Nitro

Watching Chris Paul brings me so much joy...when he actually looks for his own shot like he is tonight, he's damn near flawless offensively. Always making the right decision, and his midrange game is absolutely lethal. Al Jefferson is absoluely tearing DeAndre Jordan up. Jordan really needs to pull back the reigns a bit with his shot blocking and focus on slowing down Big Al, who has 18pts on 9-11 shooting. If the Clippers can get a legit SG and some depth in their frontcourt with a trade involving Chauncey and/or Bledsoe, and if Del Negro really pounds a solid defensive system and principles into their head in practice, this Clippers team could really become a serious championship contender. They are hella fun to watch, too.

The thing that really concerns me about Spo is his inability to adjust the defense against teams with hot 3pt shooting players. His system is to switch, collapse the defense, over-rotate and create turnovers. However, as we saw last year against the Mavs and games like tonight, this defense leaves 3pt shooters open, and often it ends up killing the Heat. Especially against guys like Jason Terry and Brandon Jennings, giving them a few easy 3pt shots makes them basically impossible to stop once they hit their groove. Yet, during the game he refuses to make the adjustment to stick to shooters and not over-help on every play in the paint. We know it can be done, as seen with Wade sticking to Allen in the semi's against the Celtics, but that ability to adjust needs to carry over, night-in, night-out. Luckily Spo's defensive system exposes their biggest compeitition's (Bulls) weaknesses, but I wouldn't be incredibly surprised to see a different team take the Heat to 7 games in the playoffs because of this defensive philosophy.

If Przybilla is healthy, he'd be a nice addition to the Heat. Is a big body who can defend and rebound (a combo none of the Heat centers have). Martin is more of a sure-bet, and with the Heat already running many lineups without a true big-bodies center, he could definitely fit in defensively, and offensively he's lightyears better than what Anthony offers. Both are worthy of a look.

The Nets are just 2.5 games out, but the Knicks will eventually get it on track, the Bucks have really played good basketball as of late, the Celtics won't miss the playoffs, and the Cavs have played solid basketball all season. IMO there isn't much of a chance the Nets make it without Brooks, even when Lopez gets back. Morrow is a good 3pt shooter, but not much else than a good role player. Humphries is on a one-year contract (I believe), so it's difficult to really get excited about him as far as the future goes. If the Nets don't get Dwight, Brooks is really the only player I'm really excited for as far as the future goes, especially since if there's no Dwight, there's no Deron.

WHAT THE [expletive] IS MARIO DOING?!? Heat had a foul to give and he is over-aggressive on Jennings, fouls him, then fouls him again to put him at the line.

Just started watching at the beginning of the 4th, and Miller really needs to be taken out of the game. He just made back-to-back awful defensive rotations that cost the Heat 5pts.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OYqCMN8dVAU I see that kind of shit so much when they are faced one-on-one. I was strictly talking about how Bosh usually curls up on offense when KG is defending him. Going by the eye test, KG has almost always overwhlemed Bosh defensively when I've seen them matched up, from Bosh's Toronto days to Miami. I watched every second of each Miami-Boston game last season, and most of Bosh's numbers came with Big Baby on him. KG always crowded him and forced him out of his comfort zone and into a tough fadeaway jumper. Only a very few number of times did Bosh take it to the rim, which is what he should have done nearly every time, and is what guys like Amare eventually caught up to when KG defends him (specifically how KG usually lets you go baseline). I've rarely seen a star player get locked up in one-on-one situations like KG does to Bosh.

I disagree. Yes, the team is playing better, but that's because Williams has finally started to play like he cares. Morrow and Humphries are doing what they are being paid and expected to do, and the rest of the team doesn't show much upside. Brooks was the one guy who has shown a lot of promise in a year where the Nets won't be making the playoffs (unless they get Dwight and make a big run at the end of the season).

