#Chriss Carter

[postguiltypleasures]

Thoughts on The X-Files as it turns 30 Years Old

I have not written much about The X-Files here because I have not revisited it in many years. The last time I rewatched any episodes was way back in 2015, after the revival was announced. I had no intention of watching  the revival, but I wanted to see how the series had aged. My reactions were kind of mixed. I didn’t continue to rewatch it was that I didn’t feel the spark that I got from it watching during the original airing. The show’s influence is such that there has always been something regularly on air that has been doing what a contemporary version of TXF should do, and doing it without the show’s baggage. And these later shows have all been unique programs that stand on their own. Only now there really is one show that does that I watch that fits this description, Evil. Do to world changing circumstances, including the COVID pandemic and the WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes, it does not air that regularly. So I find myself looking to who is posting about TXF now. What do they think? Do the things that made me not want to watch the revival bother them? How do they relate to the context in which it was made? How is that different for people who did watch it during the original run and bring hindsight vs. those who were too young or not born? What does any of this have to do with a potential reboot?

Much More Under the Cut

I remember TXF becoming uncool. It’s bizarre to me that it has any cultural presence because being disenchanted with it as it lost it’s cool was so painful. That said, I was a teenager at this time, so my emotions around it were stronger than they would be if I watched at another time of life. I am certain of this because of how much I hated the original series finale, and how I have been fine with a lot of controversial series finales since then.

Speaking of endings, these days discussions of television are too focused on ending. The idea that for most of the existence of television, shows were just supposed to go on until they became too expensive to produce and/or lost their audience seems to have vanished from people’s comprehension. This is a result of more television becoming more serialized and with short seasons. When an episode doesn’t work as something self contained, it has to lead to something. While it aired, TXF was celebrated for helping television become more serialized, making bigger, more epic stories. Now when it’s celebrated it’s for some wonderful self contained episodes, the kind they don’t make anymore. Even in 2015, when I had Person of Interest and Grimm satisfying the sci-fi/fantasy procedural itch for me I could see that. 

I know that there is too much tv for anyone to watch in one life time, but many the shows that TXF was compared to in it’s original airing seem notably absent in comparative discussions now. For instance, it was nominated for Outstanding Drama Series in 1995, 1996, 1997, and 1998. The other series nominated those years were NYPD Blue, Chicago Hope, E.R., Law & Order, and The Practice. While there is good reason to see TXF as more closely related to Twin Peaks or Buffy the Vampire Slayer, those fellow nominees provide some necessary context about how TV was made, in particular the alternating goals of making something for the syndication market and making something edgy that could elevate the medium. Also notable, most these shows went through a lot of cast changes over the years. It makes more sense that TXF would try to do that kind of transition in seasons 8 and 9 when you think of the series they considered their peers. 

Also worth considering earlier shows it was compared to, but the producers would likely discourage the comparison. I am thinking of Moonlighting and Remington Steele. At the time TXF aired people still talked about the “Moonlighting curse” as if it was just a given that once the couple on a show where the male and female leads solved mysteries while maintaining a will they/won’t they flirtation, would fail as soon as they got together. TXF writers were divided on whether or not it was a will they/won’t they, and definitely didn’t want to invite comparison to shows that had huge nosedives in popularity during their run. But in a lot of ways that was unfair to the earlier series. It denies how clever, inventive and experimental they could be. It also ignores how much behind the scenes strife contributed to on screen failings, especially on Moonlighting, where that has been better publicized. (And occasionally become newsworthy again such as when creator Glen Gordon Caron was fired from his job as the show runner of Bull.) I think there are episodes of Remington Steele and Moonlighting that are worth watching on there own just to get what the big deal was. But as always, how to bring knowledge of some behind the scenes study to it, is a difficult question to answer.

Another show people associated with TXF probably didn’t want to be associated with is Touched by an Angel. But for a while they both aired on Sunday nights and I know I watched it and TXF back to back a few times. A parental figure would have turned on 60 Minutes, and the ads for TBAA could be very intriguing. Then I’d watch the episode and be underwhelmed, especially because of the deus ex machina resolutions. So I didn’t make it a regular thing. But still as cases of the week that played on the news of the times with supernatural notes, they made an interesting case study.

I also sampled a few episodes of JAG: Judge Advocate General, a different CBS show that was frequently compared to TXF. The comparison had a sort of precursor to today’s periodic “why don’t publications write about shows people actually watch?” flair ups. It often had better ratings than TXF and a lot in common structurally, but had an older audience who was less likely to seek out writing about their show. It had a huge affect on the development of CBS procedurals from the late 1990s on, which is one of the areas where you can (arguably) see a lot of TXF’s influence.

I recently came across a post saying that David Duchovny wanted TXF to move to Los Angeles to facilitate his movie career. This is not true, he wanted to move to LA because he was with Téa Leoni at the time and she was staring in The Naked Truth, a sitcom that was shot in LA. The show was about a news photographer forced to work at a tabloid after an ugly divorce. It lasted three seasons, the first on ABC, the other two on NBC where it was essentially noted to death over two seasons. I am not surprised that it doesn’t have much hold on the cultural memory, but Duchovny was always open about this being his motivation so I am kind of surprised that it has been erased from TXF historic memory. 

Speaking of Duchovny and LA, the current season of the podcast, You Must Remember This, focus mostly on erotic films of the 1990s, but also included an episode about erotic TV from the era that focused on The Red Shoe Diaries, an anthology series in which Duchovny’s played a character named Jake, who was essentially the framing device. I didn’t quite appreciate that for the first four seasons of TXF he was flying to LA on weekends to shoot his parts in TRSD back-to-back. Between that and Gillian Anderson having a very young child at the time, it’s no wonder they developed reputations as cold and standoff-ish. It sounds exhausting.

Other places I have come across TXF referenced lately: 

finally reading Bruce Campbell’s memoire Hail to the Chin in which he declare that it is best to be a guest star in one of the first seasons of a show, mentions that his late in the series stint on TXF the whole cast and crew was tired of it; 

learning that there is a show on the History Channel called The Proof is Out There;

the Only Murders in the Building episode where Mable flashed back to watching the show with her father near the end of his life; 

Maureen Ryan in her Burn It Down reminisced about visiting TXF set in Vancouver as her first trip to a TV set, saying two important people were awful to her, one of whom gave her nightmares;

Some how the show coming up in a lunch conversation at work.

Jennette McCurdy mentioning in I'm Glad My Mom Died that her first job as an extra was on TXF 

Ryan’s book is as good a place as any to segue into discussing the show’s legacy via former writers and producers. It’s worth noting that Chris Carter has been unable to get another series off the ground. While TXF ran he tried to launch three other shows, Millennium, Harsh Realm and The Lone Gunmen, and only one of them got to a full season. There was an Amazon pilot that didn’t go anywhere. Frank Spotnitz was the writer with the second most credited episodes of the series and most high profile gig since was the not well received Amazon adaptation of The Man in The High Castle. Kim Manners’ time with Supernatural is something of an anomaly, in that it feels directly related to TXF and ran a much longer period of time. (I’ve only seen one season of Supernatural. It was fine, but I was late to the show, felt I’d never catch up and gave up.) Glen Morgan and James Wong wrote some of my favorite episodes, but between them they have the Final Destination film franchise, some one season series and American Horror Story, which is more attributed to Ryan Murphy and Brad Falchuk than Wong. (I’ve never watched AHS.) Darin Morgan was something of a special star on the show, his episodes being singled out for awards and fan favorites. But he never got this kind of response to any of his subsequent work, including on Fringe where he was a consulting producer early on. The most high profile shows that feature alumni from TXF are the ones that feel most like they were made for a era of television that wanted to distance itself from the procedural aspects of TXF. Among the most famous are Breaking Bad created by Vince Giligan and its spinoff, Better Call Saul, which he co-created with a non-TXF alumn, Peter Gould. Also notable is Homeland, whose creators Alex Gansa and Howard Gordon worked on early seasons of TXF. Most of the shows that I think of as sharing a lot with TXF in the outline for, don’t have much of a direct connection to the series alumni in writers/producers/directors. 

Earlier this year I briefly wrote about how I liked seeing both William B. Davis and Nicholas Lea in Continuum. While thinking of that series as a successor to TXF is interesting, I don’t generally think of the cast’s later roles as directly related to the show. Maybe this is because I watch so little of what they’ve done since. The greatest impression any of them is Anderson in Sex Education and Bleak House, both of which were pretty far away from TXF. 

When news came out that Chris Carter was working with Ryan Coogler on a potential reboot I decided I did not know enough of Coogler’s work to say if he’d be a good fit, or have any idea what his take on the subject matter would be. But I am familiar with Disney, TXF current owner, and in particular there current “milk all recognizable IP for ever and ever” ethos, so the probability of a reboot seemed inevitable. I mostly hoped the new crew would take the title and try to create something very different under it. Then the WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes started and nothing seemed inevitable about a reboot. Hollywood as it’s been known, feels like its ending. All I can say is that I hate the idea of TXF being made with AI, or for that matter, scabs.

When I did my rewatch back in 2015, the episodes included “War of the Coprophagens” and “Syzegy”, episodes that are both are partially about mass hysteria. They’re comedic, but I didn’t find them funny. I thought this is probably something that didn’t age well. In the nineties, just pointing and laughing and people getting upset over stupid stuff sort of felt like enough to defang the danger. By now that seems hopelessly naive.

I know how people are now more willing to say that the plots of “Small Potatoes” and “Post Modern Prometheus” treat serial rapists as sympathetic outsiders, and rape as something to be brushed aside. Neither were part of my 2015 rewatch.

Some of my disenchantment during the original run was that while I was watching I was also becoming more aware of the movies that influenced the show. I hated how Fight the Future made the black oil alien possession turn into something that would claw its way out of the host body, reminiscent of the Alien franchises’s xenomorph. I also hated all of the Mulder and Scully as a couple teases from episodes like “The Rain King”, “The Ghost Who Stole Christmas”, “Arcadia”, et al because it was too much like things I was seeing in romcoms that I didn’t like. (I can’t remember any specific examples of these romcoms while writing this.) Any specificity as to what it meant to Mulder and Scully’s and their relationships at that moment was lost on me.  

I might as well admit, during the shows original run I was a NoRomo. I did not tune in to TXF hoping for Mulder and Scully’s relationship to become romantic, and I kind of hated when episodes explicitly flirted with the possibility. I tuned in because I wanted to have first hand knowledge of what it was like to watch my generations version of The Twilight Zone. (In retrospect, I don’t think its a good comparison.) As the relationship now feels like what people think of when they think of TXF, I have wondered if the show now only appeals to those on the shipper side of the debate. I was really surprised while listening to Not Another X-Files Podcast Podcast when one of the hosts of the TXF Preservation Society admitted to not being a shipper on an episode.

Similar to what I said about being fine with many controversial series finales, I am also fine with many controversial television series couplings. As long as the writing is direct, I don’t really care if the actors have chemistry or if the show “needs” to pair these characters. To the extent that what relationships on screen one likes reflects on what one wants to have in real life, I really want people to be direct with me, and make me comfortable being direct with them.

A few years ago started wondering if it would have been more emotionally healthy if I spent the years I watched TXF watching Beverly Hills, 90210 instead. I started wondering this while coincidentally coming across of couple of personal essays that reflected warmly on watching BH90210 and how it affected the writers at impressionable ages. As someone who doesn’t exactly reflect warmly on TXF, and has a hard time putting how I feel about things into words, I was kind of jealous. I know there was some overlap in the audiences. There isn’t a “If you were a teen in the 1990s you either watched BH90210 or TXF and it affected you in this way…” But coming across those essays does have something to do with why I am writing this now.

Around that time I also started worrying about how TXF’s popularity lead to today’s age of dangerous conspiracy theories. Before I gave up on the site formally known as Twitter, I’d occasionally look at who was still discussing it online with the fear that it’s been used by right wingers looking for ways to justify their persecution complexes. I didn’t find much. There was something of peak in these posts around the time Trump announced that the FBI had been searching for documents at Mar a Lago. This past decade has been wild as far as guessing how things will be read along partisan lines. If anything the posts were mostly about nostalgia and it’s appeal as a brand.

Given that I’m so uncomfortable with that potential aspect of the show’s legacy, a how did I end up watching so many shows that in some way are direct successors to the show? And the answer is, mostly not consciously. I was reluctant to start Fringe and Evil because from the outset their premises looked too much like TXF, though ultimately they’ve gone in directions TXF would never.  I still want something that can excite me, and has hints of the epic. And I am going to seek it in vaguely familiar formats. 

