Maverick Blog

Defensive Stat

2005-02-20T17:43:00.000-05:00

One of the statistics I have been looking at a lot lately has been the on court off court defensive stats at the 82 games site. Many believe figuring out who are good defenders and who are not is almost impossible. I think its difficult, but not impossible. I believe the following on court off court defensive statistic is one of the best barrometers I have found to giving a fairly accurate account as to who can play defense and who can't. What the following stat shows is who gave up more points against the other team when they were on the court as compared to their own teamates when they were off the court. I have calculated the top 100 or so players in the NBA plus anyone who recieved more then two votes in the ALL NBA defensive team voting in any of the last 3 seasons. I think its a complete list of the best players and defenders. The list is for the last 3 years starting with 3 years ago and finishing with their average for the last 3 seasons combined.

1-Tim Duncan-------///-9.0///-5.5///-8.2=-7.6
2-Theo Ratliff--------///-7.6///-6.9///-5.4=-6.6
3-Jeff Foster---------///-2.3///-8.8///-8.3=-6.5
4-Rasheed Wallace---///-6.8///-4.3///-8.0=-6.4
5-Bruce Bowen-------///-6.6///-4.5///-5.4=-5.5
6-Kevin Garnett------///-9.6///-6.5///+0.1=-5.3
7-Dirk Nowitzki-------///-5.7///-1.4///-6.0=-4.4
8-Kelvin Cato---------///-3.3///-4.8///-4.8=-4.3
9-Andre Kirilenko-----///+3.1///-2.5//-12.7=-4.0
10-Ron Artest---------///-1.6///-4.0///-5.6=-3.7
11-Antonio Davis------///-2.8///-2.0///-5.3=-3.4
12-Ben Wallace--------///-3.1///-3.0///-3.9=-3.3
13-Dikembe Mutumbo-///-0.4///-1.2///-8.3=-3.3
14-Shane Battier-------///-1.5///-1.4///-6.0=-3.0
15-Bobby Simmons----///****///-4.2///-1.7=-3.0
16-Brad Miller---------///+0.8///-5.5///-2.9=-2.5
17-Ray Allen-----------///-3.7///+1.0///-4.5=-2.4
18-Kirk Hinrich--------///****///-3.7///-0.9=-2.3
19-Larry Hughes-------///+1.5///-2.9///-5.5=-2.3
20-Reggie Miller-------///+1.2///-6.7///-1.3=-2.3
21-Roberty Horry------///-5.1///-0.8///-0.6=-2.2
22-Jason Kidd----------///+5.0///-6.1///-4.5=-1.9
23-Baron Davis---------///-3.3///-4.6///+2.3=-1.9
24-Bobby Jackson------///-2.4///-1.3///-1.5=-1.7
25-Jermaine Oneal-----///-0.5///-3.7///+1.6=-1.5
26-Tyson Chandler-----///+0.7///-3.8///-0.9=-1.3
27-Michael Finley------///-5.9///-2.2///+4.7=-1.3
28-Kenyon Martin-----///-0.6///-5.2///+2.1=-1.2
29-Eddie Jones---------///-1.3///-0.3///-2.0=-1.2
30-Shaq Oneal---------///+0.8///-3.9///-0.6=-1.2
31-Kobe Bryant--------///-0.6///+0.7///-3.3=-1.1
32-Elton Brand---------///-0.9///+3.9///-4.7=-0.8
33-Doug Christie-------///+1.0///+1.9///-5.2=-0.8
34-Andre Igoudala-----///****///****///-0.8=-0.8
35-Chris Bosh----------///****///+3.4///-4.7=-0.7
36-Josh Howard--------///****///+1.2///-2.3=-0.6
37-Emeka Okafor-------///****///****///-0.6=-0.6
38-Brian Grant----------///+2.6///-0.3///-4.1=-0.6
39-Vince Carter---------///-2.0///+1.8///-1.7=-0.6
40-Nazr Mohammed----///+1.5///-0.7///-2.6=-0.6
41-Manu Ginobili--------///+2.5///+3.4///-7.5=-0.5
42-Rchard Jefferson-----///+0.8///-0.9///-1.0=-0.4
43-Paul Pierce-----------///-0.4///-0.1///-0.8=-0.4
44-Darrell Armstrong---///+2.5///-1.8///-2.0=-0.4
45-Q Richardson--------///-2.5///+0.8///+0.5=-0.4
46-Steve Francis--------///+0.9///-1.9///+0.2=-0.3
47-Eric Snow------------///-1.1///-0.6///+0.7=-0.3
48-Hydayet Turkoglu---///+1.1///-2.5///+2.2=-0.3
49-Jamal MaGloire------///+1.0///+1.3///-2.6=-0.1
50-Raef Lafrentz--------///+3.0///-4.8///+1.6=-0.1
51-Zyd Ilgauskas--------///-4.0///+4.0///-0.1=-0.0
52-Jamal Tinsley--------///+4.6///-5.3///+0.7=-0.0
53-Tony Parker---------///-2.5///+4.1///-1.2=+0.1
54-Latrell Sprewell------///+4.5///-0.8///-3.3=+0.1
55-Tayshawn Prince----///+4.3///+0.9///-4.6=+0.2
56-Keith Van Horn------///+0.2///+0.8///-0.1=+0.3
57-Rueben Patterson----///+1.2///-1.3///+1.2=+0.4
58-Alonzo Morning------///****///+2.9///-2.1=+0.4
59-Mehmet Okur--------///-0.4///-1.7///+3.2=+0.4
60-Grant Hill------------///+1.7///****///-0.8=+0.5
61-Chauncey Billups-----///+3.5///+1.0///-2.7=+0.6
62-Dwight Howard------///****///****///+0.7=+0.7
63-Antawn Jamison-----///+4.8///+0.4///-2.4=+0.9
64-Jason Terry----------///+0.1///+4.1///-1.6=+0.9
65-James Posey----------///+1.2///-0.1///+1.9=+1.0
66-PJ Brown--------------///+5.7///-4.5///+2.7=+1.3
67-Kurt Thomas----------///-0.9///+2.1///+2.9=+1.4
68-Rip Hamilton----------///+3.3///+3.7///-2.7=+1.4
69-Carlos Boozer----------///+6.6///-0.6///-1.9=+1.4
70-Yao Ming--------------///+2.6///-1.6///+3.4=+1.5
71-Troy Murphy----------///+1.4///-0.1///+3.8=+1.7
72-Dewayne Wade--------///****///-1.4///+4.9=+1.8
73-Al Harrington----------///-2.5///+9.2///-1.4=+1.8
74-Lebron James---------///****///+5.2///-1.4=+1.9
75-Wally Z----------------///+3.1///-3.9///+6.4=+1.9
76-Cutino Mobley---------///+1.4///+1.9///+3.5=+2.3
77-Zach Randolph---------///+5.8///+2.0///-2.3=+2.3
78-Sam Cassell------------///+10.0//-1.7///-0.9=+2.5
79-Shawn Marion---------///+5.2///+1.2///+1.5=+2.6
80-Gilbert Arenas---------///+5.8///+4.2///-1.9=+2.7
81-Allen Iverson----------///+5.1///+0.9///+2.5=+2.8
82-Chris Webber----------///+3.6///-0.4///+5.3=+2.8
83-Mike Miller------------///+3.2///+3.9///+1.3=+2.8
84-Joe Johnson------------///+2.3///+1.4///+4.7=+2.8
85-Drew Gooden----------///+0.7///+6.6///+1.0=+2.8
86-Lamar Odom-----------///+4.6///+2.1///+2.2=+3.0
87-Antonio Daniels---------///+2.7///+2.3///+4.4=+3.1
88-Amare Stoudemire-----///+3.5///+2.2///+4.0=+3.2
89-Mike Bibby-------------///+5.7///+5.8///-1.9=+3.2
90-Steve Nash------------///+4.3///+3.1///+2.3=+3.2
91-Marcus Camby---------///+6.3///+1.4///+2.4=+3.4
92-Peja Stojacovic---------///+7.1///+2.5///+0.6=+3.4
93-Stephon Marbury------///+7.8///+1.9///+0.9=+3.5
94-Cliff Robinson----------///+3.1///+2.0///+5.6=+3.6
95-Desmond Mason--------///+5.4///-2.6///+8.1=+3.6
96-Jason Richardson-------///+7.3///-1.1///+5.0=+3.7
97-Carmelo Anthony------///****///+5.9///+1.4=+3.7
98-Andre Miller-----------///+8.2///+0.5///+2.8=+3.8
99-Gary Payton-----------///+5.2///+1.8///+4.7=+3.9
100-Rashard Lewis--------///+6.4///+2.1///+3.2=+3.9
101-Tracy McGrady-------///+6.4///+2.4///+3.4=+4.1
102-Matt Harpring--------///+3.1///+1.4///+8.5=+4.3
103-Corey Maggette-------///+6.2///+1.2///+5.7=+4.4
104-Jeff McCinnis----------///+8.4///+2.2///+4.7=+5.1
105-Michael Redd----------///+3.3///+9.1///+5.6=+6.0
106-Antoine Walker--------///+0.6///+4.6//+13.8=+6.3
107-Pau Gasol--------------///+10.8//+8.2///-0.4=+6.5

