Yesterday I did a points system to determine who was the best player in the NBA, but that was unfair since it is harder for the smalls the rebound and harder for the bigs to shoot.  I'm putting in shooting just to give Dirk a chance.  The points go by how they compare to other bigs.

               Inside Game   -   Post Game   -   Rebounding   -   Blocking   -   Shooting

Tim Duncan:              10  -  10  -  9  -  7  -  5

Kevin Garnett:             9  -  10  -  9  -  6  -  6

Chris Bosh:                  10  -  9  -  8  -  7  -  5

Yao Ming:                      10  -  9  -  7  -  6  -  6

Dwight Howard:            10  -  10  -  10  -  7  -  3

Shaquille O'Neal:           8  -  8  -  7  -  5  -  3

Dirk Nowitzki:                6  -  6  -  6  -  4  -  10

Carlos Boozer:              8  -  8  -  7  -  5  -  6

Andrew Bynum:             9  -  9  -  8  -  7  -  4

Greg Oden:                   7  -  7  -  8  -  7  -  4

Jermaine O'Neal:         8  -  8  -  7  -  7  -  5

LaMarcus Aldridge:        9  -  8  -  7  -  5  -  5

Pau Gasol:                        9  -  7  -  7  -  6  -  5

Grand Totals:

1) Tim Duncan - 41 points

2) Kevin Garnett, Dwight Howard - 40 points

3) Chris Bosh - 39 points

4) Yao Ming - 38 points

5) Andrew Bynum - 37 points

6) Jermaine O'Neal - 35 points

7) Pau Gasol, LaMarcus Aldridge, Carlos Boozer - 34 points

8) Greg Oden - 33 points

9) Dirk Nowitzki - 32 points

10) Shaquille O'Neal - 31 points

Its a little unfair for Dirk since he plays more like a small forward.

I read a blog that ranked the NBA teams using a points system and now I am going to that, but instead I will be using a points system to find who is the best player in the NBA.

 Inside Game (IG)    Shooting (S)   Passing (P)    Defense (D)    Clutch (C)     Rebounding (R)

Kobe Bryant-

           10 - 8 - 7 - 8 - 10 - 6

Lebron James-

           10 - 6 - 7 - 7 - 8 - 7

Paul Pierce-

           8 - 7 - 4 - 6 - 6 - 5

Chris Paul-

          10 - 6 - 10 - 6 - 6 - 5

Tim Duncan-

          10 - 3 - 5 - 10 - 8 - 10

Kevin Garnett-

           10 - 4 - 10 - 5 - 10

Dwyane Wade-

           10 - 6 - 7 - 7 - 8 - 6

Carmelo Anthony-

           10 - 7 - 4 - 5 - 10 - 6

Allen Iverson-

           10 - 7 - 7 - 5 - 10 - 4

Dwight Howard-

           10 - 1 - 3 - 10 - 6 - 10

Grand Totals:

1) Kobe Bryant - 49 points

2) Tim Duncan - 46 points

3) Lebron James - 45 points

4) Dwyane Wade - 44 points

5) Chris Paul, Allen Iverson, Kevin Garnett - 43 points

6) Carmelo Anthony - 42 points

7) Dwight Howard - 40 points

8) Paul Pierce - 36 points

I have already made predictions for the next season, but as more trades happen I am changing my predictions.  So there will probably be another NBA prediction by me near the start of the season.

REGULAR SEASON RANKINGS

West:

1 - Los Angeles Lakers

2 - New Orleans Hornets

3 - San Antonio Spurs

4 - Houston Rockets

5 - Utah Jazz

6 - Portland Trailblazers

7 - Dallas Mavericks

8 - Phoenix Suns

East:

1 - Boston Celtics

2 - Orlando Magic

3 - Detroit Pistons

4 - Philadelphia 76ers

5 - Miami Heat

6 - Cleveland Cavaliers

7 - Washington Wizards

8 - Toronto Raptors

PLAYOFFS

West:

First Round

1 Lakers (4) - 8 Suns (0)

2 Hornets (4) - 7 Mavericks (1)

3 Spurs (4) - 6 Blazers (3)

4 Rockets (4) - Jazz (3)

Second Round

1 Lakers (4) - 4 Rockets (2)

2 Hornets (4) - 3 Spurs (3)

Conference Finals

Lakers (4) - Hornets (3)

