One-and-Done Rule Needs To Change

Posted on April 6, 2012 by OneManFastbreak.net

The way things are currently constructed, any American player who is 19 years of age and at least one year removed from high school can apply for the draft. With this option, the majority of high school standouts play one year in college and bolt for the NBA.

In the last five drafts, four one-and-done college players were the No. 1 overall selections: Greg Oden (2007), Derrick Rose (2008), John Wall (2010) and Kyrie Irving (2011).

Yahoo! Sports NBA writer Marc Spears wrote earlier this year that several high-ranking NBA team executives said they wouldn’t have been surprised if the age limit in the new Collective Bargaining Agreement was pushed to two years in college and 20 years old by the end of that calendar year. Spears said that one NBA general manager said about two-thirds of teams were in favor of that change, however it never got done.

That makes total sense because now the NBA and its owners have a vested interest in the college game thanks to the new14-year, $10.8 billion TV deal the NCAA inked with CBS, TNT, TBS and truTV to broadcast the men’s tournament.

Before the billion-dollar deal, the NBA could care less about players jumping to the league. With TNT now in the mix covering March Madness, it now becomes a major player in college hoops and would love to feature its college stars. Even though the NBA and TNT are two separate entities (wink, wink), they are in business together and what’s good for business is having more college All-Americans stay in school for at least two years to help to boost the ratings. At the same time, it keeps the teenagers out of the Association for a little longer, which means more jobs for the below-average NBA veterans.

As much as basketball analysts say college basketball is all about the names on the front of the jerseys instead of back of the jerseys, what attracts the non-hardcore basketball fans are the big-time athletes on the big-time teams.

High schoolers Martell Webster, Gerald Green, Eddy Curry, Sebastian Telfair, Dorell Wright and J.R. Smith would have benefited greatly from a year or two in college, but then again that argument gets swept away when you mention Kobe Bryant, LeBron James, Dwight Howard, Kevin Garnett and Amar’e Stoudemire. All of these phenoms were able to make the jump from high school to the pros with ease, and absolutely destroys the argument that you need to play college ball to be successful in the NBA.

So, what should Commissioner David Stern and the owners do about this one-and-done dilemma? Keep it or lose it? The answer lies in the dollar, and the new NCAA tournament TV deal makes the current early entry rule a chip the players could lose on the bargaining table.

Brought to you by OneManFastbreak.net

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The Battle for Consistency: Knicks Continue Recent Slide

Posted on March 11, 2012 by Glen G

Just three weeks ago the Knicks were on top of the world. With star forward Carmelo Anthony sidelined and Amare Stoudemire struggling to score, fans thought the Knicks were heading for tough times, but they knew little of Jeremy Lin. The speedy ball moving point guard reignited a Knicks squad that really didn’t feature a superstar but rather relied on team play to win games. That formula helped the team storm back into contention while at the same time giving the faithful fans a lot to be excited about. However, here we are a few weeks later and the Knicks look worse than before Linsanity began. The team’s defense has looked non-existent and the return of Melo has done nothing but affect chemistry in a negative way. As a fan it’s been hard to watch recently as the team’s play has many, including myself, wondering what’s wrong. Everyone thought that the emergence of Lin, coupled with the proven scoring of Stoudemire and Anthony would result in New York being very dangerous come playoff time. Instead the headlines are all about the dynamic of the team and the inability of Lin and Anthony to coexist.

When Carmelo Anthony wasn’t in the lineup the team played like a team, giving top flight effort each and every night and playing like they had something to prove. Since his return the team has seemed relegated to allowing Anthony to go isolation a large percentage of the time opposed to allowing Jeremy Lin create for everyone. The results are clear, something has changed and sadly enough the issue may lie with Melo. Undoubtedly a great scorer, Carmelo is a rare type of player that can score on his own, and seemingly at will. However, one thing Anthony certainly is not is a great passer, or a passer at all. In his career he is averaging a meager 3.1 assists per game, which is unacceptable for a player of his stature. When you consider the fact that LeBron James averages almost 7 assists per game in his career (6.9 APG to be exact), and that LeBron and Melo are very similar in their habits, you can see that Carmelo is really only creating scoring opportunities for himself.

