Things Found In James Harden's Beard: Nov.2012

James harden has had a busy November.

NBA's Fireballs and Ice-Cubes: Nov.2

FIREBALLS

James Harden 45pts, 7reb, 2ast
Harden is managing to outplay his max contract. Thunder looking foolish. Harden/Lin have chemistry.

Chris Paul 18pts, 15ast, 6reb
Despite Kobe's 40pt performance, Paul leads the Clips past the struggling Lakers. 

Glen Davis 29pts, 10reb, 2blk
Did Glen Davis seriously put his name in consideration for the Magic's best player?

Brandon Jennings 21pts, 13ast, 6stl
Jennings drives and dimes his way past one of the East's best.

ICE-CUBES

Kyrie Irving 15pts (6-15), 4TO
Irving fails to get the team into a rhythm, only connecting with 4 assists. 

Nicolas Batum 3pts (1-11), 1reb
An awful game for Batum. The Thunder are atop the west, Portland nowhere near. Lillard impress though.

Tyreke Evans 6pts (3-14), 2TO
Tyreke continues to struggle in SAC's offensive system. He desperately needs a change of scenery. 

Ray Allen 5pts (2-5), 2TO
Miami's bench as a whole underperformed. Allen played 27min and had no impact.

Houston, We Got a Swingman

Houston is slowly molding a team together down in Texas. After they did everything they could to make a move for Dwight Howard and it failed, they again made headlines by officially snagging reigning Sixth Man of The Year from the Oklahoma Thunder.

Alongside PG Jeremy Lin, who they stole from New York with their backloaded offer sheet this past summer, it seems Houston will be looking to make their franchise revolve around their 2 backcourt additions.

I'm nervous if the moves are enough to change the direction of the team, however. It's a step in the right direction, for sure, but I feel both players will have a difficult time performing in their new roles. Both flourished with their former teams in smaller roles, where emphasis was put on other players while they more than successfully accented their play. Lin did shine when he took over the the Knicks with Amare and Melo out back during that magically run earlier in the year, but I think its going to be rough for Lin to do it again with so much expected out of him. Harden is a similar situation. He came off the bench with OKC. He swung games but he was never asked to do what Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook had to do every night. 

Can Harden put up 22+ pts a game as a starter next to Lin? Can Lin get double digit points and assists, without constantly turning over the ball?

The Rockets are going to be locked into huge contracts with Harden (most likely signing a max contract in coming days), Lin, and Asik. Can they afford to surround him with another superstar? Josh Smith, maybe, next summer? 

2012 rookies F Royce White and F Terrence Jones will need to defy expectations, while former Houston Rocket 1st Rd picks F Patrick Patterson (2010) , F Chandler Parsons (2011), and Marcus Morris (2011) need to step up their games. Big man, Asik will need to prove he wasn't extremely overpaid this summer, too. 

Harden Traded to Rockets

The Thunder couldn't afford James Harden. So they moved him.

Thunder trading James Harden to Houston for Kevin Martin, Jeremy Lamb, a protected first-round pick from Toronto, a protected 1st-round pick from Dallas & a 2013 Charlotte second rounder.

Holy Hell.

Per @darnellmayberry

Silver In, Stern Out

Will Adam Silver be more successful than Stern?

It's all over the web. David Stern announced he will retire Jan. 1, 2014 and hand the reigns over to successor, Adam Silver.

Stern, 70, has been the NBA commissioner since 1984; he is currently the longest tenured commissioner in all professional sports. Why 2014? It marks Stern's 30yr anniversary of being the commish. Stern as been quietly grooming a successor, Silver, 50, to eventually take over.

Silver has more recently been a lead figure in helping the NBA reach a new collective bargaining agreement; hee has been Stern's right hand man for the last six years, and before that, spent twenty years in various NBA capacities. Stern has made it extremely clear the transition between him and Silver will be extremely smooth; Stern will stay in full control for the next 15 months.

Now that you know the story, here's a few questions I got:

Will Silver operate the NBA in a similar manner Stern has?

It is widely known the lashing Stern has received from players and critics over his tenure, more specifically in recent years. From recently reducing pre-game rituals to 90 seconds (No more LBJ chalk tossing???), to vetoing the Chris Paul to LA trade, to even fining players for wearing their NBA headbands the wrong way.

Stern is generally not favored by modern players (Magic Johnson had good words to say, though.) It will be exciting to see if Silver will make a priority to create a strong relationship with the players or if he will continue to be heavy handed in dealing with NBA operations (I did like the new flopping rules.

