on a huge year from Justin Upton. He saw his bro on the big stage and wants a piece of the action. Behind Brandon Webb and Dan Haren, they have a shot. But I’m not too confident.

17. Atlanta Braves
I think these guys stay competitive in the division, even taking the lead for a while, for most of the year. But in the end, i think they fall short. Chipper, McCann, and Franceour certainly have the power, but I think they lack the bottom of the order/rotation depth to stay in the race. If any of those three or Derek Lowe get hurt, they’re done. And with those four players, the injury bug is inevitable.

16. Baltimore Orioles
This division is so good, the fourth best team is still among the top half of the league. Everyone on this team is young, and they’re starting to come into their own. Adam Jones in particular looks like a monster. And Markakis, Roberts, and Huff will help provide enough offense to stay competitive. How competitive remains to be seen. Especially in a division with 3 legit title contenders.

15. Houston Astros
To me, this is the hardest team to place. On one hand, that offense looks loaded. Berkman, Tejada, Lee, Bourn, Pence & a motivated Pudge? But after the ever-great Roy Oswalt, the rotation looks shaky. But I like this team as a sleeper pick. Sort of like the Braves and O’s above them. They’ll look good for most of the year, but will fall short in the end of being true contenders.

14. Kansas City Royals
Some of yall are sayin “whaaaaaaaaaat??!!” right now. Lots of good young talent here. Jacobs, Dejesus, Gordon. Greinke, Davies, Ramirez round out a talented young staff. They might be third in the division, but they will be a solid team. Watch out league.

13. Anaheim Angels of Los Angeles
Call me a homer all you like, but I think the Angels are in some trouble this year. K-Rod? Gone. Texiera? Gone. Garrett Anderson? Gone. Lackey? Hurt. Santana? Hurt. Escobar? Hurt. Vlad? on his way down. Abreu? On his way down. Joe Saunders is still solid, but how’s the rotation after that? What about the bullpen? Questionmarks surround this team. Even moreso than the A’s. Which is why I pick the A’s to win the division. Ok there. I said it. You’ll see my reasons later.

12. Florida Marlins
The Marlins were that team last year that stayed in the race most of the year but ended up on the wrong end at the finish. This year, I’d expect them to get a little better. But because the Phills and Mets are both looking better, the Marlins’ improvement isn’t likely to show up in the standings. The lineup is set, they’re just waiting on the young staff to catch up. Annibal Sanchez looked especially nasty at times last year. Nolasco’s quite good too. And Hanley Ramirez is a stud.

11. Minnesota Twins
If Francisco Liriano is as dominating as he was a couple of years ago watch out. They could easily win the division. But the bet here is that he’s sporadic. Although the Mauer/Morneau injuries bug me, I still think this is a very good team. If Gomez, Cuddyer and Nathan all play up to par, they should be in this race until the end. The Twins never cease to amaze.

10. Oakland A’s
A lot of people haven’t actually seen how good these kids in Oakland’s rotation are. While it might sound like I’m setting the bar a bit high, I fully expect Brett Anderson to be near-dominant right out of the gate. I think Cahill will start to come on more towards the end of the season, when he gets called back (he’s starting in the rotation mainly as a placeholder until Duke is healthy). Plus, did I mention they have a lot of guys who can hit now? Holliday, Giambi, Eric Chavez looks good, Cust, Cabrera, Nomar, etc. This is going to be a very solid ball club.

9. Cleveland Indians
I think they win the Central. I think Cliff Lee plays a little worse, but everyone else plays much better. I see Carmona and Pavano coming back into form and those young bats getting better production from Hafner Shin Soo Cho, Peralta, Cabrera, and a recovered Victor Martinez. You know you have a very good outfield when Ryan Garko can’t even break into the starting lineup. I think they win the Central, but ultimately lose in the ALDS to the Wild Card team.

8. New York Yankees
I think the Yanks give it a run. They’re much better this year, even with A-Rod hurt. But in the end, the A-rod injury is going to be too much to handle against the Red Sox and Rays. For one, the team’s strength is now the starting rotation with CC, Burnett, Wang, Pettite and Joba. But the bullpen is questionable and the lack of sluggers is alarming (especially for the Yanks). I like the Yanks, but not in that division.

