Who are these guys?

Deron Williams? All everyone talks about is Chris Paul of the Hornets, or the arrival of Jason Kidd in Dallas, but Deron Williams is off to a great career with that hidden team, the Utah Jazz. Deron had 14 assists by half time. Half time!

Mehmet Okur? All everyone talks about is Shaq going to the Suns, or Dirk Nowitzki lighting it up for the Mavs, or the return of Andrew Bynum, or Pau Gasol gaining new life with the Lakers, but Mehmet has some of those European style components to his game, learned in Turkey, that make him tough to guard and he rebounds well in a crowd. Just ask Joe Dumars, he wanted to keep him a Piston, but the price was too high.

Carlos Boozer? Hey, what is he doing on the Jazz? Carlos is a 20/10 guy that weighs 266 pounds. 20 points and 10 rebound season average that is and the 266 pounds on his 6′ 9″ frame makes him tough to handle inside.

Andrei Kirilenko? He may not be a 20/10 guy, but he does everything else with steals, blocked shots, rebounds, points, and just plain excellent defense. In 2005-06 he was on the NBA all defensive team. This year he has suffered a lot of injuries and did not play most of this most recent game.

Utah played most of the game without forward Andrei Kirilenko, who was knocked out of the game with 7:04 left in the first quarter after taking a flagrant foul from Dallas’ Dirk Nowitzki. Kirilenko went crashing to the floor and bruised his right hip bad enough that he was taken to the hospital for X-rays, which showed no break. source

NBA Basketball Andrei Kirilenko factoid – Became just 4th player in NBA history, and first since 1993-94, to average 15+ points, 8+ rebounds, 4+ assists and 3+ blocks in single season (Abdul-Jabbar six times, Bob Lanier – 1973-74, David Robinson – 1993-94) source

Kyle Korver? The least heard about trade this side of Golden State picking up old timer Chris Weber. Kyle gives them the big time bench scorer they needed and had 17 points in this game.

Utah won over Dallas 116 – 110.

The Jazz went on a momentum-changing fourth-quarter run in a 116-110 win over the Dallas Mavericks on Monday night, coming back after blowing a 21-point lead. Utah made all 18 free throws in the fourth quarter and stayed near the top of the congested standings in the Western Conference. source

Dallas

Josh Howard scored 25 points and Nowitzki finished with 23 for Dallas, which fell to 4-4 since acquiring Jason Kidd.

Kidd finished with nine assists and 19 points — 10 of which he scored in the fourth quarter. Jason Terry scored 21 for the Mavericks.

It appears the Jason Kidd experiment will take a little time to get going.

Anyway, Utah is fighting for their life in the tough Western Conference.

Back to Utah

“It was a playoff atmosphere,” Boozer said. “You had people diving for loose balls, scrapping for rebounds. That’s what the playoffs are about. That’s what the last 20 games are going to be like as we try to position ourselves for the playoffs.”

So who is Utah and why aren’t the New Orleans Hornets called the Jazz? Hmm, that does seem a bit strange.

Utah is the hidden team loaded with talent and a good record. Look out Western Conference!

NBA Basketball Fan Question Were you aware of how good the Jazz are looking?

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Kobe was smoking hot with 52 points, 22 of them coming in the 4th quarter.

The Lakers won the game in OT 108 – 104 over the Dallas Mavericks.

In what has to be one of the best basketball quotes in a while, Avery Johnson the coach of the Mavericks expounds on their defensive philosophy used to stop Kobe.

“We gave him a single look, then we double-teamed him, then we gave him a triple-team and he split the triple-team and scored,” Johnson said. “We tried to zone him, we tried to funnel him in the trap for a zone and he went the other way. He didn’t cooperate on any of our defenses.

“Obviously he milked the free throw line on us and he just had it all going. He’s a great player. He has these (games). Lots of these.” source

It is such a funny quote that it is almost sinful to bring up the fact that defense is not really the Mavericks thing anyway. It would be surprising if they actually understood how to play all those defenses.

The Kobe legend just continues.

NBA Basketball Kobe Bryant factoid – Bryant’s 20,989 career points moved him past Walt Bellamy (20,941) and into 25th on the NBA’s all-time list. source

Kobe just adds to his career stats with great game after great game.

Bryant hit the 50-point mark for the 22nd time in his career and first time this season. He went 15-of-27 from the floor and, constantly driving and drawing fouls, was 20-of-27 from the line. He was perfect shooting free throws in the fourth quarter, making 13, and converted the two he took in overtime.

Oh, did we mention that Kobe also had 11 boards?

Pau Gasol

Just to complete the Laker picture, it should be added that Pau had 17 points and 14 rebounds. He makes a great complement to Kobe.

