A quick mid-day link roundup

Make sure you read today's 'featured post' too, if you're into that sort of thing.

With the closing of FireJoeMorgan, I think Ball Don't Lie has become my new favorite blog. Skeets is just the man, and I'm not sure if there is a better basketball writer in the world than Kelly Dwyer, who just so happens to moonlight as a die hard Bulls fan. Dwyer's daily 'Beyond the Box Score' segment may be the best in the biz (whatever 'the biz' is), and it was particularly splendid last night. Behold:

It only took about 51 minutes of game play, but Bulls coach Vinny Del Negro did eventually switch a different defender onto Zach Randolph (30 points, six assists) in overtime, after Randolph torched Drew Gooden. It wasn't Joakim Noah, this team's longest defender, or Tyrus Thomas (who almost made Randolph cry in a game against Portland in 2006-07), but Andres Nocioni. A 6-6 small forward who proceeded to hack and foul his way to merely holding serve against Zach.

Nocioni's shooting kept Chicago in it, though his rebounding (he was matched on Marcus Camby for most of the game, played 35 minutes, and pulled in four rebounds) kept Los Angeles in it as well.

This, to some fans and apparently all of the Chicago coaching staff, won't get noticed. They'll remember the 22 points, and forget that not only did Camby use his length and strength to pull in 10 offensive rebounds and 27 overall...

Yes, absolutely. Noce at power forward didn't work when Skiles and Boylan tried to do it and it's certainly not working now either. At least when Skiles was the coach, Noce was actually playing somewhere above the garbage level he's been at the last two years. Remember how much of a menace he was against the Wiz in the 04-05 playoffs? That player has been gone for quite some time.

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From The Big Lead (link):

Watched LeBron decimate the 76ers last week. The ESPN's Ric Bucher said that the Cavs' forward checked in at 6-foot-9, 274-pounds. Just a guess, but there's never been an NBA player to possess this unique blend of size and speed. When LeBron was a 240-pound rookie, the comparisons to Magic (6-9, 250) were apt. But now that James has added 34 pounds and lost none of the speed ... uh ...

... at 274 pounds, LeBron weights more than the following NFL players: DeMarcus Ware, Joey Porter, John Abraham and James Harrison. These four men play linebacker or defensive end, and currently are your NFL sack leaders, respectively. LeBron has five or more inches in height on all of these men. Staggering?

I think LeBron James may be the most athletic human in the history of the universe. He even makes other freaks (like the 6'5, 240 lb Calvin Johnson) look like mortals. LeBron is already the best basketballer on Earth right now, and he's not even 24 yet. Seriously, it's a little scary to think how much better he can get. Maybe more astonishing is the fact that he could be the NBA's best player at four different positions.

Brian called him the league's best passer earlier this month, and it's hard to argue. But he's also the league's best scorer and one of the best rebounding forwards. I can't recall anyone that actually exceeded the hype the way LeBron has. If you're even mildly interested in basketball, the man is a just a pleasure to watch.

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Braylon Edwards to the Bears in 2009! Or 2010! I don't even care, just please invest a little coin in the offense, JA. We know the Bears can find adequate, cheap replacements through the draft whenever they want, it's time to start allotting some salary cap space to offensive playmakers. Making a free agent splash is rare for this team, but they need it now more than ever.

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Arin linked to it in the post below, but for BallHype purposes, here's his breakdown of the Bulls recent draft history.