I pop off like a mobster boss…..

The heading has nothing to do with this post. I just have that line stuck in my head. I’ll get to the Whole 9 later, but I haven’t posted anything in a week, so here’s something I’ve been wanting to post.

The 30 Best SF’s In The NBA

First some explanations: no one who has played under 35% of their team’s minutes will make the list (Sorry Donte Greene! You’ll make it next time!). The bottom 10 just get a little blurb, the middle 10 get a blurb and a pic, the top 10 get a full explanation. Let’s Go!

30. James Posey, NOH: Posey has been terrible for the Hornets, and has lost a lot of minutes to rookie Marcus Thornton.
29. Trenton Hassell, NJN: Forced into heavy minutes due injuries, Hassell has been among the league’s worst regulars for a few years now.
28. Matt Barnes, ORL:Barnes is actually sort of impressive in making this list. While technically the backup, he’s basically splitting this position with…
27. Mickael Pietrus, ORL:Pietrus and Barnes are essentially giving Orlando league-average starters minutes at the 3 for the whole game. Not a bad combination. This is a good thing for the Magic.
26. Wilson Chandler, NYK:Chandler showed some promise towards the end of last year, but has been a disaster this season. His defense has been passable, but he hasn’t been able to get any offensive production whatsoever.
25. Al Thornton, LAC:Thornton has started to heat up recently after starting the season with 8 straight clunkers. But he’s well on his way back up.
24. Peja Stojakovic, NOH:Another disappoointing start this year for Peja. It ain’t hard to tell with him tho’: he’s a shooter, when he isn’t making jump shots he’s not really helping you. And he’s shooting a career low percentage.
23. Michael Finley, SAS:Pretty much left for dead after last season, Finley’s quietly assumed the backup role and helped Richard Jefferson fit in well with the Spurs.
22. Ryan Gomes, MIN:Another guy who got off to a horrendous start before turning it on lately, Gomes has started to take control of the T-Wolf offense with Big Al struggling.
21. Quentin Richardson, MIA:Q is in the middle of a bit of a bounce-back year after being left for dead and traded 4 times in one off-season. He’s in a good situation playing with old pal Dwizzle.

20. Jared Dudley, PHX: The first of a few WTF names on the list, Dudley has quietly emerged as a very strong bench player for the Suns.  He’s added a scrappy element to the team that was obviously missing from the team before.

19. Shane Battier, HOU:I’ve explained many times that Shane’s the best defender in the league. But his offense has slipped to a point where he’s becoming a true Bruce Bowen clone. But his on the ball defense combined with Trevor Ariza’s long arms and athleticism on defense have made the Rockets quite possibly the best defensive team in the league…..And this is without their 7-and-a-half foot center.

18. Marvin Williams, ATL: The main defender on a Hawks team that has jumped into the elite of the Eastern Conference thus far, Williams is an elite specialist in that area. And we’ll give him the benefit of the doubt for now, but his offense is starting to sink to Battier/Bowen levels.

17. Grant Hill, PHX: Grant’s certainly been tremendous in helping Phoenix with all of the dirty work/little things. They’re also doing a good job of cutting his minutes down with contributions from Dudley.

16. Caron Butler, WAS: I’m willing to throw Tough Juice a bit of a bone for his season thus far as it seems he’s been playing with nagging injuries and has struggled to fit into Flip Saunders’ offense thus far. But what’s saddening about this situation was to see Gil call him out . Butler’s always been supportive of Gil through all of the Hibbaci’s injuries. And everyone loves Tough Juice’s game while Gil’s can be pretty selfish at times. These two need to get on the same page, obviously. But that seems to be Antawn Jamison’s role: to keep everyone on the same page. We’ll see how things turn out in Washington.  But I think Butler’s still one of the top 5 SF’s in the league, but his season thus far has been terrible.  But to be fair, so has Gil’s.

15. Richard Jefferson, SAS:After a summer in which he made the news for a few of the wrong reasons, RJ has thankfully kept his news this year on the court. But the Spurs haven’t been as good as expected, and RJ’s a big reason for that. He’s slowly becoming accustomed to the Spur way of life, and that’s going to take some time. But I think both he and the Spurs will be better off after going through these growing pains.

14. Stephen Jackson, CHA: It’s been a weird season for Captain Jack, who was exiled by the Warriors to Charlotte.  Though from now one he’ll probably be known as a SG in Charlotte.   But since his arrival, the ‘Cats are on a run. Maybe, just maybe the situation will work out for Jack. Actually, I think it probably well. Jack and Pop had a great relationship, and I expect similar of his situation with Larry Brown. And players always leave the Warriors to get better, don’t they?

13. Omri Casspi, SAC:The second of our WTF names on this list is Omri Casspi, a guy who’s as good as anyone in the league at doing anything that’s asked of him. Think Shane Battier before he became just a defender. The guy gets to the rack, hustles, plays D, rebounds, and is an excellent passer. It should also be noted that Donte Greene would have made the top 10 if he’d played enough minutes. The SF spot was a complete black hole for the team last season, this year it seems to be a strength. Casspi’s currently starting there and Greene is switching between the 2 and the 3 until K-Mart is back from injury. The Kings have been the surprise team of the year so far, and I just hope it continues as they’re sitting pretty at 8-8.

12. Gerald Wallace, CHA: Wallace and Jack are essentially both wings, as LB’s playing two wings instead of a typical SG and SF. Wallace, as we know, is a great weak-side help defender. He uses his unreal athleticism to grab an un-real amount of rebounds for a SF. The ‘Cats are looking pretty good since they got Jack.

11. Hedo Turkoglu, TOR: I was one of the many people who didn’t like this signing, but it seems to have worked out quite well for all parties. With Calderon struggling a bit, Turkoglu has moved in to the spot as the second banana behind Chris Bosh for a Raptors squad that is overachieving a bit.

10. Corey Maggette, GSW: While the Warriors have been up-and-down this year, Maggette is having a career season. He’s playing solid d, blocking shots, grabbing rebounds and shooting out of his mind. My main criticism with Bad Porn’s game has been that he takes some bad shots, has bad court vision, and doesn’t do anything but score. Well he’s shooting a career high 51%, cutting down on the 3’s, and has his lowest turnover numbers in 10 years. His scoring has actually gone down, but his scoring efficiency is way up. He and Monta have really taken off since Jack was dealt, and it’s perhaps been a blessing in disguise for a team that was just in terrible shape altogether.

9. Danny Granger, IND:That he’s in the top 10 isn’t too surprising, but Granger’s been a bit of a different beast this year than last. Most of his scoring numbers are down (including shooting percentage, which is way down), but both rebounds and assists are up. He’s also turning the ball over and fouling more. He was an easy top 5 here last year, but while he’s still a superior player, he’s not quite what he was last year thus far.

8. Ersan Ilyasova, MIL:Probably the biggest WTF name on here, Ilyasova has been extremely good for a Milwaukee team for which he doesn’t even start. He’s shown a great presence to do all the little things and helps Young Money on the high-pick and rolls with his ability to shoot from the outside/mid-range. But since Andrew Bogut went down, he’s really been cranking out the scoring as well. He’s also grabbing the boards like crazy. He and Bogut have been the main beneficiaries of Brandon Jennings’ incredible rookie season thus far. The question would come down to who’s been more surprising? Ilyasova or Casspi? What it really comes down to is their rookie point guards.

7. Rudy Gay, MEM:While he’s always had the potential to be this good, Gay’s finally starting to put it together in this, his fourth season. He’s scoring a career high 20.7, shattering his career high for shooting (50%!), and is ahead of his career high in rebounds (6.9). He and Marc Gasol have established themselves as the best players on the Grizz (like I’ve said before, OJ Mayo is basically just a chucker). He’s fun to watch as he just comes out of nowhere with acrobatic dunks and such. He and Wallace are in the top 5 most athletic guys in the league.

6. Paul Pierce, BOS:An interesting question that’s come up recently is where The Truth falls in the hierarchy of Celtics history. I think a lot of it has to do with how they do this season. If they can come up with another ring (which I think they will), he HAS to be in the Celtic top 3 of all-time, with Bird and Russell. If not, I’d say he’s top 5, behind Bird, Russel, Hondo, and Cousy.

5. Ron Artest, LAL:I must say that I did not see this coming. Ron Ron has been perfect in LA. Hes done all the little things, and Phil has even had to talk to him about being “too unselfish.” While I’m personally never going to be a big fan of his again (players are banished from my fan-dom when they join the Lakers), I must admit that it’s a wonderful thing to see for Ron’s career.

4. Luol Deng, CHI:I had no idea what to expect from Deng this season. After the Bulls did so well without him in the playoffs last year, and then losing Ben Gordon in Free Agency, who knew what would become of Deng, whom the Bulls wouldn’t give up in a potential Kobe trade a couple of seasons ago. But he’s been an overwhelming success and he’s the best player on the team right now (yes, that includes Derrick Rose).

