I just wanted to be the first to use that headline before everyone else overuses it to death. So remember, you saw it here first. For a while.
I was able to catch a fair amount of basketball last night, which makes me very happy. Attended the Texas State-Stephen F. Austin basketball game and watch my school, Texas State, get dominated inside by the Lumberjacks of Stephen F. Austin. Then I made it home to catch the end of the Mavericks-Bulls game, where Ben Gordon dropped 30 and got the W. Finally I caught the first half of the Clippers-Nets game. I saw the highlights of the second half though, good stuff. I kind of wish I stayed around to watch the whole thing. Oh well, we can't have everything.
What I want to know is when the Clips are going to get their act together. They've got way too much talent not to be at least second in the Pacific division. It kind of reminds me of what happened in 2004-2005 to the Timberwolves after Minnesota made the conference finals the year before and then fell off the next. They got a little success and then started complaining about things. Latrell Spreewell complained about not being able to feed his kids and Sam Cassell, who is on this Clippers team too incidentally, had contract issues too.
The All-Star starters were announced yesterday and there were some surprises there. How does Steve Nash not get named a starter? He was named a starter last year, and after having won his second MVP in a row is having an even better season this year. It baffles me. Gilbert Arenas beat out Vince Carter by 3010 votes, which is an incredibly small number when we're talking about over 1.2 million votes each. I guess the boxes of ballots he traded for this year worked.
As much as I love Tim Duncan, he shouldn't have been named a starter for the West. Dirk Nowitzki deserves to be a starter and I'm very surprised that he didn't get the nod based on the season the Mavs are having and the general lack of interest surrounding Duncan. Nonetheless he'll be selected as a reserve. Yao Ming was selected as a starter by the entire nation of China, just so you know, although he won't play due to a knee injury.
I'm glad to see big Chris Bosh get voted as a starter. The kid the real deal and he'll probably be a starter for years to come, especially in the East. I love Shaq but I want see Dwight Howard get the start. A frontcourt of Howard, Bosh and LeBron James would be sick. I would love to see that lineup in international play. Oh wait....
Friday, January 26, 2007
Saturday, January 20, 2007
I Love Basketball
You'll have to excuse the title of the post, I just felt like saying that. Some pretty good basketball games last night. How about Mike James' shot during overtime of the Timberwolves-Pistons game? Yeah, he stepped out of bounds, but only because Rasheed Wallace bumped him out. Either way, I thought it was a good no call by the referees. The shot itself was just ridiculous.
I watched the first half of the Cavs-Nuggets game and caught about the same amount when I got home from the radio station and it was on replay at 3 in the morning. The Nuggets looked pretty good playing against the Cavs. Maybe Denver should appeal to the Commish to have them moved into the Eastern conference. They'd probably make the Finals.
One other note about the Nuggets, I really like the Steve Blake-Earl Boykins deal. For a team with Allen Iverson and eventually Carmelo Anthony, Boykins takes too many shots. Getting a pass-first point guard like Blake really improves the team offensively and makes it easier for Carmelo to find his place in the offense.
Watching the Spurs-Hornets game last night, two things came to mind. First, Chris Paul getting tossed from the game while watching from the bench in street clothes made my night. How often do you see someone get thrown out of the game from the bench? And I'm not talking somebody who's not in the game, we're talking about somebody not in the lineup. Great stuff all around.
The second thing I noticed was that this Spurs team doesn't seem like the championship teams of the past. I know that they're still one of the top teams in the NBA, but as much as it pains me to say it, I think their run of NBA championships is over. I'm not panicking over this team like I've been seeing on ESPN, I'm just stating what I see. This team doesn't have the edge that it had in years past. I'm not worried about the bench or the center position like I hear Greg Anthony talk about. What I'm worried about is much worse. They don't have that killer instinct they had before.
When the Spurs were at their peak, they did two things. First, they funneled the opposing team's guards to their two seven-footers. They still do this, but unfortunately Tim Duncan is not the shot-blocker he once was and Francisco Elson and Fabricio Oberto are no David Robinson.
The other thing that the Spurs don't do anymore, which terrifies me is they don't grind down the opposing team like they used to. During the Spurs' championship years and all of the years in between, I knew that as long as the Spurs were close in the fourth quarter they were going to win. Rarely ever did they lose a close game. They would just hang around until it came time to play and then they would execute...and execute and execute. Until the game was over and they had the win. They can't do that now and I don't think they can win another title if they can't.
