As an NBA team playing in a hotly contested playoff game, do you want your star players to be able to over-rule the coach when designing the plays for the end of the game?  Take yesterday’s game between the Bulls and the Cavs.  1.5 seconds left in the game.  LeBron has shot 9 for 29 for the game and has committed 2 offensive fouls in the last minute and a half.  Kyrie Irving hurt is ankle and has been a non-factor.  Coach Dave Blatt, rookie in the NBA but very experienced internationally, has LeBron taking out the ball underneath the basket.  In the huddle, LeBron over-rules the coach and says just give me the ball.  Naturally, he drains a fall back base line jumper from the corner at the buzzer and is the hero.  But is this a good thing?

This incident made me recall the series between the Knicks and the Bulls back in the mid-1990s after Jordan had “retired” and Scottie Pippen was the star player.  Phil Jackson drew up a last second play for Toni Kukoc to take the shot.  Pippen got pissed off in the huddle and took himself out of the game.  Kukoc hit the 3-pointer to win the game and Pippen looked like a fool and a spoiled, selfish NBA star.  In that case, Jackson wanted to use Pippen as a decoy to free up Kukoc to take the shot.

We all know the NBA is a star’s league – more so than any other professional sport.  No doubt, a lot of this goes on in late game huddles.  Hell, even in the movie Hoosiers, coach Gene Hackman originally had someone else taking the last shot in the championship game until Jimmie Chitwood spoke up that he would make it and the coach changed the play.  It is unusual that your star player feels the need to publicly acknowledge what happened in the post-game press conference, and make your coach look a little small.  For Dave Blatt, he also lost track of the timeouts and almost called one in the last few seconds that he didn’t have which would have resulted in a technical foul and loss of possession (and likely the game).  But one of his assistants pulled him back to the bench and saved him.

From SU’s standpoint, these coaches have 27 assistants to help them in these situations (note: back in the Knick glory days, it was just coach Red Holzman and he had trainer Danny Whelan who kept track of the timeouts.  No other assistants on the bench back then).  Blatt will now be in the spotlight and may be viewed as a puppet coach who is being manipulated by LeBron the rest of the playoffs.  SU does not love this situation because here is how it may play out.  If Cleveland advances and goes all the way, LeBron adds to his legacy as superstar and pseudo-coach.  If they lose, and it’s because of some late game decisions by LeBron, he will blame it on the coach.  LeBron needs to set the record straight today that Dave Blatt is the coach and the players have some input at times – even if it’s not  true.  And the reason is that things will only spiral downhill from here if they don’t nip it in the bud.  SU is not a fan of the control freak coach who calls every possession like Pat Riley.  But there needs to be some order in late games situations.

Your thoughts?

SU has a theory on why the fans have rallied around A-Rod so quickly in NY this year.  First, check out a today’s read by Wally Matthews on espn.com:

http://espn.go.com/blog/new-york/yankees/post/_/id/85025/alex-rodriguez-the-winner-in-dispute-with-yankees

SU believes it’s a combination of three factors.  First,  A-Rod has gotten off to a good start and has hit some tape-measure homeruns.  Second, he is saying all the right things and has been able to stick to the story line without being tempted by the media to go negative.  And third, it’s the absence of the shadow of Derek Jeter and SU believes this is in fact the most important reason.  Jeter always did everything right, he never, ever mis-spoke (as he learned to say nothing in answering reporters’ questions) and for the last few years, he did not have A-Rod’s back anymore.  They were best friends back in the mid-1990s but after the Esquire article where A-Rod bad-mouthed Jeter (slightly), well, that was that.  After the 2009 World Series win, it just got bad and they really didn’t interact much anymore.  The fans sensed that too and as long as Jeter was around, A-Rod would always be the bad guy and would always get the boos – especially at home if he failed to come through.  With Jeter now retired, if you notice, A-Rod is no longer booed at home when he strikes out or leaves guys on base.  We live in the post-Jeter era now and SU believes A-Rod also feels less pressure without Derek around.  He is playing much more relaxed (and chemical free).

