NBA Draft: How are the Raptors going to screw up this time?

No NBA team has drafted more poorly than the Toronto Raptors.

Sure, the Los Angeles Clippers have a longer history of piss-poor picks, but they selected Blake Griffin and he’s erasing a lot of those draft mistakes from the Clips’ history books.

But the Raptors – or the Craptors – as many Canadian hoops fans have come to know them, have bobbled the draft more times than not.

They’ve been sub-par for so long. But unlike other bad teams, like the Sonics - now the Thunder - the aforementioned Clippers and Timberwolves, Toronto doesn’t improve despite having some of the best young talent in the world at its finger tips.

The Raptors have wasted top picks on guys like Aleksandar Radojevic, Michael Bradley, and Rafael Araújo but have been able to acquire guys like Vince Carter (draft day trade), Tracy McGrady and Chris Bosh through the draft. However, those stars ran for the border the first chance they got.

The jury is still out on former No. 1 overall pick Andrea Bargnani and most recently Jonas Valanciunas, who was sold to Raps fans as the Lithuanian Dirk. The 7-footer, who was drafted fifth overall last year, is expected to join the team after the Olympics.

As for this year’s draft, it seems like the deep talent pool has made this nearly a foolproof draft for Bryan Colangelo and Co., who own the No. 8 overall pick.

The college ranks have produced one of the best crops of born-and-bred talent in some years, with French SG Evan Fou... [More]

Why didn't I take Hornets +650 to win the draft lottery?!

We should have seen this one coming from a mile away.

Of course the New Orleans Hornets were going to win the No. 1 overall pick in the upcoming NBA Draft. I just hope some of you were wiser than me and took the free money with the Hornets priced at +650 to win the draft lottery.

Despite having just a 13.7 percent chance of landing the first pick – and a shot at selecting Kentucky superstar Anthony Davis – the Hornets continued to move up and ousted the Charlotte Bobcats, who had a 25 percent shot at No. 1.

New Orleans’ luck has many league owners up in arms and shouting conspiracy theory, stating that the Hornets are still run by the NBA - regardless of Tom Benson’s supposed ownership of the franchise - and that the league rigged the lottery.

"It's such a joke that the league made the new owners be at the lottery for the show," one team executive told Yahoo! Sports. "The league still owns the Hornets. Ask their front office if new owners can make a trade right now. They can't. This is a joke."

If you want to throw more gas on the fire, it would seem plausible that one of the stipulations that Benson could have made in his move to purchase the team was that the NBA gift wrap in the No. 1 overall pick for 2012.

There’s no way to prove it happened – just like the shady 1997 Tim Duncan draft or the 1985 Patrick Ewing draft, which was the first-ever NBA lottery, conceived by none other than league commissioner David Stern.

Cond... [More]

Knicks kill "Linsanity" with signing of Smith

If you thought Carmelo Anthony’s imminent return to the New York Knicks lineup was going to put an end to “Linsanity”, just wait until J.R. Smith takes the floor at MSG.

The New York Post is reporting that the Knicks are going to sign the free-agent guard, who is almost as bad as Anthony when it comes to stopping an offense dead in its tracks. Smith never took a shot he didn’t like, which makes him even worse than Anthony, who at least hits some of those terrible tosses.

Funny enough, Smith and Anthony played together in Denver, with Smith coming off the bench in place of Melo most nights. It’s no wonder these two are good buddies, they both subscribe to the same style of me-first basketball.

Don’t expect Jeremy Lin to act as anything more than a go-between when either Anthony or Smith are on the wing.

This is the end of Linsanity as we know it…

New NBA season, new NBA looks

With the NBA getting a makeover during the lockout, players have followed suit.

A couple guys are trying out new looks this preseason – for better or worse – including Dallas Mavericks forward Shawn Marion and New Orleans Hornets newly-acquired center Chris Kaman.

Kaman looks like a ginger lumberjack with his beard-shaved head combo while Marion is rocking the Demolition Man like Rodman in the 90s.

