Sunday, November 26, 2006
Weekly Whistle 3
So the third issue of the Whistle is up. I’ve been trying to figure out how I can get photos up here to make the column all the more bouncy. But alas, my technical incompetence has once again harpooned any chance of me ever figuring out how to do it. So if there are any willing souls that can assist ‘moi, I’ll be more than grateful.
The Weekly Whistle III, ladies and gentlemen!
The Booze-dozer
Anybody surprised with how the Jazz have fared so far this season?
This kind of strong start isn’t new to Carlos Boozer. Two years ago, when the Jazz went 7-3 in their first 10 games, Boozer was playing like a wild animal. After signing a big, fat contract earlier that summer, Boozer seemed to validate the Jazz’s faith in by not only posting up career numbers, but also giving the Jazz faithful visions of a Karl Malone redux.
Unfortunately for Utah, Boozer’s stay with the team has been a mix of glimpses of superstardom as well as long stints on the shelf. In his first two years in Utah, he’s missed a total of 80 games.
As much as Okur, Williams, and Kirilenko have all been huge in Utah’s resurgence this year, the main cog still has to be Boozer. He’s that one dominant low post guy they can go to when plays bog down. It helps that he’s a beast on the boards this year, too. So far this year, he’s been averaging 23 points, 13 boards, and three assists pre game. Mailman-esque numbers indeed.
The whole equation, however, still lies with his health. How long can he keep this torrid pace before his body bogs down again?
Utah may be playing some sweet jazzy sounds now. But their track will last for only as long as Boozer’s health does.
Here’s to hoping he plays past January.
(Editor’s note: I totally made up that Booze-dozer nickname, but that’s just for the purposes of this column. I’m still digging his immortal NT tag, Carlos “Verbal Agreement” Boozer. Now, that ‘nick should go to the Nickname Hall of Fame.
P.S. If you want the background story on how he got that nickname, just ask.)
Players of the Week:
East: Dwight Howard – Can you say man-child? In the past week, Howard has had two 20-20 games. Against Memphis, Howard rang up 24-23 and had a 24-21 against Charlotte, in less than 30 minutes! The past week has seen him average 21.3 points and 18.3 boards per game.
Every time I see this guy play, he’s just toying around with whoever tries to guard him as if it’s like a man playing against boys. The problem is, age-wise, Dwight Howard IS the boy! That goes to show you how much this kid is beastin’ right now.
West: Dirk Nowitzki – Lost in all the hype of Utah’s fast start and San Antonio’s resurgence are the Mavericks, who have won eight straight after a 0-4 start. Leading the way, as he’s always done is Dirk Nowitzki, who is also having a quiet MVP type season. In three games last week, Nowitzki averaged 26 points, 14 rebounds, and four assists per game, not to mention a giddy 26 for 28 from the free-throw line.
The Gangbusters
Every year, there are a handful of players who come out of the scene and play their way into public consciousness. Previously rotting on their respective benches, the increased playing time has given these guys a chance to shine and with it they’ve certainly put the league on notice:
Kevin Martin – His shot is ugly, but you can’t complain with the results. Heading into the weekend, lil’ K-Mart is averaging 25 points (from 10.8 last season!), five rebounds, and shooting a ridiculous (for a two-guard) 54% shooting from the field. All that despite an eye-sore looking shot that looks like he’s throwing the ball in a sidewinder motion from his waist.
Can’t imagine it? Call yourself lucky.
Monta Ellis – I always love the story of an overlooked player coming out and proving the critics wrong. It’s a fascinating read every time. This year’s winner of the I-Told-You-I-Can-Ball award has to be Monta Ellis. Taken in the second round of last year’s draft (40th overall), Ellis was seen as being too small to play the guards position (he’s actually 6’3, but he does look like a lot smaller than his height). Unfortunately for the GM’s, and I always never understood this, they overlooked one thing and that guys like Ellis may not be the prototypical basketball player, but they can flat out play.
Ellis has rewarded the Warrior’s taking a chance on him by averaging a sweet 17 points, five dimes per game this year.
Deron Williams – For all the raves Carlos Boozer has had for Utah’s early success, Williams has quietly established himself as the legitimate John Stockton successor at Utah. Averaging 18 points and 9 assists per game this year, he and Boozer are slowly starting to look like a modern day “Stockton-to-Malone” combination.
