If anyone remembered from my last fanpost, I decided to chart the whole Dwight Howard trade circus in memes. It was a tough time for all Magic fans. Now that the Saga is temporarily over until the end of the season. Hope you all enjoy!

The All Star game made it to Orlando. Surely it was a time to enjoy the NBA and celebrate with the hometown player, Dwight Howard, but no, just no:

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So the All Star game came and went, Orlando made some money, and trade speculation was just starting to gear up. Fortunately for the team, they were playing well. As the season continued, wins kept piling up, and the Magic collet the 5th best record in the NBA, the 3rd best in the conference. Despite the good play, there were two reasons to despise the Magic's play:

First the is Glen "Big Baby" Davis

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And don't forget about Chris "The Net Zero" Duhon:

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While these two players continued to struggle, the team was rolling. News came out that Dwight was planning his trip to New Jersey, which left many people wondering:

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Dwight continued to flip-flop on his choice. Whenever he wanted to stay, I kept wondering:

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On a side note, I reached out to Magic Coach Stan Van Gundy to contribute to the meme-infused trade post. He sent me this:

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Then came March 14th. Dwight was undecided, and the Magic gave him to options. Waive his ETO and commit for another year, or get traded. Dwight decided on staying for the extra year. The decision was a bit premature, however, due to the efforts of Dwight's agent, scumbag Dan Fegan:

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Thus the future looked grim. It was going to be Shaq 2.0. Orlando loses the best center in the league to a big market. Instead of letting him walk, the Magic were going to explore trade scenarios to gain something in return. I fully expected to wake up on March 15 to a Dwight-less Magic squad. But man, was I wrong:

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Dwight shocked the world. He waived his ETO.

Dwight has now given the Magic every opportunity for the Magic to improve their roster to entice him to stay. I think his decision shows if the Magic can find the right pieces, he will stay in Orlando. The ball is in your court now Otis. Right now you have survived the Dwightmare, now stop handing out bad contracts, stop making bad trades, and lets make Orlando future brighter!

This has been a troubling season so far. After a strong start to the shortened season, the Magic have regressed drastically and have appeared to have given up on the season. Since the season is apparently over for these Magic players, I have decided to track this so called Dwight saga, through memes.

It all started during the lockout:

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After Speculation, Dwight came out and requested a trade to either the Nets, Mavericks, or Lakers:

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After this request, a chain reaction of events happened. First there was Jameer Nelson:

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Then the Nets fans heard they were the number one destination for Dwight:

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And finally, other teams started making trade proposals for our superstar:

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Despite all of the drama, all the speculation, Dwight remained with the Magic until the start of the season. After a slow showing on Christmas day, the Magic were playing well. Hedo looked reinvigorated, JJ looked like the white mamba, and Ryan Anderson appeared to be blossoming into an all star. The team seemed to be handling the Dwightmare like professionals:

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Unfortunately, the winning was not having an effect on Dwight. He wanted out of here:

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Then, things started going south for the Magic. A combination of injuries and mental fatigue led to this debacle:

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Dwight, disgusted with the effort put forth in the Magic's first loss to the Celtics and the epic collapse in the second game, decided to call his team out:

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The rest of the team, fed up with Dwight and his fickle trade demands, decided to check out. The play was uninspired and probably led to the most frustrating week of Magic basketball ever:

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And so the national media frenzy has escalated. The team continues to be blown out by just about every team, every player is seemingly ineffective, and players just are not buying into SVG's system. Now I have to boycott Sportscenter and ESPN:

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Who knows how the saga will play out. There is one certainty though, Dwight Howard's days in Orlando are numbered. They way I see it, there will only be two possible resolutions: Will Otis let him walk in free agency? or will Otis trade him after the All Star Game? Either way, the Magic need to start their rebuilding plan, whether that is acquiring proven vets to stay semi-relevent or blow it up completely.

Thanks for all the good memories Dwight.

As the game of Basketball has evolved throughout the years, so to have statistics that measure a players true ability on the court. In today's age, effective field goal percentage is more telling than regular field goal percentage, and per 36 minute scoring is more telling than points per game. While all of these metrics are useful, they are flawed in one respect, they are averages. Having taken a statistics class a couple years ago, I know that in order to properly describe a statistic, it is necessary to have an average and a standard deviation.

Standard deviation is a measure of how spread out a set of data is. Without it, statistics are easily misleading. For example, if a player shoots 0% one game and 100% the next, their average would be 50%, but the standard deviation would be high, noting inconsistency. Another player who shoots 50% both games will have the same average, but would be much more consistent. What player would you rather have?

 As a side project, I decided to conduct a little research on the Magic. I listed the shooting performances of the rotation while donning pinstripes, taking out games in which a player did not attempt a shot. Using Excel, I calculated there average shooting performance of all eight players and the standard deviation. To me, the results are surprising; Gilbert Arenas is our most consistent shooter!

 There are some things to not about my calculations before drawing your own conclusions. For one, the average shown is not the field goal percentage of the player, it is the average of his shooting performances per game while on the Magic. With this average, my methods are statistically flawed, as a 1-1 shooting night has the same weight as a 10-10 shooting night. As the season progresses, the averages will more likely be in line with the actual field goal percentage of the player. Also, the players seeing time post-trade still need some more games to give a better representation of their shooting. This includes Anderson, Arenas, Richardson and Hedo. 