Much of the Yankees’ success this season is due to the combination of Ellsbury and Gardner at the top of the line-up.  Some said last year that Girardi should have moved Jeter down in the order to take advantage of this but did not want to diss him in his final season.  Given how bad their offense was last year, it looks like that would have been a good move.

Ellsbury is on fire of late batting around .500 for an extended period of time but still only has 4 rbis on the season because he bats in front of Stephen Drew and Sir Didi Gregorius.  That is amazing.  For the Yankees to have close to the best record in the AL with those two plus Beltran in the bottom of the line up is impressive.  Surely Perela will start to get more playing time and the Stephen Drew era in NY will end.  Some team must need a shortstop for the 2nd half of the season.

Finally, Deflategate is getting out of hand.  There is talk now of a 4- or 8-game suspension for Brady.  SU cannot believe this.  It reminds me of the Mitchell Report in baseball where they exposed a handful of players for possible PED use and they took the fall for everyone else who was using PEDs.  They all remained silent.  Don’t you find it hard to believe that other NFL QBs are not doctoring the air pressure of their game balls?  I am not a Patriot fan but the punishment does not fit the crime here.  The refs handle the ball on every play – every play.  If the air pressure was that far below the 12.5 psi threshold, they would have noticed it.  It will be interesting to see if Brady gets both fined and suspended over this.

So, let me see if I have this right?  The New England Patriots took air out of the balls in order to cause a traffic jam at the George Washington Bridge.  Oh wait, I am mixing up Deflategate with Bridgegate.  The NFL just released its report and while it’s “probable” that the Patriots equipment personnel took air out of the game balls, there is no smoking pin.  SU may be on the wrong side of this but I just cannot get too excited over this.  I know the golfers out there will be outraged as they play by a thousand specific rules and police themselves on the course (I guess be careful if you play with an NFL player).  The baseball players will just yawn as MLB stars have been taking PEDs for years and before this era you had catchers and pitchers scuffing balls and hitters corking bats.  In hockey, they curve their sticks a little extra.  In tennis, they try and put a few extra dimples on their sneakers to play at Wimbledon for better traction.  Basketball is harder – not a lot of equipment other than the ball.  No doubt there will be suspensions for Brady and the equipment guys and by the way, once again you really shouldn’t use email to communicate with one another about how you are going to circumvent the rules.

Many in the SU universe will say that the integrity of the game has been damaged and that this is a gross violation.  SU says that in every sport, players and coaches are constantly looking to gain advantage and that they push the rules to the limit and beyond in doing so.

Do you agree?  What say you?  Or will you leave SU talking to myself?

The NY Rangers continue their amazing playoff run going back to last season with so many consecutive games being decided by 1 goal.  As of now, they are winning their share of these but you have to figure their luck may change – and it may be this week unfortunately.  The Yankees are in the same boat as they play a lot of close games which means they need to always use the Twin Towers (as A-Rod calls them) of Betances and Miller.  Girardi won’t allow his relievers to pitch on 3 consecutive games so it inevitably creates days like yesterday where you can only use one of them.  SU says it’s not sustainable over the long term and you will start to lose your share of the close games.  No bullpen is perfect.  The offense needs to do more and learn to manufacture runs without the benefit of the homerun.

He doesn’t get the same attention as LeBron or Stephen Curry but Blake Griffin is really coming into his own in this post-season for the Clippers.  SU has not watched him that much but he is the complete package.  Did you see his stat line last night without Chris Paul in the line-up?  26 points, 14 rebounds and 13 assists.  The Clippers basically ran their offense through him on most possessions and let him make decisions on when to shoot or pass.  Those are amazing numbers for a forward.  Knick fans: think of your main man, Carmelo.  If he ever hit 5 assists you would be singing his praises.  Griffin is light years ahead of Melo as a franchise player.  It’s an interesting contrast.

