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

Oh boy, this changes things almost entirely. Cleveland has to be as happy as you can get. Kevin Garnett will not be in the playoffs. He has a knee injury that will not heal.

Celtics coach Doc Rivers said Thursday that Garnett will not be ready for Game 1 against the Chicago Bulls and possibly won’t be back at all.

“It’s not official that he’s out for the entire playoffs, but it’s official as far as I’m concerned,” Rivers said before practice at the team’s workout facility. “I just don’t see how. I hope I’m wrong, but I just don’t see it.”

Garnett has been the Celtics’ inspirational leader since joining them in a 2007 trade that completed the new Big Three and propelled the franchise to its record 17th NBA title. He averaged 15.8 and 8.5 rebounds per game for the defending champions this season.

“I’m devastated for him,” Celtics guard Ray Allen said. “This is the time of year you’ve been waiting for.”

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Kevin is not too happy about being injured

Without Kevin Garnett, the Boston Celtics are not a serious threat to win the Conference playoffs, let alone the NBA title. The real shame of the matter is that the 3 Celtic stars are getting older by the minute. If they want 1 more title, they do not have a lot of time left.

Photo source Newscom

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The hard feelings are there and will remain until most likely Cleveland beats Boston in a playoff series. Cleveland feels this year is the year. The Cavaliers do not like the Celtics.

Look out Celtics, here comes LeBron James

Last year Boston knocked out LeBron and the Cavaliers in a 7 games series. Boston only won home games. This bothered Cleveland a lot. This year the home court will belong to Cleveland. If Boston wants to get to the finals they will run into Cleveland and have to win a game in Cleveland.

It appears the Cavaliers will face the Pistons in the first round and even though the Pistons are on the downhill, Cleveland would love to put them away.

Yes, it could be a big year of vindication in Cleveland.
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NBA Obsessed takes you into the hit and run game of NBA Basketball.

The Pistons win. They win all the time, don’t they? Oh that is right; they don’t win hardly at all anymore. They even lose more than they win. In fact, they are done, done, stick a fork in it done.

But wait, did you hear that? It is the sounds of the Pistons coming back to life. They did what recently seemed impossible. They made the playoffs. Yeah, we were used to the Pistons going all the way to the conference finals and now we just hope they can win a few home playoff games before retooling for next year.

The Pistons and Tayshaun Prince back into the playoffs

Will Bynum had 20 points to lead the Piston to victory over the Nets by the score of 100 - 93.

On the bright side it was the eighth year in the playoffs in a row for Detroit.

The Pistons never trailed, and were up by as many as 19 in the first half. Detroit outshot the Nets 61 to 36 percent and outrebounded them 24-13 to take a 54-38 lead into intermission.

Anderson’s three-pointer pulled the Nets to 76-68 in the final minute of the third period, but Tayshaun Prince’s dunk moved the margin back to 10 at quarter’s end.

New Jersey got to 96-91 in the final minute, but Hamilton clinched the game with a three-pointer.

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Photo source Newscom

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

How is it possible that the lowly Chicago Bulls could make the playoffs?

Your intrepid author has been critical of the Bulls for not pulling off the Kobe deal, but they are now sitting in the 8th spot in the Weak Eastern Conference.

John Salmons is leading the Bulls back to the playoffs

The easy leaders are Cleveland, Boston, and Orlando with 57, 54, and 52 victories respectively. After that Atlanta is the only team with more than 40 victories. The Hawks have 42.

Philly, Detroit, Chicago, and Miami are all between 34 and 38 victories.

Chicago has a 3 game lead on its nearest competitor for the 8th spot.

Chicago is 10-8 since Paxson sent four players to the Sacramento Kings for swingman John Salmons and center Brad Miller on Feb. 18. The Bulls have won five of their last six, including Tuesday’s 99-91 win vs. the Detroit Pistons.

“We’re definitely making progress,” says Salmons, who entered Tuesday with averages of 22.3 points and 5.2 rebounds in 11 games as a Bulls starter. “We’re getting better every game.”

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Photo source Newscom

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Grant Hill, who used to play for my Pistons (as if the ownership was mine. ha-ha) and Jason Richardson, who used to play for my Michigan State Spartans (hey, your intrepid author did graduate from there and paid a ton of expenses for that diploma, which sort of makes me an owner.) led Phoenix to their 5th victory in a row.

Phoenix 118 Denver 115

Grant Hill can still play!

Now in the who cares category, why should we care?

Hey, remember how crowded the playoff situation is in the Western Conference with 7 teams trailing the Lakers and having between 42 and 47 victories? Well, the Suns just won game 39. Hope springs for at least the rest of the season or when mathematically eliminated.

Hill hit a 12-foot jumper in the lane to break a tie with 58.6 seconds remaining, then added a free throw with 6.2 seconds left to help Phoenix extend its season-high winning streak to five games in a 118-115 victory over Denver on Monday night.

“That may have been the only jumper I hit,” said Hill, who had a double-double with 23 points and 10 rebounds, but also committed six turnovers.

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Now add this scoring note.

The Suns have averaged 131.5 points a game in their last four, passing Golden State to become the highest-scoring team in the NBA with a 108.8 average. The Suns ranked fifth in the league at 104.4 points per game when Alvin Gentry replaced Terry Porter at the All-Star break.

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Kevin Garnett returned to the Boston Celtic lineup and the Celtics once again look tough.

Garnett, performing for the first time since sustaining a right knee strain Feb. 19, scored 10 points in 15 minutes, following a prescribed plan to sit out the final 18:53 of action. Garnett followed the spirit of the orders in staying off the court, but could not contain himself otherwise, cheering on his teammates during a dramatic finish.

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It was Boston 80 and the San Antonio Spurs 77.

Hey, who is that tall guy?

