Now it is time to play who makes more in the NBA as provided by Hoopsworld. The answers will be at the bottom of the blog.

Are you ready?

A) Who makes more Boston Celtics… Ray Allen, Paul Pierce, or Kevin Garnett?

B) Who makes more Cleveland Cavaliers… LeBron James, Shaquille O’Neil, or Mo Williams?

C) Who makes more Denver Nuggets… Carmelo Anthony, Chauncey Billups, or Kenyon Martin?

D) Who makes more Los Angeles Lakers… Kobe Bryant, Pau Gasol, or Ron Artest?

E) Who makes more New Orleans Hornets… Chris Paul, Emeka Okafor, or Peja Stojakovic?

F) Who makes more San Antonio Spurs… Tim Duncan, Tony Parker, or Richard Jefferson?

G) Who makes more Dallas Mavericks… Jason Kidd, Josh Howard, or Dirk Nowitzki?

H) Who makes more Orlando Magic… Dwight Howard, Rashard Lewis, or Vince Carter?

I) Who makes more Miami Heat… Dwyane Wade, Michael Beasley, or Jermaine O’Neal?

J) Who makes more Detroit Pistons… Ben Gordon, Charlie Villenueva, or Rip Hamilton?

Tim Duncan makes a lot of cash!

Answers from Hoopsworld:
A) Paul Pierce $19,795,712.
B) Shaquille O’Neal $21,000,000.
C) Kenyon Martin $15,613,636.
D) Kobe Bryant $23,034,375.
E) Peja Stojakovic $13,392,000.
F) Tim Duncan $22,183,220.
G) Dirk Nowitzki $19,795,714.
H) Rashard Lewis $18,010,791.
I) Jermaine O’Neal $23,016,000.
J) Rip Hamilton $11,625,000.

Photo source Newscom

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The center position in basketball just ain’t what it used to be. It used to be you started with a center and then you found a point guard to lead the way. You had to have that big guy in the middle or you were toast. That was then and this is now. Now a day, there are some up tempo teams that would rather not play a true center. They would rather have a fast mobile power forward. Phoenix with Amare Stoudemire comes to mind.

Still for your intrepid author it is great to see the big guys play whether it is the Shaq, Ewing, Wilt, Russell, Kareem, or even big bad Dwight Superman Howard. They just bring a different element to the game.

The Ball Don’t Lie has his version of the top 10 centers of the last decade, so let us take a look.

10. Alonzo Mourning – Alonzo once beat my Pistons all by himself. He was just so much bigger and stronger than anyone on the court or in the stands that he could not be stopped and prevented anybody from entering the lane.

9. David Robinson – The Admiral came to Michigan State University when he played for Navy in college. You could see then that he was just too tall and too smooth to be stopped.

8. Yao Ming – the man that reminds us there are tall Chinese people in the world may soon exit from the basketball stage if his ankles and feet don’t hold up. When he is healthy there are few better than him in today’s game.

7. Amare Stoudemire – there is that power forward again. Amare just oozes with talent and you wonder what would happen if he played next to a dominant center.

6. Zydrunas Ilgauskas – Not really an Ilgauskas fan myself, but when he is in the game it is always a tough matchup.

5. Jermaine O’Neal – Another one of those power forward types playing center. My lasting memory of Jermaine is the fact that Rasheed Wallace played with him in Portland before he went to Indiana. Jermaine was just a kid back then. When Indiana played against the Pistons in the playoffs, Rasheed was able to shut Jermaine down game after game. For that matter why isn’t Rasheed Wallace on this list? Geez, “The ball don’t lie” was one of his favorite sayings. You can argue he was a power forward, but he played center after Ben left all the time.

LeBron wonders why Rasheed Wallace is not on the list?

4. Ben Wallace – The other Wallace combined with Rasheed to shut down every player on the planet and get a NBA title for the Pistons. How did Ben do it? He was only 6′ 8″ tall, but when he went up for a board with all those muscles and the wild Fro, it just looked like he was 7 foot tall. Fear the Fro!

3. Dwight Howard – Truly Superman, Dwight Howard just grows better as a player each year. He was scoring in his first two season without really even having any moves!

2. Shaquille O’Neal – Shaq is truly bigger than life whether he is rapping, acting, or playing center. Shazam! Shaq has won titles in L.A. with Kobe and in Miami with Wade. He is often doing more talking than playing, but for years the NBA rules allowed Shaq to use his rather large rear end to back into the paint and jam the ball down. Unstoppable!

