Patrick Mills… in HD..
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It's finally happening for the young kid from Australia. Patrick "Patty" Mills has been called up to the Portland Trailblazers tonight against the LA Clippers. With injuries, illness and just plain bad luck, the Blazers' once promising season is slowly turning into a train wreck!
This is a good news story though as Mills has battled his way back from a broken foot to finally try to honor his selection in last June's NBA Draft. We've been keeping an eye on him since the '08 Olympics and wish him all the best.
Mills will wear the number 8 jersey for Portland.
Keep a lookout for that Blazers @ Clippers box score tonight as anyone who can score 38pts on 7-10 3pt shooting while dropping 11 assists is worth a look in ANY game of Basketball. Good luck Patty, it's been a long road... now go out and enjoy it.
Tuesday Predictions…
There's 9 games on the books today in the NBA and I'm in the mood for some predictions. So here's my take on the games for November 3rd. Now you might raise your eyebrows at a couple of my suggestions, but I'll explain my reasons as we go.
Washington @ Cleveland: There's a big rivalry between these two teams and this game will be no exception. The Wiz are on their way upwards while the Cavs are finding their feet. Prediction: Cavs by 4. Result: Cavs by 12.
Denver @ Indiana: These two teams played each other in China during the pre-season. I think if Indiana get to within 10 points, they can consider it a win. Prediction: Nuggets by 14. Result: Nuggets by 18.
Boston @ Philadelphia: The Celtics aren't going to lose this... there is no way. Philly have some nice emerging talent but the Celtics are WAY too deep and will win easily. Prediction: Celtics by 18. (Side bet: Rondo to have a triple double by 3/4 time to celebrate his contract heist!) Result: Celtics by 31.
This is Rajon showing you how many millions he's going to be earning per year from now on. Also, how many points, rebounds and assists he's likely to get tonight.
Orlando @ Detroit: The Pistons have had an indifferent start and the Orlando Magic are trying to look as deep as Boston. They're not doing a bad job thanks to Ryan Anderson and JJ Redick. I think Ben Gordon will be the only thing that keeps this close for three quarters. Prediction: Orlando by 14. Result: Pistons by 5.
Phoenix @ Miami: A hard one to pick in my opinion. Both teams have a perfect 3-0 record and I really wouldn't have said either of them would be 4-0 to start the season. One of these teams has to be however and I'll have to go for the Heat but only because they are at home. Prediction: Miami by 3. Result: Suns by 8.
Milwaukee @ Chicago: United Center. Where Derrick Rose will happen. Prediction: Bulls by 10. Result: Bulls by 2.
The Bulls need a BIG night from Derrick Rose tonight...
LA Lakers @ Oklahoma City: The Thunder do look exciting and there's a few reasons to predict an OKC victory here but I'm sticking with the Lakers in a close one. Russell Westbrook has the opportunity to score 25 on Fisher and Farmar. I'm most interested to see if Artest guards Durant, and if so... the results. Prediction: Lakers by 8. Result: Lakers by 3.
Utah @ Dallas: I couldn't care less about this game but in the spirit of equality and objective journalism, I will predict a 15 point win to the Mavericks. Mainly because of Okur's gimpy foot. Result: Mavericks by 11.
Atlanta @ Portland: In my opinion the most exciting game of the night. I definitely predict a shoot out. If Oden and Aldridge can have a large impact, I see the Blazers doing it fairly comfortably. However, that is not a certainty. This one is ultimately a flip of the coin for me and I think it'll go overtime. Prediction: Portland by 4 in OT. Result: Atlanta by 6.
Here's to another entertaining day in the NBA!
Trailblazers get headstart on Halloween
Kevin Pritchard is a brilliant man. He's assembled a fantastic, young and flexible roster using great cap-management. But his abilities might have gone to his head as he is clearly playing around with corporeal reanimation as he has exhumed Juwan Howard and given him minutes in yesterdays game versus Denver. It's a brilliant way to circumvent the NBA labor laws as there is no provisions within the current labor agreement covering the undead or Satans minions.
Juwan Howard crossed the river Styx to suit up against Denver yesterday
Look for other teams to follow this lead in this economic climate. But most of all, from Two Sides Of The Hoop, have a fantastic Halloween everyone.
Portland Pat…
As previously discussed here at 2soth, Australian Olympic and St Mary's sensation Patrick Mills was trying desperately to make the Portland Trail Blazers roster. With injuries looking like closing his first door to the the NBA, things weren't looking good for the 55th overall pick in the 2009 Draft.
Well, the Patty Mills experiment is now officially alive in Portland. The Blazers surprisingly cut Ime Udoka in choosing Mills.
Let's hope we can see him back in action soon.
Well done Patty.
Mills & BOOM?
With the 55th pick in the 2009 NBA Draft, the Portland Trailblazers selected Australian National Representative, Patrick "Patty" Mills from St Mary's College.