Speaking of the Knicks, Isiah Thomas is returning as the President and part-ower of…. the Liberty!  SU says this is just the beginning.  Once Phil Jackson bails on the rest of his contract, isiah will be warming up in the bullpen.  The clock is ticking.

Loved the comments yesterday on our friend Pedro Martinez.  From S. Goldman: “I heard the Pedro interview with Mike Francesa yesterday afternoon. It was just like watching him pitch. He was bright, articulate and incredibly entertaining. But he was also maddeningly stubborn and confident that he had never done anything wrong and every incident in which he was ever involved has a back story in which he was the real victim. He spoke of all the intentionally hit batters but also of how certain ones weren’t (“Jeter, yes. Soriano, no”). He was extremely critical of a couple of opponents and threw a few teammates, coaches and owners under the bus. Every injury he ever sustained was somebody’s fault but never his. Same could be said for every run he ever gave up and every elderly coach he ever threw to the ground. All in all he was incredibly entertaining. 90% of sports autobiographies should never have been written but he deserves to sell every copy. I hated him as a player and he’s probably not a great guy either. But he’s incredibly entertaining and sports can use more personalities like him.”

And from S. Long up in Beantown: “You are just learning now that most of Pedro’s HBPs weren’t accidents? Seriously? I haven’t read the new book excerpts, but I recall an earlier article about Pedro hitting people. The gist was that he wasn’t necessarily hitting them on purpose, he just didn’t give a crap whether they got hit or not. He said “It’s my job to throw the ball. It’s their job to get out of the way.” Personally, I wish more pitchers had that attitude.”

It’s only May 4th and we certainly don’t want to get ahead of ourselves.  A Yankees’ sweep in Boston?  We don’t see that everyday.  The Mets are shut out 1-0 in back-to-back games?  The pitching always gives them a chance to win but the injuries may finally be catching up to the offense.  SU thoughts from the weekend:

• ESPN must take Curt Schilling off the air for Sunday Night games.  I cannot be the only person out there who just cannot listen to him anymore.  SU prediction: he does not make it through the season.  As we speak, Joe Morgan is warming up in the bullpen and practicing saying “The Yankees are just not that good.”
• In case you were watching “Mad Men” like SU last night and missed it, the Red Sox and Yankees engaged in a little beanball action.  Hanley Ramirez got hit with his team down 8-1 and took MAJOR offense feeling it was intentional.  Really?  Because he did what to them?  SU will beat the rush and will start hating him now as he clearly has the sense of his namesake, Manny Ramirez.  Of course, the Red Sox had to retaliate and hit Ellsbury on a 3-0 pitch after a couple of previous pitches missed him.  The umpire could have stopped it before then but it’s baseball and you need to settle it on the field.  To be continued as they will face each other many more times.  This is when you wish you still had Roger Clemens who loved these situations.
• Speaking of beanballs, you have to check out the excerpts from Pedro Martinez’s new book Pedro in last week’s Sports Illustrated.  Some books should just not be written.  He focuses on the 2003 season and fesses up to the fact that most of his HBPs in his career were intentional.  I know, shocking news.  SU always hated him when he was on Boston but respected him.  Great pitcher.  Now I can hate him and not respect him.  Feels better.
• The Mets continue to get great pitching but will need to find some offense until David Wright and others return.  It’s hard to win a lot of close low scoring games.  Baltimore did it in 2013 but the odds say you will trend closer to .500.  The Yankees are doing it now with their starters going 5 innings and a lights out bullpen.  That is not sustainable as the relievers will tire at some point.
• Jose Pirela is lighting it up for the Yankees in the minors in his rehab assignment going 11 for 19 over the weekend with power.  Look for him to be brought up very, very soon, and they should put him in the line up every day.  He is clearly better than Drew or Gregoius and even Headley could use some competition for his playing time.  At what point do you say that Stephen Drew is in fact a .150 hitter at this point in his career?
• Mark Texeiria, for all his early success, is hitting about .080 with RISP.  But the Yankees are powered by Ellsbury and Gardner this year who seem to always be on base.

