As teams get eliminated from the 2009 NBA playoff picture, Fork 'Em figures out what went wrong. "If the whole human race lay in one grave, the epitaph on its headstone might well be: 'It seemed a good idea at the time.'" -Rebecca West
Bryan Colangelo either laughs or weeps at this quote after the Raptors 2008-2009 season.
I mean, it DID seem like a good idea at the time, right? You're a playoff team, on the verge of contention. You have a legit superstar in Chris Bosh. You have an up and coming point guard in Jose Calderon, a core of veterans alongside sharpshooter Jason Kapono, and a young stud in Jamario Moon. All they needed was to jettison that black hole, T.J. Ford and minimize that bust Andrea Bargnani. And if they could do all that and upgrade their frontcourt with some muscle, that would be idea.
There's no denying that the Toronto Raptors' season has been a huge disappointment. Chris Bosh has improved his game, but the team is on its second coach in this early season, and no matter how close they get, they still can't seem to turn things around.
All of this has been wearing on Bosh, and after Monday's agonizing three-point loss to the Hawks, he let his frustration get the best of him. Bosh directly called outJamario Moon for his poor defense in the game's final moments against Atlanta's Joe Johnson, on a play which ultimately turned the game in favor of the Hawks.
Actually, it was Al Horford, who finished with 29 first-place votes. Durant finished with 28. It's too bad the ballots aren't open -- I'd love to see which NBA coach actually thought Durant was no better than the sixth-best rookie this year. (Remember, coaches can't vote for their own players but aren't limited by position.) Luis Scola (26 first place votes), Al Thornton (20) and Jeff Green (15) rounded out the first team.
In another of our continuing series, five things to keep an eye out for today in Raptors vs. Magic, game 1.
1. Guard FAIL: There's FAIL. There's Epic FAIL, and then there's the Raptors' perimeter defense. Here, take a gander at opponents' three point field goal percentage. What's the worst playoff team on that list? If you guessed the ones named after a Michael Crichton film, you are correct, sir! I keep trying to watch the Raptors game because I genuinely like their roster. But then there will be a sequence that usually involves two, possibly three perimeter defenders that are not only out of position, but are utterly and completely lost in terms of what they should do defensively.
2. The Most Subtle Dinosaur You'll Meet:Chris Bosh is usually a great player. Against the Magic this season? He's a beast. 33 points, 7.5 rebounds, 3 assists. The lack of a true power forward causes problems for the Magic with Bosh's versatility and athleticism. And Bosh also gets a genuine kick out of facing the kid that's taken the title of "premier young big guy" from him. It'll be interesting to see what SVG cooks up against Bosh, whether they immediately bring the double or try and muscle him with Dwight Howard.
B-Ball, B-Fast is a weekdaily look at last night's NBA action from a fantasy perspective. Bookmark it and visit often. Cup of Coffee We know that Devin Harris will start (we do know that, right?) for New Jersey once he returns from injury. But you best believe that in the meantime, and probably after, the Nets are going to give Marcus Williams plenty of run. He got it in overtime last night, scoring 25 points with four boards and four assists. And yeah, his team won and he awkwardly outplayed Jason Kidd as well. If Williams is floating around or is on your bench, grab him/get him active; he should be a great source of points and light assists over the next week or so.
Hot Cakes The word out of Milwaukee is that Charlie Villanueva will start for the rest of the season. He's been beasty when motivated before, so make him a priority add this morning if he's available. (Yes, I am aware that he only got eight points and three boards last night ... doesn't matter.)
Robert Swift will also be seeing a big bump in playing time, as the Sonics see what they've got in the soon-to-be restricted free agent. Kurt Thomas is now out of town, so Swift should be a great source for blocks and boards the rest of the way home -- pre-injury he had shown some serious fantasy potential and was always a pre-season sleeper fave.
Our final event of the evening: the Slam Dunk Contest. No raised rims, but no Nate Robinson. Fair trade, says I.
After all the fun's done tonight, be sure to keep checking in with NBA FanHouse for videos and notes from All-Star Weekend up through Sunday's main event, which yours truly will be liveblogging.
And now... dunks. Lots of beautiful dunks. (Well, some Dr. John first.)
Dr. LIC: I called Dr. John!
Brinson: Yessss
Keenan: Here we go.
Dr. LIC: They kept it rilllllll.
Ziller: I hope The Birdman sneaks down to the court to lay it all out.
I want to hear Chris Berman shout "Jamario... Moons over My Hammy!" tomorrow morning. But not really.
With the Slam Dunk Contest just a few short hours away, I'm happy to report to you who the winner's going to be: Jamario Moon. How do I know Moon's going to win? Because he guaranteed it himself:
Jamario Moon is guaranteeing a win in tonight's all-star dunk competition.
"I got it," Moon said. "I've got it in my pocket right now." Moon said smiling. "I believe in me and I'm sure those guys believe in what they do. But I think I've got some nice dunks. I've got a couple (in reserve) in case they do something crazy and make me go a little deeper into the hat. I believe in myself."
Alright, cool. The problem for Jamario is that I'm sure Dwight Howard, Gerald Green, and Rudy Gay all believe they're going to win too. This is just the latest showing of fantastic bravado from this year's contestants, which has previously included challenges of 12 and 13-foot dunks, along with a YouTube campaign asking for suggestions from the fans.
One thing I can guarantee you for tonight is that FanHouse has got you covered. Come hang out with us right here as we cover all the action from NOLA, beginning a little before 8:00 Eastern.
We're at halftime of the Rookie Challenge, and Daniel Gibson has already set the record for most made threes (7). He's taken 12 shots, all threes... in less than 11 minutes of play. Naturally, he's had a hand in his face about twice.
Other notes from the first half:
- Jamario Moon and Rudy Gay are getting an early start on the dunk contest. Early edge to Moon, who's got some fire.
- Doc Rivers hugged Dwyane Wade after a mention of Flash representing Chicago well... then asked Ernie Johnson if that was considered tampering.
- Al Horford is having about the least spectacular great game I've ever seen in these exhibitions. 15 points and 7 boards at the half, almost everything coming on solid post moves.
- The rookies took one three and got something like four dunks. Their coach needs to be fired.
UPDATE: Gibson finished with 11 threes, accounting for all 33 of his points. Dude took 20 threes.And yep, the sophomores win.
Jamario Moon has been relatively quiet about this year's Slam Dunk Contest. While we've already heard some pretty bold statements from Dwight Howard, Rudy Gay, and especiallyGerald Green, Moon hasn't given us any indication of what to expect from him on All-Star Saturday night. That is, until now. Moon posted this little video as a tease of what he's planning for the contest, and from the looks of things, we're in for a special, special night.
Is it just me, or did those first two slams look like Moon was dunking on an eight-foot rim? He makes it look really easy, although there's nothing easy about that last one, he took off from about eighteen feet.
As teams get eliminated from the 2009 NBA playoff picture, Fork 'Em figures out what went wrong.
There's no denying that the Toronto Raptors' season has been a huge disappointment. Chris Bosh has improved his game, but the team is on its second coach in this early season, and no matter how close they get, they still can't seem to 
The NBA 
In another of 
B-Ball, B-Fast is a weekdaily look at last night's NBA action from a fantasy perspective. 
Our final event of the evening: the Slam Dunk Contest. No raised rims, but no Nate Robinson. Fair trade, says I.
With the Slam Dunk Contest just a few short hours away, I'm happy to report to you who the winner's going to be: 
We're at halftime of the Rookie Challenge, and 
