Built Ford Tough

I actually really like what Alan Anderson has done since the Raptors signed him from the D-League. He does a nice job defensively, plays within himself offensively and is just a smart player that you can count on to not make mistakes out there. Too bad there probably won't be any room on the roster for him past this season, assuming the Raptors draft a wing player. Hopefully he can stick somewhere in the league as he has certainly worked his ass off to get back in the league (played in like 5 different countries and the D-League since his last NBA stint).

http://sports.yahoo.com/news/ncaa-puts-baylor-basketball-3-193519192--spt.html;_ylt=ArVWhR4f4SyRYZfnWOnHK0s5nYcB I really don't think anybody should be surprised by this. Baylor went from a relatively obscure college to getting top 5 recruits like PJ3, Quincy Miller and Isiah Austin 3 years in a row. PJ3 is understandable considering he wanted to be close to his sick mom, but the other 2 definitely makes you think that there was something fishy going on down in Waco. If it was only 1 or 2 players seperated by a couple of years it wouldn't have been suspicious, but with them going 3 straight seasons with a top 5 recruit, you knew something must be going on there.

Definitely. In my opinion, the three games tonight are the three most interesting series. Philly/Pitt is an obvious one, then there is the Preds/Wings which should be great and the Kings/Nucks. All three series should be fantastic as the games are always fun to watch when they meet up.

I don't know why, but I got a nice laugh out of this. Airballs a finger roll: 3 minutes later, dunks on Whiteside: Does this pretty much sum up Carter nowadays? I think so.

Doesn't the U.S Olympic Committee pay you if you win a medal anyways? Something like $20-25K for a gold, $15K for a silver and $10K for a bronze? If that is the case, they are basically guaranteed $10K and more than likely $25K. What more do players (not just Wade, as other players have said this before) want? Its not like they make millions and millions of dollars or anything like that. Oh, wait... EDIT: Also, it is once every four years and nobody is even forcing you to go. If you don't like that you aren't getting paid, well, don't play. Nobody is forcing you to. I'm sure there are many other players around the country that would jump at the opportunity and couldn't care less if they were paid or not.

DeRozan will explode against Iggy tonight. I predict 14 points on 4-19 shooting.

Romero was dominant today. I didn't catch the whole game, but from what I did see of him, he was absolutely nasty. Boston had no answer for him. It is a shame he couldn't close out the game and get the CG, but whatever. His two walks in the 9th doesn't change how great he was. Nice to see Santos get Youkalis and Ortiz out when he came in, especially after blowing that save in opening day. He did a lot better job of locating his pitches today. I'm happy with taking 2 of 3 against the Sox, especially since Bautista looked like crap all series long. The offense in general has been pretty poor, and I can't see them continuing to struggle to score runs.

For anybody who doesn't know, Noel and Muhammad are announcing where they are going to college next year today. I think it will be on ESPN, but since I don't have it I'm not 100% sure. I do know it will be at 7:30 EST. Predictions for me where I think they'll go and where I want them to go in brackets. Bazz - UCLA (UCLA) Noel - Kentucky (G'Town)

Depends on how highly Edmonton value guys like Dumba, Trouba, Rielly or Reinheart. If it were me, I wouldn't do it as Murray would be my target and he would be gone at 5. I think Murray is going to be an elite defenseman for many years, the type of guy who can anchor a blueline, win a couple Norris', play in all situations and eat up 25+ minutes a night.

That is exactly why they are shutting him down. The Raptors looked to be basically locked into a bottom 4 record until Bargnani came back and they started playing near .500 basketball (they were 10-12 in their last 22 games at one point and had a 3 game winning streak at another). Colangelo probably looked up at the standings, saw the Raptors were sitting in 7th last and said that enough was enough, we have to make sure that we lose at least 7 or 8 of our last 10 to ensure a bottom 5 pick. Well, I'm sure they are a bit worried about his calf since he has re-aggrivated it two times this year now, but I'd be willing to be more of it is about the tank.

Yeah, I can agree with that. Throw Drummond into that catagory as well. He would've been a virtual lock to go top 2, possibly even 1st. The same could be said about last years class as well. Barnes would've been a lock for the 1st pick, Knight would've went ahead of Irving and PJ3 would likely be the other top 3 pick. Sullinger would probably go in the top 4 and Irving would fall to 5th. To be perfectly honest, I'd be fine with players having to stay for 2 years. Just make it so that the rule comes into place after the Raptors are done with their tanking, haha.

