Allen Iverson was recently quoted saying he wants to finish his career in the NBA.
Three Days Grace wants him to know that it's "Never Too Late."
That's the song from the band used on this Iverson reel.
And here is some more Allen Iverson for those who want an extended version.
They're right. It's never too late.
Comment or e-mail: thenbaoutsider@yahoo.com
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Showing posts with label Denver Nuggets. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Denver Nuggets. Show all posts
Saturday, July 2, 2011
Monday, May 23, 2011
JR Smith: On The Rise
Shaquille O'Neal had a song back in the day where he said he didn't need a hook.
And neither does JR Smith!
While these mixes go better with a song, Smith shows all he needs is a ball, an arena and an instrumental to get it cracking, and a little help from some game announcers.
I had to create a new category for players like Smith, HBIQ Underground Cinema.
Underground Cinema is for young players on the rise, underrated players who aren't stars but can play, players who are stars but not like the biggest stars in the game or who aren't as fun to watch as the other stars and anything which doesn't fit easily into another category.
That will allow me to showcase more players and at the same time make them easy to find.
Enjoy!
Comment or e-mail: thenbaoutsider@yahoo.com
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And neither does JR Smith!
While these mixes go better with a song, Smith shows all he needs is a ball, an arena and an instrumental to get it cracking, and a little help from some game announcers.
I had to create a new category for players like Smith, HBIQ Underground Cinema.
Underground Cinema is for young players on the rise, underrated players who aren't stars but can play, players who are stars but not like the biggest stars in the game or who aren't as fun to watch as the other stars and anything which doesn't fit easily into another category.
That will allow me to showcase more players and at the same time make them easy to find.
Enjoy!
Comment or e-mail: thenbaoutsider@yahoo.com
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Thursday, April 28, 2011
George Karl's Fatal Flaw
When Denver traded Carmelo Anthony to New York, I refused to write them off and at the same time described George Karl as an "outstanding" coach.
After learning more about him and watching his playoff performance against Oklahoma City, I'm going to have to downgrade him from outstanding to good.
Why?
The answer can be best summarized by the following statistics from the Oklahoma City series: Al Harrington (14 minutes per game), Timofey Mozgov (0 minutes per game).
That tells you all you need to know about George Karl and why he is 20 games below .500 in the playoffs.
He doesn't believe in the defending the paint, which is incredible when you consider his coaching history.
Of all people, George Karl should know how important it is to have a seven-footer in the lane who can block shots.
And two shot-blockers are even better.
Yet here we are, 17 years after Dikembe Mutombo swatted his Sonics, with the best record in the NBA, out of the playoffs in the first round; and George Karl is still fooling around with Al Harrington at power forward.
Harrington, never known for his defense, didn't record a single block in the series, averaged 1.2 defensive rebounds and was pretty much a non-factor in the lane defensively.
Mozgov playing center next to Chris Andersen would have been much more formidable, even assuming Mozgov went scoreless the entire series.
Harrington over Mozgov is basically a choice of three-point shooting over interior defense, a losing strategy if ever I saw one.
But this plays right into Karl's coaching philosophy, where he doesn't believe you need a seven-footer to win it all and also seems to have a lack of respect for non-scoring big men.
He asked who the seven-footers were for Detroit and Chicago when they won titles in the '80s and '90s, implying that they didn't have one; and you don't need one to win it all.
For the record, James Edwards was the seven-footer for Detroit; and it was Bill Cartwright for Chicago.
Luc Longley was the seven-footer during Chicago's second title run.
While neither could shoot the three like Al Harrington, each was effective at clogging up the lane and preventing easy buckets in the paint.
Longley is clearly the weakest of the bunch, but I'd take him over Al Harrington every day of the week and five times on Sunday when I need someone to stop Russell Westbrook from getting an uncontested layup or someone to secure a defensive rebound.
I'd also take Timofey Mozgov.
And unless George Karl wants to keep reliving "Mount" Mutombo nightmares from '94, he should start taking Mozgov as well, or anybody else who can defend the paint like Serge Ibaka did last night in a scene which looked too much like '94 all over again.
Comment or e-mail: thenbaoutsider@yahoo.com
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After learning more about him and watching his playoff performance against Oklahoma City, I'm going to have to downgrade him from outstanding to good.
Why?
The answer can be best summarized by the following statistics from the Oklahoma City series: Al Harrington (14 minutes per game), Timofey Mozgov (0 minutes per game).
That tells you all you need to know about George Karl and why he is 20 games below .500 in the playoffs.
He doesn't believe in the defending the paint, which is incredible when you consider his coaching history.
