As teams get eliminated from the 2009 NBA playoff picture, Fork 'Em figures out what went wrong.
"Love bravely, live bravely, be courageous, there's really nothing to lose." -Jewel
And really, what says "Charlotte Bobcats" like Jewel?
The Lottery is littered with teams that failed to meet expectations. Their hopes broken, their efforts for naught, they're left with nothing but frustration and depression. They limp towards the offseason with hope for nothing more than pina coladas and getting caught in the rain.
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.
The Grizzlies lost to the 76ers, and that's to be expected. Memphis falls to 16-45, a welcome visitor in the Dungeon of Doom populated by your Kings and Thunder and Clippers. But things got a little weird Saturday night in Memphis.
Two Grizz scored at least 30 points. O.J. Mayo? No, he had only 11. Rudy Gay? Nope, just eight. How about ... Marc Gasol and Mike Conley? Baby Gasol finished with 30 points (and 13 boards and three blocks) and Conley racked up 31 points and nine assists. WHAT.
The Rotation is a weekly study on the NBA by one of our All-Star voices. In rotation this week is Tom Ziller.
This weekend's historically bad matchup between the Wizards and Thunder stood on its own awful pedestal while telling a really depressing truth about today's NBA: there are a bunch of really bad teams in the league.
For some of these teams, the depths are only a brief stop on the path to regained greatness. But for others, the stench of the blighted air they inhabit threatens to stick long after the current draft class matures and the Summer of 2010 passes.
For these -- the NBA's Bleak -- no days look bright. Which teams do I speak of? Follow us into the future, after the jump.
There have been long-lasting rumors that Charlotte killed a potential 2007 trade that would have sent then-Wolf Kevin Garnett to Golden State by picking Brandan Wright instead of Al Thornton at #8 in the '07 draft. (Details after the jump.) But chaos is a tradition for the 'Cats. Dave D'Alessandro of the Newark Star-Ledger has the story of Charlotte's 2008 draft day adventures.
Last June 26, the Charlotte Bobcats were on the clock at No. 9, and they made it clear to [Brook] Lopez's representatives that he was their choice. That was confirmed by several agents who were in touch with one of Lopez's agents -- B.J. Armstrong, the former Bulls guard, who went ballistic as soon as the Bobs turned around and picked point guard D.J. Augustin instead. [...]
"It was a pretty big shock. I said, 'I feel like Brady Quinn,'" Lopez recalled, referring to the Cleveland Browns' quarterback who slipped in the 2007 NFL Draft. "I'm sure Brady heard about me saying that -- I'm afraid to meet him now. But I'm glad how it ended up. I feel lucky the way it turned out."
And through the magic of time travel (or something), we are all lucky enough to relive the Brook Lopez Draft Experience.
The Maui Classic has always been one of the must-see events of the early part of the college basketball season. You get to see coaches in Hawaiian shirts (picture Phil Martelli), beautiful bump shots of the beaches and some good hoops action.
This year's Invitational is no different. The No. 1 ranked North Carolina Tar Heels headline the event which begins today. But they aren't the only story to watch as six of the eight teams in Maui were in the NCAA Tournament last year:
North Carolina: The top ranked team is the favorite to win this thing but the Heels are coming in on shaky ground. Marcus Ginyard is still out as is Tyler Zeller who is done for the year with a broken wrist. The story will be Tyler Hansbrough's shin. He played Friday against UCSB but will see his minutes carefully monitored this week. If he does well, so will the Heels.
Notre Dame: Doesn't everyone want to see a matchup of Hansbrough and Luke Harangody? It could happen if the Irish get by the Texas Longhorns. The key to winning the Maui will be Mike Brey's coaching against some of the biggest names in the nation.
DJ Augustin was showing why the Bobcats had such faith in him to be the point guard of the future this weekend in Vegas before knee tendonitis set him back, prompting him to shut it down after three games in anticipation of training camp.
However, he was nice enough to answer some questions about being coached by Larry Brown, on creating opportunities for his teammates, and of course, whether he'd get a head tattoo.
MM: How's the knee?
DJ: It's getting better. It's getting stronger every day and I just want to get ready for training camp.
MM: So the coaching staff wanted to shut you down, just as a precaution?
DJ: I don't want to hurt it any worse, so I just want to get treatment.
MM: Larry Brown is notoriously hard on point guards.Is that something you were concerned about, or are you just ready for the challenge?
DJ: No, I've played for tough coaches all my life, and they only push you because they want you to be the best player you can be. As a point guard, you've got to be demanding because that's the player running your team.
