There’s not much to do in May if you’re a Clippers fan. But having a rally devoted to a player who has, and probably never will, don your team’s uniform is mostly unheard of. I can appreciate the cause, because let’s be honest, any Warriors or Kings fan can relate to our cousins from the South. It’s always good to see some enthusiasm from the Clipper Nation. I still can’t help but have a slightly uncomfortable feeling though, as I watch a couple dozen Clipper fans parade outside the Staples Center while the Lakers are busy sewing up their third straight NBA Finals berth. It’s kind of like being a Senior in high school watching the JV team play.
Tag Archives: basketball
Phoenix Suns? More Like Phoenix Brothers
While the Suns continue to fight for the lives against the Los Angeles Lakers, few people have noticed that this Phoenix squad is really just a collection of less talented brothers. You may know about Robin Lopez and Taylor Griffin, brothers of better players Brook and Blake, respectively. But few people realize that all of the players on the team have more talented brothers. Let’s take a look at this….
Jason Richardson – Brother of Four-time All-Star Michael Ray Richardson. Sure, he’s about 20 years older, but they’re brothers. Michael Ray led the league in steals four times and assists once. He may not have as many DUIs or DVs as J-Rich, but he could take him in a dunk contest.
Amare Stoudemire – Brother of former Arizona standout Salim Stoudemire. Salim may not have the NBA resume that Amare has, but we all know who the greatest Stoudemire to play in Arizona is.
Channing Frye – Brother of NFL quarterback Charlie Frye. They may not look related based on their skin color, but once you hear Channing talk, you’ll see the resemblance.
Jared Dudley – Brother of former NBA great, Chris Dudley. Jared’s making a name for himself this postseason, but Chris is the one who paved the way for Dudleys in the NBA.
Grant Hill – Brother of Thomas. Grant has the NBA credentials, but Thomas will always be the king of the Hill as far as Duke fans are concerned.
Alondo Tucker – Brother of former USF standout Darrell Tucker. Unfortunately, Alondo plays like a power forward in a guard’s body, while Darrell played like a guard in a power forward’s body.
Steve Nash – Brother of Graham Nash. Steve may be a better baller, but Richardson, Hill, and Stoudemire have nothing on Crosby, Stills and Young.
Suns Are Keeping Me Interested
A couple weeks ago, I wrote how the playoffs have been a snoozefest, and was hoping the Conference Finals would bring a little drama. So far, not so much. After watching about two and a half quarters of the Boston-Orlando game 3 Saturday, it was clear that the Magic didn’t have any Chris Angel in them. It felt like they didn’t even care that they were losing. I guess they decided that they only wanted to sweep or be swept, and as AP wrote, they don’t have a backbone and would rather be at Disneyland. Superman disappeared, and looked powerless against a big baby.
Pretty much the whole team decided to lay down, even Jameer, who I always thought was a gamer. Vince was probably the only one that looked like he was even trying to compete, and that’s a really bad sign for a team, when he looks like the only guy that cares!! I think we can safely say Rondo is Boston’s best player now, and will give any opposing guard fits on offense and defense. All those other guys they have aren’t too shabby themselves, and know what their roles are. I’m hoping that the Celtics can wrap it up in game four so they have plenty of time to rest before the finals. They should give the Lakers one tough battle in a wet dream matchup for the NBA with Lebron out of the picture (here’s to hoping that will jinx the Lakers with that comment).
The Suns are who I’ve been pulling for all along, and tonight, they at least showed that they weren’t going to lay down to an obviously better Lakers team. The thing I found so strange about this game is I thought that Phoenix’s bench would be the reason they’d win a game. This wasn’t the case, as the bench was held to minimal production, and if it weren’t for Amare getting back into his game (42 points, 11 rebounds), the sun would’ve set on their season tonight.
