NBA Mythbusters: Don't Believe the Hype

by Matt Silverston
from blog.sidelinesapp.com:



Hate it or love it, but the NBA hype machine fed experts misinformation this off-season. It’s important to identify fact versus fiction before things get out of hand.  Myths regarding this year’s rookie of the year, the best free agent find in Texas and the top team in the East need to be busted.
Welcome to NBA Mythbusters folks.

Watch Mavs vs Lakers pregame press conference with Mike Brown and Rick Carlisle

Click on the RFSN TV tab
8:00pm CST - Mike Brown
8:15pm CST - Rick Carlisle

Dallas Mavericks vs New Orleans Hornets - Watch head coach Monty Williams post game press conference LIVE

Click on RFSN TV tab to watch Hornets head coach Monty Williams immediately following tonight's game. Get a live update of the Austin Rivers injury.

DIRK NOWITZKI UNDERGOES SUCCESSFUL SURGERY

DIRK NOWITZKI UNDERGOES SUCCESSFUL SURGERY
DALLAS — The Dallas Mavericks announced today that Dirk Nowitzki underwent arthroscopic surgery to his right knee. The surgery

10:30pm CST Live Show: NFL Week 7 Picks, Dallas Mavericks, Ray Lewis, Lance Armstrong

Join us tonight for another LIVE broadcast of RF Sports Radio.

• NFL Week 6 Picks
• Ray Lewis
• Lance Armstrong
• Dallas Mavericks

CLICK HERE TO JOIN US or CALL 323-927-2906

Vince Carter talks about Obama coming to his house

We caught up with Vince Carter as he talked about having Pres. Obama over his house during the off-season.

Mavericks Head Coach Rick Carlisle Talks Defense

Elton Brand talks about the 76ers deciding to "amnesty" him and joining the Mavs

No doubt, Brand is approaching the season with something to prove.

Dirk Nowitzki talks about his off-season and his new team

We caught up with Dirk as he talked about his off-season wedding and his new teammates. 

Rodrigue Beaubois 2012 Dallas Mavericks Training

Video: Mavs Media Day 2012 - Behind the scenes

We take you inside the AAC for Mavs Media Day. Interviews with Dirk Nowitzki, Elton Brand, and Darren Collison. Also meet the new Mavs Chris Kaman, O.J. Mayo, and returning players Delonte West and Brandan Wright.

Watch Mavs Media Day LIVE - 9.28.12 1pm CST

That's Right! We will be live video streaming Dallas Mavericks Media Day this Friday at 1pm CST. All you have to do is log on to the site and your access is granted!

Interviews with Rick Carlisle, Dirk Nowitzki, Elton Brand, Darren Collison, and the new Mavs players.

MAVERICKS ADD THREE TO TRAINING CAMP ROSTER

DALLAS — The Dallas Mavericks announced today they have signed free agents Josh Akognon, Tu Holloway and DJ Mbenga to complete their training camp roster. Per team policy, terms of the deal were not disclosed.

Akognon (5-11, 185) is a Petaluma, Calif., native who started his collegiate career at Washington StateUniversity before transferring to California State University, Fullerton. As a junior, he led the Titans to a Big West regular season title, Big West Tournament Championship and an NCAA Tournament appearance for the first time in 30 years. As a senior, Akognon was named Big West Conference Player of the Year after averaging 23.9 points per game.

Holloway (6-0, 190) played collegiately at Xavier University and went undrafted in the 2012 NBA Draft. In his four years as a Musketeer, he played in 134 games and held career averages of 13.7 points, 4.1 assists and 1.2 steals per contest. As a junior, Holloway was Atlantic 10 Player of the Year and earned Third Team All-America honors from the Associated Press while averaging 19.7 points and 5.4 assists a game.

Mbenga (7-0, 240) is native of Congo who was originally signed by Dallas as a rookie free agent on July 14, 2004 after playing with the Mavericks summer league squad. In his first stint with Dallas he saw action in 79 games averaging 1.3 points and 0.9 rebounds. Mbenga was waived by Dallas on Oct. 30, 2007. Since his time inDallas, Mbenga has played for Golden State, L.A. Lakers and New Orleans. He holds career averages of 1.8 points and 1.5 rebounds in 234 games (4 starts).

