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.
If you're not a close follower of the NBA, then just six games or so into the season, we can't necessarily hold it against you if the name Tyreke Evans doesn't ring a bell. Besides being a rookie, Evans plays for the Sacramento Kings, a team that won just 17 games a season ago, and figured to be about as bad this year with stud scorer Kevin Martin sidelined indefinitely with an injury.
But after what Evans did to Deron Williams in leading his undermanned team to a road win in Utah on Saturday, he won't remain anonymous to basketball fans for much longer.
DENVER -- Chris Bosh said his contract situation could prevent him from playing for Team USA in next year's World Championships. But another big man off the 2008 gold-medal winning Olympic team has no such reservations.
Utah forward Carlos Boozer told FanHouse on Wednesday morning he wants to play for Team USA in Turkey, and his contract situation has no bearing on it.
"I definitely would love to play if I get invited,'' said Boozer, a free agent next summer. "Not at all (will Boozer's contract situation affect his decision to play). If I've got a chance to put USA on my chest again, I'll do it in a heartbeat. The contract stuff will take care of itself.''
Heading into the season, Boozer's status is the biggest issue surrounding the team. He said during radio interviews during the summer that he wouldn't mind ending up in Chicago or Miami, and that Jazz officials told him they were looking to trade him.
The forward, though, didn't get moved. And now he's saying that, if the Jazz keep him throughout the season, impressive things can happen in Utah.
"If they keep us together, we can be very good,'' he said.
As in comedy, all things fantasy basketball come in fives. In finishing my positional previews I now give you my list of the Top 50 point guards. There is very little surprise as to who sits at the top of the list. That honor goes to the potential number one overall pick -- Chris Paul. Thanks to his high assist and steal totals, Paul once again finished with fantasy MVP honors in '08-'09.
There is a premium price to pay for point guards this year. Only 14 players dished more than 500 total assists last season, two of whom are not eligible at the point. On the defensive side of the ball, 20 players posted more than 100 steals -- half were point guards. On the court they're leaders. Off the court they're freaks. Actually, I have no proof of that. What I do have is a list!
Fantasy Basketball Rankings: C | PF | SF | SG | PG
Take note, cynics: not all NBA players are clueless about social media.
Jazzmen (Jazzers? Jazzguys?) Deron Williams and Kyle Korver are hosting a charity dodgeball tournament at the team's practice facility next month -- $400 and a plane ticket to Salt Lake City can get your team in "Dodge Barrage" -- and they're publicizing the event with hilarious viral videos (featuring, I should point out, a track by Masha Kirilenko, Andrei's wife).
The 2005 NBA Draft would change the course of the future of two teams -- the Atlanta Hawks and Milwaukee Bucks. There was no clear-cut No. 1 pick, but Utah's Andrew Bogut was big, skilled and NBA ready. He wasn't the most convincing or dominant No. 1 pick, especially with Dwight Howard averaging a double-double in his rookie season, but he appeared to be the best choice for the Bucks.
Meanwhile, the Hawks decided on a player who was a sixth man of his college team. Marvin Williams had all the physical tools to be a star but played just one season at North Carolina. He fed off the Tar Heels' national title run and opted for the draft. It sounded like a good idea, although he was only 19. It's not that these were poor choices. Neither Bogut nor Williams are busts. They are productive NBA players, but when compared with the next two drafted, they are disappointments.
If it's true the two most important positions in basketball are the point guard and the center, than the L.A. Lakers are going to be in for a doozy of a Western Conference final.
OK, so technically the Lakers haven't quite advanced that far yet. But after their 118-78 Game 5 blowout win over the Rockets, is it really going out on a limb to say L.A. is going to get there? Ditto for the Denver Nuggets, who lead the Mavericks 3-1 in the conference semifinals and have two cracks at putting them away on their home floor to close out the series.
NEW YORK -- The NFL draft isn't a whirlwind of celebration for everyone. Some players just feel blessed to be a part of the experience, and everything else is just gravy.
Enter Brian Johnson, the quarterback who led Utah to a perfect 13-0 regular-season record and threw for 27 touchdowns, but might not even hear his name called in the seventh round.
Well, well, well. Utah has decided it won't go down without a fight. Behind a raucous (as usual) home crowd, the Jazz clawed their way back in Game 3 to put a win up on the board. Now with Game 4 tonight, the Jazz have an opportunity to prove our own Brett Pollakoff wrong and make this a series for real. The Jazz get Mehmet Okur back tonight (most likely) which is a big plus for them. For the Lakers, the question is not talent, nor execution, nor offense, nor defense. It's simply effort. If they don't want this game more than Utah does and play like it, no amount of talent and size is going to save them amongst the rabid Utah fans.
Say, since this is such a big game, why don't we get a liveblog going? Indeed, let us. Join us at 9PM EST for Lakers at Jazz, Game 4.
It's an argument that's been around for a little while. Which would you rather have: a great point guard or a great big man?
It's a legitimate debate and a strong case can be made for each position. But this year, point guards are winning the matchup.
Yes, if this postseason has proven anything it's that you better have a pretty good point guard – or at least a point guard playing very well – if you hope to do any damage. And if you don't have one, then you better be sitting with one of the league's true stars.
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.
DENVER -- Chris Bosh said his contract situation could prevent him from playing for Team USA in next year's World Championships. But another big man off the 2008 gold-medal winning Olympic team has no such reservations.
FanHouse 
As in comedy, all things fantasy basketball come in fives. In finishing my positional previews I now give you my list of the Top 50 point guards. There is very little surprise as to who sits at the top of the list. That honor goes to the potential number one overall pick -- 
FanHouse fixes a decade of draft-day blunders in 
Update (4/28/09): Johnson 
It's an argument that's been around for a little while. Which would you rather have: a great point guard or a great big man?
