SB Nation - Tyrus Thomas

Eric Maynor and Matt Harpring Traded to Oklahoma City

Basketball John — Wed, 23 Dec 2009 00:09:10 -0000

More photos » by Donna McWilliam - AP

Matt Hapring, or at least his contract, is gone. Ronnie P will take over as backup PG.

The Jazz on Tuesday traded 2009 first-round draft pick Eric Maynor plus Matt Harpring's rights to Oklahoma City in exchange for the rights to Peter Fehse, a forward from Germany who was a second-round pick of the Sonics in 2002.

With only 12 players on the roster, the Jazz will be forced to make an additional move to reach the league minimum of 13.

Is something else on the horizon? Bigger news coming? Is this the first domino? There has to be something else happening.

Ronnie Price will take over as the backup point guard. Given that Sloan loves to have 3 PG and Price's recent injury history, do they have something else in place to bring in another PG?

OKC already has 15 players on their roster including 4 PGs with one out. ~~Are they going to be cutting people~~? Looks like they cut Livingston and Wilks. Thanks Sherbs

I can't see them giving away Maynor like this without expecting some other deal to happen. Sloan loves to have his three PGs. Also, given Price's injuries the past couple of seasons, we need some insurance. And like Siler mentioned, they're going to have to add someone.

My guess is that they don't want to bring on more money, so there could be a 2 for 1 or 3 for 2 trade coming shortly. My immediate thought was a Boozer for Hinrich and Thomas swap given that the Jazz need another PG (although very expensive) and the Bulls need a shakeup right now. If the trade fails for the Bulls, then at the worst they lose Booze's contract next season and they become big players in the FA market. Maybe the Jazz move Hinrich to the two at times and pair him with Deron?

Losing Maynor though kind of hurts because he's a solid player and could be a good PG in the league. He would have been one of the last players I thought would be traded. I guess he's free of his pink backpack now.

I don't know though. Just throwing that out there.

More coming...

NBA Eastern Conference: Taking Stock

tenaciousT — Fri, 18 Dec 2009 00:04:32 -0000

NBA –arama

After making my preseason predictions, I said I'd check how things were going from time to time. It's time. Let's take a look around the east, see what’s going on, and fess up to a few big misses. A number of predictions are on target...so far. Preseason predictions are in parentheses followed by current record

Atlantic Division

Boston Celtics (63-19) - 20-4
Thought they were going gently into their assisted living facilities, eh? Tut tut, my skeptical friends. The ‘assisted living’ comes courtesy of one Rajon Rondo, point guard extraordinaire. Rondo plays one gear higher than the rest of his starting unit.

11 game win streak says they are rounding into shape after starting strong, stumbling, then slowly righting the ship. The only major surprise was/is the lack of 48 minute intensity, and rebounding woes. They still look like one of the best teams in the NBA to challenge the Lakers. Back with a vengeance? They are back. Vengeance comes later.

Toronto (35-47) - 11-17
International crisis or communication breakdown?
Some expected more, but they are about where I expected and for the same reason – defense. Bargnani is part of the dilemma. He is a skilled big, but not an interior presence. With a domestic vs. international player rift surfacing recently, the Raps played their best defensive game of the season afterwards. Hedo’s not fitting in like they hoped…yet.

Jose Calderon has disappointed so far in what was supposed to be his big year. The rebuilt roster should be better later in the season, but aren’t built for prolonged defense. They are giving up 103.5 over their last 5 games, which 5 points better than before.

New York (31-51) - 8-16
After a 3-14 start, the ‘D’Antonies’ are 5-2 in their last 7 games. Another team without interior defense. They looked under every rock for a bona fide PG but the right one – the draft. Biggest current embarrassment is choosing Jordan Hill over Brandon Jennings in the draft. This was going to be a learning year anyway, right? Ty Lawson, Darren Collison, Eric Maynor, Jeff Teague were also still out there. Any of those better than Chris Duhon? Maybe some are already.

D’Antoni, frankly, has disappointed as well. I’ll confess, I thought Darko Milicic was a good risk for a team starved for bigs that block shots and play defense. Go figure. Jordan Hill may end up being a good player some day, too. Winning started by benching Nate Robinson. Coincidence? Sharp shooter Gallinari continues to impress, adds some board work.

76ers (41-41) – 6-19
Okay, this is one that’s not going as I thought it would. Oye.
Injuries are only part of the problem. Is Brand a lesser player now? Or is he just on the wrong team? Maybe it’s all bad karma for Elton leaving a good situation in Clipperland. (Yes, I did just say that.) Louis Williams (injured), Marreese Speights, and Thaddeus Young give hope for the future. It’s so bad that Iverson is back. Yeah, I know.

New Jersey (26-56) – 2-24
Say no more. Accident on the Jersey Turnpike. Tie up for miles, but not for years. No, they are not this bad. Bad luck continues with Yi Jianlian getting 50 stitches (yes 50) in his mouth courtesy of a Sean Williams elbow in a recent practice. The sooner this team can exit the swamp the better. Still, Brook Lopez will become an even better player if this season doesn’t kill him first. Devin Harris, Courtney Lee, Chris Douglas-Roberts are all good young talent.

Central Division

Cleveland (58-24) – 19-7
They are much better after starting 0-2 and 3-3. Not dominating like last season, but still a force. Shaq shooting a career low 49%, though they are now winning with him. Most lopsided team scoring distribution I have ever seen for a top team. Only three players in double digits and one of them is Shaq at 10.8 per.

Second best FG% defense and 4th best points allowed means they are still dangerous and in the hunt. Though Shaq is mostly a sideways or backwards move, if they get to the finals he helps against Lakers’ frontline. Shaq can’t slow down an already very slow team…can he? I feared this team more last year. Stop LeBron and you stop the Cavs. Am I wrong?

Stat of note: Cavs lead league in points in paint defense (34.1)

Milwaukee (35-47) – 11-12
Early season surprise coming back to earth lately. Many thought I had them too high. But Skiles always seems to get players to overachieve for a few years, until his tough guy ways get tired. Brandon Jennings makes a big splash with 55 point game but is tailing off since then. Still, he is the real deal and will figure things out.

Bucks are first in shot attempts and dead last in free throw attempts, which pretty much goes hand in hand. No one on this team gets to the line, except Jennings and Hakim Warrick.

Side Note: Toronto is known as the international team. But even they can’t compete with Milwaukee. Current starters are from 5 different countries: Turkey, Argentina, Australia, Cameroon, and U.S. Positively cosmopolitan for a city Shlitz beer made famous.

Detroit (36-46) - 11-14
I guess they are a bit better than I thought. Will this last? Even with key players injured, they put together a recent 5 game winning streak. They are still working a new system with a new coach. Loss of Tayshaun Prince hurts, Gordon is playing hurt, and Rip Hamilton is still in and out.

Still, the biggest surprise is the renaissance of "I’m retiring" Ben Wallace. Back up to 30 minutes and 10 rebounds a game, he can still defend, too. Detroit is 2nd best in points in paint defense. Can he do it all year and where is his help?

