High flying Derrick Rose holds the keys to the draft mania, but where is the basketball?

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This is going to be one crazy draft.

First let’s set the table. The Western Conference finished as tight in the standings as a conference could. There were barely any games separating first place from 9th place. What does that mean? Wheeling and dealing will take place, because each team that finished behind the Lakers and Kobe Bryant thinks it will just take one solid deal to move them up to first.

In the Eastern Conference, Orlando, Miami, Chicago, and especially Detroit are also ready to deal.

Just to add to the mess, this draft is loaded with point guards and other than Rose and Beasley; it just seems to have a lot of equal appearing players.

How about we just pick out a few scenarios from the mock draft by Chad Ford at ESPN.com.

Miami Heat #2

Go no farther than the Miami Heat at the number 2 pick.

We continue to hear that the Heat will probably trade the No. 2 pick if Rose is off the board. The latest talk has the Sonics and Heat discussing a swap that would send the No. 2 pick and Mark Blount to Seattle for Chris Wilcox and the No. 4 pick. The move would give the Heat a huge amount of cap space in the summer of 2009. (Wilcox is in the last year of his contract, while Blount has two years and $16 million remaining.)

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Seattle seems to be in everyone’s plans. With the number 4 pick and so many needs, they could pull off all kinds of deals.

Memphis Grizzlies go cheap

The Memphis Grizzlies at the number 5 pick are also looking to wheel and deal, but for a different reason.

Even stronger are rumors that the Grizzlies are talking to a number of teams, including the Knicks, Blazers and Suns, about deals that would send the No. 5 pick to whomever is willing to take Brian Cardinal’s awful contract (two years, $13 million left). The latest buzz has the Knicks talking to Memphis about a deal that would send David Lee and the expiring contract of Malik Rose to Memphis for No. 5 and Cardinal.

In other words, it sounds like GM Chris Wallace is, once again, being pushed by ownership to cut payroll.

Milwaukee Bucks get tough

It is going to be real fun following the Bucks up in Milwaukee. Think about the combination of tough former Michigan State University All American point guard, current NBA assist record holding, and former Chicago tough guy coach Scott Skiles with former Detroit advisor to Joe Dumars, now turnaround expert John Hammond. These are two guys that believe in toughness and have shown that before.

Alexander is a high-energy forward who impressed GM John Hammond and new coach Scott Skiles with his toughness and grit. That’s exactly what the Bucks are going for right now. Hammond wants to change the culture in Milwaukee, and Alexander has that capability. He also fits a need. The Bucks will be shopping Bobby Simmons (along with just about everyone else) hard this summer.

If Joe Alexander is what they say he is then he is going to love being a Buck.

Cleveland LeBron’s seek age insurance

At number 19 the Cavaliers are talking about Georgetown 7′2″ Center Roy Hibbert. LeBron James desperately needs players around him and Coach Mike Brown would love the big guy for his defense and shot blocking. Cleveland has to be concerned with an aging Ilgauskas and an aging Ben Wallace. It would be a great pick, but LeBron still needs points from other players inside.

Detroit Pistons look to surprise

Finally, how about my Pistons. Chad has them taking 6′6″ Bill Walker and they might, but most of us expect some kind of deal from Joe Dumars. There are just too many teams looking to move up or down for Joe D to miss this opportunity. Even though Boston showed you can win with old guys, it is time for the pot to be stirred on the Pistons, they need to get younger. Bill Walker would not provide a whole lot to the team and most likely would be included in any trade.

Chauncey Billups and Tayshaun Prince are two likely candidates. Rip Hamilton could go if they replace him with a scorer.

This draft is all mixed up.

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In a game of two awesome point guards, it was the lack of defense that stood out.

Dallas came back in the fourth quarter with a 16 – 0 run to take the game. A game that Phoenix led from the get go and had a 13 point lead in the 3rd quarter.

Dirk scored 32 points on one ankle as the Mavs won 105 – 98.

Dirk Nowitzki signals he can score on one ankle or two

“Every team we’d played so far we were right there, on the road or at home,” Nowitzki said. “So it feels great to get finally over the hump. I think everybody in t he locker room was pretty hyped up that we had finally pulled this one out. Hopefully this could build some momentum.”

Josh Howard added 24 points and Brandon Bass 19 for the Mavericks, who used a smothering defense in a 16-0 run that put them ahead for good in a game the Suns had led nearly throughout. Phoenix went scoreless for just under 8 minutes, missing 12 shots in the process.

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The disturbing part of this game was the lack of defense on the pick and roll. In the playoffs, you have to be able to defend the pick and roll.

It got so bad in the second half that my TV was switched to The Lord of the Rings II. Rohan used excellent defense to defend Helms deep from the invading Orcs. It was playoff defense at its best.

