NBA Lottery Picks Announced

 The positions of the 14 NBA teams in this year's lottery were announced yesterday (local time) and rumours are already running wild that the NBA rigged the results. The New Orleans Hornets won the right to the No. 1 pick over the team with the worst record this NBA season, the Charlotte Bobcats. 

Now, the fact that the Bobcats, who had the best chance of getting the first pick, didn't win, is not too surprising.  Since 2004 not one team with the worst record has won the first pick of the draft. It's the fact that the New Orleans Hornets are currently owned by the NBA itself  and that the NBA are in the process of selling the team to New Orleans Saints owner Tom Benson] that is raising eyebrows. The obvious question has arisen amongst many fans of the NBA- did the NBA fix the results to make sure that they could sell the team to Benson? 

I should quickly outline the probabilities that the teams had before looking at whether the NBA could fix it. Here are the probability percentages each team had of attaining the the No. 1 pick this year:

TEAM RECORDS AND LOTTERY CHANCES 
Charlotte Bobcats (7-59) 25% 
Washington Wizards (20-46) 19.9%
Cleveland Cavaliers (21-45) 13.8%
New Orleans Hornets (21-45) 13.7%
Sacramento Kings (22-44) 7.6%
New Jersey Nets (22-44) 7.5%
Golden State Warriors (23-43) 3.6%
Toronto Raptors (23-43) 3.5%
Detroit Pistons (25-41) 1.7%
Minnesota Timberwolves (To Hornets via LAC) (26-40) 1.1%
Portland Trailblazers (28-38) 0.8%
Milwaukee Bucks (31-35) 0.7%
Phoenix Suns (33-33) 0.6%
Houston Rockets (34-32) 0.5%

Sourced from Inside Hoops.

So as you can see the Bobcats had a 25% chance of getting the pick- while the Hornets had only a 13.7% chance. Not a huge difference to make it seem improbable, but enough to make fans unhappy with the NBA over its involvement in the Hornets affairs over the past year. As much as some people would like to think the NBA fixed the results, the evidence suggests otherwise. This article by Sam Amick of Sports Illustrated explains the process of drawing out the balls very clearly, showing it to be very open and unbiased. The balls it seemed just bounced the right way for New Orleans and not Charlotte. 

Its not like Charlotte were totally screwed as they landed the second overall pick with Washington receiving the third (final lottery lineup here). The gap between the top prospect of the draft and the rest though is significant.The top prospect of the draft- 6"10 Kentucky forward Anthony Davis- has already said publicly he's looking forward to playing for the Hornets. He is seen as a blue chip player which can help transform a team into a championship team. Davis is already being compared- potential wise- to the likes of  Kevin Garnett and Tim Duncan. 

You can see why losing the top pick in the draft is so important and literally history making. NBA franchise dynasties sometimes started purely by blind fortune and luck, when a draft has a once in a lifetime player who makes the team instantly better and competitive, who you can base a team around for 10-15 years with the chance to win championships. Tim Duncan is the classic example of this. He turned a small market team into a dynasty, winning three titles and are the favourites to win this season. All because the San Antonio Spurs were in the lucky enough position of having the No.1 pick at the right time when a future Top 15 player EVER enters the NBA! 

Now I don't believe that Davis is ever going to turn out like Duncan but he is a special player who is head and shoulders above the rest of his draft class. At least the Hornets have an opportunity to pick a player who has the tools to be a great player in the NBA. For the Bobcats and every other team, there picks will not be as assured and certain. 

Here are my other winners and losers of the NBA lottery.

Losers

Charlotte Bobcats-

Had easily the worst record last season and still couldn't get the first pick, has not one star or players who will become one currently on the roster, managed extremely poorly over the last couple of years by their owner- the greatest player to ever play- Michael Jordan. The Bobcats needed Davis to reinvigorate this franchise but it is slowly and surely becoming the next franchise to move cities because of its failure.

New Jersey(soon to be)Brooklyn Nets- 

The Nets I feel are the biggest loser of the entire draft, even worse off then the Charlotte Bobcats. In March the Nets made a deal with the Trailblazers a deal for Gerald Wallace in which they gave up their first round draft pick if it fell out of the Top 3. Their first round pick came in at No. 6 so they had to give up their pick to Portland. This move before the trade deadline was purely a panic move to keep Deron Williams at the nets next year. However Wallace is not going to help entice Williams to stay and he certainly wasn't worth a top 6 pick overall! The fact that Portland was only looking for a MID to LATE first round pick shows how inept the Nets management is. Why not Top-10 protect the pick at the VERY least? Portland would still have made the deal. Apparently the Nets said that they only liked three players in the draft so they protected up until then- which is just flabbergasting if it is true. After trading all their good, young players to acquire Deron Williams from the Utah Jazz they now have to convince him to to stay with the Nets, even though they have no talent around him. They will try to acquire Dwight Howard before next seasons trade deadline with no quality players to exchange in return, a very badly managed team with no concrete vision.

