Welcome! The Lakers pinky problem, awesome rookies and other thoughts around the league posted by Zach Beckmann

Welcome!  This is my inaugural post on NBABasketballonline.  I will not spend too much time initially on who I am, but will get into my thoughts and love for the NBA.  In due course you should develop a clear indication of who I am and where I am coming from. 

To make things clear right away though I am a Lakers fan.  But beyond the Lakers I am a fan of the league.  There exists no other medium where you can watch the most naturally gifted athletes battle night in and night out (well in the playoffs at least).  The majority of my time is spent rooting for the Lake Show, but by no means does that mean I do not appreciate or any less fascinated with the supreme prowess of Tim Duncan or the fierce competitiveness of KG or the ridiculous all around offensive talents of Melo.  I could comprise my entire initial blog with these adjective laden statements respecting the talents the NBA’s elite, but for our reading pleasure I will delve into more significant opinions I deem worth sharing with others. 

As far as the Lakers are concerned they are the best team in the league.  The Celtics are close, but I can’t still see a healthy Celtics beating a healthy Lakers team in a 7 game series.  The combination of the miles on the C’s legs (even though KG has surpassed all expectations from me at least this year) are just too much to hold up through June, Sheed’s refusal to do anything but throw up bricks from the outside, and the fact that I honestly can not see Paul Pierce dominating Kobe again like he did two years ago leads me to believe the Lakers win that series in five (Game 1 in Boston and games 3,4,5 in LA for those of you keeping score).

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posted by Andy Charles

Allen Iverson’s sometime glittering career in the NBA could just be over after he left the Memphis Grizzlies early into his tenure with the franchise.

Although Iverson was given permission ‘to leave to attend to personal business’ late last week, his time in Memphis had already started to become a sideshow with more talk about him being asked to come off the bench than anything else.

Iverson had only played three times for the Grizzlies before leaving ahead of Saturday’s clash with the Los Angeles Clippers, and had not played badly in averaging 12.3 points and 3.7 assists despite his displeasure at not being in the starting line-up as Memphis preferred to start Mike Conley and O.J. Mayo in the backcourt.

The 34-year-old also complained at a lack of communication with coach Lionel Hollins, as he revealed: “It’s probably going to always be hard for me and him to see eye-to-eye, because we’ve never even talked to each other. Obviously that’s what you do if you’re trying to accomplish the same goal.”

Hollins was non-committal about Iverson returning to the team, issuing a ‘no comment’ and admitting he had no idea if he would be back in the short or even the long-term.

Memphis had been anticipated as one of the league’s improvers this season but have started the campaign just as in most recent years with their 1-6 record the joint worst in the Western Conference and better than only the injury-hit New Jersey Nets overall.

But it is Iverson’s future dominating the sports pages, with retirement the latest word to rear its ugly head despite comments from owner Michael Heisley that Iverson had not intimated to him that he was thinking about calling it a day.

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Fun With Box Scores posted by Scott Shepherd

In the NBA these days, it seems like there is a stat for everything. We’ve got PER, offensive efficiency ratings, defensive efficiency rating, and so on and so on.

It seems like every team in the league now employs their own stat guru. And while I’m not one to question the use of all these new statistics to evaluate NBA players (I actually kinda like them), I’m old school.

 

To me, all the new stats in the world can’t tell the story of an NBA game as well as the good, old fashioned box score.

 

Therefore, I’m starting a new feature today called “Fun With Box Scores”.

 

Every Monday, I’ll be posting some of the more interesting things that jumped out at me from the previous week’s box scores.

 

This week, they are, in no particular order:

 

The Cavs were +38 when LeBron was on the floor this week. They were -27 when he wasn’t.

 

Meanwhile, the Cavs were -3 when Shaq was on the floor and +19 when he wasn’t.

 

Rasheed Wallace took 8 shots on Wednesday…all three pointers. For the week, ‘Sheed attempted 36 shots. 25 of them were three pointers.

