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BasslineSpin.com October 24, 2007
(Part II) ...NBA announcers, please do not speculate on
injuries. Matt Bullard on the
Rockets/Grizzlies game tonight all but pronounced a broken bone for Juan Carlos Navarro.
...Aaron Brooks has
blinding speed like other road runners T.J. Ford, Devin Harris, Kevin Martin, Mike Conley Jr., and Leandro Barbosa. ...In an early move to obtain the
number one pick in the 2008 NBA Draft - the Timberwolves sent Ricky Davis and Mark Blount to Miami for Antoine Walker, Michael Doleac, and Wayne Simien. ...Good move for the Heat. For the
record I was a big fan of Simien’s at Kansas. He can play. Maybe he just
needs a chance. But Ricky Davis will really help the Heat score points, and
Blount is a tough dude that plays in every game. ...The Pistons say Rip Hamilton will be ready for the season opener.
Hamilton has a sprained ankle. ...Rodney Stuckey suffered
a broken hand in the game vs. Washington. October 24, 2007 ...I
don’t get it. Anthony Roberson was
waived by Denver. He only led the team in minutes played, and points scored
this preseason going into last night’s game. Roberson was averaging 14.2
points per game in 27 minutes per contest. He was waived after the win over
Milwaukee - along with Jelani McCoy.
...Anthony Roberson is better offensively than quite a few point guards in
the NBA right now! He is a scoring guard. At 6’2” - he will have to defend
PG’s - but his overall game is more that of a TWO guard. His preseason
BasslineSpin.com Efficiency Rating was .464. His career EFR is .340. Yes -
that is higher than Cleveland starter Eric Snow. I
believe he is better than all of the following backups: Jason Hart (Utah), Sasha Vujacic (Lakers), Jacque Vaughn (Spurs), Lindsey Hunter (Detroit), Smush Parker (Miami), Jeff McInnis (Charlotte), and Kevin Ollie (Philly). ...Real quick - here are a
few rookies playing well in the preseason: Aaron Gray - Chicago, Javaris Crittenton (Lakers), Al Horford (Atlanta), Jermareo Davidson (Charlotte). ...Equal is the list of
preseason rookie stinkers so far: Acie Law (Atlanta),
Jeff Green (Seattle),
Morris Almond (Utah),
and Daequan Cook (Miami). October 22, 2007 ...the
BasslineSpin.com flag is at half staff today due to
Mike Harris being waived by the Houston Rockets. I
knew they had way too many players on their roster. Again I would advise all
NBA GM’s to consider Harris. He is most likely a shooting guard - but really
just a basketball player. He rebounds at a high rate, shoots a high
percentage, and is ultra efficient. He went undrafted out of Rice (2006), and
played for a winning D-League team last year. October 20, 2007 ...So
you are the Lakers - who would you trade Kobe Bryant for?
Kobe has to approve of any trade. Here is my list. How about Kobe for Yao Ming and Kirk Snyder?
Snyder has an expiring contract after this season. Yao is the NBA’s premier
Center and L.A. is where the best Centers historically play (Wilt, Shaq, Kareem). Why do this if you are Houston? You don’t. You
would be duplicating yourself in Tracy McGrady and
Kobe—and you would have Dikembe Mutombo as
your starting Center. ...Kobe and Vladimir Radmanovic to
Utah for Carlos Boozer and Andrei Kirilenko.
The Lakers would benefit from getting out from Radmanovic’s bad
contract with four years left. In return they get a young all-star Power
Forward in Boozer - and a great defender in Kirilenko. Would Utah do it? I doubt
it. Hard for me to visualize Bryant in Utah. ...Three way deal: Kobe to
Phoenix. Amare Stoudemire, Eric Piatkowski, and Alando Tucker to Miami. Dwayne Wade, and Udonis Haslem to the Lakers. Seems doubtful the
Heat would trade Wade for Amare given Stoudemire’s knee history. ...Mark Cuban says Dirk isn’t leaving Dallas for
Kobe. The Spurs wouldn’t trade Tim Duncan for
Kobe. ...How about Pau Gasol, Hakim Warrick, and Kyle Lowry for Kobe? Considering the Lakers
could lose Bryant outright to free agency in a couple years - this Memphis
trio would be okay with me. But would Kobe give the okay to playing for the
Grizz? ...The Celtics are not trading Kevin Garnett for
Kobe. ...This one works in the ESPN Trade Machine; Kobe to Toronto for Chris Bosh, Jose Calderon, Carlos Delfino, Anthony Parker, and Luke Jackson. But the Raptors would be left too
thin up front - and they would crush that international vibe they have going
up there. October 19, 2007
Here
is a great way to waste time! ...Add Jamaal Magloire to the list of guys who lost a
significant amount of weight in the summer. The BIG CAT looked sharper last
night against the Knicks than I’ve seen him look in recent years. ...Hopefully Isiah Thomas will play David Lee big starter-type minutes this season.
Yet last night - it was Jared Jeffries, and Zach Randolph up front with Eddy Curry. For the record - Lee did not play
well. He looked heavy. ...Andrew Bynum couldn’t
have been more impressive in the Lakers rout of Seattle. Bynum has good hands. October 18, 2007 Preseason
NBA thoughts… Players who have caught our eye that may not be household names
(depending on the house) include: Jose Juan Barea (Dallas),
Oleksiy Pecherov (Washington),
Marcus Banks (Phoenix),
Lou Williams (Philly),
Anthony Roberson (Denver),
and Juan Carlos Navarro (Memphis).
Barea is pure point guard. He is small but he runs a team so well—you have to
overlook whatever defensive deficiency he has. Guys get open shots for the
Mavs when he is on the floor. ...Pecherov has shown the ability to shoot with
accuracy. The offensively aggressive seven-foot rookie (2006 draft) will put
the ball on the floor and get to the free throw line. He is an excellent foul
shooter. He has also been rebounding at a high rate per minute. ...Banks
finally has a consistent perimeter shot. Look for more Leandro Barbosa at the TWO in Phoenix - now that
Banks is good enough to back-up Steve Nash at the
point. ...Lou (don’t call me Louis anymore) Williams seems primed for a Monta Ellis / Kevin Martin type
breakout year. He is undeniable going to the basket. Too quick—with too much
handle. This cat can score in bunches. ...Roberson continues to show me he
should be a rotation player right now in the NBA. So far in Denver this
preseason - the former Florida point guard is shooting 45% FG, 85% FT, while
leading the Nuggets in points scored and minutes played. He has 22 assists
and only 12 turnovers as well. ...Finally Navarro. He has already shown that
he will be a force from the perimeter. Pau Gasol and
the Grizz may be better than most think they will be. ...I don’t like the
Wizards uniforms with the gold lettering for the player’s names. The font is
too small and the numerals are white. It looks amateur. ...Speaking of ugly
uniforms. Phoenix’ road orange is hideous. Ditch the gray in the
Orange/Purple/White/Gray mix - and you might have something cool looking. The
gray just makes the uniforms look dingy. |