Why Would He?  Proven in game 4, the Pistons are clearly capable of taking the Magic down captain-less.  If I were head coach Flip Saunders, I would actually use this to my advantage and HOLD CHAUNCEY OUT.  Why?  Think about it.  Every year Chauncey seems to have a terrible span in the playoffs where he plays brutally, and it ends up bringing the whole team down with him.  When he plays bad, it really does have that affect on the entire team.  Some might argue that this stretched has already occurred in the first round against the 76ers, but who knows?  Back to the current situation, this could be a great way for the rest of the Pistons roster to get the Chauncey-less experience.  What if Billups comes back 100%, but he ends up being really cold?  It’s not worth the whole team being taken down too.  Let’s face it, the Pistons have 3 games to knock the Magic to the golf course.  It likely won’t even take them more than tonight’s game to do it.  Why not let Mr. Big Shot rest and recuperate, letting him come back to a  well oiled team.

After reading a recent article on ESPN about this upcoming draft class, I realized that there is likely chance that Mr. Rose out of Memphis will more than likely get the nod for the number one pick.  I say this because if you look at the NBA playoffs right now, it’s never been more crystal clear that it’s all about the guards.  Kobe, CP3, Deron Williams, Tony Parker.  I would even go to say guys like Rip Hamilton’s recent contributions and Delonte West deserve mention.  Of course, Chauncey Billups should be attached to this list automatically (Mr. Big Shot!!!) but the boys in red, white and blue proved they are resiliant without his presence.  For those that have been watching, these small guys are the most confident on the floor.  They are the guys making the right decisions, at the right time.  Coaches have shown that they can be trusted with the game winner (ie: Delonte West).  Kobe being the MVP and CP3 being second just shows the value of guards in the NBA market is strong.  As per usual, though, number one lottery picks are always big men (except Iverson) in past years.  Mike Beasley was supposed to be the unquestioned number one pick in this year’s draft.  He outperformed Kevin Durant’s stellar numbers, so what’s the big deal?  Derek Rose has emerged as a direct competitor!  How can teams pass up a chance to get the next CP3 and D. Wills?  It’s not worth letting these guys fall down to 2 or 3 or later.  I like where the GM thoughts are heading, because I know if my teamed lacked even the slightest bit in the most important position category, I’d be shopping for the perfect Rose.

Remember before the season, there were tons of rumours about Reggie Miller amongst other (Allan Houston,etc) was making a comeback.  The most “bought” rumour was that he was headed for Boston.  With the playoffs so close, I can’t help to think what his impact would have been on this team.  Although he wouldn’t see the daylight of the starting lineup, his 15-20 minutes backing up Ray Allan would be the X factor, including taking those inevitable game winning shots against Detroit.  Since the Celts did not pursue Reggie hard enough, I have to give the upper hand to the Pistons, which will be the East final.  No doubt about!  Why the Pistons?  For one, EXPERIENCE!  Paul Pierce has the most playoff experience on that Celtics roster, and it really wasn’t anything to brag about.  On the flip side, many of the Pistons have been the finals and won a championship.  I can’t see a Pistons cold streak, and I can’t see Rasheed losing his mind, or at least not more than a tech or two. The Pistons are focused, and now they have a productive bench.  I expect to see a lot more Lindsey Hunter as the younger guys will be warming up to the new environment that the playoffs bring.  I can also see a guy like Jason Maxiell truly showing his colours.  The 76ers are in for a few thunderous dunks.  But for the Pistons/Celtics East final, I say Pistons in 6!

All this talk of KG for MVP, but the real Most Valuable of the Garnett family is Brandi, Kevin’s wife!  Check her out!  Quite the fitty.