7. New York Mets
I think the Mets fixed one hole only to create another. Yes the bullpen is much improved with K-Rod and Putz. But the rotation after Johan is questionable at best. We all know they can hit. Reyes, Wright, Beltran, and Delgado are all capable all-stars. But when Mike Pelfrey and Oliver Perez are your 2 & 3 starters, you might be in trouble. Just as the Giants won’t be able to win every game 1-0, the Mets will have trouble winning every game 15-10.

6. St. Louis Cardinals
I see a big bounce-back year for the Cards. In particular I see them getting healthy for once and grabbing the wild card from the Mets at the last moment. If Wainwright and Carpenter can stay healthy, they will be among the best in the league. They are solid 1-9 with a budding star in Ankiel and the best hitter in baseball in Pujols. They are my top sleeper pick for this year because the talent is there. But everyone has to stay healthy.

5. Los Angeles Dodgers
The real LA team re-signed Manny and Furcal. They also went out and grabbed Hudson. They look solid at every position with a true superstar in Manny and a great leadoff guy in Furcal. Billingsley and Kershaw looked better as the year went on, and I’d expect them to improve this year. The Dodgers are very good. But I don’t see them getting out of the NLDS, because the NL has suddenly gotten very good.

4. Tampa Bay Rays
I see the Rays grabbing the wildcard and returning to the ALCS, where they have revenge extracted upon them. Nevertheless they are very good. The crazy thing about their run last year is that most of these guys have more upside. They weren’t just playing over their heads. Evan Longoria will have a full year this time. They added a much needed DH in Pat Burrell. BJ Upton became a sueprstar last year, and he hit more homers in the postseason than the regular season. They still have that stud-laden pitching staff 1-4, with David Price just waiting to grab the fifth spot. These guys were no one year wonder, they’ll be back in the middle of things this year.

3. Chicago Cubs
Adding Milton Bradley is like making a one year investment. It’s basically saying “we want to win it all this year and don’t care about next year.” Well unfortunately, I see the Cubs falling in the NLCS this season. That bullpen just looks suspect to me. But wow, that’s a lineup. Adding Bradley to a lineup with Aramis Ramirez, Derrek Lee, Geovany Soto, and Alfonso Soriano. Again, Wow. And as I’ve mentioned many times, when healthy Rich Harden is the best pitcher in baseball. They also have Carlos Zambrano, Ted Lilly, and Ryan Dempster. Anything less than a title will be a disappointment. Well, I’m sorry to leave you disappointed Cubs fans.

2. Boston Red Sox
Think about this, the Sox rotation goes like this: Josh Becket, Jon Lester, DiceK, John Smoltz. This team is so loaded, Brad Penny is the long reliever. You have two (maybe 3) legit Cy Young candidates, a future hall of famer…..wow. I would say some of the older sluggers could use replacements like Ortiz, Lowell, Drew, and Varitek, but those guys are all still very quality hitters when in there. Plus, they even have very solid backups. That bullpen is still scary as well. It’s going to be tough to beat them, but one team can do it…..

1. Philadelphia Phillies
We know that they have superstars in Ryan Howard, Chase Utley, and Jimmy Rollins. We know that they have budding stars in Jason Werth, Shane Victorino, and Carlos Ruiz. We know that Cole Hamels and Brad Lidge are out of this world. We also know that Myers/Blanton/Moyer is as solid 2-4 as anyone. We also know Chris Coste and Greg Dobbs would start for most teams, maybe even in the middle of the lineup. We also know their bullpen is solid and that they’ll get good contributions from Raul Ibanez and Pedro Feliz. I like them to repeat. But what you might not know is just how funny Jimmy Rollins is:

My Five Favorite Jimmy Rollins YouTube Clips
5. Teaching Mike Lieberthal how to dance
4. The Sportscenter Training clip
3. The Dicks Sporting Goods Ad
2. Charlie Manuel bobblehead doll
1. His Ricky Henderson imitation

Ok so this new class of emcees has been hugely hyped. Here’s my guide to the 6 notables:

