Chris Paul is irreplaceable, Amare is shredded, and who’s stopping Dwight Howard this year?
Dwight Howard (photo. Mannion)We’re in that dreaded suuuuper slow period — most NBA free agents have been signed (still waiting on Ben Gordon, Delonte West and Dikembe; and bet you didn’t know Bonzi Wells is still without a team), there aren’t too many trades on the horizon (unless they involve guys like Marko Jaric), training camp is still a few weeks away, and the only basketball games we have are re-runs on ESPN Classic and NBA TV. So in the meantime, we’re starting our team-by-team NBA previews. Yesterday we rolled out the first in our “Highs and Lows” series, where we predict the ceiling and the basement for every squad. In other words, what are their realistic best-case and worst-case scenarios? Yesterday we looked at the Magic: Dwight Howard is coming off a monster season (20.7 ppg, 14.2 rpg, 2.2 bpg) in which he almost became the first guy to average 20 and 15 since Moses Malone; Hedo Turkoglu is coming off his best season (19.5 ppg) as a pro and established himself as the team’s go-to guy; and Rashard Lewis (18.2 ppg) may not have lived up to the price tag, but was still one of the best 3rd options in the League. But Orlando once again fell at the hands of the Pistons when it counted most. How high (or low) can Orlando go this season? … Meanwhile, the other best young big man in the game, Amare Stoudemire, says he’s about to blow up this year. Amare claims he’s clocking in at 2% body fat and 245 pounds — basically Karl Malone-type numbers — and is clearly pretty eager to get things going with new coach Terry Porter, who is apparently already helping Amare more defensively than Mike D’Antoni ever did … Mario Chalmers and Darrell Arthur were each fined $20,000 for their Rookie Transition Program antics, but neither will be suspended. Not that the Grizzlies would have been impacted much by losing Arthur for a few games — it would maybe be the difference between winning 20 games or 22 games — but Miami is looking to have Chalmers start at the point; they need him to get all the court time he can get … Donnie Walsh says the Knicks/Grizzlies trade talks involving Zach Randolph, Darko and Marko haven’t been active for weeks. Since Darko has been saying he’s “99 percent” sure he’s headed to New York and Zach has reportedly been telling people he’s ready to go to Memphis, we’re thinking Walsh is either trying to quiet all the media talk, or our suspicions are true: Walsh isn’t really the one making moves for the Knicks and Isiah has secretly been in charge the whole time … For the record, Patrick Ewing Jr. says he won’t ask for his Dad’s #33 if he makes the Knicks roster, even though Big Pat said he could have it. The Legacy says he’ll go with #6, which was his pops’ Dream Team jersey number … The other day, on the heels of Tom Brady’s season-ending injury, we asked who was the most irreplaceable player in the NBA. LeBron won our DimeMag.com poll by a large margin, but Chris Paul would have been a good pick, too. With Jannero Pargo going to Europe, Byron Scott says that Mike James and Devin Brown will be CP’s “backup by committee.” In other words, if CP gets hurt, N.O. is done … Speaking of done, what do you think of the Mavericks? Did Dirk Nowitzki really see his best chance at a championship pass him by two years ago? We think Dallas is obviously still playoff material, but the days of seriously competing for a chip might be gone … Did you hear about the guy who was going around California pretending to be Kenny Anderson? He would allegedly tell random people who he was and that he’d locked himself out of his car, bum a ride to a locksmith, borrow some money and run away. He’s been arrested on a host of misdemeanor charges … ESPN Classic replayed a seemingly random 2001 regular season game between the Pacers and Kings. This was the White Chocolate/Chris Webber-era Sacramento squad, with a young Hedo, clean-shaven Peja and Vlade Divac in his prime as a flopper. The Pacers had Reggie Miller, Jalen Rose with hair, Sam Perkins actually wearing a rag on his head in an NBA game, and a baby-faced Jermaine O’Neal and Al Harrington, plus Coach Isiah Thomas. To get a sense of how old this game was, that the Kings announcers said at one point, “You don’t see Chris Webber standing flat-footed very often in the paint.” Anyway, this game was notable because C-Webb DESTROYED Indiana, putting up 51 points (on 47 shots), 26 boards, five assists, three steals and two blocks. But in classic C-Webb fashion, he failed to score in OT and the Kings lost … FYI, this was a couple days after Tony Delk had scored 53 points in Sacto’s previous game, but Delk wasn’t even in uniform for the Kings/Pacers game. Not sure if he’d gotten hurt during practice or what … The Kings announcers were on some other level. One of them called Peja a “very good” and “underrated” defender. Another time they were talking about how Terry Mills looks exactly like George Foreman. Neither one could pronounce Hedo’s last name correctly, and after Peja made a big play during crunch time, one announcer got so excited he screamed “SQUAKE-O-VICH!” in a botched attempt at his name … We’re out like Fake Kenny Anderson …
September 11th, 2008 at 7:05 am
Coop says:
hhahahahaha “SQUAKEOVICH”.
