Warriors Thriving in Underdog Role

I have to admit, even I had my doubts about this team coming into the postseason after David Lee went down and without seeing much in terms of production out of Andrew Bogut. Instead though, the Warriors head into play Friday night looking to take a 2-1 lead over San Antonio in the Western Conference Semifinals.

As has been the case this whole season for Golden State, as each player goes down, it seems the Warriors just keep getting stronger and stronger. Early on, it was Andrew Bogut who couldn't get on the court, and many thought it would to a rough start for the Dubs. Then Festus Ezieli and Carl Landry each stepped up big and the Warriors instead thrived out of the gate. Coming into the postseason, just as Andrew Bogut starting finding his rythym, the Warriors lost their other big man, David Lee to what many thought would be a season-ending hip injury. After that happened, I don't think many outside of the Bay Area gave the Warriors a glimmer of hope in round one vs. Denver. Again though, they had other players step up and help overcome the loss of their 20-10 machine in Lee. Harrison Barnes has excelled in the postseason, Jarret Jack has been a steady veteran infleunce almost like Baron Davis was in 2007 and although it's taken a year and some change, the Warriors are finally reaping benefits from the Monta Ellis trade. It's taken a true team effort to get the Warriors to where they are. They really should be taking a 2-0 lead into the game Friday, but by coming back and taking game two after blowing that 16 point lead in the waning minutes of game one is a testament to what kind of fight this team has.

Now, the Warriors could lose the next three games, and be out of the tournament and it would still be considered a great season by Golden State's standards. The players know that, and I think that this team is really taking that underdog role and riding with it. It reminds me a lot of the Giants in 2010, as they weren't necessarily the best team in the game that year, but rode that late season momentum and became an unstoppable force in the playoffs. Mark Jackson's role in this run cannot be overlooked either, as he's seemingly pushed all the right buttons so far and has kept his team in the right mindset all year despite all the injuries. Jackson has this team in a defense first mind-set and they've all bought into the system and have executed it well. Since Lee went down, Jackson has had to mix and match starting lineups, going with a small, three-guard look with Jarret Jack, but he switched it up and used Draymond Green in the starting lineup Wednesday to give the team a little more defense. Despsite Green not lighting up the stat sheet, it worked out well defensively for Golden State and I wouldn't be surprised to see that same lineup take the court Friday night.

Note: David Lee is still listed as active for this series, but I highly doubt we'll see him make any kind of impact. That being said, should the Warriors advance past this round and make it to the Western Conference Finals, it wouldn't surprise me if #10 wills his way back into the starting lineup. He's still having some issues pushing off of his right leg, which would hamper his play inside, but he is practicing and is getting some of that strength back each day.

Dwight Howard Dealt to Lakers

After nearly a year of speculation and rumors involving fifty percent of NBA teams, Dwight Howard, the Magic and a 3rd party finally agreed on something!

In the trade of the summer, the Magic sent Dwight Howard to, surprise surprise, the LA Lakers in a 4-team, 12-player mega-deal. Oddly enough, Orlando probably got the worst return in the deal and couldn't manage to get the guy they supposedly wanted in Andrew Bynum. The Lakers' young center was part of the deal, but he'll be heading to Phily instead of Orlando because apparently the Magic didn't have a shot at signing him long term. After looking at the players the Magic did get, it makes me wonder why they didn't pull the trigger on Howard before the deadline last season when they had much more reasonable deals on the table. The Nets were offering Brooke Lopez, Kris Humphries, MarShon Brooks and a few unprotected draft picks to Orlando before the deadline, but instead, it will be Aaron Afflalo, Al Harrington, Nikola Vucevic and 3 picks heading to the Sunshine State. It's tough when your the clear losers in a deal that you give up your franchise player in, but that's exactly where the Magic find themselves after this one!

The winners in this deal, in my opinion, where each of the other three teams involved. The Lakers obviously make out the best, bringing in the NBA's top center and giving Kobe Bryant a force up front he hasn't had since Shaq. Add this deal on top of the trade they swung for Steve Nash last month, and the Lakers have reloaded exactly the way they wanted to this summer. I know they don't have the youngest team in the league, but they now have an element in Nash that they've never really had there during the Kobe years. The Lakers have never had that game-changing point guard, and it's going to take a huge load of pressure off Kobe Bryant. Sure, Bynum is also one of the top centers in the league, but he's not on the level Howard is yet, and Dwight better fits LA's immediate plans for contending. Not to mention it just didn't seem like Bynum was working out too well in LA. Kobe has said he'd like another ring or two before he hangs 'em up, and I their two deals this summer has put them in great position to do so.

 Speaking of Bynum, he'll be playing the 2012-13 season with the 76ers, and they have every intention on keeping him around long term. Philly had to part with Andre Iguodala, who's one of the best all-around players in the league, but expendable when you have a shot at reeling in a guy like Bynum. Iguodala will heading to Denver.

Are LeBron and Jordan Now Comparable?

The Miami Heat won the 2012 NBA Finals, and they did so in such convincing fashion, that it's raised some question as to whether or not LeBron James could be on his way to Michael Jordan-stature after all.

LeBron Reels in First Tittle

After LeBron went 8 full seasons through the league without a championship, his moment finally came last night in South Beach as the Miami Heat won their first tittle since 2006. The win gave LeBron his first tittle at age 27, which is a year younger than the great Air Jordan was when he hoisted the trophy for the first time with Chicago. It's prompted a lot of talk around the basketball world whether or not this victory should put LeBron James in the same sentence as Mr. Jordan, but I think it's way to early to make that jump. Jordan was a 5-time Champion, put up ridiculous scoring numbers and had one of the best jump shots in the NBA and LeBron, in comparison, is just getting started. I personally am not even close to being ready to put James up on the pedestal with Jordan, but he's definitely on the right path. During that championship celebration, LeBron exuded a persona that I've never seen out of "The King". He admitted being humbled by last seasons loss to the Mavs and even said he played the game "angrily". It seems like LeBron has grown up a lot since his last trip to basketball's biggest stage, and as a fan of the NBA, I'm happy to see he's finally getting it. He's certainly one of the most skilled players I've ever seen, and although I'm not ready to say he's Jordan 2.0, he's definitely on the right path.

D-Wade: The Glue of the Heat!

The two overlooked guys, in my mind, for the Champion Miami Heat is the guy who brought them home the 2006 tittle, Dwayne Wade, and their tremendous coach, Erik Spoelstra. After that loss to the Mavs last season, I thought that Spoelstra would be the guy who would bear the brunt of the failure and end up losing his job. However, all he did during this playoff run was prove that he too learned from the 2011 upset to the Mavericks. That dude has to run perhaps the most glorified and heavily ridiculed team of the last 20 years, and even when it looked like they were down for the count various times throughout these playoffs, he riled his troops together and got them back on track. He took over a team with 3 guys that were always option number one for their respective teams, and managed to get those 3 to not only mesh, but play together like powerhouse. That's a leader for you. This is also where I think D-Wade helped a lot. As great as LeBron is, Wade is older and more mature than James, had been there before and won and seemed willing to do whatever he had to in order to ensure the "Big Three" would be successful. He went from being one of the leagues premiere stars himself to playing 2nd fiddle to LeBron and did it terrifically, and selflessly. Qualities that are hard to find in modern day NBA stars.

NBA Finals Prediction

The NBA Finals are finally upon us, and it's the exact matchup I was hoping for and expecting, OKC Thunder and the Miami Heat. These two were arguably the best team in their respective conferences, so it's only fitting they meet in the Finals, but this is a tough one to predict.

