Sunday, June 29, 2014

Gregory Crawford On Basketball, For June 29th, 2014

By Gregory Crawford---Print, TV and Radio Analyst   twitter @wchoops and @crawssportsbiz

Lakers---Who would have thought that on June 29th, one of the top 10 iconic sports franchises in history does not have a head coach. Yes the Los Angeles Lakers do not have a head coach, they might not even be searching, but the fact is no head coach.

Lots of talk about Byron Scott being the front runner, but I have learned that some people in the organization would like to see Mike Dunleavy return as the head coach. With the strong ties of Byron Scott to the organization, he still most likely is the front runner, but at the same time you would have to think why has be not been named the coach by now?

It also should be considered that in this day and age of pulling a quick hook on any coach that is not succeeding in the NBA, perhaps no one wants to coach the Lakers at present, who appear at present do not have bright future.

The Big Three---As I have said from day one, the big three are going to return to the Miami Heat and all with long term deals, despite all three opting out. Wade, LeBron and Bosh, all love playing in Miami, they love the organization and they love playing basketball for Erik Spoelstra.

Of course it would not hurt as well if the Heat were to get Chris Lowery, one of the most underrated players in the entire NBA and who now is a free agent.

Marshall Cho----Cho has left his position at the director of operations for the U of Portland under Eric Reveno. Cho is as nice and kind of a person as you will ever meet in sports and for sure whatever he does in his life, he will be a huge success.

Portland State----With the pick up this past week of former Benson Tech star Bryce While by the Vikings, it should bolt them on paper into the top three in the Big Sky for preseason predictions.

The Vikings have had a wonderful recruiting year, they will be a really exciting team to watch in 2014-15 and of course you can always go to a game and "Get Stuffed", as any Viking basketball ticket will allow you to eat as much as you want at any game once again this coming season.

IBL---The International Basketball League will decide its championship on Sunday at 5:00 in Vancouver, Washington on the campus of Clark College, when the two time defending champion Bellingham Slam take on the home court Vancouver Volcanoes.

There will be so many talented players on the floor tonight, but perhaps none more impressive than Vancouver's Andre Murray, just named yesterday the league's MVP for second time, as he won  the award in 2012 as well.

More of Gregory Crawford:

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Saturday, June 28, 2014

Gregory Crawford On Basketball, For June 28th, 2014

By Gregory Crawford---TV, Print and Radio Analyst   twitter @wchoops @crawssportsbiz

NBA Draft Winners---- If you really look at the 2014 NBA Draft, there were some big time winners for sure. Of course the Milwaukee Bucks won big when they were able to get Jabari Parker at number 2, Parker should have been the number one selection overall.

Going further down the draft list, the Celtics were fortunate to get Marcus Smart  and right behind the Celtics at seven, the Lakers got a great player in Julius Randle out of Kentucky.

Of course like all drafts, we will probably know who did well 3-5 years down the road, but if you really followed the college game, it appears that both Smart and Randle are going to be very sustainable players in the NBA for years to come.

IBL Playoffs---- If you are in the Vancouver, Washington area on Saturday June 28th, the International Basketball League playoffs will start with action taking place at 2:00, 5:00 and 7:30. The basketball is really good with so many talented players in this league and it will be a fun show on the Clark College campus.

More of Gregory Crawford:

http://crawfordsgolfdaily.blogspot.com


Sunday, June 15, 2014

Gregory Crawford On Basketball, For June 15th, 2014

By Gregory Crawford---TV, Radio and Print Analyst   twitter----@wchoops @crawssportsbiz

Miami Heat----Tonight could easily be the last time we see the Miami Heat play in the 2013-14 NBA season, as the San Antonio Spurs are set to knock out the Heat at home in game five of the playoffs and win the NBA championship.

But for sure, it will not be the last time that we will see the Heat in the NBA Finals and winning at NBA title for all the following reasons.

1. The Heat are a great organization, top to bottom, led by great ownership and its president Pat Riley.

2. They have in Erik Spoelstra, a hall of fame coach and at present the best coach in basketball.

3. Sources have told me that the "Big Three", Dwayne Wade, LeBron James and Chris Bosh are intent on sticking together and being with the Heat for the next several years. Despite what you hear on the rumor market, the three super-stars will be back.

4. There is no question, a weakness of the Heat is the bench. That will be fixed in the offseason by the ever talented Pat Riley and his staff.

5. One player that could really help the Heat is James Ennis. Ennis is a talented big guard, who can do many things with his talent. He was 2013 draft choice of the Heat and then played this last year in Australia, where he had big numbers offensively.  He has been in lately to work out for the team and it is expected Miami will offer Ennis a long term deal. The guy can play, so it will be fun to watch his progress.

