NBA At the Half
 

Few thoughts on the NBA season as we reach the halfway mark:

Early on, everyone basically gave the MVP award to Kevin Garnett. I like KG and as a Celtics fan, am very happy he's here and with what he's doing for the team. He's a deserving candidate. But he's not the winner. That's got to either be LeBron James or ...........Chris Paul. LeBron is simply the best player in the league and I think he's closing the debate up with each game. He outplayed the guy generally acknowledged as the best closer in the game the other day, Kobe Bryant, as his team beat Kobe's for a fifth straight time. He scored 14 in the fourth, 41 for the game, and he defended Kobe in the fourth when Bryant went 1-6 from the field. LeBron is averaging 30 and over seven boards and seven assists a game. His team went winless (not even competitive in losses) while he was out 5-6 games with injury earlier but with him, they are back on pace to win around 50 games again. Sure, it's the East but don't hold that against him. In my opinion, the MVP should be a combination of the best player and most valuable to his team. Kobe might be the best player. The most valuable to his team might be LeBron, Steve Nash, Dwight Howard, Paul, Al Jefferson or Jason Kidd. But the top combination of the two is clearly James. Chris Paul is my surprising runner up. I've doubted this kid since he came out of high school. I mean, it's obvious that he can play but you keep saying to yourself "he's not THAT good." He is. He's led the Hornets to the best record in the Western Conference. He has taken a team of good to ordinary players and turned them into far more than anyone could have expected. He has great floor leadership and controls pace of the game like a great point guard should. He knows who to get the ball to and when at all times..or when to take it himself. Without Paul, that club would be a lottery team. With him, they are turning into serious contenders in the West.

My top five:
James, Paul, Nash, Nowitzki, Garnett
Honorable mention to Bryant, Dwight Howard, and Brandon Roy

I know, how is Bryant so far down? Simple. Have you seen that team since Bynum went down? Struggled to beat Seattle (in overtime), Memphis, and New York. Lost to Cleveland, Dallas, San Antonio, and Phoenix. Without Bynum, this team is no better than they were last year. Bryant is a brilliant player with all the skills in the world.....except for one. He doesn't show any ability to make teammates better. The keys to that team this year has been the development of Bynum and the return of Fisher. This is obvious to just about everyone. In the tough Western Conference, with Bynum that team had risen to the best record in the conference. Without him for the next 4-6 weeks, they are in danger of falling out of the top eight.

San Antonio is not looking good. Take away their third quarter against the Lakers and they have been actually looking pretty bad. Losing Parker for a bit is going to make them look even worse. They just lost at Seattle with Parker out, the same Seattle that had lost 14 straight. I know that this is a veteran team that knows what it takes in the playoffs and they can't be counted out. But this team is looking lost these days, especially on the road and it might be more important than ever for them this year to have home court advantage against some of the really good teams. If they don't have it against a Dallas or Phoenix, I don't think they can win it.

Can't believe that Chris Webber is going back to Golden State to play for Don Nelson. Talk about life repeating itself.

Jason Kidd wants to be traded. Shaquille O'Neal needs to be traded. Because of contracts, probably neither one will be traded. One guy that could turn out to be a big factor in who goes to or wins the title is one of the smallest players in the league, Damon Stoudamire. He's not going to be a starter for any contender but could play a big role off of the bench, especially for a team like Boston or San Antonio.

The Blazers had a great run but will fall back to Earth and miss the playoffs. Also likely to miss the playoffs are the Houston Rockets. The experiment with McGrady and Yao has failed. Both of them miss too many games to keep any consistent form going with that team. You don't trade a 7-6 all-star center so look for McGrady to be sent somewhere this offseason.

Everyone is conceding that the East will come down to Boston vs. Detroit but I wouldn't count out Cleveland just yet. They beat Detroit last year and I see no reason why they couldn't do it again.

Gilbert Arenas is going to come back and Washington is going to suffer because of it. Sounds silly to say that adding an all-star player of Arenas' caliber can hurt a team but they have really blended together to play a style of basketball that is successful in the East while he's been out. When he comes back, it's going to take the ball out of Butler's hands too much. Also, defensively, they are really going to be hurt because Arenas doesn't like to play that end of the floor.

Kevin Durant is a talented offensive player. Before he came into the league though, I predicted that he'd be just another Rashard Lewis type of player for the Sonics. Other players I compared him to were Tim Thomas and Loul Deng. He's just not strong enough at this point and I don't know if he ever will be. He doesn't have the ability to play inside. He didn't have it in college either. He's always going to be able to get you 20-30 on any given night but he doesn't seem to be the kind of guy that has a real impact on the game. Some guys get you numbers (Lewis, Zach Randolph) but don't have much impact on the game. That's Durant right now.

