FIVEmag NBA basketball blog » Basketball Business

Kings Moving to Anaheim?

admin — Thu, 17 Mar 2011 15:16:34 +0000

The Sacramento Kings and their owners, Joe and Gavin Maloof, may be moving south on Route 5 to Anaheim by as early as next season. The Maloof brothers have been unable to get Sacramento to help fund the building of a new arena to replace Arco Arena in Sacramento. The Maloof’s say that a new arena in Sacramento is the vital to the team’s long-term financial stability and health. The team had not experienced much success lately after being a Western Conference power in the early 2000’s. The team’s best years were while they have been located in Sacramento with their best year coming in the 2001-2002 season where they lost to the Lakers in 7 games in the Western Conference Finals. Soon after that historical year for the franchise, the Kings roster fell apart and the team has been rebuilding since then.

The latest hint that the team could be moving to Anaheim is that an attorney representing the Maloof brothers filed for federal trademark registrations this month. There were four filings and the names that were filed for are: Anaheim Royals, Anaheim Royals of Southern California, Orange County Royals, and Los Angeles Royals. The Royals name comes from the Rochester Royals, which is where the Sacramento Kings franchise was from originally. The franchise was originally the Rochester Royals, then the Cincinnati Royals, the Kansas City-Omaha Kings and then finally in 1985 the franchise became the Sacramento Kings. The desire for a new arena or relocation has come from the dwindling attendance records at games and the obsolescence of the Arco Arena compared to other arenas around the league. The city has been unwilling to help publicly fund a new arena and has caused the Maloof brothers to look more into relocation. The team and the owners have tried to their best to stay in Sacramento but have not been able to get a new arena. We will see in the next few months if they are able to relocate to possibly Anaheim by next year. Otherwise, there will be other cities that would love to get an NBA franchise and could accommodate the Maloof brothers.

MVP Race

admin — Wed, 16 Mar 2011 11:43:55 +0000

The big question entering this year in terms of the MVP is would LeBron’s decision to team up with Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh hurt his chances at winning a third consecutive MVP award. It seemed obvious that it would definitely hurt his chances if he had the ball in his hands less and had to share the court with two other All Stars in their primes. Kevin Garnett’s numbers dropped when he teamed up with Paul Pierce and Ray Allen in Boston. But LeBron has only seen a very small drop off in his numbers and is very much in the race for the 2010-2011 MVP. James has been consistent throughout the whole year and the best player on the Miami Heat. Compared to last year, he is scoring 3.5 fewer points per game and has 1.5 less assists per game. He is currently averaging 26.1 points, 7.1 assists, and 7.5 rebounds per contest, which are very close to his career numbers. James has still shown his ability to carry a team by himself evident in a few games this season. James has three triple doubles this year and had a 51-point outburst against the Magic. James continues to show his all-around game by being 3rd in the league in scoring, 13th in the league in assists, and leading the league in PER (player efficiency rating). However, there is great competition for the award around the league. The other candidates are Derrick Rose, Dirk Nowitzki, Dwight Howard, Kobe Bryant, and Kevin Durant.

Derrick Rose is arguably the leading candidate for the MVP right now by leading the Bulls to the best record in the Eastern Conference as of last night’s win against the Wizards even with Carlos Boozer missing 21 games and Joakim Noah missing 31 games with injuries. Rose is having a career year averaging 24.7 points, 7.9 assists and 4.3 rebounds per game. He has improved his jump shot drastically since entering the league and that shows through his increased 3-point percentage even with 3.5 more attempts per game. Rose is the only player in the league to be top 10 in the league in both scoring and assists. He is the leader of the Bulls team in only his third year in the league and has put them in position to get the #1 seed in the Eastern Conference. Even the greatest basketball player of all time and the person who brought six championships to Chicago endorsed Derrick Rose as MVP. Michael Jordan was quoted as saying, “MVP of the season. He deserves it. He’s playing that well. Without a doubt. And if he doesn’t get it, now he’ll see how I felt a lot of years.”

Dirk Nowitzki is another player who is in the mix for the MVP. Nowitzki is having one of his best and most efficient seasons during his 13-year NBA career. He is also leading the Mavericks to one of the best records in the NBA and are currently 3rd place in the Western Conference with a record of 47-20. Nowitzki is shooting great percentages from the field (52.8%), three-point (42.6%), and free throw (88%) and is currently 9th in the league in player efficiency rating. The importance of Nowitzki to the second best team in the West was on display when he went down with an injury for 9 games. The team went 2-7 without their star in the lineup and has gone 45-13 with him in the lineup. Nowitzki will definitely be in the thick of the MVP race as the season winds down. The balance and depth that the Mavericks have as a team may end up hurting Nowitzki’s chances to win a second MVP.