I may be wrong. And I hope I'm wrong. But if I don't see a change anytime soon, like by the end of next month when the Spurs take on their "Rodeo Road Trip," I'll be ready to pronounce the Duncan Dynasty dead (please excuse the alliteration).
I watched the first half of the Cavs-Nuggets game and caught about the same amount when I got home from the radio station and it was on replay at 3 in the morning. The Nuggets looked pretty good playing against the Cavs. Maybe Denver should appeal to the Commish to have them moved into the Eastern conference. They'd probably make the Finals.
One other note about the Nuggets, I really like the Steve Blake-Earl Boykins deal. For a team with Allen Iverson and eventually Carmelo Anthony, Boykins takes too many shots. Getting a pass-first point guard like Blake really improves the team offensively and makes it easier for Carmelo to find his place in the offense.
Watching the Spurs-Hornets game last night, two things came to mind. First, Chris Paul getting tossed from the game while watching from the bench in street clothes made my night. How often do you see someone get thrown out of the game from the bench? And I'm not talking somebody who's not in the game, we're talking about somebody not in the lineup. Great stuff all around.
The second thing I noticed was that this Spurs team doesn't seem like the championship teams of the past. I know that they're still one of the top teams in the NBA, but as much as it pains me to say it, I think their run of NBA championships is over. I'm not panicking over this team like I've been seeing on ESPN, I'm just stating what I see. This team doesn't have the edge that it had in years past. I'm not worried about the bench or the center position like I hear Greg Anthony talk about. What I'm worried about is much worse. They don't have that killer instinct they had before.
When the Spurs were at their peak, they did two things. First, they funneled the opposing team's guards to their two seven-footers. They still do this, but unfortunately Tim Duncan is not the shot-blocker he once was and Francisco Elson and Fabricio Oberto are no David Robinson.
The other thing that the Spurs don't do anymore, which terrifies me is they don't grind down the opposing team like they used to. During the Spurs' championship years and all of the years in between, I knew that as long as the Spurs were close in the fourth quarter they were going to win. Rarely ever did they lose a close game. They would just hang around until it came time to play and then they would execute...and execute and execute. Until the game was over and they had the win. They can't do that now and I don't think they can win another title if they can't.
I may be wrong. And I hope I'm wrong. But if I don't see a change anytime soon, like by the end of next month when the Spurs take on their "Rodeo Road Trip," I'll be ready to pronounce the Duncan Dynasty dead (please excuse the alliteration).
Thursday, December 21, 2006
The Sound Of Basketballs On Playgrounds And All...
Finally! A night where I was able to sit down and watch some basketball games. I was able to flip back and forth between the Nets-Cavs game on ESPN and the Spurs-Grizzlies game on Fox Sports Southwest. After that I was able to watch the tail-end of the Texas Longhorns and Arkansas Razorbacks game on ESPN 2, followed by the Mavs-Sonics game in the late slot on ESPN. It was a good night. And if you didn't know, the Nets, Spurs, Longhorns, and Mavs won. Isn't that simple? Anyway, I took some random notes throughout the night. Here they are:
- Mikki Moore looks like Spanish from Old School. If I ever meet Moore, I won't be able to live with myself unless I ask him if he trusts that I've provided him with enough rope so that his block will land safely on the lawn.
- The Grizzlies play a lot better than their record indicates. Although I'm going to attribute that to the fact that they now have Pau Gasol back in their lineup.
- The Spurs are quietly doing their thing this season. They are flying completely under the radar, they have the best record in the NBA and the best point differential and nobody is talking about them. They are right where they want to be.
- Jason Kidd probably has the best combination of reaction time and awareness in the league. It's amazing to watch.
- It's 70's night in Seattle? Where are the throwback jerseys? Where are the coaches in bell-bottoms? I remember when the NBA had "Turn Back the Clock Nights" about 10 years ago and the Sonics wore their old jerseys and George Karl dressed like John Travolta in Saturday Night Fever. Now those were the good, old days.
- Bob Hill's hair is in mid-season form.
- Speaking of hair, Mickael Gelabale from the Sonics has the same hair as MTV's Sway.
- I'm not totally sold on Kevin Durant yet. The potential is there (hate that word), he's got the size and athleticism, but I need to see more. He looks like a taller Josh Howard, which is a scary thought.
- In the first half, Luke Ridnour gets called for a foul because Jerry Stackhouse stepped on the back of his foot when driving to the basket. Didn't know that was a foul, I guess I'll have to study up on my rulebook this weekend.
