Let Him Be: Why Hasheem Thabeet Should Stay in the D-League
March 9th, 2010 by A. Enslen Butler No comments »
Hasheem Thabeet is back with the Memphis Grizzlies.
Remember all of that talk about letting the second overall pick in the 2009 NBA Draft work on his game and get experience?
Well, it lasted all of six games with the Dakota Wizards.
Thabeet averaged a double-double with 13.8 points and 11.2 rebounds along with 3.17 blocks on 50 percent shooting in 31.3 minutes.
For what it was worth, Dakota went 5-1 with Thabeet in the lineup.
So why didn't the team leave him in the D-League? I would understand if there was an injury to the frontcourt. If Marc Gasol or Zach Randolph was hurt, I would understand his return.
But nothing will change. Hamed Haddadi will get the majority of the backup center minutes and Thabeet will be stapled to the bench.
I do not know the harm of leaving him in the D-League for the rest of the season. Any team that struggles to ...
Bench Blues: Reserves Are The Real Reason Pistons Are Struggling
March 9th, 2010 by Jay Wierenga No comments »
On Sunday night the Detroit Pistons ended another long losing streak, unleashing an offense that has been stagnant at best this season.
While the win was a bit of good news for the Pistons, it highlighted what has been a season-long problem for the team.
The Pistons only go as far as their bench takes them.
Heading into this season, the bench appeared to be one of this team's biggest assets. New acquisitions Charlie Villanueva and Ben Gordon joined Will Bynum, Jason Maxiell and, hopefully, a productive trio of talented rookies.
As we all know, injuries have absolutely decimated this team. However, the Pistons have been relatively healthy the second half of the season, yet they are losing ground even quicker than before in the Central Division standings.
There are plenty of reasons, but the overriding culprit has been the anemic offense of the second unit. Too often, the starters are leaving close games to ...
The Ultimate Kevin Durant YouTube Highlight Reel
March 9th, 2010 by Casey Womack No comments »
Not many players reach the elite status in their first three years in the league. In fact, nobody in the league has reached elite status that quick.
Sure, you can say LeBron James. But who else? Kobe didn't become a premier player until around year five. His first few years he was able to ease into the position with a stellar cast around him. He was a great player, but not elite, yet.
Kevin Durant has almost taken the Oklahoma City Thunder from being a horrible team to a solid playoff contender in one season. If the season ended today, the Thunder would be playing in the post-season and have the 6th seed in the tough Western conference.
Is he already an elite player? It's definitely up for debate. If he's not, he's extremely close to the rare status. But ...
By the Numbers: All-Time NBA Players by Jersey, No. 0-34
March 9th, 2010 by Bryan Toporek No comments »
LeBron James made headlines lately when news broke that he'd officially be switching his jersey number from No. 23 to No. 6 next year, in honor of Michael Jordan.
James' jersey switch has caused some controversy, as NBA fans wondered why he'd switch from the uniform number of one great player (MJ) to No. 6. Bill Russell, who won 11 NBA championships, happened to wear the very same No. 6 during his playing days.
That got us at B/R thinking...who were the best players to ever wear each jersey number in the NBA?
And thus, with the help of the NBA's retired jersey list, the 50 Best Players ever, and some tough judgment calls...we've arrived at the definitive "Best NBA Player to Ever Wear X Number" list.
(A huge tip of the hat to Basketball-reference.com as well...without their lists of every NBA player to ever wear each jersey number, the No's. 25-30 ...
After Further Review: A Re-Do of the 2009 NBA Draft
March 9th, 2010 by Jose Salviati No comments »
The 2009 NBA Draft was held on June 25, 2009 in the WaMu Theatre at Madison Square Garden New York City, New York. The 2009 NBA Draft do-over was held on March 6th, 2010 in the Salviati man-cave in Foothill Ranch, California. The rules of the draft do-over were simple. Each team picked a player in the spot they were assigned. No trades.
