I am a die hard Chicago Cub fan and I have a strong belief in the power of the curse.  The curse is real and it has had a giant effect on my life in a lot of ways.  What I’ve done though is take that same curse and apparently apply to teams and players that I’ve mentioned.  Specifically I’m talking about the Orlando Magic.  I tooted their horn and now they have gone very cold.  Jameer Nelson is struggling, Turkoglu isn’t putting up miracle numbers anymore and the bench play is hurting them.  They aren’t just losing games, they are getting beaten down pretty badly.

Now I’ve decided to talk up the Blazers.  I have to.  They’ve won 11 straight games which is good in any league let alone the NBA.  The Blazers were supposed to be so down this year after losing first round pick Greg Oden to microfracture surgery, but instead have rebounded well.  After getting off to a horrible start they have played as well or better than any team in the league over the past 3 weeks.  I think the secret has been the play of Travis Outlaw.  Outlaw, who was drafted out of high school, has filled out and has amazing athletic ability.  He has really worked on his game and he causes all kinds of matchup problems for teams that have to guard him 20 feet away from the basket.  Steve Blake at point guard has freed up Brandon Roy at the shooting guard and LaMarcus Aldridge is showing that he is going to be a force in the league.  They are the youngest team in the NBA and they could be growing up before our eyes.  Like most young teams they will have long winning streaks and bouts of poor play but we are getting a glimpse of what will come in Portland.  When Oden gets in there and they can surround him with the guys that are there and winning now, this team will be the best in the West.

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I’ve written my fair share about how good I think Derrick Rose is as Memphis but I haven’t written much about how I feel about the program in general.  Memphis coach John Calipari gets good kids into his program.  He gets the type of kids that play well in his system and they are all athletic.  This team is no different.  They have weapons all over the court and I think Georgetown won’t be able to play with them. 

Georgetown is very good and would’ve been even better if Seattle rookie Jeff Green was still wearing the lovely Hoyas colors.  He isn’t and left behind is a Georgetown team currently ranked fifth but facing their first true challenge.  The Hoyas are a very balanced team with no players averaging over 13 a game but no starter averaging under 9.  They play tough defense and try to limit teams offensively.  Georgetown will have to do everything in their power to slow this game down and control tempo.  They need to take advantage of the inside presence of Hibbert and see what he can do. 

 When it comes down to it I think that Memphis just has too many pieces to throw at Georgetown.  They will want to make this game go up and down and wear down the big guy.  Joey Dorsey from Memphis is a big physical presence inside and he’ll make it very difficult for Big Roy.  The dark horse for the game is point guard Jonathan Wallace for Georgetown.  Wallace is coming off a great season last year and he’ll have his hands full trying to stay with Rose.  He has experience and is a lot better than people give him credit for.  He’s capable of going for 20 plus points and if he does Georgetown will be right there. 

I’m actually excited to watch this game because it is such a contrast of strengths and weaknesses, but I’ll be surprised if Georgetown pulls this one off.

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Billy Gillispie is a very good college basketball coach and I don’t think anyone will dispute that statement, but what he is doing at Kentucky is less than impressive.  Gillispie’s Wildcats got pounded last night at Houston and are on their way to a tough season where it will be hard for them to finish at or above .500. 

I don’t fault Gillispie for everything, just like I don’t fault Charlie Weis for everything at Notre Dame.  Gillispie will win at Kentucky but he must be given time.  I don’t feel it is any coincidence that Tubby Smith resigned his post seeing what he had coming back.  I think Tubby sensed that and got out and got a good job while he still could.  Charlie Weis will win at Notre Dame in football also and his ability to recruit will be the key.  The Irish have the top recruiting class in the country coming in again so success for them isn’t far off and he deserves a chance to see that through.  Gillispie will get his recruits in there playing the type of game he wants to play and they’ll win.  Gillispie is a Bill Self disciple and is set on the high/low offense that Kansas uses.  Tubby Smith had Kentucky playing a more up and down game with a motion offense and believe me that it makes a difference.  Coaches love to recruit kids to fit a certain system and Gillispie will bring those kids in.