I am not saying this statistic is perfect or totally accurate. One common sense flaw is a team that has great starting defenders and a bench of bad defenders would skew any player on the team depending on whether they are a starter or backup. A great example of this is Manu Ginobili with the Spurs. He came off the bench his first two seasons so didn't play that much with Duncan or Bowen and his numbers were a weak +2.5 and +3.4. This year he starts with those two and he gets a -7.5. So who a player plays with can effect this stat. However, most players play with their teamates quite a bit eventually and 3 seasons is ussually going to have every player play with tons of different players and lineups so it will even out to some degree.

The 4 Mav players are interesting. Of course its great to see Dirk ranked in the top 10 of this stat. Eventually the media will have to start to accept the gathering evidence. Some may take issue with Fin ranked 27th. However, if you look closer you will see that Fin has a bad +- this season. Most of his points were gained 3 seasons ago. Remember, this stat is saying who were good for the last 3 seasons combined. I think Fins numbers show the accuracy of this stat more then anything. Josh is in nice shape at 36 and improving. And Jason Terry is a poor but not horrible 64th. A little below average.

Of the top 38 players on the list, I would call only Brad Miller, Ray Allen, Reggie Miller, Michael Finley, and Chris Bosh less then "very good" defenders. To have 33 of the top 38 players be "very good" or better defenders is very impressive IMO. And I would have called Fin very good 3 seasons ago. Reggie Millers numbers are skewed by his season two years ago when he was injured and played very little, so his -6.7 that season is probably very misleading. As for Brad Miller, Ray Allen, and Chris Bosh, maybe they are a little better then I thought.

As for those ranked in the bottom 25, only Gary Payton, Cliff Robinson, and Marcus Camby I would have called even "good" defenders. And Payton and Robinson are getting extremely old. Maybe they are more cooked then we think. So the only player that really surprised me was Camby. And his numbers are skewed by his +6.3 3 seasons ago when he played very little and so that stat and his ranking might be misleading.

Let me simply ask why Dirk is ranked so high in this stat? Where is the flaw in his ranking? I can't find any. He ussually starts with some real lousy defenders, which should hurt his stat. This year he is starting with Damp and Howard and occasionally he has started with Bradley in the past. However, he hasn't had much help starting with him the last 3 seasons. Bradley, Najera, Bell, and Josh Howard mostly came off the bench. And shouldn't the Mav tempo be higher when Dirk is on the court? So the other team should score more because of that shouldn't they?

All I know is when Duncan and Ratliff are ranked 1-2 and Gasol and Walker are dead last, I think its probably a solid defensive rating system. And Dirk is ranked 7th for the last 3 seasons combined.

Mid Season Report

2005-02-02T15:27:00.000-05:00

Time for a mid season evaluation of the Dallas Mavericks. The Mavs are off to a slightly better then expected start. Their defense has improved to 7th at .434%, while their offense has dropped to 12th at .449%. They are rebounding about the same as last season[13th at +0.6]. They have a 29-14 record. This puts them on a 55 win pace. Not bad, but not great considering their strength of schedule[24th and 2nd easiest in the west]. Also as bad as they played last season, they actually had a 30-13 record the last 43 games. Thats better then the Mavs this year and they had a tougher schedule in that stretch.

However, there are 3 reasons this team is better. First, it is built more for the playoffs then last years team. Their scoring differential[+5.6, which translates to a 58 win pace] makes their won loss record this year a bit misleadingly bad. And with all the changes, a slow start was somewhat expected.

If changes are made, they should involve the departure of Jerry Stackhouse, the addition of another big man who can defend, and possibly the addition of Jason Kidd. Otherwise the team should stand pat.

Dirk Nowitzki---Having his best season yet. Deservedly a top 5 canidate for MVP. Playing aswell on defense as he ever has. His FG% is a bit low and his TO's are higher then ever, but otherwise a great statistical year.

Michael Finley---Playing a notch below the standard Fin game, especially lately. Unless his game starts to pick up, his minutes should start to decrease. I still think he is the Mavs 2nd best player, but this view is beginning to waver.

Josh Howard---My second favorite player and the teams 3rd best player. When he puts his focus on defense, he plays like a player deserving votes for the All Defensive team. Great rebounder. Can score. Trading Howard would likely be a huge mistake. He brings things to the Mavs that others can't.

Jason Terry---Terry has been coming on strong lately. His shot has been there all year[.520]. However, the teams passing is still a major concern with Terry's low assists leading the way. In the last 10 games, his assists per minute are down from his season stats. He is not improving in this area like many think. And his defense is still poor.

Erick Dampier---Dampier has played well on defense and has had occasional good all round games, but his overall performance has made the decision to acquire and sign him to a long term deal questionable at best. Yes, the Mavs desperately needed a player of his type. Considering the age, health, attitude, and performance questions his 7-70 dollar deal is disturbing. Not to mention the two number 1's that were traded to get him.

Jerry Stackhouse---Trade him please. His defense is awful. His rebounding is awful. His efficiency is awful. He brings almost nothing the Mavs need.

Marquis Daniels---Incomplete. His ankle injury has made it impossible to see whether signing him to his 40+ million dollar contract was smart or not. Hopefully he will get healthy the second half.

Devin Harris---So far, the term disappointment has to be made. However, he is young and athletic and shows signs of potential. Gain 10 pounds, smooth out the jumper and learn how to pretend to be a real PG and he could be very good still. Lets hope.

Alan Henderson---A pleasant surprise, although his +- of -15.5 says he has not been as good as some may think.

Shawn Bradley---It used to be that Bradley wasn't getting the minutes he deserved. Now his 10 minutes a game seems about right. His play has faded to an 18 foot baseline jumper and an occasional block. When Bradley isn't special at blocking shots any longer his value becomes very limited.

Armstrong---Old
Booth---Atleast he got rid of Danny Fortson.
Mbenga---Not ready
Abdul-Wahad---French, need I say more?
Podkolzine---Big
Coaching---Better then last season, thats for sure.

Draft Redux

2005-01-16T14:20:00.000-05:00

1.(1) Orlando---Dwight Howard- Before the draft I had Okafor slightly ahead of Dwight Howard. However, as of today I slightly lean toward Howard. Either way you can't go wrong. So far this year, Okafor has out performed Howard. But Howard has been surprisingly good on the boards and defensively. Plus he has more size-athletic ability then Okafor. I predict Howard ends up in the top 10 players someday. Okafor about 15th. Call it 1-A and 1-B.

2.(2) Charlotte---Emeka Okafor- Okafor has been everything I expected. Cotton pickin good.

3.(9) Philadelphia---Andre Iguidala- I said I would have taken Iguidala 3rd before the draft. Why should I change my tune. When he smoothes out his shot there are going to be a lot of teams kicking themselves. A fantastic all round talent. Defense, rebounding, passing, athletic and a good attitude.

4.(7) Chicago---Luol Deng- A rock solid 19 year old. He may have less potential then some below him, but you know he will be a 20-7-3 guy who won't cause trouble and will play solid defense. Safe.

5.(30) Cleveland---Anderson Varejao- Absolute steal of the draft. I love this guy. He is big, he moves well. He plays hard and with energy. No softie here. Constant motion. Touch inside. Good hands on offense. Great hands on defense. Has 2.0 steal ability. Rebounds big time. Averaging 13.8 rebounds per 35 minutes his last 10 games. An above average +- of 2.7 and an above average defensive on court off court number of -2.5 this season. Already in the rotation of the second best team in the East. Seems like a good guy. The only question to me is should he be higher on this list. Every scout that watched this guy and didn't put him in the top 15 players from last years draft should be fired. Size, hands, athletic ability, attitude, production. What did they think the problem was?

