NBA Web Roundup – KG the Beast, More Vince Carter and Kobe the Soccer Player

Kobe talks about his dream to play soccer for Barcelona FC

• Chuck Klosterman writes an excellent article about KG and the Celtics
• Marc Stein’s second trimester report in the Weekend Dime
• Lebron James is tight with Nets part owner Jay-Z
• Want to see NBA players in person? Go to the Cheesecake Factory
• “Wow” is all I can say about this highlight
• Vince Carter voted best Toronto Raptor ever…
• More Vince… “Devin Harris is playing?”
• Stephon Marbury cannot attend Knicks home games, demands Isiah
• Great interview of D-League prospect Blake Ahearn
• Barkley signs multi-year extension with TNT

If you read the Weekend Dime article, you know that Kobe Bryant is a huge fan of Barcelona FC and their star player Ronaldinho. Kobe would seriously impress me if he could pull a move like Ronaldinho did on Saturday…

Here are some quotes from GolTV announcer Ray Hudson right after this goal. (I wish I had the GolTV video to post.)

Everyone Hates Vince Carter

I am not the biggest Vince Carter fan in the world, bit I just don’t get when so-called NBA experts consistently hammer Vince as if he is the worst player on the planet. For example, here is a recent quote from Bill Simmons aka ESPN’s Sports Guy:

“I don’t blame Kidd for throwing a hissy fit — I would have done the same if I had to play with Vince Carter.”

Stop smiling Vince, don’t you know the media and fans hate you.

Of course, there were 5 more derogatory jabs at Vince in this article so that Simmons could meet his anti-Vince quota. And he is not the only one. Virtually everyone is convinced that Vince Carter is a terrible basketball player, worthless human being and overall piece of garbage. Sure he’s done a few bonehead things (most notably, pouting for the first 20 games in Toronto during the 04-05 season) and he hasn’t won that many playoff games. Although, he has won 3 more playoff series than Yao Ming, Tracy McGrady and Carmelo Anthony combined.

But did this guy steal change from handicapped children or something that I missed? There are a number of players who are terrible guys in the NBA and there are a lot of players making WAY too much money given their performance. Guys who are way worse than Vince and guys who are way more overpaid. Why Vince gets treated so poorly by virtually the entire media just baffles me. I think its just lazy journalists taking the easy road. Its easy to just blame Vince because everyone will accept it.

Well, lets take an unbiased look at the effect Vince has had on each team he has played on since 2002-2003. The stat I want to use is adjusted +/-. According to www.82games.com: “Adjusted +/- ratings indicate how many additional points are contributed to a team’s scoring margin by a given player in comparison to the league-average player over the span of a typical game (100 offensive and defensive possessions).” Basically, it is a statistic used to measure each players effect on his team’s performance when he is in the game. For example… If a player had an adjusted +/- of +2.0 while he was on court and -2.0 off court that would give him a net adjusted +/- of +4.0. Obviously, the higher your net adjusted +/-, the more important you are to your team’s success. Lets look how Carter stacks up…

2002-2003 – On Court: -0.4, Off Court: – 9.0, Net: +8.6 (1st on team)
Vince missed a lot of time this year, but was still easily the Raptors most effective player at +8.6. The Raptors were about average when he was on the court (-0.4) and completely terrible when he was not (-9.0). Closest player on team to Carter was Antonio Davis at +6.6.

2003-2004 – On Court: -0.1, Off Court: – 9.6, Net: +9.4 (1st on team)
Basically the same story as last except Carter didn’t miss any time. His +9.4 was more than double any other Raptor… and Toronto fans wonder why Vince wanted to leave?

2004-2005 – On Court: +3.3, Off Court: – 7.6, Net: +10.9 (3rd on team)
Clearly Carter was having a great positive effect on his new team (now the Nets). He was behind Kidd (who was 2nd in the NBA to Tim Duncan) and 0.2 behind Jason Collins. Richard Jefferson… how about -4.3? Of course, in 20 games with the Raptors Carter was horrible at -8.3. You could easily make a case that Carter mailed it in (he basically admitted to)… and I’m sure thats why Raptors fans hate him!

2005-2006 – On Court: +5.4, Off Court: – 10.1, Net: +15.5 (1st on team)
Only Dwyane Wade at +15.8 had a better net rating than Carter.