[amberly-fierro]

underrated canon ships from the riordanverse (in random order)

- zarter: carter kane x zia rashid (tkc)

- samir: samirah al-abbas x amir fadlan (mcga)

- charlena: silena beauregard x charles beckendorf (pjo)

- chrisse: clarisse la rue x chris rodriguez (pjo)

- gruniper: grover underwood x juniper (pjo)

- frazel: hazel levesque x frank zhang (hoo)

- emmiphine: emmie x josephine (toa)

- gunderkeen: mallory keen x halfborn gunderson (mcga)

- hedgie: coach hedge x mellie (hoo)

- tella: tyson x ella (hoo/toa)

- tratie: travis stoll x katie gardner (hoo?)

- poisonia: lavinia asimov x poison oak (toa)

- jacktide: jack the sword x riptide the sword (mcga)

edit: tratie is not canon? idk for sure so i just added it. sorry for any confusion caused <3

[rcl-stan]

my (probably controversial) opinions on ships

Canon:

percabeth: their relationship set the bar so damn high i want what they have 😔 10/10

jasiper: i say jasiper bc everyone argues whether or not it's jasper or jiper and it's a solid combination of the two. tbh their relationship wasn't good. like good while it lasted but if they never broke up i would've been surprised. it was also hella fake, and piper is probably gay let my girl live hera 4/10

frazel: ✨no✨ first of all (here's a side controversial opinion) i don't like frank. don't worry, i absolutely love hazel. second, that age gap? um, chile anyways 👀 sorry if you think that an eighth grader dating a junior in high school is okay, but it's a definite no for me ❤️✨ 0/10

caleo: it's cute, i like how they were a whole "destined to be together" thing and how they both believed they could never find love, but it was rushed. i have a whole long ass headcanon about how i would've done leo and calypso and their love lives better, but that's a post for another day. tbh leo's probably gay tho. the gods were nice to cal 5/10

gruniper: tbh this was the beginning of rickald sticking literally every character in a relationship but i'm happy for grover and they're really cute 7/10

charlena: they're so cute they make my heart soft 🥺 10/10

chrisse: tbh they're also super cute and i really love clarisse not being "just an asshole" like everyone can be loving and compassionate and that's sweet <3 and her saving him from insanity after the labyrinth?? and her getting dating advice she loved him so much?? 🥺👉👈 also i was simping over both of them watching sea of monsters sooo 10/10

solangelo: they're cute but i ship nico w someone else peep the non canon portion. bonus point because i love will solace more than anything and he should be known more than just being nico's bf 8/10

tysella: cute and i like how even monsters can find love but once again just ricks attempt to stick as many characters together as possible like it was so out of the blue PSA it's okay to not feel/want/find love <3 don't let fiction bring you down ily and you're doing fantastic sweetie <3 anyways 5/10

zarter: yes yes yes just YES ugh they're real cute and let me just say the red pyramid/the throne of fire broke my heart but we got back on it 10/10

saltnubus: i- just- what the fAwk 😃 they're the same person ?? i, gIrl eye- chicas it's- ugh let's just get to the rating because words can't describe this ship but numbers can 2/10 (extra points for effort and not dead walt)

Not Canon:

tratie: YES V GOOD SHIP they're adorable please make this canon we have one more book pull some strings. i remember in my most recent reread of pjo i was waiting for tratie and there was nothing and i realized it isn't canon my mind was blown. loss of a point because it's been around for so long and still hasn't been made canon, like, around for so long most people forget it's fanon until it's brought up every once in a while. 9/10

jercy: tbh i don't ship it. like they'd make good friends, but even then they'd both have multiple people they'd put over each other. 0/10

jasico: once again a hard no for me. i just don't see it. like def bros and i think jason being the ultimate good friend to nico, yeah that's cool, but no romance just bromance 1/10

pernico: ✨no✨ 0/10

pipabeth: v cute ship but once again feel like they wouldn't've been #1s to each other, better than jasiper worse than percabeth 6/10

lukabeth: FUCK THAT SHIT NONONONONO GET THAT PEDOPHILIC SHIT OUTTA HERE RIGHT NOW -92736373937373/10

thaluke: feel like they may have had a small thing when they were on the run, but it's a no for me 1/10

perachel: this ship is so valid y'all are just afraid of having this conversation well here it is. it's more similar to jasiper in how if they had gotten together i don't think they would've lasted, but there was some thiqq chemistry and they would've been really great together. and they're also really good friends, stop erasing that 😡✨ 8/10

jeyna: they would've been so great together. as much as i love me a lesbian reyna, i have to admit jason and reyna would've been lowkey goals and super adorable and just, perfect for one another. super sad hera decided to get in the way of that :/ 9/10

theyna: tbh i don't ship it. i just don't see any chem between the two. cool friends maybe, but it's a no for me. 3/10

pipeyna: yessss now that's a badass duo if i've ever seen one. turn it up! 7/10

clareyna: y'all ain't ready for this oneeee ugh like too powerful of a duo the world ain't ready but they'd be so cute i- 🥺 soft clarisse and reyna but also stern and badass clarisse and reyna ahhh this is so shmackalicious, spicetastic, words can't describe... but numbers can 10/10

clarina: a couple of cuties and they definitely had something. not bad, 6/10

valdangelo: no words can describe how much i love this ship. litch-rally gay percabeth. they're meant to be and i'll bet my life on that. like they've both gone through almost the same things, they just handled them differently. they'd feel for each other and eventually open up to each other and get along great. never feeling like they belong but finding comfort in eachother. knowing that there's someone there for them, who understands them, not feeling alone, ugh 🥺 please they're sooo cute 🥺👉👈 also forgive me if this is horribly incorrect but i feel like leo constantly flirting with every girl is just a bit of internalized homophobia ?? like if he had a super religious family i could see them being homophobic (i'm mexican and a lot of my family is like that so i can see it being like that, but not all mexicans are tho) so that could've been kinda rooted in him. he was also called el diablo by his family that could've ran through his mind a bit idk that was just a bit of random extra info anyways 10/10

valgrace: i've never gotten background on this ship?? like i'm open to options yk let me learn so like if anyone wants to elaborate on it/give me reasons to ship them i'm all ears ! but based off of what ik of them in general i don't think they'd be super great. def better as just friends, 3/10

jason + annabeth: uhm issa no from me they'd be that super bland saltine cracker couple, maybe like lifeless praetor duo or smth (if anna elizabeth was somehow roman ofc) 0/10

piper + percy: chaotic and iconic, but definitely not in a relationship 1/10

beckendorf + percy: no❤️✨ but beckendorf was definitely percy's first crush and you can't change my mind 0/10

carter + hazel: this one was a request from my ig.... idk how to feel like.. i mean.. tbh i don't even know... i haven't heard this before today, if you got reasons lmk i'm here for it but i'm very... idek what i'm feeling. ??/10

[lakersworld]

Complete list of 2019 unrestricted free agents

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An updated look (Compiled by Sam Amico) at the NBA’s unrestricted free agents, and those who can opt out of their contracts and enter unrestricted free agency, heading into the 2019 offseason (with age in parentheses).’

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Unrestricted free agents

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Centers

⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀

Al Horford (33)

Andrew Bogut (35)

Tyson Chandler (37)

DeMarcus Cousins (29)

Dewayne Dedmon (30)

Pau Gasol (39)

Udonis Haslem (39)

Amir Johnson (32)

DeAndre Jordan (31)

Enes Kanter (27)

Kosta Koufos (30)

Kevon Looney (23)

Brook Lopez (31)

Robin Lopez (31)

Boban Marjanovic (31)

JaVale McGee (31)

Salah Mejri (33)

Greg Monroe (29)

Mike Muscala (28)

Joakim Noah (34)

Kyle O’Quinn (29)

Zaza Pachulia (35)

Ekpe Udoh (31)

Nikola Vucevic (29)

Tyler Zeller (29)

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Power Forwards

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Dragan Bender (22)

Marquese Chriss (22)

Dante Cunningham (32)

Ed Davis (30)

Kenneth Faried (30)

Channing Frye (36)

Taj Gibson (34)

JaMychal Green (29)

Jeff Green (33)

Tobias Harris (27)

Richaun Holmes (26)

Jonas Jerebko (32)

Tyler Lydon (23)

Luc Mbah a Moute (33)

Nikola Mirotic (28)

Marcus Morris (30)

Markieff Morris (30)

Mike Scott (31)

Anthony Tolliver (34)

Noah Vonleh (24)

Thaddeus Young (31)

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Small Forwards

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Al-Farouq Aminu (29)

Trevor Ariza (34)

Bojan Bogdanovic (30)

Corey Brewer (33)

DeMarre Carroll (33)

Vince Carter (42)

Wilson Chandler (32)

Luol Deng (34)

Jared Dudley (34)

Rudy Gay (33)

Mario Hezonja (24)

Wesley Johnson (32)

Timothe Luwawu-Cabarrot (24)

Wesley Matthews (33)

Darius Miller (29)

Terrence Ross (28)

Thabo Sefolosha (35)

Lance Stephenson (29)

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Shooting Guards

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Reggie Bullock (28)

Alec Burks (28)

Kentavious Caldwell-Pope (26)

Ian Clark (28)

Jamal Crawford (39)

Seth Curry (29)

Troy Daniels (28)

Wayne Ellington (32)

Tyreke Evans (30)

Danny Green (32)

Gerald Green (33)

Justin Holiday (30)

Rodney Hood (26)

Furkan Korkmaz (22)

Jeremy Lamb (27)

Patrick McCaw (24)

Jodie Meeks (32)

Quincy Pondexter (31)

J.J. Redick (35)

Austin Rivers (27)

Iman Shumpert (29)

Nik Stauskas (26)

Garrett Temple (33)

Klay Thompson (29)

Nick Young (34)

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Point Guards

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Kyrie Irving (27) ⠀⠀⠀

J.J. Barea (35)

Jerryd Bayless (31)

Patrick Beverley (31)

Trey Burke (27)

Jose Calderon (38)

Michael Carter-Williams (28)

Darren Collison (32)

Raymond Felton (35)

Tim Frazier (29)

Devin Harris (36)

Cory Joseph (28)

Jeremy Lin (31)

Shelvin Mack (29)

T.J. McConnell (27)

Elfrid Payton (25)

Rajon Rondo (33)

Derrick Rose (31)

Ricky Rubio (29)

Ish Smith (31)

Isaiah Thomas (30)

Kemba Walker (29)

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Players with player options

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Centers

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Aron Baynes (33) — $5,453,280 (Celtics)

Bismack Biyombo (27) — $17,000,000 (Hornets)

Marc Gasol (34) — $25,595,700 (Raptors)

Dwight Howard (34) — $5,603,850 (Wizards)

*Howard has picked up his player option

Nene (37) — $3,825,360 (Rockets)

Nerlens Noel (25) — $1,988,119 (Thunder)

Jonas Valanciunas (27) — $17,617,976 (Grizzlies)

Hassan Whiteside (30) — $27,093,018 (Heat)

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Power Forwards

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Kevin Durant (31) — $31,500,000 (Warriors)

Patrick Patterson (30) — $5,711,200 (Thunder)

Dwight Powell (28) — $10,259,375 (Mavericks)

Julius Randle (25) — $9,073,050 (Pelicans)

Marvin Williams (33) — $15,006,250 (Hornets)

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Small Forwards

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Harrison Barnes (27) — $25,102,512 (Kings)

Kent Bazemore (30) — $19,269,662 (Hawks)

Jimmy Butler (30) — $19,841,627 (Sixers)

James Ennis (29) — $1,845,301 (Sixers)

Michael Kidd-Gilchrist (26) — $13,000,000 (Hornets)

Kawhi Leonard (28) — $21,329,752 (Raptors)

Khris Middleton (28) — $13,000,000 (Bucks)

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Shooting Guards

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Allen Crabbe (27) — $18,500,000 (Nets)

Tyler Johnson (27) — $19,245,370 (Suns)

⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀

Point Guards

⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀

Goran Dragic (33) — $19,217,900 (Heat)

Jeff Teague (31) — $19,000,000 (Timberwolves)

[goalhofer]

2018-19 Houston Rockets Roster

Forwards

#0 Marquese Chriss (Elk Grove, California)

#7 Carmelo Anthony (Towson, Maryland)

#8 James Ennis III (Ventura, California)

#9 Qi Zhou (Xinxiang, China)

#17 P.J. Tucker (Raleigh, North Carolina)

#42 Nene (Sao Carlos, Brazil)

#55 Isaiah Hartenstein (Giessen, Germany)

Guards

#1 Michael Carter-Williams (Hamilton, Massachusetts)

#2 Brandon Knight (Ft. Lauderdale, Florida)

#3 Chris Paul (Clemmons, North Carolina)

#10 Eric Gordon; Jr. (Indianapolis, Indiana)

#13 James Harden (Lakewood, California)

#14 Gerald Green (Houston, Texas)

Centers

#15 Clint Capela (Geneva, Switzerland)

[fcrkshqs]

could i get some more mwm fcs?

avan jogia, keith powers, chase stokes, keiynan lonsale, chriss lee, quincy fouse, jacob elordi, aron piper, finn cole, freddie thorpe, miguel bernadeau, freddy carter, mark mckenna, alvaro rico, alex fitzalan, ross lynch, tanner buchanan, herman tommeraas, wolfgang novogratz, anthony turpel, george sear, nick robinson, rhys matthew bond, leo howard, drew starkey, john boyega, cody saintgnue, cody kearsley, forrest goodluck, richard harmon, robert mesa, tanner novlan , kiowa gordan, martin sensmeier, luke pasqualino, wolfgang novogratz, tommy martinez, trevor jackson, laith ashley, jordan fisher, deaken bluman, ronen rubinstein, daniel sharman, alexander koch, alfred enoch, charles michael davis, jon kortajarena, riz ahmed, chris evans, sean teale, rahul kohli, & can yaman.

