Robin's season in Phoenix wasn't too bright. He played in only 60 games despite flawless health; in those contests, he averaged only 10 minutes a game. His campaign ended with per-game averages of three points and two rebounds. Not exactly awards material ...
... which means that in all likelihood one of the voters -- a fraternity of writers and broadcasters -- meant to vote for Robin's twin, Brook, who ended up in third place in balloting. As far as I know, the ballot isn't a "fill in the bubble" affair -- you write in the names. Some voter really can't keep the Lopez brothers straight. (Hat-tip to Phoenix Stan.)
It's been a forgone conclusion for awhile, but on Wednesday it became official: Derrick Rose is the NBA's 2009 Rookie of the Year. He received the Eddie Gottlieb Trophy during a press conference earlier this afternoon.
There were several impressive rookies this year but Rose was the run-away winner of the award, receiving 111 of a possible 120 first-place votes; O.J. Mayo (five first place votes), Brook Lopez (two) and Russell Westbrook (two) accounted for the rest.
It's trophy time in the NBA, and the FanHouse crew has submitted its ballots. Find out which players deserve to take home the hardware and which ones don't, in our NBA Awards series. Next up: Rookie of the Year.
Coming into the season, most projected the rookie of the Year race to be fairly hotly contested between Derrick Rose and Michael Beasley, the top two picks in the NBA draft. But it wasn't: while Beasley spent time learning to contribute coming off the bench, Rose became one of the leaders on a team that made its way back to the playoffs. As such, the young Bull was our unanimous choice for Rookie of the Year honors.
Every night there are some stupendous, silly, stupid, or downright outlandish individual lines from around the "lig." Doing Lines lets you know which one tops the list.
Toronto is still alive in the Eastern Conference. Fifteen games under .500, hanging on a thread for the past week, 14th place in the conference ... and alive. And so long as the Raptors keep beating the opponents in their way, they will remain alive.
Andrea Bargnani did some heavy lifting Saturday against the Knicks, racking up 23 points and seven rebounds. Chris Bosh helped with 17/13, Shawn Marion handled business with 12/13 and Quincy Douby had a True Shooting percentage of 100%!
Kevin Garnett will miss another game, which adds a ready-made excuse for the Celtics in case of a loss, and could -- in TV-analyst speak -- put a ton of pressure on the Cavaliers. If, after all, the Cavs can't win in Boston (where they've dropped six straight) with K.G. missing, how can the team expect to get a postseason victory there?
We already knew there was a geeky side to the Nets' Brook Lopez, after seeing him in attendance at one of the nation's largest comic book conventions. But in this post-game interview (via Awful Announcing; Lopez's bit starts at 0:20) where he talks about Devin Harris' game-winner over the disbelieving Sixers, Lopez really takes it to a whole new level. Just ... wow.
The Bobcats, needless to say, had a curious draft. Everyone expected Brook Lopez' name to get called at nine; after all, what need does Charlotte have with D.J. Augustin if Raymond Felton is the future at point guard? (Answer: exactly.) But Charlotte reaffirmed today that Felton is going to keep starting and that Augustin was merely drafted as a backup.
"We don't think D.J. is going to come in right now and be the starting point guard," [GM Rod] Higgins said.
While Higgins dismissed talk of a Felton-to-Knicks trade, it's clear the Bobcats were in various trade discussions leading up to the draft.
Managing partner Michael Jordan confirmed Thursday that the team talked to the Toronto Raptors about a deal that could have swapped forward Gerald Wallace for point guard T.J. Ford.
Apparently, talks stalled because the Raptors wanted a draft pick included as well, which seems like a nice thing to let Wallace know (You alone, sir, are worth one T.J. Ford, but you and a draft pick? We think not.) heading into the offseason.
The buzz out of Charlotte is all about D.J. Augustin. And how could it not be? The Bobcats passed over Brook Lopez, a.k.a. the scoring big man they need to move Emeka Okafor to the four, in favor of Texas' point guard. And they did this when, in theory, they already have the point guard of the future, Raymond Felton.
But obviously, Larry Brown does not care for Felton. I am making that conclusion based on a) the drafting of Augustin, b) Brown getting on national television and saying (paraphrase) that a strong connection to your point guard is absolutely necessary for success and c) my amazing ability to connect dots.
Now, Rick Bonnell of the Charlotte Observer is saying that, with very few exceptions, anyone on the roster is fair game to be moved around.
The Bobcats were in serious discussions with the Toronto Raptors about a deal that could have swapped [Gerald] Wallace for T.J. Ford. It didn't happen, but that's the clearest indication yet how active the Bobcats are in seeing what their players might bring in trade.
I assure you Wallace isn't alone. Raymond Felton could be moved, and so could just about anyone else with perhaps the exception of Jason Richardson.
That shouldn't be surprising, and Richardson is only off limits because of his contract. What is shocking is how quickly Michael Jordan, Brown and Co have given up on Felton (all three Carolina grads) given they spent a high lottery pick on him just a few years ago.
There's already been plenty of movement around the league leading up to this draft -- including the Clippers/Sonics rumor and the Richard Jefferson to Milwaukee (sucka!) deal -- and no one really knows what's going to happen tonight. (Except the guy above, Rose, who's kicking it because he's going early, he's gonna be rich, and he knows it.)
We think Chicago is going to take Derrick Rose, but really, with the loose cannon that is John Paxson running that ship into the ground they might not. As for number two, Pat Riley could do anything. He's been posturing all week and acting more like Phil Helmuth than the GM of an NBA team, pretending to have "secret workouts" and such, in an attempt to scare Chicago into doing whatever it is that he wants.
Which is anyone's best guess. Anyway, I'll be hear live blogging the event with some special guests* throughout the evening, so swing by and drop your comments in the live blog.
The draft starts at 7:00 pm but we'll try and get things going a little earlier for everyone's sake.
The biggest surprise in Rookie of the Year balloting wasn't (sniveling) Kevin Love's low placement (sixth) -- it was Suns rook Robin Lopez earning a second-place vote.
It's been a forgone conclusion for awhile, but on Wednesday it became official: 
It's trophy time in the NBA, and the FanHouse crew has submitted its ballots. Find out which players deserve to take home the hardware and which ones don't, in our 
Every night there are some stupendous, silly, stupid, or downright outlandish individual lines from around the "lig." 
The buzz out of Charlotte is all about 