Each team picks the player that was either the best player available, the player that best fit their team or a player with an eye to the future. Teams that selected a player with an eye towards the future did so in most cases because a player picked would not see much playing time this year.
The 2009 draft will not go down in history as the Associations best, but this draft is surprising full of several good contributing players. There ...
As Allen Iverson Searches for Answers, Does He Deserve Our Sympathy?
March 9th, 2010 by Jon Schuman No comments »
Allen Iverson is a broken man.
His four-year old daughter Messiah is suffering from an undisclosed, but believed to be serious, illness.
Tawanna Iverson, his wife of eight and a half years, recently filed for divorce and requested custody of their five children.
Tawanna is Allen’s childhood sweetheart, and the woman he spoke of when he told Stephen A. Smith, “I’d die for her, and die without her.”
Numerous NBA insiders, including Smith, are also claiming that Iverson is battling alcohol and gambling problems.
Smith recently wrote, “If numerous NBA sources are telling the truth—and there’s no reason to believe they’d do otherwise in a situation of this magnitude—Iverson will either drink himself into oblivion or gamble his life away.”
Should we feel bad for the man who once played and lived with such confidence that he was dubbed "The Answer"?
This is a man who has made some poor choices in his life, and he certainly ...
The NBA’s Unlucky Seven: A Few Players Who We Wish Would Retire
March 9th, 2010 by Tom Delamater No comments »
Sometimes, they just hang on too long.
In other cases, they never had much going on in the first place.
Regardless, it’s no surprise that an NBA player would try to extend his career for as long as possible. The competition, the travel, the camaraderie, the perks, the pay…it’s a life well-lived, for much too short of a time.
No matter. There comes a time when, for his own sake, the sake of his teammates, and the sanity of the fans, he has to hang ‘em up.
We could probably argue the merits of a dozen or two possibilities. For now, here are seven leading candidates.Begin Slideshow
Blowing up the NBA and Re-Drafting: Who Would Go Where and Why (Round 1)
March 9th, 2010 by Chad Waylon Pouncy No comments »
The NBA has been facing some financial struggles as of late. These money trouble has the league facing a potential work stoppage in 2011.
Let's say the NBA wanted a new look, a complete overhaul in an attempt to attract some attention and give hurting markets a fresh start. In an unprecedented move, the NBA decides to start from scratch and re-draft the entire league.
Keeping the lottery system in place, the 14 worst teams are thrown into a weighted pool and draft in the order that the balls come up. To keep the league from becoming too top-heavy, the NBA implements an idea borrowed from the increasingly popular fantasy world, a snake-style draft process.
Here we go with the first ever re-draft in the NBA. Let's join league commissioner David Stern with the first pick. Begin Slideshow
Tyreke Evans vs. Stephen Curry: Rookie of the Year Tale of the Tape
March 9th, 2010 by Lucas Shapiro No comments »
The Rookie of the Year race has had its up and downs for both of these Californians. Tyreke Evans and Stephen Curry had a tough start in the league, but once they got hot, many teams have had a tough time stopping them.
In order to determine who I think has the edge right now, I made five criteria to base who has done better so far. The criteria is based on scoring, defense, rebounding, passing, personality and leadership. Count how many edges each player has to determine the winner. Begin Slideshow
NBA’s Top 10 Point Guards in the Game Today
March 9th, 2010 by Blake Mehigan No comments »
Dwayne Wade is arguably one of the best players in the NBA today. Its hard to peg down what position he plays, as he can play a little point guard and a little two guard. At this point I think it is safe to say he is a two guard, who handles the ball.
Wade is averaging more assists than most of the league's point guards, so does that constitute him being a point guard? Mario Chalmers and Carlos Arroyo play opposite Wade, both players are fairly traditional point guards, so it may be a safe assumption to say that Wade by position is a shooting guard.
But what makes a point guard? A guy who handles the ball? Someone who sets up and calls plays? A guy between x-height and y-height? A guy who averages x-assists per night? A team leader?
Perhaps a player that is solid in pick-n-pop/pick-n-roll situations? Good ...