Australian fans rejoiced as a new opportunity to follow an Aussie on the NBA's stage arose.
Patrick Mills dazzled fans and foes of St Mary's alike with his lightning quick speed and his electrifying energy for success. Some of the games he took over were so good, you couldn't look away. Acrobatic shots, incredible passing, strong leadership and most importantly... good, clean, team Basketball.
Unfortunately, Mills injured himself not only in January against Gonzaga, but again recently in his first practice with the Blazers, where he broke his foot. According to the Canberra Times, on October 6th, Mills will have an X-Ray done on his foot and should return to the court at that time. He will then have a mere 21 days to convince the Blazers organisation that he is the man for their final roster spot.
Patty Mills - Destined to play in the NBA?
A guy that brought so much entertainment to the court in College and the Olympics, should get a chance to showcase his talents in the NBA. The biggest hurdle will be the fact the Blazers have plenty of personnel at point guard after acquiring Andre Miller from the Sixers this summer. They already have Steve Blake and Jerryd Bayless at their disposal, so making this roster will be tough.
At the end of the day, this young kid has seen a lot of road blocks and has still been able to move onwards and upwards. Here's hoping Patty can make a splash in the NBA soon, either with Portland or against them.
2010
As far as predictions go, I realize this is practically impossible to get 100% correct. A full scale prediction of every team's win-loss record for the upcoming season. And worse yet, it's only September! However, I thought this would be interesting to look back on in June 2010.
Eastern Conference W L
Western Conference W L
Cleveland 60 22
Boston 56 26
Orlando 54 28
Atlanta 50 32
Toronto 45 37
Chicago 43 39
Miami 42 40
Charlotte 39 43
Indiana 38 44
Washington 37 45
Detroit 34 48
Philadelphia 32 50
Milwaukee 28 54
New York 27 55
New Jersey 24 58
LA Lakers 62 20
San Antonio 56 26
Dallas 54 28
Denver 50 32
Portland 50 32
Utah 48 34
New Orleans 42 40
Oklahoma City 41 41
Houston 38 44
Phoenix 37 45
LA Clippers 36 46
Golden State 35 47
Memphis 31 51
Minnesota 28 54
Sacramento 15 67
In making these predictions, I've taken into account all roster changes up to and including the 13th of September 2009. As soon as a blockbuster deal goes down, I may have to edit these figures.
I'm excited to see what Blake Griffin can do for the Clippers, what Allen Iverson can bring to the Grizzlies and how Amare Stoudemire will handle being stuck on a 37-win team. But most importantly, it will be interesting to see who can secure home court advantage throughout the entire Playoffs. This one fact alone may determine the Champion this year.
As always, time will tell and bring on the upcoming season!!!
Threads of success…?
I've had a theory for a long time now regarding NBA teams and new uniforms. This theory has been ridiculed before but the stats don't lie. If an NBA team makes a significant change to their uniforms, they are historically likely to experience a distinct improvement for the current or next season and in a lot of cases a trip to at least the Conference Finals. I'm not saying this is psychological, it just happens.
Let's run through a list of teams that have changed their uniforms and seen prompt results.
 2009 - Orlando Magic (2009 NBA Finals) |
 2008 - Atlanta Hawks (2009 ECSF) |
 2006 - Cleveland Cavaliers (2007 NBA Finals) |
 2005 - Dallas Mavericks (2005 NBA Finals) |
 2003 - San Antonio Spurs (2003 NBA Champions) |
 2001 – New Jersey Nets (2001 NBA Finals) |
 2000 – Los Angeles Lakers (2000 NBA Champions) |
 2000 – Indiana Pacers (2000 NBA Finals) |
 1997 – Utah Jazz (1997 NBA Finals) |
 1996 – Chicago Bulls (1996 NBA Champions) |
 1996 – Seattle SuperSonics (1996 NBA Finals) |
 1993 – Chicago Bulls (1993 NBA Champions) |
 1993 – Phoenix Suns (1993 NBA Finals) |
 1992 – Portland Trailblazers (1992 NBA Finals) |
I'm sure there's more that I can't recall...
So far I've only heard whispers of Philadelphia, Utah and Golden State making uniform changes for this upcoming 09/10 season. I wonder if any other teams are looking to make changes?
Will the trend continue?
Note: All images sourced from: www.sportslogos.net
Blinded by the light
The Lakers needed 7 games to beat a Houston team without it's two best players (totally nearly 50 million in yearly salary), and they were starting a 6'6" centre! That's shameful. Even Denver, if they had any playoff experience at all would have beaten the Lakers. Talk about a charmed run.
But it is what it is. Wishing that San Antonio, Houston, Utah and Boston were healthy or that Portland and Denver had just a little bit more experience doesn't change the fact that the Lakers caught each team at just the right time. Even if all of those listed teams would have won a seven game series.