The face of the Chicago Bulls has drastically changed in recent years. But, apparently for the better. Here is a quick run down of who they have under contract and how they stack up in the East.
Basketball
10 July 2010
9 July 2010
Miami has become a 3 headed hydra with Chris Bosh, Dwayne Wade, and LeBron James. What are the Celtics to do? Keep what they are doing. They have resigned Doc Rivers, Ray Allen and Pual Pierce. So, the big three (Garnett) and Rojan Rondo are all intact. Kendrick Perkins is hurt and may miss a good part of next season. And, Rasheed Wallace is contemplating retirement.
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6 July 2010
New comer Cole Aldrich did not play in OKC's first summer league game of the year. in fact, the Thunder did not start a single rookie.
James Harden did not make a single 3pt shot, but attempted 18 free throws and had 19 points for the Thunder. 2nd year player Eric Maynor had 5 assists and 15 poinsts. DJ White continues to show he can score with 13pts on 29 minutes and 6 rebounds. He may be needed this year if Serge Ibaka's injury is significant. He went down with a knee injury but walked off the floor. There is no word yet on what his condition is.
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Amare Stoudamire becoming a Knick just makes sense (and dollars). He is being reunited with coach Mike D'Antoni and his high octane offense. That means even more stats for Stoudamire. There are currently hopes of landing Lebron and or Wade with this signing. But, should they not get either, New York has gotten better with Amare.
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24 June 2010
Two of the biggest needs for the Thunder are inside presence and outside shooting. They got the shooter by trading the 32nd pick to Miami for sharp shooter D. Cook and the 18th overall pick. Wow! The move helps Miami trim the cap space they are fighting while acquiring a very high second round pick to go along with the other 3 second rounders they already have. Second round picks are not guaranteed like first round ones are. So, Miami doesn't have to keep the guys they draft.
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23 June 2010
There are three ways an NBA team can improve: 1) Draft 2) Trades 3) Free Agency.
I've taken a look at how well teams have drafted since 2003. I used the number of rebounds, points, assist, steals, and blocks to help me rank the teams on their ability to draft. If a player was acquired via a trade, he counts towards the team that received him in the trade. Also, the statistics that count are only the ones that the player acquired while with the team that drafted him. So, if a player was traded and then became a good player, that team lost out. Let's see the results.
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22 June 2010
The Milwaukee Bucks traded Charlie Bell and Dan Gadzurik to the Golden State Warrios for Corey Magette.
This is a good move for both teams and potentially a great move for Milwuakee.
Golden State is changing ownership and wants to get a younger nucleus to build around. The Trade of Magette rids the team of $31 million for the next 3 years.
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31 May 2010
This is going to be a classic series. The Lakers have 2 things that clearly give them the edge: 1) Home court advantage and, 2) Kobe Bryant.
But, the Celtics have a lot of things going for them.
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31 March 2010
To win the final four you have to have players---NBA type players. Let's take a look at recent history to prove the point.
Last year N Carolina won with 3 first round draft picks in Tyler Hansbrough, Ty Lawson, and Wayne Ellington.
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29 March 2010
The Thunder needed to go 2 and 2 last week and that is exactly what they did. They lost to San Antonio which put them into a tie for 6th. Then, they defeated Houston with an impressive comeback performance by James Hardin. They followed that with a romp of the Lakers. Sunday was a defeat to Portland.
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22 March 2010
This year's sweet 16 has some fresh faces in the field. If you compare this year's group to last year's things are different. I want to look at the trend of the sweet 16 over the last 10 years.
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Losing to Indiana last night was tough. If they had one last night, they would be tied for the 5th seed with Phoenix and 2 games ahead of 7th in front of San Antonio. But, that didn't happen. All is not lost, it just makes this week more difficult. Tonight they are at home against the Spurs. They have a one game lead over them. A loss tonight would put the Thunder in 7th. A win would keep them in 6th and put 2 games between them and San Antonio and more breathing room going into the last 14 games.
