HurricaneDij999

A fiesty 6-4 guard, Mike Newlin was the long-time backcourt mate of Rockets Hall-of-Famer Calvin Murphy.  Drafted in the second round out of Utah in 1971 draft (the Rockets' first year in Houston), Newlin would be known as one of the original Houston Rockets.  He broke into Houston's starting lineup in his sophomore season, where he averaged 17 points, 5 rebounds, and 4.1 assists.  Newlin would go on to spend his first eight seasons in Houston, which included a conference finals appearance in 1977 and a 1973-74 campaign in which he averaged 18.4 points per game.

Then, in 1979, Newlin was traded to New Jersey, where, in his two seasons there, put up the best offensive numbers in his career, averaging 20.9 and 21.4 points per game, respectively.  However, the Nets didn't have much talent around him, and Newlin was traded in 1981 to the New York Knicks in exchange for current Hawks coach Mke Woodson.  In his final NBA season in 1981-82, Newlin averaged 9.3 points per game for the Knicks, mostly as a bench player.

For his career, Newlin totaled 12,507 points and averages of 14.9 points, 4.0 rebounds, and 3.0 assists per game.  He also averaged 14.8 points per game in 22 career Playoff contests.

At 6-foot-10 and 235 lbs, Sam Lacey was one of the more solid NBA big men of the 70's.  He is one of only 5 players in league history to record 100 blocks and 100 steals in six consecutive seasons.

Lacey was selected with the 5th overall draft pick by the Cincinnati Royals in 1970.  He showed promise as a rookie, averaging 13.5 points and 11.3 rebounds per game in the 1970-71 season.  After Lacey had spent two seasons in Cincinnati, the team moved to Kansas City and were renamed "Kings" to avoid confusion with the city's baseball team.  In 1972-73, his first season in Kansas City, Lacey averaged 13.5 points and 11.8 rebounds per game.  He'd go on to spend over a decade with the Royals/Kings franchise, which included an All-Star selection in 1975.  Early in the 1981-82 season, the Kings traded Lacey to the New Jersey Nets.  Then in the 1982 offseason, Lacey signed with the Cleveland Cavaliers for one final season.

He left the game in 1983 having scored over 10,000 points for his career and solid career averages of 10.3 points, 9.7 rebounds, and even 3.7 assists per game.  His #44 jersey has been retired by the Kings. 

Looks like another major meltdown is coming for the Cubs in 2009.

I completely understand the thought process of trading Mark DeRosa - to open up starting job at 2B for Mike Fontenot, to upgrade the team's joke of a farm system, and to shed salary.  But WHO do they use DeRosa's remaining money on?  Milton Bradley.  That's right.  The Cubs replaced a versatile and reliable player for an injury-prone trouble-maker. 

I sure hope the Cubs have a backup plan if Bradley goes down.  Oh wait, they have Fukudome.  LOL!

A thread was created the other day on the NBA Board where you could create your perfect NBA starting 5.  Here were the rules:

You have 100 points to build.  A top 5 player at their position is 40 points,  6-10 is 25, 11-20 is 15, 20-30 is 5.  Build your Perfect team.

My team:

• PG Deron Williams (40 points)
• SG Jason Richardson (15 points)
• SF Desmond Mason (5 points)
• PF Al Jefferson (25 points)
• C Spencer Hawes (15 points)

Williams gives me a playmaker and a top 5 NBA PG.  My wings are ultra-athletic.  I've united the finalist from the 2003 Dunk Contest.  Richardson gives me 3-point shooting, while Mason gives me good perimeter defense.  Al Jefferson gives me a post presence and a good rebounder, and Hawes gives me a big man who can stretch defenses with his outside shooting.  I think my team is pretty solid. 

