You know, I’ve tried to write this post like 6 times, and every time I just stall at the beginning and give it up. Maybe I’ll actually get it written this time.

Anyway, we’ve hit the half way point of the NBA season. It’s time to look back at what we’ve learned, as well as look forward to what we can expect from the rest of the season. With that in mind, lets take a look at some of the teams that I really missed on.

Memphis Grizzlies
Wow, did I miss on these guys or what? Strangely enough, a lot of what I thought would happen with them did happen. Rudy #### really blossomed in his second year, becoming a potent scorer, J.C. Navarro has been one of the best rookies in the league and has had some truly spectacular shooting performances, and Mike Conley has played very well since returning from injury. They’re actually a decent offensive team. However, where I was wrong was thinking that they would be an improved defensive team. #### hasn’t been much of a defender, even though he has all the tools for it, Kyle Lowry isn’t having nearly as much impact as last year, and most importantly, Darko has been absolutely terrible. One reason I liked them so much was because an even slightly improved Darko would give them a much-needed shot-blocking presence in the back of their defense. Instead, Darko has, amazingly, been much, much worse than he was in Orlando last year. Of course, I also though 42 or 43 wins would get you into the playoffs out West, and that doesn’t appear to be the case at this point. Oh well, they’ll at least put themselves in good position to get Mike Beasley or DeAndre Jordan in the draft.

Chicago Bulls
I, like everyone else, have been pretty stunned by the poor performance of the Bulls. Now, to some extent we probably should’ve been able to see this coming. All the talk about a Kobe trade obviously had an effect on the young guys on this team. It was also painfully obvious that Ben Wallace was declining rapidly as a player. However, there’s no way that anyone could’ve predicted the inexplicably bad play of the Bulls’ young core players. To have one young guy regress when he should be improving is one thing, but for five guys under the age of 27? It’s absolutely incredible. Hinrich, Gordon, Deng, Duhon and Thomas are all having worse seasons than last year. We’re not just talking about slightly worse either, we’re talking about them being significantly less productive. 7 of the top 8 guys on the team (with Joe Smith as the exception) are shooting worse than they were last season. It’s absolutely mind-blowing how the young Bulls have regressed. I think we’re going to see the Bulls in the playoffs at the end of this season 1) because they’re in the East, and as bad as they’ve been they’re only a game behind the Pacers for the last playoff spot right now, but also because 2) it’s absolutely unheard of for a team full of young players to take a huge step backwards like this, and I think they’ll bounce back some and be respectable by season’s end.

Portland Trailblazers
I actually kind of thought Portland would be better than most people thought they would, but I never thought they’d have this kind of success. The biggest shocker to me has been the extraordinary play of Brandon Roy. I’ll be honest, I thought Roy was a really good player when Portland drafted him, and I thought he’d make a few All-Star teams and be a really good player, but I never thought he’d be this good, this fast. He has become the unquestioned leader of the team that has the best chemistry in the league. He does all the little things and he’s a big-time clutch player, making big shots, big defensive stops and getting big rebounds. I’d be hard-pressed to name a player with a better hesitation move than Roy, he reminds me a bit of Nash in the way that he always looks like he’s completely under control. Of course, the other big reason for the Blazers’ success has been the brilliant coaching of Nate McMillan. This Blazers team has great chemistry, they run their offensive sets really well, and they use zone defenses as well as any team in the league. That’s great coaching, McMillan has got this young team executing and believing in themselves.

Those are the teams that have really surprised this year, but we’ve also learned a lot this season about the league’s elite teams. With that in mind, I’m taking another look at my list of potential contenders and cutting it down to size a bit.

My list from the preseason looked like this (in no particular order): Spurs, Mavs, Rockets, Jazz, Celtics, Nuggets, Bulls, Suns

My list now (again, in no particular order): Spurs, Celtics, Pistons, Rockets, Nuggets, Lakers

So, why did I drop the teams I did?

Bulls are obvious, I’m not going to go over them

Jazz
They can’t defend the post at all, and I can’t bring myself to pick them in a conference with Duncan, STAT, Yao, Dirk, and now Bynum. You have to defend the post, and they can’t.

Mavs
Gone unnoticed by basically everyone is the fact that the Mavs’ defense has not been good this year. This team was 2nd in the league on offense and 5th on defense last year, this year they’re 2nd on offense and 18th on defense. Add that to their playoff failures the last two years and this team screams “paper tiger” to me.

Suns
Hardest drop from the list for me. I love Nash and I think this team is tremendously talented. However, they’re a worse defensive team than last year, and they aren’t going to win a title that way. Amare continues to be a weakness defensively in the post, and Brian Skinner brings defense, but he doesn’t have any offensive skills. Kurt Thomas was so great because he could both guard bigs and step out and hit the mid-range jumper, Skinner can’t do that. I hate it, but bad defensive teams don’t win titles.

You’ll notice a common theme on why I didn’t pick any of the previous teams. To put the importance of defense in perspective, there have only been 2 teams in the modern era who have won a title without a top 10 defense, and they were the ‘95 Rockets and the ’01 Lakers (who don’t even really count because they played great defense the year before and the year after and during the playoffs with essentially the same team, and obviously didn’t care about the regular season this year). Moral of the story is that defense is really important.