[sportsv]

時代的眼淚，自由市場尚未簽約的老將

文／ Paul Chang

隨著自由市場軍備競賽了一個月的時間，從大咖爭奪戰的幾家歡樂幾家愁，到綠葉角色型球員的補強搭配，以及開市前的選秀潛力新人挑選，現階段聯盟各隊的陣型都接近補充完整，剩餘的補強策略不外乎就是替補戰力的填充、輪替陣容外的保險、休息室精神領袖與經驗傳承等等。

綜合球團的剩餘需求，現階段目標會設定在落選新秀的挖寶，以及身價介於低點的球員，最後還有能接受球團方針的老將。

從近期幾筆簽約來看，公鹿補進了教練 Budenholzer 體系熟悉的射手 Kyle Korver，增加了外圍發砲點，也可以說替 Giannis 綁住了一位很棒的投籃教練，另外也帶回了2016年第四順位的 Dragan Bender，由於太陽對其缺乏合適養成計畫與導師，導致 Bender 一直沒有發揮出被期待的戰力，而公鹿雖然不能保證給 Bender 一定的上場時間，但兩名 Lopez 勢必能提供良好的經驗傳導與場上示範。

七六人則是簽下 Trey Burke 與 Furkan Korkmaz，兩人的定位可能都是第二陣容之後的選擇，不過兩位的功能性也正是陣型中所缺乏的，具有得分能力的替補後衛與各方面仍可培養的投射型鋒衛。

Pau Gasol 則是一年合約加入了拓荒者，這就包含了替補戰力的填充與經驗傳承，在 Nurkic 回歸之前，Gasol 的策應與投射能力能與 Whiteside 互補，也能給予陣中年輕長人不論是 Collins 或 Labissiere 不少經驗指導。

Ben McLemore 與火箭的合作，則意味著身價介於低點的球員尋找機會，雖然休士頓後場人滿為患，不過 McLemore 的投射正符合 Mike D'Antoni 的進攻體系要求，但是從合約細節來看，二年只有部分是保證約，McLemore 要留在聯盟後續可能需要多一點運氣與更多努力。

上述這些簽約的考量點，大多就是球團對於陣型考量與經驗傳承的補充，沒有給予輪替上場時間的保證，甚至合約金額也不會太好看。

在這個時間點還沒有工作的球員，除了等待聯盟球團的聯繫，如果有海外球團願意招手，也可能會考慮將其視為生涯的下一站，例如 Greg Monroe 就與德國拜仁慕尼黑簽下了合約，近幾年輾轉待過暴龍、塞爾提克、公鹿、七六人，如今轉戰歐洲籃壇，除了合約金額的考量，另外就是上場時間與角色無法在NBA有滿意的定位吧。

整理還在市場上等待機會的老將名單：

Vince Carter

上季成績

76場，場均17.5分鐘，7.4分、2.6籃板、1.1助攻，FG% 41.9、3P% 38.9。

21年生涯，8隻球隊，昔日聯盟力捧招牌、全明星人氣王、灌籃大賽冠軍，從主力球星到能上場奉獻的老將領袖，Carter 不論是角色定位或是球風的轉型都非常成功，上季三分命中率到達38.9%，短時間內的高效率證明42歲的他油箱還有油，生涯後期在老鷹、國王、灰熊都帶給陣中小將許多幫助，而這幾次在自由市場選隊的取向，也顯示 Carter 十分重視是否擁有上場時間，他想要上場打球，不希望只作為場上導師的角色。

但隨著年紀的增長與同位置新人輩出的現象，大部分球隊都會以即戰力和培養潛力為主，Carter 恐怕很難持續找到願意每場給他接近20分鐘上場時間的球隊，但他確實是還能打的，情感面來說，最終若能和暴龍達成共識會是很棒的事，退休年回到生涯最初的起點。

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砍掉重練的雷霆　還可能進季後賽？！Why NOT?

Jeremy Lin

上季成績

74場，場均19.4分鐘，9.6分、2.4籃板、3.1助攻，FG% 44.5、3P% 29.4。

關於林書豪，我想從17-18賽季開始提起，本來這可能是衝向巔峰的一年，不論陣型的搭配或是球隊給予的開火權，開季第一場25分鐘就拿下了18分4助攻，然而可恨的傷病就找上了他，右膝髕韌帶斷裂整季提前結束，接著以自由身加盟了老鷹隊，以大傷回歸賽場的標準來看，他很快地找回了打球節奏與競技狀態，場均上場19.7分鐘能取得10.7分、3.5助攻，FG% 46.6、3P% 33.3，作為替補控場來說極具效率，陣中新星 Trae Young 更是大力讚賞過 Lin 給予的經驗傳承。

之後季中與老鷹達成買斷共識後，Lin 選擇投奔多倫多爭取在季後賽征戰的機會，當時暴龍替補控衛 VanVleet 手指受傷，因此 Lin 得到了救火的上場時間，卻沒料到隨後的23場比賽整個陷入了難堪的撞牆期，場均上場18.8分鐘取得7.0分、2.2助攻，明顯與在老鷹的成績有所差異，更可怕的是投籃就像失憶般，FG% 37.4、3P% 20.0，不論是體系不適應，或是勞累導致身體強度下降，失去投射威脅的 Lin 也失去了教練信賴，在季末掉出輪值，雖然最終驚奇般的成為冠軍成員，但在季後賽喪失表現機會的 Lin，也在自由市場喪失了各球團對他的興趣。

這幾天返台行，Lin 也直言感覺NBA放棄他了，面對不確定的未來，感覺每一年的挑戰都越來越艱難，其實這心理壓力真的非常大，如果不限定留在NBA的話，相信亞洲這邊不怕沒機會，甚至先前也傳出俄羅斯莫斯科中央陸軍想補進 Lin 的消息，希望能選擇一個對自己最好的歸處吧，這九年生涯以來，林書豪已經很完美的詮釋「不要放棄」的精神了。

Carmelo Anthony

上季成績

10場，場均29.4分鐘，13.4分、5.4籃板、0.5助攻，FG% 40.5、3P% 32.8。

很難想像 Melo 會有待業這麼長一段時間的可能性，這名一代進攻機器生涯後期確實是令人不勝唏噓的一再失意，從Oklahoma到Houston，Melo 都面臨了球風與團隊體系牴觸的困境，轉型成延伸四號位當然合理，但其Catch & Shoot的外圍命中率卻是一路從16-17球季的42.5%，一路滑落到37.8%，再到上季的低點33.3，「奧運瓜」招喚不出來，防守端也因為運動能力不佳成為漏洞，在場上成為十分尷尬的存在。

已經打了15個賽季，也35歲的 Melo，在場上能做的改變其實有限，雖然在離開球場前已經不再執著角色的定位，願意替補上陣，攤開進攻數據來看，也仍有一定火力的輸出能力，只要給予他一定的開火權，但現在真的有球團能提供合適的陣型搭配他嗎？或是他願意接受沒有保證上場時間的回歸機會嗎？

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分身之術你也略懂？JJ Redick 承認在推特開小號，目的竟是…

2020、2021 年 NBA 三十隊自由球員一覽

J.R. Smith

上季成績

11場，場均20.2分鐘，6.7分、1.6籃板、1.9助攻，FG% 34.2、3P% 30.8。

上季與騎士形同貌合神離，球隊走向重建，重點培養年輕小將，因此 JR 也失去了他的上場時間，而不斷下滑的攻防表現也讓他的交易價值電梯下降，最終騎士在今夏為了清理薪資空間將他裁掉，已經33歲的他，以場上脫序的表現與其不可控的性格來看，要留在聯盟可能性是比較低了，後續可能像上季 Nick Young 一樣等待季中救火的名額吧。

Iman Shumpert

上季成績

62場，場均23.9分鐘，7.5分、3.0籃板、1.8助攻，FG% 37.4、3P% 34.8。

近幾年健康度堪憂，不過上賽季前段在國王有過幾場亮眼的表現，其防守經驗與休息室領導能力都被陣中小將稱讚過，季中被交易到需要側翼的火箭，表現卻與在國王時有所落差，特別是投籃的部分，FG% 38.2→34.7、3P% 36.6→29.6，一度消失在輪替名單，不過季後賽時臨危救命表現得不錯，直到現在還沒簽約有點讓人意外，保有他鳥權的火箭也許還在盤算任何簽約後交易的可能性。

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Jamal Crawford

上季成績

64場，場均18.9分鐘，7.9分、1.3籃板、3.6助攻，FG% 39.7、3P% 33.2。

上賽季加入後場薄弱的太陽隊，運球十分華麗，成名絕技「Shake and Bake」的 Crawford 在場上真的非常特別，39歲還能從板凳出發拿下51分，成為最年長的單場50分球員，也締造了在4隻球隊都拿過50分的成就，然而這些紀錄並不能掩蓋他影響力逐漸下滑的事實，如今依然乏人問津，時常看他在Twitter發一些感嘆的文，有點可惜，相信他依然能作為一名趁職的替補後場，不過得等待有球團需要臨時救火的機會了。

Shaun Livingston

上季成績

64場，場均15.1分鐘，4.0分、1.8籃板、1.8助攻，FG% 51.9、3P% 0。

老兵不死，只是凋零。拿來形容  Livingston 恐怕再貼切為不過了，作為近代勇士強盛的應援軍之一，不管角色轉換還是穩定軍心的救援，Livingston 在重大戰役的表現鮮少讓人失望，從以超級新星登場到令人心碎的運動傷害，接著不可思議的回歸賽場，15年職業生涯現今已經接近畫上休止符，上季的表現也出現下滑與力不從心的狀況，不過好戰的  Livingston 近期表示他還不打算高掛球鞋，在勇士考量薪資空間而與其分道揚鑣後，此刻的 Livingston 正在眼望回歸生涯的起點 --- 洛杉磯快艇。

Jonas Jerebko

上季成績

73場，場均16.7分鐘，6.3分、3.9籃板、1.3助攻，FG% 45.9、3P% 36.7。

第二位瑞典裔的NBA球員，當年以第二輪第九順位被活塞挑中，新秀賽季表現的能裡能外，體能也十分優異，無奈第二年受了阿基里腱撕裂傷，回歸場上後 JJ 的定位也有了變動，從球團重點培養的搖擺人，到只能接球等球的射手苦工，後續輾轉到了幾隻球隊，大都是替補鋒線的定位，轉眼間 Jerebko 也已經在聯盟打滾了十個賽季，32歲的年紀已經沒有潛能開發的突破性，要在聯盟得到賞識是有一定難度，看看缺乏四號位深度的爵士會不會再給 JJ 一次機會吧。

