http://www.yardbarker.com/content/player/4551 Recent articles about Joe Johnson en-us The hype is in full effect for Team America. Redemption, revenge, whatever you want to call it, Team USA is in the mood to dominate. And they're not just going to spank you. LeBron's holding a ball gag and a paddle and Kobe may have just thrown away the piece of paper with the safe-word... [continued] Wed, 23 Jul 2008 11:29:45 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/294349 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/294349 I have always been resistant to change. Even if I knew it was coming a mile away. Last February, I got the opportunity to see the Nets at their best for what turned out to be their last time together against a major opponent. And with the trade deadline looming, there were already some notable changes on their roster as the Nets shipped forward/center Jason Collins to Memphis for underachieving forward Stromile Swift. A few days later, team captain Jason Kidd followed suit when New Jersey sent him back to the very team that drafted him (Dallas Mavericks) for Devin Harris and other players. Change was coming. I just didn't know how fast. Nets Team President Rod Thorn and the rest of the Nets brain trust have been very busy this off-season. Having traded away their franchise's second all-time leading scorer—Richard Jefferson to the Milwaukee Bucks for China's Yi Jianlian and underachieving forward Bobby Simmons. The Nets also did very well for themselves in the 2008 NBA Draft after they bagged Stanford's 7'0'' center Brook Lopez at #10, 6'10'' forward Ryan Anderson at #21, and arguably the steal of the draft at #40—Memphis scoring guard-forward Chris "CDR" Douglas-Roberts. Rod Thorn didn't stop there as he also allowed forward Bostjan "Boki" Nachbar to sign with a Russian team and sent guard Marcus Williams to the Golden State Warriors for a future lottery-protected 1st round pick. With that said, the only Nets left from last season's roster are Darrell Armstrong, Josh Boone, Nenad Krstic, Sean Williams, Vincent Lamar Carter and his $61.8 million dollar extension. Of those five players, only Boone, Williams, and Carter are certain to make the final roster. The New Jersey Nets have certainly positioned themselves well for the unrestricted free agent boon of 2010 that will feature the likes of LeBron James, Dwyane Tyrone Wade Jr., Steve Nash, Joe Johnson, Walter Ray Allen, Zydrunas Ilgauskas, Manu Ginobili, Tracy McGrady, and for what it's worth, Shaquille O'Neal. This list can further increase if players who hold Early Termination Options (ETO) in their existing contracts decide to exercise them. They are Amare Stoudemire, Michael Redd, Tyson Chandler, Richard Jefferson, Yao Ming, and Dirk Nowitzki. If the Nets don't land LeBron James in 2010. They are not short on alternatives from the wealth of talent on that list. Kudos to the Nets brain trust on their foresight. Brooklyn may not only be getting a team two years from now. But a solid contender. Addendum: - DeSagana Diop and the Dallas Mavericks agreed on a five-year, $31 million deal (the team's full midlevel exception) last July 9, 2008. It will be Diop's second stint with the Mavericks after being a part of the Jason Kidd-Devin Harris deal six months earlier - What exactly did the Nets get in the Marcus Williams deal? Fred Kerber of nypost.com shares that "if the Warriors are in the playoffs in 2011, the Nets get their first round pick. So it's lottery-protected in 2011. He adds "if the Nets are still waiting for the pick in 2012, they get G. State's first rounder, as long as it's not 1-through 11. If they're still waiting in 2013, they get the first rounder as long as it's not 1-through-10. But 2013 is the cutoff. If they haven't gotten the pick by then they get two second rounders, in 2013 and 2015." Sounds as shady as Marcus Camby being dealt for a 2nd round pick, if you know what I mean. - Lastly, at the age of 40, guard Darrell Armstrong won't be back with the Nets for the upcoming 2008-2009 NBA season. Wed, 23 Jul 2008 06:14:49 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/294210 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/294210 They could be very good in a couple of years. Wed, 23 Jul 2008 03:52:15 