Carnival of the NBA #57

Uh oh...the Carnival comes to the HQ...

The Carnival of the NBA is something we’ve frequently contributed to in the past but had never had a chance to host…

…until now.

Somehow the powers that be decided it would be ok for the HQ to run wild with the Carnival like the bearded lady walking a tightrope after one too many trips through the Hall of Mirrors.

So let’s get things crackin’ first and foremost with a shout out to Matt of Blog-A-Bull, el presidente of the Carnival. Matt gave us the thumbs up to host Episode number 57 in the Carnival series, we’ll kick things off with him. With the NBA Draft right around the corner, Blog-A-Bull looks at some of the issues in the Bulls’ backcourt whether or not Derrick Rose becomes their top pick.

A couple picks further down at the third spot in this year’s draft, the Minnesota Timberwolves are trying to decide who to grab. The folks at T-Wolves blog are into phase two of their "Blogprint for the Future," and with the third pick, it sounds like they’d much prefer a Mayo over a Lopez.

Sticking with the draft theme, we were actually going to try and structure this edition of the Carnival around best and worst draft memories for those blogging about individual NBA teams. Unfortunately we didn’t quite have time to develop it as planned but for us at the HQ, our best memory was the excitement surrounding obtaining the number one pick only two short years ago. (Even if Andrea has hardly been the second coming of Lebron James.)

The worst? Well that would be the Hoffa debacle without a doubt although for me personally, seeing Babcock pass not once, but twice on Danny Granger the following year is pretty close.

And speaking of Lebron, Cavs fans rejoiced back in 2003 when they snagged the top pick in the draft and Carolyn from And One puts "the coming of Lebron" at the top of her draft memories.

Outside of draft memories, Ryan and his crew at HoopsAddict.com have been doing a great job covering the draft and have added to their already impressive collection of audio footage from various NBA team workouts. Hopefully next week we’ll get to join forces again with the HoopsAddict crew on a few Raptors-specific draft interviews.

And from the Sports Agent Blog, an article that directly addresses the NBA draft and in particular, the NBA’s Rookie Salary Scale. Good? Bad? One way or another, GM’s are already having to change the way they go about making their picks, especially concerning foreign prospects, because of it.

Leaving the draft behind, we turn to the current NBA Finals.

Last night’s testy win by the Lakers certainly ratched-up the emotion for Game 6 but as John from Red's Army points out, it was game four of this series that really brought out the animosity between the Celtics and Lakers.

David Friedman from 20 Second Timeout touches on that game as well and the incredible 24 point comeback by the men in green.

This NBA Finals has featured plenty of flopping on both sides and the Daily Basketball gives us "Six types of NBA flopping: the non-definitive guide."

Besides having some great video examples ala Youtube, the article also pays tribute to Air Manu...

Meanwhile, over at Give Me the Rock, the crew is stepping away from the draft and the current NBA playoffs to take a look at the game statistically from a fantasy perspective. First, they bring us an article examining the idea of ranking players’ value based on their position.

Then, they provide some very interesting thoughts on charting the top 100 fantasy basketball players via visual representation.

(And yes, Dwight Howard just might be superman.)

Finally, looking at the big picture NBA-wise, Austin from Hoops Addict.com writes about the NHL’s recent awards ceremony and what the NBA could learn from it.

Thanks to all for their entries and to anyone who hasn’t yet contributed to the Carnival, be sure to join our group at BallHype or check out blogcarnival.com for more information on the Carnival.

On a final note, RaptorsHQ has re-designed our Jamario Moon site for the upcoming draft. It’s now up and running at www.raptorsdrafthq.com so be sure to check it out. We’ve posted all workout pieces there including video footage of each prospect and we’ll continue to do so as we near draft day.

We’ll also be posting upcoming audio footage from this week’s workouts in addition to various other interactive features.

THE HQ