Give Me The Rock

I’m not sure how I let this happen, but I’m leaving at 6am tomorrow for a wedding in Jamaica… meaning I won’t be able to prepare any draft analysis until the 5th of July at the earliest.

But I’m sure there will be enough of that to go around. I’ve got 105 new posts to read in my BlogLines account and the draft isn’t even over yet.

Time to pack!

Well, not really… but all Done at least. There have been so many other posts written about that last game that I’ll just let well enough alone, except for these two comments:

1. I was glad to see that Tim Duncan stepped up and took the game over when it mattered. Sure, he was pretty weak and not forceful enough for the rest of the series, but he was as important to the Spurs winning game 7 as Horry was for game 5.

2. My girlfriend said near the end of the second quarter:

I think this game is going to stress me out.

I guess that’s why we have a game 7. ‘Cause you get the feeling that the Spurs and Pistons could have gone on trading games pretty much until October. You gotta cut it off at some point.

With that said… here’s some reading for the weekend:

• Luke Winn (CNNSI)
• True Hoop
• BlazerManiaBlog
• Ian Thomsen (CNNSI)

RealGM: From The Rafters - Quentin Richardson Dealt To The Knicks For Kurt Thomas

Quentin Richardson will be dealt to the Knicks in exchange for Kurt Thomas and a future conditional number one draft choice. This deal is pending league approval and should be formally announced after Game 7 of the NBA Finals on Thursday.

At first I started reading this and was like ‘Why would Phoenix trade Q-Rich?” Then I remembered… dude’s pretty overrated. Of the current and former Clipper shooting guards, I’d much rather have Corey Maggette with his 13 FT’s per 48 minutes at 85%. And when you read that Real GM part on how well Kurt will fill the holes the Suns have, it’s not a bad trade. For the Suns at least. I’m not sure what Zany Isiah thinks he’s doing… Of course, ESPN is saying that the teams are only discussing this deal, but I’ll run with it anyway.

Another take on the Quentin trade from Rising Suns.

Fantasy Impact

(How long has it been since I’ve written that?)

I’d be ’specting QR to be the starting SF for the Knickerbockers since double-T only managed to put together half a season this year (or is it last year now?) J-Craw was throwing up almost identical numbers to Richie Rich (wrt FG%, Pts, 3-pointers, FT’s) last season… Quentin’s Rebounding was better, but his Assisting not (of course, he was getting assisted most of the time). I wouldn’t expect him to hit as many threes with the Knicks since Starbury and Crawford like to do their fair share of three point shooting… but Marbury’s penetration is good enough that Quentin should get open looks. Predictomatic says he’ll hold the company line at 15 pts, 6 rebs, 2 asts, 1 stl, and 2 threes.

Kurt Thomas, as I mentioned before, will actually be a pretty good fit with the Suns. Except for the whole running part. He will certainly help out Stoudemire with his blocks, and take some pressure off of Stoud and Marion wrt Rebounding. He should easily maintain his 11 and 10 average and I’d expect an increase of 1-2 blocks (from 1.0). I’m not sure he’ll be able to keep up with the Suns the whole time at age 32, but he should be able to be more efficient with them than with the Knicks, so if his minutes go down from 35.7, he should still be able to give you the numbers the Predictomatic is giving me.

Count it.

It’s being reported on ESPN as well as CNNSI that a lot of rich people have decided on a good way to split their money. No, not Jennifer and Brad. The NBAPA and the Owners (and anyone else who was involved).

On behalf of all basketball fans, I say, Thank You. Now we are guaranteed a fantasy season later this year, and we’ll all pay closer attention to the draft since those guys will actually be playing next year.

Evidently the cap is up to $47-$50M next year, so let’s go pick up some free agents!

Gotta throw a link back the Bulls Blog for showing the love. Chicago 4 Life!

Nobody who saw Game 5, or that shot against the Kings in ‘03, or the dozen other ‘big shot’ moments from Big Shot Rob could deny his effect on a championship team. The little things, the intangibles, knowing one’s role, showing no fear in the big moment. Horry does all this and may very well be the best of all time at it.

However, the little things do not win championships. Big things do.

Hakeem wins championships. Shaq and Kobe win championships. If the Spurs hold off the Pistons, the championship will be because of big things like Tim Duncan. Horry (and players like him) can put a great team to championship level, but without the big things, there is no place for what Robert Horry does.

