1. Los Angeles Lakers (45-19)
2. Boston Celtics (46-15)
3. San Antonio Spurs (51-12)
4. Dallas Mavericks (47-17)
5. Chicago Bulls (44-18)
6. Miami Heat (43-17)
7. Oklahoma City Thunder (39-23)
8. Orlando Magic (40-24)
9. Atlanta Hawks (37-26)
10. Portland Trailblazers (36-27)
11. Denver Nuggets (37-27)
12. Memphis Grizzles (36-29)
13. Philadelphia 76ers (32-30)
14. New York Knicks (33-29)
15. Phoenix Suns (32-29)
16. New Orleans (37-29)
17. Houston Rockets (33-32)
18. Utah Jazz (33-31)
19. Indiana Pacers (27-35)
20. Golden State Warriors(27-35)
21. Charlotte Bobcats (26-37)
22. Milwaukee Bucks (23-38)
23. Los Angeles Clippers (24-40)
24. New Jersey Nets (19-43)
25. Detroit Pistons (23-41)
26. Toronto Raptors (17-46)
27. Washington Wizards (15-43)
28. Sacramento Kings (15-45)
29. Minnesota Timberwolves (15-50)
30. Cleveland Cavilers (12-50)
Monday, March 7, 2011
Monday, February 28, 2011
NBA Power Rankings
1. San Antonio Spurs (49-10)
2. Dallas Mavericks (43-16)
3. Los Angeles Lakers (42-19)
4. Boston Celtics (42-15)
5. Chicago Bulls (40-17)
6. Miami Heat (43-17)
7. Orlando Magic (38-22)
8. Oklahoma City Thunder (36-22)
9. Atlanta Hawks (35-23)
10. Portland Trailblazers (33-25)
11. New Orleans Hornets (35-26)
12. Denver Nuggets (34-26)
13. New York Knicks (30-27)
14. Memphis Grizzles (33-28)
15. Phoenix Suns (30-27)
16. Philadelphia 76ers (30-29)
17. Houston Rockets (30-31)
18. Utah Jazz (32-28)
19. Indiana Pacers (26-32)
20. Charlotte Bobcats (26-33)
21. Golden State Warriors (26-32)
22. Milwaukee Bucks (22-36)
23. Los Angeles Clippers (21-39)
24. Detroit Pistons (22-39)
25. New Jersey Nets (17-42)
26. Toronto Raptors (16-44)
27. Washington Wizards (15-43)
28. Sacramento Kings (14-43)
29. Minnesota Timberwolves (14-46)
30. Cleveland Cavilers (11-48)
2. Dallas Mavericks (43-16)
3. Los Angeles Lakers (42-19)
4. Boston Celtics (42-15)
5. Chicago Bulls (40-17)
6. Miami Heat (43-17)
7. Orlando Magic (38-22)
8. Oklahoma City Thunder (36-22)
9. Atlanta Hawks (35-23)
10. Portland Trailblazers (33-25)
11. New Orleans Hornets (35-26)
12. Denver Nuggets (34-26)
13. New York Knicks (30-27)
14. Memphis Grizzles (33-28)
15. Phoenix Suns (30-27)
16. Philadelphia 76ers (30-29)
17. Houston Rockets (30-31)
18. Utah Jazz (32-28)
19. Indiana Pacers (26-32)
20. Charlotte Bobcats (26-33)
21. Golden State Warriors (26-32)
22. Milwaukee Bucks (22-36)
23. Los Angeles Clippers (21-39)
24. Detroit Pistons (22-39)
25. New Jersey Nets (17-42)
26. Toronto Raptors (16-44)
27. Washington Wizards (15-43)
28. Sacramento Kings (14-43)
29. Minnesota Timberwolves (14-46)
30. Cleveland Cavilers (11-48)
Saturday, February 26, 2011
NBA Trade Grades
The NBA trade deadline passed just a couple of days ago, and many teams made moves to try and either bolster there line-up for the playoffs, or to try and acquire young talent and draft picks for the future. So we decided to give teams that made major moves at the deadline grades on how well we think they did.
New York Knicks: A-
The New York Knicks made the biggest news out of any team in the NBA with a blockbuster deal that landed them a true superstar in Carmelo Anthony. This was a great move for a Knicks team, that without Melo was going to be stuck in mediocrity possibly until 2012.(the next great class of free agents) Now they are a team with two legitimate superstars, a good veteran point guard with Billups, and a solid all-around rookie in Landry Fields. The only thing stopping New York from being a true contender for an NBA championship is more size and depth in their Frontcourt. With that being said, I still believe they are a team that can make a little noise in the playoffs and possibly give a team like the Bulls, Celtics, or Heat a scare.
Portland Trailblazers: B
In a trade that seemed to be under the radar, the Blazers made a nice move acquiring Gerald Wallace just a few hours before the 3 P.M. deadline on Thursday. Now although Wallace is not a superstar like Melo or Deron Williams, he is a great athlete, good scorer, and solid defender. When you first read what Portland gave up to get Wallace it may not look like much but, Pryzbilla, Dante Cunningham, and Sean Marks are all guys over 6 foot 8 and provide great depth for Portland’s frontcourt. Now with Marcus Camby injured and these 3 bigs gone Lamarcus Aldridge is the only true big Portland has left. This would become a real problem if the Blazers are matched up in the first round with a team like the Lakers, whose size and length would simply just overwhelm them. Portland took a risk trading size and depth for scoring and athleticism. Will it pay off? Only time will tell.
Utah Jazz: C
In a move that shocked and surprised many, the Utah Jazz traded all-star point guard Deron Williams to the New Jersey Nets for Devin Harris, Derrick Favors, a 2011 first round pick from New Jersey, 2012 first round pick from Golden State, and 3 million dollars. To me the best part of this deal for the Jazz is the 2 first round picks, as both will probably lottery picks. Devin Harris is classic example of a looter in a riot and Derrick Favors is a project, but does have a nice upside. Now I know that in the NBA you will never get equal value for a great player like Williams, but I think the Jazz could have and held on to him and waited for a better deal.