            Here are the results of my calculations:

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The All Star Game starters were announced Thursday, and to no one's surprise, Dwight will be starting for the East for the fourth consecutive year, receiving a conference high 2.1 million votes. Joining him will be Derrick Rose, Dwyane Wade, LeBron James, and Amar'e Stoudemire. Rose and Stoudemire beat out Rondo and KG for the only spots in question in the starting line up.

Now comes one of my favorite parts of the ASG, naming the reserves...

Right now, I think there are four locks for the East's bench, Rajon Rondo, Kevin Garnett, Paul Pierce, and Al Horford. With the East being a six-team league, and no player from the bad teams having a remarkable season, I think the East's remaining players will come from the big 6. Who exactly deserves the final three spots? That is a tough one. With an iota of deserving players in the East, it is going to be tough. Here are some players I think have a shot at the squad.

1. Chris Bosh- I know his production has slipped, but that was to be expected with him having two superior team mates. He still boasts a PER of around 20, despite his usage dropping by almost 5%. Probably the best bet for 5th big on the squad. 

2. Raymond Felton- All of Felton's advanced stats are pretty ordinary, but he is having his best season yet. Probably will not get in, but he has had a pretty good season for the Knicks.

3. Ray Allen- The NBA respects the Celtics. And he is still one of the best shooters in the NBA. The fact that there are really no other deserving SG in the east with Joe Johnson injured/ struggling helps his case, but the Celtics probably getting three other spots may hurt him. 

4. Josh Smith/ Joe Johnson- Smith got shafted last year. Yes he reverted back to three-chucking a little bit this year, but he is still a really exciting player to watch when he is engaged. If anything, the coaches should at least right a wrong that happened last year. Johnson, on the other hand, has had some injuries and has not played very well, but the reserve SG spot in the East really has no other options. I do not think both will go, but one is a possibility. 

5. Jameer Nelson- Hey, despite all the criticism he has received, Meer has been our second best player, and when he plays great, our team is so good. Coaches like to reward winning teams as well, so you never know, but in the end, a second Magic player is unlikely.

6. Luol Deng- The Bulls are having such a great season with so many key injuries. With Noah and Boozer all missing significant time, Deng becomes the best chance for the Bulls to have two All Stars. Like Jammer, I doubt he makes it. 

7. The Good Stat, Bad Team, Ordinary Player Group- Names like Danny Granger, Andrea Bargnani, and Brook Lopez have all put up some points, but they are all number 1 options on bad teams. Don't think these guys make it.

Looking at my locks and the other possibilities, my bench will look something like this:

PG - Rondo, Felton

SG- Allen

SF- Pierce

PF- Garnett, Bosh

C- Horford

I bet Doc will be so happy.  

So, What do you guys say? What is the Bench going to look like for the ASG?

Welcome to my 2011 NFL mock draft for the Bucs. Despite the successful season, we just missed the playoffs (Thanks a lot Detroit Refs). Anyhow, I always enjoyed doing NFL mocks, so here it goes...

1(20) Adrian Clayborn DE Iowa

 We really need some DE’s. Stylez is average at best, and the rest have no business starting.

 Despite his 2010 struggles, Clayborn is still a pretty good player. This year, he was constantly double-teamed, and his production dropped. There are some minor character concerns with Clayborn, but Freeman and Barber are solid leaders. Probably not the best pass-rusher, but he is strong, he is a good bull-rusher, and he has a high ceiling. If he were drafted, we will need a new DL coach to maximize his potential. At the very least, Clayborn should be a very good LDE.

 Alt: Ryan Kerrigan DE Purdue, Cam Jordan DE Cal, Aldon Smith DE Missouri(If he declares)

2(51) Travis Lewis OLB Oklahoma

 Looking at some mocks, they have Lewis falling into the mid to late second round. This is pure value.

 While our OLB’s are not the worst, they can be upgraded. Despite playing WILL in college, Lewis does have the strength to be a SAM. I know it is optimistic to have him falling this low, but crazier things have happened on draft night(s).

 Alt: Rodney Hudson OG FSU, Quan Sturdivant ILB North Carolina, Mike Pouncey OG Florida

3(84) John Moffitt OG Wisconsin

 The O-line kind of stinks. We need to be able to open up lanes for LGB. Moffitt and Wisconsin did just that for John Clay and co. Davin Joseph may be gone as well.

 Alt: Jabaal Sheard DE Pitt, Kelvin Sheppard ILB LSU, Jimmy Smith CB Colorado, Jerrel Jernigan WR/ KR Troy (I really want a burner for our offense)

4(115) James Carpenter OT Alabama

 Trueblood should be gone, so we need someone to take his place. Really do not pay attention to O-Line, so if there is a better choice, let me know.

5(120, From DEN) Rashad Carmichael CB VT

 I do not know why I like Rashad, I just do. We still could use a CB with Ronde retiring within the next two years.

5(148) Greg Romeus DE Pitt

 Low risk/ high reward player. Could be a stud DE, could fail entirely, but well worth the risk in a position of need for the Bucs.

7(214 From KC) Graig Cooper RB Miami (FL)

 Does it really matter at this point?

What do you guys think? Madness? Optimistic? Awesome? Let me know of any other players you think the Bucs should target.