The NBA's Salary Cap

Everybody knows that the NBA's salary cap is a very complicated concept. Theoretically, if the League did not have a salary cap, the teams in larger markets with more revenue streams would have an even larger advantage over the smaller market clubs. Ok, that sounds good. However, if you take a look at the 2008 team payrolls, you can find 27 of the 30 teams exceeding the salary cap. What? What happens there? Is the NBA's salary cap a joke? No, it's just that there are several significant exceptions that allow teams to exceed the salary cap to sign players.

By the way, Navarro has got one of the lowest salaries (at $538,090) in the League. Currently, after Grizzlies waive Tarence Kinsey, he has got the lowest salary on his team. Mike Conley, the other rookie on Grizzlies, earns a mere $3,337,160, more than six times Navarro's salary. And Pau Gasol, who has got the biggest salary on Memphis, is earning $13,709,375 this year (a quarter of the team's payroll). Wow!!

The salary cap for the 2007-08 NBA season was set at $55,630,000, and the minimum salary for an NBA rookie for this season was fixed at $427,163. Some other funny numbers are:

• $2,003,000,000 - Player salaries
• $93,628,178 - Dallas Mavericks payroll (the top team payroll)
  
• $23,750,000 - Kevin Garnet's salary (the top NBA salary)
  
• $4,650,000 - The average salary

Merry Xmas and Happy 2008

I want to wish to everybody, and specially to my faithful readers, a merry xmas and happy 2008. See you on 2008.

Watching the Game

As you well know, I am a long-distance Grizz. Usually I follow the games just reading the stats. However, stats are not enough to accurately reflect a player's contribution to the game. For example, after watching Wednesday's game against San Antonio, I discovered that Navarro plays as a Combo Guard. I know that Navarro is not enough big to be a NBA shooting guard, he is considered a short shooting guard. But, it was really surprising to me to see him handling and passing the ball like a point guard. I never saw him do that before. Maybe, he will evolve into a good combo guard in the league. I honestly think it's a very good idea.

By the way, I was very interested in watching this game, because Navarro's stats were not specially good (4-13 from the floor), but on the other hand, he played for 43 minutes. I needed to know why. The answer is because the player's contribution to the game is more complex than a handful of numbers.

Be a NBA League Leader

Navarro ranks 9th in free-throw percentage (0.909). However, if you take a look at the
2007-08 Free-Throw Shooting Leaders, you won't see him.

Why does he not appear between the leaders? You will find the answer at the Minimum Stats for Leaders page. Where a chart shows the statistical minimums a player needs to achieve to be listed among the league leaders at any given point in the season.

Navarro, in order to be eligible as a Free-Throw League Leader after 23 games, needs at least 35 free-throw attempts. At this moment, he has only attempted 33 free-throws. This explains why he does not appear in the list. However, I said he ranks 9th in free-throw percentage. How is that possible? It's because he is a rookie, and the minimums for NBA rookie leaders are half of the overall-requirement.

By the way, on Saturday Memphis (7-16) won to Orlando (17-8) 123-119. Navarro played as starter again and LED Memphis again, this time with 27 points (5-11 from 3-pt range and 8-8 from the free-throw line) in 40 minutes and a marvelous 4th quarter. He also dished-out four assists.

PS: I know that Rudy Gay scored a career-high 32 points on Saturday night, but it was Navarro who decided the game with his fourth and fifth 3-pointers, with 2:58 and 0:45,6 left to the end of the game, respectively.

Ghosts of the Past

There are some people who say that Heikken Kovalainen (26!!) was fired from Renault by Fernando Alonso (26). They say that Fernando doesn't want another Lewis Hamilton (22) by his side. I don't think so.

First of all, I think that Flavio Briatore decided to promote rookie Nelsinho Piquet (22) to take Fisichella's drive some time ago, even before the McLaren-Alonso's (Ron Dennis-Alonso's?) affair . Fisico is thirty-four years old, and Briatore already said in Sept. 2006 that he prefers new blood.

