Sports Blog

The San Antonio Spurs got a little younger and more dangerous on Tuesday.  In a 4-player deal involving the Milwaukee Bucks, the Spurs will receive Richard Jefferson for three aging bench players with expiring contracts (Bruce Bowen, Kurt Thomas, and Fabricio Oberto).  The Bucks were just looking to get rid of the $29.2 million still owed to Jefferson in the last two years of the contract.  They needed that money to sign other important players that are in the last years of their current contracts.  Because of this, the Spurs were able to come in and get Jefferson, a versatile wingman who averaged 19.6 points last year, for almost nothing.  Well, if you call $29.5 million over the next two years nothing!  The deal makes the Spurs a threat in the strong West again as they lost in the first round last year.  It gives them a formidable core of Jefferson, Tim Duncan, Tony Parker, and Manu Ginobili.  I’d say that’s a pretty good team and probably second only to the Lakers out West.  And, as a Laker fan, I have to admit that it’s going to be different not seeing Bruce there to guard Kobe.  Though I hated him, he made the games more fun to watch and I enjoyed the intensity between the two.  He was getting old and last season he was no where near the player that he used to be so a change was needed.

In another trade in the NBA, the Minnesota Timberwolves gave themselves some good leverage and ammunition for another big deal on draft day tomorrow.  The T-Wolves traded Randy Foye and Mike Miller to the Washington Wizards for their number one draft pick (5th overall) and three others.  This gives the T-Wolves four first round draft picks (5th,6th,18th,28th) and frees up some cap space.  There is talk that they will use some of those picks to move higher in the draft or trade for another quality player.  We’ll have to wait and see what they do tomorrow.  The Wizards, on the other hand, get an up-and-coming point guard in Foye and a great shooter in Miller.  They believe that their team already has a good core of players and the only reason for the bad year was injury.  Coming back next year will be Gilbert Arenas, a former All-Star who missed all last season with a knee injury.  They believe that’s like getting a top 5 pick in the draft.  I think the Wizards will be a lot better next year if he can come back as the same player he was.

Photo Source: AP Photo

For the first time since Tim Duncan did it in the 2001-02 NBA season, a former rookie of the year took down NBA Most Valuable Players honors. That former ROY is Lebron James and he accepted the award yesterday from St. Vincent-St. Mary High School, his alma mater.

Unlike the MVP race of the past few years, this years award went through little scrutiny.  Sure there were a few dissenters who favored Dwayne Wade (who received seven first place votes and finished third in voting) or Kobe Bryant (who finished second in voting and received two first place votes), but the most deserving player was clearly King James.

Here are ten reasons why James deserved to win this years MVP trophy:

1) The Cleveland Cavaliers 66-16 record was good for the number one seed in the east and home court advantage in the NBA finals should they get that far.  MVP voters put a lot of weight into team success and no team had greater regular season success than the Cavs.

2) At 39-2 the Cavs finished just one game short of the ‘86 Celtics all time best home court record (Cavs final lost was in the last game of season and they rested their starters).  Another team accomplishment, but James deserves the lion’s share of the kudos.

3) Unlike other top scorers in the league (Joe Johnson I’m looking at you) James is a two-way player.  While defense is hard to quantify in statistics, James did finish second in defensive player of the year honors.  He can guard nearly any player on the court and frequently slowed down opposing teams best weapons.

4) James finished second in the league in points per game with 28.4 and did it shooting a very respectable .489 from the field.  His mid-range game continues to improve and no one is better at finishing around the basket than Lebron.

5) Any player that knows how to drive is going to get his share of free throws.  James did just that finishing second in the league in free throws made per game with an impressive 7.3.  Add in his improved free throw percentage (78% this year, 71% last year) and James helped his team with a lot of easy points from the charity stripe.

6) James is also very proficient around the glass.  His 7.8 rebounds per game is good for second in the NBA among non power forwards and centers and is yet another testament to his versatility.

7) As if the shooting, rebounding and defense weren’t enough James also finished ninth in the NBA in assists and second among non point guards with 7.2 a game.  While it would be nearly impossible for him to average a triple double for a season, James is definitely the player most capable of accomplishing it.

Although he isn’t among the league leaders in blocks, he is responsible for popularizing the term come from behind blocks.  Anyone who saw him break up Jason Richardson’s 360 dunk attempt can certainly attest to that, and nothing jacks up a team like a monster block.

9) Another aspect of the game that is hard to quantify is team chemistry.  You could argue all day about how important it is to winning (very), but there is no question the Cavs have it in spades.  From their unique hand shakes to scripted celebrations, they genuinely seem to like each other and James is largely responsible.

10) According to stats from 82games.com, James has a better shooting percentage in the clutch (4th quarter or overtime, less than 5 minutes left, neither team ahead by more than 5 points) than either Wade or Bryant, and it’s not even that close: James, .556; Wade, .470; Bryant, .457.

Image Source: edeporte.com

Find at Smarter.com:  Shop for Lebron James memorabilia.

If you have been watching the NBA playoffs you probably feel like the Los Angeles Lakers and Cleveland Cavaliers are destined to meet in the finals.  The reason so many people feel this way is simple — it is the only logical conclusion based on everything that has happened from the beginning of the season to now.  Well, that and the fact that it is David Stern’s dream scenario (kidding … sort of).

One thing that may be less clear, however, is what team is going to prevail.  So for all of you who are unsure about who is going to win it all, here are 10 reasons why the Lakers will be hoisting up another championship banner into the rafters.

1.  Revenge factor:  It is becoming increasingly unlikely that they will see the Boston Celtics should they make the finals, but avenging last years embarrassing game six performance is surely on the mind of everyone in the organization.  There is no way they let what happened then (or 2004 for that matter) happen again.

