|
BasslineSpin.com January 24, 2007 ...Tonight
we were witness to Sacramento beating Milwaukee despite 36 points from Earl Boykins.
For those who do not know - Boykins is listed at 5’5” 133 lbs. He is
amazing to watch. It’s a good thing he IS in the NBA because if he weren’t I
can only imagine the ‘playground legend’ stories that would emerge. There
were times when I marveled at Calvin Murphy, and
later Spud Webb. I’d
have to put Boykins right in there. ...Who was the chick that was signing
autographs as she walked up the stairs at ARCO near the end of the first
half? ...Pau Gasol with a
triple-dub in Salt Lake City to lead the “Grizzle”. ...At the halfway mark the NBA Rookie of
the Year award is wide open. The most efficient player among rookies who
actually play is Craig Smith in
Minnesota. Paul Millsap in
Utah is next. I think Brandon Roy, with
a healthy second-half of the season, will emerge as the front runner. Still
in the mix are Rudy Gay, Jorge Garbajosa, Randy Foye, Shelden Williams, and Marcus Williams. Adam Morrison plays
the most but that isn’t a reason to give him Rookie of the Year. ...Most
improved? My short list has Andris Biedrins, Kevin Martin, Caron Butler, and Al Jefferson. ...Players who had logged over
1,000 minutes this season but who had efficiency ratings under .300? Desmond Mason .282, and Adam Morrison .252. ...Brian Cook (.549
EFR.) seems deserving of more run from Phil Jackson. ......January
23, 2007 ...MVP talk. If I had to vote today… 1. Dirk Nowitzki, 2. Dwyane Wade, 3. Steve Nash, 4. Amare Stoudemire, 5. Kobe Bryant. ...The MVP race also includes Gilbert Arenas, Kevin Garnett, Carlos Boozer, Jason Kidd, and Tim Duncan. Honestly I couldn’t put Lebron James in that mix above if I wasn’t going
to include Dwight Howard, or Jermaine O’Neal - who have been as good as Lebron so
far. Maybe King James is waiting for the playoffs. ...The NBA
All-Star team for NBA dancers was
named today. How could our favorites
Sara and
Krystal from
Sacramento not be on it? ...Underrated players according to public
perception? Caron Butler, David Lee, Samuel Dalembert, Deron Williams, Josh Howard, Marcus Camby, and Andris Biedrins.
...January 22, 2007 ...I
saw an entertaining finish tonight at ARCO Arena as the Kings came from 20
points down in the late third quarter to stun the New Jersey Nets. Francisco Garcia disrupted the Nets offensive flow,
and Mike Bibby came
alive down the stretch to earn the win for Sac, not long after the hometown
fans booed their team. It was 64-50 New Jersey in front when a timeout was
called following a Mikki Moore dunk.
ARCO booed in unison and then Moore and Jason Collins did
jumping chest bumps at mid-court. Early in the game Moore was celebrating his
success by doing the same chest bumps with Hassan Adams. I like Mikki Moore but that stuff
should be for his pre-game routine exclusively. (He and Eddie House often do the running jump into each
other prior to tip off.) ...The lead for the Nets actually ballooned to 73-53
with 2:49 left in the third. The Kings rallied behind the defense of Garcia,
and John Salmons—who
at least held Jason Kidd in
check. In the first ten minutes of the third quarter—Kidd was running
roughshod over Sacramento. ...Brad Miller snared
a couple huge rebounds late in the fourth quarter, one, even in traffic!
January 21, 2007 I was
shocked to read what
Dave Del Grande, and
Tim Kawakami had to
say about the Warriors/Pacers trade. They used the word “genius” when talking
about Chris Mullin.
Genius? Maybe the two writers who have watched plenty of Troy Murphy and Mike Dunleavy haven’t seen enough of Al Harrington’s bad games. Stephen Jackson, it’s true, will add toughness. He
is also the most likely to ’ghost ride the whip’ at an East Oakland sideshow.
In other words—let’s save the genius talk for about three years down the line
when we can really judge a trade. ...I don’t like Don Nelson’s way of talking crap about his
players. He uses the media to deliver messages and seems to always be playing
head games. I still believe Dunleavy, with some love and appreciation, will
be a productive, professional. He needs some confidence. It wasn’t Dunleavy’s
fault he was picked 3rd in the
2002 draft. He couldn’t meet those
expectations anywhere. ...Kudos to the
Sacramento Bee for putting Scott Howard-Cooper back
on the weekly NBA beat. His Sunday column is the best thing in the paper.
...I was saddened to learn of R.E. Graswich leaving
the Bee. His Metro section columns on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday often
offered a real slice of Sacramento nostalgia, and history. Graswich was a
link to the older generation of writers that paved the way for today’s
writers that get more television time than column space. ...Wesley Matthews—son
of former NBA guard Wes Matthews hit
clutch free throws in a big Marquette at Pittsburgh contest Sunday. Yes, I
watched that and not the NFL deal with Chicago and New Orleans. ...January 19, 2007 ...Lots
of speculation about the All-Star teams. The game is less than a month away.
It will be played in Las Vegas on February 18, 2007. As we always do—we keep
you up to date with a look at those All-Star worthy vs. who will be voted in.
The latest fan voting update was January 11th, 2007. Fans only choose
starters. Here’s how it might look… EAST—Guards: Fans say Dwyane Wade, and Vince Carter. We will add Jason Kidd .632 EFR, and Gilbert Arenas .624 EFR. Forwards: Fans say...Lebron James, and Chris Bosh. We bring off the bench… Jermaine O’Neal .652 EFR, David Lee .642 EFR (Lee has no chance of
actually making the team. We think too progressively), and Paul Pierce .620 EFR. The fans Center is Shaquille O’Neal. We would add Dwight Howard .647 EFR, and Emeka Okafor .603 EFR. ...In the Western
Conference the fans like Kobe Bryant, and Tracy McGrady as starting guards. That leaves us
the obvious choice of Steve Nash .688
EFR off the bench. Also we would include Manu Ginobili .627
EFR. The forwards in the West are the best in the world. The starters would
be Kevin Garnett, and Tim Duncan. I think you add three forwards in
reserve. Give us Dirk Nowitzki .761
EFR, Carlos Boozer .721
EFR, and Zach Randolph .647
EFR. The starting Center will be Yao Ming (if
healthy) and my players at Center off the bench would be Amare Stoudemire .725 EFR, and Marcus Camby .689 EFR. ...Player in the East most
likely to be there instead of David Lee is Chauncey Billups. ...The West players most likely to
be in Vegas rather than Randolph (he gets no love), Camby or Ginobili are Shawn Marion, Tony Parker or Allen Iverson. ...Players on the verge but the
numbers don’t work? Baron Davis .579
EFR, Chris Paul .577
EFR, Deron Williams .525
EFR, Josh Howard .578
EFR, Kevin Martin .553
EFR, Caron Butler. 580
EFR, T.J. Ford .529
EFR, and Elton Brand .636
EFR. |