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Starting Five

Rising Stars

Hoops Adict

  • Ujiri Embarks On A New Challenge - The Nuggets, coming off of their seventh consecutive play-off appearance and third straight 50-win season, may look good from a distance, but have an ever-approaching shelf life.
  • Westbrook Is Fueled By A Lack Of Respect - Last Saturday, while playing against the best hoopstars Croatia has to offer, Russell Westbrook proved once again that if you give him chance, he’s going to impress you.
  • New Orleans’ Road To Recovery - While the New Orleans Hornets have now re-established their home in the Big Easy after Hurricane Katrina, the road to recovery was anything but easy.

Empty the Bench

  • Breaking Down ETB’s Fantasy Football Draft: The Executive - Randy Moss Photo Credit: Icon SMI By Brian Spencer On Tuesday, August 31, the dons of Empty the Bench joined friends and peers for the annual football nerd-out fest that is the ETB Fantasy Football League Draft. This year’s draft was one of the most challenging, stressful test of wills to date with 12 teams, [...]
  • Breaking Down ETB’s Fantasy Football Draft: Kindergynocoloog - Aaron Rodgers Photo Credit: Icon SMI By Andrew Thell and Joel Martin On Tuesday, August 31, the dons of Empty the Bench joined friends and peers for the annual football nerd-out fest that is the ETB Fantasy Football League Draft. This year’s draft was one of the most challenging, stressful test of wills to date [...]
  • Breaking Down ETB’s Fantasy Football Draft: Butt Cheese - Dallas Clark Photo Credit: Icon SMI By Brian Spencer On Tuesday, August 31, the dons of Empty the Bench joined friends and peers for the annual football nerd-out fest that is the ETB Fantasy Football League Draft. This year’s draft was one of the most challenging, stressful test of wills to date with 12 teams, [...]

First From the Bench

Slam Dunk Central

  • Azubuike Not Ready For Knicks Training Camp … Yet - As if the New York Knicks needed more bad news, they unfortunately got some as the New York Post is reporting that shooting guard Kelenna Azubuike’s knee still is not healthy enough to undergo the rigors of training camp; you can take that as a signal that he will not be ready for the first [...]
  • Knicks Nix Recent Fernandez Deal - As much as the New York Knicks covet Rudy Fernandez, they’re not willing to pay a premium to obtain him. At least that is the mindset of the team as the New York Daily News reports that the Knicks turned down a three-team trade with the Portland Trail Blazers and Indiana Pacers. The deal, had it been [...]
  • Heat Sign Rookie De’Sean Butler As Roster Grows To 18 - The “Associated Press” has reported that the Miami Heat roster now stands at 18 players after the Heat signed second round draft pick Da’Sean Butler to a contract Thursday. Terms of the deal have not been released. The Heat selected the former West Virginia Mountaineer forward with selection number 42 in last June’s NBA Draft. [...]

NBA Obsessed

  • Floyd Mayweather Jr. Racist Against Manny Pacquiao - Floyd Mayweather Jr. has been avoiding Manny Pacquiao in the boxing ring. Apparently, Mayweather isn’t afraid to take on Pacquiao over the internet. Watch the video below to see and hear Floyd Mayweather Jr.’s racist rant on his long rumored fight with Manny Pacquiao. The first barb by Mayweather is when ... More »

    Post from: EveryJoe

  • Video: Josh Koeppel Hit by Truck - Josh Koeppel is lucky to be alive. The offensive lineman for the Iowa Hawkeyes was hit by a truck while riding a moped. The scary accident was caught on tape. Watch the Josh Koeppel video below to see him getting hit by a truck. In the video, you can see Josh ... More »

    Post from: EveryJoe

  • Terry Bradshaw Hates Ben Roethlisberger - It’s official: Terry Bradshaw hates Ben Roethlisberger. While this isn’t exactly breaking news, Bradshaw added even more coals to the fire with recent comments regarding Big Ben’s suspension. Roethlisberger has been suspended by NFL commissioner Roger Goodell for six games after the Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback was investigated for rape. Said Bradshaw: ... More »

