HOOPLOG: Larry Hughes

Cavaliers Get 50th Win

Thu, 20 Apr 2006 09:45:53 -0800

Playing without Lebron James and Larry Hughes the Cleveland Cavaliers got there 50th win with a 100-99 win at home over the Atlanta Hawks. Flip Murray led the Cavaliers with 19 points who reached the 50th win plateau for only the fourth time in franchise history. The Cavaliers almost didn’t get there 50th win as [...]

Head-to-Head's Up (2/20-2/26): Trade Deadline Edition

Fri, 17 Feb 2006 09:54:14 -0800

Well I’m glad the NBA (David Stern) came to its senses and invited Gilbert Arenas to play in Houston this weekend after all. Too bad Gil had to go and finish the first half of the season with a 4-for-22 effort and 6 turnovers at Dallas. Ouch.
So we have All-Star festivities to get through this weekend and then we’re back to the real games and hopefully an exciting week full of blockbuster trades. Here’s looking at you, week 2/20-2/26.

Four Games: Atlanta, Boston, Cleveland, Detroit, Indiana, LAL, Memphis, Milwaukee, New Jersey, New Orleans, Orlando, Portland, Seattle.
Three Games: Charlotte, Chicago, Dallas, Golden State, Houston, LAC, Minnesota, New York, Philadelphia, San Antonio, Utah, Washington.
Two Games: Denver, Miami, Phoenix, Sacramento, Toronto.

Season-long trade rumors are finally coming to fruition this week. Darko is moving to Disney World, former Terrapin Chris Wilcox swapped area codes with Vlad Rad, and Stevie Franchise just may get another ‘change of scenery’ if Isaiah Thomas continues his quest to bury the Knicks six-feet-under. Keep a close eye on pending trades as several players are sure to find themselves in new situations that could really boost their second half value.

Plug ‘em in, Plug ‘em in:
Josh Smith/Childress, G/F – The reigning Slam-Dunk champ just put up career-highs of 21 points and 15 boards, while fellow swingman Josh Childress also scored a season-high 21 in a win over the Lakers Wednesday. We’re keeping our fingers crossed that Al Harrington will be asked to pack his bags before the Feb. 23rd deadline. Josh & Josh would immediately reap the benefits should Harrington (and his 37 mpg) depart. Smith averages an incredible 2.3 blks in only 27.5 mpg, and Childress contributes across the board but especially in steals with 1.2 spg in 28.4 minutes. Hopefully both will see 30-35 minutes a night the rest of the way and improve on their already respectable numbers. The youngsters have four games next week so get them in your lineups.

Delonte West, PG – LeBron (43/12/11) and Paul Pierce (50/7/8) may have stolen the show in an overtime thriller the other night, but Delonte also filled his stat line with 15/10/8 and 3 blocks. One of the best waiver wire pickups of the year, the versatile guard just keeps on truckin’. Jefferson, Perkins, and Wally are banged up, so West should have plenty of scoring chances in four contests next week.

Anthony Johnson, PG – Jamaal Tinsley is starting to make Marcus Camby and Fred Taylor look like iron men. He’s only appeared in 23 games this season and hasn’t been healthy for a full year since his rookie campaign. Veteran point guard Anthony Johnson has been handed the reins and asked to do what he can to help salvage Indiana’s season. A.J. has been a member of the Pacers’ starting five since the end of December and averages nearly 30 mpg as a starter. Usually just a borderline fantasy starter in deep leagues, Johnson’s hot hand (19/4/5 with 2 threes and 1.3spg in last 3 outings) makes a decent plug-and-play for four games next week.

Darko Milicic, F/C – If there ever was an ideal situation for the young 7-footer, Orlando is it. Darko’s playing time was so limited in Detroit that analyzing his stats does not really give you an indication of his potential. He’s shooting an impressive 51.5% from the floor, yet a miserable 37.5% from the charity stripe this season. But of course, his 17-of-33 FGs and 3-of-8 from the line are such small samples that they are essentially rendered meaningless. If one were to ascertain anything from his stats it would have to be his impressive 15 blocks in only 140 minutes of play this season. He’s sure to see plenty of playing time on his new team, and starting alongside league-leading rebounder Dwight Howard (12.6 rpg) seems to be a perfect fit for the Serbian big man. If you’re feelin’ Darko, get him in your lineups right away. Let's just hope for the best.

