Replacement for Phil Jackson

                                             

The Great Phil Jackson after Lakers swept out of playoffs by Dallas

The LA Lakers were swept out of the playoffs by the Dallas Mavericks. The final game was the worst playoff loss in Lakers history. It was also the last game that Phil Jackson will ever coach again in the NBA. (allegedly). Sure it wasn't the way Phil wanted to go out, but maybe it's time for the Lakers to move on. Today the players just seemed to  quit on the zen master today. He seemed burnt out on the sidelines, a man that just wanted to get away. The game, for now, seemed to pass one of the greatest coaches bye. So now discussion turns to who will replace Phil. Who could possibly fill his shoes? All sings point to the hiring of longtime Lakers assistant Brian Shaw. Shaw's young and seems to have the trust of the players, including Kobe. However, Shaw has no head coaching experience, not even at the college level. Having the respect of the players as an assistant is different the commanding respect as a head coach. It's like dating your best friend. When your friends everything is great, then you add a romantic aspect to it and it turns awkward. That's what could happen to Mr. Shaw's and the players' relationship if he's named head coach. The other question raised, is he ready? Sure he was a Phil disciple, but he's never ventured out on his own. DO the Lakers really wanna wait while Shaw works out the kinks? I don't think so.  It just screams of Mike Brown 2.0. The other named raised is Byron Scott. Though, I don't know the extent of the contract he has with Cleveland. There is one name that hasn't been raised lately. The name of a coach who's been to the finals as an assistant and head coach. A coach that's dealt with intense media pressure and has handled it with pose. That man is.......

Why not give him a chance?

Yes JVG hasn't coached since he was fired from the Rockets. But he has become one of the best analyst in the business. The Lakers already showed interest in him in March:

'

I heard again this week that the Lakers remain intrigued by the prospect of hiring Jeff Van Gundy — and you have to presume that the reigning champs are in the select club of teams with the wherewithal to finally lure Van Gundy away from ESPN’s courtside announcing table — but I’ve had the same question every year when someone says he’s a candidate in L.A.: Can Van Gundy really deliver the sort of entertainment that Lakers owner Jerry Buss craves? – (Marc Stein – Daily Dime)"-via lakers nation blog

Some Laker fans were not pleased by this. But why? JVG is a proven winner, he won in NY and in Houston. He has finals experience as a head coach. He can handle large personalities that would usually conflict. All these factors put JVG ahead of Brian Shaw. Maybe give JVG a short leash, if he struggles pull him and replace him with Shaw. But JVG will command the respect of the players, a talent Shaw might not have. Let's not forget who JVG can lure away from his brother.

What more a selling point for JVG possibly luring Dwight away from his brother?

I'm Mad as Hell and I'm not gonna take this anymore

"All I know is that first you've got to get mad. You've got to say, 'I'm a Celtics Fan, God damn it! My life has VALUE!' So I want you to get up now. I want all of you to get up out of your chairs. I want you to get up right now and go to the window. Open it, and stick your head out, and yell, 'I'M AS MAD AS HELL, AND I'M NOT GOING TO TAKE THIS ANYMORE!'-Network

                                                   The man to blame for the Celtics' recent struggles


In sports, the difference between a contender/bottom dweller is how the team is run. It's as simple as that. A team with a front office that cares will spend money on players, etc. These organization are run by the best and brightest in their selective fields. Team's that are run poorly will sit on their asses and just soak in the fan's money. Want an example? Ok on one side you have the Yankees on the other you have the Clippers. Different sports I know, but hear me out. The Yankees' care about winning. Yes they buy some of their players,but they do that because they care about winning and pleasing their fans. The Clippers, well they have Donald Sterling, need I say more? You can look through any sports and find connections to this trend.  There is one exception to this rule. The exception, is the Boston Celtics. 
      I know what your thinking, wtf the Celtics win every year, their one of the best teams in the NBA. Let's play a little game. Let's say you, the reader, are a multi- billionaire. You and your partners own a franchise and name me your general manager.  I then realize that i'm playing with house money. So in my first years I spend your hard earned money like crazy. One of my first moves is to trade a fan favorite away for a bunch of scrubs. All 3 who will be out of the league in a few years as the fan favorite goes on to win a championship with another team. I then draft wrong and draft several players that will be out of the league. I then spend your money on bench players/ cast offs from other teams. The team endures of of it's worst seasons in team history under my watch. The star player demands to be traded. A miracle then occurs. My best friend, who is the general manager of another team, wants to trade his best player basically for free. I leap at the chance. I also acquire another star. Everything is perfect, the team wins the championship, I get an extension. Life couldn't be any better. Two years later, the team loses in the championship series to our rival. One of our better players is hurt, we would of won if we had him. At least that's the statement I release to cover my ass. During the off season I let a key role player go and sign 2 older players. But hey i've convinced you and the fan base that I have a plan. We didn't need him anyways. He's a dime a dozen I say. These guys will fill this need. During the season, I then make the worst NBA trade in history. Trading a young stud for a man who can be classified as a "project" when he came into the league. This trade destroys team chemistry and weakens team moral. I don't seem to care, it'll all work out I say. I'm playing with house money. The best part is that i'm a legend in the community, so you can't fire me, no matter how many times I screw. I am untouchable. I am Danny Ainge.         

