Phil Partington's Blog

Posted by Phil Partington

Does anyone else feel like the Philadelphia 76ers pursuit of Allen Iverson is either one of two things:

1) A last-ditch attempt to salvage the season;

2) A ploy to put more fans in their seats.

While I'm not convinced that Iverson has much left in the tank (when your game is solely based on quickness and you lose that, then what?), I do think he could actually put up some numbers here and there. The timing couldn't be more perfect for Iverson with guard Louis Williams, whom some think has a game that resembles Iverson's, out for two months with an injury.

Here's the problem...Iverson does not answer to anyone but Iverson. Coach Larry Brown was the only one who has ever been able to reel him in, and now that AI's older and not the superstar he once was, he seems much more stubborn than he even used to be. Certainly, he should still be able to run with the other young Sixers, but he's not the leader they need ("Practice?"). Iverson has a lot of skill left, but his immaturity and unwillingness to adapt his game to fit other teams' needs may cut his career short.

Posted by Phil Partington

Here are a couple paraphrased quotes that made me chuckle this morning. I thought I'd share.

First, at the beginning of the season, Gilbert Arenas, Washington Wizards, claimed that he just wanted to fit in this season and that he would look to distribute more, rather than be the typical ball hog that he is. Funny how "distribute more" resembles being a ball hog. He's averaging 5.9 assists per game and an abysmal 4.8 turnovers per game. That includes a career high 12 turnovers against the Miami Heat on November 10, 2009.

Second, Jamal Crawford said that the New York Knicks would have made the playoffs last season had he and Zach Randolph not been traded. I love Crawford--have been watching him since his high school days at Rainier Beach--but this is obtuse thinking. Crawford's missed the playoffs all through his career, because he's played on bad teams. He's gotten an unfair rap for that, but Zach Randolph is one of the most overrated players in the NBA and the Knicks just didn't have the talent to be a playoff team last season. Who is he fooling?

Posted by Phil Partington

When it comes to fantasy basketball, it's never a bad idea to grab players from teams that don't play defense. Typically, those are the teams that go by the philosophy of "the more possessions we get, the more we score." This philosophy seems to contend that if you let the opposition score really fast, you have a chance to get the ball back...and score again.

Teams that follow this rule? The New York Knicks, the Phoenix Suns, the Toronto Raptors, and the Golden State Warriors. Therefore, I figured it wasn't a bad thing that I had three Warriors on my squad at the start of the season (Andris Biedrins, Anthony Randolph and Stephen Curry). Yet, Coach Don Nelson has taken the approach that, since the team sucks, he ought to change the lineup every night until he finds something that works. Hall of Fame coach my rearend. The problem with this ideology is that all those young players on his team don't get much of an opportunity to get into a rhythm, or to gain confidence. The problem may be the fact that he plays four shooting guards at the same time, most of whom don't play a lick of defense.

Andris Biedrins is hurt, but even before he got hurt, Nelson decided he wouldn't play Biedrins at the same time as Randolph, because neither one of them were jump shooters. Nevermind the fact that they both hustle and they both play defense. Nelson prefers to reward players who take a lot of shots. Moreover, Nelson doesn't like Randolph, or at least doesn't care for his game. That's what he's shown anyway by not playing him. With Biedrins out, Randolph has received more minutes for the most part. Yet, it's not enough. He's only received more than 25 minutes three times this season. In those games, he's averaging more than 17 points per game, grabbing 11-12 boards per game, blocking 2 shots per game, and collecting nearly 3 steals per game. However, he doesn't shoot jump shots well, like the forty-thousand other players on that team, so he should be benched every other night.

Does any other fantasy basketball owner feel my pain?

Posted by Phil Partington

Every basketball fan should check out this documentary. It's a good synopsis of what happened with the Seattle Supersonics sale and move.

www.sonicsgate.org

Posted by Phil Partington

Blake Griffin is still the consensus number one pick. He's a legitimate 6-10, and is strong as an ox. What's more, he's a fantastic ball handler for someone his height, despite playing primarly under the basket. He also plays above the rim and has tremendous work ethic. Despite the Clippers being loaded with bigs, Griffin should have no trouble getting minutes and could be a star right away.

Ricky Rubio is still fighting his Spanish team about reducing the buyout amount for his contract. Rumor has it that he's leery of playing in Memphis, where two other Spanish players have had bad experiences (Pau Gasol and Juan Carlos Navarro). That being said, the Grizzlies might be in favor of moving the pick or selecting Hasheem Thabeet to give them an athletic shot-blocker.

The OKC Thunder are a big question mark on this draft board. GM Sam Presti comes from the Spurs' organization, and they were known for being hush-hush about everything, then surprising fans. He surprised folks a bit last year by taking Russell Westbrook with the fourth overall pick, though that's panned out so far. Rubio, Thabeet, James Harden, DeMar DeRozan and a couple others are on OKC's radar.

Here is a scenario that might play out.

1. Clippers take Blake Griffin
2. Grizzlies take Hasheem Thabeet
3. Thunder take Ricky Rubio
4. Sacramento take Tyreke Evans
5. Wizards trade this pick to the Knicks, Bobcats or Trail Blazers. That team takes Stephen Curry.

Posted by Phil Partington

Is anyone as surprised as I am at how the Magic stole game one? Not that I didn't think they were capable of such a feat, but I thought the red-hot Cavs would take the first two games.

Rashard Lewis is better than people give him credit for. Those who claim he's overrated haven't followed his career very closely. He's actually a very versatile scorer, with an underrated post up game. That being said, Dwight has to demand the ball more. His offense is limited, but he's so athletic and so strong that their best chance of taking the series is for him to shoot as many high percentage shots as possible, and get Zydrunas Ilgauskas and Anderson Varejao in foul trouble.

That being said, Stan Van Gundy shouldn't look to slow things down against the Cavs. They need to force the tempo in order to get their versatile, athletic bigs easy shots in transition.

I expect this to be a wake up call for Cleveland. They can't play lackadaisically in the playoffs. Not ever.

Posted by Phil Partington

It's always fun to check out the up-and-coming basketball stars. Check out clips of this high school phenom, John Wall.

