Big Men Bonanza

The NBA's annual "Release Party" for big men went down over the weekend, with Drew Gooden being released by the Kings and Joe Smith being released by the Thunder.  This seems like it is an annual thing, with usual Release Party suspects Kurt Thomas and PJ Brown off the market, Smith has resumed his role along with the newcomer Gooden.  The Cleveland Cavaliers will definitely be rumored to sign at least one of these guys, with Gooden probably being the better option.  With Ben Wallace out with his injury, the Cavs would be foolish not to go after one of these guys.  The only downfall to me would be the playing time that it would take away from prospect JJ Hickson, who could be a real asset down the stretch and in the playoffs with a little seasoning.  Boston will definitely be in the mix for either of these guys, as they look to replace PJ Brown and continue to realize that Big Baby Davis can barely dunk let alone guard anybody.  I look for Smith and Gooden to split between these two teams, with the big advantage going to whoever gets The Beard.  

Shaq and Kobe squared off again last night, with Kobe dropping 49 but falling to Shaq's 33 and the Amare and Nash-less Suns.  The Diesel has really impressed me this year, proving he still has enough in the tank to carry a team for a short stretch of time.  He is not going to be the force that he was with the Lakers early in the century, but there is still no one in this league who can match up with him, and that includes Dwight Howard.  The most impressive thing about Shaq's resurgence has been his improved free throw percentage.  The Hack-a-Shaq will almost certainly be employed during the playoffs (if the Suns make it), and it has had success in the past.  But Shaq has improved nearly 10% on his career FT% of 52%.  62% is hardly Mark Price or Kevin Favro, but it is respectable enough that teams may shy away from the oft-used strategy.  I, for one, hope Shaq and the Suns do make the playoffs because they are one of the truly entertaining teams in the NBA.  Also, any time Matt Barnes' Tattoos make it on TV, I am a happy man.

Viva La'Pass Rushers!

Early indications are that the New York Football Giants are the early winners in the free agent period.  The GMen have added Seahawks DT Rocky Bernard, Falcons OLB Michael Boley, and now Cowboys DE Chris Canty.  Boley will likely be plugged in on the weak side, and will be a solid starter for the Giants.  Bernard and Canty will likely play DT, joining Fred Robbins and Barry Cofield to really solidify the interior of the line.  If you add DE's Justin Tuck, Mathias Kiwanuaka, and Osi Umenyiora, then you have what amounts to the best D-Line in all of football.  Tony Romo just shit his pants when he thought about the kind of pass rush the Giants are going to generate this year. 

An early loser this year has to be the Houston Texans who gave a 3 year $9 million deal with a $2.5 million signing bonus to former Lions backup QB Dan Orlovsky.  If a player that forgets that the NFL end zone is 10 yards deep can garner this type of money on the free agent market, then I wanna know what Kurt Warner is going to get.  

That is all for today, NRTTS.

Coach Deuce