Gortat to Wall, Defence to Offence, highlight of the pre season

During the third quarter of Wednesday night's game between the Knicks and the Wizards the sequence of the pre season occurred thanks to Marcin Gortat and John Wall. Gortat gets the block on one end and they get the ball up court to John Wall who throws down the huge reverse slam. Iman Shumpert thought he was going to get an easy dunk after his missed free throw but Gortat decided otherwise and Wall shows why he is the defending dunk contest champion. 

Why Quincy Acy starting for the Knicks makes me happy

Acy came to the New York Knicks looking to hustle hard and show them why he deserves to be in the rotation off the bench but instead now finds himself as one of the likely candidates to start come opening night. It was assumed before that either Andrea Bargnani or Amar'e Stoudemire would be the starting power forward but Coach Fisher likes Acy's high energy playstyle and may feel that he fits better playing in the triangle with Jose Calderon and Carmelo Anthony. If you were to compare him to another power forward who played in the triangle one could make the comparison to Horace Grant when he played with Michael Jordan since Grant passed out the low post and did a lot of the dirty work for rebounds. Acy may be relentless on the boards but he is still only 6'7 so he can't be a dominant shot blocker and because of this he tends to find himself in foul trouble when playing for large stretches; but when your alternatives are Bargnani and Stoudemire it becomes a lot easier to be lenient towards Acy for his defensive faults. 

Acy proves why him starting is justified but the reason it makes me happy is because as a Raptors fan I was yelling how he should be starting over Andrea Bargnani during his rookie season in Toronto. Plus there's a much higher chance of seeing a monster dunk with Acy on the floor then when not. 

Metta World Peace aka The Panda's Friend is still amazing

The former defensive player of the year is still finding ways to stay relevant 10 years later. Ron Artest who changed his name to Metta World Peace in September of 2011 is currently playing overseas for the Sichuan Blue Whales of the Chinese Basketball League and is in the process of changing his name to The Panda's Friend. While I first felt that this is nothing but a publicity stunt I can no longer say that for sure, and also no longer care because Metta World Peace is all in either way. He played basketball with a stuffed Panda attached to his shoe. Metta originally told the press that before each game he would take the heads off and throw them into the crowd and the lucky people who caught them would be named the Panda's Friends of the day, but playing in the shoes is much cooler. 

MWP hit 4 threes in 6 minutes of game time wearing these kicks

To be fair I'd probably fall asleep more easily if I had 5 smiling dolphins above my bed too

Sleep tight Ron. Sleep tight. 

NBA Championship Odds: LeBron vs the Spurs round 3

These are the odds for every team to win the NBA championship via bodog sportsbook.

TEAM:                                CHAMPIONSHIP ODDS:

Cleveland Cavaliers          5/2

San Antonio Spurs             4/1

Chicago Bulls                     11/2

Oklahoma City Thunder    11/2

Los Angeles Clippers        10/1

Dallas Mavericks               20/1

Houston Rockets               20/1

Golden State Warriors      25/1

Washington Wizards         33/1

Portland Trail Blazers        40/1

Indiana Pacers                   50/1

Memphis Grizzlies             50/1

Miami Heat                         50/1

New York Knicks               50/1

Toronto Raptors                 50/1

Brooklyn Nets                    66/1

Charlotte Hornets              66/1

Los Angeles Lakers           66/1

Atlanta Hawks                    100/1

Denver Nuggets                100/1

New Orleans Pelicans       100/1

Phoenix Suns                      100/1

Boston Celtics                    200/1

Detroit Pistons                    200/1

Orlando Magic                    200/1

Sacramento Kings              250/1

Milwaukee Bucks               300/1

Minnesota Timberwolves   300/1

Utah Jazz                             300/1

Philadelphia 76ers               500/1

     After looking at the list there were a few things in particular that stood out to me.

     As you can see Vegas predicts for the 3rd straight season LeBron James will be going up against Popovich and the Spurs in the finals as they are the two teams with the highest odds in each conference. Although it makes sense that last season's NBA champions and a team that has 3 all stars one of whom who has 4 mvp trophies are the two title favourites its hard for me to believe that James can make it to his 5th straight finals appearance and an ever aging Spurs team can make it to the finals for the 3rd straight year.

     The Dallas Mavericks like the Cavs also made a huge jump in the rankings and now sit at 20/1 tying for the 6th best odds with the Rockets, the team who they stole Chandler Parsons from during the offseason. Personally I would hold the Golden State Warriors' odds, which are 25/1,  as the same as the Mavericks' and Rockets' but I guess the inclusion of a new coach this season leaves people a little wary.

     Finally I was surprised to see the New York Knicks who failed to make the playoffs last season ranked the same as the Toronto Raptors who finished as the 3rd seed. The Knicks have a slightly different although largely unimproved roster while the Raptors are bringing back the same guys while adding depth on the bench so it's mind boggling to me as to why they share the same 50/1 odds. I'm unsure whether the belief is that the Raptors won't improve this season or whether Phil Jackson becoming the Knicks GM has garnered Championship hype but either way I don't see a team that has to rely heavily on J.R. Smith making key plays winning a ring anytime soon.