Last Night's Run - Is Jack Really The Guy?

Warriors beat the Nets in New Jersey and I couldn't find it on TV
I was only able to listen to about half of the third quarter last night on KNBR. But my question is why, in this day and age, are there still radio only games? With all the cable channels in the world, why can't I get a Warriors game on TV? Even though New Jersey isn't a sexy pick, I'm sure some Bay Area fans would've wanted to see Brook Lopez and Ryan Anderson play with their new team. Lopez had 10 points and 8 rebounds, though fouled out in only 19 minutes of action. Anderson had 12 and 4 in 18 minutes. Compare that to Yi Jianlian who started and didn't even score. After watching two heart breakers, it would've been nice to see what was a fairly easy victory.

Is Jack the guy?
The Merc had a Stephen Jackson quote that I'm struggling with.

I just know I've got to make plays. I've got to be more demanding of the ball to get myself going. I'm 30 years old. I can't just stand there and break a sweat.

Stephen Jackson is really good in his role of being the third option on offense. But the guy? I'm not so sure. He has terrible shot selection, can't really create his own shot, and is much better without the basketball. His role today without Baron Davis and Monta Ellis is that of more importance, but in no way is the type of player who can be the guy on a winning team. I'm all for Jack's attitude and I'm glad that he wants the ball. But he's going to have to change his style of shooting without responsibility in order to lead this team.

Nellie says Al is on the block
Chris Sheridan of ESPN says that Al wants to be traded and he's definitely on the block.

He thinks he's a superstar. I think he's a very good player. If he wants to be traded, we'll try to accommodate him.

That quote came from Big Don.

Other news
Joe Johnson has the Hawks 2-0 in the early season.

The Celtics get their first loss while the Lakers are still undefeated.

Derrick Rose had a big game to lead the Bulls over the Grizzlies. Rudy Gay now leads OJ Mayo 67-46 in shot attempts.

Last Night's Run - Warriors Give It Away Again

Warriors give it away
Give it away give it away give it away now
Give it away give it away give it away now
Give it away give it away give it away now



The Warriors might've been listening to the Red Hot Chili Peppers before the first two games of the season. If that's the case, I have one request for them. Please stop.

Hornets and Raptors fan could argue that their teams won the games rather than that the Warriors lost them and that's a valid argument. However, it doesn't go with the theme of this post, so I'll stick with my argument.

Nellie went with a much different type of lineup Friday night. It was actually bizarro-Nellie, and on Halloween Night. Rather than go small against Chris Bosh, Andrea Bargnani, and Jermaine O'Neal, he went large to take advantage of Jose Calderon, Anthony Parker, Jamario Moon, and Jason Kapono. Nellie's best line-up consisted of Stephen Jackson, Corey Maggette, Al Harrington, Ronny Turiaf, and Andris Biedrins. Defensively, they were tremendous, especially Turiaf. It made me think that he needs to start at the 4 spot, even if they don't go big.

Much like teams without great point guards do, the Warriors turned the ball over in the clutch. Late in the 4th quarter with the lead, they took terrible shots, threw the ball away, fell down with the ball in their hands, and things like that. It seemed that Corey Maggette was the designated go to guy in the 4th, but he didn't work out. Kapono was guarding him and rather than take Kapono to the hole and go to the free throw line, he was setting for jump shots and fade aways. And then when he finally decided to go to the hole, he wasn't getting the calls.

Al Harrington seems to believe that the heavy minutes that the starters are playing is causing them to be tired by the game's end, in what I think seems to be a shot at Nellie.

In the preseason, we weren't playing 40 minutes. Right now we are, so it's something we've got to get used to, get adjusted to, and quick.

The preseason is usually a time where you're resting. It seems like we should have been playing a little bit more so we'd be prepared for now. It's going to take us a couple of games to get adjusted to and then we'll start knocking our shots down in the fourth.

It's a logical statement, but anything he says might seem a little tainted because of this now public feud with Nellie.

