When basketball players turn the ball over during the course of the game, it makes a coach’s stomach turn; especially if it is an unforced turnover.  I have a few pet peeve’s as a coach; a player being careless with the ball is one of them.  Lebron James was upset with his team for turning it over in the first half of their game against the Chicago Bulls on Friday night.  “We turned the ball over 6 or 7 times, you can’t do that!” James told a sideline reporter from ESPN after their victory.  In the second half the Cavs did not turn it over once.  Take care of the ball!

3 Point Play:

1-Big time 3-pt shot by Kobe Bryant over D-Wade from the top of the key going right to left to win the game at the buzzer for the Lakers last night 108-107.  I was about to fall asleep well past midnight but for some reason something told me to stick this one out.  Wade finished with 26 including 9 in the last two minutes but he missed a crucial free-throw with 3 seconds remaining which would of given the Heat a three point lead.  The Heat shot 27-42 from the free-throw line (John Calipari said it doesn’t matter though).  For what it’s worth, ESPN’s Mark Jackson mentioned last night that Wade is the third greatest shooting guard in the history of the game.

2-Congrats to the New Jersey Nets for getting their first win of the year by beating the Charlotte Bobcats 97-91.  New head coach Kiki Vandweghe is now 1-0 as a coach.  The guy knows the game, he’s been around a long time.  So hey, maybe a different voice will help this team.

3-Josh Smith of the Atlanta Hawks was ejected last night in a loss against the Knicks (who have now beat Atlanta and the Suns this week) for arguing with the official; Bob Delaney mind you! You don’t mess with Bob Delaney; didn’t Smith read his book? Josh was a bit perturbed that the former New Jersey State Trooper didn’t give him the call. While the free-throws were being shot, Smith continued to argue; thus getting thrown out.  Somewhere across our great country the replacement refs are working D-3 games smiling and thinking, “Thank God we don’t have to deal with those guys anymore…”

-Coach Finamore

Hoops135@hotmail.com

I’m on Facebook and you can follow me on Twitter: @CoachFinamore

Chicago-based Henhouse Prowlers will be on the Nonchalant Café Hour this week.

Back from a holiday break, tune in to the NCH Friday for a chat with the Windy City bluegrass group’s banjo player Ben Wright ahead of their show at Bell’s Brewery on Saturday.

ALSO on the program, President of the Kalamzoo Film Society Mike Marchak stops in to discuss their latest presentation Cold Souls by director Sophie Barthes staring Paul Giamatti.

See a trailer of Cold Souls below.

Finally, we couldn’t truly call ourselves a proper radio program in Kalamazoo with out tapping into the madess known as Eccentric Day at Bell’s Brewery. Tune in for a live on-location chat with KalamaBrew bloggers John Liberty and Josh Smith.

Listen to the NCH streaming online:

I’ve gotten a lot of reaction from my last post. People from Milwaukee have dignity; who knew? Look, irate readers, I’m from Rochester, which is sort of near Buffalo. So, I relate with everyone being Homer Simpson.

Smoove's hops reminds me of when I was young and could grab rim.

Something else has been brought to mind, though, and I think it’s something that I may have overlooked. Credit to my man in Bonnie country.

The Hawks have been phenomenal. Yet who’s noticed? Listen…it’s time to give some love.

Joe Johnson, as the Bonnie points out, continues to be enormously under appreciated. He alone gives the young Hawks a sense of direction and leadership; something they would surely be lacking without him. Really, though, without Johnson’s unparalleled poise and its resounding influence, would the minor miracle of Josh Smith’s maturity (more on that later) have happened? Hell no. Would Al Horford have become the next Mike Sweetney? Hell yes. Yet those are just the intangibles. Johnson is maintaining a sweet 20.5/5/5 line, too.

The J-Smoove story could be on Lifetime (if Lifetime recognized black people, I mean). For his career, Smith has been a frightening .269 career shooter from beyond the arc.  He has no business jacking up threes, yet in his first five years in the NBA, he’s averaged 1.2 attempts per game. This year, however, it appears Smith has recognized his limitations and has, to this point, attempted as many threes as the number of times Matt Ryan’s needed to shave this year: zero! As a result of all this time spent in the paint, he’s averaged career-highs in field goal percentage (54.1), boards (8.9), offensive boards (2.5), and he’s loads ahead of the rest of the NBA in blocks (2.8). Smith’s better judgement this year has allowed him to kick the ball out to guys like Jamal Crawford and Johnson; because of that, he’s averaging a career-best 3.9 assists. Really, it’s not a coincidence that Smith’s maturity coincides with the Hawks’ 13-5 record.

Johnson and Smith aren’t the only success stories on this team, though. It’s a well-known fact that in nine years in this league, Jamal Crawford hasn’t made that playoffs once. And it’s not because he has a fear of change; this is Crawford’s fourth regime with a new team after playing for Chicago, New York and Golden State. (The mere fact that he could survive Isiah Thomas and Don Nelson in succession without throwing himself off the Golden Gate Bridge adds to his well-deserved karma this year.) This year looks good for Crawford, though. Certainly keep an eye on this development going forward.

So, Hawks fan(s), sorry I have slighted you. But as I’ve said before, I’ve been a believer all along. (And I also think Eli Manning is unstoppable, just like that watch commercial says.)