Jerryd Bayless

上季成績

34場，場均19.3分鐘，6.1分、1.8籃板、3.5助攻，FG% 35.7、3P% 29.6。

「負責上場幹分的假控球真得分矮後衛」，是我對 Bayless 整個生涯的基礎印象，雖然是掛名控球後衛，但實際的球風卻是不折不扣的得分後衛，以現今雙能衛一片天的趨勢來說，其實有發揮的空間，但其6尺3的身高與不出色的臂展都限制了他的爆發力，生涯11年來並沒有打出如出道時聲勢高漲的期待，近幾年也因為傷病影響了發揮空間，上季在缺乏後場的灰狼也沒有太多的亮眼發揮，年屆30的 Bayless 目前處境是危險的。

Joakim Noah

上季成績

42場，場均16.5分鐘，7.1分、4.3籃板、2.1助攻，FG% 51.6、3P% 0。

曾經的最佳防守球員，賽場中狂熱發動機，也是被傷病影響生涯發展的案例之一，在渡過了與尼克形同一場誤會的兩個賽季，上季的 Noah 披上灰熊戰袍，在有限的上場時間內其實繳出了不錯的成績單，罰球也回升到生涯標準的71.6%，休賽季灰熊重新整頓了主力陣容與確立重點培養新人，34歲的Noah 當然不意外的不會在球隊未來藍圖，但以上季部分回春的表現來看，作為替補陣容外的保險或經驗傳承的老將，是現有球團可以考慮的目標。

Lance Stephenson

上季成績

68場，場均16.5分鐘，7.2分、3.2籃板、2.1助攻，FG% 42.6、3P% 37.1。

鋒線上的強硬防守鎖、自帶體系的持球發動點，這些特質是歷年來網羅 Stephenson 的球隊所盼望他能兌現的功能，當年在溜馬初試啼聲的爆發表現，證明他確實具有讓人投資培養成為全能鋒線的體質，而事情總是能這麼順利就好了，其刺頭型的性格與不夠穩定的投籃換來的是起伏不定的生涯，離開溜馬後在其他城市都沒有真正融入球隊體系之中，上一季在湖人其實投射表現還算及格，不過上場時間並不穩定，代表著其表現並不被教練信賴，28歲的 Stephenson 相對來說還有時間證明自己，夏天也辦了個人測試會，尋求下一站的車票。

另外幾名等待機會的球員：

Dwight Howard Thabo Sefolosha Jonathon Simmons Corey Brewer Ryan Anderson Ian Clark Justin Anderson Kenneth Faried Zaza Pachulia Marquese Chriss

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[junker-town]

4 reasons the Rockets look like the Warriors’ biggest competitors again

Houston’s season started off terribly, but they’ve bounced back well. Here’s how they became relevant again.

The Houston Rockets had the NBA’s most disappointing offseason, which led to a miserable start to the year. By mid-December, the league’s best regular season team from a year before was 14-14, clearly lacking the shooting and defensive versatility that helped them win 65 games.

The Rockets were melting before our eyes. As many expected, Carmelo Anthony and James Ennis were not viable Trevor Ariza and Luc Richard Mbah A Moute replacements, so GM Daryl Morey hunted the trade, buyout and free agent market more vigorously than any other team. Twenty-two different guys have suited up in a Rockets uniform this year.

But just in time, the Rockets have found the right combinations to surge to their old spot near the top of the West standings.

A superhuman MVP push from James Harden, who racked up 32 straight 30-point games, kept Houston in the playoff mix while Chris Paul sat out 17 straight games to a hamstring injury and Clint Capela missed 15 straight to a thumb injury. Now, both of Harden’s complimentary stars are back and thriving.

Since the All-Star break, the team is 6-1 with the league’s third-highest net rating, outscoring teams by 5.9 points per 100 possessions, according to StatMuse. That’s better than Golden State’s 5.8 points per 100 possessions on the season, and in that span they’ve notched wins over the Warriors, Celtics and Raptors.

How’d they get back on track?

They moved on when their initial plan didn’t work

Most teams don’t have the guts to give up on a failed experiment until its bitter end, but Houston’s kept a constant cycle of talent coming and going until it found what fits. Morey knew when to make additions by subtraction.

Here’s a list of the Rocket’s biggest transactions since the beginning of the season:

Nov. 15 - Carmelo Anthony parted ways with the team

Dec. 6 - Danuel House signed a two-way contract.

Dec. 6 - Gary Clark signed as a free agent.

Dec. 24 - Austin Rivers signed as a free agent.

Jan. 7 - Michael Carter-Williams traded for cash.

Jan. 16 - James Nunnally signed to a 10-day contract. He was later let go.

Jan. 21 - Kenneth Faried signed as a free agent.

Jan. 22 - Carmelo Anthony traded for draft rights to someone who will never play in the NBA.

Feb. 7 - Ennis traded for a pick swap.

Feb. 7 - Marquese Chriss, Brandon Knight, and a pick were traded for Iman Shumpert

Feb. 22 / Mar. 4 - Terrence Jones signed to consecutive 10-day contracts

Those moves might seem minor, but it’s rare for a playoff-caliber team to switch that many rotation players in and out of its lineup. Though the Rockets deserve some blame for putting themselves in a position to tinker that heavily in the first place, it’s commendable they’ve dug themselves out. Leaving on OK terms with a former All-Star like Anthony and shipping vets like Carter-Williams, Ennis, and Knight isn’t easy.

It took trial and error, but Houston’s found viable rotation pieces

They still don’t add up to what Ariza, Ryan Anderson, and Mbah a Moute gave Houston last season, but Austin Rivers, Kenneth Faried, Danuel House, and Gary Clark have filled different but important roles in their absence.

Faried was trapped in a much younger Nets rotation until they agreed on a buyout. In Houston, he got a chance to win now, and he’s run with it. He filled in admirably at center when Capela was hurt, putting up double-digit scoring numbers in every single game. He’s nowhere near the defender Capela is, but in scoring 15 points per game with nine rebounds (four of which are offensive), Faried serves a valuable role that most contracts that cheap don’t fulfill.

Rivers is playing significantly better than he did with the Wizards earlier in the year, hitting an adequate 34 percent of his threes on a much higher volume of attempts. That isn’t Ariza’s 37 percent, but it’s better than Anthony’s 33 percent, and he at least provides a threat that Carter-Williams didn’t on the perimeter. He isn’t perfect, but for a mid-season fill-in, he’ll do.

Before a contract dispute sent him back to the G League, House averaged nine points and four rebounds on 39 percent shooting from deep, and Clark has pitched in quality minutes in a limited role, too.

Chris Paul became Point God again

Before missing a month with a hamstring injury, 33-year-old Paul looked like a shell of himself. Some wondered if he’d finally begun his decline from stardom. From Oct. through Dec., he was shooting a career-worst 41.5 percent from the field, missing some of his lift and agility.

But ever since he sat for 17 games, he’s come alive, averaging 16 points, nine assists and five rebounds. His shooting ticked upwards to 42.7 percent in that span, too. The secondary playmaker that pushed Houston to new heights last season has officially returned.

It must be said again: James Harden saved the Rockets butts

The pieces around him are finally beginning to supplement his work, but Harden’s had a masterful 2018-19 season. It might even be better than his MVP campaign from a season ago, and without it, Houston would be on the playoff bubble or worse.

Harden’s scoring a ridiculous 37 points per game on 44 percent shooting from the field, 36 percent shooting from three-point range, and 88 percent shooting from the free throw line, where he attempts 12 per night.

His efficiency is otherworldly yet again, and he’s done it while being the focal point of every defense. In 23 games without Paul, Harden averaged 42 points, nine assists and eight rebounds on similar percentages (44/37/87), per StatMuse. That’s bonkers!

Now that Harden has his star teammates in Paul and Capela back on the floor and a better supporting cast to play off, it’s no wonder the Rockets are rolling. It may not be the perfect roster, but it’s a much improved one in Houston. The late playoff run that seemed impossible once upon a time is back on the table.

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It’s Time for Carmelo Anthony to Defeat His Own Ego

Carmelo Anthony is 34 years old, and the glory days that once encouraged him to piddle from the mid-range without a conscience have been distilled into a memory. As his relevance dwindles after a disastrous year with the Oklahoma City Thunder in which he was the least efficient, most vanilla iteration of his once-dominant self, Anthony finds himself in an unfamiliar position: unwanted.

On Wednesday, the ten-time All-Star was traded to the Atlanta Hawks, a rebuilding organization that has no use for anyone older than 28 who isn’t named Vince Carter. From there he will be waived, likely clearing a path for the Houston Rockets to grab someone they pray can salvage an offseason that didn’t go as well as they’d hoped.

Here’s an optimistic take on the situation: Up next is basketball redemption, the chance to adjust the trajectory of a career that will in part be remembered for a diverse set of decisions that placed Anthony’s own wants and needs above everything else. He grew up in an age where talent was spread around the league and each team had a fixed hierarchy. But without warning or his permission, the NBA suddenly shifted into an era defined by sacrifice, a word long foreign to Anthony’s vocabulary.

Shades of megalomania have long obstructed him from accepting what the final stage of his career needs to look like. But if his experience with the Thunder taught him anything, it’s that delusion should be replaced by a willingness to acquiesce for the greater good. Anthony’s offensive responsibilities don’t need to hollow out in order for him to help a basketball team, but the dosage in which he’s unleashed should probably recede.

Anthony drifted through Oklahoma City in somewhat of a stupor, with a game that balanced stubbornness, unconcern, and doubt on its way to poor shooting nights that quickly revealed him to be more a part of the pseudo-contender’s problem than solution. The Thunder were fine with him at the four, boasting a 56-win pace, deadly offense, and competence on the other end. But Anthony also averaged 101.1 points per 100 shot attempts, which was fewer than Wesley Johnson and Marquese Chriss.

Oklahoma City and Houston are very different situations, though. The Rockets have more versatility, outside shooting, and befitting talent than the Thunder. Anthony will have more space than ever before, in lineups that can bombs away beyond the arc at every position. James Harden and Chris Paul are two of the most intellectually searing passers who ever touched a basketball. They make the sport more digestible for everyone who plays with them, Anthony included.

Meanwhile, OKC was at times, and in different ways, held prisoner by the two All-Stars above Anthony on the totem pole. Russell Westbrook takes what he believes is his (AKA everything) while Paul George is at his best finishing possessions himself. Unselfish ball movement was not the modus operandi in Houston last season, but that’s only because they didn’t need it to be successful. The Thunder did. They finished second-to-last in passes per game (the Rockets were 30th) while ranking second in isolation possessions (the Rockets were first). But according to Cleaning the Glass, OKC finished 18th in points per half-court play while Houston only trailed Golden State. Their offensive strategy wasn’t awful, but didn’t necessarily suit their personnel.

Photo by Erik S. Lesser – European Pressphoto Agency

And even in an environment Anthony should’ve been able to comfortably slide into, there was noticeable change in his role. From 2014 to 2017 the percentage of Anthony’s shots that were catch-and-shoot threes ranged from 15-20 percent. Last season, it skyrocketed to a whopping 35 percent. This is a stylistic step in the right direction for someone who should bounce back from what was in some ways a dreadful season beyond the arc: on 194 “open” attempts, Anthony only shot 30.9 percent.

Back in April, he reflected on the experience with a sour taste in his mouth: “As far as being effective as [a spot-up shooter] I don’t think I can be effective as that type of player. I think I was willing to accept that challenge in that role, but I think I bring a little bit more to the game as far as being more knowledgeable and what I still can do as a basketball player.”

After getting traded and bought out, Anthony had even more time to process where he is and what he needs to do, and his most recent words come from a man who just touched down in reality:

“I had a conversation with my wife and family. I said to them, I’m not taking no buyout. I’m not getting waived. And they said, at the end of the day, nobody is going to know that. You have to do what you have to do. It’s going to be a blip on your radar. It’s on to the next chapter. It took me a while to get to that point where I’m like, OK, I’m going to accept it.”

Looking ahead to Houston, a case can be made for Mike D’Antoni to start James Ennis at the three—instead of Anthony—alongside Paul, Harden, P.J. Tucker, and Clint Capela. He’s a low-usage wing with good size and a willingness/ability to stand in the corner and make open threes while switching through a gauntlet of different positions.

