Le Basketbawl

Toronto Raptor fans are some “Serious Hoop Fans” as New York Vinnie has found out over the last year. Whenever our friends over at Raptors Republic pick up one of New York Vinnie’s stories we get a ton of traffic from our neighbors to the North. Right now Raptors fans are to say the least dismayed; they lost out on the NBA Playoffs on the last day of the regular season. But worse than that they may end up losing the team’s All-Star forward Chris Bosh to Free Agency this summer.

There is a large segment of Toronto fans who consider Bosh as good as gone; and their only hope is that the Raptors will be able to work out a sign and trade with another club so they don’t end up empty handed. Now this would only be needed if Bosh wants to go to a team that is over the salary cap as they would need to clear cap space to bring the big man in house.

Friday “The Toronto Sun” speculated that the Raptors forward lost market value because he was not a member of any of the three All-NBA Teams. New York Vinnie disagrees with that opinion; because if you look at the list of the 15 players selected everyone of them were on a team that made it to the NBA Post Season. The Raptors did not make the Playoffs hence Chris Bosh was left off the list. In New York Vinnie’s opinion it is just that simple!

Can you honestly tell New York Vinnie that Milwaukee center Andrew Bogut had a better season or is a better player than Chris Bosh? Bogut was named to the All-NBA Third Team and the reason he made it was the Bucks made it to the Playoffs and the Raptors did not. Zach Randolph also had far better numbers than Bogut did this season; however the Memphis Grizzlies did not make the Playoffs and Randolph was also omitted from the list.

New York Vinnie does not believe that any NBA General Manager is goimg to make being a member of the All-NBA Teams a determining factor in signing a Free Agent. They instead will look at the numbers that Bosh put ip this season which were quite impressive. The Raptors big man averaged 24.0 points and 10.8 rebounds per contest in 70 games this season. They are also going to look at the fact that he is still just 26 years old and his best days are most likely still ahead of him.

Chris Bosh in the right situation could make a lottery team a Playoff team next season. New York Vinnie specifically have the New Jersey Nets in mind. If the Nets can bring in Bosh to play with Brook Lopez, Devin Harris and Courtney Lee they could be a very dangerous team next year. And they have plenty of cap space available so this deal is realistic.

Raptors fans, New York Vinnie feels your pain! As a fanatic about “MY BOYS” the New York Knicks; New York Vinnie has watched some Frickin awful basketball over the last few years. And even though the Knicks also have plenty of cap space available one player will not make them a contender! However the beauty of Sports is that it is cyclical, teams go from bad to good all the time. Except for maybe the Clippers and the Timberwolves!  Your team will be back Raptors fans; so just hang in there!

The “Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel” reported Saturday that Milwaukee Bucks General Manager John Hammond was named the NBA Executive Of The Year. Hammond helped the Bucks to a 46-36 record during the regular season and the team made the NBA Playoffs for the first time since 2006. Milwaukee won 12 more games this season than last despite losing star Michael Redd for the season earlier this year. Hammond was not afraid to shake things up on the roster; enticing veteran Jerry Stackhouse out of retirement and then trading to acquire John Salmons from the Chicago Bulls.

Back in August of last season New York Vinnie asked How Much Of Dumars Success Was Due To John Hammond?   Hammond as you might remember was Joe Dumars right hand man during the glory days of the Detroit Pistons. Ever since Hammonds took over as General Manager of Milwaukee the Bucks fortunes have gone upwards while the Pistons have turned into an also ran in a weak NBA Eastern Conference.

One Detroit based fan site “Pistons Forum.com” thought the question was Frickin ridiculous. New York Vinnie is wondering how much they are laughing with Hammonds winning the honor and the Pistons finishing the season at 27-55 in the Lottery and 19 games behind Milwaukee in the standings?

Joe Dumars has taken the “Once Mighty And Powerful Detroit Pistons” and turned them into an embarrassment. As New York Vinnie told you last summer the acquisitions of Charlie Villanueva and Ben Gordon were Frickin stupid! Villanueva was taken out of the starting line-up for rookie Swedish guard Jonas Jerebko who was taken in the second round! Great move Joe!

Want to know the biggest lie that is said thousands of times each day all over this Great Nation of ours? “I Hate To Say I Told You So!” That is pure Frickin Crappolla! New York Vinnie “LOVES To Say I Told You So!” And so does everybody else! We love to be right! That is just part of being a human being; it validates our beliefs!

