NBA PLAYOFFS... HERE. WE. GO.

I'm not going to lie, I was fired up this morning as Spring and the playoffs have arrived. There is nothing better than playoff basketball. The Coach had his first playoff podcast this morning as well with Alex Mangini, The Man-Genius which you can find below. Then I got out to the court for the basketball court workout, can't start a Saturday any better.

Here the my first round predictions:

Warriors in 5
Spurs in 6
Grizzlies in 6
Mavericks in 6

Hawks in 5
Cavs in 6
Bulls in 5
Wizards in 6

Check out the podcast below for a breakdown of the matchups and opening round story lines, which will be the first of many through the playoffs.

http://www.blogtalkradio.com/coachenew/2015/04/18/the-coachs-take-presents-the-coach-the-man-genius-nba-playoff-podcast

Enjoy the games today.

PLAYOFFS!

As a life long Celtics fan of course I'm biased towards the green and white. When Doc RIvers left town I never thought that Danny Ainge could have had the next coach waiting in the wings the way he did with Brad Stevens. After countless transactions, including trading away all the lasting links to the 2008 championship and acquiring new faces and more draft picks than one can keep track of during any sort of basketball conversation, Brad Stevens has lead these new look Celtics to the playoffs. Yes, the playoffs. While Stevens deserves much of the praise along with Danny Ainge, this very unique group of players is one you should take a look at. The togetherness, passion and execution on both ends of the court are quite apparent. Stevens has meshed together the right rotations, been brilliant in late game situations and has these Celtics playing hard. In case you are not familiar with the playoff bound 2015 Celtics here are some quick Jack Bauer like bullet points of interest on their backcourt, which has been a huge key to their recent success: 

Marcus Smart - fearless rookie combo guard that can play both back court positions at both ends. Smart plays his ass off, has an evolving perimeter game and can also change the game without scoring a point. Plain and simple he's a bulldog and Ainge was spot on in drafting him 6th overall in 2014 even with Rondo, then, still in the picture. 

The Stretch Run...

Every year many state, "the season is too long" or "these games are meaningless." With the NBA's regular season concluding on Wednesday evening there will be eight games with playoff implications happening. Seeding, playoff births and in turn teams in the draft lottery will all be decided. The future of certain franchises, specifically the Thunder, Pelicans, Nets, Pacers and Celtics are all in the balance as it is postseason or lottery pick. So all of those February winter nights where you put on the college games or caved because the girl friend wanted to watch some Netflix or dare I say while cringing, reality TV, were nights where those games did indeed matter. Tie breakers, home court and ultimately who plays in the NBA's thrilling second season are decided with each and every win and loss throughout the season. 

Before Monday evening's games only the following was certain in the playoff picture:
-The Hawks and Warriors are the top seeds in each conference
-The Cavs are the #2 seed in the east
-The Mavs are the #7 seed in the west
-The Wizards are the #5 seed in the east 
-The Blazers can be no worse than #4 in the west as division winner 
(another topic for another time) 

THAT IS IT. No match ups are set, the Pelicans and Thunder are battling for the final spot in the west, with the Celtics, Nets and Pacers fighting for the final two spots in the east.

Safe to say each and every possession at this point is crucial.

Enjoy the frantic finish, which will set up what promises to be another epic NBA postseason. 

2014 NBA DRAFT NIGHT WINNERS

Charlotte: you sneak into the lottery stealing Detroit's pick after making the playoffs and Noah Vonleh falls to you! Great look for the return of the Hornets. Vonleh will be able to play with Big Al and provide them with needed athleticism, scoring and rebounding. Then they swap 24 and 26 with Miami and get PJ Hairston at 26 who is an NBA ready 6'5" bull of a 2 guard that fills an immediate need. Those that worry about Hairston's off court past, I'd say that if he can't figure it out stepping into a situation like this where your boss is Michael Jordan, who coincidentally is an alum of the same school you attended, then he never will. Great night for Charlotte. 

Utah: Many including myself thought this pick was being moved, then Dante Exum falls in their lap (Orlando passed on him and rolled the dice, more on them later) an amazing break for a team searching for both potential star power and an identity. Dante and Trey Burke are both smart enough to figure out how to share the back court together. But the Jazz weren't done as they were back up at #23 and Rodney Hood is still on the board. To get a 6'8" lefty, small forward with great NCAA experience and an NBA ready three ball at this point in the draft is rare. Whether Gordon Hayward stays or goes, Hood fits nicely into this Jazz rebuild. 

