Posts tagged AndersonVarejao at FanHouse

This offseason, NBA FanHouse will address important questions about the league. It will be a Summer of Answers. First up: the biggest draft busts of the decade.

Unless you're a fan of the Toronto Raptors or a huge NBA Draft nerd follower, you may have read that headline and thought, "who's Rafael Araujo? Never heard of him." That was my initial thought anyway, and that, my friends, is exactly why Mr. Araujo comes in at number four on our Biggest Busts of the '00s list.

When you look back at the 2004 draft, everyone taken in the first seven picks before Araujo turned out to be productive NBA (or Euroleague) players. Well, except for Shaun Livingston who had the gruesome knee injury two seasons ago. But that's no biggie, right? The talent level could have simply dropped off after that point, and Araujo could have been the first on a long list of disappointments who just happened to be drafted eighth overall. Unfortunately for him (and the Raptors), this was a very deep draft.

Players selected after Rafael (pronounced "HA-f-eye-ell" if you believe NBA.com) include Al Jefferson, Josh Smith, J.R. Smith, Kevin Martin, Sasha Vujacic, Beno Udrih, Anderson Varejao, Pape Sow ... just seeing if you were still paying attention. The point is this: when a player is selected with the number eight pick, with this much talent still on the board, and his career averages over three seasons are under three points and three rebounds a game, I don't know if "bust" is a strong enough word to describe his NBA status.

Crystal Ballin' takes a team-by-team look at what should, could, and probably will happen in the June 26th NBA Draft.

Clearly, the Cavs have not only the talent but the need to try and to win now. If Danny Ferry decides to wait, he might end up trying to win without LeBron James (or without a job) and that ain't gonna happen.

Picks: #19

Needs: In order to win now, Cleveland needs legit (sorry Wally) scoring from the perimeter or some backcourt help. Say what you want for their interior offensive needs, but they have three centers who are going to play. And seriously, think about how Wally and Delonte got loose in the playoffs -- that's a direct result of James being on the same team, not their talents. Now let's add someone who isn't washed up.

Best case scenario: Mario Chalmers somehow falls down to them at 19, which seemed a lot more likely a few weeks, or even days, ago. Instead, how about Courtney Lee, who easily could fall here? Either one would be good (Lee being the better scorer but Chalmers can run the Cleveland "offense")but yet, seems somehow unlikely ...

NBA Essentials ranks our six favorite stories of the day.

1. Deadspin: Photos of Charles Oakley getting his shirtless party on.

2. The Sporting Blog: The Celtics aren't a realistic model for success.

3. Chad Ford, ESPN: Draft approaching, rumors flying: Anderson Varejao, Leandro Barbosa, Linas Kleiza are some of the names in play.

4. Mike Bresnahan, L.A. Times: Lakers are in no hurry to sign Andrew Bynum to a contract extension.

5. OC Register: Clippers secretly worked out O.J. Mayo.

6. Paul Coro, AZ Republic: Amare Stoudemire declines an invitation to play in the Olympics.

The NBA's decision to start fining floppers next season set the basketball world a'twitter, with plenty of jokes (see above) at the expense of Manu Ginobili and Anderson Varejao. But let's get a touch serious here (just a touch): what's the real impact of the rule? Which teams benefit? Which will be punished?

It's hard to tell, actually. As you see above, the league's best floppers don't only leave their sneakers on faux-charges -- you can flop anywhere on the court. (Even on a screen!) However, considering offense sells tickets and the NBA has proven in recent years to be all about fortifying offensive basketball (see: hand-check rules), let's assume the number of offensive fouls decreases and thus, the number of charges drawn decreases (which assumes the value of $5,000 or whatever is higher than what basically equates to a steal, which is questionable). Who's at risk?

NBA Essentials ranks our six favorite stories of the day.

1. Brian Windhorst, Ohio.com: Discussing Anderson Varejao's great flops of 2006-07.

2. Paul Coro, Arizona Republic: Shaq would endorse Brian Shaw as the Suns' new coach.

3. West Coast Bias: Tim Donaghy in the witness protection program as you'll-never-guess-who.

4. OC Register: News flash: Laker games are expensive.

5. Epic Carnival: Amusing alternative punishments for flopping.

6. Karen Leigh's Blog: First hand account of ballin' with Barack Obama.

Here's some bad news for Manu Ginobili, Anderson Varejao and every other player who develops an apparent inner-ear disorder every time an opponent so much as breaths in their direction: the NBA will begin fining players next year for taking a dive.

Stu Jackson, the NBA's VP of basketball operations, confirmed to ESPN's Marc Stein on Thursday night that the league will penalize players for "the most egregious type of flops" as determined by in-arena observers and video reviews. The fine schedule has not yet been determined, but given the league's attitude toward technical and flagrant fouls, by the time it's complete it could include escalating fines and (cross your fingers) even suspensions for repeat offenders.