My one question mark is his recent hiring of Tracy Webster from Illinois.  Webster never proved to be that great of a recruiter for Illinois.  If a guy can’t recruit local kids coming off a National Championship run in 2005, then how good is going to be trying to fill some holes on a sub .500 team that couldn’t beat Gardner-Webb?  Meanwhile, Illinois hires Jerrance Howard from Kentucky and he comes in and closes on 4 top 100 recruits in a matter of weeks, which is something Webster never did. 

College basketball needs Kentucky to be good because they are such a national team and a team that has the most passionate fans in the sport.  Gillispie is sinking now but years from now Kentucky will be better off for hiring him.  He’s underachieving like Charlie Weis as it sits but both programs will return to prominence under them.

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On Wednesday the Celtics play the Pistons in what may very well be a prelude to the Eastern Conference Finals.  The Celtics play them at home but this game has a bit of a nice early season edge to it.  Boston has the best record in the league at 20-2 and is simply dominating games on offense and defense.  Kevin Garnett is averaging human numbers for the first time in many seasons, but he doesn’t have to carry the entire load.  Paul Pierce and Ray Allen are both playing very well and carrying the team on any given night.  The best part so far is that Rajon Rondo is shooting 53% from the field which is a miracle in itself.  The last time I checked Rajon couldn’t shoot 53% in a gym by himself with nobody guarding him. 

The Pistons are playing very well and showing excellent depth as their strength.  Chauncey Billups and Rip Hamilton clearly lead this team but they are very physical and really wear teams down.  Tayshaun Prince still prides himself on defense and I think he’ll match up well with Pierce.  Billups will guard Rondo while Hamilton goes up against Ray Allen.  Inside the Pistons have greater depth but not the best player.  Garnett is a top 3 post player in the league but he’ll go up against a motivated Rasheed Wallace.  I love this matchup. 

I think the Celtics will win this game but it will be very close, very physical and have a playoff atmosphere.  Boston will want to let them know that they are the new ‘bad boys’.  I fully expect both teams to battle all season including in the Eastern Conference Finals.

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With the Mitchell report coming out today in regards to drug use in baseball, I thought it would be relevant to discuss something that I feel is just a matter of time: drug use in basketball.

If you look at old players pictures they rarely looked the part of Karl Malone or Shaq for that matter and it has to bring up some questions.  Are basketball players on the ‘juice’ as well?  The answer statistically has to be yes they are, but we don’t have any solid proof yet.  Any time this much money is involved and substances are out there that can help people obtain that money we’ll have a major issue on our hands.  Let’s look at it from a baseball player perspective.  One good year can get someone a big time contract and those contracts are guaranteed.  Is that different in basketball?  No, if I’m Bonzi Wells and I want that one big last contract and steroids can bring back some of my youth then I would be very tempted to do that and a lot of us would. 

Jason Giambi got a great big contract from the Yankees and hasn’t been the same since.  We know he did steroids.  Gary Matthews Jr was listed today and its no surprise he had a miracle year 2 years ago to earn his big payday with the Angels.  These can’t come as a surprise to us.  Players may have some regrets when they are caught later but that money can cure a lot of problems.  It doesn’t cure questions about one’s integrity and character however.

Is basketball next?  I think it is.  I think just on the horizon the NBA will have it’s own Jose Canseco to jump start talk about the league and steroids or any performance enhancer for that matter.  Remember that one of the purposes for the HGH or steroids was to help heal the body and basketball can be a very grueling sport.  I understand the argument that players use weight training now where they didn’t in the past and all that, but genetics are genetics and I don’t buy that excuse in every case.  I think we are only fooling ourselves if we believe it isn’t going on in the NBA right under our noses.

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Division III Grinnell College point guard David Arsenault broke the NCAA assists record in a game by tallying 34 of them in a 151-112 win Saturday. 