Oklahoma City Thunder: A-
The Thunder made two big trades on Thursday, let’s start with the more publicized, in which the Thunder acquired Kendrick Perkins and Nate Robinson for Jeff Green and Nenad Krstic. This is a great move for Oklahoma City who needed to add size and toughness in their frontcourt and that is exactly what they got with Perkins. Now they have a big man who can guard the likes of Gasol and Bynum for the Lakers and Duncan for the Spurs. Plus Nate Robinson is a guy who can come off the Thunder bench and give them scoring and energy. The second move they made before the deadline was trading away D.J. White and Morris Peterson for Bobcats center Nazr Mohammed. Although Mohammed is not as good of an interior defender as Perkins, he is still a major upgrade over Krstic and will pay dividends if the Thunder happen to meet the Spurs or the Lakers in playoffs.
New York Knicks: A-
The New York Knicks made the biggest news out of any team in the NBA with a blockbuster deal that landed them a true superstar in Carmelo Anthony. This was a great move for a Knicks team, that without Melo was going to be stuck in mediocrity possibly until 2012.(the next great class of free agents) Now they are a team with two legitimate superstars, a good veteran point guard with Billups, and a solid all-around rookie in Landry Fields. The only thing stopping New York from being a true contender for an NBA championship is more size and depth in their Frontcourt. With that being said, I still believe they are a team that can make a little noise in the playoffs and possibly give a team like the Bulls, Celtics, or Heat a scare.
Portland Trailblazers: B
In a trade that seemed to be under the radar, the Blazers made a nice move acquiring Gerald Wallace just a few hours before the 3 P.M. deadline on Thursday. Now although Wallace is not a superstar like Melo or Deron Williams, he is a great athlete, good scorer, and solid defender. When you first read what Portland gave up to get Wallace it may not look like much but, Pryzbilla, Dante Cunningham, and Sean Marks are all guys over 6 foot 8 and provide great depth for Portland’s frontcourt. Now with Marcus Camby injured and these 3 bigs gone Lamarcus Aldridge is the only true big Portland has left. This would become a real problem if the Blazers are matched up in the first round with a team like the Lakers, whose size and length would simply just overwhelm them. Portland took a risk trading size and depth for scoring and athleticism. Will it pay off? Only time will tell.
Utah Jazz: C
In a move that shocked and surprised many, the Utah Jazz traded all-star point guard Deron Williams to the New Jersey Nets for Devin Harris, Derrick Favors, a 2011 first round pick from New Jersey, 2012 first round pick from Golden State, and 3 million dollars. To me the best part of this deal for the Jazz is the 2 first round picks, as both will probably lottery picks. Devin Harris is classic example of a looter in a riot and Derrick Favors is a project, but does have a nice upside. Now I know that in the NBA you will never get equal value for a great player like Williams, but I think the Jazz could have and held on to him and waited for a better deal.
Oklahoma City Thunder: A-
The Thunder made two big trades on Thursday, let’s start with the more publicized, in which the Thunder acquired Kendrick Perkins and Nate Robinson for Jeff Green and Nenad Krstic. This is a great move for Oklahoma City who needed to add size and toughness in their frontcourt and that is exactly what they got with Perkins. Now they have a big man who can guard the likes of Gasol and Bynum for the Lakers and Duncan for the Spurs. Plus Nate Robinson is a guy who can come off the Thunder bench and give them scoring and energy. The second move they made before the deadline was trading away D.J. White and Morris Peterson for Bobcats center Nazr Mohammed. Although Mohammed is not as good of an interior defender as Perkins, he is still a major upgrade over Krstic and will pay dividends if the Thunder happen to meet the Spurs or the Lakers in playoffs.
Tuesday, February 22, 2011
NBA Midseason Awards
The All-Star break has come to an end and it's time to hand out the NBA Midseason awards. These are the award winners of the various NBA awards through this point of the season, not necessarily who we think will win the awards when they are given out later in the year.
MVP: Derrick Rose, NBA fans have heard enough about how Rose and the Bulls have only had Carlos Boozer and Joakim Noah together in their lineup 9 games this season and still are the 2 seed in the Eastern Conference, but consider this: Could other super stars do what Rose is doing with the little talent he has had around him? Only a few players could carry a team the way Rose has carried the Bulls thus far which is why he is the lead canidate. Lebron carried worse teams to better records during his years in Cleveland and has 2 MVP's to show for it. Kobe Bryant carried those awful Laker teams in 2005 and 2006 to worse records but had far less talent around him (Kwame Brown was arguably the 3rd best player on those teams, seriously, look up the stats.) and while he never won an MVP for his efforts he easily deserved it.
The point? Early this season, the Bulls looked similar to Lebron's Cleveland teams; solid starters and bench players but no real second option on the offensive end specifically when Carlos Boozer was nursing an injured hand, still Rose had them hovering around the top of the Eastern Conference. Soon after Boozer's return from injury the Bulls lost Joakim Noah, the teams best defensive big man and rebounder, and once again Rose had to put the Bull's on his back and, once again, he succeeded and went 22-8 without Noah. The MVP award is for the most valuable player, not the best, and Rose has been more valuable than anyone this season so far.
Defensive Player of the Year: Kevin Garnett, Garnett is the heart and soul of the Celtics and, while his offensive skills have slipped with age, his defense has never been better. His block numbers are down but everyone knows that defensive player of the year isn't about stats, its about impact. The only guy who makes a bigger physical impact on defense is Dwight Howard, but Garnett anchors the leagues best defensive team with his mental impact. His intensity is unmatched and while he has been known to only pick on younger, smaller players, he does intimidate players of all ages, sizes, and skill sets. All that being said, what swayed me was watching Garnett at this past weekends All-Star festivities.
Garnett was sitting court side during the Dunk Contest and celebrating each dunk with a big smile and outburst of joy alongside Miami Heat guard Dwyane Wade. This may sound surprising but there was something about Garnett's expressions, every time he and Wade would high-five or jump around together in reaction to the rim rattling dunks, he would have an evil smile on his face. Garnett is befriending the same guy who he will be battling for the Eastern Conference title with and by playing nice with him gains a competitive advantage, even if Wade loses a tiny amount of competitiveness against the Celtics, to Garnett it's worth it. The Celtics, and Garnett especially seem to have had a chip on their shoulder this year and it may come from the heart breaking loss to the Lakers in game 7 of the finals last year. Each Celtic saw and felt the confetti falling from the rafters of the Staples Center and heard the cheers of the Lakers fans that will haunt them forever. It seems they have decided that they will never, ever, let that happen again, and Garnett's defense and play style have reflected that mentality.
