Our Very Own Word Cloud

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Free darko Z diagrams

The Cavs starting 5 using Free Darko's Z diagram.

Check out this post for explanation.

Tuesday Boxed Dinner (teryaki anyone?)

Chris Paul and Co. come out of this tight one in OT. Mike Beasley shows a little of what hes capable with 25 pts on 9-16. Pretty much everyone else on the floor for both teams left their shot in the parking lot with some nasty shooting nights specifically, well, actually everyone. David West missed 14, Paul missed 15 shots and Wade missed 16. Amazing did not happen there for most of the night...











Bobcats pulled out a tight one over the 76ers keeping the fainest of hopes alive for the playoffs for the leagues 7th best Defensive club(what!?!) This is a team that only plays 6 deep. Shout out to DJ Augustine (+12) and negative shout out to Vlad Radmonovic (-14 in 16 minutes). Not to be outdone Theo Ratliff comes in with a nice -23 in 26 minutes. Why don't they give Donyell(+5 off the bunch). a few more minutes and try to make a run to the playoffs, he's hit some big shots for them(about the 1:45 mark).









Bosh is a Beast! Or is he? Going 10-12 in a loss with only 1 ft attempt? Is this bad tanking? That man needs more than 12 shots! Imagine what Shaq would do if he were 10-12 fgs in a loss. I'll give you a hint, it would not involve a fake southern accent.

















In other news, an Adam Morrison sighting, and is Spener Hawes legit? I think so(10-18 fgs, 15 rebs(3 O).

Oh what a spread

http://espn.go.com/nba/boxscore?gameId=290326008

You don't usually see such a huge +/- spread among teammates in the same game. It's hard for me to imagine what must have happened in the 14 minutes when Will Bynum was off the floor and Tayshaun Prince was on it.

Sunday Box Brunch(from Sat?...)

Its hard to win if you can't protect the rim. Exhibit A: D.J. Augustin 11-11 FT in 14 min. That is impressive. THe kid knows what he can do and does it in the minutes he gets. Obviously its against the knicks, but the bobcats are so used to beating themselves that it must be nice to get a win that they should with great offense. Larry brown must be doing something right. And...I still can't really believe that Boris Diaw is actually good..huh.











It would appear Nellie told Crawford that if he would sit out games sometimes, then when he played he could shoot all the threes he wanted. Deal. Gotta love that line-up with Biedrins out. SG, SG, SF, SF, PF.















http://scores.espn.go.com/nba/photos?photoId=2167781&gameId=290307005

Beasley Makes the Mike Brown face, Wally trembles in fear.

Most Efficient Game Ever?

http://espn.go.com/nba/boxscore?gameId=290307018

D.J. Augustin gets 13 points on 1 field goal attempt! Incredible!

Wade for MVP?

When it comes to D Wade, I have nothing but love to give. I love everything about him, from the swagger to the suits, from the now banned band aids to "Eat the Head!" I love his creativity, both on the floor and at the rim, where it is perhaps unrivaled. I love him for his squeaky clean image(former?) just as much as I liked to hear about his blunted sex parties(is that too much?). With an improved jump shot and his return to the athletic elite within the Association Wade has been put back together only to become more than whole, D "Lil Wanyne" Wade, on top of the game.

Wade, in a back and forth battle with Bron, is currently leading the league in scoring. He is second in the league in steals, 9th in assists, a ludicrous 21st in blocks at 1.42(you have to go down to J Kidd at 69 to find another guard). His usage rate is at a career high, as well as tops in the league. Wanna see something cool. Check out his last 5 games. 37.8 pts on 56%FG, 11 asts, 7.0 rbs, 3.4 stls and 1.2 blks. Those are Shaqovician. Herculean. Wilt in a down week? Just Absurd. The only stain being a pair of 8 turnover games with a 4.4 TO average. And of course 3-2 record, losing a pair to Mo Williams and the Cavs (yeah that's right, Mo...check the boxes from those two). This is a season trend, the team just can't put together a string of wins. With the Heat only at 34-29, what more can Wade do?

