SB Nation - Chris Webber

Chris Webber and Kevin McHale Talk Don Nelson and Golden State Warriors on NBA TV

Atma Brother ONE — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 23:15:09 -0000

This past Tuesday's matchup between the Golden State Warriors and Cleveland Cavaliers was selected by hoops fans worldwide to be televised on NBA TV for Fan Night. I never knew so many hoops junkies were so hyped about watching new Warrior Valdimir Radmanovic!

Preview/ Game Thread

RECAP: Warriors 108, Cavaliers 114 - A Victorious Loss

1993-1994: Good times in Dubs land.

Anyhow CWebb and the Celtics eternal employee Kevin McHale had some interesting things to say about the Dubs and Nellie. Jump for a video and some quotes.

NBA TV's Chris Webber on Golden State Warriors head coach Don Nelson Nov. 17, 2009 from Turner Sports on Vimeo.

Pre-Game Show: Ernie Johnson, Chris Webber and Kevin McHale

McHale on Golden State’s team chemistry after trading (Stephen) Jackson to the Charlotte Bobcats: "When the players come out and say it will be better when Stephen Jackson goes, which they started a couple of weeks ago, that is really an indication that it is very disruptive. I think (the Warriors) will play free and easy tonight."

Webber on the Golden State Warriors: "When you are on a team that has a bad feeling in the locker room, it is really good to get a breath of fresh air. And I think for Golden State this is a breath of fresh air. When you win and when you lose it is good to just be able to concentrate on your team and the game and not everything that is going inside and outside the locker room."

McHale on coaches getting teams back on track after turmoil: "You have to stay with what you believe in and you can’t be changing. Some coaches say, ‘tonight we are going to play defense, tomorrow we are going to play offense.’ The players get confused and pretty soon they say that the coach has no idea what he is talking about. Stay with your pattern, do what you do. The message has to be the same every single day in the locker room and then the players start buying in and believing. I think that Nellie (coach Don Nelson’s) message is going to be the same. Score a lot of points."

Webber on playing for Golden State’s coach Don Nelson: "I actually got two chances to play for (Nelson), once when I was a young rookie and I think I could have made better decisions then…definitely, I know I could have made better decisions then. He could have as well, as far as explaining the game to young guys. Then I got to play with him my last year in the league for about 10 games and I’ve seen a difference in the way he handles players. To me, he is a player’s coach, definitely a good personality. But that may set some guys up and I think that could be a double-edged sword at times."

Halftime Report: Johnson, Webber and McHale

McHale on Golden State being under-manned: "One of two things can happen, you either get disheartened and say, ‘we are under-manned and say we can’t play, we can’t win.’ Or the guys can say, ‘I can shoot all I want because the coach can’t take me out.’ There is a point where they can say, ‘it doesn’t matter the coach can’t take me out,’ so maybe they will relax and play."

NBA GameTime presented by Hyundai : Johnson, Webber and McHale

McHale on Golden State’s play against the Cavaliers: "I did think they played a little looser without Stephen Jackson. The guys in the locker room were saying he needed to go, he wasn’t good here. He left and I thought they played with energy. I thought they played loose and had some chemistry out there."

GSoM Archive:

Poll

Chris Webber called Don Nelson a "player’s coach" earlier this week. Will Nellie be remembered as so after he retires?

YES: Player's Holiday

279 votes

NO: Playa Hata

518 votes

797 votes | Poll has closed

Daily Links 11/19

FLCeltsFan — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 15:54:58 -0000

Herald Rajon Rondo ignites surge past feisty young Warriors
Rajon Rondo quick to forget
Heave escapes Kevin Garnett
Nellie plugs along
Knicks nix Pacers to snap skid
Comcast to offer Celtics on-demand programming
Globe Garnett on the Warriors post game
Post-game quotes from Perkins, Allen
Updates from the Garden: Celtics vs. Warriors
In NBA lore, Nelson never comes up short -
Garnett on the Warriors post game
Post-game quotes from Perkins, Allen
Washburn: Celtics need to step it up for Orlando
Doc: 'That team scares the hell out of you'
Rivers assumes 3-point stance
Video of KG's half-court shot
Celtics man up for win

CelticsBlog     A Late Run Is Enough
Third quarter saves Celtics from Warriors
MetroWest Daily   Celtics 109, Warriors 95: C's ride Rondo to win
Celtics Hub   Doc to Sheed: Cut the 3s
Bullets: Anything but a Blowout
Step Aside and Avoid the Train Wreck: C’s 109, Warriors 95
Loy's Place     Comments from the Other Side - Warriors 11/18
Examiner    Depleted Warriors finish trip with pair of losses, but renewed enthusiasm
LeBron James in the NFL? Why not?
How to Watch Sports    Exploring NBA Contracts Based on Performance, Rather Than Potential
Basketbawful    Taken for granted
Celtics.com    Comcast, Celtics, CSN Unveil Expanded Celtics On Demand Library
Ford Keys to the Game: Warriors at Celtics
NBA.com    Celtics overpower outmanned Warriors in second half
THE OFFICIAL SITE OF THE NBA DEVELOPMENT LEAGUE
ESPN   Hawks win Sixth game in a row
Rondo floors it
For KG, a buzz but no buzzer
Well-traveled Moore back in Boston
Weary Warriors battling more than Celtics
Opponents making their point with Boston Celtics defense
Celtics 17   Can the Boston Celtics Regain Their Dominant Defensive Effort?
Turning to What We Already Know: Sifting Through the Ridiculous and Poking the Dragon (Warriors Pregame)
Golden State Falls as Celtics Steer Themselves Back on Track
Red's Army    Your KG Face of the Day
I've never felt worse about a 14 point win...
Comcast SportsNet    C's vs. Warriors: Live from the Garden
Celtics Golden against Warriors
Perk plays role of unsung hero
Loscy    A new joint venture: The Doubting Thomas Award "
North Station Sports    NSS Live Game Chat: Warriors vs Celtics
Rondo Rallies the Troops, Celtics beat the Warriors 109-95
Celtics Town    Running Diary: Rondo, Rondo, Rondo as Celtics overcome Warriors
Hardwood Houdini   Celtics Work SOME Kinks Out- Still Have Work
Lex Nihil Novi    9-3: Celtics 109, Warriors 95
Utah Stops Celtics' Streak at 9 83-84
Something Still Ain't Right
CelticsLife     Celts STILL Not-so-good, but outlast Warriors and their 4th grade star
Celtics/Warriors Post Game Videos
Celtics 109, Warriors 94 Highlights
Gino's Jungle     Celtics Wake Up In Second Half To Defeat Warriors
Celtics Stuff Live    Gang Green: Season 3, Episode 5
Mercury News   Warriors notebook: Ronny Turiaf listed day-to-day
Warriors' Raja Bell plays through pain in loss to Boston
Green Street    Wallace looks back on Pistons Pacers Brawl
Donny Basketball
Danny Ainge on the Big Show
Can Celtics finish?
Fast Break: Celtics - Warriors
Allen takes on second generation of shooters
Slam Dunk Central    Raging Rajon Has Double-Double; Celtics Defeat Warriors 109-95
WEEI    The Three Pointer: Celtics Run Away From Speedy Warriors
Danny Ainge on WEEI
SF Gate    CELTICS 109, WARRIORS 95 / A loss, but not feeling defeated
Ratto: Warriors put the 'free' in free fall
Shorthanded team fall short in Cleveland
Golden State Warriors : Game 10: Warriors at Boston (halftime)
Bleacher Report    NBA Top 10: If Players, Coaches, Execs, and Fans Had Theme Songs...
Reign Him In: LeBron James' Ego Threatening to Ruin a Wonderful Thing Reign Him In: LeBron James' Ego Threatening to Ruin a Wonderful Thing
Telegram    Rondo still can’t toe the line
Allen helps Rondo from line
Celtics snap out of skid
NESN    Rajon Rondo Still Making Big Plays Despite Free-Throw Woes
Celtics End Two-Game Skid, Whack Warriors 109-95
Live Blog: Celtics vs. Warriors - Boston Celtics
Ray Allen to Host 'Ray of Hope Foundation' Benefit at The Lansdowne Pub
Motown Sports Revival     How to win an NBA Championship
CT News    Rondo Solves Warriors: Saves Celtics in 3rd
Dimemag    Kevin Garnett’s 75-Foot Shot
Back in the Mix
5 Suitors For The Inevitable Monta Ellis Trade
Summer 2010: Chris Bosh to the Nuggets
Patriot Ledger     CELTICS NOTEBOOK: Losing streak ends at two after first-half struggle against Warriors
Celts' Rajon Rondo finds his rhythm
NY Times    Seeking Shake-Up, Knicks Mull a Bid for Iverson
ProJo    Celtics outscore road-weary Warriors, 109-95
Celtics-Warriors in-game update: Celtics up by one at halftime
Celtics-Warriors final: Celtics rout Warriors, 109-95
Celtics journal: Aigne says latest trade rumors are false
Celtics not interested in trading for Nocioni
Celtics-Warriors pregame: Celtics looking to snap losing streak
TSN    Celtics snap short losing streak to thump Warriors
Sun Journal    Some Red Claws pinching themselves over opportunity
Chicago Now    Joakim Noah; top 3 center in the NBA
Dueling Couches    Perkins Calls Celtics Practices "Sloppy"
BetUs   NBA Lock Alert – Stunned Celtics Host High-Scoring Warriors
Luxist   Chris Webber's Restaurant Shuts Down
Hardwood Paroxysm    The Celtics Have A Coupon For Average Combo-Forwards And They Would Like To Use It
PRNewswire    Comcast, Celtics, CSN Unveil Expanded Celtics On Demand Library
SportsRadio Interviews Ron Artest on tossing Ariza’s shoe off the court the other night
Slam Online   When The Game Was ‘Theirs’
Chris Bosh Contemplates Life in Miami
Yahoo    Phil Jackson jokingly blames Pau Gasol's injury on 'CSI: Miami' - Ball Don't Lie
Hoopsworld     Notebook: Bryant Back to Form
4 Sports Boston    The Resting C’s: Domination or Abomination? 4 Sport Boston

