NBA and College Hoops

Washington Wizards fired their head coach on Tuesday, and many believe its as a result of their 2-15 current record, however if you look at the team, the Wizards have little talent. 

They looked horrible playing the Sixers on Monday, ending in a loss 103-83. Everyone points out that Washington shouldn’t be playing this bad, with John Wall, but… yes Wall is the best player on the team, but overall he’s not a player that can carry a WHOLE team.  

Sure he’s a great player to watch, but Wall is prone to turnover the ball multiple times throughout games, and his shot selection needs to improve drastically. And aside from Wall, who else do the Wizards have?

Andray Blatche, Nick Young, and McGee all have potential, but they have no chemistry. They don’t pass. Basketball is a team sport. 

I honestly don’t believe firing Saunders was the solution, the team play needs work, serious work.

But we’ll see if new coach Randy Wittman is the answer

-TishaJade

The Los Angeles Lakers have played a total of 18 games and their record is currently 10-8. Not so good considering what the Lakers ARE capable of, or are they?

Its a tough call. After getting swept by the Dallas Mavs last season, one may wonder has the dynasty come to a halt? But, then we all witness Kobe go for consecutive back to back games of 40+, so it leaves the people quite confused.

The answer is very simple. The Lakers need a scoring point guard who can facilitate an offense and set players up with what their comfortable with (shot wise). Lets be real, having Gasol and World Peace jacking up three’s is NOT going to cut it. They also need an aggressive big man, aside from Bynum. Gasol is too inconsistent for that squad and not physical enough. Its a site to see when he actually does throw a box out on a player. Lastly, the Lakers need to a new coach. Plain and simple.

My reason behind getting rid of Mike Brown is cut and dry. After ditching the triangle offense, the Lakers offense has looked beyond stagnant, and just dry. When will Brown see that this whole “just give Kobe the ball” plan isn’t going to get the Lakers very far. He needs to understand that when he was in Cleveland and was coaching Lebron, he had a YOUNG player on his hands. Kobe has been through the works and what he needs is a solid offense that is going to create players with shots that they are comfortable taking. Kobe cant be the answer every single time.

I’m anxious to see what kind of trades will take place come post all-star. The Lakers need some pieces, it will be interesting to see what will be put together. I just hope its not too little, too late.

—Vanessa R. Robbins 

https://twitter.com/NessaRenee_Duh

In Friday’s game against Denver, Miami Heat’s star guard sprained his right ankle, which is only one of the three injuries he’s dealing with right now: a sore left foot, and a strained calf.

Still attending treatment, it doesn’t look likely Wade will play Tuesday against San Antonio, and if that is the case Mike Miller may make his debut this season. Miller has been out due to recovery time needed from hernia surgery. Also, if Wade doesn’t players like Juwan Howard, Norris Cole, Terrel Harris, Mickell Gladness and James Jones will more clock.

What does the other players of the Big 3 have to say about this?

“He needs to just chill out right now, get better and we’ll hold it down until he can come back,” Bosh said.

“I’ve got to step it up even more offensively and defensively,” James said. “Revert back to some of the ways back in Cleveland, when I knew I for the most part had to be the No. 1 option offensively.”

Wait, did LeBron say, “revert back to the his ways in Cleveland?” You know how long I’ve been waiting for him to do this, ever since taking his talents to South Beach, he’s really lost some of that aggressiveness, and power he had in Cleveland. 

We’ll see what happens this upcoming Tuesday, against San Antonio, which will air on NBATV at 7:30PM ET

-TishaJade

According to 

Chris Sheridan  from sheridanhoops.com the list of players who will be trying out for the USA Olympic team has been released.

LaMarcus Aldridge
Carmelo Anthony
Chauncey Billups
Chris Bosh
Kobe Bryant
Tyson Chandler
Kevin Durant
Eric Gordon
Blake Griffin
Dwight Howard
Andre Iguodala
LeBron James
Kevin Love
Lamar Odom
Chris Paul
Derrick Rose
Dwyane Wade
Russell Westbrook
Deron Williams

This list will be cut to 12 players in June.

Who do you have as the starting five representing the US of A?

Imagine watching those tryouts!

