Ep. 192: Atlantic Division Preview
The Titanic no more.
The Basketball Jones’ Atlantic Division Preview Podcast — Episode 192 (.mp3)
On today’s show, Tas and I preview the Atlantic Division with guest Ryan McNeill from HoopsAddict.com.
Among other things, we discuss the Celtics’ questionable depth; the Sixers’ guards; how important Nenad Krstic is to the Nets’ success; the Raps’ recent health concerns; and Randolph, Curry and jelly donuts. Do enjoy.
Subscribe to The Basketball Jones podcast: iTunes | Email
(Note: Our final preview show — the Pacific division — is coming soon.)
Comments (4)Ep. 191: Northwest Division Preview
Everyone into the water!
The Basketball Jones’ Northwest Division Preview Podcast — Episode 191 (.mp3)
On today’s show, Tas and I preview the Northwest Division with Casey Holdahl from Blazers Blog.
Among other things, we discuss whether the Jazz are championship material; the Wolves’ plethora of wingmen; why Oden’s injury may be a blessing in disguise; Durant’s natural position; and whose team it is in Denver — ‘Melo or Iverson’s. Do enjoy.
Subscribe to The Basketball Jones podcast: iTunes | Email
(Note: Our Atlantic and Pacific division preview shows are warming in the oven.)
Comments (6)Amber Links Of Grain: Back Tats
“Amber Links Of Grain” is The Basketball Jones’ new daily link dump featuring some of finest shiznit from the NBA blogosphere, YouTubes and Internets. Send submissions to jones@thebasketballjones.net. Or don’t. Your call, really.
1. DeShawn Stevenson is tattooing his jersey on his back. “It’s gonna be real nice,” he says. Um, OK. [D.C. Sports Bog]
2. The Incredible Hulk drops acid. [YouTube] (thx, Shoals)
3. Which teams will shock us all this season? Chris Clarke likes the Grizzlies, Warriors, ‘Cats and … Pacers!? Clarke: “[Indiana] is a pretty nice team that should make the playoffs in one of the low seeds. Jermaine O’Neal, when healthy, is an All-Star. Troy Murphy isn’t flashy, but he can play. […] Jamaal Tinsley might have an “up” season after a few down ones. Mike Dunleavy, Ike Diogu, and Marquis Daniels round out a pretty solid team … on paper. I’m not betting much on them, but I have some faith in Jim O’Brien. Just enough to say they’ll win more than 40 games.” [End of the Bench]
4. Three trade scenarios to bring Kobe to the Mavericks. A Josh Howard, Devin Harris, Damp and change package isn’t that bad, really. [Dallas News]
5. Steve Nash will lead the Phoenix Suns to their first NBA championship, the Raps will go 36-46, and D-Wade will win the MVP trophy averaging 31.6 ppg. What? This NBA Live 08 simulation tells me so. [The Canadian Press]
Comments (4)NBA Tats Inspired By Amare
New NBA Player’s Tattoos Inspired by Amare Stoudemire’s “Knowledge Is Knowledge” Tat.
Grant Hill: “Health Is Unlikely”
Darrell Armstrong: “Power Is Coffee”
Jason Kidd: “I Is Handsy”
Jerome James: “Money Is Isiah”
Tim Thomas: “Effort Is Overrated”
Kobe Bryant: “Woe Is Me”
Antoine Walker: “Gravy Is Dinner”
Knowledge Is Knowledge [Free Darko]
Promotions: If you’re sports-minded and not so crazy about choosing neither tribal tattoos nor fairy tattoos, let rankmytattoos.com assist you. Feel free to choose from our wide variety of sports tattoos from our sports tattoos pictures section.
Ep. 190: Southeast Division Preview
Let’s go South.
The Basketball Jones’ Southeast Division Preview Podcast — Episode 190 (.mp3)
On today’s show, Tas and I preview the thrilling Southeast Division with Sam Rubenstein from SLAM Online.
Among other things, we discuss the Heat’s key losses; whether this is Gil, Caron and Antawn’s last chance to make it work in Washington; the Hawks’ perpetual potential; the ‘Van Gundy factor’ in Orlando; and Jordan’s thought process with the Cats. Do enjoy.
Subscribe to The Basketball Jones podcast: iTunes | Email
(Note: Atlantic, Northwest and Pacific division preview shows coming next week.)
Comments (8)Ep. 189: Southwest Division Preview
Dirk, Yao, Pau, Hugo and Tim. Not necessarily in that order.
The Basketball Jones’ Southwest Division Preview Podcast — Episode 189 (.mp3)
On today’s division preview show, Tas and I breakdown the loaded Southwest Division with Kelly Dwyer from … from … the Internets!
