Well Nate's been doing school work (Comeback Student of the Year) so I'm gonna handle the awards for the week. I won't be as funny but i'll try. Like the 3-6 Mafia once said, "It's a Tennessee thing."
Smith of the Week:
Tyler Smith gets the nod for the Smith of the Week. He went for 16 and 6 against Memphis in the game of the year, including the game winner. If his Vols woulda won against Vandy (he went for 11 and 17) he woulda been my NCAA POW. I know Nate usually throws in some Smith I've never heard of. I thought this guy will suffice (also relevant to my 2008 NBA Mock Draft, coming soon)
Take Off Your Pants and Jack It (Bench Player of the Week):
Bench players should provide two things: 1) an energy boost for the team and 2) points and defense. Like I said before, it's a Tennessee thing. J.P. Prince is staying fly. He had 13 and 8 as well as lock-down D against Memphis. He's lanky like his cousin, and just an awesome bench player. "He rules."
NCAA POW:
He was the second fiddle last year and his team lost the second overall pick in the draft, Kevin Durant. However, the Texas Longhorns are back in the hunt and DJ Augustin hasnt had a touch of the sophomore slump. The 6-0 soph from the NO has put his team on his back. His team went 2-0 over the past week and averaged 21.5 on plus 50% shooting. The little guy is a force to be reckoned with.
He Was Just A Freshman of the Week:
His high school teammate gets the hype, but "Project" Pat Patterson has been holding it down in the Southeast for his Kentucky Wildcats. The Cats are a team I think will sneak into the Tourney and have been improving as the season goes along. His team went 1-0 for the week and Patrick went for 14 and 11, similar to his season averages. More impressive: Wilt Chamberlain's 100 points in a game or Pat's 100 white girls during conference play?
NBA Player of the Week:
No shocker here. His team is standing atop the toughest conference and he is the best player on the team. KB24 does two things The Pick 'n Roll enjoys: gets buckets and screws hotel management. He went for 27 ppg, 7 dimes, 6 boards, and 2 steals per game over a 4 game stretch where his team went 4-0. Also impressive, he did it all by shooting 60%. Looks like the addition of that Pau guy was a good one.
NBA's Get the Donuts Award:
This one goes to the newbies in the league who have to tend to the vets. Our selection for the NBA's top rookie is Al Thornton. He took the unusual route by actual staying 4 years at Florida State. Maybe it was the chronic, maybe it was the hott ass cheerleaders. Either way I'm good. The former college 4 man has made a smooth transition to playing on the wing. The past week he got 16 and 5 per. He is living up to the promise. Keep an eye out for this guy.
Lost In Translation:
The best foreign player usually goes to an obscure dude, this week im gonna keep it simple. Yao Ming fractured his foot and is done for the season. This will probably be the last you hear about him (until ALL-NBA First Team and the reason the Rockets might suck a fat one the rest of the season). On the season he was putting up 24 and 11 and his team was on a huge winning streak. We'll miss ya Yao.
Fresh-Men of the Week:
Gotta love the fact the Tennessee Volunteers shaved their numbers in the hair. That's hood and sweet. As a white man aspiring to be black and athletic, I'm jealous. Just a shame they lost to Vandy.
We'll probably forget about it so:
Jon Williamson gets the ML Man Crush Award. It goes to undersized post players who rule. Mr. Williamson has a lot of things we like: tats, cornrows, long socks, red patent leather shoes and a 40" vert. The things ML likes: being 6-5 and playing down low as well as possessing the 20 footer. He went for 27 and 9 against a usually tough on the inside Pitt Panthers.
Cincy always has some of my favorite guys; I just wanted to state my All-Time Cincinnati Bearcats starting line-up:
G- Steve Logan
G- James White
F- Eric Hicks
F- Jon Williamson
F- Jason Maxiell
Drink a lotta Crow this weekend everyone, but not so much that you forget to check up on what's good at the Pick 'n Roll,
-ML
Thursday, February 28, 2008
Monday, February 25, 2008
I'm not even drunk..... I'm just pissed.... Bill Walker is the drunk one...
This is just a random gathering of my thoughts from the last few hours.
Kansas State, I hope you understand that you have one of the most talented college players ever on your roster. I swear, Michael Beasley is really good, but you would never know from watching KSU play. Coach Frank Martin allows KSU to phase Beasley out of the game at the most important times. Martin prefers that Jacob Pullen and Bill Walker (aka Paul Harris Midwest) fire up 40 footers while his star works his ass off in the post. This is an interesting coaching strategy, and one might wonder why Martin uses this plan. The answer is easy, Martin's only previous head coaching job was at Miami.... No, not the U, not even Miami of Ohio, not even Miami Dade Junior College. Martin was a worthless piece of shit high school coach for 7 or 8 years. But don't let that fool ya, he also coached some good AAU teams. He also spent time as an assistant at Northeastern and Cincy before heading to KSU. With a resume like that I can only wonder why we didn't select him to coach Team USA in the Olympics.
A few weeks ago, we fell back in love with Paul Harris Midwest..... He even climbed all the way to 17th on our NBA Draft list (although Lamanna did not agree). Sadly, Mr. Harris Midwest shit the bed tonight. 0-14 for 1 point...... but at the end of the game I guess he was a better option than Beasley. Really, Beasley should just take every shot..... It should be like a pick-up game when a guy just inbounds the ball off of the wall to themselves. I can only imagine how much less Beasley would be seeing the ball if his boy OJ Mayo would have went to KSU like many people suspected a few years ago. That would be fun to watch. I bet a real fight would have broken out between all 12 members of the squad in order to see who got to bring the ball up. Frank Martin, you make me sick.
Despite losing 3 in a row, I still think KSU belongs in the big dance. http://realtimerpi.com has them at 42nd right now, and America deserves a chance to see more of Michael Beasley. I would actually like to have the chance to interview Mike and ask him, "how do you continue to put up 30 points a night even with your team members avoiding you like you slept with all of their girlfriends?". By the way, he has slept with all of their girlfriends.
Another team who belongs in the big dance is Gonzaga. I will always have a special place in my heart for the Zags, and they are currently 33rd in RPI. Gonzaga has only lost to Texas Tech, Washington State, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Memphis, and St. Mary's. 4 of those teams have 20 wins or more.... Sounds good to me, let the Zags play in March.
Speaking of Memphis, you know I love the Tigers and I have mad love for my boy Coach Cal, but I am a little worried about next year. If CDR chooses to leave, the Tigers will lose 3 starters and Andre Allen off of the bench. That doesn't sound like much, but you have to assume that 5 star shooting guard Tyreke Evans (currently unsigned, but basically down to Memphis and Louisville) will be replacing one of those starters. That sounds good to an outsider, but you have to understand that Evans is a certified ballhog. He is basically Darius Washington Jr. That being said, I guess it is too early to worry about next year.
Lastly, there will be a Mock Draft coming up before Sunday. Michael Beasley is still going to be #1. Beasley will be #1 until he loses a limb. Once he loses a limb he will fall out of the top 5, but still be a lottery pick. Bill Walker Harris Midwest Drunk Asshole Paul has fallen out of the top 30. For those of you who didn't understand, I was talking about Bill Walker. I currently hate him. Some other guys are rising and falling, but you will have to check in all week to find out who goes where in our draft.
I'm pissed, 0-14 means Billy was drunk....
railroad them KSU bitches like Beasley,
-NM
Kansas State, I hope you understand that you have one of the most talented college players ever on your roster. I swear, Michael Beasley is really good, but you would never know from watching KSU play. Coach Frank Martin allows KSU to phase Beasley out of the game at the most important times. Martin prefers that Jacob Pullen and Bill Walker (aka Paul Harris Midwest) fire up 40 footers while his star works his ass off in the post. This is an interesting coaching strategy, and one might wonder why Martin uses this plan. The answer is easy, Martin's only previous head coaching job was at Miami.... No, not the U, not even Miami of Ohio, not even Miami Dade Junior College. Martin was a worthless piece of shit high school coach for 7 or 8 years. But don't let that fool ya, he also coached some good AAU teams. He also spent time as an assistant at Northeastern and Cincy before heading to KSU. With a resume like that I can only wonder why we didn't select him to coach Team USA in the Olympics.
A few weeks ago, we fell back in love with Paul Harris Midwest..... He even climbed all the way to 17th on our NBA Draft list (although Lamanna did not agree). Sadly, Mr. Harris Midwest shit the bed tonight. 0-14 for 1 point...... but at the end of the game I guess he was a better option than Beasley. Really, Beasley should just take every shot..... It should be like a pick-up game when a guy just inbounds the ball off of the wall to themselves. I can only imagine how much less Beasley would be seeing the ball if his boy OJ Mayo would have went to KSU like many people suspected a few years ago. That would be fun to watch. I bet a real fight would have broken out between all 12 members of the squad in order to see who got to bring the ball up. Frank Martin, you make me sick.
Despite losing 3 in a row, I still think KSU belongs in the big dance. http://realtimerpi.com has them at 42nd right now, and America deserves a chance to see more of Michael Beasley. I would actually like to have the chance to interview Mike and ask him, "how do you continue to put up 30 points a night even with your team members avoiding you like you slept with all of their girlfriends?". By the way, he has slept with all of their girlfriends.
Another team who belongs in the big dance is Gonzaga. I will always have a special place in my heart for the Zags, and they are currently 33rd in RPI. Gonzaga has only lost to Texas Tech, Washington State, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Memphis, and St. Mary's. 4 of those teams have 20 wins or more.... Sounds good to me, let the Zags play in March.
Speaking of Memphis, you know I love the Tigers and I have mad love for my boy Coach Cal, but I am a little worried about next year. If CDR chooses to leave, the Tigers will lose 3 starters and Andre Allen off of the bench. That doesn't sound like much, but you have to assume that 5 star shooting guard Tyreke Evans (currently unsigned, but basically down to Memphis and Louisville) will be replacing one of those starters. That sounds good to an outsider, but you have to understand that Evans is a certified ballhog. He is basically Darius Washington Jr. That being said, I guess it is too early to worry about next year.
Lastly, there will be a Mock Draft coming up before Sunday. Michael Beasley is still going to be #1. Beasley will be #1 until he loses a limb. Once he loses a limb he will fall out of the top 5, but still be a lottery pick. Bill Walker Harris Midwest Drunk Asshole Paul has fallen out of the top 30. For those of you who didn't understand, I was talking about Bill Walker. I currently hate him. Some other guys are rising and falling, but you will have to check in all week to find out who goes where in our draft.
I'm pissed, 0-14 means Billy was drunk....
railroad them KSU bitches like Beasley,
-NM
Saturday, February 23, 2008
This is why we live!!!!
This preview was supposed to happen earlier in the week, but alcohol happened instead. That being said, tonights matchup at the FedEx(mad props for delivering my phone on time) Forum in Memphis should be one of the finest games of the college hoops season. #2 Tennessee takes on #1 Memphis at 9 on ESPN tonight. I really don't want to get in too deep with this preview because everything has already been said, but I am going to highlight some key players/matchups.
Jordan Howell:
Howell, Tennessee's point guard, is one of the few white guys who will have a chance to impact this game. For that reason, and that reason alone, he gets some love from PnR. Howell doesn't score much, but he does run the show well for Bruce Pearl.
CDR:
You already know we love CDR, and we expect him to be huge tonight. Douglas-Roberts is averaging 27 ppg over his last 3 games and Coach Cal has to be happy that his leader is finally showing the balls/guts to take the big shots when they count. CDR had been almost unselfish to a fault, but he now knows it is his time to shine.
Tyler Smith and C-Lo(Chris Lofton):
Smith is the straw that stirs the drink, the glue guy, the athletic Dane Bradshaw. C-Lo is a winner, and one of the finest shooters that college hoops has seen over the past decade. He is also a Kentucky school-boy legend, who has used his lack of scholarship offers as motivation over the past four years. These two will have to carry the load on the offensive end if Tennessee wants to pull the mild upset tonight.
Coach Calipari -Vs- Bruce Pearl:
Both guys have made a career out of turning shit into gold. That is why Memphis (a freakin CUSA team) and Tennessee (a football school) are playing for the right to be named the best team in the NCAA tonight. They are also both really cool. Pearl wore body paint to cheer on the women's team last year, and Coach Cal basically encourages his players to be as hood as possible. His two best players are nicknamed "Buckets" and "The Great Poohdini"..... that rules. More importantly, the two have had some harsh words for one another on the recruiting trail. Both guys love playing uptempo and stress defense.... However, their players are so talented and their offenses so fast paced, that we expect the first team to 150 to be declared the winner.
Prediction:
I love Memphis.....Love em to death, but I just have a gut feeling that we are going to see Tennessee leaving tonight as the #1 team in the country. I don't think Memphis can go undefeated, and I think they just have too much trouble right now, with Dorsey being a little girl and all. Tennessee by 4..... write it down, Tennessee by 4.
-NM
Jordan Howell:
Howell, Tennessee's point guard, is one of the few white guys who will have a chance to impact this game. For that reason, and that reason alone, he gets some love from PnR. Howell doesn't score much, but he does run the show well for Bruce Pearl.
CDR:
You already know we love CDR, and we expect him to be huge tonight. Douglas-Roberts is averaging 27 ppg over his last 3 games and Coach Cal has to be happy that his leader is finally showing the balls/guts to take the big shots when they count. CDR had been almost unselfish to a fault, but he now knows it is his time to shine.
