The "Have Your Random NBA Question Answered" Thread

[Gedas]

I thought this kind of thread could come in handy, as there are times when you need some random info about the NBA, and it's not worth a new thread. So this could be a place where people could get those kind of questions answered.

My first question is, what kind of player is Loren Woods? All I have seen of him so far is that funny 1 minute mix of him on youtube. I would really like to know his strenghts, weaknesess, perhaps even potencial in Europe. If some Toronto, Sacramento, Minnesota fans could give me some info?

[[Q]]

I think he's a lot like Mikki moore in a lot of ways. A young big man that's a little thin. Athletic, but never really got that much playing time. Not really outstanding at anything, but a decent rebounder because he's 7 ft tall.

[Gedas]

Thanks for the info. I hope he can translate to the European basketball well. He signed with Zalgiris Kaunas until the end of the season. I think that an athletic 7'2 player in Europe could become a very dominant force in the paint. Anyway, he is bought to clean the glass on defense, be a defensive presence. Loren won't probably even start, so off the bench he should be an excellent player.

[Anthony15]

Will the Cavs ever win a championship with LeBron?

[ryan6liu]

I think that question is more opinion than fact. Nobody will know. In my opinion though, he wont.
Cavaliers are a good overall team, but lack consistency. One person can never carry his whole team to a championship; you need good supporting players. Iverson i can say single handedly carried his team to 2001 finals, but lost there
So i think cavs can't win a championship.

[3P]

You forgot, Hughes if he has a season like his last with the Wizards could help out bigtime. Also Daniel Gibson has quiet a bit of potential, and Lebron can wait a few years. Still unless they get a center it will be hard saying Z's carrer is almost over.

[diddy]

would LBJ or Wade ever change their team for NYK? i heard this news last year! both said that it would be a pleasure to play in Madison Square Garden!

[Bruce]

would LBJ or Wade ever change their team for NYK? i heard this news last year! both said that it would be a pleasure to play in Madison Square Garden!

Almost every other big name nba player wants to play in NY. And why not? NY fans have great love for the knicks. otherwise, MSG should have been empty since the 99 season. of which I refer to the "dolan disaster" and now the "thomas tragedy". One would think they're trying to do cancer research there, collecting all the cancer specimen the league has to offer.

Anyway, moving on...

Does anyone else think that the NBA has expanded itself too much for its own good? And now talent has been streched too thinly? such that we have teams that are well stocked in the backcourt, and in need of front court help, and vise versa. what if we just merged there teams?

[Metsis]

Well, merging teams would mean a lot of the guys losing jobs... I think its good that there are no all-star teams in the league and thus making the job of GM's and owners and coaches more visible, which is a good thing. It takes courage and luck to gather a potential winner.

No team mergers please... If it was just stars against stars, the league would have higher skill level, but at the end, if you only have 15 teams instead of 30, you only have 15 venues for people to see the games... It would limit the chances of young players to get in and it would definitely hinder the internationilization (or something like that) of the league. I think the broader draft board has really helped NBA to become a better product all around the world.

I think that the Cavs have some nice pieces around LBJ, that are up and growing and learning the game. And so is LeBron BTW. If they can keep Varejao, Gooden, Gibson and Pavlovic around for a longer period of time I think this team can do some crazy things. But they have a really big chip to play this summer, with Hughes. I think the man wants out and they can definitely get a good player for him and with all the teams hankering for higher and higher picks, I think they could take their pick and Hughes' contract and get a really good trade done. And get some immediate help for the team now... While the other parts are still maturing. And the answer is yes, I think they will win a championship some day, if LeBron chooses to stay in Cleveland... He's only 21 and already touted as one of the best in the league...

People going to New York... Well, Thomas has stopped trading so it's not like they are really in the market to get people. They have so many awful contracts that they will have to ride this out for the next 3-4 years before they will be able to work the trading game again... But with Lee and Frye up-and-coming, I could easily see why some superstars would love to play in NY. The place is great, if you are winning.

What do you think of Darko + Dwight in Orlando for next season? Grant Hill's contract is coming off the books and they are a player in the market. A good shooter teamed up with Nelson in the backcourt and they could really do some damage. Both of the big guys are still "work in progress" and as we all know big men take up the game a bit slower than the guards. I really see them as a force for the future and the future could be realized as soon as next season. What do you think?

