Joy to the League. Part II

Indiana Pacers: Jamaal Tinsley is still alive and they are 15-13 playing in the Eastern conference.

New Jersey Nets: Richard Jefferson is becoming a scoring machine thanks in part to the way Jason Kidd is playing (11.3 ppg, 10.3 apg, 8.8 rpg, 1.8 spg). They got back Marcus Williams this past month.

Seattle Supersonics: Kevin Durant. Jeff Green. They're going to be in rebuilding mode for the next 3 years at least but Durant ofensive proweness will help the cause, on an off the court.

Philadelphia Sixers: Billy King is out. Andre Miller's still playing for them so there is hope that once they trade him they probabbly get something good and valuable in return.

Houston Rockets: Yao Ming generates them lots of money. They are pretty good team when TMac is healthy.

L.A. Clippers: Chris Kaman will give them some comfort in case Elton Brand leaves. Rebuilding using a big man of the 2003 class as centerpiece is not that bad.

Sacramento Kings: Ron Artest hasn't gone wild yet. They are winning a fair amount of (11 -15) games without Bibby, Martin and Shareff

Washington Wizards: Caron Butler is playing more and more like a true star which is a very good thing because they need somebody to care more on winning games than self promoting his own ass (Sorry Gilbert the Basketball Gods are huge fans of your blog and your antics and everything you do, including your game, but they do know which is you priority)

Memphis Grizzlies: New coach, new system, new star. Rudy Gay is leading the team in points (19.6 ppg ) and showing some true leadership skills. Mike Miller have also been a bright spot this season. And Gasol is happy playing with his buddy Calderon.

Chicago Bulls: They had a shot at greatness for the second time in franchise history. Now they've fired their coach and their GM likes to give gifts to everybody around the league.

Minnesota Timberwolves: Al Jefferson and the rest of the team play hard night after night and they seem like a close team.

Charlotte Bobcats: Michael Jordan called out Felton and the rest of the team. They responded with 2 straight wins. That's the best thing MJ have done for a basketball team since 1998

Miami Heat: Wade appears to be headed to the All Star game and Riley still haven't abandoned the ship.

New York Knicks: Their fans can be very organized

Joy to the League

The Basketball Gods want to spread some joy in this very happy holidays remembering to all teams those little things that make them smile this passing year. They are aware that some teams don't seem to find anything to cheer about but hey! They are the basketball Gods, if somebody can find something good on the Knicks organizations are these guys:

Celtics: Anything. Just pick your choice: their record, the trade for KG and Ray Allen, the fact they are relevant again, the Pistons game which they lost but were damn close even though they didn't play their best game. Just let me tell you wy this guy should be smiling from ear to ear: they lost the lottery, they didn't get the chance to selecte either Oden or Durant which propelled them to get KG and Allen. The Gods work in mysterious ways

Spurs: They can be happy for a number of reasons starting with their fifth championship but they should also cheer that they current roster is as complete as any other in any of their championship runs getting good production from guys like Bonner and Udoka when given the chance.

Pistons: Everybody is expecting the year when this guys slow down. At the start of the season RIP and Sheed were a little injured and that slow them down and you started to wonder if this was the year. Well, nobody is wondering nothing with their current 11-2 stretch. I've to remind everybody that the Gods work in mysterious ways: Don't you think they have a chip in their shoulder after game 5 of the Conference Finals? That's the type of stuff that makes this team tick.

Magic: Finally Dwight Howard discover how good he can be.

Suns: Another team blessed in so many ways. Amare and Marion haven't kill each other yet, 27 games and counting and the seem like a happy and "we are on the same page" type of team. The biggest joy - not only for the Suns but also for the rest of the league - Grant Hill is playing and playing mighty good.

Mavericks:They had a 67 win season, that's a good thing. So what if Dirk can't smile anymore! Josh Howard is showing signs that they don't need to rely in Dirk "warm blood" to win a close game.