Calderon flashes some D on Mike Bibby

Ugh, do the Raptors play again tonight? Following an ugly loss at home to the washout Wizards, it’s on to Atlanta to face a Hawks team that has actually become really, really relevant the past couple years. For all the goods on this one, check in at the best spot for Raptors basketball on the web, The Republic. If you’re not sick and ready to kill this team yet, that is.

The Hawks come in at 12-5 (7-1 at home), though perhaps a bit vulnerable after a road loss in Detroit Sunday and a clunker at home against Orlando last Thursday. Still, I’m not getting my hopes too high right about now. Joe Johnson, Josh Smith and Al Horford give Atlanta one of the best young cores in the NBA, and veteran pieces like Mike Bibby and Jamal Crawford just make them all-the-more dangerous. Credit to Crawford, by the way, for settling into a role where he can actually make a team better for the first time in his career — the 10-year vet is coming off the bench and contributing 16.9 points on a tidy 46.1% from the field. Johnson’s 21.0 points leads the team, though he’s been struggling of late. With that, I’m guessing he’s pretty pumped to be seeing the Raptors right about now.

As for our bad boys, 100 points each from Chris Bosh and Andrea Bargnani, plus about 75 from Hedo Turkoglu and Jose Calderon should be enough to get the job done. Also, can we work Sonny Weems into the rotation now that the current group has proven to be useless?

This one gets going at seven from Phillips Arena.

1. Los Angeles Lakers: The Champ is sure that the Lakers are glad that Pau Gasol’s injury hasn’t kept him out until Christmas. Sure the Suns have more road wins, but a 19 point rout  by the Lakers earns them the top spot this week, again. A good early home schedule and wins against teams like the pathetic Nets leave LA looking good early.

2. Phoenix Suns: The Pacific Division certainly looks good this year. First team to 14 wins? Impressive. With Steve Nash dishing out double digit assist nights and the team scoring in triple figures, the Suns are winning ball games.

3. Cleveland Cavaliers: Lights out shooting against the Top-10 Dallas Mavericks cancels out the ugly loss despite a late comeback against the Charlotte Bobcats. Undefeated when the team scores 100, the Cavaliers are slowly clicking.

4. Orlando Magic: Jason Williams is back? Ok. It seems like there’s always a Magic scorer to step up, rather it be the departed Courtney Lee or Rafer Alston, to Anthony Johnson or even JJ Redick. But I guess thats what happens when you have a team of scorers.

5. Atlanta Hawks: Looked cold in the loss to Orlando as well as Detroit. Joe Johnson, Josh Smith? Who’s the alpha dog on this team? I feel that this is a team still finding its identity, however the team is still really young.

6. Boston Celtics: Still slumping, but pulling W’s out of close games. Like the great Austin Carr once said “Championship teams win ball games,” we’ll see.

7. Dallas Mavericks: Losses to a red-hot Cleveland team and a high octane Warriors team give the Mavs a bit of trouble in the rankings this week. Erick Dampier is back in the starting lineup, is that a good thing?

8. Denver Nuggets: A loss to the Wolves?

9. Portland Trailblazers: Greg Oden thrives while the team hobbles along, losses to Memphis and Golden State do not help the Blazer cause. Hopefully things will click and guys like Outlaw and Batum can recover from injury soon.

10. Houston Rockets: And here’s the scrappy Rockets finally cracking the Champ’s top ten. No T-Mac, No Problem. Carl Landry and Aaron Brooks have carried the load just fine for the Yao-less Rockets.

Missing from Last Week:

Milwaukee Bucks: Have we seen the last of the Bucks in this list for the season? possibly. Have we seen the last of Jennings, nope.

November 27 2009                 Wachovia Center                    

 Atlanta        8-8            29  28  31  24 112
 Philadelphia   5-11           20  18  38  27 103

 Atlanta        Min     FG    3PT     FT    Reb  Ast   To   St   Bk   PF  Pts
 Bibby         36:22   9-14   3-6    1-1    1-3    6    3    2    0    3   22
 Johnson       40:14   7-15   1-3    5-6    2-3    5    6    0    0    4   20
 Williams      32:60   7-11   1-2    0-0    3-9    1    1    0    2    1   15
 Smith,Jos     38:38  10-17   1-2    5-6    4-11   2    1    2    1    0   26
 Horford       38:38   7-15   0-0    0-0    2-11   1    1    0    3    0   14
  Evans        15:01   1-2    0-1    0-0    0-0    0    0    0    1    1    2
  Crawford     13:60   3-10   0-2    1-2    0-2    7    1    0    0    1    7
  Pachulia      9:23   1-3    0-0    0-0    0-2    1    0    0    0    0    2
  Smith,Joe     9:22   2-4    0-0    0-0    1-4    0    1    0    0    0    4
  Teague        5:24   0-1    0-0    0-0    0-1    0    0    0    0    1    0
  TOTAL              47-92    6-16  12-15  13-46  23   14    4    7   11  112
                     .511    .375   .800

