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BasslineSpin.com ...Where
the Kings players rank: Starters: Beno Udrih - 42nd at PG, Kevin Martin - 10th at SG, John Salmons 18th at SF, Jason Thompson 42nd at PF, Brad Miller 20th at C.
Bench: Bobby Jackson -
58th at PG, Bobby Brown - 63rd
at PG, Francisco Garcia - 43rd
at SF, Donte Greene 78th at SF, Mikki Moore 66th at PF, Spencer Hawes 41st at C. ...Quincy Douby, Shelden Williams, and Kenny Thomas have not played enough minutes to
offer an accurate rating. January 9, 2009 ...There
is a natural break for me in hoops blogging right now due to preparation for
a race I announce that has 291 entries. I never stop watching basketball - I
just have to put it on a lower priority for a couple weeks—which means
blogging goes out the window. ...However—I have to comment on a handful of
things. I enjoyed having the pro guys (Mark Jackson, and Jeff Van Gundy) on the Davidson-Duke game Wednesday
night. Their chemistry is great to begin with - but I also liked hearing what
they had to say about the individual players that will one day be NBA
ballers. ...I still think the Kings will get it together enough to win at
home against most teams for the rest of the season. Kevin Martin makes a huge difference—now that he
is REALLY back. ...Watched Boston College beat North Carolina but then in
their next game, BC loses to Harvard. Go figure. ...Sac State is thinking too
small if they want to have a four-team tournament that includes UC Davis at
ARCO Arena. That will not draw. They need an eight team deal co-hosted by Sac
State and UC Davis - that features Nevada, St. Mary’s, Pacific, Cal,
Stanford, and Fresno State. No excuses. Go do it. ...I attended prior Sac
State tournaments at ARCO - even catching Allen Iverson on John Thompson’s mighty Georgetown Hoyas. That didn’t
draw well either. ...
Prince has a new website.
...It is suddenly en vogue to blame Beno Udrih for
the Kings woes. He is down a few efficiency points - true, but Sac’s issues
go beyond Beno. January 2, 2009 ...With
college hoops conference play beginning—we have updated the
2009 NBA Draft rankings page. We
have included more freshmen players now that we have an adequate (yet small)
sample size to work with. ...In the NBA—January 2nd offered a chance for all
30 teams to play. I think (very strongly) that the NBA should open their
season in this fashion—rather than just having two or three games on opening
night. We live in a stat-crazy, boxscore hungry, world. A day with 15 games
on the slate is akin to a trip to your favorite buffet. ...Okay—shift back to
college hoops with a pro slant. Here is my quick list of players that are
‘under the radar’ or underrated by most scouting reports I’ve looked at. 1. Randall Hanke - Providence. He is 6’11”, 230 and he
never takes a bad shot. From New York, NY. Most likely being overlooked
because of his age (24). ...2. Taylor King -
Villanova. He is sitting out after transferring from Duke. Dude is a 6’6”
shooter with an advanced ability to move without the ball. Being forgotten
about because he is not playing. ...3.
Lester Hudson -
Tennessee Martin. Another 24 year-old. Hudson can score on any level. On New
Year’s Eve, the 6’3” guard went off
for a career high 41 points in a blowout win. ...4. Robbie Hummel - Purdue. He offers something you
don’t come across easily - a 6’8” SF that can shoot yet is not scared to mix
it up or share the ball. I’ll take a 2.5:1 assist to turnover ratio at that
spot all day. ...5. Matt Howard -
Butler. Undersized but skilled, and he plays hard as a 6’8” Center. A long
shot for the NBA but worthy of at least being discussed. December 30, 2008 ...As
we close the calendar year—we are roughly
one-third of the way through the current NBA season. The efficiency
leaders to date are: 1. Lebron James - .818 This number reflects his
brilliance. East All-Star (fan vote) 2. Chris Paul - .783 He’s the best guard in the
game and his efficiency could be higher if Tyson Chandler ever gets going
again. West All-Star (coach add) 3. Dwyane Wade - .746 Wade is playing defense as
well as putting up ridiculous offensive numbers. His 45 blocked shots are two
more than Kevin Garnett and Samuel Dalembert (43). East All-Star (fan vote) 4. Dwight Howard - .726 He leads fan voting at Center
in the East. 5. Yao Ming - .699 My favorite Yao stat is his 88% FT. West
All-Star (fan vote) 6. Marcus Camby - .699 The number tells you how
talented Camby is. Now can the Clippers find some depth to help their core of
Baron Davis,
Camby, Zach Randolph, and Al Thornton? West All-Star? (He would have to
added by coaches which is doubtful.) 7. Tim Duncan - .698 He is still the main reason
the Spurs are good. West All-Star (fan vote) 8. Andris Biedrins - .687 Does this surprise you? He’s
averaging 14 points and 12 boards per game on 55% FG shooting. West All-Star?
(would have to be added by coaches which is doubtful.) 9. Dirk Nowitzki .676 He’s been NBA Player of the Week
twice already. West All-Star (coach add). 10. Kobe Bryant - .668 The Lakers are the best in the
West. West All-Star (fan vote) 11. Shaquille O’Neal - .666 Shaq will get the coaches love
and be added as a Western All-Star. 12. Kevin
Garnett - .665 He’s the best player on the best team which makes him an MVP
candidate. East All-Star (fan vote) 13. Pau Gasol - .664 He and Kobe make the most
efficient one-two punch in the NBA. West All-Star (coach add) 14. Al Jefferson - .662 Whenever Minnesota gets an
efficient guard to play with Jefferson they will make a huge leap. 15. A’Mare Stoudemire - .660 Perhaps I have expected more
from him but this is still a great EFR. West All-Star (fan vote) Next 15… 16. Chris Bosh - .646, 17. Paul Millsap .636, 18. Zydrunas Ilgauskas .633, 19. Devin Harris .630, 20. David Lee .625, 21. Andrew Bynum .616, 22. Joel Pryzbilla .609, 23. Tony Parker .607, 24. Zach Randolph .604, 25. Rajon Rondo .595, 26. Brandon Roy .595, 27. Jameer Nelson .591, 28. Danny Granger .590, 29. Emeka Okafor .580, 30. Andrew Bogut .571. |