For those who keep track of Walton comebacks, this is probably his zillionth, and quite possibly, his most important.
Walton, who retired from broadcasting two years ago because of debilitating back pain, and who weeks ago revealed that he contemplated suicide at one point because of unrelenting discomfort, says he is “climbing back into the game of life.”
Fifteen months after undergoing innovative spinal surgery, he can stand again. He can sit again. He can sleep again. He can travel again. He always talked a great game, and so the next step, this next giant stride, transports him into the Kings’ broadcast booth on a limited basis.
——————————-
If you’re a fan of:
i. The playful nature of the English language, in general;
ii. Eclectic individuals, specifically;
iii. The Game of Basketball;
and, in particular,
iv. The Game of Life;
then, today is most definitely a time for you to cheer … for the return to good health of Mr. Bill.
Throw It Down, Big Fella! …
hopefully, for plenty of years to come.
———-
PS. Kudos to the Kings for this making this happen!
LEGEND: W – Wins; L - Losses; Win% - Winning Percentage; PDR – Points Differential Ranking; PAR – Points Allowed Ranking; RDR – Rebounding Differential Ranking; QR – Quality Rating [i.e. PDR + PAR + RDR = QR]; QIR – Quality Index Ranking [i.e. QR/#1-30]; * - Clinched playoff position.
there are now 10 teams left with a legitimate opportunity to win this year’s league championship … none of which are the Mavericks [W2], Suns [W3], Nuggets [W4], Celtics [E4], Bucks [E6] or Bulls [E8], according to the recent history of the NBA.
With a little more than 1 week left in the regular season schedule …
LEGITIMATE CONTENDERS TO WIN THE NBA CHAMPIONSHIP
[as of Monday April 5, 2010]
TEAM
W
L
W%
EAST
WEST
PDR
PAR
RDR
QR
QIR
Cavaliers *
60
17
.779
1
1
5
2
8
1
Magic *
54
23
.701
2
2
4
4
10
2
Spurs *
47
29
.618
7
4
7
4
15
3
Jazz *
50
27
.649
4
3
12
6
21
T-4
Lakers *
55
22
.714
1
5
9
7
21
T-4
Blazers *
47
30
.610
8
11
3
8
22
6
Thunder *
48
28
.623
6
10
10
3
23
7
Heat
43
34
.558
5
12
2
10
24
8
Bobcats
40
36
.528
7
15
1
11
31
9
Hawks *
49
27
.645
3
6
10
18
34
10
Bucks
42
34
.553
6
14
8
17
39
11
Celtics *
48
28
.632
4
9
6
25
40
T-12
Grizzlies
39
37
.513
16
23
1
40
T-12
Bulls
37
39
.487
9
19
14
9
42
14
Nuggets *
50
27
.649
3
8
20
20
48
15
Suns *
50
27
.649
5
7
28
14
49
16
Mavericks *
50
27
.649
2
13
15
24
52
T-17
Pistons
23
53
.303
27
13
12
52
T-17
76ers
26
50
.342
24
17
16
57
19
Rockets
38
38
.500
17
21
22
60
T-20
Clippers
27
50
.351
28
19
13
60
T-20
Kings
24
53
.312
25
25
15
65
T-22
Wizards
23
53
.303
26
16
23
65
T-22
Raptors
38
38
.500
8
18
27
21
66
24
Hornets
35
43
.449
20
22
26
68
25
Pacers
29
48
.377
21
24
28
73
T-26
Nets
11
66
.143
29
17
27
73
T-26
Knicks
27
49
.355
22
26
29
77
28
Timberwolves
15
62
.195
30
29
19
78
29
Warriors
23
53
.303
23
30
30
83
30
LEGEND: W – Wins; L - Losses; Win% - Winning Percentage; PDR – Points Differential Ranking; PAR – Points Allowed Ranking; RDR – Rebounding Differential Ranking; QR – Quality Rating [i.e. PDR + PAR + RDR = QR]; QIR – Quality Index Ranking [i.e. QR/#1-30]; * - Clinched playoff position.
there are 10 teams with a legitimate opportunity to win this year’s league championship … none of which are the Mavericks, Nuggets, Suns, Celtics, Bucks, Raptors or Bulls.
With last night’s loss to the LA Lakers, the Raptors [32-30] have now come up short in 6 of their last 7 games, and occupy the No. 6 position in the Eastern Conference standings, just 1.5 games ahead of the 9th place Chicago Bulls [31-32].
As they take the court for this evening’s tilt, in Sacramento [21-43], Toronto knows full well that another loss could see them drop into a virtual 3-way tie with Charlotte [31-31] and Miami [32-32] for 8th place in the East, if the Bobcats can overcome the 76ers [23-40], on the road, and the Heat can win, at home, against the hapless LA Clippers [25-39].
This is the line-up which Sacramento used last night, at Portland:
which, in turn, might generate the following individual match-ups this evening:
Pos
RAPTORS
[32-30]
ADV
KINGS
[21-43]
Pos
HEAD COACH
Triano
à
Westphal
STARTERS
PG
Jack
=
Udrih
PG
OG
DeRozan
à
Evans
OG
SF
Turkoglu
ß
Greene
SF
PF
Bosh
ß
Landry
PF
C
Bargnani
=
Hawes
C
KEY SUBS
PG
Calderon
ß
Garcia
OG
OG-SF
Wright
à
Nocioni
SF
PF
Johnson
=
Thompson
PF-C
RESERVES
OG
Belinelli
ß
Temple
PG
OG
Weems
=
Casspi
SF
PF
Evans
=
McGuire
SF-PF
C
Nesterovic
=
May
PF
+4
+3
EXTRAS/OUTS
PG
Banks
Udoka
OG-SF
C
O’Bryant
Brockman
PF
Dorsey
PF
If the Raptors are going to stem the downward tide which has engulfed their team over the last 2 weeks, it will be up to:
A. Their 3 best players [overall] to dominate their respective checks;
B. Their head coach to match wits successfully with his counterpart;
and,
C. Their main wing players to contain the offensive fireworks that can sometimes erupt from the Kings’ pair of outstanding rookies, Tyreke Evans and Omri Casspi.