East:

First Round

1 Celtics (4) - 8 Raptors (2)

2 Magic (4) - 7 Wizards (1)

3 Pistons (4) - 6 Cavaliers (3)

4 76ers (2) - 5 Heat (4)

Second Round

1 Celtics (4) - 4 Heat (2)

2 Magic (4) - 3 Pistons (2)

Conference Finals

Celtics (4) - Magic (3)

FINALS

Lakers - Celtics

Game 1: Lakers

Game 2: Lakers

Game 3: Celtics

Game 4: Celtics

Game 5: Lakers

Game 6: Lakers

NBA Champions - Los Angeles Lakers

Finals MVP - Kobe Bryant

AWARDS

MVP - Chris Paul, Hornets

Rookie of the Year - Michael Beasley, Heat

Defensive Player of the Year - Kobe Bryant, Lakers

Coach of the Year - Nate McMillan, Blazers

Executative of the Year - Joe Dumars, Pistons

6th Man of the Year - Lamar Odom, Lakers

First Team All-NBA - Chris Paul, Kobe Bryant, Lebron James, Tim Duncan, Dwight Howard

Second Team All-NBA - Deron Williams, Dwyane Wade, Carmelo Anthony, Kevin Garnett, Yao Ming

Third Team All-NBA - Jason Kidd, Brandon Roy, Paul Pierce, Chris Bosh, Andrew Bynum

First Team All Defense - Kobe Bryant, Bruce Bowen, Shane Battier, Tim Duncan, Dwight Howard

'Agitated' Pierce cuffed, let go in Vegas

Updated: August 4, 2008, 1:35 PM EST LAS VEGAS (AP) - Police detained NBA star Paul Pierce in handcuffs during a weekend traffic stop on the Las Vegas Strip, but released him without issuing a summons.

Las Vegas police Officer Bill Cassell said Monday that Pierce was handcuffed briefly after emerging "a little agitated" from a vehicle he was driving around 3 a.m. Sunday.

Pierce led the Boston Celtics to the championship this year and was MVP of the finals.

The 6-foot-7, 235-pound Pierce was given field sobriety tests and a Breathalyzer, which registered below the legal limit. Cassell said Pierce was not arrested.

A valet was called to drive Pierce's car, and Pierce took a cab back to where he was staying.

A spokeswoman for the Celtics said Monday the team and Pierce had no comment.

 

*FoxSports writer wrote this story not me.  I don't know who wrote it though.

I added it onto my original paul pierce blog, so read and comment!

http://community.foxsports.com/blogs/Ubershort
y/2008/07/29/Pierce_says_hes_the_Best_Player_in_th
e_World

He proves to be even cockier than before.

Paul Pierce says he's the best player in the world

By J.E. Skeets

Finals MVP Paul Pierce, who recently spent three days at a ball camp in Madrid, is making, ahem, news about what he said to a Spanish reporter. The money translation, via RedsArmy: "Q: Is Kobe really the best player in the world? Pierce: I don't think Kobe is the best player. I'm the best player. There's a line that separates having confidence and being conceited. I don't cross that line but I have a lot of confidence in myself." Surprisingly, Spurs fans seem more upset by this than actual Lakers fans. (Update: OK, Lakers Nation is pretty upset, too.)  He added, "There's a line that separates having confidence and being conceited. I don't cross that line, but I have a lot of confidence in myself."  On Thursday, Pierce stood by his comments, saying he is entitled to his opinion.  "That's what I said. I am a confident player and a lot of people might look at it like 'Oh, another cocky attitude,' but I don't look at it that way," said Pierce, who is in town for his annual youth basketball camp at Hangar Athletic Xchange.  "I have an opinion, I have a right to have one and that's the way I feel. I felt I've played against the best over the years and felt right now that I'm the best player in the world."  Pierce said his comments were not a knock on Bryant, who was named the league MVP. Nor was he saying that Bryant was conceited and he was confident.  "You could have asked me about any other player and I would have given you the same answer," Pierce said.  He added, laughing, "I would have said that (if he thought Bryant was conceited)."  Pierce also maintained that the best team won the NBA title last season. The Celtics defeated the Lakers, winning the best-of-7 series, 4-2.  "I think the Lakers are a great team, but I think they ran into a better team," he said. "They (Lakers) beat the best in all the Western Conference, they had the guy who was named MVP and the best record after the arrival of (Pau) Gasol. But they just ran up against the better team.  "I think they will be a great team next year. Maybe we'll see them back in the Finals."