Of all people, George Karl should know how important it is to have a seven-footer in the lane who can block shots.
And two shot-blockers are even better.
Yet here we are, 17 years after Dikembe Mutombo swatted his Sonics, with the best record in the NBA, out of the playoffs in the first round; and George Karl is still fooling around with Al Harrington at power forward.
Harrington, never known for his defense, didn't record a single block in the series, averaged 1.2 defensive rebounds and was pretty much a non-factor in the lane defensively.
Mozgov playing center next to Chris Andersen would have been much more formidable, even assuming Mozgov went scoreless the entire series.
Harrington over Mozgov is basically a choice of three-point shooting over interior defense, a losing strategy if ever I saw one.
But this plays right into Karl's coaching philosophy, where he doesn't believe you need a seven-footer to win it all and also seems to have a lack of respect for non-scoring big men.
He asked who the seven-footers were for Detroit and Chicago when they won titles in the '80s and '90s, implying that they didn't have one; and you don't need one to win it all.
For the record, James Edwards was the seven-footer for Detroit; and it was Bill Cartwright for Chicago.
Luc Longley was the seven-footer during Chicago's second title run.
While neither could shoot the three like Al Harrington, each was effective at clogging up the lane and preventing easy buckets in the paint.
Longley is clearly the weakest of the bunch, but I'd take him over Al Harrington every day of the week and five times on Sunday when I need someone to stop Russell Westbrook from getting an uncontested layup or someone to secure a defensive rebound.
I'd also take Timofey Mozgov.
And unless George Karl wants to keep reliving "Mount" Mutombo nightmares from '94, he should start taking Mozgov as well, or anybody else who can defend the paint like Serge Ibaka did last night in a scene which looked too much like '94 all over again.
Comment or e-mail: thenbaoutsider@yahoo.com
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Thursday, April 14, 2011
Playoff Primer
Everything which happened during the regular season was nothing more than a setup to get us to this moment.
Now the fun begins. And there are a few things to point out, for starters.
The injuries to Arron Afflalo and Timofey Mozgov are really going to hurt Denver.
Denver's depth and low-post defense will be severely impacted in any games those two miss.
The worst coaches who made the playoffs are Larry Drew, Mike D'Antoni and Stan Van Gundy, with Frank Vogel coming dangerously close to joining that group.
The Atlanta and Orlando series will come down to which coach screws up his team less than the other.
Good luck with trying to figure that one out.
Is it now safe to say that New Orleans should have never traded Marcus Thornton, Jerryd Bayless and Peja Stojakovic?
And now that we've seen Thornton in Sacramento, Bayless in Toronto and Stojakovic in Dallas is it easier to understand how New Orleans got off to an 11-1 start?
And why they have struggled since?
Miami played its best game of the season against Boston this past Sunday.
They moved the ball like a championship team.
Finally, Boston better hope whatever is wrong with Rajon Rondo gets fixed before the playoffs start; or they might not make it out of the first round.
New York has the team in place to be very dangerous right now.
Ronny Turiaf, Shelden Williams and, to a lesser extent, Jared Jeffries give New York all the center they need.
They may not provide much offense, but when you have Carmelo Anthony, Amar'e Stoudemire and Chauncey Billups you don't need much offense from the center position.
All you need are some nice screens, some safe passes and an offensive rebound every now and then.
New York has the parts, but it is highly doubtful that Mike "small ball" D'Antoni will put them in the right positions to win.
I wouldn't be the least bit surprised if D'Antoni started Andy Rautins at center for the series.
Comment or e-mail: thenbaoutsider@yahoo.com
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Now the fun begins. And there are a few things to point out, for starters.
The injuries to Arron Afflalo and Timofey Mozgov are really going to hurt Denver.
Denver's depth and low-post defense will be severely impacted in any games those two miss.
The worst coaches who made the playoffs are Larry Drew, Mike D'Antoni and Stan Van Gundy, with Frank Vogel coming dangerously close to joining that group.
The Atlanta and Orlando series will come down to which coach screws up his team less than the other.
Good luck with trying to figure that one out.
Is it now safe to say that New Orleans should have never traded Marcus Thornton, Jerryd Bayless and Peja Stojakovic?
And now that we've seen Thornton in Sacramento, Bayless in Toronto and Stojakovic in Dallas is it easier to understand how New Orleans got off to an 11-1 start?
And why they have struggled since?
Miami played its best game of the season against Boston this past Sunday.
They moved the ball like a championship team.
Finally, Boston better hope whatever is wrong with Rajon Rondo gets fixed before the playoffs start; or they might not make it out of the first round.
