Is Wade the 3rd Best Shooting Guard of All-Time?

A few months ago during an NBA on ABC telecast in a game featuring the Miami Heat, Mark Jackson (who called the game along with Jeff Van Gundy and Mike Breen) said that Dwayne Wade is the 3rd best shooting guard of all-time (#1 and #2 are obviously Michael Jordan and Kobe Bryant. You can put them in which ever order you would like. That’s another discussion for a different time). I honestly never thought of who the 3rd  best 2-guard was until that day. But it definitely got me thinking.

I’m not quite sure if I would agree with Mark, but it is an interesting pick.  Actually, I don’t know if I disagree either because I don’t know what the answer to that question is. Wade is still relatively young so I’m hesitant to say that he is number 3 yet, but he deserves consideration and has a good case when it’s all said and done. Names that come to mind (in no particular order) are Reggie Miller, Clyde Drexler, Mitch Richmond, Allen Iverson (for those that consider him a 2), George Gervin, Joe Dumars and the logo, Jerry West. Of course, there are plenty more to consider. That is not an exhaustive list. So, who is the 3rd best 2-guard of all-time?

If you’re looking for your everyday, predictable basketball talk, then go somewhere else, because Kevin Burke of The Kevin Burke Project brings provocative, thought provoking content about basketball as only he can. Kevin also hosts The Hoop Doctors weekly podcast show, which you can subscribe too for free on iTunes.

Fantasy Dunk Off: Andre Iguodala vs JR Smith

While we all would agree that the NBA Slam Dunk Contest has lost it’s luster as the premiere event during All-Star Weekend, many of us hardcore, old school fans of the once marquee event have longed for some top notch performers like Vince Carter, Lebron James, or even Josh Smith to once again be competitors. We can stop adding these players to our wish list because, let’s face it…………they’re not coming!

But their are two high flyers, who have a swagger to their game, and who are former contestants, who would be perfect for the event next season. The Sixers’ Andre Iguodala and the Nuggets’ JR Smith seem to be the perfect candidates to breathe life back into the now legendary contest. After all, both enjoy dunking with authority on the opposition on a nightly basis and have quite a resume consisting of windmills and double pump reverses.

Recently, both players turned out quite a performance for their respective clubs by doing their best windmill dunks during live game action.

During the Nuggets loss to the Boston Celtics, Smith got the steal and went in for the highlight reel dunk:

During the Sixers surprising victory over the red hot Milwaukee Bucks, Andre Iguodala picks up a loose ball and goes in for the high degree of difficulty windmill jam:

Just for comparison’s sake, here is a JR Smith compilation and an Andre Iguodala dunk mix.

You be the judge, who would win in a dunk off?

Allen Moll is an avid NBA and College Basketball fan who watches and studies games religiously and coaches youth basketball in his native Lehigh Valley region of Pennsylvania.  Allen is a regular columnist for thehoopdoctors.com, Bleacherreport.com, UpperDeckblog.com, and his own site, Hoops Haven.

Butler’s Veasley Hits Amazing Trey To Squeeze The Orange

I guess you could say that Butler’s senior guard, Willie Veasley absolutely loves the friendly rims in Salt Lake City. For those of you who didn’t have the pleasure of watching the game, Veasley hit a three pointer from the corner with just under 2 minutes to go that carromed off of the front of the rim, bounced high off the glass, and rattled in, to give Butler the lead for good and sending the Bulldogs to their first ever Elite Eight appearance.

Although the rim rattling shot won’t go down in history like Christian Laettner’s catch and shoot to beat Kentucky or even Scottie Reynolds’ driving lay-up to beat Pitt in last year’s Elite 8, but I argue it was just as important of a shot as any of the buzzer beaters that we’ve seen in this year’s tournament so far. I say so far, since there’s a lot of basketball left to be played and we seem to have a new fantastic finish on a nightly basis.