_______________________________________________

Is Paul Pierce joking or is he being cocky like he always is?

Knowing that he is the most arrogant player in the NBA and even when his team sucks (pretty much every year until Kevin Garnett and Ray Allen got him a championship) he thinks that he is the best and that his team is the best.  In order for him to be the best he would need more rings, a league MVP, a scoring title, be in shape and be able to dunk without a long running start, be good at defense, be the best player on his team, and make his teammates better.  Even if he has all that he still wouldn't be near as good as Kobe or Lebron.  When people talk about who is the best in the game today they talk about Kobe, Lebron, Duncan, Garnett, and Chris Paul.  I have never heard of anyone thinking that Pierce is the best player in the NBA, except that Tommy Heinsohn (biggest homer in basketball) probably thinks so.  Without 2 future hall of famers on his team Pierce would still be in the lottery.  Even a Celtics fan knows that Pierce isn't even in the top 10 best players in the game today.  Some people are going to say that he was joking and that they shouldn't care about it, but I know that he wasn't joking.  Paul Pierce will be forgotten once he retires.  He shouldn't go into the hall of fame and he will probably get his number retired by the Celtics, because they retire everyone who was once the best person on the team for a season (wasn't this season for Pierce).

justanotherfan
Jul 30, 2008
8:34 AM Ubershorty
In the time that Pierce has been in the league other than winning an NBA championship ring and trophy for the Celtics. What's he really achieved ? Several All Star accoloades doesn't make him the best amongst his peers by far. I've yet to see him dictate or take over a game the way the likes of Bryant, Duncan, Iverson, or even Shaq at his best was able to do. Pierce is being this way 'cause he can finally state that he's got a ring on appendage and a Finals' MVP award to show for it.

In all honesty he may well have lost the respect of his peers in some respects. It may well be a sign of a lack of class and in some might even deem it something of a sign of immaturity !



justan' aka tophatal ............

In Part 1 of "How To Make Champions" I will give my ideas for trades and signings for some of the better playoff teams and champion contenders that could propel them to win the Championship.  According to ESPN Trade Machine these trades work salary-wise and would probably be accepted by the GM's who want to win more.

LOS ANGELES LAKERS

The Lakers don't need to improve player-wise as much as they need to get tougher, stronger, better under pressure, better at defense, and a killer instinct.  Kobe is the only one on the team that has all of those things, but if the others players get it then they will be championship favorites.  But some trades could be done to make the Lakers a lot better.  The best one would be to trade Lamar Odom and Joe Crawford to the Kings for Ron Artest and John Salmons.  This would give the Lakers someone who would be perfect for the starting small forward position on their team.  After the trade the Lakers could sign James Posey for the full 5.8 million mid-level exception and sign Theo Ratliff or Alonzo Mourning for a backup center.  James Posey and Ron Artest can both shoot and drive on offense and are two of the best perimeter defenders in the league on defense.  Having both of them on your team along with Kobe and Ariza would give you the best SG/SF guarding group in the league.  The Lakers could also Lamar Odom and a 2nd round draft pick to the Pistons for Tayshaun Prince, a 1st round draft pick (or Arron Afflalo) and Theo Ratliff (sign and trade).  If they did this trade they could then do the same signings as they did for the other trade.  The Lakers should resign both Ronny Turiaf and Sasha Vujacic also.

BOSTON CELTICS

The Celtics won it all last year and all they need to do to get back to the Finals is to sign the players that are free agents and add a good role player power forward to take P.J. Brown's spot.  The Celtics don't need to make any trades unless they wanted to do something stupid like trading Ray Allen and a pick for Rip Hamilton???  Even though Rip is a better defender and more consistent they don't want to ruin chemistry.  They need to get a backup point guard and a backup center as well.

