Hoops Links News & Rumors

On this date in 1979, the New Orleans Jazz moved to Salt Lake City, thus becoming the Utah Jazz.  It wasn't exactly smooth sailing for the team in the early years as they limped to a 107-221 record in their first four seasons.  Of course, things would improve for the franchise over time for the club, particularly when a coach by the name of Jerry Sloan took over in December of 1988.  There's also another major milestole for Utah on this date – Karl Malone earned his record 11th All-NBA First Team selection on June 8th, 1999. 

Do you have a great blog piece that you think we should feature in Hoops Links?  If so, send me an email at HoopsLinks@gmail.com.  This week's links..

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On this date in 1996, the SuperSonics topped the Jazz 90-86 in Game 7 of the Western Conference Finals, putting them in the NBA Finals for the first time since 1979.  Shawn Kemp led the way with 26 points while Gary Payton had 21.  The Sonics would of course succumb to Michael Jordan's Bulls in the Finals but earned the distinction of being only the second team in NBA Finals history to   battle to a Game 6 after trailing 3-0 in the series. 

If you have a great blog piece that you think we should feature in Hoops Links, then send it to me at  HoopsLinks@gmail.com.  This week's linkage..

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On this date in 1999, Vince Carter, won the Rookie of the Year award with 95.8% of the votes.  The Raptors star averaged 18.3 points, 5.7 rebounds, 3.0 assists, and 1.54 blocked shots while shooting .450 from the field in 1998-99.  This year, Cavs rookie Kyrie Irving captured the award with 117 of 120 (97.5%) first-place votes.  Here's a look at this week's links..

• Know Hitter examines life in Seattle without the Sonics.
• Digital Refrain pairs Western Conference teams with popular bands.
• Blazer's Edge has a few thoughts from around the league.
• Red's Army wonders how these Celtics will be remembered if they lose tonight.
• The Basketball Post thinks the Lakers are in a tough spot going forward.
• NBA 24 7 365 is frustrated by Rajon Rondo.
• NIU BBall celebrates the resurrection of Chen Jianghua's career.
• Bullets Forever would like to re-introduce you to free agent Gerald Green.
• Ball 4 Life recaps the IBA finals.
• Hoops Addict says the future is bright for the Pacers.
• Shaky Ankles pits James Harden against Dwyane Wade.
• The Recliner GM looks at the legacy of Tom Gola.
• Hardwood Paroxysm begrudgingly respects the Spurs.
• Wages Of Wins wonders if the Lakers should part ways with Pau Gasol.
• Golden State Of Mind did some heavy duty analysis using pre-draft measurements.
• Project Spurs tries to figure out how to contain Kevin Durant.
• Ball Or Nuthin' wasn't surprised to see the Lakers get bounced.
• Waiting For Next Year weighs in on the top half the draft's first round.
• The Hoop Doctors look at Allen Iverson's return to Philadelphia.
• Bright Side Of The Sun analyzes Phoenix's centers.

If you have a suggestion for this feature, Zach can be reached here.

On this date in 1928, Dolph Schayes was born in New York City.  Twenty years later, Schayes would be tabbed by the Syracuse Nationals of the NBL where he used his height (6'8") to tower over most of his opposition.  The forward captured the Rookie of the Year award in 1949 and in 1955 he led his team to an NBA championship.  Schayes made the All-NBA First-Team six times, the All-NBA Second-Team six times, and amassed 19,249 points over the course of his career.  The New York native was shoe-in for the Basketball Hall of Fame in 1972 and also earned the unofficial title of the best Jewish basketball player ever.

Do you have a great blog piece that needs to be a part of Hoops Links?  If so, send me an email at HoopsLinks@gmail.com.  This week's links..

• Know Hitter came up with eight ways to fix the Mavericks.
• RealGM says to blame the shooters, not the stars.
• The True Fan's Sports Blog has three ways that the Lakers can improve for next year.
• NBA 24 7 365 suggests that we stop counting the Spurs out.
• The Basketball Post rolled out an overview of the LegaBasket playoffs.
• Truth About It reviews Jan Vesely's 2011/12 campaign.
• Rufus On Fire looks at the Bobcats' point guards from this past season.
• Red94 doesn't think the Rockets would beat any of this year's playoff teams.
• Blazer's Edge talks Joel Freeland and Victor Claver.
• Red's Army wonders if Larry Bird is the most successful individual in hoops history.
• A Wolf Among Wolves reviews Darko Milicic's year.
• A Stern Warning talks flopping.
• Roundball Mining Company learned a lot from the Nuggets' postseason.
• Posting and Toasting has their picks for best Knicks jams of the year.
• Nets Are Scorching wasn't happy with the New Jersey faithful.
• Piston Powered has their eye on Henry Sims.
• NBA Playbook breaks down Roy Hibbert's career night.
• Hoop Idea would like to see games reffed the same way from beginning to end.
• Sactown Royalty analyzes DeMarcus Cousins.

