Clippers take Griffin with top pick
Basketball Betting Lines
06/25/2009 - New York, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Los Angeles Clippers selected Oklahoma standout forward Blake Griffin as the No. 1 overall pick in the NBA Draft.
The 6-foot-10 Griffin was coming off a spectacular sophomore season as he led the Sooners in scoring and rebounding, averaging 22.7 points and 14.4 rebounds in 35 games. He also had a team-best 41 blocked shots and finished third on the squad with 80 assists, while shooting 65.4 percent from the field.
Griffin established an Oklahoma record with 25 double-doubles during the regular season and set a Big 12 mark with 13 games of at least 20 points and 15 rebounds.
The move for the Clippers figures to help them in an area where they've had plenty of talent, but that hasn't transferred to making the postseason. In fact, the Clippers have won just one playoff series since moving to Los Angeles in 1984 and recorded an minus-8.75 average point differential per game last season, worst in the league.
"I'm not worried about what's happened in the past," said Griffin. "I'm only looking forward to the future. We're not going to think about what's happened in seasons past. I'm just excited about the opportunity to make the best out of whatever situation that I'm put in."
Memphis took Connecticut center Hasheem Thabeet at No. 2. The 7-foot-3 Thabeet averaged 13.6 points, 10.8 rebounds and 4.2 blocks over 36 games in helping the Huskies get to the Final Four this season. UConn, which lost to Michigan State in the semifinals, finished with a 31-5 record.
The native of Dar Es Salaam, Tanzania, started 63 of 64 games over his freshman and sophomore campaigns, averaging 8.4 points, 7.2 rebounds and 4.1 blocks per game. He becomes the first NBA player born in Tanzania.
"The last year I remember I was at my house and watching the NBA Draft and today I'm here," said Thabeet. "It's just great. There's a lot of kids dreaming to be in the position I'm in right now."
Among his many accomplishments in 2008-09, Thabeet was named First Team All- American by the NABC and was the Big East Co-Player of the Year. In addition, he was the NABC National Defensive Player of the Year and Big East Defensive Player of the Year in each of the past two seasons.
Oklahoma City selected Arizona State guard James Harden as the third selection. Harden is coming off a sophomore season in which he averaged a Pac-10-best 20.1 points per game to go with 5.6 rebounds and 4.2 assists. The 6-foot-5 Harden was also named Pac-10 Player of the Year after garnering first-team All Pac-10 honors as a freshman.
"I'm not the fastest guy, I'm not the most explosive guy," said Harden. "But I get from point A to point B. (I just) want to go in there and help those guys out, like Kevin Durant and Russell (Westbrook). It's going to be a great honor."
Sacramento also took a guard at No. 4 in Memphis' Tyreke Evans, who left after playing just one season for the Tigers. He averaged 17.1 points, 5.4 rebounds and 3.9 assists this season. The Chester, Pennsylvania, native finished 2008-09 first on the Memphis all-time freshman steals list with 77 takeaways, which was the eighth-most on the Tigers career list.
Minnesota will pick fifth and sixth with one of those selections coming after the Timberwolves finalized a trade on Wednesday with Washington, a deal that sent guards Randy Foye and Mike Miller to the Wizards.
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FOOTBALL BETTING : Braylon Edwards Traded to the New York Jets
After all the trouble that’s ensued since Braylon Edwards allegedly punched one of LeBron James’ homeboys in the face at a club, the Cleveland Browns have sent away their last remaining player of worth to the New York Jets. This is a great move for Dirty Sanchez and all, but it’s even better for the Knicks. Now Donnie Walsh can say, “You get to haunt Braylon Edwards with your posse if you sign here!” next summer.
Putting that aside for a moment, the move is a clear indication that the new-look Jets are gunning for the Super Bowl this year. I don’t think that New York thought that Dirty Sanchez was going to be such a rock star. With a 75.2 passer rating that was killed against the Jets, Sanchez is doing an admirable job of managing games and putting the Jets in a position to win. The defense has been the major story in New York thus far, but the acquisition of Braylon Edwards makes this offense loaded with talent that can dent any defense…as long as Dirty Sanchez continues his meteoric rise.
Thus far, Edwards has been a non-factor in the NFL piling up just 139 receiving yards on 10 catches. He has yet to find the endzone, and with the Browns mired in the most unsexy quarterback controversy of all time (Anderson vs. Quinn...yawn), there going nowhere fast. Edwards is two seasons removed from a career year which saw him catch 80 passes for 1,289 yards and 16 touchdowns when the Browns were the spread killing monsters of 2007. In 2008, injuries slowed the receiver down to just 873 yards and three touchdowns though he played in all 16 games.
So that being said, we really don’t know if Braylon Edwards is just a flash in the pan, or a legit threat. At 6-foot-3 and 215 pounds, he is a prototypical receiver. But he’s also shown a strange, and unwarranted, talent for dropping passes. Lining up opposite Jericho Cotchery, a speed demon with 23 catches, 356 yards and a single touchdown, may give Braylon the open looks he needs. A change of scenery may also rejuvenate the star receiver.
In return, the Browns will receive Chansi Stuckey, a special teams player you’ve never heard of and a pair of draft picks. That’s a tall order for a guy whose only real value right now is in his name, and it shows no promise to the Browns that they can rebuild around those acquisitions. Braylon was the only reason to hope for the Browns to go 3-14 SU this year. Without him, they don’t have a single guy on offense that can scare any team.
For the Jets, it’s a response to the pounding that they took at the hand of the Saints. Thomas Jones and Leon Washington have averaged around 4.0 yards per carry each on the ground, but striking a fair balance between the passing and rushing attacks in New York has been a struggle. You have to believe that the trio of Dustin Keller, Jericho Cotchery and Braylon Edwards will give Sanchez the weapons he needs to unleash through the air. Theoretically, that would open up holes for the rushing game. But the proposed public option health care plan works in theory too. We need to see the proof in the pudding before we start loading up mega bucks on the New York Jets to take the AFC.
The one wrinkle in this whole thing is that Braylon could very well be suspended by the league for disciplinary action due to his “brawl” with LeBron’s friend. If that’s the case, the Jets may have to bench him for a few games leaving them with a somewhat depleted receiving corps for a few games. Also, this is a guy who gets in fights with people at clubs. New York may not be the best place for him. Just sayin’.
The Jets have a long week before they meet the Miami Dolphins on Monday Night Football Betting in a virtual pick ‘em game. Braylon’s excess baggage may be a distraction, and his curiously low production may be what we should be expecting of him overall, but for the Jets, taking a chance to strike gold is well worth it. At the end of the year, they can simply just blame it on their rookie quarterback.
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