NBA notes from a beagle

Written by Beagle on November 04, 2005

Written by Beagle
Rotogods.com columnist

Well well folks, here we are a whole three days into the NBA season and already Larry Brown hates his point guard, Chris Webber’s knee hurts, and media and fans are calling for Rick Adelman’s head in Sactown. Oh wait, none of these things have happened . . . yet.

Anyway, here are some early observations . . .

Marco Jaric: Does this guy really pull more ass than anyone else in the NBA? I mean seriously, the dude looks like a walking billboard for Pfizer’s latest venereal disease pill. I hear Marco and fellow Minnesota newcomer Fred Smoot are getting along great these days. Really though, the former Clipper looked good in his first game, posting a solid line of 14 PTS, 6 REB, 5 AST, 3 ST. Jaric’s length fits in nicely with Minnesota’s defensive zone scheme and playing with the least selfish of superstars in KG should yield a good number of open looks from the outside. Health has always been a concern, but if he can manage to play 80 games expect Marco to be among the league leaders in steals and provide solid numbers in threes and assists from the point guard position.

Darius Miles: Whoa, where has this guy been? In case you didn’t notice, Darius posted an absurd line of 32 PTS, 11 REB, 5 AST, 5 STL, 3BLK in his first game opf the season. Miles almost single-handedly won the game, while the rest of the Blazers basically watched (I mean is it just me or is Zach Randolph the laziest player in the league?). Regardless, one must be a bit wary of Darius as he has teased us throughout his career with brilliant stretches only to be followed by tremendous inconsistency and poor play. Miles and new coach Nate MacMillan seem to have hit it off thus far and at the ripe old age of 24 Miles may be ready to take that next step as a player. While I certainly wouldn’t expect too many more 30 point outbursts, I would expect an uptick in scoring to the 14-15 point range and solid numbers in FG%, steals and blocks.

Jarrett Jack: While Jack’s measly 14 minutes of playing time was a mere fantasy afterthought, the poor play of Sebastian Telfair is worth noting. Jack is an explosive athlete and having played in the competitive ACC for Georgia Tech is more physically ready for the rigors of the NBA than the young Telfair. For those of you in deeper leagues this is worth keeping an eye on as it would not surprise me to see Jack eat into Telfair’s minutes on the floor.

Raja Bell: I know you all remember Raja from his days with the Utah Jazz. Bell has found a new home in Phoenix, replacing the departed Joe Johnson/Q Richardson. While Bell doesn’t possess the all-around talent of either player he replaced, he plays with a chip on his shoulder, which is much needed on an otherwise soft Phoenix team. Factor in his nice jumper and you have a player who should see significant minutes throughout the season. If for some reason he’s available in your league, pick him up to fill a UTIL spot. He will provide decent scoring and threes throughout the year.

Smush Parker: The Lakers' starting point guard that you’ve never heard of can flat out play. He has quick hands defensively and a decent jumper. Perhaps more importantly, Kobe seems to have confidence in Parker, as he is actually willing to pass him the ball. It is worth noting that much of Parker’s production in the first two games came against Earl Boykins and Steve Nash, neither of whom could guard me (mind you I’m 14 inches tall and have no arms). Regardless, the Smushster is a solid waiver wire pick up in deep leagues as he should be a nice source of threes and steals.

Shaq: I know Shaq’s not the same player he was five years ago, but the Big Can-You-Dig-It looks fatter and slower than ever. If you missed the action last night, the big man landed on Ron Artest’s foot and had to leave the game in the fourth quarter. I have a feeling minor injuries will be commonplace for the Diesel this year. You’ll be lucky to get 65 free throw percentage-killing games out of him year. Factor in the depth of the Miami squad (Walker, Haslem, Mourning) and you’ll be lucky to have yourself a top 10 center. What I’m trying to say is “trade his ass while you can.”

Final thoughts:

Dwayne Wade is ill nasty.