Well, after this long drawn out labor agreement deal, the NBA is now back in business and we'll start taking a look at the deals that are going down across the league. Surprisingly, not too many head scratchers so far. Let's take a look:
Shane Battier (Heat) - $9M for 3 years - I think this is a great deal for any Heat fan. Battier can play the 3, hit knock down 3's from the corners and he can play some defense. He's not as young as he once was, but I can see him, LBJ, and Wade locking down 3/5s of your squad during crunch time. For $3M a year, you get a bargain.
Mike Dunleavy (Bucks) - $7.5M for 2 years - The Bucks need scoring and Dunleavy can do that at times. He's a 6'10" shooting guard/small forward that has limitations on the defensive side of the ball, but he's one of those glue guys. Hit a high percentage of his 3's last year and should be able to space the floor for Jennings and Bogut. Again, a little north of $3M ain't gonna hurt nobody.
Eddy Curry (Heat) - League Min for 1 year - If Riley can get this kid motivated, that would be a feat. Curry was a young star in the league but then his penchant for late night Burger King drive thrus got in the way. He ballooned and then it seemed the injury bug just attached itself to him. He has a big body and is a decent rebounder (things the Heat need) so he'll be given opportunities to make good in Miami. If it doesn't work here, he's done. I can honestly say that I think this will actually work out well because he won't have to be the star, like he was in Chicago, and he can work in obscurity.
Shannon Brown (Suns) - $3.5M for 1 year - This is the one guy I feel bad for. It's like he had a breakout in the playoffs a few years back and since then, nothing. Almost like his time was taken away from him. He's young, athletic, and has a decent jump shot, but really wasn't a fit in the triangle offense. Thought he'd be a good cheap fit for the Bulls, or at least an option, but now he gets to play along side Steve Nash (for as long he's a Sun). I guess we'll watch Brown put up some gaudy numbers and he'll get some looks next season in free agency.
Caron Butler (Clippers) - $24M for 3 years - Almost one that makes you hold your breath, but actually not a bad deal IF Butler comes back to his pre-injury form. Toughjuice is a scorer who loves the ball on the wing and he can shoot or put the ball on the floor. Butler is also adept at (Note to LeBron) posting up and using his size to get buckets. He provides scoring punch and should enjoy the LA limelight. If the Clips snag Paul (as rumored), this looks like an even better deal.
Greg Oden (Blazers) - $8.9M for 1 year - This is the qualifying offer from the Blazers to keep their rights on Oden. He's had injuries (as everyone knows), but I think all of us are wishing to see him healthy and playing at least 1 full season to see how good he can be. I don't think we expect him to put up 20 a night, but we just don't want to see the Sportscenter splash with the next Greg Oden injury.
Tayshaun Prince (Pistons) - $27M for 4 years - This is a head scratcher because I'm still wondering why Prince would go back to Detroit. I guess he likes it there and feels as though no one else would pay him that type of money? How many games did they win last year? And they lose Rip (buyout)? Does that make this team better anytime soon?
Jonas Jerebko (Pistons) - $16M for 4 years - Maybe this is the reason Prince resigned? I mean really, Jerebko may help on the boards and may provide a bucket or two, but what about this team makes anyone want to stay there? Is Dumars asleep at the wheel?
Tyson Chandler (Knicks) - $58M for 4 years - Well, talk about a bonus for winning a championship. I guess Chandler thought it'd come from Cuban but the Knicks ended up making this deal come to fruition. I like this deal because the Knicks can now have a frontline with Amare, Melo, and Chandler. Neither of the first two are good at defense, but it always helps to have a defensive force behind you to make up for any lapses. Who would have thunk that the two players the Bulls acquired (Chandler and Curry), 1 would have a ring and the other would be barely hanging on?
David West (Pacers) - $20M for 2 years - Great deal for the Pacers. West's game hasn't been about his athletic ability so hopefully his return from a terrible knee injury doesn't impact his game as much. The Pacers get a guy that rebounds well, can put up 20 a game and he's a 'thug' from Xavier (hopefully you get the joke). All in all, West is a good guy that can play and the only issue is no one knows just how he's going to rebound from his injury. If he comes out like the old David West, this may be the steal of the FA period.