3. Kevin Durant, OKC: The top 3 are almost inter-changeable but after that there’s a big drop off for number 4. Here we’re going to slot KD in at third because of the lack of team success….at least for now. We’re really being picky in the top 3. KD’s only averaging 27.4 and 7.2 in only his third season at the tender age of 21. It should also be noted that everyone thought Oklahoma City would be good, but they seem they’re even better than we thought. Russell Westbrook looks like a stud at PG, we know KD is a superstar, Jeff Green’s still playing the Pippen to KD’s Jordan, and James Harden looks much better than i expected. Either way this is a team to be reckoned with. Slot them with Portland and Sacto as the future powers of the West.

2. Carmelo Anthony, DEN: Again, we’re being picky here, but I gave Melo the edge on KD because of his performance in the playoffs last year. Really we’re talking about 3 potential MVP guys here. So they’re really 1, 1a, and 1b. But ‘Melo has turned that corner and is one of the 5 best players in the league now, pretty much unanimously agreed upon. He’s averaging a career high 31 points (which leads the NBA), and shooting a career high (49.3%). And the Nuggs are in first place, but are in a dog fight for the Northwest with Portland, Utah, and OKC. Ultimately, one of those teams will probably not make the playoffs this year, but don’t count on that team being the Nuggets.

1. Lebron James, CLE: The best player in the league. Period. Kobe’s not even that close anymore. I don’t like talking too much about Lebron because it’s just so cliche to do so. But since we’re talking about him anyway, I think the NBA has an upper 8 elite players and everyone after is pretty mixed: Lebron, Nash, Wade, Kobe, Melo, Dwight Howard, CP3, and KD. If you really want to, you can throw Deron Williams and Tim Duncan in there too to make it an even 10. But after that it’s pretty mixed depending on who you’d ask. Some would put KG in there, but I think I’d probably have him third on his own team (behind Rondo and Pierce). Brandon Jennings? Not yet…Derrick Rose? Not ready…. Bosh? Too inconsistent… Billups? He’s having a down year…. One of the Spurs would probably come next, but which one? Who’s better between Parker and Ginobili. We’ll see how these questions are answered as the year goes on.

 

Drop….

One of my favorite things to do is break down bad teams and analyze what it would take to get them to the top.  So here we go with the NBA-projected Lottery teams, but there are only seven teams that are sufficiently out of contention at this point.  Let’s start with the bottom 3:

Washington Wizards

Let’s get this out of the way: last season was a one-trick pony.  This team cannot contend without Arenas.  It just won’t happen.  His explosion at the rim creates space in the defense for so many of the team’s other players (most notably DeShawn Stevenson and Darius Songalia, two players who rely on their outside catch-and-shoot ability).  Furthermore, Caron Butler is the only player who improves offensively without Arenas, and as great as Tough Juice is – he cannot carry this team on his own.  And he looks dis-interested this season, settling for 30-foot jumpers (when he is in fact a 30.9% long-range shooter), instead of bullying his way to the rim as he has in the past.  His rebounding and defense have dipped as he’s had to take on more of a role in the offense, and with Stevenson struggling, Butler’s the only solid defender currently getting big minutes.  But I’m not going to blame the entire struggles of this team on the absence of Arenas, there are other factors here.  First, Eddie Jordan was a great coach and the team seemed to give up after he was fired.  While it is true they started 1-10, it should also be noted that he has helped this team overachieve for years on his watch.  Also, the team lost ace sixth-man Roger Mason in free agency.  His void has not been filled.  Two casual signings – Juan Dixon and Mike James – have not worked out, and Nick Young is still yet to harvest any of his incredible talent for long stretches of gametime.  And with Etan Thomas and Brandan Haywood out, this was supposed to be an opportunity for the young bigs to step up.  And while JaVale McGee looks like a future stud, he’s still incredibly raw.  And Andray Blatche has been even more sporadic than before, and essentially looks like a bust most of the time.

With the team struggling as badly as they are, there appears no reason to rush Arenas back.  Though it might be time to be begin thinking of other options in case he never does recover fully.  I wouldn’t be surprised to see suspicious injuries sideline Butler and Jamison for long periods of time as well.  It’s time to see what the kids have.  The feeling here is Young is going to be no better than a role player in the pure-scoring mode, Blatche is probably not worth keeping around, but McGee is the guy to really build around.  Haywood is the only player on the team’s roster that should even fight with him for minutes.  Thomas and Blatche are both too sporadic.  And the Wiz should take a nice long look at Javaris Crittenton while he’s still young enough to fetch something decent in a trade.  Six-Five point guards with his handles don’t come around everyday, and they should decide if he’s good enough to back up Arenas at the point.

While eventual replacements for Butler and Jamison are going to be needed at some point, I think the team needs to draft a pure 2 to push Stevenson for playing time, and eventually take over for him.  Stevenson is useful on offense when there’s some penetration and post game to make room for his shooting, but is utterly useless the way the offense is currently running.  Basically, without Arenas there’s no reason to give Stevenson big minutes.  Arizona State’s James Harden would be perfect for this team.  Or if they get the top pick, it’d sure be nice to slide Blake Griffin next to McGee.  And if they can ever get Arenas healthy again, adding him to this roster next season might be enough to shoot this team into the upper hierarchy of the Eastern Conference.  Don’t forget that the last time they had Arenas, Butler and Jamison all healthy, this team had the best record in the East (although that was almost 2 years ago).  However if the offseason signs point to more missed time for Arenas, it might be time to blow this team up.

Sacramento Kings

There’s been a lot of coverage about the struggle of my Kings, who look like the second worst team in the NBA at this point.  Nevertheless, they have plenty of reasons to be excited about the future.  First is Kevin Martin, the kid is putting up superstar numbers – and no one passes him the ball!  John Salmons has had a breakout season, but he’s probably not going to be with the team past the trading deadline.  Brad Miller was a key part of this team staying in the race last season, with his passing (particularly to K-Mart) and hustle.  But this season he just looks bored.  The team needs to trade him as soon as possible.  It’s a catch-22, because the team needs to play him to show teams that he’s healthy, but he’s playing such uninspired ball that the team’s playing worse with him.  Especially since they’d be a lot better off just playing promising C Spencer Hawes anyway.  And the kid Jason Thompson looks like a keeper at the four-spot.  Donte Greene has all the talent in the world at SF, but he’s a known headcase (there are whispers around Syracuse that the program is better off having seen him leave early), and is incredibly raw.  With Salmons gone, most of those minutes will probably go to super-sub Francisco Garcia.  Beno Udrih is not good enough to be a starter at the point.  Last year appears to have been a mirage and this kid needs to sit.  I think the Kings would be best off drafting a point guard, Wake Forest’s Jeff Teague seems like the ideal fit.  He’s a quick PG who shoots, gets to the rim, and plays good D.  He’s gonna single-handedly get that team to the Final 4.  The CP3 comparisons are going to be inevitable.  But this kid has a jumpshot.  He could be that top gun and would team up nicely with K-Mart to form one of the league’s best back-courts in the league.

Oklahoma City Thunder

This team is a step ahead of most of the bad teams in the league in that, they already have a nucleus of stars.  They just don’t have anything else.  Case in point: they are giving starters minutes to Earl Watson, who has been in the top 5 worst players in the league for 5 years running.   Russell Westbrook was drafted as a point, but seems to be best suited as a combo guard working off the ball.  But he’s really good.  He might be better than Kevin Durant, the franchise’s face who is playing at an all-star level himself.  And Jeff Green is the consummate professional; scoring, playing rugged D, and keeping the ball moving.  But seriously, after those three there are maybe three other legit NBA-level players on this team.  So you could pretty much draft anyone and improve this team.  Blake Griffin probably fits the biggest need on this team.  The best player in college basketball would fit the bigs need on this team very handidly.

 

All-Stars

This year’s all-star picks are going to be more statistical, courtesy of my two favorite stats: 82games.com’s Roland Rating and ESPN’s J0hn Hollinger’s PER Rating.

Let’s Start with the West Guards:

Off the top of my head I’d probably go with Chris Paul, K.O.B.E., Ginobili, Chauncey Billups, and *duh-duh* Brandon Roy.  Let’s see what the stats guys say. These are all the players who rank out of the top 50 of each:

Top West Guards by PER:

1. Chris Paul  – 30.2 PER
2. Kobe Bryant – 24.95 PER
3. Brandon Roy – 24.6 PER
4. Tony Parker – 22.91 PER
5. Manu Ginobili – 21.91 PER
6. Chauncey Billups – 20.42 PER
7. Jason Terry – 19.98 PER
8. Kevin Martin – 18.80 PER
9. Steve Nash – 18.38 PER

Ok so we can delete K-Mart since he’s missed more than half of the season.  So far, I see nothing that makes me change my opinion.  I still give Billups and Ginobili over Parker just because Ginobili seems like the best player on that team and Billups has been so important to the Nuggets’ turnaround.  Let’s check the 82games:

1. Paul – 20.1
2. Roy – 11.4
3. Bryant – 11.2
4. Nash – 8.1
5. Ginobili – 7.5
6. Terry – 6.4
7. Billups – 5.7
8. Parker – 4.7
9. Martin – 4.5

So we have the same 9 guys in a different order. I think it’s pretty safe to call Paul and Bryant the starters and give Roy the first bench spot. Then the debate gets interesting. One thing that stands out to me at the moment is that Ginobili, despite being the Spurs’ best player, has only played 37% of the team’s minutes. I think this calls for him to be thrown out with Martin’s injury problems. So we’re down to Nash, Terry, Billups, and Parker fighting for 2 spots.