[tempo]

yes i agree but contray to popular opinion i dont want the magic too go after carter this off-season, his 30+, lazy and this will be the last contract his likely to sign which decreases his incentives too do well.

[ixcuincle]

One person can never carry his whole team to a championship; you need good supporting players.

So i think cavs can't win a championship.

Agreed...except Dwayne Wade had basically no supporting cast (or at least a supporting cast that didn't step up as well as other NBA champions) yet they somehow managed to win a World championship last year.

As for the NBA , it's good as is. No need to remove teams...Sure , there are teams like Golden State that never seem to get better , but removing Golden State would be weird (what would happen to all the "The City" jerseys). Relocate the teams , but don't remove them.

[Gedas]

One person can never carry his whole team to a championship; you need good supporting players.

So i think cavs can't win a championship.

Agreed...except Dwayne Wade had basically no supporting cast (or at least a supporting cast that didn't step up as well as other NBA champions) yet they somehow managed to win a World championship last year.

As for the NBA , it's good as is. No need to remove teams...Sure , there are teams like Golden State that never seem to get better , but removing Golden State would be weird (what would happen to all the "The City" jerseys). Relocate the teams , but don't remove them.

Are you kidding?

Wade had no supporting cast?!? The what is Shaq, Alonso, Gary Payton - three hall of famers, then what is Posey, Walker - highest class NBA players? Miami is probably the deepest team in the NBA. Give the same to James and he'll go 70+ and wont even need to flop to do that.

[weltmann]

why are there 82 games played? why this number? is there a logical explanation or is it just a number?

[arrell]

Hey, a thread I feel comfortable in!

Question: About championship winning teams, has there been patterns of combinations of types of players in a team? Hmm, I didn't word that our very nicely.

Let me try again: are there specific winning combinations of teams? For example, with the LA Lakers (and Miami Heat last year), you had the big centre (shaq) and shooting guard (kobe) combo. With San Antonio (98-99), you had the two big centre/forward combo of Duncan and Robinson.

[debiler]

The big man / swingman combo also applies to the Rockets of '95, for example. (Hakeem / Clyde)

I still think that's the best combo ever: dominant big man + athletic scorer. With a good supporting cast, you're set for a championship.

[Metsis]

Let's see... There are 82 games because of this! There are 14 other teams in your conference and 15 teams on the other conference. You play 2 games against the other conference and that totals to 30 games! One home and one away game.

But you play 4 games against teams in your own conference! Thus 14x4=52 games... Thus you play 30+52 games = 82 games... It's the same in NHL as well.

Championship teams have usually had two stars in them. At least. In the 80's the teams were way more packed then now, but two seems to be needed. Although this trend is going away at least to some extent. Jordan had Pippen. Kobe had Shaq. Shaq had Kobe. Wade had Shaq. Robinson had Duncan. But there are some annomalies, such as the Detroit Pistons winning with a team that really had no super-star, but had a really good starting five. No one was the one go-to guy. Duncan has had Parker and Ginobili to watch his back.

But usually it takes two to tango... Those who say that Wade had no help what so ever, are dead wrong. Shaq commands double teams. He needs to be guarded or he will make you pay. Some people say that Shaq doesn't have anything left, but that will be seen in the next 6 weeks. Will Miami make the play-offs. Shaq has enough time to establish himself as a dominant center that requires double teams to come over and if Wade can play this season, this is going to be a dangerous team. If Shaq has some juice in the tank.

I don't think Magic should go after Carter this off-season. I think they should go after someone else. Carter has 2-4 years left and it depends on how well he can avoid getting hurt. Carter would probably make this a play-off team, but the wiser course would be to get someone younger as this team isn't ready to make a run for the title. Maybe someone like Gerald Wallace or someone more on those lines. Wallace can certainly fill the stat sheet. And I believe that JJ Redick is coming along for the shooting department... Somewhere out there. I would go with the long term plans, if I were the Magic, but who knows... The goal is to win it yesterday, or that is how it seems. I just hope that they don't blow up the team since there are good things growing there.

What do you think will happen in Seattle this summer? Lewis taking off and all that. Rashard really wants to go and are they keeping Allen? Or trading him? Is it time to blow up this team?

[Cable]

It's the same in NHL as well.