Tyler Smith and C-Lo(Chris Lofton):Smith is the straw that stirs the drink, the glue guy, the athletic Dane Bradshaw. C-Lo is a winner, and one of the finest shooters that college hoops has seen over the past decade. He is also a Kentucky school-boy legend, who has used his lack of scholarship offers as motivation over the past four years. These two will have to carry the load on the offensive end if Tennessee wants to pull the mild upset tonight.
Coach Calipari -Vs- Bruce Pearl:
Both guys have made a career out of turning shit into gold. That is why Memphis (a freakin CUSA team) and Tennessee (a football school) are playing for the right to be named the best team in the NCAA tonight. They are also both really cool. Pearl wore body paint to cheer on the women's team last year, and Coach Cal basically encourages his players to be as hood as possible. His two best players are nicknamed "Buckets" and "The Great Poohdini"..... that rules. More importantly, the two have had some harsh words for one another on the recruiting trail. Both guys love playing uptempo and stress defense.... However, their players are so talented and their offenses so fast paced, that we expect the first team to 150 to be declared the winner.
Prediction:
I love Memphis.....Love em to death, but I just have a gut feeling that we are going to see Tennessee leaving tonight as the #1 team in the country. I don't think Memphis can go undefeated, and I think they just have too much trouble right now, with Dorsey being a little girl and all. Tennessee by 4..... write it down, Tennessee by 4.
-NM
Thursday, February 21, 2008
One more shot of Crow...
Former Gulf Shores Academy star Gerald Green returns to his native Houston while Kirk Snyder heads to the Siberia of North America, Minnesota. I like this trade because I am a Gerald Green fan, although I still think it woulda been real hood (and showed a me first attitude) if he threw on his retro Celtics "Green" jersey at the dunk contest.
Rockets got
F Gerald Green
T-Wolves got
Another worthless piece of shit.
Rockets got
F Gerald Green
T-Wolves got
Another worthless piece of shit.
More Trades!!!
There were two big deals today that improved contenders. The New Orleans Hornets and the Cleveland Cavaliers both made moves. Both were involved in three way trades with one teams tucking their dicks between their legs, one team not givin a shit, and one team improving. Here's the breakdown of the trade between the Hornets, Rockets, and Grizzlies:
Hornets got:
G Mike James
G/F Bonzi Wells
Draft rights to Forward Sergei Lishchuk
Rockets got:
G Bobby Jackson
G Adam Haluska
New Orlean's 2nd rounder in 2009
Grizzlies got:
F Marcus Vinicus
Cash from Houston
Draft Rights to F Malick Badiane
The Grizzlies got involved late and picked up Marcus Vinicus (prob to make the cap work) as well as cash even though no one wants to go to Memphis unless they're young, black and coached by Calipari. I'm sure the Memphis Tigers have more valuable assets than the draft rights to some random forward. The big story is that the Hornets just picked up a good shooter/back up point guard and a solid wing player in Bonzi Wells.
The big 3-team, 11 player trade:
Cavs got:
G Delonte West
G Wally Szczerbiak
F Joe Smith
C Ben Wallace
Bulls got:
G Larry Hughes (finally the worst signing in Cleveland history is gone)
F Drew Gordon
G Shannon Brown
F Cedric Simmons
Sonics got:
G Ira Newble
F Donyell Marshall
F Adrian Griffin
The Sonics pretty much are dumping salaries and getting rid of gunners so that KD and Jeff Green can take over. The Bulls may have upgraded (FYI: on NBA Live they went from a 87 to an 89). Drew Gooden is, in my eyes, an upgrade from Ben Wallace. He is a solid rebounder and a capable scorer. They also acquire Larry Hughes who may actually decide to produce in Chi town. The Cavaliers- kudos. Boobie, much like Boobie Myles, has hurt his leg and is out. They acquired Delonte West, who may be one of the most hood guys in the league (he has a neck tattoo, a tilted headband, and an STD) and can score/handle the rock. Im interested to see what the front court looks like. Big Z is obviously the starter, will they bring Big Ben off the bench or start him at the four. I like him starting because Big Ben can defend the guys Big Z can't (ie everyone).
Other trades that are of little to no importance in my life:
Toronto and Detroit
Toronto got:
C Primoz Brezec
Cash
Detroit got:
G Juan Dixon (who's lil bro is coming to Pitt instead of DeAndre Kane)
Blazers and Nuggets
Blazers got:
G Von Wafer
Nuggets got:
G Taureen Green
"Shit, I wish Stoudamire and Randolph where still at Portland. Then I'd have the good shit to smoke."
-- Von Wafer on his trade
Hornets got:
G Mike James
G/F Bonzi Wells
Draft rights to Forward Sergei Lishchuk
Rockets got:
G Bobby Jackson
G Adam Haluska
New Orlean's 2nd rounder in 2009
Grizzlies got:
F Marcus Vinicus
Cash from Houston
Draft Rights to F Malick Badiane
The Grizzlies got involved late and picked up Marcus Vinicus (prob to make the cap work) as well as cash even though no one wants to go to Memphis unless they're young, black and coached by Calipari. I'm sure the Memphis Tigers have more valuable assets than the draft rights to some random forward. The big story is that the Hornets just picked up a good shooter/back up point guard and a solid wing player in Bonzi Wells.
The big 3-team, 11 player trade:
Cavs got:
G Delonte West
G Wally Szczerbiak
F Joe Smith
C Ben Wallace
Bulls got:
G Larry Hughes (finally the worst signing in Cleveland history is gone)
F Drew Gordon
G Shannon Brown
F Cedric Simmons
Sonics got:
G Ira Newble
F Donyell Marshall
F Adrian Griffin
The Sonics pretty much are dumping salaries and getting rid of gunners so that KD and Jeff Green can take over. The Bulls may have upgraded (FYI: on NBA Live they went from a 87 to an 89). Drew Gooden is, in my eyes, an upgrade from Ben Wallace. He is a solid rebounder and a capable scorer. They also acquire Larry Hughes who may actually decide to produce in Chi town. The Cavaliers- kudos. Boobie, much like Boobie Myles, has hurt his leg and is out. They acquired Delonte West, who may be one of the most hood guys in the league (he has a neck tattoo, a tilted headband, and an STD) and can score/handle the rock. Im interested to see what the front court looks like. Big Z is obviously the starter, will they bring Big Ben off the bench or start him at the four. I like him starting because Big Ben can defend the guys Big Z can't (ie everyone).
Other trades that are of little to no importance in my life:
Toronto and Detroit
Toronto got:
C Primoz Brezec
Cash
Detroit got:
G Juan Dixon (who's lil bro is coming to Pitt instead of DeAndre Kane)
Blazers and Nuggets
Blazers got:
G Von Wafer
Nuggets got:
G Taureen Green
"Shit, I wish Stoudamire and Randolph where still at Portland. Then I'd have the good shit to smoke."
-- Von Wafer on his trade
Wednesday, February 20, 2008
Trade Update
The San Antonio Spurs made an upgrade today in my best estimation. They have acquired Kurt Thomas, 35, from the Seattle Supersonics. Don't sleep on this trade, Kurt was the Suns' best defensive post player last season but was dealt away for salary cap reasons (dealt away with 2 first rounders btw). Who knew a guy who averages 7 and 8 could be traded for two players and a first rounder. They Spurs upgraded defensively and Kurt can hit the open J so TD can work it down low.
Spurs got:
F/C Kurt Thomas
Sonics got:
G Brent Barry
C Francisco Elson
2009 First Round Pick
Spurs got:
F/C Kurt Thomas
Sonics got:
G Brent Barry
C Francisco Elson
2009 First Round Pick
Weekly Awards for Feb 13 to Feb 19
You know what time of the week it is....... Weekly Awards are hot right now and for the first time in PnR history Lamanna and I actually put our heads together to select the winners. These award winners are hotter than a 12 year old girl at an Akon concert. This set of awards is from 2/13-2/19 and takes into account what happened during All Star Weekend.
Smith of the Week:
We let it be known that this week we were going to go big-time and allow NBA players to win this award. Good thing we did. JaJuan Smith of Tennessee (I'm 20 years old and I still have trouble spelling that damn word) had a big game with 32, but he then shit the bed and went for 2 in his next outing. That isn't going to cut it. Craig Smith of the Minnesota Timberwolves stepped up and beat out Tyler Smith (Tennessee) and Josh Smith (a PnR favorite) for this weeks honor. Craig (normally this would be a last name, but that would be confusing as hell) averaged 10 points and 6 rebounds over a two game span. If the Smith's continue to stink we may have to award a Jones, Miller, or Williams next week...... PnR don't want that to happen.
NCAA Newcomer of the Week:
Every single time we mention Zona's Jerryd Bayless his draft stock rises. Every single time Bayless shoots, Chase Budingers' draft stock falls. Bayless lit up the nets this past week to the tune of 33 against PAC 10 rival Cal and 31 in a loss to conference foe Stanford. Youngin' is tearin up the PAC 10. Arizona is still not as good as they should be, but you can't blame Jerryd for that.
NCAA Player of the Week:
Most people say the alphabet in this order: abcdef......z Here at PnR, our version goes: abCDRef.......z That was a lame attempt at whatever the hell it was an attempt at, but we hope you get the idea. Lamanna owns a pair of CDR boxer shorts. I own a pair of CDR's boxers...... big difference. Anyway, Chris Douglas-Roberts is our NCAA Player of the Week. Coach Calipari's main man went for 22 and 6 in his first game of the week. He then turned it up a notch and went for 32 and 7 against UAB, including a game winning 3 point play that was simply gross. Without CDR, Memphis would have lost to UAB. Chris, PnR hearts you :)
Lost in Translation Star of the Week(Foreign Player of the Week):
Manu, Manu, Manu...... PnR has yet to have a chance to talk about the Spur's star. It really is ashame, because PnR does enjoy Manu even though he flops like a DWade. Hopefully this award helps make up for our lack of Manu coverage. Manu Ginobili is our Foreign Player of the Week after going for 46 points, 5 boards, and 8 assists agaisnt LBJ and the Cavs. He also put up 18 in a victory over Chicago. Lastly, the man should have been an All Star.
NBA Rookie of the Week:
This is always one of the harder awards to give out because usually no rookie plays well enough to win it. To be honest, that was sort of the case this week, but Sean Williams went for 8 and 7 last night. More importantly, he showed up big in the Rookie Challenge during All Star Weekend. Most importantly, he threw down a sick dunk in said Rookie Challenge.
NBA Weekly MVP:
Dwight Howard had New Orlean's running around and screaming like it was Hurricane Katrina again. Only this time, they were happy. Superman put in one of the finest efforts in dunk contest history on Saturday night. You can add him to the list with Vince, MJ, and Dr. J...... his show was sick. By the way, I actually heard some website ran a running diary for All Star Saturday... I think you can find it here.... http://thepicknroll.blogspot.com/2008/02/running-journal-of-nba-all-star-weekend.html. However, dunking wasn't the only thing Dwight did this weekend. He went for 16 and 9 in the All Star game, led his Magic to a 2-0 record(23 points and 24 boards one night), and earned a new nickname. Superman can ball a lil.... who knew?
That is it for the awards this week, perhaps next week there will be a few more.
As long as I don't act like a lazy cunt, there should be a preview of the best game ever posted tomorrow. Oh yeah, Memphis and Tennessee face off on Saturday. I've heard some people saying it is going to be like Christmas, Columbus Day, and a Lil Wayne concert all rolled into one...... We can only hope!!!
-PnR
Smith of the Week:
We let it be known that this week we were going to go big-time and allow NBA players to win this award. Good thing we did. JaJuan Smith of Tennessee (I'm 20 years old and I still have trouble spelling that damn word) had a big game with 32, but he then shit the bed and went for 2 in his next outing. That isn't going to cut it. Craig Smith of the Minnesota Timberwolves stepped up and beat out Tyler Smith (Tennessee) and Josh Smith (a PnR favorite) for this weeks honor. Craig (normally this would be a last name, but that would be confusing as hell) averaged 10 points and 6 rebounds over a two game span. If the Smith's continue to stink we may have to award a Jones, Miller, or Williams next week...... PnR don't want that to happen.
NCAA Newcomer of the Week:
Every single time we mention Zona's Jerryd Bayless his draft stock rises. Every single time Bayless shoots, Chase Budingers' draft stock falls. Bayless lit up the nets this past week to the tune of 33 against PAC 10 rival Cal and 31 in a loss to conference foe Stanford. Youngin' is tearin up the PAC 10. Arizona is still not as good as they should be, but you can't blame Jerryd for that.
NCAA Player of the Week:
Most people say the alphabet in this order: abcdef......z Here at PnR, our version goes: abCDRef.......z That was a lame attempt at whatever the hell it was an attempt at, but we hope you get the idea. Lamanna owns a pair of CDR boxer shorts. I own a pair of CDR's boxers...... big difference. Anyway, Chris Douglas-Roberts is our NCAA Player of the Week. Coach Calipari's main man went for 22 and 6 in his first game of the week. He then turned it up a notch and went for 32 and 7 against UAB, including a game winning 3 point play that was simply gross. Without CDR, Memphis would have lost to UAB. Chris, PnR hearts you :)
Lost in Translation Star of the Week(Foreign Player of the Week):
Manu, Manu, Manu...... PnR has yet to have a chance to talk about the Spur's star. It really is ashame, because PnR does enjoy Manu even though he flops like a DWade. Hopefully this award helps make up for our lack of Manu coverage. Manu Ginobili is our Foreign Player of the Week after going for 46 points, 5 boards, and 8 assists agaisnt LBJ and the Cavs. He also put up 18 in a victory over Chicago. Lastly, the man should have been an All Star.
