NBA overpayed players

Posted on October 24th, 2008 in News & Reviews by Raz

Considering the actual economic situation in USA in nowdays ,there s still  plenty of absurdly rich players getting millions of dollars . Thanks to the salary cap and the luxury tax, there is only so much money that can be given to players, and when one guy is underpaid, it means another is overpaid.
Here is a list of the notorious names of the last season .

1. Stephon Marbury, Knicks. 2008-09 salary: $21.9 million. Marbury’s season ended with ankle surgery, and it’s likely no one with the Knicks really noticed. He had averaged 13.9 points in 24 games. The follies of Isiah Thomas are many and costly (Jerome James will make $6.2 million, Malik Rose will make $7.6 million and Jared Jeffries will make $6 million), but Marbury’s contract rules. There’s only one way to make one of the NBA’s worst teams its highest paid team, and that’s to vastly overpay everyone.
2. Antoine Walker, Grizzlies. ‘08-09 salary: $9.3 million. Walker is emblematic of the Heat team that stormed to the 2006 championship. He got the ring, had some champagne, went to the beach and never really returned. He was already on the downward slope before the championship, but after that, the wheels fell off. He shot 39.7 percent the next year, then 36.3 percent in 46 games in Minnesota last year. Hard to say whether the Grizzlies will even let Walker on the floor this year, though his contract remains valuable in a trade (because it expires after the season). Either way, Walker has a team option next summer. Safe to say the Grizzlies won’t be exercising it.
3. Ben Wallace, Cavaliers. ‘08-09 salary: $14.5 million. Maybe money really can’t buy happiness. Wallace is a case in point. Something about the enormous four-year, $60 million deal Wallace signed with the Bulls in the summer of 2006 seems to have made him irreparably prickly and grumpy, to the point that the Bulls were trying to dump him a year after signing him. Wallace clearly isn’t the athlete he once was, which has cut down on his ability to dominate defensively but has greatly increased his BBCRMOL status. He averaged 4.8 points and 8.4 rebounds on 39.2 percent shooting, which is now the Cavs’ problem.
4.Jermaine O’Neal, Raptors. ‘08-09 salary: $21.3 million. Good health has eluded O’Neal. He has played 44, 51, 69 and 42 games in his last four seasons. Even when he was active, he hasn’t been worth in excess of $20 million. It becomes imperative now that he get on the court and stay there, because the Raptors are sinking a lot of their future into the notion that O’Neal can boost Chris Bosh and this team into the upper level of the East. He can’t do that in civvies.
5. Raef LaFrentz, Blazers. ‘08-09 salary: $12.7 million. LaFrentz is 31 and has been slowed by injuries throughout his career. If he had anything left to give, we wouldn’t know it because he is not going to play behind Portland’s pack of talented young big men. He managed just 39 appearances last year, averaging 1.7 points and 1.7 rebounds.

NBA 2009

Posted on October 29th, 2008 in News & Reviews by Raz

  82 games to go. Hope springs eternal at the start of every NBA season that, like last year, there’s always the chance of going from worst to first a la Boston Celtics. If Tampa can reach a World Series, is it so improbable that we might see the Minnesota Timberwolves in the Finals next June? OK, some things remain beyond even the realms of fantasy.

While for the title challengers there is pressure to end up as the last men standing, for the likely bottom-feeders a different burden looms. To win enough to escape ignominy. To entertain enough to lure the ticket-buyers in. To surpass expectations. Or, at least, not to disappoint.

NBA owners make Daniel Levy look patient. And in these uncertain times losing is bad for business, not a good thing if you’re, to pick a random example, the New York Knicks and still on the hook for a league-high $97m  in salaries this year ($21m alone going to the unwanted Stephon Marbury) and with no real prospect of making the play-offs until the next decade at least. Empty seats don’t look good on the television or on the bottom line.

Luol Deng, now installed as Chicago’s $71m man, is expected to deliver and help transform last term’s Horri-Bulls into Respecta-Bulls. The Great Britain forward has an assist in the shape of No1 Draft pick Derrick Rose but, having seen his team disappoint massively 12 months ago, is he feeling an extra weight in relation to his burgeoning bank balance? “Not really,” he says. “I think that everybody that plays basketball loves to be in the position I’m in. I’m just happy that the Bulls organisation has so much trust in me. I’m just excited I can focus on my game and try to win.”

Bravado goes a long way. Chicago, at best, may be looking to sneak back into the post-season but there is little prospect of anyone emulating the Celtics’ instant overhaul, not following a summer when Elton Brand’s flight from Clipperland to Philadelphia was the only transformatory trade.

The Oklahoma Thunder, in its inaugural campaign since quitting Seattle, will get time to settle while reigning Rookie of the Year Kevin Durant matures and the honeymoon with their new-found devotees last. Others have no such leeway. Larry Brown’s recruitment as head coach of the Charlotte Bobcats may buy Michael Jordan some time but how many chances will he get to prove he is even remotely talented at general management? Winless in pre-season, he must know reputations only last so long. While Randy Wittman, in Minnesota, must effect some semblance of improvement to cement his shoogly peg back into the wall.

No coach, you feel, is on a hotter seat than Marc Iavaroni in Memphis. 22-60 in his first season in charge, and with some internal dysfunction, he needs victories despite the lowest employee tab in the NBA. “Of course there was speculation because of the record,” he admitted this week. “That’s the way it is in this league. When you have a record that people look at in black and white and don’t go into the intricacies of why the record, then they start speculating and that was fine.”