New Jack City brings people together
Truehoop has a great story about Brandon Roy and LaMarcus Aldridge and how there was a tiff between them and they were brought back together because of a trip to Oregon for Nike. During the trip, they watched New Jack City (Odom was also on the trip, but he's a sleeper) together and found out that they were each huge fans of the movie. And then, because they didn't have cell phone reception, they just started talking and worked things out.

With Rodney King's resurgence (he's on Dr. Drew's second season of Celebrity Rehab), I was reminded of this quote. "Can't we just all get along?"

Gay/Mayo Update
Rudy Gay hit a buzzer beater to help his Grizzlies beat the Magic last night. But more importantly, he opened up a huge lead over OJ Mayo in the shots category. He took 26 shots last night to Mayo's 11. He now leads 48-31.

Last Night's Run - Baron Davis Needs The Warriors

Baron Davis needs the Warriors and the Warriors need Baron Davis.
After watching my poor Warriors lose their home opener last night and at the same time seeing that the Clippers were blasted by the Lakers, I came to the conclusion that Baron Davis leaving the Warriors doesn't just hurt the Warriors, it also hurts Baron Davis.

(At least it hurts him on the court. Jay Jay just posted that Baron is now dating Kate Hudson.)

The Warriors some how hung tight with New Orleans last night and did it without having a point guard on the court for most of the night. Rookie DeMarcus Nelson, who isn't even a point guard, started at point guard for the Warriors, but for most of the night Stephen Jackson played the point, and we're not talking point forward. The Warriors played like Mike Martz was coaching them. They were frenetic, crazed, and at times, Stephen Jackson was playing like he took 4 shots of vodka at halftime. With Baron, they would've won the game, and probably easily. Even though Corey Maggette was better than expected, putting up 27 and 8, without anyone to direct that team, they looked like a 33 win team. They desperately need Monta, but it's not like he's a point guard either.

As for Baron, it might be worse. I took one look at the starting lineup that the Clippers rolled out there against the Lakers and man for man, the Warriors were better. I'm not sure how you can win with Tim Thomas starting and Ricky Davis coming off the bench and playing 24 minutes. Baron might've bit off more than he can chew. Marcus Camby was injured, but he's not going to help them put the ball in the hole. Who is going to score for the Clippers other than Baron? Cuttino Mobley is a career 16 ppg scorer, but that's on shooting 43% compared to Monta shooting over 50% last year. Maybe Al Thornton improves on his 16 ppg from his rookie year and maybe Eric Gordon finds a way to get some playing time. But that's a lot of maybes and when your best player is a guy who is oft injured, that's not a good look.

Photo by luzer shared via creative commons

Baron, you and the Warriors need each other. On the Warriors, you regained your status as one of the best point guards in the league. Without them, I'm not sure you can be.

Al Harrington vs. Don Nelson
The Warriors do have more pressing worries though. This won't be like the Chris Webber deal because Al Harrington isn't as good of a player, but it looks pretty ugly.

Geoff Lepper has some quotes from both guys.

From Nellie:

He better play his ass off, don't you think? For us to make a trade for him and get a good player in return, he's going to have to play well. Otherwise, if he doesn't play well, he doesn't get his wish, and I don't get mine by having a good player... You're going to play all you want. You're going to be begging to come out of the game.

From Harrington:

I've heard that before. So I'm just at the point where I want it to be shown to me... I've been the gunslinger before and the guy that could do whatever I wanted to on the floor. And that didn't happen (here). That's why, when he tells me that, I can't jump for joy, because I've heard it before. We'll start tonight and we'll see if that's the truth.

Nellie wins round one. Harrington shot 5-17 in 42 minutes with only 13 points and 7 boards.

Mayo vs. Gay
I stated in my preview that one of the most exciting battles this season would be to see who has the most shot attempts between chuckers OJ Mayo and Rudy Gay. After one game, Rudy leads 22-20. Come on OJ, I got money on you.

2008 NBA Season Preview - Monta's Mopeds

I'm not going to go in depth with a 5000 word NBA preview. I'm haven't done far enough research to do that, don't have the stamina for something like that, and I don't want anyone to fall asleep reading this. Thus, I have put together a list of ten for you.

These ten things are the top ten things that I'm looking forward to this upcoming season.

I'm looking forward to ...

