This week in the NBA

[alfdogg 0]

Sun, Jan. 20

New Jersey @ Phoenix, 8:00

 

Mon, Jan. 21

Boston @ New York, 1:00

Dallas @ Washington, 1:00

San Antonio @ Charlotte, 1:00

Indiana @ Philadelphia, 2:00

Portland @ Atlanta, 2:00

Seattle @ Houston, 2:30

Milwaukee @ New Orleans, 3:30

Utah @ LA Clippers, 3:30

Minnesota @ Golden State, 4:00

Chicago @ Memphis, 5:30 TNT

Detroit @ Orlando, 7:00

Cleveland @ Miami, 8:00 TNT

Denver @ LA Lakers, 10:30 TNT

 

Tue, Jan. 22

Phoenix @ Milwaukee, 8:00

New Jersey @ Sacramento, 10:00

 

Wed, Jan. 23

Detroit @ Philadelphia, 7:00

Dallas @ Charlotte, 7:00

Washington @ Cleveland, 7:00

Toronto @ Boston, 7:30

Orlando @ Memphis, 8:00

Portland @ New Orleans, 8:00

Phoenix @ Minnesota, 8:00

Indiana @ Chicago, 8:30

LA Lakers @ San Antonio, 9:00 ESPN

Atlanta @ Denver, 9:00

Houston @ Seattle, 10:00

Sacramento @ LA Clippers, 10:30

 

Thu, Jan. 24

San Antonio @ Miami, 8:00 TNT

Indiana @ Milwaukee, 8:00

New Jersey @ Golden State, 10:30 TNT

 

Fri, Jan. 25

Milwaukee @ Toronto, 7:00

Memphis @ Washington, 7:00

Phoenix @ Cleveland, 7:00

Orlando @ Detroit, 7:00 ESPN

Minnesota @ Boston, 7:30

Philadelphia @ New York, 7:30

LA Clippers @ New Orleans, 8:00

Charlotte @ Chicago, 8:30

LA Lakers @ Dallas, 8:30

New Jersey @ Denver, 9:00

Sacramento @ Utah, 9:00

Houston @ Portland, 10:00

Atlanta @ Seattle, 10:30

 

Sat, Jan. 26

Indiana @ Miami, 3:30

Philadelphia @ Charlotte, 7:00

LA Clippers @ Memphis, 8:00

New Orleans @ San Antonio, 8:30

[SteakGrowsOnUecker 0]

Real nice to see the Bulls and Heat still getting national exposure.

[alfdogg 0]

Dunk contest participants:

 

Gerald Green

Dwight Howard

Rudy Gay

Jamario Moon

 

Power rankings

 

1. Boston

2. New Orleans

3. Dallas

4. Phoenix

5. Detroit

6. Golden State

7. LA Lakers

8. San Antonio

9. Portland

10. Cleveland

11. Washington

12. Denver

13. Utah

14. Orlando

15. Houston

16. Toronto

17. Sacramento

18. Charlotte

19. Atlanta

20. New Jersey

21. Chicago

22. Philadelphia

23. Indiana

24. Milwaukee

25. LA Clippers

26. New York

27. Memphis

28. Seattle

29. Minnesota

30. Miami

[Gert T 0]

I am almost sad to see Dwight Howard in the dunk contest after he got no love for his "seal of approval" dunk from last year.

 

 

[Ripper 0]

Oh those damn blazers.

 

Great game with the Hawks yesterday with Travis Outlaw hitting a big jumper at the end of the game.

 

Pretty evenly matched with talent, the Hawks got severly outcoached.

[Guest Vitamin X]

Pretty evenly matched with talent, the Hawks got severly outcoached.

Sounds familiar!

[Ripper 0]

I wish we had Nate McMillian.

 

Josh Smith was just amazing in this game even though he wasn't that incredible on offense. Every big rebound, block, steals...just amazing.

