The take your time to draft guy – Draft picks are rarely sprung upon people. The draft orders are set before the draft starts. Heck, most sites even send a friendly email reminder when it is your turn to pick. You know the draft has started so there is no reason not to make your pick in a timely manner instead of using 23 and a half hours of the allotted 24 hours for each pick; especially when you are in round 3 and the season is only a week away. It’s a sure fire way to piss off the rest of the league.

Pick up and drop everyone guy – Wow, congrats, you kept Gallinari on your squad for 17 minutes. I hope you are proud of yourself. Just wait the day or so for him to clear waivers with the 30 other players you added and dropped so you can do it again tomorrow.

Lame trash talk guy – You know the guy. “Hey u. ur team is nuthin! I’m gonna beat ya so bad cuz u know nothin about ball. I got Bron I got skillz. U hater. U cant do anything to stop me!!!!!11!”. Yeah. This guy. May he get crotch rot before one million flesh eating insects feast upon his crotch.

The guy who only drafts ‘has beens’ – This guy usually heads straight to the league’s trash talk area to tell you how he will annihilate you with Vince Carter, Shawn Marion, Ben Gordon , Jason Richardson and Amar’e Stoudemire before adding that  ‘snagging’ Leandro Barbosa late in the draft was the icing on the cake. Yeah, good team, dude. If it were 2008.

Make stupid and insulting trades guy – Yeah, dude. Offering me Terrence Ross and Ricky Rubio for LeBron James is clearly a fair trade for both of us. No matter how hard you try to sell it, it’s not going to happen; and you know what? Don’t act all pissed off and offended when the trade is declined. Don’t be this guy. Repeat: Don’t be this guy.

The guy who makes outlandish position votes – This guy needs a forward but can’t bear to lose any of his guards. The solution is put forward a position vote proposal that a guard like Jamaal Crawford becomes Guard/Forward citing the he believes he saw the Clippers play Paul, Reddick & Crawford at the same time. So what, dude? I might use a screwdriver to start a car, but that doesn’t make it a key.

Guy who thinks he has the next Linsanity – You’ve seen him. He is related to the Pick up and drop everyone guy. He’s see’s someone like Anthony Morrow get a bit of court time and make a few baskets due to injury or foul trouble and wastes no time snatching him from the Free Agents list. Rest assured; the next time you will see Morrow is a week or 2 later waiting to clear waivers.

The MIA guy – This is the guy who signs up early, changes his team name 3 or 4 times in the first week or 2, gloats about the awesomeness of his picks and disappears 2 weeks into the season. Was he a figment of your imagine? Nah.. May he rest in pieces…. Many pieces.

The excuses guy – How ever confident they may be, they lose more than they win; but they will not rest on why they lost the games. Apparently they are only manager to experience injuries, their internet was down, the alignment of the moon wasn’t right, the room they set their roster had bad feng shui; they won’t stop at anything to tell you why didn’t win.

This guy – The guy who takes the time to sit down at a computer to list the guys you don’t want to be when it comes to fantasy sports.

Agree with this list, or not? Tell us in the comments section below. What other ‘guys’ have you come across in fantasy sports that we shouldn’t aspire to be?

The post 10 Fantasy Basketball Guys you don’t want to be appeared first on andrise.com.

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.

Diagnosed with lymphoblastic leukemia in 2012, Gibson checked in to the game with 29 seconds to go in the third period of an intra-club scrimmage. To the roar of the crowd, Gibson gets the inbound pass and burns past first round darft pick, Dante Exum for a dunk in traffic.

I have never been a huge fan of the Utah Jazz but you simply have to respect the gesture. Treating the little dude and his family to a day they will remember.

It is moments like this that make you realise that in this day and age of self-centredness that there chivalry still exists; and those knights wear Jazz jerseys.

The post Utah Jazz sign 5yo to a one day contract 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.

The thing is, we already know what happens in a coming of age plot. We know that there will have to be many trials and tribulations to be crossed and a lot of self-discovery before the goal is reached. What we don’t know is who the main characters are.

So, whilst we may already know the main plot of the NBA finals, let us take a look at some sub-plots for this year’s NBA Playoffs that we must keep an eye on.

