Category: ’09 – ’10 Season


Random Thoughts

Filed Under: '09 - '10 Season, New York Knicks by Tweener — Leave a comment
February 3, 2010

I had the good fortune to attend two live NBA games in the last 8 days. The first was the Knicks-T’Wolves game on January 26th. Remarkably, the Knicks – who were 17-26 the moment the ball tipped – completely squashed the Wolves. The Knicks jumped out to a 15-0 lead, and were up by 28 at one point in the first quarter. Yes, the first quarter. The only reasonable conclusion to draw was that the Wolves had to be one of the worst teams in league history to get pounded so badly by a 17-26 team. Then, 5 days later, the ‘Wolves pounded the Knicks by 21. Thus, the Knicks are bad enough to get pounded by a team that was humiliated by a 17-26 team only a few days before.

I’m not sure what conclusion to draw. Perhaps the teams are inconsistent. Perhaps they are just both bad basketball teams, each capable of being absolutely horrific on any given night. Or perhaps they are both very good at home. Um, no. That’s not it. It must be something else.

On a different note, I was at the Celtics-Lakers game on Sunday. What a joy to watch. The teams were good, and, no less importantly, it actually felt like a basketball game. They didn’t have ridiculous entertainment during each timeout, like the Knicks and the Heat have (as I’ve blogged before). During timeouts, they played music to get the crowd going, and showed pictures of fans cheering for the home team on the JumboTron. Good for the Celtics.

Separately, I was hoopserving the All-Star rosters today, and noticed something. If you believe that a player is usually in his prime between the ages of 29 and 31, then the ages of the guys on these rosters are almost the exact opposite of what you would expect them to be. Check it out: of the 24 All-Stars, 7 were born before 1/1/79, which means that they are at least 31 years old. 14 of them were born after 1/1/82, which means that they are not yet 28 years old (for purposes of simplicity, I’m pretending today is January 1st instead of February 3rd).

A digression for a second… two of the All-Stars, Derrick Rose and Kevin Durant, were born in 1988. Yup. Nineteen-friggin’-eighty-eight. I was already getting rejected by girls in 1988; these guys weren’t even crawling yet. Sigh.

Digression over… Only 3 of the 24 All-Stars were born in 1979, 1980, or 1981, even though the guys born in those years are the guys one would expect to be in their primes right now. So, there are 7 guys over 31, 14 guys under 29, and only 3 guys who are 29, 30, or 31.

I, for one, have no idea why this is. Was there some rule change in AAU basketball that impacted the guys from ’79, ’80, and ’81? Did something happen in the NCAA around the time those guys were in college? Is there any reasonable explanation for why this would be the case?

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Week In Review

Filed Under: '09 - '10 Season, John Wall, Kansas, Kentucky, Syracuse, Villanova, Week in Review by Tweener — Leave a comment
December 23, 2009

We’re approaching a great time of year for hoops. The NBA is approaching the halfway mark, and conference play is going to start to make college hoops quite exciting.

The major storylines, for those who haven’t been paying attention:

NBA

The Lakers and Celtics are scary good. The Nuggets, Mavs, Suns, Magic, Hawks, and Cavs, are very good.

The Nets might be the worst team ever. Yes, ever. Those dudes are 2-26.

The Spurs started badly, but, if the playoffs started today, they’d be in as the #7 seed. That’s one hell of a #7 seed.

Though the East sometimes seems to be catching up with the West, if the playoffs started today, three teams would make the playoffs in the East (Milwaukee, Toronto, Charlotte) with records below .500. Think about that. Three playoff teams with records below .500. An even stranger fact is that the Knicks are only a half-game out of the last playoff spot.

NCAA

John Wall is a star.

Kansas and Texas are on a collision course. I’ve seen both of them play, and am psyched for that matchup.

The top of the standings has not seen much change, except for a slight drop from Villanova. The top 6 teams seem to be establishing themselves as the top teams, and the bulk of the movement seems to be lower in the polls. I guess that’s how it often goes.

Speaking of the top 6 teams, Syracuse somehow lost Jonny Flynn, Paul Harris, and Eric Devendorf, and got much better.

And speaking of Big East teams, there are 5 in the top 15.

I’m psyched for some hoopserving during the holiday season. Please note, though, that I’ll be hoopserving while on vacation, and won’t be blogging for a few days. I hope you’ll check back next week. In the meantime, if you have hoopservations you want to share, please post them in the comments. Happy Holidays!

