If you have not read the excellent blogs about the real BCS written by Stile Smith and Luis Medina, I would highly suggest it. With that said, I am tired of the love triangle going on in the Big 12 south, which is why I am focusing my attention on a different BCS.
Three major stories that have developed throughout the season is the play (or lack thereof) from Baron Davis, Carmelo Anthony and Stephon Marbury. Too often it is Marbury getting all the attention while players like Davis and Anthony not only play great basketball, but have great stories of their own.
Baron Davis
The Clippers were back. Elton Brand was going to be healthy and he was recruiting Baron Davis like Calvin Sampson on....anyone. And then $80-plus million was waved in the big man's face and he left Davis and the Clippers fans with little direction and almost no shot at the playoffs.
Davis didn't care. The team only has three wins but he is averaging 17 points and 8 assists per game. But that should be expected of a player of his caliber. It is the fire and genuine passion he has shown every single game this season that is commendable. Forced five turnovers against Chris Paul, dropped 15 on the Miami Heat despite a stomach virus and most of all, wants to show that life as a Clipper goes on well past the departure of Elton Brand.
Davis is the type of player that doesn't care if his team has three wins or 13 wins, he is going to bring it every night. The Clippers will have a chance to end 2008 with a statement as they get Brand's Philadelphia 76'ers on December 31. That's a must-see game no matter what the records.
Carmelo Anthony
There is no doubt LeBron James is the best player from the 2003 draft and Dwayne Wade is making headlines by leading the league in scoring, but to me Carmelo Anthony has shown the most improvement from year to year. An extremely impressive streak of 221 consecutive games of scoring in double digits came to an end Sunday for Anthony, but that just shows how reliable he is.
His offense has always been great but he continues to improve by leaps in bounds in other areas. This year he is leading all small forwards in double-doubles and his rebounds per game have grown from 3 per game his rookie season to 6 per game this year.
But what I like most about Anthony is watching the way he plays the game with an out of this world basketball IQ. Take for example the fourth quarter against the Chicago Bulls. Chauncey Billups would run off Anthony's screens every time and then reverse back around the screen. On the reverse, the defense would either make a switch, causing Anthony to get matched up on Rose — a huge mismatch — or Billups would take it to the hole cause Rose couldn't recover and Aaron Gray wasn't sliding over. Beautiful offense.
Denver is quietly the second best team in the west right now and if you get a chance to watch a game, look for the intricacies of how the Nuggets play, especially Anthony. At times, it is a work of art.
Stephon Marbury
Well, at this point, I wouldn't be a true American if I didn't throw my two cents in about the whole Stephon Marbury saga. The NBA's daily soap opera looks to be coming to a slow end finally as Marbury and the New York Knick's G.M. Donnie Walsh have opened discussions about a buyout or trade.
Marbury has become a complete cancer to his team and was already one of the most overrated players in the league as is. It's good to see the Knicks have come together and taken control of the team, instead of waiting for Marbury to act like they did last season. It's a good thing too, because they could be stuck with him for a little while longer because of Walsh's hesitation to buyout Marbury's contract and everyone else's disinterest in trading for him.
For the time being though Walsh has banned Marbury from games and practices and the Dallas Mavericks have voiced some interest in obtaining Marbury. Dallas must have a good retirement community for point guards because I see a trend happening there.
For the sake of the Knicks, the NBA and the sanity of basketball fans everywhere, I hope this Marbury thing gets settled. But if this whole thing does continue, the least Marbury could do is throw another tattoo on his head so people have something new to look at.
In fact, Marbury could tattoo the formula for how to break a tie in the real BCS so everyone can stop worrying about the Big 12 South. Surely the pollsters and NCAA-folk will have enough time to study the formula on Marbury's head since there is at least an hour worth of clips of him on ESPN everyday.
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