The Whole 9… week of Nov. 30, 2009….

1. A.I.’s coming back to Philly
This story headlines this super-long T-Day weekend. Iverson retired, was led to believe the Knicks would sign him, and is now seeming to be ready to return to the Sixers, where he should’ve started the season. I’ve told everyone who’d listen to me since he was still a Nugget that there were only two places A.I. could go that made sense: Charlotte (with Larry Brown, which by the way is not applicable anymore since the team traded for Stephen Jackson), and Philly (which will always love Iverson more than any athlete in the city’s history, except…maybe…Jimmy Rollins). Both those teams also needed a SG who can score. And oh yeah, A.I. certainly can still do that. After the Jack trade last week, the Sixers were the only team that made sense. I almost was able to talk myself into the Knicks, but luckily that came and went before I could fully embrace that idea. But let’s face some facts; the Sixers are 5-11. They suck. AI2 is a second or third banana at best. Elton Brand is probably a second banana in his prime, which we suspect may be over. Lou Williams is hurt, but even before he got hurt this team couldn’t score.  A.I. just might be that spark to take them back into the playoffs.  It certainly would be a wonderful scene if that happened.

We all know Iverson as a Sixer, that’s how it should have always stayed.  Some guys just belong to a city. Bird belonged to Boston. Jeter belongs to N.Y. Probably a better comparison is Ricky Henderson, my favorite baseball player of all-time. Ricky started his career with the A’s, and had his most memorable seasons after returning. He played for many other organizations, but he belonged to Oakland, always. That’s how Iverson belongs to Philly. It always bugged me that he left.

2. Steelers lose to Ravens in OT, Hines calls out Ben, blah blah blah
Under the subject of “nothing to see here,” Hines called out Ben on TV supposedly. Only he really didn’t. He didn’t actually say anything to call out Ben. He did say that he’s played with concussions before and that he wished Ben was playing. Both of those are facts. Neither directly emplies him calling out Ben. On the other hand, the Steelers’ debut of Dennis Dixon was a mixed bag. He was great in the first half, but the Ravens adjusted well to him in the fourth quarter, and were able to shut him down. Well, on we go to next week hoping to cling to a playoff spot. Coach Tomlin says that the Steelers are going to “Unleash hell here in December,” so at least we got that goin for us.

2. Melo drops 50 on the Knicks
And we come to our second 50 point game of the year, this one a little less surprising. It was by the league’s leading scorer, Mr. Melo. However it wasn’t quite as impressive being that the Nuggets almost tripped over a terrible Knicks team, and did lose to an even worse T-Wolves team a couple nights later. They get Golden State tomorrow night which should be a great scorer’s duel because…

3. Monta Ellis scores 42 on Wed, 45 on Mon
Monta had to go and drop 45 tonight on the Pacers, and then fouls out with six minutes to go. The rate he was goin, he definitely would’ve topped 50 had he stayed in, and it was a pretty crappy call that he fouled out on. Actually Monta picked up a couple of terrible foul calls. But nothing could stop him. The best part of Monta’s development is that he’s starting everything on the defensive end. He guarded Danny Granger for most of the night and held him to 7-17 on the night. I think we are seeing the rise of another young superstar out west.

4. The Kings sweep all 3 Games, finally get some attention
While it’s true that the Kings beat the Knicks, Nets, and CP3-less Hornets, it’s also true that everyone else plays those 3 teams as well (at least until Chris Paul comes back). It’s also true that the Kings now sit at 8-8, and currently stand as the biggest surprise of the young season. J.T. and Tyreke are really the consistents, everyone else has sort of pitched in when needed. Donte Greene had a monster game against the Knicks, Beno Udrih was the MAN against the Nets, and Sergio Rodriguez destroyed the hot Darren Collinson and the Hornets.

5. Saints destroy Pats, ’74 Dolphins’ champagne ice begins to melt
The Saints and the Colts are both undefeated in one of the strangest football seasons I can remember. In other football news, Alex Smith looks to finally be on the right track, both Vince Young’s Titans and T.O.’s Bills are suddenly in the playoff races, and Desean Jackson and Matt Ryan both got hurt.

6. Brandon Jennings and Derrick Rose square off
In what was billed as this year’s eventual Rookie of the Year vs. Last year’s rookie of the year, Young Money and the Bucks beat Rose’s Bulls. Let me explain this a little more. The Bucks are fairly consistent, but not quite as good on their best nights as the Bulls. The Bulls are the opposite. They can play with anyone, and lose to anyone. Very strange team. And while Young Money has been very good, Andrew Bogut and Ersan Ilyasova deserver a lot of the credit for the Bucks’ turnaround as well. Still, this is definitely Young Money’s ship.

7. Rihanna Flops…sorta
In what seemed like the perfect set-up, Rihanna is not living up to expectations and looks to move slightly less than 200K in her first week. Oh well. None of her singles really took off before the release date, so it didn’t end up mattering that she released her album on the biggest retail weekend of the year. And that thing I wrote about her having the biggest album of the year? Let’s just forget I ever said that. In fact, I wouldn’t be surprised if Chris Breeze sells better when his album drops a week from today.

8. Clipse, Kellz, Timbo all spring a leak
As we get into the holiday rush, all of the albums that are actually going to be released should be leaking soon. Clipse I’m excited about, Kellz….ehhhh, Timbo….ehhhh. But all the leaked Clipse songs are dope, especially “Popular Demand,” and the “I’m Good” Remix with Rawwwsssee.

9. North Carolina’s Big Week
Having already lost to Syracuse, NC gets both Michigan State and Kentucky this week. We’ll see what the defending champs are made of, as we rarely see so many tough games scheduled so close to each other, so early in the season. Deon Thompson and Ed Davis are both studs, but what else do they have in the cabinet?

 

I Can Transform Ya….

These two guys above have a lot in common.  They’re both in the process of saving the NBA in two smaller markets.  They both have star two-guards who are hurt.  They also have both transformed teams that were terrible last year.  And oh yeah, they’re probably the two main rookie of the year candidates.

The picture above is from the Jordan Brand Classic in 2008, of which Tyreke Evans (23 points, 4 dimes) and Brandon Jennings (14 dimes) won co-MVP’s.  I should also mention how well Johnny Flynn is playing in Minnesota, but he’s not quite on these guys’ level.

Evans was really the only fellow PG Jennings didn’t claim to be better than during the draft lead-up.  And with good cause, Evans is a beast.  They’ve both taken teams that looked terrible and made them respectable.  Jennings’ Bucks are 8-3.  Young Money’s averaging 25 points and 6 dimes.  Evans’ Kings are only 5-7, but coming from the worst record in the league – that’s pretty good.  Tyreke’s averaging 18, 5, and 5.  He’s even getting a steal and a half per game.  In particular, the Kings are 4-3 since K-Mart went down.  And tonight they lost to the Rox without Tyreke.  He’s been averaging 24 points, 6 dimes, and 6 boards.

The Kings have been rejuvenated of late, despite the tough schedule they’ve faced.  A lot of the credit has gone to Jason Thompson, and with good reason.  He’s absolutely taken his game to another level in his second year.  But it’s Tyreke drawing double teams that’s enabled JT to have more openings.  Evans doesn’t have much of a shooting touch, he’s penetrate and dish or penetrate to the rack.  When he gets a jump shot of some kind; watch out.  The Kings’ biggest weakness so far is the lack of shooting.  That should change when Francisco Garcia and Kevin Martin come back.

