Alonzo Mourning was one of the most spirited competitors I ever had the pleasure of watching. I remember 20 years ago watching a young Zo team up with Dikembe Mutombo terrorize the paint at Georgetown. Mourning would go on to team up with Larry Johnson in Charlotte, as the young expansion franchise quickly made a name for themselves in the NBA. Mourning’s greatest success though would not happen until he left Charlotte for Miami. As a member of the Heat, Zo would soon become the face, heart, and soul of a franchise who was in dire need of one. Miami flirted with playoff winning records behind the likes of Glen Rice and Rony Siekly. But when Zo, Tim Hardaway, and Thunder Dan Marjalie made it to South Beach, it was on.

Mourning left it all on the court every time he laced them up. Much like Kevin Garnett, the intensity displayed by number 33 was rivaled by none. Making it to the Eastern Conference Finals in the prime of his career, Mourning and company did not have enough to get past the Chicago Bulls. His career numbers of 17 Points, 8.5 Rebounds, and 2.8 Blocks are solid, yet Mourning was never “The Man” during his era. When he entered the league, Patrick Ewing, Hakeem Olajuwon, and David Robinson were all entering their prime. Toward the end of the 90’s, Shaq had joined, and in most instanced surpassed that elite group as the most dominant force of his era.
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Alonzo’s health issues made his numbers, and playing time shorten significantly in the latter years of his career, and it wasn’t until a second stint with the Heat in 2005, that Mourning realized his dream of being a NBA champion. Whether or not Alonzo Mourning is a Hall of Famer is highly debatable, but what is not is that he was a warrior, both on the court and off.

Alonzo Mourning Interview:
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A few weeks ago, we gave you a brief breakdown of our best pro prospects early in the season.
If you haven’t checked out that draft, you can here. Our second update of the NBA Mock Draft now offers a complete breakdown of the lottery teams of the 2009 NBA Draft, which of course won’t occur until June 25, 2009.

1. OKC Thunder - Blake Griffin F - Oklahoma
The odds on favorite to stay in the state and help Kevin Durant and company compete next season.

2. Minnesota Timberwolves - Ricky Rubio PG Spain
GM Kevin Mchale is a horrible coach, and a pretty bad GM, but the chance to draft Rubio to electrify his franchise in perhaps his last move. The draft day trade of O.J. Mayo for Kevin Love still has Wolves fans upset.

3. Washington Wizards - Hasheem Thabeet C UConn
You can’t teach height, and with the Wizards in need of both a true point guard and a dominant force in the middle, they would be hard pressed to pass on Thabeet here. If the Wiz wind up in the 3 spot, they could very well trade down, and pick up some additional picks as well. They will be one of the most intriguing lottery teams in a while.

4. Sacramento Kings - Greg Monroe F Georgetown
The Brad Miller era will be over before the NBA Draft comes around, whether by a trade before the All-Star break, or perhaps a deal on draft day. The rebuilding begins around a powerful force in the paint who will have the opportunity to produce immediately.

5. Los Angeles Clippers - Jrue Holiday PG UCLA
Holiday could be either the steal of the lottery, or a serious bust. His pro potential seems to have him all over many experts draft boards, but the Clippers will keep him home.

6. Golden State Warriors - Demar DeRozan SG USC
The Warriors would love to take Holiday, and will not gamble on Brandon Jennings or Stephen Curry, as they already have a crowded backcourt of undersized guards. DeRozan gives them a strong, athletic shooting guard who can be matchup problems in the future, while he could make Stephen Jackson expendable if Golden State and Don Nelson goes their seperate ways for good, and the new coach decides to rebuild as well.

7. Indiana Pacers - Jordan Hill F Arizona
The Pacers get another big young body to help Danny Granger and Troy Murphy.

8. Memphis Grizzlies - BJ Mullens C Ohio State
Mullens may go a little high, but potentially in the same front court with Marc Gasol could make the young Grizz a sleeper next season.

9. Charlotte Bobcats - Ty Lawson PG North Carolina
You just know if Michael Jordan has a chance to draft a Tar Heel, he will. For no other reason than he collects ex-Carolina players.

10. New York Knicks - Stephen Curry PG Davidson
Coach D’Antoni would love to bring in Curry at this spot, and have Steve Nash the following year sign to show Curry the ropes in the Run-N-Fun system.

11. Toronto Raptors - Brandon Jennings PG Spain
The most intriguing pick in the draft goes from playing overseas to north of the border.

