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Number Crunchin’ – R.E.S.P.E.C.T

Wednesday, December 2nd, 2009

promoFree food trumps winning??
I have been attending Raptor games for 10 years and as far back as I can remember, they have had a variation of the free slice of pizza promo. It usually goes, if the team scores 100 points or more you get a free slice of pizza the next day. During the Kevin O’Neil days there was no chance in hell the team was going to score 100 so they had this box where at the start of the game they would pull out a number like 88. Now realistically fans pay $50 on average for a ticket and that slice of pizza costs $2. It baffles me to think that the $50 is rendered worthless to some on nights when they can’t redeem the free food. There are nights when the Raptors have won but scored 99 points and you can hear the boos in the building. Last night the team had a chance to win down 3 but most people were leaving, the few left in the building were more than happy to cheer for a buzzer beating 3 that gave them a LOSS and a free slice of pizza!
Raptor fans took solace last night that they got the free slice of pizza if not the win. I want to try to find out how many people actually redeem this stuff?? I give my ticket (if the 100 point mark was reached) to the homeless man on the sidewalk so he can grab a slice the next day but now there is a limit on how many slices you can redeem. So now, said homeless man has to barter the tickets for something else he needs. How do I know this? Well one of them decided to go on a 15 minute tirade with me the last time I offered up my ticket. I know I never make it out to redeem the slice but I also know that I will not be offering my ticket up anymore either.
Apparently this is happening all over the league with Chalupa’s and Taco’s. Last night Laker fan’s booed the Hornets for playing hard to the end because they wanted their free tacos. (Hornets Hype) It baffles me that the marketing gurus behind these things haven’t figured out that they need to switch it. Make the promotion “Hold the opponent to under 100 points and get a free ______.” This way the fans are in it til the end chanting defense and that’s what the team really needs.

The Night in Numbers:

Boston Celtics 108 – Charlotte Bobcats 90
27 points a season high from Ray Allen after he clearly struggled v/s Miami with his mind more focused on his sons health.
4 game win streak comes to an end for Charlotte as the Celtics hold them to 40% from the field and 2-11 from long distance.

Washington Wizards 106 – Toronto Raptors 102
1-6 from the FT line. The Raptors resorted to playing Hack-a-Haywood trying to find ways to stop the guy who had stopped Bosh all night long.
17 turnovers on the same night they had 50 rebounds (season high). The Raptors have yet to play a complete game on both ends and we are 1/4 done with the season.

Phoenix Suns 99 – New York Knicks 126
8 Assists for Steve Nash in the game… Larry Hughes had that in the 1st quarter!
1 st game this season that the suns were held to under 100 pts. The Knicks are known to give up 110 ppg on average

Golden State Warriors 107 – Denver Nuggets 135
62 points in the paint for the Nuggets as they got a much needed 28 point blowout to get the team back on track after the loss to the Wolves.
30 minutes for Monta Ellis a night after he goes off for a career high? GSW threw in the towel early and even though they had a short bench they finally rested the kid.

Miami Heat 107 – Portland Trailblazers 100
27 points for Michael Beasley. For a guy who had a rough off-season he has sure silenced the doubters.
20 Rebounds for Greg Oden (career high) in 30 minutes but 4-13 from the floor is straight ugly from your big man.

New Orleans Hornets 99 – Los Angeles Lakers 110
29 min = The average floor time the Lakers starters saw last night thanks to a 2nd quarter where the Hornets were held to 15 points and never really recovered
19 % from 3 point range for the Hornets who played again without Peja and CP3

02.12.2009 Number Crunchin 3 Comments

Number Crunchin’ – The Circle of Life

Tuesday, December 1st, 2009

Allen Iverson in a Sixers jersey? All is right in the world again…

SI is reporting that the Philadelphia 76′ers have offered Allen Iverson a 1 year non-guaranteed contract. This may not be a great basketball decision int he long run but for a team that is struggling and needs a boost it seems to be the perfect fit. The nostalgic fans (me included) will turn tune in to catch games as this becomes a storybook ending to a gripping career.

The Sixers have lost 7 straight games and could use some scoring. They could use assists as well, with the Princeton offense based around passing and all, but that may be asking for too much. With Lou Williams sidelined for up to 2 months, Iverson can step right in and take the starting role he so much desired. This is a win-win situation for all except probably the “OTHER” AI. Either way, this I know, I will be cheering for him til the end.

The Night in Numbers:

Chicago Bulls 97 – Milwaukee Bucks 99
14 points in the 2nd quarter en route to 22 pts, 15 rbs, 4 blk and 3 assists for Bogut as he returned after 6 games to help his team get their 9th win.
4 Bulls starters scored in double figures but they got no assistance from the bench (9 pts) which ultimately hurt them.

