by nate
In case you’ve been in some communist country that doesn’t allow television or internet for the last 24 hours, you may not know that LeBron James has decided to jump on the South Beach bandwagon and sign with the Miami Heat. I case you were in said country for at least a week, you may also not know that Dwyane Wade re-upped with his NBA alma-mater and convinced Chris Bosh to come aboard. That’s right, Bron, Wade, and Bosh all on one team. Instant championship,right? Maybe not. Let’s see what history tells us.
NBA free agency has been around since the late 80s, which is around the time I really started paying attention to the intricacies of the greatest show on the hardwoods. And in the age of free agency, I can only think of a hand full of times that players attempted to create super-teams. Most didn’t end well.
2003-2004 Dallas Mavericks
The 2002-2003 Dallas Mavericks looked good. Led by Dirk Nowitzki’s stellar shooting and Steve Nash’s playmaking abilities, they ripped through the playoffs, only to fall in 6 games to the San Antonio Spurs. They looked like a team that was poised to be a threat in the West for some time. Don and his son Donnie Nelson decided to take it up a notch and took a gamble by trading excess baggae for Antawn Jamison and Antoine Walker to join the already able core of Dirk Nowitzki, Steve Nash, and Michael Finley. Mixed with Don Nelson’s signature fast-paced offense, this sounds like an unstoppable force, right? Well the good news is that they were the top offensive team in the league. The bad news, they were the third worst defensively. They won 52 games and went into the playoffs as the 5-seed. They proceeded to lose to the Sacramento Kings in 5 games. Despite Jamison winning his only 6th man award, both Tawn and Toine were traded the following Summer.
1996-1997 Houston Rockets
After going back-to-back, reuniting Hakeem the Dream and Clyde the Glide, and solidifying Olajuwon as the top center in the game, the Rockets decided to step it up by sending Robert Horry, Sam Cassell and a couple of scrubs to AZ for Sir Charles himself. The Drexler, Barkley, Hakeem trio should have been Dream team 2. Chuck averaged 19 and 14 for the Rockets, but the dreaded combination of injuries and old age held him to only 53 games. Clyde only showed for 62 and the Rockets finished 2nd in the West with 57 wins. They made a strong run to the Conference Finals only to fall to the red-hot Utah Jazz.
1998-1999 Houston Rockets
With only a sniff of the glory days remaining and having lost Clyde Drexler to retirement, the Rockets decided to make once last push and traded practically nothing to the Bulls for Scottie Pippen. As a kid, I couldn’t have asked for a better trio. Chuck, Pip, and The Dream were three of my favorites and to see them all on the same team was bliss. Sadly, it came during the infamous lockout year when the NBA was at it’s lowest point since Dr. J made the ABA profitable. The Rockets won 31 of 50 games and lost to the Lakers in the first round. Pippen was sent packing the following Fall.
2003-2004 Los Angeles Lakers
In the free agent extravaganza of the Summer of 2003, mega-free agents Karl Malone and Gary Payton signed with Los Angeles Lakers at the stroke of midnight, joining Kobe Bryant and Shaquille O’Neal in an attempt at regaining Laker greatness. The Diesel, Kobe, and The Mailman struggled with injuries for most of the season while The Glove struggled with the triangle offense. They got their act together in time for the playoffs and made a run to the Finals in an attempt to get Payton and Malone their elusive first rings. They came up short by only winning 1 game against the Detroit Pistons. Malone hung em up after the defeat and Payton was shipped to Boston the following Summer.
2007-2008 Boston Celtics
At the 2007 draft, Danny AInge went crazy. Amidst losing Paul Pierce, he somehow negotiated ridiculous deals that left the Boston with Kevin Garnett and Ray Allen, all the while keeping Pierce. “The Big Three” as they have since been known, led Boston to 66 wins and an eventual NBA championship that same season. Hey, it actually worked!
So will it work for Miami? Only time will tell. History tells us that it doesn’t typically work. The only difference I see with the new Miami super-squad and the teams of old is that the big three for the Heat are all in their primes, whereas the teams I mentioned were typically past their prime. The 2008 Celtics worked well only because the main stars shared the ball and the role players bought in. LeBron and the gang can only hope the same happens for them.
Thursday, July 8, 2010
Monday, June 21, 2010
Vindicated
by Ken
“I wanna thank everybody in my hood, my wife, my family, my kids. Everybody. I definitely wanna thank my Doctor, my Psychiatrist…”
These were the completely unrehearsed, dead honest, words uttered by an elated and slightly discombobulated Ron Artest immediately following the Lakers’ game seven victory over the Boston Celtics. Those simple words are what embody exactly what Ron Artest is all about: Loyalty, Family, and a little bit of crazy.
Born Ronald William Artest Jr, and raised in the projects of Queensbridge, NY, Ron has made himself a name in the NBA as a tenacious, rough, pesky, smart defender who never backed down from guarding the opponents best player. Through the glitz and glamour of the NBA, he never forgot his humble beginnings in the poor neighborhoods of Queensbridge, so much so, that in his last stop with the Houston Rockets, he wore the number 96, or “qb” for Queensbridge. Who knows, it might remind him of simpler times, of times where you call your own fouls, of times just feeling safe in his hood. One thing we know about Ron Artest is his loyalty is as dependable as Phil Jackson when winning the first game of a series.
Growing up in QB had its ups and downs, and while young Ron excelled at basketball, he didn’t have the guidance to harness his energy and anger. A curse that was going to haunt him his entire career. For many, the epitome of his unleashed issues will always be the infamous brawl in the Palace of Detroit. An on-court altercation spilled into the stands where, to the horror of Commissioner David Stern, Artest and fellow teammate Stephen Jackson, were slugging it out with the Pistons faithful. The “Malice at the Palace” earned Artest a 73-game suspension without pay. Though the biggest of all of his suspensions, this was not Rons only one. Numerous flagrant fouls had him sitting at home. He’s been suspended by his own coach or GM. Once for getting into a heated argument with the Heath coach Pat Riley, and once for infamously asking for time off to record and promote a rap album he was working on.
Once, with the Pacers, he attended practice in a bathrobe. He once applied for a job at Circuit City so he could have access to employee discounts. He once asked his manager to “Take care of those snake eggs in my backyard. Snakes creep me out!”. Turns out the big white snake eggs were mushrooms. Artest also admitted to drinking Cognac at half-time while with the Bulls who drafted him. While with the Rockets, he missed all team busses headed to Staples Center for game seven. When informed that the very last bus was about to leave and this was his last chance at getting to the game, Ron ran through the hotel lobby with nothing but his boxers on.
See, there’s enough crazy to around for everybody when it comes to Ron Artest. Some time ago, two writers begged for an interview with Ron Artest at his house. He never does interviews at home, and these two were about to find out why. Inside, they came across fifteen or so people, dogs and rolled up carpets. There were people sleeping on the stairs, couches, and mattresses strewn across the floor. Apparently, during his humble days in Queensbridge, together with his friends, Artest had made a pact: If anyone of us was to make it out of here, we’ll bring our friends with us!