12. Philadelphia 76ers - Chase Budinger F Arizona
Perhaps the best player available at this spot, Budinger is a flat out scorer.

13. Chicago Bulls - Willie Warren SG Oklahoma
If Chicago ends up near the end of the lottery, I would expect them to possibly trade this pick. If they did keep it, look for them to draft a running mate to play alongside Derrick Rose for the future.

The Cleveland Cavaliers run on top the LayupDrill.com Sweet 16 Power Rankings did not last long. Cleveland had a few bumps in the road last week, but more importantly, lost the services of Zydrunas Illgauskas for a while. Meanwhile Boston had just as bad a week, with the low light of being outplayed in Madison Square Garden by the Knicks.

The biggest riser this week include Atlanta, who rose from 12 to 7, while Houston fell from 8 to 14.

Last Weeks Power Rankings

Records as of 1/6/09

The Contenders:

1. LA Lakers (29-6)
2. Boston Celtics (29-6)
3. Cleveland Cavs (27-6)
4. Orlando Magic (26-8)
5. San Antonio Spurs (23-11)
6. Denver Nuggets (24-12)
7. Atlanta Hawks ( 22-11)
8. Portland Trailblazers (20-14)

The Pretenders:

9. New Orleans Hornets (20-10)
10. Detroit Pistons (21-11)
11. Phoenix Suns (19-12)
12. Dallas Mavericks (20-13)
13. Utah Jazz (20-15)
14. Houston Rockets (21-14)
15. New Jersey Nets (17-18)
16. Miami Heat (18-15)

Photo - AP

The big news today comes out of Denver, where Nugget fans received some very bad news regarding their star Carmelo Anthony. Anthony sustained a fractured hand last night against the Pacers, and will be out for three to four weeks.

Another player who is returning from injury is Knicks center Eddy Curry. The Portland Trailblazers, who have reportedly been in love with David Lee for a while now, may actually covet Curry to deepen their post position for a deep playoff run. The NY Post is reporting that the Blazers and Knicks may now have more than one trade possibility to look at, with the Knicks looking at gaining backcourt help, while sending high price contracts of Lee or Curry.

The Knicks did come out today and deny the three team trade rumor regarding the Clippers center Marcus Camby and Quentin Richardson. The NY Post had broke the story, though the Knicks management completely dismissed the rumor as “a fabrication”.

Photo-NBA

Fantasy Tips Tuesday will be a new featured article on LayupDrill.com written by our very own Fantasy writer Brandon Ribak every Tuesday.

This weeks discussion is on the Buy Low and Sell High players.

Buy Low

All throughout the fantasy NBA world there are players that have slumped and have not lived up to their expectations. These players have great potential to turn around and become very solid fantasy options for the remainder of the season. Below is a list of players that could be bought low as of right now, before they start to produce above average fantasy numbers.

Richard Jefferson (SF, MIL)- Jefferson has not played very well since joining the Milwaukee Bucks. He has put up weak performances this season and is destined to heat up very soon. R Jeff is only averaging 17 PPG, 5 RPG, and 2 APG in 35 games. Jefferson could be bought for low because of his slow start to the season. You can expect his averages to improve before the end of the year.

Mo Williams (PG, CLE)- Mo Williams is averaging below projected numbers in many categories so far this season. He is currently on a horrific slump averaging just 11 PPG, 3 RPG, and just over 2.5 APG during his last three games. Williams is on an outstanding Cleveland Cavaliers team and should breakout very shortly. He should be bought or traded for low with the expectations to improve in every statistical category.

Andrew Bynum (C, LAL)- After a somewhat of a break-out season last year, Bynum has struggled to perform this season. He has averaged just 9.4 PPG, 7.2 RPG, and 2 BPG during his last five games and does not look like himself out there on the court. Bynum’s production will begin to rise very soon as he is only 21 years old and has a great amount of upside. Now is the time to buy him for cheap!!!

Sell High

Many players go on hot-streaks throughout the year and produce great numbers for a short period of time. These type of players go through a phase of having great fantasy appeal due to their outstanding performances. Below is a list of players that should be traded for better players before there fantasy value drops. (Not saying Rashard and Davids fantasy value will necessarily drop, but now is the time to get a better deal in exchange for them).

Marcus Camby (C, LAC)- 34-year-old Marcus Camby still has it people! Camby has been on a sizzling hot-streak as of late averaging a ridiculous 16 PPG, 19.2 RPG (averaging second most in the NBA ) and 2.6 BPG during the last five games. He is a very injury-prone player and will not be able to stay healthy throughout the entire season. Clipper’s other center Chris Kaman is expected to return some time this month and will also get in the way of Camby’s massive production lately. Trade Camby for a better player in exchange, before he gets injured or begins to cool down.

