I’m not one for mucking this site up with advertising and a bunch of junk that we have come accustom to dealing with, but I did like this new widget from ESPN.com. I had to shrink it down to fit it in the sidebar, but I think it still works functionally. I also put it at the top since it will be updated with the latest news (kind of like a mini-post). I also added the NBA.com score widget. I was thinking about having the Stat Leader widget since this we talk a lot about Fantasy Basketball, but I decided against it. You can see the other widgets from NBA.com here if you would rather have me add one of them. Let me know what you all think.
Also have a Happy Thanksgiving and spend some time with your families!!!
The official count for the new look Boston Celtics being one of the greatest team ever assembled is officially on.
Click HERE to see an updated comparison of records to the ‘95-96 Bulls.
This topic seems to be Kobe-esque in the fact that there are either haters or lovers and no one in between. The Haters say that the East in the JV division and that the Celts haven’t played anyone of merit. The Lovers say that this is the NBA where any team can win on any given night and the Celts have dominated. Chad from Hoopsblogging has a great piece on this debate.
I will admit that I was skeptical at first (after all the whole Jailblazers All-Star team and then the Malone and Payton Lakers era were huge disappointments). But these guys are for real. You have 3 legit superstars who seem to like each other. They share the pain of never winning a ring and are willing to shelf their egos in a quest for it. It is true that they haven’t seen much adversity yet in the form of injuries, close games, or a loss yet, but you could see the mentality change the other night when Paul Pierce got whacked hard by Jamal Tinsley and did pushups instead of reacting (arrogant, yes, but effective advice from KG) and then continued to kill Indiana.
Good luck Boston, I always love seeing history being made!
I would just like to add my voice to the multitudes of Bulls fans (I’m not one) and Fantasy Managers who are bemoaning the poor start of the team and horrible statistical production of their various players.
This defensive-minded, hustle-oriented team regularly expects its defense to translate into offense, but sadly the Bulls are clearly losing something in translation over the first 7 games of the regular season. In spite of this awful start, coach Scott Skiles isn’t too worried. Perhaps he need not necessarily be, the team DID start off slow last year and yet ended up strong, allowing them to make the Playoffs.
Fantasy-wise, Bulls players leave much to be desired in terms of their lack luster performances that contributed to their 1-6 start.
Previously reliable, backcourt starters, Ben Gordon, Kirk Hinrich and Luol Deng have been plague with terrible offensive games. Over the course of the first seven games Ben is averaging 37 FG% (8 pts below last year); Kirk is shooting at a vomit-inducing 34.% - that’s a whopping 10.2 percentage points below last year’s average; “Mr. Efficient“, Luol Deng is averaging 3.5 less points at 5.2% less efficiency than season!
Terrible, terrible - did forget to say “terrible”? - fantasy start for all 3 of these guys!
Ok, so we know the offense is sloppier than a soiled baby’s diaper at the moment, but I feel a major contribution to this poor performance, is the injury the “Big Ben” Wallace is playing through. He hurt his ankle early into the first couple of games and it has clearly affected his game. He’s definitely struggling and this can be seen through his “HALF-average” production. Across the board his defensive numbers (well they’re the ones that count most anyway) are only half of what he was averaging last season. Ben is literally HALF the player he was last year!
It’s not too far fetched to think that his injury - with him being the Bull’s defensive fulcrum and all - is playing a key role in the team’s disheartening performance.
In fairness, Ben is NOT the BULLS. Each player plus the coach is responsible in whatever results the team generates. My buddy, Rick - contributor in my BLOG, feels that the ever-looming KOBE-trade cloud is dampening the team’s morale. I’m not discounting it as a possibility, but I feel the Bulls are at a stage where their injuries and sluggish pre-to-regular season transition has left “Mad Scientist-coach” Scott Skiles no recourse but to once again fiddle with his lineup until his team can find its winning ways once more.
Well the season’s young and there’s a lot more to follow. The Bulls and their players can get better and more frightening so, get worse. My money’s pinned on the prior more than the latter - well at least my hopes are - for the sake of several of my fantasy teams. I’d like to think positive and am willing to forecast a renaissance of the team and its players in the not too distant future, and I don’t mean them acquiring Kobe Bryant…
Ah, that was a nice rant… Feel free to jump in, the water’s just fine!