Dwight Howard is the centerpiece for the Magic and is a force both offensively and defensively. Howard is having his best year offensively as a pro and is currently 10th in the league in scoring with 23 points per game. Howard just recently became the fifth youngest (25 years and 95 days) player to pass 10,000 career points and is in very good company. The only players to reach that milestone faster were LeBron James, Kobe Bryant, Carmelo Anthony and Tracy McGrady. He has continued to be his usual self on the defensive end, being 2nd in the league in both rebounding and blocked shots. Even though Orlando drastically changed their roster in mid-December, Howard has been the one constant while leading the Magic to fourth place in the East. He is having a career year offensively and it looks like his off-season work with Hakeem Olajuwon is really paying dividends.

Kobe Bryant seems to always be in the conversation for the MVP award. It is shocking for one of the best players to play the game with five championships to his name has only won one MVP award. Bryant has been in the top five in MVP voting for the past five seasons and it looks like that trend will continue for another year. He has led the Lakers to a 48-20 record and a more impressive 10-1 record since the All Star break after losing three straight heading into the break. Bryant leads the team in scoring (6th in the league at 24.8 ppg) and assists (4.8 apg). Bryant seems to have his team playing their best at the right time of the year and has put himself in the MVP race yet again.

Kevin Durant has improved every year he has been in the league and is now a superstar at the young age of 22. Durant became the youngest player in league history to win a scoring title and then led Team USA to the FIBA World Championship this past summer in Turkey. Now he is leading the Oklahoma City Thunder to their best year in their short history and are currently sitting at fourth in the Western Conference while leading the Northwest Division. Durant is again the leading scorer in the league at 28.0 points per game while also grabbing 7.2 rebounds per game. There are a number of strong candidates this year for the MVP and the last 15 games of the season could help sway the voters. Rose arguably has a slight lead because of the success of the Chicago Bulls and Rose’s impressive numbers. But can LeBron James become only the third player ever to win three MVP awards in a row?

NBA Trade Deadline

admin — Fri, 25 Feb 2011 15:32:37 +0000

The NBA trade deadline is now behind us after a flurry of moves in the past 72 hours. This year’s trade deadline was very busy and everybody seemed to wait for the Carmelo Anthony deal to be completed before making moves of their own.

The main storyline of this trading deadline will undoubtedly be the Anthony trade but the Nets quickly responded to their neighbors in New York with a blockbuster trade of their own. The Nets didn’t quit their search for a face to the franchise after losing out on Carmelo Anthony. The Nets responded by trading for Deron Williams, who was called the best point guard in the league by Nets GM Billy King. This move is arguably better than the Knicks trade for Anthony because point guard is a more important position in today’s game and the Nets gave up less than they would have for Anthony. The Nets traded away Devin Harris, Derrick Favors, two 2011 first round draft picks and $3 million in cash for the point guard. Williams made his second All-Star appearance this year and is averaging 21.3 points (16th in the league) and 9.7 assists (3rd in the NBA) per game. The point guard had come under some heat after Jerry Sloan retired from the Jazz after 23 years. His retirement happened a day after Deron Williams had gotten in a heated argument with Sloan during the halftime of the February 9th game against the Bulls. Another reason for the trade could have been watching the Carmelo Anthony drama unfold this year. Williams could become a free in the summer of 2012 and could just walk away via free agency while the team receives nothing in return. The big question now for the Nets regarding this trade, is will they be able to re-sign Williams before the summer of 2012? The Nets need to build a better supporting cast around Williams to get him to stay and if they can’t then this trade will be seen as a failure.

There were still a number of other trades even though these two blockbuster trades will capture most of the headlines. The surprisingly active team at the deadline was the Boston Celtics, the top team in the Eastern Conference. The Celtics and GM Danny Ainge decided to shake up their roster after losing in Game 7 of the NBA Finals last season and being in first place of the Eastern Conference at the All Star break. The team dealt Kendrick Perkins and Nate Robinson to the Oklahoma City Thunder for Jeff Green and Nenad Krstic. The Celtics also traded Luke Harangody, Semih Erden, and Marquis Daniels in two separate trades for two second-round picks. However, the trade of Perkins means that the Celtics will now depend on Kristic and the O’Neal’s (Jermaine and Shaq) as their centers. The frontline of the Celtics seemed to be the biggest advantage the team had over the Bulls and the Heat but Boston did need some depth at the wing position with the injury to Marquis Daniels and acquiring the 24-year old Green solves that problem. The deep frontline that the Celtics had before these trades would also help them against the strong frontlines of the Magic and Lakers if they met in the playoffs.

The Thunder on the other hand did a great job of bolstering their frontline with the addition of Perkins as well as their trade with the Charlotte Bobcats for Nazr Mohammad. The Thunder acquired Mohammad from Charlotte for Morris Peterson and DJ White, two players who are not an important part to the Thunder’s rotation. The Thunder are positioning themselves well in the West by adding to their frontcourt and have really come out of the trade deadline as the big winners. The Thunder, before the trades, was the youngest team in the league and has been gathering these assets through the years of their rebuilding. Now the team has traded some of these assets to help the team win now.