    Post from: EveryJoe

Give Me The Rock

  • Fantasy Basketball Preview: Detroit Pistons - “A bunch of so-so, hobbled players does not a logjam make” – Detroit Bad Boys I have no idea what Joe Dumars THINKS he’s doing, however, I know what he’s actually done – and that is assemble a team of more has-beens and never-beens than the entire cast of the Expendables. Unlike Sly Stallone and company, [...]
  • To Mock, or Not To Mock: 5 Reasons you should - As Patrick mentioned, Yahoo! fantasy basketball is up. Auctions drafts are now a new option for the fantasy hoops population to indulge in and enjoy. As you may have read, Patrick really, really, really loves it. Another thing that is up as well, it the mock drafting app that was launched last year. “So what?” – [...]
  • Auction Leagues and Why You Need to Try One - I’m not sure what percentage of fantasy basketball leagues use the traditional serpentine “draft” as their way to select players, but based on my experiences I’d put it at around 99%. And that’s a shame because auctions need more love. A lot more love. If you have no idea what a fantasy auction is; it basically [...]

Both Teams Played Hard

  • Basketball Truly Is the City Game - Last week, Wired’s Frontal Cortex blog featured an enlightening article that puts an interesting, in their words, “addendum on the 10,000 rule,” which famously suggests that virtually anyone can achieve success in any field if he or she just practices the task for 10,000 hours. (This means practicing 20 hours a week for 10 years [...]
  • A Walk Around The Block – Monta Ellis - Free agency is basically over so teams looking to improve must resort to the trading block. That’s why our A Walk Around The Block series will take a look at different aspects of the trading block, from players likely to move and teams that might make moves to reasons why these [...]
  • A Walk Around The Block – Andre Iguodala - Free agency is basically over so teams looking to improve must resort to the trading block. That’s why our A Walk Around The Block series will take a look at different aspects of the trading block, from players likely to move and teams that might make moves to reasons why these trades may [...]

Roy Jordan’s Picks’N Roll

  • Final Four Preview: Duke and Butler on Course For Championship? - As far as predictions go, those made surrounding the 2010 NCAA Tournament have generally been less than successful than picking a Kentucky derby odds or a World Cup Betting winner. Still, as we look ahead to Saturday’s Final Four, sportsbook odds makers are showing confidence in both Butler and Duke. Butler, who hasn’t lost in 2010, will [...]
  • NBA News - The Nets? They’re Not the Worst - In NBA news, the New Jersey Nets have avoided settling into the worst spot in the league - for now. And unlike soccer and Champions League Betting they won’t be relegated for the poor performance. The team avoided the unpleasant distinction with their sportsbook upset 90-84 victory over the San Antonio Spurs. Despite the fact that San [...]
  • NBA News - The Atlanta Hawks did what most sportsbook cappers expected on Sunday - they clinched a playoff spot. While the win was considered a foregone conclusion by most fans and pundits, Atlanta’s playoff hopes and expectations continue. The Spurs led the Hawks by 14 points in the first half on Sunday, shooting 51% from the floor. [...]

Good… Unfocused

Bob Ryan’s Blog

Pickup Crews

Ball Don’t Lie – NBA – Yahoo! Sports

  • Lamar Odom hopes to one-up Kobe in the yearly title tally -

    Winning a championship is a pretty big deal. Like, the biggest deal when it comes to sports. That's why you see grown men crying on the reg when they finally get their hands on a championship trophy. Years and years of hard work go in to winning a title, so it's only natural that years and years of emotion would come pouring out of their faces in a matter of seconds. Strong men also cry. Plus, there's only one champion every year, which surely adds to the feelings or joy and relief that a championship brings.