Now that I have your attention, here is the most recent trade that went down in the Official HoopStar Basketball Fantasy League on NBA.com.
Charlie’s Team sends Al Harrington (C/PF/SF), Kobe Bryant (SG), and Jason Williams (PG).
Team Sean Bower sends Paul Pierce (SF/SG), Kirk Hinrich (PG/SG), and Drew Gooden (PF).
Pros For Charlie’s Team: The addition of Kirk Hinrich adds a lot of assists and 3pts with respectable points (at least when he is not in a slump). Pierce is capable of crazy multi stat lines with the Big 3 in Boston. And Drew Gooden is averaging a double double. This new lineup is stronger for this season.
Cons For Charlie’s Team: I know all the Kobe trade rumors made this deal happen. If Kobe gets frustrated he could use a minor injury to keep him on the bench to force a trade. However, we are in a 2 keeper league and you already traded away Chris Paul earlier in the season. Your keepers went from Kobe and Paul to Pierce and Caron Butler. Hope your season goes well since you gave up a lot for next year.
Pros For Team Sean Bower: You added Kobe, a guy that can single handedly win you the points category on most nights. He is one of the highest players that have big games often. Jason Williams is putting up respectable assists right now. And Harrington gives you a multi-position eligible guy that will start and protect your lineup from injuries. You essentially traded 2 starters and a bench player for 3 starters for you team. Your keepers improved though with Kobe and Gerald Wallace.
Cons For Team Sean Bower: Hinrich and Williams are no where close to equal in value. Hinrich is in a slump right now and is still out performing Williams. And Williams most likely will lose minutes or get injured as the season goes on. Kobe is a big risk right now for missing games or being traded.
Overall Advantage: I really think this trade is wash for both teams. Charlie’s Team will benefit more this season and since he is in the highest division this is important. Team Sean Bower benefits more in the long run by increasing the keeper value and since this team is in the second to last division this will help a lot in helping to advance to the next division in a couple of seasons.
This was a very controversial trade in our league as it received 3 protests. I only overrule a trade when it is clear that someone is giving up or is making a trade that will drastically alter the league balance. Do you see anything that powerful?
Old Crazy Eyes is at it again with Zeke (Both of those nicknames should tell a lot about each person’s character). Marbury did his latest impression of crazy by bolting on the Knick’s roadtrip and becoming MIA.
I’ll be honest and say that this all puts a smile on my face. Bad things have a habit of happening to bad people. Call it karma, justice, or whatever else you want, but that whole organization is shady.
Thomas ordered the “hit” that caused a brawl. He also brought Artest (probably one of his psych ward buddies) to Indiana for that whole mess. He thought he was big enough to harass a woman. James Dolan only supported this behavior. Dolan also has hired a bunch of thugs (see Nate Robinson) and paid them a lot for little talent. Now they are the doormat of the league.
Stephon “I’m going to lead the league in DIMES” Marbury blew things early on in Minnesota by being greedy (Some sources report that he wants Garnett’s help in Boston now). Then he stayed selfish at New Jersey and ended up being overpaid in New York. This team deserves each other. Even though my Pacers aren’t good, I’m glad we dont have to put up with all that crap.
The only thing about trash talking back in the day that was scary is that you may actually get punched in the lane if you don’t walk the walk.
PS. Reggie Miller is possibly the worst trash talker on this video. He really gets a chuckle at his own “trash.” And Larry Bird was probably the meanest trash talker cuz he almost always backed it up.
I thought this video had an interesting debate, but was very shallow on truly evaluating how to get Kobe. So I thought I’d use my GM skills and tell all these guys the secrets to landing Kobe.
Gut Your Roster In a Trade:
Well this isn’t really an option yet because Kobe isn’t desperate to leave yet (well not desperate enough to leave for another losing organization). So this rules out all the 3 really young stars for 1 older star trades (aka the Deng Dilemma).
Wait for Kobe Next Year to Opt Out:
You had better be named Chicago, Boston, Washington, or Phoenix in order to pull this one off. Nobody really knows if Kobe is willing to sign a low ball contract in order to be a contender. A lot of these teams mortgaged their financial situation already.
