HOOPTROPolis

Welcome Back, Big Z

noreply@blogger.com (WitnessProtection) — Thu, 25 Feb 2010 15:06:00 +0000

ESPN is reporting that the Wiz show and Big Z have agreed to a buyout, which means Big Z will be back in sunny Cleveland in 30 days. I know what you're thinking: who in their right mind would return to the forsaken town of Cleveland, having finally broken loose. Well, Big Z would.

To all the people thinking other teams might be able to woo Big Z away, I think it's obvious there's little chance of this happening (knock on wood). And prepare for a nasty Cavs team going into the playoffs. Players who have proven they can come in and contribute like JJ Hickson, Daniel Gibson, Jamario Moon, and Jawad Williams now are starving for playing time because the team is so deep. Plus, Leon Powe is coming back soon. I just hope they figure out the appropriate rotations to fully utilize this talent before the playoffs come.

When Big Z was traded, he was 25th in cumulative plus/minus in the NBA (now at 28), 4th on the Cavs behind Lebron, Andy, and Anthony Parker. The +/- rankings are fittingly stocked with players from the teams with the best rankings in the NBA, but this at least shows Z was a big part of the Cavs winning this season.

Also, he's shooting .500% from 3-pt. this season, towering at 7-3 behind the arc. Welcome back, Z.

New Cavaliers Intro Circa 1980

noreply@blogger.com (WitnessProtection) — Wed, 24 Feb 2010 14:44:00 +0000

Get some 'Bron

Knicks newfound capspace has benefits beyond a run at Lebron

noreply@blogger.com (Chuck the Noteboom) — Fri, 19 Feb 2010 20:32:00 +0000

After the recent Knicks/Rockets/Kings trade a lot has been made of what the Knicks will do with their new found $32 million in capspace. Will Lebron and one more max free agent sign with the team? Once none of the big guns sign with the team, will the Knicks end up offering max contracts to Rudy Gay and David Lee (if this happens, I will burn my Knicks graphic tee). First of all, if they get Lebron out of this deal, it was obviously worth it. Lebron, Lee, Chandler, Gallinari and Mike Dantoni, and whoever Fat Eddy Curry's Fat Expiring Contract turns into is a decent core. Lee might be the best player Lebron has ever played with, depending on what you think of Mo Williams (above average undersized 2 guard), Jamison (borderline All-Star), Andy Varejao (really good), Shaq (old, large), and Dejaun Wagner. Chandler is a solid average wing player. Gallinari was supposed to be a do everything oversized small forward who couldn't shoot, but so far has been a surreal shooter who does less of everything than we expected. Fat Eddy Curry's Fat Expiring Contract will bring in another good piece. So the Lebron scenario would be fantastic.

Now, lets think about the bad scenario where Lebron signs with the Lakers for the veterans minimum and Wade signs for the Celtic's midlevel exception. First the worst case scenario is getting two mediocre free agent for the max. I assume Donnie Walsh is too smart for this. Maybe having Isiah Thomas run your team makes you over estimate everyone else. Walsh, DO NOT sign Rudy Gay for $16 million a year!!!! But asides from that doomsday scenario, having capspace is always a good thing. The problem most teams have with capspace is that they think they have to sign a free agent with it. This leads to things like Ben Gordon and Charlie Villanueva signing for a combined $90 million over 5 years. But a team with capspace can do sweet things. Like rape the Phoenix Suns for two unprotected first round picks in exchange for paying Kurt Thomas for a year. Or get Marcus Camby for a second round pick. Or get Eric Maynor for taking Matt Harpring for a year (even though insurance is paying his contract). Capspace gives you flexibility to do a lot of things.

This becomes even more relevant given the current economic climate and the new collective bargaining agreement that has to be negotiated. First, there are a lot of team losing money. And these teams need to shed payroll. And when you have capspace, you can pillage teams like those. Last year the NBA got to dodge some of the consequences of the recession because the deposits for season tickets had already been placed. Next year the league is going to be hit a lot harder, so there will be bargains to be had this summer and throughout next year. Second, there is talk of a hard cap in the next collective bargaining agreement. Even if that cap is set at the current luxury tax threshold, there are 10 teams above that mark. So at least 10 teams will be required to shed a lot of payroll. In that environment, being under the cap puts you in a position to really pillage some teams. Especially if you are the Knicks, and do not have to worry about extension for Derrick Rose, Eric Gordon, Brrok Lopez, Michael Beasley, Tyreke Evans or Kevin Durant adding to your future payroll. The Knicks go into the next two years with a relatively blank slate, allowing them to adapt to whatever the new NBA payroll rules throw at them.

