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The Baseline Spin basketball blog by Bobby Gerould |
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March 9, 2010 ...The
rare opportunity to see two small(er) school future NBA players exists
tonight in the form of the Summit League Championship game. Oakland boasts
Center Keith Benson - a
shot blocker, and rebounder with a .700 EFR for his career. Meanwhile - IUPUI
sends out Robert Glenn - a
highlight reel dunker - that is a more consistent three-point shot away from
being a factor at the next level.
Check
out Glenn’s highlights to get an idea of what he is capable of. Once linked - look to right hand column for
“Glenn & Young Highlights” - then click “view video”. March 3, 2010 ...Last
night I saw something I rarely, if ever, see in a game. Rodney Williams of the Minnesota Golden Gophers did a
360 dunk DURING THE GAME. You might see a 360 in a lay-up line or a dunk
contest but seeing one in game action? I think I have to go back to the days
of Ernest Lee at
Kennedy High School in Sacramento in the 80’s.
Check
out Williams’ dunk here.
March 2, 2010 ...Nicolas Batum is having a positive impact on the
Portland Trailblazers since returning from injury. Batum is shooting 56% FG and 90% FT as a
vital piece of the Blazers - who have won four of their last five games.
Portland continues to hold on to the final Western Conference playoff
position and I think they WILL maintain that spot—if not move up. Portland
now has Andre Miller as the clear cut Point Guard with Steve Blake exiled to Clipper-land. Meanwhile - Marcus Camby helps to fill the hole left by Greg Oden who is out for the year. ...The Indiana Pacers waived Travis Diener. I have long felt that Diener can be
an effective NBA backup PG. He was never given a real chance to play for the
Pacers. Consider - Diener played behind Jarrett Jack, T.J. Ford, and Earl Watson in the
last two seasons. It is hard to see any time and prove yourself when you play
the same position as the aforementioned trio. Diener has an outstanding
assist-to-turnover ratio in the limited minutes he has played in the NBA. He
has also impressed us in Summer League play. I think the Kings should give
Travis Diener a look—especially given that Sac has only one true PG on their
roster (Beno Udrih).
...The Pacers continue to stink in part because Brandon Rush plays way too many minutes for as
inefficient as he is. Beyond that, the lack of foot speed up front (Troy Murphy, Roy Hibbert) is
also a huge factor in Indiana’s 20-39 record. ...Drew Gooden who is on his eighth team in eight
NBA seasons, looks as fit and trim right now as I’ve ever seen him be. Gooden is now a Clipper. ...Before any team
spends “max money” on Amar’e Stoudemire - they
better make sure they have watched him closely as a defender. He is not very
good at all on that end of the floor. I would also argue that offensively he
will not be as good if he does not have Steve Nash dropping
him gifts at the rim. In short, I would NOT spend huge dollars on Amar’e.
...Stoudemire’s Suns teammate Robin Lopez has
played very well since his return from injury. Lopez and the improved play of
Goran Dragic are
two under the radar reasons why Phoenix has been more than just a nuisance in
the West. ...Very quietly - Luke Ridnour has
been the best Point Guard off the bench in the NBA this season. Ridnour’s
efficiency rating (.515) is actually higher than the EFR of Bucks rookie
starter Brandon Jennings (.429). February 19, 2010 …Chicago
looks to be positioning themselves for a run at Dwayne Wade in the Summer. Wade is from the Windy
City. The Bulls traded Tyrus Thomas to
Charlotte. Thomas admittedly has not lived up to what we thought he would be.
However - the former LSU star has shown a recent improvement in his mid range
jump shot and he has not lost anything athletically since he was drafted in
2006 with the fourth pick. I like this
move a lot for the Bobcats. They gave up a future first round pick along with
Flip Murray and Acie Law - two inefficient guards. Chicago also sent John Salmons, two second round picks, and a
protected first round pick-swap this year, to Milwaukee for Hakim Warrick and Joe Alexander. Warrick and Alexander are in the
final year of their contracts. ...Theo Ratliff was
dealt from San Antonio to Charlotte. Ratliff, when healthy, is still an
effective defender but with DaJuan Blair playing
so well for the Spurs - Ratliff was not seeing much floor time. ...Even with
the knowledge that Jared Jeffries leads
the NBA in charges taken - I fail to see why anyone would want him on their
team. He ranked 66th out of 68 Power Forwards that had played over 300
minutes at the midpoint of the NBA season. The Rockets took on Jeffries in
the three-way deal between Sacramento, New York and Houston. The Knicks now
have only four players under contract through next season (Danilo Gallinari, Toney Douglas, Wilson Chandler, and Eddy Curry). Rookie Jordan Hill who was taken with the eighth pick in
the 2009 NBA Draft was shipped from NY to Houston. I’m not sold on Hill yet
and I wonder with Jeffries and Hill in place Houston if that won’t open up
minutes for Mike Harris who
should be an NBA minutes playing forward. ...Antawn Jamison to the Cavs for a first round pick
and Zydrunas Ilgauskas is a
good deal for Cleveland. I’ve always been a fan of Jamison’s game and
demeanor. I trust him. Not that I don’t feel the same about “Z” but Jamison
is the better player right now. ...The Clippers waived Ricky Davis the other day. Davis’ NBA season
midpoint EFR of .308 was 58th at Shooting Guard. ...Sebastian Telfair was shipped from the Clippers to the
Cavs. I also like that deal for Cleveland as Telfair is more efficient than
the “shoot only” Daniel Gibson. It
is a small gain for the Cavs - but a gain nonetheless. ...Drew Gooden landed in Clipper-land. I still like
Gooden’s efficiency (.567—17th at PF) but I do wonder about his desire
relative to the guys that really bring it every night. ...The Wizards landed Al Thornton in the three-way with the Cavs and
Clippers. Thornton is capable of big moments but his consistency was lacking
in L.A. However, Thornton CAN defend and with some better coaching about shot
selection (which he will get from Flip Saunders) this
could turn out to be a nice grab for Washington D.C. ... |