- If the Sonics get the #1 pick in the draft this summer and take Greg Oden (which they should), they will have taken four straight centers with their first round picks over the last four years. Hopefully one of them will start to be of some use.
- With 8 minutes left in the third quarter, Johan Petro gets REJECTED (required to use capital letters for that block) by Devean George at the rim. Looked a whole lot better at game-speed than it did in slo-mo.
- Chris Wilcox would have a lot more points and rebounds in this game if he would just come down with a rebound and then go back up with it instead of trying to one-hand-tomahawk every ball that comes of the rim. As I write that last sentence, he finally converts one. Whatever.
So I finally got a good night of basketball watching in. And you finally got some game notes to read. We're all happy now aren't we? I thought so.
Tuesday, December 19, 2006
Playing A Little Catch-Up
Yeah, it's been a month. What can I say? I suck at this whole posting consistently thing. Worse things have happened in the world. I'm going to try, try, try to get on a schedule here when it comes to posting. But I apologize in advance for what will happen when I inevitably stop posting for weeks at a time.
On to the NBA, which is why we're here anyway.
A small scuffle broke out between the Nuggets and Knicks on Saturday night. Okay, so I'm under-exaggerating a little bit. It was the biggest fight we've seen in the NBA since Detroit in 2004 (I refuse to give the incident a corny nickname). But as bad as it was, I believe people are blowing it out of proportion. Stuff like this happens a lot in the NHL and Major League Baseball. But whenever the national media covers it, they treat it like something normal. But when it happens in the NBA, the league and all of the "thugs" who play in it are made to look ridiculous. I'm not saying it's a race issue one bit, but I am saying it's an image issue. One David Stern has tried to change, but nonetheless is still there. Speaking of the commish, David Stern and his "Family" (he is the Don after all), did a fair job handing down suspensions. Carmelo Anthony deserved about 15 games for the hit he landed on Mardy Collins. Collins deserved at least 6 games, I wouldn't have been surprised to see him get 10, just like J.R. Smith (who was originally fouled), and Nate Robinson. Jared Jeffries got four and Nene and Jerome James each got one game for leaving their benches. All in all, pretty fair penalties for the fight. And I think that even if Carmelo gets his suspension lessened to 12 games, it will still be fair. But you can never backpedal to your own bench after having punched someone across the face, not a smart move.
Allen Iverson is on the trading block (again) and it appears this will be for good. This excites me for several reasons. 1) I love Allen Iverson and I would die to see him on a championship caliber team again. 2) I love seeing big stars get traded and move to new teams rather than see them move via free agency. 3) I believe he'll have a bit of a rejuvenation when he gets to his new team. Although it's hard to imagine what a rejuvenated Allen Iverson will look like considering the current Iverson is second in the league in points per game, second in steals per game, and tenth in assists per game. Some in the national media have said that a trade for Iverson won't work not because of his contract or his attitude, but because of his style of play. A.I. does dominate the ball on offense, it's the way he plays. He also takes a lot of shots. Because of this many believe that he will be unable to coexist with another all-star caliber player if/when he gets traded. If he is forced to play along with another player who is used to controlling the ball on the offensive end, then yes, it probably won't work. As much as I'd love to see them play together, I don't think Iverson playing alongside Kevin Garnett would work. But trade him to a team with a player who doesn't need the ball in his hands to score, an unselfish player who rebounds well on the offensive end, a player like Dwight Howard. And as I write that last sentence, I find out that an agreement has been made to trade A.I. to Denver for Andre Miller, Joe Smith, and two 2007 first round draft picks, all of this according to ESPN.com. There's a reason why I'm not a GM apparently. Ugh, I'm done today.
On to the NBA, which is why we're here anyway.
A small scuffle broke out between the Nuggets and Knicks on Saturday night. Okay, so I'm under-exaggerating a little bit. It was the biggest fight we've seen in the NBA since Detroit in 2004 (I refuse to give the incident a corny nickname). But as bad as it was, I believe people are blowing it out of proportion. Stuff like this happens a lot in the NHL and Major League Baseball. But whenever the national media covers it, they treat it like something normal. But when it happens in the NBA, the league and all of the "thugs" who play in it are made to look ridiculous. I'm not saying it's a race issue one bit, but I am saying it's an image issue. One David Stern has tried to change, but nonetheless is still there. Speaking of the commish, David Stern and his "Family" (he is the Don after all), did a fair job handing down suspensions. Carmelo Anthony deserved about 15 games for the hit he landed on Mardy Collins. Collins deserved at least 6 games, I wouldn't have been surprised to see him get 10, just like J.R. Smith (who was originally fouled), and Nate Robinson. Jared Jeffries got four and Nene and Jerome James each got one game for leaving their benches. All in all, pretty fair penalties for the fight. And I think that even if Carmelo gets his suspension lessened to 12 games, it will still be fair. But you can never backpedal to your own bench after having punched someone across the face, not a smart move.
