1. Los Angeles Lakers

Alright, I will say this topic has been beat over the head well after it died, but that does not change the fact that the struggling Lakers have a great deal to improve on if they hope to succeed in the second half of the season. At the beginning, everything seemed bright. They signed free agent Steve Nash and traded to acquire Dwight Howard in the off season so nothing could look more positive. Then the season began. Nash got hurt. Pau was underachieving and got hurt. Dwight Howard got a shoulder injury and started to underachieve. This was just the beginning. They fired coach Mike Brown after only a handful of games and brought in Mike D’Antoni, who is known more for his offense than anything else. All this thrown together equals a team who finds themselves relying solely on Kobe once again and being seated in third place in the Pacific Division behind the surging Clippers and the young and surprising Golden State Warriors. Not only do they have an break even division record at 5-5 but they are terrible in conference at 14-19 and absolutely terrible on the road at 9-18. They are not dead in the water just yet because there are plenty of games left and with ace point guard Steve Nash, super star Dwight Howard and future hall-of-famer Kobe Bryant, nothing is said and done. They will need to improve their record on the road because very few teams succeed in the playoffs with a sub .500 win percentage on the road as well as their perimeter defense because they do not have any lock down defenders outside of the aging Metta Worldpeace. If they improve these two areas, they have an outside chance of making the playoffs as a low 8th seed.

2. Dallas Mavericks

Even though it kills me to have to say this, the first half of the season has seen a perennial playoff team fall to the bottom half of the conference. Even thought the Southwest Division can be argued as one of the toughest in all of basketball, it is still no excuse to see the Mavs in fourth place, only above the struggling

NO Hornets (Pelicans). It was always going to be a tough season starting with 8 new players with Darren Collison and OJ Mayo headlining the free agent signings,  and their superstar Dirk Nowitzki being sidelined for most of the first half after knee surgery, but no one saw this skid coming. Mayo was a bright spot as he started out shooting over 50% from 3’s and leading the team in scoring, but with the point guard situation being in shambles with Collison and Beaubois being hurt and having to bring in the ancient Mike James and Derrick Fisher and Mayo cooling off, the team started to fall apart and big time. Of their free agent signings, Collison was hurt and under performing until right around the all-star break, OJ Mayo has been up and down, Chris Kaman is lost and Dantay Jones hasn’t played. That spelled disaster and when Dirk came back as he had a lot of ground to make up. They tripped into the all-star break with a sub par 25-29 record and  they are seated at 11th in the conference but there are a few bright spots. With Collison and Beaubois being healthy, Shawn Marion having a great season, and Dirk finally getting off the shelf, they have solid pieces to make a run at the last playoff spot.  However, they need to shore up their work on the glass and work on team defense in order to accomplish this difficult feat.

3. Philadelphia 76ers

At this point last year, the 76ers were hovering around the 5th seed in the Eastern Conference and with Doug Collins at the helm, this team had no where to go but up. This season has shown a complete 180 as they sit out of the playoffs and find themselves shaking their heads. This could be attributed to the fact that other teams in their conference have made vast improvements such as the Knicks and the Brooklyn Nets, with the Bulls and Heat staying relatively steady. It could also be attributed to the fact that they traded their superstar Andre Iguodala to the Denver Nuggets so they could acquire Andrew Bynum, who would rather go bowling then play basketball. Whatever the case, they have had to rely more on Jrue Holiday and Evan Turner, who have performed, but it hasn’t been near enough. Their road record is abysmal at 6-17 and this can be linked to the fact they only shoot 35% from the field and only put up 85 points, which is about 7 less per game than their average. The 76ers will not make the playoffs at their current pace, but if they get out of their road funk and get Andrew Bynum back at some point, this might help them make a run at it.

4. Boston Celtics

Last but least, the Celtics round out the list. They started off the season red hot and looked like a shoe in to make a run at the conference finals yet again, but hey, it is the Boston Celtics. Then they hit a rough patch where they looked out of sink and they started to lose to teams they should beat. Then, just as things were starting to look up, the future of their franchise Rajon Rondo tears his ACL and is lost for the season. This was a huge blow to the team, but this is not the only aspect that is holding them from making a big run in this year’s playoffs. The biggest aspects are their road struggles and the disappearance of their superstar and future hall of famer Paul Pierce. The road struggles have been constant all season and it is highly uncharacteristic of a Doc Rivers team to be outclassed on the road. They average 7 less points and are giving up about as many to their opponents. Not only that, Paul Pierce has been non-existent at the end of games. Statistically, he is one of the best closers at the end of games, but he has shrank in the spot light this year compared to shining in it. This coupled with the loss of Rajon Rondo and his 11.1 assists per game, they are struggling to find offensive flow. They got going before the break going 7-3 in their previous 10, but going into the second half, they will have to rely more on Kevin Garnett and Paul Pierce and with the amount of minutes each has played and with very few others stepping up, this could prove as a tumultuous season ending for the Celtics. Even if they make the playoffs, there will be several questions they have to answer in order to catapult teams like Chicago, Miami, Brooklyn and New York.