September 11th, 2008 at 7:09 am
Coop says:
Oh, Shard is better than Turkoglu. Turkoglu had an option and was playing contract games. Dude was jacking from everywhere. If he keeps that up my name’s Pedrag Stoi….oh something.
September 11th, 2008 at 7:36 am
deeds says:
I don’t think Orlando has any shot of making serious noise when it matters. 2nd round is probably as far as they can go
September 11th, 2008 at 7:46 am
alf (from melmak) says:
finally some peace in dime land. hopefully no more “first” and “uno” stuff from here on.
amare might have mailman type body but does he have the toughness of malone? i bet not. i also am betting my whole meal allowance that he won’t be able to throw elbows like malone.
also, am just thinking, did divac invented flopping as we know it?
lastly, to all who remember alf — thanks very much. it was/ is one of the best tv shows of all time.
September 11th, 2008 at 8:02 am
nicky says:
first ha ha ha jus playin
i dont think vlade invented the flop, he just perfected that shit. Also, for real was Sam Perkins still ballin’ in 2001? Why dont I remember that? Rockin a doorag? Thats wild.
September 11th, 2008 at 8:22 am
Ansonious says:
Goooooooooooo Suns!!!!!!!
September 11th, 2008 at 8:45 am
shake&bake says:
I remember hearing that Delk scored 53 points and I’m still trying to figure out how that happened to this day.
September 11th, 2008 at 8:49 am
Yoooo says:
Vlade didnt invent the flop. Been used for years. Even Rick Mahorn did some flopping
September 11th, 2008 at 8:54 am
Amar says:
I watch watching random youtube videos a few days ago and came to the conclusion that amare’s highlights a very similar to old Karl Malone highlights. Does that mean I expect Amare to start getting 30-10 games, going to the FT line 10 times a game, and being an all-nba defender? No. Karl’s been injured once in his life, and Amare (great feeling knees and all) has been down quite a bit. Only time will tell if he becomes Malone like (Karl was 1% body fat and 256 lbs, btw).
As for who’s going to stop Dwight Howard? The answer is the free throw line. He needs to work on that and get better. Again going to the Mailman, when he came into the L he was a 48% FT shooter, but improved over time to have career averages over 70%.
September 11th, 2008 at 8:59 am
smity far away says:
i remember the towel headed sam perkins…lookin like bilal
@ shake&bake
tony delk used to (be able to) get buckets man. He came off the bench in that game where he scored 50 some didnt he? For some reason though i remembered him as being with the suns when he did that but…
September 11th, 2008 at 9:20 am
TD says:
@ Amar, Karl was 5% body fat at 265lbs, but it doesn’t really matter, dude was ripped.
Amare won’t be the same type of player as Malone. Amare is more finesse, and Karl was just a beast.
@ Coop, Hedo was waaaaaaaaaay better than Shard this last year, and it wasn’t a contract year, he just finally stepped up when teams focused on the Centaur. Magic definately got a shot this year if they can get some good gaurd help.
I’m out like Karl Malone paying child support…
September 11th, 2008 at 9:20 am
MoxWestCoastRep says:
In the words of Joe Namath: “stru-gl-ling” for material.
September 11th, 2008 at 9:27 am
Dave says:
Delk scored 53 on Sacramento, not for Sacramento. He was playing with the Suns at the time. Still have that game on tape, have the Indy one too … fun times.
Delk did play for the Kings prior to that and was very good for them … I remember a few Kings (Webber?) being upset that he was allowed to leave.
I was disappointed Delk wasn’t in the NBA last season. He was better than several backup guards in the League. I think he’s given up on another NBA chance and retired. Pity.
September 11th, 2008 at 9:37 am
loganlight says:
I’m looking forward to seeing Amare in the paint this year… Dude has really evolved into a top notch player.
Not MVP status Amare, but dang good.
I would not be surprised if STAT shocks us all and posts crazy ridiculous numbers this season… matter of fact, make that a prediction: Amare will blow out the expectations of the fans this season and will rise to be known as one of the best.
