NBA Daily: 2-16-10

NBA Stars Of The Night

Derrick Rose, Chicago. Rose was a question mark to even play the game. However he came through with 29 points on only 18 shot attempts. He also threw in 6 assists to help the Bulls beat the Knicks.

Derron Williams, Utah. Williams helped the Jazz defeat the Rockets by scoring 17 points and dishing out 15 assists. He has his assist average to 9.9 per game, showing that although his shooting touch is off, he is one of the best floor generals in the game. Utah is now only 1.5 games out of the number two seed in the West.

Kevin Durant, Oklahoma City. His shot was a little off, but Durant still ended up with 25 points, 14 rebounds and 3 blocks. The main thing is that he lead his team to victory over the Mavericks. The Thunder are now just a half game out of the number four seed in the West.

NBA Dud Of The Night

Allen Iverson, Philadelphia. I know he was out a few games because of illness in the family, but Iverson stunk it up in the loss to Miami. He hit only one of seven field goal attempts and scored 4 points. He used to be able to survive these poor shooting games by getting to the foul line at will, now that he is getting older it is much harder for him to score when his shot is off.

International Player Of The Night

Jonas Jerebko, Sweden. Jerebko had 21 points with 2 steals in the Piston’s  win over the lowly Timberwolves. He has been contributing decent numbers recently, but seems to only be able to do one thing at a time. He has scored in double figures in three of the last five games and grabbed double digit rebounds in the other two games. Hopefully he is able to eventually put together complete games and become a double-double threat.

Popularity: unranked [?]

Dirk Nowitzki Scores his 20,000th Point

Dirk Nowitzki has crossed another milestone. The German power forward is easily the greatest NBA player from his country and now he is moving up the list of all-time NBA scorers.

Currently he ranks as number 34 on the list of career scorers. He is only 31 years old so you have to imagine that he will score at his current pace for at least two more seasons. Being seven foot tall means that he doesn’t rely on his legs as much in his jump shot, so he shouldn’t wear down as much as a guard.

So if he does score around 25 points per game the next two seasons he should be at around 25,000 points at 33 years old (he will probably score another 1,000 this season, plus another 2,000 per year). That will put him ahead of Patrick Ewing at around 17th place all time (Allen Iverson should jump ahead of Ewing by then).

So if he slows down to about 20 points per game the next two seasons (taking him to 35 years old). That would mean he would score another 3200 points those years, putting him around 28,200 points. Assuming that both Shaquille O’Neal and Kobe Bryant have passed that point, that would put Nowitzki at around 7th place, just above Moses Malone.

To round out his career, lets just say he averages 12 points per game up to 38 years old, another 3 years. That would give him around 31,000 points. That would put him in around 6th place (assuming Kobe gets in top three by then and that Shaq does not score more than 3000 more points). It would also mean that he would be very close to passing Michael Jordan and Wilt Chamberlain on the list and getting into the top four.

So how realistic is this, I’m not completely sure, but the math works. In fact if he plays to 40 years old then I think he catches MJ and Wilt.  I would say that if no career altering injury occurs, then I would bet a lot of money on him hitting at least 30,000 career points and having a date to the Hall-of-Fame.

Popularity: 2% [?]

Iverson Could Miss All-Star Game

The basketball gods may be looking out for us this year. Allen Iverson, who is second in All-Star voting for Eastern Conference guards, is having knee issues. That fact could save the NBA from a little bit of embarrassment if it keeps him from playing in the mid-season showcase.

Iverson is averaging 14.6 points and 4.4 assists  in 14 games this season (3 in Memphis, 11 in Philadelphia). Those are hardly All-Star caliber stats. However the NBA doesn’t have any rules protecting the game from online voters who don’t have a clue how to choose players on their ballots.

We do have to remember that it is called the “All-Star” game, it is not called the “All-Best Players this Season” game. Technically by definition Iverson is a “Star”. So is Tracy McGrady, who is second in voting for Western Conference guards ahead of the much more deserving Steve Nash. McGrady has only played 47 minutes this season and is on leave from the Rockets, but he could possibly represent his conference in the game.

Popularity: 1% [?]

Vote Nash Now

Here is a plea to all right minded NBA fans. If you have any sense or love for the game, please, please, please go onto NBA.com right now and put in a vote for Steve Nash as the starting Western Conference guard. Heck I just did it a minute ago.

And to all you Chinese NBA fans out there. I beg you to stop voting for Tracy McGrady. It isn’t funny anymore. I understand that we owe your country billions and billions of dollars, but is this how we pay you back, by having to start a guy who’s played 47 minutes in the All-Star game.

I’ll tell you what, if the great citizens of China promise to stop voting for McGrady, I promise to vote for Yi Jianlian next year for starting Eastern Conference forward (sorry Chris Bosh). That’s how serious I am about this.

As for Allen Iverson starting for the Eastern Conference. I don’t like it, but at least he’s playing decently well. Heck, at least he’s playing period. Also, I’m not going to plead with people to vote for Vince Carter so he can take the roster spot. Carter doesn’t deserve it either. The two guys who have the best argument for the spot, Rajon Rondo, who I voted for, and Joe Johnson are too far behind Iverson to catch him.

Popularity: 1% [?]