HOOPLOG: Kwame Brown

GAME 77/82: at LA Clippers, Open Game Thread

Fri, 07 Apr 2006 17:54:55 -0800

Can the Kings make it 13 straight wins against the Clippers? Let's hope so, for the sake of early-April takeovers.

The line sits at +4.5, which is a line I would most definitely buy a cosmo for. It's as yet unclear whether Sam Cassell or Shaun Livingston will start at the point, and I'm assuming Quinton Ross will, to try to keep MB10 under wraps.

The lack of dominance by Elton Brand in the first three matchups this season is astounding. I mean, can anyone on Sacramento's roster really guard the guy? I doubt it. (Example #1: Chris Kaman. Example #2: Kwame Brown.)

Keep it coming, though. More shots for Cuttino and E.T. and the crew means less wins for L.A. Less wins for L.A. means more funny quotes for Ron-Ron and more smiles for the grimacy Rick Adelman.

Happy cheering/Bill Simmons spying! Let's go Kiiiiiings!

(Oh, and on the open game threads. I'm trying something different for a couple reasons: the nicknames might never have been funny five months ago when they started, so they were certainly not funny now; the categories were getting stale and I can incorporate the major points into some sort of prose introduction; and I want to keep myself posting more regularly throughout the day instead of saving every nugget for some blow-out long open game thread. I want to be more like, you know, a blog. If you have thoughts on any of this, feel free to make note in the comments. Also, use this thread to talk about the game before the tip-off, during the contest, and in the aftermath. Waiting on hold during Jason Ross's postgame? Hang up and post here instead. No one likes Jason Ross anyways.)

Go Kings.

Bryant leads Lakers past T'Wolves

Thu, 16 Mar 2006 00:04:40 -0800

Lamar Odom posted a double-double with 20 points and 12 rebounds while dishing out eight assists and Kwame Brown added 13 points and nine rebounds, as the Lakers snapped a two-game losing skid.

Cart me to shivah

Fri, 03 Feb 2006 09:11:19 -0800

Yesterday, DLIC had initially called Odom a “busted Swiss Army knife,” which I for some reason thought rendered this post useless. Then he changed it to “your do-it-all, do-nothing guy,” which, all sunrise aside, silently opened up the wound that is the following:

It is with great trepidation that I back into this one, which takes us (with a loving sigh) back into the mangled plains of Kobe’s MVP case. The one-time Troubled Smiler has been putting on a show of historic proportions, catching forty in his sleep and, no surprisingly, rocketing back up to the top of the Association’s most admired zealots. I want to claim that he’s threatening to revolutionize what it means to be an MVP, since he’s going to single-handedly urge the Lakers into the post-season without needing, wanting, or being offered any meaningful assistance. But Iverson did walk away with it that one season, and until last year AI was the poster child for unconscionable gunning. In either case, in an epoch marked by an unquestioned marriage of New Jack and the Right Way (shaming both in the process), what Kobe’s doing hardly makes the league feel good about itself. If he ends up with lopsided numbers and the Lakers end up a low seed in the lesser of two conferences, no way that award is a feel-good story.

The thing that would distinguish Kobe’s season above AI’s 2000-2001—and make it a case study is justifiable, nearly heroic, one-man-bandsmanship—is that he’s working with nothing. Iverson had a supporting cast made of fun, teammates that one could argue he should’ve passed to who were at least able to take care of business in his fiery wake. Kobe, as Burns pointed out the other day, has got a frontcourt of Kwame Brown and Mihm, pure cast-offs who hover somewhere between bust and journeyman. The smart argument for Bryant: it may not always be emotionally satisfying or ethically withstandable what #8 is doing, but you try and think of a better way to make that team playoff-bound. And not like any of you need this pointed out, but as sheer technicality its force in inescapable: he’s got arguably the greatest coach in the Association’s marshy history signing off on the program.

(I’m thinking more and more that the MVP might end up with Billups both as a nod to team excellence and as a way of avoiding both the unsightly “win hog” and the ugly idea that Nash has history on his side. You wonder, though, if that wouldn’t instantly get enshrined as precedent, and lead to it once and for all skewing toward the unsinkably fake “best player on best team” criteria.)

Which brings us to the strange case of Mar Mar, chronic FreeDarko favorite and thorn in the side of Kobe’s reputation. One of the most insistently compelling men to ever take the court, his game truly needs no introduction within these halls of entitlement. Suffice to say that, when P-Jax hinted that Odom would play Pippen to Bryant’s MJ, not a one among us felt the world stretch or sag. Given his arsenal of talent and Jackson’s creation of Pippen as we know him, there was no reason to think that, even more so than during his one season with Riles, Odom’s calling was finally upon him.

Sadly, Jackson’s shroud over town has brought Odom even less luck than Rudy’s Run. The conventional wisdom goes something like this: inveterate shot-jacker Kobe disrupts the delicate to-and-fro flow of the triangle, freezing out the New Odom who so fervently belongs in it, and reducing him to a role player without a clear cut part to play. Anyone looking to tarnish Kobe’s accomplishments need look no further than Lamar’s gruesomely inconsistent stat lines, which show the man he could be while at the same time revealing the shackles of a lifetime. Odom, these wise-mongers say, proved in Miami that he could put it all together, and these Kobe-induced trials represent nothing less than the stunting of perfect’s gates.

