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

LeBron James put up 55 points on the hapless Milwaukee Bucks.

James scored 16 points in the first 2 minutes, 50 seconds of the third quarter, almost single-handedly turning a six-point halftime deficit into an eight-point Cavaliers lead - and he could have scored two more if he hadn’t missed a pair of free throws along the way.

James scored his previous season high of 52 points at New York on Feb. 4. His career high of 56 came at Toronto on March 20, 2005.

source

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Peter Vescey has this to say about Michael Redd the long distance shooter.

An entrenched Bucks source does not believe Michael Redd will be traded this season.

“We need to make the playoffs this season to regain our fan base,” the source informed.

Yet the vultures continue to circle.

“Everyone is interested [Portland, San Antonio and Dallas, etc.], but their offers are pure [garbage],” said Deep Dish.

source

Teams are always interested in a player that can shoot the lights out.

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

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.
source

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

The masked man, Andrew Bogut, gets a lot of dough

Image details: Chicago Bulls v Milwaukee Bucks served by picapp.com

It is a big pile of money. Bigger than you will see in your lifetime of slaving at a regular job.

Andrew Bogut will sign a 5 year extension for 72 million bucks.

The signing should also silence critics who feel the team hasn’t shown a commitment to winning, Bauman said. The hiring of Scott Skiles as coach and the trade for Richard Jefferson demonstrated to Bogut that the team was making a push to be competitive.

“These moves show Andrew this team is committed to winning now,” Bauman said.

The extension does not affect the nearly $7 million Bogut is owed for the upcoming season, the final year of his rookie contract.

Despite the Bucks’ struggles in the past two seasons, Bogut indicated he wanted to stay with the team.

He played in 78 games last season, averaging 14.3 points and 9.8 rebounds.
source

Ordinarily, you would find me critical of a signing like this, but this is not the ordinary. John Hammond helped Joe Dumars build the Pistons and now he is trying to do the same with the Bucks. Think it over; they now have Michael Redd at shooting guard, Andrew Bogut at center, and Richard Jefferson at small forward. That is a pretty powerful nucleus. Throw in Scott Skiles at coach and this team is ready to move up the ladder!

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It had to happen sooner rather than later.

John Hammond has signed on to be the General Manager of the Milwaukee Bucks. John has been right there with Joe Dumars for 7 years. He is ready for his own team.

The Milwaukee Bucks have hired John Hammond as their new general manager, hoping the former Detroit vice president can bring some of the Pistons’ success to a team that hasn’t made the playoffs since 2001.

“He is a proven NBA talent who has played an essential role in a winning NBA organization,” Bucks owner Herb Kohl said in a release distributed Friday night during the third quarter a 102-86 loss to Boston that dropped the Bucks to 26-53.

source

Oh, the Bucks just don’t realize how lucky they are to get this guy. Having heard him speak numerous times on the Piston pregame show, John worked closely with Joe Dumars to build and keep the Pistons strong. The man knows basketball.

John Hammond will be missed by Coach Flip Saunders and President and GM Joe Dumars

Image details: Detroit Pistons Introduce New Coach Flip Saunders served by picapp.com

John turned down jobs at Toronto and Portland already, just waiting for the right opportunity. Joe Dumars and John can usually be seen sitting together at every game. It seemed like every sentence out of John’s mouth was “Joe and myself have been talking about…”.

You can expect John to assemble a strong team around himself, perhaps stealing Read more

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

Dwight Howard has tremendous upside

Normally the All Star game is not a big ticket with your intrepid author.

A game with little or no defense has a hard time holding my interest.

In fact, today’s basketball with all the rule changes towards offense has really bothered me in recent years.

But this year may be an exception. The league is just so filled with exceptional talent.

One starter in particular could become a dominant force in the NBA sooner than we think. That man would be Dwight Howard of the Orlando Magic.

Hmm, may just have to tune in after all. Here are your vote getters.

The leaders of both the Eastern and Western Conference players for the second returns of the 2008 NBA All-Star voting program are attached:

2008 NBA ALL-STAR BALLOTING EASTERN CONFERENCE

Forwards: Kevin Garnett (Bos) 1,186,690; LeBron James (Clev) 1,005,733; Chris Bosh (Tor) 313,983; Paul Pierce (Bos) 268,926; Yi Jianlian (Mil) 192,828; Caron Butler (Was) 150,042; Hedo Turkoglu (Orl) 121,991; Tayshaun Prince (Det) 120,783; Rashard Lewis (Orl) 116,168; Antawn Jamison (Was) 106,370.