I would be surprised if the draft order stays the same come the draft, though. I just don't see Edmonton keeping that pick and taking Yakupov, as good as he is. I can definitely see them trading down to draft Murray or Dumba, perhaps even lower and taking one of Rielly, Trouba or Reinhart, depending on if they get an established young d-man with a pick int he 7-10 range. If they do end up taking Yakupov, wow. Eberle, RNH, Yakupov and Hall is an absolutely sick young forward group to build around.

http://www.thestar.com/sports/basketball/nba/raptors/article/1158841--toronto-raptors-fall-short-in-103-98-loss-to-indiana-pacers Next up, Jose Calderon.... I wish.

If Melo is there I think Cleveland are fools if they don't draft him (or at least another legitimate center, which there aren't many of at that stage in the draft). They absolutely need to get a big in my opinion. Of course, if they draft Drummond with their first pick, that changes and I would expect them to target a guy like Doron Lamb, Dion Waiters or some other talented swing with the Lakers pick (or the Mavs pick, if they fall out of the top 20). I actually think out of all the prospects MKG could find himself fall the furthest during all the combine and workouts. He isn't particularly skilled, athletic or long so I doubt he will really wow players. That isn't to say he isn't a good player, but we see guys like Lamb, Barnes, PJ3, etc... shoot up in these situations while the more blue collar players like MKG slide a bit. The problem with Crawford is that he is literally the exact same player this year as he was last year. I admit to not seeing many Wizard games this year, but from what I have I have seen absolutely no growth in his game. Hell, I haven't really seen any growth since his final year at Xavier. That suggests to me he doesn't really have much upside left. As far as Barnes, I am still higher on him than most and I can understand why you think he would be a good fit in Washington. I don't disagree with it. I think his stock will rise again once measurements come out and pre draft workouts begin, just like somebody like Jeremy Lamb. Both of them are long and skilled and those players usually kill workouts. Then again, I think Beal could solidify himself as the consensus number 2 pick as well, especially if he measures out well (6'5 with a 6'10+ wingspan, which is possible). I am just going off of the information I have now and doing what I think each team will do, not necessarily what I would do for them (although that does play a factor as well). Swing for the fences is my opinion. Drummond has as much upside as anybody in the draft and if he reaches that upside, you have the most dominant big man duo in the league bar none. A Cousins/Drummond duo is the type of combination that will lead teams to championships. There is no doubt in my mind about that. Don't get me wrong, Barnes is an excellent fit there as well. He would fit in perfectly with the ball dominant and high usage players like Evans, Thornton, Thomas and Cousins and I certainly understand where you are coming from. I just couldn't pass up the opportunity to form the next great "twin towers" duo, especially when dominant bigs are at such a premium right now. I like him, but I really don't think he will be that great in the NBA. A better shooting Andre Miller is about what I think his ceiling will be. That is a pretty good player, though, considering Miller has had a very solid career and led the league in assists before. I hope he becomes stud and top tier point guard because he is one of my favourite players in the draft. I just don't think it will happen. The best part of them pairing those two up (if it were to happen) is that they will very likely be in a prime position to draft in the top 3 next year as well. I think Davis will be a stud, but I don't think he is going to come in and have a huge impact immediately, so the Bobcats won't be significantly better next year. If they are able to get Shabazz Muhammad next year, look out. I can understand where you are coming from. I don't think it will produce the stars that any of those drafts did, but I can easily see it having upwards of 10 players who become good NBA players. It is a very deep draft. The one knock is that there are few players that project to be perennial all-star players like the ones you mentioned did.

