See, What Had Happened Was... brain dump 9/24/13

Leakage is what this post is all about.  I need to unload some things that I have on my mind regarding the NFL, plug a few websites, and for fantasy football stuff scroll down to the bottom.

The NBA's Crucial Year Three part 2: "Max-nificent"

 In the first part of this series, I discussed some players that will surely earn a nice ransom but need to impress in this upcoming season to raise their value.  In this edition, we'll look at some potential franchise guys who are almost assured of receiving "The Max" if they continue their progression in year number three.  The third season of an NBA player's career is the most important.  It is essential to their financial well-being that they perform well or display the potential to be a coveted member of an organization's future.  Rookie deals are for a guaranteed two years; this only applies to first round draft picks. We'll also take a glance at a couple of second round picks that deserved to be mentioned with the previous group.

The NBA's Crucial Year Three part 1: "Money Earning"

The third season of an NBA player's career is the most important because it is integral to their financial well-being that they perform well or display the potential to be a coveted member of an organization's future.  When a player is drafted, there is no need to negotiate their contract because the amount they make depends on where they were chosen in the draft; this is often referred to as their "rookie deal".  Rookie deals are for a guaranteed two years; this only applies to first round draft picks.  However, a team may exercise an option for a third year, most will do this unless a player is a complete bust.  There's also an option for a fourth year.  If a player can have a breakout type of season in year three, the organization will most likely offer them a contract extension starting at the maximum amount allowed 25% of the salary cap which would kick in at the start of the fifth season.  In part one of this series, I take a look at some first rounders going into their third season that need to ball so hard  for their agents to be taken seriously when the word "max" is spoken.

Which State Births The Best NBA Players?

When starting lineups are introduced before an NBA game, the arena announcer usually include a player's height, jersey number, position, experience, and college.  If a player didn't attend college, then their high school is declared, if they didn't attend high school in the United States, then their country of birth is given.  As I was browsing Twitter the other night, I ran across a question that piqued my interest.  Someone said "I wondered, if you made NBA teams with players all from the same state, who would have the best team?"  Being that I was raised and live in California, I answered quickly, "Easily California."  Is the answer really that simple though?  To be sure, I did further research and for fun, assembled rosters based on the birth state of players.

2012-13 All NBA Team

The All NBA Team isn't about who the most entertaining players in the league are.  It isn't about who meant more to their team, so there's no factoring "what the team did when so and so wasn't on the floor."  It's really about the guys who got the work done better than anybody else at their position this season.  So position by position, I took the guys who produced and put them in an imaginary starting lineup to make up the first team.  Certain players clearly stand out, others can be debated.  If their play didn't contribute to a winning record, they were excluded from receiving recognition.  Here are my thoughts on the 2012-2013 All NBA Team.

NBA Most Improved Player... Who Really Deserves This?

Okay, I want to state for the record that this is the most ridiculous of the post-season awards handed out by the National Basketball Association.  There really isn’t a set standard or a defined checklist to go by to weigh how some players have improved their game versus others that have gotten better.  However, since the association wants to keep this award in place, I might as well give my seven cents on it.  I’ll break guys into three different groups.

NBA Sixth Man Of the Year

A substitute, replacement, back-up, relief… these are some of the labels that are given to the players that aren’t included in the starting lineup in sports.  In basketball, this collective not included in the starting five is known as “the bench”.  It’s a fact that the level of contributions from the bench makes the difference between franchises that are just being mediocre from those that are bona fide contenders.  A special designation though is usually reserved for the first player to check into the game, the sixth man. The sixth man can simply be the best of the group that’s not worth enough to be starters or he can very well be good enough to start but the coaching staff feels he can more of an impact coming off the bench.  Enough of the basics let me get to the point.  I feel the person that wins Sixth Man Of the Year should be someone that’s indispensable to his organization, an integral part of its success and comes from a top tier team.  Therefore my winner is going to fall into that criterion.

NBA Rookie Of the Year

The narrative gets pretty boring when it appears there is only one reasonable answer, so I’ll try to enlighten you because this race turned out to be interesting.  November wasn't even over and a clear cut leader of the pack had already emerged.  Most people predicted the likes of Anthony Davis, Harrison Barnes, or Michael Robinson.  However, the kid that would receive the early raves and end up winning this thing was completely under the radar. Before I discuss the winner let me talk about some other newcomers that deserve praise.

NBA Defensive Player Of the Year

I’m motivated to make a contribution to the pointless arguments that go on over the internet. So hey, why not just do it on my own site. The NBA season is nearing its conclusion, thankfully this means I have a few “gimme” topics to write about.

The runner ups

 

Dwight Howard - The guy that has been a shoe in for this award for the better part of his career made strong push for this award towards the end of the season. His defense post All Star break has been stellar and, other than Kobe Bryant’s Space Jam level offense, has been the driving force behind the Los Angeles Lakers’ playoff push.  Howard also leads the NBA in rebounding.  Unfortunately for D12 and the Lakers, his efforts weren't enough, the team was altogether pretty horrible on defense.   He came into the season still recovering from off season back surgery. The poor shadow of himself that suited up in the first half of the season wasn’t the intimidating presence in the paint that we all were used to.