11 March 2012
WNBL Final today...
WNBL
Showcase Sunday
The 2011-2012 WNBL season culminates today in
Melbourne when the Dandenong Rangers face off against the Bulleen Boomers. The
action kicks off at 3pm and will be televised nationally on the ABC network.
Expect a close on as the biggest margin in the
three Bulleen wins this season was 10 points.
The all Victorian affair is sold out and the
crowd will be raucous. Prediction wise, I will pick Bulleen in another close
one.
Sorry this is a short one but other commitments have
kept me from blogging much lately but you can find other grand final related
articles linked on my bolg soon.
04 March 2012
Let
the Madness Begin!!
Finally….”The Chuck” has come back to his
basketball blog…and not a moment too soon…..it is March after all.
We are at the final weekend of the regular season
for most NCAA teams with conference tournaments going into full drive next
week. But before next week, my focus will be on the rematch between North
Carolina and Duke Saturday night!! Most of my Facebook friends who follow the
Devils from Durham have been quite delighted that my background at: www.facebook.com/ChuckDownUnder
has been the Duke logo since February 8. Well Dookies….let’s see if any of you
will take up the challenge of using the UNC logo as yours after we #OccupyCameron
on Saturday!!
Ok…now looking through the conferences here are my
observations:
Currently
Stony Brook, Vermont and Boston University are battling for the conference
regular season crown. Only the tourney winner will go dancing from this
conference.
There
are three locks…Duke, North Carolina and Florida State from the ACC for NCAA
action. Duke and Carolina are expected to go deep … hmm…will we finally see
Duke vs. Carolina in the Big Dance?
Virginia
will need a quality win or two in the ACC tourney to go dancing. The story is
similar for NC State and Miami, Fla. With both needing a run in the ACC
tourney.
Belmont
looks to be head and shoulders above the rest of the conference but will still
need to sweep through the tournament.
Temple
is pretty much a lock with St. Louis nearly there. One, possibly two more bids
will go to teams from the group of St. Bonaventure, Xavier, St. Joe’s, UMass,
LaSalle and Dayton.
Syracuse,
Marquette, Notre Dame and Georgetown have pretty much punched their tickets to
the dance. Louisville is just about there with S. Florida, Cincy, Seton Hall
and possibly UConn or West Virginia advancing.
Expect
Montana or Weber St. to advance.
UNC-Asheville
will face surprise finalist VMI for the NCAA bid in the championship game.
Michigan
State has battled to the top of the conference and there are some who will say
they are a #1 seed. To that I remind them of losses to both Duke and North
Carolina!!
Ohio
State, Michigan, Wisconsin and Indiana should be in with Purdue needing at
least two more wins to get a look. Northwestern….I’m rooting for you to make a
run in the conference tourney to finally get that bid!!
The
Big 12 will get at least five bids with either Kansas State or Texas joining
Kansas, Missouri, Baylor and Iowa State.
Pending
tournament performance, both teams could go dancing.
Long
Beach St. has stormed through conference play without a loss and has played
enough quality competition outside of the league to gain a bid.
Though
the conference will only get 1-2 bids, they deserve more. Drexel, VCU, George
Mason and Old Dominion are the challengers for the title and all are capable of
another NCAA run from the conference.
Memphis
and Southern Miss look to be the cream of the crop…probably only one team from
this conference will go dancing.
Butler
is making a late season run and advanced to the conference semi-finals against
regular season leaders Valparaiso. The conference tourney winner will have to
only NCAA bid.
Harvard
and Penn look to be headed for a playoff for the NCAA bid.
Iona
is the favourite for conference crown and NCAA bid.
The
MAC has had a down year, expect only the tourney winner to go dancing and Akron
goes in as the favourite.
Conference’s
only bid will most likely go to Savannah State, Norfolk State or Delaware
State.
Wichita
State and Creighton both deserve a dance card!!
Three
bids should go to this conference….UNLV, New Mexico and San Diego State.
Colorado State could sneak in with an upset in the conference tourney.
Northeast
Conference: http://www.northeastconference.org/index.aspx?path=mbball&tab=mensbasketball
Wagner,
Long Island and Robert Morris are still kicking in the conference tourney with
one of them likely to go dancing….I’ll say Wagner.
Murray
State has won the conference tournament and will be dangerous in the NCAA’s.
The
conference has had a quiet year and may get lucky with three bids. Figure them
to go to Washington, Cal, Arizona or Oregon.
Lehigh,
Bucknell or American should go dancing after the conference tournament.
Conference
should get six bids with Kentucky as a possible overall #1 Seed for the NCAA
tourney. The question is can Kentucky avoid the upset on the big stage??
Expect
Florida, Vandy, Alabama, Tennessee and Mississippi State to join the Wildcats
in the Big Dance.
Southern
Conference: http://www.soconsports.com/SportSelect.dbml?&DB_OEM_ID=4000&SPID=1798&SPSID=22064
Conference
tournament is underway with the always dangerous Davidson squad as favourites.
Texas-Arlington
is the favourite to win the conference tournament.
