Vancouver Metro Basketball League

By Greg Dyck

Don’t get it twisted, Jerry was over it

Maybe the most impressive thing about Jerry Sloan’s coaching career looking back is the fact he only had one losing season as a head coach. Sloan started his career as the coach of the Bull and is still known in Illinois as the “Original Bull” for being their first ever draft-pick and is fourth on the Bulls all-time scoring list despite having his career cut short due to injury. His coaching career will best be remembered for making two straight finals appearances in 1997-98, losing them both to the Bulls, so it’s very fitting that he decided to step down after last week’s emotional loss to none other than the Bulls.
Somehow despite being third all time on the win list, he doesn’t have a Coach of the Year honor to his name. Utah is full of drama this season and I don’t buy the rumors that Deron Williams said either “he goes or I go”, and that being the reason for abrupt need for a change for the Jazz. I think 10 years ago this drama would be something Sloan could have squashed, and continue to have his team play great basketball. At his age and after all these years, I just don’t think he had it in him anymore.

Kevin Love will pass Moses’ double-double record and I don’t like it!

I enjoy watching Kevin Love play, but he, the coach, and franchise are making it their business that he gets this record in ways that goes against the spirit of competition. In last week’s blowout loss to Memphis Grizzlies, when all the other starters came off the floor, Love didn’t, why? He asked the official scorer how many boards he had, the answer: nine. If you watch him in the defensive end, he often forgoes contesting shots in order to be in a good position for the defensive board, making him one of the easier power forwards in the league to score on. 0.4 blocks per game is sad for someone of his size. I like Kevin Love, don’t get me wrong, he’s just playing a numbers game right now because it’s the only thing keeping the Timberwolves in the papers. Even if he surpasses Moses, don’t ever mistake him for Moses. The year Malone achieved 50 straight double-double’s he averaged almost two blocks per game, and though I wasn’t alive to see it, I heard he was a beast defensively during his formative years, something you can’t say about Kevin Love.

With the NBA set to announce the starting lineups for the All-Star game in Los Angeles tonight, the staff writers at Vancouver Basketball.ca thought they would give their picks on whom they thought should be in this year’s game.

WESTERN CONFERENCE

Shooting Guard

Clint Lomax:
Kobe Bryant – Los Angeles Lakers
“Besides his scoring being down two points per game (ppg), everything else is almost the same from last season. The problem with Kobe is that he helps other teammates make the All Star game, but hurts them when it comes to other awards like MVP consideration for Pau Gasol. While he is still in the NBA doing his thing, it is hard for anyone to take his customary locker spot at current All Star weekends.”

Greg Dyck:
Kobe Bryant – Los Angeles Lakers
“I tried to figure out a way to justify Manu Ginobili into this spot, but I couldn’t. Despite all the talk of rapid decline in Laker land, Kobe’s team is second in the West and he’s still dropping 25 a night.”

Andrew ‘Soda’ Wadden:
Kobe Bryant – Los Angeles Lakers
“Kobe is having another top tier season and one can’t deny that he deserves to be a starter. I do, however, want to state a case for Monta Ellis of the Golden State Warriors. Ellis is having an all-star season and will make the team as a reserve. Ellis’ efficiency average is a tad below Bryant’s and he is leading the Western Conference in scoring (25.8 PPG). Bryant gets the nod because he’s Kobe and is still producing while nursing injuries. Plus, his team wins. Not just in the regular season, they win championships. Monta has a long way to go before he’ll be able to claim that, especially in Golden State.”

Point Guard

Clint Lomax:
Chris Paul – New Orleans Hornets
“He gets my nod over Deron Williams of the Utah Jazz for a few reason. Even though he is five PPG behind Deron and is even in assist per game, Chris beats him in a few very important categories. Including Steals, Field Goal %, Free Throw %, and 3 point %. He does this and he plays two minutes per game less than Deron. I’m a big defensive guy, so Chris will usually get my vote if it is a close competition. Also rooting for The Hornets will be the new team that David Stern sends to Seattle!”

Greg Dyck:
Chris Paul – New Orleans Hornets
“Paul has led the Hornets to 5th place so far in the West, leading the league in steals, as well as averaging a double-double. I also like the fact he’s just focused on winning with his team and the early season trade rumors have disappeared.”

Andrew ‘Soda’ Wadden:
Russell Westbrook –Oklahoma City Thunder
“This was the hardest position in both conferences to figure out, as you can state a case for five different point guards in the West. It came down to the player I felt was having the most lights out season out of them all and to me it’s Westbrook. His efficiency numbers are staggering. 22.5 PPG, 8.4 APG, 5.0 RPG for a total average of 35.9, which leads all guards in the West. Deron Williams, Steve Nash, Chris Paul and Tony Parker are all having great seasons, but Westbrook is the starting all-star to me.”

