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BasslineSpin.com April 15, 2008 ...Hopefully
today’s ramble isn’t taxing. ...Actually, it should be positive because as I
write I am still buzzing a bit from the fun I had at ARCO Arena last night
for the Kings final home game of the season. Our family has had season
tickets since the first year (1985-86) the Kings played in Sacramento. As a
fan or employee I have been to roughly 95% of all home games in that time
span. This fact is pointed out for reference. ...Congratulations to the Kings
entire staff, from players, to ushers, to dancers, to coaches, basketball and
game operations folks - everyone! Although the Kings lost to the Spurs by
three, in a year when Sacramento has been out of the playoff picture for too
long, the atmosphere at ARCO was festive. I cannot imagine any franchise
playing a meaningless final home game that had the kind of electricity, and
energy that I was a part of at ARCO Monday night (Seattle had special
circumstances). Credit certainly goes to the ownership group for giving away
tens of thousands of dollars in merchandise to Kings fans. Free stuff makes
some people act like monkeys. But it went beyond the shallow. The arena was
also hyped because the Kings were playing hard, and playing well. This is a
HUGE credit to Head Coach Reggie Theus. Sure
coaching is X’s and O’s but it is mostly handling athlete$ with big ego$.
Theus is a people person that excels in relations because of his own
confidence. He dealt with Ron Artest’s
‘moments’. He feuded with Mikki Moore, John Salmons, and Kevin Martin but never held a visible grudge. He
had the balls and smarts to let Kenny Thomas rot.
Moore and Martin seem fine with Theus today. Salmons? I’m not sure he’s sold
on Reggie but John sure did play hard last night—which is really what
matters. (More on Salmons later). The point is - Theus fits nicely as the
Kings coach. The 2007-08 Sacramento Kings over-achieved . I thought they
would win 30 games. They have 38 wins with one game to go. They played hard
98% of the time (I still remember Miami). ...Individual thoughts: I was hard
on Spencer Hawes in the
past so I want to admit that he is better than I gave him credit for being.
However, I am not ready to “crown him” as it seems most of Sacramento’s fan
base already has done. Hawes has skill. He uses his left hand extremely well,
and he is crafty in the low post. He is a willing runner. He has the ability
to hit perimeter shots. He seems to try hard, and he is smart. I see all
that. What I also see is a guy that doesn’t finish enough in the transition,
and put back opportunities he gets. I see a player with good court vision but
also a player with more turnovers than assists. I see an average rebounder.
This is due mostly to his combo of just okay hands, and less than average NBA
quickness, and speed. ...I think Hawes can be good but let’s ease up on the
‘Hawes is GREAT‘ talk. …If the 2007 draft was done over: (If I could draft
right now: 1. Kevin Durant, 2. Greg Oden, 3. Brandan Wright, 4, Joakim Noah, 5. Ramon Sessions, 6. Al Horford, 7. Carl Landry, 8. Thaddeus Young, 9. Mike Conley, 10. Sean Williams, 11. Hawes, 12. Julian Wright, 13. Rodney Stuckey, 14. Al Thornton.) ...Back to Salmons. His energy as
a starter is night and day from when he comes off the bench. He needs to
shoot about a 1,000 jump shots a day this summer to be less reliant on the
dribble drive and spin that often results in an offensive foul. ...Tony Parker was as good individually last night
as anyone who stepped into ARCO this season. He took over the game. The Kings
gave him cushion for his quickness so he hit open jumpers. He also got into
the lane and dodged defenders for easy finishes. ...Dare I say it? The
Warriors missed the playoffs this year because of Stephen Jackson. Just as they made it last year due
to Don Nelson’s tinkering,
Baron Davis’ special
play, and Jackson’s big shots - this year the W’s will miss the playoffs
because Jackson missed seven games serving a suspension to start the
season. Basketball IS a game of
inches, percentages, and trust. The W’s were 0-6 to start the season without
“Captain Jack”. April
13, 2008 ...
Portsmouth
Invitational Tournament totals for each player are here.
...The BasslineSpin.com MVP of Portsmouth is Mark Tyndale of Temple. He averaged nine points,
six rebounds, and seven assists on 50% FG shooting to lead his team to the
championship. Tyndale is a power guard—standing 6’5” and weighing in at 210
lbs. ...Our All Tournament Team looks like this: PG—Tyndale, SG - Martin Zeno (Texas Tech), SF - Pat Calathes (St. Joseph’s), PF - Kyle Hines (NC Greensboro), C - Jiri Hubalek (Iowa St.). ...Second Team: PG - JaJuan Smith (Tennessee) SG - Reggie Williams (VMI), David Gomez (Tulane), PF - Frank Elegar (Drexel), C - Kentrell Gransberry (S. Florida). Third Team: PG - Dominique Kirk (Texas A&M), SG—Deron Washington (VA. Tech), SF - Josh Duncan (Xavier), PF - Othello Hunter (Ohio St.), C - Brian Butch (Wisconsin). April
12, 2008 ...Fear not - I am doing the efficiency ratings for
each player at the Portsmouth Invitational Tournament. This will supplement
the stuff you read that still boils down to just one man’s opinion. Not to
pick on the draft web sites that are covering the P.I.T. - they are doing a
great job, I just like to have some science in there to make sure. So far
most P.I.T. reviews have hyped Pat Calathes (St.
Joseph’s), and Gary Forbes (U-Mass.).
I’m sold on Calathes already but not as strong on Forbes as a prospect. Also,
let’s let the third game for each team play out. So far—all teams have played
twice. A total of 64 college seniors are in the tournament—hoping to be
invited to the next step - the Orlando Pre-Draft Camp. ...For what it’s worth
- the fifteen highest EFR’s at the P.I.T. so far are: 1. Othello Hunter 1.163, 2. Kyle Hines 1.039, 3. Bryant Dunston .939, 4. Calathes .849, 5. Mark Tyndale .848, 6. Dwayne Curtis .830, 7. Jiri Hubalek .825, 8. Arizona Reid .804, 9. Martin Zeno .759, 10. Forbes .742, 11. Patrick Ewing Jr. .707, 12. Rob McKiver .702, 13. Will Thomas .684, 14. Brian Butch .656, 15. Joseph Jones .647. ...So who invited Dion Dowell of Houston to the P.I.T.? |