Heat's 2nd Finals in 2 Years

This is going to be a helluva matchup, as both teams have immense talent. It's the two super stars of the East vs. the rising young powerhouse of the West. The Heat showed in game 7 vs. the Celtics how they can just take over a game and dominate when LeBron and Wade are going to the basket and Chris Bosh is knocking down shots, they're pretty much unstoppable. However, the Thunder sport a defensive unit that should be able to at least compete with Miami's offensive stars. They have big Serge Ibaka and Kendrick Perkins to guard the basket and protect against those Wade and LeBron power-drives to the basket when they just take their man on the dribble and fly to the hoop. They won't be able to do that as easily vs. OKC. Also, the Thunder have one of the best perimeter defenders in the game in Thabo Sefolosha. I believe the Coach Brooks would be wise to throw Sefolosha on Wade, because I think James is too strong for him and Thabo can at least neutralize D-Wade a bit. That would leave a Durrant/James matchup which would likely make for an epic battle. On paper, the Thunder compare very favorably with the Heat, as the Heat don't have an inside presence on offense or defense like the Thunder have with Ibaka and Perkins.

Are the Thunder Ready?

Ultimately, I think this series is going to come down to whether or not the Thunder can take advantage of their mis-matches. I really believe that this as Oklahoma's series to lose if they can play their game, but the Heat will pounce on them and bury them if they don't. The other clear advantage that OKC has besides inside presence on defense is their stud point guard Russell Westbrook, who when he's right, will take over  a game kinda like Rajon Rondo almost did to the Heat in game 7. Rondo was giving Miami all sorts of trouble driving to the hop and either dishing off to an open shooter or finishing at the rim himself. Westbrook isn't quite the passer that Rondo is, but he can be much more dangerous on offense when he has his shot. When his shot is on, he's not only a threat from outside, but one of the fastest, most efficient guards in the league off the dribble. The Heat turned it up when they had to against the aging Celtics, but their paper thin prevailing in that series tells me they have all kinds of issues on defense, and I expect the Thunder to take full advantage of those issues. That said, the Thunder are one of the youngest collective groups in the league, and they showed it at times in their series vs. San Antonio. If they make rookie mistakes on the big stage, as I've said, the Heat will pounce. In the end though, I expect the Thunder to be too much for Miami and although it very well could take all 7 games to do it, I think the OKC Thunder will be the next champion of the NBA.

NBA Conference Finals Update

The NBA's version of the final four, better known as the Conference Championships, have begun and we're looking at some very intriguing match-ups. The Eastern-favorite Miami Heat have gotten off to a 1-0 start vs. the surging, veteran infused Boston Celtics, while in the West, the veteran-led Spurs have taken early control over the young and talented Thunder.

Parker and Ginobili Leading SA

After one game, even in a best of 7 series, it's really tough to tell how things are going to go, but I'm still sticking by the two teams I expected to meet in the Finals for pretty much the whole 2nd half of the season and those two teams are the Heat and Thunder. The Spurs did net the #1 seed in the West and have played extremely well in May, but I still think this series is the OKC's to lose. They barely missed pulling out a victory in game one as their star point guard continues to dictate the way things go for that team. Russel Westbrook was OK in Sunday's game, but his 7-21 shooting and 4 turnovers need to improve big time in order to take some pressure off Kevin Durrant. I mean, Durrant is a great talent and all, but the Spurs have obviously curtailed their game to ensure Durrant isn't the one to go crazy and beat them, so it's going to have to be Westbrook and Harden who take the pressure of #35. At the same time, you have to give some credit to San Antonio for continuing to barrel through opponents, and a big reason for that has been the play of Manu Ginobili and Tony Parker. It's no accident the Spurs have had so much success the last decade plus, a lot of that was because of Tim Duncan, but this year especially, with the shortened season, the Spurs called upon younger guys and relied more heavily on Parker to lead while Duncan saw his minutes limited. As fun to watch and talented the Thunder are, the Spurs are equally intriguing to follow because of the different ways they can beat you and the fundamentally sound basketball they play. If any team is going to take down a Heat or Thunder-quality team, it'll most likely be the boys from San Antonio, much like the Mavs did in 2011.

LeBron's Heat Up 1-0 on Celtics

Over in the East, again, the Heat have put themselves in prime position to be the Eastern Conference reps at the NBA Finals in June, but I don't think they'll be able to roll over the Celtics like they did Monday night. Boston has been the team that got hot at the right time and it's taken them to the conference finals, despite the fact most people didn't expect to see them make it past the first round, much less the second. At the same time though, the Celtics had to go 6 games in the first round, then the full 7 in order to knock off the 76ers in the Semi's, so I'm not sure what kind of push the aging core has. The one player in particular who's really fell on hard times for Boston and was basically non-existent in game one is Ray Allen. He struggled so badly that Doc Rivers went public with his concern for his team's shooting guard spot and mentioned the possibility of removing Allen from the starting lineup. The only issue with that idea is the lack of options the Celtics have at the guard spot right now. My guess is they could sacrifice some offense for defense and throw former Warrior Michael Pietrus into the lineup and have him go up against LeBron. There are just too many things the Celtics would need to overcome in order to win this series, and despite their impressive run in the playoffs up till now, I think this is where it ends for Doc Rivers' bunch.

Spurs, Thunder Dominate Round

Well, heading into the 2012 NBA Playoffs, the two consensus favorites to reach the finals, and the two teams we picked here at WRD, were the OKC Thunder and the Miami Heat. The Thunder rolled past the defending champion Dallas Mavericks with a 4-0 sweep, but the Heat failed to do so against their counterpart, the New York Knicks, as NY beat them in game four to keep hopes alive behind a valiant effort by Caremlo Anthony.

Durrant Leads OKC

With all the Knicks injury issues, I didn't think they would have won a single game without a healthy Stoudemire and without their breakout point guard Jeremy Lin, but Carmelo Anthony prevailed over LeBron James in game 4, once again showing that James can disappear in crunch time. Melo outplayed the Miami star, scoring 41 points in the process to push NY to a 2-point victory to keep them alive. On the other side of the spectrum, the upset in the making thus far has the top-seeded Chicago Bulls down 3 games to 1 to the 8th seeded Philadelphia 76ers, who were reeling heading into postseason. However, the Bulls lost their star point guard Derrick Rose, as well as any Championship aspirations they had for 2012, and have failed to respond like winners, making the Heat now the clear-cut favorites in the East. They still do have to win another game vs. a New York team that gained a lot of momentum in that game 4 win, so there's still a slight chance they could get derailed, but unless injury strikes or they completely melt down, I don't see them having any problems going through a Knicks squad that has players dropping left and right (lost Baron Davis in game 4). Then the Indiana Pacers who look to be heading to the next round, assuming they beat out the Dwight Howard-less Orlando Magic (Pacers have 3-1 lead in series). In perhaps the most interesting match-up in the Eastern Conference's round 1 though has been the aging Boston Celtics vs. the young gun Atlanta Hawks. I thought the Hawks, even without their star center Al Horford and Joe Johnson and Josh Smith each banged up, had enough talent to battle and possibly beat Boston, but the Celtics big-three have shown they can still turn it on when it counts. Boston's up 2-1 in the series and currently is leading by 20 points in the 2nd half of game 4. They to me look like the dark-horses in the East, and may be the one team that Miami fears. They have a pretty similar team to the Dallas Mavericks, with veteran grit, good defense and a smart point guard, and we all know how they fared vs. Dallas last June.

Over in the West, as I said, the Thunder are the only team that cleanly swept their opponent and are sitting there in round two waiting for the winner of the Lakers/Nuggets series. LA has the lead and should beat Denver, but it'll be the LA/OKC match-up that could determine which team represents the West in the finals. With respect to the Spurs, I think the Lakers and Thunder are the two best teams in the West this year, and one of them will reach the finals. The Spurs have been impressive in their series with Utah though, however the Jazz are one of the worst teams in this years bracket, with a 3-0 lead heading into game four on Monday night. The somewhat overlooked series, the Memphis/Clippers match-up has been an exciting one as well, with the Clippers holding a 2-1 lead, but Memphis could just as easily be in the drivers seat, losing game 3 by just a point. I think Memphis is the better overall team and I do think they'll battle back and beat the Clippers, but that is one of series I'm trying not to miss a minute of, and there aren't many of those in the first round. If your looking for a spot to do some Sports Betting on this years NBA Playoffs, I'd put my money on Miami. I said it at the beginning of the season and re-iterated all throughout, I just think they're too strong and determined to fail a 2nd time around with that squad.