Allen Iverson is on the trading block (again) and it appears this will be for good. This excites me for several reasons. 1) I love Allen Iverson and I would die to see him on a championship caliber team again. 2) I love seeing big stars get traded and move to new teams rather than see them move via free agency. 3) I believe he'll have a bit of a rejuvenation when he gets to his new team. Although it's hard to imagine what a rejuvenated Allen Iverson will look like considering the current Iverson is second in the league in points per game, second in steals per game, and tenth in assists per game. Some in the national media have said that a trade for Iverson won't work not because of his contract or his attitude, but because of his style of play. A.I. does dominate the ball on offense, it's the way he plays. He also takes a lot of shots. Because of this many believe that he will be unable to coexist with another all-star caliber player if/when he gets traded. If he is forced to play along with another player who is used to controlling the ball on the offensive end, then yes, it probably won't work. As much as I'd love to see them play together, I don't think Iverson playing alongside Kevin Garnett would work. But trade him to a team with a player who doesn't need the ball in his hands to score, an unselfish player who rebounds well on the offensive end, a player like Dwight Howard. And as I write that last sentence, I find out that an agreement has been made to trade A.I. to Denver for Andre Miller, Joe Smith, and two 2007 first round draft picks, all of this according to ESPN.com. There's a reason why I'm not a GM apparently. Ugh, I'm done today.
Sunday, November 19, 2006
I'm Here
Yeah, it's been a while. I apologize. I've been too busy for my liking these past couple of weeks, that and I'm pretty lazy, but with Thanksgiving this week and the end of my fall semester upcoming, expect more posts. And just in case you were wondering (and I know you weren't), I am no longer writing for ProBasketballNews.com. The site was sold and my and others' services were no longer needed. But that's the business and you gotta roll with the punches or whatever other generic sports cliche you can find to fit in there.
The NBA season is in effect. We're starting to see who the better teams are going to be and who the disappointments are going to be. We'll talk more about that later in the week.
The NBA season is in effect. We're starting to see who the better teams are going to be and who the disappointments are going to be. We'll talk more about that later in the week.
Monday, October 30, 2006
Moment Of Silence
Red Auerbach died at the age of 89 on Saturday night. To be completely honest with you, I'm sad. There are very few people who when they die, you feel like the entire sport is worse, but he's one of them. He's one of those people that though he's only been associated with one team for his entire life, he changed the game. I look at Red Auerbach as the Godfather of the Boston Celtics, much the way I think of David Stern as the Godfather of the entire NBA (can't you tell I love mafia movies?).
After reading Bill Simmons' column today about remembering Red, I thought to myself, "As a Spurs fan, who would I look at as my Red Auerbach?" My first thought was David Robinson because he's spent his entire career with the Spurs and has been, and will continue to be, a huge influence in the San Antonio community. But I decided that it wasn't him, but Gregg Popovich.
Pop has influenced the Spurs in the exact same way that Red did the Celtics. Pop is a great coach, and has coached the Spurs to numerous titles, much like Red coached the Celtics to a record nine NBA titles. Pop is also one of the best front office executives, building contenders not by spending the most money, but by making smart moves and excellent scouting.
It's unfair to try to compare the two people, because Auerbach has had the type of influence that has reached throughout the game, not just the Boston Celtics, whereas Pop is limited to mostly just the Spurs. But nonetheless, I look at Pop much the way any Celtic fan would view Red Auerbach. Rest in peace.
Switching gears a little bit, THE NBA SEASON STARTS TONIGHT! That also means fantasy basketball starts too. Which means I begin my domination of friends and/or family members today.
Here are my quick picks for this season's awards:
Coach of the Year: Jerry Sloan (UTAH)
Sixth Man of the Year: Bobby Jackson (NOK)
Most Improved Player: Darko Milicic (ORL)
Rookie of the Year: Brandon Roy (POR)
Defensive Player of the Year: Bruce Bowen (SA)
Most Valuable Player: LeBron James (CLE)
Enjoy the games everybody.