2006-2007 – On Court: +0.8, Off Court: – 6.6, Net: +7.4 (2nd on team)
Kidd had a slightly higher net (+8.3) but Carter is clearly still a very effective player. A lot more effective than say Richard Jefferson at +2.1. Have you ever heard anyone say anything bad about Jefferson? Me neither. But Carter is a much more effective player.

2007-2008 – On Court: -2.2, Off Court: – 11.7, Net: +9.5 (1st on team)
Once again, Carter is the statistically the most effective player on his team. Kidd is +5.6 and Jefferson is -0.2. But Vince Carter is the problem?

(**All stats from 82Games)

One of these guys is clearly a better player than the other

So to recap, over the past 6 years, Vince has had at least a +7.4 net adjusted +/-, leading his team during 4 seasons with a high of +15.5, when he was second in the league. So why wouldn’t players want to play with him? Clearly teams are much better when Vince is on the court. Could anyone even argue against that? The goal of each basketball game is to outscore your opponents and when Vince is on the court, he has given his team a MUCH better chance to win. The only downpoint is the 20 game stretch of horrible basketball to start the 04-05 season.

Now I am not saying that Carter is an angel or that he didn’t mail it in in those 20 games for the Raptors. But for the hate this guy gets you would think that it was him, not Kidd, who beat his wife. How many DUIs does Carter have? How many strip club shootings? Hell, was it him or Chauncey Billups that raped* that woman back in 1999? (*Allegedly).

As far as Bill Simmons goes, he seemed a lot more knowledgeable about the NBA a few years back. I actually love Simmons’ articles and he’s my favorite sports writer. But I just really question some of his comments recently on the NBA. He actually like the Shaq/Marion deal for the Suns? Seriously?! And why hammer Carter in every column?

Why not take shots at the wildly overrated Carmelo Anthony? Not only does ‘Melo participate in gang sponsored “Stop Snitching” videos and sucker punch guys then run away, but he doesn’t even try on defense. Literally he is lost on defense AND he gives no effort. Not only that, but he has shown no willingness to improve his defense yet in his career. You want to talk about an overrated, overpaid bad off-court guy, there he is. How about these adjusted +/- rating for Carmelo the past 3 years… -0.5, +0.2, and +0.6. And he’s a All-Star starter in the loaded West? Give me a break! Of course, no sports writer will ever bring this up.

Alright, I am just rambling at this point. If anyone has actually read this far, I will just add this… Simmons’ boy Danny Granger (who, for whatever reason, he thinks is the greatest player since Larry Bird) has the following net adjusted +/- for his career so far: -6.1, -0.4 and -6.5. So when Granger is on the court, the Pacers are clearly a worse team than when he is off the court. And the Pacers are terrible, so what does that say about Granger? You really think that Larry Bird is drunk dialing other GMs because he drafted this guy? You have got to be kidding me. I’d take Carter over Granger as a player (this season) and its not even close.

OK, enough of this… time to watch Lost.

EDIT(Added on 2/29):
Vince makes $13.3 mil this year, the 31st highest paid player in the league. Is he overpaid? Probably a little. Check out some of these other salaries though…

Shaq – $20.0M
Jermaine O’Neal – $19.7M
Stephon Marbury – $19.0M
Chris Webber – $19.0M
Michael Finley – $18.6M
Ben Wallace – $15.5M
Rashard Lewis – $14.9M (that he signed this year!)
Mike Bibby – $13.5M
Zach Randolph -$13.3M
Kenyon Martin – $13.3M
Wally Szczerbiak – $12.8M
Raef LaFrentz – $12.8M
Larry Hughes – $12.0M
Theo Ratliff – $11.7M
Kirk Hinrich – $11.3M
Erick Dampier – $10.6
Bobby Simmons – $9.3M (another Bill Simmons’ guy)
Troy Murphy – $9.2M
Kwame Brown – $9.1M
Eddy Curry – $8.9M
Adonal Foyle – $8.9M
Jason Williams – $8.9M
Nene – $8.8M

Greg Oden Talks with Barack Obama

I thought this article was very cool. According to Greg Oden, “(Obama) said that when I come back Brandon, LaMarcus and I will be a force next year. He also asked me about my knee, and he said he wasn’t feeling my mohawk.”

Both Oden and Obama seem like genuinely good guys, which is refreshing. Check out the article here.

2008 NBA MVP

Who is the 2008 NBA MVP: Lebron or Kobe?

