Empty the Bench

Suffice it to say, we here at ETB are not a fan of the newly imposed NBA age limit. We don’t go so far as to say the new NBA age limit is the worst thing to happen to college basketball in 30 years, as Bobby Knight asserted, but we’re not a fan. It really makes no sense, and seems like just another example of David Stern enforcing his own personal preferences as law (See NBA dress code).

I mean, people who are 18-years-old can vote for president, go to war, be punished as adults in the judicial system and work any number of dangerous jobs around the country, and yet they can’t play basketball? Does that make sense? What other employer could get away with banning qualified applicants of legal age based on the specific date of their birth? What if a young man’s family is depending on the income he can rightfully and legally earn as an NBA rookie out of high school? What if that young man suffers a torn ACL in his freshman year of college?

Well, another column for another time. But as fans, lets face facts: a good number of the most accomplished and exciting players in the NBA came straight out of high school. Kobe Bryant, Kevin Garnett, LeBron James, Dwight Howard, Jermaine O’Neal, Tracy McGrady and Amare Stoudemire come to mind right off the bat. These players are perennial All-Stars and represent some of the best the National Basketball Association has to offer. With them in mind, ETB takes a look at the best young players in the NBA who are 21 years of age or younger (with a combined two seasons of college experience among them). Be sure to keep these guys in mind during next season’s fantasy draft because all of them are set to dramatically improve over the next couple of years.

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We’ve somehow pulled ourselves away from the dramedy of Oscar Night to bring you our top 10 games in the Association this week. Please bookmark Empty the Bench and check back every Sunday, for without our guide you might get stuck with a 76ers game when there’s professional-grade basketball to be found two channels up in your League Pass.

1. Toronto Raptors at San Antonio Spurs, 8pm, Monday: Chris Bosh and the surging Raptors come into San Antonio having won 12 of their last 15 games, most recently a road victory yesterday in Charlotte. The Spurs are always tough to beat at home, but the Raptors are playing together and seem like one of the hungrier teams in the league at the moment. We expect the Spurs to pull this one out, but we’re rooting for the Raptors. Request: no token shots of Eva Longoria tonight, mmkay? Please?

2. Los Angeles Lakers at Utah Jazz, 9pm, Monday: The Lakers are very underwhelming on the road (just 12-16 coming into this contest), which doesn’t bode well for them against a Jazz team that’s posting one of the better home records in the league at 22-6. This game also marks the second game of a back-to-back for the Lakers, but we all know that Kobe is capable of single-handedly winning one for his team on any given night. As for the Jazz, point guard Deron Williams has played very well lately, Carlos Boozer is back from injury… but more importantly, Masha has a clothing store opening soon.

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Impressed with the machine’s high performance and potential to sculpt big, beautiful, chiseled pectoral muscles, Boston Celtics G/F Wally Szcerbiak said Sunday that he is drastically changing his workout regime and purchasing a Pec-Flexor 3000. Having battled major and minor injuries for the majority of his 9-year career, Szcerbiak was convinced the Pec-Flexor 3000 could do wonders for his overall physical health after watching the below clip of Elementary School Soccer Coach Jon McGuirk at the Pump It Up gym. The 6’7 guard is confident that he “won’t overdo it” like McGuirk did.

In case you were wondering how many pounds Chicago Cubs pitcher Kerry Wood dropped (30!), or who had laser-vision eye surgery during the offseason, Roto Authority has a pretty sweet running list of guys who, physically at least, improved themselves for the better in preparation for the 2007 baseball season.

It’d be interesting to go back and revisit this list as the season goes on to see which players actually experienced a statistical improvement over last year. No, I’m not volunteering to do it.

Tim Kurkjian for ESPN the Magazine has a piece today outlining 10 key training camp battles around Major League Baseball. Not everything on his list is a “this player vs. that player” item, including his questions about how new Chicago Cub Alfonso Soriano will adjust to dealing with the unpredictable weather at Wrigley Field:

It still isn’t clear where Soriano is going to play for the Cubs, but for now, it most likely will be another new position, center field. Wherever it is, he is going to have a hard time defensively given that Wrigley — with its cold and sun and wind — is perhaps the most difficult ballpark for a defensive player, especially one who is so new to the outfield.

