'Nasty News - Traversing Time & Space' Vol: 38

[nasty daddy]

http://nba.fanhouse.com/2009/05/26/lebr ... van-gundy/

LeBron James Takes on Stan Van Gundy
Cavs star LeBron James wasn't about to let Magic coach Stan Van Gundy off the hook over comments he made regarding teammate Ben Wallace. Van Gundy essentially called Wallace a flopper on Monday, saying "he and Mo Williams were falling down more than a baby learning to walk.'' While Wallace reacted with a string of expletives Tuesday morning after the Cavs workout, James took the time just an hour before Game 4 on Tuesday to chastise Van Gundy."You guys know how Stan is,'' James said. "There is a first time for everything, but we all know Ben Wallace has never been a flopper, will never be a flopper. And if you think he's a flopper, but you won't tell him to his face that he's a flopper ... Well, I damn sure know he won't tell him to his face. I know that for a fact.''

Wallace, the four-time NBA Defensive Player of the Year, has not been much of a factor in these playoffs. In 11 games, he has blocked just two blocks. He has averaged just 11.8 minutes and 2.4 rebounds. "Whatever he says isn't going to change the way I play defense or the way we play,'' Wallace said. "It is what it is.'' Magic backup center Marcin Gortat, meanwhile, came into Game 4 of this series basking in the glow of his Game 3 performance when he blocked two shots by James.

Gortat, the league's only Polish-born player, was a relatively obscure backup center still trying to carve his NBA niche when these playoffs began. But his two blocks against James, one in the first quarter and one in the second, has taken him to a new level, based on the reaction he has received from those around the league. "That's all people are talking about to me, not that we beat the Cavs, but that I blocked LeBron's shots,'' Gortat said. "After the second block, I could read it in his face, that he wanted to dunk on me. This was almost like a historic thing for me and my career. I want to do it again and be ready in Game 4.

[nasty daddy]

http://nba.fanhouse.com/2009/05/26/vide ... ays-dirty/

Video: Dahntay Jones Plays Dirty
There's no other way to say it, really: the way that Dahntay Jones has chosen to play against Kobe Bryant in the last two games of the Conference Finals has been dirty. The first play in that video clip is the intentional trip from Game 4; the second is a two-handed push in the back from Game 3. The former wasn't even ruled a personal foul at the time, but the latter was upgraded to a flagrant-one a day later. Bryant took the high road when asked about it post-game, while Kenyon Martin proudly (but not surprisingly) welcomed Jones to the "dirty player" club. "No, I just fell on my face for no reason. I'm a klutz," Bryant said sarcastically afterwards, when asked if he thought he was tripped by Jones. But when prodded, he said simply, "That was good defense."

Phil Jackson wasn't as forgiving. "There's another situation out there tonight that was unacceptable by Dahntay Jones," Jackson said. "Just unacceptable defense, tripping guys and playing unsportsmanlike basketball."Unsportsmanlike is putting it mildly. There's really no place for plays like that that are meant to injure guys when there's not even a slight attempt at making a play on the ball -- that's why the league upgraded the shove in the back to a flagrant foul the following day, and that's why no one would be surprised if Jones ends up getting suspended for Game 5.

Kenyon Martin, who is himself known to be a little extra-physical at times, seemed to be proud of his teammate's play. "Tay you a dirty player now, welcome. It's an elite club to be considered one of those." The club might be elite, but that's because few players in the league want to be slapped with that kind of reputation. Jones obviously doesn't care, at least for the moment. If he's forced to sit out a pivotal Game 5 because of it, however, he might want to reconsider.

Video in the link above^.

[nasty daddy]

http://nba.fanhouse.com/2009/05/26/noth ... vs-lakers/

No Shame in Wanting Cavs-Lakers
Darn right I want to see the Cleveland Cavaliers vs. the L.A. Lakers in the NBA Finals. And, yes, some of it has to do with the significant subplot of LeBron James vs. Kobe Bryant. For a few reasons, that's the series I want. And I'm not going to feel guilty about it or apologize for it or pay any attention to the backlash.