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Week In Review

Filed Under: '09 - '10 Season, Allen Iverson, Chris Paul, Jason Kidd, Kobe Bryant, LeBron James, UNLV, Week in Review by Tweener — Leave a comment
December 8, 2009

I just spent a few hours surfing the ‘net, and I think it’s safe to say that this is the only website on the entire internet that hasn’t mentioned Tiger Woods in the last few weeks. Welcome to the oasis.

Not too much time to put together a “week in review” today, so I’ll stick to the big picture. In the NCAA, Kentucky probably got the biggest win of the week, over North Carolina on Saturday. And it’s nice to see UNLV in the top 25, for no other reason other than that I love to be reminded that THERE IS A UNIVERSITY IN WALKING DISTANCE FROM THE LAS VEGAS STRIP. It always throws me for a loop.

In the NBA, big stories include Greg Oden going down for the season, Iverson returning to the Sixers, the Knicks winning three straight games — yes, the Knicks — and the Lakers continuing their dominance. Other stories to keep an eye on are the return of Chris Paul, and the continuing inability of the Spurs to put together a winning streak. Here are Power Rankings from Sportsline.

Some highlights from the week:
Kobe hits a buzzer beater.
Kidd throws an alley-oop.
Crazy LeBron block.
Another great block.
Marcus Camby (?!) – great pass.

By the way, I’d love to post highlights from college games, but those don’t seem to be as easy to come by on YouTube. If anyone has any pointers, please share ‘em.

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THE NETS WON!

Filed Under: '09 - '10 Season, New Jersey Nets by Tweener — Leave a comment
December 5, 2009

So, the Nets finally won a game, “improving” their record to 1-18. They beat the Bobcats, Michael Jordan’s team.

You knew Jordan wouldn’t be happy about this, and he wasn’t. Hoopservations has obtained video of MJ’s reaction, while sitting in the Bobcats’ front office:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Sq-HYGfnIo

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Week In Review

Filed Under: '09 - '10 Season, Allen Iverson, College Teams, Florida, Georgetown, New Jersey Nets, Syracuse, UCONN, Villanova, Week in Review by Tweener — Leave a comment
November 30, 2009

The college hoops season is well underway. One big story from last week included the re-emergence of Florida, who won the Legends Classic in Atlantic City (and had to beat #2 Michigan State in order to do so). Another big story is the power of the Big East. It has 3 teams that are looking like legitimate top-10 teams (‘Nova, ‘Cuse, West Virginia), 2 or 3 others that are threats to crack the top-10 (UCONN, Georgetown, and Louisville), and at least a few others that are dangerous (Cincy, Notre Dame, Marquette). The conference is very well represented in the current rankings.

In the NBA, the big story of the week is the ongoing horrendousness of the New Jersey Nets, who just fired their coach and went 0-17. Another big story is about THE ANSWER’s possible return to Philly.

I already blogged about THE ANSWER, and I won’t repeat myself here. For now, I’ll add only this: the argument I continue to hear against signing THE ANSWER is that the team considering signing him has some young guy it wants to “develop,” and would rather give minutes to that young guy than to THE ANSWER. The Knicks used this reasoning to explain why they wouldn’t sign THE ANSWER. It made sense in theory, until I looked at the Knicks’ roster, and realized that I couldn’t figure out which young bucks they think they’re grooming to be future stars. Larry Hughes? Wilson Chandler? Nate Robinson? Seriously? Their plan for the future is to turn one of these guys into a superstar?

I would have gotten worked up about it, if I wasn’t so used to hearing nonsense from Knicks’ management. Now the reports say that the Sixers are interested, but that their management has similar concerns. They’re reluctant to sign THE ANSWER because they don’t want to take minutes away from the young bucks that they’re developing. A look at their roster reveals that these young bucks are Willie Green and Jrue Holiday. You know, the two guys who led their teams to, umm, what, exactly?

In 367 career games, Green has averaged 9.4 points per game. Even worse, Jrue Holiday spent one year at UCLA, where he averaged… wait for it… 8.5 points, 3.7 assists, and 3.8 rebounds (his stats are here). Those are his numbers in COLLEGE. The Sixers would rather try to “develop” that guy than sign THE ANSWER?

