Nba

Today, after receiving a pair of free tickets to the Pistons/Nuggets game at the Palace, I had a few reactions. 

My first one was, “Hell Yeah! Free Pistons Tickets!” 

The second one was, “Have I seen Carmelo Anthony in person?” I had to think about it, but nope, I’ve never seen ‘Melo play. 

Continue reading "Three Year Bucket List"

Tim Donaghy, the referee who spent 15 months in a federal prison for his role in a betting scandal that rocked the NBA, is out of prison and looking to make a splash once again. 

The NBA did a phenomenal job sweeping the whole Donaghy scandal under the rug as best they could when the revelations were made public that he had ties to organized crime and that he may or may not have affected the outcomes of NBA games. 

Continue reading "An End to the Tim Donaghy Scandal (Hopefully)"

www.sporcle.com is awesome. It’s a great place to waste time.

If you’ve never heard of it, basically it is a website that gives you the topic to a list of people, places, or things, and you have a certain amount on time to guess all the answers in the list. 

Continue reading "Sporcle.com is awesome"

Officially, attendance was listed for the Los Angeles Clippers at Memphis Grizzlies game last night at 10,012.

The only way that number was over 10,000 is if you took every person in the arena, counted every person whose number was stored in their cell phone, and multiplied it by two.

Continue reading "The End of the Grizzlies? Let's Hope So."

Have you looked at the league leaders yet this season?

There are some familiar faces atop some of the big categories. Kobe leads the league in scoring. Nash leads the league in assists. Rondo leads the league in steals. 

Continue reading "New Era of NBA Bigs?"

I wrote a short blog last week about Allen Iverson being unhappy with his role in Memphis, and I predicted that by March 1st the Grizzlies would send him home.

I mean, it was obvious that it was a marriage that was doomed from the start.

Continue reading "Who is Allen Iverson?"

Last week in “Fun With Box Scores” I took a look at about ten different things that jumped out from the previous week’s box scores. 

It was the initial plan to roll out ten more fun little facts that I discovered while rummaging through the box scores this week, but I came across one box score that was so unique that I don’t feel like any other stat line from the week is worthy of being in the same post as this one. 

Continue reading "Fun With Box Scores"

LeBron James makes his only trip to Madison Square Garden tonight. 

For the past two seasons there has been plenty of talk about LeBron bolting his hometown of Cleveland for the bright lights of New York City. 

Continue reading "LeBron Makes His Only Trip to "The Garden" Tonight"

He fooled me yet again.

We’ve seen this act before. Andrew Bynum, through the first five games, is averaging over 20-10, yet again. 

It’s nothing new. For the third straight season, the young, potential stud, center for the Los Angeles Lakers has hit the ground running and has shown flashes of being an all-star caliber center in the NBA. 

Continue reading "Andrew Bynum: The Oldest 22-Year-Old in the NBA"

The NBA season is officially underway (unless you live in Chicago or Milwaukee). 

After several hours parked in front of the NBA League Pass for the past two days, it’s time for some first impressions. 

Continue reading "First Impressions"

Last night I was listening to an interview with former NBA head coach P.J. Carlesimo on 106.7 The Fan.  He was commenting on the opening days of the NBA regular season, specifically about the Eastern Conference and his thoughts on who were the better teams.  Not surprisingly he named the top three teams as the “factors,” those being Cleveland, Boston, and Orlando.  He said that there are not any teams even close to those three but on the outside looking in is the Washington Wizards.  The Wizards were the only team he mentioned as the fourth best team and he said this about three times.  These comments got me thinking about what the Wizards need to do this regular season to take the next step and breach that label, in what areas can they improve to develop into the fourth Eastern Conference power? 

Continue reading "How Can the Washington Wizards Improve ..."

Happy New Year!

With the new NBA season set to tip off with four games tonight, here are some of the things I’ll be watching for in tonight’s action.

Boston @ Cleveland, 7:30pm

I can’t wait to see LeBron again this season. Last year, coming off the Olympics, you could see that his focus was on improving defensively. Now, without a summer in the spotlight, I’m curious to see if he’s made any improvements to his already unreal game. Is this the year we finally see LeBron use his Karl Malone-like body to beast on people inside?

Continue reading "NBA Opening Night Quick Thoughts"

After it has ended, it is fairly unclear how much stock can be taken out of this year’s Washington Wizards preseason.  As usual in preseason games the stars generally saw limited minutes, particularly at the end of the game.  When the Wiz played the Cleveland Cavaliers they did not have to deal with Lebron James and the Wizards had to cope with a “swine-flu backcourt” for several games.  It was ironically against those same Cavaliers that workhorse power forward Antawn Jamison endured a shoulder injury that could prove onerous in the beginning of the season.  Flip Saunders remarked that Jamison’s injury is better to occur at the beginning of the regular season rather than the end.  That’s a glass-half-full perspective but far from appeasing for a fanbase that is sick and tired of injuries plaguing promising seasons.  As fans we could revert to what’s become an old adage, that “at least it will give time for the young players to develop,” but after three essentially lost seasons, that contrived positivity has run its course.  It is hard to believe that the trio of Arenas, Butler, and Jamison hasn’t played a regular season game together since April 1, 2007. 