Robin Lopez played well, and on this rare occasion the Lakers bigs weren’t the story of the night. I’m not sure if the Suns really won this game as much as the Lakers lost it. Odom, who had huge games in the first two made his usual disappearing act following a couple big performances. Hopefully that will last for a couple games. Bynum was just a big guy handing out fouls as offensive players streaked by him to the rim. Fischer might have been their third best player on the court. I don’t think I’ve said that about him since he was on the Jazz! Kobe will always be Kobe, and just missed a triple double by a rebound. Doug Collins and Marv Alberts seemed to think that the zone D the Suns were playing was slowing Kobe down, but they must not have looked at his stat line (36pts, 9 rebs, 11 assists).
All in all, this game has me feeling like the Suns have a good shot to even this series up on Tuesday. I still wouldn’t bet on them to win, but the most promising part about tonight’s game is that they didn’t really play their best. Nash wasn’t spectacular, their bench didn’t help out, they shot the three ball horribly, and the barometer of the Suns success, J-Rich, didn’t score 20! Looking down the need to do list before the game, I figured they would need to do a combo of all of these things for them to win, and even though none of them panned out, they still pulled out victory. I think the real question now becomes is Amare satisfied with putting up his one big game or will he come back for more? If he is done, the Suns will have a tough road ahead. If he isn’t, we could be in for a great series! I hope tonight doesn’t make him feel like he showed us he can do it, and he disappears like he did in LA for the first two games. The Suns won’t win another game if that’s the case. I’m hoping he wasn’t just “lucky” tonight!
Rondon’t You Wish Your Point Guard Was Hot Like Me?
Looks like he's holding a peach.
Ladies and gentlemen, if I were to ask you who the MVP of the 2010 NBA Playoffs would be heading into the Conference Finals, who would you assume?
- Kobe Bryant? Good choice, he’s definitely in the discussion, but no.
- LeBron James? Numbers wise, perhaps, but he won’t be getting any more numbers anytime soon now will he?
- Carmelo Anthony, Dwayne Wade? You kidding me –
People, the answer is RAJON RONDO. Yes, I didn’t stutter. Rajon Rondo. The BEST point guard in the NBA now. He’s moved up big-time. Move over Deron Williams, move over Chris Paul, move over Steve Nash. Rondo is top dog.
It’s amazing how the point guard nobody wanted two years ago is now the man in Boston. When the Celtics won it all in 2008, Rondo’s job was to not mess up. Now Rondo carries this team on his wide-set shoulders, and because of him, and the newly re-established defensive team prowess, the Celtics strike fear into their opponents. If the Lakers win tonight, I can’t help but think they’ll be paying attention to Boston in their rear-view mirror, because they must know they’ll be in for a real fight. Things ’bout to get physical real soon for them.
But back to Rondo, because he’s quickly developed into one of my favorite players in the league, if not the favorite behind Stephen Curry. No one controls a team like Rondo, and all of a sudden he’s hitting free-throws and jump shots. If you think about it, those two things were the only holes in his game, and it seems he’s got them plugged now. What that means is, he’s essentially perfect on the floor. He’s unguardable, and he’s a defensive menace, as he led the league in steals this season.
Lastly, Rondo is doing this during money time. You create your legacy during the post-season, and right now he’s finally garnering a lot of the attention he deserves. I was a Rondo critic, but now he’s turned me. As Magic Johnson’s been saying during this post-season, there’s no longer a “Big Three” in Boston. It’s now the “Big One, and the Little Three.” The Celtics leave their future in good hands once Pierce, Garnett and Allen retire. Very good, huge hands.
Quickest NBA Mock Draft Up on the Web
Well, another rigged NBA Lottery is in the books. To no one’s surprise, two East Coast franchises leapfrogged the likes of Minnesota, Sacramento, and Golden State. Fans across those three cities are moaning and groaning while Wizards and Sixers fans are wondering how they got such good luck. Fortunately, the two best rookies from last year’s draft ended up in Northern California despite David Stern’s best (or worst, depending on how you look at) efforts. No need to worry Kings and Warriors fans. The two best players came at picks number 4 and 7…. No reason to think they can’t come at the 5th and 6th position. Let’s break down how this year’s draft is going to pan out….