2.  Kobe Bryant:  Lest we forget amid the flurry of props for Lebron James and Dwayne Wade that Bryant is arguably still the best player in the game and certainly one of its best finishers.  A player of his stature, someone who is already in the top 20 all time and might retire in the top 10, can accomplish a lot on will power alone.

3.  Phil Jackson:  Some people refuse to give Jackson credit because all of his titles have come with either Bryant or Michael Jordan at the helm.  I am not one of those people. Jackson is a calming influence with championship experience and that will come into play during the Lakers run to the finals.

4.  Lock-down defender:  To get through the gantlet of quality players in the playoffs you need someone who can play shut down defense.  The Lakes have Trevor Ariza and he is a flat out beast.  He can guard multiple positions, run the break and knock down the three point shot.

5.  Weaker west:  This is the year the almighty Western Conference finally took a step back.  It still took a better record to get into the playoffs than it did in the east, but no one can argue it is as strong as it was last year.  Even traditional arch nemesis San Antonio is playing with a hurt Tim Duncun and without Manu Ginobli.

6.  Twin towers:  Pau Gasol and Andrew Bynum are one of the better front court combinations since Duncan/David Robinson won it all in 1999 (they did again in 2003 but Robinson had declined by then).  Bynum is coming off an injury, but if the two start clicking they can guard any front line in the NBA.

7.  Variety of styles:  The Lakers offense can play in half court sets or push it up-tempo.  Bryant and Derek Fisher execute Jackson’s heralded triangle offense to near perfection, making the Lakers the third highest scoring team in the regular season.  No matter who they play the Lakers will put plenty of points on the board.

8.  Team depth:  Part of what makes the Lakers so tough is the minimal drop off between the first and second units.  Their backup guards (Jordan Farmar, Sasha Vujacic and Shannon Brown) and big men (Lamar Odom, Josh Powell and Luke Walton) are very capable and could start on some teams.

9.  Cavaliers match-up:  Assuming both teams make it the Lakers are best equipped to handle King James.  No one player can guard James, but a combination of Ariza’s quickness, Odom’s length, and Bryant’s all-around defensive efficiency could slow him down better than any other team.

10.  Hunger:  A lot of people in the franchise have something to prove despite the fact that none of them would admit it.  Bryant wants to win a title without Shaq.  Jackson wants to surpass Red Auerbach for all-time championships as a coach.  Gasol needs to prove his toughness.  Odom needs to show he can play a variety of roles in a contract year.  The list goes on and on.

Find at Smarter.com:  Shop through a variety of Los Angeles Lakers’ gear.

Image Source: ftaconcept.com

Tell us what you’d say

NBA Shop  Orlando Magic Gear  Dwight Howard Jerseys

What would you say? Write us your caption and post them in our comments!

Photo Source.

A lot is being made of USA Olympic Basketball Head Coach Mike Krzyzewski’s decision not to play Jason Kidd in the final minutes of a recent exhibition game against Russia.

Kidd was supposed to be a leader of the team, who after suffering crushing defeats in the 2004 Olympics in Athens and not winning a major international tournament since 2000, is clearly in need of something. That something was supposed to be Kidd, whose experience and leadership was supposed to help transform the Redeem Team into something closer to the glory days of the Dream Team.

However, the emergence of Chris Paul and Deron Williams has at the very least made Krzyzewski and company question who will receive the bulk of the minutes and how to best integrate the other two into the lineup. What it got me thinking was who the best point guards in the league are.

So I asked myself if I had to start the next season with any point guard; who would it be? Assuming that it was for one year only and the only goal was to win a NBA championship this year, here is my list for the top four.

4] Steve Nash: Nash is difficult to peg because while he has led one of the most prolific offenses this decade, there are some questions about his defense and age. A couple years ago he would have been a lock to be number one on this list, but at age 34 the decision is complicated.

He was second in assists per game last season and has averaged at least 10 since arriving in Phoenix, but his numbers in Dallas weren’t nearly as strong. This makes one wonder how effective he will be in a more traditional offense, like the one he looks to have next year with Shaq.

3] Tony Parker: It is hard to argue against Parker’s resume. Since being drafted 28^th overall by San Antonio in 2001, Parker has won three NBA championships and was the NBA Finals MVP in 2007. He works the pick and roll as well as anybody in the league and is deadly around the basket.

One could argue that he has the benefit of playing alongside Tim Duncan and Manu Ginobili, but you don’t see the point guards that play with Yao Ming, Kevin Garnett or Dwight Howard on here.

2] Deron Williams: Williams is in a difficult situation. He plays for a franchise that housed one of the all-time greats in John Stockton and Williams was drafted one spot higher than Chris Paul in 2005. As a result, he will be compared to Paul his entire career, but maybe that isn’t such a bad thing.

He only scored about two points less than Paul a game last season and shot slightly better than Paul from the field and from behind the arc. The greatest thing you can say about Williams at this point: it isn’t crazy to argue that one day he ends up with more hardware on his fingers and in his trophy case than Paul.

1] Chris Paul: Even with the high upside of Williams, in the last year no player in the NBA has had their stock rise higher than Paul. He’s played a huge part in reinvigorating not only the Hornets, but the city of New Orleans.

Paul was the biggest reason the Hornets secured a number two seed in the mighty western conference last year and has turned Tyson Chandler into the player the Chicago Bulls hoped he would be. If that wasn’t amazing enough, among point guards last year Paul was a statistical powerhouse – second in scoring, first in steals and first in assists (on a per/game average).

That’s good enough to be number one on my list – and if Team USA wants to bring home the gold – Krzyzewski better have Paul as first on his.

Photo Source.