NBA Rookie of the Week:
This is always one of the harder awards to give out because usually no rookie plays well enough to win it. To be honest, that was sort of the case this week, but Sean Williams went for 8 and 7 last night. More importantly, he showed up big in the Rookie Challenge during All Star Weekend. Most importantly, he threw down a sick dunk in said Rookie Challenge.
NBA Weekly MVP:
Dwight Howard had New Orlean's running around and screaming like it was Hurricane Katrina again. Only this time, they were happy. Superman put in one of the finest efforts in dunk contest history on Saturday night. You can add him to the list with Vince, MJ, and Dr. J...... his show was sick. By the way, I actually heard some website ran a running diary for All Star Saturday... I think you can find it here.... http://thepicknroll.blogspot.com/2008/02/running-journal-of-nba-all-star-weekend.html. However, dunking wasn't the only thing Dwight did this weekend. He went for 16 and 9 in the All Star game, led his Magic to a 2-0 record(23 points and 24 boards one night), and earned a new nickname. Superman can ball a lil.... who knew?
That is it for the awards this week, perhaps next week there will be a few more.
As long as I don't act like a lazy cunt, there should be a preview of the best game ever posted tomorrow. Oh yeah, Memphis and Tennessee face off on Saturday. I've heard some people saying it is going to be like Christmas, Columbus Day, and a Lil Wayne concert all rolled into one...... We can only hope!!!
-PnR
The NBA trade deadline is 3p.m. Thursday....Weird, that's when the weekend begins.
Keith Van Horn finally got traded this Tuesday to New Jersey. Here were the details:
Dallas got:
G Jason Kidd
F Malik Allen
G/F Antoine Wright
New Jersey got:
G Devin Harris
F Trenton Hassell
F Keith Van Horn
C Desagna Diop
2 first round draft picks (2008 and 2010)
ESPN Nation voted in the 60% range that they would rather have Devin Harris' future than J-Kidd's present. Personally I like the deal, but how much longer can Kidd produce. If the Mavs don't win a ship within two years (which with all the trades and the Spurs isn't looking too good) this deal will look stupid. Harris may never be Kidd, but he was part of the young nucleus along with Josh Howard.
As stated before, the trade deadline is Thursday and thanks to my phantom ESPN Insider account, I have some inside info to share:
- Denver and the LA Clippers have been inquiring about the services for Memphis' Kyle Lowry and Mike Miller. The Clips should offer Al Thornton and 2 first rounders. Denver could find Eduardo Najera and JR Smith expendable and are valuable because of their expiring contracts.
- The Sixers are taking phone calls about Andre Miller. WARNING: if you are a bottom feeder looking to win the Michael Beasley sweepstakes, do not acquire. Miller plays too hard and screwed the Sixers out of Oden, Durant, Horford and anyone who was better than Thaddeus Young.
- Vince Carter is on the block, along with Jamaal "Wasn't this guy an All-Star" Magloire.
- The Denver Nuggets are desperately trying to acquire Ron Artest from the Kings. They reportedly have already offered Eduardo Najera and a first-rounder. This would be another blockbuster in the West. THE DEAL BREAKER: Linas Kleiza, the Nuggets feel he is too risky an asset to trade for a guy who may not return next season.
- My friend said he heard Eddy Curry is on the trading block. My guess is Isiah will try and get a wing in exchange because they need one so desperately.
- Other notables: J-O7, Danny Granger, Delonte West, Mike Dunleavy, and pretty much anyone on the Sonics not named Durant, Green or Swift (haha).
"If you came here to read about high character guys or setting picks, you came to the wrong place."
-ML
Dallas got:
G Jason Kidd
F Malik Allen
G/F Antoine Wright
New Jersey got:
G Devin Harris
F Trenton Hassell
F Keith Van Horn
C Desagna Diop
2 first round draft picks (2008 and 2010)
ESPN Nation voted in the 60% range that they would rather have Devin Harris' future than J-Kidd's present. Personally I like the deal, but how much longer can Kidd produce. If the Mavs don't win a ship within two years (which with all the trades and the Spurs isn't looking too good) this deal will look stupid. Harris may never be Kidd, but he was part of the young nucleus along with Josh Howard.
As stated before, the trade deadline is Thursday and thanks to my phantom ESPN Insider account, I have some inside info to share:
- Denver and the LA Clippers have been inquiring about the services for Memphis' Kyle Lowry and Mike Miller. The Clips should offer Al Thornton and 2 first rounders. Denver could find Eduardo Najera and JR Smith expendable and are valuable because of their expiring contracts.
- The Sixers are taking phone calls about Andre Miller. WARNING: if you are a bottom feeder looking to win the Michael Beasley sweepstakes, do not acquire. Miller plays too hard and screwed the Sixers out of Oden, Durant, Horford and anyone who was better than Thaddeus Young.
- Vince Carter is on the block, along with Jamaal "Wasn't this guy an All-Star" Magloire.
- The Denver Nuggets are desperately trying to acquire Ron Artest from the Kings. They reportedly have already offered Eduardo Najera and a first-rounder. This would be another blockbuster in the West. THE DEAL BREAKER: Linas Kleiza, the Nuggets feel he is too risky an asset to trade for a guy who may not return next season.
- My friend said he heard Eddy Curry is on the trading block. My guess is Isiah will try and get a wing in exchange because they need one so desperately.
- Other notables: J-O7, Danny Granger, Delonte West, Mike Dunleavy, and pretty much anyone on the Sonics not named Durant, Green or Swift (haha).
"If you came here to read about high character guys or setting picks, you came to the wrong place."
-ML
Sunday, February 17, 2008
Memphis Wins, Barkley Inspires
If you didn't know already, The Memphis Tigers are the basketball team that The Pick 'n Roll endorses. Last Night, in the midst of all of the fun we had watching the All-Star Skill challenges (shout out to Jesus Stanecsworth and The Floss), there was a heavyweight battle going down in the C-USA. CDR took his 6-6, 195 lb tight Under Armour wearing ass to the rack and got the and 1 that led a heroic comback for Memphis to top UAB. Watching the highlights and Coach Cal's after thoughts were awesome. For one, CDR and Robert Vaden were going at it. CDR had 31 and Dark Vaden had 27. Overshadowed were Coach Cal's press conference afterwards. His theories on basketball have always been great (Cal: "D-Rose, you go to the rack and get in trouble just throw it at the rim and Joey will get it". OR "If you come to Memphis looking to post-up or set screens, you came to the wrong place") but his press conferences may be better (http://youtube.com/watch?v=51-4sJTf7iQ). Last night, after the game he pretty much called out D-Rose and Joey Dorsey. He was like (the following is Pnr's interpretation), "Well, if Derrick is shitting the bed I now know Antonio Anderson can fill it up.". About Dorsey he pretty much said, "Joey gave a shitty effort, luckily Dozier can f'n play hard." I dunno, if you caught his thoughts on the game on College Game Night, they were pretty funny.
Also, All-Star weekend means a lot of the "TNT: Inside the NBA" cast. Chuck Barkley is hilarious and also my favorite player of all time and he always does his Fav 5 about certain items (Players, dunks, donuts, etc). In honor of Barkley I wanted to state my favorite 5 NBA Players to watch currently playing:
1. Amare (Hard to like him the most considering Dwight is better, but Amare is more hood)
2. Dwight Howard
3. Josh Smith
4. Caron Butler
5. James White (nevermind)
Also, All-Star weekend means a lot of the "TNT: Inside the NBA" cast. Chuck Barkley is hilarious and also my favorite player of all time and he always does his Fav 5 about certain items (Players, dunks, donuts, etc). In honor of Barkley I wanted to state my favorite 5 NBA Players to watch currently playing:
1. Amare (Hard to like him the most considering Dwight is better, but Amare is more hood)
2. Dwight Howard
3. Josh Smith
4. Caron Butler
5. James White (nevermind)
Saturday, February 16, 2008
Running Journal of NBA All Star Weekend
NBA All Star Weekend Live Blog:
The Lineup: Nate, Lamanna, The Floss, Terry, G-Mo, Barry, leftover Vlad, Ten High, Calico Jack (sadly, not nearly enough), a 6 pack of Natural Ice (bottles, we are classy), and the end of some mixer. Me, Lamanna, and The Floss are in for the long haul. Terry, G-Mo, and Barry are out to the bars soon.
Predictions: 3 Point Contest
Lamanna-Kapono
Me-Kapono
Floss-Kapono
3 predictions for a repeat means that Kapono will probably come in last.
Skills Competition
Lamanna-CP3
Me-Deron Williams
Floss-Jason Kidd (aged like a fine wine or bottle of crow)
Floss really hates DWade…. Like as a human being, Floss hates Wade.
Dunk Contest
Lamanna-Dwight Howard
Me-Jamario Moon
Floss-Jamario Moon
I feel that Jamario is gonna moon walk to victory. The kid was a Globetrotter after all. Lamanna has a huge Dwight Howard boner.
Shooting Stars….. who cares??… not us.
G-Mo wants to make it known that Dwight Howard is his pick. Terry wants to make it known that he is getting drunk. I’m the only one of the three mainstays who is drinking tonight. Lastly from G-M0, he votes Cheryl Miller for biggest dyke. We want boobs.
IMPORTANT: This running journal is going to be all over the place. It is going to be filled with our random comments, and sometimes, what is happening on TV won't be explained that well.
8:00- Show is starting with a montage of cleaning up New Orleans. I’m making another drink. That girl that just gave DWade a t-shirt wasn’t fine, but Terry thought she was. DWade might railroad her this weekend.
On a completely unrelated note, Barry (clearly under the influence) asked us if he looks like a frog. The general consensus is no.
Would you do the Heineken robot girl?
This is going to be a three hour DWade infomercial. G-Mo hates Wade as well.
8:08- Recap of the Rookie Challenge from last night….. we were all drunk.
Lamanna just informed me that Jamario Moon is nicknamed Apollo 33…. If that don’t rule nothing does.
8:10- Terry came out of the closet.
8:11- Terry stripped naked.
8:12- G-Mo makes 300th comment about dude beards, closet exit pending.
8:16- The last few items are being disputed by Terry and G-Mo. Opening band is shockingly white and bad. Lil Wayne couldn’t open??….. this is the NBA, not the CYO. Floss says that the background dancers have far too many clothes. This doesn’t appeal to old white men or young black men. Apparently this is just a gig for David Stern’s nephew. G-Mo notes that there is tons of plumber’s crack in the apartment. Room erupts for BJ Armstrong. With a solid performance the Celtics may sign Armstrong. Floss wants to give Becky Hammon a Floss sandwich. Swin Cash (PA’s own) is also hurting for a squirting.
8:25- Gerald Green proves that the T’Wolves are still in the NBA. G-Mo, T, and Barry head out for the night. Whole room creams their pants over Gerald Green’s shoes from last year. This guy plays a mean saxophone. We all forget his name, but his national anthem was good.
8:30- Floss longs for being a young athletic black man. Floss is indeed young, but he is closer to being black than athletic. Maybe you didn’t understand, that was just a knock on Floss’ athletic ability. In the “Shooting Stars”, me and the Floss are rooting for Chicago. Lamanna loves him some Suns. By the way, there has been over 3 hours of pregame for this shit.
8:42- This is the most people these WNBA girls have ever played in front of. Also, this is the last time we will watch any WNBA activity. Floss made it known that these 4 girls are the only 4 women in the world who are strong enough to get the ball from half court to the rim. Becky Hammon just happened, we are all in love. Bill Laimbeer is drunk, that was the worst half court attempt ever. His jersey could fit Big Black from Rob and Big. We are taking a little break until something legit happens.
8:47- San Antonio wins the Shooting Stars competition. Becky Hammon is my valentine. More importantly (actually less importantly) I just took my first piss of the night. Stanec(aka Jesus Stanecisworth, due to his facial hair that resembles Jesus and his hat that reminds us of Paul Pierce, who reminds us of Ray Allen) is on his way over as a guest analyst. We would like to know what flavor gum Becky Hammon is chewing. Playstation Skills Challenge is up next. Stanec likes Paul in the Skills Competition and Moon in the Dunk Contest.
9:03- J Kidd’s son has a big head. In typical J Kidd fashion Jason filled up the stat sheet by grabbing a rebound, but his overall time wasn't good. Floss is so happy that DWade shit the bed. However, everyone was sad that he didn’t do a sick dunk after his time ran out. Jesus Stanecisworth wanted Earl Boykins in the competition. The finals will be Paul against Deron Williams.
9:13- Props to Deron Williams for winning the Playstation Skills Competition. If you recall he was my choice when this all started. Some random section won a Playstation 3, guess what….. I already have one.
9:22- Time for the white man to shine. Kapono, it is time to go to work!!!! The three point contest is about to start. I guess the contestants are Kapono, Dirk, Boobie Gibson, Nash, Peja, and Rip Hamilton. Nobody here expects Rip to do well, Floss actually expects him to shoot a few runners and mid range jumpers tonight. That arm sleeve is so gay (it has flames all over it). Rip’s foot was on the line. Floss was right!!!! Stanec just talked about Pistol Pete for awhile. We love us some Pistol Pete.
9:31- I guess we forgot to ask Stanecisworth for his prediction. After a terrible job by Steve Nash he said, “I don’t want Nash”. Stanecisworth is going with Dirk.
9:37- Lamanna yells, “Mark Cuban, you bitch”. No reason given.