Maybe the Jazz weren’t all that cuckoo selecting Williams over CP after all.
David Lee – He may not light up the scoreboard like the previous three guards, but Lee has been an absolute maniac on the glass. Averaging only 24 minutes a game but grabbing nine rebounds in those minutes, Lee has Dennis Rodman written all over him, minus all the baggage of course.
But this being the Knicks, I’m sure Isiah Thomas will find a way to screw this up. Maybe he can trade Lee to the Hornets for Marc Jackson. That would be awesome.
Zaza Pachulia – His name may sound funny, but he’s game is certainly no laughing matter. Anchoring the suddenly improved Hawks frontline is this Georgian (the country, not the state) center who has averaged a pretty impressive 16 points and seven rebounds in his second year as the Hawks’ middleman.
Not bad for a dude named Zaza.
Video of the Week
Nate on Yao - This vid reminded me of Muggsy Bogues doing Patrick Ewing dirty some years back. Unbelievable.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rqlaN31OzDs
Quote of the Week
“I was blocked by a 5’3 guy before, so that’s not a record.” -Yao Ming, after 5’9 Nate Robinson rejected his dunk attempt.
Sunday, November 19, 2006
Weekly Whistle volume 2
So, the first issue of the Whistle drew a total of eight readers. Pretty encouraging considering I only expected half of that number to pay attention, let alone read it. Not that it matters…ok, maybe it does…but only for self-worth excuses. Either way, this second issue, I’m shooting for the stars, baby! What-say-you I double that and get 16 readers for the week? Lets just hope I don’t drink too much alcohol during the week and start counting each reader twice.
Anyways, on to The Weekly Whistle issue two!
Hey, it’s the new ball!!!
When was the last time you saw a game end in such an unusual way you had to do a double-take to see if what you saw really happened? So maybe the Wizards-Nets game ended with a typical overtime win for Joyzee, but the shot that forced OT was clearly a “whatthehelllwasthat” play.
Note to reader: In the interest of censorship, I think it’s in my best judgment to refrain from using any cuss words so as not to come across as being rough-edged and uncivilized to my readers, all eight of you, to be in fact. So from this point on, no cussing in the Whistle…unless it’s the Knicks were talking about.
So here’s the scenario: Down three with 2 seconds left, Vince Carter gets an inbound pass at the top of the three point line and launches a fall-away 27 footer to tie the game. As the ball hit the rim, it bounced the way a deflated ball would bounce when it hits something metal in that it DIDN’T BOUNCE! It hit the rim, and then just plopped to the hoop. Can’t imagine it? Try getting a collapsed ball and throw it at the basket from 30 feet out. Looks ugly, doesn’t it?
But, alas, the ball went through the hoop, there was OT, and the Nets won.
After the game, Jason Kidd had some pretty amusing comments regarding that freak play. "It didn't rattle. It just stuck," he said. "The old ball maybe just hits the rim and bounces out. This new ball is different and we were very fortunate that it stuck and rolled in."
Vince Carter, when asked if his last second heave would have went in with the old ball, said, "If it would've hit like that? Heck no. No way."
This kind of head-scratching freak play is enough reason for me to wish I had TiVO.
Players of the Week
East: LeBron James – It’s really not fair to put LeBron James as a Player of the Week considering he’s going to end up here at least nine times, anyway. But if you put up 33-6-6 over the week and lead your team to a 3-0 record, there’s no reason why you shouldn’t be here. As my friend Migs, the number one LeBron James nut-hugger would say, “a typical week in the office.”
West: Baron Davis – Second week, second favorite player. I swear there’s no bias here! Check out Diddy’s averages for the week: 26 points, 4 rebounds, 13 assists, and 3.3 steals. Most impressive stat? The Warriors went 3-0 this week against the Pistons, Raptors, and Kings.
Will the real Diddy please stand up!
Speaking of Baron Davis, I was lucky enough to catch the Warriors’ last two games against Toronto and Sacramento, the first one BTV and the other one care of TVU. It struck me that, if healthy (and Lord knows that’s a huge IF), Baron Davis is the scariest point guard in the NBA.
