Empty the Bench

Chris Paul’s exploits on the offensive end of the floor hanve been well documented, and rightfully so. He’s the best floor general in basketball, and it’s not really close. We haven’t seen a point with his combination of offensive prowess, game-management ability and distribution skills in the last decade – and that inlcudes two-time MVP Steve Nash, who has never matched Paul’s current 11.9 assist clip or his 53.6% field-goal shooting or his 20.3-point output in any season of his career.

Paul came out of the gate like gangbusters, breaking an NBA record for consecutive games at the start of a season with at least 20 points and 10 assists – a record that had been set by Oscar Robertson in 1968. In fact, after finishing second to Kobe Bean Bryant of the Lakers in MVP voting last season Paul has upped the ante by improving in nearly every statistical category – most notably that 53.6% shooting, up from an already solid 48.8% a season ago.

But most of us know what Paul does on the offensive end, no ink has been spared in singing his praises there. What we may not hear enough about are his exploits on the defensive end of the floor. We may be hearing more about it soon. He’s about to (knock on wood) set the NBA mark for consecutive games with a steal.

Why setting the record would be extra sweet for Paul after the jump…

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Allen Iverson has taken his fair share of blows over the years both on the court and from the media, but perhaps nothing like the criticism that’s been leveled his way since joining the Detroit Pistons over a month ago.

To hear NBA writers, bloggers, fans, and broadcasters tell it, A.I. is a washed-up, me-first has-been who upon arriving in Detroit promptly went about infecting the franchise with his deadly black cancer, an infliction so pervasive that the only cure remains completely eradicating its source.

Iverson’s past successes and will to win have even been called into question, and with the Denver Nuggets doing so well since his departure–they’re 14-4 with Chauncey Billups in tow–and the Pistons stinking up the joint (7-9 with Iverson in the lineup), it’s hard to argue with the scores of critics picking at every little crack in Iverson’s armor like ravenous vultures.

Beyond the mounting losses and roster disarray we’re seeing in Detroit at the moment, Iverson’s raw stats with the Pistons are further provoking the feeding-frenzy: through 16 games A.I. has posted career-lows in per-game minutes (37:12), points (17.3), field-goal attempts (14.4), and free-throw attempts (6.1). His sub-40% field-goal percentage is the second lowest of his career, and he’s been repeatedly torched by opposing point guards such as Devin Harris and Randy Foye.

Everybody seems to indeed have an opinion about Allen Iverson right now, and none of them are complimentary. He’s like Mike Tyson stepping into the ring against Buster Douglas and getting tenderized into a soft pulp of disappointment, failure, and unfulfilled expectation. Stick a fork in him, A.I. is done and so are the Pistons.

Well, not so fast.

More on Allen Iverson, the NBA’s new punching bag, after the break….

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ESPN – The Wizards made off like bandits with Javaris Crittenton.
The Hoop Doctors – Create a caption, win a Steve Nash jersey. Done and done.
20 Second Timeout – Breaking down the Lake Show’s D with their assistant coaches.
Ball Don’t Lie – KD asks us to remember the good times with McHale.
Yahoo! – “McHale approached him from behind in the locker room and rubbed his neck.”
Rocky Mountain News – Kevin McHale’s clipboard was, “like a little Etch and Sketch.”
Daily Motion – I have a new hero. His name is Remi, and he drives a kart.
AOL Fanhouse – Chauncey Billups and Nene have metaphorphisized the Denver Nuggets.
SLAM Online – Elite prep ballers are taking over the Chi Town next weekend. Be there.
Talking Points – Get used to Maggette, Warriors fans. He ain’t going nowhere for a long time.
NBA.com – Boston isn’t the only place they’re talking about 70 wins…
MLive – Will Bynum, Jamal Crawford and starting Amir again are the answers
Sactown Royalty – The Kings’ biggest win since Game 3 of the first round in 2006.

And finally, I leave you with Bron Bron busting out his finest Mailman impersonation:

I read a lot of offhand comments from the NBA blogosphere and major media outlets alike that casually reference a collective team’s age; more often than not these comments amount to uninformed assumptions presented as fact. “The Timberwolves are really young,” “the Pistons are really old,” etc.

We all know the San Antonio Spurs are the only team in NBA history in which half of its active roster is already eligible to collect their retirement pension. And those upstart Portland Trail Blazers who are looking more and more dangerous as the season wears on are, clearly, a team whose nucleus is all in their early-20s. But beyond the obvious calls, how many people really know which franchises can truly be considered “young” and which ones qualify as “old?”

The truth may surprise you.