Power Forward

Clint Lomax:
Kevin Durant – Oklahoma City Thunder
“An obvious choice because of his almost masterful array of scoring skills he displays on a nightly basis. I would like to see more rebounds and blocked shots from him, but that is not an All Star game prerequisite.”

Greg Dyck:
Blake Griffin – Los Angeles Clippers
“It’s gotta be Griffin. If the game weren’t being played on his court, I would have toiled between Carmelo (second in votes, is going to start anyway), and Dirk Nowitzki, who’s out injured anyway. Blake’s been the most exciting player this season, he’s going to own the dunk contest, and become a household name everywhere if he isn’t already. Him and Paul should start drawing out ally-oop plays now.”

Andrew ‘Soda’ Wadden:
Kevin Love – Minnesota Timberwolves
“Who was the last T-Wolve to start in an all-star game? I’m not even going to look it up as I’m sure it was Kevin Garnett. How about before Garnett? Exactly. It’s rare that a Timberwolve get’s to be an all-star let alone a starter. Love, however, is having a lights out season on a terrible Minnesota team. Love leads the Western Conference in efficiency (39.6 AVG), second only to Lebron James in the entire NBA. His 15.6 RPG are 2.3 more than anyone else in the NBA. Love’s numbers don’t lie. He deserves this spot.”

Small Forward

Clint Lomax:
Carmelo Anthony, Denver Nuggets
“Melo is another obvious choice for me. Which is funny in some ways with the competition that is out there for the forward position. You know what you are going to get with Carmelo night in and night out…..BUCKETS! Oh yeah, he is averaging 8 rebounds per game to go with his 23 PPG average.”

Greg Dyck:
Kevin Durant – Oklahoma City Thunder
“It’s rare that someone can be first in the league in scoring, but still be an extremely unselfish player. His numbers are slightly down from last year, most notably FG, and 3pt%, but he battled through some nagging injuries early in the season, and I expect those to rise in the second half.”

Andrew ‘Soda’ Wadden:
Kevin Durant – Oklahoma City Thunder
“If you were to build an NBA franchise and could take one player to build around, who would it be? Durant is one of those types of players. He leads the NBA in scoring (28.1 PPG) and is leading his Thunder team to a playoff berth once again. Easy pick at this one.”

Center

Clint Lomax:
Nene – Denver Nuggets
“You weren’t expecting this pick, were you? Yes, I believe Nene should be a starter for the West at the center position! Why? He is explosive, more agile, super strong, and is shooting 64% from the field this season! Mostly on dunks, but they are powerful dunks over people! His ability to move the ball around like Otis Thorpe use to do has elevated his game.”

Greg Dyck:
Pau Gasol – Los Angeles Lakers
“Not technically a center, but it doesn’t really matter. He’s played his way into the starting rotation- 18-10-4, and I like it when hometown guys get to start when the all star game is in their city. Plus who else would you put here? Duncan’s too far on the decline and is clearly saving what’s left for the playoffs, Tyson Chandler has been good, but not as good as Pau. LaMarcus Aldrige? Zach Randolph? Exactly.”

Andrew ‘Soda’ Wadden:
Pau Gasol – Los Angeles Lakers
“It came down to Nene in Denver or Gasol to me and really Pau deserves it. Nene is playing the best season of his career and will find a spot on the West’s reserve list but Gasol was the one who was leading the Lakers early on this year and really he has proved that he can be a number one man when asked to be. His numbers are solid (18.6 PPG, 10.6 RPG) and he plays on a winner. Sure bets of an all-star.”

EASTERN CONFERENCE

Point Guard

Clint Lomax:
Derrick Rose – Chicago Bulls
“His scoring average maybe down, but his presence and impact on the game is overwhelming! I have yet to see any guard stop him from doing what he wanted to do. His strength and explosiveness makes him almost impossible to guard, but I would like to see more steals per game from him.”

Greg Dyck:
Derrick Rose – Chicago Bulls
“Rose is my pick for league MVP at the midway point, 24-8-5 doesn’t even begin to tell you how good he’s been for the Bulls. He’s playing with a mean streak and is out to prove his name should be in the same breath as Lebron, Kobe, and Wade.”

Andrew ‘Soda’ Wadden
Derrick Rose – Chicago Bulls
“It’s been an MVP calibre season thus far for the Bulls young superstar. Rose is the most efficient guard in the entire NBA when it comes down to points/rebounds/assist totals (37.3), and is leading his much improved Chicago team into a high seeding in this year’s NBA playoffs.”

