So as the regular season ends, its time to hang the “Gone Fishin” signs out for Houston, Memphis, New Orleans, LA Clipps, Sacramento, Golden State, and Minnesota.  So what will we remember about this group? 

Minnesota (15-67).   15 wins may not sound successful, but as crazy as this sounds, I think Minny has something to build on here.  Nine players appearing in more than 70 games gains these kids invaluable experience.  I like the front court of Al Jefferson and Kevin Love, but if Darko Milicic is your number three rebounder, your GM better be looking for more help.  Johnny Flynn had a solid rookie year and that means that that fraud Ricky Rubio can be traded, get rid of the hype and get something in return Minny!  First step this October is for Kurt Rambis to address defense – a professional team giving up 107 PPG is inexcusable.

Golden State (26-56).  I truly believe that this is a team that can win far more games and still keep all that offense, and damn does the NBA need something like this.  All you need to know here is that giving up 112 PPG shows that Don Nelson doesn’t believe in defense.  New ownership needs to call in a new coach – Avery Johnson perhaps?  I love showtime and Golden State can be entertaining, but if you want to win, mix in some defense.   Fans here are dying for a winner and are ready to bust out the enthusiasm should the Warriors ever wake up.  Monta Ellis and Steph Curry could be a dynamic backcourt duo provided that Ellis regains his humility.  Rebounding is yet another afterthought.  If Anthony Randolph was properly coached, he could be a defensive gem!

Sacramento (25-57).  Geoff Petrie gets props for hitting the eject button on those whiny losers from 2008-09.  Thanks for not falling for that Ricky Rubio crap and taking Tyreke Evans.   Thank you for trading for Carl Landry.  I have to admit I was wrong - Paul Westphal was absolutely the right choice for Head Coach.  Spencer Hawes is a 21 year old Center who has serious ability, should he decide to grow up and bulk up.  Jason Thompson is a man-child and once he stops whining to the refs, there’s no stopping him.  Jon Brockman is an invaluable big guy willing to do all the little things.  This team has space under the cap and the ability to bring in at least one veteran to help.  They probably will miss the playoffs again next year, but make no mistake this is a team rising. 

LA Clippers (29-53).  You have to hand it to the Clipps, Donald Sterling as an owner and the #1 draft choice blowing out a knee last summer and they still won 29 games?  For those who have a choice and still sign with this team, that’s on you!

New Orleans (37-45).  CP3 not in the playoffs?  That’s a travesty.  Emeka Okafor I still believe can be an elite player, but he needs a mentor – how the hell is he only averaging nine rebounds per game?  There’s just no talent after that. 

Memphis (40-42).   Forty wins?  That’s quite an accomplishment considering the amount of talent out west.  I believe that this team will be in the playoffs next season.   My opinion, OJ Mayo and Hasheem Thabeet need to hit the glass some more – under four rebounds per game each?   If they can focus on that, man this team can do some damage.    

Houston (42-40).  This is the one team in the NBA that can go either way next year – you just don’t know.  Nice pieces, no real direction. Without Yao Ming and T-Mac and they go over .500, so I guess if anything Rick Adelman should get a lot of respect.  Probably the weakest rebounding team that I’ve seen.  Battier and Ariza are solid defenders, yet Kevin Martin doesn’t play defense.  Injuries are key here too.  In addition to Ming, Martin gets banged up a whole hell of a lot.  Free Throw percentage – only four players averaging over 80%? 

So as the regular season ends, its time to hang the “Gone Fishin” signs out for Indiana, New York, Philly, Detroit, Washington, New Jersey.  So what will we remember about this group? 

New Jersey.  I look at this roster and I raise the BS flag.  You cannot convince me that this team is capable of only 12 wins, yet Jay-Z accepted this?  No wonder folks showed up with paper bags on their heads running smack on team executives.  Fans know when they’re being treated like mushrooms.  Hell, they just won five of their last ten?  Seems as though once they secured the worst record, they started playing better.  But then again, only two players played in more than 70 games?  Seems like whoever was running this team was sticking to the plan of having more ping pong balls than anybody else.  Poetic justice says they get the four seed, but I doubt that happens here. 

