The Crab Dribble Episode 67, Get Real
The Crab Dribble returns to break down Kevin Love’s hate-hate relationship with the Timberwolves, the Golden State Warriors’ fast start and Rob plays general manager with smashing results. Check out the show at www.thecrabdribble.com or on iTunes and don’t forget to write reviews and leave comments for the show.
The Crab Dribble Episode 66, Our Big Break
This week on The Crab Dribble, Rob and Ben get the opportunity of a lifetime, but how long will that lifetime be? Find that out, along with reactions to Mike D’Antoni’s hire, the Knicks’ fast start, and so much more.
The Crab Dribble Episode 65,
Enjoy this week’s Crab Dribble as we discuss the Lakers (get used to it), and some other stuff. We go around the entire league in a little more than 80 seconds, and our Advanced Scout gives us the inside information TCD listeners have come to expect. It’s fair to say we had the time of our lives making this podcast, and we owe it all to you.
The Crab Dribble Episode 64, New Beginnings
The Crab Dribble is back to dissect a slow start for the Lakers, James Harden’s impact on the league and comment on those players receiving contract extensions in the hours leading up to the deadline. It’s a fast, fun-filled show, so enjoy it responsibly, and leave your comments below.
The Crab Dribble Episode 2.19, The King’s Crowned
The Crab Dribble puts a bow on the 2011-2012 season by praising The Chosen One for finally reaching the top of the mountain. Not everyone on the podcast is pleased with the outcome, but we also dissect the lottery picks in the upcoming NBA Draft. The season may be over, but TCD lives on.
End of the Bench, Volume 2.19
So Andrew Luck went first huh? Never saw that coming. That’s why you have to love the NFL Draft – the unpredictability and intrigue is unmatched in the world of sports.
But believe it or not, there are more important things happening…namely the start of the NBA Playoffs. The condensed season has come to an end – mercifully for some – and we’re ready to see who has what it takes to cut down the nets. Can LeBron James lead the Heat to where we all expect them to go? Can the youth of the Thunder overcome the veteran savvy of the Spurs? Do the Lakers and Celtics have enough left in the tank to make a run? Will Dwight Howard request to be traded halfway through the first round? There’s so much to debate, and the fun is just getting started. So go ahead and make yourself comfortable in the best seat in the house. (more…)
End of the Bench, Volume 2.15
Let’s just get it out of the way now – LeBron James has a dislocated ring finger. Yes, I know – he’s not using it anyway, good thing there’s nothing on it, why he does he need that finger, etc etc. The wittiness of NBA fans is truly a marvel.
But beyond the tired commentary, the NBA is gearing up for an interesting stretch run. Mike Brown seems determined to turn the Lakers against him, while Vinny Del Negro is apparently oblivious to the fact that he’s soon to be out of a job. Kevin Love continues to post video game numbers, the Bulls march on without Derrick Rose, and the Wizards continue to be..well..the Wizards. There’s so much to cover, but so little time! Let’s just see what we can done from the best seat in the house.
– Despite the hailstorm of criticism he endured in the playoffs, turns out that Russell Westbrook guy can play a little ball. In fact, EOTB thinks Westbrook is in line to be 1st Team All-NBA this season, beating out the likes of Rose, Chris Paul, Steve Nash and Rajon Rondo. Before the outcry begins, keep in mind that this guy averages nearly 25 points and six assists a game, while playing 36 minutes per game for a team with the second-best record in the league. #thunderup (more…)
Thursday linkage: March 8, 2012
My sincerest apologies for the extended all-star break absence. Hopefully you’ve still been clicking on links throughout the Internet in the interim. If not, here are some suggestions…
* Did you miss Paul George in the dunk contest? That’s OK, I watched it and I still couldn’t really see him much (above). Which is a shame, because unlike his fellow Sprite Slam Dunk competitors, George actually is a good NBA player. Anyway, he wasn’t real impressed with the whole thing either.
* Speaking of the Pacers, I’ve been watching them the last couple weeks and a fact jumps out and makes itself painfully obvious: Darren Collison isn’t the point guard to get them over the hump. Check out his splits for March and the last 10 games. Look, I know that’s a ridiculously small sample size, but watch the games. He just doesn’t do a whole lot on offense. Indy has wing depth. It might be time to cash some of that in for an upgrade at point guard.
I was hammering on that Steve Nash to Indy bandwagon a month ago. That seems highly unlikely. Perhaps Jose Calderon or Mo Williams would help. That isn’t the kind of shakeup I’m looking for, though. Here is the scenario that I love! Get Larry Bird and Danny Ainge together, have them hash out a Rajon Rondo for Collison and Danny Granger trade. I think it’s a win-win for both teams. Get on the horn now, guys!
* Drew Packham of NBA.com has done a phenomenal job all season tracking the league’s rookies. Check it out!
