[Izulde]

I have to admit, it feels really strange to have a SF as our #1 option. No matter the variant of Jestorball, whether Classic or CP3ian, the SF is traditionally a floater position, designed more for a glue guy and/or shutdown defender than the top scorer.

One trade last month and it occurred a few days ago.

Portland Trailblazers receive
C Al Horford

Atlanta Hawks receive
C Marcus Camby
Portland Trailblazers 2012 1st round pick

What this means for the Trailblazers
Horford, 24, made the All-Star game last year and fits in fantastically with Portland's youth movement alongside Brandon Roy, Al-Farouq Aminu, and Lamarcus Aldridge. Now all Portland needs is a young point guard to serve as Andre Miller's heir apparent and they'll be an impressive team for years to come.

What this means for the Hawks
Even at 37, Camby has the rebounding and defensive ability to match Horford. As of December 1st, Atlanta is 14-2, so this is about getting another veteran player to go for it this season, along with a mid-late first for the future. Oh, and did we mention Camby's a $9.2 million expiring, as opposed to Horford's multi-year commitment?

Winner: Draw
Atlanta overpaid for Joe Johnson a couple summers ago and this trade gives the financial flexibility they need to resign Josh Smith in a couple years. Works out well for the situation each respective team is in.

...Really? We lose 93-90 at home to the 1-13 Grizzlies. 11 and 10 bench points from Allen Iverson and Nicolas Batum. Mr. Danny Granger chucks again at 7 of 22. That's it. I've had it.

Los Angeles Clippers receive
SG Xavier Henry
Memphis Grizzlies 2012 2nd round pick

Memphis Grizzlies receive
SF Danny Granger

What this means for the Clippers
Henry is still quite raw, but the second year prospect has considerable upside to be a very good three position player (PG/SG/SF) in the league. 6'6, 210 is nice size for a SG and the Clippers also get a high 2nd. And of course, there's shedding $10 million in salary to make Donald Sterling happy.

What this means for the Grizzlies
Poor shooting cost Granger his place in Los Angeles, but now O.J. Mayo doesn't have to try and do it all himself and the 2 win Grizzlies can have a much more diverse offense.

Winner: Los Angeles
GM Jestor favorite Nicolas Batum becomes a starter again, and the Frenchman was a key part of the Clippers' run to the playoffs last year. Henry also becomes an intriguing 6th man to watch. Granger, on the other hand, won't put the Grizzlies anywhere near the playoffs and could cost them valuable lottery position.

104-86 loss to the Celtics and we're now on a four game skid. 12 and 10 points for Ryan Gomes and Timofey Mozgov off the bench.

Happily, a 105-85 road win in Indiana ends the drought. All five starters score 10+ points, highlights provided by Marc Gasol (15 points, 18 rebounds, 3 blocks), and Eutor Taffarel, who just misses his first 20 point game with 19 as the team's higher scorer. It's 11 and 10 bench points for Ryan Gomes and Timofey Mozgov this game. Joakim Noah was great against us with 20 points, 11 rebounds, and 5 blocks, but Paul George went 0 for 10 against Batum's D.

Night after, a 111-81 win over the Nets. Eric Bledsoe scores 25 points in 23 minutes, pairing with Tiago Splitter's 18 points and 10 rebounds and Marc Gasol's 11 points and 13 rebounds. Credit Timofey Mozgov's 10 bench points, too.

The Wizards end things with a 102-93 triumph and only 14 point, 9 rebound reserve Timofey Mozgov didn't play like shit.

113-87 rebound over the Bulls, as Tiago Splitter goes nuts for 35 points. Marc Gasol puts up 15 points and 14 rebounds and the reserves really come out to play: 14, 10, 10 points for Timofey Mozgov, Ryan Gomes, and Xavier Henry, the latter of whom also stole 4 balls and had his best game yet in a Clippers uniform.

I can't stop grinning after our 106-93 shocking of the Lakers. Tiago Splitter produces 19 points and 15 rebounds and Marc Gasol's the better brother this game with 15 points, 10 rebounds, and 4 blocks. 12 bench points for Ryan Gomes.

Paranoid about hangover effect against the Kings, but we sweep the doubleheader 122-115. This was all about balance, with all five starters in double-digit scoring. Xavier Henry gets the start at SG, because Nicolas Batum's foot soreness had Jeff Van Gundy sliding Eutor Taffarel to SF. So what does Henry do? Lead the team in scoring with 19 points. 13 points, 10 rebounds, 5 assists for Marc Gasol, 16 and 12 bench points for Ryan Gomes and Timofey Mozgov.. but the biggest game of them all goes to Allen "The Answer" Iverson, who rewards my Favored Player Status with 14 points, 12 assists, and 0 turnovers off the bench.

