NBA Western Conference Finals Preview

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EASTERN CONFERENCE FINALS PREVIEW

Dallas Mavericks vs. Oklahoma City Thunder

I couldn't imagine a funner pairing. Two of my three favorite teams battling it out for the Western Conference Finals (reminds me a lot of the Mavs-Suns series in 2006). Dirk and Durant are two of my very favorite playas in the NBA (interestingly enough, the last time I cheered against Durant, I applauded him throughout the game - against KU in Allen Fieldhouse). However, there is little doubt in my mind that my allegiances align with the Mavs (and with The Man). I am unbelievably excited for this to begin (only the premier of Franklin & Bash could compare), and will be glued to my TV for every single minute of this series.

*Dirk's Last Run? With Dirk's body wearing down more and more (although, he seemingly reinvents his game a little bit every year as the process proceeds) you have to wonder if this is his last chance at a ring. The Mavs are the type of team that can only truly make runs in transition years in the NBA (their last run coming before the Laker years). The Spurs were around before that, but they do the same thing, just better (however, even they are done now). The NBA is easier to forecast than the other professional sports, and we are entering a time that will be dominated by the Heat, Thunder, Bulls, and maybe Knicks. Once the Thunder evolve into what they are destined to be, the Mavs will have a much tougher time upstaging them. So even though I only project one dominant team in the Western Conference over the next handful of years, I expect them to be so superior to the Mavs, and that this will indeed be Dirka Dirka's last run at an NBA Championship.

*Rusty Mavs - My biggest concern (or atleast 1 of 2) is the time off in between games for the Mavs. They last played two Sundays ago. That's 8 days in between. The time off may be good for the legs of fogies like J-Kidd and Peja and Marion and Terry and Dirk (damn, this team is old), but you never encounter anything like that throughout the entire season. Basketball is a rhythm sport (and they were coming off the best rhythm I may have ever seen), and it's impossible to tell whether they still have the touch or not. This has me very worried about Game 1 for the Mavs, where it'll take atleast a quarter for them to get back into rhythm with each other. In fact, I fully expect the Thunder to come in and steal home court advantage tonight because of the Mavs' reliance on jumpshots.

*Mavs as favorites? I was all excited about how the Mavs were sitting pretty following their clubbing of the Lake show, because of how little they were being talked about nationally. Their performance in Game 4 was the best game a team has played in these NBA Playoffs (not as big a case of the Lakers quitting as everybody, including me, wanted to think). The barrage of 3 pointers was really like nothing I had seen before (Jason Terry and Peja StojankyNuts combining to go 15-16. Seriously. 15 of 16.). The Lakers may have been well on their way to quitting, but we'll never really know because the Mavs buried them alive. Not to mention, how everybody had foolishly fallen head over heels for the Heat after squeaking out victories against a team who's 2nd best player had 1 elbow. The Mavs were flying perfectly under the radar, just how they like it, or so I had thought...

But the past two days I've been watching ESPN and I literally haven't heard a single expert pick the oKC Thunder. Not a single one. I think I saw a fan poll on the series winner that came out to about 50-50, but I was in some kind of haze at the time. Needless to say, the Mavs do not thrive in the role as favorites (although this team has been turning many of their perceptions into misconceptions). I think if it were up to them, they'd fly under the radar the whole way, not necessarily as the underdogs, but just not talked about. They don't want the spotlight shone on them (hence the meltdown in the Finals, where the lights are the brightest). However, if they are able to handle the spotlight, and their new roles as favorites, I believe it's finally time to put everything we once thought about the Mavs to bed.

*Series Breakdown/The Wire - My biggest worry is who will guard Russell Westbrook (Stringer Bell), who scares the bejesus outta me. He seemed to have finally found the correct balance in Game 7 as a scoring point guard and a distributor to Kevin Durant (Avon Barksdale). Kidd is definitely not fast enough. DeShawn probably isn't either. Terry is, but he gives up a lot in size to RWB (I will say that I like Marion covering Durant though). I think we might see a lot of Corey Brewer in this series, the most athletic perimeter player the Mavs have (and somebody I believe in). It might take a few games to figure that out though (however, coaching advantage goes to the Mavs). I'm also very excited for the rebounding wars (corner wars) between Kendrick Perkins (Slim Charles) and Tyson Chandler (Chris Partlow). Meanwhile, Jason Whitlock (Prop Joe) thinks Serge Iblocka (hopefully not Kenard) could provide the best cover on Dirk (Omar) in the NBA. All these matchups got me feeling a little bit like Clay Davis...."Sheeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeit."