The Bucks have been even better.  By most metric statistics, Brandon Jennings has been the second best PG in the league, behind CP3.  Yes, better than Nash, D-Will, B-Diddy, Gilbert, Chauncey, and Tony Parker.  Of course that double nickel he dropped on the W’s last weekend helps.  The dude has also, basically, saved Andrew Bogut’s career.  The former first overall pick was averaging 16 and 9, before bowing out with injury.  The team also has an emerging player in Ersan Ilyasova, who’s been the ultimate glue guy for that team.

But the credit for the emergence of both of these teams has to lie on the rookie point guards.  And this will not be the last time they are grouped together.

 

“In the night I hear them talk/

The coldest story ever told/
Somewhere far along this road he lost his soul….”

Why are there so many “Heartless” NBA teams?

So last night’s games affirmed a couple of things to me:

1.) The Celtics are still hungry

2.) The Lakers are really loaded

3.) The Blazers may be a tad overrated

and….

4.) The Bucks really suck.

On with the NBA preview….

19. Atlanta Hawks

Tell me, NBA experts, why you expect these Hawks to make the playoffs.  It contradicts many of the common “NBA expert” predictions.  First, they say the East is better.  Well, how are Hawks making the playoffs in the better east without their sixth man, and without gaining any rotation players?  Is a whole year of Mike Bibby going to make that big of an impact?  The Hawks are fun, until you realize that the frontcourt is confusing.  Marvin Williams is your starting 4?  And Al Horford is your starting 5?  Or is Josh Smith your 4?  Basically you have two SF’s with one of them playing the PF.  Then you start a PF at C.  This is confusing.  Luckily, the one person Bibby helps out is Joe Johnson.  I fully expect a big year from him.  But with this bench?  Or lackthereof…..this team should slide a bit this season.  Mike Woodson may get fired.

18. Dallas Mavericks

Common NBA wisdom has these guys in the playoffs.  I don’t think so.  It’s going to take a major injury to a

Ason apparently left his J at home for the playoffs again

competitor for the other D to make the playoffs.  Conventional thinking has the Nuggets as the West team on the outside looking in.  I think it’s Dallas.  This is why: The Nuggets can score (as we’ll get to later).  Who scores for Dallas? Dirk may get you 25/game, but what after that?  Are you really going to rely on Jason Terry and Josh Howard to give you 15-20 every night?  Who else? Jason Kidd? Even in his prime he wasn’t much of a scorer.  Jerry Stackhouse?  He’s done.  Erick Dampier?  You must be kidding.  Secondly, how’s this for depth?  Starting Terry on the bench gives you two reliable subs (Terry & Brandan Bass) and four reliable starters (we’ll say Antoine Wright starts for defensive purposes, but really he starts because Terry’s too small to start at the 2).  Sad thing is, they’re probably going to waste another great season for Dirk, and he’s going to complain to Mark Cuban.  They’re going to need a big trade to get into the playoffs.  Otherwise they’re also-rans in the West this season.

17. Indiana Pacers

I wanted to put these guys in the playoffs, really did.  But I juuust don’t see it happening.  One thing’s for sure: This will be a fun team to watch.  TJ Ford can certainly run, and Mike Dunleavy (*gulp*) had a career year for them.  Danny Granger is one of the most under-the-radar stars in the NBA.  And they have Jarrett Jack, one of the offseason’s most underrated acquisitions, to step in if Ford gets hurt.  Really, 1-4 they’re loaded two-deep with offensive players, and both Nesterovic and Foster can play D, hustle, and grab boards.  This is going to be an interesting team, I just don’t think the quite get into the playoffs.  I actually think that, top 8 vs. top 8, the East is better than the West this year.  But the Pacers will be the last team out.  That’s a credit to Jim O’Brien, because Obie has one of the teams with the least talent in the league on it.

16. Denver Nuggets

So this is where I have Denver.  They are, to me, the wild card of the west.  They could race out to the best record in the league, grab home court advantage, and no one would really be surprised.  “Well, they do have Carmelo and Iverson,” people would say.  “Plus that bench, with Kleiza and JR Smith!  They sure can score the basketball!  And they have a glutton of bigs!” Or they could sink quickly to the bottom, Iverson could demand a trade, Carmelo would probably be traded too, and they could end up with the worst record in the leage.  Again, no one would be surprised.  “That team was built for self destruction,” they’d say.  “George Karl can’t control them.  Carmelo’s one of the worst defenders in the league.  And Iverson’s done.”  I think they’ll end up pretty much where they have in recent years – in the middle of the pack.  But I do think Iverson gets traded.  Two places really make sense for him: Cleveland and Philly.  He would purrrrrfect in either place.  As the finisher to LeBron’s fast breaks, or as the go-to scorer that Philly needs to ascend to championship contender status.  And by the way, I do not consider Carmelo a bad defender.  I think he would be fine defending the 4.  It’s the athleticism and speed at the 3 that he does not really have.

(Tangent Alert)

That said, these are the 10 Worst Defenders in the League:

10. Monta Ellis, Warriors: He’s obviously hurt right now, but he’s just too small to guard most players, and he can’t guard the pick-and-roll so he can’t guard points.  He is just possibly the worst pick-and-roll defender in the league.  He never knows what to do.  And that’s the most elementary play in basketball!

9. Eddie Curry, Knicks: He’s big, chubby, and slow.  Doesn’t really make for a guy who can guard the athletic centers of the world.  That said, he does allright in staying in front of people.  But shouldn’t a guy that’s seven-foot block more shots and get more rebounds?

8. Brad Miller, Kings: The Kings have a couple of other players who you could argue onto this list (Kevin Martin and Beno Udrih, I’m looking at you), but Brad is the biggest culprit.  He wasn’t always a horrible defender, but since he got to the Kings he’s gotten progressively worse each season.  I’m sure it doesn’t help that he’s possibly the slowest, least athletic player in the league.  But he does so much for you on offense, that you have to play him.

7. Andrew Bogut, MIL: I think this guy is kind of the second coming of Brad Miller.  Not exactly what you expect from a first overall draft pick, but a solid player – especially offensively.  He keeps the ball moving and can hit jump shots.  That said, he has even worse footwork than Miller on defense.  And he isn’t quite as good as him on offense.  Bogut has some time to learn, but not on this Bucks team that has 3 of the 10 worst defenders in the league!

6. Steve Nash, PHO: A couple of years ago, I would’ve said that Nash isn’t as bad a defender as teammate Amare Stoudemire.  But while Stoudemire is no ace on that end, he’s learned how to use his athleticism and size to stay in front of people.  Meanwhile, Nash has gotten a little slower  – thus regressing defensively.  He may hit the tail end of his career as the worst defender in the league.  But again, he’s a two-time MVP, so I’d think he makes up for it on the other end.

5. Troy Murphy, IND: That he’s sunk to fifth in the league is a tribute to how bad of defenders the top 4 is.  Murphy is pretty horrible on the defensive end of the floor, that’s no secret.  I had season tickets his last season in Golden State.  He gets lost in the pick & roll, he gets lost on the break.  He really just has no defensive awareness.  In fact he doesn’t really have much offensive awareness, but you play him because he’s a big who can shoot.  And somehow seems to be in the right position at the right time to grab rebounds.  But they’re the type of rebounds that you look up and he as 8, and you have no idea how he got them.

4. Luke Ridnour, MIL: Ok, so Luke was always a pretty bad defender.  Even in Seattle with Nate McMillan, he managed to be pretty bad on defense, even losing his starting job to Earl Watson (who is something like 5’8!) because of defense.  When a midget is replacing you for defensive purposes, you got problems.  Now he’s looking like the starting point guard for Scott Skiles’ Bucks.  I find it hilarious that a defensive/tough-minded coach like Skiles decided to take over the Bucks, who may be the worst defensive team in history.  Should be great for shits and giggles.

