2009-2010 NBA Preview & Initial Power Rankings

NBA Pre-Season Power Rankings & A brief NBA Preview


30. Minnesota – their draft was an absolute disaster. They got the second best player, but the situation is so dire in minnesota, that he chose to stay in spain for the next two years. I do like Johnny Flynn though. Kevin Love's injury isn’t helping matters. Not sure I like the Kurt Rambis hire as his brief tenure as head coach in Los Angeles wasn't what I would consider a great success.

29. Sacramento – talk about completely blowing their pick. The Kings had rubio handed to them on a silver platter and went with Memphis G Tyreke Evans, who is a 6'6 combo guard and as I've mentioned before, is in my mind, a worse version of Kevin Martin. Early reports on Tyreke have been good out of Sacramento, however, with a true PG like Rubio available, why not take him? Even if he stays in Spain for a year or two, it's not a big deal, as Sacramento still has a few years to go before they'll even challenge for the playoffs in the West.

28. Memphis - This may be the most intriguing team. Memphis + Zach Randolph + Allen Iverson + Rudy Gay + OJ Mayo + Chris Wallace = pure comedy. Is there going to be a more contentious locker room than Memphis' this season? Is Zach Randolph going to play dodgeball with Marc Gasol like he used to do in Portland? Is there an over/under on number of fistfights in practice every week? If so, can I take the over?

27. New Jersey/Brooklyn Nets - A new owner could really breathe life into this franchise, which desperately needs to move to Brooklyn. The fact remains, they're still not going to get Lebron, but a move would certainly be beneficial. I think the real wildcard here could be how Chris Douglas Roberts plays in his second season after a fairly solid pre-season. I may have the Nets ranked a little too low here…. And I kind of like their young nucleus of Devin Harris-Courtney Lee-Terrance Williams & CDR….. hmmmm. And Brook Lopez isn't as bad as I thought either.

26. Milwaukee - This is another disaster. Michael Redd is in the last year of his deal and the team is so bad he'll likely opt out leaving $18.3M on the table to play for a contender. Bogut hasn't been a complete bust, but he certainly hasn't been #1 pick productive. They did pick up Compton standout Brandon Jennings in the draft. He won the award for best flat-top at the draft. Compton Stand Up!

25. Golden State - The truly sad thing here is that I love this team. A nucleus of Monta Ellis-Steph Curry-Captain Jack-Anthony Randolph has the potential for pure comedy and tons of points, but like Memphis, there aren't enough shots to go around and I can already tell Monta Ellis is going to hate his life. Captain Jack is asking to be traded. Nellie still isn't sure what year it is. This season has disaster written all over it in Golden State.

24. Indiana - This could be the first ever team to legitimately pull off a white wash. And even better, they don't need any Euros to do it. Travis Diener at PG, Dunleavy at SG, Hansborough at F, Murphy at F and Jeff Foster at C. I know Foster is an Aussie… so if you want to discount him, you can throw Josh McRoberts at C. Boom. That's gold. I just know I feel very sorry for Danny Granger.

23. Charlotte - I really don't understand that whole trading Emeka Okafor for Tyson Chandler thing…. That's really bad. DJ Augustin was suprisingly good when healthy last year & a starting 5 of Augustin, Raja Bell, Gerald Wallace, Boris Diaw, & Chandler isn't awful…. Not much bench depth here either.

22. New York Knicks - Cleared all that payroll. Didn't get either of the two guys they coveted in the draft, but I do really like the Toney Douglas pick. Maybe not a complete disaster with a lineup of Duhon-Douglas-Wilson Chandler-Al Harrington & David Lee w/ a bench of NateRob, Jordan Hill, Darko, Eddy Curry & Danilo Gallinari

21. Toronto - Congrats on overpaying Hedo. That's gonna work out really well for you….. it won't.

20. Philadelphia - Still the same team they had last year. They were legitimately better without Elton Brand. Like the Jrue Holiday draft pick. He's going to be a solid defender in this league.

19. Washington - I love Agent Zero. This team has talent, but they always seem to suffer an unfortunate injury. The Caron-Antawn-Gil trio is intriguing.

18. Detroit - Can someone please explain to me why you would draft Austin Daye when you have Charlie Villanueva, Tayshaun Prince, Jason Maxiel, Old Ben Wallace, Kwame Brown and Chris Wilcox all vying for minutes in the front court? Also, I refuse to rank a team who is going to play Old Ben Wallace & Kwame Brown for over 50 combined minutes a game any higher than this.

17. Los Angeles Clippers - Their season depends on the health of Blake Griffin and Baron Davis' ability to return to his Golden State form. With those two, plus Eric Gordon, Al Thornton & a combo of Marcus Camby & Chris Kaman up front, the Clips should really contend for the 8th seed in the West.

16. Oklahoma City - This is probably way too high for the Thunder, but they are my favorite team in the NBA not named the Los Angeles Lakers & with the Durantula, Russ Westbrook & Jeff Green, the Thunder can score with anyone. It was really unfortunate they didn't land the #1 pick, because if you added Blake Griffin to that nucleus, they'd be good until 2015….

15. Phoenix - What is this team's identity? If they go back to the fun 'n gun, I like their odds at sneaking into the playoffs. Still don't think they should have ever gotten rid of Coach Mike.

14. Miami - Did they do anything in the off-season? Once again, unless Beasley gets out of rehab and decides to play on both ends of the court, this season is going to be up to D-Wade.

13. Atlanta - Another candidate for the "Did absolutely nothing in the offseason" award. Still like their combination of Joe Johnson-Josh Smith-Al Horford. Will be getting a first hand look at them at Staples on Sunday when they travel to LA.

12. Chicago - Think the Ben Gordon departure may be bigger than people think, but I think Derrick Rose has it…. even though "it" isn't the ability to read or take standarized tests. Luckily for him & the Bulls, neither of those are prerequistes to being a star in this league.

11. Houston – Yao. Out. Artest. Gone. Ariza. In. I think a lot of people are overlooking the fact that Ariza had wide-open looks all of last year in LA. Who is going to get him those looks in Houston? However, this team plays with great desire & finds way to win. May take them a while to get going, but I think they reach the playoffs again.

10. Dallas - I greatly enjoy their selection of Rodrique Beaubois. I greatly enjoyed the Dirk Off-Season potential Baby's Mama in jail sideshow. Great Comedy. Dallas is good, but still not truly elite in the West. Don't see them getting past the first round.

9. Orlando - Don't understand the VC move. You traded Courtney Lee, Rafer Alston and essentially Hedo for VC. How did they get better or even stay the same? Can someone explain this to me?

8. Utah - A healthy Deron Williams all season should carry this team & they managed to keep Boozer & Millsap. Well done. Think they'd actually beat 3-seeded Portland in the playoffs if my predictions are accurate… which they won't be.

7. New Orleans - I absolutely positively adore Chris Paul's basketball ability. Trading for Okafor was an underrated moved as well. Well Played Nawlins. The only question is, will this team play for Byron Scott?

6. Denver - A team that didn't do much in the off-season, but again, they didn't have to. They'll take a step back this year just because I think some teams around them had more room for improvement, but neither the Lakers or Spurs want to see them early in the playoffs.

5. Portland - For some reason, I love Portland. Not sure I like the unecessary Aldridge extension, but he's a solid player, especially in tandem w/ Brandon Roy. Like the addition of Patty Mills as well through the draft. He could be a serious PG in this league and provide Roy with a needed break from handling the rock.

4. Cleveland - Don't like the Shaq trade. Still think Lebron is the most talented overall player in the league and think they'll win a ton of games in the East. Don't think they can beat a healthy Boston squad in the playoffs this year though.

3. San Antonio - I was very skepitcal of them giving up Oberto & Kurt Thomas for Richard Jefferson. Then, they turned around & signed McDyess & draft DaJuan Blair, resolidfying their front court depth. Why do I ever doubt the Spurs? A healthy Manu & they may be better than the defending champs.

2. Boston - The big question here is how the team's best young asset responds to his GM publicly shopping him. If I'm Rajon Rondo and Ainge has literally dragged me through the mud after the playoffs I had, I'd be furious. It's really unbelievable how dirty that was. That said, the team improved with the addition of RaSHEED Wallace. If Garnett's knees holdup and Ray Allen does his impersonation of Jesus Shuttlesworth in the playoffs again, the Celtics should be seeing a return trip to the Finals.

1. Los Angeles Lakers - The defending champs get top billing. This is unquestionably the most talented team in the NBA. They have Kobe, Pau Gasol (A solid top 15 player in the league), Lamar, Artest, Bynum, Derek Fisher & a bundle of role players that learned how to win last year & learned how to play in the system. They essentially traded Trevor Ariza for Ron Artest & in a potential match up down the line against either Boston or Cleveland, that is a trade that I would make 10 out of 10 times. The only question is, do the lakers get to that point? Will Artest allow Kobe to control him? Will Kobe allow Artest to be himself? Artest is clearly bat-shit crazy & meets random people on LA from Twitter frequently. This is frightening as a Laker fan… but I've got my popcorn ready… as I think this team can handle this.



Western Conf Standings:
1. Los Angeles Lakers
2. San Antonio
3. Portland
4. Denver
5. New Orleans
6. Utah
7. Dallas
8. Houston
9. Phoenix
10. Oklahoma City

Eastern Conf Standings
1. Boston
2. Cleveland
3. Orlando
4. Chicago
5. Atlanta
6. Miami
7. Detroit
8. Washington
9. Philadelphia
10. Toronto

Awards:

MVP - Lebron, Kobe, D-Wade, Durant, CP3
ROY - Griffin, Griffin, Griffin, Griffin

Playoffs:

Lakers over Houston
San Antonio over Dallas
Utah over Portland
Denver over New Orleans

Boston over Washington
Cleveland over Detroit
Orlando over Miami
Chicago over Atlanta

Lakers over Utah
San Antonio over Denver

Boston over Chicago
Orlando over Cleveland

San Antonio over Lakers
Boston over Orlando

San Antonio over Boston

Yo-Yo'ing up and down the NBA Draft

A few quick thoughts and opinions on the draft before I get in depth on a couple trades.

1) This really was a 1-2 person draft. I don't think there is a lot of talent in the draft pool, as far as providing impact players in the NBA. I think there could a handful of players who have successful careers as role players, but this draft will not produce many all-stars.

Quick thoughts:

Blake Griffin - Hands down the best in the draft. The 1 guy I think that could be a real impact player, potential all-star down the line

Hasheem Thabeet - The guy can't score, but could be a great defender. If he's winds up being Dikeme Mutumbo, this is a good choice for Memphis.

James Harden - ehhhh. Not feeling this pick. Felt that OKC needed to either go Rubio or Curry. I think Curry is the better fit for the team even if the third pick was a little high for him.

Tyreke Evans - How did Sacramento possibly pass on Ricky Rubio? I mean.... wow. They already have Kevin Martin, who is just a better version of Evans.

Rubio - The other guy in the this draft with star potential. Can't believe he fell to 5 and is now saying he may not leave Spain. Trade him to NYK and get it over with.

Johnny Flynn - I like him, but not at 6.... not after you just picked Rubio.

Stephen Curry - If you've read anything I've wrote, you know that I love Curry. I think he's a great shooter and can be a solid role player in the NBA. I don't think Curry is an all-star, but I do think he can be a starter and may wind up winning a few 3-point titles at all-star weekend.