Not sure in what order I’d put them, but the two first words that come to mind when describing Ron Artest are loyalty and crazy. See, wherever Ron goes, he brings his past with him. He can’t avoid it, he can’t get away from it. Ron has always been the malcontent, beleaguered player, who was a can of worms for any coach. Even when successful, he was traded or allowed to walk. I’m not sure why he can’t move out of the shadow of his past missteps, but in Artest’s defense, he’s been keeping it together and quite (on the legal end) since his brief stop in Sacramento.
It all changed in the summer of 09 when he signed with the Lakers. I remember the media that day: “Ron Artest will tear this team apart.” “Not even Phil Jackson can handle this nutcase.” “Good-bye Repeat.”
Well, Phil could handle him, and Artest did not tear the team apart, and they did repeat. Maybe playing with Odom whom he played with in his AAU days in NY gave him a sense of home. Maybe Phil did get to him. There are many possible explanations on why this worked with Ron. Basketball wise, I’d scream in my sleep if I had to coach against a team with Artest and Bryant switching on pick-and-rolls. To me, I think Ron just finally fit in. On top of his defense, Phil Jackson was able to make him take less three point shots to increase his efficiency. Artest shrunk his ego and shot less. His offense was limited to few set plays on the block, and Artest shrunk his ego and let it happen. Maybe that psychiatrist really did help Ron, isn’t that what shrinks do?
In the face of all the shrinking, Ron Artest was able to get off some good shots. In an NBATV post-game interview, after being asked about the open three he made in the 4th quarter of game seven, a very animated Artest replied: “Oh my gosh!! Kobe is passing the ball!!!??! To me?? Kobe is passing the ball. To me!! I better make this one.” And make it he did. He made it all. He fit in. He shrunk his personality. He played defense. He didn’t launch threes like he didn’t care. He was the ultimate side-kicks side-kick. He stayed out of trouble. He stayed on the court. He stayed sober at half-time. He was clothed to every practice. He paid full price for his CDs at Circuit City. He had shushed the critics. He had reached his potential. He is an NBA Champion.
Speaking of un-tapped potential (see: Micheal Olowokandi, Kwame Brown, etc), Artest was able to wrap his head around what a champion is. Sure he had some help: Kobe, Gasol, Phil Jackson and his Psychiatrist all were voices of reason throughout the year, but let’s give Ron some credit, for he was the one that had to be most willing to change. He re-did himself to be the whole, complete dish that he has become. A champions meal. With a side of crazy.
“I wanna thank everybody in my hood, my wife, my family, my kids. Everybody. I definitely wanna thank my Doctor, my Psychiatrist…”
These were the completely unrehearsed, dead honest, words uttered by an elated and slightly discombobulated Ron Artest immediately following the Lakers’ game seven victory over the Boston Celtics. Those simple words are what embody exactly what Ron Artest is all about: Loyalty, Family, and a little bit of crazy.
Born Ronald William Artest Jr, and raised in the projects of Queensbridge, NY, Ron has made himself a name in the NBA as a tenacious, rough, pesky, smart defender who never backed down from guarding the opponents best player. Through the glitz and glamour of the NBA, he never forgot his humble beginnings in the poor neighborhoods of Queensbridge, so much so, that in his last stop with the Houston Rockets, he wore the number 96, or “qb” for Queensbridge. Who knows, it might remind him of simpler times, of times where you call your own fouls, of times just feeling safe in his hood. One thing we know about Ron Artest is his loyalty is as dependable as Phil Jackson when winning the first game of a series.
Growing up in QB had its ups and downs, and while young Ron excelled at basketball, he didn’t have the guidance to harness his energy and anger. A curse that was going to haunt him his entire career. For many, the epitome of his unleashed issues will always be the infamous brawl in the Palace of Detroit. An on-court altercation spilled into the stands where, to the horror of Commissioner David Stern, Artest and fellow teammate Stephen Jackson, were slugging it out with the Pistons faithful. The “Malice at the Palace” earned Artest a 73-game suspension without pay. Though the biggest of all of his suspensions, this was not Rons only one. Numerous flagrant fouls had him sitting at home. He’s been suspended by his own coach or GM. Once for getting into a heated argument with the Heath coach Pat Riley, and once for infamously asking for time off to record and promote a rap album he was working on.
Once, with the Pacers, he attended practice in a bathrobe. He once applied for a job at Circuit City so he could have access to employee discounts. He once asked his manager to “Take care of those snake eggs in my backyard. Snakes creep me out!”. Turns out the big white snake eggs were mushrooms. Artest also admitted to drinking Cognac at half-time while with the Bulls who drafted him. While with the Rockets, he missed all team busses headed to Staples Center for game seven. When informed that the very last bus was about to leave and this was his last chance at getting to the game, Ron ran through the hotel lobby with nothing but his boxers on.
See, there’s enough crazy to around for everybody when it comes to Ron Artest. Some time ago, two writers begged for an interview with Ron Artest at his house. He never does interviews at home, and these two were about to find out why. Inside, they came across fifteen or so people, dogs and rolled up carpets. There were people sleeping on the stairs, couches, and mattresses strewn across the floor. Apparently, during his humble days in Queensbridge, together with his friends, Artest had made a pact: If anyone of us was to make it out of here, we’ll bring our friends with us!
Not sure in what order I’d put them, but the two first words that come to mind when describing Ron Artest are loyalty and crazy. See, wherever Ron goes, he brings his past with him. He can’t avoid it, he can’t get away from it. Ron has always been the malcontent, beleaguered player, who was a can of worms for any coach. Even when successful, he was traded or allowed to walk. I’m not sure why he can’t move out of the shadow of his past missteps, but in Artest’s defense, he’s been keeping it together and quite (on the legal end) since his brief stop in Sacramento.
It all changed in the summer of 09 when he signed with the Lakers. I remember the media that day: “Ron Artest will tear this team apart.” “Not even Phil Jackson can handle this nutcase.” “Good-bye Repeat.”
Well, Phil could handle him, and Artest did not tear the team apart, and they did repeat. Maybe playing with Odom whom he played with in his AAU days in NY gave him a sense of home. Maybe Phil did get to him. There are many possible explanations on why this worked with Ron. Basketball wise, I’d scream in my sleep if I had to coach against a team with Artest and Bryant switching on pick-and-rolls. To me, I think Ron just finally fit in. On top of his defense, Phil Jackson was able to make him take less three point shots to increase his efficiency. Artest shrunk his ego and shot less. His offense was limited to few set plays on the block, and Artest shrunk his ego and let it happen. Maybe that psychiatrist really did help Ron, isn’t that what shrinks do?