No, the NHL is completely different. The NHL plays two games against teams from two of the three opposite-conference divisions, 8 games against divisional rivals, and the rest spread out over the reamaining teams in the conference. It's really screwed up. You play 8 games against some teams, and 0 against others.

[scrub]

What is a team rebound on the boxscore?

[pHLo]

What is a team rebound on the boxscore?

when you're on defense and the opponent shoots and misses and your team is boxing out successfully so that no player is able to touch the ball before it goes out of bounds, your team will be rewarded with a team rebound

i think u even get credited with a TR when your opponent misses the first of more 2 FTs (or the second when he's shooting more than one)

[ixcuincle]

Are you kidding?

Wade had no supporting cast?!? The what is Shaq, Alonso, Gary Payton - three hall of famers, then what is Posey, Walker - highest class NBA players? Miami is probably the deepest team in the NBA. Give the same to James and he'll go 70+ and wont even need to flop to do that.

The funniest reference to the Heat's poor supporting cast is best put by Dan LeBatard , in a Miami Herald column he wrote when Iverson was rumored to be traded to Miami. In it , he writes that the Heat should have traded anyone not named Wade or O'Neal in order to acquire Iverson. But the best part...is when LeBatard points out the lack of a supporting cast , specifically Jason William's poor numbers in the last game of last year's NBA finals. Maybe I give some credit to Shaq , but it was him and Wade only. The column can be read in the Miami Herald archives for a 3 dollar fee.

And the whole Wade / LeBron debate has been brought up multiple times so let me add something to it. If anyone doubted Wade was better than LeBron , just look at yesterday's game against Dallas. LeBron missing free throws , missing game-tying shots...and this after 4 years in the NBA? Lol...and we crown this man "the king"?

[maes]

Question: About championship winning teams, has there been patterns of combinations of types of players in a team? Hmm, I didn't word that our very nicely.

Let me try again: are there specific winning combinations of teams? For example, with the LA Lakers (and Miami Heat last year), you had the big centre (shaq) and shooting guard (kobe) combo. With San Antonio (98-99), you had the two big centre/forward combo of Duncan and Robinson.

I don't think so, i think that's what keeps the game intriguing. For a while people said you needed a dominant C...Jordan's teams were considered by some the best of all time and they had crappy Cs (compared to Abdul Jabbar or Wilt). Some say you need a good big & a good guard...the Celtics had good guards but clearly their success depended on a SF, Bird.

At one point i said all championship teams at least had great ball movement, Bulls triangle probably overpassed too much, Bird was a 7 apg kinda guy, Shaq was a great passer in LA. But now we have Miami, which is a Wade ball hogging-til-he-gets-fouled offense, so not even that is true.

[Gedas]

I have another question, does anyone have info, who is the player to play in most teams in the NBA?

[The X]

I thought this kind of thread could come in handy, as there are times when you need some random info about the NBA, and it's not worth a new thread. So this could be a place where people could get those kind of questions answered.

My first question is, what kind of player is Loren Woods? All I have seen of him so far is that funny 1 minute mix of him on youtube. I would really like to know his strenghts, weaknesess, perhaps even potencial in Europe. If some Toronto, Sacramento, Minnesota fans could give me some info?

Loren Woods, eh? He played at Arizona & was projected to be a lottery pick when he entered NBA Draft, however injuries (foot injuries I think, maybe back, can't remember) derailed his college career & probably took away a bit of what was special about him, as well as a lot of potential that he had....anyways, he ended up playing until he was a senior (5th year senior I think due to injuries, although I could be wrong) & was still expected to be a 1st Round draft pick....he unexplicably fell to Minnesota in the 2nd Round due to teams worried about his injury history & desire....

strengths were rebounding & shotblocking....weaknesses are that he is/was injury prone, offensively he hasn't really developed much....I think he's just one of those former college big men with athleticism & potential, but due to injuries & lack of desire to improve, he never became anything better than average....

[Gedas]

Thanks for the info, as I said, I think he can be an excellent big man to come off the bench and provide solid defense and rebounding. I'm just curious how he will look in Europe, as athletic big men from USA sometimes become extremely dominant facing European big men.

[[Q]]

I have another question, does anyone have info, who is the player to play in most teams in the NBA?

probably Tony Massenberg who retired after winning a championship with San Antonio in 2003.

Chucky Brown would probably be a close 2nd.