One of the other big moves at the deadline was the Trail Blazers acquiring Gerald Wallace from the Bobcats for Joel Przybilla, Dante Cunningham, Sean Marks, and two first round picks. The acquisition of Wallace helps the Blazers to bolster their wing rotation with the questionable health of Brandon Roy. The team needed more quality depth and accomplished that by getting Wallace. Some of the other trade deadline headlines are Shane Battier returning to Memphis with the Grizzlies giving up on the Hasheem Thabeet (No. 2 pick in the 2009 draft) project as well as Demare Carroll (also a first round pick in 2009) and a future first round pick. Another deal was for Kirk Hinrich that involved the Atlanta Hawks and the Washington Wizards. The Hawks acquired Kirk Hinrich from the Wizards for Mike Bibby, a first round pick and two other players. The Clippers also made a move that creates more financial flexibility for this summer’s free agent market by trading away Baron Davis to the Cavaliers for Mo Williams, Jamario Moon, and a first round pick. This was a move that was designed to get Baron Davis’ contract off of their books. Not sure if Baron Davis will be too excited to leave Los Angeles and Blake Griffin to play for the league’s worst 10-47 Cleveland Cavaliers. The deadline has now passed and only time will tell how all the different moves will work for their respective teams.

All Star weekend recap

admin — Fri, 25 Feb 2011 09:32:28 +0000

The 2011 All-Star Weekend at the Staples Center in Los Angeles started with John Wall dishing out a record 22 assists in the Rookie-Sophomore game and ended with Kobe Bryant showing that Los Angeles is still his city even with the emergence of Blake Griffin. The weekend also capped off a very busy three days for Blake Griffin who participated in the Rookie-Sophomore Game on Friday, the Sprite Slam Dunk Contest on Saturday, and then the 2011 All-Star Game on Sunday.

The weekend started off with two former college teammates at Kentucky, John Wall and Demarcus Cousins, propelling the Rookies to a 148-140 victory over the Sophomores in the Rookie Sophomore Game on Friday. John Wall brought home the MVP with his record setting 22 assists to go along with 12 points including an alley-oop dunk with 12 seconds left to put an exclamation point on the game. His former teammate also had a huge game with 33 points and 14 rebounds, which is the fourth highest scoring performance in the history of the game.

Saturday at the All-Star Weekend features the Skills Challenge, the 3-Point Shooting Contest, and the Slam Dunk Contest. The Skills Challenge requires each player to complete an obstacle course by maneuvering around stationary obstacles and passing balls in a variety of way. The contestants featured some of the leagues best point guards like Derrick Rose, Chris Paul, Russell Westbrook, John Wall, and the eventual 2011 champion Steph Curry. The next event of the evening was the 3-Point Shootout, which featured last year’s champion Paul Pierce of the Boston Celtics, the new all time leader in three pointers made in a career Ray Allen also of the Celtics, Kevin Durant of the Oklahoma City Thunder, James Jones of the Miami Heat, Dorrell Wright of the Golden State Warriors, and Daniel Gibson of the Cleveland Cavaliers. The finals of the contest pitted James Jones of the Heat against both Ray Allen and Paul Pierce of the Celtics. The two best teams in the East were playing for a championship; the three point contest. In this championship the Heat were able to come out victorious without the help of James, Wade or Bosh with James Jones holding off both Allen and Pierce. Finally, the featured event of the night was the Slam Dunk Contest, which featured Blake Griffin of the Los Angeles Clippers, Javale McGee of the Washington Wizards, Demar Derozan of the Toronto Raptors, and Serge Ibaka of the Oklahoma City Thunder. The contest displayed a new sense of creativity with the participants. Some of the more creative dunks were McGee’s three ball dunk, Ibaka’s Teddy Bear dunk, and Blake Griffin Dunking over a car. The final round had Griffin matched up against McGee. In the finals, Griffin brought out a car onto the court, had a choir singing “I Believe I Can Fly” at half-court, and had Baron Davis pop out of the sunroof of the car to throw an alley-oop to Griffin. This dunk led to Blake Griffin taking home the trophy for the 2011 Sprite Slam Dunk Contest.

