Yardbarker: Peja Stojakovic

Drafting for Three Pointers

Fri, 03 Oct 2008 09:57:26 -0500

Which Fantasy Basketball Draft players are guaranteed to help you in your 3 pointers category? Are there any sleepers available in late rounds?

Vintage Funny, Vlade Divac, 1990 Schick Commercial, I'm No Longer Irritating

Thu, 25 Sep 2008 08:19:47 -0500

This is the kind of stuff I love. AC Green and Mychal Thompson are giving Vlade Divac a little rookie hazing. The Aloe Vera Strip is very cool and refreshing, but your face is still a big problema

Ron Artest does what only Dennis Rodman could ever dream of doing

Tue, 23 Sep 2008 13:43:34 -0500

Throughout his career, Ronald William Artest, Jr. has emulated a number of NBA greats including the legendary Michael Jordan and eccentric rebounder Dennis Rodman by donning their jersey numbers (#23 and #91) during his stint with the Indiana Pacers.

By the time Ron-Ron was traded to the Sacramento Kings in late January 2006 for Peja Stojakovic he had a new number (#93) and an new lease on life until he ran himself out of Sacramento by forcing the Kings owners' the Maloof brothers and President of Basketball Operations Geoff Petrie to trade him to the Houston Rockets this offseason.

News has come out that he plans to wear jersey # 96. Dennis Rodman--who has donned his share of jersey numbers (e.g., #10, #91, #73, & #70)--always wanted to invert those numbers and use that particular jersey number but felt that NBA Commissioner David J. Stern would shoot that one down as well as the inferences to the number if he were to get #96.

That was over ten years ago.

Today, #96 has finally reached the NBA with Ron Artest—who according a Sports 1140 KHTK-AM interview last July, wants to now be referred to as "Bill" (taken from his second name, William)—symbolizing yet another fresh start.

Here's to you "Bill" and to second chances, third chances, fourth chances…

Make the most of it!

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Now playing: Jack Johnson - Losing Keys (Katalyst Remix)
via FoxyTunes

Top 10 Teams in International Basketball since 1992

Sat, 20 Sep 2008 16:47:32 -0500

With nations around the world having improved by leaps and bounds and Team USA re-emerging, where do all these great and exciting teams rank relative to each other?

Ron Artest does what only Dennis Rodman could ever dream of doing

Sun, 17 Aug 2008 14:43:26 -0500

NBA Offseason Rankings - Full Projections For All 30 Teams!

Fri, 08 Aug 2008 10:16:44 -0500

With baseball's playoff hunt in full effect and the NFL preseason underway, what better time than now to make some projections..for the NBA! Rosters are beginning to take formation as free agents join their new clubs, trades are consumated, and rookies settle in with their new squads. I've provided my projected records for the coming season along with last year's overall records. Please feel free to comment with your opinions. 1) Los Angeles Lakers - Projection (60 -22) - Last Season (57-25) - A healthy Andrew Bynum along with a younger corps than the Celtics make them the team to beat in the coming season. 2) Boston Celtics - Projection (58-24) - Last Season (66-16) - Defending champs have an aging but spectacular corps. Expect another step back from Ray Allen. The loss of Posey and potentially PJ Brown won't be as significant as many media heads are making them out to be. 3) New Orleans Hornets - Projection (58-24) - Last Season (56-26) - Chris Paul, David West, and Tyson Chandler are three young studs that will keep the Hornets relevant for years to come. Continue Reading At PCPSPORTS.COM...