 Philadelphia   Min     FG    3PT     FT    Reb  Ast   To   St   Bk   PF  Pts
 Holiday       34:27   7-17   0-1    1-2    0-9    5    2    3    0    1   15
 Iguodala      42:38  13-20   1-4    4-6    1-5    6    1    1    1    1   31
 Young         40:22   6-13   0-3    0-0    0-7    5    1    2    1    3   12
 Dalembert     27:24   3-7    0-0    1-1    1-4    1    2    0    3    4    7
 Smith         25:44   2-5    0-1    0-0    0-2    1    0    0    2    1    4
  Kapono       29:06   7-12   1-3    0-0    1-1    2    0    0    0    1   15
  Brezec       14:58   2-6    0-0    0-0    1-4    0    0    1    0    2    4
  Green        10:00   2-5    0-1    0-0    0-0    2    1    0    0    0    4
  Carney        9:47   2-5    1-3    0-0    0-0    0    1    1    1    2    5
  Ivey          5:35   2-2    2-2    0-0    0-1    1    0    0    0    0    6
  TOTAL              46-92    5-18   6-9    4-33  23    8    8    8   15  103
                     .500    .278   .667

 Lead Changes: 6
 Fastbreak Points: Atlanta 20 Philadelphia 26
 Bench Scoring: Atlanta 15 Philadelphia 34
 Biggest Lead: Atlanta 23 Philadelphia 2
 Technicals:
 Ejections:
 Injuries:
 DNP Atl: Collins Morris
     Phi: 

 Game MVP:Josh Smith
The Hawks' Josh Smith

The videos are in no particular order.  I had to keep moving the camera…the security guards were not happy about it.  This was an amazing night. I’m glad I finally got all this up here.  I took all the videos and pictures.  This band is really awesome.  Unless you see them live, you don’t understand.  I also got picures with the band members, but didn’t put them up here.  If you want all the information about the concert, it’s in another post.  By the way, if you like them, they’re website is halestormrocks.com

I don’t think the video does this justice.  There weren’t very many people there, but they were pretty loud during her speech

The picture of Lzzy and *Josh* signing the belt is actually JOE and Lzzy.  My bad                                                                                         

Yeah, we’re back.

The Champ sits here in his home writing this in anticipation of tonight’s game. The Octagon is now here, good to see him. We’re still waiting on the arrival of The Franchise, and The Custodian is MIA.

The Octagon thinks Kyle Korver looks like Ashton Kutcher. Ok he has a point.

Now we see a Ashton Kutcher camera commercial, which really sucks.

We now ponder the past prospects of the Hawks drafting Chris Paul. ooooh.

That’s the Hawks uniforms: ATL? ha.

Tipoff: Still no Franchise.

The Octogan is moderately surprised when Vince Carter hits a three pointer.

Jason Williams puts up a very bad shot and misses.

Craig Sager and camo? Really? Fucking camoflague?

Josh Smith: big dunk.

The Octagon is suggesting the Magic employ a whitewash to get their hearts back into the game.

Josh Smith is talking about his maturation, not something else…

Howard’s picking up his game now.

Adam Morrison: Human Victory Cigar – the Octagon.

The Octagon points out that the longest losing streak is less games than the longest winning streak- so its easier to be really good than really bad?

Where is the Franchise? This will not go unsettled.

The Octagon thinks Anthony Johnson has breasts.

Jamal Crawford once put up 50? News to us.

Joe Johnson, the Octagon feels he's underrated.

BUCKS/THUNDER! yeah baby!

Zaza Pachulia, what a dumb foul.

Marcin Gortat should open a ski resort on his face – The Octagon

OK: If you could punch a basketball player in the face past or present who would it be?

The Champ – Tyronne Hill: to see if he could get any uglier.

The Octagon – Ben Wallace? Adam Morrison? Damon Jones?

The Franchise – Ron Artest 

Mike Bibby looks great in a chef’s hat.

Joe Johnson hits for three, we lament his leaving of the Suns.

The Franchise has finally arrived… with his sister.

Vince Carter and the Magic look to rebound in the second half.

The Octagon has been looking up basketball books on Amazon. (Hey Freelancer! put our Amazon link here)

But anyway Orlando has brought the score within four. Orlando 56 Atlanta 60

Hey Look! Dwight Howard has a type!

The Octagon is willing to take one for the blog come May.

REDDDDDICCCCCCKKKKK!!!!!

Anthony Joshnson should not be in the NBA.

Look it’s Anthony Johnson!

We hate the Fred Martin Car Guys.

So the Octagon was watching YouTube videos for the past half hour maybe?

Anywho, Orlando 80 Atlanta 71.

Where is the Hawks’ offense?

Anthony Johnson oh my lord.

OK the Magic win, the Freelancer is the best live blogger.

We really don’t have anything left to say other than: Go Herd.

Hey Look! Dwight Howard has a type!

Josh Smith.

Nicht der krasseste Dunk. Nicht der Höchste Dunk. Kein-Gegen-den-Mann-direkt-ins-Gesicht-Dunk.

Dafür ein wichtiger Dunk zum Sieg. Und schwierig dazu, da der Ball im Zylinder oberhalb des Korbes nicht berührt werden darf. Aber wenn man eh gefühlte Minuten in der Luft stehen kann…

Gewinner

LA Lakers
Kobe ist heiß und erzielt den Großteil seiner Punkte im LowPost. Als Shooting Guard! Keine guten Nachrichten für den Rest der Liga. Danke nochmal an “The Dream“. Andrew Bynum ist neben Chris Bosh der einzige Spieler der Liga mit 20/10. Kann Andrew endlich mal eine Saison durchspielen, winkt vielleicht sogar das ASG. VierViertel wünscht es ihm. Und nun ist auch noch Pau Gasol zurück. Nach seiner hartnäckigen Oberschenkel-Verletzung ist Pau fit und macht die Lakers noch gefährlicher, weil eben vielseitiger. Apropos, Lamar Odom kehrt freiwillig in die 2nd Unit zurück, sehr zur Überraschung von Phil Jackson. Auch nicht leicht zu bewerkstelligen. Und Shannon macht seine eigene Top10 in jedem Spiel, weil, man weil er einfach höher springt als alle anderen!! Die Lakers machen einen Run, auch weil RonRon eben nicht auffällt, außer durch Defense und Teamspiel. Allen Iverson, you hear me??