Posted by Phil Partington

There've been some trade rumors floating around the NBA recently. Here are my thoughts on each one of them:

• The Phoenix Suns would trade Steve Nash, Leandro Barbosa and Robin Lopez to the Toronto Raptors for Jose Calderon, Andrea Bargnani, Anthony Parker, Jason Kapono and possibly Jamario Moon as cap filler. Phoenix should make this deal. Calderon isn't quite Steve Nash yet, but he's getting there and he's a lot younger. Nash has a few good years left in him at best, and this team, despite its successes, probably missed the boat on winning a championship. Barbosa is solid, but doesn't have the upside of Andrea Bargnani. This trade would make the Suns deeper, giving them a starting rotation of Shaq at center, Amare Stoudemire and Grant Hill at the forward spots, with Bargnani coming off the bench, and Calderon and Jason Richardson at the guard spots. I don't understand this trade from Toronto's standpoint. They seem desperate to make up for a slow start. Yet, Calderon's been hurt and Bargnani's been playing strong of late.
• The Memphis Grizzlies would trade Mike Conley to the Milwaukee Bucks for Ramon Sessions and Joe Alexander. This deal makes not sense for Milwaukee. Ramon Sessions has shown more than Conley has, and Joe Alexander still has a lot of talent.
• The Charlotte Bobcats would end up with DeSagana Diop and Earl Watson and more; the Dallas Mavericks would end up with Raymond Felton and Nazr Mohammed; the Oklahoma City Thunder would end up with Jerry Stackhouse. It seems like the Bobcats could get more for Felton. Who knows? They might get a draft pick out of it, too. At any rate, they're trying to make room for D.J. Augustin, but this deal is on hold, as Augustin's injured. Felton would give Dallas depth on the perimeter and Mohammed would make the defensive loss of Diop not quite so bad.

Posted by Phil Partington

It's been a while since I've posted a blog. I apologize for that, but I do have exciting news! In the past year, I've gotten engaged, found my birth mother and birth father after a long time search, bought a house and worked seven days a week last summer (weekend cruiseline job) to pay for the honey moon and take my parents on an Alaskan cruise. In other words, it's been a busy year.

It's been a busy year for the NBA, too. To wrap my thoughts up in a nutshell:

• The Detroit Pistons should have never traded for Allen Iverson. He's talented, but he's never really been a guy who fits in a system as much as the system has to fit around him.
• The Boston Celtics look good at 28-4.
• Dwight Howard is officially the best center in the NBA.
• Bad or not, Oklahoma City fans have no right to boo their team. After all, they suck only because the owners traded away their talent in order to make the move in the first place.
• There's some serious talent in this year's rookie crop.
• LeBron James is a fiend, and I hope he stays in Cleveland.
• Don Nelson must hate having to play Andris Biedrins. He's traded every other big man he's had for a guard of sorts. Jamal Crawford, Stephen Jackson, Corey Maggette, Anthony Morrow, Marco Bellineli, Kelenna Azubuike, DeMarcus Nelson, C.J. Watson and Marcus Williams are all talented guards, or guard/forwards. That doesn't even include Monta Ellis, who should return from injury in a month. Could their lack of interior play be contributing to their 10-23 record?
• Philadelphia needs Elton Brand back and some perimeter shooting in the worst way.
• The OKC Thunder are on pace to break the record for the fewest wins in an NBA team for any team. They're on pace for just seven to eight wins. The record is nine wins.

Have a wonderful holidays, folks! Celebrate the new year with my original song, Rum and Egg Nog.

Posted by Phil Partington

The Milwaukee Bucks recently traded prospect Forward Yi Jianlian and Forward Bobby Simmons to the New Jersey Nets for Forward Richard Jefferson. This trade confirms that the Bucks are looking to win now, while the Nets are looking more toward the future.

After dealing Jason Kidd to the Dallas Mavericks during the season, the Nets look much younger than before. One wonders if Vince Carter might be dealt next. Along with the trades, New Jersey selected Center Brook Lopez with the 10th pick of the 2008 NBA Draft, as well as Forward Ryan Anderson with the 21st pick, giving them a more balanced offensive approach. Pending other transactions, they'll be rolling with Lopez at center, Sean Williams, Josh Boone or Anderson at the power forward position, Yi Jianlian at the other forward position, Devin Harris at point guard and Vince Carter at the shooting guard spot.

On the other hand, Milwaukee seems to be trying to make a playoff push right away. Richard Jefferson is a solid finisher with a lot of versatility, but it's questionable as to whether or not he'll be able to get them over the hump. He'll certainly take pressure off of Michael Redd, but the Bucks could still use a bruiser power forward, as well as a pass-first backup point guard. Their success will mostly be linked to the development of Center Andrew Bogut, who's extremely underrated as a prospect.

Posted by Phil Partington

The NBA's management techniques have been less than impressive recently. First, they do a piss-poor job of handling the Seattle Supersonics' situation, then they call out referee Joey Crawford for missing a key foul call late in game four of the Lakers-Spurs series, then they announce that they plan to fine players for flopping. It seems the league has lost all trust in their refs ever since the Tim Donaghy incident last year. The job of an NBA referee is a very difficult one to be sure, and missing the occasional call has always been part of the game. It's understandable for the league to implement an instant replay system for buzzer-beaters, but to publicly call out an official for missing a call cheapens the refs' in-game authority. The job of a ref is not to make the right call every time. It's to manage the game and keep order, while being as fair as possible. The league is overstepping their bounds and de-valuing the profession of the basketball referee, and not letting them do their jobs.

In the case of flopping, perhaps referees should be better trained on how to watch for such a maneuver, or perhaps the league should include "catching flops" in a ref's evaluation, but fining players is a dangerous precedant to start. Whether or not a player is flopping is often determined by individual discrepancy, and sometimes that can be inconsistent. Also, there are many occasions when a player might over-sell the foul, but it is still a foul. It seems the league should be focussing on more pressing issues, like the collective bargaining agreement which continues to drive ticket prices through the roof and has been the cause of several teams changing cities.

Posted by Phil Partington

This has been a crazy month for me, so I apologize for being so quiet. I'm glad to be back to discuss all the exciting things that have happened in May in the NBA. The Playoffs are down to the final tick with San Antonio and the Lakers left in the West and the Celtics and Pistons dueling things off in the East. I don't think anyone should be shocked to see those teams still in it, but their journeys have been a bit odd.

The Spurs faced a difficult seven-game series against the New Orleans Hornets and now find themselves down two games to one to a Lakers team whose star, Kobe Bryant, has been dealing with injuries here and there and whose up-and-coming center, Andrew Bynum, has been M.I.A.

Nobody should be too surprised that the Boston Celtics are in the position they're in. Yet, after their first two series, it looked as if the season was going to be a disappointment. They've played back-to-back seven-game series. The first was against the eight-seeded Atlanta Hawks. Meanwhile, the Pistons bounced back in their second round series against the Orlando Magic after being down against the Philadelphia 76ers two games to one in their first series before winning that series four games to two. However, with Chauncey Billups playing through pain, they find themselves down against the Celtics.