Veasley’s shot along with a number of clutch free throws by his teammates down the stretch, helped secure the win for the Bulldogs, who may have finally shed the mid-major monicker to be compared with some of the top tier Division 1 programs in the country. After all, the Bulldogs are now riding a 23 game win streak heading into their Elite 8 match-up against Kansas State, who survived an incredible three point barrage from Xavier’s Jordan Crawford in a 2 OT thriller as well. In a surprising stat, the Butler Bulldogs have a higher winning percentage over the past 4 seasons than any program, except the Kansas Jayhawks.

The Bulldogs used a stifling defense to force 18 Syracuse turnovers to end the Orange’s hopes of winning their first National Championship since the 2003 season. The loss had to have come as a shock to the Syracuse faithful who had one of their best seasons in their illustrious program’s history. Coach Boeheim has one only 1 championship despite having 30+ twenty win seasons. The loss all but surely ends Big East Player of the Year’s Wesley Johnson’s NCAA career, as he is projected as a lottery pick in most early 2010 Mock Drafts.

Now, Butler faces a talented Kansas State team in the round of 8 for a chance to essentially have a home game in the Final Four, held in Indianapolis. Is Butler this year’s George Mason? Be sure to tune in Saturday to find out.

Check out Veasley’s amazing shot:

Allen Moll is an avid NBA and College Basketball fan who watches and studies games religiously and coaches youth basketball in his native Lehigh Valley region of Pennsylvania.  Allen is a regular columnist for thehoopdoctors.com, Bleacherreport.com, UpperDeckblog.com, and his own site, Hoops Haven.

Vintage Video: Derrick Rose Alley-Oop In High School

Do you long for some great throwback NBA and NCAA footage of superstars of the past featuring some of the game’s best players?  Do you miss watching games in which the jump shot was an art form and not an afterthought?  Longing to see some of the hardwood’s greatest grudge matches of teams wearing some of the league’s ugliest uniforms?  If you are a fan of the game from back in the day, this is the series for you.  Welcome to Vintage Video.

Long before Derrick Rose was a Chicago Bull or even a Memphis Tiger, he was a skinny kid from the mean streets of Chicago, playing at Simeon High School. He led Simeon to a remarkable 120-12 record during his time there, including two straight Illinois State Championships by averaging 25 ppg, 9 assists, 9 rebounds, and 3.5 steals. Rose and his high school teammates were regularly in many ESPN showcases against some of the best players in the NCAA and NBA today like Brandon Jennings as a junior at Oak Hill Academy and Kemba Walker of Rice HS in New York. In fact, in a head to head match-up against Jennings, Rose held the high scoring guard to 0 points through 3 quarters, eventually giving up 17 total, while Rose tallied his usual 29 pts, 9 assists, and 8 rebounds as his squad got the best of Jennings’ Oak Hill squad on national television. He later would go on to star in both the McDonalds All-American Game and the Jordan Brand Classic while also playing AAU ball alongside current LA Clippers’ guard Eric Gordon before heading to the University of Memphis to play for coach Calipari.

As for the video, watch as Rose, even in high school, had major hops with his head already at an even height with the rim and backboard. I guess that this Vintage Video was a precursor for when we saw Derrick hit his head on the backboard on a dunk earlier this year.

Check out Derrick’s awesome Alley-oop in high school:

Allen Moll is an avid NBA and College Basketball fan who watches and studies games religiously and coaches youth basketball in his native Lehigh Valley region of Pennsylvania.  Allen is a regular columnist for thehoopdoctors.com, Bleacherreport.com, UpperDeckblog.com, and his own site, Hoops Haven.

Jordan Crawford’s Ridiculous Three Pointer to Force Second Overtime [Video]

Yes, Jordan Crawford of Xavier is the same guy that was at the center of the Nike/Lebron James controversy last summer with the confiscated video tapes. Jordan Crawford did dunk on Lebron James at the star’s own skills academy. But that pales in comparison to the enormous three pointers Crawford was knocking down last night to continually tie the game in the crucial moments of the Xavier double overtime loss to Kansas State.