Now, I understand that simply looking at a given franchise’s average roster age doesn’t paint the entire canvas. Many teams are weighed down at the very ends of their respective benches by creaky, aging vets doing nothing more than cashing paychecks, or by “athletic” youngsters with no hope of ever making more meaningful contributions at this level than garbage-time dunks. Still, it seems there’s some perspective in order in the name of loose accuracy… or maybe just as a party trick on your next hot date. (“Ask me the average age of any NBA roster. Any roster. If you don’t believe me, look it up when you get home.”)

So without further ado, all 30 NBA teams ranked in order of youngest to oldest, with the average age next to each team name in parentheses. Huh… those “old” Pistons are actually younger than over half the league. The Hornets are the second-oldest team in the league. And just when you thought the Milwaukee Bucks couldn’t get any more depressing, they do–only five teams are older.

1. Golden State Warriors (23.8)
2. Portland Trail Blazers (24)
3. Memphis Grizzlies (24.4)
4. Oklahoma City Thunder (24.7)
5. Charlotte Bobcats (24.7)
6. Atlanta Hawks (25)
7. New Jersey Nets (25.4)
8. Utah Jazz (25.6)
9. Miami Heat (25.8)
10. Chicago Bulls (26)
11. Los Angeles Clippers (26.1)
12. Toronto Raptors (26.2)
13. Detroit Pistons (26.3)
14. Los Angeles Lakers (26.4)
15. Sacramento Kings (26.5)

See where the rest of the league’s rosters fall in the age bracket after the break…

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The 0-16-bound Detroit Lions are a fantasy owner’s best friend… that is, of course, if you own the skill players that are facing them and their “defense” on any given week. It’s no different this week with the forecast in Indianapolis calling for a bloodbath of epic offensive proportions when the Leos limp into the RCA Dome to face Peyton Manning and the high-powered Colts offense.

So to those of you who own Manning, Dominic Rhodes, Reggie Wayne, Marvin Harrison, Anthony Gonzalez, and Dallas Clark, you should theoretically have a leg up in your fantasy playoff matchup this week, at least on paper. Joseph Addai is a bit banged up and has been less effective than Rhodes recently, so we’re banking on this one being an early blowout and Addai sitting for the bulk of the game even if he does start.

As always this time of the year, keeping an eye on weather conditions becomes just as crucial as watching matchups, so don’t forget to check the weather reports between 10am – 12:30pm for the Sunday afternoon contests. The New Orleans Saints travel to Chicago to face the Bears and their 16th-ranked defense Thursday night; right now it looks a little shitty with highs in the upper-20s and 13+mph winds.

Good luck; next week is ETB’s final weekly position ranks of the season. Thanks for sticking with us.

Fantasy Week 15 – Top 20 Quarterbacks

1. Peyton Manning, Indianapolis Colts vs. DET
2. Kurt Warner, Arizona Cardinals vs. MIN
3. Drew Brees, New Orleans Saints @ CHI
4. Jay Cutler, Denver Broncos @ CAR
5. Donovan McNabb, Philadelphia Eagles vs. CLE
6. Philip Rivers, San Diego Chargers @ KC
7. Aaron Rodgers, Green Bay Packers @ JAX
8. Tony Romo, Dallas Cowboys vs. NYG
9. Matt Cassel, New England Patriots @ OAK
10. Brett Favre, New York Jets vs. BUF
11. Eli Manning, New York Giants @ DAL
12. Matt Ryan, Atlanta Falcons vs. TB
13. Tyler Thigpen, Kansas City Chiefs vs. SD
14. Chad Pennington, Miami Dolphins vs. SF
15. Jake Delhomme, Carolina Panthers vs. DEN
16. Jason Campbell, Washington Redskins @ CIN
17. Kyle Orton, Chicago Bears vs. NO
18. David Garrard, Jacksonville Jaguars vs. GB
19. Kerry Collins, Tennessee Titans @ HOU
20. Jeff Garcia, Tampa Bay Bucs @ ATL

Rest of the Week 15 fantasy football ranks after the break…

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Battling shoulder and knee injuries, it’s been nearly two full years since we’ve seen Dwyane Wade’s MVP form. He’s back and better than ever. After torching the Charlotte Bobcats for 41 last night he’s averaging career highs points (29.5), assists (7.5), steals (2.3!), blocks (1.7!), threes (0.9), and field-goal percentage (49.9%). Those of you who gambled and used a first-round pick on the oft-injured guard have been handsomely rewarded with the best player in fantasy hoops.

Back in October we said of the Southwest, “Barring a superhuman effort from D-Wade (and after watching the Olympics, let’s not be too hasty to rule it out) the division figures to be headed up once again by the Magic of Orlando and the Bullets of Washington.” Flash is bringing the superheroics. The Wizards? Not so much. Miami is currently an impressive 12-9 and sits in the Eastern Conference’s 7th seed. They’re also a hell of a lot of fun to watch with Wade, Shawn Marion and super-rookies Michael Beasley and Mario Chalmers running the floor like a herd of antelopes.

