2010 Team USA - Global Community Cup

Today, team USA won their first exhibition game in Madrid, Spain 77-61 over Lithuania. Stephen Curry, who sprained his left ankle 3 days ago, played only 3 minutes ...

Lithuania

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Player	Min	FG	3Pt	FT	Reb	Ast	TO	Stl	Blk	PF	Pts
Mantas Kalnietis	26	3-6	1-3	0-0	3	3	2	1	0	3	7
Tomas Delininkaitis	16	1-2	1-1	2-3	5	0	2	1	1	3	5
Linas Kleiza	23	5-12	0-1	2-2	4	0	3	0	1	1	12
Jonas Maciulis	17	3-9	0-2	1-2	5	1	3	3	1	2	7
Robertas Javtokas	26	5-10	0-0	0-0	6	0	1	1	1	3	10
Paulius Jankunas	18	1-5	1-3	0-0	2	2	3	3	1	1	3
Martynas Pocius	17	2-6	0-1	3-4	4	1	1	0	1	1	7
Renaldas Seibutis	15	3-6	0-1	0-0	2	2	1	1	0	2	6
Simas Jasaitis	10	0-1	0-0	0-0	1	0	2	1	1	1	0
Martynas Gecevicius	7	1-3	0-1	0-0	0	0	0	1	0	0	2
Tadas Klimavicius	7	0-1	0-0	0-0	0	1	0	0	0	1	0
Arvydas Eitutavicius	7	0-0	0-0	0-0	0	0	2	0	0	1	0
M. Andriuskevicius	5	0-1	0-0	0-0	1	0	1	0	0	0	0
M. Lukauskis	4	1-1	0-0	0-0	0	0	0	0	0	0	2

---

Totals

200

25-63

3-13

8-11

33

10

21

12

7

19

61

USA

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Player	Min	FG	3Pt	FT	Reb	Ast	TO	Stl	Blk	PF	Pts
Rajon Rondo	14	1-3	0-0	0-0	3	1	4	3	0	2	2
Chauncey Billups	22	2-6	2-4	1-4	3	0	4	0	0	2	7
Andre Iguodala	29	2-5	1-1	0-0	6	2	0	3	0	3	5
Kevin Durant	22	4-14	0-4	7-10	4	1	2	1	1	1	15
Tyson Chandler	20	0-0	0-0	0-0	5	1	2	0	1	2	0
Rudy Gay	18	6-12	0-1	2-2	3	0	0	2	2	3	14
Russell Westbrook	17	4-5	2-2	2-2	2	2	2	1	0	1	12
Lamar Odom	17	1-4	0-1	0-2	7	0	1	1	2	0	2
Eric Gordon	12	3-8	1-3	2-2	1	1	1	3	0	0	9
Derrick Rose	11	1-4	0-1	0-0	1	3	1	1	0	1	2
Danny Granger	11	1-3	0-1	0-0	4	0	2	0	0	1	2
Kevin Love	3	0-1	0-0	2-2	1	0	0	0	1	0	2
Stephen Curry	3	2-2	1-1	0-0	0	0	0	0	0	0	5

---

Totals

200

27-67

7-19

16-24

40

11

19

15

7

16

77

source:usabasketball.com

Team USA will face host and defending world champion Spain tomorrow at 3 pm (EDT) before heading to Athens, Greece for their final exhibition game against Greece ...

2010-11 NBA Season Preview - Utah Jazz

The new look 2010-11 Utah Jazz

Starter / Bench:
PG - Deron Williams / Ronnie Price
SG - Raja Bell / C.J. Miles
SF - Andrei Kirilenko / Gordon Hayward
PF - Paul Millsap / Mehmet Okur
C - Al Jefferson / Kyrylo Fesenko

source: apimages.com

2009-10 regular season: 53-29 (tied for 4th in West)
2009-10 playoffs: Western Conference Semifinals

Players out: Carlos Boozer, Kyle Korver and Wesley Matthews
Players in: Al Jefferson, Raja Bell and Gordon Hayward

(They have replaced Carlos Boozer with Al Jefferson to keep themselves in the top 5 in the tough Western Coference ...)

My 2010-11 season prediction: 52-30 (5th in West)

Offseason Player Movement - Carmelo Anthony

This week, the basketball world has been hijacked by news and rumors about Carmelo Anthony. ESPN, CBS Sports, Sports Illustrated, Yahoo Sports and others are all reporting the "news" that Carmelo Anthony will not re-sign with the Denver Nuggets. The Nuggets, after watching the Cleveland Cavaliers and the Toronto Raptors lost their stars for nothing, are exploring trade options for their own star Carmelo Anthony. The only thing that is slowing down the process is that the Nuggets currently do not have a GM ...

Personally, I found it quite sick when I read about these so-called "news" this week. Carmelo Anthony made it clear last month that he will never ever re-sign with the Denver Nuggets. Even I have blogged here 2 weeks ago that Carmelo has already put his Denver home for sale. If he were to stay with the Nuggets, why is he selling his house? And why would he not sign the 3-year, $65 million contract extension if he knows he might only get half as much when he hits the open market next summer?

These so-called NBA insiders are known to throw out rumors the second they hear about them so that they get credit / paid for these "breaking news". But this time they didn't report the news when they first had it because they simply didn't believe it. They didn't believe Carmelo Anthony, who is a New York native, will give up money for the chance to play for the New York Knicks. Then a month later when they finally believe it, they are all reporting this one-month-old "news" as headline on the same day. This is just crazy ...

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This summer has not been kind to NBA teams as many players have decided to play overseas instead. I know this has been a trend for quite some time, but in the past 2 weeks alone we have already lost ...

