Davis and Bledsoe Key Down the Stretch

The Memphis Grizzlies and the Los Angeles Clippers are separated by a mere half game in the standings. All that's on the line is home court advantage in the first round of the playoffs in which they would be pitted against each other in a thrilling rematch of last year's opening round. Here are two players that will play a huge role in which squad helps his team take that home court advantage.

Kyrie Irving: Not Franchise Worth-It?

Many consider Kyrie Irving of the Cleveland Cavaliers to be the NBA’s next best point guard.

A 6-3 Chris Paul with a silky-smooth jumper.

His seemingly supernatural abilities remain in such rarified air, that he certainly has the potential to one day be the best lead guard in the NBA.

But, as his latest injury has shown, maybe, just maybe, he’s got a little too much Uncle Drew in him…

Steve Nash the Shooting Guard

Gone is the free-spirited, cowboy with the long hair whipping to and fro as he weaved his way around the court looking to make everyone around him better. In his place, a company man gussied up with a Gatsby-esque Hollywood hairstyle and a stand-in-the-corner until your number is called upon role.

When Nash came to Los Angeles there wasn’t any doubt that he would have to sacrifice a part of his game. In fact, with Mike Brown as the coach and Kobe Bryant as his teammate, Nash understood that he would not be handling the ball anywhere near as much as he had while running the show in Phoenix.

This new reality was clearly evident as the Lakers attempted to run the Princeton offense, which often designated Nash as an off ball screener.

But when Brown was fired two weeks into the season and Mike D’Antoni brought in to replace him, it was the natural thinking of everyone that Nash would once again pick up the mantle of being the main offensive catalyst.

A lot has happened since, but four truths have been revealed as to why the Lakers now focus their offensive attack through Bryant.

Be Wary of Falling in Love with Rockets

Heading out of the All-Star break and following their trades of their two most prolific power forwards at the deadline, talk focused around the Houston Rockets falling out of the playoff picture and being overtaken by a suddenly (and at times miraculously) hot Lakers team that has been led by Kobe Bryant, a man clearly on a mission.

But with a win against Golden State on Friday night, the Rockets are instead pushing their way towards the front of the pack, now only a game behind overtaking the Warriors for the sixth seed.

The two teams meet up again next weekend, but face vastly different competition over the next nine days. The Rox will only play three times, two games against the lottery-bound Phoenix Suns and a game against the injury-depleted Minnesota Timberwolves. The Warriors, on the other hand, face a surging Milwaukee Bucks squad that has won four of its last five games, a struggling but still tough New York Knicks team, a winnable game against Detroit, and a very tough matchup against the Chicago Bulls.

By the time the squads meet back up, it’s very possible that the Rockets will have already overtaken the Dubs.

Did the Rockets Really Win Their Trade?

Typically, whenever I set out to analyze trades, I try to put myself in the shoes of the general managers that are making them. Back in 2008, the popular belief was that Memphis Grizzlies’ general manager Chris Wallace had just completed the worst trade in NBA history by shipping off then one-time all-star Pau Gasol to the Los Angeles Lakers for Kwame Brown, Javaris Crittenton, Aaron Mckie, the draft rights to Marc Gasol, and two first round picks that ended up as Darrell Arthur and Greivis Vasquez. I felt differently. The team has made several missteps along the way—trading Kevin Love for OJ Mayo while also bringing on Antoine Walker and Marko Jaric, signing Hasheem Thabeet over pretty much anyone else in that draft, trading Kyle Lowry for only a late first round draft pick, trading Vasquez for Quincy Pondexter—but things have turned out for the better based on that trade.

The cap flexibility gained from Brown’s expiring contract allowed Memphis to sign Zach Randolph, while Marc Gasol has blossomed into a better player than his brother, and one of the three or four best centers in the league. The duo now forms the NBA’s most fearsome front court. The pick from the Lowry trade produced DeMarre Carrol, who was later traded for Shane Battier, who played a key role (including hitting the game winner of the franchise’s first playoff victory) in guiding the Grizzlies past the Spurs and into the second round of the playoffs in 2011.

All that to say, we won’t really know how any of the trades that went down yesterday will affect each team moving forward. The popular thought today, could be ultimately proven wrong a couple years down the road.

