Monday, October 20, 2003

Talent Glut The Dallas Mavericks have traded for Antoine Walker from the Celtics.  In total, they sent Raef LaFrentz, Jiri Welsch and Chris Mills to Boston for Walker and Tony Delk. The Mavs now sport a lineup of Steve Nash, Michael Finley, Antawn Jamison, Antoine Walker and Dirk Nowitzki.  I think they're going to implode.  Clearly, this is a move borne of a desire (desperation?) to keep up with the Lakers and the Wolves.  It's not going to work.  There is such a thing as too much talent in basketball.  Actually, it's not so much an issue of too much talent; it's an issue of too many shooters.  Finley's a fine all-around player, but this is a collection of guys who won't do the dirty work, and you need to do dirty work to survive in the NBA.  Who defends?  Who boards?  Who doesn't immediately jack up a three on their first touch? Dallas tried to just outgun everybody last year, and it failed miserably.  This year, instead of changing a bankrupt philosophy (which they can't because they are tied to Dirk and Nash and Finley, and that's what they do), they instead tried to insert even more shooters. Friend of Pipeline Mike B. likes to call Nelson a "gimmick coach", and I think he's right.  This will be some gimmick.  They'll win their share of games, and it was good to get a backup point for Nash in Delk, but this looks to me like a case of the Mavs helping the Celtics to unload one of their biggest problems. 11:04:32 AM    Say what?[]

The Seer Cannot Be Stopped! Even the Seer didn't think it was going to be this easy, and yet, it really has been easy.  A slick 9-4 performance yesterday puts the Seer at a high-water mark of 48-34, good for a heady 58.5% winning percentage against the spread. The best part of all of this is that the proof is in the pudding, date-stamped and ready for scrutiny by the skeptics, not that there are any left. We learned a few things yesterday.  First, we learned that the Vikings' defense is a force to be reckoned with, providing big plays, a big pass rush, and a defensive stand when one was needed.  We learned that Denver's vaunted offensive line ain't all that. We learned that the Cowboys are for real.  Yeah, they still haven't played anybody, but their schedule's full of teams that aren't anybody.  5-1?  The Seer sure didn't see that.  And I know a certain Cowboys fan who didn't see it, either, but is surely enjoying the ride. We learned that the Buccaneers are in trouble.  Most of that trouble is injury-related, but it's trouble all the same.  They have no running game at all now, and the defensive secondary is in a shambles, which removes some of the effectiveness of their pass rush.  We learned that the Giants' offense is in a real funk, and they might be running out of time to fix it.  We learned the Bengals aren't the doormats anymore. And we learned that the ranks of the unbeaten are reduced to two: The Vikings and the Chiefs.  The Chiefs defend their spotless record on the road against a desperate Oakland team tonight.  I like the Chiefs to cover the four point margin and stay undefeated.  Circle your calendar, folks: December 20.  That's the day the Chiefs come into the dome to play the Vikings.  The Seer doesn't see either of these teams being undefeated by then, but it will still be one hell of a game. 10:11:43 AM    Say what?[]

© Copyright 2003 Doug Hennessee. Last update: 11/3/2003; 10:22:15 AM.