At this point it will be interesting to see what happens when the Lakers-Spurs series goes back to Los Angeles. Remember, they struggled on the road against New Orleans, too.

Posted by Phil Partington

Hey folks, I'm back in action. Sorry about the recent hiatus, but thanks for all your comments/opinions on the MVP race.

Can you believe the Celtics/Hawks series going to seven games? The Mike Bibby deal seems to have really paid off. What do you think? Is it a match up issue? Is Atlanta just playing their hearts out? Is Boston really a finals contender?

Another question is what does this success mean for the Hawks? If they manage to upset Boston in Game 7, do they make any moves? They do have a logjam at the small forward position with Josh Smith, Marvin Williams and Josh Childress. They could certainly use a defensive-minded center. Yet, which prospect do they give up? Or, should they keep what they have and hope to continue to develop that talent, despite the holes.

At any rate, it should be an exciting Game 7.

I'm glad to be back and am excited about hearing your thoughts on the NBA Playoffs.

Posted by Phil Partington

Though fans should be focused on the excitement surrounding the upcoming NBA Playoffs right about now - after all - the Western Conference features a face that's gone down to the very last day, and the East has a prominent title contender at the top. Yet, there've been some off-court distractions to pull fans' attentions away from the good stuff.

First, the situation with Seattle and the Supersonics is awful and should never be allowed to happen. Heck, it should never have gotten to that point. For those who don't know, former Sonics owner Howard Schulz sold the team over a year ago to a group out of Oklahoma. The sale went with the stipulation that the new owners intended to try to keep the team in Seattle and would make all good-faith efforts to do so. Recently, e-mails have emerged that show very clearly that that was never the case. So, Mr. Schulz is suing the Oklahoman owners as a last-ditch effort to keep the team where it is.

It's a mess. Take it from a Seattlite. Sonics fans have really stepped up, though. This isn't like when the Hornets left Charlotte and there were less than a thousand fans at many of the games. Fans in Seattle have been showing their support all season, despite a horrid year.

Second, Carmelo Anthony recently got arrested for suspicions of DUI. Oops! I'm sure Denver appreciates that with the playoffs less than a week away.

Posted by Phil Partington

I must admit, I had my doubts as to whether the big three of Kevin Garnett, Paul Pierce and Ray Allen could win a title for Boston, but the way they're playing is tough to ignore. After they started winning at the beginning of the seasons, critics (including myself) pointed out that they had played a somewhat weak schedule. However, we're near the end of the season and they have a 58-15 record, including a 25-5 record against the Western Conference, whom most consider a tougher conference overall.

Kevin Garnett has led Boston to the best defense in the league and they've picked apart some tough opponents of late. Moreover, they've been relatively healthy this season and haven't shown a whole lot of fatigue. On top of that, most would argue that they'll have an easier path to the finals than teams in the West. The Detroit Pistons will be their biggest obstacles with the Orlando Magic and Cleveland Cavaliers also being pesky opponents.

With the additions of veterans PJ Brown and Sam Cassell, the sky's the limit in Boston and the luck of the Irish seems to have finally returned to the Garden.

Posted by Phil Partington

March Madness is upon us and it's time to start thinking about your office brackets. Here is a quick guide to the 2008 NCAA Men's College Basketball Tournament.

Important Dates

• Sunday, March 16th - CBS will announce the 650-team bracket
• Saturday, April 5th and Monday, April 7th - Final Four games will be played

Check out the full schedule of events, or find what you're looking for at the NCAA March Madness 2008 site, or at NCAA Sports. If you aren't up to speed on how teams are doing, you might want to check out the current rankings, or conference standings.

The teams that are most likely to claim the number one seeds at this point are (1) North Carolina, (2) Memphis, (3) UCLA and (4) Tennessee.

Posted by Phil Partington

After winning 13 games straight, the Houston Rockets took a big blow with star center Yao Ming going down for the rest of the season. That means, they'll have to put all their hopes on the oft-injured Tracy McGrady, as well as an old Dikembe Mutombo in the paint.

After struggling for most of the season, the Rockets had made a major push in the standings, pulling within one game of the Dallas Mavericks and New Orleans Hornets and two games of the San Antonio Spurs. Yet, without Yao anchoring the team's middle, they may not have enough to continue their hot streak.

Meanwhile, has anyone noticed how many current winning streaks there are in the NBA? Has anyone wondered if that has something to do with all the recent trade activity? The LA Lakers, after acquiring Pau Gasol, have won nine straight, the Spurs, acquiring Kurt Thomas and Damon Stoudamire to help solidify its bench, has won six straight, and Dallas, after acquiring Jason Kidd, has won three straight. Conversely, the Memphis Grizzlies have lost six straight after trading Pau Gasol for practically nothing, and though the Miami Heat, after acquiring Shawn Marion, have only won one of its last ten games, they have been playing more competitively than before.

Posted by Phil Partington

The Phoenix Suns recently dealt athletic forward Shawn Marion and back up point guard Marcus Banks to the Miami Heat in exchange for an old, worn-out Shaquille O'Neal. In the last couple of seasons, Shaq has dwindled into a shell of his former self. This season, he averages a career low 14.2 ppg.

Yet, it's hard to say what kind of playing condition O'Neal is actually in. Though he's been hurt for most of the season, Suns doctors are finding that he's really not in that bad of shape health-wise. Could it be that Shaq was merely over-selling his injury to avoid further hurting himself for a team that holds the absolute worst record in the NBA?

The Heat have been awful this season, and has won only nine games so far. Going from that to a team that's considered just a piece away from winning an NBA title, Shaq has to be pleased. However, it's still uncertain whether or not he's the piece they need. Coach Mike D'Antoni loves to run-and-gun, while Shaq tends to slow things to a halt. Many say Shaq can be the rebounder who sparks the fast break. Only time will tell. Shaq is day-to-day. Phoenix won't rush him back, as they hope to use him more in the playoffs.

Posted by Phil Partington

Michael Beasley is a basketball stud. How else to explain his 25.3 ppg, 12.4 rbpg average, while shooting 56% from the floor? He's led this once overlooked squad to a 15-4 record and a first place seed in the Big 12. In fact, many expect Beasley to be the number one pick in the 2008 NBA Draft.