Brandon Jennings - This kid is a clown. Compton stand up! Where was he when Milwaukee picked him? He just shows up like a half hour after he's taken and pops out from behind the stage waving likes he's running the show. He's going to hate Milwaukee. Compton stand up!

Terrance Williams & Earl Clark - really like both of these former Louisville players. Nice picks.

Austin Daye - Just terrible. How was he taken in the top 15? That is really what proved to me that this draft was terrible. Daye is softer than a pillow. I'm sure Detroit is going to enjoy that...


2) San Antonio - The Spurs are charmed. They trade away all their front court depth for Richard Jefferson (which i'll discuss more in a second) and then they wind up drafting the second best rebounder in the draft in the SECOND ROUND. How in the world did Dejuan Blair fall into the second round? Dejuan Blair averaged 15 and 12 in the Big East. He killed Hasheem Thabeet. I don't care that he's 6'5. He can rebound. He is going to be good for the Spurs. Watch. Now onto the trade. I really didn't like the trade. I don't think Jefferson is very good. I think he's a volume shooter who doesn't play a lot of defense. And now he's going to have to deal with being the 4th option. If he's ok with taking 10 shots per game, maybe it's a good trade. But Jefferson isnt the athlete he used to be and the Spurs gave up 2 interior players in order to get him. With Duncan getting older and older, the Spurs can't afford to play him 35 minutes per game in the regular season and could really use the depth Oberto and Thomas provide. The fact that they ended up with Blair makes this a slightly better trade. Blair can provide the Spurs with some interior depth and rebounding to ease the load off Duncan. Overall, I don't think the Spurs have moved past the Nuggets (GREAT trade for Ty Lawson for them by the way... Talk about a perfect fit.. They now have a PG whose speed can give the Lakers fits) or the Lakers with this trade.

3) Shaq to Cleveland - Cleveland gave up nothing to get Shaq, but if Cleveland fans thinks this pushes them past the Magic or even a healthy Boston Celtics... well, they're mistaken. Shaq isn't a great defender anymore and this doesn't help the Cavs defend the pick and roll or big men who can play on the exterior. Plus this limits Big Z's minutes and Big Z was actually a good complement to Lebron. Not sold on this... The one thing I cannot measure is how motivated this could make Shaq. If Shaq is able to get back into the same shape he was in his late 20s...

4) VC to Orlando - Wow. This is just something I don't understand. This is essentially trading Tony Battie, Rafer Alston, Courtney Lee and Hedo Turkoglu for Vince Carter. They are essentially taking away 60% of their starters from Game 1 of the NBA Finals... for Vince Carter. Vince Carter plays no defense. He shoots the ball about 30 times per game to score his 23.5 (his career average)... How does this work? Vince NEEDS the ball. Jameer Nelson needs the ball. Rashard Lewis needs the ball. This doesn't free up any more space on the floor. I just think this is absolutely terrible. If Hedo doesn't come back now, and basically everyone is saying he isn't returning... I like the Shaq to Cleveland trade a lot more.

NBA Finals Update

So last week I came out with a mini-Finals preview….

After two games, let’s see how my preview looks now.


"Backcourt: Rafer Alston, JJ Redick, Courtney Lee & Michael Pietrus vs. Derek Fisher, Jordan Farmar, Shannon Brown, Sasha Vujacic and Kobe Bryant.Advantage: Lakers. The point guard position has been a real weakness for the Lakers all post-season, but they finally get a matchup that they can win. Alston is a bit of a wildcard & Orlando's lack of playoff experience in the backcourt could really wind up hurting them. Fisher should be able to match Alston's offensive numbers and in spite of his old legs, is still better defensively. If Pietrus is able to force Kobe into contested 16-20 footers, Orlando has a chance to keep this matchup close, but if the Magic cannot contain Kobe, I think the Lakers may have enough firepower....."

Update: Jameer Nelson is playing, and although playing limited minutes, provided a spark for the Magic in game 1. Interesting to note that down the stretch of game 2, Van Gundy went to a no-point guard lineup. My assessment was pretty spot on here. The Lakers have dominated the matchup of the guards. Kobe is averaging 34.5 ppg, in spite of some great defense by Pietrus, & while Farmar, Brown & Vujacic have combined for less than 10 points in two games, Fisher has been tremendous on both ends of the floor and has been the steadying influence at point guard the Lakers have needed.

"Frontcourt: Rashard Lewis, Hedo, Gortat, & Dwight Howard vs. Pau, Ariza, Walton, Odom & BynumAdvantage: Magic. The key to this series is which team will be better able to exploit the matchup problem they cause with their front court. The Lakers are going to start w/ Ariza on Hedo, Pau on Lewis and Bynum on Howard. I do not like that matchup for the Lakers. Bynum is not a good enough shooter to draw Howard away from the hoop when the Lakers are on offense and thus, can prevent the Lakers from using their advantage inside in the Gasol-Lewis matchup. I think the Lakers really have two options & neither of them involve Andrew Bynum. The Lakers should either match Gasol on Howard and Lamar on Lewis, which would force Orlando to decide if they want to defend Gasol with Howard, which would enable the Lakers to pull Howard 12 feet away from the basket, lest Stan Van Gundy wants to see Pau Gasol make it rain all night from the midrange or defend Odom with Howard, most likely to similar results. The other matchup you could see the Lakers try is a lineup of 2 of Fisher, Brown, Farmar and Vujacic to go with Kobe, Ariza & Gasol. Kobe & Ariza would matchup against Lewis & Hedo. I think this could even be an intriguing lineup if you replace Gasol w/ Bynum and allow Bynum to show his worth against Superman for a few minutes.When push comes to shove, Howard is going to get his 20 &15 vs the Lakers, it's inevitable. The Lakers need to limit Lewis & Turk to under 40 ppg between the two of them and counter that with 40ppg from Gasol, Odom and Bynum. If the Lakers are able to do that, I expect they'll prevail."

Update: The Magic still have the advantage here, however Howard has been underwhelming. He’s getting the 15 rebounds I assumed he would, but has struggled to score the basketball. Turk & Lewis were held in check in game 1 & both had fantastic game 2 performances. However, the Lakers were able to get enough out of Odom & Gasol both nights to pull out the victories. The most intriguing matchup has been Odom-Lewis. Odom did a great job on Lewis in game 1 and an equally unimpressive job on Lewis in game 2. Lewis is going to score points, but Odom missed too many assignments and gave Lewis to many uncontested looks down the stretch in the 2nd quarter, which sparked Lewis’ 18 point quarter.

"I really don't like the matchup for the Lakers though, which is why I'm predicting Orlando to dictate the matchups and pace of play, plus I expect them to continue their red-shooting and crush Kobe's hopes of a post-Shaq title."

Update: Phil Jackson has done a great job refusing to give in to the Magic’s quirky lineup. He has stayed with his Gasol, Odom, Ariza, Kobe, Fisher lineup down the stretch and it has paid off. The Magic can’t seem to find an answer for Gasol AND Odom in the paint and when they’ve defended Kobe one on one, he’s been able to score, even when the Magic have contested shots well. His performance in game 1 was as good as any game he’s ever played. 40 points, 8 rebounds, 8 assists. It seemed like Kobe was trying to carve his name into the Finals MVP Trophy in game 1… and he may have succeeded.

"Orlando. In. Six.

just trying to be real....."

Update: Not going to update my prediction. I made my prediction, I have to live with it. I think the Magic have to be a bit discouraged after game 2, however heading home to the friendly confines of Orlando will be nice for game 3. I expect a Magic victory in game 3 & games 4 & 5 will be the turning point in the series. All three games at home are essential for Orlando, as beating the Lakers twice in a row at Staples is a rather large feat.

NBA Finals Preview: Lakers-Magic

So in spite of the puppet commercials, David Stern was not able to rig a cleveland-lakers series... a lebron-kobe matchup, so the battle to be the heir-apparent to Jordan will have to wait a year, if it ever happens (I really believe that Kobe's window of being a special player is rapidly closing, I mean, I have to think hard to remember times this playoffs where he has been explosive going to the rim).

Instead, we get Orlando-Los Angeles. Trevor Ariza's past vs his present. The real X-Factor in this series is whether or not Jameer Nelson plays and if he does, how effective will he be? I'm going to assume that Jameer Nelson is not playing.... I just can't imagine someone being out for so long, then to come back for 7 games and be adjusted to NBA game speed.

Backcourt: Rafer Alston, JJ Redick, Courtney Lee & Michael Pietrus vs. Derek Fisher, Jordan Farmar, Shannon Brown, Sasha Vujacic and Kobe Bryant.

Advantage: Lakers. The point guard position has been a real weakness for the Lakers all post-season, but they finally get a matchup that they can win. Alston is a bit of a wildcard & Orlando's lack of playoff experience in the backcourt could really wind up hurting them. Fisher should be able to match Alston's offensive numbers and in spite of his old legs, is still better defensively. If Pietrus is able to force Kobe into contested 16-20 footers, Orlando has a chance to keep this matchup close, but if the Magic cannot contain Kobe, I think the Lakers may have enough firepower.....

Frontcourt: Rashard Lewis, Hedo, Gortat, & Dwight Howard vs. Pau, Ariza, Walton, Odom & Bynum

Advantage: Magic. The key to this series is which team will be better able to exploit the matchup problem they cause with their front court. The Lakers are going to start w/ Ariza on Hedo, Pau on Lewis and Bynum on Howard. I do not like that matchup for the Lakers. Bynum is not a good enough shooter to draw Howard away from the hoop when the Lakers are on offense and thus, can prevent the Lakers from using their advantage inside in the Gasol-Lewis matchup. I think the Lakers really have two options & neither of them involve Andrew Bynum. The Lakers should either match Gasol on Howard and Lamar on Lewis, which would force Orlando to decide if they want to defend Gasol with Howard, which would enable the Lakers to pull Howard 12 feet away from the basket, lest Stan Van Gundy wants to see Pau Gasol make it rain all night from the midrange or defend Odom with Howard, most likely to similar results. The other matchup you could see the Lakers try is a lineup of 2 of Fisher, Brown, Farmar and Vujacic to go with Kobe, Ariza & Gasol. Kobe & Ariza would matchup against Lewis & Hedo. I think this could even be an intriguing lineup if you replace Gasol w/ Bynum and allow Bynum to show his worth against Superman for a few minutes.

When push comes to shove, Howard is going to get his 20 &15 vs the Lakers, it's inevitable. The Lakers need to limit Lewis & Turk to under 40 ppg between the two of them and counter that with 40ppg from Gasol, Odom and Bynum. If the Lakers are able to do that, I expect they'll prevail.

I really don't like the matchup for the Lakers though, which is why I'm predicting Orlando to dictate the matchups and pace of play, plus I expect them to continue their red-shooting and crush Kobe's hopes of a post-Shaq title.

Orlando. In. Six.

just trying to be real.....

