13 April 2011

I HAVE THOUGHTS!

So... this is Brent. I have decided that I have some thoughts that I want to blo g. Some of them, of course, will involve basketball; more specifically, the NBA Playoffs coming up. Also, I am going to post some of the convoluted craziness that I will extract from the manic maelstrom that is my conscious process. Buen provecho. Enjoy.

1. Our neighbors, Jake and Hannah Garrett, are moving. That stinks. We've really enjoyed having them so close. They taught us pinochle and gave us our first real "couple friend" after we got married. Good times. We know that they'll be off on a new adventure in a new apartment, but if one of you is reading this, WE STILL WANT TO BE FRIENDS! We need another pinochle summer!

2. I enjoy drinking out of large glasses. Small glasses stink.

3. One of Katie's students, Sarai, invited us over to her house for some authentic Central American food on this upcoming Monday night, including pupusas, black beans, tortillas, and a few other things. I think that I will be fasting until Monday. For those of you that know how amazing this stuff is, be jealous. For those of you that do not know this food, I feel bad for you. Legitimately. Your life is awful.

4. (Insert sports rant) The Chicago Bulls will win the NBA Championship this year. They have size, length, athleticism, and "that dude" (thanks to Charles Barkley for that), Derrick Rose. Though they may not have the proven playoff mettle of the Lakers, Spurs, Mavericks, Celtics, Heat, Knicks, or the Magic, they will have enough to dethrone the Lakers as champs. Here's a team-by-team breakdown of why:

1. Celtics- the Celtics are the presiding elders of the eastern conference. However, the loss of Kendrick Perkins opened up the door to Father Time's withered hand that is now firmly choking greatness out of the Celts. Joakim Noah and Carlos Boozer will make Jermaine O'Neal (yes, he's still playing, and yes, he's starting for the C's) look 10 years older than he is, effectively putting him into the geriatric ward. Luol Deng will bother Paul Pierce enough to lower his effectiveness. Kevin Garnett will do well on defense, but his "O" has retrogressed to the point where he is a shadow of his former self. Rose v. Rondo is compelling, but Rose is in a league by himself. He makes Raghib Ismail look like Wilford Brimley and will make sure that this year the Toros take down the C's if they meet.

2. Heat- Containing the Big 3 will be a tall order for any team in the league, and whether or not it can be done remains to be seen. This will be the season where Lebron must step into legendary status or continue on in his past of playoff frustration. Luol Deng, Ronnie Brewer, and Keith Bogans will be able to do their job against Lebron and D-Wade, which means that they just have to make them take hard shots (jump shots) and keep them from simultaneously averaging 40 points over the course of the series. Joakim Noah will nullify Chris Bosh with his physicality and manic defense in the pivot, and Joel Anthony, Erick Dampier, and Big Z will be disappointing reinforcements. Derrick Rose will dissect the Bibby/Wade/Chalmers mod squad that will attempt to put a dent in his production. Though the Bulls will not win by 20 every night, I think they will be able to eke out at least a 1-point in victory in four out of seven.

3. Knicks- Noah will beat Stoudemire up, Boozer will get the better of Knicks C Jared Jeffries, and Deng/Bogans/Butler trio will be able to keep Carmelo from a 30 ppg average. Once again, Derrick Rose will be the force behind the frontcourt battering ram of Deng, Boozer, and Noah that will power the Bulls to a victory in this possible matchup. A Chauncey Billups from the 2004 Pistons championship run would make for an intriguing matchup against Derek Rose, but this year's Billups model has too much mileage. His craftiness will win him some battles, but Rose will win the war.

4. Magic- Outside of the Lakers and the combined 21 feet of Lamar Odom, Pau Gasol, and Andrew Bynum, the Bulls may have the best matchup possibilities against Dwight Howard. Coach Thibodeau can run Joakim Noah, Taj Gibson, and a bevy of double teams zones that will effectively confuse Superman and force him to do what he does not do so well: pass out to the open man. He hasn't been able to throw a exit pass to anyone but his teammate standing directly in front of him. If the Bulls can force him to look cross-court to pass out and stay solid on their rotations, they should be fine. Though the Magic shooters can burn it up from outside, the perimeter team defense with Bogans, Brewer, Deng, and Rose will have the length and quickness to cover a larger part of open 3s than most teams in the league. Advantage: Bulls.

5. Lakers-Whatever anybody may say, the championship still comes through L.A. If the Bulls meet them in the Finals, Kobe's and Bynum's knees along with more apparent vulnerability on defense will spell the Lake Show's downfall. Nobody in the league can cover Rose; don't even try. Joakim Noah will give Pau a run for his money, which means keeping him under 20 pts and 10 boards a game and outside of 10 feet from the hoop. Though Kobe's knees may be ailing, he's still the deadliest clutch player in the game. If Brewer/Deng/Bogans can keep the Black Mamba from getting to the hole with regularity, Kobe may be less effective. His knee will be banged up, his jump shots may come up a little short, and Showtime 2.0 will fall.

The Bulls have the size, athleticism, and star power in Derrick Rose to bring the O'Brien trophy back to Chicago. If I'm wrong, I'm wrong. If I'm right, I'm smarter than you and you should seek my opinion on future life decisions. Ha!

Thanks for dropping by. Katie will be making the future posts; I'm just glad that I can have the floor every few months for a rant. Thanks!

7 comments:

  1. Brent! We definitely need to hear more from you!

    1. Sad about your friends. It's interesting how, after your married, you play the "dating" game alllll over again. This time, you date other couples.

    2. Amen. Small glasses need to be shot.

    3. I'm half Hondureno and half El Salvadoreno... I know all about the epicness of Pupusas! That's awesome!!

    4. Pass. (Sports aren't my thing)

    Like I said, we need to hear more from you!

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  2. We're sad we won't be neighbors anymore! We will definitely have another pinochle summer if you guys are up for it!

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  3. I would legitimately take a man's life for una pupusa autentica de El Salvador... Q RICAS!

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  4. I love pinochle. It's the best game ever. I learned to play three years ago from my roommate, so anytime we've got three or four players, it's so much fun!

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  5. Let Katie post from now on. You lost me with the sports crap. Look at the background; the Bulls don't belong on it.

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  6. Mal:

    Kudos for use of a semicolon in a blog comment.

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