Space n' Pace

Nextians have been asking just what the hell I was referring to when mentioning the Erik Spoelstra Oregon Ducks Spread Offense that he is implementing in Miami.  Linkage below.

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Gavin Maloof Loves Beating The Lakers

Gavin decided to catch the game fresh off his business meeting at a steakhouse (click to open .gif)

Yes, beating the Lakers is an awesome thing.  Now if the Kings could only put someone on their team who could pass.  Trading Udrih for Salmons was awesome, btw.

DumbMarcus Cousins Hollinger Player Card

I was reading through the team player profiles that ESPN's Vegas Beater John Hollinger put together for this NBA season and got a huge kick while reading the Anaheim Sacramento Kings. Although it is strange for me, a 6'3" white dude, to call the 6'10" 280 lb starting PF of the Kings "dumb" I do it out of love. The Kings are one of my favorite teams and I want them back to the ole' Kings of yesteryear.  Part of getting there is for DumbMarcus to lose his Nextian Nickname and reach his potential.  Until then, he will be highlighted on this here blog.

You can't help but laugh at what Hollinger puts together regarding Mr. Cousins:

DeMARCUS COUSINS, PF

 Projection: 21.1 pts, 11.7 reb, 4.7 ast per 40 min; 16.04 PER 
• Talented big man who can overpower foes in paint. Has poor shot selection.
• Poorly conditioned, needs to lose weight. Has had attitude problems.
• Has shown passing skill but takes terrible chances. Must improve defense.

It's difficult to compress all my thoughts on Cousins into a concise summary, because there was so much to like ... and so much to dislike. The range of potential outcomes here is enormous. If you told me he was out of the league in five years, it wouldn't shock me. If you told me he was an MVP candidate, that wouldn't surprise me either. He really is tremendously talented, but between all his personal red flags and the half-wit organization surrounding him, it's an open question whether he'll come anywhere close to hitting his lofty ceiling.

Cousins averaged a point every two minutes and ranked eighth among power forwards in rebound rate, but he might have been the most inefficient player in basketball. Despite enviable passing skills he posted a pathetic minus-5.71 pure point rating, a number that surpassed only four other players in the league. Turnovers were the root of the problem, as Cousins would throw passes from the high post regardless of whether his target was open, set illegal screens by the dozen and generally handle the ball like he was discarding a used tissue. The crazy thing is that he can really pass out of the post when he's double-teamed, and he sees the floor in the open court too.

That might have been OK if his shot selection wasn't so awful. Cousins shot only 43.2 percent, an amazingly low figure for a physically dominant big man. He drew a high rate of free throws but could have pushed the envelope much further. Instead, he tended to settle for high-arcing fadeaways and other assorted bad shots. In particular, he struggled on short-range shots off his postups but he kept on forcing them up. From 3-to-9 feet, Cousins shot only 30.4 percent, but he took 283 shots from there -- per minute, only seven players tried more.

Lowest percentage of at-rim baskets assisted, frontcourt players, 2010-11

Player	Team	Pct. assisted
DeMarcus Cousins	Sac	32.5
Zach Randolph	Mem	48.0
Dirk Nowitzki	Dal	48.4
David West	NO	48.5
Al Harrington	Den	49.6
Min. 500 minutes

It should be mentioned that Cousins got phenomenally little help from his guards. Only 37.6 percent of his baskets were assisted, by far the least of any big. Wait, it gets worse. Only 32.5 percent of his shots at the rim came with an assist, which is completely ridiculous. This was the lowest figure of any non-point guard in basketball except one (see Tyreke Evans comment), and among big men the difference is preposterous (see chart) -- Zach Randolph was the next-closest player at 48.0.

Defensively, Cousins struggled -- partly because of inexperience, partly because of indifference, and partly because he's out of shape and needs to lose weight. His biggest problem was fouling, as he gave one every seven minutes (the third-worst rate among power forwards) and as a result was often fighting foul trouble. That only worsened his defensive malaise, unfortunately, as he'd leave the gate open to avoid another whistle. Despite those issues, his overall defensive numbers were fairly solid. Cousins controlled the boards, and he has the size to handle post players, plus he has fast hands and ranked 11th among power forwards in steals per minute.

Overall, it feels like we're watching the new Hot Plate Williams. There's no question about the talent, but whether Cousins will ever harness it remains in considerable doubt.

Kobe Bashes Kwame Brown

Kobe Bryant didn't like playing with Kwame Brown. Thankfully Kwame helped the Warriors upset the Chicago Bulls with 4 steals of his own last night.

