Photo. Jonathan MannionWith the season right around the corner, every team is making tweaks and roster moves. In Cleveland, Mike Brown said he wants to start putting LeBron in the post more often — which we were saying he needed to do before the Finals but took Brown until Game 3 to figure out. Not like it helped last night. ‘Bron put up 17 points and 9 dimes, but the Cavs got smoked by almost 30 in Toronto … Damon Stoudamire is gonna be Memphis’ starting PG come Opening Night, and Kyle Lowry will be the backup — which means Mike Conley Jr. will be third string. Remember back in June when we were all saying the Griz desperately needed a point guard? Turns out they weren’t in such bad shape at the position after all. Does Junior Conley end up winning that starting job at any point this year? … But at least Conley’s got a job. The Clippers cut ‘05 Lottery pick Yaroslav Korolev, who was just a bad pick in every sense of the word. We still have no idea why he was taken ahead of David Lee, Danny Granger, Rashad McCants, Gerald Green, Hakim Warrick, Francisco Garcia and a bunch of other guys who would have given L.A. something … We were a little surprised to see Dahntay Jones get cut by Boston. Not so much about Jackie Manuel getting the axe … And the Knicks finally got their roster down to 15 by letting Demetris Nichols, Jared Jordan and Russell Walker go. Nichols is a shooter with good size who should find a place somewhere in the League in the next couple of years (unless he’d rather make more money overseas); Jordan is too good of a passer not to be in the NBA eventually; and as far Walker, even our in-house Knicks fans were like “Who?” … From the Magic/Spurs game from one of our guys: “Maybe it’s just the paranoid Magic fan in me, but Rashard Lewis looked eerily like Grant Hill playing major minutes: soft, quick, a little fragile and showing flashes of brilliance.” Carlos Arroyo was described as “a wild Steve Nash,” and Pat Garrity was called “a 7-foot tall, slow-mo version of a Bob Cousy highlight reel.” … Also from that game, Dwight Howard’s developing finesse game went out the window against Tim Duncan. He went back to the Dee-Bo thing for the night … If you haven’t had your fantasy draft yet, the Fantasy Doctor drops science on his Top 40 Power Forwards. Duncan ranks pretty high, as you’d expect … We put a couple new videos up on High School Hoop yesterday: one of Compton High’s Demar DeRozan showing off his hops (think a young Vince Carter), and one of Rice (NY) product Kemba Walker, the fastest-rising point guard in the country … Speaking of Vince Carter, is he a future Hall of Famer? We looked at his case yesterday in the “Hall of Fame Watch.” … And make sure to check out Bounce for today’s free sneaker giveaway … We’re out like Yaroslav …
October 26th, 2007 at 4:26 am
sans says:
No, Vince is not HOFer. He started the crybaby-trade-tactics and that mark on the League should not be honored. Do you guys think Nichols will catch a ten-day from anyone, in particular, Denver or Cleveland, since they need shooters?
October 26th, 2007 at 7:59 am
E-ROC says:
I don’t understand why Demetrius Nichols was cut. He’s a shooter. Isn’t that what the Knicks need?? I’m quite sure he can play average defense, especially with his length. Just boggles the mind with what decisions Thomas makes with that roster. Cavs should be calling Nichols right now, along with Trey Johnson and Jelani McCoy.
Would the Celtics go after Jared Jordan?? He’s a pass first point guard who can’t guard, but gets the ball where it needs to be. He can shoot a little, probably better than Rondo.
October 26th, 2007 at 8:06 am
Dre in O Town says:
I still think Orlando can’t justify spending triple digit money on Rashard Lewis. Even without him if Dwight continues being a beast and if Trevor Ariza can develop something that looks like a shot i think we could maybe have a shot at passing the first round.
October 26th, 2007 at 8:17 am
Kobeef says:
Weird about Mike Conley.
At some point I think the Grizz will trade Stoudemire or Lowry rather than make Conley a bench warmer. Maybe they are showcasing one of those two for a trade. Conley has played Ok in pre-season…certainly didn’t put up a triple double though.
Just seems odd that they would pass on guys like Yi, Jokaim, Wright, Hawes to get a bench player…unless they made a mistake.
