Bitter Taste

Before I get to the topic I don't really want to talk about, I want to talk about Shaq and the Suns.

My main man "J-Smak-in-law" got his story all wrong. A great deal for the Heat? Expensive for the Suns? Marion can opt out of his contract after this season and I think he will become a free agent, so there goes that piece of the trade. Now Miami has no inside presence at all. Oldie Alonzo is injured for the season and should call it a career, their center is Mark Blount. Who is that guy? I think Pat should switch his philosophy to how the Suns play, hey J Will running the point, Wade and Marion on the wing and Haslem down low. I think it could work for them.

As for the Suns, I'm confused by the expensive comment. Shaq still has two years left and after those two years he will be 38! He turns 36 next month and he joins Nash who just turned 34 and Grant Hill who is 35.

I just watched his introduction news conference and from what I heard Shaq said, he is completely happy to be in Phoenix and is looking to fit in. Shaq said he doesn't want to take over and get tons and tons of touches, he just wants to join the team and fit in a give them that inside presence they had been lacking. And from what he was saying, I think Shaq will be a good fit and only help improve the Suns. My man Steven Kerr is on cloud 9 right now, he and coach think this is a great improvement for their team and I can't agree more.

Shaq is excited to work with Amare to help make him an even better player than he is right now. He will finally be playing his natural position at power forward, so his game should improve drastically. If anyone remembers I picked the Suns to win the NBA Championship for this season just to be different, but I feel pretty good about that pick now. Watch out for the Suns, they are going to become an even more dangerous team.

As for this bitter taste I have in my mouth, I have nothing really to say. All I have done this morning is read every sporting website from ESPN to SI to even USA Today. Every site has the same theme, Duke is a great team under the radar and UNC is overrated. And all of these articles are just frustrating to read and see how these journalists and columnists can write this non sense.

Let's take a flash back to the preseason, here's what you read... North Carolina is one of the most explosive teams in the nation. Along with UCLA, UNC has the best shot at reaching the National Championship.

Now I'm reading Duke has a better shot at making it to the Final Four than UNC. UNC will be lucky if they make it to the Elite 8. All of this baffles me.

J you said great rebounding? UNC out rebounded them by 11, Duke got half its rebounds in the last minute of the game when UNC was throwing up bricks. The only really great thing Duke did was make 3 pointers, and really that is all they have. If Duke won the National Championship, I would be totally shocked because this team is really not a National Contending team. I think teams like UCLA, Memphis or Kansas would shut them down, because those teams play superior defense.

I know people don't like the excuse that UNC didn't have Lawson, but the honest truth is he is a big leader that runs UNCs offense. They had a third string player running the point playing 35 minutes where he normally plays ten tops. Thomas had six crucial turnovers and was playing way off his game trying to do too much leading to unnecessary turnovers. The only reason Duke won by eleven points was the bad shot selection in the last minute because UNC didn't have that floor general in Lawson. I don't know how anyone could not except that, he runs the show and that's why UNCs offense was out of whack the whole game.

I'll admit Duke is playing good team ball. That's because their healthy and playing well. But I don't go with all the critics and columnists. UNC will come around and play team defense and come March 8th in Cameron Indoor it will be a different story without question. Lawson will have a huge game, along with Hansbrough like always. UNC will win their third straight game at Duke ruining Nelsons Senior Day.

I believe in this team, they have the offense, last night was probably their worst played game and they hung around the whole game, so I know it can be done. Lawson will have his team in order and it will be a huge game for UNC. You watch and see. Don't count the Tar Heel nation out yet, they will come around.