Mark Barnes's Blog
Posted by Mark Barnes
SUITE101'S NBA MVP WATCH LIST
- Gilbert Arenas, Washington Wizards -- Gilbert Arenas has strapped the Wizards on his back and carried them into first place. His 60-point effort in a win over the Lakers was the offensive highlight reel of the season, helping vault Arenas to the top of our NBA MVP Watch.
- Steve Nash, Phoenix Suns -- Steve Nash continues his run to a third straight NBA MVP award. Nash is a solid 20 points and 11 assists per game; plus, he's shooting a sizzling 51% from 3-point range.
- Tim Duncan, San Antonio Spurs -- On a team with plenty of talent, Tim Duncan puts up NBA MVP numbers virtually every night. He is as steady as any big man, with 20.5 points, 10 rebounds and 1.8 blocks per game.
- Kobe Bryant, Los Angeles Lakers -- The Lakers are struggling of late, but Kobe Bryant is doing everything humanly possible to keep them afloat without injured LaMar Odom. Kobe has an NBA-leading 3 50-point games and has boosted his scoring average to 28 per night.
- LeBron James, Cleveland Cavaliers -- Although his Cavaliers are inconsistent and don't always use him properly, LeBron James is having a stellar season with 27 points, 7 rebounds and 6 assists per game.
SECOND TIER
- Dirk Nowitzki, Dallas Mavericks
- Carlos Boozer, Utah Jazz
- Dwight Howard, Orlando Magic
- Vince Carter, New Jersey Nets
- Kevin Garnett, Minnesota Timberwolves
- Allen Iverson, Denver Nuggets
Posted by Mark Barnes
Fantasy NBA enthusiasts are knee-deep into their fantasy basketball seasons. Fantasy drafts are complete, and now it's daily team management that will make the difference in winning and losing.
Unlike NBA GMs, you don't have to do all of the work yourself. Let the professional fantasy basketball people give you a hand. The best place to go for insightful NBA news and excellent NBA fantasy player rankings is Fantapedia.net.
What I love about Fantapedia is how user-friendly the website is. Many fantasy sports sites try to pack so much information into their homepage that it's sort of like reading a novel that's typed on a pinhead.
Fantapedia.net uses a very readable font -- not too large and not too small -- and the links are in boxes on the left, while articles are neatly centered.
Everything an NBA fantasy beginner or expert would want is at Fantapedia.net. Check it out, before making your next fantasy basketball move.
Posted by Mark Barnes
We have to wonder if Carmelo Anthony got a big enough punishment.
Two years ago, NBA Commissioner David Stern got it right.
Ron Artest attacked a fan in the stands, and Stern suspended Artest for the entire NBA season. The message to NBA players was loud and clear. Zero tolerance for any form of fighting, especially in the stands.
Just two seasons removed from the worst incident in NBA history, professional basketball suffered another black eye, when seven players from the Denver Nuggets and New York Knicks tossed punches, rather than basketballs, in a game at Madison Square Garden.
Once again, Commissioner Stern found himself addressing the matter of NBA players fighting, a long-time scar on an already all-too-tarnished professional basketball league.
His decision? NBA scoring leader Carmelo Anthony, two of his Denver teammates and four New York Knicks were suspended for a combined 47. This may sound like a lot, but is it really?
This time, most of the fight remained on the court and no fans were involved. No players sustained serious injury, but the NBA has once again been badly hurt, and David Stern’s response may exacerbate the pain.
Stern decided on a 15-game suspension of Carmelo Anthony and two 10-game penalties for Denver’s J.R. Smith and New York’s Nate Robinson. Others involved received six games or less. In addition to the suspensions, Stern levied a $500,000 fine on both teams.
These penalties, though, are a mere slap on the collective wrists of the Knicks and the Nuggets. And the entire incident makes Stern look like a once-proud papa who has lost control of his ever-mischievous boys.
When Artest was suspended for a season, Stern’s stentorian message was that fighting in the NBA would not be tolerated. A new rule in 2006 clamping down on arguing with referees seemed to underscore Stern’s message – The NBA is a professional sports league, and everyone in it is expected to behave professionally.
