What was Pop thinking?

Last night, Pop pulled his starters late in the 3rd qtr and put in the 2nd unit. The Spurs were down 16 at the time and the 2nd unit led the team to a comeback (and a 9 point lead going into the final 5 minutes). Pop, however, didn't choose to put his starters (or even ONE of them) back in to hold off the Mavericks, who proceeded to go on an 11-2 run and tie the game, sending it to OT (despite Danny Green's best efforts).

You'd have to think at this point Pop would send his starters out, or at least let Tony Parker go out there to run the offense. Nope, keeps the same 5 guys in (later subbing in Kawhi Leonard as the only sub) for the OT session and proceeds to lose the game in OT.

I have two lines of thinking on this.

1. WHAT THE HELL, MAN! You cost your team the game! I would have to think that if here we to get his (more than fresh) starters back in the game, they would have been able to preserve the 9 point lead and win the game in regulation. But at the same time..

2. Smart man to look towards the future. He knows that the Spurs are going to the post-season. And he realizes that with the team he currently has constructed (just a tad bit on the OLD side..), he'll need to get a lot from his reserves come April, May, and June if he wants to go far. The ability to both get his young guys playing time is huge, but equally - if not more - huge is the ability to get them crunch time minutes. Danny Green really showed people something down the stretch of that game. That gives Pop more leverage in the future to trust his young guy to make big shots in crucial spots.

It's easy to point to this one game and say that in all likelihood he cost his team a game, but in the long-run I think he did his team a favor. And hey, .1 seconds doesn't erase the fact that Green took and MADE a game-winning shot at the buzzer over the defending champs. Whether or not it counted is irrelevant to his psyche going forward.

Flip Saunders fired

Not much to say here other than why wasn't this a story 2 weeks ago. Long overdue. The Wizards are a huge mess. Randy Wittman will take over as head coach.

NJ Nets made the RIGHT move

No matter what happens this summer, the New Jersey Nets made the right decision in trading for Deron Williams. Looking back at that day (Feb 24th, 2011), the trade went like this:

NJ Nets Get: Deron Williams

Utah Jazz Get: Devin Harris, Derrick Favors, 2011 1st round pick (Enes Kanter), 2012 GS Warriors 1st round pick (top 7 protected in '12,'13 and top 6 protected in '14)

Derrick Favors has gone on to average about 8 ppg, 5.5 rpg and 1 bpg shooting 55% with the Jazz since the trade. Devin Harris has gone to average 12.5 ppg 5 apg, .9 spg, shooting 33% with the Jazz since the trade. Enes Kanter looks like he could be promising (currently averaging 5 & 5 with a 17 PER as a rookie with just 14 mpg), and we'll wait and see what happens with their draft pick in this up coming draft. Meanwhile, Deron Williams has gone on to average 17 ppg, 10 apg, 4 rpg, shooting 35% for NJ since the trade. He's also sold FAR more jersey's than Favors/Harris/Kanter combined and brought life to NJ towards the end of last year and going into this year. His presence alone has allowed NJ to look to trade more assets to acquire another superstar (a front-runner in the Dwight Howard trade talks) keeping the Nets a move away from returning to the playoffs. On the surface, regardless of what he does this summer (stay or go) it looks like a win for the Nets. They took a risk, it paid off in the short-term and still could potentially pay off in the long-term.

I'll take it a step further. In today's NBA, you want to be 1 of 2 places. Either you want to be winning 50+ games or winning 15 games or fewer. In other words, you want to be a contender for the title or for the first pick. Hovering in the 40 win range does nothing. You won't sell tickets (barring a big draw opponent like the Lakers/Celtics), and you are not likely to acquire another superstar to move yourself to the next level. It's very tough to win with a "team" of really good players in todays NBA (although the Sixers are currently the exception to that rule, but to the same degree, who is taking them serious as a real threat to the Heat & Bulls to win the eastern conference this year). The best case scenario for the Nets is that Deron Williams allows them to lure Dwight Howard (and Otis Smith takes the ridiculous coup of draft picks and Brook Lopez the Nets are offering) and they go on to be one of the best PG/C combos in basketball. The worst case is that Deron Williams leaves for a team like the Lakers/Mavs/Knicks and leaves NJ with no discernible basketball players outside of Brook Lopez and with a clear path for the number one pick. As I previously stated, both are "wins" so to speak, for the Nets.

