Daily Nickel January 30th January 31, 2008
Posted by Teamfoul in Daily Nickel, NBA.Tags: Daily Nickel, David Lee, LeBron James, Matt Barnes, Miami Heat, NBA, Rookie
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Sani
5. The worst lineup ever?
Ricky Davis F, Jason Williams G, Mark Blount C, Dorrell Wright F, Luke Jackson G, Daequan Cook, Chris Quinn, Earl Baron, Alexander Johnson. Yes, i am enjoying it, so what?
4. The worst game ever?
5:35 left in 1st quarter, one team leads 3-2, teams combine to shoot 0/18 and good old ‘D’ has nothing to do with it. At least Minnesota managed to win for the fourth time in the last six tries. Jefferson’s numbers so far this year: 21.1 and 12.1, Garnett at the same age: 18.5 and 9.6, of course Wolves record was way better in 1998 (45-37), when your team has a 9-36 record anything can get you excited.
3. Matt Barnes and David Lee
They had pretty solid games last night so it got me thinking. Once teammates and bench-buddies in NY, these two still have a lot in common. And i’m saying that as a fantasy addict, owner of Matt Barnes and now a former owner of David Lee. Whenever Barnes gets solid minutes, he delivers. Hell, he could probably even be a top-10 fantasy option. Pretty much the same goes for Lee. If only their coaches could figure what every single Fantasy GM already knows.
2. Rookie Challenge rosters announced
Sophomore team: LaMarcus Aldridge, Brandon Roy, Rajon Rondo, Daniel Gibson, Jordan Farmar, Rudy Gay, Andrea Bargnani, Ronnie Brewer and Paul Millsap.
Rookie team: Kevin Durant, Jeff Green, Al Horford, Luis Scola, Mike Conley, Juan Carlos Navarro, Yi Jianlian, Sean Williams and Jamario Moon.
Get ready for the dunk festival.
1. LeBron’s game winners
LeBron on a drive in an attempt to win a game is unstoppable until somebody proves me wrong.
Daily Nickel January 29th January 30, 2008
Posted by Teamfoul in Daily Nickel, NBA.Tags: Anthony Parker, Chris Webber, Daily Nickel, NBA, Sonics
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Sani
5. Senior citizens on the move
It’s not easy being a 35+ year old in the NBA these days. Packing all that luggage, adjusting to a new timezone, weather conditions, having all those expectations that you can resurrect a franchise or at least help them make the last step to the championship. Webber, Cassell, hell, even Gary Payton’s name is being mentioned in multiple NBA rumors. Oh, i forgot about Jason Kidd, but he can actually still play, so he doesn’t fit in with these ’should have already officially retired’ ballers.
4. Sonic-BOOOM
I already said that Spurs suck bigtime, but a loss to Sonics? Gimme a break. And what a way to end a 14-game losing streak for Sonics.
3. Miami goes for a winning streak…
…aaaaand they fall miserably at home to a Boston Celtics team playing without KG and Ray Allen, with Paul Pierce scoring only 7 points. LOL
2. Straw-man
It’s old news, but just check this out:
A quote from Wikipedia: Butler is known to chew multiple straws during games; a habit his teammate Antawn Jamison considers “dangerous.
1. Ain’t no stopping this guy
Daily Nickel January 28th January 29, 2008
Posted by Teamfoul in Daily Nickel, NBA.Tags: Chris Paul, Daily Nickel, Damon Stoudamire, Jason Kidd, Mavericks, NBA, Spurs
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Sani
5. Mighty Mouse set free
On the other hand, he’s 35 and washed out like a pair of jeans.
4. J-Kidd officially wants out
Well it’s about god damn time, isn’t it? Nets have been doing this mid-season free-fall stunt for several years in a row now and Kidd ain’t getting any younger. Btw. he’s just as old as Stoudamire is, but he’s as close to a triple-double average as anyone has been in post Big O era. So he does deserve a shot at the title, right?
3. Silence of the Mavs
Remember this time last year? All the talk of the record-breaking Dallas Mavericks, they were so close to 70 wins, almost became the best team in history, aaaaand in the end they folded against the Warriors in Rd 1. Well, first couple of months of this season were all about Mavericks disappearing, how last year’s early exit has shattered their egos, but if you check the WC standings, you just might be surprised a bit.
2. What exactly is wrong with Spurs?
It’s almost February and San Antonio is just 2.5 games ahead of 9th place Nuggets. That about says it all.
1. +20.7
That’s just mind blowing and it represents Hornets’ average margin of victory in the last 7 games. What’s even more fascinating is that they’re actually better on the road then at home. To make everything even sweeter, we now have a legit MVP contender in a 21-year old Hornets PG Chris Paul.
