Intro by Tom Ziller on Wednesday, December 27th, 2006 at 11:43 am | permalink | trackback |

At AOL FanHouse, The Big Lead adds Chris Paul to the talented but ailing list:

Kenyon Martin, Denver – Right knee, out for season
Shaq, Miami – Left knee surgery, out 4-6 weeks
Josh Smith, Atlanta – Back spasm, out 4-6 weeks
Yao Ming, Houston – Broken right leg, out 6-8 weeks
Paul Pierce, Boston – Left foot, out 2-3 weeks
Sean May, Charlotte – Right ankle, out 2-3 weeks
Lamar Odom, Los Angeles Lakers – Right knee sprain, out 3-6 weeks
Nenad Krstic, New Jersey – Torn ACL, out for season
Peja Stojakovic, New Orleans – Lower back surgery, Out indefinitely
Rashard Lewis, Seattle – Right hand, out 2-3 months

Add Brad Miller and Chris Kaman, who have both come back from substantial early season injuries already, and Sam Cassell, who may be shelved for a while with plantar fascitis. Busy time of year for trainers.

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Intro by Tom Ziller on Wednesday, December 6th, 2006 at 1:38 pm | permalink | trackback |

I shouldn't have to link to Henry Abbott's True Hoop because I'm sure every basketball fan on the planet reads it, but just in case:

Occasionally, however, those stats rise up and eat the entire basketball story. An innocuous example: the triple double. It's cute on the stats page. It may or may not be a big deal to the game. It's one of those things: the stat page is supposed to serve the needs of basketball. But sometimes, because we have stats at our disposal, we shoehorn basketball into serving the needs of the stat sheet.

Hear, hear.

2 Comments

Intro by Tom Ziller on Monday, December 4th, 2006 at 12:51 pm | permalink | trackback |

Kevin Arnovitz from ClipperBlog.com takes an in-depth look at each of Elton Brand's 10 first quarter shots from Sunday's game against visiting Orlando. The prognosis is good. And Jameer Nelson gets called an "anatomic basketball-playing flea," which is always fun.

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Intro by Tom Ziller on Monday, December 4th, 2006 at 12:44 pm | permalink | trackback |

Nate Jones drums up a top 20 list, with Dirk Nowitzki at the peak:

I mean seriously, how the hell do you guard a seven footer who can drive and finish like a small guard, shoot the three like Ray Allen, and post you up like Tim Duncan? Just a nightmare of a match up for any team in the league. If he were a little bit better on defense he probably would get more votes as the best player in the game today.

Not particularly stats-based, but pretty damn comprehensive nonetheless, with lots of nice observations. KD in particular will enjoy a picture of Toni Kukoc's crotchal region in close proximity to Gary Payton's forehead.

4 Comments

Intro by Tom Ziller on Sunday, November 12th, 2006 at 12:47 pm | permalink | trackback |

It was the biggest output in Bucks history:

Redd sank 18 of 32 shots, including 6 of 12 from three-point range, and made 15 of 17 free throws. He scored 42 points in the second half when the Bucks, who trailed by 24 points in the second quarter, mounted a furious rally that fell just short.

It's cliche to point this out, but he wasn't drafted until the 14th pick of the second round in 2000. Dan Langhi, Mateen Cleaves, and Chris Carrawell had no comment.

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Intro by Tom Ziller on Monday, October 23rd, 2006 at 4:09 pm | permalink | trackback |

Mike Bibby injured his thumb last night. He'll be out for three weeks, including the first two weeks of the regular season.

His current backup is Ronnie Price, a second-year seldom-used undrafted converted shooting guard out of Utah Valley State. The other point guard on the roster is Jason Hart, who has played roughly 15 minutes this preseason.

No word on the strategy Eric "No, really, I'm fine, I'll drive, it's fine" Musselman will employ. Fingers crossed for Ron Artest, Starting NBA Point Guard, though.

3 Comments

Intro by Tom Ziller on Monday, January 16th, 2006 at 1:08 pm | permalink | trackback |

Nice idea, frightening results:

1. Terry Stotts, 2. Avery Johnson ... 19. Brian Hill, 20. Phil Jackson ... 28. Gregg Popovich.

I think Dean Oliver, among others, has attributed at least some of the difference between expected and actual win percentage to luck. Seeing Gregg Popovich so low, and knowing that his team has traditionally shot poorly from the charity stripe, furthers that notion.

I couldn't agree more with this sentiment, however:

Rick Adelman's relatively low rank isn't much of a surprise, either–after 16 years of coaching in the league, he still looks lost at times on the bench.

"At times" is an understatement.

4 Comments

Intro by Tom Ziller on Thursday, December 22nd, 2005 at 9:58 am | permalink | trackback |

Well, sort of:

(Grandson Ian) Naismith hopes a corporation comes forward with a deal, which would include sponsorship of a two-year nationwide tour to display the rules in a 40-foot motor coach. Naismith hopes to collect signatures of basketball dignitaries and fans along the way, with ultimate goal being a permanent display at the Smithsonian Institution in Washington.

The money will go to the Naismith Foundation. The HoF has a copy of the rules. Anyone know if "When your team is up by 34, pull your star, even if he has a shot at 80+ points" is one of them?

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Intro by Tom Ziller on Wednesday, December 21st, 2005 at 11:35 am | permalink | trackback |

A follow-up to last week's worst performances list..

I've got to hand it to Kobe. Two days after getting called out here for putting up some of the "worst" individual game performances since the 1987-88, he posted a career night in a Lakers win over the Mavericks. ... In doing so, he sneaked into the top 10 overall performances–at the expense of Shaq's 61-point game, which slipped to #11.

Ah, the power of Mamba.

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Intro by Tom Ziller on Monday, December 19th, 2005 at 4:52 pm | permalink | trackback |

Two NBA tidbits from the most widely-read football columnist in the country:

When will someone realize Isiah Thomas actually doesn't know what he's doing? I mean, what positive non-playing thing has this man ever, ever done in pro basketball?

... and ...

ESPN, you can pound me over the head as hard as you want. You can't make me an NBA fan.

Answers: A) About four years ago; has given Bill Simmons infinite column fodder, and B) How offensive, a company trying to promote its product.

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Intro by Tom Ziller on Monday, December 19th, 2005 at 11:53 am | permalink | trackback |

Andre Iguodala, on why Vince Carter is the toughest guy to cover:

"... because he takes really bad shots, but they still go in. You play good defense and you think you know what's coming and then he takes a shot that you're totally not expecting and he makes it. It's crazy."

3 Comments

Intro by Tom Ziller on Tuesday, December 6th, 2005 at 5:49 pm | permalink | trackback |

The third bi-weekly (or semi-montly, if you please) NBA Blogosphere Power Rankings are up:

The Heat continue to get the Shaq pass, while there are a surprising amount of teams who just kind of suck. ...

There's almost a palpable feeling of Member Blogs wanting to put the Knicks in the 30 slot - we think it happens one of these weeks.

No real "WTF?" selections, except maybe Philly.

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