Eastern Conference Finals Preview

Who could have believed the Celtics would even make it this far?  Not when they limped into the All-Star break at mid-season with a 15-17 record while clinging to their chances for a postseason spot.  Not when rumors had swirled about breaking up the team.  Pierce to New Jersey?  Ray to LA?  With Rondo's name repeatedly being heard in loud whispers around the league about being on the trading block as well?  The outlook looked bleak at the time, but Danny Ainge's bold decision to keep the team intact for what may be it's last run together has paid off with a trip to the Eastern Conference Finals.

A strong second half surge, triggered by a revitalized Kevin Garnett's move to the center position and the emergence of Avery Bradley, pushed Boston to their 5th straight Atlantic Division title and the fourth seed in the East.  After dispatching a feisty Hawks team in round 1 and outlasting the Sixers in an ugly second round, the Celtics continue to roll toward another Conference title.

Standing in their way is the star studded Miami Heat.  In this series the Celtics will be at the disadvantage of not having the best player in the series for the first time this postseason.  With their dynamic duo of LeBron James and Dwayne Wade, it's fair to say the Heat easily boast the two best players in the series and perhaps two of the top five players in the league.  This is why not many people are giving Boston a chance in this series.

What to do about Youk

The Red Sox will soon have a difficult decision on their hands.  With the impending return of Kevin Youkilis on the horizon, the question focuses on what to do with young phenom Will Middlebrooks.

Youkilis has been out since the beginning of the month with a back strain, but yesterday he began a rehab assignment with the team's AAA affiliate in Pawtucket.  He looked good in his return, serving as the DH, hitting a double, drawing a walk and scoring a run.  The team plans to have him take the field at third base today.

In his absence, Middlebrooks has shined.  He may not come with the hype of top prospects like Bryce Harper or Mike Trout, but playing with those guys in the Arizona Fall League last year gave him the confidence that he could play at their level.  In 13 games since his May 2nd call up, the rookie has a .278/.316/.593 slash line.  In only his fourth game with the big league club he belted his first career home run, a grand slam.  He followed that up the next night with a two homer game.  He became just the third player in league history to hit at least 4 HRs and drive in at least 13 RBIs in the first 10 games to start a career.  Not bad for a debut.  Especially since it game after tearing it up in Pawtucket to start the season by hitting 9 home runs and driving in 27 runs in April before getting called up to the majors.  Granted these are all small sample sizes and he won't necessarily keep up that torrid early pace.  Already he's begun slumping a bit in the past week or so as teams have started to adjust to him.  However, it's clear from what we've seen so far that this kid has a bright future. 

Seau death should be an eye opener for NFL

The tragic death of former NFL player Junior Seau sent shock waves through the league this week, while leaving behind a list of unanswered questions. While we may never know the true reason for what moved Seau to take his own life, it's reasonable to speculate that head trauma suffered during his career may have played a part. If that's the case then this tragedy should open some eyes amongst NFL officials.

Junior Seau played 20 years in the NFL with the Chargers, Dolphins and Patriots.  In his younger years he was a defensive force in leading the team to a Super Bowl in 1994.  Patriots fans will remember Seau after spending the last 4 years of his career in New England.  He was part of the historic 16-0 season in 2007 and was often praised by coach Bill Belichick and his teammates for his veteran leadership.

Seau's death appears to have been the result of a self inflicted gun shot wound to the chest, which is eerily similar to the fate suffered by another former player, Dave Duerson. After his unfortunate death last year, a suicide note from Duerson was found that asked that his brain be donated to science to study the effect that brain damage caused by head trauma, such as concussions, may have had on his post-career life. It was concluded that Duerson suffered from degenerative brain disease from repeated head trauma, which can lead to depression. There have been no definitive studies linking concussions to suicide, but Duerson sure seemed to think there was. While Seau left no note behind, the fact that he copied Duerson's methods of shooting himself in the chest, to preserve the brain, sends a message in itself.

NBA Season Awards

The hectic lock out shortened NBA regular season has come to an end, but before we move on to the postseason, let's take a look back at this season and hand out some awards.  Here are my picks for the regular season awards.

MVP

He may not be the most popular figure amongst NBA fans in the post-Decision era, but there is no doubting that LeBron James is the best all around player in the league.  For much of the season he was on pace to break Michael Jordan's record for single season PER (31.71).  A late season slide pushed his efficiency level down a bit, but his 30.80 mark was still by far the best in the league.  Amazingly, it's only the third best mark of his career, as he's twice passed the 31.00 mark (MJ is the only other player to do so, as those two make up the top 5 on the all-time list).