Shooting Guard

Clint Lomax:
Dwyane Wade – Miami Heat
“The season has been up and down for Wade, and the Big four are lowering his averages (including the now re-surging Mike Miller) by their own demands for the ball. That has not stopped him from putting up monster games and highlight real moves and dunks. Wade is the same guy he was last year and maybe even better! He has games of: 39,36, 40, and 45 point games already this season!”

Greg Dyck:
Dwyane Wade – Miami Heat
“He’s still finessing out chemistry issues in Miami, they look good through 3.5 quarters, and then in crunch time everyone still seems confused, especially during this four game losing streak they’re riding. He’s on the team because he’s the best two guard in the conference.”

Andrew ‘Soda’ Wadden:
Dwyane Wade – Miami Heat
“Wade is fifth in the league in scoring (25.1) and is leading a make shift Heat team to wins. You might as well pencil him into this spot for at least the next five to seven years.”

Small Forward

Clint Lomax:
LeBron James, Miami Heat
“Barring “The Decision”, LeBron would have been the top vote getter for the All Star game (in my opinion). His scoring maybe down (for obvious reasons), but he his three point shooting % is up! That for a guy that is nicknamed “LeBrick”. One of the most idiotic names that I’ve heard “LAKERS FANS AND KOBE FANATICS” come up with. Embracing “The Villian” role has only made him more determined to dominate everything and everyone in his path! Don’t be surprised if he walks away with MVP honors at the All Star game, and possible Co-MVP of the NBA with Dwyane Wade! YOU HEARD IT HERE FIRST.”

Greg Dyck:
LeBron James – Miami Heat
“25-7-7, and definitely poised to become only the 4th player to win 3 straight MVP’s. The only chink in the armour for LeBron right now is he’s 3rd in the NBA in turnovers. He has to protect that ball better. LeBron vs Kobe/Durant. I can’t wait.”

Andrew ‘Soda’ Wadden
LeBron James – Miami Heat
“Like his partner Wade, James is another perennial lock when it comes to being an all-star. The villain he may be, but he’s also one of the best, if not the best, players in the game.”

Power Forward

Clint Lomax:
Amar’e Stoudamire – New York Knicks
“Just when everybody thought that Amar’e would fold without Nash (like most players do when they leave Phoenix), he has moved his game to the next level! Not only lifting The Knicks out of the cellar of their division, but bring pride back to Madison Square Garden. Increased range on his jump shot has made him harder to guard than ever.”

Greg Dyck:
Amar’e Stoudamire – New York Knicks
“Easy pick at PF, has made basketball in NY relevant again, and surely will garner some MVP attention at season’s end. Everyone who thought he needed Nash to be a great player couldn’t have been more wrong, he’s having one of his best statistical seasons yet at 26-9-3.”

Andrew ‘Soda’ Wadden:
Amar’e Stoudamire – New York Knicks
“Back-to-back seasons a Knick will be in the all-star game. This is huge for New York fans. Before David Lee played in last year’s game there hadn’t been a Knick all-star since 2001 (Allan Houston & Latrell Sprewell). Amar’e is proving that he can lead a team. He’s playing so well that his point guard Raymond Felton may even get on the team as a reserve. You got to love seeing basketball finally being relevant in the Big Apple again and that has everything to do with Amar’e.”

Center

Clint Lomax:
Dwight Howard – Orlando Magic
“SUPERMAN IS IN THE BUILDING! What else can you say about the man that can dunk on a 12 foot basketball hoop and has about 3% body fat! He averages a high double double per game, and has been in the running for defensive player of the year for the last 2 years. Only Kryptonite to his game is free throw %, which is going down by the way!”

Greg Dyck:
Dwight Howard – Orlando Magic
“All Star weekend was made for guys like Dwight, guys who basically just want to play ball and have fun most nights (much to the chagrin of Stan Van Gundy). He’s having another banner year as well, 2nd in the NBA in rebounds behind Kevin Love, while averaging 22 a game. Too bad he’s the only player on the Magic aware of how to play defence.”

Andrew ‘Soda’ Wadden
Dwight Howard – Orlando Magic
“The beast is back as the east’s starting center. Howard is a lock every year at this spot. Howard’s numbers back this up. 22.1 PPG, 13.3 RPG and 2.2 BPG. Everything you want in a center.”