3. Wally Szerbiak, CLE: Both NBA players and fans had Wally as the worst defender in the league.  I say he’s third.  Not by a wide margin, but he’s pretty bad.  He really does nothing properly on defense.  He’s really just on your team to shoot.  That’s all he does.  Plus he has an expiring contract.  That’s always nice.

2. Zach Randolph, NYK: This is where Z-Bo comes in.  I talked a bit about him yesterday and I’m sure I will talk more about him this season.  He’s one of my favorite subjects.

Yeah, that's what you get for telling Charlie to play D!

1. Charlie Villanueva, MIL: This is the battle, in particular, that looks fun.  Villanueva vs. Skiles.  The showdown in Milwaukee.  They should get a pay-per-view set up!  Villanueva’s actually so proficient on the offensive end, that it makes you scared that he still can’t get on the floor for his lack of defense.  He’s actually a possible 50 points every night.  But yes, he’s really that bad on defense.

(And Now Back To Your Regularly Scheduled Preview)

15. Portland Trail Blazers

Yes I just said that they’re overrated, and I think everyone has them here too.  But screw it.  With Oden, they end up here.  If he’s hurt for any significant time, they (and my Fantasy team) sink.  Bottom line.  This team has everything but a dominant big man.  They have the athletic big man, but not the brute strength big man.  By now I’m sure you’ve read all about the rest of the team: Roy, Aldridge, Outlaw, Fernandez, Rodriguez, Webster, Blake.  Loaded.  I don’t need to go into too much other detail.

14. Phoenix Suns

When you trade for Shaq for defensive purposes, you realize that your team doesn’t really do much on that end.  Nevertheless, this Suns team is still loaded with talent.  Steve Nash, Shaq, Amare, and Grant Hill are all still there.  But Shawn Marion and Mike D’Antoni are gone.  And with the additions of Matt Barnes and Robin Lopez, they now have a pretty good bench.  Nash may have slipped, but he’s still among the elite PG’s in the league.  The Raja Bell/Leandro Barbosa combination at the 2 is still as good as any in the league.  Barnes should take some heat off Grant Hill from wearing down at the end of the year, remember, Hill played at almost an all-star level for the first half of last year.  Boris Diaw and Lopez will come off the bench for Amare and Shaq to give them a pretty solid big man rotation.  This team is still quite loaded, and could definitely make a run for it.  But it’s hard to put them higher than here, since we don’t know what the drop off from D’Antoni to Terry Porter is.

13. Washington Wizards

Everyone seems to be counting these guys out.  I’m not.  This is a very good team.  They still have Butler and Jamison, and if he ever gets healthy, Gilbert.  They still have the role players DeShawn “I Can’t Feel My Face” Stevenson, Antonio Daniels, and now Juan Dixon.  And they have the kids in Nick Young and Andray Blatche.  This is a very good team without Gilbert.  They are a Championship contender with him.  Last year they showed that they can win with defense.  With Gil they obviously can score with anyone.  Caron Butler has developed into one of the best 3’s in the league.  That leads me to my second tangent of the day:

The Top 10 SF’s in the NBA:

This is a situation where the top 4 are pretty much set in stone, then you work your way down.

10. Kevin Durant, OKC: Obviously this guy is the future of the position (I also think that, when all is said & done, Beasley will be a SF too), but he’s got a lot of ways to go.  He sure can score though.

9. Josh Howard, DAL: While I’m not sure where else to put him, Black Gumby goes here.  Unfortunately, this summe rhe let his mouth overshadow his game.  And that’s sayin somethin cuz his game is crazy hype.

8. Tayshaun Prince, DET: A difference-maker on both sides of the court.  He is among the best defenders in the game and can shoot it out from behind the stripe.

7. Shawn Marion, MIA: This may be a surprise to a lot of people, but I think he’s started his descention this past season.  This year we’ll see how he does in Miami playing next to a superstar and with a talented rook tryin to take his spot.

Danny would like you to know he's underrated

6. Danny Granger, IND: Yes, he’s really this good.  Granger has been under-the-radar since he came into the league backing up Ron Artest.  But this might be the year he really breaks out, as the Pacers will make a playoff run.

5. Ron Artest, HOU: This seems like the best spot for him at the moment.  No one’s sure what he’s going to do in Houston, but if he plays up to this ranking, they are going to be making a deep trek into the playoffs this season.

4. Caron Butler, WAS: A very solid #4 on this list, Butler has developed into the positions top two-way player.  An all-defense team-level defender and an all-star scorer, Butler can beat you in the post or the around the arc.

3. Carmelo Anthony, DEN: I like to say that he’s a more advanced offensive version of our #2 guy, but he’s not anywhere near him on D.  And that’s really the difference between the two teams as well.

2. Paul Pierce, BOS: Again, the 2/3 matchup here is pretty even.  But something tells me Pierce has a huge season, now that he’s clearly the #1 weapon out of the big 3.

1. Lebron James, CLE: You expected something else?

(And now back to the Preview)

12. Philadelphia 76ers

I know, I know.  This is where they were last year.  And I know, they added Elton Brand.  But you know, they still have the same hole they did last year.  They merely improved a part of the team that was already pretty good, and made it championship caliber – post play.  But they still need a go-to scorer, preferrably on the wing that can drop 20-25 a night and score in the clutch when needed (see: Iverson, Allen).  Just as the Nuggets never quite replaced Andre Miller, the Sixers never replaced Iverson either.  And while they have a ton of nice pieces, they still lack a number one option.  But they do have Miller at the point with Louis Williams draining it off the bench.  Iguodala is a 2/3 swingman, but he’s more of a third scorer.  Thaddyeus Young should ideally be a bench guy at this point of his career.  Elton Brand and Sam Dalembert will play really well together, though they do a lot of the same things with weakside defense.  Again, I think it’s going to come down to the trade deadline.  If they go after a number one guy, they could be right there with the Celts and Cavs.  The downside of going after Iverson: they probably have to give up Dalembert to do it.  We’ll see what happens here, things could get very interesting in Philly.  Even if they wait until the offseason, i think the chance of them landing Iverson might actually improve.  But without him, I think they’re still the seventh best team in the East.

11. San Antonio Spurs

This is another team that’s difficult to project.  It’d be easy to say “oh yea, they can get it together again once Ginobili gets healthy.”  But that’s overlooking a couple of things.  First, Duncan and Parker are going to have to shoulder this offense by themselves.  All of the role players either can’t score (Bowen, Oberto), or got old really quick (Finley, Thomas).  The result of this is Duncan and Parker are likely to be carrying assortments of injuries into the playoffs.  Secondly, this team no longer has any depth.  RC Buford has been as good of a GM as there’s been in the league.  But this team desperately needed a reloading this offseason.  And they simply didn’t get it.  They look like they could be in serious trouble going into this season.  They may fall even further than I have them right now.  Especially realizing that Duncan and Ginobili are also getting up there in age themselves.

10. Miami Heat

This is really high for them by most people’s standards.  I’m not most people.  I’m the same guy that was saying that the 2005-2007 Dwayne Wade until his injury in 07, was the best player in the league.  Offensively, this guy was Jordan reincarnated.  Now obviously Wade is a mildly average defender, and Jordan was all-world, but offensively, Wade is the closest thing to Jordan we’ve ever seen.  Beasley and Marion fill out the forward spots, but they play, essentially, the same position.  Though I do think we will mainly see them playing together, they’ll start the season with Beasley coming off the bench for Udonis Haslem.  Haslem will probably move up to Center for the majority of the time.  They do have holes at center and at the point, but Mario Chalmers and Haslem will eat most of those minutes.  This team is really the wild card of the conference.  Everyone seems to say that they’ve all gotten behind new head coach Erik Spoelstra.  And they do have plenty of talent.

