Category: Fantasy Basketball (Page 191 of 274)

      Westbrook pushing Rose for ROY?

      March 5, 2009 /

      Don’t look now, but Russell Westbrook is on fire. He’s still not shooting the ball particularly well (40% on the season), but check out his February averages:

      20.6 ppg, 6.1 rpg, 5.9 apg and 1.2 spg

      He even had his first triple-double the other night when he posted 17 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists against Jason Kidd and the Dallas Mavericks.

      Here are Rose’s February numbers:

      15.8 ppg, 4.0 rpg, 6.8 apg and 0.9 spg

      Rose is shooting 47% on the season, so he’s a much more efficient scorer.

      Still, Rose jumped out to a quick start this season in the ROY race, so it’s interesting to see someone close the gap. I suspect Thunder fans are feeling pretty good about the possibility of having two straight ROY winners. That’s a good way to build a franchise.

      Westbrook needs to work on his jumper, but other than that, he looks like the real deal.

      Fantasy Basketball, NBA, News

      Cuban blasts Mavericks’ effort

      March 4, 2009 /

      After losing to the Thunder Monday night, Mark Cuban was highly critical of his team.

      After the Mavericks were humiliated Monday by an Oklahoma City team playing without its top two scorers, Cuban lashed out, and for the first time indicated that there are no untouchables on the team.

      “It’s only one game, which I keep reminding myself of today. But let’s just say I wasn’t happy with our preparation, execution or effort. Not only did it look like we had no idea what we were doing, but we did it without effort. The effort and energy, on both sides of the ball, by each player will decide their future with the Mavericks.

      “If each player can’t take the personal initiative to make every game important and play like it, I don’t see them being here next season. The ball won’t always bounce the way we want it to, but every player can control their level of effort. If it’s not important enough to them to lay it out every game the rest of the season, they won’t be back. I don’t care what their contract is. I would rather turn over the roster 100 percent than subject fans to another game like last night.

      “This team has the talent to win in the playoffs. But that’s only going to happen if all 15 guys know and execute their assignments and play every possession like it’s important.”

      Cuban’s comments are totally justified. The Thunder played without Kevin Durant and Jeff Green, starting a lineup of Russell Westbrook, Kyle Weaver, Thabo Sefolosha, Nick Collison and Nenad Krstic. Ouch.

      This is the first time that Cuban has indicated that Dirk Nowitzki might not be untouchable anymore. He’s exactly right about how there are nights when the ball doesn’t go through the hoop or that the other team can’t miss, but the effort should always be there. These guys are making millions of dollars to play a game, and while the rest of the economy is tanking and people across of the country are losing their jobs, the least the Mavs can do is play as hard as they can while they’re out on the court. Anything less is an embarrassment and a slap in the face of their fan base.

      The Mavs are on notice.

      Fantasy Basketball, NBA, Rumors & Gossip

      Report: Gooden to join Spurs

      March 4, 2009 /

      It looks like the Spurs will be able to make a moderate free agent addition in their quest for another title.

      Barring an unforeseen snag, Drew Gooden will be joining the San Antonio Spurs later this week, according to NBA front-office sources.

      Sources told ESPN.com on Tuesday that Gooden — waived Sunday by the Sacramento Kings before the midnight deadline to be eligibile to play in the playoffs with another team — has made known his intent to sign with San Antonio after clearing waivers Wednesday.

      Gooden was pursued by several playoff-bound teams this week, including San Antonio’s divisional rivals in Dallas and New Orleans.

      But the Spurs have nearly $1.5 million remaining from their mid-level salary-cap exception to offer Gooden for the rest of the season, as well as a shot at title contention.

      San Antonio should be a great fit for Gooden. For years, the Spurs have been looking for another big body to play alongside Tim Duncan. He has his faults, but Gooden can rebound and score a little bit and the Spurs should be able to use him in crunch time. He falls asleep defensively sometimes, but you can bet that Gregg Popovich will have him focused and ready to defend. He will eat into the minutes of Kurt Thomas, Fabricio Oberto and Matt Bonner.

      This is a nice signing for the Spurs. They had a big hole on the front line and they managed to fill it for $1.5 million. Not bad.

