Real Deal

Caron with a NASTY pass.

HUGE mistake by Jordan and Griffin.

Odom misses the Lakers.

Not surprised. The Clippers are leaving him open more than the Lakers did, and he hit five or so against us.

Three-point field goals are included in the overall FG%.

I found this pretty interesting, when I was in a debate the other day...took a look at some numbers, threw some extras out there, and discovered this. If Kobe (just an example, usually goes for any big-name scorer) would make just ONE extra shot per game (say he goes 6-22 on a bad night, instead of 5-22)... He would increase his shooting percentage by 5%. Last season (82 games): 740-1639 FG, 45.1% shooting 740 + 82 (one shot per game) = 822 822-1639 = 50.2% shooting How important is the one extra make? Well, if it's in the last minute of the game, sure...it's huge. First quarter, six minutes to go? Would the game really change that much? It's hard to say, even when the game is won by 1-2 points (adjustments could be made earlier, players taken out earlier, etc). We always talk about how bad ass it is when guards shoot 50% from the floor (like so many did in the 80's and early 90's), but is it really that big of a deal? One extra make per game? Anymore, I find it hard to believe that the gap between 45% and 50% shooting is THAT significant.

Clippers fans were chanting, "Ug-ly sis-ter," while Odom was at the free throw line. Stupid.

Augustin has only scored 7-8 points more with free throws, so to me, his FT% doesn't make up for the extra 0.5% Henderson is shooting from the floor. If it does...well, I have a fantastic topic I'll post soon.

The Knicks could have had a team like the Denver Nuggets. SMH. But, won't say I expected all of this. I figured they would be pretty good with Melo and Amare. Takes a real team to contend, though.

Things getting a bit chippy out there, and it's because Odom is still pissed he was traded.

We're talking about the extension, though. If he becomes a free agent, that's different...but right now, I don't see why the Thunder should just give him the $94 million. Once the extension deadline passes (not sure when it is, since the season is shorter), then it makes more sense...but the Thunder would be dumb to just hand over the cash right now. Plus, I still think they should offer him to Boston, for Rondo, straight up, but it won't happen.

I hate some of those stats, though. Offensive and defensive ratings are very dependent on how well a team produces on both ends of the court. Raja Bell is a great example of this...a player who has always been a very good defender, but if you go look up his defensive ratings, you'll see that they are horrible (110 and 111 in those years with the Suns, who were a bad defensive team), and it's all because of the team. http://www.basketball-reference.com/players/b/bellra01.html Check out Tayshaun Prince's defensive ratings, after the Pistons lost Larry Brown and pieces of their team. http://www.basketball-reference.com/players/p/princta01.html ------------ With that said, yes, Henderson is doing pretty damn good in Charlotte, better than I imagined he would. He's a decent rebounder for his size, and he's far more efficient than DJ Augustin, who I usually find myself yelling at when I do watch the Cats (and root for them). If Charlotte would shoot a higher percentage, as a team, and stop turning the ball over, they'd be a playoff team, despite their pathetic defense (in the East, it's not hard to slip into the 8th spot). Being a decent team means people start paying attention, and that's really what Henderson needs. Not going to happen, though, until Kemba breaks out and takes over the starting PG spot (and who knows if he'll do that).

I'm not so sure Monta is the most underrated player in the game. He's considered a very good scorer, and I think he doesn't get enough credit for the defense he CAN play (when he's determined to play it), but to me, he has always been a bit too inconsistent, and sometimes, he just zones out and goes into Jordan mode at times where he shouldn't. It's tough to really say who is the most underrated player in the league. There are many to choose from. Paul Millsap is doing big things for the Jazz, and Roy Hibbert's Pacers are playing very good basketball due to what he's doing in Indiana. Iguodala does a LOT on the floor, scores when he needs to, facilitates, rebounds well, and plays very good defense...finally, being a team player is paying off, but he's not being recognized for it as much as he should be. Same with Lawson.

Real quick, about John Stockton...the guy was putting up MVP Steve Nash numbers AND shooting very well from the floor (as Nash does), as well as playing FAR better defense (Stockton was a very good defender), and yet he was never considered an MVP candidate. That's the difference in eras.

Kobe and Durant make sense as the top two, but I have to move LeBron to #3, ahead of Rose. And, instead of Love (because the Wolves have a losing record, and he doesn't play defense), I have to add Howard to the list, at #5. My gripe with Rose is that the Bulls are the best defensive team in the league, and a great deal of that is due to his teammates and coach. LeBron can't sneak into that top two because, quite frankly, he hits the same wall Kobe and Shaq did, back when they were together. I can't give an MVP to a guy with another superstar teammate + an all-star (who is playing very well, by the way).