9. Orlando Magic

I think they come back to the pack a bit.  It won’t really show up in the standings, as they’ll still win the Atlantic and end up with the 4-seed, but I think there are 4 teams in the East better this year.  Of course, Dwight Howard would need to dversify his offensive game in order for them to improve.  And over the Olympics, he routinely looked worse than Chris Bosh.  I know that they don’t actually play the same position, but they tend to guard each other.  Bosh also has a better supporting cast.  Though I do think Hedo has developed into a stud, the rest of the team leaves a lot to be desired.  Rashard Lewis is a mediocre player with a superstar’s salary.  Jameer Nelson and Keith Bogans form the least potent backcourt in the league.  And bench?  What bench?

8. Toronto Raptors

Thus I put Bosh’s Raptors right ahead of Howard’s Magic.  Bosh is another of those silent superstars.  This kid is really good.  And he has a very good team around him.  Jose Calderon is a budding star, Anthony Parker is very solid, and Jamario moon can jump over anyone.  Then there’s the team’s x-factor in Jermaine O’Neal.  He can give them a defensive boost and complement Bosh in the post.  If he works out for them, they should challenge for the title.  If he doesn’t, they still probably end up here.  Jason Kapono can shoot the lights out and Andrea Bargnani does a little bit of everything off the bench.  So this team’s biggest weakness is depth.  But Bosh has gotten really good and caused me to make another tangent.

The 10 Best PF’s in the NBA:

10. Carlos Boozer, UTA: Slightly overrated, but he’s very good.  Might be in Miami next year playing with Wade and Beasley.  Now wouldn’t that be a team?

9. Pau Gasol, MEM: Somwhat weak-minded.  I could see him disappearing into a secondary role with the Lakers as the season progresses.

Antawn's been pumped since he left the Warriors

8. Antawn Jamison, WAS: Slightly under-rated.  Jamison creates matchup problems with his shooting, and goes to the boards and plays D better than he ever has before.

7. David West, NOH: Very good player, but I’m not ready to put him ahead of Brand.  He doesn’t play D quite as well.  He does score better than him, but doesn’t play D or rebound as well.

6. Elton Brand, PHI: He has to show me he’s fully healthy before he can even sniff the top 5.  But with West on his heels, he might not even be 6 for long.

5. Amare Stoudemire, PHO: He’s actually #1 if we’re talking stats, but with his defensive weaknesses and injuries I’m keeping him lower.

4. Chris Bosh, TOR: Bosh has grown into himself finally.  And this kid is a freakin monster.  Bosh will give you scoring, rebounding, energy, physicallity, and he can run or post.

3. Dirk Nowitzki, DAL: At one point, I considered him the second best player in the league.  He’s not quite there anymore, but being third at the most top-loaded position in the league is not bad either.

2. Tim Duncan, SAS: The Duncan/KG argument can continue in terms of legacies, but it’s pretty clear that TD is slipping at this point.  He’s not quite as good of a defender, and can’t score or pass as well.

1. Kevin Garnett, BOS: KG is still the best defending big man in the league (though a healthy Jermaine O’Neal would challenge him), and he still drops 18 and 12 every night.  Oh and he finally won a ring.

(Now back to the preview)

7. New Orleans Hornets

David West is very good.  Chris Paul is very good.  Tyson Chandler and Peja Stoyakovic are pretty good as well.  But what about the rest of the roster?  Ehhh….James Posey fills out the starting lineup, but an injury to West, Paul, or Chandler would be devistating.  And even with them, I don’t know how they beat Utah or L.A.  And who knows about Houston.  I think they over-achieved a bit last season, but they should make it up this year.  I see them as another second round playoff team (they are the new Suns).  Paul in particular should take a step backwards this year.  But he’ll still have a very good season.  I actually wouldn’t be surprised if the other three had better years this season.  Actually I think they will.  Very good team.  Not quite championship caliber.

6. Utah Jazz

Deron's so much better than Parker, he shoves it in his face!

Like his buddy CP3, I see D-Will going out in the second round.  The Jazz, as a team, play over their heads.  Only D-Will is really that good.  And he really doesn’t get the credit he deserves.  He makes Boozer, Okur, and Brewer look better than they really are.  Well, he and Jerry Sloan.  I see Boozer playing the second half with a foot out the door.  Ak-47 should really start at the 4 for this team.  Or Paul Millsap.  Bozer can leave, they have 2 PF’s here that might actually play better without him.  The swingman spots are a bit of a hole, with Brewer being the best of the bunch.  Matt Harpring’s age is finally catching up with him, and Kyle Korver is almost exclusively a three-point specialist.  But Sloan is good at getting the most out of his players, and with a pass-first PG in D-Will, these guys should all be kept happy with plenty of shots.  If you continue to wait for the Jazz to go away, they won’t.  This is a very good team, and they still will be very good for the seasons to come.

5. Detroit Pistons

The Pistons are as deep as they’ve ever been.  But you wonder if all those deep playoff runs are wearing down the starters.  Amir Johnson looks to get more looks this year, and with Stuckey and Maxiell, this young bench is only getting better.  But despite the offseason promises, Joe Dumars made no real move of interest.  The same Billups/Hamilton/Prince/Wallace/McDyess starting 5 still remains.  Dice might be out of the starting lineup this year, and wither Johnson or Maxiell are likely to replace him.  Dice just isn’t enough of an option on offense anymore to keep him in there.  Maxiell (offense) and Johnson (defense) are each more of specialty players at this stage of their careers, but either would fit the starting 5 fine as Rasheed Wallace, the other starting big, is a threat at both ends of the floor.  As are the rest of the starting 5.  Each seems to be slipping a bit (with the exception of Prince), but they are all still right around all-star-caliber players.  Look for the Pistons to make another deep run, but ultimately fall short of yet another Conference Finals appearance.

4. Cleveland Cavaliers

Here’s what I don’t like about putting these guys here: I think last year’s squad was better than this year’s.  But I think the Pistons have slipped enough to put the Cavs into the #2 spot.  To me, Mo Williams has nice numbers, but is not an upgrade over Boobie Gibson and Delonte West in terms of wins for the team.  Of course if they make the Iverson trade, all bets are off.  But even if they got him, I still don’t think they’re beating Boston.  I could sit here and talk about how great LeBron is, but he still needs more help.  The Cavs don’t have nearly the talent around him that their rivals in Detroit and Boston do.  This seems like beating a dead horse, but lets look at the three major players they got in last year’s trade deadline deal; Ben Wallace, West, and Wally Szerbiak.  Szerbiak is a taller version of Damon Jones.  He can shoot, but can’t do anything else.  And he probably doesn’t shoot the 3 as well as Jones.  Wallace was an entirely defensive player in his prime, and at this point is slipping every year.  And West is a very strong defender, but doesn’t really have an offensive position.  This is a team of a bunch of loose parts and role players, but none of which really fit together around the superstar.  But even with that, LeBron is so good that chemistry has gone out of the window and the team competese for a title every year anyway.