Golden State Warriors: They were the hottest team in the league for 6 weeks and got into the playoffs after a 12 year absense and make lot's of noice in the process. Nobody really thought that the Warriors could keep playing the way the played those 6 weeks - including me - and after that 0 -9 start I wasn't happy to be right. Now I'm happy to be wrong. Nellie ball rules.

Trail Blazers: They're achieving so much without their 40 year old rookie center. They can't take all the credit, it's bad karma, they need to thank Kevin Mchale and John Paxson for handing them Roy and Alridge for some other rookies... not that good. Let's leave it like that, I don't want to make anybody cry.

L.A. Lakers: Kobe's still in uniform and he says he's happy. If you want a Christmas miracle, you know outside Kobe being happy, just take a look at Bynum's progress and new found work ethic

New Orleans Hornets: None of their core players have missed more than 4 games (Peja Stojakovic ). It ain't that big of a thing but after what this guys went through last year, it is huge for them. By the way, the should also thank John Paxson for the Chandler gift. John Paxson is so good with the rest of the league.

Utah Jazz: Impressive playoff run that cemented Boozer and Deron Williams as more than up coming players, they are ready to play with the big guys. The new season brought them that old AK 47 they were mising so much.

Denver Nuggets: Thet won the Iverson sweepstakes and KMart seems to be getting back in track.

Cleveland Cavaliers: They had a easy path to the Conference finals and play inspired basketball against the Detroit Pistons including the 48 point perfomance by Lebron James. They should not only be thankful for having Lebron but they also must be appreciating this days, no matter what their record is, just a word of advice from the Basketball Gods. Enjoy this days.

Toronto Raptors: They have a Colangelo running things. Isiah Thomas used to run their team. Pretty good change, right?!

Atlanta Hawks: They are 14-12. Joe Johnson and Josh Smith are playing the more mature type of basketball we've seen from them. Al Hortford might pan out as the second best rookie of the 2007 class.

Milwaukee Bucks: They get to keep Yi and Mo Williams and they are in the Eastern Conference which means that it doesn't matter how mediocre they are they still have a chance to get in the playoffs.

Looking forward: West All Stars

Let's keep talkin about the deserving All Stars this time from the West. It's unbelievable the amount of players in this conference playing good to great basketball. There are 4 centers who could easily deserve the starting spot (There are 2 and half centers in the East)

Forwards:

• Carlos Boozer: The Jazz are struggling a little bit now, but Boozer always shows up and puts huge numbers ( 25.4 ppg, 11.7 rpg)
  
• Tim Duncan: He's having a quiet season but the Spurs are the best team in the West right now. His stock could be hurt by Manu's but I do se him playing for the West.
• Carmelo Anthony: Something happened in Denver. The last couple of week Melo doesn't seem like the top dog up in there. The change of the alpha dog role hasn't made a difference in the Nuggets record but it might change Melo's chances for his first All Start berth.
• Josh Howard: This is my theory: Avery Johnson is trying to create a go to guy in Josh Howard because Nowitzki, in all his skills, is very likely to choke under pressure. They need a much colder guy but that's just my theory.
• David West: This little known forward of the New Orleans Hornets should had been selected last year to the All Star squad and this year he's putting better number and the New Orleans Hornets and winning more games. Common sense, dude.
  
• Shawn Marion: The do-it-all for the Phoenix Suns is one of the best defensive players of the league but he might not get to be an All Star this year. Let's just hope he keep his eye on the grand prize and not let his ego force a trade to the Eastern Conference.
  
• Dirk Nowizki: A rather slow year for the David Hasselhoff fan. Shooting only 29% from downtown and averaging 21.2 - some 5 ppg lower than I expected - but life would be a lot harder for the Mavs and Josh Howard if Nowitzki weren't there.

Guards:

• Kobe Bryant: Right now he's the best player in the league. Lebron is like 3 eaten fingernails behind him. And his Lakers are totally overachieving thanks to no small part to Mr Bryant.
  