Last season's NBA players:
Rob Kurz (CHI)
Oleksiy Pecherov (MIN)
Gabe Pruitt (NYK)
Kyle Weaver (OKC)
Robert Swift (OKC)
Taylor Griffin (PHO)
Pops Mensah-Bonsu (TOR)
Rasho Nesterovic (TOR)

This year's draft choices:
James White (DEN)
Jarvis Varnado (MIA)
Keith Gallon (MIL)
Nemanja Bjelica (MIN)
Dwayne Collins (PHO)
Scottie Reynolds (PHO)

And a lot of players are said to be considering playing overseas if they cannot secure a contract within the next 2 weeks ...

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This is just an update to the previous blog entry. The 2010 Team USA roster was trimmed down to 13 after cutting Jeff Green and JaVale McGee. And Stephen Curry might have hurt his chance of making the final-12 after spraining his left ankle in today's scrimmage as we are only 10 days away from the 2010 FIBA World Championship in Turkey ...

2010 Team USA - Global Community Cup

In Sunday's first exhibition game, Team USA beat France 86-55. If playing time was an indication of who will make the final cut, then we can expect both Jeff Green and JaVale McGee not making the Team USA final-12 roster ...

France

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Player	Min	FG	3Pt	FT	Reb	Ast	TO	Stl	Blk	PF	Pts
Nando De Colo	20	1-9	1-6	2-2	1	1	1	1	0	0	5
Nicolas Batum	31	5-11	1-5	0-0	4	0	5	4	0	1	11
Florent Pietrus	22	0-4	0-3	0-0	2	1	1	1	0	2	0
Boris Diaw	33	7-12	1-5	0-0	6	3	4	0	0	2	15
Ian Mahinmi	15	0-1	0-0	0-0	4	2	1	0	0	4	0
Yannick Bokolo	20	3-8	2-4	1-2	1	4	4	1	1	4	9
Mickael Gelabale	17	1-3	1-1	0-0	2	1	2	0	0	1	3
Ali Traore	16	2-4	0-0	2-4	1	0	1	1	2	2	6
Alain Koffi	12	1-2	0-0	0-0	3	0	1	1	0	1	2
Alexis Ajinca	9	1-6	0-0	0-0	5	1	0	0	1	0	2
Charles Kahudi	5	0-2	0-1	0-0	2	0	1	0	0	1	0
Fabien Causeur	1	1-1	0-0	0-0	0	0	0	0	0	0	2
Andrew Albicy				DNP
Edwin Jackson				DNP

---

Totals

200

22-63

6-25

5-8

31

13

21

9

4

18

55

USA

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Player	Min	FG	3Pt	FT	Reb	Ast	TO	Stl	Blk	PF	Pts
Rajon Rondo	19	3-4	0-0	0-0	2	6	3	0	0	0	6
Chauncey Billups	15	5-9	3-6	4-4	4	0	0	0	0	0	17
Andre Iguodala	23	1-2	0-1	0-0	2	1	2	3	1	0	2
Kevin Durant	23	5-11	0-2	4-4	8	1	1	0	3	3	14
Tyson Chandler	14	2-2	0-0	0-0	3	0	0	0	1	2	4
Rudy Gay	20	7-12	1-1	4-6	1	0	0	2	0	1	19
Lamar Odom	18	4-5	0-1	0-0	7	1	0	1	1	2	8
Derrick Rose	15	1-4	0-0	0-0	3	3	3	1	0	0	2
Eric Gordon	14	3-5	2-4	0-0	1	0	1	1	0	2	8
Stephen Curry	12	2-7	0-2	0-0	0	1	1	2	0	0	4
Danny Granger	12	0-3	0-1	0-0	0	1	2	0	0	5	0
Kevin Love	8	0-1	0-0	0-0	1	1	1	2	0	0	0
Russell Westbrook	7	1-2	0-0	0-0	2	1	1	0	0	0	2
JaVale McGee				DNP
Jeff Green				DNP

---

Totals

200

34-67

6-18

12-14

34

16

15

12

6

15

86

In Sunday's second exhibition game, China lost yet another game this time to Puerto Rico 92-76. China's Yi Jianlian, who will play for the Washington Wizards this upcoming season, made only 3 of 15 shots for 11 points and 6 rebounds in 31 minutes ...

2010 Team USA - Another Televised Intra-Squad Scrimmage

The Blue Team won yesterday night's Team USA intra-squad scrimmage 49-47 on Tyson Chandler's "golden basket" in overtime ...

Team USA - Blue

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Player	Min	FG	3Pt	FT	Reb	Ast	TO	Stl	Blk	PF	Pts
Derrick Rose	22	1-4	0-1	0-0	4	3	3	1	0	1	2
Stephen Curry	17	4-10	4-10	2-2	2	0	4	0	0	2	14
Andre Iguodala	27	7-11	1-3	0-1	6	1	3	1	1	3	15
Kevin Durant	29	4-12	0-5	2-2	4	4	2	3	2	1	10
Tyson Chandler	21	1-3	0-0	0-0	2	0	0	1	1	3	2
Rajon Rondo	20	1-3	0-0	0-0	3	5	3	0	0	1	2
Jeff Green	7	2-3	0-0	0-0	0	0	0	1	0	1	4

---

Totals

145

20-46

5-19

4-5

21

13

15

7

4

12

49

Team USA - White

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Player	Min	FG	3Pt	FT	Reb	Ast	TO	Stl	Blk	PF	Pts
Russell Westbrook	23	3-6	0-2	2-4	3	1	4	4	0	1	8
Chauncey Billups	25	4-9	0-3	3-4	2	1	5	1	0	0	11
Rudy Gay	27	1-9	0-4	0-0	5	1	1	2	0	0	2
Danny Granger	25	3-9	0-3	0-0	5	3	0	1	3	1	6
Lamar Odom	18	5-7	2-3	1-2	4	1	1	1	0	1	13
JaVale McGee	10	1-2	0-0	0-0	1	0	2	0	0	1	2
Eric Gordon	10	1-2	0-1	1-1	0	1	0	1	0	0	3
Kevin Love	8	1-2	0-1	0-0	5	0	0	1	0	0	2

---

Totals

145

19-46

2-17

7-11

25

8

12

11

3

4

47

Team USA will have a final scrimmage against China on Saturday. Then on Sunday, Team USA will face France in Game 1 of the double-header, and China will play Puerto Rico in Game 2 ...