"With Fernando leaving we looked away and felt we needed new blood (meaning Heikki Kovalainen) to beat what exists in Formula One"

Second of all, if you have the chance of hiring the best driver/racer (Fernando) now, go for it. Of course, someone (Heikki?) should be fired.

Third, is not Nelsinho Piquet more like to Lewis Hamilton than Heikki Kovalainen? Nelsinho is a 22 years-old rookie who comes from GP2. Heikki is a 26 years-old sophomore.

Finally, why fire Heikki? Why promote Nelsinho? Maybe, the salary. Maybe, the age. Maybe, the agreements between Briatore and Nelson Piquet (father).

Anyway, Heikki or Nelsinho is the same for Flavio, because he will never do what Ron Dennis did. He will never loose a championship because a rookie (or sophomore) thinks that he is equal to a double F1 world champion.

PS: Why Ron Dennis hired FA? I though to win the championship after 8 years. Well done Ron.

Anxiety

• Anxious to see the R28 in action
• Anxious to see Fernando Alonso in action driving the R28
• Anxious for the twenty-second of January, for the three-day test at the Spanish circuit of Valencia
• Anxious to know about the competitiveness of the R28
• Anxious to check the FA's capacity to make a good car, to see how good he can be
• Anxious to eat chips and drink beer while watching the first race
• Anxious for the sixteenth of March in Melbourne, for the first race of the 2008 F1 season

Praiseworthy

Someone could think what Navarro is doing in his first season in NBA it is not praiseworthy. In my opinion, that someone is totally wrong, because he does not take into account several things. For example:

• Navarro come from other country, from different culture, with his wife and his two daughters. They need to get used to their new surroundings, to a new language (they do not speak English yet).
  
• He is not used to playing four games in just one week, sometimes two games on two consecutive days, sometimes the second one is located 800 miles far from the first one.
• At 6' 3" and170 lbs., he has not got the prototypical size and athleticism for an NBA shooting guard (6' 6",195 lbs).
  
• He is not used to playing as a substitute, to playing 20 minutes per game.
• Not to mention, the distance of the three-point line; between 22 feet (6.71 m) and 23 feet, 9 inches (7.23 m) from the basket, instead of the classic 20 feet, 6 inches (6.25 meters). Well, maybe this is not a good example (currently, he ranks 2nd in the NBA in Three-Point Field Goals Per 48 Minutes).
  

I believe strongly that what Navarro is doing is excellent. Even after the two last games, where he has scored only two points per game, and he has played only 13 and 12 minutes respectively.

By the way, Navarro currently ranks 4th in the NBA Rookie Ranking - Week 5 and 5th in the Sports Illustrated one. I'm happy and sad at the same time. Happy, because many people like to watch Juan Carlos Navarro playing basketball, independently of his stats. Sad, because after playing seven very good games in a row, Navarro has played two very bad games.

Pocoyo

If you have kids, Pocoyo TV series should be in your in DVD library. We have a 16 months old daughter, a pre-schooler who LOVES Pocoyo. Well, she loves Pocoyo, and his best friends: Pato -the shy yellow duck-, Elly -the large graceful pink elephant- and Loula -the Pocoyo's puppy-. You can see all of them in the picture above.

To be honest, I love Pocoyo as well. When I saw Pocoyo for the first time I fell in love with him. It was not only its amazing high quality 3D graphics, or its nice and funny characters, or its catchy melodies, or the simply wonderful white backgrounds, or the way how my daughter says PATOOO or how she imitates Pocoyo's laughing ... well, the truth is that everything is fantastic in this animated series, even the episode length, 7 minutes.

The Pocoyo TV series were created by the Spanish producer Zinkia Entertainment. These guys have done, and are doing, a great job. They not only make an excellent TV show, they also make an exquisite website and a very interesting blog.

The Zinkia guys have produced two series each of 52 episodes, and they are not planning doing Pocoyo´s 3rd season by the moment. They believe that it's time to develop different contents as, for instance the Pocoyo's movie. We wait anxiously for it.

