Woot! Sorry for the delay (although I am the only one reading, I spose). Finals work done for the day, I need a break!
Notable January contests –
Jan. 9 – Kings @ Bulls – Win 121-111, (24-12)
Tyreke and Curry each drop 27 with
Curry getting 9 assists for a road victory over the 3rd best in the East.
Derrick Rose has 20/13 and
Carlos Boozer drops 31/10, but with six players in double figures, including former Bull
Kirk Hinrich with 14/7 off the bench, we hold on.
One bad thing comes out of the Bulls game – my increasing lack of confidence in
Jason Thompson, who is averaging just 8/8 on 40% shooting. I have no desire to trade him, but we need a better PF if we’re gonna be serious contenders.
I called up Atlanta to ask on the availability of
Josh Smith, who is currently getting 12/8 with 2.7 blocks and great defense. They need
Jason Thompson back, and won’t accept
Dally, Wright and a first. Put that on the backburner and revisit it later.
Ironically, Chicago is eager to trade
Carlos Boozer, but he’s all offense and no defense, so no bite.
Milwaukee seems interested in blowing it up somewhat -
Andrew Bogut is on the block - but they won’t bite without JThompson either.
Then I call up San Antonio.
The Spurs are just 15-18 at this point and struggling to compete in a younger league.
Tim Duncan is impressive as ever, with 14/12.5 boards and 1.8 blocks. Well, if we can’t get the perfect complement to
Cousins in
Josh Smith… maybe an esteemed veteran?
Trade: Kings/Spurs
Kings Trade:
Samuel Dallembert
Francisco Garcia
Spurs Trade:
Tim Duncan
Why for us: Yes, he’s 34. Yes, he’s getting paid 18 mil this year and 21 next. And yes, this isn’t a permanent fix. But hell… it’s
Tim Duncan, and he’s gonna be great next to
Cousins. This actually, instantly makes us into (I believe) a contender now, dispite our youth.
With
Wright severely pissed over a .5 mil disagreement and a lack of playing time, I need to find his exit as well.
Trade: Kings/Thunder
Kings Trade:
Brandon Wright
Thunder Trade:
Cole Aldrich
Why for us: With
Wright surely gone, I didn’t expect this sort of value, but
Cole instantly makes us SO deep at bigs –
Duncan, Thompson, Cousins, Cole, Whiteside – it almost hurts.
We need to sign SOMEONE to fill up our spot with
Whiteside and Samhan in the DLeauge – and we need a SG. So we call up
Allen Iverson and he agrees to join our new and improved championship chaser.
New Lineup –
- Code: Select all
Starting Lineup
Player Pos PPG APG RPG SPG BPG
Stephen Curry PG 18.2 6.8 3.7 1.1 0.1
Tyreke Evans SG 20.4 3.2 4.7 1.3 0.3
Shane Battier SF 10.2 1.4 3.3 0.8 1.2
Tim Duncan PF 13.2 3.7 12.1 0.8 2.1
DeMarcus Cousins C 10.8 1.5 9.1 0.9 1.3
Bench Depth Chart
Player Pos PPG APG RPG SPG BPG
Jason Thompson PF 10.6 1.6 7.7 0.6 1.0
Kirk Hinrich PG 8.4 2.5 1.8 0.6 0.1
Donte Greene SF 6.8 1.2 2.2 0.6 1.1
Cole Aldrich C 6.8 1.3 8.3 0.4 1.9
Allen Iverson PG 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0
Omri Casspi SF 3.8 0.7 1.1 0.3 0.1
Beno Udrih PG 5.1 2.2 1.0 0.3 0.0
Jan. 12– Heat @ Kings – Loss 120-113, (24-13)Ouch. Was hoping a resounding win would catapult us to contendership, but
LeBron has 35/5/4 and
Chris Bosh drops 25/10 on
Duncan who struggles in his first game and only gets 12/7.