Midseason Predictions

By Greg Dyck

I offer two predictions going into the second half, one comes completely from infatuation. (I’ll let you guess which one it was at the end)

1. The more the ‘Melo saga drags out, the worse it becomes for ‘Melo and the Nuggets.

Hard to say how this plays out. Denver is desperate to get a good return for their franchise player, and Anthony doesn’t want to play anywhere but NYC, who clearly doesn’t have the chips to acquire him. Jersey had the right chips, but they’re now out of the running according to Nets owner Mikhail Prokhorov.
It’s getting uglier as it becomes more public. People around the league are starting to question whether ‘Melo is even worth this much attention. More than a few GM’s have indicated that he’s not even an elite player. With career numbers of 25-6-3, Carmelo’s game is nothing to scoff at, but take a look at his playoff history; before being ousted in the 2009 conference finals, Denver went out four straight years in the first round, never winning more than one game. The notion that acquiring ‘Melo means instant contender, couldn’t be farther from the truth. Especially when you’ve traded everything to have him star for your team.

Prediction: The Knicks make moves weeks leading up to the deadline getting as many first rounder’s as they can, and finagle a three team trade bringing them Carmelo. The big winner could become Denver. With all they can receive in return, and the top teams in the West getting that much older, they could be the most talented team in their conference in two or three years time.

2. The Clippers make the playoffs as the 8th seed and scare the s*#t out of their first round opponent.

I may be getting a little ahead of myself, as they’re still sit six games back, but the teams ahead of them all have declining stock. They had one of the toughest early season schedules, plus Blake Griffin was playing competitive ball for the first time since a year layoff and two years of College. So the big hole there in is understandable, but as we hit the mid-season, this team is completely different. Blake’s playing with a fire that is rarely seen at this time of year, he’s hungry, which thankfully has made Baron Davis less hungry and in game shape for the first time since he signed that fat contract. It was wrong to think Baron was ever a franchise player, but now he’s found his role – taking timely shots, while feeding Blake and Eric Gordon. Griffin isn’t the only rookie with huge upside for this franchise either, Eric Bledsoe has been quiet of late, but has shown early in the season he has major potential to be a great PG.
The only problem for the Clippers is that if they become the 8th seed, they’ll most likely face the Spurs, who chew up and spit out young teams. The Spurs have also bested the Clippers three out of four times this season, but I can dare to dream.

Prediction: Clippers vault over almost everyone ahead of them, but end up in 9th, and start next season as the team everyone has making the biggest improvement.

By Greg Dyck

Some thoughts on the West’s best teams….

Dallas Mavericks (2nd place):

I’ll start with what I love about the Mavs first; they’re grinding it out for victories this year. This will help them come playoff time when the pace of the game slows down. One thing I learned while watching Mavs games while Dirk, and Caron Butler have been out with injury (Dirk day to day, Butler out for year) is they’re thriving in the transition, and causing tough turnovers. They know they have to be scrappy to win. Here comes the bad, too much of their offence relies on Jason Terry, a very streaky player, he’s also easy to guard when Dirk’s out because all his points come off screens or the dribble both usually going right. DeShawn Stevenson and Shawn Marion are both starting to play bigger roles on offence as well. However, the problems with that are obvious. Before Stevenson got traded to the Mavs he was a horrible three point shooter, but now, apparently, has found his stroke. I still don’t buy it over a long period of time. I have too many bad memories of his poor shooting still fresh in my mind from his Wizard days. Marion’s numbers are up since becoming a starter again, and he’s been fairly efficient in doing so. However, the problem with The Matrix is his decision making. Someone needs to tell him to stop shooting! He shoots 18% from beyond the arc, and when he decides to go to the rim and be creative, usually nothing good comes of it. He’s more of a cleaner upper, and screen setter, when he tries to be a legit offensive weapon, other teams will let him go at it all day.

San Antonio Spurs (1st place)

The Spurs now look like they’re the team to come out of the West. I’m not saying that just because they’re in first, I’m saying it because they seem to be the most self aware of their problems., which is easy when you problems aren’t that glaring. They’re on their first losing streak of the season after getting beat by arguably the best team when healthy- the Celtics in what was my favourite game so far this season. The issues they face are keeping Ginobili’s and Duncan’s minutes down, then basically wait for the playoffs and stay hungry. I was wrong about them in the pre-season because I didn’t think the young talent they’ve infused would be so affective so fast. George Hill has been great for them this year, and Dejuan Blain continues to be the steal of the ’09 draft class. Anyone who said they knew who Gary Neal was before this year is a liar, but he’s been a huge compliment to they’re big three of Duncan, Manu, and Brent Barry’s BFF, Tony Parker. That’s just what Popovich does though; get’s so much out of players you never expect it from.

