Women Can't Compete in the NBA posted by Colin Linneweber

NBA Commissioner David Stern predicted last week that a woman will play in the league within the next decade.

“I don’t want to get into all kinds of arguments with players and coaches about the likelihood,” Stern told Sports Illustrated. “But I really think it’s a good possibility.”

Stern, 67, who became the Commissioner in 1984, said he realizes that many people are skeptical that women could compete physically with men.

However, Stern offered the reasoning behind his belief and he cited examples of other female athletes who have flourished performing athletically versus men.

“If you look at world records, let’s say track and field, you’ll see how the women have moved up to what would have been records several decades ago for men,” said Stern, a graduate of Columbia Law School in 1966. “Watch the WNBA and you see the shooting percentages, the passing and the like. Basketball is a five-person game and you have zones and you can do a variety of other things.”

There is no question that many, many women throughout the world are tremendous athletes.

However, it is utter lunacy to contend that a woman could excel as a player in the NBA.

WNBA players have superb abilities on the hardwood and many of those players could likely trump men’s hoops stars in a contest of shire skills.

Nevertheless, pressed into live action, the weakest man in the NBA would easily outmuscle and outperform the strongest woman in the WNBA.

Dallas Mavericks power forward Dirk Nowitzki correctly believes that a woman would falter playing in the NBA.

Fun With Box Scores posted by Scott Shepherd

Every Monday, with the assistance of the good people over at www.basketball-reference.com, I like to take a look deep into the statistics of teams and players from around the league in a little post I like to call “Fun with Box Scores”.

Some of the gems I came across this week:

-Quinten Richardson has gone 9 games, 275 minutes played, without taking a single free throw this season.

-Even more remarkably, Jason Kidd has taken just 2 free throws in 347 minutes this season.

-73% of Daniel Gibson’s shots this season have been from beyond the three point line, by far the highest percentage of any player in the league with at least 50 shots taken.

-Since 1986, the record for most 40+ point games before December 1st is 14. Brandon Jennings’ 55 point outburst on Saturday was the 14th time that someone has scored at least 40 this season, tying the record, and we’ve still got 15 days left in the month.

-Speaking of Jennings, since 1986, no player has had a better three point field goal percentage during a 50-point game than he did on Saturday (minimum 3 attempts).

-In that same time span, Jennings is the youngest player ever to shoot at least 34 shots in a game.

-Nazr Mohammed led the Bobcats in scoring on Wednesday with a whopping 13 points. In nine games this season, the Cat’s have failed to have a player reach 20 points in five of them, by far the most in the league.

-Golden State has given up at least 100 points in every game this season. They are the only team in the league to do so this season.

NBA Opening Night Quick Thoughts posted by Scott Shepherd

Happy New Year!

With the new NBA season set to tip off with four games tonight, here are some of the things I’ll be watching for in tonight’s action.

Boston @ Cleveland, 7:30pm

I can’t wait to see LeBron again this season. Last year, coming off the Olympics, you could see that his focus was on improving defensively. Now, without a summer in the spotlight, I’m curious to see if he’s made any improvements to his already unreal game. Is this the year we finally see LeBron use his Karl Malone-like body to beast on people inside?

Also, I’m curious to see what kind of pregame theatrics the Cavs come up with. You know Shaq can’t stand to be out of the spotlight, I wouldn’t be surprised if he tries to one-up LeBron’s chalk thing with something of his own.

As for Boston, I really want to see how Rondo responds to not getting a contract extension. Last year he was a triple-double waiting to happen in the playoffs, but at the same time, Boston was not a threat.

Are we going to see the more subdued Rondo that won the title in ’08, or will it be the ’09 version that was the centerpiece of that team?

And of course, I’m looking forward to seeing Rasheed Wallace’s giant new cornrows. Those would have been ugly 4 years ago. Nice throwback hairstyle, 'Sheed.

Washington @ Dallas, 8:30pm

Curious to see the return of the former Agent Zero. I wrote last season that he could be this decade’s Grant Hill, and not in a good way. Three knee surgeries in 17 months is a terrible route to take to NBA superstardom. It’s nearly impossible to bounce back from that.

Can the San Antonio Spurs win a 5th NBA Championship for the upcoming 2009-2010 season? posted by Al Liggens

Have the spurs put together enough talent to contend with elite teams in the NBA?

I believe the answer is a definite yes. The San Antonio Spurs have had an offseason many feel was their best ever and with the talent already in place, the spurs should be in the hunt for another title. It will be interesting  to see how the new players mesh with the likes of Tim Duncan, Tony Parker, and Manu Ginobili. Richard Jefferson and Antonio McDyess will add much needed scoring and length to a team that was exposed a bit during this  years surprising first round exit against the Dallas Mavericks. Looking back to last season, the spurs had quite a few issues that needed to be addressed to make the team better, younger and more athletic.