Pistons have the 3rd best total rebounding and 3rd best offensive rebounding differential in the league. Rodney Stuckey’s career year (19.3 pts) is offset by lower shooting %. He should stop taking three pointers altogether (21.4%)

Indiana (30-52) – 9-14
Danny Granger’s team is without Danny Granger for a while. With mediocre stats everywhere, just what do they do better than most NBA teams? Foul. They are 3rd in league with 2.2 foul differential.

Mike Dunleavy returns to a system that uses him to his best advantage and not a minute too soon. If the Pacers win 36 games, and that’s possible, that means O’Brien would have coached three straight 36-46 records here. Hey I have to find something interesting, don’t I? T.J. Ford is underwhelming again.

How are they doing attracting more fans? The past three years they went from 30th to 28th to 27th this season in attendance. They are a team with more integrity, but a few more wins wouldn’t hurt, would it?

Chicago (41-41) - 8-15 No one expected this meltdown. The loss of Ben Gordon’s 4th quarter points, Tyrus Thomas’ injury, Kirk Hinrich playing hurt, John Salmons’ underachieving season are all contributors, but all are secondary to Derrick Rose’s lack of noticeable improvement.

The chant for Vinny Del Negro’s head grows louder and I’m not against it. But I’d ask…who hired a rookie head coach for this team in the first place? That is where the blame should lie. Del Negro did reasonably well last season, but the wheels are falling off the wagon now.

Deng is playing well and Joakim Noah is continuing his rise up the food chain, but it’s nowhere near enough. I am fast becoming a Joakim Noah fan. Plays with passion, toughness, and heart.

Southeast Division

Orlando (60-22) -19-6
Fools go where wise men fear to tread – the paint against the Magic. They are crazy deep and probably Boston’s biggest problem in the East. Jameer Nelson returns soon and that’s not good news for opponents. Right now they are better offensively (5th rated) but worse defensively (9th rated) than last season, while giving up 2.2 more points.

This is a great situation for Vince Carter, who is playing 5 minutes less, but leads the team in scoring (19), while still hoisting up 17 shots per and will be a solid 4th quarter option for the Magic.

D. Howard is getting one less block a game, but shooting a career high in FG% (63.4%) While they probably over paid a bit for Mickael Pietrus ($5.3 mil), he continues to be a valuable piece to this team. Ryan Andersen has quietly been a nice addition. Marcin Gortat – the unhappy multi-millionaire.

Atlanta (48-34) - 18-6
This team is playing even better than I thought….and I thought this would be a good team. Woodson said the next thing is to learn how to win on the road. The Hawks are 7-4 so far this season and that is a huge step forward. Three of those road wins were against very tough home teams - Dallas, Boston and Portland.

For a team that could lose their leader (Joe Johnson) and their coach next season, they are moving from pretender to contender. Their youthful exuberance could make up for whatever they are missing. Al Horford and Josh Smith are unique young players and Mike Bibby and Joe Johnson provide the veteran leadership. They are pasting the lesser teams and are 3rd in the league in average winning margin at +8.4 points. Just behind the Celtics and Lakers. Hmm…

Miami (38-44) – 12-11
Dwayne Wade is to this team what LeBron is to the Cavs. Probably more so. Jermaine O’Neal is actually playing pretty well, but is a shell of his earlier self. We knew going in that the Heat go as Wade goes. Michael Beasley is improving and Haslem is solid.

They stretched the Lakers to a (lucky) Kobe Bryant banked buzzer beating 3 pointer over Wade’s outstretched hand. That probably defines their season as well as anything. With $50 million coming off the books in 2010, this team (hopefully) gets a complete rebuild. With a player option for $17 million, whether Wade stays or not remains to be seen.

Charlotte (33-49) - 10-14
Solid defensive team (2nd in points allowed) that has trouble scoring (27th). Deliberate offense (pace: 28th in NBA) helps keep opponents’ numbers down. 5-5 over the last ten, they added controversial, but multi-talented Stephen Jackson. It gives the team a focal point (and… gulp…leader) Larry Brown has great experience handling prima donna players and Raymond Felton is playing better since Jackson’s arrival.

Gerald Wallace, the last original Bobcat, was plucked from deep on Sacramento’s bench. Time to test him for HRH (Human Rebound Hormone). He has gone crazy boarding, up from 7.8 last season to 12.2 this year. I’d like to know the last time an established player made that kind of jump. He continues to ply his game for a team going nowhere.

Talented DJ Augustine has perplexingly gone backwards this season. Tyson Chandler, who could have been an earlier version of Joakim Noah, is showing how much Chris Paul helped his game.

But we forget just how bad this team was before Larry Brown arrived.

Washington (41-41) - 7-16
In preseason I wrote…. "everyone’s favorite ‘move up’ team." What I didn’t write was that it would take some doing to keep all these scorers happy with shots and minutes. Unfortunately, that appears to be the case. And things aren’t getting better. They are on a 6 game losing streak as I write this.

I never saw a happier, more hopeful team in the losers’ locker room than the one that ended its season against the Celtics last year. They all knew a much better year was coming. They had their version of a big three returning. But ubuntu doesn’t live here. Tragic because there is a lot of talent here. Flip Saunders has to sort this out, but I’m not sure where he starts.

I’ll end by (again) making my pitch for an unsung role player buried on the Wizards bench. Dominic McGuire would make a great (and cheap) Celtic.

There you have it. I apparently thought way too much of the Sixers. Comments welcome on all teams.

McGraw: One-win weekend bought VDN some time

your friendly BullsBlogger — Sun, 13 Dec 2009 18:15:01 -0000

The man to trust:

A few days ago, I suggested that this weekend would help determine the future of Bulls coach Vinny Del Negro.

Well, the win over Golden State surely bought him some time. If the Bulls lost both of those games, I wouldn’t have been surprised if a change was made.

But like I also mentioned before, management wants to give Del Negro a fair chance to work through this rough stretch. Ideally that would happen with a full roster, but doctors want Tyrus Thomas to take another week to 10 days to make sure his broken left arm heals completely before returning to the court. So he may not be back until after Christmas for a Dec. 26 home date against New Orleans.

Thomas is so anxious to play right now, it would be interesting to see what kind of boost he could give the team. After hosting the Lakers on Tuesday, the Bulls play six of the next seven games against losing teams with five of those at home.

Yes, whenever predicting Bulls behavior, always err on the side of 'glacially-paced decision making'. They probably couldn't get the triumvirate in a room together to decide whether VDN should be fired, let alone the plan for the rest of the season. I don't quite get how a flukey victory (as OT games are that) over the Warriors changes the team's opinion of VDN, but then again I didn't see the game.

Though I felt all along this bad stretch that the talk of the Bulls 'quitting' on VDN was a bit overblown. They're a poorly-assembled and poorly-coached roster, but I don't think effort is what's lacking. What is happening is that they go into a game with effort, then fall behind, and then quit. They likely know as much as us that they can't overcome big deficits with a league-worst offense (even with 'sparkplug' Jannero Pargo? I know!).

