Category: NBA General

nba-general

Categories
NBA General

Around the Rim: Drama in Dallas



I got your money Nellie!

[Editor’s Note: Around the Rim is a new daily NBA blog written by Clay Whittington.]

1. Cuban Millions Crisis
On Monday, Don Nelson returned to Dallas as coach of a different team, but he still had the same old relationship with his former boss Mark Cuban. And that is, none at all. The two no longer speak to one another and according to Nelson, Cuban still owes him $6.6 million. Apparently, the relationship turned sour after a bitter negotiation over Nelson’s last contract, prompting the two to cease any personal association with one another. Nelson was named as a consultant but once personnel moves were being made without Nelson’s involvement, he decided it was time to leave. Cuban has been quiet about the situation, “I have nothing to say at all. He coaches the bad guys now.” Has Cuban turned over a new leaf? Are we seeing a more reserved, more mature Mark Cuban? Unlikely.

2. Cuban Conspiracy Theory
Cuban raised eyebrows on opening night when he decided not to unveil the team’s western conference championship banner against rivals San Antonio. Cuban played the move off as a gesture to the fans, allowing them to enjoy both an opening night and a championship celebration. Now, with the emergence of Nelson in Golden State, the picture is becoming clearer. Cuban, who is known for his brash behavior, simply passed up an opportunity to rub his success in the faces of the Spurs for an opportunity to rub his success in the face of his former coach. The ceremony was to serve as a reminder to Nelson of the achievement gained upon his departure. With David Stern cracking down on “whining” in the league, these types of nonverbal gestures could prove to be more advantageous for the calculating business guru. Cuban will always get the last word in whether it’s spoken or not. Don’t mistake a quiet Cuban for a changed Cuban.

3. It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia
It’s only the first week of the season but Allen Iverson is already having a great season. With 34.0 points a game, he is leading the NBA in scoring, but the points aren’t surprising. What is, however, is the accuracy with which he gets them. A career 42 percent shooter, he’s currently shooting 49 percent from the field and an eye-popping 55 percent from behind the three point line. And don’t try to call him selfish anymore. His assists are up to 9.7 per game, another career high. The injury prone Iverson continues to put his body on the line for his team, leading the NBA in minutes per game and free throws attempted. On the flip side, one of Iverson’s signatures has always been his turnovers and this year is no different as he dubiously leads the league in that category as well with 5.33 per game. Will any of these numbers hold over a full season? Time will tell, but with A.I. in MVP form and his team jumping out to a 3-0 start for the first time in six seasons things are definitely looking brighter for Philly fans.

4. Second Home Coming
The New Orleans/Oklahoma City Hornets will have their second home opener of the season tonight. The team brings a 3-0 record to their home away from home as they play Golden State in Oklahoma City. Chris Paul led the team to a victory over Houston in New Orleans on Sunday. David Stern emphasized over the weekend that the Hornets will return to The Big Easy full-time next season. Over the past two seasons, Oklahoma City has proven to be hungry for professional sports and their commitment to the Hornets franchise has created an opportunity for the NBA to set up shop in the Heartland. Coincidentally, the Seattle Sonics were recently purchased by an Oklahoma City-based ownership group; an acquisition that has Sonic fans sleepless in Seattle.

Monday’s Player of the Day: Zach Randolph @ LA Clippers 38 min, 35 pts (FG: 11-17, FT: 13-15), 13 reb, 1 ast, 2 stl, 3 blk

Tuesday’s Game to Watch: Minnesota (2-2) @ LA Lakers (3-1) The Lakers are perfect at home on the year as former MVP, Kevin Garnett, comes to town. Kobe Bryant has been quiet in the two games he has played this season, taking only 25 shots total, but he will look to explode against the T-Wolves after losing in Seattle. Lamar Odom has been sporadic since Bryant’s return and appeared more comfortable as the lead role in the opening game that Bryant missed.

Categories
NBA General

Around the Rim: Welcome to Sportscolumn’s new daily NBA blog

[Editor’s Note: Around the Rim is a new daily NBA blog written by Clay Whittington.]



