The following post was written by staff writer Bret Greenberg.

Tracy McGrady will have to put Houston on his shoulders and play a complete game to give the injury-riddled Rockets a chance to catch up with Utah in the opening round of the 2008 NBA playoffs. With injuries to All-Star center Yao Ming and starting point guard Rafer Alston, McGrady and his teammates have to pick up the scoring load. Luckily for the Rockets, Alston is expected to return later in first round from his strained hamstring. But it may be too late. Down 2-0 in a best of seven series, the Rockets are heading into the house that head coach Jerry Sloan built, where the Jazz had the best regular season home record at 37-4.

Houston’s shooters need to take some pressure off of McGrady. Former Illini guard Luther Head has struggled to find his shot off the bench in the first two games, shooting 1-9. This has forced coach Rick Adelman to keep him there. Head has seen 20 minutes of playing time in the first two games. During the regular season, he played about 19 minutes a game where he put up 7.6 points per contest. It’s time for him to find his playoff stroke and help his team.

The other side of this Illni playoff battle is former alum, and current MVP candidate, Deron Williams. Williams has been key at the point guard position for the Jazz, who just a year ago made it to the Western Conference Finals. The playoff run for the Jazz was sparked by a game seven win over the Rockets in the first round. This year, the Jazz may finish the Rockets in four.

Williams put up 20 points and 10 assists a night in the regular season, and has contributed 21 points and 7.5 assists a game in the playoffs thus far.

Williams though, has been suffering through a tailbone injury he sustained April 12 against the Denver Nuggets. He aggravated the injury against the Spurs in the final game of the regular season. On Monday, at the end of the third quarter, he came down awkwardly from a pick set by Houston’s Aaron Brooks. He was escorted to the locker room, but returned in the fourth quarter. He apparently wasn’t wearing his padded compression shorts.

The Jazz’s game plan to stop McGrady appeared to be successful in the first two games. Though the franchise guard put up nearly a triple double in game two, he was held to just one point in the fourth quarter, when it counted. The Jazz threw new, fresh defenders at him all game to wear him down. His legs didn’t look fresh in the fourth quarter of game one either, where he was held scoreless. The bottom line is, if the Rockets are going to make it out of the first round, Tracy McGrady will have to play the way he is capable of for all 48 minutes, and his shooters will have to step up and make some shots.

With the recent flurry of trade deadline moves changing the face of the Western Conference, the annual complaints about the balance of power in the NBA has begun.

While ESPN and other sports media outlets gush over the talent that has made its way out West in recent years, the Eastern Conference has been effectively, and unfairly dismissed as the league’s pretenders. Funny that the top two records in the NBA belong to the Celtics and the Pistons. Granted, the East also owns the league’s two worst records, with D-Wade’s Heat and (Al Jefferson’s?) Timberwolves settling in quite comfortably in the NBA’s basement.

The farther down the East’s standings you glance, the more apparent it becomes that there is certainly a discrepancy between the records of the conference’s 4-8 seeds and their Western counterparts. The Warriors, currently in a dead heat with the Nuggets for the eighth seed in the West, would find themselves at the four spot in the East. There is no denying the fact that the West is a more competitive conference, but anyone who completely disregards teams like the Magic, Pistons, Celtics, and possibly even the post-trade deadline Cavs, is flat-out misinformed for a number of reasons.

Western supremacy has been a very popular system of belief since Michael Jordan packed his bags and left the East to fend for itself, but this one-sided approach to the NBA has spread like wildfire since the trade deadline. But how much really changed on February 22nd?

Andrew D. Bernstein/NBAE via Getty Images

Pau Gasol’s move to the Lakers was an in-conference deal. While the big man has been lighting it up so far running the floor with Kobe Bryant, the top teams in the West all made key additions at the trade deadline, and I foresee the rest of the regular season, as well as the playoffs, functioning as a full-out brawl that will leave the West’s representative in the finals bruised and battered, the Laker’s dynamic duo included.

