Time to look at the Central Division of the NBA and see what we can divine for the future prospects of teams and players.

LeBron James

Might as well start with LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers. Shaq is the 4th leading rebounder and 3 leading scorer in the Cavaliers and not playing a heck of a lot of minutes. Of course, Shaq will quietly tell you that he is saving himself for the playoffs. Cleveland does lead the Central Division, but there is not much competition in the Division and you would have to favor Orlando or Boston in the Eastern Conference right now.

Milwaukee lives in second place and the fans are consumed with the legend in the making of Brandon Jennings the smoking hot rookie. The problem with that is that rookies don’t win you titles, unless they go by the name of Magic Johnson.

Get this Milwaukee has lost 8 out of their last 10 games. The Detroit Pistons have lost 7 out of their last 10 games. The Chicago Bulls have lost 8 out of their last 10 games. Not to be out done the Indiana Pacers have lost 9 out of their last 10 games.

You could either say the Bucks are a balanced team or they are so bad that you could not tell me which players are their starting 5 and which players are the backup 5.

The Pistons are depending on a new lineup of youth tied together with oldsters Ben Wallace and Chucky Atkins.

Derrick Rose is a bright spot on an otherwise lusterless roster for the Chicago Bulls.

In spite of an unknown superstar called Danny Granger, we don’t even want to discuss the Pacers and their victory total of 6.

Can Shaq be saving himself for the playoffs?

So that leaves us only with the Cavaliers. Can Shaq help LeBron win a NBA title?

If you took one look at O’Neal’s stats without having seen the Cavs play, it would seem like he’s not having a good season. In 14 games — he missed six games with a shoulder strain — O’Neal is averaging a career-low 10.9 points on career-low 52 percent shooting, a career-low 6.6 rebounds in a career-low 23.4 minutes.

Shaquille O’Neal has been limited by injury and the Cavaliers’ depth at the center position. But his performance against Orlando’s Dwight Howard in an early-season victory in Florida indicates that his biggest contributions are likely to come in the postseason.

Several different publications have quoted scouts or executives saying that O’Neal clogs the lane and prevents penetrators like Mo Williams and James from getting to the basket and makes it impossible to space the floor properly. The other criticism is O’Neal is a defensive liability.
All of these statements, frankly, have proven not to be true so far.

O’Neal does help clog the lane, for the opposition. With O’Neal, the Cavs have three different center options with Anderson Varejao and Zydrunas Ilgauskas. This allows for a crisp rotation depending on the opponent and makes sure the Cavs have size in the game at all times.
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Chauncey Billups has always been a clutch free throw shooter, the type of ice in the blood, never lose your cool, want that player with the ball and the game on the line sort of player. You know if the game is on the line that Chauncey is going to win it for you.

Denver Nuggets 90 Chicago Bulls 89

Have you seen how Billups shoots his free throws? There is very little movement in his legs at all. Aren’t we taught to bend at the knees and slowly come up and the release is at the end of the shot? Not so for Chauncey as he doesn’t seem to put any legs into his free throws at all, they just seem effortless and always seem to go in no matter how much pressure is on him at the time.

This time it was Chauncey beating the Bulls, but his shot did not win the game until the referees got together and looked at the film of Brad Miller’s last second shot. The odd thing was that just before Brad shot his three pointer, Chauncey purposely missed his second free throw to run the clock out in order to win the game. You can check it out in the YouTube below.

After nearly four minutes, the surprising call was made — the Nuggets had defeated the Bulls 90-89 at the United Center, by a fingertip.

It was the basketball equivalent to winning by a nose. Chicago’s Brad Miller launched a jumper at the buzzer Tuesday night. The initial ruling was that the basket was good and the Bulls celebrated like they had won a playoff series. Then the officials ruled that the ball hadn’t completely left Miller’s hands when time expired, and Denver stole a big road victory.

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You can watch the final shot here on YouTube.

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Derrick Rose has been patiently waiting for an ankle on the mend. Against San Antonio, Derrick had to just put it out of his mind and play as hard as he could play for as long as he could go. Coach Vinny Del Negro wanted to keep a close eye on Derrick Rose’s minutes, but he ended up playing 33 minutes in what was his first game in almost a month’s time.

