No Thanks AI

I had mild interest in this upcoming WNBA season, that was until Candace Parker got pregnant and missed the first four or five weeks. Now that the Sparks are pretty much out of contention with Lisa Leslie on the shelf with a knee injury, and Parker is “working” her way back into shape, my interest is once again below zero.

The good news, the NBA has continued to give to me despite its season ending several weeks ago. Movement around the league this off-season has been exciting with plenty of intrigue (Shaq traded to Cavs, Carter traded to Magic, Artest signing with Lakers), back-stabbing (Turkoglu leaving Portland for Toronto) and straight up conniving (Orlando’s plan to sign Bass and match the offer sheet on Gortat leaving the Mavs with nothing).

Recent news has Allen Iverson talking with the Clippers. I hate this idea. First and foremost, the Clippers don’t need a starting shooting guard or point guard. Their starting backcourt is solid with two pit bulls in Baron Davis (when healthy and motivated, which, with a Chinese shoe deal coming out this year, I’ve heard he is both) and rookie sensation Eric Gordon. Iverson has already publicly stated that he sees himself as a starter and reinforced that claim by sitting out the rest of last season when his starting job was put up for grabs in Detroit.

The Clippers likewise, have a bevy of talent down low. Obviously Blake Griffin has a bright future, but so too does second year big man DeAndre Jordan. Chris Kaman, when healthy, is a pretty formidable center and Marcus Camby, when healthy, is a rebounding machine and block artist.

That leaves the small forward spot as the lone weak link on the team (there’s some issues with back up shooting guard, but that’s for another post). The Clippers should be focusing their attention on finding a starter at the three and quit looking into filling seats via AI.

Filling seats won’t be a problem, especially in Los Angeles who love front-runners. All the Clips need to do is build a hard-working, exciting team that wins. Right now, they have the makings of exactly that.

Adding Iverson will ruin all of the wonderful things that have happened this off-season (getting the number one pick, shedding Randolph and his horrible attitude and contract). How many jerseys does Sterling think Iverson will sell if he’s on a one year contract? I mean, how many jerseys did he sell as a Piston last year? Whatever that number is, it isn’t enough to justify bringing him here. If this were two years ago? I would have been jumping for joy at this notion. But with the additions of Griffin and Gordon, Iverson’s place is on some other team.

I know that Quentin Richardson is coming to town (hopefully the Zach Randolph trade does not fall through), but the small forward spot is still the Clippers most glaring weakness. I honestly believe that Al Thornton’s best position is coming off the bench, or starting for some other team not named the Clippers. Thornton never met a shot he didn’t like, and unfortunately, his favorite shots are fade-away jumpshots from just within the three point line.

I think offering part or all of the mid-level to one or two of the following four players would serve the Clippers much better than signing AI for the full midlevel.

Linas Kleiza: He brings toughness and versatility to the small forward spot, not to mention three-point shooting that is sorely lacking on this team. He’s big, a decent defender and can get to the hole when he’s the third or fourth option. The bad thing, he’s restricted, so if the Clips lowball him, the Nugs would probably match. In this economy, he might not be worth the full midlevel, though, last year, $5 million for him would seem about right.

Marquis Daniels: Had a breakout year starting in place of Mike Dunleavy Jr. averaging nearly 14 points, 2 assists and 4.5 rebounds on 45 percent shooting. He’s versatile enough to play three positions (though, point guard is not a strong suit). I think he’d fit in nicely switching between the 2 and 3 and adding scoring punch off the bench. The problem with him is that he can’t shoot threes.

Jamario Moon: The Heat will probably sign Moon, but he is super athletic and was a good running mate with Dwyane Wade and would make a good running mate on this athletic team. Drawbacks for him include a head that seems detached from thinking far too many times than should be acceptable for a 29-year-old and a questionable work ethic.

Ronald Murray: Murray was up for sixth man of the year last year, brings a veteran presence, and can back up either guard spot. He brings a good scoring punch that the Clips can use coming off the bench.