DETROIT PISTONS

The Pistons are the championshp contender that will probably be involved in the most trade rumors this offseason because of Joe Dumar's statements about trading his stars.  The Pistons should keep Billups or Hamilton and Prince.  They should trade Rasheed if they can get equal value for him.  They should trade Rasheed Wallace, Arron Afflalo, Amir Johnson, a 2nd round draft pick, and Antonio McDyess to the Bulls for Drew Gooden, Larry Hughes, Tyrus Thomas, and Andres Nocioni.  If they were to trade Billups they shoud trade him and some other players to the Nuggets for Allen Iverson.  If they were to trade Hamilton then they should trade him and Amir Johnson to the Cavaliers for Wally Sczerbiak (expiring contract), three 1st round draft picks, and another good, young, and cheap player.

NEW ORLEANS HORNETS

The New Orleans Hornets didn't end last season in disappointment in themselves like other teams did, because they had done far more than anyone expected and had brought basketball back to New Orleans.  Hornets don't need to improve on anything except for their bench, defense, and point guard play.  The Hornets don't need to make any major trades unless someone offers them one they can't refuse.  That is all I have to say about the Hornets.  Just kidding about needing to improve the point guard play for all those people who don't know what a joke is.

SAN ANTONIO SPURS

The Spurs aren't getting any younger and that is why their chance at another championship is getting smaller.  The Spurs should try and sign Corey Maggette if he is interested.  Since he probably isn't since the Celtics want to sign him they should just throw their name out there to James Posey who won't be returning to the Celtics if Maggette is signed.  Their big 3 is fine but they need to get younger and more energetic role players.  They could just let their free agents go and sign some younger players to make their bench.

This 07-08 season ended on the 17th of June with the Celtics beating the Lakers in 6 games to get their first NBA championship in over 20 years.  I will make my predictions for who will make the playoffs, win the championship, , who will be traded or sign with another team and who will win the awards.

PLAYOFFS:

EAST

First Round

1 - Boston Celtics

2 - Detroit Pistons

3 - Orlando Magic

4 - Chicago Bulls

5 - Miami Heat

6 - Cleveland Cavaliers

7 - New Jersey Nets

8 - Charlotte Bobcats

Second Round

1 - Boston Celtics

5 - Miami Heat

2 - Detroit Pistons

3 - Orlando Magic

Conference Finals

1 - Boston Celtics

3 - Orlando Magic

WEST

First Round

1 - Los Angeles Lakers

2 - New Orleans Hornets

3 - Utah Jazz

4 - San Antonio Spurs

5 - Portland Trailblazers

6 - Houston Rockets

7 - Dallas Mavericks

8 - Phoenix Suns

Second Round

1 - Los Angeles Lakers

5 -  Portland Trailblazers

2 - New Orleans Hornets

3 - Utah Jazz

Conference Finals

1 - Los Angeles Lakers

2 - New Orleans Hornets

NBA Finals

1 - Los Angeles Lakers

1 - Boston Celtics

Winner - Los Angeles Lakers in 6 Games

Finals MVP - Kobe Bryant

WORST TEAM IN LEAGUE - Minnesota Timberwolves

AWARDS

MVP - Lebron James, Cavaliers

Defensive Player of the Year - Kobe Bryant, Lakers

Rookie of the Year - Derrick Rose / Michael Beasley, Bulls/ Heat

Coach of the Year - Doc Rivers, Celtics

Executative of the Year - Mitch Kupchak, Lakers

Most Improved Player - Andrew Bynum, Lakers

All-NBA First Team - Chris Paul, Kobe Bryant, Lebron James, Kevin Garnett, Dwight Howard

All-NBA First Defensive Team - Kobe Bryant, Shane Battier, Kevin Garnett, Tim Duncan, Dwight Howard

PEOPLE WHO WILL BE TRADED OR WILL SIGN WITH A DIFFERENT TEAM OR WILL RETIRE

Ron Artest

Rasheed Wallace

Baron Davis

Lamar Odom

Ronny Turiaf

Robert Horry

Brent Barry

Gilbert Arenas

Carmelo Anthony or Allen Iverson

Those are my predictions for the 2008-2009 Season.

