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November 3, 2009 ...I know Byron Scott is old school. But seriously—his two rookies (Darren Collison, and Marcus Thornton) should be playing. No way do I believe Bobby Brown is better than Collison. ...The Kings won their home opener last night at ARCO. We attended. Kevin Martin was hot and wound up with 48 points in the game that spilled into overtime. The Memphis Grizzlies looked pretty good as an opponent for Sacramento. Kudos to Marc Gasol who lost so much weight—he looks like a different guy, and to Zach Randolph—who is also clearly in the best shape of his career. An interesting scenario played out with four minutes left in regulation when Grizz Head Coach Lionel Hollins pulled Allen Iverson off the floor to reinsert his starter Mike Conley. He had to do it to not damage the confidence of Conley—but it had to be tempting to leave A.I. at the Point with the game on the line. ...I have enjoyed Paul Westphal’s willingness to substitute players freely. He also has shown that he will sub offense for defense or vice-versa in situational instances. I asked my Mom at half-time who the little dude signing autographs was. Floyd Mayweather Jr - it turns out. 

 

November 1, 2009 ...Six days and nights of NBA basketball are in the books. Early thoughts from a wide array of watching and crunching numbers… Dahntay Jones is not a go-to guy on offense. I can’t believe I watched the Indiana Pacers isolate Jones on offense on three occasions. I know he has a tiny bit of a post game but I’ve never thought of him as a guy you run a play for. ...T.J. Ford is off to a horrible start again. I think this is still because Jim O’Brien doesn’t trust him. Last year it was Jarrett Jack breathing down Ford’s neck for his minutes. This year Earl Watson has already been on the floor rather than Ford at the end of the game. …Brandon Jennings - the Bucks rookie Point Guard is off to a great start. If he doesn’t implode - he may be a superstar. I saw some things in his personality that I did not like in the Summer and I dismissed him as a guy who could have an impact running an NBA team TODAY. I may have been horribly wrong. Time will tell. ...Martell Webster of the Blazers looks sharp in his return from injury. He missed the season last year. ...The New York Knicks and the Golden State Warriors are two teams that looked as close to hopeless as a team can look so far. Outside of Al Harrington - and Danilo Gallinari - the Knicks prime-time players make me wonder. Jared Jeffries? Why is he in the NBA? Chris Duhon should be a backup at best. And on a good team  - Wilson Chandler would also be a deeper bench player. I said last year—and I will say again, “buyer beware” on David Lee in the free agent market. Lee’s “man-weight” is not sitting well with his game. As a kid and young NBA player—he had way more bounce and speed. He is aging too quickly in my opinion to keep up with his history of being really efficient. ...The Warriors are wrecked by the selfish attitudes of talented players Stephen Jackson and Monta Ellis. The two bad apples are hard to trade due to their contract status but when you watch the GSW it is easy to see that the TEAM is better when Stephen Curry and Anthony Morrow play together. As always, I don’t understand Don Nelson. I think Anthony Randolph is a star and he should be playing major minutes. The Warriors will be better when Randolph becomes a featured offensive player. ...I watched the 20 assist game by Steve Nash. He just carved the hearts out of the Warriors. Channing Frye looks comfy back in Arizona and he has become a guy you cannot leave alone at the three point line. ...Betting some money on a game is something I highly recommend to any fan of hoops. It makes you view the game much differently than if you are just “stat watching”.  ...The Wizards depth is already helping. With Antawn Jamison and Caron Butler sidelined - the Wiz can still hang. Minnesota trade acquisitions Mike Miller and Randy Foye look good in DC, and Gilbert Arenas is back to being the special talent that Wizards fans love. ...Still waiting for the Kings to sit Desmond Mason and play Tyreke Evans at Small Forward. They would immediately become more efficient and it would give them a better chance to get into their offense with either Beno Udrih or Sergio Rodriguez at the Point Guard spot. ...What happened to the Sean May that had a post up game in the NCAA? ...Omri Casspi has improved quickly and I now do have faith in him playing NBA minutes as a rookie.

