Wednesday, March 7, 2007

Open Letter to Rashard Lewis: Listen Close

Dear 'Shardy,

Don't sign with New York. It would just end badly for you. I know how hard it is to resist the apple's draw. But if you want to be the #1 or, at least, #2 guy on a squad, don't go to New York. The fans are great, the arena is great, and the team could become not so bad. The problem is with a guy called Zeke. He has proven this year that he did amass enough talent to win some games. And people have kind of eased off him, because the Knicks are suddenly a possibility to make the playoffs. But the fact remains that a team with Franchise, Starbury, Frye, Lee, Crawford, Curry, Jeffries and Robinson, should flat out run away with the Atlantic division. The reason they haven't is because every dude on the team, other than Curry, is constantly looking over their shoulder for Thomas' next hairbrained scheme. Lee and Frye should both be blossoming into studs this year, instead they're constantly replacing each other and having their confidence and rhythm undermined. Crawford may be the best player on the team, and has no cohesiveness with the players next to him. Starbury is underachieving because he's a baby, but he has a point about being annoyed that the team would go out and get Francis. Francis is Francis, and Curry is Curry. Get where I'm going with this? You would be the next non-fitting piece on a team loaded with talent that has no identity. Why not consider a better destination, maybe a place where you could take over as the #1 scoring option? I'm looking South and East.
Charlotte: Morrison has to be considered a disappointment. Wallace is a superstud, but need not be the go-to shooter. Felton needs to shoot way less, and Okafor appears to not want to shoot that much anyway. You could move right in as small forward, or power forward, and with your outside game (and the money they can throw at you) it would be a marriage made in heaven. Wallace looks to be passing on an extension anyway, and won't be there, which only makes this an even more attractive destination.

Orlando: Look, I love Hedo, Hill, Nelson, and Milicic, but this team needs a shooter. They've got no offensive identity and the front court of you, Howard and Milicic makes me literally drool. You could be a breakout 1st option scorer and I feel like you could also provide much needed leadership and camaraderie to fellow straight-from-high-school star, Dwight Howard. And between you and Howard, it's like daring the other team to double team one of you.

New Jersey: What's not to like about replacing Vinsanity in Jersey? You get one of the best pass first players ever dishing you the rock. You get to be the number 1 scoring option. And, by moving to the Atlantic division, you get to play for a team that, when healthy, is an almost lock to win the division. Factor in Krstic, Nachbar and Jefferson and that becomes a fearsome starting 5.

Progs: The universe being the cruel place it is, I bet you will be wooed by Thomas' tales of Xanadu in Madison Square. You start the first 5 games for the Knicks before Zeke benches you in favor of Jared Jeffries, to test his newest theory.


Yours on the hardwood,
Cap'nSwag

Tuesday, March 6, 2007

Remember This?

It pains me to show a Cav getting posterized, but this dunk is as nasty as they come.



That's good old KJ sticking it to just plain old Hot Rod Williams. And just to give the Rod some dignity back, here's him rocking someone else's world on both ends.

Oh Hell Yeah: Greatest Centers Ever

From ESPN's Daily Dime, a sick list of the greatest big men to rock the court. Just reading the accolades for this list makes your mouth water. I think I might agree 100% with this list, which, in itself, is an achievment; I never agree with anything. Maybe I'd shuffle the rankings a bit, for statistical dominance and longevity, I'd probably slide David Robinson in ahead of Walton. But I may be biased by how much I hate Walton as a commentator. While we're at it, I just don't quite like the feeling of putting any names ahead of sports' greatest champion, Bill Russell. His numbers pale in comparison to Wilt's and Kareem's. But 11 championships, 2 as player/coach, is just obscene. He's the greatest, and the proof is in the pudding; he pounded Chamberlain every time. Read this sweet bit about a playoff run in his 2nd to last year:

After four games, the Celtics were trailing 1-3. However, they rallied to win the next two games, and in Game 7, Russell so out-psyched his perennial rival, that Chamberlain only attempted two shots in the entire second half. Despite this, the Celtics were leading only 97-95 with 34 seconds left when Russell closed out the game with several consecutive clutch plays.


