Well, this is the last RUpdate of the season. Hopefully I can do this next season. I would have had it up last night, but I was...distracted. Blame Thunder/Nuggets (THUNDERNUGGETS!).

This RUpdate is more or less a season summary, a team by team breakdown of every player with D-League experience. The D-League site did something similar, but I want it to be known that I had thought of this before I saw their list (which I'm sure is better). Then I'll finish off with some yearly awards. Jump!

Continue reading this post »

According to multiple sources, Earl Barron has been declared the winner of the Blazers "who gets to replace Jarron Collins" contest, beating out worthy NBA-caliber competitors Robert Swift and Dwayne Jones.

This will be Barron's third NBA stint this season, having previously played a combined 19 games for the Suns and Bucks, playing infamously bad basketball with the former. With the latter, he was good enough to win an extremely prestigious award from yours truly.

Jokes aside, Earl has proven himself at the very least good enough to be in the NBA, and he isn't any worse than Jarron Collins, the man he's essentially replacing. He and fellow D-League alum Chris Johnson will help shore up the Blazers frontcourt depth, an area the team has been lacking in most of the season (due mainly to injuries).

In his 19 games with Phoenix and Milwaukee (and his first game with Portland last night), Barron has averaged 3.7 points, 3.1 rebounds, and shot a paltry 37% from the field. Barron has not played in the D-League this season (he spent most of the 2009-10 season with the Iowa Energy).

Magnum Rolle, owner of one of the best names in all of basketball, has been signed by the Atlanta Hawks. Rolle, the 51st overall pick by Oklahoma City, was traded to the Pacers on draft day. He was cut by Indiana and eventually made his way to the D-League's Maine Red Claws, where he averaged 14.1 points and 5.1 rebounds in 15 games.

Magnum's an interesting player, and should at least be as productive as the Hawks current crop of backup bigs is, with the exception of Zaza Pachulia. He will wear #25 for the Hawks.

Here are some interesting facts about him.

• He was born in Freeport, Bahamas, and was the first Grand Bahamian to be selected in the NBA draft
• He was named after Magnum, P.I
• He is a distant cousin of former NFL'er Samari Rolle
• He was originally not interested in basketball, and only attended practices due to the free food
• He was a high school teammate of fellow Intriguing Shot Blocker Chris Johnson

Magnum Rolle is the Most Interesting Man on the Hawks' bench.

Yeah, I didn't post last week. Blame it on the combination of a hectic personal life, a busy work schedule and the fact that no one, outside Othyus Jeffers, was particularly impressive. Let's just have this penultimate RUpdate retroactively count games from March 28 through yesterday, shall we?

Continue reading this post »

In the first game of the third (of four, obviously) series to debut in the 2011 D-League Playoffs, the sixth seeded Bakersfield Jam upset beat the third seeded defending D-League champion Rio Grande Valley Vipers, 110-105.

In what was a relatively competitive game throughout, Bakersfield pulled out the victory through the capable hands of probable D-League MVP Trey Johnson. Mr. Trey J scored a game high 29 points, including a pair of huge jumpers that essentially put the game away.

Jeremy Wise was also huge for the Jam, scoring 15 of his 24 points from the line, including the clinching two with a little over 7 seconds left while Derrick Byars scored 14 points of his own, an impressive feat considering he recently broke his nose, and took more than one shot to it during play.

Derrick Caracter, Stephen Dennis and D'Andre Bell also scored in double figures for the underdog Jam, who will look to sweep the defending champions on Tuesday in Hidalgo.

Continue reading this post »

Coming into yesterday's action, there were three teams, the Idaho Stampede, the Texas Legends, and the Fort Wayne Mad Ants, fighting for the eighth and final playoff spot. All three played, and all three had to win to have a shot at postseason play.

Continue reading this post »

Around the middle of last week, I decided that if I'm going to continue to make this a weekly thing, I'm going to do it after the final NBA game ends on Sunday. Also because I wanted to see if Alvin Gentry decided to play Zabian Dowdell at all. Which he didn't, much to my chagrin.

To start off this second edition of Ridiculous Update, I'd like to take a more in depth look at the second list featured in the original update, the list of undrafted former D-Leaguers now in the NBA (updated for posterity, of course).

Continue reading this post »

There were only two D-League games last night. The more prominent of the took took place in Orem, Utah, where the Utah Flash were coming off a clinching a playoff berth against the Maine Red Claws on Tuesday. The two teams faced off again. The second was a huge road game for the Fort Wayne Mad Ants in their quest to secure the eighth and final playoff berth in the 2011 NBA D-League playoffs.