Lebron and Mo Williams becoming the next dynamic duo.
Ok, maybe Mo isn't going to set the world on fire. But he does give Lebron a reliable second option (and one who doesn't run like he's on stilts). This has to be the year that Lebron takes Cleveland back to the NBA Finals because, um, he might not be around next year. And then it will be Mo Williams and everyone's favorite Wally Szcerbiak as Cleveland's dynamic duo.

Dwayne Wade upstaging rookie Michael Beasley.
A healthy Dwayne Wade (did you watch the Olympics?) means more to Miami's upcoming season than a Rookie Of The Year type of year from Michael Beasley. If you get both, Miami can contend for the playoffs. But if I were to bet on one, I'd bet Wade. Beasley is talented, but already has that Donyell Marshall vibe to him. Who me worry?

(By the way, I get to take that back if MB goes for 20 and 10 out of the gate. As for Donyell? He will just go back to hanging out with Tom Gugliotta.)

watching Portland early on.
The Blazers come out of the gate with Greg Oden, Brandon Roy, LaMarcus Aldridge, Rudy Fernandez, Jerryd Bayless, Steve Blake, and Ike Diogu - sorry, I had to get in another ex-Warriors player. To me, they are the single most intriguing team all year long. How's Oden going to do in his rookie year after last year's injury? Is Brandon Roy ready to lead these guys to the playoffs? Is Rudy Fernandez going to continue opening eyeballs (did you watch the Olympics?)? Here's hoping Ike gets some run.

seeing if OJ Mayo can back up the hype.
I think he'll struggle early on, but have a solid second half, and probably the best last month of all the rookies. But what might be the most exciting competition on the Grizzlies is to see who chucks up more shots between Mayo and Rudy Gay.

hoping that Kobe Bryant has a great year.
The odds are against him according to Bill Simmons. But I think Kobe is a different breed. Even after playing all the way into the NBA Finals and the Summer Olympics, I don't think Kobe wants to do anything else other than play more basketball. If he stays healthy, I think the Lakers are back in the finals.

wondering if KG, Paul Pierce, and Ray Allen have it in them to beat a hungry Lebron.
It's going to take a supreme effort to keep Lebron James out of the finals this year. And that's especially if Kobe gets there again. I have to wonder if those guys are as hungry as last year. They had a special season and as hard as it is to win a title, it's even harder to do it again.

Ron Artest's influence over the Houston Rockets.
For some reason, Artest's addition intrigues me. And I'm not sure why. I've never really been an Artest fan. Maybe it's because I have a soft spot in my heart for Yao and Tracy McGrady. Maybe it's because my friend Billy Parker roots for the Rockets. I'm still unsure about it, but I do know that Ron makes Houston the biggest wild card team in the West.

the Baron Davis era in Clipperland.
I'm going to deeply miss Baron Davis in the Bay Area. Eddy Zucko is going to deeply miss Jessica Alba at Warriors games. Even if his wheels fall completely off, it's better than the CJ Watson, Marcus Williams, DeMarcus Nelson three headed monster that the Warriors will throw out there this year. How old is Tim Hardaway? Maybe he can come out of retirement? Sleepy Floyd? I'd even settle for a 250 pound Keith "Mr." Jennings right about now.

the Anthony Randolph era.
Actually, I'm not really looking all that forward to watching him play basketball as much as the fact that I've always been a Bell Biv Devoe fan and Randolph is a dead wringer for Devoe. Really though, are they Warriors going to run Randolph, Brandon Wright, and Andres Biedrins on teams all at the same time? Calista Flockhart would be so proud.

Photo of Anthony Randolph, I Mean Ron Devoe, By cMacDutt

playing pickup ball with Coby Karl after no one signs him.

seeing how creative the mascots get in mocking Monta Ellis.
I predict that every mascot comes riding into the arena on a moped. By the way, I imagine that every Fantasy Basketball league has at least one (and possibly many) Monta's Mopeds, Mississippi Mopeds or Moped Monta team in their league. At least it's better than those Oden's Bad Knee teams that your leagues had last year.

That's all for now. Enjoy your hoops tomorrow. Welcome back NBA.