3. L.A. Lakers

This might be a huge suprise to some, but I have them going down in the Conference Finals.  I just think something’s got to give with these guys.  Lamar’s unhappy coming off the bench (he’s in a contract year).  I see Pau being resigned to being an understudy.  Bynum still has little offensive game.  And sans Kobe, the second team might be better than the first team.  But with all that said, they’re just too talented not to get far in the playoffs.  I think they need more of a systematic approach, and don’t doubt that Phil Jackson will eventually give it to them, but not this year.  The Lakers will look like the best team in the NBA for stretches, even dominating at times.  But they eventually go down in the Conference Championship to….

2. Houston Rockets

Any excuse to throw up this classic

Yes, Ron Artest is a headache.  But every team he’s been on has been significantly better immediately.  That’s great news for Yao Ming and Tracy McGrady, as the new big 3 will be taking over the Western Conference.  Much has been made about Tracy’s Paul Pierce-like transition into a team player from an individual superstar.  Yao is the best center in the league (Dwight Howard, get back to me when you learn some offensive moves), and Ron provides a star third scorer.  Shane Battier is the best defensive player in the game.  Rafer Alston is the heart and soul of the team, a gunner with a never-say-die attitude.  Luis Scola and Carl Landry were so great at combining at Power Forward, that they decided to re-unite and do it again.  But this time they have reinforcements in Joey Dorsey and Chuck Hayes.  The wing spots are deep too with Luther Head, Brent Barry, and Aaron Brooks coming off the pine.  This team is so loaded, they couldn’t find room for Dikembe Mutombo to come back.  T-Mac has the team he’s always wanted.  Actually, he has a team that just about everyone has always wanted.  Now it’s time to prove your worth.  You too Yao.  Ron’s been to the Conference Finals before.  He’s seen what it took.  Now you guys have to go take him to the promise-land.  But in the end I have them coming up juuuuust short.

1. Boston Celtics

The Lakers and Cavs are the trendy picks because of Kobe and LeBron.  The Hornets and Rockets are the fun picks because they resemble the Suns and Heat of the past.  The Jazz and Spurs are the boring picks that are there every year, but no one wants to make them.  But the Celtics are still the best team.  And that’s really all there is to say.  Kevin Garnett?  Still in his prime.  Still a super-duper-star.  Still the best PF in the game (see above).  Paul Pierce?  Also still in his prime.  Now a super-duper-star.  The second best SF in the game (see above).  Ray Allen?  Past his prime a bit.  But still has a ton left in the tank.  Still one of the best pure shooters in the game.  Rajon Rondo?  Very good point guard.  Already among the upper tier of PGs.  Plus they have the Bynum/Howard-type center in Kendrick Perkins, who I might mention, is a freakin monster.  And Perkins and Rondo are just getting better.  Plus they got Bill Walker, a personal favorite, who can jump over skyscrapers.  Plus that bench, Big Baby, Leon Powe, Eddie House, Gabe Pruit should make a splace.  This is a championship caliber team.  No, this is a multiple championship-caliber team.  And I like them to win #18.

 

“La-di-da-di we came to party…”

…”we don’t cause trouble (well maybe only Ron Artest)/
we don’t bother nobody (except maybe at the Palace)”

It’s about time the NBA came back. And with that, here is my spirited 2008-09 preview!

And with it, I will answer all the questions, all the while counting down each team from 30-1!

30. Milwaukee Bucks

I don’t know why anyone thinks this team is going to be any good. They just lost their second best player from a team that was pretty bad last year. Yes they got Richard Jefferson, but Jefferson is on the decline, whereas Yi is going to improve. And Jefferson was a third wheel on a bad team in Jersey. Now he’s a second wheel on an even worse team in Milwaukee. At PG they start Luke Ridnour, but I have this keen sense that Tyronne Lue is going to finish the season there one way or the other. Either because of Ridnour’s inability to shoot, being one of the 10 worst defenders in the league, or because he is fragile like a porcelein vase. The two-guard is actually pretty loaded with All-Star caliber Michael Redd, Charlie Bell, and Damon Jones. What do they have in common? All three of these guys can shoot. What else do they have in common? They can’t play D worth a lick. And what’s more, they are all streaky shooters and even Redd has bouts of inconsistency. RJ doesn’t really have any depth behind him, with Joe Alexander’s horrible preseason stint. They are going to need him to score a lot of points. And as we have seen from him in the past, the more points he scores, the less d he plays. Charlie Villanueva, an undersized four who is much to stiff to attempt to play D, starts at power forward. He has no depth behind him either as Malik Allen should have retired 4 years ago. A decent group of centers backs up Andrew Bogut, a terrific passing big man who can do little else. On a good team, Francisco Elson probably starts here. But he’s relegated to third string on a team that does not understand the value of defense. Dan Gadzuric is the inbetween who plays d and o at an average NBA level but is not particularly great at either. As others have said before, this team has a chance to be one of the worst defending teams ever. I’m taking it a step further, they are going to be among the worst NBA teams of this decade. And by the end of the year, RJ is going to raise a fuss.

29. Minnesota Timberwolves

When Randy Foye is your second best player, it's going to be a looooong year!

This is a slightly against-the-grain pick here, because a lot of people think this team is going to improve.  I’m here to tell you that I am not one of them. We all love Al Jefferson’s numbers, but he’s playing out of position at center, and it remains to be seen whether he can guard anyone at PF either. The next best player on this team is Randy Foye, but he’s more of a combo guard playing the point because the team’s next best alternative is Sebastian Telfair. A lot of people would say SG Mike Miller is the team’s second best player. But the slip in quickness, as M&M is on the downside of his career, gives him problems getting his shot off. And Lord knows he’s not good for anything else. He’s not going to magically regain his stroke in Minnesota after struggling so mightily on an equally bad (but more talented) Memphis team. After Miller, all the wings are talented head-cases. Rashad McCants being the best of the bunch, dude can straight light it up. Unfortunately he’s also the biggest head-case of the bunch. Corey Brewer was a defensive stopper in college but couldn’t stop a tricycle last season. And Rodney Carney gets by on athleticism, but hasn’t really developed a game to match. Everyone else on the team is a big. Now the problem on defense is that the 3 best bigs are all under 6-10. Craig Smith, Jefferson, and Kevin Love would all be very good players on their own. But when that’s your big-man rotation, you are not going to be able to stop anyone. And one of them is going to have to play center, in the west against Shaq, Duncan, Yao, Andrew Bynum, Greg Odom, etc. I think Brewer gets his act together this year, and McCants’ scoring eventually puts Miller on the bench. Yet this won’t be enough as a slow, small team will have problems defensively.

28. Seattle Sonics

(you mean, they’re not?)
(Oh, screw it!)

The opposite of the last two teams, the Sonics will be very good defensively.  They have a solid defensive pg in Russell Westbrook, who should be able to defend at at least an average rate as a rookie (though i think he’ll be much better down the road), Kevin Durant has the size and legnth to bother two guards, Jeff Green is already a very good defender, Wilcox defends well when he wants to, and Collison’s MO is on D.  Problem is, they only have two guys on this team who can score the basketball – Durant and Wilcox.  And Wilcox is likely to be gone at the trading deadline.  Many people feel their inability to score is going to keep them at the bottom of the league.  But i think their defense and scrappiness will place them above the bottom two.  They’ll be more competitive this year, but it won’t necessarily translate into wins right away.  They’re another piece or two away.