Nash – 18.38 PER + 8.1 Roland = 26.48 Total
Terry – 19.98 PER + 6.4 Roland = 26.2 Total
Billups – 20.42 PER + 5.7 Roland = 26.17 Total
Parker – 22.91 PER + 4.7 Roland = 27.61 Total

If you want to get too technical, Parker and Nash should go, but their stats are essentially identical, so we’re going with the two players on better teams: Billups and Parker.  Sorry Nash and Terry, maybe next year when your teams are better. As for who is actually going to make it, T-Mac is leading CP3 for the second spot so that pushes everyone down a notch. My feeling is the Spurs get spurned again and CP3, Roy, Nash, and Billups probably make it – with Billups going as an injury replacement for T-Mac. I don’t see Terry going, so if anyone else gets hurt we’re probably seeing Ginobili.

Now to the West Forwards:

PER:

1.Carlos Boozer – 24.77

1. Tim Duncan – 24.46
2. Dirk Nowitzki – 24.01
3. Al Jefferson – 22.38
4. Amare Stoudemire – 22.26
5. Pau Gasol – 21.76
6. Paul Millsap – 20.65
7. Zach Randolph – 19.57
8. Kevin Durant – 19.39
9. Andrei Kirilenko – 19.16
10. Brendan Wright – 19.08
11. Nene – 19.04
12. LaMarcus Aldridge – 18.36
13. David West – 18.60

One curious note about this list: No Carmelo Anthony. Now to the Roland ratings:

1. Kirilenko – 11.2
2. Nowitzki – 10.9
3. West – 9.2
4. Millsap – 7.5
5. Stoudemire – 7.4
6. Lamar Odom – 7.0
7.Aldridge – 6.9
8. Duncan – 6.7
9. Nene – 5.9
10. Hakim Warrick – 5.9
11. Anthony – 5.7
12. Jefferson – 5.4
13. Ron Artest – 4.6

A couple of things strike me here, first that Duncan and Jefferson are so low on the Roland Ratings. Also, I would’ve never guessed D-West to be so high. Also, this re-inforces my point that Kirilenko should be an all-star. But to sum things up, Nowitzki and Stoudemire deserve to be your starters. And while neither of them will end up there, they both should make the all-star game pretty handidly, so that’s nice. Filling the bench is a bit more of a stretch. Millsap actually looks the best of the rest with Kirilenko and Duncan right after him. So those are your deserving All-Stars: Nowizki, Stoudemire, Millsap, Kirilenko, and Duncan. We’ll go with David West as the sixth in case of injury. However I think Gasol actually gets the call, since the Lakers have been so good and he has the next best stats. Millsap and Kirilenko probably don’t make it, but Carmelo’s actually going to start or make it strictly off his name so D-West stays the alternate again.

The center position isn’t much of a question. Yao Ming is 2.3 Roland points ahead of Camby and 3.3 ahead of Shaq, though Shaq does beat him by .52 in PER. Camby is more than 2 points behind both in PER. So Yao will probably go and no one else, but both Shaq and Camby are more than deserving if either of them make it as reserves, since Yao is always voted as the starter. Unfortunately, Shaq’s Suns are in 7th in the West and are not likely to get three all-stars if Nash goes and if the coaches have to choose between Shaq and Nash it’s probably Nash at this point. And Camby’s team is so terrible he’s not likely to be rewarded.

But just to make things fun we have West, Shaq, Camby, Terry, Nash, and let’s throw Al Jefferson in there as guys right below the all-stars competing for our 12th roster spot.

Terry – 19.98 PER + 6.4 Roland = 26.2 Total
Nash – 18.38 PER + 8.1 Roland = 26.48 Total
Shaq – 23.56 PER + 6.8 Roland = 30.36 Total
Camby – 20.89 PER + 7.8 Roland = 28.69 Total
Jefferson – 22.38 PER + 5.4 Roland = 27.78 Total
West – 18.6 PER + 9.2 Roland = 27.8 Total

As you can see, Shaq wins this pretty handidly. Camby comes in a close second and becomes the first alternate with Nash as the guard alternate – we’ll even say that David West is the third alternate.

So here is our Western Conference All-Stars (starters in bold):

G Chris Paul, NOH
G Kobe Bryant, LAL
F Dirk Nowitzki, DAL
F Amare Stoudemire, PHO
C Yao Ming, HOU
G Brandon Roy, POR
G Chauncey Billups, DEN
G Tony Parker
F Tim Duncan, SAS
F Andrei Kirilenko
F Paul Millsap
C Shaquille O’Neal

In reality, the All-stars will look like this:
G Kobe Bryant
G Tracy McGrady
G Chris Paul
F Tim Duncan
F Carmelo Anthony
C Yao Ming
G Brandon Roy
G Steve Nash
G Chauncey Billups
F Amare Stoudemire
F Dirk Nowitzki
F Pau Gasol
C Shaquille O’Neal

To the East we go, starting with the Guards.  These are our PER stats:

1. Dwayne Wade – 28.87
2. Devin Harris – 23.63
3. Jameer Nelson – 21.15
4. Vince Carter – 20.82
5. Joe Johnson – 19.05
6. Mike Bibby – 18.94
7. Michael Redd – 18.94
7. Rajon Rondo – 18.9
8. Jose Calderon – 18.94
9. Andre Miller – 18.25

Yes this is correct, Harris and Nelson are 2 & 3, deservedly so.

Roland Ratings:
1. Wade 19.5
2. Ray Allen 11.2
3. Johnson 8.9
4. Nelson 8.6
5. Redd 8.0
5. Carter 6.8
6. Delonte West 6.5
7. Rondo 5.7
8. Harris 5.6
9. Ramon Sessions 4.8

Wade is the easy pick as the first starter. The real surprise is Nelson as his backcourt mate. After that it’s a pretty tight race with Allen, Johnson, Vince-sanity, Rondo, and Harris. Three of the five can make it, two will get left out. Let’s take a look at the race:

Allen – 17.66 PER + 11.2 Roland = 28.86
Johnson – 19.05 + 8.9 = 28.95
Carter – 20.82 + 6.8 = 27.62
Rondo – 18.9 + 5.7 = 24.6
Harris – 23.63 + 5.6 = 29.23

So Rondo clearly is eliminated, but after that it looks like the last man out is Carter. Not bad, since Harris has been a little better than him and the Nets don’t deserve to have two all-stars. So Wade and Nelson are our starters with Harris, Allen and Johnson as his backups. But the difference between Nelson and Harris is so small that it could change after any game. I think AI is going to win the second starting spot which pushes everyone down a spot, eliminating Allen. Nelson and Harris should be quite a nice story going into this game.

The Eastern Forwards’ PER:
1. Lebron James – 31.59
2. Chris Bosh – 23.38
3. Danny Granger – 22.16
4. Kevin Garnett – 21.25
5. Marreese Spreights – 20.44
6. Antawn Jamison – 20.38
7. Andre Iguodala – 18.4
8. Caron Butler – 18.24

And on the Roland side;

1. James 24.2
2. Iguodala 10.2
3. Granger 10.2
4. Garnett 10.1
5. Bosh 8.3
6. Rashard Lewis 8.0
7. Hedo Turkoglu 4.9
8. Paul Pierce 4.6

So here our top 5 is pretty clear cut. The only question is, after James who starts?

Let’s look at the numbers:
Bosh – 23.38 + 8.3 = 32.18
Granger – 22.16 + 10.2 = 32.36
Garnett – 21.25 + 10.1 = 31.35
Iguodala – 18.4 + 10.2 = 28.6

So by a nose, Granger starts and we start two tweener-small forwards. With Bosh, Garnett, and Iggs backing them up. Now for the actual team I’d probably have to say Pierce makes it and Iguodala gets pushed off as an alternate.

Which leads us to…

Dwight Howard is the center. No question. Big Z is a clear-cut #2 as well. But I think for the actual game, Iggy gets his roster spot. Plus Z is hurt anyway.