Defense will be an important factor this upcoming season.

 Last year, the overall defensive play of the spurs seemed to be lacking and at times non existent. I expect to see much more emphasis on stopping teams from scoring at will and return to spurs basketball, which is to shut people down and rely on your defense to help you win games. The  defensive rotations will be much better with the addition of NBA journeyman Theo Ratliff getting minutes off the bench. This allows for Tim Duncan to get some much needed rest as well as have a guy on the court that can play good defense and score when necessary and give you quality minutes off the bench.

The spurs now have enough weapons to challenge the so called "elite" teams in the NBA. This was a major problem last season as Tim  Duncan and Tony Parker had no scoring help  and the bench players couldn't help carry the team during the playoffs and were a non factor. Other teammates are going to have to find a way to score and create their own shots when called upon. I expect to see better bench play this season with rookie Dajuan Blair getting some minutes off the bench along with some other players contributing. General managers around the league are going to kick themselves after they get a glimpse of this young player. The talent and potential to be a great NBA player are definitely present and his physical style of play will cause problems for anyone trying to guard him. He will exceed expectations this coming season! This team has made a very good effort to try to get younger and add some youth to the team during the offseason, so we know that trying to stay injury free is probably the biggest common denominator for the entire year. Manu Ginobili needs to regain his form and stay healthy throughout the season in order for the spurs to have any chance at  winning a championship. Hopefully, he can compete at a high level and contribute to the team...     

Summer has been good to Beaubois posted by Andy Charles

Despite the hype surrounding a lot of high picks from this year’s NBA Draft the man who seems to have been making the biggest impact in Summer League action has been Rodrigue Beaubois, taken 25th by the Dallas Mavericks and thought even then to be a bit of a reach.

The Frenchman, born in Guadeloupe,  did provoke some comparisons with his compatriot Tony Parker, and the early results would suggest those comparisons might just be accurate.

Although the Mavericks team has only gone 1-4, Beaubois has impressed in averaging 17 points, 3.4 rebounds and 3.8 assists on good shooting percentages as well.

The best overall performance was the most recent and last of the Vegas League (Sunday) when Beaubois ended when he hit 9-of-12 shots for 23 points and dished out five assists, the sort of line you would expect from Parker, a player he seems to have modelled his game on.

Beaubois did score 34 against Houston as well but that came in one of those games when even less defense than usual was played – however seven of his shots were hit from three-point range, and a deep threat is something Dallas could really do with off the bench this season.

Beaubois has already calmed fears of going back to Europe, where he played in France for Cholet, by signing his rookie deal, and in Dallas he is in the perfect situation to learn the intricacies of the NBA.

With Jason Kidd re-signed to lead the offense for at least a couple more years Beaubois is under no pressure to perform straight away, although he may find himself earning some playing time if he continues to impress as he did in Vegas,

The 5 Best Second Overall Selections in the NBA Draft Since 1984 posted by Colin Linneweber

The Los Angeles Clippers are expected to pick former Oklahoma Sooners star Blake Griffin Thursday with the first overall selection in the 2009 NBA Draft at the WaMu Theater at Madison Square Garden in New York City. 

However, there is not a consensus projection for the No. 2 pick and basketball analysts remain largely uncertain who the Memphis Grizzlies will choose tomorrow in Gotham.

In recognition of the NBA Draft, I have decided to rank the five most accomplished players selected second overall in the past quarter century.


1)  Jason Kidd 

Kidd, 36, attended the University of California and helped resurrect the Golden Bears dormant basketball program with his stellar play at the point guard position. 

After being honored as a First Team All-American as a sophomore, Kidd declared for the NBA Draft and was selected second overall by the Dallas Mavericks in 1994. 

Unfortunately, the Bay Area native’s initial stint with the Mavericks didn’t materialize as most anticipated it would. 

According to legend, singer Toni Braxton went to the Mavs team hotel to meet Kidd for a date after a game. 

 However, instead of rendezvousing with Kidd, Braxton instead left with his Dallas teammate Jimmy Jackson and the two purportedly fornicated until the wee hours. 

Subsequently, Kidd loathed Jackson and he demanded an escape from “Big D.” 

Kidd, a 9-time All-Star and 6-time All-NBA nomination, was traded to the Phoenix Suns at the conclusion of the 1996 season and his career began to truly ascend in the desert. 

Dallas Mavericks draft pick posted by john howard

The Dallas Mavericks only have one pick this year in the NBA draft and they really need help to keep from falling any further.  If you look at draft boards, the list of players that could go to Dallas at the 22nd pick are too numerous to mention.   But, we can look at how the past 14 drafts have done at that position.