Winners

Portland Trailblazers- Thanks to the trade with the Nets they now have the No.6 and No.11 picks in the draft. They already have some really good young players so they may try to package their the picks to move up in the draft. Now they just have to hire a general manager before the draft to make the personnel decisions! 

Golden State Warriors- They received the No.7 pick overall which is just as well. If they had slipped one more place they would of have had to give the pick to the Utah Jazz due to previous trade agreement. This would have been especially tragic since they unashamedly tanked by benching their star players with minor injuries so they could have a better chance of getting a higher lottery pick. The plight of lottery teams, always trying to outdo each other with the worst financial and personnel mistakes in the league.

Short Term Memories, Bias and Goals

This past week the results of a poll undertaken by the English Premier League to find the "best goal in the competition, ever" were released. The goal which gained the most votes was the one scored by Wayne Rooney with this bicycle kick vs Manchester City, only last year.

Voted by the public, with no limit on the number of times each person could vote- the award turns into a biased popularity contest like the "Idol" series or the NBA All-Star game. Remember earlier this year when Yao Ming- the Chinese basketball behemoth-  led all votes for the NBA Western All-Star line-up despite retiring the year before! It does help when you have a large population base to vote you in every year regardless of injury or retirement, doesn't it?

In this age of social media and the internet, public voting cannot be seen as the foolproof way of judging "officially"who the "definitive" winners are. The selection of Rooney's goal also highlighted the human tendency to have short memory spans. The fact that Rooney's goal is only a year old and there have been A LOT of great goals in the EPL's history suggests that the votes came from teenagers who don't even remember what they had for breakfast let alone who Denis Bergkamp or Alan Shearer are.

Back to the Rooney's goal, don't get me wrong, it is a fantastic goal but it's not even his best one in the EPL. I regard this volley from him a couple of years back as his best. To collect a high ball so sweetly and truly I believe required far more skill than the bicycle kick, even though it may not be as aesthetically pleasing to the eye.

The following are my personal top ten goals of the EPL to date ranked from ten to one. Links to goals are the names.

10- Robin Van Persie-Arsenal- Volley vs Charlton Athletic 2006

We start with 'The Flying Dutchman' who caught this low cross so sweetly with his left foot that even though the ball didn't go past the keeper by much he never stood a chance. To sprint in and connect so well requires a lot of control and timing, traits which Van Persie continues to show in the EPL.

9-Eric Cantona-Manchester United- Chip over keeper vs Sunderland 1996

This goal for me is just as much about the celebration as it is about the goal itself by the majestic Frenchman. The perfect chip over the keeper is followed by Cantona just standing still, chest puffed out looking at the crowd saying to them "I am fabulous, no?" It was even re-enacted very realistically in this Oscar award winning film a couple of years later. The goal sums up Cantona's personality so well, panache tinged with arrogance-a true Frenchman.

8-Alan Shearer- Newcastle- Volley vs Everton 2002

Great volley from arguably the greatest player to play for Newcastle. Great power, enough said.

7- Tony Yeboah- Leeds United- Half-Volley Comet vs Wimbledon 1994

Now I have a couple of confessions to make.
a) I love watching and taking powerful shots in football.
b)I had never heard of Tony Yeboah.

Its a shame that I haven't been able to appreciate the powerful Ghanaian until now because he has scored some great goals in the EPL. Known for his powerful shots (surprise?!?) this was his best, faking the defender out and then winding up for the shot well outside the box onto the bottom of the crossbar. Love it!

6- Steven Gerrard- Liverpool- Downtown Half-Volley vs Middlesbrough 2004

Being a Liverpool and Stevie G fan I had to put his best EPL goal in here. Gerrard has scored his fair share of long range goals but he hit this one so sweetly, curling in from left to right from 35 metres out. A total beast goal.

5- Paprise Cisse- Newcastle- Incredible curling half-volley wonder goal vs Chelsea 2012

This happened a week and a half ago and I believe is one of  the top 5 EPL goals straight away. See my other post where I covered it. The angle is so tight and Petr Cech, the Chelsea goalkeeper from the Czech Republic (convenient?), is a very good keeper as he showed in the FA cup final last weekend. To beat him on that angle was astounding.


