"This might be my last one. Thought I'd go out with a bang. This is it. I mean, let me be free. They need to trade me for a big man. This has gotta be my last game. I know the trading deadline is tomorrow and nothing against the fans of Portland, but I just want to be happy. Hopefully, things go right for me. I just want to start my career over."

The move also reunites Ruben with his old Cincinnati partner in crime Kenyon Martin. No word yet on whether or not Bob Huggins is sober enough to be brought on as an assistant coach, but Karl is definitely going to need someone around to dole out hush money to the scores of traumatized Denver residents whom Rube and K-Mart will undoubtedly leave in their wake.

So Denver gets some defense, Seattle gets a back-up PG with a hella long contract and a decrepit Byron Russell, and Portland gets a back-up PF/C and a little cap room, and one less Ruben Patterson. Wrap it up; I'll take it. So long Ruben, don't forget to register when you get to Colorado, you scum bag.

Update: It seems as if I spoke too soon. Rumor is the deal now has Brian Skinner coming to the Blazers from Sacto instead of Vitaly, in exchange for Sergei. Potepenko supposedly is off to the Kings, and the Blazers are still getting Lenard. I liked the first version a lot better. Skinner makes too damn much. This still hasn't been finalized, so who knows what it will look like when everything shakes out.

The Seattle Supersonics made news last night by trading Vladimir Radmanovic to the Los Angeles Clippers for PF Chris Wilcox in a move that didn’t stay in the headlines long. First the move was overshadowed by a piss-poor effort against the Milwaukee Bucks. Secondly that trade became secondary news to rumors that the Orlando Magic were on the verge of acquiring former number two overall pick Darko Milicic and possibly trading away guard Steve Francis.

With all these rumors running rampant and the trade deadline just over a week away it is clear that trade season is fully upon us.

With yesterday’s move the Sonics front office proved many people wrong.

First there is the concept that this front office doesn’t make trades. Over the last several years the team has turned over virtually their entire roster. Only SF Rashard Lewis remains from the team Rick Sund inherited. Each season fans have called for a trade of Radmanovic only to hear that the front office was asking for too much in return. What they were asking for, reportedly was Wilcox.

This team is not afraid to pull the trigger, they are however exceedingly deliberate in their dealings both contract wise and in terms of trades. Sund frequently outlines how the seeds of a trade are often planted a year, or years in advance through dialogue with opposing General Managers. This is likely one of those scenarios as the Sonics were rumored to have had interest in Wilcox nearly since the day of his draft.

The second point proven today is probably more important to the team. By trading Radmanovic the team took a step to dispel the notion that players on one year qualifying deals have no value. Radmanovic, along with teammates Reggie Evans, and Flip Murray all accepted one year qualifying offers to make themselves unrestricted free agents at the end of this season. According to the league’s collective bargaining agreement all three can be traded, but only with their permission, and by granting permission the players will waive “Bird Rights” for the team that acquires them. These particular trade restrictions are new to the CBA this year and there some serious doubts whether any team would trade an asset of substance for a player under those circumstances. By getting any value at all for Radmanovic the team surprised me, and likely many other teams in the league. The hope is that this will set a precedent for Evans and Murray to be moved when GM’s assemble at next weeks all-star gathering.

So what exactly does this move mean for the team? Clippers Coach Mike Dunleavy pretty much summed up why this deal made sense for both teams in this morning’s LA Times.

“It’s an opportunity to add a player to our system who brings a totally different dimension,” Dunleavy said when describing Radmanovic. “We have a bunch of guys who are pretty good low-post players, but we were looking for a guy who could do it more from distance.”

Take that comment, turn it around to say “”We have a bunch of guys who could do it from a distance, but we were looking for a guy who is good in the low post.” And you have your answer as to why this is a good deal for both teams.