Offseason Player Movement - New Orleans Hornets

The New Orleans Hornets' new general manager Dell Demps made his first moves today in an attempt to keep star point guard Chris Paul happy and staying in New Orleans ...

Trade #1 - View This Trade

New Orleans Hornets receive:	Indiana Pacers receive:
- Trevor Ariza (HOU)	- Darren Collison (NOH)
	- James Posey (NOH)
New Jersey Nets receive:	Houston Rockets receive:
- Troy Murphy (IND)	- Courtney Lee (NJN)

Trade #2 - View This Trade

New Orleans Hornets receive:	Toronto Raptors receive:
- Marco Belinelli (TOR)	- Julian Wright (NOH)

Naturally, the winners here are not the New Orleans Hornets, but the Indiana Pacers and the New Jersey Nets ...

The Houston Rockets have spent too much money on Luis Scola, Kyle Lowry and Brad Miller this summer, and had no choice but to give Trevor Ariza away to save money. They are now trying to find a team to take Jared Jeffries' contract off the book also ...

The New Orleans Hornets seems to have improved their roster by getting Trevor Ariza, who earned his first career triple-double when he played against the Hornets in the final game of last season (which is why the Hornets like him), but actually didn't when they traded rookie sensation Darren Collison to the Indiana Pacers ...

The Pacers, of course, finally get the young, starting point guard they wanted in Darren Collison. Last year, they tried to get the Denver Nuggets' Ty Lawson and the Charlotte Bobcats' Raymond Felton but failed. This time, they get themselves an even better deal but had to give up their starting power forward Troy Murphy. Now they will have to start playing Josh McRoberts ...

The New Jersey Nets took full advantage of their unused cap space and get Troy Murphy in the deal. This will allow them to bring in rookie Derrick Favors slowly, and possibly deal Troy Murphy again at the February trade deadline once Favors has developed ...

After the completion of these 2 trades, Madison Square Garden chairman James Dolan can re-hire Isiah Thomas all he wants and expect another 6-8 years of losing seasons for the New York Knicks as they now have no chance of acquiring Chris Paul in any possible deal ... (Well, they can still go for a Big 3 with Carmelo Anthony and Tony Parker ...)

2010 NBA Free Agency - A Big 3 In New York City (Part 3 of 3)

( Continued from Part 2 )

7) Chris Paul: "We'll form our own Big 3"
First, the New York Knicks need to be prepared to get Carmelo Anthony through a trade with the Denver Nuggets this upcoming season, and not as a free agent next summer. After the Knicks get Chris Paul and Emeka Okafor, there won't be any cap room left for signing Anthony as a free agent ...

Next, the Knicks need the Indiana Pacers to join them in a possible 3-way deal with the New Orleans Hornets. Or, they need to make a trade with the Pacers first before their trade with the Hornets. And I'm 100% sure the Indiana Pacers will be interested in such a trade as they have been trying to do a T.J. Ford for Raymond Felton deal for a long long time ...

8) Amare Stoudemire: "The Knicks Are Back!"
Now, let me be the first one in the world to lay out the master plan. The New York Knicks might need to add a draft pick or two to juice up the potential deals, but the overall plan will be to complete the 3 following trades after mid-December when the Knicks can trade Raymond Felton to another team ...

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Trade #1 - Raymond Felton (NYK) for T.J. Ford (IND) - View This Trade
                  (I used 3 players whose contract numbers equal to Felton's contract number)
The new contract that Raymond Felton signed with the New York Knicks will pay him $7.0 million in 2010-11, $7.56 million in 2011-12. The Indiana Pacers will love this trade as they wanted to do it last year with the Charlotte Bobcats. And even if the Felton project doesn't work out for the Pacers, his contract is only a short 2-year contract ...

Trade #2 - Eddy Curry, T.J. Ford, Toney Douglas, Bill Walker and draft picks (NYK)
                  for Chris Paul and Emeka Okafor (NOH) - View This Trade
                  (I used 3 players whose contract numbers equal to Ford's contract number)
This will be a salary dumping move by the New Orleans Hornets as they rid themselves of Emeka Okafor's bad contract which otherwise would be impossible to move. In the process, the Hornets might get a draft pick or two and Toney Douglas from the New York Knicks ...

Trade #3 - Danilo Gallinari, Anthony Randolph, Wilson Chandler, Kelenna Azubuike and
                  Ronny Turiaf (NYK) for Carmelo Anthony and Coby Karl (DEN) - View Trade
This will be a no-brainer for the Denver Nuggets if they come to their senses and realize that they need to rebuild their team. The Nuggets will get 4 young, promising players in exchange for their superstar who isn't going to re-sign with them. This is something that the Cleveland Cavaliers and the Toronto Raptors failed to get last month ...

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9) So the Knicks will have their own Big 3 next season?
But stranger things have happened in the NBA. The New York Daily News has reported 2 days ago that Knicks president Donnie Walsh really considered resigning after Madison Square Garden chairman James Dolan made the controversial move to hire Isiah Thomas as a consultant to the New York Knicks. If Donnie Walsh is still the Knicks president by mid-season, maybe we'll see a Big 3 in New York. Otherwise, ...

