(Boulder-CO) Today's date is January 31st, and on this day:
'94- Atlanta’s Dominique Wilkins became the 11th player in NBA history to score 23,000 career points, netting 24 in the Hawks’ 90-85 win at Dallas.
'97- San Antonio’s Dominique Wilkins scored 27 points in the Spurs’ 97-95 loss to Minnesota, giving him 26,009 career points. Wilkins was only the sixth NBA player to score 26,000 points.
'01- Milwaukee Bucks’ head coach George Karl guided the Bucks to a 116-111 win over Denver, notching his 600th NBA coaching victory. Karl became the 17th NBA head coach to reach the milestone, and he was the sixth-fastest to 600 wins in NBA history.
Enjoy your day!
5 comments:
What about this Nene for Artest talk? I personally love the way that Artest plays (physical, intense, great defense/rebounding) and think that this would be a huge move for us to upgrade our perimeter defense. I think the biggest impact of having a guy like that on the team would just be overall uptick in defensive effort -- it's hard not to hustle and defend when you have a guy like that out there doing all those things on a day-to-day basis.
I think all his personality conflicts and issues are overblown -- by nearly all accounts, he's a great teammate, and (much like AI and Rasheed Wallace) has an undeserved reputation from the media and certain groups of fans. Just having a guy like him to stick on the Kobes and Ginobilis of the world would be a huge help for us. Playing him with AC, AI, Martin, and Camby owuld be one of the best defensive units in the NBA for sure -- and pairing him with Melo and Camby in the frontcourt and playing semi-smallball would really spread the floor I think..
I dunno, you probably don't like the thought of Artest on the team, but I think it makes perfect basketball sense. Artest scores nearly 20 points when he hardly touches the ball just from rebounding and hustle plays. He has been taking a lot of shots since he's been the man in Sacramento, but he's said many times that shooting isn't what he likes to do -- a perfect partner for AI and Melo in my mind... I'm excited t osee if this happens. Especially now that the Kidd-to-Denver rumors are basically dead.
Sup stumble?
I hate this rumor. I hate Ron Artest. And he would not address the real problem with this team which is still the point guard position. I know, I know, Anthony Carter this and AC that, but do you remember what happened in the Hornets game? Those kinds of point guards play for the elite teams in the West (Parker, Nash, and Paul) and those are the guys we need to gear up for. Ron doesn't, at least in my eyes, address what is really ailing us.
Thanks for reading,
The Nugg Doctor
Well who are we able to get to play PG? I think you ahve a valid point, but Kidd is essentially a pipe dream. I know that you've advocated for Antonio Daniels in the past, but there hasn't been any talk about him getting moved (and he REALLY isn't that caliber of PG). Calderon would be nice, but the Raptors are most likely going to hold on to him (or another team who can pay what will surely be a big contract this off-season)... Where does that leave us? Earl Watson/Luke Ridnour? I mean damn, there aren't a lot of options here.
Our perimeter defense is still a big concern, especially when we end up with AC matched against a much bigger guard like Kobe. I think our biggest problem on defense is the lack of closing out on shooters and leaving the perimeter open -- Artest would certianly help to cut down on that... In the Hornets game, we also got man-handled on the offensive glass -- you don't think Artest would've helped with that effort?
Basically, my point is that there aren't any real good options at PG who would be any better than what AC has been giving us (at an extremely cheap price). I think it's pretty clear that we want the guy playing PG to be able to feed Melo and the rest of the guys, limit turnovers, and hit the occasional open shot. AC has certianly been doing that -- the fact is that there simply is not a premier PG on the level of the guys you're talking about available (Kidd aside), so why waste effort chasing something unattainable when we have our best chance to make serious palyoff noise with AI, Marcus, and K-Mart all in their primes?
That said, trading Nene would be the worst-case scenario in this case I think (both because of his illness and because he's a fairly young, talented, big) -- I'm inclined to believe that the Kings would be willing to consider Ron-Ron for JR and Najera's expiring contracts because both Ron and the ownership have basically become resigned to the fact that they're trading him.
I dunno, I just think that your love for pure PGs is clouding your judgement here. Yeah, we'd probably win a championship with Kidd, Paul, or someone else on that level running PG here, but it's not going to happen with our payroll situation. If we didn't have K-Mart's giant contract hanging over us, maybe there would be more options.
You make some good points (no pun intended). I agree that there isn't really a whole lot of available pgs out there, but I just don't think Ron Artest fits our system. He is a combo sg/sf and we have those two spots pretty much covered. Sure, Ron would help us defensively because he is tough as nails and versatile, but I just don't think he is the right fit either positionally or chemically. AC really has been a dream for us so far, and not to take anything away from him, but he still isn't the guy to command this team to the next level.
And if this franchise was smart... not only would the give me a press pass but, they should have listened to me and made moves for Antonio Daniels.
Chucky Atkins is just another mouse in the house on defense and I've never been sold on his ability to manage a team.
But... If the Nuggets can give the Kings J.R. Smith and Eduardo Najera I will say that it would be good move, talent wise, for this team. J.R. is just a damn fool. To rock the cradle and blow a dunk going reverse when we are in a tough game is unexcusable and proves to me that he is still all about himself and his highlights first, and everything (including this team) second.
I know you like him, but give it a break J.R.!
Get the damn deuce and get your ass back on D. And if you would put your damn hands down after hitting a three it could only increase your minutes.
Thanks for reading,
The Nugg Doctor
Heh yeah that missed dunk was rough -- he always tried to give the people (i.e. not Geroge Karl.. heh) what they want and he just blew that one. The next one he just took off too early and looked like he got fouled... but yeah, that was a rough stretch for my dude JR.
And yeah, I still have no idea why we got Chucky Atkins -- health aside, he's basically adding to the problems we have on defense and only really contributing threes. There were (and still are) better options for 3-pointers and better options for ball-control PGs and we tried for a guy who could supposedly do both, but is still a giant liability on defense. That move just puzzles the hell out of me and always has.
Daniels at this point would've been a better move than Chucky, that's for sure. And I agree that overall, he'd be a better player for us that Chucky -- but I don't think he'd be much (if at all) better than AC, especially considering that his salary is a good amount higher.
So at this point, we're basically left with some of the outcast PGs from Seattle (including Delonte West, who would be awesome for us I think), or guys who cost too much and just don't provide much more than AC. Andre Miller is still the guy we need in that position, but there's no way that he's coming back here. Making a move for West would be cool (and he's definitely unhappy in Seattle), but I don't know if he's even on the radar. He'd be great next to AI...
Boykins found a job though! He's playing for the Bobcats now, so that team just got a little more fun to watch. He's a killer in NBA 2K8, so I'm hoping that they include him in the roster updates... heh..
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