    But what if there were a way to win more than one championship in a year? What if a player was able to somehow add to the glory of being an NBA champion? It's a hard concept to fathom, unless you happened to play for an NBA title-winning team during the same year that one of the two prestigious international basketball tournaments were being played. You know, just like Lamar Odom in 2010. As he tells Broderick Turner of the Los Angeles Times, that's the goal.

    "The thought of being a world champion twice in one year is cool, you know?" Odom said in a telephone interview. "I could brag to Kobe [Bryant] and tell him this is something he doesn't got."

    Odom paused before letting out a booming laugh.

    Bryant was on the U.S. team that won the gold medal in the 2008 Beijing Olympics, but he has never played in the world championship.

    "But he's got a lot of stuff I don't," Odom said, laughing again. "He's got MVPs, helicopters."

    Ahhh, yes, the age-old debate over which is cooler — multiple, single-year championships or MVPs and helicopters. 'Tis truly a tough choice, though it really comes down to whether you prefer gaudy jewelry or wind-blown hair.

    But really, Odom winning an NBA championship and then an international title would be quite the accomplishment, especially considering the huge role he would play on both teams. Doing so would put him in some pretty elite company — thus far, only Michael Jordan and Scottie Pippen have pulled the two-for-one. Any time you're talking championships with those two guys, it's a pretty impressive feat.

    Not to mention, as a professional basketball player, I'm guessing any time someone can rub something in Kobe Bryant's face, they're going to do just that, helicopter or not.

  • The Miami Heat got it for cheap -

    NBA teams only have a limited amount of money they can spend on their players, obviously. They call it the salary cap and you know just as well as anyone who's heard of the NBA. Spend too much and you're paying a dollar-for-dollar luxury tax to the league which can get very expensive, very quickly. Spend too little and your team stinks. Spend on the wrong players and you're the Detroit Pistons. Teams need to get as much value from their signings as possible. Every cent counts, even those that go towards paying Elton Brand.

    According to Rich Steinlauf, a computer programmer who analyzes the NBA, the Miami Heat did an even better job this offseason than previously thought. Those huge contracts given to LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh? Totally worth it and then some. He shared his numbers with Sports Illustrated's Ian Thomsen who breaks it down like The Rapture in 2003:

    "I'm projecting for next year [LeBron James will] be worth $31 million," said Rich Steinlauf, a New York-based analyst who has been studying the NBA for three decades.

    Next season, James will be paid $14.5 million because cap restrictions on him and his new Heat teammates prevent the two-time MVP from earning his market value. It just so happens that Steinlauf has developed a system for rating each player's dollar value. If there were no ceilings on salaries and every player's compensation was based on his impact, then this season James' salary would be $16.5 million larger his current pay rate.

    Steinlauf calculates that the second-best bargain on the market was James' teammate Dwyane Wade, who is rated as a $22.5 million player for next season. The Heat re-signed Wade to a six-year deal worth $17.9 million annually, so they're getting him below market value.

    Miami's offseason coup of signing James, Wade and Chris Bosh has given the Heat the league's most cost-efficient payroll, according to Steinlauf. While some will question the $18.3 million average salary Bosh will earn over the next six years, Steinlauf insists that the Heat are paying him what he's worth.

    "I have Bosh projected at $18 million and that's what he's getting from Miami," said Steinlauf. "They've got the Nos. 1 [James], 6 [Wade] and 10 [Bosh] players on the same team."

    Heat owner Mickey Arison is definitely making his money work for him. You know, sound investments, buy low and sell high, other financial terms — he's really got his money straight. It's no wonder that Carnival Cruises — where Arison is acting CEO — is the world's largest cruise operator. He seems to be a pretty savvy businessman.

    When you consider that none of the big three are even in the top 20 for annual salaries, you realize the Heat really did get a bargain this summer. Furthermore, the Heat have each of them signed during the prime of their careers to what turned out to be very beneficial contracts, which means these deals are only going to look better and better throughout the years.