Others will get time to learn the ropes. Miami, just two years removed from a title, have turned the keys over to Erik Spoelstra. Yet his predecessor (and still boss) Pat Riley, sporting a championship ring on each finger, will sit a few rows away, subconsciously second-guessing every move. Spoelstra, though, insists he won’t let it wear him down. “I feel extremely fortunate to be in the situation I’m in and blessed that he’s still here in the organisation,” he said. “Pat and I have worked together for 13 years so we get on fine. We’ve been through winning teams and some tough losing years. That’s strengthened that bond so we have a trust that’s built up between the two of us. I look at it as a bonus to have a Hall of Fame coach, a mentor to me, as a resource down the hall.”

Miami, as they demonstrated during their pre-season trip to London, are well short of returning to the heights of 2006. They, like so many of their fellow strugglers of last season, remain a work in progress. Building a champion - with rare exceptions - takes time.

For 82 games, the heat is on to show that the bus is driving in the right direction. If not, someone, somewhere, will pay the price. The only question is when, not if, hope will overtake despair?

Predictions

Most Valuable Player: LeBron James, Cleveland. The Cavaliers have a much better squad than the one that made it all the way to the 2007 Finals before banging up against their ceiling. James, still just 23, is the rock that it all sits on but his Olympic experience may finally have drilled home that balance between supporting the load and lending his weight.

Rookie of the Year: Rudy Fernandez, Portland. With Juan Carlos Navarro scuttling back to Barcelona, the world champs keep up their NBA quota with the arrival of Fernandez, a mainstay of Joventut Badalona’s regular silverware hauls in recent years. He proved in the Olympic final that he’s ready to match all-comers.

Sideline Story of the Season: The End (Maybe) of Shaq. Ok, The Big Diesel hasn’t quite confirmed he’s ready to bow out but with one season left on his current deal in Phoenix, and with that super-sized body breaking down, enjoy him while he lasts.

Champions: Los Angeles Lakers. The return of Andrew Bynum, who missed the entirety of the Lakers’ play-off run of last spring, is like acquiring a new All-Star - for free. Pau Gasol will be more established in situ as well. As long as Kobe Bryant’s ill-advised decision to avoid finger surgery doesn’t backfire, it could be a Hollywood ending.

Houston Rockets - Dallas Mavericks

Posted on October 30th, 2008 in Sportsbetting free tips by Raz

Today , we re back again on the track with some new , fresh and free sportsbetting tips from  the NBA .

Finally, the season started in NBA . Dallas has their opener at home against Houston.

In the Houston debut of Ron Artest, the Rockets defeated Memphis 82-71 on Wednesday night. Yao Ming had 21 points and 10 rebounds, Artest and Tracy McGrady scored 16 points apiece and Luis Scola added a double-double with 12 points and 13 rebounds.

Houston (1-0) won despite shooting 36.8 percent from the floor, getting outrebounded 49-44 and totaling more turnovers (12) than assists (10).

I m not expecting to see Houston shooting great tonight either , considering the Dallas defense .

Dallas ranked sixth in the NBA last season with 95.9 points allowed per game, but gave up 102.8 per game in the playoffs.

Josh Howard will be a critical piece to Carlisle’s defensive strategy, that is, if he can stay out of trouble. Howard, who begins his sixth season after posting career highs in points (19.9) and rebounds (7.0) in 2007-08, was arrested this summer for drag racing in his hometown of Winston-Salem, N.C.

Bottom line .. it s still early to predict how things are , but it s a good shot for a low scoring  game tonight in Dallas .

So , the tonight bet is

Houston Rockets/Dallas Mavericks Under 190 1.926 only at Pinnacle

* If you want , you can modify the actual line by adding or retrieving points , option available at Pinnacle a very useful way to maximize the profit *

Tonight NBA free tips

Posted on October 31st, 2008 in Sportsbetting free tips by Raz

Considering the bad result from yesterday , we look forward for a teaser tonight .

A teaser bet is a prop bet that allows you to alter the betting odds up and down in your favor.  You must pick at least 2 teams, but you are able to select up to 6 teams total. The teaser bet is another form of a parlay as all of your teams have to win for the wager to be declared a winning one.

Seems like a sure thing? Well, there is a reason it’s called a teaser bet. If you’re a big fan of betting multiple games, this is fun way to move around the lines to a place where one can feel comfortable making a call. With the bookmakers becoming much sharper with their lines in the new millennium, the teaser becomes an even more attractive option to certain bettors.

A two-team teaser will usually net you $110 for every $100 spent . Of course, the more teams you put in your teaser, the higher the odds go. The most popular teaser in Basketball normally offers, 4, 4 ½ and 5 point teases. Each sportsbook varies a bit in what they offer. Some sportsbooks allow you to purchase extra half points or full points.

We play all of the teasers at  Pinnacle . You can find there a lot of options to make your betting experience better .

Today s NBA teaser is made from 4 games and looks like this :

New York Knicks/Philadelphia 76ers UNDER 221.5
Boston Celtics -5
Los Angeles Clippers +7
San Antonio Spurs/Portland OVER 170

Play this teaser at Pinnacle for the best odds @ 2,5

.Good Luck !