Jameer Nelson, Orlando Magic
Simply put, Jameer Nelson has been on fire in the month of December. In the past, Nelson’s outside shot was never his strong suit. However, this month, he can’t miss. He’s shooting over 57% from the field and over 60% from three-point range for the month, while scoring more than 20 points per game.

Ray Allen, Boston Celtics
At points last year in the playoffs, Ray Allen looked like he may be headed to the end of his NBA career. This year, especially in the month of December, Allen has looked very good. For the month, he shooting 53.1% from the field, 44.9% from the three-point arc and 92.3% from the free throw line.

Rashard Lewis, Orlando Magic
To start off the 2008-09 NBA season, Rashard Lewis wasn’t shooting the ball very well. This month, he’s turned it around. Most impressively, he’s hitting 44.9% from three-point land on his 6.8 attempts per game. For the month, his scoring average is up to 21.2 points and he’s helping the Magic race up the standings.

Emeka Okafor, Charlotte Bobcats
In his first month under Larry Brown, Emeka Okafor looked lost on the offense end. Now he’s tearing it up offensively. For the month of December, Okafor is shooting better than 61% from the field and is averaging 18.1 points per game. To put that in perspective, he averaged only 10.3 points per game in November.

Photo credit: Newscom

Tracy McGrady, Houston Rockets
Tracy McGrady has a lot of red flags going into the 2008-09 fantasy basketball season. First of all, he had offseason surgery and he has reportedly been slow to heal. Then you have to factor in Ron Artest getting a lot of his touches. Finally, McGrady’s wear and tear over the years looks like it is going to catch up to him sooner than later. Don’t be fooled by his name during your fantasy draft.

Ray Allen, Boston Celtics
Last season, most of Ray Allen’s stats dipped during the regular season. He struggled during much of the playoffs, however all of that was forgiven when he bounced back with a good showing in the Finals. That said, Allen very well could take another step down and become more of a role player instead of a star.

Raymond Felton, Charlotte Bobcats
After struggling to run the offense, Raymond Felton was played a lot at shooting guard in the last couple seasons. With new head coach Larry Brown now in charge, he won’t put up with a point guard that can’t run an offense. Felton may be in for a long season and Brown is sure to give him tough love. Steer clear of this situation if you can.

Leandro Barbosa, Phoenix Suns
When Mike D’Antoni was set free, many in the Phoenix area pointed to his use of Leandro Barbosa as a reason why. D’Antoni was a big believer in Barbosa and now with D’Antoni in New York, Barbosa could see his playing time and production slip heavily. New coach Terry Porter won’t hesitate to use a defensive player instead of Barbosa if Barbosa doesn’t improve his D drastically. Stay away from Barbosa during at least the beginning of the 2008-09 fantasy basketball season until we see exactly how he will be utilized.

The Boston Celtics lost a big part of the their championship core on Wednesday when James Posey signed with the New Orleans Hornets. The Hornets signed the defensive specialist to a four-year, $25 million deal.

With Posey, the Hornets instantly become a much more physical team. They gain a player who has been in the playoff wars and has two championship rings to his name. Posey may start or he may be used as the team’s first player off the bench.

The Celtics will miss Posey’s toughness and heart. Even more of the overall leadership next season will have to be handled by the Big Three of Kevin Garnett, Paul Pierce and Ray Allen. No longer will they be able to lean on Posey’s experience.

In terms of fantasy basketball, Posey won’t have very much value. He likely won’t play huge minutes and even if he does, most of his contributions don’t show up in the stat sheet. For that reason, this move is much bigger in terms of the NBA rather than fantasy.

Here is more information via a James Posey video:

Although Paul Pierce, Ray Allen and Kevin Garnett got a lot of publicity during the Boston Celtics’ 2008 championship run, the Celtics were comprised of more than simply three star players. One such player, who was arguably just as important as anyone on the team, was James Posey.

Posey is a rugged, physical defender who has knack for hitting clutch shots on the offensive side of the court. He’s not afraid to sacrifice his body and lay it all on the line to get the win. His two championship rings prove that Posey is an elite winner in the NBA.

However, now Posey is a free agent and is getting interest from a lot of teams around the NBA. A lot of teams value his winning ways and view him as the ultimate role player. That said, chances are Posey will end up back in Boston. At the end of the day, it’s difficult to imagine that the Celtics would get outbid for a player that means so much to what they do.

If Posey does decide to leave, which teams make sense as possible destinations? The teams that would most likely value Posey would be teams that are on the brink of winning a championship. The New Orleans Hornets could plug Posey into their starting lineup and they would do well to add his toughness to their bunch. The Utah Jazz could also use a savvy perimeter player who can defend. The Phoenix Suns, Detroit Pistons and even the Los Angeles Lakers all make sense as possible Posey destinations.

Kevin Garnett would be sad to see James Posey leave Beantown.

Photo: Newscom

Manny Pacquiao easily dismantled David Diaz in the ring and then once outside the ring, he joined with the Boston Celtics to celebrate. Flashbulbs burst as pictures were taken of Pacquiao with various Celtics including Kevin Garnett, Paul Pierce, Ray Allen, Sam Cassell and Rajon Rondo.

Watch the complete video of Manny “Pacman” Pacquiao with the Celtics here:

While the 2008 NBA Finals is still underway, it’s not too early to look at who will be named the 2008 Finals MVP. If the Los Angeles Lakers comeback from the 3-1 deficit to beat the Boston Celtics, Kobe Bryant will undoubtedly win the MVP. If the Celtics win, the race isn’t nearly as clear cut.

