With All Star weekend around the corner, The NBA announced that Atlanta Hawks guard Joe Johnson will be unable to participate due to an injury. To be honest he shouldn’t have been selected in the first place, he isn’t even the best player on his team, that distinction goes to three time All Star snub Josh Smith who was once again overlooked for this year’s festivities. With that said the NBA has an obligation to replace any player that is unable to participate and did so this morning by naming Rajon Rondo to his third All Star game.

While I feel terrible for Josh Smith, there’s no way to overlook the type of season Rondo is having. In 22 games Rondo has posted averages of almost 15ppg, 9.5 apg & 5 rpg, while shooting 48% from the field. Besides the statistical aspect of his game, Rondo is one of the smartest players in league today, his basketball IQ is a huge reason for his success and he can easily dominate a game because of this asset. Other notable players that were considered as replacements were Brandon Jennings, Danny Granger, Tyson Chandler, Kevin Garnett (joke), and Linsanity. Rondo is currently serving a 2 game suspension but will be available for Friday’s media session in Orlando.

The NBA dunk contest participants were announced last week and most fans were less than thrilled, not only with the players selected but also with the format that implemented this year. The dunk contests originally featured Rockets guard/ forward Chase Budinger, Knicks guard Iman Shumpert, Indiana Pacers guard/ forward Paul George, and Timberwolves rookie forward Derrick Williams. Yesterday news surfaced that Shumpert would be unable to participate because of a nagging left knee injury so immediately names like Lebron James, Blake Griffin , Javale McGee & Deandre Jordan came to mind as viable replacements.

James and Griffin both turned down the event but Javale McGee and Deandre Jordan were definitely interested. The NBA instead chose Jazz forward Jeremy Evans as Shumpert’s replacement.  To be fair Evans is a more than capable participant and has been very vocal about his interest in participating.  He’s even gone as far as putting together viral clips in order to persuade the NBA to include him. Unlike most fans, I actually think this year’s contest will be worth watching.  Budinger, George and Williams have all shown there are explosive leapers who can dunk with the best of them and history has shown us that the name of the back of the jersey doesn’t matter ( S/O to Shannon Brown).  I could be wrong but I love the potential of this year’s contest and Jeremy Evans is a legit replacement.

Dunks aren’t worth 3 points player.

Click here to view the video on YouTube.

The period between first half and second half. The intermission that lies between the second and third quarters. Madonna….We’ve reached the halfway point of the shortened 2011-2012 NBA season and the HoopSmack staff will be checking in on how teams are performing up to this point.

Next up…..The New York Lins…I mean, Knicks.

I’m back to survey the first half of the New York Knicks’ 2011-12 season. Before the season started last December, I made some projections on how brighter the future should be for New York. This was a season to watch how much progress the Knicks could build on last year’s improvement. Instead, the Knicks started the season an absolute mess. They suffered four losses in their first six games of the season including consecutive losses to Raptors and Bobcats! Shortly after, murmurs of Amar’e Stoudemire’s displeasure with Carmelo Anthony’s love for shooting started to arise. Meanwhile the Knicks continue to fall more & more behind in the standings, there was no answer for the gaping hole at PG and no one besides Tyson Chandler seemed to care about the defensive side of the floor. But then Linsanity happened!

Key Players: Carmelo Anthony, Amar’e Stoudemire & Jeremy Lin

This is definitely not a big three we could have scripted at the start of the season. It’s not even a trio the Knicks have benefited from yet. The emergence of Jeremy Lin started while Amar’e was missing games while mourning the loss of his brother and Carmelo sustained a groin injury five minutes into the same game Lin had his first career start. Melo leads the Knicks in scoring averaging 21.8ppg, 5.8rpg & 4.3apg on 39.8% shooting (I see why Amar’e doesn’t like Melo’s love for hoisting shots) and 81.6% from the line. Amar’e is averaging 18ppg, 8rpg & 1.4apg on 44.7% shooting and 81.3% from the line. Jeremy Lin has answered the Knicks’ point guard prayer averaging 14.6ppg (3rd on the team), 2.7rpg & 5.7apg (1st on the team). Lin is shooting 48.7% from the floor, 34.3% from downtown and 74.2% from the charity stripe.

