[Izulde]

Denver Nuggets receive
PG Tony Parker
Charlotte Bobcats 2021 2nd round pick

Charlotte Bobcats receive
PG Brent Short

What this means for the Nuggets
Parker's a lot like Kirk Hinrich, a mid-late 30s guard with enough basketball skills left to be a respectable reserve. Parker's a better defender, Hinrich's a better ballhandler and they're about the same in terms of shooting. Tony's also a great chemistry guy to have in the locker room and the 2nd rounder gives the Nuggets front office trade ammunition.

What this means for the Bobcats
Short pitched a fit after Hinrich's re-signing, which buried him on the bench. In Charlotte, he'll be the second PG off the bench behind Javaris Crittenton and his ballhandling and defensive talents will play very well. The only concern is that he'll cut into Jameel Williams's playing time.

Winner: Denver
Nice move by GM Jestor here to get rid of a possible malcontent and get a great chemistry guy and a trading chip for it. That's why Denver's continued its dominance since he's joined the Nuggets, the smart deals he makes.

New Jersey Nets receive
SF Leroy Freeman
Utah Jazz 2019 2nd round pick

Utah Jazz receive
SF Vidal White

What this means for the Nets
Freeman's an average all-around SF who wasn't getting any playing time in Utah. In fact, he's only appeared in 1 game and played just 1 minute. He'll find a home in New Jersey and should get some playing time with the Nets.

What this means for the Jazz
White's got some offensive game, can rebound pretty well for a swingman and is a decent defender. He can also play both SG and SF, whereas Freeman could only play the three. Utah desperately needed a better backup SG option and White gives them that.

Winner: Utah
They traded away a guy who had no value to their system for a guy who's going to play a significant role as the Jazz try to break Denver's stranglehold on the Northwest division.

Nice start to December as we obliterate the Heat 101-80. Marcelino Augusto rampages for 27 points and 10 rebounds, Victor Gipson nets 11 points, 12 rebounds and 4 blocks and Zelipe Gama has 16 points and 10 assists.

Zelipe Gama's even more fantastic in our 99-88 win over the Magic with 23 points, 10 assists, 7 rebounds, 4 blocks and a steal. Marcelino Augusto puts in 18 points and 11 rebounds and David Jackson just misses a bench double-double with 8 points and 10 rebounds.

Another 99 points and another win two nights later, holding the Wizards to 78 points. Marcelino Augusto is the man of the match with 28 points and 12 rebounds, Mateen Yeaton scores 24 and David Jackson adds 14 points and 10 rebounds off the bench. Hard to believe that Augusto's just 20 years old and I'm loving Jackson's determination to live up to his self-proclaimed title of "Best Damn 6th Man in the World".

It's a big test up next against the Raptors in Toronto and we come away with a stunning 102-86 victory. Marcelino Augusto scores 30, Mateen Yeaton adds 20 points and Victor Gipson grabs 16 points and 10 rebounds. Huge momentum and confidence builder and it shows how well we're clicking as a team right now.

The games against the Wizards and Raptors were both road games, the start of our annual seven game road trip from hell against East Conference teams. We narrowly beat the Knicks 112-109 in the third game, thanks to Mateen Yeaton scoring 34 points and Marcelino Augusto and Luol Deng just missing double-doubles with 20 points and 9 rebounds and 17 points and 9 rebounds respectively.

We go back-to-back against Philadelphia and Boston next and we start off by beating the 76ers 103-98. David Jackson gets the start at SF but it's Mateen Yeaton who steals the show with 26 points, along with 10 points and 14 rebounds from Victor Gipson and a surprising bench 16 points and 11 rebounds from Emeka Okafor, showing there's still life in the old man yet. Unfortunately, our close game luck runs out against the Celtics and we fall 101-98. We were outscored 32-19 in the fourth quarter, ruining a near triple-double of 19 points, 13 assists and 8 rebounds from Zelipe Gama, along with Marcelino Augusto's 26 points.

The road trip ends with another doubleheader and we split that one too. Miami goes down 111-99 as Marcelino Augusto scores 31, David Jackson adds 22 points, Zelipe Gama gets 14 points and 14 assists and Emeka Okafor and Louis Mertens add 13 and 10 bench points respectively. But then the Magic drop us 103-89, Zelipe Gama our lone star of note with 21 points as we played like garbage, worn out by the frequent travel.

A home date against the Suns refreshes us with a 110-89 victory as Marcelino Augusto scores 31 points, Mateen Yeaton has 14 points and 10 assists, Victor Gipson 12 points and 12 rebounds. Luol Deng is back as the starting SF, by the way, fully healed from a knee injury that was bugging him.