Anyway, getting back to the game, it seemed like either team could shake a man loose on the pick and roll whenever they wanted. There was no cut out or rotation or trap or any of the myriad ways to defend. Nowitzki and Shaq both looked helpless on pick and rolls.

How do these teams plan on beating San Antonio and Tim Duncan or Utah and Darren Williams without defending the pick and roll?

NBA Basketball special comment It still has to be San Antonio in the West until better defense is played by the other teams.

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Kobe Bryant gets Pau Gasol

Which teams benefited the most from the recent signing frenzy?

10. Kidd to Mavericks – This trade fell through, would still have been a great move for the Mavs.

9. Kidd to Mavericks – This trade worked after about a week, is taking longer than that for it to work for the Mavs. Dirk Nowitzki gets the ball in the right place.

8. Bibby to Hawks – Young team needed a scoring leader. Bibby is that man.

7. Ratliff to Pistons – Pistons needed defensive help in the post. Ratliff already pays dividends in Sheed’s absence.

6. Cassell to Celtics – Celtics worry about Rondo. Cassell will get some of his minutes.

5. Thomas to Spurs – Duncan gets some more power underneath.

4. Wallace to Cavs – LeBron gets some defensive help in the post.

3. Korver to Jazz – The Jazz get instant outside shooting off the bench.

2. Shaq to Suns – The Suns get half court defense for the playoffs. Nash assists can now go with Shaq rebounds.

1. Gasol to Lakers – The Lakers will have tallest front line when Bynum returns. Kobe has a second scoring punch.

NBA Basketball Fan Question Did your team make a deal?

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It was supposed to be a great ball game.

ABC had the Phoenix Suns vs. the Detroit Pistons at 2:30 pm Eastern time for all of us Piston fans.

A blockbuster battle of the team of no stars vs. the Shaq Suns.

Just how would Steve Nash direct Shaq in the half court?

Your intrepid author mistimed his afternoon nap and woke up in the 3rd quarter. My Pistons had a 30 point lead.

30 points? Ok, you knew there would be problems getting Shaq into the Phoenix run and gun system, but 30 points?

It was a contrast of styles with Phoenix running around outside picks, one man after another, to get lanes to the basket for Stoudemire or mid range jumpers, while receiving Steve Nash passes, while Detroit set up one on one mismatches of Tayshaun Prince or Rasheed Wallace or ran Rip Hamilton through inside screens or used McDyess on high pick and rolls.

Billups played smart, with 14 points and 11 assists, steering the offense to the post as much as he could to combat the Suns’ potent fast-break offense. It worked, too — the Suns had only 10 fast-break points.

“I didn’t come down a lot on the break and shoot my three that I love to shoot,” Billups said. “That gets them into their fast break. I just wanted to control, control, control and get some guys down there with me.”

He looked in particular for Rasheed Wallace, who abused Phoenix forward Amare Stoudemire with his turnaround jumper in the post to score a team-high 22 points. He also had eight rebounds.
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The announcers did their best to keep it entertaining. Know what they talked about?

Rasheed Wallace. Nothing but Rasheed for the remainder of the game. You would have thought Rasheed was the best player on the planet.

At one point, ABC even replayed several of Rasheed’s moves scoring bucket after bucket on turn around post moves.

Now as a Piston fan, it can be told that the Pistons are not very good without Rasheed. When Rasheed turns it on, he is unstoppable.

When Rasheed goes down in the paint on defense, you will not score. He stops all the top players and is a key to the Pistons great defense.

Often with Rasheed it is keeping him motivated. You see there are nights when Rasheed just gets bored or cranky and then you see little production and maybe a technical.

That is the Rasheed that most fans think of when thinking of Rasheed.

The real Rasheed is one of the best big men in the league.

Did you know Rasheed keeps a library of books on the team plane and reads about everything from current world leaders to Genghis Khan? No, you didn’t.

Did you know that Rasheed has taken all of the talented rookies on the team under his care and tutelage? No, you didn’t. Coach Flip Saunders calls him Mother Goose.

As they say in the Shrek movie, Rasheed has layers. He is an Onion boy.

Did you know he is also not publicized for giving to a lot of local charities?

Today Rasheed was motivated and dominated the Suns!

NBA Basketball Fan Question Can Rasheed rule in the playoffs?

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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).

Maurice Brooks writes for NBA.com and has an ongoing article keeping track of his Top Ten nominations for NBA MVP.

It is called Race to the MVP Weekly Leaders.

Let’s take a look at Maurice’s list with your intrepid author’s comments in italics.