Boston’s Big Three — Kevin Garnett, Paul Pierce and Ray Allen — can each make a case for why they should win the 2008 Finals MVP. Here is a look at the stats so far in the Finals through four games:

Kevin Garnett
Kevin Garnett is averaging 17.5 points, 12.5 rebounds and 3.5 assists per game against the Lakers in the Finals. The problem is he’s only shooting 38.2% from the field.

Paul Pierce
Paul Pierce is averaging 19.0 points, 5.0 assists and 4.5 rebounds per game in the series. He’s shooting 45.3% from the field, 46.7% from beyond the three-point arc and has played very good throughout defense throughout the series.

Ray Allen
Ray Allen is averaging 20.0 points, 6.0 rebounds and 2.8 assists per game. He’s shooting 52.1% from the field and 48.0% from three-point land.

Conclusion:
Ray Allen is currently in the lead in the MVP race. However, Paul Pierce can overtake him if he has another big game to close out the Lakers. Kevin Garnett would need a monstrous game to get back into the hunt.

Ray Allen is shooting himself to the Finals MVP

Photo: Newscom

Point Guard
Boston - Rajon Rondo
Lakers - Derek Fisher
ADVANTAGE: Lakers. Rondo can’t shoot and Fisher has championship experience.

Shooting Guard
Boston - Ray Allen
Lakers - Kobe Bryant
ADVANTAGE: Lakers. As long as he can steer clear of Vanessa Curry or any other Laker Girl, Kobe should dominate.

Small Forward
Boston - Paul Pierce
Lakers - Vladimir Radmanovic
ADVANTAGE: Celtics. Pierce has to play great for Boston to win this series.

Power Forward
Boston - Kevin Garnett
Lakers - Lamar Odom
ADVANTAGE: Celtics. Odom can do a lot but he’s no KG.

Center
Boston - Kendrick Perkins
Lakers - Pau Gasol
ADVANTAGE: Lakers. As long as Gasol doesn’t choke, he should dominate this matchup.

Bench
Boston - Cassell, House, Posey, Brown, Davis, Powe
Lakers - Farmar, Vujacic, Walton, Turiaf
ADVANTAGE: Lakers. Their bench is young but powerful.

Coach
Boston - Doc Rivers
Lakers - Phil Jackson
ADVANTAGE: Lakers. Nine championships against zero championships.

Overall
Lakers in five.

Kobe Bryant and the Lakers will be lifting the 2008 NBA championship trophy.

Photo: Newscom

Tony Allen of the Boston Celtics is questionable to be able to play during the 2008 NBA Finals against the Los Angeles Lakers. This isn’t good news for the Celtics because Tony Allen is one of the team’s best perimeter defenders. In fact, he has done a good job against Kobe Bryant in the past.

Without Allen, the job of chasing the 2008 NBA MVP will mostly belong to Paul Pierce. Pierce, who did a good job against LeBron James of the Cleveland Cavaliers in the second round, will start the game off against Bryant. Other players on the Celtics who could guard Bryant in the finals include James Posey and Ray Allen.

Allen is slowed by an injury to his Achilles tendon. During the regular season, he averaged 6.6 points per game. In the playoffs, his minutes have gone down and he’s only averaging one point per game.

Photo: Newscom

The Boston Celtics are the Eastern Conference representatives in the 2008 NBA Finals. Who have been the best players on their team this year during the playoffs? Let’s take a look:

Kevin Garnett
Their anchor in the middle, Kevin Garnett is immensely important to the Celtics. While he has been hesitant to look for his shot at times, there is no denying his overall impact on the team. The 2008 NBA Defensive Player of the Year is averaging 21.1 points, 9.8 rebounds and 3.5 assists per game in the playoffs.

Paul Pierce
Paul Pierce has been with the Pistons the longest and he’s had a few amazing games in the playoffs. His Game 7 showing versus the Cleveland Cavaliers was one of the best performances of the postseason. In the playoffs, he’s averaging 19 points, 5.1 rebounds and 4.1 assists.

Ray Allen
Although he has been struggling with his jumper, Ray Allen is still a major threat for Boston. He’s one of the best shooters in the history of the game and other teams respect his every shot. He’s averaging 14.2 points on 40.3% shooting from the field.

Rajon Rondo
Although his lack of a consistent outside jumper has allowed teams to stay off of him, Rajon Rondo has been impressive during the playoffs, for the most part. He’s young and still learning but he’s good enough. During the postseason, he’s posting averages of 10.5 points and 6.6 assists.

Photo: Newscom

On Thursday, the Los Angeles Lakers beat the Spurs in Game 5 to advance to the NBA Finals. On Friday, the Boston Celtics topped the Detroit Pistons in Game 6 to meet the Lakers in the 2008 Finals. With the NBA championship on the line, the NBA’s two most storied franchises will face off.

Both teams entered the playoffs as the number one seed in their conference. The Lakers came out of the Western Conference by leaning on Kobe Bryant’s MVP skills. The Celtics are led by the trio of Kevin Garnett, Paul Pierce and Ray Allen.

Boston’s biggest advantage in the Finals will be their homecourt advantage. It will be difficult for the Lakers to win a game in Boston — especially with their rowdy fans doing all they can to bring another championship to Boston. Garnett, Pierce and Allen are now all play very well and the young players on the team have grown up in a hurry.

The Lakers, on the other hand, have the best player in the planet. Bryant will be tough for anyone to stop. On top of that, their team is amazingly deep. From Pau Gasol to Lamar Odom to their young and explosive bench, it’ll be difficult to keep the Lakers from scoring. Defensively, the Lakers are also very underrated.

My prediction on the 2008 NBA Finals? The Celtics will win Game 1 but then the Lakers will reel off four straight wins to win the championship.

Photo: Newscom