NBA Obsessed takes you into the hit and run game of NBA Basketball.

Rasheed Wallace is expensive, but available

Image details: Detroit Pistons v Boston Celtics, Game Five served by picapp.com

Chauncey Billups? He is available.

Rip Hamilton? Yeah, him too.

Rasheed Wallace? Well, more expensive, because his rather large contract expires next year.

Tayshaun Prince? He may be a throw in on other deals, go figure.

Joe Dumars said all four are available. He wants to shake things up. Umpteen million trips to the conference finals with only 1 NBA title just does not get it done.

Still, where is the deal?

Dumars has said he wants another team’s best player. But can they get that player? I don’t think so. Reportedly, Detroit wanted Carmelo but Denver was only offering Camby or Iverson. I see that exact scenario playing out with pretty much every team in the league. There will be no Carmelos out there, just a bunch of Cambys. And for what the Pistons would have to give up, I don’t think that makes them better – just different.
source

The Pistons are already over the cap, so a deal needs to be done or the 5.4 million dollar exception is to be used.

As always, any NBA Basketball related comments are welcome.

More blogs about basketball.

NBA Obsessed takes you into the hit and run game of NBA Basketball.

Kevin Garnett - anything is possible

Image details: NBA Finals Game 6: Los Angeles Lakers v Boston Celtics served by picapp.com

It seems like yesterday that my Piston won the world title, the Larry something trophy, in the NBA.

My friends were on a high that lasted a week.

Boston fans feel like that right now. You could sell little kid sippy cups with Boston Celtic logos on them and the fans would scoop them up by the hundreds.

They sound just like we did. Our team is great. We will win next year and maybe the year after that! Forgetting, of course, that they barely got past the Atlanta Hawks. Yeah, the Atlanta Hawks.

Maybe it was better expressed by Kevin Garnett. He was on such a high that he could hardly speak, screaming “anything is possible, anything is posssssiiiibbblllee!” Man, you have to love Garnett, for it was a long wait. Nobody wants to be the next Charles Barkley and go out with no title.

Paul Pierce had a great playoffs and towards the end there was no stopping him. It was fun to watch. The Celtics Danny Ainge brought back the old stars and solid defense and taught us all what Joe Dumars has been telling us. These old guys know how to win and how to play D. Hats off to Ainge and crew.

Doc Rivers, truly a nice guy, proved us all wrong. He really is a great coach, not just because he won, but because he made a lot of subtle adjustments throughout the playoffs and they all seemed to work.

When the Boston Celtics built a new practice facility, they surrounded the court with their 16 NBA championship banners and left a blank space for No. 17.

The message was a bit too subtle for Doc Rivers.

The Celtics coach turned a spotlight on the empty spot on the wall at the beginning of this season so there would be no doubt about the team’s goal.

“They can turn that thing off now,” guard Ray Allen said early Wednesday morning, his left eye still red from the first-half face-raking and the postgame champagne spraying that accompanied Boston’s title-clinching, 131-92 victory over the Los Angeles Lakers.

source

With the core group of Ray Allen, Paul Pierce, Kevin Garnett, Kendrick Perkins, and Rajon Rondo, anything is possible and you have to think that next year could be another Lakers with Kobe Bryant and Boston Celtics with the Boston three party back at the NBA title game.

As always, any NBA Basketball related comments are welcome.

More blogs about basketball.

NBA Obsessed takes you into the hit and run game of NBA Basketball.

Rasheed Wallace is still smiling, standing next to Kevin Garnett. Sheed knows it is a 7 game series and he will get his chance.

Image details: Detroit Pistons v Boston Celtics, Game 1 served by picapp.com

In a game that Boston had to have, it had. Boston could not afford to lose game 1, or even to lose game 2. Until the Celtics can prove to themselves that a road victory can be had in the playoffs, they need to win at home.

The Celtics will get their chance to win on the road in games 3 and 4, but they had better not be looking ahead or the Pistons will steal game 2 on the parquet floor and put the Celtics in a huge hole.