4- Thierry Henry- Arsenal- Flick, Turn, Shoot, Repeat vs Manchester United 2000

Thierry Henry was known for his flamboyant, explosive style of play and this goal sums it all up. Back to the goal, he has the presence of mind to flick it up, swivel and then kick with the same foot a volley into the top right corner- all with a defender draped over him. The speed of it catches my attention, blink and you could miss it.

3-Paolo Di Canio- West Ham United- Kung Fu Volley vs Wimbledon 2000

Paolo Di Canio- what a personality first and foremost. The Italian has been a very perplexing figure, a self proclaimed fascist, he has been sent off for pushing refs and winning a fair play award for a deliberate handball to stop play for an injured opposition player. He was still a genius on the football field and this goal typifies him. With a cross coming in he leaves his feet before the ball arrives and kung fu kicks the ball into the goal expertly like he does it every other day. Even the way he celebrates with team-mates is classic- "give me your applause! C'mon you know I am the best!". What a player. What a goal.

2- Matthew Le Tissier- Southhampton- Juggling act vs Newcastle 1993

The finish was vanilla but the lead up to be in that situation was sublime. Le Tissier was a goal scoring machine in the early days of the EPL. Blessed with great touch and feel for the game, this allowed him to beat multiple players with ease as in this case. Three juggling touches and he beats three defenders into the box where the goalkeeper is stranded. Stunner.

1- Denis Bergkamp- Arsenal- ?!?!?!?! shot vs Newcastle 2002

When you watch this goal the first couple of times you still can't fathom how he does this! People claim that it happened by accident but that is very short sighted I believe and does Bergkamp a disservice. He was a brilliant striker for Arsenal and Holland and had the knack of getting goals from unlikely positions. I don't think he planned to do it until the ball was coming towards him, it just happened, a moment of genuis. Realising that where the defender was positioned Bergkamp taps the ball past him one way while spinning the other. A truly astonishing and unique goal which I believe should be called the best EPL goal to date.


Well there is my top ten to date, I would love to hear your comments and views on the topic. What is your favourite goal? What kind of goals do you like?

And Now For My Next Trick.........

Skysport Rugby Channel Copyright

So I haven't been watching any rugby since I've been living in Bangkok, which is a shame because I am missing all the fun that the historically bad Blues are creating for a Crusader supporter like myself. I am sure there have been some great tries in the Super 15 this year but I don't think that any of them could beat this one for unpredictability and pinpoint accuracy. Kids-don't try this at home because you have a better chance of accomplishing this moment of brilliance than hitting the post/crossbar three times before scoring a try. Maybe Piri and Rene should just go back to the basics-they might actually be able to win a game or two?

Football-What a game!

Sourced from premierleague.com

Football can be seen as a dull sport- long passages of the game consisting of boring interplay between goalkeepers and their backs, numerous injury breaks and wayward shots from ill-advised, moronic positions. Despite that, on those all too rare occasions when a goal is scored..... Oh what a moment!

It gives the viewer an opportunity to release all that pent up, expectant, tense energy. Considering how brief the moment of a goal is, the effect on the game, on the people playing and for those watching is so powerful and profound.

Goals, especially the great ones, can erase the overall drabness of the match and invoke legendary memories for a lifetime- all of it coming from seconds of brilliance.

This past week in the Barclays Premier League we have witnessed some spectacular goals, more in one week than I can remember in a long time. Here they are in chronological order along with some of my thoughts on them.

• The first 'set' of them come from one man, Luis Suarez, who grabbed all of Liverpool's goals against Norwich last weekend for the best hat trick this season and one of the finest you'll ever see. 

•  Much has been said about the last goal  from almost half way but I like his second goal better skill wise. From the the right hand side of the box Suarez with his less favoured foot, hits it into the bottom left hand corner so hard and straight at the goalkeeper couldn't have done anything more to prevent it. If only Suarez had done more of this in the season then Liverpool might be up in the top 5.

• There was this lovely free kick from Kyle Walker against Blackburn which resulted in a crucial win for Tottenham.

• A couple of days later Tottenham's Luka Modric scored this half volley pearler vs Bolton for another win. 

• I saved the best until last. Patrice Cisse from Senegal cost Newcastle a reasonably cheap nine million pounds in mid season transfers. He has been a revelation, averaging one goal every 72 minutes before this weekend!!! This goal (number one in video) would occur every hundred attempts, an amazing shot and surely the winner of best goal of the 2011/2012 Barclay's Premier League season.