9:42- Kapono goes for 20. Lamanna lets it be known that Kapono’s hot spots in NBA Live are the corners. We think that Peja, Nash, and Dirk got mad drunk last night. FWIW, I have finished 6 beers and 2 mixed drinks.
9:49- Gibson goes for 17….. That is the only Boobie we will see all night. Now Dirk is up and he is probably still drunk. 14 ain’t gonna cut it Dirk.
9:52- Floss has a KaBoner…. We didn’t think Kapono would miss again, but he has. 25 from Kapono ties some record from 1986. Luckily for Kapono, he got to hug Chris Bosh. That is probably the first time they have talked all year. Jason Kapono is the 3 Point Shootout Champion. Mother of Floss is currently wasted. EDIT: Whole family of Floss is currently wasted.
10:00- Steve Nash introduces a lame guy named “Dr. John”. Nash is only shown from the waist up and the biggest question we have is if Steve is wearing pants? Dr. John actually isn’t that bad, but I think Lamanna, Stanecisworth and Floss hate him.
10:03- Just realized that the only people who will read this are currently in the room. This is more typing than I did all of last year in college. Foot Locker sponsored the 3 Point Shootout, but we have always supported Finish Line.
10:10- I said that Moon has an advantage because he has all of Canada voting for him. Stanec disagreed and said that Canada is watching hockey, not hoops.
10:13- Jamario is up first and he goes with a reverse self alley-oop. Nice dunk, and he came in well under the 2 minute time limit. “You get two minutes?..... I’d use my whole two minutes, just go out there dancing and shit.”-Stanec
10:14- Rudy did a weak job on his dunk and only got a 37. By the way, the dunk contest is so important that we are going to be updating as much as possible. Dwight Howard misses his first one but then gets all 10’s on his copy of Iggy’s behind the backboard dunk. Lamanna just fell in love. Hearing Charles Barkley say, “Birfday Cake,” makes us laugh. Floss can’t believe that 12 foot hoops are illegal, but Gerald Green’s fire on the court is ok (he has a candle lit on a cupcake and the cupcake is on top of the rim). We were all confused at first, but upon seeing him actually blow out the candle we fell in love. Floss said, “I love cake and I love that dunk”.
10:23- Rudy Gay got a 48….. Me and Floss thought it was a 45, but Stanecisworth wanted a 50. Jamario Moon is going to dunk from Illinois. He just put a tape marker way behind the foul line. Kenny Smith said, “he is dunking from the moon”. Floss said, “I can’t even make a jumper from there”. Kapono can’t throw alley-oops at all. Moon was well inside of the foul line, but I hope he makes it into the next round. He basically just caught a bounce alley-oop from Kapono and dunked from barely inside of the foul line. Everyone is using help from a teammate for the second dunk.
10:31- Gerald Green has advanced after….. well shit… I’m too drunk to describe it, but he scored a 91 out of 100 on two dunks. Dwight Howard has just become Superman and the crowd went crazy(he actually put on a cape and has a Superman shirt). Looks like he is going to get some help with a pass from Jameer Nelson. Kenny Smith honestly shit himself on live TV. The camera angle just shit the bed, but the crowd went crazy. Dwight Howard has to advance. He took off with two feet from, according to Stanec, “the imaginary 3/4ths line”. THIS IS WHERE AMAZING HAPPENS!!! Dwight Howard finished round one with a 100 out of 100. This second dunk just showed amazing leaping ability. The final round will be him against Gerald Green.
10:37- This is a college hoops update….. CDR went for 32 and Memphis barely beat UAB tonight. I just celebrated with Lamanna because we love CDR and Memphis.
10:39- Everyone in the room is talking about voting. TNT just showed NBA players “getting ready to vote”. I think they were just messaging some whores. Stanec loves making fun of the TNT announce crew. Gerald Green caught a bounce alley-oop and went between the legs for a very good but not spectacular dunk. Lamanna said Dwight Howard is going to kill someone or everyone. He also loves the fact that Gerald Green has a Houston tattoo.
10:42- “That is not humanly impossible”, says Kenny Smith. He actually met that as a compliment. Howard does a dunk where he throws it off of the backboard and then hits it with his left hand off of the backboard and then dunks. Floss screams, “Why does Kenny Smith love him, he isn’t Tino F’n Sunseri”. In case you were wondering, Floss loves Tino and often talks about him on his blog. Gerald Green’s last dunk is shoeless and between the legs… aka weak city.
10:45- Dwight Howard comes out with a mini-hoop. Who knows what is going to happen. He puts the real ball onto the mini hoop and tries to grab it and then do a windmill. He misses, but then tries again. The second one goes in. Kenny Smith has a huge boner. He is asking America to vote for Howard. Also interesting to note, Howard loves him some white redheaded girls. He used them in every dunk somehow.
10:48- The votes haven’t come in yet, but Howard has to win. This just in, Cheryl Miller is still a dyke and Dwight Howard loves Soulja Boy. Did Darryl Dawkins just speak English? We think not. Stanec claims that Dr. J looks a lot like Wolf Blitzer. All of the judges went with Dwight Howard, but Dr. J did give Green some props. Lamanna voted for Dwight Howard. His text message vote probably cost 10 dollars.
10:53- We are sitting here watching some beat commercials and the Floss is talking about how the All Star game should always be in Vegas. PnR loves the Vegas.
10:57- Dwight Howard got 78 percent of the vote. Stanecisworth thought that Cheryl Miller was playing games with his heart when she giggled before announcing the winner. In any other year Green, Moon, and Gay would have had a shot, but Dwight Howard was just too good. It was good to see some new ideas and this was an amazing Dunk Contest. They should cancel the Dunk Contest for a few years because there is no way that it will be able to top this.
10:59- This is PnR logging off…. I am drunk and we are all hungy. One of the best Dunk Contests ever!!!
Be easy,
-NM, ML, JS, and the Floss
The Lineup: Nate, Lamanna, The Floss, Terry, G-Mo, Barry, leftover Vlad, Ten High, Calico Jack (sadly, not nearly enough), a 6 pack of Natural Ice (bottles, we are classy), and the end of some mixer. Me, Lamanna, and The Floss are in for the long haul. Terry, G-Mo, and Barry are out to the bars soon.
Predictions: 3 Point Contest
Lamanna-Kapono
Me-Kapono
Floss-Kapono
3 predictions for a repeat means that Kapono will probably come in last.
Skills Competition
Lamanna-CP3
Me-Deron Williams
Floss-Jason Kidd (aged like a fine wine or bottle of crow)
Floss really hates DWade…. Like as a human being, Floss hates Wade.
Dunk Contest
Lamanna-Dwight Howard
Me-Jamario Moon
Floss-Jamario Moon
I feel that Jamario is gonna moon walk to victory. The kid was a Globetrotter after all. Lamanna has a huge Dwight Howard boner.
Shooting Stars….. who cares??… not us.
G-Mo wants to make it known that Dwight Howard is his pick. Terry wants to make it known that he is getting drunk. I’m the only one of the three mainstays who is drinking tonight. Lastly from G-M0, he votes Cheryl Miller for biggest dyke. We want boobs.
IMPORTANT: This running journal is going to be all over the place. It is going to be filled with our random comments, and sometimes, what is happening on TV won't be explained that well.
8:00- Show is starting with a montage of cleaning up New Orleans. I’m making another drink. That girl that just gave DWade a t-shirt wasn’t fine, but Terry thought she was. DWade might railroad her this weekend.
On a completely unrelated note, Barry (clearly under the influence) asked us if he looks like a frog. The general consensus is no.
Would you do the Heineken robot girl?
This is going to be a three hour DWade infomercial. G-Mo hates Wade as well.
8:08- Recap of the Rookie Challenge from last night….. we were all drunk.
Lamanna just informed me that Jamario Moon is nicknamed Apollo 33…. If that don’t rule nothing does.
8:10- Terry came out of the closet.
8:11- Terry stripped naked.
8:12- G-Mo makes 300th comment about dude beards, closet exit pending.
8:16- The last few items are being disputed by Terry and G-Mo. Opening band is shockingly white and bad. Lil Wayne couldn’t open??….. this is the NBA, not the CYO. Floss says that the background dancers have far too many clothes. This doesn’t appeal to old white men or young black men. Apparently this is just a gig for David Stern’s nephew. G-Mo notes that there is tons of plumber’s crack in the apartment. Room erupts for BJ Armstrong. With a solid performance the Celtics may sign Armstrong. Floss wants to give Becky Hammon a Floss sandwich. Swin Cash (PA’s own) is also hurting for a squirting.
8:25- Gerald Green proves that the T’Wolves are still in the NBA. G-Mo, T, and Barry head out for the night. Whole room creams their pants over Gerald Green’s shoes from last year. This guy plays a mean saxophone. We all forget his name, but his national anthem was good.
8:30- Floss longs for being a young athletic black man. Floss is indeed young, but he is closer to being black than athletic. Maybe you didn’t understand, that was just a knock on Floss’ athletic ability. In the “Shooting Stars”, me and the Floss are rooting for Chicago. Lamanna loves him some Suns. By the way, there has been over 3 hours of pregame for this shit.
8:42- This is the most people these WNBA girls have ever played in front of. Also, this is the last time we will watch any WNBA activity. Floss made it known that these 4 girls are the only 4 women in the world who are strong enough to get the ball from half court to the rim. Becky Hammon just happened, we are all in love. Bill Laimbeer is drunk, that was the worst half court attempt ever. His jersey could fit Big Black from Rob and Big. We are taking a little break until something legit happens.
8:47- San Antonio wins the Shooting Stars competition. Becky Hammon is my valentine. More importantly (actually less importantly) I just took my first piss of the night. Stanec(aka Jesus Stanecisworth, due to his facial hair that resembles Jesus and his hat that reminds us of Paul Pierce, who reminds us of Ray Allen) is on his way over as a guest analyst. We would like to know what flavor gum Becky Hammon is chewing. Playstation Skills Challenge is up next. Stanec likes Paul in the Skills Competition and Moon in the Dunk Contest.
9:03- J Kidd’s son has a big head. In typical J Kidd fashion Jason filled up the stat sheet by grabbing a rebound, but his overall time wasn't good. Floss is so happy that DWade shit the bed. However, everyone was sad that he didn’t do a sick dunk after his time ran out. Jesus Stanecisworth wanted Earl Boykins in the competition. The finals will be Paul against Deron Williams.
9:13- Props to Deron Williams for winning the Playstation Skills Competition. If you recall he was my choice when this all started. Some random section won a Playstation 3, guess what….. I already have one.
9:22- Time for the white man to shine. Kapono, it is time to go to work!!!! The three point contest is about to start. I guess the contestants are Kapono, Dirk, Boobie Gibson, Nash, Peja, and Rip Hamilton. Nobody here expects Rip to do well, Floss actually expects him to shoot a few runners and mid range jumpers tonight. That arm sleeve is so gay (it has flames all over it). Rip’s foot was on the line. Floss was right!!!! Stanec just talked about Pistol Pete for awhile. We love us some Pistol Pete.
9:31- I guess we forgot to ask Stanecisworth for his prediction. After a terrible job by Steve Nash he said, “I don’t want Nash”. Stanecisworth is going with Dirk.
9:37- Lamanna yells, “Mark Cuban, you bitch”. No reason given.
9:42- Kapono goes for 20. Lamanna lets it be known that Kapono’s hot spots in NBA Live are the corners. We think that Peja, Nash, and Dirk got mad drunk last night. FWIW, I have finished 6 beers and 2 mixed drinks.
9:49- Gibson goes for 17….. That is the only Boobie we will see all night. Now Dirk is up and he is probably still drunk. 14 ain’t gonna cut it Dirk.
9:52- Floss has a KaBoner…. We didn’t think Kapono would miss again, but he has. 25 from Kapono ties some record from 1986. Luckily for Kapono, he got to hug Chris Bosh. That is probably the first time they have talked all year. Jason Kapono is the 3 Point Shootout Champion. Mother of Floss is currently wasted. EDIT: Whole family of Floss is currently wasted.
10:00- Steve Nash introduces a lame guy named “Dr. John”. Nash is only shown from the waist up and the biggest question we have is if Steve is wearing pants? Dr. John actually isn’t that bad, but I think Lamanna, Stanecisworth and Floss hate him.
10:03- Just realized that the only people who will read this are currently in the room. This is more typing than I did all of last year in college. Foot Locker sponsored the 3 Point Shootout, but we have always supported Finish Line.
10:10- I said that Moon has an advantage because he has all of Canada voting for him. Stanec disagreed and said that Canada is watching hockey, not hoops.
10:13- Jamario is up first and he goes with a reverse self alley-oop. Nice dunk, and he came in well under the 2 minute time limit. “You get two minutes?..... I’d use my whole two minutes, just go out there dancing and shit.”-Stanec
10:14- Rudy did a weak job on his dunk and only got a 37. By the way, the dunk contest is so important that we are going to be updating as much as possible. Dwight Howard misses his first one but then gets all 10’s on his copy of Iggy’s behind the backboard dunk. Lamanna just fell in love. Hearing Charles Barkley say, “Birfday Cake,” makes us laugh. Floss can’t believe that 12 foot hoops are illegal, but Gerald Green’s fire on the court is ok (he has a candle lit on a cupcake and the cupcake is on top of the rim). We were all confused at first, but upon seeing him actually blow out the candle we fell in love. Floss said, “I love cake and I love that dunk”.
