Maurice Stokes with the Rochester Royals | Photo courtesy of http://sportige.com/smallest-players-rebound/

by Patrick ‘Rey’ Reynell

View Part 1 and Part 2 of this discussion.

In case you’ve missed the first two parts, we’re attempting to expand the NBA’s 50 Greatest Players to accomodate its 65th anniversary as a league in two seasons.

After two rounds of voting, here are the players and their respective number of votes:

Tim Duncan – 5
Kobe Bryant – 5
Bob McAdoo – 4
Chet Walker – 3
Maurice Stokes – 3
Dennis Johnson – 3
Artis Gilmore – 3
LeBron James – 2
Allen Iverson – 2
Adrian Dantley – 2
Dennis Rodman – 1
Bernard King – 1
Dan Issel – 1
Dominique Wilkins – 1
Tom Heinsohn – 1
Kevin Garnett – 1
Steve Nash – 1
Dirk Nowitzki – 1
Bill Lambier – 1
Cliff Hagan – 1
Alex English – 1
Ray Allen – 1

With this part, we will complete the voting and be able to add our 15 players to the original list of 50. Once again, you can vote for a player only once.

Here are my last five additions:

Artis Gilmore – Career averages: 18.8 ppg, 12.3 rpg, 2.4 bpg, 2.3 apg (combined 5 ABA seasons, 12 NBA seasons). His 16,330 career rebounds would be fourth on the 50 greatest list, behind only Chamberlain, Russell and Jabbar. Led NBA in field goal percentage for four straight seasons (shot 67% in 1980-1981 season). Shot nearly 60% for his career in the NBA which remains first all-time. (Thanks to Wally for bringing Gilmore into the discussion!)

Alex English – Hall of Famer. 25,613 career points. Career 50% shooter with over 21,000 field goal attempts, which makes him eighth all time in attempts (unprecedented for a wing). Only players to shoot over 50% with more attempts are Chamberlain, Jabbar and Karl Malone.

Adrian Dantley – Hall of Famer. Over 23,000 career points in less than 1,000 games. Finished in top three of scoring title five times (scoring champ in 1980-1981, 1983-1984). Averaged 30 points or more in four straight seasons. Sixteenth in NBA history for field goal percentage at 54%. (Thanks to Chas for bringing Dantley into the discussion!)

Gary Payton – Fifth all-time in steals (2,243) and seventh in assists (8,966). 9X first team All-Defensive; 1995-1996 defensive player of the year. Finished in top-10 for MVP voting for eight straight seasons. Won 2006 NBA championship with Miami Heat. *Note: I would place Alvin Robertson in Payton’s place, but I just can’t based on his recent troubles with the law. The guy could flat out play though. Maybe one of the best all-around players ever in the NBA. His playoff numbers are excellent even though his teams never advanced. Against San Antonio in the first round in 1988, he averaged 23.3 ppg, 9.3 apg, 4.7 rpg and 4 spg.

Steve Nash – Back-to-back MVP in 2004-2005 and 2005-2006 (top-10 finisher five times). Ranks eighth all-time in assists with 8,397. Excellent free throw shooter with career 90% average. Thirteenth all-time in 3-point field goals made. Hard time putting him on this list because he is a defensive liability on and off-the-ball, but only eleven other players have won multiple MVPs.

So there are my final five additions. You can agree, refute, or (in the spirit of Mt. Otsego) just add your ’splinters.’ If this is your first time voting, you can vote for five, ten, or submit a complete list of fifteen.

AP Photo/Matt York

By Paul Gotham

Just another night at the office

Steve Nash’s numbers on Christmas Day: 14 pts. on 6-10 shooting from the field/ 1-1 from the free throw line and 1-3 from the arc. To go with those points, Nash accumulated eight assists.

The final number should not be overlooked. With eight, Nash had more assists than baskets made.

Phoenix defeated the lowly Clippers 124-93 on Christmas night.

Getting more assists than baskets is a familiar situation for the Sun point guard.  Against Oklahoma City on the 23rd, Nash went 10-17 from the field with 12 assists. Two nights earlier, the Santa Clara grad finished 7-13 against the Cavs with 10 assists.  Nash dished out 15 assists versus the Wizards going 6-12.