Simply put; the best defensive player on the best defensive team deserves something, which is why Garnett is my DPOTY.
Rookie of the Year: Blake Griffin, Do I even have to write anything? Just go Youtube "Blake Griffin"
(It's to bad John Wall has been hurt all year, otherwise this could have actually been a race.)
Coach of the Year: Greg Popovich, Pops has taken a Spurs team that was projected to be to old and finished, to having the best record in the league, all while Tim Duncan has averaged career lows. Tom Thibodeau of the Bulls is a close second but Popovich has the edge as of now.
6th Man of the Year: Jason Terry, Terry is shooting a career high from the field and from beyond the arc, he's averaging almost 20 points a game for the Mavericks..blah blah blah. I'll just be honest, who actually cares about this award? 6th men are important but what makes Jason Terry so much more important than J.J Barea? I say if we are handing out 6th man of the year lets hand out 12th man of the year, Brian Scalabrine would rack those up like Jordan racked up MVP's. There could even be 12th man statistics taken: Cheers Per Game, how loud, supportive, and coherent the cheers were. D.J Mbenga would have loud cheers but would be hurt in this category when his teammates could only hear grunts and "Baby Ruth" chants like Sloth from The Goonies. Another stat: Towel Waving Velocity, how fast and enthusiastically the 12th man wave's towels in celebration of big dunks and buzzer beaters. Kevin Love set the record for Towel Waving Velocity during the 2010 FIBA Championships as he rode the bench to a gold medal.
Terry gets my 6th Man of the Year award and Brian Scalabrine wins 12th man for the 10th straight year, his CPG and TWV are off the charts.
All-NBA Teams
All NBA 1st Team:
G: Derrick Rose
G: Kobe Bryant
F: Kevin Durant
F: Lebron James
C: Dwight Howard
All NBA 2nd Team:
G: Russell Westbrook
G: Dwyane Wade
F: Carmelo Anthony
F: Dirk Nowitzki
C: Amare Stoudemire
All NBA 3rd Team:
G: Chris Paul
G: Monta Ellis
F: Blake Griffin
F: Kevin Garnett
C: Pau Gasol
<a href="http://www.hypersmash.com/dreamhost/" id="AK977965">DreamHost Code</a>
Written By: Matt Coan
MVP: Derrick Rose, NBA fans have heard enough about how Rose and the Bulls have only had Carlos Boozer and Joakim Noah together in their lineup 9 games this season and still are the 2 seed in the Eastern Conference, but consider this: Could other super stars do what Rose is doing with the little talent he has had around him? Only a few players could carry a team the way Rose has carried the Bulls thus far which is why he is the lead canidate. Lebron carried worse teams to better records during his years in Cleveland and has 2 MVP's to show for it. Kobe Bryant carried those awful Laker teams in 2005 and 2006 to worse records but had far less talent around him (Kwame Brown was arguably the 3rd best player on those teams, seriously, look up the stats.) and while he never won an MVP for his efforts he easily deserved it.
The point? Early this season, the Bulls looked similar to Lebron's Cleveland teams; solid starters and bench players but no real second option on the offensive end specifically when Carlos Boozer was nursing an injured hand, still Rose had them hovering around the top of the Eastern Conference. Soon after Boozer's return from injury the Bulls lost Joakim Noah, the teams best defensive big man and rebounder, and once again Rose had to put the Bull's on his back and, once again, he succeeded and went 22-8 without Noah. The MVP award is for the most valuable player, not the best, and Rose has been more valuable than anyone this season so far.
Defensive Player of the Year: Kevin Garnett, Garnett is the heart and soul of the Celtics and, while his offensive skills have slipped with age, his defense has never been better. His block numbers are down but everyone knows that defensive player of the year isn't about stats, its about impact. The only guy who makes a bigger physical impact on defense is Dwight Howard, but Garnett anchors the leagues best defensive team with his mental impact. His intensity is unmatched and while he has been known to only pick on younger, smaller players, he does intimidate players of all ages, sizes, and skill sets. All that being said, what swayed me was watching Garnett at this past weekends All-Star festivities.
Garnett was sitting court side during the Dunk Contest and celebrating each dunk with a big smile and outburst of joy alongside Miami Heat guard Dwyane Wade. This may sound surprising but there was something about Garnett's expressions, every time he and Wade would high-five or jump around together in reaction to the rim rattling dunks, he would have an evil smile on his face. Garnett is befriending the same guy who he will be battling for the Eastern Conference title with and by playing nice with him gains a competitive advantage, even if Wade loses a tiny amount of competitiveness against the Celtics, to Garnett it's worth it. The Celtics, and Garnett especially seem to have had a chip on their shoulder this year and it may come from the heart breaking loss to the Lakers in game 7 of the finals last year. Each Celtic saw and felt the confetti falling from the rafters of the Staples Center and heard the cheers of the Lakers fans that will haunt them forever. It seems they have decided that they will never, ever, let that happen again, and Garnett's defense and play style have reflected that mentality.
Simply put; the best defensive player on the best defensive team deserves something, which is why Garnett is my DPOTY.
Rookie of the Year: Blake Griffin, Do I even have to write anything? Just go Youtube "Blake Griffin"
(It's to bad John Wall has been hurt all year, otherwise this could have actually been a race.)
Coach of the Year: Greg Popovich, Pops has taken a Spurs team that was projected to be to old and finished, to having the best record in the league, all while Tim Duncan has averaged career lows. Tom Thibodeau of the Bulls is a close second but Popovich has the edge as of now.
6th Man of the Year: Jason Terry, Terry is shooting a career high from the field and from beyond the arc, he's averaging almost 20 points a game for the Mavericks..blah blah blah. I'll just be honest, who actually cares about this award? 6th men are important but what makes Jason Terry so much more important than J.J Barea? I say if we are handing out 6th man of the year lets hand out 12th man of the year, Brian Scalabrine would rack those up like Jordan racked up MVP's. There could even be 12th man statistics taken: Cheers Per Game, how loud, supportive, and coherent the cheers were. D.J Mbenga would have loud cheers but would be hurt in this category when his teammates could only hear grunts and "Baby Ruth" chants like Sloth from The Goonies. Another stat: Towel Waving Velocity, how fast and enthusiastically the 12th man wave's towels in celebration of big dunks and buzzer beaters. Kevin Love set the record for Towel Waving Velocity during the 2010 FIBA Championships as he rode the bench to a gold medal.