Curry had 25/6 and
Evans 33/5 but it was no go as Miami shot 50%.
Jan. 15 – Mavericks @ Kings – Win 110-99, (25-13)The Mavericks are top in the west and a good win over them is almost as good a win over Miami.
Tyreke has a NBA high 39 points, tearing up the Mavs defense, while
Duncan gets 15/10. The Mavs starting five struggles and they’re lead by
Shawn Marrion off the bench with 18/7.
Jan. 17– Magic @ Kings – Loss (25-14)Orlando bested us again as
Howard lit up for 27/16/4.
Duncan had 25/10,
Curry[/]b had 19/10, but to lose by a POINT just is too much.
[b]Jan. 17– Kings @ Warriors – Loss 109-93, (25-15)So we’re 2-3 since the trade, including a road loss to the .500 Warriors, who still don’t realize that playing a SF named
Reggie Williams is a bad idea (he had 20 points and six assists but six turnovers) – the real killer was
David Lee[/] who lit up [b]Duncan for 28/12.
Tyreke lead us with 26/5/3.
Jan. 27– Kings @ Bucks – Loss 102-93 (27-17)Screw me for thinking that adding interior defensive minded players would help our interior defense. Seems every game now the big man opposing
Cousins/TD lights them up. Tonight it’s
Andrew Bogut, who unleashes 24/17/4 on us and brings us to 3-5 since the trade.
Our team is getting edgy, and
Kirk Hinrich tells the Bee’s sideline reporter that he is unhappy with his bench role and expects more playing time. I tell the Bee writer that playing time is earned, not given, which earns {b]Kirk’s[/b] ire but pleases the rest of the lockeroom.
A ESPN affiliate apparently working on a rookies story asks me about the poor play of
Cole Aldrich. I mean,
Cole went from a starting role in Oklahoma City to a bench role here and if he’s struggling a bit, that’s expected, and I told the writer that, and
Cole came afterwards to thank me.
Too much drama. This team needs to start wining again.
Jan. 28 – Kings @ Raptors – Win, 114-94 (28-17)A win to get back on track (hopefully) over the pitiful Raptors on our one trip to Canada this season.
Curry rips the Raptors’ defense with 37/12, and
Duncan has 22/12. Raptors are playing just a bunch of scrubs, though, so I’m not overly hyped.
Apparently, after our win however…
Kirk and AI got in a pushing match. This is not acceptable behavior and I call them both up to tell them.
Kirk at first argued, even saying he’d fight me, before he calmed down. He’s on a real short leash for a guy I’d paid so much to get.
AI was immediately apologetic, but when I talked to the rest of the team, they blamed him more… if this happens again, one of them has to be shown the door.
Jan. 31 – Kings @ Celtics – Win, 101-72 (30-17)Tyreke leads the way with 20/6/4 and we hold the Cs to just 34% shooting, but problems arise again…
Kirk and AI are still fighting.
I talk with some of their teammates. While
Kirk is very upset and lashes out when I tell him to stop fighting, his teammates agree it’s AI’s fault. Ultimatum time. Coach Rudy nor I are willing to let this ruin our lockeroom, especially when we should be moving into contender status.
I call
Kirk first. I tell him with his recent media outburst and his fighting, if I catch him again messing up, he’s out. I think he’s gonna explode, but he is rather apologetic, although he does admit he thinks I’m being overly harsh.
Iverson doesn’t feel that way. He tries to tell me off, tells me I don’t have the guts to cut him, and I immediately pull out his pink slip. Doesn’t even get a ride back with us, he can stay in Boston for all I care.
We sign
Earl Watson to replace him. Hopefully, this end to January won’t carry over to February.