Our Deserving Eastern Conference All Stars (Starters in Bold):
G Dwayne Wade, MIA
G Jameer Nelson, ORL
F Lebron James, CLE
F Danny Granger, IND
C Dwight Howard, ORL
G Devin Harris, NJN
G Ray Allen, BOS
G Joe Johnson, ATL
F Kevin Garnett, BOS
F Chris Bosh, TOR
F Andre Iguodala, PHI
C Zydrunas Ilgauskas, CLE

And the team that will likely make it:

G Allen Iverson, DET
G Dwayne Wade, MIA
F Lebron James, CLE
F Kevin Garnett, BOS
C Dwight Howard, ORL
G Jameer Nelson, ORL
G Devin Harris, NJN
G Joe Johnson, ATL
F Paul Pierce, BOS
F Chris Bosh, TOR
F Danny Granger, IND
F Andre Iguodala, PHI

Snubs:
So here we go with whose going to get snubbed. The two Jazz potential All-Stars are going to be spurned by the more popular Gasol and Anthony, while T-Mac’s winning the West Vote won’t probably mean much as he looks like he’ll miss the game anyway. In the East, Pierce essentially cancels out Allen, and Iverson takes Z’s spot. Not too much to complain about, though I’d bet Jerry Sloan’ll be pissed. What’s impressive is Millsap and Terry’s success as reserves.

 

Kill that Noise!

MC Shan told you about Chris Bosh!

First of all, let me say this: Chris Bosh is NOT an MVP candidate currently.  Stop giving him so much credit.  He’s probably 11th in the league right now.  Right behind Dirk and right ahead of Vince Carter.  So in the immortal words of MC Shan, “Kill that Noise!”

“So Jason, then who are MVP candidates?”

Glad you asked.  I’m going to give you the top 20 players in the NBA (statistically speaking) and the 10 worst in the NBA this season, so far.  Then, I’m going to give you my early All-Star picks.

(*Applaude*)

The 10 Worst Players in the NBA so far in 2008-09:

10. Dahntay Jones, DEN: To think that this guy’s started 14 of their 17 games is pretty outlandish.  This is the same guy who couldn’t make the Kings’ roster last year, and they sucked.  Homeboy can jump out of the gym, that’s for sure, but he’s not a solid NBA player.  The guy shoots 43% from the floor and averages more than three times as many turnovers to assists.  But with George Karl’s grudge against JR Smith still in place, Jones starts.  And they wonder why Denver’s under-achieved so greatly under Karl.  At some point, you can’t blame AI or ‘Melo, you have to look at the coach too.  But Denver’s been red hot with Billups running the point, so that may be a moot point for now.

9. Bobby Simmons, NJN: This guy had two good years, but after getting hurt two years ago, he’s completely fallen out of favor with the basketball Gods.  He plays for a significantly over-achieving Nets team, but can’t seem to keep up.  The scary part: he, like Jones, starts.  He’s basically their replacement for Richard Jefferson.  I say slide Vince to the 3, and start CDR (my favorite college player from last year)!

Even the most advanced statistical studies can't show everything Bruce Bowen does for you on the court

8. Bruce Bowen, SAS: Bowen always scores low on statistical tests because his one-on-one defense doesn’t really show up in stats.  And he’s not really good for anything else.  There was one point where you could count on his three-point shooting, but that age has gone far away.  Plus the Spurs looked pretty terrible to tip off the season, especially when Tony Parker went down.  But the good thing about that injury is that Coach Pop was forced to play bench guys.  They’ve put together quite a little rotation now with George Hill and Roger Mason, who will come off the bench with Ginobili and Parker healthy.  I still think they need one more big to really compete with the elite of the Conference, but they’re much better off than I’d thought they’d be.  But then again, why doubt the Spurs?

7. Tyus Thomas, CHI: To call this guy a bust is probably an understatement at this point.  He’s joining the Michael Olowokandi/Kwame Brown/Darko Milicic group soon.  Let’s just face it: Thomas got too much credit for LSU’s Final Four run that year, when really Big Baby was the center of that team.  Thomas’ upside at this point is maybe Hakim Warrick.  Maybe.  And considering Warrick’s a below-average NBA player, that’s pretty bad for a guy who was essentially a number two pick in the draft.  Even with a stud point guard, this guy can’t score.  Ouch.

6. Jason Kapono, TOR: I’ve always thought this guy was overrated.  He’s supposedly the best shooter in the league (and he does shoot 52% from behind the arc), but he can’t stay on the court because his defense is so bad.  I don’t know how I left him off my list of the top 10 worst defenders in the league.  But let’s just call a spade a spade: Kapono is terrible.  He does more things to hurt your team (defense) than he can make up with his one skill (shooting 3’s).  Also to be noted is that he can’t create his own shot and is a completely straight-up catch-and-shoot guy.

5. Nick Collison, OKC: This is a guy who doesn’t belong here.  He’s an average NBA starter, but he must be hurt or something.  His rebounding numbers are half of his career average.  His shooting percentage is way down and all of his defensive numbers are way down.  I’m thinking he’s hurt.  He’s normally a very good hustle-work guy in the Jeff Foster-mode.  I’m not sure what’s going on here.

4. Ronnie Price, UTH: You can’t see it, but I smiled while typing that name.  When he was with the Kings I told anyone that would listen; don’t be fooled, he’s not good enough to be in the NBA.  He’s too small to defend anyone, and not quick enough to stay in front.  He’s also not especially athletic and takes terrible shots.  But he would put up such solid garbage-time numbers that all my fellow Kings fans wanted to bring him back.  But he’s garbage.  He sucks.  He’s someone you’d want to root for, but he’s just not good enough.

Last year Deshawn couldn't feel his face, this year he can't feel his jumper

3. Deshawn Stevenson, WAS: This one hurts.  Deshawn had become one of my favorite players in the league after last year’s run-ins with LeBron.  And after two years of very solid player, has gone into the tank this year.  He’s currently in a season-long shooting slump, and his Defense has slipped drastically.  Though I think he’ll get it together, you have to wonder if the past two years were simply him playing over his head.  In which case, he didn’t take the step forward that I’d thought he’d taken.  But if you’re looking for reasons Washington has been so horrible this season, Deshawn’s probably reason #1.  #2 would be Andray Blatche and the center position, which has been almost as horrible.  And #3 is Tough Juice’s defense has slipped.  But I’m a big Wiz fan and I’m rooting for them to turn it around.

2. Earl Watson, OKC: Watson has been in the bottom five for at least 3 years now.  The fact the Sonics-turned-Thunder keep bringing him back is more indicative of how bad their point guard situation is than how good he isn’t.  It’s pretty impressive that he keeps finding jobs though.  He must be a great practice player.

Mr. Triple Double is having a down year

1. Ricky Davis, MIA: Ahhh Ricky.  I have to admit, I didn’t think he’d be this bad.  It’s quite well-documented that he’s never on a good team (usually not a coincidence), but at least he gets ‘buckets’ right?  Well he has the worst +/- in the league, and has the lowest PER of players with enough minutes to qualify.  In fact, he’s so far having the worst season since i began checking these stats two years ago.  He’s shooting 27% from the field and averaging 4.3 points per game.  And he’s a scoring-specialist.

Now for a turn for the better:

The 20 Best NBA Players this year so far:

20. Andrew Bynum, LAL: Lost in the Gasol/Kobe hype is that Bynum is having quite a year as third wheel.  He’s actually having a better season than Gasol or Odom, and is third on the team on this list.  (The second is going to surprise you.)  But 12.4 and 9.1 while shooting 53% fromt he field will do that for you.  Not to mention he’s shooting 72% from the line.  Did i mention that he got off to a slow start and his stats sure to race up as his averages catch up?  It’s going to be a long year for everyone in the West trying to catch the Lakers.

19. Chauncey Billups, DEN: It should be no real surprise that Chauncey’s Denver’s top player thus far, or that he was easily Detroit’s.  He’s been in the top 10-15 every year since the ’04 title year.  Especially given how slow ‘Melo’s started statistically.  Chauncey’s actually been the third best PG this year, ahead of such luminaries as Steve Nash, Jason Kidd, Mike Bibby, and Jose Calderon.  It should also surprise no one that Denver caught fire once Billups was acquired.  They look like a legit threat to take down the Lakers and/or the Rockets, if they ever get theirselves together in Houston.  Talent-wise, there’s these three in the West, and then everyone else.  We’ll have to see how things work out in May and June though, as both Denver and Houston have histories of under-achieving.

18. Marcus Camby, LAC: Stat-heads are always crazy over Camby.  Because he gets outrageous amounts of Rebounds and Blocks without being a real viable option on offense.  He  litterally only seems to care about the team’s well-being.  Unfortunately, he went from an average club in Denver to a terrible club in LA.  But he’s still scoring 10 pts, grabbing 10 boards, and over 2.5 blocks/game.  What’s strange is that Denver has actually become a better defensive team without the former Defensive Player of the Year.