Wilcox plays above the rim and excels at running the floor. He is not the greatest team defender but does protect the basket with athleticism and shot blocking ability that have been lacking from this team at the power forward spot. For the last several years the team has focused on savy players such as Nick Collison who focus on team ball. The hope is that a blend of the two types of players will produce a product which is better than the pieces combined.

Somewhere between Keon Clark and Jermaine O’Neil the acquisition of Wilcox, if it pans out, changes the fundamental nature of this team by providing balance to a roster that has for several years been unbalanced. No longer will the team have to rely on a gimmicky philosophy of “spreading the floor with their big men”. Between Wilcox, Swift, Petro, and Collison they can at least make a basic attempt to play a more traditional game. No longer will they attempt to coach around their physical limitations in the frontcourt. They have enough physical ability to go around.

This is a great first move but the guard rotation remains critically undermanned as Flip Murray continues his Radmanovic-esque slide to complete uselessness. By moving Radmanovic the team cleared the path for Damien Wilkens to see additional minutes at the backup SF position. He should now play exclusively at the SG and and SF position. This leaves the team with a crippling shortage of ballhandlers and the need to make one more move for a backup PG. Marko Jaric of the Timberwolves and Earl Watson of the Nuggets are guards most closely linked to the Sonics in the rumor mill, but fans should keep in mind that this notoriously tight lipped front office likes to swing deals out of the blue. The Radmanovic for Wilcox trade had not appeared in a publication for nearly a year before it happened. I would expect the Sonics to grab a guard nobody is expecting without a peep being leaked to the press.

Since taking over as head coach after the loss at Indiana, Bob Hill has had 13 games to put his stamp on this team, and its quest to right the ship. We have seen the expected ups and downs that come with this type of transition; a 5-8 record is the most visible yardstick. But the story behind the story of wins and losses is the direction the team is headed; the tenor and chemistry of the Supersonics going forward. My estimation of the team under Bob Hill is that it is “trending upward”.

Prior to, and shortly after the change of Coach there was regular finger pointing and silent and not so silent dissent; we all read of Vladimir’s griping and constant refrain from his agent over playing time. Robert Swift and the NBA D league were mentioned in the same breath. We heard of Reggie asking for a trade, as well as Vitale; grumbling and discontent from Rick Brunson and Danny Fortson. Ray and Rashard have been telling us that they cannot do it all.

I say “trending upward” not because Seattle has won 3 out of their last 4, but because the tenor, the general direction of the team seems “hopeful”, and positive with just about half of the season to go. Winning silences most of the dissent. Therefore Seattle needs to keep on the positive side of the win loss column. This latest stretch of positive games, and the new energy and attitude on the team looks like a godsend for a team that was a ship without a rudder.

Individual performances within the framework of the team system as a whole are the framework for success. Good teams need good players; and in the NBA, most all teams have good players; but good players and good individual performances don’t necessarily put wins in the win column. The system has to be a good one that plays to the player’s strengths, and mitigates the weaknesses. Prior to the coaching change, we still had some good players (or great players) making great plays and having great games, but the wins were not forthcoming. Reggie Evans was showing some great rebounding and scoring numbers; but we were losing at an alarming rate. Ray and Rashard were both putting up All-Star numbers, but we were 13-17.

Things have been different for the Supes as of late. Seattle has put a few good games together against quality teams, even on the road. But it seems to me that our Point Guard has been infused with a new lease on life since the change. Luke has played 12 games under our new coach, and the system seems to really match his skill set. Under Hill, Luke has averaged 37 minutes, 4 Rebs, 7.1 Assists and 15.7 points. This is a great improvement over his roughly 10 pts/6 Assists numbers of last year, and most of this year. True he is playing more minutes, but he is earning them with the stellar play. Over the last 13 games (of which he has played 12), he has been matched up against some of the leagues finest point guards (we are talking about hall of fame, and MVP) in Stephon Marbury, Allan Iverson, Steve Francis, Baron Davis, Steve Nash, Sam Cassell and Chauncey Billups. Throw in Jason Williams, Gary Payton, Mike James and Chris Duhon and you can’t find a stiff in the group. It was against these players that our “homegrown” point guard has excelled.