Kevin Garnett had 26 points and nine rebounds and Paul Pierce scored 22 points Tuesday night to lead Boston to an 88-79 victory in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference finals, the Celtics’ 15th straight home win.

Kendrick Perkins had 10 rebounds and Rajon Rondo added 11 points and seven assists for Boston, which earned home court through the playoffs with a league-best 66-16 regular season record. The Celtics rode that advantage to seven-game series victories over Atlanta and Cleveland and held serve in the opener against Detroit.

source

It has been a while since Detroit played eliminating Orlando in 5 by playing the hack a Dwight Howard and reducing Superman to mortal “need work on my free throws” man. The rust showed.

In the third quarter alone — when teams in close games need to make a move — here was Chauncey Billups losing his dribble and then throwing it away, here was Rip Hamilton stripped, here was Tayshaun Prince missing a lay-up when Kevin Garnett contested him at the rim, here was Antonio McDyess throwing the ball away, here was Rip stripped again. The team with all the experience, Detroit, committed seven turnovers in that third period.

Seven turnovers?

“That basically blew the game open,” Flip Saunders said.

source

So the Boston Celtics won the game they had to by playing inspiring defense and Kevin Garnett had a great day, of more concern to the Pistons was the fact that Rajon Rondo outplayed Chauncey Billups (is his hamstring really back to normal?) and Rasheed Wallace did not wake up from his nap.

Fear not, Pistons fans, Rasheed has been here many times with Rip Hamilton, Tayshaun Prince, and a healthy or unhealthy Chauncey Billups. Losing game 1 on the road will not rattle them.

It was to be expected with Boston’s extra loud home crowd that Boston would get off to a high energy start.

Let’s see if the Pistons can steal game 2 on Thursday.

As always, any NBA Basketball related comments are welcome.

More blogs about basketball.

NBA Obsessed takes you into the hit and run game of NBA Basketball.

Carmelo, Carmelo.

Carmelo Anthony was arrested Monday on suspension of driving under the influence of alcohol.

Hey, Carmelo Anthony, take a shot, should look like this

Image details: Seattle SuperSonics v Denver Nuggets served by picapp.com

The Denver Nuggets forward was arrested on Interstate 25, police said. He was alone in the car and pulled over for weaving and not dimming his lights.

Detective Sharon Hahn said Anthony failed a series of sobriety tests. He was charged with DUI, then taken to police headquarters before being released to a “sober responsible party,” Hahn said. Anthony is due in court May 14.

source

Recently he had other problems.

On Saturday, he committed a flagrant foul against Utah’s Deron Williams that changed the course of a close game. The Jazz went on to win 124-97.

Last season Carmelo was involved in a brawl with the Knicks and dropped the Knicks Mardy Collins and was rewarded with a 15 game suspension.

In February, Carmelo Anthony was pulled over for being 25 over the speed limit.

Hey, maybe time for this 5 time All Star to grow up.

Come on, Carmelo, stick to scoring with the basketball and leave that other stuff behind. Denver needs you! Allen Iverson needs you. The NBA playoffs beckon you. Don’t mess it up.

NBA Basketball special comment Let’s hope this is just youth with some bad decision mixed in and not a pattern.

As always, any NBA Basketball related comments are welcome.

More blogs about basketball.

NBA Obsessed takes you into the hit and run game of NBA Basketball.

Well, truth be told, the time is now. The Western Conference is tight as tight can be. While some teams look better than others, let the records show they are not. At least, not by much.

Western Conference
Team GB
1. x-New Orleans —
2. x-San Antonio 1.5
3. x-LA Lakers 1.5
4. x-Utah 3.5
5. x-Houston 2.5
6. Phoenix 3.5
7. Dallas 6.5
8. Denver 8.5
9. Golden State 8.5

source

So who wins this battle royale? That is the question, isn’t it?

Hmm, that one hurts my head. How about if we ask Kenny Smith what happens to the teams that lose? Especially if they take an early exit.

