1) Tumblr — Stumbled on this site late last week and spent the weekend playing with it and loved it. It’s basically blogging software that’s easier to use than Word Press or any of the other big blogging sites. And I can easily post stuff via my Sidekick. Only problem is that commenting takes some tricks to get working. I’ve already got the crack internet team here at SLAM working on figuring out how to bring this functionality to The Links. And to me.
2) Remember the story a few months ago about the Knicks and all their beat reports beefing? And the beat goes on…
3) 10,000 BC — I first saw the preview for this movie on Sunday during the NFL Playoff games. The preview I saw began with a dark screen, and then appeared the words “FROM THE DIRECTOR OF INDEPENDENCE DAY AND THE DAY AFTER TOMORROW…” And I was immediately in. I haven’t even seen this yet, but I can already tell you it’s better than “Juno,” and that got nominated for Best Picture. Omar, we need you to break down “Juno” for us.
4) The Ref Chronicles — I was clicking around on NBA.com yesterday when I came across this page. Now, I’ll admit that I spend a ton of time on NBA.com, but I’d never seen that page before. And now I can tell you that even 8 hours before tip-off tonight in Denver, I’m worried about Joe DeRosa reffing the Hawks/Nuggets game. I’d imaging every NBA gambler is feverishl waiting for this link to be updated every morning.
5) “Code Monkeys” — My latest favorite TV show. I love Black Steve. I was going to embed a video clip but I don’t think any of them are family-friendly, like the rest of SLAMonline. (And if you really want family-friendly stuff, don’t watch this.)
6) Because I do things like this from time to time, I started messing with some numbers yesterday. As any editor I’ve worked with will tell you (Ryan Jones, for sure), I’m terrible with math, so I did all these calculations twice. And I think I’m right.
Anyway, over the first four seasons and 262 games of his NBA career, Josh Smith has averaged almost 2.6 blocked shots per game (2.5839 to be exact). His blocks have gone up each season, from 2.0 bpg as a rookie to 2.6 in his second year to 2.9 bpg last season, and this season he’s up to 3.3 bpg. That’s good enough to make him second in the NBA in blocks per game this season. Not bad for a forward.
His blocks per game obviously won’t continue to rise like that forever, but I think it’s safe to say that the more he plays and the more tricks he learns, we can at least expect them to stay steady or increase slightly in the next 5-8 years or so. And then as Josh starts getting older, as the legs start to show the wear and tear, maybe they’ll start to decline.
Now, consider Josh’s youth. He just turned 22 year old a few weeks back, so it’s not inconceivable to think he’s got another decade of NBA playing time ahead, perhaps even more.
The reason I’m talking about all of this? Because Josh Smith has a legitimate chance of retiring as the NBA’s all-time leading shot blocker. Looking through the record books, the leading shot blockers of all-time go like this:
1. Hakeem Olajuwon – 3,830
2. Dikembe Mutombo – 3,230
3. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar – 3,189
(Because the NBA didn’t keep track of blocks until the ’73-74 season, this obviously leaves out some of the tremendous shot blockers like Wilt Chamberlain and Bill Russell. Too bad for them.)
So, using Josh’s current 2.6 bpg average, and assuming he continues to average about 75 games per season, it would take Josh about 15.5 more seasons to become the all-time leading shot blocker in NBA history. And 15 more seasons isn’t inconceivable for someone so young, who should command two more big contracts before he’s done. Plus, 15.5 is being conservative with the blocks per game average — if he can keep up this 3.0 bpg clip for a while it could take less time.
Anyway…just thinking aloud. How cool would it be if the NBA’s all-time leading shot blocker wasn’t even a center?
7) I knew it! Been saying it for years, but nobody would listen to me…