The main event of the weekend comes on Sunday with the All-Star Game. The game featured a combined 7 players from the Heat and Celtics on the East team, including a record tying 4 from the Boston Celtics alone. The Western team featured the 8th all time leading scorer in NBA history in Kobe Bryant, arguably the best power forward to play the game in Tim Duncan, arguably the two best international players to play the game in Dirk Nowitzki and Manu Ginobli as well as three first time All-Stars in Blake Griffin, Russell Westbrook, and Kevin Love. The game also featured the hometown Los Angeles Lakers fans booing the four Boston Celtics as Coach Doc Rivers put all four of them into the game at the same time. The game was controlled by the West for most of the game until LeBron James led a fierce East rally in the third quarter to cut the West lead down to two points. Down the stretch of the game, Kevin Durant hit two big free throws that helped the West win the game while giving Durant 34 points for the game. LeBron James had a huge game for the East by recording only the second triple double in All-Star Game history (the other belonging to the great Michael Jordan) with 29 points, 12 rebounds and 10 assists. But Kobe Bryant was the star of the show by putting up 37 points, 21 by halftime, and 14 rebounds while bringing home his record tying fourth NBA All-Star Game MVP, bringing him level with Bob Petitt. The tight game ended a great All-Star Weekend and is hopefully the preview of a great second half of the regular season and playoffs.

Carmelo Anthony – New York Knicks

admin — Thu, 24 Feb 2011 10:06:01 +0000

After months of rumors and speculation, Carmelo Anthony got what he wanted: a trade to his hometown New York Knicks. The 12 player trade between New York, Denver and Minnesota brought Anthony, who had been asking for a trade since the offseason and saying New York was his desired destination, to Broadway to team up with Eastern All-Star starter Amare Stoudemire. In one of the largest trades in NBA history the Knicks received Chauncey Billups, Shelden Williams, Anthony Carter, Renaldo Balkman, and Minnesota’s Corey Brewer. The Nuggets acquired Timofey Mozgov, Raymond Felton, Danilo Gallinari, Wilson Chandler, Kosta Koufos, New York’s first round pick in 2014, Golden State’s second round picks in 2012 and 2013 (which the Knicks own) and $3 million in cash. The final team involved in the trade, the Minnesota Timberwolves, received Anthony Randolph, Eddy Curry (and his expiring contract) and $3 million in cash from New York.

The Knicks paid a high price to acquire the four-time All-Star Anthony by trading 3 of 5 starters and a key part of the supporting cast in Wilson Chandler. But the Knicks were able to land the second superstar they have wanted for so long and now New York is on its way back to the top of the East with the core of Anthony and Stoudemire to build around. Anthony will now be bringing his career average of 24.8 points per game to the Madison Square Garden as well as his 29.9 points per game in games against the Knicks. Now that the Knicks have their core of two stars, the speculation will continue to rise about whether they can land a third in the summer of 2012 when Chris Paul, Deron Williams, and Dwight Howard could become free agents.

Review of the Euroleague season

admin — Wed, 06 May 2009 03:55:18 +0000

The 2008-09 Euroleague season started with the promise of being one of the best of all-time.

The defending champion CSKA Moscow had remained intact and ready to compete for its third crown in four seasons. But the Russian powerhouse would face plenty of competition as more teams than ever could lay serious claim to being legitimate title contenders.

The league’s teams also made a number of big acquisitions in the off-season while big names changed places and new faces emerged to replenish the faith of Europe’s millions of basketball fans.

Going into the season, among the favorites for the title were title-holder CSKA; re-loaded Greek powers Panathinaikos and Olympiacos; the quartet of Spanish clubs Regal FC Barcelona, Tau Ceramica, Unicaja and Real Madrid; as well as Montepaschi Siena and Maccabi Electra Tel Aviv.

Besides the departure of playmaker Theo Papaloukas, CSKA Moscow kept together its winning core of head coach Ettore Messina, guards J.R. Holden and Trajan Langdon and power forward Matjaz Smodis plus the duo of Ramunas Siskaukas and Nikos Zisis for a second season while adding the trio of Terrence Morris, Zoran Planicic and Erazem Lorbek to the mix.

Panathinaikos came into the season extra hungry after missing the 2008 Final Four and with it a chance to defend its 2007 championship. Head coach Zeljko Obradovic added to his already strong side the likes of Nikola Pekovic, Antonis Fotsis and Drew Nicholas.

The biggest team making news was Greek side Olympiacos, which opened up its pocketbooks and gave head coach Panagiotis Giannakis some top-notch experienced players looking for the club’s first Euroleague crown since 1997. Papaloukas brought the experience of two titles and six Final Fours with CSKA back to his former club while Nikola Vujcic came with two crowns and four total Final Four appearances with Maccabi Tel Aviv. Yotam Halperin also was part of two title-winning teams and a third semifinal showing with Maccabi. And Josh Childress had his share of big-game knowledge as well.

Other moves of note coming into the season included head coach Dusko Ivanovic leaving Barcelona after three seasons to return to Tau Ceramica. Replacing him at Barcelona on a full-time basis was Xavier Pascual, who took over for Ivanovic late last season.