Denver-Los Angeles: Western Conference Finals

A few thoughts on Game 2:

#1) Phil Jackson got completely outcoached. I don’t understand why teams who have the ability to exploit a size advantage decide to allow other coaches to dictate. At one point, Denver had a lineup of Chauncey-JR Smith-Melo-Kleiza-Anderson. The Lakers should have countered with a lineup of PG (whoever that is now, I don’t know) – Kobe – Ariza – Odom/Gasol- Bynum. I know Kleiza hit 4 3’s, but don’t you keep making him make 3’s. That Denver lineup could not defend the Lakers. It forces Denver to put Smith or Chauncey on Kobe (both of which he has had great success with) and forces Kleiza to defend someone in the paint… good luck. Bynum played some great interior d for the Lakers and was a force on the glass

#2) the Laker big men have no concept of how to defend a pick and roll. It’s unfathomable to me that year after year this burns the Lakers. Look, Pau, when your man screens the top of the key, you cheat. You hedge to the side of the screen and change the path of the recipient of the screen. You cannot let him dictate his first move after the screen. It’s unreal watching this. Get out in front, hedge and force him backwards or wide.

#3) Yes, the refs were horrible and in the end, the Lakers may have been on the short end of the stick of some calls, but whatever, they lost the game in the last 4 minutes of the 2nd quarter. They were up 53-41. The half ended with a score of 55-54. Pathetic. The Lakers were 4 minutes away from driving a stake through the hearts of the Nuggets. To outplay the Lakers in Game 1 and lose and then to be down 15 at halftime of Game 2… you may as well have simmed the last 24 minutes of the game, it would have been over. Instead, the Lakers allowed the Nuggets to come back & gain confidence and turn the series around.

#4) How was Kobe not even an option on the final play? I understand using him as a decoy… kind of, but at least try to get the ball to him. That was pathetic.

#5) HOW DOES TREVOR ARIZA SPEND THE FIRST 6 MINUTES OF THE 4th QUARTER ON THE BENCH WHILE LUKE WALTON PLAYS?!?!?!?!? This is unbelievable. Seriously. Walton can’t defend, was terrible on the offensive side of the ball and did I mention, he can’t defend. Meanwhile, Ariza was playing great and instead they just ignored him. Great job Phil. Remember when Doc Rivers took you to the woodshed in the Finals last year…. And Adelman last round? Well, if you lose to George Karl…

2008-09 Season Wrap-Up: The Western Conference's Biggest Disappointment

So as the regular season has come to an end and while the first round of the playoffs lasts longer than any playoff round should, I decided to go back and determine this season's biggest disappointment in the Western Conference.

I have narrowed it down to 3 candidates, but would love to hear cases for others...

#3: Los Angeles Clippers: After acquiring Baron Davis & Marcus Camby in the off-season a 35 win season out of the Clippers was not that far-fetched, not with the promise of Al Thornton, who seemed primed to make the leap in year 2 and the potential of Eric Gordon. The Clippers weren't necessarily supposed to crack the playoff bubble in the west, but they were certainly expected to hang around the 8-10 range in the conference. Instead, they won about 4 games and the season was defined by general discontent between Baron Davis & Mike Dunleavy, as well as a trade for Zach Randolph, effectively ruining the Clippers cap until 2012. I think this season was a huge disappointment as it was supposed to be a stepping stone to a playoff run next year, however, it instead turned into an unmitigated disaster which will take years to recover from.

#2: New Orleans Hornets: This may be a bit premature, but considering they're down 3-1 in the playoffs and have 1 home game left and just lost by approximately 120 points to denver, I'm considering their season over. This is a wonderful opportunity for the Hornets to silence their critics... but i'm not counting on it. Heading into the season, the Hornets seemed prime to make the jump to the head of the Western Conference. They fell just short of a Conference Finals date with the Lakers last year & kept their core in tact in the off-season and added post-season specialist James Posey. The Hornets were a trendy pick to win the West & represent the West in the Finals or at least push the Lakers to the brink in the Conference Finals. Instead, the Hornets finished 7th in the West, Tyson Chandler was nearly traded, but failed a physical & they got bounced in the first round of the playoffs. A huge step back.

#1: Phoenix Suns: The fate of one franchise has never been so tragically fated by one official as the Suns. Tim Donaghy essentially cost them a chance at a championship three summers ago and the Suns have yet to recover. Instead of sticking to their system of the fun and gun, they traded for Shaq last year and tried to slow it down. Eventually the core of the team was blown up, with Raja Bell, Boris Diaw and Shawn Marion all gone and an injured Amare, an aging Shaq and a discontent Nash were all that remained. Forget competing with the Lakers in the Pacific, the Suns couldn't even manage to squeak out a playoff birth in 2008-09. Steve Kerr's tenure as GM has to come to an end this off-season. He tried to fix something that wasn't broken and failed miserably. From running off D'Antoni to alienating Nash, Kerr has been made wrong turn after wrong turn. His trade for Jason Richardson really ended up being the icing on the cake, where Raja Bell and Boris Diaw nearly helped carry the Bobcats to an unprobable playoff run in the Eastern Conference. The Suns missed their window for a championship & have to hope that a core of Barbosa-Robin Lopez-Jason Richardson can carry them in the future. Please re-read that. Nash is going to leave after next season and Amare seems about as out the door as Marion did. Shaq has maybe 1 year left in him... so yea, Barbosa-Robin Lopez-Jason Richardson.... yikes.

the Suns - your 2008-09 most disappointing team in the West....

It's Kobe, Lebron, D-Wade, Dwight Howard, KG (Oh wait....) - it's the Playoffs!!!!

First and foremost... congrats to Lebron James on his first MVP Trophy. This is NOT an attempted reverse jinx. This is me basically saying that if you don't give the MVP to Lebron you're nuts. I've been behind D-Wade for most of this season, but looking back on it, you really have to give it to Lebron. I mean, his team won 66 games, he's become a force on the defensive end (thank you Olympics?)....

Anyway, everyone and their mothers are pretty much predicting a Lakers-Cavs NBA Finals. And to be honest, that's probably where the smart money is. I mean, the Lakers have dominated everyone in the West this year, save for Portland on the road, but the way Houston dominated Portland the other night, maybe Portland is still a year away from making the Leap. I mean, Houston could pose a problem for the Lakers in round 2 by throwing Battier and Artest and Kobe all night, but can they take advantage of the Lakers one glaring weakness, defending the opposing point guard? And in the East... with a KG-less Boston & with the general lack of experience in Orlando, Chicago & Philadelpia, would Atlanta or Miami really be Cleveland's biggest obstacle?

In a brief conversation with Mr. Robertson this weekend, I believe he was bucking the trend for the sake of bucking the trend and going with Orlando-Portland, but I could be wrong. Orlando was his preseason pick....

As promised... my awards:

MVP - Lebron (D-Wade gets my 2nd place vote and a homer vote for Kobe at #3)
Rookie of the Year - Derrick Rose (don't really have a second place vote, as it's unneccesary)
Coach of the Year - Mike Brown
6th Man of the Year - Chris "Birdman" Anderson
Breakout Player of the Year - tie: Kevin Durant & Brandon Roy
European of the Year - Pau Gasol
Worst GM of the Year - tie: Steve Kerr & Mike Dunleavy
Most likely to start a fight in the playoffs - J.R. Smith
Lowest Vertical Jump for a #1 Pick - Greg Oden
Best Rec-League Moves - Paul Pierce (for the 13th consecutive year)

The Best Dance I've Ever Attended

Just a quick programming note here - the blog is pretty much going to be ghost until mid-April. Work commitments have surfaced & both Anthony and I apologize to all our readers... yeah, all zero of you....

Anyway, the Michigan basketball season ended Saturday.... so there's this.


Sometimes expectations about someone or something set the tone for how they’re supposed to end up. I came into this season expecting nothing. But then UCLA happened. And Duke happened. And all of a sudden, the one night stand it was supposed to be turned into something more. I fell for it again. Just like senior year, with Daniel, B-School Hunter, Moose, LA, Air Georgia, the Nyce Man and <>. Except I fell for Big Game Zack Novak, who has a will to win like nobody I’ve ever seen don the Maize and Blue. And Stuey Buckets, who ill-advised 30 foot treys have a charm to them… because when one hits the bottom of the net like it did against UCLA, it’s a thing of beauty. And Peedi & Manny Fresh. The two most responsible for turning this around. Absolute warriors.

And then the just-started-dating-everything goes right phase ended and Big Ten play began. And like all relationships we had our good times (home against Illinois) and bad (at Columbus Junior College & Penn State). We got to know C.J., whose desire and defense makes up for his lack of game. We got to see glimpses of brilliance from Grady & LLP. And we saw the worst of everyone. But we were together and the ends were going to justify the means. Because we were sitting with a 4 point lead, with one minute to play, to set ourselves up for the ultimate reward. I tried not to get excited. Because I know the girl. I’ve been warned about girls like her. I’ve seen Michigan basketball disappoint me time and time again for the last 7 years… but this time was different. People can change I kept telling myself. And then disaster strikes.

A couple questionable whistles, a final possession in regulation reminiscent of all that was wrong with the last regime and an overtime that I’m still not sure occurred, happened. And I could tell you that I kept my composure. My cell phone is still in one piece. My right hand not broken from punching a brick wall. But that was on the outside. Inside I felt like the girl I was dating just woke one night, packed her shit and left. Not even a note. But for good measure, she must have kicked me in the stomach while I was sleeping, for that is the only reason to explain the immense pain felt there.

There’s a great expression… fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me. What happens when it’s fool me seven times? Or eight?

You tell yourself that this is just a break. That this time next year everything will be alright. Because Darius Morris will be the difference. And Matt Vogrich will remind us of a young Mike Gansey. And Novak will instill that desire in his teammates this summer. And Buckets’ jumper will be as wet as the Pacific for the whole season. And Manny Fresh will come back with a renewed enthusiasm, a trust in his teammates and coaches and a “nobody is going to fucking stop me this year” attitude. And Peedi will continue being Peedi, except he’ll be more aggressive on the block. And LLP will become more than a practice legend.

But what if this is as good as it’s going to get for this program? Is it worth it?


That is what I wrote the Monday after the Iowa game. I meant to post it, but never got around to it.

At the time, I was inconsolable. I honestly felt like my heart was ripped out of my chest. I had fallen in love with this team. With this cast of characters. No, they didn’t have a pre-game human highlight reel or a mcdonald’s all-american, but they also didn’t have anyone who choked their girlfriends or failed afro-cuban drumming. They had a guy whose career had been left for dead after he struggled to get over the tragic shooting death of his brother. They had a guy that dreamed to be a Michigan Man in high school, but the day before he could commit, someone else stole his spot. The person who stole his spot plays for Illinois now, and his dance ended before LLP’s. They had 2 walk-on senior point guards that probably wouldn’t have led intramural teams to championships. They had 2 freshmen that nobody wanted. Literally. They had 0 combined offers from teams in the Big Ten. And then there was Manny. The kid who honored his commitment to the University of Michigan because he felt like Coach Beilein had a plan that wouldn’t fail. And his faith in his coach never wavered. Not even after that very same coach benched him in what seemed to be the 5 most crucial minutes of the season. Not even when everyone felt the coach cheated Manny. Not Manny. He not only respected the coach’s decision, he agreed with it. Then he turned on the “nobody is going to fucking stop me” switch and the Wolverines danced.

And they played a team that didn’t lose until January. But Manny wouldn’t be stopped. And they kept dancing. And they danced all through the night. No, Michigan didn't win the national championship, but the prom king & queen aren't the only ones that love prom.