We all remember Curry from his days at Davidson, and since the day he was drafted he’s had problems with his ankle. 

He didn’t play against the Lakers on Friday because of a sprained right ankle. Didn’t play against the Utah Jazz Saturday, Miami is up next for GSW on Tuesday, and he hopes to return Thursday,  Jan. 12 when Golden State plays Orlando. 

Before the season started, Curry tore ligaments in his ankle in a preseason game against Sacramento, then two more times against Chicago and San Antonio. It’s reported he’ll be changing his shoes from the Nike Hyperdunks to Nike Zooms, hopefully that’ll help decrease the chances of him re-injuring his ankles.

But what does this mean for the young guard? Injury-prone players, and longevity in the NBA don’t really go hand in hand. Seems to me Golden State has been delaying their next moves. Curry is their most valuable, and star player, and if they keep pushing him in the starting lineup, and continuing to put him on the floor, an ankle tweak, or sprain is going to turn into something career-altering, which then becomes potentially franchise-altering.

Curry is averaging 15.2 points and 5.6 assists for Golden State.

Sure by signing Nate Robinson, he’ll be able to fill the PG position while Curry is out, BUT Robinson isn’t Curry. Robinson is a good scorer, and passer, but he’s not as efficient as Curry. And will have to truly prove himself until Curry is back 100%.

So what should the Warriors do. Sit Curry? Play him? Trade him?

The Warriors need to make some decisions, and make them soon. 

-Tisha Jade

With their best start in 30 years, the Missouri Tigers 14-0 winning streak ended today to the K-State Wildcats. 75-59. leaving three undefeated teams left in the NCAA

The Wildcats outscored the Tigers in the paint in the first half, and set the pace for the rest of the game.

5/22 in the first half Mizzou couldn’t find the rhythm, and definitely didn’t look like the team that’s leading the nation in assist-to-turnover ratio.

Whether Missouri was playing zone, or man defense, K-State found a way in the lane, and if they weren’t attacking the paint, their guards, specifically sophomore Spradling, were solid behind the arch.

This loss provided Missouri with a reality check of what they have to face when playing bigger, and more physical teams. Missouri is small, but that shouldn’t knock them from the Big 12 picture, or diminish the fact they’re a top-10 team. Coach Haith will have to toughen his team up, especially for road games. 

Next up for MU is an away game against Iowa State.

-TishaJade

2012 NBA ALL-STAR EASTERN CONFERENCE BALLOT

EAST GUARDS (24)
Allen, Ray, Boston
Augustin, DJ, Charlotte
Calderon, Jose, Toronto
Collison, Darren, Indiana
DeRozan, DeMar, Toronto
George, Paul, Indiana
Hamilton, Richard, Chicago
Holiday, Jrue, Philadelphia
Irving, Kyrie, Cleveland
Jackson, Stephen, Milwaukee
Jennings, Brandon, Milwaukee
Johnson, Joe, Atlanta
Morrow, Anthony, New Jersey
Nelson, Jameer, Orlando
Richardson, Jason, Orlando
Rondo, Rajon, Boston
Rose, Derrick, Chicago
Stuckey, Rodney, Detroit
Teague, Jeff, Atlanta
Wade, Dwyane, Miami
Wall, John, Washington
Walker, Kemba, Charlotte
Williams, Deron, New Jersey
Young, Nick, Washington

EAST FORWARDS (24)
Anthony, Carmelo, New York
Bargnani, Andrea, Toronto
Bass, Brandon, Boston
Blatche, Andray, Washington
Boozer, Carlos, Chicago
Bosh, Chris, Miami
Brand, Elton, Philadelphia
Deng, Luol, Chicago
Garnett, Kevin, Boston
Granger, Danny, Indiana
Hansbrough, Tyler, Indiana
Humphries, Kris, New Jersey
Iguodala, Andre, Philadelphia
James, LeBron, Miami
Jamison, Antawn, Cleveland
Jerebko, Jonas, Detroit
Maggette, Corey, Charlotte
Pierce, Paul, Boston
Prince, Tayshaun, Detroit
Smith, Josh, Atlanta
Stoudemire, Amar’e, New York
Turkoglu, Hedo, Orlando
West, David, Indiana
Young, Thaddeus, Philadelphia
 