[ read the New York Daily News story here ]

2010 NBA Free Agency - A Big 3 In New York City (Part 2 of 3)

( Continued from Part 1 )

4) Okay, the Knicks will get Carmelo Anthony. What about Chris Paul?
In order for the New York Knicks to get Chris Paul, who still has 2 years remaining on his contract, they will have to make a trade with the New Orleans Hornets. I do believe somewhat that Hornets owner George Shinn really wants to build a winner in New Orleans (as he traded Tyson Chandler for Emeka Okafor's 5-year contract instead of cap relief), but he also has made no secret of his constant cost-cutting measures. As of today, the New Orlean Hornets have almost $16 million of trade exceptions unused, meaning that they gave away $16 million worth of contracts in the past year without getting a player back. If the New York Knicks can help George Shinn to save more money, they're in the game ...

5) Chris Paul is no longer untouchable
The New Orleans Hornets will start the season with new general manager Dell Demps and rookie coach Monty Williams. If the Hornets are once again slow out of the gate this upcoming season (flashback: they fired coach Byron Scott, who has a close bond with Chris Paul, 9 games into last season), the Chris Paul trade talk will definitely heat up by mid-December when teams can trade their newly signed free agents. And as long as rookie sensation Darren Collison, who had 7-straight games with 18+ points and 9+ assists, a 20-assist game and a triple-double last year, on the Hornets roster, Chris Paul is available ...

6) Chris Paul is available only if the Knicks take Emeka Okafor also
Now, this is the part that EVERY NBA writer/insider is missing. The New Orleans Hornets will NOT trade Chris Paul, who is NOT on his final year, for just cap relief, draft picks and young talents. Next year, they might. Just not this year. If the New York Knicks want to get Chris Paul this year, they will have to paid the steep price of taking Emeka Okafor with him. No team, including the Portland Trailblazers and the Orlando Magic, can take Emeka Okafor in a potential Chris Paul deal that will give the Hornets a chance to get Okafor's remaining 4-year, $52.2 million bad contract off the book except for the New York Knicks. Here's how ...

( Continued in Part 3 )

2010 NBA Free Agency - A Big 3 In New York City (Part 1 of 3)

Since the Miami Heat, the Los Angeles Lakers and the Boston Celtics have all finished finalizing their roster for the upcoming season, maybe we should start turning our attention back to the New York Knicks. Will the Knicks get New York native Carmelo Anthony to join them next year? Will Chris Paul get his wish and form his own big 3 with Amare Stoudemire and Carmelo Anthony in New York? Most people think it's a longshot, but little do they know that it doesn't take much for this to happen ...

1) Carmelo Anthony really wants to play in New York
Well, everyone knows Carmelo Anthony wants to play in his hometown New York. But what makes it happen is that Carmelo doesn't seems to care about money. Under the new CBA next year, players are expected to earn a lot less than what they are receiving right now. And there's the possibility of a lockout. Still, Anthony has decided to not sign, at least for now, the 3-year, $65 million contract extension that the Denver Nuggets put on the table. If this isn't enough, he has already put his Denver home for sale at $9.5 million. He really seems determined to join the New York Knicks next season as an unrestricted free agent ...

2) The Denver Nuggets have passed their peak
Some might think this is just a tactical move by Carmelo to force the management to further improve the Nuggets' roster (after the Al Harrington's signing), but it would be insane for him to give up that much money for something's not going to happen. With almost $28 million tied to the oft-injured pair of Kenyon Martin and Nene for this upcoming season, there is no way the Denver Nuggets could bring in an impact player or two that will help them beating the Los Angeles Lakers and/or winning the tough Western Conference ...

3) The Denver Nuggets should go for a total rebuild
And take a look at the Denver Nuggets' contract situation ...

Player	2010-11	2011-12	2012-13
Carmelo Anthony	$17.1 million	$18.5 million (player)	- - - - - - - -
Kenyon Martin	$16.5 million	- - - - - - - - - - - - - - -	- - - - - - - -
Chauncey Billups	$13.2 million	$14.2 million (team)	- - - - - - - -
Nene	$11.4 million	$11.6 million (player)	- - - - - - - -
J.R. Smith	$6.0 million	- - - - - - - - - - - - - - -	- - - - - - - -
Arron Afflalo	$2.0 million	$2.9 million (team)	- - - - - - - -
Anthony Carter	$1.4 million	- - - - - - - - - - - - - - -	- - - - - - - -
Shelden Williams	$0.9 million	- - - - - - - - - - - - - - -	- - - - - - - -
Coby Karl	$0.9 million	- - - - - - - - - - - - - - -	- - - - - - - -
Brian Butch	$0.8 million	- - - - - - - - - - - - - - -	- - - - - - - -

If the Denver Nuggets decide to go for a rebuild, there will be no better time than the next summer as most of their contracts end after next season. (Nene's contract will end one more season after.) And it's not like they have a choice to opt for not rebuilding. Firstly, Chauncey Billups will be 34 years old next month. Secondly, even if they were able to re-sign or extend all of their free agents, they would still be a 1st round or 2nd round playoff team in the tough Western Conference. Therefore, I really don't see Carmelo Anthony wearing a Nugget uniform by 2011 ...

( Continued in Part 2 )

2010-11 NBA Season Preview - Season Opener (Part 3 of 3)

(Continued from Part 2)

6) Chris Bosh vs. Shaquille O'Neal
After the game on February 27, 2009 in which Shaquille O'Neal shot 20 of 25 and scored 45 points on the Toronto Raptors, Chris Bosh said ...

"[Shaq] was just camping down in the lane. I mean, if [the referees] are not calling three seconds — I thought it was a rule, but I guess not."

Then 2 days later, as expected, Shaq responded in the Arizona Republic ...