I will refrain from saying best, because, after all, he’s always a hangnail away from the injured list. But if his last two games are any indication, this man, as long as he doesn’t trip over his garden hose and hurts his knee, is going to have a great year.
That first quarter against the Kings was a ridiculous display of dominance from Diddy. Eight points and 11 assists! He bullied his way against the small defenders the Kings put on him, and when they put Artest on Davis, he just blew by him with his first step. This is Ron-ron “The Rottweiller” we’re talking about here, not some fruitcake defender(s) like, say…the whole New York Knicks team.
Like what I’ve said, if Baron can, at LEAST play 70 games for Golden State this year, I’m calling it that they keep on playing past April. Let’s jus hope he stays healthy to make my prediction happen.
Coaching for dummies, literally
Quickest way to get fired from a coaching job: Come up with a new offensive philosophy that urges your team to shoot the ball at least 100 times in one game.
I made a bet with a friend of mine on which coach would get the pink slip first from their respective teams – Sam Mitchell or Doc Rivers. I’m almost 98% percent sure I’m going to come up on top here.
After hearing about Mitchell’s “100 shots” philosophy, the firs thing that came to mind was “how the hell is this guy a coach in the NBA?”. I’m going to be shocked if he makes it past the All-Star break as Toronto’s coach. Seriously, what kind of philosophy is this? From what it sounded like and from what I saw from two previous Toronto games I’ve seen, Mitchell basically gives the green light to EVERYBODY in his team to just shoot when they feel like it. Maybe he thinks that if they shoot 100 times in a game, they have a good chance of winning. Good idea Sam, except that:
a) You’re not the Phoenix Suns
b) Your best player is a back-to-the-basket post-up power forward
c) Your team only has ONE shooter!
On more than one occasion, I’ve seen a Toronto player bring the ball up the court on a one-on-two and shamelessly launch a three pointer without having any of his teammates cross the half court line yet. And Sam Mitchell endorses this!?!!
As of November 18, statistics show that the Raptors do attempt the most field goals in the league (86.4), but they rank 26th (!) in field goal percentage with a 43% shooting percentage. They rank 4th in 3 points attempt, yet they’re 24th in 3-point percentage. Even worse, Mitchell’s “hoist-‘em-as-if-they’re-hot-potatoes” philosophy lessens the chances of the team going to the free-throw line. Need proof of that, too? Barney’s crew is 29th in free-throw attempts per game.
Maybe Mitchell thinks that they can get away with shooting more because they can outscore the opposing team. Unfortunately, he forgot that his team doesn’t play defense too. Giving up 104.5 points per game, good for third highest in the league, won’t win you a lot of games, especially if you only score 99.3.
As much as I want to say that there’s light at the end of this tunnel, the only positive spin I can put on this whole situation is that, at least, I’m making some money out of it.
Three stripes and you’re out!
When I first saw the cover of this year’s Kicks Magazine featuring The Adidas Five on the cover with the words “It’s Over” splashed on it, I thought the Stripes might have struck gold with the campaign. It was a really sweet idea. Considering that the company has flunked massively on making successful signature lines for guys like Duncan and KG, pairing them up with McGrady, Billups, and the quirky one himself, Arenas, made really good sense.
“Why not market five of the best basketball players as a team and revolve your whole basketball campaign around them?” Expectations were high. You’ve flopped with most of your basketball ads, Adidas, but I have to admit, this one looks promising.
Needless to say, I couldn’t wait for the ad to come out.
When I first saw the commercial, all my expectations went flushing down the toilet. It made ABSOLUTELY NO SENSE. Sure, they got the message down. “It takes five to win, blah, blah, blah.” But the presentation was a real stinker. From KG doing that “You’re a fool” scowl, which was neither believable nor menacing, to Duncan delivering his “It fool’s you” line from a radio studio (which I found really weird since it had nothing to do with basketball), the whole commercial was like allowing your piss-drunk friend to mix you a hardcore drink. You prepare yourself for something awesome only to be left with a “whatthehellwasthat” look on you face.
Oh, and that footage of Billups in the parade with his Finals MVP trophy? Didn’t Adidas realize that he won that award TWO YEARS ago, and that there have been two Finals MVP’s after that? One of whom is Tim Duncan, who was in the SAME commercial!
