Daily Basketball
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Archive for NBA
July 29, 2008 at 8:19 pm · Filed under NBA
by Paul Gartlan
In my opinion, this is a fantastic move for the Rockets. Who knows how Donte Greene was going to develop, and Bobby Jackson only has so much left in his tank. Ron Artest brings that second perimeter threat that Tracy McGrady has been longing for to make that push passed the first round of the playoffs.
Houston is now a top 4 team in the West thanks to this trade. They were already close to a second round appearance without having Yao Ming, and having a banged up Rafer Alston running the show. In my estimation, their new starting 5 would be: Rafer Alston, Tracy McGrady, Ron Artest, Luis Scola, and Yao Ming. It does not get anymore balanced than that my friends. (I also believe that Rafer Alston is one of the more underrated point guards in the league.)
I might even say that they are the second best team in the West, but the New Orleans Hornets make a solid case for themselves as they can only get better with age at this point (and with the addition of James Posey.)
Finally someone in Houston gave McGrady what he needed to make Finals run. Sure, Artest is a headcase that can totally lose his mind by midseason. He’s got off the court issues that cannot be ignored certainly, but in Houston’s case, the chance that he stays quiet and does not cause problems is one you take.
I highly doubt that on a championship caliber team that Ron Artest is going to do something to screw that up. He has to have matured somewhat since his days in Indiana. In Sacramento he toned down his behavior a lot compared to before. Plus, he’s a lockdown defender that won’t hurt to have on the floor on offense, a certain rarity in this league. I just can’t see how Artest will let himself blow his best chance at a ring in his career.
If Artest knows what is good for him (which he may not), he will NOT screw around in Houston. He knew the Kings were bad last season with no real big expectations going in, so he could cruise a little bit. The Rockets organization however is thinking much differently with this one. This trade means they want to win THIS year.
If Ron Artest wants to be taken seriously anymore in this league with his trade demands and the willingness of teams to give up quality players to get him, he will not mess around and play his butt off for Houston. In essence, this is his last chance. If he plays hard and they still do not reach the Finals then so be it, but if he becomes a distraction and screws it up for the whole team, he’ll become sort of the Barry Bonds of NBA. Teams will only sign him out of complete desperation despite realizing the heavy baggage that comes with him. I know that sounds severe, and I do not think that this will happen, but I cannot help but think that teams would want to deal with Artest if he blows a situation like this.
This is the chance you probably do not deserve, Ron Artest. Just keep to yourself and play hard.
July 29, 2008 at 12:39 pm · Filed under NBA
The Toronto Raptors have changed their squad quite a bit this off-season. In are Jermaine O’Neal (other players from deals), and Will Solomon, a guy who was playing overseas. Sure these moves sound good, but how good are the Raptors?
I don’t think they’re anywhere near a title, but I like this shakeup. O’Neal has the potential to make the Raptors front line really strong (playing alongside Chris Bosh). I think he, of course, has to healthy and he needs to show that he has something to prove. His stock has been hurt over the last couple of seasons because of injury and the fact that his team was spiraling out of control. He needs to come into training camp with Kobe-like competitiveness. That will send a message to the guys that, “hey, we aren’t as bad as the Canadian national team!”
Andrea Bargnani needs to be tough, intimidating and as aggressive as possible. He showed last season that he can be a slasher, but he needs to develop post moves and be a better backup. Some of that pressure that he might have felt last season will be off because of the O’Neal addition. When you looked at the old front line, you’d think, “can’t they do better than Rasho Nesterovic?” Well now they have. With O’Neal (a major upgrade), you think less about the #1 pick that hasn’t lived up to his potential. I think that suits Andrea well.
I am also going to expect more from Jose Calderon and Anthony Parker. Calderon can easily improve, seeing as T.J. Ford is out of the picture and he will take over the starting spot. Parker just needs to be more consistent, he can get hot from the perimeter, but he needs consistency from beyond the arc. If Parker and Calderon can show solid improvement, this team can be a lot better.
