Holiday

-I have been back in the states for 3 weeks and find that having dial-up makes me feel more like i am in a different continent than Argentina did. I have been thinking of Poots World daily, and guilt arises each time, yet not enough to make me want to watch our banner load for 5 minutes and then wait another 10 to post a quickie. I apologize and am from this point back in the game:

-Warriors: Looked like a D-League team throughout 2/3 of December, now getting back their Swagger produced by a summer league-esque madman Marco Bellinelli each night, and a healthy Steven Jackson.... and of course Goose, the most gifted center behind Dwight Howard. They lost a lead against the Raptors tonight and we only up 2 with 3 minutes to go, but you just knew they weren't going to lose.

-Poot, if you get the chance, watch Bellinelli draw fouls. He is a "smooth flopper". He doesn't exaggerate his movements but takes advantage of the opponents little pushes which he reacts to very fluidly. He drew something like 6 against the Celtics, fouled Ray Allen out, and received the dreaded, Garnett "i bully white guys and rookies" stare/taunt.

-I dreamt that Baron Davis and Stephen Jackson were having Tea, and Baron professed his desire to return to the warriors and escape the clutches of Mike Dunleavy. Well not really, but that did happen. Let's just say Poot's World would celebrate with a week long party if that happened.

-I would love to hear Lakers and Boston thoughts Poot. Like everyone is saying, the Lakers didn't get pushed around like last time and hit timely shots, with a big game from Gasol.

-Last Saturday morning the AV High School gym was graced by a 3v3 game including Mike, Jeff, Janneana, vs Donna, Me and Jim. Assessing their performances:

Jim's "Amare" type physical presence didn't emerge until the end of the 3rd game, when he came up with 2 huge blocks on Jeff and Janneana, and hitting 3 big jumpers on the final stretch... He finished 4 for 19 with 6 rebounds.
Jeff came up with a big charge on me in the 2nd game, however the great play was negated by the delay of game call he received later for lying on the floor before subbing himself and Donna out.
Mike's solid play continued as he came up with 10 steals on passes that the coach is still shaking his head at.
Donna began to show promise with her pick and pop game but still has happy feet. Camp Coleman couldn't come sooner.
Janneana survived 3 Jeff elbows and was able to walk away with the coveted Eddy Slottie JV Basketball award: "Best Free Throw"
Alex's week contract after a call-up from the Bakersfield Jam was cut short as his Anthony Randolph scowl and low percentage corner 3s didn't make a statement.


Its Poot's World... and as your famous Twitter friend demonstrated... 2009 has big things in store.

Tweet

Notice I put a Twitter link in the corner of our site by the "What We Are Here For." Twitter allows you to get brief little updates throughout the day and hooks in with a bunch of other NBA bloggers. Check it out. Alex, you will love this...19 weeks ago, Ryne Nelson (he runs the majorly traffic'd SlamOnline blog, another you need to check out) wrote a reply to me on Twitter that said "By the way, when did you start your blog? It has some interesting content and an even *more* interesting banner. =)" Thats right my friend, we truly have hit it big time.

Roll-call

HELLLLLOOOOOO?!! Is anyone out there? Can I get any visual confirmation that anyone is reading this??? (Alex/Mike) More importantly, can I get a location update from our South American friend? I think you are back in California, but that is yet to be established. Remember, I live half a continent away where the weather has dipped to -30 twice this year, and snow is more abundant than beer. I wanted to take this brief vacation time I have available near a computer to look back and grade our previews of NBA rookies thus far.

Demarcus Nelson: We gave the guy some love and he is coming up with some pretty solid minutes when he gets a chance. Considering no one thought he would see any floor time, I'd say we get a...

B+

Bill Walker: Another heralded future star by PW, we didn't expect to see him in the D-League. But the man is tearing the shit out of the minors, and Danny Ainge is on a flight right now to watch a game of his as we speak...

C

Mario Chalmers: "Stuck on bench for 8 year career," was my exact quote. While he isn't exactly sitting on the bench as much as I originally thought, I stick by my guns with the span of his time in the League...