New York has the team in place to be very dangerous right now.
Ronny Turiaf, Shelden Williams and, to a lesser extent, Jared Jeffries give New York all the center they need.
They may not provide much offense, but when you have Carmelo Anthony, Amar'e Stoudemire and Chauncey Billups you don't need much offense from the center position.
All you need are some nice screens, some safe passes and an offensive rebound every now and then.
New York has the parts, but it is highly doubtful that Mike "small ball" D'Antoni will put them in the right positions to win.
I wouldn't be the least bit surprised if D'Antoni started Andy Rautins at center for the series.
Comment or e-mail: thenbaoutsider@yahoo.com
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Saturday, March 12, 2011
Swishing And Dishing
Is there a such thing as the team-player award?
Because if there is, I want to nominate Andrew Bynum.
Bynum recently talked about how the team is better when they are moving the ball instead of featuring him as a scorer inside and willingly put his dream of being a dominant center on hold in order to make the team better.
That's beautiful.
What's even more beautiful is how much better Bynum will be when he does become the featured scorer for the Lakers.
Once he masters reading defenses and passing from the post and elsewhere, he will be even more unstoppable because he will be able to carve defenses up with his passing and burn them with his powerful low-post moves.
It's like The Karate Kid (1984), where Mr. Miyagi had him doing all of these things which looked like they had nothing to do with fighting, until he actually got onto the mat.
Bynum being unselfish and passing the ball to open teammates doesn't look like it is helping him, but in actuality it is.
This Denver team is fun to watch!
Speedy Ty Lawson has a great feel for the game and the point guard position, and I never knew Kenyon Martin was so versatile with all of the passes he can make.
George Karl is in a great position because he has a deep bench, which allows him to play guys the right amount of minutes to keep them fresh and give his team an energy advantage almost every single night.
Games can be and are often won on energy alone.
And improving and using the bench is the key capitalizing on this edge.
Someone who is great playing 40 minutes will be even better playing 36 and even better than that playing 32.
That is the advantage Denver has over many teams.
These guys in Denver may not be household names yet, but all of that will change if they keep winning and playing like they do.
THE GREAT NORTHWEST
The Portland Trail Blazers look like they have found their footing again.
I had them as a contender before the season started, but that was before they traded backup point guard Jerryd Bayless, before Brandon Roy had surgery on both knees and before Greg Oden had surgery and was lost for the season.
You wouldn't believe how badly Portland struggled to replace Bayless before Patrick Mills was moved in and got comfortable. It took a good six weeks, and Mills still is merely a barely-adequate replacement.
Gerald Wallace is fitting in nicely, and LaMarcus Aldridge has been lighting up everything in his path for about two months.
And Portland wisely signed Nate McMillan to an extension this week.
They have some nice things going on, but Portland isn't nearly as threatening as they appeared before the season.
A couple of more pieces and a return to full health would go a long way in changing that though.
UNPREDICTABLE
When I wrote my conference previews before the season started, I noted some of the things which make seasons so unpredictable: injuries, trades, coaching decisions and team chemistry.
Individual improvement is another thing which makes predictions so hard to make.
There have been so many players who came out of nowhere to have better seasons this year.
A good way to get yourself slapped would have been to tell someone before the season (hell, a month into the season) that DeAndre Jordan would turn himself into even a decent NBA player. But that is exactly what he has done, and Los Angeles is much better for it.
His teammate Eric Gordon got better too. Gordon averaged as much as 24 points when he was healthy and the team rolling.
Derrick Rose made the leap into the one of the best players in the NBA and took Chicago with him.
Who saw the season Elton Brand is having?
Will Bynum is a much better point guard than he was in November. He runs Detroit's offense like a pro and is making the transition from someone who loves to take a shot to someone who loves to dish a pass to a teammate.
I already talked about Richard Jefferson and the season he is having.
Marcin Gortat has been playing in Phoenix like he should have been the starter at center in Orlando.
Kris Humphries is someone else getting minutes for the first time and showing he deserves the longer look, and Earl Clark makes plays whenever Stan Van Gundy decides to give him playing time.
These are some of the few who came out of nowhere to have better seasons, and there are many others.
And they all deserve credit for stepping up their games and making themselves and the game better.
BAD BOY
Not to be confused with Mike Lowery from the movie Bad Boys but Kyle Lowry is a bad boy himself, or as Mark Jackson might put it, a "bad man!"
An early sign came over the summer when Cleveland and coach Byron Scott signed Lowry to an offer sheet.
When Byron Scott got his first job with the New Jersey Nets, one of the first things New Jersey did was trade for Jason Kidd.
