Ya entramos en calor!

Esta noche mis Nuggets se enfrentan a sus archienemigos los Jazz. Debemos ganar este partido. Estaremos sin Carmelo ya que esta suspendido por los primeros 2 juegos de la temporada pero vamos a ganar!. Anoche Kobe demostró nuevamente que es el mejor. Que pena que sus fanáticos no sirvan. Los Lakers le dieron una asquerosa paliza a Portland. Los Blazers parecian estar perdidos en la cancha. Estaban como los boxeadores que tan pronto se dan cuenta de que el oponente es superior y les va a romper la vida, se arrepienten de estar allí. Que jueguito el de Roy. El Centro Oden es de cristal.... Los Bulls parecían que sabían lo que estaban haciendo. El novato Rose tuvo un juego decente para ser el primero. Deje este comentario para lo último...Algo me dice que Paul Pierce será considerado para el premio MVP este año. Es una bestia. Boston repite este año!!!

En cuanto a Allen Iverson: Todos los años tengo una pelea con alguien de los medios de comunicación norteamericanos por los comentarios infudados y racialmente prejuiciados que publican antes de comenzar cada temporada. Esta temporada ha sido diferente. Sin entender la trayectoria de Iverson los analistas pronostican que este seguirá produciendo los números que nos tiene acostumbrado. El que me conoce sabe que me duele admitirlo pero este año me parece que veremos a un Iverson diferente. Es humano y su velocidad no debe ser la misma a los 33. No significa que de vez en cuando no veremos un juego de 38-40 pts, pero creo que su promedio bajará significativamente. Iverson debe anotar alrededor de 23 pts por juego. Recuerden Iverson tiene un promedio de 27.7 pts por juego en su carrera. Sólo Wilt Chaimberlain y Michael Jordan tienen mejores promedios. Mi pronóstico este año para Iverson es que promedia 23 pts y 8 asistencias. Veremos... En cuanto a los Lakers: El problema no son los Lakers sino sus fanáticos. Que insoportables son! Me encantaría verlos fracasar. Sin embargo con ese talento y con el mejor dirigente de la liga mis deseos son poco probables. En cuanto a Boston: Deben repetir como campeones Esta noche veré ambos partidos, ganan los Celtics y los Lakers, aunque desearía equivocarme en cuanto al segundo.

A sólo un día

La larga espera termina. Ya no hay que ver juegos de baseball para matar el tiempo. Se acabaron las películas y los reality shows. Es momento de enfocarnos en el pasatiempo mas importante, la temporada de la NBA!!!!!!!!!!!! Estoy muy interesado en ese juego de los lakers contra portland mañana. En su primera semana Greg Oden se mide con los grandes incluyendo Gasol, Bynum, Shaq y Yao. Pienso que las expectativas son super altas para este joven. Sin embargo algo me dice que va a brillar. Denle la oportunidad el tipo es bueno. Denver, Denver, Denver, el otro día veía las practicas de mi equipo en NBA TV. Aclaro que he visto las de los Nets, Raptors y Phoenix. Las de Denver son las mas aburridas ya que carecen de intensidad y pasión. Me preocupa. Hay que salir del imbecil dirigente.

Cosas que me interesan al comenzar la temporada.