It would be remiss of me to not mention the maturation and the growth curve of our two young stud centers in Petro and Swifty, and how much of a key they have been; but we didn’t know what we had there. Their ability to contribute was nearly an unknown. Luke on the other hand was a starter on a playoff team last year. To see him step it up in this fashion shows how much the system needed to change to fit his strengths and weaknesses, and those of the team as a whole.

I for one like what I am seeing; so for me I would characterize the team as “trending upward”, just as Luke’s play has been.

When they cut Mateen Cleaves just prior to his contract becoming guaranteed it was a calculated gamble to save a few bucks. Rick Brunson was healing and Damien Wilkens showing potential to play some PG. With a three guard rotation of Allen, Ridnour, and Murray in place and the two starters eating up the bulk of the minutes there was a decent chance that Cleaves would never see the floor. Unless Ridnour got injured prior to Brunson returning his salary would simply be money out of pocket.

Of course then Ridnour missed a game before Brunson was ready. The Sonics, uncomfortable with Wilkens running the offense were forced to play Flip Murray 45 minutes against the Dallas Mavericks and they lost a game that they may have had a chance winning. The next day management acknowledged their mistake and brought Cleaves back on a 10 day contract.

Anytime a roster decision is made with dollars in mind rather than wins it is cause for criticism by fans who righteously expect their franchise to compete in a big dollar industry. With the Sonics only 3 games out of the playoffs each and every win and loss has huge implications. While it is good to see the team admitting to their mistake by bringing Cleaves back into the fold it should not excuse their penny pinching earlier in the year. Should they finish a single game back from the playoffs that Dallas loss will loom large.

At this point it seems that the fans and management are committed to moving Reggie Evans to another location and that is probably the right course of action. They need however to remember the lesson learned at PG when they make their decision and fill the bench gap left in Evans departure. Evans should be moved for value. Something needs to come back that has the potential to help the franchise either this year, or in the future. If not we could find that his absence costs us yet another game this year when injury or circumstance creates a need for him.

Thought I’d throw up a special weekend column, since I’m not sure I’ll have one for tomorrow since it’s a holiday and all. Before we get into the situations to pay attention to, I thought we should check in on some of the centers who recently won starting jobs and were popular pick ups over the past couple weeks. I expressed skepticism about all of them for various reasons, and for the most part it looks like it was pretty well-founded.

Francisco Elson: 7.8/6.7/0.6, 0.7 steals, 1.1 blocks, 55% (31-of-56), 28.9 mpg in 9 starts

Ike Diogu: 9.4/4.5/0.9, 0.1 steals, 0.6 blocks, 62% (28-of-45), 24.1 mpg in 8 starts

Eddie Griffin: 6.6/6.0/0.7, 0.4 steals, 2.6 blocks, 0.3 3s, 43% (24-of-56), 22.4 mpg in 9 starts

I know that centers are tough to come by in deep, two-center leagues, but there’s still just not a lot of value up there. Elson is the only one getting acceptable minutes, but even his 29 per game might be considered a disappointment considering that not just Marcus Camby, but also Kenyon Martin, has been out for the majority of those nine games. He’s doing about what I expected him to do – basically a Rasho Nesterovic impersonation – and while he’s not been an embarrassment, those who were hoping for 12 and 8 with close to 2 blocks per game just had unreasonable expectations. Diogu has proven to be a stud in FG%, but if he can’t be on the court enough to take even 6 shots per game, he won’t be able to help you all that much. He’s nowhere close to an asset in any other category. As for Griffin, have more typestrokes been unnecessarily wasted on a single player?