NBA Deadline Scoop, 49ers Update

Well folks, we can check off one of the frenzies that have taken hold of the sports world over the last week or so, from NFL free agency, the NCAA Tournament, the NBA trade deadline to MLB's spring training. Indeed, there has been plenty to discuss here at the Journal, which has kept us extremely busy of late.

Today, we're going to keep it mostly NBA, as the deadline really dominated sports headlines Thursday. The Warriors made a few more moves to better their position heading into the 2012 draft. They swapped Stephen Jackson for Richard Jefferson, taking on an extra year of a $10M salary but gaining the Spurs first rounder in the upcoming draft. It's no surprise that Jackson was dealt before arriving in Golden State, as he left here after his first stint under some pretty bad terms. The Warriors didn't want to take the chance of having Jackson become a cancer in their clubhouse again, like he did in Milwaukee and nearly every other destination during his career, besides San Antonio. This move makes sense for both squads, as the Spurs get a tough defender at SF and at this stage, a better player than Jefferson, while the Warriors pretty much ensure they get to pick in the first round in this years draft, albeit a likely low-20's pick. Here are the three other big moves that went down on Thursday:

Gerald Wallace to New Jersey for their protected first-rounder: This was probably the 2nd biggest deal of the day, as it was one of many moves made by Portland Thursday. The Blazers went through a mini fire-sale before the deadline, dealing away Wallace and starting center Marcus Camby, who was dealt to Houston. They then axed long-time head coach Nate McMillan, in a somewhat surprising move. I know Portland had been struggling this season, but I was surprised they didn't wait until after the year to dismiss McMillan. Anyway, as long as the Blazers end up with the Nets first rounder, which is protected through pick 3 (their likely pick would be 5 if the season ended today), then they make out just fine in this deal, especially as they're obviously moving towards rebuilding. At the same time, although he's had somewhat of an off-year, the 29 year-old Wallace is a rare talent on both ends of the court and may help the Nets chances of resigning Deron Williams over the summer. A potential lineup of Williams, impressive rookie MarShon Brooks, Wallace, Kris Humprhies and Brook Lopez, with Anthony Morrow and Gerald Green coming off the bench for 2012-13, isn't a bad look.

Ramon Sessions to Lakers for first round pick: The Lakers got something they really haven't had in years, and that's a young, explosive point guard who can put up some points and is one of the more underrated players in the NBA. Sessions assists-per-minute ratio is the best in the NBA and he didn't have much of a spot in Cleveland behind star rookie Kyrie Irving. For that, I like this deal for both squads. The Lakers were also trying hard to acquire T-Wolves forward Michael Beasley, and would have been even better off had that gone through, but they have to be happy with their shiny new point guard, who should make everyone on that team better, including Andrew Bynum, and that's scary to think! The Lakers, in response, shipped their long-time PG, Derek Fisher, to Houston.

Three-Way Trade- Clippers acquire Nick Young, Nuggets acquire JaValle McGee, and Wizards end up with Nene: Now, this was the last, but the biggest deal to go down on before the deadline Thursday, and it's a deal that makes a lot of sense for all parties involved. The Clippers get former USC guard Nick Young, bringing him back to SoCal, where they really need some scoring help at the off-guard and small forward position. He's a young perimeter player who should mesh well with CP3 and Blake Griffin and when he's one, he'll even make Clipper fans forget about Eric Gordon. Also, JaValle McGee, who's one of the most talented big men in the game, got the change of scenery he so badly needed, as he was dealt to Denver with Nene heading back to Washington. Nene will give the Wizards a solid veteran front-court influence and should play well with Andre Blatche. However, I think the winner of this deal, if I had to pick one, are the Nuggets. They get a star, 23 year-old center who should fit in well with Denver. George Karl has has the leadership skills and Denver has enough veteran influence that McGee should be on his best behavior. When this guy plays 30+ minutes a night, it's rare if he doesn't wind up with 15 points, 12-15 boards and 3-4 blocks. That's dominance on both ends.

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Again, the Warriors and the 49ers were the two Bay Area franchises leading headlines Thursday, as the 49ers are apparently looking very deeply into the possibility of signing either Mario Manningham or Brandon Lloyd. Either would be a tremendous addition alongside Randy Moss and Michael Crabtree. Lloyd is a bit older, but has been one of the most underrated WR's in the NFL in recent years. He's accumulated 2,300 yards recieving and 16 TD's over the last two seasons with Kyle Orton and AJ Feely throwing him the ball, but is going on 31 years of age and the 49ers may want to go with the younger Manningham. The 25 year-old Manningham is coming off an injury-plauged year, which he only played in 12 games, but had 13 catches and 3 touchdowns in the 2012 postseason to finish strongly. With Victor Cruz's emergence, Manningham isn't as high a priority for the Giants as he would be for a team like the 49ers, but with receivers going off the board like crazy, Manningham is now one of the most coveted wideouts left and will be in demand. Luckily for the 49ers, they do have him Santa Clara Thursday, and maybe they can convince him, like they did Randy Moss, to ink a deal within hours of meeting the coaching staff. Wouldn't that be something! If both are going to cost about the same, I'd roll with the younger Manningham, as his speed could really help this offense, but I think either would be a welcome addition and really help shore up the 49ers receiving core and allow them to look elsewhere with their first round pick, like another impact DB.

Five Moves To Consider Before NBA Deadline

In this shortened NBA season, the trade deadline is just a month after this All-Star weekend, and NBA people are expecting there to be a lot of movement between now and that March 29th deadline. Here are five moves that contenders should make, or that should happen before that deadline

Move #1: Dwight Howard out of Orlando: Now, wherever he ends up, that team obviously becomes a contender automatically, but there are a number of teams he could end up with and he may very well stay put in Orlando. This is why I say this is the number one move as far shaping contending teams' rosters down the stretch. With a Howard, a healthy JRich, Anderson having the year he's having and Jameer Nelson continues his February comeback, then Orlando's legit. Again though, unless they deal Howard to some team for a draft pick and a project youngster like, say a DeAndre Jordan for example, then they should be able to attain enough in return to keep them contenders in the East. Their best bet was the Howard-for-Bynum deal that LA supposedly offered. I mean, the general consensus is Bynum is center #2 in the NBA, younger and cheaper than Howard? He'd give them someone to really build around who they know wouldn't be asking out in a year or two. Or, they should look to New Jersey and try and milk MarShon Brooks, Anthony Morrow and Brook "BroLo" Lopez out of the deal, then I think they end up fine there as well. He'll be the most watched player as the deadline approaches, but either way, the Magic should be contenders no matter what happens.

Deal #2: Steve Nash or Ramon Sessions to LA Lakers- The Lake show need a point guard that wasn't playing in the 1980's (no offense D-Fish, you've had your time), but seriously, how they expect to keep winning and keep Kobe fresh with him orchestrating the offense is asking for trouble. They've been focusing on Howard, but they have two twin-towers in Gasol and Bynum and don't need Howard! They need a ball handler and a guy who can hit a 3. Nash would be ideal, cause of his outside shot and he'd be a monster with Bynum and Gasol. Just not sure the Lake Show have anything Phoenix would want (they wouldn't give them Bynum or Gasol for 38 year-old Nash) so it may make more sense for LA to see a deal for the highly underrated Ramon Sessions. His assists-per-minute ratio are out of this world. He's not the defender, clutch shooter or winner Nash has been, but he'd fit perfectly with what the Lakers are need! A young/upside guy like Andre Goudelock and/or Josh McRoberts should be plenty enough for Cleveland, especially since they'd get nothing when Sessions walks as a free agent after the year and there aren't many teams rushing for his services!