I sit here reflecting on this season and I can you tell you that everything was worth it. The Iowa game. The Iowa Big Ten Tourney Game. The Savannah State & Indiana scares. The UCLA & Duke victories. Zack Gibson doing his best [insert confused & incapable big man] impression. Zack Gibson doing his best impression of Kevin Pittsnogle. Stuey Buckets against Oklahoma. Stuey Buckets against Clemson. The Manny Elbow against Purdue. Manny being Manny. Deshawn disappearing against OSU. Deshawn willing us to win against Purdue & Minnesota. I could go on forever. I can sit here now and tell you I love the way the season ebbed and flowed. It made that victory against Clemson that much sweeter.

The years of struggle forgotten by one brilliant year; because of one team, coached by one brilliant man. I sit here, two days after the dance ended for us and I’m upset. Not because the dance is over, but because I will never get to dance with this same exact team again.

Thank you CJ, David Merritt and Jevohn Shepherd. Thank you Manny, Deshawn, Stu, Zack, Zack, Laval, Kelvin, Anthony, Eric, Corey and Ben. But most of all, thank you Coach Beilein and your staff for forcing me to fall back in love with Michigan Basketball.

Go Blue!

Power Rankings - February 23, 2009

I'm not really sure the relevance of the picture above, but 1) I wanted to show Wade some respect after dropping 50 on Orlando, 2) I couldn't find a picture of him in his suit from the rookie game, 3) he looks very casual in his all-white Sox cap & 4) it was a fairly slow week...

I think Anthony should have something up on the trade deadline, so I'll allow for him to post and then add my two cents... but in all honesty, nothing really big happened. In a shocking move, both Cleveland & Portland held on to their most valuable trade chips & Amare stayed put in Phoenix and then tore his cornea and is out for the year... ouch.

30. Sacramento (12-45) – 1-2 week, traded B-Rad Miller & John Salmons, yup… still the worst team in the league. [pv wk 30]

29. Clippers (13-43) – 0-3 since the break… I think Dunleavy’s tenure is coming to an end sooner rather than later. [28]

28. Washington (13-43) – Really, not much better than Sac-Town or the Clippers… [29]

27. Memphis (15-43) – 0-3 since the break. Kinda a common theme amongst these bottom teams…. [27]

26. Oklahoma City (13-43) – 0-3 since the break & not getting Tyson Chandler cause drop below Minnesota for the Thunder. [25]

25. Minnesota (18-37) – 1-3 since break allows for jump above struggling Thunder. Still, without Al Jefferson, there aren’t many wins left for this team. [26]

24. Golden State (20-36) – The best of the worst teams in the West… [24]

23. Toronto (22-36) – Marion has looked better up North. Bosh counting down until 2010… [22]

22. Charlotte (22-34) – Surprised the Bobcats didn’t find a way to move Boris Diaw to the Knicks. [21]

21. Indiana (24-34) – 3-1 since the break & Indiana nearly cracks the top 20. [23]

20. New York (23-32) – Biggest question remains what do they do with David Lee & Nate-Rob this offseason. [20]

19. New Jersey (24-32) – Nets rise was momentary, as 0-3 record since break proves bleeding was only slowed down… [18]

18. Milwaukee (28-31) – Still holding on to the 8th spot in the East, but for how long? [17]

17. Detroit (27-27) – 0-3 since All-Star break, Iverson’s haircut not bringing them back… DEEEEEEEEETROIT BASKETBALL. [16]

16. Chicago (25-31) – 2-1 week plus additions of Miller & Salmons move Bulls up to highest ranking of 2009. [19]

15. Philadelphia (27-27) – 0-3 to start second half, but had a cushion on those behind them. [15]

14. Miami (29-26) – 1-2 since the break, including blowout loss to Orlando. D-Wade scores career high 50 though in defeat and still is in my top tier for MVP. [14]

13. Phoenix (31-24) – Alvin Gentry has Suns back to playing D’Antoni ball… scored 140-142-140 their first three out of the break, however, didn’t fare well against Boston and Amare is done for the year… [13]

12. Utah (33-22) – 3-0 since break has them currently sitting 8th in the West. [12]

11. Dallas (33-22) – Holding down the 6 seed. [11]

10. Atlanta (32-23) – 1-2 since break, but Hawks are grasping on to 10 seed with Dallas & Utah nipping at their heels. [10]

9. New Orleans (32-22) – Tyson Chandler trade gets rejected by Thunder’s trainer. For a team that drafted Robert Swift, Saer Sene, Nick Collison & Johan Petro at center, you’d think they’d even take Chandler on one foot. That does not bode well for Chandler’s long-term career. [9]

8. Houston (35-21) 3-0 since break… is this team better without T-Mac? [8]

7. Portland (35-20) – Oden has bone chip in his knee… so this might actually be Bowie over Jordan all over again… and they’re still 4th in the West. [7]

6. Denver (37-19) – Denver better without Iverson, Philly better without Brand, Rockets better without T-Mac…. Interesting. [6]

5. San Antonio (37-17) – Roger Mason scores 25 in a winning effort the other night, however Manu’s injury could be worrisome. However, it could also allow Coach Pop to rest him and get him healthy for the playoffs where a likely meeting with the Lakers awaits. [4]

4. Orlando (41-14) –No Jameer, No Problem. 3-1 since break, including a blowout win over Miami. Dwight is truly a joy to watch. [5]

3. Boston (45-12) – Garnett’s knee injury could cost them #1 seed in the East… [2]

2. Cleveland (43-11) – 3-0 since break, West looked great in his return, however Cavs are still looking up at LA. [3]

1. Lakers (46-10) Lakers 9-1 since Bynum’s injury, including 4-0 since the break. Gritty performance in overtime win over New Orleans on Friday night. 13 of next 19 for the Purple & Gold are on the road… time to rack up those Hilton Awards points. [1]

Thoughts on All-Star Weekend, A Couple Trade and Power Rankings: February 16, 2009

Milk... it was a bad choice.

First off, you just have to be impressed by Shaq’s performance last night, even if everyone in the game pretty much decided to let Shaq have his in what could be his last All-Star game. He has shown this year that he still has it in small spurts.

Second, Kobe is really a bad actor. How much did it pain him to pretend to be enjoying himself with Shaq?

Third, the trades:

Lakers get rid of Vladrad’s contract, get Adam Morrison, Shannon Brown. Adam Morrison is terrible. I have criticized him here numerous times and will not stop doing so just because he is a Laker. He plays no defense and because of that and the complexity of the triangle offense, I doubt he plays much for the Lakers this year. He becomes an expiring contract next year, but in reality, the Lakers made this trade to add depth at guard (Brown is capable of playing 5-10 minutes a game to give Fisher/Farmar during the regular season – I don’t imagine him playing much in the playoffs) and addition by subtraction (Vladrad was terrible. Terrible shot selection. Soft. Bad defense. He’s mainly bummed about the trade because he is no longer 2 hrs from Big Bear. Snowboarding, not a weekend option anymore for Vladrad).

Heat get Moon & O’Neal, Raptors get Marion and Banks. I think it was Hollinger that wrote about this, but Moon is really the key to the deal for the Heat. He’s a worse defender than Marion, but is a very similar offensive player. O’Neal is a huge upgrade on defense at center for the Heat, so now the Heat can trot out a lineup of Chalmers, Wade, Moon, Haslem, J. O’Neal. Not terrible. Could probably get themselves in position to win a round or two in the playoffs. Still see them having a hard time getting by Boston or Cleveland, although having O’Neal to defend Garnett and the rim will help.

Fourth – the contests:

Dunk contest: I was wholly unimpressed. I thought the judges were TERRIBLE. There is no way Nate Robinson should have advanced after using Wilson Chandler as a stepping stool to dunk. My buddy Adam did that in 10th grade off my friend Samir’s back. Adam is 5’7 and white. Nate Robinson, for your second dunk, you shall receive no points and may god have mercy on your sole – geez, a simple no would have sufficed. Sorry for that tangent. Also, I thoroughly criticized Rudy Fernandez. I said he didn’t belong. Under the rules of the contest, he should have faced off w/ Dwight Howard in the Finals, however it taking him over 2 minutes to complete his dunk w/ Pau should have rightfully eliminated him. Howard’s dunk on the high rim was cool. His dunks in the finals were not. When are people going to stop recycling dunks? The jump from the free-throw line isn’t cool anymore. Stop doing it. It’s why you lost to Nate Robinson…. Well that, and you let him jump over you. The entire time Nate-Rob was setting up for that dunk, I kept thinking to myself, how great would it be if D-Howard put him arms up right as Nate was going to dunk it and just swatted it…


3-point contest: props to Daequan.

G-E-I-C-O: The Durantula!

The Rookie Game: see above. Also, Michael Beasley just looked so much more comfortable in that game than he does in NBA games. He just knew that nobody in that game could stop him. He needs to bring that to the court every night… that and maybe some effort on defense.

And now… onto the power rankings.


30. Sacramento (11-43) – 0-4 week to close out the first half. Sac-town faithful hope this is rock bottom for their once proud franchise. [pv wk 30]

29. Washington (11-42) – Barely squeaked past Sacramento here. Not a lot going for the Wizards right now. At least with Barack in office, nobody in Washington even pays attention to the Wizards… [28]

28. Clippers (13-40) – 2-2 to get to the All-Star break. If the Clippers went 29-0 to close the season, they’d still miss the playoffs. Ladies & Gentlemen Charles Kellett’s 2009 Western Conference Surprise Team! [29]

27. Memphis (15-37) – Tell me Marc Gasol wasn’t impressive in the rookie game. Gasol-Mayo-Gay form a trifecta that could win some games down the line for you…. [27]

26. Minnesota (17-34) – Power Rankings jinx shows now mercy to struggling T-Wolves who only won 1 of last 8 & with Al Jefferson’s injury, I don’t see many more on the horizon. Even though their record is superior, with their injury situation as is, they fall all the way past the Thunder. [22]

25. Oklahoma City (13-40) – The Durantula! I love Kevin Durant. He’s awesome. I don’t care if nobody was playing defense in the rookie game. He was filthy. Portland, you made a mistake. I don’t think this is going to be Bowie-Jordan all over again… but…. Yikes. [26]

24. Golden State (19-35) – 4-1 since last power ranking. They inch closer to the fourth tier of the east. [25]

23. Indiana (21-33) – I’ve exhausted all I can say this season about the Pacers. Danny Granger – very good. Everyone else on the team – very bad. [24]

22. Toronto (21-34) – I think this trade is good for Toronto. Frees up Bosh more inside and Marion can go back to being Marion. [23]

21. Charlotte (21-31) – Jordan admits drafting Adam Morrison was a mistake. Jordan trades Morrison for VladRad. Laker fans rejoice. Addition by subtraction. Bobcat fans wonder when D.J. Augustin returns. [21]

20. New York (21-31) – At least Nate Robinson won the dunk contest. [18]

19. Chicago (23-30) – 2-3 week keeps them steady at 19. Lot of smoke around a potential Amare trade… [19]

18. New Jersey (24-29) – Nets stop bleeding with 3-2 mark leading up to All-Star break. [20]

17. Milwaukee (26-29) –Bucks surprised me by holding on to the 8th spot in spite of Redd’s injury. [17]

16. Detroit (27-24) – Wow. I mean… wow. DEEEEEEEEETROIT BASKETBALL. [15]

15. Philadelphia (27-24) – 4-1 to close the first half. Somehow this team is far superior without Elton Brand. And Clippers far worse without him. Can Philly & Clipps get a mulligan on their 2008 offseasons? [16]

