It's Still Compelling to Me

Most of you who read this probably know that I have a love/hate relationship with the NBA.

So when the ABC "Game of the Week" features the Suns and Celtics, two teams who have lost their best player in the last few days, you'd probably assume there's no way I'd watch this.

Actually, I find it more compelling now.

Sure, it would be better to watch Kevin Garnett, who's out two to three weeks with a knee strain, and Amar'e Stoudemire, who's out for the season with a detached retina.  But it will be more interesting to see how good both these teams are without their fallen big men, particularly the Celtics.

The Suns have had to live with Stoudemire missing time before.  When they run their fast-paced, run-and-gun system, they can usually survive without Amar'e, but they're obviously worse.  We haven't seen what the Celtics look like without KG with the way the team is currently structured.

Last year's champions face their first road block today- a good team without their best defender, and the man most consider the team's "glue guy".  He's the man credited with Boston's renewed commitment to defense, and the man who keyed the Celtics turnaround from worst to first last year.  

Now, without him, how good is Boston really?  And if they're not good, how many games do they lose in the two to three week span he's sidelined?  Does it drop them in the standings to the 3-seed in the East, which would change the playoff landscape?  If they're fine without him, does it devalue KG?  He is having his worst statistical year since the 96-97 season, averaging just 16.3 points and 8.8 boards.  Is he overrated if they string together a bunch of wins without him?

These are all questions I'll be trying to answer as I watch today.  Who said I hate the NBA?  I'm fascinated by it!

A Little of This, A Little of That

None of this deserves its own full posting, so I present a smattering (smorgasbord, even?) of some sports related information.

• Amar'e Stoudemire will miss the next 8 to 12 weeks after surgery on his eye.  Talk about coming completely out of no where.  Apparently, Stoudemire got poked in the eye in the 1st quarter of the most recent Suns/Clippers "game".  Then, he proceeded to continue playing, lowering his drawers on the Clippers, and deucing the Donald Sterlings for 42 points.  Imagine how good he'll be against the Clip Crew once he's fully recovered from his superhero eye surgery.
• A semi-pro basketball team in New Jersey, the New Jersey Express, scored 171 points in a regulation game this past Sunday.  The Express, a part of the ABA (yes, it still exists), didn't set any records with that score though.  That belongs to the Detroit Pistons who scored 186 in a 3 OT game over the Nuggets (who pathetically could only muster 183).  In related ABA news, there is a team in the Express' division that is called the New York City Internationalz.  Not a typo.
• The trading deadline in the NBA passed without any real activity of note, besides the Bulls/Kings deal the day before.  Michael Ruffin does get his first crack at life in the Northwest Division, so that's exciting.
• And finally, Alex Rodriguez has announced that nothing he said about steroids was true because it was, in fact, opposite day on the days he met with the media.  But, if it was opposite day, and he's telling us now, does that mean it wasn't not opposite day then?  More lies from A-Rod...

Please click on "opposite" for a laugh and "day" for a history.

Clippers to Suns: I Think We Get The Point

When I first saw the boxscore from last night's Clippers/Suns game, I assumed it had to be a misprint.  

140 points, again?  No.  Couldn't be.  And against the Clippers, again?  No way.

But my friends, the truth is a sad but definitive, yes way.

For the second consecutive night, the Clippers proved just how awful they truly are.  A team that has been so besieged by injuries (the most recent being Marcus Camby's eardrum caving in on a team flight, prompting Mike Dunleavy to say "We're inventing new ways to get hurt") was just made witness to the first team in nearly two decades to score at least 140 points on back to back nights.

I know it's regular season basketball, and so who cares?  Can you really get impressed by a win over the Clippers, and does that even say much to the possible "re-emergence" of the Suns?  Most likely not. The Clippers stink, and everyone knows it.

But, let's just take a quick look at the numbers.

282 - Total points scored by the Suns in the two games.  In their previous 3 games, they'd scored 290.

170 - Points scored in the paint by the Suns in the two games.  Tuesday's 90 paint points outdid the full game efforts of the Raptors, Sixers, Magic, Nets, Hawks, Pistons, and Sixers (again) over the two day span.

65 - The total amount of points Amar'e Stoudemire scored in the two games (Previous 3 games, 64)

63 - The total amount of points the Clippers were destroyed by in the two games.

2 - Games that Zach Randolph was suspended for.

1 - Fists that Louis Amundson received to his face.

0 - The amount players that played 30 or more minutes in either game for the Suns.