[expletive] GOD DAMMIT!!!! He's the only young guy on the Nets that really has serious potential to be something special. With Lopez's injury, I felt his sensational rookie play could have been the saving grace in a trade for Dwight. Oh well, I doubt this injury will have any long term effect, but it really sucks because he was the one promising bright spot for the Nets this season.

Agree with everything you said. That's my issue with building teams completely through the draft, not surrounding them with a lot of veterans who have experience winning, and playing these young kids major minutes. You see it right now with teams like the Wizards, Kings and Raptors. Unfortunately for the Raptors, out of those three teams, they probably have the worst young prospects of the bunch. They really need to trade some of these young pieces while they still have value for some proven veterans who know how to play winning basketball and can teach these young guns what to do day-in, day-out, from on the court gameday, to practice, to how to handle themselves off the court. They need to learn winning principles. And getting those guys will really excel the development of whatever high draft pick(s) they get in the next year or two. But, yes, none of these players really excite me, and I can't envision any of them besides Johnson (and maybe Bayless) being impactful players on a winning ballclub.

The Knicks are 8-13...you want to wait to fire D'Antoni because Melo had a good game against arguably the worst team in the NBA? I don't care if Melo has worked with an injured wrist, there is no reason this team shouldn't be AT LEAST .500. The Knicks spent years gutting their roster to get to this point. 8-13 is inexcusable, and D'Antoni's up-tempo offensive system won't work with a team built to be a slower, halfcourt team with some defensive potential. He went to the Lakers with Kobe, Odom and a bunch of D-leaguers. The same Lakers who won like 35 games the season before and gave up Caron Butler for Kwame Brown. I'm sure, besides the Heat, if Phil was to come back it would be for the Knicks. Two stars, one of the better centers in the league, and coaching in the place he won a championship as a player.

Dirk was guarded by Joel Anthony and Udonis Haslem most of that series. No one gets punked by KG more than Bosh. KG locked him up pretty much every game last season, including the playoffs, and that was a way past his prime KG. ------------------------------------- Anyway, who I'd take completely depends on what I am asking that player to do. If I need a 2nd option who is playing off a 1st option that draws and collapses defenses, give me Bosh. He's got an incredible midrange jumper, good at making cuts to the basket off the PnR, and can also be deadly in faceup situations. If I need a 2nd option who is playing off a 1st option who does most of his work on the perimeter and who needs a big man that can attract defenses near the paint, give me Gasol. He's a terrific post player who can score around the basket, make great passes out of the post, can collect offensive rebounds with his size, and can also be effective in faceup and spot-up situations. If I need a first option scoring the ball, give me Bosh because he's more aggressive. If I need a first option to run an offense through, give me Gasol because he facilitates offense for his teammates better. Overall, Gasol is probably the better player, although he's most effective as a C, while Bosh is more effective at PF. It's really like comparing apples and oranges. However, when you put Gasol at C, his size can make him a decent anchor defensively, he's a very good post scorer when he's zoned in, he is effective facing up at the C position, he's a terrific passer that you can successfully play through, and he's a better rebounder than Bosh. Meanwhile, the main issue with Bosh is that he doesn't create a ton of easy attempts for himself, and if you crowd him offensively, he gets frustrated. And if he isn't scoring, he doesn't offer much offensively. Defensively, he's gotten a ton better with his rotations, is effective in PnR situations, and his length can bother some PF's jumpers. I like his versatility there, but if you put Gasol at C where he is more suited, he is more impactful because his size and length alters more shots over the course of a game. Really though, it is an extremely close comparison, and it's all a matter of what you need on your team.

The issue is the Melo/Amare/Chandler core is relatively young, in their primes and have longterm money invested in them. Nash is what, 38? I think he'd be a great pickup as fair-priced pickup in the offseason, but I'd be weary of trading for him. And he certainly shouldn't be counted on as the 'missing piece'...not at his age, and not with this being a 3-5 year project. Anyway, Sessions is a solid PG, but far from a player that will turn this boat around. On a team with Melo and Amare, you need a PG that can knock down the 3 at a consistent clip, and Sessions doesn't do that. He will setup the offense and help get guys like Amare easier looks, but without a 3pt shot, great defense and superb athleticism, his impact wouldn't be too high. Would be a great PG off the bench for them, though.

