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October 14, 2009 ...Hakim Warrick has made me a believer in his outside shooting ability. Previously—Warrick struggled with anything beyond ten feet but he now is showing the skill to consistently hit open jump shots. With his length and improved shot - I think he can be a real asset in Milwaukee. ...Will Bynum is playing extremely well for the Pistons. ...At THIS minute, I foresee five rookies starting for their respective teams on opening night: Blake Griffin - LAC, Tyreke Evans - SAC, David Andersen - HOU, DeMar DeRozan - TOR, and Jonny Flynn - MIN.

 

October 13, 2009 ...The Houston Rockets might be in trouble this season without Yao Ming and with Ron Artest now in LaLa-Land. Experienced Euro-Center David Andersen (a dead-ringer for Pete Chilcutt with colored contacts) was a nice signing for the Rockets but Yao he is not. I witnessed first-hand what not having Ron-Ron on defense can mean to a team. The Rockets gained Trevor Ariza but his two-way game is not on par with Artest’s. Houston’s first two off the bench (Carl Landry, and Kyle Lowry) are players I like—but the rest of their second unit is weak (Chuck Hayes, Brian Cook, Chase Budinger). ...It is weird to see Ariza wearing Rockets uniform #1. He looks like Tracy McGrady. T-Mac switched his jersey number to THREE.  ...Each preseason it is interesting to learn who worked hard to be in great physical condition for the season ahead. Some of the names we keep hearing are: Joakim Noah, Gilbert Arenas, Baron Davis, and Eric Gordon. On the other end of the spectrum—you hear things about players that could be in better shape. Or sometimes you can see with the naked eye—as is the case with these dudes who look heavy: Lindsey Hunter, and Jason Richardson.

 

October 8, 2009 ...I DID set my alarm for 4:15 am so I could be awake for the 4:30 am start of the Pacers - Nuggets game from Taiwan. The Pacers played well and Roy Hibbert had a great game with 20 points eleven rebounds and eight blocked shots. He was complimented by A.J. Price—the rookie from U-Conn who knocked down four three-point shots. ...We attended the Kings first preseason game last night at ARCO Arena. The Kings lost to Portland. Sacramento - it seems to me - has an unbalanced roster with at least one too many wing type players - and not enough BIG men. Francisco Garcia, Andres Nocioni, Omri Casspi, and Donte Greene are all best suited to play Small Forward. Out of necessity—rookie Tyreke Evans may end up the THREE spot. He is NOT a Point Guard and Kevin Martin has to play Shooting Guard. Evans has long enough arms to play SF—despite giving up height as it is traditionally measured (at the top of the head).  Meanwhile—up front - the Kings have Spencer Hawes, Jason Thompson, Sean May, and smallish FOURS in Kenny Thomas, and Jon Brockman. …Certainly Sacramento was exposed more due Greg Oden’s presence. Oden looked sharper than I have previously seen him. He was dominant.

 

October 6, 2009 ...Watched the Bulls & Jazz from London this afternoon. The preseason contest was well played. Joakim Noah says he is in the best shape of his life and he looked extremely active and maybe quicker. ...James Johnson hit a put-back at the buzzer to win it for Chicago. It was fun to see the Bulls players react to the game-winner. They hopped around like they had won a playoff game. ...DaJuan Blair had 16 points and 19 rebounds in his first pro effort for the Spurs.

 

October 5, 2009 ...I think the Indiana Pacers need to address their situation at Shooting Guard. They can’t really be thinking of playing with either Brandon Rush or Dahntay Jones as the main guys can they? I would play Danny Granger at the TWO out of emergency necessity. Otherwise they need to make a deal. …I didn’t realize Chris Berman had officially changed his name to “Boom”. ...I am frustrated at the inability to watch NBA preseason games on DirecTV. I wanted to watch the Pistons-Heat game tonight but it was blacked out. That’s pooh. ...Locally - good job again to Jim Crandell for his coverage of the Sacramento Kings on his nightly sportscasts for Fox 40.

 

September 26, 2009 ...The Houston Rockets have new jerseys. ...They also have Rashad McCants who is capable of a big scoring night every now and again. ... Jana Kramer is the name of the “UCLA girl” on Entourage.

 

September 25, 2009 ...Training camp news excites me. Oh how I love the Utah Jazz front office. They were the smart ones that drafted Paul Millsap and now they have agreed with me again by bringing in camp fillers that I think should be in the NBA. Perhaps my latest “poster-child” for a guy that should be in the big show is Spencer Nelson of Utah State. He went undrafted in 2005 and has since played overseas in Italy and Germany. The question will be can Nelson offset his individual defensive liabilities against quicker wings with his considerable offensive skill set? Nelson is the consummate team player that will bring it to practice every day and that should carry some weight with Jerry Sloan. The Jazz also have added Paul Harris (Syracuse), and Wes Matthews Jr. (Marquette). Harris plays basketball like its football and I think he has “first-round” talent. Unfortunately—he is hurt right now with a severely sprained ankle. He injured the ankle during informal workouts with Utah players. When healthy—Harris can certainly defend opposing shooting guards. He was undrafted this Summer despite a past that includes running in USA Basketball sanctioned events.

 

September 24, 2009 ...The Anthony Parker signing by the Cavs this summer looks like a more important move now that Delonte West will almost certainly miss some time due to legal issues. Even with Parker - I think the SG position in Cleveland is still the weakest point of their roster. I liked the Cavs bringing in Jermario Moon but they lost classy vet Joe Smith to Atlanta. Although doubtful—rookie Danny Green could always be asked to play a role in Cleveland as well.  Of course none of anything matters too much for the Cavs as long as Lebron James is there and healthy.  ...Dallas new alternate jerseys. ...Training camps for the teams playing overseas in the preseason begin Saturday. YAHOOOOOOO! …Today a special quick fun bonus item: The BasslineSpin.com All-Time *Favorite Sacramento Kings 15-man roster. *favorite meaning - all things considered—not at all about their basketball success. ...Eddie Johnson, LaSalle Thompson, Wayman Tisdale, Otis Thorpe, Ricky Berry, Michael Jackson, Anthony Bonner, Henry Turner, Lionel Simmons, Mitch Richmond, Reggie Theus, Francisco Garcia, Harold Pressley, Bill Wennington, & Kenny Smith. …Taking a shot at the All-Time Kings Roster strictly related to playing hoops: Mike Bibby, Richmond, Peja Stojakovic, Chris Webber, Vlade Divac, Smith, Kevin Martin, Johnson, Thorpe, Tisdale, Theus, Doug Christie, Simmons, Thompson, & Brad Miller. Close to making the above roster is Antoine Carr—the original Big Dog. Consideration was also given to Danny Ainge, Jason Williams, Corliss Williamson, Rodney McCray, Brian Grant, Larry Drew, Spud Webb, and Bobby Jackson. 

 

September 21, 2009 …A recent trip to Tahoe allowed us to check the futures odds for the NCAA Championship. The only thing that stuck out at me on the sheet was Mississippi State being listed at 90-1. There is no reason that the Bulldogs should be considered such a long shot. They were 23-12 last year and they won the SEC Tournament. They are coached by the winningest coach in the history of the program (Rick Stansbury) - and more importantly they return the best defender in college in Jarvis Varnardo. Add to that mix two incoming freshmen that are future NBA players in Renardo Sidney, and John Riek - and you have a team that really should have odds of about 15-1.  ... The Charlotte Bobcats have new uniforms. ...I feel for Delonte West who obviously has some deeper issues still going on. That said - what the heck was he thinking? Three guns? There is a good chance I will waive him from my fantasy team. (Now there is some vital info you needed).