Retreads, All-Stars & Quick Hitters
I know it’s been a while since my last post, but I’ve been trying to learn Spanish in my spare time since I’m going to Spain for two weeks in March. You combine that with work, chores, watching games and going to shows and I’m a little short on free time these days.
Never fear though, I’ll have at least one more post after this before I leave for Europe, and it’s sure to be a doozy. I’m forgoing covering the recent big trades for the time being and saving them for the annual ‘Trade Spectacular’ (out 2/23, hopefully). The rationale behind that is I have a suspicion that the actual trade deadline won’t be near as exciting as the last two weeks have been.
On to business…
> On 1/29 the Golden State Warriors signed Chris Webber for the remainder of the season. Said coach Don Nelson, “I'm afraid if we don't get him here [that] our team is not strong enough to be a playoff team.” Umm, you were right about that Nellie. Unfortunately for the great GS fans C-Web is not the answer, and the Warriors officially have no shot at the post season now.
In the three games he’s played in so far (of which I saw two) Webber has been brutal. He’s looked completely out of place and lost on the court. His averages are a paltry 2.7 points, 3.3 rebounds and 1.7 assists in 13.7 minutes. Not exactly savior-like.
The worst part of this whole debacle-in-the-making is that he’s taking minutes from promising fourth year big man Andris Biedrins. Which is criminal quite frankly. If that wasn’t bad enough, and believe me it is, C-Web looks no better to me than he did his last three seasons in the league.
Nelson didn’t even play him in what would have been his fourth game because Nellie thought “the pace of the game against Phoenix would be too fast for him.” Wow. It’s over Chris, and everyone knows it but you.
> On 1/31 the Charlotte Bobcats signed 5’5 water bug Earl Boykins to improve their PG play and bench production. Well, I guess desperate times call for desperate measures. Coach Sam Vincent hasn’t been happy with either Ray Felton or Jeff McInnis all year, which I can understand since neither of them really knows how to run a team.
But that’s why the signing of Boykins makes no sense to me. Earl’s had the same ball hog knock his whole career, and rightly so I might add. So the Cats have three shoot first PG’s that are allergic to defense. Great, they’re sure to make the playoffs now. And people wonder why I rip Michael Jordan as an executive.
> The San Antonio Spurs signed Damon Stoudamire on 2/3 after he was bought out by the Memphis Grizzlies on 1/28. This move at least makes some sense to me with Tony Parker out indefinitely with left ankle/heel problems. Although I’m not in love with Damon’s addition to the Spurs, and I think coach Gregg Popovich is already agreeing with me.
After starting his first three games with SA “Mighty Mouse” has come off the pine in his last three. While you could do a lot worse than Stoudamire as an interim starter, his style of play doesn’t fit well with the Spurs. Pull up 3’s on the break and bad decisions in the half court boil Pop’s blood (Damon is averaging 2 assists & 2.3 turnovers thus far in SA).
That’s why I think the Spurs will be much better served with Jacque Vaughn backing up Parker in the playoffs. Vaughn doesn’t make mistakes, knows his role and is a good defender. Where Stoudamire is a question mark in all three of those categories. Only time will tell, but I see “third PG” in Damon’s future.
> I have two gripes with the Rookie Challenge, one on each side. For the Rookies I don’t get Jeff Green’s selection at all. I understand that he was probably the last man added, but for my money Al Thornton has shown way more in approximately the same amount of minutes.
Up until very recently Andrea Bargnani has been pretty much a dog all season long. That’s why I think Josh Boone’s consistency deserved to be rewarded with a spot on the Sophomore squad.
> In the Skills Challenge I’d replace Jason Kidd with Jose Calderon, but I’ll have more on that later.
> There’s no way Kobe Bryant should have ever been in the Three-Point Shootout to begin with. Now that he’ll miss it with a torn ligament is his right pinkie, Dirk Nowitzki (29.5% from 3) is no better as his replacement. And since James Jones (left knee) was unavailable, Anthony Parker should have received the nod over Kobe from right the start.
