When I first posted pictures of the A-Town girls (Atlanta Hawks Dancers) there was little to choose from. Here are much better pictures.
Archive Page 2
19
Nov
07
A-Town Dancer
I discussed the potential of Sean Williams yesterday, and it didn’t take long for him to get the opportunity I was looking for. Here’s his stats from last night:
22 pts – 8 rb (3 off) – 2 stl – 2 blk – 64% FG Shooting, 8 of 10 from the line with 36 min
That is why The Nets drafted him. Reality is that Sean has the talent to have gone in the top 5 of last years ultra-talented draft, but he smoked weed and was suspended from his college team. I don’t advocate smoking pot, but there are far more serious crimes that one could commit. Besides, he’s in The League now, and his talent will dictate his future, not what happened in College. His talent is what should keep him in the starting lineup.
Coach Lawrence Frank has removed Nenad Krstic from the starting lineup, in an effort to shake things up for the struggling 4-6 Nets. Personally, I do think Nenad should be and will be starting soon; however, he is not without his weaknesses. Namely, his inability to hit the boards. His career high for avg rebounds per game in a season is 6.8! That is horrible for a starting forward/center who’s getting at least 30 minutes per game! Maybe this is the leason Coach Frank is trying to send him? I’m not quite sure, but the combo of Nenad and Sean Williams is perfect for this team. Krstic can space the floor and give Kidd another shooter to play with, while Sean can be the beast on the boards while manning the paint on the defensive end. Plus, Sean has a nice offensive repertoire as well! I’ve been saying it since they signed him, and I’ll say it some more, Jamaal Magloire is not a fit for this team! He’s one of the slowest players in the NBA. He gets the ball on the low block and sits there for a minimum of 5 seconds, while deciding what move he wants to make, allowing the defense to adjust. That is not what a fast paced, quick reaction team like the Nets want. But who am I? What do I know?
Truthfully, Lawrence Frank is the only one who knows what he has planned for this team. I’m just providing you with my thoughts on the situation. I truly hope and expect Sean to continue to start and get big minutes, but we’ll just have to wait and see.
17
Nov
07
Fetching Hilarious!
I saw this on the web and just had to post it.
17
Nov
07
Friday Night Basketball
Tonight I want to look at some players who had stellar games and lead their team to a win. I also want to talk about a few players who have been playing well all season, but may still be under the radar a bit. Lastly, we will discuss some very young guys with HUGE upside and how they performed once given a chance to shine.
First the Stellar Performers:
Chris Paul
28 pts – 2 rb – 13 ast – 5 stl – 48% shooting
Tyson Chandler
12 pts – 17 rb (6 offensive) – 5 ast – 4 blocks – 71% shooting
David West
40 pts – 6 rb – 1 st – 1 blk – 59% shooting
Paul, West and Chandler all led the Hornets to an overtime victory over Memphis tonight. Look at those stats! WOW, they each had phenomenal games, which is obviously why they won. Chris Paul continues to show the world that Deron Williams may be getting the love because of his playoff run last year, but that was last year. This year, Chris has arguably been the best PG in the league. In fact, I’m going to say he HAS been the best in this young season. I’ll show you. Let’s compare CP3 to the best of the best, Steve Nash, this year.
Steve Nash
19.4 pts – 3.8 rb – 9.9 ast – 0.89 stl – 0 blk – 55% FG & 100% FT
Chris Paul
18.6 pts – 4.7 rb – 10.6 ast – 3 stl – 0 blk – 51% FG & 89% FT
You see what I mean? Paul has Nash beat in rebounds, assists and steals. He’s close to him the other categories, but let’s not just talk about the stats. Look at the accomplishments of the teams they lead. The Hornets are 8 – 2 with wins over the Nuggets, Lakers and Nets. They lost to the Spurs and Portland. The Suns are 7-2 and have quality wins over Cleveland, and Orlando, while getting beat by the Lakers and Hawks. The expectations for the Hornets were FAR below the Sun’s expectations, so I will say the Hornets have been more impressive and I naturally give the large part of the credit for their early season success to Paul. Chris Paul has really picked up the play of his teammates. Just look above at what Chandler and West did tonight! Obviously, it’s not all CP3, but he is the motor that keeps this engine running. Plus, Peja is actually a respectable NBA player again.
