Intro by KnickerBlogger on Friday, January 27th, 2006 at 9:33 pm | permalink | trackback |

LINK: http://abcnews.go.com/Sports/wireStory?id=1550866

New Orleans Hornets forward Chris Andersen was dismissed and disqualified from the NBA on Friday for violating the league’s drug policy. Andersen must wait two years before he can apply for reinstatement, the league said.

According to the league’s collective bargaining agreement, a player can only be disqualified for a fourth positive test for performance-enhancing drugs, or a first positive test for “drugs of abuse.” The drugs on that list are amphetamine and its analogs, which include methamphetamine; cocaine; LSD; opiates, including heroin, codeine and morphine; and PCP.

The article aslo states that Anderson was known for his high flying ability.

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Intro by KnickerBlogger on Friday, January 27th, 2006 at 9:02 am | permalink | trackback |

LINK: http://www.raptorblog.com/060126b.php

Maybe timing isn’t everything.

But something funny happened between the summer of ‘05 and the beginning of this season – Babcock started making some good moves:

* He had one of the league’s better drafts in spite of shocking NBA fans and media with his selection of Charlie Villanueva at the seven-spot.
* He signed undrafted point guard Jose Calderon, who has since ranked among the top 10 rookies of this season.
* He traded Rafer Alston – a headcase with five more years on his contract – for Mike James, who has proven to be one of the best values for a non-rookie contract in the league.

LINK: http://raptors.fan.ca/index.php/archives/2006/01/2…

The Dismissal of Rob Babcock - A Study In Incompetence

The Bad:

- Alonzo Mourning: ‘Zo has to be separated from the VC trade. You can’t evaluate a trade that is still not complete, but bringing in the Georgetown center knowing there was little to no chance of him reporting was simply not a good move. Buying him out….even worse. Let him sit. Let him want out. But make him play, and if he doesn’t want to play….stay home. Watching #33 light it up for the Heat this year is hard for Raps’ fans. If he was patrolling the middle right now we would be light years ahead.

LINK: http://nuno.typepad.com/nbafanblog/2006/01/babcock…

Babcock Hits the Road

How could anyone out there be surprised the Raptors fired their GM? The writing was on the wall in BOLD, UNDERLINED, NEON colored writing. It was a wonder to hear Rob Babcock himself express surprise at this move. Does he not read the paper? Watch the news? Get a report of the Raptors standings in the league?

LINK: http://spoilitforme.blogspot.com/2006/01/raptors-r…

Raptors rid of Rob

Why now? There’s only one reason: Chris Bosh. For this franchise to have any credibility with the fans, they need Chris Bosh. And as along as he’s getting frustrated night in, night out, he’s not going to be happy. And since Rob Babock is most responsible right now for the losing, I think team management axed Babcock to show Chris Bosh they are going to try and make the team a winner ASAP.

LINK: http://forwardprogress.org/?p=28

Did The Raptors Do the Right Thing?

So, you see Babcock has made some poor choices, but he has been put in a lot of BAD situations. The man I feel that should also be standing in line with Rob next week at a Job Bank is RICHARD PEDDIE. Petty is right. This is a man who has absolutely no sporting knowledge since the day he was hired. He admits that. He’s a business man that started playing NBA LIVE with a real franchise. But in this game, you don’t have the option of not saving. Peddie was the on who told us fans that the Raptors were going to hire people that would have ‘basketball IQ’ as he called it. Twelve years in Minnesota’s front office made Babcock a good choice. Or so he thought.

LINK: http://www.knickerblogger.net/?p=344

Babcock Loses Job

Toronto GM Rob Babcock was fired today, and it’s ironic that his former team is not even in last place in their division. The Knicks are below the Raptors in winning percentage, but somehow the Knicks are actually ahead in the “games behind” column. Unlike the Knicks, the Raptors don’t have the luxury of the league’s biggest payroll. Nor do they have a shoe-in hall of fame coach roaming their sidelines. They don’t have the advantage of being one of the biggest sports market in the US. Toronto has to recruit athletes for a winter sport in one of the colder cities in the league. Hell they don’t even collect the American dollar at the gates. And as of today, they’re still doing better than the Knicks.

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Intro by KnickerBlogger on Friday, January 27th, 2006 at 12:03 am | permalink | trackback |

LINK: http://sportszilla.blogspot.com/2006/01/simplest-n…

So, when FO says that the Chicago Bears defense led the NFL with a -30.7% DVOA, there are four symbols that the reader must work through: the negative, the number, the percentage, and the DVOA. Only two are necessary.

In order to facilitate the mainstreaming of the DVOA statistic, I propose the following change. Instead of using positives and negatives and percentages, DVOA should be converted into a single number following the convention set by baseball’s OPS+ and ERA+ (examples of player stats), which sets the baseline at 100 instead of zero and dispenses with the % symbol.