While the Gasol trade is widely considered to be one of the most ridiculously unfair trades in recent memory, the Suns’ acquisition of Shaq may be the stupidest. Steve Kerr was out of his mind giving up the 29 year-old, versatile Shawn Marion who can score, defend, and rebound with the best of them, for an aging, injury-prone center who takes five minutes to make it from one end of the court to the other. The East actually got better by shipping Shaq off, though Marion is most likely already planning his escape from Miami.

Though the Mavs scored big in acquiring Jason Kidd, they gave up a young, promising point guard in Devin Harris who was posting career-highs all across the board in his first season as a starter. The loss of center DeSagana Diop also raises some serious issues with depth in the Dallas frontcourt.

At the heart of the West vs. East debate is marketability. The best teams in the East are largely considered to be a defensive-minded group — a style of play that does not translate into the flashy, high-scoring product that has become standard procedure out West. Interestingly enough, the Spurs have used the East’s grinding, defensive approach to become the West’s most dominant team in recent years. In a way, Kerr’s trade for Shaq is a concession that the Western Conference’s run-and-gun style of play may look good on TV, but ultimately does not win championships.

The pre-game show for last Sunday’s matchup between the Suns and Pistons featured a nauseating 29 minutes of coverage dedicated to Shaq and the West’s trade deadline moves before the commentators clarified that there was, in fact, another team that would be competing that afternoon. Roughly two hours later, Jeff Van Gundy and Co. were left to discuss McLovin’s potential Oscar snub while the Piston’s bench padded a 34-point third quarter lead. Needless to say, it was a satisfying turn of events.

The common perception of the West as the dominant conference is really just a marketing smokescreen. Four of the past five finals matchups have featured either the Spurs or the Pistons or both — two teams that play “boring” basketball. Five of the top seven franchises in all-time finals appearances hail from the Eastern conference. While the West may have a monopoly on 30-something stars, the East boasts three of the league’s most exciting and productive young players in Dwight Howard, LeBron, and Wade.

Yes, the majority of the rosters in the East pale in comparison to the West’s, but the Pistons and Celtics have enjoyed considerable success in inter-conference play. Before dropping three games immediately following the All-Star break, the Celtics were a perfect 15-0 against the West. Detroit, meanwhile, is 15-7 in play outside of the East, including a 15-point road win against the Hornets on Dec. 5, not to mention Sunday’s 116-86 dismantling of Phoenix.

I recall the day during my senior year of high school, in the heyday of Shaq and Kobe’s dynasty in L.A., when I made a pre-playoff bet that the Pistons would win it all. While I was criticized for “giving away” my money against the mighty West, a month later I was the one collecting money. I knew the East was better than people let on. Three years later, I found myself making the same bet. Come June, I’ll be 10 bucks richer.

Since the 1989 Final Four team, 13 Illinois basketball players have been drafted. Granted, some of those players (like Scott Meents) were selected before the NBA shortened the draft to two rounds, however, that’s still a pretty impressive number. Almost every year an Illini has gotten picked, and for the last two years, two players have traded their orange and blue in for NBA threads on draft day.

This year, though, don’t expect so much.

There is no Deron Williams coming out this year’s crop of Illini draft hopefuls. There’s no Dee, no Brian Cook, no Auggie or Luther or Nick Anderson or Frank Williams or Kenny Battle or Kendall Gill. Hell, there isn’t even a Robert Archibald.

Instead, Champaign will try to support a lanky Texas boy with a strange shot and even stranger hair, and a streaky shooter with NBA range but little else to his game (but some huge biceps).

Will either get drafted? Probably not. Most draft boards don’t even mention Warren Carter or Rich McBride. Carter has used his hookups to arrange work outs for the Utah Jazz and Houston Rockets, but it’s doubtful either will look at him until after the draft, possibly as a free agent (like D-league star Roger Powell).

So what’s lacking in their games?

Carter has athleticism and a decent baseline jumper, but lacks the inside game that his size requires. Not to mention he didn’t come out of his shell until his senior year and, though a fan favorite, was considered a bust during his first three seasons when he rotted on the bench as a seventh or eighth man. Carter benefited from the graduation of James Augestine and finally got the chance to start, and though he was the Illini’s biggest scoring threat, his numbers were pretty modest.