When Scott got his next job in New Orleans, one of the first things New Orleans did was draft Chris Paul.
Scott went on to have great successes (and great failures but let's not talk about that now) with both players.
And Scott played with Magic Johnson, one of the greatest point guards of all time.
Byron Scott knows point guards.
So when he handpicked Kyle Lowry to be his point guard of the future in Cleveland, it was a strong indicator that Lowry was for real.
Houston wisely matched the offer and kept Lowry even though he was little more than a backup to Aaron Brooks at the time.
When Brooks went down with an injury early in the season, Lowry took control of the team and hasn't let go. He is carrying this Houston team and has them fighting for a playoff spot.
Not known as a shooter, Lowry has improved his three-point shooting percentage from .272 last season to a sizzling .380 this year and can beat a team any way imaginable anywhere on the court.
Houston is 7-2 in its last nine games, and Lowry's play in the last five games has been staggering (22.8 points, 4.2 rebounds, 8 assists, 1.4 steals, shooting .547 from the field and .488 from three).
When franchises look to win big, they try to find pieces to build around; and Lowry is one of those pieces.
He probably won't lead Houston to the playoffs this year, but he has them in the conversation.
And the way he has played recently, he is close to making himself part of another conversation: the one naming the best point guards in the NBA.
Because if there is, I want to nominate Andrew Bynum.
Bynum recently talked about how the team is better when they are moving the ball instead of featuring him as a scorer inside and willingly put his dream of being a dominant center on hold in order to make the team better.
That's beautiful.
What's even more beautiful is how much better Bynum will be when he does become the featured scorer for the Lakers.
Once he masters reading defenses and passing from the post and elsewhere, he will be even more unstoppable because he will be able to carve defenses up with his passing and burn them with his powerful low-post moves.
It's like The Karate Kid (1984), where Mr. Miyagi had him doing all of these things which looked like they had nothing to do with fighting, until he actually got onto the mat.
Bynum being unselfish and passing the ball to open teammates doesn't look like it is helping him, but in actuality it is.
This Denver team is fun to watch!
Speedy Ty Lawson has a great feel for the game and the point guard position, and I never knew Kenyon Martin was so versatile with all of the passes he can make.
George Karl is in a great position because he has a deep bench, which allows him to play guys the right amount of minutes to keep them fresh and give his team an energy advantage almost every single night.
Games can be and are often won on energy alone.
And improving and using the bench is the key capitalizing on this edge.
Someone who is great playing 40 minutes will be even better playing 36 and even better than that playing 32.
That is the advantage Denver has over many teams.
These guys in Denver may not be household names yet, but all of that will change if they keep winning and playing like they do.
THE GREAT NORTHWEST
The Portland Trail Blazers look like they have found their footing again.
I had them as a contender before the season started, but that was before they traded backup point guard Jerryd Bayless, before Brandon Roy had surgery on both knees and before Greg Oden had surgery and was lost for the season.
You wouldn't believe how badly Portland struggled to replace Bayless before Patrick Mills was moved in and got comfortable. It took a good six weeks, and Mills still is merely a barely-adequate replacement.
Gerald Wallace is fitting in nicely, and LaMarcus Aldridge has been lighting up everything in his path for about two months.
And Portland wisely signed Nate McMillan to an extension this week.
They have some nice things going on, but Portland isn't nearly as threatening as they appeared before the season.
A couple of more pieces and a return to full health would go a long way in changing that though.
UNPREDICTABLE
When I wrote my conference previews before the season started, I noted some of the things which make seasons so unpredictable: injuries, trades, coaching decisions and team chemistry.
Individual improvement is another thing which makes predictions so hard to make.
There have been so many players who came out of nowhere to have better seasons this year.
A good way to get yourself slapped would have been to tell someone before the season (hell, a month into the season) that DeAndre Jordan would turn himself into even a decent NBA player. But that is exactly what he has done, and Los Angeles is much better for it.
His teammate Eric Gordon got better too. Gordon averaged as much as 24 points when he was healthy and the team rolling.
Derrick Rose made the leap into the one of the best players in the NBA and took Chicago with him.
Who saw the season Elton Brand is having?
Will Bynum is a much better point guard than he was in November. He runs Detroit's offense like a pro and is making the transition from someone who loves to take a shot to someone who loves to dish a pass to a teammate.
I already talked about Richard Jefferson and the season he is having.
Marcin Gortat has been playing in Phoenix like he should have been the starter at center in Orlando.