Now hold your calm as I write to you the unfortunate: it’s all wrong, and Odom is Odom’s fault. The man can do anything, but his do-anything-ness is largely reactive and almost entirely on his own terms. His time with the Heat was a whopping success exactly because he was locked into a fairly specific role and asked to occasionally shock the world. As in, play power forward, but with some range, the ability to create your own shot, and the option of us running the offense through you without a loss of flow. Be a mismatch, a problem, a cipher of the scheme, but let the other team be burdened with that. This stands in sharp contrast to his Clippers days, when Odom was most notably spotted hoarding the ball at the top of the key and either plotting a drive or deciding to launch a three. Here, we saw the essence of Odom: a jumble of conflicting skills fighting with itself from moment to moment, resolving itself only long enough to beat whatever’s in front of it.

What Phil, at least in theory, is asking Odom to do is to decide in advance who he is. Garnett can do it all but has some central notion of being; Diaw, as I’ve said before, might be what Lamar would be if he could pre-plan for his five-cat immensity. He is a phantom that lives only for the spirit of that possession, a man known only by his play-by-play identity. Alas, with Odom it seems to be slightly fissured tradition or hex, as his ability to take advantage of his frightening variety is directly proportional to the amount of chaos it causes the team. He only realizes his excellence when it stretches out before him in an uncanny plateau of indecision, and thus robs himself of whatever Pippen-esque usefulness he might have in the triangle’s system. It pains me to say it, but I have to agree with Dan Patrick that Odom is going to be one of those “what could have been’s”—not clipped by circumstance or poor judgment, he just plain got put together the wrong way.

Center of Attention

Sun, 15 Jan 2006 19:41:34 -0800

Thought I’d throw up a special weekend column, since I’m not sure I’ll have one for tomorrow since it’s a holiday and all. Before we get into the situations to pay attention to, I thought we should check in on some of the centers who recently won starting jobs and were popular pick ups over the past couple weeks. I expressed skepticism about all of them for various reasons, and for the most part it looks like it was pretty well-founded.

Francisco Elson: 7.8/6.7/0.6, 0.7 steals, 1.1 blocks, 55% (31-of-56), 28.9 mpg in 9 starts

Ike Diogu: 9.4/4.5/0.9, 0.1 steals, 0.6 blocks, 62% (28-of-45), 24.1 mpg in 8 starts

Eddie Griffin: 6.6/6.0/0.7, 0.4 steals, 2.6 blocks, 0.3 3s, 43% (24-of-56), 22.4 mpg in 9 starts

I know that centers are tough to come by in deep, two-center leagues, but there’s still just not a lot of value up there. Elson is the only one getting acceptable minutes, but even his 29 per game might be considered a disappointment considering that not just Marcus Camby, but also Kenyon Martin, has been out for the majority of those nine games. He’s doing about what I expected him to do – basically a Rasho Nesterovic impersonation – and while he’s not been an embarrassment, those who were hoping for 12 and 8 with close to 2 blocks per game just had unreasonable expectations. Diogu has proven to be a stud in FG%, but if he can’t be on the court enough to take even 6 shots per game, he won’t be able to help you all that much. He’s nowhere close to an asset in any other category. As for Griffin, have more typestrokes been unnecessarily wasted on a single player?

Three Situations to Pay Attention To
Los Angeles Lakers
After just writing about how much space has been wasted writing about Eddie Griffin, it seems pretty silly to follow that up by writing about Kwame Brown. As much as we want to call Griffin a disappointment and a tease, it doesn’t even begin to compare to Kwame. But there seems to be a recent shift in Kwame’s game and might be making him a more reliable – if one-dimensional – fantasy option. In his fifth season in the league, Kwame has shown an extremely limited offensive game. His touch around the basket hasn’t developed at all, and while his jumper looks decent at times, he’s never been able to hit it with any consistency. Phil Jackson seems to have realized that – and maybe Kwame has as well – and isn’t asking Kwame to score. Last night’s 18-point “breakout” game was the first time since Nov. 14 that Kwame attempted 10 shots in a game. He’s been recast as someone who’s main duty is to attack the boards, especially on the offensive end. Brown averaged 1.9 offensive boards per game in November, 2.5 per game in December, and is up to 3.3 per game so far in January. The fact that many of his shots are coming off these offensive rebounds is helping his FG%. In six games since re-entering the starting lineup, he’s shooting 54%. Here’s his overall line in those six starts:

8.8/8.2/1.0, 0 steals, 0.5 blocks, 54% (21-of-39)

It’s pretty comparable to most of those “hot” pickups listed above, but without that secondary category to help out in. Although Brown has no steals in those six games, that’s the one category he’s most likely to offer some help in. He averaged nearly a steal per game while seeing 30 mpg in 03-04, which is pretty decent for a big man. If he remains in the starting lineup he could average somewhere around 0.8 steals and blocks per game, which isn’t spectacular, but isn’t terrible. Expecting any consistency from Kwame is probably pretty foolish at this point. A game like last night’s is still the exception, not the rule. But if he can keep pounding the boards and converting some of those putbacks, he might be able to emerge as something better than just another Reggie Evans.