That's what we call domination. Other than that, this list is sublime...
(click it to go right to Daily Dime)

Years PPG RPG BPG PER
Abdul-Jabbar 20 24.6 11.2 2.6 24.6
Chamberlain 14 30.1 22.9 N/A 26.2
Russell 13 15.1 22.5 N/A 18.9
O'Neal 14 26.3 11.8 2.5 27.8
Olajuwon 18 21.8 11.1 3.1 23.6
Malone 21 20.3 12.3 1.3 22.0
Walton 10 13.3 10.5 2.2 20.0
Robinson 14 21.1 10.6 3.0 26.2
Mikan 7 23.1 13.4 N/A 27.1
Ewing 17 21.0 9.8 2.4 21.0

Lunatics Running the Asylum

Over at the Washington Times, hyperbole is becoming fact. And at an odd juncture. Kevin Brewer writes, in an alarmist titled piece "Reign Over?," that Bronny has gotten worse. Maybe. So much so that while last year he was in a class with Shaq, Dr. J and Jordan (According to Brewer. I'd argue he was in a class by himself), this year he's not even in the top 15 players in the league. I'm not that familiar with Brewer's work, but this is the utterance of a man out of touch. LeBron's numbers have fallen off a bit this year, no doubt. But they're still in the top 5, easily, in the league. The only lines I'd take over Bron's are KG, DWade, Dirk and maybe Nash/Marion . Bron's still, most assuredly, top 5, definitely top 10, and even discussing top 15 is just a joke. Furthermore, at the time of this article's publication, peep Bron's line over the last 8 games:

33 pts, 5 rebs, 5 assists, 1 blk, 1 stl

The reign isn't over... it has barely begun.

Birdman: What Happened to that Boy?

Chris "Birdman" Andersen got bounced from the league for torching doobies. Unfortunate, because the kid had a knack for blocking shots and humiliating himself in the dunk contest. I watched him play, and honestly, he's pretty good. I always felt he had a huge potential upside if he could ever get it clicking. When he got banned from the league I figured he'd go, kick back, and start blazing away with Shawn Kemp. Turns out he's still in solid shape and will be trying a comeback; come January Andersen will be eligible to petition the league for reinstatement. Surprisingly enough Byron Scott, known for being a hardassed disciplinarian, says he'd take back Birdie in a second. From the Times-Picayune (by way of RealGm):

"If he is cleared by the NBA and everything, I would love to have Birdman back," Scott said. ". . . He was one of my favorites. He's very coachable and played as hard as anybody, and I would love to have him back."

Artested Development

As every news source on the planet is now reporting, Ron Artest has been indefinitely removed from the Kings roster, locker room and consciousness. People seem to be roundly applauding the Maloofs for their handling of the situation. I'm not that impressed. They were in a sticky situation, but the fact that it's Artest made the decision considerably easier; they know he's guilty. If this was Lamar Odom, for instance (I use Odom because he's a player of similar caliber with a blemish-free off-the-court persona), they would have been really screwed. What if they reacted the same way and he turned out to be innocent? Not so much of a quandary with Rappin' Ronnie. When you read a report that Mrs. Artest chased his Hummer down the driveway smashing the windshield with a frying pan, and that he then followed her back in the house minutes before the coppers showed up, that's like reading in the paper that Bush said something dumb. There's a small possibility Bush didn't say something dumb, but who's gonna believe that? BallHog has been saying for the last year, "it's only a matter of time..." about Artest, and he's right. Ron is one of those tragically gifted athletes, like Mike Tyson or Wild Thing Ricky Vaughn: his talent will never exceed his dysfunction.


Thanks to BasketBawful for the kick ass mug shot.

Monday, March 5, 2007

On The Subject Of Wasted Talent

That Isaiah Rider was damn sweet. It got me thinking, this'll be an ongoing series. Dudes who were raw... and ruined their careers. This dude could still be a contributor if he wanted. This footage is even sicker than JR's. The American Dream, Latrell Sprewell.








Umm that last one was just creepy.

Disaster

I don't watch And1 all that often, so I've never seen this kid before. Maybe he's old news. But this Youtube highlight reel is a complete mind F. This kid can frickin' dribble. His name is Rory Grace, but you can call him Disaster.

Stockton or Nash?

John Stockton '89-'90
78 games
37.4 min/game
17.2 PPG
.514 FG
.819 FT
2.60 rebs/game
14.5 assists/game
2.65 stls/game
3.49 TOs/game

Steve Nash '06-'07
Already missed more than 4 games
35.3 min/game
19.1 ppg
.533 FG
.882 FT
3.3 rebs/game
11.7 assists/game
2.3 treys/game
3.8 TOs/game

Those are both stellar lines, and very hard to pick one over the other. What would you rather have? Nash's %s and threes? Or Stock's extra dimes and steals? The thing that puts Stock well over the top in my book is that he put up numbers in that ballpark for 19 straight seasons(playing in all 82 games for 16 of those seasons). Nash on the other hand is enjoying a late-in-the-career renaissance. For my money? I'd take Johnny Stock (AKA the Pasty Gangsta) every time. And he played in the era of giants. I know, Bronny, Wade, 'Melo, Kobe, these are legends. But I'm talking giants. Stockton had to play against the likes of Jordan, Magic, Bird, Zeke, Drexler, and Barkley. Don't get it twisted, some day Bronny and Wade will be mentioned in the same breath as those guys. But not yet. Bottom line, Stockton was as good as Nash if not better and never won the MVP, let alone twice (maybe thrice?) in a row.