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21 March 2010
This has been an unbelievable tournament! Not in the sweet 16--Kansas Jayhawks, the number one team in the country.--New Mexico, 29-4 and a 3 seed---Villanova, the numbe 2 seed and many who had in the final four---Georgetown, #3 seed.
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18 March 2010
Here is how I see the first day of the NCAA tournament. I'm going to pick a winner and also show how many times I think they would win if they played each other ten times.
Kentucky has gone from being a powerhouse to lost the last 3 years. They high Calipari and he gets a couple of freshman and instantly they are a success. One thing bothers me about this team going all the way is that they haven't been there. This is all new to everyone but the program itself and Calipari. That will quickly return though. Will it be this year?
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17 March 2010
The Charlotte Bobcats have had a good season and looks like they should make the playoffs. I have really fallen in love with this team. I hope Michael Jordan gets the team. Here is how the Bobcats look now and could look come playoff time:
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16 March 2010
The NCAA Midwest region is by far the deepest when you consider how many teams could make it to the final four.
1--Kansas is still the best team in the country. I'm pretty confident they will make the elite 8. But, the sweet 16 game against either Maryland or Michigan St is the toughest that any #1 seed will face.
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14 March 2010
A preview as the committee unveils their bracket in less than 5 hours.
I have taken the AP and Coache's poll as well as the RPI and Jeff Sagarain to compile the following:
1) KANSAS KENTUCKY DUKE SYRACUSE there may be a swap with Syr and WV
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13 March 2010
There are some big games on Saturday. The ACC is at the top of the list with perhaps the biggest game. That game is Duke vs Miami Fla. Miami had the worst record in the league for the ACC and knocked off Wake Forrest and Va Tech. Va Tech looks to still get in and Wake was a bubble team. Losing to Miami may have knocked them out. If Miami wins, that would put them into the ACC final against either NC ST or Ga Tech. Ga Tech is a bubble team that could earn a spot with a win today. But either way, a Miami win would give a team that wasn't in the field of 64 a slot, bumping someone else out. Live long Jimmy V.
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23 February 2010
Kansas got closer to locking up a one seed. They beat Oklahoma soundly last night. As for the Sooners, it has gotten so bad that the coach is threatening scholarships. OUch!
The
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19 February 2010
The Boston Celtics made a move that they hope gets them to the title. They traded for Nate Robinson, a point guard that can score. Here is how it breaks down:
Celtcis get ; Nate Robinson, Marcus Landry
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18 February 2010
Utah is trying to stay within their financial means and stay competitive at the same time. They traded Ronnie Brewer to Memphis for a future pick. They have depth at that position and can absorb the loss. Brewer is a restricted free agent and Utah may not be able to match any offers. So, they gain a pick for him now. Not bad I guess.
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New York unloaded a lot more money on Thursday in hopes of landing LeBron.
Here is what transpired:
New York gained: Tracy McGrady and PG Sergio Rodriguez
New York lossed: Jordan Hill, Jarred Jeffries and draft consideratoins in 2011 and 2012
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17 February 2010
The Thunder won their 7th straight win over the newly assembled Dallas Mavericks. Durant lead the way with 25 points and 14 rebounds. He was followed by 3 who scored 17 each in Westbrook, Green, and Harden.
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16 February 2010
Dallas and Washington traded talent this week.
First Dallas---they get Caron Butler an all star that is almost averaging 17 points and 7 rebounds. He will replace Josh Powell which is a huge up grade. Brendon Haywood also joins the Mavs. This was a good move because Eric Dampier hasn't been effective since hurting his knee. Haywood is averaging 10 rebounds a game. The Mavs also get Deshaun Stevenson. A decent backup.