"I heard what Chris Bosh said, and that’s strong words coming from the RuPaul of big men. I'm going to do the same thing (in their next meeting) I did before - make him quit. Make 'em quit and complain. It's what I do."

Chris Bosh, of course, didn't find the RuPaul joke funny, and told the Toronto Sun ...

"I didn't laugh or anything. It wasn't funny. I was kind of upset with that. [Shaq] has been around the league for awhile and I expected a lot more professionalism out of him. I thought we were cool. Whatever. I won't get into a war of words. He's not my friend. I don't really know him. I don't care about that stuff. It's done."

Since then, Chris Bosh has refused to play center again ...

7) Zydrunas Ilgauskas vs. Shaquille O'Neal
I think Zydrunas Ilgauskas is a real professional in the NBA. He basically agreed to come off the bench and play behind Shaquille O'Neal the minute when he heard about the trade that would bring Shaq to the Cleveland Cavaliers. But who knows whether he was happy about it or not? If you did pay attention last season, he was the one playing, not Shaq, when the game was on the line for the Cavaliers ...

8a) LeBron James vs. Shaquille O'Neal
8b) Dwyane Wade vs. Jermaine O'Neal
8c) Chris Bosh vs. Jermaine O'Neal
I'm sure the 2 O'Neals will be more than ready on the opening night to prove that they weren't the weakest links in the 3 fail experiments. Before they have a chance to do so, I found an interesting article here. I don't know how the guy came up with the numbers below, but they sure told part, if not all, of the story ...

LeBron James	With Shaq	Without Shaq
2-Point FG%	54.37%	56.25%
3-Point FG%	34.57%	35.11%
Free Throw %	67.02%	80.56%
Free Throw Rate	21.71%	42.08%
Assist Rate	27.48%	29.02%
Turnover Rate	14.55%	12.14%
Rebound Rate	9.08%	9.90%
Off. Rebound Rate	2.85%	4.28%
Def. Rebound Rate	17.64%	19.52%

2010-11 NBA Season Preview - Season Opener (Part 2 of 3)

( Continued from Part 1 )

4) Miami Heat vs. Shaquille O'Neal
When Shaquille O'Neal was traded from the Miami Heat to the Phoenix Suns back in 2008, he became Public Enemy #1 in South Beach after making these comments ...

"I love playing for [Mike D'Antoni] and I love playing with these guys (Grant Hill and Steve Nash). [The Suns] have professionals who know what to do. No one is asking me to play with Chris Quinn or Ricky Davis. I'm actually on a team again."

"Of course it was a very tough time for me personally in Miami. [The Heat] tried to use everything as an excuse. [The Heat's medical staff] couldn't figure out what the pain (of his hip injury) was, so it had to be something with me. 'Oh, he's too old.' 'He's getting divorced.' 'He doesn't want to play.' It was none of those things. [The Suns' medical staff] are taking care of me here. I'm feeling better every day. And everybody's going to see they were wrong about me."

"I don't give a [expletive] what [Heat President Pat Riley] is disappointed in. Sue me."

Just when you think LeBron James really wants to beat the Boston Celtics, think again. The main reason that Shaq signed the veteran minimum of $1.4 million per season to join the Celtics is to crush, kill and destroy the Miami Heat, and vice versa. He will get his wish on the opening night ...

5) Dwyane Wade vs. Shaquille O'Neal
About 2 months after Shaquille O'Neal was traded to the Phoenix Suns, the Miami Herald had this story ...

... Stories of [Shaq's] disinterested behavior in practice and him making negative comments about teammates while on the bench during games (yes, even comments about Dwyane Wade) were circulating before his exit ...

Then on March 4, 2009, Shaq finally made his first visit back to the Miami's AmericanAirline Arena when the Phoenix Suns played the Heat that night. After the game, the Miami Herald had yet another story ...

... Wade has continuously stated that the relationship between [Shaq and himself] has died down some since O'Neal was traded to Phoenix last year. And he said twice before Wednesday's game that his grandmother taught him to forgive but not forget ...

Translation: Dwyane Wade still remembers Shaq calling him "Wonder Boy" in their final season playing together ...

( Continued in Part 3 )

2010-11 NBA Season Preview - Season Opener (Part 1 of 3)

The 2010-11 NBA season will begin on Tuesday, October 26. If you still haven't circled this date on your calendar, do it right now. In the season opener, the Miami Heat will play the Celtics at Boston's TD Garden at 7:30pm EDT ...

source:espn.com

That night, all eyes will be on the Miami Heat as they are the odds on favorites to win the 2010-11 NBA championship. But what makes it a great season opener are the past and present rivalries that are playing in the game ...

1) Miami's Big 3 vs. Boston's Big 3
When Ray Allen and Kevin Garnett joined Paul Pierce and the Boston Celtics in 2007, they won an NBA title in just their first season playing together. Will LeBron James and Chris Bosh do the same? Can Boston's aging Big 3 keep up with Miami's Big 3 who are in their prime? We'll find out ...

2) Miami Heat vs. Boston Celtics
Everyone knows about the Big 3s from both teams. But what about their supporting casts? The Miami Heat not only completed the signing of the Big 3 this summer, but also signed Mike Miller, Udonis Haslem, Zydrunas Ilgauskas, Eddie House and Carlos Arroyo who all are still good enough to start for some NBA teams. It will be interesting to see if the Miami Heat could get their revenge on the Boston Celtics who knocked them out the playoffs last season ...

3) LeBron James vs. Boston Celtics
Speaking of revenge, LeBron James would like to get one on the Boston Celtics also. Even though LeBron James and his then Cleveland Cavaliers were able to split the season series against the Celtics in each of the past 3 seasons, he and his team did end up going out of the playoffs twice during those 3 seasons at the hands of the Boston Celtics ...