Kris Humphries is someone else getting minutes for the first time and showing he deserves the longer look, and Earl Clark makes plays whenever Stan Van Gundy decides to give him playing time.
These are some of the few who came out of nowhere to have better seasons, and there are many others.
And they all deserve credit for stepping up their games and making themselves and the game better.
BAD BOY
Not to be confused with Mike Lowery from the movie Bad Boys but Kyle Lowry is a bad boy himself, or as Mark Jackson might put it, a "bad man!"
An early sign came over the summer when Cleveland and coach Byron Scott signed Lowry to an offer sheet.
When Byron Scott got his first job with the New Jersey Nets, one of the first things New Jersey did was trade for Jason Kidd.
When Scott got his next job in New Orleans, one of the first things New Orleans did was draft Chris Paul.
Scott went on to have great successes (and great failures but let's not talk about that now) with both players.
And Scott played with Magic Johnson, one of the greatest point guards of all time.
Byron Scott knows point guards.
So when he handpicked Kyle Lowry to be his point guard of the future in Cleveland, it was a strong indicator that Lowry was for real.
Houston wisely matched the offer and kept Lowry even though he was little more than a backup to Aaron Brooks at the time.
When Brooks went down with an injury early in the season, Lowry took control of the team and hasn't let go. He is carrying this Houston team and has them fighting for a playoff spot.
Not known as a shooter, Lowry has improved his three-point shooting percentage from .272 last season to a sizzling .380 this year and can beat a team any way imaginable anywhere on the court.
Houston is 7-2 in its last nine games, and Lowry's play in the last five games has been staggering (22.8 points, 4.2 rebounds, 8 assists, 1.4 steals, shooting .547 from the field and .488 from three).
When franchises look to win big, they try to find pieces to build around; and Lowry is one of those pieces.
He probably won't lead Houston to the playoffs this year, but he has them in the conversation.
And the way he has played recently, he is close to making himself part of another conversation: the one naming the best point guards in the NBA.
Note Update, 2/26/2012, 12:22 AM: Some of Lowry's March statistics first posted by Tom Martin.
Comment or e-mail: thenbaoutsider@yahoo.com
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Comment or e-mail: thenbaoutsider@yahoo.com
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Saturday, February 26, 2011
PLAYOFF PUSH POWER POLL
And Trade Deadline Review
This will go down as the wildest week in NBA trade-deadline history.
It's hard to imagine more headline players changing teams in such a short period of time as there were this week in the association.
After Carmelo Anthony muscled his way to New York, teams started seeing things very clearly.
The lack of a signed contract extension, or an expected tough negotiation, was rightfully taken by teams as a sign that the player didn't want to be there; and teams started unloading them left and right.
Deron Williams and Jeff Green were promptly booted, and it seemed everybody else jumped into the fray just because they could.
When it was over, we had a deadline day that was so crazy news sites could hardly keep up with the fast-moving transactions.
Looking at where we stand heading into the home stretch, very little has changed at the top or bottom of the league standings.
San Antonio and Boston are still the top two teams, and all of the top 10 teams from the Mid-Season Power Poll are still the same, only in a different order.
Dallas made the most ground. They were number seven in the last power poll and are now three. And the Lakers fell from three to six, the biggest fall of any team in the top 10.
(1.) San Antonio (48-10)
(2.) Boston (41-15)
(3.) Miami (43-16)
(4.) Dallas (41-16)
(5.) Chicago (39-17)
(6.) Los Angeles (41-19)
(7.) Oklahoma City (36-21)
(8.) Orlando (37-22)
(9.) Atlanta (35-23)
(10.) New Orleans (35-25)
NBA DRAFT LOTTERY POLL
I agree with everyone else that this looks like an extremely weak draft class.
My research hasn't been much, but I haven't seen a NBA-ready player yet, someone who has all of the tools to be successful before he enters the draft.
But that doesn't mean the draft is worthless, and no one will develop into a star with some good coaching, a strong drive and some good, veteran leadership.
The following teams will be competing to take that chance and hope someone can grow into the face of their franchise for many years to come.
(1.) Cleveland (11-47)
(2.) Minnesota (13-46)
(3.) Sacramento (14-42)
(4.) Washington (15-42)
(5.) Toronto (16-43)
(6.) New Jersey (17-41)
(7.) Detroit (21-39)
(8.) Los Angeles (21-38)
(9.) Milwaukee (22-35)
(10.) Charlotte (26-32)
DEADLINE DEALS
The Carmelo Anthony trade was covered earlier in the week, so let's take a look at the rest of what went down as teams prepare for the final games of the season and the playoffs.
Jeff Green to Boston: Are you kidding me?
