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Voting for the All-Star Games
Posted by Adrien Griffin Categories: Athletes, Editorial, MLB, NBA, NFL, NHL,
We’re nearing that point of the year where people begin to think about the All-Star games and the Pro Bowl. Millions of fans worldwide are sending in their votes for who they would like to see in the spotlight. It is only because of the 2010 Winter Olympics that the NHL is not having an All-Star game this season, but their selection process is similar to the other major sports. The fan-selection process is highly contested by many who argue that the fans lack the proper dedication to vote for the “true” stars in sports. But which fans are right?
Click to continue reading Voting for the All-Star Games
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2010 NBA Mock Draft December Version
Posted by Phil Partington Categories: Fantasy, NBA, NCAA, College Basketball,
June is the month for the NBA Draft, when fans and experts alike chart players and teams to determine which future prospect will be taken by which team. The process is both exciting and captivating, as it hints at the future of many NBA ball clubs. Yet, NBA Draft buzz doesn’t start in June. Even though the college basketball season is just underway, murmurings of where players might go in the 2010 NBA Draft have already surfaced. Here’s an early look at how the draft might shape up.
1. New Jersey Nets select PG John Wall, Kentucky, 6-4, 195lbs
Wall is the consensus top pick at this point. Wall has great size and athleticism for a point guard. After six games, he’s averaging 18.5 ppg, 7.8 apg, 4.0 rpg, 2.5 spg, while shooting 56% from the field and 80% from the line. He somewhat resembles Derrick Rose. Though the Nets have Devin Harris, it’s hard to imagine them passing on a potential superstar like Wall.
Click to continue reading 2010 NBA Mock Draft December Version
Fan voting is a major folly of the NBA All-Star Game. Each year, NBA fans are allowed to vote to determine which players start in the esteemed game. The problem with this format is that 1) fans on the whole don’t know squat about which players actually deserve the honor, and 2) fans are biased. Since online voting has been allowed, Chinese players, such as Yao Ming, have had an unfair advantage due to their huge popularity in China. This leads to a tainted All-Star Game, where, in all likelihood Yao may be voted in as the starting center for the Western Conference, despite not playing in one single game this season to injury.
With that in mind, here are the players—after considering only the first month of the season—who deserve to start in the 2010 NBA All Star Game in February.
Click to continue reading December 2009 NBA All Star Potential Starters
There are two kinds of sports debates, the rules of which are often determined by the setting. The first is the carefully thought out, statistically-backed argument that usually takes place between two or three people, set anywhere from a living room to a restaurant to the workplace. The second is the spontaneous rambling that can include as many as ten friends or as few as one confused sports fan. This kind takes place almost anywhere drinks and sports are available simultaneously. Which debate is better? Let’s find the answer by comparing Alex Ovechkin and Sydney Crosby.
Click to continue reading How to win a sports debate
One month of the 2009-2010 NBA season is nearing an end and the rabid excitement of many fantasy basketball team owners has calmed a bit, which is why now is the perfect time to grab those waiver wire steals. There are several factors that can suddenly change the stripes of a fantasy player, including injuries to other players, trades, and other changes in circumstances. Here are players to nab if they’re still available in your league’s waiver wire or free agent listings:
Peja Stojakovic, New Orleans Hornets
Need three-point shooting? Peja’s sunk 15 treys in the last three games. With Chris Paul out for a month, Peja’s trying to be more of a leader and is getting more shots as a result. He barely gets any turnovers and usually shoots solid percentages, so go ahead and grab him if he’s available.
Dahntay Jones, Indiana Pacers
Jones has earned a spot in the starting rotation and the return of Troy Murphy shouldn’t hurt his minutes at all. Murphy’s return will probably have more of a negative effect on center Roy Hibbert’s minutes. Jones is a do-it-all forward, almost like a poor man’s Danny Granger. In the last four games, he’s averaged 19.5 ppg, 4.5 rbpg, 2.0 spg, and 1.8 bspg, while shooting 51% from the field.
Darren Collison, New Orleans Hornets
Collison is a rookie and he hasn’t collected as many threes or steals as one might want in a point guard, but in Chris Paul’s absence, he’s been solid, averaging 15.0 ppg and 7.0 apg with low turnovers, while shooting 94% from the line in four games. He should only get better as he gains more and more confidence as the team’s starting point guard.
Click to continue reading December 2010 NBA Fantasy Waiver Steals
The Toronto Raptors have hit the road for most of November. My buddy Larry has been fuming over their lack of defense. Ironically he was loudest during a two-game stretch where they held their opponents to under 90 points. Granted, he makes a good point. When only the Golden State Warriors and New York Knicks rank below you in opposing team scoring, it should send a message that the D needs to be cranked up.
The Miami Heat came to town riding low on a similar three-game losing streak. These two downward trending teams meeting each other resemble the proverbial unstoppable force against the immovable object, only much less impressive. I had not been to a game since the thrilling season opener win against LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers. Here are my first-hand impressions of the game, with of course some fantasy spin thrown in when possible.
