I think someone left a window open...

...because I feel a draft. (*kills self*)

I was on Grantland.com today reading Ben Cohen's piece on the NBA draft. One thought in particular caught my attention:

"No day on the NBA calendar packs more risk than draft night, and trades are the riskiest part about it. They require front offices to forecast the potential of players who have never set foot on NBA hardwood and then swap these prospects for assets that might be more certain, less certain, or much less certain."

He's right. The draft is such an inexact science as teams, GMs, agents, and writers try to navigate the realm of eligible players with video, stats, anecdotes and, sometimes, gut feel. You never quite know what a given player is going to become in the pros, but it's this uncertainty that makes draft night so exhilarating.

This year is no exception. With the draft less than two days away, all the speculation, posturing, trade talks and the like are really heating up. Just wanted to throw down some random thoughts.

- Should probably preface this by saying that I really haven't seen most of these guys play. I really don't have the time (nor interesting in NCAA or Euro ball) to keep up, but I've tried to compensate as much as I could by reading. So there's that.

- It's always interesting to see the changes in players' draft stock as time goes on. Since I really started trying to read up on these prospects (pretty much when the Lakers got eliminated) until now, there have been some dramatic movements. It's weird if you think about how drastically people's views change on certain players without them playing a full game. It's helped a lot for guys like Marshon Brooks and Iman Shumpert, two 2nd rounders a couple weeks ago who are now very likely to crack the mid to late 1st. On the other hand there are also players like Bismack Biyombo. He burst onto the scene at the Nike Hoop Summit and seemed like he would rise into the lottery. However, the emergence of some other players coupled with workouts that showed his weak offensive game (not a great finisher, poor hands, bad shooter) may have knocked him out of that range. I think he's a guy that really needs to be seen in games so his athleticism and defense can really be seen. There are always numerous examples in each draft, and we'll see who the big risers and fallers end up being on Thursday.

- Hype always plays a big factor in drafts. Sometimes this backfires as public opinion drifts too far the other way and player's weaknesses are emphasized too much. I think Jimmer Fredette and Kemba Walker have been the most victimized by that this year (along with Biyombo). Both are seen as scoring guards who might be incapable of being a lead guard for a team. I think the criticisms are fair, but on the other hand they've won and produced in college, and that's worth something as well, at least a shot to prove themselves in the NBA.

- Having said that, Jimmer Fredette's projected as a lottery pick and Ben Hansbrough is a projected low 2nd rounder to undrafted prospect. Not sure I quite understand that wide chasm, and I'm not saying that just because both are white point guards. Ok maybe that's part of it, but Hansbrough is a gritty player, produced when he had the opportunity in college, and is a good shooter with underrated athleticism. I'm not convinced that the gap between the two is really that big, maybe the difference between a 6th man scorer and a 8th man role player?

- None of the LA teams are picking until the 2nd round (with the Lakers picking 4 times), but I'm satisfied with that. A lot of critics have called this a weak draft, but this is mostly referring to the lack of superstars or even surefire All-Stars at the top of the draft. Towards the middle, the draft is fairly deep and there should be a glut of rotation/role players available. Both teams could use a nice big man off the bench, the Clippers continue their search for someone who can fill their hole at the 3 (until Harrison Barnes next year? Crosing my fingers), while the Lakers would like more forward depth and help at the PG spot too. If Jeremy Tyler or Jon Leuer are available, they'd fit nicely with both. Tyler was a highly rated high school prospect who decided to go overseas instead of college and adjusted poorly, but he's still got game and, maybe more importantly, size. Leuer is a hard worker and a good stretch 4 that teams covet nowadays. As for guards, I love the group of guys that might be available. Norris Cole, Nolan Smith, Malcolm Lee, and Shelvin Mack are all among guys that I think can help the Lakers in a year or two.

- Barring trades at the top spots, the unpredictability will start at the 3 spot with the Utah Jazz. It's pretty likely that Kyrie Irving and Derrick Williams will go 1-2 (likely in that order, with maybe a 10% chance that it's reversed), and the next few picks will hinge on whether the Jazz look for a Deron Williams replacement (Brandon Knight, Kemba Walker), an athletic forward to eventually displace Andrei Kirilenko (Jan Vesely), or a big man to play with their Al Jefferson/Paul Millsap combo (Enes Kanter). They've all got big upside but significant risk as well, so this will play a huge role in shaping not just this draft, but the Jazz's future as well.

