THE NBA UNDERDOGS

the famous UNDERDOGS, golden nuggets hidden by the NBA stars. These are players which are not expected at all or are not expected anymore.

The American basketball championship, resumed its duties this week with the new NBA season 2009/2010 starting over. Thus we will be able to once again follow the stars of the hardwood floors in their marathon games, their avalanche of  injuries and all incidents that may surround a sporting year.

BKRW didn’t want to bother you once again (once too many) about  the NBA’s superstars, those over mediatized icons such as Lebron James, Kobe Bryant, Dwyane Wade, Dwight Howard, Carmelo Anthony, Kevin Durant, the rookie Blake Griffin and many others. This is neither our role nor our desire. BKRW is a taste-making machine, spotter of fashion trends and of rare products in limited edition. BKRW can also hold its own in sports. Proof.
 
First of all let us sweep the issue of the future NBA Champions. That will not be a surprise. We have two very obvious contenders: Los Angeles Lakers and the Orlando Magic. As indeed, the Lakers have the best player in the game right now in Kobe and the best non-US basketball player in Pau Gasol and will be undoubtedly strengthened by the arrival of one of the fiercest defenders in th League, Ron Artest. The Magic on the other hand still have the most dominant player in the paint since Shaq's heyday with Dwight Howard, but they also have strengthened their squad with players like Vince "Air Canada" Carter the flying guard is still able to score and to make an arena burst into flames. Add them to point guard Jason "White Chocolate" Williams coming out of retirement and a former NBA champion with the Heat and a few other interesting players.
 
But let us return to our sheep, or rather our "dogs": the famous UNDERDOGS, golden nuggets hidden by the NBA stars. These are players which are not expected at all or are not expected anymore. Thanks to us, you will be able to act as true insiders in the basketball chat-rooms you frequent, to shine at trendy dinners and, most importantly of all, finally be able to leave the beaten paths. Proof of our analysis, we will also slipped in first-game box scores of each of these players. Just to show you that those aren’t just hypothetical assumptions, but true sports analysis.

The Rookies:

Dejuan “The Beast” Blair: Tony Parker 's newest team-mate at San Antonio will definitely be one of the greatest deals of the latest draft. Indeed, this player has been drafted in the second round with the 37th position. Although he had a good college season, uncertainties about his knees' strength have depressed his value.Yet, he managed to turn-in nearly 14 points and 8 rebounds in the pre-season while playing less than 18min per game. It's better than the announced sensation Blake Griffin with 10 minutes less per game than the new Clipper.
 


Taj Gibson: This Bull is a particular rookie. At university, he was the oldest freshman of the 2007 season. It was the same this year with his arrival in the NBA at 24. This power forward has the possibility to find playing time between Noah and Thomas who are the starters in Chicago’s paint. He already made himself notices in the pre-season with statistics that were more than correct. Follow him!
 

The Sophomores:

Chris Douglas-Roberts: This New Jersey player was drafted in the second round of the 2008 draft but will surely have a good season. He is in a bad team though. We had already seen him last year during his visit to Paris and we had already found him very good with disturbing dribbling abilities. With a season in his legs and the injury of point guard Devin Harris, Chris has already rendered many scoring tables shook, with a 18 ppg average.


Anthony Morrow:  At Golden State, he was already a 3-point shooter. All the specialists used to bet on Monta Ellis or Stephen Jackson. The former being very injury-prone and the second one asked to be traded. Morrow is also dangerously skilled with field goals, and got a 50% success rate in there. He is a future star. A real shooting-machine.

The ones we are waiting for :

Joakim Noah: After working hard during the summer training, Joakim is back with new muscles and a new motivation. The former best NCAA player seems to be finally showing signs of maturity. Already
in the playoffs last year, he has raised his level in pre-season games with a better offensive game and a great energy to defend and protect his back court.

Greg Oden: After a debut that was spoiled by a year-long injury, the former No.1 Draft-pick seems finally able to compete with the best NBA Centers. He started this season having lost weight and therefore
being more mobile and aggressive. Result : 14 points and 9 rebounds in the pre-season. He is the X factor of Portland. If Oden can keep up the pace and his performances, the franchise will be able to aim for the finals conference.

Andrew Bynum: The center of the NBA Champion team is back. His progression last season was interrupted by many injuries and despite a return in the playoffs he could not find the rhythm. During the pre-season though, he showed us that he was dominant once again with 20 points per game.
 

The Ones We Thought we lost

Channing Frye: Stuck in Portland after a stint with the Knicks, Channing found a place as a starter with the Phoenix Suns. With the uptempo style of play and Steve Nash leading them, Channing is poised to be scoring the maximum number of points in his career. 

Shawn Marion: aka The Matrix. Since leaving Phoenix, his statistics had dropped. He now found a spot in a good team who will be in the race for the title, the Dallas Mavericks with Jason Kidd as their leader and an uptempo style of play in the attack. He turned in 18 points a game in the pre-season and with Josh Howard injured, those could soar and help him be in the 20pts and 10rebounds club again, like back in the day.
 
 
Now that we've written this in stone, six months from now we will see whether or not we were right.

"You heard it here first! "

TEXT WILLKO "Paris" KACELL

TRADUCTION MASSAER "No Mass" NDIAYE