Well this sucks.

[Editor's note: FP'd
Sebestain Pruiti at Grantland has posted rookie rankings throughout the season and Kyrie Irving has moved to first place this week. I had never read his work before it appeared on Grantland but it seems to be very well done. He uses advanced metrics to analyze players and gives pictorial evidence and detailed breakdowns in his rankings. Tristan Thompson was in the top 10 earlier this season but has fallen to just outside the rankings now as other players have stepped up.

Zydrunas Ilgauskas has been hired as an assistant to Chris Grant.

I saw this during the game and figured I should try and get more people to vote.

[Editor's note: Front Page'd]

It's a great read, check it out.

Every year every fan clamors about how this is the year. Some teams have real reasons for it. Clippers. Knicks. Heat. Mavericks. Some teams are used tot hat feeling. Spurs. Lakers. Celtics. And some lose that feeling before it starts. Kings. Warriors. Nets. But we are all champions before that first game and we all know exactly why. Well, let me be the one to further fan that preseason fire.

I have put together a list of teams players and whys for those players as to how that vaunted preseason championship will be won. So with further ado. Let your wildest dreams, run WILD.

But first, a reminder of what it looks like when THAT player does lead THAT team all the way.

2007 - San Antonio Spurs - Manu Ginobili - Fearless - Fight - Aggressive - Everything Greg Popovich would want in a player, Manu was in 2007 for the championship Spurs. His play signified what the Spurs were and won with.

2008 - Boston Celtics - Kevin Garnett - Focus - Passion - Immovable - No gimmes. No shooting for the other team after the whistle. No scoring on him. No way anyone could have beat the Celtics team that bought into KG's passion and D and played with it all year.

2009 - Los Angeles Lakers - Trevor Ariza - Chaos - Dunks - Defense - Ariza did and caused all three and seemed to never run out of energy. With Ariza contributing in a big way, The Lake Show were 3rd in 3 point percentage, 6th in Overall Defense and 2nd in steals and 4th in turnoevers caused on their way to the Ship.

2010 - Kobe Bryant - Never - Say - Quit - You can look at the Finals and see why the Lakers won it all. Kobe finally got, or made, his team play like him. He never let them quit and was as fierce on them as he was on the opponent. They took the Celtics best punch them knocked 'em out in 7.

2011 - Tyson Chandler - J.J. Barea - Big - Small - Underrated - Chandler and Barea were the odd couple that looked way different, play way different but signified the Mavs in the first ever Championship season. They played with confidence, played amazing under the radar and were chock full of intangibles.

So who are the guys that will be the ones to bring the game that their team will embody? Which one's will we be talking about if their team is the last one standing in June?

Less talk, more list.

View the list here.

http://harwoodandfields.blogspot.com/2011/12/this-is-our-year-insert-player-here.html

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Roy's degenerative knees are set to cause him to retire as early as Friday.

Knicks are slightly ahead of the Warriors in the race for the big man. NYK is looking to get rid of Billups and Turiaf to make Chandler fit.