 

Acie Law has 7 points, 5 assist, no turnovers, plays great defense, the Hawks build a lead, he is having a great quarter....then he pulls him and leaves Tyronne Lue in the game the rest of the way. Sergio Rodriquez proceeds to walk by him at will and score whenever he wanted to, or kicking it out to wide open shooters that got open because people had to cover for Lues inability to cover ANYONE.

 

So annoying.

 

Plus, the Blazers are so freaking deep. the Hawks COULD be as deep(although their bench wouldn't be as talented) but no, they play 6 guys...and Tyrone lue and Zaza Pachulia who combined make about half a player.

[Guest]

DJ Mbenga got me tacos last night. I love him already.

 

Went to the game on a whim, and wasn't disappointed.

 

Still can't believe the Heat have lost FOURTEEN STRAIGHT.

[Cheech Tremendous 0]

This is something we did last year at midseason and thought it would be fun to try again.

 

1. Which team looks like the best bet to win the East?

 

2. Which team looks like the best bet to win the West?

 

3. Which team looks like the best bet to win the NBA title?

 

4. Which dark horse has a legitimate shot at surprising us and winning it all?

 

5. Who's been the best rookie this season?

 

6. Who's the MVP so far?

 

7. Which team has the biggest disappointment?

 

8. As we sit at the midpoint of the regular season, which story line or situation interests you most?

[naiwf 0]

1. Boston. The only other contender seems to be Detroit.

 

2. San Antonio. I can't pick against them in the WC playoffs even though I despise that team.

 

3. Boston because San Antonio doesn't repeat.

 

4. The Los Angeles Lakers as long as Bynum comes back and continues to progress. The only other team that fits the bill of dark horse contender is the Hornets.

 

5. Kevin Durant.

 

6. Chris Paul, they're playing .700 ball and he's averaging 21 & 10 as well as leading the league in steals.

 

7. Miami or Chicago.

 

8. Now that Boston likely won't win 70+, I guess I'm interested to see just how long it will take for Miami to be completely disassembled and become as irrelevant as the Marlins in a rebuilding season. Shaq and Riley have to go, and aside from Wade they have less talent than any other team in the league. At least they got that one championship ring.

[Brett Favre 0]

1. Which team looks like the best bet to win the East? Pistons

 

2. Which team looks like the best bet to win the West? Suns

 

3. Which team looks like the best bet to win the NBA title? Suns

 

4. Which dark horse has a legitimate shot at surprising us and winning it all? Lakers

 

5. Who's been the best rookie this season? Durant? Horford? I haven't seen much from either though.

 

6. Who's the MVP so far? Chris Paul or Kobe Bryant.

 

7. Which team has the biggest disappointment? Utah Jazz.

8. As we sit at the midpoint of the regular season, which story line or situation interests you most? The Knicks will always interest me the most.

[Steviekick 0]

1. Which team looks like the best bet to win the East? Boston Celtics

 

2. Which team looks like the best bet to win the West? Phoenix Suns

 

3. Which team looks like the best bet to win the NBA title? Spurs

 

4. Which dark horse has a legitimate shot at surprising us and winning it all? Pistons? I don't know if they count. Maybe Orlando?

 

5. Who's been the best rookie this season? I guess Durant

 

6. Who's the MVP so far? Chris Paul, most obviously. But I could agree with Brandon Roy.

 

7. Which team has the biggest disappointment? Chicago. It's not that I'm being a homer, but you could tell that the Jazz still have a lot of problems in their defense before the season started. They just got too lucky last year. I had a feeling they'd be struggling this year.

8. As we sit at the midpoint of the regular season, which story line or situation interests you most? How David Stern resolves the problems in New Orleans and Seattle.