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In the first big move of the tradeseason, Portland acquired Marcus Camby from the Los Angelos Clippers for Steve Blake and Travis Outlaw. This was a great move for the Trailblazers. They have had a huge hole vacated by injuries to Joel Pryzbilla and Greg Oden. Juwon Howard has filled in very well and Camby gives them the second best rebounder in the game inside. Losing Blake will hurt some, but not as much as they gain from Camby. Andre Miller has played very well at point guard and youngser Bayliss has shown he can be an effective backup. They won't miss Outlaw. He has been out since November with a broken foot and is to return soon. Portland holds the 8th sot in the playoffs. Camby is in his last year of his contract and will likely leave after this season since Oden and Pryzbilla will be back.
Continue reading "Portland makes the first move. Clippers--what ..."
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10 February 2010
The Oklahoma CityThunder outscored the Portland Trailblazers 30 to 16 in the 4qtr last night to win it's 6th game in a row. The win also moved OKC a half a game ahead of San Antonio for the 6th spot. The Thunder is also 3 games ahead of the 9th place Houston Rockets. Things are looking good.
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10 January 2010
Last night, the Thunder beat the Pacers, keeping the 8th spot in the playoffs.
OKC only trailed once 37-36. But, that lasted for less than a minute. They built an 18 point lead in the third quarter. Then, Troy Murphy went on a little run and cut it to 10 at quarter's end. Then, they managed to tie it in the 4th. But, Durant couldn't be stopped and there were no second chances for the Pacers.
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22 October 2009
The Heat are a long way from the title level that they were at a few years ago. However, the team is reloading and rebuilding in the right direction. The main pieces are there and need to develop---Dwayne Wade and Michael Beasley can potentially be one of the best 1-2 combos in the league. Mario Chalmers and Udonis Haslem Are solid night in and night out guys. Those 4 are the foundation of the Heat.
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19 October 2009
I have always enjoyed the Toronto Raptors. There is something about them that catches my eye. They always have a knack for finding talent. They just have a hard time keeping it. This year they managed to bring one in: Hedo Turkoglu.
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So far it looks a lot like last year. Who knows who is going to play and how well they will do. Sounds a lot like a Dr. Seuss title. There is one thing that looks like it will be consistent and that is David Lee. He looks like he will do a double double most every night. Draft picks Toney Douglas and Jordan Hill have looked like rookies. They don't look like they will add much fire power early on. But, they are young and need time to develop. Wilson Chandler looks like he will start and probably have the second most amount of minutes this year. Who will be the leading scorer? Lee might score the most points at season's end without ever being the leading scorer in a game. Nate Robinson has his moments as does Al Harrington and Larry Hughes. But, they also can lay goose eggs the next night.
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14 October 2009
Last year the OKC Thunder won 23 games. I'm curious to hear from all you fans on how many wins you think they will win this year. I am guessing 32. 9 games in one year is a big jump. The key addition is draft pick Harden, whom I think is a very solid addition and keeps the team moving in the right direction. Another key addition is last year's first round pick DJWhite. He missed most of last yaer and looked good late in the season when he saw his first action. He provides some inside hustle and scoring. This team really lacks inside presence on both ends of the floor. Let's see how much progress can be made this year. Reply to this post with how many wins you think they will get.
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27 July 2009
The Thunder traded away Damien Wilkins and Chucky Atkins for Etan Thomas and two second round picks. The move was an even swap money wise. Wilkins and Atkins make nearly 7mil together and that is what Thomas will make this year. The Thunder are well under the cap and Thomas' contract expires this year. So, not only will they have freed up money next year, they will also have 5 draft picks. 2 in the first round and 3 in the second round.
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24 July 2009
If I had to put together a Boston Celtic Dream Team it would look like the following. I am only going to use the players since I have been watching basketball. They would dominate.
PG--Dennis Johnson--He could do everything. Defend, rebound, score, handle the ball. He one a championship with Seattle prior to his days with the Celtics. No nonsense type of guy. He simply won games.
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21 July 2009
Times are a changin in Detroit. Gone are Chauncey Billups and Rasheed Wallace. Enter in Ben Gordon and Charlie Villanueva. They draft three youngsters to go along with the newly acquired in hopes of quickly getting back to the conference finals.