Indiana Pacers
Let’s take a look at Jeff Foster’s line so far in January:

7.3/9.4/0, 0.4 steals, 0.4 blocks, 61% (22-of-36)

Again, not too different from the lines of those Elson/Diogu/Griffin group. Foster is quite similar – and the exact opposite – of Kwame Brown. Like Brown, he seems to be a one-category helper who is pretty consistent in that one category, but doesn’t have much of a shot of helping out elsewhere. Unlike Kwame, Foster seems to be getting the most out of his talent while Brown is getting only a portion. Foster’s upside is extremely limited – he will not score, he will not get blocks. But if you want a boost in rebounds – and only rebounds – he is probably one of the best guys you can grab. I’m not at all a fan of one category specialists because they leave you with holes in too many other categories, but situations get dicey sometimes, especially at center. I thought I was in the perfect situation earlier this year with Yao Ming and Rasheed Wallace, with a very capable backup on the bench in Brendan Haywood. Then Yao went down and Haywood became completely ineffective right around the same time. I ended up dumping Haywood, because he just wasn’t worth using. Since I’m in a daily changes, cumulative roto league, I decided to simply take the beating at center and go way under my projected games limit rather than try my luck with the dregs available on the waiver wire. My strategy is to use quality games when you have them. Right now I have a lot of point guards playing well, so I’ll go over the projected pace there and make a trade from there at a later date, even if it means not getting the best return. But in weekly H2H leagues, this strategy doesn’t work. So guys like Foster might be the best option available. And if you’re strong in blocks thanks to non-centers like Andrei Kirilenko, Shawn Marion or Paul Gasol, Foster can at least give you the boards you need from a center. He’s averaging 9.9 rpg in his last seven contests, and that’s in just 24.4 mpg. With Jermaine O’Neal iffy, he might see even more time. Foster’s no savior, but at least you know what you’ll be getting.

Dallas Mavericks
Did someone in your league pick up DeSagana Diop yesterday? It happened in my league, and I’ll admit I was about to make the move myself and was beaten to the punch by about five minutes. I’m not going to lose too much sleep over it, but man, I sure could have used that help in blocks. There’s no denying that Diop is a blocks machine – he’s second in the league blocks per minute, averaging 2.0 bpg in just over 17 minutes, which is rather ridiculous. But the big question is this – even with his ascent to the starting lineup, how much more playing time will Diop actually receive? In last night’s game he saw just 20 minutes, although it’s hard to read too much into that since the game was over early and Adrian Griffin was the only player in the game to play more than 30 minutes. One of the many problems with Diop early in his career was his total lack of conditioning, and while he’s gotten better, it’s hard for someone to start consistently playing more than he ever has and to do it at a high level. This is Diop’s fifth season in the league and he’s played more than 30 minutes in a game a grand total of two times. This is one of the same arguments I made against Al Jefferson even after he joined the starting lineup and he hasn’t broken the 30-minute mark at all in 8 starts. Avery Johnson hasn’t given up on Erick Dampier yet, and this could be one of those old-fashioned “motivation” benchings, although it might take more than that to motivate a guy who’s going to get paid $53 million over the next five seasons no matter what.

Some people want to think of Diop as a poor man’s Ben Wallace, but a homeless, penniless Ben Wallace might be more like it. Like Wallace, Diop can help out in steals; he averages 1.3 steals per 40 over his career, which isn’t bad at all for a center. Unfortunately, he also shares Big Ben’s inability to put the ball in the basket. While he’s shooting 45% this season, he’s a career 37% shooter. And it would be a miracle if he could ever get his FT% up to 50%. While he won’t shoot nearly enough in either category to hurt you too much, it’s still worth noting. The Mavs are an extremely deep team. They don’t need to have a center out there at all times, as they can get by with Dirk Nowitzki at the five for stretches. The Mavs need Diop to be at his most energetic whenever he’s out there, so it’s probably not in their best interests to have him out there for 32-35 mpg. Grab him, stash him, start him if you need him, but if there’s one lesson that his column should make you realize, it’s that finding serious help at center on the waiver wire is almost always more fantasy than reality.

Comet Gain
Chris Kaman – Wow. Just, wow. Not only a top center, but a dominant overall force the past couple weeks. Might not last when Elton Brand returns, but he’s looking more and more like a legit #1 center.

Samuel Dalembert – Like Kaman, not just a top center lately, but an absolutely dominant force. He’s not missing – including from the line – and he’s swatting away everything in sight (which unfortunately for the 76ers means many obvious goaltends). His 37 mpg so far in January is huge for a center.

Ben Wallace – The old Big Ben is back; 13.8 boards and 2.7 blocks so far in January. Now about that 29% from the free throw line in that span…

The Hold Steady
Rasheed Wallace – Has slowed down a bit, his rebounding leaves a lot to be desired from a C, but he’ll keep raining in those 3s and getting the blocks.

Zydrunas Ilgauskas – He’s staying healthy, he’s hitting his shots, and is more than respectable on the boards and in blocks. A steadying force in the middle.

Brad Miller – A couple of down games recently, but he’s still one of the top 30 or so fantasy players in the league.

The Fall
Shaquille O’Neal – You knew you were punting free throws; but 15/10 with just 1 block per game in January leaves a lot to be desired.

Brendan Haywood – Back in the starting lineup after a two-game absence, but still too inconsistent to be counted on.

Joel Przybilla – Nothing more than a blocks specialist now that Theo Ratliff is on a run of good health.

