Derek Bodner’s Blog

I’m a draft junkie. The NBA draft is the only draft I really get this way over. I don’t watch college baseball at all, and I just can’t get into the football draft as much, as it’s far too long and drawn out. The basketball draft is Christmas week for me. Having been working with the guys over at DraftExpress this past year has only made me even more of a junkie.

So, for some reason, this year I’m compelled to put down my thoughts on the draft for all to see, so that in a few years time I can look like a complete buffoon. I write this knowing full well that some of my opinions will probably look preposterous when these players rookie contracts expire. That being said, this is my opinion of the draft.
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Originally posted at sixers.realgm.com.

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Is anyone else getting incredibly annoyed with Red Sox nation? They win 2 world series, and all of a sudden they’re worse than the Yankee fan base they’ve united against. Back when they were the lovable losers, you could empathize with the fanbase that had gone through so many near misses. Now, with all the bandwagon fans, they’re unbearable. After a couple of losing seasons, Red Sox Nation will turn into Red Sox Village, and all will be well again.

Jimmy Rollins failure to run out a pop fly last week is the stuff superstars do from time to time. Every now and then, a ball is misplayed and the player is caught. Occasionally superstars will get calls into the managers office after the game, and a private chat will be held to make sure said superstar doesn’t do it again.

This situation last week was anything but regular.

For an oft-regarded players manager like Charlie Manuel to bench the reigning National League Most Valuable Player mid-game for everyone to see was news. It’s also a move that in the wrong clubhouse, or from the wrong manager, could have been disastrous. Possibly more important than Manuel making the move was Rollins acceptance of it.

“I know better. He’s the manager, and that’s what he’s supposed to do. Charlie has two rules — be on time, and hustle. I broke one. That’s what happens”, Rollins said. “It’s like breaking the law and getting mad when the police show up.”

That’s the beauty of how the situation unfolded. Manuel handled it perfectly. By benching Rollins for the infraction, not only did he send a message to Rollins, but he also sent a message to everyone on the team. With two former MVP’s, a possible future MVP, and a Cy Young contender, there have been less accomplished players develop big heads and bad attitudes. Not only does it keep the stars inline, but everyone else lower on the totem pole knows they can be benched as well. After the game, Manuel didn’t air dirty laundry to the media. The benching was all that was needed to send the message, and the simple pronouncement that he and Jimmy had handled it left the press with no sound bites to let it linger.

Still, the situation could have gone bad had Rollins resented such treatment. After all, he is the reigning MVP, and with that award can come a sense of entitlement. But not in this clubhouse. Not with these players. And that’s why this team could be special down the line.

With 4 minutes remaining and the world champion already decided, the “Hey hey hey, goodbye” chants began to rain down. Doc Rivers substituted out his big three to a standing ovation, and the celebration began. The final minutes were a mere formality, a simple delay before the confetti came pouring down and the championship hats worn. It was a full scale party. I sat here imagining what it would be like, but the truth of the matter is…

I HAVE NOTHING TO COMPARE IT AGAINST. It’s impossible for me to imagine what it would be like, as I have no memory of anything even remotely similar. When the last championship was won in this city, I was just a few months older than the son Kendrick Perkins was bouncing around on his shoulder during the final minutes.

Can somebody please, please, put all their chips in and go for a darn championship? Just once? I would love to witness one of these events before I’ve become so cynical I can’t enjoy it.

David Montgomery, you might base success on more than wins, but I don’t. ‘Whatever it takes, dude’.

I have a confession to make. I’m making this confession in a basement of an unnamed building for my own safety. What I’m about to say is blasphemous. As a life long Philadelphia fan and resident, I have to admit, that I…..

Wait for it. It’s coming. I can do this. Deep breath…

I’ve been rooting hard for the Celtics during 2008 NBA Playoffs.

Phew.

Kevin Garnett has been my favorite player in the NBA for the better part of the decade, and it’s a treasure to see him finally play with a supporting cast that can maximize his strengths and minimize his weaknesses. Now that he’s surrounded by legitimate top tier offensive talent, we can truly appreciate his defense, passing, and all around game which make him so very unique. His high post skills perfectly complement Paul Pierce’s slashing, and his passing is a great aid to Ray Allen’s shooting and screen based offensive attack.

I’m also a big fan of Ray Allen, although unlike Garnett where I’m very open about my appreciation of his talents, I’m a little more reserved speaking publicly about my adoration for Jesus Shuttlesworth. The series against the Sixers in 2001 was a little too intense to openly heap praise upon the former UConn guard. With Ray Allen you get an extremely hard worker, a fundamentally sound old school player, and an honest to goodness good person. His jumpshot is the closest thing to basketball perfection you’ll find. His all around game is sometimes lost because he’s not jumping over people. The shooting, ballhandling, passing, body control and movement without the ball provide a package that’s been sorely lacking from the NBA in recent years. While Allen received some animosity from Philly fans during the first half-dozen years of his career, and donning the Boston green isn’t going to endear him to many, it’s not hard to appreciate him as a basketball player and as a person.

I said before the season how great the Garnett trade was, and why certain concerns about it were unfounded. As it turns out, they didn’t have trouble sharing the load, their role players aren’t as bad as advertised, and they’ve meshed tremendously well, particularly on the defensive end. If the Celtics are able to capture the title, it will bring vindication to a trio of superstars who before this time have had the misfortune of being stuck on poorly constructed teams, and received unfair criticism because of that. I can’t do anything but applaud the Celtics front office and players for a job well done. Even if I’m not supposed to.

As I’m sitting down watching the fantastic first game of the NBA finals, it’s impossible to ignore the rivalry abc and the NBA are trying to shove down our throats. It’s about as subtle as Charles Barkley’s desire for socks. The problem is, it’s not there.

The bottom line is you cannot have a rivalry when you haven’t met in the postseason in 21 years. Repetitive postseason series breed rivalries, not two meetings in December each year. The Lakers and Spurs have a rivalry. The Pistons and Celtics are developing a rivlary. The Lakers and Celtics had a rivalry. Currently they have a history, and while it behooves the NBA to market and capitalize on that history, that does not make them current rivals.

Sure, the history might make some of the already rabid fans on each side even more boisterous. But a rivalry cannot exist without a hatred between the two competing teams. Nowhere was this exemplified more than the 80′s Lakers/Celtics, Magic vs Bird. Nowhere has that been missing more than this current finals series. If the Celtics can maintain their excellence for another 3-4 years, it’s very possible that this rivlary can be rekindled. But it’s not there yet, much to the chagrin of the NBA.