X-Factor: The Revolving Door of Personnel

Jeremy Lin’s spectacular play has taken much attention away from some issues with the roster. Melo, Amar’e & Lin have only had the opportunity to play significant minutes together in one game (which resulted in a 100-92 loss to the Nets behind Deron Williams’ 38-point explosion… sorry Jeremy but I had to point it out). Only time will tell what will come of this trio. To add more complexity to the fold, Mike D’Antoni will have to figure out where to find shots for newly acquired SG JR Smith. Since it’s D’Antoni, I’m sure he’ll just make the team shoot within the first five seconds of the shot clock instead of the first seven seconds. More importantly will be rotations of the unsung heroes who’ve stepped up during Linsanity. Landry Fields has finally woken up. Bill Walker & Steve Novak have played well. One thing’s for sure, Tyson Chandler is a new man with Jeremy Lin at point. Since Lin has taken over, Chandler has averaged 13.3ppg, 8.6rpg & 1.8bpg on 70.6% shooting…. YES! Chandler hasn’t shoot less than 58.3% in a game since Linsanity began!

The Knicks may have the most interesting remaining 33 games of any team in the league. The team’s identity isn’t clearly defined at the midpoint. We’ve seen the lowest of lows and highest of highs already this year and the strength of schedule will only get tougher as the postseason approaches. At this point in the season, I figured New York would have a 23-10 record. But with the team being 20th in the league in both shooting & rebounding, 23rd in assists, 27th in 3-point shooting and 28th in blocks per game, it’s no surprise they’re a game under .500 at 16-17. If the 7th best team in the East (2nd in the Atlantic Division) wants to continue experiencing success, they’ll have to get on one accord quick, fast & in a hurry. They have lost 11 games I thought they should have won including seven home games (six of those losses were to sub-.500 teams)!!! There’s not much turnaround time… April will be here in no time!

Biggest Winning Streak: 7
Biggest Losing Streak: 6
Last 10 Games: (8-2)

The period between first half and second half. The intermission that lies between the second and third quarters. Madonna….We’ve reached the halfway point of the shortened 2011-2012 NBA season and the HoopSmack staff will be checking in on how teams are performing up to this point. First on the list…The Memphis Grizzlies.

I’m back to survey the first half of the Memphis Grizzlies’ 2011-12 season. Before the season started last December, I made some projections on what this team could build upon after a strong playoff run last year. But due to player movement and serious injuries, those points were demolished! Just four games into the season, we saw PF Zach Randolph sustain a partially torn MCL which has sidelined him for the past seven weeks. This major blow to the frontcourt spearheaded a 3-team trade sending 2nd year SG Xavier Henry to New Orleans for PF Marreese Speights from Philadelphia. Speights has averaged 8.5ppg & 6.6rpg since the deal. There have been reports that Randolph will start full-contact drills after All-Star weekend.

Key Players: Rudy Gay, Marc Gasol & Mike Conley

Not exactly the big three we expected coming into the season, but they have been very effective together. Rudy Gay leads the team in scoring averaging 19ppg, 6.6rpg & 2.2apg. He’s shooting over 45% from the field and almost 38% from beyond the arc. Marc Gasol is leading the team in rebounding averaging 15ppg, 9.9rpg, 2.9apg & 2.1bpg. He’s shooting almost 50% from the field and almost 76% from the line. His efforts have earned him his 1st All-Star selection. Mike Conley leads the team in assists & steals averaging 13.3ppg, 2.7rpg, 6.7apg & 2.5spg. He’s still struggling with his shooting overall (43.4%), but his outside shooting has been tolerable at 35.1%.