If you need any further proof that Wade’s explosiveness and hops are back in full, just ask Emeka Okafor for his expert opinion on Flash’s posterizing skills…

Hat tip to The Hoop Doctors for the find

“Hey, why not?”

Kevin McHale Photo Credit: Icon SMI

According to the Minneapolis Star Tribune this afternoon, “The Timberwolves fired head coach Randy Wittman this morning and replaced him with Vice President of Basketball Operations Kevin McHale, but the big news out of Target Center is that McHale will relinquish his front-office duties to concentrate on coaching.”

It should come as no surprise to anyone that Randy Wittman was relieved of duty as head coach of the Minnesota Timberwolves today. The Wolves were 4-15 under Wittman this season and 38-105 overall since he was hired. They were also coming off an embarrassing 23-point loss at home to the Clippers, perhaps the worst team in basketball. In fact, it was criminal that Wittman was asked to helm the ship for another go-nowhere campaign – but then again, with Kevin McHale calling the shots decisions of criminal incompetence have become par for the course.

What is surprising, but perhaps should not be, is who McHale named as Wittman’s successor. Borrowing a play out of Isiah Thomas’s book, Big Kev named himself as the next head coach of the Minnesota Timberwolves. Again. You’ll recall that he went 19-12 in the final 31 games of 2004-05 after firing Flip Saunders. In typical McHale fashion there was a complete lack of foresight and planning and no successor had been groomed or considered in the last few seasons. And with typical Glen Taylor frugality on the sidelines, we have to wonder if simply not wanting to pay anyone factored into the decision.

Why Wittman had to go, after the jump…

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Every once in a while you come across something on YouTube that reminds you why you waste so much time poring over improperly labeled soft-core erotica and frantic highlight reels set to ear-shattering hip hop.

He’s nearly 70 years of age now, but Walt Bellamy was on of the most dominant young big men in basketball history. The 1962 Rookie of the Year broke out in the 1961-62 season to the tune of 31.6 points and 19 rebounds per game. Among all rookies in NBA history only Wilt the Stilt has scored more points and only Chamberlain and Bill Russell had more rebounds. Even more impressive, the kid led the league in field-goal percentage and dropped 23 and 17 in the All Star game his first season.

Bellamy went on to have a Hall of Fame NBA career with 20,941 points and 14,241 rebounds. We see him interviewed here by then-GM of the Chicago Zaphyrs (present day Washington Wizards), Frank Lane, who is absolutely beaming with pride for his prized selection. YouTube ain’t all bad.

Still with us? Good, congratulations for making it this far. You’ve done well, but the real battle has only just…

Ah, forget it. There are enough fantasy football articles floating around the Web this week insulting your intelligence in regards to the fantasy playoffs; you don’t need another one. “Now’s the time to really focus on matchups” and “there’s no such thing as over-managing your roster during the fantasy playoffs”–thanks for that. We get it.

Anybody who’s still in the hunt doesn’t need such time-wasting frivolity. You want rankings–cold, calculated rankings–to help shape your roster decisions, and that’s what ETB exclusively focuses on each and every week. That’s it. So with that in mind, best of luck. In case you’re wondering, both of us made the cut over in the ETB-sponsored league with the potential for Andrew and I meeting up in the championship match. We shall see.

Fantasy Week 14 – Top 20 Quarterbacks

1. Kurt Warner, Arizona Cardinals vs. STL
2. Drew Brees, New Orleans Saints vs. ATL
3. Peyton Manning, Indianapolis Colts vs. CIN
4. Jay Cutler, Denver Broncos vs. KC
5. Aaron Rodgers, Green Bay Packers vs. HOU
6. Philip Rivers, San Diego Chargers @ OAK
7. Brett Favre, New York Jets @ SF
8. Tony Romo, Dallas Cowboys @ PIT
9. Donovan McNabb, Philadelphia Eagles @ NYG
10. Matt Cassel, New England Patriots @ SEA
11. Eli Manning, New York Giants vs. PHI
12. Matt Ryan, Atlanta Falcons @ NO
13. Chad Pennington, Miami Dolphins @ BUF
14. Ben Roethlisberger, Steelers vs. DAL (Check Status)
15. Tyler Thigpen, Kansas City Chiefs @ DEN
16. Gus Frerotte, Minnesota Vikings @ DET
17. Kyle Orton, Chicago Bears vs. JAX
18. Sage Rosenfels, Houston Texans @ GB
19. David Garrard, Jacksonville Jaguars @ CHI
20. Jake Delhomme, Carolina Panthers vs. TB

Rest of the Week 14 fantasy football ranks after the break…

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Scottie Brooks first significant move as head coach of the Oklahoma City Thunder is looking like a good one. After starting at shooting guard for the first 92 games of his career, Brooks moved franchise cornerstone Kevin Durant to small forward.

