Dirk Nowitzki gets a little too excited after an alley-oop dunk by one of his teammates.
It appears that Dirk Nowitzki has not been able to shake off the hangover from the Dallas Mavericks’ 2011 championship party because the way he reacted after an alley-oop dunk by teammate Brandan Wright against the Minnesota Timberwolves on Jan. 25, Dirk sounded like a college student partying at Oktoberfest.
On a night when the Mavericks got their 2011 championship rings, Nowitzki was helping with TV commentary when Jason Terry picked up a loose ball and dished it off to Wright for a spectacular slam. That play not only got Dirk off his seat, but he started screaming “Shut it down! … Let’s go home!” His teammates were probably listening because the Mavericks did shut it down, and the Timberwolves went on to spoil the Dallas party with a 105-90 victory. Watch and listen:
Texas' Tristan Thompson (left) was selected by the Cavaliers, while Arizona's Derrick Williams went to the Timberwolves. (US PRESSWIRE)
The picks went fast and furious, but mostly without a hitch. At the end of the first round, NBA Commissioner David Stern was booed by the fans who attended Thursday’s draft in New Jersey but that was to be expected as basketball fans are worried about an impending lockout that may interrupt the 2011-12 season.
Duke point guard Kyrie Irving, not surprisingly, went No. 1 overall to the Cleveland Cavaliers. However, the Cavs thought they had Turkish center Enes Kanter at No. 4, but he was snagged by the Utah Jazz at No. 3, forcing the Cavs to scramble a little bit and made a panic pick with Texas’ Tristan Thompson. Jay Bilas described Thompson as someone “who needs to learn how to play and how to score.” Not exactly a ringing endorsement.
OneManFastBreak.net examines the five biggest losers and winners from the 2011 NBA draft.
– CAVALIERS – Before Cleveland fans can start coming out of their post-LeBron doldrums, remember these names: Bobby Hurley, Jeff Capel, William Avery, Jay Williams, Chris Duhon and Jon Scheyer. All were spectacular players at Duke, but none of them became stars in the NBA. Irving is a good point guard, but was he really the best player in the draft and deserves to be the No. 1 overall pick? That was the million-dollar question the Cavs faced weeks prior to the draft. He played in only 11 games in college because of a toe injury so that’s one red flag, and the other warning sign is he’s not super quick. In the Eastern Conference, you have dynamic and explosive point guards such as Derrick Rose, Deron Williams and Rajon Rondo. Irving will have to adjust to the speed of the game and must get stronger. The Cavs were hoping Kanter would fall to them at No. 4, but the Jazz ruined that master plan. Instead of taking the next best player available, the Cavs pulled off a head-scratcher with the selection of Texas forward Tristan Thompson, who is a decent player but is not worthy of a top-five pick. And where is Thompson going to play? Is he better than J.J. Hickson or Anderson Varejao? Probably not.
– SPURS – Heading into Thursday, the Spurs were reportedly shopping point guard Tony Parker for one of the top-eight picks. As it turned out, they were shopping Parker’s backup, George Hill. Now, this one is a bit puzzling. Hill is a terrific defender and can play either guard position, which makes him very valuable for Spurs coach Gregg Popovich given the history of injuries for Parker and Manu Ginobili. In a very un-Spurs-like move, Hill was traded to Indiana in exchange for the No. 15 pick, which turned out to be San Diego State’s Kawhi Leonard. Leonard is a good athlete who can defend and rebound, but he shot just 29% from the college 3-point line and it’s not going to get easier since the NBA line is 3 feet farther. Normally, Popovich and general manager R.C. Buford excel on draft day but shipping Hill out of San Antonio is a little questionable.
– RAPTORS – First of all, the Raptors hired Dwane Casey as their head coach. Casey has a career coaching record of 43-59. No matter how you spin it, Casey is not a good NBA coach. That’s not a good way to retool your franchise. As if that wasn’t enough of a flub, the Raptors drafted 6-10 Lithuanian center Jonas Valanciunas, who is a terrific prospect but may not be able to get out of his Euroleague contract until 2014. There is no doubt about Valanciunas’ talent. But why would the Raptors gamble on a guy who can’t help them right away? Puzzling. Better hope Valanciunas is worth the wait.
– BOBCATS – So far, Michael Jordan has shown very little skills as the head of basketball operations in Charlotte. Should we be surprised about that since Jordan was the mastermind in ruining the Wizards almost 10 years ago? Jordan’s latest move was trading his best player, Stephen Jackson, to Milwaukee for Corey Maggette. What saves Jordan from having a complete disaster on draft night were his picks: center Bismack Biyombo (Congo) and guard Kemba Walker (Connecticut). Both should be decent contributors for the Bobcats, but can they change the fortunes of the franchise? Not with Michael calling the shots.
– PISTONS – The Pistons’ offseason started with the firing of head coach John Kuester. Not a good way to being your offseason. Then, general manager Joe Dumars, who has had a run of bad picks lately, chose Kentucky guard Brandon Knight with the eighth overall pick. Knight didn’t look pleased at all when he step up to the stage and shook hands with the commissioner. He’s probably thinking, “Why did a guard-heavy team that already has Rodney Stuckey, Ben Gordon, Will Bynum, Richard Hamilton and Tracy McGrady would ever need me?” If that’s what Knight was thinking, he certainly has a point.