Crawford had an enormous game-high 32 points in the Xavier 101-96 double overtime loss to K-State, but none of those points were more clutch and more insane than this three pointer to tie the game in the closing seconds of the first overtime. Crawford was easily 35-feet from the basket with all sorts of pressure. It was just insane. I can smell his draft stock rising as we speak:

And here are the rest of the game ending highlights from the best game of the tournament so far, and possibly one of the all-time great finishes in college basketball history. They include huge three’s, buzzer beaters, and three point fouls in the closing seconds:

April Create-a-Caption Contest Sponsored by Gillette!

NBA and NCAA Fans, get ready for The Hoop Doctors April 2010 Create-a-Caption Contest! This one is sponsored by Gillette, and we are giving away New Gillette Odor Shield Anti-Perspirant & Deodorant and Gillette Odor Shield Body Wash to the winner!

First off, The Hoop Doctors want to give a special thanks to Gillette for sponsoring the prize package for this contest.

This year’s college basketball tournament got off to a great start this past week so now with the Sweet 16 kicking off today, it’s time for your favorite team to demonstrate how they’ll perform under pressure! While they’re sweating on the basketball court and you’re sweating your bracket selection, Gillette would like to celebrate your favorite “pressure proof” moments in college basketball history by offering a giveaway of Gillette’s new Odor Shield products.

Back to our contest for a second…we are gonna roll with another Create-a-Caption contest because they are tons of fun! Like all of The Hoop Doctor’s contests, they are free to enter and winning is easy! Just follow these three easy steps to enter:

1. If you haven’t already done so subscribe to our RSS Feed by either using the button on the top right of our website titled ‘news feed’ or subscribing by email using the email subscription box on the right sidebar titled “ENews & Updates”. All entrants must subscribe to our feed to be eligible to win. (Do not forget to do this simple step, as in many of our previous contests there were a number of great caption entries from people who did not complete this, and they were therefore deemed ineligible for the prize!)

2. Fan us on facebook by visiting our facebook fanpage here, and click on the ‘Become a Fan’ button.

3. View this picture below and let us know what you think a funny caption would be. Use your imagination!! You can either submit your idea for a caption as a comment to this post, or you can email your funny caption to (admin@thehoopdoctors.com). If submitting a comment below, be sure to enter a valid email address that we can reach you at, so we can notify the winner and coordinate prize delivery at the conclusion of the contest. Enter now, don’t wait!

Alright folks, there is only one week to enter the contest. So leave your funny caption below. The contest deadline is Friday, April 2, 2010. Check The Hoop Doctors website on Monday, April 5, 2010 for our winner’s announcement.

The Lakers Without Bynum

Andrew Bynum had his mid-season injury as predicted, but how will this affect the team? In the third quarter of Friday’s win over Minnesota, Andrew Bynum suffered a strained Achilles tendon. To assess how this will affect the Lakers, let’s take a look at Bynum’s production against some of the teams with the best records in the league:

Andrew Bynum 2009-2010
PPG	RPG	BPG
v. Orlando
6.5	7.0	2.0
v. Denver
11.6	8.6	1.0
v. Dallas
17.0	9.0	0.6
v. Boston
16.5	10.0	1.0
v. Cleveland
5.5	7.0	1.0
Against these top teams this season, Bynum has averaged (in 12 games):
11.9 ppg	7.1 rpg	1.6 bpg

 

Bynum tends to play better when he’s not facing an elite big man (or even Nene).  His numbers against the Cavs and Magic are pitiful.  His numbers are skewed because he out-played the Mavs and Celtics, who lack dominant centers (Brendan Haywood and Kendrick Perkins, respectively).

What these trends suggest is that the Lakers might miss Bynum’s production more in the western conference playoffs than in the NBA Finals.

Let’s face it—chemistry this season has been a problem.  The flow and balance of the team just has not been right.  Removing Bynum leaves the Lakers with a starting lineup of:

C Pau Gasol, F Lamar Odom, F Ron Artest, G Kobe Bryant, G Derek Fisher

I would argue that the injury to Bynum, while obviously a negative, actually improves the starting lineup.  Hopefully, the combination of Artest and Odom, old New York street ball buddies, will improve team chemistry.