Updating this post, here are my top ten choices for the 2007-2008 NBA MVP (as of Feb 26):

1 – Lebron James
2 – Kobe Bryant
3 – Chris Paul
4 – Kevin Garnett
5 – Chauncey Billups
6 – Steve Nash
7 – Manu Ginobili
8 – Dirk Nowitzki
9 – Dwight Howard
10 – Antawn Jamison

NBA Star/Goat of the Week – Week 17

NBA Star of the Week – Lebron James

At 23 years old, Lebron is already unstoppable

Lebron James – Lebron averaged a triple double this past week as the Cavs won 3 of 4. For the week, he averaged 28.8 pts, 12.3 reb, 10.5 ast and 2.0 stl while shooting 51% from the field. If Lebron went to 4 years of college, he would be a rookie this year… WOW!!

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NBA Goat of the Week – John Salmons

Is John Salmons the NBA version of Rick Ankiel?

John Salmons – What the hell happened to this guy? In a 21-game stretch in December and early January, Salmons scored in double figures every game averaging 19 pts, 5 reb, 4 ast and 1.5 stl. In only one game, he had 31 pts, 11 reb, 6 ast and 6 stl. But the last two weeks have been like nothing I have ever seen from any NBA player. I understand that Ron Artest and Kevin Martin are back and taking away some of his minutes and his shots, but that doesn’t begin to explain the monumental drop in his numbers.

In 6 games since Feb 16, Salmons has played 119 minutes and scored a total of 11 points! And he is doing nothing else either. Salmons’ total numbers for this stretch are:

119 minutes, 4-20 FG, 2-4 FT, 11 points, 10 rebounds, 9 assists, 2 steals, 0 blocks