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/294187 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/294187 So the Nuggets just traded away thier MVP Marcus Camby. Don't take this the wrong way; I know Camby is not the best player on the Denver Nuggets. However, I do know that he was the heart and soul of that team and in many ways was their Most Valuable Player. So now what? Marcus Camby was just traded for the right to swap second round picks in next years draft. Excuse me? I know this article is a little late and maybe just a tad bit out dated but I've got some ideas for what the Nuggets may do in the future now that they have some slight wiggle room when it comes to the cap. The Nuggets also received a ten million dollar luxery tax exception in this trade. Although this does not get the Nuggets below the salary cap, it does allow them more flexibility to re-sign J.R. Smith this summer. That is the first move in a long line of moves the Nuggets need to make. After this season, the Nuggets will most likely let Allen Iverson walk. This is perfect. I love Allen Iverson, but the experiment has not worked. With A.I. gone, the Nuggets will then have about thirty million dollars to throw around at free agents and have more leverage when making trades. So the time isn't now for the Denver Nuggets. The time is in the future. We must be patient Denver fans. Let us go over what the Nuggets could possibly put together next summer in free agency. In the summer of 2009, as I said before, A.I. will be leaving us. That gives us thirty million dollars in cap room. We have J.R. Smith locked up now, and we are now signing Linas Kleiza to a multi-year deal. Stop there. Remember, we must be patient. Next season (2008-2009) will not be our year. After Iverson leaves, we could use a new face in the backcourt. That face could very well come in next years draft, where it is possible that we could have two first round picks (as long as Charlotte is not in the lottery - pray the Bobcats are a playoff team next year!). First priority in the draft is a point guard. I have three in mind now; Ty Lawson (University of North Carolina), Jonny Flynn (Syracuse University) and Darrin Collison (UCLA). All three would be great additions to the Nuggets backcourt and all three would likely see playing time early and often. Next is a big. I don't know as of now what next years draft will hold as far as bigs in the draft, but that is a hole we can fill next year. Re-signing Kleiza to a long-term deal is our next priority. Third; get rid of Karl. If it does not happen during the season, he needs to be gone after next season. I don't know what the future holds, but as of now Avery Johnson is still out there. Johnson is a fiery coach who demands respect from his young players and can turn around the Nuggets defense. Those are three things a once fiery Karl no longer has the ability to bring out in himself or his team. Ok, now we're done. We have a solid team now that may make the NBA Playoffs in the Western Conference. Here's the starting line-up: 1 - Ty Lawson (Or one of the other two) 2 - J.R. Smith 3 - Carmelo Anthony 4 - Kenyon Martin 5 - Nene. With a new coach, a solid point and Kleiza coming off the bench, its possible that this team will make the playoffs. Now comes the real fun. The Summer of 2010, aka the "Summer of LeBron." Guess what? That seven year, $93 million deal that Kenyon Martin inked years ago is now gone! Last year we re-signed Linas Kleiza and added a few rookies to the roster. That didn't exactly break the bank. With thirty million dollars to play with last year (minus the money we paid Kleiza and the rookies) plus all the bank we'll be making off of losing Kenyon Martin, we will now have a ton of money to play with to lure LeBron into town. Isn't this fun?! Here's a possible startig line-up for 2010 - 1 -Ty Lawson - 2 J.R. Smith - 3 LeBron James 4 - Carmelo Anthony 5 - Nene. Wow!!!! Now that's a team! We'd still have Kleiza off the bench too! I know Carmelo is a little undersized at the four but ask anybody in the league and they'll tell you that he is one of the most deceivingly strong players in the league. Not to mention he can jump just as well, if not better than, most of the other fours in the league and he is quicker than most fours in the league