Of course, fellow freshman Bill Walker has helped. With an average of 16.1 ppg to go along with 6.5 rbpg, Walker's acrobatic dunks have helped to not only make the Wildcats an exciting team to watch, but also a formidable opponent.

The 24-year losing streak to Kansas was known as "The Streak" to Wildcat fans, but with an 84-75 victory Wednesday night, it was officially broken. "It doesn't sting because of The Streak," an obviously disappointed Kansas coach Bill Self said. "It stings because it's our rival. I could care less about The Streak. But I do care about beating our rivals. So, yeah, this one stings more than what most would sting" [Associated Press].

Posted by Phil Partington

Is it just me, or is anyone else itching for college basketball's March Madness? It's a month or two away, but we're entering the downslope of the season, especially with the numerous conference playoffs in February.

In addition, is anyone else as excited as I am about the freshman class this season? As great as the Kevin Durant/Greg Oden class was a year ago, I think this class might be even better. Here's how I'd rank the top freshmen as of January 15th, 2008.

1. Michael Beasley, F Kansas St, 23.8 ppg, 13.1 rbpg - Though he plays for a weak division, he's a beast to reckon with.
2. Derrick Rose, PG Memphis, 14.7 ppg, 4.3 apg, 4.0 rbpg - His stats are misleading. He's an unselfish player on one of the best team's in the country.
3. Kevin Love, UCLA C, 16.8 ppg, 10.2 rbpg, 60% FG - The Bruins finally got a power game in the middle.
4. Donte Greene, Syracuse F, 18.9 ppg, 8.2 rbpg - Versatility and scoring. This kid reminds some of Rashard Lewis.
5. James Harden, Az St G, 18.2 ppg, 5.6 rbpg - Harden's scoring prowess has provided the Sun Devils with a big boost.
6. Jerryd Bayless, Az G, 19.7 ppg, 4.6 apg - Bayless is a scorer through and through.
7. Patrick Patterson, Kentucky F, 17.2 ppg, 8.4 rbpg - A tough competitor with a lot of talent.
8. OJ Mayo, G USC, 19.9 ppg, 4.8 rbpg, 3.0 apg, 3.9 topg - Many might disagree with this low rank, but I think he's overrated.
9. DeAndre Jordan, Tx A&M C, 10.5 ppg, 7.2 rbpg - Doing a great job in the middle for A&M.
10. Kosta Koufos, Ohio St C, 14.4 ppg, 7.1 rbpg - He would have been a great compliment to Greg Oden a year ago.

Posted by Phil Partington

It's 2008 - finally - and the NBA is full of side stories that truly ought to become sitcoms. Here are ten New Years resolutions for certain NBA teams:

1. The New York Knicks need to dump some salary and improve its defense. You couldn't slip a credit card underneath the feet of either Eddy Curry or Zach Randolph while they jumped to full height.
2. The Chicago Bulls need to find some offensive chemistry. The obvious answer is to land a back-to-the-basket player who can draw double teams, but at what cost does that maneuver make sense?
3. The Cleveland Cavaliers need to get LeBron James some help. Sadly, they don't have enough trade bait or salary cap room to do that right now.
4. The Houston Rockets need to get some help for Yao Ming and Tracy McGrady. Despite what some believe, that supporting cast is awful.
5. The Phoenix Suns need to stop making the same mistakes. For starters, what is Mike D'Antoni thinking by not resting his stars more? Does he really think Grant Hill will be ready for the playoffs at this current pace?

Posted by Phil Partington

I just got back from a week-and-a-half long vacation in Los Angeles and Mexico. What a fun place! The highlight was an excursion where we road in trucks that reminded of an Indiana Jones adventure (very bumpy) up part of a mountain, road mules up the rest, zip-lined across canyons 250-feet in the air, through trees of a rain forest and into water, repelled down a 65-foot water fall and hiked through the forest. It's tough to come back to Washington state's 30-something degree weather after relaxing in Mexico's 90-something degree weather. Yet, tomorrow is Christmas and it wouldn't feel right spending it in the sunshine.

It's fun to return and see what's been going on in the world of the NBA. Who would have guessed, for instance, that the Portland Trail Blazers would have won ten in a row to put them second in the division behind the Denver Nuggets. Most thought their season was lost when top draft pick, Greg Oden, went down with injury for the season. Moreover, the Blazers could extend that streak to thirteen, as its next three challengers all have sub-.500 records (Seattle, Minnesota and Philadelphia). In this ten-game stretch, Portland has defeated Utah twice, Denver and New Orleans. Not bad for such a young team.

Guard Brandon Roy leads the Blazers with 19.1 ppg, 4.4 rbpg and 5.6 apg. Forward LaMarcus Aldridge is averaging 18.5 ppg and 7.7 rbpg. Keep your eye on this young team. They seem to be destined for great things.

Have a wonderful holiday season, folks.

Posted by Phil Partington

New York Knicks owner James Dolan amazes me. He didn't hesitate to pull the trigger on coaches like Larry Brown, Lenny Wilkins and Herb Williams. Yet, Isiah Thomas has brought nothing but trouble to that franchise and still has his job. Thomas has had his own off court embarrassments, which featured a sexual harassment lawsuit against him. The team has the largest payscale in the league for a team of mostly overpaid players - which, by the way, was his fault. Thomas brought the majority of the current roster to New York as the team's president. Despite the apparent talent the Knicks have, Thomas hasn't been able to get them to do much of anything.

It was Isiah Thomas' philosophy that shot blockers were overrated. Granted, he might not have had many shot blockers in Detroit when he won a title as a player in the late 80s, but Bill Laimbeer, Rick Mahorn and John Salley were all players who protected the paint defensively in their own ways. Eddy Curry and Zach Randolph are embarrassments at the defensive end.

In addition, Thomas seems to pass on stand still shooters in order to log jam positions with athletic players who can't shoot. Adding a shooter or two would clearly open things up for these athletes. Yet, Thomas doesn't seem to get that. Despite having David Lee on the roster, a scrappy power forward, he added Renaldo Balkmen and then Wilson Chandler, both similar players as Lee. Thomas has failed to add a true point guard who can run the offense either. Though there's plenty of talent on this team, Thomas has no regard for team balance or chemistry, and it makes absolutely no sense that he remains the Knicks head coach.

Posted by Phil Partington

I apologize for the spacing of my articles of late. It's been a busy, exciting time for me. Aside from the typical rigors of my daily grind, I recently had the opportunity to meet my birth mother and her family for the first time. I was adopted at birth and never knew anything about my blood relatives, so when hired a private investigator and found her, it was pretty hectic and exciting. I even have two half-siblings I didn't know about.

