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January 4, 2010 ...The fans have the NBA All-Stars all screwed up—with Tracy McGrady in position to possibly start at Forward. With that in mind - here is our take on who SHOULD be playing. East: Guards - Dwyane Wade, Rajon Rondo, Joe Johnson, and we’ll fudge and call Gerald Wallace a Guard. At Forward in the East: Lebron James, Chris Bosh, David Lee, Josh Smith, Kevin Garnett. Center: Dwight Howard, Al Horford, and Brook Lopez. The reality in the East is that Paul Pierce will be an All-Star which will most likely take away a spot from Lopez. I can’t really argue since the Nets stink so badly. Coaches love Ray Allen too but he honestly doesn’t deserve it this year. In the West, we would go with Guards: Chris Paul, Steve Nash, Kobe Bryant, Kevin Durant and Deron Williams. Forwards: Tim Duncan, Carlos Boozer, Dirk Nowitzki, Carmelo Anthony, Zach Randolph. Centers: Pau Gasol, Marcus Camby. There is no chance at all for Camby despite his continued great efficiency. Brandon Roy is coming on strong and will make it. Others in the mix that may get shut out include Chauncey Billups, Marc Gasol, Amar’e Stoudemire, Nene, Baron Davis, Jason Kidd. Carl Landry will not even get considered but he should be. Finally, Tony Parker has not been up to par this season and he does not deserve to be there but coaches love him. ...I have watched 49 college, and an unknown number of NBA basketball games in the last 48 days.

 

January 3, 2010 ...J.R. Smith is not playing at the same efficiency he was at last season. Smith is down nearly .100 efficiency points through his first 700 minutes. ...Allen Iverson’s first 300 minutes have been played at a very nice .465 EFR clip. ...Mike Dunleavy Jr.’s initial 450-plus minutes have not been very good for his previous track record. His EFR is .386. ...Brandon Rush kills the Pacers with his inefficient play - and although his totals may look nice - Dahntay Jones woeful EFR has to be a factor in Indiana’s ineptitude. While we’re picking on the Pacers - Luther Head is another guy that has never been efficient. Maybe T.J. Ford COULD do the job if he played with better wing teammates.

...Erick Dampier is shooting 66% from the field. ...I can’t remember ever seeing Jason Terry’s EFR below .400 but that is where it is right now (.396).

 

December 26, 2009 ...I’ve been blogging  for over six years. Never once have I mentioned NBA referees. Even in the scandalous days when the Tim Donaghy story emerged, I was silent.  Well… I just returned from ARCO Arena where I witnessed NBA referee Derrick Stafford assisting in a Lakers win over the Kings. Stafford called phantom fouls on Sacramento, missed blatant traveling calls on the Lakers, and then tried to bait Paul Westphal by staring at him. I HATE THAT! The technical foul is the ref’s retort. Staring at a coach makes it personal. Call the T and move away.  Stafford has now (in my eyes) surpassed the dubious Bennet Salvatore as the worst official in the league. And yes, I was this angry at Stafford before the Kings blew a chance to beat L.A. by becoming offensively stagnant when it mattered most. ...Like a broken record I keep repeating that Tyreke Evans is not the Kings best choice as the man to initiate their offense. True, he has had some success at the Point, and by no means am I suggesting Evans should never have the ball in his hands as a playmaker. He is a fantastic young rookie player. But the worst part of his ever-evolving game is his lack of consistent ability to involve his teammates in a half-court setting.  Evans ranks 139th among 414 players in the NBA at assist-to-turnover ratio. ...There are five spots available on the floor. One of those spots belongs to a primary ball-handler / offense initiator. Using logic and common sense when evaluating players—it follows that the highest ranked one-fifth of all NBA players are guys that , if they can guard opposing PG’s, should be playing as PG’s. ...A fifth of 414 is 82.8. The players ranked in the top 82.8 should therefore comprise the pool of the best choices to play PG. Does the rule fit the landscape? Mostly yes. In fact, on the Kings - as you would expect, Beno Udrih and Sergio Rodriguez fit the bill - as the 44th and 52nd ranked players. ...Teams in the NBA that have a player playing significant PG minutes outside of the top 82 are losing teams. The 2-28 Nets go with Devin Harris, the 8-21 Warriors have rookie Steph Curry, and the 10-18 Wizards  are fighting the losing battle of trying to say Gilbert Arenas is a PG.  Any teams with a player playing significant PG minutes with a lower assist-to-turnover ratio than the 139th ranked Evans? Yes, the 7-24 Minnesota Timberwolves, with Jonny Flynn, and the losing Detroit Pistons with Rodney Stuckey. (There are 25 players in the top 82.8 in assist-to-turnover ratio that do not play PG on a regular basis but as we stated - some of them just cannot be PG’s due to inability to guard an opposing PG. Marcus Camby and Brian Cardinal are prime examples.) ...The point of all this is that I want to see Sacramento initiate their offense through someone other than Evans. Why can’t Tyreke be the designated bail-out guy that gets the ball late in the shot clock if that is necessary. But starting with the rock in his paws lends itself to less clock awareness, less movement, and most importantly less efficiency by the Kings.

