My '09-'10 All-Rookie Teams

With every "All-" something team, I just have to have my say about it. Here are the official 2009-2010 T-Mobile All-Rookie Teams, straight from NBA.com:

2009-10 T-Mobile NBA All-Rookie First Team

Player Team First (2 pt) Second (1 Pt) Total Tyreke Evans Sacramento 29 -- 58 Brandon Jennings Milwaukee 29 -- 58 Stephen Curry Golden State 29 -- 58 Darren Collison New Orleans 20 6 46 Taj Gibson Chicago 15 11 41

2009-10 T-Mobile NBA All-Rookie Second Team

Player Team First (2 pt) Second (1 Pt) Total Marcus Thornton New Orleans 6 19 31 DeJuan Blair San Antonio 6 18 30 James Harden Oklahoma City 4 14 22 Jonny Flynn Minnesota 4 14 22 Jonas Jerebko Detroit 2 18 22

And now mine:

2009-10 BasketBlogger NBA All-Rookie First Team

Player Team First (2 pt) Second (1 Pt) Total Tyreke Evans Sacramento -- -- -- Brandon Jennings Milwaukee -- -- -- Stephen Curry Golden State -- -- -- Taj Gibson Chicago -- -- -- Darren Collison New Orleans -- -- --

2009-10 BasketBlogger NBA All-Rookie Second Team

Player Team First (2 pt) Second (1 Pt) Total DeJuan Blair San Antonio -- -- -- Marcus Thornton New Orleans --  -- -- James Harden Oklahoma City -- -- -- Wesley Matthews Utah -- -- -- Omri Casspi Sacramento -- -- --

I moved Taj Gibson up over Darren Collison on the First Team, but they are still both on it. I just think that Gibson had an overall better season than Collison. We all saw how great DC played in place of CP3, but overall, I would rather put Gibson on the First Team than Collison if I had to pick one.

DeJuan Blair has to make one of the two teams, as well. He's playing behind Timmy Duncan, so obviously his minutes are limited, but what he has done with them, like Collison, is amazing. Blair was a Second Rounder, so he had a lot to prove to everyone who doubted him. Teams mostly didn't want to risk him getting injured, since he had a couple knee surgeries before the Draft, which is mainly why he was drafted so low. He's also playing for a Playoff team, which helps his resume.

Marcus Thornton has to stay on the Second Team, too. He's an electric scorer with a lot of potential, and surprisingly he was drafted 43rd overall. I guess the perfect word to describe him would be "surprise", because he surprised everyone with how well he played this season. If you think he can't score, just remember that he dropped 23 points in a quarter against Cleveland, a franchise record for points in a quarter. Here's what Jim Eichenhofer from Hornets.com said about Thorton's record-braking night:

"Thornton’s 37-point game at Cleveland on Feb. 23 was a record-breaking one in franchise history. While playing 31 minutes in a reserve role, he scored the most points in a single game by a substitute in the 22-year history of the Hornets. Thornton also poured in 23 points in the second quarter at Quicken Loans Arena, the franchise mark for points in a quarter. He also accomplished both feats without needing a high volume of touches, going 15-for-22 from the field. NBA.com wrote after the performance that 'Marcus Thornton… looked more like LeBron James than LeBron James.'"

I'm sure Gerald Wallace found Thornton pretty surprising, too.

James Harden has been effective for the Thunder this season, as well. He was definitely not the third best player in the Draft (he was drafted 3rd overall), but he has given the young Thunder a boost off the bench. His game is also pretty developed, so I won't be surprised if OKC starts him in seasons to come.

It's really hard for me to leave off Jonas Jerebko and Jonny Flynn, who both made the official Second Team, but I feel like the wear and tear of the season is what really slowed down Omri Casspi during the second half of the season. He was playing at a very high level throughout the whole first half of the season, and many were putting him in contention for Rookie of the Year. That talk died later on, but Casspi can still be very effective on both ends of the court and from inside and outside when he plays well.

Here comes another tough one. I put Wesley Matthews over Flynn mainly becuase of three reasons: 1) Matthews is contributing to a good Playoff team (Utah), 2) he proved his worth after going undrafted, and 3) I haven't seen enough of Flynn. Minnisota is rarely on TV, and let's face it: how many of you check the TWolves' boxscore or watch recaps the day after their games? Whenever I've seen Matthews, I've seen consistency in almost every aspect of the game. His shooting is good, he's pretty quick, and he can adapt to different situations he's put in. He also meshes well with Deron Williams, the teams's All-Star point gaurd who orchestrates their offense.

Overall, I felt that this year's All-Rookie Teams were well chosen and all the players selected had something going for them. Personally, I would've added two more slots in the Second Team, but I'm not the Commissioner so nothing I say matters.

Upsets coming?

