Big raves for new man in the middle

During his first five seasons with the Heat, Dwyane Wade found himself playing with mostly top-tier centers, from Brian Grant to Shaquille O’Neal to Alonzo Mourning.Now, when given a choice, Wade selects … Joel Anthony.”When we do our games in…

TNT to Televise Landmark Outdoor NBA Preseason Game

TNT announced today that Charles Barkley, Reggie Miller and Marv Albert, will serve as game-side announcers for the “AutoTrader.com Open”outdoor preseason game on Sat., Oct. 11 featuring the Phoenix Suns vs. the Denver Nuggets from the Indian Wells.

Gimme 10! Player Profile – Amare Stoudemire

Look Out Below: Phoeniz Is Officially Team Amare Stoudemire!

Do you see the guy in the bottom right of this picture? He is not in a member of the Suns anymore. You may remember he was replaced with a hefty older fellow, Shaquille something or other. And the coach who figured out a way to let Phoenix soar up and down the court - shot-clock be damned – is also elsewhere this season.

So with Shawn Marion running alongside Dwayne Wade in Miami, and Mike D’Antoni trying to rebuild the hapless Knickerbockers, Phoenix is gambling that a more half-court oriented offense, actually playing defense, and a fully healthy Amare Stoudemire playing his natural PF position will get them farther in the playoffs than last year’s first round exit. Frankly, the only part of that bet that makes any sense to us is Amare.

Trying to get a team of shoot first veterans (plus a less than dominant Shaq) to suddenly begin defending, may be like trying to go off-roading in a Corvette. If it does work, the big reason will be Amare Stoudemire.

Half court teams maximize possessions by forcing their advantage(s). Amare is clearly the Suns player most likely to give opposing coaches fits trying figure out a way to guard him, so we expect the Phoenix offense to run through him more often than not.

But it is not just that he will be the focus of the offense that has Stoudemire poised for an explosive year. Here are three more reasons: 1) he is young – at only 25, he has time physically and mentally to develop his game; 2) he is healthy – the second half of the 07-08 campaign appears to show his knee is fully healed; and 3) he is playing opposite the Big Cactus – diminishing the number of pure centers he will face at both ends, not to mention making it much harder to double team The Man-child.

Amare has two offensive challenges this year: he has to maintain his scoring efficiency despite getting fewer opportunities in transition, and he has be willing to start further from the basket (because Shaq cannot). This will be made harder because in Phoenix’s new scheme, he will actually have to guard somebody. Alas, they will have to guard him as well.

Steve Nash, Grant Hill, even Shaquille O’Neal probably have a little something in the tank. And Phoenix thinks it did particularly well drafting talent to fit its new approach. Still, this team is built to win now, not in the future. With D’Antoni and Marion no longer around, that future has a name. That name is Amare.

Nuggets Sign Rookie Sonny Weems

The Denver Nuggets have signed guard/forward Sonny Weems to a contract, Nuggets Vice President of Basketball Operations Mark Warkentien announced Monday. Weems was selected by the Chicago Bulls in the second round (39th overall) of the 2008 NBA Draft before being traded to Denver for a 2009 second-round draft pick.

Knicks Sign Allan Houston

New York Knickerbockers President of Basketball Operations Donnie Walsh announced today that guard Allan Houston has been re-signed as a free agent. Originally retiring on Oct. 17, 2005 following training camp three seasons ago, Houston is the team’s fourth leading scorer in franchise history during the regular season (11,165) and eighth leading scorer during the playoffs (1,139).

Kidsday interviews NBA star Dwyane Wade

Fresh from his bringing home the gold with the USA Olympic basketball team in Beijing, we interviewed Dwyane Wade of the Miami Heat at the NBA Store in Manhattan recently. He is a spokesman for the new Pepperidge Farm Goldfish Games (pfgoldfish.com), a…

Gilbert Getting Hitched?

There seems to be an interesting trend settling among star athletes who are recovering from serious injuries. It started with Tom Brady, who is recovering from torn MCL and ACL surgery, shopping around for wedding rings. And now Gilbert Arenas, who is also recovering from knee surgery, has reportedly been proposed to by his fiancee. Glad to hear that in an age where trouble finds young high profile stars in their personal life like Paul Pierce hitting the clubs in Las Vegas, or Shaq making a fool of himself rapping, or the much publicized YouTube rant of Josh Howard, you see a talent like Gilbert being responsible with his time. Staying grounded is the way to go.