    We've known these guys are a steal for a while, but when you see how much they're really worth, it seems like an even better deal. I mean, Michael Redd is making more than these guys next year and he doesn't even have working legs. Not a bad haul for the Heat. Not bad at all.

    (h/t PBT)

  • Rating Carmelo Anthony's prospects -



    The trick behind Carmelo Anthony is that, while so many of his faults and failings or sterling attributes and game-changing work can be looked at in a black and white way, they don't often extend to black and white results.

    For instance, Carmelo has long been one of the NBA's more potent scorers, but he's also refused to take advantages of his gifts (a post-up game closer to the basket, a triple-threat position workout that doesn't result in a fadeaway 20-footer) for huge chunks of time, keeping him from consistently threatening to lead the league at the thing he's best at.

    But, under George Karl at least, that's never really been the reason Denver falls short in games. Anthony has, for half a decade now, been one of the NBA's top clutch performers, one of its most potent and efficient scorers down the stretch. So he might tick you off by hitting front rim in the third quarter, but he'll win the game for a half-hour later.

    Carmelo Anthony has been a maxed-out player since the 2006 offseason, making huge gobs of money to fall short of coming through with the all-around sort of game you usually get from a LeBron James, Kobe Bryant, or Dwyane Wade.

    And yet, despite the somewhat-disproportional rate of money handed to Anthony in return for what he gives the Nuggets, he isn't the reason this team's payroll has been a mess for years. No, that would be the insane max contract handed to Kenyon Martin from a few years ago, and the draft picks that went with it. Or the years of paying Allen Iverson over $20 million to play for the Nuggets, something that led to owner Stan Kroenke backing off of the luxury tax over the last few years.

    Carmelo? At the very least, he can be accused of terrible judgment. From the "Stop Snitching" appearance to his little slapfest in New York, to driving (quickly) under the influence, to the needless Twitter war with some groupie (geez, if a small potatoes like me can ignore jerks on my TweetDeck, what does it say about the guy with skills, an eight figure deal and some pretty happenin' old V8s?), Anthony has consistently made poor and public off-court choices.

    But they haven't affected his game, or his team's performance, in the slightest. Possibly for two games, when he was suspended to start 2008-09, when the Nuggets lost to the Jazz and beat the Clippers. But that's about it.

    Because Carmelo Anthony isn't an all-around player like James, Bryant, or Wade, he really hasn't been able to take a playoff team on his shoulders and lead them to a postseason round that they probably don't deserve. You're not going to see Melo grab the defensive rebound, drive coast-to-coast, and then pick up an and-one on the opposing team's big that puts the big on the bench and the Nuggies in the driver's seat, in some pivotal in-game run.

    Still, Denver's iffy playoff record was a team accomplishment. They weren't better than the Timberwolves in 2004, the Spurs from 2005 to 2007, and the Lakers in 2008 and 2009. Those Nuggets teams didn't deserve to win, and the fault behind that goes throughout Denver's entire rotation. 2010? Yeah, they might have been better than the Utah Jazz. Probably were. But replacing George Karl with Adrian Dantley was a major step back for the Nuggets, and coaching issues are part of the "team accomplishment," both good and bad.

    Carmelo might only score, but 28 points per game is 28 points per game. It's not put together in the most efficient manner, but all those points and the potency behind Carmelo and Chauncey Billups' late-game attack put Denver in a position to win, consistently. The Nuggets need Carmelo Anthony, as his gifts are worth desperately trying to acquire.

    But, in a trade to Houston, New York, or New Jersey? I'm not so sure.

    Even if the deals are more or less one-sided - Houston sends Kevin Martin, Jordan Hill, and Shane Battier; New York sends Eddy Curry and Danilo Gallinari, New Jersey sends Troy Murphy and Terrence Williams - do these deals really put the Rockets, Nets, or Knicks over the top?