Three Situations to Pay Attention To
Los Angeles Lakers
After just writing about how much space has been wasted writing about Eddie Griffin, it seems pretty silly to follow that up by writing about Kwame Brown. As much as we want to call Griffin a disappointment and a tease, it doesn’t even begin to compare to Kwame. But there seems to be a recent shift in Kwame’s game and might be making him a more reliable – if one-dimensional – fantasy option. In his fifth season in the league, Kwame has shown an extremely limited offensive game. His touch around the basket hasn’t developed at all, and while his jumper looks decent at times, he’s never been able to hit it with any consistency. Phil Jackson seems to have realized that – and maybe Kwame has as well – and isn’t asking Kwame to score. Last night’s 18-point “breakout” game was the first time since Nov. 14 that Kwame attempted 10 shots in a game. He’s been recast as someone who’s main duty is to attack the boards, especially on the offensive end. Brown averaged 1.9 offensive boards per game in November, 2.5 per game in December, and is up to 3.3 per game so far in January. The fact that many of his shots are coming off these offensive rebounds is helping his FG%. In six games since re-entering the starting lineup, he’s shooting 54%. Here’s his overall line in those six starts:

8.8/8.2/1.0, 0 steals, 0.5 blocks, 54% (21-of-39)

It’s pretty comparable to most of those “hot” pickups listed above, but without that secondary category to help out in. Although Brown has no steals in those six games, that’s the one category he’s most likely to offer some help in. He averaged nearly a steal per game while seeing 30 mpg in 03-04, which is pretty decent for a big man. If he remains in the starting lineup he could average somewhere around 0.8 steals and blocks per game, which isn’t spectacular, but isn’t terrible. Expecting any consistency from Kwame is probably pretty foolish at this point. A game like last night’s is still the exception, not the rule. But if he can keep pounding the boards and converting some of those putbacks, he might be able to emerge as something better than just another Reggie Evans.

Indiana Pacers
Let’s take a look at Jeff Foster’s line so far in January:

7.3/9.4/0, 0.4 steals, 0.4 blocks, 61% (22-of-36)

Again, not too different from the lines of those Elson/Diogu/Griffin group. Foster is quite similar – and the exact opposite – of Kwame Brown. Like Brown, he seems to be a one-category helper who is pretty consistent in that one category, but doesn’t have much of a shot of helping out elsewhere. Unlike Kwame, Foster seems to be getting the most out of his talent while Brown is getting only a portion. Foster’s upside is extremely limited – he will not score, he will not get blocks. But if you want a boost in rebounds – and only rebounds – he is probably one of the best guys you can grab. I’m not at all a fan of one category specialists because they leave you with holes in too many other categories, but situations get dicey sometimes, especially at center. I thought I was in the perfect situation earlier this year with Yao Ming and Rasheed Wallace, with a very capable backup on the bench in Brendan Haywood. Then Yao went down and Haywood became completely ineffective right around the same time. I ended up dumping Haywood, because he just wasn’t worth using. Since I’m in a daily changes, cumulative roto league, I decided to simply take the beating at center and go way under my projected games limit rather than try my luck with the dregs available on the waiver wire. My strategy is to use quality games when you have them. Right now I have a lot of point guards playing well, so I’ll go over the projected pace there and make a trade from there at a later date, even if it means not getting the best return. But in weekly H2H leagues, this strategy doesn’t work. So guys like Foster might be the best option available. And if you’re strong in blocks thanks to non-centers like Andrei Kirilenko, Shawn Marion or Paul Gasol, Foster can at least give you the boards you need from a center. He’s averaging 9.9 rpg in his last seven contests, and that’s in just 24.4 mpg. With Jermaine O’Neal iffy, he might see even more time. Foster’s no savior, but at least you know what you’ll be getting.