*PreDirktion - This series boils down to who's on a bigger mission - Dirk or Durant. While I think Durant showed great prowess in a Game 7 victory, I think he knows he's got many years ahead of him. Meanwhile, I think Dirk has been meditating somewhere in the Himalayas for the past 8 days, and is ready to fully seize the opportunity in front of him. He can't say "there's always next year" as easily as The Durantula can. So, even though I began writing this preview with the belief that I was picking the Thunder, I have settled back on to the Mavs, because I truly believe that Dirk is on a mission.

Mavs over Thunder in 7

his dirkness

2010 NFL Power Rankings (Plus Pass Interference Thoughts)

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Ever since the Indianapolis Colts complained endlessly after playing like girls and getting curbstomped by the New England Patriots in the 2003 AFC Championship game, the pass interference rule in the NFL has gotten out of hand. It had a major part in deciding three (count 'em 3!) games this past weekend.

Chiefs~Texans


Cowboys~Vikings


Broncos~Jets
(insert video here)

All the talk surrounding the hard legal hits from this past weekend has kept NFL fans in the dark about a much bigger problem that needs to be discussed. This would've been the perfect week to talk about it. Damn you James Harrison (you should probably retire) and Brandon Meriweather (dude probably brings his helmet to gang fights).

I'll let you slide Dunta Robinson (sorry Smiley)....


Ay Chihuahua that's a big hit! The Pass Interference did pick up some steam from a few familiar voices on Twitter this weekend. Let's check them....

Jason Whitlock: Pass interefernce is the biggest plague in football. It's worse than the BCS.

ESPN's Sports Guy: Here's what I don't get: why don't bad teams just throw deep every down + try to get long pass interfererences? Seems like they'd hit 20%.

A spot foul is just too big of a penalty for what can be, and oftentimes is, extremely minor contact. Too often teams are throwing jump balls down field, with a receiver and cornerback handfighting each other evenly, only to see the defender get flagged resulting in a 50 yard gain. It's too much. Like Sports Guy suggests, teams are designing plays in hopes of drawing the penalty. As a league, this isn't what you want. Penalties are designed to intervene when one side unfairly gains an advantage, but should remain the backstory to the actual play on the field. Having teams purposely try to draw flags penalties/fouls is against the spirit of the game. It's terrible. It's one step closer to the NBA.

You have two options when deciding how to fix the rule.

Option 1: Take a page from the college rule book, and make all Pass Interference penalties 15 yards and an automatic first down. Any infractions shy of 15 yards, should be marked at the spot. Way less complaining in the college game than in NFL you might notice.

Option 2: Instigate a minor and a major infraction. Make the major call a spot foul. Make the minor call a 10 yard penalty. Anything short of 10 yards wouldn't need a minor/major designation and would be a spot foul plus automatic first down. An automatic first down would accompany both major and minor calls as well.

I prefer Option #2 personally. I think it would be the fairest way to enforce the penalty. However, I would be very pleased with option #1 as well, in order to keep things easier, and leave less rule intrepretation for the officials, who have a hard enough job already, and take enough blame from fans and media for their team's losses.

On to the rankings....

NFL Power Rankings: Week 6 Edition

1. Pittsburgh Steelers
2. Baltimore Ravens
3. New York Jets
4. Atlanta Falcons
5. New England Patriots
6. New Orleans Saints
7. Indianapolis Colts
8. Philadelphia Eagles
9. Tennessee Titans
10. New York Giants
11. Miami Dolphins
12. Kansas City Chiefs
13. Green Bay Packers
14. Minnesota Vikings
15. Houston Texans
16. Washington Redskins
17. Seattle Seahawks
18. Tampa Bay Buccaneers
19. Cincinnati Bengals
20. Chicago Bears
21. Dallas Cowboys
22. St. Louis Rams
23. San Diego Chargers
24. Denver Broncos
25. Arizona Cardinals
26. Detroit Lions
27. Jacksonville Jaguars
28. San Francisco 49ers
29. Cleveland Browns
30. Oakland Raiders
31. Carolina Panthas
32. Biffalo Buffs


{Geek Alert}Statistical Analysis: Comparing these rankings to my previous rankings(after Week 3) and to the Evil Empire's rankings.....

Biggest Risers: 

1. New York Jets +13

2. Baltimore Ravens +10

3. New York Giants +8

3. Kansas City Chiefs +8

5. St. Louis Rams +7

Biggest Fallers

1. Green Bay Packers -11

1. Houston Texans -11

1. San Francisco 49ers -11

4. San Diego Chargers -10

5. Cincinnati Bengals -9

Most Overrated Teams (compared to ESPN's Power Rankings)

1. Chicago Bears -8

2. Arizona Cardinals -7

3. Houston Texans -6

Most Underrated Teams (get this....same formula)

1. Seattle Seahawks +6

2. Miami Dolphins +5

3. Dallas Cowboys +5

Thy Dirty Shirkness