LeBron James: 5 Reasons the Miami Heat Star Must Enter NBA Slam Dunk Contest
Given the exploits in the air we witnessed from LeBron James and Blake Griffin this week, it’s almost fitting that the NBA All-Star Game is only weeks away.
That gets us thinking about this year’s Slam Dunk Contest and why both guys should be in it, especially James.
It also has James thinking about it as well as he hasn’t closed the door on the possibility entirely.
Of course we’ve heard this from LeBron before. In 2009, James vowed to compete in the 2010 contest, then quietly backed out.
This is likely a bad year for the dunk contest with the compressed season. It takes a lot of planning and preparation to compete these days and it’s doubtful James will get much time to do so.
But he should do it anyway, and here’s a few reasons why.
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North Carolina vs. Duke: 5 Reasons Blue Devils Have the Edge
One of the best rivalries in all of NCAA basketball is about to be renewed this season.
The annual brawl on Tobacco Road between the University of North Carolina and Duke University is set to being on February 8, in Chapel Hill.
Both teams have similar records, Duke at 18-3 and UNC, having played one more game, at 19-3. They both have suffered a devastating lost to a similar opponent, Florida State. UNC got blow out by 30 and Duke lost on a last second three point shot.
Both teams have loads of talent that are NBA ready. UNC is returning three stars in Harrison Barnes, Tyler Zeller and John Henson. On the flip side, Duke is powered by the freshmen Austin River, the tall brothers down low, Mason and Miles Plumlee, and the three-point shooter Andre Dawkins.
It seems this year Duke has just a slightly better team and here are a few reasons why.
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College Basketball: 5 Reasons Not to Bet on the Kentucky Wildcats
The Kentucky Wildcats are the No. 1 team in the country and the odds-on-favorite to win this year’s national title, but I will give you five reasons why you should avoid wagering on them for the remainder of the regular season.
Reason 1: Overall Betting Trends
Kentucky’s 69-44 demolition of Tennessee on Tuesday night as a 15.5-point home favorite raised its record to 22-1 straight-up on the year, but it was the just the third time in 14 games this season that the Wildcats covered a spread at home. Overall, they are 7-14-1 against the spread and 3-10-1 ATS at home.
These trends have reversed themselves as of late with a 4-1 record ATS in their past five games, but the overall body of work still makes Kentucky less than attractive in a bettor’s eye. The Wildcats do remain a solid play on the total line with seven of their last 10 and 14 of 21 games overall staying ‘under’ the total.
Reason 2: Top-Ranked Teams ATS Records
Kentucky is not alone in its dismal performance ATS. The overall record ATS for some of the other top teams in the nation is also less than stellar. The No. 7 Duke Blue Devils are 18-3 SU, but just 8-13 ATS. No. 6 Baylor is 19-2 SU, but just 7-7 ATS and No. 8 Kansas is 17-4 SU, but just 10-10 ATS.
There are some exceptions to the rule such as No. 2 Syracuse at 14-8 ATS and No. 3 Ohio State at 11-6 ATS, but top-ranked teams get every other team’s best shot just about every time they step out onto the court and Kentucky is hardly the exception.
Reason 3: Playing in the SEC
While you would not compare the degree of difficulty of playing basketball in the SEC to that of football, competition still remains fierce. Kentucky is currently 8-0 SU in conference play, but 4-4 ATS. The Wildcats just split with the Volunteers ATS and covered against LSU, Georgia, and Arkansas, but they failed to cover against Alabama, Auburn and South Carolina, which are a combined 6-14 SU in conference play.
Looking at Kentucky’s remaining schedule, after a road game against the Gamecocks this Saturday, it still has two games against No. 11 Florida and Vanderbilt sandwiched around a date with Mississippi and No. 19 Mississippi State. All four of these schools are fighting for an invitation to the Big Dance in March and an upset over the Wildcats might just punch their ticket.
Reason 4: High Expectations
The oddsmakers have made life miserable for the Wildcats backers in terms of being saddled with double-digit spreads in 18 of their 22 games with a posted line. The spread was 15 or more points in 14 of those games and 20 or more points in nine games.
They have tempered things as of late as Kentucky plows through the meat of its conference schedule, but the expectation level of the betting public still remains incredibly high for this team, which, in turn, has a way of driving up the spreads.
Reason 5: Kentucky is Too Good
Another reason for the inflated spreads is the simple fact that Kentucky might just be too good. The Wildcats are averaging 77.8 points a game and shooting 48.5 percent from the field, while holding their opponents to an average of 57.9 points a game.
Anthony Davis and Doron Lamb have led the way with a combined 26.8 points and 13.5 rebounds a game, but Kentucky has four other players scoring in double figures. This team is young but deep with seven players averaging at least 13 minutes a game.