Among the Heat's top 6 scorers there are two rookies, a sophomore, a grind it out PF and the shadow of a former all-star(one replaced by another taller, less athletic version) that no one really wants. They compete, but big nights are few and far between from Wade's teammates.

Still, there stands Wade, a super hero among mere mortals. Ready to fight, scrape and claw for 48 every night. Wade has already given us a season for the ages and seemingly tops himself every time he laces 'em up. He does the incredible and unbelievable night in and night out. Still, he has not been the best player in the NBA this season. In a league of hype and potential we are so often left disappointed, but here is no athlete that has carried expectation like the leader of the Cleveland Cavaliers. This season has be no different from the past, other than the now outside expectation of winning a championship. The chosen one now as always excepts this burden and his fate. And for that, He we celebrate; He, we call King.

In another season, perhaps another Lebron-less reality, Dwayne Wade would be my MVP. While many may look at the MVP race and its recent past and argue thatone must win to be crowned, but I do not. While Kobe certainly deserved to win one before his time on top passed him by, I whole heartedly believe that Lebron should have been MVP the last two seasons. The recent MVPs have been rewarded for winning. After all, we play to win the game. Still, the voters refused to acknowledge that the best player on the planet was and is undenaibly, Lebron James.

In 2006-2007 Lebron James and the cavs reached the finals with what was called the worst team ever to get that far . There they met one of the G.O.A.T.s in our league, R.C. Buford. He is GM of the best run sports franchise of our generation. There are few talents in a generation that can overcome the many obstacles necessary to win multiple championships. Championships cannot be won alone(see KG, A.I., Karl Malone, Barkley) and a great supporting cast is a necesity. By seasons end, Lebron was the most feared offensive player in the game, and he put his entire game on display in Detriot on that infamous day. His season average of 27, 7, 6 were just not enough for the voters.

In 2007-2008 Kobe Bryant finally learned to play the right way(It only took 9 years or so). Lebron was born rifling a pass across the delivery room for an easy lay-up(He probably flexed afterward also). Passing is the one area in which Kobe will never be able to touch Lebron. Of course Kobe had to win the MVP before Lebron could, that much I can understand. Not only did this MVP season include the most lopsided deal in the history of the league but also Kobe's best supporting cast since the Shaq days. Lebron was eliminated early from the MVP talk due to record, even while he was enjoying another ridiculous leap in ability. Lebron managed to improve all across the board, beginning to show defensive prowess and potential lock down ability.The Cavaliers dealt with the contract hold-outs of Andy Varejao(who gained weight and lost much of the quickness and movement that made him so valuable) and Sasha Pavlovic(who ended up injured and never made an impact), the injuries to Boobie(was a top 3 three-point shooter in the league when he went down), Z, Lebron(went 0-7 without) and a massive trade that shipped out about a third of the roster(Shout out to Danny Ferry, just incredible roster moves, all bad players out, all good in). The team was forced to start over in many ways with more than half of the season gone. Lebron lifted his game to an even higher level assuring the cavs the 4th seed and 1st round home court. He lead the league in scoring, averaging 30 8 and 7, comparable only to two of the greatest players of all time(Big O and MJ if you don't know).

2008-Present. At the current 3/4 point in the season, the Cavs sit atop the Eastern Conference and the NBA for the first time in Lebron era. Lebron is leading the league in PER at 31.13. For the first half of the season it was just above 32 which would have been the highest ever, now he is only following a handful of Wilt and MJ seasons. Beyond that, all of MJ's seasons with a higher PER than Lebron's were his youthful days before he truly learned how to win. Lebron is doing this on the best team in the NBA. All this in 3 fewer minutes. which doesn't sound like much, but thats more than 7% of game time. This includes career highs in blocks, fg%, ft% and a much improved stroke. An improved stroke has spurned some controversy among the NBA's most devout followers.