Chicago Bulls 92 San Antonio Spurs 85

This was a huge victory for Chicago and probably not too irritating of a loss for San Antonio, although San Antonio Coach Gregg Popovich was not too happy with the effort. All Coach Popovich could do was admire the effort of the Chicago Bulls.

Deng got no argument from Spurs coach Gregg Popovich, who saw his team follow up Wednesday’s win against New Orleans with a dud. Except for Tim Duncan (28 points, 16 rebounds), the Spurs didn’t give much of a fight.

”Chicago just did a great job out there,” he said. ”They had more guys come to compete than we did. We had one. They deserved it, and I’m happy for Vinny.”

Deng (17 points, nine rebounds) led six Bulls in double figures. He shot 8-for-13 and was one of the few Bulls who had any sort of offensive rhythm throughout.

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Derrick Rose chases down a loose ball with a bad ankle

Luol Deng, by the way, was one of the walking wounded for Chicago as he was coming off of a lower stress fracture that had him sitting around for 6 months. If the Bulls are going to do anything at all this year it will involve Luol Deng putting together a potential All Star season. That is what Chicago has been hoping for since they drafted him. Maybe with Derrick Rose around to set him up, Luol can at least approach that level.

Tyrus Thomas Free Agent

Tyrus Thomas checked in with 10 points in the third quarter to help the Bulls winning cause. The Bulls have been unable to come to terms with Tyrus Thomas and he will become a free agent at the end of the year.

The Bulls will have significant salary-cap space available for the summer of 2010, and aren’t inclined to reward Thomas with an extension like his 2006 draft classmate, Portland Trail Blazers forward LaMarcus Aldridge(notes) (five years, $65 million). The Utah Jazz also signed forward Paul Millsap(notes), a second-round pick in 2006, to a new four-year, $32 million contract this summer.

Thomas, 23, was the fourth overall pick three years ago, and has steadily matured and begun to show signs of fulfilling his vast promise. Forman has maintained that Thomas, a 6-foot-9 power forward, is part of the franchise’s core group with Derrick Rose and Luol Deng.

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This move may anger many Bulls fans that yearn for the days of Michael Jordan and don’t like to see any young talent walk out the door. Tyrus was a key with Deng and Rose to the Bulls future.

On this night Bulls fans will just have to put it all aside and be happy with a victory over Tim Duncan and the powerful San Antonio Spurs.
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The Bulls in London. Kind of sounds like some Warren Zevon, only he sang about the werewolves in London.

This time it was the Chicago Bulls playing out one of David Stern’s fantasies, a game of NBA basketball in London. The game was played proper and even though the Jazz had a go at it, they could not quite get it done. There was no stampede by the Chicago Bulls, just a game winning shot by rookie James Johnson on a fade away from the baseline.

And then Warren Zevon sang about the game.

James Johnson was an Excitable Boy to be sure even though it was a meaningless exhibition game. He had 18 points in the game. Luol Deng, recovering from a stress fracture in his leg also had 18 points in the game. Deng has a connection to London.

NBA: Stern wants regular-season game in London

Luol Deng (FSY), who was raised in London after his family fled war-torn Sudan, impressed early and finished with 18 points at sold-out O2 Arena. He left the game in the third quarter and didn’t return.

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The game was not meaningless to David Stern, who sent Lawyers, Guns, and Money in order to attempt to secure a regular season game in London. Nobody is sure if that was accomplished, but the Lawyers sure scared everyone.

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It is going to be the most exciting free agent year of all time next year and you can add the super powered guard from Miami to the list. Dwyane Wade will be joining LeBron James, Chris Bosh, and Amare Stoudemire, among others, as 2010 free agents. This just keeps getting better. (Note, appears my Pistons won’t have any free agent money or at least the kind to land these guys.)

Now don’t get me wrong, the rules are rigged to keep a player in his home team town. In this case Dwyane can make 30 million more over 6 years if he stays with the Heat.

But will he stay with the Heat? They have done nothing to improve their roster and Jerry West is 64 years old. Dwyane Wade stated Jerry staying as GM was a factor. Really?

Dwyane Wade to the Bulls?

Now the hot rumors have Wade taking his extreme hoop skills over to the windy city to play for the Bulls.

Wade grew up a huge Bulls fan, idolized Michael Jordan and left Converse this summer to sign with Nike’s Jordan brand. Wade’s charity foundation, his family and his agent are all based in Chicago. Wade even acknowledged Wednesday he probably fueled speculation of a potential homecoming when he recently closed on a $1.4 million townhouse in the Windy City.