He should be fired because he's yet to improve as a coach, not because this losing is much different than most. The team probably will get some wins against the upcoming softer schedule, but I would've preferred that it was coincided with a new-coach-bump, as every future VDN game seems like a waste of time.

McGraw also mentions that the talk of the Bulls looking into Lawrence Frank is bogus.

Tip-In: Toronto Raptors Post Game Report - Beating the Beatable

Raptors HQ - Vicious D — Sun, 06 Dec 2009 12:30:12 -0000

More photos » by Jim Prisching - AP

It was the kind of night where Jarrett Jack could spend time at the top of the arc to tie his shoe while in the middle of the game and in possession of the ball.

Browse more photos »

Back-to-back solid efforts have led to back-to-back wins for the Toronto Raptors as they continue to work on the defensive side of the court. Two games into their new-found commitment, Vicious D takes a look at where the tangible changes are.

Are you impressed?

The Raptors beat the Chicago Bulls yesterday 110-78 in what could be called a rout from the first quarter to the end. Against a team that was missing a few key people in Kirk Hinrich and Tyrus Thomas, the Raptors put up some impressive defensive numbers for once and even managed to keep a team under 90 pts for only the second time this year (the first being a win against the hapless Clippers). For three of four quarters, the Raptors held the Bulls to 20 points or below and managed to run up the score thanks to their hot offense.

One of the greatest surprises of the night was how DeMar DeRozan put together another strong performance. As I remarked about in the Washinton game, it seems as though DeRozan's limiters have come off. He's attacking the basket in the way we all expected him to thanks to his tweets, and he continues to impress on both ends of the floor. From taking it to the rack multiple times for dunks or fouls to drawing the charge, DeRozan was a momentum establisher throughout the game. Of course Bosh had his usual strong night but this time he had help from Belinelli, Wright, and Nesterovic as well. However I felt that it was DeRozan who was particularly impressive with another recent night of unmitigated aggression.

For the second night, I witnessed the Raptors providing aggressive help when needed, while other players would rotate to cover lost defensive assignments. For yet another night, I found the Raptors closing down the paint to make a bad shooting club try and make shots in order to get back in the game. And yet again, for another night, Jay Triano used his full club to try and get short but hard working minutes from his starters and bench.

However, the game was won on the inside as the Raptors relentlessly attacked the Bulls in the interior. By trying to get on the inside, Toronto got to the offensive glass more as their players were in position to at least try for a rebound. Chris Bosh set the stage with seven offensive rebounds, but the Raptors as a whole out rebounded Chicago on the offensive glass by seven. With the Raptors shooting a very respectable 48% for the game, the rebounding numbers were even more impressive. In several sequences, the Raptors managed to capture multiple offensive rebounds on one possession; something I've seldom seen in the past two years.

In fact, I'd say the Bulls were looking positively Raptors-esque at times.

Which is why while I'm extremely happy that the Dinos sustained their commitment and nailed down their offense in the second game of their back-to-back, I am still waiting to watch this team get challenged yet again. This kind of win against a beatable team is one that the Raptors needed, but more importantly shouldn't lose because it would damage their psyche. They pulled in the right effort to get themselves the blowout win and put down a team that was struggling. However Toronto had had the Bulls' number for several seasons now. Derrick Rose has always had some trouble with Jose Calderon and last night was no different. Calderon finished the game playing only 18 minutes thanks to a tweak in his leg but had very comparable numbers to Rose.

And if you're also wondering why the Raptors managed to grab 21 more rebounds than the Bulls, all you had to do was look at Joakim Noah who was in foul trouble all game before getting ejected in the second half, and Tyrus Thomas couldn't even play because he was out with an injury.

So for now, Toronto has beaten two teams that they hope to finish above in the standings. These are teams that are beatable. No, it's not right that we expect the Raptors to beat these teams, but they have to expect it of themselves. They have to step on these kinds of teams if they hope to make a serious push for a good playoff position. It's against these teams that the Raps need to establish their momentum. They need to build it so that when they go up against the tougher teams of the league, and afterward, hopefully will be brimming with confidence that they can make the defensive stop when needed, or make the right decision to take it to the inside, or communicate properly so that rotations still happen even in the face of vocal crowds.

And to think, all it took was one meeting.

If only meetings were always that productive in everyday life...

Rumor: Knicks in the market for Tyrus Thomas?

Seth — Fri, 04 Dec 2009 04:21:48 -0000

More photos » by Nam Y. Huh - AP

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This sort of came out of the blue, but Adrian Wojnarowski's a reputable fellow. From Yahoo Sports, Woj's most recent piece focuses on the Bulls' options to ditch Tyrus Thomas. Sure enough, the Knicks are mentioned.

Several sources believe the Bulls are agreeable to a package of Thomas and Jerome James for Knicks forward Al Harrington. Thus far, Walsh has resisted parting with Harrington, but discussions are still active and the teams have explored different combinations in recent days that would ultimately deliver Thomas to the Knicks.

"Nothing is imminent, but both sides would like to figure out a way to do this," one league executive briefed on the talks told Yahoo! Sports.

The Bulls are determined to shed more salary-cap space for the summer of 2010, and believe Harrington’s ability to score coupled with a $10.2 million expiring contract make this a worthy exchange. Knicks coach Mike D’Antoni has long been fond of Thomas, a 6-foot-9 forward whose nimbleness and athleticism makes him an intriguing fit for New York.

Forgive me for getting caught up in the fine print, but...Jerome James!?

As for the actual meat of the deal...I just don't know. Harrington's an expiring contract and Thomas is, I believe, a restricted free agent this summer. If the Knicks were to trade for him then let him walk, it could be a wash financially, though it's hard to see the logic of making such a move unless you're actually interested in keeping the incoming player. As far as actual output, Harrington's tendency to swallow the rock on offense has had P&T up in arms all season. Thomas is more athletic and capable of blocking a shot now and then, which is something we've been missing. Very interesting. Does this sparkle with all you crazy kids? Tyrus has always struck me as someone either love or hate, although I've never really felt that strongly one way or the other about him.

In closing...Jerome James!?

Update: I forgot to mention that Thomas is a few weeks away from returning from a fractured arm. Also, adding two more players with last names that end in "S" might make me rip the apostrophe key off my computer.

The Lobster Roll: Issue 2

indeedproceed — Mon, 30 Nov 2009 20:33:19 -0000

Well the first week of D-League play is over, and the Red Claws made it out a solid .500, going 1 and 1. They're still obviously ironing out the kinks within the rotation, and trying to work Bill Walker into a starting spot of the rotation. Their roster seems to be coming along though, and DraftExpress has them ranked 8 out of 16 in their inaugeral D-League Power Rankings. For a full recap of the Red Claws' week, check out this fanpost by Celticsblog user JFoss.

Now that they've got some games under their belt, it's time we took a real deep look at what the Red Claws are working with. Prepare to embark on the promised FULL ON ROSTER PREVIEW EXTRAVAGANZA!!!