1. Washington Wizards – John Wall – Part of me thinks that the late Abe Pollin made this happen from up above. The other part of me thinks Stern did this from down below. At any rate, the Wizards will win the John Wall sweepstakes, but it’s not going to change their fortunes. This franchise has found a way to lose under any circumstance. They had a solid core with Gilbert Arenas, Antawn Jamison, and Caron Butler and still managed to be a lottery team. This year, they’ll try to ease Wall along, if only to keep Arenas happy. John Wall will go on to have an Antonio Daniels like career and the Wizards will be back in Secaucus next year….and the year after that….and the year after that.
2. Philadelphia Sixers – Evan Turner – Evan Turner is the consensus #2 pick, but his game is strikingly similar to Andre Iguodala. He’ll also fight for playing time on the wing with Thaddeus Young. In the end, the Sixers will keep Turner on the court to try and prove that they drafted better than last year with Jrue Holiday, and they’ll miss the playoffs once again. I’m setting the over/under on Evan Turner’s rookie season right at, let’s say, Corey Brewer.
3. New Jersey Nets – Derrick Favors – The Nets have a solid 1-2 in Devin Harris and Brook Lopez. Therefore, they look to the wing and select Derrick Favors. Problem is, no one’s really sure that Favors really likes playing basketball. Prediction: Favors and Terrence Williams still make little to no impact on the Nets in 2010-11.
Lakers – Celtics Inevitable
We’re only one game into each series. Technically, game one isn’t even over in Los Angeles, but watching Jason Richardson and Louis Amundson fight with each other for a rebound en route to a 26 point deficit five minutes into the fourth doesn’t really spark much optimism. The Lakers are headed to dominant defeat of the Suns in the opening game of the Western Conference Finals, and we all know what happened in the first game of the Boston-Orlando series. The Conference Finals look like nothing more than a formality at this point. Sure, a lot of people are convinced that the Magic made proper adjustments in the second half against the Celtics and appear poised to strike back in game two, but I’m not convinced. Granted, I didn’t catch game one due to my watching the Amgen Tour of California ride down the Auburn streets that I used to stomp on in my younger days, but it’s clear the Magic just can’t match up with a more driven Celtics team. Everyone thinks the Magic will adjust their game plan, but what’s to say the Celtics won’t. The Big Three know that the window is closing; meanwhile, Rajon Rondo is busy establishing himself as one of the premier players in the league. I’ll be the first to admit I was a huge Rondo doubter coming out of Kentucky. I thought he’d be nothing more than a role player at best. But four years later, I’m ready to give the kid his due. I’m sorry, but 29, 18, and 13 in any game, let alone a pivotal postseason game, is enough to convince me that he’s for real. I was all but ready to post about Rondo last Sunday had it not been for Dallas Braden’s perfect game. As stacked as the Magic are, they simply won’t be able to outlast the Celtics this time.
Back to the West Coast, it seemed like Phoenix would at least be able to hang with the Lake Show. After watching this debacle tonight, I’m not so sure. The Suns have the same problem they seem to have every year. They’re talented, they can run, and they have plenty of firepower, but they just don’t have the drive and competitiveness. The Lakers are simply to big and even too fast. There’s no debating that Amare Stoudamire is a beast down low, but no combination of Suns can stop the trio of Gasol, Bynum, and Odom. It might be a different game in Phoenix, but they’ll likely be down 0-2, so they’ll be lucky to head back to Southern California with anything better than a 3-1 deficit. Thus, it seems pretty much inevitable that we’re going to see a Boston-LA rematch of the 2008 NBA Finals. Boston got the best of LA last time, but the Lakers are clearly better. Can we really say the same about the Celtics? I’m not so sure.