Macro-Warriornomics - WE BELIEVE WE SUCK :: GSoM's 2009-2010 Golden State Warriors Preview (Part 2 of 2)

Atma Brother ONE — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 04:09:45 -0000

Don't forget to check out Part I of our 2009-2010 Golden State Warriors Preview super blowout special- Micro-Warriornomics

Macro-Warriornomics class is now in session...

-----------------------

QUESTION:

How does a team go from this:

to this:

in less than a 2 years?

ANSWER: Four words- Chris. Cohan. Robert. Rowell.

Sure the WE SUCK movement is back in full effect for Cohan's Warriors, but that doesn't mean we're not looking forward to the start of the 2009-2010 Golden State Warriors campaign here in Dubs Land.

Jump to find out why WE SUCK is still going to be exciting!

2k8-2k9 Golden State Warriors Rewind

Last Year's Record: 29-53

After the wildly entertaining ups and downs and highs and ultimate highs of the 2006-2007 season and the mediocre, but entertaining non-playoff 2007-2008 season, the Warriors 2008-2009 season was a complete disaster. Pre-WE BELIEVE the Warriors were mockingly "Unstoppable Baby!". During the short lived but thrilling WE BELIEVE era they were a SHOCK THE WORLD variant of "Unstoppable Baby!". However last season they were mostly "Unwatchable Baby."

From silly turnovers, to numerous mental lapses, to dumbfoundedly saddling a legendary coach in his twilight on the sidelines with a young and raw team with questionable mythical upside, to Moped Gate, to ZERO defense, to an absurd amount of media hysteria for mostly the wrong reasons-- Cohan and Rowell's product last season was not worth the price of admission, which was incredulously a sizable increase over the previous season. (Apologies for the run-on, but to be honest all of last year was on one big run-on for this franchise.) There were so many times last season when we couldn't even GIVE away our lowerbowl seats to Warriors games for FREE. (I wasn't joking about the "Unwatchable Baby.")

Thankfully we get to move on.

The Warriors need some serious "Computer Assistance" in real life.

[NBA 2K10 Golden State Warriors Style]

2k9 Golden State Warriors Offseason Rewind

Key Losses

The Chris Mullin Publicity Stunt

Back in 2004 when Warriors owner Chris Cohan and Robert Rowell promoted Gary St. Jean "protege" Chris Mullin to VP/ GM it was nothing more than a silly little publicity stunt. Over the course of his 4 years at the Warriors helm his best move was getting saved by his former mentor Don Nelson. Despite what the media would like you to believe partly because of their bizarre vendetta against Nellie, Mullin was 1) not improving as a GM and 2) is a major reason for the Warriors current disarray with his silly trades (giving the New Jersey Nets a 1st round pick for a fringe NBA player in Marcus Williams) and odd obsession with constantly getting younger and rawer with a lot of b-rate talents, but never building a team to win in the present.

Don't get me wrong. It's hard not to root for Mullie. He's a nice guy and wanted to create an atmosphere that players (regardless of how overpaid or untalented) would want to be a part of. Those are both commendable qualities.

But the media at large and the average Warriors or NBA fan blew Mullie's dismal way out of proportion. He should've never been hired. He deserved to be fired. The problem is that the two guys who fired him (Chris Cohan and Robert Rowell) also deserved to be fired.

Also see: The Mullin Myths: Chris Mullin made the Warriors a franchise players wanted to join

The Marco Belinelli Hype Machine

The Marco Belinelli Hype Machine has thankfully left the building. I still contend that the Toronto Raptors just traded for Jiri Welsch 2.0 and Belinelli probably won't even be in the league in 2-3 seasons.

The Warriors contract dumping of Belinelli is further evidence of Nellie and GM Larry Riley's confidence in Anthony Morrow. It's also an indicator that they both know the definition of "meritocracy" unlike a lot of Warriors fans and local/ national media who inanely hyped this guy up to no end and made almost as many excuses for him as the "golden age" of Mullin's blind affection for Mike Dunleavy.

Not just Warriors and NBA any more...

GSoM now has you covered for all your furniture needs!

Key Additions

Umm let me put this succintly as I can... N/A.

The key word there is "Key". The Warriors did nothing "Key" this past offseason other than potentially making a nice selection at the #7 slot with Stephen Curry aka Masala aka Kid Curry.

After a disastrous 2k8-2k9 season that couldn't end fast enough, it was abundantly clear that this roster was in dire need of change. The Warriors pretty much promised a major shakeup, but alas these were nothing but delusions of grandeur. The Warriors had an absolutely meaningless offseason in terms of roster moves.

Additions

(Now that we got rid of the word "Key" we can get down to business.)

Miikki Moore

I'm just happy he's on the home squad and not on the visiting team.

As Yay Area fav E-40 would say:

SHAKE DEM DREADS!

Expiring Contracts

Why did the Grizzlies trade Pau Gasol to the La Lakers for basically nothing? Why did the Timberwolves trade Kevin Garnett to the Boston Celtics? (hint: it wasn't Al Jefferson)

Take at look at these contracts that come off the books after this season (via HoopsHype):

Speedy Claxton- $5.2 million
Acie Law- $2.9 million (team option for 2010-2011)
Devean George- $1.6 million
Mikki Moore- $1.3 million
C.J. Watson- $1.0 million

That's potentially upwards of $12,000,000 in fun money. Some possibilities.

2k9-2k10 Golden State Warriors Projections

Biggest Strengths

Roaracle Faithful

There's two constants for the Golden State Warriors:

THE SUCK
The best fans in the entire association

We could go on and on about #1, but let's take a second and appreciate #2.

<long second>

Especially before WE BELIEVE the Golden State Warriors have always had some of the smartest and savvy-est fans in the league. Loyalty would be an understatement.

Golden faces.

1 Dub. 1 Luv. is more like it.

Likable Young Players

There's plenty of reasons not to warm up to vets like Stephen Jackson and Monta Ellis.

But Stephen Curry, Anthony Morrow, and Anthony Randolph? That's a whole different animal. It's hard not to root for these guys.

The Anthony's plus a little masala is a-OK with me.

They're young, they're exciting, and the expectations might be a tad bit too high for them. But they'll be fun to watch and root for.

Expiring Contracts

I can't stress this one enough. If the Warriors actually use these chips intelligently they've got a shot at something nice, real nice.