I'll say it again. Whether or not Deron Williams is a Net in the '12-'13 NBA season, the trade was absolutely successful. Hats off to Billy King (much maligned for his GM skills) for making the deal.

Who the F&$% does John Lucas III think he is

John Lucas III started in place of Derrick Rose last night and attempted TWENTY-EIGHT shots. This kids making his first ever start, playing stop-gap for a hobbled Derrick Rose, and what does he do? He comes out and chucks it up 28 times. It wasn't even like he was making one after the other and they had to stay with him because he was hot. He only made 11 of the 28. I'll tell you what, there's no way this dude is shooting it 28 times next time he takes the floor. I'll be shocked if he gets 8 shots.

Tim Duncan

Congratulations to Timothy Duncan for moving ahead of Larry Legend on the all-time scoring list. He did so with a free throw with 4:54 remaining in the game last night and is now 27th all time. When told of his accomplishment, the always quiet and humble Tim Duncan said "WOW. How'd I do that?"

Seriously.

Your 1st Place Philadelphia 76ers

Power Rankings: Number 1

If you check it out today (1/11/12), Hollinger's Power Rankings (ever changing) have the Philadelphia 76ers, void of any superstar, ahead of the vaunted Miami Heat (overflowing with superstars). This is likely based on the fact that they have the highest margin of victory of any team in the NBA and that their 2 losses have both come on the road to Portland (7-2) & Utah (5-3). This team will not finish the year ranked number 1 in the power rankings, but they are showing that they are absolutely for real.

Me Ball v. We Ball

The Sixers don’t have a superstar. Philly fans would have loved to sit here today and tell you that Elton Brand has anchored their low-post and been the superstar he was in L.A., but they can’t. They’d love to tell you that Andre Iguodala matured into a superstar, but they can’t. Heck they’d love to tell you that Evan Turner is going to take over the league, but they can’t (although he is looking like he’s turning a corner).

So what CAN Philadelphia fans tell you?

They can tell you they have Lou Williams, the second highest scorer coming off any bench in the NBA (2^nd to James Harden in OKC). They can tell you they have “misfit” Thad Young who was told that he doesn’t fit at any position, but somehow he makes plays on both ends and hustles more than just about every other player in the league. They can tell you that Andre Iguodala and Elton Brand may not be superstars, but they have ACCEPTED that (which most ‘should-be-stars’ cannot do) and are playing off the youth around them. They can tell you that Jrue Holiday just may be the next big PG in a league that is starting to get dominated by PGs. They can tell you that Spencer Hawes is endearing himself as one of the best centers Philly has had since they traded for the finger-waving Dikembe from Atlanta. They can tell you they have a deep bench, a hard-nosed Head Coach, and a new CEO that loves to tweet (@SixersCEOAdam). Folks, I know we’ve been trained to dismiss teams that don’t have superstars as being “medicore at best”, but don’t do that with this Sixers team. Do yourself a favor and watch them play. They play a fun brand of basketball dubbed “WE-ball”. It’s a different guy every night, making it impossible to prepare for any specific player, and they run a legit 8 deep making them hard to defend throughout a shortened, compact season.

I’m not going to sit here and tell you they are going to play nearly .800 ball for the rest of the season. They won’t. They have a real tough schedule in February, and they have been turning the ball over at an EXTREMELY low rate – bound to regress to the mean at some point, but this team will be there vying for the Atlantic Division title and home-court in the first round of the playoffs. This could be the first Sixers team in a few years to make it past the 1^st round and get Philly back into being a basketball town (currently only bringing in 9,000 fans a night).

The Future

While I don’t see them competing for an NBA title this year, this team is a move away from doing so. They still possess their amnesty clause and could use it on Elton Brand’s contract in order to dump his huge salary and make a big free agent signing in the Summer of ’12. They are young (most of core under 25 years of age), they play good defense, and they have multiple scorers in the 4^th qtr that can take over a game.

I’ll say it again. This team is fun to watch. It’s a WE-Ball brand of basketball and it’s working. They are 7-2 and have multiple 20 point wins. They are number 1 in point differential, offensive and defensive efficiency (according to Hollinger’s rankings), showing that they are getting it done on both ends of the floor. If you can get out there, go to the Wells Fargo Center, if you see them on League Pass, watch them, and if they pop up on ESPN/TNT, sit back, relax, and watch one of the best young teams in the league.

