The Portland Trailblazers have rid themselves of the old Jail Blazers moniker and now sport a kiddie corps that needed a veteran presence. They tried to get Hedo Turkoglu, thought they had him, only to watch him sign with Toronto of all teams. They signed Paul Milsap, yeah, Paul who, and the Utah Jazz matched his offer sheet. They inquired about Jason Kidd and Steve Nash, but the answers were no and no.

Finally the Trailblazers began to think that Andre Miller could fit the bill of veteran point guard. Andre met with them and signed thinking he was going to be the starting point guard. It hasn’t worked out that way and Portland is claiming they told Andre when they signed him that he would be backing up Steve Blake.

Andre Miller is known for his heads up team play

Facing that alone would have been fine, because Andre is confident that he would have won the starting job. He has talent. Even his teammates acknowledge that.

“He’s such a talented player,” Blazers All-Star guard Brandon Roy said. “We’re just trying to see where he’s best, because that’s how he’s going to help our team. …We needed him on this team.”

Miller has shown flashes of how he can help the Blazers. He’s a smooth, smart point guard who throws a great lob pass. He should help the Blazers, one of the league’s slowest-paced teams, improve their fast break, even though he’s not exceptionally athletic himself.

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This past year there were many games in Philly that Andre was about all they had. Portland had to be a better deal with all the young talent they have.

But…Suddenly Andre is being vilified by fans and media. He failed a running test in practice and the media got on him about being out of shape. It was said he would not sign an autograph for a young boy and the media got on him about it. Top it off the Blazers are a close team and Andre is pretty much a loner. The media and fans got on him about it.

“I’m sitting on the baseline and I’m hearing fans in the audience say, ‘Sit with the team.’ I just got here. [The fan] said, ‘Sit with the team. Stop acting like that.’

“I was like, ‘Damn.’ They wouldn’t have said that if [the media] didn’t give a false impression. I never have had any problems with any fans. I socialize with fans at appearances and in public.”
source

So what happens now? Andre is obviously a better point guard than Steve Blake and the Coach knows it, but stresses that maybe it is who finishes the game that matters, not who starts it. You just have to wonder how well Andre will handle this situation.

Image: Zuma Press

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There seems to be a plethora of quality point guards available on the NBA trade market.

Chad Ford breaks it down for ESPN.com.

this information comes largely from two sources: GMs who tell us what other teams are offering them, and NBA player agents who often play important roles in getting their clients moved this time of year.

While most of the players will not be moved by the trade deadline, if history repeats itself, several will.

source

Tops on Chad’s list is former North Carolina NCAA champ Raymond Felton of the Bobcats.

Felton is a talented point guard, but he doesn’t fit the pass-first mold that Larry Brown wants in his point guards. With rookie D.J. Augustin looking like the point guard of the future in Charlotte, the chances Felton heads somewhere else are pretty high.

Mike Conley from Ohio State and now on the Grizzlies is next on the list.

Some scratched their heads when the Grizzlies drafted Conley with the No. 4 pick in the 2007 draft. While Conley was a coveted draft prospect, the team was already loaded at the point guard position and it was unclear how he would fit. Eighteen months later, Conley still hasn’t found his groove in Memphis.

Conley is a good distributor and an excellent defender, but his shaky shooting has made him a liability. And with O.J. Mayo now dominating the ball, Conley is often left standing around on offense.

Andre Miller, Kirk Hinrich, and Baron Davis are also on the list.

Sounds like some teams are going to fix their point guard problems this year.

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Elton Brand dunking

Philadelphia was down 38 – 13.

Past 76er teams would have quit. We are going to lose, so let’s go home.

But they did not quit and came back to win the game 94 – 92 over the Indiana Pacers. Elton Brand had 15 rebounds and Thaddeus Young had 25 points.

“It was a great comeback by Philadelphia,” Indiana coach Jim O’Brien said. “Sometimes you get too big a lead early in the game — and the NBA is a game of momentum shifts.”
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There is no quit with Mo Cheeks as coach. You noticed last year in the playoffs as this Philly team eventually lost to the Detroit Pistons that they just keep coming at you. There is no quit in these 76ers.