Chris Wilcox, F/C – Assuming Evans/Fortson get shipped out of town sometime before next Thursday, Wilcox will have a great opportunity to excel as the new starting PF in Seattle. Now that he lives in Starbucks capital, USA, maybe some grande caramel macchiatos can help Chris wake up and get his head in the game. The former Terp has immense talent and this appears to be a good situation for him. The Sonics frontcourt has lacked athleticism and been clogged up with the likes of Evans/Swift/Collison/Petro/Fortson for too long. Wilcox brings much needed explosiveness up front and could average 15 and 10 if he's focused and motivated. Think of him as a younger/healthier Kenyon Martin, with center eligibility to boot.

Stash ‘em or at least keep on your radar:
Antoine Walker – He was back in the SLU for a couple games before the break (scored 26 pts and hit six treys on 2/15). Employee #8 needs a starting gig to be a consistent fantasy contributor, and he may just land one if traded to the right team.
Shaun Livingston – Prep-to-pro point guard struggling in his second season, "the next Magic Johnson" has started three of the Clips last five games, averaging 6.7 assists in those contests. The potential is there for a monster second half if 36-year-old Cassell were to go down with an injury.
Earl Watson – Incessant trade rumors surrounding Denver’s reserve PG are making me nauseous. He could have some value if given a starting job somewhere (New York?)
Nazr Mohammed – The big man averaged 11 pts and 8 rebounds for the Knicks last season. He has been stuck on the Spurs’ bench all year, but exploded for 18 pts and 20 boards Wednesday night at Philly. He could make some noise if he were to take the starting spot from Rasho, or perhaps filling in for an injured Duncan.

Forget about ‘em and move on:
Larry Hughes – just went under the knife again and will be lucky to return for the playoffs.
Emeka Okafor – they’ve been saying he’ll be back in 3-5 weeks for over a month now. Word out of Charlotte is that he’ll likely sit for the rest of the season.
Jameer Nelson – Specialists can’t figure out what is wrong with his foot, and he is out for at least another three weeks. Even if he returns, he’ll have to fight for playing time with a crowded Orlando backcourt.
Sebastian Telfair – Stephon Marbury’s little cousin was benched in favor of the Blake/Dixon combo. Bassy needs to learn the pro game and improve on his "Dick Cheney-esque" shooting (36.6%FG) before he can be a reliable fantasy force. Maybe next year.
Marko Jaric – Yes, he may be traded, but he is just stinkin’ it up this season.
Deron Williams – Did they really draft him ahead of Chris Paul? Williams is simply not a good fit for the Jazz and Jerry Sloan is not a good fit for fantasy owners.

Also… the Knicks/Magic exchanging Jamal Crawford and Steve Francis would help all parties involved (especially their fantasy owners).
Enjoy the All-Star festivities and be ready to pounce once those trades are announced.

Hughes out another eight to 10 weeks

Tue, 14 Feb 2006 17:58:08 -0800

Cavaliers guard Larry Hughes is likely to miss the rest of the regular season after having surgery on Tuesday for the second time in six weeks on his broken right middle finger. Hughes, the team's second-leading scorer, was supposed to miss six to eight weeks after having surgery Jan. 6. However, doctors concluded last week that the finger hadn't healed as quickly as the team had hoped. The team said he will now miss an additional eight to 10 weeks.

Cavs Hughes won't lose money

Sun, 15 Jan 2006 12:22:45 -0800

Larry Hughes won't lose any incentive money by having to miss perhaps as many as 30 games due to a broken finger. Hughes is guaranteed $10.3 million this season and roughly $60 million for five years but can earn millions...

When Minutes aren’t Enough

Wed, 14 Dec 2005 08:17:46 -0800

It’s no secret that here at FBB, our favorite stat isn’t points, assists, or even blocks. It’s minutes. The only way your players are going to help you win are when they’re in the game. And usually, the players getting the most minutes are among the most valuable players in fantasy. Case in point: Ricky Davis is seeing the second-most minutes per game in the league, and is responding with his best statistical year since ’02-’03. Even a marginal player like PJ Brown has some value while seeing 34.7 mpg like he is right now.