* While we’re on that kick, Kenneth Faried is straight ballin’ right now. A lot of people – including yours truly at TCD – pegged him as a sleeper rookie in the preseason. But he didn’t get enough playing time early in the year because of Denver’s frontcourt depth. Then Nene got hurt and Faried’s career took off in a big way. Nene is healthy again, so now what?
* I hate to post a link that is ESPN Insider material. But A. I want to bask in my newfound royalty status at ESPN. And B. I really loved this article by Chris Broussard. He argues that this so-called point guard golden era is more a product of the complete lack of good big men in the league. It’s a hater’s point of view, for sure. I’m a hater, though, so it’s right up my alley. In all seriousness, too, I think there is a lot to be said about Broussard’s stance on this. It’s a heck of a lot easier for a 6-footer to get in the lane and finish at the rim when there is no Olajuwon waiting to block your shot. Interesting stuff.
K-Dogg’s Fantasy Island, The B-Team
33 percent factual tweets from actual readers…
“When is @TCDKDogg going to write another stellar blog on fantasy bball? My team is slipping…” – @average_smo
“I’m lost in the fantasy world without direction from the fantasy island and @TCDKDogg’s advice” – @MathewBerryTMR
“I was living the fantasy, but apparently my ex-wife wants me back. So much for the fun single life.” – @Kobe24
Back by popular demand, it’s the Fantasy Island!
We have a lot on the plate today so let’s get to it.
The Crab Dribble Episode 2.7, Insert Lin pun here
The Crab Dribble gets swept up in Linsanity, along with the rest of the league. We share our take on the Knicks’ Linning ways, along with All-Star reserves and snubs. We answer some fans around the league in search of some good advice, and share the Tweet of the Week, which had everyone shaking their heads. It’s almost too much show for one week, but you’ve been good and deserve a treat.
Wednesday linkage: Feb. 8, 2012
We have a new star point guard in New York; we have the Timberwolves stomping over the .500 mark into respectability; we have so much news, let’s get right to the linkage.
* Tough news out of Los Angeles where Chauncey Billups’ season (career?) is done in by a torn Achilles. Where do the Clippers turn next? Perhaps the door is now wide open for J.R. Smith.
* Sometimes a picture really is worth a thousand words. Case in point: Stomp Gate and our friends at T’Wolves Blog.
* Paul Pierce officially passed Larry Bird on the Celtics’ all-time scoring list. So it must be time to start assessing PP’s place in the green legacy. I might be biased, but I think he’s top five.
*As I passionately argued on last week’s episode of The Crab Dribble podcast, Steve Nash is putting up all-star numbers this year. Still. At age 38. For a very bad Phoenix team. It’s really pretty remarkable how systematically excellent a job the Suns organization has done in making sure this team has screwed up every personnel move during Nash’s entire time there. Seriously, they have to be a top-5 worst-run franchise in the NBA during the last five years.
Anyway, point is it’s time to trade Steve Nash! Whether he likes it or not. It’s good for everyone at this point. My idea? The Indiana Pacers. I know they have Darren Collison, who has been nothing but solid this year. But wow, Nash could take that offense to the next level – even if it was just for the rest of the season. Collison and Nash could play on the floor at the same time. And I know the Pacers have $14 mill under the cap just waiting to be used.
* We’ll close with one of the feel-good stories of the year. Mr. Jeremy Lin.
Ben Walpole is a blogger and podcast producer for The Crab Dribble. Readers can email him at thecrabdribble@thecrabdribble.com and follow him on Twitter @TCDBen.
The Crab Dribble Episode 2.5, Love it or leave it
The Crab Dribble has entered The Lockout Zone, and lived to tell about it. This week’s episode breaks down Kevin Love’s new contract, players not receiving contract offers and the Orlando Magic’s disappearing act. It’s all there, you just have to listen. Please leave comments at www.thecrabdribble.com or on iTunes.
End of the Bench, Volume 2.4
There are questions about LeBron’s fourth-quarter play. Kobe is raining baskets from all over the court. Dirk is hitting game-winners. Charles Barkley is making his opinion known about…well…everything. What does it all mean? Well for one, it means EOTB needs to get a hobby. But it also is a sure sign the NBA season is heating up, and with the weather outside turning frightful, you’ve got no good reason not to immerse yourself in the action.
So pull up a chair and let’s try to make sense of it all from the best seat in the house.
– John Hollinger, ESPN’s statistics guru, has published his power rankings, and interestingly enough, Philadelphia sits at the top. EOTB has always felt if you cherry-pick enough stats, you can find support for almost argument, no matter how illogical, and this is no different. Turns out Hollinger’s formula doesn’t factor in wins or winning percentage. Makes perfect sense, doesn’t it? If you want to determine the best team, you certainly don’t want to look at how many games they’ve won, right? (more…)
The Crab Dribble 2.2: Westward bound!