1. Los Angeles Lakers - With Boston losing in Portland and Cleveland losing in Miami, they get this spot by default.  Oh yeah, and Chris Mihm is shooting 60% from the field this season.
2. Cleveland Cavaliers - It will be interesting to see how the play without Ilgauskas.  Can Anderson Varejao proving some scoring inside?
3. Boston Celtics - They had the Blazers without Brandon Roy.  Considering they're neck-and-neck with Cleveland, that's a game they need to count on winning, but they didn't take advantage.
4. Orlando Magic - Courtney Lee is having a decent rookie year, averaging 5.7 point per game off the bench, including 12 points in Orlando's win in Chicago on New Year's Eve.
5. New Orleans Hornets - Won 4 straight, but they always play like crap against the Lakers.
6. San Antonio Spurs - Tim Duncan has been as good as always, averaging 20.7 and 10.3.
7. Atlanta Hawks - The New Jersey Nets seem to be Atlanta's problem team, as they're 0-3 against them this season.  A Horford is solid, averaging 11.1 points and 8.8 rebounds a game.
8. Detroit Pistons - Won 6 straight, but I'm still not sold that they have what it takes to be successful in the Playoffs.
9. Dallas Mavericks - Since starting 2-7, they've won 18 of their last 23 games.
10. Phoenix Suns - A lot of talk on these boards about how Steve Nash was a product of D'Antoni's system, but he's still putting up solid numbers under Porter this season, averaging 15 and 8.
11. Denver Nuggets - Chris "Birdman" Andersen, the prettiest man in the NBA (LOL), brings energy off the bench, averaging 5.6 points and 5.3 rebounds per game.
12. Houston Rockets - Tracy McGrady is looking like a star on the decline.  He's averaging just over 15 points a game this season.
13. Portland Trailblazers - Steve Blake has been a solid starting PG, averaging 11.7 points and 4.5 assists a game.
14. Utah Jazz - Carlos Boozer elected to have surgery and is expected to miss another month.
15. Miami Heat - Shaun Livingston, the most injury-prone player in the league, has managed to play in 4 games this season after his devastating knee injury with the Clippers in 2007.
16. Milwaukee Bucks - Don't get me wrong, Gadzooks is a good guy.  It'd just be helpful if he was much better at basketball than he is.
17. New Jersey Nets - Jarvis Hayes is providing some scoring off the bench,averaging 8.7 per game.
18. Chicago Bulls - Ben Gordon may be putting up sexy scoring numbers, but if you think he could be a starting SG on a title contender, chances are that you don't know much about basketball.  He's too undersized and one-dimensional.
19. Philadelphia 76ers - Just like the rest of the team, Samuel Dalembert has been a major disappointment this season, especially on the offensive end.  He's averaging just 6 points per game this season.
20. Toronto Raptors - Andrea Bargnani's rebounding (4.3) and FG percentage (40.6) are pitiful for a big man.
21. Indiana Pacers - Jarrett Jack really needs to cut down on his turnovers.  He already has 74 this season.
22. New York Knicks - Quentin Richardson is having a solid season in his reunion with coach Mike D'Antoni, averaging 12 points and 5.2 rebounds.
23. Charlotte Bobcats - He's still overpaid, but Boris Diaw scored 20 points in Charlotte's loss to the Knicks.
24. Golden State Warriors - I said at the time that Maggette was a bad signing, but I was just a hater (go figure).  The Warriors are now desperate to move him.
25. Memphis Grizzlies - Marko Jaric reprotedly wants out of Memphis.  He'll be lucky if some team is willing to take on that awful salary of his.
26. Los Angeles Clippers - Lost 6 straight.
27. Washington Wizards - Even though his team is stinking it up, Antawn Jamison is still putting up good numbers (20.8 PPG, 9.4 RPG)
28. Sacramento Kings - God, Kevin Martin is injury-prone.  When's he coming back?
29. Minnesota Timberwolves - Alright, I'll finally admit the Kevin McHale needs to go.  His bad moves have outweighed his good ones.  If I was the owner, blowing that 29-point lead would have been the final nail in the coffin, but they're owner obviously doesn't care about winning.
30. Oklahoma City Thunder - Chris Wilcox might be a mid-tier upcoming free agent to watch.  He scored 23 in their win over Golden State.

On a side note, there's a total STUD out there without a team.  Whoever picks him up will be instant title contenders.  His name is Antoine Walker. 

5.  Joel Przybilla, Portland - Greg Oden is getting all the hype, but the Blazers would do just as well if Przybilla is starting.  The hard-nosed big man is averaging 8.2 rebounds in just 23 minutes per game.  I'd want him on my Pacers

4.  Spencer Hawes, Sacramento - An young big man who can do it all, even shoot the three.

3.  John Salmons, Sacramento - A versatile player who's averaging just under 20 points a game.  His team's record will probably kill his All-Star chances.

2.  Thaddeus Young, Philadelphia - Overshadowed due to the hype surrounding Andre Iguodala and Elton Brand, the 20-year-old Young is averaging 13.1 points and 4.8 rebounds per game and will only get better.

1.  Jameer Nelson, Orlando - A key contributor on a hot Magic team, Nelson is averaging 16.5 points and 5.2 assists per game.  It's amazing that Rajon Rondo is getting all sorts of All-Star consideration whereas Nelson isn't getting any.