Home Delivery is your morning roundup of last night's action in the NBA from a fantasy perspective.
Who Are Those Masked Men?
Dwight Howard turned in a stunning 14-of-16 performance from the free-throw line against the Raptors. But Howard wasn't the only Orlando player who made stepped outside the box. Starting 'two' guard J.J. Redick scored a career-high 27 points adding six rebounds, five assists and five three-pointers. Jameer Nelson and Ryan Anderson added five three-pointers apiece, with Nelson scoring a team-high 30 points and Anderson chipping in for 20.
I wouldn't get too excited about J.J. Redick, since both Vince Carter (ankle) and Mickael Pietrus (flu) missed Sunday's game. Both are expected back this week, which pushes Redick back into his famed role as a bench player.
Jason Williams played just 11 minutes, scoring two points and adding a mere three assists. Blame it on Jameer Nelson, who decided that Williams' services were no longer necessary. Take a cue from Nelson, Williams is not worth an add in standard leagues.
It's hard to blame the Toronto Raptors for taking a 7-footer with 3-point range and the ability to play three positions. That's what Andrea Bargnani presented as the No. 1 pick. There was no clear-cut top choice. The 2006 NBA Draft was filled with unproven early entries, a couple of seasoned seniors and raw big men looking for a big payday.
So the Raptors took the player they thought had the best upside. Hey, the NBA Draft is about development these days, right? Nobody in this supposed weak draft was supposed to be an All-Star anyway, right? No one told that to Brandon Roy, who was passed up by five teams and traded by another. Finally, the Portland Trail Blazers, still ringing from a reputation of bad guys, car racers and dog fighters, had a franchise player in their hands, and he was from nearby Seattle.
Ray Allen is going to kill J.J. Redick in their matchup at shooting guard when the Celtics-Magic series begins Monday night.
But that won't stop Redick from loving the challenge of trying to guard him.
It's like trying to guard your hero.
"Him (Allen), Reggie (Miller) and Rip (Hamilton), those were the guys I watched film of because they were so good at catch-and-shoot stuff, their releases and how they set up their man,'' Redick said Sunday after practice. "I have to be as close as possible to him."
By the end of the night, none of them will have scored as many points for the Tar Heels than Tyler Hansbrough. Psycho T is just nine points away from passing Ford and become the all-time leading scorer in UNC history. The Tar Heels host Evansville tonight.
When records fall, there are two stories to follow. One is the greatness of the player who is toppling the record. We all know about Hansbrough and what he has meant to the Carolina program. But the second story is about the record itself and who held it.
It is amazing that Ford has kept this record since graduating in 1978. Again, guys like Jordan, Worthy, Perkins, Jamison, Vince Carter and more have came and went since Ford. Sure, most of the best scorers since 1978 have left early for NBA riches (I think that Joseph Forte would have owned the record if he hadn't left after his sophomore season) but that shouldn't diminish the record.
For most former lottery picks, it's just a formality when a team picks up their fourth-year option. For J.J. Redick, it was a bit of a surprise. Despite playing for a team that attempted the second-most three-pointers in the league last year, the sharp-shooting guard out of Duke has been unable to crack the rotation each of his first two years in Orlando.
Then again, even that may change this year, as Stan Van Gundy told reporters today that if the regular season started today Redick would be in his rotation. Redick is happy to hear that, but he's not taking anything for granted. From Brian Schmitz of the Orlando Sentinel:
Said Redick, "I hope he says that on Oct. 29th. He told me that last year in China that I was going to play, but things can change quick in this league. I don't feel like he lied to me on that. I missed the San Antonio game because I hurt my hand and then things changed. I want to be in position on Oct. 29th to play. That's the goal."
Like he said, he was supposedly in line for playing time last year but fell completely by the wayside, playing in fewer games and fewer minutes per game than he did as a rookie under Brian Hill. But despite it all, he obviously has a fan in GM Otis Smith, who not only refused to part with Redick after the guard requested a trade last December but obviously still thinks enough of him to guarantee his $2.8 million salary for 2009-10.
Has JJ Redick received a fair shake? You can make a case both ways. On the one hand, he's appeared in just 76 games over the last two years, playing fewer minutes this past season (just 8.6 per) than his first. It's not often that former lottery picks are denied a chance to prove their worth on the court, so in that respect you can say he's been a victim of circumstance.
On the other hand, two separate coaching staffs have watched him play in practice and come to the same conclusion. No one doubts his deadly range, but the fear is that he'd give up even more points than he scores.
Not everyone agrees that he's destined to be a sieve on defense, though; David Thorpe, basketball trainer and ESPN.com analyst, made a strong case for Redick in an interview with David Friedman of The Biz of Basketball, excerpted after the jump.