The Jets had a great draft and seem to be trending in the right direction.  As predicted, Clippers – Spurs series was fantastic and SU hopes that Chris Paul can get well fast to get them to a Warriors – Clippers Western Conference final which would also be fun.  Finally, will the Rangers play any playoff games this post-season that are not decided by one goal?  No doubt stressful for the diehards.

Homerun #660 turned out to be a game winner for A-Rod and the Yankees.  So, how do we feel about that?  SU has a few thoughts:

• First of all, full disclosure: I had dozed off during the game and only woke up in the 9th inning.  The Yankees are painfully boring to watch even though they are in 1st place.  But I did stay up to watch the post-game show and A-Rod’s interview with the media.
• SU is happy for A-Rod for hitting a game-winning homerun but I feel almost nothing about him tying Willie Mays.  I also feel nothing about Barry Bonds’s record, Sammy Sosa, Mark McGwire and all the others.  All tainted.
• But… you have to give A-Rod credit for the way he has carried himself this year.  I do feel he is sincere in how he feels lucky to even be playing this year and given another chance.  He has all the money in the world but this guy is insecure to the nth degree.  He makes bad decisions, takes bad advice (see all the lawyers and PR experts who advised him over the last year and a half.  It makes you wonder how anyone would ever hire any of those people right?  What a stupid strategy) and has an ego the size of Jupiter.  I thought he was sincere in his post-game remarks and he is incredibly fortunate to play for Joe Girardi who has a knack for how to handle him in NY.  Joe Torre was not that way.
• The Boston fans gave him the business of course.  SU wonders how Big Papi would handle things if he was closing in on one of these records?  Let me help you with that: hit the dinger, stand at home plate posing for about 10 seconds per usual and then jog around the bases in about 45 seconds.  Say what you want about A-Rod but he does his thing and acts like he’s been there before.  Big Papi failed his drug test but still gets a pass from everyone.   For SU, his homerun records are as tainted as the others.

Bottom line: A-Rod is a goofy guy who is trying his hardest to finish his career in a more reputable fashion.  SU can live with that and as I have said before, he is the one batter in the line up that is worth watching.  Just hope he can stay healthy to maintain my interest for the rest of the season.

Soooooo, how do you feel about A-Rod tying the Say Hey Kid?

SU caught much of the Rangers game last night and was just settling in for overtime when the Caps snuck in that late goal.  I think the Rangers do better when I don’t pay attention.  Many of you may have missed it but relatively new SU subscriber E. Mass (our first under-40 commenter) made some poignant comments last night about his favorite team.  A few excerpts in case you missed them:

“I’ve watched quite a bit of them and I can say that they put in more effort, collectively, than I’ve seen from any other New York team….Every single player puts in 110% effort, and I think game 4 of the first round is when I realized this squad is my favorite. The Rangers were already up 2-1 in the series and down 1-0 2 minutes into the game. They were playing with house money and could have easily phoned it in with 2 more games in NY ahead of then. Instead of phoning it in, they came back pissed off and scored a gritty goal, bringing the game to OT and ultimately winning it there, in Pittsburgh. Even if you don’t like hockey, and it’s not for everyone, I’ve never seen guys work harder every second of every game than the Rangers this year.”

Meanwhile, P. Bok brings this perspective from down South on the choices that young guys make picking a sport:

“I think that some of these athletes at some time want to play another sport (Terrell Owens, Manny Pacquiao) but they are locked into where they have the most opportunity to succeed. Look at someone like Russell Wilson. Football is not a bad choice for him. With the O-Line around him, the offense run by Seattle, and the rules to protect the QB, he is basically playing flag football out there. Yes, he may have had a shot for baseball before choosing football (his numbers are actually not that bad for a 2B) but he will eventually cash in playing football (and will use baseball as a bargaining chip). For those kids that are 6’5″ and 315 pounds in high school their choices are limited. College football teams have 85 guys. College basketball teams have 14. Certain athletes get bored with baseball and don’t want to play it… not to mention hitting a baseball is a lot harder than people realize (same with fielding one)”