Continue reading this post »

The fourth and final edition of this little side project that I had a lot of fun doing. This fourth section of the remaining tourney teams should have a few more prospects than the Cinderella-ridden Southwest Regional. Jump time!

Continue reading this post »

Part 3 of 4. Moving right along here, folks! To distract from the lack of content before the jump, here's a picture of Chris Singleton looking upset. Not something you're likely to see very much of this weekend (and yes, that was a prediction).

Continue reading this post »

Since I hope to finish these before the Sweet Sixteen actually starts, here's he second of four sections (and here's the first). In this installment, I tell you why at least 2 of this year's Blue Devils will be D-Leaguers in 2011.

Continue reading this post »

In case you didn't know, the NCAA Tournament (March Madness!) is in full bloom. Given that it's that time of year again, where everyone's dad/uncle/grumpy coworker likes to fill out a dozen brackets and complain (loudly) at how the kids in college care about basketball a lot more than those lazy, spoiled professionals, I thought it best to occupy the large amounts of time I'd surely spend watching mediocre to terrible basketball by amusing myself with a little pet project.

I've been watching as much of this year's tourney as I possibly could, while keeping an eye on certain players I feel are talented enough to play professionally, but not quite enough to be immediate factors at the NBA players.

Continue reading this post »

Recent weeks here have seen a sharp decline in content from anyone who isn't Scott Schroeder (and a not-at-all coincidental rise in quality), a development that has led me to find my own little niche here. Advanced statistics? I believe in them, sure, but I'm never exactly sure how to work them into my writing. Pure basketball analysis? Also not my strongest suit. To make my mark here, I've decided to lean upon my one surefire talent: retaining large amounts of information, information I use in endless rosterbation.

So, without further adieu, welcome to the inaugural edition of Ridiculous Update, where I evaluate the career of every single D-League alum in the NBA in what I hope will be a weekly (or at least monthly) update here at RU.

To start off this first post, I figured best to divide all eligible players into two categories, those who originated from the D-League and those who were actually drafted by NBA teams. Pretty much anyone mentioned in these should be on one of these two lists.

Continue reading this post »

Who has two thumbs and is excited to get some playing time? This guy! James Johnson, he of the kickboxing and generally being awesome at everything that isn't NBA basketball, will finally get a chance to play NBA basketball.

Continue reading this post »

With the recent call ups of Mustafa Shakur, Chris Johnson and Garrett Temple, it seems as if call-up season is in full swing in the NBA. This got me thinking (as do most things) about how to turn this happy news into a post. Here's my opinion on which D-League Star each and every NBA team should call up this season.

Continue reading this post »

While kicking back and enjoying the wonders of the D-League Showcase, I noticed this tweet from our fearless leader, which got me wondering.

@ScottSchroeder Scott Schroeder

Best beard at the D-League Showcase? Easily Drew Naymick's orange lumberjack beard.

12 Jan via Twitter for Android

Now that the Showcase is, sadly over, it's time for me to put this assertion to the test. Who has the best facial hair in the D-League*? Here are your contestants (full profiles after the jump).

*Besides Drew Naymick. I can't find any good pictures, but that thing was magnificent.

Poll

Best Facial Hair in the D-League?

25%

Salim Stoudamire (because...legalize the proletariat!)

22 votes

19%

Marvin Phillips (because a man should feel free to be a man)

17 votes

6%

Jerel McNeal (because basketball is a business)

6 votes

2%

Jeremy Wise (because I enjoy hybrids)

2 votes

8%

Brandon Wallace (because...)

7 votes

3%

Corey Allmond (because it's pretty odd)

3 votes

16%

Jeff Adrien (because he's Jeff Adrien)

14 votes

9%

Derrick Byars (because it brackets his face perfectly)

8 votes

8%

Courtney Sims (because he looks like Tayshaun Prince and it makes me smile)

7 votes

0%

Doug Thomas (because Scott Schroeder said so)

0 votes

86 votes | Poll has closed

Continue reading this post »

Voting for the 2011 NBA D-League All-Star game is open .

Go now! And vote for Jeff Adrien every single day! Why are you still reading this? Go! And be sure to watch the 2011 NBA D-League All-Star game February 19th on NBA TV.

Suggestion to vote for Jeff Adrien a whole lot is not the official position of Ridiculous Upside or SB Nation as a whole. Just of me. But go do it, anyway. Please?

The sequel! I probably won't be as in depth with this one, seeing as I watched this game live and sort of slacked on the note-taking. Also, the first was perhaps a little heavy on the play by play.

Continue reading this post »

Hello there! My name is Cosmis and I would like to start off the new year by telling you about the Fort Wayne Mad Ants!

