First month of the Doubting Thomas award
Robd has posted the first monthly Doubting Thomas award roundup over at NBAMate. A hilarious discussion of the top ten redemption stories in the NBA this season. New York's Danilo Gallinari comes out on top this month but there should be some movement as the season wears on.
Gallinari sure does look awkward when not launching his beautiful jumper
Hawks, Heat and Thunder…
Here's a quick look at some of the games played last night...
29 Problems But The Knicks Aint One...
The Heat took a nice first step in their 09/10 campaign by dominating the New York Knicks 115-93 last night in Miami. The game was the second attraction on the menu however as the Heat's former All-Star Point Guard Tim Hardaway had his number 10 jersey retired. A nice service that was obviously done now, rather than when Hardaway was in the news for less attractive reasons. A well deserved honor for a great servant of the club... even if it was only for 5 and a half seasons.
Tim Hardaway accepts the honor of having his number retired last night.
Miami got out to an early lead and never surrendered it, outscoring the Knicks 63-39 in the 2nd and 3rd quarters combined. The Heat were led as always by Dwyane Wade with 26 points, 5 rebounds and 5 assists. Jermaine O'Neal and Michael Beasley combined for an impressive two-headed box score of 43 points, 15 rebounds, 4 assists and a combined 19-26 from the field. If the Heat can get that on a consistent basis from their front court, it could be a great year for Miami.
Indiana Can't Keep Pace With High Flying Atlanta
Danny Granger played amazingly, Troy Murphy nearly got a triple-double, Earl Watson scored 20 points and the Pacers shot 53% from the field! So why didn't the Indiana Pacers record a road victory to open their 09/10 account? Defense and turnovers, that's why. Atlanta took care of business at the Philips Arena last night by a score of 120-109. The game saw 17 steals made with 16 being made by the Hawks. Ouch.
Danny Granger was great... Atlanta were better.
The Atlanta big three of Joe Johnson, (25p, 6a, 4stl) Al Horford (24p, 16rb, 4a, 2blk) and Josh Smith (18p, 8a, 5stl, 2blk) all had big games. It's safe to say there will be some happy Fantasy Managers out there from this game. Next up for the Pacers is a visit from the Miami Heat, while the Atlanta Hawks host the revitalized Washington Wizards on Friday night.
One Down, Only 81 To Go...
The Sacramento Kings season of slow, unrelenting torture is now one game old. With only 81 games to go until they can get better, they were made to look even worse tonight by the young and exciting Oklahoma City Thunder. The Thunder nailed 10 of their first 13 shots and didn't let the Kings back into the game, leading 39-22 at the first break.
Kevin Durant got his season off to a great start with a home win over Sac-Town.
Leading the way was Kevin Durant with 25 points and 11 rebounds. Russell Westbrook got his 09/10 campaign off to a fast start with 14 points, 13 assists and 7 rebounds. For the Kings it was the usual story, Kevin Martin vs the World. Martin hit 14-14 from the line on his way to 27 points. Next up for the Thunder is a road match up with the Detroit Pistons who easily took care of the "shoot-first" Memphis Grizzlies last night. The Kings take a trip to Bourbon Street to take on the 0-1 Hornets.
Might, Magic and Electronic Myth?
With the 2010 additions of our favorite NBA video games about to be released, I have been as excited as the next diehard fan. However, a terrible coincidence has come to my attention and I wish to share the horrible news. A quick scan of the historical NBA LIVE video game covers brings me to the conclusion that Orlando's season could be in even more danger than I had previously thought. Let's take a look at the results of my research...
NBA Live 2009: Tony Parker (injured for most of last season)
NBA Live 2008: Gilbert Arenas (injured for two years)
NBA Live 2007: Tracy McGrady (injured ever since his cover)
NBA Live 2006: Dwyane Wade (significantly injured for 2007 & 2008)
NBA Live 2004: Vince Carter (severely cramped in his first game post cover)
NBA Live 2002: Steve Francis (missed 25 games that season for Houston)
NBA Live 99: Antoine Walker (missed 40 games that season for the Celtics)
NBA Live 98: Tim Hardaway (missed 34 games the following season for the Heat)
NBA Live 97: Mitch Richmond (missed 30% of his games over his final 5yrs of his career)
NBA Live 96: Shaquille O'Neal (missed 28 games in '96 & 31 in '97)
NBA Live 95: Houston Rockets/New York Knicks (we all know what has happened to the Knicks)
With all of this coincidence in mind... Orlando better hope that Dwight Howard doesn't succumb to the NBA Live cover curse.