The 2nd (soon to be 1st) Most Winningnest Coach in NBA History

More often than not the Warriors will have the coaching advantage on the sidelines. There is no other coach in the league that can do more with less- which is especially relevant here since the Warriors will have less more often than not this season. For all the drama that he brings for a variety of reasons (not all his fault), Nellie is a master hoops tactician and that can't be denied.

By the way if you're reading a Warriors preview or article on a national mainstream outlet and they routinely refer to CWebb-Nellie parallels, it's a BIG clue that they haven't done their homework and unfortunately know that sensationalism = more web clicks.

By the way if you see baseless and inane "FIRE NELLIE!" rants from a Warriors fan every time something goes wrong, it's a BIG clue that they didn't live through The Dirty Dozen: Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 either because they're too young or they didn't realize there was a basketball team in California other than the LA Lakers till the 2007 NBA Playoffs.

Nellie and Riley as the Shot Callers

When the Warriors unceremoniously dumped Chris Mullin to much (mostly unfounded) fan and media backlash, they promoted Nellie's buddy Larry Riley to the GM spot. Riley doesn't have the most distinguished resume based on his numerous NBA stops, but unlike the Warriors previous hire he actually has credentials and experience at all levels- coaching, scouting, and management. Unlike the Warriors previous hire, he actually sounds prepared at interviews and seems to have a vision.

It will be great to have a head coach and GM that are finally on the same page. You could tell Nellie wasn't exactly enamored with Mullin's player pickups and rightfully so (the Adonal Foyle- Troy Murphy- Mike Dunleavy front court?, Kosta Perovic? Marcus WIlliams?).

There's a great piece over at SFGate about new Warriors GM Larry Riley that's definitely worth the cost of a click.

Jim Barnett, Tim Roye, and The Razor and Mr. T

I wanted to take a quick second to highlight some folks who don't get much national media attention though they're quite golden. There's a lot of clowns working under Cohan's regime and in the local Bay Area media who we'll leave unnamed, but these guys are more than legit.

Jim Barnett of Barnett's Law Fame. Barnett is the Warriors color TV commentator and is old school smooth in every way imaginable.

Tim Roye of Elevation Sensation fame. Roye is the Warriors radio announcer and does an absolutely superb job despite having announced so much suck for well over a decade.

Ralph Barbieri of Amici's fame and Tom Tolbert of Run TMC fame. The Razor and Mr. T host the weekly Don Nelson Show on KNBR here in the Bay Area. If you've never heard Nellie's show with Ralph and Tom you're missing out.

Biggest Weaknesses

The Human Powered Turnover Machine

Barring no injuries and if Monta Ellis can make through the season without hopping on a "low-speed moped", it's a pretty safe bet that the Warriors will lead the league in turnovers. Monta Ellis, Stephen Jackson, Corey Maggette, Anthony Randolph will be the main culprits. Rookie Stephen Curry will probably add to the turnover totals considerably, but we will excuse the rookie.

We'll be using this picture quite a bit in our recaps this season.

Low Hoops IQ

Top to bottom this is one of the dumbest rosters in the league. It can be painful watching them struggle to throw the simplest inbounds pass. Part of that is being young, but most of that can be attributed to players who simply aren't that sharp on the court and off the court. We'll just leave it at that. We're not in the business of hurting the trade value of players on the home team- well at least today.

Immaturity

Media Day 2009 typifies the "Captain" Moped silliness. I'll pass the mic to my man DT from the mighty Fear the Beard: Hater Tuesday: Warriors media day special edition:

What the hell kind of team can't even get media day right? Show up, look happy to be a well-compensated professional, say some nice things to move some tickets, and go home. But no. Not our Dubs. They've got to make this into a public spectacle of dysfunction. And at the center of the storm? The team's two best players. First, you've got Captain Grinch telling us that, yes, he still wants out. Then you've got Monta telling us that, no, he doesn't think Nellie's backcourt plan will work. Great. Where do I sign up to give Chris Cohan that disproportionate share of my disposable income for my delusional "great time out?"

Don't you hate it when your "Captain" is running away from the mess he helped create?

It's very difficult rooting for these guys.

Goals

Playoffs?! PLAYOFFS?! You wanna talk about playoffs?

Actually it's really quite simple. There's really only 2 goals. It takes 2.

1. Fire Rowell

Simply put, Robert Rowell's ascension and solidification as a front office executive on a half billion dollar corporation defies reason. Our recent Q&A with San Jose Mercury columnist Tim Kawakami reaffirmed what we've know for years around these parts: No other NBA team would be dumb enough to have him as an executive:

But there is no support for him as a franchise-runner and everybody knows he's not good at handling people, despite the handful of loyalists who remain in the Warriors employ, There's definitely zero respect for the public front-office chicanery/zaniness of the last year or so.

In fact, I got calls from NBA execs wondering what Rowell was doing when he signed Jackson to the three-year extension, and got calls from the same guys laughing their butts off when Jackson made his public trade request. His dance with Nelson, also, is amusing to NBA folks who know Nelson well.

So no, I don't think Rowell would get a job in any high position in the NBA if Cohan would grant him free agency. Maybe he could be a marketing guy for a D-League team?

Marketing guy for a D-League team. No disrespect to the fine folks at Ridiculous Upside (where you can always find out who will be the next Warrior), but that's pretty hilarious.

Seriously can we get Thunder back already?

2. Chris Cohan Sells the Warriors

From the Archives:

SPECIAL REPORT: The man who owns the Warriors. Cohan's rocky reign. An era marked by lost games, lost fans and endless litigation [SFGate]
RUMOR: Warriors owner Chris Cohan "highly likely" to sell
Polling GSoM: Are you really that surprised that PR director Raymond Ridder and the Golden State Warriors got caught "astroturfing"? (5/23/09)
At the Press Conference: Write "Sell the Warriors" (8/29/06)
Missing Signatures (4/19/06)
Rise to the Occasion (3/17/06)
2005-2006 REPORT CARD: Chris Cohan and Robert Rowell (8/23/09)
BREAKING NEWS: Ice Cube Purchases the Warriors (4/1/06)
We Want Larry! (7/25/09)
San Jose SuperSonics in 2k8 (7/18/06)
NBA Draft 2006: Chris Cohan is happy the draft isn't in the Bay (6/28/07)
The Dirty Dozen - Part 1 of 3 (9/11/06)
IRS Stressing Warrior Owner Chris Cohan (5/19/09)
NBA Payroll Playpen and Cohanomics (11/30/07)
WARRIORSist (6/6/06)
RUMOR: Chris Cohan and Robert Rowell said no to Kevin Garnett because of additional salary and the luxury tax (5/16/09)
RUMOR: Chris Cohan IS INDEED interested in selling Warriors and was in negotiations with Larry Ellison

There really isn't much more to say that we haven't said already, but I will say this. Warriors fans Nirvana isn't winning a championship. It's living to see Cohan sell this team and ending his failed attempt to kill all interest in pro hoops in the Bay Area.

Maybe "Weekend at Cohan's" is better than 16 Years with Cohan?

We'll happily take a championship though.

Projected Finish- "Let's Get IF-y!"

Let's take it back to Computer Science 101 for all our many Silicon Valley readers out there and utilize the ominpotent If statement.

If the Warriors don't make any moves and stay healthy, they're headed for 34 wins and the 10th spot in the West.

If the Warriors continue their injury prone ways (which has a high likelihood with players like Corey Maggette), they're headed for 29 wins (again) and the 12th spot in the West.

If the Warriors cash in all their trade chips and bring in an All-Star caliber big man a la Amare Stoudemire before the season is lost, they're headed for 48 wins and a low playoff seed with a bright and exciting future ahead.

Don't Forget Who We Are

A lot of folks might not have had the "privilege" of following this team and fanbase before the mainstream sports media and even many local media outlets here in the Bay Area cared to pay attention. When it comes to suck, the Warriors having been doing it for years:

Ain't nothing new here!

We're used to it.

Is there another region of hoops junkies who rally around something like this?

"UNSTOPPABLE BABY!"

Golden State Warriors rookie Marc Jackson to the Mavericks' bench, after hitting a lay-up during a 29-point loss (2000)

This is who we are.