B-

Deandre Jordan, Danillo Gallinari, Javale McGee and Anthony Randolph: These were my prized possessions of my Rookie preview. The BUSTS! I've always known these four would prove absolutely useless in the league and would inevitably taking a flight to (or back to) Europe within a few years. The jury is still a little bit out on Randolph, who has shown flashes of brilliance with Nelly. Gallinari's back has proven to be problematic, but in 1 months time, you'll see why I penciled him in to the busts...

A

Eric Gordon: Another spot on pick for a bust! The kid doesn't do much beyond jacking up the most shots per minute in the NBA and hitting them with great inconsistencies. Am not surprised in the least. The only thing keeping us from getting an "A" on this guy is that he keeps on getting serious minutes for some weird reason. Give up Dunleavy...

B+

OJ Mayo: The heralded bust by draft experts turned premier Rookie of the Year candidate. The man was just built to dominate the NBA. The writers at PW are hardly shocked. We crowned him future All-Star for a reason...

A+

Jerryd Bayless: Along with Mayo, we gave this guy early All-Star considerations. It's impossible to tell with this young man where his career is heading. When he does see the court, he shows Monta Ellis-like composure and scoring abilities. Nate M. keeps holding him on the bench for some strange reason as the gluttony of capable backcourt players continues to pile up in Portland. I foresee a career much similar to that of Jermaine O'Neal, a superior talent lost on the Blazer bench...

No Grade

Continuing To Watch Brandon Jennings

Just watched their game against Ricky Rubio's team in the Euroleagues on NBA TV. So many thoughts to follow when I get a chance on Friday. Hey, I graduate on Sunday! Anyways, B. also has a blog on UnderArmor which is phenomenal. It's safe to say that he is my new daily obsession. More so than looking up obscure Josh Smith or Gerald Wallace stats. Until Friday, ADIOS!

Watching Brandon Jennings

Yesterday afternoon, I had the pleasure of watching Roma play some German team in the Euroleague competition. Of course my eyes were locked in on Roma's little man with the white arm sleeve. It was the only way I could distinguish him from other guards on the team with the bad feed from NBA TV. Getting past the awful announcing from some Italian guy took some time, but once I did, I was able to hone in on our main man from Compton. Sadly, he only played 11 minutes and never got into the flow of things on both ends of the court. His timing was a little off and his shot selection was questionable at best. I do not agree with the coaching for this team and many Euroleague teams I have seen in the past. The pace is slow, yet the bodies keep flooding in on subsitutions. Just about every players sees some time on the court but no one truly develops a chance to get comfortable within the context of the game. With Brandon, its obvious that he is eons ahead of all of the players athletically and visually. He sees and attempts passes on the court that no one else would be cabable of visualizing. While the execution is yet to be on par with the likes of Chris Paul, Steve Nash or D. Williams, these flashes of brilliance leave you wanting more. Unfortunately, playing in Europe, I'm guessing his floortime will top off at around 24 minutes a game with little chance for developling the necessary rythmn for upper echelon point guards. His turnovers were high, but I would attribute that to his style of play. He is built for the NBA, methodical buildups into freakishly athletic bursts to find openings on the floor. The lane is packed with 3-4 players diminishing some of Brandons greatest talents. The amount of hours spent playing basketball with his team should benefit him greatly in the League, but I'd argue that game experience will prove useless, at least on the offensive end.

The Kid in Timberlands

-Really interesting article on Greg Paulus.

http://ncaabasketball.fanhouse.com/2008/12/03/for-greg-paulus-is-being-the-sixth-man-better-than-starting-at/

I remember him coming out Freshman year being the point god of the future, who JJ Redick consoled to take off his timberlands and fubu jacket when he came to visit the campus for the first time. Crazy touted QB chose to play BBall at Duke, and after a long 4 years which I have watched my fair share of, he is on the bench rather than the starting line-up. With JJ the kid worked well, but didn't stand out, and when he had his chance, revealed himself to be realtively unastounding along with super bust Josh McRoberts. I think it is a good spot for him coming off the bench, he provides energy and solid PG skills while letting the reigns go to Nolan Smith.