JJ Barea (Timberwolves) - $19M for 4 years - Someone in Minny signed a point guard? Where have we heard that before? JJ Barea takes his hurt feelings and his championship ring to the frozen tundra of Minnesota. Ricky Rubio, Johnny Flynn, and Luke Ridnour are the other PGs on this team. I think they might try to make this 'small ball' thing take on a new definition.
Mike Bibby (Knicks) - ????? - Mike Bibby leaves the beaches of Miami for the city life in New Yawk City. Bibby has always been a heady player with the knack for hitting timely 3 pointers, however he wasn't hitting those 3 pointers for Miami. In this uptempo system with a legit big man, I expect that Bibby finds his rhythm again and makes for a decent backup PG for this team.
Rasual Butler (Raptors) - ????? - Butler barely played for the Bulls last year after they picked him up and I'm not sure how he'll fare with the Raptors. He might find the stroke that made him deadly a few years ago or he might be out of the game soon. We'll all get to see what happens.
Brian Cardinal (Mavericks) - Veterans min - You always need guys that can play defense, dole out some tough fouls and be a glue guy. Mavs did just that.
Daequan Cook (Thunder) - $6.5M for 2 years - Cook has been a 3 point shooter for the Thunder and they wanted to keep him in that role. He can get hot from time to time, but his job is to hit those shots when Durant is team teamed. Not too bad for the price.
Trades:
Lamar Odom traded to Dallas Mavericks for pieces - Odom cried when he was initially traded for CP3, but then he was just traded outright to the Mavericks. Was this punishment for not showing up at practice after the CP3 deal fell through? Did Khloe want to move to the big state of Texas so that they can start a new reality show there? Either way, Odom is out of LaLa Land and I'm not sure if his fragile persona will be able to take it, but he should be able to go to Dallas and pick up that $9M he'll make this year.
Glen Davis and Von Wafer traded to Orlando for Brandon Bass - I'm not totally upset with this deal for a few reasons. Big Baby wanted more from the Celtics (money and clout) and he just wasn't going to get it. He has had his moments for the Celtics as he has provided a spark for that aging team but I doubt that the Celtics playbook had several plays for Big Baby. Brandon Bass is probably a slight upgrade over Big Baby at least in one area, rebounding. Bass is a beast in the box as far as hustling and banging. But at the end of the day, these guys are very similar to each other with the difference being age and a few pounds (maybe more than a few pounds). Von Wafer was the throw in for this deal and he'll be missed as the Celtics are already light with back court bodies. Wafer can be a spark plug off the bench and he is more scorer than anything else.
Retirements:
Brandon Roy - I am still tearing up about this. Roy was by far one of the best 2 guards in the league and I still wish the Bulls (I'm pretty sure they do too) would have drafted Roy instead of that buster Tyrus Thomas. Nevertheless, Roy, it's been fun while it lasted. Good luck on the next part of your journey.
More to come,.......
Showing posts with label Tyson Chandler. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Tyson Chandler. Show all posts
Monday, December 12, 2011
Monday, May 30, 2011
NBA Finals - Dallas Mavericks vs. Miami Heat
This is the series for it all. A rematch of the two teams from the 2006 Finals where the Heat won their first NBA Championship. The difference this year is that these two teams are much different than the two teams that were there in 2006. The Heat have the '3 Amigos' and this Dirk may not be beatable with the team around him. Let's take a look at each team and I'll let you know who I'm riding with in this series.
Dallas Mavericks:
Like I said, this Dirk may not be beatable. Nowitzki has been on fire and he has a team with him. Jason Kidd is reminding us that he was better than what he is now and he is playing that well right now. Tyson Chandler has become the 'KG' of this Mavs team with not only his defense but the heart and soul of the team. Jason Terry has played the role that was important for this team to win. He could definitely be a starter for this team but is happy with coming off the bench and being their spark. Throw in Shawn Marion (formerly known as the Matrix), Brendan Haywood (uggh), JJ Barea (their version of the Microwave) and you have a Mavs team that is pretty solid. But it all comes down to Dirk. He has the game and he's unorthodox enough to make guys feel bad when he's hitting his shots. I do wonder how he was able to go to the line 61 times in a 5 game series against the Thunder. Is this the year for the Mavericks? Will we have to watch awkwardly as Mark Cuban celebrates a title?