In the face of all the shrinking, Ron Artest was able to get off some good shots. In an NBATV post-game interview, after being asked about the open three he made in the 4th quarter of game seven, a very animated Artest replied: “Oh my gosh!! Kobe is passing the ball!!!??! To me?? Kobe is passing the ball. To me!! I better make this one.” And make it he did. He made it all. He fit in. He shrunk his personality. He played defense. He didn’t launch threes like he didn’t care. He was the ultimate side-kicks side-kick. He stayed out of trouble. He stayed on the court. He stayed sober at half-time. He was clothed to every practice. He paid full price for his CDs at Circuit City. He had shushed the critics. He had reached his potential. He is an NBA Champion.
Speaking of un-tapped potential (see: Micheal Olowokandi, Kwame Brown, etc), Artest was able to wrap his head around what a champion is. Sure he had some help: Kobe, Gasol, Phil Jackson and his Psychiatrist all were voices of reason throughout the year, but let’s give Ron some credit, for he was the one that had to be most willing to change. He re-did himself to be the whole, complete dish that he has become. A champions meal. With a side of crazy.
Monday, May 24, 2010
Eastern Conference Finals
We here at Hoopless Knowledge had a chance to catch up with Vince Carter concerning his team's ability to avoid being the first team to sweep the 1st two rounds and then themselves be swept in the Conference Finals.
His reply was brief, but to the point:
His reply was brief, but to the point:
Thursday, May 20, 2010
Meaningless Trivia: Getting the Digits
by: nate
Did you know that the two-cent coin was the first to don the phrase “In God we trust?”
I can’t help it; I love trivia. I‘m one of those people who knows more useless facts than ones that actually make any sense or hold any value. Sports are no exception. I have heard pointless sport facts that would make Alex Trebek question their meaningfulness.
So what fortuitous triviality should we embark on today? How about one that NBA fans notice during every game, but most disregard as having any value? Jersey numbers can mean more to a fan than trying to figure out what throwback someone is wearing or in watching the ref attempt to signal to the scorekeeper who he called a foul on. Jersey numbers can hold significant meanings to players and fans, whether it be used to commemorate adoration to a past player, a child’s birthday, or even just a lucky number. There are varying reasons as to why numbers are worn, but which numbers have been worn the most throughout the history of the NBA and ABA?
Let’s find out.
Here are the top 10 most worn jersey numbers in the history of the NBA and ABA.
10. #7. A number representing completeness in Christianity. The atomic number of nitrogen. The name of the daughter George Castanza will never have. Regardless of its meaning, it was donned by Dee Brown on his way to a slam dunk title. Chauncey Billups wore it in his return to Denver in tribute to his childhood hero, John Elway. When you see number 7, how can you not think of “Mr. Tibbs” Kenny Anderson, considered by some to be the best high school player New York ever saw? 238 players in all wore #7 in their careers.
9. #21. The Human Highlight Film. The Big Fundamental. The Big Ticket. The Jordan Stopper (Ha!). Who can forget the famous nicknames of the “21s” along with others like Sleepy, Buckets, and Smush? It was worn by 244 players in all, including Dominique, Gerald, and Damien Wilkins. Way to keep it in the family.
8. #10. Worn by Mike Dunleavy and his son Mike. Henry Bibby and his son Mike. B.J. and Darrell Armstrong, who, oddly enough, are not related. Number 10 may be the official digits of the point guard when you realize that it has been worn by Mike Bibby, Sam Cassell, Mookie Blaylock, Tiny Archibald, Tim Hardaway, the non-brothers Armstrong, Michael Adams, Jo Jo White, Vern Fleming, Greg Grant, Lindsey Hunter, Anthony Johnson, John Kuester, Tyronne Lue, Norm Nixon, Sergio Rodriguez, and well, Manute Bol. He didn’t actually play the point, but he sure shot like a guard from downtown!
7. #5. Among the 248 who have worn the number are some true greats such as Danny Manning, The Van Arsdales, Happy Hairston, John Lucas, and Jason Kidd. But it appears that its such a common number mainly due to it being a fallback for a player that wasn’t able to get his preferred number. Kevin Garnett switched to 5 when he arrived in Boston after his #21 was already retired upon his arrival. Tim Hardaway wore the number as a rookie in Golden State because the aforementioned Manute Bol was sporting Hardaway’s usual number 10. J.R. Smith gave up his number 1 out of respect to Chauncey Billups and switched to the 5. Bill Walton also made the swap to #5 when he landed in Boston after his beloved 32 was already taken by Kevin McHale.
6. #22. The number of the coach/exec - Danny Ainge, Otis Smith, Rod Thorn, George Karl, Rolando Blackman, Brian Shaw, Elgin Baylor, Bill Hanzlik, and Dave Debusschere. It’s also the number of the big bust when you see that it has been worn by Jay Williams, Ruben Patterson, Shelden Williams, John Wallace, Corey Brewer, Austin Croshere, Dion Glover, Brevin Knight, Todd Lichti, Nikoloz Tskitishvili, and Brooks Thompson. Note to NBA GMs: Don’t let your rookies wear #22.
5. #20. They say chicks dig the long ball. If this is true, then chicks should also dig jersey number 20 because many players who have worn this number made a name for draining shots from downtown. Of the 270 to wear this number, we find Ray Allen, Tim Legler, Brent Price, Damon Stoudamire, Mickael Pietrus, Steve Novak, Gary Payton, George McCloud, Jumaine Jones, Carlos Delfino, Manu Ginobli, Ryan Anderson, and Allan Houston.
4. #14. Worn by Tim Bug, Donut, The Houdini of the Hardwood, Big Smooth, Spider Sloan, Big Nasty, Fatty, Amon Ones, and a bunch of other obscure nicknames you’ve probably never heard of. This square pyramidal number was also donned by Malik Sealy and Bobby Phills, who were both killed in vehicle accidents (may they rest in peace). And also by sub-six-foot Muggsy Bogues, Michael Adams, and Greg Grant.
3. #15. It’s the number corresponding to the Devil in tarot cards and that may have an effect on the NBA players who have worn it. In the league, it’s clearly the number of controversy considering it has been worn by Chris Anderson, who was suspended for multiple seasons for drug abuse. Following the theme, it has also been worn by Latrell Sprewell, best known for choking his coach during practice, and also a woman after his career was over. Keon Clark wore number 15. His career was cut short due to personal problems that led him to admit that he never played an NBA game sober. Carmelo Anthony has seen much controversy as a #15 including the infamous “No Snitching” video and being caught with an illegal substance in his, uh, “friend’s” gym bag. Vince Carter is a number 15 that has stayed out of legal trouble, but will forever have his legacy tainted due to him dogging it in Toronto as their franchise player. And finally, Ron Artest has wore the number. Has Artest been very controversial? Hmm, where to begin...?