Philadelphia 76ers 102 – Dallas Mavericks 104
36 years old? No problem as Jason Kidd helped the Mavs in every facet of the game putting up 22pts, 11ast, 6rbs, 4stl and 3 blks.
1 boneheaded move to go along with 19 rebounds for Samuel Dalambert. Iguodala threw up the buzzer beater and Sammy decided to intercept it!!?

Memphis Grizzlies 93 – Utah Jazz 120
3 assists shy of a triple doube = Carlos Boozer who finished the night with 24-15-7. This team seems to go as he does and he has been on fire over the last 5 games.
5 points from Marc Gasol is not going to cut it especially on a night when the team played without Rudy Gay. Gasol has quietly become the 2nd most important player on this young Grizz team.

Indiana Pacers 107 – Golden State Warriors 126
45 points (career high) for Monta Ellis before he fouled out on a horrible call. He is averaging 35 ppg over the last 5 and GSW is 3-2 over that span
24 turnovers is not going to win you many ball games. Both teams were sloppy (22 for GSW) but on the road if you need all the extra possessions you can get…

Tweet of the Night
Bout time we got a win VS Chicago! Squad 6: Best Chant of the Night. “You look like a lady!!” hahahha I LMAO in my head during a FT attempt. – @AndrewMBogut after returning early from an injury and playing out of his mind.

01.12.2009 Number Crunchin 2 Comments

Number Crunchin’ – Taking Care of Buisness

Monday, November 30th, 2009

franklyFrankly speaking…. its a business at the end of the day.
0-16 is nothing to be proud of but Lawrence Frank never stopped coaching… until today. It was announced early Sunday that Lawrence Frank was relieved of his coaching duties while the team was preparing to take on the Los Angeles Lakers. This was not a situation like the Hornets where it felt the players had quit on their coach but rather there just isn’t enough talent to work with. A team that is dealing with a inevitable move, a new owner and a slew of injuries, Coach Frank did the best he could with the situation. I remember the day he was hired. He lasted a lot longer than most would have guessed. He coached every possession and on most nights showed more emotion than his team could muster up. He is a student of the game and it won’t be long before he has another job somewhere but in the mean time I would love to hear his insight on one of the many NBA broadcasting teams out there.

The Night in Numbers:

Atlanta Hawks 88 – Detroit Pistons 94
1 Charlie Villanueva broken nose as the shorthanded Pistons snap a 7 game losing streak (@CV31 tweet)
24 offensive rebounds given up by the Hawks as they have lost 2 of their last 3 games.

Phoenix Suns 113 – Toronto Raptors 94
16 assists for Nash helping 6 players besides himself to score in double figures (Nash Stat)
5% (1-20) from beyond the arc as the no defense playing Raptors tried to shoot themselves back into the game.

Memphis Grizzlies 88 – Los Angeles Clippers 98
600 th win for the Coach Dunleavy (helps to be your own boss) as the Clippers went on a 22-0 run to end the game
7 points in the 4th quarter as the Grizzlies blew a 16 point lead and handed the game to the Clippers

Boston Celtics 92 – Miami Heat 85
5 Boston starters in double figures scoring, led by a monstrous 24 points (11-12 shooting) from Garnett
4 points for Wade in the decisive 4th quarter as his team has lost 6 of their last 9

Orlando Magic 114 – New York Knicks 102
3-0 road trip for the Magic as they have built a strong hold on the #1 spot in the East
5 made FG’s for Duhon is a triumph in itself, now to see if he can keep up the “hot” shooting.

Houston Rockets 100 – Oklahoma City Thunder 91
23 Offensive rebounds as the Rockets came back from a 9 point half time deficit on the back on Brooks and Landry
7 stitches to Scola’s eye followed up by a 10-0 run by the Thunder, but they could never put a hold on the game

Philadelphia 76ers 89 – San Antonio Spurs 97
16 minutes of SOLID production from Spurs rookie Blair as he hauled down 7 offensive boards
6 game losing streak as Sixers are dealing with injuries and we all wait to hear if Iverson will return to his roots…

Minnesota Timberwolves 106 – Denver Nuggets 100
17 game Nuggets home win streak broken by the Wolves who snapped their own 15 game losing streak
12 points for the Nuggets in the 3rd quarter was the breaking point and the team could never recover.

