[Hov's Cats]

[The X]

Completely understandable about January & exams. My Association will probably go into hibernation for a couple of weeks in mid-February prior to my final exam.

As for your team, yes, I can understand the point guard debate. It seems to be just like IRL with the Bobcats. Both players are both good at certain areas of play & clearly not good at others. They are both solid point guards who can both start for many teams in the league, but they're both not game changers. You look around the league you've got Rondo, Rose, Parker, Williams, Paul, Nash all being consistent game changers. Felton & Augustin are kind of like T.J. Ford tier players. Great college players, solid pro starters. It's alright to have that level of point guard, but only if you've got other stars who can carry the team, which you don't.

Either way, you definitely have a dilemma. I sorted mine dilemma out by trading my franchise (Redd) away & giving keys to Jennings & Bogut, & hopefully get a really good rookie and free agent & then hopefully Bucks will be a playoff team again. It seems you are a star PF/C & PG away from being a playoff team

[hova-]

Monthly Recap: December Part II
I divided the monthly recap into five parts: Team Standing & Statistics, Race 2 the MVP, Rookie Rankings, Player Focus and Team Focus (shut outs to Sit!)

Race 2 The MVP


Despite winning the direct duel, Kobe is still behind LeBron on our MVP rankings

The second race to the MVP of the season comes just after the arguably two best players have faced each other on Christmas day. And despite taking the lower end of the game, LeBron James stays atop of the MVP rankings and there is still some room between him and Kobe Bryant. The Cavaliers have the better record, and despite loosing at Staples Center I would also say they have the better team right now. Not sure for how long though as the Lakers and especially the co-stars of the Mamba show have really stepped up lately.
We have some two guys entering the list this week. Dirk Nowitzki and Brandon Roy made their way into our rankings behind some good month by their teams and themselves. The Mavs are the hottest team in the league right now winning 6 in a row.
As a tough decision I threw out Carmelo Anthony because of the recent Nuggets struggles and just kept Chauncey Billupswho has still proven to be more valuable than the NBA's 2nd best scorer.
One guy who made it into these standings even with him team battling for the number one lottery pick, is Dwyane Wade. There have not been many guys who had those stats before. If the Heat had just been better, I don't know where Flash could have been on this list.
A huge hit did Steve Nash take. It's just like his stats weren't the best even last month, but the Suns were achieving. Now that they have fallen that much, watch out to stay in there, Steve boy.













Drop outs from last month: Joe Johnson, Carmelo Anthony. Close but no cigar: Pau Gasol, Trevor Ariza, Devin Harris

PERs added as demanded

[Fresh8]

Nice to see Durant in the top 10

[The X]

Just give Lebron the MVP now & get it over with

Btw, I think it should say Monthly Recap: December Part II

[Martti.]

Damn, It's gonna go to Lebron again. Glad to see Thunder do so well.

[hova-]

Sit, He's really been playing terrific. They way he looks on the picture I cannot believe how much of a jerk he is

The X, thanks for pointing out the mistake. Yeah, I guess as long as the Cavs keep rolling and he does not get injured it's already over.

Martti., yeah, Westbrook, Green and Harden are a great support for KD.

[Lamrock]

LeBron and Kobe's stats are virtually identical to what they were last season. Also odd to see Howard shooting 1-10 from 3pt so far.

[hova-]

Actually he is shooting 1-1 ... maybe I mispelled it since in Europe there is no 100. but just 100%. I thought 1-10 would be .100?

[Martti.]

I believe it should be "1.000".

[hova-]

Could be right, but I don't get why ^^. It's just like adding zeros where they ain't really necessary.

[Martti.]

Check Eddy Curry's profile, he's a career 100% 3PT-shooter.

[kibaxx7]

LeBron's playing, like from another planet

[dare]

Lebron is a monster, I prefer D-Will for MVP just for a change

[Fresh8]

haha yeah, he looks like a jerk in the pic I think

[|)e8*]

D-Will!D-Will!

[hova-]

Monthly Recap: December Part III
I divided the monthly recap into five parts: Team Standing & Statistics, Race 2 the MVP, Rookie Rankings, Player Focus and Team Focus (shut outs to Sit!)

Rookie Rankings


Blake Griffin is on his way to become a dominant force in this league.

It's really good to see Blake Griffin finally take over. This guy just has the whole package and could be anything from Charles Barkley to Karl Malone. Let's just hope that he stays healthy and then the sky is the limit for him.
But this time I don't want to talk about those who play well, but those who do not get it done until now.

Let's start with DeMar DeRozan. Being the athletic swingman he is, DeRozan definitely could have been the missing piece to a struggling but for improvement looking Raptors squad. But so far he just is not. Coach Triano does not like what he sees so far which results in DeRozan seeing no minutes. 6.7 minutes per game for a 9th pick are not what you expect. This far he only averages 2.4 points on .390% shooting in his mostly garbage time (and there's a lot of garbage time @Toronto right now) minutes. It just seems like he can't get pass Marco Belinelli and Antoine Wright. I don't think this kid can be a bust, simply because the game is played above the rim nowadays. But hopefully he will see more PT soon.

The next guy, Jordan Hill. Okay, I mean, he's a Knicks pick. So it's not like a big surprise or something. Still he was chosen before names like Brandon Jennings, Terrence Williams and Tyler Hansbrough. Hill definitely has some talent and it's a big question why coach D'Antoni prefers to give playing time to guys like Darko Milicic or Jared Jeffries. Hill has only played 6.9 minutes per game and averages 3.4 points and 2.8 rebounds per game on .590% shooting. So this ain't bad numbers either (per 36 minutes these are big numbers: 19.6 points and 13 boards). I hope that the trade of Eddy Curry gives more time for Hill. He definitely got game.

