All-Playoffs Team 2013

Let's see...

East: D-Will, D-Wade, Carmelo, James, Boozer?

West: Parker, Curry, Durant, Duncan, Mark Gasol?

I dunno.

Keeping up with the Fantasy Theme

Happy Playoffs by the way.

What if I left Paul off the 5 man lineup? I'll go with Harden, Bryant, Durant, Anthony, and James. OK, now let's get rid of Bryant because he's hurt. Could just replace Bryant with Wade. The thing is, I love me some grindy half court. How about Paul, Curry, James, Duncan, and M. Gasol. There's not 4 shooters, but huge size and inside game.

Playoff Predictions and Such:

New York, Chicago, Indiana, Miami
Indiana, Miami
Miami

OKC, Memphis, Denver, San Antonio
San Antonio, OKC
OKC

Miami

I know the series are in swing, but this is what I thought before they started. I'm hoping Memphis can pull it out, but it's not looking good.

More Position Designation:

What about Guards, Swings, and Bigs?

Who are top 5?

Guards: Paul, Parker, Harden, Westbrook, Wade
Swings: Anthony, Durant, James, George, Gay
Bigs: M. Gasol, Howard, Duncan, Horford, Garnett

Can you make some all NBA teams out of those?

Best fantasy 5 on 5 match up right now?

I think I'd go with Paul versus Parker, Wade versus Westbrook, Bryant versus Durant, James versus Anthony, and M. Gasol versus Duncan. Or maybe skip Gasol and have James versus Duncan at the 5, and work Harden in there somewhere. Paul, Bryant, Durant, Anthony, and James would be short, but a super team. Versus Parker, Westbrook, Wade, Harden, Duncan? Gotta mix it up a little. Ideas?

Positions

Maybe there are 4 positions in the Association:

QB, Guard, Forward, Goalie

Take the Heat; LeBron can be a big QB, and Haslem, Howard, or Anthony (and Bosh kinda)can be banger/goalie types. After that positions on the Heat are irrelevant. Any combo of Wade, Miller, Allen, Bosh, Battier, Lewis, Chalmers, Cole can work. Some of those guys are either guards or forwards, but many of them can be either. And if one of the others becomes a QB, LeBron can play any of the other spots.

I understand the argument that positions are becoming irrelevant, but 5'10" speedy guys can't do what 6'10" 275 lb. guys can do and vice versa. And a team needs diversity of skill sets to match up on defense against size and speed, and also need to bring different looks on offense.

I used to break it down to three positions (probably on a lost blog somewhere); Points, Wings, and Bigs. My "research" tells me that the newest position is the point guard, and that back in the day they were just "guards." I think that's why for things like the all-nba team, and the all-star team, there are two guards, two forwards and a center. Although the all-star voting got rid of the center spot this year, and went to two back court players, and three front court players.

The other wrinkle is that two of the best "point" guards are Derrick Rose and Russell Westbrook. They are bigger, and look to score more that what we think of as PGs. Those two create match up problems against most point guards, mostly because they are so good, but also because other trad PGs aren't big enough or accustomed to guarding a go-to 1st (or 1Ast) option scorer.

The very successful Jackson Triangle offense utilized a ball-dominant 2 man, and a capable 3 man (like a point forward) along with a trad PG, but the PG would usually camp behind the 3 point line or in the corner for three point shooting, and was usually a 4th or 5th scoring option. I wonder why Jackson didn't go all the way and play two bigger 2 men from time to time. I guess the Ron Harper Bulls did some of that, but I don't remember it so much on the Lakers, and I remember seeing a lot of Kerr, Paxon, and Armstrong on the Bulls.

With LeBron running as QB from the 4 spot, and quick bigs making the beef cakes obsolete maybe it is time to let go of  positions and replace them with verbs and adverbs that can apply to multiple guys at the same time, such as post-scorer, rebounder, ball-handeler, and post-defender. I think it would help a lot of teams to not depend on a PG, and spread some facilitating and leadership around. And a big goalie enforcer type may be useful in limited situations, but not for long stretches of being useless on the break and too slow in the pick and roll. The same could go for the little speedy guys; good for matching up against a slow team for a change of pace, but probably not all game to get posted on and shot over.