1. Tim Duncan – Mr. Fundamental.

Duncan won’t blow you away. Shaq seems scarier, and the “power forward” designation might throw you, but don’t get shook.

Tim guards the low post (guards everything, really), and works from the low post while his “center” teammate (David Robinson, Nazr Mohammad, Fabricio Oberto(notes), Matt Bonner(notes)) works anywhere from the high post (D-Rob, Nazr), the baseline (Fab), or the 3-point line (Red Rocket).

In the meantime, Duncan has destroyed teams defensively, drawn trillions of double teams, scored efficiently and generally acted as what we’d hoped Bill Walton would have turned into.

source

That is why San Antonio is in the thick of things every year.

Now here is my question. Where is Kevin Garnett?
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Shaquille O’Neal has moved to number 5 on the all time scoring list for the NBA with 27, 411 points.

Kareem leads everyone with 38,387
Karl Malone is next with 36,928
Michael is next with 32,292
Wilt is fourth with 31,419

Shaq moves up the scoring ladder

He is number 8 on the NBA/ABA list. Only us old timers would even consider that.

What does Shaq have to say about all this?

“It was good, but I’m still kind of disappointed in myself,” O’Neal said. “Mathematically, I’ve missed three years worth of games and I missed 5,000 free throws. If I was there, I’d probably be No. 2 or No. 3 right now.”

Then he added, “It shows I’ve been consistent at what I’ve been doing and the next guy is my illegitimate father — Wilt Chamberlain — so just like in Star Wars, hopefully I can catch up to my father.”

source

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One of my favorite hoop sites is basketball reference.com

Today, why don’t we look at playoff games for a player’s career?

So who has the most NBA playoff games in their career that is still playing?

1. Robert Horry 244 – Somehow this guy gets himself on teams that win it all and he makes big shots.

2. Shaquille O’Neal 203 – The big guy was the dominant player in the game for most of his career.

3. Tim Duncan 155 – The big fundamental always seems to get the job done and creates a mismatch on the court.

4. Derek Fisher 154 – Just like Robert Horry, this guy finds a way to play for winning teams and makes big shots.

5. Kobe Bryant 152 – What Kobe did last year cemented his legacy as one of the best players in the game for all time.

6. Rasheed Wallace 149 – The mercurial center for the Pistons can be whatever he wants to be on a given night and he plays superb defense.

7. Lindsey Hunter 141 – Lindsey may be done, but Joe Dumars keeps talking him into one more year. The speedy backcourt player is one of the best one on one defenders of quick point guards.

8. Sam Cassell 136 – You could see age catching up to the quick shooting Sam Cassell as he played for the Celtics last year. Sam could always get his shot off in the playoffs, which is a special skill in itself.

9. Bruce Bowen 130 – a key member of Tim Duncan’s team, Bruce can stop any forward or big guard in the league.

10. Chauncey Billups and Tony Parker 117 – both excellent guards at the point position for their respective teams. Tony is more of a penetrator and Chauncey is known for his big shots.
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Rudy Fernandez

The Blazers purchased the rights to Rudy Fernandez from Phoenix.

Rudy will actually make less money to play in the NBA than if he had stayed in Europe. If you flash back to the Olympics, Rudy was an outstanding player for Spain, the Olympic silver medalists.

Fernandez has been a huge surprise in early games with his ability to make precise passes to teammates. In one game he threw two passes between a defender’s legs.

The Blazers knew Rudy could score and were claiming he was the best young European in the NBA.

“All I know is, Rudy is going to play, whether as a starter of reserve,” McMillan said. “He plays the game with his heart. He plays it with passion, on both ends of the floor. You rarely see that in the NBA. A lot of guys give that effort on only one end of the floor. When you have a guy who plays hard on every possession, with his kind of potential … once he figures everything out, he’ll be a special player.”

Demopoulos said Fernandez reminds him of Doug Collins as a player. McMillan said he sees a little bit of Pistol Pete Maravich in him.

source

Nobody is saying that the Portland Trail Blazers will win the NBA or even win their division, but these two rookies have taken the town by storm and now plan on storming the NBA!

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Greg Oden

Last year the Portland fans went crazy when the team drafted Greg Oden from Ohio State.

Greg had led the Ohio State basketball team to the NCAA finals and dominated everyone along the way. He is the best big man to hit the NBA in a long time. He has the size and the beginnings of having the moves.