Will the NBA Live curse strike Dwight Howard and the Orlando Magic?
Orlando fans, don't say you weren't warned.
2010
As far as predictions go, I realize this is practically impossible to get 100% correct. A full scale prediction of every team's win-loss record for the upcoming season. And worse yet, it's only September! However, I thought this would be interesting to look back on in June 2010.
Eastern Conference W L
Western Conference W L
Cleveland 60 22
Boston 56 26
Orlando 54 28
Atlanta 50 32
Toronto 45 37
Chicago 43 39
Miami 42 40
Charlotte 39 43
Indiana 38 44
Washington 37 45
Detroit 34 48
Philadelphia 32 50
Milwaukee 28 54
New York 27 55
New Jersey 24 58
LA Lakers 62 20
San Antonio 56 26
Dallas 54 28
Denver 50 32
Portland 50 32
Utah 48 34
New Orleans 42 40
Oklahoma City 41 41
Houston 38 44
Phoenix 37 45
LA Clippers 36 46
Golden State 35 47
Memphis 31 51
Minnesota 28 54
Sacramento 15 67
In making these predictions, I've taken into account all roster changes up to and including the 13th of September 2009. As soon as a blockbuster deal goes down, I may have to edit these figures.
I'm excited to see what Blake Griffin can do for the Clippers, what Allen Iverson can bring to the Grizzlies and how Amare Stoudemire will handle being stuck on a 37-win team. But most importantly, it will be interesting to see who can secure home court advantage throughout the entire Playoffs. This one fact alone may determine the Champion this year.
As always, time will tell and bring on the upcoming season!!!
Fixing the World – Episode 3
Welcome to another edition of Fixing the World here on Two Sides Of The Hoop. Today I'm going to have a look at New York and Washington. Talk about opposite ends of the spectrum for offseason movement to date. I think we should be able to squeeze one more trade in here though. Let's look at the team needs as the rosters stand now.
Washington:
With the return of Agent Zero and Brendan Haywood and the addition of Mike Miller and Randy Foye, plus a pretty large coaching upgrade, the Wizards are looking to make some noise this year. They don't lack for offensive firepower, but they do lack real hustle and desire in their frontcourt.
New York:
For a D'Antoni team, they are a pretty sad lot with no real ability in the open court and no dynamic deep shooters. It's a bit of a sorry state. Add to that the fact that they are openly trying to shed cap space for LeBron-a-palooza '11 and a lot of work is to be done with this roster.
The Solution:
Washington gets a newly resigned David Lee (market value puts him about 6ish million per), Jared Jefferies contract and Cat Mobleys contract.
New York gets Antawn Jamison and Mike Miller.
The Reasoning:
Washington has a massive payroll and lots of offensive firepower, but can't stop anyone. David Lee isn't a defensive juggernaut, but with all the deep shots that will be going up in DC, they need a supreme glassman and David Lee is definitely that. Plus he should be able to hit the offensive boards to make up for some of Jamison's lost points. The big win here is Cat Mobley's insurance paid contract which softens the financial liabilities Washington will suffer from the conglomeration of wing talent.
New York gets two players who will mesh in Coach Mike D'Antoni's system perfectly, yet still have the flexibility to offer a max contract to free agent in the next offseason.
Fixing the World – Episode 2
Okay now for another entry in our series on Fixing the World, one team at a time. In this scenario, we might just be able to help two teams with one simple move. Let's look at the teams issues first though.
Utah:
Seriously capped out, with max money to two injury prone non-performers (Boozer and Kirilenko) and big dollars to a player best suited to coming off the bench (Millsap). They could use a quality small forward, but are pretty good at the other positions.
Toronto:
Capped out, with a 'superstar' who is just a little bit overrated because of the draft class he arrived with. They are not going to be able to hang on to him in any scenario and they really need some low post scoring, as well as rebounding.
The Solution:
This one is pretty simple. Utah gets Bosh for Boozer. Both players would have to agree to new contracts to make this a risk free proposition, but it's not outrageous. Boozer is not going to get max money next year any other way. He's just not that good or reliable, but would be a great fit next to Bargnani.
Bosh would look amazing in Utahs constant motion offense, and his only other real option for going to a good team is to go to Miami where there would only be two decent players (since Beasley may be taking a sabbatical).
