Who did the Kings add this season?

Josh Childress:  import small forward with NBA credentials

Kendrick Perry: super-fast import point guard, straight out of college and time with the Orlando Magic Summer League team – a serious talent

Angus Brandt: Aussie big man returning from Oregon State University to his hometown

Josh Duinker: another Sydney big returning home, after time in Europe, using his duel-nationality with a Dutch passport

Jason Cadee: the speedy point guard is yet another Sydney-sider returning home after playing with the Adelaide 36ers and Gold Coast Blaze

Coach Damian Cotter: stepping up from his assistant role is the experienced state and national women’s coach

Who did the Kings lose this season?

AJ Ogilvy: the talented big man is off to Europe

Sam Young: the NBA gun for hire was never long for these shores

Jesse Sanders: the consummate team point guard

Charles Carmouche: import shooting guard

Brad Hill: swingman joins Wollongong Hawks

James Harvey: veteran shooting guard and co-captain has not resurfaced with another NBL roster

Who will be the keys to success?

Much is expected of big-name import Childress. His NBA pedigree and recognisable ‘fro will be the drawcard that pulls the fans in and gives his team that “can-win” feeling, going into battle against the NBL’s heavyweights.

However, the play of Perry may be even more important. The 6’0″ point guard with the 6’6″ wingspan and the 42″ vertical can really get to the bucket and put the pressure on defensively. Whilst being young, he has an air of maturity about him as a leader, one who will likely put in some impressive performances for the Kings this season against some formidable point guard opponents. He reminds me of a young Cedric Jackson.

In the paint, the combo of Brandt, Duinker and incumbents Tom Garlepp and Cody Ellis will rotate to provide coach Cotter with a multi-talented four-headed monster. Their ability to find at least two good performances between the four of them every time the Kings hit the floor, will be integral to success. Garlepp is clearly one of this team’s leaders – by example.

Who will be the X-Factor that could elevate the Kings if they step up?

As odd as it may sound, captain Ben Madgen could indeed be the Kings’ X-Factor this season. Lost in the hoopla of the arrival of the flashy imports, the return of the hometown crew and the departure of Ogilvy, Young and coach Shane Heal, is the fact that Madgen is still the guy who made the 2013 All-NBL First Team and recently was part of the Australian Boomers program.

Madge can fill it up from any area on the court and remains the heart and soul of this club. His grittiness, which extends to a commitment to on the defensive end of the floor, will win games for the Kings this season, whilst the focus of the crowd (and the opponents) is on the alley-oops his teammates are throwing down. Don’t sleep on him.

Meanwhile, Cadee is the other player who will change the face of games this season. His pace and ability to nail big threes will come to the fore off the bench. There will be games where he pushes 20 points this season, pushing the Kings to victory.

Where will the Kings finish on the ladder?

This season’s NBL competition will be incredibly tight. The spread of talent is incredible. That said, we’re not here to sit on fences — it’s time to make a call.

Behind a strong second half push, as the new team gels, the Kings will scrape into the playoff race in 4th place on the ladder.

What reason does an average fan have to watch the Kings this season?

1. High-flying excitement: in a pre-season game last month I counted no less than four alley-oops with Childress and Perry throwing down on the end of them. This team is built to entertain.

2. Josh Childress: the man is a genuine NBA talent; one who the average NBA fan knows.

3. Hard work: the likes of Madgen, Garlepp, Kevin White and Daniel Joyce put in workmanlike performances whenever they hit the floor for the Kings. If you’re a purist who appreciates players going the hard yards, these guys will not disappoint.

Next: our Season Preview of the reigning champion Perth Wildcats.

The post 2014-15 NBL Season Preview – Sydney Kings appeared first on andrise.com.

So I thought I’d try my pen

And attempt to frame

When the Leopards entered the Lion’s den

====================

Intimate Alexandria was the venue

Hanging with many banners

But unfortunately for Luo and Xingyu

As hosts the Kings forgot their manners

====================

29-15 Sydney jumped out of the gate;

A margin too hard to redress.

Particularly with players as great

As debutant Josh Childress.

====================

Watching his poise and hang-time,

It has become obvious early;

(Yes, I know it doesn’t rhyme)

Kendrick Perry’s a star clearly.

====================

Despite his team’s unhappy score

It was great to see legend Brian.

The crowd gave him a roar;

One worthy of the Lion!

====================

Goorj shouts at his men,

“Box out Angus Brandt!”

As he grabs rebound ten

But they just can’t

====================

By half-time the margin was 22;

Many of them points in the paint.

Then the fouling out of Liu,

Was Brian’s next complaint.

====================

Madge’s shooting continued the deluge.

And upon Garlepp you can always rely;

His numbers weren’t huge;

But sometimes stats lie.

====================

The imports made the crowd grin;

Throwing down four alley-oops.