Still, sometimes players are so bad, that even when they get over 25-30 mpg, they’re still of no use to your fantasy team. So as much as we preach watching the minutes column in the box scores, here are some traps that you shouldn’t fall in to. In fact, we’ll even make a “starting” five out of them:

PG: Eric Snow, CLE – Snow might technically be a point guard, but in Cleveland, it’s tough to handle the ball much with LeBron and Larry Hughes hanging around. So it’s no surprise that Snow has no fantasy value despite getting 27 minutes per game. He’s yet to score in double digits this year, and last Friday against New Jersey he managed to not take a shot in thirty minutes of play. This isn’t really a knock on Snow – he’s just playing the system. But still, he’s got no fantasy value whatsoever.

SG: DeShawn Stevenson, ORL – Stevenson is one of those guys who’s just a letdown in every category. He’s not necessarily BAD anywhere, but he won’t help you anywhere either. His 12.8 points are okay, but the 3.6 boards, 2.2 assists, 0.7 steals and zero threes, to go with so-so percentages, are all too low to help your fantasy team.

SF: Bruce Bowen, SA – Bowen might be a defensive stopper, but unless that “stopping” includes a bunch of steals or blocks, that means nothing to your fantasy team. Bowen is extra dangerous because NBA announcers are in love with him – it’s like word got out that he’s a good defender, and now that’s all that the color commentators can talk about. Still, Bruce does his 1.6 threes per game, and manages one steal, but in 35 minutes, you’d expect more than 8.2/3.5/1.7. Unfortunately, you’re not going to get any more from that, as those numbers are right in line with what he’s done the last few years.

PF: Austin Croshere, IND – Remember that one time when Austin Croshere was supposed to be really good, so he got that huge contract extension from the Pacers? Yeah, well, that turned out to be a not-so-good idea. After struggling with injuries and a lack of playing time for a few seasons, Croshere has been a fixture in the Pacers rotation for the past year, seeing 25 mpg last year and 27 so far this year. Not that anyone’s noticed. Despite nice FT% (92%) and rebounds (6.9), he’s helpful nowhere else unless you are really desperate for three’s … and I mean REALLY desperate.

C: Jason Collins, NJ – Getting 27 minutes per game and having no fantasy value whatsoever is quite a feat. But having those minutes and having no value despite qualifying at center is downright incredible. Collins is our MVP (LVP?) of minutes-wasters, as this year he’s taken his stink-dom to new levels. Despite being useless last year, this year has been even worse, as his per-48-minute averages for points and boards are down, he free-throw shooting is at 42.9% (I wish I was making that up), and despite being seven feet tall he’s got only 0.2 blocks per game. Granted, he’s been hurt, but that’s no excuse. For shame, Jason Collins.

On a side note, in second place for centers is Jason’s twin brother, Jarron, in Utah. Must be something in the blood.

Cavs Streak Stands At Five By beating The Wizards 114-99

Wed, 16 Nov 2005 12:01:26 -0800

The Washington Wizards can only dream of what could have been as they watch the duo of Lebron James and Larry Hughes combine for 59 points to lead the Cleveland Cavaliers to a 114-99 thrashing of the Washington Wizards. This gives the Cavs five straight wins and 4-0 at home this season. The average [...]

Whatsa Matter With …

Tue, 08 Nov 2005 09:22:19 -0800

Manu Ginobili?
Don’t say we didn’t warn you. All through his playoff run, all through the offseason, we warned you. A super-hot playoff run doesn’t mean that those stats are going to carry over to the following season. But that said, I don’t think anyone expected a statistical drop like this. His shooting is a disaster (under 30%), and other than a few hot streaks he’s really been almost nonexistent in the Spurs offense.

Still, he’s showing signs of improvement. His 13 boards and three steals last night were encouraging, as were his 37 minutes. But the fact is, the Spurs added some serious depth last year, and that’s only a bad thing for Ginobili. Despite the hot playoff run, I don’t think you can expect him to be much better than he was last year, and maybe some of those 3rd-round picks that were spent on him could have been spent better elsewhere.

Larry Hughes?
Last year, Hughes was the 1A to Gilbert Arenas’ 1 in the Washington offense. He was given free reign a lot of the time in the offensive system, chucking 20-footers and driving the lane with regularity. He also had the ball in his hands plenty, leading to a career-high 4.7 assists. Meanwhile, his defensive abilities meant he was put up against the other team’s best perimeter player, so as the on-the-ball defender he managed to come up with a ton of steals. Oh yeah – and on top of all that, it was a contract year.

