Tag: 2009-10 NBA season (Page 56 of 61)

      Celtics, Rondo agree to five-year extension

      November 2, 2009 /

      It didn’t look like it was going to happen, but the Boston Celtics have struck a deal to keep their talented point guard in the green and white for another five years.

      Facing a Monday deadline, the Boston Celtics and Rajon Rondo have reached an agreement in principle on a contract extension, his agent confirmed to ESPN The Magazine’s Ric Bucher.

      The deal is for five years and will be worth at least $55 million, a source confirmed to Bucher.

      Rondo and the team agreed to the deal late Sunday night, thanks in large part to what the 23-year-old point guard has demonstrated since training camp began.

      General manager Danny Ainge and owner Wyc Grousbeck balked at giving Rondo the kind of deal he wanted because of concern about his leadership skills and integration in the team fabric when negotiations began.

      “They were candid and we understood,” said Rondo’s agent, Bill Duffy. “It was never about on the court. They wanted him to demonstrate being more of a leader, meshing with the team, being engaged in the locker room. Those issues have been squelched. I have to give a lot of credit to Ainge and Wyc. When there is an issue and you get it resolved, it’s like a cleansing.”

      Give credit to both sides for avoiding the intractability that so often prevails when a pending restricted free agent isn’t being offered what he (or his camp) believes that he’s worth. Back in June, I pegged Rondo’s value at $9.0-$10.0 million per season, and it looks like he was able to get a contract worth $11 million per year. I devalued Rondo somewhat due to his reputation, but now that the Celtics believe that it’s a non-issue, it makes sense that they’d feel he’s worth a bit more.

      He still struggles with his shot, but he’s savvy around the rim, and is a great defender, rebounder and playmaker. He nearly averaged a triple-double in the playoffs when the Celtics were without Kevin Garnett.

      I wouldn’t call this a great signing by the franchise as I think Rondo’s inability to shoot limits his upside somewhat, but it looks like the two sides struck a pretty fair deal given everything else that he brings to the table.

      Fantasy Basketball, NBA, News

      Inside the Box (10/30)

      October 30, 2009 /

      Here are a few random thoughts as I peruse the box scores from last night’s NBA action:

      – Nice win by the Bulls, though we shouldn’t read too much into it with regard to the Spurs. They were in the second of a back-to-back and are still trying to work out the kinks with a few new players.

      – Tim Duncan (28p, 16r, 2a, 2s, 3b) proved he can still dominate a game. The rest of the Spurs shot a woeful 34% from the field. Tony Parker (8p, 3a, 3r) had an off game, losing the head-to-head matchup with Derrick Rose (13p, 7r, 7a).

      – Luol Deng (17p, 9r) was better than expected and shook off the rust quickly, posting a very efficient (+22) night.

      – Denver got a big win in Portland (97-93) behind a great performance by Carmelo Anthony (41p, 6r, 3a). Brandon Roy (30p, 5a, 5r) had a nice game, but hasn’t shot the ball well (32%) through two games.

      – If Portland wants to join the West’s elite, beating Denver at home would be a start. LaMarcus Aldridge (9p, 7r, 4-15 shooting) is off to a rough start after signing a huge extension before the season.

      Fantasy Basketball, NBA

      NBA League Pass Broadband worth a look

      October 29, 2009 /

      Taking advantage of its free preview week, I test drove NBA League Pass Broadband last night, and I was pretty impressed.

      My cable company (Time Warner) offers the NBA League Pass, and access to the Broadband package is included. Unfortunately, Time Warner does not offer the package in my area in HD, so the picture is pretty crummy. After using Broadband, I think I may instead watch NBA action on my computer.

      The interface is intuitive and powerful. There is a list of games at the bottom, and users can pick up to three games to watch at once. One game is bigger (on the left) while the other two games are on the right. Audio can be instantly switched by clicking on the game. Tired of watching a game? No problem. Any of the three windows can be swapped out by clicking on a game in the list below. Want to watch one of the games full screen? No problem. It’s just a click of the mouse. Want to see a replay? No problem. Each game has DVR functionality, so you can pause, rewind and fast forward, just like you would on a TiVo.

      Fantasy hoopsters can easily check the stats of a game by clicking a button. There’s also a function (“My Players”) that allows users to track the stats of up to 12 players, which makes it easy to check the status of a fantasy team.

      The picture quality leaves a lot to be desired, but with all the motion in basketball, it’s going to be tough to get clear, clean picture without going full HD. But the picture isn’t much worse than the standard video feed that I get from Time Warner, so no harm, no foul.

      Another downside is that the nationally televised games (and local games) are blacked out on Broadband, so if there’s a game on TNT, ESPN or ABC, users won’t be able to watch it on their computers. This was a little inconvenient last night, since I wanted to catch some of the Hornets/Spurs game. I had to run into the kitchen to do so. Radio broadcasts of the blacked out games are available, however.

      There are only two games on tonight, and they’re both on TNT, so if you want to check out Broadband, give it a test drive tomorrow (Friday), when there are 13 games on the docket. It’s worth a look.

      The free preview lasts through Nov. 3.

      Fantasy Basketball, NBA, Television

      Inside the Box (10/29)

      October 29, 2009 /

      Here are a few random thoughts as I peruse the box scores from last night’s NBA action:

      – Al Horford was the high efficiency man on the night (+38), matching LeBron’s total from the night before. He posted 24 points, 16 rebounds, four assists and two blocks, and looks like a “go-to” post player instead of the complementary player he was last season. Josh Smith was also highly efficient (+29) with 18 points (on 7-10 shooting), eight assists, five steals, three rebounds and two blocks. The duo took advantage of the Pacers’ front line.

      – Elton? Elton? Where are you? Elton Brand’s bounce-back season got off to a rough start (8p, 6r, 2a). Marreese Speights (26p, 5r) and Lou Williams (18p, 4a, 4r) were the two bright spots in the Sixers’ loss to the Magic.

      – Two games…two losses for the Cavs. It’s early, but this is not how LeBron and Co. wanted to start the season. James had a triple-double (23p, 11r, 12a), but missed 12 shots. Mo Williams scored 16 points, but missed 10 shots. Shaq posted 12 points and seven rebounds. The Cavs shot 35% from the field.

      – The Raptors look revitalized. Andrea Bargnani (28p, 5r) is starting to look like a young Dirk Nowitzki, though doesn’t rebound nearly as well. Chris Bosh (21p, 16r) might very well re-sign if Toronto can get back into the top four or five in the East.

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      Fantasy Basketball, NBA

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