A Growing Trade Deadline Trend

noreply@blogger.com (Alex Garcia) — Thu, 18 Feb 2010 06:06:00 +0000

Broke teams trading off good (meaning productive) players for "cap space". These mid-season trades have become commonplace. I don't remember them happening that often, at least not with such big names headed to contenders a decade ago. My only question is this...why are teams blowing up their rosters and contributing to the Championship contenders' arms race? Most probably depends on team's individual situation, but in many cases the deals are very similar.

Team A (a contender) sends a collection of expiring contracts and promising "prospects"/draft picks to Team B (a usually financially strapped team) for a quality superstar.

Some are luxury tax issues, no question. An owner does not want to be in the penalty and have to pay taxes for a team that is under performing (in some cases severely under performing). Do owners feel that throwing in the towel this season for temporary financial relief and the possibility of picking up a superstar in the draft outweighs losing their one of their main attractions?

Now... I'm no MBA (if anyone from the Hooptrop masses wants to enlighten us on the business side of this, feel free) but WTF?

Some choice examples:

The Lakers STOLE Pau Gasol from the Grizzlies in 2007 (for Kwame Brown and Marc Gasol--who turned out to be pretty solid in retrospective). We all know how that turned out.

AI to the Nuggets for Andre Miller was big in its day.

The Cavaliers poached Antwan Jamison for Big Z and a bevy of other bench warmers. This makes the Cavs favorites in the East. They were rolling as is, adding a talented hybrid power forward certainly doesn't hurt.

The Mavericks took Caron Butler for gimpy Josh Howard (who will never be the player he was) and other scrubs. Suddenly a fourth quarter lineup of Dirk, Caron, J-Kidd, Brendon Haywood and Jason Terry look mighty nice for the Mavs.

Blazers acquire Marcus Camby for Steve Blake and Travis Outlaw. Camby solidifies their interior and the Blazers get rid of some seldom used pieces.

Mostly I'm just bitter the Lakers got sent the pwn and may have to work for this year's title. At least they're 4-0 without Kobe. Maybe we should offload him ...(kidding)

Why Trading for Players from the Freewheelin' Suns (like Amare) is a Risk

noreply@blogger.com (WitnessProtection) — Thu, 18 Feb 2010 04:19:00 +0000

Shawn Marion, pleasantly amused

Two words: Shawn Marion. This guy used to be a lock at 20-10 and was even a respectable 3-point shooter (though he looks like he's using a slingshot to shoot), and he's since struggled to produce at his Phoenix Suns level. Sure, he still puts in some work, but nothing like teams probably came to expect from his early career stats (courtesy NBA.com):

CAREER SEASON AVERAGES

CAREER SEASON AVERAGES

Year	Team	G	GS	MPG	FG%	3P%	FT%	OFF	DEF	RPG	APG	SPG	BPG	TO	PF	PPG
99-00	PHX	51	38	24.7	0.471	0.182	0.847	2.1	4.5	6.5	1.4	0.8	1.0	1.00	2.22	10.2
00-01	PHX	79	79	36.2	0.480	0.256	0.810	2.8	7.9	10.7	2.0	1.7	1.4	1.63	2.67	17.3
01-02	PHX	81	81	38.4	0.469	0.393	0.845	2.6	7.3	9.9	2.0	1.8	1.1	1.78	2.64	19.1
02-03	PHX	81	81	41.7	0.452	0.387	0.851	2.5	7.1	9.5	2.4	2.3	1.2	1.94	2.57	21.2
03-04	PHX	79	79	40.7	0.440	0.340	0.851	2.7	6.6	9.3	2.7	2.1	1.3	1.97	2.57	19.0
04-05	PHX	81	81	38.9	0.476	0.334	0.833	2.9	8.4	11.3	1.9	2.0	1.5	1.54	2.46	19.4
05-06	PHX	81	81	40.3	0.525	0.331	0.809	3.1	8.8	11.8	1.8	2.0	1.7	1.54	2.75	21.8
06-07	PHX	80	80	37.6	0.524	0.317	0.810	2.1	7.7	9.8	1.7	2.0	1.5	1.43	2.70	17.5
07-08	MIA	16	15	37.6	0.459	0.258	0.690	3.1	8.1	11.2	2.5	1.9	0.9	2.31	2.06	14.3
07-08	PHX	47	47	36.4	0.526	0.347	0.713	1.8	8.0	9.9	2.1	2.0	1.5	1.04	2.49	15.8
08-09	TOR	27	27	35.3	0.488	0.154	0.806	2.7	5.6	8.3	2.3	1.2	0.8	1.81	1.48	14.3
08-09	MIA	42	41	36.1	0.482	0.200	0.788	2.5	6.1	8.7	1.8	1.4	1.1	1.33	2.19	12.0
09-10	DAL	49	49	31.9	0.501	0.083	0.777	2.3	4.2	6.5	1.4	0.8	0.9	1.22	1.88	11.6
Career	--	794	779	37.3	0.482	0.335	0.818	2.6	7.1	9.7	2.0	1.8	1.3	1.58	2.47	17.4