Of course, the downside is that the Lakers bench, as weak as it has been this season, will become even weaker.  As Phil Jackson pointed out in his post-game interview, “we really know how to play without Andrew…its about the support system behind that…” (Jackson).

As for that, the only hope for their bench is that some of the players who used to be effective can find their games and contribute.  Here’s looking at you:  Sasha Vujacic.  Vujacic is having his worst season since his rookie year in almost every statistical category, most noticeably points (2.5 ppg in 2010 v. 8.8 in 2008).  We’d talk about Luke Walton’s lack of production, except that he’s out for the season indefinitely with a pinched nerve in his back.  With Bynum out for a while, Josh Powell will get more minutes, but can he provide more than the 2.7 ppg and 1.6 rpg he has averaged thus far.  Jordan Farmar, on the other hand, is doing better than last season with 7.3 ppg, but only 1.6 apg.   The other lone highlight of the bench, with Odom moving into the starting lineup, is Shannon Brown.  Brown has improved his numbers from last season with 8.0 ppg and less than a turnover per game (0.83).

Bynum will probably return earlier rather than later, according to Laker reports.  It sounds like he’ll be back by early April.  However, whether he will be himself or the Bynum he was during last year’s playoffs, we’ll have to wait and see.  While I’d like to think that he could return to form, more than likely his production will be limited like last post-season.

After beating San Antonio in their first game of the Lakers’ five-games road trip, the Lakers now have to focus on the other good teams on this trip, like Oklahoma City and Atlanta.

It will be a tough challenge, but I have a feeling the Lakers will find their way.  Playing against better competition, they’ll be more focused.  Against Washington, the Lakers lost early leads and let the game get much closer than it should have been.  Nearing the end of the season is not the right time for these types of minor regressions, not for a championship team.

R.S. De France is a College and University instructor of English Composition. He has a B.A. in English and an M.A. in Rhetoric, Composition, and Writing. One of his life-long pursuits has been writing and covering anything related to sports, specifically the NBA. Recently, De France, his wife, and another colleague started an internationally read magazine at Shwibly.com.

Can Soccer Players Play Basketball? [Video]

I just came across this video that makes ‘Dude Perfect’ shots look weak. It seems to be a bunch of skilled soccer players trying their hand at hitting some incredible basketball shots. I know some of you are undoubtedly going to question the legitimacy of the video, but personally I don’t see how you can fake some of these shots.

I know Steve Nash of the Phoenix Suns loves him some soccer in the off-season. I’ll venture a guess however that even the nifty Steve Nash couldn’t pull off some of these shots. Do we have a new cross-over sport in the making? ‘Soccetball’ maybe?

How Long Can The Cinderellas Keep Dancing?

This year’s NCAA Tournament has been as exciting as any in recent memory up to this point, by giving us a number of buzzer beaters. Cinderella stories, and catchy new player names like Farokhmanesh and Samhan. But now that we have reached the round of 16, can these upstart would be contenders continue their magical post-season runs all the way to the Final Four in Indianapolis?

Northern Iowa Panthers

After having not won an NCAA Tournament game in the past 20 years, then winning 2 more in only 3 days last weekend, the upstart Panthers from the Missouri Valley Conference have been the darlings of the tourney by knocking off UNLV and #1 overall seed, Kansas. Behind a player, who’s name we all have grown to love, Ali Farokhmanesh, UNI are taking out their frustrations of being a #9 seed on it’s opponents. Although the Panthers have won two games by a combined 5 points, they are one of the most efficient clubs offensively still left in the tourney. Possessing clutch shooting from Farokhmanesh from the perimeter and a punishing 7 foot, 300 lb big man in the paint who has 3 point range, in Jordan Egelseder, along with an experienced and talented supporting cast consisting of 2 straight Missouri Conference POY’s is the perfect combination for a run at the Final Four. Now they must face another experienced team in Michigan State who is accustomed to deep tourney runs but come into their match-up limping with their All American point guard Kalin Lucas gone for the season with an Achillies tear. The situation seems perfect for UNI to slip past the wounded Spartans into the Elite 8 setting up another David Vs Goliath match-up with either Tennessee or Ohio State.