as well. Oh yeah, and he also plays the four for Team USA during the summer. And I believe he often plays his best while playing that position for Team USA. Now don't get too excited by this news quite yet. LeBron is obviously interested in New Jersey (soon to be Brooklyn) and he is obviously going to be lured by other teams. One phone call might go something like this: (Dwyane Wade) "I got this kid down her in South Beach named Michael Beasley. He's pretty good. What do you say to coming down here and playing with me and this young stud? We can win a championship together." (LeBron) "You know what D-Wade, that doesn't sound too bad to me!" End of conversation. I haven't done much research when it comes to this so I don't know if Miami will even have enough mulah to do that, but I'm just saying. It's very possible. So with that, here is a list of other NBA stars available as unrestricted free agents in the "Summer of LeBron": Dwyane Wade, Chris Bosh, Amare Stoudemire, Ray Allen, Tyson Chandler, Manu Ginobili, Richard Jefferson, Joe Johnson, Tracy McGrady, Yao Ming, Steve Nash Dirk Nowitzki and Michael Redd. I'll say it again: Wow!!!! I can't wait to see what the future holds for the Denver Nuggets. God knows there are endless possibilities out there. Now all we can do as fans is sit back, relax and pray for the best. Go Charlotte Bobcats! Mon, 21 Jul 2008 22:04:42 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/293576 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/293576 Do you know who Mars Blackmon is? Do you know? Do you know?? Do you know??? Mon, 07 Jul 2008 06:47:03 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/286433 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/286433 The offer the Goldenstate Warriors, have made to Elton Brand has an interesting ripple effect on the rest of NBA's free agents. Monta Ellis is in a nice position to hold the team hostage should Elton Brand decide to resign elsewhere rumors are he'd be looking for upwards of 10 million per season and the Goldenstate Warriors having just lost out on Baron Davis and Brand, would be face a very tough decision with their young star. Then turn to Corey Maggette he wants to play in Orlando but they have only a mid level exception to offer and are looking to add both a PG and a wing, right now both their targets: Corey Maggette, Chris Duhon are holding out for the whole thing. Then the Philadelphia Seventy Sixers are quietly poised to cause "Offer Sheet" mayhem as they like both the Josh's from the Atlanta Hawks and will offer Josh Smith a 5 year deal over the 42 million that the Hawks have offered him and could go as high as 5 years worth as much as 67 million. This would put alot of pressure on the Hawks as they already have the large contracts of Joe Johnson and Mike Bibby, but supposing they match. The Sixers will just turn their attention to Josh Childress their second target and begin the process again albeit with reduced figures, my guess is one of these Josh's will be a Philadelphia 76er next season. The Knicks are not so quietly looking for a PG, having already offered Chris Duhon slightly more than half their 5.5 mid level veteran exception, and should Duhon sign elsewhere they woulld immediatly turn their attention to others like: Sebastian Telfair, Tyronn Lue, Jannero Pargo and Keyon Dooling all the while embattled former star Stephon Marbury waits in the wings having not benn bought out and currently not part of the teams plans. Stephon Marbury has something to prove and when he is bought out, it will be very interestng to see where he ends up. Last if this drama isn't enough Emeka Okafor, Ben Gordon, Luol Deng's situation haven't played out yet at all Chicago is in tough as they just have too many guards and players like Kirk Hinrich and Shawn Marion are already being shopped by their teams. Thu, 03 Jul 2008 15:51:40 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/285609 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/285609 This is the second of five installments of my position-by-position rankings, where I consider the four major factors that affect a player's total value: talent (statistical performance), affordability, age and potential. To see a more detailed explanation of my approach, give my point guard