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BasslineSpin.com December 29, 2006 …They
fired Mike Fratello in
Memphis. I’ve never been a fan of the ‘Czar’s’ slow ball style but the ax
seems harsh with Pau Gasol only
having recently returned from injury. I don’t care for the Grizzlies roster.
It may be basketball blasphemy to question Jerry West but so far Rudy Gay, Hakim Warrick, Lawrence Roberts, and Alexander Johnson haven’t been great. Warrick has shown
flashes and Kyle Lowry (injured)
has too. But the overall roster is young and relative to the West—just not
that good. Mike Miller, and Chucky Atkins are solid but Gasol is the only guy
in Memphis that is a top-ten player at his position. Time for our latest look
at the All-Star worthy choices according to the science of the Efficiency
Rating. ...EAST. Guards: Dwyane Wade, Gilbert Arenas, Jason Kidd, Vince Carter. Forwards: David Lee, Jermaine O’Neal, Dwight Howard, Lebron James, Paul Pierce, Chris Bosh.
Centers: Emeka Okafor, Samuel Dalembert. (Shaq will most likely be voted in as a starter—which
would eliminate Dalembert.) ...WEST. Guards: Steve Nash, Kobe Bryant, Baron Davis, Chris Paul.
Forwards: Kevin Garnett, Dirk Nowitzki, Tim Duncan, Carlos Boozer, Carmelo Anthony.
Centers: Yao Ming, Amare Stoudemire, Marcus Camby. December 24, 2006 ...Mark
down roughly 28 games as the time when the NBA player’s body starts to break
down. This week Yao Ming, Rashard Lewis, Nened Krstic, and Josh Smith have all suffered injuries that will
require them to miss time. ...Brevin Knight is
injured again. Sean May too in
Charlotte. ...Kudos to Matt Barnes for
his excellent overall play in Oakland for the Warriors. If the season ended
today Golden State would have the eighth spot in the West. That the G-S Dub
is doing it mostly without Jason Richardson this
season makes their seeding even more impressive. Andris Biedrins was given a chance by Don Nelson and the Latvian youngster has
responded as one of the most efficient BIGS in the West. I was too hard on
Nelson when he was hired and Mike Montgomery was
canned. I thought it was a short term fix and a mistake. I take that back
now. “Nellie” may not be my kind of guy but he does deserve credit for being
more progressive than most coaches. The game has not passed Nelson in any
way. ...T.J. Ford is a
player we, in the West, should appreciate more. I watched Toronto play twice
this week (at Portland, at Seattle). Ford has special skill and I could
foresee him being a franchise-type point guard in the NBA for years to come. December 18, 2006 The
Kings are 10-13. Yuck. They just don’t have the talent to be a winner. There
isn’t one guy on their team right now that is playing like a top-15 player at
their respective position. Their
offense stinks but to me it is still all about the lack of a Center or shot
blocker. The opposition feasts in the paint vs. Sacramento. ...Watching Josh Howard gave me the opportunity to point out
again that we had him listed seventh in the 2003 draft. He slipped to #29 for
the Mavericks. ...I am fine with the Carmelo Anthony suspension.
I remember Kermit Washington and Rudy Tomjanovich. I have always had a disdain for the
‘sucker punch’. That is bitch stuff. December 10, 2006 Most
teams have played between 17 and 20 games now. Remember that mark as the time
when the shit starts to hit the fan across the NBA. Allen Iverson demanded to be traded from
Philadelphia. From the Kings perspective—I think the only guy I wouldn’t
trade for Allen Iverson would be Kevin Martin.
...Gonzaga crushed Washington last night in Spokane. ...Your NBA All-Stars at
this point in the season should be: EAST - Guards: Dwyane Wade, Jason Kidd, Vince Carter, and Michael Redd. Forwards: David Lee, Lebron James, Chris Bosh, Paul Pierce, and Luol Deng. Centers: Dwight Howard, Jermaine O’Neal, and Emeka Okafor. WEST - Guards: Steve Nash, Kobe Bryant, Chris Paul, and Baron Davis. Forwards: Carlos Boozer, Kevin Garnett, Dirk Nowitzki, Tim Duncan, Carmelo Anthony, and Zach Randolph. Centers: Yao Ming, and Amare Stoudemire. December 5, 2006 ...Went
to ARCO last night to see the Kings lose to Orlando. Dwight Howard led the Magic with 18 points and 16
boards. The Magic have lots of talent. They are deep at the point with Jameer Nelson, Carlos Arroyo, and
(seldom) never-used Travis Diener. As
long as Grant Hill is
healthy they are okay at the TWO. Hedo Turkoglu has Trevor Ariza backing up at Small Forward. Ariza’s
length and mobility give him a chance to be a star in this league someday.
...Sacramento missed out on some chances to go at Nelson, or Keyon Dooling which were the guys I thought they
should have tried to attack. ...Ron Artest (bad
back) did not play for the Kings. ...Shareef Abdur-Rahim did
play on the same day he had his knee drained. …My, ‘Doc Rivers is in trouble’ radar went off last
night when I saw that Boston was down by like 40 points to Chicago. ...We
tried the new Pepperoni Artisan Pizza from Round Table. It was good but not
great. The crust gets a thumbs up but the fact that you cannot alter the
toppings seemed cruel and unusual. ...Flakey people bug me yet I am flakey
too. December 3, 2006 ...I
was surprised to see DePaul beat Kansas with a second half comeback
yesterday. I am a fan of Julian Wright in
Jay Hawk land. ...Today I saw Georgia Tech under whelm at Miami. Thaddeus Young was a virtual no-show. ...Florida
State beat Florida tonight behind a solid effort from Al Thornton. He has a power game but also has
enough finesse to hit 80% from the line. ...On the Kings front - it has sunk
in further to me that Shareef Abdur-Rahim
‘s overall game is more worthy of being a backup at
this stage of his career. He can score with his back to the basket but his
lack of overall athleticism hurts the Kings on the glass. ...Ron Artest recently complained that he wasn’t
getting enough shots. I’d say he gets too many. His three-ball is only nice
when he has plenty of time to tee it up. That is the only time he should
shoot the three. The rest of his offensive game can be really effective with
his use of power, and his handling skills. ...Kevin Martin needs more shots. Francisco Garcia is a great on-ball defender. I still
think he should be the Kings backup point guard when Bibby needs a blow.
Bibby allowing dribble penetration wouldn’t be such an issue if the Kings had
a shot blocker. ...Dwight Howard might score 90 against the Kings on
Monday. ...Kenny Thomas has
played well on defense but has abandoned his offensive game. His free throws
still have a hitch. He does rebound
outside his area very well. ...Corliss Williamson is
still an effective professional. ...John Salmons has
been solid so far. November 30, 2006 ...Too
many thoughts to keep up with it all. ...No headbands? C’mon Chicago—get rid
of the ‘old-way’ thoughts at the core of that team rule. ...It is so hard to
evaluate players that have had major injuries. Villanova’s Curtis Sumpter comes to mind as does Carl Landry at Purdue. ...This is a crucial year
to get your NBA scouting correct. The Draft Class of 2007 may be the best
ever according to many experts. Now that our racing schedule has calmed down
we can delve into the college game more seriously. I will post the “Early,
Early” Draft List sometime in the near future. I like to wait for the
big-game freshmen to log about 300 minutes—which is where their individual
efficiency ratings begin to stabilize. ...It’s early but Cal’s hoopsters look
good. They won the Great Alaska Shootout and then crushed Kansas State.
…Under the radar is Old Dominion’s Arnaud Dahi. O.D.
spanked a good Hawaii team already this year. |