Speaking of Lewis, what a waste of money that was for Orlando. $100+ million for a guy that's 6-10 and can't rebound any better than any of us can? All he's good for is shooting open jumpers. He's unable to create his own shots, doesn't rebound, doesn't pass, and doesn't play defense. I tried to tell them but they wouldn't listen.

I hope Minnesota doesn't make the same mistake with Al Jefferson that they did with Garnett. This guy is a potential superstar but if they don't get the right talent around him, they will waste his really good years.

How bad is Miami? They play the Celtics without Garnett and Allen, at home......and lost by 30 in a game that wasn't even that close. Boston led by over 30 for much of the game. This is how bad it was. The score was 60-34 and Pierce hadn't even scored a point. That was the worst effort I've ever seen from an NBA team. Ever.

I think there is hope though for the Heat. No, not this year. They should sit Wade for the rest of this year. O'Neal too. Both are hurting. In the offseason, I'd offer O'Neal a buyout. It would cost them big money but it might be the best move for both sides. For the Heat, they aren't going anywhere as long as he's there. Let him go, use some money to try to lure a free-agent. Doesn't have to be a superstar but just some veteran that can play. This year is also going to be a good lottery, I think. They could end up with a really high pick and the right addition could help make the Heat contenders in the weak East as soon as next year. For O'Neal, it gives him a chance to end with some dignity. He could find a team that's close but needs a little bit more. He's nowhere near the player he once was but he's still able to give a team 14-8 and shoot nearly 60% a night. Sadly, there aren't that many centers that can do that these days. I'm sure Dallas would love to have him in the middle instead of Dampier and Diop.

We know that Dirk Nowitzki is the heart and soul of the Mavs. As he goes, so goes the team. But has Josh Howard moved past him as the best overall player on that team?

The East will be represented by the Celtics. The West by the Mavs. The Celtics win it all.

The Celtics are an injury away from being the Denver Nuggets.

The Suns are an injury away from being in the lottery (Nash). So too are the Lakers (Bryant), Warriors (Davis), Magic (Howard), Hornets (Paul), Cavs (James), Blazers (Roy), Mavs (Nowitzki), Spurs (Duncan), Jazz (Boozer or Williams).

The Giants are just an injury away from winning the Super Bowl (Tom Brady).

The rest of the PGA tour players are just an injury away from being relevant (Tiger Woods).

I'm not sure I understand your point.

The Spurs are a better team than Boston. They could lose Duncan and still win and have proven so. If the Celtics lost Garnett they wouldn't have a shot.

And really you're eating chalk picking the Celtics. They're a bad chalk IMO.

If the Celtics lost Garnett, no, they wouldn't be favored to win the East. But with Pierce and Allen, I still think they'd win their division. If the Spurs lost Duncan, they could survive for a short period. They would have ZERO shot of winning their division, their conference or any league championships.

The point is that any assumptions that anyone makes are based on players staying healthy. I think it goes without saying that if you take major players off of any team, it completely changes the dynamics of things. Even look at the Pistons. As good and balanced as they are, if you take Rasheed Wallace or Chauncey Billups off of that team, they have no shot to beat the Celtics. So yeah, the Celtics are an injury away but then so is everyone else.

Even if the Celtics stay healthy, and that's a big if, they still have to get past Cleveland and/or Detroit. Two teams that have a nucleus that's been together for a few years.

I've maybe watched two NBA games this year so my opinion is probably a bad one...but historically teams that stack all-star players don't typically win a championship their first season together. I'm not convinced Garnett, Allen and Pierce have the mental toughness to battle a team like Detroit in a 7 game series.

I'll say Detroit in the East. Spurs/Jazz (depending on seed) in the west.

I can agree with that assessment. Detroit is the team to beat because they've been there before. But the thing the Celtics have in their favor is that they aren't young players that are just coming along and haven't been in pressure situations. Garnett has played for the Western Conference title. Pierce has played for the Eastern Conference title. Allen has played for national titles, I believe. And remember, in the East, it doesn't take much to get there. Remember that LeBron almost single-handedly beat Detroit last year.

If they stay healthy, it's by no means going to be easy. But I think they have enough to get the job done.

I cannot believe the countless errors I see people write when extolling the virtues of LeBron James.




I really can't.

I am extraordinarily surprised by the Celtics.
Cannot believe they are playing such good defense.
Doc Rivers has done a great job.