Crawford is a non-factor. You don't pass up on a guy because you have Jordan Crawford on your team. That is ridiculous. Crawford is a low percentage chucker who will never be a starter on a contending team. If you want to go that route, I counter with Singleton already being on the roster. He is a better player than Crawford is. Really though, other than Wall, there is no player on Washington's roster that you would not draft a particular position because you already have *fill in the blank* on the roster. As for Beal, I just think he is a better prospect than MKG. I realize MKG is the more hyped and high touted player, but I truly believe Beal is not only better, but has more potential. Like I said in the write up, Beal has legitimate star potential both offensively and defensively while MKG really doesn't have a lot of offensive potential in my mind. Basically, I'm just not nearly as high on MKG as many other people are. I could easily be wrong about him, but I just don't think he is this can't miss prospect. He will be a great role player but with a top 3 pick in a draft, you should set your sights higher than a glue guy. Beal has the potential to be much more than that. In regards to Lillard over Marshall, I talk about it later in this post when responding to Flash. I did think of putting Rivers to Houston and I actually had him going there first before I changed it. I just like Moultrie more as a prospect. I know he is a junior and Rivers is a freshman and usually you think the freshman has more upside, but I actually think Moultrie has more room to grow. I just don't think Mississppi State did a really good job of utilizing him and I also don't think him and Sidney really complimented each other very well. I can understand the logic behind Rivers going to Houston, though. If I'm being perfectly honest, I don't think he falls to the end of the first round and will be picked up in the 20-25 range. With his skillset I can easily see him impressing in workouts and moving up the board. I do absolutely love the fit for Chicago. Fair enough and I definitely don't disagree with you. I can see an argument for either one. Ultimately, I just think Lillard is going to be a better player. He has more transferable skills to the NBA than Marshall does. I also think with Hayward being a reliable point forward that they don't need a pure facilitator like Marshall and can afford to have more of a scoring point. Really though, there are arguments for and against each of them. It is also difficult to really go into any real detail since I highly doubt anybody on here has seen Lillard play anymore than one time. I know I've only seen just 3 games of his this year. I came away very impressed in thos games, but still, 3 games is hardly enough to judge a player on. I know that Rivers is a big name and all, but what really seperates him from Alec Burks? High school hype and the Rivers name is all that I can come up with because it certainly isn't anything he did during his only season at Duke. Burks was a much more productive college player. Yeah, he stayed two years but even then, his freshman numbers are better than Rivers' basically across the board. The only thing Rivers had on him was three point shooting. Add to that Burks has very nice size (6'6), wingspan (6'10) and is more athletic than Rivers. He hasn't had a great rookie season by any means, but there have been flashes of his potential. I honestly don't think Rivers is really that much of an improvement on Burks. I guess since they have two picks I can understand it, but still, I'd rather go for a higher upside player such as Jones than Rivers. I'm not very high on Rivers, though. His season at Duke was very average if you look at advanced stats.

Just so this is clear, I do think that the Rangers will win. However, I do know where ECN is coming from with the comments about the Sens. They have gotten the better of the Rangers for the last few years now (something like 11-2-1 in the last 14 games I think), including winning the season series this year. Craig Anderson has never lost a game at MSG in his career (6-0). I also believe both Spezza and Alfredsson play very well against the Rangers as well, and those two, along with Karlsson, are the catalysts of the Sens offense. So just using past history I can understand why he would think that an upset is likely. There is some clear anti-Rangers sentiment as well, though. That is for sure. Not surprising at all. I know a lot of people that are looking forward to that series more than any other. It should be a fantastic series.