2008 NBA Draft New Edition Style

Ever since the Bulls won the rights to draft first, people wondered if they would take Michael Beasley or Derrick Rose. Beasley is a power player who has been pegged in this spot since the middle of the college season. Rose is a point guard who got his team all the way to the championship game. The Bulls seemed to like Rose better for a few reasons, and the word on Beasley was that he didn’t work hard enough, was immature, and was being compared to the likes of Derrick Coleman and Glenn “Big Dog” Robinson, former number 1 picks with great talent that didn’t work hard enough to fully realize it.

I asked “Basketball Blog” contributor and Bulls fan, Young Randall what he wants the Bulls to do.

I think the Bulls take Rose with the first pick.  I really wouldn’t care if they take Beasley as their most glaring hole is a post scorer.  But if they take Rose then they should move Hinrich and possibly Gordon for either another pick or a big from somewhere.

What I didn’t post is that Young Randall also said he wanted to see a full length version of Shaq’s freestyle rap, where he basically asked Kobe how his backside tastes. Why Young Randall would want to hear more, I’m not sure. He’s a mysterious guy.

Let’s get this going. We’ll see how long I can last.

- I saw Vinny “Of The Black” (Del Negro) in the Chicago Bulls war room smiling. I almost forgot he was their new coach. Wait, is it the war room for the basketball draft or only for the football draft?

- The Bulls grab Rose and now the wonder is if Miami passes on Beasley because of Pat Riley’s supposed dislike for Beasley. I say they still grab him. Why would they take OJ Mayo if he and Dwayne Wade not only both play the same position, but both need the ball in their hands? It doesn’t make as much sense.

- Stephen A. Smith asked Rose what he would bring to the Bulls and one of those things was, “to stay focused”. I think he’s a bit nervous.

- The Heat take Beasley and if anything, with a front line of Shawn Marion and Beasley, they are very athletic there.

- Ovintin J’Anthony (better than Orenthal James) Mayo goes third to Minnesota and the first thing that comes to my mind is that he looks like a dead ringer for Ralph Tresvant. Maybe his NBA nickname will be “Mr. Sensitivity.”

 

- The Sonics pair up Russell Westbrook with Kevin Durant. In this NBA, where you draft based more on possibility, rather than finely tuned game, your fourth pick averaged 12 points and 5 assists last year.

(By the way, your first four picks are 3 freshman and a sophomore.)

- UCLA goes back to back as Memphis takes Kevin Love, which I’m sure makes ShavedAsian a happy man.

(My man Ty Kennan loves Westbrook and doesn’t think Love’s skills will cross over into the NBA. He covered the Pac-10 for AOL’s FanHouse.)

- To a chorus of boos, the Knicks take Danilo Gallinari from Italy. Let’s hope that Stephon Marbury doesn’t know how to speak Italian. The guy plays in Italy and Stephen A. Smith’s question has to do with Knicks fans “sleeping on him”. Nice job there Stephen A. Way to know your interview subject.

- The Clippers, who lead all of the NBA in the category of most lottery picks ever, take Eric Gordon, a 6’ 3’‘ shooting guard. They go from one undersized two guard to another.

(After Jay Bilas gets done telling us that Gordon can’t play point guard because he doesn’t handle well and is turnover prone, Stephen A. asks Gordon how he’s going to help the Clippers at the point. Nice job Stephen A.)

- Milwaukee took Joe Alexander who Jay Bilas says has freakish ability, but also said he benefited from power players guarding him. If he plays small forward, they now have two as the Bucks just traded for Richard Jefferson earlier today.

- The Bobcats pass up Brook Lopez and take DJ Augustin, point guard from Texas. Lopez either had something in his eye, or he was bummed to not go to Charlotte.

- Lopez goes to the Nets and according to one of the draft guys I read earlier today, trading Richard Jefferson was all about clearing cap room for Lebron in 2010. The Double L, Lopez and Lebron!

- The Pacers draft Jerryd Bayless from Arizona, yet another freshman. With the possible trade of Jermaine O’Neal for TJ Ford, looks like Jamaal Tinsley might be on his way out. I know a team about 75 miles from me that needs a back up point guard.