His ability to truly score from the perimiter at a high level first showed up in his play in the summer of '07 in the Olympic qualifying tournament Lebron played in with Team USA. Lebron, in ten games, average 18.8 pts on 76% shooting, but more importantly shot 67% from the short 3 point line. Of course this was against the weakest opponent he had faced since high school, but his comfort from outside the paint was clearly growing. In the following season a step backwards or two were taken. Lebron, due to team turmoil, was forced at act as savior night in and night out. There was also his penchant for taking step back threes. Some of his progress went by the way-side, and while his shot could be deadly, it would never be confused with consistent. Still this led to what I argue to be the most gut wrenching, heart pounding show in the NBA. This season, a close Cavs game results in me almost throwing up, while last year a close game was well,every game, but the excitement could not be denied.

This season Lebron is still critisized for his lack of a consistent jumper. And it remains his greatest weakness. At times this weakness is due to his insistence on firing an off balance jumper instead of an unstoppable foray to the hoop. At times it has been needed and he just couldn't get it going, most noticably against the NBA's elite on national TV. For each of these dissapointments t. For the first time in his career Lebron was expected to win against the best. On their floor. Lebron's career has been one of exceeding wild expectation. Perhaps it was only me that expected to win each of these games, after all, great teams protect home floor as no one has done better than the Cavs(28-1). Finally though the expectations, if even for a few games caught up with Lebron.

Now, those night of dissapointment are far and away overshadowed by nights of Lebron the myth, Lebron the King. Lebron's confidence is at an all time high(and that is saying some thing for a man that is not opposed to talk in the third person). His summer experience, taking team USA back to the top, most noticably quarterbacking the Defense, has taken his leadership to the next level. His voice leads the team on that end, while his shot blocking has become the last line of defense on the leagues stingiest team. His name is in the Defensive player of the year category talks after dominating for almost 2 years. He is number one in Offensive Win Shares and two in Defensive Win Shares. He is number 3 in clutch points as well as in the top 10 in clutch rebounding. Lebron also leads the league in adjusted +/- by a huge margin. The plus-minus stats can't be used to compare Bron to D Wade as his supporting cast is no where nearly as good as the cavs. It is though a good tool to show how much worse the cavs are with Lebron off the court than say, the Lakers are. Kobe Byants +/- while still 4th in the league is little more than half of what Lebron's is. The combination of the best supporting cast Lebron has seen in addition to his natural(extraterrestrial?) progress has resulted in two types fire works. There are the Cavs blow out wins, and the Lebron the legend continues night. The cavs lead the league in scoring margin(the statistical best indicator of future sucess). Lebron leads the league in disbelief and dominance. There is the 52 in NYC. The 55 in Milwakee that spurned a furious debate that was one of my favorite read on my favorite NBA Blog: Free Darko(recommended reading about lebro'sn 3 point bomb display:original, discussion, rewrite). Finally perhaps best all around performance in the NBA this season, not that it shows up in the stats exactly, was the complete destruction of Boston in Quicken Loans Arena. Lebron had 38, 6 and 4, with 4 steals, 3 blocks all while holding Paul Peirce to 11 pts on 4-15 FGs. With this new ability to go Game Five on any given night, the ceiling for Lebron and the Cavs is more or less boundless.

Still this magical season has not been flawless and that now is more clear than ever. For the first time the expectations are all there. Lebron is the MVP and the Cavs sitting atop the NBA. Lebron has had a regular season for the ages. Still, this team is still unproven in the playoffs and seems to have trouble against the leagues elite. But, there are two more MVPs that Lebron is planning on picking up and boy am I going to enjoy watching teams try to stop him...

Houston Subs Smash

http://espn.go.com/nba/boxscore?gameId=290303010

Now those are some interesting +- for the Rockets.

Seattle Suuuuuuupersonics

http://espn.go.com/nba/boxscore?gameId=290224025
A few things from the Sonics vs. Lakers.
1. Derek Fisher was the only Laker to play who didn't get an assist. Even Josh Powell got one!
2. Check the +/- for Thabo Sefalosha and Kyle Weaver, the two Sonics who were charged with guarding Kobe. Pac-10>Europa!
3. Kevin Durant is right behind LeBron, D Wade, Kobe, Duncan, Dwight Howard, and Chris Paul for best in the NBA already. I said it.