Another option I thought would work nicely for the Clips is to trade Chris Kaman and Al Thornton to the Houston Rockets for Shane Battier and Brian Cook. Battier brings several things to the table that are exactly what the Clips need.

First and foremost is intelligence. No offense to Dunleavy (okay, a little), but this team has never been considered cerebral. Battier is like the brain of a brain. Battier also is a proven winner (Duke, Memphis, Rockets). Don’t laugh at that Memphis inclusion. When he played for the Grizzlies, they made the playoffs. As soon as he left, they were one of the worst teams in the league. That’s not putting all the success on him, but it speaks volumes to his presence and importance. Battier would also give the Clippers a lockdown perimeter defender. He’s always worked best with a shot-blocking big behind him, and Camby and to a lesser extend DeAndre Jordan bring blocks in spades. Finally, leadership is sorely needed on this team, and though Battier isn’t vocal, he and Artest were the co-captains of last year’s Rockets squad that were the only team to push the Lakers to seven games in last year’s playoffs.

Brian Cook can be looked at as a big who can shoot outside jumpshots, or he can be looked at as a $3 million expiring contract. Either way, his inclusion in the trade can be of some benefit if employed correctly.

Losing Al Thornton is no big loss. He’s a shoot-first player on a team that doesn’t need any more scorers. He brings nothing else to the table. He can’t play defense. He doesn’t move the ball. He doesn’t rebound. But on the Rockets, who are in need of scorers thanks to injuries to Yao Ming and Tracy McGrady, he’ll fit in nicely taking the place of Von Wafer. Kaman also gives the Rockets a young, big center who will benefit greatly from playing with the vastly underrated Luis Scola, the athleticism of Carl Landry, and the toughness of Chuck Hayes.

Shrewd Customer?

Color me curious, but I think Bryant not opting out of his contract is a shrewd business move. Sure, there's talks of a three to four year extension, but that's not supposed to happen until later in July. While a lot of media are focusing more closely on Lamar Odom and Trevor Ariza (as they most certainly should be) I can't help but think that Kobe is using his position to leverage the Lakers. He wants the whole team back, and if he had opted out he would have distracted Lakers brass from pursuing Odom and Ariza (I mean, he would then become the number one priority for the Lakers). Also, if he worked out a new contract, he would be guaranteeing himself as a part of this franchise before knowing for sure if Ariza and Odom would be back. He seems to be back in love with the Lakers, but he remembers what happened last time he signed on the dotted line with promises of building a contender. Two straight years of Smush Parker and Kwame Brown. Kobe's learned from his past mistakes. With him only signed for one more season right now, the onus is on the Lakers to fork over the money for both Odom and Ariza, which would make Kobe happy, and would help solidify in his mind to sign that extension.

Throwing out Trades

Portland wants a point guard who can hit shots, not turn the ball over, has a lot of experience, and is great in the half court. Sounds like Jose Calderon to me. The Raptors want a point guard filled with potential who will push the tempo, likes to run and is exciting. Sounds like Sergio Rodriguez to me.

If the Blazers throw in their $3 million trade exception and Martell Webster, we’ve got something cooking. Calderon is a better version of Steve Blake. He always makes the right pass, loves to set up an offense in the half court (90 percent of the Blazers playbook) and is a great shooter. His defense isn’t what the Blazers crave, but word has them looking at trying to get Kidd or Nash, so defense obviously isn’t the biggest consideration here.

Calderon played in the Olympics and on the Spanish national team that won the world championships, so he’s got experience that Steve Blake just doesn’t have. He's far younger than Nash or Kidd or Andre Miller. The added bonus is that the Blazers get to rid themselves of the potential logjam at their wing spots by dealing Webster, who’s shooting and athleticism is precisely what the Raptors could use at the 2 or 3. Plus, Webster is only 22 years old and has reasonable contract.

The Blazers already had one of the most efficient offenses in the league last season, add Calderon to the mix, one of the most efficient point guards in the league, and we're looking at a crazy formidable offense. With another year of development, the thinking would be that Greg Oden can make up for any lack of defensive prowess on Calderon's part.

