What Greg Oden Signing with the Miami Heat Means for Greg Oden and the Miami Heat

The Miami Heat have added former No. 1 overall pick, Greg Oden, whose career has been hampered by devastating knee injuries that have caused him to play 82 games, which equals one full season, in 6 years! There are reasons why he was selected over Kevin Durant in the 2007 NBA Draft, from being a dominating presence on both ends of the floor that is a gifted athlete, with an NBA ready body at 7'0 tall, weighing in at 285 pounds.




He was described as a "once-in-a-decade" type player by Steve Kerr and still can be, since he's still only 25 and if his knees hold up as well. Unfortunately, that is a enormous if. Games like a 24 point and 15 rebound performance against the Bucks in the 2008-09 season and a 13 point, 20 rebound and 4 block performance against the Heat in the 2009-10 season showcased how dominating Greg Oden could be in the future.

Dec 5th, 2009 was the final game that he ever suited up for, for the Portland TrailBlazers suffering, yet again, another injury to his already fragile legs.

1500+ days later, 2 more micro-fracture knee surgeries and Greg Oden still hasn't played in an NBA game and no one knows how he'll be, back out on the court, banging bodies with 7 footers alike. However, according to the Miami Heat's head scout, legendary Tim Hardaway, Greg Oden is looking good on the court and is the missing link to the Heat 3-peating. At first, Greg Oden will be eased into action by the Heat, playing 12 or so minutes a game and receiving more and more minutes, once he gets comfortable. He probably will not start many games for the Heat in the 2013-14 season, maybe a few, but towards the end of the season, Oden will get significant minutes. Later in 2014-15, Greg Oden will seize the starting C job, putting Chris Bosh back into his natural position of PF. Of course, this all rides on if his knees hold up. The Miami Heat have an almost impeccable team, with its one glaring weakness being rebounding. They ranked dead-last in the NBA in rebounds per game, averaging 38.6. Yes, the Miami Heat averaged even less rebounds per game than the Boston Celtics, who rank 29th, averaging 39.3. With Greg Oden, the one weakness the Heat have is gone. No longer will teams like the Pacers, with Roy Hibbert, be able to dominate inside like they used to, which caused the Heat an agonizing amount of trouble, almost getting them eliminated from the playoffs. If everything goes well, the Miami Heat have got themselves a steal of a player for $2.17 million over 2 years, who can become a franchise player. Yes, adding to the 3 already on the Miami Heat's roster. Greg Oden could revitalize his career and possibly continue the Heat's dynasty that has already made the NBA Finals 3 times in a row, winning in 2 of their trips. The Miami Heat haven't had a dominating inside presence since the days of Shaq and with this signing, the Heat have gotten even more scarier.

The story of Greg Oden has been truly sad. Best wishes on those knees holding up, Greg Oden! We pray that you stay injury free.

Brandon Jennings Is The Cherry On Top For Detroit Pistons Offseason

It's been a big off season in the motor city this summer for the Pistons adding guys like Josh Smith, Chauncey Billups and now have added Brandon Jennings via sign and trade for Brandon Knight, Khris Middleton and Viachelslav Kravtsov. The Compton,California native will be in the motor city for the next 3 seasons while being payed a cool crisp 25 million $.

Some say things happen for a reason but judging by this picture Jennings heading to the Pistons seems to be destiny. As you can clearly see at the top Jennings is pictured as a young boy with a white Grant Hill #33 Pistons jersey with a basketball hands. Some can say this is a dream come true but Jennings says “Lets just say I’m smiling from ear to ear”.

So clearly the Pistons have talent up and down the roster so now its just about meshing all that talent together so they can become a playoff team. Both Josh Smith and Brandon Jennings have a tendency to jack up shots they don't need to take and characterizing some these shots as “low percentage shots” would be a modest thing to do. Looking at the Pistons front court of Josh Smith, Greg Monroe and Andre Drummond I see that as the foundation of what they should be and that’s a team that beats you up inside and on the glass with their rebounding. Although Jennings was never the most efficient shooter in Milwaukee he never had guys like Smith or Drummond to take the attention off of him so he should see more open looks in the offense but its his job to stay within that team offense and feed his big men the ball.

So after literally a whole presidential term of misery at the Palace in Auburn Hills Pistons fans have a reason to come show up to the arena and watch this talented roster play. I'm sure Mason is happy that more fannies will be in the seats at the Palace this year.....DEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEETRIOT BASKETBALLLLLLLLLLLLL!!!!!!!