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Intro by KnickerBlogger on Thursday, January 26th, 2006 at 10:18 pm | permalink | trackback |

LINK: http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/news/story?id=230779…

The Boston Celtics and Minnesota Timberwolves have agreed to a trade that will send Ricky Davis, Mark Blount, Marcus Banks, Justin Reed and two future second-round draft picks to Minnesota for Wally Szczerbiak, Michael Olowokandi and rookie Dwayne Jones, ESPN.com has confirmed.

The Boston Herald and TNT first reported the trade Thursday night.

Davis was the team’s second leading scorer at 19.7 behind Paul Pierce, while Szczerbiak is averaging 20.1 points for the Timberwolves.

Wally Szczerbiak isn’t going to walk through that door. — Oh, I guess he is.

16 Comments

Intro by KnickerBlogger on Thursday, January 26th, 2006 at 2:51 pm | permalink | trackback |

LINK: http://www.usatoday.com/sports/basketball/nba/rapt…

TORONTO (AP) — The Toronto Raptors fired general manager Rob Babcock on Thursday — just a year and a half after he was hired.

Team president and CEO Richard Peddie made the announcement a day after Toronto was routed 104-88 by the Chicago Bulls, leaving the Raptors with a 14-29 record — fourth-worst in the league. Wayne Embry, Peddie’s senior basketball advisor, will take over for Babcock on an interim basis.

Babcock loses job despite staying out of last place. Isiah Thomas seen luggage shopping.

8 Comments

Intro by Kevin Pelton on Wednesday, January 25th, 2006 at 6:26 pm | permalink | trackback |

LINK: http://www.nba.com/pacers/news/peja_release_060125…

The Indiana Pacers announced Wednesday they have acquired swingman Peja Stojakovic from the Sacramento Kings in exchange for forward Ron Artest.

“Obviously, we’re very happy about getting a player of his caliber,” said Larry Bird, President of Basketball Operations. “He’s one of the best shooters in the league and we definitely feel he can come in and help us right away. We think he’ll fit in with our team because he’ll help spread the floor and give our big men better opportunities to score.”

Yep, it’s finally done and official. Thoughts?

2 Comments

Intro by Kevin Pelton on Tuesday, January 24th, 2006 at 4:52 pm | permalink | trackback |

LINK: http://www.nysun.com/article/26360

On the surface, it seems that Bryant is helping to lift a team that was moribund last year at 34-48 back into contention But look closer. Last year’s Lakers were a good offensive team - ranking sixth in Offensive Efficiency at 108.2 points per 100 possessions - and a horrible de fensive team, finishing dead last in that category. This year’s all-Kobe-all-the time offense has fallen to 11th, averaging 107.8 points per 100 possessions de spite Bryant’s prodigious output. Mean while, the Lakers’ defense has improved from allowing 111.3 points per 100 pos sessions to 106.2, good for 13th in the league. It’s their defense, not Kobe’s offensive performance that has carried them back from the dregs into post season contention.

Bryant’s 81-point night reinforces the idea that his teammates are worthless offensively. On Sunday night, the um “supporting cast” was absolutely miserable, shooting only 14-of-42 from the floor collectively. It’s no wonder Kobe went into one-man-band mode with the game turning into a blowout in the third quarter.

However, Bryant’s teammates have shown signs of knowing where the basket is without him leading them there. On New Year’s night at Staples Center, with Bryant serving the first of a two game suspension for a flagrant foul on Memphis swingman Mike Miller, the non-Kobes managed to score 94 points on 50% shooting with only 10 turnovers. Their 98-94 loss could be pinned on poor free throw shooting, 15-of-25, more than anyone’s absence.

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Intro by Kevin Pelton on Tuesday, January 24th, 2006 at 1:16 pm | permalink | trackback |

LINK: http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2006/writers/82ga…

Bryant’s exploits overshadowed what was, in many respects, an equally improbable game just to the East a couple of hours earlier. With Ray Allen drilling his eighth 3-pointer of the game at the buzzer, the Sonics outlasted the Phoenix Suns 152-149 in double overtime, proving once again the old adage that the first team to 150 always wins. The Sonics and Suns scored the most combined points in a game since ‘95, broke an NBA record by combining for 32 3-pointers and saw no fewer than three players — Phoenix’s Raja Bell (31) and Seattle’s Luke Ridnour (30) and Robert Swift (15) — score career highs.

In their own way, each game represented what Stern might have envisioned when the NBA decided prior to last season to better enforce existing rules limiting contact by defensive players with offensive players above the free-throw line. That reinterpretation was the latest move by the league to counteract a decades-long trend decline in scoring league-wide that saw teams go from averaging a record 118.8 points per game in ‘61-62 (coincidentally or not, the same year as Chamberlain’s most noteworthy performances, including the 100-point game) to just 93.4 points per game in 2003-04.

(By the way, KD, I didn’t see you had used the same line about first to 150 in your column until this morning. Great minds thinking alike.)