As promised, The Crab Dribble is back with its Western Conference preview. We go team-by-team until we hit the top, and then we give out preseason awards. It sounds pretty simple, but you’ll really have to hear it for yourself. Check it out, then hit us back at thecrabdribble@thecrabdribble.com.
The Crab Dribble Episode 40, European vacation
The NBA players may be locked out, but The Crab Dribble is back this week to break down the lockout (sorry, we don’t know when it’s going to end) and the new “cool thing to do,” which is taking your talents to Turkey, China or anywhere but ‘Merica.
This is the first of several shorter, more pointed summer episodes. If you’ve got an episode idea during the lockout, hit us up at thecrabdribble@thecrabdribble.com or leave a comment below. You could also befriend us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter. It’s totally up to you.
End of the Bench Vol. 4
Welcome to the best seat in the house – the End of the Bench. This marks a very special week for TCD fans….the beginning of the NBA playoffs. No more speculating about seeds or position. No more worrying about complacency setting in, or resting stars for the postseason. This is it. Every game matters, and every play will be scrutinized over and over again until you’re forced to change the channel (Animal Planet just started a new season of River Monsters, by the way). Sixteen teams will enter, yet only one will leave happy (hint….it’s not the Indiana Pacers).
So let’s gear up for the postseason with a view from the best seat in sports. Get comfortable – this is going to be a wild ride.
– Humorous quote from Boston coach Doc Rivers during the Celtics/Heat telecast on Sunday…”Garnett just know how to play the right way.” EOTB had to laugh out loud at that one. Apparently, the “right way” includes talking trash exclusively to players smaller than you, dropping enough F-bombs to make a sailor blush and giving opponents cheap shots to the groin. Listen, KG is a Hall of Famer, and his passion for the game is unquestioned. But the guy has become a league-wide joke for his fake tough guy act and cheap shots. No disrespect to a great player, but not sure you’d teach your child to play, or conduct himself, the way that KG has this season. (more…)
The Crab Dribble Episode 26: It’s upsetting
The Crab Dribble reflects on losing trends in New York and Boston, we try to fix the Suns and Warriors rosters and we poke fun at the best lousy team in the league.
It’s a great show, so stop reading and start listening….
Midseason Position Rankings – Point Guards
"This is easy."
It’s day five of The Crab Dribble’s midseason position rankings, and today we’re looking at point guards.
Often the smallest players on the court, the point guard is responsible for keeping the offense flowing, pushing the fastbreak, and keeping the other point guard from causing too much havok.
It’s not an easy job, but the men on this list make it look easy.
Here are the top 10 point guards in the league:
Vinsanity indeed
One of the most popular games in the late 90s was trying to identify the “Next Jordan.” While the first players to be anointed as such failed to live up to the hype (Harold Minor anyone?), there were a few players at the turn of the century who appeared capable of claiming that mantle, be it Kobe Bryant, Tracy McGrady or even Allen Iverson.
But no player evoked the Michael Jordan comparisons more than Vince Carter. From his North Carolina pedigree to his jaw-dropping athleticism, Carter appeared cut straight from the MJ mold. By 2001, he had helped make the Raptors into Eastern Conference contenders, and his performance at the 2000 NBA All-Star Game Dunk Contest had already been immortalized. This was it. We had found the guy to carry on the legacy of Jordan – the player with the perfect mix of talent, flair, personality and charisma. The Decade of Vinsanity was set to begin.
Oops. (more…)
The Crab Dribble Episode 14: Magical
It’s a special Christmas episode, and we’re breaking down Orlando’s busy weekend, Yao Ming’s legacy in the NBA and details emerge on our mysterious LA road trip.
Merry Christmas, it’s the best podcast you’ll hear until our next one.
The Crab Dribble Episode 12: The Magic Hour
In this episode, Rob, Ben and Jason break down Lebron’s return to Cleveland, Laker woes, DeMarcus Cousin’s issues with authority and so much more.
The Crab Dribble: An NBA Podcast – Episode 8 'It's Still Early'
The Crab Dribble: An NBA Podcast Episode 8 – ‘It’s Still Early’
(right click above link to download)
[audio http://www.thecrabdribble.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/11/tcdno83.mp3]
The Crab Dribble: An NBA Podcast – Episode 7 'The Knee Jerk'
The Crab Dribble: An NBA Podcast – Episode 7 ‘The Knee Jerk’
[audio http://www.thecrabdribble.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/11/tcdno7.mp3]
The Crab Dribble brings you a jam-packed 34 minutes today full of the news, views and sound effects you need to sort out the first week of the new NBA season.
Remember me?
This just in…Chris Paul is good.
CP3 is back, and ready to reclaim his title as the best point guard in the league.
But we forgot about CP3. Big mistake.
What they’re saying