Deal #3: Chris Kaman/Emeka Okafor to the Heat: Miami got exposed last year in the finals going against Tyson Chandler and they can't have that happen again. They need someone in the middle who can start and command respect and unfortunately, Joel Anthony just isn't that guy yet. Kaman is the best option with a contract expiring at the end of the year and could give the Heat exactly what they need, 12-14 points and 10 boards with blocks and the ability to defend 7-footers. Right now, you put Andrew Bynum, Dwight Howard or Al Jefferson up against them, and those guys have field days. They need one of their own, not a superstar or anything, but someone why can do a little of that and stop it as well and Kaman seems to be the most logical choice of centers on the market and a move like that could literally lock up the Championship for Miami, cause that's their only weakness right now. Joel Anthony is a great backup and plays with energy, but doesn't have the skill-set to play with the upper echelon of NBA Centers. Emeka Okafor, Kaman's teammate would also fit that mold, maybe more so than Kaman. Okafor is more of a defensive minded center, and probably better than Kaman, and Miami certainly isn't in shortage of scorers.

Deal #4: Paul Pierce to the Spurs: The dagger-thrower deserves another shot at a tittle, and fits picture perfectly in with the aging San Antonio Spurs. Boston has made no bones about the fact they want to deal Pierce, but that's probably only because he'll bring a lot more in return than either Kevin Garnett or Ray Allen. Why else would you want to deal your franchise's longest tenured star? If they do indeed send him off, San Antonio is the spot for him. The Spurs could package either DeJuan Blair or Tiago Splitter, Gary Neal and the young, impressive Kawhi Leonard to Boston; though it would be a blow to their future chances, it gives them another shot at a tittle run or two with Tim Duncan and the Italian assassin, Manu Ginobli, still playing at a sturdy levels. Richard Jefferson just isn't getting it done and they need more help from the wing spot than just the banged up Ginobli. Ray Allen is another guy who makes sense for this team. But the Spurs, surprisingly, are another scorer away from being legit title contenders again.

Deal #5: Ray Allen to the Bulls:Speaking of that Pierce deal, if Boston does that, they could end up shipping Ray Allen out of town as well and keeping KG and Rondo to re-build around. KG has lost a step, but has so much flexibility and every rebuilding team needs a solid veteran presence. The Bulls are looking for another veteran scoring guard and have been less than impressed with what they've gotten out of the often injured Rip Hamilton. Ray Allen would be a sniper, catching balls off of Derrick Rose's dribble-drive or Boozer and Noah's kick-outs. Exactly the kind of 3-point tosser this team needs. They should have made a larger offer to Jason Richardson before the season, as JRich recently conceded that his final two choices came down to Chicago or returning to Orlando. JRich in Chicago right now with that core of talent would have been a nice fit. Ray Allen though, is the perfect compliment to a young, athletic, good defensive squad! I just don't think they can handle Miami with relying on Derrick Rose and Carlos Boozer as their primary offensive pieces.

Now, just because we didn't mention the Warriors in there, doesn't mean I don't think they should be active before the deadline. They simply aren't contenders, but they should be as active as anyone at the deadline. They need to figure out whether they're going to add and make a playoff run, or subtract, play youngsters and hope for that top-7 pick. The ladder seems to make more since seeing that even if the Dubs made the playoffs as a 8th seed, they'd never beat the Thunder in round one. Unless they can land a legit big man that they can keep past this season, they really should consider dealing away role players who've played so well for them, and cash in on those guys while their value is high. I'm talking Brandon Rush and Nate Robinson and maybe even Dorrell Wright, granted you got the right package in return. Give those minutes to guys like Jeremy Tyler, Klay Thompson and Charles Jenkins, and it bodes better for your future in so many ways! I'm actually curious, do to their lack of big men, that Tyler hasn't been thrown into the fire more often. Anyway, the NBA second half is about to begin, and if you do any NBA or March Madness wagering, we encourage you check out TopBet Sportsbook. If I were to bet myself, I'd say of the above five suggested moves, at least one of them will come to fruition by the deadline!

NBA Eastern Conference Preview: Atlantic

With the NBA season set to tip off in just a few days, we figured we'd go ahead and cram our NBA Preview in, although it will likely leak into the start of the season, seeing that we'll be covering the 49ers and Raiders this weekend as well. But here's our start with the Atlantic Conference in the East.

Atlantic Conference:

First Place: New York Knicks

Starting Lineup:
PG Toney Douglas
SG Landry Fields
SF Carmelo Anthony
PF Amare Stoudemire
C Tyson Chandler
6th: G Baron Davis

As you can see, I like the Knicks this year. I think Carmelo and Amare are going to be like a Shaq and Kobe Part 2. They also have one of the best centers in the game in Tyson Chandler to compose by far the best front court in basketball. If Baron Davis comes back soon and healthy, they'll be even that much better. I even think a perfect fit for them would be a guy like Calderon who could distribute the ball to Amare and Carmelo. The one thing this team does lack, is depth. When Baron heals up in January, they'll be fine at guard, but up front, things are very thin after their starting 3. Al Thornton, AK-47 and Chris Douglas-Roberts (if healthy) are all players I cannot believe aren't employed yet and any one or two would be welcome additions to the Knicks depth-chart. With Ny's expectations this year, I think they'll make that necessary move when it comes time!

2nd Place: Boston Celtics

Starting Lineup:
PG Rajon Rando
SG Ray Allen
SF Paul Pierce
PF Kevin Garnett
C Jermaine O'neal
6th: F Brandon Bass

The Celtics are just about everyone's pick for the Atlantic conference this year, but in a shortened, back-to-back-to-back game season, I fear the aging Celtics are going to wilt. They'll still make the playoffs, but I think New York, especially if they can get a guy like Calderon in here who can distribute the ball to Amare and Carmelo, are going to end up the team to beat in the shortened season. If this were 2005, the Celtics would be kings of the univers, but in 2o12, they don't have enough youth, outside of Rando who they're shopping for some odd reason, to run with quicker younger teams night after night.

3rd Place: Philadelphia 76ers

Starting Lineup
PG Jrue Holiday
SG Jodie Meeks
SF Andre Iguodala
PF Elton Brand
C Spencer Hawes
6th: F Thaddeus Young

Young's so good they had to pay him starters money to keep him around, prompting all the Iguodala trade-talks. As much as Young helps this team off the bench, I think they would have been better off spending that money on Jason Richardson and an upgrade at center. They'd have done that, they'd be challenging the Celtics and Knicks for a playoff spot. Holiday, in my opinion is the 2nd best PG from the 2009's draft behind Steph Curry. They have a lot of talent on this squad and if they put it together, look out Atlantic!

4th Place: New Jersey Nets

Starting Lineup
PG Deron Williams
SG Anthony Morrow
SF Damian Jones
PF Kris Humphries
C Brook Lopez
6th: G MarShon Brooks

The re-signing of Humphries saved their season in a sense. In the dudes last 30 games in 2011, he averaged nearly 15/15 a night. Very similar to former Knick Derek Lee in my opinion. They also have the exciting MarShon Brooks who they drafted in the first round this summer. He should get plenty of time as a 6th man and could overtake Morrow's starting 2-guard spot by mid-season if he plays like he has this pre-season. What they need is a solid wing scorer, a team a guy like Caron Butler would have been a perfect add for.

5th Place: Toronto Raptors

Starting Lineup
PG: Jose Calderon
SG DeMar DeRozan
SF James Johnson
PF Andrea Bargnani
C Amir Johnson
6th: G Jerryd Bayless

The Raptors are a team in full re-build mode and they really should try and pitch Jose Calderon to a team like the LA Lakers who need a point guard badly. Jerryd Bayless is their future there, and they need him, DeRozan and Bargnani all getting valuable time together this season if they want to eventually become contenders. Bargnani needs to start rebounding too, not 5 a night, more like 8-9, he's 7 feet tall and needs to be down low more often.

Lockout Unlocks: NBA Back in Business

Well, they've already missed about a month of regular season action do to on-going discussions regarding the new CBA, but things finally took a turn for the best over the weekend. As soon as the new deal is ratified, which should happen any day now, the National Basketball Association will be back in business.