I remember 3 years ago (pre-WE BELIEVE, pre-bandwagoners, pre-most regular national and local media coverage of the Warriors, pre-everyone and their mamma starting a Warriors blog because they can type even though they're borderline illiterate) when we launched The W Column for FSN Bay Area (now Comcast Sports Net Bay Area). Each of the GSoM writers answered the essay question we posed for our contest America's Next Warriors fan: Why I love the Warriors even though they've missed the playoffs for 12 straight seasons. Here's what I wrote:

I'm a Golden State Warriors fan because I'm in a golden state of mind.

The Bay Area sports soul is fragmented in professional football (49ers and Raiders) and baseball (A's and Giants) as well as college athletics (Cal, Stanford, San Jose State, and Santa Clara University), but not in pro hoops. The Warriors are a unifying force in Bay Area sports. They represent the Bay and are a rallying point for all of us. Every time the Warriors win it's like throwing up a big W for the entire Bay. That's golden.

Almost every night out at the Arena and on the road the Warriors aren't supposed to win. It's that "shock the world" mentality that breathes life into Warriors Nation. That mentality ignites our interests even when the Warriors aren't within sniffing distance of the playoffs. It fuels our Bay Area hoops soul. That's golden.

It might sound silly that the Warriors officially play for "Golden State", but there's nothing silly about being in a golden state of mind. That my friends is truly golden.

(Make sure to read the rest of that piece for some more golden words from DJ Fuzzy Logic, Fantasy Junkie, YaoButtaMing, and Hash.)

Despite the constant dysfunction junction off 880 on Hegenberger Ave., for me persoally nothing has changed.

We might be waiting awhile here in the Bay Area, but we WILL shock the world again like we did back in the spring of 2007 with WE BELIEVE. Oh it might take another 12 year playoff drought. Oh it might take Nellie coming back a third time to coach the Warriors in 2020 in his 90's. Oh it might take another wacky and improbable run with the Warriors qualifying for the playoffs on the last day of the season. But it will happen. We WILL SHOCK THE WORLD AGAIN.

This is who we are.

**********

Other fine Warriors previews from our folks:

BDL's 2009-10 NBA Preview: Golden State Warriors [Ball Don't Lie]
Warriors could open 7-1, and I'm still predicting 34 wins: Month-by-month breakdown [Talking Points - San Jose Mercury]
FanHouse Preview: Warriors

**********

2009-2010 Golden State Warriors Preview

Anthony Morrow: Ammo + Chocolate Rain
Stephen Jackson: O Captain, My Captain
Speedy Claxton/ Devean George, Acie Law: Wouldn't Count on It
Brandan Wright: Injury Prone
Stephen Curry: Let There Be Hope
Monta Ellis: Back in the Saddle
Corey Maggette: The 6th Wonder of the Oracle
Anthony Randolph: Hope Beyond the Hype
C.J. Watson: Storm-a-brewin'?
Mikki Moore: Ronny Turiaf Sr.
Ronny Turiaf: Still Gettin' Hyphy
Andris Biedrins: The Forgotten Warrior
Kelenna Azubuike: The Price is Right

Golden State Warriors 2k9-2k10 Super Preview Blowout Special!

2009-2010 Around the Association

Introduction
Atlanta Hawks: Sorry, Mrs. Jackson. The Hawks are for real.
Boston Celtics: Sheed in Green + Another Answer
Charlotte Bobcats: They Do Exist
Chicago Bulls: Ring Around the Rose-y
Cleveland Cavaliers: Now or Never
Dallas Mavericks: The Curse of the Dampier
Denver Nuggets: If it ain't broke...
Detroit Pistons: The Return of the Bay Boys
Houston Rockets: Yao-ch!, that's gotta hurt
Indiana Pacers: A One Man Show
Los Angeles Clippers: Warriors South No More
Los Angeles Lakers: Big Brother, Little Brother
Memphis Grizzlies: Going Back to Vancouver
Miami Heat: Need to get the point
Milwaukee Bucks: Saving a few buck$
Minnesota Timberwolves: Donde esta Senor Rubio?
New Jersey Nets: The Year of the Yi
New Orleans Hornets: Two first names, one great point guard
New York Knicks: Is it summatime yet?
Oklahoma City Thunder: The X Factors
Orlando Magic: Are they Vinsane? You be the judge
Philadelphia 76ers: Are they (Elton) Brand New?
Phoenix Suns: Who knows?
Portland TrailBlazers: The Fire Keeps Burning
Sacramento Kings: It's all up from here
San Antonio Spurs: An Apple a Day...
Toronto Raptors: So International
Utah Jazz: Reset Button
Washington Wizards: Guess Who's Bizzack?
Rewind: We Got Art

Poll

How many games will the 2009-2010 Golden State Warriors win?

0-9 wins :: WE SERIOUSLY SUCK

25 votes

10-19 wins :: WE REALLY SUCK

24 votes

20-29 wins :: WE DEFINITELY SUCK

192 votes

30-39 wins :: WE SUCK

476 votes

40-49 wins :: PLAYOFFS?! WE WANT TO TALK ABOUT PLAYOFFS!

370 votes

50-59 wins :: SHOCK THE WORLD

66 votes

60-69 wins :: LEBRON JAMES IS COMING, RIGHT?

7 votes

70-81 wins :: MICHAEL JORDAN IS COMING, RIGHT?

7 votes

82 wins :: "UNSTOPPABLE BABY!"

133 votes

1300 votes | Poll has closed

Around the Association: 2009-2010 Washington Wizards- Guess Who's Bizzack?

Atma Brother ONE — Tue, 29 Sep 2009 10:45:18 -0000

The Washington Wizards aka Washington Bullets aka Washington Warriors are last, but not least!

Hibachi is Bizzack!

via www.bballcity.com

Jump from GSW to the nation's capitol like Chris Webber, Tim Legler, Larry Hughes, Gilbert Arenas, and Antawn Jamison!

AB1's Fav 5 Gilbert Arenas Clips on YouTube

5. Impossible is Nothing Addidas Commercial

How can you not admire this guy's resilience in the face of adversity?

4.Gilbert Arenas 60pts vs. LA Lakers

I forgot to give my friends in SoCal aka ShallowCal a hard time about this one when it happened, so here goes:

Taking a bow and thanking Laker fans after dropping 60 on them was classic.

3. Gilbert Arenas Game Winners

These are all pretty nuts and they happened in one season (06-07).

2. Gilbert Arenas Bounce Pass Alley Oop to Jason Richardson

Good times man.

via images.usatoday.com

Good times.

1. It Takes 5ive Addidas Commercial

This one's hilarious, yet powerful. Or is it the other way around?

"But you're not a fool... are you?"

The NBA is simply a better league with Gilbert Arenas around. This guy is wildly entertaining to watch and often makes very little sense. Here's what I mean. From the visual and literary masterpiece created by our friends over at FreeDarko:

[diagram from The Macrophenomenal Pro Basketball Almanac: Styles, Stats, and Stars in Today's Game]

I really hope he's healthy enough this upcoming season and beyond to continue his fun NBA career. Too bad Chris Cohan couldn't look him in the eye.

Gilbert Arenas

#0 / Guard / Washington Wizards

Height: 6-4

Weight: 215

Born: Jan 06, 1982

College: Arizona

			FG			3PT			FT			Rebounds			Misc
	G	M	M	A	Pct	M	A	Pct	M	A	Pct	Off	Def	Tot	Ast	TO	Stl	Blk	PF	PPG
2008 - Gilbert Arenas	2	31.0	3.0	11.5	26.1	1.0	3.5	28.6	6.0	8.0	75.0	0.5	4.0	4.5	10.0	0.5	0.0	0.5	2.0	13.0

Rewinding 2k8-2k9 Season

19-63 "good" for the 2nd worst record in the entire association bettering Sacrapmento by 2 games. With Arenas missing 80 games, Brendan Haywood missing 76 and Caron Butler missing 15, they do have a legitimate excuse however.

I'm not a fan of the Wizards firing Coach Eddie Jordan after their first 11 games. I don't know if he's going to like the initial 76ers roster that much, but Fast Eddie is a good coach. Jordan (Eddie not Michael) would be a fine replacement for Coach Don Nelson on the Warriors a year or two down the line. I wouldn't mind that at all.

