Photo. Jonathan MannionUp at 8 a.m. to watch Cavs/Magic from China, and we didn’t learn anything that we didn’t already know: Dwight Howard (31 pts, 14 rebs) is going to have a monster season, Tony Battie’s season-ending injury hurts Orlando more than you’d imagine, and the Cavs aren’t good at all when LeBron isn’t on the floor. What we didn’t know, however, is that apparently there’s a LeBron museum in China. How big could that thing possibly be when the guy’s only 22 years old? … Did the crowd seem real quiet or was that just us? It coulda been a production issue … The worst production sequence came after LeBron (17 pts, 4 stls) and Damon Jones (he’s a big deal in China) hooked up for an alley oop. The cameras were so busy zooming in on LeBron post-dunk that they missed Orlando’s play on the ensuing possession. And then, for some reason, they decided to replay the alley oop during game action, missing a LeBron and-one in the process … Please tell us Hubie was being sarcastic when he said, “Dwight’s not exactly chiseled.” He definitely wasn’t kidding when he referred to Sasha Pavlovic as “Petrovic,” or when he called Drew Gooden “Dwight Gooden” … One great Hubie line: “Larry Hughes is one of the premier streak shooters we have in our League.” … So yesterday we presented Stephon Marbury as the latest candidate in our “Hall of Fame Watch” series. And up to this point, no one we’ve featured so far has gotten such strong reactions. The majority of you say Steph doesn’t belong in the Hall, but the pro-Steph side says you can’t ignore the numbers (just under 20 points and 8 assists per game). Reader “Celts Fan” said that while Marbury isn’t H.O.F. material, “his backseat should make the Hall.” Good stuff … Meanwhile, Steph’s Knicks went out and got destroyed in Boston last night. With the Big Three making their home debut as a unit, it was more of a showcase than a game; KG (13 pts, 8 rebs), Ray (14 pts) and Paul Pierce (22 pts, 6 rebs, 5 asts) all did their thing. No one on the Knicks scored in double figures in what ended up being a 40-piece McNugget and reminded Knick fans that slapping around Macabbi Tel Aviv means nothing in the long run … Carlos Boozer made his preseason debut, giving the Worst Front Line in the NBA (Philly) 17 points and 10 boards in about 24 minutes of work. Reggie Evans and Jason Smith started at the 4-5 spots for the Sixers … From 1915 originals to Bird and Magic to D-Wade’s upcoming signature kicks, some of the Dime crew got a Converse history lesson yesterday … Then we get to the office and find someone has sent us sneakers in a beef jerky bag. Serious … Is Rudy Gay trying to get a jump start at the Most Improved award? He scored 22 and blocked 3 shots against the Pacers yesterday … The Nuggets seem to be rotating between playing their top guys and sitting them from game-to-game. Last night was an off-night for Allen Iverson, Carmelo Anthony and crew, leaving Denver with a starting five of Anthony Roberson, Yakhouba Diawara, Bobby Jones, Ed Najera and Jelani McCoy. It says a lot that J.R. Smith still couldn’t get the start, but he stepped up big-time by dropping 33 points and keeping his fouls/turnovers in check … Some cool new stuff up on High School Hoop: When we went to Cali to watch Compton H.S. hard at work and get up with their superstar, USC-bound senior skywalker Demar DeRozan. Coach Tony Thomas was nice enough to let us get some video of Compton’s preseason practice. And Demar is holding down his spot near the top of our updated H.S. Top 25 player ranking … We’re out like Philly’s bigs …
October 18th, 2007 at 8:45 am
Celts Fan says:
Anyone else really confused why the Celtics waived Esteban Batista when that leaves them w/ only 3 guys that can (and should) play the 5, 2 starters (Perk and KG) and one already injured (Pollard), when they still have 5 guys that would be considered just defensive stoppers (Tony Allen, Posey - definitely on the team, Brandon Wallace - versatile enough and the team likes him enough I’m guessing he’s definitely on the team, and Dahntay Jones and Jackie Manual - both of whom should be cut before a center that plays hard, rebounds, has decent hands, and doesn’t play beyond himself.) I hope Doc sees what I see when we’re stuck playing an undersized 4 at the 5 for stretches during the year. Anyone else confused by this? If not, what am I missing here? (we have 17 guys on the roster, need a max of 15.)
October 18th, 2007 at 9:09 am
Hassan says:
I really liked Esteban hustle (rebound, put backs, post move) in FIBA as the leader of the uruguayan team. Then again, the three point jacking uruguayan were one of the leaders in attempt and misses. I would have liked to see him succeed in NBA. The NBA misses grit guys like Madsen, Cardinal etc. Everyone is too finesse with the crossovers, and fadeaway.
October 18th, 2007 at 9:14 am
djKianoosh says:
what’s funny about philly is that they’ve known they’ve had issues in the front court for years and they keep drafting stiffs. hopefully one of these young guys pan out eventually. but didn’t they pass on a surefire stud PF in the draft that went out west?
October 18th, 2007 at 9:16 am
djKianoosh says:
oh yeah, it was Al Thornton:
http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/recap?gid=2007101409&prov=ap
looks like he’s killin it in Clipper Land. great…
October 18th, 2007 at 9:39 am
Bron42 says:
maybe doc saw what we already knew, the guys game doesnt translate to the nba. I mean think about it, hes been on the hawks a team that sucked and drafted a pf like what, the last 4 years in a row and he still couldnt average more than 2 ppg? so then he has a good fiba tourny and suddenly people make it like hes the second coming of sabonis or shaq. Maybe hes just one of those guys built for international play only and cant handle the nba. Besides, I hear the bobcats are lookin for a new big man.
