Category Archives: nba

New Orleans Pelicans Make Mascot Less Frightening

The New Orleans Pelicans mascot, Pierre the Pelican, went under the knife. The team announced he was having plastic surgery to fix his beak.

The picture on the right is the ‘before’ picture. He was scaring kids and looked like something in a bad furry movie. Who approved this mascot? Was it the same guy who approved ‘Boomer’, the Columbus Blue Jackets failed cannon mascot that looked like, ummm, a ‘cannon’ and two round things below it. I’m trying to keep it PG-13 around here…at least when it comes to mascots.

See what the new and improved Pierre looks like now…after the jump.

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2014 NBA All-Star Weekend: Betting Odds

The first-half of the NBA season is nearly complete and NBA All-Star Weekend starts this Friday.

The most anticipated events are the Sprite Slam Dunk Contest and Foot Locker Three-Point Shootout on Saturday and the actual All-Star game on Sunday.

The betting odds for these three events are very interesting. There are a few favorites in each event, but some underdogs interest me. You could get a bit lucky and win a nice chunk of change.

Will Lebron James and Kevin Durant battle for the All-Star game MVP? Is the second time’s the charm for Paul George in the Slam Dunk Contest? Can Stephen Curry hold off defending champion Kyrie Irving in the Three-Point Contest?

Here are the odds for All-Star Game MVP, Slam Dunk Champion and 3-Point Shootout winner.

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Fantasy Basketball: Week 9 – Top 10 Waiver Wire Pickups

I hope you’re doing well in fantasy basketball this season. I’ve been taking chances on guys with big upside and stashing them away. That strategy has worked so far, but I’m still tweaking with my roster, in-between poker hands at 888poker.com. I just keep finding quality guys on the waiver wire.

I advise you to look at every box score, especially bad teams’ box scores. You can find a few gems on bad teams. Players aren’t as highly coveted and they can slip through the cracks. You will find bargains, trust me.

For example, the Milwaukee Bucks have a few players worth a pick up, you’ll find two in this post.

Most of these players are owned in less than 50% of leagues (and some are owned in less than 10%). You should pick these guys up or at least keep a close eye on them.

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Did Jason Kidd Spill Drink On Court To Delay Game?

Did Brooklyn Nets head coach Jason Kidd pull a fast one on the refs?

In the closing seconds of the Nets/Lakers game, Brooklyn found themselves trailing 96-94 with 8.3 seconds left in the game. They ran out of timeouts and that’s when coach Kidd pulled out a playground trick.

As Tyshawn Taylor headed to the bench, you can see Kidd mouth the words, ‘hit me.” Kidd had a drink in his hand and when Taylor bumped him, he spilled his drink on the court. This delayed the game while ball boys and other staff wiped the spill on the court. Kidd had enough time to speak to a few of his players.

I think he did it on purpose, but you decide for yourself. The video is posted after the jump…

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Fantasy Basketball: Week 4 – Top 10 Waiver Wire Pickups

Fantasy basketball just finished its third week of play…and the injury bug has plagued some key fantasy players. This is when researching depth charts can drastically change your team’s production.

Steve Nash, Ersan Ilyasova, Trevor Ariza, Dion Waiters, Chauncey Billups and Michael Carter-Williams are all dealing with injuries. This post focuses on their replacements for the week and a few gems who are earning more playing time.

Most of these players are owned in less than 50% of leagues (and some are owned in less than 25%). You should pick these guys up or at least keep a close eye on them.

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Fantasy Basketball: Week 3 – Top 10 Waiver Wire Pickups

Fantasy basketball just finished its second week of play. We are starting to figure out which players will get minutes and a few players who will benefit from an early season injury.

I know fantasy basketball isn’t as widely-played as fantasy football and baseball, but it’s a fun game. You have to work the lineups daily like baseball, but need to keep a close eye on how many games a team plays that week.

We look at some of the players who weren’t drafted in most leagues, but are now worth a pickup.

Our list is loaded with guys on bad teams. Yes, a fantasy stud can be on a bad NBA team.

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Fantasy Basketball: Top 10 Waiver Wire Pickups

Fantasy basketball just finished its first week of play. We are starting to figure out which players will get minutes and a few players who will benefit from an early season injury.

