October 11, 2005 The NBA preseason started last night and I was able to catch the Spurs at Heat  on the Sunshine Network. Dwyane Wade and Shaq have some more help this season and Miami, in my mind, is expected to contend with Detroit, Cleveland, Philly, New Jersey, Indiana, and Chicago for East supremacy. Jason Williams, Antoine Walker, James Posey and Gary Payton figure to replace minutes held by Damon Jones, Rasual Butler, Eddie Jones, and Christian Laettner.  ...Alonzo Mourning looked very good Monday night. He is in fantastic shape and ultimately—even as much as I love Udonis Haslem—the Heat’s best lineup will be with Shaq and Zo on the floor at the same time. ...The Spurs’ Tim Duncan looked great and he made all his free throws (4-4). That is really the only bugaboo in his game. ...Sean Marks showed me he could shoot the rock with range tonight. Sharrod Ford played well as well for San Antonio. I have previously not been a fan of his game so I was surprised to see him ball so efficiently. Was it a one game wonder? The Spurs had a chance to win the game but rookie point guard Kyle Bailey whipped a bullet no-look pass to no-one setting up a Kevin Braswell driving lay-up at the buzzer for a Heat victory. ...NBA-TV’s Real Training Camp is hitting stride after a shaky start. The New Jersey edition on Monday was the best yet thanks to tremendous access to Head Coach Lawrence Frank.

 

October 6, 2005 ...Matt Barnes was signed by the Knicks. ...Whatever happened to Chris Carr? I always thought he had the shooting guard skills to stay in the NBA.

October 5, 2005 ...whatitdo. Frank Williams already got waived from the Clippers. And my guy Omar Thomas is history in Seattle. ...The Kings picked up Luke Schenscher (Georgia Tech) after he was waived by Denver. The big Aussie has an offensive game but overall I am not sold. He is 7’1” but he is a thin framed guy. He is a 63% FT shooter, and owns an assist to turnover ratio of 1:2.  ...The Clippers signed Rodney White. It is getting fairly thin when it comes to trusted NBA vets still available. My next four trusted unsigned guys are: Christian Laettner, Britton Johnsen, Adrian Griffin, and Matt Barnes. ...Michael Harris and Bobby Lazor remain as  two unproven talents worth exploring.

 

October 4, 2005 ...NBA-TV got off to a horrible start on their Training Camp coverage. Roughly half of the Real Training Camp debut show was in-audible. Video without sound was the norm for two taped interviews. There were no graphics detailing the New Orleans/Oklahoma City roster or who was invited to camp. It was embarrassing to watch. I am available now to produce these segments if you need me Mr. NBA. ...Isiah Thomas is dead-wrong again. Eddy Curry (if he passes a physical) and Antonio Davis for Mike Sweetney, Tim Thomas, Jermaine Jackson, a conditional first, and two second round picks, is silly and wasteful on the part of the Knicks. Larry Brown wins games—so New York may be better but when Isiah thinks this highly of Eddy Curry, it doesn’t spark faith in the Knicks future. Curry ranked 39th in efficiency among Centers last season. He is probably more of a power forward at 6’9”. At PF he ranked tied for 55th (with Christian Laettner.) Meanwhile the guy he traded (Sweetney) ranked 32nd at PF. The only good thing in the deal for NY is getting rid of Tim Thomas. ...How does Michael Harris (Rice) not get invited to a camp? He will make his way into the league someday. 

 

October 3, 2005 ...In most NBA cities it is media day today. That means training camp starts tomorrow. Thank GOD. I found myself watching (and enjoying) college football this past weekend. Any further football footage will take a backseat to pre-season basketball at my house. That’s right. You could throw up 4-0 NFL’er’s Cincinnati, and Indianapolis, and I would watch the NBA’s Charlotte vs. New Orleans/Oklahoma City. ...Kudos to Milwaukee for signing Josh Davis. ...Training camp signings that we like include Orlando doing a good thing by getting Felipe Lopez. He has improved as a scorer, and should be ready to make a roster. Tre Simmons (Washington) is in the Sonics camp. I think he is an NBA shooter. The Sonics also have the high-scoring Omar Thomas (UTEP) on their roster. Undrafted, I think Omar is an NBA player. The Sixers did well to get Ime Udoka in camp. The Bobcats are giving big Matt Nelson (Colorado St.) a shot. He has the size and skills to earn a spot as an NBA center. ...The Clippers added Frank Williams (Illinois) to their pre-season roster. Williams is too talented to not make the Clipps. On the other end of the signing spectrum, the Clippers wasted cash by adding Walter McCarty.