Don't Drop the Soap

Some Isiah "JR" Rider moments for you.





Monday Slices

Rafer Alston, at it again? Van Gundy's playing it down, but Sam Mitchell used to do the same thing... at first. From RealGM.

Bottom Line: If Don Nelson shuts the F up, the Warriors at the very least would've been in overtime. Nobody else to blame, no matter how bad the call. From RealGM.


This is the kind of play that would get followed by James Brown shrieking "Good god, y'all! Hey, hey. Hey!" Holy shit, I am suddenly intrigued by Tyrus Thomas' upside. This is straight murder on both ends of the court. From TaurineDream.




And since we might be reunited with these two guys, how about a couple moments legendaire:



Forbes Don't Know Basketball

Forbes isn't a sports magazine. It's about money, so it's not surprising that their list of best GMs in North American sports features some "dark horses," by sports standards. But how could this be right? #1 on their list is Kevin McHale. And if that weren't enough, #3 is BILLY KING! What? How is that possible? Forget their records, forget their colorful histories of boneheaded moves. How could the T-Wolves and Sixers be even financially viable, let alone successful, let alone two of the most successful in the NBA? There must be something on this list I'm missing, so if anyone out there can explain this, please do. Like why Brian Colangelo is 2nd to last on the list? Or how they could possibly justify Bickerstaff (lowest payroll) behind Isiah (highest payroll in universe). And why would R.C. Buford (Spurs) be behind Ernie Grunfeld (Wizards)? In fact, as TrueHoop points out, Buford is widely agreed to be the best in the biz. Know how you can tell? You never hear his name. He doesn't need to talk it up, doesn't need to comment on anything, 'cause his ship runs so damn smoothly. He seamlessly integrates new players with old, foreign with domestic, rookies and vets, etc. You never hear of discontent players in the locker room and you never hear about egos trying to co-exist. And you never hear about boneheads like Eddie Griffin and Chris Webber, bitching and moaning about god knows what, because Buford would never have signed them in the first place. Here's how the list looks. Here's how the list should look (at least the top 10):
1) R. C. Buford, San Antonio Spurs. Arguably the best team in the league for 10+ seasons and counting.
2) Brian Colangelo, Phoenix Suns/Toronto Raptors. Redefining game with foreign influences. Turned Suns into powerhouse, doing the same for Toronto.
3) John Paxson, Chicago Bulls. Took hapless, Jordanless, Bulls from embarrassment to contenders in remarkably short order. Seemingly preternatural ability to spot rookie talent.
4) Donnie Nelson, Dallas Mavericks. Best team in the league? A contender for the last 5 years, at least.
5) Joe Dumars, Detroit Pistons. Built the David that slayed Goliath.
6) Geoff Petrie, Sacramento Kings. Been packing Arco since the late '90s. Maybe the fans favorite GM.
7) Randy Pfund, Miami Heat. Hard to argue with the guy who put Riley, Wade and Shaq together with a trophy.
8) Jerry West, Memphis Grizzlies. The most basketball savvy and straight up guy there is. Built an efficient team oriented squad from nothing.
9)Elgin Baylor, LA Clippers. His team is the LA Clippers and they're on the verge of their second straight playoff appearance. Enough said?
10) Larry Bird, Indiana Pacers. His personnel choices have been suspect, but he still finds a way to win games with a pack of malcontents, criminals and idiots.

Head nod goes to TrueHoop for bringing this to our attention.

Friday, March 2, 2007

Fantasy Line of the Year?

For a guy who didn't go in the first 3 rounds in most leagues? Maybe. He's a beast and I have him on 2 of my teams. It's potential like this that has dudes frothing at the mouth over him.
Josh Smith, just wrapped up this fantasy line tonight in a one point loss:

24 pts, 14 rebs, 2 assists, 50%FG(8/16) 2 threes(2/2), 100%FT(6/6), 2 Stls, 7 Blks, 4 TOs

I'm dancing.

Wojnarowski Agrees with the Slopster

Adrian Wojnarowski is one of my favorite sports writers, easily the best Yahoo! Sports has. Ball Hog disagreed with the Slopster yesterday when he called out T-Mac as a... a... what's the word I'm looking for...? Oh yeah. Pussy. I fell somewhere in between; Mac's definitely a poontang, but he may have a point about walking around with a wallet full of money in a town rife with lawlessness. Apparently Wojnarowski is backing Slop 100%. Read this (from Yahoo! Sports):

Woj Echoes Slopster

Congrats Slop, whattaya want, a frickin' medal?

Friday Pits and B-Sides

From BasketBawful, a demonstration in humiliation:



Gah!

From RealGM, the journeyman who wouldn't retire:

The Knicks have explored signing free agent swingman Jimmy Jackson to fill the massive void left by Jamal Crawford's season-ending stress fracture injury, according to the New York Post.