This is a team that needs to rebound from a 41-41 season. Hopefully a lineup that includes Jose Calderon, Anthony Parker, Bosh and O’Neal can live up to what should be a 45+ win team in the East.
July 28, 2008 at 5:57 am · Filed under International, NBA
By Michael Spadaccino
They have said that this is the best team USA mens basketball squad since the original dream team. Lebron has already guarneteed the gold. With Kobe, Lebron, D-Wade, & Melo this appears to be the most explosive team to hit the Olympics in years. So, just give them the gold and get it over with…right?. Well, they may in fact leave China with the gold medals around their necks but it wont be as easy as some people may think. Here are four reasons why Team USA may be in for a more difficult time than people think:
4. Pressure to win: As hard as it may be to believe but Team USA hasn’t won the gold since 2000. Every player, coach & executive associated with the team has been or will be reminded of that fact every day they are in China. Team USA will get the best punch of every team they play every game. Not only that but as we see every year with March Madness the crowd will always root for the underdog..expect that to be no different with Team USA this year.
3. Lack of bigman depth: The international game has evolved into a perimiter game with the focus on outside shooting, ball spacing and dribble drive penetration. That being said someone still has to get rebounds. With Dwight Howard, Chris Bosh & Carlos Boozer as the only true bigs on the roster foul trouble and fatigue coud play a factor against the better teams. I know that any one of those guys could log heavy minutes if need be but, again, the international game is much different that the NBA dump down to big, than throw out and reverse if doubled game. With constant subbing it may be difficult to get any one big into a flow and match the productivity that they produce in an NBA game.
2. Lack of cohesion: As we have seen in previous years simply putting on the USA jersey no longer carries the intimidation factor that it did years ago. I don’t think anyone can question the heart & will to win of Kobe, D-Wade, LeBron & J Kidd. But can you just assemble an all star team and expect to be as cohesive as teams that have rosters that have played together since they were 16? I dont think anyone will argue which roster has the best players. I am sure we will see the alley oops dunks and behind the back passes against the Irans & Angolas but against real seasoned teams can we play together to pull out a close game in the final 5 minutes?
1. The competition is better than we may think: Whether we are ready to admit it or not, the rest of the world has caught up to USA in basketball. There are two teams (other than the US) that can make a legitimate case to win the gold this year-Spain & Argentina.
Spain will bring a legitmate NBA all star with Pau Gasol as the team anchor. They also have an experienced backcourt with Rudy Fernandez, who is ready to play with Portland this year, and Raul Lopez. Throw in Raptor sharpshooter Jose Calderon and they have enough shooting and athletism to give USA a run.
The team the best shot to beat USA has to be Argentina. They have 5 legit NBA players and some depth. Manu Ginobili is the leader and top scorer. If his ankle is fully recovered he can take over. A frontcourt of rookie of the year runner up Luis Scola and Fabrico Oberto has the size and skills to give the US trouble. Add in fellow NBA-ers Andres Nocioni and Carlos Delfino and you have 3 perimeter players who can shoot and rebound. And you know they are tough and not afraid of Team USA. A USA-Argentina gold medal game would most likely be a close game all the way…Team USA may win, but just don’t guarantee it, unless you’re Lebron.
July 24, 2008 at 7:20 pm · Filed under International, NBA
Can anybody claim to not be surprised? At the beginning of the free agency period, no blogger, American fan, or NBA executive would have listed Olympiakos as Josh Childress‘ number one option — it wouldn’t have even been on the list.
Now, Houston Rockets big man Carl Landry has a nice bargaining chip considering nobody would have taken Landry’s remarks about playing overseas serious.
With Childress, Landry, and the straight-to-Europe Brandon Jennings — not to mention USA Basketball preparing for the Olympics — all of the attention is about how the NBA will attempt to remain at the top of professional basketball world.
Kind of crazy, isn’t it? In fact, quite ridiculous. The NBA (temporarily) loses out on a skilled rotation player, a future draft pick, and a mediocre big man.
