How strange it felt last night flipping through the channels on the big screen while waiting for my wife to come downstairs. We were going to watch the season ender for Warehouse 13 that was recorded on the DVR. Then there it was, a NBA basketball game. The Detroit Pistons against the Miami Heat. It did not seem right. The game was only exhibition and it just seemed too soon. Pro sports seasons are so long the off seasons seem too short.

Most of my friends don’t even watch basketball until January, when football switches over to the playoffs and bowl games. But there it was.

Dwyane Wade led Miami in scoring

It was a nothing game and Detroit and Miami are two teams that are going to race up and down the court to make up for some defensive deficiencies and some lack of height and that is what they were doing.

It was a good night for Dwyane Wade.

Dwyane Wade led Miami with 18 points.

The Pistons led by as many as 17 in the second half, but Miami came back in the fourth quarter. The Heat comeback was helped by a mistake by the replacement officials with 1:21 left. Bynum made two free throws to apparently put Detroit up 87-78, but the Miami players pointed out that Bynum hadn’t been fouled on the play.

After a discussion, the points were taken off the board and Maceo Baston was sent to the line, where he missed both shots.
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Chris Wilcox and Ben Gordon each scored 11 points and will play a big part in the Pistons this season.

The game was hard to watch, because there is just no intensity in a preseason game.

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The Lakers picked up Ron Artest and say what you want about the guy, he can be a terrific basketball player and the Lakers are hoping by surrounding him with strong minds and a solid coach and a winning tradition that they will be able to contain the rest of Ron Artest.

The ace in the hole for the Lakers would have been Lamar Odom. Only Lamar is thinking about going to Miami to play with Dwyane Wade, instead and he may do it for less money and more respect.

Lamar Odom to Miami?

It will be interesting to see how this plays out, because the Lakers will need Odom to repeat. No Odom and things get a lot more interesting in the West.

According to Wojnarowski, one source said that the Odom-to-Miami deal is “Close, but it’s not done.” It would be a huge pickup for the HEAT should they pull it off, and a huge loss for the Lakers. Kobe Bryant has said all along he thought Odom would end up back in Tinsletown, but now it’s pretty much anybody’s guess. Either way, he’s going to win some ball games, though it seems more likely the Lakers would give him the better shot at another ring.
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Image: Zuma Press

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Game 5, Heat vs. Hawks and Josh Smith goes in for a fancy dunk with a between the legs move and misses. It was bad. He was all alone and just blew it.

So that is that and lesson learned, right? Not for Josh Smith. He plans on trying it again and claims that next time it will go down. He is even confident enough to do it in game 7, which is where the Hawks are heading.

Check out this YouTube of the dunk and make your own assessment.

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Dwyane Wade collapses to the floor after beating the Bulls. Could Wade become a Bull?

The rumors have started and this one would truly be fun. How about if Dwyane Wade went to the Bulls to join up with Derrick Rose. Could it be the return of Pippen and Jordan and a return of the glory years of victories, victories, and more Bulls victories punctuated by NBA titles and MVP awards?

Wade’s performance in Monday night’s 130-127 double-overtime victory over the Bulls was one for the ages. His desperation heave to end the first half miraculously fell. He buried a dramatic 3-pointer to tie the game in regulation. He stole the ball from John Salmons with three seconds left and made a running 3 to win the game and send the Miami crowd into a frenzy. He finished with 48 points and 12 assists in the latest of a string of individual performances that proves he is at least the equal of two other members of the highly anticipated 2010 free-agent class, Kobe Bryant and LeBron James.

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The Bull’s fans can dream of a local hero dream backcourt of Rose and Wade, but the odds are it won’t happen. Big time free agents rarely leave their teams, because the money is set up to be higher if they stay. The league wants team loyalty by the fans.

But Wade is struggling outside of basketball, so who knows?

Wade is having what may be the most productive season of his career despite off-the-court turmoil that threatens to harm his once-unblemished reputation. He is in the midst of a high-profile divorce that includes accusations that he abandoned his children. His restaurant chain failed. A disgruntled former business partner made unsubstantiated claims about Wade using recreational drugs.

So Bulls fans should keep on dreaming and keep your fingers crossed!
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Hey, the Heat can forget about Amare Stoudemire.

Miami finally took that option Friday, taking the Heat out of the chase for Marion’s ex-Phoenix Suns teammate Amare Stoudemire.

In a deal first reported by ESPN The Magazine’s Ric Bucher, the Heat agreed to trade Marion and guard Marcus Banks to the Raptors for O’Neal and swingman Jamario Moon.

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All Shawn Marion did was lay down a dunk to beat the Bulls and then get shipped out of town.

Is this deal a big deal?
well, no, maybe, yes, depends.

O’Neal gives Miami a center. That makes Pat Riley happy, but O’Neal’s contract of 23 million can come off the books next year when Dwyane Wade has to be signed.

Marion gives the Raptors some scoring, but many think that Bosh will be heading out of town.
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Dwyane Wade is unstoppable in the 4th

If you watched any Olympic hoops, you could see that Dwyane Wade is back and looking tough. Wade showed it all in the 4th quarter against the New Jersey Nets.