Now, barely two months into a new season, it’s hard to believe that any changes have been made or that any of Stern’s penalties make much difference.
Carmelo Anthony will beg to differ. He’ll tell you, as he said in a formal statement released two days after the brawl, that he overreacted. He let his emotions get the best of him, in the heat of the moment. Carmelo will even apology profusely to everyone who has ever seen a basketball game or a prizefight.
Stern seems to be buying. Carmelo Anthony sucker-punched an unsuspecting player, then backpedaled faster than man on a unicycle in a three-ringed circus. A few well-stated apologies later, and Carmelo got a 15-game suspension.
Sure, it’s a lot of games, but if Stern wants his players to live by his rules, he needs to talk a bit louder – say 25 games.
Two years ago, Commissioner Stern got it right.
Two years later, Stern seems to have grown soft and there appears to be no end in sight to this sort of bad behavior by NBA players.
Posted by Mark Barnes
In an NBA season where teams are jockeying for space more than the guys who ride the horses, the top NBA players are also battling for position each week for the honor of NBA MVP, and Steve Nash refuses to be pushed aside. Here is Suite101's updated NBA MVP Watch.
- Steve Nash, Phoenix Suns -- Two-time defending NBA MVP Steve Nash has led the Suns to 14 straight victories, and he's putting up better numbers than he did in either of his MVP seasons.
- Kobe Bryant, Los Angeles Lakers -- Kobe Bryant is having arguably his best season ever, which is saying a lot for a guy who many believe to be the best player in the NBA. He already has two 50-point games, and he has the Lakers in first place.
- Yao Ming, Houston Rockets -- In the last two weeks, Yao Ming has exploded. He's now getting 26.5 points, 10 rebounds and 2.3 blocks per game. Yao's Rockets are a contender in the NBA's Western Conference, and Yao is an easy choice for our NBA MVP Watch list.
- Carmelo Anthony, Denver Nuggets -- Night after night, Carmelo Anthony seems to be putting up 35 points, 8 rebounds and 5 or 6 assists. Plus, his Denver Nuggets look like a playoff team.
- Carlos Boozer, Utah Jazz -- Carlos Boozer averages 22 points and 12 rebounds for one of the best NBA teams, making him a solid NBA MVP candidate.
SECOND TIER
- LeBron James, Cleveland Cavaliers
- Dwight Howard, Orlando Magic
- Vince Carter, New Jersey Nets
- Kevin Garnett, Minnesota Timberwolves
- Tim Duncan, San Antonio Spurs
- Gilbert Arenas, Washington Wizards
Posted by Mark Barnes
Philadelphia wants Allen Iverson gone, but it is struggling to find any takers. Numerous offers have been made for the NBA’s leading scorer and the former NBA MVP.
The moment those team’s general managers come to their senses, the offers are rescinded. There are two problems with completing an NBA trade for Allen Iverson. First, the price is very high – the 76ers want a combination of players and draft picks. Second, and a much bigger stumbling block, Iverson is still a cancer that can eat away at a teams flesh and bone.
NBA rumor central has identified possible deals with Denver, Minnesota, Charlotte and Sacramento, to name a few. Either Iverson quashed the deal, as he did with Charlotte (he’s too good for the bottom-dwelling Bobcats), or teams have pulled out, when the overall ramifications of adding Iverson were seriously considered.
Can you imagine the cantankerous Allen Iverson playing alongside Kevin Garnett in Minnesota? What possible good could come from this NBA trade? Minnesota has the makings of a fine NBA team and Garnett is a quiet, humble superstar, who doesn’t need a jerk like Allen Iverson messing with his game.
Most NBA coaches believe they can change a player and make him fit. Iverson, though, is the kind of disease that destroys even the toughest coaches.
He ran Jim O’Brien and Larry Brown out of Philadelphia. Even now, when the team is losing, which is often, Iverson can be seen on the bench, with a towel draped around his head, looking like he might cry.
The people really shedding tears, though, will be the GM and head coach who wind up with Iverson, if an NBA trade is consummated.
But if NBA teams keep their wits about them, Allen Iverson and the cancer that envelops him will never leave Philadelphia.