I know Orlando's Dwight Howard feels disrespected because everyone seems to be pulling for Cavs-Lakers and LeBron-Kobe, but he shouldn't take it personally.His time will come. That's what most of this is about, actually. The single biggest reason I'd like to see a Cavs-Lakers NBA Finals comes down to a sense of propriety, really, and a desire to see teams fail first before getting a chance to play for a title. Like that old Smith Barney ad featuring John Houseman, a title team must "earn it," and the only way to earn it is to first be humbled.

Call me old-fashioned but I don't want a surprise champ or someone coming out of nowhere.

[nasty daddy]

http://www.pistonpowered.com/2009/05/do ... int-guard/

Do the Pistons really need another point guard?
Rodney Stuckey is universally accepted as the Pistons’ future. And Will Bynum led the team in PER last season. So, why are the Pistons considering drafting a point guard at 15?

The idea seemed curious to me. The Pistons have only had one pick this high in the last six years, and they used it on Stuckey. The Pistons need front-court players, not point guards.

But the rumor has legs, so here’s a look at the rationale behind drafting a point guard in the first round:

[nasty daddy]

http://www.pistonpowered.com/2009/05/do ... int-guard/

Stuckey at shooting guard
Joe Dumars told the the Detroit Free Press Stuckey will see more minutes at shooting guard next year: "Playing the point can take your aggression away because you’re worried about the other four guys," the Pistons president of basketball operations said. "What this year confirmed is he’s a combo guard. We have to play him on the ball and off the ball."

At 6-foot-5, Stuckey has the height to be a shooting guard. And I like him next to Bynum in limited minutes. They play fast and aggressive, offensively and defensively. They really change the tempo (unless Detroit becomes a faster team next year. In that case, they’ll keep the tempo). If Stuckey plays the two, the Pistons will also need a point guard who can make 3-pointers. Stuckey and Bynum would be too much of a liability in that department if they played regular minutes together.

In the end, I suspect Stuckey will still play a large majority of his minutes at point guard. He struggled last year to find the balance between creating for himself and his teammates. But he’s young and will improve. Taking the ball out of his hands doesn’t seem to be the best way to jumpstart his aggressiveness. And if the Pistons go fast paced next year, the additional offensive possessions could ease any tensions. Not to mention, he won’t have to deal with the Richard Hamilton-Allen Iverson balancing act.

[nasty daddy]

http://www.pistonpowered.com/2009/05/do ... int-guard/

Importance of the point guard
The NBA is becoming a point guard’s league. The sheer amount of talent at the position is astounding: •Chris Paul
•Tony Parker
•Deron Williams
•Chauncey Billups
•Devin Harris
•Jameer Nelson
•Jason Terry
•Rajon Rondo
•Jason Kidd
•Mike Bibby
•Derrick Rose
•Andre Miller
•Steve Nash

The case can even be made the four teams still playing have excellent point guards, in addition to Billups. The way LeBron James, Kobe Bryant and Hedo Turkoglu run their teams’ offense, they almost act as point guards. A few years ago, it was clearly a big man’s league. I’m not convinced that has changed, but it’s not as set as stone as it used to be.

A pick-and-roll offense is en vogue, and taking a point guard increases the chances the Pistons find someone to run it as well as Chauncey Billups did. Detroit had the league’s 19th-best production at point guard last year, according to 82 games. Only center ranked worse. It’s a position that could use upgrading.

[nasty daddy]

http://www.pistonpowered.com/2009/05/do ... int-guard/

Availability
This draft is stacked with point guards.

Chad Ford of ESPN predicts 11 point guards will be first round picks. Draft Express says 12. NBADraft.net projects nine. Tom Ziller of AOL FanHouse has 10. Here’s Ford’s point guard-by-point guard breakdown from January.

There’s a good chance the best player available at 15 is a point guard. My pick is Lawson. He plays fast and can shoot from the outside. When I saw him play, he just looked like he belonged in the NBA. He had the swagger and the talent.