I saw that sign on TV last night when I was watching the game.  I don't think that Paul Pierce should have been the Finals MVP.  Pierce had the first 9 season's of his career with his own team, and they did nothing except for the conference finals 1 time when he had another all-star on the team.  He was the leader of a team that had the same talent as last year's Lakers team, but they only won 24 games in the L'eastern Conference (worst record in NBA) and the Lakers won 42 games and made the playoffs in the Western Conference.  Kevin Garnett and Ray Allen are the reason the Celtics team this year was good.  Kevin Garnett should have been Finals MVP without a doubt.  Paul Pierce might have been the leaging scorer and captain, but KG was the defensive anchor (defense won them the championship) and emotional leader.  I hate the Celtics more than any other sports-related thing.  Paul Pierce I hate the most and next is a tie of Ray Allen, Glen Davis, Kendrick Perkins, Brian Scalabrine, Sam Cassell, and James Posey.  I think Garnett and Ray deserved the championship, but I think the rest of the team didn't.  Paul Pierce has always been a big ballhog who has led his team nowhere.  Sam Cassell made his team pay him money to that he could go to a better team and get a free ring.  Kevin Garnett was never shut down in the Finals like Pierce was.  Without Garnett the Celtics might not have made it to the Conference Finals and definetely not the Finals.  Without Pierce though, they could have still made it to the Conference Finals and if really lucky, the Finals.  I don't know if the Celtics will have another chance to make it back to the Finals since they are an old team, so I think that added to their willpower to get a championship which was too strong for just Kobe's willpower.  The rest of the Lakers didn't seem that motivated to win, while the Celtics best 3 players were going crazy for a championship.  The Lakers will be around for a long time unless they make some major trades to assure a championship next year.  The Lakers just gave up in game 6 after they got down by 16.  The Celtics came back from 24 down because they wanted to win a championship more than anything, while the Lakers rolled over and died.  Kobe tried to make his team win, but his teammates were too soft and they weren't making shots so he had to try and keep them in the game.  Even if he could score, his teammates couldn't play good enough defense.  The people who are saying that Kobe is no Michael Jordan are right and wrong.  Kobe is a different player so that is why he is no MJ, but he is like MJ because he fought hard to win.  The problem for Kobe was that his team was soft and not defensively strong while Jordan had Scottie Pippen and Dennis Rodman along with other strong role players.  Kobe is just like Jordan in the way that they both were high scoring 2-guards who were just winning scoring titles and losing in the first round of the playoffs, until they got some help and learned to pass the ball more.  Michael Jordan had a better supporting cast and wasn't facing as good of defenses that there are today.  Michael Jordan is no Kobe Bryant and Kobe Bryant is no Michael Jordan.

In this blog I will write down the biggest events of the year and what I thought and know of them.

August 15, 2007 - Tim Donaghy found guilty of betting on games.

He was accused of fixing NBA games.  There was a lot of controversy around a game in the Spurs-Suns series in which he reffereed.  It sucks that NBA refs would bet on games, because it makes the NBA less fun to watch because you know that no matter what some games might already be decided.

Wednesday, May 30 - Kobe Bryant asks to be traded from the Lakers.

Kobe Bryant was frustrated with the Lakers organization because they hadn't built a good team around him.  He trashed his teammates in public and told the Lakers to do something and to do it now or else he would leave.  When I heard this I was surprised and mad that it happened.  I think it ended up helping the Lakers though, because it mailny put pressure on Lamar Odom, Andrew Bynum, Jordan Farmar, and Sasha Vujacic, but also put pressure on the rest of the team.

June 28 - Sonics trade Ray Allen and Glen Davis to the Celtics for Wally Szcerbiak, Delonte West, and the #5 pick.

This trade made the Celtics a team that would compete for the 4th-8th seed in the playoffs.  The Sonics got more youth to go along with Kevin Durant.  The Celtics made Paul Pierce happier because he got another all-star on the team.

August 1, 2007 - Timberwolves trade Kevin Garnett to the Celtics for Al Jefferson, Gerald Green, Ryan Gomes, Sebastian Telfair, Theo Ratliff, and 2 first round draft picks.

This trade makes Boston instant favorites to win the East, and maybe even the championship.  In the long run though the Timberwolves got a way lopsided trade in their favor.  But in the idea of getting a championship in the next few years, it is definitely lopsided favoring the Celtics.

February 1, 2008 - Grizzlies trade Pau Gasol to the Lakers for Kwame Brown, Javaris Crittenton, Marc Gasol, and Aaron Mckie.