Now, he’s a clear second-banana to LeBron James. He is much more of a spot-up shooter on the Cavs, as LeBron and Eric Snow/Damon Jones both control the ball more on offense. He won’t approach the 18 shots per game or 4.7 assists of last year, and in fact maybe he shouldn’t have been picked in the 3rd or 4th rounds either.

Jamal Crawford?
One day, twenty years from now, Jamal Crawford and Darko Milicic will sit down and have a nice meal and reminisce about the time the were stuck in Larry Brown’s doghouse. But until then, Crawford is going to have to fight his own battles in New York. His minutes have gone from 37 in the opener to 24 to 17. His points, from 11 to 4 to 2. He’s clearly the odd man out right now in New York, and its tough to get out of that position when Larry Brown is your coach.

Jamal Crawford might be the highest-drafted player to land on the waiver wires this year without being injured. Brown has no patience for players like Crawford – high-turnover, low-FG% types who needs the ball in his hands. It’s much to soon to actually drop him, but there is no reason he should be in the starting lineup for anyone.

Kurt Thomas?
You know, I could have just as easily picked Jim Jackson for this spot, or even Raja Bell or James Jones, but I’ll stick with Thomas as the biggest disappointment so far. Despite Amare Stoudamire being out of the lineup, Thomas is seeing only about 23 mpg, and even worse, he’s only grabbing 4.3 boards.

So what’s the problem? Well, the problem is, the Suns have found that they can go with an incredibly small lineup and still win. But so far they’ve played only Dallas and Sacramento, two teams who love to run just as much as the Suns, and the Lakers and the Jazz, two teams who, really, aren’t very good. Once the Suns are forced to play a big man in the middle, that man will be Thomas, and hopefully his stats will turn around a little in the coming weeks.

Overall Rankings: 31 to 60

Tue, 18 Oct 2005 09:59:37 -0800

1 to 30

31. Chauncey Billups – We love PGs here at FBB, and they don’t come more rock solid than this one.
32. Jason Terry – No, seriously, we love PGs, especially ones who were able to finish 30th on the player rater while only getting 30 mpg. The FG% will go down (way down), but everything else will go up.
33. Jason Richardson – J-Rich has only improved during his four years, and the Warriors are primed to be this year’s version of the Suns.
34. Kirk Hinrich – News that Duhon and not Gordon will be his starting backcourt mate is a bit of a buzzkill.
35. Zydrunas Ilgauskas – He’s proven he can stay healthy, but there are many weapons on Cleveland, whereas last year he was one of just three.
36. Ben Wallace – That FT% hurts more than you think and he’s not the same as he was three years ago; still, there’s hope for a contract year rebound. Literally.
37. Dwight Howard – It’s easy to get too excited about “what might be,” but he’s a stud in the making, no doubt.
38. Emeka Okafor – Hope for a few more blocks than last year and that his back doesn’t get too cranky.
39. Shaquille O’Neal – And even this might be too high. Let’s talk about Shaq for a moment. It’s near impossible to win with him on your team, that’s why you can’t do it unless he’s your fourth rounder, because you need that many studs to help you finish near the top in the other seven categories. Because kiss FT% goodbye. And for the love of god, don’t do something stupid and draft someone like Ray Allen or Chauncey Billups to “offset” Shaq. That’s just about the worst thing you can do, because it won’t even come close to bringing you out of the cellar, and you are wasting the value of a player like that. But therein lies the problem. Since you have to wait until the fourth (maybe third) round to realistically draft Shaq, unless you have already drafted players that compliment him, you probably can’t even afford to draft him anyway.
40. Lamar Odom – Could be primed for a huge year, but this is his seventh season, so time might be running out; just not enough 3s, steals or blocks to be truly great.
41. Larry Hughes – The steals and assists will go down, but he’s a solid all-around contributor.
42. Andre Igoudala – Absolutely love his all around game; he’s an Artest in the making. That’s a compliment, by the way.
43. Manu Ginobili – If only the Spurs weren’t so deep that he was limited to just 30 mpg.
44. Corey Maggette – His FT% dominance can’t be overlooked, but other than that he’s an oft-injured, points-only swingman.
45. Richard Jefferson – Like Odom and Maggette, lack of help in steals, blocks and 3s hurts his value.
46. Michael Redd – Not a favorite around here, but he is top dog in Milwaukee, which counts for something.
47. Andre Miller – Has missed three games in his career and averaged 8.2 apg after the break last year; that’s a nice and steady mid-round pick if there ever was one.
48. Marcus Camby – Injuries are already bothering him; has the talent to justify being taken here (much earlier, actually), but he will always be a risk.
49. Zach Randolph – If he can go 20/10 with percentages of 50 and 80, you can look past the rest of his game; he’s certainly The Man in Portland, which is mostly good, but might hurt his FG%.
50. Rasheed Wallace – Center eligibility, 3s, blocks, durability make for a nice package.
51. Cuttino Mobley – Bombs away. And away, and away, and away; could be back to old 40 mpg self.
52. Donyell Marhsall – Have to think he’ll get his minutes once the rotation shakes out; fantasy God with enough PT.
53. Rafer Alston – Moves into a perfect situation, especially if Sura won’t be available.
54. Carlos Boozer – Not much at all separating him from Randolph.
55. Richard Hamilton – Don’t take him any higher, but he’s durable and consistent.
56. Tyson Chandler – We think he’ll be a better guy to have on your team than Camby this year.
57. Josh Smith – If you can deal with some ups and downs, you’ll likely have a first place blocks finish to show for it.
58. Chris Webber – Could be the steal of the draft at this spot … but probably not.
59. Josh Howard – If Avery plays him as much as he says he’s going to, this will end up being low.
60. Bobby Simmons – Going for steady, all-around contributors in the middle rounds isn’t a bad strategy.