1. Pat and Me – Patty Mills, a “Professional Article Twirler” (PAT) escapes from Australia and is befriended by a towel that has a lower thread count than the others. Together they try to find PAT’s championship ring, from whom he has never received. After a brief fight when Patty checks in to the game, the two reunite and together hydrate the Spurs players with Gatorade helping the Spurs on to victory. There is no higher pinnacle than being held above an NBA player’s head and swung around.
   

   And don’t forget to bring a towel

2. Lance Stephenson vs. the World – Lance Stephenson plays for the Indiana Pacers which aspires for a ring. He hasn’t recovered from the heart break of losing last year’s Eastern Conference Finals to the team that would become the Champions. As if maintaining relationships with his team mates wasn’t enough, Lance will need to battle to the death as he encounters previous champions in order to win himself and Indiana the championship.
   

   Lance Stephenson vs. The World

3. The Big Dirkowzki – When Dirk Nowitzki is mistaken for an oil tycoon, two thugs urinate on his NBA 3 Point Shootout Champion trophy to force him to pay a debt he knows nothing about. When attempting to gain compensation for the soiled trophy from his counterpart he accepts a one time job to make a ransom drop. Through his gun touting friend with anger issues, Steve Nash, the pair keeps the ransom which leads them to more trouble and soon, just about everyone from convicted felons to nihilists want something from ‘The Dirk’.
   

   you better believe it. The Big Dirkowski

4. Finding Hedo – Whilst waiting for the team bus, Hedo Turkoglu ventures too far away, despite Blake Griffin’s warning about Los Angeles’s dangers. Hedo is abducted by a renegade park ranger and sent to clean windows in San Ysidro. While Blake endeavours out to find Hedo he meets Dennis Rodman, a former NBA player who suffers from short term memory loss. Both Blake and Rodman travel a great distance encountering various dangerous people in Southern California. While doing this, Hedo, who is stuck cleaning windows with other Clippers’ bench players, plot a way to return to the Staples Center so they can play basketball.

   

5. The Batuminator – A human looking cyborg (Batum) is sent from the future on a deadly mission. He has to stop James Harden, who through his beard will have a great significane in years to come. Harden has one protector, Dwight Howard, also sent from the future. The Batuminator uses his exceptional intelligence and strength to find Harden, but is there any way to stop the seemingly indestructible cyborg?
   

   The Batuminator

The post The Sub-Plots of the NBA Playoffs 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.

This is a more conventional process of tilt-shifting. Here Madison Square Garden (Which isn’t a square) looks like a mini model.

Cowboys Stadium hosted the 2010 All Star Game and set a record for game attendance at a little over 108,000. Tilt shift makes this image look like a little toy. How cute.

The  Los Angeles Lakers Girls are iconic in the cheer leading circuit (if such thing exists). Once again tilt-shift makes them look like figurines.

‘The Shot’ by Michael Jordan taking the Chicago Bulls on the way to another championship. Who wouldn’t want a scale model of this?

Drazen Petrovic and the Dream Team scramble for a ball. It’s great but it’s better in tilt shift

And we all know how the 1992 Olympics finished.

The post NBA in Tilt-shift appeared first on andrise.com.

Vlade Divac’s father, Milenko Divac passed away after the vehicle he was in overturned after hitting a light pole in the outskirts of Cacak in Serbia. Divac’s mother, Radmila who was reportedly driving the vehicle suffered serious injuries, is currently in hospital is expected to survive.

Twenty years ago Divac’s lost his childhood friend when fellow NBA star Drazen Petrovic died in an automobile crash in Germany. Petrovic, whose career took off after being traded to the New Jersey Nets earned All-NBA Third Team honours and torched Michael Jordan and the Chicago Bulls for two 40+ point games.  Divac and Petrovic’s relationship was featured in the ESPN Documentary “Once Brothers”.

The one time All-Star, Vlade Divac, the head of the Serbian Olympic Committee has been involved in humanitary work since ending his 16 year NBA career with the Los Angeles Lakers, the Charlotte Hornets, and the Sacramento Kings.

The post Vlade Divac’s father passes away in motor crash appeared first on andrise.com.