Roster Stats - - Code: Select all
Pos Player GP GS MPG PPG APG OR RPG SPG BPG TPG PF FG% FT% 3P%
SF Donte Greene 42 0 19.2 6.8 1.1 0.5 2.4 0.6 1.2 1.2 1.3 .453 .745 .410
PF Jason Thompson 47 36 30.5 9.8 1.6 2.7 7.6 0.6 1.1 1.4 2.5 .409 .718 .000
PG Beno Udrih 37 0 8.8 5.0 2.2 0.2 1.0 0.3 0.0 0.6 0.6 .566 .833 .432
SG Tyreke Evans 47 47 34.1 20.9 3.2 1.3 4.5 1.4 0.3 2.9 2.1 .429 .713 .225
SF Omri Casspi 35 0 9.1 3.5 0.6 0.3 1.1 0.3 0.1 0.5 0.7 .408 .571 .341
C DeMarcus Cousins 47 47 27.9 10.4 1.6 3.0 8.7 0.9 1.4 1.7 3.0 .510 .590 1.000
PF Hassan Whiteside 0 0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 .000 .000 .000
PG Stephen Curry 47 47 34.9 18.3 6.9 0.7 3.5 1.1 0.1 4.0 3.5 .509 .836 .475
SG Shane Battier 47 47 27.7 10.8 1.7 0.4 3.1 0.8 1.1 0.7 2.3 .406 .615 .362
PG Kirk Hinrich 44 0 17.4 8.0 2.3 0.3 1.8 0.6 0.1 1.0 1.4 .458 .808 .353
C Omar Samhan 0 0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 .000 .000 .000
PF Tim Duncan 45 45 35.7 13.3 3.5 3.1 11.3 0.9 1.8 1.4 2.9 .474 .704 .000
C Cole Aldrich 46 35 22.5 5.8 1.1 2.3 7.0 0.3 1.8 0.8 1.9 .474 .667 .000
PG Earl Watson 0 0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 .000 .000 .000
Team Leaders So Far -MVP -- Code: Select all
SG Tyreke Evans 47 47 34.1 20.9 3.2 1.3 4.5 1.4 0.3 2.9 2.1 .429 .713 .225
Sure,
Curry has the more impressive stats, and yes,
Tyreke’s percents aren’t still great, but they’ve risen each month and he balled this month, the best player in many of our games.
Most Disapointing -- Code: Select all
PF Jason Thompson 47 36 30.5 9.8 1.6 2.7 7.6 0.6 1.1 1.4 2.5 .409 .718 .000
Losing his starting job didn’t set fire to
Thompson as I’d hoped, and his percentages are still down. He let bigs dominate him early and it cost us.
Surprise- Code: Select all
SF Donte Greene 42 0 19.2 6.8 1.1 0.5 2.4 0.6 1.2 1.2 1.3 .453 .745 .410
With
Dally gone, he’s our 6th man, no question. Sick percentages and making the most of his time.
Rookie Watch –- Code: Select all
C DeMarcus Cousins 47 47 27.9 10.4 1.6 3.0 8.7 0.9 1.4 1.7 3.0 .510 .590 1.000
His percentages went up, and he’s making good work alongside
Duncan Hopefully he’ll learn a thing or two, cause his defense awareness needs to improve. Still 3rd in the ROY chase.