NBA Power Rankings – Week 17

Rank – Team – (Record) – +/- Pt Differential – Previous Ranking

1 – LA Lakers (39-17) +7.1 last week rank: 4
Week results: 4-0

2 – San Antonio Spurs (37-17) +5.1 last week rank: 7
Week results: 3-0

3 – Boston Celtics (42-12) +9.5 last week rank: 1
Week results: 1-3

4 – Houston Rockets (36-20) +3.8 last week rank: 8
Week results: 4-0

5 – Detroit Pistons (41-15) +8.1 last week rank: 2
Week results: 2-2

6 – Utah Jazz (36-20) +5.8 last week rank: 3
Week results: 2-1

7 – New Orleans Hornets (37-17) +5.1 last week rank: 5
Week results: 1-2

8 – Dallas Mavericks (37-19) +4.1 last week rank: 10
Week results: 2-1

9 – Cleveland Cavaliers (32-24) –0.8 last week rank: 12
Week results: 3-1

10 – Golden State Warriors (33-22) +2.0 last week rank: 9
Week results: 1-2

11 – Phoenix Suns (38-18) +5.0 last week rank: 6
Week results: 1-2

13 – Orlando Magic (36-22) +3.7 last week rank: 13
Week results: 3-1

12 – Denver Nuggets (33-22) +2.3 last week rank: 11
Week results: 1-2

14 – Toronto Raptors (30-24) +4.3 last week rank: 14
Week results: 2-1

15 – Sacramento Kings (26-29) –1.8 last week rank: 18
Week results: 3-1

16 – Philadelphia 76ers (25-32) –0.4 last week rank: 17
Week results: 2-2

17 – Portland Trailblazers (29-27) –0.7 last week rank: 16
Week results: 1-3

18 – New Jersey Nets (25-31) –4.9 last week rank: 19
Week results: 2-1

19 – Washington Wizards (26-29) +0.1 last week rank: 15
Week results: 1-2

20 – Chicago Bulls (22-33) –2.8 last week rank: 21
Week results: 1-2

21 – Atlanta Hawks (22-31) –2.3 last week rank: 20
Week results: 1-3

22 – Indiana Pacers (22-34) –2.6 last week rank: 22
Week results: 1-2

23 – Milwaukee Bucks (21-35) –6.5 last week rank: 23
Week results: 2-1

24 – LA Clippers (19-34) –4.3 last week rank: 24
Week results: 2-1

25 – Charlotte Bobcats (19-34) –5.6 last week rank: 25
Week results: 1-1

26 – Seattle Supersonics (15-40) –6.8 last week rank: 26
Week results: 2-2

27 – New York Knicks (17-39) –6.3 last week rank: 28
Week results: 2-2

28 – Minnesota Timberwolves (11-43) –7.4 last week rank: 29
Week results: 1-2

29 – Memphis Grizzlies (14-42) –5.5 last week rank: 27
Week results: 0-4

30 – Miami Heat (9-44) –7.8 last week rank: 30
Week results: 0-2

The Demise of the Phoenix Suns

Following the Suns was a fun ride while it lasted

The 2005-2006 Phoenix Suns might have been my favorite NBA team of all time. This was actually the first year that I ordered the NBA League Pass. I had this Suns team on my radar as one of teams to watch, but less than 2 weeks into the season it was clear to me that not only were the Suns a team to watch, but all Suns games were “can’t miss TV”.

This Suns team might have won the championship, but they played outstanding basketball and were by far the most entertaining team in the league. Here was that lineup:

C – Boris Diaw
F – Shawn Marion
F – Tim Thomas
G – Raja Bell
G – Steve Nash

Bench – Leandro Barbosa, Eddie House, James Jones, Kurt Thomas

Could you find a more unselfish group than that? I know that Marion and Tim Thomas might not be the most unselfish human beings on the planet, but on the court these guys were both excellent team players. Nash was the engine that made everyone go; Marion his perfect running mate; Bell added toughness and defense; Thomas hit nearly every big 3; Diaw flourished maybe more than anyone in this style; Barbosa broke out as a borderline All-Star caliber player; and House came off the bench at about 200 miles per hour. The whole team was just a joy to watch offensively.

Last year, they lost Tim Thomas and Eddie House but got Amare Stoudamire back from injury. They still somewhat resembled the run and gun Suns from the previous year, but the unselfishness was gone. A lot of the ball movement had disappeared on offense, thanks to the black hole known as Stoudamire.

Turn the page to this year and the Suns add Grant Hill while keeping most of the core from last year in tact. Now Hill is a great team guy and fit this system perfectly. Everything this season looked great as the Suns had the second best record in the West. The Spurs are struggling with Duncan, Bowen and Horry a year older and the Mavs not looking as good as they had in the past.

And what do the Suns do? Trade their second most important player for a fat, old, washed up Shaq! I still can’t get over this trade. How could the Suns have pulled the trigger on this? Now, not only do they have ballhog Amare clogging up the middle, but they’re going to have fat Shaq camped out there as well?! Forget about running now whenever Shaq is in the lineup. And you can also forget about getting anywhere near the amount of open shots the 2005-2006 team got since they won’t be able to spacing the floor or work the ball around on offense.

You thought Diaw was useless with Stoudamire on the team? Now with Shaq in the mix, he’ll have even less value. As far as Barbosa goes, its going to be harder for him to run or drive (the two things he does best) and he’ll have less open looks now. And if you thought Shaq is going to help their rebounding… Marion is a better rebounder (from the SF position) than either Shaq or Amare. Marion was also an excellent defender and the Suns most versatile defender. Shaq might be the least versatile defender in the league.

Maybe I am wrong and the Suns will make me look like an idiot by winning it all this year, riding a re-invigorated Shaq all the way through the June. But I probably won’t be cheering them on… at least not like I have the past two years. I still love Steve Nash, Raja Bell, Boris Diaw, Leandro Barbosa and maybe even Grant Hill. But I just can’t get into this team and don’t believe in what they are doing.

I also find Amare Stoudamire to be one of the most unlikable guys in the league. He clearly seems like a great player, but how much better does he really make the Suns? Does he make anyone around him better? Or does he do just the opposite? And Shaq is just a disaster… he can’t run, he can’t shoot free throws, he can’t defend, and he can’t do anything outside of the paint. He is the anti-Marion. Well, Marion absolutely flourished in this system and I just can’t fathom why the Suns would trade him away for so little. As Jim Rome said, adding Shaq seems like subtraction by addition for the Suns. So now the Suns are a worse team, less entertaining and less likable.

I hate you, Steve Kerr.