Now, don't expect to see free agents signing anywhere once the CBA has been ratified, as free agency wont start until December 9th. However, do expect teams and players to start discussions immediately, and deals to be unofficially announced even before that date. Speaking of free agency, this class isn't necessarily stocked with premium talent and has nowhere near the star power it did in summer 2010, but there are still a few nice players on this market that could come in and help a team like the Warriors. I've been thinking that the W's best chance to upgrade their roster would be via trade, but the one spot where the Warriors are weak happens to be the most stocked position on the free agent market, center. Andris Biedrins is currently the starter and is making over $10M this season, but has really had a rough couple of seasons since Barron Davis left the Bay Area. I'm not sure the Warriors are confident in starting the season with the thought of giving Biedrins huge minutes at center. They could deal him, or cut his work load way back, but it shouldn't keep them for exploring ways to improve themselves. The two guys I'd like to see them at least inquire about are Nene Hilario and Mark Gasol. Nene would bring the type of defense that Biedrins has failed at while Gasol would bring consistency, athleticism and scoring to the front-court. Nene is unrestricted, so would be an easier target, yet he's the consensus #1 free agent out there, so he could be tough to snag.

Now, as far as the details in the new Labor Agreement, I'm not going to go through each thing and ramble about it here, although here is a list of the changes to the new agreement. The only thing that jumped out at me when glancing over the new agreement is that the league will still be able to squeeze a 66-game schedule out of this by having teams play on back-to-back-to-back nights on numerous occasions throughout the season. Tip for Warriors head coach Mark Jackson, get your team in shape and keep youngsters for that bench because those 3 consecutive game nights will drain a team. Luckily for the Warriors, their average age in their starting lineup is 25, so it could be an advantage for them especially if Jackson has them running offensively. We don't know yet exactly when the tip-off for the regular season will be, as the new CBA has yet to be ratified, but NBA officials have stated they're shooting to be open before Christmas, which is their biggest non-playoff night of the year as far as television ratings. David Stern is way too greedy to let that cash cow slip by him, so I fully expect the NBA to be in regular season mode by the end of December. The real question is, how long is it going to take teams to start playing their brand of basketball after such a long layoff and virtually no training camp? Time will tell, but it's certainly great to have the NBA back... Fantasy Draft Time!

Warriors Grab Klay Thompson With Pick 11

At first, I cringed at the pick, but the more I've looked at it up and down, the more I'm starting to see some logic in the selection of Thompson. I would have liked more of a power guard like Burks or a power big-man like one of the Morris', but Thompson should provide a key component for the Warriors; a sharp-shooter who can put up 20 ppg with ease.

As for the draft as a whole, I thought it started out great for the Warriors chances with all the European guard/forward hybrids going so highly, while players like Brandon Knight (the guy I really wanted to see the W's move for) and Kemba Walker waited and waited to hear their names called. In fact Walker didn't go until one pick ahead of Golden State at #1, and I can only imagine the dilemma that Larry Riley and Mark Jackson wound have faced had Walker fallen to them at 11? I think it would have been a draft Walker/trade Ellis scenario if that were the case, but it wasn't. Instead, the Warriors went with Thomoson, the Jr. out of Washington State which, again, kind of left me a little curious at the moment. Immediately after Thompson went, the guys I was hoping for, SG Alec Burks or one of the Morris brothers, Marcus or Markieff, were taken off the board in succession, so that had me thinking again; did the W's make the right move, or is Jerry West stuck in the 70's. Burks is more of that in your face, take it to the rim, true 2 guard who really reminds me a little bit of JRich and Stephen Jackson. As much as I like watching Ellis and Curry play together, I think this team needs a big 2 guard, one who can defend the likes of Kobe Bryant and Kevin Durrant and one who can get to the line 10 times per night. But one thing neither will likely do as well as Thompson, especially in their rookie year, is score the basketball!

Now, they had their chance to do that with Burks, or even re-make their front line with a Morris, but hopefully by passing on them, Larry Riley has something up his sleeve, cause the team is a little deep with guards now who will want minutes. You can't forget about 2nd round pick Charles Jenkins, who many projected as a 1st rounder. Riley, West and Jackson have to figure out the guard situation where Thompson, Wright, Curry, Ellis etc... will all be in the mix, or he's gotta deal Ellis. In reality, they could use a 3-man rotation at the guard spot with Thompson learning behind Monta, then if Thompson asserts himself, Monta could become a big trade chip come February, but then you run the risk of damaging chemistry. Unless they have a plan to keep everyone happy and playing, it may have been wiser for Golden State to have taken that big man who could play 25-30 minutes per night right off the bat and allow their guard situation to gel as is, if that's what they want. Now Thompson makes you wonder a bit. The Warriors didn't need another scorer, certainly not a perimeter scorer. Now if they can deal one of these guards for a true big man, say an Al Jefferson from Utah, then I'd absolutely have an improved view on this pick. As of now though, I can't give them anything higher than a C+/B- for adding a guy who'd be lucky to be another Dorrell Wright-type.

The Dubs did get a big man though, sneaking in a late first rounder in a deal with Charlotte, but Jeremy Tyler is hardly the guy Warrior fans had in mind coming into this draft as the post factor they needed.

WRD Grade for Warriors Draft: C+

More NBA Draft Coverage to Come!

Warriors Draft Preview

The Draft is creeping up quicker than I anticipated, as the Golden State Warriors' brass, including the new comer, Mark Jackson, are currently cramming together their last minute game plan for the 2011 NBA draft.

There has been all sorts of names tossed out there from the Spanish "Dikembe", Bismack Biyambo, to Washington State SG Klay Thompson and Kansas PF Marcus Morris or even the free-falling Jimmer Freddette. It appears almost certain that the top-6 will be PG Kyle Irving, PF Derek Williams, PG Brandon Knight, C Enes Kanter, F Jan Vesely, and PG Kemba Walker. Obviously, you can tell it's a point guard heavy draft, and it just so happens the teams selecting high in the draft could certainly use a strong guard. That could also bode well for the Warriors, should they decide to try and pawn Monta Ellis off onto one of those teams in order to move into position to get an Enes Kanter or Derek Williams, but that's all speculation. What I do believe though, is there is going to be somebody worth drafting when the Warriors select 11th in Thursday's NBA Draft. A lot of basketball people feel Washington State junior SG Klay Thompson would be a nice fit. A big, 6'6" 2 guard who can shoot the lights out and could look very nice along side Steph Curry in the backcourt. Problem with Thompson though, is that he lacks defense, and isn't a great play-maker yet.

The guy I'm hoping will fall down to the W's, who's know projected to go #10 to Milwaukee (according to DraftExpress), is the post-dominant Marcus Morris. The thing I like so much about Morris is that he reminds me of a young Elton Brand and is a guy who lives in the paint and succeeds. As much as the Warriors were hoping David Lee would be that guy last year, that really just isn't his style, he's more of a free-playing power forward who runs around. I think the Warriors could draft Morris and use him with Lee on the front line a lot, giving the team 2 completely different looks up front. Then they could use Epke Udoh and Andris Biedrins as purely rebounders and defenders with no obligation of scoring. It would also enable the team to keep the duo-guard threat of Curry and Ellis, which appears their plan. Either way, if the Warriors are indeed going to deal Ellis, it better certainly be for a sure thing, and not another Jason Richardson deal! They better get a Brandon Knight or Kyle Irving or a young, all-star NBA point guard which would allow Steph to move into his more natural spot.

5 Possible Draft Scenarios:

-Draft a true PG, trade Monta, move Steph to SG
-Draft big man scoring presence, the type David Lee did not provide (Morris)
-Draft big bodied defender/shot blocker, the Adonal Foyel that never produced (Biyombo)
-Scoring SG (Thompson), allowing a trade of Ellis or Lee for another big scoring threat
-Trade down

Dark Horses:

SG Alex Burks, Colorado: Burks is a bright young scorer who reminds me very much of Jason Richardson with a twist of Dwayne Wade the way he gets to the hoop. Not quite polished from beyond the arch, which may hurt him, but I still think he's a better all-around player than Klay Thompson.