Team Preview #4: New Orleans Hornets

Mon, 04 Aug 2008 04:12:31 -0500

LAST SEASON The Hornets surprised many around the league by winning the toughest Division (Southwest) in the NBA and easily knocking out Dallas in the 1st round. Byron Scott was named Coach of the Year for his efforts, and Chris Paul had one of the greatest seasons EVER by a point guard, finishing 2nd in the MVP voting. They lost in 7 games to the Spurs, but it was a very successful season for such a young team. OFFSEASON MOVES Key Additions: James Posey Key Losses: Bonzi Wells, Jannero Pargo? Fresh off a key 6th man role for the champion Celtics, James Posey was able to parlay his solid play into a 4 year, $25 million deal with the Hornets. Posey's arrival means Wells is now expendable. New Orleans would like to re-sign backup guard Jannero Pargo, but he is receiving interest from other teams as well. And while the Hornets traded away their only draft pick, they had much more important matters at hand, as they signed Chris Paul to a 3-year contract extension for $68 million. ROTATION / PLAYING TIME How good was CP3 last year? Well, the only other player in NBA history to average 20+ points (21.1), 10+ assists (11.6), and 2.5+ steals (2.71) was Isiah Thomas in '83-84 (also at the age of 22). Two key differences: Paul had 2.51 turnovers per game vs. 3.74 for Isiah, and Paul shot 85.1% from the line vs. 73.3% FT for the former Piston. Needless to say, Paul (37.6 mpg) will get the bulk of the PG minutes once again. David West also had a stellar season, and will play roughly 38 minutes as well at power forward. At center, Tyson Chandler played a career-high 35.3 minutes, but blocked a career-low 1.06 shots per game (his rookie year, he blocked more shots in less than HALF as many minutes!). Chandler was supposed to be an alternate for Team USA this summer, but a toe injury has prevented him from travelling with the team. Obviously, this is a key injury that needs to be monitored. Minutes are a little more up in the air at the swingmen spots. In '07-08, Peja Stojakovic played 35.3 mpg at SF and Morris Peterson played 23.6 mpg at SG. Ideally, Posey would replace Mo-Pete in most situations, but as of now, Byron Scott is saying Mo-Pete will start and Posey will back up both players off the bench. Tentatively, I'm going to project 34 minutes for Peja, 28 minutes for Posey, 18 minutes for Mo-Pete, and 18 minutes for Pargo (assuming he returns). Julian Wright had a fine rookie campaign, and should see about 12-14 minutes of action at both forward spots. And lastly, Hilton Armstrong & Melvin Ely will battle for the remaining big men minutes, so keep an eye on them if TC's toe is still bothering him. DON'T SLEEP ON: David West & James Posey Despite being named to the All-Star team last year and nearly every single analyst calling him the most underrated power forward in the game, David West will still be overlooked by many on draft day '08. In this article from a year ago (http://www.82games.com/fantasy/1block_77ft.htm), I suggested that if West could just block a few more shots, he would be able to join the exclusive 1+ Block & 77% FT club. Well, he did just that and improved in other areas as well. In fact, only 4 players averaged 20+ points and 8+ rebounds while shooting over 48% FG and 80% FT in '07-08: Amare Stoudemire, Yao Ming, Chris Bosh, and David West. That's exclusive company right there. I strongly recommend drafting West before more popular players such as Tim Duncan, Pau Gasol, and Al Jefferson, and if you let him fall past the 4th round, you're going to regret it. I'm not certain of it, but there's a good chance that West met James Posey on a recruiting trip way back in 1998. You see, Posey led Xavier University in rebounding for 3 straight years before graduating in 1999. A few months later, West stepped onto campus and proceeded to lead Xavier to 94 wins in 4 seasons while being named the A-10 Player of the Year three years in a row. So don't be surprised if you see them throwing up a lot of X's this season. A lot of people are going to ignore Posey this year due to his lowly 7.4 ppg average, but I think he's going to be an excellent late round value pick. He may start the season on the bench, but the Hornets aren't paying him $25 million to ride the pine, so his minutes are sure to rise from the 24.6 that he played last year. As a result, Posey could easily crack the Top 50 in both threes and steals in '08-09. For his career, he's a rock solid 82% FT shooter, and he also pitches in with boards & blocks. I'm suggesting you target Posey in Rounds 10-12, which is exactly where people targeted Mo-Pete a year ago. Peterson didn't deliver, but Posey will. BE CAREFUL OF: Peja Stojakovic After playing in just 13 games the year before, Peja bounced back nicely in '07-08, playing in 77 games and knocking down 231 threes (2nd behind Jason Richardson). However, this is not the same fantasy stud that we used to know and love. For proof, let's compare some of his '07-08 stats to his '03-04 stats. In '03-04, he shot a blistering 92.7% FT on 5.2 attempts per game. Last season, he made a career-high 92.9% of his freebies, but he attempted just 1.8 per contest. In '03-04, he pulled down 6.3 rebounds and grabbed 1.3 steals per game. Last season, those averages were down to 4.3 and .7, and they could plummet even further with Posey now in town (a superior rebounder & defender). A lot of people are going to draft Peja in Round 5 because those 3 threes per game are so juicy, but those people probably don't realize that he had to shoot a career-best 44.1% from beyond the arc to make that many. Since most of Stojakovic's stats are going to decline this year, I suggest waiting until Rounds 7 or 8 to grab him. ROUND BY ROUND TARGETS (Where you should draft these guys in an 8-cat Roto league with 12 teams and 14 man rosters) Click on the link to find out!