                                                Danny Ainge's pet project. Celtics fans missing Perk yet?


        Ask any Celtics observer, it hasn't worked out. The Danny Ainge era has been a failure. Yes, I know apologists will say that the Celtics have made the playoffs 5 out of 7 years that Ainge has been in charge. And people will call out, Harry, Danny is a good gm. He won a championship. Oh how a championship 3 years ago erases so many mistakes. Don't worry i'm here to remind you. Grab a seat this may take away. Let me take you back to 2003. A cocky Ainge stepped into the GM role. His first act as GM, besides yelling at senior citizen Jim O'Brien, was to trade Antoine Walker. Walker had become a cult hero in Boston and was adored by fans, sound familiar? Anyways Ainge dumped Walker because he thought Walker couldn't contribute, despite Toine and Pierce carrying a horrific Celtics team to the NBA finals a few years before. For Toine, Ainge got Jiri Welisch, Chris Mills, and Danny's Prize, Raef Lafrentz. All were out of the league a few years later, while Toine won a ring with the Heat. This trade would plant the seeds to further trade disasters. The next year he would sign " Grade A Stiff" Mark Blount to a $42- 6 year contract.  Need I say more about this disaster. But Ainge's tenure is layered with bad mistakes like this. Over spending for players or even drafting players that wouldn't last in the NBA. Ainge likes to play with the Celtics house money. I could go on and on about some of the players he's drafted or signed that have been failures, but I won't. 


Ainge's Mistakes: Just to name a few

                                                   Jiri Welsch

                                                          Chris Mills
                                                          
Let's not forget the 2006-2007 season. The worst season in recent Celtics history. The same season in which Celtics fans started a "MVP" chant for Kobe Bryant in the GARDEN. Red turned over in his grave. The Celtics fans worse brown bags on their heads with "fire Ainge" written on the bags. Whatever happened to those guys. Maybe they were psychic and knew what Ainge would do in the future. It was during this year that AInge tried to ship superstar Paul Pierce around, in the the public, but couldn't find a trade he liked. This upset Pierce to no end, he even demanded to be traded from the only team he had ever played for. Something needed to change. Ainge was a desperate man, who only escaped firing because his name was Danny Ainge. Ainge then took advantage of the turmoil in Seattle, let's remember they were undergoing a change of direction, and acquired Ray Allen. He then called his best friend Kevin McHale, his team mate, long time friend, and destroyer of franchises. Kevin and Ainge  orchestrated a plan to trade Al Jefferson and a bunch of scrubs to the Timberwolves for KG. Had this been any other GM, David Kahn excluded, they would have laughed in Ainge's face. But this was his bromance. So he got the deal. Here's where Celtics fans have selective memory loss. Wanna know who ainge's plan B was, if he couldn't get KG? Yi Jianlian. The same YI who would wind up a career reserve. 

                                                 Ainge's Plan B for KG. 

The 2008 season has blinded Celtics fans to Ainge's mistakes. After the 2009 season Ainge decided he didn't need playoff heroes, Sam Cassell or James Posey anymore. He traded Cassell for cheap. Posey was begging Ainge to re sign him, but Ainge mishandled the deal turning Posey off, who ended up signing with New Orleans. Let's not forget that Rondo was still raw and without Sam, the Celtics would have been in trouble in the playoffs. Yet Ainge rewarded him by trading him the following year. Who'd he get to replace Sam? Starberry. who provided the Celtics with no effort or stats. Ainge in 09 also dumped Leon Powe, you know the guy who left his ACL on the court for Boston during the first round series with the Bulls. The word loyalty means nothing to GM Ainge. 