Final score: a 21 point win;

Man, I love the return of NBL hoops!

====================

Box Score: http://www.fibalivestats.com/matches/12275/02/96/30/9948cUx4YMO1o/

Sydney Kings TV game video (featuring commentary by Matt McQuade, Bruce Bolden and Brad Rosen):

The post Sydney Kings vs Dongguan Leopards: A Poem appeared first on andrise.com.

With Kyrie Irving, Derrick Rose and co manning the point guard duties in USA’s most recent friendly warm-up game, as a result of the cull, Lillard did not take part in the game.

At least one observer on twitter thought it’d be funny to have a crack at Lillard for the apparent sleight. Lillard’s comeback at the troll was pretty amusing, and pretty hard to respond to:

Boom.

Do you think Lillard should have been cut? Were you happy with the final 12 for Team USA?

Hit us up in the comments, on Twitter or on Facebook.

The post Damian Lillard’s strong comeback on twitter troll appeared first on andrise.com.

It is only appropriate, on multiple levels, that we begin the preview in Part One with a look at Team USA. The Americans are the reigning champions, the most dominant international force in basketball right now, favourites to take out the Cup, and are highly topical given their current preparation schedule and the horrific injury to star swingman Paul George.

WHO WILL THEY PLAY?

Team USA sit in an easy pool, with Group C including FIBA Oceania entrant, New Zealand; Wildcard entrants Turkey and Finland; one of four FIBA Americas countries in Dominican Republic; and finally FIBA Eurobasket team Ukraine. [More on those nations in future parts to this preview series].

WHO WILL STAR FOR THEM?

Good question. Whilst the roster is not yet finalised, we do know who WON’T be repping the star spangled banner in Spain. First of all, we knew that for various reasons, stars LeBron James, Chris Paul, Dwight Howard, Kobe Bryant, Dwyane Wade, Chris Bosh, Russell Westbrook, Deron Williams, Andre Iguodala, Carmelo Anthony and LaMarcus Aldridge were not making themselves available for 2014 World Cup play. Then came the unfortunate news for Coach Mike Krzyzewski that star big men Kevin Love and Blake Griffin were pulling the plug on their participation.

With all of those withdrawals, team camp opened and an intra-squad scrimmage was held. Then came that injury to George. It had a profound impact on team morale, clearly reminding the transcendent stars of their own mortality.

Who knows if it was the key factor involved in his decision, but not long after looking stunned and distressed at George’s downfall came the decision from clear team leader Kevin Durant to also pull the pin on his participation.

The loss of Durant is huge. At the 2010 World Championships in Turkey he was an unrivaled star, seemingly drilling threes from all over the floor at will. He was only going to be more dominant in this tournament given his current career arc.

Now comes the opportunity for a new bevy of players to take up the reigns of the national team and prove that the United States is still the world power in basketball. Derrick Rose is one such player. The dynamic point guard is the only true top-shelf star amongst the remaining squad and despite returning from a series of injuries, is looking impressive in intra-squad play.

Rose will be supported at the point by some combination of Kyrie Irving, Damian Lillard and Stephen Curry – all of whom have an unnerving ability to score the ball, in their own particular ways.

At the shooting guard and small forward position, James Harden is well placed as an experienced National Team representative — one who will be expected to perform at a high level if this team is to achieve their potential. Other swingmen in the mix are Gordon Hayward, athletic DeMar DeRozan, sharp-shooters Kyle Korver and Klay Thompson, new Mav Chandler Parsons, and recently helicoptered in Durant-replacement, Rudy Gay.  The shooting of the likes of Korver becomes vitally important to success in the international game where zone defence is more common than in the NBA game.

The big man department is where Team USA is lacking beef. Ironically enough, 21-year old Anthony Davis is perhaps the most experienced big at the international level, with a 2012 Olympic Gold Medal in his possession. Davis will be a key piece with his intimidating shot-blocking ability. Supporting Davis will be a selection of DeMarcus Cousins, Andre Drummond, Kenneth Faried and surprise revelation Mason Plumlee. Cousins’ size and unusual talent provides a unique proposition for Coach K to work with, should he choose to take the plunge on the controversial big man. An engaged and switched on Cousins could be the X-Factor that most countries will struggle to contain.

WHERE ARE THEY WEAKEST?

There are a number of weaknesses in this Team USA squad.

Far from a 1992 Dream Team (or even a 1994 Dream Team II* for that matter), this iteration lacks the genuine star power of a LeBron, a Durant, a Melo, a Jordan, a Magic, a Bird… hell, even an Iverson or Zo. There will be a heavy reliance on not only the likes of Rose, Harden and Davis to perform at their best, but for them to get consistent support from the array of supporting stars.

This team can not afford to roll out in cruise mode. They need to be entirely engaged. They need to rely on each other as a team. And they need to respect the power of opposing nations.