Keep Your Picks: Raptors vs. Kings (Round One, Game Nine)

Sat, 12 Jul 2008 10:55:29 -0500

This is a match up between established stars and players on the rise. The Kings are undersized because neither Peja or Hedo are meant to play power forwards. The Raptors are oversized with Antawn Jamison and Chris Bosh. Tracy McGrady highlights the back court for the Raptors. Since this is the first round I'm smelling an upset here. Expert Picks: Bowers: Sacramento Kings Pickard: Toronto Raptors

12 Non-Rookies to Watch in Summer League (Western Conference edition)

Wed, 09 Jul 2008 08:19:00 -0500

Rookies tend to get most of the hoopla during Summer League action, but the reality is that very few of them will make an immediate fantasy impact. So here are a few non-rookies to look out for. Not all of them are worth drafting, but all have the potential to put up nice numbers if they continue to improve and the opportunity presents itself. Some non-rookies who looked great in Summer League 2007 and carried that momentum into the regular season include: Louis Williams, Francisco Garcia, Kelenna Azubuike, and Jason Maxiell (all had solid fantasy value at some point last season).

Reviewing the calls: Lakers-Kings Game 6

Tue, 01 Jul 2008 14:25:15 -0500

Roland Beech of 82games.com takes a look at the tape. Was Game 6 of the 2002 Western Conference really fixed? Was there a clear bias shown to favor the Lakers calls? Or was it just a poorly officiated game?

Hornets sell #27 pick to Blazers

Wed, 25 Jun 2008 14:27:11 -0500

For the life of me, I just don't get this. "The Portland Trail Blazers have agreed to a deal with the New Orleans Hornets to acquire the 27th pick in Thursday's NBA draft for cash considerations, a Blazers source told ESPN.com. The deal was agreed to verbally between the two teams on Tuesday night, according to the source. The teams have scheduled a trade call with the league in the morning to make the deal official." Why does a young team like the Hornets decide to sell off a late first round pick? They aren't in luxury tax territory and they won't be well over the cap until the 2010 season and even then, they'll be able to look forward to the following summer when Peja Stojakovic's monster salary comes off the books. The team has Morris Peterson starting at the two and Peja at the three - don't they realize they need another young wing to complement Julian Wright in a couple of years? I would understand selling the pick if they were in dire need of a big man, but they need a wing and there are always gems available at that position late in the first round. Chris Douglas-Roberts was the leading scorer on one of the best teams in the nation and for the last month or so, he was projected to be the Hornets' pick. He's a dynamic scorer, but the word is that he's not impressing in workouts. But since he's such a crafty scorer, his game won't translate well to workouts. He's not going to wow anyone with the form on his jumper, but he'll drop 20 on you in a cocaine heartbeat. There are several other prospects that could be available at #27 - Donte Greene, Nicolas Batum, Jamont Gordon, Courtney Lee, Bill Walker, Kyle Weaver and Gary Forbes. This strategy befuddles me.

The 2002 Lakers-Kings Series Was Fixed

Tue, 10 Jun 2008 18:28:56 -0500

Posted on Ballhype earlier this afternoon was this little article by John Marziulli of the New York Daily News. It may seen relatively standard of the occasional Donaghy-related story we see every now and then, but something in particular caught my eye. Marziulli writes: Donaghy claims he was told that two refs who were "company men" acting in the interest of the NBA conspired to extend a playoff series in 2002 to a seventh game. My immediate reaction was the same as any other fan of the league who read the article: which series was it? The document does not name the teams. Well, how hard could it be to find out? As it turns out, not very -- only two series went to six games or more in the entire playoffs, and both were the conference finals: New Jersey versus Boston and Los Angeles versus Sacramento. So, I looked at the rest of the description in Marziulli's article to determine which series...

Who's to blame?

Tue, 20 May 2008 12:22:08 -0500

Like most NBA fans living outside the greater San Antonio area, I was rooting for the Hornets last night. I always like to see new blood deep in the playoffs and I was excited about the prospect of a Lakers/Hornets series pitting the top two MVP candidates against each other. But, alas, it was not to be. A horrid third quarter did New Orleans in, and although they made a furious comeback in the fourth, the hole they dug was just too deep. I have to give a ton of credit to the Spurs, who made several adjustments between Game 2 and Game 3 that made life a lot tougher for the Hornets. They played terrific defense and Gregg Popovich should be lauded for having the trust in Robert Horry and Michael Finley, who hit some big shots down the stretch to keep the Hornets at bay. But New Orleans had the advantage heading into the game. It was at home where they had already blown out the Spurs three times in the series. What went wrong? It starts with Chris Paul. Though he had a near triple-double (18 points, 14 assists and eight boards), he wasn't aggressive enough when the team went through its scoring draught. As a facilitator, it can be tough to know when to take over, and it wasn't like Paul was getting great looks whenever he wanted. Next on the list is David West. After a third quarter where he made just two of seven shots, he only took two shots in the fourth. By the end of the game it was clear that his back was bothering him, so it's hard to put too much blame on the young forward's shoulders. Now Peja Stojakovic is another matter. He missed all four of his shots in the second half, which isn't necessarily a bad thing if he's getting open, but only one of those shots was a decent look. The other three were catch-and-fire jumpers early in the shot clock with a hand in his face. His performance brought back memories of the Game 7 debacle against the Lakers in the 2002 playoffs, where a late-fourth quarter airball from the corner sealed the loss for the Kings. It made me wonder - does Peja always choke in Game 7's? Here are his stats from the four Game 7's in which he's played. The first three were with the Kings: (Read the rest of the article after the jump.)