Anyway, I haven't lost track of what's going on in the world of basketball, and as excited as I am that the NBA season is underway again, I'm just as excited about college men's basketball.

I believe the freshman class this year is even better than last year's class that featured Greg Oden and Kevin Durant. Here's a look at what some of the young phenoms are doing with their respective teams:

• Kevin Love, UCLA, 19.3 ppg, 10.5 rbpg on the No. 2 Bruins.
• Derrick Rose, Memphis, 16.6 ppg, 5.6 apg for the No. 3 Tigers.
• Kyle Singler, Duke, 14.3 ppg, 6.3 rbpg for the No. 7 Blue Devils.
• DeAndre Jordan, Texas A&M, 10.3 ppg, 8.3 rbpg for the No. 9 Aggies
• Eric Gordon, Indiana, 27 ppg, 56% FG, 55% from trey in five games. Hoosiers are ranked 15th overall.
• Austin Daye, Gonzaga, 13.8 ppg, 5.0 rbpg for the No. 19 Bulldogs.
• OJ Mayo, USC, 21.8 ppg, 3.3 apg, 4.7 topg in six games for the No. 22 Trojans.
• Michael Beasley, Kansas State, 27.2 ppg, 15.5 rbpg in six games.
• Bill Walker, Kansas State, 12.5 ppg, 6.5 rbpg in four games.

Posted by Phil Partington

I tried an experiment last season. Instead of playing traditional fantasy basketball, where the goal is to acquire players who contribute positive stats like points, boards and assists, I set a league up where the goal was to acquire players who contribute negative stats like turnovers, fouls and technical fouls. It was a points based league and I gave negative points for every point, board and assist collected.

It's sheer brilliance! Imagine the challenge of having to assess the worst of the worst, while getting rewarded for your efforts. For those looking for a new way to play fantasy sports, this might be something to try. When was the last time fantasy basketball owners could cheer for turnovers and low stat production. This idea could revolutionize the game altogether!

If technical fouls are weighted as heavily as I'd imagine they ought to be, Rasheed Wallace could be the top pick in such a league. The possibilities are endless.

Posted by Phil Partington

What happened to the days when an NBA player played his heart out without fuss for whatever team he was on? What happened to the time when a player was greatful for his opportunity to play with the world's best and get paid for it?

It seems that more and more players these days complain about their given situation or whine about the lack of respect they get. How can a player be respected if all they do is whine and complain?

Shawn Marion of the Phoenix Suns is one of the league's highest paid players. He has been named to the All Star game multiple times and has even played for America against International competition. Yet, he still claims he's underrated. Moreover, when his name is involved in trade talks, he whines even more and claims he's underappreciated even when the trade talks are for a superstar like Kevin Garnett.

Likewise, Utah Jazz forward Andrei Kirilenko has escallated his complaints to a new level about the Utah Jazz system. More specifically, he doesn't seem to get along with coach Jerry Sloan and has threatened to walk away from his multi-million dollar contract because of these problems.

Whiners like this have cheapened the quality of the league. Players need to shut up and play.

Posted by Phil Partington

Many fans consider college basketball more for the purists, while NBA basketball is more about highlight dunks and one-on-one flash. If that's the case, then why shouldn't the NBA consider altering a few subtle rules and regulations in order to draw even more attention to its strengths? Here are some ideas the league might consider:

• Take away traveling. I'm not sure why the NBA still includes traveling as a violation. It's not like the referees ever enforce it. LeBron James might as well be on roller blades when he picks up his dribble. Omitting the travel violation from the rule book would just be a long overdue formality.
• Water Balloons from the bench. It can be boring riding the pine, so why not get teams' reserves involved by giving them a certain amount of water balloons to toss at opposing players during the game?
• Implement the 'pansy rule'. Like traveling, another formality is that certain star players (i.e., Dwayne Wade, LeBron James, Kobe Bryant, etc...) get fouled every time a defender breathes hard on them. Make this a formal rule. After all, the more defenders are deterred from guarding these players, the more these players will be able to showcase their acrobatic dunks. Isn't that the whole point of basketball?
• If there's a tie game, have the mascots duke it out. A bare-knuckled fist fight (or paw fight) between the mascots should determine which team wins the game in the case of ties.

Those are just some suggestions for the NBA to consider. This should also help American basketball teams compete in international competitions. That is, if FIBA ever adopts the rule of having mascots fist fight to determine tie breakers.

Posted by Phil Partington

Tough defense and teamwork helped earned the most recent version of Team USA first place in the FIBA USA tournament held in Las Vegas this summer. Team USA trounced every opponent to go undefeated.

However, the players still have their eyes on the ultimate prize of winning a Gold Medal in next summer's Olympic Games. Though they had an impressive summer, there are still some concerns.

They seem to have answered the issue of outside shooting with the addition of sharp-shooter Michael Redd, but some now question the team's interior defense. Dwight Howard, Amare Stoudemire and Tyson Chandler are charged with defending the paint, though none of the three have a whole lot of experience. Howard is a top-notch rebounder and as strong as they come, but his offense is limited to dunking when he gets a wide open look underneath. Stoudemire is a tremendous finisher, is extremely athletic and his jump shot looked much better this summer, but his defense is questionable sometimes and he has a very limited back-to-the-basket post game. Tyson Chandler is a long, defensive-minded shot blocker and rebounder, but sometimes gets pushed around and has no offensive game. All three could use some maturation, despite their talent.

Still, the strength of team USA is its ability to pressure the ball and attack the basket. The additions of Jason Kidd and Kobe Bryant give the team veteran leaders they didn't necessarily have last summer at the FIBA worlds. With recent disappointments against international competition in recent years, Team USA shouldn't be considered the team to beat next year, but they will be a handful for any opponent.

Posted by Phil Partington

After the Milwaukee Bucks drafted highly touted Yi Jianlian (pronounced "E Jee-ahn-lee-ahn") from China in the 2007 NBA Draft, his handlers and agent made demands for him to be traded. Though the Bucks were finally able to sign him, Yi's handlers' initial preference was for him to play for a team with a higher market value and that has a larger Chinese population. Obviously, Milwaukee doesn't meet either of those standards. However, it boggles the mind how a player who has proven absolutely nothing can make such demands. It seems as though American players are ridiculed for being pompous and demanding. Yet, it's apparent that foreign-born players can be just as unreasonable.

