Humpday Huddle posted by Amari Harris

I’ve been extremely busy lately so I haven’t had as much time to write, but I have wanted to weigh in on a few topics before the week is over and hopefully I can come through with a column for tomorrow.  Let’s be random…

Did I hear that correctly?  Appartently the Golden State Warriors turned down a trade that would have netted them O.J. Mayo and Nasheen Thabeet for Monta Ellis…craziness

There are a lot of interesting rumblings coming out of the 2010 Draft/Combine.  Tim Tebow is working on changing his throwing motion.  This is one of the more intriguing stories of the draft.  It is easy to root for Tebow because of his faith and his character but I just don’t see him being an effective NFL quarterback.  NFL defenses are too fast, too smart and too powerful for a guy who dominated the college ranks with those same traits.  His passing ability is very suspect because of that long wind-up release.  The transformation that he’s attempting will be very difficult as he has thrown with the same motion for the last 20 years.  Some people try to compare Tebow to Vince Young, but VY has demonstrated the tools and ability to excel on the NFL level.  Young does everything Tebow does, but way better.  This should be an interesting development and I’m sure there are GMs and teams out there that can make this marriage work, but I would stay away from this guy for the most part.

Free Agency is upon us and there are some pretty sexy story lines surfacing as the off-season progresses.  Julius Peppers will be the hottest free agent on the market despite being 30 years old and having questionable work ethic.  Peppers seems to be a bit selfish as he is looking for the biggest pay day and he doesn’t play the run very well.  Under the right conditions, Peppers could be a defensive MVP. I’m not sure those conditions exist right now however.  Many people are speculating that Peppers would go to the Patriots, but I don’t see the economics being there, and the Patriots have a lack of leadership on the defensive side of the ball…Peppers won’t help.  I’d be more inclined to see Peppers as a Jet or Charger.  These teams have shown promise for years to come and Peppers could be the missing piece for each team.  I also wouldn’t write off the New Orleans Saints.  This is a team that thrived off of turnovers this past season and Peppers is a turnover specialist.  I think he would be a good fit in their hybrid defensive packages that Greg Williams’ deploys.

Monta Ellis Levels Up posted by Sean Senti

I hope to write more someday about how I see following sports as a more socially accepted and passive version of dungeons and dragons. But for now, since this is my first post, I'm simply going to dive in and assume you think the same way as I do. That this is an absurd assumption is not lost on me, but it's also entirely fitting.

Watching the Warriors this year has slipped past frustrating and landed squarely on largely pointless. There is Nelson's meaningless quest for the all time lead in wins, an achievement that will mean very little to any season ticket holders. There is the maturation of Stephen Curry and Anthony Randolph, two players for whom the future is bright and hazy all at once. A sort of blurry version of the sun, perhaps. We expect magnificence because we have seen it before but there are no guarantees. The lone plot line keeping me interested is the development of Monta Ellis.

Were this actually some role playing game (and trust me, that's all sports really are. Groups of diversely skilled people campaigning for a common goal) Monta was supposed be the raid leader. His party, though inexperienced, was a hopeful rouge band of giants (Brandan Wright and Andris Biedrins) and elves (CJ Watson and Anthony Morrow). They would have had class descriptions like warrior (Corey Maggette and Kelenna Azubuike) and druid (Ronny Turiaf). And together they might have found a path to success. But Monta has seen his party decimated by injury before the campaign even began. Of the 12 man opening day roster, only Monta, Maggette, and Curry remain (though now even Monta himself has been felled - quick! Resurrection spell!). Each glimmer of hope that a party member would be returned to life is met with another's falling. Monta is Conan the Barbarian, alone on the throne. A thankless, solitary job his reward for all this hard work.

Welcome Back Rip! posted by Sabrina

For starters, welcome back Rip Hamilton! With an impressive 18 points this game against the Golden State Warriors, Rip made sure his return was not overseen. Although Rip was the talk of the game, Rodney Stuckey was the point leader with an impressive 29 points this game.

Rodney Stuckey has proven that he is not a rookie anymore. He is much more consistent in his shot and now has found a place as a leader of the team. This team has definitely changed since winning the 2004 Finals, but it's a great way to start over. Stuckey has found his place and so have Charlie Villanueva and Ben Gordon. The three rookies all had playing time this game and showed that they have potential. Jonas Jerebko had a few amazing plays, shots and assists, and Austin Daye showed his confidence as he took a chance when he scored tonight. Jerebko and Daye are shining, but Dajuan Summers seems to be left behind. It's a question whether his lack of playing time is due to his lack of skill or adjustment to the NBA, but Jerebko and Daye are taking the spotlight.

A big question in mind was if the chemisty of the team would be broken when Rip and Tayshaun come back, but Rip has shown anyone with doubt that the Pistons can adjust and work together as a team. With Ben Gordon and Tayshaun Prince still out, the Pistons were able to extend their winning streak to a 5 game streak. The expected date for Ben Gordon and Tayshaun's return have not been confirmed, but it seems like they will be playing soon. Tayshaun, please come back soon. I've been saving you on my fantasy basketball team haha. The Pistons may see a positive change with all their injured players back in the line up, bringing the Pistons back to their full potential.