27. Memphis Grizzlies

This is where i have Memphis.  They have one of the better young backcourts in the league with Conley running the show with potential stars OJ Mayo and Rudy Gay.  Unfortunately they have nothing up front.  Marc Gasol? Unproven.  Hakim Warrick? Undersized.  Darko Milicic? Eck.  Antoine Walker? Double eck.  Even if Gasol works out, they still have a gaping hole at the four.  And with the exception of pg, where they’re loaded – this team has no depth.  Are they going to play Gay and Mayo until they collapse?  They will be fun to watch the three young stars fly around the court, but they are not going to be any good this year.  But big nights from Gay and Mayo should be able to swipe a few games they have no business winning.

26. New Jersey Nets

This team is better than people think.  Don’t get me wrong, they’re still pretty bad.  But there are 4 worse teams in the NBA than the Nets.  And it’s not because I’m particularly big on Vince Carter – I don’t even consider him a star anymore at this point.  But, this team has a ton of good secondary players.  A Devin Harris/Keyon Dooling combo at the point is not going to scare the daylight out of anyone, but should be quietly quite effective.  Bobby Simmons, Jarvis Hayes, and Chris Douglass-Roberts are not all-stars but they each play to their strengths quite effectively at the three.  Ultimately i think CDR ends up starting there because this team could use his scoring.  Yi Jianlian is going to be very good, and even if he isn’t this year, they have tons of depth at the four;  Eduardo Najera is the classic “hustle” player, Stromile Swift can jump out of a gym, but Sean Williams probably ends up being the first big off the bench.  This kid is big, physical, and rebounds like a mad-man.  Eventually Josh Boone and Brook Lopez will fight it out for the starting center spot, but for now Lopez is not ready.  Boone’s the defense and Lopez is the offense.  This is a young, deep team of secondary players.  They are a superstar away from being very competitive.  Unfortunately, Vince Carter is not that superstar anymore.

25. New York Knicks

I bet Mike misses those Suns days right about now

It should make Knicks fans happy that I have them ahead of the Nets here.  Why?  Because there’s little else to be happy about.  Coach D’Antoni was an improvement, but I doubt it will show up immediately.  My midseason, they’ll have a midget backcourt of Chris Duhon and Stephon Marbury.  Not that Jamal Crawford was particularly imposing, but Marbury’s pretty small too.  Plus Crawford will surely be traded by then.  The 3-position is actually pretty solid – oh wait, no it’s not.  It was until they traded Renaldo Balkman, now it’s just as crappy as the rest of the positions.  At least D’Antoni is re-united with Quentin Richardson. Perhaps they can sign Darius Miles to ride the bench and do that head bump gesture with Q.  Zach Randolph starts at power forward.  He’s the most talented player on the team (if we assume that Marbury’s past his prime), and also the most troubled (pick on Marbury if you must, but he can’t hold a candle to Z-Bo’s problems).  He also can’t play defense worth a lick and has never met a pass he got along with (or a babysitter, but that’s another story).  David Lee starts at center because there’s no way D’Antoni is going to give that many minutes to both Z-Bo and Curry.  Lee’s actually probably the most efficient player on this team.  Unfortunately, outside of Curry and the Point Guard position, this team has no depth.  But they should avoid the cellar based on talent alone.

24. Los Angeles Clippers

Talent alone should keep them higher than this, but I just get a bad feeling about this Clippers team.  I get the feeling that Baron and Dunleavy will be at each other’s throats by March, Camby will revert to his old injury-prone self, Kaman won’t be able to score without Brand, and Al Thornton and Eric Gordon are at least a year away each.  They have all the signs of a bad team: two injury-prone marquee offseason acquisitions, a headcase pure scoring first rounder in Gordon, a slow center who played well as a compliment but now has to be the feature in the post, career losers like Ricky Davis, Tim Thomas, and Jason Hart, and a coach who has always been prone to underachieving.  All of this manages to keep them above another trainwreck team in the Pacific…..

23. Golden State Warriors

I had them higher earlier in the offseason, but after all the negativity out of that locker room, i dropped them.  They have leaders on this team: Stephen Jackson has a ring, Ronny Turiaf will play with the utmost intensity evrey night, even Harrington (if he plays) is a leader.  But if he doesn’t want to play, the Warriors are better off suspending him until they are able to trade him or buy him out.  Otherwise this team will really go into the tank.  Fortunately, they actually may be better off without him.  Especialyl when Monta comes back from his injury.  But I will not comment on how good they are until i see him play.  For now, this is a lost season……already.

22. Chicago Bulls

This is everyone’s sleeper in the east…..again.  I don’t really buy it.  I don’t think anyone knows how to run this team.  They have the speed and the shooting to play a D’Antoni-style.  Yet they walk it up the court.  My take on this team: they have a ton of second tier players.  We know that they are talented, but this creates two problems: one, they lack a franchise player who can put the team on his back and be counted on in clutch moments, two, they cannot give 20 shots a night to Luol Deng, Ben Gordon, Kirk Hinrich, Derrick Rose, Larry Hughes, Drew Gooden, AND the Tyus Thomas/Joakim Noah two-headed monster.  It’s just not possible.  Last year, Hinrich went in the tank from the beginning, Deng slowly went in the tank (something that’s overlooked by nearly everyone), Gordon, Gooden and Noah pouted, and Hughes took everyone’s remaining shots.  What’d the Italian gangster tell Denzel in American Gangster?  “There has to be order!”

21. Charlotte Bobcats

What can I say?  This is a scrappy team coached by a scrappy coach.  Not much upside here or superstar potential (call them the anti-Grizzlies), but they could grow to be a very tough squad.  I think I’m the only person that liked the Augustin pick up (maybe b/c I’m one of the 3 members of the DJ Augustin fan club, or maybe because i overrate all Texas pro players).  You look at J-Rich, Emeka Okafor, and Gerald Wallace, and you think, “this team isn’t so bad.”  But then you look past these 4, and you see Raymond Felton (probably gone by New Years), Matt Carroll (was never really here), and cobwebs.  Ahhh, so that’s why this team stinks.

20. Sacramento Kings

Am I biased by saying Kevin Martin is really good?

This is probably higher than just about anyone rates us.  But I feel comfortable here.  Why?  Kevin Martin.  I really think he makes “the leap” this year.  Well, he really made “the leap” last year, but no one noticed because a.)the kings weren’t too good and b.)Ron stole the only headlines the kings did have.  But after Martin, they have a bunch of b-rate players.  Beno Udrih can shoot and penetrate but do little else.  John Salmons is ok at everything, excellent at nothing.  Mikki Moore tries his hardest, but……well, he really tries!  Francisco Garcia has never met a shot he didn’t like, but he doesn’t seem to like to do anything else.  Brad Miller is incredible in an offensive system, but he sometimes has trouble creating his own shot and can’t guard a chair.  The team has three young front court players in SF Donte Green, PF Jason Thompson, and C Spencer Hawes.  They are in the reverse order in terms of how far along they are.  None of them are ready to start, however.  But this team seems to be a whole that is larger than the sum.  They did fairly well last year playing, essentially, the whole season without Artest, Bibby, and large parts of it without Martin.  This is why they’ll surprise people, but hardly be a contender.

More coming tomorrow, including the Worst Defenders in the League!