Fantasy Sports Help
We rarely cover much fantasy sports here at Doin Work, even though all of us are in multiple fantasy leagues playing nearly every sport, including golf and hockey! Sure we do our mock drafts, and some awards when the season is over, but no up to the minute fantasy news. One reason might be because our friends over at The Fantasy Geek, are on top of all the important relevant news, that we figured we should just go to their site instead of doing the research ourselves! Plus, if it were me writing our fantasy stuff, I’d just rant about my teams, and everyone can agree, your team is VERY important to you, but everyone else you talk to could really care less about it. Maybe this is why a win in fantasy is only mildly satisfying, because you feel like your team should win every week, and losses are completely devastating because of that same reason. They’ve had a few podcasts, and I was a guest on the 4/24 episode as a caller. Yesterday they had a great podcast on just about everything from the NBA Playoffs, to what prospects you might want to think about picking up, since they might be getting called up to the big leagues sooner than later. If you are in seach of some help in your fantasy league, you should check out their podcasts and website to help build yourself a winning team!
Reliving the Glory Days
I may not be the biggest fan of the NBA these days, but the history is, well, amazing. You’re bound to see some classic buzzer beaters that you may or may not remember. Of course there’s plenty of Jordan included, but it’s shots like Dana Barros’s that stand out in my memory. The catch and shoot inbounds play will forever be cemented in my history. The Chuck Person game winner in Sacramento also stands out. I was chosen to shoot two free throws to win free bottles of water for my whole section. Unfortunately, I failed to deliver in front of a capacity crowd, but nonetheless, I’ll never forget that buzzer beater.
Luring Lebron
So I was thinking about this a little bit more and thought it makes a whole lot of sense. Sure, there are about a half-dozen teams that will offer James the max salary, probably something close to 30M/yr for 6 years. But is that enough to get Lebron? I don’t think it is, because he can get a team to the Eastern Conference Finals 5 years in a row whether you have a supporting cast in place already or if you build one around him progressively. He proved that in Cleveland, and he’ll do it anywhere in the East. I think ownership will have to be included to really lure Lebron, and of course it will be another first in the NBA (if it’s legal in the NBA… is it?).
Anyways, here’s my theory: Let’s say the Bulls and Jerry Reinsdorf are desperate to get back to where they were in the 90’s with Jordan. And let’s say that the Bulls are worth, oh, about $600M estimated (quick search found this value as of 2008). 
And let’s say the value of ANY franchise, even the Bulls, will grow at least 50% over his 6 year contract. That’s a net worth of $900M after 6 years. And let’s say the Bulls gave Lebron a 10% stake in the team to lure him in, just enough to get his attention but not too much to where you as the owner still have total control. With the proper valuation figures in place for the negotiation(not just my mba-quality guestimation), Lebron’s net worth can possibly grow an extra $60M in year 1 to $90M in year 6. So, along with the contract value approaching $180-200M over 6 years, he would in fact be netting closer to $275-300M over that time frame, or an average net-worth of $45-50M a year on the higher end of my valuation theory.
Same should be said about the Knicks, whose value was actually a little bit more in 2008. They would easily grow 50% over 6 years in their market after a string of playoff appearances, and you could argue they might actually grow way more than 50%. Those higher end figures could be more on the lower end at that point.
Anyways, again I don’t think it’s legal for a player to own a team while he’s playing, but if it is, and you want the greatest player of his generation for his entire prime and possibly more, this is what I would do if I was an owner.
The NBA Playoffs, Where is the Drama?