- Jimmy Butler might be my favorite prospect in this draft. The versatile forward was a beast at Marquette, but his story is incredible. Check out Chad Ford's piece on it here.

- If not Butler, Kenneth Faried might be my favorite. He's an extremely hard worker from a small school and he will almost certainly make a huge mark in the league immediately with his rebounding ability. Historically, in terms of college statistics translating to the pros, rebounding has had the most predictive ability. This bodes well for Faried, whose nose for the ball will serve him well in the next level.

- I thought Bismack Biyombo had the best name in the draft, or if not, then Kahwi Leonard. But yesterday some news changed my mind. Meet possible 2nd round draft pick Tanguy Ngombo.

- I can't be the only one who hopes the Morris twins end up on the same team right? It would just be amusing to me. Only real shot is with Charlotte at 9 and 19, unless some team trades to make it happen.

- Anyhow that's it for now. Eager to read more news/rumors tomorrow.

Picking nits (well technically just one nit) again

I've been known to nitpick grammar a little bit too much. Usually it's all in good fun or perhaps out of annoyance at a simple, stupid mistake that should be so clear that it's impossible to mess up.

But sometimes little details can make a pretty significant difference. Consider the stray letter "s." Anyone who's played Scrabble (or Words With Friends or even Boggle) should be immediately familiar with how powerful that little letter can be.

A single "s" changes a prince into princes, and another one changes them into a princess.

So there is one nitpick that does irritate me related to this. It's not so much the error as how it's basically ignored and not even thought about or noticed that annoys me the most.

This is how Galatians 5:22-23 reads:

22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law.

Catch that? Contrary to what I've heard a lot, this is not a laundry list of positive qualities that Christians should have. It's a description of the singular influence that the Holy Spirit should have in us. There are no "fruits," it's impossible to pick and choose because there is only one fruit of the Spirit.

Seems basic enough and I don't want to delve into anything too deep, but think about how that little detail changes the perception and meaning of the passage. Sometimes the smallest things make the biggest difference.

Quick Hits: NBA Finals

Random stuff. Didn't feel like unleashing a tidal wave of tweets (although I sort of did anyway) of bite sized thoughts.

- Congrats to the Dallas Mavericks first of all. It never gets old seeing veterans taste championship glory for the first time late in their career. Really nice to see Dirk dominate and overcome the playoff demons from 06 and 07.

- Which brings me to this column by Michael Wilbon: http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/commentary/news/story?page=wilbon%2F110611
He makes some very good points, ones that we should definitely take to heart. Seems weird that the general reaction to Lebron is the same one we had to Dirk after his loss in the same finals where Dirk proved those perceptions to be false.

- But having said that, Lebron didn't come up big when he needed to. I still hesitate to say he has some kind of trouble in the playoffs or can't handle the pressure because of the huge performances he has had in postseasons past, some of which were in these past two series against Boston and Chicago. Still, it was clear that he didn't play up to the level Miami needed him to in order to win. Possibly fatigue? He was playing huge minutes every night for this team. Who knows, but again, I hesitate to leap to judgment about his mental state based on this series.

- I'd like to turn back the clock to 2008. Sidney Crosby was making his first trip to the Stanley Cup finals, and Kobe had taken the Lakers back to the NBA Finals with new acquisition Pau Gasol. This was supposed to be the beginning of both of their reigns, Sidney forcefully announcing his dominance with a cup win and Kobe validating his championships with Shaq. However, the Detroit Red Wings derailed Crosby's hopes and the Boston Celtics famously came out and hit the Lakers in the mouth, as both the Penguins and the Lakers lost in 6 games. Now I don't know if anyone wrote them off as failures, but they put in work in the offseason, and both teams returned to the finals the year after, both winning the championship. Pittsburgh got their revenge against the Wings while the Lakers had to wait one more year to defeat the Celtics. So to recap, both stars were supposed to breeze to a championship one year, lost in 6 games, and came back to win it all the year after. Not saying this will happen with the Heat, but it's clearly dangerous to write off any team with that much talent motivated by a stinging loss.