Show ya luv, Philly, basketball is back in Philadelphia!

Derrick Rose Hurt

Derrick Rose could be more seriously hurt than initially thought. He is currently in a walking boot and the Bulls website lists him as day-to-day. However, the Bulls have called up Mike James from the D-League, which means that they are anticipating Rose could be out for a bit. Turf toe is a much more serious injury than it gets credit for being. This has the potential to be a "breaking news" headline in the near future.

Power Rankings; 1/9/12

Ok; I'm debuting the first set of my NBA Power Rankings. I'm going to do this a little bit differently than just a 1-30 list, I'm going to clump then in groups.

Teams to Beat

1. Miami Heat

2. Oklahoma City Thunder

3. Chicago Bulls

Any of these 3 teams can win the NBA title right now and not shock anyone. I'm sure you will get plenty of argument about what order these 3 belong in, but I find it hard to believe that anyone would believe any of the teams below belong above any 1 of these teams.

Right There

4. Portland Trailblazers

5. Los Angeles Lakers

6. Denver Nuggets

7. Atlanta Hawks

These teams are all a move away from being legit title contenders. If you were to tell me that 1 of these teams would get to the NBA finals, I would (obviously, given the rankings) take Portland. They are a physically tough, deep team. Wallace and Aldridge may be the best forward tandem in the NBA right now and with Raymond Felton running the floor, they are dangerous on the break. Side note: Denver may have the best home-court advantage in basketball right now. They will run opponents out of Denver and leave them gasping for breath.

A Year Away

8. Philadelphia 76ers

9. Indiana Pacers

I love these 2 teams. They are both young, talented, deep teams that are a superstar away from being a title contender. Even without them, though, these 2 teams will make a run at gaining the 4 spot in the east. Given the fact that the 76ers are number 1 in BOTH offensive and defensive efficiency, they get the nod over the Pacers, however, they have been playing nearly flawless basketball (lead league in only 14 turnovers per game) and are getting a all-star effort out of perennial NON-allstar Spencer Hawes, I'm not sure that continues. These 2 teams will be interesting to keep an eye on going forward.

Living Off Their Name

10. Boston Celtics

11. Orlando Magic

12. Dallas Mavericks

13. San Antonio Spurs

It's hard to think that these 4 teams won't be guaranteed a first round home-court advantage in the playoffs, but all are currently facing that possibility. Of the 4, I think Dallas has the best chance at doing that given their division, but it's definitely a realistic possibility all 4 will be on the road in round 1.

Fun To Watch; Not There Yet

14. Los Angeles Clippers

15. New York Knicks

16. Minnesota Timberwolves

NBA League Pass was made for these teams. The T-Wolves may have a budding "best PG-PF" combo with Rubio and Love. The Clippers, affectionately referenced as "lob-city" have CP3 throwing up the rock to DeAndre and Blake who are throwing it down (with style). The Knicks with Melo and Amare are as entertaining an offensive team to watch on any given night. All 3 teams, however, have fatal flaws that will keep them from being elite. The Knicks cannot play defense, the Clippers struggle at some fundamental aspects of basketball, and the T-Wolves are too young and inexperienced.

Tough Break

17. Memphis Grizzlies

Losing Zach Randolph hurts. This team was primed and ready to make a real run at being an elite team. They still will pose problems for plenty of western conference squads, but with Zach out till early March, they will struggle to win the division / end as a top 4 team in the west.

Not Buying It

18. Utah Jazz

19. Phoenix Suns

Both teams have been more successful (neither are below .500) than what pre-season expectations were, but I'm not buying either. Utah is young and rebuilding and that's going to shine through soon. Phoenix looks like they have a steal with Markeif Morris, but the depth isn't there for this to continue. Phoenix has a chance to finish around with around 33 wins (.500), but neither are a threat to go to the second season.

Confusing To Watch

20. Houston Rockets

21. Cleveland Cavaliers

22. Toronto Raptors

23. Sacramento Kings

There's nights I watch these teams and think "Wow! They could be the 'How'd they get to the playoffs' team" and other nights where I think "Oh. No they couldn't". Sacramento could be in store for a big dip down into the "Not Good" squads given their coaching situation and Cousins' situation. The Rockets need to get a big man, but Kyle Lowry continues to be the best player nobody talks about. Meanwhile, he may not be LeBron, but Kyrie Irving is going to be good. Like, Deron Williams good. He is special. As for Toronto, I bet teams are kicking themselves for not hiring Dwane Casey.