Firstly, thanks for everyone for returning to the site.  It has been a challenge to balance my daily activities with the blog, but if there are still readers, I’m still here.  Anyways, with all the craziness going on in the league, I can’t help but put my opinion on the table.  Here we go:

Shaq:

At first, I thought this was a terrible move by the Suns.  Couldn’t they get more than a BIG man for Marion?  Of course, but there is obviously a little more strategy behind it.  I think a lot of the characteristics GM Steve Kerr was looking at were the intangibles that Shaq Daddy brings to the table, such as his leadership and experience.  In those two departments, it’d be hard to find anyone else in th league that can beat him there.  Additionally, Shaq obviously has his main tangible:  He’s HUGE!  The Suns can finally fill this void, and now they have someone to guard the bigs of the West.  This has been their main obstacle, which now they can overcome.  I think the best and most productive part of this trade is somewhat hidden.  Now Amare Stoudemire can shift over to his natural power forward position and just dominate.  Shaq will never get so many easy baskets.  That being said, can the Diesel stay healthy?  Unfortunately, I can’t see his big frame lasting through the entire playoffs.

Pau:

This was plain out robbery.  Kudos to Lakers management for stealing Pau.  It almost seems unethical what they did, but hey, its business.  A dirty one at that.  The Lakers are just plain scary.  I don’t think anyone can consider them a sleeper pick of a team now.  Presently, they are one of the top teams in the West.  I still can’t figure out what the Griz were thinking.  There’s nothing like having a starting big 2 of Darko and Kwame.  Ouch…

Bibby:

Atlanta is DANGEROUS!  Although Bib wasn’t playing so well after injury, I expect his game to kick up a notch, similar to the days with a good C-Webb and Peja in Sactown.  He’s got the Josh Smiths and Joe Johnsons, and he’ll be in excellent contributor on that team.  In the grand scheme of things, the Hawks are going no where.  They have no playoff experienced players (that have gone a good distance in the post season), but if they can keep this core for some time, they’ll be one of the tops.

JKidd:

This will go through.  Do you think an owner as whacked out as Mark Cuban will pass on a chance to get one of the best PG’s in the league?  Of course not.  What’s he saying on his blog these days?  Probably something about computers or google.  Regardless, JKidd will be a Mav in the very near future.  For what Dallas is giving up, I consider it close to robbery as well (ok, lets get serious.  Not even as close to as bad as the Pau trade).

If you thought I quit blogging…you’re wrong!  I took a serious break though.  No excuses either.  I work, I party, I chill.  But I used to do that even when I was blogging, so again, no excuses.  It’s been quite a while since my last entry.  When I pull up my past entries, it doesn’t say “yesterday’s posting”, but rather “a while ago..” .  Once I saw that I said WHOA.  Time to put an end to this.  So, I realized I do have quite a bit on my mind about the league happenings.  Here we go:

-I know I wrote quite a few articles about Grant Hill, but wow, this guy has been putting up semi-Grant Hill-of-old numbers.  Quite impressive.  That being said, I think he’s reached his season peak, and of course, I fear of his inevitable season ending injury.  I have already traded him in one of my fantasy leagues.

-Baron Davis is one of the best players in the league, not just one of the best POINT GUARDS.  He’s finally getting some credit where it is due, but still, not enough!  This guy is on the brink of a triple double every night.  He’s leading one of the league’s best offenses, yet still probably not considered one of the league’s best.  I know in a fantasy league of 15 people, he would be in the first round.

-Dwight Howard is a monster.  The funny part is he’s only 21 (or not even?).  WOW…

 -Boston.  No one expected these guys to do this well, this early in the season.  The crazy part too is that all 3 of the BIG 3 are averaging over 20 points per game.  That being said, I STILL wouldn’t have KG as the league MVP at this rate.  Team MVP forsure, but right now I think you have to start thinking D.Howard.

-The Cavs truly are a one man team, and with LeBron out, they’re proving it.  As I’ve set before, last year was a fluke for these guys. 

-I expect Kobe to stay put for a while in L.A.  On another hand, I do expect Jason Kidd to be out of N.J. by the trade deadline.  With Andrew Bynum playing so well, it’ll be interesting to see if the Lakers can cook something up around him.  Doubt it, but who knows.