6.(17) Atlanta---Josh Smith- The best athlete in the draft. Spectacular shot blocker. Defensive potential is off the charts. If he ever learns how to shoot and keeps his head on straight, oh my. The thing is, I think he might never learn how to shoot and his head is a concern. Could be a much better Dominique or just a better Gerald Wallace. All I know is I would want him on my team to find out.

7.(15) Boston---Al Jefferson- Jefferson is a Moses Malone clone. Well, a poor mans Moses Malone.

8.(4) Clippers---Shaun Livingston- I am sure others will have this guy higher, but what can I say except I am not that high on him. He is long and can pass. Nice skills. But he isn't a PG. And he is not a great athlete. And before his injury, he was getting raves from some, but his stats were dreadful. But I do see enough skill potential to put him here.

9.(3) Chicago---Ben Gordon- I wasn't that high on Gordon before the draft and he got off to an awful start. But he has been shooting well lately and helping the Bulls win a few games. So I guess he belongs somewhere on this list. But he is not a PG and 6-2 SG's are not that valuable. His season Tendex is still a weak 8.8 inspite of being a near 22 year old that has gotten good minutes. Lets just say I predict he bounces around the league a lot before his career is over. He will put up some points, but where is the passing, rebounding and steals?

10.Tie--(5) Dallas---Devin Harris (28) San Antonio---Beno Udrih- A couple of PG's on winning teams that are getting limited minutes. Udrih has been a real find. The Spurs are good at plucking gems in the late first or second round[Parker-Ginobili-Scola]. Beano plays within himself, can pass, shoot, and has basketball savvy that oozes through his pores like sweat through KG's scalp. Harris has not played as well as Udrih so far this season, however he has tons of athletic ability and some nice skills and defensive potential. He isn't a pure PG YET, but I see a lot of Chauncey Billups in him. How long did it take for Billups to bloom, 5 years? Give this guy some time and I think you will see he was a top 10 type player.

The Big Game

2005-01-14T23:10:00.000-05:00

In past years there were always lots of big games to look forward to. Shaq-Kobe and the Lakers. Malone's punkdom and the Jazz. KG's punkdom and the Twolves. And of course the Spurs. With Shaq gone, Malone gone, and the T-Pups playing like dogs, all there really is to get excited about is the 4 Spurs games. And three of the four are already gone. Kind of sad.

So far the Spurs have dominated the Mavs in the 3 games this year. Tonights game was really no different then the other two. The Mavs simply can't score against the Spurs defense. Yes, the Mavs were without 3 of their rotation players[Dampier-Howard-Daniels], however, they are mainly known for their defense. The Mavs could only muster 95 points, putting their season average against the Spurs at 88.0. You don't win many games scoring at that pace. Especially if you are the Mavs. Last year they averaged 97.8 and were able to pull off 3 wins. The problem is that they simply cannot create easy hoops against the Spurs. None. Not sure if I saw even one driving layup, pass for a layup, or fast break for a layup all night. None. If there is some good news, its that the scoring trend is up[80-89-95]. Maybe that is something to have hope about.

The game started with the atmosphere of a bad CBA game with the early 7:00 start. I think there was only 800 people in the arena at tip off. Kind of ruined the hoopla a bit. Early starts stink. Then the Duncan baseline bank shots. Chaching, chaching, chaching. Then the Spurs stifling defense. Then a last ditch run by the Mavs that came up about two feet long on a Dirk 80 footer at the buzzer. Overall an ugly night for the Mavs.

How will we create easy shots when the Spurs start playing playoff defense? Maybe somebody can beat them before we have to play them in the playoffs. The Spurs are the team to beat and seem to matchup well with the Mavericks. The Mavs have a shot against every other team.

Ball Theory

2005-01-07T13:48:00.000-05:00

I was watching TV the other day and they had a documentary on physics and it caused me to have a basketball epiphany. Either that or a really stupid idea. Anyway, if you don't like physics, skip the next paragraph or two, cause I am gonna discuss some science junk.

The documentary was about String Theory. String Theory is an attempt by scientists to come up with basically a theory on EVERYTHING with a simple mathematical formula that explains how the physical world works. Something like E=MC2. That is the extremely simple formula Einstein figured out that explained General Relativity or the laws of gravity. Einstein's final goal was to come up with a unifying theory of the 2 major forces of the universe[General relativity and quantum mechanics]. He hoped to come up with a master equation that explained everything. The problem is that the big things of the universe[general relativity-stars] don't seem to have the same laws as the tiniest of things[quantum mechanics-sub atomic particles]. In the world smaller then an atom, things are a little crazy and simple laws of science break down. The two laws conflict. So scientists have been trying for 100 years to come up with a theory that fixes those problems in a simple mathematical formula.

This is where String Theory was born. The theory involves a possible new discovery of the smallest building block of matter. Little vibrating strings of energy that make every matter what that matter is depending on how the strings vibrate. The tiny strings inside a slab of granite rock vibrate differently then the tiny strings inside a plastic spoon. Many scientists believe these vibrating strings of energy do exist and the understanding of these strings will help them come up with that simple mathematical formula that explains and unifies everything. One of the problems with string theory is that it takes 11 dimensions to work. Not just the 4 known dimensions[height-width-length-time]. Interestingly, this doesn't seem to bother scientists too much. They think these weird dimensions exist. Soon, scientists may come up with a simple formula that explains ALL the laws of the universe.

Which gets to my "Ball Theory". Ball Theory is my attempt to explain the laws of what makes a good basketball player and to come up with a simple mathematical formula to unify all of those laws. Just as in String Theory, Ball Theory takes 11 dimensions instead of just the 4 known dimensions [scoring-defense-passing-rebounding]. What are the other dimensions that should be taken into account? Certainly attitude is something that should. Or do you just look at Ron Artest or Antoine Walkers stats and say that stats are all that matters?

Why is a unifying theory needed? Because most rating systems just look at stats. Shouldn't teams use a rating system that calculates the "real value" of a player? Take into account ALL the things that make a player help a team win. Below is a list of the dimensions I think are important and the weighted scoring values in each area. Next is the top 100 players in the NBA according to my Ball Theory with how I calculated their scores. After the top 100, I will make a few more comments.

pts 1-20 efg% 1-5 ft% 1-5 TO 1-5=scoring---4-35
Defense------1-12
Passing------1-10
Rebounding---1-10
Position-----0-5 Big men win, PG's a must, SG-SF are dime a dozen
Center=5
PF-C=3
PF=2
PG=2
SF-PF=1
PG-SG=1
SF=0
SG=0
Attitude------0-6 Trouble makers, drugs, T's, suspensions, loners
Quick Motion--0-2 Energy guys, Don't need ball, NOT ball pounders
Versatility---0-2 Play multiple positions on defense
Experience----0-4 Rooks don't win. Experience brings a lot, ref calls
0-3 years=0
4-8 years=1
9+ years=2
play 20+ playoff games=1
win championship=1
Clutch--------0-2 Playoff performers, gutsy, makes late shots
Fundamentals--0-2 Do little things, sets picks, takes charges, smart