Monday in a Box

http://espn.go.com/nba/boxscore?gameId=290209015

The Rockets make me sad. How can one help but be disappointed. All those weapons. The final piece of toughness in Ron-Ron. Now of course anything could happen, but all signs point to another first round playoff loss, assuming that is that they stay in the race. What is wrong with T-mac? Is he done? Is his body giving him the finger? I sure hope not, I just want me some healthy Mac.

Those are such awful +/- stats for the starters, and that's in limited minutes due to failure to not suck(except for Scola). I'm always impressed by Carl Landry. Dude just knows how to play the game. 10-11 from the line and 16 points, 7 rebs with 4 offensive all in just 24 minutes. Brooks pouredin 23 on 7-14 FG adn 5-10 from deep.

Hello Milwaukee. No Michael Redd, No Bogut. Time for a sess(pronouced sesh). Many have brought it up, but how was it that Luke Ridnour was starting in front of Sessions. Yes Ridnour was once a team USA invitee(yeah, really), but just in general was not athletic enough to get it done. We'll see what happens but so far, so filthy. 26 pts on 8-12 FG and 10-12 from the line +33 overall. Also he thre in 7 ast, 4 rebs, 4 stl, a block and 4 to's. Great shooting by the rest of the team.

Bron on Xylo:Live from MSG

Hey all, lets take a look at some boxes

http://espn.go.com/nba/boxscore?gameId=290204016

A few gems here. First, how often do you see someone take 9 shots and make none? Bassy Telfair didn't even get to the line to escape that 0 in the pts column. Impressive. Then there is +10 for Rashad McCants. Hopefully having the only + on the team will help comfort the sting from losing the UGLY sister.

On the other side Washington grown Marvin Williams had a good game learning to use his big body to get to the stripe.

http://espn.go.com/nba/boxscore?gameId=290204009

Check out Shaq-ovic. 17 and 12 (8-9FG). Its probably not fair since he could eat pretty much every one of their big(?) men for brunch(yes... brunch).

Captain Jack had his first trip-doub of his career so congrats on that. When Monta gets his jumper back they are gonna get up into the 130's on the regular.

http://espn.go.com/nba/boxscore?gameId=290204006

From the P-town-Dallas game one line pops out.

James Singleton, PF

0

0-0

0-0

0-0

0

0

0

0

0

0

1

0

-6

0

That 0 minutes, 1 turnover, -6.

http://espn.go.com/nba/boxscore?gameId=290204018

The Big Game. I have plenty to say about Lebron and not all of it good as the last two times these teams played the cavs won by 18 and 36. It sure was fun(sorta) to watch Lebron pile up the numbers. Historic. Horrifying. Not as good as it should have been? Lebron missed his last 8 jumpers. If a few more dropped and he got 62 11 and 10. Think of the possibilities. Still anytime Lebron can steal Kobe's spotlight I'm happy. Get ready for the Cavs-Lakers showdown in Cleveland on Sunday.

Anyway

• Lebron: 52 11 asts 10 rebs
• Wally World: 40 min +18(combined first pumps and high fives in first quarter?), doesn't matter what the rest of the stats(which were good)were. Those are some quality minutes for the high fiving native New Yorker.
• Al (the ninja turtle) Harrington was killin' everyone shooting 16-24 FG for 39 points.(Btw, I didn't find that picture before I wrote the ninja turtle thing, I've just always thought that. When I went to look for a pic of him google images told me someone else feels the same way....tight.)
• Shout out to Nate-Nate for a solid game
• Galinari +/- watch...+7...best on the team.

High Five!

Wow!!! Ballin!!!

These are a little late, but I still wanted to share...