NBA Town Hall; Curry+Durant+Amar'e

Scissor!

This is something to play over your laptop through your bluetooth speakers at home in preparation for the Christmas games

BOOM

Listening to Aldridge change his vernacular is hilarious. He doesn't sound like that on the sidelines or on NBA TV.  I guess that's how he gets these guys to open up?

Highlights

• Steph's New Year's resolution is to only eat 1 pack of candy/day
• Amar'e has vowed to positively influence the local youth
• Amar'e eats through half the town hall

THE Nextians '11/'12 Draft Board

I'd advise a Nextian to enlarge this picture

Last night THE Nextians had a fantasy basketball draft and it was awesome.

Dumbmarcus Returns

Dumbmarcus Pre-Game Ritual

Dumbmarcus Cousins missed his first pre-season game vs. the Warriors.  But he made his '11/'12 debut last night to rave reviews.  29 minutes, 2/9 from the field, 2/7 from the line, 10 rebounds, 9 turnovers.  It looks like he's really put the rookie season immaturity behind him in order to dominate this season.

Goodbye Warriors Season

Curry couldn't believe that Monta "allegedly" sexted a Dubs Employee

First, Monta is getting sued for sexting while married. And then Steph injures his surgically repaired right ankle.

What's the spread for the Christmas Night game hosting Lob City? I'll take the Clippers.

Draft Order Picking

First of all, Bilbo and the Cammish can't count.  Which leads to some great comedy as you will see.

I was busy trying to record and be lame at the same time.  So my losing count is excusable.  But Bilbo must have just been anxious to be on camera.  At least this is how I explained it to my wife.



And if you're still with us, here's the video of the Stuff Draft. Pulling names out of the weiner sock was fun, but I couldn't figure out enough stuff to draft for. Plus, I'm really busy at work.

LeBron in 2012

In a shortened season, many pick the Miami Heat to win it all.  They've improved their team, have a year of experience under their waistbands, and LeBron is tired of playing the villain.  Wait, what?

Aside from continuing to pimp an addictive cold sore and chapped lips remedy LBJ is taking a  new post-Decision mindset into this season.  He's no longer going to be The Villain as Windhorst explains in this piece right here.

Wait LeBron, you can't just decide to not be a dick in the eyes of the fans.  You can control a lot of things with your incredible skill, power, money and fame.  But you cannot control what people think of you.  Especially when there's stories out there like THIS.

Here's to the Heat being odds on favorites to win it all this shortened season with LBJ still being hated by the people.

Power Balance Arena

Bilbo rocks a pink one when he plays softball

We've all heard the claims: little magnets in a bracelet will give you better balance, improved digestion, help you sleep better, provide smoother bowel movements, and replace your need for Cialis.  Well, most of those health benefits were claimed by Power Balance.

I'm pooping much better now

But these claims are total bullshiz according to something know as THE law.

So many NBA geniuses wore Power Balance that the cash strapped Maloofs Anaheim Sacramento Kings decided to sign a mult-year stadium naming rights deal with a company that couldn't and can't stop the rampant Chinese counterfeiting of it's one and only stupid product all over eBay.

Maloof Sister: Real Housewife of Spending Daddy's Money

 Dale Kasler of The Sacramento Bee: When sports-wristband maker Power Balance LLC filed for bankruptcy protection last month, the company insisted it would keep its name on the Sacramento Kings' arena. Now it looks like the name could be coming down less than a year after it went up. Cash-starved Power Balance expects to be sold soon, and court papers say the likely buyer doesn't plan to maintain the marketing deal that turned the former Arco Arena into Power Balance Pavilion. That could change between now and Dec. 20, when Power Balance's business is scheduled to be auctioned off. Hanyang LLC, the Southern California company in line to buy Power Balance, could choose to retain the contract with the Kings after all. Someone could outbid Hanyang and decide to keep the Kings' deal. "Don't jump to any conclusions," said Denny Barge, a principal in Hanyang. He indicated Hanyang didn't have all the data it needed on the Kings deal when it made its bid for Power Balance. (thanks to TrueHoop)

Tiger Woods Wins!

Did you hear that Tiger won his first tournament in 749 days this past weekend? Here's the full story in Taiwanese animation:

John Wall in High School

Before he danced the Dougie and became the 2010 #1 overall pick, John Wall was dominating in High School. Keep in mind that he's a point guard.