10:23- Rudy Gay got a 48….. Me and Floss thought it was a 45, but Stanecisworth wanted a 50. Jamario Moon is going to dunk from Illinois. He just put a tape marker way behind the foul line. Kenny Smith said, “he is dunking from the moon”. Floss said, “I can’t even make a jumper from there”. Kapono can’t throw alley-oops at all. Moon was well inside of the foul line, but I hope he makes it into the next round. He basically just caught a bounce alley-oop from Kapono and dunked from barely inside of the foul line. Everyone is using help from a teammate for the second dunk.
10:31- Gerald Green has advanced after….. well shit… I’m too drunk to describe it, but he scored a 91 out of 100 on two dunks. Dwight Howard has just become Superman and the crowd went crazy(he actually put on a cape and has a Superman shirt). Looks like he is going to get some help with a pass from Jameer Nelson. Kenny Smith honestly shit himself on live TV. The camera angle just shit the bed, but the crowd went crazy. Dwight Howard has to advance. He took off with two feet from, according to Stanec, “the imaginary 3/4ths line”. THIS IS WHERE AMAZING HAPPENS!!! Dwight Howard finished round one with a 100 out of 100. This second dunk just showed amazing leaping ability. The final round will be him against Gerald Green.
10:37- This is a college hoops update….. CDR went for 32 and Memphis barely beat UAB tonight. I just celebrated with Lamanna because we love CDR and Memphis.
10:39- Everyone in the room is talking about voting. TNT just showed NBA players “getting ready to vote”. I think they were just messaging some whores. Stanec loves making fun of the TNT announce crew. Gerald Green caught a bounce alley-oop and went between the legs for a very good but not spectacular dunk. Lamanna said Dwight Howard is going to kill someone or everyone. He also loves the fact that Gerald Green has a Houston tattoo.
10:42- “That is not humanly impossible”, says Kenny Smith. He actually met that as a compliment. Howard does a dunk where he throws it off of the backboard and then hits it with his left hand off of the backboard and then dunks. Floss screams, “Why does Kenny Smith love him, he isn’t Tino F’n Sunseri”. In case you were wondering, Floss loves Tino and often talks about him on his blog. Gerald Green’s last dunk is shoeless and between the legs… aka weak city.
10:45- Dwight Howard comes out with a mini-hoop. Who knows what is going to happen. He puts the real ball onto the mini hoop and tries to grab it and then do a windmill. He misses, but then tries again. The second one goes in. Kenny Smith has a huge boner. He is asking America to vote for Howard. Also interesting to note, Howard loves him some white redheaded girls. He used them in every dunk somehow.
10:48- The votes haven’t come in yet, but Howard has to win. This just in, Cheryl Miller is still a dyke and Dwight Howard loves Soulja Boy. Did Darryl Dawkins just speak English? We think not. Stanec claims that Dr. J looks a lot like Wolf Blitzer. All of the judges went with Dwight Howard, but Dr. J did give Green some props. Lamanna voted for Dwight Howard. His text message vote probably cost 10 dollars.
10:53- We are sitting here watching some beat commercials and the Floss is talking about how the All Star game should always be in Vegas. PnR loves the Vegas.
10:57- Dwight Howard got 78 percent of the vote. Stanecisworth thought that Cheryl Miller was playing games with his heart when she giggled before announcing the winner. In any other year Green, Moon, and Gay would have had a shot, but Dwight Howard was just too good. It was good to see some new ideas and this was an amazing Dunk Contest. They should cancel the Dunk Contest for a few years because there is no way that it will be able to top this.
10:59- This is PnR logging off…. I am drunk and we are all hungy. One of the best Dunk Contests ever!!!
Be easy,
-NM, ML, JS, and the Floss
Friday, February 15, 2008
Video Of The Week
The Sprite Dunk Contest is on Saturday after the 3-Point Shootout and the Skills Competition on TNT (5 pm-11 pm). In honor of it, here is a video made by the contestant who may make me eat CROW if he does the dunk at the end of the video (Hint: Takes off from far, but you don't see the outcome.) Saw it on TNT. I don't know if it's Jamario Moon or James White, but here it is:
http://youtube.com/watch?v=wfL9Ew3b0uE
In honor of James White not being in the league:
http://youtube.com/watch?v=wolosB6ttXQ&feature=related
http://youtube.com/watch?v=wfL9Ew3b0uE
In honor of James White not being in the league:
http://youtube.com/watch?v=wolosB6ttXQ&feature=related
Shit ain't no title for this entry, just some All Star stuff and things to watch
I have been sitting around wondering who has the best beard in the NBA. For my money, you can't beat that glorious look Baron Davis has going on his face. Drew Gooden might disagree, but there is no question Diddy has a better look going than Drew. I guess DeShawn Stevenson is working on a beard too as part of a bet with Drew Gooden, but I'm not a big fan of his. There have to be a few token white guys out there with token white guy beards, but those things are ugly as hell.
NBA All Star Weekend:
A big weekend for the NBA kicks off tonight with the Rookie Challenge at 9. This game is fun, but usually it just ends in the Sophomores shitting on the new guys. I predict that by the middle of the second half it will just turn into Ronnie Brewer, Rudy Gay, and Jamario Moon catching oops from their PG's. The only downside to this game is that guys like Al Horford, Jeff Green, and Paul Millsap could potentially ruin the fun by playing defense, hustling, and working on the boards. Tomorrow is the perhaps the biggest night of the weekend. Rudy Gay and Jamario Moon face each other once again in the dunk contest. The 3 point contest is also tomorrow, but sadly Kobe has pulled out of it due to an injury that needs surgery. However, Black Mamba has said that he will continue to play this season and wants to put surgery off until after the Olympics (that makes this guy smile). I'll touch more on the Rookie Challenge in a few, but just to get you a little wet in anticipation here is a clip of Ronnie Brewer doin the damn thing(you've seen Rudy Gay dunk 1,000 times, we wanted to give Brewer some love). For what it's worth, PnR would love to see the 3 point contest turn into a 35 footer contest.
A FEW REASONS TO GET HOOPS BONERS IN THE NEXT 2 DAYS:
1. The Rookie Challenge-9PM TNT Brandon Roy and Kevin Durant face off in a battle of big time scorers. Jamario Moon and Rudy Gay give us a preview of the dunk contest. The only thing that could make this better is if Sean Williams and Al Horford had a steel cage match against Paul Millsap and Rajon Rondo. Yea, the Sophomores only have one hardass, not two, so Rondo will have to suffice. Also, it would be great to see Mike Conley and Rajon Rondo race. Interesting to note, Al Horford is going to score tonight.
2. The return of Levance Fields-9PM ESPN Fields and the Pitt Panthers take on #25 Marquette in Milwaukee, or as I like to call it, "The City that Produces the Most Cheap Beer". Pitt (ranked 24th) is looking to turn the corner with Fields. Interesting to note, according to Fields, the Panthers have gone, "3 and 3 over our last 7(games)". Better than 3 and 4 I guess.
3. Old Dominion vs VCU-Sat 8PM ESPN2 I swear this isn't a joke. America's Eric Maynor boner should be at an all-time high. Maynor is averaging 17.6 ppg this year.... that rules. Interesting to note, Old Dominion is actually the name of a university, not an amusement park.
4. NBA Dunk Contest and all that other All Star shit-Sat 8PM TNT Rudy Gay, Jamario Moon, Dwight Howard, and Gerald Green face off in what looks to be a great dunk contest. Interesting to note, for the first time in history the fan vote will decide the winner.
Do the damn thing,
-NM
NBA All Star Weekend:
A big weekend for the NBA kicks off tonight with the Rookie Challenge at 9. This game is fun, but usually it just ends in the Sophomores shitting on the new guys. I predict that by the middle of the second half it will just turn into Ronnie Brewer, Rudy Gay, and Jamario Moon catching oops from their PG's. The only downside to this game is that guys like Al Horford, Jeff Green, and Paul Millsap could potentially ruin the fun by playing defense, hustling, and working on the boards. Tomorrow is the perhaps the biggest night of the weekend. Rudy Gay and Jamario Moon face each other once again in the dunk contest. The 3 point contest is also tomorrow, but sadly Kobe has pulled out of it due to an injury that needs surgery. However, Black Mamba has said that he will continue to play this season and wants to put surgery off until after the Olympics (that makes this guy smile). I'll touch more on the Rookie Challenge in a few, but just to get you a little wet in anticipation here is a clip of Ronnie Brewer doin the damn thing(you've seen Rudy Gay dunk 1,000 times, we wanted to give Brewer some love). For what it's worth, PnR would love to see the 3 point contest turn into a 35 footer contest.
A FEW REASONS TO GET HOOPS BONERS IN THE NEXT 2 DAYS:
1. The Rookie Challenge-9PM TNT Brandon Roy and Kevin Durant face off in a battle of big time scorers. Jamario Moon and Rudy Gay give us a preview of the dunk contest. The only thing that could make this better is if Sean Williams and Al Horford had a steel cage match against Paul Millsap and Rajon Rondo. Yea, the Sophomores only have one hardass, not two, so Rondo will have to suffice. Also, it would be great to see Mike Conley and Rajon Rondo race. Interesting to note, Al Horford is going to score tonight.
2. The return of Levance Fields-9PM ESPN Fields and the Pitt Panthers take on #25 Marquette in Milwaukee, or as I like to call it, "The City that Produces the Most Cheap Beer". Pitt (ranked 24th) is looking to turn the corner with Fields. Interesting to note, according to Fields, the Panthers have gone, "3 and 3 over our last 7(games)". Better than 3 and 4 I guess.
3. Old Dominion vs VCU-Sat 8PM ESPN2 I swear this isn't a joke. America's Eric Maynor boner should be at an all-time high. Maynor is averaging 17.6 ppg this year.... that rules. Interesting to note, Old Dominion is actually the name of a university, not an amusement park.
4. NBA Dunk Contest and all that other All Star shit-Sat 8PM TNT Rudy Gay, Jamario Moon, Dwight Howard, and Gerald Green face off in what looks to be a great dunk contest. Interesting to note, for the first time in history the fan vote will decide the winner.
Do the damn thing,
-NM
Wednesday, February 13, 2008
James Naismith ain't got shit on Dr. James Crow..
I'm in the posting spirit because Nate got the awards up on time. Because I'm a piece of shit and never look up stats for my two-cents, I figured I'd hand out some awards:
NBA's Natural Disaster: Amare Stoudemire
A natural disaster is not classified as such until it havocs itself on a community. Well the Suns played three games this week and STAT didn't disappoint. His team went 2-1 for the week and Amare was an influential piece. In games versus Washington, Seattle, and New Orleans he posted averages of 30 ppg, 14 rpg, 3 bpg, 97% ft and 51% fg. AND he hit 50% from distance. I love me some STAT.
The "I'm Not Even The Best NBA Prospect On My Own Team Award": DJ White
Playing "White" should no longer be an adjective for my playing style. People might get confused and think I averaged 18 ppg, 9.7 rpg and a block for the top 15 Indiana Hoosiers (I did have 19 and 16 in intramurals...don't sleep). His team also went 2-1, with its only loss coming at the hands of Wisconsin and their coach who does the "Soulja Boi". With his mid-high socks and tall tee, how could you not have a man crush on the future NBA first rounder? Eric Gordon gets the shine, but don't front on the guy who is gettin dirty.
The "Nate's Posts About My Scoring Pisses Me Off Award": Al Horford
Thank God no one reads our blog (although we do have a couple comments these days), because Al Horford and his 6-10, 260 lb body would smash Nate into the ground. So what if he shot 32% from the field last week? He averaged 10 boards a game this past week and is an intimidating player in the paint for the Hawks. They went winless (0-3), but Big Al gave the fans something to cheer about. Oh, he averaged 9.6 points last week.
"He Was Just A Freshman"
So I'm looking at Scout.com's POW awards, and one stood out. One, because I didn't have a clue who he was and two, because he plays for a surprising Ole Miss team. Chris Warren might be called "Christ" (I'm going to hell) if he increases his numbers in his tenure with the Rebels. The 5-10 guard averaged 14 ppg and 5.3 apg for a team that went 2-1. If you didn't know, now you know.
Internationally Known: Patrick "Patty" Mills aka "Makes the Dope (St. Mary's) Gaels Go Crazy"
I have never seen the dude play, but when his name came up Nate and the author of "False Floss" draw enough wood to put 84 Lumber out of business. I did some investigating, and the Australian freshman averaged 14 points over a three game WAC tour. His team went 3-0 including a win over perennial WAC favorite Gonzaga (including 13-18 free throws). If he would have scored in the last game, his scoring average would've been higher. Now Patty doesn't have to go into depression for being a St. Mary's player without an award.
-ML
EDIT by NM: I must say that Lamanna did an impressive job of spelling Stoudemire. You may have noticed that I copped out in the Olympic post and just used "Amare". In terms of the awards good shit in my opinion. However, for the award that DJ earned you have to consider about 90 percent of the Kansas Jayhawks. Lastly, I just felt that it was important that the fans know that Patty Mills' other nickname is the "Canberra Cannon". Some say it is because he is a scorer from Canberra, Australia. I think it's because he railroads a ton of girls at St. Mary's. Next week we might actually post all of the awards together.
"Shoot the J, Bitch"
NBA's Natural Disaster: Amare Stoudemire
A natural disaster is not classified as such until it havocs itself on a community. Well the Suns played three games this week and STAT didn't disappoint. His team went 2-1 for the week and Amare was an influential piece. In games versus Washington, Seattle, and New Orleans he posted averages of 30 ppg, 14 rpg, 3 bpg, 97% ft and 51% fg. AND he hit 50% from distance. I love me some STAT.