Maintaining this level of play game after game is not easy to do at the collegiate level, which, in turn, leads to closer games than expected. The Wildcats are built to go a long way this season and will probably win the remainder of their regular season games SU, just do not bet on them to cover ATS.
Doc Moseman is the owner of Doc’s Sports, and you can follow up with all his college basketball insight here.
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Duke the Despicable: 6 Reasons to Hate Duke Right Now
If you’ve followed college basketball for any length of time, you know there are two incontrovertible truths: first, you’re not fooling anyone, UC Santa Cruz. No one knows what the heck a banana slug is. And second, Duke is the most hated team in the sport—maybe in any sport.
MSNBC did a poll back in 2005 about the most loathed team in basketball and the Blue Devils came out on top with 53 percent. Think about that for a second. There are 342 schools playing Division I roundball, and for a single school to garner more than half the votes is downright astonishing. Fidel Castro used to win Cuban “elections” by smaller margins.
But it makes sense. Duke is like the Darth Vader, or more accurately, the Citigroup, of the NCAA. Unless you went to or are affiliated with Duke, you don’t like Duke. It’s as simple as that.
There are so many reasons to despise the Blue Devils, you could fill a book. And we* have done just that. Duke Sucks: A Completely Even-Handed, Unbiased Investigation Into the Most Evil Team on Planet Earth is available now, and it builds a pretty damning case against those guys in Durham, if we do say so ourselves.
The bottom line is that people hate Duke because Duke deserves to be hated; from the flopping, to the obnoxious fans, to the players underperforming in the NBA. It’s all in there, along with other fascinating stuff, like stats proving Duke big men (the most worthless thing this side of a male nipple) actually get worse playing for the school, and a hard-hitting investigation into whether Coach K dyes his hair.
But the really wonderful thing about being a Duke hater is, it’s the hobby that keeps on giving. Most schools could only manage to do something truly awful once every other season, tops. We’re talking something that makes you cover your face with your hands and mutter, “God, these a-holes,” under your breath. Duke does something every week. Every. Single. Week.
I mean, have you seen this video?
We’ll let its terribleness speak for itself, except to say that it was commissioned and paid for by the university. Duke: the only school that has to produce its own fan-made videos. Someone put that on a bumper sticker.
The point is, even without reaching into the past and bringing up Wojo or “The Stomp” or Coach K’s penchant for threatening to jump to the pros when he wants a raise, or all that other really awful stuff, there are still reasons to hate Duke right this second. Many, many reasons. In the interest of brevity, here are six.
*Tucker co-authored the book with Andy Bagwell. Tucker is a staff features writer at the New York Post. He lives in Brooklyn, New York. Bagwell is a former member of Selected Hilarity, one of the top college comedy acts in the nation. He lives in Cary, North Carolina. The two host the “Tar Heel Bred, Tar Heel Dead” podcast, an obsessive, occasionally humorous look at UNC basketball.
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Lakers Rumors: 5 Reasons Los Angeles Must Avoid Gilbert Arenas Like the Plague
The Los Angeles Lakers are desperate to try and fix their struggling offense, but they could be ready to sink into pure desperation mode.
Multiple sources have indicated that the Lakers are leaning toward signing amnestied guard Gilbert Arenas.
But Mike Bresnahan of the Los Angeles Times contradicts those reports by saying that the Lakers haven’t invited Arenas for a workout and are leaning against signing the guard.
For their own sake, the Lakers should be avoiding Arenas like the plague.
Here’s five reasons why.
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North Carolina Basketball: 8 Reasons Heels Will Definitely Win the ACC
In a lot of ways, it’s been a humbling year for the North Carolina Tar Heels.
After starting the season ranked No. 1 in the nation and favored to bring home the national title, UNC fell to upstart UNLV early in the year and has already accumulated three losses—including the stunning 33-point shellacking they took from Florida State two weeks ago.
For all its problems, though, Roy Williams’ team is still ranked No. 8 in the country as the schedule heads into its final month. Even more important, yesterday’s victory over Georgia Tech leaves the Tar Heels tied for first place in the ACC with 10 games yet to play.
Herein, a look at eight reasons why North Carolina will be able to use those 10 games to take over sole possession of the conference lead and win its fifth regular-season ACC crown in the last six years.
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Anderson Varejao: 5 Reasons Cavaliers Center Deserves to Be an NBA All-Star
This year the Cleveland Cavaliers have three players on the NBA All-Star ballot.
First comes forward Antawn Jamison. Jamison is enjoying a solid year, putting up averages of 15.3 points and 5.4 rebounds with a player efficiency rating of 16.46.
Nice, but not All-Star worthy.