SF Chris Singleton, Florida St.: Super defender, but may not have a place in Golden State with the emergence of Dorrell Wright, but would compliment the 3-point sniper, as well as come in and overpower strong SG's with ease. Still isn't quite a polished scorer, though that could come.

My Hope: Marcus Morris or Alex Burks (latest poll has him dropping out of top-10... He and Steph would be amazing.. Kidd and Terry Pt. 2, but better, and no Monta attitude!). I really think Freddette is a great talent, but he's basically a Stephen Curry clone, and what the heck would they do if they ended up with Freddette, Curry and Ellis, all 6'2" tweener guards? That said, my draft philosophy in all draft, unless your picking in the top-10, is take the best player available and that's what I think I see the W's doing. If they don't like any of the top-15 players, they should trade down a few spots and target Marcus Morris's brother Markieff Morris, a real physical center (6'11'', 260 pounds) who has the skill-set to come in and take the job right away from Biedrins.

My Guess: SG Klay Thomspon or F/C Bismack Biyambo: The Warriors are gaga over Thompson, and I have a hard time seeing them pass on him if he falls to them... If he doesn't, Biyambo should, and the W's will see the defensive upside and go for it!

Around the World of Sports with BASJ

Like we try to do at least once a month here at the Bay Area Sports Journal, we wanted to take a look around the sports world, beyond what's happening just here in the Bay Area. With MLB baseball underway, the NCAA tournament just finished and the NFL draft and NBA playoffs just around the corner, their is certainly no shortage of topics to discuss.

MLB: We'll start in the MLB, where the season is barely a week old, and a few surprises have stuck out early. A few of the teams that are off to the hottest starts, are the teams that a lot of people had finishing in the cellar of their division. Perhaps the most impressive of all have been the Baltimore Orioles and Toronto Blue Jays. Both are stocked with young talent, but neither looked to have much of a shot in the tough AL East, but they are off to terrific starts. In the AL Central, the Royals are atop early with a 5-1 record as they're finally getting some production from Alex Gordon and the rest of that young roster. The AL West holds Baseball's only undefeated team in the reigning AL Champion Texas Rangers, also a team that not a lot of people were expecting to strive like they have, even after their World Series appearance last fall. Over in the NL, things are a little more to script, with the Phills on top in East, Cinci in the Central and the Rockies taking the early lead in a struggling NL West. Much like in 2010, it looks 2011 could have some playoff teams that surprise you.

NCAA Basketball: We'll move onto NCAA hoops, where I'll admit, I didn't get into as much as I have in years past. I was so focused on spring training and the leading up the 2011 MLB season to put much stock into the tourney, but I did watch some of that National Championship game, in which Connecticut dominated with defense. UConn was the clear-cut favorites, but Butler hung in there in the first half. But in the 2nd half, the Huskies pulled away, getting good performances out of their star, Kemba Walker (16 points, 9 rebounds, 2 assists) and sophomore forward Alex Oriakhi (11 pts, 11 boards) and ended Butler's Cinderella story.

NBA: Like with the NCAA Tourney, I haven't been nearly as focused on the NBA as I have with baseball and football, but it's almost playoff time, and that's going to change. The Spurs and the Bulls are the top teams from their respective conferences, record-wise at least, but I don't think those two will necessarily be representing the East and West in the Finals. The Spurs aren't the league's youngest team, and they are dealing with some health issues. Tim Duncan is battling nagging injuries that have tremendously cut into his production this season, and I just don't know if they'll beat the Lakers in a best of 7. If LA gets knocked out before the Spurs would have to face them, then I think they can pull it off, but LA is the one team that can stop them, I believe. In the East, the Bulls have the record, the Heat have the talent and Boston has the experience. So they have 3 teams with a legit shot. If I were a betting man, I'd put my money on a 2010 repeat or Boston vs. LA.

NFL: We'll finish up with the NFL today, where there just hasn't been much to talk about, unless you really like discussing Lockout terms and news, which I can't stand and won't do. With this lockout keeping teams from doing anything with current NFL players and free agents, the draft is about the only thing we get to focus on right now, and it's approaching quickly (April 28th). This is one of the oddest drafts in recent years, not only because of the lockout, but because there is such uncertainty surrounding the #1 pick. In years past, it's been pretty clear leading up to the draft, who would go #1, but right now, it really could be 1 of 6 or 7 players. The Panthers are a team with a lot of needs, but they just drafted Jimmy Clausen last year and I don't think they're ready to just cast him aside. I'm thinking they'll go defense or possibly grab star receiver A.J. Green. They could even trade down a few slots with a team who wants to ensure they get their pick of the litter at quarterback, like Arizona, Buffalo, Tennessee or Washington. If your into the NFL draft, then this is a site you'll want to be frequenting, because between now and April 28th, I'd say the NFL draft will get about 75% of our focus.

Around the World of Sports With the BASJ

Well, with tons of things happening all over sports right now, including the start of spring training for the A's and Giants as well as the NBA trade-deadline which returned a familiar face to Golden State in Troy Murphy. So instead of just focusing on one or 2 topics in toady's post, we'll do sort of a state of the sports union address as the sports world transitions from the NFL period to MLB and NBA playoff time.

MLB: Well, being an A's and Giants site, you know what we'll be mentioning here, though to allow more room in the post, we saved our Giants work for The Giants Baseball Blog. So that leaves the A's, who started their Cactus League play Sunday are are right in the midst of getting their backside handed to them by the Anaheim Angels. Until late March, you won't ever see me express concern over losing, or giving up runs, but if I see players who aren't doing their job and aren't properly prepping themselves for the season, then we have a a problem. Not saying that's happening with the A's on Sunday, but they look pretty rough early on.... On a more positive Green and Gold note, A's left-handed ace Brett Anderson threw in an intrasquad game on Saturday and was nearly perfect in his 6 batters faced. He threw only 20 pitches to get the 6 outs and allowed only a few softly hit ground balls..... Good News A's fans, but I want to see him in some games before long before my confidence is sound.

NBA: The Trade deadline has come and gone and although everyone and their grandmother are probably already aware of the Melo-NY deal, but amazingly, there were some other trades that took place in the NBA prior to the deadline that didn't involve the news-hoarding 'Melo. Other than that though there were just two other deals that really garnered national headlines, those being Gerald Wallace's deal to Portland and Deron Williams heading to Jersey for a bunch of draft picks and a poor mans version of himself who can't seem to stay healthy... Deron Williams is a star point-guard, top-5 in the NBA and he'll make a difference for the Nets, but they need more than that... As far as Harris, I guess Coach Sloan thinks his injury days are behind him and he can mold him into a Williams'-type. He's got 1/2 of season to do so for next year and I see similar traits in the two on the court. The 2 first two picks help Utah in the long run, so long as Harris stays healthy, they win this deal. Then again, if Harris is a 40-game-a-year player from here on out, and the draft picks don't pan out, the Jazz win it hands down. They knew the stakes, and they played their cards. Wouldn't have been my play, but they felt they had to mix things up.


NFL: With so much talk about the NFL possible lockout and combine stuff, I wanted to steer clear from that and just point out a few notes involving your very own San Francisco 49ers.

Now, Coach Jim Harbough has gone nowhere near close to saying Alex Smith will start at QB for the 49ers in 2011, but he didn't rule him out as a possible member of their 53-man roster come September. Now that comes to the surprise of just about everybody, and I personally think Harbough said that solely for the purpose to up Smith's value to other teams. Let's face it, Alex Smith has played his last down in the red and gold and there's no way I think the fans would even let him in the stadium if he did come back (even though it was only about 50% his fault for his failure there but that's for another day). So, who does that leave, I think you go two options:
1) Trade for Kevin Kolb or 2) Sign McNabb, otherwise it's second-tiere college guy coming in and takign the reigns and I'd almost rather have Alex Smith.