Another trade that I thought was really thinking outside the box is bringing Shaq back to Los Angeles. No, not the Lakers, but the other squad that calls Staples its home. The Clippers could offer Marcus Camby and Baron Davis for Shaq and Goran Dragic. This does two things for the Clippers. One, it rids them of BD's contract and two, it brings them instant ticket sales. Shaq has his own built in fan base here in LA. A lot of the Kobe haters have subsided since, oh, I dunno, last week. But that being said, while at the parade, I saw plenty of #34 jerseys amidst the sea of purple and gold. Shaq would bring the Clippers organization its biggest personality, since, well, ever, and add some much needed credibility to the laughingstock franchise of the NBA. Dragic would be thrown in just to give the Clips a point guard in return. I saw Dragic working out with BDA Sports (same agency that has helped Darren Collison and Brandon Jennings rise up the draft boards), so I know he's at least trying to get better.

With BD gone, the Clips could either search for a point guard via free agency, try to trade Kaman for a point guard, or get underway with the Eric-Gordon-as-point-guard project (that looks like it could be successful based on EG's play last season) and look to fill their vacancy at shooting guard via free agency. If Shaq doesn't work out, then the Clips will be free of $20 million next season and enter into the summer of 2010 with Eric Gordon, Blake Griffin, DeAndre Jordan, Kaman and Zach Randolph plus a bunch of cap room. Once Randolph expires, retires or gets traded, the Clips future suddenly looks a lot more promising.

For the Suns, it gives them a dynamic point guard in case Steve Nash is really considering bolting for New York next year as well as the exact type of center that Amare Stoudemire needs...a shot blocking, rebounding machine who only needs maybe 6 to 8 offensive touches a game. Not only physically, but mentally Camby is the type of player that Amare should begin to learn from. He needed Shaq like a rapper needs more sycophants.

For next season, I think it would be fascinating to see how Nash and BD play together. I mean, Kerr has already tried everything possible, why not reinvent D'Antoni's wheel? The Suns want to go fast? Why not two elite point guards sharing the backcourt? We've seen some successful pairings of point-guard types sharing a backcourt. The Bad Boy Pistons had Isiah and Joe. This year, the Mavs ran with Kidd and Terry quite often and Charlotte had a nice go (relatively speaking) with Raymond Felton and D.J. Augustin. Of course, if the BD/Nash backcourt doesn't pan out, the Suns could always go to a point guard by committee approach. Two years ago, the Raptors were really successful with T.J. Ford and Jose Calderon interchanging from bench to starter. The Suns could do the same and keep both BD (who has had injury problems the past few years) and Nash (who has battled fatigue and back issues) fresh and happy for the playoffs.

This might not be the ideal fit for both franchises, but for the Suns, it's better than getting a straight cash dump. They'll get some of that in Camby's expiring, but will also get back talent (albeit slightly overpaid) that they wouldn't be able to find elsewhere. Even if Nash walks next year, BD, Jason Richardson, Leandro Barbosa and Amare Stoudemire could potentially be one piece away from legit championship material.

Not to Panic

Following an NBA team or any team can be an emotional roller coaster. It's a natural reaction to want immediate change when you see something not end up how you wanted it to end. So I can understand Mavericks fans who want Cuban to blow up this team. Despite their best efforts, they lost in five games to the Denver Nuggets.

Were the Nugs a better team then the Mavs in this post season? Of course. They won the series quite handily--though, if the Mavs don't clank several free throws and actually put a body on Melo in the final few minutes, this series would be heading back to Dallas for a game 6. So let's not overreact and say blow it up. Mavs fans need to cool out on the idea that the Nugs had vastly superior talent. They did have more talent, after all, Linas Kleiza saw 47 total minutes of action, none of which came in the decisive game 5.

But they didn't have waaay more talent. Let's not forget certain factors here.