Good job Adidas.
Stick to your futbol commercials. At least that Jose+10 campaign was pretty cool.
Quote of the Week
“The teams that we’ve played against, if you look at their record, they’re pretty good teams as evident by how they’ve done against the other good teams. I just wish we start playing the lesser teams…like us.” – Isiah Thomas
Anyways, on to The Weekly Whistle issue two!
Hey, it’s the new ball!!!
When was the last time you saw a game end in such an unusual way you had to do a double-take to see if what you saw really happened? So maybe the Wizards-Nets game ended with a typical overtime win for Joyzee, but the shot that forced OT was clearly a “whatthehelllwasthat” play.
Note to reader: In the interest of censorship, I think it’s in my best judgment to refrain from using any cuss words so as not to come across as being rough-edged and uncivilized to my readers, all eight of you, to be in fact. So from this point on, no cussing in the Whistle…unless it’s the Knicks were talking about.
So here’s the scenario: Down three with 2 seconds left, Vince Carter gets an inbound pass at the top of the three point line and launches a fall-away 27 footer to tie the game. As the ball hit the rim, it bounced the way a deflated ball would bounce when it hits something metal in that it DIDN’T BOUNCE! It hit the rim, and then just plopped to the hoop. Can’t imagine it? Try getting a collapsed ball and throw it at the basket from 30 feet out. Looks ugly, doesn’t it?
But, alas, the ball went through the hoop, there was OT, and the Nets won.
After the game, Jason Kidd had some pretty amusing comments regarding that freak play. "It didn't rattle. It just stuck," he said. "The old ball maybe just hits the rim and bounces out. This new ball is different and we were very fortunate that it stuck and rolled in."
Vince Carter, when asked if his last second heave would have went in with the old ball, said, "If it would've hit like that? Heck no. No way."
This kind of head-scratching freak play is enough reason for me to wish I had TiVO.
Players of the Week
East: LeBron James – It’s really not fair to put LeBron James as a Player of the Week considering he’s going to end up here at least nine times, anyway. But if you put up 33-6-6 over the week and lead your team to a 3-0 record, there’s no reason why you shouldn’t be here. As my friend Migs, the number one LeBron James nut-hugger would say, “a typical week in the office.”
West: Baron Davis – Second week, second favorite player. I swear there’s no bias here! Check out Diddy’s averages for the week: 26 points, 4 rebounds, 13 assists, and 3.3 steals. Most impressive stat? The Warriors went 3-0 this week against the Pistons, Raptors, and Kings.
Will the real Diddy please stand up!
Speaking of Baron Davis, I was lucky enough to catch the Warriors’ last two games against Toronto and Sacramento, the first one BTV and the other one care of TVU. It struck me that, if healthy (and Lord knows that’s a huge IF), Baron Davis is the scariest point guard in the NBA.
I will refrain from saying best, because, after all, he’s always a hangnail away from the injured list. But if his last two games are any indication, this man, as long as he doesn’t trip over his garden hose and hurts his knee, is going to have a great year.
That first quarter against the Kings was a ridiculous display of dominance from Diddy. Eight points and 11 assists! He bullied his way against the small defenders the Kings put on him, and when they put Artest on Davis, he just blew by him with his first step. This is Ron-ron “The Rottweiller” we’re talking about here, not some fruitcake defender(s) like, say…the whole New York Knicks team.
Like what I’ve said, if Baron can, at LEAST play 70 games for Golden State this year, I’m calling it that they keep on playing past April. Let’s jus hope he stays healthy to make my prediction happen.
Coaching for dummies, literally
Quickest way to get fired from a coaching job: Come up with a new offensive philosophy that urges your team to shoot the ball at least 100 times in one game.
I made a bet with a friend of mine on which coach would get the pink slip first from their respective teams – Sam Mitchell or Doc Rivers. I’m almost 98% percent sure I’m going to come up on top here.