The "I'm Not Even The Best NBA Prospect On My Own Team Award": DJ White
Playing "White" should no longer be an adjective for my playing style. People might get confused and think I averaged 18 ppg, 9.7 rpg and a block for the top 15 Indiana Hoosiers (I did have 19 and 16 in intramurals...don't sleep). His team also went 2-1, with its only loss coming at the hands of Wisconsin and their coach who does the "Soulja Boi". With his mid-high socks and tall tee, how could you not have a man crush on the future NBA first rounder? Eric Gordon gets the shine, but don't front on the guy who is gettin dirty.
The "Nate's Posts About My Scoring Pisses Me Off Award": Al Horford
Thank God no one reads our blog (although we do have a couple comments these days), because Al Horford and his 6-10, 260 lb body would smash Nate into the ground. So what if he shot 32% from the field last week? He averaged 10 boards a game this past week and is an intimidating player in the paint for the Hawks. They went winless (0-3), but Big Al gave the fans something to cheer about. Oh, he averaged 9.6 points last week.
"He Was Just A Freshman"
So I'm looking at Scout.com's POW awards, and one stood out. One, because I didn't have a clue who he was and two, because he plays for a surprising Ole Miss team. Chris Warren might be called "Christ" (I'm going to hell) if he increases his numbers in his tenure with the Rebels. The 5-10 guard averaged 14 ppg and 5.3 apg for a team that went 2-1. If you didn't know, now you know.
Internationally Known: Patrick "Patty" Mills aka "Makes the Dope (St. Mary's) Gaels Go Crazy"
I have never seen the dude play, but when his name came up Nate and the author of "False Floss" draw enough wood to put 84 Lumber out of business. I did some investigating, and the Australian freshman averaged 14 points over a three game WAC tour. His team went 3-0 including a win over perennial WAC favorite Gonzaga (including 13-18 free throws). If he would have scored in the last game, his scoring average would've been higher. Now Patty doesn't have to go into depression for being a St. Mary's player without an award.
-ML
EDIT by NM: I must say that Lamanna did an impressive job of spelling Stoudemire. You may have noticed that I copped out in the Olympic post and just used "Amare". In terms of the awards good shit in my opinion. However, for the award that DJ earned you have to consider about 90 percent of the Kansas Jayhawks. Lastly, I just felt that it was important that the fans know that Patty Mills' other nickname is the "Canberra Cannon". Some say it is because he is a scorer from Canberra, Australia. I think it's because he railroads a ton of girls at St. Mary's. Next week we might actually post all of the awards together.
"Shoot the J, Bitch"
Stayin on track like a box of pumas these Weekly Awards are finally on time!!!!
Finally, the Weekly Awards are on time for the first time ever. This is history in the making!!!
Smith of the Week:
Back by popular demand the Smith of the Week Award looks to be a staple of the PnR Weekly Awards. Last week, only the 3 guys from Tennessee were up for the award. This week we have made every player from college hoops eligible. If the fans like this idea we plan on going global next week and having NBA players qualify for the honor. That being said, it was a sad week for people named Smith. Nobody really stood out and Tyler Smith probably deserved the award again, but due to PnR's interest in St. Mary's College we have decided to hand the award to Tron Smith. Tron went for double figures in both conference games this week with a high of 15 against Santa Clara. Add in the fact that his name is Tron and it was hard not to reward the kid. PnR regrets that a St. Mary's player was awarded before Patrick "Patty" Mills, but stay tuned, we will eventually give him an award he doesn't deserve out of favoritism.
Take Off Your Pants and Jack-it Award (Bench Player of the Week):
Speaking of not earning a Weekly Award and just being granted it out of favoritism is actually a great segue to our next winner. Brad Wanamaker was probably the 130th best bench player this week. And actually he didn't even "Jack-it"(instant offense). But throw all of that out of the window and remember that PnR is run by 2 Pitt homers. More importantly, about 4 people read this blog. 2 of those 4 are Pitt fans. During Big East play this week Wanamaker was perhaps Pitt's most efficient player. Chipping in more minutes than usual Wanamaker went 3 for 4 against WVU(7 points) and 3 for 4 against Providence(6 points). Add in the fact that he is the best Pitt passer and a good defender and that is enough for us to honor Brad. Wanamaker myself a drink? Yes I do!
NCAA Newcomer of the Week:
Arizona lost the other day, but it wasn't the fault of Jerryd Bayless. Bayless went for 39 of Zona's 54 points. Even more impressive, the kid only took 18 shots.
NCAA Player of the Week:
Tyler Hansbrough has been putting together another great season. This past week he was especially impressive. T went for 28 and 18 in a loss to Duke. He then got his UNC team to bounce back as he went for 39 and 13 against Clemson. Last night against Virginia, Hansbrough went for 23 and 7. PnR don't piss with no math skills, but even we can tell that those are impressive averages. Tyler Hansbrough is PnR's third NCAA Player of the Week.
NBA Rookie of the Week:
Much like we mentioned 2 weeks ago, Al Horford continues to be a monster on the glass. However, he hasn't scored a point all year. We swear, look it up. The Hawks are never on TV, but we would love to see them once to see if Horford even shoots..... He must be passing up tip- dunks and put-backs. Luis Scola averaged double figures in 3 straight wins this past week. He also contributed 7 or more rebounds in each game. In a bad year for Rooks that is good enough to earn PnR honors.
Lost in Translation Star of the Week(Foreign Player of the Week):
When we invented this award the idea was to give it to Hedo every week. Remember, talent, stats, and skills only take you so far in these awards. Sadly, someone had a better week than Hedo. Jose Calderon of the Raptors went for 11 points and 14 assists in his first game last week. He followed that up with 15 points and 10 dimes and then finished the week with a 27 and 6 performance. The bad news????? The Raptors only win in that time period was a victory over lowly Minnesota.
NBA Weekly MVP:
Chris Paul blew up for 42 points against the Suns. After that he went for a lowly 2 points against Memphis. The good news about those 2 points is that we forgot about them because he chipped in 16 assists and got the win. Last night CP3 went for 25 and 14 in a victory over the Bulls. The moral of the story? His 2 big games were more than enough to make up for that 2 point pooper against Memphis. We have a feeling that this won't be the last time CP3 is honored by PnR.
Stay tuned for more exciting news from PnR in the next few days..... Well I doubt there will be anything exciting, but check us out anyway. If all else fails we will start using more made up nicknames like they do over at http://falsefloss.blogspot.com/
Out,
-PnR
..................... Wait, how in the hell do Tron Smith, Brad Wanamaker, Luis Scola, and Jose Calderon all win awards in the same week..... Really, Tron Smith??? Actually, all that means is that PnR is ahead of the curve in terms of research and game watches...... Umm yeah...... ahead of the curve :)
Smith of the Week:
Back by popular demand the Smith of the Week Award looks to be a staple of the PnR Weekly Awards. Last week, only the 3 guys from Tennessee were up for the award. This week we have made every player from college hoops eligible. If the fans like this idea we plan on going global next week and having NBA players qualify for the honor. That being said, it was a sad week for people named Smith. Nobody really stood out and Tyler Smith probably deserved the award again, but due to PnR's interest in St. Mary's College we have decided to hand the award to Tron Smith. Tron went for double figures in both conference games this week with a high of 15 against Santa Clara. Add in the fact that his name is Tron and it was hard not to reward the kid. PnR regrets that a St. Mary's player was awarded before Patrick "Patty" Mills, but stay tuned, we will eventually give him an award he doesn't deserve out of favoritism.
Take Off Your Pants and Jack-it Award (Bench Player of the Week):
Speaking of not earning a Weekly Award and just being granted it out of favoritism is actually a great segue to our next winner. Brad Wanamaker was probably the 130th best bench player this week. And actually he didn't even "Jack-it"(instant offense). But throw all of that out of the window and remember that PnR is run by 2 Pitt homers. More importantly, about 4 people read this blog. 2 of those 4 are Pitt fans. During Big East play this week Wanamaker was perhaps Pitt's most efficient player. Chipping in more minutes than usual Wanamaker went 3 for 4 against WVU(7 points) and 3 for 4 against Providence(6 points). Add in the fact that he is the best Pitt passer and a good defender and that is enough for us to honor Brad. Wanamaker myself a drink? Yes I do!
NCAA Newcomer of the Week:
Arizona lost the other day, but it wasn't the fault of Jerryd Bayless. Bayless went for 39 of Zona's 54 points. Even more impressive, the kid only took 18 shots.
NCAA Player of the Week:
Tyler Hansbrough has been putting together another great season. This past week he was especially impressive. T went for 28 and 18 in a loss to Duke. He then got his UNC team to bounce back as he went for 39 and 13 against Clemson. Last night against Virginia, Hansbrough went for 23 and 7. PnR don't piss with no math skills, but even we can tell that those are impressive averages. Tyler Hansbrough is PnR's third NCAA Player of the Week.
NBA Rookie of the Week:
Much like we mentioned 2 weeks ago, Al Horford continues to be a monster on the glass. However, he hasn't scored a point all year. We swear, look it up. The Hawks are never on TV, but we would love to see them once to see if Horford even shoots..... He must be passing up tip- dunks and put-backs. Luis Scola averaged double figures in 3 straight wins this past week. He also contributed 7 or more rebounds in each game. In a bad year for Rooks that is good enough to earn PnR honors.
Lost in Translation Star of the Week(Foreign Player of the Week):
When we invented this award the idea was to give it to Hedo every week. Remember, talent, stats, and skills only take you so far in these awards. Sadly, someone had a better week than Hedo. Jose Calderon of the Raptors went for 11 points and 14 assists in his first game last week. He followed that up with 15 points and 10 dimes and then finished the week with a 27 and 6 performance. The bad news????? The Raptors only win in that time period was a victory over lowly Minnesota.
NBA Weekly MVP:
Chris Paul blew up for 42 points against the Suns. After that he went for a lowly 2 points against Memphis. The good news about those 2 points is that we forgot about them because he chipped in 16 assists and got the win. Last night CP3 went for 25 and 14 in a victory over the Bulls. The moral of the story? His 2 big games were more than enough to make up for that 2 point pooper against Memphis. We have a feeling that this won't be the last time CP3 is honored by PnR.
Stay tuned for more exciting news from PnR in the next few days..... Well I doubt there will be anything exciting, but check us out anyway. If all else fails we will start using more made up nicknames like they do over at http://falsefloss.blogspot.com/
Out,
-PnR
..................... Wait, how in the hell do Tron Smith, Brad Wanamaker, Luis Scola, and Jose Calderon all win awards in the same week..... Really, Tron Smith??? Actually, all that means is that PnR is ahead of the curve in terms of research and game watches...... Umm yeah...... ahead of the curve :)
Monday, February 11, 2008
USA Basketball in an Olympic Year
I have no idea why, but for some reason I love USA Basketball. I'm not overly patriotic and I have no reason to care about USA Basketball, especially since once they started losing many Americans turned their backs on the team/program and stated that the players were thugs. However, I did something completely different.... When America started to suck, I started to care. I fell in love with the program. During the last Olympics I watched Allen Iverson and Lamar Odom (freakin Lamar Odom) play their balls off for a country that for the most part didn't give a shit about them. Odom and Iverson played like Dream Teamers despite the fact that Tim Duncan was always on the bench in foul trouble, LBJ and Melo were on the bench because Larry Brown hated them, and Stephon Marbury was for some strange reason starting. That team didn't win gold, but it was a good thing. After a series of failures, USA Basketball revamped the system and put Jerry Colangelo in charge of the process. Soon Coach K became the head coach. Coach K basically was the opposite of Larry Brown and was a sigh of relief for the players. Currently there are 33 players who are a part of the Senior Men's Team. There are also 8 guys on a USA Select Team which is used to practice against the Senior Team during camp. The roster is filled with the best players in the league (Melo, LBJ, Kobe), some glue guys (Bruce Bowen, Shane Battier, Tayshaun Prince), shooters (Mike Miller, Michael Redd), big guys who can move (Bosh, Howard, Amare), and the best PG's in the league not named Nash (Kidd, Billups, CP3, Deron Williams, Captain Kirk). Rather than trying to play total international ball and losing, or playing NBA ball with our second best players and no chemistry, this program aims to take a different route. Sure, there are still stars on the roster, but chemistry, defense, and shooting are now part of the equation. Add in the fact that Coach K lets these guys press for the whole game and the fact that his assistants know more about basketball than any other group of people in the world and you have a formula for success. That being said, America will only be the co-favorite in Beijing.
Roster:
If history is any indication, not all 33 players will be in training camp for the olympics. Some will pull out with injuries and personal excuses before camp starts. Others, who have no chance of making the final cut, will be asked not to come to camp at all. For the most part, the powers that be will be looking for a way to keep most of the guys from 2007's FIBA Americas Championship Team together.
That roster included:
Melo
Chauncey
Kobe
Tyson Chandler
LBJ
Kidd
Mike Miller
Michael Redd
Prince
Amare
Deron Williams
Melo
Chauncey
Kobe
Tyson Chandler
LBJ
Kidd
Mike Miller
Michael Redd
Prince
Amare
Deron Williams
Dwight Howard
The guys in bold will have a spot unless they get injured. I will touch on the other guys in a minute, but first I would like to talk about some possible addidtions to the full 33 man roster/player pool. Brandon Roy will have a spot in the group if he wishes to accept it. You could even argue that Roy deserves to make the final 12 man roster. In terms of college players, USA Basketball added Redick and Morrison two years ago. Last year they threw Kevin Durant and Greg Oden onto the roster. Keeping with the rule of 2 I am assuming that they will add Mike Beasley and Kevin Love to the player pool this year. The only question will be if they want to deal with and baggage that Beasley may bring. Remember, this is based on chemistry and representing America. That being said, Mike has behaved at Kansas State, so he should be good. Kevin Love will be added because Brad Miller is getting older and Love plays a game that is pretty comparable to what big men do overseas. Not to mention the fact that he is a great passer. Regardless of which college players are added to the player pool, none of them will make the team.
