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.

NBL season is here!!!

There will be Basketball played

(In Australia)

Amid the uncertainty of the NBA season being played, the 2011-2012 Australian NBL season is nearing its start.

The New Zealand Breakers will be out to defend their crown after a remarkable run in the 2010-2011 campaign. Last season, the Breakers finished the season with a 23-6 record, five games in front of the nearest contender. The club will once again be loaded for bear in the front court with Mika Vukona, Dillion Boucher, Alex Pledger and steady import Gary Wilkinson (Utah State). Swingman Tom Abercrombie will bring his usual effort and athleticism to the fray while the backcourt will be steadied again by Captain CJ “Smooth” Bruton who has announced that this will be his farewell season. Sharpshooter Daryl Corletto travels across the Tasman to join the Breakers backcourt after spending his entire NBL career with the Melbourne Tigers.

The Breakers will once again figure into the championship equation and may well repeat. The team opens the season on the road with a double, visiting the Gold Coast Blaze to start the season on October 7 and drop into the ‘Gong to face the Wollongong Hawks on October 9. The club will not play at home until the last weekend of October when they host the Sydney Kings October 28.

In North Queensland, the Townsville Crocodiles are serious about going to the next level after last season’s 17-11 second place regular season effort. The Croc’s will be missing big man Luke Schenscher who is out with an injury to start the season and have signed journeyman Greg Vanderjagt to fill in. The team also welcomes imports Eddie Gill (Weber State) who has considerable NBA experience and will bring that to the point guard position. He will be joined by swingman Elvin Mims (Southern Miss) who will bring versatility and explosiveness to the team.

Until Schenscher’s return, the Croc’s will look to Russell Hinder, Michael Cedar and Ben Allen among others to hold the fort.

On paper the Croc’s will be strong again and should make the playoffs. How far they go into the post-season will depend on keeping front court players healthy and the teams’ chemistry as the season progresses.

The Croc’s travel to North Queensland neighbours Cairns to start the season on 8 October 2011.

The Cairns Taipans (16-12) will look to go a step further this year and have added new imports Jamar Wilson (Albany) and Andrew Warren (Bradley) to anchor the back court. They will join Ian Crosswhite, Brad Hill, Alex Loughton and the reliable Dusty Rychart to form the nucleus of another solid team. They will also have pesky defender and original Taipan Aaron Grabau coming in off the bench to turn up the heat.

Cairns could well be there in the Championship series again this season. They host Townsville on the weekend to kick off the 2011-2012 campaign.

Among the remaining teams the Perth Wildcats (16-12) led by Kevin Lisch (St. Louis) and Shawn Redhage (Arizona State) will again be in title contention. The Melbourne Tigers (10-19) have added NBA player Patty Mills (St Mary’s) along with Ayinde Ubaka (California) to go with Ronald Dorsey (Benedict College) and  big man Cameron Tragardh in hopes of a major improvement over last season’s effort.

The Wollongong Hawks (15-13) as always it seems will be in the playoff picture at seasons end. The Gold Coast Blaze, though in the playoffs last season would love to improve on their 13-15 record for 2010-2011.

In Sydney the Kings (8-20) have improved their roster…now to translate that into a finals appearance will be the trick. Adelaide’s 36ers (9-19) hope to get just a little good luck this season with the injury bug and on court in an attempt to improve and contend.

OneHD will again be covering NBL games for fans who wish to tune in over the weekend and during the season.

For my personal prediction, see the playoff teams at the end of the season being the Perth Wildcats, New Zealand Breakers, Cairns Taipans, Wollongong Hawks, Melbourne Tigers and the Townsville Crocs to vie for the title.

I reserve the right to change/adapt the above if on Andrew Bogut decides to enter the fray…rumours say he will land in Sydney or Perth??

To my friends overseas…you can see complete NBL coverage on the NBL Website.

Back with updates and a WNBL preview soon.

You can follow my various sports rants on Twitter @ChuckDownUnder

Also on Facebook at: https://www.facebook.com/CDStarrzBlogs

WNBA Finals pick...

Hoops Report…WNBA Finals

Yeah it has been a while again since I did any basketball writing but I am checking back in, first with a look at the 2011 WNBA Finals and then a look at the upcoming Australian NBL season in a few days.

The WNBA Finals will feature a clash between the “never say die” Atlanta Dream and the Minnesota Lynx.

Atlanta (20-14) charged from a third place regular season finish to win the Eastern Conference title while Minnesota (27-7) finished comfortably ahead of the pack in the Western Conference and proceeded on to the conference title.

Atlanta features a balanced attack led by the scoring of Angel McCoughtry, Lindsey Harding and Iziane Castro Marques with rebounding and shot blocking support from Erika de Souza and Sancho Lyttle.

Seimone Augustus and “Ms Do It All”, Maya Moore lead the potent Lynx offense while Rebekkah Brunson and “Uber Veteran” Taj McWilliams-Franklin handle the inside on both ends of the floor.

The team have not met since June when Minnesota took two wins for the season series. Though much time has passed since these meetings, look for the overall attack of Minnesota to be too strong for Atlanta in the finals.

Prediction: Minnesota to win title with 3-1.

Catch up time!!!

Well about six weeks and a sports hernia later…I’m finally back with a bit of a catch up on all things hoops…firstly my NBA Finals prediction of Miami taking the title in six games disappeared quicker than LeBron James at crunch time!! Congrats to the crew from Big D and their long suffering fans. Job well done guys.

