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

As always, any NBA Basketball related comments are welcome.

More blogs about basketball.

Post from: NBA Obsessed

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.

source

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.

source

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.
Image: Zuma Press

As always, any NBA Basketball related comments are welcome.

More blogs about basketball.

As always, any NBA Basketball related comments are welcome.

More blogs about basketball.

Post from: NBA Obsessed

Tim Duncan has had an incredible career filled with winning that dates back to the David Robinson era. As Robinson grew older he was paired with Duncan to make a twin towers that dominated the court.

Now the time for Tim Duncan is growing short and he knows it. San Antonio’s management also knows it, so they took a desperate gamble.

The original thinking was to find a Super Star player in the up and coming free agency of 2010. Every team in the league wants to be involved in the 2010 free agent battle. LeBron James, Chris Bosh, maybe Dwyane Wade, and others will be available as free agents. San Antonio started to clear salary cap to prepare, but then realized that it may not do any good if Tim Duncan is no longer around.

Tim Duncan needs to win now!

Last year Dallas bounced Duncan and the Spurs out of the playoffs in 5 games in the very first series. That just does not happen to Duncan. The Spurs realized that and immediately decided to sign players right now. They signed Jefferson from the Bucks and free agent Antonio McDyess from the Pistons, and tried to sign Rasheed Wallace from the Pistons. The clock was ticking on the knees of Duncan.

So they elected not to wait. A few days before scoring DeJuan Blair with the 37th overall pick in what immediately was trumpeted as the steal of the draft, San Antonio traded three expiring contracts to Milwaukee — Fabricio Oberto, Kurt Thomas and defensive mainstay Bruce Bowen — for the right to inherit the final two years and nearly $30 million left on Richard Jefferson’s contract. The Spurs then extended two guaranteed years at $9.4 million and a partially guaranteed third year to free-agent forward Antonio McDyess, who just turned 35.

source

They are well over the luxury tax threshold now and no longer involved in the chase for Chris Bosh, but that does not matter, because the Spurs feel they can win right now!
Photo source Newscom

As always, any NBA Basketball related comments are welcome.

More blogs about basketball.

Post from: NBA Obsessed

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?
Photo source Newscom

As always, any NBA Basketball related comments are welcome.

More blogs about basketball.

Post from: NBA Obsessed

They did not pick Joe Dumars as number 1.

So lets step through some of the highlights.
How about Pat Riley at number 8. He built a team in his image, always ready, always tough. He has rebuilt the Heat several times.

But he’s also rebuilt his Heat a few times, he’s been in the playoffs seven times during the last decade, and while his moves during the summer of 2005 may have been pound-foolish, it won the man and his superstar (Dwyane Wade) a ring. Something you can’t say for LeBron James general manager.

Mitch Kupchak at number 6. Hey, its the Lakers, you have to be good or you are gone.

But smart lower-round draft picks, luck (other teams had better packages in place for Pau Gasol, but Memphis didn’t want to deal; by the time Mitch came calling with his package, the Grizzlies were desperate to unload), and the help of Jim Buss (who pushed to draft and then keep Bynum) have had the Lakers in the Finals in consecutive years, with a win in 2009.

You have to like Danny Ainge at number 4. He brought the Celtics back from oblivion all the way to a title. Getting Kevin Garnett was a sweetheart deal that drew other good players.

But this is a decade-long list, and while some of the men at the top of this page may have better futures (and won’t have to pay Kevin Garnett over $21 million in 2011-12), Ainge’s drafting acumen and willingness to take chances make him a winner in my book. If not one in the standings, from 2003 until 2007.

Joe Dumars only checked in at number 2, in spite of living in the Eastern Conference finals.

Dumars started by playing it smart, working with teams in cap hell, leaving things flexible, sometimes acting as if Bird Rights didn’t matter and he had an NFL-styled hard cap to work with. The Pistons were in the Eastern Conference finals every year between 2003 and 2008, and it was only the players’ fault they didn’t win more titles.

Tim Duncan helps R. C. Buford look good!

And the Number one is R. C. Buford of the San Antonio Spurs. It does not hurt to have Tim Duncan, but he always does a good job of surrounding him with unselfish talent.

We don’t know how much impact Gregg Popovich has had on Buford’s wheelings and dealings, and R.C. has had help (current Oklahoma City GM Sam Presti was on his payroll for years). Buford also had nothing to do with the acquisitions of David Robinson (1987) or Tim Duncan (1997).

But there’s no denying Buford’s impact on the Spurs’ rise to power this decade. Even though he technically wasn’t the team’s personnel boss (that would be Popovich) when the Spurs drafted Manu Ginobili (2000) or Tony Parker (2001), he was the man who recommended the franchise take both future All-Stars.

Still for my money, it is Joe Dumars. He made all the moves himself and has never had a Tim Duncan to work into the mix. Make Joe Dumars the number one GM in my book!

Post from: NBA Obsessed

ESPN does this thing where they get together a bunch of basketball experts that vote on the NBA conference teams to see who will end up in the NBA title game.

Well, this was a tough vote. The Los Angeles Lakers won in a landslide. Geez that is hardly news. The champs added Ron Artest to the lineup and resigned Lamar Odom and those two are just bit players on that team. You have to recognize that the Lakers are Kobe Bryant’s team first last and always. Pau Gasol and Andrew Bynum give them plenty of size and firepower to go around. On a pure team basis, maybe only the Boston Celtics come close in overall talent.