In terms of the final roster, I did not bold Tyson Chandler, Mike Miller, Michael Redd, Tayshaun Prince, or Deron Williams.
Chandler: He will be locked in a battle with Chris Bosh for this roster spot. It will just come down to if the coaches want a shot blocker or someone who is more skilled on offense.
Chandler: He will be locked in a battle with Chris Bosh for this roster spot. It will just come down to if the coaches want a shot blocker or someone who is more skilled on offense.
Mike Miller and Michael Redd: I am certain that one of these two will be on the roster and it is even likely that both of them make the final team. They are Coach K's zone busters. Competition here comes from Joe Johnson and Paul Pierce. I like Johnson's chances, but I'm not sure about PP. I love Paul Pierce, but I just can't see him giving the final shot to Kobe. Remember, CHEMISTRY COUNTS!!!
Tayshaun Prince: He is locked in a battle with Shane Battier and Bruce Bowen for this spot as the glue guy/defender.
Deron Williams: This will just come down to if the staff wants to use a big body like Williams, or if they want to run with CP3. Chauncey already gives them a grinder at point, so I think CP3 makes more sense so he and Kidd can make the team uptempo.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Going into the last Olympics 9 guys from the qualifying team were guaranteed roster spots in the Olympics, but because of injuries and other circumstances only 2 of those guys actually played on the Olympic team. I do not believe spots were guaranteed this time. Traning Camp for the FIBA Americas last year had 17 players and after an injury Nick Collison was added. That was then trimmed to 14 and finally to 12 to participate in the tournament. Above I have bolded 7 guys, as I stated before, they are locks for the team. The wildcard is D. Wade. To be honest the team is much better without him. I love the fact that he loves America and wants to be on this team, but his game just does not translate and he settles for too many jumpers in international play. However, if he wants to play it will be hard to turn him away.
-NM
-NM
Saturday, February 9, 2008
CAWWW
Crow, Trades, Excitement
Well, I'm drinking Crow yet again and I'll agree giving out awards and making sure the right people get their shine on is hard when ESPN only pushes so many guys. B-Easy is by far the best player in the NCAA.
Rick Pitino- who knew changing a suit at half (going from the Guido white and red to the less Guido black and red) could push his shit team to beat Georgetown. LOL- he just said it was because he spilled Diet Coke on the white one. He also said the next time he wears the white suit will be at the Kentucky Derby. Calipari and Pitino definately sling rocks. Anyways, enough with the side notes.
The Crow: Drank a fifth on Friday night.
The Trades: In terms of Phoenix and LA. I've heard some interesting takes on the trade, and they are retro 80's dank. I'm talking 80's white boy Celtics and Show time Lakers. The kick is that current Lake Show is more comparable to the Celtics. The 80's Celtics featured 7'0" Robert Parrish, 7'0" Kevin McHale and 6'10" Larry Bird. The Lakers will soon feature a healthy 7'0" Andrew Bynum, 7'0" Pau Gasol and 6'10" Lamar Odom (with Kobe actually being Larry Bird being that he's the best player on the team). Charles Barkley was stated as saying that Lamar Odom is not that expendable because he makes the team so much more difficult to defend with their length and skill ala the Celts circa 1988.
I originally bashed the hell out of Steve Kerr (See: post from Wednesday morning) for his trade. I was wrong. First off, he was the last guy to vote that the trade should go through (Mike D'Antoni was first). Secondly, The team now seems like the Showtime Lakers. Think about it: Magic had Byron Scott, James Worthy and Michael Cooper filling the wings on the break with Kareem Abdul Jabar sucking wind behind them. Steve Nash currently has Barbosa, Bell, Granny Hill, STAT and Diaw filling the wings with Shaq-Fu lugging behind. When the Lakers didn't have the break going, they dumped it inside to that goggle wearing 7 footer in the half court. Steve Nash will have Kazaam to dump it into in the half court. He may be lacking the foot speed, but it's still hard to stop a 7-2, 320 lb guy who knows how to play. They lost Shawn Marion, but they have plenty of other options on the break. What the will miss most about the Matrix is his defense (the Suns only had 1 steal Thursday Night). I don't know which team will replicate their model more and win the title, but the West just got even better.
Excitement: Celtics v. Spurs, ABC 12:00 Sunday.
It's the battle of the champs versus the team predicted to win-it-all. KG is out, but it will still be interesting to see what happens.
Heat v. Lakers, ABC 3:30 Sunday
The game was probably supposed to be built around Shaq v. Kobe. Well there was a trade. A couple. This will be my first time watching the newly acquired players don new jerseys. Matrix is rocking #7. I'm looking forward to this more so than the game before.
Also excited about this: It seems that no one team gets on TV more than the Heat. Prob because of Shaq, but I was getting tired of seeing them on TV especially when they're the worst team in the NBA. I'm glad all the trades went down because I'll see fresh faces on the more publicized teams. I love trades, mostly because I change rosters on Live 08.
Well, I'm drinking Crow yet again and I'll agree giving out awards and making sure the right people get their shine on is hard when ESPN only pushes so many guys. B-Easy is by far the best player in the NCAA.
Rick Pitino- who knew changing a suit at half (going from the Guido white and red to the less Guido black and red) could push his shit team to beat Georgetown. LOL- he just said it was because he spilled Diet Coke on the white one. He also said the next time he wears the white suit will be at the Kentucky Derby. Calipari and Pitino definately sling rocks. Anyways, enough with the side notes.
The Crow: Drank a fifth on Friday night.
The Trades: In terms of Phoenix and LA. I've heard some interesting takes on the trade, and they are retro 80's dank. I'm talking 80's white boy Celtics and Show time Lakers. The kick is that current Lake Show is more comparable to the Celtics. The 80's Celtics featured 7'0" Robert Parrish, 7'0" Kevin McHale and 6'10" Larry Bird. The Lakers will soon feature a healthy 7'0" Andrew Bynum, 7'0" Pau Gasol and 6'10" Lamar Odom (with Kobe actually being Larry Bird being that he's the best player on the team). Charles Barkley was stated as saying that Lamar Odom is not that expendable because he makes the team so much more difficult to defend with their length and skill ala the Celts circa 1988.
I originally bashed the hell out of Steve Kerr (See: post from Wednesday morning) for his trade. I was wrong. First off, he was the last guy to vote that the trade should go through (Mike D'Antoni was first). Secondly, The team now seems like the Showtime Lakers. Think about it: Magic had Byron Scott, James Worthy and Michael Cooper filling the wings on the break with Kareem Abdul Jabar sucking wind behind them. Steve Nash currently has Barbosa, Bell, Granny Hill, STAT and Diaw filling the wings with Shaq-Fu lugging behind. When the Lakers didn't have the break going, they dumped it inside to that goggle wearing 7 footer in the half court. Steve Nash will have Kazaam to dump it into in the half court. He may be lacking the foot speed, but it's still hard to stop a 7-2, 320 lb guy who knows how to play. They lost Shawn Marion, but they have plenty of other options on the break. What the will miss most about the Matrix is his defense (the Suns only had 1 steal Thursday Night). I don't know which team will replicate their model more and win the title, but the West just got even better.
Excitement: Celtics v. Spurs, ABC 12:00 Sunday.
It's the battle of the champs versus the team predicted to win-it-all. KG is out, but it will still be interesting to see what happens.
Heat v. Lakers, ABC 3:30 Sunday
The game was probably supposed to be built around Shaq v. Kobe. Well there was a trade. A couple. This will be my first time watching the newly acquired players don new jerseys. Matrix is rocking #7. I'm looking forward to this more so than the game before.
Also excited about this: It seems that no one team gets on TV more than the Heat. Prob because of Shaq, but I was getting tired of seeing them on TV especially when they're the worst team in the NBA. I'm glad all the trades went down because I'll see fresh faces on the more publicized teams. I love trades, mostly because I change rosters on Live 08.
The Biggest Update Ever......
I wanted to watch major college hoops today, but ESPN decided to put on Iowa against Minnesota instead. Oh well, this gives me a few minutes to update.
Pau Gasol
Michael touched on this in his previous post, but I wanted to say a few more things about the deal. I usually disagree with everything that Stephen A. Smith says, but for the most part he was right for saying that the Lakers win in this deal just because they get rid of Kwame Brown. Don't get me wrong, as a 3rd or 4th big Kwame isn't that bad of an option, but at the end of the day he will always be remembered as a bust. Kwame is THE prime example of the way that NBA draft logic is flawed. Enough about him though. Pau comes in as one of only 11 players in the league who average 19 and 9. The other guys on that list are Chris Bosh, Al Jefferson, KG, Yao...... you know guys you have probably heard of once or twice. Regardless of what you think of Pau (he has been called soft and a career loser) you have to respect the work the man has done in the league. He hasn't been a Laker for long, but so far the results have been good. The Lakers also got rid of Critter, which is a big move because they had to pick between him and Jordan Farmar eventually and it was good to get that decision out of the way as early as possible. Lastly, I love this deal because Pau got traded for the rights to his brother. How tits is that? How often does someone get traded for their brother?
Awards
This week we are going with a smaller list of awards due to the fact that we are lazy and picking the awards is actually way harder than we (or at least I, dunno if Lamanna feels the same) ever imagined. We'll do a few college awards and then go with an NBA player of the week and Rookie of the week.
Smith of the Week:
Tyler Smith was a beast against Florida as he went for a career high 23 points. T also had 9 boards and 6 assists. He was a little less stellar earlier in the week, but his production was good enough to earn him honors over his buddies Ramar Smith and JaJuan Smith.
NCAA Player of the Week:
Davidson could be playing high school teams.... I don't know... hell if anyone can name a player from their conference other than Stephen Curry. That being said, Curry is our player of the week with 58 points and 10 dimes in a 2 game span last week. The super soph is making a case for the award again next week with a 36 point effort against Elon.
Newcomer of the Week:
Mike Beasley.... Why? Because he is the best player like in the whole world.... maybe in the whole world ever. Jan 30-Feb 5 was actually one of his worst weeks of the year..... but we don't care... He rules!
Rookie of the Week:
24, 21, 20....Kevin Durant went for 24, 21, and 20 in a three game span last week. In a strange turn of events Seattle actually won 2 of those games. In an even crazier turn of events, KD actually grabbed 7 boards in a game against the Knicks.
NBA Player of the Week:
21 ppg over a three game stretch doesn't seem that impressive in the NBA, but it is when you consider that within those three games the player had 10 boards one night and then flirted with a triple double another night by having 9 assists and 9 blocks. Josh Smith, congrats on being the second PnR player of the week.
Draft
The NBA draft is still a long time away, and we feel it is too ealry to do a mock draft, but below is a list of our 20 best prospects.
Pau Gasol
Michael touched on this in his previous post, but I wanted to say a few more things about the deal. I usually disagree with everything that Stephen A. Smith says, but for the most part he was right for saying that the Lakers win in this deal just because they get rid of Kwame Brown. Don't get me wrong, as a 3rd or 4th big Kwame isn't that bad of an option, but at the end of the day he will always be remembered as a bust. Kwame is THE prime example of the way that NBA draft logic is flawed. Enough about him though. Pau comes in as one of only 11 players in the league who average 19 and 9. The other guys on that list are Chris Bosh, Al Jefferson, KG, Yao...... you know guys you have probably heard of once or twice. Regardless of what you think of Pau (he has been called soft and a career loser) you have to respect the work the man has done in the league. He hasn't been a Laker for long, but so far the results have been good. The Lakers also got rid of Critter, which is a big move because they had to pick between him and Jordan Farmar eventually and it was good to get that decision out of the way as early as possible. Lastly, I love this deal because Pau got traded for the rights to his brother. How tits is that? How often does someone get traded for their brother?
Awards
This week we are going with a smaller list of awards due to the fact that we are lazy and picking the awards is actually way harder than we (or at least I, dunno if Lamanna feels the same) ever imagined. We'll do a few college awards and then go with an NBA player of the week and Rookie of the week.
Smith of the Week:
Tyler Smith was a beast against Florida as he went for a career high 23 points. T also had 9 boards and 6 assists. He was a little less stellar earlier in the week, but his production was good enough to earn him honors over his buddies Ramar Smith and JaJuan Smith.
NCAA Player of the Week:
Davidson could be playing high school teams.... I don't know... hell if anyone can name a player from their conference other than Stephen Curry. That being said, Curry is our player of the week with 58 points and 10 dimes in a 2 game span last week. The super soph is making a case for the award again next week with a 36 point effort against Elon.
Newcomer of the Week:
Mike Beasley.... Why? Because he is the best player like in the whole world.... maybe in the whole world ever. Jan 30-Feb 5 was actually one of his worst weeks of the year..... but we don't care... He rules!
Rookie of the Week:
24, 21, 20....Kevin Durant went for 24, 21, and 20 in a three game span last week. In a strange turn of events Seattle actually won 2 of those games. In an even crazier turn of events, KD actually grabbed 7 boards in a game against the Knicks.