Below is the Mavericks’ training camp roster:

No.          Player                     Pos.        Ht.           Wt.          Birthdate                Prior to NBA/Home Country     NBA Exp

10            Josh Akognon          G             5-11         185          2/10/86                    California State, Fullerton         R

3              Rodrigue Beaubois G             6-2           182          2/24/88                    Cholet/Guadeloupe                 3

42            Elton Brand              F              6-9           255          3/11/79                    Duke/USA                               13

25            Vince Carter            G/F          6-6           220          1/26/77                    North Carolina/USA                 14

4              Darren Collison       G             6-0           160          8/23/87                    UCLA/USA                              3

9              Jae Crowder           F              6-6           235          7/6/90                      Marquette/USA                        R

1              Jared Cunningham  G             6-4           194          5/22/91                    Oregon State/USA                   R

52            Tu Holloway            G             6-0           190          8/21/89                    Xavier/USA                             R

5              Bernard James        F/C          6-10         240          2/7/85                      Florida State/USA                    R

30            Dahntay Jones        G/F          6-6           225          12/27/80                  Duke/USA                               9

20            Dominique Jones     G             6-5           215          10/15/88                  South Florida/USA                   2

35            Chris Kaman            C             7-0           265          4/28/82                    Central Michigan/USA             9

0              Shawn Marion         F              6-7           228          5/7/78                      UNLV/USA                              13

32            O.J. Mayo                G             6-4           210          11/5/87                    USC/USA                                4

28            DJ Mbenga              C             7-0           240          12/30/80                  Pallacanestro Varese/Congo   7

41            Dirk Nowitzki            F              7-0           245          6/19/78                    Würzburg/Germany                 14

13            Delonte West            G             6-3           180          7/26/83                    St. Joseph’s/USA                     8

34            Brandan Wright        F/C          6-10         210          10/5/87                    North Carolina/USA                 4

© 2012 Dallas Mavericks

Video: Mavs introduce Elton Brand

RFSN takes you inside the Mavs press conference to speak with Elton Brand about joining the Mavericks and his thoughts about other free agency moves in the NBA

Playing this Week on RFSN

Tune in this week to hear more "Sports Talk from a Fan's Perspective". This weeks line-up includes:

• RF Sports Radio - NFL Week 1 Scores and Highlights
• The Big E Show with Nancy Lieberman
• In The Net with Mattman
• Coach Claude Mathis of the #5 Desoto Eagles
• Dallas Mavericks press conference to introduce new players
• Jets Flight Plan
• Asylum Fantasy Football - NFL Week 1 wrap-up

If you have the TuneIn Radio app on your mobile device search "RFSN" and add us to your favorites!

Dallas Mavericks introduce new Roster with Candid Press Conference; Now Playing on RFSN

Tune in all week to hear the Dallas Mavericks introduce Elton Brand, OJ Mayo, Chris Kaman, and others to the Mavs media and fans. Mark Cuban and Rick Carlisle hold court as season ticket holders as some great questions. Overall the event was a huge success.

Press Release: RFSN launches Labor Day

Dallas, TX: RF Sports Radio is transitioning from a radio show and website to a sports network. President of Rehsif Media, Rodney Fisher, is excited about the new approach to sports media. "With RFSN we plan to put the fan first. That is why it is the Real Sports Fan Network. Now when you go to the site you can hear 24hr live sports talk from across the country created by fans! You will also be able to watch live sporting events in the near future. That is the second phase of the network." The video streaming kicks off in late October when RFSN will stream the pregame and postgame press conferences for the Dallas Mavericks. There is also a boxing match scheduled for late October.

The new changes take effect on Labor Day. RFSN - "Sports from a Fan's Perspective"

Playing in the Red: The New NBA

As a Dallas Maverick fan, I have to wonder why teams like L.A., Miami, New York, and even Brooklyn can acquire the players that they have under the new collective bargaining agreement, yet a team that has operated well above the salary cap since Mark Cuban took over can not. Those teams have made a decision to operate in the red and a NBA championship is worth it.