We beat Seattle 106-96 thanks largely to 25 points from Mateen Yeaton and 11 bench points from Kirk Hinrich. Yeaton isn't scoring nearly as much this year overall, but it's due mostly to Marcelino Augusto's emergence as our top offensive threat. Although Mateen's numbers may be down, it's creating hell for our opponents, who now have two nightly scoring threats to contend with, plus potential breakouts from Luol Deng and Zelipe Gama on any given evening.

There's a lot to celebrate this Christmas as we win both on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. Victor Gipson has his best pro game to date in our 105-89 victory over Dallas with 21 points, 10 rebounds, an assist, 5 blocks and a steal. Luol Deng scores 23 and Marcelino Augusto (15 points, 11 rebounds) and Zelipe Gama (15 points, 15 assists) double their fun. David Jackson leads the bench with 11 points. The 118-91 win in Oakland on Christmas Day is highlighted by Santa Luol Deng scoring 29 and helper elf performances of 23 points from Mateen Yeaton, 10 points and 10 rebounds from Victor Gipson and bench showing of 11 points and 11 rebounds from David Jackson.

The holiday cheer's stunted a little by the 108-86 smackdown Philadelphia lays on us in Denver. Foul trouble plagued us all night long and Mateen Yeaton's 23 points just weren't going to cut it. We couldn't shoot worth a damn either and our defense took the night off.

New Year's Eve is grim as we lose 94-89 to the Lakers, ruining Victor Gipson's splendid all-around game of 10 points, 15 rebounds, 6 assists, a steal and 7 blocks. Mateen Yeaton scored 20 and Zelipe Gama netted 20 points and 10 assists, but it just wasn't enough. Things go much better on New Year's Day as we whomp the Clippers 112-84. Marcelino Augusto scores 25, David Jackson gets 11 points and 14 rebounds starting at C in place of a nicked up Victor Gipson, Mateen Yeaton scores 23, Zelipe Gama has 10 points and 11 assists and Michael Redd adds 11 points off the bench.

23-8 gives us a 4.5 game lead over the Jazz, but we're fighting it out with Sacramento for the #1 seed in the West, who are a stunning 21-7. Six teams over .500 in the West right now, including the 20-13 Southwest-leading Memphis Grizzlies and a couple teams either at .500 or very close to it. Much improved conference this year.

It's still a battle between the Raptors (24-8) and the Bucks (22-5) in the East for the top spot. I'm pissed to note the Bulls are 16-12 and in second place in the Central. I was really hoping for a nice lottery pick out of them this year. I'm also surprised to see the Knicks 20-10, in second place in the Atlantic.

[b]Paulinho Buboltz/Mateen Yeaton Comparison

Paulinho Buboltz
2013 Stats: 82 games/77 starts - 17.0 PPG 9.5 APG 3.0 RPG 0.7 BPG 1.2 SPG
2014 Stats: 82 games/82 starts - 19.1 PPG 8.7 APG 2.8 RPG 0.5 BPG 1.4 SPG
2015 Stats: 55 games/48 starts - 14.1 PPG 8.3 APG 2.8 RPG 0.5 BPG 1.2 SPG
2016 Stats: 82 games/82 starts - 18.3 PPG 8.1 APG 3.3 RPG 0.7 BPG 1.5 SPG
2017 Stats: 82 games/82 starts - 19.1 PPG 8.5 APG 3.0 RPG 0.7 BPG 1.2 SPG
2018 Stats: 28 games/28 starts - 20.9 PPG 8.8 APG 3.6 RPG 1.1 BPG 1.3 SPG

Mateen Yeaton
2013 Stats: 82 games/81 starts - 23.3 PPG 2.4 APG 5.2 RPG 1.8 BPG 1.6 SPG
2014 Stats: 82 games/80 starts - 23.2 PPG 3.6 APG 5.2 RPG 1.7 BPG 1.3 SPG
2015 Stats: 82 games/81 starts - 23.6 PPG 2.4 APG 4.5 RPG 1.6 BPG 1.5 SPG
2016 Stats: 82 games/82 starts - 25.0 PPG 3.1 APG 4.5 RPG 1.9 BPG 1.8 SPG
2017 Stats: 82 games/82 starts - 24.4 PPG 3.2 APG 4.9 RPG 1.9 BPG 1.6 SPG
2018 Stats: 31 games/31 starts - 19.8 PPG 3.2 APG 4.5 RPG 1.5 BPG 1.3 SPG

This is the first time since the trade that Buboltz is actually passing Yeaton in points per game. But I'd like to interject a couple caveats here, such as the aforementioned greater balance of offense in Denver and the absolute lack of anything on the frontline capable of producing points for the Pacers.

I'd also point out that Buboltz is 26 and now entering his prime, whereas Yeaton is 30 and starting to head on the downward slope. Plus, the Pacers are 9-19. We're 23-8. Team quality says a lot too.