I can’t believe Coup would bust out a TO pills joke on his own beloved Cowboys. That would be like me using a Sam Bowie or Jailblazers joke. Plus I know he wants to wait and see what I do after I gave him all he wanted and some last week. I do love how he found a way to squeeze in some NBA content and it inspired me. You see Sports Illustrated also had a link on ten players who are looking to rebound.
1. Steve Francis – Rockets
Steve Francis has pulled an Anfernee Hardaway. Just like you can’t call him Penny anymore you can’t call this guy Stevie Franchise. And also, I don’t think anyone remembers how good this guy used to be. To me his career ended when he split from Cuttino just like Darius Miles’ career ended when he split from Q. David Stern should have kept both those duos together forever. I mean this is a three-time NBA All-Star STARTER for pete’s sake and look how far he has fallen. There is a reason why Blazer fans were shaking their heads when that trade was announced and his name started with ‘Steve’ and ended with ‘Francis’. Injuries have nearly ended his career and he is desperately looking to revive his stagnant career. In Houston he will give them another much needed scoring option. If he can show flashes of brilliance it will be an upgrade over what they had last year. The key is he has to stay healthy. Playing for Adelman will definitely help him though.
2. Andrei Kirilenko – Jazz
The ex-AK47 is an anomaly to me. He jumped on the scene as the Jazz era ended and was the only good player on their terrible teams. But once they got better he began to struggle and his deficiencies began to show. For one..he just can’t shoot. There is a reason teams sag way off of him. He is a tremendous defender, a tremendous runner and one of the most super-active players in the league. But at the end of the day he can’t shoot. And he is as mentally strong as a 6th grade basketball player. I mean this is the same guy that cried in Houston in the playoffs. The same guy who has made about 1921 trade requests. He’s like a bitchier version of Marion. How do you from 8 boards a game to 4 boards a game? Also on the low watch out for the Boozer/Williams vs. Euros feud in Utah that could rip them apart. I don’t see Kirilenko returning to his old form in Utah, not now that Boozer, Williams and even Okur have surpassed him in Sloan’s eyes.
3. Boris Diaw – Suns
I am in the camp that believes Diaw will never have a season like he had in 05-06. Not that he won’t be successful, just that he won’t be that good again. Remember he came out of nowhere and was the 5 on that team. Other big men couldn’t guard him, he could operate in the highpost and slash or hit open mid-range jumpers. The return of Amare almost rendered him ineffective. It doesn’t help that he came in a little satisfied and out of shape. Add to the fact that they just added Grant Hill and I’m not sure this is the year that Diaw returns to form. He is a tremendous asset and very versatile player for the Suns but his inconsistency and their plethora of offensive options could doom him. Then again there is a curse on people who have won the most improved player award.
4. Speedy Claxton – Hawks
Really SI? Speedy Claxton? First off the guy has never played a full season in his career. Secondly injuries have taken the speed out of his game. And third he is on a team that has four point guards. Him, Anthony Johnson, Tyronn Lue and now Acie Law. He hasn’t been on a winning team since being in San Antonio. It’s funny how he was their big move last offseason to be their guard to push them, and this offseason they drafted a point guard. The writing is on the wall Speedy, the writing is on the wall.
5. Chris Kaman – Clippers
Two reasons why Chris Kaman struggled last year after his breakout season. First was that he was paid, and if there is any lesson in the NBA players tend to have a letdown after getting a contract. Especially big white guys (McIlvaine anyone?). The second reason was he terrible decision to get a horrendous looking haircut. He lost all of his power when he cut his hair. The same thing happened to Edgerrin James when he cut his dreads, Donovan McNabb when he shaved his head and Busta Rhymes when he cut all his hair off. That being said he still averaged 10, 7.8 boards and 1.5 blocks last year. A lot more will be asked and expected of him this year but I think of any guy on this list, he will be the guy to make a return. Expect a lot of nasty double-doubles from Kaman. Don’t sleep too much on the Clippers.
6. Bonzi Wells – Rockets
Bonzi played for the Rockets last year? No way. My thing is Bonzi and JVG were definitely not a good combination. Bonzi will now be playing under a coach that he likes and a coach that likes him. A happy Bonzi is always a good Bonzi. He’ll comfortably be an important piece of the puzzle in Houston and will be able to take some of the offensive pressure off of T-Mac and Yao. That being said, just like he flourished in Sacramento he should be able to flourish in Adelman’s system with two all-stars on the court with him. Is it just me or is Bonzi going to look back and curse himself and his ex-agent out for messing up that 5-year, 38.5M dollar offer from the Kings? Who knows, Bonzi should be back to form this year.
7/8. Mike Bibby & Brad Miller – Kings
Bibby will bounce back after a below-standards year. I hesitate to say bad because the man can flat out still light it up and will. He was just surrounded by pure crap and to go from Adelman to Musselman was a big step down. He’ll be fine. Remember how good he was in 01-02? Exactly. Brad Miller on the other hand..he had a major drop-off. He went from 15 and 9 two years ago to 9 and 6 last year. He has got to get healthy if he is going to return to form. He is showing his age more and more with each year. He should concentrate on teaching his son Brad Miller Jr. aka Spencer Hawes how to not get dunked on.
9. Antoine Walker – Heat
This is the worst basketball player in the NBA. You cannot argue this with me. As a D-Wade fan and by association Heat enjoyer it is just awful to watch him. If he would post up it wouln’t be half as bad. But this guy has an inane ability to make me want to projectile vomit with the way he jacks up terrible threes. And I mean terrible. Plus now he can’t make a free throw to save his life. I mean there is absolutely no argument.
10. Mike James – Rockets
Geeze, three Rockets SI? I never really jumped on the Mike James bandwagon. He was a gunner on a terrible team in his contract year. The guy took 15.5 shots in 05-06, I sure hope he averaged 20. He got his contract and stunk up the joint in Minnesota. Now he is going to Houston where he will not get anywhere near as many shots as he did before. He will help them offensively but he is option 4 or maybe 5. He’s the type of player who needs shots to get going. He won’t be getting that many.