Granted, Marion's been playing on different teams where he may been playing a different role, but I think it's safe to say that the Raptors and Heat were both hoping to get more out of him.

Amare might be better able to adapt to a new system, but there's no way to know for sure until we actually see him do it. We've all seen how much Shawn Marion's stats changed after he left, and even how much Steve Nash's stats have changed since they returned to the run-and-gun style. All I'm saying is acquiring Amare is a risk, and the Cavs went for the safer choice in Antawn Jamison, especially considering they might be able to get Big Z back pretty soon.

So Long, Big Z

noreply@blogger.com (WitnessProtection) — Thu, 18 Feb 2010 02:50:00 +0000

ESPN is reporting that a three-way trade will be sending Sebastian Telfair and Antawn Jamison to the Cavs; the Wizards will pick up Big Z, Al Thornton, and a first-round pick, and the Clippers will be getting Drew Gooden.

Jamison as been a consistent lock at 19+ pts and 8+ rebs for many years now and should add quite a bit of scoring power to a Cavaliers team that's already pretty deep if you ask me. And a plus here is that we don't have to lose JJ Hickson, who's been playing great for the Cavs as of late. It would've been nice to get a younger player in Amare (27 as opposed to Jamison at 33) who you might be able to convince to stick around for a while with the potential Lebron-championship-factory, but it's also nice to keep Hickson and maybe end up getting Big Z back soon if he gets bought out. And the way Jamison's been playing, he looks like he has a lot of life left in him.

Regardless, it's the end of an era in Cleveland and the fans will miss Big Z. And the Cavs will definitely miss his presence behind Shaq. It was a luxury having him off the bench and also being able to play him alongside Shaq against the twin towers in LA. I suppose this means Andy will be putting in time at center and maybe Shaq will see a spike in his minutes.

Big Z got himself a puppet

noreply@blogger.com (Chuck the Noteboom) — Thu, 11 Feb 2010 17:46:00 +0000

SWEET!!!!!!!

Lamar dunks on the moon

noreply@blogger.com (Chuck the Noteboom) — Wed, 10 Feb 2010 22:49:00 +0000

A Team's Worst Five

noreply@blogger.com (Alex Garcia) — Sat, 30 Jan 2010 18:24:00 +0000

A lot of teams have the luxury of a deep, talented bench. The Lakers, Cavs, Suns and others come to mind. Most teams aren't so lucky.

While watching Don Nelon mail in yet another game (shocker!) I got to thinking. The Warriors can (and very often do) throw out a terrible five out on the court. Yesterday the Warrior faithful were treated to the antics of Corey Maggette, Anthony Tolliver, Cartier Martin, Vladimir Radmonavic, and CJ Watson (the only saving grace).

But is this the worst five a team in the NBA can throw out? I'd swap CJ Watson for Chris Hunter and declare the Warriors winners of this competition.

Other challengers include the New Jersey Nets who at any given time can send out: Josh Boone, Chris Quinn, Jarvis Haye, Kris Humphries, and Tony Battie.