Rookie Kyrie Irving is also putting together a strong Rookie of the Year campaign with 17.6 points, 3.4 rebounds and 4.8 assists a game. Good enough numbers to make an All-Star team? Maybe, but with the plethora of talented guards in the Eastern Conference, Irving won’t make it this year.
This leaves Anderson Varejao for the Cavs, the 29-year-old, seven-year NBA veteran who has never made the team before. For the year he doesn’t even average double digits in scoring. Those who haven’t watched his game recently would say he’s only a flopper, and nothing more.
I’m here to say Anderson Varejao deserves to be an NBA All-Star, and here are five reasons why.
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5 Reasons the Lakers Should Sign Gilbert Arenas
NBA writer Alex Kennedy recently reported that according to sources “close to the Lakers” they are interested in signing free-agent ex-superstar Gilbert Arenas.
Growing up in Los Angeles, it only makes sense that Arenas would love to join Kobe and Co. and play for a contender for the first time in his long and interesting career thus far.
It’s no secret that LA could use some help in the backcourt, and although people may label this move a desperate one, I have been saying the Lakers should make this move since the beginning of the season.
After a long offseason in which Arenas is rumored to have lost 20 pounds, LA could sign him to a short-term deal and see how much he has left in the tank.
Here are five reasons I believe the Lakers would benefit from the signing of Gilbert Arenas.
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Murray State Basketball: 3 Reasons Why the Racers Could Be a Cinderella in March
How about those Murray State Racers?
Projected by many to not even win the Ohio Valley Conference, the Racers are sitting pretty at 20-0, remaining as the only undefeated team in Division 1 College Basketball.
With the success Murray State has been having this season, many are wondering if they are a legitimate contender to go deep in the NCAA Tournament.
Whether you want to admit it or not, they are.
Here are three big reasons why the Racers have been getting it done and why their 20-0 record as of today is only the beginning.
The Talent
Murray State simply has an under appreciated amount of talent on their squad.
Isaiah Canaan, who turned down offers from SEC schools to play for the Racers, has emerged as the leader on the court for Murray State. The junior guard from Biloxi, Mississippi leads the team with 18.7 points per game.
Senior guard Donte Poole has also put up big numbers with 14.6 points per game. At a height of 6’7”, senior forward Ivan Aska leads the team in rebounds with 6.0 per game.
With numerous players putting up solid statistics, Murray State has proved with the talent they have, they are a contender, regardless of the competition played.
The Coaching
What first-year blues?
Steve Prohm served as an assistant coach at Murray State for five seasons from 2006-2011. And now, in only his first season as head coach for the Racers, Prohm has the Racers looking at a potential undefeated record.
For any coach to be 20-0 during the season is impressive. For a first year head coach, it is downright crazy.
Prohm’s upbeat play, leadership and intensity, most notably shown here, means that the Racers are in good hands for as long as he stays.
With the success Prohm has had this season, however, bigger programs could be keeping their eye on the very near future.
The Competition
Okay let’s be real. Murray State plays in the Ohio Valley Conference, not the Big Ten or the SEC. Additionally of the eight Ohio Valley Conference games Murray State has played so far this season, only two have been against teams with winning records.
However, Murray State has definitely proved they can beat respectable opponents, most notably Murray State’s victory at then No. 20 Memphis 76-72 in December. The Racers also have a solid 75-58 victory over Dayton, and a 90-81 2OT victory over Southern Mississippi.
Of Murray State’s eight remaining non-conference games, none should pose a real treat, which in reverse means that none of these games are solid resume boosters. The Racers do however have an ESPN BracketBuster game in mid-January. A win there will help improve Murray State’s seed in the NCAA Tournament.
Simply put, despite a weak conference slate, the Racers have already proved just enough to be a solid contender to make some noise in March.
Running the table should put the Racers in contention for a six seed or better. Even if Murray State drops a regular season game or does not win the Ohio Valley Conference Tournament, the Racers should still have a strong enough resume to make the NCAA Tournament.
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10 Reasons the Murray State Racers Are a Legit Final Four Threat
If there were bets taken in November about who would be the last undefeated team in college basketball, absolutely no one would have answered the Murray State Racers.
Chances are, most people didn’t even know where Murray State was. But now, the tiny school in Paducah, Kentucky is famous.
The Racers are 20-0 and ranked ninth in the country. Ninth! Overall!
That’s ahead of traditional powerhouses like the Florida Gators, Indiana Hoosiers and Connecticut Huskies.
The question on almost everyone’s mind now is whether or not Murray State is for real.
Will the Racers finish the season without a loss? When the NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament starts, will they lose by 20 in the first round? Or could the team make it to the championship game?
My answer? Watch out, NCAA, Murray State is coming to crash the postseason. Here is why the Racers are a legitimate Final Four threat.
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