Ray Ray's rejuvenation

17. Ray Allen, BOS: I have to admit, I thought RayRay was done.  Sure he can be a fourth or fifth wheel on the Celtics and they can win a title, but his days of Jesus Shuttlesworth saving his team were long gone.  But he’s proving me wrong…..again.  17.7 Points, 4 boards and a new committment to defense say Ray Ray’s still got it.  His three-point percentage is down a bit, but overall Allen’s been the defending champs’ best player thus far through the season.

16. Trevor Ariza, LAL: The second Laker on the list is probably the biggest surprise of the group.  Though I can admit there are a couple other surprises coming up, Ariza isn’t even a starter, and he’s statistically the second best player on the best team in the NBA.  Ten points and 5 boards in 23 minutes/game isn’t that impressive.  But 1.73 steals per game in that time looks good.  Plus the kid rarely turns it over and has a really high FG% (50%) for a guy who can’t shoot (as his 32% from behind the arc and 62% from the line will tell you).  I’m not sure anyone saw this coming.  Last year when the Celtics won the title, Lakers fans said “wait til we get Bynum and Ariza back.”  We all kind of snickered at Ariza’s name being included in that claim.  We were wrong.

15. Danny Granger, IND: Anyone who thinks this one is a surprise does NOT watch enough basketball.  Granger has played at an all-star level for the past two years, and is sixth in the league in scoring this year.  What?  You thought Indiana was over-achieving because of Mike Dunleavy??! The fact that he’s continuing to improve should surprise absolutely no one.  This kid was the reason they felt Artest was expendable in the first place.  24 points and 5 boards is nice, but they’re even nicer when they come on 47% shooting.  What’s great about him is he’s also a lock-down defender.  His rebounds and 3 point shooting are down from his career averages, but if they come back out this Pacers team could be in the playoffs and you’ll know why.

14. Tim Duncan, SAS: He’s still 20/10 with 52%.  Though no longer THE dominant four in the league, he’s still very close to the top.  And with the early injuries to Ginobili and Parker, the Spurs have had to rely on Duncan even more than normal.  And now they are getting healthy again with Duncan having held down the fort.  Tim Duncan, despite his 20/10’s will always be underappreciated based on numbers alone.  He has been the dominant PF of this generation and is one of the greatest to ever play the game.

Brandon Roy is a superstar, officially now

13. Brandon Roy, POR: Last year he became a new poster-child for the NBA, as we all thrust him into the spotlight.  He had praise given to him that he wasn’t quite deserving of yet, sort of like Deron Williams.  Except he wasn an all-star, Williams was not.  Roy got most of the credit for the Blazers’ surprising first half success last year, when really it should have been doled out equally between he and LaMarcus Aldridge.  This year is another story.  This year it’s all him.  He’s gone from borderline star with superstar potential, to flat out superstar.  21 points, 5 assists, 4 rebounds, and stellar defense for the franchise player who is, unofficially, their point guard.

12. Vince Carter, NJN: Big rebound year for Vince.  While he played well with Jason Kidd, he’s playing even better now.  It could be argued that he’s playing the best ball of his career this year.  And even then, he’s not the best player on his team.  Jersey is the surprise team of the NBA this season, and Vince-sanity is a major reason why.  He’s dropping 24 points on 48% shooting for the Nets.  It’s tough to say this about Vince, since he’s pretty much universally hated, but he’s having one helluva year so far.

11. Chris Bosh, TOR: Here is where I have the most overrated player in the league so far.  Yes, he’s third in the league in scoring.  Yes he dominated the Olympics.  It looked like he had gained the edge in the constant battle with Dwight Howard.  But since they returned to the states, he’s looked a distant second in that competition.  Howard continues to put up rediculous stats, while Bosh’s numbers are just as good – maybe better.  How about 27 & 10?  How about 54% shooting?  But the downfall here is that the intangibles are just not coming Bosh’s way.  He has a fairly low +/-, and usually that has to do with defense.  With Jermaine O’Neal now in the low post, Bosh has struggled to find his role in the defense.  The team as a whole doesn’t have enough talent to compete with the big boys in Cleveland and Boston anyway.  Hopefully they figure something out or Bosh might really be New York-bound in a couple years.

10. Dirk Nowitzki, DAL: Dirk has accomplished a lot in the NBA.  He’s won MVP, been to the NBA Finals, and been universally praised.  In my book, his best season was 2005-06, when I had him as the second best player in the league.  But this year may prove to be his biggest challenge.  With Kidd still productive, but on the downside of his career, and defenses able to key more on Josh Howard, Dirk has to carry more of the load than ever.  It doesn’t help that Jerry Stackhouse has been all but left for dead by Coach Carlisle, or that no one outside fo the Dirk/Kidd/Howard/Jason Terry group is even playing like an average NBA player.  Dirk is the reigning Western Conference Player of the Week, so obviously he got something going.  He’s going to have to step up his game a bunch if the Mavs are actually going to compete.

9. Amare Stoudemire, PHO: Nobody appears to be happy in Phoenix, least of all Amare.  After have such a breakthrough in the second half of last year, Terry Porter’s new offense has been more centered around Shaquille O’Neal, and less around STAT.  This is a bad idea both business-wise and basketball-wise.  Business-wise, you are taking the risk of pissing off your marquee attraction for the future.  Nash and Shaq and Hill are all getting old fast.  The team is going to have to be rebuilt around Stoudemire.   But playing this game with him is risking losing him in 2010.  Even though he’s considering this a down year, he still is dropping 22 points and 8 boards a night.   He’s also shooting 57% and getting a block and a steal a night.  His defense is slowly improving, though it is still pretty bad.  Basketball-wise, you would want to get the ball in the hands of your best player, and Amare is the best player in Phoenix these days.

8. Andrei Kirilenko, UTAH: After his tiff with Jerry Sloan two years ago, Kirilenko went into the tank.  This season he’s come back rejuvenated.  Whatever he did, whatever his offseason regimen contained, he needs to stick to it because it worked quite well.  Boozer’s gotten most of the credit for holding the Jazz down during Deron’s injury, but it’s been Kirilenko doing the heavy lifting.  12.6 points and 6 rebounds a night are not outstanding numbers.  But it’s his defense and huge +/- numbers that put him among the game’s elite.

Even after all of the team's transactions, it was improvement from within that's led to Cleveland's hot start

7. Zydrunas Ilgauskas, CLE: This is probably just as big of a surprise as Ariza.  Ilgauskas has always been a plausible NBA center.  He even got to the all-star game one year by default.  But this year he looks legit.  While Lebron and Mo Williams get the credit, it’s really Big Z who, by taking his game to another level, managed to improve the team so greatly.  Zydrunas is only 16 points, 7 boards, and 54% from the field, but all of his percentages are high.  He’s shooting 87% from the line and 38% from behind the arc.  The impressive part is that he’s putting up good numbers in decreased minutes. The Cavs, smartly, want to keep him fresh for the playoffs and try to reduce risk of injury so Big Z can help them attempt to take out the Celtics.

6. Kobe Bryant, LAL: Sure last year he was MVP, but it wasn’t his best year.  And he really wasn’t the best player last year (that was Lebron).  But the argument can always be made for Kobe being the best in the league.  Even Shaq now recognizes the greatness of Mr. Kobe Bryant.  The Kobe-ster has a very quiet 25 ppg and has not needed to take over too many games this year.  With the lineup the Lakers have, he hasn’t needed to.  Must we remind ourselves just how loaded the Lakers are…..

Anyone who says they saw Devin Harris' 2008 season coming is lying.

5. Devin Harris, NJN: This guy has to be, hands-down, the biggest surprise of the year.  He’s gone completely nuts.  He’s basically turned into Gilbert Arenas.  25 points and 6 assists.  He just dropped 47 on Phoenix the other night.  He dropped 38 on Detroit.  He’s the main reason the Nets are still smack dab in the middle of the playoff race.  We always knew he could defend and get to the rim, but who knew he could score like this?! Devin Harris has Most Improved Player quite easily thus far.  And should be a dark horse in the MVP race if he keeps this up.  He’s having a completely rediculous season for the a Nets team that looked like they were going to be horrible.

4. Dwight Howard, ORL: After Harris, the rest of this list is fairly predictable.  Howard finds time, in between McDonalds Monopoly adds, to drop 24 & 14 every night, lead the league in blocks, and shoot almost 60%.  Just another day at the office for Superman.

3. Chris Paul, NOR: Statistically  he’s even better than last year, when I had him as the second best player in the league.  He’s going to lose points from MVP voters because of the Hornets’ underachieving, but that’s not his fault.  That’s more because David West’s jumpshot is in the Lost & Found somewhere.  20 points & 11 dimes are Paul’s M.O.

