Built Ford Tough

He said he wouldn't sign an extension as of right now. It's not like he flat out said he is not going to re-sign with the team. He would be stupid to sign a long-term extension right now anyways. Of course a player of Deron Williams' calibre is going to test the market, or, at the very least, wait until the midway point of the season so that he can get a better understanding of what he is working with before signing an extension. Pretty much every big name UFA does this.

They probably figure that if they get into a track meet with Kentucky that the game would get even more out of hand. Can't really say I blame them, considering Kentucky is probably the most athletic team in the country. As for Gilchrist, I understand that about him. However, in the other Kentucky games I've watched, he still stood out to me even though he didn't really put up a lot of points, but he would make a great defensive player, a nice drive and dish or something like that. Today I just haven't noticed him doing anything, whether offensively or defensively. What the hell was Teague thinking there? That was an awful charge.

Nasty put-back jam off of the missed free throw by Jones to end the half. It is an 11 point lead for Kentucky, but it really should be more if they just execute offensively. Their defense has been incredible as St. John's has absolutely no answer for them. Davis may flirt with a triple double if he keeps this up. He has 7 points, 8 rebounds and 5 blocks at the half. Jones played well in that half as well, with 13 points, 4 rebounds and 2 blocks. St. John's just as now answer for those two. I haven't really noticed Kidd-Gilchrist out there, though. I completely forgot that he was even on the team. I can't really recall anything he did in that half. It just goes to show how talented Kentucky is when a player like Gilchrist can be absolutely invisible and yet they still completely dominate a half.

It is why what Dirk did last season was so impressive. He could've taken the easy way out and paired up with some other superstar(s) but didn't even consider the thought of leaving Dallas. He re-signs with them and leads the team he has played on for the last 10+ years to their first ever NBA Championship in franchsie history. It is what it is, though. This new era of stars aren't wired the same way as guys like Kobe, Dirk and Duncan are.

Lupul named 3rd Star of the Month. Kadri named AHL Player of the Month as well after putting up 17 points (6 goals and 11 assists) in 12 games. Not bad.

As well as Kentucky has played defensively, they have been equally as bad offensively. There is no movement and players are basically just taking turns trying to beat their man one-on-one. The only time they are getting any good looks is when they are able to get out in transition.

Raptors aren't interested in Chandler. This was posted on Tim Chisolm's Twitter account (he is a writer for TSN). Adds fuel to the fire of my theory that this is just posturing on his agents behalf in an attempt to create a bidding war for him.

Chisholm of TSN posted this on his Twitter: If they aren't interested in Chandler, it really makes me question if they are interested in any of the big men. If they have no interest in Chandler, I can't see them being interested in Nene at all. Gasol would still make a bit of sense, since he is young enough to grow with this core, but I don't see Memphis letting him go.

St. John's is really struggling with Kentucky's length on defense. They have already had 3 shot clock violations and a number of other possessions where they forced up a poor shot as the clock was winding down. They have absolutely nothing going for them offensively right now. Davis had added 2 steals to his statline now. He is stitting at something like 4 points, 5 rebounds, 4 blocks and 2 steals. EDIT: Even after the timeout they can't run anything. A bunch of passing around the perimeter until the shot clock winds down. They then force up a 3, which Jones ends up blocking. This defensive performance is brilliant right now.

Davis is dominating the offensive glass right now. He has at least 3 offensive boards in the first 4 minutes, including a very impressive tip in (which he followed up with a block on the other end of the floor). He has one hell of a motor and that, combined with his length, makes him able to really impact the game in the paint, whether it is rebounding or blocking shots. In the first 4 minutes, he has 4 points, 4 rebounds and 4 blocks. Teague still does not impress me at all, though. He has a two on one and instead of making a simply bounce pass, he decides to try a finger roll, which he promptly misses. The next possession he winds up taking a quick three. He really needs to learn how to run a team better.

Nice strip by Kidd-Gilchrist to start the break. Too bad Jones made an awful decision with the ball and ended up traveling, even with the 3-2 numbers advantage. Lamb makes up for it on the next possession by finding a streaking Davis in transition. He really runs the floor well, especially for a 6'11 guy. That was a nice play by Davis to catch and finish. It isn't often you see a guy Davis' size be able to catch and finish running full speed ahead, especially when he catches the ball so deep already.

Nice, Shulman is calling the game. I don't know what it is about him, but I really like him as a commentator. And then of course there is Vitale. Over/Under on how many times he uses the phrase "diaper dandy"? He has already used it once and the broadcast has been on air for about a minute.

Too bad I'm going to miss the game I want to see most, which is the UNC/UK game on Saturday, since I'll be at work. Then again, judging how UNC has played the last two games, I think Kentucky would walk all over them anyways, so it may not be a bad thing that I will miss it, haha.

Time: 7:30 EST TV: ESPN 2 & 3 http://www.cbssports.com/collegebasketball/gametracker/preview/NCAAB_20111201_STJNNY@KY I'm hoping to see a bit more from Anthony Davis on the offensive end tonight. He hasn't really been much of a factor offensively for the Wildcats this year, but I know that he is talented at that end of the floor. Kentucky just has so much depth that he gets lost in the suffle.