I’m not saying Chris Paul will surpass Steve Nash this year. I am merely stating that through 9 or 10 games, CP3 has been the best point guard. No Doubt.
Since we are on the topic of great point guards, did you see Jason Kidd posting a triple double tonight! It was in a losing effort to the Magic, but you have to take notice every time Kidd posts a triple. His line was 11 pts, 19 rb, 10 ast and 2 steals! There are a ton of forwards and centers in this league that have not grabbed 19 rebounds in one game, and Jason Kidd did it from the PG position! He’s just getting better with age.
We will stay with the PG theme and look at:
Baron Davis
21 pts – 4 rb – 12 ast – 3 stl – 5 blk (baron always has poor shooting percentages)
Andris Biedrins
23 pts – 18 rb – 1 ast – 1 stl – 2 blk – 75% FG – 83% FT
The Warriors came in to play the Clippers as a winless team, and came out a one-win team! It was a much much needed win, at that. It’s a special night when you get 5 blocks from your point guard and Andris shoots 83% from the line, he might have the ugliest free throw shot in the league. Congrats to the Warriors!
Kevin Martin
43 pts – 10 rb – 2 ast – 52% FG and 16 – 19 from the line
Kevin is a budding star in The League. He showed tonight that his combination of skill and speed makes him a very tough match-up for anyone.
Now let’s talk about the guys who have had solid seasons, but are going under the radar still:
Damien Wilkens
41 pts – 9 rb – 2 ast – 2 stl – 75% FG Shooting
Kevin Durant may get the publicity on Sports Center for his game winning three, but it was Damien that led them to a double overtime victory over the Hawks. Damien has been averaging 14.2 – 5.1 – 2.6. He’s a great energy guy and will continue to get plenty of opportunities to shine on this young Seattle team.
Marvin Williams
18 pts – 7 rb – 4 ast – 4 stl – 2 blk – 46% FG Shooting
I have already discussed Marvin on this blog, so I wont go into details. I just want to mention that he’s continuing to tap into that enormous talent that he has.
Finally, we’ll look at three young players that have tremendous upside, if given the opportunity. We’ll start with a Rookie who’s making the most of his opportunity.
Al Horford
7 pts – 14 rb – 2 ast – 1 stl – 5 blks
Horford is averaging 9.1 points and 10.4 rebounds to start his rookie year. That’s pretty nice! He was touted as the most NBA ready person in the draft and he’s proving that to be the case. I expect his scoring to increase as he becomes more familiar with the NBA game.
Sean Williams
9 pts – 3 rb – 3 blks in 18 mins
The last three games he has averaged 9.7 points, 6 rebounds and 3.6 blocks in 22 minutes per game. I know, those aren’t great numbers, BUT the Nets are desperate for the energy and defense that Sean can give them. Watch him closely, because if he continues to get more minutes, you could cash in on his potential before you think.
Amir Johnson
1 pt – 7 rb – 2 ast – 1 stl – 4 blk in 18 mins
There has been much talk in Detroit about Amir after he blew up in the D-League and even had some very nice games in the NBA the last few weeks of the season last year, and he showed us some of his potential tonight. He is super athletic and has a great motor. I would love it if the Pistons would give Maxiell and Amir more minutes, but as long as their winning with their veteran guys, they will only give them a few minutes when available. Amir will be Damn Good, but not for a while still.
16
Nov
07
Gilbert’s Blog
I have become a fan of Gilbert Arenas this year, since I started reading his blog. I have always found him unique and somewhat interesting, but I honestly didn’t know much about him, so I just didn’t seem to care too much either way.