This trade made the Lakers instant title contenders halfway through the season.  They were already good, but Bynum had just gone down with an injury and they weren't going good.  The Grizzlies got a big expiring contract and a young prospect for Gasol.

February 7, 2008 - Suns trade Shawn Marion and Marucs Banks to the Heat for Shaquille O'Neal

This was a very surprising trade to anyone that watches basketball.  The Suns traded their best fastbreaker and defender for an old, lazy center who has a long and huge contract.  The Heat got the best part of this deal without a doubt.  The Heat got a person with a big expiring contract that happens to be an all-star.  The Suns got an old center who has a 20 million a year contract for a couple more years.  They probably could have gotten Pau Gasol for Shawn Marion. HAHA

February 19, 2008 - Mavericks trade Devin Harris, Keith Van Horn, Desagna Diop, Trenton Hassell, 2 first round draft picks, and Maurice Ager for Jason Kidd, Antoine Wright, and Malik Allen.

This trade sounds good, but it didn't help the Mavericks.  You would think that a triple-double hall of famer point guard would make a team with Dirk Nowitzki, Josh Howard, Jason Terry, and Jerry Stackhouse a championship caliber team, but it didn't.  The Nets get a good, young point guard and a center with a lot of potential.

June 5, 2008 - The NBA Finals begin. 

It is the biggest Finals matchup in over 20 years.  The 2 most storied franchises in the NBA face off against each other on the NBA's biggest stage.  It is between the two #1 seeds in te NBA.  The best player in the league/MVP and his big 3 against the defensive player of the year and his big 3.

That is my NBA year in review.  There will be more to add to it once the Finals are over and once more refs are found guilt of cheating.

1. Paul Pierce needs to stop acting like he is the best basketball player in the world.  He is overly cocky because Kevin Garnett and Ray Allen saved the Celtics franchise from sucking even more than it already did because he wasn't a good leader of the team.  KG and Ray Allen are the reason for the Celtics being good, not Pierce.  Also, after the Celtics beat the Heat, Pierce was saying they sucked even though he was in that same position last year. The difference is that his team had all their best players, while the Heat didn't have their top 4 players playing for most of the season.

2. NBA needs to investigate the refs.  They screwed the Lakers over in games 1 and 2 of the finals which led to them being down 3-1 not up 3-1 which is what they should be.  I am 95% sure that Bob Delaney is betting on games.

3. The NBA Finals is rigged.  The refs gave the Celtics the first 2 games by giving them every call, but once it got back to L.A. they decided to be fair for 1 game and then give Boston some favorable calls to help them come back from being blown out in game 4.

4. Lamar Odom and Pau Gasol need to step up, because they are way to soft and are worthless in the Finals so far.  They either need to both step up and finish out the series strong so that they will not be traded when they lose.

5. Lakers need to prepare for the offseason because their sucky play and the refs have made them lose this years finals.  They should add someone like Ron Artest or Hedo Turkoglu to make them better on defense and in crunch time.

6. The Cavaliers need to get a better coach and someone to be the distributor, because Lebron isn't a good passer.  They should try and get Flip Saunders as a coach and a point guard like Jamal Tinsley or Jose Calderon.

7. The New York Knicks need to do something to save their franchise from themselves.  They need to trade Zach Randolph, Stephon Marbury, and Nate Robinson if they can.

8. Kevin Garnett and Ray Allen deserve to win a ring so I am happy for them because their team has pretty much won the finals (see 3 and 5).  Paul Pierce does not deserve to win a ring though, so I wish he wasn't on the team with 2 future HOF's to get him a ring.

9. Congratulations to all the true Celtics fans.  You guys have waited over 20 years if your one of the older fans, or only a couple of years in you're a fan since a couple of years ago to win a championship, and now you are going to probably on Tuesday in Boston.

Those are some of my Random Thoughts and Notes for this week.

Also a Note to Lakers Fans: Don't completely hate the bandwagon Celtics fans, because they will be Lakers fans next year.

Just for fun I decided that I am going to write a blog of the all-time teams of a couple of the big franchises in the NBA.

