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February 2, 2010 ...The NCAA Tournament is fine the way the way it is. Please leave it alone. Expansion is not necessary. Adding more teams would only water it down and render Championship Week meaningless. The way “THE Tourney” is now - we are wondering if North Carolina and Connecticut will make it in. If we had 96 teams—as some are suggesting - then that drama would be gone. That is just one example of why it should be left alone. Mostly - it should remain static because in all of sport - the NCAA Tournament is one of the handful of events that are just about perfect. …Dan Shulman is a rock solid basketball commentator. Add him to my list of the best in the TV hoops world. The short list: (College play x play) Sean McDonough, Shulman, Tim Brando, Terry Gannon. (NBA) - Joel Meyers, Kevin Calabro, Gene Peterson. (College analysts) Len Elmore, Marques Johnson, Jay Bilas, Bill Raftery, Clark Kellogg. (NBA analysts) Mark Jackson, Jeff Van Gundy, Walt Frazier, Eddie Johnson, Kellogg. (Studio) The TNT production staff deserves a nod for their work on wacky video supplements and tricks that leave me giggling along with Kenny Smith and Charles Barkley.  My favorite hosts are Rece Davis, Ernie Johnson, and Brando. (Sideline reporters) no one. I don’t like how ESPN uses the same sideline reporters in multiple sports. I just don’t trust their hoops knowledge when I know they were just covering a football game last week.  Also, I hate the meaningless conversations between NBA coaches and sideline reporters during the game. Coaches never reveal anything and mostly we have to sit through Craig Sager being cold-war iced by unwilling talkers like Greg Popovich or Jerry Sloan.  The NBA should end that waste of time practice. And while they are at it - the audio drop ins from huddles are so watered down - they might as well dump those too. “Lets dig in and play some defense”.

 

January 28, 2010 ...The new efficiency ratings by position are listed now that each NBA team has played at least 41 games—or half of their schedules. These rankings (linked on the left) will remain up until the end of the season when we do another audit.

 

January 27, 2010 (part II) …(the numbers you see after a player's name is the player’s current efficiency rating) ...I would trade for T.J. Ford if I were an NBA team with a need at Point Guard. ...In Indy - he is healthy but not playing. ...When he does get to play for the Pacers—he plays with inefficient guard teammates (Brandon Rush .327, Dahntay Jones .364, Luther Head .353), and a BIG that does not run well (Roy Hibbert).   In the right situation; a team that not only wants to run but is also capable of running, Ford will bring excitement and precision passing.  I realize I am somewhat out on a limb with my continued belief in Ford but I know from historical data - much of it as recent as the last two seasons - that Ford is a quality Point Guard capable of dishing assists at a high rate while playing efficiently enough to overcome his defensive liability as a small guard. Coach Jim O’Brien who last year played Jarrett Jack ahead of Ford has once again disrespected T.J. by turning the Pacers over to backup Earl Watson (.375) and rookie A.J. Price (.408). The Pacers will say they are a better team since Ford was benched in late December. In fact, Indy is 7-7 in January. But I think that has more to do with the return of Danny Granger who only played in three December games. The Pacers 3-13 December mark was engraved on the tombstone that O’Brien chiseled for Ford.  What is not engraved is that of those 16 December games, eleven of them were on the road, and ten of the 16 were played against probable playoff teams. So to recap. Ford is more efficient than the two guys playing in front of him. Ford was unfairly judged during a period where Granger, the Pacers best player, was injured and not playing. Ford played 40 minutes only once in the Pacers first 45 games. In that game, he scored 18 points, had ten rebounds, and four assists and the Pacers won by 16. ...I think there is value in T.J. Ford - who makes 8.5 million this season and has an option to make the same salary in 2010-11. Ford has played 30 minutes or more only ten times this season. 

 

January 27, 2010 ...I started work on our annual mid-season efficiency rating audit of all players over 300 minutes. ...First semi-surprise is that Russell Westbrook's EFR of .412 is actually lower than rookie teammate Eric Maynor's. ...Sergio Rodriguez who is buried on the Kings bench has an EFR of .495 - which easily ranks in the top 15 among all Point Guards in the NBA. It has long been our thought that Spanish Chocolate should be playing significant minutes in Sacramento. We will re-state for the fourth time since the day the Kings drafted Tyreke Evans that Evans is not a Point Guard. The problem is that he should be playing TWO but Kevin Martin is also a TWO. The sensible solution is to try Evans as a spot THREE which would allow Rodriguez and Beno Udrih to split up the 48 minutes available per game at the point. This would cause a further logjam at Small Forward but so what. Evans is long enough to defend SF's, and he is a better basketball player than Omri Casspi (.431), Andres Nocioni (.373), Donte Greene (.365) and Francisco Garcia(.418 - 2008-09). ...In Philly - call it good karma or call it a BIG benefiting from a PG looking for him; but whatever you call it, acknowledge that Samuel Dalembert has never played better. The good vibes for Dalembert could be in return of his love for Haiti after the devastating earthquake. Dalembert flew to his native land to lend a helping hand. Meanwhile on the hardwood - Sammy D.'s EFR is up to a career best .612 as Allen Iverson and Lou Williams continue to feed him the rock at the right times. ...THIS JUST IN. Tony's Pizza for one is not the same or as tasty as a regular Tony's Pizza. The pepperoni's are different. ...

 

January 25, 2010 ...Our latest 2010 NBA Draft rankings list is posted.  January 20, 2010 ...Charles Barkley is wrong when he says the level of basketball being played stinks in the NBA. He and Jerry West—who want contraction of the league are living in the past. NBA basketball is fine. And I would take any modern day team of today to CRUSH, kill and wax any team from the 70’s and 80’s. Generally speaking, players are so much physically stronger, and bigger today, and many are just as skilled. Yes, Barkley himself, and many other from the older days COULD play well and succeed today. But the bench guys of yesteryear? No way. There are guys in the D-League in 2010 that would destroy those cats. ...I heard it said the other night that Syracuse star Wesley Johnson is a sure-fire lottery pick. Really? Are you sure about that? I think not. He doesn’t get to the line, and he is turnover prone. Guys his size (6’7” 198) that do what he does are not that hard to find.  He has tools but his game is just not ready to make an NBA impact yet as any thing other than a scoring spark off the bench. ...Lebron James - for the second time in his life - made a bad decision. No dunk contest? Don’t say you want in and then turn around and not participate. Truthfully - I don’t really care if he dunks or not at the All-Star event. Is any dunk he does in a contest going to be better than his in-game slams? 

 

January 6, 2010 ...The Toronto Raptors waived Pops Mensah Bonsu. I think that is an opportunity for 29 other teams. Pops has improved his game—and I firmly believe he is good enough right now to be an effective minutes-playing NBA bench BIG. He started in Houston this season but was traded because the Rockets are loaded with Carl Landry, Luis Scola, Chuck Hayes, Joey Dorsey and David Andersen.  In Toronto - he played behind quality BIGS - Chris Bosh, Andrea Bargnani, and Amir Johnson. Mensah-Bonsu bring instant energy, and toughness. He can take slower BIGS off the dribble. He pounds the offensive glass, and he runs and finishes as well as some of the NBA elite. ...Which GM will show their smarts and pick up Pops?