I’ll do my very best to answer any relevant big man questions in the comments here, so feel free to ask away on guys not mentioned (or mentioned) here.

Riley Objects to Sumo' Defense of O'Neal

Tue, 27 Dec 2005 09:40:00 -0800

Liz Robbins of THE NEW YORK TIMES reports, Pat Riley, the Hall of Fame coach, and Shaquille O'Neal, the most dominant center in the league, were worn down following the Heat's win over the Lakers - Riley by his 48-minute aerobic workout and O'Neal by Lakers centers Chris Mihm and Kwame Brown. "It wasn't them," a frustrated O'Neal said of his opponents after a victory that left him less than satisfied with his play. "It was me; it is never them. It's always me." But Riley had to disagree. "I'm sure that everybody will say that I'm up here trying to complain," Riley said after the game. Then he discussed what he saw as illegal defenses being used against O'Neal. "I don't see how he can ever get to the basket," Riley said. "I don't care if he is 340 pounds; they get locked into such a defensive position, they just hold him.

.500

Mon, 12 Dec 2005 15:21:21 -0800

Well, last week proved to be the most successful week of the season with some dominating wins (though against arguably sub par teams) and only a single loss. The most telling trend from last week's performance was the balance in all facets of the game. In our loss, Kobe had 35. I wonder how long before we can truly come together as a team and trust ourselves not to give the ball to Kobe due to our own lack of confidence.

Also, I hate to say it, but I am sort of glad the Kwame Brown is out. I never wish an injury on a player nor do I want him to stay injured. But not once has he shown that he deserves to be a starter on this team. His biggest problem? He can't catch...basketball is a pretty hard sport to thrive in iff'n you can't catch....

Game 14 Open Thread: Los Angeles Lakers @ SA

Tue, 29 Nov 2005 15:10:58 -0800

[Update: I added a relevant link in the paragraph about Kobe. Thanks to massive boisson for the heads up.]

Heeeyyyyooooooooooooooooo! Lookie there! Now THAT is what I call a blog advertisement. Not only does SB Nation bring nothing but top notch content, we also deliver chubby-inducing ads! C'mon fellas, take a gander for 10 seconds; I triple-dog dare you not to get an erection.

Starting lineups:

LA (5-7, 2-3 away)
PG Smush Parker
SG Kobe Bryant
SF Lamar Odom
PF Kwame Brown
C Chris Mihm

SA (10-3, 5-1 home)
PG Tony Parker
SG Manu Ginobili
SF Bruce Bowen
PF Tim Duncan
C Rasho Nesterovic

The effing Lakers come to town tonight. As you probably know, Kobe is hoisting 29.1 FGA per game which accounts for 36% of the team's total. That's outrageous. But, then again, who the hell else is going to shoot the ball? In fact, take a look at their roster... how many of those guys would even get into the Spurs rotation? Kobe and Odom. That's the list.

Phil Jackson, apparently choosing money over the preservation of his partially-deserved legacy, is back coaching the Lakers. I hate that Zen-talking sunuvabitch. You may have noticed I tend to dislike players who I deem overrated; well the same goes for coaches. I'm an equal-opportunity hater. I'm not saying anything that hasn't been said countless times, but DAMN, a loosely coagulated lump of whale sperm could have led those Bulls teams to titles.

Loosely Coagulated Lump of Whale Sperm: "Alright Mike. Here's what I need you to do. Wait a second... You're the most skilled player of all time and also one of the most motivated. Just do what you do."

Jordan: "You're nothing without me. I made you."

Loosely Coagulated Lump of Whale Sperm: "Actually Mike a large whale penis made me, but I get your point. Scottie, I need you to stay out of Mike's way, play killer defense, run the break and grab some boards. And slap some people around with those amazing hands of yours."

Pippen: "They are a sight to behold, aren't they? You know what they say about a man wi-"

Loosely Coagulated Lump of Whale Sperm: "Pip. I CAME FROM A WHALE. It was, like, bigger than your whole body. Rodman: show up, rebound and don't kill anybody on our off days. Well, maybe off the occasional crack whore, but that's IT. Everybody else: play defense and make the open shots and layups that MJ and Pip create for you. And visualize success or something. Zen. Buddha. Nepal. I chi. Whatever. Now somebody get me a moist towelette."

Phil Jackson's career record is 832-316, a 72.5% winning percentage. Pop's is 396-210, a 65.3% WP. Let's assume SA wins 60 games this year; that leaves Pop at 66.3%. The Lakers are currently 5-7. So if the Lakers lose 104 consecutive games Pop will have a better WP% than Phil! Damn. I thought it would be closer than that.

Here's what Matty da Blade has to say about tonight's matchup:

I was going to send an e-mail saying that I'll take the Spurs -(anything less than 10.5)....then I looked at the line...it is the Spurs -13 and the total is 186.

This is a tough call. By all means, the Spurs should win this game by 30. They played poorly last time out. They have had plenty of rest. They are playing against a weak LA team with a 2-3 record on the road. Plus, LA is coming off a 5 game homestand spread over two weeks (talk about favorable). I believe they are susceptible to mailing in their first road game in a fortnight.

However, having said that, 13 points is a lot. An awful lot in an NBA game.

So, I am torn...logic and reason says Spurs...risk aversion says Lakers...emotion says Spurs...