2. #11 301 players have worn this number. That’s a lot of players to go through and try to find trends. The only trend that stood out to me was foreign-born 7-footers (random enough for ya?). Yao Ming is quite possibly the most famous of the giant aliens, but we can’t forget the great Manute Bol! Zydrunas Ilgauskas is the second most beloved Cleveland athlete right now (Bernie Kosar’s gotta be a close third, am I right?). But he may claim first place if LeBron James skipd town. The 7’3” Arvydas Sabonis is quite possibly the 2nd greatest player Europe has every witnessed, and made some noise in the NBA during his latter years. You can’t forget Vladimir Stepania and Zeljko Rebraca...wait, maybe you can. But at least they wore #11 (probably out of respect to Sabonis). Stojko Vrankovic is another European sensation who made the NBA jump a little too late. There’s also the man of few assists, Yinka Dare (may he also rest in peace). SHould we give credit to Zarko Cabarkapa? He’s only listed at 6-11, but I love saying his name: “Ka-Bark-a-Paw.” And lastly, Dalibor Bargaric and Andreas Glyniadakis. Even if you’ve heard of everyone I mentioned prior, I guarantee you’ve never heard of those two.
1. #12. Is this a surprise? Do you expect the dozen to be the most used jersey number in the NBA? 332 players can’t be wrong. Why has it been so popular? Is it because the average human has 12 cranial nerves? Is it because that’s the number of strikes needed for a perfect game in bowling? Whatever the reason we’ve seen greats like Dominique Wilkins and George Yardley with the number. Future coaches such as Pat Riley, Michael Curry, Paul SIlas, Kevin Pritchard, Butch Carter, Rick Carlisle, and Rick Adelman. Some well-known secondary players have worn the number such as Derek Harper, Vlade Divac, Richard Dumas, Bruce Bowen, Kirk Hinrich, Kendall Gill, Jerome Kersey, Fat Lever, and Jo Jo White. Perhaps one of the most well-known #12’s was arguably one of the greatest point guards of all time and was the man who wouldn’t give up on the short shorts, John Stockton. The number is such a popular number that in 1990 before a road game in Orlando, it was discovered that Michael Jordan’s #23 road jersey had been stolen. Without a backup, MJ was forced to wear a spare jersey n the game. They didn’t even have to opportunity to add his name to the back. The jersey number? You guessed it. His Airness dropped 49 on the thieving Magic that night.
What numbers are you surprised to not see on this list? MJ’s #23 didn’t make the cut (191), neither did Bird’s 33 (201), or Magic’s 32 (187). Even the numbers 0 (35) and 00 (24) had poor showings. It will be interesting to see if this trend changes as we see players down the road looking to pay homage to their idols Kobe, KG, Duncan, and LeBron.
Did you know that the two-cent coin was the first to don the phrase “In God we trust?”
I can’t help it; I love trivia. I‘m one of those people who knows more useless facts than ones that actually make any sense or hold any value. Sports are no exception. I have heard pointless sport facts that would make Alex Trebek question their meaningfulness.
So what fortuitous triviality should we embark on today? How about one that NBA fans notice during every game, but most disregard as having any value? Jersey numbers can mean more to a fan than trying to figure out what throwback someone is wearing or in watching the ref attempt to signal to the scorekeeper who he called a foul on. Jersey numbers can hold significant meanings to players and fans, whether it be used to commemorate adoration to a past player, a child’s birthday, or even just a lucky number. There are varying reasons as to why numbers are worn, but which numbers have been worn the most throughout the history of the NBA and ABA?
Let’s find out.
Here are the top 10 most worn jersey numbers in the history of the NBA and ABA.
10. #7. A number representing completeness in Christianity. The atomic number of nitrogen. The name of the daughter George Castanza will never have. Regardless of its meaning, it was donned by Dee Brown on his way to a slam dunk title. Chauncey Billups wore it in his return to Denver in tribute to his childhood hero, John Elway. When you see number 7, how can you not think of “Mr. Tibbs” Kenny Anderson, considered by some to be the best high school player New York ever saw? 238 players in all wore #7 in their careers.
9. #21. The Human Highlight Film. The Big Fundamental. The Big Ticket. The Jordan Stopper (Ha!). Who can forget the famous nicknames of the “21s” along with others like Sleepy, Buckets, and Smush? It was worn by 244 players in all, including Dominique, Gerald, and Damien Wilkins. Way to keep it in the family.
8. #10. Worn by Mike Dunleavy and his son Mike. Henry Bibby and his son Mike. B.J. and Darrell Armstrong, who, oddly enough, are not related. Number 10 may be the official digits of the point guard when you realize that it has been worn by Mike Bibby, Sam Cassell, Mookie Blaylock, Tiny Archibald, Tim Hardaway, the non-brothers Armstrong, Michael Adams, Jo Jo White, Vern Fleming, Greg Grant, Lindsey Hunter, Anthony Johnson, John Kuester, Tyronne Lue, Norm Nixon, Sergio Rodriguez, and well, Manute Bol. He didn’t actually play the point, but he sure shot like a guard from downtown!
7. #5. Among the 248 who have worn the number are some true greats such as Danny Manning, The Van Arsdales, Happy Hairston, John Lucas, and Jason Kidd. But it appears that its such a common number mainly due to it being a fallback for a player that wasn’t able to get his preferred number. Kevin Garnett switched to 5 when he arrived in Boston after his #21 was already retired upon his arrival. Tim Hardaway wore the number as a rookie in Golden State because the aforementioned Manute Bol was sporting Hardaway’s usual number 10. J.R. Smith gave up his number 1 out of respect to Chauncey Billups and switched to the 5. Bill Walton also made the swap to #5 when he landed in Boston after his beloved 32 was already taken by Kevin McHale.
6. #22. The number of the coach/exec - Danny Ainge, Otis Smith, Rod Thorn, George Karl, Rolando Blackman, Brian Shaw, Elgin Baylor, Bill Hanzlik, and Dave Debusschere. It’s also the number of the big bust when you see that it has been worn by Jay Williams, Ruben Patterson, Shelden Williams, John Wallace, Corey Brewer, Austin Croshere, Dion Glover, Brevin Knight, Todd Lichti, Nikoloz Tskitishvili, and Brooks Thompson. Note to NBA GMs: Don’t let your rookies wear #22.
5. #20. They say chicks dig the long ball. If this is true, then chicks should also dig jersey number 20 because many players who have worn this number made a name for draining shots from downtown. Of the 270 to wear this number, we find Ray Allen, Tim Legler, Brent Price, Damon Stoudamire, Mickael Pietrus, Steve Novak, Gary Payton, George McCloud, Jumaine Jones, Carlos Delfino, Manu Ginobli, Ryan Anderson, and Allan Houston.
4. #14. Worn by Tim Bug, Donut, The Houdini of the Hardwood, Big Smooth, Spider Sloan, Big Nasty, Fatty, Amon Ones, and a bunch of other obscure nicknames you’ve probably never heard of. This square pyramidal number was also donned by Malik Sealy and Bobby Phills, who were both killed in vehicle accidents (may they rest in peace). And also by sub-six-foot Muggsy Bogues, Michael Adams, and Greg Grant.
