Tyson Chandler: The Hornets have apparently given up on their playoff chances by trading Chandler to the Thunder for Joe Smith and Chris Wilcox. While neither Smith or Wilcox are stiffs and are both capable players, they are not the type of defender that Chandler is. For the Hornets to be able to compete with the Lakers and Spurs, they needed a big man like Chandler who could defend Gasol or Bynum and Duncan. Now they don't have that and I don't see how this team is going to compete out West. Hell, even the McGrady-less Rockets might be able to take down the Hornets now that Yao won't have to deal with Chandler defending him. Unfortunately, this move was a financial one for the Hornets and the players on the team aren't too happy about it to say the least. They understood the value of Chandler and what he meant to their chances in the playoffs, but with this move the Hornets might have crippled their chances of winning a title for not just this year but future years as well.Tracy McGrady: Once again McGrady is injured only this time he's out for the season, because he's going to have knee surgery. I always felt like McGrady was slightly overrated, but the Rockets did need him to compete out West in the playoffs. The team was not playing as well as they should be this season, but a healthy McGrady at least would have given them a chance to make some noise out West in the playoffs. Now I think the furthest they can get is the second round and that's only if they stay in the 4th or 5th playoff spot. After that I can't see them getting past the Lakers or Spurs in the second round.
Vince Carter: Word on the street was that the Nets were going to hang on to Vince Carter, but now it appears that they have discussed trade possibilities with both Portland and Houston. The trade with Houston originally included Tracy McGrady heading to the Nets, but since McGrady is now out for the season a different trade has been proposed. The Nets would send Vince and Josh Boone to the Rockets for Ron Artest, Shane Battier, Luther Head and Carl Landry. Seems like a lot to give up for Vince, because Artest and Battier are their best two perimeter defenders. The Portland deal would send the expiring contract of Raef Lafrentz to the Nets along with Travis Outlaw and Sergio Rodriguez. I'm not sure what Portland wants with Vince, since he is a similar player to Brandon Roy, but I guess he would improve their offense. Portland does seem to have a lot of wing players already though, so I'm not sure how much better Vince really makes them. The Spurs are also intrigued by Carter and would offer the Nets a package of Roger Mason Jr., George Hill and Bruce Bowen. However, I can't see the Spurs giving up Mason and Bowen for Vince. It looks like Vince getting traded to the Rockets is the most likely scenario at this point.
Lakers & Spurs: With the trade of Tyson Chandler and Tracy McGrady's season ending injury, the Lakers and Spurs are clearly in the driver's seat out West. The Nuggets are probably the only other team out West that I could see making it to the Western Conference Finals and that would still be a mild surprise for them to beat the Spurs to get there. I think the Lakers have a pretty clear path to the NBA Finals. I would say they have about a 75% chance to make it there and the Spurs are the only team that can stop them from getting there. I think the Spurs would put up a better fight then they did last season against the Lakers though and would not be totally surprised to see them pull off the upset. I won't count the Spurs out yet and neither should you, but it looks pretty certain with the recent turn of events that those will be the two teams battling out West. The Nuggets are going to be a tough out this year though and they shouldn't be taken lightly either.
Phoenix Suns: The Suns fired coach Terry Porter and have replaced him with assistant Alvin Gentry, who plans to return the Suns to their old run 'n gun style. Now I don't know what issues the Suns players had with Porter, but they have been complaining all season how they don't like their new style of play and wanted to play the old way. Well you know what? The old way didn't work in the past and it ain't gonna work now. Terry Porter may or may not be a good coach, but he had the right idea, because this team is going nowhere unless they play some defense. Steve Nash, Amare Stoudemire, and whoever else was complaining about having to play defense and not being able to run are a bunch of babies. Steve Nash is great on offense, but he sucks on D, and his defense and Amare's defense are the reason why this team hasn't and won't ever win anything. Steve Nash gets a free pass because he is the media's darling, but he's just a whiney baby who can't play any D and I'm the only one who will call him out on this. Amare could be even better than KG if he put in the effort and focused on the defensive end, but all he cares about is being the guy on the offensive end. So go ahead and run Phoenix, score your 140 points against the crappy Clippers and think you have turned things around, but to me you are just a bunch of babies who don't want to work hard on the defensive end. I hope you make the playoffs, so you can get swept by the Lakers in the first round.
Other NBA News:
- The Celtics traded Sam Cassell to the Kings, which might seem like an odd trade to some, but there is definitely a couple of levels to this one. First, the Celtics also sent some cash to the Kings, who are struggling financially right now, so a nice thing for the C's to donate to charity here. The Kings help out the Celtics by taking Cassell off their hands, which opens a roster spot for the Celtics to be able to make a trade or sign a free agent. The only question is what move are the Celtics going to make now? This also means Cassell is probably ready to start his coaching career next season.
- The Kings are looking to make some other moves as well and could send Mikki Moore & Quincy Douby to Minnesota for Rashad McCants. It's also likely that they will send John Salmons to the Thunder and Brad Miller could be headed to the Cavs, Mavs, or Knicks. Portland has also shown an interest in Salmons.
- The Knicks and Blazers have been discussing trade possibilities for David Lee with the Blazers offering Jerryd Bayless and Travis Outlaw. The Knicks haven't been blown away by that offer though and it looks like they are still insisting teams take Eddie Curry in any deal that include Lee.
- Marcus Camby is a name that has been mentioned as a trade possibility, but so far there haven't been any specific teams or trade scenarios linked to Camby. He is definitely a player that could alter the playoff outlook of a number of teams though. If he moves to a contender, it could be the trade that makes the most impact this season.
- You already know about my thoughts on the Jermaine O'Neal for Shawn Marion trade. Both guys should be in action tonight. Miami is also likely to add some PG depth before the deadline. Seems like Pat Riley is confident that his team can make a run in the East this season and with the way Dwyane Wade has played this year I certainly don't blame him.
- Zach Randolph punched Louis Amundson in the face last night, in case you missed that one. I think it's funny how hockey players fight all the time and people don't say a word about it, but as soon as NBA players start fighting they are all labeled as thugs and hoodlums. Competition is competition and stuff like this is bound to happen at some point regardless of the sport.
- Apparently Allen Iverson cutting off his cornrows didn't help him or the Pistons last night. AI had just 10 points on 4 of 13 shooting in the Pistons 92-86 home loss to the Bucks.
- Dwight Howard scored a career high 45 points last night against Oklahoma City. I'm actually kind of surprised that 45 was a career high for Dwight, although I probably shouldn't be since he really isn't a big time scorer. He's averaging a career high of 21.0 points a game this season.
- Howard's teammate, Jameer Nelson, is healing quickly and still hopes to play this season. Nelson should know within the next few weeks if he will be able to come back. I hope he does come back, because I would love to see what this Orlando team can do at full strength in the playoffs.
- Don't forget to check out this really good interview with Danny Granger and his father by John Thompson. Granger is an under the radar superstar personality-wise and this interview tells us a little more about who Granger is and where he comes from.
More: NBA Weekly
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