LA Lakers (3rd place)

The sky isn’t falling in LA. They’ve played so much basketball over the past three years, so much intense basketball, I truly believe them when they say it’s hard to stay focused in December/January games. If there’s one thing history has proven, it’s get a veteran team into the playoffs, and it can come together (See: ’99 Knicks, last year’s Celtics), and I think the mentality is no different with this group. Problems in January are great, because you have a few months to smooth them out.
One glaring problem is Kobe is clearly diminishing, he can’t get to the rim with ease anymore and it’s clearly frustrating him because he still falls back into the “I eat first” mentality. I praised him earlier this season for taking a bit of a backseat, but Bad Kobe has been rearing his head more lately, to the point where Pau, usually very silent, called him out in public. Kind of that is. He never used his name, but it was obvious he was frustrated by it. Pau realizes that when he’s in the driver’s seat, or at least navigating the Laker vehicle, they have a better chance at winning.

 

Why Lakers Fans are Spoiled: Part 1

By Clint Lomax

My long awaited “Why Lakers Fans Are Spoiled” mini-series article is finally here. While I see this clear as day, most Laker fans and Kobe fanatics are oblivious or refuse to realize how lucky they really are. Don’t get me wrong, we all have our favorites. Sometimes we debate why they should be better than the next person to a totally bias fault. However, Lakers fans seem to be different than most successful franchise fans. Unlike fans of the New York Yankees, Boston Celtics, Detroit Red Wings and Pittsburg Steelers (just to name a few), a number of Lakers fans I have been in contact with don’t seem to have the same respect for their sports history like the following team’s fans do. It is all about one thing for them, a championship and nothing else. 
Not the endless practices, the constant traveling, the maintenance of their bodies, playing against top talent night in and night out, and all of them gunning for you when you are an elite player and/or on an elite team.  According to some of them, championships just fall out of the sky for the Lakers.  Lakers fans wouldn’t even know how hard Kobe works on his body and his game if Kobe didn’t run ads and commercials about it. On top of that, most of those fans think that Kobe will surpass Jordan as the greatest basketball player of all-time. Some of them think he already has! I won’t get into why that can never happen right now.  That is for another article series.

 

 

During this series, I will be touching on a number of different factors that will point out the reasons why I feel Lakers fans are spoiled.  Here is a short list of what I will be touching on:

- Location.  A few earthquakes here and there, but for the most part sunny most of the time. Los Angeles also has miles and miles of beach coastlines just a hop skip and a jump away.

- Early history. Most Lakers fans know their team originated in Minneapolis, but most of them couldn’t tell you how many years they spent there before moving.  Many couldn’t tell you who the stars on that team past George Mikan were. 

- Ownership. Very understated in the rise of the Lakers from Minneapolis to Los Angeles. One of the biggest moves in Lakers history was when then Washington Redskin’s owner Jack Kent Cooke personally financed the construction of the Forum.  Later because of divorce, he would sell the Lakers, Los Angeles Kings, and the forum to Jerry Buss in 1979.  I’ll talk about that more in future installments.

- Players.  It’s almost self explanatory.  The trades that were made to establish the 70s and 80s Lakers teams were almost in the realm of devine intervention.  It is almost inconceivable that one of their trades would lead to a number one overall pick in 1982. Which brought “Big Game” James Worthy to the Lakers.  Even before that they traded the “then” face of the franchise Gail Goodrich, which ended up being a #1 overall draft pick that brought Ervin “Magic” Johnson to the Lakers.

- Hollywood fans. It is a who’s-who of celebrity fans that sit court side.  There are so many celebrities in the house at some games that they have to sit seven to eight rows back from the court. I have respect for the old school Hollywood fans like Jack Nicholson, Dyan Cannon, and Ice Cube to name a few. However, there are smorgasbords of bandwagon celebrity fans. Just like regular Lakers fans and Kobe fanatics, they spout some of the most idiotic non-basketball knowledge you will ever hear.

I could go on with the multitude of different intangibles that Los Angeles has the most of the other NBA cities don’t have, but I’ll stick with these points and disect them further in part 2.

Before we finish. Take a moment to check out this video. This is what happens when Lakers fans don’t get their way.

 

Contact Clint Lomax on Twitter

Dear David Stern, Time to contract

By Andrew ‘Soda’ Wadden

LeBron James brought up a good point recently. James was quoted as saying he thought the NBA should contract some teams to improve the overall competition. James said he would like to see things go back to the way things were in the ’80s, when the league had groups of stars on several teams. He’s since backpedalled on his original quote by saying the media twisted his comments –more like David Stern called and told me to shut my mouth. Whatever the case is, he’s right. The stacking of superstars on one team is causing a top heavy league that is competitive for about half the teams in the league. In the regular season that is. Come playoff time its next to near impossible for most playoff teams to beat the Lakers or Celtics. You can maybe toss in the Heat, Spurs and Mavericks as team’s next to impossible for midlevel playoff bound teams to beat. But outside of the Spurs, the other two have yet to prove they can perform in the playoffs. In the Spurs case, I would put money any day on the Lakers taking them in a seven game series.