3. #15. It’s the number corresponding to the Devil in tarot cards and that may have an effect on the NBA players who have worn it. In the league, it’s clearly the number of controversy considering it has been worn by Chris Anderson, who was suspended for multiple seasons for drug abuse. Following the theme, it has also been worn by Latrell Sprewell, best known for choking his coach during practice, and also a woman after his career was over. Keon Clark wore number 15. His career was cut short due to personal problems that led him to admit that he never played an NBA game sober. Carmelo Anthony has seen much controversy as a #15 including the infamous “No Snitching” video and being caught with an illegal substance in his, uh, “friend’s” gym bag. Vince Carter is a number 15 that has stayed out of legal trouble, but will forever have his legacy tainted due to him dogging it in Toronto as their franchise player. And finally, Ron Artest has wore the number. Has Artest been very controversial? Hmm, where to begin...?
2. #11 301 players have worn this number. That’s a lot of players to go through and try to find trends. The only trend that stood out to me was foreign-born 7-footers (random enough for ya?). Yao Ming is quite possibly the most famous of the giant aliens, but we can’t forget the great Manute Bol! Zydrunas Ilgauskas is the second most beloved Cleveland athlete right now (Bernie Kosar’s gotta be a close third, am I right?). But he may claim first place if LeBron James skipd town. The 7’3” Arvydas Sabonis is quite possibly the 2nd greatest player Europe has every witnessed, and made some noise in the NBA during his latter years. You can’t forget Vladimir Stepania and Zeljko Rebraca...wait, maybe you can. But at least they wore #11 (probably out of respect to Sabonis). Stojko Vrankovic is another European sensation who made the NBA jump a little too late. There’s also the man of few assists, Yinka Dare (may he also rest in peace). SHould we give credit to Zarko Cabarkapa? He’s only listed at 6-11, but I love saying his name: “Ka-Bark-a-Paw.” And lastly, Dalibor Bargaric and Andreas Glyniadakis. Even if you’ve heard of everyone I mentioned prior, I guarantee you’ve never heard of those two.
1. #12. Is this a surprise? Do you expect the dozen to be the most used jersey number in the NBA? 332 players can’t be wrong. Why has it been so popular? Is it because the average human has 12 cranial nerves? Is it because that’s the number of strikes needed for a perfect game in bowling? Whatever the reason we’ve seen greats like Dominique Wilkins and George Yardley with the number. Future coaches such as Pat Riley, Michael Curry, Paul SIlas, Kevin Pritchard, Butch Carter, Rick Carlisle, and Rick Adelman. Some well-known secondary players have worn the number such as Derek Harper, Vlade Divac, Richard Dumas, Bruce Bowen, Kirk Hinrich, Kendall Gill, Jerome Kersey, Fat Lever, and Jo Jo White. Perhaps one of the most well-known #12’s was arguably one of the greatest point guards of all time and was the man who wouldn’t give up on the short shorts, John Stockton. The number is such a popular number that in 1990 before a road game in Orlando, it was discovered that Michael Jordan’s #23 road jersey had been stolen. Without a backup, MJ was forced to wear a spare jersey n the game. They didn’t even have to opportunity to add his name to the back. The jersey number? You guessed it. His Airness dropped 49 on the thieving Magic that night.
What numbers are you surprised to not see on this list? MJ’s #23 didn’t make the cut (191), neither did Bird’s 33 (201), or Magic’s 32 (187). Even the numbers 0 (35) and 00 (24) had poor showings. It will be interesting to see if this trend changes as we see players down the road looking to pay homage to their idols Kobe, KG, Duncan, and LeBron.
Thursday, May 13, 2010
The Forgettable Top 10
by Ken
As usual, regardless of who plays in late June and who hosts the Golden Basketball over their heads, this NBA season has brought some great memories. I for one can’t wait to see the “Top 10 Everything” highlights: Top 10 Dunks, Top 10 Assists, Top 10 Blocks, Top 10 Plays, Top 10 Bloopers (I especially love those). Trust me, I’ll be looking for them on NBATV as soon as the season ends, and probably watch the re-runs of the Season’s Top 10 show through out my NBA depraved summer.
I was hoping to write about a few sub-plots that somewhere down the road, might fade into oblivion. I don’t think these storylines might ever make any Top 10 lists, so here’s to the little ones, the seemingly insignificant ones, the ones that made headlines but didn’t. Without further ado, I present the “Forgettable Top 10”.
10. 2010 Free Agency
Starting about two years ago, I’d have the following conversation with some of my NBA crazed friends: “Really? They traded away this stud for these bunch of losers with huge contracts and knees held together with duct tape?? Why would they ever do that?”. Answer: “2010”. I’m sick of it! Not that I’m suggesting that the names and this free agent period won’t be a media frenzy, all I’m saying is that I’m tired of hearing 2010 as an excuse for all the bone-headed trades we’ve seen over the past two years. Notables for this years’ free agency: Chris Bosh, Lebron James, Joe Johnson, Dwyane Wade, David Lee, Amare Stoudamire, Carlos Boozer and JJ Barea. Well, all those teams that turned down their own good players, turned down other potentially good fits for their team, and decided to tank their respective seasons, better be prepared to remain in the cellar just a tad bit longer. Here’s the simple math: 2 Superstars, 5 Marquee players and a bunch of role players (and no, I’m not talking JJ Barea) divided into 15 teams that have sacrificed one thing or another to gain cap room. There will be losers. We should start a pool on those teams will be.
9. The Bulls
Some may say they were never going to win with John Salmons, Ben Gordon and Tyrus Thomas anyway, so they were traded or let go for (you guessed it) 2010! Side-note: at least the Bulls got a 1st round pick from the Bobcats albeit wasn’t a lottery pick. Some may say that Vinnie Del Negro (VDN) stunted the growth of Thomas and never let him blossom. Some may say VDN was the wrong virgin head coach to lead a young team in the first place. Here’s where the Bulls’ hopes lie: 2010! They are banking on Chicago being Wade’s hometown and that he’ll have enough memories and ties to decide to leave Florida and move to the Windy City. Shaq went to high school in San Antonio - that sure didn’t make him want to sign with the Alamo City now, did it? Ahhh… and to think they didn’t trade for Kobe coz they didn’t want to give up Luol Deng? Instead the GM is trading punches with his head coach, and VDN is trading hair care secrets with Noah from wherever he coaches next.
8. Nate Robinson
The Knicks are pretty much in the same scenario as the bulls when it comes to hopes of luring a marquee free agent to the Big Apple, but at least they are trying to get rid of the after-taste that is the Isaiah Era. One of the last unwanteds to be shipped out was Nate Robinson, from whom we are used to seeing some bone-headed plays in the past like traveling while showboating on a break-away dunk in a blow-out loss. We’re used to that. To the Knick fan, it’s what makes Nate Nate. The reason Kryptonate is on this list is for shooting the ball at his own basket after the whistle had blown. With the Knicks down, by a lot, Nate let his I don’t care (read: kiss my glass) attitude take over and drew the chagrin of coach d’Antoni who tore into the little firecracker like center Eddie Curry would tear into a BigMac.
