Are the Bulls still title contenders without Derrick Rose?

Throughout the regular season the Chicago Bulls went 18-9 while Derrick Rose was out 27 games due to a plethora of injuries. By being the deepest team in the NBA, especially at the point guard position the Bulls barely missed a beat without the reigning MVP. I am a fan of the Bulls and I predicted them to win the championship if they can have a healthy Derrick Rose. When I watched their first game of the first round of the playoffs against the Philadelphia 76ers I felt even more confident in their championship run. Derrick Rose was on pace to a triple-double by registering 23-points, 9-assists, and 9-rebounds. The Bulls were up 12 points with 1:23 left in regulation Rose made an explosive move to the basket and his knee buckled; essentially tearing his ACL. With that injury Derrick Rose will have to miss the remainder of the playoffs. I have been hearing many people say that Bulls coach, Tom Thibodeau, should not have had Derrick Rose on the floor with such little time left in the game and having such a commanding lead. I strongly disagree with everyone of those critics. Derrick Rose had missed 27 games and it took him almost 27 minutes to find a groove and I am sure that Tom Thibodeau wanted Derrick Rose to regain confidence in closing out games; since he has not done so in almost 2 months. I question all of those critics that if Derrick Rose had not gotten injured would they have had a problem with Thibodeau’s coaching  decision?

I look at who is left on this Bulls team and what competition they have ahead of them. First, they must get past the Philadelphia 76ers; I which I believe they can do. Next, they must past either the Boston Celtics or the Atlanta Hawks; now I believe they can beat both teams but beating the Celtics is a great task and that series would not be one to sneeze at. The reason I still have absolute faith in this Bulls team, other than having a top 5 player in Derrick Rose, is their bigs. The Bulls have an advantage on every team in the NBA with a rotation of quality bigs like Carlos Boozer, Joakim Noah, Taj Gibson, and Omer Asik. At the beginning of the season I chose the Chicago Bulls and the Los Angeles Lakers to go to the NBA Finals because they both have a top 5 player and quality bigs. With as many big bodies that the Chicago Bulls have it is almost impossible to get to the basket through them and it is almost impossible to steal rebounds from them. The Bulls defense is based on the team dynamic and as long as Derrick Rose has been out his teammates have developed a sense of how to succeed without his presence on the court. The Bulls will no longer a have a player who draws a double team with his ability to find seams in a defense and finds his way to the basket but they still have excellent ball movement, great rebounding, and they can still spread the floor with shooters like Richard Hamilton and Kyle Korver.

I do not believe the Bulls are favorites but I do not believe they are pretenders either. They are as much contenders as are the Boston Celtics, the Indiana Pacers, the Memphis Grizzlies, and the Los Angeles Lakers.

“Daughters” by: Nas (produced by: No I.D.)

Be sure to support hip-hop & buy Nas‘ 10th solo album Life Is Good on July 17th, 2012

Reasons why NBA Players should not get paid for participating in the Olympics

The fact that this even needs to be discussed is absurd! Apparently Dwyane Wade and Ray Allen expressed that they believe the NBA Players that participate in the Olympics should be compensated because of how much money is made off of their hard work. I believe if the Olympics are going to sell jerseys and other merchandise it should not have Dwyane Wade’s name on it. It is not mandatory for NBA Players to participate in the Olympics so why should they be paid? You are not paid for volunteering. The idea of it is not just unpatriotic but it is also disrespectful to the real Olympians, the Olympians who work a regular day job and on their off time they work on their Olympic event. If any Olympian should get paid it should be the ones who do not get $5,000,000 contracts for playing a sport outside of the Olympics.

The money these NBA Players get just off of wearing a certain sneaker and getting the global exposure should be compensation enough. There are Olympians who have won gold medals then went back to their 9-5. If Michael Jordan, Magic Johnson, Charles Barkley, Larry Bird, and Karl Malone did not complain about not getting paid then why should Dwyane Wade? I am pretty sure Dwyane Wade did not mean it in an unpatriotic manner but as such a public figure he needs to think about the people before him that did it and the people that live paycheck-to-paycheck that represent this country in those same Olympics that are not as privileged as him but do not complain for not getting paid.