Of the past 14 drafts, only 2 have produced mentionable players.  Kenny Thomas has been a solid bench player and starter when needed.  The other is Courtney Lee who started in the NBA finals in his first year.  That isn't very good odds.  But, it could happen.  At this point, I think Dallas would take either of those players.  I'm not sure what direction the team is going to go.  But, Mr. Cuban dosn't look like a guy who starts from zero and rebuilds.  Although he does like to wheel and deal.

Catching up with the Phoenix Suns rumors this off season and who should be kept around for next year? posted by Ryan Greyslak

There have been many rumors surrounding the Phoenix Suns since they missed the playoffs this season. Some of these rumored trades would actually help the team, but some of the options are only opportunities to cut payroll for the oncoming season and further destroy the team. Some of the biggest names involved in these rumors for the team have been Amare Stoudemire, Shaquille O’Neal, Steve Nash, Leandro Barbosa, and Jason Richardson.

 Shaq Rumors 

Shaquille O’Neal has not been shy about the fact that he would not mind playing for another team other then the Phoenix Suns and is interested in a contract to extend him for one to two more years. Some of the rumored teams to be interested in Shaq are Cleveland Cavaliers, Dallas Mavericks, and New Orleans Hornets.

Cleveland has reportedly offered Ben Wallace (who might request a buyout or retire) and Sasha Pavlovich who has a non guaranteed contract. The Suns could potentially get out of both players and save money off payroll this year. This is a bad deal for the Suns and I would not expect it to happen for these players. They would get nothing for Shaq.

Another of the rumored teams interested in Shaq are the Dallas Mavericks. One of the rumored packages would send Jerry Stackhouse expiring contract and Erick Dampier. Dampier is guaranteed for the next two years at over 23 million. This again would be a horrible trade for the team and they would essentially be giving Shaq up for a smaller expiring contract and a slower less effective center. If the Suns have any talks with Dallas they should absolutely involve Josh Howard but it is rumored Sarver does not want to do business with Cuban.

Top 10 Things Mark Cuban MEANT TO SAY to K-Mart's mom posted by Chris Strickland

When Mark Cuban told Lydia Moore that her son, the Nuggets' Kenyon Martin, was a "thug" after Game 3 of the Nuggets-Mavs series, he crossed a line. I thought I'd point out the Top 10 Things he MEANT TO SAY to Ms. Moore:

10) "I know he's not a thug. No real thug would ever get sponsorship from K-Mart."

9) "I meant to say, 'Your son's a cool dude,' not, 'Your son included.' Had some margaritas during the game. Slurred my words."

8) "THUG is an acronym. It stands for Totally Hip Underestimated Gamer."

7) "I want Kenyon to be in my new show, 'Thuggin' It,' about a group of NBA players cleaning up run-down neighborhoods."

6) "I was trying to reward you! Every thug-mama received a free chalupa that night."

5) "Last I checked, you're not a thug unless you mock our national anthem, reference slavery, and get caught multiple times with grass (no, I'm not talking about you, Josh Howard)."

4) "Why are you looking at me like that? Seriously. Stop it."

3) "Look, thugness is a good thing. If Nowitzki had your son's thugness, he'd be unstoppable. Like a German ghetto man-child."

2) "As long as Kenyon's not friends with TI or Vick, I take it back."

1) "Your son may be a thug, but he's nothing compared to 'Melo." 

There's clearly no shortage of thugs in the NBA. Just look at Artest. The only way the Rockets are going to beat the Lakers is if Ron Artest literally KILLS Kobe Bryant. That's the only way. Lakers take Game 7 in a blowout.

Dallas Mavericks weakened by Denver Nuggets' physical play in Game 1 posted by Peter

The Mavs have just finished the series with the San Antonio Spurs who plays with speed and finess. Now, they face a Nuggets team that plays a different brand of basketball: a physical, pound the paint, and defensive style of playing that the Mavs could not adjust to in Game 1.

The Nuggets went for every block and every steal while clogging up the lane and batting away any one who dares come near the basket. The Mavs were frustrated by the non-calls and could not play their slow, half court game. The Mavs became careless with the ball and just gave away the ball in the second half. That, and the Mavs bench didn't show up.

What will the Mavs need to do to have a chance at winning this series? Take care of the ball, and play some defense in the paint. Nene scored 24 points in game 1 when he averaged only around 10 in the Nuggets-Hornets series.

And maybe if the refs would call a few more fouls on the Nuggets instead of the street ball: no blood no foul mentality. Jason Kidd touches the hair on Melo's arm and gets a foul, but Dirk getting pulled down at the waist in the middle of a shot by Nene doesn't count? We have HDTV now, refs, we can see everything you missed!Continue reading "Dallas Mavericks weakened by Denver ..."

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