14. Miami (28-24) – Somehow D-Wade is being left out by everyone on the MVP debate. The Heat won like 10 games last year. [14]

13. Phoenix (28-23) – Steve Kerr should suffer the same fate as Terry Porter. He never should have fixed something that wasn’t broke (referring mainly to the Shaq-Marion trade)… [12]

12. Utah (30-23) – Still like them to eventually get fully healthy and secure a playoff spot in the West. [13]

11. Dallas (31-21) – 3-2 to close the first half causes slip to 11th. [10]

10. Atlanta (31-21) – 4-1 close to the break gets them back in the top 10. [11]

9. New Orleans (30-20) – I think this is New Orleans lowest ranking of the year… Tyson Chandler involved in trade talks? [8]

8. Houston (32-21) – Par for the course for the Rockets last week… 3-2 close to break, coupled with New Orleans struggles moves them to 8th overall. [9]

7. Portland (32-20) – I can’t help but wonder where this team would be with a lineup of Roy-Fernandez-Outlaw-Durant-Aldridge. [7]

6. Denver (36-17) 5-1 before the All-Star break allows them to hold strong at 6. Could see them moving up above Orlando if they struggle with Jameer’s injury. [6]

5. Orlando (38-13) –Jameer Nelson’s injury could be devastating, combined with Dwight Howard’s loss in the dunk contest… not a good week to be a fan of the Magic. [4]

4. San Antonio (35-16) – Roger Mason gets worst score of 1st round of three point contest. At least I didn’t pick him to win or anything – oh, I did… Awesome. Thanks… for that. [5]

3. Cleveland (40-11) – Loss to Lakers causes drop to 3rd. Lebron is still my first half MVP. [2]

2. Boston (44-11) – 4-2 to close break, but loss to Lakers causes drop out of #1 overall spot. I still think their lack of depth off the bench (i.e. not re-signing Posey) comes back to haunt them this year… [1]

1. Lakers (42-10) – No Bynum, No Problem. Lakers 5-1 since Bynum’s injury, including road wins in Boston & Cleveland. Close defeat in Salt Lake was only blemish. [3]

All Star Weekend!

• Thoughts on the celebrity game: None. Celebrity games are horrible. I got 0 laughs from it in the 12 minutes I watched.


• Picks for the weekend: JR Smith wins the dunk contest because he is still smarting from not getting to the second round with this dunk in 2005: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T85WnlYIwzs


• There is zero reason to not choose Jason Kapono in the 3 point contest. He's our new Craig Hodges. My official pick is Kapono. I think the only guy who is giving him a run for his money is Rashard Lewis because he is the only other guy with a really easy stroke. Cook could have the highest score of the night early, because he is a very good shooter and also gets very very hot. But his legs won't hold up.


• In G-E-I-C-O, I like Kevin Durant obviously. Even though that is a lovely batch of shooters in that game. However, if it was up to me I would go Kevin Durant, Kobe Bryant, and James Posey in that contest to get it real heated. The transisition from Kobe doing the Michael Jordan smile and laugh with KD and Posey, to going completely insane after getting the letter "I" would be absolutely priceless - as would Posey tripping Durant mid-shot. Paul Pierce would certainly attempt the bounce shot if he were involved.


• Dwight Howard and Dwyane Wade were wearing phenomenal suits last night by the way.

All-Star Weekend - Saturday Night Contests

Just so we all look stupid, I'm putting up a thread for anyone who wants to predict the outcomes of the Saturday Night Contests....

1. G-E-I-C-O: The Durantula, OJ Mayo & Joe Johnson - Bickel takes... the Durantula.

Here's my main thing here - shouldn't Paul Pierce be in this contest. He defines old man rec moves and I guarantee he could have put together some outrageous shots that he practices... like feigning a knee injury and coming back two minutes later in the NBA Finals... oh wait... i'm not bitter or anything...

2. 3-Pt Shootout: Daequan Cook, Jason Kapono, Mike Bibby, Danny Granger, Rashard Lewis, Roger Mason

I'm taking a final of Mason-Kapono with Roger Mason coming out on top. I'm tired of him sticking it to me when I've doubted him in the past. You've converted me Roger Mason. I will now jam a pair of dull scissors in my eye.

3. Slam Dunk Contest: Dwight Howard, Nate Robinson, J.R. Smith, Rudy Fernandez

In the biggest sham in Slam Dunk Contest history, Nate Robinson won in 2006. It was a travesty. Obviously, Iggy Hop should have won that year. Also obvious, Dwight Howard should have won last year... and he did. I'm just excited to see what crazy stunts he pulls off this year.

I'm predicting a Dwight Howard victory and a Rudy Fernandez last place finish (there's a reason you're going off at 5:1. You should have been in the G-E-I-C-O contest, the League must have sent you the wrong memo and were too embarassed to fix the mistake.)

That's what I got for now....

(also, I probably just jinxed Durant, Mason and Howard - and for that I apologize)

Double Dribbles

• A few more quick and stupid thoughts:

1. Two things I noticed from the Spurs-Celtics game on Sunday.  First of all, the Celtics played better than San Antonio.  San Antonio just happened to make dozens of shots with a huge level of difficulty. This was not  Ginobili, Parker and Duncan either.  George Hill and Roger Mason each made about 4 shots from over 30 feet with a man guarding them in the last quarter and a half of this game.  I came out of this game thinking the Celts could win a 7 game series against the Spurs.  Secondly, I commented in my last roundup that sitting the Big 3 was one of Popovich's ways of finding out who could fill the Stephen Jackson role of 4th playmaker behind the big 3.  Well, they have found it in Roger Mason.  He has gone from making clutch shots as an open spot up shooter to creating them and draining them.  Very encouraging for San Antonio
2. The dirty so and so Bill Simmons stole my Russell Westbrook thunder in my trade column by saying he is not a point guard.  Well, I knew that all along.  Westbrook is a classic 2 guard in today's NBA.  Why the hell is Earl Watson not playing 35 minutes next to Russ every game?!  They are good compliments since Durant and Green can provide you good spot up shooting from the forward spots.

• That's all for now...  Bickel, nothing about Adam Morrison?  The newest Laker?

Oden`

Oden has been taking a lot of flack for that Thunder-Blazers game last night. Mainly because he scored 4 points while Durant dropped 31. Realistically, though, Durant made little other impact in that game, statistically. However, the one thing you can slam Oden for - the Thunder's battery of centers - Joe Smith and Nick Collison - went for a combined 27 points and 19 rebounds.

If you don't think the Blazers would trade for Durant, straight up, and play him at center. You're nuts.

HOLY CRAP: BASKETBALL ROUNDUP

• More crazy crap has happened since the last time I blogged that I don't know what to do with myself. The highlights:


• 1) 52,11,10 AND 61,0,3 at MSG. I didn't look up the King's night. But I can't imagine a more impressive triple double. Although, I will still take David Robinson's Quad-Double: 34-10-10-10 as the most impressive statline of my lifetime.


• 2) Jameer Nelson goes down for the Magic. This is terrible, terrible news for Orlando's legitimate championship aspirations. The leader of the team goes down, the team's hottest 3-point shooter goes down, and the number one backup is Anthony Johnson. People have been talking about Stephon Marbury going to Orlando. I'm sorry, I still think Marbury can play. But he's not a point guard anymore. There are two types of PGs: Steve Nash and Chauncey Billups. The Nash's are Nash, CP, Deron Williams, Jason Kidd, Devin Harris, and any other ball-dominating, huge assist, wildly unselfish playmakers. The Chaunceys are Chauncey, Jameer Nelson, Mike Bibby - and every other guy who gets their team into the offense with the first pass, can drain open shots, surprise the other team buy getting into the paint and dishing, and moves the ball to the open man when teams are scrambling. Marbury is neither. Marbury, even when he was a statistical dynamo, was neither as ridiculously unselfish as the Nashs, nor could he play within the flow of the team like the Chaunceys. For Orlando, the most important cog of their success is A)Ball movement, and B) Dead-eye outside shooting. Marbury doesn't move the ball fluidly and has always been a dreadful (if frequent) outside shooter. Stephon could definitely help some team who needs a 6th man -a guy who can immediately make plays and even unlock some tough defenses - think Super Eddie House. But that's it. If Orlando expects to plug him into the starting lineup right away, there will be a ton of unhappy customers.
• Andrew Bynum: Same thing as last year. The Lakers are officially into plan B. If anyone in LA or that organization thinks they will rely on a center with a limited offensive repertoire to come back from an injury and make an impact in the postseason, they've got another thing coming. And that other thing coming is the exact same team in the postseason they had last year.
• The Spurs! No one made a big deal about this. But Popovich sat Parker, Ginobili, Finley, and Duncan on the road against the Nuggets on Tuesday night, and nearly played Denver to a draw. Granted, this was no easy task for Denver who certainly wasn't scouting Jacque Vaughn and Fabricio Oberto, but it was still impressive that San Antonio managed 96 points. I particularly like Roger Mason who embraced the role of playmaker heaving 21 shots, 10 3 pointers, 6 assists, 8 TOs. It was an extraordinarily active game from him. And Popovich surrendering a game rather than make his older and fragile players get drained in a game in the high altitude is almost certainly another brilliant Pop move - and an easy way to spot who could possibly be a 4th playmaker (hint, hint: It's still not Bruce Bowen.)
• Kevin Durant and THE LEAP: I have been biding my time and waiting to make this announcement. But I think the 31,7, and 8 that the Durantuala put on the Nuggets last night makes it official, Durant is officially here. You keep wanting to say it. You want to say it when he goes for 46 and 15 against the clippers.; You want to say it when he hangs 29 and 10 in Utah; you want to say it when his "bad game" on the road against Sacramento results in 33 points; you'd love to say it when he swats 4 shots against Memphis. But now that all 4 performances have occurred since January 23rd, we can finally say that the Kevin Durant we all know, and we all love HAS ARRIVED. I will now officially tell all the people who like Oden to get a spoon and eat my butt. In November, KD had 6 games under 20 points, in December, he had 3, in January, he had 2, and so far in February he has gone over 30 in both games. KD is rounding into form in just the same way Wade and LeBron did about midway through their second years. The only question I have is, how many forwards are you taking over KD for your stretch run RIGHT NOW. I have 4: LeBron, Danny Granger, Chris Bosh and KG. (No, Tim Duncan is not a forward. He is a highly skilled center. When you are 6'11", and play the low block and guard the other team's center, you are a center.) I'm not taking Dirk, Gasol, Amare, Millsap, or even Paul Pierce over Kevin Durant. Sorry Caron Butler (though you are awfully close), Josh Howard, David West (that hurts), and Rashard Lewis. Kevin Durant is the 5th best forward in the game RIGHT NOW. And that Bayliss, Roy, Outlaw, Durant, Aldridge starting 5 would have been the most electric in the league by 2010.
• Kudos to David Bickel for carrying the blog in my absence. Just like intramural football and basketball, while I may be the emotional leader of the blog, Bickel just produces.

Power Rankings - February 3, 2009

No, that's not a picture from last night. But it is Kobe in the Garden. And it does appear Nate-Rob is in danger of getting his ankles broken in said picture. KOBE! By the way Kobe, dynamite rebound and assist numbers last night... 0 & 3 respectively. Are we about to see take-over mode Kobe for the next 8-12 weeks?