-Quick Take on Two Potential Targets:

#1 Kevin Kolb Phi.: Obviously butting heads in Philly with Reid and Vick and you know he's not lasting in Philly. He, to me, is next in line with the Aaron Rogers' and the Matt Ryan's, problem is most NFL GM's are privy to that too, so he'll be costly. The type of QB you can build around, though the one knock is that he doesn't have the best arm strength... I personally would take him over all the available throwers the NFL trade-block has to offer this spring/summer.

#2 Donovan McNabb Was.: Like Kolb, has had trouble with coaching and has clearly lost some skill. Still though, he wins, and he knows what to do in pressure situations, an area in which typically ended in a turnover in the Alex Smith-era. Age is not a huge issue (32) but he wouldn't be a long term answer. With him, the run game of Gore and targets like VD and MC, the Niners could be an NFC contender in 2011.

Melo Exits Denver, Welcomed in New York

My favorite part about this site and the reason that I had in mind when I created it, was to be able to branch out and discuss topics outside of just the Bay Area sports teams, and after a blockbuster deal went down in the NBA last night, tonight is one of those exceptions.

The disgruntled all-start small forward finally got his season long wish Monday, as the Denver Nuggets dealt their franchise player and leading scorer to the New York Knicks, and he wasn't the only Nugget to leave town. Not only are they losing their top attention-drawer and centerpiece, but they also had to give up the component that makes their team go in Chauncey Billups. I think just by reading those few sentences, you already know where I stand on this deal. Now, it's not like the Nuggets just gave up Anthony and Billups, they'll be receiving promising young players in their own right, it's just that these guys don't project out to be the caliber of player that Carmelo Anthony does and Chauncey Billups is. Denver will be bringing in Raymond Felton to take over for Chauncey and Wilson Chandler and Danillo Gallinari to fill in for Carmello, and I actually think that particular part of this trade is a win for them. Felton is about 8 years Billups' Jr., and is in the midst of a career year that has him averaging 17 points, 3.5 boards and 9 assists per night. He's not quite gained the leadership experience that Billups has, but if the Nuggets are looking towards 2011-'12 and beyond, this is a guy who could fit nicely into their plans. Chandler and Gallinari are still very raw, but both have upside. They'll never be Carmelo Anthony, but they can play defense and do some different things for you. Without the microscope in NY, I think they'll fair just fine.

Onto the Knicks now, who have drastically improved their chances at making a run in the East this year, but they still have to figure out a way for everyone to mesh. 3/5 of their starting 5 from the last 2 weeks are no longer with the team and that's not just going to be a seamless transition. That's were Billups is so key, and likely the reason why the Knicks were so adamant on him being in involved in this deal. He's your prototypical on-court general and should gain the respect of the younger, more know-it-all generation of Knicks like Wilson Chandler and Landry Fields. But all in all, I think this is a great move for the New York Knicks and should put them back inthe Eastern Conference playoffs for the first time in years (Spike Lee finally get's to appear trash-talking opponents on national TV again!).

This is the way I'd set up the Knicks starting five if I were coach D'Antoni:

PG: Chauncey Billups
SG: Landry Fields
SF: Carmelo Anthony
PF: Amar'e Stoudemire
C: Ronny Turiaf

The question for them aside from their depth in the front court, is their weakness at center. Turiaf is a nice role player, and on a team like the Lakers, make he'd be hidden, but that's the area of concern for NY now and there isn't much time between now and Friday's deadline to do anything. Billups can do it all, including set people up. Fields is an excellent defender and rebounding guard and can score if he has to, but he really doesn't. Carmello and Stoudemire will be the main source of points and rebounds and I think they could do a fine job so long as they stay healthy. There would be some defensive deficiencies, but the offensive firepower would make up for them. If they aren't content on Turiaf at center, they could go out an nab someone like LA's Chris Kaman, Memphis' Marc Gasol or Sacramento's Samuel Dalembert. They don't need a scorer up there, they need a big bodied rebounder who can clear space for Stoudemire and I don't think Turiaf is that guy.

Magic/Wizards Trade Shakes Up the East

The Orlando Magic greatly increased their chances at making some noise in the NBA Playoffs, and although the Heat's James-Bosh-Wade trio will be a tough assignment, the Magic have positioned themselves for a legit run at Miami and Boston in the East.

The key to this deal for Orlando is Arenas. If he can get back to his pre-injury/gun-totting ways and focus on basketball, he's still one of the best play-makers in the NBA at age 28. And Warrior fans are well aware of J-Rich's abilities when he's on, he can be an explosive scoring 2-guard. All the Magic had to part with were the aging and in-effective Vince Carter and Rashard Lewis. I know contract issues probably have a lot to do with this deal, but talent wise, I'd say the Magic robbed Washington blind. Again, a big part of it will be Arenas getting healthy and on track, but he doesn't even necessarily have to start since Orlando has Jameer Nelson on board, so they can ease him back into his full, starting load, which doesn't look too far off. Richardson, on the other hand, is having one of his better season's of his career averaging nearly 20 points and 5 boards per night. So after this deal, the Magic starting-5 look like this:

PG: Gilbert Arenas/Jameer Nelson
SG: Jason Richardson
SF: Hedo Turkoglu
PF: Brandon Bass
C: Dwight Howard

This also strengthens their bench. They have Quentin Richardson, Jameer Nelson (or Arenas if he doesn't start), Ryan Anderson, Chris Duhon and JJ Reddick all playing big roles off the bench. The one upside the Magic have on Boston and Miami is that they have that 7-foot beast in Howard, who is heads and shoulders above the other centers in the South East Conference. I can't wait to see the new-look Magic take on the so called "best talented NBA team" in the Miami Heat. If Howard and Arenas are both healthy and on their game, my bet goes to the Magic.

T.O. to Cinci, Chris Paul looking for Trade?

One of the main reasons I started this blog was to be able to branch out and give my opinion on other things happening across the nation in the sporting world. I started my Giants Baseball Blog in late 2005 and then a Golden Stat Warriors Blog in early 2008, but I've never really dedicated posts to topics outside of these Bay Area Teams. We've done that occasionally here at BASJ, but with the Major League Baseball playoff race heating up, NBA free agency in full swing, and the NFL training camp underway, I am going to start doing it with more frequency.

Today, we'll be taking a quick gander at some of the hot topics going on in sports this week, starting with Terrell Owens pending nuptials with the Cincinnati Bengals... Two wide receivers on one team with their own reality show? Seems like a lot of drama from the outside, but I have a strange feeling that this is going to be a good thing for both the Bengals and T.O. It immediately gives the Bengals the best receiving corps in the game, all-in-all. Say what you want about New England, or New Orleans, opposing defenses are going to have a hard time figuring out how to contain not only Ochocinco, but now Owens, Antonio Bryant (122 catches, 1848 yards, 11 TD's in his last 29 games) and their prize new rookie target, tight-end Jermaine Greshem. Add those options to a fully recovered Carson Palmer and you may have the best aerial attack in the NFL. They also have the late-blooming Cedric Benson (1251, 6 TD's in '09) handling the rushing duties, and as long as they can keep everyone happy, should have the premiere offense in the NFL.

Also grabbing some headlines this week is the Chris Paul/Hornet's fiasco that may end with Paul playing in a new city. If Chris Paul is indeed on the outs in New Orleans, the Warriors should seriously consider putting together a package. They did deal away a few of their bullets when they added David Lee a couple weeks back, but they still have enough that could entice New Orleans I think. Any potential package would have to start around Monta Ellis or Stephen Curry, but it would be well worth it. Bringing Chris Paul to Oakland would be 3-times as big as when they got Baron Davis from those same New Orleans Hornets. My guess though is that he makes well with Hornets' management though and sticks around, if not, Cleveland needs a new face after LeBron left them high and dry and could see Paul as the perfect fit.