A friend of mine, Dobie, has been the biggest fan I know. In 2002 we were having our fantasy draft and Dobie took a player by the name of Gilbert Arenas with his last pick in the draft. We all looked at him and said, “Who the hell is that? That kid from Arizona?” We thought nothing of it, until Gilbert blew up that year and averaged 18.3 points, 6.3 assists, 4.7 boards, and 1.5 steals! Needless to say, Dobie won that year (obviously it wasn’t just because of Gilbert, but he helped a lot). Dobie couldn’t stop talking about Arenas from then on, and still can’t to some degree. I, on the other hand, thought he was somewhat overrated and kind of a showboat…. until this off-season.
As mentioned above, I have been reading his blog and have simply loved it! He is unlike most famous athletes and people in general in that he embraces his quirkiness. He doesn’t seem to care too much about what other people think of him (on and off the court). He is who he is and that’s it. I respect that.
I’m sure most of you have read his blog (if your reading mine, you DEFINITELY have read his), but I want to link his latest entry because it shows his personality (he has given himself a new nickname) and he discusses his knee, which is an ongoing topic on Just Give Me The Stats!! since I have him on one of my teams! It’s my blog, so I discuss the players that are most important to me. Get used to it.
Here’s the link. Enjoy:
A TV Station in LA, CBS 2, is reporting (article is linked here) that the Lakers completed a trade with the Pistons that would have sent Kobe to Detroit for Tayshaun Prince, Rip Hamilton, Amir Johnson and a first round pick, BUT Kobe vetoed the trade. ARE YOU KIDDING ME, KOBE!!!!! You seriously don’t think that YOU (self proclaimed greatest basketball player ever) cannot win a championship with Chauney Billups, Jarvis Hayes, Rasheed Wallace, Antonio McDyess, Jason Maxiell, Rodney Stucky, Flip Murray, Arron Afflalo and Nazr Mohammed as your supporting cast? REALLY? That is a much better team than You, Deng, Ben Wallace and leftovers in Chicago! So what does this tell me about you, Mr. Bryant….
Winning is not the end all be all for you, or else you would take that trade in a heartbeat. I’m not saying that a starting lineup of Chauncey, You, Hayes, Rasheed and McDyess is a lock to beat Boston this year, but it would be a coin flip at best when you look at the full team! I think you care more about what Big City you go to, or who’s legacy you can defeat, Mr. 24, than you do about winning another title. I always assumed that was the case, after watching you selfishly give up in the finals against Detroit in 2004, or giving up against the Suns in the first round of the playoffs in 2006, or forcing Shaq out of LA so you can be The Man! Now, you are choosing to stay in LA or go to a team that is likely not nearly as good as this Detroit team would have been with you on it.
You shall forever be known as Kobe the Selfish, not Kobe the Champion!
UPDATE —–11/16/07
I’d like to thank jumperitis@gmail.com for reminding me to update this posting. It’s been a busy day at work, so I forgot all about it. It is being said that this trade was just a rumor, and there wasn’t more to it than the Pistons inquiring on what it would take to get Kobe. Dumars specifically said he is not willing to give up on his core group of guys yet, so he would not give up 2 starters for Kobe. Do you believe that? I guess you have too.
However, it is also being said that Kobe will not go to Detroit regardless. That is not one of the cities he is interested in. Therefore, this posting is still valid, in that Kobe cares more about Kobe, than he does about winning, but most people already know that.
Today most fantasy basketball sites will be discussing LeBron James, Joe Johnson or Dwight Howard. All three of them are compelling topics, especially LeBron and Dwight, since they faced off against each other in an overtime game that came down to those two superstars making plays at the end of the game for their teams. LeBron had a truly sick triple double with 39 pts, 13 boards, 14 assists and 2 blocks, but Dwight was clutch down the stretch and lead his team to victory. In fact, I wasn’t going to do this yet, but since Dwight is my favorite player in the NBA and has been since his sophomore season (I’ve owned him in my keeper league since then), I’ll finally take the time to breakdown his game and fantasy impact.
(You got robbed, Dwight. Simply robbed.)