Orlando: The Magic were not only winners on draft night, but they also showed some serious ONIONS. With a glaring need at PG they roll the dice and take Aaron Gordon at #4 over Dante Exum and Marcus Smart. With PG Elfrid Payton on the board they were hoping he'd fall to them at #12 but the Sixers grab him at #10. Orlando then takes Dario Saric at #12 and works out a deal to send him to Philly with a future first round pick for Payton. The Magic now have Payton, Gordon, Victor, Vucevic, Harris and Harkless to move forward with. After dealing Afflalo they most certainly will need to add a veteran or two (I thought they could have gotten more besides Evan Fournier and #54 overall for Afflalo but I think they wanted to just him moving elsewhere and his $ off the cap, though it is an expiring deal) but the Magic did the most they could with the #4 and #12 picks on both talent and filling team needs. 

Boston: Does Marcus Smart excite the Coach as much as Dante Exum or Aaron Gordon? No. But getting him at #6 makes some sense considering we don't know whether or not Rondo will want to resign next summer. I do not think Rondo is on the move before the season as Brad Stevens and Danny Ainge are building around him and the Celtics would not be getting anything close to equal value right now. Plus Smart, playing behind and/or next to Rondo can work for Boston. At #17 the C's get James Young, who can play either the 2 or the 3 and has a HUGE upside as an offensive weapon. The Celtics are now very strong in the back court and on the wing, especially if Avery Bradley is resigned. Next is figuring out how to cash in on some of these future assets and add another all-star to the Celtics. Kevin Love remains dream scenario number one, but that is still just that, a dream, at the moment. 

THE RETURN

It NBA Draft day and I have been gone way too long. Where have I been you ask? Great question. Between working my way into an NBA Video Producer position at a top sports website, producing/directing my first feature length doc, joining the producing team on another, and navigating an always entertaining existence in NYC I drove off the tracks. Now like Steve McQueen in Bullitt, I am back behind the wheel with the NBA, film, emerging television commentary and of course, the most random NYC Coachness you can handle. 

Welcome back to... THE COACHS TAKE.

2014 NBA Draft Top 10 
Before we get to the final mock there several questions I need to answer YES to, that you need to read before we begin, thanks ahead of time.

Yes:
I have been producing NBA draft content.
I cover the NBA for a living. 
I have real sources I can not reveal. 
I played basketball. 
I coached basketball.
I have learned the game from some excellent coaches/mentors. 
I will probably piss many of you off. 

Now we can check ball. 

Rutgers, Rice, Disgrace.

When I first watched the Mike Rice video that ESPN released on Tuesday April 2^nd, I cringed. I cringed for the players. I cringed for Rutgers. I cringed for Mike Rice’s family. I cringed for basketball. When you are committing your life to something you are very passionate about, which involves both competition and mentoring there are at times those moments where you push the envelope, toe the line, and on occasion cross it.

For Mike Rice, there clearly wasn’t a line to begin with.

I have never coached division I college basketball. But passion for the game at the grade school, middle school and high school level where I have spent most of my time coaching is still just as genuine and just as intense for many. There comes a time as an intense basketball coach where you have to remind yourself you are a mentor and role model first, before anything else. There are many ways to still be an effective hard ass and push your kids without coming remotely close to practicing any of the antics that Mike Rice displayed. What he did, what he continued to do, what he consciously chose to do in his practice sessions is one of the worst displays of misguided anger and hate I have seen in a basketball setting.

Where to begin?!?!

In a perfect football world the Jets and Giants would be playoff teams each and every year and soon there would be an all New York Super Bowl that would knock the sports world on it's ass. The two years the Jets were in the AFC Championship game feel like such a long time ago. My man Lance, L-II has his take below:

The Jets have a problem that most prophesized would come.  Although I was going to touch on this before the San Francisco debacle, now is an even better time to talk about “Gang Green” and their impending woes.  As much as the New York Jets tried to deny and avoid any friction or quarterback controversy, they certainly landed themselves in a tough spot by failing to successfully implement the Sanchez/Tebow dual quarterback dynamic.

Many were stunned at the Tebow trade in the offseason, including Mark Sanchez (despite reports that he wasn’t shocked).  In most minds, the question of how both quarterbacks would factor into the offense was imminent.  Head coach Rex Ryan boasted a plan of a wildcat offense prior to the preseason, and to Jets fans’ dismay the plan has been transparent.  ESPN analyst Skip Bayless feels as if Rex brought Tebow in just to be a circus monkey, and quite frankly I have to agree with him.  The bottom line is that Tim Tebow has not been used how he should be used within the Jets offense, and a struggling Mark Sanchez does not make matters better.