EAST – Starters
Chauncey Billups – coaches
Richard Hamilton – coaches
LeBron James – fans
*Kevin Garnett – fans
Dwight Howard – fans
Reserves
Jose Calderon – The fans voted in Jason Kidd and this is a travesty. Kidd has been having an off year in between asking for a trade and sulking. While Calderon has stepped up large in T.J. Ford’s absence to keep Toronto afloat. Terrible job by the fans here.
Paul Pierce – coaches
^Caron Butler – coaches
Antawn Jamison – coaches
+Chris Bosh – coaches
Josh Smith – The coaches picked his teammate Joe Johnson, and while JJ does get all the press, I’d argue that J Smoove’s all around game and defense is more important to Atlanta’s success.
Hedo Turkoglu – The fans picked Dwyane Wade, who just happens to play on the worst team in the league. I’m sorry, but no matter how good a year Wade’s having statistically, he shouldn’t be in New Orleans. Hedo has been the second best player on the third best team in the East all season. Enough said.
Injury Replacements
*Zydrunas Ilgauskas – The Commissioner went with Rasheed Wallace, but if Sheed doesn’t want to be there, why pick him? Big Z does yeomen’s work while flying under the radar.
^Shawn Marion – I can understand why the commish picked Ray Allen since KG is out and Boston probably deserves two guys, but Allen is having an off year and is on the down side of his career. Marion might seem like an odd choice, but if Wade is out there’s no one left in the East that’s more deserving than the Matrix for what he accomplished in Phoenix.
+Bosh should start for Garnett.
WEST – Starters
Chris Paul – coaches
Kobe Bryant – fans
Dirk Nowitzki – coaches
Tim Duncan – fans
Yao Ming – fans
Reserves
Steve Nash – coaches
Brandon Roy – coaches
Carmelo Anthony – fans
Carlos Boozer – coaches
Amare Stoudemire – coaches
David West – coaches
Baron Davis – The fans picked Allen Iverson, and I can only assume that most of them don’t watch Denver play. Golden State has been in the top eight in the West all season, and B Diddy is their best player. The Warriors deserve a representative.
> It might just be a coincidence, but ever notice how guys that hold out always seem to get hurt? Well you can add Sasha Pavlovic (left foot) and Anderson Varejao (left ankle) to that list.
> Kevin Durant might be the most overrated player in the NBA right now, even though he’s just a rookie. If KD and Al Thornton switched teams, and Thornton was given the green light to shoot whenever and from wherever he wanted without repercussion, he’d be averaging 19.4 points too. Probably more actually.
> Much like Yao Ming his first few seasons, Yi Jianlian need to improve his stamina big time. I don’t know if it’s playing for the Chinese National Team or what, but Yi tires way too quickly out there.
> I wonder how Philadelphia plans to use Andre Iguodala and Thaddeus Young long term since they both have the same skill set and play the same position?
> The inconsistent production of Rashard Lewis and Jameer Nelson is the reason Orlando has been unable to separate from the pack in the East. Those two need to pick it up for the Magic to have any chance in the playoffs.
> Coach Rick Adelman finally wised up in Houston and began starting Luis Scola. It only took him half the season for cripes sake. And as much as I like Chuck Hayes, rookie Carl Landry has earned the minutes behind Scola. Sorry Chuck.
> I’ve only been saying it for two years now, but it seems Boston coach Doc Rivers just got the memo. Leon Powe can play. How Doc can see him every day in practice and think Glen Davis is better is beyond me.
> Gilbert Arenas (left knee) better get back soon because at this rate Antonio Daniels is going to have nothing left for the post season.
> Atlanta needs a PG badly, so what in the hell is Director Billy Knight doing down there anyway? Mike Bibby, Andre Miller, Jamaal Tinsley, Jarrett Jack, Jason Williams, Luke Ridnour and Kyle Lowry are all rumored to be on the trading block, and the Hawks have plenty of assets to get a deal done, yet they do nothing. Guess that’s why they’re the Hawks.