- Dirk was clearly MVP, but he should at least share some of that with Rick Carlisle. He coached out of his mind. He switched up his rotations and schemes throughout the playoffs and made it look easy.

- To be honest, before the season started, and for several months into the season, I didn't think the Heat would make a deep playoff run. My main concern were chemistry issues and a weak bench. Clearly they meshed well enough to make the Finals this year, so we'll see if they continue to grow or if this was their ceiling. But the biggest difference-maker for them next season (whenever that is) may be a fat guy who played 11 minutes this season. 2nd round pick Dexter Pittman out of Texas has reportedly worked extremely hard and dropped a lot of weight throughout the season. If he's ready to earn a rotation spot, his size and rebounding is going to help Miami a lot. I mean, Juwan Howard was playing minutes at center for them in the finals. That should tell you something about their interior players.

- Dirk shot 9-27. I'm not hearing anyone saying the Mavs won this game despite of him instead of because of him like people were saying after Kobe's 6-24 Game 7 last year. Just saying.

- The playoff picture is going to look interesting in the next few years. The Heat were right there this year, but are they going to continue to develop and add pieces or was this it? Will Dallas be able to sustain their winning ways? Their players aren't getting any younger. Can Dirk continue to carry them on his back? At least the return of Caron Butler will help them a lot, and they'll continue to hope Roddy Beaubois develops into the point guard of the future. Chicago and OKC announced their arrival this year, but can their young cores take one more step into the Finals? Are they going to be motivated or discouraged by coming up short in the conference finals? Speaking of young guns, Philadelphia and Indiana were surprisingly resilient in their first round exits. What kind of moves are they going to make to build their rosters? Can they be a factor without a big superstar, or do they have one already on their roster that just needs time to develop? Boston, San Antonio, and LA all looked old this postseason. Do any of them have a championship run left in the tank, and if not, will they be able to reload in time to challenge the young guns? No one knows the answers to these questions but finding out is going to be wildly entertaining.

The Voice

You know, I had a much longer writeup about this planned but got sidetracked, as I mentioned in my last post, and at this point, it's 1 AM and I just want to throw some stuff down and not have to think of any interesting title.

The Voice is a singing competition on NBC. If you've never heard about it, there's plenty of stuff about it online, it's cool, you should check it out.

Like I said, this is pretty much just random stuff I wanted to remark on...starting with the intro to the show.

I really enjoyed episode 1 when the coaches (Blake Shelton, Christina Aguilera, CeeLo Green, Adam Levine) came out performing "Crazy." I thought that was pretty neat. This week's Queen medley however, not so much. In my opinion at least. So take that with a grain of salt. Which is interesting, because I spent two semesters writing for the A&E section at ASU primarily doing album reviews and interviewing artists, but I would still consider myself to be not very knowledgeable when it comes to music and that kind of thing, although I think I've come a ways from when I started. But that's neither here nor there.

(Actually, I realized I am going to reference that again at least once so stay tuned)

I had been wondering how they were going to fit 16 performances in the live shows, so I was happy to hear that only 2 teams (Blake and Christina's) would be performing tonight. In my mind, the artists tiered themselves out a bit on Tuesday, and it was more clear who really had potential and who didn't, although judging from various recaps/internet comments I've read, it might not have been as clear as I thought.

To start, there were a couple singers who performed who hadn't impressed me during the battle rounds. Lily Elise and her rendition of "Big Girls Don't Cry" was glaring in this regard, as it was just an awkward performance with four male dancers up there with her. I thought Cherie Oakley clearly outsung her and that she didn't have much to offer other than random runs and wailing...but then it made sense why Christina Aguilera picked her.

The other young Team Xtina (I hate myself for using that) member, Raquel Castro, likewise didn't impress me much with "Blow." To be fair, Ke$ha wouldn't really top my list of songs I'd think of to showcase one's singing ability. Raquel is a sparkplug, a mini diva, Cee Lo's "Lil Mama" and she brings a lot of energy, but I just didn't think she was that good. Her battle round was okay, although I think you could have made a case that Julia Eason was better, and I think Raquel was helped a lot by her youth and potential. But she doesn't strike me as anything beyond a middle of the pack Disney star. Maybe that would fit her better. After all, she was in Jersey Girl.