7. Ron Artest
This man is truly one of the inspirations for this blog. May it be running out of the team hotel in his skivvies coz he was going to miss (he played with Houston then) a game 7 against the Lakers, or the snake eggs that Artest once told his manager to take care of in his backyard. The terrifying, potentially dangerous eggs turned out to be mushrooms. And no, not ‘shrooms, though I’ve often wondered what causes Artest to be the way he is. Ron Artest has become the scapegoat for many teams that lost. From Chicago to Indiana to Sacramento to Houston, it has always been Artests’ fault. Guess what? If the Lakers win this year, he still won’t get credit for trying to fit in and playing the role he should have been playing all these years.
6. Mike Woodsen
It’s all been said about what Woodsen has done as Atlanta’s coach: the increase in wins each season since he’s been there, the play-off success, the rejuvenation of a laughing stock team to an east contender. We all know what he’s done for the Hawks. But it’s that goatee: it exudes so much awesomeness and is always in perfect shape and each hair combed in perfect parallelism to each other. I would hate to have this beard forgotten. This beard makes me make up whole new words, and you know they say Neologism is a sign of psychosis, I’ll have some of that please!
5. The Worst Bang for your Buck
Not ripping into the GM, or team that traded for these contracts (I’d rather rip whoever gave theses players the money in the first place) but just plain value-wise, I want to be remember a few disasters. For example: Steve Francis and Raef LaFrenz were Portlands highest paid player a year ago. Well, in case you didn’t know it, Francis ($17million), LaFrentz ($12million) and Darius Miles ($9million) were responsible for a total of $38million (double if you count luxury tax) and ZERO points, rebounds, or any other stat. Speaking of getting your money’s worth! Here are this years’ 5 mile per gallon luxury vehicles that didn’t’ give the team anything worthy of any praise:
a) Michael Redd - $17million. Seems like the only consistency Redd can come up with is a season-ending injury. Every season.
b) Jermaine O’Neal - $22million. He played 70 games this year which is best since the 03-04 season. However, his creaking knees and gazillion injuries limited him to a career low (as starter) useless 30mpg and his team fizzled in the post-season. Time to apply for Medicare.
c) Tracy “KneeMac” McGrady - $23million. Highest paid player in the league who played in 24 games and averaged 9.4 points
d) Gilbert Arenas - $16million. The $111million investment played a total of 34 out of a possible 164 games since signing. Imagine buying a $111million mansion and then taking the bulldozer to it the next day. I’m just glad Gil didn’t use all his money to buy guns. Oh wait…
e) Peja Stojakovic - $14million. Peja missed another 20 games this season. For those of you that are counting, and I’m sure Hornets GM Bower is, that’s 8 out of 14 seasons played, that Peja missed at least 20 games!
Stay tuned for “Forgettable Top 10” 5-1…
As usual, regardless of who plays in late June and who hosts the Golden Basketball over their heads, this NBA season has brought some great memories. I for one can’t wait to see the “Top 10 Everything” highlights: Top 10 Dunks, Top 10 Assists, Top 10 Blocks, Top 10 Plays, Top 10 Bloopers (I especially love those). Trust me, I’ll be looking for them on NBATV as soon as the season ends, and probably watch the re-runs of the Season’s Top 10 show through out my NBA depraved summer.
I was hoping to write about a few sub-plots that somewhere down the road, might fade into oblivion. I don’t think these storylines might ever make any Top 10 lists, so here’s to the little ones, the seemingly insignificant ones, the ones that made headlines but didn’t. Without further ado, I present the “Forgettable Top 10”.
10. 2010 Free Agency
Starting about two years ago, I’d have the following conversation with some of my NBA crazed friends: “Really? They traded away this stud for these bunch of losers with huge contracts and knees held together with duct tape?? Why would they ever do that?”. Answer: “2010”. I’m sick of it! Not that I’m suggesting that the names and this free agent period won’t be a media frenzy, all I’m saying is that I’m tired of hearing 2010 as an excuse for all the bone-headed trades we’ve seen over the past two years. Notables for this years’ free agency: Chris Bosh, Lebron James, Joe Johnson, Dwyane Wade, David Lee, Amare Stoudamire, Carlos Boozer and JJ Barea. Well, all those teams that turned down their own good players, turned down other potentially good fits for their team, and decided to tank their respective seasons, better be prepared to remain in the cellar just a tad bit longer. Here’s the simple math: 2 Superstars, 5 Marquee players and a bunch of role players (and no, I’m not talking JJ Barea) divided into 15 teams that have sacrificed one thing or another to gain cap room. There will be losers. We should start a pool on those teams will be.
9. The Bulls
Some may say they were never going to win with John Salmons, Ben Gordon and Tyrus Thomas anyway, so they were traded or let go for (you guessed it) 2010! Side-note: at least the Bulls got a 1st round pick from the Bobcats albeit wasn’t a lottery pick. Some may say that Vinnie Del Negro (VDN) stunted the growth of Thomas and never let him blossom. Some may say VDN was the wrong virgin head coach to lead a young team in the first place. Here’s where the Bulls’ hopes lie: 2010! They are banking on Chicago being Wade’s hometown and that he’ll have enough memories and ties to decide to leave Florida and move to the Windy City. Shaq went to high school in San Antonio - that sure didn’t make him want to sign with the Alamo City now, did it? Ahhh… and to think they didn’t trade for Kobe coz they didn’t want to give up Luol Deng? Instead the GM is trading punches with his head coach, and VDN is trading hair care secrets with Noah from wherever he coaches next.
8. Nate Robinson
The Knicks are pretty much in the same scenario as the bulls when it comes to hopes of luring a marquee free agent to the Big Apple, but at least they are trying to get rid of the after-taste that is the Isaiah Era. One of the last unwanteds to be shipped out was Nate Robinson, from whom we are used to seeing some bone-headed plays in the past like traveling while showboating on a break-away dunk in a blow-out loss. We’re used to that. To the Knick fan, it’s what makes Nate Nate. The reason Kryptonate is on this list is for shooting the ball at his own basket after the whistle had blown. With the Knicks down, by a lot, Nate let his I don’t care (read: kiss my glass) attitude take over and drew the chagrin of coach d’Antoni who tore into the little firecracker like center Eddie Curry would tear into a BigMac.
7. Ron Artest
This man is truly one of the inspirations for this blog. May it be running out of the team hotel in his skivvies coz he was going to miss (he played with Houston then) a game 7 against the Lakers, or the snake eggs that Artest once told his manager to take care of in his backyard. The terrifying, potentially dangerous eggs turned out to be mushrooms. And no, not ‘shrooms, though I’ve often wondered what causes Artest to be the way he is. Ron Artest has become the scapegoat for many teams that lost. From Chicago to Indiana to Sacramento to Houston, it has always been Artests’ fault. Guess what? If the Lakers win this year, he still won’t get credit for trying to fit in and playing the role he should have been playing all these years.
