The Return of Penny!!

FINALLY!  Penny Hardaway is back!  He’s older, he’s  slower, and deffinitely not as good.  Why I’m a so excited?  I’m hoping Penny shows up all the critics, and has at least one game where he scores about 20 points.  I know it’d make mine and all other long-time Penny fans extremely happy.

He participated in his first preseason game.  Read all about it  here

Maybe Lil’ Penny’s on his way back to????

Welcoming Some of the Best: Preseason Roundtable!

After a long time of chopping this thing together, I can finally say I’m proud to release to you, the readers, the best preseason roundtable out there. Why the best? Because it involves the best. I selected the panel based on bloggers who I’ve always enjoyed reading, and with their generous participation, we have a masterpiece! Below you’ll find everyone’s take on all thats on every basketball fan’s mind! Finally, I’d like to introduce the table:

The Blowtorch

20SecondTimeout

Taking It To The Rack

Clutch 3 (myself of course!)

1) What’s you’re take on the Shawn Marion situation? Will he be traded? Where?

Blowtorch:

The Marion Situation has me more depressed than anything else. Outside of Nash, losing him is the worst possible thing that could happen to the Suns. And the only other place Matrix would work this well is Golden State. Just an unfortunate happening all around. I don’t see him getting traded right now since Amare is hurt for a minute. Hopefully he gets traded to the Jazz. Then the Suns get Kirilenko (which is PERFECT) and Marion realizes that he now plays 41 games in Utah.

20SecondTimeout:

My initial, general reaction to the Marion situation can be found here:
http://20secondtimeout.blogspot.com/2007/09/disgruntled-marion-seeks-trade.html
As for whether or not Marion will be traded, two factors lead me to believe that a Marion for Odom deal has a decent shot of happening: 1) the Suns want to reduce payroll and a Marion for Odom deal is permissible under league rules yet enables the Suns to reduce their payroll; 2) this deal is attractive to the Lakers as well because Marion is a better defender and rebounder than Odom, plus Marion is more durable.

Taking It To The Rack:

Check out my column “Shawn Marion: Loco” for my extended thoughts on Marion. He won’t be going anywhere this season though.

Clutch 3:

I personally think the guy is an idiot for wanting out of Phoenix. I’ve even written exactly on this topic on my blog, and as I was writing, I kept getting more and more fed up with his selfish wanting to be “The Guy”. He is a fantastic player that any team would love to have. I don’t really see Phoenix making any move ( a la Allen Iverson style), but rather wait for one that would give them something equivalent to Marion’s abilities. I don’t expect anything to go down until the trade deadline. At that point, I’m sure that’s when we’ll see the Kirilenko and Friends for Marion deal go through.

2) Who’s going to win the East? West? Championship?

Blowtorch:

As a Bulls fan, I have to pick the Bulls in the East. Thankfully, the Bulls really are good and don’t still have Dragan Tarlac and Fred Hoiberg getting consistent tick. I think they’ll make the jump this year. In the West, I’m going Spurs. Last time I checked, Duncan was still alive. With those two teams, I can’t see the Bulls taking 4 of 7 from the Spurs so I’m picking San Antonio.

20SecondTimeout:

Chic pick Boston is not deep enough to win the East. Detroit and Miami are both in decline. I’m torn between Cleveland and Chicago. Cleveland has the edge in playoff experience, plus the advantage of having a true superstar in LeBron James; Chicago has a deeper team and a gritty, defensive mindset. I’ll take Cleveland right now but I may change my mind by the time I post my season preview. I expect a San Antonio-Dallas showdown in the Western Finals; Dallas’ loss to Golden State was an aberration–which is not to say that Golden State did not play well: the point is that Dallas has won 60 and 67 games the past two seasons and I fully expect the Mavs to win around 60 games and make a deep playoff run this year just like they did in 2006. The Spurs and Mavs are very evenly matched but since the Mavs beat them in 2006 I’ll say that the Spurs will win the rematch–a year delayed–in 2008. The Suns, as usual, will be right in the mix but fall short in the playoffs. The dark horse is Houston: if T-Mac and Yao stay healthy and Scola quickly adapts to the NBA game then the Rockets can be very dangerous. New coach Rick Adelman will have that team passing and cutting people to death.

Taking It To The Rack:

I’ll be ridiculous and take my beloved Celts to top Dallas in the Finals.

Clutch 3:

Things are a little more interesting in the East this year. As much as the easy answer would be Boston, I just don’t see these guys winning the East final. I still see my boys, the Pistons coming through. They have some young talent that will hopefully explode out of the gates, which will finally give their bench enough depth to get back to the championship. As for the West, we can now count out Minni now that KG’s in the East (just kidding..obviously). But for real, I would hand it to the Suns. I’ve also been saying the Suns for the past two years and they have yet to break through. As long as Marion has a change of heart sometime soon, the Suns are my pick. Adding Grant Hill was a great addition for them, and with him and Barbosa coming off the bench, they’ll be the feared team this year. In the Pistons vs. Suns series, I give it to the Pistons, based on finals experience. It’ll be Mr. Sheed’s time to shine!