I’ve really been trying to get into the NBA playoffs this year, and have enjoyed some of the games/series. This past round however should be called The NBA, Where Blowouts Happen. There’s been an amazing lack of drama that the NBA thrives on, which has had me hitting the snooze button on lots of games. And by snooze, I mean, change the channel for 10-15 minutes, and check back. Once I check back, and see its still a blowout, I’ll jump back to baseball or golf and not look back. It’s sad the playoffs have been losing out in the channel surfing rotation, because most years it doesn’t. It’s going to be tough, but Im going to try to pull together a few things that are intriguing me in the 2010 Playoffs. Continue reading
Vinny Del Negro: From Underqualified to Underappreciated
Two seasons ago, the Chicago Bulls, to the surprise of many, announced Vinny Del Negro as their new head coach. The media knew it was a questionable hire, the fans knew it was questionable, and I knew. There are certain players in the game today that announcers will say, “he’s going to be a head coach in this league when his playing days are over.” I don’t remember anyone saying that about Vinny D. Somehow though, he managed to convince the Bulls he was the right man for the job. In two seasons, though, he has won over a lot of the basketball community – not necessarily for his success on the court, but in large part due to the animosity he has dealt with during his tenure. The Bulls were in rebuilding mode. They were coming off a 33-49 season, but they had reason for optimism with the arrival of #1 draft pick, Derrick Rose. They also had a solid core of young players in Joakim Noah and Luol Deng, among others. In his first season at the helm, Del Negro took the team to the postseason with a 41-41 record and ultimately took the defending champion Boston Celtics to the full seven games in their opening round series. Despite all that, Del Negro remained on the hot seat in which he was firmly planted very shortly into his career. The team clearly was on the ascent though, as no one expected them to make that much noise in the playoffs. This year, it was no secret that management was waiting for any excuse to can him. Still though, he led the team to another .500 season, but this time only managed one win against the top seed Cleveland Cavaliers.
Now that the team has gone out on a losing note, John Paxson and co. finally had an excuse to relieve Del Negro of his duties. Regardless of his success, or lack thereof, many fans are in agreement that Vinny was a bit shafted in his tenure in Chicago and was never really given the freedom to succeed. Kelly Dwyer of Yahoo Sports begs to differ, but that’s nothing really out of the ordinary. I just don’t know who could do a better job with that squad. Sure, Derrick Rose is a nice centerpiece, but are the Bulls really a contender? John Calipari has already reportedly expressed interest, but we all know what happened in his last NBA endeavor. Do I think Del Negro is the best head coach out there? Certainly not. Do I think he did an admiral job considering what he had to work with? Absolutely. There are two things I know about Vinny D…..
- He once lifted me up so I could dunk a basketball at Arco Arena during his days a player in Sacramento
- He likes to walk around the locker room naked, according to former teammates.
What does this have to do with coaching? Absolutely nothing. I just had to share those two tidbits about Vinny and likely wouldn’t have another chance to do so. While I hope he gets another shot at the helm of an NBA team, I’m also hoping neither of my local franchises are looking for a new coach. The Kings seem pretty content giving Paul Westphal another year to try and improve on an overachieving 2009-2010 campaign, but the Warriors I am worried about. Many feel that Don Nelson checked out a while ago, and now that he has the all-time Wins record, one can only imagine what he will decide this offseason. Here’s hoping Vinny gets another shot, but just somewhere else.
J-Ridiculous!
A big game one victory for the Suns, the whole team must have let out a nice collective exhale. They’ve been dominated by the Spurs for too many years for me to want to remember. The year of the bloody Nash nose, coupled with the Amare suspension gave me flashbacks to Game 6 of 2002 series in Sacramento against the Lakers. We won’t go there, we just can’t, it’s too painful. Jason Richardson seems to be the Suns barometer on whether they will win or not. Continue reading
2010-2011, The Return.
The Doin-Work team loves the “Told you so” moments, or at least the opportunity of it, hence our MLB predictions, followed by our NBA Playoff predictions for 2010. Speaking for just myself right now, I suck at the aforementioned “Told you so” moments, just skim through my past predictions as evidence.
But, my one “Told you so” prediction for the 2010-2011 NBA season is essentially a guarantee. Chris Paul was the guest on The NBA on TNT pre-game and halftime show during Game 2 of the Cleveland/Boston series tonight. Charles Barkley went on to tell Chris Paul to his face, that he no longer considers him the best point guard in the NBA, and that he is now second to Deron Williams of Utah. Now you can argue back and forth about the two, and which one is better, honestly, having the choice of either is a win-win situation, that’s not the point … but – CP3 has a fierce competitive edge to him. So when Barkley was telling him this, he was simply smiling, pretending to not be affected by his comments, but … as I was listening to, and watching this interaction between the two, I couldn’t help but focus on Chris Paul’s facial expressions, and sure enough, there was a bit of a scowl being held back.