NBA Web Roundup: Trades, a Failed Proposal and the FroHawk

Greg Oden is sporting a new look

Top links from around the NBA:

• John Hollinger breaks down all the NBA trades, so does Le Basketball
• Tom Ziller on the tremendous job done by Sonics’ GM Sam Presti
• Greg Oden has a “Fro-Hawk”
• We’ve seen this for baseball, but how about close and late stats for basketball
  
• 82Games gives us sortable ‘Roland Ratings’ and adjusted +/-. I love this site!
• The latest Carnival of the NBA
• Philly fans started a Fire Isiah chant. Outstanding!
• This Valentine’s Day plan goes way wrong
• You have to check out the 22 Worst Dunks ever!
• The Top 6 Worst Hairstyles in the NBA
• The Sports Guy’s links found the Brian Scalabrine Mix Video
• Don from With Malice looks ahead to the NBA Finals
• Jon Koncak is getting his jersey retired

And for our video, we have Steve Nash using Craig Sager as his personal handkerchief. I love how Sager tries to pretend this doesn’t happen right after. Thanks to FanIQ for finding this.

NBA Star/Goat of the Week – Week 16

NBA Star of the Week – Manu Ginobili

Manu wasn’t an All-Star, but played like one last week

Manu Ginobili – While other players might have been looking forward to the All-Star game, All-Star snub Manu Ginobili played like a man possessed. In two Spurs wins, Manu averaged 40 pts, 10 reb, 7 ast, 7 3-pts, and 2.5 stl while shooting 67% from the field and 91% from the line.

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NBA Goat of the Week – Dunk Contest Announcers

Settle down, guys

Dunk Contest Announcers – Usually, I love Kenny Smith and Charles Barkley. In fact, I think these two, along with Ernie Johnson make up the best studio team in sports… by far. But they absolutely killed the dunk contest for me. I expect nonsense from Tragic and Kevin Harlan, but not Kenny and Charles. I know I am in the minority here, but their man-love of everything Dwight Howard made the dunk contest almost unwatchable. Especially Kenny Smith. Calm down, man. I’ll give Howard credit for creativity and some decent dunks, but to compare any of his dunks with the best dunks of all time was ludicrous. Have these guys seen Vince Carter or Jordan or ‘Nique or Jason Richardson or Spud Webb’s 360?!

Lets start with the off the backboard dunk. They act like nobody ever did this before. Well, thats partially true. In the 2006 dunk contest, 6’6″ Andre Iguodala caught an off the backboard dunk and dunked with two hands! This was much more impressive than Howard’s one-hander. And the Superman dunk wasn’t even a dunk. It was a lot of showmanship, but not even close to the same ballpark as any of Vince’s dunks. Gerald Green’s through the legs off the alley-oop was more impressive to me. I will give Howard that he deserved to win, but the ball washing he got during this contest was appalling.

And as far as the notion that Howard is the first big guy ever to be able to jump like he can I suggest Kenny and the gang go back and watch old tapes of Marcus Camby at UMass or early in his NBA career. He would easily out-jump Howard.

Now, here is a dunk to go crazy about.

The 2007-2008 NBA Season Told by 90’s HipHop

I feel like there’s two things in this world that I know way too much about… 90s hiphop and NBA basketball. So what better way to spend part of my day off from work than to tell the 2007-2008 NBA season through 90s hiphop lyrics. Without further ado, on to the lyrics…

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“Don’t call it a comeback, I’ve been here for years.”

(LL Cool J – Mama Said Knock You Out)

LA Lakers – After a couple of so-so years, the Lakers are right back in the thick of the NBA Championship race. In my opinion, they are the clear winners so far in trade deadline maneuvering. Assuming Kobe’s finger holds up and Bynum comes back 100%, the Lakers have as good a shot as anyone to come out of the West.

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“Socrates philosophies and high prophesies can’t define how I be droppin’ these mockeries.”

(Inspectah Deck of Wu-Tang Clan – Triumph)

New Orleans Hornets – Who would have predicted that the Hornets would have the best record in the Western Conference at the All-Star break? No one, thats who.

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“What’s up doc, can we rock?”

(Fu-Schnickens w/Shaq-Fu – What’s Up Doc)

Shaquille O’Neal – Clearly Shaq and the Heat could not rock. Maybe Shaq can rock with the Suns… if he ever plays.

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“I been had skills, Cristal spills, hide bills in Brazil… its all about the Benjamins, baby.”

(Notorious B.I.G. – It’s All About the Benjamins)

Anderson Varejao – The crazy-haired Brazilian sat out the first couple months of the season, trying to force the Cavs to trade him or sign him for more money. Unfortunately for him, that meant that another team had to step up with an offer sheet and it wasn’t until December that the Bobcats stepped up with a 3-yr, 17 mil deal that the Cavs matched to keep Varejao.