However, there is a solution, and it was King James who hit the nail on the head. Contract teams out. Four teams should go, with two coming from each conference. If I was David Stern, this is who I would give the toss.

Western Conference

Memphis Grizzlies

In Memphis’ case it’s a no brainer for the NBA. Nobody goes to games there; it’s been a disaster since they moved south from Vancouver. There are some quality players in Memphis that would be very nice pieces for a midlevel team looking to try and hang with the Lakers or Celtics of the NBA. Rudy Gay, OJ Mayo and Marc Gasol would fit nicely on a team looking for that player that could help put them over. All three could either slot in as starters or depth players, depending on who picked them up.

Minnesota Timberwolves

The T-Wolves are just flat-out terrible. David Kahn has been running this team into the ground. It’s time to Free Love! Let the big man go. Kevin Love is one of the most talented power forwards in the league. Imagine him in New Orleans, Houston, Milwaukee or New York. I know it wouldn’t take booting the T-Wolves out of the league to get Love to a contender, but really, does the Minnesota franchise even deserve to be in the league anymore?

Eastern Conference

Charlotte Bobcats

They’re struggling in Charlotte once again and flew a white flag in the offseason when they lost Tyson Chandler and Raymond Felton without getting anyone to replace them. The ‘Cats won’t spend and therefore won’t contend. They got talent. Stephen Jackson and Gerald Wallace are fantastic players that can contribute. Look at Jackson when he played on the Warriors. That old Warriors team is the perfect example of how the NBA should be shaped. A group of players who had a few midlevel stars but a lot of talent and depth. A team that when clicking, can slay a giant, just like Jackson’s eighth seeded Warriors did to the number one seeded Mavericks in the ‘07 playoffs. I dream of a day when the eighth seed in the NBA playoffs has a legit shot every year to beat the first seed. Just like in the NHL.

Indiana Pacers (but Toronto Raptors could also go)

This is tough for me. I grew up just outside of Toronto and am a Raptors fan. However, Toronto is basically a D-League team with a couple of talented veterans. They have some young talent that is improving, but as history with the Raptors has shown, it’s hard for them to keep their top talent.  The thing that keeps Toronto in the NBA is there fan support and business model. They do well at their gate and sell tons of merchandise. Plus, they’re in Canada.
Indiana on the other hand has struggled at the gate and though they have been close to a playoff team, they get buried in a market that is ruled by the NFL’s Colts and by college basketball. Danny Granger or Darren Collison would be a huge upgrade for any team needing legit star or a starter/back-up point guard. The days of Reggie Miller are long gone in Indianapolis. I think it’s time to pack up the trucks and turn down the lights on the Pacers.

By Greg Dyck

What’s going on in Orlando?

I’ll touch on what the deal means for the Suns first. Vince is an expiring contract, Phoenix wants to rebuilt, retool, whatever you want to call it, even more after this season, so acquiring VC’s expiring contract for Hedo’s ugly one makes sense. The suns also got a first round pick out of the deal as well. As much as I loath Vince Carter, and think it’s impossible to win on a team where he’s your number one or number two guy, I like this trade. They made a mistake with acquiring Hedo in the off-season, they fixed it.
Now onto Orlando…
Magic GM Otis Smith clearly has no patience, and wants to win now, even though he’s trying to do so with lesser pieces. I’m not sure they can re-create the chemistry they had with Turk in their deep run from 08-09; the underwhelming small forward spent his salad days in Orlando, averaging almost 20ppg in 07-08. I guess Otis Smith thinks he’s a different player in Orlando than he is in other cities, he believes he just fits there. It’s a huge risk considering that if it doesn’t work this season, there’s no way your moving his contract with three more years left on it, and no GM will be dumb enough to be fooled a fourth time by the Big Turk.
The Magic clearly got more talent coming back – they also picked up Jason Richardson (the best current player in the deal) and Earl Clark, the Suns got Martin Gortat and Mickael Pietrus as well as that first rounder.
Even more shocking news coming out of Orlando is the deal to get Gilbert Arenas for Rashard Lewis. Otis Smith thought Gilbert needed a change of scenery and that will make him into the player he was. Big, big mistake. Contract wise, moving from Rashard to Gilbert, it goes from bad to worse, Rashard makes 22.5 million for the next 2.5 years, but there’s an opt out clause after next season if he doesn’t reach certain expectations, which will be easy to do if you bury him quickly, Gilbert’s got four years left at 80 million, and if a 50 game suspension plus gun charges can’t get you out of that contract – nothing can. It’s the closest the Wizards can get to an expiring contract for Gilbert. But more troubling about ol’ Gil, is he looks out of shape, his work ethic has always been a little questionable as well. I think the investment is a little too high risk at that price.
So Orlando’s starting five could look like this: Jameer, Gil, J-Rich, Turk, Dwight. Hmm. Not one I would want to go to battle with the other top teams in the East with come playoff time, and one that will be hard to overhaul if it doesn’t work out.

