Real Deal

There goes Garnett again, trying to fight Barea AND pushing off the ref. What a punk.

Wow.

I'm not used to seeing Iggy pass the ball like he has tonight. Good look by him, though, and another nice shot selection by Brand. Doesn't look good for NY.

Garnett gives Chandler a cheap shot down the court, then "bounces off" him and runs the opposite direction, just in case Tyson decides he wants to break his face.

YEAH BUDDY! Rooting for the Cavs. I don't want to see that record streak snapped.

Who's watching? Did the Wiz fans boo Arenas?

WTF Elton Brand...haha. Dude is playing like he's in the NBA Finals right now.

http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/allstar2011/news/story?id=6091625

Like I said, the only reason why I considered Gasol "1b" in that discussion is because he's the better big man. If you ask both to play in the low post, I would take Gasol operating out of it, as a passer and a scorer, over Dirk. But, strictly positional debate? Dirk is the better PF, and I wouldn't think twice about that right now. Amare is better than Gasol, also. I would take Griffin as well, the way he's facilitating, scoring (back-to-the-basket and fast break), and rebounding. Gasol's stats are his worst as a Laker, but even then, they do show he's a productive forward. However, they are painting an unfinished picture. Gasol is very "mild" when we need him the most. He avoids contact. He would rather switch and defend a guard in late-game situations, just to keep him out of the paint. Last night, Gasol was 8-10 shooting the ball. He had MANY more opportunities to shoot the ball, or even post up and call for it, but he didn't take the low post as much as he should've, and he didn't shoot the ball as much when he had it in his hands. It's why Kobe called him out on his lack of aggressive play, and why Jackson made fun of him yesterday (in his comment about being an all-star and not playing hard). Gasol isn't a top three PF in the NBA right now. Dirk, Amare, Griffin...they are doing better scoring, rebounding, and/or facilitating. Some will argue for others as well (ex. Love, Garnett, Aldridge). At this point, I really don't consider Gasol a back-to-the-basket post anymore. He's not a scoring threat. He refuses to average over 15 FGA per game (and did so in Memphis as well, which is shocking), and when the Lakers need him the most, he hasn't shown his face.

Phil seems to be throwing down on Gasol and Artest lately, and for good reason.

Pouncey is out for the Super Bowl.

Wade missed a bit of the game, played the rest injured...and Bosh was basically the equivalent of Brian Scalabrine in this game, scoring-wise, so it's no surprise. Tonight, it was the 2009-10 Cavaliers vs. the Orlando Magic. The only defense Orlando plays (and has played over the years) is running perimeter players off the three and letting them fall into the hands of Dwight (something you've seen Battier do, sending players into Yao and Mutombo). LeBron decided he wasn't going to do that, wanted to take jumpers, and he was hot the entire game. I wouldn't expect it too often with him, even though he's an excellent player. James is more likely going to take over those games by getting to the rim every other play. Tonight, he was hitting everything, from every spot. In fact, to be honest, he looked like Durant out there, scoring-wise. KD gets to the line, drives to the rim, and can shoot the rock with 23-24 feet of range. LeBron possessed those abilities the entire game...not the first time I've seen him do it, but it's not really his thing, either. Keep in mind, though, that a team like Boston would welcome this play. Same with the Bulls (who I consider better than Orlando). It really was LeBron's show out there tonight, but that kind of show doesn't work with some of the elite defensive teams out East, especially Boston.

A prime Royce Gracie, times ten.

Packers 28-17 - Charles Barkley Packers 23-20 - Ernie Johnson Steelers 24-17 - Kenny Smith Steelers 31-23 - Chris Webber

Odom didn't even jump for that board. How many bigs do we have on this team? Whatever.

Orlando is getting exposed, especially Dwight. The Magic don't have a Kobe to come in and perform in place of Shaq near the end of quarters/games, so Dwight is really on his own...has to hit those free throws.

LMAO, what the [expletive]...LeBron wasn't even touched going to the rim.

In other words... "I'll give away a second-rounder, maybe cash considerations, just to have a chance at keeping him...but I'm not stupid enough to go beyond that, and that's why we won't acquire Carmelo Anthony without a guarantee that he signs the extension."

Ouch.

Here's where I would expect the ignorant basketball analysts to say, "OMG, LeBron has 23 points and, as you can see, the Magic are ONLY down by four! He needs to get his teammates more involved."

That was when the season first started, and I never stated that he was better than Dirk. Ever. Last month, on TLN, we had a few Lakers fans saying Gasol was, by far, the best PF in the NBA. Not true, at all. Now? It's not even close. Gasol may be the best back-to-the-basket PF in the league, I can see where someone would want to argue for that...which is why I stuck him up there with Dirk. HOWEVER, if we're talking strictly position, Dirk blows him out because he's a legitimate primary scoring option and a franchise player. I'm sure I never made that clear here, but I did elsewhere, when people were slamming Dirk just to stick Gasol at the top of the list.

http://www.cbssports.com/nba/gametracker/recap/NBA_20110202_MEM@MIN

http://www.cbssports.com/nba/gametracker/recap/NBA_20110202_CHA@DET

The Grizzlies knew what they were getting with Marc. He's as efficient as Pau (or much more, last season), passes almost as good, plays better defense, and he could probably average 15-16 PPG every season (like he did last year) depending on what players he's playing with. They were looking at him for a couple of years, and that trade was centered around him. Rumor was that they were going to bring him in using the draft anyway, without trading Pau, but with the Lakers having a couple of second-rounders in 2007, and the Grizzlies only having one pick (4th in the draft, they selected Conley), they found an opportunity to bring in his brother AND to shed salary, which eventually led them to a number of players and signing possibilities (including Randolph). While they didn't know all of that was going to happen (with the other players), they did have high hopes for Marc before he even practiced with them, so they knew, just as Popovich's scouts know about other international talent. And I never said we would deal Ron for Mayo...just that if Stein was right on both stories, if we dealt Ron to another team and brought in Mayo (possibly in a three-way trade), then we could fit him into the five if needed, or play him at the one for a significant amount of time. Shannon Brown and Steve Blake would be considered. The Grizzlies were already experimenting with Mayo off the bench...he just doesn't fit with Conley there, and Memphis already showed they were committed to Conley with the six-year contract they gave him. Trading Mayo would also give them money to re-sign Gasol, which is very important because his contract expires after this season, and Mayo has a qualifying offer of $7.4 million two seasons from now. Randolph also expires. It's not out of reach, by any means.

Why would I listen to Marc Stein when he's the one that reported that Ron Artest wanted dealt...and everyone is now saying that was never true (including Ron, Phil, Kobe and Fish)? But, if the Lakers do want Mayo, it has Kobe written all over it. Bryant has praised Mayo (well, his potential and willingness to learn) for a few years now, especially after working with him in Team USA tryouts/practices. If Ron is dealt, there's a lot of potential there...to play Mayo at the two, Kobe at the three. Phil wouldn't hesitate to do that, and once Barnes heals up, Mayo would move to the point, probably play a lot of minutes at one and two (won't start over Fisher yet), and Kobe will move from the two to the three.