Zach Attack Talking Smack

Early Predictions for NBA MVP:

Z: I believe that if voting ended today for the Most Valuable Player Award in the NBA, Derrick Rose of the Chicago Bulls should win the honor.  Rose has led the Chicago Bulls to one of the best records in the crowded Eastern Conference without his full complement of teammates.  So far this season, Carlos Boozer and Joakim Noah have each missed extended time on the injured list leaving Rose to carry the burden for the Bulls.  It will be scary to see how good the Bulls could be when Noah returns from injury later this year.  Other noteworthy candidates are Chris Paul of the New Orleans Hornets and Amare Stoudemire from the New York Knicks.

College Basketball Thoughts:

Z: What’s wrong with Syracuse? The Orange have now lost four straight games after starting the season 18-0.  My question is, did Syracuse cruise to their perfect start in part to its early season schedule.  The thing is that Syracuse’s schedule looks great on paper with victories over four BCS level opponents (Michigan, NC State, Georgia Tech, and Michigan State).  However dig deeper into the non-conference schedule and it shows two mediocre (GeorgiaTech) or bad (NC State) ACC Teams, a bottom dweller Big Ten team in Michigan, and the Michigan State win is looking worse as the weeks go by.  However give the Orange credit for putting together this schedule.  It’s much stronger than other elite Basketball programs.  The big problem is Syracuse’s play of late.  Sports columnist Cory Giger of the Altoona Mirror (and proud Syracuse Alum) called Syracuse “the most overrated team in the country right now and doesn’t deserve to be in NCAA Tourney right now.”  He also called the team, “talented but dumb players who are quitters.”  This seems a little harsh, but it shows the passion and fandom of the Syracuse program.  We’ll see if legendary Coach Jim Boeheim can right this sinking ship or if it is just a blip on the radar due to the depth of the Big East Conference.

Charlotte Bobcats Win Three In A Row on the Road:

Last night in Oakland, California, the Charlotte Bobcats came back from a 16-point deficit to beat the Golden State Warriors in overtime.  The Bobcats are now 11-6 under new head coach Paul Silas.  I’m still skeptical to whether or not the Bobcats make playoffs due to their horrendous start of the season (blamed in a large part to former Head Coach Larry Brown).  Silas has instilled confidence in young players such as D.J. Augustin and Gerald Henderson who are now not afraid of making mistakes and from being pulled from the game for making those mistakes.  Another is the emergence of Kwame Brown who despite being the butt of NBA Draft jokes has emerged as one of the biggest bargains in the league.  It would not surprise me if the Bobcats lost tonight against Clippers being that it is a back-to-back after an overtime game.  However it would be a disappointment if they finish the 6-game road trip 3-3.