Basketball blog with takes on basketball and anything related to basketball . . . as well as a haven for jingoists everywhere - in America.

 
All-Star Selections - Western Conference

The Starting 5

Shaquille O'Neal - Duh . . . No kidding.

Tim Duncan - Before I looked at the numbers, I thought this spot belonged to Dirk "Diggler" Nowitzki, but the numbers say otherwise. Duncan goes 25.4/12.9/2.77 (pts/rebs/blks) while Nowitzki goes 24.5/9.3/.77. Dirk does shoot the three ball much better than Duncan, but I think Duncan is the best choice here.

Kevin Garnett - He is a freak of nature. At 6-11 and 220 lbs., he looks like a twig. However, as is quickly evident by watching him and looking at his numbers, he more than holds his own in a conference full of great big men.

Kobe Bryant - I know no one wants to hear this, but he is almost Jordanesque (pre-baseball). Bryant can take over a game when he a) has too and b) feels like it. Another "no duh" starter.

Steve Francis - How did this happen? Francis has played only slightly more than half his teams games. If this were the All-Talent team, Francis is in. But its not. Francis shouldn't even be on the team. The rightful owner of this starting spot is Gary Payton. The person who should've made the team and didn't due to the fans' poor choice is . . . Gasp . . . Stephon Marbury.

Those Other Guys

Dirk Nowitzki - Deserving of reserving. Not quite enough to beat out Duncan, but definitely qualified to be in Philadelphia.

Wally Sczerbiak - I guess he deserves to be here. While I think that Wally World is over-rated, I couldn't bring myself to say Nick Van Exel deserved this spot.

Chris Webber - See Steve Francis. "Hello, 911? This is Elton Brand. I was robbed."

Steve Nash - The first Canadian NBA All-Star. How can this be what about all those other Canadian greats like . . . ummmm . . . errr . . .

Gary Payton - Should be starting alongside Kobe.

Karl Malone - This must have been the old timers vote right? All jokes aside, the 106 year old Malone is still producing after all these years.

Peja Stojakovic - Between Peja and Wally, the West needs a team spell check. Peja could rival Ray Allen for smoothest jumper in the NBA. At 22.8/5.4 and .480/.449/.886 (FG/3P/FT %s), he is an easy choice.

--posted by Tim at 6:46 PM | | Permalink

 
Sporting News NBA Half Season Awards

Note the winner of the "Most Improved Player of the Half Year". I was in the library when I read this and it was quite a struggle to suppress the angry growl when I read this. See this for my thoughts on the matter.

--posted by Tim at 10:24 AM | | Permalink

 
A Retraction from My Earlier Column

In my review of the Eastern Conference All-Star Roster I said about the Alonzo Mourning selection, "this isn't that bad a selection." I can be an adult when I have to be though. I was wrong . . . soooooo wrong about that. The rightful owner of that spot is Baron Davis. I appologize. I'll try not to let it happen again.

--posted by Tim at 9:13 PM | | Permalink

 
All-Star Selections - Eastern Conference

The West will be tomorrow, but today we'll look at the Eastern Conferece selections, starting with the starters.

For Starters
Michael Jordan - While I could make an argument for starting Paul Pierce ahead of Jordan, the difference between the two is not enough for me to throw a fit over. Pierce has Jordan by about 2 points and 1 board per game, while Jordan has Pierce by about 2.5 assists per game.

Vince Carter - Carter should not be starting . . . period. This should be Jason Kidd's spot plain and simple. Even if you want to put a forward in here, Tracy McGrady should be here anyway. The fans make their first mistake. The numbers speak for themselves on this one. Kidd not starting is criminal.

Antoine Walker - Kudos to the fans for getting this one right. Walker's shooting pecentage is low, but the rest of his game is solid (well, except for those 3pt attempts).

Allen Iverson - Probably not as deserving as Kidd, but still is not a bad choice for the second guard. Everyone knows about his points, but Iverson plays great defense as well as his 2.47 steals per game shows.

Dikembe Mutombo - Dikembe shouldn't be starting either. While Dikemebe's theft of Jermaine O'Neal's starting spot is not as criminal as the ommission of Kidd, O'Neal is definitely more deserving. O'Neal's 18.3/10.8/2.38 (pts/rebs/blks) outduel Mutombo's 10.9/11.7/2.72 in my opinion.

The Second Course
Jason Kidd - Should've been a starter. No excuse for him not to be.

Jermaine O'Neal - Should be a starter also. See Dikembe Mutombo.

Alonzo Mourning - I must admit that when I first saw his name there, I went "What?!?!" But after looking at the numbers (Mourning goes about 15/8), this isn't that bad a selection.

Tracy McGrady - Definitely deserving. See the Vince Carter paragraph for my thoughts.

Pauk Pierce - Another definitely deserving player. Pierce and Walker have been carrying the Celtics all season and they have the numbers to prove it.

Ray Allen - The owner of one of the prettiest jumpers in the game deserves to be there. Can't really argue with 22.2/4.2/3.9/1.43 (pts/rebs/ass/stls per game) and his .464/.438/.849 (FG/3P/FT) shooting.

Shareef Abdur Rahim - My first thought was "How did he sneak in?", but after examining the other options, i realized that there was nothing left. Reef's numbers are good at about 20/9. However he would be an afterthought in the West (as would most of the East roster).