More of Gregory Crawford:

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Sunday, June 8, 2014

Gregory Crawford On Basketball, June 8th, 2014

By Gregory Crawford---TV, Print and Radio Basketball Analyst   Twitter--- @wchoops @crawssportsbiz

Tres Tinkle----Tres Tinkle, the son of new Oregon State men's basketball coach Wayne Tinkle is an outstanding player, as evidenced by his play this weekend at the Rose City Showcase, at Lewis and Clark College in Portland, Oregon.

Tinkle will be a top recruit in the class of 2015 and at this time it appears his best position might might be power forward, at 6'7" and being able to both rebound but at the same time, being able to step out and hit the 3-pointer.

It will be fun to watch and follow, seeing if Tres will play for his father, or choose another Pac-12 school or beyond. He is good enough to play almost anywhere.

Ken Bone----At the same tournament, it was good to see former Washington State coach Ken Bone, who obviously is itching to get back into the coaching ranks.

Bone is a very good coach, did not get the job done at Washington State, but will be back real soon somewhere winning basketball games and having a top team.

IBL---If you are in the Portland, Oregon/Vancouver Washington area on Sunday night and would like to see some good basketball, there will be a big IBL at game on the campus of Clark College in Vancouver, Washington between the Vancouver Volcanos and Portland Chinook. They battled hard last week in Portland, with the Chinooks winning 136-133. It is obvious these two teams are about as evenly matched as any two teams can be.

Lionel Hollins---- As the Cleveland Cavaliers march on without a coach, but the first round draft pick, they would do really well to hire Lionel Hollins, who has been and will be again a very good NBA head coach.

The Cavs have the potential to get to the NBA playoffs in 2014-15 and do some damage, but they need to make a wise choice to coach the team. That wise choice would be Lionel Hollins for sure, who knows a thing or two about winning championships.

 More of Gregory Crawford:

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Sunday, June 1, 2014

Gregory Crawford On Basketball For June 1st, 2014

By Gregory Crawford----TV, Print and Radio Analyst  twitter @wchoops @crawssportsbiz

The NBA Finals----I really hope you will get a chance to watch this year's NBA Finals, which start Thursday in San Antonio. Of course there will be other NBA Finals like this one, but rest assured not many and here is why.

1. The teams competing, Miami and San Antonio both have first ballot hall of fame coaches--- coaching their teams in Erik Spoelstra and Gregg Popovich. Adding to that both of these coaches are probably the best coaches in all of basketball right now, end of story.

2. If you watch this series, you also will obviously see the greatest player in the game today without question in LeBron James. To take it a step further James will probably become the game's greatest player ever when he ends his career. He basically has no flaws in his game and is without question a better defensive player than either Michael Jordan or Magic Johnson, the two greatest players of all time to precede him for now.

On the subject of LeBron James, let's get over not liking him. Why so many people do not like James is a mystery to me, a real mystery. Does he not stay out of trouble both on the floor and off the floor, in this age of many troublemakers in athletics. At the same time, I urge you to check out the history of James and how many people he helps in life, but always tries to stay under the radar.

3. On the floor at the same time in this Final series will be five automatic hall of famers as players. James, Dwayne Wade, Manu Ginobili, Tim Duncan and Tony Parker. That of course will make seven involved in the game at the same time throwing in both coaches.

Yes and since I missed on only one series in my picks so far in the NBA playoffs, how does this sound for drama? I am going with a three-peat, the Miami Heat win in 7 games, of which two of the games will be in overtime.

The Lakers---It still is the Los Angeles Lakers, one of the premier franchises in all of sports, who if sold today would garner a price close to $3 billion, yes $3 billion. But as of right now, the town belongs to the Los Angeles Clippers, with the team being sold to Steve Ballmer for $2 billion and gaining all the attention, as well as the plain fact, the Clippers appear for a few years to be the better of the two teams far and away.

It is also apparent that the Lakers are struggling in finding a basketball coach. Also obvious is the fact that most coaches do not wish to take on a rebuilding job in the NBA. They all saw what happened to Mike Brown in Cleveland, the destruction of the Detroit Pistons and how it wore out Rick Adelman in Minnesota. No where in the iconic history of the Lakers has it taken them this long to find a coach and stabilize the franchise.

With all that said, it still is the Los Angeles Lakers.

IBL Basketball----If you are reading this on the day it was written, June 1st and you are in the Portland, Oregon area, you should plan to attend the IBL game tonight in Portland, between arch rivals Portland and Vancouver. The game will be played at 5:00 p.m. at Eastmoreland Courts, which is just on the south side of world famous Eastmoreland Golf Course, off of Tacoma St. It really is some terrific basketball.

More of Gregory Crawford:

http://crawfordsgolfdaily.blogspot.com

Every Sunday night at 9:30 pm PDT, The Portland Metro Small College Hoops Show, to listen tonight http://tobtr.com/s/6400607