BenMaller.com - Ben's Takes

Chick's Career in the Fridge?

By Ben Maller

It's late in the fourth quarter and the game is tied; will Chick Hearn return to broadcast Lakers games next season? Chick is 85 years old, and coming off a season that included open heart surgery and a broken hip. The Lakers just won their third straight NBA title. It could be time to hang up the mic.

This year Hearn missed his first game since 1965 - a streak of 3,338 consecutive games announced.

Hearn, who is member of the Basketball Hall of Fame and the American Sportscasters Hall of Fame, was replaced by Paul Sunderland during his recovery. It's hard to think that every great player from Jerry West and Wilt Chamberlin to Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Magic Johnson to Kobe Bryant and Shaq have had their games broadcast in LA by Hearn. The golden-voiced Chick has been the Lakers' only play-by-play announcer since the team moved to Los Angeles from Minneapolis at the beginning of the 1960-61 season.

In my opinion the Lakers should do what the Cubs did for Harry Carey at the end of his broadcasting career. Have Chick do all the home games and select road games, along with the playoffs. The Lakers should end the radio/tv simulcast and hire a radio team and allow Chick to do the TV. permalink

Wednesday, June 12, 2002

Big Ben's
NBA Final Notes:

Los Angeles Lakers at New Jersey Nets

Game 4

* The Lakers can close out their first 3-peat in Los Angeles Lakers history and the franchise's first since the 1952-54 Lakers were based in Minneapolis.

* No team in league history has overcome a 3-0 deficit. New Jersey is trying to avoid the first Finals sweep since 1995 when the Houston Rockets beat the Orlando Magic. The Lakers are the 11th team to take a 3-0 lead in the NBA Finals and 6 of the previous series ended in a sweep. Only 1 team (New York Knicks, in series vs. Rochester in 1951) managed to get the series to a seventh game.

* The Lakers have won an NBA Finals-record 7 straight games.

* Los Angeles has won 14 of its last 16 road playoff games.

* A victory would also move Phil Jackson past Pat Riley for most coaching victories in NBA playoff history. Right now, both are tied with 155. It took Jackson only 209 games to tie the mark; a winning percentage of .741 compared with Riley's .608.

* The Lakers have not lost 4 in a row in the Phil Jackson Era.

* Shaq O'Neal is averaging 37.0 points and 13.0 rebounds in the series.

* The Nets have led a total of 13:07 in game time, with the majority (12:08) coming in Game 3.

* Jackson can tie Boston’s Red Auerbach for the most NBA titles won by a head coach with 9. Ironically, none of his previous 8 ended in a sweep.

* Jason Kidd's career record against the Lakers is 6-20.

* Robert Horry is close to his fifth championship ring -- a feat accomplished by only 20 players in NBA history. He won 2 with Houston in 1994-95 and 2 with the Lakers the past 2 years.

* This is only the second time in franchise history the Lakers have had a 3-0 lead in the NBA Finals. The Minneapolis Lakers also led 3-0 in winning the first of the franchise's 13 NBA championships in 1949.

* If the Lakers win, Devean George will be on a NBA champion in each of his first 3 seasons playing in the league. It’s not even close to a record. Boston’s K.C. Jones, who had a stint in the Army coming out of USF, won titles in his first 8 seasons in the NBA (1959, '60, '61, '62, '63, '64, '65, '66) while teammate Tom Sanders (1961, '62, '63, 64, '65, '66) was part of 6 of those. He won’t be the first Laker to do it, as Whitey Skoog played on 3 straight for the Minneapolis Lakers from 1952-54. The last player to play on a league champion in each of his first 3 seasons in the NBA was the Bulls’ Scott Williams (1991, '92, '93).

Source: Stats Inc.
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Tuesday, June 11, 2002

Celtics could have saved Finals

By Ben Maller

The New Jersey Nets are living up there rich tradition as they are on the brink of being swept in the NBA Finals. If only the Boston Celtics had made there foul shots in the Eastern Conference Finals they would have made the Finals worth watching. The Nets could be the worst team ever to make the NBA Finals. Jason Kidd is a hall of fame talent but not one other player on the Nets belongs in the Finals.

How do you beat the Lakers?

You have to have guys that are big time scorers. The Celtics big guns would have given Shaq and Kobe a run for there money with Paul Pierce & Antoine Walker being the NBA's second best scoring combo. Pierce averaged 24.6ppg and Walker 22.1ppg during the playoffs and could have at least given the World Champs problems. The Nets top scorers are average at best. Jason Kidd has averaged 19.9ppg and Kenyon Martin 15.8ppg during the playoffs.

During the regular season Pierce averaged 33ppg and Walker 25ppg against the Lakers. Its true that Boston does not have a center even as good as Todd MacCulloch to go against Shaq but nobody in the league can stop Shaq. Sacramento was able to get Shaq in foul trouble at times because they drove to the basket and made him play defense. Pierce and Kenny Anderson could have done similar things for the Celts.

Do I think that that Boston would have won the championship? Of course not. I do believe that the C's would have gone at least 6 games with LA. Something the New Jersey Nets could only dream about.

I Guarantee It! permalink

Monday, June 10, 2002

Time to Trade Beltre?

By Ben Maller

Should the Dodgers give up on "the Adrian Beltre project." Beltre is another one of those "Can't miss" Dodger prospects who has been very mediocre early in his big league career. Heading into play on Monday the Dodgers thirdbaseman is on pace to hit .257 with 16 HR's and 66 RBI's this season, not the numbers of a quality major league thirdbaseman.

Beltre is making many of the same mistakes he did as a rookie back in 1998. At the time he was called up they said he was a five tool player who could do everything and had Raul Mondesi power potential. They said he could hit, hit with power, run, throw and play great defense. The truth is he has been very average in all these area's.

At age 24 with three full big league seasons under his belt this was supposed to be Beltre's season to make a quantum leap into stardom. When you compare Beltre to other star players in the Majors its not looking good. Scott Rolen of the Phillies at age 23 in 1998 hit 31 HR's and drove in 110 runs, Troy Glaus of the Angels at age 23 in 2000 hit 47 Homeruns and drove in 102 runs. So what's Beltre's problem?

The Argument for Trading Beltre:

He's 24 years old and has not gotten any better. Beltre is supposed to be a 25 Homer 90 RBI guy and instead is a 15 HR to 70 RBI stiff. The Dodgers are fighting for the NL West and could return to the playoffs for the first time since 1996 if they had a solid bat at third base. Beltre could be used to trade for the Phillies 3B Scott Rolen who's going to be a free agent but would be the perfect middle of the order bat the Dodgers need. Beltre has had enough time to show that he is not going to be a superstar player.

The Argument for keeping Beltre:

Remember Sammy Sosa? Texas and the White Sox gave up on him and now he's heading to the Hall of Fame wearing a Cubs uniform. The Dodgers would kill themselves if they traded a player with Beltre's ability at his young age unless they're sure that he will not turn into a star. Beltre has been a second half hitter early in his career and the feeling is he will get going after the all-star break. Money is also an issue. If the Dodgers were to trade for Scott Rolen they would have to pay the Philly 3B some mega bucks. With Shawn Green and Kevin Brown both in that $15 Million plus contract range does LA really want a third mega contract?

Ben's Take: As much as I would love to see Scott Rolen playing 3B at Dodger Stadium I don't think its time to give up on Adrian Beltre yet. If he stinks it up the rest of the year then the Dodgers should consider dumping his ass after the season. I remember a pitcher named Pedro who the Dodgers gave up on two soon and I don't want them to make the same mistake on Beltre.
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