The Association

LeBron on Rondo? 4 Reasons Why That's a Bad Idea

By Craig Kwasniewski

Hey well he IS the MVP and as THE MVP, you SHOULD save your teams collective arses.... but not this way. LeBron wanting to defend Rajon Rondo on for game 5 is a bad idea. No actually it's a stupid idea and I have four reasons why: 

1 - LeBron's not that great of an on-the-ball defender to contain Rondo from the get go. There's a huge differemce between locking down a defender one-on-one in latter moments of a game versus going at him the entire 48. Does LeBron have the ability to go at Rondo every single possession? Is he willing to pick him out right at the change of possession and shadow him the full court for the entire game? I've seen LeBron pick his spots and chose to shut down his man in spurts, but it's a different mentality and pacing to continue that the whole game. LeBron's a freak on nature on offense, but does he have the necessary defensive mindset? 

2 - Cleveland uses LeBron as a roving shot blocker, this changes their entire defensive scheme. A funny thing happened along the way of all those highlight-chasing blocks. NOBODY wants to be on ESPN being on the receiving end. The Cavs put LeBron on the weakest defender and utilize him as a roving shot-blocker and it works. Did you see how every Celtics' drive has their players' head on a swivel expecting a block? I literally can't stand the play because it's so fundamentally wrong, but it works.  It gets the crow pumped and the opposition freaked out. That's not happening if LeBron is on Rondo. 

3 - Hey there's that guy Paul Pierce. LeBron and Pierce have been matched up most of the first four games and Pierce is obviously paying for it. Equal parts LeBron's defense, defending LeBron and wear and tear Paul Pierce is nowhere near the player that was the 2008 Finals MVP. He looks tired, old and lost. BUT...he's still got a great game left and the Celtics still call his number down the stretch. Anthony Parker isn't strong enough for Pierce, and Mo Williams is too small. I can see Pierce getting back into the flow of the game with LeBron on Rondo. The last thing the Cavs need is a hot/confident Pierce with a Game 5 on the line. 

4 - Game 3. The Cavs rolled the Celtics because LeBron came out aggressive on the offensive end and the entire roster fed off his energy. Actually is was more than a roll, it was the worst home playoff defeat in that storied franchise's history.  This ain't about Rondo's dominance. The Cavs have won before with Rondo putting up some fierce numbers. No, this is about how much the Cavs feed off LeBron's offense. Quite simply, use the exact gameplan from Game 3 and the Cavs should win easily. 

Cleveland is too good to panic right now. This is what separates championship teams from the rest of the pack, the ability to weather these moments. Yes, Rondo had a monster Game 4 to even up the series but the key was that the Big Three did not. Let Rondo get his but more importantly, LeBron NEEDS to get his. If two of the Big Three (or maybe a Sheed) get untracked tonight, the Cavs are in serious trouble.  Stick to what got you here and you'll be fine.

The Outrage Over LeBron's MVP Vote is Foolish and Arrogant

By Craig Kwasniewski

LeBron ONLY got 116 out of 123 first place votes? Such an outrage! This is preposterous, outlandish, unbelievable, atrocious, a crime against all humanity, an insult to us all... how dare they! Don't the know LeBron is the only true MVP this year! Don't they know LeBron was such a dominant force that he should get all the first, second, and third place votes! Don't they know basketball?

OBVIOUSLY personal agendas got in the way of the first unanimous MVP award in NBA history.

Please

Let me get this straight. LeBron was such an obvious choice that any such dissension is influenced by personal agenda and homer-ism. No really, this year was such a clear cut decision that it's blatantly personal. As my wife says in 90% of our arguments, "Don't tell me what I'm thinking!"

(Before we move on, let me be VERY clear, I think LeBron is the MVP this year. So don't write this off as some LeBron hating post by a Lakers fan. Back to the post...)

Let's look at this from the perspective of say a media member in Oklahoma City. Kevin Durant worked on his game all last summer, improving his handles and range and entered the 2009-10 season as a player who "made the leap." The Thunder improve from a 26 to 50 wins and make the playoffs. Along the way Durant leads the league in scoring at 30.2 ppg, becoming the youngest player to ever do so. Oklahoma City becomes the hottest team in the NBA from January through late March, following the lead of Durant's exceptional play. Many people (including a Boston-leaning ESPN writer) start buying into the Thunder as a legitimate playoff contender. This all starts and ends with Durant's play, his scoring ability, his poise, his focus, his overall game. It's safe to say Durant took this team to the brink of something special in 2010.