McBride was a poor man’s Luther Head. He could hit the long range three-pointer, but couldn’t create his own shot, couldn’t slash, couldn’t drive and couldn’t grow hair. There’s also personal issues following his DUI. McBride will be lucky if the CBA picks him up.

As for the rest of the draft, we may be looking at one of the deepest classes ever in terms of players who can sustain productive careers for a long time. Of course there’s Greg Oden and Kevin Durant, the next great center and the next … well, maybe the first of it’s kind. Oden will go No. 1 and Durant No. 2, both to West teams solidifying the East as the inferrior conference once again, but after that, there’s a whole boat load of Sam Cassels and Robert Horrys.

Make no mistake, this draft begins with the third pick. After all the hoopla and hype ends when Oden and Durant are off the board, the GMs really go to work. The Hawks sit (luckily) at No. 3, and though they might trade the pick along with the No. 11 for any number of disgruntled superstars, it’s likely they will pick one of three players if they stay: Al Horford, maybe the most sure thing after Oden, Mike Conley Jr., the best point guard in the draft despite his age, or Yi Jialian, the Durant to Yao Ming’s Oden. From 4-60, theres plenty more for clubs to choose … they just won’t choose an Illini (and why should they when talent like DJ Strawberry will still be available late).

Slip down to No. 9, where the Bulls first draft. The Bulls will take the best player available, which won’t solve what they need. They need a scoring big man, someone who isn’t a three-five year project. That rules out Brandon Wright and maybe even Spence Hawkes, two 19 year olds who are less than polished, but will make good pros someday. Jeff Green, the pseudo-forward out of Georgetown, might be the best choice. Green can pass, he can work down low and even shoot the three. Maybe too much like Luol Deng, though the way trade rumors are circulating England’s finest, maybe they should back him up. After Green, I like Jeff’s fifth cousin twice removed Al Green, Acie Law and Nick Young. Is Julian Wright worth the look despite his down year? But if Al Horford falls, Paxon has gotta take him. All in all, the Bulls, with a young core of outside players and several works in progress, are one of the few teams that can’t be helped too much by this crop. They need a veteran power forward that can score down low and pick and roll. You can’t get that in the draft.

I’m hesitant to watch the draft though. I was happy when his show got cancelled, but since then, the ESPN networks have been working so hard to plug Stephen A. Smith in other ways, I sorta wish “Quite Frankly” was still on the air. At least then I could plan my day around avoiding the brash, loud, cocky know-nothing. Now he just pops up everywhere. Stephen, I have my T.V. on mute and I can still here you in the next room while brushing my teeth and vaccuming (I’m a college student with two jobs, I have to multi-task). Please tone it down. At least when Stewart Scott tries to push his fake hip-hop personality, he does so with some journalistic ability. You’re just loud. Always nice to see Jay Bilas out of season, but what’s with his affinity for Joke-face Noah. If the Bulls take him, I’m converting to Jazz-only fan. They have half the Illini anyway.

Snap, it’s been a while.

You get in a funk, kind of the like the one Cubs reliever Scott Eyre is in right now, and you can’t get back on track. I’ve been in one of those since finals week and, sorry, but the Sports Blog was in a coma. Luckily, no one pulled the Terry Schiavo plug on this one. (Too soon?)

Once I stopped for finals, I just couldn’t get around to writing. Even though there’s been pleanty to rap a few words about.
So I’m gonna Rachel Ray this thing and cook up a little 30-minute blog for you. Let’s get the ball rolling again.

First, a dash of tennis.

Nadal owns Federer on clay pretty much like Brett Favre verse the Bears on the Frozen Tundra during the ’90s. I’m willing to even put it out there that Nadal let Federer beat him in the clay match leading up to French Open, just to give him that Paris Hilton-jail sentence of hope before demolishing him once again.

But as Nadal won his third straight clay title, one of the kings of grass went down. Five time Wimbledon champ Bjorn Borg had to withdraw from his first grass-court singles match in 26 years after getting bit in the leg by a dog, after trying to break up a fight between his dog and another.

Michael Vick could not be reached for comment on the incident.

