Dancing with Wolves - A Re-Do of Life After KG

[TheDominator273]

It was a rather quiet trade deadline, but a couple deals were processed and each have the potential to make a significant impact.





First up we saw the Cleveland Cavaliers give up a Top 10 protected 2008 draft pick along with the expiring salary of PF Donyell Marshall to the Orlando Magic who get out of the remaining 3 years of SF Hedo Turkoglu's contract to pick up a late lottery/mid round draft pick.

Turkoglu gives the Cavaliers another offensive dimension as he can be a spot up shooter that LeBron James can find, and he can also play some point forward taking some of the playmaking duties off of LeBron. So far this season Turkoglu is averaging 14.4 ppg along with 6.7 rpg and 5.2 apg. His addition should be the shot in the arm the Cavs need to ensure they make the playoffs, which despite LeBron's dominance this season is not a certain thing to happen.




The other trade we saw is relevant to Minnesota fans as the Timberwolves traded Adam Morrison to the Memphis Grizzlies for swingman Mike Miller. The rumor coming out of Minnesota is they had been working on a 3 team deal that would have sent Morrison to the Phoenix Suns, with the Suns sending future draft picks to the Grizzlies and Mike Miller still being routed to Minnesota, however that deal fell apart late in the process as Phoenix dragged their feet over pick protections.

Morrison never really fit into the Wolves offense after coming over in an early season trade from the Charlotte Bobcats. He is averaging 11.2 points and 7.7 rebounds per game thus far in the 2007-08 campaign, but the rebounding was mostly due to being played at power forward for the Wolves rather than Morrison having a knack for tracking down rebounds from the wing.

Mike Miller is heading into unrestricted free agency after the season, so with the Wolves giving up on a young prospect in Morrison to get him for half the season, they have to be interested in retaining him this off season. Miller is a 3 point marksman, shooting over 40% from deep on the season on over 5 attempts per game. The Wolves can now surround Al Jefferson with deadly shooters which should minimize the effectiveness of the double teams he's been seeing lately.






The Wolves weren't done making moves however, as they waived veteran guard Trenton Hassell, who had not yet made an appearance this season, and signed PF Josh McRoberts, a 2nd year big man out of Duke.

McRoberts is expected to fill some bench PF minutes leftover after the trades of Antoine Walker and Adam Morrison, both of who primarily played the PF position. Since the Walker trade for C Eddy Curry, the Wolves have been running Al Jefferson and Craig Smith at the position for most of the game, leaving only some minutes there for Morrison to pick up. Those minutes are now expected to go to McRoberts.

[TheDominator273]

All Star Weekend, always a fun time of year for fans young and old as the best of the best come together for a weekend of fun festivities. To get us started on Saturday night we saw the 3 point contest which featured 8 of the leagues top shooters.

After an exciting first round, we were left with just the Wizards Gilbert "Agent 0" Arenas, the Nets Eddie House, and the Hawks Joe Johnson who squared away in a winner take all final round. Arenas went first and only managed a score of 15 as he went cold following a perfect first rack. Second up was Joe Johnson, who was on fire and finished with a score of 22. Finally up was Eddie House who struggled, and was eliminated from being able to win halfway through the 4th rack.





Next up was the Dunk Contest which pitted Josh Smith of the Hawks, Hakim Warrick of the Grizzlies, Gerald Green of the Timberwolves, and Brandon Roy of the Trail Blazers. The Dunk Contest was no contest as Gerald Green ran away with it with his jaw dropping hang time. Green finished with two perfectly scored dunks and one that was scored as a 48 for a 148 total score, the 2nd place dunker was Hakim Warrick who had a 3 dunk score of 124.






Finally came the All Star Game on Sunday night which somewhat surprisingly the Eastern Conference completely dominated the Western Conference to the tune of a 152-136 victory. The East was lead by game MVP Kevin Garnett who had 28 points, 12 rebounds, 7 assists, 2 steals and 4 blocks. Games resume this upcoming Friday as teams are given an extended break for the All Star game.

We have heard rumblings throughout the season that the New Orleans Hornets will be relinquishing the Hornets name back to the city of Charlotte following this season, and the branding of the All Star Weekend gave credence to that rumor as the logo and court were reminiscent of the classic Charlotte Hornets look. Don't expect an official announcement until after the season is over however. There are also rumors of Oklahoma City getting a team as early as next season, could they be getting the New Orleans team after supporting them while they were displaced due to Hurricane Katrina for two seasons, or could there be another team on the move, or perhaps the league is looking at expansion?

[TheDominator273]

Friday's game vs the New York Knicks in New York had a plethora of interesting storylines to follow, let's take a gander at some of them.


Eddy Curry's Return to MSG
For the first time since he was traded to the Minnesota Timberwolves, C Eddy Curry returned back to MSG. Early on Curry played motivated as he scored 2 quick buckets, however as the game went on and the adrenaline of returning to face his former team faded Curry disappeared into the background finishing with 6 points, 5 rebounds 1 assist and 1 steal.