Which brings me to the Sacramento and Houston Deal in which Houston received: Thomas Robinson, Francisco Garcia, and Tyler Honeycutt. Sacramento received: Patrick Patterson, Cole Aldrich, Toney Douglas, and $1 million

Laker Dwight Needs to Be More Celtic

This post just seemed fitting seeing as the Lakers are playing the Celtics tonight.

Also, now that Mitch Kupchak has come out and made statements regarding “not trading” Dwight Howard that are so definitive that he would never get anyone to believe him again if he went back on them, it is time (for those outside of Orlando who didn’t already know) to accept these facts.

Howard, in my opinion, is not a franchise player. He is not a leader. He doesn’t just shy away from conflict and scrutiny, he passive aggressively avoids them. He is not serious—ever. He still remains noncommittal on his future with the Lakers. He is a one-dimensional player who believes himself to be three-dimensional. He refuses to consistently do the two things that he is better at then everyone else in the league—pick and roll to the hoop, and defend. He has not improved any of his weaknesses since entering the league. He has built an impressive career off his unmatched athleticism, but has come nowhere close to returning to that athletic level following offseason back surgery. He’s talked a lot about his injuries and how they have aversely affected him this year, but was still able, and willing to do this. Despite getting everything he said he didn’t get in Orlando (big market, championship caliber roster, first class front office), he has pouted and somehow managed to rub all of his teammates the wrong way—even Steve Nash, the world’s preeminent teammate.

Second Half Season Preview: LA

Lakers

It’s been one crazy ride. The most recent development was the passing of owner Dr. Jerry Buss who finally succumbed to his nearly two-year battle with cancer. For those in the know, this was an inevitability just waiting to happen. For the rest of us, this came as somewhat of a surprise—though in this Lakers season, nothing really is surprising anymore.

Rest in peace Dr. Buss—the greatest sports owner in the history of American professional sports and a true visionary who helped mold and create the game that I love.

To Franchise or Not to Franchise

In today’s NBA, what constitutes a franchise/cornerstone player?

Star power. Elite or versatile skill set. Youth and/or superb health record. Superior athleticism. Leadership/dependability. Obviously, in an ideal world, you want your franchise cornerstone to have all five of those qualities (and really, I listed eight qualities)—but there’s only one Lebron James and only one Kevin Durant.

That said, if you have a player that checks off four of those five boxes, you’re definitely thinking about offering him a max contract and feeling confident that he can be a vital piece if not the foundation for a championship-caliber franchise.

So, the question the Los Angeles Lakers should be asking themselves is—is Dwight Howard a franchise player?

Let’s go down the list after the jump.

Chris Paul’s Disciples: Intro

The NBA is full of players who possess the gift of making others around them better. Whether discussing Steve Nash, Rajon Rondo, Jason Kidd, or Chris Paul, the NBA is chalk full of lead guards that are capable of leading a team to greatness.

But leadership is made up of several factors—many of which are not directly basketball-related.

Bye Bye Rudy, Goodbye

The Rudy Gay Trade Principle Players

Rudy Gay and Hamed Haddadi go to Toronto
Jose Calderon goes to Detroit
Ed Davis, Tayshaun Prince, Austin Daye and a second-round pick to Memphis

While on its surface this trade appears to be a potential title contender dumping salary due to a recent slump in the standings, the reality is that once the deal is finalized, the Grizzlies will have most likely strengthened their team for the present and for the future.

D'Antoni Remains the Lakers Biggest Problem

Three wins is three wins. Especially this season. A season in which the Lakers have struggled to win.

It’s been beautiful to watch Kobe “Magic Bean” Bryant dish like he’s on Real Houswives. It’s terrific that the Lakers had 34 assists on 39 made buckets Tuesday night against the Hornets. It’s been exciting to see the Lakers actually look like a team that gives a damn.

That said, Mike D’Antoni is still the wrong coach for this team, and all of his flaws and all of the Lakers flaws will be exposed if the Purple and Gold can indeed pull themselves into the playoffs.

D’Antoni is the wrong coach because he isn’t a coach at all. He’s an ideologist with a philosophy. A missionary with a religion. He’s more Plato, than PATFO. More Billy Graham than Bill Self.