Atlanta Hawks
Nach Jahren in den Tiefen der Eastern Conference kann dies das Jahr der Hawks werden. Kleine Veränderungen im Team, große Veränderungen auf dem Court. Letzte Woche waren die Hawks sogar die Nummer 1 in diversen Power Rankings. Alle reiben sich die Augen. Josh Smith nimmt keine dummen Dreier mehr und spielt wirklich Defense. Jamal Crawford gibt der 2nd Unit Scoring Punch. Joe Johnson spielt mal wieder auf All-Star-Level. Und so langsam füllt sich auch die Halle endlich mit Fans. Wird der Höhenflug anhalten?

Dallas Mavericks
10-3? 5-game-winning-streak? Was hab ich verpasst? Heimlich still und leise haben sich die Mavs unter die Spitze der Western Conference geschlichen! Und das ohne Josh Howard und teilweise Shwan Marion…Nowe ist mal wieder in MVP-Form, Jason Terry rockt von der Bank und Kidd, naja Kidd ist immer irgendwie noch Jason Kidd, außer dass er in 13 Spielen nur 2 FTA hatte und mehr Assists (9.1) als Punkte (7.1) macht. Momentan scheint das Team aber einen Run zu haben und gewinnt insbesondere die knappen Spiele. Weiter so!

Verlierer
Orlando Magic
Ich weiß ich weiß. Aber ich spinne nicht! Seit Rashad Lewis von seiner Sperre zurückgekehrt ist, gabs zwar 5 Siege in Folge. Darunter ein wichtiger Sieg gegen Boston. Doch Jameer Nelson hat sich mal wieder verletzt und wird langsam als “fragile” eingestuft. Dies zwingt White Chocolate zu mehr Regular Season Minutes als geplant. Dwight Howard trifft immer noch keine Freiwürfe und Vinsanity wird zum puren Jump-Shooter, 3 FTA pro Spiel sind zu wenig. Außerdem ist die Abhängigkeit vom 3er zu groß. Momentan reichts noch um zu gewinnen, doch dies sind alles Faktoren die bis zu den Playoffs ausgeglichen werden müssen.

Lebron James
Seine Stats sind mal wieder Super. Nach schlechtem Start (0-2) läufts auch wieder rund, seitdem Shaq seine Schulter auf der Bank auskuriert. Aber kann es sein dass sich Bron zum CNN-Reporter aufgeschwungen hat? Kein Tag vergeht ohne das der King nicht zu irgendeinen “wichtigen” Thema Stellung bezieht. Erst die übertriebene und undurchdachte Jordan-Huldigung. Dann die “I could be really good” Sache mit den Cleveland Browns. Schon vor einiger Zeit kam das Thema Lebron und NFL mal auf. Vorher sollte er sich jedoch nochmal das anschauen. Verliert Lebron vielleicht das Interesse am Basketball? Hat Shaq ihm von der schönen Welt abseits des Courts mit Film und Musik erzählt? Oder wird Lebron einfach ein Opfer seines seit frühester Kindheit medial aufgeblasenen und gepushten Egos? Und jetzt scheint eine unangenehme Handgelenks-Verletzung den King auch noch auf dem Court zu behindern. Come on King, Get Focused! Play Ball!

Chris Paul & Byron Scott
Was ist hier los? Seit CP3 Verletzung gabs Siege gegen Atlanta, Phoenix und die Clippers sowie ne 1-Punkt Niederlage gegen Miami. Ist Darren Collison besser als CP3? Oder haben die Spieler einfach genug von Byron Scotts Coaching-Style gehabt? Hoffen wir mal das es letzteres war und das Talent von CP3 nicht in New Orleans verschwendet wird. Er fällt wohl noch 2 Wochen aus und dann wird man sehen ob das Hoch von Peja & Co nur ein Strohfeuer war oder ob die Hornets wirklich “competitive” sind!!

Allen Iverson
Wars das? Raus in Memphis? (Imagine That!) Und dann wollen ihn nicht einmal die next-to-worst-Knicks? Was kommt als Nächstes? Iverson in Ludwigsburg? Bei Alba?

November 21 2009                 New Orleans Arena

Atlanta        7-7            22  31  22  30 105
New Orleans    8-6            30  25  17  24  96

Atlanta        Min     FG    3PT     FT    Reb  Ast   To   St   Bk   PF  Pts
Bibby         38:43   7-16   1-5    0-0    0-4    7    0    1    0    1   15
Johnson       47:13   7-20   1-4    9-9    0-4    6    2    2    0    2   24
Williams      33:56   7-12   1-3    4-4    3-8    3    0    0    0    2   19
Smith,Jos     41:20  10-16   0-1    3-4    3-9    2    4    2    4    2   23
Horford       27:54   4-7    0-0    2-3    4-12   0    1    0    1    5   10
Evans        16:55   2-4    1-2    0-0    0-2    0    0    0    1    2    5
Pachulia     16:29   1-2    0-0    1-4    1-4    0    1    1    0    1    3
Crawford     10:04   1-3    0-1    2-2    0-0    3    1    1    0    1    4
Smith,Joe     7:25   1-5    0-0    0-0    0-0    0    0    0    1    2    2
TOTAL              40-85    4-16  21-26  11-43  21    9    7    7   18  105
.471    .250   .808

