the Suns are done and they have been since the moment they traded for back-rim Shaq. They promptly dropped from the top seed to sixth and there is no way in hell the Suns win a championship without home court advantage. Sure, they might finally beat the Spurs first round but really the time to do that was last year.

So, I present to you, your 2009 NBA Champion The Houston Rockets

The Rockets squandered homecourt and a clear path to the Western Conf. Finals last year, getting absolutely nothing from anyone not named Yao or TMac. They wont go far this year either without Yao. Tmac's FG% has always been iffy but this year he cant hit his free throws either. So why do I think theyll win it all next year?

Mutombo will come back for one more season. at least.

Their main weaknesses were PG and PF. All of the sudden they've got one of the best PF tandems in the league with Scola and Landry.

Alston has stepped up and silenced a lot of critics including me.

Brooks is a great back up for Alston.

Actually, their whole bench is great. dumping Bonzi for Bobby Jackson was brilliant.

Adelman will be able to curtail Yaos minutes by going small against certain teams.

Even if they dont win it all next year, mark them down for 2010. because even though Yao and Tmac are fragile, the Rockets' window is bigger than the Suns or the Celtics.

 

So it seems Steve Kerr is whining about Barry's incredibly obvious decision to return to the Spurs:

>>Kerr suggested on a Phoenix radio station it seemed to smell of an illegal, prearranged deal with Seattle GM Sam Presti, a former Spurs executive. "I think maybe there was something behind the scenes there," Kerr told KTAR-AM 620. "If I'm Seattle, I'm not going to let Barry go, I'm going to let Donyell Marshall go. Brent's a guy who is much more productive. Donyell Marshall doesn't have much more left in the tank. Sam Presti used to be in San Antonio as an assistant. Who knows? I don't have any proof." http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/rumors/post/Suns-think-something-smells-in-San-Antonio?urn=nba,69610#comments

This is simply Kerr trying to deflect attention from himself and the fact that HE IS A DEEP COVER SPURS AGENT WHO DELIBERATELY DESTROYED THE SUNS TEAM. 

Dont get me wrong, Im not a Suns fan.  I really despise the Suns coach D'Antoni and everytime I see his whiny screaming face I want to slap the sun out of him.  But this is a team that had the best record in the incredibly tough western conference when Kerr suddenly decided to trade for...Shaq?

The Suns were a weak defensive team that needed a strong interior defender so Kerr traded their best defender for....Shaq?

The Suns were an offensive juggernaut who changed the game with their Steve Nash run and gun offense so they trade for....someone who neither runs nor guns? 

Plain and simple, by trading for the Big Donut, Kerr sold out the team, sold out the dream, and demonstrated that he had no confidence in their leader and only clutch player, Steve Nash.

Dont get me wrong, Im not a huge Steve Nash fan.  As someone who plays on outdoor courts, its hard for me to respect a guy whose idea of defense is falling down on his back.  And he won two MVPs for being white, but thats totally not his fault.  My guess is he didnt want them in the first place.

But Nash is fun to watch, his team was fun to watch, and they came so very close to winning it all last year.  WHY IN THE HELL WOULD ANYONE IN THEIR RIGHT MIND BREAK UP A GREAT TEAM TO BRING IN A FAT 36-YR OLD WITH NO DEFENSE???  Why??  For the dim possibility of a one-and-done before the inevitable plummet like the Heat?

Isnt it weird how things always seem to go right for the Spurs?  How they get the right calls and the right trades at the right time?  Is it coincidence that former Spur Steve Kerr traded away the Suns one legit interior defender Kurt Thomas who found his way to the Spurs via former Spurs executive Sam Presti?  Yes.  They Are Everywhere.  The Men in Black.  Steve Kerr is one of Them.

 

 

 

I'd say yes, behind Howard obviously, now that the Big Donut needs a crane to hoist him to a standing position.  Some people might say JO or Rasheed Wallace rank above him, but these guys are not true centers.  Nonetheless, even if you include them their numbers are inferior to Z.  and Z is getting it done in limited minutes, his stats will probably continue to decrease as the Cavs try to make Floppy-Mop into some semblance of an NBA player, or at least get some trade value for his half-game.  Not too long ago, before Wig Boy came back, Z was averaging around 18 and 13.  Over the last four games he's only playing around 20min per, so his stats are a bit deceiving. I think it is probably a good idea to save Z for the postseason.  He's a legit low post threat and assuming the idiot Cavs GM makes a trade or two they could be right back in it.

Z:  13.1, 9.7, 46.4%, 30.4mpg and plummeting

ECurry:  14.4, 5.3, 54.3%, 27.8mpg

Rasheed: 12.8, 7.3, 43.2%, 31.5mpg

JO:  15.8, 7.4, 44.4%, 32.1mpg

Bogut?? 12.7, 8.9, 52.5%, 33.5mpg

Dalembert:  11.4, 9.8, 54.2%, 33.0 mpg.