New Orleans Hornets - more bench depth must be found.
Los Angeles Lakers - heal up, plain and simple.
San Antonio Spurs - get younger
Utah Jazz - add scoring
Houston Rockets - get Yao Ming back

Phoenix Suns: The Suns will have to answer a lot of questions if they go out early. If they go that way, and it’s clear their struggles are tied to the addition of Shaquille O’Neal, no question will be bigger than this: What do they do with the Big Cactus?

With $40 million left on Shaq’s contract, moving him might be impossible.

source

Dallas Mavericks - roster overhaul and tough decision on Jason Kidd

Denver Nuggets: Carmelo Anthony has never made it out of the first round and now the Nuggets are on the brink of missing the playoffs altogether.

Simply trying to outscore your opponent doesn’t work. A change in philosophy might be needed. The Nuggets also might need to rethink whether pairing Anthony and Allen Iverson together was such a good idea after all.

Golden State Warriors - get bigger.

Hey, it is simple to make these decisions. Just ask Kenny Smith!

NBA Basketball special comment - Just who will win the West?

As always, any NBA Basketball related comments are welcome.

More blogs about basketball.

NBA Obsessed takes you into the hit and run game of NBA Basketball.

Don’t look now, but guess who is fighting their way to the top of the Western Conference?

Yeah, the San Antonio Spurs!

The Spurs and Tim Duncan just put together victory number 7 in a row.

San Antonio 109 Houston Rockets 88

It was not too long ago that we could not stop talking about the Houston Rockets and Tracy McGrady, and before that the Los Angeles Lakers and Kobe Bryant (who put up another 50+ game in a loss over the weekend), in the ever changing Western Conference.

Don’t look the other way or Tim Duncan and the Spurs will pass you in the standings

Every game matters now as teams wrangle for playoff position or just to be in the playoffs.

Check out these standings. The Spurs trail only Chris Paul and the New Orleans Hornets.

Western Conference
Team GB
1. * New Orleans —
2. San Antonio -0.5
3. Phoenix 1.0
4. Houston 1.0
5. * LA Lakers 1.0
6. * Utah 2.5
7. Dallas 4.5
8. Denver 5.0
9. Golden State 5.5

source

Tomorrow the whole list could change, but the Spurs are looking good today!

NBA Basketball Fan Question Is this the best NBA Conference race ever?

As always, any NBA Basketball related comments are welcome.

More blogs about basketball.

NBA Obsessed takes you into the hit and run game of NBA Basketball.

Tim Duncan, the Big Fundamental, goes to work on New Jersey

How do they do it?

They do it with defense.

The San Antonio Spurs have the best record in the Western Conference. They just extended their longest winning streak of the season with a 10th win in a row against the Vince Carter New Jersey Nets. They are one game better than the Kobe Lakers.

San Antonio 81 - New Jersey 70

That’s right, 70 stinking points.

“Think about this. They won the game shooting 33 percent,” New Jersey coach Lawrence Frank said. “That just shows you how good they are. Those guys are the gold standard. They make you grind it out.” source

Tim Duncan

As usual, it was Tim Duncan leading the way.

Tim Duncan had 29 points and 12 rebounds for his 37th double-double of the season, and the Spurs overcame their offensive struggles to beat the New Jersey Nets 81-70 on Tuesday night for their 10th straight victory.

Manu Ginobili added 12 points.

New Jersey

No more Jason Kidd in New Jersey, so now it is Vince Carter leading the way with 19 points. New point guard Devin Harris had 13 points.

One had to realize that before it was all said and done that San Antonio would be back in the saddle leading the way in the Western Conference.

NBA Basketball Fan Question Will the Spurs be in the NBA Finals once again?

As always, any NBA Basketball related comments are welcome.

More blogs about basketball.

NBA Obsessed takes you into the hit and run game of NBA Basketball.

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 Read more

NBA Obsessed takes you into the hit and run game of NBA Basketball.

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?

As always, any NBA Basketball related comments are welcome.

More blogs about basketball.

NBA Obsessed takes you into the hit and run game of NBA Basketball.

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 Read more