Now the Philadelphia team added prize 20 -10 guy, Elton Brand. Now the 76ers have some power on the blocks and who knows how far this team can go.
Photo source Newscom

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Elton Brand will give the 76ers a player down on the blocks

Last year the Philadelphia 76ers went to the playoffs to take on the Detroit Pistons. A tall order for a team that had not been to the playoffs in quite a while and for a team that was not loaded with established stars.

The Pistons had a simple strategy for victory. There was no inside game for the 76ers. No dominant player on the box to force a double team. The strategy was to stop Andre Iguodala and make someone else beat them.

Andre Miller tried and at times succeeded, but eventually there were too many Pistons and too few 76ers.

The 76ers decided to find that person down low first and did they ever. Elton Brand, a sure double double guy, signed with the 76ers in the off season. It was a blockbuster deal for a team that was already a young improving playoff team.

Everyone was excited.

Coach Mo Cheeks wanted more. What good was drawing a double team down low if there were no outside shooters to take advantage of that?

Andre Miller liked to drive. Andre Iquodala is more of a slasher. Mo wanted some shooters.

Hello, Kareem Rush. Hello, Donyell Marshall. We haven’t seen them unload through the first three preseason games, but the intimation is that we eventually will. Marshall, who grew up in Reading, has said he came, in large part, to play for his hometown team. Rush said he came because the Sixers needed what he could bring.

Rush drained a career-high 102 threes with the Indiana Pacers last season, profiting from coach Jim O’Brien’s green-light offense. Despite that, he saw a brighter opportunity with the Sixers.

source

Now if Philly faces a strong team in the playoffs they will have the full assortment of weapons to throw at them.

Photo source Newscom

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LeBron James is partying at the thought of all the NBA players available in 2009

Even with all the big name free agents in 2010, with LeBron James, Dwyane Wade, and Chris Bosh in the group, the year 2009 could still be the year of the free agent.

Try this out for 2009.

Some of the Restricted Free Agents: Andrew Bynum, Marvin Williams, Jason Maxiell

Some of the players that can opt out of contracts: Kobe Bryant, Carlos Boozer, Rip Hamilton, Hedo Turkoglu

True Free Agents: Shawn Marion, Andre Miller, Rasheed Wallace

So what about money?
Some teams are loaded depending on what happens.

Thunder 25 – 30 million
Trail Blazers 15 – 32 million
Grizzlies 18 – 24 million
Pacers 11 million
Heat 10 million
Bobcats 10 million

Plain and Simple, there will be lots of player movement in 2009 in the NBA.

story source espn

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Andre Iguodala is surrounded by Rasheed Wallace and Jason Maxiell

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Andre Iquodala has talent just oozing out of him. If you watched the first round playoff matchup of the Philadelphia 76ers and the Detroit Pistons, it was easy to see who was carrying the 76ers.

Andre was the man.

Unfortunately the Pistons are one of the best defensive teams in the league. They blanketed Andre with Tayshaun Prince as the lead defender and help coming from any direction Andre went. Bad grammar, but true story.

Andre still needs to develop his outside game to be a force, but with his strength and athleticism, he is a daunting hoop player.

He is also a restricted free agent.

Andre must be singing with joy, but he isn’t. You see, to sign him you need a lot of money. What team has a lot of money left over?

With last week’s trade of Marcus Camby and his large contract from the Denver Nuggets to the Los Angeles Clippers, the thrifty Grizzlies remain the only club with significant salary-cap space. And they have said they won’t take on expensive contracts. That leaves free agents with few options and even less leverage.

source

Time to talk NBA common sense. The 76ers need to sign this guy. They just picked up Elton Brand. They are young and eager. You take a first round playoff team like the 76ers and add Elton Brand to the mix, with Andre Iguodala, Andre Miller at the point, and jumping jack Samuel Dalembert, who knows what can happen?

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Elton Brand will bring his brand of basketball to Philadelphia

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In a blockbuster deal, the Philadelphia 76er’s signed Elton Brand to a 5 year 82 million dollar contract.

Wow!

The 76er’s were eliminated by the Detroit Pistons in the playoffs last year and had no inside presence what so ever. They wanted a big man desperately, but big men are hard to come by.