Wolves vs Steph Marbury
Anytime the Timberwolves face Stephon Marbury there are going to be bitter feelings amongst fans after Marbury forced his way out of Minnesota just as he and Kevin Garnett were bringing the Wolves into relevance for the first time in franchise history. That moment is a major point in franchise history that fans look back and wonder "What if?". Marbury finished with 17 points on 8-13 shooting, while also grabbing 3 rebounds and tallying 5 assists. He's clearly no longer in his athletic prime but remains a quality starting point guard in the league.

Sebastian Telfair Returns Home
Sebastian Telfair, the cousin of Stephon Marbury, was billed as a phenom coming out of high school in New York. He hasn't lived up to the billing thus far in his career, but it was clear in his limited minutes tonight that he was excited to be playing at home again. Telfair finished the game with 8 points and 3 assists, but played with great energy all game. If he could play more games like this, he may be able to develop into a quality player in the league.

Mike Miller and Josh McRoberts Debut
Mike Miller is going to be a fun player to root for, if you look at the box score and look at his shooting numbers from tonight you might not get very excited, however the 10-20 from the field and 3-10 from 3 point land don't tell the entire story. Miller is a streaky shooter at times, but when he's hot look out. And he started the game on fire, scoring 8 points in a 60 second stretch. His first bucket as a Timberwolf came as he curled off a screen, caught a Randy Foye pass, turned and drained the purest swish you've ever seen from 4 feet beyond the 3 point line. He followed that up with a pullup 3 in transition following an Eddy Curry steal, and capped off the stretch with a fading mid range shot after running pick and roll with Al Jefferson. His overall percentages were't great tonight, but he clearly doesn't let missed shots deter him from pulling the trigger which is a great mentality for a shooter to have. Shooters shoot.

The other debut came in the form of Josh McRoberts who played surprisingly well in the garbage man bigman role he was given. So much so that he got about double the minutes that he was anticipating getting. McRoberts set good solid screens, he played good defense, he boxed out and grabbed rebounds. If this type of play continues the Wolves may have found at minimum a quality rotation player.

[TheDominator273]

March 18th, 2008

After leaving yesterday's 2 point loss to the Houston Rockets with an apparent knee injury, Minnesota Timberwolves Center Al Jefferson has been confirmed to have a left knee injury. With only 12 games left on the season, it is expected that the Timberwolves, losers of their last 12, will shut down the young big man for the rest of the season.




We are entering the final stretch run for the playoffs and teams are battling for seeding and to make their way into the playoffs. Here is how things stand with just 23 days left on the season.





As you can see, only 3 teams have clinched their playoff berths, and all 3 come in the Eastern Conference. Its also in the Eastern Conference that we have the most interesting race for the 8th seed as there are 5 teams battling for the last spot, and with 13 games or so remaining for each team anything can happen down the stretch.

[TheDominator273]

Ladies and Gentleman, we may have the latest college player shooting up draft boards following a spectacular NCAA Tournament as the unheralded Stephan Curry of the Davidson Wildcats has captivated the nation through the first two rounds of the tournament. Curry has lead the 10th seeded Wildcats to upsets over the 7th seeded Gonzaga Bulldogs, and the 2nd seed Georgetown Hoyas with 40 point and 30 point games respectively.





Curry, the son of former NBA sharpshooter Dell Curry, was the 4th leading scorer in the nation this season upon his 25.9 points per game average. While Curry is an absolute marksman from deep, shooting 44% on the season on a ridiculous 10.3 attempts, he is showcasing that he is not just a shooter as he notched 5 steals vs Gonzaga and 3 against Georgetown. He is currently playing shooting guard for the Wildcats, but is showcasing elite ball handling ability and solid court vision that could mean a move to point guard at the next level is possible.

He doesn't have elite size or athleticism for playing SG as he stands just 6'3" and is listed at only 185 pounds. His slight frame is certainly a concern at the NBA level, and while he has a knack for steals, he just doesn't have the strength or lateral quickness to be a quality NBA defender so his best fit will be alongside a good defender who can take the tougher backcourt matchup.

That said, he has some impressive game tape from this season and this tournament run is solidifying him as a lottery pick should he decide to declare for the NBA draft and cash in on the hype.

[TheDominator273]

We are just 7 days away from the end of the season so its time to count our way down to the playoffs.




WESTERN CONFERENCE

Lets start with the Western Conference where 6 of the 8 teams are locked in to a playoff position. Those teams are:

1. Golden State Warriors - 52-25
2. New Orleans Hornets - 50-28
3. San Antonio Spurs - 50-28
4. Utah Jazz - 49-28
5. Phoenix Suns - 47-31
6. Portland Trail Blazers - 46-31

The teams fighting for the 7th and 8th seed are:

1. Houston Rockets - 45-33 (4 games left)
2. Denver Nuggets - 43-34 (5 Games Left)
3. Dallas Mavericks - 40-37 (5 Games Left)
4. Sacramento Kings - 40-38 (4 Games Left)

The likelihood of either the Rockets or Nuggets falling out of the playoffs at this point is slim to none, however the Mavericks do face the Timberwolves once, and the Grizzlies twice in their final 5 games so if either the Nuggets or the Rockets go on a losing streak they may be able to sneak in.