Guards: Dwyane Wade (Mia) 777,764; Jason Kidd (NJ) 559,333; Vince Carter (NJ) 468,051; Ray Allen (Bos) 464,810; Gilbert Arenas (Was) 422,463; Chauncey Billups (Det) 238,125; Michael Redd (Mil) 183,309; Richard Hamilton (Det) 121,663; Joe Johnson (Atl) 109,443; Andre Iguodala (Phi) 109,345.

Centers: Dwight Howard (Orl) 970,778; Shaquille O’Neal (Mia) 466,292; Rasheed Wallace (Det) 124,348; Ben Wallace (Chi) 114,245; Andrew Bogut (Mil) 100,622; Jermaine O’Neal (Ind) 89,900; Zydrunas Ilgauskas (Clev) 55,217; Emeka Okafor (Cha) 51,490; Zaza Pachulia (Atl) 43,036; Eddy Curry (NY) 37,252.

2008 NBA ALL-STAR BALLOTING WESTERN CONFERENCE

Forwards: Carmelo Anthony (Den) 767,722; Tim Duncan (SA) 722,059; Dirk Nowitzki (Dal) 686,853; Carlos Boozer (Utah) 281,299; Josh Howard (Dal) 251,756; Shawn Marion (Pho) 240,752; Shane Battier (Hou) 227,112; Luis Scola (Hou) 222,896; Kevin Durant (Sea) 191,542; Grant Hill (Pho) 152,898.

Guards: Kobe Bryant (LAL) 941,716; Tracy McGrady (Hou) 663,141; Steve Nash (Pho) 526,493; Allen Iverson (Den) 514,291; Manu Ginobili (SA) 220,620; Jason Terry (Dal) 200,693; Baron Davis (GS) 194,048; Chris Paul (NO) 189,646; Tony Parker (SA) 183,173; Jerry Stackhouse (Dal) 178,152.

Centers: Yao Ming (Hou) 813,305;Amaré Stoudemire (Pho) 463,916; Erick Dampier (Dal) 171,386; Marcus Camby (Den) 161,807; Pau Gasol (Mem) 118,759; Mehmet Okur (Utah) 85,715; LaMarcus Aldridge (Por) 69,691; Tyson Chandler (NO) 69,083; Andris Biedrins (GS) 67,862; Chris Kaman (LAC) 66,315.  source

NBA Basketball Fan Question Did your favorite player make the cut?

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

We only have to look to Adrian Wojnarowski, Yahoo! Sports to tell us about the Top 5 most disappointing teams of the season and, to be sure, you have your favorites as well.

Your intrepid author’s illustrious comments are in italics.

We are the most disappointing. Oh no!

1. Houston - They discovered the truth about this team’s limitations. From Tracy McGrady’s mental and physical fragility to an absence of athleticism, they were a flawed power. They’re devoid of an identity, stuck between what they were with Van Gundy and what they’ll never be with Adelman. source

What the heck? This team is slow and has put everything into two guys that have never won anything.

2. Bulls - Yes, the Bulls struggled to compartmentalize the Kobe Bryant trade talks and some of their own failed bids for contract extensions. Nevertheless, this is still largely a winning, young core. Sure, general manager John Paxson wishes he could have do-overs on choosing Ben Wallace over Tyson Chandler, and Tyrus Thomas over LaMarcus Aldridge, but he’s still had far more makes than misses.

Surprise, no Kobe, no winning. The Skiles message could last so long with a team that just lacks an inside presence.

3. Milwaukee - Among league executives, there’s a belief Read more

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

Chauncey prefers to shoot not dunk

The Detroit Pistons won their ninth game in a row and did it in impressive fashion destroying the Milwaukee Bucks 114 to 69.

The Pistons suddenly aren’t content with simply beating teams; they are humiliating them. Here what was reported in the papers.

They made the Milwaukee Bucks look like a D-League team Monday, ending 2007 with a 114-69 romp before the 200th straight sellout crowd at The Palace.