6. Mike Woodsen
It’s all been said about what Woodsen has done as Atlanta’s coach: the increase in wins each season since he’s been there, the play-off success, the rejuvenation of a laughing stock team to an east contender. We all know what he’s done for the Hawks. But it’s that goatee: it exudes so much awesomeness and is always in perfect shape and each hair combed in perfect parallelism to each other. I would hate to have this beard forgotten. This beard makes me make up whole new words, and you know they say Neologism is a sign of psychosis, I’ll have some of that please!
5. The Worst Bang for your Buck
Not ripping into the GM, or team that traded for these contracts (I’d rather rip whoever gave theses players the money in the first place) but just plain value-wise, I want to be remember a few disasters. For example: Steve Francis and Raef LaFrenz were Portlands highest paid player a year ago. Well, in case you didn’t know it, Francis ($17million), LaFrentz ($12million) and Darius Miles ($9million) were responsible for a total of $38million (double if you count luxury tax) and ZERO points, rebounds, or any other stat. Speaking of getting your money’s worth! Here are this years’ 5 mile per gallon luxury vehicles that didn’t’ give the team anything worthy of any praise:
a) Michael Redd - $17million. Seems like the only consistency Redd can come up with is a season-ending injury. Every season.
b) Jermaine O’Neal - $22million. He played 70 games this year which is best since the 03-04 season. However, his creaking knees and gazillion injuries limited him to a career low (as starter) useless 30mpg and his team fizzled in the post-season. Time to apply for Medicare.
c) Tracy “KneeMac” McGrady - $23million. Highest paid player in the league who played in 24 games and averaged 9.4 points
d) Gilbert Arenas - $16million. The $111million investment played a total of 34 out of a possible 164 games since signing. Imagine buying a $111million mansion and then taking the bulldozer to it the next day. I’m just glad Gil didn’t use all his money to buy guns. Oh wait…
e) Peja Stojakovic - $14million. Peja missed another 20 games this season. For those of you that are counting, and I’m sure Hornets GM Bower is, that’s 8 out of 14 seasons played, that Peja missed at least 20 games!
Stay tuned for “Forgettable Top 10” 5-1…
Friday, April 23, 2010
Year End Awards: Rookie of the Year - A Slightly Scientific Approach.
by nate
Adult life and hobbies are in a constant struggle with each other. As usual, life has beat out hobbies and I'm not completely sure if I'll get to finish my 1st round playoff preview. So why not move on?
We're at the time of the NBA season in which they begin to announce their regular season awards. Slowly, the announcements trickle through the media, giving tiny tidbits for halftime announcers to chew on and debate. So far, we know that Dwight Howard has claimed another Defensive Player award, and that its a good year to carry the surname Brooks as Aaron and Scotty won the Most Improved and Coach of the Year awards, respectively. The two biggest awards of the year have yet to be named; the Rookie of the Year, and the Most valuable Player awards.
We all know how this works; members of the media place first, second, and third place votes, each of a scaled value, that when totaled, determine the winner. What exactly are their votes based on? Performance? Value? Favoritism? Or worse, homerism? They could vote for anybody, and that fact becomes evident every year. In 2007, Brandon Roy came away with the ROY (pun intended) award averaging 17 points, 4 assists, and shooting 46% from the field. Pretty nice for a rookie. That same year, Tyson Chandler received a few votes despite averaging only 5 points, 4 rebounds, and 13 minutes per game (all lows for everyone who received a vote) and received enough votes that he beat out three other players. Just last season, Robin Lopez received a vote. ROBIN Lopez (3 points, 2 rebounds, 10 minutes per). In 2004, Marquis Daniels received a vote. Do I need to remind you who was chosen the 2003 draft? I could go on and on.
So is there an effective way to determine the winner of such awards without having to deal with sometimes preposterous and ambiguous voting? I think I may have found it.
Anyone who has played fantasy sports should be familiar with the rotisserie game. In a rotisserie game, team success is graded on overall numbers in pre-detrermined categories and then ranked. For example, in a 12-team league, the team with the highest rebound total on the season is awarded 12 points. The team with the next highest will receive 11 points all the way to the last team that will receive 1 point. This scale is used for each category and the point rankings for each category are added together in order to determine an overall score to determine ultimate team supremacy. As with everything else in fantasy leagues, stats are key. Why not use this method in determining end of the season awards? Certainly it’s not a perfect process. Many purists will argue that “leadership”, “floor presence”, “potential” and other worthless intangibles need to be involved in the equation. These are the same people who vote for Marquis Daniels when LeBron James, Carmelo Anthony, Chris Bosh, Dwyane Wade, and Kirk Hinrich are lighting up stat sheets. There’s a time and a place for such things, but I’m not concerned with that right now.
So let’s get to it, then.
The basic fantasy basketball categories a team would be judged on are points (PTS), rebounds (TRB), assists (AST), steals (STL), blocks (BLK), three-pointers made (3PM), turnovers (TOV - used in a negative sense), field goal percentage, and free throw percentage. I’m not going to use field goal or free throw percentage so that that guy who’s made 8 of 10 free throws, but only played in 5 games, doesn’t get an unmerited boost. In it’s place, I’m going to add minutes played (MP). A rookie who gets burn has value.
58 players played in their first NBA season in 2009-2010 and each have been ranked by the numbers mentioned above. Below are the top 10.
10. Chase Budinger 327
9. Jrue Holiday 329
8. Wesley Matthews 339
7. Marcus Thornton 348
6. Omri Casspri 349
5. Jonas Jerebko 356
4. James Harden 359
3. Tyreke Evans 376
2. Brandon Jennings 379
1. Stephen Curry 388
By this ranking, Stephen Curry would be our rookie of the year. Are there many arguments to this? I know most were ready to crown Tyreke Evans, but there’s no question that Dell’s son put in work and did his thing this season, all the while not missing a game. I feel that this system could be the start of way to determine player productivity in the league. Who's the more important rookie, the most productive, or the one with the best intangible? I’d have no issues if Curry came away with the Eddie Gottlieb trophy next week. Let's see who the writers choose. Expect at least one Taj Gibson, or Terrence Williams vote.
Adult life and hobbies are in a constant struggle with each other. As usual, life has beat out hobbies and I'm not completely sure if I'll get to finish my 1st round playoff preview. So why not move on?
We're at the time of the NBA season in which they begin to announce their regular season awards. Slowly, the announcements trickle through the media, giving tiny tidbits for halftime announcers to chew on and debate. So far, we know that Dwight Howard has claimed another Defensive Player award, and that its a good year to carry the surname Brooks as Aaron and Scotty won the Most Improved and Coach of the Year awards, respectively. The two biggest awards of the year have yet to be named; the Rookie of the Year, and the Most valuable Player awards.