What new things will Silver bring to the table?

From advertisements on jersey to introducing franchise tags, there have been a few ideas floating around recently that could or could not go into effect, depending on Silver's agenda. With recent super teams popping up all over the NBA, with superstars leaving small market teams left and right, will Silver step up and help teams have more control in keeping their star players? Will stricter cap rules be established?

We have quite awhile till any of these questions will be answered, but it doesn't hurt to start building some exceptions for Silver.

Bledsoe Explodes in LA

It may be Bledsoe's time to get out of Chris Paul's shadow.

Eric Bledsoe exploded in tonight's preseason brawl in LA with the Lakers. He was a single steal away from a Triple-Double. His stat line included 22pts/11ast/9Stl.

Is Bledsoe wasting his talents on the bench? Is he ready to shine? It's far, far too early to say, but it will be worth monitoring. Maybe he'll get more minutes, maybe he'll get some attention from some PG-hungry teams. Maybe he can join former teammate, Eric Gordon in New Orleans?

The 18th overall selection in the 2010 NBA draft has all the tools to be an explosive PG. He's fast, has great handle, and drives the ball with intensity, similar to Russell Westbrook and Derrick Rose. 

The question is, if given the opportunity, will he flourish, or will he become a Jerryd Bayless: a player with similar athletic skills, who has yet to live up to expectations.

I'm excited to see.

NBA 2K13: The Floater

If you're like me and have an unhealthy man crush on Derrick Rose, then you know all about his trademark floater. It's a great way of getting a basket on a fast break (if you don't want to Hopstep) and is ideal for getting a shot over bigger defenders when driving.

For the longest time, I had no idea how to do it. Eventually I got smart an youtube'd a tutorial.

Thought I might share.

How to do the Derrick Rose Floater

I'm not a fan of using X (Xbox) or Square (PS3) to shoot. I prefer the Shot Stick. In order to do the floater with the Shot Stick:

- Run towards the basket WITHOUT HOLDING TURBO.
- Then hold LT and press the RS away from the hoop.

It takes some getting used to, but you can always turbo towards the basket, then let go of it before you do the floater.

Cyhi Da Prince - James Harden

The beard has inspired a new rap song!

Give it a listen!

All That and a Bag of Potato Chips

Dwight's gone. This is Glen Davis's team now. Be afraid Eastern Conference. Be very afraid.

I think the Magic will be duking it out with the Bobcats this year for the worst record. I feel fairly confident that this team will be in rebuild mode for awhile, especially with the bounty of assets they got in the Dwight Deal. Don't get me wrong, Aaron Afflalo is a great SG: he's selfless, a lockdown perimeter defender, and an overall team player. He reminds a lot of Trevor Ariza in that regard. But, you cannot build a team around him; he's a compliment player and I say that with the upmost respect.

He is the bag of baked BBQ chips to a $5 footlong. Delicious. Just not enough to satisfy your afternoon hunger. They need a $5 footlong, a new franchise player, and until they get it, Orlando, isn't going to be satisfying anyone except winning teams looking for an easy win.

I ask of you: "Where is your $5 footlong, Orlando? Is it Hedo Turkoglu? Jameer Nelson? Glen Davis? JJ Redick?

I don't think so.

NBA 2k13 Hidden Gem: Austin Rivers

The new face of the New Orleans Hornets

I don't know about everyone else, but I've been putting in an unhealthy amount of time into this year's newest installment in the the NBA 2K series, Association Mode, specifically. I just love the GM aspect of creating the ideal team. I got a pretty amazing group spearheaded by Derrick Rose and Roy Hibbert, but the player that has emerged as the mid season MVP? Austin Rivers.

Austin Rivers, you say? MVP over Rose? The overrated PG from Duke who takes too many shots? The 'Other' selection the New Orleans Hornets made in the 2012 NBA draft? Yes, him.

I don't what it is, but the 10th overall selection this past June is making highlight after highlight every time he comes off the bench. At 6,4" 93 speed, and a strong inside game (He has the Acrobat ability) Austin Rivers is like a poor man's Derrick Rose or Russell Westbrook. You feel quite confident driving and getting around the backcourt with him.

Rivers and Waiters helped 2K with Motion Capture for their in-game counterparts.