Lebron James Top 6 Sneakers Of 2013

In the NBA, players train to be the best and are world class athletes. With that being said, world class players get exclusive colorways on sneakers that make them the envy of sneakerheads nationwide (Unless you are D.Wade). This applies to Lebron James more so then anybody who has been making history in 2013. He became the youngest player in league history to score 20,000 points, joined the likes of MJ and Bill Russell to win 4 NBA MVP awards but besides his statistical accomplishments, he also sported 30 plus different colorway variations and still counting of his own shoe-the Nike Lebron 10's. There was the good,the bad and the “What The MVP's” (Google it). I like to focus on the positives though so here are the top 6 Lebron James shoes of 2013.

#6 Miami Heat Home PE's

In Game 1 of the Heat's playoff series vs the Milwaukee Bucks LBJ rocked these bad boys. The sneaker features a Miami Heat colorway with the red making up the better part of the base, the white making up the front of the shoe and the black which outlines the silver Nike swoosh.It had solid colorways and was one of the better Lebron player exclusives this season. He dropped 27 points on 9-11 shooting en route to a game 1 Heat blow out of the Bucks (110-87).

#5 Carmex PE's

Earlier in the year I chronicled the Carmex Player exclusive Lebron in my “Tru School Kicks” series of posts that he wore for the 1^st half of a game at Madison Square Garden against the Knicks in February. Lebron has an endorsement deal with Carmex Lip Balm so this is an ode to them but the colorway on these shoes remind me of a place I love dearly and thats my alma mater of South Broward High School........PS Congrats Class of 2013 We Did It!!!!!!!!

#4 Olympics

When I look at the Lebron 10 Olympic Sneaker, the colorway looks awfully similar to the Jordan 7 Olympic sneaker. The base is white, blue towards the bottom of the shoe and the logo for Lebron is gold. The only difference is that on the Jordan Olympic sneakers there are gold accents along with blue on the bottom. Anytime you get your sneaker compared to Jordan Olympic 7's then you did something right with the shoe.

#3 Veterans Day

This sneaker is in the upper echelon of Lebron Player exclusives in 2013. In an early season matchup against the Memphis Grizzlies, in honor of veterans day, he broke these out. The colorway is exactly what you would expect from a shoe in honor of veterans day, red, white and blue. The Base is a solid Navy, the bottom is red and the Nike swoosh is white. It's a cool way of Lebron paying respect to our nations veterans.

#2 Floridians

In 2013, one of the more popular variations of the Lebron 10's were the Floridians. The colorway was inspired by the Miami Floridian colors which is what the Heat wear for Hardwood Classic night in tribute to the Magic city's old ABA team. These sneakers have a real Miami Feel to them with art deco colors and a white base. If I was going to Deco drive I would rock these Joints.

#1 PS Elite Black/White/Gold

Over the years King James has had many shoes I loved but none have really captivated me like me these (Beside The Hornet Lebrons). The color way is simplistic sophistication and who ever is responsible for the color way deserves a raise. The base being white gives the shoe a really soft look but then when you add in the Black outlines it evens out the shoe. What really sets it off is the Gold swoosh, in my mind it serves as an exclamation point. These aren't to gaudy but aren't to boring, they serve as a happy medium for Lebron sneakers in 2013 which is why I am crowning it the #1 Lebron James Sneaker of 2013.

Playoff Time 2013: Dwyane Wade

As the Playoffs are set to begin in the next few days the Miami Heat will enter the playoffs as the Number one seed with the a huge target on their back. During the regular season they made a lot of things look easy and had an impressive span of basketball reeling off 27 straight wins for one of the NBA’s longest winning streaks in history. This was due in large part to Dwyane Wade figuring out, accepting and executing his role on this Heat team to the Highest level possible.

Before  The Big 3 was formed Miami was  “Wade County” It was his team and the offense ran through him, there was no such thing as “too many” touches or “too many” shots. When Lebron James and Chris Bosh Came to the Magic City  the Heat were expected to click right away but that’s not how basketball works. Lebron&Wade struggled to figure out how to work within the flow of the offense and that Cost them a Championship in the 2011 Finals vs Dirk Nowitzki and the Dallas Mavericks.

Fresh off a championship this season we have seen Dwyane Wade settle into his role as the 2^nd option on the team to Lebron James as well as him relinquishing the team to James. Wade has stated several times “This is Lebron’s team” but it seems like this year he has accepted that fact and grew more comfortable with his role on the team. At 31 years of age Wade has been pacing himself playing only 66 games and resting  more often this year. He also is playing at a much more controlled pace you don’t see him play like “Flash” Anymore exploding to the rim with no regard for human life in conjunction with contorting his body while in the air. We have seen Dwyane limit the falls and stay healthier and that’s the main thing for him at this point of his career.