[nasty daddy]

http://www.pistonpowered.com/2009/05/do ... int-guard/

Free agent class of 2010
The Pistons’ long-term strategy isn’t clear yet. But almost every other team in the league is shooting for the summer of 2010. It’s tough to believe Dumars won’t be in position to snag at least one free agent. The top free agents will be looking for money (which Detroit can have available) and a winning team. Here’s a look at the players who could become unrestricted free agents next summer:

Point guard: Steve Nash
Shooting guard: Dwyane Wade, Ray Allen, Manu Ginobili, Joe Johnson, Michael Redd, Tracy McGrady
Small forward: LeBron James, Paul Pierce, Richard Jefferson
Power forward: Chris Bosh, Amar’e Stoudemire, Dirk Nowitzki
Center: Yao Ming, Tyson Chandler

Doesn’t one position look light? The Pistons probably won’t be landing a top free agent point guard in 2010. Since they could get a top player at any other position, it makes sense to target a point guard now.

[nasty daddy]

http://www.pistonpowered.com/2009/05/do ... int-guard/

Conclusion
It appears very important the Pistons have a quality point guard going forward, and the draft could be a good way to make that more likely. If a good point is available at 15, the pick seems to make sense.

[nasty daddy]

http://lifeondumars.com/2009/05/26/what ... ive-joe-d/

What Grade Would You Give Joe D?
With the NBA draft almost a month away I figure I’ll start my own coverage of it by looking at all of Joe D’s drafts. You can’t get this kind of coverage anywhere else people.

2000
1st, 14th- Mateen Cleaves
2nd, 44th- Brian Cardinal

Cardinal turned out to have a better career than about half the players drafted in the first round, but unfortunately Mateen was one of those players Cardinal had a better career than.

[nasty daddy]

http://lifeondumars.com/2009/05/26/what ... ive-joe-d/

2001
1st, 9th- Rodney White
2nd, 38th- Mehmet Okur

Rodney has not appeared on NBA soil since 2005, mainly because he was allergic to defense, but probably because he’s a few cards short of a full deck too. He has played in places such as Puerto Rico, China, Spain, and Italy. Was waived by Maccabi Tel Aviv (good Euroleague gig) in early December last year. At least Detroit didn’t get stuck with Kirk Haston, drafted 16th by Charlotte. Now that would have been disastrous…

[nasty daddy]

http://lifeondumars.com/2009/05/26/what ... ive-joe-d/

2002
1st, 23rd-Tayshaun Prince

On one hand, give it up to him, Tay has a gold medal, he did “The Block”, and he has played more NBA basketball games than anybody else on God’s green earth over the past 6 years or so. On the other hand, it has come down to a simple what have you done for me lately situation? Answer: You scored how many points and grabbed how many rebounds in the playoffs?!?!?

(faints) And to think they missed out on Dan Dickau.

[nasty daddy]

http://lifeondumars.com/2009/05/26/what ... ive-joe-d/

2003
1st, 2nd- Voldemort
1st, 25th- Carlos Delfino
2nd, 58th- Andreas Glyniadakis

– I used to read Harry Potter. I stopped at like the fourth book. The above is what I figured Voldemort would look like. Little did I know…
– Frankly, Delfino is virtually just like Sasha Pavlovic, but with more attitude, the kind coaches don’t like though (explains his short stay with Detroit). Carlos is one of the most talented players not in the NBA currently, for what it’s worth.

– Andreas the Greek giant never played a game for Detroit, but he played 13 of them for Seattle, starting 4. I used to have a blast saying Glyniadakis, but eventually ended up just referring to him as the “7 foot Greek guy”, until I forgot about him altogether about 2 years ago.

[nasty daddy]

http://lifeondumars.com/2009/05/26/what ... ive-joe-d/

2004
2nd, 54th- Ricky Paulding

And to think they passed on another great Gonzaga point guard (Blake Stepp).

[nasty daddy]

http://lifeondumars.com/2009/05/26/what ... ive-joe-d/

2005
1st, 26th- Jason Maxiell
2nd, 56th-Amir Johnson
2nd, 60th-Alex Acker

– Maxiell saw his numbers and minutes plummet this season. Maxiell’s inability to be a consistent offensive weapon (i.e. hit a jumper) and his lack of size for a power forward really limit his effectiveness against most squads. Maxiell can make up for his shortcomings by playing his absolute hardest, though that’s something that wasn’t seen as much as we would have hoped this past season. I guess babies everywhere are enjoying Max’s relative mellowing, but after a 20 million dollar contract, a mellow Max just does not cut it.
– David Lee and Brandon Bass were available at 26 mind you.