Even with fewer touches in less minutes, Anthony’s defense atrophied last year. He guarded with the enthusiasm of a flight attendant who’d like to know if you want some complimentary almonds, and was constantly put in pick-and-rolls designed to roast him. There’s no reason to think this area of his game will ever improve, even to a passable degree, and that has to concern a Rockets team that A) just lost two quality two-way wings, and B) believes it can defeat the Golden State Warriors.

But having him come off the bench—perhaps even as a tag-team replacement with Eric Gordon that can allow Harden and Paul to rest at the same time—not only lets Anthony spend more time guarding second units, but should also provide freedom within an offense that wants him to isolate in space and run some spread pick-and-roll. As a screener, Anthony can dare opponents to switch whenever he sets a pick on Paul, Harden, or Gordon’s man. If there’s hesitation, any one of those three will knife their way downhill and force help off the three-point line. If they switch, Anthony will find himself with a smaller, weaker defender on his hip, in position to still do the type of damage he’s capable of.

Anthony’s assist rate took a nosedive last season, dropping from 21 and 14.1 percent in the previous two years to 6.1. Playing beside Westbrook and George, uneasiness overtook the stoic ways of a great scorer who’s confident enough to draw two defenders and then hit the open man. His triple-threat position rarely led to anything more than a series of jab steps and ball fakes that set the table for a contested jumper. These sequences were stagnant and upsetting, whether the ball went in or not. (According to Synergy Sports, he used 255 possessions to isolate last season. 245 of them ended in a shot, foul, or turnover, which means he only passed the ball ten times.) And even when he was given a high screen, Anthony’s focus rarely shifted from the front of the rim.

But the remnants of his basketball insight were always on display whenever he found a mismatch in the post—a situation Houston’s coaching staff should try and put him in as often as possible. Years of experience have made him an expert at recognizing when double teams are on their way and where they’re coming from. He’s tall enough to survey the entire floor, read help, and kill you with a skip pass .

This should be a staple of Houston’s second-quarter offense, when Anthony will be surrounded by more spacers (Gerald Green, Gordon, and Paul) who’ll either let him penetrate deeper against an individual matchup or kick out to an open shooter. In the starting lineup, those opportunities will be few and far between.

It feels weird to be optimistic about the rest of Anthony’s career after watching him struggle the way he did on the Thunder, but it’s even more strange to look at his bottom-line talent and cast him off as a net negative. Fit always matters unless your name is LeBron James—and even he may succumb to an illogical supporting cast next season—and this fit is so much better than Oklahoma City’s.

There are no answers for Anthony’s weaknesses, which will flare up in the playoffs like incurable arthritis. But what he can control is a commitment to team above self, an ego that must be reasoned with, and the acceptance of a system and roster that can temporarily rejuvenate his career. Half a decade removed from his most recent All-NBA team, Anthony can still be an effective, uniquely valuable role player. Whether he becomes that in Houston is totally up to him.

It’s Time for Carmelo Anthony to Defeat His Own Ego syndicated from https://australiahoverboards.wordpress.com

[christopherross7601]

Notorious Kindle Unlimited abuser has been booted from the bookstore

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A few levels past the bestsellers and sci-fi/romance/adventure titles on Kindle Unlimited, in the darkest corners of the Kindle Direct Publishing market, there are books that are made entirely out of garbage designed to make scammers hundreds of dollars a day. One user, who called his or herself Chance Carter, was one of the biggest abusers of the KDP system and, more important, made over $15 per book they uploaded to the system, over and over, for books that contained no real content.

Carter, according to the Digital Reader, would create large novels out of other books. The books, which were simple hack jobs written by Fiverr writers, were hundreds of pages long and, on the first page, featured a recommendation to flip to the last page to get a free giveaway. KDP pays authors for both paid downloads as well as for pages read and it doesn’t sense reading speed, just the highest number of pages reached. Therefore Chance’s “readers” were instantly sending him or her about twenty dollars a read.

The way that the book-stuffing con works is that scammers stuff lots of extra content into an ebook before uploading it to Kindle Unlimited, and then trick readers into jumping to the end of the book.

Thanks to a flaw in the Kindle platform, namely that the platform knows your location in a book but not how many pages you have actually read, the scammers can get paid for a user having “read” a book in Kindle Unlimited by getting the user to jump to the last page.

So how are clever authors getting around Amazon's new review policies? By giving readers a chance to win some Tiffany jewelry of course. All you have to do is purchase & review Chance's new book on Amazon. This is so ridiculous pic.twitter.com/k3l9Z25jPa

— nikki

(@ease_dropper) May 30, 2018

This sort of KDP scam is actually quite unusual. Amazon has worked to prevent scams like these from taking cash out of the KDP “pool” – a multi-million dollar account that is passed out to the best KDP authors – but this one was so long-running and ingenious that it’s not surprising that it took so long to pull these books from the store. Interestingly, the flip-to-end scam doesn’t quite work on newer Kindles but still works on older, non-updated Kindles which makes it still a lucrative scam.

Chance, for his part, offered free Tiffany jewelry if you flipped to the end of his books. This was, obviously, against KDP rules.

Carter and his books are gone but books stuffers like him still exist. While it’s not a crime per se, it does muddy the Kindle ebook waters and brings garbage content into the market. While most of us wouldn’t fall for these cynical tricks, plenty will and that makes it a danger to readers and a boon to scammers.

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[biofunmy]

With Room at the Top of the East, the 76ers Could Soar

The Toronto Raptors lost Kawhi Leonard and Danny Green, the Philadelphia 76ers lost Jimmy Butler, the Boston Celtics lost Kyrie Irving and Al Horford, and the Milwaukee Bucks lost Malcolm Brogdon.

There is still plenty of talent on the Eastern Conference’s top teams — and there is the looming threat of how great the Nets can become once Kevin Durant returns, most likely next season. But a series of high-profile off-season moves caused enough chaos that it could take all season to figure out which teams best repositioned themselves for the N.B.A.’s most wide-open season in recent memory.

Taking a look, team by team, reveals a conference where there are a few top contenders, a large middle class, and a small group bordering on irrelevance.

Atlantic Division

Philadelphia 76ers

Key additions: Al Horford, Josh Richardson

Key subtractions: Jimmy Butler, J.J. Redick

Draft: Matisse Thybulle (No. 20), Marial Shayok (No. 54)

Ben Simmons’s hitting a 3-pointer in the preseason set off waves of jubilation in Philadelphia. Al Horford’s signing meant that one of Joel Embiid’s nemeses in the Eastern Conference was now playing alongside him. With Kawhi Leonard out of the East, the Sixers have reason to be optimistic, given how close they came last season to knocking off the eventual champions.

But … Horford showed signs of slowing down last season. And the Sixers are very tall. Is the spacing going to be an issue on the offensive end? And let’s not forget that Philadelphia will be without Butler, although Josh Richardson is a solid replacement. If Simmons starts hitting jumpers, the Sixers will instantly have two top-10 players and will be finals favorites. If Simmons is essentially the same player as last year, Philadelphia won’t advance. The Sixers are not deep. SOPAN DEB

Toronto Raptors

Key additions: Rondae Hollis-Jefferson, Stanley Johnson

Key subtractions: Kawhi Leonard, Danny Green

Draft: Dewan Hernandez (No. 59)

No matter what happens this season, the Raptors will be the defending N.B.A. champions until June. It’s hard to argue with a straight face that losing Kawhi Leonard and Danny Green, while adding little to replace them, won’t significantly weaken Toronto, but it’s probably not time to panic, either. Pascal Siakam is already a star and could get even better. Kyle Lowry is still a terrific player. And some vital cogs in the title run (Marc Gasol, Fred VanVleet, Serge Ibaka) are still around, making this a strong team in the East.

Brooklyn Nets

Key additions: Kyrie Irving, Kevin Durant, DeAndre Jordan, Taurean Prince, Wilson Chandler

Key subtractions: D’Angelo Russell, Jared Dudley, Rondae Hollis-Jefferson, Ed Davis, Allen Crabbe

Draft: Nicolas Claxton (No. 31), Jaylen Hands (No. 56)

Can a team be the biggest winner of the off-season and not be expected to appreciably improve in the season that follows? The Nets seem to have accomplished just that by signing Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving, while accepting that the costs would be having the injured Durant sit out this season and losing a young All-Star in D’Angelo Russell, as well as a number of solid veterans who were integral to the team’s surprising playoff run last season.

The Nets may already be better this season, but Irving must be engaged and healthy and mesh with Spencer Dinwiddie in the backcourt; Caris LeVert will have to keep improving; and Coach Kenny Atkinson will have to find the right balance of minutes at power forward and center for DeAndre Jordan, Jarrett Allen, Taurean Prince and Wilson Chandler.

A .500 record would probably get Brooklyn into the playoffs; in a season without Durant, that would probably be the most realistic goal. Anything on top of that is gravy, as the Nets set their sights on dominating in 2020-21.

Boston Celtics

Key additions: Kemba Walker, Enes Kanter, Vincent Poirier

Key subtractions: Kyrie Irving, Al Horford

Draft: Romeo Langford (No. 14), Grant Williams (No. 22), Carsen Edwards (No. 33), Tremont Waters (No. 51)

Replacing Irving and Horford with Kemba Walker and Enes Kanter is less of a downgrade on offense than it might seem at first, but more of a downgrade on defense than can adequately be explained here. There’s an argument that chemistry will improve with Irving gone, but Coach Brad Stevens has to find the right mix of minutes among three positions for Jayson Tatum, Jaylen Brown, Gordon Hayward, Marcus Smart, Romeo Langford and Grant Williams.

New York Knicks

Key additions: Julius Randle, Marcus Morris, Bobby Portis

Key subtractions: Emmanuel Mudiay, Mario Hezonja

Draft: R.J. Barrett (No. 3), Ignas Brazdeikis (No. 47)

For a second consecutive season, the Knicks should focus far less on wins than on development. It’s not that wins should be avoided — The Process is not the only way to build a team — but this season should be judged largely on whether R.J. Barrett thrives, Kevin Knox and Frank Ntilikina figure out what’s gone wrong for them and Mitchell Robinson adds more to his game than blocks and dunks. The elements are there for this team to be fun, and Julius Randle will look like a star — at least on offense — but barring significant development from several players, it’s hard to see the Knicks being good.

Central division

Milwaukee Bucks

Key additions: Robin Lopez, Kyle Korver, Wesley Matthews, Dragan Bender

Key subtraction: Malcolm Brogdon

Draft: None

As long as Giannis Antetokounmpo is around, the Bucks will be a top team in the East, but losing Malcolm Brogdon is quite a blow to the team’s offensive versatility. Soaking up Brogdon’s minutes with a combination of Wesley Matthews and Kyle Korver is not ideal, but Milwaukee still has one of the deepest rotations in the conference and should be considered a legitimate contender for a finals appearance.

Indiana Pacers

Key additions: Malcolm Brogdon, Jeremy Lamb, T.J. Warren, Justin Holiday

Key subtractions: Thaddeus Young, Bojan Bogdanovic, Cory Joseph, Kyle O’Quinn, Darren Collison

Draft: Goga Bitadze (No. 18)

The Pacers were set to improve just because of Victor Oladipo’s return from an injury, but they scored a potential breakout star in Malcolm Brogdon, who had a 50-40-90 season as a starter for Milwaukee last year. Brogdon, who turns 27 in December, is on the older side for a fourth-year player, but he seems to fit well in Indiana’s culture. With good health, this team should be in for 50 wins and a decent playoff run.

Detroit Pistons

Key additions: Derrick Rose, Markieff Morris

Key subtractions: Ish Smith, Wayne Ellington, Jon Leuer

Draft: Sekou Doumbouya (No. 15)

It was a bit of a triumph for Detroit to make the playoffs last season with a roster that doesn’t seem particularly modern, no matter how many 3-pointers the team attempts. Andre Drummond and Blake Griffin have found ways to work together in the frontcourt, and Reggie Jackson finally found some stability (only for the team to sign Derrick Rose to compete with him). But while the Pistons once again seem capable of a seventh or eighth seed, it is worth questioning the value of maintaining a roster that seems capable of little more than that.

Chicago Bulls

Key additions: Thaddeus Young, Tomas Satoransky, Luke Kornet

Key subtraction: Robin Lopez

Draft: Coby White (No. 7), Daniel Gafford (No. 38)

If they can stay healthy — a big if — both Lauri Markkanen and Zach LaVine could be All-Star-level players. Kris Dunn is looking like a bust, and expecting Wendell Carter Jr. to stay healthy in long stretches seems rash. But given how Otto Porter Jr. thrived after a midseason trade from Washington, there are reasons for a little optimism in Chicago.

