Post by clown on Oct 1, 2010 16:19:08 GMT -5
The All Heathen Team
This isn’t an article meant to separate, or divide. Diversity is a great thing. This is simply meant to reward those coaches on the court, with their blue collars and their lunch pails, who give 110 percent and leave it all out on the court. Too often the TMBSL awards come down to stats, but it’s those little things that don’t show up on the box score. Dumptime and gentlemen, the All Heathen Team.
First Team
C Raef LaFrentz, Miami Heat
He sounds like a sissy Frenchman, but Raef was born in the Heartland of America, Iowa, where you love it or leave it. When he wasn’t plowing the fields (or whatever they do in Iowa) he was honing his basketball fundamentals and even winning conference championships in swimming.
Raef currently plays PF for the Heat, but he is perfectly capable of banging down low with his excellent rebounding and shot-blocking skills. He has great post skills on offense as well, but it’s his ability to score from the outside that sets him apart from the pack. Averaging 17.6 points, 10.1 rebounds and over 3 blocks for his career.
PF Dirk Nowitzki
The best German import since Bratwurst and Heidi Klum, Dirk Nowitzki is the best international player in the TMBSL and forms the deadliest 1-2 combo with Sonics teammate Chauncey Billups. Blessed with uncanny perimeter skills for a player his size, Dirk has played anywhere from SF to C for the West contenders.
With his skills and shaggy hairstyle, Dirk is a fan favorite, but there is one group that strongly dislikes him: defenders. At 7 feet tall, he is too big for small forwards. Want to put a PF on him? Have fun guarding him all the way out to the 3 point line, where he shoots a blistering 44.5 percent. He also possesses good ball skills and is a very underrated defender. 29.1 points and 10.1 rebounds for his career.
SF Peja Stojakovic
Another international player, Predrag “Peja” Stojakovic remains one of the most underrated TMBSL players. The league’s undervaluing of him during the Free Agency period was the Atlanta Hawks gain, as they sit atop the standings with Peja as their leading scorer. A Serbian born in Croatia, he fled as a young boy to Greece to escape wars. The only battles he fights now are in the TMBSL playoffs.
Stojakovic was a very tough choice over Keith Van Horn, but it’s his 3 point shooting ability that makes the difference. Shooting 43.4 percent for his career, his 6’10” frame allows him to get his shot over almost any SF guarding him. He is an efficient player on offense, and his length keeps him from being a liability on defense. 19.5 points and 5.5 rebounds for his career.
SG Manu Ginobili
The native tribes of Central and South America couldn’t distinguish the difference between the European nations invading them, so I won’t discriminate against the Argentine Ginobili being a part of this team. He won’t be found in any step competitions or freestyle battles anytime soon.
Where he will be found? The opposing teams paint creating havoc. Coming from a family of basketball players, Manu has the uncanny ability to get into the lane, either scoring, getting to the line, or creating for others. He can shoot from outside as well, at an insane 54.2 percent mark this season. A free agent this year, he will improve on his 12.3 scoring average with a bigger role, either in Atlanta or elsewhere.
PG Steve Nash
Floor general. Quarterback on the court. All monikers that white point guards receive; all true in this case. Born in South Africa, raised in Canada on soccer and ice hockey, he has translated his unique skillset to basketball to become one of the TMBSL’s finest PGs.
Like Ginobili, Nash has the ability to get into the paint at will. When defenders back off to respect this, he makes them pay with the 3 pointer. His excellent court vision has helped him to 9.4 assists a game in his career, though an upgraded supporting cast has him over 10 this season. Also puts in 24.7 points a game on 40 percent from 3, with 4.2 rebounds and 1.6 steals for good measure.
Second Team
C Scot Pollard
He may look like a bouncer at a nightclub, but the only thing Pollard protects these days is the rim for the New York. An excellent signing for the defensively challenged Knicks, the Utah native and classic car enthusiast has embraced his role for the East contenders.
The 2001 6th man of the year, Pollard has always been an excellent defender and very good rebounder. He isn’t asked to score much, which is good with the firepower around him, but puts in a very respectable 12.5 points for New York on 48 percent from the floor. Pollard averages 8.5 boards and 1.4 blocks in only 26.4 minutes a game for his career.
PF Troy Murphy
The last name Murphy would have already endeared him to the Irish segment of the TMBSL’s fans, but he was cemented in their hearts when he starred in college at Notre Dame as a two-time consensus All-American. Like the first team combo of LaFrentz-Nowitzki, he is a big man with the ability to stretch the floor.