After hearing about Mitchell’s “100 shots” philosophy, the firs thing that came to mind was “how the hell is this guy a coach in the NBA?”. I’m going to be shocked if he makes it past the All-Star break as Toronto’s coach. Seriously, what kind of philosophy is this? From what it sounded like and from what I saw from two previous Toronto games I’ve seen, Mitchell basically gives the green light to EVERYBODY in his team to just shoot when they feel like it. Maybe he thinks that if they shoot 100 times in a game, they have a good chance of winning. Good idea Sam, except that:
a) You’re not the Phoenix Suns
b) Your best player is a back-to-the-basket post-up power forward
c) Your team only has ONE shooter!
On more than one occasion, I’ve seen a Toronto player bring the ball up the court on a one-on-two and shamelessly launch a three pointer without having any of his teammates cross the half court line yet. And Sam Mitchell endorses this!?!!
As of November 18, statistics show that the Raptors do attempt the most field goals in the league (86.4), but they rank 26th (!) in field goal percentage with a 43% shooting percentage. They rank 4th in 3 points attempt, yet they’re 24th in 3-point percentage. Even worse, Mitchell’s “hoist-‘em-as-if-they’re-hot-potatoes” philosophy lessens the chances of the team going to the free-throw line. Need proof of that, too? Barney’s crew is 29th in free-throw attempts per game.
Maybe Mitchell thinks that they can get away with shooting more because they can outscore the opposing team. Unfortunately, he forgot that his team doesn’t play defense too. Giving up 104.5 points per game, good for third highest in the league, won’t win you a lot of games, especially if you only score 99.3.
As much as I want to say that there’s light at the end of this tunnel, the only positive spin I can put on this whole situation is that, at least, I’m making some money out of it.
Three stripes and you’re out!
When I first saw the cover of this year’s Kicks Magazine featuring The Adidas Five on the cover with the words “It’s Over” splashed on it, I thought the Stripes might have struck gold with the campaign. It was a really sweet idea. Considering that the company has flunked massively on making successful signature lines for guys like Duncan and KG, pairing them up with McGrady, Billups, and the quirky one himself, Arenas, made really good sense.
“Why not market five of the best basketball players as a team and revolve your whole basketball campaign around them?” Expectations were high. You’ve flopped with most of your basketball ads, Adidas, but I have to admit, this one looks promising.
Needless to say, I couldn’t wait for the ad to come out.
When I first saw the commercial, all my expectations went flushing down the toilet. It made ABSOLUTELY NO SENSE. Sure, they got the message down. “It takes five to win, blah, blah, blah.” But the presentation was a real stinker. From KG doing that “You’re a fool” scowl, which was neither believable nor menacing, to Duncan delivering his “It fool’s you” line from a radio studio (which I found really weird since it had nothing to do with basketball), the whole commercial was like allowing your piss-drunk friend to mix you a hardcore drink. You prepare yourself for something awesome only to be left with a “whatthehellwasthat” look on you face.
Oh, and that footage of Billups in the parade with his Finals MVP trophy? Didn’t Adidas realize that he won that award TWO YEARS ago, and that there have been two Finals MVP’s after that? One of whom is Tim Duncan, who was in the SAME commercial!
Good job Adidas.
Stick to your futbol commercials. At least that Jose+10 campaign was pretty cool.
Quote of the Week
“The teams that we’ve played against, if you look at their record, they’re pretty good teams as evident by how they’ve done against the other good teams. I just wish we start playing the lesser teams…like us.” – Isiah Thomas
Saturday, November 11, 2006
Weekly Whistle volume 1
For this season, I've decided to write a weekly NBA blog regarding all things NBA. I'm officially christening my baby as The Weekly Whistle
Now I know, only about four people will bother reading this, half of whom would probably read it out of sheer curiosity only to turn away after a few paragraphs.
I can tell you know you don’t know what you’re missing. Twenty years from now, these weekly recaps will be considered literature gold mines and all of you will kick yourselves in the nuts for not being a part of it.
See, I can still write a paragraph of fugazi BS without cracking a smile. It takes talent to do that.
Now onto the first edition of The Weekly Whistle
Hornets past and present
It’s a week into the NBA season and the only thing that makes sense so far is that my Hornets are 4-1. 5-0, if it wasn’t for that overweight point guard from Golden State deciding to play his best basketball against his former team.
I’m just kidding. I still root for you Diddy, just not against the Hornets.
How about that game, huh? Two of my favorite players going toe-to-toe and carrying their teams on their shoulder. And their stats, whew!