You may also be wondering why the Hornets didn’t make the list. Simply put, they don’t have a bench. I would take their starting five against any other starting unit in the league, but they don’t have the depth or the experience to make a deep run, especially not if anyone (read: Peja) gets hurt. I love the team, I love Chris Paul, they’re a great story, but I don’t think this is their year.

So, why the teams that I did pick?

I’m not going over the Spurs and Celtics, you all know why they’re on that list.

Nuggets
They have two possible starters who are out indefinitely with injury (Nene and Chucky Atkins), Carmelo’s production and efficiency is down significantly from his past two seasons, and they have a serious lack of three-point shooting. Still, they’re 25-16 and first in their division. The reason is because Allen Iverson has fully embraced being a co-star with Melo and is having the most efficient season of his career, and because Marcus Camby takes this team from being a very bad defensive team to being a very good defensive team. If Atkins comes back healthy or they can add one more shooter through a trade, I think this becomes a very dangerous offensive team as well as a good defensive team, and that makes them a contender.

Rockets
They’re the biggest stretch on the list and might not even make the playoffs. However, they’re an elite-level defensive team, and they still have half a season to try and get McGrady to buy into Adelman’s system. As I wrote back when I blogged the season-opener between LA and Houston, McGrady dominating the ball so much absolutely kills this offense, and they often look significantly better without him on the court. However, they’ve still got 40 games to work things out, and I think a McGrady easing his way back in after injury still has a chance to integrate himself into the offense. I think this team either takes off in the second half or they piddle along for a while before collapsing.

Pistons
I left them off in the preseason because I thought they were missing the tough, killer-instinct, underdog mentality that fueled their last title run. What I didn’t count on was the Celtics getting off to a historical start and really lighting a fire under the Pistons to prove that they were the best team in the East. I honestly think that Boston’s great start had a positive impact on the Pistons, that it lit a fire under them that they didn’t have last year when LeBron trampled all over them in the playoffs. They’re also getting fantastic bench production and they execute and exploit weak defenders as well as any team in the league. I still don’t think they could beat the Spurs, but I think they could beat another team from the West if San Antonio doesn’t make the finals

Lakers
This one comes with a caveat. I reserve the right to dismiss this if the post-injury Bynum we get isn’t the same as pre-injury Bynum. LA has been a MUCH better defensive team this year because Bynum has been on the floor more, has become far less foul-prone, and has rebounded a lot better than last year. The bench and the contributions of Derek Fisher have been great, but Bynum is the key. He isn’t an elite player yet by any means, but he has great hands and finishes well on offense, and he improves their defense exponentially. If he comes back playing as well as early on this season, the Lakers are a long-shot contender.

Well, this post has run on long enough, and I’m sure you’re all tired of my wordiness. The last thing I’ll leave you with is my MVP pick for the first half of the season.

MVP: LeBron James
 With all due respect to Kevin Garnett’s fantastic work in Boston and Kobe’s exceptional play and leadership (who ‘da thunk it?), this isn’t even close. Yes, I know about Boston’s 33-7 record and how KG has gotten everyone playing great defense. I repeat, the MVP race is NOT EVEN CLOSE. Lebron uses more of his team’s possessions than anyone outside of DWade, and his offensive rating this year is 12 points higher than Flash! He averages 30-8-7 with 2 steals and a block, and he shoots almost 50%. Lebron’s AST% (an estimate of the percentage of his teammates’ field goals his assists while on the court) is 6th in the league. 6th! He’s one percentage point behind Deron Williams! It’s not quite MJ numbers that we’re talking about here, but we’re getting close. LeBron is killing teams this year, and he’s dragging a really bad team to a top 4 seed in the playoffs. He’s the MVP, Period.

Alright, that’s it for me, I finally got this post cranked out. I’ll be sharing my opinions on the All-Star team next post, which should be pretty soon, so keep a look out for that.

Well, finally, after long hours of toil and research, my NBA Season Preview is finished. I sincerely apologize for not being able to finish all the teams in time for the season opener, it ended up being a much more time-consuming process than I thought it would be. Next year I'll know to start my preparations earlier. Anyway, I hope you appreciated the preview, I certainly had fun making it and debating on the merits of various teams. If there's something that could be improved on in the format or something that you think would improve it next time around, please let me know. I've already got some ideas for improvement, so hopefully next year's version will be much improved. Anyway, if you haven't been reading my previews and you would like to, you can check out my Eastern Conference Previews and my Western Conference Previews, you can link to each individual team's preview from there.

Now, with that said, some thoughts on the beginning of the season.

I knew Dwight Howard was going to be really good this year, but I didn't think he would be quite this good. Honestly, if you were going to give out the MVP award right now, it would go to Howard. He's been absolutely unstoppable on both ends of the floor. As J-Dizzle, Dusty and I were discussing in another post, Howard needs a good nickname, cause we can't just go around calling him D-####, it just doesn't work. My suggestion is Dwight "The Hammer" Howard. It has a nice ring to it, and it fits his game to a tee. Thoughts?