EAST CENTERS (12)
Anthony, Joel, Miami
Bogut, Andrew, Milwaukee
Chandler, Tyson, New York
Diaw, Boris, Charlotte
Hawes, Spencer, Philadelphia
Hibbert, Roy, Indiana
Horford, Al, Atlanta
Howard, Dwight, Orlando
McGee, JaVale, Washington
Monroe, Greg, Detroit
Noah, Joakim, Chicago
Varejao, Anderson, Cleveland


 
2012 NBA ALL-STAR WESTERN CONFERENCE BALLOT

WEST GUARDS (24)
Afflalo, Arron, Denver
Billups, Chauncey, L.A. Clippers
Bryant, Kobe, LA Lakers
Conley, Mike, Memphis
Curry, Stephen, Golden State
Ellis, Monta, Golden State
Evans, Tyreke, Sacramento
Felton, Raymond, Portland
Ginobili, Manu, San Antonio
Gordon, Eric, New Orleans
Harris, Devin, Utah
Kidd, Jason, Dallas
Lawson , Ty, Denver
Lowry, Kyle, Houston
Martin, Kevin, Houston
Matthews, Wesley, Portland
Miller, Andre, Denver
Nash, Steve, Phoenix
Parker, Tony, San Antonio
Paul, Chris, L.A. Clippers
Rubio, Ricky, Minnesota
Terry, Jason, Dallas
Thornton, Marcus, Sacramento
Westbrook, Russell, Oklahoma City

WEST FORWARDS (24)
Aldridge, LaMarcus, Portland
Batum, Nicolas, Portland
Beasley, Michael, Minnesota
Duncan, Tim, San Antonio
Durant, Kevin, Oklahoma City
Favors, Derrick, Utah
Gallinari, Danilo, Denver
Gasol, Pau, LA Lakers
Gay, Rudy, Memphis
Griffin, Blake, LA Clippers
Harden, James, Oklahoma City
Hill, Grant, Phoenix
Ibaka, Serge, Oklahoma City
Landry, Carl, New Orleans
Lee, David, Golden State
Love, Kevin, Minnesota
Marion, Shawn, Dallas
Millsap, Paul, Utah
Nowitzki, Dirk, Dallas
Odom, Lamar, Dallas
Randolph, Zach, Memphis
Scola, Luis, Houston
Wallace, Gerald, Portland
World Peace, Metta, L.A. Lakers

WEST CENTERS (12)
Bynum, Andrew, LA Lakers
Camby, Marcus, Portland
Cousins, DeMarcus, Sacramento
Dalembert, Samuel, Houston
Gasol, Marc, Memphis
Gortat, Marcin, Phoenix
Jefferson, Al, Utah
Jordan, DeAndre, L.A. Clippers
Kaman, Chris, New Orleans
Nene, Denver
Okafor, Emeka, New Orleans
Perkins, Kendrick, Oklahoma City

Having played with each other for 21-years, the Morris twins were separated at last during the 2011 NBA Draft as Markieff Morris was picked up by the Phoenix Suns at No. 13, one pick ahead of his brother Marcus Morris at No. 14 by the Houston Rockets. 

Throughout the months after declaring for draft, Marcus, the 2011 Big 12 Player of the Year, had been projected to be picked before Markieff, the more understated of the two on-and-off the court. 

Going into training camp, many said that Marcus could be in the starting lineup at the 3 in no time. However, that is no longer going to be the case. 

The Houston Rockets have made the decision to send Morris to the Rio Grande Valley Vipers of the NBA Development League to allow him to play full time, giving Morris’ to Patrick Patterson, Chandler Parsons, and Terrence Williams.

When asked about the move, Rockets GM Daryl Morey, explained why Marcus may not yet be ‘league ready’.

“Our focus for Marcus is to work on his defense and his offense at the three.”

It is apparent that the team is looking to have Marcus work on his small forward ability— his likely future spot if he makes a comeback. 

Side note to all— The ’understated’ twin, Markieff Morris, had 16 points & 9 assists against the Warriors Monday afternoon, helping his team defeat Golden State with a 102-91 victory. 

-Kelly Ouji