Detroit Pistons 95, Chicago Bulls 93

The Pistons/Bulls rivalry is back. Ben Wallace returned to Detroit for the first time since signing a 4-year, $60 million contract with the Bulls to face his former team, but it was his replacement that stole the show this afternoon. Detroit’s prodigal son Chris Webber tipped in a wayward Chauncey Billups jump shot with 2.2 seconds to go in the game, and the Pistons held on for the two-point victory after Ben Gordon’s 3-point attempt at the buzzer bounced off the rim.

The first few minutes of the game were filled with dazzling Ben Gordon play on the offensive end (8 points in the first few minutes) and Hubie Brown slobbering all over his mic in discussing Ben Wallace’s “intangibles” on four separate possessions. Gordon and Kirk Heinrich sat for the bulk of the first quarter with two fouls, however, as the Bulls built a 27-25 lead after one and 53-45 advantage at the half.

It got ugly for the Pistons after the turn, hitting only 1 of their last 16 shots with 8 minutes left in the third. An offensive foul and ensuing tech on Ben Wallace, however, woke up the crowd and the players alike, with Detroit cruising to a 12-0 run to trim a 16-point lead to just 2 after three quarters.

With Jason Maxiell providing a huge spark off the bench in the fourth quarter (see ‘Bench Player of the Game’ below), the Pistons clawed their way back behind 20 (yes, 20) offensive boards in the second half and a strong effort from Tayshaun Prince. Prince, who has been wildly inconsistent the past few weeks, scored some big buckets and brought the house down with one of his patented, highlight-reel block shots on a Luol Deng breakaway. How many times have we seen Tayshaun swoop in from out of nowhere to make these bigtime blocks? This is what second-half-of-the-season NBA basketball is all about.

Fantasy Player of the Game: Chris Webber stepped up in a big way amidst the national-television spotlight today when the Pistons called his number. Detroit fans had to love seeing it, especially the ones living in Michigan who’ll never forget C-Webb’s famous choke against North Carolina in the NCAA Finals. Webber scored the best all-around fantasy numbers for today’s contest, capping his 21-point, 9 rebound, 3 steal, and 9-19 FG day with a game-winning tip-in off a missed Chauncey Billups’ jumper with 2.2 seconds to go. He also added his second 3-point shot as a Detroit Piston.

Fantasy Dud of the Game: Hobbled by a “slightly sprained ankle” early in the third quarter, Rasheed Wallace was a total non-factor in the win for the Pistons. ‘Sheed hit an early 3-pointer, and then… nothing. For the day, Wallace was 2-11 FG%, 6 points, 3 rebounds, 2 blocks, 1 steal, and 2 turnovers.

Bench Player of the Game: Chris Duhon had a solid game off the bench for the Bulls (12 points, 6 rebounds, 5 assists), but while his fantasy numbers were better than the Pistons’ Jason Maxiell, Detroit took the win and Maxiell provided a huge lift in the second half when his team needed it most. Underwhelming box-score numbers—4 points, 7 rebounds, 3 blocks—but just about every one of those stats came at opportune moments. We’re huge fans of J-Maxx here at ETB, and think this kid will only get better over time.

And to Wrap It Up… Big Ben Wallace’s much-ballyhooed return to Detroit pretty much lived up to billing, at least in terms of the competitiveness and energy displayed during the game overall. On the day, Wallace posted the kind of ho-hum numbers he’s been putting up all season so far: 6 points, 8 rebounds, 4 assists, 3 steals, 2 blocks, 2-8 from the free-throw line. Hey, it’s great to get a few notches in all columns by your fantasy center, but these can’t be the numbers the Bulls enjoy writing a $60 million check for.

Wallace was roundly booed by the home crowd today, starting with his introduction in the Bulls’ starting line-up as “one of the cornerstones of the re-emergence of Detroit Pistons basketball.” The other half of Wallace & Wallace, Rasheed, “was having a laugh,” Andy Millman style, at Ben’s expense in warmups, running over and tossing Ben a headband. It seemed like the loudest cheers of the day were for Big Ben mishaps: an offensive foul call, missing 6 of 8 free throws, a technical foul. The inter-divisonal move by Ben Wallace has clearly brought even more passion into the long-standing rivalry between the Bulls and Pistons, and that can only be a good thing for the NBA.

FG% specialist Carlos Boozer returned from the hairline fracture in his right leg on Friday for the Jazz’s 114-104 win over the Denver Nuggets. He played just 12 minutes and scored only 10 points (5-8 FGs), but it’s only a matter of time before he’s back to his old self. The Jazz will ease him along, but within a week we expect to see him playing 30+ minutes, approaching his 35 minutes per game average. Despite the limited playing time, Boozer was a starter for the Jazz in Friday’s game.