I have never seen as many possible (and realistic) upsets ever being able to happen in one year. While my Eastern Conference predictions are very good ones, I can't help but feel that I guessed very wrongly about the Western Conference. Take a look at the playoff bracket below:

The Spurs, Jazz, and maybe even the Thunder seem to be on the verge of changing the Western playoff landscape. The Lakers, Nuggets, and Mavericks were all legit title contenders coming into the postseason, so what is going on?

I get that the Utah/Denver series is a series between two almost equal teams (same record: 53-29), so some people won't categorize that as an upset, but considering the Nuggets squad's high expectations this season, as well as all the Playoff experience from its leaders, this series should actually belong to Denver. Now the only way for my prediction to be correct is if they make a comeback and win it in 7 games.

Surprisingly enough, the Dallas Mavericks and San Antonio Spurs are only separated by 5 games in the standings, yet they are seeded 2nd and 7th, respectively. San Antonio has some of the most talented and experienced veterans in the league, and they tend to come alive come playoff time. They failed to flip the postseason switch last year in the First Round, which led to their early elimination, but this time around the Spurs are looking like they really want to make one last push for a championship.

Of the three series I named as possible upsets, this one is easily the biggest. I told you guys earlier to watch out for this series, and sure enough, these teams have given as a great First Round matchup. OKC, who many thought would be done in 4 or 5 games, have one 2 straight and tied the series at 2 a piece. I stand by my prediction of LA in 6 games, but there is a huge possibility of a Thunder upset.

EDIT (April 28th, 2010): Add Milwaukee to the mix, too. They just won a very impressive road game over the Hawks, who seemed to just run out of fuel by the end of the game. Young Buck Brandon Jennings had 25 points on the night, but only 8 of his 20 shots went in. This gives them a 3-2 lead. Anyone else surprised? This could be the definition of an upset in this year's Playoffs. Andrew Bogut went down late in the season, leading many to question how many games the Bucks will be able to win in the postseason without him. Mike Woodson should start packing his bags if his Hawks lose the series, 'cause I can't see him getting a new contract after two consecutive poor Playoff showing since Atlanta took Boston to 7 games back in '08.

NBA Playoffs Wallpaper

If any of you guys are looking for a really nice looking high quality Playoff bracket wallpaper, look no further. Dejan at BasketWallpapers.com made a great one that he will keep updating throughout the postseason until the Championship is won. You can find it here, and you can even find his version for the 2008 Playoffs and 2009 Playoffs on his site, as well as many more fantastic wallpapers.

First Round Predictions

Okay guys, even though the First Round already started, I couldn't find time to post my predictions for it. Here they are, fresh from my brain. By the way, I had these written down since last Saturday, so they aren't based on the games that were all ready played.

CLE vs. CHI: Cavs in 5 games.
ORL vs. CHA: Magic in 4 games.
ATL vs. MIL: Hawks in 4 games.
BOS vs. MIA: Celtics in 6 games.

LAL vs. OKC: Lakers in 6 games.
DAL vs. SAS: Mavs in 7 games.
PHX vs. POR: Suns in 6 games.
DEN vs. UTA: Nuggets in 7 games.

I just noticed that I have all of the higher seeded teams moving on to the Second Round, but honestly, can you actually see any upsets happening? Tell me what you think in the chat box.

Playoffs 2010

Hey guys, it's been a while since I've posted anything, and too much has happened in the time span. With the blink of an eye, we're now about to start the 2010 NBA Playoffs, where amazing happens. Here's a look at somethings you should watch for in the coming days of the First Round.

Derrick Rose vs. Cleveland

Like last year, the first pick in the 2008 Draft has led his team into the Playoffs and into the path of a dangerous title contender, this time none other than the Cleveland Cavaliers. We've seen a lot of improvement by Rose since last year, as shown by his All-Star nod, but does he really have what it takes to take the Bulls into the next round? Probably not, but the series is gonna be great, with things like Joakim Noah's intensity and Lebron's dancing to keep us entertained.

Wade vs. Boston

Boston doesn't want to believe that they may not have what it takes to still be a contender. D-Wade wants to win. Both the Celtics and Wade have chips on their shoulders, and they sure don't want to go away without a fight. Boston has given us some of the better First Round series in recent years (vs. Atlanta in 2008, vs. Chicago in 2009) so make sure you watch this matchup.

OKC vs. LA

Kevin Durant vs. Kobe Bryant. Scott Brooks vs. Phil Jackson. Young and inexperienced vs. proven veterans. That's the obvious storyline in this series, but what about Ron Artest vs. Trevor Ariza? Even though Ariza won't be playing, seeing that he's on Houston, most of us want Ron Ron to prove that he's worth more than Ariza come Playoff time. Artest hasn't done too much for the Lakers this year, so he's gotta show that he's actually better for the team to have.

San Antonio vs. Dallas

Everything is bigger in Texas, and this series shouldn't be different. With the two teams both from the Lone Star State and both having something to prove (Spurs, that they are still relevant, and Mavs, that they can get back to the Finals after what happened in '06 and '07), this series should be a really entertaining one to follow.