Monday, November 4, 2013

Noteworthy: 11/3/2013



Welcome Back, Guys:  Russell Westbrook played his first game since his knee injury in the playoffs last Spring.  Kevin Durant opted to get introduced first in the starting line-ups, so Westbrook could go last and get a nice Thunder(rous) welcome.  Kd, you are nice.

Brandon Jennings also made his Detroit Pistons debut. He made a pretty standard Brad Jennings fake and layup but also a supercool pass while on his...butt.

Duel:  Melo and KLove went at it last night.  You could argue that the T'wolves came on top cause Love had more help in fellow-Kevin, Kev Martin scoring 30 points on 12 shots.  Or you could credit it to Mr. Love having an ultra efficient 35-15-5.  I'm glad that the Wolves won this one though cause it produced this awkward slap-five between Spike and Love.


A lot: Eric Bledsoe had 26 points, shot 12 free throws, grabbed 7 rebounds, dished out 14 assists, and turned the ball over 8 times.  That is a bunch of good things and one not so good thing for a point guard.  However, with Dragic spraining his ankle, we might be able to expect more of these high output (for the good and for the bad) games.

Pretty Boss: Magic rookie Victor Oladipo had a big game as Orlando defeated the much ho-hummed Brooklyn Nets team.  Specifically, his rip of Deron Williams followed by a 360 was kind of neat.



Vic Oladipo's weapon of choice last night seemed to be the full circle spin whether in the air or on the ground as he also had another nice move where he split multiple defenders with the ole spinaroo.

Important Threes:  8 different Lakers made three-point shots and the Lakers won by 2, 105-103. Good thing none of those 8 decided to not take/make one less three cause the Lakeshow needed everyone of those points to beat the Hawks.

Other:  Last night, Pistons wore their Motor City jersey alternaties...Terio was at the Heat game and DWade slapped hands with him...If you are like me and wondered how bad a 7 footer missing a dunk could look, check out Bargnani's attempt...Kawai Leonard is signing a shoe deal to officially become a member of Jordan Brand and according to MyPlayer mode, that means Kawai is doing pretty well...more proof that Terio was at the Heat game.

Sunday, November 3, 2013

The Battle for the Belt: Can The Sixers Win Four In A Row?

NEXT BATTLE FOR THE BELT

PHI PHI @ GSW GSW
Monday, 2013-11-04



The Current Championship Belt Holder:

Philadelphia 76ers 
3 - 0  Season Record
3-0 with Belt on the line
Defended belt twice (Wizards, Bulls)


The Challenger:

Golden State Warriors 
2 - 1 Season Record
0-0 with Belt on the line


h/t to reddit for the header image
*kudos to Timothy Lee for the "Keep or Weep" Slogan

Do You Know This NBA Player - Part II: In a Pretty Convincing Native-American Outfit

In an effort to recognize all bajillion nba players in the league, when I randomly see nba guys dressed up in ways that make them hard to distinguish, I will share the photo and a contest out of it. Comment if you know who is in the photo.  Prizes are available, but not that great.


Here is one nba combo forward that decided to put together an outfit after Halloween of who he claims to be an "aztec warrior".



Homan League: Week in Review 10/27 - 11/2


A review of action in the fantasy basketball league dubbed "Homan League".   May include free agent pick-ups, trades, DNP's because someone forgot to set their lineup for the early morning Pacific time game.  Also other shenanigans worth mentioning in the fantasy league.  All opinions are solely mine.


Highlights:
Steal of the draft so far has got to be 11th round selection of rookie sensation Michael Carter-Williams who is doing his best impression of a young JKidd.  Besides a 20 pts / 9 asts average, MC-W is also leading the league with 13 steals. (TEAM: David Stern)

Fellow Sixers teammate, Spencer Hawes, or as he is known in some really small circles as 'white dwight', is not getting much publicity for an amazing first 3 games of the season.  His averages of 2 threes, 65% from the field and around 11 boards per game is Kevin-Love-esque.  (TEAM: S7venbyVII)

Proposing the nickname ''what, really?" for Anthony Davis cause that's what people say when they read the box score for the Pelicans.  At any given game, he's capable of recording league highs in rebounds, steals, blocks and/or a combination of the three.  Plus "what really" is a good free throw percentage shooter at the PF/C position. (TEAM: Pres(i)ton)

Often overlooked, especially with the return of Drose, Carlos Boozer is also putting up fantasy MVP-type numbers.  Besides a 22 pts / 8 rebs average, Booz is shooting a blazing 66% from the field and has yet to miss a free throw; that's 100% for you percentage lovers. (TEAM: Swagger)

Nice Pick-Up - Free Agency:
Miles Plumlee (TEAM: Adam Silver): Surprising opposing coaches for his impact and amount of minutes being played and surprising fantasy owners his contributions (Averages: 15 pts / 14 rebs / 3 blks).

Trevor Ariza (TEAM: Just Jrue It):  Contributing treys, rebounds at a high clip right now (Averages: 20 pts / 12 reb / 5 ast)

Uh-oh:
Nice foresight in picking up Vitor Faverani but hasn't played him yet (TEAM: Jae's Dazzling Team)

Four guys (Kobe, Tobias Harris, Danilo Gallinari, and Chase Budinger*) on his roster registering DNP's because of injury (TEAM: kobeking)

*Dropped