First and foremost, Dirk Nowitzki was THE MAN. Hands down the best player in this series, no apologies to a lights out Carmelo. Melo had the benefit of playing with Billups who created a lot for everyone, including #15. Dirk, on the vast majority of his buckets, got them himself. Sure, Kidd was out there playing, but he was too busy passing up easy layup opportunities and instead spent his time jumping up in the air and trying to find someone to pass to as he was coming down. Everyone calls Dirk a choke artist because of his failures in the Finals and his early exit against the Warriors, but few people talk about his clutchness against the Spurs and the Suns and in playoffs in general. You can add this series to his admittedly impeccable post season resume. The Big German averaged 35 points, 11.6 rebounds, 4 assists, and a block on 53 percent shooting, 39 percent from three and 92 percent from the line. Don't get it twisted...those are Larry Bird-like numbers.

Another major factor is that Josh Howard was playing on two gimpy ankles. He gave it his best shot, even managed a gritty 14 points in the final game, but he was shooting threes with his arms and had absolutely no lift. For his career he's been around 35 percent from the great beyond. This series? He went 1-15. Also, a completely healthy Howard defensively slows Melo down a lot more than a gimpy Howard. I'm not saying he would have shut Melo down, not really possible anymore, but there's no way Melo averages 30 for the series if Howard is healthy.

Remember the job Howard did against Dwyane Wade in the 06 Finals? Now, before you start laughing and telling me that Wade was Jordan-esque in his one and only finals, look at some of the facts. Again, history has a weird way of being remembered. First of all, kid shot 97 free throws in six contests. 97! That's 16 attempts per game. That's only ten less than the Mavs averaged as a team. Sure, there are many benefits to playing alongside a healthy and motivated Shaquille O'Neal, but we all remember numerous phantom fouls called. And even with all the freebie points he was given, he only made 75 of them...for a ho-hum 77 percent. Sure, Wade averaged 35 points a game, but he shot below his season average (47 to 49 percent) and had two horrific games to start the series shooting 38 percent thanks to the defense of Howard. That kind of defense was sorely missed against the Nugs. Howard just couldn't rotate or move his feet like we know he's capable of. He'll be 30 next year, but he doesn't rely completely on his athleticism and could be solid for at least the remainder of his contract. Cuban was right not to trade him when everyone was clamoring for him to and he'll be right to keep him this off season too.

The disappearance of Jason Terry was perhaps the Mavericks greatest weakness. Dude couldn't find it in either round. After shooting 46 percent for the season, the Jet (you know, I am rescinding this name from Jason Terry...only Kenny Smith deserves the title)...Terry shot a putrid 39 percent.

So, if Howard is at full strength and Terry hits, uh, I dunno, 41 percent of his shots, then we're looking at a different series.

Still, are these Mavs good enought to win it all? Probably not. As Kevin Garnett has taught us...Anything is possible...but without a legitimate center, the Mavs are going to struggle to defend. Cuban said he's willing to pay the luxury tax if it makes sense. Says he wants to do something big this off season. Is he perhaps eyeing someone like Tyson Chandler? Or does he want a bigger fish like Chris Bosh? Marion, Odom, and Boozer will most likely be free agents. And don't sniff at Zaza Pachulia and Anderson Varejao. Either would instantly upgrade the Mavs defense, toughness and hustle.

Bottom line is, the Mavs don't need a vast overhall. If Kidd resigns for closer to the midlevel, then all this team really needs is a defensive-minded center. That might be easier to say then to achieve, but it's not like the squad is in complete shambles. It's unfortunate that injuries are a reality, because who knows how good this team would have been if Howard had been healthy.

Brief Notes

Kobe Bryant was not going to let Sunday's embarrassment carry over any longer. For 48 hours he had to hear about how his team was soft and how he was pissing away his best chance to win a title. How a soft team, an inconsistent team can't win it all.

Tuesday night, he was sure to make his point and polish it off with an exclamation. Still, this Rockets squad missed a lot of the same shots they were making Sunday. Sure, a lot more were contested, but there were still plenty of wide open looks that just didn't fall. Don't be surprised if the make it a game tomorrow.