D’Antoni preaches “ball finds energy” and like a backwoods fundamentalist refuses to stray from that dogma. Instead of trying to figure out ways to put his players in situations that provide energy for them, to put them in situations that compliment their skillsets (a la Popovich), he instead clings to his overly simplistic mantra.

Fools (Purp &) Gold

Despite cloudy skies in Los Angeles Saturday morning and a forecast of continued rain throughout the weekend, Lakers fans are feeling much better after their team dismantled the Utah Jazz on Friday night 102-84. The Lakers played stifling defense behind terrific effort from Dwight Howard. Steve Nash took 11 shots and made six of them. Pau Gasol was 7-8 with seven boards off the bench. And Kobe Bryant had 14 assists to three turnovers, and only 10 shot attempts.

Many wise people are shaking their heads today. To them, the key is those 14 dimes and only 10 shot attempts. There is certainly some truth to the notion that a facilitating Bryant is more beneficial to this Lakers squad. He probably shouldn't be taking 23 shots a game. That said, the Lakers didn't win because Bryant passed the ball. If Bryant is shooting over 50 percent, he should be shooting the ball. This game does nothing to dispute that logic and that strategy.

What this game did is prove that matchups are everything.

LA's Lost Season?

The Lakers could turn things around. They could reasonably string together a 15-3 stretch and be right back in the thick of the playoff race and perhaps the "championship contender" conversation that they were featured heavily in during the offseason.

That very well could happen.

But the reality is, with each additional loss, the absolute certainty of the playoffs evaporates into the ether. Let’s not even talk about a championship this year.

The Lakers stink—and moral victories, while offering a glimmer of hope, are irrelevant to this particular squad. This isn’t the Bobcats. This isn’t the Orlando Magic.

Only a month ago, I wrote how Mike D’Antoni was the right man for the job because he was hungrier than Phil Jackson and because Jim Buss wanted him.

Can I recant that proclamation? Because D’Antoni thus far, has not been hungry, has not been a winner, has  not even played his role as prophet of the Seven Seconds or Less religion that he brought to the NBA—a religion he blindly follows no matter how dark and desolate his situation becomes.

Lakers / Celtics Trade Suggestions

I get that these are usually fruitless, complete stabs in the dark. But that doesn’t make them any less fun to ponder and debate about. Here’s a couple I’ve been mulling over lately.

Centers: Officially Dead

During this week that both Pau Gasol and Dwight Howard were knocked out of the Los Angeles Lakers lineup due to injuries, amidst a season that is rapidly nearing an all-star game that for the first time has eliminated the center position from the ballot--this topic seems fitting.

It is very possible that the NBA has reached a point that truly elite, back-to-the-basket centers are no longer viable building blocks.

Top 10 Backcourt Potential Pt. 2

Continuing yesterday’s conversation of the NBA backcourts with the most potential moving forward, I present the top five selections. For part one, click here.

Top 10 Backcourt Potential Pt. 1

Let's get this out of the way first. Potential is a tricky subject. One that can be interpreted in a myriad ways by everyone. It is really a made up fancy that scouts came up with to determine if a prospect was worth drafting or not. The truth is, over the past 25 years I've been following the NBA, potential has lead to some of the worst draft mistakes in league history. Likewise, players "lacking potential" have gone on to have great and sometimes extraordinary careers. So, the following list is not how it's going to end up. Injuries happen. Players are traded. Players get paid and stop working. Other players step up through hard work and sacrifice.

The following list is current pairings of young guards sharing the same backcourt that have the potential to be great. I left off Derrick Rose because I have no idea what he will be when he comes back, nor is there any indication of who the Bulls plan on putting next to him going forward. Rip Hamilton and Marco Belinelli are not the answer. Nor, is Kirk Hinrich. And, for the record, Chris Paul has been omitted for a similar reason. My cousin did point out that if Chris Paul is healthy, it really won't matter who's next to him, because that backcourt will automatically be one of the top backcourts in the Association.

13 Stories to Watch in 2013 Pt. 2

Now that we're into our second day of 2013, here's the second part to Monday's post.