We look at some of the players who weren’t drafted in most leagues, but are now worth a pickup. The names on this list may surprise you. Two awkward white guys who used to be glued to the Indiana Pacers bench and a player who we all assumed was fantasy irrelevant made the list.

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Danny Granger Out Three Weeks with Calf Strain

Indiana Pacers small forward Danny Granger will miss three week after straining his left calf.

The former All-Star is coming back from knee surgery, so Pacers fans can breathe a sigh of relief that it’s not another knee injury.

Granger’s injury will open up more playing time for Lance Stephenson, who filled in admirably in Granger’s absence last season. New roster additions Chris Copeland and rookie Solomon Hill will also see a bump in minutes.

The Indiana Pacers are one of the favorites in the Eastern Conference to dethrone defending NBA Champions, the Miami Heat.

They have plenty of competition this season. Miami signed key bench players, the Chicago Bulls have former MVP Derrick Rose back this season and the Brooklyn Nets added Kevin Garnett and Paul Pierce.

2013 NBA Player Prop Bets & Picks

The 2013 NBA season tips off next week and we couldn’t be more excited. We love football, but I grew up in Indiana, so I was born with a basketball in my arms.

The preseason NBA player prop bets give you great value for your money, if you can wait 8-9 months for your payoff.

The favorites are no surprise. Lebron James has the best odds of winning the MVP award and the same with Kevin Durant and the scoring title. The is little to no value in picking either Lebron or Durant even though they are expected to have great seasons.

We go through all the NBA player prop bets and pick the ‘smart bet’ and the ‘long shot bet’ for each category.

Will Derrick Rose bounce back and win another MVP award? Will Steve Nash become an assist machine without Kobe Bryant on the court?

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Kevin Love Wins ‘Whitest White NBA Player’ Award

I read this story and I knew it needed mention on the site.

In a preseason survey of all 30 NBA general managers, the NBA asks an odd question…but one they have asked many times previously.

“Which player makes the most of limited natural ability?”

Oh yes, that’s a real question. That sounds like something we would ask an NBA GM on a podcast.

Well, Kevin Love was the overwhelming answer to that question (he also won last preseason). He has actually won this distinction numerous times. Who are some of the players who also received votes in for this year’s ‘most unathletic, productive NBA player’ award? We list some of the names…and yes, you will not be shocked by the players who landed on this list.

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Greg Oden to sign with Miami Heat

Former Ohio State standout and #1 overall NBA Draft pick, Greg Oden decided which NBA team he chose to sign a contact. He’s going to the back-to-back NBA Champion Miami Heat.

Even though Oden has only played 82 NBA games and had three microfracture on his knees, teams were still drooling over him. The San Antonio Spurs, New Orleans Pelicans and Miami Heat were the three front-runners to sign him.

Time will tell how much Oden can contribute to a team, but his two-year minimum contract is a no-risk deal for any NBA team. If he can play a few minutes a game, he can help bolster Miami’s weak front court.

Brandon Roy, Oden’s teammate in Portland, tried to come back last season from similar knee surgeries, but only played a handful of games with Minnesota after signing with them last offseason. His knees couldn’t hold up to the daily grind of the NBA season. He was released by Minnesota and it doesn’t look likely that he will play in the NBA again.

We wish Oden the best and want him to succeed, but the smart money is Oden wears a suit on the sideline for most of the season.

(My MS Paint skills are still on point. Expect many more photos edited in MS Paint in the near future…they make me laugh.)

NBA Draft: Early Entry List & International Players

This year’s NBA Draft is a little light on stars, but it is filled with many rotation players who can contribute right away.

We all know the potential NBA Lottery picks (Nerlens Noel, Alex Len, Otto Porter), but the list of other underclassmen is very long.

Many early entries will just participate in the process and find out their draft stock is not where they want it to be. They will go back to school in hopes of having a breakout season in college.

Not to be outdone, the international prospect pool is filled with potential. Teams could find some real steals this year if they want to draft and stash players overseas.

Here is a list of early entries and international players currently available to be selected in the 2013 NBA Draft. Continue reading →