Primero: ¿Qué pasará con los Nuggets? ¿Será este el año en el cual disminuye la producción de Iverson? Pocos equipos en la liga tienen mas talento que Denver. En mi opinión el problema mayor es el dirigente. No ha podido motivar a este grupo. Pienso que Jr. Smith tendrá una temporada muy buena. Carmelo Anthony será considerado para el MVP al final de la temporada. Segundo: Una de las grandes interrogantes la presenta el equipo de Phoenix. No tengo idea de cómo van a jugar. El dirigente nuevo quiere cambiar el estilo que a pesar de no traerles un campeonato, los convirtió en uno de los mejores. ¿Cuanto juego le queda a Shaq? ¿Se mantendrá saludable Amare? Tercero: Houston entra a esta temporada con expectativas gigantezcas. Para mí son los mismos bobos de antes con un problema nuevo (Artest)..Aclaro que desearía tener a Artest (el problema)en Denver....Pienso que defensivamente este equipo mejora mucho, McGrady será el tipo mas feliz del mundo ya que no tendrá que jugar defensa. Artest y Batier se encargarán de eso. Mi problema con este equipo es que no entiendo que estilo de juego tendrán. Su foco es Yao y el año pasado jugaron mejor sin el ....no se??? Cuarto: Los sixers entran a esta campaña con un equipo muy interesante. La adición de Elton Brand es genial, si el tipo no se lesiona. Estos muchachos juegan un juego muy entretenido. Son rápidos, defienden muy bien y los donqueos de Iguodala son los mejores en la NBA. El problema es que no tienen un tirador. Muchos anotadores pero ni un tirador. Esto se convertirá en un problema para los Playoffs. Sin embargo los Sixers deben llegar a la final de la conferencia en donde perderán con Boston.

De Regreso

Revive este blog on el propósito de comentar nuevamente sobre todo lo que ocurre en la NBA. No necesariamente todo. Sino todo lo que me interese a mi comentar y que a ustedes le interese opinar sobre lo que yo comente. Los comentarios son sinceros y solo pretenden ilustar mis puntos de vista sobre la liga, los jugadores, los equipos y en fin el negocio de la NBA. Mi equipo preferido es Denver asi que verán mucho analisis sobre los Nuggets. Para comenzar les presento mis predicciones para la campaña que empienza en poco menos de dos semanas. Entraran a los Playoffs En el Este: 1. Boston 2. Philadelphia 3. Detroit 4. Cleveland 5. Toronto 6.Orlando 7. Chicago 8. Milwakee En el Oeste 1. New Orleans 2. Los Angeles 3. San Antonio 4. Utah 5. Denver 6. Houston 7. Dallas 8. Phoenix

Tough times will soon be over in Denver

Yes, Earl Boykins is a fan favorite but he really has was a huge liability. In Blake we get a pass first point guard that can defend. Boykins could not guard anyone. It was fun to watch him and AI on the court together but teams were scoring on Denver like crazy.

Melo comes back in 4 games, He and AI will take about 5 games to get used to playing with each other. After the brief adjustment period Denver will go on a tear of the West. I believe a double digit winning streak will be on its way. Believe it or not AI will play much better with Melo on the court. He wont be getting any more double and tripple team defenses with Melo roaming around. Melo will go crazy with all the open shots he will get. Just wait and see, The sun will soon rise in Denver.

Iverson's Debut Tonight

The Answer's first game with The Nuggets is still on hold since Andre Miller has not been able to leave Denver due to the Snow Storms. If Miller arrives in time to Philly and passess his physical early enough for AI to dress up for Denver we will get a chance to see what the future brings for the West. Expect AI to be a little passive during the first quarter or so, then this dude will get his.. I predict AI will dish out 9 assists, get 4 steals and score 27 points.

This is the begining of a new era in Denver professional sports. An Era that will soon lead to tittle contention. Good luck AI....You deserve to play for a real team and a real coach.

I read today that the Sixers will brong back Larry Brown for some front office duties. Billy King (the worst GM in pro sports) has finnaly admitted he can't do his work. For the team's sake, I would fire both King and Cheeks and name Larry Brown head coach, GM,Team President and ball boy.

SADDEST DAY IN SIXER HISTORY

THE SADDEST DAY IN SIXER HISTORY.

DENVER HAS THE ANSWER.

Yesterday at about 5:30 PM I became a Denver Fan. I went through a roller coaster of emotions. After loving the sixers for the last 11 years, the best little man to ever play the game was traded to Denver and so were my dreams of an Allen Iverson led championship in Philly. As sad as it is, I am feeling better today. AI goes to a real team with real coaching and ownership, team with two superstars that have a chip on their shoulder.