Rashard Lewis (PF, ORL)- Lewis is leading the league in threes this season (103 3PTM) and is playing pretty amazing basketball. His fantasy value is higher than ever and this could be used as an advantage for fantasy owners. Lewis could be traded for a top 20 fantasy player for as long as he can keep his averages this high. I highly suggest offering a trade in your fantasy league just to see what you can get for Rashard.

David Lee (PF, NYK)- David Lee is playing the best basketball of his life for the New York Knicks this season. Rumors say Lee could possibly be traded to Portland in the weeks to come (which would be a bad move for fantasy owners). As of right now he is averaging nearly 15 PPG and 11 RPG and could be traded for a higher-ranking player in fantasy basketball.

The Shaun Livingston comeback may be over. You may remember Livingston, who came straight out of high school to be drafted by the Clippers in 2004, and nearly two years ago destroyed his knee on a horrific play on the court. The Heat signed Livingston as a free agent in October, though he has only managed to play 41 minutes this year. Miami cutting Livingston allows them to free up a roster spot and salary space for a possible return of Alonzo Mourning for the stretch run this season.

Shaun Livingston Career Stats
7.3 Points 4.7 Assists 3.1 Rebounds

The Injury:
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Vince Carter takes it in on the Kings defense for a slam! Vote for the NBA Dunk of the Week!
Click here to view the embedded video.

Tonight the Sacramento Kings (8-26) visited the New Jersey Nets (16-18).
Coming into the game the Nets Devin Harris was questionable with a hamstring injury.
The story for the Kings would be the continued health of franchise player Kevin Martin, who returned from an ankle injury last week. Martin scored 45 points in his last outing and would be playing in his fourth game back.
The Kings led by 12 at halftime.
The game went back and forth deep into the fourth quarter until the Nets pulled away.
The final score was 98-90 in favor of the Nets.
Vince Carter led the Nets with 29 points and seven assists.
Kevin Martin had a game high 36 for the Kings.
The Kings play tomorrow night at the Bulls.

Photo - NBA

In two totally seperate cases, Jason Richardson of the Phoenix Suns, and Antoine Walker, formerly of the Memphis Grizzlies, were both charged with suspicion of DUI in Phoenix and Miami.

2009 is not starting off well for Antoine Walker. The Associated Press is reporting that Walker was charged with suspicion of drunk driving early this morning in Miami. Walker was driving a black Mercedes with no lights on at 5am when the officers stopped him. Walker refused a breathalyzer test, though the officers detected a strong odor of alcohol on Walker.

Richardson was accused of DUI after being stopped at 2am in Phoenix, just 30 miles from where Charles Barkley was stopped last month. The officer who stopped Richardson stated in the police report that Richardson’s blood level was above the legal .08 limit.

Photo-NBA

As you have already heard (or should have heard), rumors are circulating around the league of a possible deal involving the New York Knicks, Portland Trail Blazers, and the Los Angeles Clippers.

New York Knicks: The Knicks would receive Center Marcus Camby and Power Forward Channing Frye.

Portland Trail Blazers: The Blazers would get Power Forward David Lee.

Los Angeles Clippers: The Clippers would give up Camby for small-forward Quentin Richardson.

Fantasy Breakdown: Fantasy owners that have Marcus Camby should be ecstatic about this trade. With Chris Kaman approaching a return some time this January, Camby’s numbers would certainly drop. If he is sent to New York, he would fit in rather well with D’Antoni’s system of run-and-gun offense. Marcus would be the Knicks main re-bounder and raise his fantasy value, making him one of the best Centers in fantasy NBA.

David Lee’s fantasy value could rise or fall, depending on the amount of minutes he gets per game. He would obviously come off the bench in substitute for Channing Frye. If he can average consistent minutes night in and night out, his fantasy appeal will be similar to what it is right now. David Lee owner’s should not panic for two reasons, one being it is just a trade rumor, and two being that if he does get traded, his chances of playing a solid amount of minutes are better than none.

Marcus Camby and David Lee are the two players that have major fantasy impact in this trade rumor. If you listen to these daily fantasy tips in LayupDrill’s Fantasy Tips section periodically, your fantasy team will not only improve, but have a great chance at making it to the playoffs. Check back for more fantasy articles today!!!