Here's a look at the top ten players we saw at the NBA Summer League in Las Vegas. 1. Jerryd Bayless: Who cares that him running point was like a Ben Stiller movie or that he managed so few assists his teammates almost decided to bring their own ball on the court to play catch? The kid was transcendent. Floaters, fadeaways, dunks, steals, you name it. If it's got flash, Bayless was unleashing it on someone this week.
2. Kevin Love: You know how some people's college game just doesn't transfer to the pro game? Yeah, Kevin Love won't be having that problem. Tough, resilient, with a range of moves and offensive versatility to go along with the sweetest, yes, outlet pass we've seen, Love was incredibly impressive.
3. Anthony Randolph: Youth and athleticism rules! The lanky Warrior started the week off with a bang and played solid throughout. His impressive handle really made him stand out, along with a tenacious effort on defense.
Lost in the dismal implosion of the Bobcats last season, which was neither a bang, nor a whimper, but a kind of depressing grunt, was the myriad of injuries they were forced to endure. The biggest of which was Sean May.
Now, May wasn't exactly lighting the world on fire before his succumbing to microfracture surgery last October on a knee that's been bothering him since he was drafted, but he is a valuable asset to the new Bobcats regime. On top of that North Carolina connection that the Cats are so fond of, May provides them with a scoring presence inside, which will help to ease the dismay held by Bobcats' fans after their selection of D.J. Augustin.
So it's good news then, that May is reported to be cleared for basketball activities, will be hanging around the team in Las Vegas for Summer League, and will "definitely be at camp in October." May may not be the key to unlocking the puzzle of the Bobcats' stagnant growth, but he could be a significant improvement for the team under new head coach Larry Brown.
When Portland acquired the #27 pick, we knew something was about to get cracking. Kevin Pritchard isn't waiting until the last minute either, apparently lobbying New Jersey for its #10 pick so it can snatch away Texas point guard D.J. Augustin. Via The Oregonian, Yahoo!'s Adrian Wojnarowski places in the current talks Portland's #13 and #33 picks and Jarrett Jack, in exchange for New Jersey's #10 and Trenton Hassell. (Portland's recently acquired #27 pick, then, isn't in play. It does allow the Blazers to take a favored foreign player -- like Nicolas Batum? -- in that late spot, though.)
Wojnarowski focuses on what this means for Indiana, who had been thought to have settled on Augustin with #11. But with the T.J. Ford acquisition, how interested in Augustin -- another diminutive fellow, a possible defensive liability -- would the Pacers even be, especially considered the instant dearth of size the parting of Jermaine O'Neal leaves? But Sacramento at #12 -- one spot ahead of Portland currently -- would not have let Augustin remain on the board, especially given renewed concerns about the hardball tactics possible with free agent Beno Udrih.
Also of note: Wojnarowski cites a "Western Conference executive" who warns of Charlotte choosing Augustin at #9. Pardon me for reading too deeply into the bones, but ... might this source be Sacramento's Geoff Petrie, trying to fright Pritchard into backing up the #10 pick by suggesting it'd be a waste for Portland? If so or if not, the gamesmanship is most certainly on.
Paul Allen's riches keep stocking Kevin Pritchard's cupboards, don't they? Last June, the Blazers bought James Jones and the pick which became Rudy Fernandez from the cash-strapped Suns. On Tuesday, word got out that Pritchard had pilfered away the #27 pick from New Orleans for the standard fee of $3 million.
Recent dispatches from the excellent Hornets 24/7 indicated N.O. didn't seem too likely to fall in love with any prospects expected to be available, so the sale of the pick isn't surprising. The identity of the buyer, though, is a bit surprising. As Henry Abbott notes, Portland already has too many players and too many picks (three second-rounders this year, plus #13 overall). Plain as day, Pritchard looks like he wants to move up into the top-10, possibly to grab either Joe Alexander or D.J. Augustin, both of whom impressed in workouts.
Maybe that's not the play at all, though. Here's my crackpot spoon theory: Allen wants to tap into the European market in a big way, so he's building a second pro basketball roster with the aim of purchasing a Europe-based club. He could stock the Blazers and the Euro club each summer based on needs out of his pool of 20 or so players (plus whatever free agents he needs). Raef LaFrentz and Channing Frye would destroy the Adriatic League!
As teams get eliminated from the 2009 NBA playoff picture, Fork 'Em figures out what went wrong.
Every night there are some stupendous, silly, stupid, or downright outlandish individual lines from around the "lig." 
The Maui Classic has always been one of the must-see events of the early part of the college basketball season. You get to see coaches in Hawaiian shirts (picture 
Here's a look at the top ten players 
Lost in the dismal implosion of the Bobcats last season, which was neither a bang, nor a whimper, but a kind of depressing grunt, was the myriad of injuries they were forced to endure. The biggest of which was 
When Portland acquired the #27 pick, 
Paul Allen's riches keep stocking 