Dirk Nowitzki had 30 points, 14 boards, 5 assists, and 3 sno-cones and went largely unnoticed. That is what happens when someone puts up 52 on you. Ok, in all fairness, Dirk did nail a 3 to send the game into OT and did have 9 in the overtime.

Jason Kidd showed up with a double double of his own, with 15 points, 11 assists, and 6 rebounds. He is a great addition to the Mavs. If you don’t believe me, take a look at the byline on Eric Dampier. 16 points and 17 boards. Unreal.

NBA Basketball Fan Question How can Kobe score so many points and not ruin the Laker team game?

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Jason Kidd cannot pass on a good deal

New Jersey seems intent on trading Jason Kidd to the Dallas Mavericks, so GM Rod Thorn traded Kidd again to Dallas.

The new deal — as reported by various media outlets Sunday night, all citing anonymous sources — has Kidd and forward Malik Allen going to Dallas for point guard Devin Harris, center DeSagana Diop and swingman Maurice Ager, plus a few new pieces: retired forward Keith Van Horn and Trenton Hassell.

New Jersey also will get two first-round draft picks and $3 million.

Van Horn and Hassell replace Jerry Stackhouse and Devean George. source

Rod Thorn was not done there, he just went right on trading with Dallas.

In a separate transaction, Dallas will acquire Antoine Wright for a second-round pick.

Hey, why not? Gotta a deal working with Dallas myself, if the commissioner allows by dead great grandfather to be included in the deal.

Van Horn hates paperwork

Talk about a guy that really hates his paperwork. Keith Van Horn never got around to filling out his retirement forms for New Jersey. That is why he can be included in the trade.

How does that work?

And why did you attend his retirement party a year ago. Feel kind of foolish now, don’t you?

Aaron McKie returns

Now it can be revealed that the same stuff took place in the Memphis Grizzlies to Los Angeles Kobe Lakers Pau Gasol trade.

the Los Angeles Lakers had to extricate the 35-year-old from a coaching job in Philadelphia before signing-and-trading him as part of their package for Gasol.

Nothing fishy there, since you only have to convince the league you are serious about playing for the new team. Yeah, right.

Money talks

Apparently there is not much to show are far as desire to play with the amount of money being thrown around. Keith Van Horn was not sure he wanted to leave his business interests in Colorado.

Sources close to the process insist, however, that the league has not imposed any time requirements for staying with the Nets that Van Horn must meet to collect the full $4.3 million he’s scheduled to receive for the rest of the season. source

Hmm, 4.3 millions reasons to leave Colorado.

Anyway, Kidd was traded to Dallas and may being playing as a Maverick with Dirk Nowitzki and company as soon as Wednesday.

If not, Rod Thorn can always trade him again.

NBA Basketball Fan Question Will Jason Kidd take Dallas to the title?

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LeBron James All Star MVP – Time to get out of Dodge err Cleveland!

With David Stern happy to have NBA Marketing Icon LeBron James as the MVP of the 2008 All Star game, the world can move on.

If you had to lay odds, it had to be James as MVP.

The NBA is a marketing organization, not a sports organization. Right now the future of the NBA seems secure, with possible expansion out of the USA and many stars in the league, but it can change fast and David Stern knows that.

Don’t get me wrong, LeBron is so good he probably would win the MVP of the All Star game anyway, almost every year.

It wouldn’t be long until these pulsating final minutes of this fabulous All-Star Game ultimately belonged to the genius of its Most Valuable Player with 27 points, nine assists and eight rebounds. It wouldn’t be long until commissioner David Stern passed him his second trophy at 23 years old, and the world would see who the star of stars was again at New Orleans Arena.

“LeBron is a freight train when he goes to that basket,” West coach Byron Scott sighed. “He’s so big, and so strong – so quick and so powerful. It’s hard to stop him when he gets the momentum going like that.” source

Now it is time to plan for LeBron to leave Cleveland.

The Cavaliers will have a hard time putting together consistent teams in Cleveland.

Over the summer, LeBron, Bryant and Jason Kidd were grumbling teammates with Team USA. Bryant wanted out of Los Angeles. Kidd wanted a trade to Cleveland. And James just wanted someone to share the burden with him. Well, the two point guards whom Cleveland GM Danny Ferry had tried to obtain for two years – Kidd and Mike Bibby – are on the way to Dallas and Atlanta.

The NBA needs to keep LeBron on the highest stage possible. That stage would be the NBA Playoffs and probably at least the Conference Finals. Hopefully the Championship series itself.

You can’t market Tim Duncan.

As much as it hurts your intrepid author (a huge Pistons fan), the League does not want anymore San Antonio Spurs vs. Detroit Pistons series. To fans outside of those teams, it is boring. They play defense.

Think of Kevin Garnett’s Boston Celtics vs. Kobe’s Lakers.

Think of Steve Nash and the Shaq bringing the Suns in to play LeBron James when he is on the Knicks (without Isiah).