At the inception of this blog, I discussed how many fantasy experts rank Dwight Howard much lower than his actual worth because he has always had a horrible free throw percentage. I said it was a bunch of crap! Dwight was a budding superstar who only needed to work on his offensive footwork and shooting ability. Every offseason he worked on his offensive game and got better. He went from 12 ppg his rookie year to 15.8 the next and 17.6 last season. Following that pattern, you can assume that Dwight would improve at the ripe old age of 21, and he would average 20 ppg. Plus he is in the hunt for League’s leading rebounder every year and he’s starting to understand how dominant he can be on the defensive end too!!! Well, here’s what he’s averaging so far this season:
20.3 pts, 14.4 rb (3.3 offensive), 1.8 ast, 2.4 blk while shooting 52% from the field and 63% from the line.
Those are monster numbers in points, rebounds and blocks, plus his shooting is improving. Good shooting is about confidence, especially from the free throw line. He worked hard over the summer to improve, and his confidence in his newfound shot is growing every game. Look at his shooting mechanics. They are good. It’s all mental for him and it’s coming together nicely.
What’s scary for the rest of the league is that his season averages do not show his real potential. His game tonight, show’s Dwight’s potential:
35 pts, 16 rb (6 offensive), 2 ast, 4 blk, shooting 11 of 17 from the field AND 13 of 16 from the line!!
13 of 16 from the line! The best part about his performance from the charity stripe… he hit 2 free throws to win the game with 5 seconds left in overtime! Yes, he missed one in regulation that would have put them up by 4 with five seconds left, but he came back and made up for it here in OT. Stan Van Gundy had enough confidence in his young big man with 6 seconds left in OT and down by one, to run a play for Dwight off the inbounds, which forced a foul and sent him to the line. Has that ever happened to Shaq??? HELL NO! That demonstrates that Van Gundy knows Dwight is gaining confidence in his shot and is ready to put this team on his back to get them some victories! Well, Stan was right! Dwight sank both free throws and they won! LeBron posted a sick triple double, along with very good games from Drew Gooden and Ilgauskas, but they still won! To celebrate Dwight’s HUGE game, here’s a picture of Gemma Atkinson:
Personally, I love the fact that people in the world of fantasy discount Dwight so much (the real world of NBA basketball understands how truly great he is and will be), because I drafted him in the 4th round in a yahoo head to head league! 4th ROUND!! Now if Gilbert will just continue to get healthy, I’ll be sitting pretty.
All right, enough about Dwight. I actually wanted to discuss the players that most people will not be talking about. The hidden gems, if you will, from last night. Let’s get started:
Josh Smith – I know he’s not a hidden gem, but I wanted to mention him because he was on his way to another GREAT all-around game when he strained his quad and was forced to leave early in the third quarter. In 18 minutes of play he scored 15 points, 3 boards, 3 assists, 1 steal and 5 blocks. 5 BLOCKS in 18 minutes!! Word is the stain was minor. I watched him walk off without even a limp, so let’s hope that’s true and he’s back in the lineup next game.
Andrei Kirilenko – Yes, he’s not a hidden gem either, but he’s the last player of this calibur that I’ll discuss here. I have to talk about AK47 because I have been hating on him for a long while now, so I made a point to watch a lot of the Jazz vs Raptors game to see how he does against a decent team. He really impressed me. My biggest question about him was his ability to be a defensive and offensive force without getting many opportunities within the offense (since that was what he was bitching about all summer), but he proved me wrong tonight. He was 1 of 6 from the field, so Andrei said forget about shooting, I’ll just do everything else! He had 8 points, 9 rebounds, 11 assists, 5 steals and 2 blocks! Simply incredible. He also put the lock down on Chris Bosh and kept him to 14 points with only 7 boards. Jerry Sloan must be doing a great job keeping his confidence high. I still have my doubts about him, but he’s winning me over with every game like this. If he can play with this type of redkless abandon and not care about his scoring, then Utah will be scary good and I will be the most wrong about a player that I have ever been.