Will Greg be the new Shaquille O’Neal? That is a tough bill to live up to for anyone. We do know Greg will provide the big man presence the Trail Blazers need in the box.

Limited to 20 minutes in each game by coach Nate McMillan, Oden averaged 13.5 points and 7.0 rebounds, shooting .526 from the field. Of his 10 baskets, nine were dunks — six or seven of the rim-rattling, backboard-shaking variety.

Oden got few of his other attempts — jump hooks or putbacks — to fall. But he was aggressive on the offensive glass, and his presence at the defensive end meant opponents had to think before entering the paint with the ball.

Against Golden State, Oden dunked five times, more than once carrying an opposing arm or two up toward the basket.

“When he grabs on to that ball and pumps it up to the basket, you have two choices — get out of the way or foul him,” Portland assistant coach Dean Demopoulos said. “And a lot of the time, he’ll make the shot. Wherever he is, there’s going to be something physical happening.”

source

Greg Oden is a tower of power that will make the Blazers a good team for years!
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It is the Clippers.

It is the Clippers, still.

Yes, Baron Davis, one of my favorite players to watch has come to town, but it is still the Clippers.

Baron Davis shooting over Andrew Bynum of the Lakers

Image details: Golden State Warriors v Los Angeles Lakers served by picapp.com

Clippers fans have to be bumming. They lost Elton Brand to the 76ers, because the Clippers upset his manager, David Falk. They lost Corey Maggette to the Golden State Warriors, can’t remember why. Maybe money.

Anyway, even with the signing of Baron Davis the Clippers will suck. Baron cannot carry them on his back all by himself.

It sucks to be a Clippers fan when the Lakers are just across town. Just off the top of my head the Lakers in my lifetime have had Elgin Baylor, Jerry West, Wilt Chamberlain, Kareem Abdul Jabbar, Magic Johnson, James Worthy, Shaquille O’Neal, and Kobe Bryant.

The Clippers in my lifetime have had…the Clippers have had…well, uhh..oh..Elgin Baylor! Not as a player, though, but it still counts doesn’t it? Elgin is vice-president of basketball operations and very good at his job.

NBA Elgin Baylor factoid – From the 1960-61 to the 1962-63 seasons, Baylor averaged 34.8, 38.3 and 34.0 points per game, respectively. His 38.3 point per game season average is the highest for any player other than Wilt Chamberlain. Baylor, a United States Army Reservist, was called to active duty during that season, and being stationed in Washington state, he could play for the Lakers only when on a weekend pass. However, despite playing only 48 games on the season, he still managed to score over 1,800 points.

The 71 points Baylor scored on November 15, 1960 was a record at the time. The 61 points he scored in game 5 of the NBA Finals in 1962 is still an NBA Finals record. An underrated rebounder, Baylor averaged 13.5 rebounds per game during his career, including a remarkable 19.8 rebounds per game during the 1960-61 season — a season average exceeded by only five other players in NBA history. Baylor was a 10-time All-NBA First Team selection and went to the NBA All-Star Game 11 times.source

Baron Davis

Baron is one of the great penetrating guards of today. Somehow he can muscle inside or move fluidly inside for easy baskets, but he will miss big Elton Brand.

“Before you ask, there was never an underground handshake with Baron Davis,” Brand said Wednesday, addressing speculation that he’d given Davis some kind of commitment to return to the Clippers.

Today, we’ll find out if Davis feels the same way.

Davis is a two-time NBA All-Star (2002 and 2004). He averaged 21.8 points (12th in the NBA), 7.6 assists (6th in the NBA), 4.7 rebounds and 2.33 steals (3rd in the NBA) while playing in all 82 games for the Golden State Warriors during the 2007-08 season. Davis was just one of four players in the league last season to average 20+ points and seven+ assists (Allen Iverson, LeBron James, Chris Paul) per game.

Entering his tenth NBA season, Davis brings career averages of 17.1 points, 7.2 assists, 4.1 rebounds, 1.95 steals and 35.5 minutes per game.

source

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Check out this list of free agents.