Sort of unfair to call Amir Johnson a bust at 56, but that’s what it’s coming to. It irks me to think of all the trades Joe D passed up because of Johnson.
–On a random side note, there are plenty of undrafted players in 2005 currently in the league. Some of them include Jose Calderon, Chuck Hayes, Kelenna Azubuike, Josh Powell, Ronnie Price, Shavlik Randolph, Fabricio Oberto and the one and only Will Bynum.

[nasty daddy]

http://lifeondumars.com/2009/05/26/what ... ive-joe-d/

2006
2nd, 60th- Will Blalock

Will played a total of 166 minutes with Detroit in 14 games, 166 minutes more than anyone ever thought he would play in the NBA. Call me a stickler but maybe taking a flyer on a tall (taller than 5′11 at least) foreign player would be a better idea than drafting a lil’ point guard with marginal potential. Oh, wait, maybe Joe D just drafted the wrong lil’ point guard instead, considering the lovable and lightning quick Jose Juan Barea was available. Doh!

[nasty daddy]

http://lifeondumars.com/2009/05/26/what ... ive-joe-d/

2007
1st,15th- Rodney Stuckey
1st, 27th- Arron Afflalo
2nd, 57th- Sammy Mejia

Both first round picks look like great value players, especially Arron. Day in and day out you know what you are going to get from him: hard work, a positive attitude, and a will to play defense. The jury is still out on whether he can be more than just a 12-15 minute rotational guy, but like I said, at #27, he was a nice value.

[nasty daddy]

http://lifeondumars.com/2009/05/26/what ... ive-joe-d/

2008
2nd, 32th- Walter Sharpe
2nd, 46th-Trent Plaisted
2nd, 59th- Deron Washington

– Walter Sharpe’s potential is why I wouldn’t draft Austin Daye (topic for a future post). Too many projects already on this team, though Sharpe has the tools in my opinion to be a very solid NBA player, so it may be worth the wait.

– This Deron character can really jump and had Renaldo Balkman type hair at Virginia Tech. Deron played in the Israeli premier league this year, totaling 14.8 ppg (31% from downtown) 7 rebounds and 1.8 steals in 27 games. I wouldn’t be surprised to see him in the league someday, he sort of reminds me of former Clipper (05-07) and current Mav James Singleton. Singleton played overseas for a few years, improved his jumper, played great defense, won some awards, and overall made a nice impression. Ultimately the key for Deron is if he can improve his shooting.

[nasty daddy]

http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/recap?gameId=290526019

Dwight Howard scored 10 points in overtime and Orlando, raining down 3-pointers like a Florida thunderstorm, withstood 44 points and the last-second fling by James for a 116-114 victory over the Cleveland Cavaliers on Tuesday night to take a 3-1 lead in the Eastern Conference finals.

"You can al"You can almost taste it," said Orlando's Rafer Alston, who scored 26 points. "We've got to win one more game and it's not going to be easy."most taste it," said Orlando's Rafer Alston, who scored 26 points. "We've got to win one more game and it's not going to be easy."

Howard finished with 27 points, 14 rebounds and again made his free throws -- 7 of 9 -- and the Magic made a team playoff record 17 3-pointers. Rashard Lewis and Mickael Pietrus had 17 points each for Orlando.

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http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/news/story?id=4208266

Hornets' Chandler, Posey recovering
The New Orleans Hornets say center Tyson Chandler and forward James Posey both had successful surgeries for their injuries.

Team spokesman Dennis Rogers said late Tuesday that Chandler had a procedure on his left ankle to relieve inflammation and another on his left toe. Posey's surgery was on his right knee. Chandler, who averaged 8.8 points, missed 29 games in the regular season and the last playoff game because of the ankle injury. His trade to Oklahoma City this year was rescinded because of concerns over the toe.

Posey, who averaged almost nine points as a reserve, hurt his knee in Game 3 of the first round of the playoffs against Denver but played through it. Both are expected at training camp in October.