X-Factor: The Shooting Guard Spot

Tony Allen and OJ Mayo have combined for All-Star production out of the 2 spot for the Grizzlies. Together they are averaging 23ppg, 7rpg, 2.9apg & 3spg on 44% shooting, 35.7% shooting from outside and 78.3% shooting from the line. All these numbers are virtually split down the middle with a bit of an offensive edge going to Mayo and defensive edge swinging Allen’s way. These two have been unsung heroes for helping Memphis stay in the playoff race.

Roles have definitely changed for players in this group but the projections aren’t too far. I had Memphis holding a 20-13 record halfway through the regular season. With the loss of Randolph, I was certain that was a mere pipe-dream but they currently hold an 18-15 record. I’m definitely impressed with what they’ve done thus far despite them losing five games I expected them to win (including 12/26 and 2/6 meetings with the Spurs). The 7th best team in the West (4th in the Southwest Division) has been doing it by maximizing their opportunities on the basketball court. They’re #1 in steals and they cracked the top 10 for turnovers per game. They are fifth in the league on offensive rebounding. Coach Hollins has these boys playing gritty, yet controlled basketball despite being 20th in the league in scoring, 22nd in 3-point shooting and 25th in assists. It’ll be interesting to see how Randolph’s return impacts this team in the 2nd half of the season.

Biggest Winning Streak: 7
Biggest Losing Streak: 4 (immediately after the 7-game winning streak)
Last 10 Games: (6-4)

“If they’re going to do something, I wish they would just (expletive) do it.” – Black Mamba

Just like everyone else, NBA superstar Kobe Bryant has heard the trade rumors surrounding his dance partner Pau Gasol and to put it mildly, he’s fed up. During the tense press conference after the loss to the Phoenix Suns, Kobe came to the defense of “Robin” to his “Batman”,

“He’s been the consummate professional,” Bryant said after the Lakers’ loss to the Phoenix Suns. “He’s going out and he’s trying to do what he can. But let’s be real. If you didn’t know you were going to be here tomorrow, if your head’s on the chopping block and you feel like you’re just waiting, it’s tough to put all of yourself in the game.”

“I talked to him a little bit about it,” Bryant said. “It’s just tough for a player to give his all when you don’t know if you’re going to be here tomorrow. So I’d rather them not trade him at all. If they were going to do something, I wish they would just (expletive) do it. If they’re not going to do it, come out and say you’re not going to do it. This way he can be comfortable, he can go out and perform and he can play and he can invest all of himself in the game.”

“It’s hard for Pau because of all this trade talk and stuff,” Bryant said, bringing up the subject without being prompted by reporters. “It’s hard for him to kind of invest himself completely or immerse himself completely into games when he’s hearing trade talk every other day. I wish management would either come out and either trade him or not trade him.”

Bryant has never wavered on his claim that the Lakers have the foundation to contend for another NBA title with Gasol in the lineup,

“It obviously starts with myself and Pau and the emergency of Andrew (Bynum),” Bryant said, “but you can’t have one of our pillars not knowing if he’s going to be here or not. Do something. One way or another, do something. If they trade him, at least you have some type of closure.”

There are a lot of factors going on here and depending on who you talk to, these elements can be a good or bad thing. The Lakers have been pretty average offensively and that defensive mindset that coach Mike Brown was supposed to bring?…well its not as stingy as you would have thought (sitting 10th in defensive efficiency) and given how bad offenses are in this post-lockout season…that ranking is not a true picture of what’s going on.

So what’s the point here? Do the Lakers roll the dice and stick with a dominant Pau Gasol and Andrew Bynum front line? Do they move Gasol to bring in a serviceable point guard (Kyle Lowry perhaps?)  Do they move Bynum and pieces for Dwight Howard? According to Kobe the answers don’t matter, just make the (expletive) decision already…

Six games on the road and the Spurs don’t show any signs of slowing down.  Tony Parker and the San Antonio Spurs continue to be perfect on the annual Rodeo Road Trip beating the Los Angeles Clippers 103-100 in overtime Saturday afternoon.