The Red Claws' roster, like most basketball teams, should be separated into tiers to be evaluated honestly. There is the 'Top Tier', usually consisting of two or three players. These would be the 'stars', and the guys who play the majority of the minutes and do most of the heavy lifting. Then, there are the remainder of the starters and the first guys off the bench. Finally there is the bottom layer, the guys who get sporadic playing time and are usually called on for specific roles (3pt shooting situations for instance).

A D-league team is like that, except with one very important difference. D-League teams need to play the guys who are assigned by their pro affiliates, regardless of chemistry or even sometimes how it affects wins. Usually the pro players do pretty well, but it is assumed that even if they do no, they will still receive playing time.

Note: This is not like the NBA where players have contracts with specific teams. In the D-League your contract is with the league. There are five ways a guy can get on the Red Claws.

One, he can be allocated by the league to a team that plays in an area where he has a vested interest, like Will Blalock, a Boston native.

Two, he could tryout like Mike Williams from Bryant College.

Three, he could've been drafted by the Red Claws in the yearly D-League draft, like Syracuse Junior Paul Harris was in this years' draft first round.

Four, he could be drafted in this past years' Expansion Draft only for new expansion teams like the Red Claws, like Billy Thomas was.

Finally, but most importantly, a player can be assigned to the D-League by the teams' affiliate team, as was Boston's Bill Walker. The Red Claws' other affiliate is the Charlotte Bobcats.

With that in mind, your Maine Red Claws!

Tier 1: The Big Dogs: Billy Thomas, Will Blalock, Darnell Lazare, Paul Harris

Tier 2: Heavy Rotation: Noel Felix, Tony Bobbitt, Anthony Terrell, Stanley Thomas, Abdulai Jalloh

Tier 3: The Rest of the Roster: Gary Ervin, Mike Williams

Tier ?: The Assigned Players, Future and Present: Bill Walker, Lester Hudson and JR Giddens

Tier 1: The Top Dogs

Billy Thomas

AGE	HEIGHT	WEIGHT	POSITION	D-LEAGUE DRAFT	PPG	RPG	APG
33	6'5	220	SG	EXPANSION SELECTION**	16.1*	3.4*	3.7*

* D-League Stats

50-Word-Bio

Attended Kansas and played under Roy Williams. Set school record for made 3’s. Went undrafted in 1998. Has played for fourteen teams in ten different league on four different continents. Has played sporadically in NBA. Couldn't play overseas in 2009 because of dispute with FIBA, alleges Serbian team stopped paying him.

Anticipated Role:

Thomas has a rep for having a very well rounded game, being a great locker room guy and being a professional. He's not a sharp shooter but he's got range. He's not a top tier play maker but he makes smart passes. He's not a defensive ace but he plays solid mostly mistake free defense. He's an all around good player in any league, and in the D-League he's an All-Star. The downside is he's 33 (soon to be 34 by the end of December), and he takes a lot of pride in being a professional. Think 'Crash' Davis in Bull Durham. He ought to be the leader from day one.

Will Blalock

AGE	HEIGHT	WEIGHT	POSITION	D-LEAGUE DRAFT	PPG	RPG	APG
26	205	6'1	PG	ALLOCATION	12.5*	2.8*	5.3

*stats are from 2007/2008 in NBA D-League, Blalock played 08/09 for Hapoel Jerusalem, but managed only 10 games.

50-Word-Bio:

Boston, MA native, played for Iowa. Drafted second round by Detroit Pistons and managed 14 games in 2006/2007 before being waived for lack of roster spot. Considered to have potential to be NBA player, but not the current skill. Regularly invited to summer teams and NBA camps, but can't seem to stick.

Anticipated Role:

He'll get the majority of the point guard minutes unless Lester Hudson or another NBA player gets assigned to the team, as his only competition is Abdulai Jalloh, a D-League rookie. Blalock still has enough people excited about him to keep getting invites to camps, but as far as prototypical point guards go, he's lacking a lot of the skillset. Defensively he's got the body to contribute in the NBA but his passing and long range shot have both been knocks on him since his days at Iowa, and he's done little in the last two years to rectify that. (Austin) Ainge has said however that this team will play defense first, so while Blalock probably won't dominate the boxscore very much, he will probably see a lot of time. One of the knocks on Blalock during his last stint in the D-League were that he needed to be a better on the court leader and be more assertive. If he can mange to improve there he should look to join Billy Thomas as a veteran presence in the locker room.

Darnell Lazare

AGE	HEIGHT	WEIGHT	POSITIONS	D-LEAGUE DRAFT	PPG	RPG	APG
24	6'8	240	PF/SF	Rd 2 Pk 9	13.9*	5.8*	1.2*

*stats from Ukrainian Super League

50-Word-Bio:

Played on the LSU team BBD and Tyrus Thomas took to the final four in 2006. Played all four years of college career, graduating in 2007. Undrafted in NBA, spent 07/08 with Gothia Basketball, Sweden, then 08/09 with Dnipro Dnepropetrovsk, Ukrainian Superleague, playing a significant role on both teams.

Anticipated Role:

Unknown. This is a player that Austin Ainge or Jon Jennings must have really liked, and it was not because of his college career. Whatever secrets they know, he played well in the preseason game scoring 19 points and grabbing 8 boards in about 35 minutes in a starting effort from power forward. The rest of his season won't be so cozy however, because with Billy Walker needing minutes, and 1st round (in the D-League Draft) pick Paul Harris soon coming back from injury, it will probably be Lazare who misses out, as neither Walker or Harris will likely steal minutes from Blaylock or Thomas, so Walker will probably be bumped down to the power forward position. Regardless though Lazare has proven he's a valuable scorer and active overall player.

Paul Harris

AGE	HEIGHT	WEIGHT	POSITIONS	D-League Draft	PPG	RPG	APG
23	6'5	225	SG,SF,PF	Rd 1 Pk 9	12.0*	8.1*	2.2*

*College stats

50-Word-Bio:

Buffalo native, played until Junior season for SU. Surprisingly went undrafted this spring despite what was by many accounts a very strong series of workouts, an exceptional Junior season, and an NBA ready body. Possesses a 6'10 wingspan. Played Summer League for T-Wolves and invited to camp with Utah Jazz.

Anticipated Role:

Hard to gauge. He's still recovering from a knee injury right now, but when healthy he should see significant playing time off the bat. Because of his tweener size, he's the type of guy that is kind of built for the D-League, but will have to prove he has a bigger skillset to get a more permanent invite to the NBA. He's listed at 6'6 but that's wishful thinking. He's 6'5, or more likely 6'4. The knock on Harris since his freshmen year is that he can't shoot, and when he gets to dribbling he tries to do too much with the basketball. This isn't a professional diagnoses, but you might call it "Ron Artest Syndrome". From the beginning though he has all the tools right now to be a heck of a stopper and a finisher. He may suffer from turnover-itis at first, but he should be a stat filler right away, posting high marks in rebounding, steals, blocks, and with his literally freak athleticism he should be able to grab 12-15 ppg.