Lebron is one of the best athletes I have seen ever.
He has a long way to go becoming the best player.
Watching Kobe and Lebron continually try to match
up and score on each other one on one in the most
critical parts of the game shows that
neither get it.

Chris Paul has done a great job. But Brandon Roy might
just match him. And Derron Williams is also tough. Any one
of these guys on the Lakers would make them automatic
contenders. Fisher is an old two guard that makes big shots
but is not in anyway a team changer.

San Antonio has been killed by injuries coupled with very
inconsistent play. No Parker means they go nowhere. San
Antonio must have a healthy Ginobili, Parker and Duncan to
repeat and they have been healthy only in the first part of
the season. Parker goes on a long rest and the Spurs pick up
D. Staud. should be interesting.

Agree on Arenas. Durant. I knew he was not strong enough
coming in. He is a scorer. And he will be able to go to the basket
once he becomes a man. The kid still has a high school body.
Gervin like scoring ability for the future. He is not a freak like
most of the high school kids that actually make it because their
body allows. Durant is 19 years old. Lots of muscle can be added.

The West is still totally up for grabs. We will see if the Celtics
can maintain their intensity through the playoffs. I always worry
when any team does that well early on. They come down, and
then fatigue and griping. This is their first year. Going to be tough
but Celtic fans must be proud by the way they are winning; By shutting
teams down defensively in the 4th quarter of close games.

Detroit is still very shallow. Billups, Hamilton, and T. Prince
will be dead tired by the time the playoffs come around. They
play way too many minutes and cant cover by the time the 4th
period kicks in.

Detroit is still very shallow. Billups, Hamilton, and T. Prince
will be dead tired by the time the playoffs come around. They
play way too many minutes and cant cover by the time the 4th
period kicks in.


Can't you say the same about the Celtics?

Nope.
Perkins, Pose, House, tony allen, and now Davis are
all playing some sign. minutes and doing a great job.

Bet they're not.





Bet the Celtics never see the EC finals.

The Celtics can play D mort.
That can get a team somewhere.

Now the reasons I would not bet on the Celts.
1. Garnett- Ab strain. that could be a tear and that can be the season.
Need to hear more.
2. Ray Allen's ankles are jello.

This is their first year. But you gotta be impressed.
I would have never expected the D.

Your Spurs better make a run at Kidd, they def. need some help right now, they just are not the same Spurs of the past, eventhough their lineup is still together.

I'll believe when they go somewhere in the play-offs.They have been lucky to be in the East with so many teams going south.I think the slowdown is on t's way for them.

Spurs have signed D. Stoudamire. Or are just about to.

Parker will sit and get the rest he needs. He had no
explosion with his heal injury. We are all banged up.
Barry, our best 3 point shooter, tore his calf muscle
again. One thing after another. To be expected with
an older team.

^^^ Doesn't understand why halfcourt teams are allowed to play on both halves.

This is an odd statement. There is no one even remotely close to LeBron as the best player in the league. Not even remotely. He gets it... a lot. They have 18 4th quarter comeback wins this year. His defense is much improved. He matched up with Roy yesterday in the 4th and Brandon accomplished exactly nothing in crunch time...zero. He matched up with Kobe in the 4th Sunday...he accomplished pretty much nothing in crunch time. I know MOrtimer doesn't like him either. I have no idea about him as a person morty...but as a player...no one approaches him. He is a poor free throw shooter...other than that no weaknesses. I guess you could quibble about his overall outside shooting...but he makes his fair share of shots when required.

In the end the leading scorer in the league is also in the top 10 in assists...over 7 per game. No one else on the team is even at 3 per game. 25-13 with him...0-6 without him.

But no...as far as becoming the best player...he has zero distance to go. He is already there and has been for quite some time.

And without ,effectively ,Sasha and the Brazilian.

Of course that doesn't count.




It's amazing how good James is playing 1 against 5.

mortimer...don't even try to contradict me on Cleveland sports.

The games without James...Sasha was playing huge minutes. So no that doesn't really count...he was playing those games. Sasha has been abysmal this year at least offensively. He was starting to play a bit better when he busted up his foot...but he pretty much stunk this year...couldn't shoot.

Record with James, and without the Brazilian 10-6
Record without both James and the Brazilian 0-6
Record with both James and the Brazilian 15-7
Record with James and without Pavlovic 4-2
Record with Pavlovic and without James 0-6
REcord with both Pavlovic and James 21-11

Of course they are a better team when Pavlovic and Varejao are both healthy and playing...but c'mon they certainly have an easier time winning without those two than James. It's been proven.

Next.

As you know...I said...effectively.

As you know...Sasha held out and did not play until the second or third game.