Where there’s a Wade, there’s a way.

Wade scored 19 of his 33 points in the fourth quarter, 14 of those in the final 4½ minutes, and the Heat rallied to beat the New Jersey Nets 99-94 on Monday night to stay perfect at home this season. He entered the game 0-for-9 from 3-point range this season, but connected on four against the Nets, including three from beyond the arc during the frantic comeback.

“I didn’t need to use them yet,” Wade said. “But tonight, I brought them out.”

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Nobody expects Miami to be a force this year, but Dwyane Wade may have something to say about that.

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Shawn Marion shows off his Matrix WWE move with the knee smash from up high

Shawn Marion is an amazing player and if you have ever watched him play for the Phoenix Suns or the Miami Heat, you would have been amazed. Just how does he do what he does? And that jump shot or whatever you want to call it, just where did that come from and how come no coach ever made him change it? Maybe because it goes down even from long range?

Anyway, Matrix wanted out of Phoenix. It was simple math really. Steve Nash was the man and when his time was done, Amare Stoudemire was to be the man. Even Shaq got more pub in his brief stay in Phoenix. Of course, when did Shaq not get max pub?

Matrix took his game to Miami and Shaq went to Phoenix to save the Suns. It did not work out for either of them.

Shaq is old and not quite the force he used to be and Matrix, once again, seems under appreciated. Shawn Marion wants to be the man, instead he is trade bait.

The problem now is that Marion doesn’t appear to have a long-term future in Miami. The team is going through a rebuilding process with Dwyane Wade and rookie Michael Beasley as the cornerstones. Marion, who turns 31 at the end of the season and plays the same position as Beasley, doesn’t appear to be a great fit.

He has been dangled to the Lakers and Jazz, and more recently the Heat tried to work out something with the Bulls that would have brought them Ben Gordon and others.
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Today we bring you guest blogger Marquis Chapman.

What’s up NBA Obsessed fans. My name is Marquis Chapman and it’s an honor to lend some of my opinions about the latest NBA news and headlines for NBA Obsessed. Writing about the NBA and its players is a hobby I picked up while in college. I hope to one day contribute articles for SLAM and DIME magazine or any other publication that represents the young NBA sports fan.

Livingston hopes to bounce back from this devastating knee injury and start fresh with the Heat

Free agent and former Los Angeles Clipper Shaun Livingston signed a two year deal with the Miami Heat on Friday. Coming off a devastating, and what most expected to be a career ending knee injury two seasons ago, Livingston is ready to compete for the Heat.

“I’m anxious to prove and show what I can do,” Livingston told Ira Winderman of the South Florida Sun-Sentinel. “I feel like I have a lot to prove, not just from being healthy, but also performance-based. I feel like I can be a lead guard, with no disrespect to any of the guards down here.”
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Before suffering the infamous left knee injury that tore three ligaments and dislocated his knee cap, Livingston was emerging as a reliable young player with unlimited potential for the Los Angeles Clippers. The 6-7 point guard showed flashes of brilliance and a basketball I.Q. well beyond his years for someone who was drafted out of high school in 2004 as the No. 4 overall pick.

A healthy Shaun Livingston with a lot to prove to his naysayers could be a great addition for the Miami Heat. Livingston provides the Heat with something they’ve lacked for a while, a legitimate true point guard. His length and presence on the court is going to alleviate the constant pressure for Dwayne Wade to create for himself and others around him, and he could prove to be a big help to Shawn Marion by penetrating and dishing, giving the small forward some easy buckets.

While Livingston has been cleared to practice since Spring, and has participated in 5 on 5 scrimmages; playing an actual game will truly determine if he has fully recovered from the knee injury.

However, Livingston’s potential backcourt mate Dwayne Wade remains optimistic about the newly acquired point guard stating, ”I talked to everybody,” Wade said. “For the future of Miami, that’s a good start when you talk about point guard. It’s a great move. I’m really happy; excited to see our team continue to build for the future.”
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Michael Curry will try to right the Piston ship

The NBA is proud to bring a brand new coach to your area. They did it for 8 teams.

Think about that. 8 new coaches.

Ever heard of a brand new coach immediately winning it all? It has probably happened, but not to my knowledge.

Usually you just fired the last coach because the team stunk so bad he could not make them win.

So this year we bring you the 8 trying to make the magic happen.

Michael Curry, Pistons

Curry, 40, was an assistant to last year’s coach, Flip Saunders, who was fired. From 2000 to 2004, Curry was president of the National Basketball Players Association. He’s also a former NBA vice president for basketball operations and played for six teams in an 11-year career.
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Michael is lucky. He inherits a veteran team with a real honest to god chance to win it all. The team knows him. The GM, Joe Dumars, knows him. Heck, the hotdog vendor in section 133 knows him. Michael Curry was a defensive minded team oriented over achiever as a player. He even used to plan out bike trips and movies for when the players were on the road.