During the Iverson Era, the sixers were my life. The first thing I did every morning including during the off-season, was read the Philly papers online (I’m from Puerto Rico). I know everything there is to know about the sixers. I know a lot of their fans, the media and the organization. Now it’s off to Denver…Let’s see what happens.
A few thoughts on Billy King before I focus on Denver.

Billy King: Worst GM in Professional Sports
You are a liar and seem to not really understand the game. For the past 5 years you have done everything you could do to kill this team. The fans hate you and you will be out of a Job soon. You should have fired yourself a while ago. Thanks for the Huge Dalambert Contract, the Huge Korver contract, The trade for a one legged C-Webb and for signing Kevin Ollie a million times. Thanks for trying to make us Believe Willie Green was the next AI, For bringing the best Assistant Coach Ever Mo Cheeks, For firinf Jim O’brien, For being Larry Browns pet and for doing nothing during last summer when you knew this team sucked. Thanks Billy…Thanks

Now…..
GO NUGGETS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Can you say Western Conference Champs…Maybe not yet. Contrary to what ESPN experts are saying, with AI the Nuggets can compete with the West’s Elite. Amare will get injured soon and Dallas and San Antonio can’t guard both AI and Melo… I will keep you posted.

GREAT JOB BILL SIMMONS

ASIDE FROM THE ARTICLES I HAVE WRITTEN ABOUT AI, BILL SIMMONS HAS WRITTEN A MASTERPIECE FOR ESPN.COM...I TOTALLY RECOMEND IT....
HERE IS AN EXCERPT.


There's another aspect to Iverson's brilliance, something the ESPN guys tried to describe last night: Quite simply, he's the most menacing player in the league. There's just something different about him, a darker edge that the other stars don't have. Once I was sitting midcourt at the Fleet Center when Iverson was whistled for a technical, yelped in disbelief, then followed the referee toward the scorer's table and screamed, "[Bleep] you!" at the top of his lungs. The official whirled around and pulled his whistle toward his mouth for a second technical.

GOODBYE AI

THOUGHTS ON THE IVERSON TRADE

END OF MANY DREAMS

AI will be gone soon and so will the dreams of many of us who have loved watching the best little man the NBA has ever seen.
If you are a true Iverson fan you probably feel the way I do. You know how hard it is for him to leave Philly and how much he loves his teammates. If you have been there since day one, you understand that this is much more than a player switching teams.

On the night the 76ers drafter Iverson, a new era began. The Iverson ERA… The small franchise player that took the city and the league by storm did everything from breaking Jordan to having five 40 point games during his “rookie of the year” season. He was known for not loving practice and for shooting a lot but his heart and determination were never questioned. He was almost traded a couple of times; once to the Pistons and a couple of times to the Clippers. He was the League MVP and led his team to the finals in 2001. He fought publicly with Larry Brown and was team USA’s leader in the 2004 Olympics.
That said, Iverson’s departure will mean more to me than people will ever understand. Am I a Philly fan or an Iverson fan? Will I root for the team that trades for AI?

Iverson leaving will mean forgetting the hopes of an Iverson led championship for the City of Philadelphia. It will mean that AI will not retire as a Sixer, something he always wanted to do.
Today I hate the 76ers administration more than ever.
Thanks Billy King for killing this team.
Thanks Billy King for not surrounding AI with enough talent to compete.
Thanks for lying to us about “changing the culture” of the team.
Billy and Ed Snider should fire themselves.

THE WAIT IS OVER

Here we go! It’s here! The New season begins today.
Here are my predictions for both conference standings...