The new agreement was supposed to level the playing field by requiring a much higher luxury tax for teams over the salary cap. What has happened is the plane between contender and non-contender has grown exponentially. At the start of the 2012-13 season, the number of teams with a legitimate chance of winning it all is few and far between. Struggling franchises are finding it hard to attract top free agents and additional revenue streams to compensate for increasing their payroll. The original thought that low salary cap teams will be the go-to destination if a superstar wants to make big money was totally wrong. Lebron is not going back to Cleveland, Dwight is not going to Charlotte, and Chris Paul is not requesting a trade to Milwaukee. The NBAPA forgot that teams have low salaries for a reason; the owners don't want to spend the money.

The league on the other hand is different situation. David Stern and company have decided to help the big market teams get bigger. Recently, the league office allowed teams to place advertisements on game jerseys. An ad on a Knicks or Lakers jersey will be quadruple the price of an ad on a Timberwolves jersey. The Knicks and Lakers also have local TV deals that help balance financial spreadsheets. They also have merchandise sales blow smaller market teams out of the water. The bigger the market, the bigger luxury tax you can afford to pay.

To Mark Cuban's credit he knew this was going to happen before the new agreement was signed. There are reports that he wanted to have a hard cap, meaning that a team can't go over the cap and pay a luxury tax. Imagine the parity of the NBA if that was true. Instead of 5 teams with a chance to win, there would be 20. Cuban has made a good decision to let the dust settle. For the first time his franchise will operate under the cap which gives him great flexibility to do anything. His new challenge is to play the cap game and win another title using the flexibility to his advantage. He already has proven the other way works.

MAVERICKS ANNOUNCE 2012 PRESEASON SCHEDULE

DALLAS – The Dallas Mavericks announced their 2012 preseason schedule today, which includes an exhibition game to be played in Berlin and another to be held in Barcelona.

The Mavericks will tip-off their 2012 preseason by traveling to Dirk Nowitzki’s home country of Germany for a matchup with eight-time German Champions Alba Berlin on Saturday, Oct. 6. The game will be played at the O2 World in Berlin, Germany. The Mavericks will then travel to Barcelona, Spain for a meeting with 17-time Spanish Champions FC Barcelona Regal of the Euroleague on Oct. 9 at the Palau Sant Jordi. The pair of preseason games played internationally will be a part of NBA Europe Live 2012 and will be telecast on NBATV.

Following their two preseason contests played in Europe, the Mavericks will return to Dallas for consecutive home games against Houston on Oct. 15 and Phoenix on Oct. 17. Dallas will then play at Atlanta on Oct. 20 and against New Orleans on Oct. 22. The Mavericks will meet the defending Western Conference Champion Oklahoma City Thunder for a game at INTRUST Bank Arena in Wichita, Kan. on Oct. 24, before concluding their eight-game exhibition season with a matchup with Charlotte at American Airlines Center on Oct. 26.

All of the preseason games played in the United States can be heard on ESPN 103.3 FM and in Spanish on KFLC (1270 AM). Local television coverage will be announced at a later date.

Tickets for Mavericks preseason home games scheduled for the American Airlines Center will go on sale Monday, Sept. 17. For more information, call 214-747-MAVS or visit mavs.com.

Following preseason play, Dallas tips off the 2012-13 regular season at the L.A. Lakers on Tuesday, Oct. 30. The season opener can be seen live on TNT at 9:30 p.m. CT.

2012 Dallas Mavericks Preseason Schedule (All Times Central)

Date	Time	Opponent	Location	Venue
Oct. 6	1:00 p.m.	@ Alba Berlin	Berlin, Germany	O2 World
Oct. 9	2:00 p.m.	@ FC Barcelona	Barcelona, Spain	Palau Sant Jordi
Oct. 15	7:30 p.m.	Houston	Dallas	American Airlines Center
Oct. 17	7:30 p.m.	Phoenix	Dallas	American Airlines Center
Oct. 20	6:00 p.m.	@ Atlanta	Atlanta	Philips Arena
Oct. 22	7:30 p.m.	New Orleans	Dallas	American Airlines Center
Oct. 24	7:00 p.m.	@ Oklahoma City	Wichita, Kansas	INTRUST Bank Arena
Oct. 26	7:30 p.m.	Charlotte	Dallas	American Airlines Center

© 2012 Dallas Mavericks

NFL Training Camp, NBA Schedule, Mavs Roster, 50 Cent, and 2012 London Olympics

If you missed last nights show, you missed a great one! We got into some good NFL, NBA, Olympic, Boxing, and Mavericks debates.

CLICK HERE TO LISTEN