EASTERN CONFERENCE

Over in the Eastern Conference, 7 of the 8 playoff spots have been decided, but there are 5 teams that have a chance at the final spot. Lets first look at the teams who will be playing playoff basketball this April.

1. Boston Celtics - 54-24
2. Chicago Bulls - 49-29
3. New Jersey Nets - 48-30
4. Detroit Pistons - 42-35
5. Washington Wizards - 42-36
6. Indiana Pacers- 42-36
7. Atlanta Hawks - 41-37

and now the interesting part, 5 teams fighting for one final playoff spot

1. Cleveland Cavaliers - 36-42 (4 Games Left)
2. New York Knicks - 35-42 (5 games Left)
3. Philadelphia 76ers -35-42 (5 Games Left)
4. Orlando Magic 34-44 (4 Games Left)
5. Toronto Raptors 33-45 (4 Games Left)

Now the Magic and Raptors would both need miracles in order to make the post season, however they are not yet mathematically eliminated so we can't count them out just yet.

[TheDominator273]

We are now just 4 days away from the end of the season, and the playoff races are getting mighty interesting!




WESTERN CONFERENCE

The Western Conference remains open with 6 of the 8 teams are locked in to a playoff position. Those teams are:

1. Golden State Warriors - 54-25
2. New Orleans Hornets - 51-29
3. San Antonio Spurs - 51-29
4. Utah Jazz - 50-29
5. Phoenix Suns - 48-32
6. Portland Trail Blazers - 46-33

The final 2 spots in the playoffs have come down to 3 teams:

1. Houston Rockets - 45-35 (2 Games Left)
2. Denver Nuggets - 44-35 (3 Games Left)
3. Dallas Mavericks - 42-37 (3 Games Left)

The Rockets will face the Suns and Sonics to finish their season, while the Nuggets play the Blazers, Jazz, and Timberwolves, and Mavericks take on the Grizzlies, Suns, and Spurs to close their season.


EASTERN CONFERENCE

Over in the Eastern Conference, the final playoff spot has yet to be decided, but the teams fighting for that spot has been knocked down from 5 to 4.

1. Boston Celtics - 56-24
2. Chicago Bulls - 51-29
3. New Jersey Nets - 50-30
4. Detroit Pistons - 44-35
5. Atlanta Hawks - 43-37
6. Washington Wizards - 43-37
7. Indiana Pacers - 42-38

The final spot has come down to the following teams:

1. Cleveland Cavaliers - 37-43 (2 Games Left)
2. New York Knicks - 36-43 (3 Games Left)
3. Philadelphia 76ers - 36-44 (2 Games Left)
4. Orlando Magic - 35-45 (2 Games Left)

To close the season the Cavaliers will face the Spurs and Bobcats, while the Knicks take on the Wizards, Bulls, and Pistons, the 76ers play the Heat and Bulls, and the Magic play the Celtics and Bobcats.

[TheDominator273]

There is just one day left in the NBA season, and the final playoff spots will be decided today.



WESTERN CONFERENCE

In the Western Conference we have added a 7th team to the "will be playing in the playoffs" list as the Houston Rockets have clinched the 7th seed.

1. Golden State Warriors - 55-26
2. New Orleans Hornets - 52-30
3. San Antonio Spurs - 51-30
4. Utah Jazz - 50-31
5. Portland Trail Blazers - 48-33
6. Phoenix Suns - 48-34
7. Houston Rockets - 47-35

The final seed will come down to the Denver Nuggets and the Dallas Mavericks on the final day of the season. The Mavericks will make the playoffs with a win over the San Antonio Spurs and a Nuggets loss to the Minnesota Timberwolves. If either of those things does not happen the Denver Nuggets will be the 8th seed and take on the Golden State Warriors in round 1 of the playoffs.


EASTERN CONFERENCE

Over in the Eastern Conference, the final playoff spot has been decided as the Cleveland Cavaliers won their final 2 games to finish with a 39-43 record. This paired with a New York Knicks loss yesterday at the Chicago Bulls (99-97) means that the Cavaliers sneak into the playoffs and will be facing the Boston Celtics in round 1.

1. Boston Celtics - 57-25
2. Chicago Bulls - 52-29
3. New Jersey Nets - 50-31
4. Detroit Pistons - 46-35
5. Atlanta Hawks - 44-37
6. Washington Wizards - 44-37
7. Indiana Pacers - 43-38
8. Cleveland Cavaliers - 39-44