Click to continue reading First hand review: Miami Heat at Toronto Raptors
NBA Fantasy Basketball Early Season Guide
Posted by Phil Partington Categories: Editorial, Fantasy, NBA,
At this early point of the NBA fantasy season, it’s tough to know what to do. Whether to have a fire sale and completely rearrange a team, whether to make a few bold moves, or whether to sit tight. It all depends on the fantasy owner, but there are some rules of thumb to follow. Here are some suggested approaches to various rotisserie fantasy basketball situations. In some cases, the same might be applied to head-to-head.
Getting Crushed in One, Two, or Three Statistical Categories (“Stat Cats”)
At this point in the season, it’s important not to panic. Remember, it’s a long season and fantasy basketball is a marathon, not a sprint. However, if at this point, your team is getting crushed in one to three stat cats, without possibility of remedy (perhaps a player who might help in that category is due back from an injury soon), it might be prudent to try to balance out the team with a trade. In head-to-head, balance isn’t as important as it is in rotisserie.
Assess the situation. If your team is dominating in one or two categories, identify players on the team who perform well in those categories and make trade offers to teams who struggle in that stat cat. Be persistent. Trades can be tough to pull off, so don’t give up after one or two tries. Also, ensure your team can afford to be without that player. For instance, if a manager tries to trade Chris Bosh because his rebounding isn’t needed, keep in mind that he also scores points and shoots well from the field.
Click to continue reading NBA Fantasy Basketball Early Season Guide
Allen Iverson may have had the biggest drop-off of any player in recent years. Just a season and a half ago, Iverson was having a superstar season by statistical standards, averaging 26.4 ppg, 7.2 apg, while shooting nearly 46% from the field and nabbing 2.0 spg. The following year, he looked more than human. The season after that nobody wanted him at all. The question on many fans’ minds is what happened to Allen Iverson?
There are a couple of theories that might give indication to Iverson’s recent struggles.
The Ball Hog Theory
Consider that Iverson is a volume shooter. This means that in order to be effective, AI needs to have the offense flow through him and he needs to be able to take a lot of shots. Some players are able to be effective even if they don’t get a lot of touches by moving without the ball, setting up teammates, setting off screen picks, going for offensive rebounds. Allen Iverson is not one of these players. On the Denver Nuggets, he was paired with another player like this in Carmelo Anthony. While the two were able to boost their personal stats, this didn’t really help the team win, as few other players got involved in the offense. When Iverson was traded to the Detroit Pistons, a team that was accustomed to playing “team” basketball, Iverson naturally didn’t fit in with his style of dominating the ball. Therefore, he lost about five minutes of playing time per game and he was never able to adjust to a team that didn’t want to rely solely on his quickness to get baskets. Consider that in Philadelphia, where Iverson had several years of success, the system was basically tailored to him. While the team was built to be a defensive team, the objective was to let him control the offense. That meant, surrounding Iverson with big men who could collect offensive rebounds and sharpshooting wing men who could hit the open shot when the defense collapsed on a penetrating AI. It may not be coincidence that the Denver Nuggets suddenly surged after trading Iverson for Chauncey Billups.
Click to continue reading The Fall of Allen Iverson
The NBA schedule saw a full slate of games last night, and I am up early to make sure the garbage gets to the curb on time. Let us blast through the box scores, focusing on one or two players from each team and their fantasy basketball relevance.
Indiana 108, Golden State 94. Even with all the dysfunction in Golden State, the team usually puts up 100 points a night, but the Pacers outpaced andoutgunned them this game. Anthony Randolph has made a fantasy comeback, and had 17 pts, 13 rebs, 3 stl and 2 blk on his line last night. Owners need to see what happens to him when Andris Biedrins comes back because coach Don Nelson has not shown him much love at all with his playing time. On the Pacers, Tyler Hansbrough managed to put up 12 shots and get to the line eight times in just over 16 minutes of play. He finished with 11 points and 8 boards with a block, so might be worth a gander in deep leagues as a final bench spot guy.
Click to continue reading NBA Score Boxing: November 12, 2009
I appreciate musical mash-ups. Fantasy Alphabet will be my mash-up combining articles that look at hot waiver wire pick-ups, players of the week, and notable injuries. The format will consist of quick hits focusing on one player per team, and arranged in alphabetical order to help make quick scanning easier.
Dallas Mavericks: Erick Dampier. It looks like one crazy season ahead if Dampier can generate significant fantasy buzz. Since arriving in Dallas, he has never averaged double digits in points or rebounding, but so far he is doing just that. He has also pumped up his shot-blocking. Consider him as a sneaky play for the short-term as he could net you wins in the big ball categories (he has also been shooting 66%!), but the long-term outlook remains capped on the low side.
Click to continue reading NBA Fantasy Alphabet: Western Conference, Week 2
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