I’m actually surprised the Spurs came out with a win this game.  A brutal, condensed road schedule would derail most teams but the Spurs seem to be adjusting to what’s been thrown at them so far.  The effects of the road trip became apparent in the opening quarter of this game as they limped out of the gate missing their first 8 shots.  Richard Jefferson was definitely not feeling it missing some wide open corner threes and Dejuan Blair and Tiago Splitter found themselves in some early foul trouble trying to guard Blake Griffin.  It didn’t get any better throughout the first quarter with Griffin dominating the paint and the Spurs losing Splitter due to a calf strain.

Lucky for the Spurs the law of averages kicked in and the good starting trending toward the Spurs way.  It might also suggest that this is when Tony Parker started dominating the game like he has been for much of this season for the Spurs.  With the Clippers playing some solid pick and roll defense, Parker began pressing the issue on both ends of the floor to cause turnovers and create transition opportunities.  Parker’s new found aggression and Danny Green’s stingy defense on Chris Paul turned the tide of the battle and the Spurs found themselves in the driver’s seat for rest of the game…well into the late game that is.

To repeat myself, I’m actually surprised the Spurs won this game.  In the fourth, you saw Paul and Parker pretty much match each other on the offensive end.  Paul turned it on scoring 17 points and Parker going for 12 points and 2 assists in the final quarter.  As you hit the midway point of the 4th, you realized it was going to come down to late game execution.  Who’s going to make the plays.  Well…i guess it wasn’t that simple.  Jefferson fouled Caron Butler on a MADE three pointer.  Tim Duncan missed a go-ahead layup with 12 seconds left.  Gary Neal turned the ball over on an inbounds play. Now at this point, you would have to imagine the Spurs are done for.  Well not exactly.  All-Star Paul turned the ball over after stumbling on the inbound pass and Neal buried the three to send the game into overtime.

Now in overtime it was all Spurs.  Duncan and Green grabbed some timely offensive rebounds to get some extra possessions.  Matt Bonner and Neal hit threes with the pressure on and rookie Kawhi Leonard played some suffocating defense on Paul on the last possession to seal the victory.

Double digit leads, turnovers in crunch time, clutch shots, this game was everywhere.

Click here to view the video on YouTube.

Stats, Stats, and Stats

Tony Parker – 30 points, 10 assists, 3 rebounds
Tim Duncan – 11 points, 17 rebounds
Gary Neal – 17 points, 3 rebounds, 3 assists

Blake Griffin – 22 points, 20 rebounds
Chris Paul – 21 points, 6 assists
Randy Foye – 21 points, 4 assists, 3 rebounds

In efforts to bolster their Roster, The New York Knicks added shooting Guard J.R. Smith to the team today. Smith reportedly signed a 2 year contract with a player option for next season for $4.5 million. The Knicks were able to secure Smith because the Clippers could only offer $450,000 for the remainder of the season. Smith was one of the more coveted free agents this off season but due to the lockout and uncertainty of an NBA season, Smith signed to play overseas for mainly financial reasons. As soon as the Lockout ended he was very vocal about his plans to return to the NBA but was unable too because of contractual obligations. Smith did thrive in China as averaged over 30 points per game, one of which included a monster 60 point game. Despite his individual success on the court, Smith was unable to shake his image as a headache; he reportedly engaged in fights and rubbed many within the organization the wrong way with his prima donna attitude.

