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

This is it for all the marbles, the opener for Boston and Cleveland and a matchup that may well decide the Eastern Conference Championship. Not that this particular game will settle anything except, the losing team will not go undefeated. Still the NBA, in its usual sharp marketing way, decided to match the two super powers up right away.

Many NBA fans do not even pay attention until the NFL has reached playoff time in January making it difficult if not impossible to pull in a full contingent of fans this soon in the season, let alone to get those same fans to even care to any degree.

LeBron is on a roll with 4 minutes to go he already has 31 points. Shaq is checking in with 10 points and 7 boards, but it is not enough as the 3 amigos are all in double figures for scoring and Boston leads 83 – 79.

The key for Boston this year may well be the play of rabbit fast Rajon Rondo and how well he can direct the team and still provide scoring when any of the big 3 has an off night.

Rajon Rondo is one of the Celtic keys

The key to Cleveland winning may well be how well Shaq meshes into the offensive schemes of Cleveland and whether he can draw double teams to take any pressure off of LeBron.

Two minutes left Boston 87 – 82.

The game is being played in Quicken Loans Arena in Cleveland, although lately they have not been making a lot of loans.

Final 95 – 89

LeBron 38 points 8 assists 4 rebounds. Shaq 10 and 10. Pierce 23 and 11. Rondo 16 points.
Photo source Newscom

As always, any NBA Basketball related comments are welcome.

More blogs about basketball.

Post from: NBA Obsessed

Rasheed Wallace was never one to shy away from making bold statements. When he was a Detroit Piston there were a few playoff games where Rasheed Guaran-Sheed a victory. Usually the Guaran-shee came true, but not always.

Now before you get all huffy about Rasheed keep in mind that players like Rasheed help the attitude of your team. You need a player that is so fearless, so tough, so outspoken, with a dash of bad boy to them to put down the other team and trivialize their chances. This takes away the fear in your teammate’s eyes and replaces it with an attitude of “Hey, if Rasheed says they are punks then they must be punks!”

Rasheed will need to throttle LeBron for the Celtics to be the best!

This time Rasheed must have been hanging around Jon Kitna of the Lions will win 12 games fame. This time Rasheed has predicted that the Celtics will be the all time greatest team with the all time greatest record.

The depth of Celtic belief in themselves started to be revealed in that Media Day interview with Celtic owner Wyc Grousbeck. He revealed one interesting thing about that private meeting with Rasheed. Wyc said that Kevin Garnett told Rasheed that if he came to the Celtics they could ‘be one of the greatest teams ever.’ That is correct. One of the greatest teams…ever.

A throw away line? Maybe. Until Doc goes on NBATV and says that he wants this Celtic team ‘to be in the conversation’ as one of the…. greatest defensive teams in NBA history. No wait. Make that in sports history. And he said he was serious.

So a season’s quest to reclaim a lost title just became more than that. It is a quest for a special place in sports history. Not just the basketball and not just the NBA. Doc Rivers said that they want to be considered as the 1985 Chicago Bears are for football, as the greatest defensive team (in Doc’s opinion)…ever. Or are at least in that conversation.

For the record, the Chicago Bears that year set a few Super Bowl records. Wiki….

“The Bears set Super Bowl records for sacks (7) and fewest rushing yards allowed (7). The Bears’ 36-point margin over the Patriots was a Super Bowl record until Super Bowl XXIV (45). The Patriots were held to negative yardage (-19) throughout the entire first half, and just 123 total yards in the entire game, the second lowest total in Super Bowl history.”
source

Now there are two things wrong with all this.
1. Are you kidding me? That is Michael Freaking Jordan you are talking about.
2. Rasheed often opens his mouth and words come out that don’t mean anything. So many things would have to go right for them to be better than Michael’s team that it ain’t even funny.

But then Rasheed did Guaran-sheed it, didn’t he?

Photo source Newscom

As always, any NBA Basketball related comments are welcome.

More blogs about basketball.

Post from: NBA Obsessed

Danny Ainge is a good guy? No, that is not what is being said here.

So Danny Ainge is a bad guy? No, you are just putting words in my mouth.

Danny is Danny, a Celtic for life. He played on those great Boston Celtic teams with the Chief, Bird, McHale, and Dennis Johnson. Every year it seemed they battled the Los Angeles Lakers of Kareem, Magic, and Worthy. Those were some great ballgames.

Now Danny is the GM of Boston and already has a NBA title to his credit and wanted another one last year, but his superstar, Kevin Garnett, had some leg problems and sat out the playoffs. No Kevin, no title, it is that simple.

This year Boston should be favored to win the Eastern Conference and do battle with the Los Angeles Lakers, who else? It is like basketball has restored itself to normalcy. Is that a word?

