Derrick Fisher Hall of Fame Worthy?

Derrick Fisher has been a solid point guard his entire career. Having been in the league for 15 years now he has averaged 8.6 points per game shooting 40% from the field while pulling down 2 rebounds. For the majority of his career he was a starter with the Los Angeles Lakers where he made a household name for himself knocking down critical jump shots late in the fourth quarter of games.

Fisher is most notorious for his catch-and-shoot game winning shot with just .4 seconds on the clock against the San Antonio Spurs in game 5 of the Western Conference playoffs in 2007. The shot which can be seen in the video below has already been deemed worthy for a position in the NBA’s 60 Greatest Playoff Moments of All Time for which there is a lot of competition.

There is no doubt Fisher has had an incredible NBA career. With five championship rings he is pressing on Jordan’s mark of 6 in 2012 as his Oklahoma City Thunder are currently tied at one game a piece with the Miami Heat for the NBA Championship. Should Fisher win that 6th ring this year he will be among only the elite to have 3 rings per hand. So the question we are stating before the masses is this; Should Derrick Fisher deserve a Hall of Fame selection should he get to win a 6th championship?

All opinions are welcome below!

Note about the author: Dino Gomez has taken a four year hiatus in his Basketball commentary in order to manage his own San Diego SEO firm in Southern California. One day he hopes for the time to blog again more regularly.

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Lakers In Need of Statement Game

The Los Angeles Lakers were smoked Thursday night by a team that won the most regular season games last year in the Western Conference. I’m referring to a team that also took the Lakers to six games in the Western Conference playoffs before the Lakers moved on to play Orlando for the gold. I am speaking about the Denver Nuggets of course who look stronger this year than they did last. What happened Thursday night in Denver should be worrisome to all Laker fans. In case you missed the game the Nuggets more than dominated a Los Angeles team that was indeed missing the likes of Gasol. The final score 105-79 might help you to imagine how ugly it was in the end but in case you are a visual learner here is one play from Thursday’s game that could summarize how both teams played.

The Lakers are considered the best team in the league right now as they should be. They are after all the defending champs and with the addition of Artest are said to have become even stronger. However the Lakers have yet to put together a statement game so far this year that says they are dominate once more. They are missing their all star center Gasol but they have lost two games to perhaps their biggest contenders: Dallas and Denver. Not to mention they have just barely passed by a Houston team that took them to seven games in the playoffs last year without T-Mac and Yao Ming for the last few games of that series and they went to overtime with an Oklahoma team this year that many NBA fans still don’t know exists as a franchise.

Tonight would be an opportune time for the Lake Show to demonstrate their potential as they face off at the Staples Center against a hungry Houston team. Game is scheduled for 9:30 Pm EST.

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Lakers With Artest Could be Great or Terrible

The Los Angeles Lakers are only a few months past this most recent NBA championship. Of Course they took the title for a fourth time in the last decade and did so by way of a Hall of Fame coach and arguably the best 2-guard in the league.

However the Lakers had other key players that more than contributed to their 2008-2009 title. Pao Gasol did major work for them in the post while Lamar Odom provided the versatility that all teams desire from a power-forward. Lets not forget Trevor Ariza who was an amazing defensive stopper for L.A. and who came up with a few big time steals in the playoffs to seal victories for the team.ron-artest-lead

So the question begs if the Lakers had such a great chemistry on their team and perfect fit players at every position, why did they let Ariza go and bring in Ron Artest? Of course Artest may be an upgrade on the court but Ariza for this specific team is more valuable. You don’t have to worry about Trevor causing problems off the court, in the locker room, or with the media. With Artest you definitely do. Ariza also made all the plays you would have wanted him to make without taking away from Kobe’s brilliance.

Here is why Artest is probably the worst off-season acquisition the Lakers could have made. Bringing in a fellow all-star who desires and expects attention and setting him next to Kobe is simply a bad idea. It was different bringing in Gasol who is humble and isn’t a media whore. But Artest is going to want interviews and the spot light and photographs and I bet he will do what is necessary to make sure he gets all of that.

Championship caliber teams are always about chemistry and not simply about talent. Remember when the Lakers had Shaq, Kobe, Malone, and Payton all on the same starting roster. That did not work out for them. Surprising as it is you need a balance of players that compliment each other and that are not just individually talented.  The lakers had that last year and by getting rid of Ariza for Artest they may have lost it all. It will be exciting to see.

Follow me on Twitter: @DinoGomez.

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St. John’s Grabs Peter Robert Casey as Twitter Blogger

You all know Peter Robert Casey, he was featured here in an exclusive interview a few months back for his impressive work with The Entertainers Basketball Classic a.k.a the EBC, but what you may not know quite yet is that he recently signed an agreement with St. John’s University to act as a micro-blogger covering men’s basketball games for the upcoming 2009-2010 season. Casey will be given a court side seat to each contest and will use his twitter account, @Peter_R-Casey, to broadcast in real time how the Red Storm are doing on the court. Casey has been given the green light to use his basketball I.Q. and personal brand to dissect the play of the St. John’s basketball team in order tolife_peterrobertcasey_200 reach basketball fans that are online via Twitter when the Red Storm are playing. He will be the first Twitter-blogger to earn a seat on press row.