There is no doubt that when the big three are healthy that the Boston Celtics are one of maybe 5 teams in the NBA with a chance to win it all. Not only that, but you would have to call them the favorites until someone proves otherwise.

Kevin has played for a long time, but is still one of the top players in the NBA. Boston is getting Kevin back just in time to tune up for the playoffs.

Image: Newscom

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

Rodney Stuckey going to the hole

The Pistons have enjoyed phenomenal success through the recent years to the point that making the Conference NBA finals and not making the finals is seen as a major disappointment.

Heck, last year Joe Dumars even put the whole starting team up for fire sale, if anyone would trade for them.

But there is one guy that was ruled untouchable. That guy is 6′ 5″ Rodney Stuckey. Here is a point guard that can go to the hole at will. Here is a point guard that is brimming with confidence and can’t wait for the season to start. Here is a point guard… well you get the point guard point.

New coach Michael Curry has all the confidence in the world in Rodney Stuckey and vice versa.

Curry has indicated that he likes the scoring Stuckey and veteran big man Antonio McDyess could bring from the bench.

“When you have both of those guys anchoring your second unit, it allows your other role players to play their roles and not play outside of themselves,” Curry said.

Stuckey and Curry have formed a mutual admiration society — Stuckey thinks the new coach will fully exploit the talents of the team; Curry has indicated he will emphasize more running and more pressure defense, stuff that Stuckey wants to hear.

“He’s going to give us opportunity to showcase our talent, and when the young guys get out on the court, we are going to do what we do and go out there and play hard and play good defense and it’s going to lead us to victories,” Stuckey said.

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Photo source Newscom

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

Kevin Garnett dreaming of a second NBA Championship

The Boston Celtics will come into the season as the odds on favorites and for a reason. They are loaded. Just having Kevin Garnett, Paul Pierce, and Ray Allen gives you the early nod, but other players and a staunch defense were developed last year as well.

Before we go all gaga over the Celtics, keep in mind that LeBron James took them to 7 games, until his team, the Cleveland Cavaliers held him back. Also, don’t forget the Pistons with their young players starting to stretch their muscles. Orlando will also have some say with Dwight Howard. And lest we forget, the young Philadelphia team picked up Elton Brand.

Boston lost some key players too and it is always hard to come back after winning.

Will winning the title temper the fire and selflessness they displayed last year? How will they compensate for the loss of reserves James Posey and P.J. Brown? Will age finally catch up to Ray Allen and Kevin Garnett (both will be 33 by the end of the season)?
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And what changes were made in the Celtic roster over the off season?

Added: Patrick O’Bryant (Golden State), Darius Miles (Portland), Bill Walker (rookie)

Lost: James Posey (New Orleans), P.J. Brown (retired), Scot Pollard

Posey and Brown played key roles in the playoffs, but Darius Miles is an interesting player trying to comeback in the NBA.

The Boston Celtics are still the kings until someone knocks them off.

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Elton Brand will bring his brand of basketball to Philadelphia

Image details: Los Angeles Clippers v Los Angeles Lakers served by picapp.com

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.

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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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Let’s back up and look at Doug Collins.

My early memories were of Doug playing for the 76er’s, swooping to the hole and making a layup or drilling jumper after jumper. He played on the great Dr. J’s teams. He averaged over 17 points a game for his career.

Doug also played on the Olympic team that the Russians beat after the ref’s kept giving them do over’s until they scored the winning basket. Ok, so that one still bothers me. You can’t let everything go.

After retiring as a player, Doug went on to coaching. He got his first walking papers as Michael Jordan’s stubborn coach.

“We knocked heads early,” Collins said at the time. “I was 35, had never been a head coach before, was going to roll up my sleeves to show everybody that I could get the job done. I wanted to do things my way.”

Collins was fired and replaced by Phil Jackson, whose first team also lost to Detroit in the conference finals, 4-3. The following season the Bulls broke through, sweeping the Pistons 4-0 and going on to the first of six championships in the 90s with Jordan and Scottie Pippen leading the way. In 1995-96, they finished 72-10 as what many consider to be the greatest NBA team of all time.

Collins accepted his second head coaching job in 1995 and worked 2 1/2 seasons with the Pistons, going 46-36, 54-28 and 21-24 before he was let go amid reports his style caused friction with some of his players.

He was 37-45 in both seasons in Washington but couldn’t get the Wizards into the playoffs. He was fired shortly after Jordan was denied a return to the front office.

Collins’ overall record is 332-287 and 15-23 in the postseason.

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Here is a YouTube breaking the Chicago Bulls news of hiring Doug Collins.

Now being a huge Piston fans, the early Chicago years were followed and the Piston years were followed. Doug was tough, demanding, and a my way or the highway guy. He could make a weak team strong, but could not make a good team great.

Speaking of great, after a while Doug grated on you and you did not want to play for him anymore.

Now after Chicago experienced the tough, demanding, my way or the highway Scott Skiles, why would they sign Doug Collins?

The Bulls and Collins, who coached a young Michael Jordan and Scottie Pippen before the 1990s dynasty took off, acknowledged Thursday discussing a return engagement. The sides also said there would be more talks once Collins’ obligations with TNT ended, which happened when the Los Angeles Lakers eliminated the San Antonio Spurs in the Western Conference finals that night.

And Collins was adamant during a pregame interview with TNT: “I have not been offered. I have not accepted.”

On Friday, general manager John Paxson did not return a call to his cell phone, and Collins’ representative John Langel declined comment. A message seeking comment was left Friday night on Collins’ cell phone.

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The Bulls will have the number one pick in the draft, probably Derrick Rose of Memphis.

Does this sound like a do over of young Michael Jordan and Doug Collins?

Only Derrick Rose is not Michael Jordan and young Doug Collins had better not be old Doug Collins!

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