So what I can guarantee you is this, Chris Paul is going to be an absolute beast next season. Watch. I can even guarantee this, he will finish second in MVP voting behind one LeBron James. Yes, three-peat is in the works for LBJ, and when this all unfolds, we here at Doin-Work will be the first to remind you … TOLD YOU SO.
Who Will Your Team Want in July of 2010? Rating the NBA Free Agent Class
We’ve had little to no talk on the free agent class on 2010 here on the blog, and obviously this class is the biggest and best we’ve probably ever seen. July 1, 2010 has been etched into owner’s/GM’s minds for the past few seasons, and multiple teams could land a couple of big time players to make them an instant contender. This upcoming July could shape the NBA’s power balance for the next decade to come. I’m a big fan of making lists, so here’s my top twenty free agents. I’ve included some guys on the list that I think may opt out of their contract making the list a little more exciting. I decided to leave off the restricted free agents such as Dirk and Pierce, because it would be strange to see some of these teams actually cut these guys…
#1 Lebron James – 7th season – 25 years old – Player option to be an unrestricted free agent
He’s the first player I can ever think of that had teams scrapping multiple seasons just to make the cap space for him, and another star. He’s the best player in the league, and WILL one day join Oscar on the list of players to average a triple-double.
I won’t go into what he’s good at since he can pretty much do everything. If any player in the league can make personnel decisions within his own team, Lebron is that guy.
#2 Dwayne Wade – 7th season – 28 years old – Player option to be an unrestricted free agent
Probably the best guard in the league. He scores wherever he wants, and gets to the line nearly everytime he drives to the hoop. He probably had two of the best five dunks of the season dunking over Varejao, and half the Pacers team. He’s made a crappy Heat team relevant. Hopefully someone else on this list ends up on the same team as him, because if anyone deserves some help it’s this guy. If Miami loses him, they will be counting ping pong balls for years to come.
#3 Amar’e Stoudemire – 8th season – 27 years old – Player option to be an unrestricted free agent
Amar’e looks to have fully recovered from his injury, and looks like he’s back at his 2007-08 form. The knock on him has always been defense, but it looks like he’s made some strides since sitting down with Bill Russell, which Amare said was an eye opening experience. I’m not certain that I see him opting out of Phoenix since he seems to like it there, but why stick with a one year contract when you can get one for six? Especially with his laundry list of injuries. Then again, I could also see him staying in Phoenix to help Nash ride off into the sunset. After all the constant trade talks swirling around him, and him never going anywhere, I’m skeptical that he will leave the valley of the sun.
#4 Chris Bosh – 7th season – 25 years old – Player option to be an unrestricted free agent
Most teams that are in the Lebron sweepstakes are also hoping to team him with Bosh. The predator should make a big impact wherever he lands whether it’s in Chicago with Rose and Noah, or with Lebron or Wade somewhere else. I don’t view him as a alpha dog, but he’s as good a great sidekick that demands a lot of attention from opposing teams. I see him as a Gasol type fit on a championship team. A big part of why they win, but in the end not the sole reason they win. Continue reading
It’s (Almost) Official: Tyreke Evans to be Named NBA Rookie of the Year
It may not be a secret, but chances are you heard it here first. Not that it’s tremendously unpredictable, but Tyreke Evans will be presented with the NBA Rookie of the Year trophy on Thursday. Today, the Sacramento Kings issued a press release announcing a “Major NBA Award Presentation” tomorrow. Unless Carl Landry is winning the MVP, one can only guess what this press conference entails. Unfortunately, this writer will be unable to attend the press conference due to other work obligations, but this announcement comes as little surprise to anyone on this panel. Evans became just the fourth player in NBA history to average more than 20 points, 5 rebounds, and 5 assists in his rookie season, joining the likes of Oscar Robertson, Michael Jordan, and Lebron James. It is truly an honor well-deserved. Congratulations Tyreke on a great rookie campaign.
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