The Celtics are the best team in the East if the big three stay healthy. I've thought this from the beginning, and their start was extremely impressive. It wasn't just that they've been beating teams, it's that they've been KILLING teams, with a margin of victory in the mid-teens. That's simply obscene.

In retrospect, we probably should've seen this coming with the Bulls. They're a young team, and all the Kobe talk has obviously been detrimental to them. I still think they'll be alright. They're too talented a squad to miss the playoffs.

Stop trying to use Orlando's hot start to justify the Rashard Lewis signing. The issue was never about whether he was a good fit with the team. The issue was that they could have signed him for way less money, and they're going to be regretting this when he's 33 and they're paying him $24 mil.

Why can't Walter Herrmann get minutes for the Bobcats? This baffles me. Sam Vincent apparently prefers playing Primoz Brezec and Ryan Hollins 27 minutes a night instead of giving Walter some burn. After the way he tore it up last year, you've got to give the guy a chance out on the floor.

Indiana is going to be better than I thought. I didn't factor in the acquisition of Jim O'Brien as coach, which will help this team a ton. His style plays right into their strengths, namely 3-PT shooting. He's made a decent player out of Mike Dunleavy, and that's pretty good. They aren't a playoff team, but they can get hot from behind the line and beat people, so they'll most likely end up higher than I thought.

It's been years since the league has had a collection of sixth men as good as this. Manu, Terry, and Barbosa are all legit all-star talents.

Quick look at college basketball, next year's draft is going to be ridiculously deep. Derrick Rose, Michael Beasley, Eric Gordon, Kevin Love, J.J. Hickson, Kosta Koufos, O.J. Mayo, and DeAndre Jordan are all guys who have been impressive early and are legit top-shelf prospects, and that's just the freshmen.

Have A Happy Turkey Day All!!

This is the start of my individual team in-depth analysis posts. For more information on the stats, you can check this post, and here is the entire Western Conference overview. I apologize in advance for the massive picture which I use to show the stats, but since this board doesn't really do tables and I'm copying from Excel, this is the easiest way for me to do it, and it has to be really big in order to be legible, so you'll just have to scroll to see it all.

Dallas Mavericks

Coach: Avery Johnson
2006-2007 Record: 67-15
06-07 Expected Record: 58-24
Offensive Rating: 111.6 (2nd in NBA, league average 106.5)
Defensive Rating: 102.9 (5th in NBA, league average 106.5)
eFG%: 50.9% (5th in NBA)
Possessions per 48: 89.5 (28th in NBA)

Roster
(red indicates new player, blue indicates rookie)

Funny how things work sometimes. Statistically, Nowitzki was a better player in 05-06 than he was last year, and Steve Nash has the best year of his career last year. However, Nash gets the MVP in 06, and the big German ends up with it last year. Eh, life is funny like that sometimes. Here's the thing, I really like Dirk, I truly do. He's one of the most unique players in the league, he's been as good as anyone in the league over the last 3 years, and his fadeaway jumper from the elbow might be the most unguardable shot since the skyhook. Here's the thing though, in the last two playoff series he has averaged 19.6 points on 38.7% shooting, and Golden State abused his defense that, while improved, is still poor. Unfairly or not, the blame for two straight playoff choke jobs falls on Nowitzki, and his career will be defined by how he handles that. He's posted great numbers, but until he proves that he has the kind of killer instinct that makes opposing fans cower in their seats, he doesn't belong in the same category as Duncan, Nash and Kobe.

It still amazes me that Josh Howard fell to the end of the first round. Forwards taken ahead of the ACC Player of the Year include Jarvis Hayes, Reece Gaines, Zarko Cabarkapa, Sasha Pavlovic, Dahntay Jones (I will never understand that one) and Ndudi Edi, unbelievable. Anyway, Howard is basically a poor man's Scottie Pippen, and he and Nowitzki are the best forward tandem in the West.

It'll be interesting to see what happens with the Mavs point guard situation. We heard a lot of rumors early in the offseason that they would be looking to move Jason Terry and hand the reigns over to Devin Harris, but no such shake-up was made. Harris is a bit better as a distributer and a much better defender, but Terry is the more dynamic scorer and better decision maker.

Bringing Stackhouse back was a big move for this team, he gives them attitude, and was probably the best player on the team last year at making his own shot. Neither of their offseason acquisitions are anything to get excited about, but keeping Stack was crucial.

X-Factor: Desagana Diop - Amazing to think that this guy was once a #8 pick, and is now working his way up from the bottom. If Diop had any semblance of an offensive game, he'd probably be the starter in Dallas. He's an excellent defensive center, among the best shotblockers in the league and surprisingly nimble. However, his offensive game is non-existant and when he does get the ball he turns it over a lot. If Diop's offensive game has made some progress over the summer, he could step in to the starting lineup and improve an already good defense without losing much on the other end.

