Mens Basketball Wire

The Celtics are off to a fast start at 5-0, and only one of those games has even been close.  Boston has been beating teams by an average of 16 points per game.  The only close game was against the Raptors, which the Celtics won by three in overtime.  The team’s big three are tearing up the league, with Pierce averaging 23 points per game, and Garnett and Allen both with 22.  Garnett is also pulling down a strong 15 boards per game.  Before the season, the team had a few question marks–namely at point guard, and bench players–but both those aspects seem to be working out well so far.  Rajon Rondo is averaging  over 9 points,  with 4 assists, while keeping his turnovers down to a respectable 2 per game.  The bench is still a work in progress, but James Posey  has proven to be an effective player, although he is only playing 15 minutes per game and averaging 5.5 points per game.

The Celtics second round draft pick, Glen Davis, hasn’t seen much playing time so far, but in the Celts most recent game, ‘Big Baby’ played 17 minutes and scored 6 points and 8 rebounds.  If he can come on throughout the year, he could be a force inside and give the team some needed toughness.

Over at SI.com, Marty Burns has his Power Rankings out, and he has the Celtics ranked in first place.

Filed under: Uncategorized | No Comments »

Two of China’s most well-known exports, Yao Ming, Rockets’ center, and Yi Jianlian, Bucks’ forward, went head-to-head last week for the first time in the NBA.  Although, Ming had plenty of kind words after the game for the Bucks big rookie, saying that he believed Yi would be better than himself one day, Yao was the man of the night during this match-up.  As big as the game was in the U.S., it was bigger in China, where an estimated 200 million tuned in.  ESPN has the recap here.
No matter what Yao says about the future, he was the man in this game, putting up 28 points, 10 rebounds, and 3 blocks, and showing all 200 million watching back home, why he is a 5-time All-Star.  For his part, Yi had a more than respectable 19 points and 9 rebounds.  Unfortunately, it was not enough, as his team was blown-out, 104-88.

The Bucks are off to a slow start, with a 2-4 record, but if Yi can continue to improve and become the all-around threat that Milwaukee believes he can, the team will scare some teams, as the year progresses.  Houston is currently tied for first in the standings with the San Antonio Spurs at 6-1.

Filed under: Uncategorized | No Comments »

The Spurs are off to a hot start, leading the division after the first week with a 3-0 record. The team, fans, and the rest of the league were reminded who the daddies are on the day before Halloween. The Spurs unfurled their latest banner, doled out diamond championship rings, and then went on to beat the Trail Blazers, 106-97. While the Blazers have had bad luck with the loss of top pick Greg Oden, the Spurs got even more good news when management announced that Tim Duncan had been signed to a 2-year extension. The big man in the middle is signed through 2012, and will likely finish his career in San Antonio.

The Spurs are currently tied with Houston and New Orleans at 3-0, and face both teams next week. Granted it’s only the first week of the season, but San Antonio is getting back to business, and picking up where the left off last season. Looks like most people think that the boys in black, will be back again this year. Although, not everyone is excited about that idea.

Filed under: Uncategorized | No Comments »

The NBA season is underway and everyone is making their picks, so we’ll join in the fun as well.  The offseason has seen some major changes.  Some teams have gotten better, adding big name stars and redefining themselves (hello, Boston Celtics), while others have had their luck break the other way (here’s looking at you Portland and Greg Oden).  Of course, for some teams, the more things change, the more they stay the same.  Kobe Bryant is still a walking soap opera, and the Lakers will still be a middle of the road team.  Anyway, let’s get on with it.

Western Conference Champion: San Antonio Spurs.  Many people may shudder at the thought of watching one of pro basketball’s dullest teams fundemental every other team to death, but that’s just what will happen.   The Spurs are a full-fledged dynasty, winning 4 championships in 8 years, and return all the key pieces from last year’s team.  The Spurs have never repeated as champs, but that will change this year.  Their old guys are not over the hill, and they have enough gas in the tank for at least another run.  Injuries have never been a problem for guys like Duncan, Ginobili, or Parker, so durability won’t be an issue.  What’s more, the Spurs are in the heads of their main rivals, the Suns and Mavericks, and get the edge in the psych department.

Eastern Conference Champion:  Boston Celtics.  Although the Bulls have more pieces across the board, they are still young and probably another year from being a championship team.  Boston has upgraded like no team ever, adding Kevin Garnett and Ray Allen to its roster in the offseason.  Those two, combined with Paul Pierce make up as fearsome a threesome as any team in the league.  Rookie point guard, Rajon Rondo has to come along as a distributor of the ball, and the inside game could be helped by rookie Glen “Big Baby” Davis.  Garnett is only four years removed from winning an MVP trophy, and should be energized by the move, and by finally playing with other legitimate all-stars.