Average dunk

1. Mediocre Man
Jason Richardson was recently named Mr. Average by NBA.com. It’s probably not the recognition that J-Rich was looking for in order to get that next big endorsement deal, but things could be worse. The last two players to be considered run-of-the-mill by league averages have proven to be anything but. Last year’s winner was Richard Jefferson and the year before that the title was given to Shawn Marion. Average by NBA terms for this season is standing 6’6″ and weighing 225 pounds at 26 years old with five years of experience. But in Richardson’s case, average also includes being the only person besides Michael Jordan to win consecutive slam dunk titles.

2. Transplanted Rose
Jalen Rose has decided to join the Phoenix Suns for one year at $1.5 million, just slightly above the veteran’s minimum. This move adds even more offense to the Suns lineup and gives Rose a legit shot at winning a championship, but its biggest impact will be felt in Rose’s checking account. While $1.5 million might not sound like an impressive payday for an NBA player, consider that in addition to being rescued from a sinking New York franchise, Rose received a $14.5 million buyout from the Knicks. Apparently, playing on a poorly managed team known for overpaying and underachieving does have some advantages. Mainly, you get paid to play for someone else.

3. Royal-ties
LeBron “King” James gained an advantage over Dwyane Wade in their battle to become the new, young face of the Association when James was considered to be the most marketable NBA player in a survey conducted by SportsBusiness Daily. And who could argue with the decision? Endorsement should be this kid’s middle name. At 21 years old, James has already made some memorable commercials in his young career. Some of these include a series of Sprite spots with Lil’ Penny’s long lost rip-off, Thirst, and his current Nike campaign where he portrays a quartet of characters collectively known as “The LeBrons.” Since high school, James has been more popular than almost any NBA player and he beat out fellow classmate Wade, as well as, Shaquille O’Neal, Kobe Bryant and Yao Ming in the poll. While championship rings might get you a spot on the list, the marketing throne is reserved for the young king.

4. Celtic Girls
On Friday, the Boston Celtics became the last team in the NBA to introduce a dance team to their courtside entertainment. While the choice was applauded by the male contingent of the team’s fan base, the timing of their debut could have been a bit more appropriate. The late Red Auerbach was openly opposed to the dancers because he felt that the game itself should always remain as the center of attention. So, less than a week after Auerbach’s death, the front office brought the dance team out to shake and gyrate on the parquet floor that the legendary coach cherished so deeply. Hardly the proper tribute to a man that meant so much.

Sunday’s Player of the Day: Ray Allen vs. LA Lakers 36 min, 32 pts (FG: 10-16, 3FG: 3-4, FT: 9-9), 3 reb, 6 ast, 1 stl, 1 blk

Monday’s Game to Watch: Detroit (2-1) @ Utah (3-0) Detroit hasn’t lost on the road and Utah has yet to lose at home. Obviously, something has to give. Utah is looking to move back into the playoffs for the first time since 2002-03 and an early win over Detroit could give the team a boost in confidence. Detroit needs to win in order to keep pace with a tough central division that includes the Bucks, Bulls, Cavs and Pacers.

Categories
NBA General

North Korea a problem? Just send in Michael Jordan



The NBA: It’s Dictator-tastic!

We don’t much get into politics here at Sportscolumn but this Union-Tribune story is too good to pass up. Apparently, Kim Jong Il is a tremendous basketball fan who loves the NBA and has a video library of almost every game MJ has ever played.


[In 1001] Jordan’s management team was approached about the athlete making a goodwill trip to Pyongyang to meet Kim. The North Korean government, according to documents obtained by The San Diego Union-Tribune, sent a letter authorizing the request, and Samsung, a South Korean electronics company interested in promoting reunification of the Koreas, had offered to underwrite the venture.

Jordan respectfully declined.

Apparently, because of the closed contact with the outside world, basketball in North Korea is a horse of a different color: “three points for a dunk, four points for a three-pointer that does not touch the rim and eight points for a basket scored in the final three seconds. Miss a free throw, and it’s minus one.” Kim Jong Il must not be much of a Shaq fan.

Links:
[SignOnSanDiego]: The Oddest Fan

Categories
NBA General

David Sterns channels Johnny Cash



Now was that 2nd or
3rd amendment?

Don’t take your guns to town son
Leave your guns at home Stephen Jackson
Don’t take your guns to town

It’s sad when you actually have to remind your players like David Stern did that you shouldn’t be carrying around a gun.


It’s a pretty, I think, widely accepted statistic that if you carry a gun, your chances of being shot by one increase dramatically. We think this is an alarming subject, that although you’ll read players saying how they feel safer with guns, in fact those guns actually make them less safe. And it’s a real issue.