Jerry Stackhouse may not be all smiles if the Jason Kidd trade does not go through

Jerry Stackhouse gave an interview saying New Jersey would buy out his contract, then after the 30 day waiting period, Stack could return to the Mavericks in a prearranged deal. source

This is illegal. It is called tampering. The league may not allow Jerry to return to the Mav’s if the trade happened.

Mark Cuban does not want to lose Stack.

Wow, this just keeps getting better. First, Devean George and his Bird Rights, and now Jerry Stackhouse and tampering.

Just think how happy David Stern must feel to stick the dagger in Cuban for once.

Losing Stack to gain Kidd, may hurt the Mav’s depth, but still would improve their team.

This deal just got more complicated, but will still probably happen in some form or another.

LeBron wants action

Meanwhile, LeBron James is upset that the Cavaliers have done nothing to try and get Kidd, in spite of LeBron’s lobbying for Jason. It is doubtful that the Nets would leave Jason Kidd in the same conference.

NBA Basketball Fan Question Will Dallas and New Jersey get this deal done in time for the trade deadline?

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Jason Kidd not going anywhere right now!

Wow!

In what looked like another blockbuster trade of an Eastern Conference team to a Western Conference team, did not happen.

Whether this trade gets done or not is up in the air right now.

There appears to be a contract snag with one of the players to be traded, Devean George.

Dallas Wins

Dallas went out and beat Portland anyway.

George started because of an injury to Josh Howard — and went 0-for-11. He had no points, four rebounds and two assists in 33 minutes.
…
Dallas also was without starting point guard Devin Harris (ankle) and key reserve Jerry Stackhouse (hamstring). A bigger distraction was talk that Harris and Stackhouse were part of a deal that would bring Kidd from New Jersey in a deal that also would include George and reserves DeSagana Diop and Maurice Ager. source

The contract of Devean George has a no trade clause and his agent, Mark Bartelstein is meeting with George to discuss it.

George was supposed to be among the players headed from Dallas to New Jersey, but he blocked it because of a virtual no-trade clause as part of a contract status called “early Bird rights.”

After Dallas beat Portland on Wednesday night, Mavs coach Avery Johnson said there was “zero” chance the deal would get done, but added that was “as of now.” source

The trade deadline is Feb 21st.

Here is an explanation of how Larry Bird or Early Bird Rights work.

Without the player’s consent when the player is playing under a one-year contract (excluding any option year) and will have Larry Bird or Early Bird rights at the end of the season. This includes first round draft picks following their fourth (option) season, who accept their team’s qualifying offer for their fifth season. When the player consents to such a trade, the team loses its Larry Bird/Early Bird rights, and the player is considered a Non-Bird free agent. Note: when there is an option year involved, they can get around this regulation by invoking the option prior to the trade. source

Sounds like there is an out, but Devean will have to give up the Early Bird Rights and then New Jersey would lose the rights to George at the end of the season.

NBA Basketball Fan Question How much would Kidd change Dallas?

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Your intrepid author has been warning you that it is a long season.

It is much too early to hand the crown over to the Boston Celtics.

Now with the Western Conference top teams adding Shaq, Weber, and Gasol and the Spurs healing up and adding Stoudamire, it is even more reason to not hand over the NBA Title to the Boston Celtics.

Not that we should give up on the Lucky Green men, but take a look at this recent quote from Detroit Pistons GM Joe Dumars:

On the Boston Celtics possibly riding their superstars too much:

“All I will say is this: We’ve seen it before. I think it’s great for them, it’s exciting for them, we’ve been there before with the gaudy record. Phoenix was there a few years ago with the gaudy record. Dallas had a gaudy record, Miami had a gaudy record, and none of us got to where we wanted to get to in that particular year.

So all I’m saying is that we’ve seen it. We’ve done it, we’ve lived that gaudy record that they’re living right now, and it didn’t pay dividends for us so I would tell people to hold up on presenting that trophy just yet, because there’s a lot of basketball yet to be played. A lot of playoff series, and a lot of things can go on.

The gaudy record is nice, but like I said, you go back over the last four years, Detroit, Miami, Phoenix, and Dallas had the same gaudy record that Boston has and none of us won it that year.” source

You see it may come down to how Doc Rivers uses his players or uses them up. The choice will be his.

NBA Basketball Fan Question Are you still picking Boston?

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Rasheed Wallace calls for low post offense

In the pre Super Bowl marquee NBA matchup, the Detroit Pistons showed why defense wins championships.

Holding the powerful offense of the Dallas Mavericks to 29 points in the second half, the Detroit Pistons easily won the afternoon game.

Detroit had lost in Dallas in January in a typical Maverick racehorse affair. They were determined not to play that way this time.

