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BasslineSpin.com November 11, 2007 ...15
good things about the NBA: 1. Walt “Clyde”
Frazier’s TV analysis on Knicks games. Style doesn’t suit all
announcers but in this case I am glad that human beings are unique. There
isn’t anyone anywhere that sounds like Frazier. 2.
Air Slamson. 3. TNT’s studio coverage post game.
The zany production staff keeps it lite with features like “EJ’s Neato Stat of the Night” (sponsored by… nobody.) 4.
The poise and skill of Ray Allen. 5.
The NBA League Pass. 6. Tim Duncan. Is
there a cooler athlete alive? 7. Cheering for the underdog. Give me guys like
Renaldo Balkman that
hustle and overachieve. 8. The enthusiasm of Francisco Garcia. 9. The vision of Jason Kidd. 10.
Jessica Alba is a
fan. 11. Watching special rookies like Kevin Durant. 12.
Fantasy games. I love the new NBA Stock Exchange. 13. Yao Ming proving that big men CAN shoot free throws at better
than 85%. 14. The Rookie vs. Sophomore game during NBA All-Star weekend. 15.
The toughness of Tayshaun Prince. November 10, 2007 ...On
a night when MTV / skate board dude, Rob Dyrdek and
Bay Area rapper Mistah FAB were
in the house, the Kings lost a winnable game to Cleveland. Lebron James was nothing short of spectacular -
running the floor with speed and power, and pulling defensive stops single
handedly. As I always say - NBA basketball IS a game of inches. As it turns
out - the Kings needed one basket to extend the contest but they came up
short. Two seconds before halftime Sac should have used a twenty second
timeout to draw up a final play for the half, and to advance the ball.
Instead—they went the length of the court and Brad Miller threw a bad pass
that was stolen by James. Then, to close regulation - Sacramento telegraphed
a play to Kevin Martin who
had James covering him. I agree that K-Mart is the best Kings scorer but I
know he has less of chance to score with James guarding him than John Salmons would have had with any other Cav on
the floor trying to hold him. Those two plays combined with ‘time-score’
situation miscues were the inches that kept the Kings out of the winner’s
circle. ...One area where the Kings are not even close is assist-to-turnover
ratio. Last night there were only seven assisted baskets for the Kings.
Sacramento ranks 30th out of 30 in assists per game. That will lose you
plenty of games. November 9, 2007 ...Here
are your respective All-Star teams based on the first eight days of the NBA
regular season… East: Guards - Chauncey Billups, Jose Calderon, Ray Allen,
Jason Kidd. Forwards - Richard Jefferson, Lebron James, Joe Smith, Josh
Smith, Rashard Lewis. Centers: Kevin Garnett, Dwight Howard, and Zydrunas
Ilguaskas. ...West: Guards: Chris Paul, Jason Terry, Manu Ginobili, Steve
Nash, Kobe Bryant. Forwards: Carlos Boozer, Paul Millsap, Shawn Marion, David
West. Centers: Andrew Bynum, Chris Kamen, and Marcus Camby. November 7, 2007 ...The
Kings home season opener was an entertaining come from behind win over the
Seattle Supersonics. Sac trailed by 20 points in the second quarter. Francisco Garcia hit the game winning three. He has a
chance to be one of the most favored Kings in Sacramento history due to his
enthusiasm and hard play. The Kings don’t have a chance in my opinion to
contend for anything in the way of playoffs or a division title but they CAN
win their share of home games with effort like they displayed last night.
Fans will always embrace hustle. ...Kenny Thomas was
chastised by coach Reggie Theus (I
don’t know about what) and Thomas yelled back at Theus. Repeatedly—Kenny
Thomas has reminded me of the kind of guy who you just can’t argue with. He
is never wrong. ...Kevin Durant is so
good it is ridiculous. Watching his progress from the Sonics preseason ARCO
visit to what I saw last night - one can see that he has already adjusted to
the speed of the NBA. I am not prone to Bill Walton hyperbole
but I am saying right now - Kevin Durant is the best rookie NBA player I’ve
ever seen. (I do not go back to Magic Johnson and Larry Bird. I was eleven years old when they
entered the league. I start counting my true NBA watching from the 1985-86
season when the Kings moved to Sacramento. ) ...P.J. Carlesimo needs to play Delonte West more
if he is going to guide Seattle to a victory. ...For one night, Wally Szczerbiak looked like he was back to his old
form. He busted 32 points on 12-16 FG shooting. October 29, 2007 ...
NBA
predictions are here. October 27, 2007 ...The
Kings pre-season schedule is complete.
Here
are my thoughts… October 25, 2007 ...David Stern is a smart dude and a master of
communication. That is my summation of Stern after watching the NBA Board of
Governors press conference on NBA-TV. He is forthright, he won’t be bullied,
he debates with skill and poise, all while overseeing what has become a huge
international ‘label’. I am glad my favorite major pro sport has a man like
Stern in charge. ...Stacy King has
added flavor to the Bulls telecasts. ...Glad to see Bobby Simmons playing again in Milwaukee. The fifth
year pro from DePaul underwent successful surgery last January on his right
foot to address a symptomatic cyst in his heel bone and plantar fasciitis. He
has looked solid so far this October - especially shooting. ...Speaking of
shooting - I thought Demetris Nichols played
well enough in the Summer League, and in the preseason to be an NBA player.
The problem is that the Knicks are deep. So Nichols was waived. He joins my
“All Should be in the NBA Team” - which includes Mike Harris, Anthony Roberson, Spencer Nelson, and Mike Hall. |