Certainly, Yi will be a standout player. At seven feet, he's incredible mobile and coordinated and already has a vast array of tools. He's a face up scorer with great athleticism who should only get better. It will be interesting to see how he fits on the Bucks. They're a young team, but they really need a bruiser on the interior to complement center Andrew Bogut. Yi, like teammate Charlie Villanueva, is an athletic, finesse player. Still, Milwaukee's looking better than last year and could make some noise if they stay healthy. It will also be interesting to see if Yi decides to continue playing for Milwaukee after his rookie contract is up.

Posted by Phil Partington

For those who haven't heard, NBA referee Tim Donaghy, who is a big bucket of hot water for betting on games he reffed, is receiving a severance package as well as his pension from the league. Apparently, the plan provides for up to $78,000 annually for life, based on seniority.

Does anyone else find this laughable? Granted, $78 K isn't very much money when you're talking to the NBA, but what's the deal here? It's frustrating to watch someone who sucker punches the prime league of my favorite sport be rewarded for his misdeeds. Obviously, this isn't an improvement over being a full-up ref, but it's more than he deserves. Surely, he has a problem, but his selfishness and lack of ethics has caused a black mark on the NBA and it's sickening.

I just had to vent. There really isn't much else to say that is meant for childrens' eyes. Insert several expletive deleted's here. Anyway, my guess is that Donaghy told the league names and this is his reward. That's my two cents anyway.

Posted by Phil Partington

For those who don't know much about me, I grew up in the Seattle area and currently live about an hour south of the Emerald City. As a result, I'm a die hard Seattle Supersonics fan, which makes them potentially moving to Oklahoma City a story I care a lot about.

This news is a few days old, but I thought I'd take this opportunity to fill those who have not followed the issue a synopsis of what's going on (as well as take the chance to rant a little about it).

According to the Seattle Times, "In an incredibly odd interview with an Oklahoma newspaper, Aubrey McClendon, one of the new Sonics owners, blatantly admitting that they're gonna move the team to OK City, even if it costs them money.

McClendon said the team would probably make more money if it stayed in Seattle.

'But we didn't buy the team to keep it in Seattle; we hoped to come here,' he said. 'We know it's a little more difficult financially here in Oklahoma City, but we think it's great for the community and if we could break even we'd be thrilled.'

A prediction: The team won't "break even." Unless Seattle fans -- who McClendon keeps saying "kind of look down their nose at us" -- burn down the Sonics' offices, that team is gone, people, regardless of whatever apologetic press release McClendon sends out today."

McClendon has issued a statement since, which basically copies and pastes the agreement they made with Howard Schultz (previous owner) - presumably to avoid lawsuit. Clay Bennet's statement was hilarious!!!! The first 5-10 seconds was him going "uhhhhh, errrrr, ummm...." followed by a "no, no! we um really want to er...stay in...um...seattle." I was waiting for Clay to yell out "HEY YOU GUYYYYS" followed by a fat kid cutting him off at the podium to do the truffle shuffle.

None of this is really a big surprise to Sonics fans and frankly, as frustrating as it all is, I can't blame them for doing what they're doing. If I was in that situation and wanted to take a team from Oklahom to Seattle, I would probably do the same thing if the situation called for it.

What does tick me off is that though you'll hear them repeatedly cry about how Seattle "looks down at them" and thinks of them as nothing but "stupid hicks", they have looked down at Seattle from day one in how they address the media with snobbish egoism and a lack-of-respect type of attitude. They seem to think of Seattlites as a bunch of yuppies who don't know poop from shine-olah. Sometimes it's hard to argue with that, but the ironic thing is, these yuppies have called them on their every move. They've seen through the piles of crap and identified it for what it is - the ownership trying to move the team. When ownership dumped its two best players, sending the team into rebuilding mode, it was the fans who saw that as a means to reduce salaries to make for an easier move. When the Sonics cleaned house in management and seemed to want little to do with any past Sonics affiliates, it was the fans who saw that as a sign of disrespect.

If anything good comes of this, it's that Washington state has figured out that there is interest in having a pro basketball team. If a new team came to the state, it probably wouldn't come to Seattle, but many other cities stepped up trying to make a new stadium work in their area, including Renton and Auburn. They see it as a way to compete with Seattle.

However, Bennet and gang have sabotaged things over and over. The biggest and most blatant sabotage was when they were two months late in submitting the Sonics' case to the Legislature for vote. The issue that needed to be voted on was whether or not they should let Renton vote on whether or not they should start building a new arena for the Sonics. It was obvious that Seattle wasn't going to support a new stadium, since their tax payers were already too heavily burdened with taxes from the Mariners and Seahawks stadiums, but only an idiot would expect that the Legislature would be able to vote on something when it's two months late in submission. It would make sense that the tardiness was intentional. Remember that legally Clay and his group have to make all reasonable efforts to keep the team in Seattle. Also, David Stern wouldn't let them leave if they don't.

Seattle's doing the right thing by playing hard ball and trying to make them honor their lease, which keeps the team playing in their current arena until 2010. We'll see how that plays out. The more time that can be bought, the better chance for a miracle.

So, that's the scoop. Some might care, others might not. As for me, I plan on being a die-hard Sonics fan til the bitter end. If they leave for Oklahoma, I don't think I can continue calling them my team, though I will be rooting for certain players like Robert Swift and Luke Ridnour. I might have to be a temporary Blazer fan until (and if) Seattle gets a new team.

Posted by Phil Partington

The NBA is turning more and more into your typical EA Sports Video Game where rosters are altered by the click of a mouse of press of a controller button. The Boston Celtics were a team of under-developed prospects last season and had one of the worst records in the league. With a wave of a wand, - POOF! - they convert one young player, an over-priced injury prone player and an old over-priced player into Ray Allen. With another wave of a wand, they convert several (about seven) young players and a couple draft picks into Kevin Garnett. Suddenly, the Celtics are sporting a trio of star veterans who are hungry for a title. Imagine Kevin Garnett posting up against Eastern Conference competition and kicking it out to either Ray Allen or Paul Pierce, two of the league's best outside shooters.

Is it wise for the Celtics to part with so much of its future? Only time can answer that. The Celtics are looking a bit thin now and many are concerned with the trio's durability.

Still, Boston will be a fun team to watch with a starting lineup of:

C. Kendrick Perkins

PF. Kevin Garnett

SF. Paul Pierce

PG. Rajon Rondo

SG. Ray Allen

Other NBA roster shake ups have included the Orlando Magic, who lost Darko Milicic but picked up Rashard Lewis; the Charlotte Bobcats, who traded draft pick Brandan Wright to the Golden State Warriors for Jason Richardson; the Minnesota Timberwolves, who instead of having Kevin Garnett have numerous young prospects and a couple more draft picks in their pockets; the Seattle Supersonics, who drafted Kevin Durant, but lost their top two players in Ray Allen and Rashard Lewis; and the Portland Trail Blazers, who moved Zach Randolph, but landed Greg Oden in the 2007 NBA Draft.