30. Sacramento (11-39) – Sac-town gets drubbed by almost 50 by Phoenix… Ouch. Also, Kevin Martin’s point total did not surpass Larry Fitzgerald’s longest reception -11.5 yards in the Super Bowl… Fitz! [pv wk 29]

29. Clippers (10-38) – 0-4 last week. The Clippers have to be the most disappointing team in the NBA this year. [28]

28. Washington (10-38) – With a win last week (and 1-3 record overall) they become the last team to hit double digit wins.. [30]

27. Memphis (12-35) – Loss to Thunder causes drop to 27th. Mayo leads rookies in scoring… [26]

26. Oklahoma City (11-37) – Win over Grizzlies in overtime allows for them to move to their highest spot of the year. Loss to Kings on Super Bowl Sunday was an extreme disappointment, even if Russ Westbrook went 20-22 from the foul line. [27]

25. Golden State (15-34) – 1-3 since last power rankings however, due to complete ineptitude of the bottom 5, they hold strong at 25. [25]

24. Indiana (19-29) – 2-2 week for Indiana and they hold on to 24th. [24]

23. Toronto (19-29) – Season started with such high expectations… [22]

22. Minnesota (16-30) – Yeah, they went 0-3 this week. Yeah, I’m aware they’re moving up in the rankings. Yeah, I meant to rank them here last week. Yeah, I’m an idiot. [23]

21. Charlotte (19-29) – 1-3 week highlighted by win at Staples. Gerald Wallace suffered cracked ribs and a collapsed lung in their victory, so even that turns out to be a net loss. [21]

20. New Jersey (21-27) – Devin Harris is an all-star, but the Nets slide continues. [18]

19. Chicago (21-27) – 3-0 week for the Bulls leads to move ahead of the Nets. [20]

18. New York (21-26) – Wilson Chandler falls to the Power Rankings jinx. After praising his defense against Kobe in their matchup at Staples, Chandler and the Knicks surrender a Madison Square Garden record 61 to Kobe last night. Otherwise, the Knicks are kinda on a tear… winning 6 of last 8 overall. [19]

17. Milwaukee (24-27) –Milwaukee grasping onto the 8 seed as the Knicks, Nets and Bulls remain within striking distance. Add Michael Redd’s season ending injury to the mix and this could be the last time the Bucks see the top 20. [17]

16. Philadelphia (23-23) – 76ers fight their back to .500. This team is slowly locking themselves into the 7 seed… good luck against Boston or Cleveland in round 1…. [16]

15. Detroit (25-21) – Anytime you’re tweaking your lineup to find the best mix 30 games after someone like AI’s arrival means trouble. After another 1-2 week, there’s no reason to alter their blurb. [14]

14. Miami (26-121) – 2-2 week + confusion in Detroit and the Heat have earned their highest ranking of 2009. [15]

13. Utah (27-22) – Much like Houston, this team just cannot get healthy. Deron’s back on the shelf, but they’re still tough as nails in Salt Lake. [13]

12. Phoenix (26-20) – 1-2 week salvaged by absolute beatdown of the worst team in the league last night. [11]

11. Atlanta (27-20) – Josh Childress better be enjoying life in Greece because the Hawks certainly aren’t going to be looking for him to return with the way they’ve been playing. [10]

10. Dallas (28-19) – 3-0 week capped off with a win over Orlando allows for move all the way to 10. [12]

9. Houston (29-19) – Par for the course for the Rockets last week… Yao returns, T-Mac goes down, team goes 1-1. Wait, what did their blurb say last week? Interesting…. [9]

8. New Orleans (28-17) – Rough week for New Orleans as they go 1-3 and CP3 injures groin in loss to Portland. CP3 has the third most double-doubles in the league, just behind Dwight Howard (obvious) and… David Lee…. [7]

7. Portland (30-17) – 3-0 week including a win over New Orleans last night, although that win comes with an asterisk… Portland was down 15 until CP3’s groin injury and outscored the stunned Hornets 42-17 after. [8]

6. Denver (31-16) 2-1 week allows for them to hold down the 6 spot. Nuggets season appears to be moving in the opposite direction of the Pistons… interesting… didn’t these two teams make a trade? [6]

5. San Antonio (33-14) – A 4-0 week keeps San Antonio solidly in the 5-hole. This team just finds ways to win. [5]

4. Orlando (36-11) – Another ho-hum 3-1 week for Orlando as they hold down the #4 spot. Week included a win over Cleveland and a loss to the Mavs last night. [4]

3. Lakers (38-9) – Déjà vu for the Lakers as Bynum goes down. Upset Alert: Lakers start 6-game road trip 3-0, with Boston on Thursday and Cleveland coming up on Sunday, will it be hard for the Lakers to not overlook Toronto? Kobe’s 61 in the Garden was magical. [2]

2. Cleveland (37-9) – 3-1 week coupled with Bynum injury and Lakers’ loss to the Bobcats allows for jump to #2. Cleveland hosts the Lakers on Sunday with their perfect home record on the line. [3]

1. Boston (40-9) – Boston’s last loss was on January 9th. Matchup with Lakers on Thursday night is revenge time for the Celtics after the Christmas Day victory for the Lakers. [1]

Déjà vu….

[Note: this was written prior to Kobe's 61 pt, 3 ast, 0 rebound performance in the Garden on Monday night]

It happened again. Andrew Bynum goes on an absolute tear for about two weeks, averaging 26 and 13 over that stretch & then the Lakers play the Grizzlies. Bynum starts the game strong and then out of nowhere, down he goes. Grabbing his knee. Looking as if Tonya Harding just called in a hit. Screaming in pain. And the look on Kobe’s face says it all. Stunned. Angry. He can’t believe he rolled up Bynum’s knee. He can’t believe this team had this happen to them. This was going to be his first post-Shaq championship. This team had filled the holes last year’s team had. Bynum was the cog in the middle. Bynum was learning how to defend the rim, averaging over 3 blocks per game in that same two week stretch. Bynum was going to be there waiting every time Paul Pierce and Rajon Rondo drove the lane against the Lakers in the Finals in June.

And like POOOOF, he’s gone. After seeing this, I immediately freaked out. Not again. Not Bynum’s knee. He’s 21. And is now going to have had major surgery on BOTH knees. A torn MCL. At least it wasn’t the Tom Brady Ligament cocktail, right?

8-12 weeks? we’ve all heard that before. Right around this time last year. And after 8 weeks, the news was an additional 4-6… as the fourth week was approaching in that timeline, the Lakers spilled it, Bynum was done for the year.

The Lakers can only hope Bynum has a recovery similar to Jordan Farmar’s. That his youth will allow him to heal closer to the 8 than the 12 weeks required. If it’s a full 12 weeks, the Lakers will get Bynum back the first week of May. They’ll be lucky if he’s game ready by the time the Western Conference Finals start.

The only silver lining you can draw on this if you’re a fan of the Purple and Gold right now is that this is essentially the same exact team that carried them last year, trading Ronny Turiaf and an injured Trevor Ariza for Josh Powell and a healthy Trevor Ariza. Another year of experience for Jordan Farmar and Sasha and Pau…. Coupled with another year of wear and tear on the bodies of D-Fish and Kobe….

And the X-Factors are Trevor Ariza & Josh Powell if Bynum cannot come back. I still have nightmares of Paul Pierce torching the Lakers and KG, Leon Powe and Kendric Perkins punking the Lakers big men. Trevor will have to be the guy who defends the other team’s best player when Kobe needs a breath. Powell will have to be the enforcer in the middle that Pau Gasol and Lamar Odom aren’t.

Fortunately, the Lakers have lost only 9 games over halfway through the season… and they have essentially the same roster that they had last year when they came from behind to earn the best record in the Western Conference… they currently sit six games atop the San Antonio Spurs. Home Court throughout the Western Conference playoffs is still very much expected. But now, the Lakers will most likely struggle to compete with the likes of the Cavs, Magic and Celtics for home-court in the Finals. Cleveland is 20-0 at home. The Lakers get their first taste of Lebron City on Sunday… two days after meeting up with KG & Co. in Boston.

This is the week for the Lakers to prove that they learned from last year. To prove that while Bynum is a key part of the team, the Lakers can still be great without him. That said, championships are won in June, not February. And Kobe, more so than anyone else, hopes it’s closer to 8 weeks than 12 weeks… because he knows, the Lakers best shot at a Title, and his best shot at another ring & a Finals MVP Trophy comes with a healthy Andrew Bynum manning the middle.

Power Rankings: January 27, 2009

First, I'd like to apologize for both myself & Anthony for the lack of content recently... it's been busy at work for both of us.... Hopefully we'll be updating the blog more often.

Second, look at Dirk. He is one tough german....

30. Washington (9-35) – Only single digit-win team remaining in the L. Between them and the Clippers, I’m not sure who the bigger disappointment is. [29]

29. Sacramento (10-35) – 0-4 week puts Kings at the bottom of the Western Conference. Even their normally loyal fans are getting tired of their recent failures. Think about how far they have fallen since the Bibby-CWebb-Vlade days…. Has there been a worse fall from grace in the NBA over the last 5 years? [27]

28. Clippers (10-34) – EG dropped 41 in a victory over the Thunder. And in the same week, they gave up 46 to the Durantula & 42 to Bynum… solid defense Clippers. [pv wk 30]

27. Oklahoma City (10-35) – 2-1 week leads to highest power ranking of the year for the Durantula and the Thunder. 46 point, 15 rebound performance against the Clippers highlighted the week’s performances. [28]

26. Memphis (11-32) – 0-3 last week… 9 game losing streak…. 27th is calling their name next week. [26]

25. Golden State (14-31) – 1-2 since last power rankings causes fall back to 25th. Paging Crash Ellis! [24]

24. Indiana (17-27) – 2-1 week for Indiana and they’re back in 24th. In talks with Mr. Robertson, we both love Danny Granger. He might have the most hoops to tie/win at the buzzer in the L this year. [25]

23. Minnesota (16-27) – 3-1 week and all of a sudden the T-Wolves are separating themselves from the West’s worst. [23]22. Toronto (18-28) – 2-1 week. Keep your trash north of the border, the Lakers don’t want any of it. [22]

21. Charlotte (18-26) – Bobcats come west to Staples this evening. Unfortunately, DJ Augustin will not silence me tonight. [21]

20. Chicago (18-27) – 0-3 week for the Bulls causes drop behind the Knicks…. Probably don’t even deserve to be ranked this highly. [19]

19. New York (19-25) – 3-1 week as the Knicks move to 19th. Wilson Chandler is still one of the better on-ball defenders I’ve seen against Kobe this year. [20]

18. New Jersey (20-25) – Repeat after me… The Nets are who we thought they were! THE NETS ARE WHO WE THOUGHT THEY WERE! [17]

17. Milwaukee (22-26) –I just found out today that Joe Alexander’s nickname is Vanilla Sky. How tremendous is that? And he’s not in the dunk contest? Travesty. [18]

16. Philadelphia (21-22) – Currently the 7 seed in the East… This leads to two conclusions: (1) the League is top heavy this year and (2) the 76ers are better without Elton Brand. [16]

15. Miami (24-19) – Probably deserve to be ahead of the Pistons after there upset of Orlando and the Pistons general failures at life… however, they stay here….. It’s for their own good. [15]