I’ll let you be the judge on which new look is the best...

Hey NBA, don't ruin Christmas

When it comes to my favorite flavor of hoops, I’d always choose college over pro. And, with the NBA lockout threatening even more NBA games, it looks like every basketball fan will be down to one choice this winter.

However, while I prefer to watch more NCAA action than NBA, I do enjoy just how good the pro game is. Leave a guy open in the corner and it’s a sure-fire 3-pointer. Late to pick up the ball, they’re already in full stride and slicing through the paint.

I’m not missing the NBA yet, mostly because we’ve only lost preseason games so far and the original start to the season isn’t until November 1 (New start is Nov 15). But, talk about canning the season up until and past the Christmas Day games has me a little on edge.

The December 25 matchups are a holiday tradition in my family. As a kid, I can remember opening presents, eating a big breakfast, visiting family and then settling in for hours of classic Xmas Day NBA action.

I can take the loss of the first few weeks, and maybe even up to December. But for all that’s sacred, don’t take my Christmas Day games away!

Without the NBA, I’ll be forced to visit with relatives I haven’t seen in years, drink bad punch, and sit through endless stories about “How when we were kids, we got an orange for Christmas”.

And this year’s Christmas Day games are especially great: Bulls at Lakers, Celtics at Knicks, and Heat at Mavericks. They’ll all keep me parked in my La-Z-Boy from noon until ... [More]

Yao Ming's legacy is Hall of Fame worthy

Yao Ming was one of the best things to ever happen to the NBA.

But, with the international sensation suddenly retiring Friday, his legacy will be more about being an ambassador for the sport of basketball than his work on the court.

After being drafted No. 1 overall in 2002, and bringing in a massive audience to the NBA from his home country China, the 7-foot-6 monster took the sports world by storm. Unlike many 7-footers, who served more as gimmick projects than real prospects, Yao proved he belonged in the Association.


He went head-to-head with the finest big men in the Western Conference every night, holding his own against the likes of first-ballot HoF’ers Shaquille O’Neal and Tim Duncan. For his career, Yao averaged 19 points, 9.2 rebounds, and 1.9 blocks, with his best season coming in 2006-07 when he scored 25 points and pulled down 9.4 boards a night, but only played 48 games due to injuries.

Yao would continue to slow down after multiple foot and knee ailment, having played in just 160 games between the 2005-06 and 2007-08 seasons. He came back strong in 2008-09, putting up more than 19 points per game and suiting up for the Rockets 77 times, but again foot injuries would limit him to only five games in the next two seasons and eventually force Yao to retire.

Yao’s accomplishments were impressive for such a short time in the NBA - eight-time All-Star (thanks in part to the large Chinese fan vote), two All-NBA Second Team nods, ... [More]

LeBron James is tired

It’s been an especially long year for Miami Heat – LeBron James in particular.

Starting with the circus surrounding his signing with the Heat last summer and spanning into Game 5 of the NBA Finals Thursday, James has been going non-stop since he dropped the bomb on the NBA last July.

It seems, looking at his performances versus the Dallas Mavericks, that LeBron may be running out of gas. He’s far less active on the offensive end compared to the previous series and mustered just 11 shots (hitting only three of them) in Game 4’s loss in Dallas Tuesday.

James is 26 for 56 from the floor in the finals, averaging just 14 shots over those four contests. Looking at the previous two series, it seems he’s sucking wind as the finals get into - to take a page from boxing - the championship rounds.

He was 42 for 94 in the five games versus the Chicago Bulls in the Eastern Conference finals, averaging just under 19 shots a game. And, against the Boston Celtics in the second round, James went 51 for 108 during the five-game series, hoisting an average of 21.6 shots per outing.

Credit must be given to the Mavericks and their defense, which is the main reason they’ve been able to get over the hump in the Western Conference and complete so many miraculous comebacks this postseason. But scorers like LeBron don’t dip this low just because of guys like Shawn Marion and Deshawn Stevenson.

An elite scorer should score as many points from the field as the... [More]