January 13th, 2012
You are currently browsing the articles from Matt Levens written on January 13th, 2012.
Los Angeles wasn’t able to offer Phil Jackson a quality finish when they were beaten in the second round of the postseason by the Dallas Mavericks last year. They didn’t even win a game of the series, and now they are trying to revamp the squad a bit this offseason, preparing to rebuild for another run.
Los Angeles had a three-team trade in the works that would have grouped Chris Paul with Kobe Bryant, while giving up both Pau Gasol and Lamar Odom to the Rockets and Hornets. The nBA denied the trade however, which left Gasol and Lamar Odom mad in LA.
The Lakers since dealt Odom to the Mavs for a trade exception and future draft picks. Gasol is still a Laker, but the team is still trying to work out a deal for Dwight Howard. If a trade does happen, look for Gasol to be the center piece in the trade. If Howard doesn’t end up in LA, then the team will still have a pretty decent big three with Kobe Bryant, Andrew Bynum and Pau Gasol going forward.
The Lakers signed deadeye Jason Kapono in free agency, who is a career 43.7% from behind the arc and will help extend the court on offense. They also signed Josh Mcroberts away from the Pacers and his 7.4 points and 5.3 boards will help fill the gap from the dealing of Odom. He won’t be able to replace Odom’s production and versatility, but he can certainly make up a part of those numbers.
The dealing of Odom is absolutely a big blow for the Lakers as he put up 14.4 points and 8.7 boards last year as the team’s main reserve. The Lakers also lost Shannon Brown in free agency and his offensive spark in the second unit would be felt as well.
Bryant still has what it takes to play at a very high level, finishing fifth in the league in scoring with 25.3 points while averaging 5.1 rebounds and 4.7 assists last season. This extra time off will only help energize Bryant, who was nursing nagging injuries and growing pretty tired while trying to make a run at a three-peat.
Gasol needs to become more aggressive after a “bad year” in which he put up 18.8 points and 10.2 boards. He had some off-the-court problems he was working with, but Gasol should come back much more focused and determined this year.
Unfortunately for Bynum, he can’t seem to stay healthy. He missed 28 games due to knee problems last year, but he has played well when he was on the floor. Bynum averaged 11.3 points, 9.4 rebounds and nearly 2 blocks a game before getting injured. He’ll be suspended for the first five games of the season after a flagrant foul to JJ Barea in Game 4 of the Dallas series. For the Lakers to make any sort of noise this season, Bynum needs to remain healthy and stay out of trouble.
Players who could be seeing a lot of floor time this year include PF Derrick Caracter, SF Matt Barnes, and SF Luke Walton. Caracter and McRoberts are going to have to try and contribute early as Bynum is out with his suspension. Also, look for Steve Blake to steal a little more time from Derek Fisher this year. Fisher has been a big time performer in the postseason, but he seems to get a little slower every season.
Western Conference Prediction: 1st Pacific Division – While the Mavs and the Thunder are teams gearing for the top spot in the West, I believe the Lakers will still have at least one more run for the championship. That is why they are one of the favorites in the odds to win the NBA title. The group of Bryant, Gasol and Bynum when healthy and motivated trumps every other franchise’s big three outside of the Heat. No team is going to benefit from this late start to the season more than LA, who had been playing basketball for almost three consecutive years without much time off. An early exit in the postseason last season will have this team coming back hungry and motivated for another championship.
Compare the latest NBA spreads each night and get free NBA picks to help you beat them at BetFirms.
Written by Jack Jones on January 13th, 2012 with comments disabled.
Read more articles on NBA.
After finishing the year with a 24-58 mark and a fifth place showing in the Pacific Division, the Kings actually have nowhere to go but up. The Kings have one of the youngest squads in the NBA and it is only a matter of time before they can get things turned around.
After failing to move the franchise to Anaheim, the owners have come to a decision to keep their team in Sacramento for at least one more season. The town is trying to raise enough cash to build a new arena, and if that happens, they can keep the Kings in Sacramento.
While the team’s future seems to be bright in Sacramento, their present is a whole different story. They made a bunch of different transactions in the offseason, but not quite enough to deserve a significant improvement. They went and did manage to get Jimmer Fredette, Tyler Honeycutt and Isaiah Thomas thru draft. They also added Chuck Hayes through free agency and J.J Hickson and John Salmons thru trade.
They gave up Beno Udrih in the trade that got them John Salmons and gave up Omri Casspi in the trade for J.J. Hickson so they did have to give up some good players. The Kings also lost Samuel Dalembert and Marquis Daniels in free agency. They have engaging pieces coming in and the players they added are far better than the players they lost, but this is not a huge upgrade by any means.