Projecting 2k9-2k10 Season

44-38 with the chance of advancing to the 2nd round if seeded in the 4 or 5 slot

In the East there's the Boston Celtics, Cleveland Cavaliers, and Orlando Magic. Then there's the Atlanta Hawks, Miami Heat, and Washington Wizards. There's a pretty sizable gap between the East's tier 1 and tier 2, but that doesn't mean this can't be one very fun season at the Verizon Center (I guess MCI isn't doing so well).

Who knows maybe our old friends Arenas and Jamison can get a matchup against their foes the Cleveland Cavaliers at some point in the 2010 NBA Playoffs. My fingers are crossed. Re-live the rivalry courtesy of Wikipedia:

Rivalry with the Cleveland Cavaliers

In the 2006 NBA Playoffs, the Wizards matched up with LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers in a first-round matchup, in what would turn out to be the first of three consecutive postseason matchups, as well as James' first-ever playoff appearance. The series was considered to be one of the most evenly matched of all first-round series that year. After suffering a loss in Game 1, Washington came back to win Game 2 and steal home-court advantage heading back to Verizon Center for Game 3. However, Cleveland stole home-court advantage right back. Washington came back to tie the series at two apiece with a win in Game 4, but suffered two consecutive one-point overtime losses and thus were eliminated 4 games to 2.

The Wizards and Cavaliers met again in the 2007 NBA Playoffs, this time as a 2–7 matchup. The Wizards were swept 4–0 by Cleveland. Antawn Jamison averaged a team-high 32 points per game in the series.

In April 2008, Arenas made comments saying Cleveland was only a .500 team since a midseason blockbuster trade. After the conclusion of the 2007–08 regular season, the Wizards and Cavaliers were pitted against each other yet again in a 4–5 first-round matchup. Following a regular-season win on March 13th, guard DeShawn Stevenson made comments saying LeBron James was "overrated." James responded to the comment by saying that he would not return the insult, as that would be "almost like Jay-Z [responding to a negative comment] made by Soulja Boy."^[17] Soulja Boy made an appearance at Game 3 of the series (played in Washington) in support of the Wizards; his music was played over the PA system.^[18] Jay-Z, a close friend of James, got involved in the rivalry as well, making a song that trashed Stevenson. The day after Game 3, James reserved a private room at Love Nightclub in D.C. for himself and his teammates. Jay-Z's new song was played while Cavs guard Damon Jones made negative gestures about the Wizards. Unbeknownst to the Cavaliers, Wizards star Caron Butler and his wife were also present, and they stormed out of the nightclub. According to the ABC broadcast of Game 4, Butler and the Wizards have sworn never to visit that particular club again, despite often frequenting it in the past. After suffering a late-game loss in Game 4 at the hands of a Delonte West three-pointer, Washington won a nail-biting Game 5 in Cleveland to bring the series back to Washington for Game 6 of the series. Prior to Game 6, Darius Songaila, a reserve forward, was suspended for inadvertently tapping LeBron James in the face in the first quarter of Game 5, and without Songaila, the Wizards suffered a season-ending defeat to Cleveland, and lost the series 4–2.

In the 2008–09 season, the series was split 2–2, with the teams winning both of their respective home wins. In the first Wizards' win on January 4, LeBron James was called for a traveling violation, which he later described as a "crab-dribble." The Wizards went on to win that game 80–77. On April 2nd, the Wizards' starting lineup included of Gilbert Arenas and Brendan Haywood for the only time that entire season. The Wizards won the game, 109–101, snapping Cleveland's franchise-best 13-game winning streak.

Dating back to the start of the 2005–06 season, the Wizards and Cavaliers have played each other a combined 36 times (including preseason), far more than they have played any other team in the league.

That's some pretty entertaining stuff. If it weren't for DeShawn Stevenson (who?) talking smack about about LeBron, Soulja Boy would just be a one hit wonder.

Soulja Boy should drop an album like this in 2018.

via www.mp3ninja.com

Now at least he will forever be in the Wizards' wikipedia entry. I guess that's how they do the "Unstoppable Baby!"-ness over in the capitol.

Golden Predictions

Gilbert Arenas returns to form and drops 27 ppg, a few insane game winners, and some great quotes.
Our old friend named Antawn- not Antwan- drops another 20-10.
Caron Butler aka Tough Juice collects an impressive 20-6-4 nightly. Caron is the Washington Warriors version of Stephen Jackson (minus the trade demand and other drama).
Andray Blatche is a Warrior killer on Tuesday April 6th in DC. It IS a joke- 25 points (11-18 FG, 1-1 3pt, 2-2 FT), 12 rodmans, 5 dimes, 5 rejections, and 2 interceptions. Milk Carton: Andris Biedrins' defense.
Randy Foye proves to be a nice complement to Agent Zero in the Wizards' backcourt. Think the Timberwolves wish they just kept him instead of being embarrassed by Ricky Rubio?
3pt assassin and 921/0083">documented Warrior Killer Mike Miller gets out-dueled by Warrior sharpshooter Anthony Morrow in the 3pt %.
Sophomore Wiz 7-footer JaVale McGee (rookie per 36: 15.4 ppg, 9.3 rpg, 2.4 blk, 1.0 stl) has a better season than Warriors third year big man Brandan Wright (sophomore per 36: 16.9 ppg, 9.2 rpg, 1.9 blk, 1.2 stl).
Brendan Haywood solidifies the soft Wizards center with 9 ppg, 7 rpg, and 2.0 swats.
Nick James is a nice scoring and shooting 1st guard off the bench for the Wizards.
MIKE JAMES!!
Javaris Crittenton has about the same production as Marco Belinelli- not very good.
Fabricio Oberto misses the winning on the Spurs, but at least he doesn't have to fight falling asleep watching the Wizards on the bench like he did in San Antonio.
DeShawn Stevenson calls LeBron James "overpaid" and we call crack up.

Don't miss the retro-freshness our friends at Bullets Forever have for you 24/7!

2009-2010 Around the Association

Introduction

Atlanta Hawks: Sorry, Mrs. Jackson. The Hawks are for real.

Boston Celtics: Sheed in Green + Another Answer

Charlotte Bobcats: They Do Exist

Chicago Bulls: Ring Around the Rose-y

Cleveland Cavaliers: Now or Never

Dallas Mavericks: The Curse of the Dampier

Denver Nuggets: If it ain't broke...

Detroit Pistons: The Return of the Bay Boys

Houston Rockets: Yao-ch!, that's gotta hurt

Indiana Pacers: A One Man Show

Los Angeles Clippers: Warriors South No More

Los Angeles Lakers: Big Brother, Little Brother

Memphis Grizzlies: Going Back to Vancouver

Miami Heat: Need to get the point

Milwaukee Bucks: Saving a few buck$

Minnesota Timberwolves: Donde esta Senor Rubio?

New Jersey Nets: The Year of the Yi

New Orleans Hornets: Two first names, one great point guard

New York Knicks: Is it summatime yet?

Oklahoma City Thunder: The X Factors

Orlando Magic: Are they Vinsane? You be the judge

Philadelphia 76ers: Are they (Elton) Brand New?

Phoenix Suns: Who knows?

Portland TrailBlazers: The Fire Keeps Burning

Sacramento Kings: It's all up from here

San Antonio Spurs: An Apple a Day...

Toronto Raptors: So International

Utah Jazz: Reset Button

Washington Wizards

Rewind

Poll

How many games will Gilbert Arenas play in the 2009-2010 NBA regular season?

All 82- you're not a fool are you?

42 votes

71-81 games

71 votes

61-70 games

103 votes

51-60 games

75 votes

41-50 games

48 votes

Less than half the NBA season

109 votes

448 votes | Poll has closed

Good Lockin' Out?

Bent — Thu, 24 Sep 2009 11:43:35 -0000

More photos » by Elise Amendola - AP

Doc has an eye prescription for this ref.

Browse more photos »

This is a pivotal season for NBA referees. Having made it through the heavy scrutiny of last season, following the Tim Donaghy betting scandal revelations, the NBA is coming off a postseason in which never-before-seen levels of controversy drew the spotlight away from some otherwise compelling games and series. Every night, it seemed somebody new was in danger of being suspended, whether it be Rafer Alston slapping Eddie House upside the head or Rajon Rondo inadvertently catching Brad Miller in the face while swiping for the ball. Each decision to suspend or not suspend a player had a huge effect upon the next game.