 All-NBA All-Time:

PG: Magic Johnson

SG: Michael Jordan

SF: Kobe Bryant 

PF: Tim Duncan 

C: Kareem Abdul-Jabbar

Los Angeles Lakers:

PG: Magic Johnson

SG: Kobe Bryant 

SF: Elgin Baylor

PF: Wilt Chamberlain

C: Kareem Abdul-Jabbar

Boston Celtics:

PG: Bob Cousy

SG: Paul Pierce

SF: Larry Bird

PF: Kevin Garnett 

C: Bill Russell

Detroit Pistons:

PG: Isiah Thomas 

SG: Rip Hamilton 

SF: Grant Hill 

PF: Rasheed Wallace

C: Bob Lanier

Philadeplia 76ers:

 PG: Allen Iverson 

SG: Julius Erving

SF: Charles Barkley 

PF: Dolph Schayes

C: Wilt Chamberlain

Utah Jazz:

 PG: John Stockton

SG: Deron Williams 

SF: Byron Russell

PF: Carlos Boozer

C: Karl Malone

Milwaukee Bucks:

 PG: Oscar Robertson

SG: Ray Allen

SF: Michael Redd 

PF: Bob Lanier 

C: Kareem Abdul- Jabbar

Phoenix Suns:

 PG: Steve Nash

SG: Grant Hill 

SF: Shawn Marion

PF: Charles Barkley

C: Amare Stoudemire

Chicago Bulls:

 PG: John Paxson

SG: Michael Jordan 

SF: Scottie Pippen

PF: Dennis Rodman

C: Artis Gilmore

 Those are my teams for all-time of a couple of the franchises in the NBA.  There are some teams that had good players, but didn't have enough to make an entire good lineup that would compete with the rest of these in a game.

In this blog I will rank the top 20 players in the Lakers-Celtics series.

1) Kobe Bryant - Best Player in the League (maybe ever?) = Best Player in Any Series.

2) Kevin Garnett - Him and Kobe are the only locks for the hall of fame in this series.

3) Paul Pierce - He is the highest scorer on the Celtics, even though he doesn't have as good of a chance of making the hall of fame as Ray Allen does, he is better than him now.

4) Ray Allen - Throughout his career he is better than the players ranked below him, but who knows what Ray Allen will show up in this series.

5) Pau Gasol - Only other All-star in the series

6) Lamar Odom - The obvious choice, he is better than everyone left....easily.

7) Derek Fisher - He is a veteran leader with 3 championship rings and he can shoot well, especially in the clutch.

8) James Posey - He is a defensive stopper and has ring.  He is also a good 3-point shooter.

9) Sasha Vujacic - He is the best 3-point shooter in this series and is also a pest on defense.

10) Jordan Farmar - He is a better shooter than Rondo and would be putting up the same or better numbers than him if he was starting for the Celtics.

11) Rajon Rondo - He has been good this postseason and has handled the pressure of being the distributor for a team that has 3 all stars.

12) Kendrick Perkins - He is a good, strong defensive player and rebounder.

13) Vladimir Radmanovic - He is a really good 3-point shooter, especiially when he heats up and has been doing well guarding the other small forwards.

14) Ronny Turiaf - He is a good shot blocker and also has a decent jumpshot for a big man.

15) Trevor Ariza - If he was healthy he would be higher on this list because he is a defensive stopper like James Posey, but has better offensive skills.

16) Leon Powe - He has really improved this season and gotten himself into the rotation.  He is good on offense and on defense.

17) Sam Cassell - When he was younger he would be higher on this list.  If he isn't struggling he is a good shooter and veteran to have on your team.

18) P.J. Brown - He is a good defensive and offensive veteran.

19) Luke Walton - Has good decision making skills and is sort of a point-forward for the Lakers.  Can shoot the ball well also.

20) Eddie House - A good shooter when he is on, but not a good point guard type player.

The Next 5 (in no particular order): Glen Davis, Chris Mihm, DJ Mbenga, Tony Allen, Ira Newble

Left Out Because of Injury: Andrew Bynum

People in Top 20 - Lakers (10) Celtics (10)

People in Top 10 - Lakers (6) Celtics (4)

Those are my top 20 players in this series.

This is my 2008 NBA Playoffs edition of power rankings.  I will only include the 4 teams that made it to the conference finals.