 

NBA Rundown

Every year the NBA takes a week or so off before free agent signings are allowed to be announced. This of course, is the busiest part of the NBA offseason. This also coincides with rookies and young players’ getting more burn than most normally would in the Summer Leagues. So much going on, we’ll have to give you a rundown, first by team:

Atlanta Hawks: The Hawks have been as quiet a team as there has been in the NBA. They had no draft picks, their summer league doesn’t start until Utah on the 18th, and they have made no signings (of players, though Coach Woodson did get re-signed). However they have two marquee free agents in Josh Childress and Josh Smith. Childress has no real offers on the table (though why someone like Miami or Boston isn’t after him is beyond me), but should start getting more now that Corey Maggette has signed with G-State and Mickael Pietrus is with Orlando. He is normally targeted as the fourth swingman available (after Maggette, James Posey, and Pietrus). His summer is just starting. But Mr. Smith is now the most sought after Free Agent left. Elton Brand’s signing with Philly leaves the early favorites without the cap room to sign him. However the L.A. Clippers are major players, and if Chris Mullin ever comes to his senses, he should now be G-State’s #1 target.

Boston Celtics: As i mentioned, James Posey is the second targeted swingman in Free Agency. One could argue he was just as sought-after as Maggette because of his championship credentials. However I’d think there are only three teams with a realistic shot at him: Boston, Miami, and Detroit. Ultimately I think he eventually re-ups with Boston, and Childress goes to MIA. But even if Posey leaves, rookie Bill Walker should be able to make up his offensive numbers. It’d be nice if they could get PJ Brown and Eddie House to come back as well, though it seems doubtful at this point. Most of this team’s improvements will likely come from their kids (Rondo, Perkins, Powe, Davis) getting better from within. Though Chris Anderson is in talks to join the team, in case you don’t know he’s one of my favorite players in the league.

Charlotte Bobcats: There is little news out of Larry Brown’s crew either. He has his PG in DJ Augustin (that seems to mean that Ray Felton is now available), and their only free agent that they really want back is Emeka Okafor. And even that’s not as important as you would’ve thought a couple years ago. But Okafor seems like a player who Brown would absolutely love, and, more importantly, vice versa. But of course, the Clips and W’s could make a run at Okafor (as should be the case with all FA big men).

Chicago Bulls: The selection of Derrick Rose with the first overall pick led the Bulls’ guards to scurry. Duhon is gone to NY. Hinrich could follow out of town (if a deal can be worked out – probably including Tyus Thomas), probably to G-State. Of course, Rose actually has to play. He was manhandled in the first Summer League game by Mario Chalmers (as were Thomas and Joakim Noah by Michael Beasley). Rose played a little better in the second game, as did Thomas. But the star of the Summer so far has been Demetris Nichols, whose now dropped 29 points in 2 games. He might be worth bringing back after all. Of course, the team still has to decide what to do with Deng and Gordon. Lots to think about in Chicago.

Cleveland Cavs: The Cavs had thrown their hat in the James Posey chase, but I don’t see him going to Cleveland. They’re also rumored to have looked into Monta Ellis (he’s not going anywhere), Devin Brown is gone, and it looks like they could be after Carlos Delfino. But really, the Cavs made their biggest move at the trade deadline. It may take a while before we really see the true outcome of that deal.

Dallas Mavericks: Rick Carlisle has definitely begun his tenure on the right foot. He seems to be making a hard push for Sac’s Ron Artest. They picked up Gerald Green and re-signed Diop. They’re also one of the teams that’s putting their nose into Houston and Denver to see if they can’t get one or the other to part with (my 2 favorite players) Carmelo Anthony and Tracy McGrady. But those are fairly unlikely.

Denver Nuggets: After another first round exit, one has to wonder if George Karl is the right coach for this team. The team seems to be wondering about Karl and ‘Melo. In my opinion, improvement for this team is not going to come externally. They have as talented a team as there is in the league. You’ve got a young budding superstar, who is an impossible matchup on offense (Melo); a top 50 player of all-time (AI), the best (or at least top 3) defensive player in the league (Camby), a former all-star who lost his athleticism but is still a lock-down defender to either Forward spot (K-Mart), another near-lockdown defender off the bench (Nene), a streaky outside shooter who can drop 40 at any moment (JR Smith), another ace outside shooter who can also bang (Linas Kleiza), and a free agent (who wants to come back) classic hustle guy (Eduardo Najera). Plus they look liek they are going to bring back Anthony Carter and sign Anthony Johnson to compete for the starting PG spot. But it all starts with Melo. But in terms of being a leader on this team and on the defensive end. If he shows he’s willing to commit to doing all the little things it takes to win (ala Paul Pierce last year), they’ll finally reach their talent level.

Detroit Pistons: After another EC Finals disappointment, Joe Dumars promised “big changes.” So far nothing of the sort has come. All they’ve done is replace Flip with Michael Curry. Anyone could’ve seen they needed to do that. They’ve tried to lure ‘Melo from Denver and T-Mac from Houston, but so far no luck. They went after Maggette and Pietrus, but each ultimately went elsewhere for more money. They were rumored to have a deal for Baron Davis had he re-signed with G-State. But that fell through when he went to the Clips. They halfway went after James Jones, but he ended up in Miami. Honestly, this is not a team that needs to make big changes. But we’ll see what happens.

Golden St. Warriors: Lots of stuff going on in Oakland. To summarize: Baron surprises everyone by opting out and signing with the Clips, W’s go after Arenas and Brand but are turned down, they drop $8-10 mil/year on Maggette, they throw a $4 mil offer sheet at Ronny Turiaf, and are now in discussions with Keyon Dooling (one of my favorite names in the L). Of course, what they should just do is: trade Al Harrington to Chicago for Kirk Hinrich straight up (unless they can also get a pick out of it), then turn around and spend whatever they can (keeping $18 mil under the luxury tax to re-sign Biedrins and Ellis), on Josh Smith. But that might just be the most logical thing to do, not what Mullin will do. Ideally, Maggette, Turiaf, and Dooling are bench players. But who knows what is going to happen here. They say Smith’s not on the team’s radar. But they also said that about Maggette, the day before they signed him.

Houston Rockets: Not much going on in Houston. Honestly if I’m the Rockets, i probably have too much talent on my roster. I’d be looking to deal some of my second-line guys (like Donte Green, Chuck Hayes, Luther Head) for a third-banana on offense. As much as I like Rafer, he probably isn’t a third banana on a playoff team. But he complements T-Mac very well. So I’d say, you probably want a third banana who can play well with Yao at the 2, 3 or 4 (T-Mac can switch between the 3 and 4). Next, you DO NOT deal T-Mac. Period.

Indiana Pacers: This is an unusual bunch. They’ve taken 7 new players in. In case you haven’t kept track, the team traded Jermaine O’Neal and Ike Diogu, and let David Harrison walk. They’ve also taken in Jarrett Jack, Josh McRoberts, Brandon Rush, TJ Ford, Rasho Nesterovic, Maceo Baston, and Roy Hibbert, which gives them 16 players. Their Depth Chart now looks something like this:
PG: Ford/Jack/Jamaal Tinsley
SG: Mike Dunleavy/Rush
SF: Danny Granger/Marquis Daniels/Shawne Williams
PF: Troy Murphy/McRoberts
C: Jeff Foster/Nesterovic/Hibbert
Likely Gone and/or D-League: Travis Diener, Shane Graham, Baston.
Jack becomes their sixth man, and they now have 4 white big-men, which probably leads the league. I wouldn’t be surprised if Rush ends up stealing Dunleavy’s starting spot.

LA Clippers: Here’s a team searching for answers. They signed Baron Davis with dreams of pairing him with Elton Brand and/or Corey Maggette. Well, Brand bolted to Philly. Maggette to G-State. Now what? They’re after Josh Smith and Emeka Okafor. Stay tuned here, something’s gotta be on the way….

LA Lakers: Probably not much going on here. After they decide whether or not to match G-State’s offer, they will turn their attention to re-signing Sasha Vujacic. Then all eyes will be on Andrew Bynum’s return. Unless Odom is moved to Sacto for Artest, it doesn’t seem like much is going on here.