The latest collective bargaining agreement prohibits players from bringing a gun to the arena, a practice facility or a team or league offsite promotional appearance. The fact that is specifically says you shouldn’t bring a gun to a promotional appearance means that perhaps in one of those NBA Cares ads, a player is packing heat while reading Dr. Seuss to a bunch of 3rd graders. Image problem? Nahhh..the NBA doesn’t have an image problem.

Links:
[FoxSports]: Stern wants players to leave guns at home

Categories
NBA General

Does this come with Carmen Electra?



Does the winner get a
matching boa?

Always wanted to hang out with a 5 time NBA champion and don’t have enough pull to get invited to play golf with Michael Jordan? Well, you can still play 18 holes with Dennis Rodman. This week on eBay is a charity event auction where the winner and 2 guests will fly to Las Vegas, have dinner with Rodman, and then hit Scores. If you don’t know what Scores is, this auction is not for you.


YOU CAN SPEND THE NIGHT OUT WITH DENNIS RODMAN FOR THE SCORES LAS VEGAS, HALLOWEEN PARTY.

THE NIGHT WILL BE SPENT AT SCORES LAS VEGAS, A GENTELMANS CLUB LOCATED IN THE HEART OF SIN CITY. SCORES IS LAS VEGAS’ ONE STOP SHOP WHERE YOUR FANTASY WILL BECOME REALITY.

A SIT DOWN DINNER WITH DENNIS WILL KICK OFF THE NIGHT AND THEN TO THE VIP SECTION OF SCORES FOR THE DURATION. WILD WOULD NOT GIVE THIS NIGHT ENOUGH CREDIT. PICTURES WILL BE ALLOWED.

Really? Fantasy will become reality? How does spending Halloween at Scores help us punch Merrill Hoge and Stephen A Smith in the face?

Links:
[eBay]: DENNIS RODMAN – A NIGHT OUT WITH DENNIS

Categories
NBA General

Jim Jackson is the worst player in the NBA



How do I put this, Jim…
you stink

For everyone who loves to argue over the relative value of players, here are the 2006-2007 Hollinger Projections. Created by John Hollinger, these rankings are based on a Player Efficiency Rating (PER) which is a measure of how valuable a player is based on per minute productivity. Granted the ratings are still the work of one guy but at least it’s based on formulas, which makes it just a little more legit than, say, team power rankings.

In any case, here are your top 10 players in the NBA.

  1. LeBron James
  2. Kobe Bryant
  3. Dirk Nowitzki
  4. Amare Stoudemire
  5. Dwyane Wade (lost points on the ridiculous spelling of his name)
  6. Kevin Garnett
  7. Chris Paul
  8. Pau Gasol
  9. Gilbert Arenas
  10. Allen Iverson

Sadly, if you scroll all the way to #330, the worst player in the NBA is Jim Jackson of the Lakers. Above him are (#329) Ryan Bowen, (#328) Rafael Araujo, (#327) Darrell Armstrong and (#326) Mark Madsen. If you’re ranked behind Mark Madsen, it’s seriously time to consider retiring. Jim Jackson is so bad that there isn’t even a comment next to his name.

Can we set up a dance off between Jackson and Ethan Albright?

Categories
NBA General

Team USA Basketball loses to Greece



Chokers

We’re not exactly sure what happened. Even after reading the article a few times, it’s hard to figure out how team USA Basketball lost to Greece in the semifinals. It wouldn’t even have been acceptable to lose in the finals but this team managed to choke again. Say what you want about other countries developing players that play as a team, the USA still has more basketball talent than any other country can put together. A team with Carmello Anthony, Dwyane Wade and LeBron James should not be beaten by a team from Greece. It just shouldn’t happen. And wasn’t this supposed to be a real “team” that we put out there on the court?

According to the AP article, team USA was done in by poor 3 point shooting and only shooting 59% from the free throw line. Carmello had 27 points, Wade had 19, and LeBron had 17 in the losing effort.

This sounds familiar doesn’t it? Not just that we haven’t won gold in international play since 2000 but Coach Krzyzewski having the most talent and not being able to bring home the championship.

Links:
[The search for RELLevance]: Live Blogging: Team USA vs Greece 3:30 a.m.
[Houston Roundball Review]: US loss to Greece Disappointing, not Surprising
[MSNBC]: Our Big Fat Greek embarrassment
[MSNBC]: Greece stuns Team USA in semifinals

Categories
NBA General

Is Latrell Sprewell going to have to choke a bitch?