Posted by Phil Partington

Just to give some context, I've lived in Washington state my entire life and grew up around the Seattle area. Needless to say, I'm a huge Seattle Sonics fan. I shouldn't have to tell you that being a Sonics fan has been rather difficult in recent years. In a state notorious for its bandwagon fans, sticking by your team through thick and thin isn't exactly the popular thing to do. Yet, I'm a die hard and that's exactly what die hard fans do.

The Sonics are treading dangerous grounds these days. After forty successful years in Seattle, a new owner has come in and threatened to move the team to Oklahoma City if a new arena isn't built. Understand that I don't think this scenerio is entirely his fault. There are many things going on at once with that story, but that's not what this blog is about. Frankly, I'm tired of discussing the arena situation in Seattle, so I'm going to talk about some good news for the Sonics. We've needed good news. It's been a while since we've had any.

"Earning" the second pick in the upcoming NBA Draft is huge for this franchise. We don't get a lot of national media support. In fact, many national media analysts seem to hate us. Take Stephen Smith, TNT analyst. First, I must say, I've always thought Smith to be unprofessional and somewhat lacking in basketball knowledge - at least for a professional analyst. He interviews well in that he asks the right questions, but he's pompous and quite frankly not that NBA savvy in my opinion. He expressed discontent that northwest teams won the first two picks in the upcoming draft, explaining that no one cares to watch these teams and their production will get loss among the masses.

What an embarrassing thing for him to say. In terms of the league earning money, it might be better for a market like Chicago or Boston to get Oden and Durant. But, what happened to the purity of the game? What happened to level the playing field for ultimate competition? Perhaps the best part of professional sports (ideally) is that you never know what's going to happen and teams can turn things around. It's sad that the media has such a bias to high market teams, almost as though they're driven to the dollars and cents of things more than the game itself. The fact is, the league is in danger of losing its last two remaining draws in the northwest. Losing the northwest could really hurt the league. It's an entire region of people after all. Moreover, it could be argued that the rest of the nation might care more about northwest teams if the national media didn't sabotage the great teams and players that have come out of the northwest. When the Supersonics made great playoff runs in the 1990s, Bill Walton, Peter Vescey and company consistently spoke ill of the team and cheapened its success, while exhibiting a blatant bias toward teams like the Lakers, Bulls and Knicks. When the Blazers had success in the early nineties, the same thing happened. Some players don't always want to come play for teams like the Sonics or Blazers because of the stigma that the national media doesn't give a rip about it. Yet, the northwest has a good record for being able to keep its NBA stars because once they come here, they realize it's one of the most liveable and gorgeous places in the country. Gary Payton, Shawn Kemp, Clyde Drexler, Ray Allen, Rashard Lewis...all players who have played in the northwest in recent years who have wanted to stay playing in the northwest. Rashard Lewis didn't even want to play in Seattle when they drafted him. Yet, now he's said he doesn't want to leave.

So, I'm excited about Kevin Durant coming to Seattle. It brings hope and that's a big thing for us these days. Hopefully Durant finds a home here.

Posted by Phil Partington

I consider myself very knowledgeable about basketball. This isn't a boast. In fact, sometimes it can be a negative thing if tagged with a certain tone.

I got into basketball pretty heavily when I was nine years old. That's also when I started collecting basketball cards (I stopped in 1995, when they came out with 693.7 "sets" instead of just three or four, thereby successfully flooding the basketball card market and emptying my 15-year old newspaper delivery savings). I started playing organized ball in my early elementary school years. My first season highlights (second or third grade) were scoring 16 points in one game, which I was able to accomplish because the player guarding me was extremely fat and couldn't make it down the court as fast as me, and making a shot from the foul line on my knees. My nickname that year was "Silk" after the former LA Laker, Jamaal Wilkes. They gave me that nickname, because out of all my teammates, I got hit in the face with the basketball the least amount of times. I was a real star.

Once we reached the age where we could catch the ball consistently and make shots past three and a half feet, I began to play more basketball. My daily routine was to go to school (walking uphill both ways in six feet of snow), come home, lace up my cool Chuck T's Converse All Star shoes and go outside to shoot until my mom yelled at me for the fifth time to come inside and do my homework. It was usually very dark by then and I couldn't see the hoop (which probably worked in my favor. It's easy to assume that you made every shot when you can't see the hoop).

By junior high school I was playing some select ball and partaking in more summer camps, including the John Stockton camp at Gonzaga University. My uncle worked at the camp and knew Stockton personally, so after the camp I got to talk to Stockton with my uncle. Those were kind of intense camps. We'd get up at the crack of earlier-than-I-wanted to and ran drills of various sorts until late in the evening. But, they were also lots of fun.

I was never anything that special, but I was a pretty good player. I even had some high school coaches pursue me a little (after coming to some random games or seeing me at summer camps).

I played a little high school ball in Seattle, but hated the experience. I didn't really have much in common with most of my teammates and I really didn't get along with my JV coach. In fact, nobody did. 8-9 people quit after that season and he was inevitably fired the next season. I was told I could've been on the varsity team the next year, though I did need to gain muscle and weight, but I quit. I played in a joke pick-up league with some friends right after then didn't pick up a ball for nearly two years. It's amazing what you lose in that time. I couldn't dunk anymore and was frustrated by my limitations.

While in high school and early college, I was a certified referee for about 5-6 years. I had several evaluators tell me if I continued with it I could be a varsity ref in no time, but I didn't really put enough time into it. I enjoyed it, but it's a lot of work and parents are difficult to deal with. So, respect your referees. It really is a tough job.

Now, I'm just a basketball nutcase. I've always been one, but not I consider it official. I might consider coaching kids at some point. I have assisted coaches, including my dad who has coached several teams (young kids up to high school) for many years. But, for now, I'm content as a basketball junky.

Hope that gives you a better understanding of me and my basketball roots.

Posted by Phil Partington

I was once a decent basketball player. I swear. I never claimed to be a superstar and I realized my NBA dreams were not going to be fruitive by the fifth grade. However, there was a time when I was a pretty good player. I was good enough to play in high school and at 6-2 I could even dunk a little.

