No Blood No Foul

A report on Yahoo Sports today says that the Phoenix Suns are considering moving Amar’e Stoudemire. Rumors abound that Amar’e is dissatisfied with his new coach, his reduced offensive role, and the fact that people keep asking him to play defense. This shouldn’t come as a surprise – the knock on Amar’e since he joined the NBA has been his attitude.

Still, it must be said that Amar’e can flat-out ball. The guy has moves, an excellent mid-range game, and he can finish. If the Suns really are interested in moving Amar’e for a combination of youth and expiring contracts (as the report on Yahoo suggested), there are only a handful of teams that have a legit opportunity to land Amar’e. (more…)

Gerald Wallace is on the trading block. The rationale? Jared Dudley and Adam Morrison are capable players who are stuck behind Wallace, and Michael Jordan and Larry Brown believe they can make up for a loss of Wallace with the pieces they have. MJ and LB want a big man to pair with Okafor, and since Wallace seems to be replaceable, why not move him?

San Antonio NEEDS to get involved in the Gerald Wallace trade sweepstakes – he’s exactly what they need. A dynamic scorer and a solid defender, he’s got a great work ethic and he understands the Spurs ‘team-first’ philosophy. Not to mention the fact that Wallace gives the Spurs a decent chance of winning some games while Manu Ginobili (and now Tony Parker) recover.

Even better, Gerald Wallace is a player that wouldn’t cost the Spurs hardly anything.

Tell me you wouldn’t like to see Gerald Wallace, Tony Parker, Manu Ginobili, and Tim Duncan face off against the Hornets or the Lakers in the playoffs?

Here’s how San Antonio can get their hands on Gerald Wallace: (more…)

Antonio McDyess was included in the recent Allen Iverson – Chauncy Billups trade, and the trouble is he doesn’t want to play in Denver. Evidently, McDyess is still upset about the way he was treated in 2002 when Denver traded him away to the Knicks. Denver has tried to pursue a buyout with McDyess, but their offer (about 50% of what Antonio is owed) isn’t getting McDyess excited. Evidently, he wants most of his money AND he wants to go play somewhere else while he gets checks from Denver.

What is the world coming to? How can anyone expect such a thing? (more…)

It’s a shame that Iverson – one of the greatest small guards to ever play the game (if not THE greatest) – has to leave Denver. The, however, writing is on the wall – the Melo – A.I. experiment has failed. Here’s why Denver’s got to trade A.I.:

1) Denver risks losing Iverson for nothing if they don’t trade him. The argument here is simple – keep Iverson, and you risk him leaving for nothing this time next year. It’s just good business to trade players in their last season.

2) Iverson’s defense is holding Denver back. Don’t get me wrong – I’m not saying that Iverson is the problem on defense. The truth is, even without Iverson, there are a lot of guys that need to improve defensively (cough – MELO -  cough). However, Iverson’s defensive risk taking and lack of focus give the Nuggets opponents a lot of opportunities. While his scoring will be missed, just about anyone can replace him and improve the Nuggets defensively. (more…)

The Denver Nuggets have the honor of being the only second 50 win team in the history of the NBA to be swept in the first round of the playoffs (since the best of seven format began). Here’s what went wrong:

> Bad defensive habits.

The much-maligned Nuggets defense improved in the last year, but not enough to overcome their chronic lack of focus. The Nuggets spent just as much time this season playing bad defense as they did playing good defense. They often played to the level of their competition – like beating a tough San Antonio team twice in Denver, then losing a “must win” game to a young Seattle team during the last week of the season.

> Melo’s lack of maturity.

Carmelo is a tremendous scorer, and he’s becoming an excellent passer and a solid rebounder. Unfortunately, he’s yet to develop into a leader. His meltdown after game 3 in the Lakers-Nuggets series underscored his biggest problem – his lack of maturity. He doesn’t understand that his individual defensive efforts would translate to better team defense. Not to mention his DUI that came the week before the playoffs. He’s the best player – he needs to set the tone.

> Chemistry. (more…)

I’m a baaaad Nuggets fan. I don’t focus on the things they do well – transition offense, creating turnovers, their ever-improving inside-out game, their ability to play through injuries, or the fact that on any given night they can beat any team in the NBA. Instead, I focus on the fact the Nuggets are lazy (like the dog in the picture).

They’re not playing defense (at least not consistently). Every game I see them take a play or a series of plays off – I’ve even seen them take entire quarters off. Not a game goes by that I don’t see the Nuggets fail to challenge a shooter. It’s sickening – all it takes is a little effort to run out and put a hand in someone’s face, yet no one moves. That’s the definition of bad perimeter defense. Local beat writers are finally starting to pick up on this – according to the Denver Post, the Nuggets win more games when they defend the 3pt line than when they don’t. Too bad I’ve been lambasting the Nuggets for this since before the season started.

They’re not running enough. Running creates a lot of easy points, puts pressure on opposing defenses, and (more…)