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Cross-Over · 01-14-2005, 11:55 PM

I am just going to be sharing my opinions and assessments on various players and teams throughout the season. Please feel free to chime in on mine or share your own.

Bobby Simmons, a surprise player- this guy was a late second round pick a few years ago. He has been traded, waived, sent to the NBDL, and just never got a chance to show his talent. The Wizards recognized some talent, and he played two years in Washington that included time in the NBDL. In January of 2002, I went to a Wizards game and he was out shooting with a coach or trainer for a while before warmups. He was hitting from all over the court, with nice moves and a good stroke. It surprised me that he couldn't even crack the rotation. Anyways, he is averaging 16 points, 6 boards, about 3 assists, and a steal per game for the competitive L.A Clippers. My favorite stat is his 48% field goal percentage, he takes good shots and makes them with regularity. He plays "big" inside for a 6'6" guard/forward, he grabs tough rebounds and puts it in around the rim. I hope he and the Clippers continue to do well so he can win the Most Improved Player Award.

The Timberwolves- They played great last year and wound up with the best record in the West. However, I never was sold on them, and wasn't surprised a banged up Sacramento team took them deep in the second round. I recall a list on NBA.COM this past summer where various writers, analysts, former coaches, and former players made their predictions for this upcoming season. To win it all-the Spurs were chosen the most, but Minnesota was not too far behind, and I believe Detroit was third. I thought predicting Minn. to win the NBA Championship was a reach. They had a career year from an aging point guard, and a superb year from an aging 2 guard last year. I don't mean that they aren't any good because they are "aging", but I didn't expect similar success this year. In addition, I thought it was a good decision not to extend either Cassell or Spree. Their production will most likely decline each successive year, not a formula to get a title while you have a Hall of Famer in his prime. To sum it up, I am not surprised that they are currently struggling, though I think they will finish better than their current .500ish record. Playing GM from my computer chair, I would package Spree and Cassell together now to get a solid 1 or a 2. Maybe for Michael Redd, this would give the Bucks expiring contracts. Rumor is that the Bucks aren’t going to be able to resign him this off-season. I don’t know how accurate that is though, considering they had cap room to extend an offer-sheet to restricted Free Agent Etan Thomas this past offseason.

01-14-2005, 11:55 PM	#1 (permalink)
Cross-Over Psycho	NBA Chatter I am just going to be sharing my opinions and assessments on various players and teams throughout the season. Please feel free to chime in on mine or share your own. Bobby Simmons, a surprise player- this guy was a late second round pick a few years ago. He has been traded, waived, sent to the NBDL, and just never got a chance to show his talent. The Wizards recognized some talent, and he played two years in Washington that included time in the NBDL. In January of 2002, I went to a Wizards game and he was out shooting with a coach or trainer for a while before warmups. He was hitting from all over the court, with nice moves and a good stroke. It surprised me that he couldn't even crack the rotation. Anyways, he is averaging 16 points, 6 boards, about 3 assists, and a steal per game for the competitive L.A Clippers. My favorite stat is his 48% field goal percentage, he takes good shots and makes them with regularity. He plays "big" inside for a 6'6" guard/forward, he grabs tough rebounds and puts it in around the rim. I hope he and the Clippers continue to do well so he can win the Most Improved Player Award. The Timberwolves- They played great last year and wound up with the best record in the West. However, I never was sold on them, and wasn't surprised a banged up Sacramento team took them deep in the second round. I recall a list on NBA.COM this past summer where various writers, analysts, former coaches, and former players made their predictions for this upcoming season. To win it all-the Spurs were chosen the most, but Minnesota was not too far behind, and I believe Detroit was third. I thought predicting Minn. to win the NBA Championship was a reach. They had a career year from an aging point guard, and a superb year from an aging 2 guard last year. I don't mean that they aren't any good because they are "aging", but I didn't expect similar success this year. In addition, I thought it was a good decision not to extend either Cassell or Spree. Their production will most likely decline each successive year, not a formula to get a title while you have a Hall of Famer in his prime. To sum it up, I am not surprised that they are currently struggling, though I think they will finish better than their current .500ish record. Playing GM from my computer chair, I would package Spree and Cassell together now to get a solid 1 or a 2. Maybe for Michael Redd, this would give the Bucks expiring contracts. Rumor is that the Bucks aren’t going to be able to resign him this off-season. I don’t know how accurate that is though, considering they had cap room to extend an offer-sheet to restricted Free Agent Etan Thomas this past offseason.