Not Good

24. Golden State Warriors

25. Detroit Pistons

26. Charlotte Bobcats

27. Milwaukee Bucks

Hard to think any of these teams are going to be anything but a lottery team. Some bright spots here and there, but all around, just not good teams.

It's Not Their Fault; They Have No One

28. New Orleans Hornets

29. New Jersey Nets

David Stern did his best, but the Hornets (despite that 2-0 start) are just terrible and have not won a game since. Eric Gordon is a solid young player, but he's not a number 1 on a championship team by any means. The Nets are just a mess. No Brook Lopez, no Dwight Howard trade (despite insanely rampant rumors) leaving Deron Williams to do it all. There are some decent young pieces in NJ, but that team needs a massive makeover.

Fire Your Coach.. Like Now

30. Washington Wizards

Haven't won a game yet, been blowout a ton (currently the worst point differential in the NBA), and it looks like Flip Saunders will be gone. Surprised given the fact that this team has some players on it. They shouldn't be winless, but they are not good. at all. not even a little.

Triple OT

The Boshtridge strikes! Chris Bosh hits a ridiculous 3 to tie the game in regulation and the Heat go on to beat the Hawks in triple-OT. This is a big blow for the Hawks who are coming off a crushing defeat to the Bulls. Going into the 4th qtr of that game, the Hawks were on the verge of completing unbelievable road back2back wins over Heat and Bulls to losing to the Bulls and then coming home and losing to a Heat squad missing LeBron and Wade.

A bright spot for the Hawks, here, is the play of Ivan Johnson. He was a impressive for them on both ends of the floor, before eventually fouling out. He was absolutely the better "Johnson" on the floor that night, since Joe Johnson had one of the worst games of the season for him.

Kings Fire Westphal

The Sacramento Kings have fired Paul Westphal as their head basketball coach. More to come as details leak out. This is a bit shocking considering the timing, but this was enviable given how poorly they've played the past couple years.

Zach Randolph Injury More Serious Than Thought

Z-Bo looks like he's suffered a ligament tear and NOT a bruised knee as originally thought. This would put him out till early March if true. Not coincidently, the Grizzlies have just worked out a deal to get the 76ers Marreese Speights to give their front court some depth. For more on this story, check out the Memphis commercial appeal (www.commercialappeal.com).

Derrick FREAKING Rose

Derrick Rose dominated the Hawks in the 4th qtr, scoring 30 points for the game and leading the Bulls back from a 19 point deficit to give his Bulls a 2 point win. Ironically enough, it was Deng who hit the game-winner for the Bulls, but it was Rose drawing the defense away from Deng that allowed Noah to hit him on the cut down the baseline. That's 3 games where Rose has led his team back in the 4th qtr this season. He's making a great bid for his 2nd straight MVP award (neck and neck with Kevin Durant right now).

"Drive Home Safely! BEEP BEEP!"

Grizzlies 113 Kings 96

The Grizzlies finally looked like they were supposed to. Conley returns to action and looks great coming off the bench (14 points, 7 assists) while Gasol and Gay dominated the Kings. Mayo and Sam Young had great games off the bench as well. The Grizz defense was on display as JJ Hickson was the only Sactown starter to reach double figures in scoring. Let's see if the Grizzlies can start doing this against tougher opponents.

Halftime: Hawks 38 Chicago 26

The Bulls have been absolutely shutdown by the zone defense of the Atlanta Hawks. That's 2 nights in a row that the Hawks have utilized this defense to shutdown elite teams. The Bulls are shooting 24% from the floor at half.

Charlotte v. Cleveland

SESSIONS v. AUGUSTINE; Can you feel it!

For what it's worth Charlotte is 1-11 all-time in Cleveland. Will be worth tuning in every now and then to see Kemba and Kyrie going at it, though.

Jon "MVP" Leuer

What do you mean who is Jon Leuer?!?

plays for the Milwaukee Bucks?

...drafted out of Wisconsin in the 2nd round?

...famously played for the Frankfurt Skyliners during the lockout?