Talking about having game. Hasheem Thabeet so far has no game. The Grizzlies try their best to acclimate their 7-3 center to the NBA but it just looks so helpless that I become helpless myself watching him play. In about 10.5 minutes per game, Thabeet only averages 1.9 points and 2.5 rebounds. His 0.8 blocks aren't too special given his arms being longer than the list of women that Charles Barkley had sex with (and this is a long list).
This guy is so raw on offense that I definitely have to doubt that the Grizzlies did the right thing getting him as the 2nd pick in the draft.

We will see how things turn out, take a look at the Rookie Rankings below and feel free to post any questions or moanings.











*Griffin's last week's rank was 3rd. Typo.

Drop outs: David Andersen. Close, but no cigar: Rodrigue Beaubois

[Lamrock]

Nice article. Blake Griffin is tearing is up. Hope he is as good for my team. How's Gerald Henderson doing?

[kibaxx7]

Hansbrough shooting 3's Griffin's great.

[The X]

Hansbrough shooting 3's Griffin's great.

I can actually see him doing that as his career continues

[Fresh8]

It's good to see all the rookies doing so well!

[Martti.]

In the end, it's gonna be Jennings.

[hova-]

Lamrock, Gerald Henderson is averaging about 4 points, a board and a steal per game shooting .43% from the field.
Still this guy is as I have already mentioned, untradable. He brings athleticism and momentum with big dunks (I will upload one big poster dunk I had with him in the next two week's recap) and what is even more important, he is the 2nd best wing defender of my team. As it is easier to train offense than defense I think he has great potential. I train his shooting every month but his release is akward.
Maybe I change his release when his shot rating his higher just like "new shooting form -> more success"

Thierry., I dunno how many he has taken, but if he keeps his percentage up I may change his style to shooting more from the outside. I love to see players growing and it's a pleasure to form them like I want and kind of simulate future scenarios

Sit, yeah I think it has something to do with the fact that I made some guys better because the rookies don't get the minutes they deserve in the game usually.

Martti., I would not be too sure about that. His stats have been dropping immensely and the Bucks just plain suck right now. (like the X knows )

[hova-]

Monthly Recap: December Part IV
I divided the monthly recap into five parts: Team Standing & Statistics, Race 2 the MVP,Rookie Rankings, Player Focus and Team Focus (shut outs to Sit!)

Player Focus


Anthony Randolph got his chance and definitely took the best of it


It's been a month for Anthony Randolph. After finding himself at the position of a barely used role player averaging about 12 minutes per game, Randolph has finally taken over in Golden State. He knows why it happened, but he seems not to like the truth. It's because Corey (Maggette) had this freaking injury"., he calmly says. And he is so right. Corey Maggette swallowed about 34 minutes per game at the PF and SF spot and despite his good play (17PPG) it sometimes seemed like he played that much because of his big contract. A big contract signed a season ago which led to many controversy and now has to be legitimated.
Of course, Maggette fits into the run&gun style Don Nelson runs, a system which is dominated by smaller, quicker guys. But still, giving Corey Maggette big minutes at the four is hardly debatable. Especially when you have a guy like Anthony Randolph, one of the youngest players in the league who is also said to have big potential, on your team. A guy who is predestinated to play on PF.
But another point for his low usage so far except Maggette's contract could have been the fact that Randolph still has not found a real type of game that really fits to him.
At 7-0 but with only 102 kg, Randolph is able to run over the court but lacks of real body strenght to absorb contact in the paint. Definitely no Shaq. He's not the best shooter, but does also not possess great post moves. No Dirk, no KG.
His rebounding is above average, his blocking is great, still he is neither a Rodman nor a Mutombo. He's one of the best dunkers the game has seen above 7 feet. But does that really count?
His comparisons before the draft were Tayshaun Prince and Lamar Odom. But that was when he was standing at 6-10. He surely does not have the ball handling of a Lamar Odom. And his defense especially on-ball is nowhere near the level of Tayshaun Prince.
This guy had to find a niche and did not get a chance to play in order to create his own game. That's how you can ruin great talents.
"At times I really did not know where my standing was in this team. It took away my self-confidence.", the young big man says.
With Maggette's tough injury which will have him sit out up to 6 weeks the Warriors finally had to give some PT to Randolph and he delivered.
How do 13.5 points, 7.1 rebounds and 1.5 blocks sound? In only 24.5 minutes. At a very efficent .557% from the field. He even hit .33% from downtown and has a trueshot percentage of .586%. He also became more aggressive, going to the line 126 times in 32 games compared to 161 in 63 games last season. Randolph also has the best PER of all Warriors with 19.39.
I feel better now. Coach tells me what he wants to see on the court be it rebounding, going to the hole or free myself up".
Suddenly you see him play and think about all the guys he does not play like (Dirk, KG, Lamar, Tayshaun) and you recognize he has a bit of everybody.
"The Meal Ticket" ( ) as they call him, is still looking for his identity but it could turn out to be something you have not seen before.
Let's hope this kid finds a style soon and can take over the league. He got everything you need to.

[Fresh8]

Nice article on Meal Ticket

[Martti.]

He really deserves a chance. Somebody, please get him out of GS!