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Why Rockets Will Be Eliminated In The Second Round Of Playoffs

Having Dwight Howard without a point guard that can make plays off the pick and roll is a waist of having Dwight Howard.  His biggest strength is his size and athleticism.  Pick and rolls allow Dwight to play where most mere mortals can't play, ABOVE THE RIM.  It puts tremendous pressure on the defense to rotate and rotate early because if you are late rotating to help on Dwight rolling to the basket its a dunk.  That pressure to rotate early also frees up shooters. It also gives them another option in the half court in the play-offs.   In a 7 game series you need multiple options offensively to beat championship level teams.  Against Golden State, the only offense the Rockets could rely on when the series got tight was James Harden Iso and James Harden pick & roll which often times turned into an Iso after the switch.    It would have been great if they could put Harden off the ball sometimes and allow a playmaking PG to either dish to Dwight for a dunk or pass the ball to Harden with the defense in rotation. It would be very tough for a defense to have to close out on Harden in the half-court.  He could pump fake and either get all the way to the basket or get fouled.  I thought they missed an opportunity not getting Rajon Rondo.  I thought there style of play matched his ability to find people in the open court and in transition.  He is not a shooter but the rockets don't need another shooter.  They need a floor leader that can get the players not named James Harden good shots when it counts the most deep in the playoffs. Record breaking 3 point stats look nice during the regular season but what the Rockets need is championship decision making and play making in championship moments and they don't have that on the roster right now.   If they don't solve that problem the will not make it out of the second round of the playoffs this year with the west getting more top heavy this off-season.  

The NFL Has A Been Hardknock Life For Jadeveon Clowney So Far

Jadeveon Clowney has had a tough start to his NFL career.  2 years ago people were asking should he be allowed to enter the draft as a sophomore.  He looked like a man amongst boys in the SEC and was ready to compete at the highest level.  He probably was.  But NFL fortunes can change like the wind.  Fast forward to today!  His toughness has been questioned. He’s got Hall of Famers calling him out.   His judgement has been shaky and the start to his career has be hexed by injury and illness as of this past Sunday.  The Houston Texans seem to be getting frustrated not with him but at the situation.  This is very understandable.  You have a player in Clowney who has the potential to be just as devastating as his teammate J.J. Watt, and that type of talent can be a game changer.  Especial for a team sitting at 4-4 and looking for a spark to finish the season.  I understand what Jadeveon is going through.  I know he wants to play and there is pressure to do well, but when you feel like you are not at your best while competing in league full of wolves that are trained to sniff out your weakness;  thats feeling can take your mind and body to some strange places.  Make strange things happen like getting mentioned for being on Instagram while your team is playing.  (that's strictly a rumor).    Think about it.  A small town kid from a college town gets dropped in on of the biggest cities in the world and the entire city wants you to get healthy right now and play well.  Thats a lot of pressure.  Enough pressure to make you sick.  Especially if you're not accustomed to surgery and playing hurt.  Would you want to jump into a pool full of sharks with your leg bleeding your first time in the pool.  I think not.  For a rookie the NFL can be a pressure cooker that starts at training camp of their last season in college until the end of their rookie year NFL.  It can wear on you mentally and physically.  Especially if you’ve been fighting through injuries the whole time.  Texans fans have to realize the adjustment period for all of these guys is going to be different.  I remember Mario WIlliams getting slammed on his neck his first camp practice.  Now he is one of the highest paid defensive player in the history of the NFL.  Hopefully having a bye week gives him a chance to reset his mind and catch his breathe.  He needs to get the confidence back in his body.  90 percent of being a professional athlete is believing you're better than the guy across from you.  That belief can waver when you don’t trust that your body can respond the way you want it to.  The bye week should give him a chance to regroup.  I expect to see the number 1 pick in the draft prove to the world what the hype was all about in the second half of his rookie season.   

Denver Broncos: No Rush No Ring!

The Denver Mannings, I mean Denver Broncos will fall short of winning the SuperBowl again this season if they can't develop a running game.  Against elite pass rushers or well executed blitz schemes Payton Manning will get rattled and when he needs to make the plays to win the game he won't be able to execute.  The Seahawks destroyed the Broncos in the SuperBowl because they made it a REAL football game for Peyton and hit him early and often.  It is hard to be precise as a Quarterback in the NFL when your head is in jeopardy of being ripped from your body.  Standing in the pocket in the in an NFL game is one of the most dangerous, pressure filled places on the planet for a man to stand.  A legit running game can relieve that pressure and give Peyton the time to do what he does best, Shred Defenses!  The Broncos need to keep Peyton in 7 on 7 mode.  7 on 7 mode being The Mind of Peyton Manning vs. the coverage down field.  His ability to decipher coverages down field and throw the ball in open windows with accuracy and touch is what makes him epic.  A wicked pass rush destroys everything that makes him great but an effective running game would taper down the pass rush;  force defensive lineman to scale down their initial get-off which is the foundation of a fierce pass rush.  Notice I said effective running game not physical running game.  Being physical is a mind set you develop in training camp through multiple days of creating a physical atmosphere in practice.  The play calling in practice dictates the mindset of the unit.  The staple of this offense is Peyton.  Every acquisition they have made supports Peyton being the Bell Cow, the go to guy.  The Broncos are well beyond developing a nastiness in their offensive line at this point.  What they can do is focus on designing an effective running game based on the formations the defense gives them and the ability of their lineman.  Is this a line than can zone block, combo block, pull, angle block? We don't know.    Evaluate the strengths of your line in the run game and design runs that fit their skill set.  This is a tough task; but thats why NFL coaches get paid the big bucks.  They should be able to get elite athletes to develop the necessary skill sets in short time frame.  The Broncos have to get this done or the first team that can get to Peyton Manning in the playoffs will end their season.  The great teams can beat you in different ways.  The team he won with in Indy had a decent running game.   They better find a rushing attack in the second half of the season or we will see The Sheriff riding off into the sunset without the Lombardi Trophy once again.    