“Me buying a place in Chicago, that’s supposed to mean more than what it is,” Wade said. “I just sort of laugh at it, all the speculation.”
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Wow, this would be an awesome backcourt of Derrick Rose and Dwyane Wade. Maybe one of the fastest backcourts in the National Basketball Association. Oh man, this would not be good for my Pistons.

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Ben Gordon had no home in Chicago to speak of. How is it a player can literally dominate the playoffs against the mighty Celtics and still not be wanted on the team? What are the Bulls thinking? Sure Ben has some defensive liabilities including not being that tall, but he can get off his normal shot in the playoffs and compared to other shooting guards, it is quite the amazing shot coming from downtown with pinpoint accuracy.

Speak to Derrick Rose about how much Ben Gordon helped his game and you will immediately see why Rodney Stuckey of the Pistons is excited to have Ben Gordon playing alongside him.

The addition of Gordon has the potential to fully unlock Stuckey’s abilities. For proof, look at the impact on Bulls rookie point guard Derrick Rose.
Rose was the runaway winner for rookie of the year and got better and better throughout the season, culminating in a spectacular performance in the first round of the playoffs when the Bulls pushed the Celtics to seven games.
A major reason for his success was the outside scoring ability of Gordon. His deep touch — as reflected by a career 41.5% from beyond the three-point line — demands attention, so his mere presence draws defenders away from the paint.
That created driving lanes to the basket for Rose who, with his athleticism and nice touch around the basket, flourished.
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Ben Gordon and Rip Hamilton will try to help Rodney Stuckey become a star!

With Gordon gunning from outside, it could prove to be a banner year for Rodney Stuckey!

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The word out of Chicago is that Allen Iverson will go to the Bulls in an NBA sign and trade deal with Detroit for shooting guard Ben Gordon. The deal would put high scoring Alan Iverson on the Bulls for probably the end of his career in a pretty good basketball market. This way the Bulls get something for Ben Gordon.

Allen Iverson to the Bulls?

What do the Pistons get out of this deal and didn’t they already sign Ben Gordon? Right now no one can figure out how this helps the Pistons, because they would be seeking salary cap relief. The deal was made in principal, but the free agent market is not officially open for signings until July 8.

The key for the Bulls is if Iverson would come off the bench as a happy camper.

The Bulls also would want to know that Iverson, 34, would be totally committed despite not making the $20 million he’s accustomed to and without playing the primary role he enjoyed for his entire career until he was traded to the Pistons for Chauncey Billups last season. Iverson did not adapt well to diminished minutes with the Pistons, and late in the season vowed to retire before he would come off another team’s bench.

But Iverson apparently is invigorated by the prospect of getting past the Detroit experience. He wrote on his Twitter account Thursday, “For those of you who thought that I was done, think again! … My only preference will be to play for a coach that knows what I bring to the table and that I am going to bring it every night.”
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Ben Gordon would actually get a bigger contract in a sign and trade deal, but his agent did not even talk to the Bulls before agreeing to sign with the Pistons.

This whole deal seems crazy for Detroit and Joe Dumars takes risk, but does not do crazy.
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The Chicago Bulls have a tough decision facing them. In fact, they have several tough decisions on personnel. It seems that every single Bull is on the trading block except for Derrick Rose and Luol Deng.

The big question though, has to do with resigning Ben Gordon. He will get anywhere from 10 to 11 million smackers and that is a lot of money for a small shooting guard that often plays sixth man.

Ben Gordon can score, but how does he guard the taller shooting guards?

Still if you watched the playoffs it was Ben Gordon that could get his shot off under pressure and it was Ben Gordon that could keep them in games. He has that knack.

If the Bulls resign Gordon, they would be over the luxury tax threshold. This may not be an issue.

If Chicago does re-sign Ben Gordon they’ll be pushing the luxury tax threshold, which means there won’t be a lot of money to spend on free agents. Sources have made it clear that the luxury tax thing is not as big a deal for the Bulls as the media seems to be making it out to be, and while that may be true, it’s also no secret that Chicago is protecting their cash until the summer of 2010, when Miller, Tim Thomas
, and Jerome James come off the books. That’s about $24 million in salary gone in a blink.