Still no chip for the Suns though…
LL
September 11th, 2008 at 10:07 am
marcus the great says:
lol @ alf betting his meal allowance everyday. don’t starve dude lol
amare vs dwight should be very good tv this year…
September 11th, 2008 at 10:42 am
that's whats up says:
Every Delk has his day.
So many talents don’t pan out for various reasons.
That being said – nobody is fuckin’ with the Spurs this year. It’s an odd year and REVENGE is on their mind!!!
…now if the Spurs could only trade for a few good players before the season starts I won’t have to eat my words.
September 11th, 2008 at 10:58 am
bill says:
damn dime cant believe you guys chumped it on delk
delk was the OG ‘buckets’
everyone should know he hit his 50 for the suns
September 11th, 2008 at 11:14 am
Coop says:
Shake,
everyone can get it going really- remember Michael Adams for Denver?
TD,
He was better this year I agree but he had a contract option. If you look at his numbers, what he’s done is basically gunned away and grabbed the ball whenever it wasn’t in Howard’s hands. Granted, it takes balls to do it, but he’s by no means a top 2nd option imo.
September 11th, 2008 at 11:19 am
it aint easy being green says:
i dont think i would help out the “real” kenny anderson
September 11th, 2008 at 12:08 pm
Austin Burton says:
Thanks for the Tony Delk correction. I thought he played for the Suns, too, but when Webber hit his 50th point in that game yesterday, the Kings announcers were like, “Two 50-point games in a row! First Tony Delk, now Webber!” as if Delk was one of their guys.
September 11th, 2008 at 2:06 pm
biggeddy says:
I think it’s really funny that webber shoots the ball 46 times to score 51 points and it’s a monster game and he only gets shit for choking at the end (no surprise there)… but Kobe shot the ball 46 times and scored 81 points and while it was an incredible game, his peers decided to hate on him and say that anyone can score that many points if they shot the ball 46 times.
September 11th, 2008 at 3:28 pm
Three Stacks says:
Who said anyone can score 81 points? From what I remember, Kobe’s 81 was a pretty big deal and all the players gave him mad props for it.
September 11th, 2008 at 4:22 pm
sans says:
Vince hated on Kobe for sure. Talked about how that wasn’t team basketball, not the way the game should be played, and blah blah blah.
I heard more people talking smack about when kobe scored 48 on 44 shots (this past season) right after Bynum got hurt.
And who the hell said that Amare is more of a finesse player than Karl Malone? C’mon. Karl was great, but he was not the rampant beast that Amare is. He had a lot of moves, hit a lot of short layups, baby hooks, fadeaways, jump shots. The Mailman always delivered, but he did it with smooth, finesse, post move after post move. Amare just throws down on you, occasionally hitting a jumper or a hook. But there ain’t no finesse there.
There isn’t any finesse in a knee to the chest.
September 11th, 2008 at 4:23 pm
sans says:
@ TD
that was at you.
September 11th, 2008 at 4:54 pm
schoops says:
@biggeddy… is anyone more paranoid about perceived “slights” than a Kobe fan? They drop something about Webber and your up in arms about some random comments from a few years back. relax, he’s got the mvp, the most popular jersey… a lotta people like him; it’ll be okay. get a grip.
September 11th, 2008 at 9:29 pm
solomon says:
yeah, that 51 point game is overrated… on 47 shots? wassup wid dat?
even effin’ _ason kidd got 43 points on just 37 shots
and same as y’all are – not surprised with the choke job…
who can stop d-ho? only ron jeremy can…
we’re out like c-webb in crunch time…
September 11th, 2008 at 11:04 pm
Magnifico says:
Who can stop Dwight? Look no further than his Free Throw Shooting… it looks like he’s about to take a crap when he cranks it up.
September 11th, 2008 at 11:08 pm
Magnifico says:
Truth be told, C-Webb was a fantasy basketball beast at his peak. 51pts,26boards,5dishes,3steals,2blocks are nasty numbers any which way. Now it’s just sad seeing him limp his former self around…
September 11th, 2008 at 11:11 pm
chancepassenger says:
As for who’s going to stop Dwight Howard? The answer is the free throw line. He needs to work on that and get better. Again going to the Mailman, when he came into the L he was a 48% FT shooter, but improved over time to have career averages over 70%.
Maybe Dwight HOward should start mumbling stuff before making free throws… worked for Mailman… his FT% imporved after he started doing it
January 23rd, 2009 at 10:26 pm
Paul Andre says:
Perfect work!Keep posting
==
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