-Why is Rip Hamilton leading the league in technical fouls and not Sheed Wallace?  Weird!

That’s all folks.  I will try and keep at it as much as possible.

When I have frequent arguments with friends about why basketball is better than hockey or baseball, it always comes down to one true point on my side.  Basketball is entertainment.  After taking in the Pistons/Knicks game last night in Detroit, my love for this league shot up higher than it ever was before.  As we all know, Mr. Isiah Thomas has been booed…booed …and booed some more.  He’s booed at home in New York and booed on the road in New York.  Until last night.  After I ran to my seat after getting soaked in the gross Auburn Hills rain, I was right in time for the introductions (or the best part of basketball—my thoughts at least).  You had your Eddy Curry’s, your Starbury’s…and of course…we all came to hear the reaction of Zeke himself.  To my thoughts, the Piston gang of fans cheered this guy as if he was still starting at PG for the Bad Boys.  This guy can assault an employee, become a losing/terrible coach, yet all these fans can remember is how amazing of a leader he once was for the boys in red, white and blue.  I was a little shocked at the reaction, until I found myself standing and clapping like everyone else. 

1)      Ben Wallace still sucks.  If you caught last night’s Pistons/Bulls game, you’d notice how he still seems to think it’s a better idea for him to a take a shot, rather than someone of the Luol Deng or Ben Gordon type.  As well, you would have noticed that in crunch time, Big Ben was nowhere to be seen on the floor.  Was he worth it, Chicago?

2)      Baron Davis is one of the most underrated players in the league.  Hopefully this guy can stay healthy the whole season.

3)      I feel like Nene has yet to go a season without an injury.  Is this true?

4)      Miami is in dire need of a D-Wade comeback.  Shaq just isn’t Shaq anymore.  He’s just a plain oversized human being who’s pretty good at basketball.  He’s not a force anymore and the man is out of shape.  Wait until you see the difference D-Wade makes on a team. 

5)      You gotta love watching Richard Jefferson snagging all the points and rebounds in New Jersey over Vincanity.  Don’t get me wrong, I’m a Vince fan at heart, but with RJ taking all the spotlight right now, you know it’ll force Vince to work hard to get back into his own spotlight.  I expect Vince to go on a big tear, along with the Nets.

6)      Who’s going to stop the Celtics?

A few thoughts on my mind this morning:

1) Congrats to all those reaping the benefits of having Chris Paul and Peja Stojakovic in their fantasy lineups last night  (such as myself).  Time to celebrate?  Don’t think so, but hey, it was a huuuge lift. 

2)Mo Williams has been slow starting.  I drafted this guy hoping for last year’s numbers, but so far he’s only been mediocre with a larger amount of turnovers.  The guy needs a little shakeup.  Time to start earning your money, Mo!

3)Too much Kobe talk still.  I’m still sticking with my preseason prediction of that he’ll be a Laker until the trade deadline.  Now all the writers are saying he’s not even worth his “value” that the Lakers are trying to get.  I find that kind of weird about the best player in the league.  I’m still a Kobe fan, and I know you are too. 

4)I’m loving how much Ben Wallace sucks now.  The Pistons clearly inked the right guy in signing Chauncey Billups.  I’m sure all Detroit fans are saying “Sheed is the only Wallace we need”!!!

5)How much do you love watching the Nuggets, the Warriors, and surprisingly the Raptors?  The Raps seem to have a fantastic team chemistry where the scoring seems to be more balanced than in past years.  Kudos to them, except for their dreadful loss last night to the Bucks. 

6)It’s all about Yiiiiiiiii.  This guy has been pretty good so far, considering he really has to share the ball with a lot of guys on that lineup.  They should easily have a playoff spot if their bigs can stay healthy.

That’s all I’ve got for now.

In honour of one of my main men receiving player of the week honours, I thought I’d throw in that clip of him scoring like 1000 points in barely any time.  Check it out here.