October 8, 2008 ...The San Antonio Spurs have 20 players on their roster. ...I watched the Sixers beat the Celtics tonight behind a great preseason effort by Lou Williams. The 21 year old scored 27 points in 26 minutes while adding five boards, and four assists. He was 12-13 from the line, and 7-12 from the field. ...20 year-old Thaddeus Young also played well. The Sixers future is bright. ...Celtics rookie Bill Walker from Kansas St. played well and excited his fun-loving teammates with a highlight dunk. ...Patrick O’Bryant, who rotted on the bench as a member of the Warriors, scored ten points and grabbed eight rebounds in 26 well-played minutes. The BasslineSpin.com Efficiency Rating has always suggested that O’Bryant just needed a chance. 

 

October 7, 2008 ...I loves me some NBA. Presidential debate? Shhhi.. I know who I’m voting for already. I was arguing with DirecTV personnel over the failure to see the opening night of NBA preseason basketball. I missed the first quarter and most of the second quarter of the Dallas vs. Washington game due to some sort of issue at DirecTV headquarters. Suddenly my NBA channels became unlocked and the 2008-09 NBA experience was on. ...I watched the Kings / Blazers game and was thoroughly entertained even though Sacramento got waxed. Rudy Fernandez had two plays in his first NBA competition that were highlights to the 15th power. Greg Oden was fantastic. His power and quickness is unmatched. Shaquille O’Neal has more power but in 2008 Shaq’s not nearly as quick as Oden is right now. ...Brandon Roy was special as well tonight. A pick and roll with Roy and Oden will be deadly to defend. ...Usually I am the one in our household of Myself, Wifey, and six cats, that is making the bold predictions and proclamations. So imagine me hearing my wife (who watches a ton of hoops herself) - say that Portland is the 2008-09 NBA Champions. She said, “They have something special. You can just see that special quality in their mix of talent, youth and maturity. They have depth at Point Guard and at Center. Put it down—I say they are the NBA Champs this season!”  We put it down. ...For the Kings there was not much to smile about. Kevin Martin, Brad Miller, and Quincy Douby were held out with minor injuries. The only Kings that I thought played worth a crap were Francisco Garcia, Mikki Moore, and to some extent Donte Greene. John Salmons was abysmal. Spencer Hawes was horrific. ...Around the NBA: Bad news for Wizards fans as Brendan Haywood appears headed for surgery that could keep him out for an extended period. Yo, Eddie Jordan - maybe you can weather this with some small ball that includes Dominic McGuire at Center. He is a good enough shot blocker to allow you to do it. ...Carl Landry, who we love over here, was brilliant in Houston’s opening preseason game. Part of the trouble with the mainstream media is that it was predetermined that in the case of the Rockets you were going to get Ron Artest highlights. In the Blazers game - you get Oden highlights. So maybe you did not notice that Landry had 18 points and nine boards in 23 minutes for the Rockets. ESPN was not showing any Joel Pryzbilla highlights either. But big Joel snatched 12 rebounds in 22 minutes without missing a shot (3-3 FG), (1-1 FT). Maybe that is why you are one of the few diehards that read this space.

 

October 4, 2008 ...Evaluating talent is tough. Time reveals more about a player and the good scouts constantly update their mental image of the subject’s ability. It is not ‘flip-flopping’. Becoming educated about anything leads to a more informed decision. All that being said - I feel like I goofed up on two rookies when I made my final rankings for the 2008 draft. In one instance I didn’t realize how good a player was, and in the other instance—I overrated a guy. The players? Anthony Randolph (LSU), and Alexis Ajinca (France). Randolph was taken by the Warriors, while Ajinca is now Bobcats property. Where I screwed up on Randolph was that I didn’t really believe he could play shooting guard at 6’10”. Well, I now know that he can. Watching him on my DirecTV DVR during the Vegas Summer League  I saw him handle the ball much more that I ever saw him do at LSU. He can play. ...Ajinca is the classic case for me of not being able to see a young international player enough. I watched him in the Nike Hoop Summit and studied all the career stats I could find. He is an intriguing athletic prospect with a huge wingspan. But right now I feel that I way overrated him. He was abysmal in Vegas—looking much more like a huge ‘project’ than a potential hero. ...One international guy I like is Goran Dragic. The Slovenian point guard is battling for minutes as a backup to Steve Nash in Phoenix. Learn more here.

 

October 3, 2008 PART II ...Guess who finally finished the Las Vegas Summer League statistical audit? Check out the tidbits here. ... The full spreadsheet is here.

 

October 3, 2008 ...Something I’ve been thinking for awhile now is that Tracy McGrady is slowing down very quickly. The Rockets will be better with this year due to the addition of Ron Artest but I think T-Mac is entering into the phase of his career that I saw with previously great players like Grant Hill, and Scottie Pippen. McGrady’s efficiency rating slipped to a career low .500 last season—and that was in a Rick Adleman offense that should have accelerated his efficiency. At .500—he was 18th best at Small Forward in the NBA. That isn’t bad but it sure isn’t superstarish. ...Buzz occurs at this time each year regarding which players have come into training camp in great shape. We hear that Al Harrington looks good for the Warriors. ...Joel Anthony is being praised in Miami as a possible rotation player. ...The Kings say Spencer Hawes, and Kevin Martin are in the best shape of their lives. ...Jerry Stackhouse is supposedly also looking more youthful. ...Tyrus Thomas - already a freak athlete - is said to be even more freakish after off-season training. 

 

October 2, 2008 ...The Kings are going to run parts of the Triangle Offense this season according to reports in the Sacramento Bee. Why not? If nothing else—players will learn more about ‘reading and reacting’ which is always the basis for efficient offense. ...Bobby Jones (Washington) in the Kings camp could be s stroke of genius. I have been a believer in Jones as a guy that can be a roster maker. He plays hard, and he plays defense although his offensive game is not quite ready for quality NBA minutes. He still has upside due to being athletic enough to belong. And that is the Bobby Jones Gospel.