James finished third in the league in scoring (27.1) to go along with 7.9 rebounds and 6.2 assists per game in leading Miami to the second seed in the East.  He was also a major contributor as one of the league's best wing defenders on the other end of the court. 

His late season swoon will likely make the choice a bit more interesting, with scoring champion Kevin Durant likely stealing some votes.  Durant may hold a slight edge on the offensive end, but LeBron's superior defense pushes him to the top. 

Chris Paul deserves a lot of credit for turning around the Clippers franchise by changing the culture of the team and turning them into a legitimate contender.  Kobe Bryant battled through injuries all season, but still managed to lead the Lakers to another division title while falling just short of another scoring title.  Rajon Rondo earned his first career assists title, taking the torch from Steve Nash, while fueling a drastic second half turn around for the Celtics that has put them in position to be a surprise contender.  With Nash's Suns narrowly missing the playoffs, Rondo sneaks in to steal the final spot on my ballot.

Kevin Love deserves to be mentioned based just on his eye popping numbers, which clearly make him one of the league's elite, but his Timberwolves failed to make the playoffs, which holds him off the list.  Derrick Rose, Dwayne Wade and Manu Ginobili all put up impressive numbers, but missed too many games with injury to be considered.   Dwight Howard sat out the last few games of the season as well, but that's not all that kept him off the list.  Despite his great numbers, he was on cruise control for much of the season, put the entire franchise through the drama of speculation regarding his future, tried to get his coach fired and then ultimately quit on his team.  Fair to say he won't be making the list this year.

MVP Ballot
1. LeBron James
2. Kevin Durant
3. Chris Paul
4. Kobe Bryant
5. Rajon Rondo

Patriots Draft

This Thursday evening the NFL will begin it's annual draft.  While there won't be much suspense in the early going, since we already know where Andrew Luck and Robert Griffin III are headed, there is still plenty of options for other teams as we get deeper into the draft.  This is especially true for the Patriots, who enter the draft armed with 5 of the top 93 picks.

Considering 6 of their top 7 picks last year were made on offensive players, you would expect the Patriots to focus primarily on defense this year.  New England has plenty of holes to fill in a defense that ranked 31st in the league last year, giving up a staggering 411.1 yards per game.  The pass defense was the main reason for their defensive struggles and the revolving door in the secondary certainly didn't help.  The pass rush could also use an upgrade, as last year's team leaders in sacks are no longer with the team.  Mark Anderson signed with Buffalo, while Andre Carter is still recovering from last year's season ending injury and remains an unsigned free agent.

Trying to predict what Bill Belichick will do during a draft is a near impossible task, as he tends to zig when everyone else assumes he'll zag.  They don't call him "Trader Bill" for nothing, so you have to consider the possibility that the Patriots won't stay in their current draft position with all of their picks.  The Patriots once again own multiple first round picks.  We've seen the past couple seasons that when faced with a similar scenario, Belichick has been willing to trade out of the first round with one of the picks.  By doing so he has been able to move back to a second round pick while also picking up a first round pick for the following year.  So essentially by moving that first rounder back another year they are picking up a free second round pick.  It's a sound strategy for a team that stresses getting the most value out of their picks.

On the other hand, you have to wonder when the team will put more emphasis on drafting impact players instead of just waiting for value picks.  Getting all those extra picks is nice, but in doing so the Patriots have passed on chances to draft quality players such as Clay Matthews, Dez Bryant and Mark Ingram (all players that were selected with a pick the Patriots traded away).  After all, Tom Brady isn't getting any younger.  At 35 years old, the window this team has to win another title with their future Hall of Fame QB is starting to narrow.  Could this be the year that Belichick cashes in on the stockpile of picks he's accumulated by packaging picks to move up in the draft for a real difference maker?  Changes in the CBA agreement prior to last season may make that scenario more likely, as the rookie salary scale makes it less expensive, therefore less risky, to select a player higher in the draft.  That may make it more enticing to move up in the draft given that the financial impact won't be nearly as steep as it would have been in the past and they have the ammunition to get a deal done.  It will be interesting to see how the new rules will impact draft day trades this year, but rumor has it that plenty of teams in the top half of the draft are still willing to trade down.  The Patriots may be willing to pounce if the right offer comes along.