New Orleans    Min     FG    3PT     FT    Reb  Ast   To   St   Bk   PF  Pts
Collison      30:02   3-9    0-2    0-0    0-1    7    3    2    0    1    6
Brown,D       22:57   3-10   1-4    2-2    0-4    1    1    0    0    4    9
Stojakovic    39:02   4-12   3-8    4-4    2-6    4    0    1    0    3   15
West          44:21   9-24   0-0    6-7    6-14   4    2    1    1    4   24
Okafor        35:48   7-13   0-0    2-3    1-6    0    2    0    3    5   16
Posey        19:14   4-5    2-3    0-0    1-5    0    1    1    0    5   10
Brown.B      17:57   1-3    0-1    2-2    0-3    2    1    0    0    0    4
Armstrong    14:18   1-1    0-0    2-2    3-4    1    2    0    1    0    4
Thornton     11:58   3-6    0-2    2-2    1-1    1    1    0    0    0    8
Songaila      4:24   0-2    0-0    0-0    0-1    1    0    0    0    1    0
TOTAL              35-85    6-20  20-22  14-45  21   13    5    5   23   96
.412    .300   .909

Lead Changes: 15
Fastbreak Points: Atlanta 18 New Orleans 10
Bench Scoring: Atlanta 14 New Orleans 26
Biggest Lead: Atlanta 12 New Orleans 12
Technicals:  Jeff Bower
Ejections:
Injuries:
DNP Atl: Collins Morris Teague
NO : Marks Wright

Game MVP:Josh Smith
Josh Smith of the Hawks

Can you believe it? The Atlanta Hawks are 11-2 and have the best record in the NBA. Nobody gave the Hawks any respect when it came to finishing high in the Eastern Conference (they weren’t consensus to be the 4th seed), but they have shown a maturity and different mindset as they have begun the season. I think that there are three big reasons why the Hawks are doing as well as they are.

1.Consistent core

The core of the Hawks (aka starting 5) have been working together and building their relationship with each other and now they look really comfortable on the floor. Josh Smith (draft – 1st round) has been on the Hawks since the 04-05 season, Joe Johnson (sign and trade) and Marvin Williams (draft – 1st round) have been in Atlanta since the 05-06 season. Al Horford (draft – 1st round) and Mike Bibby (trade) came during the 07-08 season. So this Atlanta Hawks team has been playing and starting together for their second full year, which has let them become comfortable and now are allowing them to just ball rather than having to play basketball.

2. Jamal Crawford trade

I loved this trade as soon as I heard about it, but I don’t think that I realized the impact this trade would have on the season and the team. Jamal Crawford is the scorer that Mike Bibby is not. I qualify that though by also saying that Bibby is still very much important to the team because Jamal Crawford isn’t (a) the ball handler that Bibby is and (b) the leader that Bibby is. So while Mike Bibby is still very important to the Hawks, Crawford is filling in the scoring shoes that the now older Mike Bibby doesn’t do as well anymore. Yes, Bibby will still hit a shot if he is wide open, but it is Crawford that can create and open up other people because of his scoring presence.

3. Josh Smith growing up

So I think that this is probably the biggest reason why the Hawks are where they are today. Through 13 games, I would have never in a million years guessed that Josh Smith would have not had a 3 point attempt this season. He is averaging 16 points, 9 rebounds, 4 assists, 2.5 blocks and is shooting 56% from the floor (last year averaged 2 rebounds, 2 steals, and a block less per game). He is literally a beast on the floor, not only being a force on the defensive end, but attacking the basket on the other end. I said last year that he should just attack the basket and he would be successful. He has and the Hawks are currently leading the league with points-in-the-paint, with over 50 points per game.

Here’s a sneak peek of our Top 25 high school rankings for the class of 2010. We took Scouts.com’s, Rivals.com’s and ESPN’s rankings and took the average of where every player ranked and then used those averages to calculate the Top 25 for this list. This weekend we will repost this list with short scouting reports on all 25 of these prospects.

Tonight at 6:00 EST on ESPNU our 6th ranked player, Tobias Harris, will be announcing where he has decided to play his college ball at next season. The Tennessee Vols are considered the front-runner to land the prized recruit. Kentucky, West Virgina, Syracuse, Louisville, Maryland and Georgia Tech are also in the running.

UPDATE: As expected, Tobias Harris announced just moments ago on ESPNU, that he will be attending the University of Tennessee next fall to play for Bruce Pearl.