While some players will need some time to adjust, offensive players will love the rule, as will fans at home who no longer have to suffer through games disrupted by players falling down instead of playing defense. Also, I think fining the players rather than calling an actual foul is the way to do it, especially since the motivation is to enhance the flow the game. Plus, I think there will be more pressure on refs to simply "let them play," since officials will be nervous about calling a foul on a play that later earns a player a fine.

I don't think this news will get quite the attention it deserves right now, but it's something fans are definitely going to notice and appreciate next season.

1. It Starts And Ends With The King: LeBron James finally had the game. 32 points, 12 rebounds, 6 assists, 2 steals, including monster points down the stretch. He had 8 turnovers, but that's okay, because ... okay, that's not okay. James has woken up more and more as this series has gone on, and managed to put together the complete game in Game 6. He's playing with confidence, desire, passion and focus. He's going to need all of that and his God-given obscene talent if he wants to walk out of Boston with the first win by a visitor in the playoffs. The Cavaliers actually ran James at point for long extended periods in the second half of Game 6, which attributed to James' turnovers. There are advantages and disadvantages to this. The advantage is that it ensures that LBJ has the ball and lets him dictate the offense as he sees fit. The disadvantages are the turnovers and the ability for the Cavs to bring the perimeter double. The Celtics brought the low post defender (Leon Powe, usually) to the perimeter to cover LeBron, trap him if he goes to the wing, and force the ball out of his hands. With any other team, this would mean a pretty simple 1-2-3 touch passing to an open low post player for a lay-in. Unfortunately the Cavs have a bazillion dollars in low post players, none of which can actually score consistently down low. Regardless, I would expect more of the same from Game 6 in terms of James strategy on both sides. The question is whether those shots will fall. And if it'll be enough.

Brian Windhorst, who is one of the finest NBA reporters in the land, let alone for the Cavs, has a terrific quote this morning from LeBron James that gives us some insight into where his head at, both with his identity and his team's. After the Game 5 loss in Boston, James was quoted as saying,

"A LeBron James team is never desperate."

Now, there are a lot of ways to interpret this. One is that any team with James on it is going to be confident, because he knows what he's capable of. And you can't really fault him for that. I personally hate it when guys are overly modest to the point of it being facetious. The Cavs are LeBron James. And for them to really excel, to beat the Celtics in a seven game series, especially winning a Game 7 in Boston, if it even comes to that, he has to be the guy. That kind of honesty is kind of refreshing in a league where so many players talk about their teammates but don't actually trust them in the game.

More analysis of the King and "his team" after the jump.

You may recall Ben Wallace leaving Game 2 of the Celtics-Cavs series because of allergies. It was thought at the time that the Celtics' ridiculous pyrotechnic display during the announcement of the starting lineups was to blame (and for all we know, it might have been), but whatever it was that caused the flare up is probably going to keep Big Ben out of Game 3.

Wallace started but played less than 4 minutes in Thursday night's game before he became dizzy and asked to come out. He staggered to the bench and had to be assisted by his teammates before the Cavs' training staff stepped in.

Wallace underwent a series of tests at the Cleveland Clinic on Friday. The team said the defensive stopper could be upgraded but it was "best case, 50-50" that Wallace would play Saturday in Game 3.

If Wallace can't go, Mike Brown is expected to start Anderson Varejao in his place. But with Big Ben out of the lineup, that will in all likelihood lead to more minutes for Joe Smith. That could be a welcome boost to the Cavaliers' anemic offense in this series, just as long as his teammates are aware that he's not exactly capable of handling Kevin Garnett by himself defensively.

In another of our continuing series, five things to keep an eye out for tonight in the Cav-Celtics Eastern Conference Semifinals Game 1 this evening.

1. Three On One: Let's not kid ourselves. You're not tuning in to watch Kendrick Perkins, or Anderson Varejao, or Wally Szczerbiak. You want to see Ray Allen, Paul Pierce, and Kevin Garnett versus LeBron James. And typically, a three-on-one superstar match would be lopsided. But as evidenced by the Atlanta series, Boston is not firing on all cylinders right now, and Paul Pierce, who is supposed to be the offensive juggernaut for the Celtics, has been "eh." Conversely, LeBron is averaging a lot of points but still hasn't had a game where you pile on the superlatives. The Celtics are superb at home, but the Cavs are playing a bit better than the Hawks. Still, with Rajon Rondo covering West and Gibson, LeBron is going to have to pull one of his Kingly acts to get the win tonight.

2. West. No, the Other West: Delonte West was huge for the Cavs in Round 1. West had 10 points and 5 assists per game against the Wizards. He has to continue that against the Celtics. The frontcourt is where the battle will be fought, but the backcourt is where it will it will be won. If Rondo and Allen limit the Cavaliers perimeter shooters and keep West from producing baskets, the Celtics can make quick work of them, LeBron or no LeBron.