“You get into a certain part of the season where things are getting comfortable for you and you just want to continue to ride that wave,” Tayshaun Prince said. “That’s what’s going on right now.” source

The Pistons ended up December 15 - 2. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year Detroit!

As stated before, it is the young guys that are helping Detroit seem like a rejuvenated team.

Also reminiscent of that championship run is the way the Pistons’ bench is contributing. Jarvis Hayes contributed 14 points off the bench. He, Jason Maxiell, Rodney Stuckey and Arron Afflalo helped the Pistons spread the lead in the second quarter and led the Pistons to a 28-12 advantage in the fourth.

“These are young guys and when they get into the game they are really taking advantage of their minutes,” Billups said. “They are so aggressive and so hungry when they get their chance. I’ve been calling them the Zoo Crew because they are like some caged animals when they get out there. I love watching them play.”

Chauncey dunks

In a wild move in the game, Chauncey Billups Read more

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

The return of James, your basketball author. Now the good and the bad. The good is that my most excellent boss and coworkers filled in quite nicely and that is most appreciated.

The bad is that James is diagnosed with Cancer and undergoing chemotherapy. Fear not, they say the cancer is one that is curable, so let us move forward with our dreams of basketball!

Yi is tall.

They list him at 7 foot and 238 pounds.

Got a chance to watch Yi play my Pistons. Yi was about all they had.

Yi is tall. He seemed to tower over Rasheed Wallace. How can he only be one inch taller?

Now the Pistons had there way with the Bucks and destroyed them, but Yi was one bright spot on their team tonight.

Yi can post as he did on Rasheed. Yi can shoot from mid range. Yi can rebound. Yi can even run the floor. Dare it be mentioned, he plays like a player that is only 6′ 9″. That is meant as a complement to how well he moves.

Pistons coach Flip Saunders likes Yi a lot.

“He’s skilled offensively. He doesn’t seem to be intimidated by anything. He’s got a chance to be pretty good.”

Yi, a 7-foot forward, was the Bucks’ No. 1 pick and sixth overall in the 2007 draft. He’s put up decent numbers, averaging 9.8 points, 5.8 rebounds and 1.1 blocks. source

Just watching Yi, you can see that he has a bright future in the NBA.

Now you have to wonder how he likes that Milwaukee winter weather? Could he become the world’s tallest ice fisherman?

NBA Basketball Fan Question Do you like Milwaukee winter weather?

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By Guest Blogger, Joe Ruiz

Surprise, surprise… guess who’s leading the Central early on?

Milwaukee.

Are they playing well? Meh. What’s happening is they’re taking advantage of an obscenely weak division right now. Everybody expected Chicago and Cleveland to do well and Detroit’s always in the mix. But the Bulls have fallen off, Cleveland’s playing ho-hum ball and Detroit is mere percentage points back.

Don’t get me wrong, the Bucks have earned the record they have now. They’re 6-0 at home and have knocked off the Lakers and Mavs, but the problem is they have no defensive identity. They’re in the middle of the pack or bottom third in opponent’s field goal percentage, steal and block differential and rebounding.

Yi’s still struggling a bit. He’s going to play well and have his off-nights, but once he levels off, I think he can turn into a legitimate 13 points - 8 rebounds - 2 blocks player. Of course, that’s not what the Bucks drafted him for and I might have just incurred the wrath of the Chinese media, but unless he bulks up a little more, that’s going to be what you get.

One player I would like to see do better is Charlie Bell. Yeah, he’s still pissed about his contract, I get that, but shooting .300 isn’t going to win you any friends. The Bucks are going to need a scoring threat off the bench — and that’s where you’re going to be, Charlie — in the inevitable case of an injury to Michael Redd or Mo Williams. Do you want Royal Ivey to step in for you, Charlie? If that happens, you’re done.

I’d love to revisit this team in about two weeks. On Saturday, they have the Pistons at home and immediately depart for a 5-game, 7-day West Coast swing which will tell us for certain if this team can contend for a mid-level playoff spot or if they’re going to let the Cavs and Pistons pass them up and fight for an eighth seed.

Joe Ruiz is a freelance sports writer. He writes the women’s basketball blog for b5media at LadiesCourt.com.

Yao vs Yi Mix …