 1. Harrison Barnes SF 6′8” 209 lbs. North Carolina

2. Brandon Knight PG 6′3” 183 lbs. Undecided

3. Jared Sullinger PF 6′8” 262 lbs. Ohio State

4. Perry Jones PF 6′11” 220 lbs. Baylor

5. Kyrie Irving PG 6′1” 172 lbs. Duke

6. Tobias Harris PF 6′8” 210 lbs. Tennessee

7. Josh Shelby PG 6′3” 183 lbs. Undecided

8. Will Barton SG 6′6” 161 lbs. Memphis

9. Tristan Thompson 6′9” 230 lbs. Texas

10. Reggie Bullock SG 6′6” 190 lbs. North Carolina

11. C.J. Leslie PF 6′8” 205 lbs.  Undecided

12. Josh Smith C 6′10” 270 lbs. UCLA

13. Fabricio Melo C 7′0” 274 lbs. Syracuse

14. DeShaun Thomas SF 6′7” 221 lbs. Ohio State

15. Jelan Kendrick SG 6′5” 186 lbs. Memphis

16. Terrence Jones SF 6′8” 219 lbs. Undecided

17. Joe Jackson PG 5′11” 175 lbs. Memphis

18. Cory Joseph PG 6′3” 180 lbs. Undecided

19. Adreian Payne  6′9” 215 lbs. Michigan State

20. Patric Young 6′9” 220 lbs. Florida

21. Jereme Richmond 6′7” 195 lbs. Illinois

22. Dion Waiters 6′4” 210 lbs. Syracuse

23. Kendall Marshall 6′4” 180 lbs. North Carolina

24. Cameron Clark 6′6” 184 lbs. Oklahoma

25. Roscoe Smith 6′8” 190 lbs Undecided

The Atlanta Hawks are on somewhat of a hot streak. They currently hold the Eastern Conference’s best record with last night’s 105-90 victory over the Miami Heat at 10-2. Joe Johnson scored 30 points and Josh Smith was all over the stat sheet: 16 points, 14 rebounds, 7 assists, 2 blocks and 2 steals. Bringing in Jamal Crawford was also key to the team’s success. Michael Beasley had 21 points and 9 rebounds for the Heat.

~Signing Off~
AGE

There were plenty of great matchups in the league this week. We really got to see who can hang with who at the top of both conferences and what teams are for real. Let’s start week 3 off with a little P.O.W. action.

Performance of the Week

This week’s P.O.W. comes from the Thursday night match-up between the top 2 team’s in the West. The Lakers and Suns was a much-anticipated game this week. It was great to watch the Lakers dominate the entire game. They really stepped up and showed Phoenix who the best team in the West is, even without top-5 big man in the league Pau Gasol. My Performer of the Week however, does not go to Kobe or Lamar Odom or even Ron Artest. It goes to the up-and-coming big man Andrew Bynum. He played like a beast this game. Dominated the paint on both sides of the court. Bynum is finally starting to play at the caliber he is capable of playing at. I always knew Andrew had this potential inside of him and it was painful watching him play at such a low-level in previous seasons. His numbers may be a little bit inflated due to Pau Gasol’s injury so far in the season, but he is getting it done. Bynum is the main reason that the Lakers are going to repeat this year. So far, Andrew is averaging a double-double with 21 points a game and just over 11 boards. On Thursday night, he recorded 26 points and snatched a game-high 15 rebounds. If he continues at this pace, there is really no one that can stop the Lakers. Last year in the NBA Finals, Bynum only scored 6 ppg and averaged 3 rebounds per game. If he continues at this pace, there is really no one else in the West that will be starting at center in the all-star game. Congrats to A Bynum.

Play of the Week

This play made me create a new section for the blog. You probably already know what it is. If you haven’t seen Dwayne Wade’s total annihilation of Andersen Varajeo, here it is: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d7H6H0Lmiyg

Now, that was an amazing play, don’t get me wrong. My favorite part about it wasn’t the actual dunk itself, however. We have seen this type of play before by the NBA’s top athletes. LeBron, Kobe, Dwight Howard, and Wade have all embarrassed other player’s before. The way that Andersen Varajeo reacted really made it awesome. A few plays later, Varajeo started a little war of words with Wade and gave him a little hip bump. After exchanging words, Varajeo got up in Wade’s face like he was going to intimidate Dwayne. Reggie Miller was doing the play-by-play for this game and all he was saying was, “HIS FEELINGS ARE HURT!! HIS FEELINGS ARE STILL HURT!!” It was just awesome to see Dwayne Wade smile at Varajeo knowing he posterized him. Even Michael Jordan, who was sitting front row, had something to say about it to Pat Riley, who he was sitting next to. I mean, we all know you got dunked on dude, you don’t need to make it a bigger scene than it already was. Just take your jersey off, hit the showers, and get on the team bus early if that ever happens again.

Stock Up, Stock Down

For Stock Up in the East, I am forced to go with the Atlanta Hawks. They went 3-0 this week with a win over the horrific Knicks (114-101), a victory over the number 1 team in the east, the Celtics (97-86), and Josh Smith led the way against the Hornets with 17 points and 17 boards in a 121-98 blowout. They have an all-start player in Joe Johnson, a great supporting cast around him, and a potential 6th man of the year coming off the bench in Jamal Crawford. This team is young and energetic. I expect them to make a run in the Eastern Conference playoffs as they did just a couple years ago, taking the Celtics to 7 games. I believe this team can keep this up for all 82 games unless an injury to one of their core players happens.

Let’s see, where to go for stock down in the east, so many to choose from. I am forced to go with the Washington Wizards on this one. They have an overall record of 2-7 and are 0-2 this week. They got murdered by the Heat, where the best player in that game was Brendan Haywood with 13 points and 11 boards (really????? when is the last time we heard his name??) and then they took a loss by 3 from the Detroit Pistons. They have Gilbert Arenas. That alone should get you 3 wins in thee weak eastern conference. It’s not like they have a bad supporting cast. I’m not sure what is going on down in the nation’s capitol. Let’s hope they can turn it around.