KG, Sheed, War, and Lee

noreply@blogger.com (Chuck the Noteboom) — Fri, 29 Jan 2010 23:08:00 +0000

While I am probably giving to much importance to one play at the end of a basketball game, it was sad seeing KG unable to stop a Rashard Lewis and Rasheed Wallace unable to rotate in time to stop him from laying the ball up. Once upon a time those were two of the best post defenders (actually defenders, period) in the NBA. And now a 6'10" shooter can take both of the dribble for a game winning layup? If KG doesn't get better by playoff time, Lebron has a pretty nice looking route to the finals. Though he had one last year too.

Just so we can remember the old KG:

Today we also get to see one of the alltime great clash of coaching styles. Larry Brown brings his well drilled, disciplined, defensive beast of a Bobcats squad to play against the "we hate our coach, and he is lazy" Warriors, coached by Don Nelson (I hate you!!!!). In addition to the contrast in styles, it also marks Cap'n Jacks first return to Oracle since being traded earlier this season. Expect a lot of boos, and some cheers from the fans who appreciated Jack and what he did for the Warriors over the past 3 seasons. I still keep a Jack bobblehead on my TV.

Josh Smith not making the All-Star team is a joke. David Lee not making it is not as bad, but both were better choices than Horford. More than anything else, they are two of the best passers among NBA bigs, and an All-Star game is always better with good passers around. Which is why I am excited about the game this year, featuring Paul, Nash, Deron and Rondo.

I am not excited about the dunk contest though. Nate Robinson is taking the record for most missed dunks in a dunk contest career to unreachable heights. I understand getting young players in the contest, but at least give us guys who are future allstars. And please no more gimmicky Superman/Kryptonate dunks. And John Wall better be in this thing next year.

Don Nelson, you are terrible.

noreply@blogger.com (Chuck the Noteboom) — Fri, 29 Jan 2010 02:49:00 +0000

Yesterday, the Warriors played the New Orleans Hornets. For a large chunk of the second half, Don Nelson played a lineup that included Vlad Radmanovic, Cartier Martin and Anthony Tolliver at the same time. Goddamit Nellie, can you at least pretend you aren't throwing away games? If you want to rest starters, can you at least give playing time to good players who need the time, and will be with the team next year? I really fucking hate you.

The Real 2010 All-Star Starters

noreply@blogger.com (Alex Garcia) — Wed, 20 Jan 2010 05:34:00 +0000

Let me stop you right here. Tracy McGrady and Allen Iverson are not All-Stars. If you voted for them, you don't know basketball. I know this topic can be a bit contentious. Sure, the fans vote-in the starters and coaches pick the most deserving reserves. I call shenanigans on this. I'm not calling for a revolution here, I just wish fans were a bit more educated, or we had some kind of weighed system for selecting All-Stars. To a player, being named an All-Star is a big deal. They lobby for fan votes, they lobby to the media, coaches lobby for their players. We as fans can't just go around throwing votes around aimlessly. Here are the players who should be named All-Stars.

Western Conference

PG - Tyreke Evans. Never mind his stellar first-year numbers (20 points , 5 rebounds, 5 assists per). Never mind that he is unstoppable driving to the hoop. He has taken a terrible Sacramento team and made them goo...well that one didn't really pan out. He makes the Kings better. They would be New Jersey without Tyreke.

SG- Kevin Durant. More important than hiss 29.1 points per game (which is good for 3rd in the league) he has the OKC Thunder in contention for the playoffs.

SF- Carmelo Anthony. He leads the NBA in scoring, he is playing defense. He is leading the Denver Nuggets to a top three seed out West.

PF- Zach Randolph. You read right. ZBo an All-Star. He is putting up his usual 20-10 numbers on a wait for it...winning team. Also, John Hollinger agrees.

C - Dirk Nowitski. I know I'm cheating a bit by going with Dirk at the five spot. The man has been on fire, his Mavericks are overachieving and he has played like an MVP. He has taken over and dominated games he I've never seen. He shoots lights out, is surprisingly quick getting to the basket. His D in't the greatest, but its definitely there.

Eastern Conference

PG- Rajon Rondo. I hate to do it, I really do....but honestly the East is not fraught with point guard talent. Rondo defends, passes, rebounds, drives, pretty much everything but shoot. And he does all those things exceptionally well. If you've got a better idea, I'd like to hear it. He is shooting 52% from the field, is second in the NBA in assists, and leads the league in steals. It's gotta be Rondo.