Kidding aside, let’s assume that those guys have some potential, and that, if they are “developed” properly, they become capable pros who can put up, oh, I don’t know, 15 points, 4 rebounds, and 4 assists per game. It’s a stretch, but let’s go with that assumption. Even if that’s the case, those numbers are not going to be good enough to lead a team to the playoffs. So, while it’s ok to try to “develop” them, it helps to be realistic about what you’re “developing” them to be. Neither one of those guys can be expected to be a team’s primary scorer, so why wouldn’t the Sixers want to bring in a guy who can carry the scoring load, and let those guys “develop” into complementary players? That’s their UPSIDE; to be solid complementary players.

When THE ANSWER fades away, you’ll have to replace him with someone who can carry the scoring load, whom Green and Holiday can complement. Fine. I get it. But that’s no reason not to sign THE ANSWER, because you’re going to have to sign someone else in the future anyway.

Dave Del Grande, a writer for Sportsline, suggests some of the same landing spots for THE ANSWER that I’ve been suggesting, before he launches into his power rankings. ESPN’s power rankings are here.

Some highlights from the week:
Gerald Wallace dunks on LeBron
Great hustle
Get outta my house!!!

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What I’m Thankful For

Filed Under: '09 - '10 Season, Brandon Jennings, Darren Collison, Jonny Flynn, Philadelphia 76ers, Ty Lawson by Tweener — Leave a comment
November 26, 2009

Today, Thanksgiving Day, there is plenty for a hoops fan to be thankful for. Here’s a short list of what I’m thankful for:

I’m thankful that the Sixers are back to wearing red, white and blue. This is what a 76er should look like during a home game. No gold. No black.

I’m thankful for YouTube, which lets me watch videos like this. And this.

I’m thankful that I’m not a Nets fan.

I’m thankful that the new season of Beverly Hills 90210 is so good. Wait… did I just say that on the internet?!?! Sh*t!! Why isn’t my DELETE key working!@?#! What the F??!*$

Lastly, I’m thankful for the group of rookie point guards in the NBA. The league already had a solid group of good young point guards, led by Chris Paul, Derrick Rose, and Russell Westbrook. Now it has added another group of guys that are giving their teams solid minutes. There’s Brandon Jennings, of course, but I’m not even talking about him. I’m talking about Darren Collison, Ty Lawson, and Jonny Flynn. Three guys who played the point for years at three of the premiere college hoops programs in the country: UCLA, North Carolina, and Syracuse. The Wolves won’t be good anytime soon, but once they get Kevin Love back Flynn should be able to lead them to the point of being competitive. Lawson is giving the Nuggets a spark off the bench, and Collison has kept the Hornets afloat during Paul’s absence. The NBA has a bright future ahead, with good young point guards like this running the show for their teams.

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Week in Review

Filed Under: '09 - '10 Season, Week in Review by Tweener — Leave a comment
November 22, 2009

So, the big rage this week in the world of entertainment is “New Moon,” the new movie in the Twilight series. I haven’t seen the movie, but apparently one of the main characters can turn himself into a wolf. Check out a trailer:

TWILIGHT TRAILER

Pretty bad-ass, huh? Well, I think there’s a future for that guy in the NBA if he wants to pursue one. I know he probably made lots of money acting in that movie, so he might not be rushing to play hoops for a living. And, I acknowledge that I’ve never seen him shoot a jumpshot. Whatever. Put that guy on any team, and the team’s defense improves instantly. Imagine him playing in the middle of a 1-3-1 trapping defense. I think the Nets should sign him quickly, before the season gets out of hand.

Now, moving on to the guys who are already playing hoops…
The big story in college hoops this week had to be the Syracuse Orange. They won the Coaches v. Cancer tournament by beating Cal and then pounding North Carolina. The Tar Heels were hurtin’ for certain. According to the rankings, Cal was the 12th best team in the country, and Carolina was the 4th. If those rankings are accurate, then Syracuse should be playing in the NBA. Dick Vitale, who was broadcasting the game, said this is the best Syracuse team he has seen in years. As a Syracuse fan, I would get excited about that kind of comment, if only Dick Vitale didn’t say something like that about 90% of the teams he covers.

The new rankings came out, and the Orange made a huge jump.

In the NBA, a big story is that the Hornets won 3 games in a row without Chris Paul, including wins over the Suns and the Hawks. Darren Collison made a few huge plays during the fourth quarter of the Suns game, and followed it up with 22 points and 11 assists against the Hawks. Props to him.