The post Post All-Star Break: Teams that Need to Improve appeared first on KRUI Radio.

It’s a long way to the top. 

What a Goof: College conferences and members are constantly shifting, and in moments of change, new t-shirts and other merchandise must include every school in the new-look conference.  Before that new apparel gets circulated into the market, you would think that the clothing would be accurate.  Not so, as Aggieland Outfitters released a new SEC T-shirt that has a couple of big flaws in it.  The shirts, shockingly, do not include Texas A&M, the school where Aggieland Outfitters is based.  New SEC member Missouri is also absent, but the state of North Carolina is somehow represented while their schools’ athletics representation remains in the ACC.  Does proofreading mean anything to a college store?  I would think so, since it is a huge part of many classes a college offers.  But I just cannot get over how Aggieland Outfitters left out their own school.  The store is not directly affiliated with Texas A&M, so it will avoid fines from the NCAA for its silly mistake.  The big reason the store makes my Bottom 5 this week, however, is for leaving out the two schools that have made high-profile moves to the SEC, one of which is the school you profit from, while somehow including the state of North Carolina, which has three power conference schools, none of which are in the SEC.

NHL Fighting: Before anyone gets angry with me and wants to start a fight, I understand that fighting is a big part of hockey; it’s an aspect that makes the sport unique.  As many people have noticed this postseason, there have been more fights (and more mayhem) than in any previous season in NHL history.  I am a fan of pugilism on the rink, but there have been too many nasty hits, fines, and general brawling than I can take.  I already put Shea Weber on my previous Bottom 5 edition for his runaway fisticuffs. There just have been too many fights, staining the postseason for me in a shade of bergundy.  The point really is to win, not to agonizingly slow the game with needless fights.  This is the NHL, not the UFC.  The Phoenix Coyotes’ Raffi Torres ignited a huge controversy when he took out Blackhawk Marian Hossa in Game 3 of the series.  Goon behavior is becoming too prevalent in the postseason, taking away from major headlines (like the L.A. Kings destroying the #1 seed Vancouver Canucks, or Alex Ovechkin’s dreams of winning a Stanley Cup diminishing with each passing season).

Broken BCS Trophy: One of the funniest spots in my Bottom 5 this week belongs to Carleton Tinker, the father of an Alabama football player, for breaking Alabama’s crystal football national championship trophy.  He actually tripped on a rug walking by the trophy and accidentally knocked the piece off its stand, likely shattering it into thousands of tiny crystal bits.  While Tinker was extremely apologetic for his actions, he still gets the nomination for breaking something worth $30,000 (and a whole lot more to Crimson Tide fans).  The school is ordering a replacement, but I cannot imagine how his son must feel.  He has probably received a lot of chiding from his teammates.  I would not be surprised, either, if his coaches have made or make him do extra drills—or perhaps carry the equipment—for his father’s slip up.  Breaking the championship trophy is any fan, coach, or player’s greatest nightmare.  I know parents have a duty to seemingly embarrass their children, but that may have been too much for Tinker.

The Falling 76ers:  In early January, the Philadelphia 76ers were viewed as the favorites to win the Atlantic Division, and Doug Collins was a potential candidate for Coach of the Year.  Now, the 76ers are the #8 seed in the east and in danger of falling out of the playoffs.  They are 4-7 in their last 11 games and only lead the Milwaukee Bucks by 3 games.  That is still a huge lead to squander, considering there are only 3 games left for Philadelphia—though one is against the Bucks.  The 76ers did win in overtime at Indiana on Saturday.  It would be one of the franchise’s most historic chokes if they somehow end up falling out of the playoffs in their manageable last three games.  One thing is for sure, however: If they do make the playoffs, they will be first-round fodder for a better team.  The Bulls or Heat will destroy this team because their youth and inexperience is inconcealable at this point.  Jrue Holliday and Andre Iguodala must find their usual groove and tempo if they want to win a championship this season.  Their current free-fall is a clear goof of how good (or bad) this team really is.

 The Lovable Losers: Who else could this possibly be?  The Chicago Cubs, of course!  I just love taking shots at the North Siders, as I am a White Sox fan and relish in tearing down our rivals anytime I have the chance.  This should come as no surprise to my friends and family that the Cubs are in my Bottom 5, as their current goofs and constant mistakes have earned them an abysmal 4-12 record in this early season—with problems all over the team.  While Theo Epstein still faces Lebron James-to-Miami pressure to win a World Series this year, clearly that will not happen.  The Cubs bullpen is atrocious and the hitting is more along the lines of whiffing.  You cannot win if you cannot score, and the ‘pen really hasn’t kept a game close all year.  I sort of regret drafting Carlos Marmol in one of my fantasy leagues, because he has only one save and has not pitched well.  He is just one of many problems plaguing this team.  Newly acquired outfielder David DeJesus has not hit well in the leadoff spot, which is what he was brought in to do.  His play has been anything but devine.  The starting pitching has been there in terms of Ryan Dempster and Jeff Samardzjia, but Chris Volstad and Paul Maholm have been awful.

The post Bottom 5: Goofs and Goons appeared first on KRUI Radio.