There is absolutely no doubt that J.R. is an unbelievable talent, when focused he’s easily one of the better guards in the league but controversy comes with the territory when dealing with Smith. New York has been the hottest team in the League in the past 2 weeks due to Jeremy Lin’s unbelievable play and a renewed focus on Defense, Smith must do his best to adjust to the style of play on both ends of the floor. He’s a deadly shooter and with Linsanity’s tendency to drive and dish, there will be a myriad of open shots. He also has a good relationship with Melo and D’antoni’s up & down style of play is very similar to that of his former coach George Karl. After missing out on a slew of free agents in the shortened offseason, The Knicks have managed to put together a solid roster that is capable of making some noise in the playoffs. Only time will tell if this move will be beneficial, the good news is there is flexibility and these two parties aren’t tied together for an extended amount of time. In the meanwhile let’s enjoy the madness that is Linsanity and keep our fingers crossed.

Despite losing the past 5 games in disgusting and frustrating fashion, Danny Granger and the Pacers beat up on the Brooklyn…New Jersey Nets Thursday night 93-88.  Nobody was probably watching other than League Pass denizens and Pacers fans though…Shout out to Joe Crawford for that phantom traveling call against Roy Hibbert though.  Good to see you still got sir.

So you take a group of professional basketball players and have them play 3 games back-to-back-to-back.  Would you expect them to before at 100% that third game? Probably not unless their name happens to be Kobe Bryant or LeBron James.  As expected with this compact schedule, the Pacers looked slothful in the opening minutes and the Nets 29-point first quarter signified that laziness.  After that the Pacers turned all Hoosiers on us and began to dominate the Nets as most of the league has done this year.  Don’t take this as the Pacers played some elite basketball after the first.  Absolutely not.  They just happen to play better than their opponents…who were also playing like crap for a good portion of the night.  The Nets weren’t coming off a back-to-back-to-back though…they just suck like that.

As mentioned earlier this was a Shabba Ranks game for sure.  The game got so bad at one point that Tebow decided to shut the lights off in the arena. The Pacers did eventually come out on top and there were a couple of reasons that happened. Danny Granger played some All-Star type basketball – at times.  Given the fact he was playing through a sprained ankle, I’ll give him some more credit for his performance.  Paul George is a contestant in this year’s dunk contest but his defense on Deron Williams was ridiculous. Williams didn’t score at all in the second half against George.  All of his points came off of switches in the pick and roll and turnovers by A.J. Price.  Finally, the Pacers kept New Jersey’s shooting percentage low while forcing turnovers in the process.  That proved to be enough to offset their own poor shooting.

Outside of Granger and George, the rest of the Pacers left me wanting more.  The starters were horrendous at times and were mediocre at best for this contest against the struggling Nets. Yes Roy Hibbert got a double-double but he struggled to get that against the front line of three homeless people¹ the Nets decided to play tonight.  David West is a shell of a shell of his former self.  He had no lift…well even more “no lift” and he got “bodied” by Kris Humphries.  The guy that took Lebron’s spot as most hated sports figure.  He even threw a bullet pass to no one in the fourth that gave the Nets a chance at the end.  The worst of the worst was Darren Collison by far.  He got TORCHED by D-Will while offering nothing on the offensive end.  Nothing means 5 points and 2 assists in 26 minutes of play.

Full disclosure I haven’t watched too many Nets games this season and at this rate I probably never will.  I feel bad for Coach Avery Johnson with this ragtag group of characters on the roster.  Even their Bond villain owner is absentee from the picture and their doesn’t seem to be a vision for a team thats looking to get Dwight Howard and start off in Brooklyn with a bang.

Instead of giving you some analysis on why the Nets lost this game, I’m just going to point 5 facts about the team and then everything else will fall into place,

1. Shelden Williams is starting for an injured Mehmet Okur who was starting for an injured Brook Lopez.  The Nets would have a better shot if Williams’ wife was playing in his place.
2. They have someone with the name Sundiata on the roster. That sounds like an island drink that you get young girls to get them drunk.
3. They signed a legal binding contract with Jordan Farmar who in Tay P’s words can’t dribble the basketball…even though he’s supposed to be a point guard.
4. They signed Keith Bogans willingly…
5. Johan Petro is playing significant minutes…

I’m counting down to when Deron Williams decides to mysteriously have a season-ending injury and spend his time learning how to dougie.