Delonte West – I told you to pick up Delonte earlier today and I stand by that statement. He came off the bench tonight against the Heat, who they beat to get their first win!! Welcome back Dwayne Wade… your team sucks! Anyways, he played 29 minutes and had 16 points, 4 rebounds and 6 assists. Nice line. Why did Earl Watson start??
Darko Milicic – I have liked Darko for a long time, and this year he’s showing everyone why. Tonight he posted 10 points, 13 rebounds, 1 assist, and 4 bocks. This is the second consecutive good game from Darko! He went for 20, 6 and 2 blocks the night before. We have a prediction board in my office, where you make a prediction and The Panel (a group of 2 or 3 coworkers) decide how much money you will owe or receive from the company pot, if you are right or wrong. I said Darko would average 12 points, 8 boards and 2.5 blocks per game. His average after 7 games:
12 points, 7.8 boards and 1.6 blocks
Damn, it’s too bad I got pissed off after the Grizzlies played the Rockets in the preseason, where Darko didn’t even start and he played like crap. I thought if he couldn’t secure a starting gig over Stromile Swift, then he really does suck! I went to the office the next day and paid the $12 I would have owed, if I was wrong! Damn, I can’t get my money back, but if Darko keeps up this performance and increases his blocks (as he is with each game), then at least I’ll have the moral victory of being right. That means more to me than $12 anyways! Long Live Darko!!
Jason Maxiell – McDyess was hurt for their game against Golden State tonight, so Maxiell got the start and he made the most of it. He had 14 points, 14 rebounds (4 offensive), 5 assists, 1 steal and 3 blocks! That is an incredible line! Why is this guy not starting? Maybe because Flip Saunders is a horrible coach? That’s my vote, if Max isn’t starting or getting at least 33 minutes per game from here on out!
Alright, it’s 1:30 am and my baby girl needs to eat, so I’ll stop writing. San Antonio vs Dallas tomorrow night. I hate the Spurs, but they get the win.
14
Nov
07
Gilbert Appreciates Our Prayers.
Last Friday I made a plea for Gilbert. I asked everyone to say a prayer for him and his knee, and said that I believed things would start looking up in a week, if we did that. Well, God does hear and answer our prayers! The Wizards played the Pacers and won, thanks in large part to Gilbert! Here’s his stat line for the game:
30 points, 6 rebounds, 11 assists, 1 steal, 1 block, 50% shooting and 9 of 11 from the line in 36 minutes
THAT’S THE GILBERT I DRAFTED IN THE FIRST ROUND!!!! I’m sure there will be a let down in his next game, as he is obviously still getting healthy, but it’s just great to see him do it for a game!
Gilbert we will continue to pray for you and simply ask that you give us more nights like this!!!
14
Nov
07
Football Hotties
14
Nov
07
Marbury vs Thomas – Round 1
This Marbury vs Isiah Thomas situation could get EXTREMELY UGLY!!!! Check out this link:
Did Stephon just blackmail his coach for playing time???? We need to understand that Steph and Isiah have been the best of friends since Starbury came to the Knicks. They’re neighbors for crying out loud! One has to wonder…. what does Stephon know?
I won’t elaborate, as you just read the article, but we’ll be keeping a close eye on this drama! How long will Isiah keep his job??????
On a side note, after watching Nate Robinson play the Suns last night I think he’s too much of a defensive liability to get 30 minutes a game. Anytime he was caught in a situation where the person he was guarding posted him up, it was a guaranteed bucket and foul in most cases. I love his energy, confidence and heart, but I think a 6′6″ Mardy Collins has the edge at getting most of the minutes. Assuming that Marbury does not return, of course.
UPDATE——-11/14/07
How do you get someone to be humble and conform to what you want? Hit them where it hurts, the wallet! Stephon was fined $195K for leaving and missing he Phoenix game, so he promptly showed up in Los Angeles today and played against the Clippers.
Isiah gets the decision in Round 1. I just hope there is a Round 2, 3 or 4, because I want to know which skeletons Isiah has in his closet that Starbury knows about! I mean, BLACKMAIL FOR PLAYING TIME!!! It doesn’t get better than that!
