Random Monday Thoughts, pt. 1

Jazz/Rockets

- The Rockets are at least making the Jazz work for it. Which is good because it will mean the Jazz are that much more banged up and tired for their second round opponent. And we all want the Jazz to lose.

- Houston is one consistent SG away from a championship. Doesn't even have to be a superstar, just someone who stretches defenses to the perimeter and worries other teams enough that they can't consistently double/triple team McGrady.

- Deron Williams is a monster. He constantly looks as if he'd seriously consider spitting on you if he weren't too busy destroying your team. I like guys with something to prove, or who at least play that way, and he's definitely got it.

Suns/Spurs

- I keep expecting Nash to look directly into a camera, arch his eyebrows in surprise, and yell, "Doctor Evil stole my mojo!" Where did this guy's swagger go? It came back a bit in the last game, but he's got to start playing like he won two MVPs in a row, not like he's afraid Timmah is going to eat his lunch, kiss his girl, and push him in a mud puddle.

- You can't like the Spurs. Seriously. Liking the Spurs is now crime. I thought L.A. had the biggest collection of whining, crying, flopping douchebags...nope. Congratulations, Spurs, you've won another title: the inaugural "Tim Duncan Team Trophy for Most Supreme and Ultimate Douchebaggery".

- I counted eight consecutive trips on which Timmah looked for the nearest ref on the court so he could plead like he was on death row, complete with arms thrown up in the air, eyes rolling, hands clasped, and mouth foaming worse than Cujo. On only four of those trips was the offense funneled through him. Just to be clear...he whined to to the refs on eight (8) consecutive offensive posessions even though the offense went through him on only four of those posessions.

- The league needs to do something about this. Yesterday. Here's what I'm envisioning: every player gets one call to argue during the game. You so much as raise an eyebrow after that and it's a T with ball for the other team. This would work. It would speed up the game, make it more enjoyable, cut down on flopping (because who would want to flop if they couldn't get up and act incredulous that a call wasn't made?), and put men on the court instead of, say, Vaginobli.

Celtics/Hawks

- Wow. Saturday's game was a blast. I don't care that the Hawks are going to get crushed and humiliated over the next two games, for one game they played ball. They took it to the Celtics, ala Horford getting in Pierce's face after hitting the J over him.

- Note to Horford: dumb, dumb, dumb. You're a rookie, he's a six time All-Star. The league would have looked the other way if he had gotten up, grabbed a chair, and broke it across your teeth. Pierce probably has 3 more solid years in him. Get ready for 3 years of him embarassing you and your team.

- Consistency is the difference between good and Holy Crap. Here's hoping Josh Smith finds consistency.

- It's a good things the Celtics got taken to the woodshed. It looked to me like they let the Hawks sneak up on them, expecting a quick and easy sweep. You can bet that won't happen again in this post-season. Bad news for the rest of the league.

NFL Draft

- So much made of so little, I'm drowning in hyperbole. From the way the announcers talk, the fourth round will absolutely make or break your team. If you reach for a player in the third round, you've decimated your team for the next ten years. Draft a guy two spots too early, you're clueless; draft a guy two spots lower than projected, you're a genius for waiting for the guy to fall to you. This is why I don't plan my day around watching the draft.

- It's damn cool that linemen were in such demand through the first round. The guys that never get attention until they do something wrong, but ultimately have as much say in the outcome of the game as anyone, are finally getting some well deserved attention.

- More draft stuff to come...if time allows.