We all know how this works; members of the media place first, second, and third place votes, each of a scaled value, that when totaled, determine the winner. What exactly are their votes based on? Performance? Value? Favoritism? Or worse, homerism? They could vote for anybody, and that fact becomes evident every year. In 2007, Brandon Roy came away with the ROY (pun intended) award averaging 17 points, 4 assists, and shooting 46% from the field. Pretty nice for a rookie. That same year, Tyson Chandler received a few votes despite averaging only 5 points, 4 rebounds, and 13 minutes per game (all lows for everyone who received a vote) and received enough votes that he beat out three other players. Just last season, Robin Lopez received a vote. ROBIN Lopez (3 points, 2 rebounds, 10 minutes per). In 2004, Marquis Daniels received a vote. Do I need to remind you who was chosen the 2003 draft? I could go on and on.
So is there an effective way to determine the winner of such awards without having to deal with sometimes preposterous and ambiguous voting? I think I may have found it.
Anyone who has played fantasy sports should be familiar with the rotisserie game. In a rotisserie game, team success is graded on overall numbers in pre-detrermined categories and then ranked. For example, in a 12-team league, the team with the highest rebound total on the season is awarded 12 points. The team with the next highest will receive 11 points all the way to the last team that will receive 1 point. This scale is used for each category and the point rankings for each category are added together in order to determine an overall score to determine ultimate team supremacy. As with everything else in fantasy leagues, stats are key. Why not use this method in determining end of the season awards? Certainly it’s not a perfect process. Many purists will argue that “leadership”, “floor presence”, “potential” and other worthless intangibles need to be involved in the equation. These are the same people who vote for Marquis Daniels when LeBron James, Carmelo Anthony, Chris Bosh, Dwyane Wade, and Kirk Hinrich are lighting up stat sheets. There’s a time and a place for such things, but I’m not concerned with that right now.
So let’s get to it, then.
The basic fantasy basketball categories a team would be judged on are points (PTS), rebounds (TRB), assists (AST), steals (STL), blocks (BLK), three-pointers made (3PM), turnovers (TOV - used in a negative sense), field goal percentage, and free throw percentage. I’m not going to use field goal or free throw percentage so that that guy who’s made 8 of 10 free throws, but only played in 5 games, doesn’t get an unmerited boost. In it’s place, I’m going to add minutes played (MP). A rookie who gets burn has value.
58 players played in their first NBA season in 2009-2010 and each have been ranked by the numbers mentioned above. Below are the top 10.
10. Chase Budinger 327
9. Jrue Holiday 329
8. Wesley Matthews 339
7. Marcus Thornton 348
6. Omri Casspri 349
5. Jonas Jerebko 356
4. James Harden 359
3. Tyreke Evans 376
2. Brandon Jennings 379
1. Stephen Curry 388
By this ranking, Stephen Curry would be our rookie of the year. Are there many arguments to this? I know most were ready to crown Tyreke Evans, but there’s no question that Dell’s son put in work and did his thing this season, all the while not missing a game. I feel that this system could be the start of way to determine player productivity in the league. Who's the more important rookie, the most productive, or the one with the best intangible? I’d have no issues if Curry came away with the Eddie Gottlieb trophy next week. Let's see who the writers choose. Expect at least one Taj Gibson, or Terrence Williams vote.
Saturday, April 17, 2010
Playoff Preview continued
by nate
Nuggets vs. Jazz
The Jazz had the division sewn up with a single win on the final day of the season. But without Boozer and AK47, they were trounced by a red-hot Suns team and gave the division title to the rival Nuggets, who they, coincidentally , will now face in the 1st round. The Jazz have lost 3 of their 4 meetings with the Nuggets. A comparison of stats shows that the Jazz own the Nuggets statistically in their matchups. The Jazz shoot more threes, they win the rebound battle, the get more assists. But three categories stand out. The Nuggets average more points (obviously) and more steals. The Nuggets steals per game goes up 2 steals against the Jazz and so do Utah’s turnovers (they average 3 turnovers more than their season average when playing the Nuggs). No other team averages more turnovers when playing the Nuggets than the Jazz. With Kirilenko indefinitely out and Boozer questionable, Deron Williams will be forced to take over. If he tries too hard and forces the issue, he could feed right into the Nuggets’ hands and create the turnovers they need to win the matchup. Deron Williams has been the 2nd best point guard in the league behind Steve Nash and he will play his heart out against the Nuggets. But I really only expect the Jazz to win 2. Nuggets in 6.
Lakers vs. Thunder
Kevin Durant has played like an MVP this year and this will be his chance to make a name for himself as a superstar talent. The Lakers have beat the Thunder in 3 of their 4 matchups, but have not left the battle unscathed. All of their stats take a significant dip, showing that the OK boys are no cakewalk. Russell Westbrook especially enjoys playing the Lakeshow with two 20-point performances, one of which was a near triple double. With no show-stopping point guard on the Lakers, Phil Jackson will have a hard time putting together a backcourt that can contain Westbrook and James Harden. But don’t be fooled, the Lakers will give up one game at the most-if the brooms don’t come out. Lakers in 5.
Nuggets vs. Jazz
The Jazz had the division sewn up with a single win on the final day of the season. But without Boozer and AK47, they were trounced by a red-hot Suns team and gave the division title to the rival Nuggets, who they, coincidentally , will now face in the 1st round. The Jazz have lost 3 of their 4 meetings with the Nuggets. A comparison of stats shows that the Jazz own the Nuggets statistically in their matchups. The Jazz shoot more threes, they win the rebound battle, the get more assists. But three categories stand out. The Nuggets average more points (obviously) and more steals. The Nuggets steals per game goes up 2 steals against the Jazz and so do Utah’s turnovers (they average 3 turnovers more than their season average when playing the Nuggs). No other team averages more turnovers when playing the Nuggets than the Jazz. With Kirilenko indefinitely out and Boozer questionable, Deron Williams will be forced to take over. If he tries too hard and forces the issue, he could feed right into the Nuggets’ hands and create the turnovers they need to win the matchup. Deron Williams has been the 2nd best point guard in the league behind Steve Nash and he will play his heart out against the Nuggets. But I really only expect the Jazz to win 2. Nuggets in 6.
Lakers vs. Thunder
Kevin Durant has played like an MVP this year and this will be his chance to make a name for himself as a superstar talent. The Lakers have beat the Thunder in 3 of their 4 matchups, but have not left the battle unscathed. All of their stats take a significant dip, showing that the OK boys are no cakewalk. Russell Westbrook especially enjoys playing the Lakeshow with two 20-point performances, one of which was a near triple double. With no show-stopping point guard on the Lakers, Phil Jackson will have a hard time putting together a backcourt that can contain Westbrook and James Harden. But don’t be fooled, the Lakers will give up one game at the most-if the brooms don’t come out. Lakers in 5.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)