“Rockefeller died of AIDS, that was the end of his chapter”

Contrary to the beliefs of the good people at Dead End Hip-Hop, “Ether” is the greatest diss song ever. Much respect to Ice Cube‘s “No Vaseline“, Cube probably put the nail in the coffin in which N.W.A.‘s reign laid. 2Pac‘s “Hit Em Up” was vicious; and as a Biggie fan I refuse to listen to it, but The Outlaws ruined that song like they ruined “Hail Mary” and “Only God Can Judge Me“. As vicious as 2Pac’s “Hit Em Up” was the fact that it never affected Biggie’s status and Biggie never truly responded took some value away from it nut Nas’ “Ether” changed the way people viewed Jay-Z. Jay-Z was almost looked at as untouchable in the rap world before “Ether” but afterwards the walls around him began to fall. Everyone from 50 Cent to Joe Budden to Jim Jones dissed and took numerous shots at Jay-Z. “Ether” also put to the forefront that Jay-Z was “killed” by Eminem on his own song “Renegade“.

2Pac called out Biggie for being fat and letting Puff dance in all his videos but Pac could not knock Biggie’s lyricism. Nas almost made Jay-Z greatness questionable by pointing out how he bites all of Biggie’s lyrics and Nas opened peoples ears and for awhile people believe Beanie Sigel was better than Jay-Z. “Ether” also stands out more than any other diss track because Jay-Z started it with “Takeover“, Jay-Z responded with “Superugly” while “Ether” still reigned supreme, and Jay-Z’s mother made him walk away. Nas won the beef because Jay-Z threw punches but Nas hit harder while in every other case previously mentioned there were no responses and I believe that takes a lot away from those songs.

Playoffs Predictions

FINALLY! The NBA playoffs begin this weekend and it is prediction time. I am just going to break down the first round.

Let’s begin with the Western Conference, I have the San Antonio Spurs sending the young Utah Jazz home in 6 high scoring games. Next, I have the Oklahoma City Thunder crumbling the Dallas Mavericks‘ dreams of a second championship run in a 5 game series. Then, I have the Memphis Grizzlies trampling all over the Los Angeles Clippers‘ premature championship hopes within 5 games. To cap off round one of the Western Conference playoffs I have the Los Angeles Lakers beating out the Denver Nuggets in a hard fought 7 game battle of series.

Now to the Eastern Conference, I have the Chicago Bulls knocking the Philadelphia 76ers out in a very one sided 5 game series. Next, I have the New York Knicks upsetting the Miami Heat in a long and epic 7 game series. Then, I have the Indiana Pacers just bum-rushing the decrepit, Dwight-less Orlando Magic in a 4 game sweep. My final prediction of the first round is the Boston Celtics defeating the Atlanta Hawks in a 6 game bore of a series.

“Hammer Dance” by: SlaughterHouse

 

Here’s the official music video for “Hammer Dance“; the first single off the supergroup SlaughterHouse‘s sophomore album Welcome To: Our House

Is Robert Griffin III being wrongly judged?

Every time I hear Robert Griffin III mentioned he’s compared to Donovan McNabb, Michael Vick, Cam Newton, and other black quarterbacks who are known for being able to hurt defenses with their legs. When I watch RG3 I see Aaron Rodgers and Steve Young because he is a pocket passer with the ability to scramble but he does not use that ability as a defense mechanism more-so-than a weapon. Although he  rushed for 644 yards in is final season at Baylor University the statistic that stood out the most to me were his 3,998 passing yards.

Robert Griffin III has pooped all over Andre Luck’s parade. Andrew Luck is supposedly the “best prospect since John Elway” yet Robert Griffin III won the Heisman Trophy. Andrew Luck was supposed to dominate the NFL combine but Robert Griffin III ran a 40 yard dash in 4.3 seconds and he proved his critics wrong who said he is too short by measuring up to 6’2″. RG3 is predicted to be drafted second overall; behind Andrew Luck, to the Washington Redskins.