The problem of course for Mr. Harris is the unstoppable Mr. Walker. Bill Walker is 6'6, Paul Harris is 6'5 (ish). They would both be amazing 6'9 power forwards. They're both skill deficient small forwards, and Paul Harris is in an especially tight spot, because in socks he looks like a great point guard with big arms. He'll be competing directly with Bill Walker for minutes for as long as Bill Walker or JR Giddens for that matter are on the Red Claws. That's a losing battle for the hungry Harris.

Tier 2: Heavy Rotation

Noel Felix

AGE	HEIGHT	WEIGHT	POSITION	D-LEAGUE DRAFT	PPG	RPG	APG
28	6'9	245	PF/C	EXPANSION	13.2*	6.6*	1.2*

*D-League

25-Word-Bio:

Fresno State alum. Undrafted. Been to the big leagues, but has also played in Europe. Usually gets invited to a camp, but usually doesn't stay.

Anticipated Role:

Felix's strengths on this team are his size (there is 1 other guy taller than 6'8 on the team, and he got 11 mins in the 1st preseason game), and his athleticism. The problem is that he only has those things working for him as a player. He's shown littler improvement over the last few years and the biggest thing pro scouts are looking for from him is the ability to hang in the post. In the D-League a guy of his size and raw athletic talent should be getting more than 6 rebounds per game. Felix was a DNP the first game and I don't anticipate him starting, but this team is thin on height and thin on actual NBA experience so he'll find a significant role.

Tony Bobbitt

AGE	HEIGHT	WEIGHT	POSITIONS	D-LEAGUE DRAFT	PPG	RPG	APG
30	6'4	205	SG	Rd 7 Pk 8	13.1*	2.3*	2.4*

*Career NBDL stats

25-Word-Bio:

Graduated Cincinnati University after playing 2 years for Southern Idaho. Played brief stint with the Lakers, then with the Lakers minor league team. Played overseas.

Anticipated Role:

He's principally a scorer off the bench, and Billy Thomas's main sub. He's also probably going to play the main role of sniper for the squad, and just as an example out of 11 total 3pt shot attempts for the Red Claws in their preseason game, Bobbitt took 6. Expect that kind of aggressive attitude whenever his hands touch the ball.

Anthony Terrell

AGE	HEIGHT	WEIGHT	POSITION	D-LEAGUE DRAFT	PPG	RPG	APG
28	6'6	230	PF	Rd 6 Pk 9	.6.0*	3.9*	.6*

*06/07 stats

25-Word-Bio:

Went to school at UNC Wilmington. 80 games w/60+ starts. Never averaged above 9ppg after high school. Played in USBL, ABA, NBDL. No NBA experience.

Anticipated Role:

A bruiser down low. Obviously not going to log much time at any position outside of 4/5. Should have significant role however, because there aren't many physical guys on the roster. Height would be a problem in the NBA but as long as he's working hard, shouldn't be a problem here. Not going to wow much with stats but he'll throw his body around.

Stanley Thomas

AGE	HEIGHT	WEIGHT	POSITION	D-LEAGUE DRAFT	PPG	RPG	APG
29	6'5	205	SF,PF	TRYOUTS	20.6*	5.8*	1.8*

*ABA stats

25-Word-Bio:

2 years at Texas Tech, then 2 years at Robert Morris. Former ABA team, "Chicago Throwbacks," played in Attack Athletics building, same building managed by MRC's AC Mike Procopio.

Anticipated Role:

Will see nights where he gets 9 mins per game and nights where he gets 25 mins per game. If Bill Walker sticks around the D-League, won't see a huge uptick in mins, but if Walker is called up and JR Giddens does not get demoted to take his place, Thomas could even be a starter at the SF. Natural scorer, but with bulk should be taking it to the hoop more than he does. Won't be asked to take many 3's but has the range. Played for the Chicago Throwbacks last season the in ABA, where he had to do everything for the team. This season will be asked to do more but if he wants to see his minutes increase needs to really up his consistency.

Abdulai Jalloh

AGE	HEIGHT	WEIGHT	POSITION	D-LEAGUE DRAFT	PPG*	RPG*	APG*
23	6'2	190	PG/SG	TRYOUT	15.5	5.5	2.9

*Junior season at James Madison University

25-Word-Bio:

Made the team on a tryout basis despite missing almost all of senior season at JMU with torn rotator cuff. Spent first 2 yrs of college at St. Joe's

Anticipated Role:

Both Billy Thomas and Tony Bobbitt CAN play the point, but that does not mean either SHOULD. Abdulai Jalloh looks to be the guy to fill the void at the backup point, but he's not exactly traditional either. In college he was one of those "SG's in a PG's body". He's a scorer, a defender, and a rebounder, but I don't think he's that much of a distributor. For now he's got the support of the coaching staff, logging 23 minutes per game over the first 2 regular season games, and unless Lester Hudson gets reassigned (which he has said he is not ready to do), Jalloh should keep logging those high rotation minutes.

The Rest of the Roster:

Gary Ervin

AGE	HEIGHT	WEIGHT	POSITION	D-LEAGUE DRAFT	PPG*	RPG*	APG*
26	5'10	183	PG	Rd 4 Pk 9	8.2	2.3	2.7

*D-League last season

10-Word-Bio:

Graduated from Arkansas 2008. Previoulsy played at Miss State University.

Anticipated Role:

Looks like he's the low man on the totem poll for the backup point minutes, and another case of buyer's remorse for the Maine Red Claws. Of the 8 players selected in the D-League Draft, the Red Claws have kept only 5, cutting their 3rd, 5th, and 8th round picks. Ervin was selected in the 4th round, but appears already behind Abdulai Jalloh on the depth chart, and he was only a tryout. He's not a great passer, and he's undersized as a defender. He can score proficiently and he can probably manage the ball in the D-League without too many turnover, but he's far from a traditional point. His minutes should probably hover around 5-10 per game, no matter who is brought on. He's not a realistic NBA player at this point, and with his size (listed optimistically at 5'10) he'll need to really revolutionize his game to get a look at for a call up.

Mike Williams

AGE	HEIGHT	WEIGHT	POSITION	D-LEAGUE DRAFT	PPG*	RPG*	APG*
27	6'11	245	C	TRYOUT	5.2	9.1	UK

*ABA Stats

10-Word-Bio:

Bryant College, played overseas and in ABA. Holds record for blocks at Bryant.

Anticipated Role:

He's the tallest guy on the team at 6'11, but if the early season has been any indication, that will only get you so far with Austin Ainge. Ainge cut Tyrell Blair, a 6'11 center the team also had, and this is a team that is severely short on height. Williams should get around 10 mins per game if only by sheer lack of competition on the depth chart, but he'll offer a solid weakside shotblocker in the paint and he also should be getting his share of boards while on the floor.

Tier "?": The Assigned Players, Future and Present

Ah, the ringers. The pros. The guys who are actually getting paid. As I've said before, the D-League is a different game. It's not always so much about team, as it is about developing yourself as a player. In that vein, the guys the Celtics and Bobcats choose to assign down to the D-League are always going to play ahead of the actual D-Leaguers, regardless of who is the better actual player.