Now you're a media member from Oklahoma City, you see this team change over the course of two seasons, you understand and appreciate all the hard work Durant puts in the offseason, you see his leadership and the impact on the entire roster. These are things the national media might not appreciate. After all he does play in one of the smallest markets so it's not like the Thunder were regulars on ESPN.  And unlike Durant, LeBron is on literally every day in highlights, commercials and games.  It's easy to see and be influenced by his game... he's everywhere!

I know we all enjoy watching Durant play and being hoops junkies we try to catch as many of his games as possible, but there's still a lot to be said for attending all those Thunder games in person and following him around on a daily basis. You see his impact at practice, in the locker room and on the floor.  All the League Pass action and pages of stats still don't quantify the impact of LIVE NBA action.  Their media guys have the privilege of seeing a different Durant than the rest of us.

My point... being in Oklahoma City on a daily basis you actually might pick Durant as the MVP this year.

It's a subjective vote, let people be subjective. A lot of well-respected writers come off arrogant and petty when they start going after the six percent of the dissenting vote (yes it's such a low number that it can be written out in verbal form). A lot of them are simply stating this year is "SO OBVIOUS" that anything else is blatantly wrong. No, that's just your point of view.  Just because you have the ability to be heard by more people doesn't make it fact.  And calling out the few dissenters like some torch wielding angry mob is borderline embarrassing.  You guys are better than that!

Finally, people are arguing that LeBron's legacy will be affected by this vote. Not even! His legacy will be cemented in NBA championships not MVP's.  Just ask yourself how many titles Magic has or Bird or even MJ.  Now ask yourself how many MVP's for each player.  I'll be honest, I had to look up the MVP awards to check. Titles not MVP's...

Relax Cleveland, Shaq's Injury is Better in the Long Run

By Craig Kwasniewski

Shaq's thumb injury, surgery and 8 weeks of recovery might actually benefit the Cavs in the long run.  Bear with me Cleveland, I know it's tough being a fan of any professional sports team out there especially with the repetitive stomach punch moments over the years and all the LeBron rumors, but this thumb injury might be a good thing.

Shaq's at the very tail end of his professional career.  The number of quality games left is a finite number, he literally has only so many bullets left in the chamber.  And like most veterans, he's knows enough about his body to realize that this might be his last shot at title number 5.

So why waste quality games on the last few weeks of the regular season?  The Celtics are struggling with age, the Magic still seem to be missing something chemistry-wise and Atlanta is definitely a year away from being a championship contender.  As long as LeBron's on the floor the Cavs are a sure lock at the number 1 seed in the east.  All they need is just enough quality minutes from the Varajao/Powe platoon until March 22nd when Ilgauskus returns from his trade sabbatical.  That's 11 games over that span with only two of them against quality opponents (Boston and San Antonio BOTH at home).

The thumb injury gives Shaq time to rest, recover and be ready for a grueling run to the title. So he misses the first round, you're telling me that a LeBron, Jamison and Z frontline wouldn't breeze by say Miami or Milwaukee (Charlotte will move up to a 6 seed, scaring all of New England with a crazy Celtics-Bobcats series... I can't wait)?

Shaq is with the Cavs for three reasons: to get past Dwight Howard, to match the Lakers and their length and to win a title.  These won't come along until mid-May when Shaq returns.  We're talking at most 14 games of playoff level effort from Shaq, basically the same number of quality games he has left in the chamber.

Late in his career, Shaq has always found stretches in the long regular season to take time off with nagging injuries and recharge the battery.  Phil Jackson always pointed out that The Diesel never really cared about the regular season until after his birthday on March 6.  Maybe the injury is unexpected, but the rest and the need to recharge the batteries for an long playoff run is just what the doctor ordered.

This is a good thing for Shaq and the Cavs.

The Only Real Solution to the Ilgauskas Mess is for Stern to go "Casino" on Ferry

By Craig Kwasniewski

"Look what they did to my hand man!"

"All right, I'm gonna give you a choice. You can either have the money and the hammer or you can walk out of here. You can't have both. What do you want?"

Message to Danny Ferry, you can have Zydrunas Ilgauskas in 30 days and the hammer or you can walk out of here... If only David Stern ran the NBA like Ace Rothstein in Casino (or maybe he does, we're just not privy to his "negotiation face.")

This whole 30-days buyout and return to the original team thing is one of the worst loopholes in the NBA.  Teams, players, GM's and media honks all flat out lie about the whole process like it's completely random that a player happens to return to his original team after a buy-out.  We all know what's going on, and it stinks something fierce. 

Just be honest and spare us all the lies.  Tell us that Z is coming back to Cleveland in 30 days. Tell us that Washington dumped salary for practically nothing in return.  Tell us hard paying customers the truth!  Stop leaking false reports that other teams are pursuing Ilgauskas and stop having your superstar lie to the media by saying, “I’m not OK with losing Z" when you know damn well he's returning in 30-days.

I think that's the most insulting thing of it all, that teams play the BS game and lead us to believe that there were no backdoor deals and that Ilgauskas happen to organically return to Cleveland.  We're not that stupid to see right through it all.

Rules are rules and the 30-day buyout and return is a loophole that while it ruins the integrity of the game, is not cheating.  And props to Cleveland for finding a sucker GM (who's willing to screw over his own fanbase) to go along with the whole process.  Just spare us the lies.

But in the end, I wish David Stern gave Danny Ferry the same "hammer" option or at least decided to close the loophole.  He's changed rules before in mid-season (remember the 2002-03 season where Stern lengthened the first round to 7 games?), so why not eliminate this one? 

(We all know why Stern won't change the buyout rule, just like when Delonte West went El Mariachi with loaded guns on a motorcycle and ZERO punishment in an offense waaaaaay worse and waaaaaaay more scary than Arenas... it's LeBron's world baby!)

Don't worry, you'll be back in 30-days.  1, 2, 3... FLOP!!! I mean CAVS!

Thoughts On a Crazy Day/Night of Trading

By Craig Kwasniewski 

Can we replace the dunk contest with a live feed into the board rooms of the 30 GM's at trading deadline? Seriously, how much more entertaining would it be to see a desparate Donnie Walsh nervously work his poker face with Daryl Morey, who holds all the Mac's I mean cards.

Anyway, trading deadline is still hours away yet the last 24-hours have been very crazy as several title contenders and not-even-pretenders hoped to improve their chances at dethroning the Lakers. Here are my thoughts on the recent trades (including the crazy T-Mac to Sacramento??? trade that happened in the early hours, which by the way interrupted my Olympic Curling viewing in HD.): 

The Cleveland Cavaliers acquire Antawn Jamison. In a three team deal Jamison and Sebastian Telfair go to Cleveland; Zydrunas Ilgauskas, the Cavs 2010 first-round draft pick, the rights to Emir Preldzic and Al Thornton go to Washington; and Drew Gooden goes to the Clippers. 

First thoughts? Whew! The Cavs could have had a younger more athletic Amar'e Stoudemire filling the lane and reigning terror a-la Shawn Kemp from 1992 to 1997. They could have gotten bigger, younger and more athletic and completely whiffed because they didn't want to part with JJ Hickson?!?  Whew!  LeBron would have been hoisting a trophy for the next FIVE years.... WHEW!

Lemme get this straight, the Cavs have been rolling over every opponent (including the defending champs) with size and defense so they trade size and defense away for smaller and offense (who's also a little long in the tooth at 33 years old). I attended the Lakers-Cavs game on Xmas Day and the Lakers had no answer when Mike Brown put both Shaq and Ilgauskas on the floor at the same time. Gasol and Bynum never had to face a frontline bigger and stronger than them and they backed off as Cleveland blew out the Lakers.  Weeks later the same thing happened in Cleveland as the Cavs size especially threw Gasol off his game. 

How is a smaller mid-range guy with no defensive skills going to help? He's only made it out of the first round once in the playoffs, he struggled when on a contending team (2003-04 Dallas Mavericks) and he can't play a lick of defense. I can't stress this enough, Mike Brown made his bones as a defensive coach, he's quite possibly the least creative offensive coach in the history of the NBA yet he's still LeBron's coach because he calls a hell of a defensie game. How is a guy who played his entire career on offense-first ZERO-defense teams going to blend with the Cavs? Yeah maybe he'll be a 20 and 8 guy every night, but everyone who plays with LeBron is capable of that. Why? Because freakin' LeBron James is there and he'll create more easy baskets than you can imagine. But really, offensive stats aside the Cavs got worse in this deal on the most important end of their floor: defense and size. 

BTW - oh and what about Shaq? Is he capable of splitting Z's minutes with Varajao? Does he have the energy to play out the season with the extra minutes? He's no longer with the chemical brothers (Phoenix's training staff) to help squeeze every last bit of energy out of him. I'm real curious to see how the Cavs front line reacts on the floor now that Z is gone. 

The Clippers found a way to dump salary and are expected to buy out Gooden right away, leaving them a major player in the summer... well except that their owner hates black people, which may chase away like every single free agent.

The Wizards... I haven't seen a team blown up this fast since the Lakers in the summer of 2004 when they traded away Shaq, Rick Fox and Gary Payton and let Karl Malone, Derek Fisher and Phil Jackson go. I feel for ya D.C.!  I'm just curious how Ernie Grunfeld still has a job.  

The Rockets send Tracy McGrady to Sacramento for Kevin Martin.  The full deal has the Rockets sending McGrady, Carl Landry and Joey Dorsey to the Kings for Martin, Sergio Rodriguez, Hilton Armstrong and Kenny Thomas. 

Okay this trade went down late last night and completely took me by surprise.  All week we were hearing T-Mac to the Knicks is imminent, it's happening, the Knicks will be serious players this summer now that they can shed T-Mac's huge expiring contract.... (insert crashing car noise here)... BAM!

Daryl Morey got tired of negotiating over draft protections with Donnie Walsh and found a better deal in Sacto.  When healthy Kevin Martin is a very good shooting guard that knows how to get to the freethrow line.  (He once scored 20 points while going 1 of 8 from the field!)  It doesn't hurt to have a guy who can get to the freethow line anytime, especially in the postseason.

But what DOES hurt is that he's injury-prone (he missed 84 games the past three seasons) and of any team in the NBA, the Rockets are the last franchise that needs yet another injury-prone player.  But given a choice between the stink that the Knicks were offering and this deal, it's safe to say Morey came out ahead... and Donnie Walsh is left staring at his phone hoping someone, anyone will take Jared Jeffries contract.  I'm starting to understand why the blogosphere loves Morey.  

The Kings get a hockey player trapped in the body of an NBA player, Carl Landry.  I love pairing him up with Nocioni, a pair of balls-out grinders who don't give a damn about stats.  Good guys to have on your team. Oh and they get massive cap relief in T-Mac's expiring contract.  The downside is that they lose Martin, but he wasn't working out well with Tyreke so something had to be done and this deal ain't all that bad for Sacto.

Will they give T-Mac some minutes to prove that he's worthy of a contract this summer... who knows?

The biggest question of all: did Ainge acquire the Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders in the deal? 

Celtics trade Eddie House to the Knicks for Nate Robinson.  The Celtics need to throw in another player to complete the deal, possibly J.R. Giddens. As of last night this was a done deal.

Like Cleveland, the Celtics needed size and defense.  So they go out and grab 5'-9" Nate Robinson for instant offense off the bench.  Yeah I get it that the C's go though these excruciatingly long scoring droughts late in games and Robinson seems to be the right type of energy off the bench.  HOWEVER... does this deal make a difference against the Lakers, Magic or Cavs?  The C's need more big bodies to deal with those three teams.  But maybe the worry is more about getting a top three seed than actually competing for a title.

The Knicks... they're reeling bigtime after failing to get T-Mac.  D'Antoni supposedly wanted Eddie House, so there you go Mike.  Enjoy getting a decent three point shooter who talks serious smack while the Knicks lose 65 games and lose any chance of getting LeBron, Wade, Bosh or Joe Johnson because of the failed T-Mac deal. 

As a Lakers fan, the two deals by Cleveland and Boston don't worry me at all.  Both teams got smaller and worse on defense.  But most importantly of all, A'mare does not go to Cleveland where he would have been a monster for the next 5 to 6 years.  WHEW!

Photos: This Kobe/LeBron Pic is VERY Similar to You Know Who

By Craig Kwasniewski

I saw this LeBron/Kobe photo and IMMEDIATELY thought of the old Magic/Michael one from the 1991 NBA Finals. Even better both players are positioned exactly like their counterparts. MJ and obviously Kobe, both shooting guards with, like it or not, very similar games (ans yes, for all the Kobe haters, Kobe is NOT MJ, but he most closely resembles the game of the greatest baller in NBA history).

And LeBron and Magic are equals in their physical stature, both overpowering and unique in size yet very agile for their positions.  Check it out...

Cavs/Lakers - Where Size DOES Matter

By Craig Kwasniewski

Lakers/Cavs, LeBron/Kobe, Bynum/Shaq, Mike Brown/Phil Jackson's clipboard (Come on, it's too unfair to compare Mike Brown to the greatest head coach in NBA history, so we'll go with his equal... PJ's clipboard, hey but it's not any old clipboard, so at least Mike's got that going for himself, which is nice.)

Anyway, the top two teams in the NBA meet tonight for the final time in the regular season. I would have said for a possible Finals preview but with the Celtics, Hawks, Magic and Nuggets there's still a lot of great teams that both the Lakers and Cavaliers have to pass through before ESPN/Nike's dream NBA Finals.

So let's get down to the nitty gritty and preview the matchup between these two.

Size DOES Matter: "Nobody can match the Lakers size", "Damn the Lakers are long!", "Bynum, Gasol, Odom... now THAT's a frontcourt!"... all very true and I thought the Lakers size and quality depth would be a HUGE difference on Christmas Day. Except the exact opposite happened and the Lakers were blown out.

The Cavs are the one team in the NBA that can outsize the Lakers. I'm not sure if it was a key adjustment or just dumb luck, but 4 minutes into the Christmas game, Mike Brown put in a lineup of LeBron, Mo Williams, Anthony Parker, Shaq and Ilgauskas and the Cavs took over. The Cavs were bigger and stronger in all five positions and discouraged the Lakers bigs from attacking the lane. Cleveland rendered the Lakers a jump shooting team and became the aggressors and anyone who's watched the NBA knows, the refs ALWAYS favor calls with the more aggressive teams. The game became a blowout and a very festive Staples Center crowd grew impatient and frustrated while they watched the NBA Champs wilt to the Cavs. It was embarassing... and as a Lakers fan VERY scary. The Lakers aren't supposed to be out-sized.

Cleveland is NOT Boston: On Christmas Day there was no message to be delivered, this wasn't a rivalry, these aren't the defending champs with angry, pasty, drunk, obnoxious, ugly, retarded, racist (we all know how racist Boston really is, in fact that all white professional basketball league proposed putting an entire division in the Boston area... but I digress), ugly, annoying Celtics fans... this was Cleveland, LeBron and those puppet shoe commercials. There wasn't the same bitter taste in the air like the Celtics game last season and it showed. The Lakers didn't bring the energy but neither did the Staples Center faithful... well at least until the foam finger rained terror and blood was shed from the damage and destruction from the foam fingers (well that's how the media portrayed it so it must be).

Point being, the Lakers played with the same energy of a Clippers game in November and not with a playoff effort.

LeBron is GOD!!!! Enough already!  Let it be said that LeBron is a darn good hoopster.  But do all Clippers/Celtics fans with gigs at ESPN need to remind us about it with a 3,500 sonnet?  I get his angle, no better way to get underneath the skin of Kobe fans than to write about LeBron being the best basketball player on the planet.  Fine!  By his definition he is.  Well my definition is a tad different and I'm okay with being an 11-year Lakers season ticket holder and watching SIX NBA Finals appearances and FOUR NBA titles.  You can have the best basketball player on the planet... I'm okay with watching Kobe in person and actually winning rings!

The Verdict:  The Lakers have the best coach in NBA history, two bonafide All-Stars in Gasol and Kobe (Mo Williams is a good player but *NOT* All-Star material!), more versatile depth (they can play with speed or in a slow it up game) and they have the better clutch players (plural here folks, it's not just Kobe vs. LeBron down the stretch, it's also Fisher and Gasol)...

HOWEVER, the Cavs size really threw the Lakers off their game on Christmas Day and I think that's the difference tonight as Cleveland beats Los Angeles 104-97.

BTW - I have this weird feeling about the Cavs... I think this is the year LeBron finally gets his ring.  There's something about this team, first the media wrote them off too soon, plus the Celtics are looking VERY old and the Magic are wilting under expectations... this is FINALLY LeBron's year.

Thoughts on the Draft Day Trades

By Craig Kwasniewski

I'm not really up on all the players drafted yesterday since the only NCAA hoops I watched all year was from the Las Vegas Hilton on the first weekend of March Maddness... Basically my knowledge on the college scene falls somewhere between Stu Scott and Rick Kamla (or Vanilla Scott as I like to call him).

So here are my thoughts on the trades from the past 48-hours:

1 - Shaq to Cleveland:  Props to the NBA media for not overreacting and proclaiming the Cavs the 2010 NBA Champs. Props to Danny Ferry for going "all in" and taking a chance on Shaq, hoping to convince LeBron to re-sign in 2010.  And props for Donald T. Sterling 2.0 for completely ruining one of the NBA's greatest franchises and killing Steve Nash's final years as a player.  This trade has way more questions than answers. 

Will Shaq play second fiddle to the league's biggest alpha dog?  He thinks Kobe was bad but LeBron runs EVERYTHING in Cleveland.  His teammates, his gags, his front office... this is LeBron's team.  From Penny to Kobe to Wade... all three All-Stars were young and didn't have the locker room pull that LeBron has.  Kobe was stubborn and always battling Shaq to be THE number one, but Shaq always had the Lakers roster and coaching staff on his side.  Shaq is clearly the outsider in Cleveland, will his ego accept being a number #2?

And don't tell me that he settled in with Phoenix as the #2!  Just one season in, the Suns were slowing things down and dumping to Shaq just like all the previous teams he played for.  Now we're hearing that Nash requested the Suns trade away Shaq.  He's 37 years old and he's never changed his demeanor as a player.  Why would he change now?

Will Shaq have patience for Mike Brown, the guy who was thoroughly out-coached by Mr. Master of Panic Stan Van Gundy?  As the Eastern Conference Finals showed us (and as I've been literally screaming for years!), the Cavs have one play in their offensive playbook.  Just one!  High screen and roll for LeBron where his options are: 1) step back for a three, 2) drive down the lane, 3) pass to the corner for a three, 4) hit the rolling big man to the hoop.  That's it!  But LeBron is so damn talented that he normally overcomes defenses (well expect when playing the Lakers, Orlando or Boston, but NOBODY seemed to remember this during the regular season DESPITE THE LAKERS SWEEPING THEM!!!)  Anyway, Mike Brown is CLEARLY the worst head coach that Shaquille O'Neal has played for (and yes that includes Terry Porter and Del Harris).

The Cavs now have their first low-post option since a pre-lockout Shawn Kemp in 1998.  Will Mike Brown add a second page to his offensive playbook and post up Shaq?  What happens when they face Orlando during a regular season game and start trailing?  Will Shaq DEMAND the ball during timeouts or will Mike Brown freeze up (like in the ECF's) and just ask LeBron to save them?  How soon before Shaq realizes the huge gap in ability between Mike Brown and Stan Van Gundy?

Does this trade make LeBron Tom Hagen?  Or is he Connie?  One of Shaq's best quotes was his comparison of his superstar teammates to the Corleone Family.  Penny Hardaway was Fredo (hilarious), Kobe was Sonny (temperamentally very true) and Dwyane Wade was Michael (maybe).  There's really only two left, Connie and the adopted Tom Hagen.  The way I see it, Steve Nash and LeBron is Tom Hagen who was one of the smarter and more appearance-savvy members of the Corleone Family... much like LeBron.  Nash as Connie totally makes sense considering Connie was the least valuable sibling in the Corleone family (BTW - Nash and Shaq combined for ONE playoff victory)... HOWEVER her actions did lead to Sonny’s death. And Nash did eliminate Kobe twice in the playoffs.

2 - Vince Carter to Orlando:  The Magic gave up virtually nothing and got a former All-Star to add depth to the defending Eastern Conference Champ AND/OR a quality back-up plan in case Hedo leaves.  A brilliant deal!  If Orlando gets 80% of Vince Carter from his All-Star days AND they re-sign Hedo you're looking at the favorites in the Eastern Conference.  They added scoring and athletic depth and another player that will force defenses to spread out and give Howard even more space to score from down low.  If Howard expands his low-post game (which he will), the look out, this might be the next NBA Champs.

If Hedo leaves, they are still one of the top contenders.  With Carter they'll get a player like Hedo who can clear out defenses and iso during crunch time.  But I think Hedo will stay in Orlando.  Now all of this depends on Carter's motivation... which should be high now that he's closer to a NBA title than ever before.

Here's my question... With Cleveland and Orlando making major moves, will Boston try to counter?

3 - Richard Jefferson to San Antonio:  Spurs get Richard Jefferson for left-over garbage (Bowen, Oberto and Thomas).  I guess Popovich is no longer complaining that the league needs a trade czar because this is almost as one-sided as the Gasol trade last year. In fact, one could argue that the Grizzlies got more because of Marc Gasol... a promising big.  The Spurs trade old size and defense and get a proven athletic scorer in Jefferson.  This trade gets the Spurs back in the second round of the playoffs but it doesn't counter the Lakers size.

Now if the Spurs can somehow find a way to sign Rasheed Wallace, then they become the odds on favorite in the West. 

4 - Jamal Crawford to Atlanta:  Wow another high-scoring player with ZERO basketball IQ!  Just when you though the Hawks were the dumbest team in the NBA, they just found a new level of supid-itude (a way of saying suckitude except with stupid).  I really can't find a proper word for how dumb this team is... but what do you expect from a team whose head coach's game face is the "who farted??" look!  Such a MEH trade!

5 - Amare to Golden State:  This isn't official until July 8th (or until EVERY Phoenix Suns season ticket holder skips town) but it looks like a done deal.  So in two seasons the Suns go from the SSOL, high-scoring, high-impact, fun to watch and with several All-Stars and a major contender to NOTHING.  What a shame!  Robert Sarver IS Donald T. Sterling 2.0 make no mistake about it.  

Initial trade rumors have the Warrior sending Curry over with Biedrins, but now I hear they're keeping Curry.  So why give up a relatively young annual All-Star with a very exciting game for absolutely nothing? 

Knock on the Clippers all you want but since they moved into Staples Center they've at least tried to assemble a team with talent.  Mis-guided efforts aside, every season Clippers fans at least have a small glint of hope when they look at their roster (Barron Davis, Marcus Camby, Eric Gordon, Blake Griffin... these are players with talent!).  But teams like Phoenix, Memphis, Sacramento and Charlotte don't even try... they're a lottery team BEFORE October!  Why plunk down hard earned $$ to even watch this crap.

Watching Phoenix dissolve into this garbage is sad.... Screw you Sarver!

LeBron Let's His Tee Shirt (Not His Game) Do the Talking

By Craig Kwasniewski

Imagine the outrage if Kobe did this.  Instead of having his game do the talking, LeBron decides again to let his shirt do all the talking instead (from TMZ.com)...

This is the second time this week that LeBron is wearing his insecurities on a tee shirt.  Is LeBron having a ego melt-down?  Did LeBron realize that Cleveland has no chance as long as Mike Brown is their coach?  Is he feeling inferior to the likes of Kobe, Duh-white Howard, Paul Pierce... all on more talented teams?

But more importantly, just imagine the outrage if Kobe Bryant was caught with the same shirt.  Boston Sports Guy Bill Simmon's head would explode at the sight of it... leading to another 10,000 word crapfest about how KG is a great guy and Kobe is the devil.  Kobe would be nailed to the cross in "I knew he was selfish!!!" articles all over the place.

But since we live in LeBron's world, just to make King James happy, let's to do exactly what he's asking us to do...

2009 NBA Most Valuable Player
2007 NBA Eastern Conference Champion with the Cavaliers
2006 & 2008 NBA All-Star Game MVP
5-time NBA All-Star (2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009)
5-time All-NBA (2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009)
1-time NBA All-Defensive (2009)

And ZERO rings!!!

Does Anyone Really Think Cleveland Will Lose Game 5?

By Craig Kwasniewski

Game 5, LeBron's last chance to save his MVP season... will he do it?  Will Cleveland save their season?  Will Mike Brown over annunciate every word during timeouts and show us that he's worth of coach of the year?  Will LeBron prove what everyone at ESPN is praying for... that he's better than Kobe?  Man, the drama is really intense!

Ummmm, not really. 

Cleveland wins this game easily.  So here's a quick message to all media members and fans begging to anoint LeBron "the greatest ever... ever... ever... (echo.... echo... echo)"... please spare us the 10,000 word love poems.  The Cavs are the top seeded team in the NBA, playing at home, with the 2008-09 NBA coach of the year and the 2008-09 MVP... they're supposed to win! 

Save all the "gritty effort, heart of a champion, Jordan-esque" and any other cliches you can think of... they're supposed to win!

The Cavs start two All-Stars and allegedly the greatest player in the next 25 years.... they're supposed to win!

Nike and especially ABC/ESPN have a lot writing on Cleveland advancing to the NBA Finals... they're supposed to win! 

So spare us all!!!!  Because Cleveland easily wins Game 5!