14. Detroit (24-19) – Anytime you’re tweaking your lineup to find the best mix 30 games after someone like AI’s arrival means trouble. [13]

13. Utah (25-20) – If the playoffs started today, the Jazz wouldn’t be in it. Wow. Fortunately for them & unfortunately for Dallas, they don’t. I still expect the Jazz to bounce back. [12]

12. Dallas (25-19) – I still can’t get over Dirk’s haircut in that “Where …. Happens” NBA commercial. [14]

11. Phoenix (25-18) – Courtney Sims reporting to Phoenix today… number of points he’ll score against the Spurs Thursday night will match his number and his team’s win total that night…. 0. [11]

10. Atlanta (26-18) – Holding strong to that 4 seed in the East. The only question is whether they prefer the Heat or the Pistons in round 1. [10]

9. Houston (28-18) – Par for the course for the Rockets last week… T-Mac returns, Yao goes down, team goes 2-2. [9]

8. Portland (27-17) – 2-1 week for the Blazers. Is there a deeper team in the League right, I mean, they can go Roy-Blake-Fernandez-Rodriguez-Bayless-Outlaw-Aldridge-Oden-Pryzbilla-Batum-Webster… and I still didn’t even get to Diogu or Channing Frye. [8]

7. New Orleans (27-14) – 2-1 week causes slip to 7th, especially when the loss is to lowly Minnesota. [6]

6. Denver (29-15) 2-0 week allows for them to leap the Hornets. I know I sound like a broken record here, but trading AI for Chauncey is turning out even better than anybody hoped. In other news, how many teams could trade AI and still lead the league in tattoos…. I mean, between K-Mart, the Birdman & J.R. Smith, the Nuggets have it locked up. [7]

5. San Antonio (29-14) – Loss to Lakers was only blemish of the week. Spurs hold firm at #5. [5]

4. Orlando (33-8) – As predicted, the curse of the Power Rankings struck Orlando last week as they went 0-2. Sports Illustrated had a very interesting article on JJ & Adam Morrison, chronicling their success in college and relative failures in the NBA last week. I suggest reading it. In other news, the coaching job Stan Van Gundy has done this year is second to none. [1]

3. Cleveland (34-8) – 3-0 week for the Cavs allows them to hold their own at #3. Kobe said Lebron was MVP. Kobe didn’t mean it, but this man agrees with #24. [3]

2. Lakers (35-8) – Jewish Jordan Farmar’s return, as well as a stomping of the Spurs, highlight a 3-0 week where Andrew Bynum went for 42 in a win against the Clippers and not a single opponent cracked the century mark against the Lakers. Laker fans continue to chant, “WE WANT TACOS!!!” – (side note: Lakers fan receive free tacos from Jack in the Box if the team gives up less than 100 points and wins at home). [2]

1. Boston (37-9) – 3-0 week including a drubbing of Dwight Howard and the Magic puts them atop the Power Rankings for the first time in 2009. [4]

Power Rankings: January 19, 2009...

30. Clippers (9-31) – lost 12 of their last 13 and the Camby Man sprained his ankle in their win over Milwaukee. The injury bug has really hit them hard…. On the bright side, they’re all-in on Zach “Doughboy” Randolph through 2012. [pv wk 28]

29. Washington (8-32) – 2-5 since last power rankings as well as an overall record of 0-9 in their division. No need for Gil to rush back for this. Agent Zero! [27]

28. Oklahoma City (8-34) – I thought long and hard about putting them at 27 over the Kings, but until they reach double digit wins, they’ll stay below them. On the bright side, the Thunder do have their highest ranking of the year. [30]

27. Sacramento (10-31) – They didn’t really do anything to move up, but the complete ineptitude of those around them allow for a move up. [29]

26. Memphis (11-29) – Losing their last 6 games leads to fall to 26th. [24]

25. Indiana (15-26) – Danny Granger is averaging 31 ppg in January and yet the Pacers still are terrible. [23]

24. Golden State (13-29) – 3-2 since last power rankings allows slight bump in Warriors’ ranking. [25]

23. Minnesota (13-26) – Jefferson went for 20 and 17 in his last game and T-Wolves have won 7 of 9. [26]

22. Toronto (16-27) – Like Memphis, they’ve lost 6 in a row. Rumors of a Jermaine O’Neal for Lamar Odom trade frighten me as a Laker fan…. Keep him in Canada please. [20]

21. Charlotte (16-25) – D.J. Augustin was really silencing his critics prior to his injury [22]

20. New York (16-24) – Nice win over the Bulls earlier today. Chris Duhon has been impressive for the Knicks and they’re fun to watch, but the team is still preparing for summer 2010. [21]

19. Chicago (18-24) – Kirk Hinrich comes back & they lose to the Knicks. Bulls are moving further and further away from .500 [19]

18. Milwaukee (20-24) – Curse of the power rankings hits Bucks… no longer would be in the playoffs if they lose today and Joe Alexander doesn’t win the vote-in for the dunk contest. [17]

17. New Jersey (19-12) – Just 1-4 since the last power rankings. Let me be the first to say that the Nets are who we thought they were! [16]

16. Philadelphia (20-21) – Winners of 5 of last 6 and 7 of last 10, moves Philly up to 16th and into the Eastern Conference Playoffs. Lou Williams his really an explosive scorer.[18]

15. Miami (22-18) – The Heat are 4-2 since the last power rankings and sitting comfortable at the 6th seed in the East. [15]

14. Dallas (24-17) – 3-4 record in last 7 causes slip to 14th. On the bright side, Dirk hit the game winner tonight & Jason Kidd made 6 triples. [11]

13. Detroit (23-17) – only 4-6 in their last 10 and can’t seem to find consistency with AI in the mix. [10]

12. Utah (24-17) – The injury bug has hit the Jazz hard this year. Boozer to Miami after this year seems like the right fit & would allow for the Jazz to resign Paul Millsap. Speaking of which, can Big Paul get a nickname? [14]

11. Phoenix (23-16) – Suns got crushed by the Celtics tonight after signing Courtney Sims today… coincidence, I think not… [13]

10. Atlanta (24-16) – Atlanta also searching for consistency… drop a spot to 10th. Chris Webber called Joe Johnson the leagues most underrated player… Kenny Smith quickly followed that with Danny Granger… I’m inclined to go with the Jet. [9]

9. Houston (26-16) – 4-1 in last 5 games & Yao has been putting up big numbers in the absence of T-Mac and Ron Artest. Only loss was to Lakers when Kobe decided the Lakers weren’t losing… [12]

8. Portland (25-16) – Heard this exchange on Inside the NBA tonight… Ernie: “A career night for Oden..” Kenny: “… what, he had 11 points?” The Jet! Oden did go for a career high 24 & 15 against the Bucks tonight. And Rudy got voted into the Dunk Contest… [8]

7. Denver (27-15) Denver is just 12-13 against teams above .500 this year. Linas Kleiza has been beasting people lately. [6]

6. New Orleans (25-13) – Chris Paul asks for ball from Byron Scott. Chris Paul hits 25 foot fadeaway to win the game. CP3! [7]

5. San Antonio (27-13) – Roger Mason continues to hit big shots. He’s really been silencing me since my call out of him via text message to Anthony earlier this year. The Spurs just keep plugging in guys who just fit in. [5]

4. Boston (34-9) – 5-1 since their 2-6 collapse, put them back into the mix of the best team in the League, however, I need to see a couple more weeks of consistency before they can ascend back to the top. [4]

3. Cleveland (31-8) – Lost handily to the Lakers on the road without Big Z. Lebron said it best to Mo Williams during the 4th quarter, if you’re gonna beat the Lakers, you better be full strength. [2]

2. Lakers (32-6) – 2-2 in 4 game stretch against Houston, San Antonio, Orlando & Cleveland, with controversial loss to Spurs (No, Ariza didn’t travel. Yes, Manu fouled him…). Kobe has also posted double digit assists in the last three games, including a triple-double in the Lakers loss to Orlando. [1]

1. Orlando (33-8) – League-leading 7 game win streak including a win over the Lakers where D-Howard had 25 & 20. 7 game win streak includes wins over San Antonio, Lakers & Denver on the road. They’re the hottest team in the NBA & thus, have earned the right for the Power Rankings Curse. [3]

The Day the World Turned, January 19, 2008

Today, at 4:30pm pacific standard time, I lost faith in the world. I lost faith in everything I believed in. Courtney Sims has been signed by the Phoenix Suns. It was bad enough when the SOFTEST player I'd ever seen in college until I saw Zack Gibson initially was in the League as a Indiana Pacer. However, his time on the Pacers was short-lived and he was quickly relegated to the D-League. But today, with Shaq, Amare, Amundson, and Robin Lopez on their roster, the Phoenix Suns signed him.

How does this happen? Yeah, i'm aware he's 6'11. But have you ever seen him play? I'm not sure he's ever gone to the basket strong. He's so soft, he fades-away from the hoop on dunks. I'm distraught. I thought the NBA was above this.

It's a good thing 24 plays 23 tonight in LA... maybe my faith in the League will be restored.

Until then, shame on you Phoenix Suns... shame on you. Enjoy nothing. Because that's what Courtney is going to give you.

HEAT! THUNDER! THE NBA ON NBA!

All right. So, given the fact that I could not care less about the Ravens and the Steelers, I am doing a running diary on the Heat and Thunder. This has several benefits to me. I get to watch my favorite player on my favorite team (D-Wade on the Heat) and the man I had tagged as being my second favorite player in Kevin Durant.

Watching the team with the worst record in the league play the current 6 seed in the east when the AFC championship is going on? That's dedication.

7:08 PM: Eric Snow looks like a baby.

7:10 PM: Wade has shaved a lightning bolt into his head for this game. Wade has given us a new wrinkle with his 'do every couple of weeks from the modified mohawk, to the early nineties "steps" and now the Flash bolt. He is really coming to play.

7:11 PM: Yikes. Marion is out today. Which means Diawara is going to start and . . uhh . . .I have no idea who is coming off the bench. Look for a lot of Chalmers, Cook, Wade, Beasley, Haslem lineups tonight.

7:12PM: Jeff Green looks sharp handling the ball. Point forward?

7:13 PM: Miami fumbles the ball three times on their first possession. Diawara! Anthony! The NBA on NBA!

Jeff Green is a crafty score on the inside.

7:15: KD is wearing a tshirt underneath his jersey!! I think this is the first time I have seen a guy in the NBA do this!! He looks goofy. I love the Durantala. This game by the way is energyless/

7:16: Ha. Westbrook has an assist because D Wade wasn't guarding Mason. Shocking.

7:17 PM. Chalmers needs to learn how to finish without getting his shot blocked. Needs to see some AI videos or something. He just has no shot.

7:18 PM: Wow, Jeff Green is very good, and a brilliant ballhandler. Did we know this?

7:19. 4 Minutes in. Wade has 8 points. The Thunder don't understand that you have to keep pressure on Wade, because Wade can get to the rim just as easy when you lay off him as he can when you play him tight.

7:20 Westbrook glides past Chalmer for a pullup.

Update on Durant's "Tshirt". We see that They are actually shoulder pads because he has a shoulder contusion. Good news: He now looks even goofier. Bad news: The Tshirt under the jersey is not coming back anytime soon.