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“Livin’ this till the day that we die. Survival of the fittest, only the strong survive.”

(Mobb Deep – Survival of the Fittest)

Allen Iverson – This quote goes to the biggest warrior in the NBA, AI. Iverson is once again leading the league in total minutes and average minutes/game. Since 2000-2001, Iverson has led the league in minutes/game every year except for 2004-2005 when he was 0.1 minute behind Lebron. Did I mention that he is 32 years old, in his 12th NBA season and only 6 foot, 175 pounds?! For his career, AI averages a ridiculous 41.8 minutes per game! No wonder he doesn’t like to practice.

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“‘Cause I’m a veteran from the c-o-m-p-t-o-n.”

(DJ Quik – Born and Raised in Compton)

Baron Davis, Tyson Chandler and Tayshaun Prince – Its been a great year so far for players from Compton… Davis is healthy, Chandler is a rebounding and defensive machine and I would argue that Prince is the second best player on the Pistons. Even Aaron Afflalo is getting some PT in Detroit.

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“Dodi-oh-doh, there’ll be no nose job. I said dodi-oh-do no nose job.”

(Humpty Hump of Digital Underground – No Nose Job)

Hedo Turkoglu – Turkoglu is having a career season for the Magic. I’m convinced he has had a nose job as his nose looks completely different from when he was a rookie on the Kings. Maybe he can breathe better now… seriously. If he heard Danny Ainge and John Thompson clowning him on TBS/TNT back in the early 2000s, I wouldn’t blame him for getting that schnoz fixed.

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“Is Brooklyn in the house? What about Queens in the house? Manhattan in the house? Long Island in the house? Is the Bronx in the house? The West Coast is in the house!”

(Westside Connection – All the Critics in New York)

New York Knicks – Its been another terrible season in New York. For a team with the highest payroll in the league, this is beyond embarrassing. Nice 3-20 record against the Western Conference, Isiah.

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“I’m not saying I’m number one. Uhh, I’m sorry I lied. I’m number one, two, three, four and five.”

(KRS-One – Step Into a World)

Lebron James – Lebron has stepped up this year and shown that he is the best basketball player on the planet right now. Not only that, but he knows it, too. Who else would have had the audacity to wear a Yankees hat to a Yanks-Indians playoff game at Jacobs Field?

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“I know your fed up, ladies, but keep ya head up”

(2Pac – Keep Ya Head Up)

Miami Heat – Less than two years removed from a championship, the Heat are at rock bottom. Amazingly, they have only won once in the last 25 games! With the trade of Shawn Marion and the probability of a high pick (Michael Beasley with Marion and Wade?!), things can only get better for the Heat. Oooow Oooow child, things are going to get easier…

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“Too many MCs, not enough mics.”

(Pras of the Fugees – How Many Mics)

Sacramento Kings – How many guards and small forwards do the Kings need? This season, they have played Mike Bibby, Kevin Martin, Ron Artest, Francisco Garcia, John Salmons and Beno Udrih. Thats too many players for 3 spots and not enough minutes or shots to go around. The Kings realized this and traded Bibby last week for cents on the dollar.

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“Ain’t no party like a West coast party, ’cause a West coast party don’t stop”

(Coolio – 1, 2, 3 , 4, (Sumpin’ New))

Golden State Fans – How crazy have the fans been in Golden St. this year? I love watching any game at the Oakland Arena. NBA League Pass is great for watching the Warriors since the NBA would rather force feed us Lakers, Cavs, Spurs, Pistons, etc. for most national games. Unfortunately, I usually pass out sometime in the second half of Golden St. home games. Maybe its just us East coasters who feel like Warrior’s parties never stop.

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“So, here we go now. Holla if ya hear me, tho. Come and feel me flow.”

(Treach of Naughty by Nature – Feel Me Flow)

Steve Nash – Nash plays so smooth, like he just flows through games. He’s still flowing and maybe having his best season, though he’s way under the radar.

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“I’m the type that likes to light another joint like Cypress Hill”

(The Luniz – I Got 5 On It)

The Spurs – You gotta love adding notorious pothead Damon Stoudamire to a team of character guys. I bet he’s the only Spurs player to try to sneak his weed through an airport metal detector by wrapping it in tin foil. That was pure genius! I’m not saying that Stoudamire is going to kill the Spurs, but I did find this pickup odd.