....therefore, da blade does not recommend a play on this game....but for entertainment value I'll take the Spurs and the under.

-13
Tonight's total: 186
My pick: SA
Matty da Blade's plays: SA | Under
The Spurs are 6-7 ATS this year. I am a 3-10. Da Blade is 8-4-1 ATS | 2-3 TOT.

This is an open thread. Commenters will receive a free spoon. Wait! There's more. If you promise to tell a friend about my blog I will send you another spoon free of charge. Two spoons people! One for each hand!

Game Thread #9: Bulls at Los Angeles Lakers(Update below)

Mon, 21 Nov 2005 00:00:29 -0800

Big game tonight before going to Texas.

The Lakers have a front line that even the Bulls can take advantage of, although Kwame Brown always seems to have good games against the Bulls.(EDIT: Kwame is out with a hamstring pull.) NBA journeyman Smush Parker has been a revelation at point guard, but is still prone to turnovers.

But they still have that Kobe guy. and Lamar Odom. Who guards either? Perhaps Eddie Basden gets his defensive reputation tested and can make sure Kirk Hinrich doesn't get worn out (or fouled out) while guarding Kobe. And for Odom (who's usually the ballhandler in the triangle offense), I'm not sure Nocioni can stay with him, unless the refs allow him to clutch and grab his way all game.

Blogging with the Enemy: Forum Blue and Gold

No predictions, its tough to figure which Bulls team I'm going to see on a given night. I expect Mike Sweetney to continue to put up big numbers, and maybe this will be the game Tyson Chandler gets his season going. The Lakers (and most importantly Kobe) are banged up so an actual good effort by the Bulls could work wonders. Haven't seen much of that this road trip though.

UPDATE: I really thought this would be another 2nd half collapse like the game in Seattle, and was pretty disgusted after two turnovers early in the 4th.

But Duhon and Hinrich went on a 3 point barrage that was only partially matched by the Lakers in the closing minutes.

The Bulls front line overpowered the Lakers all game, with Sweetney performing well yet again getting 20pts, 12 rebs, and shooting 50%. Sweetney slowed later in the game, but like the win versus the Warriors a couple weeks ago he had a play drawn for him late and again he drew a foul. Tyson Chandler had a huge block in the final minutes as well, capping his best game of the season with 15 rebounds and 6 points.

The Lakers stayed close on the back of Kobe Bryant, who was making some ridiculous shots on his way to 43 points. They also went to the foul line 32 times as opposed to 18 for the Bulls.

But it was Duhon down the stretch, who literally assumed the Ben Gordon role(who sat during the Bulls final run) and landed 5-7 from 3 to give the Bulls a much needed victory.

A few days off before going to San Antonio on Friday. Too early to say games are must-wins, but it sure feels nice to stop the losing streak before heading to Texas. ::wipes forehead::

Recap | BoxScore | GameFlow

Lakers' Brown out with strained hamstring

Sun, 20 Nov 2005 14:44:41 -0800

LOS ANGELES (Ticker) - Lakers forward Kwame Brown could be sidelined up to two weeks with a strained right hamstring injury.

Marty Burns: Kwame changes coasts, not game

Wed, 16 Nov 2005 12:04:10 -0800

As the Knicks enter tonight's showdown in L.A. unsure of Larry Brown's methods, the Lakers are also trying to figure out their own Brown -- Kwame Brown -- writes SI.com's Marty Burns

Deal for Butler, Atkins Looking One-Sided

Mon, 14 Nov 2005 09:44:04 -0800

Ivan Carter of THE WASHINGTON POST writes, The interesting thing about the trade that sent Kwame Brown to the Los Angeles Lakers in exchange for Caron Butler and Chucky Atkins is that while Brown claimed that he was ready to be a 'beast' this season, it is Butler who is playing like one."

Weekend Preview: 11/4-11/6

Fri, 04 Nov 2005 10:08:58 -0800

Here comes the first weekend of regular season basketball action in … well … in a long time. And here at FBB we couldn’t be more excited. 25 games, three days, and we’ll start to see some separation in the fantasy basketball standings. Coming out of the gate strong is important for sure, but making that key pickup is even more important. This weekend is going to be where statistical anomalies turn into real trends, and here’s what we’re going to be looking for:

How are those rookies doing?
Now, odds are you won’t be finding Chris Paul or Andrew Bogut on your waiver wire right now. And if you are, we’d like to join your league. But there are plenty of other rookies who are fighting for playing time and establishing themselves in rotations. Mid-first-rounders like Nate Robinson, Hakim Warrick, Johan Petro, Danny Granger and Joey Graham will either be high-risk pickups or complete waiver-wire fodder after this weekend.

We’ll also see a couple of rookies who were drafted in a lot of leagues prove to be worthless. For example, Channing Frye, who is having trouble finding the court with Larry Brown standing in his way. Raymond Felton is caught fighting for minutes with Brevin Knight – which was expected, but still.

Minutes, Minutes, Minutes
If you’re new to FBB, you might want to brace yourself, because if there’s one this we love to talk about (other than point guards), it’s minutes. And you’re gonna hear a LOT about minutes this year from us. Early surprises are Antoine Walker’s 42.5 mpg for the Heat, and Ron Artest seeing 40 mpg so far for the Pacers considering the depth of both teams.