Notes from a trip to the NBA Playoffs. When I entered Orlando's locker room before tonight's game, Rashard Lewis and J.J. Redick were watching a couple of ESPN analysts on TV talking about Game 1. The talking heads mentioned Lewis' 553 three-point attempts this year, a figure that shocked Redick.
"Did you lead the league in attempts?" asked Redick.
"No, I was somewhere in the top five," Lewis repiled.
He's selling himself short: he was second only to Jason Richardson (599). In fact, the Magic set an NBA record by making at least five threes in every regular season game this year, and then extended that streak in all five games of the first round only to make just a single shot from long distance in Game 1 against the Pistons. I asked Lewis if we can expect to see more three pointers the rest of the series, as well as whether his back-and-forth with Theo Ratliff might start another rap feud like the LeBron/Jay-Z vs. DeShawn/Soulja Boy.
Matt Watson: JJ was just talking about the number of threes that you guys usually put up. Is that something that you guys want to get back to this game?
Rashard Lewis: It's helped us have the successful season that we've had because Dwight demands so much attention down low he's going to draw double teams and we got to knock down open shots in order to open it up for him.
While the Western Conference remains one big cluster with teams moving up and down five seeds on a nightly basis, the top of the Eastern Conference is set in stone. No matter what the Celtics, Pistons or Magic do the rest of the way, those three teams will be the first, second and third seeds, respectively, when the postseason kicks off.
The Celtics and Pistons have already begun to give some of their regulars a bit of rest, and Brian Schmitz of the Orlando Sentinel would like to see the Magic follow suit, not only to give the starters a break but also to give oft-forgotten JJ Redick some long-awaited burn:
Redick should have played most, if not all, the game Sunday in New York against the lowly Knicks. Stan Van Gundy should have rested his starters and guys like Redick and Marcin Gortat should have been given so many minutes that they fell over in exhaustion.
The club never has given an indication to me that they don't they think he can play in this league.
Even if the Magic believe that Redick will have to be moved --- J.J. asked to be dealt early this season --- you still need to try to showcase him, don't you? He is a shooter and they never lose their vaIue.
Redick has in fact requested a trade, and to be honest I'm surprised he hasn't been even more vocal about it. No matter what happens between now and the end of the regular season, he'll finish his second season playing fewer games and fewer minutes than he did as a rookie, which was already considered a disappointment due to injury and lack of opportunity. I get that he's a one dimensional player, but there's always been room in the league for the likes of Steve Kerr, Damon Jones and Jason Kapono. Getting buried without even having a chance to prove himself just seems odd.
It has been 17 years since Duke and North Carolina have met in the regular season finale ... and it determined the ACC regular season champion. On Saturday, the #1 Heels and #5 Blue Devils will step on the floor at Cameron Indoor Stadium with a win giving them that title.
So, in honor of that, let's take a look at some memorable season enders between these two.
1974 (UNC 96-Duke 92, OT): This may be the most memorable game in Tar Heels history. The Tar Heels were down 86-78 with just :17 left in regulation. The Heels forced two turnovers for easy points and hit a couple free throws to get within a bucket. After Duke's Pete Kramer missed two free throws, Walter Davis hit a 30-ft bank shot to send the game into overtime. In the OT, momentum carried UNC to the win.
1968 (Duke 87-UNC 86, 3OT): Sure, this was before most of you were born ... but this was a classic. Duke's Fred Lind, a guy who scored all of 21 points all season long, exploded for 16 points and 9 boards (he was only used because their All-American center Mike Lewis was in foul trouble). He even blocked the Tar Heels' game winning attempt in the third OT to secure the win. Lind was then carried to Duke's quad by students and fans.
Home Delivery is your morning roundup of last night's action in the NBA from a fantasy perspective. 
FanHouse fixes a decade of draft-day blunders in 
North Carolina is one of those programs whose history drops jaws. Just the names of the players that have come through Chapel Hill are amazing. 
For most former lottery picks, it's just a formality when a team picks up their fourth-year option. For 
Has 
Notes from a 
While the Western Conference remains one big cluster with teams moving up and down five seeds on a nightly basis, the top of the Eastern Conference is set in stone. No matter what the Celtics, Pistons or Magic do the rest of the way, those three teams will be the first, second and third seeds, respectively, when the postseason kicks off.
It has been 17 years since Duke and North Carolina have met in the regular season finale ... and it determined the ACC regular season champion. On Saturday, the #1 Heels and #5 Blue Devils will step on the floor at Cameron Indoor Stadium with a win giving them that title. 
