Eeeee

The Clippers have had the fortune of a soft schedule early on. Lets see how they hold up after December. Neither Mobley, Brand or Maggette has been involved in a winning situation for an extended period of their careers so they are going to have to indoctrinate themselves. Cassell on the other hand, provides a swagger and gritty veteran presence. If he goes down injured you can bet this teams fortunes will go with him.

Great game - I bought it from Pontel.com I dont think you can order from this site if you live in the USA.

Check this out: http://hoopsperspectives.blogspot.com/

I guess you are right. Babcock knows a lot about talent. After all Babcock predicted they would be terrible this season and then they get beaten by Maccabi Tel Aviv. So he was right.

Exactly - everyone was second guessing the Raps after they took him and even in camp Villaneuva has been talked about by coaching staff as never having competed this hard before.

Seriously, its the preseason. Nothing matters.

Agreed. The "C U Next Tuesday" comment was gold.

You mean they both had dodgy hearts? Maybe that's why the Beastie Boys sang - "Ive got heart like John Starks....."

Weez - all the point guards you mentioned are better than Wiliams. The Grizz were 12th in the league in 3pt FG% last year at .357, they had Mike Miller at 43% from downtown and Battier at half a click under 40% on each wing and logging significant minutes. Cardinal at 35% and Dahntay Jones at 38% also could hit it. Significantly enough to warrant a drive and dish more often than Williams provided. Kidd averaged 2.9 ft per match, still double what Williams did.

Weez - I agree with you inasmuch as the Heat do have too many payers that need the ball. Ultimately the Heat PG spot is covered. Williams, Payton and Wade can all play it. I dont think Williams is worth the trouble though. GP can backup whoever for limited minutes and will be better in Boston because he has Shaq to funnel the D to and can gamble more which will help overcome his lost quickness as he gets older. Players coming in need to be told - this team- if not for a rib strained Wade last season - would have played in the finals. They need to be made understand they are supporting players and nothing more. The ability of those players to play those roles will determine their worth to this team. Regarding Willimas - Assist to turnover ratio is such a useless random stat IMO. Williams was 3.07 last year - 13th in the league - Better than Davis, Billups and Parker - but is he really that good? I dont thing A:TO ratio is worth anything because it is a stat composed of two variables that dont correlate with anything about a guys ability to play the point. For example - a team that is a running side or has great shooters may inflate assist numbers - however, a point guard that does not drive the lane effectively create defensive collapses and real open looks for guys while getting a few point of his own in the process is a much better stat determinant. Therefore if you dont try and drive the lane you should be able to get 1-2 Turnovers per game only, therefore you only need 6 assists to have a 3:1 A:TO ratio. Not that great. Therefore Im left to speculate on what actually makes a good point guard - I think it should involve something refelctive of driving the lane, something more like freethrow attempts per game for point guards. In that category - Billups goes to the line 4.8 times per game. Parker goes 4.0. Davis goes 5.3. Allen Iverson goes 10.5 times per game. Williams goes 1.4 - 28th in the league in starting point players, only more than Duhon and Damon Jones As for Walker, I think he's a bad selection ( I think you were also in agreement on this?) He needs too much of the ball and I think his ego is too big. He needs to go. Haslem is fine - great sidekick numbers last year and coes cheap. The new Kansas guy will sit, learn and wait like rookies on talented teams do. Posey is fine - good defender, A younger version of Eddie Jones. My to main concerns (or fat if you will) are Walker and Williams. They may need to be 'trimmed'. We will see what happens

Quote: I would like to see the Pierce for Miller and Nene trade. I think it could be a good trade for both teams. I really think that given the chance Nene could be a beast in the league too. His minutes dropped last year after Kenyon Martin arrived in Denver, but he is still only 23 and is very strong. He could move to center alongside Jefferson to form an imposing front line there. The whole Carmelo - PP dynamic would also be interesting to watch. I would like to see that one go down. Thats nuts. Boston gets no benefit from that trade. Miller's career numbers are more comparable to what Dan Dickau did last season than Paul Pierce. Nene is an injury prone PF who will only end up backing up Jefferson and adding to the glut of big men who eventually get overpaid in Boston. On the other hand it makes no sense for Denver, you have two guys who both need the ball to be effective. Melo will get pissed that Pierce takes shots from him and it will ruin them. I hink this trade is daft and thats why the Celtics didnt agree to it.

I agree with Weez. Boston didnt practically give Walker away for no reason. Williams cant be a crunch time point guard. This team nearly won the east last season on the backs of Shaq and Wade. Anything around them that is complementary is good. Posey is a great defensive addition - a surefire upgrade on Jones (poor guy must be tired of getting traded from Shaq-centred championship contenders). Im highly doubtful of Walker's ability to sacrifice his game for the greater good of the ballclub.

That's incredible. What's he been doing since?

The biggest problem with europe is that often - the players dont get paid. If the owners are not happy, they simply don't pay. They offer no explanation, no buyout or remuneration and simply tell players they will never see their money.

Insidehoops is reporting Paul pierce is going to be moved for Denver duo Nene and Andre Miller. Some other players would be involved to make it work. Aaaaaaarrrrrgh.

Phoenix would have matched if Johnson wanted to stay. Any player that asks to go to a lesser team for the same money you have to wonder about his motivations. Does he want to play for you and what is he going to be like on the floor. Obviously Johnson felt like he couldnt stand out in the Sun's lineup. I think restricted free agency when you have a player like Johnson in a winning situation shows what motivates the player.....money. The Hawks will get a good player, but is he worth 70 million in the Hawks current situation?

Paul Silas was quoted as saying 'Gooden just doesnt get it'. Apparently his work ethic and skills are good, but he becomes lost in offensive and defensive sets. His basketball IQ just may not be up to scratch, despite his pro-quality skills.

Marbury is a joke. It would be a big deal if less than half the teams in the league actually went into the playoffs. New York will limp into the 7th or 8th spots at best at get smacked by Miami, Detroit or Indiana in the first round. I guess for someone with a playoff career as decorated as his, making the first round would be a big achievement. If rumours are correct, Marbury may be in the playoffs next year - with another team.

Payon is nothing like he was. If you think you are going to get good starters minutes out of him I think those days are long gone.

What about Davis? Surely in a list of NBA point guards you have to take him over Marbury and Francis. I wouldnt take Marbury over Billups because Marbury didnt win a thing yet. Neither did Francis. Billups is one of the best clutch guards going around. Kidd last season I would not have taken over Billups, probably only Nash.

Good on Bogut. He needs to establish himself as a player who backs up his big talk with big actions. Obviously he has skills, if he can bring some attitude to that, he'll be good

Nice work beav, kep it coming.

I agree with you weez. Simple arrythmia, given the amount of exercise these guys do. Could it be merely exercise induced? Its not uncommon for triathletes and endurance athletes to experience this under duress. Arrythmia reports seems increasingly common amongst NBA players. I personally believe that NBA players tend to use a wide array of 'supplements'. Ddx is so wide and varied its tough to discuss further without any history knowledge. On the plus side, at least he has heart.........

What are the bucks doing now going and signing Simmons? Are they hoping to ship Mason somewhere for a big man? They have two shooting guards and surely they are not going to try and play them both in the starting lineup? So why would they go and sign Simmons to such a deal as he got? Interestingly, JJ has been offered the max by the Hawks. I think this is interesting because if JJ is a winner, he'll stay for great money with the suns and play on a potential championship team. If he's more focused on the money then he stays with the Hawks offer and gets a mega payday, and condemned to a career of losing hell.

I was just looking at that and hoping someone would post it....WEEZ are you there?