Los Angeles and Dallas can step aside because they now have some company at the top of the NBA. This move makes Boston as deep and as talented as anybody, the clear favorite in the East and possibly the favorite to win it all this year.
Not only that, it secures their future and gives them a possible franchise cornerstone to play with Rajon Rondo for many years to come.
Before this trade, Boston was looking at a closing window of opportunity as a serious title threat. Now they are as well positioned as anybody to compete for titles after the end of the 2011-12 season.
Jermaine O'Neal is better than Kendrick Perkins could ever dream of being, and it was reported during the game Thursday night that they expect O'Neal back one month before the playoffs.
So Boston has a potential franchise player coming off the bench now that they have traded Perkins for Green and someone better than Perkins coming back for a playoff run.
Green has been playing out of position as a power forward for a couple of years. Back at his natural position, he could end up being as good as any small forward in the NBA.
From the Oklahoma City side, this trade is so horrendous that it almost makes you question their sanity. Who in the world would trade a possible franchise player for a role player and a backup point guard?
Make no mistake, they will be better as a team because they are no longer starting a small forward at power forward but don't mistake that as getting anything close to equal value for Jeff Green.
Nate Robinson is the only thing which can prevent this trade from going down as one of the all-time worst in NBA history.
Because Russell Westbrook is big for a point guard, Oklahoma City can play Robinson at shooting guard, which may be best for him, and match him up against the other team's point guard on defense; and a lineup of Westbrook, Robinson, Kevin Durant and Serge Ibaka would give them one of the most athletic of any in the NBA of guys who can actually play.
Let's see the Lakers keep up with that. But other than that, this trade is more than a head-scratcher.
A huge Celtics fan growing up, Thunder general manager Sam Presti is doing his best to pass Kevin McHale and become the man who traded his beloved Celtics the greatest number of assets at the cheapest possible price.
And with the Ray Allen trade and now this one, he may have topped him.
In a separate trade with Charlotte, Oklahoma City picked up Nazr Mohammed to boost their front court; and Boston got Nenad Krstic from Oklahoma City with Jeff Green.
Knicks to Denver: Everyone keeps saying that you have to have superstars to win, but few have ever really tested that theory. I have always believed that there is strength in numbers and that a team of eight to 10 really good players could be just as good as, if not better than, a team with a few superstars but other players not as good as that eight to 10.
Don't forget that George Karl is an outstanding coach.
I won't call him great because he hasn't won two championships, but you give a really good coach a bunch of good players, and there is no telling what can happen.
As for New York, they'll be fine as soon as Don Nelson Jr., I mean Mike D'Antoni, stops playing small ball.
Amar'e Stoudemire is not a center.
The sooner D'Antoni makes this adjustment, the better off New York will be.
Gerald Wallace to Portland: Gerald Wallace is a really good player. He has a lot of skills, will fit in nicely with what they are trying to do ('We'll use him ...') and is good insurance for Brandon Roy.
It will be very difficult to score on a front court featuring him, LaMarcus Aldridge and Marcus Camby, a definite step in the right direction for Portland.
Wallace puts them one step closer to contention.
Deron Williams to New Jersey: I'm not nearly as blown away by this move as others are. So New Jersey upgraded from a borderline-outstanding point guard to an outstanding one?
They still don't have any players and now, fewer draft picks. And I'm not even sure how much of an "upgrade" this really is.
Devin Harris can play.
Any boost they get from people wanting to come and play with Williams, assuming he is still there, could be offset by them not wanting to play for Avery Johnson, a coach who yells at his players like he's their daddy.
Mike Bibby for Kirk Hinrich: I've been down with the Jeff Teague Movement for a few weeks now.
Why these teams have talented players rotting on their benches will never be understood. Atlanta giving him more playing time was long overdue.
Hilton Armstrong is a nice prospect who should be better than any center on Atlanta's roster.
I'll believe Kirk Hinrich is an upgrade over Mike Bibby when I see it.
Baron Davis to Cleveland: This is the first mistake under Vinny Del Negro.
The Clippers should have traded for Jamario Moon and left Mo Williams in Cleveland. It's a bad sign because it is the first sign of the Clippers being the Clippers, meaning they were being cheap and made the move to save money and not win basketball games.
It does look like a weak draft, but in their position at this point in the season (no shot at the playoffs), you never opt out of the draft without seeing how the board lines up after the draft lottery.
And certainly not for Mo Williams, the guy who played about 12 good minutes in six games against Boston in the playoffs last year.
Marcus Thornton to Sacramento: This was a good move by Sacramento.