East, Top 8.
Cleveland
Miami
Chicago
Detroit
Washington
Indiana
Philadelphia
New Jersey

West, Top 8
Dallas
San Antonio
Phoenix
Denver
Sacramento
Houston
Los Angeles L
Los Angeles C

MVP: LeBron James
Rookie: Brandon Roy
6th man: Kyle Korver
Most Improved: Jameer Nelson
Coach of the Year: George Karl
Assists: Nash
Scoring: Allen Iverson
Rebounds: Dwight Howard
Blocks: Samuel Dalambert

Finals: Dallas vs. Cleveland
Champions: Dallas Maverics

Startin 5

We all know what went down in Barcelona the other day. Not prety at all.
I do want to coment on the sixer's starting 5.

AI
AI2
Willie Green
C-Webb
Dalambert.

If this group could really learn to play together they would be special.
This will be Sammy's breakout season. Trust me on this one. Barring injuries, Dalambert will average at least 10 boards and will lead the league in blocks.
C-Webb looked good on thursday. His shot is in midseason form and moved around well. Willie Green got off to a good start and was benched after stupid fouls.
Iguodala looked like the Iggy of allways. Dunking and taking long shots. He should try to stop stealing the ball from guys and just stop them.
You all know what I think about AI, the best little man ever. His scoring average should drop to about 27pts per game, in order for his cast to be happy and play defense.

I won't bull anyone, I'm not the happiest fan with this team. Billy Queen made no siginificant moves to help the team out. This year's free agent class wasn't amazing but there was everything we needed. Ben Wallace would have made us champs. Al Harington would have helped, Bonzi Wells, Ruben Patterson and others could have improved our team significantly.

To be honest, I have been more than pesimistic about this team. I visit a sixsers forum at philly.com every day and read how "fans" are so down on the sixers that are even hoping they lose. I coud never do that. I think of the Red Sox Fans who never quit on their team. Yes, they suffered many years of mediocrity but they were true fans.
Unless a miracle happens, I don't see a championship in our near future. Our young guys aren't that good and our stars are old. But I am a sixer fan. I will watch everygame this season, including preseason. I will get ulcers, I will feel sick from time to time, but I will live every game... I will enjoy watching AI....

Training Camp Roster...depressing

1. Allen Iverson
2. Chris Webber
3. Andre Iguodala
4. Kyle Korver
5. Samuel Dalambert
6. Rodney Carney
7. Bobby Jones
8. Kevin Olie
9.Steven Hunter
10.Shavlik Randolph
11.Willie Green
12. Allan Henderson
13.Ivan Macfarlin
14. Louis Williams

Thanks Billy Queen for creating this amazing roster. Thanks for giving us fans something to look forward to.

Rodney Carney

I was amazed to see how Rodney Carney believes he is the sixer’s answer to their defensive problems. The funiest thing was that he said he was getting to “really practice his defense” on Kyle Korver. Just for a second...yes Kyle can shoot like no one, but he has no speed, can’t jump, doesn’t drive to the hole and is noones' nightmare on the ofensive end. Mr. Carney...get real, you wanna practice your defense, try running around after Iverson for 48 mins or get Kobe’s address and try stopping him. A report on him by David Aldrige said that Carney played tremendous defense on Reddik and Morison...wiat a minute! two white guys with no athleticism...so that’s why he’s practicing with Korver.
PLEASE... I love my team...but man we are going no where with this kind of fool.

Great Move Billy..

Billy king just signed two players that are probably no better than Shavlik Randolph. These guys will most likely take minutes away from Randolph, thus preventing his improvement.

I think our GM/President is insane. He promised a change in culture and has given us nothing. I can't belive AI or C-Webb aren't going public with their frustration. Unless we get a decent point guard and a solid defensive forward we will not be a great team.

In other News I'm as sad as I could be for Pau Gasol. Pau made me a believer last year and had a great run at the World games. He will miss 4 months due to his injury. I wish him the best and hope he gets well and comes back just as agressive.