That Guy Scored 50?? posted by Scott Shepherd

A few days ago I posted a blog listing the best scorers in the NBA today that have yet to have a 50-point scoring game.

While researching that post, I had an even more interesting idea for a post.

It’s a list of guys who, unbelievably, had a 50-point game in their career.

Since I was using www.basketball-reference.com to research the list, we’re only going back to the 1986-87 season. It’s far enough back in time to make some of the guys on the list obscure, but not far enough back to where you won’t remember them.

In no order, here are some of the more random players to score 50 points in an NBA game over the past 24 seasons.

Vernon Maxwell

Before Ron Artest and the “Malice at the Palace”, there was Vernon Maxwell running into the stands and punching a fan. While “Mad Max” will be remembered most for that, he also finds himself in elite company as one of only 60 players to score 50 or more points in a game since the start of the 1986-87 season.

Maxwell may be most remembered for his volatility, but at one point he was very dangerous on the court as well. He dropped for 30 points in the fourth quarter on January 26th, 1991 against the Cavs en route to a career-high 51 points.

Charles Smith

The former number three overall pick had a solid first few seasons with the Clippers, but a series of knee injuries cut his career short after a few other stops. For his career, he averaged 14.4 points per game.

Though he never developed into a big time NBA player, Smith dropped 52 on the Nuggets in December of 1990. It was the only time in his nine year career the Smith scored more than 40 points in a game.
Continue reading "That Guy Scored 50??"

Fun With Box Scores posted by Scott Shepherd

Every Monday, with the assistance of the good people over at www.basketball-reference.com, I like to take a look deep into the statistics of teams and players from around the league in a little post I like to call “Fun with Box Scores”.

Some of the gems I came across this week:

-Quinten Richardson has gone 9 games, 275 minutes played, without taking a single free throw this season.

-Even more remarkably, Jason Kidd has taken just 2 free throws in 347 minutes this season.

-73% of Daniel Gibson’s shots this season have been from beyond the three point line, by far the highest percentage of any player in the league with at least 50 shots taken.

-Since 1986, the record for most 40+ point games before December 1st is 14. Brandon Jennings’ 55 point outburst on Saturday was the 14th time that someone has scored at least 40 this season, tying the record, and we’ve still got 15 days left in the month.

-Speaking of Jennings, since 1986, no player has had a better three point field goal percentage during a 50-point game than he did on Saturday (minimum 3 attempts).

-In that same time span, Jennings is the youngest player ever to shoot at least 34 shots in a game.

-Nazr Mohammed led the Bobcats in scoring on Wednesday with a whopping 13 points. In nine games this season, the Cat’s have failed to have a player reach 20 points in five of them, by far the most in the league.

-Golden State has given up at least 100 points in every game this season. They are the only team in the league to do so this season.

Warriors 113, Grizzlies 105 posted by Brad Hurt

In order to be successful in basketball, a team has to protect the ball, play solid defense and make free throws, among other things.  The Grizzlies did none of those on Wednesday as they fell to Golden State.  Specifically, the Grizzlies need to figure out how to play from ahead.  They know plenty about playing from behind, but they can't seem to hold on to their lead.  This season they are getting off to good starts but allowing their opponents to chip away at their lead, and it happened again against the Warriors.

The Grizzlies led by as many as 13 points in the first quarter, but the lead shrank steadily from there.  Anthony Morrow tied the game with a 3-pointer at the 5-minute mark of the second quarter, and the lead went back and forth into the third.  The Warriors then pulled away with an 11-2 run late in the third.  Until that point, the Grizzlies had played a good third quarter by their standards.

This was Rudy Gay's night.  Allen Iverson got the Grizzlies started, but Rudy took over hitting clutch jumpers to save countless possessions.  He finished with 29 points on 11-of-18 shooting.  It's a shame that he most likely will not be in a Memphis uniform next season unless negotiations pick up.  I don't think the Grizzlies are going to give him the money he wants, which is typical of this organization.  Plus, I'm sure Rudy wants to play for a playoff contender, and the Grizzlies are still not at that point.  He is streaky, but when he is hot, as he was in this game, he can take over.

Jackson just can’t get his way posted by Andy Charles

Golden State Warriors guard Stephen Jackson just can’t seemingly learn how to behave – it doesn’t matter where he plays or what he does, he’s always in the headlines for the wrong reasons either on or off the court.

After a relatively quiet start to his career in San Antonio and Atlanta, ever since he arrived with the dysfunctional Indiana Pacers at the start of the 2004-5 season it has been a long downhill run for the swingman.

Within a couple of months of his Pacer debut, he was handed a 30-game ban for his role in the Palace of Auburn Hills brawl and the season after he was charged with criminal recklessness for firing his gun during an altercation outside a strip club in Indianapolis.