SG- Dwayne Wade. I don't even think this needs much of an explanation.

SF - Lebron James. Neither does this pick.

PF - Gerald Wallace. The man just puts in work. Plain and simple. 18 points per game, 11 rebounds per game. This one might be a legacy pick. He's been good for too long to not be named an All-Star. Although I'll give an honorable mention to Brook Lopez, who has been beasting out on history's worst team.

C- Kendrick Perkins. I hate this one even more than the Rondo pick. But Perk is a beast. He leads then NBA in shooting percentage and he anchors the league's best defense. Tremendously efficient at both ends of the floor (unless you count scowl related fouls. committed).

Tomorrow: Reserves!

This Makes No Sense

noreply@blogger.com (Chuck the Noteboom) — Sun, 10 Jan 2010 23:37:00 +0000

But one of my favourite players of all time, Scottie Pippen is in it. And so is Gary Coleman.........

Some NBA Look-Alikes

noreply@blogger.com (WitnessProtection) — Sat, 02 Jan 2010 04:20:00 +0000

1. Joakim Noah AKA Master Splinter: Averaging 10.4 ppg, 12.5 rpg, and 1.8 bpg, not to mention a .701 free throw %, sporting some kind of trick sideways spinning shot, Noah AKA Master Splinter has been balling as of late, grabbing 21 boards on 12/22, 18 boards on 12/26, and 21 boards on 12/31 (with a low key 5-board game in between on 12/29). Odd thing is, I wouldn't have expected Master Splinter to be such an energy player - I would have put him for more of a calm and collected Brandon Roy type.

2. John Salmons AKA Murs: After putting up great numbers for the Bulls last year after being traded from Sacramento (18.3 ppg, 4.2 rpg, 3.7 apg, 1.1 spg, on .472 fg%, .412 3p%), Salmons is slumping this year, putting up just 13.3 ppg, 3.4 rpg, 2.5 apg, 1.7 spg, on .391 fg%, .339 3p%. Meanwhile, former Bull Ben Gordon is doing work in Detroit.

3. Joe Smith AKA Charlie Murphy AKA Leroy Smith: Joe's on the Hawks now gettin' his basketball on for 9 minutes per game.

Top Shooters in the NBA

noreply@blogger.com (Chuck the Noteboom) — Thu, 31 Dec 2009 00:55:00 +0000

1. Steve Nash

With all the talk about his playmaking, passing and ball-handling skills, people often forget that he is a surreal jumpshooter as well. He is putting up the best shooting numbers of his career this season, with a surreal 54%-44%-94% shooting line, giving him an outside bid at becoming the first person to shoot 55-45-95. His effective FG% on jumpshots is also superb, at 56%. These numbers are especially shocking considering how often he has the ball in his hands. Only 12% of the jumpers he makes are assisted shots, which is a shockingly low number. Just to put that in perspective, 47% of Kobe's jumper makes are assisted, 78% of Ray Allen's, and 87% of Peja's are assisted. The only player with a respectible jump shot made % and a lower assisted % on his jumpers is CP3. On top of all that, Nash only becomes more dangerous in the clutch where he takes his eFG% on jumpers up to 60%. Because of his ability to make all those contested jumpers off the dribble, Nash gets the top spot ahead of.....

2. Anthony Morrow
A career 46% 3-point shooter, and the first rookie to ever lead the league in the category over a season. He sports an unreal 59.5 eFG% on jumpers this year, and a pretty nice 48-45-87.5 line for his FG-3P-FT percentages. I'd probably take him over anyone in the league in a 3 point shoot out. His standout skill is his ability to stop on a dime a swish 10-15 foot jumpers, forcing defenders to give his floor game some respect. Should only get better with more experience, which is a scary thought.

3. Ray Allen
Probably the most popular answer to the who's the best shooter in the NBA. Not usually quite up there with the first two players on this list though. He is shooting just 35% from deep, and his 39% career number falls short of both Morrow and Nash (46% and 43% respectively) as well. However, he does shoot a lot of threes (almost 5 per game), and still hits a cool 90% from the line. His jumper always looks pretty, which counts for something too. While his 50% eFG% on jumpers this year is nothing too special, he is a whole different beast in the clutch. The combination of the disciplined offensive execution of the Celtics, the monster picks from KG and Perk and Ray's shooting ability have combined to give him a 80% eFG% on clutch jumpers. Basically, this year, Ray Allen taking a jumper in the last 5 minutes of a game where teams are seperated by less than 5 points is better than the average player taking a free throw.