2. Dwayne Wade, MIA: Wade is currently second  in the league by a whisker.  Literally a one-hundredth of a point separates Wade from #1.  And to call this a bounce-back year would be a severe understatement.  The dude is single-handedly willing a  team lead by Chris Quinn into the playoffs.  Keep in mind that this is a team that has 2 of its’ best 5 players are rookies.  They have no bench and a rookie head coach.  And Wade has them currently tied for the 8th spot in the playoffs.  Flash is rediculous.  There is, however, one man playing even better (though however slight the difference may be).

1. LeBron James, CLE: Let’s clear something up: Lebron has been the best player in the league for the past two seasons.  But Wade is right on his rear tail.  Well, not even…these two are neck-and-neck.   But yes, i can admit that LeBron’s been the best player in the league thus far, which leads us to:

The Eastern Conference All Star Team

Starters:

PG Devin Harris, NJN
SG Dwayne Wade, MIA
SF LeBron James, CLE
PF Chris Bosh, TOR
C Dwight Howard, ORL

Bench:
F Danny Granger, IND
F Kevin Garnett, BOS
F Caron Butler, WAS
G Vince Carter, NJN
G Ray Allen, BOS
G Joe Johnson, ATL
C Zydrunas Ilgauskas, CLE

Here Ilgauskas gets it bad because there’s no other Centers worth mentioning for the team. Butler makes the team despite hsi lousy team, and Johnson takes the final guard spot. No surprise with Allen and KG both making the team from the Celtics, as two Nets and Cavs make it as well.  Obviously, it’d be tough for Z or Butler to make it, so you’d probably get a Piston or two in there along with Paul Pierce on the actual team.

The Western Conference All-Star Team:

Starters:

PG Chris Paul, NOR
SG Kobe Bryant, LAL
SF Andrei Kirilenko, UTA
PF Dirk Nowitzki, DAL
C Amare Stoudemire, PHO

Bench:
F Tim Duncan, SAS
F Marcus Camby, LAC
F Al Jefferson, MIN
G Brandon Roy, POR
G Trevor Ariza, LAL
G Chauncey Billups, DEN
C Andrew Bynum, LAL

Here Jefferson makes the cut as the last player on the squad.  This dude reminds me of a Elton Brand.  But he’s a number one guy, unlike Brand, and plays porous D, unlike Brand.  Here, Kirilenko, Camby, Jefferson, and Ariza would all have trouble making the squad.  You could probably replace them with Boozer, Yao, Carmelo, and T-Mac for the actual squad.

 

“Last Night Changed it all…”

Last night was an evening of some unbelievable individual performances. Let’s start with the plus/minus guys. Typically the role players who come in and immediately make an impact on the game, it can also be stars who single-handedly dominate a game.
Last night’s top +/- guys:

1. Yakhouba Diawara, MIA (+26): Despite playing only 26 minutes, Diawara managed to make an impact on the game. Is it possible that Miami’s found their perfect 3, and it was probably the guy they least expected?

2. Trevor Ariza, LAL (+25): It’s hard to describe exactly what Ariza does for the Lakers. He did have 10 points, 6 boards, an assist, and two steals. Solid, but unspectacular. But he dives for loose balls, plays good defense, is athletic enough to make plays, and makes smart plays on both ends of the floor.

3. Brandon Wright, GSW (+24): B-Wright had a breakout game for the Dubs with 18 points and 13 rebounds. With Harrington both demanding a trade and being in Nellie’s doghouse simultaneously, this is Wright’s chance.

4. Lebron James, CLE (+22): More on LeBron’s big game in a minute.

5. Kelanna Azubuike, GSW (+21): I like to call the Dubs, “the little team that could,” and Azubuike is the embodiment of that statement. An undrafted, former NBDL star who has made a major difference in the past two years since joining the Warriors before their playoff run in 07.

6. Lamar Odom, LAL (+21): Think this Odom off the bench thing is working? Odom completely owns second teams. If he can stay happy in this role, it may be the best thing for his career. He also dumped in a quiet 15 and 9.

7. David West, NOH (+20): Despite losing to the Hawks in a battle of unbeatens, D-West was the brightest spot in the game for either team. The box score just shows 16 points, 3 assists, and 3 rebounds, but West played hard and played with wreckless abandon. Too bad the rest of the Hornets forgot to show up.

8. Paul Pierce, BOS (+20): 20 points, 9 boards, 5 assists. Nothing too flashy from the Truth, but another dubbya on the season for the C’s.

9. CJ Watson, GSW (+20): Three Dubs in the top 10??! Insane! And three un-heralded Dubs at that. Yes we know that Captain Jack had the team high 28, but these three lesser-names were the ones who really drove the team to victory.

10. Dwayne Wade, MIA (+19): What? Did you expect Gumby?

The other side of the coin: Last night’s worst +/- guys:

10. Derrick Rose, CHI (-18): 20 points, 7 dimes look nice – until you compare it with the 3 Turnovers and horrible defense that allowed both of Cleveland’s god-awful guards to end up in double figures. Delonte West, in particular, completely scorched him. Delonte West! And this kid is the future of the NBA? We’ll see how this works itself out. Keep an eye on Derrick Rose’s defense.

9. Brandan Rush, IND (-19): Those are growing pains Brandan. You will go through them. The rest of your rookie class is too (ie Rosse above), just play better D and your offense will come to you.

8. Linas Kleiza, DEN (-20): Ok, we know he’s no defensive wiz, but he was getting owned by Brandan Wright and Kelanna Azubuike. I’m sure a 2-for-7 night didn’t help matters either.

7. Drew Gooden, CHI (-20): And this is just stats, not accounting for shit talkin Lebron. Gooden finished with 11 points and 9 boards. But the two guys he was mostly pitted against – Zydrunas Ilgauskas and Ben Wallace – ended with 10 & 14 boards in significantly less minutes.

6. Antawn Jamison, WAS (-20): The Gilbert-less Wiz are in some trouble. Jamison finished with 19 points and 10 boards, which is fine until you realize he shot 6-19 and gave up a 17 point night to Luc Mbah A Moute.

5. Caron Butler, WAS (-20): Tough Juice’s night was even weirder. He scored 27 points and grabbed 7 boards, but also had five turnovers, five fouls, and was lit up for 32 by Richard Jefferson.

4. Willie Green, PHI (-22): Willie Green has some terrible luck. He plays only 15 minutes, goes 1-4 from the field, ends up with 2 points, 2 boards, a foul, and a turnover, and has to guard Dwayne Wade while he’s in there. Of course Wade’s game was pretty good, Green’s wasn’t.

3. Chris Kaman, LAC (-22): The caveman has seen better days. He finishes with 6 points and 11 boards. But as many fouls as points, and three turnovers. Yikes!

2. DeShawn Stevenson, WAS (-22): Though normally extremely streaky, last night he was just terrible on offense. Six points, four boards, and three dimes went with being the main defender on Jefferson, who lit up everyone.

1. Thaddeus Young, PHI (-23): 19 points, four boards and 3 steals look nice. But the five turnovers and being lit up by Wade doesn’t.

Nineteen players dropped at least 25 points, led by Tony Parker’s double nickel. Mr. Longoria also dropped 10 dimes and pulled down 7 boards. Rediculous! Amare almost topped him with 49 points, 11 boards, 6 assists, 5 steals, and 2 blocks! Of course LeBron dropped 41, 11 boards, 6 dimes, & 4 steals. K-Mart also threw in 33 points, while RJ threw in 32 and 9 dimes. BGordan had 31, Tim Duncan had 30 and 16 boards, and Al Jefferson had 30 and 14 boards.

 

“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.

 

12 Things We’ve Learned From……

….The NBA Play-offs So Far….

DeShawn can’t feel his face! Word to Weezy & ‘Elz! (When’s the album dropping, already?)

1. Cleveland @ Washington, Game 3….. was one of the coolest pop-culture hype sessions. Everyone from Colin Powell to Soulja Boy showed up cheering on the Wizz. Unfortunately the game wasn’t nearly as good. The Wizz completely destroyed the Cavs.

2. DeShawn Stevenson…..is one going to be a cult-hero to everyone who is sick of LeBron-mania. And he has made a name for himself with this media back-and-forth with LeBron. But what i like about him is this: The Wiz were damn scared of LeBron. No one embodied that more than Brendan Haywood. In the midst of a career season, Haywood seemed to freak out completely when he realized he had to guard LeBron off the pick-and-role in February. So in the two teams’ final game of the season, Stevenson guards LeBron, stops him, and calls him overrated. More than just creating a media frenzy, it really got his teammates fired up. They don’t seem scared of him anymore, because they trust Stevenson to deal with him, and Stevenson has the balls to do it. That and every time I make a jumpshot when i play basketball, I’m going to do that “I Can’t Feel My Face” gesture. The Wiz could lose the next two, but Stevenson’s place in lore has been solidified already. Plus when he’s on, they have the best offensive starting 5 in the East (yep, even better than the Pistons).