In the west, stock up goes to the Portland Trailblazers. With a record of 4-0 this week, there really wasn’t anyone else that I could have given it to. All 4 wins came over quality opponents. I told everyone in my preseason blog that this was the team to watch for in the west. They have the 3rd best shooting guard in the league in Brandon Roy. They are one of the youngest teams in the league. This combo makes them dangerous. Every player on this squad is hungry and gets after it game-in and game-out. Like the Hawks, I believe this team will be able to compete in 82 games this season. When it comes to playoffs however, we will see how their youth plays its part.

The Timberwolves take stock down in the west. Like the Blazers, they were the clear-cut winner, well in this case loser, for this award. They went 0-4 this week with all 4 losses coming in double digits. I don’t really see any hope for this team in the near future. They basically gave up Garnett to the C’s, a horrible trade in my opinion. Al Jefferson is a beast, but he can’t carry this team in the strong western conference. This team probably won’t win 20 games this year. No hope for the T-wolves.

Eastern Conference

Standings for the Eastern Conference after the 3rd week of action:

1. Boston Celtics (8-3) (previously 1st in the East)
2. Orlando Magic (7-3) (previously 2nd in the East)
3. Cleveland Cavaliers (7-3) (previously 4th in the East)
4. Atlanta Hawks (8-2) (previously 5th in the East)
5. Miami Heat (7-2) (previously 3rd in the East)
6. Chicago Bulls (5-4) (previously 6th in the East)
7. Milwaukee Bucks (5-2) (previously 8th in the East)
8. Toronto Raptors (5-5) (previously 9th in the East)
9. Indiana Pacers (4-3) (previously 13th in the East)
10. Philadelphia 76ers (4-6) (previously 7th in the East)
11. Detroit Pistons (5-5) (previously 10th in the East)
12. Charlotte Bobcats (3-6) (previously 11th in the East)
13. Washington Wizards (2-7) (previously 12th in the East)
14. New York Knicks (1-9) (previously 14th in the East)
15. New Jersey Nets (0-10) (previously 15th in the East)

Western Conference

Here is how the West wraps up after 3 weeks:

1. Los Angeles Lakers (7-3) (previously 1st in the West)
2. Phoenix Suns (9-2) (previously 2nd in the West)
3. Portland Trailblazers (8-3) (previously 6th in the West)
4. Denver Nuggets (7-3) (previously 3rd in the West)
5. Dallas Mavericks (7-3) (previously 5th in the West)
6. Houston Rockets (6-4) (previously 4th in the West)
7. San Antonio Spurs (4-4) (previously 7th in the West)
8. Utah Jazz (4-6) (previously 8th in the West)
9. Oklahoma City (5-5) (previously 10th in the West)
10. Sacramento Kings (5-4) (previously 12th in the West)
11. Los Angeles Clippers (4-7) (previously 9th in the West)
12. New Orleans Hornets (3-8) (previously 11th in the West)
13. Golden State Warriors (3-6) (previously 13th in the West)
14. Memphis Grizzlies (2-8) (previously 15th in the West)
15. Minnesota Timberwolves (1-10) (previously 14th in the West)

That does it for this week’s wrap up of all NBA action going on around the league. Photos are courtesy of Yahoo! Sports giving me action shot after action shot to make this blog look pretty. Leave a comment, or two, if you feel like it. I’d like to see other peoples opinions of what they think. Giving shout outs this week to my boy Nicky Neidlinga the thrilla. Check out his music at www.myspace.com/3pac1

Also got to give a shout out to Joey “The Young One” Peabody. Holding it down in R-wood hardcore.

1)  LeBron James 

LBJ is freak athlete who dunks with both power and finesse. Defenders scatter when he drives to the rack.  

2)  Dwight Howard

Everyone gets out of the way when he gets the ball in deep post position.

3)  Dwyane Wade

Just ask Anderson Varejao how he feels after getting absolutely embarrassed  by my man D-Wade. Check out Wade’s dunk over Varejao @ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NSA_Di2vliU

4)  Josh Smith

He takes off from basically anywhere on the floor and seemingly glides through the air.

5)  Andre Iguodala

In my opinion Iggy is one of the most under-appreciated dunkers in the game. He lives over the rim.

6)  Kobe Bryant

Kobe loves to create dunks while soaring through the air, especially when he drives baseline.

7)  Amare Stoudemire

He’s a center, but he throws down acrobatic dunks like a guard.

8)  Rudy Gay

Gay has great body control in the air and can each jump over defenders or finesse his way around them.

9)  Vince Carter

While Vince’s best days are behind him, he still holds his own with the rest of the young dunkers. His style is unique and he is a great innovator.

10)  Trevor Ariza

Ariza soars through the air and isn’t afraid to challenge the trees inside, mostly because he dunks right over them.