Articles

You know I read everything I can about Juan Carlos Navarro. Here there are some nice articles about him (please, read carefully the comments as well).

• Rookie Rankings -- Week 4 by Dave McMenamin (nba.com)
  
• Verne Troyer in the land of giants by Michael Grange (The Globe and Mail)
• Rookie race takes shape by Peter May (Seattle Post-Intelligencer)
• When he plays, Navarro scores by Marlon W. Morgan (The Commercial Appeal)
  

It looks as if they're starting to know JC very well.

Roller Stoner

Casey Stoner won the 2007 MotoGP World Championship scoring 367pts (81,55%) and 10 wins. Obviously, the season was amazing for him. Congratulations Casey. However, how was it possible? How was it possible for Roller Stoner not to crash during this season?

I remember when Stoner crashed six times (33,33%) in the MotoGP 2006 season. Of course, I know, he rode on the prodigious 800cc Desmosedici GP07. Of course, I know, he rode on the incredible Bridgestone tires. But (until now), I didn't understand why he didn't crash.

On Saturday, I read something on the news about the 2007 MotoGP bikes. It was a comment from the seven-times world champion Valentino Rossi.

"Now, to get the pole, to win, you have to believe blindly in these bikes, you have to trust them. You drive the bike into the bend at 150 km/h, twist your wrist, keep the throttle open wide and trust that the bike drive you out of the bend. If you don't trust her, you don't get the pole. It's not very natural, it's true, but it works"

Well, then that's it, that's the answer. Stoner is the same guy, he hasn't change his driving. The difference is the bike. The engine capacity of MotoGP bikes was reduced from 990cc to 800cc, and the traction control was improved. And this was perfect for Casey, it was he needed to win.

Stoner and his unnatural way to ride win championships with the current traction control, without it they crash.

Estadísticas y Grandes Jugadores

Cuan importantes son las estadísticas? Podemos conocer a un jugador simplemente observando su estadística? Es mejor jugador aquel que encesta 9-10 del que encesta 4-12? A mi modo de ver, no tiene porque.

Las estadísticas, solo son estadísticas. Conjuntos de datos recogidos durante un partido. Pueden darte una idea aproximada de la aportación de un jugador, de su eficacia. Pero, solo eso. Una idea aproximada.

La aportación real de un jugador en un encuentro, es mas compleja. Esta formada por diversos elementos. Uno de ellos, por supuesto, es la misma estadística. Pero existen otros. El más importante, en mi opinión, es el carácter. Me explicaré.

La estadística, puede decirnos, por ejemplo, que un jugador encesto 10 canastas sin fallo. Pero, no puede decirnos, ni como ni cuando las encesto. Y son ese como y ese cuando, los que, a mi entender, marcan la diferencia entre los grandes jugadores y los no tan grandes.

Los grandes jugadores son los que no tienen miedo a ganar, los que ante la adversidad se crecen, los que no se esconden, los que faltando pocos segundos para finalizar un partido en el que su equipo pierde de dos, piden el balón para jugarse un triple. Ellos, no tienen miedo a fallar, si fallan no importa. Ellos, no piensan en la estadística, piensan en ganar el partido.

Los no tan grandes, no arriesgan, están más preocupados por su estadística, por el que dirán, son cobardes, son de los que no se atreven a lanzar por miedo a fallar. Incluso, no les importa perder si su estadística dice que jugaron un gran partido. Lo que no dice su estadística, es que durante los dos últimos minutos del último cuarto, cuando se decidía el ser o no ser del partido, ellos se borraron, decidieron que por hoy ya habían lanzado bastante, que ésto ya no iba con ellos.

Navarro reemplazo a Miller ante los Nets a 8 minutos de la finalización del partido, con un marcador a favor por 85 a 83. Su mala estadística hasta ese momento, no le impidió asumir su responsabilidad en la victoria, anotando 8 de sus 16 puntos en este último cuarto. Navarro es uno de esos grandes jugadores.

