The Downbeat - 11 August 2010 - #291 - The Infinite Person Edition
by Basketball John on Aug 11, 2010 10:48 AM MDT
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Great story about Malone's trip to the hospital to see one of his biggest fans, the grandmother for the writer,
"Karl, what exactly do you say when you are up there taking your foul shots?"
With a smile and a wink, he said, "I'm talking to you up there, Alene. I say, ‘Come on now, Alene, don't let me down.'"
Even though her health deteriorated and she eventually lost most of her memories, that story was never far from her lips. She passed away on Mother's Day in 2000 (and never had to see her beloved Mailman in a Lakers jersey)
From this tweet we get the question, does Gordon Hayward=Andy from Toy Story 3?
The ESPN rankings are a great talking point but I wouldn't get worked up over the putting the Jazz at 7. I don't say that trying to devalue them just because the Jazz aren't ranked high. Teams aren't looking at rankings to determine who's going to sneak up on them this season. Truth be told it's likely going to be another season of 2-3 game separating teams 2-8.
How have the experts done the past couple of seasons? Here were their predictions from the last two seasons,
PREDICTED
2008-09
Team (wins)
Lakers (55)
Hornets (54)
Rockets (53)
Jazz (51)
Spurs (51)
Suns (47)
Mavericks (45)
Blazers (44)
2009-10
Team (wins)
Lakers (62)
Spurs (54)
Blazers (52)
Nuggets (51)
Mavericks (50)
Jazz (47)
Hornets (47)
Suns (42)
ACTUAL
2008-09
Team (wins, difference)
Lakers (65, +10)
Nuggets (54, +15)
Spurs (54,+3)
Blazers (54,+10)
Rockets (53,0)
Mavericks (50,+5)
Hornets (49,-5)
Jazz (48, -3)
2009-10
Team (wins, difference)
Lakers (57, -5)
Mavericks (55, +5)
Suns (54, +12)
Nuggets (53, +2)
Jazz (53, +6)
Blazers (550, -2)
Spurs (50, -4)
Thunder (50, +18)
Above all you have injuries, trades, and all kinds of things that can't be taken into account. The Jazz should be right up there with the rest of them this season but they'll need to mesh early.
"This is Karl Malone speaking for Karl Malone," he said once. "I have every right to say what I want."
That's not even speaking in the third person. What is that?
Wednesday poll,
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1) Great story. When it all came down to it, Karl Malone is a good guy.
AGREED Andy=Gordon
8) I don’t think that the ESPN rankings are that crazy. After looking at the Jazz schedule 47 wins is not out of the question. I think that it is on the low end. I personally think that the Jazz win 53, but as close as the Jazz, Thunder, Mavs, Nugs, Blazers, and Spurs will be, I think that it is a crapshoot to pick seeds a week and a half before the season ends, let alone in August. I do think that the Blazers are a little overrated in the rankings. I think that it will be the Blazers battling with the Rockets for the 7-8 seeds and will be 2 games behind the main pack.
4) Going where no man has gone before in the english language.
2
The Gordon Hayward/Andy resemblance is dead-on. Unfortunately, I’m not sure it leads directly to any particular clever nicknames. Pixar, perhaps?
Rankings
In the west if a good team looses a key player for any length of time that team might miss the playoffs. I think a healthy Blazers contend. They have all the pieces if they stay healthy. OKC only has a short time to win it all that team might get broken up as those players on rookie contracts become due for extensions and raises. The key to them staying together is KD playing for less than max and others buying into that idea. The Nugs are worse this year. Melo is not thinking straight, Billups is getting old, Birdman lost his fire and JR doesn’t like team ball. We match up better with OKC this year I don’t think they will be as tough for us this year. And aren’t the LAkers due for some freaky wierd injury that keeps a star out for awile?
Yes, the Lakers are due a freaky injury.
Other thoughts on your thoughts:
KD already signed a max extension with the Thunder so that idea goes out the window. But the Thunder are in better financial terms than most people think. First of all, they are going to wait to extend Jeff Green, which means that they can extend Jeff Green and Russell Westbrook after the new CBA comes out and probably to less money. Secondly, Jeff Green isn’t going to command the max and Green and Westbrook are up for new contracts at different years. This is why OKC hasn’t spent its cap space: so they can extend any player they want to and stay under or near the luxury tax.
With all that said, OKC is going to struggle this year. It has happened to the Jazz and Blazers in previous years. When you become a young team that exceeds expectations, you struggle the year after. People gun for you. OKC is going to be very good, but they don’t have the luxury of sneaking up on anyone.
I also agree that the Nuggets are in for a tumultuous year. They don’t do well with personal agendas and controversy anyway and Melo is going to be playing on an expiring contract with whispers of wanting to play in NY the whole season. It will be terrific for us. Denver is going to struggle and/or trade Carmelo Anthony for Eddy Curry and Galinari.
The more you try to erase me, the more that I appear.
Totally agree...
I have tried to make this point with many before, but in sports, it seems most people only remember what happened to end the previous season. OKC will not win the division this year. They have no idea what it’s like to have every team in the league circle their games on their schedules and actually mentally prepare to go to battle with them. The comparison to the Jazz and Blazer’s in previous years was very apt. Teams will be gunning for OKC this year…they won’t get a night off against a contender, and that will take some getting use to.
I think the Jazz have a legit shot at taking the division this year, but it all comes down to who is healthy. If Portland can find a way to keep Greg Oden’s 75 year old knees from buckling ten games in, they will have a fairly complete team. I do agree though that Denver will slip this year.
by Theagreement on Aug 11, 2010 3:21 PM MDT up reply actions
And I still think Hayward looks most like Fievel from the American Tale movies.
The more you try to erase me, the more that I appear.
Gordon Hayward also looks like
Actor Ryan Cartwright, maybe best known on TV’s Bones as Mr. Nigel Murray.
I hate to say this, but I think OKC will win the division. They are loaded with talent and the MVP award is arguably Durant’s to lose. Though if we can slow down Durant, and if OKC has no way to slow down Jefferson (which I suspect—Aldrich is only 6’9" without shoes) I think we can win a best of 7 series.
If Kirilenko stays healthy, Okur comes back strong by at least Christmas and Jefferson meshes into our system, I see the Jazz being a force to contend with in the West
all the people who are getting hot and bothered about OKC
that team is a short term love affair — why?
all those long, rangy guys are on their rookie contracts. once they all stop making $1 m per season, and a few more years of egos develop to establish themselves, and they’ll go through some serious growing pains. Durant is the nicest guy ever. his jumpshot will make somalian pirates change their life for the better. we know this. but even if they lose two of those young supporting guys they will be all kinds of messed up.
youth and moxie can’t get it done when you’re 28 and looking to get paid. (girlfriends and wives of professional athletes have a way of making a player re-evaluate what’s important. a good insight into this is in the book ‘loose balls’ by Jayson Williams, seriously.)
Follow me on Twitter: AllThatAmar
Check out: slcdunk.com
E-Mail me at: allthatjazzbasketball@hotmail.com
Really, I'm totally not lonely or anything . . .
by AllThatJazzBasketball on Aug 12, 2010 3:20 AM MDT reply actions
a good analog to this current squad would be . . .
the toronto raptors that had damon stod, marcus camby (uninjured), vince carter and t-mac.
once the rookie deals were gone, things got out of hand.
Follow me on Twitter: AllThatAmar
Check out: slcdunk.com
E-Mail me at: allthatjazzbasketball@hotmail.com
Really, I'm totally not lonely or anything . . .
by AllThatJazzBasketball on Aug 12, 2010 3:22 AM MDT up reply actions
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