– TIMBERWOLVES – The night started great for general manager David Kahn with the selection of Arizona forward Derrick Williams with the No. 2 overall. Williams is the most NBA-ready player out of all the prospects, and that includes Irving, and he’ll pair up well with fellow Pac-10 stud Kevin Love. Then, the night got even better when Kahn was able to dump disappointing point guard Jonny Flynn to Houston, opening up the point position for Spanish star Ricky Rubio. The Wolves also picked up center Brad Miller via a trade, and Florida forward Chandler Parsons is not a bad second-round selection.
– JAZZ – The Jazz put a wrench into the Cavaliers master plan with they picked Kanter at No. 3. ESPN analyst Fran Fraschilla rated Kanter as the best international player in the draft and he could turn out to be the best player, along with Williams, from this class. Kanter is a physical big man who can face up and hit a mid-range jumper. He describes himself as a Pau Gasol low-post player with a Dirk Nowitzki-type of perimeter game. Big talk from a very confident player. He should pair up well with Jazz forward Al Jefferson. The Jazz also added Colorado shooting guard Alec Burks in the first round to round out their excellent draft day.
– KINGS – Year after year, the Kings have done a great job in picking players in the draft and this year was no exception. BYU star Jimmer Fredette is headed for Sacramento to play with Tyreke Evans (class of 2009) and DeMarcus Cousins (class of 2010). Fredette should well in Sacramento because he’s a spot up shooter who has unlimited range, which is good news for Evans because this allows him to play more point guard. The Kings were so high on Fredette that they shipped last year’s starting point guard Beno Udrih to Milwaukee.
– WIZARDS – In less than two years, general manager Ernie Grunfeld has managed to change the culture in Washington. Point guard John Wall is now the face of the franchise and center JaVale McGee is one of the best young big men in the league. OnThursday night, the Wizards added more young pieces to their roster in forwards Jan Vesely and Chris Singleton and guard Shelvin Mack. Vesely, from the Czech Republic, brings a lot of energy and athleticism to a Wizards squad that should be running more often next season. We’ve seen Vesely finish plays above the rim and has shown a non-stop motor. What we didn’t know about him is he likes public displays of affection. Check out the video:
Singleton is a rock-solid defender who brings a lot of toughness, and Mack was the catalyst of the Butler squad that made it to the NCAA Tournament final in back-to-back years.
– NUGGETS – If Raymond Felton is a better fit in Portland then Andre Miller is a much better fit in Denver. The Nuggets, at times, plays too fast and having the heady, crafty Miller running point should help maximize their offensive possessions. The trade also allows coach George Karl to play Ty Lawson and Miller together, with Miller defending the 2 guard spot. Denver landed a diamond in the rough with the 22nd pick in Morehead State forward Kenneth Faried. The 6-7 Faried is a high-energy player who defends and rebounds. Think Paul Millsap and Udonis Haslem. Faried doesn’t need any set plays to be effective, which is perfect in Denver because Karl has enough scorers on the team and Faried’s effort and hustle will be a tremendous addition.
Kevin Love is pulling out all the stops in his bid for a spot on the Western Conference All-Star roster. Love shot a commercial that shows him promoting his new fragrance, “Numb#rs” (insert joke here). Now, you’re probably saying “what a cheesy way to campaign for a spot in the All-Star Game.” I say, “what a great marketing ploy.”
Chris Bosh did a similar promo when he was campaigning for a spot a few years back when he was still sporting the dreadlocks and playing for the Toronto Raptors. Love went a step further with his well-manicured but very MTV-ish ad. He looks like an XL version of Mike Posner with a touch of Timberlake. OK, maybe the Timberlake reference is a bit much, but you to admit the concept is genius. Love is no stranger to the Hollywood scene, having played at UCLA and made a cameo appearance on HBO’s “Entourage.”
Love deserves to be in this year’s All-Star Game, no doubt. He has the numbers to prove it: 21 points and 15 rebounds per game, and is among the league leaders in double-double. His 31-point, 31-rebound effort against the New York Knicks is one of signature moments of the 2010-11 NBA season. Not since Moses Malone has anyone posted those kind of numbers. (See a pattern here).
When Love was asked if we wears the cologne at all, he said: “I have to . . . that’s how I get all my numbers.” Spoken like a great pitchman. Watch the Kevin Love commercial in its entirety.
Anthony Tolliver's one-minute video on YouTube has been a huge hit. (ASSOCIATED PRESS)
If his basketball career doesn’t work out, Anthony Tolliver could have a future as a Hollywood actor.
Tolliver reenacted LeBron James’ over-the-top ESPN special and titled it “The Decision: Part Deux!!” The video has been viewed by more than 250,000 times on YouTube since he posted it Friday. Tolliver, a third-year forward from Creighton, posted the one-minute video to announce that he chose the Minnesota Timberwolves over the Golden State Warriors, spoofing LeBron’s made-for-TV event earlier this summer when he announced that was going to “take his talents to South Beach.”
Tolliver was the director, producer, screenwriter and star, with some help from his sister, who ran the camera, and his girlfriend, who played the reporter. “I like to have fun with a lot of things and decided to have a little fun with this,” Tolliver told the Associated Press. “I didn’t expect it to do what it did. I’m a fun-loving guy. I like to have fun so that’s why I did it.”
Tolliver said he didn’t intend to make fun of LeBron, and that he was trying to poke fun at himself.
“A lot of people didn’t like ‘The Decision.’ They didn’t really like the whole hour special on ESPN and stuff like that,” said the 6-foot-9 forward, who played 44 games for Golden State last season. “They were like, ‘Good job making fun of LeBron.’ They have no idea. I wasn’t making fun of LeBron. I was just having fun with the situation.”