 

Danilo Gallinari was 8-16 from deep on Saturday. He was 1-6 on two-point shots. For the week he was 18-36 on three-point shots and 4-11 on two-point attempts.

 

Carmelo Anthony had 113 points in 116 minutes this week.

 

Greg Oden had 26 points in 99 minutes. He also had 19 fouls.

 

Speaking of fouls, Hasheem Thabeet had 8 in 24 minutes of play this week. In his defense, he did have four blocks, giving him a nice one block for every two fouls ratio.

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NBA Opening Night Quick Thoughts posted by Scott Shepherd

Happy New Year!

With the new NBA season set to tip off with four games tonight, here are some of the things I’ll be watching for in tonight’s action.

Boston @ Cleveland, 7:30pm

I can’t wait to see LeBron again this season. Last year, coming off the Olympics, you could see that his focus was on improving defensively. Now, without a summer in the spotlight, I’m curious to see if he’s made any improvements to his already unreal game. Is this the year we finally see LeBron use his Karl Malone-like body to beast on people inside?

Also, I’m curious to see what kind of pregame theatrics the Cavs come up with. You know Shaq can’t stand to be out of the spotlight, I wouldn’t be surprised if he tries to one-up LeBron’s chalk thing with something of his own.

As for Boston, I really want to see how Rondo responds to not getting a contract extension. Last year he was a triple-double waiting to happen in the playoffs, but at the same time, Boston was not a threat.

Are we going to see the more subdued Rondo that won the title in ’08, or will it be the ’09 version that was the centerpiece of that team?

And of course, I’m looking forward to seeing Rasheed Wallace’s giant new cornrows. Those would have been ugly 4 years ago. Nice throwback hairstyle, 'Sheed.

Washington @ Dallas, 8:30pm

Curious to see the return of the former Agent Zero. I wrote last season that he could be this decade’s Grant Hill, and not in a good way. Three knee surgeries in 17 months is a terrible route to take to NBA superstardom. It’s nearly impossible to bounce back from that.

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Disappointing First Impression of Blake Griffin posted by Scott Shepherd

Disappointing news for NBA fans everywhere, courtesy of yahoo:

 

"LOS ANGELES (AP)—Blake Griffin’s (notes) NBA debut has been pushed back indefinitely after the Los Angeles Clippers revealed late Monday night that their No. 1 overall draft pick has a broken left kneecap.

The stress fracture could sideline the Oklahoma star for six weeks, the team announced, promising further information Tuesday."

What a disappointment this news is. Watching Blake Griffin debut on Tuesday night was going to be the highlight of the TV schedule for me. The Lakers, Cavs, and Celtics are all going to be good this year, we already know that.

And while it’s always fun to watch really good teams play, one of the best parts of the new season is getting to watch high profile rookies make the transition to the NBA game.

With Blake Griffin, no one really knows what he’s going to be yet. He could be the in the rare breed of NBA-ready rookies, or he could be a total work in progress. We were finally going to find out on Tuesday night. He was going to make his first impression on the NBA world.

Unfortunately, Griffin made his first impression on Monday night instead. Any hope of seeing the number one overall pick in the 2009 NBA Draft hit the ground running was lost in Monday night’s announcement of a broken kneecap.

When he does finally debut six weeks from now, it’ll be unceremonious, and he’ll have to be worked back into game shape.

You only get to make one first impression, and my first impression of Blake Griffin, through no fault of his own, is one of total disappointment.

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Griffin news boosts Clippers posted by Andy Charles

It looks as if Los Angeles Clippers fans can breathe a sigh of relief after doctors cleared No 1 pick Blake Griffin to work out with the team after a shoulder injury had threatened to rule him out of the start of the season next month.

The Clippers must have been, as usual, feeling a little snake bitten when Griffin, the big body they needed so badly, strained his shoulder back in July playing in the Las Vegas Summer League.

But Griffin did more than enough in summer action to show exactly what he is going to bring to the Clips, who have suffered as Los Angeles’ second team just about forever – sure they will again this season but the shoots of optimism might just begin to sprout by the end of 2010.