After reading Bill Simmons' column today about remembering Red, I thought to myself, "As a Spurs fan, who would I look at as my Red Auerbach?" My first thought was David Robinson because he's spent his entire career with the Spurs and has been, and will continue to be, a huge influence in the San Antonio community. But I decided that it wasn't him, but Gregg Popovich.
Pop has influenced the Spurs in the exact same way that Red did the Celtics. Pop is a great coach, and has coached the Spurs to numerous titles, much like Red coached the Celtics to a record nine NBA titles. Pop is also one of the best front office executives, building contenders not by spending the most money, but by making smart moves and excellent scouting.
It's unfair to try to compare the two people, because Auerbach has had the type of influence that has reached throughout the game, not just the Boston Celtics, whereas Pop is limited to mostly just the Spurs. But nonetheless, I look at Pop much the way any Celtic fan would view Red Auerbach. Rest in peace.
Switching gears a little bit, THE NBA SEASON STARTS TONIGHT! That also means fantasy basketball starts too. Which means I begin my domination of friends and/or family members today.
Here are my quick picks for this season's awards:
Coach of the Year: Jerry Sloan (UTAH)
Sixth Man of the Year: Bobby Jackson (NOK)
Most Improved Player: Darko Milicic (ORL)
Rookie of the Year: Brandon Roy (POR)
Defensive Player of the Year: Bruce Bowen (SA)
Most Valuable Player: LeBron James (CLE)
Enjoy the games everybody.
Friday, October 20, 2006
Southern Hospitality
I was in the house last night for the Spurs preseason game against the Chi-Town Bulls at the AT&T Center. Because of various reasons (some of them funny), we didn't get to our seats until 10:28 left in the second quarter. By then the Spurs core players were done for the night. So I was treated to a heavy dose of Jacque Vaughn and Matt Bonner. High fives all around.
The Bulls on the other hand continued to play their starters throughout the game, which is why the 99-67 score was so lopsided. Some thoughts from the game:
• The Bulls guards, namely Kirk Hinrich and Ben Gordon, looked sharp.
• Ben Wallace is going to be a big help for the Bulls, especially come playoff time. I stand by my prediction that they will be in the Eastern Conference Finals.
• Tyrus Thomas might be better than I am expecting. I have been under the impression that Thomas will be the next Stromile Swift, but watching him last night, he could be something special. It’ll be interesting to watch him grow.
A pretty uneventful game all around, but how are you going to argue with watching NBA basketball in person? Exactly.
The Bulls on the other hand continued to play their starters throughout the game, which is why the 99-67 score was so lopsided. Some thoughts from the game:
• The Bulls guards, namely Kirk Hinrich and Ben Gordon, looked sharp.
• Ben Wallace is going to be a big help for the Bulls, especially come playoff time. I stand by my prediction that they will be in the Eastern Conference Finals.
• Tyrus Thomas might be better than I am expecting. I have been under the impression that Thomas will be the next Stromile Swift, but watching him last night, he could be something special. It’ll be interesting to watch him grow.
A pretty uneventful game all around, but how are you going to argue with watching NBA basketball in person? Exactly.
Wednesday, October 18, 2006
Last Call
It's almost here. Finally. Preseason is nearing the end and the regular season is right around the corner. I'm giddy (Yes, I really did use the word giddy to describe myself). The only time I'm more excited than this is either Christmas eve (because we open our presents on Christmas eve, that's how I roll) and whenever I get one of those chocolate malt crunch shakes from Jack In The Box. There's less than two weeks to go.
My first article covering the Spurs is up at ProBasketballNews.com. So make sure you check that out.
Rajon Rondo doesn't look too bad this preseason. I'll be honest with you, I don't know what to make of this. On the one hand, he can't shoot. On the other hand, he's been producing. I'm going to have to take the wait-and-see approach on him this season. ESPN.com's Bill Simmons likes him, but I'd imagine that has a lot to do with his Boston roots and all. But one thing is for sure, Boston has put together a lot of young talent around Paul Pierce. I wonder how long it's going to take for them to put it together and make a playoff push. Or how long it's going to take for Danny Ainge to destroy any hopes they have at all.
The Mavericks are 0-4 this preseason and the Raptors are 3-0. This is one of those if a tree falls in a forest scenarios. Does anybody really think that Dallas is going to suck and the Raptors are going to be elite? I know I sure don't. It merely reinforces my belief that the preseason doesn't mean a thing to anybody but the guys just trying to make the team.