3) Who would be your number one pick in a fantasy draft?

Blowtorch:

Scarlett Johannson or LeBron James. Depending on what kind of fantasy draft it is.

20SecondTimeout:

I analyze real NBA games and players and pay very little attention to fantasy games. I suppose that one could not go wrong by picking LeBron number one in either a fantasy draft or a real draft.

Taking It To The Rack:

LeBron James — man can do it all.

Clutch 3:

Kobe! Kobe! Kobe! I’m not a huge LeBron guy when it comes to fantasy, and Kobe being pretty much the lone everything on the Lakers leads me to believe he’s, yet again, going to put up fantastic numbers. How can you argue with that?

4) Who is due for a breakout year?

Blowtorch:

Depends on what you consider a breakout. Here’s three thoughts-
All-Star raising his game: Zach Randolph
Dude making THE JUMP: Luol Deng
Coming out of nowhere: Amir Johnson

20SecondTimeout:

With Iverson gone, Iguodala will make a run at being an Eastern Conference All-Star. Look for him to average about 22 ppg, 7 rpg and 6 apg. He showed flashes of this kind of production down the stretch last year and I expect him to keep it up for the whole 2007-08 season. Daniel Gibson played very well for Cleveland in the playoffs and could easily double his modest regular season production (4.6 ppg).

Taking It To The Rack:

LaMarcus Aldridge is going to be incredible in Portland in his
sophomore season.

Clutch 3:

I’ll go again the grain here and say a guy like Corey Maggette will finally get the attention he deserves. I feel he’ll get the shots he needs to produce and will finally have the spotlight. On a smaller scale, I see Rajon Rondo having a somewhat breakout year. How can this guy not average at least 9 or 10 assists per game when he’s feeding The Big Three in Boston?

5) Which team will surprise everyone this year?

Blowtorch:

I’m jumping hard on the Grizzlies bandwagon. They’re this year’s Warriors. They’ll be the second best team to watch after the Suns. Plus their roster is hilarious: Darko, Pau, Mike Conley, Kyle Lowry, Stro Swift and Hakim Warrick (who are the same person), Navarro, Stoudemire is there somewhere, and Brian Cardinal. It’s like they combined every single rebuilding strategy in to one team.

20SecondTimeout:

I’m not sure what “everyone” is predicting, so this question could be answered a lot of different ways. With a healthy Gasol I expect Memphis to do much better this year. I suspect that Charlotte will be better than a lot of people may think.

Taking It To The Rack:

The Memphis Grizzlies will be at or above .500 and could make the playoffs.

Clutch 3:

Denver Nuggets! These guys a due to make some noise in the West. They went on a tear at the end of last season, showing AI and Melo might be able to work together. Both of those guys want a championship, and AI will definitely do whatever it takes. If K-Mart (when was the last time you heard that name?) and Marcus Camby can stay healthy, these guys will be trouble!

6) Who’s you’re early pick for MVP?

Blowtorch:

Kevin Garnett. He’s going to be insane this year. Playing for a title and playing in the East is going to make him seem even better.

20SecondTimeout:

Kobe Bryant. He’s been knocking on the door the past couple seasons and is already widely acknowledged to be the “best” player, a sentiment reinforced by his performance at both ends of the court in the FIBA Americas tournament. It is difficult to believe that he will go his entire career without winning at least one MVP. If the Lakers are a little healthier this year and do not fade down the stretch then they will amass enough wins for voters to feel comfortable selecting him.

Taking It To The Rack:

Hard not to like LeBron right now.

Clutch 3:

This question really made me think. It would be Kobe, except the entire team’s performance usually has something to do with the votes, so he’s clearly out of the question. With team performance in mind, I’ll give it to KG in Boston. The team’s record will inevitably turnaround and KG will be leading the pack. His scoring will probably stay the same, but his assists will forsure increase, producing an impressive stat line.

7) Name a basketball blog that you read, that some probably don’t know about. Blowtorch:

NBA Basketball and Other Unrelatedness aka thehypeguy.com. Howie is my boy. Not only is he hilarious and a huge source of inspiration, he gave me my first big link that got me started. Big up, Howie!

20SecondTimeout:

http://20secondtimeout.blogspot.com/ (shameless plug). I don’t know if this counts as a “blog,” but I love http://www.remembertheaba.com/

Taking It To The Rack:

We Rite Goode – it’s not all basketball, but they have a lot there.
Lotta unique content.