We have seen in the past the disaster that can befall a Team USA squad that enters a tournament with a sense of complacency. Tip: it doesn’t end well (or with a medal).

Additionally, the lack of genuine world-class bigs could be an issue down the stretch. That’s not to say that the abovementioned power players (excluding Davis) are not capable of impact — heck, they are all legitimate NBA players. However, none of them are named Howard, Love, Griffin, Noah, Gasol or Ibaka. They all have holes in their games that may need to be patched through some effective coaching and substitution management. Of benefit to Team USA here will be the absence of numerous other stars from opposing nations (see parts to this preview series).

WHERE WILL THEY FINISH?

Anything less than a Gold Medal is unacceptable for Team USA. Quite frankly, it’s also the only truly imaginable scenario. If this World Cup does not finish with a battle in the Final between the Yanks and the host Spanish team, many will be very disappointed, and shocked.

 *Yes, yes, I know — there was only ever one Dream Team and there will only ever be one.

FOLLOW AND RISE ON FACEBOOK FOR THE NEXT INSTALLMENT OF OUR WORLD CUP PREVIEW SERIES (AND A WHOLE LOT MORE TO KEEP YOU ENTERTAINED).

The post 2014 FIBA World Cup Preview – Part One appeared first on andrise.com.

Apart from a few other small moving pieces, the only big news that we may yet wake to this off-season centres around the whereabouts of Kevin Love.

Rumours surrounding Love have abounded for months now. Will he end up with the storied Boston Celtics? Will the Golden State Warriors put together a package to bring him to the Bay? Will he somehow fill out the rotting corpse that is the Los Angeles Lakers roster?

Or, will Love end up with his most prominent suitor, King James and his newly incarnated Cleveland Cavaliers?

The prevailing opinion, at least early on, was that the Minnesota Timberwolves would not trade Love to Cleveland unless phenom lottery pick Andrew Wiggins was to be part of the package. That proviso was apparently the big factor that would gazump the trade ever happening, as it seems crazy for the Cavs to give up a player with such ridiculous upside as Wiggins, right?

Right?!

Well, contrary to that which our friend Haggard has opined elsewhere at AndRise, I’m here to tell you that the Cavs HAVE to make this deal happen. They simply can not afford not to.

Let me tell you why.

What is the key objective of any NBA franchise? Let me make it simple for those of you struggling at home: Win.

Don’t forget that for a second. Winning is all that matters.

We’ve entered an era in NBA hoops where the emphasis has shifted far too heavily in favour of potential. The future. Ridiculous upside potential.

The future is what losing teams focus on. Teams in a position to win right now, they need to do everything in their control to win. Right now.

If you have LeBron James on your roster — the fairly unanimously accepted best player in the world — then that automatically means that your team needs to be in Win Now Mode. In its current state, the Cavs roster surrounding LBJ is insufficient to take out Western Conference heavyweights the likes of the San Antonio Spurs. Just take a look at how LeBron’s star-studded cast failed in the Finals a month back.

Even with young stars the calibre of Kyrie Irving and Wiggins, the Cavs are not a team that can do better than the top four in the East. Even James himself admitted as much in his “homecoming essay” in Sports Illustrated recently. Pointedly, he failed to mention Wiggins’ name in that same essay.

On the other hand, both he and Love have made well… love, publicly around each others’ talents, and are clearly excited by the potential (there’s that word again) of pairing. Sure, Love lacks in the defensive department in many pundits’ estimations, but the man knows how to score in bunches, rebound like a behemoth, and he throws a mean fast-break-igniting-outlet-pass.

Bringing Love into a core of James and Irving could make for some very interesting basketball. It certainly makes for a much better chance at winning in the next few years. Let’s not forget: James is 29 years old — he’s in his peak. But that peak will only last a couple more years. Meanwhile, Love is only 25, Irving is 22.

These guys are going to be good for quite a few more years. Love has made it clear that he would happily re-sign in Cleveland. Other free agents would presumably be keen to come too.

Conversely, if you hang onto Wiggins with the promise of the future, you have LeBron playing Professor, teaching the young guys lessons, waiting for the day when they can contribute. Meanwhile, the best player in the league is getting frustrated about not winning (remember his last stay in Cleveland?) and is getting closer to the decline of his career.

If Wiggins turns out to be the next LeBron, well, you have a great team for another decade. But what if he isn’t? Talk about a hostile, impatient environment.

Not only will LeBron be anxious to win again, but the city of Cleveland will continue to hunger for the success that they have not seen.

The time is now. Winning is everything. Love is (almost) all you need.

(Credit (almost) to the Beatles)

The post …and why the Cavs should trade Wiggins for Love appeared first on andrise.com.

Watch this video through, then shutdown your device and ask yourself some questions.

The post Are You Really Living, Socially? appeared first on andrise.com.