Carmelo wanting desperately out of Denver:

I’ll be shocked if he winds up in New York. Denver smartly turned down an offer that would have given them Landry Fields (who I love, great hustle player) Wilson Chandler, and Anthony Randolph, who I really thought was going to blossom in New York, showed serious flashes in Golden State, but isn’t really getting an opportunity with the Knicks. Either way it kind of reminds me of the (pardon me I’m going to cross sports for a moment) the Joe Thornton trade out of Boston, for three marginal players. Boston clearly was the big loser. So would the Knicks be in this deal for that exact reason. If New York wants him, they’re going to have to wait until the summer, which is a definite possibility regardless of a trade. The deal that makes the most sense if your Denver is New Jersey, they can offer Favors plus four number one picks. It means Denver won’t win this year, despite being in the thick of things in the West. It’s time for Denver fans to start laying the boo’s on Melo, it doesn’t look like he cares about winning, he’s more worried about his image and what market he’s in.
If anyone thinks Melo’s going to Chicago, your dreaming. The only deal that would make sense would be Deng, Taj Gibson, and 2 first rounders (which wouldn’t end up being lotto picks for Denver, sour deal) which wouldn’t be enough to entice the Nuggets. Any deal involving Joakim I would hang up the phone instantly. Between Noah, Boozer and Taj down low, they get after it, hard to score against. I don’t think there’s any team in the league that can match up well against the Bulls up front, and I wouldn’t mess with that.

By Greg Dyck

The Villain Returns

I can never remember so many non sports or basketball fans have a vested interest in a team, or a pre-Christmas regular season game, it’s fun. I get to ramble about basketball all day to people who really don’t care, but for some reason, care about this. I have a friend who has never watched a basketball game from start to finish in her entire life, but for some reason had to stay late at work to see if Lebron would in fact throw out the “white powder” as she put it, or if a fan would actually do what the entire city of Cleveland really wants and whip a car battery from the cheap seats at him. I guess it’s the same as when I used to sit for 10 minutes and watch bad daytime soap opera’s that my mom had on,
“hey! who’s that guy with the eye patch?!? He has the real paternity test hidden in his pocket! How can people stand for this!? Wait… what am I doing watching this?”
That’s all it takes for someone to get into something that normally they could care less about; a villain, and for the first time it looked as though Lebron liked it, and it made him a better player then the level he’s been playing at of late. All it took is just took the boos from the city he spit on for him to make something of the negativity.
Having said that, the Cav’s did look as though they were kissing James’s non-existent rings last night; no rough stuff, no posturing- they essentially laid down and took it. Not the effort the fans were hoping for.

Now onto things some more interesting topics:

Is Brandon Roy done as an elite player?

His minutes have gone up of late, and he`s playing full minutes in the second half of back to back`s. Which is a big deal. His numbers look decent as of late too (18-3-2), but anyone who`s watched the team run isolation plays this year to him knows somethings missing, specifically his first step. He`s had the last of his meniscus removed from both his knees, meaning Roy`s playing bone to bone. Even if there is pain moving forward, it`s no longer possible for him to have surgery. His career is a vase teetering on a mantle. A guard with no athleticism who has a max contract tied up until 2014 is a scary notion for that franchise, and especially not good for a fan base that`s seen this story a few times (see: Walton, Bill; Oden, Greg; Bowie, Sam). I don`t see it as possible for him to re-invent himself as a spot shooter, that`s never been his game. He does however have an extremely high basketball IQ, and can contribute in other ways on and off the court, but don’t expect longevity, or any more “I can’t believe I just witnessed that!?” moments.

