Mistakes I have made so far blogging

One of the thing that drives me nuts about sportswriters is how they never evaluate their ideas after writing them. Evert year, commentators predict who will win the NBA Championship, who will the Super Bowl, who will be the first pick overall in any draft, etc. While the lion share of sports writing is not making predictions, it does account for a substantial part of it. A lot of reporters will simply make their predictions and then ignore them afterward. Nobody write an “opps“ column. I think that's an absurd practice. Here are my top five failures and why I made them:

Failed Prediction #1 Shaq would not be traded to the Cavs
When I first examined it, It was terrible trade for the Cavaliers and it didn’t make a lot of sense for the Suns. Nevertheless, they made it. The results were not as bad as I had anticipated. The Suns improved their chemistry by getting rid of Shaq. Their frontcourt talent did not decline as much as I anticipated. The arrival of Channing Frye and the improvement of Brooke Lopez ensure a higher level of play from the Suns frontcourt. The Cavaliers also used Shaq on their road to become the best team in the East. The trade wasn’t good, but it wasn’t bad. Nevertheless, the Cavaliers failed, and slow moving Shaq bears at least some of the blame for the decline in the Cavaliers defense. The Suns may also miss his size when they play against the Lakers in the conference finals.
Nevertheless, I assume the trade wouldn’t happen, and it did. The main reason this trade happened was because the General Manager Danny Ferry gave in to the owner and Lebron James who wanted Shaq. The truth is they would have been a lot better with a player like Marcus Camby instead.

Failed Prediction #2 The Wizards finishing 2nd in the East
Sometimes you get too excited about your team‘s moves. That was my vice in selecting the Wizards to finish second in the Eastern Conference. Their rooster looked good. However, the Wizards were not as good as they looked on paper. Javale McGee was still a project, not a solution at the Center position. Randy Foye’s numbers were inflated because of playing in Minnesota, and he struggled adapting to Flip Saunder‘s system. Gilbert Arenas needed more time to get back to playing form. I expected too much from Mike Miller and Antwan Jameson. Jameson and Miller are both in decline. If I have to pick on player to put the blame on, I would say Caron Butler. Butler was disruptive in the locker room. He wanted a new contract. He didn’t make much of an effort to retool his game for Flip Saunders system. I never expected that from Butler who always seemed like the ultimate pro. The Wizards were an embarrassment even before Gilbert’s legal problem.

Failed Prediction #3 The Bucks missing the playoffs
I completely underestimated Scott Skiles as coach. Scott Skiles is the new Larry Brown. Skiles has now turned around the Bulls and the Bucks. His players improve dramatically under his tutelage. For example, Kirk Hinrich and Luol Deng have struggled since his departure. Andrew Bogut and Brandon Jennings both played exceptionally well. I thought Jennings would be good, but I never expected him to be that good that fast. I had them finishing near the bottom in the NBA. They nearly made it to the second round of the playoffs.

Failed Prediction #4 Jameson would not be traded to the Cavaliers
After Gilbert Arenas’s legal trouble and the team’s abysmal record, there was not much left to Cavs-Wizards rivalry. It was not as painful for Wizard fans to let Jameson go. Jameson had not played particularly well. Most Wizards fans realized that team needed to be rebuilt and that required cap room.
The sad thing is that Jameson may end up in an even worse situation. If Lebron James leaves, that team will not be anywhere near a championship for quite a few years. Most likely, Jameson’s window will have completely closed by the team his current contract ends. If he does get a championship, it will be as role-player. Adding insult to injury, the Wizards would be in a dramatically better position to rebuild. Andray Blatache stepped up in Jameson’s absence. Gilbert Arenas will return to form. They have the potential to land John Wall or Evan Turner in the NBA draft.

Failed Prediction #5 Toronto Raptors finishing 5th in the East
This is the most mystifying failure. I still am shocked it happened. Even now when I look at the Raptors, I see a lot of talent. They should have done a lot better this season. Hedo Turkoglu did not perform up to expectations., which I anticipated, but this team should not have failed that miserably. The truth is this team didn’t dedicate itself on the defensive end. There were tied for the worst defense in the East. They had plenty of athletic players who could have played defense. This remains, however, the failed prediction that I still struggle to explain.