What They Think About Him?

What Americans think about Juan Carlos Navarro? How do they see him? Do they like him or dislike him? Why or why not? ... Well, I have read quite a lot about him these days, and what I have seen is, that they don't know him very well enough. It seems like if they have never seen him playing basketball before ... but the things are changing very quickly. Just take a look at Pete Pranica's blog.

"I love watching Juan Carlos Navarro. He’s an active player who can create plays for himself and for his teammates on the spot. He plays with a certain type of joy that you don’t find every day. I’m thrilled he’s found a comfort level with the Grizzlies and I hope he keeps it up. And I also love the fandom exhibited by the Spanish fans toward Pau and Juan Carlos."

I am completely agree with you, Pete. I think, is obvious, that Navarro can score and can create play. He just needs to have the ball more often. I am sure, that he will end-up with 15 PPG.

By the way, Memphis (4-9) won to Washington (6-7) 118-124. Navarro played as starter again and led Memphis again, this time with 28 points (5-8 from 3-pt range) in 38 minutes. He also dished-out four assists.

The Last Three and Half Minutes

Last night Memphis (3-9) lost to San Antonio (11-2) 101-88, who remain undefeated in Houston. Juan Carlos Navarro played as starter and led Memphis with 16 points, four rebounds and four assists in 35 minutes, while Pau Gasol added 12 and six boards. This is the second game where Navarro leads in points Memphis. The first one was against New Orleans

The last three and half minutes of the 4th quarter were pretty, pretty good for Navarro. He scored 10 points (4-4 from the floor, 1-1 from 3-pt range and 1-1 from the free throw line) and dished-out two assists.

By the way, Navarro has returned to the top 10 rookie ranking. Currently, he ranks as the 8th rookie at si.com and as the 9th at nba.com, where he is mentioned as the Line of the Week player. Good news for him.

Be a long-distance Grizz

Barcelona is a wonderful place to live and enjoy. However, Barcelona is far, far away from Memphis. You can check it by trying to watch, or listen, any Memphis Grizzlies game.

By the moment, I have watched three Memphis games on TV, and it has been impossible to me to listen any game. Theoretically, you can catch all Grizzlies Radio broadcasts on WRBO-103.5 FM in Memphis, they also broadcast on Internet at soulclassics.com, but Grizzlies games are exclusively broadcasting locally. Bad luck for me.

Last nigth Memphis (3-8) lost to Toronto (6-6) 95-89. Memphis was led by Pau Gasol and Mike Miller with 16 points and 10 boards each. Navarro played 10 minutes to score 2 points (1-5, 0-3 from 3pt range) and dish-out one assist :(. Luckily for me, the game was broadcasted on TV (Canal+, 02:00 AM Barcelona local time). God bless them!!!

PS: Never try to catch live play-by-play game coverage with Courtside LIVE at nba.com. It's a huge nightmare.

Navarro Started the Game

Tonight, after his 28 points against New Orleans, Navarro has started the game vs. Dallas, and at the end of the first quarter (MEM 29-27) he has scored 10 points (2-3 from 3-pt range) and dished out 2 assists.

Memphis trailing 53-54 at the halftime break. Navarro leads the Grizzlies with 10 points.

28, The Second Perfect Number

Navarro made history last night by tying the rookie record for three-point field goals made (8) in a game set by Jason Kidd in 1995 and Chris Duhon in 2005. He scored 28 points, going an almost-perfect 8-for-9 from the three-point line, grabbed two rebounds, and dished-out four assists in 34 minutes.

It was a really good game for him, from the beginning (he connected on his first seven shots from the field, the first five from 3-point range) to the end (he made the first one of three three-pointers in the final 13 seconds of regulation to force overtime), but unfortunately Memphis lost the game 120-118 against New Orleans.