Earlier this year Danny Ainge had a heart attack and to listen to him tell it, it was pretty scary.

Ainge woke at home with pain in his chest and his left arm in the early hours of April 16, two days before playoffs began. He thought it might have been symptoms of a flu virus he had been battling for a few days. His wife, Michelle, knew better and rushed him to Massachusetts General Hospital. Doctors found a clogged artery and inserted a stent.

“When I got that news, early in the morning, it scared the hell out of me,” Rivers says. “When you hear that someone has had a heart attack, your next thought is, ‘Oh my God. And what?’ That brief moment before you hear he’s OK, you’re thinking the worst.”
source

As much as Danny Ainge loves being the GM of Boston he has to stay in shape and try and reduce stress which is almost impossible with his job. There questions about Garnett, questions about the Celtics chances, and lately questions about Rajon Rondo.

It seems that everything gets twisted around in this blogging internet world. Danny spoke out on Rajon, saying how he had to get better and all of the sudden rumors were out there that Ainge didn’t like Rajon, not true, and that he would not be getting a good contract, not true, and that he was not good enough for the job, also not true.

Danny Ainge will resign Rajon Rondo

Sure there are areas that Rajon can improve on, mostly his shooting and consistency, but there are plenty of nights where he is darn near unstoppable.

Danny plans on staying the course now that he has a good heart!
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

In our earlier post the discussion was about who would win the West and it was the obvious choice, the Lakers and Kobe Bryant. Now it is time to speak about the East.

So, who did ESPN vote to win the East?

In a surprise vote, but maybe not a huge surprise, the ESPN voters went with Cleveland. They felt the Shaqland LeBrons would win the East, because they looked so good last year and then they added Shaq. It will not be that easy. There are already a lot of ingredients to mix into this soup.

Looming over it all will be the question LeBron James won’t answer: What will he do when he can become a free agent in 2010? His freedom to walk next year has raised the stakes in Cleveland to a level seldom seen in the NBA, and could contribute to tensions along the way unless LeBron, Shaq and the Cavs can successfully merge their games and their goals: LeBron’s first title, Shaq’s fifth (putting him ahead of Kobe Bryant and Tim Duncan) and Cleveland’s hope of pleasing and keeping LeBron. And with the Cavs having added three rotation players to a 66-win team and probably demoting stalwart Zydrunas Ilgauskas in favor of The Big Disruption, it’s not clear how chemically balanced they will be.

source

How they could pass on the Boston Celtics is a true mystery. The Celtics bring back a healthy Kevin Garnett and added Rasheed Wallace and Marquis Daniels to the fold. They are dripping with talent.

Will Rasheed Wallace help Boston overtake LeBron James and the Cav's?

Lagging in third place is the Conference Champion Orland Magic. Some think they overachieved last year and worry that the chemistry will be different without Hedo Turkoglu. Others think the offensive talents of Vince Carter will make Dwight Howard even more valuable.
Photo source Newscom

As always, any NBA Basketball related comments are welcome.

More blogs about basketball.

Post from: NBA Obsessed

If there is a deeper team in all of basketball, then they automatically deserve the NBA title, because the Boston Celtics are super deep.

Now the Celtics have signed Marquise Daniels, the former Indiana Pacer.

Daniels is coming off the best of his six seasons, averaging career highs of 13.6 points and 4.6 rebounds in 54 games with the Indiana Pacers, 43 of them starts.

The 28-year-old Daniels spent three seasons with Dallas before moving to Indiana. For his career, he is averaging 9.4 points in 351 games, including 109 starts.
source

Marquise is 6′6″ tall and can play the big guard position. Yeah, Boston was lacking at the big guard backup position. Like they actually lack at any position.

Check out this lineup:
You have Rajon Rondo and Ray Allen at the guard positions.
You have Paul Pierce and Kevin Garnett at the forward positions.
You have Kendrick Perkins playing center.

Kevin Garnett is looking forward to playing with Marquis Daniels

That alone would be enough, but check out these backups:
You have Eddie House, the 3 point shooter, and Tony Allen, and now Marquise Daniels at the backup guard position.
You have Brian Scalabrine and Glen Davis at backup forward.
Then you can top it off with Rasheed Wallace at center.

Maybe the toughest thing all year will be to decide who plays in the 4th quarter with the game on the line. So how good is Boston? Well, the Boston Globe reports that Marquise Daniels turned down more money from other teams to play for the Celtics with the belief that they can win the NBA Title.
Photo source Newscom

As always, any NBA Basketball related comments are welcome.

More blogs about basketball.

Post from: NBA Obsessed

The National Basketball Association, run by Commissioner David Stern, really knows how to do it right. They will open the season on October 27th. According to the calendar on my computer that is a Tuesday, so maybe they don’t have everything perfect.