Overview

Lets get something straight. The Mavs were very good last year, but they were also very lucky. They went an astounding 20-4 in games decided by less than 5 points, and outperformed their expected win-loss record by 9 games. They were actually third behind San Antonio and Phoenix in Exp Win%. They are an incredibly balanced team that excels on both ends of the court and have depth and talent at every position. One thing that surprised me was the fact that Dallas was the 3rd slowest team in the league, and shot less 3-pointers than any other team. Just a few years removed from Nellie and Nash's run-and-gun lightshow, the Mavs have turned a complete 180. One of the biggest reasons has been the evolution of Dirk from a long-range shooter to an actual post threat with an unstoppable mid-range game. Between Nowitzki, Howard, and Stackhouse, few teams can match the kind of efficient mid-range scorers that the Mavs have. They shoot very good percentages and take care of the ball (7th lowest turnover rate in the league). On defense they rely mainly on forcing bad shots and rebounding well, since they don't force a lot of turnovers and don't really have a great shotblocker outside of Diop.

Prediction

Your opinion of the Mavs for this year will depend heavily on how much stock you put in their postseason collapses. To me, I think that it was a mistake not to try and make a move to shake up this roster. The Golden State series on the heels of the Finals collapse was a huge blow to this team's psyche, and even if they're saying that they're past it now, it will come up again if the team goes through rough patches in the regular season. You just can't win in the playoffs with doubt, and right now there's doubt that this team, especially Dirk, can get it done. Of course, the other possibility is that Dirk plays like a man possessed in order to redeem himself and ends up just tearing the league a new one.

I'm not buying on Dallas, I don't think you can bounce back from two crippling series losses by maintaining the exact same roster, it just doesn't happen.

4th in the West - Championship Contenders

Ugh, I just finished writing this whole thing, then had a problem with my PC and lost it all. Alas. Such is my dedication to bringing you people all the latest and greatest NBA news that I will tirelessly type it all up again...or I'm just really bored right now and need something to do.

You know what I love about the NBA summer league? It isn't seeing how all the highly drafted rookies do. No, it's seeing all the guys who I remember from their college days, but who dropped off the face of the planet after failing to make it big in the pros. Guys like Josh Powell (who ruined a promising college career by leaving too early, not that I'm bitter), Brandon Bass (ditto), Von Wafer (seeing a trend?), my boy Julius Hodge (please Jules, do something this year so I have a State player to cheer for), and D'Or Fischer (anybody else remember him leading the nation in blocks?). Heck, we've even had a Mateen Cleaves sighting. Can't beat the NBA summer league for seeing those former college stars...well, except for maybe the NBDL.

So, sifting through the worthlessness that is most of the summer league, what are the few things that we can take from what we've seen so far?

• Tyrus Thomas has apparently developed a solid mid-range jumpshot, which is big trouble for the rest of the league. Thomas might be the quickest big in the game, and if defenders can't lay off him from 15 feet, we might be seeing a whole lot more highlight reel dunks next year.
• Marco Bellinelli has no conscience. Through 3 games, he's taken 56 shots at a rate of a shot every 2 minutes. Even in the notoriously foul-heavy summer league, Bellinelli has taken almost twice as many 3-pointers as free throws. The phrase "quick trigger" does not do the man justice. In other words, he'll be perfect for Nellieball.
• Outside of 1 quarter against Cleveland, Yi has been thoroughly unimpressive. He's shooting a terrible percentage and most of his points have come from the line, which is deceptive because of the increased amount of fouls called in the summer league. Well, at least he's got a pretty free-throw stroke.
• Is it just me, or is Desagana Diop morphing into a poor man's Dikembe Mutumbo? They even kind of look alike.

• 

 

 

 

 

 

 p>

 

 

 

 

• J.J. Redick has been on fire at the Orlando summer league so far, though on one play he saw there was too much traffic in the lane and promptly pulled a U-turn to get away. Sorry, that was a low blow. J.J., if I hurt your feelings, I can send some tissues.

Other than summer league play, the other big NBA news is that the salary cap was announced today ($56.6 mil), meaning that free agent deals can officially be finalized.

• Apparently, the Magic have worked out a sign and trade with Seattle where they send a second rounder to the Sonics in order to get Bird rights to Rashard Lewis so they can sign him for 6 years instead of 5. Lewis' deal will start at around $16 mil (max for a 9-year veteran) and end up at around $25 mil in his last year. Yeah, have fun with that one Magic fans.
  
• Mo Williams is seriously considering signing with Miami, and I'm puzzled as to why. I mean, that team is going downhill fast, and you can get twice as much money from Milwaukee, which is a young, quickly improving team where you're one of the leaders. It really wouldn't surprise me at all if the Bucks were better than the Heat next year if Williams comes back. Again, I don't understand the motivation.
• Trey Johnson on Williams' decision, "It's hard to tell where he's leaning. I just told him it would be lovely if he comes to Miami and I make the roster, too." Lovely, Trey? What are you, an 80-year-old woman? Weird quote.
• The big free agent mystery now? Darko's final destination. With Charlotte reportedly close to inking Gerald Wallace, Darko is the biggest catch still available. However, there aren't many teams that can offer him the $8-9 mil a year that he wants. Memphis is apparently interested, and Milwaukee would probably make a move pending the Darko and Williams situations. The other option is Charlotte, who would still have enough cap space to offer him what he wants if they sign Gerald Wallace to a $12-13 mil deal.
• Well, KG and Kobe trade talks have settled down, and it appears that we'll spend another season with 2 of the league's biggest stars toiling away in futility on bad teams. Sigh. NBA GMs have no spine. Seriously guys, we know you don't like to trade your superstars, but you've got to know when to cut bait and rebuild. Really, you can actually hear KG's trade value plummeting if you listen hard enough.
  