Thursday Bullets

Thu, 06 Oct 2005 08:53:51 -0800

Brad Miller brought his motor home to training camp. How can you tell Larry Hughes is laid back? He's from the midwest. A long, hard look at the Sonic off-season with... optimism. Manu Ginobili's off-season. Sports Law Blog rips...

2005 Fantasy Tiers By Position: Shooting Guards

Tue, 04 Oct 2005 10:15:55 -0800

Ah, the shooting guard. Perhaps the deepest of all the positions. But that doesn’t mean you can wait ‘till the end of the draft to take one. If you’ve done your research, and if you can afford to do so, grabbing an elite SG early in the draft can be huge for your team.

On a side note, there are a TON of players listed at GF. DM wanted to list them in both SG and SF tiers, but there’s just not time for that. So we somewhat arbitrarily divided them up according to where they generally play. Anyhow:

Tier One: Tracy McGrady, Kobe Bryant, Paul Pierce, Vince Carter, Ray Allen.
These are the guys that 10 year old kids are pretending to be in their driveway. They are a boon for any fantasy team and if you can get one, you’re off to a great start. It’s tough to pass up a top PG or C in the first 2 rounds, but in some situations, it’s the best move. These guys should all be gone by the end of the second or beginning of the third round.

Tier Two: Manu Ginobili, Joe Johnson, Larry Hughes, Jason Richardson.
This is the “yeah, but …” tier. All of these guys COULD be over-valued. Johnson and Hughes are on new teams. Richardson has to play a full year with Baron Davis. And Ginobili exploded in the playoffs, perhaps over-inflating his value on the national stage. Still, they should all at least be solid, and if you can get any of them in the fourth round, you should.

Tier Three: Michael Redd, Rip Hamilton, Cuttino Mobley, Andre Iguodala.
As deep as we like to think that the SG position is, the truth is that this is the last tier that consists of folks you can stick in the lineup and just not worry about. All of them will undoubtedly have plenty of playing time and, while all of them have different strengths, they’re all very low-risk.

Tier Four: Bonzi Wells, Jamal Crawford, Stephen Jackson, JR Smith, Ricky Davis, Jerry Stackhouse.
Every position has a high-risk, high-reward tier. Yesterday with point guards, we found it fell in the Fifth Tier. Here with SG’s, it’s the fourth. These guys, admittedly, aren’t huge risks, but come the end of the year all are capable of having put up 20 ppg with decent numbers surrounding it. At the same time, they can also end up with 12 ppg and have borderline fantasy value.

Tier Five: Ben Gordon, Eddie Jones, Morris Peterson, Gordon Giricek.
This is the last group of shooting guards who should be drafted. Yes, there are probably other ones who could potentially have fantasy value, but if it’s the last round, you should be scouring the scarcity positions for that deep sleeper, not the shooting guards. These guys are nice fantasy filler, mostly bench guys that could be on and of the waiver wires all year with the possible exception of Gordon.