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“Ain’t nuthin’ but a G thang, baby!”

(Dr. Dre and Snoop Dogg – Nuthin’ But a ‘G’ Thang)

The Boston Celtics – The signature song of the 90s goes to the signature team of the season so far, the Boston Celtics. In Boston, though, its nuthin’ but a K-G thang, baby!

NBA Power Rankings – Week 16

Rank – Team – (Record) – +/- Pt Differential – Previous Ranking

 

1 – Boston Celtics (41-9) +10.4 last week rank: 2
Week results: 2-0

2 – Detroit Pistons (39-13) +8.0 last week rank: 1
Week results: 2-0

3 – Utah Jazz (34-19) +6.0 last week rank: 3
Week results: 1-0

4 – LA Lakers (35-17) +6.3 last week rank: 4
Week results: 2-0

5 – New Orleans Hornets (36-15) +5.7 last week rank: 5
Week results: 2-0

6 – Phoenix Suns (37-16) +5.8 last week rank: 6
Week results: 1-1

7 – San Antonio Spurs (34-17) +4.9 last week rank: 8
Week results: 2-0

8 – Houston Rockets (32-20) +3.0 last week rank: 10
Week results: 2-0

9 – Golden State Warriors (32-20) +2.4 last week rank: 11
Week results: 2-0

10 – Dallas Mavericks (35-18) +3.9 last week rank: 7
Week results: 1-2

11 – Denver Nuggets (32-20) +2.7 last week rank: 9
Week results: 1-1

12 – Cleveland Cavaliers (29-23) –1.3 last week rank: 12
Week results: 1-1

13 – Orlando Magic (33-21) +3.3 last week rank: 13
Week results: 1-1

14 – Toronto Raptors (28-23) +3.9 last week rank: 14
Week results: 1-1

15 – Washington Wizards (25-27) +0.0 last week rank: 20
Week results: 2-1

16 – Portland Trailblazers (28-24) –0.2 last week rank: 16
Week results: 0-2

17 – Philadelphia 76ers (23-30) –0.6 last week rank: 19
Week results: 2-0

18 – Sacramento Kings (23-28) –2.1 last week rank: 15
Week results: 0-2

19 – New Jersey Nets (23-30) –5.3 last week rank: 17
Week results: 1-1

20 – Atlanta Hawks (21-28) –1.7 last week rank: 18
Week results: 0-2

21 – Chicago Bulls (21-31) –2.8 last week rank: 21
Week results: 1-1

22 – Indiana Pacers (21-32) –2.6 last week rank: 22
Week results: 0-2

23 – Milwaukee Bucks (19-34) –6.5 last week rank: 23
Week results: 0-2

24 – LA Clippers (17-33) –4.7 last week rank: 24
Week results: 1-1

25 – Charlotte Bobcats (19-34) –5.2 last week rank: 25
Week results: 1-1

26 – Seattle Supersonics (13-38) –7.3 last week rank: 26
Week results: 0-1

27 – Memphis Grizzlies (14-38) –4.9 last week rank: 30
Week results: 1-1

28 – New York Knicks (15-37) –5.9 last week rank: 29
Week results: 0-1

29 – Minnesota Timberwolves (10-41) –7.8 last week rank: 27
Week results: 0-2

30 – Miami Heat (9-42) –7.7 last week rank: 28
Week results: 0-2

Crazy Stat of the Day

On Wednesday night, John Salmons played 21 minutes and put up these stats:
0-4 FGs, 0-0 FT, 0 Pts, 0 Reb, 0 Ast, 0 Stl, 0 Blk, 0 turnovers, 0 fouls

What the hell was he doing out there? Anyway, here’s the crazy thing… the Kings lost yet Salmons had +/- rating of +9! Second on the team to Justin Williams (+11), who only had 4 points in 23 minutes.

Weird…

Happy Valentine’s Day!

Happy Valentine’s Day from Str8Hoops and Zach Randolph!

Blazers eCards

NBA Star/Goat of the Week – Week 15

NBA Star of the Week – Amare Stoudamire

Stoudamire was beast for the Suns this past week

Amare Stoudamire – With the departure of Shawn Marion, the Suns are going to need Stoudamire to step up huge and he did just that this week. Amare even delivered some uncharacteristic solid play on the defensive end. In four games, STAT averaged 28.5 points, 13.5 rebounds, 3.3 blocks while shooting 53% from the field and 93% from the line as Phoenix won three out of four.