As you know he could not hit the proverbial broadside of a barn. 30% fg shooting would have been a welcome sight.


As you know....the Brazilian held out well into the season and took several games to get into basketball shape.


I think that also played into the "without James" record.





I just don't like it when people try to paint James as playing with absolutely no support.



He has a strong group with him....not the best team, but among the best. He doesn't do this all by himself. It's ridiculous for anyone to try and insinuate as much.

I believe you're also the guy who claims Here'sJhonny is a fine ss.








:rolleyes:

Peralta was their best player in postseason last year. He is a good shortstop without question. He isn't Tulowitzski with the glove, but he is in the upper half of major league SS defensively, and he hits just fine. Good player who still has upside I believe. (who was the cog to get them to the 3-1 ALCS lead?? game 2,,game 4 anyone??) I wouldn't mind seeing him at 3rd base eventually however. He's still a decent SS though.

The facts are what they are regarding the Cavs. I don't need to say effectively. Varejao came to play in shape period. If Sasha wasn't in shape that's not LeBron's fault. LeBron has 3 big guys that rebound the heck out of the ball (Gooden, Z and Varejao). That is what he has. He has 3 brick laying off guards, (Hughes, Pavlovic and Brown...all 3 under 40 percent.), and two three point shooting point guards who are shooting guards in point guard bodies (Gibson and Jones.).

They are better with Pavlovic and Varejao healthy without question. They nonetheless win consistently without either those two with James on the floor. They never won without James on the floor (this year...in past years they have actually had very good records without James).

The are strong at power forward and center with the Gooden, Ilgauskas, Varejao rotation. Their guard play is very far from strong and in fact has been abysmal this year. Gibson is an interesting player who is a very good shooter but not really a point guard. He is about the only guy LeBron trusts to go to...him and Z. Like it or not, LeBron is the team and the best player in the game.

Do you practice being wrong?

Sahsa and the Brazilian missed the entire preseason.That's all needing said.


James is the best player by far. Gibson is a very viable Downtown Freddie off the bench; many teams would like him. MANY teams would like a 3 big man rotation of Z,Gooden and the Brazilian....MANY.

Their real weakness is point guard. If Hughes wanted to....he could fill that void, but he doesn't want to.


Take Wade off and put James on Miami. They would be better ,but still a sub .500 team. People ought to start giving some credit to the overall strong supporting cast James has instead of how he does it all by himself.

James has yet a lot to learn.


Anyone who has seen Here'sJhonny for more than 10 games knows the guy is at the very best a very average ss.....who strikes out a ton.......and has one of the worst "balls he should have gotten to" averages in baseball. The Indians are still trying to solve second since they threw away one of the best there is . Now they will solve it by playing the next Omar Vizquel at..... 2nd.....and go mediocre at ss.




Briilliant.

Do I practice being wrong?? You basically repeated everything I said...I said their big man rotation was very good...you repeated what I said. I said their guards stink...you repeated what I said. And you are quite simply wrong about Peralta. HE's a very good player. He strikes out a ton like pretty much everyone in baseball does now. It's not 1965 any more. If you don't like a young shortstop who is going to hit .280...hit 25-30 home runs every year, score and drive in 90 runs a year most likely and play decent to above average defense...don't know what you have there against him. I agree about Cabrera at short...I would like to see Barfield at 2nd and Peralta at 3rd and Blake in a super sub role, but I don't know if Barfield can ever get on base enough to justify playing him there full time. That's the problem...not Peralta.

Well then you must absolutely agree James is far from doing it alone and that every team would benefit from him...but many would still not be able to break .500.....??



Here'sJohnny has never done any of those things!!...except he did hit .294....3 years ago. ....250's and .270 since!


DEFENSE still wins...you can't have a hack like him at short and a gold glove ss candiate like Cabrerra at 2nd. People have said regarding Peralta at third..............you don't want to know.


5 tools.....Peralta does NONE of them extremely well. He only is good in the power game and has a good arm....he's unGodly slow...doesn't hit for average( check his career avg.)..and in my opinion, and most who know what they are speaking of ,he is a near hack in the most important spot in fair territory.

Give me a break here already!

And no he doesn't strikeout just like anyone else.


He leads the league fer gosh sakes!

I am of the opinion at 25 years old, Peralta has not reached his ceiling. HE is not that bad defensively. Certainly not a hack by a long shot. He did not lead the league in Ks. HE didn't even strike out as much as their leadoff hitter did last year!! He has averaged over 20 home runs the last 3 years. I honestly think he is going to become a 25 to 30 home run guy very shortly. He's fairly patient at the plate drawing 60 plus walks a year. I think his average and OBP will improve as well. Plus, I like the fact that he showed up in postseason last year unlike many others on the team (Hafner!).