How about this for a team? Harden, Bryant, Durant, Anthony, James. Chris Paul probably should be in there, and you'd probably want someone who is bigger to defend in the post, but I'm just sayin...   

Pelicans

Well, the name of this blog doesn't make sense anymore, does it? Who cares! I don't!

Hornets best lineup: Vasquez, Gordon, Aminu, Anderson, Davis
Backups: Rivers, Mason, Thomas, Smith, Lopez
Going big: Vasquez, Anderson, Smith, Davis, Lopez
Small ball: Rivers, Rogers, Gordon, Aminu, Anderson

Hornicans 4 Life! I'm in for good!

Down with Divas! Long Live Gordon!

Ok, so my last post about Gordon and the Suns and all wasn't exactly on point. I'm almost always wrong about predictions in basketball anyway. As the roster stands now, the big rotation is Smith, Lopez, and Anderson, with Davis hopefully playing some three while he's young, with the ability to play in the crowded four spot, and even some five in small lineups, and Warrick as the clear fifth big, but a quality end of the bench guy. Then again, Warrick could play some at the three. Lance Thomas is around as well. The threes are hopefully Davis, with Olympian Aminu, and sometimes Anderson on offense. Thomas? Xavier Henry? Thin right? The two spot is all Eric "Diva Cup" Gordon, who I think Hornets fans should reach out to, but needs to prove he's durable/worth all that money. Rookie Rivers is supposedly converting to a one, but he could get minutes at the two, and Roger Mason will end up seeing a lot of time at the two, and probably a little one, for "veteran presence." Xavier Henryis most suited to be a two also, but he better hope he can play some three. Vasquez is the pointguard, and I hope his teammates can follow his lead, because he's solid, affordable, and maybe should be the long term guy to QB. Good teams tend to have a starter quality combo guard coming off the bench, and it would be cool if Rivers was that guy. Diva Cup should also be able to facilitate a little for all that scratch.

So if small ball is viable, the crunch time lineup could be Vasquez, Gordon, Aminu, Anderson, Davis, and if they're going big, it could be Vasquez, Gordon, Davis, Anderson, Lopez. Maybe Rivers will eventually take Vasquez' spot in either of these. The big question whether Davis, Anderson, and Lopez can play together at the same time. Maybe Davis will play mostly at the five, and Lopez will be a backup. If that's the case, the depth chart looks like: 1. Vasquez, Rivers 2. Gordon, Mason 3. Aminu, Thomas? Henry? Warrick? 4. Anderson, Smith 5. Davis, Lopez

Top Players as of July 2012

Top 10 Ones
1. Paul
2. Rose
3. D. Williams
4. Westbrook
5. Parker
6. Rondo
7. Nash
8. Lowry
9. Irving
10. Miller

Top 10 Twos:
1. Wade
2. Bryant
3. Harden
4. Allen
5. Gordon
6. Johnson
7. Crawford
8. Terry
9. Ellis
10. Martin

Top 10 Threes:
1. James
2. Durant
3. Anthony
4. Pierce
5. Deng
6. Iguodala
7. Gay
8. Granger
9. Batum
10. Marion

Top 10 Fours:


1. Love
2. Nowitski
3. Millsap
4. Randolph
5. P. Gasol
6. Aldredge
7. Bosh
8. Griffin
9. Ibaka
10. Amare

Top 10 Fives:
1. Howard
2. Bynum
3. Duncan
4. Garnett
5. Hibbert
6. M. Gasol
7. A. Jefferson
8. Nene'
9. Noah
10. Chandler

New Orleans Hornets Blog Saint Tony D!!! and all that.

Jack, Rivers, Davis, Anderson, Gortat; Vasquez, Belli, Aminu, Smith

With Smith as a lower cost big, that big man rotation would be elite and reasonably priced.

The Hornets should seriously and publicly pursue  Marcin Gortat .

This is a message for the Phoenix Suns and Eric Gordon: "We Want Gortat!" We demand that if a star disses this city, tom benson, dell demps, or coach williams, and leaves a mark on impressionable younger players,  and tries to leverage his way out to another specific team, the Hornets should get to pick a player from that other team.