League Standings - - Code: Select all
Atlantic Division
W L Win % Home Away GB
Boston Celtics 32 15 .681 21-4 11-11 -
Philadelphia 76ers 24 20 .545 15-6 9-14 6.5
New York Knicks 21 24 .467 16-7 5-17 10
New Jersey Nets 18 28 .391 13-11 5-17 13.5
Toronto Raptors 7 40 .149 4-17 3-23 25
Central Division
W L Win % Home Away GB
Chicago Bulls 30 16 .652 20-3 10-13 -
Milwaukee Bucks 25 24 .510 16-5 9-19 6.5
Detroit Pistons 19 25 .432 13-9 6-16 10
Cleveland Cavaliers 17 26 .395 12-9 5-17 11.5
Indiana Pacers 16 30 .348 14-7 2-23 14
Southeast Division
W L Win % Home Away GB
Miami Heat 35 9 .795 20-2 15-7 -
Orlando Magic 31 13 .705 15-6 16-7 4
Atlanta Hawks 20 25 .444 13-9 7-16 15.5
Charlotte Bobcats 16 30 .348 11-15 5-15 20
Washington Wizards 13 32 .289 9-13 4-19 22.5
Southwest Division
W L Win % Home Away GB
Dallas Mavericks 31 14 .689 16-5 15-9 -
New Orleans Hornets 23 19 .548 13-8 10-11 6.5
Memphis Grizzlies 21 24 .467 13-12 8-12 10
San Antonio Spurs 17 27 .386 12-12 5-15 13.5
Houston Rockets 18 29 .383 9-12 9-17 14
Northwest Division
W L Win % Home Away GB
Portland Trailblazers 34 11 .756 18-4 16-7 -
Utah Jazz 32 14 .696 17-6 15-8 2.5
Denver Nuggets 31 15 .674 17-7 14-8 3.5
Oklahoma City Thunder 20 26 .435 13-12 7-14 14.5
Minnesota Timberwolves 7 37 .159 6-16 1-21 26.5
Pacific Division
W L Win % Home Away GB
Los Angeles Lakers 29 15 .659 20-7 9-8 -
[b]Sacramento Kings 30 17 .638 16-6 14-11 0.5[/b]
Golden State Warriors 25 21 .543 15-6 10-15 5
Phoenix Suns 20 23 .465 11-9 9-14 8.5
Los Angeles Clippers 16 29 .356 10-15 6-14 13.5
Damn! The Lakers took over #1 in our division with less games played… some of those stupid road losses are coming back to haunt us.
League Leaders - - Code: Select all
[b]Point-per-Game[/b]
#Player Pos Team PPG
1 Kevin Durant SF Thunder 30.4
2 Monta Ellis SG Warriors 27.7
3 Danny Granger SF Pacers 26.5
4 Kobe Bryant SG Lakers 26.1
5 Lebron James SF Heat 25.5
[b]Rebounds-per-Game[/b]
# Player Pos Team RPG
1 Dwight Howard C Magic 15.7
2 Andrew Bogut C Bucks 12.9
3 Joakim Noah C Bulls 12.6
4 Marcus Camby C Trailblazers 12.5
5 Yao Ming C Rockets 12.3
[b]Assists-per-Game[/b]
# Player Pos Team APG
1 Chris Paul PG Hornets 10.4
2 Steve Nash PG Suns 10.0
3 Russell Westbrook PG Thunder 9.4
4 Jason Kidd PG Mavericks 9.2
5 Deron Williams PG Jazz 9.1
[b]Blocks-per-Game[/b]
# Player Pos Team BPG
1 Dwight Howard C Magic 3.8
2 Andrew Bogut C Bucks 3.4
3 Pau Gasol PF Lakers 3.1
4 Andris Biedrins C Warriors 2.8
5 Josh Smith PF Hawks 2.7
[b]Steals-per-Game[/b]
# Player Pos Team SPG
1 Monta Ellis SG Warriors 2.3
2 Stephen Jackson SG Bobcats 2.3
3 Andre Iguodala SF 76ers 2.0
4 Chris Paul PG Hornets 2.0
5 Rajon Rondo PG Celtics 2.0
[b]Turnovers-per-Game[/b]
# Player Pos Team TOPG
1 Mo Williams PG Cavaliers 4.1
2 Stephen Curry PG Kings 4.0
3 Devin Harris PG Nets 3.8
4 Russell Westbrook PG Thunder 3.8
5 Tony Parker PG Spurs 3.8
Ha, the only presence of a King on the list is
Curry with 4 turnovers. Shame. But
Howard is leading the Magic to an upset of a position AND 1st in boards, blocks and on there in points. MVP for sure.