Sometimes you start to question whether God has a sense of humor and then a story like this happens. From OnMilwaukee.com:


According to police, a 21-year-old female alleged that she and Sprewell were having consensual sex Tuesday aboard his yacht, “Milwaukee’s Best,” when Sprewell began to strangle her. Police allegedly observed red marks on the woman’s neck.

This story is hilarious and disturbing on so many levels. First if you’re Latrell Sprewell, shouldn’t you just stay away from anything involving choking? Second, what if Spree was just trying to hit on PJ Carlesimo? And finally, what moron names his yacht after one of the worst beers in the world?

Links:
[On Milwaukee]: Exclusive: Latrell Sprewell being investigated for sexual assault, choking

Categories
NBA General

August 8 in Sports History: The Dream Team brings home Gold


In 1992 The U.S. Men’s Olympic Basketball team clinched the gold medal with a 117-85 win over Croatia. The Dream Team, led by Michael Jordan, Magic Johnson, Larry Bird and Charles Barkley (to name a few) was simply the greatest basketball team ever assembled. The addition of Christian Laettner secured their place in basketball lore (kidding). They steamrolled their ridiculously overmatched opponents with victory margins averaging 44 points per game. It was funny to hear players such as Karl Malone and Johnson trying to be diplomatic when discussing opponents such as Angola (won by 68), Brazil (by 44) and Germany (43) by saying, “we have to be careful,” and “we don’t want this to turn into an all-star type game.” Barkley put it better by saying, “They in trouble. They in trouble.” (www.usabasketball.com)

In 1931: We all know how rare a perfect game is in baseball; as there have only been 17 such masterpieces (including one post season) throughout the history of the game. No-hitters, on the other hand, are a little different; and it seems almost every starting pitcher has a chance to catch lightning in a bottle – including forgettables such as Joe Barney, Ed Head, Jose Jimenez and Hod Eller (I swear I didn’t make those up). It was an obscure left-hander named Bobby Burke of the Washington Senators who accomplished the feat on this day in 1931. Burke shut down the Boston Red Sox 5-0. Burke had just a 38-46 career record with a 4.29 ERA, but will always be remembered in baseball legend for one brilliant afternoon. (baseball-almanac.com)

Categories
NBA General

2006 NBA Schedule released

The 2006-2007 NBA Schedule has been released and there are some intriguing matchups (opening day starts with Chicago at Miami and Phoenix at LA Lakers for some replayoff rematches) for the folks who still care about the NBA. However, the folks at True Hoop put together a list of teams and how often they appear on national television. This probably tells more about where the NBA marketing department is than anything else. Aside from the usual cast (Dallas, Miami, Lakers), it looks like the NBA is expecting big things from the Bulls this season. And it looks like we won’t be seeing much of Bargnani this season. Toronto is on national tv exactly 0 times.

Here is the chart but sorted by number of times appearing in on national tv.

Team ABC ESPN TNT NBATV Total
Cleveland 5 10 9 9 33
Lakers 5 10 9 9 33
Miami 5 10 9 9 33
Phoenix 5 10 9 9 33
Dallas 4 10 9 9 32
Chicago 4 8 9 9 30
Detroit 5 10 6 9 30
San Antonio 3 8 6 9 26
Denver 1 8 5 8 22
Sacramento 3 7 6 6 22
Houston 2 7 3 9 21
LAC 1 6 5 8 20
New Jersey 1 5 5 8 19
Washington 1 8 1 9 19
Indiana 2 4 2 8 16
Philadelphia 0 8 0 7 15
NO/OKC 1 2 2 7 12
Boston 1 1 0 7 9
Minnesota 0 2 0 7 9
Memphis 0 1 1 6 8
Orlando 1 1 2 4 8
Seattle 0 3 2 3 8
Utah 0 1 1 5 7
Golden State 0 1 2 2 5
New York 0 0 0 5 5
Milwaukee 0 1 0 3 4
Atlanta 0 0 0 2 2
Charlotte 0 0 1 1 2
Portland 0 0 0 1 1
Toronto 0 0 0 0 0

Links:
[NBA.com]: 2006-2007 NBA Schedule
[NBA.com]: Ten to Watch