Dallas Mavericks
Did someone in your league pick up DeSagana Diop yesterday? It happened in my league, and I’ll admit I was about to make the move myself and was beaten to the punch by about five minutes. I’m not going to lose too much sleep over it, but man, I sure could have used that help in blocks. There’s no denying that Diop is a blocks machine – he’s second in the league blocks per minute, averaging 2.0 bpg in just over 17 minutes, which is rather ridiculous. But the big question is this – even with his ascent to the starting lineup, how much more playing time will Diop actually receive? In last night’s game he saw just 20 minutes, although it’s hard to read too much into that since the game was over early and Adrian Griffin was the only player in the game to play more than 30 minutes. One of the many problems with Diop early in his career was his total lack of conditioning, and while he’s gotten better, it’s hard for someone to start consistently playing more than he ever has and to do it at a high level. This is Diop’s fifth season in the league and he’s played more than 30 minutes in a game a grand total of two times. This is one of the same arguments I made against Al Jefferson even after he joined the starting lineup and he hasn’t broken the 30-minute mark at all in 8 starts. Avery Johnson hasn’t given up on Erick Dampier yet, and this could be one of those old-fashioned “motivation” benchings, although it might take more than that to motivate a guy who’s going to get paid $53 million over the next five seasons no matter what.

Some people want to think of Diop as a poor man’s Ben Wallace, but a homeless, penniless Ben Wallace might be more like it. Like Wallace, Diop can help out in steals; he averages 1.3 steals per 40 over his career, which isn’t bad at all for a center. Unfortunately, he also shares Big Ben’s inability to put the ball in the basket. While he’s shooting 45% this season, he’s a career 37% shooter. And it would be a miracle if he could ever get his FT% up to 50%. While he won’t shoot nearly enough in either category to hurt you too much, it’s still worth noting. The Mavs are an extremely deep team. They don’t need to have a center out there at all times, as they can get by with Dirk Nowitzki at the five for stretches. The Mavs need Diop to be at his most energetic whenever he’s out there, so it’s probably not in their best interests to have him out there for 32-35 mpg. Grab him, stash him, start him if you need him, but if there’s one lesson that his column should make you realize, it’s that finding serious help at center on the waiver wire is almost always more fantasy than reality.

Comet Gain
Chris Kaman – Wow. Just, wow. Not only a top center, but a dominant overall force the past couple weeks. Might not last when Elton Brand returns, but he’s looking more and more like a legit #1 center.

Samuel Dalembert – Like Kaman, not just a top center lately, but an absolutely dominant force. He’s not missing – including from the line – and he’s swatting away everything in sight (which unfortunately for the 76ers means many obvious goaltends). His 37 mpg so far in January is huge for a center.

Ben Wallace – The old Big Ben is back; 13.8 boards and 2.7 blocks so far in January. Now about that 29% from the free throw line in that span…

The Hold Steady
Rasheed Wallace – Has slowed down a bit, his rebounding leaves a lot to be desired from a C, but he’ll keep raining in those 3s and getting the blocks.

Zydrunas Ilgauskas – He’s staying healthy, he’s hitting his shots, and is more than respectable on the boards and in blocks. A steadying force in the middle.

Brad Miller – A couple of down games recently, but he’s still one of the top 30 or so fantasy players in the league.

The Fall
Shaquille O’Neal – You knew you were punting free throws; but 15/10 with just 1 block per game in January leaves a lot to be desired.

Brendan Haywood – Back in the starting lineup after a two-game absence, but still too inconsistent to be counted on.

Joel Przybilla – Nothing more than a blocks specialist now that Theo Ratliff is on a run of good health.

I’ll do my very best to answer any relevant big man questions in the comments here, so feel free to ask away on guys not mentioned (or mentioned) here.

Link: NBA.com: NBA Playoffs 2005 Schedule

ARE WE READY TO RUMBLEEEEEEEEEEE??

It's about that time now. Time to get excited about the playoffs.

Phoenix Vs Memphis

Phoenix is the powerhouse team in Western Conference right now, but many people (including myself) are not sold on their ability to take it all the way. Until the Suns can prove they can handle the Spurs, I'm going with my boy, Big Timmy D to help knock off the Suns.