 

 

[SteakGrowsOnUecker 0]

1. Which team looks like the best bet to win the East? Boston

 

2. Which team looks like the best bet to win the West? With no team standing out so far, I guess I'll stick with the Spurs

 

3. Which team looks like the best bet to win the NBA title? Boston

 

4. Which dark horse has a legitimate shot at surprising us and winning it all? New Orleans

 

5. Who's been the best rookie this season? Durant by default

 

6. Who's the MVP so far? Chris Paul

 

7. Which team has the biggest disappointment? Chicago and/or Miami take this one easily

 

8. As we sit at the midpoint of the regular season, which story line or situation interests you most? Trade Deadline, there are some teams that really need to make deals

[alfdogg 0]

1. Which team looks like the best bet to win the East? Boston. Please be wrong on this one, I don't think I can take it after the Sox and Pats.

 

2. Which team looks like the best bet to win the West? No team has really been consistent enough to stand out from the pack, but I still like the Spurs until someone knocks them off.

 

3. Which team looks like the best bet to win the NBA title? See #2.

 

4. Which dark horse has a legitimate shot at surprising us and winning it all? Dallas. Everyone seems to be counting them out.

 

5. Who's been the best rookie this season? Kevin Durant.

 

6. Who's the MVP so far? Kevin Garnett.

 

7. Which team has the biggest disappointment? Chicago Bulls.

 

8. As we sit at the midpoint of the regular season, which story line or situation interests you most? This will be my homer answer. I'm interested to see what happens with Jermaine O'Neal through the rest of the season and next offseason. He said yesterday that he may have to sit out the rest of the season to rehab his knee. Which I'd like to see for two reasons:

 

1) He's been playing on-and-off with this injury for at least a full year now, with even offseason surgery seemingly not providing the solution, and he needs some extended downtime. I'd hate to see him risk shortening his career if the season is, at best, going to end in a first-round squash at the hands of Boston or Detroit.

 

2) It prevents the rumored swap for Vince Carter. I don't want that douchebag anywhere near this franchise.

 

Also, Ron Artest in an interview said that the Pacers were one of his top choices should he relocate in the offseason (he can opt out after the season, which I would assume he would do). Of course, this is an extreme long shot, because it would require a sign-and-trade, and we probably don't have anything that Sacramento wants, aside from maybe Granger, who I'd obviously prefer to keep. But I think O'Neal and Artest are at the point in their careers where they could work it out for the sake of making another run at a title, in the unlikely event this should happen.

[Guest]

1. Which team looks like the best bet to win the East? Boston.

 

2. Which team looks like the best bet to win the West? Spurs.

 

3. Which team looks like the best bet to win the NBA title? Boston.

 

4. Which dark horse has a legitimate shot at surprising us and winning it all? Homer in me says Lakers, but we're not ready. Next year. I'll go with...Dallas, because as Alf said, they're being forgotten.

 

5. Who's been the best rookie this season? Durant. He hasn't been anything special, though.

 

6. Who's the MVP so far? Kobe. No brainer. If the team keeps their record up with Bynum out, there shouldn't be any doubt.

 

7. Which team has the biggest disappointment? Chicago. I thought Miami would be bad, but not this bad. I thought Chicago would be a title contender. Wrong.

 

8. As we sit at the midpoint of the regular season, which story line or situation interests you most? The deal with New Orleans and Seattle possibly moving. And Sacramento isn't going to get an arena.

[Open the Muggy Gate 0]

1. Which team looks like the best bet to win the East? Boston

 

2. Which team looks like the best bet to win the West? Close, but I'm going with the Suns.

 

3. Which team looks like the best bet to win the NBA title? Boston

 

4. Which dark horse has a legitimate shot at surprising us and winning it all? While their defense is crap, I still think Golden State is dangerous.

 

5. Who's been the best rookie this season? Gotta be Durant.

 

6. Who's the MVP so far? Chris Paul is a freak for his work in NO.

 

7. Which team has the biggest disappointment? I had Chicago competing with Boston for the East this year. BOY WAS I WRONG.

 

8. As we sit at the midpoint of the regular season, which story line or situation interests you most? I am really digging the Portland Trail Blazers going from losing their #1 pick to being a contender in the West. I'm sure they won't win it all this year, but its still a good story that hopefully starts getting rid of the Jailblazer era for good.