Among other things, we discuss what the Mavs can possibly tweak; realistic expectations for the Grizzlies; whether Peja will ever return to his All-Star glory days; how Adelman’s Princeton offense will work in Houston; and the Spurs off-season mantra. Do enjoy.
(Note: Southeast Division preview, starring Sam Rubenstein from SLAM, drops in a few days. Click here to listen to our Central Division show with Matt Watson.)
Subscribe to The Basketball Jones podcast: iTunes | Email
Amber Links Of Grain: By The Beard of Zeus!
“Amber Links Of Grain” is The Basketball Jones’ new daily link dump featuring some of finest shiznit from the NBA blogosphere, YouTubes and Internets. Send submissions to jones@thebasketballjones.net. Or don’t. Your call, really.
1. The NBA All-Beard Team. [The Blowtorch]
2. John Krolik, on O.J. Mayo: “O.J.’s game most closely resembles that of Arenas, and while the media’s reaction to Arenas is certainly a case with a sample size of 1, Arenas has never run into “selfish, lazy, Iverson-like playground play” backlash for his exploits on the court like O.J. already has; his prolonged fame, business savvy, and sense of showmanship on the court have already earned him a spot in Skip Bayless’ “young black punk” throne for the next year or two.” [Free Darko]
3. Kenny ‘The Jet’ Smith has a simple solution for NBA European expansion: “Add approximately six new franchises at once. They would make up the new Euro Division, with teams based in Italy, Spain, France, England and Greece. Clubs from North America would have to spend two weeks of the regular season in Europe before the All-Star game and again after the All-Star game. To further accommodate this expansion across the Atlantic Ocean, the NBA would have to shorten the schedule to 70 games.” Barkley in Europe? Wow! [Yahoo!]
4. I love this quote from Coach Smitty about Jorge: “I’m going to be honest with you, you look at him and you don’t know exactly how he gets stuff done. You say he shouldn’t be able to guard certain guys, but he does.” Ha! Apparently Garbo is fighting Kapono, Delfino and Graham for the Raps’ starting forward gig. [Toronto Star]
5. Ladies and gentlemen … Technoviking! [YouTube]
Comments (2)Amber Links Of Grain: J.R.’s Struggles
“Amber Links Of Grain” is The Basketball Jones’ new daily link dump featuring some of finest shiznit from the NBA blogosphere, YouTubes and Internets. Send submissions to jones@thebasketballjones.net. Or don’t. Your call, really.
1. J.R. Smith needs to raise his game. Via Dime: “With ‘Melo, Iverson, Nene and K-Mart among those sitting out for a short-handed Denver squad in last night’s game against Detroit, J.R. got about 25 minutes of burn with which to help or hurt his trade value. (The illustrious trio of Von Wafer, Anthony Roberson and Bobby Jones each got more PT than Smith). When he was on the floor, J.R. shot 4-for-14, turned the ball over 4 times, and fouled out.” [Dime]
2. Remember the Nike Fun Police? [Basketbawful]
3. Movies, music, television and celebrity gossip … from the sexy minds of Ballhype comes this sleek new sister site: ShowHype. Nora is going to love this. [ShowHype]
4. Once again, I’m struggling to come up with the perfect fantasy basketball team name. If you have any suggestions, by all means leave ‘em in the comments. Until then I’ll just stick with “Da Crispy Von Wafers”. [Yahoo! Fantasy Basketball]
5. You know, it is hard out there for a pimp. [Cracked]
Note: Southwest Division preview podcast coming soon …
Comments (5)Ep. 188: Central Division Preview
From Lake Michigan to Lake Erie and everywhere in between.
The Basketball Jones’ Central Division Preview Podcast — Episode 188 (.mp3)
On today’s first division preview show, Tas and I breakdown and set-up the sexy, sexy-time Central Division with Matt Watson from Detroit Bad Boys, HOOPSWORLD and the NBA FanHouse. (Busy guy.)
Among other things, we discuss whether the Bulls did enough this off-season to take that next step; the Pacers’ odd advertising campaign; Eazy-Yi and his “guaranteed” minutes; the Pistons’ sudden youth movement; and the Cleveland LeBrons. Do enjoy.
(Note: Our Southwest Division preview, starring Kelly Dwyer, drops early next week. Drops. I say that a lot.)