We’ve also had the 2011 NBA Draft. The verdict will be out as to the strength of the draft overall. Nine international players were selected in the first round and some will not appear in the NBA until a few years down the track. Among the notables internationally, Enes Kanter (Utah Jazz), Jonas Valanciunas (Toronto Raptors) and Jan Vesely (Washington Wizards) seem to be the most anticipated. Bismark Biyombo (Sacramento Kings, traded to Charlotte Bobcats) may be the most intriguing player drafted with his huge wing span and athleticism.

The Cleveland Cavaliers picked Kyrie Irving at number one and Tristan Thompson at number four in hopes of improving their roster after last season’s misery. There will be the question of whether Irving will be an understudy to Baron Davis or if Davis will eventually be traded? Other notables drafted in the first round included: Derrick Williams (Minnesota Timberwolves), Keemba Walker (Charlotte Bobcats), Jimmer Fredette (Milwaukee Bucks, traded to the Sacramento Kings), Nolan Smith (Portland Trailblazers) and defensive ace Chris Singleton (Washington Wizards).

Some top college talent taken in round two included: Kyle Singler (Detroit Pistons), Shelvin Mack (Washington Wizards), Chandler Parsons (Houston Rockets), Jon Leuer (Milwaukee Bucks), Josh Selby (Memphis Grizzlies) and E’Twaun Moore (Boston Celtics).

Hopefully the Collective Bargaining Agreement will not affect the 2011-2012 season and the dispute will be settled before the preseason starts.

Ok, I’ll be back over the next few weeks with a few titbits and a look at the international scene, the WNBA and all of the associations around Australia.

NBA Game 3 up...

NBA Game Three on tap

The NBA Finals series has moved to Dallas tied at 1-1 after the Mavericks pulled off yet another improbable victory to tie the series in Miami.

Miami will be looking to finish strong if in position to do so as opposed to blowing a late lead. Dallas in turn will be looking to get ahead and hold on for once in this series. The Heat will hope to get better production from Chris Bosh who has been woeful from the field. Additionally to jump back ahead, they will need a solid contribution from the bench as a whole and possibly a big contribution from one bench player, i.e., Mike Miller.

Dallas on the other hand will rely on the veterans, Nowitzki, Terry, Marion, Kidd and Terry. Any positive contributions from J.J. Barea and the rest of the Dallas bench could see them gain the ascendency in this series.

I’ll throw my hat in the Heat’s ring. I think Bosh may turn his game around enough to be effective and the Miami crew will win another close one. I will stick to my Heat in six prediction from the start of the finals.

Elsewhere in the Hoop World

I will join the chorus in wishing the Big “Whatever he wants to be” Shaquille O’Neal all the best in his retirement. Thanks for all the memories, sound bites and antics. There are even rumours out of a city called Townsville here in Australia have their sights set on the big man with the local NBL team the Townsville Crocodiles offering this invitation on their website: Former NBA player in the Crocs’ sights . Hmm…The Big Crocodile or The Big Croc Hunter!!

 

Also the WNBA season has kicked off with a smattering of Aussie talent on show. Of course there is Lauren (MS. Jackson) Jackson in Seattle, new sensation Elizabeth Cambage in Tulsa, Jenna O’Hea in Los Angeles, Sandy Brondello (assistant coach) Los Angeles, Penny Taylor in Phoenix, Erin Phillips in Indiana, Tully Bevilaqua in San Antonio and Belinda Snell who is also playing in Seattle. Good luck on the season ladies.

 

Ok, back in a couple of days to check in…..

NBA Finals are Here!!!

Game One Tipping off on Tuesday night

The 2010-2011 NBA season has reached the Finals Series and Game 1 kicks off in Miami on Tuesday night ( Wednesday morning Aussie time). 

Well, waaayyyy back in October, I predicted a Lakers/Heat final with the Heat winning it: http://cdstarrbblog.blogspot.com/2010_10_24_archive.html

At the start of the playoffs, I correctly predicted a Bulls/Heat Eastern Conference final with the Heat meeting San Antonio in the Finals that pick went slightly awry!! http://cdstarrbblog.blogspot.com/2011/04/nba-playoff-preview.html

Now we have reached the finals series. The Dallas crew are a seasoned outfit and will look to continue their regular season success against Miami. A missing link from that success is Caron Butler who proved to be Kryptonite on two legs for LeBron James in their two meetings. Although Shawn Marion has shown his value in the playoffs, the Mavs can not afford any lapses or let downs in this series. 

On the other side of the coin, the Heat will have Dirk to deal with!! Dirk Nowitzki has stamped his authority on each series for Dallas so far. Miami will look to Chris Bosh, LeBron James and a few others in their effort to slow the German Gunner down. Dallas will have to be at their best to deal with Dwayne Wade, LeBron and the rejuvenated Bosh.

Prediction wise: 

I see Dallas having their moments but in the end, look for Miami to take it in six.

Tip Off time in OKC!!!

Nearly Tip Off time in OKC

Game Three of the Western Conference Finals will be starting soon with Dallas looking to grab at least one win on the road in the series that is currently tied at 1-1.

There are several undertones to the game, among them:

Ø  Can the Mavs survive on Dirk alone?

Ø  Will the Mavs get better bench contributions from Barea and Terry?

Ø  How will Russell Westbrook play after his Game Two benching?

Ø  Can the Mavs take the OKC crowd out of the game?

Ø  Will the Mavs be able to control James Harden?

Those are some of the factors as tip off time nears.

I feel that the Mavs will get a win in OKC, maybe not tonight but they will pull out one of the three. The key will be actually slowing down the pace and making it a walk it up the floor/half court affair. That is where Jason Kidd may step to the fore in controlling the pace.

I will stick with my Mavs in six prediction.

In the East, Chicago travels to South Beach tomorrow night to face the Heat. Look for Miami to pull out a close one at home.