Oh look, another game against the Lakers. Oh look, Jose Calderon of all people picking up 26 points and 3 steals, Ryan Gomes 10 points and 4 steals off the bench in a 113-87 Clippers crushing of the Purple and Gold.

The defending champs come to town and if they lose to us, they fall to 11-12. Below .500 Denver refuses to be and the Nuggets punch us in the mouth, 113-105. We had no answer for Carmelo Anthony's 34 points, although why the hell Nicolas Batum was off the bench for 13 points rather than going after Melo, I have no idea. Seriously, why is Timofey Mozgov starting at SF?

Hello, shootout! Action-packed 134-123 OT win over Philadelphia, my sexy pick in the East. Jose Calderon fires off 26 points, Marc Gasol 22 points, 9 rebounds and 3 blocks. 17, 13, 10 bench points for Nicolas Batum, Eric Bledsoe, and Xavier Henry.

109-97 road loss to the Magic. 23 points and 13 rebounds for Tiago Splitter and 17 and 12 bench points for Nicolas Batum and Eric Bledsoe. But when Marc Gasol only plays 19 minutes and fouls out, no wonder defending MVP Dwight Howard burns us for 37 points, 15 rebounds, and 5 blocks.

Atlanta is now 25-2 after beating us 106-91. 17 points, 12 rebounds, 3 block for Marc Gasol was our best showing. That Mike Bibby/Joe Johnson backcourt combines for 55 points and there's no way in hell Johnson is merely All-NBA 3rd Team this year. Right now, he's looking All-NBA 1st Team and worthy of MVP votes - 4th in league scoring at 27.4 points a game, with 4.1 rebounds, 3.8 assists, and 1.5 steals a game. Next best Hawk? Andrei Kirilenko with 14.1 points, who with his surprise scoring in addition to his traditional shutdown defense has to be the biggest free agent steal of the year. AK-47 is a big part in Atlanta's #1 defense - 92.1 points allowed/game. Reminds me a lot of Tree Rollins and my GAH New York Knicks, who despite just squeaking into the playoffs at 36-46, shocked everyone in winning the East Conference. We're up against Paul Westphal's Phoenix Suns, though, and are down 0-2 after two games. Still damn impressive, though, especially since we're running three rookies in the starting lineup: Rollins (#3 overall pick), Rickey Green (#7 overall pick) and either Sam Smith/Ernie Grunfeld (both 2nd round picks).

The Mavericks are under .500, but they still kick our asses 120-99. 14 points, 17 rebounds for Marc Gasol, 14 bench points for Xavier Henry. The problem is, we lack that go-to scorer we had in Blake Griffin, Stephen Curry, and Danny Granger.

At least Christmas isn't a total loss, as we beat the Spurs 116-107 in San Antonio the evening after. Marc Gasol has his best game in a long time with 21 points, 11 rebounds and 5 blocks. Jose Calderon distributes 13 points and 11 assists, and 13 and 11 bench points respectively from Eric Bledsoe and Xavier Henry.

115-88 rout of Raptors, thanks to Xavier Henry's 20 points and 4 steals in 17 minutes. The other noteworthy performance is Eric Bledsoe's 15 bench points. Nice to see our reserves doing work.

We clunk a 104-95 loss to Golden State to end the calendar year. 19 points, 14 rebounds, 5 assists, 4 blocks for Marc Gasol and 12 bench points out of Xavier Henry.

So after that up and down month, we're 18-12. We're still leading the Pacific, but by only a half-game over the Lakers. We're also #3 in the West, but given our more or less .500 play, we're probably more like a #7 or #8 seed when all is said and done.

New Orleans is the top team in the West at 23-7. Told you they were better than #3, but Oklahoma City, who everyone tabbed at #1, is 15-17. It's Portland who's filled that void, now 19-12 to lead the Northwest.

Atlanta is 27-3 out East and the Heat are looking merely good at 19-12. Old age is serving 22-8 Boston well, but the biggest non-Hawks surprise has to be Milwaukee at 20-10, who are the only Central team over .500. The Bulls are 13-18 and in third place, half-game behind 12-16 Cleveland.

Talk about craziness in the East. Not what I expected to see at all. Then again, I didn't really expect us to lead the Pacific two months in a row, either.