7:23 PM: Westbrook and Chalmers are going at it hard. Fighting for post position, guarding up and down. Good matchup.

Thank God PJ Carlesimo is off the sidelines. Durant only has 4 points but he is catching tand shooting in good spots on the floor.

7:24PM Wade jumps 100 feet in the air for a rebound.

7:25 PM Its 17-15 Thunder after Green gets to the hole for a layup. I am wildly impressed with his game.

7:26 M Announcer. . Miami ahead by a "stickman" instead of point. I shall use that.

7:27 PM: On cue, Daequan Cook, AKA poor man's Michael Redd right down to the school checks in.

7:28 PM: What a last 3 minutes. Westbrook tries to take Chalmers off of the dribble. Chalmers stays in front of him, steals the ball. Runs it down to the other end. Westbrook challenges the layup, but Haslem finishes with a monster dunk. At the other end of the floor, Chalmers gets in Russel's face a little bit, and Westbrook elbows him away bringing the ball up the court. Wade makes a fancy drive and finds a wide open Joel Anthony for a dunk. BUT! Here comes Westbrook from the sky with a nasty block. The Thunder go on a fast break the other way, but the Heat are back. Durant sees Beasley ahead of him, and jumps from the dotted semicircle. . BUT, bricks the dunk, he actually some how over jumps it and misses. Joel Anthony gathers it in, passes it to Cook, who throws it to Wade. But Russ Westbrook is sneaking up for a steal/to draw a charge from D-Wade at half court. Wade doesn't see him, we think. Wade catches it and in one motion flips a behind the back pass to Chalmers who was streaking to his left. (How Wade saw Chalmers or Westbrook is beyond me.) Then Wade keeps running gets the ball back from Chalmers and throws down an absolute filthy, earth shattering dunk.

Now, I believe this thrilling sequence of basketball of events probably tells us everything we need to know about Wade, Chalmers, Westbrook and Joel Anthony. This is a microcosm of all of those players' seasons. Unbelievable. Sadly, it does some disservice to Durant and Beasley. But it was almost cool to see Durant get overhyped for a shot to dunk on the guy who out statted him in college. I paused the TIVO just to describe all this. Back to the game.

7:37PM: Phew timeout. Loe this Russ Westbrook. Got to love Mario too. This game needed some chippiness.

7:38 PM: By the way Wade has 14 points. We are still in the first quarter. Wait, no . . 16.

7:39 PM: Beasley looks very frustrated. Wade has to become friends with this guy or something. Green just took B-Easy off the dribble with ease and drew a foul.

7:40PM: Wade has the blinders on. He just made a contested jumper with his feet on the three point line.

7:40PM: Durant just called for a travel. I'm not sure if he will be able to get to the rim consistently from 20+ feet. I have never thought his handle was sick or anything. He certainly doesn't have the same handle as Green.

7:42PM: Wade put a Jeff Green short jumper into the stands. . There is Durant. He caught a tough pass in the paint. And he rose and shot the ball easily ove Magloire. Durant could play center if he needed to on offense.

7:43 PM: Durant attacks the rim from the free throw line, and breezes past Cook for a layup. God he is smooth. Free throw line and down.

7:45 PM The announcer hoax: "Chris Quinn has made 21 straight free throws. ." Not 22.

FIRST QUARTER OVER: I'm exhausted. 31-27 Heat. This is entertainment.

7:50 PM NBA TV does this weird thing, where we will mis twenty seconds of game play sometimes. They'll just drop us in at the eleven minute mark with no explanation.

The Thunder never show out on these pick and rolls. Chris Quinn just drilled a wide open shot on a weak pick from Haslem.

7:51 Durant can shoot over anyone. There is no guarding him. There KD made a little dribble move and found Wilcox for a hoop.

7:52 PM: I am lost why Watson and Russel don't play more together. Watson should be playing 30 minutes a game. He just diced through 4 Miami defenders on a secondray break. Why isn't he always in?

7:53PM: You know what Chris Quinn ain't all bad. He is actually penetrating a little bit this game. and had made two plays. Is he a legit backup PG? Maybe so.

7:55 PM: Hmm.. Daequan Cook is a player to watch. With Beasley in foul trouble and Wade on the pine, they are running Cook of screens for jumpers and he looks very very comfortable getting open, and taking that shot like Miller and Hamilton. This is a good sign for Miami.

7:56 PM: 41-37 Heat. The THunder are taking zero advantage of this non Wade time. It feels like they haven't made a shot this whole second half.

8:00 PM: Haha! Magloire with a baby hook. He does not jump by the way.

Wow. Jeff Green just moved past D-Wade with ease off the dribble. Granted I think Wade was setting up for a block. But I really like Jeff. He is so under control.

45 - 38 Heat. 8:01 PM.

8:03PM: Yikes, Westbrook just threw down a nasty dunk on Chalmers and started at him. Absolutely filthy.

8:05PM: Westbrook skied for an offensive board, and hit a wide open .KD from 3. Durant doesn't miss open shots.

8:08 PM: Mason and Wade are chippy. Westbrook and Chalmers are chippy. Heated exchange between Mason and Wade.

8:09 PM. End of the half. Wade and Cook hit 3s to make it 57-50 at the end of the half. The only thing I could have asked from the first half would be for Beasley to not get three fouls in 5 minutes so we had a little Durant-Beas matchups going. Beasley looks tired, nervous and uninterested. I know he's better than Mario Chalmers. But, Mario never seems out of place or overmatched. B-Easy on the other hand, seems out of sorts a lot.

8:21 PM. . .Annnnnnnnndddddd. . . . We're back.

8:22 PM: Wade blocks Westbrook hard to open the second half. Wade!

8:23: Mason throws down a nasty dunk on Anthony. 62-53 Heat. Durant is showing some more passing and rebounding than usual.

8:26PM: Wade drops a 3 over Mason and stares him down. Wade has 24 points, and is shooting the ball easy tonight.

8:27 PM: Durant looks awkward on defense but he seems sort of effective

8:34PM: I have cracked a Bell's Hopslam ale. I'm losing steam. Something fancy needs to happen soon. I want Durant to go on a tear.

8:34 PM: I love Wade but I hate his pump fake/ try to draw foul nonsense. You shouldn't be able to do that crap.

8:35 PM: Chalmers makes a crafty move past Westbook and finishes with a finger roll. He is playing great tonight, not looking out of place against Watson or Westbrook or are fine fine players.

8:37 PM: Beasley checks back in. Lets see if he doesn't need to foul immediately.

8:40 PM: Nick Collison and Nenad Kristic have combined for 0 impactful plays so far. And, on cue, Kristic misses a 22 footer.

The game has seriously devolved for the Thunder. Miami is not playing great but they have lost their offensive mode. They don't really play well otgether yet. It's a bunch of one on one guys. They need Watson to help out.

8:40 PM: Beasley on Durant! Finally. And, Durant moves past him. And surprise, surprise, Beasley gets whistled for a non existent foul. Heat are still up 10. Again, Durant moved past him from the free throw line. The Thunder need to play Watson, Westbrook, Green, Durant, and Wilcox in crunch time.

8:43 PM. I'm enjoying this game less and less. Heat are up 12. Beasley is playing terrrible and I have no idea who this Weaver guy is for the Bobcats.

8:45 PM: I know Westbrook is good on defense but he is showing very little resistance to Wade. That still leaves only Lindsay Hunter and Kirk Hinrich as the guys I have ever seen actually control Wade a little bit.

8:46 PM: Beasley drives past Durant for a basket on a sharp little layup on a drive. Then OKC comes right back and nails a baseline jumper.

8:50 PM: This game has convinced me for sure that my scouting report has been right on him all along. Dirk Nowitzki, but, a better shooter. I can't imagine a situation where this guy could miss a free throw. Heat are still up 11. Wade has gone silent. Beasley has woken up. Durant

8:52PM: What can I do to get NBATV some decent commercials? Good god, these production values are mind numbing.

8:55PM: Beasley is completely frustrated in this game, and the Thunder can't punch back. the offenses have gone flat.

8:56 PM: Durant penetrates and kicks to Durant who drops in his 27th point of the game on an open 3. Why would you leave him open. OKC has a pulse down 8.

8:57 PM: Durant from 3 feet beyond the arc! DRAINS IT! For his 30th point. OKC is down 3 now! KD is one of the best shooters I have ever seen. Finally, they take advantage of Wade being off the court. 10 minutes left in the fourth.

9PM: I'm totally back into this game now. Watson and Brook playing together with Weaver, Durant and Krstic.
Wade comes in and drills a shot right away over Westbrook.

:01PM. Wade comes off a screen and nails a shot over Krstic. 2-2 in the 4th.

90-83 with 7:46 left.

Watson makes a great play against Chalmers, and leads a fastbreak. . Green finishes...

WADE posts up Westbook at half court to get the ball! Then he fakes a shot and hits a wide open Chalmers who nails a 3. 93-85 Heat.

9:05PM: I think it's all over for the Thunder. Durant had a good low post up against Cook and couldn't get it to go.

Crunch time lineups:
Watson, Westrbook, Green, Durant Collison.

Chalmers, Wade, Cook Haslem, Magloire.

9:08 PM. Collison and Magloire exchange baskets. I just wrote that?

Westbrook pooped upa fast break after a Wade miss. Heat come back and find Cook for 3. Heat up 11 with 4 minutes.

Up 14 with 4 minutes. Chalmers nails a 3. When Cook and Chalmers hit 3s. Miami wins.

The game is winding down. So, let's dole out the soccer style ratings for all the players involved.

• Mario Chalmers - 6 - Can't ask for anything more from this chap. He was the equal of his counterparts when he could have been overmatchd.
• Dwyane Wade - 9 - Capital game from Wade. The world's best player playing his best. Lead distributor, blocked a few shots, and didn't punch his rookies in the face.
• Diawara - 5 - Yahkouba played some D, and nailed some threes. That's all he does, and tonight he did it well.
• Haslem - 7 - Dominated the interior tonight. A little dissapointing when he had opportunities to create his own offense, and failed.
• Joel Anthony - 3 - Was a presence. Could not finish on offense, couldn't defend the rim.
• Daequan Cook - 6 - Really showed his offensive game tonight. Shot coming off of screens, and shot threes with hands in his face. Generally made his shots, proved that you can run an offense through him. A revelatory game.
• Michael Beasley - 2 - Foul trouble. Lack of hustle. Showed a drive and a block. Otherwise, not much.

• Russ Westbrook - 5 - Ornery, intense, athletic, and stuffed the stat sheet. He played one good half and one very uneven one.
• Kevin Durant - 8 - A efficient and fun game from Durant. He did everything on offense and almost brought his team back into the game with some classy shooting. Can he offer something on the other end?
• Jeff Green-8- Impressed on both ends of the floor. Other than Wade, he was the man of the match, showing his veratile scoring regimine and ability to stay in front of guys on defense.
• Desmond Mason - 3 -I liked his orneriness in defending Wade. Unfortunately Wade torched him, mercilessly. Did have a big dunk, though.
• Nick Collison/Nenad Krstic - 3 - I have no idea what either one did. They are big, white, and goofy. They did a good job defending Haslem.
• Earl Watson - 5 - Good game from Watson, but some silly mistakes at the end.
• K. Weaver - 4 - No idea who this guy is. He's athletic and made a couple plays in 13 minutes.