Raw Like Sushi was the name of a Neneh Cherry album. It also could end up being the title for the Hasheem Thabeet rookie highlight video.
Of course, if you think this guy is green now, Memphis coach Lionel Hollins says you should have been around for his first workout after the Grizzlies took the 7-foot-3, 267-pound Connecticut center with the No. 2 pick in last June's draft.
"He was really bad,'' Hollins said. "Even though he's a shot blocker, he only had to stand in the paint in college. Now you've got guys attacking you and how you have to go meet them, he knew none of that. He had no footwork. He had no jump hook. He had nothing. And I can say that out of all the rookies in this draft, he probably has come the farthest. He has the farthest to go, and he still has a long ways to go.''
Elie Seckbach, the Embedded Correspondent, brings his exclusive video reporting to FanHouse. Check back regularly for more videos.
Blake Griffin, the first overall draft pick, is staying strong after suffering a knee injury during a preseason game. In this FanHouse exclusive, he gives he gives us an update on his injury.
We also talk boxing with Griffin's teammates, as Marcus Camby, Rasual Butler and DeAndre Jordan make their picks in the upcoming Manny Pacquiao-Miguel Cotto fight.
LOS ANGELES -- An excited, capacity crowd anxiously awaited the final chance to celebrate last season's NBA Championship with its beloved Lakers. The team held a ring ceremony, before unveiling their 15th championship banner, which was hanging behind a black curtain high on the back wall of the Staples Center.
It was an exciting start to the night, but the excitement ended there, as the quality of the opening night opponent (or lack thereof) made it easy on the defending champs and a yawner for those in attendance. The result was a lackluster, comfortable 99-92 win for the Lakers in their first game of the 2009-10 NBA season.
We feel partly responsible for this, for it was another Griffin stinkface that landed him on the shelf in the Clippers' anti-trophy case. The dunk was mighty. Griffin's kneecap was not.
Get used to seeing Blake Griffin on the bench for the next six weeks. Those of us on the East Coast woke up this morning to the news of Griffin's stress fracture in his left kneecap, while those out West -- notably in Los Angeles -- probably didn't get much sleep at all.
It's frustrating, no matter where your NBA allegiance lies, when a talent like Griffin goes down before we even get to see him lace up for the Clippers in a meaningful game. It wasn't that long ago that we lost the 2007 No.1 draft pick, Greg Oden, before the start of the '07-'08 season. Let's hope it doesn't take Griffin as long as it took Oden to return to action.
From a fantasy perspective it's hard to speculate who could "replace" Blake Griffin on your lineup since we actually don't even know who he is as a fantasy baller. But, I'll do my best to identify a few guys who are widely available in FleaFlicker and Yahoo! leagues.
It's becoming more and more frustrating as the list of "questionable" players for opening night continues to grow. The case has been made that maybe the preseason is too long -- about four games too long.
Who would have thought that of the past three No. 1 overall draft picks only Greg Oden will start the 2009-10 season with a clean bill of health. Blake Griffin is reportedly sidelined for up to six weeks with a stress fracture in his left knee, while Derrick Rose is questionable after injuring his ankle early on in the preseason. Rose is likely to play on opening night, but his action could be limited as he nurses his ankle back to health. In other news, future No. 1 pick John Wall is not serving much better. Advantage, Oden.
With less than 24 hours to go before your lineups are required to be set in stone for the week, it's only right that we discuss a few of the "questionable" lineup decisions you might need to make based on injuries and matchups.
On the eve of yet another rebuilding season, the Los Angeles Clippers revealed on Monday night that Blake Griffin's knee injury was far more serious than initially feared: he's been diagnosed with a stress fracture in his left kneecap (the patella, to be precise) and could be sidelined up to six weeks. He suffered the injury in the team's final preseason game.
Shame on the NBA owners for being greedy, trying to milk their teams for an unbelievable eight exhibition games on top of an already marathon regular season and a taxing playoff march.
Eight is too many. Just ask Los Angeles Clippers coach Mike Dunleavy, who now may be without his star rookie prize Blake Griffin in Tuesday's much-anticipated opener against the cross-arena Lakers.
Griffin hurt his left knee Friday night in exhibition No. 8, a game that never should have been played if the league had listened to players, coaches, trainers and even nonsensical sports writers who have said for years that there is no need for so many meaningless games.
Blake Griffin can dunk. And he's not afraid to dunk on people, as he showed pretty viciously during the Clippers' preseason game on Sunday against the Lakers.
The Laker on the wrong end of Griffin's throw-down was D.J. Mbenga, and while he's not exactly Andrew Bynum in terms of desirable dunking targets, the guy's still seven feet tall -- and has a black belt in Aikido!
The video is after the jump, and bonus points if you can identify the Laker on the bench who hides his face in shame behind the towel, after the completion of Griffin's abusive act.
Elie Seckbach, the Embedded Correspondent, brings his exclusive video reporting to FanHouse. Check back regularly for more videos.
For the most part, NBA preseason games don't carry much weight, but on Oct. 20, the Los Angeles Clippers will take the Staples Center court to face one of the best teams in Europe when they meet Maccabi Tel-Aviv.
It will be the game of the year for thousands of children as the Clippers are donating all the money generated from that night to the world's largest orphanage, Migdal Ohr. Based in Northern Israel, Migdal Ohr takes care of more than 7,000 orphans. But the Clippers are not the only ones doing amazing things for the orphanage. Two days prior to the Clippers' game, the New York Knicks will host a similar event to benefit Migdal Ohr.
Raw Like Sushi was the name of a Neneh Cherry album. It also could end up being the title for the Hasheem Thabeet rookie highlight video.
Blake Griffin, the first overall draft pick, is staying strong after 
O! 
Get used to seeing 
It's becoming more and more frustrating as the list of "questionable" players for opening night continues to grow. The case has been made that maybe the 
On the eve of yet another rebuilding season, the 
Shame on the NBA owners for being greedy, trying to milk their teams for an unbelievable eight exhibition games on top of an already marathon regular season and a taxing playoff march.
For the most part, NBA preseason games don't carry much weight, but on Oct. 20, the 