You have to give props to the Clippers for getting that series to a game 7 and winning a second time in San Antonio.  They are long known to be a “soft” team but they have shown a lot of heart in this series.  They need to seal the deal now and take the final game.  A Golden State – LA Clippers Western Conference finals would be a great series between 2 teams and 2 coaches that really don’t like each other.  In an era where athletes on opposing teams are sometimes hugging more than competing (the exception being the KC Royals against anyone), it’s refreshing for the fans to see a little hatred out there.  The Cleveland-Chicago series will also be a war.  In contrast, no doubt this weekend Big Papi will hit his 289th career homerun against the Yankees and every Yankee player will look to give him a big hug afterwards.  SU says enough of that already.

A big day for SU Intergalactic on the Comments front with 4 of you chiming in.  For starters, long-time subscriber J. Levine believes that youngsters would be better served opting for basketball or baseball as a career: “You really wonder why anyone goes into the NFL any more- careers are short, the money is generally not guaranteed, and the evidence about the lasting serious health effects is mounting- seems a lot more secure to try MLB or the NBA instead.”  SU says for you younger subscribers out there: Raise your boys to be left-handed relief pitchers.  And if you have girls that can pitch, all the better.  Guaranteed longevity and a nice living.

Equally long-time SU subscriber T. Potter puts the official over/under out there for A-Rod:

BA .244
HR 15
RBI 57

SU says these are likely in the ballpark.  I say he falls short of the .244 (but it will be close), exceeds the homeruns with 18 but is lower on rbis with 49.  His production will be hurt by the oblique injury coming up soon on some unusually cold night in Oakland.

D. Green, passionate Duke booster, is already in mid-season form predicting another NCAA championship for the Blue Devils as they retool with some McDonald’s All-Americans.  SU says do not get too cocky too soon my friend.  They have lost a lot off this year’s team (including SU fave Winslow) but will certainly be in the mix next year per usual.

Finally, SU’s most prolific life-time commenter, A. Grossman, has these pearls to offer on the Rangers’ playoff series chances:

“With a deep bench, a great goaltender ( one who is beginning to run out of time as he approaches the last quarter of his playing days) and the same focused attitude throughout the team the Rangers will find a way to win. We were short a couple of big guys which we have now filled. Playoff hockey is usually more low scoring with both teams playing extra hard. The bad/good bounce here and there or the odd ricochet usually becomes more and more the key for a goal to be scored. Yes, you make your own breaks and that’s what fans like with the 110% effort made by everyone. Because most of your SU readers, including myself only have skated a little I find it fascinating that on only a very thin blade how these guys have so much balance and can still stop on a dime when they have to. We all take that for granted. Let me known the next time you go out onto the ice, pick up warp speed and then try a hockey stop. Unbelievable athleticism.”

It’s a good time of year: baseball; NBA and NHL playoffs; and the NFL draft.  Why get off the couch?

Cue Kevin Costner and Jennifer Garner.  And…. action!  All eyes will be on Chicago tonight as the NFL once again dominates the off-season.  It’s amazing how much programming ESPN devotes to the NFL during the off season.  The NFL continues to be the dominant sports in America.  SU does not claim to be an expert on all of these picks in what is truly a meat market type of process where these athletes are measured and tested every which way.  But I would say buyer beware when it comes to Jameis Winston.  He may be the most gifted athletically of the quarterbacks but we have see this act before over the years.  The SU litmus test is does he berate his teammates on the sidelines when things are going badly?  I saw this with Geno Smith at West Virginia – big turn-off.  And I have seen it with Jameis Winston.  Combine that with the more important signs of theft from the supermarket, possible sexual assault and shouting inappropriate remarks in the student union and you are asking for trouble.  But I am sure he will go #1 or #2 in this draft.