From HoopsHype, the deal (I already said is) screaming to be done:

If I'm Orlando chairman Rich DeVos I only have eyes (and a maximum contract) for Vince Carter the moment he opts out of New Jersey. You can't find a more ideal complement to Dwight Howard and restricted free agent Darko Milicic. New York Post

From TrueHoop, the bittersweet memory of Dax-Devlon Ross (on dreaming of being like Mike):

It never crossed our minds that we were being sold a false bill of goods until we were introduced to Arthur Agee and William Gates four years later in Hoop Dreams. Watching their dreams fade faster than MJ’s hairline made us realize how dangerous all of those hours of dreaming we could one day fly like Mike would be if we didn’t pack a parachute.

From SportSwag, the show stealing Cavs point guard in between Mark Price and Andre Miller:




Don't recognize those sick moves? It's Terrell Brandon, who faded away too soon and with not enough fanfare. Dude was still doing 18pts, 3 rebs and 9 assists while being a top 10 steals guy up to 2000 in Minnesota. Speaking of which, how the hell do we go from Price to Brandon to Miller to Rip Van Winkle, er, I mean, Eric Snow? Snow's a great vet presence and competent point runner, but, as we celebrate his 65th birthday later this year, you have to wonder what happened to the position of point guard in Cleveland...

Bron's Pals

There's an interesting article at Yahoo! Sports today about Lebron's cats from Akron.


I can't tell if this dude looks more like Ja Rule or Amare Stoudemire. At any rate, apparently a couple of Bron's old teammates are pretty darn good themselves. The most interesting part is how by the time some of these kids make it to the NBA Bron'll be in his 6th or 7th season already.

Thursday, March 1, 2007

Vlad Rad: Owned!

Daaaaaaaaaaaammmmmnnnnnn! 500K for a snowboarding snafu. Vlad Rad will damn sure think twice before the next time he gets the X-trifling sports bug. From the LA Times (via HoopsHype):

The Lakers fined forward Vladimir Radmanovic $500,000 — about 10% of his salary this season — for a contract violation stemming from a snowboarding crash during the NBA All-Star break. Radmanovic, out until mid- to late-April because of a separated right shoulder sustained in the accident, said he would not appeal the fine. Los Angeles Times

Actually, he got off pretty light. I think technically the Lakers could have attempted to void his contract. The way he's been playing, I'm kinda surprised they didn't. Especially with Rashard Lewis, who gives everything Vlad does and then some, hitting the market this summer. You'd think the Lakers would want to recover the money they throw at Radman and offer it up for Shard. When you think about it, Vlad's missing more than a 10th of the season over this stupidity, so he should be charged more than a 10th of his salary. The Cap'n thinks he got off easy.

Great News for Livingston

From RealGM:

Back in 6-8

The gist is Livingston could be back sooner than expected and hopefully will still enjoy a long successful career. However, on the discouraging side, is the little bit about how his doctor has never seen an injury like this in 24 years in the biz. That is less than encouraging...

Lucky Bastard

Unbelievable. This dude is already lucky enough to be a major league baseball player, which means he's rich, and gets to play a game he (inexplicably) loves, and I've never even heard of him. Matt White's only pitched in 7 games in 9 seasons, which is undeniably lame. But he also just discovered that a rock quarry he bought off his aunt for $50,000 is worth over 2 billion dollars. Read the whole article from Yahoo! News:

Lucky Son of a Bitch Hits the Big Time


The article doesn't explore the two things I really care about, though:
1) Is this guy gonna sack up and buy the Seattle Supersonics or what?
2) It says he bought the thing off his auntie as a "favor" to her. So what kind of cut is she gonna see from the billions he made off that favor?

Here Comes The Wahmbulance

WAAAAAAAAAAH! WAAAAAAAAH! Could I have a Whineken with a side of French Cries?
WTF is T-Mac thinking? Security? Security from what? The thing that most threatens T-Mac about next year's All Star Game in New Orleans is me. That's because when a multi millionaire with enough means to field a small army of security detail is scared for no reason, we might as well make him scared for real. I plan on flying down to the game and walking around behind him with a giant sign that reads "watch your back, T-Mac."

From the same article:
"Law enforcement officials were kept busy during this year's All-Star Weekend. Las Vegas police reported 403 arrests and four shootings, including three people shot in an incident allegedly involving NFL player Adam "Pacman" Jones. While there were no arrests at the NBA players' hotel, several players have said they did not feel safe to leave the hotel or official events."


Sounds like Vegas was alot LESS safe then NO in my opinion. Why did you attend this year's Tracy? Maybe you're willing to risk lawlessness when you realize you can get a happy ending on the side legally, get drunk at a craps table for free, or suck balls in the All Star Game and have nobody care.
Grow a sack T-MAC.



=T-MAC,




Slop