Player of the Week

Mike G said:
Okay....it's the end of the week, and we all know what that means: Time for this week's installment of the Nothin' But All-Stars's NBA Player of the Week. And remember, as always, this week's pick is brought to you straight from California State University, East Bay in lovely Hayward, California -- Home of the Nothin' But All-Stars Crew!
Now we saw a lot of action this week throughout the NBA. Who can forget that stellar performance by Kobe Bryant against New York? And then going to Boston, only to disappoint the defending champs in what was truly a close call! Or how about LeBron James, who also had a spectacular game against the New York Knicks. And did I mention he's averaging 39.3 points, 7 points, and 7.3 assists for the month of February! -- It's just too bad their performancse just missed the deadline! Maybe next week.
Now let's get back on topic. Now with all of this talk about slaughtering the New York Knicks, it's only expected that this would be the last place that we'd look for our NBA Player of the Week, right? WRONG!!! This week's Nothin' But All-Stars Player of the Week comes to you straight outta the Big Apple: Yes, ladies and gentleman, this week's award goes to none other than David Lee of the New York Knickerbockers!
Lee, shooting an impressive 53.5% from the field, averaged 19.0 points and 15.3 rebounds per game for the week of 1/26 to 2/1. As a matter of fact, the Knicks forward has recorded 35 double-doubles this year, sitting 2nd only to Dwight Howard of the Orlando Magic. With Lee averaging point-rebound double-doubles, New York went 3-0 against Houston, Atlanta, and Indiana. Pretty impressive for the fourth-year veteran, if you ask me!

Week 4: Question of the Week

Which game at Madison Square Garden was more impressive: Michael Jordan’s 55-point performance or Kobe Bryant’s 61-point show?

Kris said:

Let me just start by saying that both players played AMAZING games. However, there can only be one. In this case, I would have to say that the Chicago Bull, Michael Jordan (wearing #45), had the more impressive game. I know some would argue that Kobe Bryant’s was better because he set the Madison Square Garden record for most points by an opponent (previously held by Michael Jordan) or that he has injured fingers on his shooting hand. No matter what reason someone gives me, I am still going to say that Michael Jordan’s game was more impressive.
The first reason why I say Jordan’s game was more impressive is because it came down to the last shot; Michael Jordan found Bill Wennington for the game winning dunk. Jordan had a great record-setting night, but still passed the ball to the open player with the game on the line. The second reason is the difference in defense and skill level of the Knicks now and then. The Knicks today play a run-and-gun style with no real defense. They do not have a solid man-to-man defender either. The Knicks in 1995 were hard-nosed defenders led by Patrick Ewing, Charles Oakley, and John Starks. They were also fresh off an NBA Finals loss to the Houston Rockets. Also, in 1995, players were still allowed to hand check. My final reason is the fact that it was only Jordan’s 5th game back from his first retirement. The fact that he had spent two years playing a completely different sport (baseball) made this 55-point game even more impressive.

Week 4: Game of the Week

Adam Said:

Last Thursday night's game with Phoenix hosting against the Spurs was a shoot out and entertaining one. Game might have seem like Spurs won with ease because of a 10 point victory, but if you watched the game, viewers knew that the game was close throughout the night. It was a very high scoring game for both teams, Steve Nash dished out 18 assist that night, but was short to a victory. Ironically when Steve Nash becomes a high distributor instead of a scorer, his team has a very high chance of winning, but this was not the case on Thursday night because Manu coming off the bench just took over the game. Manu scored 30 points that night 18 for 18 at the free throw line, which was crucial because both Phoenix and San Antonio were shooting great numbers at the line, but San Antonio had the better free throw percentage that night and scored more from the line. The game was just a straight shoot out fest, Amare started off hot early, but cooled down after the second quarter and towards the end of the game, he just kept hitting jump shots after another and another. Amare had a pretty good night with 28 points and 10 boards. But Tony Parker had himself a decent night with 26 points and just nails a bulls eye shot near the end of the 4th to pretty much seal the game.

NBA Player of the Week:

Mike G said:
Okay, okay. I understand tomorrow's the"Big Game," and everyone's going to be talking NFL tomorrow. But I hope I make it real clear when I say that the NFL will never overshadow anything here at the Nothin But All-Stars crew! That being said, it's time for this week's installment of NBA Player of the Week!
Now this week, we saw a lot of great players put up great numbers. Naturally, there were plenty of candidates who proved themselves worthy of receiving this top honor. BUT...I've said it once, and I'll say it again: There can only be one!
And the award goes to........................NOT Andrew Bynum! Sorry Lakers fans, but this week's NBA Player of the Week, as given to you unbiasedly from the Nothin But All-Stars crew, goes to none other than King James, himself! Yes, that's right! LBJ had an amazing week on the road, as the Cavs went 3-1 on their trip to the west coast. King James averaged 30.5 points, 9.8 rebounds, 8.8 assists, and 2.3 steals -- Just shy of a triple-double! He was also ranked in the top ten in All of those categories among All players in the Eastern Conference. And in addition to being named the Nothin But All-Stars's Player of the Week, this is also the fourth time that LBJ has been awarded Eastern Conference Player of the Week by the NBA. On behalf of the Nothin But All-Stars crew here at CSU, East Bay, I would personally like to congratulate LeBron James for what has turned out to be an amazing season! King James....What else can I say? You've earned it.

Week 3: Question of the Week

Should fans be allowed to vote for the All-Star Game starters?