The Lakers Suck!

    The Lakers are in for a long season.  I like most Laker fans hoped to see a group of players come out a play better than they have ever played in their careers.  With young players like Jordan Hill and Ed Davis looking to solidify their careers, I thought the young, upstart Lakers with a motivated Kobe Bryant would propel this team to a solid year and a playoff birth.  But that is not gonna happen.  This will be one of the worst teams in Laker franchise history and will be like watching a train wreck for Laker fans every night.  Part of it has been bad luck with injuries to key players with the latest being future superstar forward Julius Randle breaking his leg.  Also Steve Nash is officially broken down for good and Swaggy P has a broken hand so he won't be swaggin anytime soon.  But injuries aren't the only reason they are a terrible team.  There has also been a complete lack of talent acquisition by the front office and NO talent development success over the past decade.  They also haven't drafted one solid NBA player in over a decade. Most teams are able to find unknown talent in the draft that turns into a very good NBA players.  The Lakers haven't found one guy that can play in the draft.   Free Agents have stayed away from L.A. like the plague.  Why would you want to go to the Lakers as a Free Agent.  There in no talent to play with.  No clear direction in the front office, and there was no coach for most of the off-season.  The Laker organization is a ship without a rutter and though it will always be profitable it won't live up to the winning tradition of the Lakers for years to come.  The Lakers are an epic rebuilding project.  The hope is that Kobe Bryant in his last few seasons can instill his work ethic into the high draft picks that will come in the next few years.  His quest to catch Micheal Jordan in titles is over.  That ship has sailed.  Now Kobe can just focus on finishing off his basketball legacy by ushering in a new generation of Lakers that will return the franchise to championship form.  I would have loved to have seen Kobe Bryant get to opportunity to play on that NBA Finals stage again.  But baring several great trades or a miracle, Kobe Bryant's legacy has been written and the only thing he can add at this point is personal milestones that will move him up in the record books.

My Take Mini Rant: Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Someone should tell the Buccaneers that the season has started.  They seem to still be in first gear.  There is no reason for the Bucs to be this bad, this early in the season.  At this point they should still have fresh legs and optimism about the season, it's just week 3!  But tonight, they seemed to be sleep walking through much of this game against the Atlanta Flacons. A division rival none the less.  There is not a team in the NFL that should be down 35-0 in the first half.  No team should be that much Better than any team.  All teams have elite athletes.  So for the Buccaneers to get dominated in that way is alarming.  A lot of people expected this to be a playoff team.  It is not!  At least not now it isn't and it is a long way from being a playoff team.  We all thought Lovie Smith would settle the ship and get the team on smoother and more consistent waters.  That hasn't been even close to being the case.  The offense looks DOA and the defense (though decimated by injuries!) has been uninspiring and lifeless.  They give up big plays but don't make any big plays.  The special teams has even been dismal.  The constant threat of being released usually keeps the special teams competing hard and limiting mistakes.  I guess these guys all have 100% guaranteed contracts because they don't seem to be playing with their hair on fire.  Coach Lovie has to find a way to strike the right cord with this team or  get ready to draft Marcus Mariotta.  Not a bad consolation if you are gonna suck anyway. 

Time For Change For The New York Giants

The New York Giants looked horrible on offense the entire preseason.  In some cases, teams look bad in the preseason and some how manage to turn it on when the real bullets start to fly in September. That has not been the case for the G-MEN.  Eli Manning looks like playing football hurts him to his soul.  He is obviously not having fun playing football and when you've made a $100 million dollars and your family is mega rich, you kinda need to love playing football to play at a high level.  His body language tells me that he either is tired playing football (which is entirely possible) or he hates playing football for the New York Giants.  Maybe a change of scenery would be good for Eli.  He is a southern boy at heart.  Maybe a trip down south Would do him some good.  From the looks of things Tony Romo's body is falling apart, maybe Big D could use a Manning behind center.  Either way, the Eli Manning era seems to be nearing its end in New York.  

The second part of this equation is the Head Coach.  Tom Coughlin had a reputation around the league as being one of those old school hard nose coaches that ruled with an iron fist.  Players didn't  necessarily want to play for him but hey, you go where the check takes you.  There were rumors of mutiny in the locker room but winning cures all ills with players and coaches in the NFL.   For Coach Coughlin, winning 2 Super Bowls has bought him grace with the origination and the fan base through some ruff patches in past few seasons.  That grace may be running out.  It's not just the fact that they've lost games but it's the fact that turnovers and mistakes have been the cause of their downfall.  When your team can't execute and be disciplined during games that buck stops directly with the head coach.  Maybe his voice isn't being heard anymore.  Maybe it's time for change.