A special focus was put on stopping the high scoring Dirk Nowitzki and it paid off with Dirk missing shot after shot in the second half.

The Mavericks, who were without starting point guard Devin Harris and sixth man Jerry Stackhouse, also shot a season-low 30.3% and made a season-low 23 shots.

The key was a relentless defense that involved more switching than usual on pick-and-rolls and a physical an aggressive approach to handling reigning MVP Dirk Nowitzki. source

Coach Flip Saunders, who is better known for offense, has always been a strong believer in defense.

“When we are playing our best, that’s how we play,” said Pistons coach Flip Saunders, who called Sunday’s defense the best he has seen on Nowitzki in his time with the Pistons. “We play physical, we get after it, we make teams react to what we do, and we don’t stay back. We become more proactive.”

Rasheed Wallace speaks

The center for the Detroit Pistons, Rasheed Wallace, had a ready quote before the game.

“We’ve just got to put their (butt) in a hole on the other end, put their (butt) right down there on them chop blocks (the post),” Wallace said. “They don’t have no real big men, actually. The only real big man I’d say is Damp (Eric Dampier) because he fits that classic big man mold. … But they’ve got a lot of slashers on their team. It’s a team full of slashers. I’m not saying they’re not good, but, hey, in order to hold their slashing down, put their (butt) on the chop blocks.” source

Come playoff time, if the Pistons should meet the Mavericks in the NBA Championship series, look for the Pistons defense to win over the long haul. Offense seems to win during the regular season, but defense prevails in the playoffs.

NBA Basketball Fan Question Can Dallas win a title with offense?

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Dirk Nowitski firing the ball over Steve Nash

Steve Nash gets all the good pub.

Steve Nash gets the MVP awards.

Dirk gets no respect at all. Watch a Mav’s game and even the ref’s give Dirk no respect.

Does not matter, because Dirk is just going to keep on firing the ball up on all kinds of long jumpers. When the ref’s do call a foul, Dirk steps up and buries it with textbook form.

Dirk Nowitski has been over 30 points in 4 out of the last 8 games.

Your intrepid author caught the last quarter of the Mav’s/ Suns game on Wednesday and it was great. Those teams play at such a fast pace that it was hard to keep up with all the action.

Nash blows down the court and dribbles anywhere he wants until either shooting or whipping a pass to an open man for a jumper or slam and all of this takes place in about 7 seconds.

At the other end, Nowitski just gets the ball and launches from pretty much anywhere and that happens in about 7 seconds.

You better wear your track shoes if you want to play for these teams.

Wednesday was Dirk’s time to star.

scored 31 points, including the Mavericks’ final eight, giving Dallas just enough to hold off the Suns 108-105 Wednesday night in yet another intense, entertaining game between the Western Conference rivals.

GAME REPORT: Dallas 108, Phoenix 105

While the final score was close — decided, in fact, when Nash airballed a three-pointer in the closing seconds — the Mavericks were in control all night. They never trailed, led by 17 at the end of the first quarter and were up by 14 midway through the fourth.

No matter how many times Phoenix rallied, Dallas always had an answer. source

Let’s not get into all the arguments about lack of defense and questionable shot selection and just enjoy the style of play that these two teams bring to the table.

Wednesday night Dirk got the best of Steve, but the fans everywhere got a good show!

NBA Basketball Fan Question Do you enjoy the racehorse style of basketball?

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Dirk is smiling with victory!

The Dallas shoot em if you got em Mavericks beat the Cleveland LeBrons.

LeBron was in foul trouble in the first half and went scoreless. He finished with only 10 points on only 11 shots. LeBron James made only 2 buckets.

If you play the Mavs and your superstar only scores 10 points, then you are going down.

There are a lot of experts that have completely written of the Cavs for returning to the finals. Some of those experts have to realize how balanced the East is as a conference and that LeBron will not have a lot of 2 bucket games.

Zydrunas Ilgauskas not only had 17 points, but 18 rebounds. The old guy can still play and Cleveland will need him.

Dirk Nowitzki is the heart and sole of the Mavericks, but tonight it was Jason Terry with 7 3’s and 24 points.

Now the big question is whether the Mavericks can win it all?

Let’s look at what they are saying in Dallas.

Do the Mavericks have the physical talent to win a championship? Yes.

Do the Mavericks have what it takes mentally to win a championship? No one knows. Based on historic collapses against Miami and Golden State, based on eight losses in their last 10 playoff games — three of them blowouts — the argument can be made that the answer is no. source

There are those that think the quick scoring teams like Dallas, Phoenix, and Golden State can not win titles, because they can not crank up the defense to get important stops. They are in essence just trying to out score you.

Do not count your intrepid author in this group. Golden State may not be ready, but Phoenix is primed and Dallas is right there next to them.

NBA Basketball Fan Question Can Dallas win it all?

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