Something is seriously wrong with professional athletes. As if the rush of playing in front of a zillion watchers for bazillions of dollars isn’t enough, these chumps have to steal, shoot people, go to night clubs, beat women and, oh yea, fight dogs for money. Roger Goodall has been trying to clean up the NFL, David Stern has taken a hard line with the NBA and Bud Selig don’t take no stuff from no one. When will the real authorities start cracking down on professional athletes?

Speaking of crack, Amanda Beard showed her’s (and a little more), in the July issue of Playboy magazine. Now, people are trying to turn this into a women’s rights issue, claiming the photos are demeaning to females and what the gains they have made in athletics. Does posing nude for money take away from the accomplishments Beard has made? Are her gold medals less of a statement for women’s swimming in the U.S. just because she showed her breasts after showing off her breastroke? Tom Brady has never worn his birthday suit for a publication, but if I had a dollar for every time I heard a girl say they watch football because of how hot he is (their words, not mine), I’d be able to pay for the entire swimming team to get neked for Playboy.

But why are we talking swimming? It’s the NBA Finals. It’s been pretty cute to watch. The Spurs run their basketball clinic and the Cavs try to imitate it, but, aww, they just can’t quite get there. But don’t write LeBron off yet. Get him a Scotty or a Shaq and he’ll be back. It’s amazing he got this far as it is.

Just as amazing as how far Selig will go to try to fix this steroids thing. Jason Giambi is being asked to talk with steroid investigators and legislatures about his involvement in steroids. Giambi has all but admitted to the papers that he has taken illegal substances, and now baseball is giving him the opportunity to black list everyone else. But let’s not kid ourselves. There’s only one man they want and that’s Barry Bonds. Selig wants validation for his decision to boycott the chase of the home run record, and who can blame him. Bonds single-handedly destroyed the validity of his sport, just as he’s going to demolish Hank Aaron’s historic mark.

But mark my words, the biggest travesty in baseball isn’t the steroids scandal, it’s the NL Central. More specifically the Cubs. The whole division blows, and on paper, the Cubs have three players who could hit 35+ home runs and drive in at least 100, one of the best pitchers in baseball and supposedly, a great manager. They should be at least 27 games ahead of the Brewers, especially with how their 4th and 5th pitchers, Rich Hill and Sean Marshall have been throwing. Good God.

And good grief, too. People are still talking about Tony Romo’s botched hold that led to the Cowboys’ playoff loss last season. Even Charlie Brown doesn’t care that much about all his failed field-goal attempts after Lucy yanked the ball out from under him. Every time I see a special about the difference between game used balls and kicking balls, all I hear is “Wah wah wah wah wah wah.”

There’s nothing special about this year’s U.S. Open. It looks like scores will be over par again and 80 percent of coverage will be of Tiger even though a no-name will walk home with the title.

Anywho, that’s all I got. Just know the Sports Blog is back, breathing and should be able to play long toss sometime this week.

Good to see Deron and Dee move on to the Western Conference Finals, where, I believe, they will meet their end.

Here are a couple quick thoughts after watching Game 5.

I love to watch Deron play and I’m happy for the minutes Dee gets, but I don’t think I will ever be able to truly root for Utah, they still have too much of that 90s era Jazz mystique. I swear Jerry Sloan has it written in his contract that he will only coach goofy, unappealing players. Think about it: Greg Ostertag, John Crotty, Jeff Hornacek, Andrei Kirilenko, Mehmet Okur, Gordon Giricek … this is ugly basketball.

How is Dee Brown such a fan favorite? This kid gets more respect for doing less than anyone I can remember. At halftime Charles Barkley (by the way, if Chuck has something to say I’m listening … its always worth it) made a point of giving Brown a shout-out. People go out of their way to praise this kid. He’s not even a role player.

This is Tyler Hall writing on Dave Just’s Login:

The Bulls started off the playoffs very strongly. They managed to defeat the defending NBA Champions in only four games. They did everything well that a great basketball team does.