That's it for now, your daily (and by "daily", I mean "whenever-the-heck-I-feel-like-it") NBA update. I'll leave you with my trivia question of the day, and the imaginary prize goes to the first person who can answer it.

Q: There are 3 players in NCAA history with over 1000 assists on their career. They all played in the ACC. List them in order (most assists to least) and name the school they played for.

The long-awaited draft is over, so now its time to take a look at the results. It was actually a rather subdued draft until we got to the 18th pick or so, with the only real surprise being the Ray Allen trade. After that, things started going all kinds of crazy as Portland began to wheel and deal. Anyway, here's my team-by-team analysis of the draft. It's not grades, cause I don't like grades (btw, if we were to give teams a GPA based on their draft grades over time, what would Atlanta's be? 1.5? 2?). I'm going to give either a thumbs up, thumbs down, or on the fence for each team. So, starting with the Western Conference...

Dallas Mavericks - Thumbs Down

Picks - Nick Fazekas (34), Renaldas Seibutis (50), Milovan Rakovic (60)

Now, I understand that Dallas didn't have a lot to work with here, but they didn't exactly make the most of it. I'll give them the last two, cause there's not that much talent that late, but they took Fazekas, who is quite possibly the worst athlete in the draft, in front of Glen Davis and Josh McRoberts, both much better talents. I don't see Fazekas being any kind of player in the NBA, he's just too slow, and slow big guys whose trademark is their shooting don't have a great track record.

Denver Nuggets - N/A

Picks - ...

Well, that was easy

Golden State Warriors - Thumbs Up

Picks - Brandan Wright (8), Marco Belinelli (18), Stephane Lasme (46)

Big thumbs up to the Warriors, who had my second favorite draft (behind Portland's masterpiece). Not only did they manage to grab some fantastic talent, but they got rid of Jason Richardson's contract too. I questioned their selection of Bellinelli instead of Jason Smith, but it makes sense with the acquisition of Wright. Take note that there's still a possibility that Yi will end up here for a package including Wright, though Milwaukee looks like they want to keep him. Wright is a perfect player for them. He has very little range to his game, but he's money near the hoop and he's a very good shot-blocker. At worst, he's a much more talented and athletic version of Andris Biedrins. Bellinelli is a dynamic 2-guard who has great range and can slash, but he's streaky (which should mean he fits in perfectly here). Lasme was one of my favorite second round guys, and I can see him contributing immediately as an energy/defense guy for the Warriors. Very good draft.

Houston Rockets - Thumbs Down

Picks - Aaron Brooks (26), Carl Landry (31), Brad Newley (54)

I really don't get their draft. They had McRoberts and Davis staring them in the face at both 26 and 31, and they passed them both times for inferior players. Brooks was a solid sleeper, but that's only a good pick if you don't reach for it, and they reached big-time for him. What's more puzzling is that they didn't even reach for a need, they've already got Mike James and Rafer Alston at the point and a gaping hole at PF. Landry is a gritty player, but he's undersized and can't rebound. McRoberts would've been perfect here, I'm really puzzled that they passed on him.

L.A. Clippers - Thumbs Up

Picks - Al Thornton (14), Jared Jordan (45)

The Clippers basically just sat back and took the best value that was available, and they ended up with 2 really good players who are both good fits. Thornton allows them to put the disgruntled Corey Maggette on the trading block. He's a terrific athlete, and I've been saying all along he's the second coming of Shawn Marion. He was easily the best value available for them. Jordan is a pure point who should be able to back up Sam Cassell right away. His ceiling as a player isn't very high, but he's a smart guy who should be able to carve out a niche in the league. I would've gone with Taurean Green there, but I can't fault them for taking Jordan.

L.A. Lakers - Thumbs Down

Picks - Javaris Crittenton (19), Sun Yue (40), Marc Gasol (48)

This rating is contingent on them keeping Kobe Bryant, which they have repeatedly said that they want to do. Were the Lakers set on building for the future, I would be ok with the Crittenton pick. He's the ultimate high-reward point guard prospect, with a good shooting touch, suberb athleticism, and a 6'5 frame. However, he's at least 2 years away from being able to run a team, and I doubt he'll contribute much next year. I'm not sold on Yue. From what I saw of him, he's not a great athlete and he didn't really impress me that much. They did get a steal in Gasol, who most mocks had up at the top of the second round.