( Continued in Part 2 )

2010-11 NBA Season Preview - Boston Celtics

The new look 2010-11 Boston Celtics

Starter / Bench:
PG - Rajon Rondo / Nate Robinson
SG - Ray Allen / Von Wafer
SF - Paul Pierce / Marquis Daniels
PF - Kevin Garnett / Glen Davis
C - Jermaine O'Neal / Shaquille O'Neal / Kendrick Perkins

source:espn.com

2009-10 regular season: 50-32 (4th in East)
2009-10 playoffs: NBA Finals

Players out: Rasheed Wallace, Tony Allen and Shelden Williams
Players in: Jermaine O'Neal, Shaquille O'Neal and Von Wafer

(They have added 2 All-Star centers this offseason to give themselves 2 more shots at another NBA title ...)

My 2010-11 season prediction: 54-28 (3rd in East)

2010-11 NBA Season Preview - Game Schedule

The NBA has released the schedule for the coming season's nationally televised games played on the opening week, Christmas Day and Martin Luther King Jr. Day. The remainder of the schedule will be released on August 10 ...

Date	Time (EDT)	Matchup	Network
Oct. 26	7:30 pm	Heat at Celtics	TNT
Oct. 26	10:30 pm	Rockets at Lakers	TNT
Oct. 27	8:00 pm	Bulls at Thunder	ESPN
Oct. 27	10:30 pm	Blazers at Clippers	ESPN
Oct. 28	8:00 pm	Wizards at Magic	TNT
Oct. 28	10:30 pm	Suns at Jazz	TNT
Oct. 29	8:00 pm	Magic at Heat	ESPN
Oct. 29	10:30 pm	Lakers at Suns	ESPN
Oct. 30	8:30 pm	Nuggets at Rockets	NBATV
Oct. 31	7:00 pm	Jazz at Thunder	NBATV
Nov. 1	8:00 pm	Blazers at Bulls	NBATV
Dec. 25	Noon	Bulls at Knicks	ESPN
Dec. 25	2:30 pm	Celtics at Magic	ABC
Dec. 25	5:00 pm	Heat at Lakers	ABC
Dec. 25	8:00 pm	Nuggets at Thunder	ESPN
Dec. 25	10:30 pm	Blazers at Warriors	ESPN
Jan. 17	1:00 pm	Bulls at Grizzlies	ESPN
Jan. 17	4:00 pm	Kings at Hawks	NBATV
Jan. 17	8:00 pm	Magic at Celtics	TNT
Jan. 17	10:30 pm	Thunder at Lakers	TNT

source:nike.com

But NBA fans will not have to wait long before watching some NBA players in action. This year the inaugural World Basketball Festival will be held on August 12-15 in New York City. Do not miss the huge double-header on August 15 when the United States hosting France at 1:00 pm EDT and China playing Puerto Rico at 3:30 pm EDT ...

Another Bad Move For LeBron James and His Crew

It was really nice when ex-Cleveland Cavalier Zydrunas Ilgauskas took out a 1-page advertisement in Sunday's Plain Dealer in Cleveland thanking the city of Cleveland and Cavaliers fans for their 14 years of support ...

source:cleveland.com

Then a day later, copycat LeBron James placed a similar 1-page advertisement in Beacon-Journal in Akron thanking the city of Akron for their support through the years ...

---

To My Family, Friends and Fans in Akron:

For all my life, I have lived in Akron -- and for that, I am truly a lucky man.

It was here where I first learned how to play basketball, and where I met the people who would become my lifelong friends and mentors. Their guidance, encouragement and support will always be with me.

Akron is my home, and the central focus of my life. It's where I started, and it's where I will always come back to.

You can be sure that I will continue to do everything I can for this city, which is so important to my family and me. Thank you for your love and support. You mean everything to me.

---

Of course, LeBron James received a totally different reaction from the general public compared to Zydrunas Ilgauskas. If copying Big Z's idea wasn't bad enough, in his full-page advertisement, he did not mention anything about the city of Cleveland or the Cleveland Cavaliers ...

I'm not going to hit a man when he's already down. But why did he place a 1-page advertisement if it wasn't for the city of Cleveland? He left the Cleveland Cavaliers this summer, not the city of Akron. And why did he pick such a bad time (1 day after Big Z's ad) to do it? I really don't get it ...

Another Piece of LeBron James' Evidence Disappeared

“The story should have never been published," said ESPN ...

Apparently, LeBron James and his crew have the power to make videos and articles about him disappear. In case you haven't read it, enjoy ...

---

A Kid In King James' Court
- By Arash Markazi

LeBron James leans against a waist-high stone wall with a 16-foot-tall Buddha hovering over him.

He's at Tao, a bustling restaurant and nightclub inside the Venetian hotel in Las Vegas, and his arms are crossed as he listens to Lynn Meritt, senior director of Nike Basketball, and Charles Denson, president of Nike Brand. James is quiet, occasionally applying Chap Stick on his lips and nodding when he hears something he likes.

Five security guards are stationed around him, one at each corner of the table he's about to sit at and another roving around with him, watching his every move. Anyone who takes two steps toward James is stopped and must have James' approval to come closer.

The waiter bringing him his cup of green tea with a spoonful of honey and a dash of lemon juice makes the cut, as does the scantily clad brunette with a tattoo of a heart on her right shoulder.

She wants to take a picture with him. "I can't right now," says James. "Maybe later, upstairs, I'll remember you're the one with the tattoo."

James will host a party later in the upstairs nightclub at Tao, but he is currently hosting a dinner for his friends and family in the downstairs restaurant. Wearing a gray striped shirt and gold crucifix around his neck, he bobs his head to music played by an amped-up saxophonist who weaves his way around the table like a one-man mariachi band.