Player----------------p-fg-ft-to=sc--de--pa--re-po-at-qm-ve-ex-cl-fu=tot

1-Tim Duncan--------15-4-3-4=26--12--6--10--3--6--1--2--3--2--2--73
2-Kevin Garnett-----16-4-4-4=28--11--10--10--2--5--2--2--1--0--2-73
3-Shaq----------------14-5-1-4=24--11--6--9--5--5--1--0--4--2--2---69
4-Kobe Bryant--------20-2-4-1=27--10--10--9--1--2--1--2--3--2--1--68
5-Dirk Nowitzki------19-3-5-4=31--6--5--8--3--6--2--2--2--1--1----67
6-Lebron James------17-4-3-3=27--6--10--8--0--6--2--2--0--1--1---63
7-Dewayne Wade------16-4-3-2=25--7--9--7--1--6--1--2--0--1--1----60
8-Jermaine Oneal-----15-2-3-3=23--9--3--8--3--6--1--2--2--0--1----58
9-Tracy McGrady------17-2-3-5=27--4--9--8--0--2--2--2--1--2--0----57
10-Ben Wallace--------3-2-1-4=10--12--3--10--5--6--2--2--3--1--2---56
11-Chris Webber-------14-2-3-4=23--5--9--7--2--4--1--0--3--1--1----56
12-Ray Allen-----------17-4-5-4=30--5--7--2--0--5--2--0--3--1--1----56
13-Allen Iverson-------20-2-3-1=26--8--7--3--1--2--1--2--3--2--1----56
14-Jason Kidd----------6-2-3-3=14--8--10--9--2--2--2--2-3--1--2-----55
15-Shawn Marion------12-3-3-5=23--7--2--10--1--5--2--2--2--0--1---55
16-Amare Stoudemire-19-5-3-4=30--5--3--5--5--4--1--1--0--0--0----54
17-Andre Kirilenko-----8-4-3-4=19--11--4--6--1--4--2--2--2--0--2----53
18-Steve Nash----------8-5-5-4=22--2--10--2--2--6--2--1--3--1--2----53
19-Elton Brand---------11-4-3-3=21--8--6--5--2--6--2--1--1--0--1----53
20-Grant Hill-----------12-4-4-3=23--4--8--3--0--6--2--2--3--0--2----53
21-Paul Pierce----------14-2-4-3=23--7--7--5--0--4--1--1--2--1--1----52
22-Brad Miller----------7-4-4-5=20--5--8--5--5--4--1--0--2--0--1-----51
23-Manu Ginobili-------7-4-3-3=17--8--7--6--0--6--2--0--2--1--2-----51
24-Rchard Jefferson---15-2-4-1=22--7--6--6--0--5--1--1--2--0--1----51
25-Yao Ming-----------11-4-4-3=21--8--3--4--5--5--2--0--0--0--1----49
26-Pau Gasol-----------12-4-3-3=22--3--6--7--3--5--1--1--0--0--1----49
27-Baron Davis---------12-3-3-4=22--7--6--2--2--4--1--1--2--1--1----49
28-Steve Francis-------14-2-4-2=22--6--4--8--1--2--1--2--2--1--0----49
29-Carlos Boozer-------12-4-3-3=22--5--5--8--2--4--2--0--0--0--1----49
30-Michael Finley------11-3-4-4=22--5--4--3--0--6--2--2--3--1--1----49
31-Larry Hughes-------13-2-3-4=22--7--7--6--0--4--1--1--1--0--0----49
32-Rashard Lewis------14-4-3-5=26--5--4--2--1--4--2--2--1--1--0----48 33-Stephon Marbury---15-3-3-2=23--3--9--2--2--3--0--1--3--1--1----48 34-Rip Hamilton--------13-2-4-3=22--5--6--2--0--5--2--0--3--2--1----48
35-Ron Artest----------12-3-4-3=22--11--5--3--0--1--1--2--2--0--1---48
36-Chauncey Billups----9-1-5-4=19--7--3--3--2--4--2--1--3--2--1-----47
37-Emeka Okafor-------9-2-2-4=17--6--2--9--3--6--0--2--0--1--1-----47
38-Tayshawn Prince----5-3-3-4=15--7--5--5--0--5--2--1--3--2--2-----47
39-Lamar Odom--------7-4-2-3=16--5--7--8--2--3--1--2--1--0--1-----46
40-Michael Redd--------15-3-4-4=26--3--3--3--0--6--2--0--1--1--1----46
41-Kenyon Martin------8-3-2-3=16--10--5--4--2--2--2--2--2--0--1----46 42-Tony Parker--------10-4-2-3=19--5--4--3--2--5--2--1--2--2--1-----46 43-Doug Christie--------2-2-4-4=12--8--9--3--0--5--2--1--3--1--2-----46
44-PJ Brown------------3-2-4-4=14--7--5--5--2--5--1--2--3--0--2-----46
45-Zach Randolph------13-2-4-3=22--4--3--9--2--3--0--0--1--0--1----45
46-Mike Bibby----------9-3-3-4=19--4--3--5--2--5--2--0--2--2--1-----45
47-Antawn Jamison-----13-3-4-4=24--3--3--5--1--5--2--1--1--0--0----45
48-Sam Cassell----------7-3-5-4=19--4--4--2--2--5--1--1--4--2--1-----45
49-Marcus Camby-------2-3-3-4=12--8--3--7--3--4--2--2--3--0--1-----45
50-Keith Van Horn------10-4-5-4=23--3--3--4--1--5--2--1--2--1--0----45
51-Peja Stojacovic-----14-4-5-5=28--2--3--2--0--4--2--0--2--0--1----44
52-Mike Miller----------9-4-2-4=19--4--7--3--0--5--2--1--1--1--1-----44
53-Al Harrington--------10-3-2-3=18--5--6--6--0--5--1--0--1--0--1----43
54-Kirk Hinrich---------8-1-3-4=16--6--6--3--2--6--2--1--0--0--1-----43
55-Bobby Jackson-------7-3-3-4=17--7--1--4--1--5--2--2--2--1--1-----43
56-Gary Payton---------6-3-2-4=15--6--6--2--2--3--1--2--3--1--2-----43
57-Zyd Ilgauskas--------9-2-4-3=18--6--3--3--5--5--0--0--1--0--1-----42
58-Corey Maggette-----14-2-4-2=22--3--5--5--0--4--1--1--1--0--0----42
59-Jamal Tinsley--------8-2-2-3=15--7--8--3--2--3--1--0--2--0--1-----42
60-Rasheed Wallace----7-2-2-4=15--9--3--3--2--1--2--2--3--1--1-----42
61-Cutino Mobley-------9-3-3-4=19--6--2--3--0--6--2--0--2--1--1-----42 62-Chris Bosh--------10-3-3-3=19--5--3--3--3--5--2--1--0--0--1-------42
63-Tyson Chandler------3-4-2-3=12--7--2--9--3--5--1--2--0--0--1-----42
64-Kurt Thomas---------4-3-3-4=14--5--3--7--3--4--1--1--3--0--1-----42
65-Shane Battier--------5-3-3-5=16--6--2--5--0--6--2--1--1--1--2-----42 66-Jeff Foster-----------3-4-2-3=12--6--1--7--5--5--2--0--2--0--2-----42
67-Jason Richardson---13-2-2-3=20--3--7--4--0--5--1--0--1--0--0----41
68-Andre Miller---------8-3-4-4=19--2--7--4--2--4--0--1--1--0--1-----41
69-Josh Howard---------5-2-3-4=14--7--2--8--0--5--2--2--0--0--1-----41
70-Jamal MaGloire------7-3-2-2=14--7--2--5--5--5--0--0--2--0--1-----41
71-Dwight Howard------3-4-2-3=12--5--3--8--3--6--1--2--0--0--1-----41
72-Desmond Mason-----10-3-3-3=19--4--2--4--0--6--2--1--1--1--1----41
73-Matt Harpring-------7-4-3-3=17--4--3--6--0--5--1--0--2--1--2-----41
74-Troy Murphy--------9-2-3-3=17--4--2--9--2--5--0--0--0--1--1-----41
75-Reggie Miller--------8-3-5-4=20--3--4--1--0--5--2--0--3--2--1-----41 76-James Posey---------6-3-4-4=17--6--2--5--0--5--1--2--1--1--1-----41
77-Joe Johnson----------7-2-3-4=16--4--6-4--0--5--2--1--1--0--1------40
78-Gilbert Arenas-------15-3-3-2=23--4--3--3--1--3--0--1--1--1--0----40
79-Alonzo Morning------4-2-2-1=9--8--1--6--5--5--0--0--3--1--2------40
80-Bobby Simmons------8-4-4-3=19--5--4--5--0--5--1--0--0--0--1-----40
81-Kelvin Cato-----------2-4-3-3=12--8--2--6--5--3--1--0--2--0--1-----40
82-Hydayet Turkoglu----8-2-3-3=16--5--5--2--0--5--2--1--1--1--2-----40
83-Eddie Jones----------5-1-3-5=14--5--4--4--0--5--2--1--3--1--1-----40
84-Q Richardson---------8-1-3-5=17--5--2--8--0--5--1--1--0--0--1-----40
85-Mehmet Okur--------7-3-4-3=17--2--4--4--5--5--1--0--1--1--0-----40
86-Cliff Robinson--------4-1-2-3=10--7--5--1--3--5--2--2--3--1--1-----40 87-Vince Carter---------10-2-3-4=19--5--6--3--0--1--1--1--2--1--0----39
88-Drew Gooden---------7-4-4-4=19--4--2--7--2--4--1--0--0--0--0-----39
89-Raef Lafrentz--------4-4-3-5=16--4--2--3--5--4--2--1--2--0--0-----39
90-Jeff McCinnis--------8-3-3-4=18--4--4--2--2--4--2--1--1--1--0-----39
91-Nazr Mohammed----7-4-3-3=17--4--1--7--5--4--0--0--1--0--0-----39
92-Antoine Walker------13-2-1-1=17--3--7--4--2--1--0--1--2--1--1----39
93-Andre Igoudala-------3-3-3-3=12--6--5--7--0--5--1--2--0--0--1-----39
94-Wally Z---------------9-5-5-4=23--3--2--2--0--3--2--0--2--1--1-----39
95-Bruce Bowen--------2-2-1-5--10--10--3--1--0--5--2--2--3--1--2----39
96-Carmelo Anthony----14-1-3-2=20--4--5--4--0--3--0--0--0--1--1----38 97-Jason Terry------8-4-3-3=17--4--3--3--1--6--1--1--1--0--0--------38
98-Latrell Sprewell------6-2-4-4=16--7--3--2--0--1--2--1--3--2--1-----38
99-Antonio Daniels------7-2-3-5=17--4--5--1--2--4--2--1--1--0--1-----38 100-Theo Ratliff----------1-2-2-2=7--10--2--3--5--5--1--2--2--0--1----38