Injury Reports
Shaq (surprise!), Baron (double surprise!) … does “I told you so” mean anything to you guys? These next few days will be pivotal to both these guys and their backups.

Free Agents Fitting In
Here in Washington, we’re quietly chuckling at the Lakers and their big offseason acquisition, Kwame Brown. But we’re also watching Raja Bell and James Jones in Phoenix, Bonzi Wells in Sacramento, and all the new faces in Cleveland.

Game of the Week(end)
Atlanta Hawks at Los Angeles Clippers, Friday, 10:30 PM.
Now, don’t laugh. The FBB version of Game of the Week has absolutely nothing to do with high-profile match-ups, future playoff teams, or anything like that. We’re looking for games that will be of interest strictly from a fantasy standpoint. Here are two teams with a bunch of question marks in terms of PT and the value of some of their big-name players.

For the Hawks, Joe Johnson found out pretty quickly that you pick up a lot more assists dishing to Shawn Marion and Amare Stoudamire than you do dishing to Josh Childress and Zaza Pachulia. Meanwhile, Al Harrington’s ankle injury throws another wrench in the ongoing Childress/Josh Smith/Marvin Williams

For the Clippers, the big question is if Chris Kaman will be able to recover from his 5-TO, 19-minute performance Wednesday night. Plus, who is this James Singleton guy who went for 14 and 10? Also we’ll be watching to see if Corey Maggette is back in the lineup, and if so, how effective he is.

2005 Fantasy Tiers by Position: Power Forwards.

Thu, 06 Oct 2005 08:54:32 -0800

Taken early, a power forward can really help shape your draft. Taking a center-esque PF like Elton Brand in the first couple rounds means you can hold off on a center for a good while. Taking a PF that can step outside and knock down a three like Dirk Nowitzki early means you can wait a bit before taking a SG or SF, and concentrate on the scarcity positions.

Taken late, though, your options drop pretty dramatically. Power forwards don’t go terribly deep, mostly because anybody listed as a F/C is undoubtedly going to be played as a center. Luckily, there’s only one PF spot on your roster. Still, it’s nice to have a couple of options at every position, so try to grab two of these guys:

Tier One:
Kevin Garnett, Dirk Nowitzki

These guys should be off the board after four picks – maybe three. Garnett is up there with LeBron for the top player in the game, while Nowitzki might not qualify at center anymore, but still is an incredible value as a 7-category player.

Tier Two:
Elton Brand, Jermaine O’Neal, Chris Bosh.

These are your faux-centers. They block. They rebound. They score. If they qualified at center (as they all once did), they’d have incredible value. But they don’t. Still, with centers being at such a premium, guys who act like centers are pretty useful. It may be the difference between reaching for a guy like Zydraunas Ilgauskas in the 4th and being able to wait for someone like Nenad Krstic in the 7th or 8th.

Tier Three:
Dwight Howard, Rasheed Wallace, Pau Gasol.

Admittedly, Chris Bosh likely belongs in this group. But we here at FBB really like him this year. Also, Rasheed Wallace probably belongs with the Centers, but seriously, he’s not a center. We had to take a stand. Anyhow, these guys all could end up with top-25 value, but could also end up somewhere in the 40’s on the player rater at the end of the year. You can’t be terribly excited about any of them, but at some point they do become the best pick.

Tier Four:
Carlos Boozer, Kenyon Martin, Chris Webber, Zach Randolph

I’m not a huge fan of any of these guys. All of them are injury risks, all of them have question marks on the court, and a two of them (Randolph and Boozer) are really 3-category guys, and that’s it. Still, if they slip late enough and you can grab any of these guys in the 5th or 6th round, they could be great value.

Tier Five:
Antawn Jamison, Shareef Abdur-Rahim, Tyson Chandler.

These are some small tiers, huh? But that’s just because this position is so thin and varied. Here are the guys that you know you can have on your team and they’ll produce as long as they stay healthy. They might not produce a ton, but they’ll at least have marginal value.

Tier Six:
Donyell Marshall, Drew Gooden, Al Jefferson, Kurt Thomas, Darius Songaila, Troy Murphy, PJ Brown.

This tier are guys who really have an outside chance of being really valuable, but could just as easily be terrible, but JUST good enough that you can’t drop them. Every position has this tier – with Small Forwards it was the third tier. Here, it’s the sixth. DM is a huge fan of Donyell Marshall and he wants him to be much higher, but too bad! I think Troy Murphy could just as easily be a Tier 4 or 5 player.

Tier Seven:
Nick Collison, Eddie Griffin, Joe Smith, Kwame Brown, Vladimir Radmanovic, Udonis Haslem.

This tier could really be broken into high-risk high-reward guys (Kwame, Griffin) and low-but-solid value (Radmanovic, Smith). But we’re tired of all these three-person tiers. Given injuries, playing time, etc., all of these guys might end up with mid-round value, but some things are going to have to fall into place before that happens. Still, they’re all worth late-round flyers.

Tomorrow, we’ll wrap up positional tiers, with Centers.

Kwame Brown is a creepy weirdo

Mon, 03 Oct 2005 09:25:09 -0800

Safely hiding 3500 miles away, one-time 1st overall draft pick and new Laker Kwame Brown has chosen to speak out about his breakout season last year with the Washington Wizards. You remember, the one where he finally reached his full potential by getting suspended by the team for the playoffs? The real positive in this interview is that Kwame is able to take no blame, and continue to place the responsibility for his own suckiness solely with anyone and everyone else he's ever met in the whole world.