Miami Heat:
This is what all the hoopla was for, a chance at getting #2 for Wade and the organization and for LBJ to get his first so that he can be on his way to catching Jordan (had to throw this in, watch for a future article). The Heat beat a very sound Bulls team and each member of the big three, with the exception of D Wade, performed great. I've said this before, D Wade played the worst series that I've seen him play in a long time and they still won. He's got to step up in this series for the Heat to win. Bosh has quietly reminded people that he can play and that 20 and 10 average isn't just all about garbage time. Mike Bibby and Chalmers are starting to play better, and hopefully Mike Miller can play better now that his daughter is out of the hospital and at home doing well. You know that if the Heat win, people are just going to be that much more pissed?
X-factors:
Mavericks - Dirk Nowitzki, Jason Terry, Tyson Chandler, Shawn Marion. Yes, I put Dirk down as an x-factor simply because he's been playing so great, I'm waiting for the let down. The Heat are a good defensive team and will give him problems while rotating 3 or 4 guys on him (Haslem, Bosh, LBJ, etc.). He's going to have to play as great as he has this entire playoffs if they have hopes of being the new king in town. With all of the energy and effort concentrated on Dirk, Terry's going to have to play lights out. He'll be going against the Heat's bench so he'll have opportunities to light it up. The Heat really have no one to match up with Chandler. He's big, mobile, and has a bit of a mean streak in him. Chandler has to stay active and keep from picking up silly fouls. Oh, did I mention that he's going to have to protect that paint? Shawn Marion will be the main person guarding LBJ and he's long enough and quick enough to cause some problems. As long as they keep LBJ on the perimeter, the Mavs are cooking with grease.
Heat - Dwyane Wade, Chris Bosh, the Heat bigs, and Bibby/Chalmers. Wade has got to step up his game and when he sees Stevenson in front of him he's got to make the Mavs pay. Chris Bosh is going to start on Dirk and will need to cause him problems with his size. Bosh is quick enough to guard him on the perimeter so I expect that Dirk will post him up repeatedly. Bosh has got to play solid defense, but he's got to go at Dirk on offense. Dirk has never been mistaken as a defensive stalwart, so make him play you. The Heat bigs are going to get their chance guarding Dirk, so the key is to make it tough for him. He's going to hit shots, but make them tough shots. For the Heat point guards, they are going to have to hit shots. I expect the Mavs to go a lot of zone in this series to test the Heat outside shooting. When JJ Barea gets in the game, I don't care if you've never had a day working in the post, but someone should post him up, every play.
Prediction: This should be a good series. You got a lot of guys chasing their first title (Kidd, Chandler, LBJ, Bosh, Bibby, Marion, etc.) and a lot of them are older so this may be their only opportunity. It's going to come down to one of them making some big plays and this is cliche, but who wants it more. I'm scheduling a trip to Miami to experience the madness that's going to happen when they win this series. Heat 4-2. (That's no worse than Terry getting the NBA Trophy tattooed on his arm.)
Ok, so who you got and why? Yes, the Mavericks can win this if Dirk stays on fire, but I'm going with the 'favorites'? You going to meet me in Miami?
Dallas Mavericks:
Like I said, this Dirk may not be beatable. Nowitzki has been on fire and he has a team with him. Jason Kidd is reminding us that he was better than what he is now and he is playing that well right now. Tyson Chandler has become the 'KG' of this Mavs team with not only his defense but the heart and soul of the team. Jason Terry has played the role that was important for this team to win. He could definitely be a starter for this team but is happy with coming off the bench and being their spark. Throw in Shawn Marion (formerly known as the Matrix), Brendan Haywood (uggh), JJ Barea (their version of the Microwave) and you have a Mavs team that is pretty solid. But it all comes down to Dirk. He has the game and he's unorthodox enough to make guys feel bad when he's hitting his shots. I do wonder how he was able to go to the line 61 times in a 5 game series against the Thunder. Is this the year for the Mavericks? Will we have to watch awkwardly as Mark Cuban celebrates a title?