All in all, I think the Clippers have had enough.  Let them go free, and bring on the next worthy challenger for the Suns:  Oklahoma City.  Over/under on that game?  250, 260?  

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?

The Obvious Conclusion

There was only one thing I could think watching the NBA All-Star Game last night. Shaquille O'Neal is angling to head back to the Lakers. And the Lakers are angling to get Shaq back in the City of Angels.

There's no other explanation for this warm reunion between two men who couldn't co-exist after three championship runs in L.A.

Phil Jackson coached the West all-stars by putting both Kobe Bryant and Shaq on the floor together. They won the co-MVP award of the game. There was lots of reminiscent commentary from players and coaches about what could have been if Kobe and Shaq stayed together. More than three titles? Maybe five or six?

It seems to me it was all part of the newest conspiracy to get the Kobe and Shaq relationship all warm and fuzzy again so that they can reunite to take the Lakers back to the promised land.

Think about it. As Scott mentioned already today, the Suns are in disarray. Terry Porter was fired, the team is underachieving, and Amar'e could be traded by the deadline. The Lakers lost Andrew Bynum until at least the playoffs, and they could use another center to compliment Pau Gasol.

What could be better than adding back one of the most popular Lakers of the last twenty years, and make the Suns worse in the process?

Don't be surprised to see Shaq and Kobe together again soon.

Back And Forth: Amar'e Stoudemire Trade Talk

Jordan: Ok Scott, Amar'e Stoudemire could be traded, according to multiple reports. He could be headed to the Bulls or maybe to the Heat. What do you make of Stoudemire being traded? Wouldn't this be a bad move for the Suns?

Scott: Yeah, of course it would be. But then again, it kind of falls in line with everything else Steve Kerr has done since he took over this team. It seems like he's taken it as his personal responsibility to ruin this team, one poor personnel move at a time.

J: His decision making has been quite curious, to say the least. As a Bulls fan though, if you could get Stoudemire, you have to do it. If John Paxson can convince his old pal Steve Kerr to take a bunch of Bulls garbage off his hands for Stoudemire, he has to do it. After all, who is desirable on the Bulls, other than Derrick Rose? Who is even good?

S: Well, not many players.

J: Not many? You mean no one.

S: We've seen that Luol Deng really had one great playoff series and has been largely inconsistent. Andres Nocioni has completely fallen off. Kirk Hinrich stinks. The only desirable pieces they have are Drew Gooden, for his big contract, and Ty Thomas for his potential.

J: With Ty Thomas, he's potentiallty not awful. That I can say. But if the Bulls could package Thomas, Hinrich, Gooden (for contract purposes) and you coudl even throw in Side Show Bob, err, Joakim Noah, I think Pax HAS to make that deal.

S: Oh, no doubt. Thing is, Noah and Thomas do have value as projects. I've been saying this to you since the Bulls signed Ben Wallace. They need a big time player down low. In the Eastern Conference how could you not go out and get A'm'a'r'e?

J: That apostrophe in his name really makes no sense. Sort of like Donte' Stallworth. What's it doing there?

S: But for real though, he's a must get. You guys really need a big man, and he's that. Just don't expect defense.

J: I agree. Now let's look at the Heat. Who do you package to send A'm'a'r'e to South Beach to play with Mr. Converse himself, D-Wade?

S: The rumor I heard was Miggy Beasley. That's Michael Beasley for those of you who don't speak Spanish.

J: Miggy Beasley and who else? In english please, how about sending Shawn Marion back to his old stomping grounds?

S: No, they wouldn't send him back. Lo siento. They'd also include Marcus Banks, the waste of space and money he is.

J: I'm not just saying this because I'm a Bulls fan, but correct me if I'm wrong: the Bulls have a better offer. That being said, you have to sign Amar'e to a long term deal. Otherwise these trade proposals are moot.

S: Oh yeah, no doubt. The better team to do the deal with if you're the Suns is Chicago. The better team to get traded to if you're Amar'e is Miami. As far as a long term deal, the way I see it is, why wouldn't you trade for him, and give up Beasley? And I like Mike, but how much better could he be than what Amar'e is now? Lock him and Wade up, you could have contenders with a developing Mario Chalmers.

J: Quite true. Both teams have every reason to do it. Though you know who I'm rooting for.

S: No, I have no idea.

J: I guess we'll have to wait and see.

S: All I'll say is, let's go Spurs in getting Rasheed Wallace.

J: That would be a good move, not only because he has a weird hair discoloration on his dome piece. And since we need to mention it once, A-Rod. Now we've taken care of our obligatory reference to him in every post.

S: Indeed, A-Rod.