No? ..

Jon Leuer is currently ranked 9th, NINTH, in John Hollingers PER statistic (his defensive rebound rate is equivalent to Blake Griffen's). He must be averaging 30 ppg then right? Nope, a measly 6.5 to go along with 3.8 rpg. So what makes him so special? He's doing it on 4 shot attempts PER GAME and in only 14 minutes of action. While not overly athletic, he does stand 6'10 (size always a big deal in the NBA) and is proving to be a serviceable player in this league. While he's not a top 10 player by any stretch of the imagination, his PER allows you to notice his contribution to the Bucks despite his limited minutes. Also, looking at 82games.com, when he is in the lineup, the team's +/- is better. The team clearly has played better with him in the lineup this year and as such you have to expect Scott Skiles to increase his minutes going forward.

3 Game Winning Streak

The Celtics have now won 3 in a row and all 3 games with Paul Pierce back in the lineup. Not a coincidence, folks. Even given they played the Wizards twice and the Pistons, the Celtics still won all 3 games (unlike losing to the Hornets without Pierce). Looking deeper, though, the Celtics did not dominate any of those games like they have in the past. Outside of the emotional lift they received from Pierce in that game in Boston vs the Pistons in his return, the Celtics have allowed the opposing team to stay in the game, never really pulling away. This could pose issues with teams that have legit playoff teams. I don't think anyone expects to see Detroit or Washington in the field of 16 come April. Interesting to note here, according to hoopdata.com, the Celtics only made 53.9% of their shots at the rim. Uncharacteristic of this Celtic team.

35 3's?!

The New York Knicks attempted THIRTY-FIVE 3 pointers last night. No team should ever attempt 35 3 pointers in a game. No shock that it resulted in a loss, the shock was that Amar'e missed his 2nd game with an ankle injury. It looked like it would just be 1 game, and if this is anything serious, the Knicks could be in trouble. It was clear that with Amar'e out, Melo was the only play-maker on that court. You'd think the Knicks should be able to beat the lowly Toronto Raptors at home without one of their stars, but this proved yet again that the Knicks may not be ready to take the next step.

The Heat Cool Off

The Heat dropped their first game of the season last night leaving no teams unbeaten in the eastern conference. The Hawks, behind Tracey McGrady and his time machine, put the Heat away in the 4th qtr to hand them their first loss of the young 2011 season. T-Mac was perfect from downtown (3-3), put up 16 its, 7 rebs, 4 assists, and a steal. He was huge in the 4th quarter - hit the dagger 3 pointer - and at least for one night, made the Hawks fans forget about Jamal Crawford.

Interesting to note here that in the Heats first loss of the year, it's Wade that had the bad game (4-17 from the field). Does that mean the Heat goes as Wade goes? LeBron shot well (11-18), had 7 boards and 6 assists and didn't attempt one dumb 3-pter. Definitely something worth following as the season progresses.

Just when I thought Sheldon Williams couldn't get any dumber

He goes and does this.... and TOTALLY redeems himself.

Manu Ginobili Hurt

Manu fractured his hand in the 3rd qtr of tonights game vs. Minnesota. He'll be re-examined in San Antonio.

This is a heart breaker for the Spurs if this is anything serious. Manu clearly provides the Spurs with the offense they need to succeed. His injury is a large reason as to why the Spurs went out in the 1st round to the Grizzlies despite the best regular season record in the west. In a shortened season, if he misses any significant sign, the Spurs could drop quickly in the western conference standings.

Dwight Howard to NJ in 3-team deal?

Dwight Howard may be a Net in the next couple days. A 3-team deal is potentially in the works where NJ would land him.

Nets Receive: Dwight Howard, Hedo Turkoglu, Chris Duhan, Shawn Marion

Mavericks Receive: Mehmet Okur, JJ Reddick, 2nd Round Pick (NETS)

Magic Receive: 4 unconditional 1st round picks (NETS), Brook Lopez, Brendan Haywood, Dominique Jones, Anthony Morrow

This will open up 35 mil in cap room for the Mavericks, allow the Magic to replace Dwight with a great young center and a ton of picks and give NJ a superstar to pair with Deron Williams. I don't see why the Mavericks would do that considering that basically guarantees Dwight and Deron stay in NJ (both of whom the Mavs covet) so why free up 35 mil in cap space and significantly downgrades their center position.