Anything less than this will put Toronto squarely behind the 8-ball heading towards their final 2 games of this road trip, back-to-back encounters with Golden State [Sat] and Portland [Sun].
L, at Oklahoma City [35-23], 107-113
W, at Houston [30-29], 84-81
L, at Dallas [41-21], 100-108
L, vs Oklahoma City [35-23], 102-108
L, at Portland, 81-88 [37-28]
In fact, Sacramento is beginning to turn around what had deteriorated last season into a significant mess … especially, for a once-proud franchise, led by a very solid GM [Geoff Petrie].
If the Raptors under-estimate their foes this evening, in any respect, whatsoever, the Kings are more than good enough to hang another L on the visitors, in what is gradually turning out to be another season of overall mediocrity for the Dinos.
Every year since the 2000-2001 season, each of the two teams which have reached the NBA Finals (i.e. the Champion and the Finalist) have also finished the regular season schedule with a Quality Rating (QR) of 34, or better, and a Quality Index Rank (QIR) of #11 or better (when compared to all playoff teams that year) … i.e. What it takes to win the NBA Championship.
If the NBA Playoffs were to start today, this is what the list of legitimate contenders to win the championship actually looks like:
LEGITIMATE CONTENDERS TO WIN THE NBA CHAMPIONSHIP
[as of Sun Feb 28 2010]
TEAM
W-L REC
WIN %
PDR
PAR
RDR
QR
QIR
ECPT-QIR
WCPT-QIR
Cavaliers
46-14
.767
1
5
1
7
1
1
Magic
40-20
.667
3
6
5
14
2
2
Lakers
45-15
.750
2
8
5
15
3
3
Spurs
33-24
.579
8
9
3
20
4
4
Thunder
35-23
.603
9
7
5
21
5
5
Jazz
38-21
.644
4
13
5
22
6
6
Blazers
35-27
.565
11
4
10
25
7
7
Bobcats
28-29
.491
14
2
12
28
8
8
Heat
29-31
.483
14
3
12
29
9
Celtics
36-21
.632
6
1
23
30
10
9
Bulls
31-28
.525
19
14
4
37
11
10
Bucks
30-29
.508
13
11
14
38
12
11
Hawks
37-21
.638
6
12
24
42
13
12
Grizzlies
30-29
.508
18
23
2
43
14
Pistons
21-38
.356
25
10
9
44
15
Mavericks
39-21
.650
12
15
18
45
16
13
Nuggets
39-20
.661
5
22
22
49
17
14
76ers
22-36
.379
21
17
14
52
T-18
Clippers
24-35
.407
25
16
11
52
T-18
Rockets
29-29
.500
16
21
18
55
T-20
Hornets
31-29
.517
20
19
26
55
T-20
Suns
37-24
.607
10
29
20
59
22
15
Wizards
21-36
.368
23
20
20
63
23
Knicks
20-38
.345
22
25
29
66
24
Raptors
31-27
.534
17
26
24
67
25
16
Kings
20-39
.339
25
27
16
68
26
Timberwolves
14-47
.230
29
28
17
74
27
Nets
6-53
.102
30
18
27
75
28
Pacers
20-39
.339
28
24
28
80
29
Warriors
17-41
.293
24
30
30
84
30
LEGEND: W-L REC – Won-Loss Record; WIN % - Winning Percentage; PDR – Points Differential Ranking; PAR – Points Allowed Ranking; RDR – Rebounding Differential Ranking; QR – Quality Rating [i.e. PDR + PAR + RDR]; QIR – Quality Index Ranking [i.e. No. 1-30]; ECPT-QIR – Eastern Conference Playoff Teams Quality Index Ranking; WCPT-QIR – Western Conference Playoff Team Quality Index Ranking; Blue Shade – Eastern Conference Playoff Teams; Red Shade – Western Conference Playoff Teams.
There are only 9 teams in the hunt with a little more than 1 month’s worth of games left to be played.
4 in the Eastern Conference:
Cleveland Cavaliers [#1]
Orlando Magic [#2]
Charlotte Bobcats [#8], and
Boston Celtics [#9];
and,
5 in the Western Conference:
Los Angeles Lakers [#3]
San Antonio Spurs [#4]
Oklahoma City Thunder [#5]
Utah Jazz [#6], and
Portland Trail Blazers [#7].
when Tyreke Evans shoots the ball from the left wing position?
Yours truly sees J.R. Smith:
1. Getting into position to block out his individual check [i.e. Jon Brockman/PF];
2. As the shot is released, glancing over his left shoulder to observe any late change of direction by Brockman, on the weak side of the floor;
3. Stepping into Brockman’s path, in order to block him out;
4. Evans’ shot tickling the twine, as it passes just in front of the leading edge of the rim, on its downward arc towards the basket.
5. Smith glancing upwards, towards the basket, as the ball descends on its downward arc below the level of the rim, as if it had actually gone through the hoop.
———————————————
Instead of lampooning J.R. Smith for alleged inattentiveness and the mis-guided play he made, inbounding the ball after a non-made field goal attempt, like what some others have decided to do here … when he was fooled by an optical illusion, easily associated with the regular playing of the game … recognize what he actually did which was perfectly in accordance with being a good basketball player, whose assigned task involved blocking out an individual check, located on the weak side of the floor.
Kudos to Mr. Smith for doing his job properly, in this specific instance.