Assists per game is a very telling statistic for how a guy plays the game, and the way this impacts his teammates is extremely evident in the way the Knicks have been playing of late; they quite frankly appear disinterested. When Jeremy Lin was running the show, role players like Landry Fields and Jared Jeffries were being rewarded for effort plays like cutting to the basket or hustling in transition; now they are simply audience members watching The Melo’ Show. It may seem crazy to blame a player as skilled as Anthony for the teams struggles, but that’s exactly what I’m doing and it makes a lot of sense. The dynamic that has been created is that the team must run the offense through Carmelo and the aggressiveness that made Lin so effective in his first 10-15 games is all but lost. If the Knicks continue to rely on one man imposing his will, as opposed to a team first approach, their recent slide will become a standard in New York. Carmelo must be willing to work through Lin, and sacrifice a chunk of his scoring for the better of his team. The Knicks have a talented squad but without a full team being involved they will go nowhere. We’ve seen how good they can be and we’ve seen how bad they can be in the matter of just a month; now let’s see how the team reacts because clearly something has been amiss during this 5 game losing streak.

Who Do You Blame For The Slide? Can Anthony and Lin Coexist? Thoughts, Let Me Hear Em!

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Linning and Losing: The New Jersey Nets Dilemma

Posted on February 20, 2012 by Glen G

Tonight’s Knicks-Nets matchup features two teams that appear to be going in opposite directions. While the Knicks have recently caught fire under the guidance of rookie sensation Jeremy Lin, the Nets have simply looked lost all season. When you look past the consistent play of point guard Deron Williams and the potential of rookie MarShon Brooks, the team from New Jersey hasn’t looked like a team at all. In watching them play a handful of games this season (the Nets get full season coverage in NY on the YES network) I’ve often wondered what’s going on with this team. I’ve thought many times that this can’t possibly be the best product they can put on the court….and it isn’t. The reason for that is one that some may find smart, and others (like myself), may not believe in. The reason for the Nets struggles over the course of this year (and last year) can be attributed directly to their commitment to landing a superstar, in particular Dwight Howard. Although Dwight is by leaps and bounds the most dominant center in the game today, I find it to be extremely risky to wait on one guy; if you need proof New Jersey look no further than last season’s Carmelo Anthony sweepstakes….where you lost out.

Banking on one player to come in and revive a franchise is dangerous because of the message it sends to your franchise (and to its fans). It essentially admits that the team (as is) is incapable of winning, however admitting this truth (and this is a fact with this NJ squad, leave no doubt about that) could pave the path to change.

In today’s “Free Agency Era” a team as bad as the Nets could become title contenders by next season. One must give New Jersey credit for sticking to their plan (even though I don’t agree with it personally) of bringing in one or two more star players; but for their sake it better pan out. Howard has already made it known that he wants to be part of the move to Brooklyn, but those rumors have really calmed down over the past few months. Adding D12 would be a huge move for this team, but not adding him would now be a disaster. The team’s successful transition into New York seems hedged on the fact that the franchise will have at least two marquee players to sell merchandise and to help them compete as they are ushered into the new Barclays Center in the 2012-2013 season.

Should Dwight Howard decide to change his preference, the smooth transition becomes anything but, and will place an enormous amount of pressure on the Nets Management. To justify these past 2+ seasons of abysmal basketball, the Nets must make a splash in one way, shape or form. The fear I have is that should Dwight opt out of coming to New Jersey, and the Nets are unable to find another true star player, they may end up paying “star money” to just a good player in an effort to keep fans happy. A signing like a Joe Johnson (six years, $119 million) won’t begin to save this team, and will kill their only asset: their financial leverage. Having cap space and an abundance of draft picks to play with should make the Nets big players in the upcoming trade deadline/offseason free agency market, meaning they should remain patient until they can land true franchise changing talents.

The Knicks went from a similar position to being contenders through a formula of aggressively pursuing free agents (getting Amare Stoudemire and Carmelo Anthony), making smart acquisitions (Tyson Chandler and J.R. Smith are two great pickups) and getting a little lucky (unless they knew Jeremy Lin was this good all along).

The Nets are a team that are really only one or two good players away from being in contention. They must not rush the process, but they must be aggressive in going after a star now! Tonight’s game between the Knicks & Nets should be nothing more than a way for Jeremy Lin to add to his fame and impressive stat line, and should help keep the Knicks’ (7-1 since they made Lin their starting PG) dominance going. Hopefully the Nets can pull their act together and by this time next season we will be talking up a Knicks-Nets showdown as the heated rivalry that it should be.