Although things were better for him after a trade to Golden State in early 2007, he was ejected twice during their NBA playoff series win over Dallas, but he did go on to become an important cog in Don Nelson’s team until his demand for a trade this summer.

His latest indiscretion came last week when he had a very public falling out with coach Nelson on the bench at an exhibition game with the Los Angeles Lakers and was suspended for two further games, albeit pre-season warm-ups.

Sadly for the Warriors, Jackson is their best option at the swing position and they are keen to get him back on court, but is a disgruntled player going to be much help to their younger stars in the making, players who have a big future in front of them like Stephen Curry, Anthony Randolph and Anthony Morrow.

But they cannot afford to buy Jackson out given that his contract calls for him to be paid $7.6m this season before an extension kicks in at the start of next season that will earn him $27.8m more over three years.

Once Known As The Rainbow Warriors, How Can Hawaii's Coach Talk About The Irish? posted by Colin Linneweber

University of Hawaii football coach Greg McMackin was suspended for 30 days without pay this past weekend after he used a slur generally targeted at gays to describe Notre Dame’s chant before last December’s Hawaii Bowl. 

In the aforementioned contest, the Irish destroyed the Warriors 49-21 on Christmas Eve to finally win their first bowl game since the 1993 season. 

However, instead of providing Notre Dame and their players with proper praise for their shire domination, McMackin went on a bizarre tangent against the Irish and their Head Coach, Charlie Weis, Thursday at the Western Athletic Conference (WAC) football preview in Salt Lake City. 

“The night before the game,  Charlie gave this talk, and he goes, ‘Any Notre Dame fans in here?’” said McMackin, 64, as he recounted a banquet the evening prior to their bowl game. “He had his guys, ‘We do something special at Notre Dame,’ he said, and they do this little cheer, like this, this faggot little dance. So, my guys are looking at me and they are all trying not to laugh.” 

McMackin, who has coached in both the professional and collegiate ranks and led the Warriors to a mediocre 7-7 record last autumn, proceeded to use the offensive term two more times. 

After he was officially suspended, McMackin appeared before the media and wailed inconsolably like a clown pocket as he profusely apologized for his derogatory remarks. 

“I was only trying to make a joke,” sniveled the subpar leader of men who was often seen wearing leis on the sidelines. 

Warriors find firepower in summer league. posted by john howard

The Golden State Warriors can score, and hey found some youngsters that will fit right in.  Summer in Vegas was hot.

Anthony Randolph had a nice year for the Warriors last year.  He exploded this summer averaging 27 points, 9 rebounds, 2 steals, and 3 blocks.  He dominated.  There will be a lot more playing time for him his year.

Anthony Murrow does not have a guaranteed contract. He may have guaranteed himself a spot on the team with his 25 point 5 rebound average, while shooting 50% from 3-point range. 

The gem of the draft could be Stephen Curry.  He shot well as people expected.  He averaged 17 points.  But, what was extra nice was the 4 rebounds and 4 assists per game. 

Acie Law didn't play much.  But, he did have a 2 to 1 assist/turnover ratio.  The team has an option for him next year.  He didn't do much in Atlanta. So, he is playing for his NBA life this year. 

There is some young talent out west, They have a lot of guys under big long term contracts.  This team can come together and play together for a while.  Or, it will be a long 4 years.  I think the fans are going to like what they have.

National Champs send four in NBA Draft posted by Christopher Arroyo

The people who saw the 2009 NBA Draft on Thursday were in for a special treat when they saw Blake Griffin go No. 1.

Very predictable however.

Then, Hasheem Thabeet went No. 2, which was also predictable. Then things got a bit interesting.

The early shocker was Stephen Curry going number seven to the Golden State Warriors. But what was really neat was that all of the North Carolina players that declared were drafted.

The first Tar Heel chosen was Tyler Hansbrough, who went at number 13 to the Indiana Pacers. This was a good pick, for the Pacers and here is why. Indiana is not known to carry much toughness, especially in the frontcourt.

If you had the treat to see this guy in college then you would know that he’s the real deal for toughness. I think he will start the season on the bench, but he will emerge into that starting position around December.

The second Tar Heel chosen was Ty Lawson, who was picked by the Minnesota Timberwolves. Now I know many of you were wondering why Minnesota picked four guards in the first round, which three were point guards. But, rest assured, they ended up trading Lawson to the Denver Nuggets for a future first round pick.

This is the BEST team for Lawson. You’re putting one of the top, and under-appreciated, point guards in the draft on a team that is surrounded with rising talent. He is also going to appreciate being an apprentice to Denver’s Chauncey Billups.

Probably the most respected guard in the league and known for his patience and leadership on and off the court. Sadly, he will be a bench player for a few years but, learning under Billups will definitely make him one of the top point guards in the league. This was really the best move of the draft Denver should be strong under the point guard position for at least the next 10 years if all goes well.

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