Continue reading "Washington Wizards Preseason Analysis/Season ..."

Disappointing news for NBA fans everywhere, courtesy of yahoo: 

"LOS ANGELES (AP)—Blake Griffin’s (notes) NBA debut has been pushed back indefinitely after the Los Angeles Clippers revealed late Monday night that their No. 1 overall draft pick has a broken left kneecap.

Continue reading "Disappointing First Impression of Blake Griffin"

Welcome to the Diary of an NBA Junkie.

My Name is Scott Shepherd, and I’m addicted to the NBA. 

After a few years of covering the NBA for a great website, www.sports-central.org, I’ve decided to branch out and start my own blog. 

Continue reading "Welcome to the Diary of an NBA Junkie"

With the Washington Wizards’ season set to get underway, there remain questions about the team’s chances to compete in the Eastern Conference.  Will Gilbert Arenas stay healthy and be his old self?  Will Andray Blatche fulfill his potential and be the player he can be?  Will the Wizards regret getting rid of Oleksiy Pecherov? (just kidding).  One major concern that will be definitive of the Wizards’ season is whether they can play defense, especially against teams of the East’s top tier such as Boston, Orlando, and Cleveland.  Upon taking a closer look at the Wizards’ personnel, there are several reasons to believe that they can. 

Continue reading "Why the Washington Wizards Will be ..."

  1. Gilbert Arenas will average over 8 assists per game –            It is quite obvious that with all the new offensive weapons and a healthy roster, Gilbert Arenas’ scoring average is going to go down.  He isn’t going to be able to keep up a 29.3 ppg season like he did in 2005-06.  My guess is that his numbers will drop down to around his career average of 22 ppg.  Maybe even a little bit lower as there are going to be plenty of guys begging for the rock.  Scoring averages aside, with Gilbert Arenas back in the line-up everyone will benefit.  Gil still gets respect for his scoring capabilities, as evidenced in the two games last year in which he tallied 20 assists and no turnovers.  He has the ability to draw the double team and help defense, much like Kobe, Dwyane, and Lebron, giving him opportunities to pass the ball off to the open man.  In the two games he played last year, you could see that Gilbert still has a quick first step but is more cautious with it.  That hesitancy makes opponents play on their heels which allows Gilbert to blow by them on a drive and get the basket or draw the foul.             What is going to happen is Gilbert will come out this season as a type of player we aren’t used to seeing wear number “0.”  His essentially two years away from the game have undoubtedly changed his perspective as a floor general.  What will emerge is a Gilbert Arenas that involves his teammates while still showcasing the killer instinct that makes him the great scorer he is.             Gilbert’s career assist average is 5.5 apg, a great figure for a small forward but not up to par with the best point guards in the league.  Here are his assist averages over a few seasons:

Continue reading "5 Predictions for the 2009-10 Washington Wizards"

1.  Julius Erving:  Dr. J

2.  Dominique Wilkins:  The Human Highlight Reel

3.  George Gervin:  The Iceman

4.  Ervin Johnson:  Magic

5.  Michael Jordan:  Air Jordan

Continue reading "The 50 Best NBA Nicknames Ever"

Sports Illustrated has reported a possible trade between the Cleveland Cavaliers and Washington Wizards involving Antawn Jamison and Mike James.  It was originally brought up by DraftExpress and it would land the Wizards Ben Wallace, who may retire, and Sasha Pavlovic who is under a "non-guaranteed contract for next season."  And what I am assumng is a joke, they said the Wizards may possibly have to surrender the 5th pick.  A deal involving those players in return would make sense financially but the Wizards need to get some value for a player as good and consistent as Antawn Jamison.  If the mindset is win now, Antawn's 20 and 10 production would need to be replaced, and quickly.  I could see this deal if they were bringing in Blake Griffin but acquiring a replacement power forward is just unrealistic at this point.  Also, it would be interesting to see Ben Wallace's opinion on returning to the Wizards.  I am not sure of how his departure went but I know his teamate on the Detriot Pistons, Richard Hamilton, did not enjoy his stay. 

Continue reading "Sports Illustrated Reports Cavs-Wizards ..."