Clutch 3:

I’d have to say Give Me The Rock is one that I frequently read and thoroughly enjoy, that maybe not everyone in the blogosphere knows about. Enjoy the plug!

It’s Time For Some Fantasy Ball!!!!!

Recently I took part in one of my favourite events of the whole year.  Fantasy Basketball Draft!  This will be my third year in a league with some friends.  This year we have 14 people, and it seems like a tradition now that I have a terrible position in the draft, the 12^th pick overall.  With my hopes of finally getting a Kobe, KG or LeBron, that obviously quickly went down the drain.  Even worse off, I felt I just had to take Tim Duncan with my first pick.  I hate Tim Duncan (watching him play=boring.  It’s like watching an elementary coach teach his team the fundamentals of how to hit a jump shot off the backboard).  Beyond that though, I was really happy with my 2^nd to 6^th picks.  Below is my team in order of which round I drafted them in.    I think Mikki Moore will have a 10 and 10 year, and Grant Hill promises to be extremely solid if he can stay healthy.  What about Yiiiiiiiiiii?  Someone please tell me this guy’s going to be a star this year!  As for J. Maxiell, I know I could have probably grabbed him off of waivers early, but hey, I love this guy and hopefully he gets a lot of minutes off the bench with McDyess starting at an older age.  Either way, I think I’m in great shape for another exciting season of Fantasy Basketball

1.  Tim Duncan

2.  Andre Iguodala

3.  Baron Davis

4.  Tyson Chandler

5.  Mike Miller

6.  Mo Williams

7.  Mike Dunleavy

8.  Mikki Moore

9.  Grant Hill

10.  Yi Jianlian

11.  Brevin Knight

12.  Jason Maxiell

Houston Back With Knicks…Probably

 

It appears that the New York Knicks will likely ink old timer, veteran, grampa (whatever you want to call him) Allan Houston.  After being out of the league for quite a while now due to injuries, Houston will attempt a comeback with the team he last played with.  It wasn’t thaaaaat long ago that Houston was tearing up the courts in New York.  He established himself as one of the purest shooters in the game during his prime.  Although long out of his prime, Houston brings a lot of veteran leadership to the table that is greatly needed in the big apple.  I still remember when Houston played for Detroit.  He formed an amazing backcourt with non other than current Pistons President and legend, Joe Dumars.  Together, those two knocked down every shot.  Unfortunately, the Pistons didn’t have much success during those years and are much better off nowadays.  For Houston, coming back to the Knicks gives him a chance to finish his career on the court, rather than finishing due to causes out of his control.  It really is a win-win situation for Houston and the Knicks.  Hopefully the old man will last.

Lakers In Need

 

Apparently the Lakers are in need of a couple of players.  They might even be desperate.  So, if you’re interested in joining the Lakers this season, please submit a comment to this post with your name and why you think you’d be the best addition to the Lakers.  Also, you can add your favourite current or past Laker, and the number you would take if chosen.  All will be taken into consideration by Lakers management, as there is a desperate need for ANYONE!

Fantasy Sleeper (#2): Tracy McGrady

Although this isn’t as significant as yesterdays article about Joe Johnson, I would still consider Tracy McGrady overlooked by some experts in the wonderful world of fantasy basketball.  According to some of the boys over at Yahoo.com Fantasy Basketball, they collectively have McGrady ranked as the number 11 small forward.  Again, with so much talent in the league, this doesn’t seem too far off, considering McGrady’s injury woes.  Why I consider him a sleeper is because of a few guys that they have in front of T-Mac in their rankings.  The three guys in front of T-Mac are Caron Butler, Gerald Wallace and Paul Pierce.  Don’t get me wrong, these guys are quite deserving of a high rankings, but in my mind, not ahead of my man T-Mac.  Firstly, Caron Butler had his best season last year, only to lose it to an injury.  With averages of around 19 pts, 7.5 boards and 4 assists, these are quite impressive numbers that will put you near the top of any rankings.  When comparing to T-Mac’s 24.5 pts, 5 boards and 6.5 assists per game, how can you overlook the statistics.  Fantasy ball is very much about stats, but also about taking into consideration injuries.  Both these guys are susceptible to injury this year, which obviously lowers both their rankings.  If you cancel that fact out, statistically, you’d want T-Mac ahead of Butler.  Moving onto Gerald Wallace.  I haven’t seen someone move up the ranks so quickly from such a large contract signing.  There is a lot of hype and hope for this guy to have the season of his career, but I just don’t see it happening.  He isn’t a huge risk for an injury, so that obviously adds some value.  The one reason why I don’t see him putting up his 18, 7 and 2.5 this year is because his team just signed another scorer in Jason Richardson.  Gerald Wallace isn’t the go-to-guy anymore (or not necessarily).  His assists will probably increase, but his points will likely decrease slightly.  Again, I’d give the upper hand to T-Mac.  Finally, Paul Pierce.  This one is a little more borderline, and if your faced with this dilemma of either T-Mac or Paul Pierce, it will really come down to your personal preference.  The reason why I choose T-Mac is because he will remain the go-to-guy in Houston (sharing this privilege with Yao, of course).  As for Pierce, he will enter the season with two brand new all-star scorers in his lineup. Will his assists increase this year?  Absolutely!  Will his scoring average decrease?  More than likely!  The offense will obviously be ran through KG, therefore, Pierce isn’t your go-to guy anymore in Boston, but rather he’s now a great option.  Overall, I see T-Mac having a monster season, along with the Houston Rockets as a team.  I would say he’s capable of putting up 25, 6 and 6 this year.  As Yao usually gets injured, McGrady’s numbers could even grow larger. I don’t think T-Mac will get injured.  I think he’s hit a point in his career where he’s probably taken every precaution possible to prevent it from happening.  So, if your going to take anything from my ramble, make sure you don’t overlook McGrady in your fantasy draft, because this guy is coming to play!