A few more explanations of how I graded the players. First, they were graded in rebounding and passing based on their positions expectations. So Brad Miller gets an 8 in passing and Steve Francis only a 4 even though Francis averages more assists then Brad Miller, because for a center, Miller is an excellent passer and for a PG Francis isn't very good. Same reason Quentin Richardson gets an 8 in rebounding while Amare Stoudemire only gets a 5. Secondly, I tried to go mostly with this years stats. But if there was large drops I looked at last years stats. I also gave injured guys like Kidd some benefit of the doubt, but not guys that have been injured for a long time like Webber and Carter. If Kidd doesn't improve soon he may drop further. And finally, for those players that had limited minutes such as Memphis Grizzlie players, I tried to get about 35 minute stats for all non centers and 30 minute stats for all centers that didn't reach those minutes. I did not punish players who played more minutes however.

The first time I sat down to compose the Ball Theory formula, I had points up to only a possible 15 and scoring at a possible 30 total. I noticed that the scorers were just too low rated and the defenders were too high. So I picked up points to a possible total of 20. Still felt the defenders were too high. So I then cut defense from a possible total of 20 to just 12. I then felt very comfortable with the results and still felt the logic of the values held up.

Here are the players I expect people might feel are too low rated....

Stoudemire
Peja
McGrady
RWallace
Carter Marbury
Randolph
Anthony
Arenas
Sprewell
Dampier
Rahim
A Walker

I wasn't surprised with where any of the bottom 8 guys ended up. I think they are all over rated. I think a huge part of the Carter, McGrady and R. Wallace ratings are simply the fact they are not the players they used to be. And the attitude problem with them is obvious. Peja and Stoudemire were the biggest surprises to me. Yet when I looked deeper at them as players, I started to see many of their flaws. Stoudemire is now a GREAT offensive player. He ranks second best in scoring in the ratings. Spectacular. But the rest of his game is clearly lacking if you look closer. His defense is still very raw. Mediocre passer. And surprisingly bad rebounder. If he just rebounded like KG he would jump to the 7th best player behind only 6 superstars. In other words, I think his rating is totally accurate. And Peja? Well, other then shoot, what is he actually any good at? His teammates don't seem very fond of him. I didn't like some of his interviews. His defense is awful. As is his rebounding and passing. I love 3 point shooters who don't need the ball. However, I think we have been all fooled at how good he is. No wonder the Kings have been discussing trades.

I imagine many would not be too pleased with Carmelo Anthony ranking only 94th. But hey, he ranks where he ranks. He is simply over rated. If his 8 loss Syracuse team had not found a way to win it all, I think people would see all his warts. Here is all I know. I don't want him on my team. If you like him you can have him. But I certainly don't think his ranking proves a weakness in my theory. I think the theory might prove the weakness in Carmelo.

Here are the players people might find are over rated in my rankings....

Prince
Battier
Nowitzki
Ginobili
Christi
PJ Brown
Bobby Jackson
Mike Miller

Since I have always liked these players and found them to be under rated in the past, I am happy they scored well. Maybe my bias affected the way I graded players, but I can't see where. I would love to know where my evaluations were faulty.

I am not saying this ranking system is the perfect way to rank players. I am sure I might continue to tweak it in the future adding or taking away factors and changing the weighted values. What I am saying is that every NBA team should have a formula like this. If they just rank their players based on stats and add the intangibles willy nilly when discussing players, they are sure to make major mistakes when making trades or signing or drafting players. It should be done mathematically with an updated ranking at all times so they won't ever get carried away during negotiations and forgetting some of the intangibles or ignoring them all together. Carmelo and Peja are purty and all, but its good to know exactly how over rated they are in the over all scheme of things. And to know it precisely to a specific number.

You Might be Addicted to ESPN If

2005-01-06T13:24:00.000-05:00

You might be addicted to ESPN if..... you have nightmares of Dick Vitale PTPing.

You might be addicted to ESPN if..... your wedding theme song was Da-Na-Na.....Da-Na-Na.

You might be addicted to ESPN if..... you style your hair like Mel Kiper Jr.

You might be addicted to ESPN if..... you long for the days of Australian Rules Football.

You might be addicted to ESPN if..... you have had fantasies of Dan Patrick, Linda Cohn and a pool table.

You might be addicted to ESPN if..... everytime you see a deck of cards you want to shake the Moneymaker.

You might be addicted to ESPN if..... you named your first born Biker Sherlock and it was a GIRL!

You might be addicted to ESPN if..... you hadn't watched ESPN in 24 hours and you are starting to get the shakes.

You might be addicted to ESPN if..... you have used the term "hole shot" today.

You might be addicted to ESPN if..... the two G's in your butt cheek "I Love Gayle Gardner" tatoo are beggining to sag.

You might be addicted to ESPN if..... you break out in cold sweats when you miss Cold Pizza.

You might be addicted to ESPN if..... the number 3 on your television remote has totally worn off.

You might be addicted to ESPN if..... you have already written your acceptance speech just in case your ever win a prestigious ESPY award.

You might be addicted to ESPN if..... you roam the streets late at night desperate to find anyone who taped the last ephisode of Bassmasters.

You might be addicted to ESPN if..... you already know the Swami is going to pick San Francisco and Bufflao.

You might be addicted to ESPN if..... your booya gets enfuego.

You might be addicted to ESPN if..... you have ever done a "you might be addicted to ESPN if.... list"

That's Dirk With a D

2005-01-04T01:36:00.000-05:00

Yes, there really is a D in Dirk. In the past, Dirk Nowitzki had the nickname of Irk, because he had no D. That reputation was do to his first two seasons in the NBA when he was a 20 year old Euro puppy. However, Dirk Nowitzki is no longer a horrible defender. Not an awful defender either. Not bad. Not poor. Not even average. Dirk Nowitzki is a good defender and has been for the past 3 seasons. He should be called a good defender. If not, then use the term VERY GOOD DEFENDER. The negative comments about his defense should stop.

Why? Lets begin with a defensive rating system called the Tendex defensive rating system http://www.dougstats.com/04-05DefensiveTendex.html Dirk Nowitzki ranks 4th in the ENTIRE NBA in this statistical defensive rating system. This is the top 6 as of Janurary 2nd 2005.....

1) duncan,tim San 15.37
2) wallace,ben Det 12.70
3) mourning,alonzo Tor 11.29
4) nowitzki,dirk Dal 10.86
5) garnett,kevin Min 10.82
6) bryant,kobe LAL 10.76

That is one beautiful Dirk sandwich. Dirk is trailing 2 former two time defensive players of the year[Mourning and Wallace] and consistent first team All NBA defender Tim Duncan and is just ahead of two consistent first team ALL NBA defenders[Garnett and Kobe]. Nice company.

Not sold? How bout that he finished 9th for the entire 2002-2003 season in defensive Tendex rating. Here is the top 17 that year. See any defensive dogs here?

1) wallace,ben Det 14.48
2) duncan,tim San 11.32
3) garnett,kevin Min 10.34
4) o'neal,jermaine Ind 9.62
5) brand,elton LAC 9.53
6) marion,shawn Pho 9.37
7) magloire,jamaal NOr 9.35
8) robinson,david San 9.33
9) nowitzki,dirk Dal 9.21
10) martin,kenyon NJN 9.15
11) artest,ron Ind 9.12
12) iverson,allen Phi 8.84
13) malone,karl Uta 8.78
14) ming,yao Hou 8.38
15) o'neal,shaquille LAL 8.18
16) kirilenko,andrei Uta 8.10
17) ratliff,theo Atl 8.08

Are there any players on these lists that people feel the need to make fun of on defense? In the last 3 seasons including this season, only 5 players have been in the top 10 more then once in these defensive rankings.....