 

December 18, 2009 ...My wife received her Master’s Degree tonight.  I wonder if I could get a Master’s in watching basketball. ...Paul Pierce says he would like to add three inches to the height of the rim. No good, PP. That would change all the records in the books. You need uniformity. ...Rasheed Wallace is always talked about as a great teammate. Whatever. Getting tossed from 30 games in your career says “unstable” to me. I would NEVER want him on my team. ...Who do I want to see in the dunk contest? Glad you didn't ask . I’ll tell you anyway. Give me Lebron, DeMar DeRozan, Jeff Teague, Rodney Carney, and Shannon Brown. ...What three point shooters would I like to see? Peja Stojakovic, Anthony Morrow, Daniel Gibson, Channing Frye, J.J. Redick, Danilo Gallinari, Jason Kapono, and Anthony Parker. ...If I had to pick a rookie and sophomore roster right now - I’d go with rookies, Tyreke Evans, Brandon Jennings, Blake Griffin, DaJuan Blair, Ty Lawson, James Harden, Jonny Flynn, Steph Curry, and Taj Gibson. I don’t know how many they put on these rosters but I seem to recall it not being more than eight or nine. The Kings’ Omri Casspi, the Rockets’ Chase Budinger, and the Pacers’ Tyler Hansbrough could sneak in there too.  Soph’s: Brook Lopez, Derrick Rose, Eric Gordon, Kevin Love, Russell Westbrook, Jason Thompson, Marresse Speights, and O.J. Mayo. These cats could sneak in: Anthony Randolph, Michael Beasley, Donte Greene, Morrow, and Gallinari.

 

December 14, 2009  …You can see our latest 2010 NBA Draft rankings here.

 

December 13, 2009  ...I don’t watch college basketball the same way that most people do. Call me koo koo, but in my quest for knowing as much as possible about future NBA players, I actually take notes on yellow legal pads every time I watch a game.  I use my notes to fill in the draft capsules I do for each draftable player - and the notes remind me of subtle observations I made during the game.  ...Yesterday I watched four complete games. The day started with Georgetown vs. Washington on DVR, which was followed by the Kings hosting Minnesota at ARCO. Upon our return home, Wifey and I (she fell asleep before halftime) watched UCLA vs. Mississippi St. on DVR, and then I watched Purdue at Alabama—also on DVR. I try to watch at least one college game every day but I must admit to leaning strongly toward games presented in HD. ...Recent observations include the following: UCLA’s 2009-10 team is by far the worst Bruins team I’ve ever seen. Even Steve Lavin’s bad teams had talent. This UCLA squad is not very athletic (except for Malcolm Lee), and their most aggressive players are guys that would normally be borderline role players on a good team. It is sad to watch and it marks the first time I’ve ever questioned any aspect of Ben Howland’s coaching. My questions are… what is he doing with Nikola Dragovic? That guy is horrible. Also - does the lack of athleticism in Westwood mean that Howland is not a good recruiter? I’m pretty sure these two criticisms are simply an aberration, and hopefully the Bruins are only down just this season. …The game never ceases to amaze me. If you watched only the first half of the Purdue—Alabama game, you would have said Purdue was overrated and had no business being ranked #5 in the country. Alabama was up 17 points. In the second half - however - Purdue’s grit, determination, experience, and hustle slowly chipped away and they overtook the Tide. The Boilermakers won by eight points.