Terry gets my 6th Man of the Year award and Brian Scalabrine wins 12th man for the 10th straight year, his CPG and TWV are off the charts.
All-NBA Teams
All NBA 1st Team:
G: Derrick Rose
G: Kobe Bryant
F: Kevin Durant
F: Lebron James
C: Dwight Howard
All NBA 2nd Team:
G: Russell Westbrook
G: Dwyane Wade
F: Carmelo Anthony
F: Dirk Nowitzki
C: Amare Stoudemire
All NBA 3rd Team:
G: Chris Paul
G: Monta Ellis
F: Blake Griffin
F: Kevin Garnett
C: Pau Gasol
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Written By: Matt Coan
Friday, February 11, 2011
The Fantasy Draft...IN REAL LIFE
Since I was young, I've always been intrigued by the idea of a "fantasy draft" in a major sport. For those folks who never played Madden or any type of modern NBA video game and don't know what a fantasy draft is, let me explain. In a fantasy draft, every player in the given league would be put into a draft pool and the teams of that league would draft the players until they each had a full team. While this logistically could never happen and would never work, it is a cool thing to think about, especially in the NBA where it is easiest to find the best and most impactful players. I decided to go through what the first round of a draft like this would be like, but before I do, many questions need to be answered.
First of all; how would the league decide who got the first overall pick?
This is probably the toughest thing to figure out, would the league create a lottery similar to the current format of the NBA draft, a format in which each team has a shot at number one and higher odds are given to the teams finishing with the worst records. This wouldn't work because the worst teams in the league shouldn't get a better shot at number one solely because they were bad. What would make more sense is giving every team an equal shot at the top pick, but that is too simple. A creative idea? The draft order would go in order of fan attendance percentage this season. This may sound far-fetched but why not reward the fans that get to the games, and cheer on their team. No organization would get a clear advantage and the best fans deserve the best players to cheer for, too bad Miami has Lebron and Wade. Surprisingly the biggest markets don't actually round out the top attendance and the best teams don't have the highest percentage of fan attendance, the Cavaliers are in the top 10 for Christ's sake! Based off this plan the top 5 picks would go as followed:
1. Dallas Mavericks
2. Chicago Bulls
3. Portland Trail Blazers
4. Orlando Magic
5. Miami Heat
Wow, the Heat made the top 5? Way to go Heat fans, you have 2 of the 3 best players in the league and you can't even crack the top 3.
My point is only Chicago is a top 5 market in the top 5 so the size of the city doesn't increase fan support, this system is fair for all.
How would salary structure work?
Another big issue but one that is easy to figure out. Based on pick that round, the player would get paid a set amount. The top 10 picks would get a 3 year max contract at about $14 million a year, and the salaries would scale from there. The next 10 picks would get a set amount and so on. You may think no players would ever agree to this and would probably strike but I don't care this is my column.
Could teams trade picks?
Yes! This is where strategy would be involved. A team could trade outside certain salary groups if they did not like any players and pick the players they thought would fall later for a cheaper amount. If a team picking at the 10 spot did not find a player worth a max contract, they could trade the pick and fall into a cheaper group, a lot like what some NFL teams do with the first overall pick, trade down so they don't have to over pay a guy they don't "love".
With all this figured out, we could now see how valuable each NBA player would be. Would Blake Griffin get picked before some older superstars just because of his age and room to grow? Where would old timers like Kevin Garnett and Ray Allen be picked? Who are the most valuable players in the NBA? Let's begin.
1. Dallas Mavericks, Lebron James: No shocker here, Lebron could be the most talented player of all time. His mixture of speed, power, and size has to make him the number one overall pick. He's decently young, he's healthy, and he would be easy to build around. The Cleveland Cavaliers went from the best regular season team last year to maybe the worst of all time this year after his departure, 'nuff said.
2. Chicago Bulls, Kevin Durant: Durant broke out year last year and became the youngest player to win the scoring title in NBA history. After starting this year a bit slow, tired, and injured Durant is back playing at the MVP level that we saw last year. He is an NBA baby at 22 years old and will be in contention for the scoring title for the next 10 years. This summer he lead the U.S to a gold medal in the World Basketball Championship and won tournament MVP. His heart and character are unmatched and he is one of the most humble super stars to ever play in the NBA. He and Lebron could both be legitimate number one overall picks and the Bulls would be happy to have him.
3. Portland Trail Blazers, Dwight Howard: With the third pick, the Blazers would take Dwight Howard, arguably the most dominate player in the league, especially on the defensive side of the court. Howard has won the past 2 defensive player of the year awards and with his combination of size and strength he protects the rim better than anyone in the league. In the past some have been critical of his offense and expected more out of someone with the freakish size. However he has but he has shown vast improvement since working with Hakeem Olajuwon in the summer. Howard is taking more shots, has more developed post moves and has upped his points per game average by 4 since last year, from 18 to 22. A proven center is almost always picked ahead of anyone else but in this case Howard falls to 3rd. Not bad for Portland.
4. Orlando Magic, Derrick Rose: Other then Kevin Durant, the best and brightest up and coming star is the 22 year old Derrick Rose. Rose is the current leader in the NBA MVP race and unless Kevin Durant or Lebron James explode in the second half of the season he will win it. Rose is not a conventional point guard and is more of a scorer than a passer, that being said he still has good passing ability and is improving on defense. This summer Rose took a part of his game he thought needed improvement, his 3 point shot, and worked at it. Rose's 3 point shot is so improved that not only can opposing point guards not sag off Rose at the 3 point line, but they must defend it, and get a hand in his face, otherwise, he can be deadly. Rose and Durant are the future of the league and both have huge room for improvement, we will be watching them shine for along time.
5. Miami Heat, Blake Griffin: Yep, a rookie is in my top 5, but Blake Griffin is not the average rookie. Blake's stats are similar to Tim Duncan's as a rookie, Blake is averaging 23 and 13 and has easily already broken the record for Sportscenter Top Ten Plays with his crowd pleasing dunks. Blake will someday be the best Power Forward in the league, and maybe the best player, as long as he doesn't break his neck after falling from a crazy dunk. Blake wants to win and has changed the culture on his current Clippers team. Anyone who can motivate Barren Davis to get in shape deserves to be picked this high and I see a long, epic career for Blake Superior.