Boozer also started Saturday versus the Boston Celtics and posted 16 points, 10 rebounds and 4 assists (6-11 FGs, 4-5 FTs) in 23 minutes. Mehmet Okur has missed the last two games with back spasms, and Andrei Kirilenko sat our Saturday as well, so Carlos should be pressed into full duty sooner rather than later (Giving minutes to Rafael Araujo being the alternative).

All fantasy owners should feel comfortable inserting Boozer into their starting lineups going forward. He originally had the fracture diagnosed on January 27th and was expected to miss four to eight weeks, but has returned far ahead of schedule, a pleasant surprise for those who rely on his steady production. It’s certainly a relief to have Carlos and his 56.9% FGs, 21.8 points, 11.6 boards and 3 assists back in the fantasy lineup.

And Ramon “The Diamond” Dekkers Is Really, Really Good At It

Muay Thai is the, “Thai name for a form of hard martial art practiced in several Southeast Asian countries including Thailand, Cambodia (where it is known as Pradal Serey), Malaysia (where it is known as Tomoi) and as a similar style in Myanmar (called Lethwei) and in Laos (Muay Lao).” I’ve caught a few clips of it before, but I have no idea who this Ramon Dekkers guy is. Apparently he fought them all, in their homeland, under their rules . . . and he beat them.

Just in case you needed some proof, check out the video below. We suggest you keep your finger hovering over the mute button on your computer, the music is a tad obnoxious. My favorite highlights are at 1:08, 2:50, 3:46 and 4:05. I’m pretty sure I could take most of these guys, too. I’d come at them like a tornado of teeth and fingernails and elbows. In any event, it’s fun as hell to watch people beat the living crap out of other people, so without further ado:

The Boston Globe recently ran a story that new pitcher Daisuke Matsuzaka has been requesting longer bullpen sessions, and threw 103 pitches in his last effort. This is an unheard of number for this point in spring training, and it is further indication that he may not be just an ordinary starting pitcher. Matsuzaka is earning quite a reputation for his work ethic, and has been impressing teammates throughout spring training. Said Red Sox GM Theo Epstein, who watched the whole session:

“I think probably the thing that caught my attention the most was, he’s in there 80-90 pitches deep, and he’s still going from the stretch, still checking runners, still taking it like a real game situation. Every single pitch had a purpose. You almost wanted to videotape it and show it to our young guys in minor league camp, about how to get the most out of your practice, and he certainly does.”

We had Matsuzaka rated in the top 25 starters in the MLB, but we’re itching to move him into the top 20. He represents a potentially high-reward, low-risk player as you likely won’t have to spend a pick on him in the first six rounds. Being relatively unknown, with few scouting reports available on him, and playing for a team with a very potent offense, Matsuzaka could come out of the gate quickly and rack up some wins for your fantasy squad. I personally am trying to get him on my teams, though still being careful not to overpay because of the novelty factor.

ESPN is reporting that the Buffalo Bills are actively shopping Willis McGahee. There is no word why the Bills are preparing to deal one of their top young playmakers, but it appears the talks are serious and Willis could be wearing another jersey come next season. McGahee has shaken the injury concerns that caused his NFL Draft stock to plummet, and has missed only two games over the last three seasons. Were he in a productive offense he could easily be a top-five running back. The Bills schedule is frequently one of the more fantasy friendly in the NFL, but the Bills’ offense is terrible, so the effects of a change of address are unknown at this point. The initial report from ESPN has NY Giants GM Jerry Reese quoted as saying,

“There is some talk about Willis out there. We’ll investigate Willis. We’ll investigate everybody out there with trade talks. We’ll leave no stones unturned.”

This is clearly massive fantasy news. There were a lot of fantasy players out there set to take Brandon Jacobs in the second or third round of fantasy drafts this season, and those plans would obviously go out the window if McGahee were a Giant. McGahee would also lose a ton of value if he were to team with a known touchdown vulture like Jacobs (See Tiki Barber 2005-2007). The Giants are the only team reported to be interested so far, but obviously more suitors would step up for a natural talent like Willis. Stay posted to ETB for any further updates on this situation which could send shockwaves up and down fantasy draft cheatsheets.