Surprise Team:  Milwaukee Bucks.  The Bucks are another team that has had a great offseason, landing and signing Chinese big man, Yi Jianlian.  While he likely won’t become a Dirk Nowitzki clone this season, he should be a contributor, and will show improvement all year.  The Bucks managed to hold onto PG, Mo Williams during the offseason, and got some guys healthy that were banged up last year.  The Bucks starting five should look like this: Yi Jianlian, Mo Williams, Micheal Redd, Andrew Bogut, and Desmond Mason.  Coming off the bench will be Charlie Villenueva and Bobby Simmons.  Look for the Bucks to be a playoff team this year.

NBA Champions: Spurs.  The Spurs have it all: experience, talent, coaching, confidence.  This is the same team that won it all last year, and should do so again.

For other predictions, Sports Illustrated has their picks here.

Filed under: Uncategorized | No Comments »

Who’s going to win it all?  Depending on who you ask, you’re likely to get a variety of answers.  Ask a league GM, and they’re likely to tell you that it’ll be San Antonio.  In a recent poll of GMs, 37% picked the Spurs to repeat as league champs.  In second place, Phoenix came in with 26%, followed by Dallas with 15%.  LeBron James was picked to win the MVP.  Surprisingly, last year’s winner of the award, Dirk Nowitzki did not receive a single vote.

As far as the best coach?  San Antonio came in first in that also.  Best center?  Best power forward?  Best defender?  Best interior defender?  Perimeter?  Spurs, Spurs, Spurs. . .you get the idea.  In fact, the GMs think so much of Tim Duncan, that he was voted best center and power forward!

As far as the best offseason acquisition, the Houston Rockets came in first with their pick up of Argentine, Luis Scola.  The GMs felt that the Jazz have the best home court advantage.

Will the Spurs repeat?  Who knows if they will, but they should have a great chance to do so.  They return everyone of importance from last year’s team that swept Cleveland in last year’s finals.  Of course, they are a year older, and Duncan, Bowen, Barry, and some of the role players are no spring chickens, but they certainly have the experience, and likely still have some fuel in the tank.

Filed under: Uncategorized | No Comments »

American sports have been attempting to export themselves for years, with NFL Europa lasting a few years and baseball being hugely popular in Latin America, the NBA is the latest to attempt to broaden its markets…this time in China. China has already exported two big stars to the league, in Houston center Yao Ming, and Bucks rookie forward Yi Jianian, and now David Stern is looking to return the favor.

The NBA certainly rivals, if not leads MLB in countries represented, with Aussies, Asians, Europeans, Central and South Americans, and Africans all having found success in the league. The Cavs and Magic played an exhibition game against each other in Shanghai, and then against Chinese All-Star teams in Macau, a Chinese autonomous region and Asian gambling mecca. According to an article by John Hollinger on ESPN.com, the turnout, while being hailed as a sellout, seemed anything but. Of course, Macau is not Shanghai or Beijing, and the game was played there because the stadium is more in line with NBA arenas, but not selling out an 11,000 seat stadium doesn’t show that the Chinese are falling all over themselves for the NBA. Or perhaps, they are just discerning fans that don’t feel like wasting money any more than most Americans, on seeing preseason games where the stars sit on the sidelines in suits.

Of course, the play isn’t the most important thing anyway. What is important is the fact that LeBron unveiled his new shoes, which will only be available in China. No doubt there was much more excitement over that then the actual games.

Filed under: Uncategorized | No Comments »

Marty Burns, in an article on sportsillustrated.com, ponders whether the fact that Kobe Bryant’s absence from the preseason with tendinitis in his knee, is more due to Dr. Jerry Buss’ recent statement that Kobe could be dealt if the right deal presented itself.  A rumor was spread around (and then apparently shot down) that Kobe had already started cleaning out his locker.  The Kobe-Lakers spat has been going on all summer with shots being fired directly–as when Kobe demanded a trade in the early summer–and, perhaps, indirectly, if Kobe is attempting to pressure a trade by skipping the preseason.

Burns goes on to speculate about a few possible scenarios, if Kobe was to be moved.  Some of the longer shots would be within the conference to Dallas and Phoenix.  Phoenix has plenty of trade bait available with a roster full of talent from top to bottom–Shawn Marion, Leandro Barbosa, Amare Stoudamire, Raja Bell, and interesting rooking Alando Tucker.  LA would no doubt be looking for an All-Star and probably a solid draft pick in return.  Phoenix could put together an interesting package, and Bryant would certainly fit into their uptempo style, but it’s doubtful that the Lakers would trade Kobe to such a close rival.  Dallas is another team with loads of talent, but Dirk Nowitzki would be the prize for LA, and Dallas owner, Mark Cuban, has said that the big German is off-limits.

One of the more interesting musings that Burns had was regarding the Celtics: Paul Pierce and Rajon Rondo, plus some bits and pieces.  The Celtics have completely rebuilt themselves in just a few months, but financial concerns (Kevin Garnett) could be too much to handle.