[RonL21 0]

[Mr. S£im Citrus 0]

1. Which team looks like the best bet to win the East? Detroit. The "Medium Sized 3" won't be enough this year.

 

2. Which team looks like the best bet to win the West? San Antonio

 

3. Which team looks like the best bet to win the NBA title? San Antonio

 

4. Which dark horse has a legitimate shot at surprising us and winning it all? Dallas. As I said last year, they're the only team, in my mind, that can beat San Antonio in a seven-game series.

 

5. Who's been the best rookie this season? Al Horford. He's Top 5 among rookies in scoring, rebounds (1st among rookies), blocks and steals, and also leads all rookies in double-doubles, all while starting out of position for a team that's currently in good shape to make the playoffs.

 

6. Who's the MVP so far? Chris Paul

 

7. Which team has the biggest disappointment? I seem to recall a lot of the talking heads figuring Chicago as a dark horse to make the Finals. So it's Chicago.

 

8. As we sit at the midpoint of the regular season, which story line or situation interests you most? Can Portland keep this up? Will they still be this good when Oden is integrated into their lineup next season?

[Ripper 0]

1. Which team looks like the best bet to win the East? Its Boston or Detroit. But seeing as Detroit has their annual ECF meltdown, I am going to go with one of them.

 

2. Which team looks like the best bet to win the West? I don't think you can say there is a best bet honestly. Of course I like the Suns, but either them, Dallas and San Antonio are still the cream of the crop out west to me.

 

3. Which team looks like the best bet to win the NBA title? Eh. Suns or Boston.

 

4. Which dark horse has a legitimate shot at surprising us and winning it all? New Orleans. They can play with anyone, have a MVP candidate, and even though Peja disappears in the playoffs, they wouldn't be expecting as much from him as those King teams did.

 

5. Who's been the best rookie this season? I am going to go with Horford, despite the homerificness of it. He should be averaging a double double but they don't run plays for him, he is going to be a monster rebounder and he is the difference on a team that didn't make the playoffs and should this year (especially with Joe Johnson playing like SHIT all year).

 

6. Who's the MVP so far? Tough one. Its a toss up between Kobe, Paul, or Lebron. I am leaning towards Paul though. HIs numbers are pretty monsterous.

 

7. Which team has the biggest disappointment? I figured the Bulls would be bad but not THIS bad.

 

8. As we sit at the midpoint of the regular season, which story line or situation interests you most? The large amount of big name players that could be on the move. Of course, this never happens, but just the chance of it happening has my interest.

[Cheech Tremendous 0]

Let me preface this by saying that I haven't paid real close attention to the NBA this year. I usually check the standings, but haven't made it through more than a handful of games.

 

1. Which team looks like the best bet to win the East? At this point, I'd have to say Boston. I've seen enough of Flip Saunders' coaching in the playoffs to know that an ECF choke is in the picture.

 

2. Which team looks like the best bet to win the West? It's still the Spurs until someone shows that they can knock them off. They've struggled a little bit this year but it's still the same team that dismantles everyone come playoff time.

 

3. Which team looks like the best bet to win the NBA title? The champion is going to come from the Western Conference. San Antonio is the favorite, but I wouldn't count out Dallas or even Phoenix.

 

4. Which dark horse has a legitimate shot at surprising us and winning it all? This is always a difficult question for me because I have a hard time defining who the darkhorses are. Is Dallas really a darkhorse? Of the teams that are somewhat off the radar, I'd say New Orleans or Cleveland. The Hornets because I believe that Chris Paul can do anything and the Cavs because everyone has sort of forgotten about them and they are still the 3rd best team in the East.

 

5. Who's been the best rookie this season? Kevin Durant.

 

6. Who's the MVP so far? Chris Paul and it's not particularly close. He has the best numbers of anyone and he had the freaking New Orleans Hornets in first place in the West. That's unbelievable.