4. Chris Paul
The percentages this year are pretty impressive. 52% from the field, 45% on threes and 85% from the line. An eFG% of .546 on jumpers. And that 3P% was well over 50% before he hurt his ankle. He always had a great midrange stroke, finishing 4th in the league in 2P jumpshot% last year, but by extending his range beyond the arc, he has become absolutely deadly this year. And only 9% of his jumpshots are assisted, meaning he creates a lot of shots for himself off the dribble. While Paul's jumper may have been the biggest flaw in his game coming out of college, now he is pretty close to unstoppable.

5. Mo Williams
He has long been one of the premier midrange shooters in the league, consistantly placing in the top 10 in the league on 2 point jumper %, and he has also shot above 38% from deep in 4 of the past 5 seasons. Since joining the Cavs he is 44.2% from deep (Life is sweet when Lebron James is on your team). His effective FG% on jumpers this year is also a solid 54.5%. Always an excellant free throw shooter, he has taken the leap in this department over the past 2 years, going from a 85% type shooter to a 90% shooter.

Delonte West over Josh Smith

noreply@blogger.com (WitnessProtection) — Wed, 30 Dec 2009 18:22:00 +0000

In case you missed it last night, check D West with this little number over Josh Smith:

One of the dunks of the year in my opinion. For those of you outside Ohio, that's classic Austin Carr on the commentary with "Ha Ha, Delonte with the steal, takes it coast to coast, and throws the hammer down!... but then he gets the technical for taunting"

West has been coming off the bench this year behind Anthony Parker, but he's continuing to produce. It seems like Mike Brown has put him in the "instant offense off the bench" role, since whenever he comes in, they kick it to him in the post or at the top of the key, and he just starts going to work. West has also been going for some thunderous dunks lately, culminating in this one. I wouldn't be surprised if we see some more highlight reels out of him before the year's up.

It's also good to see him back in full form, since he'll be a crucial part of the Cavaliers moving forward. He's one of the best defenders on the team, and he can score the basketball when he wants to. Plus, Delonte West, Anderson Varejao, Big Z, Jamario Moon, and Boobie Gibson make for a pretty solid 5 off the bench.

Oracle is the Celtics' Bogey Arena

noreply@blogger.com (Chuck the Noteboom) — Tue, 29 Dec 2009 23:41:00 +0000

Once KG and Ray Allen were traded to the Boston Celtics, everything turned around for the franchise. Well almost everything. Before the trades, the Celtics had a three year losing streak at Oracle Arena. After yesterday nights loss to the Warriors, the Celtics have a three year losing streak at Oracle in the Big Three era as well.

Three years ago Baron Davis sunk a buzzer beating game winner, on a play reminiscent of his shot for the Clips a couple of days ago. I love the "Do you believe in the Warriors now" that Bob Fitzgerald throws out at the end. We certainly did Fitz.

Last year Stephen Jackson went all Stack-Jack on the Celtics, and Marco Bellinelli helped out with 22 points of his own, as the Dubs had their easiest victory over the Celtics.

And yesterday, Monta Ellis continued his scoring tear, going for 37, and playing 48 minutes for the 7th time this season. Anthony Randolph had 18-9, and CJ Watson finished with 7 steals and 7 dimes. Hopefully they don't follow the trend of the last 2 years, and get shipped of to some other team.

I find the Warriors-Celtics matchups interesting because to pit to polar opposites against one another. A young, fast paced, defenseless, undersized, poorly coached and even more poorly managed team with a terrible ownership group against the well run, veteran, bullyboy Celtics. Also, the Celtics always seem to stumble across their worst patch of form right when the approach Oracle. Last years trip came in the middle of a strtch where they lost 7 of 9, easily their worst stretch of the KG-era. The year before the Dubs trip came in the middle of the C's only three game losing streak of the year. Now the Celts have lost back to back games since crushing the Magic on X-mas, albeit while missing Paul Pierce.