I'll be completely honest with you. I don't see a clear cut favorite to win the title this year. Usually there's one team that makes some moves in the offseason to set itself apart from the rest of the NBA (whether they actually win or not is another story). Last year, it was the Spurs with their signings of Nick Van Exel and Michael Finley. But this season, I'm stumped. There is a small elite class of teams consisting of Dallas, San Antonio, Miami, and possibly Phoenix (Detroit, Chicago, and the Clippers are all a step behind). But out of those teams, I don't see one that separates itself from the others. I honestly wouldn't be surprised to see either of those teams win in June. Maybe I'd be surprised if Phoenix won, because I don't see their running style winning it all, but still. I believe it's a toss up this year, which makes me very excited.
Less than two weeks left before it all begins.
My first article covering the Spurs is up at ProBasketballNews.com. So make sure you check that out.
Rajon Rondo doesn't look too bad this preseason. I'll be honest with you, I don't know what to make of this. On the one hand, he can't shoot. On the other hand, he's been producing. I'm going to have to take the wait-and-see approach on him this season. ESPN.com's Bill Simmons likes him, but I'd imagine that has a lot to do with his Boston roots and all. But one thing is for sure, Boston has put together a lot of young talent around Paul Pierce. I wonder how long it's going to take for them to put it together and make a playoff push. Or how long it's going to take for Danny Ainge to destroy any hopes they have at all.
The Mavericks are 0-4 this preseason and the Raptors are 3-0. This is one of those if a tree falls in a forest scenarios. Does anybody really think that Dallas is going to suck and the Raptors are going to be elite? I know I sure don't. It merely reinforces my belief that the preseason doesn't mean a thing to anybody but the guys just trying to make the team.
I'll be completely honest with you. I don't see a clear cut favorite to win the title this year. Usually there's one team that makes some moves in the offseason to set itself apart from the rest of the NBA (whether they actually win or not is another story). Last year, it was the Spurs with their signings of Nick Van Exel and Michael Finley. But this season, I'm stumped. There is a small elite class of teams consisting of Dallas, San Antonio, Miami, and possibly Phoenix (Detroit, Chicago, and the Clippers are all a step behind). But out of those teams, I don't see one that separates itself from the others. I honestly wouldn't be surprised to see either of those teams win in June. Maybe I'd be surprised if Phoenix won, because I don't see their running style winning it all, but still. I believe it's a toss up this year, which makes me very excited.
Less than two weeks left before it all begins.
Saturday, October 07, 2006
Offseason Review
So finally it's here. My Offseason Review. Basically, I sat and looked through all the moves made by every team in the league this offseason and gave them my amateur opinion. Sound Good? Good. So here we go.
Winners
Charlotte
Added: Adam Morrison, Walter Herrmann, Othella Harrington, health(?)
My Opinion: The Bobcats continue to build their franchise by getting players from winning programs, whether it be in college or international. It's not a bad philosophy as it's obviously paid off for the Bulls, who have done that the past few years. I doubt they'll make the playoffs like Raymond Felton said, but if they can stay healthy for a full season, I see no reason why they couldn't at least compete for a playoff spot, especially in the East.
Chicago
Added: Tyrus Thomas, Viktor Khryapa, Thabo Sefolosha, Ben Wallace, P.J. Brown, Howard Eisley
Lost: Tyson Chandler, Darius Songaila, Othella Harrington
My Opinion: The league best defense from last season just got better. It's not just my opinion, it's probably most people's. They've got plenty of scorers, they just don't have a go-to scorer. Despite that, I will be in shock if the Bulls aren't in the Eastern Conference Finals this season.
New Orleans
Added: Hilton Armstrong, Cedric Simmons, Peja Stojakovic, Tyson Chandler, Bobby Jackson, Rasaul Butler
Lost: Moochie Norris, Speedy Claxton, P.J. Brown, J.R. Smith
My Opinion: Adding Peja was the most slept on move of the offseason for any team. He's going to love playing with a guy like Chris Paul. Losing P.J. Brown is never good, but they made up for it by getting depth inside. The Hornets will lock up one of the last playoff spots this year.