Are You Surprised By Lin’s Recent Success? What Should The Nets Do To Get On The Map? Let Me Hear It!

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Jeremy Lin is the Top NBA Fantasy Basketball Guard

Posted on February 11, 2012 by Robert Dereme

Straight out of obscurity and into a serious playing role, Jeremy Lin of the New York Knicks has been as good if not better than every guard in the NBA. Friday night, February 10th, 2012, Jeremy Lin proved it by going toe to toe with Kobe Bryant and the Los Angeles Lakers, and flat out beat him.

Kobe had 34 points, 10 rebounds, 1 steal and just 1 assist, while Linsanity had 38 points, 4 rebounds, 2 steals and 7 assists. Best of all, Jeremy Lin lead his team to victory and their 4th straight win. The New York Knicks were definite underdogs going into Friday’s game and Lin was the leader of their winning effort. No Carmelo Anthony! No Amare Stoudemire! No Problem! Jeremy Lin out gunned a gun slinger like Bryant, and he did it in style. In actual NBA basketball or in fantasy basketball, a 38 point game is a high performance from a guard and is always a team booster.

Jeremy Lin is only going to improve. He is getting more and more experience and more and more playing time. Carmelo Anthony will be back in a week and Amare Stoudemire will be ready to play this Tuesday when the Knicks play the Toronto Raptors. Amare provides a great receiver for the passes that Lin has been feeding to the beneficiaries such as Tyson Chandler and Jared Jeffries. Chandler’s play has been elevated since the pick n’ roll savvy Jeremy Lin joined the rotation, and Stoudemire has been missing the pick n’ roll ever since Raymond Felton, who ran it so smooth with Amare last season, was traded. Bottom line is Amare will be a much more productive and dangerous option for Jeremy Lin to pass to around the basket than Jeffries, and Lin will just pile up that many more assists. When Carmelo returns to the Knicks lineup, will he be able to play unselfish basketball and allow Lin to continue to be a force? The answer is absolutely. Melo will benefit a great deal from being able to receive more passes in better positions to take good shots, and make more baskets as opposed to having to try and create and force shots.

With the impending return of Melo and Amare to the New York Knicks, Jeremy Lin’s play as a fantasy basketball player is only going to improve. Lin is the real deal! He has scored 89 points in his first 3 starts, the most since the NBA merger in 1976. For Daily Fantasy Basketball, go with Jeremy Lin at guard to win.

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Amare Stoudemire Explodes Against Chicago Last Night, Can He Repeat The Sonic Boom Tonight Against the Boston Celtics?

Posted on February 3, 2012 by Robert Dereme

Amare Stoudemire has had a poor season thus far, averaging only 18 points per game, 7 points fewer than he did last season for the New York Knicks. However, last night against the always dangerous Chicago Bulls, Stoudemire exploded for a game high 34 points, along with 11 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 steal and 1 blocked shot. The question is can he repeat his dominant performance tonight against the defensive minded Boston Celtics?

The aging Celtics, while always dangerous, are not the dominant eastern conference team they have been in years passed. Boston is the current 7th seed in the east, yielding a record of just one game above the .500 mark at 11 wins and 10 losses. The defensive leader of the Boston Celtics, Kevin Garnett, is also aging. Garnett is approaching the age of 36, no spring chicken for any sport, especially the taxing NBA basketball season. It’s even more grueling this season with more games in less time, which by default means less rest. Even more perplexing is the fact that Kevin Garnett is playing in his 17th NBA season this year, talk about high mileage. If he was an automobile he would be well over the 400,000 mile mark, and how many cars even last that long? Not too many.

The conclusion for tonight, Friday, February 3rd, 2012 is that Amare Stoudemire has all of the pieces in place for a repeat top notch performance against the aging Celtics, similar to last night against the Chicago Bulls. Pick Amare Stoudemire for daily fantasy basketball leagues and expect a huge fantasy performance.

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Tag Archives: Amare Stoudemire is a Good Fantasy Pick

One-and-Done Rule Needs To Change

The Battle for Consistency: Knicks Continue Recent Slide

Linning and Losing: The New Jersey Nets Dilemma

Jeremy Lin is the Top NBA Fantasy Basketball Guard

Amare Stoudemire Explodes Against Chicago Last Night, Can He Repeat The Sonic Boom Tonight Against the Boston Celtics?