Quick Look at Heels in the NBA

I like the NBA, and am glad it's back.  Of course, as a Washingtonian the NBA is a relative term since our hometown Wizards keep getting jokier and jokier.  And I'm just talking about this year, not Gilbert Arenas bringing guns into the locker room.

First it was Andray Blatche tweeting for folks to stop criticizing him for criticizing the coach and organization. Nothing new there. But last night the Wizards reached new heights when they failed to list Roger Mason Jr., a DC native by the way, on their active roster.  When he entered the game, illegally, Mason was thrown out by the referees and the Wizards were given a technical. 

With the Wizards less than blog worthy, it's of course time to turn to the Tar Heels.

With the season a week old, here is a quick look at the 12 Tar Heels - which I think is second to Connecticut, believe it or not - in the NBA in order of minutes played.

1. Ty Lawson, 32 minutes - Averaging 22 points and 3 assists. He's emerged as the best Tar Heel in the NBA
2. Raymond Felton, 32 - A solid 13 and 7 assists for Portland
3. Antawn Jamison, 30 minutes - Hanging on after 13 years in the league, currently averaging 14 points a game for Cleveland
4. Tyler Hansbrough, 28 - Practically playing starters minutes as Pacers sixth man.   Has two double-doubles this year and averaging 11 points and 11 boards despite terrible shooting percentage
5. Marvin Williams, 26 - Has helped Hawks to 3-0 start with 14 points and 8 boards
6. Wayne Ellington, 31 - With an asterisk, since he did not play in the Timberwolves first two games but came off the bench last night to score 13 points.
7. Vince Carter, 19 - Coming off bench for Mavericks
8. Brendan Haywood, 19 - Starting for defending champs with Tyson Chandler gone, but not playing that well.  Averaging 5 and 5 for 1-3 Dallas.
9. Ed Davis, 19 - Sixth man for Toronto Raptors
10. Brandon Wright - Has played in one game for Mavericks and still trying to get his NBA career going after 4 years in league
11. Danny Green, 6 - Limited minutes but has played in all 3 games for Spurs this year. Was playing in Slovenia with Deon Thompson during lock out.
12. Jerry Stackhouse, 6 - Still in the NBA after 16 years, with Marvin's Hawks.

GO HEELS!  

Odd

That the Tar Heels have won two of the last six NCAA championships yet my fellow alums are not making much of a dent in the NBA.  


The good news is there are plenty of Heels - 11 to be exact - playing in The League. 


The bad news is most Carolina alums have seen their careers stall.  The most recent case in point is Marvin Williams, who hurt his knee in what had been a career so far.  Due to the injury Williams came off the bench for the Hawks last game.  Unfortunately, Marvin's experience is not isolated.   Here's a quick synopsis:

• Recent all-star Antawn Jamison is coming off the bench for Cleveland, where he is joined by fellow Heel Jawad Williams.  Last season Jamison was averaging 20 points a game but has looked out of sorts since the trade to Cleveland in February. Jawad is getting more playing time this season, his second full season in the NBA.  The fact that Jawad has stuck in the league is almost good news when you consider the fate of other Heels in the NBA.
• Like Jamison, main man Brendan Haywood is coming off the bench for Dallas and barely playing behind Tyson Chandler.  Last season, Haywood nearly averaged a double-double (9.5 pts/10 rebounds) plus more than 2 blocks a game.  This year, it's too embarrassing to mention.
• Brandan Wright has NEVER found his mojo in Golden State.  Between playing for a coach who hated young players (Don Nelson) and injuries Wright has been a non-factor in the NBA.
• The same is true, hard to admit, for Tyler Hansbrough and Wayne Ellington  The combination of injuries, illness and a coach who doesn't see the value of Hansbrough in the rotation has kept him on the Pacers bench behind Josh McRoberts and James Posey of all people (a Dukie and a 3 taking his minutes at the 4).  And Ellington is more like Wright; he's lost the mojo on his jump shot and is playing for a coach and organization that is overloaded in the backcourt.  I hope both Hansbrough and Ellington get traded.
• Jamison's brother-in-law, Vince Carter. also has a career on the wane.  Vincanity was traded to Phoenix last week, and their style of play should play to Carter's strengths as a slasher.  However, as he's gotten older Carter has been content to jack up jump shot after jump shot, not his strong suit, and does not go to hoop as much as he used to.  Orlando thought he could consistently hit jump shots, thus opening things up for Dwight Howard, and when he didn't he got traded.  Here's hoping the old Vince returns in the valley of the sun.
• Jury is still out on Ed Davis, who is starting to play more for Toronto after a variety of injuries.
• The two most successful Heels, buy far, are Ty Lawson and Raymond Felton.  Lawson continues to get better as the heir apparent to Chauncey Billups in Denver while playing for George Karl.  In fact, Karl often plays Billups at two in order to get both point guards on the floor. Lawson continues to impress with his 3 to 1 assist to turnover ratio, and his 11 points per game off the bench.  And Felton is playing like an all star, averaging 18 and 9, with 2 steals.  He is still turning it over a little more than 3 times a game, but Felton's play has helped turn around the Knicks this season.  With Rajon Rondo and Brandon Jennings having inconsistent seasons there is a decent chance that Felton could be named to his first All-Star team this year (behind Derrick Rose).

But the really bad news, at least for this Tar Heels fan, is who is NOT in the NBA.  In my opinion there is a real 'Need for Sheed' void.  The league is not the same without his gray spot bopping up and down the floor.  But at least Ra had a career, made a few all star games, and won an NBA championship.


Besides Ra, here's the list of some other Heels NOT in the NBA who should or could:

• Sean May.  Injuries and overeating/under motivation have derailed, probably permanently, what should have been a long NBA career.  After 3 years in Charlotte and one on the bench in Sacramento, May was cut in training camp by New Jersey.  Yes, the most outstanding player of the 2005 Final Four has been cut by the Bobcats, Kings and Nets in the last 2 years. Only teams missing from this list are the Clippers, Detroit Lions and Pittsburgh Pirates. The final indignity?  A player who struggles with his weight is now playing professionally in a country named after a food: Turkey (though it's healthy food at least).
• Rashad McCants' NBA career is likely over, too.  After sulking his way out of Minnesota and Sacramento,  then sitting out a year/dating a Khardasian, McCants is toying with the idea of reviving his career in China.  He had been playing with the Texas Legends in the NBDL but two weeks ago left the Mavericks farm team to sign with a team in the Chinese Basketball League.  However, there are already problems with his prospective Chinese team so he has not signed or played.
• Danny Green has been cut twice this season, once by Cleveland in training camp then by the San Antonio Spurs after signed a 10-day contract with Tim Duncan's team.  Green will likely end up in Europe, joining Ed Cota (Lithuania), David Noel (France), Marcus Ginyard (Germany), Deon Thompson (Greece) and Bobby Frasor (Cyprus).  Mike Copeland is even drawing a basketball-related pay check, playing in the United Kingdom.

Anyway, here's hoping things turn around for Carter, Jamison, Hansbrough and the rest of the outstanding Heels in the NBA, and that we beat Rutgers tonight.