GM's Best Guess

12:29 PM // by Jack Ady // // 0 comments
With just six awful days until the NBA regular season begins, we take time to look ahead at what the upcoming season holds for us the viewers. First of all, I'd like to address the recent 2007-08 NBA General Managers survey, in which the GM's are polled on their opinions about a number of things. We're only going to cover a few here.



The GM's were asked, "Which player in the NBA would you want taking a shot with the game on the line?" 88.5% of the GM's answered that they would take Kobe Bryant. They took him last year as well. Now, this isn't an attack at Kobe, but in the category of game winning/tying shots, he has the lowest percentage of all time. 92% of GM's thought he was the best shooting guard in the NBA, and you'd be daft to think otherwise, but I just want to illustrate that the GM's do not always know what they're talking about. Take Isiah Thomas for instance-- yeah, that's the mind we're delving into for this information.



For the fourth year in a row, the NBA's General Managers selected the San Antonio Spurs to win the NBA title. They were right two times and wrong two times. Despite the fact that Houston, Phoenix and Denver all got tougher, the Mavs stayed together and the Spurs just got older in the off season, the GM's decided to take the road most travelled and guess that the Spurs will win.


It appears that they don't hope so, though. 73.1% of those polled believe that the Phoenix Suns will be the best team to watch in the NBA, with the Golden State Warriors eating up the majority of the remaining vote. Nash was voted best leader, best passer and best point guard. He was second only to Kobe in the category of players whom opposing coaches needed to adjust the most to. His Suns were second in the poll to take the whole taco.


This writer is one commentator who not only hopes they do win, but honestly thinks that they will. How many teams took four years together to win a title? How about Jordan and Pippen? Kobe and Shaq? Well, Nash is entering his fourth year in Phoenix now, and title hopes are high there. Grant Hill has added a new dimension, with both he and Boris Diaw playing the high post point, teams will no longer be able to just knock Steve Nash out of bounds to beat the Suns.


Marcus Banks has actually been great in the pre-season, along with DJ Strawberry as Steve Nash's little clones. Amare is ready to go without rehab. Boris is skinny again. Bell is healthy and lighter. Barbosa is improved. These Suns are serious. Don't go giving the rings to the old folks in
Texas yet.


Oh, one more stat that upset me. The GM's said that Bruce Bowen was the NBA's best defender and best perimeter defender. No. The guy is filth. I've seen dozens of articles on how great a guy is; neat. That doesn't mean for one second that he's not the dirtiest player in the NBA; actually he definitely is. I dare anyone who doesn't absolutely agree with me to go to youtube.com and search just the name "Bruce Bowen" and find me something positive. I could save you some time right now and tell you that it isn't there, but you wouldn't listen would you? I especially like the one when he knees Nash in the man parts right in front of the Phoenix bench.

Go Suns.


Email the JackDaddy at jackhoops@gmail.com

K-Mart Update

11:21 PM // by Jack Ady // , , , // 0 comments
You haven't read this yet. I hadn't either. K-Mart is back after a years absence. And he's already throwing down alley-oops. Yi Jianlian can't keep up with his double microfracture surgery repaired knees.

First, take a look at his rehab process.

http://youtube.com/watch?v=jRXyplSiPyY&mode=related&search=

Now, the results.

http://www.rockymountainnews.com/drmn/nba/article/0,2777,DRMN_23922_5724780,00.html

Welcome back. Look out, Utah. There won't be anymore of this.


You can email the jackdaddy at jackhoops@gmail.com

Coming Soon

11:33 AM // by Jack Ady // , , , , , , // 0 comments
It's not long now. In 14 long, miserable days, we can finally be reunited with the basketball that we have missed so bad. And there are tons of reasons to look forward to this season, none of which rhyme with Dony Barker.

1. The Hibachi is Fired Up.

Two seasons ago in the first round, Gilbert Arenas surprised us all by providing a worthy dueler for LeBron James and the Cavaliers. He dropped 60 on Kobe in La La land, including an NBA record 18 in OT. He randomly threw down a between-the-legs dunk off a trampoline in the All-Star game.

Then last year he broke his leg and missed the playoffs. He says he's ready. Not to mention everything else that he says, Agent 0 is ready to perform. Not only was he one of the league's leading scorers, Arenas hit a ridiculous number of buzzer beaters last year, including multiple shots in the same game. Tune in for this guy, it's always a show.

2. Steve Nash has little clones now, and their fast.

Last night as the Phoenix Suns consumed the Utah Jazz in preseason, I noticed something; everyone is in really good shape. Jazz commentator Thurl Bailey acknowledged it as well. "Last year they came out and started 3-6, and Nash missed some of those games... This year they came out ready to play."

And it's true. Boris Diaw seems to have lost all the weight he gained for last season, and D'Antoni doesn't seem content with that, playing him some 41 minutes last night. Marcus Banks and Raja Bell looked slimmer, and all of the Suns who played last night just ran and ran and ran.

"We weren't prepared to play, not against those guys." Said Jazz coach Jerry Sloan. "Not that team."

It looks like Phoenix might score even more points than they did last year. Honestly, if you're a basketball fan, you should seriously embrace this time, because it is rare for a team this fun to be together. Enjoy the show.

3. The Wild West got Wilder.

Ok, who out west feels like they got better this offseason? What's that Golden State? You have a Euro star and a nice rookie? Baron Davis, Al Harrington and Steven Jackson have lost a combined 85 pounds?

Is that you Houston? What's that? Bonzi Wells is going to try this year? Steve Francis isn't going to be Disgruntled? Mike James is going to get open jumpers? Didn't you get the Scola guy from Argentina, you know, the Americas tourney MVP? Rafer Alston won't have to try to be a real point guard? T-Mac and Yao won't be the only people who score? Look out NBA, this team is officially for real.

And Denver too? Carmelo shone over the Summer? Iverson is still AI? JR Smith is healthy? K-Mart is too? You still have Nene and Camby right? Wasn't that Kleiza guy getting better, too? And now you have Chucky Atkins to play back up point guard? Yikes!

The easy road to the finals out west is now imaginary, and that is really exciting. Just think, the darkhorse in the west is.... everyone.

4. All the Spurs got was older.

The Villains of the NBA, San Antonio just got older. With every passing day, the chances of Manu or Horry breaking a hip via flopping increases dramatically. We can all just pray for plantar fasciatis to come back to Tim Duncan as well, but in all reality, the reason they don't repeat is that they never re-stock after winning. Maybe next year fellas, but hopefully never again.


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