The Full Court Press

Lions become laughing stock

2007-12-03T12:41:00.000-08:00

I know this is supposed to be a basketball blog, but bare with me for a minute. The Detroit Lions, who haven't had a winning season in 11 years, are on track to hit the bottom yet again.

Now normally, this wouldn't be anything worth calling home about. But before the season started, a few of the Lions' players got a bit arrogant and called for this to be "their season." Quarterback Jon Kitna said the team would win more than 10 games.

The Lions have lost four games in a row, and were blown out Sunday 42-10 by the Vikings. Wide receiver Roy Williams, another player to predict a playoff season, was injured and is now out for the season. The other wide receiver, rookie Calvin Johnson, has yet to really step up for the team. Kitna stated:

"I don't like putting a lot of pressure on people, but Calvin Johnson, to me, will have about the same impact that Reggie Bush had in New Orleans," Kitna said. "He's everything that they said he was and more."

Not quite, Jon. But it isn't just the quarterback speaking up. Players are trying to come up with absurd excuses for the sudden collapse. After Vikings rookie running back Adrian Petersen ran all over the Lions defense, linebacker Boss Bailey said "It shouldn't have been as hard as we made it, I'll tell you that."

Really? Because unlike your savior Calvin Johnson, Petersen IS the rookie of the year. And now the Lions fanbase is wondering whether they can ever get excited about the team again.

Well you might be able to, but first make sure no players make bogus predictions before they have played a single game, and next try to get to .500 before you start talks about the playoffs.

Rockets still need third option

2007-12-03T12:19:00.000-08:00

So I still have yet to understand the inconsistencies with the Rockets. They start out the season 6-1, then lose the next six, win in Phoenix, then lose in Sacremento.

We have yet to truly see the real identity of this team. The shooting percentages are terrible, and we have yet to see any third scoring option help out Yao or McGrady.

And yes, we could blame the six-game skid on the fact that McGrady was out of the lineup, but at some point the rest of the team needs to step up and play. Rockets' General Manager Daryl Morey spent a lot of money in the offseason making this team as deep as the likes of San Antonio and Dallas, it would be nice to see one of those players bring their game for once.

One problem and bit of blame I can see lies within new head coach Rick Adelman. His new style offense is still being adjusted to by Yao and the other post players. Adelman responded to the adjustment by saying:

"What's happening, Yao's not used to the speed and the number of (options). He sees the cutter, but he doesn't see the defense yet so he's making passes into the teeth of the defense, rather than seeing who's open because of that cut. That's what made Vlade and Brad and Chris (Webber) special. They would see the cut and they'd see the play and they'd throw it to the right guy. If a guy was open, he got it. If he wasn't, the next guy did. Yao threw two or three passes in the Clipper game he threw it right into the teeth of the defense when there were people open on the weak side. That's just a process he's got to go through, I think."

The only player to seem to be working hard out there right now, besides the two superstars, is Steve Francis. Francis has averaged seven points, four assists and three rebounds in limited minutes as of late. So my question is, who is going to be the next to step it up?

All The Hype For Nothing

2007-11-08T09:35:00.001-08:00

By Jerry Coon

Okay I don't think I am quite as pumped up about Friday's matchup between the Milwaukee Bucks and Houston Rockets.

To quickly sum everything up for everyone, China and the NBA are ecstatic about Rockets' center Yao Ming taking on Bucks' rookie forward Yi Jianlian. Apparently this "showdown" is going to be something for the ages, or at least that's what we are supposed to believe.

But what will actually happen on Friday? Yao (averaging 21 points, 11 rebounds a game) will dominate a poor Bucks team, probably have a 20-point, 10-rebound game and we will forget that Yi is even playing.

I know I am missing the point, that this isn't about who plays better, it's just about the showdown of China. But wouldn't the "showdown" be a little better if the players' talent level was in the same vicinity?

Hall of Fame coach and person I no longer have respect for, Pete Newell, told the USA Today:

"Yi will end up being the best player in the NBA from China, and I know that is saying a lot."

Really? There hasn't been a sentence that has made me want to punch a baby in a while and then I heard that. I don't even want to speak on Yi because he is four-games deep into his career and has yet to prove anything. Instead let's talk about how Yao has taken over for Shaquille O'Neal as the best center in basketball, and has been an all-star every season he has played so far. And even though Shaq disagrees, can we vote on when we will see another double-double from O'Neal?

And I know it's because he has an entire country voting for him in, but do you really think we will see Yi play for the Eastern Conference? If we do, then I will start to petition the already ridiculous way all-stars are voted onto the team.

Again, I understand this is more of a publicity stunt than anything. From a writer's standpoint it gives you a topic to rant about, and gives the sports world something to talk about. I just don't see what the hype is about, although I guess I fed right into just by writing this.