To start the season off with a bang the league has 4 games on that day including the San Diego Griffins…er Los Angeles Clippers vs. the Los Angeles Lakers. That would be L.A. vs. L.A. on TNT. (Which brings to mind, how can the NBA have two L.A. teams and the NFL has zero?) That game should be a fun one and a great introduction into the league for Blake.

The Lakers will make a total of 25 appearances throughout the season on TNT, ESPN, ABC and NBA TV, including both regular-season games against the NBA Finals runner-up Orlando Magic (Jan. 18 in Los Angeles, March 7 in Orlando).

Five games will be shown Christmas Day, starting at noon ET with the Miami Heat at the New York Knicks (ESPN); the Boston Celtics at the Magic (ABC); the Cavaliers at the Lakers (ABC); the Clippers at the Phoenix Suns (ESPN) and the Denver Nuggets at the Portland Trail Blazers (ESPN).

source

Now if you want to catch a real game make sure you tune in earlier to the marquee matchup of the Boston Celtics with Kevin Garnett back and the Cleveland Cavaliers with the LeBron Tour before he leaves for the highest bidder.

LeBron James will open against the

This year the All Star game will be on February 14th, and hey, that sounds suspiciously like Valentine’s Day. How are we going to watch that game? Anyway that game will be held in the new stadium for the Dallas Cowboys. Should be cool!

Photo source Newscom

As always, any NBA Basketball related comments are welcome.

More blogs about basketball.

Post from: NBA Obsessed

The Boston Celtics missed out on going to the Finals last year and they were not even close, mostly because Kevin Garnett was injured. Along the way, they found out that Glen “Big Baby” Davis can play some ball and the Celtics decided to keep him. He just takes up a lot of space in the lane and causes matchup problems for the opposition.

Now after a bitter contract dispute, he is finally in house and signed.

Davis’ signing was announced today at a press conference at the team’s practice facility in Waltham. A league source said the deal is for two years and $6.3 million, with $3 million due next year. The signing of free agent Shelden Williams was also announced.

“It’s been tough,” Davis said of the uncertainty of the offseason. “I think the most important thing that I got out of it is that it’s about becoming the best player you can be. That’s basically what I’ve gotten out of it and making sure that I develop myself into the player the Celtics want me to be. I feel like I’ve grown up so much this whole summer – just being a professional and just being an adult.”
source

The Celtics have to be excited with the additions of Sheldon Williams, Rasheed Wallace, and the return of Kevin Garnett, Glenn Davis, and Kendrick Perkins. It gives them all kinds of different looks up front with post up players, long range shooters, and slashers that can guard all kinds of big guys and defend the post.

Kevin Garnett may get another trophy with Glen Davis helping him out

You almost have to put the Celtics back on top of the Eastern Conference with the latest Celtic signing of Big Baby Davis. Look for the Celtics to be the favorites to play the Lakers in the NBA title game.

Photo source Newscom

As always, any NBA Basketball related comments are welcome.

More blogs about basketball.

Post from: NBA Obsessed

Now somewhere down the line your intrepid author must have missed something. Let’s see, what could it have been? Oh, that is right, shouldn’t your Team USA basketball team be loaded with Superstars? Now who would those be? Perhaps you could start with LeBron James and Kobe Bryant and from there move on to Kevin Garnett, Dwyane Wade, and Dwight Howard. Yeah, that would be an excellent way to begin the roster of future Olympians.

Is this someone coming out of the stands to join Team USA or Kevin Durant?

So here is the roster and those names don’t seem to be on it.

Now we do have a collection of future potential maybe if all things work out and things go the right way possible stars, maybe even a superstar or two of the future, but what happened to those other guys?

Well, at least, Kevin Durant is listed on the roster and appears to be taking over the team.

“Jerry (Colangelo) had the idea to do this, and we all felt it would be good, but I think it was great,” said Mike Krzyzewski, who was named Tuesday head coach of the USA Men’s National Team program for 2009-2012. “Jerry just got through talking to them, and I said a few words and you could feel the sense of pride from all the guys. We had four really good days here, all these guys have built up USA equity, let’s put it that way.”

Durant, who shot a 9-of-9 from the free throw line, also recorded eight rebounds and four assists, while Brook Lopez (New Jersey Nets / Stanford) added 18 points on a 7-of-8 shooting performance from the field, and Kyle Korver (Utah Jazz / Creighton), Thaddeus Young (Philadelphia 76ers / Georgia Tech) and Anthony Randolph (Golden State Warriors / LSU) also helped USA Blue with 12 points each.

source

Now you did notice those stars in the making like Thaddeus Young and Kyle Korver, didn’t you? What about Brook Lopez? Still doesn’t get you going? Me neither. Maybe the roster will change before the Olympics, who knows.

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