• Baron Davis: After last spring dismantle of a 67 win team I'd have think that the ring leader of the Warriors was going to get far more love. This Warrios might not seem like championship material but they can be pretty scary for anybody in this league. It all starts with the beard.
• Steve Nash: The Suns aren't still "clicking at all cylinders", whatever that means, but Steve is getting his numbers and the Suns have one of the best records in the league.
• Allen Iverson: Did he lost his confidence on Melo? Or he did just got tired of playing second banana? For whatever reason he return to his old scoring ways I'm glad! I just love to see Iverson racking up points.
• Manu Ginobili: The real reason the Spurs were winning so much games before this 1-3 bump, it's his line: 20 ppg, 4.8 rpg, 4.4 apg, 1.6 spg under 30 minutes per game.
• Chris Paul: The leader of the Hornets is averaging more then 20 ppg and almost 10 apg and leads the league in steals at 2.7. He needs to be selected I don't care if they build the roster with only one center.
  
• Brandon Roy: Everybody expected to the Blazers to roll over and cry Oden a river. They have won 8 straight games and playing inspired basketball. Roy's averging 24 ppg in that streak.
• Stephen Jackson: The Warriors were winninless before Capt Jack appeared. Now, they are fearless.
• Deron Williams: I just don't know where to put this guy. He's playing better basketball than Nash and Parker but even son he has less chances to get selected. Two issues are stading in DWill path to the All Star game 1) the Jazz are strugglinand and 2) the almost sure selection of Carlos Boozer. With the amount of candidates in the West -specially at the guard position - I don't think they'll select two players from a .500 team.
  
• Tony Parker: The third Spur in this list. He's averaging career highs in points (20.1) and assists (6.8) but even so he doesn't appear headed to the All Star roster.
• Tracy McGrady : Mr McGrady was on fire at the start of the season , but as he put it "teams have figured us out now". His great numbers and his popularity could earn him a roster spot

Centers:

• Yao Ming: He's been an All Star every year thanks to the 2 billion Chinese people that vote for him on daily basis but he's been deserving the spot the last couple of years. This year will be no diference.
• Marcus Camby: Three Nuggets on the All Star team. That would be cool. Camby's numbers back him up and the Nuggets are currently sitting at the top of the Norwest division.
• Amare Stoudemire: He's not a friend of rebounding or playing defense but he's a great offensive player and his game fit's with the running show of the All Star game.
• Chris Kaman: The former hippie have taken advantage of the little hole in the paint left by Elton Brand. It's a shame that the Clippers have more injury people than a ER chapter.

All this lead to my predictions:



Starters:

C Yao
F Duncan
F Boozer
G Kobe
G Nash

Bench:


Josh Howard
Carmelo Anthony
Baron Davis
Allen Iverson
Amare Stoudemire
Manu Ginobili
Chris Paul

Looking forward: East All Stars

Before the season started and I didn't had anything to write about I thought on writting something about the possible All Stars but I couldn't come out with something cool. Anyway, I was voting today and realized things are a bit different of how I thought they will be. This were the lineups in my mind, you know before the season:

East

C Howard

F KG

F Lebron

G Arenas

G Wade

West

C Yao

F Duncan

F Brand / Boozer

G Kobe

G Nash

Arenas and Brand are injured. Duncan is not putting All Star numbers and Wade is playing in the worst team in th East. The lastest two will probably made the team, though.

Let's pretend the All Star teams are not a popularity contest and take a look to the players that are really deserving a spot in the mid season classsic. Let's start with the East.

Forwards

• Kevin Garnett: He's not putting his typical KG numbers, but you can't really left out the best player of a 19-2 team.


• Lebron James: He's Lebron James. Just checkout his numbers.


• Chris Bosh: The heart and soul of a disappointing and injured Raptors team. Definitely one the best forwards in the East


• Caron Butler: This guy've really step up his game in the absense of Gilbert Arenas. He's averaging near 23 ppg, 7 rpg and more than 2 steals per game.


• Pau Pierce: More than 21 ppg. More than 5 rpg and more than 5 apg. Enough said.