NBA Player of the Week:
21 ppg over a three game stretch doesn't seem that impressive in the NBA, but it is when you consider that within those three games the player had 10 boards one night and then flirted with a triple double another night by having 9 assists and 9 blocks. Josh Smith, congrats on being the second PnR player of the week.
Draft
The NBA draft is still a long time away, and we feel it is too ealry to do a mock draft, but below is a list of our 20 best prospects.
1. Mike Beasley-Kansas State
2. Derrick Rose-Memphis(shown above)
3. Eric Gordan-Indiana
4. DeAndre Jordan-Texas A&M
5. Marreese Speights-Florida
6. OJ Mayo-USC
7. Brook Lopez-Stanford
8. Donte Green-Syracuse
9. Danilo Gallinari-Italy
10. Nicolas Batum-France
11. Jerryd Bayless-Arizona
12. Chase Budinger-Arizona
13. Darrell Arthur-Kansas
14. DJ Augustin-Texas
15. Roy Hibbert-Georgetown
16. Blake Griffin-Oklahoma
17. Bill Walker-Kansas State
18. Kevin Love-UCLA
19. Kosta Koufos-OSU
20. DeVon Hardin-CAL
Stay tuned.... in the future PnR will bring some mock drafts to the net.
Make money, get buckets
-NM
Carmelo Anthony Etch A Sketch All Star
In honor of Melo going for 49 here is a video of some douche making an etch a sketch of Carmelo. Just let it play and look at the finished product. It is unreal.
Friday, February 8, 2008
"See, What had happened was....."-Will Smith
Well what happened this week was that me and Lamanna ran into a lot of work.....and then he decided to go on vacation to PSU.
Here is a link to the baddest 11 year old you will ever meet.... head and shoulders above LBJ and OJ Mayo.
http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=869_1201052822
Tomorrow I will post the largest update in PnR history in order to make up for the shitty coverage from this week.
Here is a link to the baddest 11 year old you will ever meet.... head and shoulders above LBJ and OJ Mayo.
http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=869_1201052822
Tomorrow I will post the largest update in PnR history in order to make up for the shitty coverage from this week.
Wednesday, February 6, 2008
Gotta Lay Off The Crow On School Nights.......
Either I just logged onto espn.com completely blackout or it's reality. The Phoenix Suns just landed a big one and finally got rid of the disgruntled poison that is Shawn Marion and the point guard who just never became the solid back-up in Marcus Banks. When I say big one, I mean BIG one. A big, slow, and old Shaquille O'Neal. WTF.
The Miami Heat are more giddy than the author of False Floss (falsefloss.blogspot.com) at a cheap titty bar while hammered. They now have gained a semi-youthful (29, he's got about 4 good years left) and productive wing to go along with D-Wade. I don't think this trade gets them out of the top 5 however, because Shawn Marion is unproven at the 3 spot. But, if they land a big guy in the draft who can play, the future looks bright because of a Sun. As a side note: if the NBA kept track of players who smoke a shitload of cronic Ricky Davis and Shawn Marion would be killin.
What the hell are the Suns thinking? Their offense is tailor made for fast players who get up in down the floor. That's why Marion could succeed as a 6-7 power forward. He was the fastest PF in the league. Maybe the Suns bought in to the fact that they couldn't win in the playoffs with a run-n-gun system. So they bring in Shaq, who may not be able to give it 80% because of injuries. What will happen with Amare? He has been the hoss on the blocks. He won't be nearly as effective on offense shooting jumpers as Shaq posts up. Maybe they're bringing him in as a defensive presence, because (as much as I love STAT) Amare couldn't defend Luke Harangody on the block. Shaq can't even play defense anymore though, that's the funny part. He doesn't have the athleticism he used to. Best case scenario: Nash, Barbosa, G-Hill, Brian Skinner (defensive purposes) and STAT start games with Shaq bringing a change of tempo off the bench pushing Amare to the 4 and they physically dominate together 20 minutes a game. Worst case scenario: They start Shaq and Amare and just watch how the funnest team to watch becomes the 1995 NY Knicks. Steve Nash makes a lot of guys better, but the personnel he will have on the court will fit him about as well as Shaq's wang in a water balloon.
There was an outstanding trade where a contender became for real on Friday. Pau Gasol to the Lakers for 2 first rounders, Kwame Brown, J-Critter, Marc Gasol and Aaron McKie(?). The Lakers gave up picks, but ensured themselves that KB24 will stick around this off-season. The Lakers went from having a chance to get the Western Conference Finals, to being a lock for them and a favorite to win the West. If Bynum comes back and is playing like a monster again, KB24 will cream. Gasol and Bynum will in turn make each other dominant. No one can match up to their youth and skill. Monsters on the block = more open lanes for Mamba to get to the hole for fear of dunks. Really, it will be a pick your poison on defense. Either let Mamba drive and dunk or dish to one of the finishers.
It will be interesting to see what happens to Lamar Odom. Out of Rhode Island, everyone expected him to be the new Magic. The skills never materialized and he is a rich man's Tim Thomas. Will they move him to the 3, where he played before the Lakers, bring him off the bench or trade him? It'll be interesting.
The Grizzlies showed they're going for the uptempo pace now. This past Saturday, they played Mike Miller (a 2) at the 3, Rudy Gay (a 3) at the 4 and Darko (a pussy) at the 5. Going very small indeed. The GM of the Grizzlies looked at the deal as getting 4 first rounders. They got the 2 picks, Critter (a first rounder/rookie) and Marc Gasol (who some say if he waited til this year to enter the draft he'd be first round). But really........they have Kyle Lowry and Mike Conley already, the two first rounders will probably be in the twenties, and Marc Gasol is in Europe.
On a bright side, Kwame Brown makes Sam Bowie look like Hakeem Olajuwon and that makes me smile :).
The Miami Heat are more giddy than the author of False Floss (falsefloss.blogspot.com) at a cheap titty bar while hammered. They now have gained a semi-youthful (29, he's got about 4 good years left) and productive wing to go along with D-Wade. I don't think this trade gets them out of the top 5 however, because Shawn Marion is unproven at the 3 spot. But, if they land a big guy in the draft who can play, the future looks bright because of a Sun. As a side note: if the NBA kept track of players who smoke a shitload of cronic Ricky Davis and Shawn Marion would be killin.
What the hell are the Suns thinking? Their offense is tailor made for fast players who get up in down the floor. That's why Marion could succeed as a 6-7 power forward. He was the fastest PF in the league. Maybe the Suns bought in to the fact that they couldn't win in the playoffs with a run-n-gun system. So they bring in Shaq, who may not be able to give it 80% because of injuries. What will happen with Amare? He has been the hoss on the blocks. He won't be nearly as effective on offense shooting jumpers as Shaq posts up. Maybe they're bringing him in as a defensive presence, because (as much as I love STAT) Amare couldn't defend Luke Harangody on the block. Shaq can't even play defense anymore though, that's the funny part. He doesn't have the athleticism he used to. Best case scenario: Nash, Barbosa, G-Hill, Brian Skinner (defensive purposes) and STAT start games with Shaq bringing a change of tempo off the bench pushing Amare to the 4 and they physically dominate together 20 minutes a game. Worst case scenario: They start Shaq and Amare and just watch how the funnest team to watch becomes the 1995 NY Knicks. Steve Nash makes a lot of guys better, but the personnel he will have on the court will fit him about as well as Shaq's wang in a water balloon.
There was an outstanding trade where a contender became for real on Friday. Pau Gasol to the Lakers for 2 first rounders, Kwame Brown, J-Critter, Marc Gasol and Aaron McKie(?). The Lakers gave up picks, but ensured themselves that KB24 will stick around this off-season. The Lakers went from having a chance to get the Western Conference Finals, to being a lock for them and a favorite to win the West. If Bynum comes back and is playing like a monster again, KB24 will cream. Gasol and Bynum will in turn make each other dominant. No one can match up to their youth and skill. Monsters on the block = more open lanes for Mamba to get to the hole for fear of dunks. Really, it will be a pick your poison on defense. Either let Mamba drive and dunk or dish to one of the finishers.
It will be interesting to see what happens to Lamar Odom. Out of Rhode Island, everyone expected him to be the new Magic. The skills never materialized and he is a rich man's Tim Thomas. Will they move him to the 3, where he played before the Lakers, bring him off the bench or trade him? It'll be interesting.
The Grizzlies showed they're going for the uptempo pace now. This past Saturday, they played Mike Miller (a 2) at the 3, Rudy Gay (a 3) at the 4 and Darko (a pussy) at the 5. Going very small indeed. The GM of the Grizzlies looked at the deal as getting 4 first rounders. They got the 2 picks, Critter (a first rounder/rookie) and Marc Gasol (who some say if he waited til this year to enter the draft he'd be first round). But really........they have Kyle Lowry and Mike Conley already, the two first rounders will probably be in the twenties, and Marc Gasol is in Europe.
On a bright side, Kwame Brown makes Sam Bowie look like Hakeem Olajuwon and that makes me smile :).
Saturday, February 2, 2008
Weekly Awards
Well, our first Weekly Awards are finally here!!!!!
Lost In Translation Star of the Week (Foreign Player of the Week):
Hedo Turkoglu went for 26, 23, and 27 over a three game span that ended with a game winner against the Boston Celtics.... In our opinion, Hedo has earned an All Star invitation, but sadly the powers that be disagree.... Looks like Weekly honors from The Pick 'n Roll will have to do for now.
NBA Weekly MVP:
King James averaged 33.3 ppg, 8 boards, and nearly 6 assists in a 3 game stretch last week. Couple that with the fact that we didn't pay attention to any other NBA players last week and he wins our Weekly MVP award.
NBA Rookie of the Week:
Well Al Horford had a monster week on the boards, but we would like to see him actually score once or twice. Moreover, we'd like to give the award to someone who contributed to wins, but looking at the rookies it is hard to find anyone who won last week. Therefore, in an effort to increase our readership in the oversea market we are going with Juan Carlos Navarro as our Rookie of the Week. He stunk against Orlando, but bounced back with 3 double digit scoring games in a row for Memphis..... Good enough for us.
College Newcomer of the Week:
Kevin Love, OJ Mayo, Rose, and all those other guys are pretty good. But we figure that nobody from Rutgers will ever be awarded again, so we are taking Mike Coburn as our Newcomer of the Week for his effort in wins against Nova and Pitt last week. The kid from NYC had 23 against Nova and 17 against Pitt..... Works for us.
College MVP:
This was tough. Some wanted Kevin Love for what he did in his home state of Oregon, but Love annoys me. Therefore, give us Mike Beasley and his averages of 31 and 14 last week. What a beast!!!
Big trade for the Lakers in getting Pau Gasol, but we will touch on that later.
Stay Fly,
-The Pick 'n Roll
Lost In Translation Star of the Week (Foreign Player of the Week):
Hedo Turkoglu went for 26, 23, and 27 over a three game span that ended with a game winner against the Boston Celtics.... In our opinion, Hedo has earned an All Star invitation, but sadly the powers that be disagree.... Looks like Weekly honors from The Pick 'n Roll will have to do for now.
NBA Weekly MVP:
King James averaged 33.3 ppg, 8 boards, and nearly 6 assists in a 3 game stretch last week. Couple that with the fact that we didn't pay attention to any other NBA players last week and he wins our Weekly MVP award.
NBA Rookie of the Week:
Well Al Horford had a monster week on the boards, but we would like to see him actually score once or twice. Moreover, we'd like to give the award to someone who contributed to wins, but looking at the rookies it is hard to find anyone who won last week. Therefore, in an effort to increase our readership in the oversea market we are going with Juan Carlos Navarro as our Rookie of the Week. He stunk against Orlando, but bounced back with 3 double digit scoring games in a row for Memphis..... Good enough for us.
College Newcomer of the Week:
Kevin Love, OJ Mayo, Rose, and all those other guys are pretty good. But we figure that nobody from Rutgers will ever be awarded again, so we are taking Mike Coburn as our Newcomer of the Week for his effort in wins against Nova and Pitt last week. The kid from NYC had 23 against Nova and 17 against Pitt..... Works for us.
College MVP:
This was tough. Some wanted Kevin Love for what he did in his home state of Oregon, but Love annoys me. Therefore, give us Mike Beasley and his averages of 31 and 14 last week. What a beast!!!
Big trade for the Lakers in getting Pau Gasol, but we will touch on that later.
Stay Fly,
-The Pick 'n Roll
Friday, February 1, 2008
I'm just tryin to get drunk.....
Well I was right me and Lamanna are too lazy and drunk to update this as much as we promised, but the link Lamanna posted below is sick and will count as our weekly old school highlight.... Yea it isn't old school, but deal with it. Tomorrow I will post our Weekly Awards that were promised for Wednesday. The awards will be from last Wednesday evening to Wednesday morning. Next weeks awards will actually be posted on the right day.
Life happens.... we drink too much and that kills our posting ability, but we will get better I swear.
Also, Lamanna posted that link like a moron.... I'll provide the same link in a clickable(nice word) format.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Ri0khzm5gA&NR=1
Get foul this weekend..... Coach Calipari called me and said him and CDR are sipping on some Vlad tonight, so I'm going to do the same.
Much Love,
-NM
Life happens.... we drink too much and that kills our posting ability, but we will get better I swear.
Also, Lamanna posted that link like a moron.... I'll provide the same link in a clickable(nice word) format.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Ri0khzm5gA&NR=1
Get foul this weekend..... Coach Calipari called me and said him and CDR are sipping on some Vlad tonight, so I'm going to do the same.
Much Love,
-NM
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