Meh...they have Dalembert, who is a really solid center. Don't see the need in getting Kaman. If I were to make a trade I'd make upgrades at the wing positions (specifically SF).

It's kind of hard to argue. Just 18 games into the season they've beat the Blazers, Heat, Lakers, Mavs, Thunder, Nuggets and Grizzlies.

^Lmao wow.

Yeah...I don't see this dunk being topped anytime soon. Holy shit.

I hate this attitude. In theory, yes, you want to get the highest draft pick when you can't make the playoffs, and want to keep as much cap space as possible, but at some point a team needs to get rid of the tanking mindset. It is almost impossible for a team to build through the draft. At some point, you need to bring in talent through FA or else you lose the young talent you do have to other, more attractive markets (and Toronto is one of those cities a lot of NBA players are hesistant to play in to begin with). That is not to say they should overpay for a bunch of average/above average talent, but Toronto is at a crossroads. Many of their promising young guns have been in the league a few years and aren't likely to improve all that much more, and their already developed players (Bargnani, Calderon) are in their prime. They have to figure out what they want. If they feel their core is one that is promising enough to build a good playoff team around, then starting this season and in the offseason they need to bring in talent via FA as well as whatever draft pick(s) they get. As for Chandler, he'd be a little redundant next to Derozan, especially if he's getting anything above MLE money.

If I were Chicago, I'd throw the entire starting frontcourt at Orlando for Dwight. Noah, Boozer, Deng, maybe a draft pick or two for Dwight and Hedo. Chicago has an insanely deep frontcourt and would have Gibson to fill in for Boozer (who honestly looks better than Boozer most of the time), and Asik to backup Dwight. Rose/Watson Hamilton/Brewer Hedo/Korver Gibson/Scal Dwight/Asik That team could be scary good, especially if they could pickup a cheap backup PF.

I agree that JR is the better fit, though I am not sure about either of their contract situations. I am sure Kenyon will go cheaper on the market, and with the big contracts of Melo/Amare/Chandler, I am not sure if they could afford JR in a straight-up signing. Kenyon is still a great defender, and good rebounder and finisher. Definitely wouldn't hurt them if he came at the right price.

Agree with this completely. His size will always be a problem if he's a starter. If you use him as instant scoring off the bench, and not in a role that is dependant on him setting the offense up for the starters, then he can be quite effective.

I appreciate all the work and think they look great! So, even though I am more of a fan of individual players as opposed to teams, I decided to update mine and rep NJ to the fullest. Good looks.

Trade Blsdoe, not Williams. With CP3 playing 35MPG or more, there is only 13MPG avaliable behind him at PG. Foye is a nice backup PG, and both Williams and Billups offer the kind of 3pt shooting along CP3 they need with the 2-PG lineup the Clips effectively use. I feel trading Bledsoe would make most sense considering his age and potential. He'd definitely bring in some decent talent on the wing that they desperately need.

Gasol is over 30 years old and on the decline, and MWP is nearly useless at this point and has a bad contract. Why would Cleveland trade an amazing rookie for that kind of deal? Anyway, Sessions would definitely be a nice pickup, although I feel they can use the TPE and maybe a piece or two for a more impactful upgrade than just Sessions, who really is a good backup, not a good starter.

2nd team. Horford is a natural PF and he'd be eaten alive by Howard, who is the most dominant post player on either team, Love would kill Aldridge on the glass and gives his team a lot more spacing than Aldridge does, and Curry is a better off-ball player than CP3 and doesn't need the ball in his hands as much as CP3 to be effective, which is important since LeBron is so ball dominant. Overall, team 2 is just more well-balanced.