New Orleans Hornets 96 – Sacramento Kings 112
24 points from Sergio Rodriguez (Spanish Chocolate) as he dazzled fans flashing memories of “White Chocolate”
4 game win streak for the Hornets was snapped as they played without Chris Paul and Peja Stojakovic

New Jersey Nets 87 – Los Angeles Lakers 106
0-17 record for the Nets tying the record for worst start to a season on the day their coach is fired
17 pts= Avg. margin of victory for the Lakers over last 6 games. Made 13 3’s and shot 50% on the night

Tweet of the Night
I’m betting David Kahn pulled out a ladder, climbed up and snipped nets after T-Wolves victory in Denver. His vision finally validated! – @WojYahooNBA

30.11.2009 Number Crunchin 2 Comments

Number Crunchin’ – Money Talks

Tuesday, November 3rd, 2009

Starting this segment a week into the season but it will be back as a daily feature.

rndooo Rajon Rondo cashed in to the tune of 5 years $55 million this week. I guess along with the fat wallet comes a bigger mouth. Apparently he felt the need to do some trash talking about Chris Paul and things didn’t go so well from there. Adrian Wojnarowski, has a really great column breaking it down both and talking about the direction of the Hornets. (READ HERE)
The Hornets are reeling early in the season finding different ways to lose each night. Chris Paul is doing everything he can but he can’t do this alone. Not in the West where teams beat on each other night in and night out. There was no sign of defense being played on either nights that I watched the Hornets play. My concern… are they tuning out Byron Scott as happened in NJ?

The Night in Numbers:

New Jersey Nets 68 – Charlotte Bobcats 79
7 points from the Nets in the 3rd quarter was only rivaled by the 10 spot put up by the Bobcat’s in the first
2:1 turnovers to assists in this game if not worse. It was all kinds of ugly

New Orleans Hornets 111 – New York Knicks 117
40 Minutes from Larry Hughes as he has done a 180 from preseason. Averaging 19/5.5/4, he is the early front runner for comeback player of the year!
26 Three point attempts by the Hornets and only 19 trips to the FT line. That needs to be reversed to see any success this season

Houston Rockets 113 – Utah Jazz 96
8 players finished with 10 or more points for the Rockets. No Yao and McGrady… this is the definition of a team win.
34-20 the Rocket’s outscore the Jazz in the final frame. Don’t sleep on these Rockets after a big win in SLC.

Memphis Grizzlies 116 – Sacramento Kings 127 (OT)
18 Productive minutes for Allen Iverson as he saw his first game action of the season. Oh yea and he is already bitchin’
48 Points for Kevin Martin as he went 7-10 from distance in a hard fought victory over the Grizzlies.

Minnesota Timberwolves 90 – Los Angeles Clippers 93
20 Turnovers for the Clippers and they still managed to squeak out their 1st win
24 Points for Al Jefferson in a loss but he looks to have healed well from last seasons injury.

03.11.2009 Number Crunchin 3 Comments

Number Crunchin' – Method to the Madness

Friday, March 27th, 2009

83bigStats and ways to evaluate the performance of a player have been evolving every since records were kept. Enter John Hollinger who has taken NBA statistics to a whole new level and not always do they tell an accurate story. First there was PER, then the Daily Power Rankings and two days ago we were introduced to VA (Value Added). This new stat is supposed to take into consideration the amount of time the player is on the court to measure his effectiveness not just by quality but also quantity. I like looking up crazy stats, I like finding anomalies, but Hollinger is pushing it once again coming up with another formula that he justifies with an arbitrary constant that he can’t break down. He got bashed on PER because players who played 15 minutes of garbage time had a better numbers than a starter, now with VA, his numbers are trying to tell us that stats say Wade brings 3 times more wins to the Heat than Charlie Villanueva brings the Bucks. I am not convinced, are you?

The Night in Numbers: The TNT rule was in full effect as on this night the League went 3 for 3 on blowouts!

9 Game losing streak in Auburn Hills was snapped as the Lakers, led by Kobe’s 30-8-7, were able to put away the pistons 92-77
20-0 Run by the Lakers to end the 3rd sealed the fate of the shorthanded Pistons who got a solid night from Will Bynum – career high in Points (25) and Assists (11)
13 of John Salmons 27 Points came in the 3rd Quarter which helped the Bulls grab the game by the horns and hand the heat their 2nd straight loss.
4 Double-double’s in the last 5 games for Tyrus Thomas who has found some consistency with his role on this Bulls team that has won 6 of their last 7 games.
6 game win streak came to an end for the Suns, they allowed the Blazers to shoot 60% from the floor and were stuck playing catch up through most of the game.
12 Rebounds to go along with a season high 29 Points for LaMarcus Aldridge as he notched his team leading 18th double-double in the win.

Bracket Breakdown: 3 for 4 on yesterdays picks…. a lot better than my bracket was going! The early games were a snoozefest – Pitt barely squeaked out the win and UConn didn’t really need Thabeet’s 15-15 for the win over Purdue. The late games didn’t disappoint though – Mizzou brought it right from tip, never really giving Memphis a chance to settle in and in Boston, Barack knew whats up as Villanova jumped on the Blue Devils sending them packing for the season. There are 4 more open spots to round out the Elite 8 and Friday’s games may have a few upsets in store.
My Picks: Louisville over Arizona, Syracuse over Oklahoma, Michigan St over Kansas, North Carolina over Gonzaga

27.03.2009 NCAA, Number Crunchin 2 Comments

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