Sacramento re-signed G Marcus Thornton to a multiyear contract after exploding in his last 27 games of the season averaging 21.3 points per game and finishing the season on a high note. Thornton performed brilliantly in Sacramento after being traded from New Orleans at the trade cut off point. He finished the season ninth among shooting guards in points per minute.
While PG Tyreke Evans led the Kings in offense with 17.8 points, dimes with 5.6 and steals with 1.5 last season. Still, he took an important step back from his rookie year. Evans missed 25 games last season coping with plantar fasciitis. He lost lots of his explosiveness around the rim due to his injuries, and settled on far too many perimeter shots. Evans tried just about three 3′s a game and made only 29.1 percent.
With Evans and Thornton doing the majority of the scoring in the fringe, PF DeMarcus Cousins looks to build off of his strong rookie season inside. He put up 14.1 points and a team-high 8.6 boards last year. The single thing Cousins need to boost is shot selection, as he only hit 43% from the floor and as a post player, that may be a quite low number.
With all of the additions coming to this team, the Kings could sport one of the deeper groups in the NBA. They have Fredette, Salmons, Hayes, Hickson, Francisco Garcia and Donte Green all as non-starters. They have great depth in all positions and could prove to be useful in the shortened NBA season.
Western Conference Pick: 5th Pacific Division – This Kings squad certainly have a large amount of hope for the future and the hope is for Sacramento to keep it’s team for years to come. However, you won’t be seeing the Kings in our NBA playoff predictions this season. Sacramento can challenge both the Suns and the Warriors for the No. 3 place in the division, but they need a season or 2 to compete for a postseason berth in the highly-competitive Western Meeting.
Beat the NBA spreads tonight when you take advantage of the free NBA picks for tonight at BetFirms.
Written by Jack Jones on January 13th, 2012 with comments disabled.
Read more articles on NBA.
After losing All-Star power forward Chris Bosh to the Heat last year, the Raptors were left with a whole lot of srole players without a star to keep the squad going. The Raptors finished the year with a 22-60 mark and only three games shy of the worst record in the East that the Cavs possessed.
After the season, they decided to make a coaching change and got rid of Jay Triano in favor of former Mavericks Assistant Dwane Casey. Casey played a key part in the Mavs title run with his man-zone hybrid defensive system. It is going to be interesting to see what he will do with the roster that he inherited in Canada.
Toronto finished with the 5th pick and spent it on 19 year old 7 foot center Jonas Valanciunas. Valanciunas has a chance to be something great in the league, but he is now playing in the Lithuanian League and may not be able to play for Toronto in the approaching season.
Toronto has been pretty busy so far this year, signing vet free agents Gary Forbes, Rasual Butler, Anthony Carter, Aaron Gray, and Jamaal Magloire, while keeping their main players from last season ready.
This roster is built around a core of post player Andrea Bargnani, shooting guard Demar Derozan, point guard Jose Calderon and 6th man Leandro Barbosa. This roster was able to provide an explosive and exciting offense. Bargnani was the Raptors leading scorer with 21.4 points/game though only played in 66 games. Derozan contributed 17.2 points/game, Barbosa came of the bench to add 13.3 points/game, and point guard Jose Calderon just about averaged a double-double of 9.8 points and 8.9 dimes.
Amir Johnson started in 54 games for Toronto last season and put up a career high 9.6 points and 6.4 boards. It appears to be as if he will once more be the starting power forward. JaJuan Johnson is the player they acquired from Chicago last season that they’re particularly worked up about. In 25 starts for Toronto last season, small forward JaJuan Johnson put up 9.2 points, 4.7 boards and 3 assists/game.
The Raptors also have a returning Linaz Kleiza and Jerrd Bayless in its rotation. With all of the free agent pickup, it’s difficult to see who Casey will use in his rotation. The Raptors bench is filled with players who used to be great at one time, but now not so much.
Pick: 5th Eastern Conference Atlantic Division – With our NBA predictions we’ve got the Raptors on the outside looking in as the Atlantic division have got a load more competitive lately. Boston remains the team the beat, New York is all of a sudden looking like a legitimized squad with Anthony and Stoudemire in the fold, and the Nets brought in Deron Williams and presumably Dwight Howard. As of at the moment, Toronto will have a tough time attempting to battle for division seeding and a spot in the postseason. They may have an outsiders opportunity to sneak in the postseason, but they have to play well to have a chance.
By signing up for the NBA ATS picks offered by the handicappers at BetFirms you’ll give yourself the highest chance of beating the NBA odds.
Written by Jack Jones on January 13th, 2012 with comments disabled.
Read more articles on NBA.