*smattering of disinterested applause*

This being my first attempt at anything resembling legitimate basketball analysis anywhere even remotely important, I'll play it safe and just give an quick overly detailed rundown of the action, focusing on the plays (and players) that caught my attention in the Mad Ants recent game against the Maine Red Claws.

Continue reading this post »

[Thanks to Cosmis for today's game preview (sign up!). Game is at 9 on WGN and nationally (ish) on WGN America -ed.]

Well, that was disheartening. After losing a game that they both could have won and had no business being in in the first place, the Bulls head to Sac Town to finish off this relatively successful Circus Trip. This trip has been interesting simply because the Bulls have had a legitimate shot at winning every game. Surely if it takes a Melo buzzer beater to beat us without Rose (and Gibson, more or less), then the Kings shouldn't pose much of a threat, right? Let's all just hope we don't have a 35 point lead.

The Most Important Bulls in the World: Derrick Rose and Taj Gibson. If they can go tonight, I expect a comfortable win. If not, well then I expect a big early defecit countered by a slow, steady Bulls comeback only to come down to whether or not a guy who wasn't in the league the day before can hit clutch free throws.

Sound familiar? Me neither

Keys to Victory: Other than Rose and Taj's ability to play, the real key to victory is if anyone can do what CJ Watson did last night (preferably CJ Watson). He did what has to be the best Derrick Rose impersonation anyone has ever done, drilling 17 footers and getting to the basket at will (even if he was a lot more efficient than Rose usually is, and got to the free throw line a dozen times). A repeat performance might be to much to ask for, but certainly 20 points or so isn't out of the question. Kyle Korver hitting a shot once in a while would be great, too.

But as far as actual analysis goes (as opposed to me whining about last night's game), the biggest barometer of the Bulls success tonight will come in the form of Tyreke Evans' point total. If he goes off for 25-35 points, I don't see how we have the offensive firepower to stay close (unless Rose plays). If not, then this game will be completely up for grabs.

There's no better way to end this eventful Circus Trip than with 20+ minutes for James Johnson, aka a comfortable win.

The Enemy: Sactown Royalty

Continue reading this post »

[Thanks to Cosmis for today's game preview (sign up!). This may be one of the more winnable games on the trip, with the Bulls rested and the Rockets without Yao or Aaron Brooks. The good news continues in the form of Kyle Korver, who missed yesterday's practice but participated in shootaround today.  Game is at 7:30 on CSN Chicago. -ed.]

Well here we go. The dreaded Circus Trip rears it's ugly, clown shaped head in Houston. I think 3 wins would be an almost miraculous outcome this time. Pessimism aside, this is a very winnable game.

The Most Important Bulls in the World: Taj Gibson. Matched up against one of the best players in the league so far this season in Luis Scola, Taj needs to, at the very least, hold his own. He also needs to foul as little as possible (not easy for him), lest we're all treated to a little more Scalabrine than we are prepared for.

Keys to Victory: Scoring a lot of points and stopping the Rockets from scoring just as much or more! No, seriously, with the absence of Yao Ming, Scola becomes their only real inside threat (just what Bradass WANTS us to think), so Noah should be able to dominate his mentor in all things that aren't related to camouflage.

A real point of interest to me is how well Shane Battier will be able to guard Deng, who's been on a bit of a hot streak lately. He might still be the same average player, but the way in which he's getting his shots is vastly different. Taking better threes, slashing and actually PASSING inside, and generally getting to the line at a better rate. Deng has become a legitimate weapon rather than a guy who just stands around and scores once in a while. I credit Thibs' new motion offense.

Also, while the absence of Aaron Brooks will do wonders for our 3 point defense, Kyle Lowry is actually (suggested by his stats and also by people with eyes) a better passer and defender than Brooks. Kevin Martin going for less than 30 would significantly improve our chances at victory.

I'm not saying that the Circus Trip will suck in 2010. I'm just saying that past history dictates that it probably will. Prove me wrong, Bulls.

The Enemy: The Dream Shake

Continue reading this post »

Bulls current roster.

Center: Joakim Noah/Omer Asik

Power Forward: Carlos Boozer/Taj Gibson

Small Forward: Luol Deng/Kyle Korver/James Johnson

Shooting Guard: (J.J. Redick)

Point Guard: Derrick Rose

We currently have one backcourt player under contract. We might want to rectify that. Here are my top 5 options at every position.

Continue reading this post »

After watching NBA.com's Top 10 Dunks of the Season, I realized something: The Bulls have been dunking on everyone this season. So I decided to compile the best I could find (using the aforementioned NBA.com).

And yes, Rose over Dragic will be #1.

Continue reading this post »