Five Second Half Things To Look Out For

1.  The trading deadline.  Vince Carter to the Rockets or Spurs?  Amar'e Stoudamire to the Bulls or Cavs?  Other (obviously more interesting, duh) names that could be on the move include Tyson Chandler, Richard Jefferson, Caron Butler, David Lee, and of course, the human trading chip, Raef LaFrentz.

With the obvious exception of LaFrentz (who should be lauded for the sheer slight of hand it took to convince any team to offer him a contract), those are some pretty big names.  Problem is, as Chad Ford mentions, most teams are hesitant in this economy to pick up big contracts. 

2.  How much longer can Orlando play at a top tier level without point guard Jameer Nelson?  Out for the season with a torn right labrum, Nelson lead the team in 3PT and FT%, and was second on the team in FG%.  Some how I doubt Tyronn Lue and Anthony Johnson will be able to keep things afloat.

3.  Who will come out as the California champions?  The Lakers, or the rest of the Golden State?  I'd seen someone mention this somewhere, but I didn't believe it, so I did my own research, detailed as it may be.  Currently, the Kings/Clippers/Warriors are up 43 to 42 over the Lakers, far as wins are concerned.

4.  Speaking of the Lakers, will they even remotely take their foot off the gas to let the rest of the conference in?  Likely not.  The Spurs and Nuggets, two of the hottest teams in the league, have been unable to make up much ground over the past two weeks despite playing over .700 ball.

5. Finally, and most importantly, will the Bucks have to resort to petitioning the league to allow them to only play three or four players instead of five?  As it's going now, that may not be that far off.

BONUS THING TO LOOK OUT FOR:

K-Mart and Al Harrington have paired up (why they didn't get the real K-Mart, Kenyon, I'll never know), and the only question that remains is how many kicks will Big Al sell?

Why Is Mike D'Antoni Considered Such a Good Coach?

Am I missing something here?

Knicks coach Mike D'Antoni has never lead a team to the NBA Finals.  His system encourages a lack of defense.  While he has proven that he can win regular season games if given the right pieces, his teams can never turn the corner against teams that pay attention on both sides of the floor.

So why is he so desirable?

Here in Chicago, many people have been talking about whether Vinny Del Negro has taken so much flack because the Bulls could have had Mike D'Antoni or Doug Collins.  Collins hiring was mostly a story blown out of proportion, as he was never really coming here.  But D'Antoni on the other hand was the man the Bulls seemed to covet.  They didn't get him, as the Knicks swooped him up, and the media praised the Knicks for making the move to get him.

Everyone here seems disappointed the Bulls didn't get D'Antoni, believing that had he manned the Bulls bench Chicago wouldn't be 21-28 and in the 11th spot in the Eastern Conference.  The funny thing about that notion is that D'Antoni's Knicks are just one game better in the conference standings than the Bulls are.  At 21-26, New York is in the East's 10th seed.

The national media talks about D'Antoni like he's an innovator, or someone with a great system.  All I see is a man who runs a free for all offense with undersized players who can't get a team to the NBA Finals.  Is that so impressive to you?

After all, it was against D'Antoni's Knicks that Kobe Bryant dropped 61 points on a couple of nights ago.  It was a Madison Square Garden record, but the clinic of bad Knick defense was almost as impressive as Bryant's scoring.

Tonight LeBron James and the Cavaliers visit the Garden, and the question is how many points the King will drop on the woeful Knicks.  When asked about it, Knicks foward Al Harrington told the media that you can't really stop him and he'll do what he does.  D'Antoni said he's more concerned with fast break scoring than stopping LeBron.  Why?  Why isn't he, like other coaches, concerned with trying to stop him, or at least slowing him down?  Granted, the man is going to get his points, but why not just pretend that at least one of his goals is to limit his impact on the game?

He just doesn't get it.  And neither does the media, for anointing him as one of the NBA's good coaches.