Now you can see why the Pistons, Nets and other teams are clearing off salary cap room for next year:

PLAYER	TM	TYPE
LeBron James	CLE	player option
Dirk Nowitzki	DAL	player option
Josh Howard	DAL	player option
Dwyane Wade	MIA	player option
Michael Redd	MIL	player option
Amare Stoudemire	PHX	player option
Joe Johnson	ATL	unrestricted
Ben Wallace	CLE	unrestricted
Marcus Camby	DEN	unrestricted
Richard Hamilton	DET	unrestricted
Amir Johnson	DET	unrestricted
Antonio McDyess	DET	unrestricted
Tracy McGrady	HOU	unrestricted
Jermaine O’Neal	IND	unrestricted
Darko Milicic	MEM	unrestricted
Steve Nash	PHX	unrestricted
Shaquille O’Neal	PHX	unrestricted
Manu Ginobili	S.A.	unrestricted
Carlos Boozer	UTA	unrestricted
Mehmet Okur	UTA	unrestricted

Player option: Player has right to opt out of contract if he wants.

It is just amazing to even think about it.

It could become the most talented free agency class ever in professional sports in that there will be five players — LeBron James, Dwyane Wade, Chris Bosh, Amare Stoudemire and Joe Johnson — with already one NBA championship, two NBA Finals, four U.S. Olympic team invitations and 16 All-Star appearances among them and not one of them will be older than 30 in 2010.

If that doesn’t whet the appetite, then there will be an available 32-year-old former league MVP (Dirk Nowitzki) and a just-turned-31 Michael Redd, one of the game’s deadliest perimeter sharp shooters.

source

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Tim Duncan says “You have to stop me to get to the finals

The Lakers picked up Pau Gasol, so they would not lose any momentum when Andrew Bynum was injured. When Bynum comes back, you have a front court of Pau Gasol, Andrew Bynum, and Lamar Odom to go with Kobe Bryant. Arguably a powerful lineup.

The Phoenix Suns dealt the Matrix for Shaquille O’Neal. The Suns needed a center to get past the Spurs and because the Gasol deal had moved the Lakers ahead of them. If Shaq can turn it on one more time for the speedy Suns with Amare Stoudemire moving to power forward and Steve Nash wanting to win a ring before he retires, then the deal will look brilliant.

Even the San Francisco Warriors picked up Chris Weber, because they have playoff potential and are seeking any edge they can find.

So the Spurs looked around and decided to take…no one.

Yeah, that is right. No one.

“I never feel pressure to make a deal,” Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said. “We talk to everybody, just like the other 29 teams. If something makes sense, we’ll do it. But making deals because you feel pressure is a recipe for failure.” source

Now the San Antonio Spurs did sign Damon Stoudamire to fill in for the injured Tony Parker, but that is it.

Their record does not look quite as sparkling as usual due to various injuries, but come playoff time you still have to knock off the Big Fundamental if you want to win the West.

NBA Basketball Fan Question Are the Spurs still the team to beat?

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Shaq vies for another ring

The story will be written from here on out. The Shaq trade has implications for both conferences. The fallout can be seen everywhere. Can it be coincidence that the yesterday’s trade news for Pau Gasol to Kobe’s Lakers lost to the Hawks? You may have to read that twice. Shaq brings his presence and salary cap to Phoenix and new GM Steve Kerr. If Shaq is a bust then Kerr will again be a brilliant TV announcer. Kerr had a valid concern. The center-less Suns would never get out of the West.

The Suns have the best record in the West (34-14) but have not played up to their own expectations. Their interior defense is among the NBA’s worst. Kerr apparently felt that without a large presence inside, Phoenix could not combat the big men, such as Andrew Bynum and Tim Duncan, in the playoffs. source

If Shaq wants another ring, then Steve Nash can finish his career with a smile on his face.

Miami Heat

Meanwhile in Miami, the Heat can instantly rebuild. The Matrix is a free agent, but he definitely wanted out of Phoenix.

Marion, weary of being third fiddle to Nash and Stoudemire, asked to be traded before the season began. He didn’t get his wish and, although he refused to talk publicly about it, remained unhappy with his role. source

Miami will have bundles of money and Riley will feature Shawn Marion with Dwyane Wade.

“This whole thing right now, from a standpoint of how I look at it, we have Dwyane and Shawn and it reminds me a little of the beginning of Jordan and Pippen. The numbers are the same for Marion – he doesn’t need the ball, he does so many things from that standpoint that he’ll mesh very well with Dwyane. source

Miami will also have a couple of other contracts expiring, the cap relief from losing Shaq’s contract, and possibly the number one pick in the draft. Can you say instant rebuild? This trade looks like a winner all around, but then the end of the story has not yet been told! NBA Basketball Fan Question What do you make of the Shaq trade? As always, any NBA Basketball related comments are welcome. More blogs about basketball.

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