Memphis Grizzlies - Thumbs Up

Picks - Mike Conley (4)

Not much to say about this. They took Conley, who was the best point guard in the draft and, in my opinion, the best player on the board at #4. He got better and better as the year went on last year, and I wouldn't be surprised to see him be a big contributor this year for Memphis. He's impossibly quick and has tremendous floor vision. Absolutely the right pick for the Griz.

Minnesota Timberwolves - On The Fence

Picks - Corey Brewer (7), Chris Richard (41)

As far as their draft goes, I think they made the right moves. Brewer was the obvious pick when he fell into their laps at #7, and Richard is a great value in the second round, he would be a first rounder if he'd played anywhere but Florida. However, I can't help but feel like the Timberwolves wasted their best chance to rebuild by not getting a KG deal done. They were adamant about what they wanted in return for him, and as a result of that they miss the chance to grab draft picks in the deepest draft in recent memory. I'm fine with the picks they made, but what they didn't do with KG devalues this for me.

New Orleans Hornets - Thumbs Up

Picks - Julian Wright (13), Adam Haluska (43)

They get a thumbs up because Wright at #13 is an absolute steal. He could've easily gone 6 picks higher than that. He doesn't fit a need quite as well as Nick Young would've, but there's no question that he was the best talent left on the board. On potential alone, he's probably the 3rd best guy in the draft. He had games at Kansas where he absolutely destroyed the opposing team. If the Hornets can get some consistency out of him, this is a great pick. Haluska was a surprise, as he wasn't really on anyone's radar. Really though, once you get into the last 20 picks, everything is a stretch.

Phoenix Suns - Thumbs Down

Picks - Alando Tucker (29), D. J. Strawberry (59)

Is there anything more depressing than seeing your team trade away a first round pick for cash? Yeah, the Suns have done that 4 straight times. Not only that, but they then took Tucker at 29, who is a PF in a SF's body. Oh yeah, he can't really shoot either. They had McRoberts and Gabe Pruitt sitting there at 29, and they took Alando Tucker instead. Ugh. The Suns have really made some disappointing moves in the last 2-3 years, and it's a shame cause I think their window for winning is closing. They had the chance here to either take players or trade for players who could bolster a championship level team, and they blew it. I do like the D.J. Strawberry pick at 59 though. He'll carve out a spot in the league as a lock-down defender.

Portland Trail Blazers - Thumbs Way Up

Picks - Greg Oden (1), Rudy Fernandez (24), Petteri Koponen (30), Josh McRoberts (37), Taurean Green (52)

Not only did the Blazers make an absolute killing with their picks but they also managed to bring another piece over in the Zach Randolph trade, Channing Frye. This is the best draft I've ever seen a team have. They drafted a franchise center in Oden, they got rid of head-case Randolph and his monster contract and brought in another good young big in Frye, they drafted two lottery-level talents in Fernandez and Koponen who will continue to mature overseas (something they had to do with all the guys they were bringing in with this draft), they got the steal of the draft in McRoberts at 37 (who is a perfect complementary post guy and also a good friend of Oden's), and they picked up Green about 20 spots later than most people had him ranked. That, my friends, is one heck of a draft. Here's the really scary thing about this team. By trading Randolph's contract for Francis's shorter deal, the Blazers made sure that they will be well under the cap in 2 years when guys like Aldridge and Roy start signing extensions. They've done so well building with young talent, and it's entirely possible that they will be able to keep all of it. Can anybody in the league match the young talent on their frontline with Oden, Aldridge, Frye, and McRoberts? This team is ridiculously scary.

Sacramento Kings - Thumbs Down

Picks - Spencer Hawes (10)

It's not that I don't think Hawes is a bad player. He's probably more-or-less the next Brad Miller, and Miller has had a very solid career with a few All-Star games tossed in there. However, with all the rebuilding that Sacramento has to do, they needed a high-ceiling kind of guy, and Hawes isn't it. Julian Wright would've been the much better pick here.

San Antonio Spurs - Thumbs Up

Picks - Tiago Splitter (28), Marcus Williams (33), Giorgos Printezis (58)

It's just not fair sometimes. The best team in the league adds a lottery-level talent who will wait a year before coming over. Splitter was a perfect fit for them, and they'll be reaping the benefits in two years. Williams is a great prospect with a ton of potential, but he never put it together in college. I was a little surprised that they didn't go with Derrik Byars, but if anyone can get Williams to put things together, it's the Spurs.

Seattle Supersonics - Thumbs Up

Picks - Kevin Durant (2), Jeff Green (5)

Big props to Seattle for being gutsy with their moves. Trading Ray Allen wasn't even something I was thinking about, but it makes a lot of sense. The word from Seattle is that they want to try and resign Rashard Lewis and be able to throw Green, Durant, and Lewis out there all at once. It's a remarkable idea, and I think that they could pull it off. There are very few players in the league versatile and athletic enough to run the 2,3,and 4 spots, but these guys could do it. Can you imagine trying to match up with that? Anyway, even if they don't bring Lewis back, Green is a great compliment to Durant. Overlooked in the Allen for Green deal is that they also brought in Delonte West, who is a solid player and should be the starter at the point for them next year.