Also, think how close the Mavs are from being tied up in this series instead of facing elimination. Two stinking freethrows in three tries.

Givers and Takers

The real culprits responsible for the Mavs' loss to the Nuggets Saturday...

This past weekend in the NBA gave viewers some pretty ugly basketball.

After a great game Friday night by the Lakeshow, the Purple and Gold, the supposedly "most talented" team in the playoffs, got out-hustled, out-muscled, out-rebounded, out-manned, out-balled, out-scored and flat out embarrassed against a team who's best player was just knocked out of the playoffs with a hairline fracture in his foot, who's second best player hasn't been playing since March, and who's third best player shot a putrid 4-19.

The "most talented team" in the playoffs lost by 12 after a "spectacular" fourth quarter from Pau Gasol who scored 18 of his 30 points in what commentator/former coach Jeff Van Gundy called a "meaningless quarter." After Sunday's loss, there is no such thing as Lakers pride. Even the most ardent, hardcore, biased Kobe lover couldn't defend his/her favorite team on anything that went on yesterday (except maybe on Kobe's subpar, but even-keeled game).

Throw in what was almost a game in Hotlanta Saturday (well, until the third) and that makes two awful 3-hour spots of television. This in spite of Lebron's eye-popping 47, 12, and 8 statline.

Then there were the buzzer beaters.

My cousin told me a few weeks ago that the Celtics were completely sunk without KG because they had the worst front court in the playoffs. This was WITH Miami still alive and kicking. I agreed they were sunk, but still thought they had enough to get out of the first round and knew Kendrick Perkins, at least, was waaaaaaaaaay better than all this "worst front court in the playoffs business." As much as I hate the dude for all his scowls and showoff two-handed dunks where he literally gets a foot off the ground, Perkins is averaging 12.5 points and 11.5 boards with nearly 3 blocks on 61 percent shooting. That is the opposite of sucking.

What we did wholeheartedly agree on was that Big Baby Davis sucked. I use "sucked" in the past tense, because the dude that KG made cry has been hot, especially in this series against the Magic, and seemed to put an exclamation point on this fact with his two clutch, Ray Allen-esque 17-footers in the closing seconds of Saturday's game. Talent-wise, he's still by far the worst power forward left in the playoffs, but effort-wise, and production-wise, he's out-playing Lamar Odom and Josh Smith (quite handily too) and for all the talk of how he can't gaurd Rashard Lewis, their statlines are eerily similar. Baby's posting an 18 and 7 with 1.3 steals on 46 percent shooting while Lewis is at 20, 7 and 1.3 on 48 percent shooting. Pretty damn good for a second round draft pick who was labeled as undersized and out-of-shape.

Finally, enough with the whining from Mavs fans about the last non-call in yesterday's game 3 loss. Was it a blown call? Absolutely. Was it the reason you lost? Hell no.

Hey, I’d be pissed for that non-call too. But, as I was watching the game unfold in the final minutes, watching Dirk and then Terry and then Howard all miss free throws, I couldn’t help but think…man, these missed free throws are going to come back and haunt them. If Dirk Nowitzki hits both of his freebies at the 5-minute mark, that would have put the Mavs up by 3 instead of 2. If Jason Terry hits both of his freethrows near the 2-minute mark, that would have put the Mavs up by 5 instead of 4. If Josh Howard makes both of his freebies at the 1:30 mark, that would have put the Mavs up by 4 instead of 3.

Any one of the Mavs three BEST players hits those freebies that the refs were giving to them, and the game either goes into overtime, or the Mavs win. Simple as that. Don’t blame the refs for that last non-call. The refs gave the Mavs plenty of opportunities to the tune of 49 free throws. The Mavs had their chances…three of them…from their three best players, and they all choked.

Ball game. Series.

The Lakers Got Talent?