LOB CITY...oh wait...

Pathetic is pretty accurate. The Clippers are 27th in offensive rebounds, 30th in defensive boards, 30th in total boards. That's jaw-dropping...don't think I would've ever guessed that.

They look like a contender right now, being second in the West, but their schedule has been favorable. Losses to the Lakers (twice), Spurs, and Nuggets (road)... Their best wins came against the Sixers (in Utah) and a second meeting against Denver. However, aside from those two, they've knocked out the Hornets, Bucks, Grizzlies, Cavaliers, Warriors, Nets, and the Clippers (no CP3). Contenders need to be able to beat other contenders. I can't say they are THAT good yet, but the Jazz are surely a playoff team. They play smart basketball. They take smart shots, won't foul as much, and they don't end up with so many turnovers after every game. That, alone, makes any team a decent one.

Dallas is so bipolar. They are one of the best defensive teams in the NBA (top three right now), should be an excellent offense, but their inconsistencies on that end of the court have left them in the bottom half of the league (22nd the last time I looked, before they played the Lakers). You'd expect that to show right now, and it does, but they just let a CP3-less Clippers team drop 31 in the first quarter, all led by Billups (the shot-bomber) and Williams.

Wade still has a nasty first step, but it's not where it was a few years back. Doesn't get up the court as fast. It's not THAT noticeable, unless you're really looking for it, and a lot of guys that watch basketball religiously will see it. The thing about Wade is, I've always thought he could change his game up and become more of a playmaker. I'd say two years as well, he'll start to really struggle taking over games as an elite scorer (with the likes of a Durant, for instance), but there's no reason for me to think he won't have his hand in a great deal of clutch plays. Chris Paul doesn't have the knees to sky above everyone and drop big buckets, and he's a bit slower than he was when he first came in the NBA, but the guy knows the court inside-out, and he realizes how to be an effective player. The other day, might have been against the Pacers, he had a nice finish at the rim...but you can see the way he plays a little more controlled, reserved, almost the anti-Iverson at times, to make sure he'll have it for the closing minutes of the fourth quarter. Guys like Durant and Griffin have to worry about that much less, and even LeBron (even though he's not 22 anymore), but Wade will need to lean on James and Bosh more than usual these next couple of seasons, to make sure he won't end up like Iverson. I believe we had a discussion about this on the old OTR, near the beginning of his career (maybe right after he won his ring), regarding his play and how it will wear him down quicker. Wish I had that topic, haha.

Why would Nene go to Houston, though? He wasn't a part of that trade, and I have a hard time believing he was going to be on any other team but the Denver Nuggets. The guy was offered big bucks to go play with Deron Williams in New Jersey, and he declined, just to stay with the Nuggets. Can't trade Nene if he's in Denver. If Deron is truly interested in Houston, and there is a possibility the Rockets could land him...well, it would have been a Deron/Pau duo. You have to remember that Gasol makes nearly $20 million, and that trade (if it went through) would have dealt almost everything valuable to the Hornets, minus Kyle Lowry. Would the Magic take Lowry and Gasol? I don't see why they would. Lowry is putting up some damn good numbers, but he's not proven all-star just yet, and Gasol is over 30 and showing it (not to mention making that $20 mill). Now, yeah...Howard would probably like the Rockets, if Houston somehow landed Deron...but how will they land Deron before the deadline? They would have to trade more pieces. I just don't see this happening. It would have to be a picture-perfect scenario, one that both Williams and Howard draw up...where they both stay with their teams until July, and both teams decide to keep them until July...then Houston takes their entire team and trades it off to New Jersey and Orlando. OR, they take big pieces to trade for Deron, and make room (somehow) to sign Howard. Just feels like a reach. The likelihood that all of the chips would fall in the right place? Yikes...I'd be shocked.

Good. I wish he never left the franchise, though, but I doubt that many Cleveland fans care about that now, especially since he's back just one year after. Could have been one of those guys that has never played for a second team, though, and that's rare. Kobe, Dirk, Duncan, Pierce so far.

LOL. "Hey buddy...eyes, down here."

I'm afraid I'll have to shut down OTR, if this passes. Banners, signatures, avatars, even posts would not be allowed to contain any images of players or logos...and beyond that, I'm going to assume that we would not be able to post ANY content (aside from links) from other sites.

TIME: 6:30 PM ET TV: FOX