Miss
Valley State has run through the regular season impressively and will be
tourney favourites.
Summit:
http://www.thesummitleague.org
Oral
Roberts is the favourite to advance here.
Middle
Tennessee State goes into the conference tourney as the favourite to go
dancing.
West
Coast Conference:
The
conference has three worthy teams, St. Mary’s, Gonzaga and BYU….will they get
the three bids?? Stay tuned….
Nevada
looks solid for the NCAA’s. New Mexico State will need a run to get to the
bubble.
That will do it for now….back with a look at the
Aussie seasons and some NBA stuff in a few days.
16 January 2012
25 December 2011
NBA Preview
Basketball
for Christmas
NBA
Preview
After the player’s revolt and off season chaos,
the NBA returns to on court action for the holiday season in a shortened 66
game season. Last season, I think I picked the Spurs to meet the Heat for the
title but it did not quite work out that way.
So here we go with my preview for the 2011-2012
NBA season.
Eastern
Conference
Atlantic
Division:
This division is still the domain of the Boston Celtics
although this season the New
York Knicks have bulked up their interior
defense with the addition of Tyson Chandler along with adding veterans Mike
Bibby and Baron Davis to shore up the backcourt. The Knicks could challenge
Boston if the Celtics run into injury problems or the consolidation of the
schedule takes its toll.
The Philadelphia
Seventy Sixers were a tough team to play against
last season and pretty much remained intact for this season’s run. They drafted
big men Lavoy Allen and Nikola Vucevic who may work their way into the rotation
but are mainly hoping a year of maturity in Doug Collins’ system will help them
advance in the post-season.
New Jersey
did not make any of the expected big off-season moves and with Brooke Lopez
injured had to pick up Mehmet Okur in hopes of filling the void in his absence.
It will be interesting to see if Deron Williams decides to stay with the Nets
or seek a change of scenery. Finally Toronto
did not do much to its roster in the off season so may not improve their record
much this season.
Central
Division:
The Chicago
Bulls are a head above the rest of the teams in this
division and will be looking to get further than the conference finals this
season. They will need inside duo Carlos Boozer and Joakim Noah to co-exist in
the paint better this season to take a bit of the load off Derrick Rose and
Luol Deng. Veteran Richard Hamilton’s addition on the wing provides a solid
scoring option. Kyle Korver and Taj Gibson will again bring energy, long range
bombs and rebounds off the bench. The Bulls are a threat for the best record
for the regular season again this year.
Indiana
will not surprise people this season but will be a solid team and possible
playoff team again. The continued improvement of Roy Hibbert and the addition
of David West in tandem with Tyler Hansbrough give the Pacers some inside punch
to go with Danny Granger, Paul George and Darren Collison.
Milwaukee
went from being a team on the verge to mediocrity last season but have the
pieces in place to improve. Brandon Jennings has another year’s worth of
experience to call upon at the point and should pair well with veteran scorer
Stephen Jackson. Drew Gooden will be solid if not spectacular at the power
forward slot and Andrew Bogut is a double/double threat in the pivot when
healthy. The team is on the verge of being a playoff team again and if healthy
could sneak in to the post-season.
In Detroit
the Piston are looking to improve but are not quite there yet. Similar story in
Cleveland
where top pick Kyrie Irving will contend for Rookie of the Year honours and
Tristan Thompson provides another piece for the future. Not playoff ready for a
while yet but may be entertaining again.
Southeast
Division:
The Miami
Heat
should easily take this division again and are looking to finish the playoffs
slightly better than last season. The addition of Shane Battier on the wing
will help team chemistry and perimeter defense. A healthy Mike Miller this
season should provide punch from beyond the arc. An interesting signing this
season is Eddy Curry; will he be worth in excess of $11 million?? Will Chris
Bash be more consistent? The Heat will be tested again for the Eastern
Conference crown but if they use last season as a motivator, they could go all
the way.
Atlanta
returns essentially the same cast from last season with the addition of
veterans Jerry Stackhouse and Tracy McGrady. The Hawks fell by the wayside in
the post season and need to develop a tougher attitude to advance this season.
The may end up better than Orlando and get the home court advantage in the
first round of the playoffs.
In Orlando,
the Magic’s fortunes hinge on Dwight Howard and whether or not he is happy in
Orlando or wanting to be traded. This team could drop out of playoff contention
completely as the Howard saga continues.
The Washington Wizards
could be this year’s surprise playoff team as their roster matures. Jevale
McGee, Andray Blatche, John Wall and Nick Young combine with veteran Rashard
Lewis in a solid starting unit and have a second squad that is improving.
Charlotte
is re-tooling and may not make much of a splash this season.
Conference
Playoff Teams:
Boston
Celtics, New York Knicks, Philadelphia 76ers, Chicago Bulls, Miami Heat,
Atlanta Hawks, Indiana Pacers and Washington Wizards
Conference
Champs:
Chicago
Bulls
Western
Conference
Northwest
Division:
Oklahoma
City
has pretty much stood pat in this division and may be the top team in the
conference this season. The major task will be getting quality looks for Kevin
Durant and for Russell Westbrook to work out a distribution to shot ratio in
the point guard position. Inside they will be tough on the boards and
defensively with Kendrick Perkins and Serge Ibaka protecting the lane. This
team could very easily represent the conference in the NBA Finals.
