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BasslineSpin.com November 8, 2008 I wish
it was college basketball time but I still have to wait one more week for a
Saturday of televised hoop from coast to coast. ...We have been to both Kings
home games to start the NBA season. Sacramento won both contests over low
level competition in Memphis and Minnesota. ...Were I Randy Wittman, I would re-think my game-plan to
include more Ryan Gomes and
less Corey Brewer. The
latter is the better defender by far but his inability to knock down shots
with any consistency dooms the T-Wolves offense. ...Kevin Love may have the strongest fingers (which
translates to great hands) in the NBA. He gets all the 50-50 balls in
traffic. ...When the Grizzlies came through - O.J. Mayo proved that if you give him an open
look he is going to make the shot. He now needs to be a guy that involves his
teammates more. ...The Spencer Hawes of
2008-09 is flat getting it done so far. His play off the bench in the first
half last night was stellar. ...Two games at ARCO without cheerleader/emcee Big Mike were fine with me. It means more face time for Dance
Team Captain, Jenn.
...How about the Warriors’ Andris Biedrins going
9-10 from the line last night? The notoriously horrid foul shooter is off to
flying start this season with double figure scoring and rebounding in each of
the GS-Dubs first six games. ...The Hawks are off to a great start behind Joe Johnson. At 4-0, they join the Lakers, and
Utah as the NBA’s early unbeatens. ...The Wizards and Clippers are winless.
...One of the best games of the year took place about two nights back when
Houston and Portland slugged it out into overtime. In the closing seconds of
OT - Brandon Roy hit a
wicked turn around jumper to give the Blazers the edge only to see Yao Ming counter with a short shot at the other end that
included a Roy foul. Yao nailed the free throw to put Houston up one point
with .8 seconds left. Following a timeout to advance the ball - Portland inbounded to Roy who heaved
a 30 footer before the buzzer that was perfect. Game over. Blazers win!
See
video here. November 6, 2008 ...Ten
days into the NBA season I like to urge caution in making too much of what
has happened so far. Sure, it has all counted, but the sample size is small.
Some good teams have only played better teams. Some bad teams have only
played bad teams. The Lakers and Clippers have barely left Los Angeles.
...That warning established—here is our look at who has played at an All-Star
level since the first tip of the 2008-09 regular season. WEST: Guards: Chris Paul, Tony Parker, Kobe Bryant, Jason Kidd.
Forwards: Amare Stoudemire, Carlos Boozer, Tim Duncan, Jason Thompson, Andrei Kirilenko.
Centers: Andris Biedrins, Shaquille O’Neal, Nene.
EAST: Guards: Dwyane Wade, Joe Johnson, Jose Calderon, Nate Robinson, Vince Carter.
Forwards: Lebron James, Chris Bosh, Zach Randolph, Rasheed Wallace, Charlie Villanueva.
Centers: Dwight Howard, Zydrunas Ilgauskas. November 4, 2008 ...It
is a big day in the United States. Let’s hope the voter turnout is the
biggest ever. ...The Allen Iverson trade?
I like both Chauncey Billups and
A.I. but I think the trade makes the Nuggets better. I believe this because
the Nuggs get a big efficiency boost at Point Guard with Billups supplanting Anthony Carter. Meanwhile Denver still has a good quality Shooting Guard in J.R. Smith. Adding Antonio McDyess gives them a quality BIG to backup Kenyon Martin. ...I am a fan of the Pistons’ Rodney Stuckey too but he is not nearly as efficient
as Billups. ...The positives for Detroit: Iverson is in the last year of his
contract while Billups has four more seasons. ...The Kings are off to an 0-4
start and Kevin Martin has
played poorly in three of the games. He misses Brad Miller. ...Sacramento’s defense has been
porous—allowing a league worst 111 points per game. ...To the lady studio
host on the Oklahoma City telecasts - 7-21 FG shooting is not a “great
night”. ...I like Eric Snow being
on NBA TV. He brings a fresh perspective. October 28, 2008 ...The
Kings preseason was ugly. Luckily - preseason is just that. It means nothing.
I do however believe in a coach rewarding those who played well in preseason
with minutes when it counts. Reggie Theus is a
guy I like and I hope he stays around as Kings coach for a long time but I
think if he wants to win ANY games this season he needs to go extra heavy on
minutes for Beno Udrih, Kevin Martin, and Bobby Jackson in the guard rotation. Next would be Quincy Douby. Bobby Brown’s preseason
efficiency rating was .251 - which would rank him 79th at his position
against all point guards who played over 300 minutes last season. In other
words, Bobby Brown isn’t getting you any wins. ...The efficiency rating also
says that Shelden Williams is the
most efficient Power Forward on the roster - ahead of Mikki Moore, Kenny Thomas and
then Jason Thompson. It doesn’t mean that Thompson should always
be the last option. I am sure he will play plenty. I just am not sold on
giving him minutes yet based on the performance I’ve seen. Not if the goal is
winning NBA games. I prefer Francisco Garcia to John Salmons at the three spot but since Salmons
plays better when he starts—and since Cisco just plays - I see no problem
with starting Salmons. ...Spencer Hawes will
have to get the job done at Center for the first five games while Brad Miller serves a league suspension. ...In
summary - were I Theus - I would have a nine man rotation with Udrih, Martin,
Salmons, Williams, and Hawes as starters. You come off the bench with Garcia,
Moore, and Jackson. Douby gets some love when you need a spark. October
27, 2008 ...NBA season opening eve is a day reserved to pick
a number of wins for the Sacramento Kings. My track record at this is pretty
good (within two wins usually). So it is with great regret as a fan of the
team that I am predicting 23 wins for the Sacramentos. ...If you thought you
knew what funk was you will rethink it all after hearing Prince’s live CD from his 21 nights in London. How’s that
for some NBA talk? No disrespect Aretha Franklin,
“Rock Steady” is no longer yours. …I think the Indiana Pacers will be this
year’s surprise success story. But only as long as T.J. Ford stays healthy. ...I am picking the
Lakers over the Jazz in the West but with a disclaimer that the WEST is ultra
rugged. It could just as easily be Houston or Phoenix. I like Boston over
Toronto in the East. As much it pains me to say this—I will have to go with Kobe, Andrew Bynum, Pau Gasol, Lamar Odom, Trevor Ariza, Derek Fisher, Jordan Farmar, Sasha Vujacic and
the Lakers to win it all. ...Greg Oden should
be the Rookie of the Year. ...Lebron James is
ready to be the MVP. |