April 30, 2008

And The Coach Of The Year Is......FIRED!!!

On the eve of the hour that the Dallas Mavericks fired Avery Johnson for his "inability" to get out from underneath a bad trade - er I mean out of the first round of the playoffs for the second consecutive year, it seems that there are a number of coaches that are on the chopping block - Mike D'antoni in Phoenix and, very quietly, Sam Mitchell in Toronto.

Know what those guys all have in common?

Yep, they all won the NBA Coach of the Year Award. D'antoni in 2005, Avery in 2006, and Mitchell last season.

Jeez, these guys were all considered the best of the best not all that long ago, and now they're all going to be in the unemployment line. That's a pretty big swing in a couple years.

Curious. So is the NBA COY the new Madden curse? Take a look at the list below and I'll let you decide.

2007 - Sam Mitchell, Toronto Raptors - Possibly on the block

2006 - Avery Johnson, Dallas Mavericks - 2 years later he's looking for a new job(read:fired)

2005 - Mike D'antoni, Phoenix Suns - 3 years later, he's rumored to be out in AZ

2004 - Hubie Brown - Memphis Grizzlies - quit 12 games into the following season, siting health concerns

2003 - Gregg Popovich - San Antonio Spurs - He's an example against the theory

2002 - Rick Carlisle - Detroit Pistons - Lasted one more season(50 wins) before getting the axe

2001 - Larry Brown - Philadelphia 76ers - 2 years later he left amidst a tiff with his star player and the continuation of his vagabond ways

2000 - Doc Rivers - Orlando Magic - Was fired 12 games into the 4 season

1999 - Mike Dunleavy - Portland Trailblazers - Lasted 2 more years before getting fired

1998 - Larry Bird - Indiana Pacers - Moved into the front office full time after 2 more years on the bench


Maybe there's something to, maybe there isn't. It's still an interesting pheonomenon.

Personally, I think it's Red's way of getting back at the NBA for putting his name on such a stupid looking trophy.

April 22, 2008

Naw, We Didn't Need That...

Congrats to KG on his Defensive Player of the Year award.

Cheers to your continued success sir!

Sincerely,

Management

April 20, 2008

Atl/Boston Game #1

As any avid reader of this blog can tell you, I have not been following the NBA this season. I was flipping through the channels tonight and found Game 1 of Hawks/Celtics. I concluded a few things instantly:
A. KG did well for his new team
B. I assumed the Celtics were the #1 seed
C. The Hawks must be the #8 seed
D. The Hawks made the playoffs?!
E. The East hasn't changed

Oh, it gets better. There was a player for Atlanta, with a mohawk, named West (not Doug, though). Someone named Rondo might be 14 years old. Big Baby! Nice pick by Boston.

All that is great and dandy, but one thing blew my mind. When did Admiral Big Ball Dance join the Celtics? I . . . I didn't get that memo. Seriously? Just once . . . once, I hope to see him hit that jumper to put the game out of reach . . . then a dance.

Go Celts.