Alright, this is a little later than I had intended it to be. I was aiming to do one right after the NCAA Tournament finished, but as you can tell, I'm a week late in my third mock draft. Like last time, I'm using my judgement on players who i think will enter. That means I will not be including Cody Zeller despite him still being included on some other mock drafts as I believe he will be returning to Indiana for his sophomore season. As usual, write ups for lottery picks only, although this may change in my next edition. I'm not sure yet. V4 will be posted after the lottery which is May 30th. So I'm aiming for the first week of June, but as I don't know for sure what I will be doing then, I'm not making any promises. Anyways, enough chit chat. Here is the mock: 1. Charlotte Bobcats: PF Anthony Davis, Kentucky, Freshman Davis has been the consensus number 1 pick for pretty much the entire season and he showed exactly why as he led Kentucky to their 8th National Championship, winning Most Outstanding Player in the process. The final game against Kansas showed just who Davis is a special prosect as he completely dominated the game despite struggling to score the ball all game long. His defense, rebounding and shot blocking controlled the tempo of the game. His offense is still inconsistent, but he has shown improvement as the season went along, including a nice ability to play a point forward role from the high post, which is obviously a testament to his days as a point guard. 2. Washington Wizards: SG Bradley Beal, Florida, Freshman Beal had a coming out party in the tournament, putting together a stellar run of games that showcased his vast skillset. He averaged 15.6 points, 8.3 rebounds, 3 assists and 1.5 steals on on 60.6 FG% and 41.3 3PT%. His defining game was a 21 point, 6 rebounds, 4 assist, 2 steal and 2 block on 8-of-10 shooting against the third seeded Marquette. That game showed Beals ability to have an all-around impact on the game. For the Wizards, Beal would slot in perfectly as a do it all shooting guard beside John Wall. He is an excellent shooter which will give Wall and Nene the space they need to work inside, he will be able to handle some of the playmaking and ball handling responsibility to help ease the pressure off of Wall, is a very good defender giving the Wizards a nice long, athletic backcourt. I know that Michael Kidd-Gilchrist is the popular choice here, but Beal gives the Wizards a higher upside player who can impact the game in a variety of ways like MKG, but can also be a dynamic scoring threat in addition to all of the intangibles he brings. 3. New Orleans Hornets: PF Thomas Robinson, Kansas, Junior Robinson gives the Hornets a dynamic and explosive athlete at the power forward position to build around. Robinson has begun to develop a solid faceup game, improved his handles as the season has gone and is adding a nice mid range jumper to his repertoire. He is also a terrific rebounder who does a great job of establishing position and battling for the 50-50 rebounds. With his athleticism, he would be even more effective with the more fast paced and less congested NBA game. Robinson didn't have a great tournament as at times he struggled with his efficiency, but he did prove that he is capable of coming up big when it matters by being the catalyst of multiple double digit comebacks before ultimately falling short against Kentucky in the final game of the collegiate season. With him getting very little playing time his first two years with Kansas, he also has more upside than you would expect from a college junior. 4. Cleveland Cavaliers: SF Michael Kidd-Gilchrist, Kentucky, Freshman Many people believe Kidd-Gilchrist will be the second overall pick and I can understand why, but I just don't think he has the offensive upside that you would want from a top 3 pick. He is by no means an offensive liability as he does a nice job of finishing around the basket, excells in transition and can do a bit of ball handling here and there, but it is certainly not a strong part of his game. Despite that, MKG is a fantastic defender, excellent rebounder and has a relentless motor. He is the type of player that every team needs. The ultimate glue guy who does all of the little things that are required if you are to win in this league. He may never be a number one, or even number two, scoring option, but he will be that guy you look to when you need a big defensive stop or come away with a key rebound in the dying minutes of a close game, as he proved in the final minutes of the championship game when he made a potential game saving block on Tyshawn Taylor. 