Did you expect anything else?

Bruins sign Krejci to a 3 year extension with an annual cap hit of $5.25M. I also forgot to mention this earlier, but Tampa Bay signed Hedman to a 5 year extension with a cap hit of $4M. Kypreos also tweeted that Murray informed Ryan that the team is not shopping him and he won't be dealt.

Yeah, it doesn't make much sense to waste it on him if you don't plan on signing any big free agents this summer. Keep him around as a mentor to Vesely. Should the opportunity arise next summer where they need to free up some cash to sign a free agent, then use it on him next season.

http://espn.go.com/nba/truehoop/miamiheat/story/_/id/7303236/mike-miller-miami-heat-hernia-surgery-least-month I think it is safe to say that his time in Miami is over. This is his 3rd surgery of the offseason and 4th in the last year. Sure, a hernia isn't really something you can predict, but his body just seems to be failing him and considering how vital it is for the Heat to get a center, I just don't see them taking the chance that he will be able to stay healthy. Given their cap situation, it is a risk that I don't see them being willing to take.

This was in ESPN's updated amnesty column. http://espn.go.com/nba/story/_/id/7300507/nba-updated-amnesty-candidates-every-team I really hope that this is all just agents creating leverage for their clients, but part of me knows that there is truth to these rumors. You just get the feeling that Colangelo wants to get a center to compliment Bargnani. I just hope that Colangelo doesn't do anything stupid and overpay for a 30 year old free agent big man. You would think he would've learned his lesson from the Turkoglu fiasco that giving 30 year olds with question marks around them long term deals is a bad idea. They have done a nice job of creating flexibility but it would all go for waste if it is blown on a player like Chandler or Nene, unless they are coming on a reasonable, 2 year contract, which seems highly unlikely. Gasol is the only one that I would be alright with, but the Raptors would have to vastly overpay to get him.

I think Dalembert is a better fit than Nene. Nene is obviously more talented offensively, but with James, Wade and Bosh, he won't get the touches needed to play up to his potential on that end of the floor. There just isn't enough ball to go around as even Bosh gets underutilized at times, and he is a much better offensive player than Nene. A lot of Nene's value is on the offensive end and his role on that team would basically be nothing more than an offensive rebounding, garbage man who gets the occasional post up. He would be very effective at it given his ability to finish around the rim, but I'd prefer what Dalembert brings over that, since he is better on the other end of the floor. Dalembert is more of a true center, is a better shot blocker, rebounder and is more suited to anchor a defense. The only other free agent big man that is a better fit for Miami, at least in my opinion, would be Tyson Chandler but that obviously won't be happening as he won't be signing for the MLE.

In some big Ducks news, Bobby Ryan has... not been traded as of yet. However, Randy Carlyle was fired after the Habs game and will be replaced for former Capitals coach, Bruce Boudreau.

Nice play to get Bullock the open look. Marshall really sold that he was going to be going down low the Zeller, who had nice position deep and Barnes set a great backscreen to free Bullock up for the curl. That was the first perfectly executed set play from UNC in a while. Most of their offense this half has come from broken plays. Either Marshall creating something or Barnes. The two turning points for UNC were Barnes' aggressiveness in looking for his own shot on offense and Strickland's defense on Taylor in the 2nd half. He has held him to 1-7 shooting in the half and Wisconsin's offense has become completely stagnant without him being able to create anything. EDIT: And just as I give Strickland all of this praise, he comes into the game and makes two absolutely brutal mistakes, fouling Taylor on the inbounds and then turning the ball over on a stupid pass. Suddenly this game isn't nicely wrapped up like it seemed to be just 20 seconds before.

Strickland is really locking down Taylor in the 2nd half. Taylor was blowing by Marshall earlier in the game, but he hasn't be able to do much of anything since they switched Strickland on him. Barnes comes off the bench and drills a huge three right away. He has taken over this 2nd half and put the Heels on his back offensively. 18 points for him now. EDIT: To add to my comment about Strickland shutting Taylor down, Marshall gets put on him and immediately gets into the paint and draws the foul. He missed both of the free throws, but it was pretty much the only scoring opportunity he has had since Strickland was put on him.

Well, he is a disaster when guarding 5's anyways. At least this way he would have a legit defensive anchor to cover his ass. I agree about it not making much sense for the Nets, though. Even if you know you aren't getting Howard, Nene makes a lot more sense than Chandler does.

That is the problem with Marshall. As much as I love his ability to run a team and make plays, you can't afford to have him and Strickland on the floor at the same time for extended periods of time. Teams just pack the paint once Barnes catches the ball because there is nobody who you have to worry about shooting from the perimeter, other than Barnes himself. Bullock is a great shooter, but you also can't really have him and Marshall on the floor together for long either, since both are terrible defenders. If there is one thing that has the potential to bite this team in the ass, it is going to be that. Barnes is starting to take this game over, though. Both offensively and defensively. When he is on his game, he is an absolute terror on both ends of the floor. He is a game breaker both offensively and defensively. Too bad it takes his team falling behind or some other incident to trigger this kind of emotion from him. If he could play like this all the time, he would be scary.