His reply was brief, but to the point:
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…
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