The last thing they need is a power forward with the front court that they have. They filled a position of need by trading a player who wasn't needed in Carl Landry.
I'm not sure what New Orleans was thinking here. Some games will have to be watched to find some answers.
Shane Battier to Memphis: Ishmael Smith, the throw in, may end up being the real key to this trade. He could fill Memphis' need at backup point guard.
What impact Battier will have on this team is unclear, but a talent upgrade always helps.
In Houston, this frees up playing time for Terrence Williams, Courtney Lee and Chase Budinger. I would have traded Kevin Martin too, but that's just me.
Hasheem Thabeet is a project, one most would say should be scrapped; but Houston has nothing to lose in seeing what he's got and trying to develop him.
Aaron Brooks to Phoenix: The impact of this trade can't be measured either.
Houston got Goran Dragic in return, one backup point guard for another. I need to see some games to come to any conclusion.
Finally, Chicago absolutely should have made a move for a shooting guard.
You don't go into the playoffs with just enough to try to win it all; you go in with more than enough, then you try to get some more after that.
Their margin of error is too close for comfort.
Comment or e-mail: thenbaoutsider@yahoo.com
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This will go down as the wildest week in NBA trade-deadline history.
It's hard to imagine more headline players changing teams in such a short period of time as there were this week in the association.
After Carmelo Anthony muscled his way to New York, teams started seeing things very clearly.
The lack of a signed contract extension, or an expected tough negotiation, was rightfully taken by teams as a sign that the player didn't want to be there; and teams started unloading them left and right.
Deron Williams and Jeff Green were promptly booted, and it seemed everybody else jumped into the fray just because they could.
When it was over, we had a deadline day that was so crazy news sites could hardly keep up with the fast-moving transactions.
Looking at where we stand heading into the home stretch, very little has changed at the top or bottom of the league standings.
San Antonio and Boston are still the top two teams, and all of the top 10 teams from the Mid-Season Power Poll are still the same, only in a different order.
Dallas made the most ground. They were number seven in the last power poll and are now three. And the Lakers fell from three to six, the biggest fall of any team in the top 10.
(1.) San Antonio (48-10)
(2.) Boston (41-15)
(3.) Miami (43-16)
(4.) Dallas (41-16)
(5.) Chicago (39-17)
(6.) Los Angeles (41-19)
(7.) Oklahoma City (36-21)
(8.) Orlando (37-22)
(9.) Atlanta (35-23)
(10.) New Orleans (35-25)
NBA DRAFT LOTTERY POLL
I agree with everyone else that this looks like an extremely weak draft class.
My research hasn't been much, but I haven't seen a NBA-ready player yet, someone who has all of the tools to be successful before he enters the draft.
But that doesn't mean the draft is worthless, and no one will develop into a star with some good coaching, a strong drive and some good, veteran leadership.
The following teams will be competing to take that chance and hope someone can grow into the face of their franchise for many years to come.
(1.) Cleveland (11-47)
(2.) Minnesota (13-46)
(3.) Sacramento (14-42)
(4.) Washington (15-42)
(5.) Toronto (16-43)
(6.) New Jersey (17-41)
(7.) Detroit (21-39)
(8.) Los Angeles (21-38)
(9.) Milwaukee (22-35)
(10.) Charlotte (26-32)
DEADLINE DEALS
The Carmelo Anthony trade was covered earlier in the week, so let's take a look at the rest of what went down as teams prepare for the final games of the season and the playoffs.
Jeff Green to Boston: Are you kidding me?
Los Angeles and Dallas can step aside because they now have some company at the top of the NBA. This move makes Boston as deep and as talented as anybody, the clear favorite in the East and possibly the favorite to win it all this year.
Not only that, it secures their future and gives them a possible franchise cornerstone to play with Rajon Rondo for many years to come.
Before this trade, Boston was looking at a closing window of opportunity as a serious title threat. Now they are as well positioned as anybody to compete for titles after the end of the 2011-12 season.
Jermaine O'Neal is better than Kendrick Perkins could ever dream of being, and it was reported during the game Thursday night that they expect O'Neal back one month before the playoffs.
So Boston has a potential franchise player coming off the bench now that they have traded Perkins for Green and someone better than Perkins coming back for a playoff run.
Green has been playing out of position as a power forward for a couple of years. Back at his natural position, he could end up being as good as any small forward in the NBA.
From the Oklahoma City side, this trade is so horrendous that it almost makes you question their sanity. Who in the world would trade a possible franchise player for a role player and a backup point guard?
Make no mistake, they will be better as a team because they are no longer starting a small forward at power forward but don't mistake that as getting anything close to equal value for Jeff Green.