rankings a gander. To summarize a player's stats, I'll use the NBA Efficiency statistic, which is defined as: EFF = ((Points + Rebounds + Assists + Steals + Blocks) - ((Field Goals Att. - Field Goals Made) + (Free Throws Att. - Free Throws Made) + Turnovers)) Essentially, the order of this list depends on the answer to the question - would you trade Player X for Player Y, assuming the goal is to win a title in the next three seasons, while also building a strong franchise for years to come? On with the rankings: 1. Kobe Bryant, Lakers Age: 29 EPG: 26.8 Contract: three years, $69.1 M ($23.0 M per) His salary is astronomical, which makes it difficult to rank him ahead of the almost-as-effective-for-half-the-price Manu Ginobili, but Kobe is probably the league's best one-on-one player and is the only guy who can match Manu's fire and competitiveness. 2. Manu Ginobili, Spurs Age: 30 EPG: 19.9 Contract: two years, $20.6 M ($10.3 M per) Ginobili should still be effective for the next three years, so his very reasonable contract makes him a reasonably close second to Kobe. His game has no holes and he is one of the best players in the league in the clutch. 3. Brandon Roy, Blazers Age: 23 EPG: 19.4 Contract: three years, $12.2 M ($4.1 M per) Who would you rather have - Roy for $4.1 million per season or Dwyane Wade for $15.8 million? I'd take Roy and spend the difference elsewhere. He's a terrific combo guard that has helped to bring the Blazers back to respectability. (See the rest of the list after the jump.) Mon, 19 May 2008 13:23:05 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/268570 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/268570 No question about it, MVP Kobe Bryant is the best shooting guard and the best player in the NBA. He averaged 28.3 PPG, 6.3 RPG, 5.4 APG and 1.5 SPG, while leading his team to clinch the top seed in the West. He's one of the most explosive players in the league, and if you want the ball in anyone's hands in the 4th quarter, it's in his. Player (Current Team/Former Team) PPG, RPG, APG, SPG, BPG * = Best in Category (R) = Rookie Steals 1+ Shown 1. Kobe Bryant (LAL) 28.3*, 6.3, 5.4, 1.5, 1.2 BPG (Playoffs) 2. Allen Iverson (DEN) 26.4, 3, 7.1*, 2* 3. Tracy McGrady (HOU) 21.6, 5.1, 5.9, 1 4. Dwyane Wade (MIA) 24.6, 4.2, 6.9 1.7 5. Joe Johnson (ATL) 21.7, 4.5, 5.8, 1 6. Vince Carter (NJN) 21.3, 6, 5.1, 1.2 7. Jason Richardson (CHA) 21.8, 5.4, 3.1, 1.4 8. Manu Ginobili (SAS) 19.5, 4.8, 4.5, 1.5 9. Michael Redd (MIL) 22.7, 4.3, 3.4 10. Ray Allen (BOS) 17.4, 3.7, 3.1 11. Kevin Martin (SAC) 23.7, 4.5, 2.1, 1 12. Brandon Roy (POR) 19.1, 4.7, 5.8, 1.1 13. Monta Ellis (GSW) 20.2, 5, 3.9, 1.5 14. Rip Hamilton (DET) 17.3, 3.3, 4.2, 1 15. (R) Kevin Durant (SEA) 20.3, 4.4, 2.4, 1, 0.9 BPG* 16. Mike Miller (MEM) 16.4, 6.7*, 3.4 17. Leandro Barbosa (PHX) 15.6, 2.8, 2.6 18. Ben Gordon (CHI) 18.6, 3.1, 3 19. Jason Terry (DAL) 15.5, 2.5, 3.2, 1.1 20. Raja Bell (PHX) 11.9, 3.7, 2.2 21. Randy Foye (MIN) 13.1, 3.3, 4.2 22. Rashad McCants (MIN) 14.9, 2.7, 2.2 23. Cuttino Mobley (LAC) 12.8, 3.6, 2.6, 1 24. DeShawn Stevenson (WAS) 11.2, 3.9, 3.1 25. Larry Hughes (CHI/CLE) 12.2, 3.4, 2.7, 1.5 26. Anthony Parker (TOR) 11.4, 4.1, 2.2, 1 27. Ronnie Brewer (UTA) 12, 2.9, 1.8, 1.7 28. J.R. Smith (DEN) 12.3, 2.1, 1.7 29. Wally Szczerbiak (CLE/SEA) 11.5, 2.9, 1.4 30.. Willie Green (PHI) 12.4, 2.5, 2 Just Missed It Juan Carlos Navarro 10.9, 2.6, 2.2 Michael Finley 10.1, 3.1, 1.4 Jerry Stackhouse 10.7, 2.3, 2.5 Wed, 07 May 2008 13:21:26 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/264312 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/264312 These are just 33 things that I saw or noticed throughout the series. Congratulations to the Celtics for advancing, and congratulations to the Hawks for getting back on the NBA map. Mon, 05 May 2008 17:00:32 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/263701 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/263701 Last and certainly not least, a shout out goes out to Hawks fans everywhere. The Phillips Arena was absolutely rocking all series long and it was a major boost to your team. You really did "shock the world" simply by forcing the series to seven games, and the home court deserves a lot of credit. Well done. Now do your team proud and reward them