The NBA referees seem to be on their way back to work, according to Howard Beck of The New York Times. What a perfect way to open up a post about those who are undervalued. This is not only good news for Dwight Howard and Mike Dunleavy, but it's also fantastic news for NBA fans in general. No disrespect to the replacement refs, but you don't want a pediatrician performing heart surgery.
All order has been restored in the 2009-10 season, so it's time to put the referee situation behind us and talk about those fantasy players who are not getting the respect they deserve.
Using the data from the fine gents over at Mock Draft Central, I identified 10 players whose average draft position is well below their value.
FanHouse previews a player to watch from each NBA team in advance of the 2009-10 season.
Basketball workhorses are usually found in frontlines. We think of the lunch pail being filled with rebounds and scrappy play, not jumpers and reverse lay-ups. Antonio McDyess, Wayman Tisdale, Jeff Foster, Luis Scola -- those are the NBA players we associate with the blue collar.
But I see John Salmons as a basketball workhorse ... a scoring workhorse. In Luol Deng's spot last year, and replacing Ben Gordon for the 2009-10 campaign, Salmons fills in 15-20 points on decent shooting, punches his time card and goes home. It's flashy in the immediate -- when he cocks his head and swishes an 18-footer, or when he goes to the cup and scoops it over the defenders -- but by the end of the game, it's just another day of work.
The 2008 Bulls, hopefully, won't be remembered for defining mediocrity at 41-41. Instead, they'll likely be remembered for a thrilling first round series against the Boston Celtics in which were able to only do so much (it's italicized because it's a shoddy theme, y'all!) before heading home for the offseason.
And that offseason saw them very quickly lose -- even if it was expected -- their top scorer from last year. Ben Gordon's explosive, albeit one-dimensional, game will be missed a team that was already middle of the pack in terms of offensive efficiency last year. And John Salmons, a trade-deadline addition along with Brad Miller, will help counter Gordon's loss, but, guess what? He can only do so much.
The 2002 NBA Draft is filled with what ifs. What if Jason Williams had decided not to jump on that motorcycle? What if DaJuan Wagner had been physically able to withstand the rigors of the NBA? What if NBA scouts weren't so enamored with European prospects?
This is a draft of major successes -- Amare Stoudemire, Yao Ming, Carlos Boozer -- and abject failures -- Marcus Haislip, Nikoloz Tskitishvili, Frank Williams. And the 2002 class will be best known for not being the 2003 class, perhaps the best in league history. Yao was perhaps the most mysterious No. 1 pick of all time. Few knew more than he was 7-foot-6 and from China.
And what followed Yao was a bunch of question marks, kids who left school too early and unknown international players. The result was an uneven draft that will go down more for its misses than hits.
By theory, the NBA Draft Lottery (Tuesday at 8:00 PM ET) is left to randomness. But what if basketball karma dictated the results? Good triumphs over evil. Fairness and compassion reign. Robert Horry does not exist. It's a wonderful world.
Close your eyes and imagine how the ping pong balls would bounce if karma ruled tonight's lottery ...
BOSTON -- And so it ends, without a single overtime period or defibrillator, restoring normalcy to the surreal and pumping life into the NBA's defending champions. It's quite doubtful the wheezing, battered Celtics will repeat this postseason, what with The LeBronster on vacation and absurdly rested, yet the memories they created with the Chicago Bulls are indelible.
Cherry Picking recaps the previous day's NBA playoff action.
That was some Game 6 between the Celtics and Bulls, wasn't it? Kirk Hinrich and Rajon Rondo mixing it up early, Ray Allen scoring 51 points, and the two teams taking three overtimes to decide that they're going to need a Game 7 on Saturday to ultimately sort things out. An absolutely epic NBA playoff game.
Unless, of course, you're a fan of either the Houston Rockets or the Portland Trail Blazers.
CHICAGO -- It was a primal scream, delivered with all the rock-star force and decibels that Joakim Noah could muster in a half-raucous, half-exhausted arena. "AHHHHHHHHHHH!!!" he yelled, or something like that. After another three hours and 56 minutes of psychoball, part of an epic series with four overtime games, seven overtime periods, 65 ties, 105 lead changes, 16 stitches, a claw to the face and a slammed body into an NBA Cares advertisement, what else would The Greatest First-Round Series Ever do but produce a Game 7?
CHICAGO -- The calendar says late April. Paul Pierce's body language Sunday -- watery eyes, scratchy voice, tired bones, irritable scowl -- suggested June. Last we saw him this out of sorts, he was being carted to the locker room in an NBA Finals drama that became a rallying force. Should another wheelchair be summoned, if only for the man's shaken psyche?
"This was a tough one to swallow," Pierce said Sunday, visibly irked by the wild proceedings in the United Center. "I'm very disappointed that we lost and very disappointed in the way I played. Little things can kill you in the playoffs ... like me not covering the three when Ben Gordon was coming off the flare."
He won't find an annoyed soul in New England who disagrees today. How in the name of Celtic Pride and 17 championship banners could Gordon, bothered by a strained left hamstring that will require an MRI, shake off Pierce with 4.5 seconds left in the first overtime and nail a three-pointer that tied the game? How could the defending champions not listen to their coach, do the smart thing and foul someone -- anyone wearing red and white -- in that situation?
Bulls 121, Celtics 118: Recap | Box Score | Scoreboard Series Tied at 2-2 | Next Game: Tuesday, 7 PM ET @ Boston
Weekends are a fun time in the spring. So much to do. Especially this weekend. But for those that selected Game 4 of Bulls-Celtics, you were treated to an absolute classic.
This game had everything. Huge performances from superstars, huge shots from two of the best pure shooters in the game, drama, technical fouls, flawless execution at some points and desperation shots at others. But when the dust cleared, the defending champion Celtics found themselves heading back to Boston in a tied series with the seventh seed after a double overtime loss.
And how we got there is quite a story.
Bulls 121, Celtics 118: Recap | Box Score | Scoreboard Series Tied at 2-2 | Next Game: Tuesday, 7 PM ET @ Boston
The NBA referees seem to be on their way back to work, according to Howard Beck of The New York Times. What a perfect way to open up a post about those who are undervalued. This is not only good news for Dwight Howard and Mike Dunleavy, but it's also fantastic news for NBA fans in general. No disrespect to the replacement refs, but you don't want a pediatrician performing heart surgery. 
FanHouse previews a 
FanHouse 
By theory, the NBA Draft Lottery (Tuesday at 8:00 PM ET) is left to randomness. But what if basketball karma dictated the results? Good triumphs over evil. Fairness and compassion reign. 
CHICAGO -- The calendar says late April. 
Weekends are a fun time in the spring. So much to do. Especially this weekend. But for those that selected Game 4 of Bulls-Celtics, you were treated to an absolute classic. 