Tim Duncan
Kevin Garnett
Ben Wallace
Elton Brand
Dirk Nowitzki

Unsure about the accuracy of the Tendex defensive ratings? OK, lets talk about on court---off court defensive stats from the 82games site http://82games.com/04DAL10D.HTM These are fairly straight forward stats. When a player is on the court, how many points does the other team score and how many do they score when he is off the court sitting on the bench. A dead even number for both stats would indicate an average defender. So how has Dirk done in this stat?

2002-2003 on court----94.3 off court----100.1 -5.8
2003-2004 on court----108.6 off court----110.0 -1.4
2004-2005 on court----101.3 off court----104.8 -3.5

Minus is good. In other words, the Mavs play clearly better on defense when Dirk Nowitzki plays. Here are a few other players over the last few seasons and their on court off court defensive stats........

Four guys I thought might have good defensive on court-off court numbers at the forward position starting in 2002-2003.

Duncan
-8.0
-5.5
-4.7

Garnett
-9.6
-6.5
-2.3

J. Oneal
-0.5
-3.7
-4.3

Artest
-1.7
-4.0
-4.2

Clearly minus is good. Now 4 guys I thought might have bad numbers on defense....

Gasol
+10.8
+8.2
+3.3

Van Horn
+0.2
+4.0
+1.0

Stojakovic
+6.9
+2.5
+4.4

Randolph
+5.8
+2.1
-0.1

Looks like my guesses as to who stunk on defense was pretty good. Now which group do these numbers by Dirk Nowitzki belong to, the first group or the second group???

Nowitzki
-5.8
-1.4
-3.5

Still not impressed? How bout some observational common sense. Dirk Nowitzki is athletic. He has excellent feet. He is tall, fairly long, and solidly built with broad shoulders. He is also a smart player. The tools are there for defense. And there is no doubt he knows how to turn up his game when he needs to. Just check out his career stats in the playoffs vs. regular season if you don't believe me. He is one of the few players that plays much better in the playoffs then the regular season.

Need more proof statistically? How bout this. In the plus minus overall scoring stats that show how teams do when a player is on the court vs. off in overall scoring differential, Dirk Nowitzki is number 2 in the entire NBA this season. Numero dos http://82games.com/rolandratings0405.htm I believe these are his rankings the last 3 seasons....

2002-2003-----2nd
2003-2004-----19th
2004-2005-----2nd

Many people believe that plus minus stats can be very misleading. And there are often aberrations that can make this stat look bad. However, Duncan and Garnett have been in the top 20 the last 3 seasons along with Dirk. Nobody else has made it all 3 years. Dirk sure seems to keep good defensive company for being such a bad defender. Now ask yourself, if Dirk is so consistently fantastic in a stat such as this, is he doing it while playing horrible defense? Three straight years? BTW, I think Dirk ranked 2nd in 2000-2001 in this stat. It would be pretty amazing if he ranked in the top 2 in 4 of the last 5 seasons. Need to get my hands on the 2001-2002 plus minus stats.

Still not convinced? How bout some meat and potato defensive stats for the simple minded. They would of course be blocks and steals. From 2001-2004, only 4 players in the NBA had 75+ blocks and 75+ steals in all four of those seasons. They were Ben Wallace, Shawn Marion, Kevin Garnett, and...... Dirk Nowitzki. Only 6 other players even did it 3 of the 4 seasons. Dirk did it all 4 years and will make it 5 straight years around game 60 this year. Five straight years of 75+ steals and blocks. Still think he is a joke on defense?

First impressions are hard to break and reputations can last a lifetime. However, isn't it time to open your mind to atleast the possibility that Dirk Nowitzki is a good defender? That he is no longer a 20 year old softie Euro shooter, but a 26 year old athletic, ruggedly built strapper that knows what he is doing on the defensive side of the ball?

The next time you hear an announcer say that Dirk is a bad defender, remember what you read here.

Basketball Bug Rant

2005-01-03T05:36:00.000-05:00

I'm so tired of the misery. It's all too much. Ask me why I'm down. Because yesterday I saw something I haven't seen in my life in a long, long, long time. The Mavericks played like a girl. And not like slam dunking Michelle Snow either.

Don't bother me with the offense. The word is DEFENSE! I want to tell you what goes on when you get back on defense..... YOU WIN! Tell me why you can't do that. We can work it out though, but we have to come together as a team. Every little thing counts.

Oh well, I will be back watching in the end, because they are getting better. I will wait because it won't be long.`There is a place in the playoffs for the Mavs. Let it be the championship. I just hope it's not when I'm 64.

Do you want to know a secret? This was a magical mystery tour. That is because there are 34 different Beatle songs in my Mav rant.

Beatle songs

I'm so tired
misery
it's all too much
ask me why
I'm down
something
yesterday
in my life
long, long, long
girl
Michelle
don't bother me
the word
I want to tell you
what goes on
get back
help
tell me why
you can't do that
we can work it out
come together
every little thing counts
I will be back
in the end
because
getting better
I will
wait
won't be long
there's a place
let it be
when I'm 64
do you want to know a secret
magical mystery tour

Life is like a .com

2005-01-03T01:08:00.000-05:00

Hello. My name is Dirk Nowitzki. People call me Dirk Nowitzki. You want to buy a .com? You could make just about a billion dollars with a .com. My Mark always said life was like a .com, you never know what your gonna get.........My underwear is tight....... Ya know Mark always said there's an awful lot you can tell about a person by their underwear. Whether they have gone. When they have gone. I've worn lots of underwear. I bet if I think about it real hard I can remember my first pair of underwear........[Dirk remembering]...............Mark said they would take me anywhere.......... He said they were my Magic Diapers.........I was born in Wurzburg Germany, in the county of Wurzburg, June 19, 1978. I was named after the great film actor Dirk Jules Gaspard Ulric Niven van den Bogaerde. They just called him Dirk Bogarde. Mark always said Dirk Bogarde was a better actor then Humphry Bogart. He just never got any good roles, thats all.

When I was 5, I went to the play ground where they were hitting balls with these sticks with strings over this fish net. They let me hold one of them sticks and I tried to hit one of them balls and I fell on my buttocks. But somehow that ball hit my stick anyway and flew over that net and it seemed to impress everybody. Especially this red headed boy named Boris. About a year later that boy was flopping around on the grass just like me and they gave him a big shiny plate for it.

When I was 7, I got to go to Berlin to meet the man I was named after, Dirk Bogarde. He was with this other fella named Ronnie. He was an actor too, just like Dirk Bogarde. He mainly liked to act with monkeys though. They were talkin about how they hated this wall. They were using a bunch of big fancy words like dismantle and pullvise or something like that. I asked Ronnie why he wanted to tear down that wall so bad. He put a big smile on his face and patted me on the head. About a year later they tore down that wall. I wonder what that wall did that made everybody hate it so much.

When I was 12, I went back to the play ground and saw some boys throwin this big orange ball through some more fishing net. They called it basketball. They asked me to play.....So I did. For some reason, basketball came very natural to me. So I started playing it all the time. I played basketball even when I didn't have anyone to play with. I played basketball so much, I even played it in my sleep. I got so good that they sent me to America to play in something called an all star game. I scored over 30 points in 10 minutes. Everybody was impressed. Even this big fat man they called the Round Mound of Rebound liked what I did.

Then I got drafted by the German army and I marched. Day, night, rain, shine. We marched. All we did is march. After that, I got drafted by the American army. Or atleast I thought I got drafted by the American army. Instead, they just wanted me to play with that big orange ball some more..... So I did.

You know, its funny what a young man recollects. Cause I don't remember being born. I don't recall what I got for my first Christmas and I don't know where I went on my first picnic. But I do remember the first time I heard the sweetest voice......in the world........"SIT YOUR SKINNY BUTT BACK ON THAT BENCH SHAWN BRADLEY"!!!! I had never heard something so beautiful in all my life. He then came over to me and asked if I could throw that ball through that net.... So I did. A big smile came over his face and he said his name was Nellie. I told him my name was Dirk. Dirk Nowitzki. From that day on, we was always together. Nellie and me was like peas and carrotts. He taught me how to rebound. I taught him some German words. He taught me to whine. I showed him how to row boats.

Mark always told me that miracles happen every day. Some people don't think so, but they do. When I was playing that game with the ball a big bully named Shaq came up to me and said that I was nothing and he was going to hurt me. So Nellie told me to run. He just kept yelling.....run Dirk run....run Dirk run......So I did. Now you wouldn't believe it if I told you, but I ran like the wind blows and sure enough if my diaper pin didn't pop and my diapers didn't fall off my buttocks and slide down my legs. So I put on some boxer shorts. Mark always said you can tell alot by the underwear people wear.

