(Mouse over photos to view key to each coach’s title hopes)
BALL IN …
Now that the trade deadline has come and gone, with more big name player movement than we’ve seen in a decade, how ’bout we handicap the coach’s race to the title. However, before we do, please allow me to do a little housecleaning first.
Many of you may be wondering how Dwyane Wade still rides so high on MeanD’s Big Board and the answer is simple: He deserves to be there. Wade is an all-world baller, no matter how badly his team is performing. Several weeks ago I reported that ESPN analyst Mark Jackson laid the blame for Miami’s poor record on player effort. Although I begged to differ, I did not challenge the league’s No. 2 all-time assists leader. However, during Detroit’s absolute shellacking of Phoenix yesterday, Jackson and Jeff Van Gundy revisited Miami’s poor performance, with Jackson conceding that he now believes there is something other than poor effort going on in Miami — which brings us to an assertion I made months ago. Miami is draft hunting. Therefore, I won’t penalize Wade, just as I did not penalize Kobe, for administrative decisions made above and beyond his control. Not coincidentally, during last Thursday’s TNT halftime show, Charles Barkley also laid the blame for Miami’s abysmal record on the organization’s decision to seek the draft.
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Avery Johnson, Dwyane Wade, Jerry Sloan, LORD OF THE LEAGUE, LOTL, Manu Ginobili, MeanD's Big Board, NBA, NBA Playoffs, Pat Riley, Phil Jackson, Phoenix Suns, Player Rankings, Shaquille O'Neal, THE LEAGUE, The L | 59 Comments »