Next Utah has another huge trade chip up it's sleeve. The completely unprotected number one 2010 pick of the New York Knicks. The 2010 draft is projected to be strong. They need a strong defensive 3 who can knock down the long ball when left open. Tayshaun Prince seems to fit the bill well here and could be had for Matt Harpring's expiring deal and the number one pick, allowing Utah to win now with the roster it has already mostly established and get the most out of Jerry Sloans (possibly) last year.
Could it happen? Yes. Will it happen? No.
Choosing a team…
Over the past 18 years, I've been obsessed with Basketball and most notably the NBA. I was lucky enough to find the NBA just as Michael Jordan was turning it into his own personal showcase. The trading cards, posters, magazines and video games were all my life revolved around.
I opened my first packet of NBA Hoops trading cards and instantly fell in love. I had Michael Jordan in my first pack, facing up and looking at me! I felt like Charlie Bucket with the golden ticket to Willy Wonka's Chocolate Factory!
It soon turned sour as I realised, albeit less than a second later that my golden ticket was none other than Gary Grant of the LA Clippers. Even to this day, I still have not replaced that intial feeling of pure elation.
Like Mike? Not in any way...
With Chicago doing their thing for so long in the 90's, I found myself, (like most others my age) being captivated by Da' Bulls. Every time they brought a new guy in, I'd want to know what number he'd wear, what role he'd play and most importantly how he would fit in with Mike and Scottie.
Over the years I would have brief love affairs with different teams. I loved the New York Knicks of 1991-1998. I loved the Indiana Pacers of 1993-1995. I even had a brief fling with the Denver Nuggets of the early 90's, but only when Robert Pack was there. I guess I've always been searching for a team to follow but ultimately my relationships with individual players keeps my heart spread thin across the NBA.
These days it's Kobe Bryant. I love nearly everything about the guy's talent and skill level. He is hated on by a large chunk of the NBA fan base, (including Ryan) but maybe that's what appeals to me? I don't know.
However, there's certain players that you can't help but love. These guys, no matter who you follow are just on a level that makes you not only like them but respect them and their effort. Guys like Kevin Garnett, Alonzo Mourning, Shaquille O'Neal, Hakeem Olajuwon, Clyde Drexler, Ray Allen... you get the idea.
I currently find myself feeling more compelled than ever to choose a team to follow. It seems that over the years I've rubbed up next to certain teams due mainly to the Superstars that wear their colors.
I am currently a Lakers fan by default. Kobe Bryant is my favorite player and I have watched this Lakers team grow weaker, stronger and then stronger again since the Malone/Payton debarcle in 2004. I always enjoyed watching the Lakers during their Championship run to open the current millenium. Magic Johnson and his crew have always held a place in my heart too and I've watched a lot of their successes retrospectively.
With the Lakers, and more notably Kobe Bryant about to reach the top of the mountain again, I find myself back in that old position. I feel the need to align myself with a team. The obvious choice is the Lakers but something is telling me it's time to move on, especially if they win the title.
I have always loved the Knicks, and to smell the air in Madison Square Garden in 2006 was a highlight of my life. We visited in May and the Knicks were well and truly on vacation by then. We took the $17 tour and while the locker rooms were incredible, it was the sheer luck that showed its face when we viewed the court that blew me away. We expected to see the Liberty court, a boxing ring, a concert being set up or an ice hockey layout but were blown away to find that the Knicks floor was receiving maintenance. Definitely a good reason to choose the Knicks, but I would feel a little odd joining them now when they're about to spend all the millions on refitting their team. I mean, they've been so bad for so long... it would be like jumping on the Celtics in 2007.
Could I go back to the Bulls? I have always loved them. I loved their role players and coaches, not just Jordan and Pippen. The trouble I have here is that although this is true, it was ultimately their success that got me started and Michael Jordan rarely failed. I didn't have to earn the success or follow them through any hardship. Even when Mike dropped the ball against the Orlando Magic in 1995, it wasn't long before the Bulls claimed another three titles. It just seemed normal and right that they would.
Watching the Lakers fall against the Celtics last year has made me enjoy the ride this year even more. The fact that the Lakers have had nothing given to them this year makes their current state all the more enjoyable.
With all of these thoughts in my mind, I'm going to have to think some more. I really want a team to call my own but history seems to be getting in the way...
Maybe a team with a short history would suit better?