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NBA Obsessed takes you into the hit and run game of NBA Basketball.

The Chicago Bulls have a tough decision facing them. In fact, they have several tough decisions on personnel. It seems that every single Bull is on the trading block except for Derrick Rose and Luol Deng.

The big question though, has to do with resigning Ben Gordon. He will get anywhere from 10 to 11 million smackers and that is a lot of money for a small shooting guard that often plays sixth man.

Ben Gordon can score, but how does he guard the taller shooting guards?

Still if you watched the playoffs it was Ben Gordon that could get his shot off under pressure and it was Ben Gordon that could keep them in games. He has that knack.

If the Bulls resign Gordon, they would be over the luxury tax threshold. This may not be an issue.

If Chicago does re-sign Ben Gordon they’ll be pushing the luxury tax threshold, which means there won’t be a lot of money to spend on free agents. Sources have made it clear that the luxury tax thing is not as big a deal for the Bulls as the media seems to be making it out to be, and while that may be true, it’s also no secret that Chicago is protecting their cash until the summer of 2010, when Miller, Tim Thomas
, and Jerome James come off the books. That’s about $24 million in salary gone in a blink.

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The latest greatest almost impossible to dream rumor about is the Bulls picking up Dwyane Wade with a max contract. Can you imagine rookie of the year Derrick Rose and perennial MVP candidate Dwyane Wade in the same backcourt? Hand them a few average big guys and you are talking title contenders for years to come.

Think of your average Chicago Bulls fan tainted with the memory of the great one, Michael Jordan, still fresh in their minds and his 6 titles. They have to be hurting right now. There was the close miss with the Celtics that were without the services of Kevin Garnett and the thought that Derrick Rose is a few years away from being able to carry the team.

Could Rose be teamed up with Wade?

Oh, it could be great. In a couple of the OT games with the Celtics the Bulls went to Rose in tie breaker situations at the end of games. How nice it would be to hand the ball to Dwyane Wade instead. No knock on Derrick, but it would be his job to set Wade up for the victory shot.

Wade could walk right into a backcourt with Derrick Rose, two potential all-league players with a nice supporting cast with Joakim Noah, Luol Deng and John Salmons. Such a plan likely would preclude making a big offer and bringing back Ben Gordon. But then you also risk Miami pulling off a coup, and, say, getting Bosh and then ending up with the 2010 version of Ron Mercer.

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With a minute left in the 4th quarter and the scored tied, Derrick Rose took Rajon Rondo to the hole and drew a suspect foul, but it was not a shooting foul. On the ensuing play, Derrick Rose slipped going to his left and the ball rolled out of bounds. Interesting, the Bulls go to their rookie point guard with the game on the line.

A blurb on the TV showed that there had been 80 lead changes in the 5 game series. 3 of these games have gone to overtime.

Rajon misses after Marbury turns down a shot and Ben Gordon shoots an afterthought jumper at the other end for the lead.

Paul Pierce goes one on one and shoots a turnaround jumper at the foul line to tie it up.

Pierce and Allen try to carry on without Garnett

Chicago goes to Gordon to win the game and he misses a step back jumper. Odd shot selection.

We go to OT. Paul Pierce knocks down a step back jumper from the right side of the top of the key to give the Celtics a three point lead with 36 seconds left.

Will the Bulls go for the 2 for 1? Yes, Ben Gordon forces a 3 on a quick shot and Tony Allen fouls him. Bad foul.

Gordon makes the first, the second, and the third. Tie score. Time out Boston with 27 seconds left.

Will Boston go to Paul Pierce one last time? Yes, Paul Pierce makes a face up jumper just inside the free throw line, right side of the top of the key. The defense by Salmons was good, but Pierce was better. 3.4 seconds left.

One more chance for Ben Gordon? What an incredible play as Miller sets a high screen for the sideline out of bounds play. The defenders go with Ben Gordon rounding the pick and leave Miller wide open. He takes the ball at the top of the key and drives slowly, oh so slowly to the hole. Rondo hits him in the mouth for a foul and Miller air balls.

Miller stops the blood, but bricks the first free throw. Celtics by two with 2 seconds to go. Miller misses on purpose on the second free throw, but misses rim. Ball to Boston. Game to Boston.

Chicago fouls Pierce on the inbounds. He misses a free throw. 1.3 seconds left. He hits rim and that is the game.
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