Utah Jazz - Thumbs Up

Picks - Morris Almond (25), Kyrylo Fesenko (38)

I have no opinion on Fesenko, but Almond was a great pick at 25. He was obviously the best talent left on the board, and he fills the Jazz's need for a perimeter shooter. Considering where they were picking, the Jazz did a solid job.

Just as a final note, is anyone else as excited as I am that Ray Allen and Allen Ray are on the same team? I've been waiting for this since I learned that Villanova was bringing in a freshman named Allen Ray. It's fate, it had to happen, the basketball gods brought it about.

Dallas Mavericks

Roster for 07-08

PG - Jason Terry, Devin Harris
SG - Maurice Ager, Greg Buckner
SF - Josh Howard, Deavean George, Pops Mensah-Bonsu
PF - Dirk Nowitzki
C - Erick Dampier, Desanga Diop

Picks

2 - 4 (34 overall)
2 - 20 (50 overall)
2 - 30 (60 overall)

Well, the only real piece the Mavs lose from a 67-win team is Jerry Stackhouse, and there's a decent chance that they can resign him. The question is, can they still win a championship with this team after 2 colossal playoff collapses? They'd love to get rid of Jason Terry to bring in another player who can contribute, since they've got Devin Harris to take his place. They could potentially work a sign and trade with the Cavs for Anderson Varejao and one of Cleveland's bad contracts (Damon Jones or Donyell Marshall). That would give the Cavs the point guard they need and get Dallas some toughness in the frontcourt. As far as their draft picks go, it's hard to predict because that's just the nature of the second round, but they could look to add frontcourt depth, and they might look to draft a combo guard to shore up the backcourt. They'd love to get Glen Davis with their top pick, but it's not likely he drops that far. Names to look out for might be Zabian Dowdell, Aaron Gray, Stephen Lasme, Russell Carter, and Marc Gasol.

What They Should Do: There's a lot of frontcourt depth in the later part of this draft that could be available when they pick, and a lot of them are 4-year college guys with the potential to come in and help immediately. They should try and shop Terry around for frontcourt help and take somebody in the second round who can step in and contribute immediately.

What They Will Do: They'll try to trade Terry, but his value isn't especially high right now, so they might not ever pull the trigger. Draft picks in the second round are a crapshoot, so who knows about that.

Denver Nuggets

Roster for 07-08

PG - Allen Iverson
SG - J.R. Smith, Von Wafer
SF - Carmelo Anthony, Yakhouba Diawara
PF - Kenyon Martin, Linas Kleiza, Reggie Evans
C - Marcus Camby, Nene

Picks

0 - 0 (0 overall)

Well, things could certainly be worse for the Nuggets. They've got no draft picks, but they've got a really solid core built up. The roster could also include Eduardo Najera if he decides to stay with the team (he's got a player option). The main concern for the team should be to resign Steve Blake in the offseason, since he provides a solid pure point who can come off the bench and run the team. If Kenyon Martin can recover at all from injury, they'll have an incredibly deep front line, especially if Najera comes back. If they can't resign Blake, the Nuggets should probably try to dump one of their front line guys for a point. Kleiza and Evans are both good enough young posts that Denver could probably get a servicable backup point for one of them. Other than shoring up the point, the Nuggets are set for making a run next year. The team was only just starting to gel last year, and with another year for the young guys to improve, Iverson to fit in, and the possibility for Martin to return, Denver has the potential to be gangbusters next year.

What They Should Do: Resign Blake and hope that their core is enough to contend.

What They Will Do: I can't see much else they can do other than trying to sign Blake. They don't have the cap space to go for anything else, and they can't really move any contracts.

Detroit Pistons

Roster For 07-08

PG - Lindsey Hunter
SG - Rip Hamilton
SF - Tayshawn Prince, Ronald Dupree
PF - Rasheed Wallace, Jason Maxiell
C - Nazr Mohammed

Picks

1 - 15 (15 overall)
1 - 27 (27 overall)
2 - 27 (57 overall)

There's probably not any team in the league that is more in flux than the Pistons are right now. They're standing at a crossroads, and the decisions of this offseason will drastically effect the next few years. Option 1 is to try and resign Chauncey Billups and probably Chris Webber to make another run at the Finals with this core. The other option is to start shopping around Rasheed Wallace, and build through the draft around a core of Rip, Prince, and Maxiell. All indications are that they're going with option one, and most drafts have them taking Rodney Stuckey at 15 to help with their backcourt depth.