If I had to make a prediction of what Robert Griffin III could develop to in the next five years, I would say he will be in at least one pro-bowl, I have him winning rookie of the year next year, and I think he will be able to carry the Washington Redskins to the playoffs within the next five years. By going to the Redskins Griffin already has an advantage over Andrew Lick because the Redskins are a much better team the Indianapolis Colts; of whom is projected to draft Andrew Luck.

Can Kobe Bryant be considered the best NBA player ever?

As long as I have been an avid NBA fan; since 1998, Kobe Bryant has dominated the league in a way only one other player has. Kobe Bryant in his 16th year in the league is only 33. Kobe Bryant has 5 championships, 2 finals MVP awards,  1 regular season MVP award, 14 time NBA All-Star appearances, he has the most All-Star MVP awards with 4, and he is the fifth leading scoring in league history.

Now I am done listing his accomplishments and I want to talk about what he is still capable of doing. In many eyes he might never be considered the best of all-time because of Michael Jordan but I still believe he can be. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar is the leagues leading scorer of all-time and  retired at the age of 42 after spending 20 years in the league, if Kobe just stayed 4 more years to the age of 37 and continues to average 25.4 he will pass Kareem and be the league leading scorer. Kobe Bryant will always be in Michael Jordan’s shadow but I think otherwise if in those 4 years he can win 2 more championships for his 7th passing Jordan’s 6 championships. Michael Jordan after 2 retirements actually threw in the towel at the age of 40 after 19 years and I must reiterate that Kareem Abdul-Jabbar retired at age 42 after 20 years in the NBA. Kareem and Michael are definitely the only two players ahead of Kobe Bryant because the only players of Kobe’s era that he had to compete with were Paul Pierce and Tim Duncan but yet Kobe has the same number of championships of both of them combined.

People will often try to knock Kobe’s legacy because of his tenure with Shaquille O’Neal and the fact that Shaq had all three of the Finals MVP awards from all of the championships that they won together. My counter for that argument is that Kobe won his first championship at the age of 20 after being fresh out of high school, those first four years he was in the league without a championship could have been his college years.

Michael Jordan will always be the best ever but I will put Kobe above Kareem for second best if Kobe can get another ring or at least pass Michael for the third scoring leader in league history.

Tupac Hologram Live At Coachella 2012

TUPAC BACK!

Is Andrew Bynum the best center in the NBA?

For the past four years there has been no question that Dwight Howard has dominated the center position due to lack of great centers in the league. After Shaquille O’Neal slow deterioration after winning his fourth NBA championship in 2006 with the Miami Heat and Andrew Bynum‘s slow start due to injury there has been no competition for Dwight Howard. Going into this year, after winning three consecutive NBA Defensive Player of the Year awards , there was no doubt in my mind that this will just be another year of domination of the center position by Dwight Howard but Andrew Bynum has out shined him through this entire season due to the soap opera he is having in Orlando. With his post-up moves, his ability to hit the 13-foot jump/hook shot, and the fact that he is shooting 70% of his free throws this year Andrew Bynum has proven to be a much better offensive talent than Dwight Howard. Andrew Bynum has also proven he can cause the same level of intimidation on defense has Dwight Howard.

Dwight Howard is more athletic, better on a fast break, and is a better one-on-one defender than Andrew Bynum. Dwight Howard is built like Hakeem Olajuwon, he is an undersized at 6’11”, quick, and athletic center but unlike Olajuwon, Dwight does not seem capable to develop footwork, some post-up moves, or the ability to knock down that 13-foot jump/hook shot or free throws. While Andrew Bynum at 7’1″ can be like Shaquille O’Neal with his wide frame, his presence in the paint, his long arms, his passing ability and his post-up moves. Andrew Bynum’s ability to knock down free throws and that 13-foot jump/hook shot is something he has that Shaq could never have done.

I give Bynum the edge on Dwight because of his versatility on offense and his defense is nothing to sneeze at. I do not believe either of them can carry a team to a title like Hakeem. Hakeem Olajuwon and Bill Russell are the only centers to carry a team to championships. Shaquille O’Neal had Kobe Bryant and Dwyane Wade, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar won with Magic Johnson and Oscar Robertson, and so on.