Daily Nickel January 26th and 27th January 28, 2008
Posted by Teamfoul in Daily Nickel, NBA.Tags: Chris Andersen, Chris Webber, Daily Nickel, Hornets, NBA, Novak Djokovic
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Sani
5. Losers no more
The monumental losing streak that i enjoyed so much is over and after 35 days of agony Miami Heat finally got to win a game. It was at home, against a team that’s not so good (Pacers), but they’ll take ANYTHING right now. And if you’re thinking this team is better than their record shows, think again. That’s their current active roster from the last game. Think they are the favorites to beat anyone? OK, keep dreaming.
4. Birdman flying back
Yesterday was the final day of a 2-year ban Chris Andersen got for failing multiple drug tests. Strange, it seems like it was yesterday when we were all forced to watch him try the same stupid dunk quadrillion times. Given his drug use, it must have seemed like one second for him, and he must’ve made it every time he tried.
3 . Step aside old fellas
102-78 victory for the visiting team in San Antonio, with the entire Spurs’ Big Three playing, what a hell was that? Major power shifting in the Southwest Division, that’s what. And the 8th consecutive win for the Western Conference leading Hornets. They’re not deep enough to really contend yet, but all it takes is one summer with a few solid FA signings. That could easily be summer ‘08.
2. Old Warrior
Coach Nelson and his former player Chris Webber are close to reaching an agreement that would make get C-Webb back in a Golden State uniform once again. Exactly 15 years ago, Webber found his way out of Bay Area after he couldn’t see eye-to-eye with Nellie. Let’s say they made up and Webber does sign, how on earth will a no-knee center fit in to the most dynamic team in the NBA? That’s what people call ‘an accident waiting to happen’.
1. I promise my next #1 will be NBA related
Daily Nickel January 24th January 25, 2008
Posted by Teamfoul in Daily Nickel.Tags: All-star starters, Daily Nickel, Miami Heat, Monta Ellis, NBA, Novak Djokovic
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Sani
5. All-Star starters announced
West: F: Kevin Garnett, Boston, F: LeBron James, Cleveland, C: Dwight Howard, Orlando, G: Dwyane Wade, Miami, G: Jason Kidd, New Jersey
East: F: Tim Duncan, San Antonio, F: Carmelo Anthony, Denver, C: Yao Ming, Houston, G: Kobe Bryant, L.A. Lakers, G: Allen Iverson, Denver
No undeserved starters this year, i guess you could make a case for Nash starting over AI, but he gets his spot anyway, so i guess it doesn’t really matter. I’m pretty sure naming subs will bring far more noise.
4. Rudy Gay goes Youtube
Great idea. Gay has created his Youtube channel and invited his fans from all over the world to give him ideas on what he should do in the Slam Dunk Contest at this year’s All-Star Weekend. That’s creativity before the competition even started. He’s going up against Jamario “Youtube Sensation” Moon of the Raptors, the man who got robbed last year – Dwight Howard of the Orlando Magic and the current champ Gerald Green of Timberwolves in what in my opinion is the deepest slamdunk contest in the history.
3. “15 wrong”
How can “15 strong” turn into “15 wrong” in about 15 months? Easy, get Ricky Davis to be your veteran leader, keep playing injured D-Wade till he drops, act like Shaq is still “year 2000 version” of himself and hope for the best. Yeah, that’s 15 in a row now for Riley and his ****. Calling them team just doesn’t seem right.
2. 2 Fast 2 furious
When Monta Ellis burns you for 39 points you know you backcourt has just been slaughtered, cause Baron Davis certainly didn’t do much worse. 25, 10 and 12, with 5 steals, to be precise. And it’s not like Nets have a bad backcourt, right?
1. Fede-who???
Totally unrelated to NBA, but GO GO GO NOVAK!!!
Daily Nickel January 22nd January 23, 2008
Posted by Teamfoul in Daily Nickel.Tags: Daily Nickel, Kings, Marbury, NBA, O'Neal, Pat Riley, top 5
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Sani
5. Marbury, Shaq out with injuries
Marbury had surgery to remove bone spurs in his left ankle and said that he hopes to return this season, while O’Neal will miss at least two weeks with left hip and quadriceps inflammation. That leaves two pathetic teams with their leaders in ‘overpaid underachiever’ category. Miami can’t play any worse even if they tried, while NY needs a shakeup of any sort.
4. Fingers crossed
Turns out that Nene’s tumor was malignant after all, but medical tests have shown that cancer was isolated and chances of a complete recovery are really high.