with that same great support next year and who knows how good they'll be? Hats off you you. Mon, 05 May 2008 05:54:01 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/263502 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/263502 The Atlanta Hawks were confident after Game 6. They believed that they were on the verge of the biggest upset in NBA History. They felt it was their time to prove that this playoff berth was just the beginning. www.rawsportsblog.com Sun, 04 May 2008 18:52:19 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/263389 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/263389 It all boils down to closing out the opponent. In game 4 the Celtics had a 10 point lead going into the 4th quarter and couldn't put it away. In game 5 they had a big lead early, withstood a run by the Hawks, then put their foot down and put the Hawks away. You can't let up on a talented team like the Hawks. You have to (metaphorically) push them down and step on their neck. You can't fall back into prevent defense. You have to keep playing the aggressive style of play that got you the lead in the first place. Fri, 02 May 2008 07:34:12 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/262648 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/262648 Like my main man Popeye always says, "I've had all I can stands, I can't stands no more." How many times do we have to see it? How many times do we have to see J-Schmoove flying to the hole? Wed, 30 Apr 2008 13:59:37 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/261795 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/261795 Atlanta Hawks (2-2) at Boston Celtics (2-2) Postseason Game #5 – Home Game #3 Wednesday, April 30, 2008 8:30 PM ET TNT, CSN HD TD Banknorth Garden Probable Starting Matchups PG: Rajon Rondo vs Mike Bibby SG: Joe Johnson vs Ray Allen SF: Paul Pierce vs Marvin Williams PF: Kevin Garnett vs Josh Smith C: Kendrick Perkins vs Al Horford Sixth Man: James Posey vs Josh Childress Key Matchups Ray Allen vs Joe Johnson Joe Johnson almost single handedly beat the Celtics in game 4 scoring 22 of his 35 points in the 4th quarter. Look for the Celtics to double Johnson or put Posey or Tony Allen on him to try to slow him down. Ray needs to make him work harder on the defensive end to take a little more out of him on offense. Kevin Garnett vs Josh Smith In the 4th quarter of tame 4, the only two players to score were Joe Johnson and Josh Smith. Smith finished the game with 28 points. KG is going to have to apply more of what made him the defensive player of the year to slow down Smith who along with Johnson has been beating the Celtics in a two man attack. Rajon Rondo vs Mike Bibby The matchup of the point guards is still an important one. Rondo completely out played Bibby in the two games in Boston but in Atlanta, Bibby found his game again. Rondo will need to keep Bibby from hitting those open 3's and will also have to make him work on defense by taking the ball to the hoop. Keys to the Game DEFENSE, DEFENSE, DEFENSE!!!!! The major reason the Celtics lost games 3 and 4 is that they went away from playing the kind of defense that made them the best defensive team in the league during the regular season. The Celtics allowed the Hawks to shoot 48% in the two games in Atlanta and that just isn't acceptable. They need to control the pace instead of allowing the Hawks to do that and they can do that by clamping down on defense. They must get back to basics and play the smothering team defense that they have played all season. It is defense that will win this series and the championship. Rebound As the old saying goes: "Offense sells tickets, defense wins games, rebounding wins championships." I think this is because the majority of rebounding is effort and desire and the team that wants it more and puts out more effort will get more rebounds and will win the game. The Celtics were out-rebounded in both games in Atlanta and they need to put out the effort on the boards to limit their second and third chance shots. Free Throws The Celtics missed 8 free throws in game 4 and lost by only 5. Missing free throws is the result of a lack of focus. The Celtics need to regain their focus and when they do, they will hit more of their free throws. They can't