3. Caron Butler,……not Gilbert or LeBron, is the most important player in that series. He’s the heart-and-soul, and the leader of that team. And when he gets going, the team gets going. Sometimes when Gilbert’s hot, the rest of the team has a tendancy to stand around and bask in his glory. But when Caron’s hot, it fires everyone up. And if the Wiz are to come back and win this series, he’s gonna have to get hot three times in the next four games.

4. LeBron James…..needs to be forced into long jumpshots or sent to the line. Call it the “LeBron rules” that a very un-defensive Wiz team has used on him. It worked to smaller degrees in the first two games, but worked almost to perfection in game 3.

5. Toronto/Orlando……might be the best actual series, despite the hype around Washington/Cleveland. The Bosh/Howard matchup is great. I think they represent the future of the league, and have had a very quiet but nonetheless great, rivalry since Howard came into the league a year after Bosh. Bosh always saves his best games for Howard, and Howard has always struggled in Toronto. Could Bosh be Superman’s kryptonite? We’ll have to see. But if TJ Ford plays like he did last night, the Raps are going to win this series. But if he is rendered ineffective, they don’t have a shot.

6. Al Horford.…..is the only Hawk who seems to have the balls to stand up to KG and the Celtics. Bibby is getting demoralized by Rondo. And the thing is, Ray Allen and Paul Pierce aren’t even playing that well. The Hawks just seem to be that intimidated by KG.

7. The Sixers’ Backcourt…….can hang with the Pistons’. Its’ the front court where they’re in trouble. The Andres have/will play Rip and Chauncey to an almost standstill. But as usual, its the Sheed that will put them over the top. His play will determine how fast they eliminate Philly and have time to rest for the winner of, what looks like a long Toronto/Orlando series. If he plays as well as he can, the Sixers don’t win another game.

8. Carmelo Anthony & Allen Iverson……….are going to decide how the Nuggets fare against the Lakers. In seven game series’ its usually not the stars that decide the series, but in this case it is. It’s not necessarily anything that will sure show up in the stats columns, because they will both get their stats. But it’s how they do it. If ‘Melo decides to push the issue and go to the rack every single possession, the Lakers have no one who can stop him. If Iverson can get some of the lesser guys, like K-Mart, Camby, and Kleiza involved early, he can get this Dteam rolling. If either of those two don’t happen, the Lakers can take this series easily. But if the both happen, and the Nuggets play just enough defense, they could pull off the upset.

9. David West…………….is actually out-playing Dirk Nowitzki. Everyone is focusing on Chris Paul and his big games, but we knew he’d out-play Kidd. But the key to New Orleans’ domination has been West’s domination of Nowitzki, which makes absolutely no sense. There is no way West should be able to defend Dirk or muscle him around in the high post. But he is. And that’s why this series could end really soon, if Dirk doesn’t get motivated quick. But the Hornets won two games at home, if they win game 3 in Dallas, it’s pretty much done. But if Dallas can pull game 3, they can comeback.

10. Carl Landry & Rafer Alston…………are the keys to the Rockets. In my estimation they are the team’s fifth and third best players. T-Mac is the main guy, Shane Battier is the all-world defender, and Scola does a lot for the team as well. But these two are the wild cards. Alston’s presence allows T-Mac room to move. He also keeps the ball-handling pressure off of Tracy. And he’s the one guy who’s not afraid to yell at McGrady. Both of these players carry a certain swagger that has missed most of the past Rockets teams. The Rockets are extremely streaky. They are just as capable of losing the first four, or winning 16 straight. They are a difficult bunch to figure out. But when Alston and Landry are on, they can beat anyone.

11. Shane Battier………..needs to guard Deron Williams. Why Adelman hasn’t gone to this yet is beyond me, but Williams has been by far, the best player in the series. Wouldn’t it make sense for the best perimeter defender in the league to guard the series’ best perimeter player?

12. Phoenix/San Antonio……………..is completely confusing. To me, the keys to the series are the Spurs’ secondary players and Phoenix’s Grant Hill/Gordon Giricek/Boris Diaw trio. Whichever of the two groups produces, will win this series. But this series is really a toss-up anyway. I underestimated the fact that the Suns couldn’t guard Parker. At this point, I really have no idea who wins this series.

 

“Well It’s Time…”

So baseball is back, but there’s still another 150-games or so. College Basketball is done. Football has its’ draft day, then they’re silent until October. And hockey’s fanbase is non-existent these days anyway. So basically, all eyes are on the NBA playoffs. For all intensive purposes, they kicked off last night with the Warriors being essentially eliminated by the Nuggets. So this is a quick look at all the playoff teams….

Starting today with the East;

1. Boston Celtics, 62-16 (Remaining Games: MIL, @ATL, @ NYK, NJN)

“Hey KG, We got the best record in the East!”
While they’ve had the best record in the league locked up for a while, the game in Atlanta could still prove meaningful. First, Atlanta is yet to clinch the 8th seed with Indiana 2 games back with 4 to play. Second, if standings hold they’ll get the Hawks in the first round. Also it will be interesting to see if Doc Rivers plays his starts the rest of the way like he did in Washington. He says that last year’s Mavs/Warriors upset has led him to take a different stance on his playoff proceedings. That’s all well and nice, but you have an old veteran team. Sam Cassell, Rajon Rondo, and Glenn Davis are all nicked up up, and it would be good to rest at least those guys. The problem with that is, they’d have no point guard. Nevertheless, they should make easy work of Atlanta in the first round. But they will have trouble with either team they get in the second round (assuming seedings hold). Currently its Cleveland vs. Washington, but Philly could catch either of them and Toronto could catch Washington. Washington is particularly scary for Boston, as the Celts have trouble with the Wiz’ combination of DeShawn Stevenson and Caron Butler guarding the wings. Plus Jamison draws KG out of the post, and Rajon doesn’t have a shot at guarding Arenas.

2. Detroit Pistons, 55-23 (Remaining Games: WAS, TOR, MIN, @ CLE)

The Pistons have been locked into the second seed for quite a while as well. However the Western top teams have caught them, and they could lose potential home court advantage in the NBA Finals should they get that far. They are currently tied with top seed New Orleans, but the top 6 teams in the West could all still catch them. And they play three playoff teams the rest of the way. Fortunately three of them are at home. Plus I think it makes for a nice tune-up to end the regular season. I think they go 2-2, falling to both Washington and Cleveland, before destroying Toronto in the first round.

3. Orlando Magic, 49-29 (Remaining Games: MIN, @ CHI, @ ATL, WAS)

The Magic are in a strange position. They cannot move up or down in the standings, and every Western team except Denver is ahead of them. They’ve also been relatively cold going 4-5 in their last nine games. It looks like they will get either Philly or Washington in the first round, and both of those teams are hot. Their best case scenario would be for Toronto to move up and they’d get them. But even that would be no gimme, as Bosh creates problems for Howard in the post, and the Magic have problems guarding either Toronto point guard. But they should end the season 3-1, only falling to the Wizz, and head into a first round matchup against Philly as a favorite.

4. Cleveland Cavaliers, 43-35 (Remaining Games: @ CHI, MIA, @PHI, DET)

“You, your not as good as the King”
The Cavs are a very mediocre 8-9 in their last 17, and seem to be limping into the playoffs. They could very easily get caught by Washington and/or Philadelphia. Despite the overwhelming feeling that they are a top 3 team in the east, they are one of the most vulnerable teams heading into the playoffs. Luckily, they get Chicago and Miami next. Then a real test in Philly, before closing the season hosting a Detroit team that will probably rest most of their stars. With those two creampuff games on their schedule, Philly has no chance to catch them and Washington would have to run the table to tie. I think they get Washington in the first round either way.

5. Washington Wizards, 41-37 (Remaining Games: @DET, PHI, IND, @ORL)

I think these guys are playing their best ball of the year. I like them to run the table, and be the team no one wants to face in the playoffs. Unfortunately, they’ll still get their nemesis Cavs in the first round. This will be the best first round series in the East by far. There will be a ton of storylines, from Gilbert’s return to the Lebron/DeShawn Stevenson issues.

6. Philadelphia 76ers, 40-38 (Remaining Games: IND, @WAS, CLE, @CHA)

Iguodala likes to sneak up on people and (Teddy Riley Voice) “Jam!”
What is interesting is that the 4, 5, & 6-seeds will all prove their worth over the last four games of the season. Two games are of note, and both involve the Sixers. They go to Washington on Saturday, and host Cleveland on Monday. They should win their other two games. I think they lose in Washington, then come back and beat Cleveland. But they don’t move in the standings. The good news? That matches them up with the slumping Orlando Magic in the first round.

7. Toronto Raptors, 39-39 (Remaining Games: NJN, @DET, MIA, @CHI)

If they win outright, they could catch Philly. But i think they go 2-2. They would really like to move up to the sixth seed to avoid Detroit in the first round. They can beat Orlando, they have no chance against Detroit. These guys are the coldest playoff team in the East going in. They’ve won only 7 of their last 22. Another first round oust, and they are going to need some re-modeling going forward.