Since it doesn’t cost anything to speculate, I’ll throw my $.02 in.  Kobe would probably nix a trade to a mid-market, and it’s all but impossible to visualize Kobe in Milwaukee green, but Mo Williams is a potential All-Star, and recently signed Yi Jianlian doesn’t seem to be particularly fond of playing in the midwest (not that Kobe probably would either), but from a Lakers standpoint, could be a winner.  Kobe would be playing with an above average, young center (Bogut, 12.3 ppg, 8.8 rpg, and 3 assists), another superstar guard/forward in Michael Redd (26.7 ppg), and a power forward in Charlie Villenueva (11.8 ppg, 5.8 rpg) who is solid, if unspectacular.  Certainly, this trade would be a longer shot than most, simply because Milwaukee is Milwaukee, but the pieces for both teams could work nicely together.

Filed under: Uncategorized | No Comments »

The NBA pre-season is in full swing, and for the Miami Heat’s roster of old men veteran players, the competition is already taking its toll.  The Heat have dropped all four of their pre-season contests, but it’s the dropping of their star players from active duty that is causing the team some stress.  The latest casualty was Shaq O’Neill, who left Saturday’s game against the Bobcats with a bruised thigh.  It was later reported to be just a bruise, and nothing more serious, but the team can hardly stand to be without the services of either of its two big stars.  Although the team did win its division last year, it lost in the playoffs to the New Jersey Nets, and saw O’Neill and Wade each miss about half of the season with injuries.

In Monday’s practice, 8 out of the team’s 20 preseason players were relegated to watching from the sidelines.  Among the wounded were Wade (out for the preseason after knee and shoulder surgeries), Jason Williams (shin), Anfernee Hardaway (quadriceps), Wayne Simien (knee), and Michael Doleac (hip).  Although none of the injuries appear to be severe, having almost half of a team’s players on the bench is never a good thing.

With everyone healthy, the Heat could be a dangerous team this season, with a chance to advance far into the playoffs.  Even with only about a half a season from Wade and Shaq, the team still managed to win its division, and make the playoffs last year, winning 43 games and finishing 6th in the East.  This year, the East figures to be a much tougher conference, with Boston adding lots of star power to its team, as well as Orlando with Rashad Lewis.

Whether or not there’s a favorite to win the East right now is anyone’s guess, but Miami should have as good a shot to represent the conference in the finals as anyone…assuming of course, the team’s old timers can hold up for 82+ games.

Filed under: Uncategorized | No Comments »

The NBA preseason has gotten underway, and already there are some important happenings from training camp.  For the Charlotte Bobcats, the early season news is not good.  One of their young players the team has been looking to be an important factor, Sean May, has decided to undergo microfracture knee surgery, and will be out for the season.  According to Yahoo! Sports, May has only played in 58 out of a possible 164 possible games, since being drafted with the 13th pick in the 2005 draft.  With the Bobcats being such a young team, still trying to jell, the loss of one of their major players will not help their chances to improve.

The Kings will be without one of their stars for the preseason.  Shareef Abdur-Rahim has arthroscopic knee surgery, and is expected to miss a month, but should be back for the beginning of the season.

The Spurs have locked up the main lock-down defender, by signing Bruce Bowen to a contract extension.  Bowen is not known for his offensive abilities, but has hit some big shots in his career.  While Bowen is not the face of the team, is may be the heart and soul of its defensive intensity.  During the postseason, Bowen is a 43% 3-point shooter.

Golden State and its 21 year-old phenom, Monta Ellis, had a scary few moments last week, as the guard’s head collided with a teammate’s knee during a practice.  Ellis went down and didn’t move for several minutes after the injury, and was taken to the hospital.  He was later released after tests showed that it was only a neck sprain.  He is listed as day-to-day.

Filed under: Uncategorized | No Comments »

These days it seems that even the Knicks problems have problems.  Fresh off a 33 win season, the New York franchise’s offseason has been marred by a sexual harassment suit brought by a fired VP of marketing, along with a guilty verdict in a Manhatton courtroom yesterday.  The trial brought out such unsavory aspects of Knick culture as Thomas repeatedly referring to the woman in very inappropriate terms, and Stephon Marbury having romantic liasons with an intern.  The verdict against Thomas and Madison Square Garden (MSG) means that the team will have to pay $11.6 million in damages to the woman, Anucha Browne Sanders.

Thomas, an All-Star on the court with the Pistons, has had a questionable post-playing career as both GM and coach of the Knicks.  His roster moves have brought in underachieving stars for huge salaries, and has not resulted in the number of wins that New York fans are accustomed to.  Now, his image is even further tarnished by this verdict, and even though he will not be held responsible for paying the damages, his employer is, and once again he is costing the team money, with nothing to show for it.  Certainly, Thomas is being given lots of rope to work with, the only question is, will he eventually hang himself with it.  The Knicks have been very patient with its GM/head coach, but their patience must be running out.

Knick owner, James Dolan gave Thomas a contract extension last year, along with a warning to win or else.  New York businesses aren’t generally known for their patience, especially when they are underperforming.  One has the feeling that Isiah’s Knicks probably need to make the playoffs for him to keep his job.  In the weak Eastern Conference, where you don’t even need to be a .500 team to make the playoffs, Isiah would do well to put this behind him and start worrying about his team, and not about what is going on in the marketing department anymore.

Filed under: Uncategorized | No Comments »