We get the player we want back. We want Gortat. I think he could play with any of the other bigs at the same time, or sit depending on the situation. I don't know if he's a diva like CP3, Kobe, or Eric Gordon, but even he he doesn't fit, he would be a tradeable player that the Hornets could get more value for later on.

Sign Eric Gordon, and trade him to the Phoenix Suns for Marcin Gortat

Marcin Gortat's nickname is the Polish Hammer. We'll make a bounce song called the Polish Ham-mer, the Polish Ham-mer, the Pol the Pol the Pol the Polish Ham-mer.

We'll have Marcin Gras and Mardi Gortat.

We'll play whatever song he wants every time he scores or gets a block.

The Hornet fans want a winner. Out with Eric Gordon! In with Marcin Gortat!

Lotto

The New Orleans Hornets are rebuilding.

Best NBA Players Right Now

2-26-12 Update: I Know some of these guys need to be switched around, and switched up and so on, but I work on it piece by bit. Check back every so often and sooner or later it will be updated regularly.

Top 10 Ones
1. Paul
2. Rose
3. D. Williams
4. Westbrook
5. Parker
6. Rondo
7. Nash
8. Lowry
9. Irving
10. Miller

Top 10 Twos:
1. Wade
2. Bryant
3. Harden
4. Allen
5. Gordon
6. Johnson
7. Crawford
8. Terry
9. Ellis
10. Martin

Top 10 Threes:
1. James
2. Durant
3. Anthony
4. Pierce
5. Deng
6. Iguodala
7. Gay
8. Granger
9. Batum
10. Marion

Top 10 Fours:


1. Love
2. Nowitski
3. Millsap
4. Randolph
5. P. Gasol
6. Aldredge
7. Bosh
8. Griffin
9. Ibaka
10. Amare

Top 10 Fives:
1. Howard
2. Bynum
3. Duncan
4. Garnett
5. Hibbert
6. M. Gasol
7. A. Jefferson
8. Nene'
9. Noah
10. Chandler

Best NBA Players Right Now

2-26-12 Update: this is still in the works, but I can say I took out players for injuries and polished it some. Check back every so often and sooner or later it will be updated regularly.

Top 10 Ones
1. Paul
2. Rose
3. D. Williams
4. Westbrook
5. Parker
6. Rondo
7. Nash
8. Miller
9. Curry
10. Harris

Top 10 Twos:
1. Wade
2. Bryant
3. Allen
4. Martin
5. Harden
6. Johnson
7. L. Williams
8. Ellis
9. Richardson
10. Terry

Top 10 Threes:
1. James
2. Durant
3. Anthony
4. Pierce
5. Deng
6. Gay
7. Iguodala
8. Granger
9. Batum
10. Marion

Top 10 Fours:
1. Millsap
2. Griffin
3. Garnett
4. Love
5. Nowitski
5. P. Gasol
6. Aldredge
7. Bosh
8. Ibaka
9. Smith
10. Boozer

Top 10 Fives:
1. Howard
2. Bynum
3. M. Gasol
4. Hibbert
5. Nene'
6. Duncan
7. Cousins
8. A. Jefferson
9. D. Jordan
10. Varejao

So we might get some NBA basketball, huh?

Well it seems like they might get a deal done. The previous post (On the lockout) was posted on my general purpose neurosis, RepublicToday.net, a couple of days ago.

On the lockout

An anecdote Ryen Rusillo may like.