Nash has 7,852 career assists with 5,074 field goals.

It can be argued that Nash has more field goal attempts than assists. Imagine if the NBA kepth track of assist attempts. How many lay ups does Nash provide for teammates that go unfinished? Better yet, how many shots does Nash provide where a foul and miss occurs?

Is there any coincidence Phoenix leads the league in scoring? Nash is an old school point guard who thinks pass first and shot second.

Go figure

Pittsburgh’s Penguins rank number one in the NHL with 26 wins. The Penguins’ 121 goals rank third in the league. Sidney Crosby with 22 goals and 24 assists is fifth in the league with 46 points.

Despite those impressive offensive numbers, Pittsburgh ranks dead last in power play efficiency. Pittsburgh has had 169 power play opportunities (more than any team in the league). The Penguins have connected on only 26 of those chances – or 15.4 per cent of the time – 30th in the league.

Miller for MVP

How much longer before Buffalo’s Ryan Miller is mentioned in the MVP conversation? The Sabre netminder has made 913 saves out of 976 opportunities for a league-leading save percentage of .935 per cent.  Miller is second in the league with 4 shut outs (Ilya Bryzgalov leads with 5). Miller’s 1.98 goals against average is second only to Boston’s Tuuka Rask. Rask has played 17 fewer games than Miller.

Don’t hold your breath

USC’s Joe McKnight is under investigation for the use of an SUV. Anyone wonder how long the inquisition will take? After all, we are still waiting for a decision on Reggie Bush.

McKnight. Bush. OJ Mayo. Matt Leinart. Who is the USC compliance officer? How much is that person making? I am about ready to apply for the job.

Timing is everything

Someone please explain why Urban Meyer had to come out and announce he was stepping down over a week BEFORE the Sugar Bowl. Why not wait until after the game? And now Meyer has already changed his mind? Geez. Who is he taking lessons from? Bobby Cremins? Or Brett Favre? Or both?

Forecast calls for…

SNOW in Boston on Friday. Should be a great day for an outdoor hockey game. Let it snow. Let it snow. Let it snow.

Anyone have a rebound and putback? Post them here.

Courtesy of NBA.com

By Paul Gotham

Celtics getting taller.

If  Danny Ainge and his staff took one lesson from the recent playoffs, it’s that you can’t teach height.

With Kevin Garnett dressed to the nines the reigning champs struggled to survive the first round before bowing from the post-season.

Since then, the Cavaliers signed Shaq. Boston responded by getting Rasheed Wallace. Ainge and crew haven’t rested.

Last week, Boston signed Shelden Williams to a contract. Since Atlanta took Williams with the fifth pick in the ’06 draft, ‘The Landlord’ has bounced from the Hawks to Minnesota to Sacramento. If nothing else, the signing of Williams  sent a message to Glen ‘Big Baby’ Davis.

After expressing his frustration through various tweets, Davis finally came to terms with the Cs. Perhaps, Davis realized he’s a dime a dozen and to make buzzer beaters in the playoffs, one actually has to play on a team that qualifies for the post-season.

However you cut it, Boston will have plenty of fouls to give with their revamped frontcourt.

Nash signs extension with the Suns.

He may not be a dog, but Steve Nash sure is loyal. Instead of testing the free agent waters next summer, the 35-year-old Nash opted to sign a three-year deal with the Suns.

Two years ago, the Suns lost in Conference semi-final to the Spurs. Since that fateful night when ‘Kindergarten’ Marion and Amare Stoudemire each earned a game suspension for doing their finest Lynyrd Skynrd and ‘taking’ three steps, the Suns have been in decline. The Shaq experiment reaped a first-round exit last year and a playoff miss this year.

The upcoming season doesn’t look much better. No one could blame Nash for wanting a change in scenery. Instead the the 13-year veteran is staying put.

Felton still unsigned.

We should create a new category: head scratchers.

This past season Raymond Felton averaged 14 ppg, 3.8 RPG, and 6.7 APG. All of those numbers are pretty consistent with his previous three seasons in the league. Yet, Felton is still looking for a team. There are no teams out there in need of a reliable point guard?

Got some Splinters? Share ‘em here.