      Fantasy Basketball, Rumors & Gossip

      Marbury solid in Celtics debut

      February 28, 2009 /

      Stephon Marbury played 13 minutes off the bench last night and went 4-6 from the field, posting eight points, two assists, a steal, a rebound and three turnovers. More importantly, he helped the shorthanded Celtics beat the Pacers, 104-99.

      I saw his second half stint and he played solid defense and found Ray Allen for an open jumper. It’s going to take him a while to get back into the groove, but there is so much focus on how he fits in with the Celtics that I think he’s going to bend over backwards not to be a headache.

      Fantasy Basketball, NBA

      Pistons’ struggles can be traced back to 2003

      February 27, 2009 /

      With the second pick in the 2003 NBA Draft, the Detroit Pistons select…

      Darko Milicic.

      This is the blackest mark on GM Joe Dumars’ otherwise solid record guiding the Pistons, but six years later, the Milicic pick is having a domino effect on the franchise. While Dumars did successfully dupe the Magic into trading a first round pick for Milicic in 2006 (which resulted in the selection of Rodney Stuckey in the 2007 draft) the Milicic pick still haunts this franchise. Just take a look at the next few selections in that 2003 draft…

      3. Nuggets: Carmelo Anthony
      4. Raptors: Chris Bosh
      5. Heat: Dwyane Wade
      6. Clippers: Chris Kaman
      7. Bulls: Kirk Hinrich
      8. Bucks: T.J. Ford

      Granted, guys like Kaman, Hinrich and Ford are solid starter types, but ‘Melo, Bosh and Wade are superstars. The Pistons would have been better off with anyone on this list, but had they drafted one of the next three guys, they’d have a player to build around right now.

      I understand why Dumars passed on Anthony. He had just drafted Tayshaun Prince and the team was happy with his progress. The word in 2003 was that Detroit was worried about Carmelo coming in and screwing with the Pistons’ vaunted chemistry. Fine.

      I understand why Dumars passed on Wade. The Pistons already had a very solid shooting guard in Richard Hamilton who averaged almost 20 points per game the previous season. In 2003, Rip was just 25 and entering his prime. Plus, Wade surprised a lot of people with how good of a pro he became. His jumper wasn’t up to snuff and he hadn’t yet revealed just how good he was at taking the ball to hole. Fine.

      But I have no Earthly clue why Joe Dumars passed on Chris Bosh. At the time, he was a one-and-done, 6’10”, 19 year-old who played at Georgia Tech. He averaged 15.6 points, 9.0 rebounds and 2.2 blocks in the best collegiate conference in the country, earning All-ACC 2nd Team honors. Moreover, he led the conference with 56% field goal shooting, becoming only the second freshman (Antawn Jamison) ever to do so.

      That’s not the longest resume, but it’s damn impressive. It’s certainly better than anything Milicic brought to the table. Dumars fell in love with Milicic’s international mystique and it cost him. Big time.

      In 2003, Rasheed Wallace and Ben Wallace were the Pistons’ post players. Both guys were getting older and the franchise needed a big man. Bosh would have been a perfect fit. Had the Pistons gone that route, they would have been serious contenders heading into this season and wouldn’t have had to trade their best player — Chauncey Billups — away to clear cap space for a free agent run this summer or next.

      Everyone knows that the Milicic pick was a huge mistake, but Dumars gets a pass because he built a great team that went on to win the 2004 NBA championship. He also managed to turn Milicic into Stuckey, who looks like a solid player.

      But he’s no Chris Bosh. How many championships would the Pistons have won with Bosh in tow? They lost in seven games to the Spurs in 2005, and the 2006 Finals featured two flawed teams in the Heat and the Mavs. They probably would have represented the East in the 2007 Finals as well. (The Cavs were swept by the Spurs that year.)

      Detroit could have won one, two, or maybe even three (or more) titles. They might have been a dynasty.

      The Pistons are currently 25-27 and have lost eight straight games. Dumars has cap space to use this summer or next, so he could conceivably land a big man like Carlos Boozer, Amare Stoudemire or…(gulp)…Chris Bosh.

      Keep your fingers crossed, Pistons fans.

      Fantasy Basketball, NBA, NBA Draft

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