Chris Paul: 34-5-10
Baron Davis: 36-4-9
Players of the Week
Speaking of monster stats and strong performances, here are my first picks for players of the week:
East: Joe Johnson – Five games in and he’s averaging 28.4 points, 5 boards and 5 assist. Even more impressive? Atlanta’s 4-1 record, considering they didn’t get win number four last year until their 20th game!
West: Chris Paul – Of course I’m biased! But favoritism aside, it really has been a monster start for CP3. Going into today’s game against the Blazers, he’s averaging 21 points, 4 rebounds, and 10 dimes. Savage.
Beast of the Least
So the Hawks are the number one team in Eastern Conference. The Pistons and Bulls, pre-season favorites by the way, sit at the bottom of the Central division. The Cavaliers win all their games against good teams but get embarrassed against bad teams.
I know it’s a week into the season but these trends are really unsettling. It’s beginning to look like nobody wants to win the East.
That being said, at least five teams right now have a legitimate chance in winning the conference, albeit, none will do it convincingly. I have Miami, Detroit, Cleveland, Chicago, and New Jersey.
Now, who’s my pick out of these five? I’m picking the team with the least amount of questions surrounding their season. And conveniently enough, it’s the New Jersey Nets.
Miami’s too old now, and they probably have hunger issues. Detroit has lost its mojo. The Bulls are offensively inept. The Cavs are a one-man show, unless proven otherwise. So, the odd team out is Jersey.
They have one of the most explosive scorers in VC, a reliable do-it all guy in RJ, and the measuring stick among all point guards, J-Kidd. Not to mention, a budding and ever improving slot man in Krstic and a better bench, although it’s still not as deep as it should be.
So, they’re my pick to win the East. So what if they’re from Jersey?
As for the Hawks? They should enjoy their early success because they’ll come crashing back down to earth soon.
Motown Dud
I feel bad for Detroit. Two years ago, they were the model franchise of the NBA. It seemed like everything Detroit GM Joe Dumars did turned to gold. Since then, all of Joe D’s moves have been anything but golden. Let’s recap:
a) He let free agent C Mehmet Okur walk back in 2004.
b) He traded Darko Milicic and Kelvin Cato to Orlando for…I cant even remember who got back in that trade…just so they have the cap space to sign Big Ben, who coincidentally,
c) bolted to run with the Bulls for greener pastures.
d) Now, there’s talk of Chauncey Billups moving to Milwaukee next year.
Now, if Isiah Thomas made those moves, it wouldn’t be all that surprising. But, Joe D? I know you’ve made Isiah look good back in your playing days, but to do it now? What gives?
King of the Hill
How about Grant Hill, huh? It’s amazing how incredibly efficient he still is after everything he’s been through. He still shoots at a high percentage, still does everything so well, and he can still defend the opposing team’s best player.
He’s like that favorite uncle who used to give you the best toys for Christmas only to leave for another country and takes all the presents with him. He sends the occasional action figures, but it doesn’t happen as often as it used to be. Then he comes back, and the cool presents return too. You wonder how many G.I. Joe’s you could’ve had if he hadn’t left, right?
Gives me goose-bumps imagining how good Hill would have been if he hadn’t gotten hurt.
I’m thinking Top 10…ALL-TIME.
The LeBrons
Arguably one of the funniest campaigns out there right now. For all the accolades LeBron has received on the court, its his talents off the court that’s going to make him huge. In this campaign by Nike, LeBron, or Athlete LeBron, as he’s called in the ad, shares a home with three other LeBrons, Business LeBron, Wise Lebron, and Kid LeBron. The funny thing is he plays all four roles so convincingly; you’d think he took lessons from Eddie Murphy.
Here’s three of the four ads from season one of the LeBrons. Check out the link: http://youtube.com/watch?v=40GKEtQzUOk
Now I know, only about four people will bother reading this, half of whom would probably read it out of sheer curiosity only to turn away after a few paragraphs.
I can tell you know you don’t know what you’re missing. Twenty years from now, these weekly recaps will be considered literature gold mines and all of you will kick yourselves in the nuts for not being a part of it.
See, I can still write a paragraph of fugazi BS without cracking a smile. It takes talent to do that.
