No Blood No Foul

In the last couple of days, it’s been reported that Chris Bosh has given the Raptors a list of teams he’d like to play for next season. While this news has been denied by Bosh’s agent, it’s been confirmed by Raptors GM Colangelo. Colangelo’s confirmation seems like pretty strong evidence Bosh has requested a sign and trade because:

1. Confirming the existence of the list hurts Bosh’s image with Toronto’s fans. The fact that a list officially exists hurts Bosh’s standing with fans. Colangelo wouldn’t do that to his star player unless he felt like his chances of staying in Toronto were slim.

2. Colangelo is starting the sign-and-trade ball rolling. Now that NBA GM’s are aware Bosh can be had, it’s time for them to start calling Toronto and making a pitch to Colangelo. Obviously, the final move is up to Chris Bosh…but if someone calls and offers a superstar to Toronto to try and acquire Bosh, that’s going to help set the value for a sign-and-trade. The next question is… (more…)

Anthony Carter is going to get the blame, but the Nuggets lost this game in the last 3 minutes. They simply don’t have the experience in close games. A silly reach in foul, one poor rotation, and one bad possession is all it takes to lose in a game like this.

Denver’s disadvantage on the boards is profound. They’never been good on the boards this season…if only McDyess had stayed. The Nuggets are still one big man away.

By the way, I’m pretty sure that Carter isn’t the Nuggets best passer. Why is he making the in-bounds on the most critical possession of the game? Karl’s confidence in his role players is great, but he deserves part of the blame here as well. (more…)

Here’s what the Lakers-Nuggets 2008-2009 Western Conference Finals are going to look like:

Point Guards – Billups and Carter vs. Fisher, Farmar, and Brown. There’s an awful lot to like about L.A.’s trio of point guards. Brown is lightening quick, Farmar is a talented shooter and capable player, and Fisher is big, strong, and clutch. Denver’s Anthony Carter is a good game manager and a great defender, but I don’t think he’ll be able to match the point output from Brown and Farmar. Lucky for Denver, Chauncey will easily outplay Fisher. Advantage: Nuggets.

Shooting Guards – Dahntay Jones and J.R. Smith vs. Vujacic and some guy named Kobe. If the series lasts 7 games, there will be 1 game where J.R. Smith almost matches Kobe offensively – ONE. Most of the time, Kobe will double up J.R.’s scoring. When you add in Kobe’s defensive abilities and his superman powers, he wins the match-up all by himself.

Having said that, I wouldn’t be surprised if Jones managed to get under Kobe’s skin a little in this series. In fact, the best thing Jones can do is figure out a way to get Kobe suspended (sounds like a crappy job). Advantage: Lakers (and it’s big). (more…)

As we all know, December 15th is an important date as far as making an NBA trade is concerned. By rule, it’s the first day that free agents signed during the summer can be traded. Typically, this flexibility opens up a lot of trade possibilities and triggers some shuffling. So, without further delay, here’s my list of the ten NBA players most likely to be traded beginning Dec. 15th. (more…)

May 30th. June 17th. August 20th. Three different days, but the same message. “Trade me.” As if that weren’t enough to convince all the Laker faithful that the end of the Kobe Bryant era is near, let me explain what’s going to happen if the Lakers DON’T trade Kobe soon:

Kobe will be sitting out the season by March 1, 2008.

Here’s why: (more…)

VS.

I’m tired of hearing about Lebron. From his recent trip to Hollywood to his new talent management agency, people just can’t stop talking about this guy. Don’t get me wrong — Lebron is an excellent player and a supreme talent, easily one of the top five players in the league. It’s just that Lebron really hasn’t achieved enough to deserve all the hype. In fact, I’d argue Kobe deserves twice the attention that Lebron gets. Here’s why: (more…)