D.Howard:  22.5, 15.2, 60.0%, 38.9mpg

Obviously Rasheed's numbers are across-the-board inferior to Z, so I dont know why everyone is saying he's the second best center in the east.  The surprise is Bogut, whose numbers are comparable to Z.  As for Curry, theres no way a seven foot guy should be averaging 5 rebounds,thats pathetic.  JO is a great offensive player who is obviously getting weary of putting the team on his shoulders every night while the GM makes stupid move after stupid move, and the team gets worse and worse.  If JO gets traded expect a resurgence, and a baffled silence from all the jack0ff couch m0nkeys who hate on him.  But if you've ever seen him play, he's obviously not a true center.  And frankly I was surprised to see Dalemberts offensive numbers are improving.  He's another guy that gets hated on for no reason but he's exactly what you want in a center a major defensive presence. But he's not quite there yet...for now Z is second best in the East....

 Now as to where Big Z ranks overall.....ehhh....maybe top ten but there are some great centers out west....Yao, Camby, Duncan, Bynum, Kaman, Chandler, Stoudemire, Miller, Gasol, Oden??...even Biedrins is averaging a double double...

Its probably just me overlooking something, because I know Fox would not engage in this type of censorship, but where is the coverage of Rasheed Wallace's statement comparing the NBA to Pro wrestling?  I dont see a single mention of it, but probably the Dime boys will address the matter on mon. as they are big pro wrestling fans. 

$$$

"I still don't think they (Cavaliers) beat us (in the playoffs), we beat ourselves," Wallace said. "And I think we also fell victim to that personal NBA thing where they are trying to make it a world game and get (television) ratings. They wanted to put their darling in there (the NBA Finals) and they did, and look what ended up happening.

"This game ain't basketball anymore, it's entertainment," Wallace said. "It's starting to get like the WWF. There ain't no real wrestling anymore either. It's all fake."

"If it's Friday, it must be Rasheed Wallace ," Stern said with a heavy sigh, according to the Detroit News.

"We have a great game and it provides a lot of people - Rasheed and myself included - a very good living," Stern said.

(*MSNBC News Services)

Mr. Stern, you make a very good point.  Heres a poll for you fox bloggers, if you dare.

1) you think there is no cheating, game fixing or ties to organized crime in professional sports.

2) you think that while there is some cheating, it is not a rampant problem.

3) you think that cheating is rampant, and there is some game fixing involving organized crime.

4) you think the NBA is scripted entertainment that just happens to star absurdly talented athletes who are paid to play ball, sell shoes and keep their mouths shut.  Its extremely rare for an athlete to come out and make this kind of accusation, and not that Im an expert but I cant think of another instance of this happening ever in any sport, including professional wrestling.  I also thought the Cavs were scripted in last year, but my impression was that the Pistons threw the game.  I cant respect people who dont have the honesty or guts to speak their mind, and despite whatever emotional problems he has Sheed is real as real.

$$$

 "We have a great game"  NFD

Well thats not going to happen if the cavs management value their safety in the erie.  anyway, that guy with a life size bust of himself with headband should be able to will them into the playoffs at this point if he gets even a little help.  but the cavs need to do whatever it takes to pry one of torontos pgs away. maybe varejao for calderon + graham or that other kid. Not to step on anyone's man-crush but last year was a  fluke, if you look at the path the cavs had to the finals they got the softest teams and detroit threw the game like another rasheed team the blazers v lakers, or either some other factor (cwebb) made the team gutless and lethargic.  You know what one of these days Im going to stop cracking on webber because Im sure that in person he's a super nice guy who contributes to the community, hugs his kids, etc.  Hes just a lover not a fighter and there aint nothin wrong with that.  but Im proud of the cavs anyway, because thats what less-skilled players can acheive by committing to rabid defense. no team outside of minnesota is gonna take hughes or d. jones so theyre gonna have to trade one of the forwards if they want to make real moves.  If you could put torontos backcourt on the cavs thats championship material.  toronto is nice at all positions, at least on the offensive end.  they have a high scoring front court (cb and bargnani) who are rather bosh defensively.  delfino and kapono are great pickups for them, the raps have so much talent they would probably be willing to part with some for a tough frontcourt player, and raggedy andy suits their style more than the other guy with controversial hair.  the sad thing is other than lebron and the toronto deep-bench scrubs, every player on the raps is better than every player on the cavs.  any day now king james is gonna power lift that disgusting garish mansion of his and carry that ugly shit to the hamptons where it belongs, and plop it down next to diddy and jigga in order to expand his vast knowledge of ethical investments by studying from the masters.  Personally I prefer the financial mantras of one percy miller, oprah confidant and former nba scrub: make say ugggh.