Two big clubs switching coaches during the season were Lottomatica Roma hiring Fernando Gentile to replace Jasmin Repesa and Pini Gershon returning to Maccabi for the first time since 2006 when Tel Aviv was upset by CSKA in the Final trying to win its third straight title.

Among the prominent players to come to the Euroleague were Carlos Arroyo (Maccabi) and Brandon Jennings (Lottomatica Roma) while Juan Carlos Navarro returned to Barcelona after a year abroad and Primoz Brezec (Roma) marked his comeback to Europe after seven years away.

The season saw a number of players raise peoples’ eyebrows – either established veterans finally with a big chance or youngsters lifting their game to the next level.

One star to stay with his team but pick up his already-stellar game was Panathinaikos’ four-time reigning Euroleague Best Defender Dimitris Diamantidis, who took his offensive game to another level while remaining a dominating defensive force.

With the departure of Planicic from Tau, Igor Rakocevic stepped up his game for Ivanovic, leading the competition in scoring with more than 18 points.

Sani Becirovic was the second-leading scorer in the Regular Season for Roma (17.4 ppg) as the guard finally was given big minutes and added responsibility with his move from Panathinaikos.

Pat Burke was in a similar situation with his move to Asseco Prokom, with whom he averaged nearly 11 points and a third-best 6.9 rebounds a contest, including his tremendous Regular Season Week 8 showing of 18 points and 20 rebounds – just the eighth player to pull down at least 20 boards in a Euroleague game.

As every year, the Euroleague also features young players who emerge on the scene as the next stars on the continent. And the 2008-09 season was no different.

Nikola Pekovic had already turned heads after averaging more than 16 points and nearly 7 rebounds for Partizan last season. But the 23-year-old did not let up with his move to Euroleague giant Panathinaikos, scoring in double digits in 15 of 19 games.

Replacing Pekovic as the main man at Partizan was 23-year-old Novica Velickovic, who averaged 14 points a game in the Top 16 to lead the Belgrade club to the Quarterfinal Playoffs.

Maccabi meanwhile saw two younger players show superstar potential at times as Lior Eliyahu, 23, registered the highest performance index rating of the season of 42 in Week 6 with 24 points, 17 rebounds and 6 assists. And 20-year-old Omri Casspi hit double digits seven times including 19 points in Week 8.

Another youngster to emerge as a dominating force at times was Barcelona forward Ersan Ilyasova, 22, who had 30 points and 11 rebounds against Alba Berlin in the Top 16.

Spanish fans also got a close up look at one of the best young players in the entire game, DKV Joventut point guard Ricky Rubio. The 19-year-old, however, was unable to make his mark this season in the Euroleague as he missed the first half of the Regular Season with a wrist injury before Joventut failed to make the Top 16.

The fact that talent-laden teams like Joventut and Efes Pilsen failed to make the Top 16 shows just how strong the level of competition is in the league.

Four Spanish teams reached the Top 16, including Regular Season group winners Unicaja, Barcelona, and Tau. The Regular Season also saw CSKA Moscow lose twice at home as the reigning champ showed chinks in its armor.

Alba Berlin returned to the Euroleague for the first time since 2003 and joined Bamberg as the only other German club to reach the Top 16. But Alba was drawn into a Top 16 Group of Death with Barcelona, Real Madrid and Maccabi Tel Aviv.

In the end, the usual powers reached the later stages of the event as Spain and Greece sent five of the eight teams to the Quarterfinal Playoffs along with CSKA Moscow, Montepaschi Siena and Partizan.

In the end we had an exciting Final Four in Berlin, which was won by Panathinaikos, after a close win over Greek rival Panathinaikos and a great performance in the FInal agains CSKA Moscow.

The LeBronism Era?

admin — Fri, 24 Apr 2009 04:01:45 +0000

The favorites Lakers, Celtics and Spurs are all fighting injuries at the beginning of the Playoffs. Detroit seem to be following the automobile industry and crashing into the ground. And if none of the champions from the 21st century can find their game, who can stop the start of the LeBronism Era? Maybe Superman? Rarely in the 2K years have there been so many question marks going into the Playoffs. Here are FIVE’s power rankings heading into the 2009 post-season.

The Power Rankings
These are the Power Rankings of the playoff teams at the end of the regular season. That does not necessarily mean number one will win the title.

Power Rankings 2009
How strong are the 16 Playoff teams at the start of the post-season? Our power rankings show who had momentum late and who barely crossed the finish line.

1. Cleveland Cavaliers
The best home team since the 1985-86 Celtics appeared highly motivated all the way to the end. LeBron pushes his team like Kevin Garnett did with the Celtics in 2008.

2. L.A. Lakers
Andrew Bynum’s physicalness was missing in the end. Kobe looked a bit tired at the end of the season but he was playing for home court advantage in the Finals.