Now onto the first edition of The Weekly Whistle
Hornets past and present
It’s a week into the NBA season and the only thing that makes sense so far is that my Hornets are 4-1. 5-0, if it wasn’t for that overweight point guard from Golden State deciding to play his best basketball against his former team.
I’m just kidding. I still root for you Diddy, just not against the Hornets.
How about that game, huh? Two of my favorite players going toe-to-toe and carrying their teams on their shoulder. And their stats, whew!
Chris Paul: 34-5-10
Baron Davis: 36-4-9
Players of the Week
Speaking of monster stats and strong performances, here are my first picks for players of the week:
East: Joe Johnson – Five games in and he’s averaging 28.4 points, 5 boards and 5 assist. Even more impressive? Atlanta’s 4-1 record, considering they didn’t get win number four last year until their 20th game!
West: Chris Paul – Of course I’m biased! But favoritism aside, it really has been a monster start for CP3. Going into today’s game against the Blazers, he’s averaging 21 points, 4 rebounds, and 10 dimes. Savage.
Beast of the Least
So the Hawks are the number one team in Eastern Conference. The Pistons and Bulls, pre-season favorites by the way, sit at the bottom of the Central division. The Cavaliers win all their games against good teams but get embarrassed against bad teams.
I know it’s a week into the season but these trends are really unsettling. It’s beginning to look like nobody wants to win the East.
That being said, at least five teams right now have a legitimate chance in winning the conference, albeit, none will do it convincingly. I have Miami, Detroit, Cleveland, Chicago, and New Jersey.
Now, who’s my pick out of these five? I’m picking the team with the least amount of questions surrounding their season. And conveniently enough, it’s the New Jersey Nets.
Miami’s too old now, and they probably have hunger issues. Detroit has lost its mojo. The Bulls are offensively inept. The Cavs are a one-man show, unless proven otherwise. So, the odd team out is Jersey.
They have one of the most explosive scorers in VC, a reliable do-it all guy in RJ, and the measuring stick among all point guards, J-Kidd. Not to mention, a budding and ever improving slot man in Krstic and a better bench, although it’s still not as deep as it should be.
So, they’re my pick to win the East. So what if they’re from Jersey?
As for the Hawks? They should enjoy their early success because they’ll come crashing back down to earth soon.
Motown Dud
I feel bad for Detroit. Two years ago, they were the model franchise of the NBA. It seemed like everything Detroit GM Joe Dumars did turned to gold. Since then, all of Joe D’s moves have been anything but golden. Let’s recap:
a) He let free agent C Mehmet Okur walk back in 2004.
b) He traded Darko Milicic and Kelvin Cato to Orlando for…I cant even remember who got back in that trade…just so they have the cap space to sign Big Ben, who coincidentally,
c) bolted to run with the Bulls for greener pastures.
d) Now, there’s talk of Chauncey Billups moving to Milwaukee next year.
Now, if Isiah Thomas made those moves, it wouldn’t be all that surprising. But, Joe D? I know you’ve made Isiah look good back in your playing days, but to do it now? What gives?
King of the Hill
How about Grant Hill, huh? It’s amazing how incredibly efficient he still is after everything he’s been through. He still shoots at a high percentage, still does everything so well, and he can still defend the opposing team’s best player.
He’s like that favorite uncle who used to give you the best toys for Christmas only to leave for another country and takes all the presents with him. He sends the occasional action figures, but it doesn’t happen as often as it used to be. Then he comes back, and the cool presents return too. You wonder how many G.I. Joe’s you could’ve had if he hadn’t left, right?
Gives me goose-bumps imagining how good Hill would have been if he hadn’t gotten hurt.
I’m thinking Top 10…ALL-TIME.
The LeBrons
Arguably one of the funniest campaigns out there right now. For all the accolades LeBron has received on the court, its his talents off the court that’s going to make him huge. In this campaign by Nike, LeBron, or Athlete LeBron, as he’s called in the ad, shares a home with three other LeBrons, Business LeBron, Wise Lebron, and Kid LeBron. The funny thing is he plays all four roles so convincingly; you’d think he took lessons from Eddie Murphy.
Here’s three of the four ads from season one of the LeBrons. Check out the link: http://youtube.com/watch?v=40GKEtQzUOk
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