So Congratulations to John Hammond and the Milwaukee Bucks; and as for you Joe-D, New York Vinnie thinks you have your work cut out for you!

Earlier this week the NBA announced the winner of the NBA Coach of the Year Award for this past season went to Oklahoma City Thunder coach Scott Brooks. The runner-up in the race was Milwaukee Bucks coach Scott Skiles and Nate McMillan came in third. Friday, the “Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel” reported that when Skiles was asked about the award he replied by saying “No Comment.”

Now the reporter from the Milwaukee paper took Skile’s reaction to mean that he was too busy concentrating on the NBA Playoffs as the Bucks currently trail the Atlanta Hawks in their first round match-up 2-0. However Your Old Pal New York Vinnie wonders if the reason Skiles would not comment is the fact that he is upset that he finished second in the voting? Realistically how long would it have taken the Bucks bench boss to congratulate Brooks for winning the award and praising his own team so that he would come in at second place?

Skiles was a tough gutty kid as a player in the NBA who would not back down from any challenge. He was one of those guys that if he played on your team you loved him and called him the ultimate competitor. However if he played for your opponent you most likely wanted to sissy-slap him for being such a cry baby.

He brings a lot of those same qualities to his job as a coach. Sometimes it works as it appears to in Milwaukee; however that is not always the case when he told Chicago Bulls management that maybe the team needed a new voice. He would be fired soon after on Christmas Eve.  

New York Vinnie has written numerous times that I hate to lose at anything. And if you catch New York Vinnie in the heat of the moment right after a loss I am not a pleasant guy to be around. However in something like losing a vote for an award where it comes down to a matter of judgement rather than stats; that is a different story. You have no control over something like that. Plus Skiles had plenty of time to get over any snit he was having by the time he talked to the media.

Situations like that you have to be gracious; that is part of your job as being an NBA coach. Unfotunately as New York Vinnie says all the time:  Not all of us grow up; some of us just grow old.

Joe Johnson led all players with 31 points Monday night as the Atlanta Hawks defeated the Milwaukke Bucks by a final of 104-96. John Salmons was the high scorer for the Bucks with 28 points while rookie Brandon Jennings added 21 in the loss for Milwaukee. The Hawks pulled out to  a big lead in the first and they were never really threatened after that. The loss sends the Bucks to sixth place in the NBA Eastern Conference Playoff chase as they now trail the Miami Heat with one game left in their season.

Johnson was the difference maker in this contest as he sparked the Atlanta offense in the first half. The Hawks would grab a big advantage in the first and led 30-21 a the end of the period. Milwaukee was able to chip two points off their deficit in the second quarter but Atlanta would be on top as the game reached halftime with the score 55-48.

Things did not get any brighter for the Bucks in the third quarter as they would trail entering the final 12 minutes of the contest 78-70. Milwaukee would get no closer than four points down in the fourth quarter and the Hawks held on for the victory.

Joe Johnson scored a game high 31 points, 7 rebounds and 3 assists while Marvin Williams knocked down 18 points, 2 assists, 2 blocks, 2 rebounds and 1 steal. Al Horford put 13 points on the scoreboard while grabbing 12 rebounds off the backboard, 2 assists and 2 blocks while Mike Bibby also had 13 points, 7 rebounds and 3 assists. Josh Smith added 11 points, 8 rebounds, 6 blocks, 2 steals and 1 assist while Zaza Pachulia came off the bench with 10 points.

John Salmons was the leading scorer for the Bucks with 28 points, 3 rebounds and 2 assists while Brandon Jennings put up 21 points, 5 assists, 4 rebounds and 2 steals. Jerry Stackhouse had 13 points, 1 assist and 1 rebound while Carlos Delfino scored 12 points, 4 assists, 4 rebounds, 2 steals and 1 block. Luke Ridnour added 10 points, 5 assists, 2 rebounds and 1 steal. Atlanta now has a record of 52-29 and will host the Cleveland Cavaliers Wednesday while Milwaukee now falls to 45-36 and will play in Boston Wednesday against the Celtics.

The “Chicago Tribune” reported Wednesday that the Chicago Bulls have agreed in principle to a trade with the Milwaukee Bucks that will send veteran shooting guard John Salmons to Milwaukee in exchange for Francisco Elson and Kurt Thomas. The paper reported that the deal has not been finalized and that the players that the Bulls receive are subject to change.