The NBA obviously needs to sort out that situation so that everybody is clear, once and for all, what constitutes a flagrant 1, flagrant 2 or just an old-fashioned personal foul and what the relevant suspension should be. Postseason suspensions could be served during the following regular season, for example.

Perhaps more importantly, this is the year where the NBA is set to introduce more-relaxed traveling rules and how they handle that could make the NBA's most unstoppable players ever more unstoppable. Or, alternatively, could narrow the gap between those who used to get away with such violations anyway and the rest of the field. This could theoretically affect careers and define legacies. Can they afford to have replacements in place during this crucial transition period?

Last week, the NBA officially announced that they were going to lockout the referees, in light of their ongoing contract negotiations with the league. Referee training camp began on Sunday with replacement referees. Inevitably, this has fans, players, coaches and the media concerned about the standard of officiating in the upcoming season.

What can we expect to see from these replacement referees, which will be taken from a pool of D-League and WNBA officials? In particular, how is this likely to affect the Celtics? I decided to investigate further.

Reaction around the league to this has been mixed. Chris Paul isn't worried. Shaquille O'Neal supports the current NBA refs and says this needs to happen. Derek Fisher, on the other hand, says that not having NBA referees on the floor at the start of the season would be "unacceptable".

Doom mongers have pointed to the fact that officials were also locked out in 1995, which is widely remembered as a debacle and not without good reason. A shoving match between Dale Davis and Michael Smith that the replacement officials were unable to split up, escalated into a full scale brawl, which saw a then-record 16 Kings and Pacers players suspended. Chris Webber was injured in another fight. O'Neal himself was injured by Matt Geiger during a particularly physical preseason game and missed the start of the year. Finally, many people spoke out about the standard of officiating. Dennis Scott, by no means the sole dissenting voice, labeled the replacements "horrible" in an interview with the Orlando Sentinel.

In theory, it shouldn't be as bad this time though. They used to have just two officials back then, with no instant replay for three pointers or buzzer beaters. The small arc takes away a lot of ambiguity about charging fouls. Additionally, he replacement officials came from college ball and the CBA last time, so weren't "in the system" and used to refereeing to NBA rules.

I decided to go back and watch a few games from the time of the original lockout and I have to say that the officiating didn't seem all that bad. Of course it would have differed from crew to crew, but the number of protested calls by players, coaches and even Tommy Heinsohn were no higher than any other game, whether it be 1995 or 2008. With that said, there were a few things that stood out:

Apparently, they had just introduced stricter rules about disrespecting officials and being called for technical fouls. I don't know if this was done to counter the fact that the league was anticipating the players not having much respect for the replacements.
One of the games was refereed by a college crew, who called a few travels on the perimeter which, although correct, would never normally be called in an NBA game (although perhaps they should be.)
The CBA refs seemed a little better, although there were maybe more offensive foul calls on screens or down low and fewer what I would call "ticky-tack fouls". These are probably a closer representation of the replacement referees this time round than the college crews because they were used to dealing with pro players and NBA rules.
The TNT announcers made reference to a game in Chicago which did almost descend into farce because there were an inordinate number of three second violations. Again, these were probably the right calls, but usually overlooked in the NBA, although it is a non-call which was - and remains - one of Tommy's biggest bugbears.

So were these referees all that awful, or did they just call everything by the book and ignore the NBA's unwritten rules? This would explain why they drew the ire of a player like Scott.

Here's what I saw from Dennis Scott in one of the games I went back and watched, though: He backed down his man in the low post and was called for an offensive foul when he shoved his man off his spot with a forearm to the chest. It was probably a foul that nine times out of ten would not be called, but on this occasion, it was. His reaction? He disrespectfully fired the ball back at the official, hitting him in the shins as he signalled to the scorer's table.

Was a technical foul called, though? Nope. And did Scott get hit with that call again? Of course not. He continued to back down the smaller guards and went to the line for 6 shots, all of which he made en route to a game-high 30 points.

Clearly, although they weren't refereeing "the NBA way", the officials were still susceptible to being intimidated, which I would suggest is probably more down to human nature than any unwritten rules the NBA might have whispered to their referees.

Another example I saw was Dino Radja being called for a travel on a low post move, another thing that NBA players usually get away with (perhaps even moreso today.) However, when Charles Barkley made an identical move, there was no whistle, much to Tommy's chagrin. Intimidation factor again? Probably.

In 1995, the lockout was over within just over a month, although they may have fast-tracked their way to a solution in view of the bad press that was being received. If this season begins and the negotiations have yet to be resolved, what can we expect from our replacement refs?

As Celtics fans, you can't help but monitor these things closely. Bennett Salvatore seems to have an agenda against Paul Pierce. Bill Kennedy was fined after goading Doc Rivers into a technical foul. Kendrick Perkins and Rasheed Wallace are among the league leaders in being "T'd up". Then you have all the incidents from last year's postseason and the additional concern that some of their main rivals have players that receive suspected "preferential treatment" from officials.

There was even that hullabaloo after game two of the 2008 finals when people complained about the one-sided officiating and they were absolutely right. I still don't know how the Celtics only shot 28 more free throws than the Lakers on a night when they went to the hoop on almost every possession, but the Lakers kept jacking threes. It should have been 38.

That's before you even get into the last two minutes, where the officials (a) ignored Kobe bumping Paul Pierce on a lay-up, (b) allowed Kobe to score despite him hooking Pierce AND travelling on the same play, (c) ignored Derek Fisher bullying Pierce off the ball, (d) allowed Vladimir Radmanovic to shove James Posey off a loose ball and then take FIVE steps on a dunk shot and (e) called a ticky-tack foul on Pierce to send Kobe to the line. My point - and there is one, other than just blind homerism - is that refereeing is never easy because close to 50% of the people watching will think you got any close calls wrong. Add in the intimidation factor (so masterfully played by Phil Jackson after this particular example) and it's hard not to worry that replacement referees will find it hard in the NBA.

Many people have joked that, "It can't be any worse," and it is interesting to consider. If the main problems in 1995 were because the replacements called it by the book and didn't overlook certain violations, then it would be very interesting if that happened again this time. Very, very interesting.

If O'Neal is called for a charge every time he barrels a post-up defender out of the way, he's going to have to resort to beating them with speed, which could get very ugly.

If every time Dwyane Wade makes a jab step move in the lane, while on the move, without dribbling the ball, he gets called for a travel, that will affect his ability to get to the hoop and make him less dangerous.

If LeBron James gets called for a travel every time he comes off a pick at the top of the key and takes three steps before taking off for a big dunk - or if he decides to add another step to his now-legal "Crab Dribble" and starts calling it a "Lobster Dribble" or something, but the officials refuse to allow it, then he'll be calling the officiating "horrible" too. Maybe that's how it would be remembered in fifteen years, too, but the rest of us would find it a refreshing change.

With the NBA's star-making agenda and - while I would stop short of suggesting they would try and engineer this - the perceived benefits they seem to expect from a LeBron-Kobe finals matchup (personally, I would find this tedious beyond belief, but that's beside the point), I doubt this would ever happen, especially with the fact that the WNBA/D-League refs will take less time to "get with the program". In fact, with the still prevalent intimidation factor, it could actually go the other way, leading to even more "superstar calls".

However, if it did play out that the superstars were receiving fewers calls, I think many of us would actually be dreading the lockout resolution and a return to the old ways. The truth is, though, that this will soon be forgotten once the original referees return, whether that is before the season, one week into it or half way through. At that time we can expect the problems associated with the current officials to return too.

Orlando Magic News for September 19th: Dwight Howard's Quarter-By-Quarter Performance and More Takes on the Referee Lockout

Ben Q Rock — Sat, 19 Sep 2009 23:53:04 -0000

More photos » by David J. Phillip - AP

Browse more photos »

What to Expect From Dwight Howard, Quarter by Quarter

Jon Nichols continues his look at NBA stars' quarter-by-quarter offensive performance with this post on Dwight Howard. An excerpt:

In the first quarter, Howard ends up at the free throw line on only 23% of his possessions, but by the fourth quarter that number has nearly doubled. In fact, it is how he does most of his damage late in the game.
The NBA Has Locked Out It's Referees, and I'm Ecstatic!