5. Sacramento Kings: PF/C Andre Drummond, Connecticut, Freshman Drummond didn't live up to expectations and dominate like he was projected to, but he did show flashes of the immense potential that he has. His combination of size, strength and athleticism is very rare in a player of any age, let alone a teenager. He still needs to work on his fundamentals, focus and understanding of defensive and offensive positioning. The potential of a DeMarcus Cousins and Drummond frontcourt pairing is simply too much to pass up, though. Worst case scenario is that Drummond becomes a DeAndre Jordan like shot blocker and rim protector, which will still compliment Cousins very well. Best case scenario is that the Kings find themselves with two absolutely dominant big men to build around in a league that is hurting for dominant bigs. 6. Toronto Raptors: SF Harrison Barnes, North Carolina, Sophomore Everybody knows the story with Barnes. He was one of the most hyped players to ever enter college. Some were calling him the next Kobe Bryant. He was the first ever Freshman to be named Preseason All-American and was supposed to be the next big thing. Things didn't exactly turn out that way. Barnes struggled early one, bounced back to finish his freshman season strong. He continued that into the early parts of his sophomore season but down the stretch, he struggled. After Kendall Marshall got injured Barnes shot just 8-30 in the final two games of his college career, which was a huge concern for peoeple feared he may struggle creating his own offense. Despite that, Barnes has textbook form on his jumper, has great size, is a solid rebounder and can still score the ball. Who knows, maybe with the increased spacing at the next level he will be able to create his own shot more effectively as well. He still has the potential to be a bonafide number one offensive option, which is something the Raptors desperately need and is also something that cannot be said for a vast majority of this class. 7. Portland Traiblazers (From New Jersey): SG Jeremy Lamb, Connecticut, Sophomore Lamb broke out in last years NCAA Tournament, continued it over into the summer where he was the go to scorer for USA's U-19 team and looked to bring that momentum into his sophomore season. He sort of accomplished that as he was the highest scoring wingman out of the projected lottery picks, but the Huskies had an inconsistent and underwhelming season. Lamb didn't show a lot of aggressiveness or assertive himself. Part of the problem was plaing with two ball dominant, seflish point guards, but part of it was also on Lamb simply not demanding the ball. Still, despite his up and down season Lamb is a great shooter, has nice athleticism, can create his own offense off the bounce (although he looks to finish with mid range jumpers as oppsed to getting all the way to the rim) and has an absolutely ridiculous wingspan that enables him to shoot over anybody and be a terror in the passing lanes. Expect him to absolutely wow in pre draft workouts and shoot up the draft board from his current projection as a late lottery pick. 8. Detroit Pistons: PF John Henson, North Carolina, Junior This is the first pick where I am using need as a more dominating factor than talent. That isn't to say that Henson is not a talented player but there are more gifted players on the board. Despite that, Henson gives Detroit a shot blocking and defensive presence to pair alongside budding star center Greg Monroe. Henson will be able to provide the shot blocking inside that Monroe doesn't give them, is a good rebounder and offensively, he has developed a nice mid range jumper which will help keep the interior open for Monroe to operate in the lost post. Henson will need to bulk up and add muscle to avoid being physically dominated by NBA big men and will never be a star, but he does give them the ideal pairing next to Monroe and a great building block to add to a nice young core. 9. Utah Jazz (From Golden State): PG Damian Lillard, Weber State, Junior The Jazz's need for a point guard is well known. They have nice young players at every other position. Weber is a dynamic scorer who can penetrate into the lane at will. He has a nice jumper that stretches out to the three point line. He has a nice combination of size, length and athleticism, although he isn't freakish in any of these areas. He does combine them with an advanced skillset and a swagger to back it up. He does need to work on his playmaking skills as he is not a traditional pass first point guard by any means. He is a scoring guard first and foremost, but that isn't to say he has no playmaking ability. He definitely needs to learn when he needs to pass and when he needs to look for his own shot, but that will come with more experience and also being surrounded by a better team, since he really was the only offensive threat for Weber State. If the Jazz decide a more traditional point guard is needed to share the ball between the rest of their young talent, Kendall Marshall would be the pick here. 10. New Orleans Hornets (From Minnesota): C Tyler Zeller, North Carolina, Senior After drafting their power forward of the future with an earlier pick, the Hornets complete the re-tooling of their frontcourt by selecting Zeller here. Zeller has great touch around the basket, a nice hook shot over both his right and left shoulder in the post and is a capable shooter from 18 feet and in. His best attribute is without a doubt his ability to run the floor and establish deep position before the opposing bigs can get set. He compliments this with great hands which allows him to catch passes despite being on the run, which is something a lot of bigs can't do. Him and Robinson would combine to be a formidable big man duo. Zeller may not be a physical specimen or have the upside as some other candidates. What he does have is a great understanding of the game and a very low risk attached to him. Zeller will be an NBA player and