Philadelphia went all out.

Philadelphia wanted to land a big man this summer and had Hawks restricted free agent forward Josh Smith in town last week for a visit, but he left without being presented with an offer sheet. Smith will look elsewhere, or possibly stay in Atlanta.

The 76ers entered the summer $11 million under the salary cap, but even that wasn’t enough to land a franchise-shifting free agent like Brand. Philadelphia was able to swing a deal with Minnesota that sent forward Rodney Carney and a future No. 1 pick to the Timberwolves as part of a trade that cleared an additional $2 million in salary cap space.

The trade allowed the Sixers to offer a starting salary in the $14-million range. Brand had $16.4 million left on deal he signed in 2003.

source

It will make a difference. Check out this lineup…

Brand joins a Sixers team that is no longer the lottery-bound loser it was a year ago. Andre Miller, Andre Iguodala, Samuel Dalembert and the blossoming Thaddeus Young turned the 76ers into a surprise playoff team, even stretching Detroit to six games in a first-round series. Philadelphia coach Maurice Cheeks had his team playing hard every game and he earned an extension from Stefanski.

The Sixers got only 5.2 points out of last season’s power forward, Reggie Evans.

“I feel even stronger and tougher once I’ve got Elton Brand behind me,” Stefanski said. “I’d have to say, yes, we have closed the gap.”

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Philadelphia 76ers lead the series with the Detroit Pistons 2 to 1 with the next game in Philadelphia. Should the 76ers win that game, the Pistons would need to win the remaining 3 games, with two of them in Detroit.

Philadelphia 76ers 95 Detroit Pistons 75

Mo Cheeks discusses point guard play with Andre Miller

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Pistons can’t throw it in ocean

Detroit went into a huge funk in the 3rd quarter and could not buy a basket.

With 10:41 left in the 3rd quarter, Rip Hamilton buried a 3 pointer for the Pistons to make the score 48 – 46. The Pistons did not make another basket in the third quarter. They did make some free throws.

With 10:04 left in the 4th quarter a goaltend was called on Dalembert on a Chauncey Billups layup to break the basketless string. With 8:46 left Tayshaun Prince finally made a layup for an actual basket that went through the hoop.

It was very painful to watch.

It is too early to panic with 4 games left in the series, but when is Detroit going to take Philly seriously. The Pistons looked slow and lethargic. Philly, led by their point guard, Andre Miller, with 21 points looked energized and fast.

The Sixers proved their Game 1 victory was no fluke, doing everything Detroit normally did on the way to five straight trips to the Eastern Conference finals: Hit clutch shots, never lost composure and kept the pressure on all game to never let the Pistons go on a serious runs.

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The Pistons veterans cannot afford to lose this series. General Manager Joe Dumars would move immediately to fix the team. That would include more team speed and youth. It would most likely mean a breaking up of the current group of Tayshaun Prince, Rip Hamilton, Chauncey Billups, and Rasheed Wallace.

This may seem outlandish, but consider the tired looking Pistons that played LeBron James and Cleveland last year. After that series, should Detroit lose to Philly, then heads will roll.

Philly is a team built to be a mirror image of their coach, popular Mo Cheeks. Mo was a battler that could run, and attack the basket. This is a young team with no true star and they are growing up fast.

Game 4 is a crucial game for both teams. Should Detroit win they would be back in the driver’s seat with two home games remaining. Should Philly win, then Detroit would have its back against the wall.

NBA Basketball special comment Detroit turned the ball over and missed shots. Could they be looking forward to playing the Celtics a little too much?

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The Pistons just could not take care of business. They missed shot after shot. It got ugly.

Philadelphia was behind by 15 points in the 3rd quarter and rallied back. With 4 minutes in the 4th quarter, Pistons fans got the sense that the 76ers were going to win. That is an unfamiliar feeling.

Usually at that time of the game it is all Pistons as they choreograph one easy bucket after another and put the stops on opposing team’s offense, but not tonight as an inspired Philadelphia led by Andre Miller kept charging towards victory.

The 76ers usually sent 3 and sometimes 4 to the glass on Piston misses of wide open shots. Those rebounds resulted in running opportunities at the other end and the 76ers made them pay.