The Durantula had been manning the off-guard slot in an effort to protect him from the more physical style of NBA forwards. It was probably a good decision last season as the rail-thin swingman had a lot of trouble banging with the bigger pros on both ends, but Durant is showing that he was ready to make the transition to his natural small forward position.

Get ready to see more of that complete player we saw in his lone season at Texas as a result.

At guard Durant had become more of a spot-up shooter than a player with his dynamic skills should be, but now he’s able to better utilize his all-around tools. The move keeps Durant more active on offense and allows him to play around the basket more on both ends of the floor.

At 6-10 it was a move that had to be made eventually as Kevin struggled to keep in front of quicker NBA shooting guards on a nightly basis. “It gives [Durant and Green] an opportunity to get in positions where they can take better shots and be able to guard guys easier,” Brooks said. “Because Kevin is basically 6-10 and it’s not an easy thing to do to guard smaller guys.”

He’s still a lanky kid, but Durant’s offensive game was ready for the adjustment.

In his debut at forward Durant dropped 30 points on 11-of-16 shooting (a season-high 68.7%). Playing closer to the basket will allow him to be more efficient and put greater pressure on defenses. For the first 12 games of the season Durant was scoring 21.2 points per game shooting 44.6% from the field and getting to the line just 4.8 time a game. In the week and a half since the change he’s upped his scoring average to 24.8 on 1.5 fewer field-goal attempts per game because his field-goal shooting has risen to 48.2% and he’s now making 7.8 trips to the line a game. He’s also approaching 1 block a night. That improvement is dramatic and should only continue as he learns to use his length and athleticism more and more.

On defense Durant still needs time to put on some bulk and learn how to handle the physicality of opposing forwards. Giving him a season of experience at the position should greatly aid that maturation process. The challenge is one Durant was ready to take on, too. “I definitely am,” Durant said. “That’s my natural position. I’ve been playing that mostly my whole life. The last game I felt a lot more comfortable at (small forward), guarding (small forwards) and just helping my team out in different areas. So I’m excited.” We are, too, Kevin.

What allowed Brooks to pull the trigger, after the jump…

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He’s posting career-best stats and become one of the NBA’s most efficient players… but I’m reticent to even recognize Nene’s monster contributions to the Denver Nuggets’ success at this still-early stage of the season. The main thing that has always held back the seventh-overall pick of the 2002 draft is injuries–he’s never played in all 82 regular-season games–so the last thing I want to do is jinx him (like I did with Reggie Bush).

But with all the attention in Denver on Carmelo Anthony and the positive impact Chauncey Billups has had since arriving via Detroit, Nene’s under-the-radar performance through 19 games can no longer go unrecognized.

Now in his seventh season with the Nuggets, the 6-11 power forward has benefitted from the Marcus Camby trade by taking advantage of the extra minutes in ways few anticipated. Amongst eligible players, Nene leads the league in field-goal percentage at 62.8% on about 9 shot attempts/per–that’s a full 3 percentage points above the next closest players (Shaquille O’Neal and Dwight Howard, who mostly just dunk). He’s averaging career-bests of 14.9 points, 7.2 boards, 1.6 blocks, and 77% FT/per, and has played in every game thus far; the 33:17 minutes per are also the most of his professional career.

Nene’s effort in Tuesday night’s 132-93 thrashing of the Toronto Raptors was indicative of the efficiency and control he’s played with all season long: 19 points (8-9 FG, 3-3 FT), 11 rebounds, 2 blocks, 2 assists, and a +21 rating. Those kinds of numbers are fantasy gold for those out there who spent a low-round pick on him this year, but more importantly are helping ease the burden on Anthony and Billups and the reliance on Kenyon Martin’s erratic-at-best offense.

It’s hard not to root for this likeable guy. He’s suffered one health setback after another over the years, some more serious than others, but keeps coming back and giving it his all. His ability to bang on the blocks, rebound, and score from inside or just-outside the paint have never been much of a question mark, and so far this season he’s proving it. Much like the rest of the Nuggets, Nene has also, to be sure, flourished since the arrival of Billups, a true PG whose calming demeanor and talent to consistently set his teammates up for open shots is in stark contrast to Allen Iverson’s more frenetic pacing.

I’ll stop, though–wouldn’t want to jinx him.

Nene Photo Credit: Icon SMI