After I quit playing in high school, I didn't really pick up a basketball for about two years. I discovered a lot can happen in that time. I could no longer dunk. Abrupt grunts and awkward rushes of air would spew from my lips when I tried. My cat-quick first step had devolved to a drunken man's stumblings as he tried to stay erect. My silky-smooth outside shot was sometimes lucky to even reach the rim. I had really lost my game.

So, it wasn't all that surprising to me that I was rusty when I tried to play a game of pick-up ball recently after not playing since last summer. Luckily, I know how to play the game pretty well, or I might be a liability on the court.

"Set a high pick," I'd direct to a teammate, while indicating for the other teammate to make a back cut off the screen and bee-line to the hoop. The result was a wide open layin.

"Open yourself up when you're playing weak side defense, so you can track your man in your peripheral vision," I'd direct to another teammate.

When I stopped directing so much and started playing, it meant that I'd caught my breath again for a few more plays. This might result in an impressive basket, or it might result in me throwing the ball three feet above a teammate's grasp. Either way, I know I'm rusty and I'm reminded that playing basketball well is about playing basketball often and against good competition. So, for all you looking to develop your game, choose to guard the opposition's best player, choose to work hard and choose to play often.

I love the game of basketball, and it can be frustrating when you lose skills to rust, but I realized that as long as I have the passion for the game at some level I'll always be able to help my team in some way. In other words, I'm happy to have evolved into a basketball geek. From the x's and o's to roster management and player development, hopefully I can continue to express that love of basketball.

Posted by Phil Partington

As much as I love the NBA, there are things about the league that simply bug the crap out of me and make me embarrassed for the game.

The Reggie Miller foul - My biggest peeve is the refs allowing a shooter to pump fake to draw the defender in the air and then lunge themselves six and a half feet forward to make contact with that defender. I call it the Reggie Miller foul, because he all but made a living off it. If the player’s shoulders are square and he is jumping straight in the air that should not be a defensive foul, in my opinion.

The Manu Ginobili flop – They may be doing away with allowing players to flop when they get blown on. The Spurs are the best at this, as are many European players, like Andres Nocioni. Some say Vlade Divac was the master of the flop and it really became popularized when guarding Shaquille O’Neal when he was in his prime.

The poor-passing big men – If I were a big man coach charged with helping the development of an up-and-coming star, like Greg Oden, the three things I’d focus on first would be 1) teaching him how to seal his man and use his body as well as pivot properly to get open looks; 2) learn how to box out and rebound, as well as defensive positioning; and 3) learn how to pass out of double teams to find the open shooter. Don’t get me wrong, big men need to eventually develop a midrange jumper and perhaps a bit of a face up game to be successful in the NBA, but if he doesn’t have those previous basics down, what good is having a big man? With any big man, it’s best to optimize their size at both ends of the floor. In addition, if a big man does develop superior offensive skills, not being able to pass out of double teams can prove fatal. Yao Ming averaged 25.0 points per game this season, but only 2.0 assists per game with 3.5 turnovers per game. Eddy Curry averaged 19.5 points per game, but only 0.8 assists with 3.6 turnovers per game. Yikes!

Players playing the 'race card' – I’m not a racist, nor do I feel like I have to defend myself as not being a racist. That being said, it’s sad that so many dark skinned players feel the need to use the race card every time a controversial issue comes about. When players were asked to wear a collared shirt on game days, several players like Chauncey Billups said the NBA was discriminating against African Americans, implying that casual dress was part of their culture. When the league implemented the minimum age requirement of 19 years old to enter the NBA Draft, Jermaine O’Neal said they were being racist and trying to keep young African Americans out of the league. Of course, he must have forgotten that Robert Swift of the Seattle Supersonics was also drafted right out of high school. I acknowledge that racism still exists today and is still a bigger problem than most would like to admit, but playing the race card on every little thing you disagree with cheapens the argument when it truly applies and hurts minorities in the process. I don’t know Jermaine O’Neal, but my guess is if he considers racism an employer, who by the way is paying him something like $15-$20 million a year, asking him to wear a collared shirt when he gets off the bus on game days, then he hasn’t really had much experience where he’s been discriminated because of his race. In fact, it kind of makes him sound spoiled if you consider that most folks in this country have to wear a collared shirt to work every day and don’t make a fraction of what he makes.

Posted by Phil Partington

My friends sometimes say I put the fan in fantasy basketball. I say I'm just a huge basketball geek and darn-tootin' proud of it. This is my tenth season partaking in the addictive activity of Fantasy Basketball, and though it wasn't the most illustrious season for me, it was still quite enjoyable and included its successes.

I participated in six fantasy leagues this year, cutting down from roughly 712,938 a year ago. The idea was that by cutting down the number of leagues I was involved in, I would have more free time for myself and my girlfriend and wouldn't be so worn out by my addictive nature.

I was so wrong. Here's a run-down of my typical evenings.

My patient girlfriend in the other room: "Are you done checking the scores YET???"

Me: "In just a minute!"

My patient and loving girlfriend in the other room: "You said a minute over an hour ago!"

Me: "I'm almost done!"

My patient and loving and beautiful girlfriend in the other room: "I thought we were going to go out tonight!"

Me: "Um...well...maybe we should go out another night."

Me: aet4ih;awe4ourao;rueawju

That last part was my face crashing against the keyboard as my patient girlfriend slammed a book into the back of my head.

So, I'll get to the point quickly in case she's somewhere nearby.

For those who care, here's a brief synopsis of the six leagues I partook in. I like Yahoo! Fantasy Basketball the best. There are a whole lot of free fantasy basketball leagues, but I think they beat all the rest.

I played in four rotisserie style leagues using 9 statistical categories or "STAT CAT's" (FG%, FT%, 3ptm, pts, rb, ast, stls, blcks and to). I finished first in three of these leagues and third in the other. I've run a league of ten managers for the past eight years, and I was the first manager this season to get back-to-back titles, which is always good for bragging rights. I expect some severe soreness over the next few months as my opponents in that league practice their surgical techniques with a voodoo doll that looks eerily like me.

I played in two head-to-head leagues, which I'm not as fond of as rotisserie, and finished second in one and third in the other. I'm actually more proud of the latter one, as I completely missed the draft and ended up with a team so full of injuries I was considering donating some limbs if it would help their healing processes. In the other league, I lost the title in the final day, as Rajon Rondo had six steals which allowed my opponent to pass me in that critical STAT CAT.

All in all, it was a fun season, as usual. Can't wait for next year. I'd love to hear about how you did in your leagues, so let's start a discussion.