The third person who didn't impress me was Team Blake's Patrick Thomas. His performance was good, I guess, but it just seemed rather boring to me. His battle with Tyler Robinson was tight, the other three coaches actually thought Tyler won it, but in the end Blake went with Patrick the country boy, who Christina had asked to take off his pants during the blind audition. She did it AGAIN (a couple times I think) after this performance, and I know she was just trying to be funny (I hope), but it came across as really strange and kind of creepy and desperate. I can't imagine the backlash if one of the male judges said something like that to a female singer, although CeeLo's been ogling pretty much every girl up there.

Also about Christina, what the heck was up with her wardrobe? Her eyeshadow looked like it was applied wrong or something (I have no idea if that's even possible, I know nothing about eyeshadow believe it or not), and she was wearing super short short shorts. As in I could see her thighs. I'm not altogether sure she looked in the mirror before coming out.

As far as the other singers, I have to say Jared Blake kind of bored me too. He's alright, but his "Use Somebody" was nothing special, and I think he was pretty lucky to have made it through the battle rounds when Elenowen crapped their pants (in a LeBron Finals 4th quarter fashion) and had a terrible showing. If he had been matched up against Tyler or Serabee, I'm not sure he would have made it through.

Frenchie I thought did well. A lot of commenters were saying she was flat or missing notes, but I didn't really notice, although that probably says a lot more about me than anything. She's performed on Broadway, and that earns a ton of respect in my book. Blake said she has the strongest voice in the competition. I don't know if I agree with that (as in I really don't know as in I forgot what some of the others sound like), but she's definitely in the running.

Bev McClellan might as well be the poster child for this show. She's so easy to judge based on her looks as a bald lesbian who's clothing choice for the live performance was compared to a Nazi by more than one person (something like a leather jacket and checkered red kilt). But boy can she sing. She irritates me sometimes as she walks the singing/wailing/screaming line, but she's very confident in what she does and I think that has a lot of value.

Then there was Xenia. Boy...you know I really don't know if I like her or not. On one hand, her tone (you really can't talk about Xenia without talking about her tone. Or her lack of a last name) is incredible. It's sultry, smoky, and just overall very pleasing to the ear. That's a unique trait that has the potential to carry her far. On the other hand, her battle round was pretty terrible. She and her opponent Sara O were missing notes left and right and that potential (and maybe she sucked a little less) made the difference in the end. She looked and sounded a bit uncomfortable performing "Price Tag" and it was just kind of awkward. And yet the way she sounds when she's singing is so infectious, I think simply performing more is going to help her a lot. But there was just one thing I couldn't get out of my head. With Xenia standing up there with a mic stand, a band and blue lights behind her, I really imagine her true calling to be a lounge singer. It just seems to fit so perfectly.

And finally Dia Frampton. You know what, I'm not even going to try to hide the fact that I'm biased. She is probably my favorite in this competition (favorite as in personal favorite, not betting favorite). Back in my freshman year I had reviewed one of her band's albums and I loved it. Don't think of this as some weird kind of self-promotion. There are plenty of artists/groups I've reviewed that would not interest me at all on this show. But Dia's voice, which I had described as "distinct and diverse" which I think was code for "I have no idea how to describe this but I like it," has a really smooth, earthy quality that's just so easy to listen to (Check out their YouTube for more).

Her singing style is a lot less aggressive than many of the others in this competition, and I think that's mistaken for shyness or a lack of confidence. You can always tell when people haven't heard of her before because they'll say things like, "Oh, if only she had more experience she would be so much better!" Hate to break it to you, but Meg and Dia was formed in 2004 and have received critical acclaim (Rolling Stone's "New Artist You Should Know About") so at this point it's take it or leave it.

Her performance of "Heartless," which had cracked the top 30 on iTunes last I checked, should have dispelled those notions, as she really got after it, which Christina really noticed, calling her a "fighter"...although she also said she wanted to curl up with her on the couch. I think she might have been slightly drunk before coming on the show.