Hate to see anyone go down. Especially when they are on my(first place) fantasy team! Of course Chris Paul going down is the story of the game against the Blazers, but lets take a look at some in-game box scores. Here is CP3's line from the first quarter:

Min(12:00) FG( 1-6) 3Pt(0-1) FT(0-0) +/-(+8) Off(1) Reb(2) Ast(9) TO(0) Stl(2) BS(0) BA(0) PF(0) Pts(2)

OK. So. Wow. He had 9 assists in 12 minutes...with no turnovers! Obviously, its not realistic to expect him to continue on that pace, but over 40 minutes that's 30 assists. This has only been done once by none other than Scottie Skiles in 1990. There is no doubt that Paul will get there before he stops lacin' em up. Also, notice the two steals from the league leader. As our friends over at dontjinkesme pointed out, the Hornets were up 17 when CP3 went down only to lose the game...ouch.

Kobe drops 61 then 2,000

I don't have complete stats, but as much as I hate to show Mamba any love... he was at one point during the game, drippin, soaking, steaming(like dog poo on a frosty morning) wet. That doesn't really make sense you say....how could he be saoking and steaming? Well his jumper was WET aaaaand, he was blazin' like Lil' Wayne during a Cypress Hill concert(or vice versa).

kobe 11-14 3-4 27 points

And that was mid 2nd quarter. Those are just beautiful numbers. 80% from the floor and that's not even taking into account free throws.

Then later that night, chillin' with the homies, he decided he needed to offset his lack of passing the rock(3 assists), by dropping a big enough tip for the waitress(via Slam) to pick up a rock of her own(bling bling). Pass the ball Mr. Low-top.

Kobe Does New York; Danilo Does The League

http://espn.go.com/nba/boxscore?gameId=290202018
News Flash: Kobe Bryant, in the Mecca of Basketball, The Legendary M.S.G., puts up... zero rebounds! I love this guy! His first O-fer of the season, incidentally, on the heels of a one board night against Memphis. On the actually impressive end of the spectrum, he went 20 for 20 from the charity stripe. He's already a quarter of the way to the late FT streak of Jose Calderon, in only one night.

This gem of a box score has two nuggets that excite me more than Kobe's night, though:

1. This will blow your mind, and the impressiveness of my detective work will get me hired by Ball Don't Lie. First, we have Net +- League Leaders. No surprise here. LeBron at #1 with +24.2, Chris Paul at #2 with +22.5, then a precipitous dropoff to the rest of the NBA's elite, with Ray Allen coming in 3rd with 17. Now, take a gander at THIS (scroll down to the bottom, find "Net points per 100 possessions, which is the same stat referenced above): Danilo Gallinari has an absurd +26.6, and is only not listed on the league leaders because injuries have given him a late start to the season! That's right folks; Danilo Gallinari is more important to the Knicks than any other player is to his team, including LeBron and Chris Paul. Incredible. I was sent off on this hunt by noticing that Gallinari was +10 when the rest of his team was in the minus, and recalling similar lines over the past couple weeks.

2. Sun Yue, aka The Monkey King (which is seriously his preferred nickname), puts down a stunning +- of -8 in only 2 minutes of action. Good on ya, Sun!

And finally a little bonus for you. Against the Bobcats, the Jazz started two guys named Ronnie! This is hilarious to me. And as great as it is, it pales in comparison--is practically invisible--to the Kings preseason roster which saw them playing THREE men named Bobby!!! If those two facts aren't funny to you, you might as well never come back to this blog.

Box Notes 1/30

http://scores.espn.go.com/nba/boxscore?gameId=290130023

Really? 10 Assists? Thats pitiful. Sure, more likely when you suck in general, but c'mon. Not a good sign when your starting PG averages 4.4 dimes a game. Of course no big deal, you have a back up PG right...wrong. Bobby Brown goes 1-7 from the field with a beautiful clean line, full of zeros. I bet K Martin is lovin' it.

On the other side of the ball, the Bulls finally figured a couple of things out. For one there's the realization that playing Ty Thomas and Joakim Noah together gives you one of the quickest most athletic front courts in the A. Then there is the oh so necessary DNP Coaches Decision next to Laura Hughes' name(I forget who I am stealing that from, but thanks...). I know you've heard of addition by subtraction. They can't trade him soon enough.

http://scores.espn.go.com/nba/boxscore?gameId=290130007

Check out Raja, hes been puttin it on of late. Who knew he could still score...did Charlotte? Boris Diaw has been playing great for them too. Still the Bobcats...not that into you. Any win against the Lakers makes me happy though so thanks, but I'm not looking for any win streak from these guys.