Nick Young of the Los Angeles Lakers has been regarded by many in his relatively short NBA career as a bit of a punkish upstart.

On Tuesday night against the New York Knicks, “Swaggy P” as he refers to himself, did nothing to dispel this impression as he celebrated a three-point attempt which did not actually connect.

The question now is, who will be the first player to punk Young with a similar three-point celebration on a missed trey?

Oh, and if you were wondering where the Swaggy P moniker came from… (as I was) Lakers Nation / SLAM has got your back:

The P is a mystery. I can’t give that secret out yet, Young says. It was one of my first nicknames, so nobody really knew about it and I just kept it a secret. People kept asking about it, so I started saying it’s a mystery. In a couple years I’ll give y’all something.

I can wait. No, really… I can.

The post Nick Young’s premature three-point celebration appeared first on andrise.com.

The NBA today settled one of the most short-sighted, and certainly ultimately bizarre business deals in sports history.

Back in 1976 when the ABA and NBA merged, four teams got the call up to the NBA, leaving only the Kentucky Colonels and the St Louis Spirits without a place on the musical chairs when the music stopped.

The NBA offered Kentucky and St Louis $3 million to settle and part ways. That was a lot of money in those days. And let’s not forget that at that stage, the NBA was not the hot ticket that it is in more recent times — it was a bit of a struggling also-ran… almost a novelty sport.

So the good owners of Kentucky took the money and ran. Somewhat understandably.

Meanwhile, the owners of the Spirits, brothers Ozzie and Daniel Silna were smarter than that. They had looked into their crystal ball and saw that whole basketball thing really taking off. They negotiated to receive “one-seventh of the visual media rights for each of the other four ABA teams in perpetuity“.

Take note there of two key things:

• visual media: what a wonderful, vaguely all-encompassing, future-proofed term that is. It’s almost as if these guys (and their lawyers) not only saw the future popularity of basketball, but also envisaged the internet and all of its practical applications and the ubiquitous nature with which it would take over our world with the likes of NBA League Pass… 
• in perpetuity: like… forever. That’s huge.

So for the past 37 years, these two dudes have been socking away approximately 2% of the NBA’s television broadcast revenues (depending on how many teams were in the league each year) basically for doing nothing. Well, nothing more than being smart in their speculation.

We’re talking about $17.7m per year currently. (That smart lawyer takes 10% of that too).

And what is more, with that visual media term lurking around, they recently went after a share of the NBA League Pass revenues too.

This was where the NBA said enough is enough, making a concerted effort to settle the deal — which they managed to do for a cool half a billion dollars. Not bad, particularly when you add all of the other cash flows over the past 37 years.

A round of applause for the Silna brothers. Incidentally, this wasn’t all the Silna brothers were famous for. They originally made their fortune through their pioneering efforts in the manufacture of polyester. They then pumped that money into buying a pro hoops team (after failing to buy the Detroit Pistons).

If you’d like to see more on this story, check out the ESPN 30 for 30 documentary called Free Spirits, which featured the many interesting characters on the team, including the likes of Moses Malone, Maurice Lucas, Don Chaney, ML Carr, and the not-so-punctual Marvin Barnes, who hired a private jet (unheard of in those days) to get to the game, so he could have a sleep-in.

The post NBA settles short-sighted business deal for $500m appeared first on andrise.com.

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Depending on what is weighing most heavily on your mind, you will have more readily identified with the phrase, “Start That Habit Today” or conversely, “Stop That Habit Today” in the title line of this article. We all harbor niggling thoughts in our lives — the speed bumps on the road to contentment. I’m making it my task to repave the road and smooth the path.

Today is your day to do it too. Not tomorrow, today. Postponement is the enemy of progress; the friend of procrastination and failure.

Look, it’s okay to stop reading now. I know that for most people, this post resembles a chimp left alone with a frog, but I know that there is at least one person out there who simply needs this kick in the rear end to make a change.

I’m writing this post, because I made the conscious decision to kick some habits — time-sapping habits — and replace that lost time with habits I wanted to resume, like writing more frequently. This post, of itself, is no masterpiece. I am quick to admit that.

The reality remains, however, that the first step in changing a habit is often the hardest. And the most fruitful in creating a change in your life.

You know how you want to quit smoking? Think about why you want to do it so much and just simply start right now, not tomorrow, not later today, but now, by taking control.

You know how you want to take control of your life and the mess around you? Well, clean that house from top to toe, right now. Sure, it might be such a mammoth task that you have to start with one room at a time, but it will get the ball rolling. It will empower you to continue the next day.

That tax return you had to do? Pull out the papers and get it going. You will feel SO much better.

We all have something that we want to StopStart. Now is the time to get the ball rolling. I’m calling you out on it.

The post StartStop That Habit Today appeared first on andrise.com.