1. Los Angeles Lakers (12-3)

The Lakers have the best home and road record in the playoffs, which also means they have the best overall playoff record.  They have been consistent all playoffs and even blew out the defending champs by 30 in game 2 of the western conference finals and surprisingly beat them in 5 games.  Now they have the Boston Celtics in the Finals.

2. Boston Celtics (12-8)

They had the best regular season record at 66-16, but that hasn't translated into a dominating postseason.  They made the Finals but it took them 20 out of a possible 21 games to get there.  Now they have the Los Angeles Lakers in the Finals.

3. Detroit Pistons (10-7)

They made it to the conference finals relatively easy, but then they just stopped playing good except for the Rodney Stuckey, Chauncey Billups, Rip Hamilton, Antonio McDyess, and Jason Maxiell.  They were eliminated in 6 games because of some underperformers in game 6. 

4. San Antonio Spurs (9-8)

The defending champs were eliminated in 5 games by the Lakers, including being blown out by 30 in game 2.  They were just too old and too tired after the 7-games series with the Hornets.  They had big leads on the Lakers in games 1 and 5, but weren't able to hold them.

This was my last version of Power Rankings for the playoffs.  My next version of power rankings and the MVP race will be the week before the preseason.

This is my analysis of the Lakers-Celtics finals by position, including bench and coaching.  I will start with point guard.

Point Guard: Rajon Rondo vs. Derek Fisher

Rajon Rondo is the better passer and more of a 'pure' point guard than Fisher, but Fisher has the experience, the defense, and the shooting touch.  Rondo has better driving into the lane for a lay-up skills, but Fisher is better and should be able to stop Rondo like he did to Deron Williams, just Deron Williams is a lot better than Rondo.

Advantage: Lakers

Shooting Guard: Kobe Bryant vs. Ray Allen

Kobe is the best player in the league, and also the most consistent player in in the league.  Ray Allen is the better 3-point shooter and free throw shooter, but Kobe is better at everything else and is better at making fading away contested shots.  Ray Allen is also inconsistent, all Kobe as to do is not leave him open for three.

Advantage: Lakers

Small Forward: Paul Pierce vs. Vladimir Radmanovic/Trevor Ariza/Luke Walton

Paul Pierce is the better player period.  He has been the best Celtic this postseason.  Radmanovic needs to play defense like he did against Carmelo Anthony (who is better than Pierce).  Luke Walton and Trevor Ariza will also guard Pierce at some point.

Advantage: Celtics

Power Forward: Lamar Odom vs. Kevin Garnett

Lamar Odom is tall and has long arms, so he will be the only Lakers with a chance at guarding Garnett.  Garnett will have to use a lot of energy guarding Odom, but he will still have energy on the offensive end.  Odom needs to make him a 15+ foot jump shooter.

Advantage: Celtics

Center: Pau Gasol vs. Kendrick Perkins

Pau Gasol is a thin, finesse player while Kendrick Perkins is a big, strong player.  Pau Gasol is a lot better than Perkins on offense.  Perkins might be able to affect some of Pau's shots with his strength, but Pau should be able to draw some fouls and Pau needs to use his length to block Kendrick's shots on the defensive end.

Advantage: Lakers

Bench: Luke Walton, Jordan Farmar, Trevor Ariza, Ronny Turiaf, Sasha Vujacic, DJ Mbenga, Ira Newble, Vladimir Radmanovic vs. James Posey, Eddie House, Glen Davis, Tony Allen, Sam Cassell, PJ Brown

The Lakers are considered the best bench in the NBA, but the Celtics have the more experience bench.  The Lakers bench is more high scoring and is a bigger part of the Lakers than the Celtics bench is for the Celtics.  The Celtics don't have someone to put on Sasha or Farmar off the bench.  Ariza and Posey are like the same person, just Posey has more experience and Ariza is more athletic.

Advantage: Lakers

Coach: Doc Rivers vs. Phil Jackson

Phil Jackson is considered the best coach of all time by most people that are not Celtics fans.  Doc Rivers is a young, inexperienced coach.  Phil has 9 championships rings and 10 finals appearences.  Doc has no rings and this is his first finals appearence.

Advantage: Lakers

This is how I see the positional breakdown using my own analysis.  You may see the positions differently, and if you do write your own post about it, I will want to see it.