Portland
will be solid again even with the forced retirement of Brandon Roy. The
evolution of LaMarcus Aldridge and the hell for leather play of Gerald Wallace
will spear the Blazer attack. The team has adequate depth to get them through
the condensed season and hope to keep big men Marcus Camby and Greg Oden
healthy for the season. Portland should make it to the post season but will not
advance too far.
The Denver
Nuggets have added veteran point guard Andre Miller to
the mix with their young and talented line up. Improvement from Ty Lawson and
Danilo Gallinari this season should see the Nuggets back in post season play.
Overall they could be a tough ask on most nights for any team.
Utah
will be tough in the post with Paul Milsap and Al Jefferson down low but they
will need consistency from Devin Harris to complement them. Improvement from
Gordon Hayward and the adjustment to NBA play by Alec Burks will boost the
season prospects in Utah as will the development of big man Enes Kanter. The
Jazz may sneak into the playoffs as a 7-8 seed.
Minnesota
will go as far as they can on the backs of Kevin Love and Michael Beasley. The
arrival of distributor Ricky Rubio should see this team improve but how much
remains to be seen.
Pacific
Division:
The Los
Angeles Lakers are still the top team in this
division on paper but after being swept out of last season’s playoffs, have not
made many roster moves. The wrist injury to Kobe Bryant may have some effect on
the team early in the season as will the attitude of young center Andrew Bynum.
The depth chart at small forward shows a cast of thousands with newly named
Metta World Peace and Matt Barnes heading the quartet. Do not be surprised by a
roster move early in the season for Dwight Howard as they look for an anchor in
the post. The Lakers will of course make the playoffs but how far they go
depends on the roster changes they make.
The LA Clippers
have made themselves relevant in the Pacific division with the acquisitions of
Chris Paul, Chauncey Billups and Caron Butler to go with young athletic big men
Blake Griffin and DeAndre Jordan. The Clippers should be ready for a run at the
division title and usurping some of the LA “glamour” from the Lakers.
Mark Jackson finally gets a chance on the
sidelines at Golden
State and inherits a squad capable of scoring with
anyone. He will be looking to Andris Biedrins, Ekpe Udoh and David Lee to play
a bit of “D” on the inside and grab some boards.
The addition of Jimmer Fredette at point guard
will allow the Sacramento
Kings to move Tyreke Evans to the shooting guard slot
and give the Kings another scoring option. The maturity of DeMarcus Cousins
will go a long way in solidifying Sacramento’s post play on offense and
defense. The Kings will be improved and could surprise.
Phoenix with the exception of Steve Nash and Grant
Hill is largely unproven and will be hard pressed to make the playoffs.
Southwest
Division:
Defending champions the Dallas Mavericks have
changed a few parts but should be solid in the post season. They have lost
Tyson Chandler and Caron Butler but welcome Vince Carter and Lamar Odom to
their veteran roster to go with Jason Kidd, Dirk Nowitzki and Brendan Haywood.
The team seems to be weaker on paper this year but don’t count them out.
San Antonio
ran out of steam in the playoffs last season and will look to rest their older
players as much as possible during the regular season in hopes of staying
injury free and going further into the post season. Tim Duncan will be as
steady as ever though his numbers dipped slightly last season. More support
will be needed from Manu Ginobili and Tony Parker.
Memphis
will have Rudy Gay healthy to start the season and hopefully for the playoffs
this season as they look to improve on last season’s success. Marc Gasol and
Zach Randolph will give the Grizzlies a strong post tandem again as the team
looks to improve on last season.
In Houston, the Rockets are a
team in the midst of a changeover with the retirement of Yao Ming and several
new additions to their roster. They will be interesting to watch and may just
slip into a playoff spot.
New
Orleans has a few new faces but not a lot of depth on their roster as they
start the post Chris Paul era in the Crescent City. They are in pure
rebuild/restructure mode this season so do not expect any miracles.
Conference
Playoff Teams:
Oklahoma
City, LA Lakers, LA Clippers, Dallas Mavericks, Memphis Grizzlies, San Antonio
Spurs, Portland Trailblazers and Golden State Warriors
Conference
Champs:
Oklahoma
City Thunder
2012
NBA Champions:
Chicago
Bulls
07 October 2011
Women's Action near Tip-Off!!
WNBL
Quick Look
Unfortunately due to time restraints and work commitments
I will not be able to do a full WNBL
preview before the games tip off. So I will be posting some links to
interesting stories on the WNBL website. Enjoy the games over the weekend.
Here are a couple:
WNBL Season Launch (click
here)
Round One Preview (click
here)
I will be back to review and update with more
info next week….enjoy the weekend action and coverage on the Australian ABC
network.
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