What We Missed During The Finals

I didn't cover any other stories during the Finals because both teams worked so hard and accomplished so much to get there that I felt they deserved my undivided attention.

So here are some of the things we missed.

Shaquille O'Neal retired. I won't be writing much about it.

When someone retires they deserve to have their stories written by their most adoring fans, and while I admire and respect O'Neal, I am not one of them.

I am looking for a good highlight reel of him, and when I find it I'll put it on Legends Cinema for all to enjoy.

Los Angeles hired Mike Brown to replace Phil Jackson, and Golden State hired Mark Jackson to succeed Keith Smart.

I don't like either hire.

I judge coaches by one standard: Will he lead his team to a championship?

And Mike Brown did enough in Cleveland to show that he is not that guy. As for Mark Jackson, how anyone could listen to him call games and think he would be a good coach is quite unbelievable.

People say you can't listen to an announcer and learn anything about how he will coach.

I fully disagree.

Listening to Jackson call games the past couple of years has been like a two-year job interview, and I heard more than enough to know he needs to stay in broadcasting.

For example, during the Finals Jackson talked about how much he liked Miami's lineup with LeBron James at power forward.

May as well have been Don Nelson or Keith Smart in the booth.

With James playing power forward, exactly who's going to defend the paint? LeBron James? The guy who averaged .6 blocks per game this season?

I don't think so!

Mark Jackson's endorsement of small ball is one of the many red flags which popped up during his broadcasts.

Brown and Jackson deserve the opportunity to prove themselves with their new teams, so no conclusions will be drawn until some games are played.

But as for now both hires look like ginormous mistakes.

I don't do trade rumors, but I do want to give some general thoughts on the Monta Ellis for Andre Iguodala trade speculation.

Here's what teams like Golden State don't understand: It's not about Stephen Curry or Monta Ellis, and it's not about Monta Ellis or Andre Iguodala; it's about Curry, Ellis and Iguodala, and Dwight Howard too if they can get him.

When Golden State finally figures this out, and I hope it's sooner rather than later, they'll be ready to run with the big dogs.

Finally, Houston hired Kevin McHale as their new coach.

You know what that means ... they're about to trade Yao Ming to Boston for Al Jefferson (LOL!).

Comment or e-mail: thenbaoutsider@yahoo.com
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