3. Boston Celtics
The champs head into the post-season a bit uncertain without Garnett. Just how fit is the Big Ticket really? And how much will Stephon Marbury help?

4. Orlando Magic
Dwight Howard and company blasted the Cleveland Cavaliers 116-87 in early April to get a big boost of motivation and confidence.

5. San Antonio Spurs
Manu Ginobili and Tim Duncan are battling injuries and only Tony Parker is top fit. But is that enough to make them a darkhorse?

6. Denver Nuggets
This team plays together, defends and acts cleverly. Is this really the Denver Ruckers? What a difference a guy like Billups makes.

7. New Orleans Hornets
No longer are the Hornets a nightmare for the favorites, mainly because Tyson Chandler’s ankle is giving him problems. But with Chris Paul running the point, anything is possible.

8. Houston Rockets
No T-Mac, but instead you have a bunch of hungry, model professionals who want to prove themselves. But is that enough for their first Playoffs series win since 1997?

9. Utah Jazz
A season of injuries allowed the back-ups to get a lot of quality playing time. All the troops are healthy in time for the Playoffs. And this team is a sleeper for the title.

10. Portland Trail Blazers
They are young, play controlled, defend and are waiting for Greg Oden to finally wake up. How will the youngsters react to the playoff pressure?

11. Dallas Mavericks
Jason Kidd passed Magic Johnson for third place on the NBA’s all-time assist list. Too bad the Mavs don’t have the talent for big things in the post-season.

12. Atlanta Hawks
No bench, no problem. The Hawks are young, athletic and excellently led by Mike Bibby. Nobody wants to play against them in the Eastern Conference.

13. Philadelphia 76ers
Everything was running superbly until Thaddeus Young went down. The Sixers will not be a problem in the Playoffs without their bundle of energy.

14. Detroit Pistons
Allen Iverson is on the shelf injured but the youngsters have not taken the next step. Right now, everything is going wrong in Detroit.

15. Miami Heat
Dwyane Wade is one player the favorites don’t want to see lined up on the other side. If there is a big shocker in the Playoffs, then it will come from Miami.

16. Chicago Bulls
John Salmons broke through as a Bull. This team could make a deep run into the Playoffs – in 2010 after a low post scorer arrives by trade.

“Nate the Great”?

admin — Thu, 23 Apr 2009 08:06:24 +0000

Even in college, Robinson showed his fondness for bold actions and breaking unwritten rules. In 2004, the University of Washington guard picked a game against rival Oregon to unleash a mild controversy. His Huskies already had secured the victory with less than seven seconds left in the game. The first congratulatory handshakes had already taken place and everyone expected Washington to just run out the final seconds. But not Nate Robinson, who took Brandon Roy’s inbounds pass, dribbled the length of the court and threw down a spectacular dunk. Clearly an insult to any idea of fairness and the spirit of sports, many Oregon players and coaching staff had to be restraint from attacking Robinson, who was the subject of plenty of verbal attacks. Robinson’s opinion of the incident? “Sometimes things like that happen. The situation just called for it,” said Robinson rather unregretful one year after “Oregon-Gate”.

Awaiting the then 21-year-old Robinson for his start in the NBA was a Knicks franchise without a leader, direction or perspective. The Phoenix Suns selected Robinson with the 21st pick of the 2005 NBA Draft and promptly sent him to New York as part of the Kurt Thomas-Quentin Richardson trade. Playing for coaches Larry Brown and then Isiah Thomas, Robinson offered regular performances which gave the suffering Knicks fans a rare ray of hope during one of the worst periods in the club’s history. Nate used his explosive nature and game perfectly in the role of energizer off the bench. “Everybody talks about my size. But as long as I play like a giant, that’s fine,” said Robinson, who clearly considered himself one of the most important players in the Knicks rotation.

Nate’s lack of size clearly creates match-up problems which make it difficult to find the ideal position in the Knicks system. As a point guard, Robinson turns the ball over too many times – his assist-turnover ratio of 2.1 is one of the lower among the league’s playmakers. And being just 5-foot-9 is much too short as a shooting guard. Robinson makes up a bit of his lack of size with his superior jumping ability and quickness. But he is helpless when tall or heavier guards bring him into the blocks. The same goes for the pick-and-roll, against which he lacks the body mass to fight off a screen. In addition, Robinson is not a strong one-on-one defender And every taller guard (and that is nearly every player in the league) knows they will have the room to shoot over Robinson. If Nate does use his leaping ability to try and block the shot, he is susceptible to fouls or drives.

But the arrival of Mike D’Antoni’s up-tempo offense not only drew rave reviews from fans, but it seemed a system built ideally for Robinson. The numerous fast break situations compensate for his below-average passing skills and give him plenty of chances to excite the fans with another of his exhilarating dunks. Still, the fan favorite’s coach and his teammates know that Robinson is a shoot-first point guard who will throw up a shot if he’s in trouble instead of looking for a teammate. And too often, Robinson relies on his jump shot in the half-court offense instead of using his tremendous quickness to penetrate the zone. “He still has a long way to go,” said D’Antoni.