The Buzz Stops Here - Spurs Take The Breeze Outta The Bees

Mon, 19 May 2008 22:37:09 -0500

Somehow I just knew (with 2 minutes to go in the FIRST QUARTER) that New Orleans was gonna lose. Guys weren't hitting shots, San Antonio was guarding Peja like a freshman watches its lunch money and the Hornets just weren't handling the ball well. The Hornets went a PATHETIC 5 for 19 (26%) in attempts in the 3rd . David West did the majority of shooting and he was only 2-8 that quarter. Foreshadowing of doom? Let's talk about what COULD HAVE BEEN: I might be inclined to say that the non-call for what appeared to be a VERY obvious foul at the buzzer before halftime was the defining moment but many are saying that the "ball wasn't out of CP3's hands by the time the red light went off" and thus … no call, no basketball, no foul. I think it's bullshit because, although INTENT is not what they base foul/no-foul decisions ON, it was clear to me Chris Paul was not simply dribbling to get it AWAY from the Spurs players. Dribbling to the corner of Nowhere Lane and No Basket Boulevard HELPS NOBODY …. So if he was going to just get it away from them, he could have just batted it far enough away such that they wouldn't be able to reach it once time expired. That being said, he was OBVIOUSLY going to throw it up (from half-court or somewhere just beyond that) for an attempt. That to me spells THREE SHOTS. Manu Ginobli CLEARLY tripped him and was in the CLEAR PATH of a shot attempt. Had it not been for the tripping, he'd have been fouled by Parker either BEFORE the shot left his hands (TWO SHOTS) or in the act of trying to get the ball UP (THREE SHOTS). Just because they're stupid to even be fouling at the end of the quarter ANYWAYS, I think they should have awarded him 3 shots. Either way, I think Bavetta COMPLETELY DROPPED THE BALL…. Literally and figuratively. Those 3 shots would have put the Hornets at a dead heat going into the 2nd qtr and I think it would have given a much different mentality to the game. Within the last 6 minutes of the game, New Orleans was within 3 … and had they had those 3 pts from before, it would have been DEAD EVEN. Instead, they spent the entire 2nd half trying to play catch-up to a game they shouldn't have been behind in in the first place. I for one, as a devout Lakers fan, am not really looking that forward to watching the Sourpuss Spurs & Deer-In-The-Headlights-Duncan run their tired bullshit ONE MORE TIME. On an up note though, I made a bet with a VERY lofty bet with my friend Dr. Jack. (no, not Ramsay) who is a stanch Spurs supporter. LOL. Jack, get your checkbook ready. What Will Be For The Hornets Next Season? Jannero Pargo has a $2m option to come back next season. Given the show he put on in the 4th today, I predict a "$3.5M or I walk" holdout session in progress. I feel like a first-class a-hole for ever having dissed him when he played for the Lakers, but let's face it … He NEVER PLAYED so he was rusty every single time he stepped onto the court. Granted, he wasn't Kwame bad but that's a rant for WHOLE OTHER ARTICLE. Birdman, Bowen & Bonzi are open for the taking and none of them will most likely be back. MAYBE Bonzi but that's even a stretch considering he made almost $2.3m this season and didn't really have to do much. My SUGGESTION is to look into maybe getting Mo Evans as a back-up SG or possibly Kareem Rush. Kelenna Azubuike might also be a nice fit to their young team, That is, if they could lure him away from Boom Dizzle & The Bay Area Bad Boys. Also, Chris Paul needs a break every once in a while so why not look into Earl Boykins to join your Tiny Terror Squad. Better luck next year guys! I was pulling for you to advance but I guess it wasn't meant to be. Take the summer to regroup and bring back the buzz to the Bayou next season. :-)

So how good is David West?

Thu, 15 May 2008 19:27:12 -0500

New Orleans power forward David West is the real deal, atleast in my opinion. Out of Xavier this guy is a huge piece to the puzzle of a Hornets team that finished 2nd in the Western Conference this year. West had a career game against the Spurs in the 5th of the series putting up 38 points and grabbing 14 rebounds. This year was his only All Star appearance but I believe he has many more to come. Anyone disagree?