Cleveland Cavaliers

Key departures: Channing Frye, Marquese Chriss

Draft: Darius Garland (No. 5), Dylan Windler (No. 26)

The Cavaliers were a moving target last season, using 27 players over the season, but all of the combinations they tried were bad. Hope for this season depends on better health for Kevin Love, more development from Collin Sexton and Cedi Osman, and a belief that Cleveland snagged something special in Darius Garland. Considered by some to be a Stephen Curry-like game changer in terms of shot selection, accuracy and ball-handling, Garland steps into a confusing backcourt with Sexton just as Curry did alongside Monta Ellis a decade ago.

Southeast DIVISION

Miami Heat

Key additions: Jimmy Butler, Meyers Leonard

Key subtractions: Josh Richardson, Hassan Whiteside, Dwyane Wade

Draft: Tyler Herro (No. 13)

Jimmy Butler is an upgrade from Josh Richardson, at least in the short term, but is he an upgrade from Richardson, Hassan Whiteside and a first-round draft pick? Miami better hope so as it tries to build into something new in the post-Dwyane Wade era. Beyond Butler’s intensity, Miami should be intriguing based on how the team uses the versatile Justise Winslow, how it maximizes the shooting impact and brash confidence of the rookie Tyler Herro, and how much Bam Adebayo develops in his third season.

Atlanta Hawks

Key additions: Evan Turner, Allen Crabbe

Key subtractions: Dewayne Dedmon, Kent Bazemore, Taurean Prince

Draft: DeAndre Hunter (No. 4), Cam Reddish (No. 10), Bruno Fernando (No. 34)

The Hawks already had a promising young core with Trae Young, John Collins and Kevin Huerter, and they added to that by trading for the versatile Evan Turner and drafting one of the safer players in this year’s draft (DeAndre Hunter) along with one of its biggest boom-or-bust prospects (Cam Reddish). Things could take some time to come together, but Atlanta has the start of what could be a terrific team for a long time.

Orlando Magic

Key addition: Al-Farouq Aminu

Draft: Chuma Okeke (No. 16)

It seems clear what to expect from most of Orlando’s roster, with Nikola Vucevic being the best of the bunch while Aaron Gordon and Evan Fournier provide versatility and consistency. The thing to watch will be the development of players like Mo Bamba and Jonathan Isaac, and also of the reclamation project Markelle Fultz, the former No. 1 pick, who has struggled from his first day in the N.B.A. Orlando’s picking up a contract option on Fultz, who has not appeared in a game since Nov. 19 of last year, was a bit of a surprise, but the Magic believe they were handed a lottery ticket in him and seem determined to find out if the numbers hit.

Charlotte Hornets

Key additions: Terry Rozier

Key subtractions: Kemba Walker, Jeremy Lamb

Draft: P.J. Washington (No. 12), Cody Martin (No. 36), Jalen McDaniels (No. 52)

The Hornets tried to justify throwing a king’s ransom at Terry Rozier by insisting that he would be a lottery pick if he were in this year’s draft. Debate that point all you want, but most lottery picks aren’t 24 and they don’t come with a price tag of just under $57 million for three seasons. The choice to not step up and pay Kemba Walker will most likely result in a fourth consecutive year of missing the playoffs in Charlotte, with no real optimism in the near future.

Washington Wizards

Key additions: Isaiah Thomas, Ish Smith, C.J. Miles

Draft: Rui Hachimura (No. 9), Admiral Schofield (No. 42)

Otto Porter Jr. was traded away during the last season, and John Wall is expected to miss all or most of this season with an Achilles’ tendon injury, so Washington will live or die by Bradley Beal. Rui Hachimura is an intriguing prospect to watch, and he should bring plenty of attention Washington’s way as the highest-drafted player ever born in Japan. But the new Wizards front office may take a few years to sort out the mess Ernie Grunfeld left.

Sahred From Source link Sports

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[jewelalto30-blog]

Anthony Davis “wants no part of Chicago”, another clear indictment against the Bulls franchise

The big NBA news of this week (and in years) was that Anthony Davis has informed the New Orleans Pelicans that he won’t be signing an extension and has requested a trade.

Davis was born and raised in Chicago. And yet, the five-time All-Star and MVP-caliber talent has no intention of playing here, according to ESPN’s Brian Windhorst.

I will say this: One of the worst-kept secrets in the league is that Anthony Davis does not want to play in Chicago, his hometown

If you listen to Windhorst and others on the many podcasts and articles popping up since Davis’s request went public, there are consistent themes that show just how low in stature the Chicago Bulls are. It’s not the franchise of Michael Jordan, it’s the “organizations win championships” ( decidedly not anymore) franchise of GarPax and Jerry Reinsdorf.

One sure sticking point with Davis and the Bulls is that the team currently stinks. His agent’s trade request explicitly mentioned a desire for ”a team that allows him a chance to win consistently and compete for a championship.”

So maybe chalk up the Bulls being out of the Davis sweepstakes as a matter of timing (you know management will). Any trade package required to get the superstar will leave even less on the team when he’s here.

But why, then, are the New York Knicks considered a possible trade partner?

That’s a take from Windhorst and others, adding the Knicks to the previously speculated list of the Lakers and Celtics. Chris Haynes of Yahoo! has the Knicks currently preparing an offer.

(Pausing to think: what are the Bulls ‘preparing’ right now?)

The Knicks, like the Bulls, are terrible. They too are a big market franchise chasing a top pick in the draft, and will have ample cap space in the offseason. This isn’t a matter of the Bulls being unable to meet the Pelicans’ trade demands, the Bulls do have that potential top-5 pick and young prospects like Lauri Markkanen and Wendell Carter, Jr. on the roster. But if Davis doesn’t want to stay beyond his contract expiring in the summer of 2020, that changes what the Bulls are willing to offer.

So if the Knicks, long considered a laughing stock of the league, are a team Davis would consider being dealt to yet the Bulls aren’t, how poorly does that reflect on this franchise’s ownership and management?

It’s worse in that the answer couldn’t be more obvious. No superstar in the midst of their prime is willingly locking themselves to a franchise that has found itself falling down the standings while also constantly being embroiled in off-court dramas with players and coaches.

Players talk. John Paxson may consider it ‘outside voices’, but they know what goes on ‘in their building’ too. Hell, in the Bulls’ case, it’s been a public shit show for years. And just these last couple months we’ve seen: a disastrous coaching change leading to mutiny against an archaic and detrimental playing style, the mishandling of another ‘hometown guy’ in Jabari Parker, and multiple young players being initially misdiagnosed with long-term injuries.

Not-interim head coach Jim Boylen, with backing of Paxson, may say in response to this that ‘their program’ doesn’t want Davis anyway. That “Bulls” across the chest means some romantic idea of Chicago being a uniquely hard-working tough place, and maybe this means Davis doesn’t have the ‘grit’.

But “Bulls” never meant that. It’s meant a global brand buoyed by being in a major market popularized 25 years ago by a dynasty led by the greatest of all time. And that’s a huge advantage over a lot of franchises!

Instead, here in reality, the Bulls have somehow leapt the Knicks as the league’s go-to big market comedic relief. At least the Knicks have shown they’re willing to aggressively spend money, and have cleared out their organization as a result of previous failure. The only way the Bulls have shown to be uniquely Chicago is that they’re led by cronies with lifetime appointments.

In the content-fest in the aftermath of Davis’s trade request, there was a lot of talk about him not only wanting to win, but going to a franchise that has some special appeal. That was called many things: “big market”, “glamour destination”, or “first-class organization”. You not only heard the Knicks joined with the Celtics and Lakers, but longer-shot teams like the Clippers and Nets at least mentioned.

The Bulls, the Chicago Bulls with 6 titles in their history, are instead dismissed and mocked. And they deserve it.

There was another trade request in the league yesterday, Marquese Chriss of the Rockets. Maybe it’s more the Bulls class of transaction to get in on that and gain more cash considerations. THAT’S the Chicago way.

Source: https://www.blogabull.com/2019/1/29/18201665/anthony-davis-wants-no-part-of-chicago-another-clear-indictment-against-the-bulls-franchise

[startegypt49-blog]

Chuck&#039;s Daily Check In - 03.12.19

GAME NIGHT FROM THE UNITED CENTER: Los Angeles Lakers (30-36, 12-20 on the road) at Bulls: (19-49, 8-26 at home)

TV: NBC Sports Chicago: Neil Funk and Stacey King: 7PM tip.

RADIO: 670 The Score: Chuck Swirsky, Bill Wennington and Steve Kashul: 6:45 CT pre.

LEADING SCORERS: Bulls: LaVine: 23ppg. Lakers: James: 27ppg. LEADING REBOUNDERS: Bulls: Markkanen: 9 per. Lakers: James: 8 per. LEADING ASSISTS: Bulls: Dunn: 6 per. Lakers: James: 8 per.

SEASON SERIES: Lakers 1-0

The Bulls are back home briefly for one game before embarking on a three game road trip. The Bulls have lost four of the last five games; the Lakers have dropped seven of eight.

The Bulls have struggled of late giving up big scoring quarters to opponents. Head Coach Jim Boylen continues to stress for consistency and productive play from his bench. But with Denzel Valentine, Chandler Hutchison and Wendell Carter Jr. sidelined with injuries it’s very difficult to establish bench performance on a nightly basis.

Zach LaVine is listed as doubtful with a patellar tendon strain.

LeBron James first tour of duty with a Western Conference team has been a rocky road. He missed seventeen games with a groin injury and was in the center of a storm that focused on the possibility of Anthony Davis joining him in LA. There have been several published stories quoting “NBA sources” that James is unhappy with Head Coach Luke Walton. The Lakers are scaling back James’ minutes so how much we see of him depends on whether it’s competitive game. He’s having an outstanding season of 27-8-8 but at 34, the grind of playing 1,191 regular season games, 239 playoff games and Olympic ball is starting to take a toll. He’s been called out for his lack of energy on the defensive side of the ball. He’s not the only player that doesn’t run back on defense but James at times looks disengaged from his team; a team that James had a hand in putting together.

Brandon Ingram is sidelined for the rest of the season and his health is first and foremost the concern of the organization as Ingram is dealing with a blood clot in his arm. Lonzo Ball,according to several reports is sidelined for the rest of the season with a bone bruise related to a sprained ankle. Kyle Kuzma is dealing with an ankle issue. Lance Stephenson has a toe injury and is questionable. Tyson Chandler missed Saturday’s game with a neck injury and is questionable.

33 year old Andre Ingram who played the last two games of the season a year ago was recalled by the Lakers. He is an 11 year G-League veteran who is the league’s all time leading three point scorer.

Los Angeles Clippers 140, Boston 115. Lou Williams scored 34 points and passed Dell Curry to become the career leader in points off the bench. Jayson Tatum did not play due to right shoulder soreness.

Oklahoma City 98, Utah 89. Russell Westbrook got into a disturbing verbal altercation early in the second quarter and it overshadowed the game itself.

Cleveland 126, Toronto 101. Marquese Chriss and Serge Ibaka got in to it. Both were ejected for throwing punches. Every Cavs starter scored in double figures. Kevin Love with a 16-18 game. The Cavs improved to 17-50.

Brooklyn 103, Detroit 75. The Pistons 27.8 FG% was the lowest by any team in a game since Memphis shot 27.1% at Golden State on 11/2/15. After two impressive outings against the Bulls, Blake Griffin went 1-10 from the field and post a - 20. The Nets have won four straight. The Pistons had their five game win streak come to an end. Brooklyn departs for seven straight on the road.

Houston 118, Charlotte 106. Kemba Walker was a stat stuffer: 40-10-7 but his Hornets fell to 30-37 as Houston won its ninth straight.

Washington 121, Sacramento 115. Bobby Portis scored 17 points and grabbed 13 rebounds. Bradley Beal 27-9-9. Sacramento’s Marvin Bagley remains sidelined with a left knee sprain.

Thanks for reading CCI. Reach out: cswirsky@bulls.com or Twitter: @ctsbulls. Always a pleasure!

Source: https://www.nba.com/bulls/news/chucks-daily-check-031219

[goalhofer]

Top 50 NBA Regular Season Plays: 2018-19.