To put in perspective how many followers and fans Casey has on Twitter, he is among the top ten most followed individuals in the basketball community which includes coaches and players of all calibers. In other words only 9 potential NBA players have a bigger following base than Casey. As a non-celebrity that is amazing. Be sure to check out more details of this story that even ESPN has covered.

Are we following each other on Twitter yet? @DinoGomez

3 Draft Picks to Watch

Summer league has passed and it is now that time for draft picks to get antsy if they haven’t signed a contract yet with their new teams. Of course there are many first round draft picks who have signed large contracts and will be players to watch shine the following years to come. However it is often exciting to keep tabs on those players who are unexpected to do well in the NBA.nbadraft2009

1) Chase Budinger- First mention goes to Chase Budinger. For those who know me well of course I’m going to talk about his recent multi-year agreement with the Houston Rockets. Here’s a player that came into Arizona recruited by Lute Olson himself who felt Budinger was the best high school recruit that Arizona had ever landed! That is a big deal coming from coach Olson who had recruited many current and past NBA players to Arizona. Budinger put up great overall numbers in his three years at U of A but never truly reached his potential. Perhaps it was due to having 3 different coaches in his 3 years with the program and off-the-court distractions. Either way he averaged 17 points a game with 5.8 rebounds in his 3 years in the desert. This resulted with him earning the 44th overall pick in the 2009 draft. He went from a McDonalds All-American to the 44th overall pick in the NBA draft? The Houston rockets were quick to catch on that Budinger must have had his problems in college but that he was still an amazing player. That is why this past week he was signed to a multi-year contract with the organization after leading the club in scoring through out summer league play. Having watched Budinger at Arizona for 3 years I think he will surprise many with his offensive talent in the league.

2) Terrance Williams With the 1tth overall pick in the 2009 NBA draft the New Jersey Nets grabbed Terrance Williams. Now williams did draft quickly and is expected to do well in the league but it seems his talent is still overlooked. Williams averaged 2.3 steals a game this past year at Louisville and is as quick as lighting for a 6’6″ wing. His average of 11 points per game in the 2008-2009 season was the result of playing amongst a team of all-stars in which he did not have to score excessively. With the exclusion of Blake Griffin in this discussion, Williams is my pick to win rookie of the year in the 2009-2010 NBA season. He will certainly have opportunities to shine on the court playing for New Jersey this year which is a huge part of winning the ROY award. Without the chance to play you can’t possibly win the award which is why I’m thinking he’s got the green light.

3) Eric MaynorSet all kinds of records for his college Virginia Commonwealth which might as well be a junior college? Maybe its just hard to keep track of all colleges these days because until the 2009 tourney I had not heard of it or of Maynor. Either way after some research and after watching his first round performance it’s easy to say that Maynor is an amazing point guard. I expect him to have a successful NBA career although I’m not sure if it will happen in Utah behind Deron Williams. Perhaps this first year he will grab some playing time when Williams needs a break and when he does, watch for him to put points on the board in a hurry. It will be fun to see how he does in his first year. Due to his circumstances in college (which was having to carry his team repeatedly against stronger and more talented teams), I  believe the adjustment to the NBA will be that much easier for him.

Who are your NBA rookies to watch for? Follow me on Twitter: @DinoGomez

Arenas is Ready to Go

Gilbert Arenas is lethal on the basketball court. He has an amazing pull up jumper and a silky smooth drive to the hoop. Washington fans are thankful that his most recent surgery went well and that his recovery is almost complete. Flip Saunders commented this week that Arenas is almost at full strength in the weight room and is basically at full speed on the court. Saunders continued forward to say that his all star point guard/shooting guard will make them an elite playoff team this year. I’m not sure about that second remark but in regards to the first one, it will be great to see this all star back and contending with those other great stars in the league.

Follow me on Twitter: @DinoGomez

NBA Big-Timmers’ Schedule

As ESPN reports, the schedule for the 2009-2010 NBA season is out and there are a few surprises, but lots of good bait for betting online. There are a some changes from last year however. The Houston Rockets were broadcast plenty in the 2008-2009 season because they were stacked and a force to be reckon with. They pushed the Lakers to a seventh game in the playoffs and all. Amazing how quickly things can change. With Yao Ming and T-Mac injured and sulking on the bench and with Artest NBA-main_Fullhaving left to the defending champions lineup, the Rockets will not receive one nationally televised regular season game this year. Of course they aren’t the only team that is expected to produce boring and lackluster performances. New Jersey, Sacramento, Charlotte, and Milwaukee will also not have a game televised anywhere but on NBA television this year.

That leaves us with the teams that we want to watch and which will receive plenty of  camera time. On October 27th on TNT, the season opener will boast the new look Cavaliers against Eastern Conference rivals, the Boston Celtics. Later that evening the defending champs will play their ugly shadow, the Clippers. October 29th will be your best opportunity to see Richard Jefferson dressed in Oakland Raiders attire for his first game as a San Antonio Spur playing against a Chicago Bulls team.  And most importantly we all want to know what we will be unwrapping presents to on Christmas day. We will unwrap gifts to a second consecutive year in which the NBA broadcasts a quintupleheader. For those of you who like me had no idea what that word means; a 5 game match up. That’s right, this year on December 25th we will see the Heat vs. Knicks, Celtics vs. Magic, Cavs. vs. Lakers, Clippers vs. Suns, and the Nuggets vs. Trailblazers. It will surely be an amazing day.