Chris Bosh led all scorers with 37 points.  Sure, that is a high number, but the Grizzlies forced him to try to beat them single-handedly, focusing their defense on Hedo Turkoglu, who burned them in the past as a member of the Sacramento Kings.  Turkoglu managed only 14 points on 4-of-10 shooting.

The Grizzlies showed some of their youth with an inability to close the Raptors out when they built a double-digit lead in the first half, and lost the third quarter scoring battle as usual, but they outscored the visitors 39-28 in the fourth quarter to snuff out any hope of a comeback.

Continue reading "Grizzlies 115 Raptors 107"

This year will be a year of gelling and growing.  How long will it take for Turkoglu, Chris Bosh, Andrea Bargnani, Jose Calderon, and Jarrett Jack to gel?  The sooner the better.  This team should be one that improves throughout the year.

A lot of how much they improves relies on the progress of youngsters, DeMar DeRozan, Sonny Weems, and Marco Belinelli.   Toronto has a thin bench and one of these guys will start.  But, the other 2 will see plenty of time.  They are a shooting guard away from making the play offs and a year away from acquiring more bench help or having it develop.

Continue reading "Toronto Raptors preseason"

The Los Angeles Clippers are expected to pick former Oklahoma Sooners star Blake Griffin Thursday with the first overall selection in the 2009 NBA Draft at the WaMu Theater at Madison Square Garden in New York City.

However, there is not a consensus projection for the No. 2 pick and basketball analysts remain largely uncertain who the Memphis Grizzlies will choose tomorrow in Gotham.

In recognition of the NBA Draft, I have decided to rank the five most accomplished players selected second overall in the past quarter century.

1) Jason Kidd

Kidd, 36, attended the University of California and helped resurrect the Golden Bears dormant basketball program with his stellar play at the point guard position.

Continue reading "The NBA Drafts Five Best Second Overall Picks Since 1984 Sammy Sosa Is a Joke and He Does Not Deserve Induction into the HOF"

However, there is not a consensus projection for the No. 2 pick and basketball analysts remain largely uncertain who the Memphis Grizzlies will choose tomorrow in Gotham.

In recognition of the NBA Draft, I have decided to rank the five most accomplished players selected second overall in the past quarter century.


1)  Jason Kidd 

Kidd, 36, attended the University of California and helped resurrect the Golden Bears dormant basketball program with his stellar play at the point guard position. 

After being honored as a First Team All-American as a sophomore, Kidd declared for the NBA Draft and was selected second overall by the Dallas Mavericks in 1994. 

Continue reading "The 5 Best Second Overall Selections in the NBA Draft Since 1984"

PG--JOSE CALERSON  SG--JASON KOPONO  SF--JEOY GRAHAM  PF---CHRIS BOSH  C--ANDREA BARNANI

And a very weak bench.  Things may get worse before they get better.  I don't know of any trades, but perhaps a splash in free agency. It's not a big market this year.  And next year, Bosh is a free agent.  So the draft is the best bet for now.  The Raptors have the 9th pick in the draft.  There is bad news and great news with the 9th pick.  Of the past 14 drafts 7 have produced startes, 5 bench players and 3 flops.  The bad news is out of the top 10 picks, the 9 spot produces the least amount of startes and the most number of busts.  The great news is that the 7 starters are all-starts.  Picking first or third also produced 7 all-starts in that same span.  The 9th pick has yielded just as many all-starts as the 2nd, 6th, 7th, and 8th combined! So, the 9th spot is truly a hit or miss.  There isn't much in between.

Continue reading "Toronto Raptors and the draft"

 Shaq Rumors 

Shaquille O’Neal has not been shy about the fact that he would not mind playing for another team other then the Phoenix Suns and is interested in a contract to extend him for one to two more years. Some of the rumored teams to be interested in Shaq are Cleveland Cavaliers, Dallas Mavericks, and New Orleans Hornets.

Continue reading "Catching up with the Phoenix Suns rumors this off season and who should be kept around for next year"

The team came out strong against the Toronto Raptors, scoring the game's first nine points and never looking back.  At one point the Knicks led by a season-best 38 points, and finished the rout with a 127-97 victory in front of the loyal Garden faithful on Italian Heritage Night.

On the bench in his new number-nine jersey was Chris Wilcox, who was brought over from the Oklahoma City Thunder at the deadline.  Next to him on the bench in street clothes was Larry Hughes, brought in from the Chicago Bulls.  Both were interviewed by the MSG Network and both seemed excited to get integrated into Mike D'Antoni's system. 

Continue reading "Relieved Post-Deadline Knicks Beat Down The Toronto Raptors By Thirty"

Marion will immediately allow the Raptors to do two things - move Andrea Bargnani to the five and stick Marion at the three.  A frontcourt of Marion, Bosh, and Bargnani is very troublesome for opposing teams, namely the Knicks. This new front line will be very dangerous in the open floor and gives them a post presence, a big man who can hit the outside shot, and the workhorse in Marion. 

Continue reading "Marion Trade May Put Heat On The Knicks"

Amare Stoudemire. Wow, who would have thought that Phoenix would ever trade this coveted PF/C. This guy is an absolute freak on the basketball court and has progressed really well in his short career. When Phoenix traded for Shaq last year, Amare and his talent took a backseat on the Suns team. The rumors are pretty serious. Expect him to land in Memphis, Chicago, Toronto, or Miami.

Shaquille O'Neal. This one is puzzling to me. If Amare goes, Shaq stays or vice versa. Shaq has once again shown the league and his critics that he can still play at a very high level. I think that Shaq stays in Phoenix and eventually will leave when he becomes a free agent at the end of next year.

Continue reading "The NBA Trade Deadline is right around the corner"

O.J. Mayo scored 12 of his 16 points in the fourth quarter to help the Grizzlies close out the game.  That came after the rookie couldn't buy a basket early on, missing 10 of his first 12 attempts.  His assist to Marc Gasol for a fast-break layup in the third quarter capped an 11-0 run to put the Grizzlies on top for good.

Continue reading "Grizzlies 78 Raptors 70"