Looking forward to the Mich St. vs. UNC game tonight... wait Drew Neitzel plays in Germany.


Here it is: http://www.realgm.com/src_wiretap_archives/55795/20081203/sources_warriors_already_regretting_maggette_signing/#

Corey Maggette's Statistics

Date	Opponent	Minutes	Points	Assists	Turnovers
11/25	Washington	30	17	3	2
11/26	Boston	37	32	1	4
11/28	Cleveland	32	11	0	2
11/30	New York	42	32	2	5
12/1	Miami	47	29	0	1

the hate train started right here, but get read for it to gain steam. He is the #1 reason they suck.

: )

More on this when I get a chance...have to go to bed now....BUT THAT WAS A TOP 5 LIFE MOMENT watching the Pacers beat my most hated team ever at the BUZZER with a tip in...

Bad Times

Terrible time to be a Warriors fan. Last night, stayed up til 1:30 to watch the game, OT was over by 4:30, with a lot of wind taken out of the sails. Up by 4 with 18 seconds left, how do you fuck that up? Giving credit to B-Easy, he stole what ended up being the last shot of the game, and to Wade for playing like the animal he is... Glancing at this offensive efficiency chart which sorts itself by positive to negative change over the this season and last, the warriors are ranked last with a -4.2 ranking. Not hard to imagine, but it just puts the nail in the coffin. This team looked like another run-n-gun fun team to watch at the beginning of the season, but they lost that somewhere along the way. I'll blame it on no Ellis and Magette but, who knows, unfortunately, we could have seen the last of it forever.

Much props if you can tell me who this is Poot.

NBA League Pass: Love and Hate

-I get these free streams online for League Pass, and i can't complain being able to watch any game i want, the service is clutch... But jesus, they need to realize how much time their viewers dedicate to watching an NBA game, and how many advertisements they must see. I feel like THX 1138, or 1984 hearing the same mind-numbing symphonic piano with the same where ' ' happens over, and over again... if i see Dirk Nowitzki as a smiling 12 year old one more time i am going to lose it. Even worse, Kevin Garnett grabbing the mic and in late-night cinemax soft-core porn voice, "i'm happy to be here." That one catches me off guard everytime...it makes me cringe thinking about it. PLEASE NBA, have a fan contest to get more commericials up, these ones are really really wearing thin.

-I'm watching the late-night warriors-heat game. Like the NBA commercials, I'm losing patience with Corey Maggette. Everytime I nag on him he gets and and1 or a sweet jumper, and you can't deny it, he is a gifted scorer, but he needs the ball and way too much in isolation and too much of the shot clock to get anything done. Jackson already has both of those things down pat, and with jamal and him primed for Monta's return, there is basically no need for Magette at all anymore. Add to the fact he really wasn't much of a 'winner' with the Clippers doesn't save him any.

-I don't know if you get to watch the Warriors Poot, but its so funny the Brandon Wright, Anthony Randolph dynamic. They are literally good/evil twins. Brandon Wright, crazy athletic, nice baby hooks, and surprising but not seldom put back dunks, and none of these things being accompanied by any showmanship. Randolph however, has a mean mug all game, was just trying to go shot for shot with Beasely, takes a mid-range jumper everytime he gets the ball inside the 3, and rebounds with reckless abandon. One of them will get traded by the end of the year i think, we'll see, but nevertheless they are a funny pair.

-Everyone is giving OJ Mayo love, no doubt, he would be a ROY lock if it weren't for DR. I like to think here that we saw that coming at Poot's World. keep it up mayo, if he manages to keep his average up, i think a 2x ROY could be on the horizon.

-Who is going to give Marbury a contract? It's obvious he has a personality disorder. Anyone who takes a chance on this guy especially after this recent stuff with calling Quintin Richardson a coward for not standing up for him is just crazy.