Cleveland Cavaliers Win the NBA Draft Lottery
Posted by Dennis Velasco Categories: Drafts, NBA, News,
After getting done dirty by LeBron James last offseason and winning only 19 games in the Post-Bron Era, the Cleveland Cavaliers beat the odds and won the NBA Draft Lottery and, if you believe the multitude of mock drafts out there, the rights to point guard Kyrie Irving. Oddly enough, the Cavaliers, coming in with the second-best chance to win (19.9%) with their own pick, actually won with the Los Angeles Clippers (2.8%) draft pick. The Cavs acquired this pick with the trade of Mo Williams to the Los Angeles Clippers for Baron Davis. This immediately brings up two questions - why didn't the Clippers protect the pick and why didn't the Clippers protect the pick?
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Blake Griffin wins slam dunk contest by jumping over a car
Posted by Dennis Velasco Categories: Kudos, NBA, News,
Blake Griffin of the Los Angeles Clippers took a pass from teammate Baron Davis and dunked the ball. Normally that wouldn't be anything special since it happens a lot, but this time it was during the slam dunk contest during NBA All-Star weekend. Oh, and it was over a car. This dunk proved to be the exclamation point to help Griffin defeat the Washington Wizards' JaVale McGee in the slam dunk finals. Other participants included the Toronto Raptors' DeMar DeRozan and the Oklahoma City Thunder's Serge Ibaka.
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| ESPN
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It’s over! Cleveland Cavaliers win to end 26-game losing streak
Posted by Dennis Velasco Categories: Kudos, NBA, News,
The basketball gods finally showed mercy to the Cleveland Cavaliers who ended their consecutive game losing streak at 26. They beat the Los Angeles Clippers 126-119 in overtime. It was a controversial victory as the Clippers' Baron Davis went in for a seemingly game-winning lay-up that was blocked by the Cavs' J.J. Hickson, but no goal-tending call was made. It was the Cavs' first win since December 18, 2010 and only their second win in their last 38 games. They remain tied for most consecutive losses by a professional sports franchise with football's Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
Read More | Yahoo!
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NBA Fantasy Alphabet: Western Conference, Week 2
I appreciate musical mash-ups. Fantasy Alphabet will be my mash-up combining articles that look at hot waiver wire pick-ups, players of the week, and notable injuries. The format will consist of quick hits focusing on one player per team, and arranged in alphabetical order to help make quick scanning easier.
Dallas Mavericks: Erick Dampier. It looks like one crazy season ahead if Dampier can generate significant fantasy buzz. Since arriving in Dallas, he has never averaged double digits in points or rebounding, but so far he is doing just that. He has also pumped up his shot-blocking. Consider him as a sneaky play for the short-term as he could net you wins in the big ball categories (he has also been shooting 66%!), but the long-term outlook remains capped on the low side.
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2009-2010 NBA Pacific Division Preview
Posted by Phil Partington Categories: Editorial, NBA,
The Los Angeles Lakers are looking like a fantasy basketball team this year. Coach Phil Jackson has the ideal challenge of which star to play at what times. Beyond that, the NBA’s Pacific Division should be competitive in 2009-2010. Steve Nash and Amar’e Stoudemire hope to lead the Phoenix Suns back to the playoffs after a disappointing season in 2008-2009; the Los Angeles Clippers look like a playoff team on paper if they can stay healthy; the Golden State Warriors have plenty of talent, but no chemistry, defense or size; and the Sacramento Kings also hope its stars can stay healthy and the younger talent can continue to improve. Ring the bell, the fight for the Pacific Division is about to start.
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Fantasy NBA: Analysis of Fourth Round
The saying is way too simplistic to capture how sophisticated some strategies are in fantasy sports, but for hoops, the first three rounds more or less involve drafting so-called “best available” talent. People have their preferences, but no one really goes too off the board. Generally in fantasy basketball, early draft picks end up as busts due to injury, not poor play. Match-ups are not as important as in football; for example, LeBron James might struggle against a good defensive team like the Spurs, but he will still get 25 points one way or the other. Contrast that to football where a high draft pick this year like Steve Slaton continues to struggle.
The middle rounds are where people try to mold their team. Injuries are out of anyone’s control, so if a top three pick succumbs to an unexpected health problem, there is not much you can do. However, you can soften the blow by hitting on a few of your picks from the fourth to eight rounds. These picks are often the ones that separate the strong teams in your league from the weak ones. Here is how the fourth round is shaping up using Yahoo’s average draft position rankings as of today. These numbers change often, and as we move past the early rounds, the stats will vary day to day, so use this tool yourself for the latest updates.
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