George Karl closes in on win #1,000

I have really fond memories of coach Karl growing up, the Sonics were my favorite team to watch as a youngster, and one couldn’t think back on the Supersonics most formidable years without remembering George Karl standing and screaming on the sidelines, or sitting in the familiar hand on his chin with the “WTF just happened” expression on his face. He now has the pleasure of coaching a team with arguably the highest degree of difficulty in the NBA; he has to deal with Carmelo “One Foot Out the Door” Anthony, JR Smith, who attended five high schools before lying about going to the Tar Heals and then turned pro (always a good sign), Chris Andersen, and K-Mart, who once mocked Alonzo Mourning for having a life-threatening disease. So yea, you get the point, if anyone can keep ego’s in check, which is the biggest hurdle coaching in the NBA, George is only second to Phil Jackson. Win number 1,000 will be especially sweet considering he missed half of last season, including the playoffs, battling cancer for the second time. It would be nice to see this Nugget’s team can keep their play going of late (5 straight W’s), keep Carmelo around until the summer, and make a run in the playoffs for coach Karl.

Russell Westbrook is becoming the man in OKC

The fact that it’s a legitimate question to ask if he’s the best player on the Thunder is extraordinary. Since KD’s been out, Westbrook has gone on to average 30 points all while shooting over 50%, and really highlighted it against New Jersey in the triple OT game where he scored all 13 of their points in the last frame, personally willing them to victory. Westbrook does it all, he can pass, he definitely can score (6th in PPG), and let’s not forget he was the Pac-10 defensive player of the year at UCLA. He was quick to take the reins when Kevin Durant went down with an injury, and it will be interesting to watch how the dynamic plays out when KD come back shortly from injury.

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Clint Lomax came across this tasty nugget of Micheal Jordan in his prime.

The one and only G.O.A.T!

Your welcome

By Andrew ‘Soda’ Wadden

The Van Gundy Thing

Lakers head coach Phil Jackson was on ESPN Radio 1000 in Chicago last week and had some interesting things to say about the Miami Heat’s stumble out of the gate, plus the state of their coaching situation. Phil said that he felt there could be another “Van Gundy situation” in Miami with the Heat struggling to string together wins under current head coach Eric Spoelstra, and that the players would demand to have general manager Pat Riley take over the coaching reigns just as he did to Stan Van Gundy back when the Heat won their first and only championship back in 2006. Van Gundy fired back saying Jackson’s statements were “inappropriate and ignorant.” If you remember, Van Gundy and the 2005-06 Heat team which featured a young Dwyane Wade and a spry Shaquille O’Neal also stumbled out the gate, leading Van Gundy to resign from the head coaching position, after citing personal reasons for his departure. It is commonly known that Riley forced Van Gundy’s hand to resign and it was rightfully so. The same must be done for the Heat to win, now. With all the personalities and talent that the Heat boasts Eric Spoelstra is not the right coach, Riley is the right coach. The Heat don’t need an X’s and O’s coach, they need a wily mentor like Riley who’s won championships and knows what it takes to lead them to the Promised Land. Miami has the talent to win multiple championships; however, talent means nothing when they can’t play together. Time for Pat Riley to force the hand once again, though, I doubt this time Spoelstra will get the cop out deal that Van Gundy got. There will be no “personal reasons” in this break up, just a flat out pink slip for a job not done. No wonder Van Gundy thought Jackson’s remarks were “inappropriate and ignorant.” Because he knew it was true.

Speaking of the Heat…

Things have been downright awful for Miami to start the year. The team is currently 10-8 with very little cohesiveness amongst them. First off, they can’t guard opposing teams point guards. That’s basically due to the fact that Lebron has been handling the duties as the Heat’s point guard and has a heck of a time trying to guard players who are at least eight to 10 inches shorter than he is. Secondly, when the ball isn’t in Dwyane Wade or Chris Bosh’s hands, they don’t play well off the ball. Wade especially has been hurt by this. Wade is averaging close to 22 points per game which is a far cry from 25+ he’s averaged throughout his career. Yes, we all expected the big three’s PPG totals to all fall once they joined forces, but Wade is a scorer, and take that out of his game, and you’ve basically stopped him. Lastly, would the real Chris Bosh please stand up! Bosh seems to have forgotten how to rebound once he went south for the winter. Bosh’s rebound totals are down a whole two boards from his career average. There have been nights where he’s been non-existent on the glass. That can’t sit well with the Heat’s brass.
Don’t forget there is still a ton of basketball to be played this year, and yes, these are veteran players who know how to play the game, but for some analyst’s (including myself), to have believed that this team could flirt with the ’95-96 Chicago Bulls record of 72 wins in a season, well they (we), were way, way off. The way the Heat are playing now, they’d be lucky to win 50 games. They should count there lucky stars that they’re not in the West because they would barely be holding on to a playoff spot, let alone being breathed in the same breath of that legendary Bulls team.

Last call!

Thanks to my man The Angsta for dropping this on my Facebook page. Derrick Rose is a beast who can break you off. Just asked Kings guard Tyreke Evans. Enjoy!