You can manipulate any stat in the game as much as you want...but the fact remains, his assist total, (what other stat is more reliable than that??) says he gets to plenty of balls...more than most shorstops. Defense is important, they won the most games in baseball last year with him at shortstop. His defense is not why they didn't get to the World Series.

You're awesome...you turned a mid season NBA report thread into a Jhonny Peralta thread!! There are few talented enough to do that!!

Don't even talk about the guy who should be in leftfield. Peralta was last years leader in strileouts and he was right up the near the top for '07.

He's a guy I would ship out; hopefully they will do that before the season starts. I don't need statistics and neither does anyone else has who seen him play except you!


ACCH!!


Look...I'll settle for this. Just don't make James sound like he does it alone...






....OK?

I can't believe I read it on here that James has an excellent supporting cast. I don't know if the rest of those guys could win the Big-10.

Hughes may be one of the biggest mistakes
in the NBA in the last 10 years. That much
money and the guy is worthless. Needs an
audition for AND ONE.

Cleveland needs a point guard
more than anything.

Gooden looks Omish, Amish, with that neck
beard. I believe this is an in-depth
evaluation of Gooden.

Someone has read "excellent" into overall supporting cast where I read "strong".

Or was it only a one man team that knocked Detroit out of the playoffs last year?

C'mon those guys were only down by 20 at the half to a 9-35 team last night!!

They lost by 6...without 3 key players.

Not one......3.






And the 9-35 team had just defeated the Spurs.....who I guess couldn't win the BT either.

Yet, some how, some way they are able to win the night before and the game before that without TWO of those key players. It seems to for some reason be that 3rd key player that makes all the difference. (hopefully Pavlovic isn't out too long!!) (and Grady Sizemore had more strikeouts than Peralta last year too...actually the last 3 years he has!).

You are wrong. Peralta was the league leader 2 years ago...but point well taken about the overrated Sizemore.



By the way......how did they beat the Spurs then with just Parker out?

You admit you do agree the supporting cast is a fine one...yet you insist on trying to imply it's a one man team. It just ain't gonna work.You'll have yourself twisted into a pretzel with that frustrated approach of yours.

Strikeouts

2007...Sizemore 155, Peralta 146
2006...Sizemore 153, Peralta 152
2005...Sizemore 132, Peralta 128

I am good at math an I am quite certain it is impossible Peralta ever led the league in strikeouts at any point in time with someone on his own team surapssing him. Sizemore is far from overrated. Despite his strikeouts he is always on base, and can play defense despite a poor arm. A .390 OBP from your leadoff hitter is quite doable I must say. I'll take 174 hits and 101 walks from him each and every year.

With everyone healthy it is an average supporting cast. The 3 man Gooden, Varejao, Ilgauskas frontline rotation is quite good. The guard play is poor. A point guard doesn't exist which is why LeBron has to play that position for the most part. Put it all together it is at best average.

That would be Curtis Granderson who was the league leader 2 years ago. Easy to mistake him with Jhonny Peralta considering the similar spellings of their names I guess.

I am going to check your work as I believe you are wrong on the strikeouts.


But you certainly have proven Here'sJhonny is a fine contact man.Also thought the 'Sizemore is a excellent defensive player despite the poor arm' ( :D :D ) was to die for.

When Sasha is in shape the defense a 6-7 shooting guard gives along with a 44% fg average ...a lot of teams would like that,too.Name the teams who have a better 3 big man rotation.





How does an average supporting cast knock out the Pistons?




You have LeBron Leblindness.......don't worry...most people do.

Well, the average supporting cast could knock out the Pistons because they have LeBron James on their team....that one is quite simple. It's simple...the "championship" teams usually have multiple go to guys...(Parker, Duncan, Ginobili) (Wade, Shaq) (billups, Wallace, Hamilton, Prince) (Kobe, Shaq). Even Jordan had Pippen and rodman and Kukoc etc. I don't think anyone on the Cavs team is that caliber of player. They're not terrible, they're just average. Regarding the 3 big rotation, I think if you have one or two that are far superior players perhaps that outweighs the 3...ie San Antonio, Orlando are two to look at...the Lakers with Bynum and Odom as well...the Suns with Stoudamire and Marion. Perhaps Utah with Boozer, Kirelenko, Okur. The 3 do well for cleveland, but many teams have many things at those spots.

Sizemore has won a gold glove. Perhaps undeservedly, but he can go get fly balls.