Random Thoughts on the Dubs:

-While the scoring numbers make it seem like Monta Ellis has been playing extremely well, he has been more on and off than anything else. He has been on the past 5-6 games though, shooting a much better percentage, and last night he even managed to cut down the number of turnovers. He seems to be getting his midrange jumper back, but can we stop pretending he is a point guard? The 1.07 assist/TO ratio of the last 5 games should prove that.

-CJ Watson on the other hand is a point guard

-Why does Nellie fuck around with Anthony Randolph's head so much? There is a lot of buzz coming from the Warriors camp that the kid is hard to coach etc, but I am pretty sure Nellie can make anyone hard to coach. Randolph checked in with 7:11 left in the third quarter yesterday, with the score at 62-61 Boston. Over the next 3 minutes and 6 seconds, Randolph went 4-5, for 8 points with a rebound and a steal, and played a role in forcing a KG turnover. The score was now 71-66 Warriors. Boston was reeling, and called for time. In the timeout Nellie promptly pulled Randolph from the game. This is why Nellie is a terrible coach.

-Andris and Ronny are back. But somehow Vlad Radmanovic still plays real minutes. But at least no more Maggette/Morrow at the 4/5 positions.

-Morrow would beat Ray Allen in a 3 point shootout

-CJ and Monta would both beat Rondo in a cross court footrace. Unless Rondo used his superlong arms to grab them from behind.

Steve Nash is funny

noreply@blogger.com (Chuck the Noteboom) — Mon, 28 Dec 2009 22:12:00 +0000

Happy Holidays from HoopTrop

noreply@blogger.com (WitnessProtection) — Tue, 22 Dec 2009 03:56:00 +0000

In Honor of Gerald Wallace

noreply@blogger.com (WitnessProtection) — Wed, 16 Dec 2009 04:25:00 +0000

In honor of Gerald Wallace's highlight reel dunk today, here's an old G-dubya alleyoop via youtube. This dude gets up and is seriously slept on. Also, what's the announcer saying after his dunk? Is that supposed to be some kind of play on G-G-G-G-G-UNNNNIIITTT?

What will Lebron James be like as an old NBA veteran?

noreply@blogger.com (WitnessProtection) — Mon, 14 Dec 2009 01:51:00 +0000

As I was watching Shaq on the floor tonight for the Cavs, I was thinking about how his game has changed since his younger years - he's bigger, slower down the court, and plays which would have formerly been thunderous dunks have now evolved into all sorts of variations of layups. I wonder if I could've predicted how Shaq's game would change with his age if I was asked 10 years ago what Shaq would be like in 2009. I suppose that his career path has followed those of other big men like Ewing who just slowed down with age. But, this got me thinking: what will Lebron James be like as an old veteran in the NBA? Maybe he'll turn into one of these:

1) Vince Carter: He no longer has the lift of his younger years, but his skill-set is still broad enough for him to excel. The high-flying plays of yesteryear have been replaced by 3-pointers, a post game, and driving layups. Kind of reminds me of the old Wizards-era Jordan. Vincanity basically just shoots a lot now.

2) Shawn Kemp: Following the trend of high-flying super-athletes evolving into ground-bound older players, maybe Lebron might end up like Kemp? In his older years, Kemp started shooting more and kept up on his post game, but without the dunks. He gained a lot of weight, lost motivation, and ultimately retired (though I don't see this happening to Bron).

3) Andre Miller: Andre Miller has the perfect game to grow old with. Frankly, I could see him playing into his 40s the way he plays. If you watch him on the floor, he never runs unless he absolutely has to. He plays a slow, premeditated game, waiting for opportune moments to strike. He may not have the quickness and athleticism of some of the younger guys, but he knows how to limit the amount of energy he expends throughout the game, saving it for those moments when he really needs it - as a result, Andre has continued to produce.

4) Kobe Bryant: I wouldn't call Kobe an old man yet (he still throws down a lot of dunks), but you can see his game evolving. He's developing a post game, and like Andre, he's a master of knowing when and where to strike. Also a very skilled shooter, I can see Kobe continuing to shoot into his older years. As Lebron continues to develop his jumpshot, he might move in this direction.

5) Tracy McGrady/Anfernee Hardaway: I wouldn't wish it on any player, but injuries are always a possibility in any professional sport. Tracy McGrady and Anfernee Hardaway are two players whose careers were plagued by injuries (though Tracy's still rehabilitating en route to a return to the Rockets); these two also have very similar games to Bron.