Murphy is the solid rebounder and defender that we thought he would be, but his scoring is more advanced than originally scouted. At 14.6 points a game for his career, he is having his best season this year as a newly-acquired Grizzly, at 20.4 a game. Murphy grabs 7.2 boards a game for his career, some coming as an undersized C in Chicago, and hits the long ball at a 36.5 percent clip.
SF Keith Van Horn
There is a pattern here: Van Horn is a tall player with both an inside and an outside game. A native of California, he excelled at Utah while becoming the 1997 ESPN Men’s College Basketball Performer of the Year. Van Horn was very close to being placed on the first team.
While not packing the scoring punch of Stojakovic, Van Horn holds his own at 16.5 points a game for his career on 38.6 percent from 3. Where he differentiates himself his in the post, where his larger frame and strength lets him grab 7.2 rebounds a game. Van Horn is on his second tour in Golden State, but he may be helping another contender down the stretch.
SG Mike Dunleavy Jr.
Dunleavy Jr. was destined to be fundamentally sound. If being the son of longtime NBA player and coach Mike Dunleavy wasn’t enough, he learned under Coach Mike Krzyzewski at Duke. Good at everything, great at nothing, Dunleavy is a great member for any supporting cast.
Another tall player that can score inside or out, Dunleavy is also a skilled ball handler and passer. He is a solid defender and rebounds very well for a wing player. At 12.6 points per game for his career, his role continues to expand has he grows out of his rookie contract. Averaging a career best 14.2 points on 48.5 percent shooting for the Spurs this season.
PG Jason Williams
J-Will, or White Chocolate to some, may be a Hebrew at heart, but his DNA is 110% High-Motored Blue Collar Heathen. A former college star for the Hawks GM’s beloved Florida Gators, his flashy and sometimes careless style masks his excellent point guard skills and very good defense.
Wiilams finds himself on the bench as the Blazers evaluate the young PG Tony Parker, but he is clearly the superior option. Averaging 7.9 assists a game for his career to go with 2.5 TOs, Williams pesky defense (1.5 Steals Per game) and 3 point ability (40.5 percent) are an excellent fit at PG for a contending team.
This isn’t an article meant to separate, or divide. Diversity is a great thing. This is simply meant to reward those coaches on the court, with their blue collars and their lunch pails, who give 110 percent and leave it all out on the court. Too often the TMBSL awards come down to stats, but it’s those little things that don’t show up on the box score. Dumptime and gentlemen, the All Heathen Team.
First Team
C Raef LaFrentz, Miami Heat
He sounds like a sissy Frenchman, but Raef was born in the Heartland of America, Iowa, where you love it or leave it. When he wasn’t plowing the fields (or whatever they do in Iowa) he was honing his basketball fundamentals and even winning conference championships in swimming.
Raef currently plays PF for the Heat, but he is perfectly capable of banging down low with his excellent rebounding and shot-blocking skills. He has great post skills on offense as well, but it’s his ability to score from the outside that sets him apart from the pack. Averaging 17.6 points, 10.1 rebounds and over 3 blocks for his career.
PF Dirk Nowitzki
The best German import since Bratwurst and Heidi Klum, Dirk Nowitzki is the best international player in the TMBSL and forms the deadliest 1-2 combo with Sonics teammate Chauncey Billups. Blessed with uncanny perimeter skills for a player his size, Dirk has played anywhere from SF to C for the West contenders.
With his skills and shaggy hairstyle, Dirk is a fan favorite, but there is one group that strongly dislikes him: defenders. At 7 feet tall, he is too big for small forwards. Want to put a PF on him? Have fun guarding him all the way out to the 3 point line, where he shoots a blistering 44.5 percent. He also possesses good ball skills and is a very underrated defender. 29.1 points and 10.1 rebounds for his career.
SF Peja Stojakovic
Another international player, Predrag “Peja” Stojakovic remains one of the most underrated TMBSL players. The league’s undervaluing of him during the Free Agency period was the Atlanta Hawks gain, as they sit atop the standings with Peja as their leading scorer. A Serbian born in Croatia, he fled as a young boy to Greece to escape wars. The only battles he fights now are in the TMBSL playoffs.