Washington.  Does the term FELONY STUPID apply here?  Gilbert Arenas blowing up a team with such promise with such stupidity makes me wonder about the common sense of the management of the team who is openly saying they’re gonna keep him.  Looking at the stats is pointless because there had to be a fire sale here and frankly nothing makes sense in DC.  I think they gave up far too much to Dallas.  Check back with these guys in November. 

Detroit.  This obviously isn’t a traditional Detroit Piston team.  For a team that has height, they sure are lacking in Rebounds, Blocks, and Steals.   The guards are OK, but Ben Gordon really needs to step up next season (by that I mean toughen up and stay off the injured list), as does Will Bynum in terms of earning minutes with just plain solid play.  Richard Hamilton can’t last forever, and asking Rodney Stuckey to carry this team as a PG is asking just a little too much.  Charlie Villanueva’s stats are garbage and Joe D had better have a strong draft!

Philly.  How’d signing Allen Iverson work out?  It didn’t.  Not one player averaged double digits in rebounding.  Yet another team who wasn’t sure how to use their talent, otherwise how do you explain the 76ers lack of use of Jason Kapono?   Blaming Eddie Jordan isn’t the answer, fire the GM.  This team needs a point guard something fierce. 

NY Knicks.  This season was clearly a write-off before it started, but they have improved.  A typical Mike D’Antoni team (run and gun), 28 wins with an interesting, eclectic mix of talent that had seven players average double figures in points, yet only averaged 101 points a game.  Defense has given up 104 points a game, and this team needs rebounding help in the worst way.  Get a good look at these current Knicks, because I guarantee you that most won’t be back next season.  If it means they get stronger, they have to trade David Lee.  Although the hype in "the mecca" is gonna suck, this will probably be a very improved team next season. 

Indiana.  32 wins is far more than I expected out of this team.  But then again, as I look at the roster of this team, I’m having trouble understanding why they didn’t win more.  The only conclusion that I can come to with the Pacers is that only five players have played in 70 or more games, so that tells me injuries have a lot to do with this.  Rebounding stats are pitiful – how does Troy Murphy for the season double the average rebounds of Roy Hibbert?   

 Alrighty then boys, the fish are bitin', so get out there...

I’ve been kinda itching to branch out a little bit and seeing as how we don’t talk all that much here about the NBA, I want to challenge all the gabbers to talk some pro hoops.  Look, I know that the NBA isn’t exactly a big deal here.  It’s fixed and I agree.  My goal here is to forget about the hype surrounding the Cavaliers and Lakers (there's already far too many people doing that!).  Quite honestly, I prefer to talk about the athleticism, excitement, and surprises that teams not named Cavaliers and Lakers can and do generate. 

Let me throw some stuff on the wall and see if we can get something started:

1.  I do have to start with Kobe Bryant.  I don’t like Kobe the human being, nor do I care for the way the league markets him, but I damn sure respect his game and he’s worth every penny of that $90 Million, three year extension he just signed.  By the way, to those who are anointing LeBron James as the best player in the NBA, you’re wrong.  Kobe has four rings and he has many more ways of beating a team than LBJ does (for now)!

2.  Let me talk about two teams who could create some havoc in the playoffs.

ATLANTA HAWKS have risen to #3 in the conference.  I think this team is loaded and primed to make a run like Orlando did last year.  With a veteran PG in Mike Bibby whose been through the playoff wars and Joe Johnson at the “tweener two and three”, you’ve got the backcourt seriously covered.  As for the front court, how does Josh Smith at 6-9 block two shots a game and average nearly 16 points, Nine rebounds, and four assists per game?  This team is big and flat out scary in a seven game series.  Oh yeah, injuries don’t appear to be a problem with this team as eight of their players have appeared in 70+ games out of the 74 played.  Trust me, nobody wants to see this team in the playoffs.