Tomorrow: Small Forwards

Fantasy Basketball Mock Draft – Round Four

Wed, 28 Sep 2005 09:43:18 -0800

(For rounds one, two and three, just scroll down)

Players already on the team are in parentheses.

Team L: Jason Richardson (Lamar Odom, Gilbert Arenas, Brad Miller)
Team K: Larry Hughes (Pau Gasol, Allen Iverson, Paul Pierce)
Team J: Zydraunas Ilgauskas (Chauncey Billups, Dwayne Wade, Vince Carter)
Team I: Rashard Lewis (Joe Johnson, Andrei Kirilenko, Jason Kidd)
Team H: Michael Redd (Dwight Howard, Tim Duncan, Steve Nash)
Team G: Kirk Hinrich (Steve Francis, Kobe Bryant, Elton Brand)
Team F: Richard Jefferson (Manu Ginobili, Amare Soudamire, Mike Bibby)
Team E: Andre Miller (Ben Wallace, Tracy McGrady, Jermaine O’Neal)
Team D: Marcus Camby (Chris Bosh, Shawn Marion, Stephon Marbury)
Team C: Andre Iguodala (Baron Davis, Dirk Nowitzki, Yao Ming)
Team B: Emeka Okafor (Ron Artest, Lebron James, Shaquille O’Neal)
Team A: Jason Terry (Ray Allen, Kevin Garnett, Peja Stojakovic)

In round four of our mock draft, we’re seeing basically an extension of round three. With only about one round left of “solid” players (more on that later in the week), your goal in the fourth has to be to start setting yourself up for the later rounds. You want to be worried about team needs, but at the same time, you want to be able to take the best player available (BPA). There’s nothing worse than really stretching for a guy this early just because your team is really lacking in a category so far. So what you’ll see happening in our mock draft is that teams are settling for someone who at least comes close to qualifying as a team need and a BPA.

The fourth round, perhaps more than any other, is where your draft preparation will really come into play. If you’ve ranked players about 50 or 60 deep, it will make your fourth round much earlier. All you have to do is take your draft sheet, identify the 4 or 5 highest-ranked players, and then choose the one among those who best serves your needs. Take, for example, Team H. The top available players there (according to our lists) were Redd, Hinrich, Jefferson, and Miller. We would have those guys ranked with Jefferson first, then Hinrich, followed by Redd and Miller. However, we felt like this team needed some scoring punch, as it’s possible that neither Dwight Howard nor Steve Nash will put up 16 ppg this year. The highest scoring player among our BPA’s was Michael Redd, so he was the choice there, despite the fact that we had ranked Jefferson and Hinrich ahead of him.

So, what teams do you think look the best so far?

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)

Jones 3 Point Show in Cleveland

Thu, 08 Sep 2005 10:12:54 -0800

Link: ESPN.com - Cavaliers, Jones reach four-year, $15M deal

Damon Jones rolled the dice and found himself on the outside looking in with Miami. Let's see, he turned down the opportunity to play with Shaquille O'Neal and be on a team that will be favored to win the Eastern Conference title.

With all the shooters on the Cleveland Cavaliers, i question what Jones' role will be. Lebron James, Larry Hughes, Donyell Marshall and Zydrunas Ilgauskas all need their own number of shots. Where does Jones fit in? He can definitely be an offensive spark plug off the bench but his defense is questionable and that was one of the main weaknesses the team wanted to address this off season.

However, Jones will improve the 3 point range and accuracy of the team overall, stretching defenses with his range may give Hughes and James more space to work off each other, but let's face it, Lebron will still command a double team almost every trip down the floor.

The Cleveland lineup will either feature Lebron James as the starting point guard (a position he's played before), leaving Jones to come off the bench or Jones will be the starting point guard and will let James shift to the small forward with Hughes playing the shooting guard.

Terry Pluto Loves Donyell Marshall

Mon, 15 Aug 2005 09:09:26 -0800

In a town where Larry Hughes and LeBron James grab the headlines, no one has been too excited about Donyell Marshall's arrival in Cleveland. No one, that is, except the Akron Beacon-Journal's Terry Pluto, who raves about Marshall today: General...

Hughes Says Wizards Made Him 'Go Looking Around for Offers'

Fri, 05 Aug 2005 00:01:03 -0800

Larry Hughes proudly held up his Cleveland Cavaliers No. 32 jersey and didn't hold back yesterday when he explained his reasons for leaving a playoff team in Washington to join forces with LeBron James.