The media and everyone across the United States believes the Lakers have the most talented team. They've got the all-star talent and finesse game of Pau Gasol. They've got the freak athleticism and length of the one in a million Lamar Odom. They've got the size and strength of Andrew Bynum. They've got a deep, talented bench. Blah Blah Blah Blah.

I don't see it.

I see Kobe Bryant, as a very close second best talent in the league, taking a soft team to 65 wins. Are there nights when they look like the most talented team? Sure. But if Gasol and Bynum and Odom were so talented, they wouldn't have needed Kobe to score 28 points a night.

No one in the world outside of Pau Gasol, can get Pau to make a wide open shot from fifteen feet. How many of those did he miss last night? No one in the world, except for Lamar Odom, can get him to make more than 1-6 from the charity stripe. No one in the world, not even Gary Vitti apparently, can keep Luke Walton healthy for any long stretch. And no one in the world, outside of Sasha Vujacic, Trevor Ariza and Derek Fisher can get them to make more than zero threes out of ten. How much more open does Kobe have to get his players?

I mean, not even Michael Jordan could clear an entire arena full of people and make the place feel like the practice floor.

Kobe tied for the team high in assists, had as many rebounds as Odom and Bynum combined, and had one less point than the combined offensive output of Gasol, Bynum and Odom. Tell me, how is this team so talented?

In fact, if we run down the rosters, outside of Kobe being the best player on either squad, it would be a hard case to make that the Lakers are more talented player for player than the Rockets, and this is a Houston team missing its supposed best player in Tracy McGrady.

Kobe's better than Shane Battier. No questions there. But the rest of the roster, if not a toss up, then it clearly favors the Rockets.

Aaron Brooks is better than Derek Fisher. Faster, better at getting to the hole.

Artest is far better than Ariza. Though less athletic, he's a better scorer and more well-rounded not to mention an elite defender.

Scola has been playing much better than a hobbled Bynum, and is a far more polished player anyway.

Yao is better than Pau. Just as good a shooter, but he's 7-6 and defends the basket through intimdation perhaps even better than Dwight Howard. I mean, Dwight has to jump to scare people, Yao just has to stand there.

And, even the Lakers vaunted bench doesn't seem to quite match up with the Rockets. Von Wafer is better than Sasha Vujacic. Kyle Lowry is better than Farmar or Brown. Odom, on any given night, could be the best player on either team and probably has Landry beat, but on any other given night, he could also be Mr. Invisible.

Luke Walton, while skilled, is the opposite of consistent whereas, with Chuck Hayes, you know exactly what you will get night in and night out. No question Hayes is the better player.

I've already run down a list comparing the Cavs and Lakers lineups. But, if you look at some of the other teams in the playoffs, the Lakers don't stack up much better against them either.

Kobe edges Melo, but Billups is far and away superior to any other guard on the Lakers. Nene's a lot closer to Pau than people think, especially considering what a beast he is on the defensive end. Kenyon Martin might give up a little to Odom. But, Dahntay Jones, a non-gambling Ariza, is at least a wash with the Lakers starting SF.

And the benches? J.R. Smith, way better than Sasha. Anthony Carter, much more consistent and savvy than Farmar or Brown. Linas Kleiza, a better shooter than Walton. Chris Anderson might end up being the Nuggets MVP for this series with Dallas seeing as how he's been so effective against Dirk. Needless to say, the Birdman's been way better than Bynum.

Right now, the Lakers would be favored in matchups against Dallas, Atlanta, Boston and perhaps Orlando in terms of overall talent.

The Lakers are clearly more talented than Dallas and Atlanta...period. But, if the Celtics had Kevin Garnett and the Magic had a healthy squad including Lee and Nelson, than the Lakers wouldn't be more talented than either of those teams.

In fact, the only reason the Lakers are the favorites is because of #24. I'll go deeper into this "The Lakes are the Deepest Most Talented Team" argument in the coming days. I still expect the Lakers to make the Finals, but it won't be because they have the most collective talent, it will be because they have the most talented player in the West.