No Blood No Foul

Byron Scott hates playing youngsters, and he’s in desperate trouble. If this team of his doesn’t start winning soon, he’ll be working the playoffs from a desk at ESPN.

Stephen Jackson would rather be anywhere but Golden State, and his play is showing it. Whatever trade value he had before, it’s lower now.

Seems to me that a deal could be made that would benefit both teams. Stephen Jackson ($7.65 million this year) for Wright and Posey ($8.03 million).

Here’s what I like about this deal: Read the rest

If you’re looking for a full recap of the game, both Bust a Bucket and The Nugg Doctor have done a nice job of breaking down last night’s game from each fan perspective.

Here are some thoughts I have about the game that I haven’t seen mentioned:

1. McMillan needs to resolve the PG question. I believe McMillan yanked Andre Miller at about the 6 min mark in the 4th quarter last night. Blake wasn’t playing nearly as well as Miller last night, and when Dre sat down the look on his face said it all. McMillan recognized his mistake at about 3 mins, but by then Blake had thrown a nasty turn-over. I recognize that it’s early, but I see this being a source of concern in Portland.

Miller is the better player, and the fact that McMillan isn’t starting him could upset team chemistry. Or it might not. As I said, it’s a concern in my mind.

2. Denver needs Read the rest

If you haven’t already seen it, check out my 2009-2010 NBA Season Predictions for the Eastern Conference.

First, some assumptions:

1. That all the important players stay mostly healthy.
2. That there aren’t any major trades. Obviously this will change, but when it does the rankings will be updated (if I have time).
3. That some lame-o (who isn’t bold enough to publish their own predictions before the season begins) will criticize me when the season ends. Lame.

In order of how they’ll finish…

1) L.A. Lakers

Possibilities: Another trophy.

Problems: Point guards. On both sides of the ball. Quick guards like Brooks and Paul can carve them up. Fisher is getting old. Farmar isn’t the guy. (Good thing Kobe is more than capable of playing point guard.)

Prognosis: They are the best in the league. Bynum’s inevitable improvement will counter the inevitable decline of Derek Fisher, and anyone who thinks Artest can hurt this team is flat-out crazy. They are the team to beat. Read the rest

Here it is – my attempt at predicting the future. Last season I was too busy to write a post, but not this year.

First, some assumptions:

1. All the important players stay (mostly) healthy.
2. There aren’t any major trades. Obviously this will change, but when it does the rankings will be updated (if I have time).
3. When I get one or more of these predictions wrong, some lame-wad who isn’t bold enough to make his or her predictions publicly BEFORE the season will ridicule me. So be it.

In order of how they’ll finish…

1) Boston Celtics

Possibilities: Eastern Conference Finals (ECF) or NBA Finals

Problems: Father time and a need for a backup PG.

Prognosis: Boston matches up nicely with Cleveland and Orlando, not to mention LA and San Antonio. This team is better and deeper than the team that won a championship two years ago. If anyone can knock off the Lakers, the Celtics are it. Read the rest

I’ve spent some time the last couple of days trying to figure out how the Jazz can trade Boozer for anyone or anything of substantial value, and I have to admit I’m stymied. Unless OKC decides to help facilitate a trade (which seems unlikely considering neither team is willing to part with anything OKC wants), it’s hard to imagine Utah doing a deal that works. I’m going to list off all the possible deals I see and finish with the deal I think makes the most sense – Lee and Mobley for Boozer and Harpring. Read the rest

If you watched the playoffs back in May and June, you can see that the Denver Nuggets need depth at the center position. While there’s been talk of working a deal for Jeff Foster (and I like that possibility), I think Kurt Thomas represents an excellent opportunity to grab a championship-caliber veteran player without giving up much of anything (a.k.a Steven Hunter – no offense).

Kurt Thomas would be a great Denver Nugget

Here’s what I like about Denver trading for Kurt Thomas (aside from the fact that Thomas is a better player than Steven Hunter): Read the rest