3. Nash goes wild against Milwaukee
We’re not used to big scoring games from the Canadian PG, so 37 points definitely is something that can’t go unnoticed. Bucks seem to have focused on Amare a little bit too much this time, leaving Nash with one open jumper after another. And it’s not like they stopped the big guy completely, since he got his 19 points anyway.
2. Are Kings for real?
It is just three games, but this Sacramento team looks really good now that they are at full strength. Their starting five is pretty solid, add a couple of capable subs, wait several weeks and check if they’re still 5.5 games outside of playoffs.
1. 25 million reasons why Riley should retire
He lost it, and now it’s obvious. Pat Riley is the second coach/GM this season to say that he has a masterplan. He intends to get his team under the salary cap so they can sign an elite free agent this summer. Yes, the 25 millions i mentioned is exactly how much over the cap Miami is at this point.
Daily Nickel January 21st January 22, 2008
Posted by Teamfoul in Daily Nickel.Tags: Daily Nickel, kobe, NBA, top 5, Travis Outlaw
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Sani
5. No thanks
Knee injury that has kept Tracy McGrady out of 14 games this season will probably force him to skip the All-Star game as well. Sounds fair since there are a lot of guards in the West that deserve a trip to Big Easy far more than T-Mac does.
4. Hit me baby one more time
14 and counting with games against Spurs, Pacers, Celtics and at Magic coming up. Riley’s team better beats Indiana or team record of 17 losses in a row might be broken. And yes, another heroic performance by D-Wade is wasted.
3. Road Warriors (or beating the Warriors on the road)
It took 16 tries and 57 days for the Timberwolves to finally get their second road win of the season. Let’s see if they can get another one in less than almost two months this time.
2. Beat that buzzer
Two ubeeelievable games last night with Travis Outlaw and Rashard Lewis hitting jumpers at the buzzer to give their teams victories over Atlanta and Detroit respectively.
1. Single digit magic
Lakers defeated Denver much easier than anyone expected, and in a much different way than expected, especially with Bynum out with his knee injury. Kobe scored 17 points on no more than 7 shots, with six of his teammates taking exactly that much or more field goal attempts. That’s the fourth time in the last three seasons Kobe took less than ten shots, and guess what, Lakers won in all four of those games. No, i’m not suggesting that he should shoot less, i’m just saying that such surprise factor is a huge advantage for Phil over opposing coaches.
11 reasons to give your coach a boot January 21, 2008
Posted by Analiticar in Columns.Tags: fire isiah, isiah thomas, james dolan, knicks, NBA
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NBA team owner tutorial
1. The whole world thinks he should go ASAP
http://www.petitiononline.com/isiah/petition.html
http://www.fireisiahthomas.com/
http://fireisiahthomas.blogspot.com/
http://www01.flippid.com/static/gallery/2007-02-13/5754-1_lg.jpg
2. He’s been there for 4 years and your expensive team has shown no improvement at all, except for a couple of short stretches
2003/04: 39-42, 2004/05: 33-49, 2005/06: 23-59, 2006/07: 33-49, 2007/08: 13-27 and counting
3. He has another job already
Isiah Thomas is co-owner and spokesperson of a popcorn company Dale and Thomas Popcorn, so you know he’ll still be able to feed his kids
4. Your team has the one of the highest payrolls and one of the worst records in the NBA
Payroll: $88,877,161 (2nd), record: 13-27 (5th worst)
5. He doesn’t play those same players he acquired
Zeke has spent $60 M past two summers on Jeffries and James, yet they have played a total of 497 minutes this season, scoring 91 points
6. He’s no better than the guy he inherited, the same guy that gave your team one of the worst if not THE worst season ever
Two words: Larry Brown
7. He doesn’t give a damn about what his players think
Letting your players decide if they want their captain back after he abandoned them during a roadtrip and then playing him after a unanimous vote against that is not the best HR you can imagine
8. He doesn’t see eye-to-eye with the person he once called savior of the franchise
”It just made me realize how important that position was to us and how much we needed to go out and acquire a guy like that,” Thomas said. ”You just don’t get a chance to get these superstar players and have them be on your team in this day and age.”
9. He has a sex scandal in his resume…
…which cost you $10 M
10. He keeps telling you he needs just 3 more weeks and he has no intentions of quitting no matter how bad he is
He used that twice this season already
11. He is the GM as well, so you gotta do it yourself
Just do it, Dolan
Sani
Daily Nickel January 20th January 21, 2008
Posted by Analiticar in Daily Nickel.Tags: Daily Nickel, NBA, rundown, top 5
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Squeezing a nickel out of a one-game night is not an easy task but we’ll try.