But can he coach? Well, he can as an assistant, but can he as the head coach?

Vinny Del Negro, Bulls

Del Negro, who has no coaching experience at any level, follows interim coach Jim Boylan, who replaced Scott Skiles. Del Negro, 42, formerly was assistant general manager for the Phoenix Suns and played for five teams in a 12-year NBA career.

Scotty Skiles and Jim Boylan is a tough act to follow. Vinny has his hands full with that crew in Chicago. Skiles whipped and beat them to play defense and play as a team. Boylan found out they are lacking depth, size, speed, etc. Good Luck!

Erik Spoelstra, Miami Heat

Club President Pat Riley named Spoelstra, a seven-year assistant, to succeed him. Spoelstra, 37, is the youngest coach in the league.

This guy just has the job on loan until Pat Riley sees a good enough team to take over. Sure doesn’t hurt to have Dwyane Wade and the Matrix auditioning for jobs.

Larry Brown, Charlotte Bobcats

Have witnessed Larry up front with my Pistons and he is an amazing coach and complicated man. He is always chasing after something that is missing in his life. Some think he is looking for his father that left him at young age, not literally, but figuratively.

Larry will put them in half court sets and make them play playoff style basketball. If teams listen, they win, but most young players do not want to play that way. Example: Chauncey Billups was close to a triple double one night and Larry pulled him and said “You don’t have a clue as to how to play point guard for me, do you?” Think about it.

Rick Carlisle, Dallas Mavericks

This one will be fun to watch. The Dallas Mavericks and Dirk Nowitzki were often shooting before crossing half court and now will be playing half court. Rick was the Piston coach before Larry and he alienated so many people that he had to be fired with a winning record. Chauncey Billups used to say they knew exactly what plays would be run in the last two minutes as Carlisle called all the plays. Rick also does not like to double on defense. Can Dirk defend?

Mike D’Antoni, New York Knicks

Mike has his hands full until the Knicks can clean house and find some D’antoni style players. He needs speed and outside shooting to go along with a pass first dribbling point guard, a la Steve Nash. Mike is a great coach and the players love his style. The ball gets shared and the pace is quick.

Can he play enough defense to win a title though?

Must be Michigan week in the NBA or something

Michael Curry, Detroit Pistons
Larry Brown, former Detroit Pistons coach
Rick Carlisle, former Detroit Pistons coach
Vinny Del Negro replaces Jim Boylan former assistant at Michigan State University
Before Jim Boylan was Scott Skiles former player at Michigan State University
Mike D’Antoni was brought in to replace Isiah Thomas former Detroit Piston
The D’Antoni wanted to trade Zach Randolph former player at Michigan State University
Terry Porter, former Detroit Pistons assistant coach
Scott Skiles, former player at Michigan State University
Scott will work for GM John Hammond and he worked under Joe Dumars of the Detroit Pistons.

Terry Porter, Phoenix Suns

A hustling guard as a player and an average coach at Milwaukee, Terry will have some talent to work with, but will drastically change the style for the Suns. Terry is a real believer in defense.

Scott Skiles, Milwaukee Bucks

Scott will have some hungry players in Michael Redd and Richard Jefferson. Maybe not enough talent to win, but that has never been an issue with Scott. He just wants you to bring the desire.

Photo source Newscom

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Stephon Marbury may never find his potential

For better or worse and most of the time worse, Stephon Marbury has been the face of the New York Knicks. He was like a plague to both Larry Brown and Isiah Thomas. Now the Knicks are prepared to face life without him.

The rumor is that the Miami Heat will go after Stephon. That may be a bad idea even though the Heat need a point guard.

Yes, yes, if Stephon Marbury would mind his ways the backcourt of Marbury and Dwyane Wade would be awesome, but therein lays the problem. Would he mind his ways. Stephon once admitted that he only played for the money.

Miami seems to be the wrong team for that to happen. Where is the leadership? Matrix is unhappy. Beasley if off to a ‘fined for smoking’ start. Wade is off and on injured. Riley is getting old. Just where is the strong leadership?

The Knicks are preparing to put Marbury on waivers by the end of the week, several sources with knowledge of the situation told Newsday. The team must await the go-ahead from Madison Square Garden chairman James Dolan, however, because it would involve eating another large chunk of money in a buyout, Newsday reported.

Marbury is entering the final year of his contract, worth $21.9 million.
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Two stories…

Years ago my Detroit Pistons picked up NBA troublemaker Mark Aguirre. It will never work the experts said, but the experts failed to take into account the strong leadership of Isiah Thomas and Bill Laimbeer. Aguirre was everything the Pistons wanted and the reward was an NBA title.

Story number two…

One night while playing against my Pistons, Stephon Marbury buried shots from all over the court in the fourth quarter. You know that shot chart they show with the circles that are red for made shots? Stephon had about 10 of them all from different places on the court. It was amazing. Don’t even remember who won.

So that has always had me wondering if Stephon went to a team with strong leadership and could display those kinds of talents, just how good could he be? Just how good could the team he played for be?

We may never know.

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