Coming to America: Dragic’s NBA Dream

When Goran Dragic was growing up in former Yugoslavia, he was hoping to become a member of his national team and a professional basketball player. But he was dreaming of playing in the NBA.

Clippers Add GM Role to Coach Mike Dunleavy’s Duties

The Los Angeles Clippers today announced that Head Coach Mike Dunleavy will assume the additional role of General Manager, replacing Vice President of Basketball Operations, Elgin Baylor.

Big Shot Bob

As a prep for next week’s discussion about who the greatest athlete of the last 20 years is, I wanted to share about one of my favorite athletes (and who I think is a great athlete although many disagree) of all time. Let’s rewind to a little over 6 years ago.

Game 4 of the 2002 Conference Finals. Lakers vs. Kings, Kings leading by 2 with less than 10 seconds to go. If you are a Kings fan, there is only one person on the other team you don’t want shooting the last shot. It’s not the future MVP Kobe. It’s not even the unstoppable monster in the paint known as Shaq. Not Fisher nor George nor Rick Fox (who would want Rick Fox shooting the last shot of the game anyways? Maybe if you’re throwing the season away for high hopes in the lottery…). As the ball gets tipped out after Kobe and Shaq both miss their chance to be the hero, it takes a long hop right into the hands of the 6′10″ forward sitting at the top of the key. He releases the ball with a less than perfect form from behind the arc and at that moment, time slows down. The ball seems to be slowed down by the gaze of 19,000 pairs of eyes, fixated on the orange sphere that flies through the air at one end of the Staples Center. As the ball swishes through the net, Robert Horry becomes an instant legend.

This shot is just one of many that he will eventually have in his career. His ability to hit these types of shots and bring this intangible quality to whatever team he is playing for has allowed him to win 7 championship rings (1 more than Jordan, Abdul-Jabbar and Cousy, and the only player not part of the 1960’s Celtics to win that many rings) and make the playoffs every year of his 16 season career. He also holds the record for most playoff games played (surpassing Abdul-Jabbar in the 2008 playoffs), the most 3 pointers made in NBA Finals games (53, Jordan is 2nd with 42), and the most 3 pointers in a playoff game without missing (7 against the Utah Jazz in 1997). His season averages of 7.2 ppg, 4.9 rpg and 2.2 apg don’t scream Hall of Fame (HOF), but you cannot deny his ability to make other teams squirm with anxiety whenever he takes the court in a playoff game.

He is the epitome of clutch. When a game comes down to the final seconds, his blood turns into ice and he shoots every shot with a calm that most athletes could never have.

So is he HOF material? Is it really coincidence that he won 7 championships with 3 different teams? Did he just get lucky? I’m not saying that Robert Horry was THE reason why those teams won the championship, but I believe you cannot call it a coincidence either. The 1960s Celtics were just a dominant team that was playing in an era where no one was able to challenge them. To win that many championships in the league today while changing teams, where the draft and talent levels has leveled the playing field, is an incredible feat. I’m not arguing that he should be in the HOF next to Jordan, Russell and Chamberlain when he retires, but I think they should make a new wing for players like Horry. For admission into that part of the HOF, you must meet the following criteria:

1) Win at least 3 championships on 2 different teams (if you win 3 on one team or 2 on two teams, you’re not in yet)

2) Hit at least 3 game winning or game changing shots (not an exact science, but you’ll be able to tell that kind of shot by the number of hits on youtube)

3) Make it to the playoffs at least half of the season in your career (self-explanatory)

This would allow players like Posey or Fisher to make it to the hall of fame and become NBA legends, even though their regular season achievements may not warrant it. Although you need a good regular season to make the playoffs, postseason play separates the men from the boys. The people who have this extra gear in May and June deserve to be credited with their ability to step up in the playoffs.

My final point has to be that almost no other athlete has a song written strictly for him/her. Below is one of my favorite videos about Horry that shows the infamous shot I mentioned above as well as other highlights of his career.

I wasn’t sure what to write about for this blog entry, but once again, as always, Robert Horry saved the day (just watch the video and you’ll get it).

P.S. If they ever make a movie about his career, they HAVE to use Will Smith…