As for al thorton. Ya, hes pretty much K-mart with a jumpshot. Although, I’m sure jason smith will..umm..kinda..be ok..i guess..sorta..And it makes sense to draft thad young, i mean its not like they already have igoudala or just drafted rodney carney..o..wait.
October 18th, 2007 at 9:47 am
illfil27 says:
Judging from preseason performance Rudy Gay is good but have you chekced out Martell Webster’s stats? If he can keep his game up just a little bit he’s an automatic candidate for MIP. Ronnie Brewer is also pretty nice.
October 18th, 2007 at 10:07 am
E-ROC says:
Well, Doc Rivers said he likes Jones’ toughness and defense. I guess that’s enough for him to make the team. They need some big bodies in the middle and I thought Batista would at least provide them sometime of quality minutes. He can’t be any worse than Pollard. They are going to get kill down low when Shaq, Mourning, Howard, Curry, and Randolph come through punishing Perkins and whatever softy they put down there.
I feel bad for Lebron. He has absolutely nothing around him. I wouldn’t be surprised if he pulls a Kobe before the start of the season or during the summer. Danny Fairy is blowing smoke up everyone’s arse if he thinks this team can compete as contructed. Peter Vecsey(I know he sucks, but take it with a grain of salt) wrote in the Post that Pavlovic isn’t even asking for anything near MLE type of money. He should be signed at least.
I like Hubie Brown. He gets a pass because he’s too old to know any better.
October 18th, 2007 at 10:21 am
Amar says:
Jazz got pounded by the suns, manage a win vs. the sixers . . . baby steps, baby steps . . . maybe the key to their success was harpring all along?
October 18th, 2007 at 10:48 am
Austin Burton says:
Don’t underestimate the loss of Derek Fisher either…
October 18th, 2007 at 12:49 pm
Celts Fan says:
I agree that Esteban is MUCH better in the international game and that we’re talking about a guy that couldn’t get much burn on the Hawks (though they’re not exactly the best judges of talent) and would be one of the last guy’s off the bench (so please odn’t misunderstand as me labeling him the next Shaq or Sabonis as one guy put it) but he’s a legit 5. The C’s need a legit 5 infinitely more than they need a 5th defensive stopper off the bench. I like Jones too, but he’s one of a ton of guys we have that does the same thing. Then again, it’s Doc Rivers…
In response to the 6ers posts, Thornton is probably a 3 and Thad Young does have more upside, so I won’t knock that pick (though, as a C’s fan, I was cheering when they passed on Thornton for Young, so take from that what you will) but Jason Smith? Christ, can we start calling him Borchardt Jr. and save ourselves the 3 years of watching him suck before we label him a bust? Oh really, a big white guy from Colorado State that didn’t rebound well in a small (ish) conference in college? Ya, let’s use a 1st rounder on him. How does Billy King still have a job again? Hey, at least they got a package of young talent and high picks for AI, oh, right…
October 18th, 2007 at 4:21 pm
Amar says:
check Fish’ stats last season . . . you think those are starting shooting guard stats for one of the top 10 teams in the leage?
Fish was GREAT in the locker room, being the elder statesman, and helping a young team get to the playoffs. that young team did pretty well. but like obi wan in the movie star wars, he’s only needed to get them to the death star, it’s up to the young ones to blow it up by themselves.
October 18th, 2007 at 5:28 pm
Kudabeen says:
Anyone as impressed by Dwight really put in work on his Free Throws and was 13-16 last night?
How many guys begin their career as horrible FT shooters and end that way. This guy has been putting work in and it is showing. That’s how you get to that Garnett/Iverson level as my favorite strong minded authentic players in the League. Very impressive. This will take him from 17 ppg scorer to a 25ppg guy without taking touches from Reshard, Redick, or whoever else is getting the green light to jack it for Orlando…
October 18th, 2007 at 5:48 pm
Kudabeen says:
E-Roc They can’t think about signing anyone until they get things done with Side Show Bob…
Thorton is a better player right now yes…He is a All around 3. Not a PF. Young is actually bigger and measured as being a lot longer than Thorton and is 4 or 5 years younger. Can’t knock the pick just yet. I will say I was disappointed Sixer couldn’t find a way to trade up and snag at the very least Sean Williams, but we would have just developed him poorly anyway. Although Moses Malone is in charge of the Bigs I think…
October 18th, 2007 at 6:02 pm
Kudabeen says:
While I’m not saying Jason Smith is the goods, He wasn’t chosen ahead of Al Thorton by the sixers. He did rebound very well in college (ranked 9th in the nation) he is a legit 6′11 guy that has range on his j, can put the ball on the floor and does show a heartbeat unlike the Kings Spencer Hawes (aka Lottery pick). Jason Smith isn’t being called the future, so let’s give him a chance to be that Brad Miller type player with athleticism, rather than knocking him for not being anything more…
Herbert Hill out of Providence is actually a really good prospect at PF, maybe the best overall PF on the team right now. Not saying much, but his talent level exceeds his $ level, which is always bonus. He needs time on the floor, but I don’t have faith in the Sixers’ (Mo cheeks) ability to see talent and develop it properly.
I have issue with Billy King, but he has great savvy. It’s all up in the air for at least another year and a half when we will have a better idea of what exactly Billy is doing. You don’t gain the respect of your peers by being an idiot. Billy King wouldn’t have trouble getting another job, I know that. Lay it all out, then make a judgement. Don’t just go by Bill Simmons assessment or other pundits who aren’t NBA insiders. Time will tell.
October 19th, 2007 at 7:27 am
doc says:
I like J Smith but yall right the sixers stink we goin for the 1rst pick