Some may have thought that the Bulls had returned to glory. Unfortunately, the Detroit Pistons thought otherwise. The Pistons completely dismantled the Bulls in game one of the seven game series. The Bulls’ Kirk Hinrich and Ben Gordon combined for a mere 22 points. Gordon was two-for-nine in his twenty-seven minutes of play. The Bulls were beaten in every aspect of the game. The only bright spot for the Bulls was Luol Deng. He managed to score eighteen points and was one of two Bulls in double figures. Hopefully the Bulls can pull themselves together for another series win. The 69 points they managed to score will not be enough to win though.

First I’d like to address the previous post in which I said that the Warriors needed to lose both games and the Clippers needed to win both of their games in order to gain the #8 spot in the West. That was incorrect, as the Clippers could gain the 8-spot if they win out and the Warriors lose one game out of the two. I apologize for the miscalculation and will promise to try better in the future. The complications surrounding the NBA tiebreaker system seem to have gotten the best of me tonight.

Anyway, the Warriors and Clippers were both victorious tonight, and the Warriors moved closer to the playoffs with a 111-82 drubbing of the Dallas Mavericks. Their record for the season remained perfect against the Mavs, something that Houston, Phoenix, and San Antonio cannot say. The Clippers also squeaked out a 103-99 victory over the Suns and still have a shot at the playoffs. If the Clippers win Wednesday against the Hornets and the Warriors fall to Portland, the Clippers will win the rights to face Dallas in the first round of the playoffs.

Although this is an uncertainty at this point, the Mavs might be paying attention to the scoreboards on Wednesday, as they have struggled against the Warriors all year. I’m sure they’ll have plenty of time to pay attention to every game and every cute fan in attendance as the starters rest on the bench Wednesday against Seattle.
Stay tuned for more playoff updates and predictions and, as always, Go Bulls.

With the NBA Regular Season finishing up on Wednesday - fans, coaches, and players are poised for the “real” season - The NBA Playoffs. While I am very partial to the Chicago Bulls and I am anxiously awaiting their performance in the postseason, I will be posting regular thoughts, observations, and anecdotes on my take of the NBA Playoffs.

As the season winds down the playoff brackets are starting to take shape. Here’s a look as the situation as it stands now, with two days left in the regular season:

The Eastern Conference has eight teams locked into postseason play, but the seeds have yet to be decided. Currently the Bulls are sitting in the 2-spot, as they hold the tiebreaker over the Cavs. The Cavs are in the must-win on the road tonight against the 76ers, as they have to win out and hope the Bulls lose if they want to slip into the 2-spot. While the schedule favors the Cavs for their remaining two opponents (76ers, Bucks), the Bulls have been dominating opponents lately, including the Nets who the Bulls beat by 31 points in their last meeting on April 6th. The Nets are hosting the Bulls in their season finale tomorrow and are hoping to win in order to move ahead of the Wizards, who currently own the 6-seed.

The Western Conference is awaiting the result of the battle for the #8 seed between Golden State and the L.A. Clippers. The Warriors currently are sitting in the 8-spot and enjoy a 1-game lead on the Clippers but both teams have two remaining games. Both teams face tough opponents tonight as the Clippers are on the road against the Suns and the Warriors are hosting the Mavericks. However, with the playoffs looming the top teams in the West may be resting their starters so both teams could pull out a win. Also, the Warriors are the only team on the Mavs schedule that has yet to lose to Dallas. While the Warriors control their own playoff destiny, the Clippers only hope to sneak in is if they win Tuesday against the Suns and Wednesday at New Orleans/Oklahoma and the Warriors lose both their remaining games. With the way the Warriors play defense (as in lack there of), anything can happen.

Here’s how the conference standings currently look and they will most likely not change before the playoffs. The current standings are pretty set in stone, except maybe a switch between Washington and New Jersey in the East and maybe a switch between Golden State and the Lakers in the West.