If you have a suggestion for this feature, Zach can be reached here.

On this day in 1985, the Knicks won the first ever draft lottery, enabling them to select center Patrick Ewing out of Georgetown.  This not only gave birth to a new era of Knicks basketball, but to one of the biggest conspiracy theories in sports.  Some wondered if the NBA fixed the lottery in order to steer the top talent in the draft to the league's premier market.  Was the Knicks' envelope frozen prior to being placed in the drum?  Or was the envelope just bent slightly at the corner?  Earlier this year, Charles Barkley proved that lottery conspiracy theories are alive and well as he suggested that the Brooklyn Nets could be in line for the top pick in this year's draft.

Do you have a great blog piece that you think we should feature in Hoops Links?  If so, send me an email at HoopsLinks@gmail.com.  I swear, I won't give preference to the bigger, more profitable blogs.  This week's links..

• Blazers Edge doesn't think that the Trail Blazers need an elite one-guard to contend.
• The Basketball Post isn't sure how the Knicks are going to build around their core.
• Bucksketball says that it was a tough year for Carlos Delfino on defense.
• NBA Dimensions doesn't see a bright future in New York.
• Bullets Forever looks at potential trades around the league for the Wizards.
• Red94 is happy for Lakers big man Jordan Hill.
• NBA 24 7 365 breaks down Chris Paul in the fourth quarter.
• RealGM spoke with Orlando Johnson of UCSB.
• Valley Of The Suns reflects on Phoenix's season with advanced stats.
• Cowbell Kingdom evaluates Tyreke Evans' 2011/12 campaign.
• NBA Draft Blog caught up with Old Dominion's Kent Bazemore.
• Hornets 24 7 identified the safest prospects in the 2012 draft.
• Rufus On Fire cranked up the tunes for a Bobcats year end retrospective.
• Hoopinion didn't like what they saw out of the Hawks in Game 6.
• Swish Appeal looks at the New York Liberty's first-round pick.
• Brew Hoop doesn't want the Bucks to overpay for Ersan Ilyasova.
• Raptors Republic hopes to see Steve Nash come north of the border this summer.
• A Stern Warning misses the NBA of twenty years ago.
• SB Nation reflects on the Knicks' season with a look at New York Post back pages.
• Truth About It grades JaVale McGee's season in Washington.
• Piston Powered is intrigued by French forward Evan Fournier.
• Queen City Hoops gives their report card on Derrick Brown.

If you have a suggestion for this feature, Zach can be reached here.

On this day in 1994, Charles Barkley hit 23-of-31 field goal attempts and finished with 56 points to lead the Suns to a 140-133 win over the Warriors and a three-game sweep of their first round series.  The Suns stayed hot heading into the next round when they took the first two games of their series on the road against the Rockets.  Unfortunately for Barkley & Co., the Rockets would battle back to win in seven games.

Do you have an outstanding basketball blog piece that you think we should feature?  If so, send it to me at HoopsLinks@gmail.com.  Here's our look at the best of the web this week..

• Blazers Edge takes a shot at instant rebuilding in Portland.
• RealGM asks if college basketball transfers are out of control.
• Hardwood Paroxysm examines Mike Conley in the double pick-and-roll.
• Eight Points In Nine Seconds doesn't agree with Ryan Anderson winning MIP.
• True Hoop wonders why Andrew Bynum doesn't get the ball more.
• Hoops Addict breaks down the Year of the Coach.
• Wages Of Wins dubs Reggie Evans one of the most underrated players in the game.
• The Hoop Doctors introduces us to basketball's next big thing.
• The Starting Five plays Debbie Downer to the Thunder.
• Forum Blue & Gold tries to figure out how to keep Arron Afflalo off of Kobe Bryant.
• Piston Powered checks out Austin Rivers and how he could fit in with Detroit.
• The Basketball Post runs down the Euroleague final four for NBA fans.
• The Portland Roundball Society looks back on Ray Felton's time with the Trail Blazers.
• Bucksketball believes that this will be a telling week for Milwaukee.
• Ballin Europe looks at the curse of the Eurochallenge championship.
• 48 Minutes Of Hell wants to know what happened to Devin Harris.
• Valley Of The Suns says the pressure is on Lance Blanks and Lon Babby this summer.
• Red94 wants to see Roy Hibbert in Houston.
• The Basketball Jones writes that Derrick Rose can bounce back just fine from his ACL tear.
• Magic Basketball reminds you that Glen Davis is a champion.