LeBron says – It is all about team (yeah, right)

1. LeBron – Last Week’s Rank – 1
The Cavs are six games below .500 without James in the lineup and 13 games above it when he plays. This past week I received a large amount of e-mails pointing out that he is in the East. Do you really think his stats would be any worse if he were in the West? As well as he has balled this season, he has been even better lately, averaging nearly 33 points, nine boards and six assists over his past six games.

You will get no argument from me. LeBron is bringing it right now and his team is winning.

2. Chris Paul

Wow, Maurice goes out of his way to rake Deron Williams over the coals, but the Hornets are hot right now and that helps.

3. Kobe Bryant

Maurice seems to think Pau Gasol will reduce Kobe’s chance to win the MVP, but your gallivanting author thinks it will increase his chances. Pau will be a number two star that will keep the winning coming, especially when they get Bynum back.

4. Steve Nash – I know there are a bunch of fans checking out R2MVP right now and wondering how come this guy is always in the top five. We’ll start with the fact that he is a great teammate, shoots over 50 percent from the floor and over 90 percent from the line, leads the league in assists and is the best player on the best team in the West and go from there.

Nash is unbelievable, but it is how he incorporates Shaq that will make the difference.

5. Dwight Howard

Maurice kids Dwight a bit and he is an emerging star, but this ranking just seems too high.

6. Allen Iverson

The only person that plays less D is Melo.

7. Paul Pierce

An unrecognized star for years, there is still the question of how well he will play number two star to Kevin Garnett.

8. Dirk Nowitzki

Wait a minute, this guy plays less D than AI.

9. Baron Davis

Love watching this guy play, but then Stephon Marbury amazes me too.

10. Kevin Garnett

This guy has to be in the top five. Come on.

Love Maurice’s column, but does he have to get down on Rasheed Wallace being picked for the All Star game? Rasheed has his ups and downs, but the Pistons are nothing without him. He routinely shuts down opposing centers and power forwards and scores his share in the Pistons balanced scoring offense.

Defense needs to be included in the MVP award and sadly is not.

Where is Tim Duncan?

NBA Basketball Fan Question Who is missing from your Top Ten?

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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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Least they forget who has ruled the Pacific Division in recent years; Phoenix brought their ‘A’ game.

The Phoenix Suns have won the Pacific Division title in each of the last three seasons, due in part to their success against the Los Angeles Lakers.

With the Lakers in the midst of their longest winning streak in nearly four years, though, the Suns’ dominance suddenly appears to be in jeopardy. source

Could Chris Weber soon be a Laker?

It was, of course, a game without Andrew Bynum, but this is not the time for excuses, since Phoenix plays without a true center all the time anyway.

LA and Kobe have been red hot lately and fully expected to win this game.

Phoenix outshot the Lakers 51.9 percent to 37.9 percent and that was pretty much the story. If you allow the Suns to shoot over 50 percent, you are in deep trouble.

Leandro Barbosa scored 22 points, Shawn Marion added 20 points and 16 rebounds, and the Phoenix Suns beat the Los Angeles Lakers 106-98 on Thursday night to regain the Western Conference lead.

Boris Diaw scored 19 points, Amare Stoudemire and Raja Bell added 16 each, and Steve Nash had 13 points and a season-high 20 assists for the Suns (27-12), who won for the eighth time in 11 games to move a half-game ahead of the Lakers. source

20 assists? Just a thought here, but is Steve Nash puts up 20 dishes for hoops, you are going down! 20 assists? Unreal!

The Bynum-less Lakers

The Lakers without Bynum looked out of rhythm to start the game and later Kwame Brown, the Bynum replacement, looked terrible and drew the fans catcalls.

In fact, they looked like a group of guys who just met for a pickup game at the park, rather than the cohesive unit that had won seven in a row. Their confidence was absent and their momentum was lost in a maze of unsteady play.

Shots clanged off the rim and backboard.

Passes missed their mark.

Rebounds went unclaimed.

Defensive plans crumbled. source

Chris Weber

There was speculation that Chris Weber might soon be signing with the Lakers to fill in for Andrew Bynum. Don’t forget Chris Mihm is also out with an injury for at least a couple of more weeks.

Webber told a Sacramento television station Monday that he expects to sign with an NBA team within two weeks. He said he has received plenty of offers, but is determined to take his time and find the best fit.

“I have three teams in my head (but) I don’t want to (name them),” Webber said, “but I know I’ll be back.”

In fact, the 34-year-old Webber might fit nicely in the Lakers’ high-tempo offense. He was a shooter, passer, rebounder and defender of some renown during a well-traveled 14-year career. He has not played since last spring, however. source

Other players mentioned are P.J. Brown and DJ Mbenga.

The Lakers need to find some solution as the schedule get a whole lot harder right now with a series of winning teams coming up.

NBA Basketball Fan Question Will Weber sign with the Lakers?

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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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