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NBA Goat of the Week – Steve Kerr

Kerr is betting Shaq can put the Suns over the top

Steve Kerr – What in God’s name is Steve Kerr thinking? In Shawn Marion, the Suns gave up their most versatile player, best defender and a guy who absolutely flourished in their up-tempo style. If this was two years ago, then trading for Shaq makes sense. But 2008 Shaq is not even close to the player he used to be. This year, Shaq is averaging 14 points and 7 rebounds for the worst team in the NBA! He doesn’t play any defense, is the absolute worst player for the Suns system and has 2 more years left on his contract at $20 mil/year. Plus, all you have to do is look at what happened to some recent centers when they started to decline (Robinson, Hakeem, Ewing, etc). When big guys start declining, they decline fast… and they decline hard. This is just an absurd trade on every level. I remember when the Celtics traded for Vin Baker, I declared that the worst trade ever. I think this trade now can take that distinction. At least with Gin Baker, the Celtics were just killing an average team. The Suns had a team ready to compete this year and beyond and now they are toast. They really should have just traded Amare Stoudamire (*star of the week) for Kevin Garnett in the offseason or maybe traded Marion for Andrei Kirilenko. Not only did Kerr kill the Suns chances, but he deprived NBA fans from seeing more of the most entertaining team in a long time.

NBA Power Rankings – Week 15

Rank – Team – (Record) – +/- Pt Differential – Previous Ranking

1 – Detroit Pistons (37-13) +8.0 last week rank: 3
Week results: 3-0

2 – Boston Celtics (39-9) +10.5 last week rank: 1
Week results: 3-1

3 – Utah Jazz (33-19) +5.8 last week rank: 2
Week results: 3-1

4 – LA Lakers (33-17) +5.9 last week rank: 6
Week results: 3-1

5 – New Orleans Hornets (34-15) +5.6 last week rank: 5
Week results: 2-1

6 – Phoenix Suns (36-15) +5.8 last week rank: 4
Week results: 3-1

7 – Dallas Mavericks (34-16) +4.2 last week rank: 7
Week results: 3-1

8 – San Antonio Spurs (32-17) +4.8 last week rank: 10
Week results: 3-1

9 – Denver Nuggets (31-19) +3.0 last week rank: 11
Week results: 3-1

10 – Houston Rockets (30-20) +2.9 last week rank: 13
Week results: 3-0

11 – Golden State Warriors (30-20) +2.4 last week rank: 9
Week results: 1-1

12 – Cleveland Cavaliers (28-22) –1.3 last week rank: 8
Week results: 2-2

13 – Orlando Magic (32-20) +3.3 last week rank: 12
Week results: 1-2

14 – Toronto Raptors (27-22) +3.8 last week rank: 15
Week results: 2-1

15 – Sacramento Kings (23-26) –1.9 last week rank: 14
Week results: 1-2

16 – Portland Trailblazers (28-22) +0.5 last week rank: 16
Week results: 1-3

17 – New Jersey Nets (22-29) –5.2 last week rank: 28
Week results: 2-2

18 – Atlanta Hawks (21-26) –1.6 last week rank: 19
Week results: 2-2

19 – Philadelphia 76ers (21-30) –1.1 last week rank: 22
Week results: 3-1

20 – Washington Wizards (23-26) +0.1 last week rank: 17
Week results: 0-4

21 – Chicago Bulls (20-30) –2.8 last week rank: 23
Week results: 2-2

22 – Indiana Pacers (21-30) –2.2 last week rank: 25
Week results: 2-1

23 – Milwaukee Bucks (19-32) –6.6 last week rank: 24
Week results: 1-2

24 – LA Clippers (16-32) –5.0 last week rank: 27
Week results: 2-2

25 – Charlotte Bobcats (18-33) –5.3 last week rank: 21
Week results: 0-3

26 – Seattle Supersonics (13-37) –7.0 last week rank: 26
Week results: 1-2

27 – Minnesota Timberwolves (10-39) –7.5 last week rank: 20
Week results: 0-3

28 – Miami Heat (9-40) –7.9 last week rank: 30
Week results: 0-4

29 – New York Knicks (15-36) –5.9 last week rank: 28
Week results: 1-3

30 – Memphis Grizzlies (13-37) –5.0 last week rank: 29
Week results: 0-3