Note: As always, if your looking for more in-depth news on the San Francisco Giants or the Golden State Warriors, be sure to check out The Giants Baseball Blog and The Warriors Rundown. We'll certainly discuss both teams here when relevant, but if you've been following us, and as you can tell by the post distribution, we save the majority of our Giants and Warriors talk for their specific sites.

NBA Free Agency Starts, Warriors Quiet

The NBA free agency period is starting to materialize, and some of the top free agents in the league are setting meetings with different teams, and this year their is no shortage of premiere-level free agents.

The 2010 free-agent class is quite possibly the best one to date. The two big dogs of the bunch, Dwayne Wade and Lebron James are both set to visit New Jersey and Chicago, and apparently have mutual interest in trying to land at the same destination. Wade is also apparently keeping a close eye on what happens with Chris Bosh, one of the premiere big men on the market this summer. Among the other free-agents available right now are Amare Stoudemire, Joe Johnson, Dirk Nowitzki, Carlos Boozer, David Lee, Ray Allen and Paul Pierce. That list also included Rudy Gay up until this afternoon, but the 24 year-old swingman signed a 5-year, $82 million deal to stay in Memphis. I think Nowitzki will end back up in Dallas, and it looks like Joe Johnson is headed back to Atlanta as they're trying to do all they can to bring back their leader. Other than those guys though, things look wide open right now for the rest of the bunch.

Although there are a handful of guys available that could come right in and help the Golden State Warriors, It doesn't appear as if Larry Reilly and Co. are ready to go down that road. The last time they dipped into free agency with big dollars, they ended up with Corey Maggette, and I think that may have scared them away from spending big in free agency. It's just that this year, there is are a couple of guys that could really help steer this franchise in the right direction, much like Baron Davis did for them after coming over in 2006. Those two guys are Carlos Boozer and/or Amare Stoudemire. I personally would like to have Stoudemire, as he's a 27 year-old. just entering his prime, with monster talent and the size/strength that this team needs. I think a bold move like that would not only put them back in the playoff hunt, but make them a factor in the Western Conference. It's definitely worth keeping an eye on at the very least, as I hope Nelson and Reilly are doing the same.

Deadline Passes, Amare Stays Put

So many people, myself included, felt Amare Stoudemire's time in Phoenix would expire Thursday, There were a couple of teams that had major interest (Heat and Cavs to begin with) that were trying to come up with a package that would meet the Suns' desire, but in the end, Stoudemire will be staying put in Phoenix, at least to finish off the 2009-'10 season.

As I said in our last post here, none of the packages that the Heat or Cavs could offer would have matched up with what the Suns wanted from the Warriors for Stoudemire this summer. They wanted at least Andris Biedrins and Stephen Curry and probably would have also requested either Anthony Randolph or Brandon Wright. The names that were atop the Cleveland/Miami offers were JJ Hickson and Michael Beasley. Don't get me wrong, Beasley and Hickson are both very nice, young talents that could turn out to be studs, but those guys don't come close to comparing with Amare Stoudemire, who is arguably the top power forward in the West when he's right. Instead, the Cavs settled for Antawn Jamison, who cost them Zydrunas Illgauskas and their 2010 first round pick. The addition of Jamison makes the Cavs stronger, and I do think they'll represent the East in the NBA Finals this year, but I still don't think they match-up with LA well enough to beat them in a 7-game series. The Heat wisely stood pat, and decided to hang onto Beasley, Mario Chalmers and all their draft choices and I think it was a good decision by them. Unless they could have gotten Stoudemire without having to part with too much, and I think Beasely, Chalmers and a draft choice would have been too much, I don't think they really could have competed with the Cavs in the Playoffs anyway.

There were some other pretty big names on the move though Thursday, with Tracy McGrady going to New York, Caron Butler and Josh Howard swapping teams, Kevin Martin to the Rockets and '10 dunk contest winner Nate Robinson heading to Boston. I'm a big fan of the trade deadline in all sports, especially the baseball and basketball deadlines as they seem to be the most active. Normally, a trade deadline has winners and losers. Now, all teams who made deals did so for there own reasons, but there were definitely some teams that made moves that really left there team without a direction or a core to build around (see Washington Wizards). Here are the teams that I think came out the best and the teams that could have done better, the 3 "winners" and the 3 teams that really could be kicking themselves if things don't go as planned for them this summer:

Winners:

3. Cleveland Cavaliers: They didn't get Stoudemire, but I don't think there's any doubt that they improved themselves as a team. They clearly have made themselves the team to beat in the Eastern Conference and they should, barring injury or major upset, be in the Finals the talent they have now accumulated on that roster.

2. Dallas Mavericks: I like the additions of Butler and Brendan Heywood. They needed the size in Haywood now that Dampier is out for a while, and I think Butler's a much better fit, and really is the better player, than Howard was in Dallas. Butler can play the 2, and is a very strong defender, something they really need in Dallas. Overall, strong move for Mavs and it certainly better suits them to face LA now that they have Butler to guard Kobe.

1. Houston Rockets: The Rockets win with a few moves. First off, they cashed in on Tracy McGrady, and turned him into Jordan Hill, Jarrod Jeffries and the chance to swap first rounders with NY in 2011, and their 2012 first rounder. Hill was a top-10 pick from last July, and is still very raw, but he'll get plenty of time in Houston to prove himself, and I do think he's going to end up being a pretty good ballplayer. Oh yeah, they also added one of the top scoring 2 guards in the league in Kevin Martin. The addition of Martin helps the Rockets in so many ways, like allowing Trevor Ariza to move to his natural spot, small forward, and gives Houston a premiere outside shooter to team up with Yao Ming. I just really like Houston's depth and size, and they could be one of the top teams in the West with a healthy Yao Ming in 2010-11.

Losers:

3. LA Clippers: The Clippers, just like the Kings and Wizards, just gave away a few valuable pieces to their roster. They sent Marcus Camby to Portland for Steve Blake and Travis Outlaw. That's giving up a premiere defensive big-man for two career, 20-minute-a-night bench/role players. Granted, Blake and Outlaw are solid NBA bench players when healthy, they are just role players. The deal left Clippers players even scratching their heads and questioning the move and that means they've got to be questioning management and the direction of the team in general. It goes further than just dealing away a player for 2, much lesser players. They also sent Al Thornton, a young, athletic forward with upside, though he had been struggling, to Washington to clear cap space in hopes of landing a big fish in free agency this summer.

2. New York Knicks: The Knicks did clear up cap space for this summer, but they have some much work to be done, and are so far away from being a contender, that I think they're going to have a tough time actually louring free agents to come there. And if they end up failing to add one or two of the top guys out there, than these moves will really look bad come next fall. T-Mac's contract expires at the end of the year, but I think they could have gotten someone who could help them out for a couple of years on the cheap by giving up a top pick like Jordan Hill. I guess the Knicks just didn't see Hill ever succeeding for them in NY, but I think he should have gotten more of a chance. You just don't give up a top-10 talent for 2 months of Tracy McGrady when your in rebuilding mode.

1. Washington Wizards: The Kings get strong consideration here as well, but at least they are left with some sort of direction. The Wizards just got rid of everyone for the bare minimum in return compared to what they gave up. I understand they want to rebuild, but they shouldn't have just completely overhauled their roster, especially without bringing back a piece that they could build around. This year, they've already lost Gilbert Arenas, now they just lost 3/4 of their starting 5 from the beginning of the year, giving away Antawn Jamison, Caron Butler and Brendan Haywood. They should have kept Caron Butler. Instead, the top player on their roster is now probably Al Thornton and that's just sad. As the dust settles after the flurry of deals, I think the Wizards are now the worst team in the NBA, at least on paper, running our a starting five of PG Randy Foye, SG Mike Miller, SF Josh Howard, PF Al Thornton, C Andray Blatche. Oh yeah, I almost forgot to mention, their team president doesn't forsee them getting involved in the bidding for Dwayne Wade, Lebron James, Chris Bosh or Joe Johnson... What a positive situation.