One day when I was getting tired from playing basketball and all, I decided to go sit on that bench that Shawn was always sittin on. I didn't know who I might meet over there. Then this tall fella said I could sit down if I wanted to...... So I did. He asked me if I had ever been to a cornfield. I said I had been to the play ground field, but not a corn field. He said he wanted to buy a big corn field and plant corn. He said his name was Raef and that people called him Raef. I said my name was Dirk Nowitzki and people call me Dirk Nowitzki. Raef said he was born in Hampton Iowa and that he knew everything there was to know about the corn buisness. He said he was going to go into the corn buisness when he was done playing with the ball. Raef says that all you have to do is stick the seed in the ground and watch the corn grow. Raef says that corn is the fruit of the earth. You can barbeque it, boil it, broil it, bake it, steam it. There is corn bread, corn flakes, corn on the cob, candy corn, corn syrup.........Raef asked me if he built his corn farm, would I come and join him in his corn buisness. I said, if you build it, I will come.

One day Nellie asked us what the sole purpose in the game was. I said it was to put that ball in that net. He said I must be a stinking genius and that it was the most outstanding answer he had ever heard. And that I must have a stinkin IQ of 160. Now for some reason I fit in this game like one of those round pegs. Its not really hard. You just bounce and catch and throw that ball. And being real tall helps.

Then one day I met Captain Fin. Captain Fin sure knew his stuff. I felt lucky he was my captain. He came from a long line of basketball players. Then one day Captain Fin hit the floor like he was shot or something. It was his legs. He couldn't walk or run. So Captain Fin couldn't play anymore. It made Captain Fin real upset. He said that we all have a destiny. Nothing just happens, its all part of a plan. He said he should be losing out there on the court with his men, but that now he is nothing but a stinkin cripple. A legless freak. He asked if I knew what it was like to not be able to use your legs. He said had a destiny. He was supposed to lose on the court. This wasn't supposed to happen. Not him. He was Captain Fin. I told him he still was Captain Fin. But all Captain Fin kept yelling was that we are all a bunch of losers and everything was hopeless. Captain Fin had lost his faith. And Captain Fin was right. We began losing. And losing and losing and losing. But then, after one really big loss, Captain Fin regained his faith and we also started winning again.

Then one day we ended up playin that mean Shaq man again. He hit his buttocks against Raefs buttocks real hard and Raefs buttocks was not big enough and Raef hit the floor like he was shot or something and Raef never played again for us. Thats all I have to say about that.

Then I went home to Mark and he told me he had lost his money. All billion of it. I asked him why and he said losing your money was just a part of life. Its something we are all destined to do. Mark said he didn't know it, but he was destined to be my owner and he did the best he could do. He said you make your own destiny. You have to do the best with what God gave you. I asked Mark what my destiny was and he said life was like a .com, you never know what you are going to get. Mark always had a way of explaining things so I could understand them.

In practice one day, I asked Nellie if we could play more defense. Nellie said I didn't know what defense is. I said I wasn't a smart man, but I knew what defense was. Then out of nowhere, Nellie just up and left. I didn't know where to. So for no particular reason, I decided to play the saxaphone. And for no particular reason, I just kept playing. When I got tired, I slept. When I got hungry, I ate. When I had to go.....you know.....I went. Otherwise, I just played and played and played. When I played, I thought about Raef, Captain Fin, and Mark, but most of all, I thought about Nellie. I got famous for all the saxaphone playin. They couldn't believe somebody would do all that playin for no particular reason. They would ask me why and I would just say that I felt like playin. Now for some reason what I was doing seemed to make sense to people. All of the sudden everybody was playin the sax. Someone told me it gave people hope. Then I got tired of playing the saxaphone..... So I stopped.

Then one day out of the clear blue sky I got a letter from Nellie. So I got on a bus and met him. He apologized for everything he did to me and for not teaching me defense. He said he was messed up for a long time. And then........he showed me little Stevie. Nellie said he was just like me.....only smaller. I loved little Stevie.

Mark always said losing was a part of life. I am not sure if Captain Fin or Mark was right about destiny. Ya know.....whether we control destiny or not. I think maybe its a little of both and they were both right.

Stars War

2005-01-02T01:42:00.000-05:00

Stars War

Starring

Dirk Nowitzki as Luke Skywalker
Michael Finley as Anakin Skywalker
Don Nelson as Yoda
Mark Cuban as Jar Jar Binks
Steve Nash as R2D2
Shawn Bradley as C3P0
Adrian Griffin as Obi Wan Kenobi
Karl Malone as Han Solo
Greg Ostertagg as Chewbaca
Jerry Krause as Jabba the Hutt
Juwan Howard as Queen Amidala
Tim Hardaway as Mace Windu
Shaquille Oneal as Darth Sidious
Kobe Bryant as Darth Maul
David Stern as Boss Nass
Jason Kidd as Qui Gon Jinn
Mugsy Bogues as Ewok, Wicket W. Warrick
Michael Jordan as Lando Carlissian
Pau Gasol as Princess Leia

A long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away, lived a basketball team by the name of the Jedi Mavericks. Their wise, but weird leader was Yoda. He was a Master Jedi and strong in the force. He knew many Jedi arts and gimmicks. Along for the ride was Jar Jar Binks. Jar Jar often got into mischief and was fined and eventually banished by Boss Nass. None the less, success somehow seemed to follow Binks inspite of his clumsiness and he became a general[manager].

Qui Gon Jinn was a Jedi Maverick for a short time. But the main accomplishment that Jinn did was to help bring Anakin Skywalker into the Jedi Maverick fold. Anakin Skywalker would be the chosen one to bring balance to the force by hitting the game winning shot in the 7th game of the finals and by also being the father of Luke Skywalker. You see, Luke is the love child of Anakin Skywalker and Queen Amidala. Occasionally the Queen is replaced by her bodyguard as an imposter queen. The imposter queen is a stiff and is totally ineffective. Hopefully the real Queen Amidala will come back soon, when the danger[trade] passes. Anyway, their child Luke is the true talent of the family. Luke is the greatest of all the Jedi Mavericks. Knowing that his son will be a greater Jedi then himself, Anakin turns to the dark side and becomes Darth Vader. The dark side puts him in a slump and he only comes back to the force when his son turns his father back to the light, so that Anakin can hit the game winner in the end.

But first many things must take place and many must help. The small and lovable R2D2. Totally under rated, without his help, the Jedi Mavericks will never bring balance to the force. Another droid by the name of C3P0 hangs around too. Considered incompetent by many, this skinny droid helps, even if only by accident.

A key Jedi is Obi Wan Kenobi. He is the one who kills the evil Sith, Darth Maul. Obi Wan is older and wiser then many realize, as he helps Luke in the ways of the force. However, a key to destroying the Evil Empire is Darth Sidious. How to conquer this Master Sith is still unknown to this day.

Eventually though, the Jedi Mavericks must get help elsewhere. The help comes from Han Solo and his partner Chewbaca. Solo is a smuggler and occasional jerk, but also talented and crafty. Chewbaca is mainly big and loud, but has been known to pick a fight with the evil Darth Sidious. Eventually, Han Solo and Chewbaca are acquired in a 3 team deal engineered by Jabba the Hutt. But it is extremely important to note that Solo and Chewie come to help the Jedi Mavericks for only 17,000 credits[1 number 1]. Remember that Jabba is a big fat idiot. Also helping the Jedi Mavericks is the Ewoks, led by Wicket W. Warrick, along with all the other little Ewok PG's. And also Mace Windu, the wise Master Jedi, who may not be as trustworthy as many believed. Time will tell on this. But have faith, balance will eventually come.

Sports Smorgosboard

2005-01-01T13:12:00.000-05:00

I would love to see major league baseball put in EXTREMELY strong steroid testing. First, because it would stop people from cheating. Second, it would be really cool to see how many players deflate like "Otto" the auto pilot in Airplane. Like big blow up dolls with a pin stuck in them. Then listen to them all tell us how they are on a new diet and how they decided they played to big in the past. Yada, yada, ha. Trust me, it would be fun.

Breakout the jambalaya, the Hornets have won again.

I think its funny watching Richard Jefferson take advice from Charles Barkley in that commercial. Barkley in the commercial says "he can be the guy from the arc" speaking of Jefferson. So Jefferson practices his 3's in the commercial. Somebody needs to tell Richard Jefferson that Barkley thought Barkley could be the guy from the arc too. BTW, Jefferson is shooting .318 this year from the arc. What a mind that Charles Barkley has.