St Mary’s Gaels

Perhaps the most fun team to watch in this tourney has been the tiny school from the West Coast Conference, the St Mary’s Gaels. After coming up short against conference giant Gonzaga for the past few seasons, the Gaels behind enigmatic coach Randy Bennett, have burst onto the national scene and appear to be having fun doing it. Behind perhaps the most talented under the rim player in the entire tournament in Omar Samhan and a bevy of sharpshooting perimeter players, the Gaels have knocked off the A-10′s Richmond Spiders and Big East powerhouse Villanova, and they made it look easy. By averaging 30.5 ppg, 10 rebounds per contest and making over 75% from the field, Samhan has arguably been the tourney’s most tough to defend big man behind an old school arsenal of low post moves that would make the Celtics’ Kevin McHale proud. He is a marvel to watch for fans of the drop step and up and under moves. It’s a pick your poison proposition trying to defend the dominating Samhan since if double teamed, he simply kicks the ball out to a bevy of 3 point marksmen led by Mickey McConnell, Matt Dellavedova, and Ben Allen, who ranked among the best teams in the nation in efficiency behind the arc. Defeating an equally or more talented Baylor Bears squad from the Big 12 is a daunting task considering that the Bears have much more depth up front in the 6’10 shot blocking Epke Udoh, 7’0 Josh Lomers, and 6’10 Anthony Jones. After all, Udoh ranked 5th in the nation in blocks at 3.8 per game. They can also throw the 6’7 Quincy Acy as a help defender at Samhan as well. A talented backcourt of Tweety Carter and LaceDarius Dunn may help to neutralize the Gaels open looks from the perimeter. Watch for the Gaels’ 6’7 lengthy forward Clint Steindl to possibly be an X-factor. It’s a toss up, I like Baylor in a close game. If St Mary’s could pull off another big win, surely Purdue or Duke would prove too strong for a mid-major, right?

Cornell Big Red

If you ask the Big Red players or coaching staff, they dispel their Cinderella label and actually expected to be making a deep NCAA Tournament run after making it to the Big Dance the previous 2 seasons with the same core group of players. And after successfully dismantling 2 of the NCAA Top 20 ranked defenses in Temple and Wisconsin, Cornell probably believes that they can beat the hulking Kentucky Wildcats awaiting them on Thursday. Although they have excelled at playing both an uptempo and a half court type of games, they are facing a talented and big team in Kentucky that they have never faced before. It’s true that they nearly beat Kansas and Syracuse early in the season but the Wildcats posses a number of match-up problems that could pose a ton of problems for the Big Red. Even though they are the nation’s best 3 point shooting team, they do not possess the athletic or slashing abilities of John Wall and Eric Bledsoe, nor do they have the dominating inside presence to defend DeMarcus Cousins or Daniel Orton, with all due respect to Cornell’s talented 7 foot center, Jeff Foote. It’s a very weird game to predict since it could either be the most lopsided win of the round for Kentucky or the biggest upset of the entire tournament. Go with Kentucky since virtually no team in all of college basketball(or half of the NBA’s Eastern Conference) have as much talent as this year’s Wildcats.

Washington Huskies

The Huskies had a difficult road just to get to the NCAA’s since they had to beat their conference rival, California Bears in the Pac-10 Conference Tournament just to get an invite to go “dancing.” Now that they are here, they don’t seem to want to go home just yet. After getting by Marquette in the first round behind a 10 foot buzzer beater by Quincy Pondexter, Washington easily took care of Steve Alford’s New Mexico Lobos by 18 points, asking which Huskies squad will show up against the 2nd seeded West Virginia Mountaineers in the Sweet 16? The Match-up just got a little more interesting with news that WVU point guard, Darryl “Truck” Bryant broke his foot in practice earlier in the week, forcing back-up Joe Mazulla and Da’Sean Butler to take over ball-handling duties. while both teams have equally potent offenses led Washington’s Isiaah Thomas and Pondexter, and WVU’s Butler and Devan Ebanks, defense and game tempo will make the difference in who wins or loses. Washington likes to get out and run behind their intense pressure defense. Not having their natural point guard won’t help in this game for Coach Huggins’ Mountaineers. In the end, WVU has too strong of a front-court and should dominate the glass. if WVU can keep the game in the 70′s or lower, it should be easy sailing into the Elite 8 or more.