October 26th, 2007 at 8:42 am
Celts Fan says:
No mistake Kobeef. Damon will be gone soon enough, Lowry should be a junior in college and Conley should be a sophomore. Keep a veteran presence around for them to learn from and then let him go/trade him once it’s apparent they’re ready. Damon would be a great addition to the Celtics, and if we’re not already talking w/ Memphis, I hope Danny’s at least got it in mind. Also, Jared Jordan would be a nice fit on the Celtics too, but Doc would probably make him play the 4…
October 26th, 2007 at 9:03 am
E-ROC says:
lol @ Celts fan–Doc would play Jared Jordan at the four.
October 26th, 2007 at 9:41 am
FK in Toronto says:
LOL - no T-Oh love whatsoever.
Raps beat the Cavs by 33 (not “almost 30″) with our scrubs putting a beating on their starters down the stretch and all you can talk about is King James might start posting up more?
Its pre-season, yes, but what about a line that says:
- TJ Ford looked nice with 13 assists & 3 steals in 23 minutes?
- Delfino fought his ass off for a spot in the regular rotation, with 18-9-3 in a team-high 24 minutes
- Bosh eased back into the lineup from his knee injury with 12 & 3, adding two steals and a block
October 26th, 2007 at 10:03 am
Austin Burton says:
It’s preseason. Games aren’t even on League Pass yet.
October 26th, 2007 at 10:25 am
Amar says:
yeah, Austin, but the box scores are up. The cavs played their starters big mins, and the Raps went with their bench for most of the game.
Again, Dime . . . you guys going to check your facts anytime soon, or are you Shaqing it by playing your way into journalistic shape?
October 26th, 2007 at 10:32 am
Austin Burton says:
Yeah that’s the general idea. Is the final score really that important in the preseason anyway? Point is, Toronto smacked the Cavs. Some guys had some impressive stat lines, but I’ll be honest, Carlos Delfino playing a good game that doesn’t court doesn’t do a lot for me.
October 26th, 2007 at 11:39 am
FK in Toronto says:
Final score’s not important in preseason, I said that in my post.
Wwhat is important to me and I assume to others is that you’re the first stop in the morning to see what happened last night, before sifting through ESPN, Yahoo, etc. etc. to read the details.
When your details are off - or lightly regarded - you fall behind those mainstream clowns in the what-to-read-first pecking order, jammed in there with Hoopshype, InsideHoops.com, etc
October 26th, 2007 at 1:42 pm
Kudabeen says:
Cavs, Nuggets, and Celtics, and Magic need to look hard a Demetris Nichols. 6′7 with ability to catch and shot as well as finish. They need to look real hard at this dude. He just couldn’t fit in with the overloaded Knicks roster. didn’t really get a chance after having a great summer league showing…Is there any better shooters out there?
October 26th, 2007 at 1:45 pm
Kudabeen says:
I don’t see Conley beating out Lowry. Only way is if the organization decide the highest draft pick showed get the most opportunity over the more impactful Lowry. When Kyle comes in the game the grizzles have a heartbeat. Damon is just a showcase for a later trade. If they are doing well by deadline, Damon is gone and they should let these Navarro, Lowry, and Conley run things.
October 26th, 2007 at 3:08 pm
Dre in O Town says:
I think I gotta fart …
October 26th, 2007 at 5:19 pm
Tamilan says:
The fool that writes smack should get smaked upside his head with a calculator. Cavs lost almost by 30 ? They lost by 33. Comparing Grant Hill’s game with Rashard Lewis ? Another stupid comment. And you’ve been talking about Dwight Howard every single day just cause he’s on the cover of the magazine. That’s some weak shit. You guys only focus on the stars that get the most media attention and not on skilled stars.
October 26th, 2007 at 6:54 pm
sans says:
Tam–Grant Hill was better than Shard will ever be, I actually liked the fragile with flashes of brilliance line. Dwight is a beast and might get MVP talk when he puts that Mag on his back this season. What is the difference between a skilled star and the one that gets the most media attention?
Kobe generates a lot of media, but whose better than him? Sure, the Darius Washington story with the Spurs this season (who the Cavs should invite in when he gets cut) is nice, but it’ll take most of the guys who comment here a while to remember where they know his name from. It’s also only a good story if you know about his dad giving up NBA chasing dreams to coach his son, in HS, to get him there.
Everybody makes mistakes. Check your spelling before talking down to people who write for a living.
October 27th, 2007 at 5:45 am
Mark says:
Yeah sans good point.If You’re hating on the smack people go forward and spend a couple of bucks for your espn crap.
Honestly I like the style the dime crew is writing things a lot more than espn, si or true hoop.