Phil Partington's Blog

Posted by Phil Partington

It's been a while since I've posted a blog. I apologize for that, but I do have exciting news! In the past year, I've gotten engaged, found my birth mother and birth father after a long time search, bought a house and worked seven days a week last summer (weekend cruiseline job) to pay for the honey moon and take my parents on an Alaskan cruise. In other words, it's been a busy year.

It's been a busy year for the NBA, too. To wrap my thoughts up in a nutshell:

• The Detroit Pistons should have never traded for Allen Iverson. He's talented, but he's never really been a guy who fits in a system as much as the system has to fit around him.
• The Boston Celtics look good at 28-4.
• Dwight Howard is officially the best center in the NBA.
• Bad or not, Oklahoma City fans have no right to boo their team. After all, they suck only because the owners traded away their talent in order to make the move in the first place.
• There's some serious talent in this year's rookie crop.
• LeBron James is a fiend, and I hope he stays in Cleveland.
• Don Nelson must hate having to play Andris Biedrins. He's traded every other big man he's had for a guard of sorts. Jamal Crawford, Stephen Jackson, Corey Maggette, Anthony Morrow, Marco Bellineli, Kelenna Azubuike, DeMarcus Nelson, C.J. Watson and Marcus Williams are all talented guards, or guard/forwards. That doesn't even include Monta Ellis, who should return from injury in a month. Could their lack of interior play be contributing to their 10-23 record?
• Philadelphia needs Elton Brand back and some perimeter shooting in the worst way.
• The OKC Thunder are on pace to break the record for the fewest wins in an NBA team for any team. They're on pace for just seven to eight wins. The record is nine wins.

Have a wonderful holidays, folks! Celebrate the new year with my original song, Rum and Egg Nog.

Posted by Phil Partington

The Milwaukee Bucks recently traded prospect Forward Yi Jianlian and Forward Bobby Simmons to the New Jersey Nets for Forward Richard Jefferson. This trade confirms that the Bucks are looking to win now, while the Nets are looking more toward the future.

After dealing Jason Kidd to the Dallas Mavericks during the season, the Nets look much younger than before. One wonders if Vince Carter might be dealt next. Along with the trades, New Jersey selected Center Brook Lopez with the 10th pick of the 2008 NBA Draft, as well as Forward Ryan Anderson with the 21st pick, giving them a more balanced offensive approach. Pending other transactions, they'll be rolling with Lopez at center, Sean Williams, Josh Boone or Anderson at the power forward position, Yi Jianlian at the other forward position, Devin Harris at point guard and Vince Carter at the shooting guard spot.

On the other hand, Milwaukee seems to be trying to make a playoff push right away. Richard Jefferson is a solid finisher with a lot of versatility, but it's questionable as to whether or not he'll be able to get them over the hump. He'll certainly take pressure off of Michael Redd, but the Bucks could still use a bruiser power forward, as well as a pass-first backup point guard. Their success will mostly be linked to the development of Center Andrew Bogut, who's extremely underrated as a prospect.

Posted by Phil Partington

The NBA's management techniques have been less than impressive recently. First, they do a piss-poor job of handling the Seattle Supersonics' situation, then they call out referee Joey Crawford for missing a key foul call late in game four of the Lakers-Spurs series, then they announce that they plan to fine players for flopping. It seems the league has lost all trust in their refs ever since the Tim Donaghy incident last year. The job of an NBA referee is a very difficult one to be sure, and missing the occasional call has always been part of the game. It's understandable for the league to implement an instant replay system for buzzer-beaters, but to publicly call out an official for missing a call cheapens the refs' in-game authority. The job of a ref is not to make the right call every time. It's to manage the game and keep order, while being as fair as possible. The league is overstepping their bounds and de-valuing the profession of the basketball referee, and not letting them do their jobs.

In the case of flopping, perhaps referees should be better trained on how to watch for such a maneuver, or perhaps the league should include "catching flops" in a ref's evaluation, but fining players is a dangerous precedant to start. Whether or not a player is flopping is often determined by individual discrepancy, and sometimes that can be inconsistent. Also, there are many occasions when a player might over-sell the foul, but it is still a foul. It seems the league should be focussing on more pressing issues, like the collective bargaining agreement which continues to drive ticket prices through the roof and has been the cause of several teams changing cities.

Posted by Phil Partington

This has been a crazy month for me, so I apologize for being so quiet. I'm glad to be back to discuss all the exciting things that have happened in May in the NBA. The Playoffs are down to the final tick with San Antonio and the Lakers left in the West and the Celtics and Pistons dueling things off in the East. I don't think anyone should be shocked to see those teams still in it, but their journeys have been a bit odd.

The Spurs faced a difficult seven-game series against the New Orleans Hornets and now find themselves down two games to one to a Lakers team whose star, Kobe Bryant, has been dealing with injuries here and there and whose up-and-coming center, Andrew Bynum, has been M.I.A.

Nobody should be too surprised that the Boston Celtics are in the position they're in. Yet, after their first two series, it looked as if the season was going to be a disappointment. They've played back-to-back seven-game series. The first was against the eight-seeded Atlanta Hawks. Meanwhile, the Pistons bounced back in their second round series against the Orlando Magic after being down against the Philadelphia 76ers two games to one in their first series before winning that series four games to two. However, with Chauncey Billups playing through pain, they find themselves down against the Celtics.

At this point it will be interesting to see what happens when the Lakers-Spurs series goes back to Los Angeles. Remember, they struggled on the road against New Orleans, too.

Posted by Phil Partington

Hey folks, I'm back in action. Sorry about the recent hiatus, but thanks for all your comments/opinions on the MVP race.

Can you believe the Celtics/Hawks series going to seven games? The Mike Bibby deal seems to have really paid off. What do you think? Is it a match up issue? Is Atlanta just playing their hearts out? Is Boston really a finals contender?

Another question is what does this success mean for the Hawks? If they manage to upset Boston in Game 7, do they make any moves? They do have a logjam at the small forward position with Josh Smith, Marvin Williams and Josh Childress. They could certainly use a defensive-minded center. Yet, which prospect do they give up? Or, should they keep what they have and hope to continue to develop that talent, despite the holes.

At any rate, it should be an exciting Game 7.

I'm glad to be back and am excited about hearing your thoughts on the NBA Playoffs.