There are 7 players between the Celtics and the Bobcats that could theoretically be assigned to the D-League. Those players are Bill Walker (already there), JR Giddens, Lester Hudson, for the Celtics, and Gerald Henderson, Derrick Brown, DJ Augustine, and Alexis Ajinca for the Bobcats.

Of those 7 guys, Gerald Henderson and DJ Augustine are probably scratches on D-League time, as they both have established roles with significant playing time on the Bobcats.

The Red Claws are currently carrying 11 contracted players, plus Bill Walker. The team saves 2 roster spots per pro team affiliate, so the Celtics can assign one more player and the Bobcats can assign 2.

If you've made it this far, you've read about 2000 words about guys you don't know, so I won't waste your time telling you about the guys you do. Click for breakdowns of the games of Bill Walker (ESPN), JR Giddens (ESPN), Lester Hudson (Draft Express), Alexis Ajinca (ESPN), and Derrick Brown (Draft Express)

The remaining players most likely to be assigned (in your humble bloggers opinion) are JR Giddens for the Celtics and Ajinca and Brown for the Bobcats. Once a player is assigned, they are thrown right into the fire. Bill Walker was assigned on a Sunday and was starting on a Monday, and has started every game since. He's currently averaging 22 points and almost 10 rebounds per game.

Giddens has already proved himself a D-League All-Star, starting 23 games last season for the Utah Flash, and just absolutely filling the stat sheet. If Walker is still on the team when he is assigned, he'll take minutes from Billy Thomas and Tony Bobbitt.

Ajinca, who is by most accounts can be considered a real NBA player in much the same way that Kool-Aid can be considered a 'juice drink', has also shown some promise in the D-League, getting about 12 pts, 7 boards, and 2 blocks per game in 11 games played last season. He'll take all of Mike Williams's minutes and eat into Anthony Terrell's time as well.

If Derrick Brown is assigned to the Red Claws, he'll send Darnell Lazare to the bench. He actually duplicates a lot of Lazare's skill, and he's one guy I could see really flourishing in the D-League.

So when I watch, what do I watch for?

Well, as Celtics fans, first and foremost watch Bill Walker. He's quickly becoming one of the more polarizing Celtics players, but you'll see why he has such a devoted amount of groupies (yours included) on the site very quickly. Beyond that though, there are still plently of things about the D-League that should endear it to the common but discerning basketball fan.

D-League games are messy, and it's not just because of the quality of play. Also, the players (not assigned by a NBA team) in the D-League are signed to yearly contracts, so each season they log they're only getting paid between $15,000 and $25,000 (2007 numbers, probably slightly higher now). They're not playing for the big bucks, they're playing because they want if not a call up from a NBA team, at least a camp invite next summer. Becaue of that when a guy is on the floor, he's trying to make stuff happen. You can't be satisfied being Bruce Bowen or James Posey in the D-League. You have to prove you have a skill a better (and better paying) team will value.

So watch to see what guys like Darnell Lazare and Will Blalock are doing with the time they spend on the floor. They're younger guys who still have to improve their games to get on with a pro club. Watch other guys like Stanley Thomas or Anthony Terrell, who are trying to prove maybe not to NBA teams but to overseas teams that they are worth a lucarative contract. Watch seasoned vets like Tony Bobbitt and Billy Thomas. They're not trying to prove they have the skills, they're trying to prove they STILL have the skills, and that at a moment's notice they're ready for a 10 day contract to be the 9th or 10th guy in a rotation, with no rust. There is drama to be had, you just have to know what you're looking at.

References:

Stats provided from NBA.com, and CREZ Basketball

Images obtained from Maine Red Claws team page

No need to panic: everything is going according to the Bulls plan

your friendly BullsBlogger — Mon, 30 Nov 2009 00:21:02 -0000

As I said after the Bulls loss in Utah, it does matter that the Bulls are getting blown out on this road trip in addition to merely losing. It matters in that it follows that this Bulls team is not likely to perform up to a .500 record the rest of the way at this current level.

But even with Thomas and Hinrich's absence bringing this team's performance down to far below average, their record is still 6-8, and the games they've lost so far on the trip were games they wouldn't have been favored in preseason anyway. At least if you figured they'd be at or near 41-41 at the end of this season and tempered the game-by-game expectations accordingly.

They may sign a fringe player at guard to a nonguaranteed deal if Hinrich's out for an extended period, but with little room under the tax they likely can't even give a prorated vet minimum as it'd completely close their options later in the year if another signing is necessary. It's a testament to poor planning and cap mismanagement on the Bulls part that they assembled such nonexistent-to-poor depth, as D-Leaguers could likely give the Bulls more than what Hunter/Gray/Pargo currently provide, and at half the cost. The fact that they're counting on spots 10-13 on the roster means that the season already hasn't worked out for the best, but it doesn't mean you throw away guaranteed money, especially with such a tight budget going into the offseason. It similarly makes any trades very difficult to complete.

But while depth has become a real issue, and though they are boring to watch (and really hard to blog about), the Bulls aren't in a dire situation. Not yet. The early part of every Bulls season is always the toughest, and then they surge towards mediocrity and an early playoff exit. With more games against their eastern peers (and the Nets) as well as Tyrus Thomas returning, it will likely happen again this year. There may be cries here for an Iverson (or anyone) signing to help 'save' this season, but there's nothing to save. A meaningful season was punted on July 1st, and the narrative surrounding the Bulls is acknowledging more by the loss that they may have been just blowing smoke when saying they'd make a step up this season due to...I don't know, 'ball movement' or something.

The idea that a full season of Salmons ('fluke rule') and Miller ('old and out of shape rule') would make a big difference has proven false. Hinrich was supposed to be a better complement to Rose (he can't be if the skills he provides are overshadowed by general suckage) and Rose himself was to be an All-Star now that nobody would be getting in his way on offense (wha?). The defense certainly looks ordinary again after a fast start, and that was one realistic hope for actual improvement.

But team improvement wasn't necessary in this grand franchise plan. In fact, the plan is not really a plan at all: it's to be lucky. The Bulls may be positioning (and not there yet, depending on some cap variables) to acquire a max free-agent, and it'll be tough for me to call it an achievement of the team if they're able to pull it off: it'll mostly just be a fortunate occurrence.

And if you look throughout NBA history for how teams become championship contenders, a lot of it is indeed luck. The Bulls already had more than their share given their improbable lottery victory two summers ago. But now, though seeing improvement from Noah and a bounce-back year from Deng is a big help, they need another massive stroke of luck to be relevant again. Whether they get that or not, it stinks that it's not only what the franchise could use, but what they're absolutely banking on. Their front office is certainly not making their way back to the top by being good at their jobs.

It's all in the jumper (well, almost) for Andray Blatche

Mike Prada — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 00:16:56 -0000

More photos » by Nick Wass - AP

Browse more photos »

In the spirit of reminding everyone that we're not even one-tenth of the way through the season, let's talk about the one major bright spot of the first eight games -- Andray Blatche.