 

October 26, 2009 ...The eve of the NBA season is the time to make our predictions. I am not trying to be a contrarian when I say with a sound mind and body that I am picking the San Antonio Spurs to win it all. I really believe they can do it. Is it a lock? Not even close. It could be the Lakers again or it could be Orlando. It could be Cleveland. But I’ll take the Spurs based on huge upgrades. Bruce Bowen’s job is now Richard Jefferson’s. Antonio McDyess will eat into minutes formerly given to the vacated Fabricio Oberto, and the returning Matt Bonner. Draft pick DaJuan Blair adds a legitimate low post scorer to their bench. George Hill is a great defender behind the All-Star Tony Parker, and Tim Duncan still produces at a high efficiency rate. Manu Ginobili’s health will have to be there but I see San Antonio rising to the top again. ...In the East—I like Orlando. ...One thing we’ve been good at over the years is being a  realistic source for a number of wins for your Sacramento Kings. Last year we said “23 wins” when every other published prediction we read or heard had the Kings winning more than 23. As it turns out - the Kings had the worst record in the league, getting the W only 17 times.  ...For 2009-10 - put us down for 23 wins again for the Kings, the lowest total for any Western Conference team. I do think there are three teams that will finish with lower wins totals than Sacramento. I smell stinkage coming from Philadelphia, Charlotte, and New Jersey. …”Philly is going to stink?”, I just think Andre Miller helped them overachieve in the past and without him they may struggle to get the ball where it should be. Lou Williams is a fine young player but will he shoot more than he should?  “Charlotte is going to be bad too?” They traded Emeka Okafor for Tyson Chandler which I think is a step back. I just don’t see the Bobcats with enough dynamic scorers to consistently compete. ...So who do we like more than the Vegas line as far as projected wins? Vegas says the Spurs are at 54.5 wins. I like San Antonio to possibly have the best record in the NBA - so I think that is a serious “over” play. Vegas has Dallas at 48.5—which I think they will easily better. Orlando is listed at 57.5 and I think they will be slightly better but not enough to warrant a wager. Denver is projected to win 52.5 by Vegas. I think they are better than that. Vegas has Utah at 49.5 wins. I think they win about 54. Indiana is listed at 34.5 wins. The Pacers of this year are deeper, more experienced, and better defensively through the additions of Dahntay Jones, and Solomon Jones.  Whenever Tyler Hansbrough returns from injury, they will upgrade in talent and toughness.  I say the Pacers go over 34.5 wins. Golden State is listed at 35.5 wins by Vegas. I like their depth and their young talent. Anthony Randolph playing significant minutes should help their poor rebounding efforts become a thing of the past. I see the Warriors much higher than 35.5 wins. The Washington Wizards, says Vegas, will win 41.5 games.  I think the Wiz are among the deepest teams in the NBA. Gilbert Arenas and Brendan Haywood are  starting the season healthy and Mike Miller & Randy Foye are great additions. I say they win more than 41.5. ...I like the Bulls better than their Vegas listed 40.5 wins. The Suns might be slightly better than their Vegas number of 41.5 wins. ...Miami is listed to win 40 games. They could win 41. ...The Knicks have a Vegas win projection of 31.5. I’ll bet on Mike D’Antoni’s system getting them over that easily.  ...Milwaukee should win more than 25.5. Why? Michael Redd is healthy and they added quality in Brandon Jennings, Hakim Warrick, Carlos Delfino, Kurt Thomas, and Ersan Ilyasova. ...Most have Minnesota stinking but I think they might be better than their projected 25.5 wins. Jonny Flynn is the real deal, and Al Jefferson and Corey Brewer are healthy. Once they get Kevin Love back from his broken hand—they should at least be in games—if not beating some teams. ...The best “under” bet on the board? Vegas says Charlotte will win 37.5 games. I say they struggle to win 20 games.