Hi there, I post over at Canis Hoopus, and I posted a poll the other day after our game in DC asking if people would prefer Rubio or Wall. After 300 votes, Rubio has 92%. So to test whether or not we're massive homers, I thought I'd put the same poll over here on your fine site. And it seems apt, seeing as your team sort of did have this exact choice not long ago. Sorta. In a way, I think a lot of it comes down to which type of point guard model you prefer. Wall is the hyper-athletic guy who can get past anyone and score, as well as pass. Rubio is the more pass-first type, but still very competent in most of the other areas. Also your new uniforms and court are seriously rad.

Just wondering. It almost seems ridiculous to ask after Rubio ate him up today, but taking Rubio over Wall probably would've seemed ridiculous until recently. I was really quite happily surprised with how well Rubio stayed in front of Wall on defense, and the only thing I saw Wall do better was that bionic explosion to the the hole that he does. Vote Or Die.

Still need more words for the minimum. Freddie Mercury is the greatest frontman in rock history, and frankly it really isn't even close.

Aloha, I'm starting another fantasy league for Canis Hoopus people since the other one filled up.  Right now I have it set up for ten teams, head-to-head, roster size of 16 and an online draft scheduled for Sunday the 16th at 6PM.  Any of that could change if people want.  Please, won't you join me in this fantasy basketball league?

http://basketball.fantasysports.yahoo.com/nba/51391

League ID = 51391

Password = canis

I saw this poll on the Pistons SBN site, and since a lot of the talk on here is either about the draft or Rubio, I thought I'd throw it up here.   I'll turn it on occasionally, but not for more than a quarter at the most.  It's just that time of year, our fate is sealed, the product on the court is just waiting for the year to end, and I'm not sure how much you learn watching a game where either one or both the teams aren't interested.  

What are your thoughts and expectations on this topic? Obviously it'd be nice to see everything left on the court and positive attitudes every night, but is that realistic? Don't we want them to be having a lousy time? And if so, should we be upset if it shows? Al gets a lot of criticism for this, but Love hasn't exactly been a model of perfection when it comes to this stuff either.  Not lately anyway. If Kobe were on a team this bad, he'd probably be in jail for aggravated battery by now.  And a lot of people would be praising him for being a noble warrior.

Bonus question: do I trade Russell Westbrook and Michael Beasley for Brook Lopez and Andrea Bargnani in my fantasy league? It's a keeper league, this season isn't an issue.  

I thought this was an entertaining insight from an outside observer (Seth, head man over at the Knicks SB site):

Final note: I've said this for a while, but I'd like to reiterate that Ryan Hollins is the most exciting player in the NBA. Seriously. He might be the most wild, unpredictable loose cannon of a basketball player I've ever seen. He's reminds me of what would happen if an antelope and a telephone pole mated, and then that offspring played video games and pounded Mountain Dew for it's entire childhood. The guy mean-mugs after garbage time dunks, throws random hip checks, and pretty much tries to block every shot attempted by both teams. I have only one player alert on my League Pass Broadband. If Ryan Hollins is playing basketball, I want to watch. Somebody might just get maimed.

Hi there, Wolves fan here.  We've had a lot of debate about Al Jefferson and what he's worth to us on our site, and I was just discussing whether trading him for Anderson Varejao would be a good idea and what the reaction would be.  So I'm curious what the Ohioian perspective would be.  Help us out, I'd love to hear your thoughts.  As much to hear what you have to say about Anderson as Al and the trade.

Anyone want to try their hand at this? Seems more difficult than normal this year.  But go for it, winner gets internet immortality.  I threw in a couple awards at the end, add your own if you want.  The Wolves injury situation made me knock them down all the way to 14th in the West.  Just couldn't come up with a way to put them over anyone but Sacramento.  

EAST 

1. Cleveland

2. Orlando

3. Boston

4. Chicago

5. Miami

6. Atlanta

7. Detroit

8. Washington

9. Philadelphia

10. Toronto

11. New Jersey

12. New York

13. Indiana

14. Charlotte

15. Milwaukee

WEST 

1. LA Lakers

2. San Antonio

3. Portland

4. Denver

5. Dallas

6. Utah

7. Phoenix

8. Houston

9. New Orleans

10. Oklahoma City

11. LA Clippers

12. Golden State

13. Memphis

14. Minnesota

15. Sacramento

MVP: LeBron James

ROY: Blake Griffin

This issue has popped up a few places around the internet the past few days, and I thought it'd be interesting to get the perspective of people around here, since a good number of you seem to be stat-heads, and I know STP is a big +/- guy.  Basically, KD has an awful +/-, before and after adjustments.  Henry Abbott has a quote from the Mavs former stat guru who says that he wouldn't sign Durant for free.  FOR FREE.  Have we gone too far? Are they on to something? Personally, I think if you're looking at a stat that's telling you that Kevin Durant is one of the worst players in the league, you should find a new stat.  And I say that in the most respectful manner possible to the fine people of this site who swear by it.  Thoughts?

http://myespn.go.com/blogs/truehoop/0-45-35/The-Kevin-Durant-Conundrum.html

http://nba.fanhouse.com/2009/10/12/most-likely-to-spark-a-stathead-civil-war-kevin-durant/#cont

We've got a little box showing the latest Twitter updates for Canis Hoopus.  Could we get another one showing Maynholup's latest tweets? He's one of my favorites on there.  Just a thought.

been sayin it fo yearz fass life aint gon neva catch up wit me mayn mah immune system cant be fucked witabout 1 hour ago from web

de checy paint iz tropical awee ma way awee ma wayy16 minutes ago from web

etc.

I'm not totally square on salary rules when it comes to trades and I can't get the ESPN Trade Machine to work tonight, but what about Cardinal and/or Madsen for Marc Gasol? He seems to be the odd man out down there with Randolph and Thabeet, he hates the team anyway, he's a quality young center, he's Spanish (obviously a good thing).  Why should we not grab this guy? Is he a good fit or is he a good fit?

Is there some reason we can't sign Ariza? I suspect he'd be attracted to a situation where he'd receive a larger role, which he'd have.  I suppose Brewer is supposed to be our Ariza, but can we have two? Maybe it's because I held onto him with a brutal fist in my fantasy league, but I really enjoy his game.  To steal a page from The Book Of Simmons, I'm so into saying he's underrated that I probably overrate him a bit.  I'd even overpay him just a little for the pleasure of possibility of running into his a$$ at Kowalski's.  Am I crazy? I know we haven't signed a worthwhile free agent since the Lakers were our playing here, but what's our rationale for not doing this?  

We're due for some luck, what else can you say? I'm calling it right now, we're going to get the top pick in the 2009 Draft.  And that might be a problem.  Blake Griffin seems to be the only player worth taking at that spot.  What the heck would we do with the guy? With Big Al and Love, how would we fit him in on the court?  Start Al at the 5? I don't like the sound of that.  And in any case, we'd be damn unbalanced.  

So do we take Griffin, shoot first and ask questions later? Take someone else? Hard to imagine, unless Rubio comes out, and I can only imagine the crap we'd take if we took him over Griffin, even though we REALLY, DESPERATELY need a 1 more than a 4.  A lot of people are saying Griffin is only about 6'8", so forget about him at 5.  This is a really interesting situation for a team that's trying to build a roster, not just a collection of talent.  What about trading the pick?