Czar Asks You

December 23 by 2 Comments

This week the New Jersey Nets, who plan to relocate to Brooklyn, New York once their new arena is completed in 2012, played two other teams that relocated in the last decade: the New Orleans Hornets and the Memphis Grizzlies.

George Shinn originally brought the Charlotte Hornets to North Carolina during the 1988–89 NBA season and eventually transplanted the team to New Orleans in 2002-03. The Vancouver Grizzlies, along with the Toronto Raptors, were established in 1995 as part of the NBA’s expansion into Canada, but moved stateside to Memphis in 2001.

During Tuesday’s Ask the Announcers segment, Ian pondered whether a team that leaves a city should leave its nickname behind too? This triggered a heated debate among our YES crew. Nets radio color analyst Tim Capstraw suggested that the Hornets should become the Jazz (the Utah Jazz were originally located in the Crescent City); the Jazz should become Grizzlies (because they have bears in Utah); and the Grizzlies should become the Memphis Blues.

What do you think? Should an NBA team change its name when it changes cities?

 

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Czar Asks You

December 17 by Leave a Comment

 

The Celtics came out on top in Wednesday’s photo-finish contest against the Knicks, but their superstar point guard Rajon Rondo went down in the heat of the battle.

Rondo rolled his left ankle in the fourth quarter and will be out of action for a couple weeks. Rondo leads the league in assists, and he’s second in the league in steals.

How will the Celtics fare with their playmaker on the sidelines? Do you think Boston will be able to hold on to the number one spot in the East without him?

 

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Czar Asks You

December 9 by Leave a Comment

The Portland Trail Blazers are second in the league in free-throw percentage behind the Oklahoma City Thunder. Their clutch shooting ability from the line translated into wins this week.

In Tuesday’s 106-99 win over the Suns, the Blaze went a remarkable 32 of 33 from the foul line, finishing with 17 straight freebies in the fourth quarter. LaMarcus Aldridge sank 10 consecutive free throws in the game while Roy went 9 for 9.

Miller was sidelined against the Suns due to a one-game suspension following an altercation with Blake Griffin. But he was on a roll from the line prior to the miss, knocking down over 30 consecutive free throws, 9 of which helped cement a win over the Clips to snap a 6-game losing streak.

Miller doesn’t get to the line quite as often as Roy and Aldridge, but when he does he hits the mark. Ranked 9th and 10th overall respectively, guards Brandon Roy and Andre Miller lead their team in FT%.

All three guys will get a chance to hit some more foul shots tonight when they host the Magic at the Rose Garden.

Will Miller be able to keep his streak alive? Who will finish the season with the highest FT% – Miller or Roy?

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Czar Asks You

November 3 by 1 Comment

Barcelona born brothers Pau and Marc Gasol faced off in Los Angeles tonight. Western Conference Player of the Week Pau outscored and outrebounded Marc in the Lakers’ decisive 124-105 win over Memphis.

Younger brother Marc moved to Tennessee with his parents when Pau signed with the Memphis Grizzlies in 2001. And again he followed Pau’s lead when he joined the Grizzlies after the Lakers traded the rights to Marc in a multi-player deal to acquire Pau in February 2008.

Now entering his third year in the NBA, Marc Gasol is an up-and-coming star who, in Phil Jackson’s words, is a “tougher, more powerful player than (Pau).” But 2× NBA Champion and 3× NBA All-Star Pau Gasol has set the bar high.

Will Marc Gasol continue to follow in Pau’s footsteps and lead his team to an NBA Championship some day?

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Czar Asks You

March 3 by 5 Comments

Photo by Danny Bollinger/NBAE via Getty Images

Late Sunday night in Dallas, Dirk Nowitzki and rookie point guard Darren Collison of the New Orleans Hornets traded basket for basket in a fourth quarter battle. Dallas won the game 108-100, but not before blowing most of a 25-point second-half lead. Collison’s 20 first-half points prevented this game from becoming an early wipeout. And his clutch fourth quarter performance nearly allowed the Hornets to pull off their second highly improbable comeback in days.

Rookie point guards continue to make headlines in the NBA. While Tyreke Evans and Brandon Jennings jumped out as early ROY candidates (and probably continue to be the favorites), Collison and Golden State’s Stephen Curry are making strong late season surges. Collison has made the most of his added minutes with the injury to starting point guard Chris Paul.

And Curry appears to be hitting his stride in a free-flowing Golden State offense that suits his skill set.  Johnny Flynn in Minnesota has also had a very solid rookie campaign as has Ty Lawson in Denver. At draft time last year, the expectation was that Blake Griffin might be the only potential star among the rookie crop – but these point guards may turn out to be the real story.

Photo by Gary Dineen/NBAE via Getty Images

And they’ve had the opportunity to compete among a number of greats who came before them. In the first round of last year’s playoffs, Derrick Rose and Rajon Rondo went toe-to-toe in one of the classic playoff series of recent years. Both also made their first All-Star appearances this year. Russell Westbrook is having a superb season with the surprising Thunder as is Aaron Brooks with the Rockets. This is even before mentioning the triumvirate of Chris Paul, Deron Williams and Tony Parker, who are hitting the prime of their careers, and the old guard of Steve Nash, Chauncey Billups and Jason Kidd, all of whom are enjoying terrific seasons.

Together with the rookies, this group forms what may be one of the finest collections of point guards in NBA history. Kentucky point guard John Wall may soon join their ranks as many expect him to be the first pick in this year’s college draft.

Q: Do you think there has ever been a more dominant group of NBA point guards or are these guys in a league of their own?

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