NBA Draft day 2008

Well it's that special time of year again - NBA draft day - and it's anyone's guess as to how this thing will play out. All that seems certain is that Derrick Rose of Memphis is set to go No.1 and join an already crowded Chicago Bulls backcourt.

Of course someone's going to squeezed out of the Windy City team huddle, as a result, and that player will likely be Kirk Heinrich. Too bad really because Heinrich has arguably been the best player in the Bulls for the last few years and definitely sports the best small guard haircut since John Stockton.

In addition, I have serious doubts about Rose.

Yeh sure, he's fast, athletic and can score but I can't recall the last time a player was so heavily backed like this at No.1 when he's really done very little to prove himself. I mean it's not like he's a dominant presence in the way Lebron James was out of high school. Or that he has terrific size like last year's No.1 Grege Oden. I even heard one Espn analyst call him the next Jason Kidd. As Dr. Evil says, "Riiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiighhhht".

A few announcers go ballistic over a player in the tournament and suddenly everyone's raving about the guy as the point guard of the future. Hey that'd be great if Rose actually played the game like a point guard but check the highlight reel folks - not a lot of passing going on there. He's a pure scorer and nothing like Jason Kidd.

In other news looks like Michael Beasley is a lock at No. 2 for the Heat. And in a very thin draft, Kevin McHale and the T-Wolves should to go with USC's O.J. Mayo. But nothing's a certainty on draft day and more than in any other year, 2008 appears destined for a lot of trade talk.

Just don't trade up your front row seat.

Magic Bullets...er Wizards...

The Washington Wizards made quite a statement in their Game 3 thumping of the Cleveland Cavaliers yesterday. Not only was the 36-point margin the Cavs worst loss in playoff history and a wake-up call to the rest of the Eastern Conference, but the Wiz's defensive effort was superb.

Lebron James, taunted by D.C. fans with chants of "overrated", coughed-up 4 turnovers. Delonte West and Daniel Gibson each had four too and the Cavs committed 23 altogether (fifteen of them in the first half alone!).

Meanwhile, Washington played a team game, shared the ball and the scoring. DeShawn Stevenson posted 19, Roger Mason 18 and an energetic Caron Butler dropped in 16. This wasn't even the Wizards - it was old school - more like the Bullets. D.C. fans have a squad they can care about again, outside of the Redksins cheerleaders that is.

Bringing back the magic

It's not everyday that you see magic performed in the NBA. Oh sure, they'll tell you the game today is stronger, faster, better but is it really? There are certainly some amazing athletes in the league - Dwight Howard, Kobe Bryant, Carmello Anthony and Lebron James to name a few - but for all their athleticism and showboating, is the basketball inspiring? Is there any genius involved in dunking the crap out of the ball? Or overpowering other players wth brute force alone? Hey, I can appreciate Lebron is an enormous unit. The guy is the only athlete in history who could possibly win at any team sport by himself. Yes, even figure skating.

Seriously though, I'm thankful there are still some NBA pros that can dazzle the way Magic Johnson and Larry Bird once did.