"The thing is, the whole thing stems from [point guard] Gilbert [Arenas] telling them not to put me in the game. I didn't come to practice because I was going to be a distraction. I was going to slap the [expletive] out of him," Brown said. "I'll admit it, what I did was wrong -- not showing up was wrong -- but I ain't saying what I would've done if I showed up would've been right. Being that I didn't show up I didn't put my hands on nobody. How a teammate, a supposed friend, would go to a coach and tell him don't put me in a game, I would've done something seriously wrong to him."

So the truth finally comes out - Kwame does not have a bad attitude. Instead, he's a tattle-tale, a liar, has a temper problem, and is a virgin, all by his own admission.

Beside the fact that he's a "slapper" instead of a "puncher", it's hard to believe someone as rich and as bad at basketball as Kwame Brown could still be a virgin. Man...we hope you're enjoying your house in the hills, dude. If there's one thing most professional athletes - most anybody, in fact - does in the Hollywood Hills, it's have lots of sex. We know this for a fact because we live here and we're a peeping tom.

Kwame can't make lay-ups or pick up chicks. Unbelievable.

Eastern Conference Preview - South East Division

Tue, 27 Sep 2005 17:00:33 -0800

Miami Heat

What can anyone say about a team with Shaquille O'Neal and Dwayne Wade? Of course the Heat will be the favorites to go to the NBA finals.

As great as the Heat were last season, look at what they have done in the off season. They acquired Jason Williams and James Posey from the Grizzlies, signed free agent Antoine Walker and now solidified their bench with the *gulp* veteran Gary Payton. That's right, if you read the Atlantic division preview, the HEX is still on. Actually the HEX is on for two reasons, the "glove" just adds to the old HEX i put on Alonzo Mourning for being sick, too sick to play in Toronto, but not sick enough to hang from Shaq's nuts like Payton is. Good thing Shaq's got two, right?

Is there another guard capable of taking the spotlight off of Lebron James? Dwayne Wade may be the only one right now, in the way that he cuts to the basket and plays defense with no fear and no regard for his own body.

Shaquille O'Neal must look at this year as the year to take it all again. O'Neal is definitely on his way down, his skills are going to erode rather quickly as they usually do with big men. Too many years of pounding on those knees and ankles and too much abuse from the double and triple teams and hack-a-shack's. How many more Shaq "quality" years are left?

This is another lineup that looks as deep as can be. Williams starting at the point backed up by a future Hall of Famer in Gary Payton, Walker starting at power forward backed up by Udonis Haslem, who had a break out year last year (we'll just pretend it had nothing to do with playing next to Shaq), and of course, Shaq backed up by, *uh-hem*, Alonzo Mourning.

I will understand if they Heat win a championship. Wade deserves that kind of success, i just don't like those "cleaner fish" who travel from team to team, only looking for a way to win a championship. Learn from Reggie Miller people...

My Picks:

Best Player: Shaquille O'Neal
Best Rookie: Wayne Simien
Prediction: 1st (Central), 1st (East)

Washington Wizards

I'm the wiz. I'm the wiz. The Wizards laid down the law last season. It was impressive to see a team heading into the playoffs not taking any crap from a player. In 2001, Kwame Brown was the first high school player ever taken with the first pick of the draft. Attitude and injuries always seemed in the forefront with Brown and only one of those can be tolerated, not both.

Brown was traded to the LA Lakers in return for Caron Butler and Chucky Atkins. A good move in my opinion, trading a guy that no longer fits into the work ethic of the team for two talented far from superstar players.

The big loss for Washington was having Larry Hughes leave for the Cleveland Cavaliers. It will be difficult to replace that kind of scoring and defensive presence. The Wizards were able to land Antonio Daniels as a free agent, but that's far from replacing anything Hughes gave the team.

The team's strength this year will come from point guard Gilbert Arenas who can score from anywhere and has ice in his veins and the collection of talented big men, led by Antawn Jamison who found new life after coming to Washington from Dallas last season. Brendan Haywood and Etan Thomas are two nasty post players to be pitted against, those guys fight for every point and fight hard.

If the Wiz can get over the loss of Hughes and plug the hole with a combination of Daniels and Butler, there is no reason they can't compete in the SouthEast, although taking on the Miami Heat will be tough.

My Picks:

Best Player: Gilbert Arenas
Best Rookie: *
Prediction: 2nd (Central), 4th (East)

Orlando Magic

The Orlando Magic are a little bit of an enigma to me. With last season's personnel shuffle following the Tracy McGrady trade, sometimes it looked like the players weren't all on the same page. Doesn't a team led at the point by Steve Francis always seem that way? I thought the same of the Houston Rockets when he was there.

What a great sight to see last year, Grant Hill returning to the court and playing effectively was definitely a sweet story and although his season was cut short towards the end, there is hope that he is fully recovered from his series of ankle surgeries and will return to the court again this season, hopefully more confident and more like his old self than last year.

Dwight Howard, "man child" proved that he can play in this league and will someday be a dominant post player, after all, he was just drafted out of high school and he still averaged a double-double through his rookie season. When is the last time that feat was accomplished? I don't hear enough hype about that. Emeka Okafor averaged a double-double as well, but he was drafted out of the college ranks.