I have somehow found myself at this exclusive table, seated beside Eddie Jackson, who is introduced to me as James' father (though he actually began dating James' mother, Gloria, after LeBron was born and the two are no longer together). Jackson, wearing a muscle shirt accentuating his large biceps, looks like a member of James' four-man entourage, like one of his childhood friends.

James' circle includes Randy Mims, seated to his right at the center of the table, Maverick Carter, seated at the head of the table, and Richard Paul, seated in front of James. The quartet makes up the initials behind LRMR Marketing, the management firm James founded almost four years ago with his buddies. Their offices in downtown Cleveland gained notoriety this month as the location teams flocked to for their meetings with James.

Seated to the right of James is Chris Paul, whose brother, C.J., is seated across from him. The New Orleans Hornets point guard has seen how James has positioned himself to win a championship by signing with the Miami Heat and joining forces with Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh and has reportedly considered a similar move himself.

The truth is, in James' dream world, the duo he would love to play with for the next decade would be Wade and Paul, his two closest friends in the NBA. Paul has been like a brother to James since the two were in Las Vegas four years ago for USA Basketball training camp, when as a rookie he carried James' and Wade's bags to and from the team bus.

James and Paul are fairly quiet at the center of the table as they take in the scene around them. As family style plates of miso-glazed Chilean sea bass and crispy lobster and shrimp dumplings are brought to the table, James effortlessly picks up the food with his chopsticks and occasionally raises his cup of green tea to passersby as they raise their martinis and mojitos in his direction before being helped along by security guards.

When trays of dessert plates are brought over, James gets up, preferring to start his party upstairs instead of indulging in the giant fortune cookies and chocolate cake. A security guard comes over and puts plastic wristbands on our wrists and escorts us through the back of the restaurant, up a flight of stairs in the bowels of the hotel and through a back entrance into the club. About a dozen security guards, moving their flash lights, direct us to a roped off section on the dance floor of Tao next to a couple of apparently nude women in a bathtub full of water and rose petals.

James, now wearing sunglasses in the dark club, immediately stands up on the couch and folds his arms high on his chest and nods his head. He smiles as he looks at the dozens of people crowded on the dance floor. Noticing him, they stop dancing and snap pictures as the DJ screams out, "LeBron James in the building!" and plays ****'s "I'm in Miami."

Carter, LeBron's childhood friend and manager, begins dancing around James like Puff Daddy in a Notorious B.I.G video. A giant red crown-shaped cake is brought over to James while go-go dancers dressed in skimpy red and black outfits raise four lettered placards that spell out, "KING." Carter grabs a bottle of Grey Goose and pours a quarter of it on the floor and raises it up before passing it off.

James' infamous one-hour special, "The Decision," was reportedly the brainchild of Carter, a 28-year-old who has never managed anyone outside of his friend James. This three-day party marathon in Vegas (which James is being paid six figures to host) is also Carter's idea.

Bottle after bottle of "Ace of Spades" champagne is delivered to the table by a waiter flying down from above the dance floor like some overgrown Peter Pan on a wire. One time he's dressed like a King, another time as Indiana Jones and another in a replica of James' No. 6 Miami Heat jersey.

James, who can hardly see the flying figure through his tinted glasses, almost gets kicked in the head on the waiter's last trip down. He looks at the girls around him and says, "I wish they'd have one of these girls with no panties do that instead of the guy."

Toward the end of the night, Boston Celtics forward Glen Davis walks past James' party and looks at the scene up and down several times like a painting in a museum, soaking in the images of the go-go dancers, the "King" sign and the costumed man delivering bottles of champagne.

Davis shakes his head and walks on.

James dances on the couch and sings along with the music blaring from speakers all around him.

The more you hang around James, the more you realize he's still a child wrapped in a 6-foot-8, 250-pound frame. The night after the party at Tao, he and his crew walk through the casino at the Wynn and Encore and he pretends to dribble a basketball as he walks past ringing slot machines and tourists who do double-takes. In a Nike T-shirt, jeans and sneakers, James' pantomime seems unconscious. He stops every few feet to shoot a jump shot, his right hand extended above his head on the follow through. He weaves through a pack of a dozen friends and pretends to connect on a layup as he walks past a gift shop. He passes overhead casino signs and jumps up and slaps them, pretending to dunk. Columns covered with advertisements for lounge acts become stationary defenders, chumps to fake out before connecting on imaginary mid-range jump shots.

James probably goes through a practice's worth of shots as we walk from the XS nightclub at Encore (James left his poolside table when he saw the club was practically empty), through Wynn and over the bridge to the Palazzo.

Soon after arriving at Lavo, a restaurant and nightclub at the Palazzo, a scene straight out of "West Side Story" breaks out when James and Lamar Odom, seated at a nearby table, engage in an impromptu dance-off to California Swag District's "Teach Me How To Dougie."

Odom, smoking a cigar, can't quite keep up. James celebrates by crossing himself and taking a shot of Patron. Moments later, a handful of girls dressed as cheerleaders walk toward his table with someone dressed in James' Heat uniform. Someone throws talcum powder in the air as James does before every game, while his new unofficial song, "I'm in Miami," plays.

Odom casts a glance James' way before looking in the opposite direction and raising his glass at a couple on the dance floor who point to their ring fingers and smile.

Back at his table, James and his crew sing every word to Rick Ross' "Free Mason." LeBron raps every line to former teammate Damon Jones (who played with him in Cleveland). Jones, puffing on a cigar, nods.

James rips out the lines:

"If I ever die, never let it be said I didn't win
Never, never say
Never say legend didn't go in
I just wanna die on top of the world."