Eastern Conference

1. Detroit

2. Chicago

3. Toronto

4. Miami

5. Cleveland

6. Washington

7. New Jersey

8. Orlando

Western Conference

1. Dallas

2. Phoenix

3. San Antonio

4. Utah

5. Houston

6. Denver

7. LA Lakers

8. Golden State

The playoff situation for the Bulls would be best suited if they secured the 2-spot and faced either Washington or New Jersey in the first round. They would also avoid potential matchups against Miami and Detroit, until a potential Eastern Conference Finals matchup. The road to the Eastern Conference Finals will not be easy though, as the Bulls would have to potentially face tough opponents in both the Toronto Raptors or the Cleveland Cavaliers.

That’s all for now. Enjoy the final games of the regular season and remember to check back here for analysis throughout the playoffs and into the NBA Finals. Go Bulls.

The Boston Celtics solidified the No. 2 spot on Friday night.

(Un)fortunately for them, it’s the No. 2 spot in the NBA lottery.

In a game that paid tribute to the Celtic greats of the glory years, the current team is competing for something and it feels a little like shame. At least for the players.

“I probably (would have played), but since we were in the hunt for a high draft pick, of course things are different,” Ryan Gomes said after the loss. “I understand that. Hopefully things get better. Now that we clinched at least having the second-most balls in the lottery, the last three games we’ll see what happens. We’ll see if we can go out and finish some games.”

Gomes went on to say to the Boston Herald, “The players weren’t thinking about the lottery and all that,” said Ryan Gomes, “but reality is reality. Now that our position in the lottery is set, hopefully we can go out and win some games.

“Things could change now, but another thing you’ve got to think of is that he (Rivers) was doing that for a reason. It could be for that reason (lottery position) or it could be for getting the younger guys some playing time or seeing who’s going to be here next year. There’s a lot of things that go into that.”

People are ripping on Gomes for selling out. But who wants to play for losers? Gomes doesn’t. He was pulled from the game in third quarter, dispite having 13 points, and seems betrayed and to have lost faith in the organization. I would have.

The Celtics may have more balls in the lottery, but they’re missing two big ones. Is Durant worth losing the trust of your players? Maybe, but a team should never intentionally lose games for a draft pick. It shouldn’t be allowed, especially when it’s that obvious.

The worst part is people are calling Gomes a traitor for stating the obvious and talking about what everyone already knew the Celtics were doing. He just confirmed it. Gomes isn’t a sell out, the Celtics are. They’re selling their sole for a kid out of Texas with a shoe deal. For shame.

In light of Kobe’s four-game streak of scoring 50 or more points, Espn.com has been pushing comparisons between Jelly Bean’s son and The Greatest Basketball Player of All Time. They say Kobe hasn’t been judged fairly. They say Kobe is better.

Nonsense. Let’s start with the numbers.

Points

30.1 - Michael’s career average (these numbers include two sub-par seasons in Washington)

24.5 - Kobe’s career average

Assists

5.3 - Michael

4.5 - Kobe

Rebounds

6.2 - Michael

5.2 - Kobe

The numbers are close, but it is clear that Michael has the statistical edge. A few other things to consider:

- In his first 10 seasons Jordan compiled eight All-NBA First Team honors, seven NBA All-Defensive First Team nods and three league MVP awards. Kobe (in his ten completed seasons) has won four, four and zero respectively. Keep in mind did this playing only 18 games in ‘85-’86 (out with a foot injury) and 17 games in ‘94-’95 (after returning from retirement).

- Michael never played with a dominate big man, a key ingredient to any NBA championship team. I’m thinking back now, and I think the only title winners in the past twenty years winning a legitimate inside scoring presence have been the Pistons and the Bulls. Kobe has not been back to the finals without Shaq.

- During the playoffs, Jordan’s scoring average rises to 33.4. Kobe’s drops to 22.9.
Kobe is a great player, maybe even the best the league … and with LeBron James, Gilbert Arenas, Dwayne Wade and Steve Nash, that’s saying a lot. Kobe is not unlike Jordan, he’s just not as good. Like Jordan his scoring ability and passion to success are scary. Like Jordan he can take over a game on his own. I mean the kid dropped 81 points in one game. And like Jordan his competitive fire makes him hard to coach and hard to play with. Maybe will a little more charisma and one less suspected rape case Kobe would be more liked … and be more like Mike.

Kobe is one of the NBA’s all-time greats, but he is not Michael Jordan.