SANI
5. Lakers’ Ariza breaks foot in practice
There’s still no word on how long Ariza will be out, but it doesn’t look good for now. Since coming to LA the forward has become a big part of Jackson’s rotation, and with Bynum out Lakers will have to dig deep to keep playing at the same level.
4. Mighty Mouse in Boston?
It seems like it’s matter of days before Memphis Grizzlies and Damon Stoudamire reach an agreement that will make the PG a free agent and allow him to sign with a contender, probably Boston.
3. Suns defeat Nets…
by 24 points. So what?
2. Nets-Pacers talks heating up
The proposed deal would send Carter, Marcus Williams, and Jamaal Magloire to Indiana for Jermaine O’Neal. I don’t know if it would improve any of the rosters but it would at least shake them up, and both superstars are getting sick of their current teams, so why not.
1. Still perfect
Let’s be honest, it was not an NBA day yesterday, for me it was mostly elections and NFL, and nothing NBA related deserved to be #1, so congratulations Patriots, and Giants.
MM
5. Shame on you, Martin!
Some guy named Martin Luther King is to blame why we had only 1 game yesterday (along with David Stern who set the schedule, so it would be filled with games tonight). Shame on you, Martin!
4. Over- and underrated
Right now (and only in my opinion) the most overrate team in the league is the Lakers (til they get healthy Bynum back) and underrated team award cause to boys in Portland (they are REAL deal).
3. Give me bits and baits!
That asshole company that ruined my Internet connection yesterday gets top 3 place. If that happens tonight with 13 games in progress I will sue them.
2. Who won?
Phoenix or New Jersey? … or was it me getting good night sleep?
1. Thank you, Martin!
Some guy named Martin Luther King has to be blessed (along with David Stern) because thanks to their perfect job we have action filled NBA day, which perfectly suits for the fans living in Europe.
Daily Nickel January 19th January 20, 2008
Posted by MoneyMaker in Daily Nickel.Tags: artest, daily, five, heat, knicks, NBA, rundown
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They need more than a win over Miami to get to the All-Star game.
MM
5. Miami lost, NY won … so what?
Sometimes you really say some silly things. Like yesterday I said MIA-NYK game meant a world. What a stupid thing to say!!! It was just another NBA game between two struggling teams and it meant nothing. So I think there is no reason to stop on that game anymore and who brings up this issue again is a moron, cause it doesnt really matter who won or lost.
4. Queens changing to Kings
Don`t look now, but this Kings team is on its way up, as they get their “stars” back in the mix. Happy days for Artest with 2 straight wins (Detroit, Indiana) … he must be running short of kisses already.
3. West End Story
Have you noticed that half way through the season there are only 3 wins between 1st seed and 8th seed in the Western Conference. WOW!!! That (hopefully) means crazy run for play-off position in upcoming months. Same stat for the East – 14 wins.
2. Final day to say
It is your final chance to vote for All-Star 2008 game. I made my choice, but cant remember which players exactly I took. Only thing I know for sure is that my choice had no Knicks players included.
1. Play of the day – Nate
That was sick!
Sani
5. Back to back maniac
Ron Artest got the best of what his coach Reggie Theus called a “cruel scheduling joke”, one day after beating Pistons in Detroit, he found out that fans of “the other brawl team” hate him just as much. No love, no problem, i wonder if Kings would go 41-0 on the road if fans of every single team hated him that much.
4. Dynamic Bobcats
It was against the Memphis Grizzlies, but still J-Rich and G-Wallace combined for 66 points, 21 rebounds, 10 assists, 7 steals, 4 blocks, 7 threes, while committing only 3 turnovers. Those two are catching fire and the Bobcats are no more than 2.5 games outside the playoffs, so who knows.
3. T-Mac is back
I have no clue what might happen with this guy in the near future, actually, i don’t think anyone in Houston knows if they still want him wearing a Rockets uniform, but at least he’s playing again. Oh, and Rockets defeated the Spurs 83-81.
2. No trades in Arizona
According to Suns’ Managing Partner Robert Sarver, none of the Suns’ core players will get traded during the season. Sarver said that this group deserves another shot at the title, thus silencing numerous trade rumors involving mostly Marion and Stoudemire.
1. 13, babyyyyyy….
Yeah, that is officially the longest losing streak in Rat Riley’s coaching career. To make things even sweeter, it came against the New York Knicks who have now won 4 of 5. No, i’m not ecstatic about the stretch, cause it might even help Zeke stay on the bench, but being a Knicks fan nowadays means that anything good they do makes you happy. And that dunk was easily a top-5 dunk in Knicks history.