Blatche has arguably been the Wizards' best player thus far this season. (This is where your jaw drops and you gasp. Do it for effect, please). He has the highest PER and the highest Roland Rating (which is 82games' statistical formula that takes into account individual numbers as well as the team's performance when he's on the court as opposed to being on the bench) on the team. He's also been among the most consistent players, which may be an even greater sign that he's coming along.

How come Blatche is surging statistically? It must be better rebounding, right? Well ... no; his rebound rate this season is actually lower than it was last season. Better passing? No, his assist rate is basically the same. Fewer turnovers? Okay, okay, that's actually a big part of his improvement -- his turnover percentage is just 11.6% this year as compared to 14.3% last year. But it's not nearly as significant as ...

(Dun Dun Dun)

... Blatche's improved jump-shooting.

Earlier this summer, we talked about how much better Blatche would be if he just stopped attempting so many jumpers. Why? Blatche was simply dreadful at shooting them last year. His eFG% on jump shots last year was 35.6%, the type of mark you see from guys like Rajon Rondo and Tyrus Thomas. That he posted a league-average PER while posting such a poor percentage on jumpers is actually kind of remarkable.

The theory at the time was that Blatche should get inside more and shoot fewer jumpers, because he stunk so much shooting from the perimeter last year. Jumpers constituted 57% of Blatche's shots last year, which is about 30 percent too high for someone who shoots that poorly. He would have provided much better production, the theory stated, if he played more to his strengths on offense.

Well, fast-forward one year later, and Blatche's jump-shooting has completely transformed. Blatche has an eFG% of 50% on jump shots in the first eight games, and amazingly enough, he's actually shooting more jumpers this year than last year (63% of his shots are Js). His improved jump-shooting proficiency has vaulted his true shooting percentage all the way up 57.4%, as opposed to his mediocre 50.8% mark last season.

How do you explain this? I see two reasons that go hand-in-hand. The first explanation is quite simple -- Blatche worked his butt off on his jumper this summer. Granted, Seven-Day Dray worked his butt off on everything this past summer, but he has continually singled out jump-shooting as an area of emphasis. The far more detailed explanation, however, lies in the type of jumpers he's taking. We all have the typical Blatche possession where he dribbles five times and launches an awful shot in our heads because, well, that's what happened so much last year. Only 44% of Blatche's jump shots last year were assisted, and when you're constantly shooting off the dribble, your percentage suffers unless you're an incredibly unique player like Jamal Crawford. This season, 63% of Blatche's jumpers are assisted, because Blatche is catching and shooting confidently instead of trying to create something on his own. No wonder his percentages ae up.

Now, the reason I say these two reasons go hand-in-hand is because confidence plays a huge role here. It's just hard to tell which way. Blatche is making much quicker decisions when he gets the ball, opting to let it fly when he's open much more often than in the past. Why is this happening? Clearly, Blatche has developed a good rhythm from practicing the shot all the time, and trusting that rhythm in the heat of the moment comes from having confidence in your shot. On the other hand, confidence also comes into play when he's hitting the shot early on. It's possible Blatche found that, when he set his feet, squared his shoulders and just shot it rather than trying to create something off the dribble, he was actually a pretty damn good shooter already. He just needed to see that ball go through the hoop to gain the necessary confidence. It's a classic chicken or the egg phenomenon.

Regardless, as long as Blatche continues to play and shoot this confidently, he's going to be an incredible asset coming off the bench relieving Antawn Jamison. We talked about how Jamison's injury was Blatche's opportunity to shine, and that's exactly what he's done.

3 In the Key - Toronto Raptors Game Day Preview vs. Chicago

RaptorsHQ - Howland — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 11:00:23 -0000

by Tony Dejak - AP

What does Shawn Rogers have to do with the Raptors? Well he is a good example of anchoring a defense. (AP Photo/Tony Dejak)

View full size photo »

After a brutal and highly criticized loss to a shorthanded Spurs team, the Raps come back to the (friendly?) ACC for a match-up against the Chicago Bulls before once again packing their bags for the West Coast.

Can the Raptors secure a win against the Chicago Bulls?

After the debaucle in San Antonio is there not a more fitting time for the league to release the 2009-2010 All-Star Ballot? I mean after the loss to the Spurs don't you just want to grab as many voting cards as you can and send all four of Andrea Bargnani, Chris Bosh, Hedo Turkoglu and Jose Calderon to the All-Star game?!

Ok, so it is a little too early to think about All-Star selections, but it is true that the Ballot has been released and there are four current Raptors listed.

It's also true that if the team continues to play like they did Monday night that no-one outside of CB4 will have even the slightest chance of making the trip to Dallas to play in Sunday's game.

But let's leave the All-Star talk for later this season and leave Monday's disappointing effort behind and focus on the game at hand.

In fact, if I was Coach Triano that is the exact message I would be relaying to the players prior to tonight's game. There is, after all, at least defensively, no-where to go but up. It would almost be unfathomable for the Raps to give up more points then they have over the past two games. (If you were counting at home they have given up 260 points in the past two contests.)

Working in the Raptors favor is that Chicago might be one of the best opponents in the league for a team hoping to hold its opponent to less than...100 points.

After seven games the Bulls offence has only scored on average, 88.6 points per game. That puts them second last, just ahead of the Charlotte Bobcats. This is not a team built to win games by simply outscoring its opponent, but a team that likes to use the shot clock and get good looks at the hoop.

This approach has worked thus far mostly because their offensive style of play has been complemented by some solid defense. So far this season, the Bulls have only allowed one opponent to score over 100 points and over the past four games (3-1, the only loss coming last night to the Nuggets when a buzzer beater by Miller was denied) they have held their opponents to just under 87 points per game. Now that's some good defense.

Also working in the Raps favor tonight is that the Bulls, are not a strong 3 point shooting team. As a team their 3 point shooting percentage is below 25% (4-18 last night) and their best three-point shooter percentage wise is Luol Deng...but he has only taken four shots from beyond the arc all year. If the Raps intend to collapse the paint to prevent the likes of Derrick Rose, John Salmons and Kirk Hinrich from attacking the rim at will, the stats would indicate that this the team to do it against.

Of course these are NBA shooters and if you give them wide open looks time and time again eventually you will get burned.

It will be interesting to see how the Raps respond in tonight's match-up as their current mini-slide could easily turn into a full-blown slump considering their next opponents (Clippers, Suns, Nuggets, Jazz). If there is one game where a W is more likely than not, it is probably the one at home facing a team playing the second half of a back-to-back.

Of course if the team continues to have defensive woes don't expect the ACC crowd to sit idle. If the Raps show little effort I am sure the Boo-birds will be out in full force. If this were to happen I don't think I would have issue with it.

And here are tonight's three keys to the game.

Setting the tempo: Two teams with two completely different styles. The Raps can score and allow their opponents to score. The Bulls are the polar opposite. The team that dictates the tempo of the game for the greatest period of time should win. That might be over simplifying it but if the Raps can't keep a high tempo then the Bulls will grind them down. The Bulls may not be the most exciting team to watch but they are getting the job done, even without Tyrus Thomas and a slow starting Rose.