Portland
Added: LeMarcus Aldridge, Dan Dickau, Raef LaFrentz, Brandon Roy, Jamal Magloire
Re-Signed: Joel Pryzbilla, JailBlazers Image
Lost: Sebastian Telfair, Theo Ratliff, Steve Blake, Brian Skinner, Ha Seung-Jin
My Opinion: This team took a big blow when they lost Ha Seung-Jin, but they countered it by picking up LaFrentz. Okay, so that last sentence was a huge lie all around. But this team did some pretty good things this summer when it came to basketball decisions, not so much on the extracurriculars. Rookies Aldridge and Roy will be solid players for them in the future.
Toronto
Added: Kris Humphries, Robert Whaley, Rasho Nesterovic, T.J. Ford, Andrea Bargnani, Fred Jones, P.J. Tucker
Re-Signed: Chris Bosh
Lost: Rafael Araujo, Matt Bonner, Eric Williams, Charlie Villanueva, Alvin Williams
My Opinion: Trading away Villanueva was tough. But don't sleep on T.J. Ford. He's a great choice at point guard if you want to turn into a running team like the Raptors do. Getting rid of Araujo was smart. Bringing in Rasho? Not so much. He won't fit into the running style of play at all. But their best move of all had to be re-signing Bosh. Good move.
Losers
New York
Added: Renaldo Balkman(seriously?!?!?!), Mardy Collins, Jared Jeffries
Lost: Larry Brown, Jackie Brown, Maurice Taylor
My Opinion: Do I really need to say why I think they sucked this offseason? I didn't think so.
Philadelphia
Added: Rodney Carney
Lost: John Salmons
My Opinion: They didn't move Allen Iverson. Okay, that's fine if you do something to put some better pieces around him. They didn't do that either. Instead, they added Carney, who plays the same position and does pretty much the same things as Andre Iguodala. Expect yet another season of mediocrity from the 76ers.
Seattle
Added: Saer Sene
Re-Signed: Chris Wilcox
My Opinion: Seattle went nowhere last season. Expect the same this year. In fact, the farthest I see this team going any time soon? Oklahoma City, perhaps.
Teams I Wish I Had League Pass For
Atlanta
Added: Speedy Claxton, Sheldon Williams
Lost: Al Harrington, John Edwards
My Opinion: The Hawks finally have a solid point guard in Speedy Claxton, except he broke his had and will be out for a while. But with Josh Smith and a most likely much improved Marvin Williams, this team will be fun to watch all season. I honestly wouldn't be surpised to find the Hawks in the hunt for a playoff spot late in the season.
Orlando
Added: J.J. Redick, Keith Bogans
Re-signed: Trevor Ariza
Lost: DeShawn Stevenson
My Opinion: Throwing J.J. Redick into a young core group that includes Dwight Howard, Jameer Nelson, and Darko Milicic was brilliant. Darko will surprise many people with his play alongside Howard this season, and might even muster up some All-Star votes. That's right, you heard it here first, Darko Milicic will compete for an All-Star spot. This team will improve as the season goes on, but I think they're still one season away from the playoffs. Nonetheless, this team will be fun to watch.
So there you have it, my offseason review. If your favorite team wasn't mentioned, it was because I felt like the moves they made didn't hurt them or help them enough to make much of an impact this season. If you've got beef with my report, great. Feel free to email me any comments you got.
Winners
Charlotte
Added: Adam Morrison, Walter Herrmann, Othella Harrington, health(?)
My Opinion: The Bobcats continue to build their franchise by getting players from winning programs, whether it be in college or international. It's not a bad philosophy as it's obviously paid off for the Bulls, who have done that the past few years. I doubt they'll make the playoffs like Raymond Felton said, but if they can stay healthy for a full season, I see no reason why they couldn't at least compete for a playoff spot, especially in the East.
Chicago
Added: Tyrus Thomas, Viktor Khryapa, Thabo Sefolosha, Ben Wallace, P.J. Brown, Howard Eisley
Lost: Tyson Chandler, Darius Songaila, Othella Harrington
My Opinion: The league best defense from last season just got better. It's not just my opinion, it's probably most people's. They've got plenty of scorers, they just don't have a go-to scorer. Despite that, I will be in shock if the Bulls aren't in the Eastern Conference Finals this season.
New Orleans
Added: Hilton Armstrong, Cedric Simmons, Peja Stojakovic, Tyson Chandler, Bobby Jackson, Rasaul Butler
Lost: Moochie Norris, Speedy Claxton, P.J. Brown, J.R. Smith
My Opinion: Adding Peja was the most slept on move of the offseason for any team. He's going to love playing with a guy like Chris Paul. Losing P.J. Brown is never good, but they made up for it by getting depth inside. The Hornets will lock up one of the last playoff spots this year.