Zorgon of the blog Blue Blitz, which covers the Oklahoma City Thunder for the Bloguin network, is happy about the impending referee lockout. His reasoning?

Fresh blood is exactly what NBA refereeing needs. The new referees won't have established "relationships" with players, so LeBron James will be treated the same as Kyle Weaver. Imagine how much more challenging it will be for superstars to go off on huge scoring nights when all of the calls don't go their way. Imagine how much harder it will be for teams like the Lakers to roll over teams like the Kings, because the refs will actually be taking the game seriously. Imagine a world where good defense in the post might be rewarded, rather than discouraged. None of this is guaranteed, but the prospect excites me. The true cream would rise to the top.

I can't say that I share Zorgon's optimism. In fact, "the true cream would rise to the top" counters his argument in favor of using replacement officials, since the current NBA referees have already risen to the top. It's unrealistic to expect minor-league referees, who had not yet done enough to distinguish themselves for an NBA promotion, to call games competently and fairly.
Fear the NBA Replacement Officials

Tim Povtak of NBA FanHouse agrees, citing these incidents with replacement referees in 1995 as evidence:

Chris Webber missed a month with an injured shoulder that he hurt during a fight with Luc Longley; the league suspended 16 players for their role in a fight that occurred during a Kings/Pacers game; David Robinson was ejected during a game in which 22 fouls were called in one quarter alone.

Players were fined a combined $202,500 in November of 1995. By comparison, player fines totaled only $147,000 for the entire 1994-95 season.
Shaq Backs NBA Refs in Contract Talk

Former Magic center Shaquille O'Neal hopes the officials and the NBA reach a resolution soon, as he learned firsthand during the 1995 referee lockout that replacement officials aren't up to par.

During a particularly physical exhibition game that season, O'Neal had his right thumb fractured when he was karate chopped by Matt Geiger before he went up for a dunk. It was the start of O'Neal's final season with the Magic. Geiger was playing for the Miami Heat.

O'Neal had surgery two days later, and he missed the first 22 games of that regular season.
SportsBusiness Journal: NBA Locks Out Referees

UPDATE (from Eddy): To further support Ben's concerns about replacement refs, written by Liz Mullen in SportsBusiness Journal (via The Baseline):

[National Basketball Referees Association executive director Lamell] McMorris said that players are concerned about the potential for increased injuries and increased fines if replacement officials are used. "The players know what replacement officials look like and they don't want to go there," he said.
With J.R. Smith Facing Suspension, Nuggets Pursue Flip Murray

Finally, Chris Tomasson reports that the Denver Nuggets have made former Magic guard Keith Bogans their second choice, after Ronald "Flip" Murray, to replace suspended sixth-man J.R. Smith.

Polling GSoM: Which forward should have a better career based on their first two seasons in the NBA?

Atma Brother ONE — Fri, 21 Aug 2009 16:07:28 -0000

These blind taste tests seem be at the very worst interesting to a lot of GSoMers, so let's try another one to pass by some of the dullest moments of the NBA offseason. Here's the stats per 36 of these two forwards' first two seasons with the Warriors with their personal highs bolded:

Forward A

Rookie Season: 14.5 ppg (55.4% FG, 67.5% FT), 9.5 rpg, 0.9 apg (1.2 tov), 2.1 blk, 0.6 stl
Sophomore Season: 16.9 ppg (52.8% FG, 74.1% FT), 8.2 rpg, 1.1 apg (1.2 tov), 1.9 blk, 1.2 stl

Forward B

Rookie Season: 17.0 ppg (52.4% FG, 81.0% FT), 8.0 rpg, 1.0 apg (2.7 tov), 1.0 blk, 0.5 stl
Sophomore Season: 19.9 ppg (53.0% FG, 79.5% FT), 10.2 rpg, 0.8 apg (2.9 tov), 1.8 blk, 0.4 stl

Vote in the poll and then make the jump!

*** Did you vote? ***

to vote!

------------

Forward A is Brandan Wright [Basketball Reference]

Lietuvos Rytas can't stop Brandan Wright- they can only hope to contain him!

Forward B is Ike Diogu [Basketball Reference]

Ike screams: "PLAY ME COACH!"

Check out At the Hive for the latest on Ike Diogu.

via www.everyjoe.com

Wouldn't you know Chris Mullin's 2005 bust sported superior scoring and rebounding per 36 in his first two seasons with the Warriors compared to the guy local Bay Area media and fans alike can't stop berating Nellie for not giving more playing time to?

Other red flags for BW:

Wright's rebounding rate dropped significantly from his first season (down from 9.5 to 8.2) while Diogu's made a nice jump (8.0 to 10.2). Now Diogu's second season with the Warriors lasted only 17 games, but that isn't much less than all the Marco Belinelli homers have extrapolated "greatness" from. In his first full season with the Pacers (still only 30 games) Diogu posted a 10.0/ 36 rebound rate so it's probably not a fluke. Diogu is a better rebounder than Wright.
Diogu is simply too slow for the NBA, but he came into the league with a far more advanced low post arsenal as a rook than Brandan Wright will probably ever have. That hasn't gotten Diogu much more than some serious pine time with 4 different teams in the NBA. With very little refined post moves and an incredibly raw offensive game, it's not looking good for Wright.
It's somewhat subjective, but Ike has the strength and build of a real deal NBA power forward. He might be on the shorter end of NBA 4's but he's listed at 6-8 250 pounds. Wright on the other hand is a "manorexic" (I only use this word since a friend called me this other day since I supposedly eat like a mouse) 6-9 205 pounds.
Wingspan Wingstop. Much is made about Wright's 7'3.75 wingspan. Guess what Diogu's is... 7'4.

On the plus side for BW:

Wright, who often looks very lost out there especially on defense, seems to foul a TON (3.4 fouls/ 36 as a rookie and 3.9 as a sophomore), but you haven't seen nothing since the One Minute Man till you look at Diogu's foul rate in his rookie and sophomore seasons (17 games) with the Warriors (5.7 fouls/ 36).
Chris Webber or Vlade Divac in the post dropping dimes Brandan Wright is not, but at least he doesn't turnover the rock at a horrendous rate. Diogu's assist : turnover rates are Zack Randolph bad. Wright's are passable (no pun intended).
Is age nothing but a number? Let's hope not because Wright entered the league after his freshman year at UNC, while Diogu entered after his junior year at Arizona State. Wright started off his NBA career at 20, while Diogu was 22. Youth is on Wright's side.

What do you read from this per 36 rookie and sophomore year comparison between Brandan Wright and Ike Diogu? Is Brandan Wright destined to be Ike Diogu Part II? Is the "plus side" enough to make up for the red flags?

Just for kicks check out John Hollinger's Trade analysis: Pacers may hit home run in long run [ESPN] circa the Warriors-Pacers trade at the end of 2006:

Nonetheless, it's shocking to see the Warriors include such a talented prospect as Diogu as a throw-in, especially considering a year earlier they wouldn't budge on putting him into a deal for Ron Artest.

It's not like including him was necessary to balance the scales. Going by 2006-07 PER, the three highest-rated players in this deal all went to Indiana. In fact, Murphy has outrated Harrington in four of the past five seasons (including this one). And while Jackson is preferable to Dunleavy on talent, he is a huge question mark in the chemistry department -- not to mention a guy who has to stand trial in Indianapolis in February.

So if you take Diogu and Powell out of the trade, this deal starts looking a lot more reasonable -- Golden State upgrades the backcourt a bit, gets a slight improvement in the cap situation, takes on a bad apple in the locker room and makes a slight downgrade from Murphy to Harrington. That seems fair.

But to throw in Diogu on top of it? That's absurd. Or it's genius, if you're looking at it from Indiana's perspective.

The other names are nice and all, but 10 years from now I have a feeling that we'll be looking back on this deal as the Ike Diogu trade. And if you're a Warriors fan, you probably won't be looking back fondly.

"The Ike Diogu trade". Still cracks me up.

Thoughts from people who actually watched Ike Diogu, Troy Murphy, and of course Mike Dunleavy when they played on the Warriors:

Public service memo to Warriors: Trade the non-shooting, non-defending, and non-improving top-something center and "power" forward who weighs less than the shooting guard they foolishly gave up for him for Amare Stoudemire, some goggles (Fear the Goggles!), and an apostrophe!