Not to discredit their value to their (future) NBA teams, but these players aren’t going to start a revolution. We’re not talking about LeBron James here, or even an aged Shaquille O’Neal (pity we see a competitive “former Legends” team touring through Europe). It’s expected that both Childress and Jennings will be back to the NBA within the next couple seasons — possibly next year.
Don’t worry. The NBA will continue to be in the international limelight as they coast to a Lebron-guaranteed Olympic gold medal. And don’t be surprised to see foreign-born players turn down larger NBA contracts to head back home. Just don’t think that the NBA will collapse, downsize, or even begin to suffer by loaning Childress to Olympiakos.
What impact does Josh Childress leave on the NBA? One positive aspect is that it lets the NBA know that players would be open to an international expansion league, with NBA players possibly signing and playing for 
international NBA teams.
However, aside from the potential of a legitimate NBA expansion, expect American-born players heading overseas to be about as successful as the NBA’s synthetic basketball. (You forgot about that hype too, didn’t you?)
July 15, 2008 at 8:08 pm · Filed under NBA
by Paul Gartlan
The Denver Nuggets need to make a change and they need to do it now. The impressive on-paper lineup of Allen Iverson, Carmelo Anthony, Anthony Carter/J.R. Smith, Kenyon Martin, and Marcus Camby can not win in the post season, which has already been proven this last season when they were embarrassed by the Lakers in 4 games in the opening round of the playoffs. This team will give you great stats during the regular season when teams let up on defense and only play with intensity at times. None of these players can play a lick of defense, with the exception of maybe Marcus Camby, which does not help as much because the NBA in today’s age consists of wing players posing as the biggest scoring threats.
I realize the Nuggets are under some serious salary cap issues. The re-signing of Anthony Carter was the most important headline that the Nuggets have made all summer with the exception of the floundering trade talks of Carmelo Anthony to the Detroit Pistons. It is a shame Denver could not make anything of that. Both the Pistons and the Nuggets need a change in their lineup. The lineup that is now set in place for the Nuggets has shown that it is simply not NBA Finals material, or for that matter 2nd Round material.
This very same lineup is valuable in another way: trade value. You may not be able to trade Kenyon Martin and his awful contract, but its time to maybe do away with Iverson or Carmelo, or maybe even both. AT LEAST do something with J.R. Smith while he still has trade value, and before he turns into the next Ricky Davis. I still think they should call Joe Dumars again and try to work something out for Tayshaun Prince and get either Billups or Rip Hamilton involved.
The least the Nuggets can do is unload some cap space with some unbalanced trades that would bode in another teams favor, and then have the money sign someone in the 2010 off season, where a virtual buffet of young all-stars will be available (All-stars that can play DEFENSE, too). The old saying that defense wins championships has not changed, and the Nuggets are probably the farthest from that in the NBA. Scoring against mediocre defensive efforts in the regular season will only get you so far.
The bottom line is that there is way too much offensive talent on this team that is being put to waste. Carmelo Anthony and Allen Iverson are both in the top 5 in scoring, J.R. Smith could start for a lot of teams, and Marcus Camby is premier shot blocker and rebounder. Somebody has got to tell them that it’s not working. They should have recognized this when George Karl assigned Kenyon Martin the task of guarding Kobe Bryant during the NBA playoffs, and then got absolutely torched every time Kobe. Sorry I have to type that again: KENYON MARTIN GUARDING KOBE BRYANT IN THE PLAYOFFS. How ridiculous does that sound?
As lovely as Carmelo and Iverson together sounds, now is the perfect time to use them as trade bait since Carmelo is still young and Iverson still has some productive years left. It would be a good idea for them to go for a great on-the-ball defender, even if that means sacrificing some offense to do so. Just do something Denver, please.