    Sure, the Rockets would get better with Luis Scola in his prime and Aaron Brooks working it and Yao Ming coming around. The Knicks fans would swear up and down that this is the next step toward securing Chris Paul (who, mind you, is under contract until 2012). And the Nets would have a pretty fearsome troika with Anthony, Brook Lopez, and Devin Harris (and, if he pans out, Derrick Favors). But those teams don't scare me. Maybe New Jersey, if Favors turns into a borderline All-Star. But that's about it.

    And, the scary thing for those teams? Anthony could hang around for merely a year.

    I don't think he will. Carmelo wants to have his cake and eat it too; meaning he wants to play for a team that isn't in Denver, but he'd like the financial security of a major contract extension that only Denver (or a team Denver could trade Anthony to) could provide. And, as he did in 2006, he'll go for the most money possible. So even if he's traded to another "pretty good" situation like Houston, the Knicks, or New Jersey, he'll sign for as long as he possibly can, even if it's with a team that could max out at 55 wins.

    Denver, mind you, is under no obligation to make it anyone else's day beyond the Denver Nuggets' day. They could send him to Minnesota, Indiana, or any other team with a far more enticing stable of expiring contracts and young prospects than Houston, New York, New Jersey, or (especially) the Los Angeles Clippers could provide.

    Whatever the release, wherever the destination, however long his stay with a new team or with the Denver Nuggets, it's still just hard to see Carmelo Anthony being a significant part of a championship contender. A contender to be a contender, sure, because anything can happen in the spring and a team featuring Anthony could surprise its way into the final four or even the Finals.

    But a team to expect great things from? Hardly. Unless, somehow, Anthony manages a holding plan and we do see Paul somehow skeeve his way to the Knicks. That would be in 2012-13, mind you, because New York would have no other assets to send New Orleans' way that would come near trumping the deals other teams could offer the Hornets.

    Because of Anthony's limitations, and because of the team he'd be traded to, this won't be an over-the-top move for either side. Same as it's been in Denver, for so long.

    Same as it ever was, with Carmelo. Pretty good, but just not good enough.

The Association

  • Grading Trades and Acquisitions... So Far - By Craig Kwasniewski Why bother wasting time talking about the impacts of all the summer trades and free agent signings? After all LeBron, Wade and especially Bosh are all mortal locks for the next 6 NBA championships, a World Cup...
  • Hey Jerry Buss... Get Over the 80's!!! - By Craig Kwasniewski Jerry Buss, put down your Atari 2600, hit the stop button on your walkman (Paula Abdul, They Way That You Love Me, right?), remove your "Where's the Beef?" hat, stop saying "Totally tubular!!"... the 80's are lone...
  • Could A Storybook Ending Motivate Phil Jackson for One More Year? - By Craig Kwasniewski We all agree that the greatest non-ending of a professional career was Jordan's game winner over Utah in the '98 Finals. The follow-thru, the crowd with "OH NO!!!" looks on their faces... the championship. Simply the perfect...

Basketball.org

  • Miami Three-Heat - The dust has settled. Free agency is coming to an end and summer league is over. The shock waves of Bosh, James and Wade teaming up in South Beach have been felt for weeks now and have become old news. That is what happens when we live in a twitter-universe where athletes have the power [...]
  • NBA Free Agency: Rumors, Signings and More - The hype of the 2010 Free Agency will mightily surpass what will actually go down in the next week or so. The rumors that are swirling are blowing stronger than a twister in the great plains. Here is a rundown of what has happened and some of the rumors circling about. Rudy Gay Re-signed with the [...]
  • Bob Hill Hired as Tokyo Apache Head Coach - FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE TOKYO APACHE HIRE BOB HILL AS HEAD COACH Tokyo, Japan (June 24, 2010) –The Tokyo Apache and Evolution Capital Management are proud to announce Bob Hill as head coach of the Apache for the 2010-11 season. Coach Hill brings over 30 years of coaching experience, and held head coaching positions in the National Basketball [...]
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