34 assists in a game.  I don’t think I passed the ball 34 times in entire seasons before let alone in one game.  It was tallied that he actually passed the ball 86 times in the game.  Grinnell is famous in Division III and Iowa for their unique style of play.  They play as fast as they can and shoot as many three pointers as possible.  They continually press the opposing team and shift out players every 5 minutes. 

Arsenault, the coaches son, was still able to score 22 points but could’ve had more assists than he did.  The team was only 23-86 from the 3 point line for the game.  Yes, I said 86 attempts for the game behind the line.  Wouldn’t that be a dream offense to play in?

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I’ve written many blogs on the stellar play of Derrick Rose and Oj Mayo and how they are 2 of the top 5 freshman in the country but they didn’t show it last night.  I was able to watch a recorded version of the game, as I had a city league game myself last night, and needless to say I was a little disappointed.  This just wasn’t the same Derrick Rose that I had seen play the previous 6 games for Memphis.

For whatever reason Rose often took the easy way out and was looking for teammates in obvious situations.  When a chance arose for him to attack he would often defer and hope that Douglas-Roberts would do something with the ball.  The Derrick Rose that I know has always been a combination of fearless and unselfish but this game called for him to try to do something more than what he was doing because his team needed it.  Where I noticed it was with a few seconds on the clock Rose decided to pass to an open teammate rather than take the shot himself.  Rose is a great player and it is hard to criticize such a talented unselfish player, but he needs to be the one to shoot that ball and his teammates want to see him shoot the ball.

OJ Mayo has the opposite problem.  He is not afraid of shooting any shot and is a very talented player.  He’s athletic and can handle the ball well and can shoot it pretty well also.  He wasn’t hitting at all last night and ended 6-20 from the field and missed his last 7 shots.  I really like his game though and his teammates seem to feed off of him.  He has incredible energy and presence on the court like Rose but Mayo is a different type of player and brings something different than Rose.  It was intriguing to watch but disappointing for me.  I wanted to see Mayo and Rose go at it for 40 minutes and instead I feel like I got Mayo’s best effort and Rose’s best impersonation of a football team in a prevent defense or a prize fighter just trying to not get knocked out. 

After this season I’ll have plenty of chances to watch these two go head to head for years to come.  I can see these guys as players who will linked in high school, college and the pros and I wish them both well.

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The Orlando Magic are for real. They are currently sitting atop the Southeast division (not a ton of history there) with a record of 15-4. What is most impressive is the fact that they have won 10 of 12 on the road and are rivaling the Boston Celtics as the team to beat in the East.

Most people know the Orlando Magic have Dwight Howard and Jameer Nelson, but what people might not understand is the teams secret weapon; Hedo Turkoglu. Hedo is the man this year for the Magic, averaging 19 points 6 rebounds and 4 assists per contest. In the offseason the Magic signed Rashard Lewis and he’s provided everything they need scoring 19 points and getting 5 rebounds a game. Let’s look at this starting lineup they throw out there each night: Jameer Nelson, Keith Bogans (the weakest link), Hedo Turkoglu, Rashard Lewis and Dwight Howard. Turkoglu is 6*9 and so is Lewis so that gives them some incredible size. The weakest link, Bogans, isn’t out there to do anything but the little things. He is out there to screen, pass and play defense and if he scores points then that is just gravy for the team. Howard has been unreal averaging 24 points and 15 rebounds a game. The scary part is that he is still learning his way offensively but he’s an MVP waiting to happen. I look back on when there was actually debate as to the top player in that years draft whether it would be Okafor or Howard. Good choice Orlando!!!

Stan Van Gundy has these guys playing well and playing together as a team. People forget that Van Gundy was the coach of those Miami Heat, for a time, when they won it all a couple years ago. He knows what he is doing and they are winning on the road. These Magic could give the Celtics all they could handle because as Howard gets more experience and becomse more of a go to force inside, not even Garnett will be able to hold him down. He’s the next Shaq only he will end up more skilled and that’s scary.

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