Are the Nets Serious With This Lineup

The Nets staring lineup tonight v. Indiana (followed by a Nets fans reaction reading down the lineup):

PG Deron Williams (Nice!)

SG Sundiata Gaines (Wait..)

SF Damion Jones (Hey.. wait.. I..)

PF Sheldon Willaims (Sheld.. no, come on, seriously?)

C Mehmet Okur (OH COME ON!)

Dennis Rodman is a Crazy Person

According to the New York Post (always reliable), Dennis Rodman is starting a topless women's basketball league. I don't know how this is going to work, I don't know what cities are going to partake and I don't know what women will want to play this, but I do know this. The tickets to these games are going to go like hotcakes. I've already got "dennis rodman women's basketball league season tickets" in my google history.

For what it's worth, the "also read" suggestion at the end of the story was "20 years of black lesbian cinema". Seriously.

Weekend in Review

Mavericks get their first win.

Then lose their following game to the Minnesota "18-game losing streak" Timberwolves. Going into the year, I'm sure the Mavericks hoped that beating the Raptors at home wouldn't be a news story, but it is. The Mavs get on the board with their 1st win of season outscoring the (then) 1-1 Raptors 99-86, despite allowing Bargnani a season high 30 points. They then went on to suffer a loss in Minnesota to the Wolves behind a 25-17 effort from K. Love who hit 5 3's. The Mavericks look out of sink and are now LAST in their division. I still think they are better than New Orleans and Houston, but I'm not sure that San Antonio and Memphis won't finish ahead of them. There is real concern in Big D right now. They clearly miss Tyson Chandler on defense and the punch that JJ provided off the bench, but this team is too talented not to put it together.

The Bulls win by 40 in their home opener

I'm going to talk out of both sides of my mouth here, but Memphis got trounced by 40 points during Chicago's home opener. No starter on the Grizzlies finished with double digit scoring while the Bulls gave everyone a chance to scoring, spreading the ball to give 9 players at least 6 points. The Bulls are now 4-1 and every fan in the NBA is salivating at the thought of them facing the only undefeated in the east, the Miami Heat.

Miami Heat stay undefeated

Miami continues their tear throughout the NBA winning every game they've played thus far. As a bonus, LeBron James got engaged which means that his wife now leads their family in rings (1 to nothing right now). On Sunday, Miami beat the Bobcats (who they struggled with the week prior) 129 - 90, with the 129 points scored being the high of any team this year. Their matchup with Atlanta is going to be fun to watch Monday night with how well Atlanta is playing.

Lakers and Nuggets split their weekend series

These 2 games were both extremely competitive and hard fought by both sides. Kobe collected his 28,000 point becoming only the 6th player to do so. Hats off to him for that, although ironically enough he did it on a night where he couldn't hit a shot to save his life (6-28 from the field, 1-8 from 3 pt range). That put his numbers at 12-46 from the field, 1-13 from downtown in the 2 games v. Denver. Credit Denver for that, they defended him real well. Bynum returned to action and played real well in both games. He looks like he's going to be a real difference maker for them throughout the season.

Other Notes

• Hornets lose 2 straight to fall back to .500. They won't see 2 games above .500 again this year. They do lead the NBA in rebounds per game, though, so there's that...
• The Trailblazers fall from the ranks of the unbeaten, losing to the Clippers in Los Angeles.
• Derrick Rose v. Chris Paul is AWESOME to watch; that game was played with playoff like intensity
• The Nets suck
• Early candidate for comeback player of the year award: Spencer Hawes. Dude has been flat out unreal for the 76ers this year
• The Hawks post the highest net point differential of any team (12.5)
• Pacers fall to Detroit and are no longer unbeaten
• Paul Milsap is so impressive to watch on this terrible Jazz team; he deserves to go to a contender come the trading deadline
• After their opening day loss to the Thunder (respectable), the Magic are on a tear. 5th best in points allowed (only 83 a game).
• Dwight Howard with back to back 24 rebound games is impressive. Not done since the rebound king, Dennis Rodman.
• Kyrie Irving has looked impressive over his last few games (averaging over 16 ppg)

Happy New Years

Happy New Years everyone - I will resume posting tonight - took yesterday off. Can't wait to talk about the last couple days in the NBA. Hope everyone has a happy and healthy new year.