he will be an effective one. He is simply too talented and too smart of a player not to. The question is whether his low ceiling is worth being selected this early or if the Hornets would be better served with drafting a player with more upside here. 11. Portland Trailblazers: PG Kendall Marshall, North Carolina, Sophomore Marshall is the best passer in this draft. Nobody did more for their stock than him during the conference and NCAA tournaments. He was beginning to show more scoring potential than many originally thought he had, including hitting the three ball at a very efficient clip. He started to use his size more and bully opposing point guards, which is something he will need to continue to do to make up for pedestrial atheleticism. What was most evident is how disjointed the Tar Heels offense was without him. The most prolific offensive team in the country struggled to do anything on that end of the floor without his playmaking ability. A team full of McDonald's All-Americans could do next to nothing without his playmaking ability. Put him in a lineup with players such as Nicolas Batum, LaMarcus Aldridge, Wesley Mathews, Jeremy Lamb and JJ HIckson and you have the ideal point guard to get all of these talented offensive players the opportunities that they need to thrive. 12. Milwaukee Bucks: Perry Jones III This pick is all about upside, and PJ3 is oozing it. He is gifted both physicall with tremendous length, athletically with a fluidity that not many big men have and from a skills standpoint with the ability to step outside, handle the ball and beat you inside as well. If he has all of these things, why is he falling to the late stages of the lottery, then? Well, he has shown a very low motor and the inability to take over a game despite his physical tools. He disappears for entire halves or even games which leaves many people questioning his desire for the game or even going as far as to question his heart. At the end of the day Jones is too gifted to pass up at this stage in the draft. If he does ever put it all together there is no question that he could become the best player in this draft class. With a pick in the late lottery, that it too enticing to pass up. 13. Utah Jazz: SF/PF Terrence Jones, Kentucky, Sophomore Much like the previous pick, this is another one with upside in mind. When motivated and playing hard, there aren't 12 players in this draft better than Jones. He can beat you inside and out, holds a quickness advantage over opposing 4's and a size and strength advantage over 3's. He is a solid rebounder, can block shots and is a solid individual defender as well. The problem is that, like Perry Jones III, he disappears for stretches. His play in the tournament started to turn people around on him as he had a great run and was vital in Kentucky's championship, but those runs does not completely eliminate the previous two seasons when these problems were consistently a factor. With Utah having so much young talent already on the roster, they can afford to take a gamble on Jones' upside here, though. 14. Phoenix Suns: PF Jared Sullinger, Ohio State, Sophomore This is probably low for Sullinger but his inability to do anything against the length of Kansas in the Final Four cemented basically all of the concerns I have with him at the next level. In college, his lack of athleticism isn't much of a problem since he can simply overpower and bully most players. The fact that he plays below the rim doesn't matter because he uses his body to carve out space. However, at the next level when the players are bigger, stronger and more athletic, will he be able to do these things? He certainly struggled against size and length in the tournament. Still, Sullinger does have a refined post game, has added a face up jumper to his arsenal and does a great job of using his body to carve out space both offensively and when battling for defensive rebounds. It is not like he doesn't have any skill or talent because he most definitely does. I just can't get over how much he struggles when he isn't the biggest guy on the court. Kevin Love did just fine in the NBA and he had all these concerns coming out of UCLA as well, but he was also more talented and athletic than Sullinger. Still, who knows. 15. Philadelphia 76ers: C Meyers Leonard, Illinois, Sophomore 16. Denver Nuggets: SG/SF Terrence Ross, Washington, Sophomore 17. Houston Rockets (From New York): PF/C Arnett Moultrie, Mississippi State, Junior 18. Dallas Mavericks: SG Austin Rivers, Duke, Freshman 19. New Jersey Nets (From Houston): PG/SG Tony Wroten Jr., Washington, Freshman 20. Orlando Magic: PF Andrew Nicholson, St. Bonaventure, Senior 21. Memphis Grizzlies: SF Moe Harkless, St. John's, Feshman 22. Atlanta Hawks: SF Royce White, Iowa State, Sophomore 23. Boston Celtics: SG Dion Waiters, Syracuse, Sophomore 24. Boston Celtics (From LA Clippers): SF Jeff Taylor, Vanderbilt, Senior 25. Indiana Pacers: SG/SF Evan Fournier, International 26. Cleveland Cavaliers (From LA Lakers): C Fab Melo, Syracuse, Sophomore 27. Golden State Warriors (From San Antonio): SF/PF CJ Leslie, NC State, Sophomore 28. Miami Heat: C Festus Ezeli, Vanderbilt, Senior 29. Oklahoma City Thunder: PF Draymond Green, Michigan State, Senior 30. Chicago Bulls: SG Doron Lamb, Kentucky, Sophomore