I’m a full grown NBA fan. I’m a proud New Orleans transplant. Four months ago I found the closest public court to my place is a bike ride to a playground in Treme, not far from some projects. I’m not good at basketball, but I enjoy playing. I’ve been getting in games with kids, playing some 21, and an occasional half court game, often 1 on 1. I often spend time shooting around alone. I’ve never seen major pick-up games played, or other white guys on the court. Today when I was chilling on a bench letting some little kids play with my ball, some hipster looking white guys came and started shooting. I asked them if they wanted to get in a game. It turns out they were on vacation from Denmark, and had their converted bus parked at a nearby RV resort. As we were shooting for teams, some neighborhood guys were walking by and joined in. We had a diverse group of adults coming together to enjoy the great sport of basketball. People were playing hard and getting into it. The teams were competitive, and there were scrapes from the concrete. One guy hit four long jumpers down the stretch for the win. At the end we were all smiling and touched hands. It’s important to remember the benefits of sports beyond entertainment. There is a universality that lets you connect with people whom you may not connect with otherwise. Spectator sports serve a purpose. Today it is easy to be in touch with basketball fans all around the world, share ideas, and celebrate things in common. I enjoy going to the Arena to cheer on players wearing “New Orleans” across their chests. Watching athletes excel to so great a degree at something I do poorly for fun inspires me to get outside and put up some shots. My natural enjoyment of a little competition makes me enjoy following the ups and downs of teams populated by very motivated elite athletes. Millions of people from all around the world also enjoy basketball.

I really hope the lockout ends. Soon, not later. I'd like some hot stove pro basketball. I'm not ready for football. David Stern said, "New Orleans will be top 15 grossing franchise."

David West is the most talented free agent this summer in the NBA

It's almost bad luck that David West is so good. Most other players lose enough value when they have ACL surgery. West is so good that he'll be overpaid if he's not picky about where he goes. New Orleans could afford to keep him around for a below average salary, based on his market value. He and Chris Paul share a two piece BFF charm. I do believe that Chris Paul staying would be good for the Hornets, so David West as a sixthman would be my first choice. But if he's going to be paid like a star, it leaves less money for necessary upgrades. Why wouldn't I bet on West being a star? The Hornets are more than a year away from being a championship team, and with his less than stallar NBA quickness, injury, and advanced NBA age, West may have only one more star caliber season left. He'll be a good NBA player for the rest of his career, if for no other reason than his fluffy midrange shot. And I hope he proves me wrong, because he seems to be a nice guy. 

Draft Night

As an NBA nerd, happy draft night, as a New Orleanian and Horns fan, I'm interested in how much cash, what the deal is financially, and if I should get invested in a team that Cowherd, on the radio said is unfixable due to lack of corporate support. If the money isn't here geographically, I might just not follow the Hornets as a fan, but just mainstream association news. I'll have fond memories of rooting for a hometown team. I'm having trouble rooting for a player that is supposed to be so valuable that he, as an individual, has leverage against the team. He can't take over the scoring in crunch time. He may be the hardest worker, and deserves his praise, but he has the ability and authority to work with management on economic matters, and to help build a winner. But winning and losing may not matter in the "New Orleans" part of the Hornets situation.

NBA Players Today

This is a rendition of the Ryen Rusillo best NBA players list. This kind of conversation is enjoyable, especially in the off season. I've made a couple of adjustments, and while there's no exact order, the players are generally grouped in tiers. If you start to form teams, it soon becomes apparent that there's a lack of size in top quality players. Small ball isn't usually successful.


James Bryant Wade Howard Durant Paul DWilliams Rose Novitski Anthony Stoudamire Bosh PGasol Pierce Garnett Rondo Nash Westbrook Ginobili JJohnson Parker Duncan Granger Ellis KvMartin Aldridge Allen Boozer Horford Odom Billups JSmith Kidd Love Griffen Curry Noah Gay ZRandolph DHarris BGordon Nene Deng SJackson GWallace AJefferson Millsap Terry Marion Bogut Okafor Carter Richardson DvWest Roy

Teams would break down something like this:

1.       Rose, Bryant, James, Nowitski, Howard

2.       Paul, Wade, Durant,Stadumire, Gasol

3.       Williams, Ginobili, Anthony, Garnett, Duncan

4.       Nash, Johnson, Pierce, Bosh, Horford

5.       Westbrook, Allen, Granger, Aldridge, Nene’

6.       Parker, Martin, Gay, Odom, Noah

7.       Rondo, Ellis, Deng, Boozer, Jefferson

8.       Billups, Richardson, Wallace, Smith, Okafor

9.       Curry, Terry, Jackson, Griffin, Randolph

10.   Harris, Gordon , Marion, Love, Bogut

11.   Kidd, Carter, Artest, Millsap, Bynum