I have to say, it would be nice to see Jameer Nelson get some more starters minutes. It seemed the Magic played a more fluid game when Nelson started at the point and Francis was shifted to shooting guard.

It will be interesting to see if Kelvin Cato and Tony Battie can stay healthy this year. I remember thinking before last season that Tony Battie was a big gamble for the Magic, considering his bad knee history while with the Celtics and Cavaliers, but it didn't play as big a factor in Orlando as i thought. That's not to say the injury is completely over with, but if Battie and Cato can spell each others minutes, I'd be ready to let Howard have a bigger role in the post.

What the heck happened with the Fran Vasquez pick? Vasquez was rated one of the top big men available in this years draft and was taken with Orlando's first pick, 11th overall. Shortly after the draft, we started hearing about Vasquez not going to come to the Magic, rather he would stay in Spain and play for Real Madrid. This is a long standing issue with the NBA draft. Players can enter themselves for eligibility, but it doesn't mean that they actually have to commit to the NBA team that picks them. This was an 11th pick though, if an NBA team knows the player has no intention of coming to the league, then they could use that pick on someone that has shown that interest. Come to think of it, i guess the blame could be laid on the Magic organization as well for not doing their homework properly. They just went into the draft thinking, once picked, they could convince Vasquez to come to Orlando.

"I've said, 'No,' because I was afraid to adapt to the American way of life, and of not giving the level they have asked. I'm not a coward, but I prefer to stay in Spain, progress, and who knows? Maybe jump to the NBA in a few years."

Does that sound like a man ready to commit to the NBA? Could they not have known that before the draft? The lure of the NBA life isn't what we think it is, i guess.

My Picks:

Best Player: Steve Francis
Best Rookie: *
Prediction: 3rd (Central), 10th (East)

Charlotte Bobcats

Expansion what? I remember when the expansion Toronto Raptors and Vancouver Grizzlies came into the league. The two teams didn't look like they had a hope in hell of improving in their first few seasons. It's a different story for the Bobcats through, you can look at that roster and the way Bernie Bickerstaff has drafted and signed talent and see the improvement coming rather quickly.

I had some questions about the drafting of Emeka Okafor. I had heard the stories of his back problems and how it would hinder his play in the extended NBA schedule. Well, i was wrong to doubt the pick, wasn't i? Okafor played above and beyond expectations and from all accounts is learning and developing this off season in hopes of being a bigger part of the team's offense.

There were too big surprises for me when watching the Bobcats last season. Primoz Brezec, who couldn't bribe his way unto the court in Indiana was picked by Charlotte in the expansion draft and proved to be a steal. The guy can play, he can score and rebound with the best of them, and he's young. Now, who the heck would have thought that Brevin Knight would have been among the league leaders in assist, almost averaging a double-double for the season with points and assists.

This season should be interesting for the Bobcats again and there's no reason to believe they won't improve. The Bobcats drafted a great college point guard in Raymond Felton and they are surely hoping the lack of size Sean May has won't be as big a hindrance as people think.

I just don't think the improvement will be significant enough to get them into the playoffs, but it will bring some more excitement to Charlotte.

My Picks:

Best Player: Emeka Okafor
Best Rookie: Raymond Felton
Prediction: 4th (Central), 11th (East)

Atlanta Hawks

Oh woe, the Hawks ended up having another disappointing season. I've been silently pulling for the Hawks for years. The lovable losers of my life.

Just look at their lineup this season and you can see the potential is incredible, but there is much seasoning to be done. Even the addition of Joe Johnson this off season won't bring the Hawks into the playoffs, the supporting staff in Atlanta is not what it needs to be this season, not that it won't be in the future, it's just not there right now.

Much like the Toronto Raptors, you have to question the choice of selecting a player that occupies the same position as your draft pick of the year prior. Marvin Williams is a great talent, but Josh Childress will have something to say about Williams' playing time.

The Hawks would have taken a huge step into respectability if they had signed Eddy Curry to an offer sheet this off season, but the issue of Curry's irregular heart beat and his unwillingness to be tested by Hawks' doctors just soured that deal to such an extent, there was no getting by it.

Because this team is still so young, there is no way to properly judge the future, other than to say it's going to be good, but whether or not the Hawks can hold on to their young guys beyond their rookie contracts is going to be the question.

My Picks:

Best Player: Joe Johnson
Best Rookie: Marvin Williams
Prediction: 5th (Central), 15th (East)

HOOPLOG: Kwame Brown

GAME 77/82: at LA Clippers, Open Game Thread

Bryant leads Lakers past T'Wolves

Cart me to shivah

Center of Attention

Riley Objects to Sumo' Defense of O'Neal

.500

Game 14 Open Thread: Los Angeles Lakers @ SA

Game Thread #9: Bulls at Los Angeles Lakers(Update below)

Lakers' Brown out with strained hamstring

Marty Burns: Kwame changes coasts, not game

Deal for Butler, Atkins Looking One-Sided

Weekend Preview: 11/4-11/6

2005 Fantasy Tiers by Position: Power Forwards.

Kwame Brown is a creepy weirdo

Eastern Conference Preview - South East Division

Miami Heat

Washington Wizards

Orlando Magic

Charlotte Bobcats

Atlanta Hawks

Riley Objects to Sumo' Defense of O'Neal