50. Kawhi Leonard block on Jayson Tatum October 19, 2018 vs. Boston.

49. Giannis Antetokounmpo pass to Tony Snell; Jr. October 24, 2018 vs. Philadelphia.

48. Anthony Davis; Jr. dunk October 26, 2018 vs. Brooklyn.

47. Giannis Antetokounmpo dunk October 24, 2018 vs. Philadelphia.

46. Miles Bridges dunk November 6, 2018 vs. Atlanta.

45. C.J. McCollum 3 pointer November 6, 2018 vs. Milwaukee.

44. DeMar DeRozan 2 pointer November 15, 2018 at Los Angeles Clippers.

43. Jimmy Butler III block on Kemba Walker November 17, 2018 at Charlotte.

42. Jimmy Butler III buzzer beating 3 pointer November 17, 2018 at Charlotte.

41. Darren Collison 2 pointer November 27, 2018 at Phoenix.

40. Kevin Durant 3 pointer November 29, 2018 at Toronto.

39. Edrice Adebayo block on Evan Fournier December 4, 2018 vs. Orlando.

38. Wendell Carter; Jr. block on Russell Westbrook December 7, 2018 vs. Oklahoma City.

37. Jarrett Allen block on LeBron James December 18, 2018 vs. Los Angeles Lakers.

36. Luka Doncic buzzer beating 3 pointer December 23, 2018 at Portland.

35. Bogdan Bogdanovic buzzer beating 3 pointer December 27, 2018 vs. Los Angeles Lakers.

34. Dennis Smith; Jr. dunk December 28, 2018 at New Orleans.

33. Tyson Chandler dunk December 28, 2018 vs. Los Angeles Clippers.

32. Giannis Antetokounmpo dunk January 1, 2019 vs. Detroit.

31. James Harden; Jr. buzzer beating 3 pointer January 3, 2019 at Golden State.

30. Derrick Jones; Jr. dunk January 6, 2019 at Atlanta.

31. James Harden; Jr. 3 pointer January 7, 2019 vs. Denver.

30. Anthony Davis; Jr. blocks on Jordan Clarkson and Ante Zizic January 9, 2019 vs. Cleveland.

29. Nikola Jokic pass to Jamal Murray January 10, 2019 vs. Los Angeles Clippers.

28. Donovan Mitchell; Jr. dunk January 11, 2019 vs. Los Angeles Lakers.

27. Chavano Hield buzzer beating 3 pointer January 19, 2019 at Detroit.

26. Paul George 3 pointer January 19, 2019 at Philadelphia.

25. Donovan Mitchell; Jr. pass to Corey Crowder February 2, 2019 vs. Houston.

24. Marvin Bagley III dunk February 4, 2019 vs. San Antonio.

23. LeBron James dunk February 5, 2019 at Indiana.

22. Myles Turner block on Kyle Kuzma February 5, 2019 vs. Los Angeles Lakers.

21. Rajon Rondo buzzer beating 3 pointer February 7, 2019 at Boston.

20. Mario Hezonja dunk February 11, 2019 at Cleveland.

19. Jayson Tatum dunk February 12, 2019 at Philadelphia.

18. Marquese Chriss dunk February 13, 2019 vs. Brooklyn.

17. Terrence Ross dunk February 14, 2019 vs. Charlotte.

16. Rayford Young pass to Dewayne Dedmon February 22, 2019 vs. Detroit.

15. Paul George buzzer beating 2 pointer February 22, 2019 vs. Utah.

14. Dwyane Wade buzzer beating 3 pointer February 27, 2019 vs. Golden State.

13. Donovan Mitchell; Jr. 3 pointer February 27, 2019 vs. Los Angeles Clippers.

12. Derrick Jones; Jr. 2 pointer March 10, 2019 vs. Toronto.

11. Donovan Mitchell; Jr. 3 pointer March 11, 2019 vs. Oklahoma City.

10. Luka Doncic dunk March 14, 2019 at Denver.

9. Nikola Jokic buzzer beating 2 pointer March 14, 2019 vs. Dallas.

8. Mario Hezonja block on LeBron James March 17, 2019 vs. Los Angeles Lakers.

7. Stephen Curry buzzer beating 3 pointer March 18, 2019 at San Antonio.

6. Jeremy Lamb buzzer beating 3 pointer March 24, 2019 at Toronto.

5. Chris Paul 3 pointer March 26, 2019 at Milwaukee.

4. Lance Stephenson; Jr. 3 pointer March 26, 2019 vs. Washington.

3. Rayford Young buzzer beating 2 pointer March 31, 2019 vs. Milwaukee.

2. Stephen Curry pass to Kevin Durant April 4, 2019 at Los Angeles Lakers.

1. Russell Westbrook pass to Steven Adams April 5, 2019 vs. Detroit.

[sportsv]

《2018-19開季》休士頓火箭—再！拚！一！次！

文／小鐵

即便在寫下NBA歷史的2015-16球季遭騎士橫空阻斷霸業，但最近四年勇士就是NBA獨領風騷的超級強權應該沒有太多疑問，在這4年16個季後賽系列中，勇士只有3次算是碰上一點挑戰，2次發生在Stephen Curry受傷狀態大受影響的2016，另一個就是2018的西區冠軍賽。

也就是，若說在勇士變成究極體大魔王後，只有火箭曾貨真價實的讓勇士可能閃過「也許我們會輸」的畫面，並不算是太過分。正因此，即使這個夏天碰上許多球員得換約，火箭並沒有因此選擇重建，而是希望延續去年的氣勢，尋求和勇士再度正面對決的機會。

不論你怎麼看火箭這個夏天的動作，但他們的目標非常明確：金州勇士，我們再來拚一次！

季外球員異動：

火箭的球員異動，都要先提到一個沒有走、也沒有來，卻影響重大的人：Chris Paul

所有人都看得出來，在辛苦取得系列賽3：2的領先後，就是因為Chris Paul因傷缺陣，讓火箭在最後兩場進攻頓失重心，因而出現各種狀況，以至於連吞兩敗，止步於西區冠軍賽。要跟勇士抗衡，絕對不能缺少CP3這種頂尖發動機，市場上沒有其他大魚也沒有其他競爭者的情況下，火箭並不是「選擇要不要留CP3」，而是「決定留CP3後再執行其他動作」。

在早就以留下CP3為前提的情況下，由於薪資規定，母隊取得該球員的鳥權後，自然會在薪資空間中佔一定的cap hold，講白話就是，火箭要留CP3，除非他只領底薪，不然火箭也沒有空間去搶其他人，再考慮CP3身為球員工會主席，為了捍衛球員爭取待遇的立場，他不可能也沒必要自行降薪，所以這個4年1億6000萬的合約，幾乎等於是早就該記在火箭帳上的。

的確，James Harden、Clint Capela和CP3接下來四個球季最少8000萬、最多上億的薪資絕對在將來是一個負擔，但是對火箭來說，重要的就是這兩年，今年不留CP3就是宣告放棄爭冠，這就是必須付出的代價。在劍指勇士的前提下，平常不是不能用但面對勇士就是不好用的Anderson，早在上季就不停捲入交易傳言，如今真的被換走，是可以想像的。至於另一個可能影響較大的Trevor Ariza，在CP3、Harden和Capela已經無可取代的情況下，火箭的確出不起Ariza想要的高薪，分道揚鑣也是預料之中的事。

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新球季 NBA 再無鬼切！Manu Ginobili 生涯 20 大經典時刻（上）

都是 Kevin Durant 害的？超級頂薪的出現導致頂薪的消失

本季球隊優點：

1.更多的可用之兵

的確，火箭總教練Mike D'Antoni廣為人知的特性是輪替不深，但並沒有緊縮到像上季西冠對勇士那樣的7人輪替，首輪對灰狼他還有9人輪替，例行賽更是不乏有第十人登場，只是由於勇士實在是太特別的對手，在這種一點失誤都不能有的大戰，火箭就是只有這7個人可以面對勇士這種超級球隊時抗衡，就算你還有一定實力，但對唯一假想敵勇士不敢用就等於沒有意義，這個例子就是Ryan Anderson，更不用說他身上還有超過2000萬的薪水。

透過交易、以及市場上終於等到的便宜選擇，火箭經過暑假的整頓，至少帳面上可以在對勇士時放入輪替的球員變多了，從熱身賽主要擔任先發的CP3、Harden、Capela、Carmelo Anthony和James Ennis III，到可以想見替補的Eric Gordon、Gerald Green、Brandon Knight、Marquese Chriss、Michael Carter-Williams以及目前掛傷的P.J. Tucker，這11個人很明顯都朝著「能對勇士放上場」的目標前進，這裡還沒算到顯然會是禁區替補的Nene。

雖然這些球員多數是身高不到6-7的後場，但能對付勇士、也正是上季西冠主要戰略的無限換防中，球員橫移的機動性比起高度更為重要，的確這些人都會被KD的高舉高打投假的，但放眼整個NBA，又有誰守得住呢？比起擔心全聯盟沒幾個人有辦法的高度問題，不如先求不要被他一步過海闊天空比較實際。

2.進攻的處理能力

當初火箭換來CP3和Harden聯手的時候，很多風向都質疑「球只有一顆」，但其實從這四年的季後賽看起來，自己進攻勢必要有一定的程度，才能在被勇士浪濤般的攻勢吞噬之前先有點基本盤，當勇士隨時擁有三到四個能發起進攻的持球者時，沒有帶兩三個中樞在身上，就好像參加慈善賭王大賽沒有三百萬美金一樣。

很多人質疑的Melo，就是在這個前提下加入火箭，再加上MCW以及從太陽換來的Knight都是如此，上季西冠G7火箭在僅存的持球者Harden當機時，全隊跟著停擺的慘狀想必讓人記憶猶新，這三人各自有被詬病的地方，但Melo原本就是技巧完備的進攻好手，MCW外線悽慘但還有一定的傳導能力，Knight防守不佳但只要健康就有一定的進攻水準，何況他的工作只是要讓CP3或Harden多休息個五分鐘而已。

由於火箭實在太依靠Harden和CP3了，���以想像他們也的確會在場上打很久，因此其他技術上能和「控衛」扯上邊的球員只要能夠讓他們多休息一點，就已經有如上天的恩賜一樣，上季兩人戰到油盡燈枯才被勇士逆轉，只要有人能撐著，讓他們多待在場上五分鐘，勢必有很多想像空間。

3.體系的完成度

這說起來很現實，D'Antoni過往被貼上輪替過短的標籤，自己的確要付一點責任，只不過直到這兩年的火箭，他才真正遇到第二個願意用心替他的體系招兵買馬的GM，而在假想敵明確的情況下，比起上一次太陽時期老柯小柯沒能留住Joe Johnson，這次Daryl Morey再拚一次的決心顯然比較跟得上D'Antoni。

失去Ariza的確是火箭體系的一大缺口，但火箭上季顯然建立起一個很適當的換防體系，如果連過往防守評價極低的Green和Harden都能在這個體系下堪用，那代表的是整個體系的高完成度，而以面對勇士來說，上季進攻的缺口有Anthony、Knight、MCW來負責，其實默默造成火箭替補禁區些許麻煩的Jordan Bell、Kevon Looney這種energy bigs，現在也有Chriss可以對付，只要Chriss真的能拿出他被期待的樣子，他不用整場變成什麼銅牆鐵壁，實際上他也做不到，只要能在一兩個回合中不要被對手偷襲，就已經幫火箭很大的忙了。

從上季西冠的對決，可以看見火箭和勇士在硬實力上差距已經不大了，剩下的就是一些細節，有時候差別就只是一兩個play而已，有更完整的體系與元素，火箭今年真正可以展現的是，當大機器運作良好時，每一個小螺絲釘能發揮功用，效果就會更顯著。

4.James Harden

也許和KD、Curry和LBJ比起來，Harden不論個人形象或是實質成就都還沒拿到和「偉大」相關的評價，但其實上一季不只是年度MVP黃袍加身，Harden本人更在有了CP3的協助後，更精進了進攻品質，成為實際上可以和歷史神獸們相提並論的進攻怪物。

Harden還是會發生失誤，4.4次失誤依舊不能說好看，但仔細看數據，Harden硬是在USG%寫下生涯新高36.1的情況下，比起上個球季每場比賽少了1.3次失誤，並在進攻更有效率之後，即使籃板、助攻等數據和去年相比都明顯下降，但29.8的PER卻寫下生涯新高。