Allen Moll is an avid NBA and College Basketball fan who watches and studies games religiously and coaches youth basketball in his native Lehigh Valley region of Pennsylvania.  Allen is a regular columnist for thehoopdoctors.com, Bleacherreport.com, UpperDeckblog.com, and his own site, Hoops Haven.

NBA Power Rankings: Week 21

NBA Power Rankings

1	Cleveland Cavaliers Big Z finally returns to the Cavaliers and makes them appear (on paper) to have the kind of juggernaut status they have been looking for to win that ever-elusive NBA Championship.  However, much of the supporting cast is inexperienced with each other and the time is ticking down to get in rhythm.
2	Los Angeles Lakers Their dismantling of the Spurs in the second half on Wednesday night was a perfect example of how dangerous the Lakers can be.  Even with Kobe cold in the first half, they were able to turn to Shannon Brown for offense and Artest stepped up with some ferocious defense and all of the sudden a Lakers deficit is a double digit Lakers lead.  Most teams just don’t have that kind of depth.
3	Orlando Magic Vince Carter, for the first time in his career, is playing on a 50-win team.  So that’s the magic to keeping his knees functional?  Injections of liquified victories?  This is making incredibly good sense right now.
4	Phoenix Suns The Suns have picked a great time to go on a nice run right before the playoffs.  Winners of five straight, Phoenix has become relevant in the 2-5 seed playoff jumble in the West.  With only two games separating the four teams, it should make for an awesome last ten games.
5	Utah Jazz Clinging to home court advantage with every achy bone they have in their body, this bumped and bruised Jazz team is playing with some serious heart right now.  Winning five of their last six, they will get a few cupcakes before facing the Lakers in LA next Friday.
6	Dallas Mavericks Dampier is healthy, pushing Haywood to the bench, and the Mavs cool off a little.  Personally I prefer to have Haywood in the lineup, I think that he does a better job of help defense than Dampier and can clog the lane more effectively.  Regardless, the Mavericks are still making a case as the second best team in the West.
7	Denver Nuggets Terrible news finding out that George Karl will miss the rest of the season.  The Nuggets are really missing Martin down low as well, and this Nuggets team just doesn’t seem to have the swagger from earlier in the season.
8	Boston Celtics After winning two of three on a difficult Western Conference swing, the Celt’s get a lengthy homestand to continue to focus in on the playoffs.  Every win is crucial as they are in a heated battle with Hawks for that 3-seed.
9	Atlanta Hawks Atlanta’s win over Orlando and Josh Smith’s unbelievable putback dunk made me remember every reason why I love this high flying Hawks squad.  They are locked in a battle to avoid the Cavs in the first round, and it will come down to the last week to see who can get the coveted third seed.
10	Milwaukee Bucks Embarrassing loss to the Sixers was a wake up call for the Bucks.  Stackhouse has stepped up as the spokesperson for the team and Scott Skiles is making a case for Coach of the Year.  I feel like I am a decade younger.
11	Oklahoma City Thunder The Thunder need to refocus after a quick little sputter that included losses to Charlotte and Indiana.  If they drop to the 7 or 8 seed in the playoffs, they may be over their head.  If they can hang on to 5 or 6, we may get to see more than one series out of Durantula.
12	Portland Trailblazers Brandon Roy cooled off as soon as he heated up, but the Blazers hopefully have benefited from some much needed rest.  They have only played 3 games in 11 days, but now they’ll pay for it: playing Dallas, New Orleans, and Oklahoma City in the same weekend.
13	Charlotte Bobcats This is a great time to have an easier leg of the schedule for the Bobcats.  But near-losses to teams like the Wizards is not how you cling to the 6 seed.  The Bobcats match up terribly with the Magic, and need to do anything possible to avoid them in the first round.
14	Miami Heat With the Bulls’ slide, it looks like the Heat are going to make the playoffs.  They have helped themselves out as well though, winning seven of their last ten games.  After Milwaukee and Toronto, they’ll have some winnable games next week as they try to jump the Bobcats.