If you have a suggestion for this feature, Zach can be reached here.

On this day in 1990, the Celtics set an NBA single-game playoff scoring record in beating the Knicks 157-128 in Game 2 of their first round series.  The Celtics shot .670 from the field (63-of-94 FG attempts), setting another playoff mark.  However, the No. 5 seed Knicks would win the next three and take the best-of-five series to upset the No. 4 C's. 

Will the Knicks pull off another (and larger) first round upset this year?  The 2011/12 playoffs kick off today with a slate of four games, including Game 1 of Knicks-Heat.  As we wait for the action to begin, here's this week's look around the basketball blogosphere..

• KnowHitter has a plan for the Bobcats going forward.
• RealGM put together a statistical breakdown of the compressed schedule.
• The Basketball Post wonders what's next for Orlando.
• The Good Point wants you to get reacquainted with Josh Smith.
• Euroleague Adventures looks at five rising stars.
• Red's Army salutes the progress made by Avery Bradley.
• Basketball Prospectus would like to see some changes made to the lottery.
• Cavs The Blog profiles Anthony Davis and Terrence Jones.
• Warriors World wonders if Golden State has clutch players.
• Posting and Toasting wants you to know what the Knicks have going in their favor.
• Denver Stiffs looks back on the good times with Chris Andersen.
• The Orlando Pinstriped Post recaps Orlando's crazy season.
• Pounding The Rock examines the Spurs' cap situation in 2012/13.
• True Hoop bloggers cast their votes for this year's awards.
• Hoops Addict writes that the Pacers have something to prove.
• Hoopinion has an idea of what could be next for Steve Nash.
• Wages Of Wins looks at how Kevin Durant edged Kobe Bryant.
• Nets Are Scorching outlined the ten best highlights of the Nets' season.
• Red94 says that Kyle Lowry was the Rockets' MVP in 2011/12.

If you have a suggestion for this feature, Zach can be reached here.

On Monday night, the Nets will play their final game in New Jersey when they host the 76ers in Newark.  The club will celebrate 35 years in the Garden State with guest appearances from former players including Albert King, Otis Birdsong, Chris Morris, Derrick Coleman, Kenny Anderson, Kendall Gill, and Kerry Kittles.  During their time in New Jersey, the Nets have compiled a .421 winning percentage and reached the playoffs 16 times.  

If you have a great basketball blog piece that you think we should feature, send me an email at HoopsLinks@gmail.com.  Here's our look at the best of the web this week..

• Nets Are Scorching looks at the future of the Nets-Knicks rivalry.
• RealGM sat down with Gerald Green to discuss his second chance in the Association.
• Hardwood Paroxysm examines Dwight Howard in the clutch.
• Cowbell Kingdom weighs in on the Kings' arena situation.
• Know Hitter says that the Celtics will be a scary team this postseason.
• The Basketball Post applauds the Bobcats' efforts when it comes to tanking.
• Euroleague Adventures wonders why Juan Carlos Navarro made the all-Euroleague team.
• 3 Shades Of Blue makes the case for Marc Gasol being removed from the starting five.
• Basketball Prospectus looks at the Blazers' history of injuries.
• Hoops Addict wonders if a lack of postseason experience could hurt the Pacers.
• Cavs The Blog talks Lester Hudson.
• The Good Point thinks that the Raptors are showing some promise.  
• Bucksketball writes that Drew Gooden has been playing out of position this year.
• Stepien Rules caught up with Cavs forward Luke Harangody.
• NBA Playbook took notice of a beautiful play ran by the Wizards.
• Portland Roundball Society was in the Blazers' locker room after their final home game.
• Red's Army looks at which Celtics are headed to the rafters.
• A Wolf Among Wolves applauds J.J. Barea.
• Celtics Hub looks at the C's relationship with the mid-range shot.
• The Hoop Doctors wonders what's next for Deron Williams.
• Basketbawful ran down the worst of Wednesday's action.
• Hoop Idea writes that NBA officiating is becoming more transparent.