8 Comments

Intro by KnickerBlogger on Tuesday, January 24th, 2006 at 8:52 am | permalink | trackback |

LINK: http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/news/story?id=230348…

The Chicago Bulls fan whose confrontation with Antonio Davis’ wife led the New York Knicks forward to rush into the stands will not sue the player and his family.

In a joint statement released Monday, Michael Axelrod and the Davises said: “It’s clear that the episode at the United Center last week, and its aftermath, evolved from some misunderstandings. This has produced regrets from all parties involved. Common sense strongly suggests that we collectively put this episode behind us and move on. That’s what the Davises and Michael Axelrod plan to do, and we hope everyone else will, as well.”

Someone choosing not to make money through litigation? This just in: four horsemen appear on horizon. Isiah Thomas hoping to sign one for 5 years, $50M.

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Intro by KnickerBlogger on Tuesday, January 24th, 2006 at 8:43 am | permalink | trackback |

LINK: http://msn.foxsports.com/nba/story/5272520?CMP=OTC…

According to longtime Raptors insiders, Kobe seemed even more unstoppable than Isiah Thomas at the trading deadline.

But in making 81 represent more than the neutral-colored jersey number of Terrell Owens, Bryant has raised some interesting questions.

Here’s one: Is the lone-gun approach good for the Lakers?

Here’s another: Is Bryant’s assault on the scoreboard good for the NBA?

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Intro by Kevin Pelton on Monday, January 23rd, 2006 at 3:09 pm | permalink | trackback |

LINK: http://insider.espn.go.com/nba/insider/columns/sto…

Bryant was more efficient. Bryant needed 46 shot attempts and 20 free throws to get 81 points. Chamberlain needed 63 field-goal attempts and 32 free-throw tries to get his 100. Bryant’s true shooting percentage for the night was 73.9 percent; Chamberlain’s was only 63.9 percent.

Bryant’s performance was more real. In Chamberlain’s game, the Warriors intentionally fouled the Knicks in the final minute of play to get the ball back for another Chamberlain try at the century mark. Only on his third try did he get to 100. At the time, his team was comfortably ahead, as it was for the entire second half, and it won 169-147. Bryant, on the other hand, got almost all his points when they were desperately needed, as his team trailed by 18 early in the third quarter.

1 Comment

Intro by Kevin Pelton on Monday, January 23rd, 2006 at 12:46 pm | permalink | trackback |

LINK: http://www.lowpost.net/blog/2006/01/23/kobes_81_vs…

Strength of Primary Defender:
Jordan: Craig Ehlo
Bryant: Jalen Rose
Edge: MJ

From Wikipedia: Rose is now focusing his attention on making his “Jalen Rose Messenger Toolbar” a success.

No love for Mo Pete? Although putting Calderon on Kobe down the stretch indicates Sam Mitchell might not have minded the 81. …

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Intro by Kevin Pelton on Monday, January 23rd, 2006 at 12:38 pm | permalink | trackback |

LINK: http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/columns/story?column…

You’ll recall that, sadly, there’s no footage of Wilt Chamberlain rumbling for 100 points in Hershey, Pa., on March 2, 1962. Which makes it tough to commission an in-depth analysis comparing Wilt’s feat (scoring 100 of his team’s 169 points that day) to Kobe’s (81 of 122). But I’ll gladly settle for the forthcoming flood of Kobe replays, in which you’ll see him haul the Lakers back from a 71-53 deficit against a Raps team that kept the game sufficiently close in the final quarter to keep Kobe out there shooting.

Against a Toronto team that somehow held him to 11 points when the teams met in early December — historic footage now — Bryant wound up with 55 points after halftime. Fifty-five. For a little perspective, please note that matches the best scoring game in Kareem Abdul-Jabbar’s career. That’s the same Abdul-Jabbar who, before becoming a Lakers assistant coach, was merely the NBA’s all-time scoring leader.

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Intro by Kevin Pelton on Monday, January 23rd, 2006 at 12:33 pm | permalink | trackback |

LINK: http://www.nysun.com/article/26287

It’s interesting to watch Detroit chase the mark because the two clubs couldn’t be more different. That Chicago team, widely considered the greatest ever assembled, featured brand-name superstars like Michael Jordan, Scottie Pippen, and Dennis Rodman. These Pistons, however, are an ensemble cast. Few can even agree about who their best player is - it could be defensive stalwart Ben Wallace, smooth point guard Chauncey Billups, or leading scorer Richard Hamilton - but nobody questions that as a group, this is the best starting five in basketball.

For that, credit has to go to the Pistons’ brilliant general manager, Joe Dumars. Nobody remembers this anymore, but three years ago, it was widely believed that you couldn’t win a championship with the kind of roster Dumars assembled. Conventional wisdom held that the only reliable way for a team to earn a ring was to nab a superstar and surround him with deferential role players who were willing to do the dirty work.

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