Power Rankings from ESPN and Sportsline:
ESPN

SPORTSLINE

A few highlights from the week:
LeBron finishes an alley-oop against Philadelphia.

Josh Smith slams home a game winner against Houston.

JR Smith does a 360 on the Clippers.

Vintage Jason Kidd.

Kobe shoots over the backboard.

James Harden brings the thunder.

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Week in Review

Filed Under: '09 - '10 Season, Week in Review by Tweener — Leave a comment
November 16, 2009

For those who don’t watch hoops as closely as I do, my week in review can be a good way for you to stay updated on important developments in both pro and college hoops. I’ll try to post it every Tuesday.

NBA:
There are a few hot teams worthy of note:

One is Sacramento. I don’t know whether a 5-4 team counts as “hot,” but I didn’t expect the Kings to have 5 wins until January. Props to them.

And, at 9-2, Phoenix is quickly solidifying itself as a force. Remember, they didn’t make the playoffs last year. So, the teams who had designs on a higher seed (Blazers, Mavericks), and the borderline-playoff teams (Thunder, Clippers, Jazz), better knock Phoenix back to earth quickly if they want to reach their goals.

And there are a few cold teams worthy of note:
The Nets, Knicks, and T-Wolves are quickly starting to look like they are in a class of their own as the worst three teams in the league. The Wizards and Bobcats have been disappointing. The Hornets are falling apart fast.

Some players have been on fire:
Chris Bosh is fifth in the league in points, and second in rebounds. I must admit that I wouldn’t have predicted either of those things before I looked at the league leaders.
Brandon Jennings is tearing up the league. He dropped 55 points on the Warriors, which, for a rookie, is astounding — it’s like dropping 30 points on a real team. This will certainly fire up the debate about whether high school phenoms are best served by playing in college before going pro.

There have been a bunch of developments to note:
The Hornets fired Byron Scott. Denver pounded the Lakers. THE ANSWER got released. Here’s some free advice for other NBA GM’s: SIGN HIM. Chris Paul hurt his ankle. So did Josh Howard.

The Power Rankings from ESPN and Sportsline contain a few surprises:
ESPN
Sportsline

NCAA:
To be honest, I won’t be able to follow the entire college hoops universe closely enough for those of you who love college hoops to use this as a primary source of your college hoops information. I got bills to pay.
I’ll certainly pay attention to the Top 10, and also to Syracuse and Penn (my two favorite teams). This will be a good place to come for links to articles about the big picture, but if you really want to read up about the bubble teams or mid-majors, this probably ain’t the place. I just don’t have the time to watch enough games to cover the landscape.
All-American predictions (from people who know more than I do):
http://sports.espn.go.com/ncb/preview2009/news/story?id=4651093
Polls / Power Rankings:
http://sports.espn.go.com/ncb/powerranking?season=2010&week=1
http://www.cbssports.com/collegebasketball/polls

And, in closing, a few highlights from the week:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_bk9-gQH994
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VVJ8gT1k7-M
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rU_gws8-fTQ
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XO-8Alobeyw
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0bsjLz36T6A
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3MqmMxvQrxM
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QaJnhDxcm00
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yPFQwF4PUFA

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Trouble for the Hornets

Filed Under: '09 - '10 Season, New Orleans Hornets by Tweener — Leave a comment
November 15, 2009

A few days ago, the Hornets fired Byron Scott. Scott was the NBA Coach of the Year in 2008.

Apparently, the belief was that the team stopped responding to him. So, they brought in someone else who would get the respect of the players.

This guy. Seriously. This one. That’s who the players are going to look up to.

My man looks like Jesse “The Body” Ventura, but without the body.

There was a teacher in my high school who looked like that. The students called him “Mr. Hungry.”

Will he help put some sting into the Hornets? I don’t know.

But I know one thing… He certainly ain’t the guy who put the “lean” into New Orleans.

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Season Predictions – Part 4 of 4

Filed Under: '09 - '10 Season, Season Predictions by Tweener — Leave a comment
November 8, 2009

If you’re still reading at this point, you’re either very interested to learn what I expect to happen this NBA season, or you’re a very good friend. Either way, I’m glad to have you as a reader.

The chart above shows what I get when I analyze the teams in the West.

Using that as a starting point to predict playoff teams, I wind up with this:
1. Lakers
2. Nuggets
3. Spurs
4. Mavericks
5. Trailblazers
6. Hornets
7. Suns
8. OKC

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