On paper, the multifaceted Artest is an upgrade, of course, even over a talented player like Trevor Ariza, whom Artest is replacing as the Lakers’ small forward and defensive stopper. But Ron-Ron has a well-earned, well-known rep as a disruptive, often maniacal force: Just four months ago, he was ejected twice in the playoffs versus the Lakers.

The offseason has been no quieter. Stories emerged about Artest visiting the Lakers’ shower in Boston unannounced to address Kobe while Artest was a member of the Sacramento Kings, and taking a team bus in his underwear while with the Houston Rockets, both incidents happening in the past 15 months. Then there was his head-spinning torrent of tweets and a bizarre rap tribute to Michael Jackson, for whose album “Thriller” Artest selected his latest uniform number and latest Twitter name, ThugRaider37, replacing his former moniker, 96TruwarierQB (Google it), which itself was a small reminder of what took place at his previous stop, Indiana, which was very eager to move him to his next destination on his one-of-a-kind NBA journey.

Could this be the beginning of a beautiful friendship between the Lakers and Ron-Ron? Could Artest play the tough-guy role that Dennis Rodman perfected for three Bulls championship teams under Phil Jackson? Sure.

But all in all, it’s quite a roll of the dice by a team that was sure to be favored to win it all anyway.

source

Will Ron Artest upset the Kobe Bryant apple cart?

Not to be counted out the San Antonio Spurs received the second most votes and any team with Tim Duncan can never be counted out. The Spurs picked up Richard Jefferson, but the rumored pickup of Rasheed Wallace never happened. Perhaps if the Wallace deal had taken place the Spurs would have received many more votes.

For now, unless Ron Artest explodes the Lakers, it appears the Lakers are the team to beat in the West.

Image: Zuma Press

As always, any NBA Basketball related comments are welcome.

More blogs about basketball.

As always, any NBA Basketball related comments are welcome.

More blogs about basketball.

Post from: NBA Obsessed

Tim Duncan will once again have a team to write home about. There was serious talk that the Spurs had just grown too old and too complacent to be kings of the hill any more. Were they facing the same fate as the Pistons and heading into a slow destruction while still winning quite a few games, but not enough games?

It made for a very important off season for the San Antonio Spurs and future Hall of Famer Tim Duncan.

Tim Duncan is ready to challenge for the NBA title!

So how did the Spurs do? It appears a major upgrade took place and the Spurs can’t wait to start the season. Richard Jefferson, once one of the big three in New Jersey with Kidd and Carter, was added to the team along with veteran Antonio McDyess, a stand up guy and a stand out 15 foot jump shooter.

If it was only those two players you would have to be happy, but the Spurs appear to have some up and coming young talent including second round pick, the supposedly undersized DeJuan Blair.

Former University of Pittsburgh star DeJuan Blair, once considered a lottery pick, slipped all the way to 37th overall, where the Spurs gobbled him up like Homer Simpson would a doughnut. After a standout college career, Blair entered the 2009 draft following his sophomore season. In his second season at Pitt, Blair, who averaged 15.7 points and 12.3 rebounds (a whopping 5.6 of which were offensive) per game, led the Panthers to the team’s first ever No. 1 national ranking before falling to Cleveland State in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.
source

Spurs fans everywhere have to be excited about this team!

Photo source Newscom

As always, any NBA Basketball related comments are welcome.

More blogs about basketball.

Post from: NBA Obsessed

Manu Ginobili is out. There is nothing the Spurs can do about that and it is a hard loss to take. Manu is often the X-factor that spells doom for the other teams. If they bully Parker and double Duncan then Manu kills them with his outside game or slashes to the basket for repeated layups.

Now the Spurs have faced injured players before and if that was all there was then they would not be so worried. Sure the Lakers are the odds on favorites to win the West, but the Spurs have triumphed before when the odds were not in their favor.

The real worry for the Spurs is age. Tim Duncan only has so many big games left in him. He already complains about knee problems and gets rested during back to backs.

When will Tim Duncan just walk away from the NBA?

Hey, you can shrug it off if you want, but we saw age finally conquer the Shaq and recently the Pistons.

But deep down, the Spurs know something else: At some point, there won’t be a next season. Not for Tim Duncan. If the past few months have proven anything, it’s that the clock has finally begun to tick for the Spurs and their greatest player.

For all the concern about Ginobili’s ankles, the Spurs’ success in these playoffs was always hinged to Duncan’s health. For weeks, Duncan has told friends how much his knees have bothered him, and that’s telling for one reason: He never complains about his injuries. The Spurs gave Duncan three games off to rest at the end of February, but he has continued to labor.

source

Photo source Newscom

As always, any NBA Basketball related comments are welcome.

More blogs about basketball.

Post from: NBA Obsessed

Are we forgetting Tim Duncan? Will the Spurs just go away? Has Duncan lost his drive?
Nah!
Tim is always ready come playoff time and as usual is the ultimate mismatch player alternating short drives with post up moves making it very difficult to stop him.

Tim Duncan of the Spurs scores easily over David Lee of the Knicks

But take a look at the Western Conference.
With just a little over 10 games to go in the regular season.

The Lakers dominate with 54 victories and look solid with a returning Bynum.

But the rest of the group?

Houston 46 victories
San Antonio 45
Denver 45
New Orleans 43
Utah 43
Portland 43
Dallas 42
and Phoenix on the outside looking in with 37 victories.

As you can see, it is too early to figure out playoff matchups and it is the matchups that matter, but you can count on Tim Duncan having the Spurs ready for the NBA Playoffs.

Photo source Newscom

As always, any NBA Basketball related comments are welcome.

More blogs about basketball.

Post from: NBA Obsessed