Of course it’s clear that D’Antoni’s “Seven Second Or Less” system tends to inflate guards’ statistics. Without questioning his skills, Steve Nash won the 2005 and 2006 MVP titles by leading the up-tempo – and advantageous – Suns offense. And the same tendency is happening for Knicks guards Chris Duhon and Robinson.

So what does the future hold for “Nate the Great”? In the NBA, the shorter a player is, the more important traits such as specialization, fitness and mental stability become. As someone who lives a bit on the edge, the last point will be a challenge for Robinson. He is responsible – with the help of the Knicks coaching staff – for staying consistent and focused. If that doesn’t happen, the way out of the league is quick and steep. But if Robinson can maintain his athleticism and keep his emotions under control, then he has good chances of becoming one of the biggest short guys in league history. And millions of kids will dream of being like him.

Nate Robinson: Little Gigant

Nate Robinson: Little Gigant

admin — Tue, 21 Apr 2009 13:31:34 +0000

As one of the shortest players in the NBA, Nate Robinson has not only twice taken the Slam Dunk Contest crown at the All-Star Game. On good days he drives any defender in the league crazy – and drives his coach crazy on bad ones.

Text: Johannes Korge

Whenever a player shorter than 6-foot makes noise in the NBA, it sparks special feelings for the league’s fans – especially the youngest ones. Players like Muggsy Bogues (5-foot-3), Earl Boykins (5-foot-5) or Spud Webb (5-foot-6) were most likely the shortest guys on the court in their early days and often ridiculed and not taken seriously. Yet, all three not only reached the NBA but established themselves and made millions during their solid, respectable careers.

Still, if these diminutive players can play with the best, fastest and mainly tallest ballers in the world, why can’t a fan of similar stature? Maybe on the asphalt or in a local club. But not in the NBA.

Webb and company show that talent, desire and effort can make up for the missing few inches. And there are a share of players at or below the magical 6-foot who not only keep up with the rest of the league but dominate it more often than not. All-Stars like Chris Paul and Allen Iverson have led their teams for years now. But fans still ooh and ah and cringe and cross their fingers any time one of the short fellas roam with the giants in the paint. And it’s exhilarating to think about a guy playing in the NBA but needing to jump to reach the top shelf in the supermarket. Still, these guys are among the best guards in the best league in the world.

That brings us to Nate Robinson – also known as “Nate the Great” and “Kryptonate”. Armed with an enormous confidence, the 5-foot-9 guard has played his way into the hearts of New York Knicks fans – as well as onto the “Most Wanted” list of supporters from teams around the league. After many successful baskets – preferably dunks, the combo-guard lets out a scream. But what is he screaming about? Satisfaction? Probably not. Aggression? Closer. What about 100 percent pure motivation, nearing counterproductive overzealousness? Bingo!

But it doesn’t even have to be a dunk of his own. At the end of January, the Phoenix Suns were visiting the Big Apple. With 3:36 left in the second quarter, Knicks forward David Lee surprised Suns big man Amar’e Stoudemire with a nice slam – plus the foul. Robinson was so impressed with his teammate’s move that the guard jumped off the bench and gave Stoudemire a bodybuider pose, letting the 13-inch taller Stoudemire know how foolish he looked in getting dunked upon by Lee. The referee gladly gave Robinson a technical foul and the Suns followed with a 13-3 run.

New York was able to win the game but afterwards Knicks coach Mike D’Antoni offered an interesting comment about his temperamental jumping bean Robinson. “That’s the reason why we don’t carry weapons. I could have shot him at that point,” said the coach. Of course it was a joke. But there was a sense of frustration and truth after likely the dumbest technical foul of the season. “We are not good enough to just give away points. I like his fearlessness. But he has to steer it in the right direction,” added D’Antoni. But that is Nate Robinson – fearless, motivated to the end and three-quarters under control. And his averages of 17.3 points, 3.9 rebounds and 4.1 assists this season for the Knicks are all career highs.

The San Antonio Spurs experienced in the first game after the All-Star break what can happen if Robinson keeps his emotions under control and lets his game do the talking. With the Slam Dunk Contest trophy fresh in his memory, Robinson showed the Spurs that he is much more than just an abnormally athletic freak – dropping an impressive 32 points and 10 rebounds.

But that was just half the story. Points 25 and 26 knotted the game just before the end of regular. In overtime against one of the top title contenders, Robinson made Madison Square Garden his own stage, scoring six straight points and bringing the Garden into a frenzy. His final basket – a spectacular layup against San Antonio’s 6-foot-11 Tim Duncan – pushed the noise level at the Garden so high that even Nate’s teammates may not have heard his primal scream. “He is a wonderful player,” said Spurs coach Gregg Popovich of Robinson. “Besides his athleticism, he also has a certain brashness. He really gives everything he has.”