It was easily the standout performance of the night. I would be absolutely shocked if she did not make it through to the next round. As for the others, I really don't know. Either of the remaining 3 Team Blake members I wouldn't have a huge problem with. I think Frenchie and Bev should go on from Christina's team, but audience voting can be so random, and Christina's proven that her selections can be as well.

Well now, I guess this wasn't as short as I would have liked. But hey, maybe you should watch the show so you can know what I'm talking about. It's probably not the greatest show I've watched, but it's pulling down monster ratings so it must be doing something right.

Next week is a great week to jump in on as it has, by my reckoning, four of the top five (Dia as the fifth) singers on the show: Vicci Martinez, Nakia, Jeff Jenkins, and Javier Colon. Looking forward to it!

One of these things is not like the other...

So I've been wanting to write a post about The Voice, but I've been distracted these past couple days by my computer getting owned by viruses. Which is not fun and which I have not quite successfully navigated through yet, if at all.

But I just wanted to hop on and make a quick remark about LeBron James, since that seems to be the cool thing to do. I'm not sure if this is going to be at all accurate, but it's just something I was thinking about.

I think we've seen that LeBron doesn't necessarily compare all that well to other superstars. Clearly, the whole Jordan thing is BS, not because LeBron isn't a great player, but because the comparison simply falls flat and makes no sense.

As ESPN's Tom Haberstroh writes:

Every time we compare this James to that Jordan, we're reminded of an essential detail:

Jordan had the license, ability and desire to shoot 26 times per game; James does not.

And this is the big elephant in the room. James and Jordan are different players playing in very different situations in very different eras. They are both great -- both all-time greats. But Jordan didn't have Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh on his team, begging for 32 shots every game. And Jordan will probably maintain that he wouldn't want them anyway. He wanted the ball every time down the court and we have deified him for that. That's part of made him the best basketball player to ever play the game.

There is no denying that James stunk up the joint in Game 4 when he shot just 3-for-11. But the real reason Jordan would have never scored just eight points in a Finals game is because he would have never taken just 11 shots from the floor like James did.

Why?

Because Jordan is not James, and James is not Jordan.

To me, LeBron doesn't necessarily compare well with the traditional stars because his value and ability have as little to do with scoring as any true superstar I can think of. Obviously, he can score the ball, but if you think of superstar wings like Jordan, Kobe, or Durant, their value is very strongly tied to how many points they score. They happen to do other things very well, which is what makes them superstars, but I feel like for LeBron it's the reverse, so much so that one might say that his offense is the weakest part of his game.

Think about it this way. What makes LeBron such a dynamic basketball player? He has a tremendous combination of size and speed. For his position, he is an A+ rebounder, passer, and ball-handler. Combined with his exceptional court vision and basketball IQ, this makes him very scary from everywhere on the floor because he can see what's happening, then dissect the situation and execute the correct action as quick or quicker than pretty much anyone in the league. On the other hand, he's known for lacking a post game despite his considerable bulk. His outside shooting and foul shooting are mediocre. I believe that his other qualities allow him to get away with these deficiencies because he is able to get to the rim (and attempt much easier shots) and create for his teammates (who have more developed offensive weapons).

You think about Dirk and his ridiculous spin moves and fadeaways. Kevin Durant launching one handed floaters from the top of the key. Jordan and Kobe with their footwork, jabs, fading jumpers. The two-step (if you're talking about Wade) or Euro-step (if you're talking about Manu). I don't think LeBron really has a move or a standout offensive tactic like these guys, unless you count the charge to the rim which, while very effective, isn't in the same category as those other moves in my book.

It's just weird to think that someone's offense can be so good while his pure scoring ability isn't on a superstar level, but I think that's the case with LeBron.

Now I'm not excusing his play recently. At times, notably game 4, he's seemed a bit detached, maybe a little too passive. I obviously don't know what the explanation is, and there might well be a good, legitimate explanation.

I do think that we're seeing a different kind of superstar with LeBron though. There's no doubt he's an elite player, one of the greatest talents that's come into the league in a while. Maybe he really isn't a closer, not necessarily the guy you want scoring the ball late. I'm not sure that's true, given his previous series and playoff history with Cleveland, but at this point it's just shots in the dark anyway.

Will we be able to come to grips with and accept an ubertalent that doesn't (or maybe can't) score like what we're used to seeing?