> Chicago looks poised to make a serious run at a post season berth once Luol Deng (left Achilles) and Ben Gordon (right wrist) get back.
Never fear though, I’ll have at least one more post after this before I leave for Europe, and it’s sure to be a doozy. I’m forgoing covering the recent big trades for the time being and saving them for the annual ‘Trade Spectacular’ (out 2/23, hopefully). The rationale behind that is I have a suspicion that the actual trade deadline won’t be near as exciting as the last two weeks have been.
On to business…
> On 1/29 the Golden State Warriors signed Chris Webber for the remainder of the season. Said coach Don Nelson, “I'm afraid if we don't get him here [that] our team is not strong enough to be a playoff team.” Umm, you were right about that Nellie. Unfortunately for the great GS fans C-Web is not the answer, and the Warriors officially have no shot at the post season now.
In the three games he’s played in so far (of which I saw two) Webber has been brutal. He’s looked completely out of place and lost on the court. His averages are a paltry 2.7 points, 3.3 rebounds and 1.7 assists in 13.7 minutes. Not exactly savior-like.
The worst part of this whole debacle-in-the-making is that he’s taking minutes from promising fourth year big man Andris Biedrins. Which is criminal quite frankly. If that wasn’t bad enough, and believe me it is, C-Web looks no better to me than he did his last three seasons in the league.
Nelson didn’t even play him in what would have been his fourth game because Nellie thought “the pace of the game against Phoenix would be too fast for him.” Wow. It’s over Chris, and everyone knows it but you.
> On 1/31 the Charlotte Bobcats signed 5’5 water bug Earl Boykins to improve their PG play and bench production. Well, I guess desperate times call for desperate measures. Coach Sam Vincent hasn’t been happy with either Ray Felton or Jeff McInnis all year, which I can understand since neither of them really knows how to run a team.
But that’s why the signing of Boykins makes no sense to me. Earl’s had the same ball hog knock his whole career, and rightly so I might add. So the Cats have three shoot first PG’s that are allergic to defense. Great, they’re sure to make the playoffs now. And people wonder why I rip Michael Jordan as an executive.
> The San Antonio Spurs signed Damon Stoudamire on 2/3 after he was bought out by the Memphis Grizzlies on 1/28. This move at least makes some sense to me with Tony Parker out indefinitely with left ankle/heel problems. Although I’m not in love with Damon’s addition to the Spurs, and I think coach Gregg Popovich is already agreeing with me.
After starting his first three games with SA “Mighty Mouse” has come off the pine in his last three. While you could do a lot worse than Stoudamire as an interim starter, his style of play doesn’t fit well with the Spurs. Pull up 3’s on the break and bad decisions in the half court boil Pop’s blood (Damon is averaging 2 assists & 2.3 turnovers thus far in SA).
That’s why I think the Spurs will be much better served with Jacque Vaughn backing up Parker in the playoffs. Vaughn doesn’t make mistakes, knows his role and is a good defender. Where Stoudamire is a question mark in all three of those categories. Only time will tell, but I see “third PG” in Damon’s future.
> I have two gripes with the Rookie Challenge, one on each side. For the Rookies I don’t get Jeff Green’s selection at all. I understand that he was probably the last man added, but for my money Al Thornton has shown way more in approximately the same amount of minutes.
Up until very recently Andrea Bargnani has been pretty much a dog all season long. That’s why I think Josh Boone’s consistency deserved to be rewarded with a spot on the Sophomore squad.
> In the Skills Challenge I’d replace Jason Kidd with Jose Calderon, but I’ll have more on that later.
> There’s no way Kobe Bryant should have ever been in the Three-Point Shootout to begin with. Now that he’ll miss it with a torn ligament is his right pinkie, Dirk Nowitzki (29.5% from 3) is no better as his replacement. And since James Jones (left knee) was unavailable, Anthony Parker should have received the nod over Kobe from right the start.