This season has seen a more controlled matured Dwyane Wade which has led to less shots in the offense but a Career high in Field Goal percentage at 51%.  At 31 years old Wade remains one of the NBA’s premier shooting guards and as the Heat enter the 2013 playoffs look for him to turn his game up. There is is still plenty left in the tank and as the Heat Look to repeat Wade looks to remind people that he isn’t “too old” or “Too slow”. He is still one of the NBA’s premier perimeter defenders on one of the top Defensive teams the league has to offer . While Lebron James will be the focal point of the Miami offense look for Wade to have nights that remind people that while he is the #2 option he can carry a team and dominate both ends of the floor.

The 1^st round of the NBA Playoffs start April 20^th and the Heat will match up with the 8^th seeded Milwaukee Bucks.

Playoff Time 2013: Brandon Jennings

The phrase “Wearing out your welcome” seems to come to mind when thinking about the Face of the Milwaukee Bucks Franchise- Brandon Jennings. Over the past few seasons he has made his relationship with the organization rather awkward, Stating that he wants to play in a bigger market (such as Dallas) and will be doing his homework. He has also called out his teammates saying “I don’t see any All-Stars in this room”. He even called his coach Jim Boylan out for a late game timeout he didn’t agree with via social media.

But make no mistake about it Brandon Jennings is one talented player who has been one of the reasons for keeping the bucks relevant along with Players like Monta Ellis and Larry Sanders. Is he worth what he would want on a big market team? That’s another discussion.

The Bucks fired Scott Skiles midway through the season and under Interim coach Jim Boylan have played better basketball. Jennings has been very inefficient throughout the season shooting the ball at 39 % field goal clip.  He has had his moments this season but has failed to string together consistency you want from the face of your franchise. For all the talent he posses Jennings at this stage of his Career is still equally as immature.

“FEAR THE DEAR” is a catch phrase normally used around playoff time by Milwaukee Bucks fans but will the Miami Heat have to take heed to those words? The answer is probably no as Miami will probably win the series. There is always the possibility of the Bucks giving the Heat some trouble as they have been known to do in the regular season over the past few years. Larry Sanders isn’t known to be afraid of anybody, Monta Ellis once said he was better then Dwyane Wade and Brandon Jennings isn’t afraid to take big shots, The series could be very lopsided or could be a frustrating one for the Heat.

If Jennings wants to make his money elsewhere after this season he better show other teams what exactly it is they are paying for. He can earn himself a nice check if he performs like the guy who dropped 55 points in a game his rookie season and lead the Bucks to the playoffs. If he does that he will be fine if he plays and acts like the premadonna he has been over the last few seasons then he might have suitors second guessing themselves. Hopefully though he plays some good basketball in the 1^st round and contributes to a watchable first round playoff series vs the defending Champion Miami Heat.

The Playoffs start April 20^th with the Bucks matched up vs Lebron James and the defending Champion Miami Heat.

Throwback Thursday: Oscar Robertson The"Big O"

 Throwback Thursday.  Just wanted to remind everybody in case you forgot that next Thursday November 1^st is the big day being the release the Lebron vs Jordan. So make sure you say tuned for Hey it’s that time of week so happy that and check out the preview I wrote last week. Now I know most people that grew up in the 90’s to now think that MJ, Lebron or Kobe are the greatest of All-Time and I know I just wrote an extensive paper on MJ vs LBJ on who was better but I’m going to throw a curveball at you. Oscar Roberson is the Greatest Basketball player of All-Time! Yeah I said it and if you got a problem with that Tweet me @Thatboybtaylor. So today we are talking about none other then the “Big O” Oscar Robertson.

So when you Talk about All-Time Greats in basketball history you must mention Oscar Robertson. In the 1961-1962 Season he made history becoming the first and only player to Averaged Triple-Double for entire season at 30 points 11 assists 12 rebounds #CRAZY. What’s even crazier then that is he averaged a Triple-Double though his first 5 seasons in he league. Despite the great Numbers Robertson and he Cincinnati Royals  seemed to always fall short of reaching the Finals. He and his teammates suffered several losses in the playoffs to Bill Russell and the Boston Celtics. The most painful of these being in the 1962-1963 Eastern Conference Finals that went 7 games. So with all his postseason failures Robertson was then later traded to the Milwaukee Bucks in before the 1970-71 season. This was a fresh start for someone who had needed It after being accused of being selfish in Cincy. He now had a team that wasn’t decent at best the Bucks were contenders with the likes of Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Bob Dandridge. The increase in Talent around him proved to be beneficial as the Bucks dominated the NBA to a league best 66-16 record. The Bucks would do the same in the playoffs going 12-2 and Oscar Robertson was now a Champion. The thing I admire most about him was that he did all this in a time when racial tensions were still high. He was great person, Intense Competitor and just a great player. Oscar Robertson would finish his career with 181 career Triple-Doubles.