6. Boston Celtics, Kobe Bryant: Talk about crazy, the Boston Celtics get Kobe Bryant at pick number 6. Taking Kobe this high may be a little questionable, Kobe has had an outstanding career but has aged. He came straight out of high school so he has a lot of NBA minutes logged on his body and the big question is how much longer does he have. He is still a top 5 player in the current NBA and I think would be worth the risk taking so high in the draft to try and chase a title.
7. Los Angeles Lakers, Dwyane Wade: Wade falls a little in this draft because while he is a top NBA player he has battled injuries his entire career and I would not be surprised if one day his game changed overnight because of wear and tear on his body. That being said, Wade is still an explosive scorer and a proven winner who can take over any game any time. He had one of the best NBA final's performances of all time and can be the number one option on any championship level team.
8. New York Knicks, Carmelo Anthony: Carmelo has been wanting out of Denver for a while now and has always wanted to go to the Knicks. Melo gets his wish here and ends up in New York. Anthony hasn't been great this year but with distractions following him around he hasn't been able to focus on his game totally and if he does end up getting traded, I see him exploding and becoming his old self again. He is one of the best offensive players in the league and is deadly in the clutch, another great guy to get at the 8 spot.
9. Oklahoma City Thunder, Chris Paul: Paul falls a bit in this draft because of copious amount of good point guards in today's NBA. Paul's production has fallen since coming down with a knee injury last season and seems to be less explosive. Still he is playing at an all-star level and makes everyone around him better. He is currently has the Hornets as the 5th seed in the West with a 32-22 record. He is on a team that lacks a lot of talent and has carried them all year on a bad knee. Easily the best pure point guard in the league.
10. Cleveland Cavaliers, Russell Westbrook:
11. Utah Jazz, Rajon Rondo:
12. San Antonio Spurs, Deron Williams:
This is where we see the wealth of point guards start to take shape. You can't go wrong with any of these guys. I have Westbrook ahead of Williams and Rondo because he is younger and has more upside then the others. While he does play with Kevin Durant., we've see flashes of greatness from Westbrook all year and could easily be the number one option on a winning team. Westbrook is a young, tough, hard working athletic specimen and a guy who does everything well and has no real weaknesses. No knocking Williams but I'd take Rondo over him and build a team around Rondo's passing ability with some pure scorers. Rondo's downside is he will never be the number one scorer on a team and without offensive weapons around him, his talents would be wasted. Luckily the Jazz would be able to get those pure scorers later in the draft and be set for a good team.
13. Indiana Pacers, Amare Stoudemire: People questioned the Knick's when they gave Stoudemire a max contract and thought they over paid for a guy who plays questionable defense and has battled injuries his entire career, so far those critics have been wrong. Amare has put the Knicks on his back and become a great leader, something we never really saw in Phoenix. He has a near unstoppable post game and has even developed a very reliable 16 foot jump shot that makes him even more of a weapon in New York.
14. Golden State Warriors, Manu Ginobili: Manu is a proven clutch scorer and has helped the Spurs win rings with his takeover ability. Any Spur is going to be a team first guy and he is not excluded. He will sacrifice his body to score in the paint and is as tough as any European player can get. The real life Warrior's are missing guys like this so he is perfect for them at 14.
15. Phoenix Suns, Pau Gasol: I hate Pau Gasol. I hate that he is soft. I hate that he flops, I hate his blindingly white legs, and I hate his game. But I respect it. Gasol has the best footwork and post moves in the NBA and while he doesn't like to bang in the post like a Dwight Howard or Carlos Boozer he is a great player. He took over game 7 of the finals last year when Kobe, the so called assassin, went 6-24 shooing in an Laker win. The question must be raised of whether or not Pau could be the number one guy on a team, and I say no, but I think a team would take a risk of it. Pau is a good player but I don't see any team with him as the number one guy winning anything.
16. Los Angeles Clippers, Monta Ellis: Monta's game has taken great strides this year and had he not gotten hurt he would probably be in the all-star game. An explosive scorer who can create his own shot, Ellis has now developed his defense and has really improved this year. He does benefit a little from being in a run and gun offense but I think he would be fine in a half court game. He is sort of small for a 2 guard which is probably what drops him down to 15 but his athletic ability can help him through that. Ellis is a good pick up at 16.
17. Houston Rockets, Dirk Nowitzki: Dirk Nowitzki is also a non-banger, white legged, European 7 footer, and yet I love him! Dirk has been one of the most consistent players the past 10 years and seems to get 25 points 8 rebounds a night with ease. He can shoot as well as a guard from about any range and his fade-away jump shot from the post is deadly. If we were ranking NBA players based on skill he would easily be in the top 10 and he falls to 17 here because he is old. Houston basically rents Dirk while he is on his last legs to try and chase a title before he falls off for good.
18. Denver Nuggets, John Wall: Wall is the second rookie to be picked in the first round and quietly has had a great year. He has battled injuries and terrible teammates but still has great numbers for a rookie. Someday he will be in the "Who is the best point guard in the league?" argument and Denver will wait for that while building around the future franchise player.
19. New Orleans Hornets, Kevin Love: Sad that the league's leading rebounder has fallen this far but Love does in my draft. The Hornets get a guy who will be in contention for the leagues rebounding title for the next decade and has developing offensive skills and will be in the all-star game for the first time this year. He puts up Moses Malone like numbers and if he ends up even close to Moses in his career that would be great.
20. Charlotte Bobcats, Eric Gordon: One of the most underrated players in the NBA is being taken at 20. Eric Gordon, the young shooting guard on the Clippers, was on all-star pace before getting hurt earlier in the season. Gordon has taken his game to new heights this year and clearly benefited from the FIBA Championship this summer in Turkey. Gordon can get to the rim with ease and knock down shots from anywhere on the floor but the strength of his game might be his defense; Gordon shows no fear and will guard anyone in the league and do a good job of it.
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First of all; how would the league decide who got the first overall pick?
