Back in the country, but taking more flights to more places, I was unable to catch the Wizards-Hornets rematch live or on TV. Thankfully, my friend Chris the Hockey Fan picked up the coverage again:
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They stopped the bleeding a little bit on Friday but this team is still free falling and needs to get some wins in a hurry if they are going to keep their sixth spot in the playoffs.
Missed the first half due to an early start and the fact that the game is on Comcast plus. I did catch the end of the first half in which the Wizards stretched their lead to thirteen with some great shooting that included back to back 3’s by Pecherov.
Jamison is leading the Wizards in scoring with 13 but watching DeShawn Stevenson to see if his big night on Friday is the sign of things to come down the stretch.
3rd Quarter
With the Caps home on Monday night I’m wondering if Ovie is taking in the game tonight with his Russian internet girlfriend.
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Links I like from the past week or so……
- Pat Forde of ESPN.com writes a pretty nice article about New Orleans and the continuing recovery process (pre-BCS national championship game). I hope that NOLA continues to receive media coverage…..anything to further assist the rebuilding.
- Have you ever wondered what a wad of cash looks like spread all over the floor of a Virginia Tech football player’s abode….err…. the dwelling of a “friend”? — thanks to the Big Lead for showing us how the Flo-Rida dope boiz do the damn thang.
- Ahhhh memories…..I’ll admit it, I used to have a pair of Redskins Zubaz pants, much like the ones worn here by Jim Lachey and brought to the us by Mr. Irrelevant. I’m not sure what happened to my pants….can’t decide if that’s a good thing or not. But I used to be the flyest 8th grader who never wore ‘em out in public. What I can’t figure out is why the good folks at zubaz.com are still in business. They even have pictures on their site of people from modern times modeling the ‘baz.
- Winnie Cooper is still kickin’, lookin’ tasty, and just about a third of a century old.
- Speaking of hotties, Co-Ed Magazine.com has the run-down on the top 25 sexiest female athletes of 2007 – Not sure about you, but my #1 vote goes to #6 on the list, Allison Stokke, University of Cal pole vaulter. College Candy has the coverage — easy gents, she’s just a college freshman, for now.
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What do we know about these two? Well, judging by the game between the Grizzlies and the Hornets last night, Chris Paul is a superstar and Pau Gasol is a chump. Here’s why:
SideBar: My Campaign for Chris Paul, Western Conference All-Star Starter — I don’t care who you put with him, Kobe…Steve Nash….Baron Davis…..Deron Williams, just put them with Chris Paul.
CP3 – New Orleans – 2008 – It’s only right. (And you may recall my previous thoughts about Chris Paul, Steve Nash and Jason Kidd)
Oh yea, back to the WHY….
Caught the end of the New Orleans Hornets-Memphis Grizzlies game last night. Here’s the deal: Game in OT….tied @ 116 and the ball is in Chris Paul’s hands. Mind you , he has a career high in points at this junction (he finished with 43). The Hornets isolate for him, Tyson Chandler comes up to set a high screen and Chris Paul takes it to the hoop for the deuce layin with a couple ticks left. Hornets up 118-116.
Such a gutsy move. Something you’d expect from Kobe, MJ, Gilbert Arenas…(don’t worry, I’m not actually comparing Chris Paul to any of those guys)…but the way he took the ball to the rim, strong. And how he was able to get through traffic for a layup with the clock winding down. Now, you’re saying, “oh yea”…you just remembered, Chris Paul is a 6-0, 175 lb. superstar who just commanded the ball to the rack.
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No….not really. Wait, what I truly mean is, not yet.
Ok, what do you think of when you hear the name Jason Kidd?
- Great passer (career 9.2 assist per game average).
- Deceptively quick, one of the best in transition.
- Court vision…and he takes care of the ball, 3.18 TOs per game for his career – excellent for someone who handles the ball so much.
- Best rebounding point guard (actually, best among all guards — he’s averaged 6.7 for his career).
- He’s big, (6’4″, 210 lbs.) and this is part of the reason why he can see the court so well, rebound, and post up smaller point guards causing the opposing defense to adjust.
- Before his knee injury history slowed him down, Kidd was a premier league defender, still has averaged over 2 steals per game for his career.
The negative? Jason Kidd simply cannot shoot, and leaves a lot to be desired on the offensive end in general. Partially, this is a side effect of him being such a great distributor…he doesn’t exactly need to score. But then again, his lack of range decreases the amount of offensive spacing for his team. His career FG% is a small hair above 40%, barely 33% from 3-point range.
So, how about Steve Nash?
- Experienced. He’s a savvy veteran who knows all the tricks.
- Court vision (pretty much a prerequisite for all great pure point guards) — 2.57 career TOs per game.
- Much better scoring threat than Kidd. His shooting percentages (FG & 3P),along with his scoring average has improved throughout his career
- Great transition player, and in my opinion, he is better at getting penetration into the lane than Kidd. This is probably a side-effect of him being more of a scoring option.
- And not that Kidd doesn’t, he’s great at this also, but Nash seems more astute in knowing the passing angles, along with the timing of ball distribution (not to mention that great PGs must know their personnel. — How many times have you seen a bad passer feed the ball to a lumbering big man on the break, only to see a bumblin’, fumblin’ turnover or missed shot?
And the negative? Defense. Look, I’m sure you can blame many other Suns players as to why they are not a good defensive team. And I’m sure you could also cite an offensive system which is not conducive to lock-down D. But if you are making, or going down, a list of reasons, put Steve Nash at the top. As the point guard, usually defending the other team’s point guard, you are the first line of defense in either keeping that other PG from getting into the lane and thus, making your own defense avoid a shift and cover…or, at least keeping the other guy from easily getting his team into their half court set. (Gilbert Arenas, are you listening?) Steve Nash is fast in the open court, but he is not quick on D…..but he certainly has his “tricks”.
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