NBA Preseason Tid Bit's:

I know it is supposed to be the "Summer of Miami" and i'm supposed to talk about Lebron James, Chris Bosh, Dwayne Wade and the machine that is the Miami Heat. But, i'm not going to, i'm going to talk about a few recent developements that have caught my eye in the NBA.

21 Gun Salute!

It seems like the 2010/2011 season is already starting off about as poorly as it possibly can for Gilbert Arenas (no injuries required), Agent Zero was critisized in the media last week for publicly gift wrapping and handing the  Washington Wizards to his younger teammate, John Wall, via his statement about "showing Wall the ropes and moving on". http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/trainingcamp10/news/story?id=5655187. Now, if you were still a member of the rappidly decreasing Gilbert Arenas fan club, despite his nagging injuries, gun charges and lack of killer instict, this is where you should drop the reigns, swallow your fear and leap from the blazing contraption that is the Gilbert Arenas bandwagon, and never look back as it crashes into the Wall (no pun intended) of the new era that is young John Wall in Washington. Arenas has admitted, on Wednesday (1 day after Wall scored 19 in a win over Atlanta) that he infact faked the knee injury that kept him bench-bound for the Wiz's home-opener Vs. the Atlanta Hawks on Tuesday night. Better yet, we get another half-hearted apology from Agent Zero, after Wednesday's practice, Arenas had this to say. "I screwed up again, so I just want to say sorry," he said. "I wasn't really thinking that this was going to be another media outburst. It's like everything I do now, someone, tit for tat, tries to blow it out of proportion." I think fans in Washington should be fed up and the media should be covering so called "franchise stars" who constantly act foolish. Straighten up Gilbert. When you get hurt as often as this guy does, you have a common sense issue (see guns, fake injuries) and you're an undersized PG who doesn't play a lick of D and can be controlled by forcing him to  drive the lane, you really should focus on playing your best and keeping your idiotic statements from reaching public ears. If he wants out of Washington and expects to start somewhere else, the first step will start with his public image.

ROTY Candidate?

DeMarcus "Boogie" Cousins has had a little chatter surrounding him as of late, the rookie, 6'11, 270 C (with touch around the rim) out of Kentucky looks to be on the recieving end of a Samuel Dalembert injury (strained adducter muscle). The 29 year old Dalembert has played in 354 consecutive games (3rd longest active streak) and was promising to add a much needed defensive presence to the otherwise soft interior of the Sacramento Kings. It looks like the Kings will be without the 7-foot, Haitian-Canadian Dalembert, although the injury does not look to be serious, it should cost the defensive minded Dalembert 4 to 6 weeks and give the Rookie, Cousins a shot at showcasing his game. Cousins played one season in Kentucky, averaging 15.1 ppg and 9.9 rebounds in 23 minutes of play, he shoots a high percentage and has amazingly soft hands for a player of his size, he reminds me a bit of Zach Randolph in the size and touch department (hopefully not the locker room skills). Cousins could land the starting role if he performs, although the Kings are reluctant to give up on Dalembert and his defensive skills just yet. I'd say to keep a close eye on Cousins and his performance for the first few weeks of the season, if he can play well and keep a starting role, i believe he can help the Kings win games and challenge John Wall for ROTY.

The missing piece to the other LA team?

With all of the rookie hype surrounding John Wall, Evan Turner and even DeMarcus Cousins, has Blake Griffin's identity fallen through the cracks? Well it seems that with all of the looming talk of whether or not any player from this year's rookie class will challenge John Wall for the crown, people have seemed to forget that Blake Griffin is healthy, a ROTY candidate and seemingly on a mission to make up for lost time. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o1EcPVYy2JM. This kid is a monster and a great rebounder too, Griffin tore down 17 rebounds (13 points and a block) in Tuesday's contest against the Spurs and his knee looks to be in great shape. I watched the game and i noticed another thing from Blake, he really respects the game and plays to the fullest of his abilities. He reads things well for a young player and lacks no athletic abilty for a big guy. I talked about DeMarcus Cousins having soft hands for a big guy, Griffin may not be a big as Cousins but, he too has very nice touch around the hoop, mixed with great leaping abilty and an on task look on his face for 48 minutes. This kid is a gamer and i'm leaning towards him as the 2010/2011 ROTY (pending health).