Memphis is not a sleeper team either though. The only reason for their standing is due to the very weak start they had before changing coaches and some key injuries over the last month and a half. Jason Williams can always get hot and Pau Gasol may not be able to handle Amare Stoudamire's power game, but he has some finesse of his own. The key to this series will be the bench players Memphis can throw in the game. Brian Cardinal, Earl Watson and Stromile Swift may have quite the impact on this series.

That being said, i still expect the Suns to take this series.

San Antonio Vs Denver

Denver is actually a scary team and it's fitting that the Spurs will have a good challenge in the first round, since they like to ramp up in the playoffs fairly quickly.

Since George Karl came on board, the Nuggets are a different team and if they can keep key players Marcus Camby and Kenyon Martin from taking a ride on an ambulance, they will make the Spurs run for their playoff lives.

Tim Duncan is back from his ankle injury, Manu Ginobili is playing like a mad man as usual and with Bruce Bowen's ol' west style of defense, i still expect the Spurs to move on to the second round, but this will be a very interesting match up.

Seattle Vs Sacramento

Interesting... It's strange to see the Kings playing someone other than the Dallas Mavericks, but alas, here we have the Seattle Supersonics, who started the season on fire, and behold, they were able to sustain their play throughout the season.

Seattle will look to shot out the lights with Rashard Lewis and Ray Allen while clogging the middle with Jerome James, Danny Fortson and Reggie Evans.

Dallas Vs Houston

Can Yao Ming finally prove something in this league? Can Tracy McGrady keep carrying the Rockets on his back?

Dirk Nowitzki doesn't seem bothered by any pressure situation and being the primary scorer on the team is just fine with him, but having other noted scorers Keith Van Horn, Michael Finley, Jerry Stackhouse and Eric Dampier, a real center for the first time in a long time.

Miami vs New Jersey

Oh what a sight. Vince Carter actually trying can make a team much better. Not that Jason Kidd hasn't made a big difference himself. Nothing is more important than a point guard capable of pushing the players around him to greater heights.

Speaking of great point guards. The Nets are going to be facing a great one in Dwayne Wade. But will Wade be the biggest problem for the Nets? or will they be shaking in their Nike Shox at the sight of Shaquille O'Neal for a whole series? That's not going to happen though, O'Neal was just put on the injured list and his health could be an issue.

This is still a virtual David Vs Goliath match up. The Nets are going to be in tough with this one. Good luck to them and Vince, watch that ankle when driving inside.

Detroit Vs Philadelphia

The defending champions are firing on all cylinders now. They started the season slow, but after the all-star break, they have shown their championship caliber.

Philadelphia's fortunes don't look good. It's all Allen Iverson now and it's about time for Chris Webber to do his usual injury ridden disappearing act. I feel for AI, after spending some time disliking what he stood for in the league, I've come to realize, he's potentially the best "warrior" in the league, and he deserves to win an NBA championship sometime before he retires, but this isn't his year.

Boston Vs Indiana

The lesson was learned by the New York Knicks over and over again. NEVER count out a team with Reggie Miller on it. Indiana may just hit it's stride in the first round, Miller's announcing of this season as his last should give his teammates a boost in an attempt to bring Miller his first ever NBA championship. Ultimately, the Pacers will have a hard time against the higher echelon teams in the East, but it's conceivable that the Celtics will fall in the first round.

The Celtics have their 2 headed scoring monster back together again, and they have been clicking well so far. Paul Pierce is still going to be the engine driving the Celtic machine, but it's Antoine Walker's ability to control the low post instead of hoisting outside 3's that will dictate the Celtics chance of victory or failure.

Chicago Vs Washington

The Bulls, the Bulls, the baby Bulls. Who knew after the start they had, the Bulls would be in the position they are in now. The Bulls have to be one of the more surprising teams in the league. With the amount of young players in the starting lineup, their good play is a testament to their coach's Scott Skiles' tenacity. He never gave up on his team and expected the best of his players from the beginning.