Nene just ruined the Cats. 10-11 FG, 12 Rebs(3 0), 3 Asts, 2 Stls, 0 To's. Hard to beat a team when you have a big minute guy playing that efficiently. Makes the Camby trade look pretty good. When is MJ gonna realize that Emeka can't guard anyone, especially anyone that plays the center position. Hes a PF. He just doesn't play big enough.

http://scores.espn.go.com/nba/boxscore?gameId=290130026

D Will is better than you. Check out the shooting stats for the starters. Nasty. 35/59, Almost 60%. That'll win you some games. KD is a baller, but we went over that yesterday.

Pts+Rebs+Asts=Elite?

http://scores.espn.go.com/nba/scoreboard?date=20090128

I say if you lead your team in all three 'major' categories in a given game(especially a win) then more often then not you are an elite player in the A. Sure, this is not entirely fair to guards and perhaps implies that on any given night Jason Kidd can still be considered 'elite', but more often them not it is indicative of elite swag. Scroll down to the Grizz -Team who may not be named(thanks bill) game and you will see three Durants next to Pts, Rebs and Asts leader. I argue this is a sign of someone straight ballin'.

Now, just a quick look back in the past two weeks. Who else has been filling out the box?

Durant
K Martin
CP3
Wade
King James
Timmy D
PP34
LBJ
Kobe
King Crab a third time
Kobe again

Not a bad list eh? Yes its wing player centric, but since CP3 came through with it recently I feel justified. The Kevins(Durant and Martin) are the only two likely to be left off most MVP lists but that is much to do with the fact that both of their teams more or less suck. They both need to learn to win(play D) but they can fill it with the best of 'em. Maybe the two best young shooters in the game along with Granger. One could argue that its alot easier to lead your team in stats when everyone else is busy eating turd sandwiches, but hey, its not their fault(atleast mostly not).

So to summarize, lead your team in all three major stats...you're probably ballin' pretty hard.

B Roy v. Tough Juice

http://espn.go.com/nba/boxscore?gameId=290124022
The ups and downs of reading the box score of your favorite team:
Up: Blazers win by 13, yes!
Neutral: Caron Butler dropped 31 and 10.
Down: Looks like he was the starting SG, so would've been matched up against Brandon Roy. I guess Butler got the better of Roy.
Up: B Roy had 22, 7, 6... and 10 steals!!
Upper: And Butler had 9 TO's, B Roy must have dominated him!

http://espn.go.com/nba/boxscore?gameId=290124026
In other news, LeBron barely misses out on another triple double, dropping 33, 14, and 9. Last night in my neck of the woods he had something like 18, 8, and 7 in the first half but finished with the single double somehow

Nate Rob: The New Little General

http://espn.go.com/nba/boxscore?gameId=290123018
http://espn.go.com/nba/boxscore?gameId=290121018

Check out the +/- the last two games for the Knicks. Led by one Nate Robinson, the Knicks' bench has blown the last two opponents out of the water. +36 for Harrington, +32 for Robinson against the Grizzlies when the Knicks starters all checked in around 0, then +24 against the Suns when the Knicks starters were in the -.

I wouldn't be surprised if the Suns game was a revenge game for Nate, who the Suns drafted and traded immediately to the Knicks for Kurt Thomas.

Speaking of Kurt Thomas, he has been a part of three weird trades in the last few years.
First the Knicks trade him for Nate Robinson and Quentin Richardson. Big Advantage: team who gave up Thomas.
Next the Suns trade him and 2 first round picks to the Sonics for a second round pick. Huge advantage: team who got Thomas.
Finally, the Sonics move him to the Spurs for a first round pick and filler. Both teams come out well.
What a rollercoaster of value.
Furthmore, the Sonics got 3 first round picks for essentially laundering Thomas. Crazy.