Fantasy Sleeper: Joe Johnson

 

I was one of the fortunate people to grab Joe in the past couple years, as he was overlooked by many of the “expert” rankers.  This year, as I gear up for another crazy year of fantasy basketball, I notice in my yahoo rankings that they have placed Joe as the #37 ranked player.  This doesn’t seem unreasonable at first glance, considering all the great players in the league these days.  It does seem unreasonable, though, when you take a look at some of the guys in front of him.  One spot in front was Brandon Roy.  Although he was a super rookie, it seems many experts are predicting him to have an outstanding year!  I know I’d take Joe Johnson on my team anyday before Roy.  Further up the list is Jason Richardson at #29.  I agree that JRich should move up the list this year now that he’s with a new team, and has a more primary role.  Unfortunately, I don’t see this guy one the same level with Johnson.  Richardson is more of a plain scorer, where as Johnson really does have an all-around game.  Finally, and most shocking to me, was Gerald Wallace at the #24 spot.  Although these two play completely different positions, I can’t see how Wallace will put up better numbers than Johnson.  In the world of fantasy ball, it’s all about the stat line.  In this case, do these guys actually think that Gerald Wallace is due to out-produce Joe Johnson?  Making the rankings is no easy job, but hey, some of it is common sense to me.  Joe Johnson, once again, has been overlooked, and will be a HUGE steal in many fantasy drafts.  Happy drafting!

Giving Marion Some Love…With A Little Shawn Kemp!

…I feel a little badly about calling that guy an idiot.  He really is one, but I can still appreciate his athletic abilities.  As I browsed around, I found a little video featuring Marion vs. Shawn Kemp!  Ya, the old and athletic Shawn Kemp.  When it comes to who is/was more entertaining, I would have to (hands down) give the prize to Kemp!  Anyways, check out the couple minute vid (some bad language in it, so beware!)

Complete Idiot(s), Volume 2: Varejao and Pavlovic

I know lately I’ve been calling a lot of people names that aren’t so polite, so instead of ditching my rudeness, I figured I’d just put a little title on it so I can refer back to previous Idiots.  Everyone loves a good idiot.  Anyways, word on the street is that Varejao and Pavlovic of the Cleveland Cavliers have yet to show up to Cavs training camp.  To be quite honest, I think these guys are IDIOTS (bet you didn’t see that one coming).  Clearly the main problem here is money.  I know these two think they’re worth more than they’re being offered, but I truly don’t think either of the two are that great of players.  I genuinely believe the Cavs will not be back in the Finals, let alone the East finals.  Their title run last year was pretty fluky.  I still can’t believe they even got past the Pistons.  The boys from Motown really melted down, and seemed a little unusual how they kept losing those games.  Maybe a little Tim Donaghy style scam happened?  Probably not.  Back to the two clowns.  Even as the Cavs made it to the Finals, Pavlovic was garbage!  Both he and Larry Hughes were pretty useless, and it proved so in the actual Finals series again the Spurs.  As for Varajao, he is one of those up tempo energy players, but that’s about it.  He’s pretty physical, but all in all, not worth $10 milllion per season.  He’s a little full of himself for now, and needs a little kick in the ass.  With his clone Joakim Noah in the league, Varejao will likely get overlooked this season, as he rightfully should!  If Cleveland was smart, they would have used the money they were allotting to these guys, and searched for some more valuable talent and aggressively pursued it.  Instead, they’re stuck with two garbage players who think they’re 1000% better than they actually are!  Good work…idiots!

Should John Starks Be A Hall Of Famer?!?!

 

I just browsed by this minor topic.  Some of the comments people posted were pretty funny though, so I suggest you take a look HERE.

My personal thought….The guy is a bum.  He deserves nothing!