Nate Robinson is the only thing which can prevent this trade from going down as one of the all-time worst in NBA history.
Because Russell Westbrook is big for a point guard, Oklahoma City can play Robinson at shooting guard, which may be best for him, and match him up against the other team's point guard on defense; and a lineup of Westbrook, Robinson, Kevin Durant and Serge Ibaka would give them one of the most athletic of any in the NBA of guys who can actually play.
Let's see the Lakers keep up with that. But other than that, this trade is more than a head-scratcher.
A huge Celtics fan growing up, Thunder general manager Sam Presti is doing his best to pass Kevin McHale and become the man who traded his beloved Celtics the greatest number of assets at the cheapest possible price.
And with the Ray Allen trade and now this one, he may have topped him.
In a separate trade with Charlotte, Oklahoma City picked up Nazr Mohammed to boost their front court; and Boston got Nenad Krstic from Oklahoma City with Jeff Green.
Knicks to Denver: Everyone keeps saying that you have to have superstars to win, but few have ever really tested that theory. I have always believed that there is strength in numbers and that a team of eight to 10 really good players could be just as good as, if not better than, a team with a few superstars but other players not as good as that eight to 10.
Don't forget that George Karl is an outstanding coach.
I won't call him great because he hasn't won two championships, but you give a really good coach a bunch of good players, and there is no telling what can happen.
As for New York, they'll be fine as soon as Don Nelson Jr., I mean Mike D'Antoni, stops playing small ball.
Amar'e Stoudemire is not a center.
The sooner D'Antoni makes this adjustment, the better off New York will be.
Gerald Wallace to Portland: Gerald Wallace is a really good player. He has a lot of skills, will fit in nicely with what they are trying to do ('We'll use him ...') and is good insurance for Brandon Roy.
It will be very difficult to score on a front court featuring him, LaMarcus Aldridge and Marcus Camby, a definite step in the right direction for Portland.
Wallace puts them one step closer to contention.
Deron Williams to New Jersey: I'm not nearly as blown away by this move as others are. So New Jersey upgraded from a borderline-outstanding point guard to an outstanding one?
They still don't have any players and now, fewer draft picks. And I'm not even sure how much of an "upgrade" this really is.
Devin Harris can play.
Any boost they get from people wanting to come and play with Williams, assuming he is still there, could be offset by them not wanting to play for Avery Johnson, a coach who yells at his players like he's their daddy.
Mike Bibby for Kirk Hinrich: I've been down with the Jeff Teague Movement for a few weeks now.
Why these teams have talented players rotting on their benches will never be understood. Atlanta giving him more playing time was long overdue.
Hilton Armstrong is a nice prospect who should be better than any center on Atlanta's roster.
I'll believe Kirk Hinrich is an upgrade over Mike Bibby when I see it.
Baron Davis to Cleveland: This is the first mistake under Vinny Del Negro.
The Clippers should have traded for Jamario Moon and left Mo Williams in Cleveland. It's a bad sign because it is the first sign of the Clippers being the Clippers, meaning they were being cheap and made the move to save money and not win basketball games.
It does look like a weak draft, but in their position at this point in the season (no shot at the playoffs), you never opt out of the draft without seeing how the board lines up after the draft lottery.
And certainly not for Mo Williams, the guy who played about 12 good minutes in six games against Boston in the playoffs last year.
Marcus Thornton to Sacramento: This was a good move by Sacramento.
The last thing they need is a power forward with the front court that they have. They filled a position of need by trading a player who wasn't needed in Carl Landry.
I'm not sure what New Orleans was thinking here. Some games will have to be watched to find some answers.
Shane Battier to Memphis: Ishmael Smith, the throw in, may end up being the real key to this trade. He could fill Memphis' need at backup point guard.
What impact Battier will have on this team is unclear, but a talent upgrade always helps.
In Houston, this frees up playing time for Terrence Williams, Courtney Lee and Chase Budinger. I would have traded Kevin Martin too, but that's just me.
Hasheem Thabeet is a project, one most would say should be scrapped; but Houston has nothing to lose in seeing what he's got and trying to develop him.
Aaron Brooks to Phoenix: The impact of this trade can't be measured either.
Houston got Goran Dragic in return, one backup point guard for another. I need to see some games to come to any conclusion.
Finally, Chicago absolutely should have made a move for a shooting guard.
You don't go into the playoffs with just enough to try to win it all; you go in with more than enough, then you try to get some more after that.
Their margin of error is too close for comfort.
Comment or e-mail: thenbaoutsider@yahoo.com
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