In this edition of the NBA At 2: The Golden State Warriors and the seventh pick...Ball Don't Lie movie review…President Barack Obama picks the 2009 NBA Finals...Madison Square Garden makeover...Upcoming HOOPSWORLD chats.
Warriors and the Seventh Pick: What will the Golden State Warriors do with the seventh pick in the 2009 NBA Draft? They have been linked to all sorts of players, including the likes of Brandon Jennings and many of the other point guards, despite the fact Monta Ellis was supposed to be the guy there, which is despite the fact Ellis isn't really a true point guard.
Analysts think the Warriors need a big guy, but the analysts also acknowledge Coach Don Nelson doesn't care about big guys and would be perfectly happy playing five guards at a time. The recent firing of Chris Mullin from the executive ranks would also seem to indicate Nelson will get a lot of pull in what he wants. What does that all add up to? It means the Warriors could be picking another guard or swingman, for a team that is chock full of them.
Word on the street from Marcus Thompson of the Contra Costa Times is Nelson likes what he sees in Louisville's Terrence Williams. Williams is an athletic swingman who can get to the hoop; you know, sort of like Corey Maggette.
There are also players who would love to play for Nelson and in his up-and-down system. One of those players is Arizona's Chase Budinger, a guy who can run and jump all day long as well as shoot the ball from deep pretty well.
"This is a great place," Budinger told Gary Peterson of the San Jose Mercury News about a Warriors game he went to last season. "The atmosphere is incredible. The fans are so loyal, and Don Nelson's a great coach. Great city, great fans, great team."
Both of those players should absolutely be on the board when the Warriors pick at #7, but both would also be picks the Warriors could make five spots lower, maybe even more. If either of those players truly is Golden State's target, they should look into trading down. However, it's still more likely the Warriors do go after a point guard. Ricky Rubio will be off the board and it's quite likely the Sacramento Kings take a point as well, perhaps Jrue Holiday. Jennings or Stephen Curry could also be off the board, but the Warriors should be able to choose from the likes of Jonny Flynn plus either Jennings and/or Curry.
What do we know about the Warriors and the seven spot? They probably won't be taking a big man.
Ball Don't Lie: "Ball Don't Lie" is a movie hitting the big screens this Friday, June 5th, in initially limited released, and HOOPSWORLD was given an advance look. The movie stars Grayson Boucher (or, as many of you probably know him better, The Professor from the And1 Mix Tape Tour) in his dramatic debut as Sticky, a teenager kid who despite all the many obstacles life has thrown at him has grown into a pretty good baller.
The movie is based on the very excellent book of the same name by Matt de la Pena, a book I picked up to read before I saw the movie. If you haven't read it, you should; de la Pena also helped do the screen play for the movie.
Both the book and the movie use basketball as a backdrop for the real story, which is the coming of age of Sticky. He's a kid who no one has never really wanted and grown up largely by himself. His handle is fantastic and his jump shot smooth (in fact, reading the book I couldn't help but thinking what a perfect casting of the Professor as Sticky was), Sticky recognizes and revels in the artistry and harmony of the game of basketball.
Probably the number one thing people are going to want to know is this: Can Boucher act? We know he can ball, but can he act? Well, he probably won't be getting an Oscar nomination but his performance was pretty good. He's been in front of a camera, in front of crowds, so that part likely wasn't intimidating, and his delivery of his lines was solid.
Boucher isn't the only name in this movie though – the cast is star-studded. Three NBA players – Minnesota's Al Jefferson, Cleveland's Delonte West, and Dallas' Ryan Hollins – make brief appearances in basketball scenes. Rapper Ludacris does a solid role as Sticky's mentor Julius, the man who introduced him to the game of basketball. Singer Nick Cannon plays a role, as does Rosanna Arquette, Harold Perrineau (Lost), Emilie de Ravin (Lost), and Cress Williams (Prison Break, Grey's Anatomy). Kim Hidalgo, also in her first feature film role, plays Sticky's love interest, Anh-thu/Annie.
The only criticism I have of the movie is if you haven't read the book it may be a little hard to follow, especially at first. The book relies heavily upon flashbacks to help explain the current circumstances of the characters; the movie does the same thing but it's not always clear when it's a flashback and when it's the current day.
All in all, a great story that's worth a watch.
President Picks the NBA Finals: President Barack Obama made all kinds of headlines in the sports world with his filling out a 2009 NCAA Tournament bracket for ESPN and correctly predicting the North Carolina Tar Heels would win the national championship, so why not the NBA? Since he's a basketball fan (perhaps you may have heard that before?), the President was asked his pick for the 2009 NBA Finals on the way to his Marine One helicopter Tuesday, leaving for a trip to the Middle East.
"Lakers in six, I think," responded the President.
So far he's batting 1.000 (or is that hitting all his free throws?) on his basketball predictions while leader of the free world; we'll see if he can keep it up.
Madison Square Garden: New York's Madison Square Garden is going to get a $500 million makeover. According to Owen Moritz of the New York Daily News, that large chunk of cheddar is going to be used to make the following changes:
There will even be a party deck and two 10th-floor bridges running the length of the arena with overhead views of the playing surface.
The renovation will include 20 courtside "event-level suites" complete with kitchens and lounges. One top-of-the-line suite will even have a working fireplace.
The "supersuite" will be the size of 10 suites and can be broken down into smaller rooms if necessary.
All 58 suites will be 40% larger than the current offerings.
To make room for the new bathrooms and wider aisles, as well as more food kiosks and improved sightlines, the Garden will take over space used for offices.
Work will begin this summer in stages, but it will not be finished by the time the 2009-10 season begins. The first parts, in fact, will be finished in time for the 2011-12 season.
Upcoming Chats: Senior NBA Writer Tommy Beer will hold his weekly NBA chat today at 8pm EST, so if you want the latest on the Knicks and the Nets, Tommy is your man. Yours truly will be chatting tomorrow right before Game 1 of the 2009 NBA Finals, 8pm Eastern, so if you want to challenge my pick of the Magic or anything else I've written, feel free to chime in. HOOPSWORLD publisher Steve Kyler took your questions this morning – if you missed it live, check out the chat wrap.