29.8的PER有多可觀？KD生涯只有一年達到這個數字，那一年他拿下MVP，LBJ有四年高於29.8，這四年他都是MVP，NBA史上單季最高PER也不過是Wilt Chamberlain的31.8，30就可以視為史詩般的門檻，而Harden已經和這個門檻非常接近。

Harden唯一的問題就是和這些頂尖球星相比，他的體能和意志力顯然是最差的，你會看到LBJ打滿48分鐘還扛著人上籃，但Harden卻會在燃燒前三節後第四節當機，只要能在今年可用之兵更多的情況下能保留一點體力，他就是火箭最可靠的頂尖武器。

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人見人愛的 223 公分「巨神兵」Boban Marjanovic！

本季球隊缺點：

1.防守的缺口

如果要說火箭這個夏天失去最重要的東西，那還是Ariza，不得不說，能在無限換防體系裡擔綱各種樞紐、菜鳥時還很生嫩的球場智慧也在多年征戰後有很大的進步，而雖然火箭還有Tucker可以做為防守大將，但對抗KD、PG這種好手的武器不嫌多，Ariza的進攻雖然自主能力不高，有洞即補的特性卻是Tucker難以企及，少了他，火箭的防守體系不致崩壞，但絕對有影響。

說來諷刺，火箭在上季西冠最後竟然是因為進攻熄火而不敵勇士，今年在必然要留下CP3的前提下原本就無法奉上Ariza想要的薪水，只能轉而在防守下降的同時尋求進攻端的補強，除了Ariza以外，教練團裡負責防守的Jeff Bzdelik突然宣布退休，要說對火箭完全沒影響，那也的確是太樂觀了一點，只是這兩個防守的缺口在體系完整搭配下，應該不至於會造成太悲慘的結果。

2.對追兵的防備

火箭季外補強的目標很明確，就是劍指勇士，可以想像在進攻端極力想擺脫上季斷線的窘境，但除了勇士之外，其實後有追兵，而防線縮減的影響，就是可能會給其他對手可趁之機。

比如上季在第二輪和火箭碰頭的爵士，當時由於爵士也把進攻重心放在後場和前場的連繫，因此Ariza的補防能力就是火箭之所以能在緊要關頭守住爵士的一個重點，今年少了他，固然進攻火力更強，但若防線出現漏洞，不無可能會讓爵士更有突破的機會。另外就是Anderson，過去兩年面對拓荒者、金塊等西區中段班球隊，Anderson拉開進攻面的外線能力讓他很有存在感，缺少這個延伸四號代言人，火箭更需要團隊的火力提供支援。

劍指勇士之時，也要小心追兵。

教練與制服組

前面提過D'Antoni的體系與Morey為他打造的陣容，早在十幾年前就已經把空間、外線、速度等元素放在球隊裡、當時被許多傳統派視為異端的D'Antoni，算是等到時代跟上他的腳步，勇士這幾年的成功，總教練Kerr不諱言參考了當年和D'Antoni合作時吸收的經驗，某種程度上還了D'Antoni一點清白。

但真正的榮耀仍是自己爭取才算數，而不是在別人身上借屍還魂，D'Antoni和Morey打造的火箭3.0版本，如前述很明顯要拚這兩個球季，從他們背負的薪資狀況來看，如果這兩個球季不能用冠軍換回更多的收益，後面兩年的負擔就會很可觀，到時可能就是火箭這組陣容重整的時候。

後場的強大持球者、前場兩個位置兼打的進攻和防守角色、不靠低位單打只靠擋切走位跟進又能在防守端換防小後衛的中鋒，這些十幾年前D'Antoni就提過的元素，如今搭配上Morey熱中的數據論，真正在現代籃球發酵，這兩人的計畫究竟能走到哪一步，是否真的能跨越勇士這個難關，都是今年NBA最引人注目的話題。

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NBA 2018-19 《運動畫刊》百大球員：No.6-10

總結：

東區的球隊這八年來，一個個挑戰LBJ這道高牆，卻一個個都在挑戰失敗後迅速瓦解，直到LBJ自己離開東區，留下一個東方不敗的美名。勇士再西區獨霸，今年更低價撿到DeMarcus Cousins助陣，宛如薩諾斯席捲復仇者聯盟第三集那樣的絕望感勢必籠罩在整個聯盟裡。但這時候火箭並沒有放棄，反而挺身而出，今年至少要再跟勇士對決一次，才是基本及格分數。

凡事只能盡人事聽天命，上季苦戰後落敗，今年從另一個角度補強，沒人說的準下場會如何，但相對於現代籃球在進攻的比重越來越高，火箭上季最後的確輸在進攻，因此從進攻端尋找助力，至少早早確定能擁有上季合作狀況良好的後場雙核心，這個夏天火箭也許不是大贏家，但必然不會是輸家。

再怎麼說，身為競技運動的一員，若所有球隊都明顯放眼未來那未免太無趣，不論勇士有多強大，火箭的目標只有「再！拚！一！次！」，而能否如願？拚戰的下場又如何？就是今年他們自己的造化了。

★更多其他球隊開季分析：

《2018-19開季》夏洛特黃蜂—改變，從放棄Dwight Howard開始

《2018-19開季》密爾瓦基公鹿—這一次，真的不一樣

《2018-19開季》聖安東尼奧馬刺—後GDP時代的新雙德連線

《2018-19開季》猶他爵士 — 師兄弟回歸，目標更上一層樓

《2018-19開季》克里夫蘭騎士 — Love叔叔與小狼狗們

[junker-town]

All the NBA rumors and trades you need to know before the deadline

A lot of deals happened on Wednesday night. Will any more happen on Thursday?

The 2019 NBA Trade Deadline is rapidly approaching, and if you’ve been following the madness these past few weeks, you know things are about to get hectic. Heck, they already did the night before.

Here are all the trade rumors you’ve missed before Thursday’s 3 p.m. deadline, from Anthony Davis all the way on down.

Anthony Davis to the Lakers? Not so fast.

Anthony Davis has asked to be traded, but the Pelicans won’t give him away for just anything. They want the motherload. Will a deal happen?

The latest

The Pelicans still have not “engaged” the Lakers on any Davis trade, and the Lakers are losing hope. [Silver Screen and Roll]

The Lakers have “pulled out” of trade discussions, which seems like a negotiating tactic. [SB Nation]

Davis sought to make his injury return on Monday vs. Indiana, but was denied by Pelicans management. [Yahoo!]

Pelicans want to “bleed the Lakers dry,” including four first-round picks and second-round picks. [SB Nation]

Pelicans decline Lakers offer of Lonzo Ball, Brandon Ingram, Kyle Kuzma, Michael Beasley, Lance Stephenson, Rajon Rondo, plus two first-round picks [L.A. Times]

Anthony Davis will re-sign with only four teams: Lakers, Clippers, Bucks, and Knicks [The Athletic]

Anthony Davis Sr. says he would never want his son to play for Boston, cites Isaiah Thomas trade as reason why [ESPN]

Anthony Davis will not accept five years, $239 million supermax offer from Pelicans has requested a trade. [SB Nation]

Justin Ford-USA TODAY Sports

Are the Grizzlies finally going to rebuild?

The Grit ‘N Grind Grizzlies are done. Memphis met with Mike Conley and Marc Gasol, and trading both seems likely. But will they get enough value to pull the trigger?

The latest

Indiana, Utah still interested in Conley. Toronto and Indy say Memphis’ asking price is too high [The Athletic]

Grizzlies decline Raptors offer: Jonas Valanciunas and Kyle Lowry for Conley and Gasol [Sports Illustrated]

Pistons offer Reggie Jackson and a first-round pick for Conley [Salt Lake Tribune]

Jazz offer Ricky Rubio and a first-round pick for Conley [Salt Lake Tribune]

Marc Gasol trade to Hornets was imminent enough to pull Gasol out of a game, but didn’t get completed. [Grizzly Bear Blues]

Grizzlies crowd gives Gasol a standing ovation, Conley reflects on “knowing what’s possible” and the era ending. [The Athletic]

Marc Gasol is hoping for a trade; Grizzlies aren’t interested in Andre Drummond [ESPN]

Grizzlies will listen to offers on Mike Conley and Marc Gasol. [ESPN]

Gasol, Conley meet with Grizzlies owner Robert Pera. [The Athletic]

Richard Mackson-USA TODAY Sports

Other rumors you need to know

Kevin Durant lashes out at media for speculating about a future with the Knicks. [SB Nation]

LaVar Ball wants Lonzo to be traded to the Suns, not New Orleans. [Silver Screen and Roll]

The Pelicans have made Nikola Mirotic, Julius Randle, and E’Twaun Moore available for trade [ESPN]

The Knicks are listening to trade offers for Wesley Matthews, but may buy his contract out [The N.Y. Times]

Otto Porter Jr. has drawn interest from Portland, Utah, Dallas, and some others. [ESPN]

Wizards have no plans to trade off any veterans, despite John Wall’s injury getting worse. [Bullets Forever]

The Hawks have made Taurean Prince available for trade, but are asking for a young player and a draft pick [ESPN]

The Trail Blazers have made their first-round pick available for trade [ESPN]

The key trades that already happened

Feb. 6: The Clippers and 76ers combined on a stunning move. L.A. traded Tobias Harris, Mike Scott, and Boban Marjanovic to the 76ers in exchange for Wilson Chandler, Mike Muscala, Landry Shamet, Philly’s 2020 protected first-round pick, Miami’s 2021 unprotected first-round pick, and two future second-rounders.

Feb. 6: The Wizards traded Otto Porter to the Bulls for Bobby Portis, Jabari Parker, and a future second-round pick.

Feb. 6: They then sent Markieff Morris to the Pelicans for Wesley Johnson, thereby getting under the luxury tax.

Feb. 6: The Kings picked up Harrison Barnes from the Mavericks for Justin Jackson and Zach Randolph.

Feb. 6: That came just after they traded Iman Shumpert to the Rockets in a three-team deal involving Cleveland. The Kings received Alec Burks and a second-round pick; Cleveland got Brandon Knight, Marquese Chriss, and Houston’s 2019 first-rounder; Houston also picked up Wade Baldwin and Nik Stauskas.

Feb. 6: The Heat traded Tyler Johnson and Wayne Ellington to the Suns for Ryan Anderson. Phoenix will buy Ellington out.

Feb. 6: The Raptors gave the 76ers a 2022 second-round pick and the rights to Emir Prelzdic as incentive to take on Malachi Richardson’s contract.

Feb. 6: The Pistons traded Stanley Johnson to the Bucks for Thon Maker.

Feb. 5: The Pistons also traded Reggie Bullock to the Lakers for Svi Mykhailiuk and a future second-round pick.

Feb. 3: The Cavaliers traded Rodney Hood to the Trail Blazers for Nik Stauskas, Wade Baldwin IV, and a pair of second-round picks.

Feb. 1: The Thunder traded Timothe Luwawu-Cabarrot and cash to the Bulls for a future second-round pick.

Jan. 31: Blockbuster alert! The Knicks traded Kristaps Porzingis, Courtney Lee, Tim Hardaway Jr. and Trey Burke to the Mavericks for Dennis Smith Jr., Wesley Matthews, DeAndre Jordan and first-round picks in 2021 and 2023.

Jan. 21: The Rockets traded Carmelo Anthony and cash to the Bulls. That’s it. Chicago later waived Anthony.

Jan. 7: The Rockets salary-dumped Michael Carter-William to the Bulls while tossing in cash.

Jan. 3: The Bulls traded Justin Holiday to the Grizzlies for Wayne Selden, MarShon Brooks, and two second-round picks.

Dec. 15: The Wizards traded Kelly Oubre and Austin Rivers to Phoenix for Trevor Ariza. The Wizards had originally agreed to a three-team trade that landed them Ariza, but that deal was killed because Memphis confused MarShon and Dillon Brooks.

Dec. 7: The Cavaliers traded George Hill to the Bucks in a three-team trade with the Wizards. Milwaukee also got Jason Smith from Washington while giving up Matthew Dellavedova, John Henson, and unprotected 2021 first- and second-round picks. Washington also received Sam Dekker from Cleveland in exchange for a second-round pick swap.

Nov. 28: The Cavaliers traded Kyle Korver to the Jazz for Alec Burks and two future second-round picks.

Nov. 10: Early blockbuster! The Timberwolves traded Jimmy Butler to the 76ers for Robert Covington, Dario Saric,Jerryd Bayless, and a 2022 second-round pick.