Friday, July 6, 2012

Nash dealt, Wimbledon ending

Nash dealt to Lakers

• Steve Nash, one of the three greatest point guards ever, arguably the greatest pure shooter of all time and a back to back NBA MVP is on the move.  Nash was dealt to the Los Angeles Lakers Wednesday night for a bevy of draft picks in a deal that instantly supercharges L.A.'s stagnant offense and gives them life against the Western Conference's elite teams. 
• Nash, also an 8 time all-star will presumably team with Kobe Bryant, Pau Gasol and Andrew Bynum to form a fearsome starting lineup.  If you include Metta World Peace, you have 5 starters who have all been all-stars at some point (although World Peace is far removed from that level of play). 
• Nash is one of the best Free Throw shooters in the league and is a phenomenal jump shooter as well, but his true talent lies in creating shots for his teammates.  He is #5 all time in assists, but will move to #3 next season as long as he plays at least half the season or so, passing Magic Johnson and Mark Jackson. 
• Nash's one weakness is his defense, and specifically his ability to stay in front of more agile point guards like Russell Westbrook and Tony Parker.  But the Lakers have a huge frontline of Bynum and Gasol who will help protect the rim from players who get past Nash.
• The Suns are now fully in rebuilding mode, with only one legitimate frontline starter (Marcin Gortat) who is still a bit of an unknown to the casual fan.  They've signed star SG Eric Gordon from the Hornets but since Gordon is a restricted free agent, the Hornets can match an offer from any team, which they are expected to do.


Wimbledon Finals this Weekend

• The Women’s finals of the 2012 Wimbledon tournament is set, with Serena Williams taking on Agnieszka Radwanska of Poland.  While Radwanska is the #3 player in the world, she has never even been to the finals of a Grand Slam event before and has only 3 singles title in any events.  Williams, on the other hand, has 13 Grand Slam victories and 41 titles overall, and is currently ranked 6th in the world.
• On the Men’s side a couple pretty good players who picked the wrong era to be good at tennis are looking to break through to win their first Grand Slam Championship. Jo-Wilfried Tsonga and Andy Murray have been running up against the three-headed monster of Roger Federer, Rafa Nadal and Novak Djokovic their whole careers, but the winner of their match will make it to the finals.  Nadal was stunned early in the tournament, which makes this possible.
• On the other side of the bracket, Federer and Djokovic will play in the semi-finals. These two have combined for 21 Slam Championships and whoever wins will be the heavy favorite against either Tsonga or Murray.  Djokovic has had recent success against the man who will probably go down as the greatest tennis player of all time, winning 6 of his last 7 matches against Federer.
• Murray, an English citizen, is trying to win his first Grand Slam event in his homeland (and probably in front of William & Kate, who have watched most of the tournament).

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