Stojakovic was a very tough choice over Keith Van Horn, but it’s his 3 point shooting ability that makes the difference. Shooting 43.4 percent for his career, his 6’10” frame allows him to get his shot over almost any SF guarding him. He is an efficient player on offense, and his length keeps him from being a liability on defense. 19.5 points and 5.5 rebounds for his career.
SG Manu Ginobili
The native tribes of Central and South America couldn’t distinguish the difference between the European nations invading them, so I won’t discriminate against the Argentine Ginobili being a part of this team. He won’t be found in any step competitions or freestyle battles anytime soon.
Where he will be found? The opposing teams paint creating havoc. Coming from a family of basketball players, Manu has the uncanny ability to get into the lane, either scoring, getting to the line, or creating for others. He can shoot from outside as well, at an insane 54.2 percent mark this season. A free agent this year, he will improve on his 12.3 scoring average with a bigger role, either in Atlanta or elsewhere.
PG Steve Nash
Floor general. Quarterback on the court. All monikers that white point guards receive; all true in this case. Born in South Africa, raised in Canada on soccer and ice hockey, he has translated his unique skillset to basketball to become one of the TMBSL’s finest PGs.
Like Ginobili, Nash has the ability to get into the paint at will. When defenders back off to respect this, he makes them pay with the 3 pointer. His excellent court vision has helped him to 9.4 assists a game in his career, though an upgraded supporting cast has him over 10 this season. Also puts in 24.7 points a game on 40 percent from 3, with 4.2 rebounds and 1.6 steals for good measure.
Second Team
C Scot Pollard
He may look like a bouncer at a nightclub, but the only thing Pollard protects these days is the rim for the New York. An excellent signing for the defensively challenged Knicks, the Utah native and classic car enthusiast has embraced his role for the East contenders.
The 2001 6th man of the year, Pollard has always been an excellent defender and very good rebounder. He isn’t asked to score much, which is good with the firepower around him, but puts in a very respectable 12.5 points for New York on 48 percent from the floor. Pollard averages 8.5 boards and 1.4 blocks in only 26.4 minutes a game for his career.
PF Troy Murphy
The last name Murphy would have already endeared him to the Irish segment of the TMBSL’s fans, but he was cemented in their hearts when he starred in college at Notre Dame as a two-time consensus All-American. Like the first team combo of LaFrentz-Nowitzki, he is a big man with the ability to stretch the floor.
Murphy is the solid rebounder and defender that we thought he would be, but his scoring is more advanced than originally scouted. At 14.6 points a game for his career, he is having his best season this year as a newly-acquired Grizzly, at 20.4 a game. Murphy grabs 7.2 boards a game for his career, some coming as an undersized C in Chicago, and hits the long ball at a 36.5 percent clip.
SF Keith Van Horn
There is a pattern here: Van Horn is a tall player with both an inside and an outside game. A native of California, he excelled at Utah while becoming the 1997 ESPN Men’s College Basketball Performer of the Year. Van Horn was very close to being placed on the first team.
While not packing the scoring punch of Stojakovic, Van Horn holds his own at 16.5 points a game for his career on 38.6 percent from 3. Where he differentiates himself his in the post, where his larger frame and strength lets him grab 7.2 rebounds a game. Van Horn is on his second tour in Golden State, but he may be helping another contender down the stretch.
SG Mike Dunleavy Jr.
Dunleavy Jr. was destined to be fundamentally sound. If being the son of longtime NBA player and coach Mike Dunleavy wasn’t enough, he learned under Coach Mike Krzyzewski at Duke. Good at everything, great at nothing, Dunleavy is a great member for any supporting cast.
Another tall player that can score inside or out, Dunleavy is also a skilled ball handler and passer. He is a solid defender and rebounds very well for a wing player. At 12.6 points per game for his career, his role continues to expand has he grows out of his rookie contract. Averaging a career best 14.2 points on 48.5 percent shooting for the Spurs this season.
PG Jason Williams
J-Will, or White Chocolate to some, may be a Hebrew at heart, but his DNA is 110% High-Motored Blue Collar Heathen. A former college star for the Hawks GM’s beloved Florida Gators, his flashy and sometimes careless style masks his excellent point guard skills and very good defense.
Wiilams finds himself on the bench as the Blazers evaluate the young PG Tony Parker, but he is clearly the superior option. Averaging 7.9 assists a game for his career to go with 2.5 TOs, Williams pesky defense (1.5 Steals Per game) and 3 point ability (40.5 percent) are an excellent fit at PG for a contending team.