Subscribe to The Basketball Jones podcast: iTunes | Email
The Celtics, The Raptors
I watched these two battle it out Saturday in Rome and let me tell ya, this is gonna be nice. Two teams on the rise that will not back down from one another are gonna wrestle four times this coming season, not to mention atop the standings of the Atlantic Division. This was the most intense exhibition game I’ve ever witnessed. Benches were jumpin’, chests were bumpin’ and players were a-yellin’. Just thought I’d share some observations from the game. Not sure if I’m jacked ball is back or that the Raps finally head in to a training camp with minimal problems, but I’m feeling good right now; like a boy tearing the plastic off a brand new video game.
Pre-game, when Kevin Garnett was head butting the stanchion and pounding his fist in to his chest, I felt like, easy fella, it’s kinda early for that, no? But, it’s always the playoffs for KG. He played well, and he gelled nicely with Paul Pierce and Ray Allen. The 3 looked like they had played together before. Maybe meeting up in Beantown weeks prior to camp really did pay off. There were times when the C’s were playing too much 1-on-1, but there were also instances when they shared the ball like the Suns, or, if you will, their Raptor counterparts. Ray Allen took what was given too him, Paul Pierce has had his usual, “I’m taking over” attitude at times, and KG, well, he was the dominant, versatile, 7 footer that he is.
The trio is gonna be great. As we’ve heard before, it’s the supporting cast that is the ? mark. Although, Eddie House’s yap was in mid-season form. A couple made 3’s and he’s chatting like a participant on “Yo Momma” (for you MTV fans). Speaking of House, Boston still needs some help at PG. Rajon Rondo was doing his job well for strecthes, but House, Allen or Gabe Pruitt won’t cut it. Now, I’m not sure if Tony Allen may be the answer, but he seems to lack the skills of a distributor. I had to wince when he grimaced after his dismount on that 4th quarter, high flying jam. He looked fine afterwards; guess he just needed to shake the cobwebs off his first game action dunk after that ridiculous injury. Kendrick Perkins has such an easy job and he appears to be grasping it. Be physical, establish positioning, rebound, work your butt off on D, and dunk the opportunities the big 3 serve you. When a role player simply has to play his role, things are rosy.
It was good to see the best mascot in pro sports, The Raptor, in Rome for this one. As for the Raptors new talent, I’m skeptical. Just what kind of auditions were held? I know it’s early, but I’m not sold on the new Dance Pak.
The duo of Chris Bosh and Andrea Bargnani showed flashes of what a terror these two will be to play against in the years to come. Bargnani is learning to compliment his pristine stroke with some hard drives and post moves, although, his finishing ability still needs a lot of work. Even on the defensive end, these two were showing glimpses by challenging shots with those long arms and stepping up to Garnett. It was also nice to see Bargs has packed on some bacon so he can bang a little more. With some dedication, I think these two have the b-ball intelligence and quickness to get it done in their own paint.
Bargnani is going to go some thorugh seriously tough stretches at the defensive end if he starts at center. With Il Mago on the first unit, Toronto’s second unit is deadly. Jose Calderon, Carlos Delfino, Joey Graham/Juan Dixon, Jorge Garbajosa and Rasho Nesterovic. Toronto’s third team could pound Boston’s second squad. The depth will make for some nice competition at practice.
What I didn’t like about the Raps’ first unit is their lack of a slasher. Anthony Parker and Jason Kapono on the wings didn’t seem to generate any cutting in to the lane. I’m not sure if Parker will step up his game to an even higher level this season, but Kapono doesn’t appear to be capable of scoring this way. That’s why I think Delfino should replace Kapono in the starting 5. The group that started Saturday seems to look too much like the stagnant bunch who got beat by the Nets in the ‘07 playoffs. Toronto can obviously move the ball and the team has 2 point guards that can penetrate, but Delfino will provide scoring in a facet the team lacks. Delfino is the Eric Byrnes of the NBA (for you baseball fans). He has all the tools of a natural athlete. Sam Mitchell seems to be tinkering with the idea as he started Delfino over Kapono in Sunday’s game versus Italian club team, Lottomatica Roma.
In conclusion, it’s baaaaaaaaaacccccckkkk.
Photo: via Ruth L
Comments (11)About
The Basketball Jones is a NBA blog and podcast, written and recorded five times a week by J.E. Skeets, Tas Melas and Jason Doyle. Comments, questions and cold hard cash are always welcome and much appreciated. Contact us.
Podcast
Latest Episodes
- Ep. 329: Finals, Game 6 – Wednesday, June 18th
- Ep. 328: Finals, Game 5 – Monday, June 16th
- Ep. 327: Finals, Game 4 – Friday, June 13th
- Ep. 326: Finals, Game 3 – Wednesday, June 11th
- Ep. 325: Finals, Game 2 – Monday, June 9th