Honorable Mention: Shannon Brown, Jason Richardson, Jason Maxiell, Nate Robinson, Kevin Garnett, J.R. Smith, Jamario Moon, Shawn Marion

はっきり言って今シーズンの（あるいは現時点での）ニックスの観戦記を書くことに何の意味も感じませんが、いちおうニューヨークファンですし、シーズンチケットホルダーで全試合のチケットを持っていますし、対戦相手のことなども書けば多少は意味もあるかもしれないですし（しかし、今のニックスは弱すぎるので、相手を観察してもあまり参考にならないというのもまた事実…）、何となく気がついたことを書いてみます。

Box Score

ジャマール・クロフォード:
あいかわらずの“悪球打ち”で、シュートセレクション最悪。あれでFGPが44.4％あるのは奇跡。自分はあれでもOKだろうが、周りのリズムがあれで狂う。「プレイオフに進出経験のない選手としては、現役選手中で、最多試合出場中」の記録保持者でもあるクロフォードだが、チーム事情も影響したとはいえ、不名誉な記録を保持しているには、それなりに理由があると思う。

ジョシュ・スミス:
ホリンジャーだったか、フォードだったかが（両方ともESPNのコラムニスト） 書いていたので注意してみていたのですが、クロフォードとは逆に、スミスのショットセレクションが良くなっている。今日も10-for-15で、良い意味でかなり目立ってました。

アル・ホーフォード:
今日の試合で最高のインサイド選手。ニックスのインサイドのディフェンス能力では、今日のホーフォードを止めることは無理。なにしろマッチアップがドアマンですから…。

トニー・ダグラス:
スターター昇格。ルーキーに多くを望むのは荷が重すぎるし、今は素直に得点能力を賞賛してあげるだけで良いと思う反面、「シュートだけでは…周りを見て、せめてフリーの選手にはパスを出そうね、PGなんだから…」と言ってしまいたくなる衝動に駆られたことも否定しません。

クリス・デューホン:
絶不調。良いところなし。

アル・ハリントン:
独り相撲。

デイヴィッド・リー:
ドアマン。またの名をマタドール（ディフェンス中、ゴールに向かってくる相手選手からひらりひらりと逃げてしまうから。もちろんディフェンスレスを揶揄されているだけ）。あるいはエイヴィー・リー（DAVID LEE）今日は猛牛ホーフォードからうまく逃げられず。ディフェンスレスだけでなく、オフェンス時にもTO量産。

15.1 puntos, 6.6 rebotes, 4.4 asistencias, 2.9 tapones, 1.6 recuperaciones e incluso un 57% en tiros de campo convierten a Josh Smith (23 años) en el jugador más completo de lo que llevamos de temporada. El alero de los Atlanta Hawks sólo le falta mejorar el tiro de larga distancia (desde dónde no se ha prodigado todavía esta temporada) y el tiro libre (dónde tiene un pobre 60%). Estos números por muy espectaculares que nos parezcan no son ni siquiera los mejores de su carrera. Hace dos temporadas promediaba dos puntos y dos rebotes más.

Smith machando en un partido de los pasados play offs ante Boston Celtics

Josh Smith es actualmente el alero titular de los emergentes Atlanta Hawks, equipo que lidera junto a la figura de Joe Johnson (recientemente premiado como jugador de la semana en la conferencia Este). El ahora alero de los Hawks se dio a conocer al mundo en el torneo Internacional del Hospitalet en el que participó con el instituto de Oak Hill, equipo que lideró acompañado de Rajon Rondo, ahora es el base titular de los Boston Celtics.

Después de eso su llegada a la liga fue inminente y además se hizo un nombre muy rápidamente. No sólo por sus números si no por sus exhibiciones aéreas, ya sean a base de tapones como a base de mates. Esas muestras de poderío en las alturas le llevaron a participar en su primer año en la NBA en el concurso de mates, que además ganó con una auténtica exhibición.

Prototipo del jugador completo, Josh Smith ha rozado en varias ocasiones el cuádruple-doble (10 o más dígitos en 4 categorías estadísticas). Ese hecho sólo lo han podido conseguir 4 jugadores en toda la historia de la NBA (Nate Thurmond en 1974, Alvin Robertson en 1986, Hakeem Olajuwon en 1990 y David Robinson en 1994). Una muestra más de su polivalencia.

A día de hoy, El alero de Atlanta lidera momentáneamente la clasificación de tapones, una categoría estadística copaba históricamente por hombres altos y que además ocupan posiciones interiores (Andrei Kirilenko, alero de Utah Jazz, ha sido el único jugador exterior en conseguir dominar una temporada esta categoría). Josh Smith lleva varias temporadas que se le resiste el título pero este año parece que ha salido decidido a ganarlo o si no por lo menos aspira a superar su record de 10 tapones en un partido. Toda una bestialidad. De hecho, el pasado 31 de Octubre entró en la historia de la liga al convertirse en el jugador más joven en superar la barrera de los 900 tapones y es que parece que al joven alero se le van a quedar pequeñas algunas categorías estadísticas.

Un poco de Josh Smith:

The disappointing news came across the news wire that local standout Josh Smith is headed to UCLA, not the hometown Washington Huskies.

Basically I was prepared for this news for awhile, but it is still disappointing that a big local talent like Smith will not be staying home to represent his city and state. A lot of players on the Husky team today take pride in that because Seattle and the Huskies have always been flying under the radar of the national spotlight.

I actually have had a opinion piece saved in the queue for whenever Smith finally announced his decision about how Terrence Jones is a much better fit for the team, and has a higher ceiling than Smith as well. I didn’t want to run it until Smith finally announced, so expect seeing that article soon.

But now the focus shifts to Jones, who will be announcing soon whether or not he will sign in the fall or the spring. There has been much speculation that Smith and Jones were waiting for the other to announce before making their decision known, so maybe Smith declaring UCLA will push Jones to make his announcement and let his recruiting saga end as well