1 – The three homeless people are Johan Petro, Shelden Williams, and Jordan Williams…i’ll wait while you google Jordan Williams.  I’ll bet money that Knowledge knows where he went to college without having to look it up on the internet.

Click here to view the video on YouTube.

Stats, Stats, and Stats

Danny Granger – 32 points, 5 rebounds, 1 sprained ankle
Roy Hibbert – 13 points, 11 rebounds
Paul George, 11 points, 5 rebounds, 5 assists, 4 steals, 2 blocks, 1 molestation charge reported by Deron Williams

Deron Williams – 29 points, 6 rebounds, 6 turnovers
Kris Humprhies – 24 points, 10 rebounds, 3 blocks, 1 rape charge reported by David West

It was more good than bad.  There were moments where the Huskies were running and gunning like the successful Huskies of the past.  The three’s were dropping.  Guys were driving to the basket.  Defense was solid.  Terrence Ross, who usually struggles in the 1^st half, was playing really well.  Aziz N’Diaye was involved in the offense early.  C.J. Wilcox’s jumper was working.  The Huskies were able to run and that led to the halftime score of 44-26.  Though the game was never really in doubt, the Huskies still let their guard down and reverted back to their bad habits that have made this season hard to watch.

I’m talking about turnovers and bad defense.  Some of these turnovers are so awful; I seriously don’t see how Coach Lorenzo Romar is able to stick with guys in the game.  Tony Wroten has been so careless with the ball, that it seems that it doesn’t even bother him.  Some of these passes that he attempts have zero chance of being completed.  You really thought a no-look over the head pass between 3 defenders was a good idea?  Really?  When he does turn the ball over, his body language always appears that it’s the other players fault.  There’s four games left in the season and he still makes the same mistakes at the beginning of the season.  It’s going to be interesting how his NBA career is going to turn out.  I can see him becoming an occasional All-Star or I can easily see him being in the D-League in six-years.  Though Wroten had six steals, he wasn’t exactly Gary Payton out there.  Arizona State was even sloppier than the UW, they had 19 turnovers.  Wroten still gambles way too much, leading to his teammates to cover for him.  Wroten’s final line was 13 points 4 rebounds 4 turnovers and 4 assists.  As much as I criticize Wroten I would much rather have him in the game than Abdul Gaddy.

Gaddy continues to be a non-threat on offense.  I seriously have no idea what he’s thinking.  He hardly ever looks at the basket.  He’s too unselfish, which led him to hand out 8 assists.  But he was pretty sloppy with the ball game again, ending the night with 3 turnovers.  All the talk of Gaddy improving his jumper over the summer, and we still don’t know if it worked.  Gaddy needs to shoot and he needs to drive to the basket more, I would know I had the same problems in High School.  I always tried to be a good teammate and made sure I didn’t ball-hog; which led me to maybe taking a shot or two the whole game.  Its possible Gaddy has the same thinking.  He sees Wilcox, Ross, and Wroten who can carry the scoring load so he simply defers to them.  Romar needs to do a better job of communicating to Gaddy that he has to look for his shot or this team has a no postseason.

It’s no surprise that the Huskies won because Wilcox and Ross had good games.  When those two are playing well, the Huskies are pretty damn hard to beat.  Ross had 18 points and Wilcox had 14.  They also took the most shots on the team.  Ross like Gaddy, is too unselfish at times.  When he makes a couple of jumpers early, then you know he’s going to be aggressive for the game.  Wilcox is still limited in practice with his hip injury, and it shows.  His three point shot isn’t as reliable as he’s used to.  But that’s expected when you’re not allowed to shoot in practice.  But he’s still the Huskies’ biggest outside threat and defenses have to honor that no matter what the percentages say.  This was a good warm-up game to prepare for the big game this Saturday against Arizona.  They beat a team they should beat.  Now they have a little confidence going into what is likely going to be the complete opposite style and flow of this game.