Kris said:

I do not believe fans should be allowed to vote for the starters of the All-Star Game. Perhaps we could be allowed to vote for one or two players per conference, but not the whole starting line-up. Voting for the whole starting line-up is giving too much power to the people. Fans tend to vote for their favorite players or who they like, but these players do not always deserve to be All-Stars and could be taking roster spots from players who actually deserve it. I understand that the NBA is for the fans, but I do not think it is fair when a player that deserves to be an All-Star does not get the opportunity to participate in the game.
The reason I chose this question as Question of the Week is because TNT announced that Allen Iverson is a starting guard for the Eastern Conference. I honestly do not believe that he deserves it because since he joined the Pistons, they are 20-19. Iverson’s scoring average this season (17.7 ppg) is also well below his career scoring average (27.7 ppg). I also think there are more deserving players than Iverson, like Rajon Rondo and Joe Johnson.
Need some examples? Yao Ming has been voted to start every All-Star game since coming into the league (that is 7 years in a row). Did he deserve it every year? Not really. Some years he did, but when he makes the starting line-up during an injury plagued season, something must be wrong. Some players that come to mind that could have started instead of Yao Ming in the past: Shaquille O’Neal, Tim Duncan, Amare Stoudemire, Marcus Camby, Carlos Boozer, Dirk Nowitzki, and Al Jefferson.
During the 2005-2006 season, the Detroit Pistons started 40-8; one of the best starts in NBA history. However, no Detroit Piston player was voted as an All-Star starter even though they all played so well. Instead, the players chosen as starters were Lebron James, Shaquille and Jermaine O’Neal, Dwayne Wade, and Allen Iverson.

Week 3: Game of the Week

All right folks, I'm not bias when it comes to the NBA's game of the week, but this week I'm going to pick Cavs V.S. Warriors. I know in Week 1 I had Cavs up there and Week 2 I had the Warriors, but if any of you guys seen the Friday Night game with LeBron and the return of Monte Ellis, you would have to agree with me. Warriors kept the game very close through out the night, but King James just breaks the Warriors heart again for the 2nd consecituve game, by making a last second shot. LeBron was struggling a bit shooting on the court, he shot well below 50% going for 10 out of 24, but doesn't matter how bad your night is, it's all about making the shot when it counts. As for Monte Ellis return, not bad of a night for him. Scoring 20 points with 34 minutes and shot just above 40% going for 8 for 19. It's really good to see him being able to play like how he did on Friday night after coming back from suspesion and injury, because he missed nearly half of the season. Things don't look too bad for Golden State right now, with Monte back in the line up things will look much better for them in the future.

NBA Player of the Week

MiKE G said:
Okay, HERE WE GO! It's time for another installment of NBA Player of the Week. And as usual, this installment is brought to you straight from the Nothin But All-Stars crew at California State University, East Bay.
This week's candidates for player of the week included names such as LeBron James, Yao Ming, Dwayne Wade, and Deron Williams. However, despite their efforts, 2 names were decisively left ahead of the pack. But as we know, there can only be one. Sorry CP3, but this week's NBA Player of the Week award goes to Jameer Nelson of the Orlando Magic. With his help, Orlando went for a 3-0 record for the week, and currently sits in 3rd place in the Eastern Conference. Nelson had a great week, averaging 24.7 points, 8.0 assists, 2.7 rebounds, and 1.7 steals in the Magic's road victories over Sacramento, Los Angeles Lakers, and Denver. Pretty Impressive, if you ask me!

Week 2: Question of the Week

Which current NBA player would you have take the game-winning shot?

Kris said:

There is only one current NBA player I would trust to have the ball at the end of the game; Kobe Bryant. Bryant has constantly proven himself in pressure situations; be it the NBA Playoffs, the regular season, or the Olympics. He is always calm and it seems as though his field goal percentage rises at the end of games. In my opinion, Kobe Bryant is the most dangerous player in clutch situations.
I chose Kobe Bryant over the likes of Lebron James and Dwayne Wade because of the 2008 Olympics Gold-Medal Game. Spain was close to making a comeback against the heavily favored Team USA and the game was shaping up to be another upset at the Olympics. But then, Kobe Bryant steps up and hits a three-pointer while getting fouled in the fourth quarter. That four-point play was the biggest play of the game because it turned the momentum in favor of Team USA.
If you need more reasons, then remember Game 4 of the 2000 NBA Finals when Shaquille O’Neal fouled out in overtime against the Indiana Pacers. Kobe Bryant carried the team and scored eight points in the extra period. Also, remember Game 4 of the 2006 First Round Playoffs; Suns vs. Lakers. Kobe makes the game-winning shot over 2 Phoenix Suns players in overtime. I can go on and on with this list, but I think I will stop it here for now.

Week 2: Game of The Week

This week game of the week has to go to King V.S. Warriors at Oakland last Wednesday. Both teams had a combined win of 21 wins total this season together, not very impressive but the fact that both team played a very competitive game and bringing the game all the way to triple over time deserved game of the week. Both team combined for 268 points for the night, definitely a high scoring game. Game ball goes to Brad Miller, scoring 30 points shooting 10-20, just at 50 percent, dominating the paint with 22 boards, shooting 9 for 9 at the line, 2 steals, and 1 block.

Week 2: NBA Player of the Week

Mike G Said:
Yes, it's about that time: time for another installment of NBA Player of the Week!
This week was a tough one! With so many players having such phenomenal weeks, there was an over-abundance of deserving candidates, including the likes of LeBron James, Vince Carter, Andre Iguodala, and even Paul Millsap. But when it comes down to the come down, there were two players that stood above the rest: Kobe Bryant and Dwight Howard. However, there can only be one.
And this week’s winner for NBA Player of the Week goes to.............Los Angeles Lakers guard Kobe Bryant! Though it was a close call, Bryant is the rightful successor to the throne. He led the Lakers to an impressive 3-1 record for the week, with wins over Golden State, Indiana, and Miami. And might I add, with his 28.8 scoring average, Kobe still leads the Western Conference in PPG. Not bad, Kobe. Not bad.