By the way, Navarro leads the NBA in Three-Point Field Goals Per 48 Minutes (6.15), and he is the 9th in the NBA in Three-Point Field-Goal Percentage (51.6%), where the second best rookie, the enormous Kevin Durant (19,7 PPG), is the100th one!!! (29.3%). Apparently, Navarro is not a player for today's NBA (he looks as a shooting guard in a point guard's body). However, he has got something special, something that makes him very valuable as a player, as today's NBA player. We will see.

NBA 101

According to Wikipedia, the 101 is at universities in Australia, Canada, South Africa, and the United States, often the course number of basic or entry-level courses. By extension, it is informally used elsewhere to indicate things that are meant for beginners.

Well, I discovered that NBA has its own place for beginners. It's the NBA 101, a good place for us to learn some curious things about NBA. My preferred one is the Official Referee Hand Signals Illustrated. It's so kitsch,... it's priceless!!.

By the way, Memphis (2-4) won (99-105) their second game of the season last night, against Houston (6-2). Navarro scored 8 points and grabbed one rebound in 11 minutes, and Michael Conley did not play. Tonight Grizzlies vs. Bucks. We will see.

Tonight's Game

I read in the Grizzlies vs. Houston Rockets game preview the following:

"So what does Grizzlies head coach Marc Iavaroni do now? After posting 10 points, nine assists and just two turnovers Saturday in Utah, rookie point guard Michael Conley made a pretty good case for playing time."

Of course, he did. Of course, I'm totally agree. The three 3-point shots scored by Navarro were assists from Michael Conley.

Conley was drafted by Memphis with the 4th pick, coming from the Ohio State college
where he started all 39 games and finished third on team in scoring (11.3 ppg) and first in assists (6.1 apg) and steals (2.2 spg), during the 2006-07 season.

So what will happen tonight? I don't know, but I hope that Marc Iavaroni will give minutes to the rookies. It's very difficult to demonstrate your real value, if you are sitting on the bench.

The NBA Shooting Glossary

Shot. An attempt to score in a game.

It is amazing the number of different shots that a player can do in a NBA game. You just have to take a look at the game Play-by-Play analysis to see that. Anyway, the shots are described as follows:

• 3pt Shot. A three-point field goal, three-pointer, three-point shot, or simply three is a field goal made from beyond the three point line
• Alley oop. An alley oop is an offensive play in which one player throws the ball up near the basket to a teammate (or, much more rarely, to himself) who jumps, catches the ball in mid air and immediately scores a basket, usually with a slam dunk.
• Bank Shot. A shot that relies on the ball bouncing off backboard and into the basket. Other terms for a bankshot are "off the glass".
• Driving Layup Shot. A forceful layup shot. It comes from Drive (an aggressive move toward the basket with the ball)
• Dunk Shot. A shot made by jumping and slamming the ball down through the basket. Also called stuff shot.
• Field Goal. A score made by throwing the ball through the basket in regulation play, worth two points or, if attempted from beyond a specified distance, three points.
• Free Throw. A free throw is the privilege given a player to score one point by an unhindered attempt for the goal from a position directly behind the free throw line. This attempt must be made within 10 seconds
• Hook Shot. A shot made by arcing the far hand upward while being positioned or moving sideways to the basket.
• Jump Bank Shot. A bank shot done in a jump shot manner.
• Jump Hook Shot. A hook shot done in a jump shot manner.
• Jump Shot. A shot made by a player at the highest point of a jump. Also called jumper.
• Layup Shot. A lay-up shot is a field goal attempt made by leaping from below, laying the ball up near the basket, and using one hand to tip the ball over the rim and into the basket (layin) or to bank it off the backboard and into the basket (layup).
• Running Jump Shot. A jump shot taken by a player while running. Also called running jumper
• Set shot. A two-handed basketball shot from a stationary position. It's the basic basketball shot
• Slam Dunk Shot. A slam dunk (or simply a dunk) is a shot that is performed when a player jumps in the air and manually powers the ball through the basket with one or both of his hands, then often grabs the rim shortly after the ball passes through the hoop (a dunk is still being performed if the rim is not grabbed, as long as the athlete powers the ball through the hoop manually).
• Stuff shot. See dunk shot.
• Tip Shot. The ball is tapped or deflected into the basket by a player.