Miami Heat:
This is what all the hoopla was for, a chance at getting #2 for Wade and the organization and for LBJ to get his first so that he can be on his way to catching Jordan (had to throw this in, watch for a future article). The Heat beat a very sound Bulls team and each member of the big three, with the exception of D Wade, performed great. I've said this before, D Wade played the worst series that I've seen him play in a long time and they still won. He's got to step up in this series for the Heat to win. Bosh has quietly reminded people that he can play and that 20 and 10 average isn't just all about garbage time. Mike Bibby and Chalmers are starting to play better, and hopefully Mike Miller can play better now that his daughter is out of the hospital and at home doing well. You know that if the Heat win, people are just going to be that much more pissed?
X-factors:
Mavericks - Dirk Nowitzki, Jason Terry, Tyson Chandler, Shawn Marion. Yes, I put Dirk down as an x-factor simply because he's been playing so great, I'm waiting for the let down. The Heat are a good defensive team and will give him problems while rotating 3 or 4 guys on him (Haslem, Bosh, LBJ, etc.). He's going to have to play as great as he has this entire playoffs if they have hopes of being the new king in town. With all of the energy and effort concentrated on Dirk, Terry's going to have to play lights out. He'll be going against the Heat's bench so he'll have opportunities to light it up. The Heat really have no one to match up with Chandler. He's big, mobile, and has a bit of a mean streak in him. Chandler has to stay active and keep from picking up silly fouls. Oh, did I mention that he's going to have to protect that paint? Shawn Marion will be the main person guarding LBJ and he's long enough and quick enough to cause some problems. As long as they keep LBJ on the perimeter, the Mavs are cooking with grease.
Heat - Dwyane Wade, Chris Bosh, the Heat bigs, and Bibby/Chalmers. Wade has got to step up his game and when he sees Stevenson in front of him he's got to make the Mavs pay. Chris Bosh is going to start on Dirk and will need to cause him problems with his size. Bosh is quick enough to guard him on the perimeter so I expect that Dirk will post him up repeatedly. Bosh has got to play solid defense, but he's got to go at Dirk on offense. Dirk has never been mistaken as a defensive stalwart, so make him play you. The Heat bigs are going to get their chance guarding Dirk, so the key is to make it tough for him. He's going to hit shots, but make them tough shots. For the Heat point guards, they are going to have to hit shots. I expect the Mavs to go a lot of zone in this series to test the Heat outside shooting. When JJ Barea gets in the game, I don't care if you've never had a day working in the post, but someone should post him up, every play.
Prediction: This should be a good series. You got a lot of guys chasing their first title (Kidd, Chandler, LBJ, Bosh, Bibby, Marion, etc.) and a lot of them are older so this may be their only opportunity. It's going to come down to one of them making some big plays and this is cliche, but who wants it more. I'm scheduling a trip to Miami to experience the madness that's going to happen when they win this series. Heat 4-2. (That's no worse than Terry getting the NBA Trophy tattooed on his arm.)
Ok, so who you got and why? Yes, the Mavericks can win this if Dirk stays on fire, but I'm going with the 'favorites'? You going to meet me in Miami?
Thursday, February 19, 2009
The Trade That Was
The Hornets and the Thunder made a trade earlier this week involving Tyson Chandler (NOH) where the Hornets were to receive Joe Smith, Chris Wilcox, and the rights to center Devin Harden. It seems as though Chandler's stubborn toe, the one that has kept him off of the court for extended periods of time, is the reason that this trade will be rescinded. Chandler was noticeably surprised and I think that a lot of people are. If the Knicks can make a trade for Cuttino Mobley, who has since retired from the NBA due to a heart issue, what's the big issue over a little toe? Is this a buyer's remorse kind of deal? Either way, it looks as though the Hornets are getting bigger up front with the re-addition of their starting center.
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