His ball-handling is superb and it is ridiculously easy to drive to the hoop. He plays so much better that his 67 overal player rating suggests. His hopstep is very nice and leads to great fade aways and layups. Rivers also has a solid 3 pointer and can easily land you a Sprites Slam Cam dunk if you get a lane to the hoop.

I strongly recommend giving him a go, whether it be drafting him in your Fantasy Association, or using the Hornets in a quick game. You'll be saying Anthony Davis who in no time.

-Josh

Deep Into The Woods

How far can Monta Ellis take the Bucks?

The bucks made headlines last March when they sent oft-injured Australian Big Man, Andrew Bogut and Stephen Jackson to Golden State for All-Star Monta Ellis. 

The move for Ellis can be looked at as the organizations first legitimate attempt at surrounding Brandon Jennings with talent, in the hopes it would persuade him into resigning. Andrew Bogut was considered to be a franchise cornerstone for Milwaukee; they believed he, paired with Jennings, would eventually equate to deep runs in the Playoffs.

Sadly, Bogut hasn't been able to stay on the court long enough to be a real contributor, having gone down with foot, ankle, elbow, wrist, and hand injuries at various times in his 7 seasons with the Bucks.

The Bucks organizations ultimately decided it was in the best interest of their team to move Bogut in order to add some consistency to the starting line-up. Their answer came in the form of sharp-shooter, Monta Ellis; Ellis, who had been in numerous trade rumors for the last couple seasons.

The move has has received mixed reviews. A common criticism is that the Bucks "gave up" on one of the few talented, true centers in te league. It's true that that the loss of Bogut has left a giant hole in the Bucks front court.

While Ellis can be counted on to put 20+ pts on the board night-after-night, he can't stop the like of fellow Central Division big men like Roy Hibbert, Greg Monroe, and Joakim Noah.

It's curious to see if the Buck's talented backcourt can make up for lack of talent inside. Ekpe Udoh was brought back to Milwaukee in the Bogut trade to pair along with possible starting PF Ersan Ilyasova.

It's up in the air if they can control the paint.

Is disgruntled All-Star Josh Smith the answer?

I'm curious to see if the Buck's big men will prove me, and other doubter wrong and show up in 2012-2013. I'm also curious if Brandon Jennings will debute a new haircut. But, joking aside, can the Bucks ever being taken as threat in Eastern Conference to established championship-caliber teams like the Heat and Celtics with their current roster? I have a hard time believing they can. I mean, I'm sure the combination of Ellis and Jennings will be exciting and get them into the playoffs, but how far? I can't see them getting too deep into the woods without adding talent inside. They need a defensive presence down low. Without one, I see them one and done for the foreseeable future.

-Josh

No Rose, No Thorn in Anyone's Side

  Are the the Bulls heading in the right direction in 2012-2013?

I'm worried about the Bulls. That team's strength was a healthy Rose and a lights out bench. Rose is hurt and the bench is full of new faces. Whether the changes were for the better, it's yet to be seen. I'm staying positive that the loss of Kyle "Hot Sauce" Korver, the overpaid Asik, and the underrated Ronnie Brewer won't ruin the cohesiveness the team is known for.

        Bulls Projected Starting 5:

PG Kirk Hinrich     SG Rip Hamilton     SF Luol Deng

            PF Carlos Boozer     C Joakim Noah

     Bench 

PG Nate Robinson/Marquis Teague     SG Marco Bellineli     SF Jimmy Butler/Vladimir Radmanovic

  PF Taj Gibson     C Nazr Mohammed

I love the signings of Nate Robinson, Kirk Hinrich, and Marco Belinelli. I love the drafting of Marquis Teague even more (cant believe he fell into their laps!)

I think the Bulls did an amazing job with the limited cap space they had to bring in solid players. The Bulls did right in not matching Houston's ridiculous offer to Asik and they saved money long term in not resigning Brewer and trading away Korver. 

Now all they got to do is rid themselves of Carlos Boozer...

If
- Rip Hamilton can return to at least half the wingman he was in Detroit
-Taj Gibson continues to produce like the 6th man of the year
-Joakim Noah plays like a top 5 center
-Nate, Kirk, and Marquis rotate smoothly at PG
-Boozer (or Kris Humpries??) put up 10/10 a game
- Deng plays like an All-Star

The Bulls can be a real threat come playoff time when they get a fresh pair of hop-steppin' Derrick Rose legs.

That's a lot of ifs, but, I have faith in Tom Thibodeau. I think it will be fun to see if the Bulls sneak up on everyone this NBA season.

-Josh