Oddly enough, the Wizards are also one of the surprising teams this season. As with season's prior, the team has all the tools you'd expect to put together a good run at a playoff spot, but this time, they did it convincingly. The Wizards have the 6th best offense this season and the Bulls have the 7th best defense in the league.

This sounds like a battle of the titans, doesn't it?

ŋς

--This week I'll lead off with Forum Blue and Gold, since Kurt was nice enough to email me and mention his post on Reggie Miller's case for the Hall of Fame. This week there's a post in favor of an expanded NBDL as part of the new NBA collective bargaining agreement:

It would have advantages for NBA teams. Lets use the Lakers as an example. I have called for Sasha to get more playing time, taking some away from Tierre Brown. The reason is not Sasha is better than Tierre, he’s not at this point. But he needs some court time — and some weight — to see what he really can be and he’s not getting that at the end of the bench.

I've been advocating this for a long time...

--Over at Knickerblogger.net guest-blogger David Crocket has compiled a list of players to look for in the NCAA tournament. With the Knicks' having acquired extra first-round draft picks at the trade deadline, Knickerblogger has faith in Isiah to pick to the right prospect this June...

--Speaking of the draft, Raptorblog has an assessment of first-round pick Rafael Araujo:

Anyway, Hoffa may be a disappointment so far this season, but y'all need to stop calling him a bust. That word gets thrown around like it ain't no thang, but I know a bust when I see one and Hoffa ain't it. I remember The Aleksandar Radojevic Era – all 24 minutes of it. That, my friends, was a bust. Perspective is important.

I think we all have our favorite high-profile busts, mine may be Marcus 'the Black Hole' Fizer...

--How 'bout them Celtics? Celticsblog.com said at the time that bringing back Antoine Walker was a good move, and looks like they were right...

--Meanwhile another Atlantic Division team that made a big acquisition was the Sixers, although unlike the Celtics they've been fading in the race for the playoffs. NBAFanBlog.com is all over it, questioning whether Chris Webber will always remain a loser...

--At Supersonicsoul.com they've been searching for a nickname for Reggie Evans, and approved my suggestion. And you gotta check out this Benoit Benjamin story...

--At the San Antonio Spurs Blog, there's confidence that there is no way the Suns can beat the Spurs in a seven-game series:

But that type of offense doesn't work very well against the Spurs. Because, well, the Spurs do play defense. They get back in transition and they don't allow many three attempts. Phoenix averages 23.9 3P attempts per game. Against the Spurs they average 16.0 (and remember one of those games went into overtime). You think that's a coincidence? Here's a clue. It's not. The Spurs allow 15% fewer three point attempts than the team second in that category. Now, take into account the Spurs have the largest margin of victory. That should lead to more three point attempts. But it doesn't. Why? Because the Spurs make it a point to prevent 3PA. You don't have to be inside the locker room to know this. Just watch how aggressively they run at shooters. Watch how they play the pick and roll. Look at the numbers.

Also make sure to check out the ongoing experiment on betting *on* the Atlanta Hawks, an idea spawned by his dislike of the aforementioned Antoine Walker...

--Most Valuable Network has expanded their NBA coverage, and Dave Isaacs has roundup of the new additions. One of those is All that Jazz, which was formerly known as Jazz Blog. It's good to see that they are targeting some established bloggers to join the fold...

--Another MVN blog, The Cavalier Act, anticipates the return of Carlos Boozer to Cleveland. While realizing with Boozer's disappointing year that the Cavs may be able to use money earmarked for Boozer more wisely, Cavs GM Jim Paxson is not off the hook for his many blunders, including the Boozer contract fiasco...

--For the best place to find NBA photos, BlazerTalk has great shots of nearly every Blazer home game. Naturally alot of visitors here will want to check out the pictures from the Bulls/Blazers game...

That's all for this week! Again, if you read or write a post that you want mentioned, send me an email.