                                              Ainge replaced playoff heroes James Posey and Sam Cassell with            STAAARBERRY

    
       Then the 2010-2011 season came. This is where Ainge was truly exposed as a GM. He let Tony Allen walk to Memphis. Like James Posey, Tony wanted to come back to Boston, but Ainge once again mishandled the situation. It was so bad that even Paul Pierce came out and said he was angry about Tony Allen not coming back. Maybe Paul knew and we didn't listen. WE DIDN'T LISTEN! Instead Ainge after re signing Paul and Ray spent money on the old o neal crew, Shaq and Jermaine. Shaq, when he wasn't hurt played well. But the idea of signing these two was to act as a compliment to Perkins was he was back. No team would be able to compete with the Celtics when Perk was back. That's all we heard from Ainge this summer. Even Phil Jackson mocked it.  But early in the year it looked to be true. The Celtics were rolling and Perk was coming back. Then Danny struck. He traded Perk and Nate away for Jeff Green and Nenad Kristic. Oh, but Danny boy wasn't done, he traded Luke Harangody and Erden, two solid bigs to Cleveland, too clear up cap space to sign Troy Murphy. The same Troy Murphy that hasn't played a single minute in the playoffs. Danny arrogantly ignored the impact this trade had on his team. It destroyed chemistry and killed Rondo. Go look at Rondo's stats post Perkins trade. Ainge said he wanted a perimeter guy to give Ray Allen and Paul Pierce a rest since Marques Daniels was hurt again. Here's a list of guys that are better then Jeff Green that were available, without trading Perkins.
 I mean, if only players like Corey Brewer, Ryan Gomes, O.J. Mayo, Courtney Lee, Ronnie Brewer, Al Harrington (contract aside), Earl Clark, J.R. Smith, Renaldo Balkman, Mickael Pietrus, Shane Battier, or Tayshaun Prince were on the block. Oh wait—they all were. But Ainge continued to defend his moves saying the playoffs would show everyone he was right. In the first round he looked as if he would be vindicated. Then he ran into the Miami Heat who have taken a commanding 2-0 lead.

                                          A confused Danny Ainge answering questions after Celtics Playoff loss


I'm not saying AInge should be fired over 1 move or even the moves he made in 2010. I'm saying he shouldn't have been hired in the first place.
Your Friend,
Harry P. Nolan

Falling Back in Love

Ladies and Gentlemen,
           I have a huge announcement. I want you all to take a seat. Go ahead i'll wait................Ready? I, Harry P. Nolan, founder of BiasedSports, am in love. I have all the signs: food doesn't taste the same, colors are askew, etc. I can't go a day without thinking about my love. Don't mean to sound creepy, but my love is my life. Now I should be honest with everyone, I have fallen for my muse before. We had a few good years, one great year. Like any relationship, we had our ups and downs. I was unfaithful a couple of times. Went for a younger, more promiscuous  model. For all the hardships, our love stayed strong. That was until this past summer. The love of my life changed and not for the better. She became greedy and arrogant. She dumped all her old friends, for newer, flashier one's. Only cared about her wants and needs, no one elses'. In all honesty, she became a bitch. She would bully and pick on other's who disagreed with her. No one could talk her down, not even me. It was disgusting and so we split up. Never to get back together again, so i thought. That was until 2 weeks ago. My lady returned better than ever she had matured and once again I fell head over heels for her.  This time I won't let go.
      If you haven't figured it out already, my "love" is the NBA. The relationship between the NBA and myself has been a rocky one. During the Jordan years, I was the biggest NBA fan. It and baseball were tied for my favorite sports. When Jordan retired for real, I do not acknowledge his Wizard years, I was depressed and lost. I needed a light at the end of the tunnel. Like most people, after MJ retired, I had no favorite player just loved the game. Watching the NBA at this time was  enriching and aggravating. The NBA was changing in this time period. No longer was hard play rewarded. In fact some of the players had gotten soft. My love of the NBA started to wan. This is when I fell for college basketball.  College basketball offered me a chance to watch fundamentally sound basketball. Tough play was rewarded in college. plus the fans were incredible. Despite my new found love of College Ball, I still loved the NBA. That was until this summer. With Lebron James' decision and the pomp and circumstance surrounding it, I became sick of the NBA. That decision went against everything I thought the NBA stood for. Never before had I ever witnessed such self servitude. But I brushed it off. It was only one player. Then the Carmelo Situation happened. Strike Two. Then everything with Stern acting like a dictator. To me it ruined the NBA. I went on numerous blogs blasting all that the NBA had become. It made me sick.  I know I sound whiny, but it's because I love the NBA so much. I couldn't believe what it had become. There was no way i'd ever come back to watch the NBA.