6) Karl Malone: Maybe Bron will stop trying to play every position on the floor and will just settle into a traditional power forward position, feasting off the dishes provided by some Stockton-like PG. Karl continued to play well into old age and probably benefited from the Sloan system, in which PFs just seem to cycle in and immediately produce (like Boozer and Millsap).

Badass Play of the Last 5 Years

noreply@blogger.com (Alex Garcia) — Wed, 09 Dec 2009 18:01:00 +0000

As I sometimes do, I was browsing youtube watching some awesome basketball clips. In doing so I rediscovered this beauty and have dubbed it the Most Badass Play of the last five NBA seasons. I know this move is not without controversy, so please if you disagree submit your own, but also submit your reasoning.

First allow to tell you why this play is so badass.

1. Its three at the buzzer when the score is tied.

2. Arenas shot it about a foot and half away from the three-point line.

3. It is not a lucky shot.

4. and most importantly, he turns around and raises his hands in victory before the ball falls into the hoop.

Effort

noreply@blogger.com (WitnessProtection) — Fri, 04 Dec 2009 04:48:00 +0000

You know those players who you just wish would put more effort into the game - those for whom basketball comes so naturally that they seem to put little effort into trying to improve, even though any improvement might help them attain legendary status? Players like Rasheed Wallace in his prime, the 'Melo of old, Baron Davis at times, Vince Carter, come to mind. Players like Kobe and 'Bron on the other hand have shown extremely strong work ethic even when they're the top dogs in the league.

Now, watch this video and imagine what would happen if the high-skill, low-effort players of the NBA brought this kind of effort to the game. For that matter, forget the NBA, and imagine if the maker of this video brought this kind of effort to something more productive! Well, I suppose that at the very least, he's managed to cement himself in the million-views club of youtube, which I can't say for myself.

Oh Ron.

noreply@blogger.com (Alex Garcia) — Wed, 02 Dec 2009 23:35:00 +0000

Here I am busting my ass to beat old men and high school kids at pickup hoops when Ron Artest is drinking Hennessey at halftime of NBA games. That's right. Ron Artest used to drink at halftime of games in the most competitive basketball league in the world.

I don't know why people are getting so outraged at this. Maybe he just needed to take the edge off. Caron Butler used to drink a two-liter of Mountain Dew during games, and I didn't hear nearly as much about it.

Rather than be upset by these revelations, I just revel in the fact that these people are athletic freaks. I can't even drink a two-liter of Mountain Dew in a week, let alone in two hours.

The Dubs are Ballin'

noreply@blogger.com (Chuck the Noteboom) — Wed, 25 Nov 2009 19:07:00 +0000

Anyone who has followed the Warriors for the past few years knows how much optimism the faithful have about Monta's future. But after the incredible show he put on in the 07-08 season, there was a moped accident, a bunch of tattoos, and what seemed like a trade request in the near future. People, including me, started to feel that the Mississippi Moped was turning towards the dark side. Which makes his play since the Steven Jackson trade so much more enjoyable. It's not that the Monta we love is back, its that he is better than before.

In the last two games against the Mavs and Blazers, two Western Conference contenders, he has locked down Brandon Roy and to a lesser degree Jason Terry. People who don't watch the Dubs regularly may not know this, but Monta didn't do defense before those two games. He has also played 48 minutes in both those games, snatched 10 steals, averaged over 35 points, and shown his pre-injury ability to finish around the rim. He also seems to have embraced being the leader of this team. And most importantly, the young Dubs have been 2-2 against a very tough slate of opponents (41-17 record combined).

Also great to see Morrow finally getting to launch some threes. When you got a guy who shoots 56% from deep, you want him firing away. It also helps that Chocolate Rain is just as good spotting up or of the dribble, so other people don't always have to create open looks for him. He has also played every second of the last 2 games, and dropped 25 points on 58% shooting and 71% from deep. He has also been boarding and seems much better of the dribble than he ever has been.

Steph Curry also seems to have adjusted to the pace/size of the NBA game. He is finally hitting his open shots. His playmaking is also way better than I though. The Steve Nash comparisons may actually not be too unrealistic.

Unfortunately we still have Nellie as a coach, Cohan as an owner and Mikki Moore starting.