“Nate the Great”?

Chancey Billups would buy tickets to see Lebron

admin — Fri, 17 Apr 2009 12:22:09 +0000

In Part 2 of this interview with FIVE, Billups talks about paying to see fellow NBA stars, Shaquille O’Neal, trade rumors, coming from Colorado and playing Wii with his daughters.

With the game on the line, who would you take of all the NBA players?

Oh man, there’s a lot of them. It’s tough to not say Kobe, the way he’s playing right now and how he’s played for a long time. But I wouldn’t mind it in my hands.

Is there one guy in the league you would pay to go see?

There’s a few of them. LeBron. Kobe. Carmelo. I love watching and playing with ‘Melo now. KG. Duncan may not be the most exciting player in the world but you can appreciate his craft. There are probably seven, eight, ten guys I would pay to see.

But if you had money for just one ticket?

Kobe James

Looking around the league, who do you see as an emerging star?

You know, one of my favorite players to watch is Brandon Roy. I love Brandon Roy. There are so many great ones. But I love Brandon Roy’s game. He’s so smooth but he competes so hard, his expressions out there. I love Brandon Roy.

You were one of the first players to get traded this season – for Allen Iverson. Are you players like the members of the media where you hear all these rumors and try to figure them out?

I listen. I don’t really pay too much attention. But I listen. You pretty much have to because you could be living in a different area code pretty soon if you’re not paying some kind of attention. There’s always a million rumors out there about this guy or that guy. And you hear them and just go on about your daily business. When you hear something so much, we’re just like everybody else: where there’s smoke, there’s fire. You just really go on about it. There’s not really anything you can control about it. You just try to be professional and do what you do.

When you hear about a rumor, do you start joking with them?

I was joking around with Amar’e (Stoudamire). I was asking him what color would he be wearing. He was like: I don’t know man. I don’t know.

Speaking of talking, who are the best and worst trash-talkers in the league?

Man, there’s not really that many good ones any more. Not really. GP (Gary Payton) was great. KG talks a lot, but a lot of times he’s talking to himself. There’s really not any bad ones.

Now that you’re out West, you see Shaquille O’Neal more often. What do you think about him this season and what he’s doing with Phoenix?

He just seems hungrier out there to prove that he’s still here. He’s dominant. You still have to double or triple team him most nights. The only nights you don’t have to is when they don’t give it to him that much. He’s still the biggest force in basketball, no matter how you look at it, cut it or slice it. He’s a force.

Talk a little bit about you coming from Colorado. How proud are you of being back in your home state – one not really known for basketball?

My whole life I’ve been going to camps and people have asked where I’m from. And I’m there by myself. I tell them where I’m from and they say Where? – like it wasn’t even in the United States. They ask me if I ride horses. Or if I ski.

And the answers of course were yes and yes, right?

Nah, I have never skied before. And I’ve never rode a horse. I tell ‘em I’m here to play ball. So, check the ball and let’s go. And that was always my attitude.

How is KG with it? You’ve known him for a long time.

I’ve known him forever. He always says, man, I’ve never met anyone that was first: black that was from Colorado. And then two: that played basketball and was good at it. I’ve always carried that with me. So I do take it all a little bit more personally, being where I am from. A lot these other guys have 20 or 30 guys they know from home in the NBA. And I can’t say that. I carry a really heavy load wherever I go.

Looking around the league, do you see anybody else in the league who has traveled a similar path as you?

One guy who has been through a lot and been doing great is Mo Williams. He came in and was up and down a little bit. But Mo is already an All-Star and I’m sure he will be one for a while to come.

Looking back to winning the NBA title with the Detroit Pistons in 2004, how does it feel to exceed your dream and win the title?

Other than being there for the birth of my daughters and getting married to my wife there’s no feeling like winning a championship. There’s no better feeling than that. It’s just amazing.

Speaking of your kids, I heard you play Wii tennis with them. Who has the upper hand in that?

They do, man. Both of my daughters have the upper hand. The little one can’t beat me yet. But the older two, I can’t beat them.

FIVEmag NBA basketball blog » Basketball Business

Kings Moving to Anaheim?

Most Commented Posts

MVP Race

Most Commented Posts

NBA Trade Deadline

Most Commented Posts

All Star weekend recap

Most Commented Posts

Carmelo Anthony – New York Knicks

Most Commented Posts

Review of the Euroleague season

Most Commented Posts

The LeBronism Era?

Related Posts:

“Nate the Great”?

Related Posts:

Nate Robinson: Little Gigant

Related Posts:

Chancey Billups would buy tickets to see Lebron

Related Posts: