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4th May, 2009 - 6:13 pm
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| Current Features |
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TEAM RANKINGS: Euroleague Top 16 Power Rankings
Barcelona, Olympiacos, Panathinaikos, Maccabi, Madrid and Siena enter the Top 16 phase as likely contenders to win the 2011 Euroleague.
STANDING 10: Non-National Games Of The Week (1/17-1/23)
The Knicks make three appearances this week, along with several from Blake Griffin and the Clippers.
PLAYER RANKINGS: 2010-11 NBA Player Rankings Through Dec. 14th
Now that more than a quarter of the season is in the books, we don't have many aberrations in the player rankings as Pau Gasol, Kevin Love, Deron Williams, Chris Paul and LeBron James comprise the top-five.
MOCK DRAFT: 2010 NBA Mock Draft, Version 5.0
An interesting week of prevalent deception is nearly over and the actual picks are hours away. Hundreds of hours have been spent watching the 60 players that 30 teams hope will improve their club in the coming years.
LOCKER TALK: Nash, Cleveland, & Orlando
Steve Nash could draw trade interest this summer and Cleveland isn?t overlooking Orlando?
CLASSICS: Hakeem Vs. Ewing: Who Was The Better Center?
Born within six months of each other in opposite corners of the world, two seven footers who are finalists for the Basketball Hall of Fame this fall are two of the best ever to play the center position.
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by Brandon Hoffman
The Celtics defeated the Bulls in a hard fought seven-game series, and are set to face the Orlando Magic in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Semifinals tonight.
Despite a grueling first-round series, forward Paul Pierce insists fatigue will not be a factor versus Orlando: "I ain't tired," Pierce told the Boston Herald as he slumped against the wall in the Garden hallway. "I sleep all day and play basketball at night. How can I be tired?"
Pierce averaged a staggering 44:27 over the first seven games of the playoffs. Rajon Rondo averaged 45.3 per contest, and Ray Allen clocked in at 40.0 mpg. No one on the Magic averaged more than 40 minutes per game as Orlando dispatched of Philly in six games. With starting shooting guard Courtney Lee sidelined with a fractured sinus cavity, and Kevin Garnett on the injured reserve with a strained knee, neither team will be at full strength. That's why this series is tough to predict. Most analysts have tabbed Orlando in six games or less.
I'll take the Celtics in 7. Boston has an advantage at three of the five starting positions (point guard, shooting guard, small forward), and I think Orlando's advantages in the frontcourt and on the bench will be minimized by a sound gameplan from defensive mastermind Tom Thibodeau. I'm just not convinced that Dwight Howard or Rashard Lewis are battle-tested enough to push the Magic over the top. Kendrick Perkins will body up Howard, and Pierce is capable of making things difficult for Lewis. Offensively, Rondo will have his way with Rafer Alston. Orlando has no one to defend Paul Pierce. Orlando doesn't receive enough respect for their team defense, but they still live and die by the three-point shot and possess little to no mid-range game. Look for the Celtics to chase Orlando off the three-point line (Boston was fifth in defensive three-point percentage: 34.9%) and force them to make plays outside of their comfort zone.
Denver Nuggets General Manager Mark Warkentien was named the Executive of the Year yesterday. Warkentien shed more than $20 million from Denver's payroll by trading Marcus Camby, Allen Iverson, Chucky Atkins, and Johan Petro, and signed Dahntay Jones, Chris Andersen, and Chucky Atkins to the league minimum.
Denver responded with a franchise record 54-win regular season and advanced to the second round for the first time in 15 years. Warkentien received nine of a possible 30 votes from a panel of NBA executives. Cleveland GM Danny Ferry received 7 votes, and Orlando executive Otis Smith finished third with six votes. Warkentien was roundly criticized for trading Marcus Camby for a second round pick and cap space last summer, but that move, along with the Iverson for Billups deal catapulted the Nuggets to the top of the Western Conference standings.
Bulls guard Ben Gordon would like to re-sign with Chicago: "I know what I have here," Gordon said. "I love all my teammates. I love this city. So I definitely, in an ideal world, would like to be back here. That's the way I felt the last two summers and (a long-term contract) hasn't happened."
Gordon turned down a five-year, $50 million extension in 2007, and declined a five-year $54 million offer last summer. The Bulls are dangerously close to the luxury tax threshold, and would likely have to exceed the tax to retain Gordon. I don't see how the Bulls can justify letting Gordon walk after they closed the season on such a high note. And it goes without saying that BG was instrumental to Chicago's playoff run. Gordon led the Bulls in scoring (24.3 ppg) and nailed several clutch buckets that kept the Bulls in contention.
Gordon has some weaknesses. Standing just 6-3, he's an undersized shooting guard and an average defender. But he's one of the NBA's best closers, and I don't know if you can put a price tag on clutch shooting. It's absolutely essential to championship-caliber basketball. And with Derrick Rose at the helm, and more than $25 million in cap space after next season, the Bulls would be wise to retain Gordon for the foreseeable future. A five-year deal starting at $7-8 million per season would be ideal, but $10 million per season isn't as crazy as it sounds.
21 Reasons Why Knicks Shouldn't Break Bank With David Lee, by Christopher Reina
The Fundamentals: Denver swarmed Kidd ... the Birdman was the key to Game 1 ... an advance scout analyzes Boston's odds versus Orlando ...the Magic were hoping to face Boston ... Bibby is paying off for Atlanta ... France has a love/hate relationship with Parker ... Houston inability to close games could haunt them versus the Lakers ... and the LeBron is the pride of Ohio.
Brandon Hoffman is a contributing writer for RealGM and the founder of BallerBlogger.com. Questions or comments can be sent to ballerblogger@yahoo.com. You can also follow Brandon on twitter.
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