- The Kings took the first guy who isn’t even at the draft in Jason Thompson, who is the first senior taken in the draft. We’re at pick number 12. Jay Bilas says there’s nothing spectacular about his game and he’s just solid. On the ESPN poll, Kings fans graded the pick as a F. But second place was an A. Now that’s a polarizing pick.

- Portland kind of has a cool draft. Though they drafted Greg Oden last year, he didn’t play, so as far as fans are concerned, they get two top caliber rookies this year. They pair him up with Brandon Rush, though I swear they have the another guy named Brandon who is pretty good and plays the same position, and who stole Baron Davis’ All-Star Game spot last year.

- Next up are my Warriors. Tim Kawakami thinks the Warriors would take Anthony Randolph if he was available. Kosta Koufos went to the Warriors in a ton of mock drafts. And the pick is Randolph. Here’s another young guy that Don Nelson won’t play. Jay Bilas says that Randolph is so skinny that he makes the skinny Brandan Wright look like Mr. America. Ouch.

(Mystery Cow instant messaged me before I had to chance to watch the draft and said that the Warriors drafted “The Scarecrow”. I didn’t know if he was talking about Randolph because he’s so skinny or Robin Lopez because of his hair.)

- To keep up with my now New Edition theme, if you look at Randolph sideways and squint a little, he kind of looks Ronnie DeVoe.

 

(Now that we’re out of the lottery (aka, the Warriors have picked) I probably won’t update after every pick.)

- Just as I say that, Phoenix grabs the other Lopez twin. One Lopez twin could possibly play with Lebron in a couple years and the other will get to play with Shaq and Nash, at least for a year or two.

- Toronto just drafted Roy Hibbert, who will probably go to Indiana, based on the proposed trade for Jermaine O’Neal. I loved Hibbert when I saw him two years ago. I guess he should’ve came out last year.

- JaVale McGee just got drafted by the Wizards and his claim to fame is that his mom played in the WNBA. I bet Agent Zero is going to have a field day with that one.

- I thought it was odd that Portland would draft Rush considering that Roy plays the same spot and my intuition was correct. They traded he and Jarrett Jack to Indiana for Ike Diogu and the rights to Jerryd Bayless. Poor Ike. That makes three teams in the last two years. Brandon joins brother Kareem Rush. Memba him?

(Kareem Rush kind of looks like a drunk Ricky Bell.)

 

- The guys at the broadcasting table are actually an interesting group. Of course, with Stu Scott hosting this thing, you’re going to get a lot of cheese, but Mark Jackson is great. I love Van Gundy doing the games, but he’s said some wacky things on the broadcast like that he thought Stephen Marbury was still a good player and that he likes Ike Diagu. Jay Bilas is Jay Bilas.

- The Nets just took Ryan Anderson from Cal. Brook Lopez and Ryan Anderson battled each other in the Pac-10 and now they are teammates and possible teammates of Lebron in 2010. Not bad guys, not bad.

- The one guy who has fallen is Darrell Arthur from Kansas. Someone who looks to be his little brother has already fallen asleep at the table.

- Utah, at 23, selected Kosta Koufos, who seemed to be handcuffed to the Warriors at the 13th pick. Jay Bilas really likes him by the way.

(If Koufos was black and was about a foot and a half shorter, he’d look like Michael Bivins.)

 

- Seattle just drafted a guy named Serge who is from Congo. Interestingly enough, he was wearing a green tie that matches his new Sonics hat.

- Ric Bucher just said that Arthur is slipping because he has a kidney issue. Yep, that would probably stop me from using a draft pick on a guy. The Hornets finally took him at 27.

- The first round is over after Boston just picked someone named JR Giddens, who supposedly has a ton of talent, but is a head case. I’ve had enough. As Kimbo Slice said after he beat James Thompson several weeks ago, I’m done Gus.

Edit:

Looks like OJ Mayo and Kevin Love are switching places in a trade.

(Since I couldn’t find someone who looked like Johnny Gill or Bobby Brown, here is a shot of NE sans both guys.)

 

I’m done Gus.