If you have a suggestion for this feature, Zach can be reached here.

On this day in 1990, Nets big man Chris Dudley went to the foul line and missed 17 of 18 free throws.  To this day, his 0-for-13 start remains the NBA record for consecutive misses from the charity stripe.  Here's this week's look at blogs that rarely miss from the charity stripe..

• Denver Stiffs revisited this season's Nene trade from a number of angles.
• Rufus On Fire implores the Bobcats to fill their vacant roster spot.
• Magic Basketball wants you to get familiar with Ish Smith.
• Hornets 247 spoke with Al-Farouq Aminu about his blogging.
• Warriors World sees similarities between Golden State and Utah.
• Red94 looks into the crystal ball to see what the future holds for Chandler Parsons.
• Ridiculous Upside wonders when Zoran Dragic will get his chance to shine.
• Mavs Moneyball likes the idea of Vince Carter at the three spot.
• D League Digest is in favor of the one-and-done format.
• 3 Shades Of Blue praises Chris Wallace.
• Bucksketball doesn't think that being pessimistic makes you a bad person.
• Silver Screen And Roll comes to grips with Kobe Bryant's sudden mortality.
• Know Hitter looks at potential big name deals.
• Truth About It examines how the Wizards and Bobcats are actively trying to tank.
• Detroit Bad Boys isn't sure if Joe Dumars really wants Damien Wilkins back.
• True Hoop looks at Miami's double standard.
• Cavs The Blog profiles Austin Rivers and Dion Waiters.
• The Two Man Game offers up chemistry ideas for Mavs coach Rick Carlisle.
• Eight Points Nine Seconds thinks the Pacers are just right.
• The Basketball Jones lets you know what it's like to be a Nets fan.
• Hoopinion breaks down Ivan Johnson's impressive season.
• Posting and Toasting wants you to do your part to break the Friday Night Knicks curse.
• Canis Hoopus looks at offseason targets for the T'Wolves.
• Raptors Republic gives you a guide for the home stretch of the season.
• Blazers Edge looks at the strange case of Zig Ziegler.

If you have a suggestion for this feature, Zach can be reached here.

On this day in 2001, the Rockets defeated the Hawks 110-97 to become the first NBA team in 18 years to sweep an entire division.  The Rockets won all 16 games against Central Division opponents, becoming the first team to sweep a division since the 1982/83 Lakers swept all 12 intra-divisional games.  Unfortunately for Houston, they couldn't play all 82 games against the Central as they finished two games behind the T'Wolves for the eighth playoff seed.

If you have a great basketball blog piece that you think we should feature in our weekly installment of Hoops Links, send me an email at HoopsLinks@gmail.com.  Here's this week's look around the basketball blogosphere..

• At The Hive looks at the Hornets' history with lottery picks.
• MagicBasketball.net played a round of Fact Or Fiction with a healthy dose of D12.
• Bullets Forever catalogs the evolution of the Wizards.
• Bright Side Of The Sun thinks Steve Nash can still play at a high level after the big 4-0.
• The Basketball Post celebrates the validation of Kentucky coach John Calipari.
• Truth About It wonders if the Wizards are in better position going forward than the Nets.
• Blog A Bull knows that C.J. Watson needs a rest, but the Bulls need him more.
• Euro-Step looks at the rise of the Germans.
• Straight Outta Vancouver comes to the defense of Rudy Gay and Zach Randolph.
• Sactown Royalty isn't sure of what the Maloofs are trying to prove.
• Hoop Speak tips their e-cap to Lakers coach Mike Brown.
• Pounding The Rock checks out the new-look Spurs.
• Detroit Bad Boys asks if the NBA is ready for advertising on jerseys.
• SB Nation breaks down our long national Dwightmare.
• Mavs Moneyball salutes Delonte West.
• Clips Nation looks at Chris Paul & Co. down the stretch.
• NBA Playbook looks at Miami's failed experiment.
• The Dream Shake tries to figure out Patrick Patterson.
• Silver Screen And Roll breaks down The Sessions Effect.
• Liberty Ballers peaks inside the mind of Doug Collins.
• Cowbell Kingdom wonders about Keith Smart's rotation.
• Hoop Idea looks at Bill Simmons' thoughts on tanking over the years.
• Ballin Europe gave their take on the Euroleague Women Final Eight.
• RealGM peers into the crystal ball for a look at the future of the Thunder.
• The Classical isn't quite sure what Dwight Howard is going for.

If you have a suggestion for this feature, Zach can be reached here.