This is probably the toughest thing to figure out, would the league create a lottery similar to the current format of the NBA draft, a format in which each team has a shot at number one and higher odds are given to the teams finishing with the worst records. This wouldn't work because the worst teams in the league shouldn't get a better shot at number one solely because they were bad. What would make more sense is giving every team an equal shot at the top pick, but that is too simple. A creative idea? The draft order would go in order of fan attendance percentage this season. This may sound far-fetched but why not reward the fans that get to the games, and cheer on their team. No organization would get a clear advantage and the best fans deserve the best players to cheer for, too bad Miami has Lebron and Wade. Surprisingly the biggest markets don't actually round out the top attendance and the best teams don't have the highest percentage of fan attendance, the Cavaliers are in the top 10 for Christ's sake! Based off this plan the top 5 picks would go as followed:
1. Dallas Mavericks
2. Chicago Bulls
3. Portland Trail Blazers
4. Orlando Magic
5. Miami Heat
Wow, the Heat made the top 5? Way to go Heat fans, you have 2 of the 3 best players in the league and you can't even crack the top 3.
My point is only Chicago is a top 5 market in the top 5 so the size of the city doesn't increase fan support, this system is fair for all.
How would salary structure work?
Another big issue but one that is easy to figure out. Based on pick that round, the player would get paid a set amount. The top 10 picks would get a 3 year max contract at about $14 million a year, and the salaries would scale from there. The next 10 picks would get a set amount and so on. You may think no players would ever agree to this and would probably strike but I don't care this is my column.
Could teams trade picks?
Yes! This is where strategy would be involved. A team could trade outside certain salary groups if they did not like any players and pick the players they thought would fall later for a cheaper amount. If a team picking at the 10 spot did not find a player worth a max contract, they could trade the pick and fall into a cheaper group, a lot like what some NFL teams do with the first overall pick, trade down so they don't have to over pay a guy they don't "love".
With all this figured out, we could now see how valuable each NBA player would be. Would Blake Griffin get picked before some older superstars just because of his age and room to grow? Where would old timers like Kevin Garnett and Ray Allen be picked? Who are the most valuable players in the NBA? Let's begin.
1. Dallas Mavericks, Lebron James: No shocker here, Lebron could be the most talented player of all time. His mixture of speed, power, and size has to make him the number one overall pick. He's decently young, he's healthy, and he would be easy to build around. The Cleveland Cavaliers went from the best regular season team last year to maybe the worst of all time this year after his departure, 'nuff said.
2. Chicago Bulls, Kevin Durant: Durant broke out year last year and became the youngest player to win the scoring title in NBA history. After starting this year a bit slow, tired, and injured Durant is back playing at the MVP level that we saw last year. He is an NBA baby at 22 years old and will be in contention for the scoring title for the next 10 years. This summer he lead the U.S to a gold medal in the World Basketball Championship and won tournament MVP. His heart and character are unmatched and he is one of the most humble super stars to ever play in the NBA. He and Lebron could both be legitimate number one overall picks and the Bulls would be happy to have him.
3. Portland Trail Blazers, Dwight Howard: With the third pick, the Blazers would take Dwight Howard, arguably the most dominate player in the league, especially on the defensive side of the court. Howard has won the past 2 defensive player of the year awards and with his combination of size and strength he protects the rim better than anyone in the league. In the past some have been critical of his offense and expected more out of someone with the freakish size. However he has but he has shown vast improvement since working with Hakeem Olajuwon in the summer. Howard is taking more shots, has more developed post moves and has upped his points per game average by 4 since last year, from 18 to 22. A proven center is almost always picked ahead of anyone else but in this case Howard falls to 3rd. Not bad for Portland.
4. Orlando Magic, Derrick Rose: Other then Kevin Durant, the best and brightest up and coming star is the 22 year old Derrick Rose. Rose is the current leader in the NBA MVP race and unless Kevin Durant or Lebron James explode in the second half of the season he will win it. Rose is not a conventional point guard and is more of a scorer than a passer, that being said he still has good passing ability and is improving on defense. This summer Rose took a part of his game he thought needed improvement, his 3 point shot, and worked at it. Rose's 3 point shot is so improved that not only can opposing point guards not sag off Rose at the 3 point line, but they must defend it, and get a hand in his face, otherwise, he can be deadly. Rose and Durant are the future of the league and both have huge room for improvement, we will be watching them shine for along time.
5. Miami Heat, Blake Griffin: Yep, a rookie is in my top 5, but Blake Griffin is not the average rookie. Blake's stats are similar to Tim Duncan's as a rookie, Blake is averaging 23 and 13 and has easily already broken the record for Sportscenter Top Ten Plays with his crowd pleasing dunks. Blake will someday be the best Power Forward in the league, and maybe the best player, as long as he doesn't break his neck after falling from a crazy dunk. Blake wants to win and has changed the culture on his current Clippers team. Anyone who can motivate Barren Davis to get in shape deserves to be picked this high and I see a long, epic career for Blake Superior.
6. Boston Celtics, Kobe Bryant: Talk about crazy, the Boston Celtics get Kobe Bryant at pick number 6. Taking Kobe this high may be a little questionable, Kobe has had an outstanding career but has aged. He came straight out of high school so he has a lot of NBA minutes logged on his body and the big question is how much longer does he have. He is still a top 5 player in the current NBA and I think would be worth the risk taking so high in the draft to try and chase a title.
7. Los Angeles Lakers, Dwyane Wade: Wade falls a little in this draft because while he is a top NBA player he has battled injuries his entire career and I would not be surprised if one day his game changed overnight because of wear and tear on his body. That being said, Wade is still an explosive scorer and a proven winner who can take over any game any time. He had one of the best NBA final's performances of all time and can be the number one option on any championship level team.
8. New York Knicks, Carmelo Anthony: Carmelo has been wanting out of Denver for a while now and has always wanted to go to the Knicks. Melo gets his wish here and ends up in New York. Anthony hasn't been great this year but with distractions following him around he hasn't been able to focus on his game totally and if he does end up getting traded, I see him exploding and becoming his old self again. He is one of the best offensive players in the league and is deadly in the clutch, another great guy to get at the 8 spot.
9. Oklahoma City Thunder, Chris Paul: Paul falls a bit in this draft because of copious amount of good point guards in today's NBA. Paul's production has fallen since coming down with a knee injury last season and seems to be less explosive. Still he is playing at an all-star level and makes everyone around him better. He is currently has the Hornets as the 5th seed in the West with a 32-22 record. He is on a team that lacks a lot of talent and has carried them all year on a bad knee. Easily the best pure point guard in the league.
10. Cleveland Cavaliers, Russell Westbrook:
11. Utah Jazz, Rajon Rondo:
12. San Antonio Spurs, Deron Williams:
This is where we see the wealth of point guards start to take shape. You can't go wrong with any of these guys. I have Westbrook ahead of Williams and Rondo because he is younger and has more upside then the others. While he does play with Kevin Durant., we've see flashes of greatness from Westbrook all year and could easily be the number one option on a winning team. Westbrook is a young, tough, hard working athletic specimen and a guy who does everything well and has no real weaknesses. No knocking Williams but I'd take Rondo over him and build a team around Rondo's passing ability with some pure scorers. Rondo's downside is he will never be the number one scorer on a team and without offensive weapons around him, his talents would be wasted. Luckily the Jazz would be able to get those pure scorers later in the draft and be set for a good team.
13. Indiana Pacers, Amare Stoudemire: People questioned the Knick's when they gave Stoudemire a max contract and thought they over paid for a guy who plays questionable defense and has battled injuries his entire career, so far those critics have been wrong. Amare has put the Knicks on his back and become a great leader, something we never really saw in Phoenix. He has a near unstoppable post game and has even developed a very reliable 16 foot jump shot that makes him even more of a weapon in New York.
14. Golden State Warriors, Manu Ginobili: Manu is a proven clutch scorer and has helped the Spurs win rings with his takeover ability. Any Spur is going to be a team first guy and he is not excluded. He will sacrifice his body to score in the paint and is as tough as any European player can get. The real life Warrior's are missing guys like this so he is perfect for them at 14.
15. Phoenix Suns, Pau Gasol: I hate Pau Gasol. I hate that he is soft. I hate that he flops, I hate his blindingly white legs, and I hate his game. But I respect it. Gasol has the best footwork and post moves in the NBA and while he doesn't like to bang in the post like a Dwight Howard or Carlos Boozer he is a great player. He took over game 7 of the finals last year when Kobe, the so called assassin, went 6-24 shooing in an Laker win. The question must be raised of whether or not Pau could be the number one guy on a team, and I say no, but I think a team would take a risk of it. Pau is a good player but I don't see any team with him as the number one guy winning anything.
16. Los Angeles Clippers, Monta Ellis: Monta's game has taken great strides this year and had he not gotten hurt he would probably be in the all-star game. An explosive scorer who can create his own shot, Ellis has now developed his defense and has really improved this year. He does benefit a little from being in a run and gun offense but I think he would be fine in a half court game. He is sort of small for a 2 guard which is probably what drops him down to 15 but his athletic ability can help him through that. Ellis is a good pick up at 16.
17. Houston Rockets, Dirk Nowitzki: Dirk Nowitzki is also a non-banger, white legged, European 7 footer, and yet I love him! Dirk has been one of the most consistent players the past 10 years and seems to get 25 points 8 rebounds a night with ease. He can shoot as well as a guard from about any range and his fade-away jump shot from the post is deadly. If we were ranking NBA players based on skill he would easily be in the top 10 and he falls to 17 here because he is old. Houston basically rents Dirk while he is on his last legs to try and chase a title before he falls off for good.
18. Denver Nuggets, John Wall: Wall is the second rookie to be picked in the first round and quietly has had a great year. He has battled injuries and terrible teammates but still has great numbers for a rookie. Someday he will be in the "Who is the best point guard in the league?" argument and Denver will wait for that while building around the future franchise player.
19. New Orleans Hornets, Kevin Love: Sad that the league's leading rebounder has fallen this far but Love does in my draft. The Hornets get a guy who will be in contention for the leagues rebounding title for the next decade and has developing offensive skills and will be in the all-star game for the first time this year. He puts up Moses Malone like numbers and if he ends up even close to Moses in his career that would be great.
20. Charlotte Bobcats, Eric Gordon: One of the most underrated players in the NBA is being taken at 20. Eric Gordon, the young shooting guard on the Clippers, was on all-star pace before getting hurt earlier in the season. Gordon has taken his game to new heights this year and clearly benefited from the FIBA Championship this summer in Turkey. Gordon can get to the rim with ease and knock down shots from anywhere on the floor but the strength of his game might be his defense; Gordon shows no fear and will guard anyone in the league and do a good job of it.
21. Milwaukee Bucks, Chris Bosh: I’ve never been a big fan of Bosh since his days in Toronto so it’s no surprise he falls this far. His gaudy numbers are questionable because he played on a team that was never in real contention for the title or even the playoffs. With no one surrounding him he stacked up great averages and earned himself an almost max deal with Miami this offseason. Bosh plays decent to poor defense but plays a good face-up post game and can rebound just fine. I can’t see him as the number one guy on a good team but with some talent around him he would be okay.
22. Toronto Raptors, Paul Pierce: Even at his advanced age, Paul Pierce may be playing the best basketball in his career. “The Truth” has proven he is a closer and a winner with a Final’s MVP trophy and has helped turn the Celtics into the powerhouse that they are today. His age would be a definite concern but I see at least 3 good years left in Pierce, solid pick at 22.
23. Washington Wizards, Tyreke Evans:
24. Memphis Grizzlies, Joe Johnson:
25. Sacramento Kings, Al Jefferson:
26. Atlanta Hawks, Rudy Gay:
27. Minnesota Timberwolves, Danny Granger:
28. Detroit Pistons, Josh Smith:
Picks 23-28 are all guys who hurt the NBA. These players are paid like number one guys but they will never win anything as number one guys. GM’s seem to over pay for these players so they can keep their teams in playoff contention and keep their jobs. While some of these guys are good players, they aren’t good enough alone and need a lot more around them if their teams are going anywhere. These guys are worthy number 1 picks but will never be great players.
29. New Jersey Nets, Carlos Boozer: Boozer is one of the best low post players in the NBA in terms of post moves. He can dominate a game with his rebounding or scoring ability and if paired with a good point guard can become a part of an unstoppable pick and roll game. Boozer falls this far because he is under sized in terms of height (he's only about 6' 8'') and his defense comes into question at times. Still a good player to get so late in the draft.
30. Philadelphia 76ers, Demarcus Cousins: Cousins has had decent rookie numbers for a young big man playing on a bad team and he is first round material because of his upside. He has been suspended already for feuding with coaches but he has a high ceiling and can become a top power forward/center someday. He will become more mature and hopefully play up to his potential.
The first round ends here and the draft would then Snake, giving the 76ers the 31st pick, all the way back to the Mavericks picking at 60.
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Written by: Matt Coan
Wednesday, January 26, 2011
Melo-Drama
The Carmelo Anthony trade saga has been going on for several months now and we are all anxious to see if he will be moved by the February 17th trade deadline. The teams that have been mentioned most prominently in talks have been the Knicks and the Nets. Just a couple of weeks ago it seemed as if it was inevitable that he would end up in New Jersey, but when the Nuggets and Nets couldn’t come to terms, Nets owner Mikhail Prokhorov proclaimed the deal over. This left us right back where we started at the beginning of the season, with Melo sort of in limbo. The problem with Anthony is that he is set to become a free agent after this season, and presumably will not sign an extension with any team, except for possibly the New York Knicks. So the question that the Knicks, Nets, and any other possible team in the Melo sweepstakes face is, are we willing to mortgage our future in order to win this year? If I was an NBA GM the answer to that question would be no. Even if the Nets were to land Carmelo Anthony, they still wouldn’t be able to compete with the likes of Los Angeles, Boston, Miami, or San Antonio. Plus the chances of him re-signing with the Nets in the off-season are about as likely as James Harrison smiling at any point during Superbowl week. For the New York Knicks the deal makes a little more sense and is definitely less risky, but I still don’t think it’s worth it for one glaring reason. And that reason is that when Anthony becomes a free agent in the off-season he is more then likely going to sign with New York. So if your the Knicks why would you give up young talent such as Danilo Gallanari and Wilson Chandler for someone who will probably wind up on your team next year anyway. From the prospective of the Nuggets front office, I would be doing anything possible to trade Anthony before the February 17th deadline to ensure that I got something in return for him, instead of letting him just walking out the door, and leaving the Nugget franchise in shambles. No one knows where Melo will land, or even if he will be traded this season, the only thing we know for sure about this whole situation is that Melo will eventually take his talents to.....
Written By: Brandon Batt
Written By: Brandon Batt
Tuesday, January 25, 2011
Cut Him a Break: In the Defense of Jay Cutler
Jay Cutler was sacked 52 times this past regular season and 5 more times in the playoffs. He was sacked more times than anyone in the NFL this year and 12 more times than the second most sacked quarterback, the Baltimore Ravens Joe Flacco. Cutler was sacked 9 times in one half in a week 4 game against the New York Giants and was thrown to the turf so badly on the 9th that he suffered a concussion and was forced to sit out the remainder of the game and the next week's game. Jay Cutler is tough.
After Cutler left Sunday's game with a knee injury, players from across the league thought differently. Hatred was spewed towards Cutler in 140 characters or less. Current and former players took to Twitter to question the Quarterback's toughness and passion for the game. Derrick Brooks, former Tampa Bay Buccaneer tweeted, "there is no medicine for a guy with no guts and no heart." For all he knew, Cutler's leg could have been broken. Why they made these comments is left up for debate. A lot of people made up their minds about Jay Cutler long ago. Jay is not a well liked guy around the league and while he brings some of that on himself with behaviors like his arrogant smirks and sometimes questionable body language, it is not right to question his heart or toughness based on his not returning to a game after an injury, especially without full knowledge of the injury.
The injury turned out to be a Grade II MCL sprain that usually takes 3-4 weeks to fully heal.
ESPN writer and medical expert Stephania Bell wrote:
Perhaps the moral to the story here is that it remains difficult, if not impossible, to judge the severity of an injury from a distance. Not only are all injuries unique, each athlete's response to injury is very different. Decisions regarding return to play are some of the most difficult to make for medical personnel who must balance a player's desire to return with the interest of protecting him.Bell's point is that everyone has a different pain tolerance and while some players can perform at the highest level with injuries, others can't. Jay Cutler could not compete with that injury and could not have helped the Bears win that game. That does not make him heartless, or a sissy, it makes him human.
I've watched every minute of every Bears game this season and seen every one of those 57 sacks. Something I never saw or even heard? A complaint. Cutler wouldn't blame the game plans for the reasons he was getting pummeled. You know, the ones that Mike Martz created early in the year; the ones that had Cutler dropping back 5-7 steps and being forced to wait 5-6 seconds for his receivers to come open while a horrendous offensive line tried, and usually failed, to keep defenders from getting to him. He never complained that those same game plans involved the running game very little and allowed defenders to "pin their ears back" in pursuit of the sack. He never complained that the Bears didn't have any legitimate offensive threats, and aside from a great return man (Devin Hester) who was converted to a decent wide receiver, had no explosiveness on offense. He didn't complain that he was being protected by one of the worst offensive lines in history and still leading the Bears to a division title. Jay Cutler didn't complain about anything and at least in his style of play, took on the personality of the city he plays for, a hard nosed, blue collar, tough town that has some flaws.He throws a lot of interceptions, we elect scumbag politicians.You never see Jay Cutler run away from contact, like most quarterbacks. You never see Jay Cutler slide. You almost always see Jay Cutler go head-on into a tackler as if he is a running back diving for the goal line.
Those plays are why we put up with the interceptions. Why we put up with the smug post game remarks and the Richy Rich prep school personality. Why we still cheer for this guy even though off the field he gives us every reason not to. Because, this year at least, he did get the job done on the field.
After forcing his way out of Denver, Cutler came to a city who thought their long and painful search for a quarterback was over. To their dismay he threw a league leading 26 interceptions for a Bears team that finished 7-9, two wins worse than the previous season and fans went back to wondering whether he was the guy or not. This season, however, Cutler was good. While his numbers wouldn't astound anyone, 23 touchdowns and 16 interceptions with a 60% completion rate and a passer rating of 86.3, he led the Bears to their first division title in 3 years and a first round bye in the playoffs. All that being said about a guy who was playing in a third new offensive scheme and for a third new offensive coordinator in as many years. Not bad, at least most would think. And while he didn't get the Bears to the Super Bowl and had a horrible NFC Championship game, a game in which HE TORE HIS FREAKING MCL, he did lead the Bears to a season that any educated Chicago Bears fan would have gladly taken before this year. (Especially me who either had them going 3-13 or 7-9, worst case scenario and best case scenario respectively.)
Let's trust Cutler's teammates, who have almost all come out in support of Jay's heart and cojones, and support him too, because like it or not Bears fans........Jay is our quarterback.
Written By: Matt Coan
Written By: Matt Coan
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