15	San Antonio Spurs Duncan and Ginobli look healthy, but breakdowns like the one against the Lakers Wednesday night make you realize how necessary it is to have Tony Parker in the mix as well to break down defensive pressure.
16	Toronto Raptors The Raptors are not playing with the urgency they need to at this point in the season.  They act like they have the playoff birth locked up, don’t they know Noah is healthy again?  If this ends up being a complete meltdown, don’t be surprised to see Bosh’s house for sale April 17.
17	Houston Rockets Missing Battier for the next week will severely hurt (likely end) any hope of a playoff push in Houston.  Which is too bad, because I was really starting to enjoy watching this rag-tag group play together.
18	Memphis Grizzlies Working Thabeet back into the lineup is good for the program in the long run, even if he doesn’t get a ton of minutes.  I know I’m beating a dead horse here, but if they are able to keep everyone together, this team is a playoff team next year.  One that could be a TON of fun to watch as well.
19	New Orleans Hornets Chris Paul came back a little earlier than expected, but he is struggling to ache his way back into the offense.  Even with the “coach” role he played for Collison, they aren’t clicking on the court.  Yet.
20	Chicago Bulls Two games back with twelve games left is absolutely an achievable goal.  But it would take some serious trend reversing after going 2-8 in their last ten games.  Having Noah back helps some kind of playoff push but they will need to continue to have sharp shooting from Rose and Co. outside.
21	New York Knicks David Lee’s stat lines continue to look like football scores, and it sounds like he is planning on parking in New York to see how this whole free agency thing goes.  He could be a great complement to any of the stars on the wish list.  Toney Douglas…not so much.
22	Indiana Pacers The Pacers have won five of their last six including wins over two playoff teams (Thunder, Bobcats).  It’s too late for any big changes now, but think how this team could have shaken things up if Granger had been healthy all season in the weakened East.
23	Philadelphia 76ers Jrue Holiday is really flying under the radar right now with his improvement over the season.  With an offseason to continue to get comfortable, I expect scary-good things from him next season.
24	Sacramento Kings I believe it has been leaked that the Kings get to write off their loss to the Nets as a charitable donation.  Make sure you get that notarized before April 15 boys.
25	Detroit Pistons After reloading their team this past offseason to try and make another playoff run, the Pistons find themselves missing the playoffs entirely for the first time in eight seasons.  With so much money invested in Gordon and Villanueva, they can’t really do anything about it either.
26	Washington Wizards Haven’t we heard about enough with locker room troubles in Washington?  It’s not even noteworthy anymore to mention that the team has mailed in the season.  They do, however, have two first round picks in the draft.  So yeah, that’s good.
27	Los Angeles Clippers For a team that showed decent signs of promise at one point this season, the last couple of weeks have been particularly frustrating to watch.  They are putting a lot on the shoulders of Blake Griffin, I just hope he can stay healthy long enough to deliver.
28	Golden State Warriors I spit my coffee on my desk when I heard that Nelson was volunteering to coach the Summer League team.  Not because I was surprised that he would do it, but because it’s not news.  He basically is coaching a Summer League team right now.
29	Minnesota Timberwolves The good news for the Timberwolves is if the playoffs started tomorrow, Minny would be in control of five draft picks.  Considering the incoming draft class, that will provide them the opportunity not only to get some serious talent, but some bargaining chips to bring in a vet or two.
30	New Jersey Nets Wednesday night’s win puts them just two victories away from avoiding the NBA Record books for all the wrong reasons.  With Devin Harris playing inspired basketball and some winnable games left on the schedule, I’m betting they do it.

Chip Patterson, graduate of University of North Carolina – Chapel Hill, writes for TheHoopDoctors.com and serves as Basketball Editor for BusterSports.com.

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