Can XMas please come early for Warrior fans this year?

via www.professional-humorist.com

Fear the Goggles:

See if you can convince our friends at Bright Side of the Sun to pull the trigger!

Poll

Which forward should have a better career based on their first two seasons in the NBA?

Forward A

377 votes

Forward B

1132 votes

1509 votes | Poll has closed

Fun Fact of the Day

dishingoutdimes — Wed, 29 Jul 2009 21:00:10 -0000

More photos » by Rick Bowmer - AP

Kevin Durant can score with the best of them. (AP Photo/Rick Bowmer)

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In the 3-Point Era in the NBA (1979-2009), only 26 players have had a Player Efficiency Rating of at least 20 with at least 2000 minutes played in their 2nd NBA season. Kevin Durant is among them. In terms of points scored in their 2nd season, Kevin Durant ranks 7th among this group of players.

Who are the other 25 players?

Shaquille O'Neal, LeBron James, Vince Carter, David Robinson, Mark Aguirre, Tim Hardaway, Dwayne Wade, Shareef Abdur-Rahim, Allen Iverson, Kevin Johnson, Grant Hill, Penny Hardaway, Charles Barkley, Hakeem Olajuwon, Steve Francis, Pau Gasol, Elton Brand, Yao Ming, Shawn Marion, Andre Miller, Alonzo Mourning, Carlos Boozer, Chris Paul, Chris Webber, and Andrei Kirilenko.

It appears as though Durant is in good company!

Durant is also only the 37th player in the shot clock era (1954-2009) to score over 1800 points in his 2nd NBA season, only the 17th player to do so in the 3-Point Era, and only the 11th player to do it since 1990 (basically the last two decades).

Morning Shootaround: Tweet Tweet, Bringing Back Big Ben, Reinsdoofus, and a Fun Fact

Packey — Sun, 26 Jul 2009 12:15:01 -0000

It's early Sunday morning and I figured I'd do a little shoot around the web to some links that I think are worthy of a read. After the Pistons' performance on Sundays last season, a Sunday morning shootaround never hurt anybody.

Let's kick things off with a little Twitter talk. I'm not going to lie, Twitter is blowing up. You should sign up and follow me if you're not already on it. If the thought of following me is not enticing enough, then I should have you know that some of your new Pistons are big time twitterers. Charlie Villanueva (CV31), DaJuan Summers (dsummers35), and Austin Daye (Adaye5) all love to tweet and sometimes answer questions from the fans. If anything, it's a great way to get to know the new faces of Pistons basketball. Follow them now.

Speaking of Twitter, Charlie Villanueva's opinion of the Brian Hill coaching acquisition gives fans a positive idea of how he feels about Detroit's newest assistant coach:

BTW: I heard Nets asst coach Brian Hill is leaving the team to join us in Motown. I like Coach Hill, he's a straight-shooter. This is GREAT!

The next move for the Pistons could very well be signing a big man under a veterans minimum contract. The speculation that's picking up momentum is that Detroit is going to bring back Ben Wallace. Detroit4lyfe writer, Jack Pinellas thinks it's a good idea to reunite Detroit with Big Ben.

Life on Dumars admits Big Ben will be back, probably. However, he doesn't like it one bit. I can't say I disagree with him as I've definitely let my feelings be known when the rumor first surfaced, but I will admit that I'm warming to the idea of it.

On Friday night before the second game of the Tigers double-header, Pistons guard, Rodney Stuckey threw out the ceremonial first pitch. Stuckey bragged he was a baseball star before giving up the sport for basketball. That being said, apparently he was booed when his pitch landed short of the mitt.

As you all know, Joe Dumars turned down the Celtics latest trade offer which involved Big Baby Glen Davis for Jason Maxiell. Dan Feldman over at Piston Powered has the many reasons Detroit rejected the trade for Davis.

Sometime last week, the Bulls chairman Jerry Reinsdorf mentioned in an interview with the Chicago Sun-Times that new Pistons shooting guard Ben Gordon did not fit in with the Bulls and would not have played that much:

Now, fast forward to the end of the year, we have [John] Salmons and we have a hell of a three-guard rotation with [Kirk] Hinrich and Derrick [Rose]. Ben wasn't going to get a whole lot of playing time. [It] was going to be diminished. So Ben really no longer fit.

PC move, but am I really expected to believe that the Hinrich maneuver is a better option than BG? Let's get real, Jerry.

Chris Webber is, nonchalantly, picking the All-Time team for every NBA squad. He recently chose the Pistons:

(H/T Pistons Nation)

Natalie Sitto of Need4Sheed scored an interview with Will Bynum. If you want to get to know Bynumite better, then she has a great one-on-one with some great photo shopped pictures included, as always.

Detroit Bad Boys popular post, "Reasons to Get Drunk and Surly Tonight" has a fun/weird fact about three of your Pistons players: three have scored at least 48 points in an NBA game.

If you have any inquiries, tips, or links you want to share, please email me.

Orlando Magic News for July 9th: Otis Smith Making And Mulling Moves; A Look At Data Samples

erivera7 — Thu, 09 Jul 2009 16:17:20 -0000

Magic sit tight as free agents cash in around the NBA
Brian Schmitz provides the latest information on whether or not general manager Otis Smith will decide to match Marcin Gortat's offer sheet from the Dallas Mavericks. He has seven days to decide.

Because Gortat is a restricted free agent, the Magic can match the Mavs' mid-level offer and will have seven days to do so.

Smith has said he won't pay that much to employ a backup center. He will wait and use Gortat's deal as leverage with other free agents. The Magic could threaten to retain Gortat, whose contract would severely drain the small pool of luxury-taxed money they have available for players.

The Magic could match and trade Gortat to receive compensation this season. They would have to wait 90 days from the start of the season to deal him -- hoping that he stays healthy until December -- but that doesn't appear to be on Smith's agenda.

"It's doable," Smith said. "But right now I'm still thinking the other way [not to match]."
Hedo Turkoglu, Orando Magic, trade exception
Here's the update on what the Orlando Magic will do with the trade exception it acquired as a result of a four-team, multi-player sign-and-trade.

The Magic likely will use the exception during the season. They are not expected to use it in potential sign-and-trades for free agents because they would have to trade a player in the deal and they have only eight on their current roster.
Nichols and Dime: How the Shooting Abilities of Point Guards Affect Offenses
Jon Nichols of Hardwood Paroxysm runs an excellent data sample to examine whether or not a point guard's ability to shoot the three is a key skill. Nichols provides a chart, and states his opinion after looking at the results.

It appears as though the ability of your team’s point guard to shoot the three well is very important. Overall, the difference is more than three points per 100 possessions. Similarly, if your point guard struggles with his outside shot, your offense will struggle.
Two words: Jameer Nelson.
The Not-So-Instant Impact of 1st Overall Picks
Neil Paine of Basketball-Reference takes a historical look at how the #1 pick in the lottery era fared vs. the top players from the year before over the following 3 seasons. For Magic fans, take note of Shaquille O'Neal, Chris Webber, and Dwight Howard. The results are interesting but not surprising.

As fans, we like to think holding the #1 pick in the draft is the key to an instant turnaround, pointing to examples like the Spurs in ‘98 with Tim Duncan, the Cavs with LeBron James, and even the Magic last year with Dwight Howard. However, recent history shows that if given the choice between a proven veteran and a talented rookie for the next 3 years, the vet will give you better production, and it’s not really a close contest. 67% of the time during the lottery era, you’d actually be better off with a veteran who had ranked between #26 & #30 in the league the previous season than you would with the #1 overall pick over the next 3 years. Only in the case of a select few first picks (LeBron James, Tim Duncan, Chris Webber, Shaquille O’Neal) would it have been a good idea to trade their first 3 seasons straight-up for the next 3 seasons of a player who ranked between 6-10 the year before, and for zero #1 picks would it have been advisable to trade a Top-5 talent from the prior season.
Four-way trade puts Dallas Mavericks back in West's elite
UPDATE: John Hollinger of ESPN.com chimes in on Orlando's trade.
Looking at the 2009 free-agent class
UPDATE 2: Chad Ford of ESPN.com lists the top free agents available.