afford to give away any points, especially from the free throw line. Be Aggressive The Celtics have been settling for too many jumpers. They need to be more aggressive in taking the ball to the basket and either get the basket or draw the foul. They must also be more aggressive going after loose balls and rebounds. They have allowed the Hawks to be the more aggressive team, attacking the basket and going after loose balls etc. The Celtics must now become the aggressors and attack the basket. Ball Movement The Celtics must get back to moving the ball and finding the open man instead of each player trying to run his own offense. They have taken too many quick shots and have gotten away from the team offense that has made them so successful all year. X-Factor BenchPlay Other than James Posey, the bench hasn't been getting it done in the last two games. In the first two games, the bench played very well and gave the team a boost when they came in as well as giving the starters a rest without giving up anything on the court. The bench must be more effective on both ends of the court. Game Notes: We all thought that Game 3 was a wake up call for the Celtics as they got beat by a team they had dominated for the first two games and that they were expected to sweep. Pierce was fired up after being taunted by Horford. KG was mad. Perk had his nose blooded. They should have come out with focus and put them away in game 4. But, they must have hit the snooze alarm because although there were spurts of the Celtics who won the first 2 games in the series, those spurts were brief. The Celtics have allowed the Hawks to build confidence and they are not going to just lie down and let the Celtics beat them. But, the Celtics have beaten the top teams in the league all season with their defense and team play and if they can find their focus and get back to that stifling team defense and get back to ubuntu, they should be able to beat this Hawks team. The Celtics are coming home and Doc has cautioned them not to expect everything to be ok just because they are home. They have to work to fix what went wrong in Atlanta. The Celtics must get back to playing the team defense that made them the best defensive team in the league. That defense was nowhere to be found in Atlanta. How does a team forget how to play the defense they played all season? The Celtics also have to be more aggressive and take the ball to the hoop more and settle for jumpers less. They have to be more aggressive going after rebounds and loose balls. They need to get back to moving the ball to find the open man. And, they have to get their focus back. They let the Hawks take them completely out of their game and let the young Hawks frustrate them. It shouldn't be all that hard since they played that kind of ball for 84 games and played the crappy kind of ball for the last two. Hopefully all that learned behavior will come back to them and they will come out with the win. Time is running out and the Celtics must snap out of their fog and once again dominate this series or their season could be over way too early. Tue, 29 Apr 2008 21:54:43 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/261434 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/261434 How often do sports fans get to chant something as fun as "Boston Sucks, Boston Sucks!" in their sportsfan lives? For us folks in Phatlanta, it ain't very often. Granted, the Celtics are more than capable of destroying the Hawks over the course of the next two (and hopefully three) games. But when an 8 seed under .500 backdoors into the playoffs and twice takes down the team with the league's best record to tie a playoff series, the fans can chant whatever they want until the next game tips. I was in the "Highlight Factory" (cartoonishly- lame nickname, but lots of fun) last night with 20,000 rabid fans, and the only sporting events where I've had more fun have all been Georgia football games that we weren't supposed to win, and they were all enhanced by a belly full of Wild Turkey. At the very least, last night was the best professional sporting event I've ever been to by a huge margin. Tue, 29 Apr 2008 11:32:22 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/261182 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/261182