Sunday, January 31, 2010

Sporting Randoms

I guess I'll start off with the NBA All Star Rosters..for the most part I'd say that they got it right..this is who they are sending out

East
G-Dwyane Wade
G-Allen Iverson
F-Lebron James
F-Kevin Garnett
C-Dwight Howard
Well clearly KG and AI shouldn't be there this year..but its the fans and they vote of popular players..fine whatever..here are the reserves

G-Rajon Rondo
G-Derrick Rose
G-Joe Johnson
F-Gerald Wallace
F-Paul Pierce
F-Chris Bosh
C-Al Horford

Well..I don't think Horford should've made it..New Jersey's Brook Lopez or New York's David Lee play the same position and are playing better..but..the theme is "winning teams" instead of "best players" so I suppose thats fair all things considered(Even though AI is the anomaly here).I'm really happy Wallace got his due and was recognized making it,he's on my underrated list(noted for later)

And for the West?
G-Kobe Bryant
G-Steve Nash
F-Carmelo Anthony
F-Tim Duncan
C-Amare Stoudemire

Amare is the one here..given the options on the ballot yadda yadda..thats why he's here..he doesnt even play center for them this year,Robin Lopez or Channing Frye does..but I digress..oh yeah..I'm glad that David Stern put a freeze on Tracy McGrady's all star ballots so he wouldn't make it in(In your face China!)...onto the reserves...

G-Chris Paul
G-Deron Williams
G-Brandon Roy
F-Kevin Durant
F-Dirk Nowitzki
F-Zach Randolph
C-Pau Gasol

Again..only one player I would take out which would be Pau..the Clippers' Chris Kaman is my pick but it goes back to the rule of record over talent..so yeah.

I'll only touch on the Gilbert situation briefly..he was suspended for the rest of the season without pay...I can agree with that for the most part..dumb act..now if he can avoid any jail time there is an outside chance he could sail his way out of the miserable Washington franchise with a lowered buyout...or he could just come back for his $80 million.

Kurt Warner retired from the Arizona Cardnals..paging Matt Leinart...paging Matt Leinart...

Jim Zorn the much maligned former Redskins coach takes the job as the Baltimore Ravens QB coach...thats nice that he landed somewhere..

Here is a list a complied of some of the NBA's most underrated players


Gerald Wallace(Bobcats)-Has always been overlooked even back in Sacramento when he couldn't get any burn on those playoff squads..the guy plays a wing position but yet avg 10 boards a game.He's a statistical anomaly and he has really come a long way from coming into the league,his style of play is very reckless and gets injured a fair amount of times so thats the only thing that could set him back.

Rajon Rondo(Celtics)-Its hard to be overlooked on a championship level squad with 3 hall of fame level players..but I would argue in a way it is.Its very easy to overlook his skill and just blanket it with "he plays with the big 3" and be done with it but there are things that he was doing things before they got there.His defense at the point guard spot is on a elite level,his steal total is an accurate depiction of that..His jumper is coming along quite nicely..he reminds me of a version Jason Kidd the way he gets rebounds at his size

Taj Gibson(Bulls)-Now heres a sleeper of a rookie...he was underrated at college with the OJ Mayo show at USC and it wasn't until Tyrus Thomas went down with an injury that he was able to show what he had. He's not a sexy player but the most productive players in the post is the classic "overlooked" combo.He rebounds well,has a decent midrange game and can post..he fills Thomas' role almost seamlessly.

Carl Landry(Rockets)-If you are wondering who is scoring the ball with Yao hurt and Tracy sent home,this is one of those guys..he's a bruiser(he was the guy who got two teeth ripped out from a collision with Dirk's elbow,gross I know) and gets to the free throw line allllot..I believe he is a top 5 scorer in the 4th qtr..think about that one for a moment

Chris Kaman(Clippers)-This guy is constantly overlooked as a top center in the league as well as one who has a great array of post moves.He has been the only constant for the Clippers(Hard to do right?) But he's averaging over

Marc Gasol(Grizzlies)-As most of the pub gets hit on Rudy Gay and Zach Randolph for the surprising start for the Memphis Griz,Pau's younger brother should be getting some as well. From a talent standpoint he was a techical throw in in the trade to get Pau Gasol to the LA(LA had his rights..interesting right?)

Omar Casspi(Kings)-I won't stop singing this guy's praises..Tyreke is the big rookie we all know but Casspi isn't too far off..he's another form of Rudy Fernandez in that he was a standout overseas playing for a big team so when he gets over here, his adjustment curve is much shorter than what people gave him initially.He has no problem taking and hitting big shots,not having much fear..he deals with contact quite well and is the anti-euro in that is aggressive on defense

Jerryd Bayless(Blazers)-Arizona's own...I won't gush too much on the guy but I knew he was going to be a player but it was just in what context on what team...Portland had too many young guys to really play him and the signing of Andre Miller seemed like the next progression of a guy on his way out.With the rash of injuries to almost everyone on the roster,they had no choice but to player the young guy and he exploded onto the scene. When he has everything going offensively he's almost unstoppable because of his quickness,ability to to get to the rim and mid-range jumpshot.Portland is going to have a real interesting decision to make when everyone gets healthy again.I don't think you can bury talent like that for very long.

Eran Ilyasova(Bucks)-What do you know about Turkey?...if you are like me then the answer is not too much..but Eran took an interesting route..being drafted...sucking...going back to europe..then coming back to the NBA and being a contributing starter..most don't get that 2nd chance. He can shoot the lights out when given a chance for the Bucks and he's aggressive offensively and thats always a plus for a 6-10 player.

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