Maino

Singles: 1.) “Hi Hater” 2.) “All The Above”
Heavily buzzed and incredibly overrated, Maino has finally found a song even I couldn’t hate on with “All The Above” (though much props must be given to Just Blaze for the beat and T-Pain for the hook). Yes it’s more auto-tune madness, yes it’s a re-hashed beat, but it’s completely dope nonetheless. Building on the foundation of Blaze’s recent TI/Rihanna smash, “Live Your Life,” the beat is irresistible. And while I’d like to chalk this up to Pain and Blaze solely, one must admit that Maino does his THANG on this track. So props are given. However it’s hard to place him among this group. Maino’s name has been around forever and it seemed he’d be relegated to gangsta mixtape rapper ala Tru Life or Uncle Murda. He over drove “Hi Hater” and let the momentum die out. Let’s hope he doesn’t do that with this single. Although I’m quite the Maino ‘hater,’ even I’d like to see him succeed.

Asher Roth

Singles: 1.) “I Love College”

I’m tempted to say this guy is overrated too. But I think there’s more to it than that. He’d be right at home in the late 90’s. But he would’ve ended up on Rawkus and gotten lost in the shuffle. So maybe its better that he’s coming out now. Now, Asher has skills. He ripped Copywrite (who’s a pretty dope emcee in his own right) a new one. But to me, it seems like his label is trying so hard to make him the new Eminem, that it’s really just coming across as s forced. Hopefully after this album bricks, he’ll go somewhere with a lower budget but more artistic freedom. It won’t be until then that we’ll see how dope this kid really is. So while he might rip some of these other cats in a battle, I’d have to say he only barely keeps my attention further than Maino.

Charles Hamilton

Singles: 1.) “Brooklyn Girls
So this kid, I have no problem saying both that he’s dope, but a bit overrated. The Soulja Boy “beef” was strange and contrived. I am sort of afraid for him that Rhymefest is about to rip him a new asshole. But he has a good thing going. “Brooklyn Girls” has slowly caught on and, if he can get Jimmy Iovine away from his desperate attempts to force-feed us Eminem, Dre, and 50 albums, he has momentum for a bigger follow-up.  He’s definitely talented – both as an emcee and a producer, but you wonder if the pure quantity of product he’s releasing is possibly watering down the product itself.  The thing is, he’s definitely better than Maino or Asher.  But is he better than Cudi?  No.  B.O.B. or Wale?  Not even close…

Kid Cudi

Singles: 1.) Day & Nite

Perhaps the biggest single of the year thus far is Cudi’s stoner anthem “Day N Nite.” Cudi is a throwback to the 90’s era of stoner/creative rappers like Hiero and Pharcyde. With the G.O.O.D. Music muscle behind him (not to mention inevitable cameos from Kanye, Common, Consequence, John Legend, and the rest), he should be good with the marketing game.  There’s really no great current comparison for him, though maybe a more drug-induced Lupe Fiasco? Plus the kid looks like some sort of weird cross between Monta Ellis and Prince Paul. That’s always a plus.

Wale

Singles: 1.) “Fresh”
The Punchline King. I haven’t been this big on a punchline rapper since the 90’s, but Wale’s got mad flow and charisma to go with the package. He has shown he can rhyme over anything, and he’s got the right people behind him to be a star. It seems like it’s only a matter of “when” not “if.” Of course, we’ve said that before with other rappers, so we’ll see how this lasts. “Fresh” is quite fresh and is very dope in its’ own with a well-timed Lady Gaga hook. So it could be very soon that Wale is all over the place. One only hopes that when he does blow up, he remembers what got him there.

B.O.B.

Singles: 1.) “Haterz Everywhere”, 2.) “I’ll Be In The Sky”
While there are a ton of rappers who compare themselves to Jay-Z, Snoop, and Nas, there’s another legend whom B.O.B. compares to that’s a more difficult lane to fill. B.O.B. just reminds everyone of Andre 3000. He’s just ill on the mic, and maad experimental. He brings some originality to the game that desperately needs it.  With T.I. locked up, hopefully the rest of Grand Hu$tle gives him the push he deserves, cuz this kid is a superstar in the waiting.