UTAH JAZZ.  Of all the teams in the West, the one team that is truly feared are the Utah Jazz.  Why?  Because they’re solid fundamentally, are just physical enough, and have the ability to control the tempo of games in order to take their opponents out of their games.  I guess keeping Carlos Boozer was the right thing to do, seeing as how he averages nearly 20 points and 11 rebounds per game.   Deron Williams with 11 assists per game?  If there was any justice in the way the NBA was covered, we’d be talking about how great #8 is.   Andrei Kirilenko is day to day with a leg issue and he will be big, if not streaky come playoff time.  If I was to give Jerry Sloan a piece of advice, I’d turn Kyle Korver loose in the playoffs so he can bust some threes and open the lanes so they can run some pick and roll easier.

Playoff Matchup that I’d like to see?  Phoenix/Denver.  Phoenix likes to run, and Denver seems like they’re too proud to slow it down and control the tempo, so Phoenix could give the Nuggets fits if they meet in the first round.  That’s the only hope Phoenix has of advancing.  By the way, I’d have some fun watching some up and down, fast paced hoops.  It would be a refreshing change.

3.  Kevin Garnett.  KG criticizing officiating is funny to me, complaining about how many times Kevin Durant went to the line?  I didn’t hear this crap when he was reaping the benefit of “superstar treatment”.  KG was fined $25,000, but so what?  Whatever happened to the old KG who was humble?

4.  Charlotte Bobcats.  How the hell does Larry Brown do it?  Getting a bunch of NBA players to buy into a team first concept is something I thought I’d never see again, but Brown seems to have made it work, as it would appear that with a four game lead and eight left to play that they are in the playoffs.  This is a team of no-names working together for a common goal.  Congrats to the Bobcats.  Second in the NBA in scoring defense?  WOW!!! 

5.  Anybody wanna take bets on whether or not the New Jersey Nets win the lottery?  I say they do!  If so, it’ll be the first team with the worst record in recent memory to win the lottery.  Hey Stern, do the ping pong balls live and eliminate the skepticism. 

C'mon gabbers, pick a subject NBA related and let's talk about it.

Oh, and before I forget, Happy Easter!!!

 Here in the Mad Office, here are things I can't deny in the NBA:

1. I can't deny that the NBA is in Denial about Commissioner Stern. Come on, I have seen enough of the Bad and that takes out of the good that was constructed and I feel the next person should be someone independent from the Owners or maybe can relate to the modern players a little more by making the D-League Development like the Old CBA and I feel there needs to be a High School Letter of Intent Option of NBA or College so that te options would be straightforward.

2. Wherever King James Lands, the world WILL take notice and follow his team. I feel that personally, Cleveland doesn't enough to land the King and it would have to be Jay-Z , Madison Square, or Houston. It would make me sick if LeBron was a Laker or a Clipper, because Elgin Baylor was one of the 50 Greatest Players only to be a Dumbledorfian Excuse of a GM with the Clippers. Sure, if he was anywhere else, he'd be have a 2nd Crown to his Hall of Fame Resume.

3. And in order to get this fan interested again in the NBA, Expansion will have to be brought on the table post CBA. Like it or not, I am ahead of the curve and I want Expansion Team in Seattle to make up for their injustice and too, I want an expansion in St. Louis or Kansas City so I wouldn't be ashamed to bring my family to the games a few times each year, or even the Quad Cities.

4. I would like to see an NBA D-League in Cedar Rapids and I want to have an Expansion Team. I feel that it would make the most logic for a recovering City to take pride again and to spur on jobs that the leaders fumble on where I'm from.

5. The D-League is on Versus and I believe that Comcast is setting itself up for bringing the NBA back to NBC because I want Competent Announcers and people who actually know these clubs histories and basketball history. I love ESPN, but, they have fumbled the NBA Theme, which shouldn't be a Radio Anthem.