The glimpses in the highlites makes me wonder if Jason Kidd is right yet. He looked big, slow, and unaggressive. Only his 3 point shot looks good so far. Maybe Jason thought Barkley in the commercial was talking about Jason cause he is 11-22 from 3 his first 5 games back. Thats good, but he is averaging only 3 assists. Also few steals and no blocks. He looks like Andre Miller out there and Miller is sloooooooow.

Jamaal Tinsley is now out of the closet. Not that closet, but the one Indiana has been hiding him in the last few years. They wisely never played him more then 30.6 minutes a game his first 3 seasons. Last year, they held him to a career low 26.5 minutes. Instead playing the spectacular Anthony Johnson alot. Why not keep Tinsley on the low down last year? They were going to win the east regular season anyway. This way they can sneak Tinsley under the radar and he will likely be happy to take the 40 million over 6 years when they offer it. Which of course he did. Anybody think if he averaged 36 minutes a game like this year he would have not gotten more then 40 million on the open market? That Bird is one crafty fellow. Too bad the Mavs were not as crafty with their handling of Marquis Daniels late last year.

I loved Darryl Armstrong. Nobody played harder. Nobody took more charges. Nobody got more floor burns. And nobody wore his emotions more on his sleeves. Armstrong was a defensive Nash in that he played defense full throttle running around like a chicken with his head cut off. I loved Armstrong and what he brang to the court. He was the perfect 3rd guard. The problem is that I just used a bunch of past tenses. Problem is Darryl is already nearly a year older then Steve Nash would be in year 6 of his contract.

Forget why, the fact is the Phoenix Suns are rolling. They are 15-1 their last 16 games. They have only lost 1 road game all year, that being the 20 point blown lead in Cleveland. They have the best record in the NBA. They have the best scoring differential in the NBA. Only San Antonio is remotely close....

Phoenix-12.4
San Ant.-10.6
Seattle-6.3
Miami-4.5

Its almost impossible for Phoenix to drop out of the top 3 in scoring differential before the all star break. This stat tells who is the best teams more then any other simple stat....INCLUDING W-L record. The Suns have won only one game by less then 5 points all season, yet all 3 of their losses are by less then 5 points. They either win in a blow out or lose in a close one. And they not only lead the NBA in scoring, they lead the league in scoring by a whopping 7.6 points a game. Even the Mavs have never lead the league in scoring this late by that many points. Yes, their schedule has been incredibly easy. However, you can't beat the Spurs if you don't play the Spurs. Their next game will be at Seattle. It should be an interesting game.

I think the Mavs should play double PG atleast 25 minutes in the next few games coming up. That doesn't mean Marquis Daniels either. I want to see the other 3 PG's combine for atleast 70 minutes a couple of times to see what happens. Cause team passing and ball movement is getting scary bad for my Mavs. Below is the top teams in assisted FG's. This stat shows who truly are the best passing teams and who are the most unselfish teams. The reason these stats show more about passing then simple assist totals is some teams score more then others, so likely would average more assists. Also some teams get a lot of points from 3's or the FT line which can make assist totals misleading. This stat just shows how many baskets get assisted percentage wise.

As of December 11th, 2004

1 SacramentoKings 25.16--37.5----.671
2 LAClippers 24.56--36.7----.669
3 UtahJazz 23.85--36.2----.659
4 NOrleansHornets 22.00--33.4----.659
5 MemphisGrizzlies 21.95--34.1----.644
6 DenverNuggets 22.63--35.3----.641
7 SanAntonioSpurs 22.10--34.6----.639
8 ClevelandCavaliers 22.68--35.9----.632
9 ChicagoBulls 21.18--33.5----.632
10 DetroitPistons 20.84--33.3----.626
11 MiamiHeat 22.05--35.6----.619
12 CharlotteBobcats 22.47--36.7----.612
13 MinnesotaT-wolves 23.26--38.1----.610
14 HoustonRockets 19.40--32.2----.602
15 GSWarriors 21.05--35.0----.601
16 LALakers 20.11--34.0----.591
17 NJNets 17.84--30.9----.577
18 IndianaPacers 18.79--32.6----.576
19 Philadelphia76ers 19.42--33.7----.576
20 WashingtonWizards 21.35--37.1----.575
21 NYKnicks 20.05--36.4----.567
22 BostonCeltics 20.17--35.7----.565
23 MilwaukeeBucks 20.47--36.2----.565
24 PhoenixSuns 22.75--40.6----.560
25 SeattleSupersonics 19.05--34.6----.551
26 PortlandTrailBlazers 18.11--33.1----.547
27 TorontoRaptors 19.91--36.4----.547
28 AtlantaHawks 18.74--34.3----.546
29 OrlandoMagic 19.89--37.0----.538
30 DallasMavericks 17.14--35.5----.483

The Mavericks need more passers on the court as the stats clearly show. They are not only dead last, they are dead last by a huge margin. Being dead last by a huge margin is rarely a good thing. Do they miss Steve Nash? It sure looks like it. To compensate, maybe they should have an extra PG out there like they used to do with Nick Van Exel. So far this year, the Dallas Mavericks have played double PG 12 or more minutes ZERO times. And only 3 times have PG's played a combined minute total over 50. Its worth a try.

Casabalco

2005-01-01T02:08:00.000-05:00

Barry Bonds: Of all the roid joints in all the towns in all the world you had to walk into mine.

Police Investigator: And what in heavens name brought you to Casabalco?

Barry Bonds: My health. I came for the roids.

Police Investigator: What roids? Your in baseball.

Barry Bonds: I was misinformed.

Police Investigator: I'm SHOCKED! SHOCKED to find steroid use going on in baseball.

Police Investigator: Realizing the importance of the case, my men are rounding up twice the usual suspects[Bonds, Giambi, Sheffield - Bernard, Santiago, Velarde].

Marvin Bernard: You despise me don't you Barry?

Barry Bonds: If I gave you any thought I probably would.

Marvin Bernard: Barry, think of all the poor devils who don't use steroids. And besides, I only take half the dose, is that so roidish?

Barry Bonds: I don't mind roiders. I object to cut rate ones.

Police Investigator: My impression was that Barry Bonds is just another bulked up ball player.
commissioner Selig: We musn't underestimate bulked up ball players. I was with him when he broke the record in San Francisco in 2001.

Jason Giambi: Play it once clean Sam. For old times sake.

Sammy Sosa: I don't know what you mean Mr. Giambi.

Jason Giambi: Play it clean Sam. Play baseball without roids or corked bats.

Barry Bonds: Last night we said a great many things Jason. You said I was to do the thinking for both of us. Well, I've done a lot of it since then, and it all adds up to one thing: you're getting on that plane with Gary Sheffield where you belong.

Jason Giambi: But, Barry, no..........

Barry: Now, you've got to listen to me! You have any idea what you'd have to look forward to if you stayed here in Casabalco? Nine chances out of ten, we'd both wind up in prison and suspended from baseball. Isn't that true, Mr. Police investigator?

Police Investigator: I'm afraid that commissioner Selig would insist.

Jason Giambi: You're saying this only to make me go.

Barry Bonds: I'm saying it because it's true. Inside of us, we both know you belong clean with Sheff. You're part of his team, the thing that keeps him going. If that plane leaves the ground and you're not with him, you'll regret it. Maybe not today. Maybe not tomorrow, but soon and for the rest of your life.

Jason Giambi: But what about us?

Barry Bonds: We'll always have the records. We didn't have, we lost it until we came to Casabalco.

Jason Giambi: When I said I would never leave you..........

Barry Bonds: And you never will. But I've got a job to do, too. Where I'm going[756 homers], you can't follow. What I've got to do[756 homers], you can't be any part of. Jason, I'm no good at being noble, but it doesn't take much to see that the problems of three bulked up players don't amount to a hill of pills in this crazy world. Someday you'll understand that. Now, now[Jason tearing up].... here's looking at you kid.
[The plane takes off]................

Commisioner Selig: What is your nationality Barry?

Barry Bonds: I'm a roider.

Police Investigator: That makes Barry a citizen of baseball.

Barry Bonds: Mr. Investigator, I think this is the beginning of a beautiful friendship.

Barry Bonds-Rick
Jason Giambi-Elsa
Police Investigator-Louis
Commissioner Selig-Major Strasser
Gary Sheffield-Victor Lazlo
Sammy Sosa-Sam
Marvin Bernard-Ugarte

Finis.