--posted by Tim at 3:36 PM | | Permalink

 
I know most of you are waiting for my inevitable rant on the All-Star selections, but I am saving that for when the reserves are named on Tuesday. However I will give you some quick injury news hits to hold you over until then. Note: Some of these I just put in for the easy joke, not because a majority of people will actually care about that player's health status.

Jamal Tinsley - Tinsley may miss time with a hip injury. Perhaps he got it from running into that rookie wall. His last 5 or 6 games have not been as good as his earlier performances.

Rip Hamilton - Hamilton partially tore his groin on 12/21 aganst Orlando. He is aiming for a return Thursday and practiced full speed Monday. His return could be a big boost for the Wizards and also provide Michael Jordan with an opportunity not to have to carry the team. If he keeps carrying them much longer he'll get back spasms.

Michael Finley - Finley has been rehabbing a right hamstring injury and is a game-time decision for Tuesay. I wouldn' expect to see him play until Wednesday. Obviously any team would be better with Finley, so you don't need me to tell you that.

Jamal Mashburn - Mashburn has been out since 11/20 with a strained abdominal muscle. Reports are that he could be back just after the All-Star break. The Hornets need more than Jamal Mashburn to help that team. There is talent there, but they just are not very good. It boggles the mind. At least they have good crowds . . . oh wait.

Vin Baker - Baker has a badly bruised shoulder. More importantly, how is this man still the starting power forward for the Sonics? Is Jim McIlvaine unavailable?

--posted by Tim at 10:55 PM | | Permalink

 
New TV Deal for NBA

This should read "Stern Gets Over Again." TV ratings are down. Attendance is down. People are supposedly growing tired of the NBA. The game is in trouble. Blah, blah, blah. Despite this, Stern blows off NBC and still makes a killing on the new TV deal. I have a message for David Stern. The Devil called, FedEx hasn't delivered your soul yet and he is concerned about getting payed.

--posted by Tim at 10:45 AM | | Permalink

 
"He's a three point specialist, and by that I mean he sucks at everything else."

-- Ben Matasar, occasional EotB contributor, on former NBA player Tim Legler

--posted by Tim at 10:12 PM | | Permalink

 
Szczerbiak's Back is Sore

Mwahahahaha . . . my Wally Szczerbiak voodoo doll is working!

--posted by Tim at 8:50 AM | | Permalink

 
"I know the Blazers want to clean house, but trying to trade Shawn Kemp and Scottie Pippen is tougher than getting rid of the "Q" and "X" at the end of a Scrabble game."
- Bill Simmons from his latest column, Inside the Sport Guys Head, on ESPN.com's Page 2

--posted by Tim at 10:30 PM | | Permalink

 
I am tired about hearing how greatly improved Wally Szczerbiak is. Wally World's scoring is up 5.6 ppg. Some of this is probably due to him improving as a player, but a lot of it also has to be the 4 more minutes and 4 more shots per game Wally is taking this year as opposed to last year. Also to be considered has to be the fact that Wally's number of three point attempts and three point percentage are both up. His shooting percetage is up by about 1% over last year (.523 over .510), but he was a high percentage shooter before. The percentages are especially impressive for a guy who shoots as many perimeter shots as he does. However, the rest of Wally's game was not anything special last year and has improved little this year. The 5.4 rebounds, .9 steals, 3.2 assists and .3 blocks that Wally puts up this year almost mirror last years numbers. Either way, those aren't gonna blow anyone away. 20 ppg is nice, but Wally needs to mix in some other aspects of the game like rebounding and defense.

--posted by Tim at 5:14 PM | | Permalink

 
Hawks sign Leon Smith to 10 day deal

I know the Hawks are hard up for players, but Leon Smith has problems and I doubt they have just gone away. This is the same Leon Smith drafted by the Mavericks a couple years ago who proceeded to attempt to commit suicide. I have also heard reports that one of his CBA coaches was quoted as saying he was afraid to take Smith out of games because he was afraid of what might happen. This is a bad move for the Hawks, but it is also a bad move for Smith. Maybe this is the Psych major in me, but Smith needs some therapy more than he needs to play basketball.

--posted by Tim at 9:45 PM | | Permalink

 
Iverson Criticizes Brown

I would worry about this, but Pat Croce will fix it . . . oh wait.

--posted by Tim at 10:24 PM | | Permalink

 
TIMMMMMBERRRRR!!!!!!!

It was not a good weekend to be a top 25 team this weekend in college baketball. Thirteen (Thirteen!!!!!!) of the top 25 were upset, including the last unbeaten to fall Duke, who lost to Florida State Sunday. The headline I used does not only refer to the big guns of college basketball falling though. It also refers to one of those upsets in particular. After being beaten in the first game of the matchup Friday, the California Golden Bears beat (13) Stanford on Sunday 68-54. The game Sunday was somewhat sloppy with each team having double digit turnovers (Cal 15, Stanford 18), but Cal did have 10 steals. The real undoing was poor shooting with the team shooting a meager 32%. It was the Bears first victory over Stanford since January of 1997. So in conclusion . . . Go Bears!!!!!

--posted by Tim at 11:15 PM | | Permalink

 
Kerr Just Trying To Fit In

I was kinda surprised when Steve Kerr said that he didn't feel like he fit in with the Spurs, although when I think back he never did seem to get many minutes when he was there. It seems like when you aren't a star player, it is really about finding a situation where you can make a difference. Since the Spurs had a bunch of guys like him, Kerr couldn't make as much a difference as he can now with the Trailblazers.

--posted by Tim at 11:34 AM | | Permalink