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20 July 2009
With Chauncey Billups and JR Smith in the backcourt, things are looking fine in Denver. However, last year they did display some weakness coming off the bench. They may have found some solutions. Ty Lawson was very good during the Las Vegas summer league. He lead the team in scoring with 17 points 4 rebounds, and 4 assists. What was even more pleasing was that he only had 2 turnovers a game. He may signal the end of Arron Afflalo. The team has an option on him next year. And, if Lawson plays out like I think, Afflalo will be the odd man out.
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Minnesota has a long way to go, but they made progress this summer in Vegas.
Johnny Flynn is the real deal and should be the starting point guard from day one. He averaged 15 points and 7 assists. And, shot lights out! Over 50% from 3-point and 91% from the line. He had over 5 turnovers, but that is to be expected. Scoring and dishing at that level in summer league shows that he is going to be a good player.
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The Chicago Bulls had a nice summer in Vegas:
James Johnson was the leading scorer with 16 points a game, 7 rebounds and 3.6 assists. His number one downfall was the 40% fg shooting.
Rookie Taj Gibson only played in 2 games. He grabbed 20 rebounds and 26 points in those 2 games.
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15 July 2009
Orlando matched the Maverick's offer to Marcin Gortat. He is to be paid $34 for the next 5 seasons. He averaged 3.8 points and 4.5 rebounds in 12 minutes last season. He earned 2 wins for his team using the Howard winning system. He never played extended minutes in the playoffs. He is a very expensive limited backup for Dwight Howard. One thing he does give the Magic is trading value. He is young and now has a higher salary which could work for the Magic when it comes trading time. There will be veterans out there that may have a higher salary. Those teams may want to take a chance at a younger player like Gortat. Orlando is still going to be very good, but looking different:
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13 July 2009
I have done some research and tinkering with numbers and came up with a way to determine a player's value in wins. As I discuss rosters, trades, draft picks, etc.., I will be talkng about a players wins. LeBron James had the most wins with 15. Kobe Bryant had 12 as did Chris Pual. The system I have in place splits up the wins a team earns during the year based on the player's statistis. Two players can have close to the same numbers but earn different win totals. That is because they have one major number that is different, team wins. There are players that score over 20, but can't win games. Ricky Davis is an example of that. Statistically, at one time, was very good. But, he never won games.
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9 July 2009
The Thunder are in great cap shape. They have a payroll of $42 million while the cap is somewhere near $57million. They also have an option on Chucky Atkins at $3million. I don't think they will sign any big names this year, but things are looking really good for next year. The team has managed itself well. Earl Watson has a 6mil salary and Damien Wilkins has a 3mil salary that both will expire after this year. That frees up another 9. This is a big year for Wilkins. If he is to stay on the team and get a good contract, he has to show he is worth it this year.
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26 June 2009
The Sacramento Kings desperately need a point guard. Beno Udrih isnt' the answer and Bobby Jackson is aging and a free agent. Instead of drafing Ricky Rubio, they took Tyreke Evans who was shoot
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24 June 2009
First the Tiberwolves get rid of Kevin McHale. Then, they go crazy. Minnesota traded away Randy Foye and Mike Miller to the Washington Wizards for Oleksiy Pecherov, Etan Thomas and Daruis Songalia, and the 5th overall pick. Minnesota now has the 5th, 6th, 18th, and 28th overall picks in this week's draft. They are looking to ship the 5th pick with the 18th to move up to number 2. Doing that would allow them to draft either Ricky Rubio or Hakeem Thabeet. As of right now, the roster has huge holes in it and some overload as well.