Hi We Helped destroy 2 NBA franchises. :)

Then these NBA playoffs happened. So here I am, hat in hand, admitting i'm wrong. These NBA playoffs have made me love the game again. The biggest criticism that me and others laid on the NBA this season was there would be no parody in the game any more. These playoffs have proven that the NBA has parody. Who could have imagined that the Philadelphia 76ers, a team that was 41-41, could go toe to toe with the #2 seed Miami Heat?  Philly fans only hoped to be competitive in the series, not to do what they did. In 4 games the 76ers had a lead late in the 3rd quarter. If they could have held on, they might have won the series. Imagine a team made up of Jodie Meeks, Lou WIlliams, Elton Brand, Spencer Hawes and Evan Turner, could have beat Lebron and Dwayne Wade. It was unfathomable.  The ultimate parody. Even Dan Lebatard, a known Miami homer, said he was impressed with the 76ers.  What about the Memphis Grizzlies? A team that was shipping it's 2 biggest named players, OJ Mayo and Zach Randolph, around at the trade deadline. Sounds like a recipe for disaster right? Well those same Grizzlies, the butt of jokes for so many years, are beating the #1 elderly statesman San Antonio Spurs. Not only are the Grizzlies beating the Spurs, their dominating them. Zac Randolph, the man considered another Edy Curry, thanks to his time in NY, has abused the Spurs. There is no more impressive team this post season then the Grizzlies. You had other games like the Pacers and Bulls, where the Pacers, a below .500 team,  pushed the #1. I could go on forever and ever about the most compelling story lines in these playoffs.  The re emergence of Brandon Roy and Chris Paul. Finally a Dallas vs Lakers series in round #2, Celtics vs Heat, etc. If your not gripped by these playoffs, your not human.  Oh and Carmela's Knicks, the one's he wanted to be traded to so bad? Got swept by Boston in the first round. His old Nuggets team? Were in a highly competitive series with Finals favorite Thunder.

                                        Z-Bo and the Grizzlies upset of the Spurs made the NBA fun again


So for now I am back in love with the NBA. Hopefully, it doesn't give me a reason to stop.

Your friend-
Harry P. Nolan




          

Welcome to Biased Sports' Blog

"What up? How is everyone doing? 
You are now in the world I am ruling
Take a minute to adjust for the wondrous
Clusterfuck of fun and enchantment "- Kid Cudi

Nobody can know for sure why you chose to come check out the Biased Sports Blog. Maybe I spammed you, bothered you on twitter, or you just stumbled upon it.  Whatever the reason, sit down and stay awhile.

Biased Sports  is a sports blog run by me Harry P. Nolan. Here's a little background . Born in Pembroke Pines, Florida. Born during March Madness, maybe that's why i'm a college basketball nut. I'm a  I'm a 22 year old, majoring in History at a community college, for now. Next semester I will be attending the University of Central Florida. i'm a die hard New York Yankees fan. I live and bleed pinstripes. Bernie Williams is my all time New York Yankee favorite, closely followed by Mike Mussina, sorry Derek. I'm a basketball nut as well. I no longer have a favorite NBA team, because I have become disillusioned with some of the players like Carmela Anthony. Yes I said Carmela. However, I do have a man crush on the god of basketball announcing Jeff Van Gundy. I also follow football, college basketball, and european soccer. So basically, I know what i'm talking about when it comes to sports.

       The Biased Sports blog will often take a humorous look at the world of sports. Now just a heads up, I am possibly the most opinionated person when it comes to sports. I'm talking Skip Bayless-esque, unlike Skip I am not a cranky 50 year old man. Often I would post my thoughts on facebook, twitter, etc. People used to say to me, why don't you make a blog. My first response? SCREW THAT BLOGS ARE FOR GEEKS. Well here I am, eating my crow, a sports geek. 

     So what's in it for you the reader? Well if you aren't sold yet, I don't know what to tell you. How could you not be sold on this awesomness? Biased Sports is here for you the reader (s). Go on my twitter http://twitter.com/#!/HPNthetruth and send me questions. Biased Sports is here to entertain you. We're all about having a good time. Now I am working/ attending school this summer so I don't know how often i'll update, but when I do it'll knock your sox off. I won't abandon you, well maybe not intentionally. So go spread the word about Biased Sports, or I will. 

Your friend,

Harry P. Nolan