• Antawn Jamison: Another Wizard stepping up for the lost of Gilbert but I don't think there's enough room for him

Guards:

• Jason Kidd: The Nets sucks right now but this guy is playing and amazing brand of basketball. Somebody have to rescue this guy from the swamps. Note: His avering 8.7 rpg which makes him 24th in the league. Check out all the big guys he's outrebounding.


• Chauncey Billups: Pistons fans are going to hate this but the Pistons have lost a step or two. Nevertheless they are one of the best teams in the East and they go as far as Chauncey take them.


• Joe Johnson: Can I dare to name a Hawk in an All Star discussion? The Hawks are 11-12 and Joe Johnson, even though he doesn't put up huge numbers, he's a huge catalyst for the Hawks. His case is not very strong but at least he has one. Note: His name is actually Joe Marcus Johnson. I don't know about you, but I were Joe Johnson I'll go by the name Marcus Johnson but that's just me.


• Michael Redd: Year after year the Bucks are called to be the "surprise team". I'm tired of waiting for the surprise. I wouldn't be surprise if Redd doesn't make the All Star team this year neither even though he's 10th in the league in scoring.


• Dwayne Wade: He's not a 100% following two offseason surgeries and the Heat is the worst team in the East. I'm just putting here because I know he's going to be there in February.

Centers:

• Dwight Howard: And to think once there was a discussion about who could be the better player, him or Emeka Okafor?


• Zydrunas Illgauskas: He's having his best rebounding season of his career and he's learn to do the small things to help his team win. He and the rest of the Cavs just need more Lebron James minutes.


• Shaquille O'neal: The Big Everything is having a Big Crappy Season. He's averaging 14 and 7 far from All Star numbers but he's still Shaquille O'neal. One thing I'm sure is that it can't be two players in the All Star team from the worst team. Please, don't let this happen.

So, this is my prediction

Starters

C Dwight Howard

F Kevin Garnett

F Lebron James

G Dwayne Wade

G Jason Kidd

Bench

Chris Bosh

Caron Butler

Chauncey Billups

Joe Johnson

Zydrunas Illgauskas

Michael Redd

Paul Pierce

Khalid Reeves is no longer in Costa Rica

I think I should give an update on the Khalid Reeves situation in Costa Rica. Apparently Mr Reeves went to Costa Rica as a favor to a college buddy of his, Joe Lear, that happens to be the GM and President of Saprissa Basketball. They are so close that Khalid is playing for free and he's buying game tickets for kids and everything.

He played for like a month with Saprissa before the playoffs started, this is when things got "messy". Saprissa lost the first two games of their first round which is to the best of five. Khalid scored 46 points in those games combined and got hard critics for the losses (I should also mention that Saprissa's best player , Henry Martinez, left the team and signed with a Mexican expansion team). Khalid never show up for the third game and Saprissa got swept.

So, right now I don't know where's Khalid Reeves but I don't think he's wearing no Saprissa jersey.

What have you done

I've been a NBA fan for more than 15 years. I've senn tons of young teams get built and eventually broken for whatever reason. Do you remember the old Clippers? The Elton Brand-Lamar Odom-Corey Maggete-Darius Miles-headband fisting Clippers? That was a promising team and one had the feeling that if that core sticks together, they’d be hell of a team. Remember Shaq and Penny? That Magic team had dynasty wrote all over. Zo and Larry Johnson had they chance in Charlotte, Vincesanity and TMac were going to be the next MJ and Scottie (although now you’ll wonder who was who ). The examples go on and on and every team got broken apart for different reasons but I feel a Basketball’s God true heart ache when I think that upper management could have done something different to change the destiny of this kind of teams.

The current Chicago Bulls team is actually playing better this days than last week but an idea keep playing around on my head: had this core of players give everything they, as a group, had to give? Did John Paxon miss the opportunity of building an eventual champion? I’m not only thinking this because of the current position on the standings let’s look back at the building of some of the past champions (I must get something out of the way; I’m not saying that this is a blue print to build a champion they are just examples to make my point).