Problem Solving

Team USA didn't win the gold. The Problem...too many ball hogs. You wanna win the gold, you have two options
1. Send the reigning NBA Champs.
2. Sent this team

Starters:
Allen Iverson
Kobe Bryant
Carmelo Anthony
Kevin Garnet
Amare Stoudamire

Bench.
Ben Wallace
Jarred Jeffries
Mike Miller
Tayshaun Prince
Bruce Bowen
Antoine Walker
Andre Iguodala

We need a selfless bench. Comming off the Bench is a gift. You can't expect guys like Lebron and D-Wade to come off the bench and be great. Not gonna happen...

World Games

My good friend Gaby, an attorney from Mayaguez, PR, called me the other day and told me that I was too biased on my blog, that I should be more open an less direct with my expressions. Well, its my blog… But he does have a point. I shouldn’t try to stick the sixers and team USA down people’s throats. Gaby was referring to my post on team USA. I do think that TEAM USA will win the World Basketball Tournament in Japan. I think it’s the best team and should coast through the tournament with no major problems.
Also watch for Spain and Team Puerto Rico to provide some tough competition.
I was at the Dentist’s office the other day…Rough experience… When I was in the waiting room I began to talk basketball with an old friend of my father. A great guy that played pro ball in Puerto Rico and follows the NBA a little. He said that team USA would not win because it didn’t have good big men. Is he crazy? Elton Brand, Chris Bosh, Dwight Howard and last time I checked Brad Miller was still on the squad. There is no weakness at the 4 or at the 5. Then he said the usual international basketball clichés: Now the world is not afraid of the dream team and international basketball is a different game and bla, bla, bla, bla, bla. Of course the international game is different. Of course there are great international players. Of course there are the Nowitzki’s, the Nash’s and the Stojakovic’s. And yes Gaby…The Carlos Arroyo’s. But let’s face it, Melo, Wade and LeBron will bring home the gold.

USA vs PR.
I gotta say Puerto Rico, one of my Home teams and my favorite team, played a solid game. After loosing to the US in the practice game by 45 points they kept this game close and Mr. Carlos Arroyo, of the Orlando Magic showed he is a great international force. Team US played SORRY defense. The Puerto Ricans scored very easily. I hope coach K had a nice talk about that. Again.

Billy, Don't do it...

There are some things that I believe even Billy King is not capable of doing. Giving away Chris Webber is one of them. I would be totaly crushed if a rumor I read about yesterday came out to be true. The rumor that is going around is that C-Webb will be traded to the Knicks for Mo Taylor, Malik Rose and Quentin Richardson. Let's break things down a bit.

Webber was traded to the sixers for 3 players, Skinner, Thomas and Williamson. These players are all better than the 3 Billy is willing to take for Webber now. Can someone explain.

Before I continue, I gotta say I'm sick of people saying, especially those gifted ESPN reporters and analysts that C-Webb and AI can't play together. Hello...That was the highest scoring duo in the NBA last year. Some fools, especially those who do not read my blog also say that C-Webb has nothing left. Let me say that I watched every shot C-Webb took last year and he still has a lot of game in him. He can still score on anyone and still gets 10 rebounds a game. How can you say he had a bad season when he managed to put his career numbers, 20 and 10?

The sixers still struggled last year but let me give you a stat. The sixers lost 80% of their games by 5 points or less. The sixers were winning most of those games until the last 2 minutes when Mo Cheeks failed to make key decisions.

The Sixers are a good team that lost a lot of games due to poor coaching. The complete coaching staff sucks. I know a lot of you won't agree but the sixers ARE ONE PLAYER AWAY FROM BEING GREAT. And no I don't mean Jordan in his prime. We need a SF that can play tough defense and score 12 points a night. Korver will score 12 points but the guy couldn't play defense if his mother's life depended on it.

Billy King... Please don't trade C-Webb for "no ones" and "has beens". Get a SF that can play D and we will be set.