What They Should Do: I think I'm in the minority here, but I'm of the opinion that it's rebuilding time in Detroit. Sure, you might be able to make one more Finals with this group, though even that is a harder task than ever now, but do you actually think the Pistons would have a chance of winning a title? The answer is no, and my philosophy is that if you can't contend for a ring, you need to be building towards it. They'd have to lock Billups up long-term to a fairly large contract, and that contract might even look good for the first and second year. However, Chauncey isn't getting any younger, and this has the feel of a contract that is going to look very bad in a few years when Billups is untradeable and tying up your cap space. Sheed's value isn't going to be getting any higher, and now is the prime time to start rebuilding. I'm actually not a big fan of Stuckey, and I think they'd be better off with Acie Law or Javaris Crittenton, whoever is available there to give them a point guard of the future. Another prospect at 15 could be Sean Williams or Tiago Splitter, since the Pistons really need to reload their frontcourt if they plan on rebuilding, and both of them are great talents. If the pick is a big, I really like Petteri Koponen with the 27th. He's a young PG prospect that scouts are really high on, with some saying he'd be a lottery guy were he coming out of high school in the US. Another pick there is Josh McRoberts, who is a solid value at 27 and is kind of a C-Webb Lite kind of player.

What They Will Do: All signs point to them resigning Billups, drafting Stuckey for backcourt depth, and making another run in the East. I hate this as I think they're sacrificing the future for a few more mediocre years, but that's just me.

I remember reading an article in Sports Illustrated in 2001 that was all about the new generation of players that was changing the face of the playoffs. The group of Vince Carter, Allen Iverson, Kobe Bryant, Tracy Mcgrady, Baron Davis, Kevin Garnett and the rest were entering the peak of their career and promising to give us compelling matchups for the rest of the decade. This was the dynamic group of players who would fill the void left by the Jordan generation, who were all either retired or soon to retire (Barkley, Stockton, Malone, Hardaway, Reggie, Pippen). Fast forward to now. We're on the other side of most of these players' prime years, and between injuries, dissappointing performances, and managerial incompetence, that generation has left us mostly dissappointed. The decade has been dominated by Shaq, the Pistons' team-oriented style, and the one star of this generation who has lived up to his billing, Tim Duncan. As the torch seems to be passing to the next wave of stars (Lebron, Wade, Melo, Parker, Bosh), its time to take a look at where there players stand in the grand scheme of things. What is the historical legacy of this group, which popularized jumping to the pros after 1 year or just straight out of high school.

In 1996, the NBA came out with a list of the 50 greatest players in its history. That was when most of these guys were just starting their careers. Of those 50, only Shaq is still an active player. So, the question is, who from this generation of players deserves a spot on that list? Keep in mind, we're not just talking about who's going to be in the Hall of Fame. We're talking about the best of the best, the guys who you're going to look back on in 20 years and be proud to tell your kids/grandkids, "yeah, I saw him play". The guys we choose have to be good enough to knock one of the guys on that list off. How will this generation be remembered? Who deserves to be called "the greatest"?

1) Tim Duncan, PF

746 GP, 50.9% FG, 68% FT, 11.9 RPG, 3.2 APG, 2.4 BPG, 21.8 PPG

There should be absolutely no doubt about this one. He'll go down in history as the best power forward ever, and he's one of the two most dominant players of the decade. He's unarguably one of the top 50, and you can certainly make a case for him being top 10.

2) Kobe Bryant, SG

784 GP, 45.3% FG, 33.7% 3PT, 83.8% FT, 5.2 RPG, 4.5 APG, 1.5 SPG, 24.6 PPG

Along with Duncan, I think he's the only unarguable inclusion on this list. When taking into account the era that Wilt played in, Kobe might be the greatest pure scorer of all time. Whether you love him or hate him (there seems to be no middle ground), you have to be in awe of his brilliance. The most talented player in the league, bar none.

3) Kevin Garnett, PF

927 GP, 49.1% FG, 78% FT, 11.4 RPG, 4.5 APG, 1.4 SPG, 1.7 BPG, 20.5 PPG

He will always be remembered for breaking open the HS to pro floodgates and for his landmark contract with the Wolves. The verdict is still out as to whether he will always be remembered as the guy who couldn't quite get it done. Regardless of whether or not Garnett ever does get his ring, he's still proven to be a remarkable basketball player. I'm willing to overlook his playoff struggles in light of his being the most versatile player ever to play the game. He's been stuck on a bad team for the past few years, but it wasn't long ago that we were debating whether he or Duncan was the better player.

4) Allen Iverson, PG/SG

747 GP, 41.8 MPG, 44.2% FG, 31.1 3PT, 77.7% FT, 3.9 RPG, 6.2 APG, 2.3 SPG, 27.9 PPG

I went back and forth on this one because I find it very hard to look at AI's career objectively. He's one of the most prolific scorers of all time, but he's certainly not the most efficient scorer ever to play. He's been criticized for his attitude towards practice and he's been criticized for the amount of shots he takes. However, he's one of the most competitive players in the game and plays completely without fear. To watch Iverson is to watch heart triumph over stature. At the end of the day, his amazing ability to score at a mere 6 feet tall and his playoff run where he nearly single-handedly carried the Sixers to the finals are enough for him to make the list.

On the Brink (likely Hall of Famers, but not top 50)

Paul Pierce, Vince Carter, Tracy McGrady, Steve Nash

Dirk Nowitzki

Nowitzki deserves a special note because I think that more than anyone, he has the potential to jump up this list. He's really just entered his prime as a player and has hit a turning point in his career after the first round loss to the Warriors this year. His place in history will be determined by how he responds to the accusations that he's a weak player.