While he looks at club-goers flashing the LA and Westside signs at him, James smiles and points to Jackson's T-shirt, which reads, "Another Enemy," and raises his glass of champagne.

Finally, Carter tells James it's time to leave the club and they do, LeBron pretending to cross-over tables and shoot over slot machines all the way back to his room.

---

The article was first published here at ESPN ...

2010-11 NBA Season Preview - Oklahoma City Thunder

The new look 2010-11 Oklahoma City Thunder

Starter / Bench:
PG - Russell Westbrook / Eric Maynor
SG - Thabo Sefolosha / James Harden
SF - Kevin Durant / Morris Peterson
PF - Jeff Green / Serge Ibaka
C - Cole Aldrich / Nenad Krstic

source:espn.com

2009-10 regular season: 50-32 (tied for 6th in West)
2009-10 playoffs: Western Conference Quarterfinals

Players out: - None -
Players in: Cole Aldrich, Morris Peterson, Daequan Cook and Royal Ivey

(They have added a true center and more outside shooting ...)

My 2010-11 season prediction: 54-28 (3rd in West)

2010 Team USA - World Championship Roster

The list of the 15 players who will be training in New York City from Aug 10-16 has been announced an hour ago ...

PG - Derrick Rose
PG - Rajon Rondo
PG - Russell Westbrook

SG - Eric Gordon
SG - Stephen Curry
SG - Chauncey Billups
SG - O.J. Mayo

SF - Andre Iguodala
SF - Rudy Gay
SF - Danny Granger
SF - Gerald Wallace

PF - Kevin Durant
PF - Kevin Love
PF - Jeff Green

C - Lamar Odom
C - Tyson Chandler
C - Brook Lopez
C - JaVale McGee

When they finish training there, 3 more players will be cut to finalize Team USA's 12-men roster for the 2010 FIBA World Championship. Based on performance thus far, Chauncey Billups, Danny Granger and Brook Lopez are the ones who should not make the final cut ...

However, if Brook Lopez fails to make the final cut, Team USA will be extremely thin at center as they are currently using Lamar Odom as a center. And, you can never have enough 3-point shooting and experience in international competition. Therefore, the 3 players who might not make the final could be Danny Granger, Jeff Green and ... ?

2010 NBA Free Agency - Winners And Losers

Kobe Bryant told Matt Barnes, "Anyone crazy enough to (bleeping) mess with me is crazy enough to play with me."

source:espn.com

There you have it. Matt Barnes is officially a Los Angeles Laker after signing a 2-year, $3.6 million contract last week. Lakers GM Mitch Kupchak is obviously the clear-cut winner here as he somehow managed to use their full $5.765 million mid-level exception to sign 2 NBA starters (Steve Blake with the Portland Trailblazers and Matt Barnes with the Orlando Magic) to further improve their chances for a 3-peat ...

While the best team from last season is going for a 3-peat, the worst team from last season is also going for their own repeat. The Minnesota Timberwolves drafted 2 more foreign big men, traded their best players Al Jefferson and Ryan Gomes away, failed to land any big name free agents, got fined by the NBA last week, and are still more than $20 million under the salary cap. Just when you think the Timberwolves had finally got rid of their bad GM Kevin McHale, they got themselves a worse one - David Kahn ...

Bonus - How many names on the Minnesota Timberwolves roster can you pronoun?
1 - Sasha Pavlovic?
2 - Oleksiy Pecherov?
3 - Darko Milicic?
4 - Greg Stiemsma?
5 - Nemanja Bjelica?
6 - Paulao Prestes?
7 - Kosta Koufos?
8 - Nikola Pekovic?

2010-12 Team USA - Training Camp Concluded

Team USA training camp concluded after the White Team's 114-96 victory over the Blue Team ...

Team USA - Blue

---

Player	Min	FG	3Pt	FT	Reb	Ast	TO	Stl	Blk	PF	Pts
Rajon Rondo	29	3-6	1-1	0-2	2	6	3	1	0	2	7
Chauncey Billups	22	2-10	2-6	0-0	3	1	0	1	1	1	6
Rudy Gay	33	7-11	3-4	6-7	5	1	7	2	2	5	23
Jeff Green	18	5-13	0-2	1-2	8	1	2	0	1	1	11
Brook Lopez	13	1-2	0-0	0-0	0	0	1	0	0	2	2
Russell Westbrook	31	4-10	0-1	6-8	4	3	4	3	0	2	14
O.J. Mayo	25	7-12	3-6	1-2	7	2	0	1	0	3	18
Kevin Love	20	2-5	1-2	3-4	7	0	1	0	0	3	8
JaVale McGee	9	3-6	0-0	1-2	3	0	0	0	1	0	7

---

Totals

200

34-75

10-22

18-27

39

14

18

8

5

19

96

Team USA - White

---

Player	Min	FG	3Pt	FT	Reb	Ast	TO	Stl	Blk	PF	Pts
Derrick Rose	31	7-13	1-1	0-0	3	8	0	5	0	1	15
Stephen Curry	21	4-9	3-7	3-4	6	1	3	0	0	3	14
Andre Iguodala	24	5-6	3-3	4-6	6	5	2	0	0	2	17
Kevin Durant	29	10-17	2-3	6-6	5	2	7	0	0	2	28
Lamar Odom	16	1-4	0-1	0-0	6	3	0	1	1	1	2
Eric Gordon	26	5-10	4-7	2-2	0	1	2	2	0	2	16
Danny Granger	21	2-5	1-3	0-0	2	1	1	0	1	5	5
Tyson Chandler	20	6-6	0-0	1-4	9	1	1	1	4	4	13
Gerald Wallace	12	2-6	0-4	0-0	0	0	0	0	0	1	4

---

Totals

200

42-76

14-29

16-22

37

22

16

9

6

21

114

source:usabasketball.com