• Back in 1988 the Bulls had a nice young team featuring on the best rebounders in the league, Charles Oakley. They traded him to get a defensive oriented center that was also a veteran voice in the locker room. Michael Jordan and Bill Cartwright won 3 titles together in the next 5 years.

• In 1999 the L.A. Lakers, lead by Shaquille O’neal, were coming from two nice playoffs appearances were they lost to the Utah Jazz. One could say they time was about to come but Jerry West thought different as he traded their best defensive swingman and second leader scorer, Eddie Jones, to the Charlotte Hornets for Glen Rice. The following year the L.A. Lakers won the first title in 12 years.

• In 1995 the Houston Rockets were the defending champions but they weren’t playing at a “championship level”. For some people a change was imminent and that change became Clyde Drexler. He was acquire in exchange for staring power forward Otis Thorpe. The trade didn’t exactly shoot Houston to contention but helped Hakeem get his back to back title against much better teams like Utah, San Antonio and Phoenix.

• You want a more dramatic example; look at the moves Pat Riley made 3 years ago to create a championship team in Miami. I know they are crappy now and they won thank in mayor part to the”DWade Free throw Parade” but they are the ones wearing the jewelry.

In the past two seasons almost every Bulls’ players have been involve in a trade rumor to get a player from Kevin Garnett to Pau Gasol to Kobe Bryant but John Paxson never pulled the trigger, he never saw a fair trade he never bumped into a trade that, according to him, would increase the team chances to become champions. And he stuck with this team and I think he ride this team for all it could offer. This core of players have reached a point were they are not clicking anymore they are not responding to Skiles’ screaming and mind games.

Since two seasons ago until this past off-season the Bulls and the T’wolves were talking trade. New reports, and facts, points to that Chicago never had a chance to get Garnett. McHale, on all his wisdom, rejected every package Chicago offered. Let’s say this wasn’t Paxson fault. The Kobe saga still very recent so we all know why that trade hasn’t happened and probably'll never happen. Kobe wants to play in a Bulls team that also features Luol Deng and the Lakers want’s Deng in exchange for Kobe. This wasn’t Paxson fault neither.

The leaves us with the Pau Gasol scenario. January of this current year was passing by us when the talks heated up between the Grizzlies and the Bulls, The Grizzlies were asking for a package of Tyrus Thomas, the contract of PJ Brown, New York's draft pick and someone from the Deng-Gordon-Hinrich core. You can add two more contracts in each side to make numbers match. Worst case scenario Chicago'd had to give Deng as the centerpiece of the trade.You can argue he's going to be a 25 ppg scorer in the near future but if you are paying like 17 millon dollars per year to Ben Wallace for the next 4 years ( 2 of them good ) you might wanna try to win now so adquiring a actual 20/10 post presence makes sense, right?. It wasn't like the Bulls were given the entire roster for Gasol, Hinrich, Gordon, Nocioni, Wallace, they all'd have been there. I seriously think this is were Paxson lost it all.

There's also the Chandler vrs Wallace issue. I supported Paxton because of:

1. PJ Brown contract was adquired to be part of a trade package to get either Garnett or Gasol.
2. Chandler wasn't goint to develop under Skiles tenure. Someone had to go and they needed point A, besides Skiles approach was still working. I don't think Paxson is savyy enought to see this coming
   
3. I thought that the Ben Wallace signinng was a good thing. I know he's way older and I don't know how many times more expensive than Chandler but he brings experience and a championship ring to the table. This is where things get bad, Wallace hasn't been the leader on the court at least not regularly and he hasn't been that veteran voice in the locker room neither.

When the last trade deadline came and went I knew Paxson blew it. Fine, they didn't get Garnett nor Gasol but he needed to so something with PJ Brown contract. Something! Anything! As everything come out Chicago traded Chandler ( a defensive monster ) for anything and that's no way to build a champion