Under coach Doug Collins, the Philadelphia 76ers made big steps in his first season. Behind Doug Collins defensive-minded philosophy, he turned a team that finished fourth in the Atlantic division at 27-55 in the 2009-2010 season to a team that went 41-41 last year. Philadelphia made the playoffs as the 7th seed but could not get past Miami in the first round. They managed to play a competitive game during the series, but eventually managed a single win.
While there are a considerable number of glorious players on this team, this team is suffering from having many great role players but no one megastar to be the leader of this team. Without a true superstar, it will be hard to actually call this team as a legitimate contender in the Eastern Conference. So far they have not done anything in free agency and trades; they managed to re-sign their young players in C Spencer Hawes and SF Thaddeus Young though. Philadelphia tried to address their need to add front court depth by drafting C Nikola Vucevic with the 16th pick in the 1st round. Nikola Vucevic has the potential be a solid player in the NBA, but he is still a little raw to contribute right away.
Third year PG Jrue Holiday and second year SG Evan Turner need to raise their contributions on the offensive end for Philly to have an opportunity to take the following step in the suddenly competitive Eastern Conference. Holiday made big advances last season as the starting point guard when he put up 14 points and 6.5 dimes per contest. He put up just 8 points and 3.8 dimes his first year two seasons back, but saw his contributions increase in virtually all stats last season. Turner wants to show similar jumps in his sophomore year. Turner put up just 7.2 points and 3.9 boards as a rookie last season. He is expected to start ahead of Jodie Meeks this year and the hope in the franchise is that Turner can turn it round and supply better numbers in his sophomore season.
The Sixers have one of the more complete players in the league at SF in Andre Iguadala. He contributed 14.1 points, 6.3 assists and 4.9 boards a contest last season. Iguadala is also an excellent perimeter defender and his only knock is that his offensive production has continuously fell after posting a career high 19.9 points during the 2007-08 season.
Veteran PF Elton Brand is the real question mark for 76ers coming in to this years’ season. While he led the team in scoring with 15 points/game and rebounding with 8.3 last season, he is obviously headed to a steep decline and his health is also a concern moving forward. Although he started 81 of 82 games last year, he has struggled remaining healthy during the past. He just started in 86 games the prior three seasons.
Hawes is a pretty solid post player within but he doesn’t provide much of an offense after only averaging 7.2 points/game last year. Their depth within is so depleted that their only other big is first-year player Vucevic and nobody really knows the production the rookie can supply. Iguadala can play PF if necessary, but he’s obviously undersized at that position.
What they lack in depth up front, they clearly make up for it with solid reserves in the back court and small forward spots. Thaddeus Young, Jodie Meeks and backup point guard Lou Williams are all serviceable scorers. Williams averaged 13.7 points and 3.3 dimes, Young chipped in 12.7 points and 5.3 boards while Meeks averaged a solid 10.5 points. Also in their bench is energetic forward Andres Nocioni.
Pick: 3rd Eastern Conference Atlantic Division – This team is clearly a young team on the rise. They’re going to make the postseason this year and will improve with time but unless they add some post man depth, they will not be able to battle with the really elite groups in the Eastern Conference. They will have difficulty come playoff time and they will be a few notches below Boston and New York in the Atlantic.
If you’d like to beat the NBA spreads this winter then try the free NBA picks offered at BetFirms.
Written by Jack Jones on January 13th, 2012 with comments disabled.
Read more articles on NBA.
Mastering this sport involves practice, speed in the court, and physical competence. You may not be aware that the mind is another essential thing that should be given importance to improve your tennis game.
One’s performance will be affected if you are experiencing stress, nerves, negative thoughts, and tension. One’s body will be prone to following the thoughts you have.
One’s muscles will only become constricted and tight if you picture out yourself freezing up or missing a key stroke. In the event that one’s mind is confused, you will not be as sharp and precise with one’s movement.
Major focus and concentration are important so that you can be successful in improving one’s performance. The moves you have been taught will be performed by one’s body as natural as possible. If you think too much, one’s mind will just distract you.
Numerous sport experts would often advise players to take advantage of the Sedona Method to help them defeat their nerves, anxiety, and second-guesses. This as well can be taken advantage by others who are into sports to take pleasure in the sport and perform better.
If one will think excessively, one will continue suffering from his or her emotional distractions and will not be able to appreciate the moment you are currently in. There is even a suggestion that you should not put pressure on yourself just because you missed the last shot or you committed mistake before. You just have to enjoy as much as you can and everything will fall into place.
Improve your tennis game by relieving one’s emotional stress. One’s swings will be improved as well as the entire match. A lot of people highly recommend the Sedona Method to sports lovers because this is a good technique. In no time, you will be able to enjoy the benefits that one’s sports buddies have not yet experienced.
Find out more about improve your tennis game at our website
Written by Angelique Mcneil on January 13th, 2012 with comments disabled.
Read more articles on Tennis.