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23 June 2009
The Utah Jazz have a busy summer in front of them. Carlos Boozer, Kyle Korver, and Mehmet Okur can all opt out of their contracts. So, they have to convince all 3 to stay. Paul Mills
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The Atlanta Hawks had another good year. They keep taking steps closer to the Eastern finals. To do so this year, they will have to deal with a lot of free agents. Mike Bibby is the only s
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22 June 2009
The Chicago Bulls had a really good year and did well in the playoffs without Deng. With Deng back at full strength and Derrick Rose a year older, another step towards the title can be made.&nbs
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Are the glory days for the Pistons over? They did not make the Eastern Conference finals and they have some free agents to take care of. Allen Iverson, Rasheed Wallace, and Antonio McDyess
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21 June 2009
The Phoenix Suns missed the playoffs by 2 games. They had hopes of making a championship run instead. They tinkered with the team and had a new coach. What is the direction now? Grant Hill and Matt Barnes are both free agents. And the big three will be next year--Nash, O'Neal, and Stoudamire. So, it's very tempting to trade and start all over. Or, make another stab at it. Joining those three in the lineup is Barbosa and Richardson. So, there is no lack of scoring, but there is a huge lack of a bench. Whether they are focused on this year or the future, let's take a look at what type of player they might get in the draft. They have the 14, 48, and 57th picks.
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The Pacers missed the playoffs and made some changes. Looking towards next year, one thing can be said is that Indiana is interesting. The Lineup consist of Jarret Jack and TJ Ford in the
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20 June 2009
Charlotte was 2 places out from the playoffs. This team is heading in the right direction. The starting lineup of Raymond Felton, Raja Bell, Gerald Wallace, Boris Diaw and Omeka Okafor is
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The New Jersey Nets have the 11th pick in this year's draft. Devin Harris had a break out year and is an all-star as is Vince Carter. That gives them some firepower on the perimeter. But t
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The Raptors had a horrible season finishing third from the bottom in the East. Anthony Parker, Shawn Marion, and Jake Voskhul are all free agents. That is 2 starters and a top bench player. That leaves a shaky starting lineup:
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The Sacramento Kings have a lot to gain in this week's NBA draft. They have almost 3 first rounders (they have the first pick in the 2nd round). They have 3 unrestricted free agents, Bobby Jackson, Calvin Booth, and Cedric Simmons. Only Bobby Jackson really played this year and he only started 10 games. So, they aren't loosing anything. The starting five consist of pg Beno Udrih, sg Kevin Martin, sf Anres Nocioni, pf Jason Thompson, and C Spencer Hawes.
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19 June 2009
The Dallas Mavericks only have one pick this year in the NBA draft and they really need help to keep from falling any further. If you look at draft boards, the list of players that could go to Dallas at the 22nd pick are too numerous to mention. But, we can look at how the past 14 drafts have done at that position.
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The Dallas Mavericks only have one pick this year in the NBA draft and they really need help to keep from falling any further. If you look at draft boards, the list of players that could go to Dallas at the 22nd pick are too numerous to mention. But, we can look at how the past 14 drafts have done at that position.
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18 June 2009
Who will New York take with the 8th pick? I've seen many mock drafts and there is one consistency
oint guard. Brandon Jennings, John Flynn, Jrue Holliday are all point guards that keep popping up. I've looked at the last 20 drafts and have broken down the 8th pick as follows:
Posted by john howard | 1 comment
As a math major, I'm always fascinated by numbers. I took this years NBA stats and have started tinkering around with them. One major stat stands out so far---offensive rebounds. If you compare offensive rebounds to the wins a team has, you will find that it produces a slightly negative correlation. Meaning, the MORE offensive rebounds a team has, the FEWER wins it will produce. The reason is this: teams with lower field goal percrentages lose more games and have more opportunities for offensive rebounds. When determining the value of a player through statisics, offensive rebounds can be very misleading.
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Now that the season is over, who is the NBA's MVP? There are two clear front runners: Kobe Bryant and LeBron James. The numbers put by Lebron this year were staggering. Over
Posted by john howard | 1 comment
17 June 2009
The LA Lakers are the top team in basketball. Can they stay that way? Oh yes! Both Trevor Ariza and Lamar Odom are free agents this year and both contributed heavily to the team's ti
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