Memphis Grizzlies: The Grizz have a ton of young Wings/Points. A trade would seem plausible. You have Crittenton and Lowry backing up Conley. Both could very well be starting-level points. I would probably say Rudy Gay and OJ Mayo are untouchable. But if teams with bigs come calling for anyone else, the Grizz would have to at least consider it.

Miami Heat: Miami has done quite well for itself this offseason. The Beasley pick was a no-brainer. But it looks like Mario Chalmers might be quite a player for them at the point. It is also reported that they are about to land ace sharp-shooter James Jones from Portland as a Free Agent. So the question becomes: what are they going to do with Marion. Anyone who is even remotely close to the Heat insists that it’s not a question of whether he’ll be traded, its who and to whom. We’ll see. A mega-deal may well be on the way out of Miami. The team has needs at PG and Center, with a glutton of 2-4 players.

Milwaukee Bucks: This is a team in need of defense. And while RJ is an upgrade at the 3, last year was the worst in his career defensively. No one on this team played d last year. You can go up and down the roster, and only Desmond Mason even plays a lick of D. The drafting of Joe Alexander gives them a logjam at the 3. The team has been pretty quiet since draft day. But right now they look like one of the worst teams in the league.

Minnesota T-Wolves: The T-wolves are stockpiling assets. That’s the only logical assumption that can be made for a team with 5 rotation-quality 2-guards. Their depth chart projects starting 3 shooting guards (Randy Foye, Mike Miller, and Corey Brewer) and 2 undersized power forwards (Al Jefferson and Kevin Love). Nice. McHale said the team remains active in trade discussions. “I don’t think we’re done,’’ he said. I’d hope not.

New Jersey Nets: Okay, so I actually like the deal for Yi. A VC trade has got to be coming up. It’s the only way they rid themselves of all the big contracts. To the Clips? They are heavy on the trail of Andres Nocioni. And they are making Nenad Kristic available (not surprising considering his injury history and the recent trade for Yi). All is not settled in Jersey (soon to be Brooklyn). Their lineup for this year currently projects to: Devin Harris/VC/either Bobby Simmons or CDR/Yi/either Lopez or Sean Williams. But let’s be real, they are clearing contracts for 2010 so they can make pitches for the threesome of LeBron, D-Wade, and CB4. They almost shocked the world and traded for Carmelo. Almost.

New Orleans Hornets: The Hornets have given CP3 a well deserved extension. They’ve also thrown their hat into the James Posey mix. Otherwise, they’ve been pretty quiet. They’re not going to sign anyone else until the first batch of FA’s is done with. They don’t need to improve too much, and they don’t have a lot of money to throw around.

New York Knicks: After signing Chris Duhon, the Stephon Marbury-era is all but over. He is the anti-Marbury. He does not have the overwhelming talent that Marbury does, but he is a steady hand at the point. But you have to worry about the defense of a Duhon/Crawford backcourt. To be honest, it will be a fun year in the Big Apple. Who knows how D’antoni is going to react to his new team, and vice versa.

Oklahoma City Sonics: This team has a shiny new Point Guard to run the team. A fast break of Russell Westbrook, Kevin Durant, and Jeff Green sounds pretty good on paper, we’ll have to see how it plays out in real games (although they did tear up the team’s Summer League Game yesterday, that’s something they’re supposed to do. They’re the three best players on their team in a league with mostly lower level NBA players). There’s no way that they keep all those bigs as long-term projects too, so someone’s gonna havta go. My two cents: keep Collison, Elson and DJ White. Trade everyone else.

Orlando Magic: Honestly, they overpaid for Pietrus. But Courtney Lee will make a nice starting 2-guard for them. He’s lighting up the summer league. Really what they could use is some depth up front, but with the Pietrus signing and their cap status, nothing else is likely to happen. Except JJ Reddick is likely gone.

Philadelphia 76ers: Ahh Philly. A team with only 7 players under contract. Fortunately for them, one of them is named Elton Brand. The next step is to re-sign Andre Iguodala, then fill the roster with role players. One would think they’ll bring back Louis Williams and Shavlik Randolph, then sign their draft pick and maybe one or two minimum salary players. In my opinion this team needs a shooter (Reddick?). But otherwise, they’re primed for a deep playoff run.

Phoenix Suns: The Suns didn’t need much. But the team only has 10 players under contract (if you include first round pick Robin Lopez). But they have some huge salaries that put them deep into the luxury tax. Who knows how this team is going to react to its’ new coach. But Lopez is a nice piece as a first big off the bench for when Shaq and/or Amare get in foul trouble.

Portland Trail Blazers: This team is so loaded going into this season, James Jones wouldn’t have gotten off the bench. They are just loaded with young bigs and points, which is what every team is after. But they also dont have any weaknesses. Plus they have Brandon Roy, Greg Oden, and LaMarcus Aldridge as emerging star. I swear, If I’m the Lakers or Hornets, I’ve got my eye on the Blazers for the next few years. I don’t imagine them doing too much in the meantime.

Sacramento Kings: My beloved Kings have been all over the rumors in deals involving Artest for Shawn Marion, Udonis Haslem, and Lamar Odom. But thus far all they’ve done is draft Jason Thompson and re-sign Beno Udrih. Apparently the Odom/Artest trade would have already gone through if the Lakers were willing to take Kenny Thomas’ contract back. Until the Artest situation gets settled, no one knows for sure what this team is going to be. But at the moment without Artest, they have:
PG: Udrih, Sean Singletary
SG: Kevin Martin, Francisco Garcia, Quincy Douby
SF: John Salmons, Patrick Ewing Jr
PF: Mikki More, Jason Thompson, Sheldon Williams
C: Brad Miller, Spencer Hawes
IR: Shareef Abdur-Rahim, Kenny Thomas
Notice that I gave them a separate IR position for two guys who aren’t likely to play, but are too expensive to cut or waive. Douby gets his final chance to prove why the Kings should keep him. Salmons is probably close to that boat too, though he was the Kings’ best player for a lot of last season. Ewing Jr is in there exclusively for defense. We’ll have to see how the Artest situation plays out.

San Antonio Spurs: They went after Maggette but were ultimately out bid. Finley is probably gone. Barry too. Horry is definitely. They need to get younger, but they don’t really have the means to do so. Kurt Thomas will likely return, but he’s old too. They will probably try to grab some of the second batch of free agents, as they currently only 9 guys under contract for next season.

Toronto Raptors: Trading for Jermaine O’Neal took a lot of balls. I can’t front. I’m quite impressed with Toronto’s front office for this. They now field a starting lineup of Jose Calderon/Anthony Parker/Jamario Moon/Chris Bosh/Jermaine O’Neal. If O’Neal works out for them, they’re challenging the Celtics. If not, they’re still about as good as they were last year. They’re way over the salary cap now. But fuck it. Go for the gusto. I love the trade. You now have three current/former/should be all-stars, a super-athletic swingman, and a lockdown defender and three-point ace.

Utah Jazz: There’s not much action in Utah. Next summer is the big one for the Jazz, when Boozer, Williams, and Okur are all free agents. Personally, I’d give let Millsap show what he can do before i re-upped Boozer. Re-signing Williams is an obvious, even if it takes the Max. Okur can walk though.

Washington Wizards: The Wiz re-signed Arenas and Jamison. Everything else is pretty much secondary on this squad. Id think Roger Mason is returning too. If the starting 5 stays healthy, and Blatche and Young continue to improve; watch out.