NBA League Pass: A Life Changing Invention

Written by Ape on January 25, 2005

Some people would have you believe that the Ipod is the most life changing purchase you can make these days. All your music at your finger tips all the time. I must say, that does sound amazing, but there is another product that has made such a tremendous impact on my life that I will hold it up to an Ipod any day. Hours every day are spent with this new product. Life plans have been put on hold for it, chores have been neglected, sleep has been neglected, family, friends…everything. My roommate and I are in thralldom.

I’m talking about NBA League Pass.

I no longer have to wait for a team to play the Celtics (because I’m in Boston), Knicks or Lakers for them to be on TV. I can watch the Suns vs. the ‘Sonics whenever they play. When there is a commercial on one channel, I can switch to another, and if there is a commercial on that channel (amazing, but this always happens) a third game is on and switched to. Basketball, basketball, basketball all the time scattering all that would stand against it.

In order to justify the amount of hours I spend in front of the tube watching NBA basketball, I’ve decided to formulate a column that will periodically share some of my observations. I’m not sure how many of these observations will directly impact roto-decisions today, but I have two main goals in doing this.

The first goal is to promote the idea that it is very useful to actually watch games if you wish to cultivate real knowledge about good and bad players. Nothing drives the Ape further up the banana tree than having someone tell him a player sucks or a player is awesome just because they read it somewhere from someone else. Have your own fucking opinion please, thanks. Owners who do this are useless to negotiate with or argue with because they have no real knowledge of what they are doing. In the absence of this, they are always relying on a columnist or a roto-tip service which may or may not care about the player in question. But league-pass cares! All an owner has to do is watch. Proliferation of league-pass might create roto owners who actually know something about the sport they are roto-ing. That would be amazing.

The second goal is to bring to light the players who have a much higher skill level than their season stats or game log would represent. I will be attempting to throw out some names of players who are highly skilled and should be worth keeping an eye on despite their miniscule allotment of playing time.

So, without further a-do, here is the first installment of Ape’s League-Pass all-stars. Guys that make the NBA better for being in it.

Anderson Varejao: Similar in size to his countryman Nene, Varejao sambas all over the court at a frenetic pace. He is very fast and an excellent finisher on the break. He is one of the best offensive rebounders in the NBA and he has great defensive energy. This guy, along with the Nash-led Phoenix Suns, gives me tons of hope for the future of the NBA style. He is a joy to watch. With playing time he would be a major force in steals, blocks, rebounds and FG%. I think he is better than Drew Gooden already (and not just because he has a chin), but the Cavs obviously think he needs more seasoning.

Beno Udrih: No young player evokes images of Steve Nash more than this guy. He is offensive minded all the time. He has one of the best outside shots in the league and always pushes the ball forward. If the Spurs knew how good he was going to be, I doubt they would have signed Brent Barry. The fact that they did hurts both players from a roto perspective since Beno’s skills demand that he get some time on the court to grow into his role and Barry was the bally-hooed free agent that would supposedly provide the clutch outside shooting in the post-season. It is uncertain what will happen to this little spark-plug as Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili are young and improving, but he has starting point guard skills right now. If he gets traded or gets a more substantial role, he will be someone you want to know about.

Tony Allen: TA just got promoted to the Celtics starting line up and I hope many of you will take notice. Allen is the best athlete on a young and athletic Celtics team. He is a monster finisher on the fast break and even at 6’4” his hops and aggressiveness have combined to make him a great offensive rebounder. Allen also has a mean streak and his demeanor on the defensive end has been compared to that of Ron Artest. He is a real pit bull out there. Don’t take my word for all this though, just watch a C’s game and you will notice that Allen plays at a different energy level than everyone else on the court. He could lead the league in steals if he played 35 minutes per game.

Trevor Ariza: It’s too bad that with all the media attention that focuses on the Knicks, their coaching staff doesn’t focus on getting this guy on the court. Ariza attacks the basket like Manu Ginobili with aggressive drives. He has a great motor and plays at break-neck speed on both ends of the floor. Too bad Isaiah Thomas’s favorite hobby seems to be burying this promising wing player under a bunch of sad-sack, disillusioned bench players with max contracts. I would cut Allan Houston to play this guy more if I were the Knicks GM. He is as much of the future as the Knicks, who always play for today, may ever have.

Gerald Wallace: Unlike the rest of the guys here, Gerald Wallace has been a starter all year. I just mention him because every time I’ve caught a few minutes of the Bobcats, I have been amazed by his athleticism and his ability to overwhelm an opponent on either end of the court. While Wallace’s production hasn’t been overwhelming so far, he has shown he can play the game on both ends and he will benefit tremendously as the Bobcats upgrade the talent around him, particularly the perimeter shooting, which will open lanes for this slasher extraordinaire to excel.

I’ll be back soon with more League pass eye-candy for you.

-- Written by Ape on January 25, 2005