8. Atlanta Hawks, 36-42 (Remaining Games: @NY, BOS, ORL, @MIA)
They are not likely to catch Toronto, but with their schedule, it doesn’t seem as if Indy can catch them either. So they will probably make the playoffs, only to be destroyed by Boston in the first round. Good times!

Eastern Conference Awards

MVP
3. Chauncey Billups, DET
2. LeBron James, CLE
1. Paul Pierce, BOS
The most overlooked of potential MVP candidates, Pierce has been Boston’s MVP this year. Garnett and Allen have been great additions, but when they got hurt Pierce continued to do what he does best: keep the Celts fighting. James has put up spectacular numbers, but the Cavs would not even make the playoffs in the West.


Any Superstar who still looks for hoodrats is allright by us

Defensive Player Of The Year
3. Tayshaun Prince, DET
2. Rasheed Wallace, DET
1. Kevin Garnett, BOS
This is no surprise to anyone who has paid attention. KG’s arrival made Pierce play D, made Rondo’s D even better, and made the Celtics become the best Defensive team in the league. The two Detroit-ers come in second and third, as Detroit was the second best Defensive team in the league.

She’s just with KG cuz i picked him for DPOY!

Most Improved Player
3. Rajon Rondo, BOS
2. Dwight Howard, ORL
1. Caron Butler, WAS
Butler jumps in here to keep it from giving Boston a clean sweep so far. Howard would have been the pick for most of the year, but he has tailed off dramatically of late. Rondo had quite a stellar year in the shadows of the Big 3, and actually (in my opinion) contributed more to the team than Ray Allen (on the court at least). But Butler is the pick here for keeping the Wizz afloat all season without Gilbert. He’s a borderline superstar now, after living in the shadows of Kobe, Wade, and Gil. And this team is VERY scary heading into the playoffs.

Caron’s so dedicated, he even walks his daughter with his jersey on!

Coach Of The Year
3. Stan Van Gundy
2. Mo Cheeks
1. Eddie Jordan
Van Gundy and Cheeks did a lot to move their teams forward, but Jordan’s job was to keep the team afloat. The fact that they have the fifth playoff spot with almost no contribution from the team’s superstar is amazing. But the credit falls between Jordan, and his two secondary stars, Butler and Antawn Jamison. Jordan started the season on the hot seat, but finished leaving many coaches in awe of the job he’s done.
Eddie shows us his biceps

Rookie Of The Year
3. Joaquim Noah, CHI
2. Thaddeus Young, PHI
1. Al Horford
Al is probably going to finish second in the actual rookie of the year voting to Seattle’s Kevin Durant, but he has had just as good a year. This is especially to consider that he’s playing out of position at Center! When he gets to his natural PF position, he will dominate.

It isn’t Al’s ears that make him fly

Playoff Predictions
Round 1:
1. Boston vs. 8. Atlanta
Boston throws a lineup of PG Rajon Rondo, SG Ray Allen, SF Paul Pierce, PF Kevin Garnett, and C Kedrick Perkins against Atlanta’s PG Mike Bibby, SG Joe Johnson, SF Marvin Williams, PF Josh Smith, and C Al Horford. The benches both look solid with Boston throwing out G/F James Posey, G Tony Allen, F PJ Brown, and some combination of G Eddie House/PG Sam Cassell. Atlanta counters with G/F Josh Childress (a sleeper sixth man of the year candidate), C ZaZa Pachulia, and G Salim Stoudemire. I’d actually call the bench even. Boston, however, has better coaching. We’ll call both guard positions a push, with Boston having the edge at SF and PF. We’ll give Atlanta a slight edge at C. Actually, i do not think this series will be as close as it may seem. Atlanta is not as good as they look on paper, and Boston is better than they look on paper. I like Boston in a clean sweep.

2. Detroit vs. 7. Toronto

Chauncey knows what seed he is
The point guard position is one to watch. Detroit throws Chauncey Billups, who was the second best in the league this year, against Toronto’s Jose Calderon/TJ Ford combination (the best combo in the league). However, Detroit has the advantage at every other position: SG Rip Hamilton over Anthony Parker, SF Tayshaun Prince over Jamario Moon, PF Rasheed Wallace over Chris Bosh (though that one could be a push ’em), C Antonio McDyess over Rasho Nesterovic/Andrea Bargnani, and Detroit has a deep and loaded bench with F/C Jason Maxiell, G/Fs Arron Afflalo and Jarvis Hayes, Gs Rodney Stuckey and Juan Dixon, F Amir Johnson, and C Theo Ratliff. Toronto throws out Calderon, Bargnani, Carlos Delfino, and Jason Kapono. A nice bench, but not quite what Detroit has. I like Detroit in 5.

3. Orlando vs. 6. Philadelphia

Here is where things get interesting. This is a very close matchup. At the point, Philly’s Andre Miller destroys Jameer Nelson. At the 2, Willie Green and Mo Evans is a push. Philly throws Dre Iguodala against Orlando’s Hedo Turkoglu, in another push at the three. The Sixers start Reggie Evans at the four, but really Thaddeus Young gets most of the minutes. And I’m going to call him Young vs. Rashard Lewis a push as well, in a matchup of fours that are really threes. Dwight Howard beats Sam dalembert in the middle, but its’ closer than you think. Dalembert will make him work for his points, and it may take away from Howard’s defensive efficiency. And on top of that, I like Philly’s bench of Evans, Louis Williams, and Jason Smith more than Orlando’s bench of Carlos Arroyo, Keyon Dooling (so the Magic have 3 points that can’t guard Miller or Williams), Keith Bogans (no shot against Iguodala), and Adonal Foyle. I am going to take Philly in six.

4. Cleveland vs. 5. Washington

Gil’s hoping to chop down Cleveland
The seeds might flip-flop, but whatever. Cleveland has ended Washington’s season two years in a row. But this time Washington’s more loaded than ever despite their low seed. I like the Gilbert/Antonio Daniels combo way more than Cleveland’s Delonte West/Boobie Gibson combo. I’ll also take DeShawn Stevenson/Nick Young over Cleveland’s Devin Brown/Wally Szerbiak combo. We’ll give the Cavs LeBron vs. Caron Butler, in the series’ premier matchup (though Stevenson will spend the most time on LeBron, but even if you switch Stevenson and Butler, the advantages are the same). The Cavs will throw some combination of Anderson Varejao, Ben Wallace, Joe Smith, and Zydrunas Ilguaskas in the post positions. The first two are defensive minded low post players, with the latter two stretching the defense with their jumpshots. None of them can guard Washington’s PF Antawn Jamison. The Wizz will also throw Brendan Haywood (who is having the season of his life, so long as he doesn’t have to guard LeBron), Darius Songalia (another shooter to stretch the defense, we’ll call him the Euro-Jamison), and Andray Blatche (the team’s future in the middle, we’ll call him the black Andris Biedrins). I’d be inclined to give the Wizz the slight edge here as well. We’ll call the benches even and the coaches even. But I’m going to say, the only advantage the Cavs have is LeBron. If Caron Butler can make LeBron pay on the defensive end, it’s going to be more one-sided than anyone would think. I’m going to go with Washington in six. I think if it goes seven, the Cavs win.

Second Round

1. Boston vs. 5. Washington

For matchup reasons, Boston just hasn’t been able to beat Washington this year. The Wizz are 3-1, with the only loss featuring an obviously physically beat Gilbert shooting 5-20, while the other Wizz just stood around and watched. This is a much different Wiz team with Gil in a supporting role to Caron Butler and Antawn Jamison. A Washington team without Gil beat the Celts on consecutive nights in January, and beat them by 14 the other night with Gil. Boston is not going to go out without a fight, but I’m taking Washington to surprise everyone and make their first Conference Finals appearance since 1979. I got the Wizz in 7.

2. Detroit vs. 6. Philadelphia

Detroit’s second teamers just lost a game to Philly, but don’t be fooled. They are still a class above the Sixers. I think Detroit wins this pretty easily, as Detroit is better than Philly at every position. Even Philly’s two best players (Andre Miller and Andre Igoudala) will matchup with two better players in Detroit (Chauncey Billups and Tayshaun Prince). I like Detroit in 5.

The Eastern Conference Finals: 2. Detroit Vs. 5. Washington

I think the Wizz will give ’em a run. I like Chauncey over the Gil/Daniels combination. But really, Chauncey’s playing better than any point not named Chris Paul. And I’d probably even call that one a draw. From there, I like Rip over Stevenson, but Butler over Prince. We’ll call Sheed/Jamison a push, but give McDyess the edge over Haywood. We’ll also give Detroit’s bench the edge. But never count out Butler. Tough Juice is the heart and soul of this team, and he’ll keep fighting until the last buzzer. But in the end, Detroit rises again, 4-2.

Someone Tell Mrs. Sheed she doesn’t get a belt for winning the East

The Western Conference Tomorrow!