Well, he wasn't 5-25, but DeRozan was a sparkling 4-12 tonight (he was actually 6-22 against OKC, not 5-25, if that makes much of a difference). He is now 10 for his last 34 and is shooting 42% for the season. Him and Bargnani, the two go to scorers for Toronto, are both under 44% shooting.

Santos with his second blown save already. Not a good start by any means, especially after how bad the Jays were at closing out games last season. I really don't know a lot about his time in Chicago, but so far in the three games I've seen from him in Toronto, he has good stuff but has really struggled with control. Tonight he was really bad locating his pitches. He had one where Arencibia wanted it high and away and he missed low and in. There was the pitch up against Pedroia that led off the start of the 9th. He had a wild pitch, another pitch that was wild but Arencibia managed to block it and another that could've easily been counted as a wild pitch but was instead credited as a passed ball against Arencibia. The stuff is there, though, so I'm hoping it is just a matter of him needing to get his control back, which should come in time. I thought Alvarez was solid. Nothing spectacular by any means, but he only made the one big mistake, which was the Pedroia homer. Looking forward to seeing Drabek tomorrow. Hopefully he can bounce back after what was basically a write off season last year.

Blue Jays home opener comes first, so I'll likely watch this on LP later tonight. Of course, I might just say screw it and not even subject myself to the torture of watching this team attempt to play basketball. I wonder if DeRozan will have another 5-25 night shooting? Those are always fun to watch.

I honestly think that would make it worse. I find Augustin way more fun to watch than Walker. Kemba really is not a very exciting player at this level. From all the games I've seen, he basically just dribbles, dribbles, dribbles and then when he can't shake his defender, he chucks up a step back jumper or fadeaway. Of course he is a rookie and has room to grow, so it wouldn't exactly be a terrible decision. I just don't think it would make them anymore fun to watch this year.

That is nothing. I decided since it was a season opener I would write an inning-by-inning recap of the game. 5 and a half hours and 6,000 words later... Anyways, looking forward to seeing Alvarez tonight. I am very high on him and think he is the best young arm in the Jays system. It would surprise me at all if he ends up becoming the ace of this staff in a few years and I am a huge fan of Romero's. Guy has nasty stuff and from everything I've read about him, it has only improved since last year. What he did last season was pretty damn special considering he was basically using two pitches the entire time, which isn't supposed to be the case this year.

Way to go out on a limb.

Boyle scores in overtime and the playoff matches are officially set. East: 1. Rangers 8. Senators 2. Bruins 7. Capitals 3. Panthers 6. Devils 4. Penguins 5. Flyers West: 1. Canucks 8. Kings 2. Blues 7. Sharks 3. Coyotes 6. Blackhawks 4. Predators 5. Red Wings Predictions?

My game thoughts. Despite being 2 years younger than Muhammad, Wiggins pretty much outplayed him in the first half. He took more of a backseat to Saric and Westermann in the 2nd half as they did most of the creating, so he only ended up with 5 points in the half, but still, for being the youngest player on the floor he was brilliant. Once he tightens up his handle and adds a few go to and counter moves, he is going to be absolutely devestating. It is kind of scary how good he is at such a young age. He was out there playing against some of the best high school seniors in the country and more than held his own as a sophomore. That is very impressive. As for Muhammad, he did a nice job scoring, but he has a serious case of tunnel vision. I realize his team was struggling for offense basically all game but he was a serious gunner in this game. Every time he touched the rock he was launching it. He did finish with 35 points (a new record) so you can't complain too much. He definitely needs to fix that next year. Speaking of next year, after watching this game I'm convinced now more than ever that Muhammad needs to go to UCLA next year. Him and Anderson just work so well together despite playing very little. With a whole season together, they will be an absolutely dealdy combination. Noel has great defensive instincts, does a nice job rotating and had some very impressive blocks, but he is a huge work in progress offensively. Very mechanical and doesn't understand where to be on the court. There was one play in particular where they isolated Shabazz on the left wing and instead of staying on the weakside, Noel came over to the strongside, bringing his man with him, and in the process clogging the lane. I think going to Georgetown would do him well since they are so good at poudning fundamentals into their bigs. Of course he'd thrive in either Kentucky or Syracuse as well, but I think going to Georgetown would be the best decision for him to expand his all around game. Saric is a treat to watch. So smooth with the ball, is a great rebounder and so skilled. His vision is very impressive. There were at least 5 highlight passes he made today that most big men simply don't have the ability to make. I'm not sure when he will plan on making the jump to the NBA (I think he has a fairly lengthy contract in Europe right now so it might not be for another 3-4 years) but he is going to be a stud when he does make the jump. I always thought the Dirk offensive game mixed with Kukoc's point forward ability was a stretch, but I certainly saw those today. Obviously I'm not saying he is going to be that player, but I can see why those comparisions have been made. Wang Zhelin gained the most from this event. I fully admit to having absolutely no idea who he was before tonight but he certainly made an impression. His footwork and touch around the basket was really impressive for such a young player. I really liked how he used fakes and took his time underneath to get himself better looks at the basket. Anthony Bennett showed flashes tonight, but I wasn't too impressed overall. The skill is there, but he plays pretty grounded (despite being fairly impressive as a dunker) and he doesn't have great size at 6'7 (although his wingspan is around 7 feet). I do think he is going to have a very good college career and as a member of the Canadian national team, but I'm not exactly sure how he is going to do in the NBA. Of course he is still young, like all these players, and a lot can change between now and the time they are 22 years old. That three point dagger he hit was straight dirty, though. I'll leave it at that to avoid making this post too long winded. A fun game to watch.