He averaged 19.2 points and 10.8 rebounds and showed against some fringe NBA players from next season that he should be able to bash the boards as he did to such effect at Oklahoma last season.

The Clippers’ off-season moves, getting rid of the utterly useless (in terms of work-rate and anything but scoring) Zach Randolph, cleared Griffin to become part of what could be a tough to beat inside trio along with Chris Kaman and Marcus Camby.

But, sadly for future projections, all three of them have the same problem – durability. Griffin has already been hurt since coming out of the college game and both Kaman and Camby are well known for missing stretches of time throughout their career.

If, and it’s a big if, all three can stay fit then there is even a chance they could make up some of the 29 games that they were out of the playoff hunt last season because, if their application matches their talent level, they should be a contender.
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Richardson traded again. This time to Minnesota posted by john howard

Quentin Richardson has traveled from New York to Memphis to Los Angelos, and now to Minnesota.  He takes with him $9mil for one year.  Last season he earned 3 wins for the New York Knicks (a Howard Sports statistic).  In return, the Clippers get Sebastian Telfair (3 wins), Craig Smith (2 wins), and Mark Madsen (0 wins). So, it was a good trade for the Clippers.  They gained a backup to Baron Davis.  Minnesota meanwhile gets to unload a huge salary after this season.  Richardson also fills a void that was created when Foye was traded to Washington.  Also, Ricky Rubio doesn't appear to coming soon.  After the terrific play of Flynn this summer in Las Vegas, Telfair became expendable.

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Clippers send Randolph to Memphis posted by john howard

The Los Angelos Clippers sent Zach Randolph to the Memphis Grizzlies for Quentin Richardson.  A move that was needed after having a surplus of inside talent with newly drafted Blake Griffin.  Griffin has been sensastional in summer league and will likely start for the Clippers.  Using the Howard Sports winning system, Randolph earned 2 wins while Richardson earned 3.  So, it's a pretty even swap.  The Grizzlies acquired Richardson from the Knicks for Darko Milicic this summer.  So, Richardson never played a game for Memphis.

Here is the Lineup for the Clippers with last years wins earned by players using according to Howard Sports

PG  Baron Davis--3 the worst year of his career.  Usually a 6 to 8 game winner

SG Eric Gordon--3  A young star continuing to improve.

SF Al Thornton--2 Another young improving player

PF Blake Griffin--7 The first pick averages 7 wins their first year.

C C Kaman--1 an injury filled year still a quality player

Quentin Richardson--3  Marcus Camby--2  8 others with one win.

This team could be a playoff team.  They have a good starting lineup with lots of good pieces on the bench.  It's just a matter of putting them together.

Memphis

PG M Conley--3  improving, but not sure he is the answer

SG OJ Mayo--4  Will be an all star one day

SF R Gay--4 a very good player that is getting better

PF  Z Randolph--2  Can score!

C M Gasol--3  another pleasant surprise

H Thabett--6, last year's 2nd pick earned 6 wins.  I don't Thabeet will do that.  He just doesn't score.

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Top 10 Reasons Kobe and Artest will work out posted by Chris Strickland

10) They were spotted in Kobe's escalade at an 'N and Out drive-through. And yes, they both got "animal style."

9) When on road trips in Denver, Kobe's got Artest covered for booty calls.

8) Kobe's beer preference is bottles - meaning, he'll never pour anything in a plastic cup.

7) Kobe & LeBron's Nike "puppet campaign" is being replaced by "Kobe and Ron," a new puppet ad-series. However, Nike's yielding to "Crank Yankers" for the directing of this one.

6) Like Kobe, Artest is practically another Dobermamba on defense. Only difference is, Artest may bite.

5) As a peace offering, Artest bought fellow teammate and candy-lover, Lamar Odom, a year's supply of Cookies 'n Cream.

4) Finally, Kobe has a legit MC to battle Shaq with.