Portland
Added: LeMarcus Aldridge, Dan Dickau, Raef LaFrentz, Brandon Roy, Jamal Magloire
Re-Signed: Joel Pryzbilla, JailBlazers Image
Lost: Sebastian Telfair, Theo Ratliff, Steve Blake, Brian Skinner, Ha Seung-Jin
My Opinion: This team took a big blow when they lost Ha Seung-Jin, but they countered it by picking up LaFrentz. Okay, so that last sentence was a huge lie all around. But this team did some pretty good things this summer when it came to basketball decisions, not so much on the extracurriculars. Rookies Aldridge and Roy will be solid players for them in the future.
Toronto
Added: Kris Humphries, Robert Whaley, Rasho Nesterovic, T.J. Ford, Andrea Bargnani, Fred Jones, P.J. Tucker
Re-Signed: Chris Bosh
Lost: Rafael Araujo, Matt Bonner, Eric Williams, Charlie Villanueva, Alvin Williams
My Opinion: Trading away Villanueva was tough. But don't sleep on T.J. Ford. He's a great choice at point guard if you want to turn into a running team like the Raptors do. Getting rid of Araujo was smart. Bringing in Rasho? Not so much. He won't fit into the running style of play at all. But their best move of all had to be re-signing Bosh. Good move.
Losers
New York
Added: Renaldo Balkman(seriously?!?!?!), Mardy Collins, Jared Jeffries
Lost: Larry Brown, Jackie Brown, Maurice Taylor
My Opinion: Do I really need to say why I think they sucked this offseason? I didn't think so.
Philadelphia
Added: Rodney Carney
Lost: John Salmons
My Opinion: They didn't move Allen Iverson. Okay, that's fine if you do something to put some better pieces around him. They didn't do that either. Instead, they added Carney, who plays the same position and does pretty much the same things as Andre Iguodala. Expect yet another season of mediocrity from the 76ers.
Seattle
Added: Saer Sene
Re-Signed: Chris Wilcox
My Opinion: Seattle went nowhere last season. Expect the same this year. In fact, the farthest I see this team going any time soon? Oklahoma City, perhaps.
Teams I Wish I Had League Pass For
Atlanta
Added: Speedy Claxton, Sheldon Williams
Lost: Al Harrington, John Edwards
My Opinion: The Hawks finally have a solid point guard in Speedy Claxton, except he broke his had and will be out for a while. But with Josh Smith and a most likely much improved Marvin Williams, this team will be fun to watch all season. I honestly wouldn't be surpised to find the Hawks in the hunt for a playoff spot late in the season.
Orlando
Added: J.J. Redick, Keith Bogans
Re-signed: Trevor Ariza
Lost: DeShawn Stevenson
My Opinion: Throwing J.J. Redick into a young core group that includes Dwight Howard, Jameer Nelson, and Darko Milicic was brilliant. Darko will surprise many people with his play alongside Howard this season, and might even muster up some All-Star votes. That's right, you heard it here first, Darko Milicic will compete for an All-Star spot. This team will improve as the season goes on, but I think they're still one season away from the playoffs. Nonetheless, this team will be fun to watch.
So there you have it, my offseason review. If your favorite team wasn't mentioned, it was because I felt like the moves they made didn't hurt them or help them enough to make much of an impact this season. If you've got beef with my report, great. Feel free to email me any comments you got.
Wednesday, October 04, 2006
Sports and Such
So once again it's been a while since I posted. But good news, NBA training camps open this week. With that, comes more posting from me. I am still working on my offseason wrap-up, so that will be up soon. I will be covering my beloved San Antonio Spurs for ProBasketballNews.com this season. And my first article should be up here either this afternoon or tomorrow morning, so look out for that.
Isn't October the greatest month of the year for sports? You've got baseball moving into the playoffs, the NFL is starting to get good, and the NBA is starting. I'm very excited. The only thing that would make me happier is if my Astros had made the playoffs and if my Texans didn't suck. Oh well, at least I've got the Spurs.
Isn't October the greatest month of the year for sports? You've got baseball moving into the playoffs, the NFL is starting to get good, and the NBA is starting. I'm very excited. The only thing that would make me happier is if my Astros had made the playoffs and if my Texans didn't suck. Oh well, at least I've got the Spurs.
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