Rip Hamilton missed his shots off the curl plays. Rasheed Wallace missed a couple of inside bunnies, one a turn around that left him wide open and one on a beautiful inside drop step that left him with a layup. Tayshaun Prince was brought in the rescue them and missed two wide open mid-range jump shots. It got ugly.

Maybe the worst stretch was when Chauncey Billups missed 3 free throws in a row and tried to squeeze in a layup in a crowd and missed. This happened while 50% free throw shooter Reggie Evans buried two free throws and made a turnaround jumper from the top of the key. Ouch. Oh my, it got ugly.

Maybe even worse was wasting a monster effort by Rasheed Wallace.

Wallace had 24 points, nine rebounds and matched a franchise playoff record with seven blocks.
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The Pistons were leading by 7 going into the fourth quarter, and as usual were plagued by inconsistent offense.

The Pistons, notorious for their inconsistent effort, proved the cushion wasn’t large enough.

“That’s Detroit,” Iguodala said. “They turn it on and turn it off.

“We just kept fighting the whole way.”

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There were concerns that Coach Flip Saunders would shorten the bench during the playoffs and the same old tired Pistons that lost to LeBron and the Cavaliers last year would be stuck on the floor too much.

The guard play needs to improve. (Hamilton missed 12 of 17 shots.) The celebrated “new” bench was little more than Maxiell. Wallace said he’ll “take this one on the chin,” but he’s the last guy who should feel responsible. He played hard from the opening tip.
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Well, Flip did keep the bench on the bench during the important moments and hopefully he will think twice before doing that again.

NBA Basketball special comment Before Piston fans start complaining, keep in mind this is a seven game series and it will be hard for Philadelphia to repeat what it did here tonight. They buried a lot of shots, while Detroit missed quite a few easy ones.

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LeBron James knows he must improve for Cleveland to win

It is not often that LeBron James is humbled.

It is even less often that the King is shown to be at a deficit with his hoop skills.

The Cleveland Cavaliers surprised a lot of teams last year, but unless LeBron and the team improve, they will fall behind the Pistons, Celtics, and probably the Magic.

And right now LeBron is behind Kobe in his ability to finish a game.

In last year’s Championship, the San Antonio Spurs took LeBron and basically punished him.

So the Spurs took LeBron out behind the woodshed?

Well, not exactly, but something like that.

The San Antonio Spurs prevented LeBron James from dominating in last year’s NBA Championship series.

The Spurs, given more than enough time to game plan, took advantage of his shortcomings during the Finals. Bruce Bowen chased him wherever he went, and when James did penetrate, he usually found a four-man wall waiting for him.

The Spurs’ goal: If James wanted to drive, he was going to have to plow through a crowd of them to do so. Instead, they dared James to fire pick-and-roll jumpers, and he didn’t make nearly enough, shooting just 32 percent in the four-game sweep. source

The King was not going to side idly by and let this public humiliation escape away without rectifying some soft spots in his game.

So, LeBron James went to work this past summer.

So James brought Cleveland’s shooting coach, Chris Jent, with him nearly everywhere he went last summer. Jent was in Las Vegas working with James as he trained with Team USA. He accompanied him to Los Angeles for the ESPYs. To New England for a working vacation.

The results aren’t hard to see. Just ask the Memphis Grizzlies, whom James hung 51 points on Tuesday. He’s leading the league in scoring, averaging 29.8 points per game while shooting a career-best 48.7 percent. James’ three-point percentage has dropped slightly, but his midrange game has never been better.

Now that the King has improved, LeBron would like to see the team improve. One area of definite improvement would be more talent.

“They have to get LeBron more help,” one scout said recently.

The GM, Danny Ferry, has twice tried to get Mike Bibby, asked about Andre Miller of the Sixers, tried to put together a package for Jason Kidd of the Nets. So far no luck.

Geez, LeBron takes the team all the way to the finals without talent. How scary would the Cav’s be with talent?

One thing is for sure, LeBron will be working on his game in the meantime to get better.

NBA Basketball Fan Question Is LeBron the best player in the NBA?

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