Navarro: Back Scoring Again

Navarro scored 10 points in 22 minutes in the Grizzlies' 118-94 loss in Utah on Saturday night, after not having scored in the previous game against Trailblazers (where he played just 3 and half minutes, and Memphis lost by 12, 110-98). Tonight he scored three 3-point shots (3-6), two of them on two consecutive possessions at the end of the third quarter, and he played 22 minutes. These numbers are very good news, specially the 22 minutes.

The game was the third in four nights on this road trip for the Grizzlies, who have won just once this season in five contests. I hope Memphis wins the next game. We will see.

Road Victory and Bad Numbers

Memphis outscored Seattle by 14 in the third quarter to overcome an eight-point halftime deficit as it held on for a 105-98 road victory on Wednesday. Rudy Gay tallied 25 points and 10 rebounds, while Mike Miller added 20 and eight. In the other side, Navarro didn't score (0-5 from the floor), grabbed 2 rebounds, dished-up 2 assists and lost one ball in 10 minutes, for a +/- rating of -10.

In my opinion, Navarro's numbers, in particular the +/- rating, are not as bad as they seem. If you take a look at PlayByPlay's analysis, you can see how Navarro's contribution wasn't so bad as the +/- rating suggests. Navarro replaced Miller with 41 seconds remaining until the second quarter (MEM 25-22), and was replaced 9 minutes and 52 seconds later by Jacobsen, with a negative balance of -8 points. On the bright side, Navarro was very active in the court. Of course, I know, he missed 5 shots, but he worked hard in aspects of the game that he never usually worries about. I'm not worried about the missed shots, I'm sure that he is going to score very soon. I can't believe that he has forgotten shooting. We will see.

Rookies and Turnovers

Tonight Memphis (0-2) plays against Seattle (0-4) at the KeyArena. One Grizz and one Sonic are on the NBA top 10 rookie ranking, they're Juan Carlos Navarro (27 years-old) and Kevin Durant (19 years-old) . Kevin Durant is sure going to be the 2007-08 rookie of the year, at least this is what NBA General Managers say. However, Navarro will have to work very hard to be an important player in NBA, just his talent won't be enough.

Last game against Indiana was a bad game for Navarro. He scored 3 points (1-5 from 3-pt range) , grabbed 2 rebounds and stole one ball with 3 turnovers in 19 minutes. Navarro has committed 7 turnovers in 2 games (36 minutes), currently he leads the turnovers per 48 minutes ranking. We will see.

Good for Dani

Good for Dani, he took his fourth pole position in a row on Saturday, and he won the race to finish second in the championship (Rossi was forced to retire) on Sunday. Without question they are very good news for Dani's fans (I am one of them). More, if we take into account that Casey Stoner battled for almost the entire race, and the next best Michelin rider was just eighth!!.

The Game Box Score's Survival Guide

I don't understand how they expect people to be able to comprehend the meaning of the column headings. Anyway, the meanings are as follow:

POS. Basketball player position. There are three tactical basketball positions: guard (G), forward (F), and center (C). However, since the 1980s, more specific positions have evolved.

MIN. Minutes played in the game.

FGM-A. Field goals made versus attempted.

3PM-A. 3-point field goals made versus attempted.

FTM-A. Free throws made versus attempted.

+/-. The plus/minus rating. It measures the team goal differential when a specific player is on the court versus when he is not.

+ / - Rating = On court Points - Off court Points

On Court Points= Team's net points ( Pts scored by team - Pts scored by opponent ) with the particular player on the floor.

Off Court Points= Team's net points ( Pts scored by team - Pts scored by opponent ) with the particular player off the floor.

OFF. Offensive rebounds.
DEF. Deffensive rebounds.

TOT. Total rebounds.

AST. Assists.
PF. Personal fouls.

ST. Steals.
TO. Turnovers.

BS. Blocked shots.
BA. Blocks allowed.