EAST – Starters
Chauncey Billups – coaches
Richard Hamilton – coaches
LeBron James – fans
*Kevin Garnett – fans
Dwight Howard – fans
Reserves
Jose Calderon – The fans voted in Jason Kidd and this is a travesty. Kidd has been having an off year in between asking for a trade and sulking. While Calderon has stepped up large in T.J. Ford’s absence to keep Toronto afloat. Terrible job by the fans here.
Paul Pierce – coaches
^Caron Butler – coaches
Antawn Jamison – coaches
+Chris Bosh – coaches
Josh Smith – The coaches picked his teammate Joe Johnson, and while JJ does get all the press, I’d argue that J Smoove’s all around game and defense is more important to Atlanta’s success.
Hedo Turkoglu – The fans picked Dwyane Wade, who just happens to play on the worst team in the league. I’m sorry, but no matter how good a year Wade’s having statistically, he shouldn’t be in New Orleans. Hedo has been the second best player on the third best team in the East all season. Enough said.
Injury Replacements
*Zydrunas Ilgauskas – The Commissioner went with Rasheed Wallace, but if Sheed doesn’t want to be there, why pick him? Big Z does yeomen’s work while flying under the radar.
^Shawn Marion – I can understand why the commish picked Ray Allen since KG is out and Boston probably deserves two guys, but Allen is having an off year and is on the down side of his career. Marion might seem like an odd choice, but if Wade is out there’s no one left in the East that’s more deserving than the Matrix for what he accomplished in Phoenix.
+Bosh should start for Garnett.
WEST – Starters
Chris Paul – coaches
Kobe Bryant – fans
Dirk Nowitzki – coaches
Tim Duncan – fans
Yao Ming – fans
Reserves
Steve Nash – coaches
Brandon Roy – coaches
Carmelo Anthony – fans
Carlos Boozer – coaches
Amare Stoudemire – coaches
David West – coaches
Baron Davis – The fans picked Allen Iverson, and I can only assume that most of them don’t watch Denver play. Golden State has been in the top eight in the West all season, and B Diddy is their best player. The Warriors deserve a representative.
> It might just be a coincidence, but ever notice how guys that hold out always seem to get hurt? Well you can add Sasha Pavlovic (left foot) and Anderson Varejao (left ankle) to that list.
> Kevin Durant might be the most overrated player in the NBA right now, even though he’s just a rookie. If KD and Al Thornton switched teams, and Thornton was given the green light to shoot whenever and from wherever he wanted without repercussion, he’d be averaging 19.4 points too. Probably more actually.
> Much like Yao Ming his first few seasons, Yi Jianlian need to improve his stamina big time. I don’t know if it’s playing for the Chinese National Team or what, but Yi tires way too quickly out there.
> I wonder how Philadelphia plans to use Andre Iguodala and Thaddeus Young long term since they both have the same skill set and play the same position?
> The inconsistent production of Rashard Lewis and Jameer Nelson is the reason Orlando has been unable to separate from the pack in the East. Those two need to pick it up for the Magic to have any chance in the playoffs.
> Coach Rick Adelman finally wised up in Houston and began starting Luis Scola. It only took him half the season for cripes sake. And as much as I like Chuck Hayes, rookie Carl Landry has earned the minutes behind Scola. Sorry Chuck.
> I’ve only been saying it for two years now, but it seems Boston coach Doc Rivers just got the memo. Leon Powe can play. How Doc can see him every day in practice and think Glen Davis is better is beyond me.
> Gilbert Arenas (left knee) better get back soon because at this rate Antonio Daniels is going to have nothing left for the post season.
> Atlanta needs a PG badly, so what in the hell is Director Billy Knight doing down there anyway? Mike Bibby, Andre Miller, Jamaal Tinsley, Jarrett Jack, Jason Williams, Luke Ridnour and Kyle Lowry are all rumored to be on the trading block, and the Hawks have plenty of assets to get a deal done, yet they do nothing. Guess that’s why they’re the Hawks.
> Chicago looks poised to make a serious run at a post season berth once Luol Deng (left Achilles) and Ben Gordon (right wrist) get back.
posted by D$ at 8:21 PM
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