1.  LeBron James:  Analysts and writers seem to be 50/50 on the LeBron/Kobe debate.  I pick LeBron.

2.  Kobe Bryant:  Probably one of the 10 greatest players ever.  And counting.

Continue reading "The 35 Best Basketball Players in ..."

Steroids has officially gone postal.

The list of all-star players who have been revealed to be using steroids: Barry Bonds, Roger Clemens, Mark McGwire, Rafael Palmeiro, Andy Pettitte, Jason Giambi, Miguel Tejada, Alex Rodriguez, now.......MANNY RAMIREZ.

Continue reading "Manny being Manny: The Latest twist ..."

If Kobe Bryant expects to win a championship this June, he needs to trust his teammates more. If he doesn't, the Lakers will not only struggle to win the Finals, they may have trouble even getting there. Last night's loss to the Houston Rockets, putting them down 1-0 in the series, is to me, enough cause for concern. Phil Jackson needs to sit down Kobe and tell him the same thing he told Jordan: trust your teammates more.

Continue reading "Memo to Kobe: Be like Mike"

Say Swine Flu keeps spreading. Say it gets worse, like "Outbreak" worse, and the majority of people in the US get it, including LeBron James. I still don't think I could beat him one-on-one. Even if it was first to score. Or if we played "PIG." Remember when Jordan had the flu in the '88 playoffs, and he dropped 47 against the Knicks, AT the Garden??? We spectators/bloggers/sports fans seriously over-estimate the flu. If LeBron had swine flu, not only would he stuff me like a Quizno's Torpedo, he would still be able to beat the following athletes/teams:

Continue reading "LeBron could beat me with Swine Flu"

"There's no analysis here...what happened?!" - ESPN's Steve Levy, 4/27/09

The New Orleans hornets suffered the all-time-tying worst playoff loss in NBA history yesterday, getting stomped on 121-63 by the Denver Nuggets. Don't wet yourselves, Nuggets fans. The Hornets just played THAT BAD. Here are the Top 10 Reasons why they shouldn't bother showing up for Game 5:

Continue reading "Top 10 Reasons the New Orleans Hornets ..."

I'm a Kobe fan. Huge Kobe fan. He's practically my generation's MJ. Nothing against MJ, I just never saw him play much. I went to the United Center once, when I was seven, and all I remember is Scottie Pippen's crew-cut and cotton candy. Also, I'm from D.C., so the fact that MJ ruined the entire development and chemistry of an up-and-coming Washington Wizards team, just so he could milk a little more limelight, doesn't really sit well.

Continue reading "Why Lakers fans should worry about ..."

 

The Art of the Buzzer-Beater

Ok, let me start by saying I'm not going to write about how to shoot a buzzer-beater. If I knew things the professionals don't about that, the Wizards would have called me in for a tryout by now, especially the way their season is going. No, I assume that the guys who take those shots know all about squaring up their shoulders and hips, following through, and shooting like it's practice (except Kobe, who I think would raise his shooting percentage about 15 points if he took every shot like it was a buzzer-beater). What I've been noticing about buzzer-beaters this year, in college and in the NBA, is that very few teams seem to be well-coached enough to know which buzzer-beater to take.

Continue reading "The end of Pitt-Villanova and how ..."

I'll start it off that these are just plainly predictions. My very own gut feeling and how I assume that the season will turn out to be. My opinion is influenced by current stats and my overall impression regarding the NBA teams and players.

Continue reading "PREDICTIONS for the NBA 2008-2009 SEASON"

Lakers will win the NBA Championship! Well at least that what the NBA GM's think not like they know! I want to know who you think will win and Y !! Church

Continue reading "Lakers will win the Championship"

With the Pentant races going on and the almighty NFL still keeping everyone including me at the edge of their seats, not only on Sunday but even throughout the week. Even NCAA football fans are direct

Continue reading "The Association"

Last night, we lost another star to the pre-season. Antawn Jamison went down with a knee injury after playing only 4 mins. Which begs the question why do we need a pre-season anyway. Now the Washin

Continue reading "I hate Pre season"

In the MLB, when you lose your first two games, no big deal. 160 to go. In the NBA, you lose your first two games, and there's still 80 left. But in the NFL, your first two games are one eighth of the season. Playoff teams usually lose a maximum of seven, and this year's Jacksonville Jaguars already has two of those losses. Panic time? 

Continue reading "Jags in Desperation Mode after Second ..."

Apparently the Miami Heat and the Phoenix Suns have agreed on a trade that would send Shaquille O'Neal to Phoenix in exchange for Shawn Marion and Marcus Banks. I believe this is simply a knee-jerk reaction to the Los Angeles Lakers' acquisition of Pau Gasol (a brilliant move by L.A., by the way) and do not see how this trade can make sense from the Suns' vantage point.

Continue reading "Shaq Headed to Phoenix?"