DREAM TEAM

USA Basketball:

Team USA looks as good as it has ever looked. It is beating its opponents the way the original Dream Team in Barcelona 92 did. What has changed? How is this team different from the one that represented the US during the last summer games in Athens?
First, the players are more committed to the TEAM. After being embarrassed by teams like Puerto Rico who does not have an NBA starter on its team, USA basketball has stressed pride and is playing every game like an NBA finals game. Second, many of the players that were on the Athens squad have matured. Melo, LeBron and D-Wade have a lot of NBA games on their backs, including in Wade’s case an NBA championship. Those 3 guys are really giving the team an impressive effort. Third, the coaching has been great. Larry Brown gave us a chance to see how the best coach in the NBA could be the worst coach in international basketball. He began his Olympic quest by punishing Iverson and LeBron for being 5 minutes late for a practice, yes a practice. He was also reluctant on playing the young guys and had many confrontations with other players like Marbury, Okafor and Carmelo.

Everyone who frequently visits this blog knows how I feel about Mr. Collangelo and Coach K. If you have just joined my show, I hate them….They left Allen Iverson out of the team, when the guy said he really wanted to play for the team. As I have said before, AI was the only player to show up during the last Olympics even playing injured. He deserves to play for team USA. He is playing better than ever and even if he was on a wheelchair they should let him play. I can think of many words that can summarize my thoughts such as lack of loyalty, integrity, respect, uprightness and decency etc.

Having said that, I believe that this new team will make us all proud to be Americans****. It will allow us to laugh at teams when they get their assess kicked by 40 or more points. What’s more American than that?

Last week my Puerto Rican team got crushed by the Dream Team. A painful experience for everyone playing for PR and for those of us who watched.

**** For those of you with little knowledge of History, Geography, Civics and Politics, Puerto Rico is a Commonwealth of the United States. Puerto Ricans are Americans since 1917.

06-07 schedule

The Philadelphia 76ers will tip off the 2006-07 campaign on Wednesday, Nov. 1, at the Wachovia Center against the Atlanta Hawks (7 pm). The Sixers 82-game, regular season schedule features 15 nationally televised games, including eight on ESPN and seven on NBA-TV.The Sixers nationally televised games on ESPN include road match-ups at Phoenix (Nov. 17), at Chicago (Dec. 6), at Dallas (Dec. 15), at Boston (Dec. 22) and home games versus Cleveland (Jan. 26), New Jersey (March 4) and Houston (March 18). The 2006-07 schedule includes 22 sets of back-to-back games, including five sets in the month of December. The 76ers will travel out West twice for at least three games. The longest road-trip of the year takes place during December’s holiday season when the team heads West for a seven-game, 11-day road trip as Disney On Ice presents Princess Wishes at the Wachovia Center from Tuesday, Dec. 26 through Sunday, Jan. 7.Among other highly anticipated match-ups throughout the regular season:
The Sixers host defending 2006 NBA Champion Miami Heat twice at the Wachovia Center (Nov. 5 and Jan. 19).
The Cleveland Cavaliers and LeBron James visit Philadelphia twice, including a nationally televised game on Friday, Jan. 26 (ESPN) and the 2006-07 regular season home finale on Tuesday, April 17.
The 76ers host a 2 p.m. matinee against the Toronto Raptors in celebration of Martin Luther King, Jr. Day (Jan. 15).
Philadelphia will welcome Western Conference powerhouses San Antonio (Jan. 21), Dallas (Feb. 11), Phoenix (Feb. 28), and L.A. Lakers (March 9). Of the team’s first 33 games in 2006-07, 22 will be played on the road. The Sixers will enjoy a seven-game home stand from Feb. 2-21, part of a 15-game stretch that includes 13 games at the Wachovia Center. Each season the Sixers play an Eastern Conference opponent from outside the Atlantic Division only three-times. In 2006-07, the Sixers will face the Central Division Chicago Bulls (2 home/1 road) and the Southeast Division Washington Wizards (2 home/1 road).

Courtesy of www.sixers.com