Salmons’ contract according to the report has an option allowing the player to have a guaranteed contract for next season for $5.8 million. The Bulls  are looking to delve into the Free Agent market next summer and did not want Salmons salary to count against their cap for next season. The two players that Chicago will receive in return will have contracts that will expire at the end of the current season. According to reports that would leave Chicago with $20 million available under the cap for this summer. 

Neither team has commented on the record as the deal was expected to be finalized Wednesday night and announced on Thursday before the NBA Trade Deadline kicks in at 3:00 pm EST.

The “Milwaukee Journal Sentinel” has reported that veteran Free Agent Jerry Stackhouse will sign a contract with the Milwaukee Bucks for the remainder of the season. Stackhouse will try to fill the void left by Bucks guard Michael Redd who was lost for the rest of the season last Sunday against the Los Angeles Lakers. Redd blew out his left knee and will have surgery to repair it either late this month or early next month.

Stackhouse was the number three selection in the 1995 NBA Draft taken by Philadelphia. He has also had stops in Detroit, Washington D.C. and spent the last five seasons playing for the Dallas Mavericks. The veteran saw limited time last season playing in just 10 games. In 14 seasons in the NBA Stackhouse has career averages of 18.4 points, 3.7 assists and 3.4 rebounds per game.

The veteran was shipped to the Memphis Grizzlies as part of a four team trade that would put Shawn Marion in a Mavericks uniform. Memphis bought out the balance of his contract making him an unrestricted Free Agent. Stackhouse has not played at all this season and it will be interesting to see what he has left in the tank as he becomes part of the Bucks.

If You are a regular here at “The House That New York Vinnie Built” Le Basketbawl than you are well aware of how closely I have been following the situation concerning Cleveland Cavaliers guard Delonte West. Although New York Vinnie is far from a fan of the Cleveland Cavaliers and I have never really paid that much attention to West before this past summer; I have been rooting for this young man to turn his life around.

Sunday against the Milwaukee Bucks it looked like the Delonte West who was such an integral part of the Cavaliers core last season may have returned. West in probably his strongest game this season scored 21 points, 4 rebounds, 3 assists, 2 steals and 1 block as Cleveland blasted the Bucks 101-86.

West as you are most likely are well aware of by now is battling a bi-polar disorder; with the proper medication the young man is fine. Unfortunately he went off his meds this summer and he had been dealing with the results of that ever since. Delonte back in September was pulled over in  Upper Marlboro, Maryland. West was riding a motorcycle at about 10:00pm when he cut off a cop on the Capital Beltway.

When the policeman pulled the Cavaliers guard over he was found packing some serious Frickin heat; he had a handgun in his pocket, another one shoved into the Frickin leg of his pants and they found a rifle in a guitar case that was strapped to his back. The weapons have been identified by the police as a Beretta 9mm handgun, a Ruger .357 magnum handgun, and a Remington 870 shotgun. West was charged with speeding and weapons counts according to Maryland Police.

The guard was present for the Cavaliers Media Day but then missed four straight workout sessions without getting permission from the team. West was fined for those missed practices. West then asked and received permission from the team to take a leave of absence from the team to work out his mental health issues. He did not play in any of Cleveland’s preseason games or in the first three games of the regular season.

The guard has  been back  with the club for a while now however his play has been sporadic at best. There have been many nights when West has not even appeared in a game; something that would have been unthinkable last season. However New York Vinnie watched the game on Sunday and from the moment West entered the game he seemed more animated and aggressive than he has been in a while. That attitude paid off as he was the leading scorer for the Cavaliers in the game.

New York Vinnie has always been a fan of “Scrappy Players” a guy that gives his all every Frickin time he hits the court. Sunday Delonte West  was the Frickin Poster Boy for “Scrappy Players” showing a love and enthusiasm for the game that you can not Frickin fake.

However let us not forget that it was only one game; the real proof will be in how he plays this week as the Cavaliers play back to back games in Memphis on Tuesday and Houston on Wednesday. Was this the start of the return of the young man who was the team’s most consistent player in last season’s NBA Playoffs not named LeBron James? Or was this just a mirage; a Frickin tease of what he is capable of being? Those are answers only time will tell; however New York Vinnie will be pulling for West. The NBA can never have too many “Scrappy Players.”