3) Ron Artest also prefers Aston-Martin jumping...jump-starting them, that is.

2) Forget a "safe word," Kobe's got a "safe sentence." All he has to say is "I helped bury Michael Jackson," and Artest will back off.

1) When it comes to crazy people, Bryant's got experience. Kobe's dealt with Jack Nicholson for years.

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OH-HUM THE 2009 NBA DRAFT posted by Andy Natalie

1 Clippers                      Blake Griffin PF
2. Grizzlies Hasheem Thabeet C
3. Thunder James Harden SG
4. Kings Tyreke Evans SG
5. Timberwolves Ricky Rubio PG
6. Timberwolves Jonny Flynn PG
7. Warriors Stephen Curry PG
8. Knicks Jordan Hill PF
9. Raptors DeMar DeRozan SG
10. Bucks Brandon Jennings PG
11. Nets Terrence Williams SG
12. Bobcats Gerald Henderson SG
13. Pacers Tyler Hansbrough PF
14. Suns Earl Clark SF
15. Pistons Austin Daye SF
16. Bulls James Johnson PF
17. 76ers Jrue Holiday PG
18. Timberwolves Ty Lawson PG
19. Hawks Jeff Teague PG
20. Jazz Eric Maynor PG
21. Hornets Darren Collison PG
22. Trail Blazers Victor Claver SF
23. Kings Omri Casspi SF
24. Mavericks B.J. Mullens C
25. Thunder Rodrigue Beaubois PG
26. Bulls Taj Gibson PF
27. Grizzlies DeMarre Carroll PF
28. Timberwolves Wayne Ellington SG
29. Lakers Toney Douglas SG
30. Cavaliers Christian Eyenga

SF

     The Clippers picked their "10,000th" lottery pick in NBA Draft history. And it is yet another shame that a guy like Blake Griffin will waste his talent for a few floundering years for the most disorganized sports franchise on Earth. The Clippers are a joke. And I was a huge fan of Elgin Baylor but his time in Clipper-dom has been the usual failure of a franchise to be even relevent. Other than the teams history dating to a time in Buffalo, the Larry Brown years of 1992 and 1993 are the only Clippers teams that did anything. Actually they had a winning season in 2005 and 2006 at 47 - 35. Anyhow the list of good players that have been selected there and then left are mounting. So I expect Griffin to display his talents and then be courted by a team that knows what it is doing. Other than that the 2009 Draft was a bit of a sham. How is that? Well what does it say that the LA Lakers ook some cash for their 1st round pick?  The Orlando Magic decided to deal for aging Vince Carter instead of taking a player from this litter. The Cavaliers felt the acquisition of Shaq held more value than any of these players. Even the Golden State Warriors traded their new pick Stephen Curry to Phoenix for Amare Stoudamire. Honestly the level of USA basketball talent has diminished. Many argue that NBA players are better than ever. I believe those people depend on earning money from the NBA so therefore they continue to lie about the quality. Hey I am guilty of still loving the NBA but the new generation of players are not that fundamentally sound. Oh, they are 10 times the athletes of Magic Johnson or Larry Bird, Julius Erving or Jerry West but they can't pass, dribble, or shoot like those NBA players did and like NBA players should. I think this is borne out by the decline of the USA's ability to dominate a World that has gotten better. (And yes there are Continue reading "OH-HUM THE 2009 NBA DRAFT"

Spurs spoil Hughes' debut as Clips coach (AP)

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Isiah won't say if he's talked to Clips (AP)

Isiah Thomas insisted Saturday that he is "completely focused" on his current job at Florida International and would not reveal if he had any talks about becoming coach and president of the of the Los Angeles Clippers. Foxsports.com reported that Thomas is under consideration for those jobs by the Clippers, a story that the team denied to ESPNLosAngeles.com. [read full article]

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Clips' Dunleavy quits as coach, stays GM (AP)

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Johnson shines late, Hawks rally for win (AP)

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Kaman returns, leads Clippers past Bulls (AP)

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