So, Matt wants BS Rob (interesting abbreviation, eh?) inducted into the NBA Hall of Fame (a separate establishment from the Basketball Hall of Fame). And the wing opposite the Role Player Hall (the Honorary Robert Horry Wing) will be the Bonehead Wing (the Honorary Rasheed Wallace Wing according to Joey from the End of the Bench)

Back 2 the Draft:
Forum Blue and Gold is going big. Meanwhile, “atma brother #1″ and “fantasy junkie” are turning the new Golden State Warriors blog into one of the most prolific news sources in my BlogLines account. Props to hometown print rag Chicago Tribue for having the guts to do their own Mock Draft. Why not?

If FreeDrafto/Darko links to NBA Draft videos, I will too… why not?

Thar she blows.

Supersonics Versus The World! >> Hnk Jr Versus Felix Gillette:

Gillette argues that instead of Horry being a great team player, he has really only been a teammate of great players. What kind of f’d up logic is that? Did Gillette see what happened to Shaq this year? That’s what happens when a great player is surrounded by people (like Eddie Jones, Dooling, and even an overeager Wade) who, in crucial 4th quarter situations, make one too many extra passes, bobble the ball, or take a shot that isn’t makeable. Horry doesn’t do those things. He serves a to cement team chemistry, not destroy it through his own cowardice.

I am aware that too much has already been written this year about the various achievements (and/or lack thereof) of Robert Horry, but since I haven’t written any of those articles or posts, I feel okay with reiterating Hnk Jr’s point here. And I couldn’t really have said it any better myself, but that won’t stop me from trying. (I’m working on that superstar belief that I’m better than everyone else)

Robert Horry is just like John Paxson or Steve Kerr with Michael Jordan. They are the role players who hit big shots when the superstars create the opportunity for them. It just happens that Horry is taller and athleticker than those guys, giving him the ability to be a famouser version of the so-called role player.

Horry has also had the good fortune of playing with people like Hakeem, Shaq, Kobe, and Duncan. I’m sure that if he’d played for the Hawks, Grizzlies, and Clippers instead of the Rockets, Lakers and Spurs there would be approximately 0 articles/posts about him at this point. I’m sure that he wouldn’t deny that either. I bet he realizes that he’s had it good, but it also seems like he appreciates that. At the same time, I think he (and his teammates) recognize that he’s a much better role player than a lot of the other guys out there to choose from. (The above mentioned Eddie Jones and Dooling) Maybe I’ll take a page from the Bill Simmons playbook and do an analysis of the best role player of all time. Of course, if it’s been done, feel free to let me know and I’ll move on… Otherwise, expect more procrastinatory posting unrelated to fantasy basketball. Hmmm… maybe I’ll just metamorphasize into a “general basketball” blog, and get a shout out in USA Today.

There is More FreeDrafto.

Versatile. Just wanted to say that.

But seriously… what? How does a team in the NBA Finals of all places win 2 games by an average of, what was it, 17 points?, and then lost the next two by an average of 24 points? I guess if anyone can do it, it’s the Spurs (see: last year against the Lakers).

I’m just hoping that it’s another blowout on Sunday so I can get to bed early like I did last night. I’m not Off the Bandwagon, I’m just tired cause I’ve been waking up early to try to get “fun work” done outside of “real work.” [That obviously does not include blogging… ;)] But Mr. True Hoop has a point. The Spurs Bloggers sound like My Mom. [I’ll spare you my bloggerated impression of my mom watching the Blazers back in the day] If those were My Bulls in the Finals, there is no way I’d turn the TV off. I don’t care how much they’re down by.

(Time for a new paragraph, I think) There are 30 teams in the league and only 2 get to the Finals. If your team is one of those 2, you owe it to them to watch every second of every game, even if it means searing your eyes with 18 turnovers and a 31 point loss. My only theory is that Spurs fans have been so spoiled of late with 2 championships and perennial playoff appearances that they’ve come to take these things for granted. Or maybe they just don’t really like basketball all that much. If that’s the case… stick to fantasy basketball…

<segue>Speaking of Fantasy Basketball…</segue> Here’s some Draft Links (for those of you who don’t subscribe to 56 basketball feeds):

CelticsBlog
WarriorsBlog
TrueHoop
More TrueHoop
FreeDrafto

You know you’re getting good at The Webs Programming when it’s easier to type out: <a href=” and hit Ctrl+V followed up with a “> and the name of the link than it is to move the mouse up to the Link Button in Wordpress.

Vitriolic. I just felt like saying that.