 

7. Which team has the biggest disappointment? Lots of good candidates with Utah, Houston, Chicago and Miami.

 

I'd be inclined to say Chicago because they were title contenders when the season started and have just totally imploded. But looking at their record, they could still finish .500 this year. The Miami Heat, on the other hand, have gone from 2006 champs to the worst team in the NBA.

 

8. As we sit at the midpoint of the regular season, which story line or situation interests you most? How will the darkhorse contenders (Blazers, Hornets, Warriors) respond in the second half of the season and how will they impact the playoff picture.

[Ripper 0]

Actually the "Oh my god, whats wrong with them, they look so horrible and they stand no chance" Suns are first in the West and the 2nd best record in the league.

[Mr. S£im Citrus 0]

I'll never believe the Suns can win the championship until I see them do it; AFAIC, the only elite team in the west they could beat in a seven-game series is the Mavericks, which means the only way the Suns could get to the Finals is if they can get the Mavericks to eliminate the Spurs for them.

[Brett Favre 0]

They so should've won last year and probably would have if it weren't for the suspensions.

[Cheech Tremendous 0]

They so should've won last year and probably would have if it weren't for the suspensions.

 

 

Not this argument again. San Antonio was the better team last year. The suspensions impacted one game and the Spurs won the series 4-2. It's too much of a leap for me to say that the Suns would have won the game for sure if the suspensions didn't happen and that they'd come back and win a game 7 against the best team of this decade. It's plausible, but not particularly likely.

[Brett Favre 0]

Well look at that game they lost in Phoenix. Their rotations were doomed because Amare and Diaw were out and that cost them late because they got worn out. Even the first game where Steve Nash broke his nose cost them.

[Mr. S£im Citrus 0]

They so should've won last year and probably would have if it weren't for the suspensions.

Revisionist history. That's like my crybaby brethren saying that if Samaki Walker hadn't been given credit for that three pointer at halftime of Game 4 that shouldn't have counted, then the Kings would have beaten the Lakers in 2002, or if we hadn't been screwed in Game 6, that we would have won it... Just like in the Suns/Spurs series last year: you can believe they "woulda won" if you want to believe it, but that doesn't make it true.

[alfdogg 0]

They so should've won last year and probably would have if it weren't for the suspensions.

 

 

Not this argument again. San Antonio was the better team last year. The suspensions impacted one game and the Spurs won the series 4-2. It's too much of a leap for me to say that the Suns would have won the game for sure if the suspensions didn't happen and that they'd come back and win a game 7 against the best team of this decade. It's plausible, but not particularly likely.

Not to mention that the Suns were handed game 4 on a silver platter by the referees after the Spurs dominated the first three quarters. Also, Utah beat the Suns 3 out of 4 times in the regular season, so let's not just assume the Suns even make the finals should they have gotten past the Spurs.

 

Dallas has rarely if ever been mentioned as having a shot at going to the Finals this season, it's been all Phoenix and San Antonio for the most part. Even the Lakers have gotten more support that the Mavs. And nothing's really changed about their team, it's just that people are still blinded by that Golden State series. That's why I would consider them an underdog.

[Brett Favre 0]

They so should've won last year and probably would have if it weren't for the suspensions.

Revisionist history. That's like my crybaby brethren saying that if Samaki Walker hadn't been given credit for that three pointer at halftime of Game 4 that shouldn't have counted, then the Kings would have beaten the Lakers in 2002, or if we hadn't been screwed in Game 6, that we would have won it... Just like in the Suns/Spurs series last year: you can believe they "woulda won" if you want to believe it, but that doesn't make it true.

 

I believe that too actually. The Laker/King series stuff.

[Mr. S£im Citrus 0]

You'd fit right in on a Kings board...

 

The bottom line is, we could have won it in Game 7, but we choked. If we were worthy, we would have won it... If the Suns were worthy, they would have, too.

[Guest]

For all you people that are picking New Orleans as a darkhorse, have you forgotten that they have no bench? Without an acquisition or two, I can't even see them getting out of the first round with that lack of depth.