Trade Star For Star:
This is really the only scenario right now. If you are a team stockpiled with talent (Phoenix, Washington, Boston, Denver, New Jersey) then you could part with one of your stars to get a “better” star. Sooner or later the Lakers will realize that they can’t afford to lose Kobe for nothing and Kobe will put the heat on. Then trades like Shawn Marion, Gilbert Arenas, Ray Allen, Allen Iverson, and Vince Carter will look very appealing. Those teams would have enough pieces left for Kobe to be satisfied.
Send Lots of Young Talents:
Obviously the Lakers organization has a soft spot for up and comers (that is after all how they got Kobe). Their refusal to let go of Bynum is borderline craziness when names like Marion, Kidd, and Jermaine O’Neal are involved. Only problem with this is that teams with a lot of young talent are already in the rebuilding phase and don’t want to start over (Timberwolves).
Well the first week of our annual fantasy league on NBA.com got off to a controversial start. The Full Roster Rule (AKA Charlie’s Rule) didn’t start out well as the commissioner was not able to enforce the rule as it was worded. This is leading to a possible redesign of the rule (more on that when it happens). Here is a recap of what happened.
The Legends- HoopStar (1-0) beat True Boilermaker (0-1) (this is where the controversy started when Mike Conley failed to log a singe minute). Boilermaker had a pretty good showing even with two of his stars (Wade and Artest) riding the bench. KG was studly.
Charlie’s Team (1-0) beat PirateMD (0-1) thanks to a crazy stat line from Kobe and Big Z. JJ Redick killed PirateMD’s chance of winning by putting up a lot of goose eggs.
SuperStars- Brewtown Bucks (1-0) dominated Caston Crap (0-1) with a huge defensive line thanks to Marcus Camby (18RPG and 5BPG).
Elite Force (1-0) was able to hang on over Phat Daddys (0-1) even though they got handicapped by starting an ineligible roster. Even with Boozer being forced to pine in accordance to Charlie’s Rule, the team was able to hold on.
All-Stars- Jamm Time (1-0) posted the highest score of the week by destroying and injury depleted CryBabies (0-1).
Team Sean Bower (1-0) got things rolling in a win over Popigh Rebelion (0-1) with Tayshaun Prince having a career game.
Shooting Stars- Big Al & Co. were able to hold on The Undefeatables with the emergence of Chris Wilcox and Marvin Williams.
Side School Nets fell victim to Bull Sharks due to a poor showing from Mo Williams.
I have worked hard on making these videos and this is the first time I have done any editing/soundtrack/video work before. Overall I liked how they turned out. Let me know what you think.
Opening Ceremonies
Live Game Action
Hall Of Fame Ceremonies
Half Time Entertainment
By now most NBA teams have played their first game here are some random observations:
Kobe scored 45 points the other night and it wasn’t even talked about. There are 3 reasons for this; 1. This amount of points isn’t usual for Kobe 2. His team lost 3. Everybody is more interested in his trade info. While I understand all these factors, I think that it is a disaster this year. I truly believe that Kobe’s stats will stay high, but the Lakers will lose a lot. Kobe doesn’t want to hurt his stock, but he doesn’t want LA to reap the benefits. This is along the same lines as point shaving if you ask me.
Ricky Davis looked good in his first game. I think that he will continue this trend until Wade comes back. It would be nice to see a few more assists, but who is he going to dish it to?
The Rockets looked really good. Tmac is back and with a vengeance. He single handedly willed the Rockets over the Jazz with little help from Yao. I just hope he isn’t teasing us again and then goes down with his back. The Rockets coaching staff needs to take a page from the Spurs and learn how to rest the starters over the season to prevent injuries and allow them to be fresh when it really counts.
I now officially have a man crush on Al Jefferson. Not because I buy into all his hype about being a future stud and cornerstone. I appreciate that he is smart and realistic enough to know that he isn’t worth a max contract. He could be one day, but not today.
Gilbert used to be entertaining, but lately he is just becoming annoying. He reminds me of that kid in open gym that talks trash about scoring 10 points but his team still loses. And then he talks trash all the next day saying how no one can contain him.
Kevin Durant is in for a roller coaster ride.
Dwight Howard looks like he is on his way to distancing himself from Shaq already. Can you imagine his dominance if he shoots 70-75% from the charity stripe? (Howard won’t be able to beat Diesel in a break dancing for years to come).