The Three Ball: The mantra for the 2009-2010 Raptors should really be "Live by the three, die by the three." If the Raps shooters are hot the Bulls won't have an answer. If the Raps shoot like they did in New Orleans or against Detroit you have to like their chances as the Bulls simply don't have the offensive firepower to keep up. If the shots don't drop then what are the Raps to do? I would suggest defend but....

Defence: For the foreseeable future defense will inevitably be one of the three keys. In any shape or form the Raptors have to show they at least have a pulse on the defensive end. Without it they have no chance of living up to the expectations of many.

In this match-up the thing to watch is Derrick Rose against Jose Calderon and Jarrett Jack. The Raptors PG's have to slow him down and keep him from dominating. If they can't I would suggest Triano have Hedo run the point but stick Sonny Weems on Rose. Weems might be the only guy on the Raps roster with the quicks to put up some resistance.

This is a winnable game, but if the Raps fail to secure the W at least all those in attendance will have had the opportunity to thank Chuck Swirsky for all his work while with the team.

That's one positive...right?

To get the Bulls side of the story visit Blog a Bull.

Game 8 Preview & Thread: Nuggets at Bulls (6pm MDT)

Nate Timmons — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 20:14:32 -0000

Nuggets Nation has been anxiously awaiting the arrival of J.R. Smith (or Earl as he now wants to be called) for the 2009-10 season ... well, the wait is over. Smith will see his first action tonight in Chicago after serving his seven-game suspension to start the season. Smith's return couldn't come at a better time, as he'll provide Denver with some fresh legs off the bench.

Last season Denver went into Chicago, faced a depleted Bulls team (their major trade deadline deal kept their new additions out of uniform) with only eight active players, and lost 116-99. In fact, the Bulls starting five that night (Luol Deng, Tyrus Thomas, Joakim Noah, Ben Gordan and Derrick Rose) outscored the entire Nuggets team 103-99.

But that was last season and I don't really correlate past success being all of too relevant in professional sports with the ever changing landscape and all.

Also, who here is sick of me doing all the previews and recaps? Maybe someone should start a "We want Andrew back" FanPost! Ha ha joking, but seriously ... he'll be back as usual very soon - so you wont have to keep putting up with just my view!

Let's break this game down!

Records:
Denver: 5-2
Chicago: 4-2 (key wins: vs. San Antonio, at Cleveland)
Injuries:
Denver: Kenyon Martin - probable (left fibula contusion)
Chicago: Aaron Gray (left fibula fracture), Jerome James (right Achilles) and Tyrus Thomas (left radius fracture) are all out tonight.

Point Guard: Chauncey Billups vs. Derrick Rose
This is going to be a tough matchup for Billups as the one thing an aging point guard has issues with are the young quick guys coming into their own. The 21-year-old Rose is lightening quick and Billups will have a tough time staying in front of him. Rose's minutes are down quite a bit from his averages last season (roughly from 37 mpg to 30 mpg this season), but when he's on the floor he will cause Denver problems if he's driving the ball and getting out in transition. On the flip side ... Billups is a strong guard who will take advantage of every weakness in Rose's game. The way the two are playing right now ... advantage even.

Shooting Guard: Joey Graham/Arron Afflalo vs. John Salmons
Our first big question mark ... who will Karl start tonight and how much will they play? Salmons is a scorer and has great size for the shooting guard spot, but his game has been off this season as he's only shooting 34% from the field and averaging 13.8 points per game (down from 18.3 ppg last season). Graham and Afflalo both matchup well with Salmons if they stay committed on the defensive end and Afflalo has been stepping up his offensive game now that he's growing more comfortable in the Denver offense. Karl stated in the Denver Post that he wants to get Smith minutes "in the low 20s" tonight so I'll be interested to see how much burn Graham and Double-A get. Advantage: Even.

Small Forward: Carmelo Anthony vs. Luol Deng
The injury plagued Deng, who only appeared in 49 games last season, is having a nice bounce-back season averaging 16.7 points and 10 rebounds in roughly 37 minutes per game. Deng leads the low-scoring (88.5 ppg) Bulls in ... scoring, but he'll have his work cut out for him tonight with Melo. Anthony is capable of dominating this matchup on the offensive end if he plays the right way. In Denver's first three games Melo averaged 4.3 assists and since this roadtrip has begun he has averaged 2 assists in the last four games (pretty funny when you consider he scored more points in Denver's first three games than the last four). I know assists are not really the most accurate way to judge if a guy is playing unselfish basketball (since one guy decides what is an assist), but Melo needs to trust his teammates to make plays and let the offense come to him. I barely realized in the first two games that Melo was looking for his shot and he needs to get back to playing more team basketball. Advantage: Nuggets.

Power Forward: Kenyon Martin vs. Taj Gibson
The rookie out of USC (26th overall pick) will again be starting in place of injured Tyrus Thomas. Gibson scored a career-high 11 points on 5-12 shooting in Cleveland on November 5th, but this will be a tough matchup for him. I don't know much else about the kid, but playing against a fired up K-Mart is not going to be very much fun. Here is what Martin said in the Denver Post today.

"I'm going to play, man — no matter how I feel," said Martin, who sustained a left leg bruise on Friday in Miami. "We lost two games in a row. Bottom line, we've got to stop the bleeding. I think my presence on the court will go a long way."

Martin has an excellent way of making his presence known, ask any NBA rim or Dirk Nowitzki. Advantage: Nuggets.

Center: Nene vs. Joakim Noah
Both of these guys are capable of making incredible faces after they feel a bad call went against them or if they don't get a call they feel they deserved. Seriously though, both guys are undersized centers who rely on different aspects of their game to get by. Noah is a ferocious rebounder and ultimate hustle guy. Nene is a talented offensive player who thrives off playing above the rim. The emotions inside the game can get the better of each guy and whomever can control their game will win this battle. Advantage: Even.

Bench: Ty Lawson, Earl "J.R." Smith, Double-A/Graham, Renaldo Balkman, Chris Andersen and Anthony Carter vs. Kirk Hinrich, Brad Miller, Jannero Pargo and James Johnson.
Right off the bat ... Karl has not settled on a certain rotation as of yet and that's basically because Smith has been out and K-Mart suffered an early injury. Vinny Del Negro however, basically has been using a seven-man rotation with just Miller and Hinrich logging major minutes of the bench. Both Bulls bench guys are veterans who know their roles with the team. Hinrich could start for a lot of teams in the league and is a very nice asset off the bench. (To be honest ... I'd like to see some Lawson vs. Rose and Hinrich vs. Billups in this one.) The Nuggets though have a deeper unit and get a big shot in the arm with the return of #5 ... yes, Earl Smith. If Smith can shake off the rust early he will log big minutes and could prove to be the lift this team needs along with K-Mart's return. I like what Denver's bench brings tonight and think they can be the difference. Advantage: Nuggets.

Opposition's take: Blog a Bull (their preview is up)

ntimmons73@yahoo.com

Photo Courtesy: AP Photos David Zalubowski

(link in the story to the Denver Post article sourced: http://www.denverpost.com/nuggets/ci_13751049, http://www.denverpost.com/nuggets/ci_13754906)