A-Rod is heading into Travis Hafner and Vernon Wells territory.  He has teased us with flashes of high performance and is now quickly heading south.  SU’s view: he is pressing over passing Willie Mays for the homerun record.  This happened to him earlier in his career when he was going for numbers 500 and 600 with some chemical assistance.  Now that he is aided only by adrenaline, it’s probably even harder for him.  SU predicts once he gets the dinger he will go on another hot streak.  The Wells/Hafner analogy is not in play… yet.

Florida coach Billy Donovan heading to OKC.  SU says he’s a good hire and a much smarter play than going after someone like John Calipari.  He may also help them keep Durant after next season.

Rangers – Caps!!!  SU once again asks the intergalactic subscriber base to weigh in here with some commentary.  Easy series against a familiar opponent?  Can you keep winning low scoring games that are decided by 1 goal?  Or do things even out at some point?

It’s been almost 2 weeks and the NBA is still in the first round of the playoffs.  They do this every year and it really causes fans to lose interest after a while.  Clippers vs. Spurs in game 6 is another must see game.  Some say that the Spurs are the Warriors’ kryptonite – that is the match up that Golden State wants no part of.  But we are a ways away from that although Memphis will have a hard time matching the scoring power of the Warriors without Conley at point guard in the next round.

Finally, SU is very excited about Michigan’s basketball prospects for next season.  Caris LeVert is returning and they are in the running for a couple of top high school prospects along with the big boys of college basketball.  Michigan hoops has helped SU get through the winter months as John Beilein coaches the right way and allows the basketball purists to enjoy the game vs. other teams which basically throw up shots and go after offensive rebounds (unwatchable).

Some are clamoring for SU jump on the Yankees’ band wagon and stop with the negativity.  It’s been a surprisingly good April for the team and their offense is right up there with the league leaders.  Long-time SU subscriber A. Grossman shares his thoughts:

“Time to review and possibly change your opinion on watching the NY Yankees. They have been hitting the long ball again with some regularity. They aren’t striking out too much. If they can show a bit more patience that would help, however there are more and more flame throwers averaging in the upper 90’s now-a-days it almost changes the game plan of trying to get into the bullpen… as the underbelly part of the opposing team. The Yanks appear stronger and more consistent in the 7th thru 9th innings. With some timely hitting and maybe like the Mets a different offensive hero every night along with our pitching staff just maybe they do obtain W’s in the mid to upper 80’s. One thing Girardi is great at is maximizing potential in his bullpen. If we only had Cano or someone like him and we’d be favorites in the east. It’s that close amongst all the teams in this division.”

Good points here – and I especially liked the use of “amongst” in the last sentence.  Girardi is an underrated manager and is masterful in how he uses his relievers and keeps them fresh.  SU is almost ready to start going “glass half full” but I am concerned about how so much of the offense continues to be homerun generated.  But I am willing to consider making my reservation somewhere in the back of the wagon.

Looks like Kevin Love is out for the entire playoffs.  Big blow to the Cavs although they do have Shawn Marion on the bench who is a playoff veteran.  Time to dust him off and put him in there.  Mike Miller can take JR Smith’s spot in games 1 and 2.  There is some depth on that roster and now is the time to use it.

Rangers – Capitals in round 2.  Apparently, they have played each other something like 4 times in the last 5-6 years in the playoffs.  No secrets here.  Sports talk radio feels it will be a routine victory for the Blue Shirts as they move on.

The Orioles are playing the White Sox tomorrow with no fans in the stands due to the unrest in Baltimore.  Brandon McCarthy, who pitched for the Yankees last year and was allowed to leave as a free agent, will need Tommy John surgery.  SU has been hard on Cashman but he clearly made the right call on this one.

SU caught the end of the Hawks – Nets game last night.  I must say that after watching the Hawks down the stretch you wonder how they won 60 games this year?  I believe Atlanta will right the ship and win in 6.  They are better than how they are playing so far in this series.

Finally, apparently the Yankees owe A-Rod $6 million for passing Willie Mays and will owe another $6 million in luxury tax money to MLB.  Ha ha ha.