PTS. Points.

Note: DNP, when it's located next to the player's name, means "Did Not Play"

Darth Vader and Friends in Barcelona

This Sunday, Nov. 4th, if you are in Barcelona, you can visit two wonderful examples of catalan modernisme (Hospital de Sant Pau and Sagrada familia), with Darth Vader and friends. It's the Star Wars 30th Anniversary parade. The barnasquad.com guys, in order to celebrate the 30th anniversary, have planned this Star Wars parade.

The line-up is at 11am on Cartagena street, corner of Sant Antoni Maria Claret street.

"The Force will be with you, always"

Casualidades Periodísticas

A nadie se le escapa, que entre mis actuales obsesiones se encuentra Juan Carlos "La Bomba" Navarro (mis dos únicos posts hasta el momento hacen referencia a él). Pues bien, siendo consecuente con mi obsesión, escucho, miro y leo todo lo que puedo acerca de su nueva experiencia como "profesional" (lease: el que juega en la NBA). Y precisamente leyendo, me encuentro que El Mundo Deportivo asegura:

Navarro salió por primera vez al campo cuando faltaban 3:10 minutos para que concluyese el primer cuarto y lo hizo en lugar de Miller cuando el marcador parcial estaba empatado a 16-16.

y el Sport sostiene:

Navarro salió por primera vez al campo cuando faltaban 3:10 minutos para que concluyese el primer cuarto y lo hizo en lugar de Miller cuando el marcador parcial estaba empatado a 16-16

e incluso La Vanguardia matiza:

El español Juan Carlos Navarro salió por primera vez al campo cuando faltaban 3:10 minutos para que concluyese el primer cuarto y lo hizo en lugar de Miller cuando el marcador parcial estaba empatado a 16-16.

No he tenido narices de acercarme a El Periódico, una nueva casualidad podría haber afectado seriamente mi salud mental.

Sabiendo que la probabilidad de que coincidan tres secuencias de 185 caracteres alfanuméricos es bajíííííííííííííííííííííííííííííííííííííííííííííííííííííííííííísima, la explicación tenía que ser otra. Efectivamente, el texto proviene de una agencia de noticias, concretamente de la Agencia EFE. Lo que no alcanzo a comprender es por que los dos primeros diarios arriba citados no lo indican (ambos firman como Redacción). Muy correctamente, La Vanguardia indica que la procedencia del artículo es EFE.

Juan Carlos Navarro - First Round

Last Halloween Night in the FedExForum, JC played his first game in the regular season in front of 17,583 attendance. His stats were really good. He scored 9 points (3-4 from 3-pt range) and dished out 2 assists with 4 turnovers (2 travelings) in 17 minutes. We will see.

Juan Carlos Navarro - Season One

This week begins the NBA 2007-08 season. I'm very excited about that, because it's the first season for one of my favorite players, Juan Carlos Navarro (aka La Bomba, and more recently Instant Grids) . Memphis Grizzlies acquired him from FCB Basketball last summer. He is not the best player I've ever seen (even between FIBA players), and I know that he's got several weakness, specially in defense. But, his quickness, his excellent ball-handling and shot, and of course, his famous long layups... make him a delightful player to me.

Instant Grids is currently the third player in minutes in Memphis, he plays 24.1 MPG (0.5 less minutes than Mike Miller and 5.6 less than Rudy Gay), and the second player in PPG with 11.8 points (after RG with 15.1 points). He has played in all 8 pre-season games, in which he's shot 33-80 (41.25%) from the floor, 18-43 (41.9%) from 3-pt range and 10-12 (83.3%) from the free throw line, and he has never started a game. Of course, this is the preseason.

In my opinion, his numbers are really good, even more if you think he is a rookie, and I honestly think he can improve them. For example, I'm sure he is going to get fouled more (only 12 free-throws in 8 games is too few).

I am impatient for the first game of the 2007-08 season this Wednesday, Oct. 31against San Antonio. I can't wait. I want to see what he can do in the regular season.