July 14, 2008 at 8:14 am · Filed under NBA
A few months have gone by now since the end of the regular season. Though it was pointed out numerous times both during the season and after its conclusion, it is still hard to believe that Golden State did not make the playoffs with 48 wins. Is there a chance that any of the non-playoff teams can crack the top 8 this year in the West? Here are the four teams with the best chance to move up:
1. Golden State: The most logical choice, considering they finished #9 and only two games back. This choice is contingent ONLY if Monta Ellis returns. Let’s be honest, Ellis was every bit as good as Baron Davis in the second half of last season if not better. He did average 20.2 pts on 53% shooting…he is the real deal. Whatever leadership that may have been lost with the departure of Davis was restored with the signing of Corey Maggette. If Maggette can accept the fact that he can’t take 20 shots a night he will be the perfect fit for Don Nelson’s offense. Say what you want about Stephen Jackson’s off the court antics but he is loved by his teamates…and he averages 20 ppg. With Ellis penetrating Jackson & Magette should be able to sustain their high level of play from last year. The knock on the Warriors was their lack of toughness down low. Al Harrington and Andris Biedrins are both above average players for their position & for this offense but look for either second year player Brandon Wright or rookie first rounder Anthony Randolph to eventually start for Harrington by mid-season. If Ellis comes back and Maggette transitions smoothly to this offense I see no reason why the Warriors not only should make the playoffs but make some noise once they get there.
2. Portland: Did everyone forget about Greg Oden? Oden will be ready to play this year and he will make a difference. Portland was a team that had an 11 game improvement from 2006 to finish right at .500 last year without the #1 overall pick from two years ago. Start with Oden who should grab 10-13 boards, a couple of blocks, probably score around 10 ppg and will make a huge impact on the overall defense. Than add 2006 Rookie of the Year and 2007 All Star Brandon Roy and his 19ppg, 5 rbs, 5 assists per game. What makes this team truly intersting is the supporting cast. All LaMarcus Aldrige did was average 18 and 8 in his second full season. I see no reason, even with Oden in the mix, that his numbers will slip. The PG position was solified in the draft with the selection of Jarryd Bayless. Steve Blake will man the ship until Bayless is ready to run the offense. Throw in Martell Webster (coming off a career season), Sergio Rodriguez, Ike Diogu and Rudy Fernandez and you have a young, athletic team that will make an impact not only next year but for years to come.
3. Minnesota: I will admit I don’t see the T’Wolves contending for a playoff spot this year. But I do think that .500 is not out of the question, which considering they were 22-60 last year would be quite an accomplishment. I am of the opinion that Kevin Love will be a 15-18 point scorer with 10 rbs for the next 10 years. I don’t think his lack of quickness or ball handling will be much of a detriment at the next level. He did play in the Pac-10 and if you watched him play he made more 3 pointers as the year went on. He has excellent range and will grow into the the leader of that team. Say what you want about the KG trade but Al Jefferson did have an all-star type year averaging 21 ppg and 11 rbs. Jefferson and Love will make up a solid frontline for the next 5-10 years. Newly acquired Mike Miller (16.4) is a proven scorer & Rashad McCants had a breakout year (14.9). Randy Foye is ready to take the next step at PG. Corey Brewer was a top 10 pick who can contribute at both ends of the court. Add Craig Smith, Rodney Carney, Kirk Snyder and Ryan Gomes and you have a team that can defend and get up and down the court. Again, I can’t see them going all the way into the playoffs but I can see them making an improvement like Portland did this year setting them up for a playoff push in 2010.
4. Memphis: Stop laughing, I’m serious. OK, OK…they will not make the playoffs, I’m dumb but I’m not stupid, but like Memphis. I can see them making a 10+ win improvement over last year. Start with O.J Mayo who even at 3 may be the steal of the draft. He was forced to do it all for USC last year and was rountinely double and triple teamed. He is a proven scorer and a very underated passer. He will start on day one in Memphis. Michael Conley may get his chance to run the team, if he’s not traded to Portland first, and will thrive. I envision a 14 ppg and 7 assist year out of him. Rudy Gay is going into his 3rd year coming off a 20ppg season. Hakim Warrick is a steady 12 ppg and 5 rb guy. Kyle Lowry, Darko Milicic, Darrell Arthur, and even Kwame Brown make up a serviceable bench. Make no mistake about it: Rudy Gay and OJ Mayo will make a legit one-two combo that will sneak up on a few teams this year.
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